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I was suprised Pasternak was part of the update. Non the less I feel that you cast him quite well. I am was also pleasently supprised that he is part of the NKVD.
 
Funny, in my tests it stayed Hoover and the turnover on spies was not as bad.

I guess those scandalous allegations about his private life caught up with him in this timeline.

I don't even remember who Hughes was IRL, apart from thinking he was a Senator of some sort. Certainly no connection with the FBI I can think o.

I was suprised Pasternak was part of the update. Non the less I feel that you cast him quite well. I am was also pleasently supprised that he is part of the NKVD.

Well, you suggested it yourself in your background. :)
 
That is true
 
A side note, Charles Evan Hughes ran against Woodrow Wilson as a Republican in 1916 (and almost won too!) and was also part of the Supreme Court.
 
A side note, Charles Evan Hughes ran against Woodrow Wilson as a Republican in 1916 (and almost won too!) and was also part of the Supreme Court.

That's where I've heard the name! I wasn't sure he was the same guy.
 
(Goes into trance to get some non-player life into the thread)

Quod perditum est, invenietur.
Nici mort, nici al fiinţei,
Spirits of the AARverse, I call.
Gods, bind the lurkers to this realm.
I call on you, do not ignore this request.
Let this AAR be the vessel to trap the soul of its readers.
Acum! Acum!​
(abridged version because it doesn't translate very well from Whedonese)

Uriah - I would appreciate some hints how to run an invasion using Army AI only (I am thinking Defending is a lot harder to do by AI than Attacking because you cannot do fine adjustments but any help would be appreciated)
El Pip - Help slow down the AAR. It is going too fast! Any more than an update a month makes my head spin. Also some discussion on the engineering deficiencies/quirks of Soviet aircraft/tank/naval design would make for some light reading.
Duritz- Bro!!! I am living the dream! Socialist paradise AND tanks! What more can a Man of Tanks ask for.

And to the other lurkers out there, remember I was a lurker too. And look at me now. Let this be a warning to you.

Second Edition of the Red Star out tomorrow night (hopefully) - now with added pop culture references!
 
RedStar.jpg
By Cadet Field Correspondent, Vasily Grossman
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1.I.1937 New Year Edition​

Meet the Politburo – The White Queen

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Underestimate Anastasia Petrova at your peril! Her beautiful looks and young age belie a razor sharp mind and a psyche as hard as diamond.

Comrade Petrova had a meteoric rise to head the Foreign Ministry at the age of only 21 in 1932. Such a rapid promotion would suggest a charmed life but Anastasia’s journey has been anything but. She has seen first hand the horrors of war visited upon her family by foreign aggressors, and at the age of 8 was able to strike down a Polish reactionary soldier who dared sully our proud State’s honour.

The Comrade’s wit and insight soon drew the attention of the General Secretary. She could have excelled in any department but her talents led her to Foreign Affairs. She soon gained the sobriquet, the White Queen, not for any reactionary leanings (far from it, Comrade Stalin has no more loyal lieutenant), but because of her skills in the great chess game of international diplomacy. Comrade Petrova has demonstrated time and again her skills in studying the board and planning several moves ahead of her opponents, almost as if she can read their minds. She has become the most versatile and dangerous piece on the board.

Anastasia has recently had an opportunity to shine in comparison to the iron fisted brute, Arthur Vandenberg of the United States. Her elegance and cutting insight contrast with the ham fisted isolationism of the capitalist tyrant. Although she was unable to save our Spanish friends, she had the foresight to help them store their valuable gold reserves and art treasures in the Soviet Union until the day Spain is free again to enjoy the liberties of Communism. And we are left to wonder what her next master stroke will be.

A New Army For A New Age

The modern Red Army continues to take shape.

Comrade NK of Defence Rakobolskaja personally redrafted the organisation of the army. Every member of the RKKA, down to the lowliest private, felt the gentle touch of her hand, guiding them to their place in the new and more efficient structure of command.

Stavka then took advantage of the congregation of units to engage in extended training manoeuvres over the long warm summer which we enjoyed this year. The men received new weopoms to replace their old equipment. Comrade Marshal Tukhachesvsky also issued the Fields Service Regulations 1936 to introduce new tactics for our Rifle Divisions, the backbone of the State’s defence. The men spent long, hot days drilling and practising the new tactics of Deep Operations.

They also spent time to become acquainted with the modern tools of their trade. The Tokarev SVT38 rifle replaced the old Simonov AVS36. The men appreciated the lighter weight although the RKKA is investigating complaints that the handling was too cumbersome and that the magazines tend to fall out during movement across the battlefield.

However, the talk of the camp was the new Simonov PTRD anti tank rifles.

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Whilst viewing the troops in training, Starshina Yankobb emerged from his concealed position, his browncoat caked in dust and proudly recited to me the virtues of his new rifle. Able to penetrate 40 mm of armour at 100 metres, an effective range of 2,000 metres and a firing rate of 8 rounds a minute, the starshina lovingly called it Vera.

Welcome To Our Spanish Comrades

Unfortunately, the forces of progress were unsuccessful in Spain due to the conspiracy of conniving capitalist and Fascist fiends. However all was not lost.

In addition to the Spanish gold reserve, the bulk of the former Royalist art collections and several freighters of Seville oranges, General Rokossovsky was able to rescue a number of the leading lights of the Revolution in Spain. First amongst them in honour is the Hero of the Barcelona Barricade, the old German Spartacist, Kurt Steiner, and his loyal hound, Peti. Comrade Steiner, the sole survivor of his platoon of international volunteers, single-handedly held off a company of Falangists with his machine gun, as Peti gallantly fetched more ammunition for his master.

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Kurt Steiner and his late comrades, early in the Battle of Barcelona​

General Rokossovsky was also able to pass on his personal observations of the new ways of making war which were experienced by both sides. Comrade Marshal Tukhachevsky praised the General’s insight and bravery in travelling so close to the front line and living to pass on this invaluable information. The Soviet Union will be all the stronger now that we know the tricks and tactics of our Fascist foes.

Kurt and his comrades will return to Spain one day, with the strong arm of the RKKA, the VVS and the Red Banner Fleet by their side. Until then, they can dream of the balmy, summer nights of the Old Republic.

Dinner Is On Again

After some hiccoughs earlier in the year, supplies are again running smoothly to the mess hall again, to the relief of all.

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Comrade NK for Trade and Industry, Milena Kamensky, proved she is not just a pretty face as her wheeling and dealing with the capitalists have secured a bountiful supply at no expense to Soviet industry which can concentrate on producing modern factories, tanks and planes. The Comrade must be praised for the supply of Irish potatoes, Spanish oranges and Hungarian goulash which ladens the regimental tables.

Praise must also be given to Comrade Rakobolskaja who intervened with Comrade NK for Agriculture Gey to prevent the excessive diversion of grain supplies to vodka production.
 
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Praise must also be given to Comrade Rakobolskaja who intervened with Comrade NK for Agriculture Gey to prevent the excessive diversion of grain supplies to vodka production.
I love that sentence :wub:
Also interesting is, that Sakura and I apparently had chosen the same girl to lend her face to our characters:
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((Also for whatever reason you decided rehosting my pic, while leaving Sakura's aside (while my pic is hosted in my dropbox, Sakura's is hosted on a obscure aussie site, which most likely hasn't given the permission to hotlink it).))
 
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I fixed the link for Sakura's photo. The only reason why it was different this time was because I didn't know how to get the address for last time. And Monash Uni is not obscure to an Australian - I used to be on the Uni of Queensland site until it closed down last year.
 
I fixed the link for Sakura's photo. The only reason why it was different this time was because I didn't know how to get the address for last time. And Monash Uni is not obscure to an Australian - I used to be on the Uni of Queensland site until it closed down last year.
OK, sorry then. For me a quick visit on the index of that domain showed me a design from the last century, plus the bolded note, that this site is offline...
 
Great minds think alike, and I am /so/ flattered. /blush/
 
kurtbarricades.jpg

Kurt Steiner and his late comrades, early in the Battle of Barcelona
Really interesting what Comrade Steiner sold you as him in the Battle of Barcelona - he sold that picture to the UK too - selling it as soldiers training on a MG in the madrid university gardens ((at least the description of the Imperial War Museum says so, which is apparently the owner of the original picture - they license it))
 
I am sure that we will return the gold and art once Spain has been liberated from the Nationalists.
I'm sure we could also return the oranges too but for some reason I don't think they'll want them.
 
I am sure that we will return the gold and art once Spain has been liberated from the Nationalists.
I'm sure we could also return the oranges too but for some reason I don't think they'll want them.

Of course we will... The gold might be 'misplaced' by the NKVD and Red Army though.
 
So I take it someone's taken Comrade Stern?

A great read! Very immersive
 
Top Secret
Leakage of the following document is punishable by death​

Escape of Afanasi Vasil'yevich Lagunov
Afanasi Vasil'yevich Lagunov is the head of a Fascist militant organization the "Russian Fascist Union Forces", we refer to it as RFUF. The RFUF until recently have not been a major threat until they were supplied with Japanese weapons by the Russian Fascist Party operating out of Manchuko. We have evidence they were planing on attacking a railroad running to Vladivostok. Fortunately we were able to arrest Afanasi Vasil'yevich Lagunov before the plan was initiated. We then took Lagunov to a small holding facility in a remote location north of Afghanistan for holding and interrogation. Unfortunately their was a leak in the military escort, and the RFUF found out the location of Lagunov. The facility was guarded by a dozen NKVD agents. These agents were not trained in warfare and did not have access to heavy weapons leading it to be inadequately defended. This was exploded by a RFUF attack force armed with heavy weapons. The NKVD agents were overwhelmed by superior weapons and firepower. Lagunov did escape, although the NKVD is hot on his trail.

Escape of Afanasi Vasil'yevich Lagunov
The RFUF were able to succeed in their attack for several reasons. One a leak in the Red Army gave them the location of the facility. The Red Army was only called in to escort the prisoner as it was believed that the journey would be the most dangerous part. The Red Army was not called into protect the facility as we believed that the fact it was secret would be protection enough, we not foresee that a member of the Red Army would leak its location. The NKVD agents we assign to protect these kinds of facilities do not have access to military training, and we currently do not have enough personal to give each location the same level of armed protection a Red Army facility would have.
In conclusion, the main reason the RFUF was able to pull of this raid was the fact that we placed a large amount of trust in the Red Army during this operation.

Signed,
NKVD Deputy Chief Alik Feodoryich Pasternak
 
Thank you for that report. Obviously the NKVD needs their own troops.
 
Thank you for that report. Obviously the NKVD needs their own troops.

I am afraid that logic leads me to a contrary conclusion.

If a member of the the Red Army unit escorting the prisoner was the source of the leak then it follows that it would have been easier for the ecape to take place whilst the prisoner was in custody of the Red Army unit when they had control of the situation rather than add the unknown variable of whatever security arrangements may have been put in place by the local NKVD commander.

Secondly, the ease of the escape would point to the conclusion that the local NKVD commander was slack in taking prudent precautions for the protection of the prisoner. Such laxity comes from complacency.

These 2 logical conclusions point to a need for a rigourous review of the NKVD to ensure that we can safely place the safety of the Soviet Union in their hands.

To avoid any collusion by reactionaries hiding in the NKVD, the appropriate course of action would be to hand over the NKVD agents involved in this debacle to the Red Army for interrogation. A report to the Politburo will be sent after those enquiries.

Do you not agree with this logical solution, Comrade Yagoda?