Third International - A Soviet AAR

[Quentin]

Starting Year: 1936
Country: USSR
Difficulty: Normal
Version: Semper Fi 1.1
Mod: no mods, some minor tweaks in strategic effects made by myself
Goals: to unite proletarians of the world, obviously

This is my first attempt to write an AAR. I have been playing the HoI series for over a 5 years, and really enjoy the process. Now I hope to add more excitement by sharing my adventures with fellow gamers

 

[Quentin]

Three-Year Plan (1936-1939)

Army

We have undoubtedly the largest army in the whole world. However it mostly consists of infantry divisions equipped by 20-years old standards, and lacking any specialised support brigades. On the bright side of the things, we also have quite formidable mechanized forces. For now we should mostly focus on upgrading our existing units, and producing 2 tank and 1 motorized brigades per year. It would also be helpful to consolidate our corps level commands to decrease the staffing upkeep costs. This measure will also provide us with more officers for the future divisions.

Navy

The navy can not stand against the threat from major naval powers (e.g. United Kingdom, Japan). It is small, outdated and separated into 4 fleets operation on geographically separate theaters - Severnyi Flot (Northern Fleet), Baltijskij Flot (Baltic Sea Fleet), Chernomorskij Flot (Black Sea Fleet) and Dalnevostochnyi Flot (Far East Fleet). In the near future, as our goals lay mostly in Europe, the navy should see only a minor expansion - some modern destroyers and submarines should be built for scouting and harassing the enemy supply lines.

Air Force

The astounding aviation records and achievements at the beginnning of 1930's show that our country has both courageous and skillful pilots, and talented design bureaus able to develop modern aircraft. Currently it consists of 8 fighter and 4 bomber wings, and shall be at least redoubled to provide the necessary support for our land and sea units. Also more modern types of aircraft should be developed to keep up with the threat from our eventual enemies.

Industry

Our country has a great potential for industrial development - the natural resources that we have can support far greater amount of factories than are available for now. What's more important, vast industrial production capability would be essential for the future struggles with the enemies of the working class. Although our current industrial production is comparable with major capitalist powers (e.g. United Kingdom, Germany), it should be increased by about 40% to be on par with their possible (and inevitable) alliances.

Diplomacy & Intelligence

We should make trade agreements to ensure a steady income of supply materials, thus allowing our production facilities to focus on building more factory installations and military units. Also we should look into bringing some minor countries into the Comintern, Sinkiang being the first and the best candidate for this.
Our intelligence should focus its efforts on lowering the nation's neutrality, to make the people realize that threat from capitalist powers requires to temporarily discard some minor luxuries and to work harder for the freedom and union of the working class.

 

[Belgiumruler]

Intresing

 

[Quentin]

First Year Overview - 20th January, 1937

Army

After a few months of deliberations, the General Staff came up with a standard organization model for mechanized corps - 1 Tank Division and 2 Motorized Divisions. All tank and motorized divisions in the western part of the country have been organized into 6 such units, disbanding several corps HQs in the process. The General Staff has also developed a new doctrine for conducting mass warfare, and is actively working on two new ones.

During this period our small arms, artillery and armour design bureaus have developed completely new and modern small arms, artillery and light tank models. Two Light Tank brigades have been put into productions, with an estimated completion date at 15th March, and one Motorized Infantry brigade should be completed at 22th May.

Navy

All the submarines of the Great War era (the so called American Holland design) were decommissioned and scrapped - freeing a handful of experienced personnel for training the would-be naval officers.
The transport vessels flotilla have been transferred from the Far East Fleet, where they could not possibly operate in case of war with Japan, to the Baltic Fleet.
As a result of joined effort from our shipbuilding development teams, the navy got a very capable destroyer project. Three flotillas of these destroyers should be built for the Baltic Fleet, and three more - for the Black Sea Fleet.

Air Force

The aircraft design teams have developed a revolutionary fighter model - Polikarpov I-16, a low-wing cantilever monoplane with retractable gear, armed with the state of the art ShKAS machine guns. This model is by no means lacking in any characteristic to the fighter aircraft of any major aerial power. Eight divisions of them have been immediately put into serial production, the first one of the batch awaited at 23th February -the day of the mighty Red Army!

Industry

Our industrial technologies have been greatly improved, and the new agriculture, production control are already applied for the good of the working people.

Eight new factories have been completed during this month, and eleven more should be finished in December.
A handful of heavy AA batteries have been completed in the key provinces along the western borders of our country. These AA installations, together with the growing air force, should secure the skies over the important cities, air and naval bases.
Now we conduct some research in radio technologies, that should improve the communications means between our military units.

Diplomacy & Intelligence

The first weeks of year 1936 have been devoted to secure trade affairs with countries around the world. If a neighboring country, great or small, was in need of coal, steel or other raw materials, then we offered them a good deal. This established a steady income of money, which in turn has been used to buy supplies from Germany and Japan. By the way, these two countries are currently our most important trade partners, despite tremendous ideological differences
Our internal intelligence network has been greatly expanded, and is operating now at it's peak efficiency. Estimations are, that during the last year more people (about 5% of the total population) realized that bringing socialism to the world is everyone's responsibility. This shall be good in the future, as these people will support more efficient production laws.

 

[Quentin]

Second Year Overview - 14th January 1938

Army

The army seen a minor yet important expansion - two Light Tank and four Motorized brigades (an equivalent of two Motorized divisions) have been produced and deployed in Zabaykalie and Ukraine. Another two Motorized divisions are planned this year, with one of them already in production.

BT-5 tank during field exercises.

For sure the most important event for the army were the Great Purges, initiated by Stalin at the end of April1937. The reason for this bloodshed in the ranks of the army high command were vague suspicions that they were organizing a plot to remove Stalin from power and to rule the country by themselves. It's still not clear how well founded these suspicions were, but by giving up to his paranoia Stalin had effectively decimated the Rodina's armed forces.

However, there's still a chance that the General Staff, under the leadership of one of the few remaining high-ranking officers with a formal military training, Marshal Boris Mikhaylovich Shaposhnikov, would be able to get the Red Army out of this debacle. For now, Shaposhnikov has secured a small but steady investment in officer training - about 3300 young men would fill the ranks of the armed forces commanding cadres each year.

Marshal Shaposhnikov was successful in persuading Stalin to fund research of small arms, necessary for the modern infantry and militia forces. He has also initiated an extensive doctrinal research on the infantry warfare, coming to the rightful conclusion that the main bulk of the army has to be better organized and trained to defend the socialism.

Navy

The naval engineering teams switched their attention to the new submarine designs. It was decided to assign 3 design bureaus on this development, and such a dedication yielded it's fruits quite well - the blueprints for the cutting edge Type XVIII submarines were finished at the end of the year - and immediately two flotillas of these were launched on the shipbuilding yards of the Baltic Sea and Black Sea fleets.

In the meanwhile, the first destroyers flotilla has been built and put to service in the Baltic Sea Fleet. Two more are gearing towards completion and should be assigned to the Baltic Sea and Black Sea fleets.

One of the newly completed destroyers heading to sea trials

Air Force

The air force maintained a production priority over the army and navy this year - in addition to the ongoing I-16 fighters production, new factories have been dedicated to manufacturing recently developed Ilyushin DB-3 tactical bombers - 4 divisions of these aircraft have been put into serial production, with the first one expected at the end of April this year.

A group of our dauntless falcons flying Polikarpov I-16 fighters

Industry

The Politburo under the wise leadership of the comrade Stalin has continued the industrialization policy. Another batch of 10 factories has been completed in October 1937, and 20 more should be finished in July 1937. The industrial technologies also remained at top priority - as a result, we have entered the new 1938 year with the most modern industrial and agricultural equipment. It can be truly said that we have sprinted over the distance of 50 year technological backwardness - all due to the superiority of the socialism of course

Steady research has been paid off - now USSR has caught up with the most advanced countries in the world in terms of industrial technologies.

Diplomacy & Intelligence

As mentioned above, Great Purges were probably the most important event for our country in 1937. But the long-term results were not all that disastrous. Through the propaganda by the press and the radio, backed up by skillfull support of the NKVD, the national unity has risen to a previously unparalleled level. Almost 80% of our multinational and multicultural population accepted the ideals of socialistic society, thus allowing the Politburo to enact new economical laws, that center the available industrial potential in 2 spheres - heavy and military industry. Although the life would like some comfort compared with the western countries, our nation should take comfort in the fact that we are make one step closer to communism.

Political changes after the Great Purges.

After the Great Purges, intelligence switched from lowering neutrality to increasing the party organization, by rooting out the people who got there for their own dirty needs. This process went quite effective, raising the organization from 25% to 35% in about 9 months. It also was helpful to improve the party image in the eyes of the ordinary people - and if there are still some doubter left, there is a plenty room for them in Siberia

 

[red_KLG]

Nice, it looks like that you ll kick some serious imperialist butt !!!

 

[Quentin]

Nice, it looks like that you ll kick some serious imperialist butt !!!

I really hope so - the industrialization should give me enough muscle to bring the power to the people!!!

 

[Quentin]

My bad - I have missed with the screenshots from the first post and the links went broken. Should be OK by now. By the way, I really enjoy playing for this time, writing an AAR is exciting a lot!

 

[red_KLG]

I really hope so - the industrialization should give me enough muscle to bring the power to the people!!!

"Amen" comrade !!!

 

[Belgiumruler]

My bad - I have missed with the screenshots from the first post and the links went broken. Should be OK by now. By the way, I really enjoy playing for this time, writing an AAR is exciting a lot!

I need to agree with you About that it is exciting, good that you fixed the first chapter and i cant wait for more!!!

 

[aMaschina]

keep it coming! Enjoy it a lot

 

[Quentin]

Third Year Overview - 11th February, 1938

Army

The infantry received a constant attention from the Read Army command. A considerable part of the 1938 budget provided to the army went into funding the small arms research teams.

New weapons for the queen of battle.

The three-year army draft had a very positive effect on the Red Army. Our military units became more cohesive, training under the latest field regulations developed in the Generalnyi Stab.

The developments that formed the Polevoi Ustav Krasnoi Armi 1938.

One more motorized division has been during the last year, continuing the build-up of our mechanized forces. Our engineers also kept themselves busy designing more powerful tanks and artillery pieces.

Latest armor & artillery developments.

Navy

The year of 1938 was one of the most eventful year for the Red Navy so far. It had enjoyed an unprecedented funding, both for the shipbuilding programs and technological research. Now the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea fleets have three destroyer flotillas of the improved Kiev class. The experience gained during their construction and exploitation should help our engineers to design new, even better warships - for now the Nevskoye and Communara design bureaus joined their efforts on a new heavy cruiser design. It is expected that we should have blueprints for a modern heavy cruiser at the end of 1939.
During the last year an upgrade program has been also stared in our submarine forces. Two flotillas of the latest XIV series deign have been completed in January 1938, with four more expected in September this year.

One of the first Soviet XIV series submarines on a training sortie.

After careful deliberations, all the 6 flotillas of obsolete Baltic Sea Fleet series II submarines were dismantled, together with 3 flotillas of Novik class destroyers remaining from the Great War.

Air Force

Red Air Force saw a continued build-up and a major reorganization. Two divisions of tactical bombers and four more divisions of fighters have been produced, bringing the total numbers of our front line aircraft respectively to 14 fighter and 6 tactical bomber divisions. This considerable force has been organized into dedicated aviation corpses - 2 fighter or bomber divisions in each one, and dislocated evenly at our western borders and on the Far East.

Ilsyushin DB-3s began to gradually replace the Tupolev SB-2s of the 1yi Bombardirovochnyi Aviatsionnyi Korpus.

Industry

Our industrialization program continued at an unprecedented pace - 20 factories have been finished in July 1938, and 30 more were completed in a record 8 months time. This build-up, together with further research of industrial engineering and management more than redoubled our industrial capacity - from 116 in January 1936 it went to 263 in January 1939.

Just a small part of the largest industrialization build-up yet.

The 3-year industrialization plan just finished - soon we'll have 30 more factories operationg for the good of the Rodina.

Development of Industrial technologies is a solid foundation of communism.

The only bleak spot in the othervise astounding series of industrial breaktroughs was a strike that took place in March 1938. This event had a small negative impact on the nations morale, but the instigators were soon discovered by the NKVD and been put to correction labor at Siberia

Diplomacy & Intelligence

It seems that imperialists continue their plans of another world war, that will help them to suppres the worldwide communist movements. In April the Austria subdued to an intense propaganda campaign and became a part of Germany.
The Sino-Japanese war went on in a very unexpected fashion. Combined Chinese troops were able to repel the initial Japanese assault and even made some progress into the Manchurian territory. Now the frontlines came to a standtill in the planes of Southern Manchuria.

Chinese gains in Manchuria

Politburo decided that it's due time to bring another member into the Comintern, so our diplomats and press started a campaing of spreading the communism ideals in Sinkiang. It is expected that in a few months the workers and peasants of Sinkiang will happily join their brothers from Mongolia and Tannu Tuva, and with our help will be able to repel any imperialist threats in Asia.

 

[Quentin]

I've recently broken my right arm, so the new updates will come a little bit late. But they sure will be - together we shall crush the hated capitalists!

 

[Quentin]

I'm finally back guys. My fractured arm seems to grow back, and the doctors will remove the Ilizarov apparatus at the end of May. For now I have mostly regained control of my right arm and can type properly. Unfortunately, there was a trouble with my PC during this period and all the savegames got lost I'm thinking to start the whole thing over, this time playing the TFH version. Wish me luck

 

[lainncli]

Unlucky, glad you got better. Just stumbled across this and I've got to say it was good so far: I'd be interested in seeing it restart.

 

[Quentin]

To all whom it may concern - I have restarted this AAR in another installment You can check the progress at the following thread: ProletAARians of the World, Unite!