The Bear in Winter: An All the Russias AAR

[Mishgan]

Are you going to put in any third-party intervention by other European powers, like France? I'm sure they'll be sweating a little when Russian troops start taking up garrison positions along the Rhine.

From the general feeling of this AAR, I do not believe that Russia will annex Germany.

However, a victory over Germany and hegemonic power in Europe shall surely be more than enough to show the Caucasians and Turkmens who is the master in this world. Might make reassimilation easier >.>

 

[unmerged(15751)]

From the general feeling of this AAR, I do not believe that Russia will annex Germany.

I wasn't suggesting anything of the sort, and my question was actually pursuant to the realistic feel RossN has been giving the political situation in this AAR.

The occupation of the entirety of German territory is probably a prerequisite to peace, given the dedication of the Nazi regime to total victory or total defeat, and the Emperor's evident desire to altogether replace it with a restored Hohenzollern monarchy under Russian aegis. At this point, Russian victory and an advance to the Rhine seems almost a foregone conclusion--we're already seeing half the country captured and the Germans on the run, and evidently STAVKA is beefing up its order of battle to 150 divisions by mid-October.

This would all be seriously worrying to the other European powers, because they'd be looking at the greatest surge of Russian influence on the continent since 1815.

 

[RossN]

Field Marshal Semjon Budennij, Commander-in-Chief, German Front​

Part 54

The Eastern Front August-November 1944

Semjon Budennij, the elderly officer who replaced Voroshilov was regarded by no one as brilliant, though he was an experienced commander having been involved in most significant Russian campaigns since the 30's. In part his appointment had been an effort to derail Wrangel's supporters in Moscow who wanted the Manchurian governor to come out of retirement. The only other available officer of comparable rank was Budennij, so Budennij it was have to be. In practice it was an unofficial joint command shared with Mannerheim. Mannerheim himself left operational control of Army Group Centre to General Grigory Semyonov. Meanwhile Voronets was also replaced with General Bidemann.

In any case the position of Supreme Commander had clearly weakened in the aftermath of Zmey; individual generals impatient to pursue their own goals refused to be bound into the straightjacket STAVKA suggested. The great prize of Berlin encouraged rivalries, with an especially fierce one between General Semyonov and General Evgenii Miller bitterly anxious that the other should not succeed. Berlin itself was - finally - cut off by 24 August and the German capital and the 11 divisions trapped inside could only wait for the hammer blow to come.

It was General Miller's 27th Army that was to win the glory. Despite stubborn resistance by General Hans von Salmuth the weight of Russian forces was too strong, and after a last attempt by Keitel to relieve the capital failed von Salmuth and his 140,000 men surrendered. On 28 August the Russian tricolour flew over the Reichstag. A troop of Cossacks passed through the Brandenburg Gate. Two days later impressive celebrations were held in the Stadtschloss in honour of the Emperor's birthday. Fortunatly the palace had been spared the heaviest of the fighting and remained largely intact.

For the Russian people it was one of the greatest hours in their history. For a century they had been beset by the other great powers: by Britain and France, by Japan and Germany. Yet now Mother Russia had proved herself greater than any of then.

Still there was little time for celebration: Hitler and his crony Borman had fled Berlin and Germany, though gravely wounded was not quite dead yet. In fact it would take another two months of bitter fighting before the Werhmacht cracked. As the Germans withdrew in good order to a line along the Elbe it became clear that even the fall of the capital had not destroyed the German spirit.

In the north and south the line remained relatively static between the end of August and early October, as Budennij and Mannerheim sought to make the great blow that would shatter the Germans for good. The Russians had taken Leipzig and Dresden with limited fighting in late August, but Efurt and Kassel proved tough nuts to crack. The Russians were held up for over a month struggling against very stubborn resistance. It was to be Hitlerism last, most fanatical stand against the enemy and Budennij and Mannerheim paid for every inch.

Of course there could only ever be one and outcome and on 6 October Erfurt fell at last. All at once the resistance of the Werhmacht began to crumble away; Erfurt had broken something in the German Army and people and from now on exhaustion told. General Biedmann (successor to Field Marshal Voronets) swept into Schleswig-Holstein while Mannerheim broke through into Braunschweig. The Germans were in collapse everywhere, though von Rundstedt held a formidable force in the Saar, while Guderian clung on in Stuttgart. Any hope these formidable men had of forming a united defence was crushed on 24 October when Budennij surrounded and destroyed Model's 16 divisions in Wilhelmshaven. Over 200,000 Germans surrendered - including almost all remaining German panzers.

After that von Rundstedt and Guderian were soon forced into retreat. Von Rundstedt was defeated and forced to surrender at Saarbrücken on 8 November. After this Hitlerism – and Hitler himself was finished for good.

The last month of the Third Reich was a chaotic, almost farcical affair. The squalid end of Hitler and many of his acolytes is too familiar to recount here, but the new German government was hardly in a position to achieve much. Freiberg, the last capital was cut off from any other serious forces outside of Italy – and Austria where Himmler and his divisions was automatically hostile. There was nothing left to do and on 19 November Guderian met Budennij at Karlsruhe and accent the Russian demands for unconditional surrender.

Though the following week would see a bloodless seizure of Tyrol before the French nabbed it up, the war was over.

Six months of fighting had seen heavier Russian casualties than the wars against Japan and Turkey combined. The Imperial Russian Air Force had suffered extremely heavily. Only the Imperial Navy had suffered relatively light losses during its Baltic campaign, in part because East Prussia was overrun so swiftly there was little naval action to begin with. The Finns, Kazaks and Koreans had suffered comparable losses.

An uneasy peace lay across Europe. Russian and French soldiers eyed each other in Italy and along the old German border. Belgium and Yugoslavia stirred nervously at their new and unlooked for neighbours.

The Germans now depended on the good graces of Russia for a benign peace. The spectre of Brest-Litivosk hung heavily over the country.

Europe, 1 December 1944​

 

[RossN]

J. Passepartout: Well, good to see some things are consistent.

stnylan: Damn straight.

KanaX & Dr. Gonzo: Well we will see.

Miihkali: Thank you.

RGB: The tricolour is the flag proper, but the unit flags are the saltire for some reason. Just picture the Russian flag instead.

Specialist290: Actually the Germans have been good at counterattacks; I'm surprised they were so bad at offensive warfare.

Pablo Sanchez: The primary Russian concern will be Italy, which is pretty much a mess right now: the mainland is owned by France and the US, with (neutral!) Mussolini still holding out on Sicily.

VILenin: I had to go with Budennij. Not a great officer, but an experienced one.

Vann the Red: True enough. We may not have seen the last of Voroshilov.

Mishgan: One can hope!

 

[Charle_88]

So who's next? The Allies?

 

[Mishgan]

Gack! Too bad you didn't nab Veneto

Oh well, congratulations on a campaign well carried! I am very curious to see whatcha gonna do with all those Germans.

 

[unmerged(59077)]

Yes, that thing about Brest-Litovsk...MAKE THEM PAY.

I'm the Russian Vox Populi by the by.

 

[GeneralHannibal]

You should do something (as in game edits) to fix Italy. The current situation just doesn't make sense...

 

[VILenin]

I think Budenijj fills the criteria of "non-threatenning" very well. And given Russia's superiority in arms against Germany at that point brilliance wasn't necessary, just compotence.

I'm going to throw my weight behind splitting Germany back into it's constituent states. Hohenzollern-led Prussia, a Bavarian controlled SGF in the catholic south and maybe a Hannover or NGF (independent of Berlin, of course) to balance things out. And East Prussia should be annexed to Russian Poland.

 

[unmerged(62170)]

What to do, what to do... a South German Federation led from Vienna by a Hapsburg? an OTL forced migration of all Germans east of the Oder River with Poland reaping the rewards?

The mass migration of the entire German people to Siberia, leaving the Tsar with some fabulous hunting ground (perhaps leave a a few thousand Brownshirts around for some real sport)

 

[Mishgan]

Well, from the looks of this AAR, there might be tensions on the Rhine.

One the one hand, a weak German jigsaw is not in Russian interests, as the French could potentially steamroll and annex. From the looks of it, zee Republique is not really jumping up and down with joy right now.

On the other hand, leaving too powerful a Germany might be a blow to all the Russian soldiers and officers who died in the battlefield and provoke discontent in Russia.

On the other other hand, splitting Germany into several states would provoke mass discontent, as Germans were damn proud to finally be a one and single nation and state in 1871. They had great inspirations to become a power with prestigious colonies and a powerful High Seas fleet to rival the Royal Navy. "Place in the sun", in other words.

So, this is why I am very curious as to what will happen now

I also wonder about Czechoslovakia. What shall become of it? Poland or Finland scenario?

This is why I actually love this AAR. The administrative monarchic maniac neo-feudalist nut that I am just loves all those spiffy and complicated arrangements like vassaldoms, dynastic and real unions, etc, etc. This here allows my imagination to roam freely and for this I am grateful.

 

[KanaX]

The Grand-Duchy of Germany has a nice ring to it...

 

[Murmurandus]

Just read the whole AAR... Impressive to say the least!

 

[KanaX]

Just read the whole AAR... Impressive to say the least!

Good, now go read mine!

 

[Murmurandus]

Good, now go read mine!

I don't read Vicky AARs...

 

[stnylan]

I am sure for Mother Russia, revenge is a sweet tasting thing.

 

[unmerged(15751)]

This is why I actually love this AAR. The administrative monarchic maniac neo-feudalist nut that I am just loves all those spiffy and complicated arrangements like vassaldoms, dynastic and real unions, etc, etc. This here allows my imagination to roam freely and for this I am grateful.

There's also the concern of what the other great powers are going to think. Russian power now spreads unbroken from Saarbrücken to Seoul, and is definitely a threat not only to the French but also to the British in India and American interests in China and the Far East. Any diplomatic conference to decide the state of Europe is going to see the UK, USA, and France doing their best to limit Russian gains.

 

[VILenin]

There's also the concern of what the other great powers are going to think. Russian power now spreads unbroken from Saarbrücken to Seoul, and is definitely a threat not only to the French but also to the British in India and American interests in China and the Far East. Any diplomatic conference to decide the state of Europe is going to see the UK, USA, and France doing their best to limit Russian gains.

True, but with all of Germany occupied by Russian troops, what real voice will the other Great Powers have? Though if the Tsar is anxious to avoid instigating a crisis he might be somewhat conciliatory towards their concerns.

 

[Deus Eversor]

make Grand Imperial(Tsar rulez ;] ) Duchy of German IV Reich(with austria to prevent second austrian empire...) xD
it will be use full
but all that Slavian keep
+propaganda +armies +6techteams +less revolts +bufor state

oh and try to undo the LARGE mistake Tsar Alexander II(@#^#$@) made by selling Alaska to USA...

 

[Specialist290]

You should do something (as in game edits) to fix Italy. The current situation just doesn't make sense...

Seconded.

As for dividing up / restoring Germany, here's a few of my proposals:

1. Restore Austria, preferably as an "independent" Duchy / Archduchy in keeping w/ the doctrine of propping up old monarchies and establishing new ones. Whether or not you should restore the von Hapsburgs I'll leave up to you.

2. Keep the Czechs and Slovaks independent. As brother Slavs, they deserve better than to be second-rate partner-members of a Germanic empire.

3. Restore an "independent" (i.e. puppeted) Poland, w/ Silesia and Prussia proper. The Czars may be back, but I'd bet the Poles aren't too enthusiastic to be part of another Russian Empire, even if they were rescued from the clutches of Hitler.

4. Release Germany as a single state, but retain control over the Baltic coast ("Grand Duchy of Pommerania"?). Should allow you to have a Germany that can protect itself without having to worry about it getting too powerful... Again, whether the occupation of Pommerania should be permanent or temporary / provisional is something I will leave to you.