White Snow: The Diary of Aleksei Brusilov (1914-1920)

[Droom]

Introduction

Aleksei Brusilov in his army gear, overseeing maneuvers by the Russian army outside of Moscow.
This AAR is going to follow the (fictional) diary of Aleksei Brusilov (he actually wrote his own memoirs, which were translated to English), a successful and visionary Russian general that is considered by historians as the only Russian commander capable of winning a campaign against the German army during World War 1. I'm going to play as the Russian Empire during the war, and attempt to defeat or at least hold back the Teutonic hordes! His brainchild was the Brusilov offensive which pushed the Germans back, albeit with heavy casualties. Here are a couple of links explaining his life and achievements. What is interesting is that while a staunch Russian patriot, he supported the Bolshevik government after noting that the Czar was too weak and unpopular to rule.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksei_Brusilov
http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/brusilov.htm
http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/military/aleksey-brusilov/
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Aleksey-Alekseyevich-Brusilov

The main difference here is the stepping down of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich Romanov of Russia, who left his position after experiencing heavy strain and lack of experience (this isn't far removed from the truth, he broke down and allegedly cried after finding out how many men he oversaw). This lead to Brusilov being promoted to Comander-in-Chief of the Russian army, who was much more suited to the role anyway. Having the blessing of the Grand Duke (who was very popular), Brusilov sprang into the role, ready to prepare the Russian army for the obvious upcoming conflict that would shake Europe...

I'll try to continue this even if I end up losing, because hey that only means I'm going historical doesn't it? I'm also going to use the 'realtime' method used by MacGowan in his UK AAR (which I firmly recommend) making updates by the week. If you're interested please comment, also any advice is recommended.

 

[MacGowan]

Thanks! and I'll sub to this. Looks like it's going to be a lot of action.
Great choice of scenario.

Oh, remember AI vs AI battles will break off everytime you boot up the game. So a Virtual Box with save state might be the way to go for a Realtime DH game.

 

[HIMDogson]

Subbed as well. God save the Tsar, even though I am an unabashed Prussophile.

 

[J_Master]

Subbed
Hoping you are going to be able to hold Warsaw

 

[Knightofhonnor]

Let's see where Brusilov's life will take him in this journey, and if he can match the Brusilov of our history.

 

[Droom]

Thanks! and I'll sub to this. Looks like it's going to be a lot of action.
Great choice of scenario.

Oh, remember AI vs AI battles will break off everytime you boot up the game. So a Virtual Box with save state might be the way to go for a Realtime DH game.

Thanks a lot! Yeah I'll keep in mind of that, thanks.

Subbed as well. God save the Tsar, even though I am an unabashed Prussophile.

Hopefully Brusilov will be able to kick their backside!

Subbed
Hoping you are going to be able to hold Warsaw

I will try, though I'm not hopeful against the German and Austrian hordes... hopefully the Romanians will join my side later on.

Let's see where Brusilov's life will take him in this journey, and if he can match the Brusilov of our history.

It will be interesting. I've got big... I mean he's got big plans for the Russian army.

Thanks for your support, it really means a lot! The first update will come up tomorrow (internet troubles) this I promise.

 

[J_Master]

To get romania, you have to cross the carpatians

 

[LoneStar Prussian]

After just completing my first successful campaign as the Soviets against the Germans, I wish you good luck (make sure to cross the Carpathians when you can successfully make a breakthrough into Hungary otherwise Romania will be anschlußed quickly).

 

[Droom]

To get romania, you have to cross the carpatians

I mean as allies but I do have several divisions bordering them... you know, dissuading them from doing anything stupid.

After just completing my first successful campaign as the Soviets against the Germans, I wish you good luck (make sure to cross the Carpathians when you can successfully make a breakthrough into Hungary otherwise Romania will be anschlußed quickly).

Hmm... I'm not keen with a war in Hungary, unless of course they get invaded by Austria in which case I may come in as an ally or partition the damn thing.

 

[Droom]

Diary of Alexey Brusilov, Chief of army (1914-1921)
1914 June 27th-July 5th​

These memoirs will follow my train of thoughts and events following through my position as Commander-In-Chief of the Russian Imperial Army. I accepted this role so I can continue my loyalty to the Czar, the government and holy Russia, and in service prove my worth. I am not ashamed that the duties before me are numerous and frightening… I have been trained as a general, a skilled one at that, but I control millions of men and some of the greatest commanders of this age look up to me. I cannot be surprised that Duke Nikolai was less then keen, and while I am apprehensive I must take great pride that the Grand Duke, his royal majesty and my colleagues see me as an appropriate fit. Of course, one must remember that the Czar himself wanted my position though it was denied to him by some relentless and smart politicking. I am not a man for manipulation and deceit but if I am to be honest, it is something of a relief that he was steered away by Ivan Goremykin to more suitable roles. Nicholas may be our Czar, but I’ll be damned if I'd put him in command of an army. He did seem keen though in my first meeting of Staff in Petrograd.

I met many powerful political figures I could only imagine before, such as Ivan Goremykin (Prime Minister, and bit of a suck up if you ask me), Sergey Sazanov (Foreign Minister, and a truly pessimistic man. He isn’t happy with the political situation with Germany and Austria), Nikolay Yanushkevich (my superior and Chief of Staff, a keen proponent of total war and a gentlemen, or so I am led to believe) and many others, far too many to properly name. I met my counterparts with in the navy and airforce too… arrogant fools! One is the very epitome of a daredevil and the other is obsessed with spit and polish. They are however necessary for the country and brave men. I may not like them, but I respect their skill. The meeting was interesting and an enjoyable experience (rudeness from the airforce aside, they expect everyone to have heard them. Just because I’m in the army and do not know their names does not make me ignorant!). Dining with the high and the rich makes eating on the field seem like peasant’s fare even as a general. The most important part of the meeting was setting policy for the remaining week which means that, if I am correct, that I’ll be dining with the Czar’s government and top policy makers once a week. It also means that I’m up to date with the comings and goings of the various aspects of the country. Some of it is happy, our army is growing by the thousand but other things… who knew that the suffering of the lower classes (a communist term I’m sure) could be so widespread? I fear that this will not bode well for Russia.

We discussed offhand of the technological advancements for the country, and some of it is encouraging. The best scientists we have to offer are creating some kind of artillery that can fire further and more accurately. They’re calling it the Putilov 76.2mm M1902 (apparently the designs were first established in 1902, but it was never put into action until now) and it should be a step closer to improving our military. Under my recommendation, the Tula Arsenal is attempting to create sturdier and more rugged trucks for better mobilization. If we are to create a better army we need to get rid of the limitations that plague us, foremost being the slowness of our military. Our forces take too long to get to the right area which is embarrassing to say the least. We cannot win a battle if we miss it. There’s also study for improving agricultural output and some kind of secret research into… what was it? The atom I think. I also stand by my duty, by working on a new doctrine, leading by order. Without false modesty I can say that it should improve command chains and quicken our organization and reaction time.

Our navy is currently being heavily reinforced, Alexander Rusin having won the toss of the hat in funding. I was lobbying for several new infantry divisions armed with cavalry and artillery to reinforce our forces in Poland, to ensure a better defence in case of war which I assure you, is coming. Still seven battleships isn’t anything to sneeze at, and one can argue that a bigger navy is necessary. But they must realize that the army is where the fighting is always at, it’s the army and only the army that leads to success in conquest, defence and war. There are exceptions but those are few and far between.

I may be a fool in the eyes of god, but I’m not fool enough to lack the understanding that war will come with the Austrians, who have their greedy little eyes set on the Balkans and Serbia. From what I can tell, the war will be in Europe, so I drafted orders for the Sibirskiye Korpusi to march towards Kazan and act as reserves. Only the 4th Korpus was ordered to remain, shielding Port Arthur from the Republic of China and Japan. This isn’t the best of guards but I remain adamant that the Japanese will not initiate aggressions with the Russian Empire, and I doubt the Chinese will either. Their arrival dates will range from the middle of 1914, to the 1st Korpus possibly arriving to Kazan during 1916, which goes to show the need for a faster railway system in our country. We also have further support from the Urals (in the form of the Omskii Voyennyi Okrug) and Turkestan (Turkestanskii Voyennyi Orkug and both the Turkestanskii Korpusi). Altogether we have 17 infantry divisions and one cavalry division marching to Kazan as reserves and support.

During the meeting one of our generals proposed to fortify Warsaw and Poland in general, this was agreed upon by most of the cabinet. The problem with Poland though is that it sticks out like a sore thumb, wedged in between Austria and Germany. Only three administrative provinces bridge the gap between the German Empire and Austria-Hungary which creates the possibility of encirclement. I’ve discussed various tactics with General Samsonov (the acting Military Commander of the Polish Provinces) and we’ve decided to sacrifice Lodz, Plock, Radom and the other provinces bordering our opponents in case of an attack. Meanwhile we have the 4th, 19th, 6th, 14th, 11th and the 2nd to fortify the Chelm-Lomza-Bialystok area. Altogether that’s 13 infantry divisions and 7 cavalry divisions. The 15th which was at first garrisoned in Warsaw will be sent to Siedlce to ensure that a corridor of escape and reinforcements can be created between Lublin and Ostroleka. The 5th army marches to Warsaw to garrison it with yet more troops, meaning that 11 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry divisions and 2 command divisions will be stationed in Warsaw.

Also, various armies and divisions are being spread along the borders of Austria-Hungary, Germany and Romania (tensions are high there, and I’m worried they may jump into bed with the Germans if we start to falter). We also have reinforcements from Petrograd approaching Riga, men from Moscow going to Smolensk and have several divisions moving to Moscow. There’s also the Kavkazskiye Korpusi approaching the Turkish border, just in case the Turks try anything funny.

There upon is the limit of our military plans and movements, as we ready for some provocative event that will snowball into war. My aides tell me that a military alliance was signed with France, sandwiching our opponents in two. This will bring the pressure on the Germans and hopefully dissuade them into acting too aggressively. The rest of the week was routine, tedious commands and fully realizing our plans that we put through on the first day. God bless Russia, the Czar and me in what promises to be interesting time.

Note: First update is out! I'll try to get one tomorrow (might happen, might not).

 

[DeCive]

Subbed, but why on earth are you researching the "Faculty of Atomic Research" in 1914? Isn't that a waste of resources?

 

[Alizon]

subbed!
Btw, Brussilov was much more controversial fellow than the one you described in the intro. There is a new trend is arising, that he actually pushed his famous operation and thus sacrificed resoruces, both matherial (especially artillery shells) and human ones, which stopped russian counter-attacks to the north from Brussilov's offence.

 

[Droom]

Subbed, but why on earth are you researching the "Faculty of Atomic Research" in 1914? Isn't that a waste of resources?

Eh I know, but I felt like doing some nuclear research. Did you know, that the Americans could only have made the bomb using Russian Empire research from 1914? It acted as a kickstarter when Abram Leffe fled from Russia into America. (Jokes)

Also thanks for subbing!

subbed!
Btw, Brussilov was much more controversial fellow than the one you described in the intro. There is a new trend is arising, that he actually pushed his famous operation and thus sacrificed resoruces, both matherial (especially artillery shells) and human ones, which stopped russian counter-attacks to the north from Brussilov's offence.

Thanks! That is interesting, though I think that attacks from the north would have failed anyway. There's no way the Russian troops could have put up a successful fight against the Germans (well there is a way but you get what I mean), though the Austrians are a different thing entirely. They weren't as prepared or ready against the Russians. Exceptions exist I'm sure.

Next update will come tomorrow, sorry for the delay but in the weekend I'm helpless basically.

 

[Droom]

Diary of Alexey Brusilov, Chief of army (1914-1921)
1914 July 6th-July 13th​

It galls me to begin my entry with something terrible, but the weekly military and state meeting at Petrograd began as a farce. Apparently, some foolish politician convinced the Czar that the military was full of disloyal traitors and the Czar, fool as he was followed through. By that I mean he initiated purges. Purges I tell you, of good, skilled men who would sacrifice their lives for the greatness of Russia, thrown away by the whims of a Czar. I commend Madritov, Slezkin and Ryabenko for fighting and dying with honour and dignity, even if it wasn’t their ideal end. Sometimes I wonder if Russia needs the autocratic rule by the Romanovs, though I fear that in getting rid of them one would only ensure more instability. Or perhaps not… I may follow up with the idea. Even though many present were disgusted by this primitive mean of destroying your opposition, the meeting continued with news from our foreign minister’s attempt at wooing the fickle Bulgarians. Our relations are currently quite warm, and Sergey Sazonov visited Ferdinand and his wife in Sofia. They had a nice dinner and chatted with each other before moving on to diplomacy. They say that the king there is a wily one, and can change sides as easily as the Italians. But if they do happen to join us then we have a front in the Balkans against the Romanians and border with the Serbians, allowing military support and trade to flow through.

The industries of Russia labour to create more battleships, but with some discussion I was able to convince Yanushkevich that creating some more land divisions was a must for our forces, if we are to be victorious against any European rivals. Must I list them all? We have the Germans, the Austrians, the Japanese, the Turks and even the British and French have had their go! Yanushkevich listened intently and agreed, though even with his support I was only able to start the production of two cavalry divisions supported by artillery. There’s little manpower left, with the majority of our population either toiling in our factories or farming in a field. Of course I’m not surprised, because Alexander Mikhailovich was able to get the factories producing newfangled aircraft, of the interceptor range. I tried to get him to make some tactical bombers but he responded with the need to defend against enemy aircraft. I might have been able to make another division if it wasn’t for his air force antics. He does promise a vision of air to land coordination and group work which if possible would revolutionize warfare, ‘if’ being the imperative word in the phrase.

It seems that a study by Ivan Pavlov into blood transfusion has been funded by the government, mainly for mainly military purposes. It’s hoped to ensure a higher survivability rate for our troops and allow them to get back to fighting quicker. It should also slow down the terrible infant mortality rate, which hasn’t improved mainly because of the widespread poverty in the country. We also decided to send military technology and advice to Huerta’s regime in Mexico, something I disagree with. He’s obviously a cruel dictator and does not deserve our attention. In fact the whole Mexican conflict is a mess, with Emilio Zapata and Pancho Villa being the only leaders I would trust. The rest are in it solely for the power and positions rather than any real aim at helping the downtrodden. The Czar also saw to guarantee them their own independence, even as it appears that Huerta’s government will collapse soon. It’s surrounded on all sides, torn apart from within and outnumbered. He can only win by a miracle and God rarely grants miracles to despotic dictators.

The meeting today was even shorter than the last one, with a lot less happening. We dined, we discussed private things and only the complaints from General Radkevich of the 3rd Sibirskii Korpus soured the week. Apparently the fool wanted to stay and wage war against Mongolia, however the government lacks the reasons and support to make any declaration. Gone have the days of rampant Imperialism from the past. Past this, there were interesting developments in that quite a few of our divisions have reached the Polish and Romanian Front, making it more reinforced by the week. Here I end my memoir of the week, and hope that when the war comes Russia will be prepared.

Note: Sorry for the short post, not much has happened. Thanks to the lack of internet I can’t flesh out the AAR with historical pictures and historical info and occurrences, leaving me the bare bones of the game itself! If you like it anyway please comment, you know, to salve my ego!

​

 

[IconOfEvi]

Good luck! So assuming you lose the war and the civil war happens, when is defeat then? Not that you will be, of course!

Is this vanilla DH? I would reccomend the mod The Grand Campaign, or smaller in scope, AAR mod since it has provisions for alternate WWI scenarios.

Also those vanilla SKIFs man. Kazoo already had you covered with really good ones! https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/kazoos-skif-style-icons-for-dh-full.547906/

 

[Droom]

Good luck! So assuming you lose the war and the civil war happens, when is defeat then? Not that you will be, of course!

Is this vanilla DH? I would reccomend the mod The Grand Campaign, or smaller in scope, AAR mod since it has provisions for alternate WWI scenarios.

Also those vanilla SKIFs man. Kazoo already had you covered with really good ones! https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/kazoos-skif-style-icons-for-dh-full.547906/

I'm actually going to end this AAR and start up the same one if that makes sense... basically my internet has come back, after finding out that Telstra was ripping us off by blocking any other internet provider so they can make money of it for as long as possible. Needless to say they stopped after our provider called them.

Thanks to this I can flesh it out with historical events and pictures, meaning that I'll restart and make a new thread this one with a higher quality. I may or may not do it in a diary from, though rest assured Alexey Brusilov will be commander-in-chief of the army. Thanks for the mod, now I can actually get it.