Comrade Stalin

[Specialist290]

Right now I'm playing the WWII Scenario that comes with Civ2 Classic (2.42) as the Russians under Stalin on Prince level. Thought I'd share part of the story so far.

COMRADE STALIN
A Timeline of the Great Patriotic War

June 1940-- Axis powers attack France and the Low Countries. Despite heavy French, Allied, and Neutral losses, Hitler's men only gain Amsterdam. Axis attacks on Allied shipping lead to massive retaliation; several U-Boats sunk. Allied troops liberate Amsterdam from the evil German's clutches. Allied counterattack saves Paris from certain destruction.

Comrade Stalin looks over the news with pleasure. Things are going badly for Hitler's Axis. He immediately sets in motion a plan. First, he begins work on a massive rail program linking all major Russian cities. Second, he begins an armament campaign to "modernize the armed forces of the Motherland." Orders are given for the manufacture of many guns, tanks, and planes, and funding is given to the construction of Barracks in key cities. Forces in Siberia are called west.

August 1940--The Allies and French continue to hold the Axis beast at bay. Barracks are completed in Voronezh, Stalingrad, and Moscow. Comrade Stalin waits as the Siberian forces stall in the undeveloped hinterlands.

October 1940--Axis forces retake Amsterdam. Axis attack on France begins in earnest as Paris capitulates and Marsailles and Strasbourg are pounded by aerial assaults. The French government surrenders shortly thereafter. U-Boats continue to wreak havoc in the North Atlantic. Allies announce they have developed Advanced Flight.

December 1940--Axis win minor naval engagement in the North Sea. Premier Petain, new leader of France, renounces alliance with Allies under Axis pressure. First new tanks roll off production lines beyond the Urals. Comrade Stalin spends a merry Christmas in the Crimea.

February 1941--Axis U-Boat sinks Allied Transport full of supplies destined for the Western Front. Finnish troops make threatening movements towards Leningrad. Grozny finishes Barracks. First contingent of Armor from beyond the Urals reaches Leningrad.

April 1941--U-Boats continue to ravage the North Atlantic sea lanes. General Rommel's advance on Egypt stalls near Alexandria at a place called "El Alamein." German battleship Bismarck engages and sinks English equivalent Hood in the North Sea. German bombardment of Thames Estuary coastal defenses is largely a failure. Comrade Stalin's "One Million Rails" Plan begins to bear fruit.

June 1941--Soviet Spies report that the Axis has developed a V-1 rocket. More Allied ships are lost to Germany's U-Boat campaign. "Battle of Britain"; valiant Britsh fighter pilots engage and destroy several Axis bombers over English skies. Axis offensive in the Balkans begins with the bombing of Belgrade. Axis troops movements in Poland are regarded as "potentially hostile." Leningrad, Minsk, and Kiev are reinforced by newly trained Armor divisions.

August 1941--Axis V-1 "Flying Bombs" launched against Allied battleships, causing some damage but no sinkings. In a stunning move, Allied leader Winston Churchill and Axis heads Mussolini and Hitler work out the "Paris Accord," agreeing to end hostilities. Belgrade falls to Axis Paratroopers. british fight-bombers are shot down in a bombing run over Ireland. Fighter patrols show massive concentrations of German troops along the Polish-Soviet border. Stalin sends Molotov to Berlin; the "Berlin treaty" is signed, promising "perpetual peace" between Nazis and Soviets. Stalin, having intended to provoke the German leader into war, is furious, but decides to use the opportunity to build up.

October 1941--BETRAYAL!! Axis launch sneak attack against the Russians! The call to arms sounds throughout the Motherland. Soviet ambassadors meet with British government in hopes of persuading the Allies to join them; due to Allied demands, the Soviets leave incensed. Fighters shoot down Ju-87 bombers over Lithuanian skies. In a brutal battle, Soviet Armor secures Helsinki; Finnish government flees. Red Army begins offensive into Poland.

December 1941--German troops capture Riga. The Allies develop Computers. Soviet offensive into Poland crushed by spirited German defense. Soviet pilots, on one-way mission, shoot down another wave of German Bombers. Partisans, assisted by the 1st Parachute Division, liberate Riga.

February 1942--As the harsh Russian winter enters its thaw, the Wehrmacht fails to break the Soviet defenses. Pre-emptive strike destroys more German Bombers over the Pripyat Marshes. Soviet 30th Tank Division ambushes Axis invasion spearhead in Poland and destroys it. "One Million Rails" Plan nears completion. Conference held in Sevastopol; Turks and Spanish agree to declare war on Axis.

Any comments would be appreciated

 

[Prof. Garfield]

How did the axis fail to take Paris on the first turn?

 

[Lozzy_Ozzy]

Yeah, everytime i played it that always happened!

 

[Specialist290]

How did the axis fail to take Paris on the first turn?

My guess is that, even though the French lost their entire garrison, they inflicted enough damage on the Axis' attack force to reduce their movement. It didn't make much sense to me either, considering that the city remained undefended until the Axis' next turn...

 

[Specialist290]

OK, I've played a little more on this game, here's the results...

Part 2: The Polish Offensive and the Fall of Berlin

April 1942--Axis assault begins in earnest. Smolensk completes Barracks. Fighter-bombers strafe reinforcement columns in Poland and Austria. Troop buildup in Minsk begins as the western cities are linked to the Urals.

June 1942--German tank offensive begins; objective appears to be Minsk. Counterattack destroys main elements of German push but fails to take Konigsberg. Fighter patrols indicate movement of Axis Marine divisions in southern Poland.

August 1942--Operatives within eneym territory announce that the Axis has developed Mass Production. Axis forces continue to pound away at the border.

October 1942--After months of grueling siege, the stalwart Red Army seizes Konigsberg. The city treasury of 86 gold is transferred into the hands of the Supreme Soviet. The few Partisans that arise are ruthlessly crushed. Stalin announces that his call for "One Million Rails" has been "heard and answered." Fighters intercept and destroy a squadron of German bombers over Polish skies.

December 1942--The Red Army's progress is halted by a significant Axis aerial campaign. Rioting in the streets of Riga. Soviet pilots retaliate against bombing runs, shooting down many Axis bombers.

February 1943--Turkish army attacks Bucharest. Axis forces strike Stockholm. KGB operatives reveal the Allies have Rocketry. Massive offensive into Poland initiated; the city of Warsaw is encircled. In celebration of the conclusion of Russia's mass railroad-building campaign, the 53rd Novosibirsk Tank Reg't., fresh from training, parades in Red Square before shipping out to the front.

April 1943--Turkish Romania Offensive stalls. After taking heavy losses, Army Group North, under the command of Marshal Georgi Zhukov, takes Warsaw. Partisan resistance is eliminated. Fresh units dispatched to replace losses on the battlefront.

June 1943--Red Army takes Krakow. Few forces can be spared to deal with Partisans due to the severe conditions after the assault, but three fresh divisions are called up to deal with the problem. Combat engineers are called to link the new conquests by rail with the Soviet Union.

August 1943--Axis develops Miniaturization. Axis spoiling attack disrupts operations around Krakow. Soviet troops move into position in eastern Germany. Democratic Republic of Poland, consisting of the "liberated" cities of Warsaw and Krakow, set up in Warsaw as a pro-Soviet puppet government.

October 1943--German disruption near Krakow continues. Ukrainian 3rd Army, under the command of General Ivan Konev, begins offensive into Hungary. Russian and Axis rail systems linked; Stalin presented with a monumental plan--an offensive into the German heartland, led by Marshal Zhukov himself! Stalin of course, approves this plan after some deliberation; the plan is code-named the Karl Marx Offensive, in honor of the German founder of Communism. Soon, the Soviet Red Army grabs the attention of the world with the INVASION OF GERMANY; before the beginning of the massive offensive, Stalin personally visits his troops and offers words of encouragement. Then, the famed command of "Forward, Comrades, forward!" is given over the radio by Marshal Zhukov himself, and Operation Marx begins. Within days of its initiation, Dresden falls after being subjected to truly massive artillery bombardment. Desperate German citizens flee the city to engage in Partisan operations. Berlin itself comes under attack, but the Wehrmacht, with the assistance of the population and much bloodshed, defiantly defends its capital against charging Russian steel.

December 1943--Konev's forces take Budapest and mop up some Partisan resistance. Berlin, the German capital, resists heavy artillery bombrdment and is only taken after heavy house-to-house fighting. The fall of the Reichstag, though in no way signaling an end to the fighting, bolsters Soviet morale, as its capture is symbolic of the coming fate of the Axis. Once the area is secure, Stalin personally awards the 25th Tank Reg't. the Order of the Red Banner, the Soviet Union's highest honor. Days later, Adolf Hitler is found dead in a secret bunker, having committed suicide. German leadership passes to Admiral Karl Doernitz. Under cover of snow, thousands flee the city to participate in Partisan activities, still hoping for a miracle to beat off the "Red Scourge," as they call it.

 

[Conrino]

Great writing. I am eagerly awaiting your next installment.

 

[Specialist290]

Thanks.

Unfortunately my other computer crashed some time ago, and my game is on there. However, I did manage to play a few turns past the point I'm at in the timeline, and if I somehow manage to get my computer back up, I'll post that before playing some more.

If I can't, I'll probably just start over with a new game and timeline.

 

[Conrino]

So sad.
I'm terribly sorry for your loss.

 

[Specialist290]

Well, I said earlier that, once I got the opportunity, I would either rewrite this story based on a different game (but same scenario), or try to recover the files from my old comp and finish the thing.

Anyway, I now present you with...

Comrade Stalin, take 2

Part One: The Calm Before the Storm
June 1940--Beginning of German offensive into France. Panzers and stormtroopers pour across the Rhine into France and the Low Countries. Amsterdam and Paris fall quickly under the Nazi boot. Allied antisub campaign nets 3 U-Boats. French launch a counteroffensive into the Rhineland, defeating a few infantry regiments and disrupting regional development.

Comrade Stalin notes the developments in Europe with some concern. Eventually Hitler and his minions will be looking east; if the Soviet Union is to stand, it must begin its preparations immediately!

At the next Politburo meeting, Stalin presents his plan for the strengthening of the nation's military and economy. It consists of two main projects: First, an extensive recruitment and training program, including the construction of Barracks in key cities and the formation of new divisions; second, the "One Million Rails" Plan, a drive to link all major Soviet cities by rail. His plan is adopted unanimously and initiated shortly thereafter.

August 1940--No major action is reported in Western Europe. This seeming bout of inactivity begins to worry Soviet generals and politicians. Siberian forces begin transfer to European posts.

October 1940--Reports come flooding in from agents in the Western nations. Allied shipping is savaged by German U-Boats, and the Germans hit Strasbourg, but fail to capture the city. Belatedly, Italy declares war on France and botches an attack on the port of Marsailles. Despite the setbacks of the Germans and their allies, the Vichy French leader, Marshal Petain, agrees to a ceasefire with the Axis. The Thames estuary is hit heavily by German shore bombardment. Meanwhile, the Allies make an attempted amphibious assault on the German port of Kiel, hoping to take it and, by doing so, cut off access between the Baltic and North Seas and liberate Denmark. The effort is repulsed, and many British lives are lost.

At home, many stalwart Russian men and women answer Stalin's call for "one million rails," arming themselves with shovels and pickaxes. These hard-working citizens are organized into labor battalions and immediately assigned to the task at hand. A fighter patrol is lost over the Pripet Marshes when, due to faulty equipment, it is led off course while returning from a reconaissance mission over Poland. Plans are made to replace the lost craft and crew.

December 1940--Recon patrols report suspicious troop movements being carried out across the border in Finland. Allies develop Advanced Flight, and with it long-range strategic bombers. British Spitfires engage and destroy a flight of German bombers over the English Channel. Stalin spends a merry Christmas vacationing on the Crimean coast. The first new tanks roll off the production lines in Magnitogorsk.

February 1941--U-Boat sinks a Transport carrying troops and supplies to Europe along the route from New York. An American destroyer sinks another U-Boat off the coast of Virginia. British fighter crews continue to fend off waves of German bombers. New recruits begin bolstering defenses along the Soviet-German border in Poland.

April 1941--German diplomats meet with Foreign Minister Molotov and deliver a stern warning regarding our troops being in close proximity to their Finnish allies. German battleship Bismarck engages and sinks British counterpart Hood in a naval engagement in the North Sea. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's invasion of Egypt is stopped near an outpost called El Alamein. Reconaissance overflights in East Prussia show evidence of mass movement of German panzer regiments into region.

June 1941--German panzer regiments move into position near border defenses in Poland. Battle of Britain; British fighter pilots engage German bombers as they initiate an air raid on the city of London. Recon flights over Carpathian Mountains show Axis preparations for a move into Yugoslavia. Reinforcements from the Far East reach Moscow.

August 1941--Spies report that the Germans have mastered the concept of Rocketry and are beginning work on a "vengenace weapon." Balkan offensive begun as Ju-87 "Stuka" dive-bombers pound Belgrade. In a stunning move, British Prime Minister Halifax agrees to sign a peace treaty with the Axis! This stunning betrayal by Russia's "allies" can mean only one thing: an impending German invasion of the Soviet Union! The British also cancel their alliance with France. Suspicions are confirmed by the movements of massive amounts of German armor into Poland and East Prussia.

October 1941--Affairs on the German-Soviet border have become something of a waiting game. Both sides have massed troops on the border, yet who makes the first move remains yet to be seen. Molotov meets with Allied leaders in hopes of securing support for the Soviet cause, but turns up empty-handed. A meeting with General Franco in Spain, however, leads to the Madrid-Moscow Alliance.

 

[Specialist290]

Part Two: From the Baltic to Berlin
December 1941--Soviet ambassadors are sent to Germany to provoke a declaration of war by demanding tribute; the Germans take the bait, and a state of war now exists between the Soviet Union and the German Reich! (GERMANY DECLARES WAR ON USSR) Franco agrees to join the war effort on the Russian side, as do, after a little "persuasion," the Turks. However, it is impossible to obtain aid from Great Britain or the United States, possibly due to the recent Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Valiant Soviet pilots engage and destroy several German bomber flights over Byelorussia. Soviet tanks engage German panzers on the plains of Eastern Europe; both sides take significant casualties.

February 1942--German counteroffensive disrupts assault on Konigsburg, but fails to do lasting damage elsewhere. KGB operatives in Britain report that the Allies have discovered the concept of Computers. Soviet fighter-bombers strafe and bomb German supply and reinforcement convoys. Artillery breaks attempted besieging effort around Leningrad. The campaign for "one million rails" begins to bear fruit.

April 1942--German offensive into Russia stalls. Soviet generals begin to plug the gaps in their defenses made by German strikes.

June 1942--Agents report that the Axis powers have developed Mass Production. German planes pound Belgrade. German spoiling attack is fended off, but a Rifle regiment takes heavy casualties in the process. Soviet 15th Tank Reg't. captures Helsinki after preliminary artillery bombardment; many Partisans flee the city but are ruthlessly crushed. Fighter-bombers continue to pound Axis traffic in Poland. Recon patrols based in Sevastopol indicate that the Turks are preparing for an assault into Romania.

August 1942--Turkish tanks strike the city of Bucharest; Germans begin diverting reinforcements to Romania. Plans are made for a naval drop in Norway in order to secure the city of Oslo.

October 1942--Turkey's Romania offensive stalls. Soviet Tank regiments thwart impending German assault with their own spoiling attack near Warsaw. In a sudden, bold move, the North Tank Army secures the East Prussian port of Konigsburg. City treasury of 114 gold is seized by the troops and shipped to the Treasury to be redistributed by the Politburo. German citizens flee the city and form resistance groups.

December 1942--Black Sea Fleet (2 cruisers) lost to German bombers. POLISH OFFENSIVE begins! Several Soviet Tank regiments charge across the Soviet-German border. Moscow is now linked by rail to Stalingrad and Kiev.

February 1943--Germans launch spoiling attacks on Soviet forces gathered in Poland. Warsaw is taken, but only after heavy fighting. Krakow falls as well, with marginally less resistance. Not all Poles accept their liberation, however, and many flee to the nearby forests and hills, taking refuge against the Soviet "invaders." Moscow is now directly linked with Sverdlovsk and Magnitogorsk by rail.

April 1943--Axis counterattack results in the loss of two Tank regiments. KGB operatives report that the Americans have mastered the concept of Nuclear Fission. Troops are landed for Operation Rurik: the invasion of Norway. Several fresh troops are transfered directly to the front as reinforcements thanks to the Soviet Union's developing rail system.

June 1943--Agents return reports from Germany that the Germans have developed Genetic Engneering. Transports for Operation Rurik are sunk by U-Boats; fortunately all troops had been offloaded, but this now means that the operation is a "win-or-die" matter for the troops involved. First assault on Oslo results in the loss of the 28th and 46th Tank Reg'ts. Moscow is now linked directly by rail to Omsk and Novosibirsk. A Politburo report states that the main objective of the "One Million Rails" campaign has been achieved and that further plans should be made to link the Soviet Union with Central Europe after its "pacification."

August 1943--German planes bomb Barcelona. Assault on Prague; Red Army forces capture Prague, losing only two Tank regiments and an artillery battery. The city is secured, and reserve units mop up the ensuing partisan groups. Fighter-bombers attack reinforcement columns in Hungary. General Ivan Konev transfered south to command the new Ukrainian Army, which is being formed in Odessa.

October 1943--Germans attempt to retake Prague; however, Soviet forces fight them off easily. Marshal Georgi Zhukov, commander-in-chief of the Soviet Red Army, orders the Red Army proper to consolidate itself in Prague. In celebration of the completion of the "One Million Rails" project, the 52nd Tank Reg't. parades through Moscow's Red Square before shipping off to the front.

December 1943--Axis forces step up their attacks on Prague, but remain unable to take the city; even their bombers, though attacking in multiple waves, are downed by valiant Soviet airmen. Infantry and artillery succeed where armor failed as Soviet troops capture the city of Oslo, capital of Norway. Konev's Ukrainian Army moves out; its objective: Bucharest. Soviet artillery batteries shell Budapest. Fighter-bombers destroy artillery convoys along road between Bucharest and Budapest. Poland linked by rail to Russia, allowing nearly instantaneous reinforcement. Warsaw and Krakow are reorganized into the Democratic Republic of Poland. Stalin, Zhukov, and Konev draw up plans for the impending invasion of Germany, codenamed "Operation Karl Marx." Red Army assaults Dresden after a massive artillery bombardment; the city is taken with only minimal casualties. Desperate German Partisans flee the city, but are quickly surpressed by the Soviets.

February 1944--Neutrals cancel their alliance with the Allies. Ukrainian Army enters Romania and Hungary. Conference held with British leaders in Leningrad; Allies are still unwilling to help. Meetings with Spanish, Neutrals, Turks, and French prove helpful in a way, as they show that the bulk of Axis strength is turned against us by allowing us to share map info. Using this info, Stalin decides that now is the time to strike. He makes personal visits to the front lines in order to prepare the Red Army for the upcoming fight, delivering speeches that promise glory to all those who have fought in the defense of the Motherland. Days later, with Zhukov himself issuing the go-ahead over the airwaves, the OFFENSIVE INTO GERMANY begins. The Red Army captures Frankfurt after softening up the defenses with artillery. Partisan bands are mopped up by reserve armor. Another division positions itself to strike Vienna. The noose is tightening around Nazi Germany.

April 1944--Italians bomb Belgrade. Soviets are warned for trespassing on French soil. Vienna pounded with artillery, then captured after heavy fighting. Desperate Partisans take to the Alps. Ukrainian Army takes Budapest and Bucharest with relative ease, and Konev receives a commendation from the Politburo for achieving his objectives in such a rapid fashion. Meanwhile, preparations are made to deal the final blow to the Reich.

The Axis powers are now divided in two. In the north are northern Germany, the Scandinavian states of Norway (itself partially liberated) and Denmark, the Netherlands, and occupied France. In the south are the German state of Bavaria, Italy, and North Africa. The fascists are approaching the nadir of their power.

June 1944--Axis bombers raid Frankfurt, but Soviet fighter pilots heroically fend them off. Finally, after many months of anticipation on both sides, the BATTLE FOR BERLIN begins. The struggle begins with a spectacular artillery bombardment of several hundred guns. The shelling churns much of the city into rubble but fails to uproot the defenders. Desperate to the end, the Germans stave off defeat for weeks, but finally the city succumbs to Soviet tanks. The 102nd Tank Reg't. reaches the Reichstag first and valiantly clears the area of defenders, despite taking heavy losses. The unit is later awarded the Order of the Red Banner by Stalin himself. Days after the city's capture, Adolf Hitler's hidden bunker is found, containing the bodies of several Nazi personnel, including Information Minister Joseph Goebbels and Hitler himself, all having committed suicide in the struggle's final hours. Thousands of desperate Germans flee the forsaken city and join anti-Soviet partisan groups, hoping by some miracle to stave off the "Red Menace," as they call it. Leadership of Germany passes to Admiral Karl Doernitz, who assumes the title of Chancellor. A Tank regiment is lost in attempting to destroy a stubborn nest of Partisans near Budapest.

 

[Specialist290]

Part Three: Twilight of the Axis
August 1944--Valiant Soviet pilots thwart an attempted air raid on Vienna. KGB operatives report that the Allies have developed Robotics. Soviet troops take Kiel, thus securing northern Germany and Denmark. However, this news is tarnished by reports that repeated efforts to take the city of Cologne have failed. Stalin is upset that at this of all points, after the enemy's real power has been broken, they should put up so much resistance.

October 1944--German armored column launches a feint against Vienna and is easily repulsed. Marshal Zhukov decides to rest and reinforce his Red Army before renewing the offensive. Reinforcements for the Northern Army (as the forces in Norway are called) assemble in Leningrad, along with the Northern Army's new commander, Marshal Semyon Timoshenko. The world watches.

December 1944--German Bombers stage a raid on Prague but are engaged and destroyed by Soviet pilots. The fact that such a heavily-guarded target was attacked without any troops movements to back it up seems to confirm Soviet suspicions of the fragmentation of German leadership. Soviet troops liberate Amsterdam from Axis occupation; misguided resistance officials see this as simply exchanging one occupation for another and redirect their efforts; they are shown the error of their ways. After heavy fighting resulting in the loss of one Tank regiment and two Artillery batteries, the city of Munich is captured, securing the German front. Desperate Germans flee to the Alps and go into hiding, many later to emerge as partisan bands. Soviet reserves are immediately given the task of mopping them up.

February 1945--Italian Marines attempt to make an offensive across the Alps but are routed by the 165th Tank Reg't. Soviet patrol craft spot and sink a German U-Boat off the coast of Kiel. Second offensive against Cologne begins; though the Germans inflict heavy losses, Soviet troops ultimately carry the day and take the city, marking the END OF THE CONQUEST OF GERMANY. Many Germans flee the city and join with local anti-Soviet resistance groups, many of which are mopped up by Soviet reserve forces. Two U-Boats sunk by Soviet patrol planes in the Skagerrak. Offensive against Bergen initiated by long-range artillery bombardment. Plans are made to put the reconstituted Black Sea Fleet to sea with the intent of operating either against southern Italy or North Africa. In a daring move, one of Zhukov's subordinates, Gen. Konstantin Rokossovski, in defiance of his orders to "remain in the Cologne area," leads his division across the Rhine and liberates Paris, though losing one of his Tank regiments in the process. His disobedience of orders is overlooked by Zhukov and Stalin, and the next month Rokossovski wins a promotion to Marshal. Unfortunately, no reserves are immediately available to eliminate the partisan cells that spring up.

April 1945--Nazi German government formally surrenders. Italian Marines advance across the Alps and destroy vital iron mines, but are later ousted. The Soviet Northern Army captures Bergen, eliminating the last Axis stronghold north of the Alps. Sovereignty granted to the Democratic Republic of Norway. Vidkun Quisling is captured, tried, and executed by a Norwegian court. Anti-Communist Norwegian "freedom fighters" flee to the Kjollen Mountains; one Alpine regiment and a fighter patrol are lost attempting to defeat them. Timoshenko and his reinforcements are redirected to Kiel. A Tank regiment is dispatched to the Alps to prevent further Italian incursions.

June 1945--Zhukov recalled to Moscow to assume new role as Supreme Commander of Soviet Forces. Marshal Konev is selected to replace him as the head of the Soviet Red Army, and Timoshenko is given Konev's Ukrainian Army. Konev launches the OFFENSIVE INTO ITALY; Soviet forces take Venice and Milan losing only three Tank regiments. Clearing Italian partisans from the Alps, however, seems to be tougher, resulting in the loss of three additional regiments. Fortunately, the arrival of the newly-created Baltic Army from Kiel allows these losses to be replaced without having to pull reinforcements from home. The Black Sea Fleet leaves its home port of Sevastopol for the Mediterranean. Its ultimate destination has not yet been set, but it is assumed that it will land either in Libya or Apulia.

August 1945--Renegade U-Boat ambushes and sinks Soviet cruiser in the North Sea. KGB agents discover that the French government has discovered the secret of Advanced Flight. KGB agents infiltrate Italian labs in Rome and steal copies of German V-2 designs. Meeting is arranged with French leaders, who agree to turn over strategic bomber plans and assembly line blueprints for Guerilla Warfare techniques and the V-2 designs. Advanced Flight is also gifted to the Spanish generalissimo Franco. Assault on Rome produces heavy casualties, but ultimately culminates with the capture of the city. Several Italian patriots form resistance groups in the Italian hills, pledging to remain devoted to Il Duce. KGB agents infiltrate labs in Taranto and steal Electronics. An enclave of Italian partisans defects to the Soviets and turns on an Axis engineering battalion, destroying it, and a second band is persuaded to change allegiance soon after. The other bands of partisans are eliminated by Soviet reserves.

October 1945--Allies design the first combat helicopter. Soviet troops capture Taranto, the last Axis stronghold in Italy. Italian naval Transport with several government officials, including Mussolini himself, is caught in port; the occupants are captured and the ship scuttled. Partisan bands spring up nearby, vowing to rescue their leader. Many are surpressed.

December 1945--Anti-Communist Albanian partisans are strafed and bombed in the Balkans. Soviet troops seize the airfields on Sicily. Last insurgent resistance in Italy is eliminated; CONQUEST OF ITALY COMPLETE. Black Sea Fleet and accompanying Mediterranean Army are given the go-ahead to begin Operation Khedive, the invasion of Libya. German Democratic Republic granted sovereignty.

As he spends yet another Christmas in his Crimean winter home, Stalin is pleased beyond compare. In nearly 4 years his armies have extended Soviet influence to the Rhine and the Mediterranean. The USSR, and therefore Stalin himself, now controls nearly two-thirds of Europe, thanks to the generals and fighting men who are so devoted to his cause. The Axis is now confined to the two Libyan strongholds of Tripoli and Tobruk and is on the brink of destruction. The goal will soon be achieved.

Naturally, Stalin's thoughts turn towards the future. After the completion of the Axis' destruction, he will have several options. The French are still licking their wounds from the Nazi invasion in 1940 and present an easy target. The Soviet Union currently has good relations with Turkey, but the old Russian desire for total control of the Black Sea still burns hot. Spain, too, has proven a valuable ally, but Stalin remembers his defeat in the Spanish Civil War and longs for revenge. Sweden and the Balkans are open as well, though to attack them would invite Allied intervention. Seizing the British and French territories in the Middle East could provide the Soviet Union and its new European dominions with vast quantities of oil, far more than either the Caucasus or Ploesti fields. Great Britain itself, perhaps, would pose the toughest challenge, with its island position and its alliance with the United States. However, the Americans have their eyes on the Pacific, and perhaps Britain could be overcome before its ally can muster sufficient assistance...

All these thoughts and more are crowding the thoughts of Stalin. Whatever the next few years hold, they promise to be just as bloody as the last four.

 

[Specialist290]

Part Four: Settling Accounts
February 1946--The first "Cruise Missiles" enter the Soviet arsenal. Tobruk is captured in a daring naval landing. Libyan Partisans are summarily defeated.

April 1946--Suspicious British naval actions in the English Channel. Soviet troops take Tripoli and secure the final outpost of fascist sympathizers. The Axis menace has been purged from the face of the earth! Contact made with Marshal Petain's government; they agree to exchange the idea of amphibious warfare for the specs on certain electronic devices, but Molotov fails to secure an alliance. Stalin has decided on the next target for annexation; France. This nation has gone too long under the heel of the capitalist oppressors of London and Washington, and they must be liberated by the mighty Red Army! Forces begin transfer to Paris. Meanwhile, the newly-organized Middle Eastern Army, under the command of Marshal Rokossovski, passes through the Bosporus.

June 1946--Molotov meets with the French ambassador with the intent of provoking a war; instead, the French decide to "placate" us with 1000 gold. Somewhat disappointed, Stalin decides to begin military operations anyway and launches a SNEAK ATTACK ON THE FRENCH. The Ukrainian Army is absorbed into the Red Army; in consolation, Marshal Timoshenko is given command of the Mediterranean Army and the operations against the French North African colonies. Cherbourg, Vichy, and St. Nazaire are liberated from capitalist oppression by Konev's Red Army; however, misguided French citizens flee the cities and begin resistance operations. Many of these partisan bands are hunted down and destroyed. The Middle East Army captures Beirut; Arab nationalists take advantage of the chaos to establish a "Free Arab Republic of Syria," but Soviet tanks surpress most of the dissidents.

August 1946--In a display of solidarity between our peoples, Generalissimo Franco declares war on the French! The Soviet Union is proud to have such faithful allies. KGB agents destroy the Granary in the city of Tunis in a surprise "commando" operation. The Soviet 195th Tank Reg't. spearheads the assault on Tunis and captures the city. French naval vessels are destroyed in port. Further operations result in the Mediterranean Army's capture of Algiers as well. Algerian nationalists initiate a "call to arms" to "drive out the Communist infidels"; however several of these nationalist militias are defeated in local skirmishes. The siege of Marsailles finally ends when an armored assault finally breaks through the city's defenses; French citizens flee the city in droves to join local resistance cells. Reinforcements are called in to deal with these bands. Soviet troops take Strasbourg; some citizens reject Soviet "liberation" and flee to the countryside, taking up arms. Soviet troops take Damascus; CONQUEST OF SYRIA COMPLETE. Arab nationalists in Damascus band with other partisan groups in an attempt to drive Soviet troops out of their lands but are ruthlessly crushed.

October 1946--Algerian partisans literally knock themselves out attempting to retake Algiers. Allied troops are caught within Soviet-occupied territory; they comply to a request to withdraw. Preparations are made to eliminate the last "Free" French resistance.

December 1946--Our KGB operatives report that the United States has found a way to duplicate the German V-2 technology. The Allies continue to trespass on our territory; such impudence must be paid for in the near future. Soviet troops take Bordeaux in a stunningly easy victory; CONQUEST OF FRANCE COMPLETE. Partisan bands take to the hills to take refuge from our might; these are quickly located and eliminated. Freshly-recruited regiments assemble in Amsterdam and Kiel for the possibility of a naval assault against England.

February 1947--The Allies continue to harass us with their Helicopter overflights and cross-Channel demonstrations. Soviet troops capture Casablanca, crushing the final outpost of French capitalists. The Red Banner now waves across the continent, from the Bering Strait to the Pyrennes Mountains! A tunnel between France and Italy through the Alps is completed. Marshal Zhukov approves of a plan to reinforce the Middle East Army.

April 1947--Soviet forces decide that now is the time to strike; plans are drawn up for a cross-Channel landing. The Red Army, still under the command of Marshal Konev, is allocated to this task. Within two weeks Soviet troops land on English soil along the Thames Estuary and the INVASION OF ENGLAND COMMENCES; WORLD WAR III ERUPTS! After a heavy Cruise Missile barrage, the city of London is captured! This blow delivered on the first week of the war stuns the English, and the royal family itself just barely manages to escape the city and flee to Canada. Hundreds of Londoners take refuge in the countryside and form resistance groups which are soon strengthened by other native Englishmen; however, these "nests" are quickly mopped up. However, the action isn't over yet as the Red Army quickly takes Manchester and Southampton. This move secures virtually all of southern England for the Soviets. Soviet pilots engage and destroy English planes over Norway. Fighter-bombers and bombers sink several English ships in the Bay of Biscay. Reinforcements for the front assemble in Kiel.

June 1947--English battleship bombards Bordeaux and destroys one defending Armor unit and one engineer battalion. Soviet troops capture Newcastle. More partisan resistance groups spring up around the city; many are crushed, but some linger in the hills. Summit with Franco in Barcelona; he agrees to declare war on the Allies in exchange for Soviet funding.

August 1947--Allies move their provisional headquarters to Alexandria, Egypt. English surprise aerial assault captures Beirut! The Soviet Red Army botches an assault on Edinburgh. Rokossovski manages to nullify the reversal in his situation by retaking Beirut with minimal casualties.

October 1947--Spanish destroyer sinks heavily damaged English battleship in the Bay of Biscay. Taking advantage of the fact that Manchester has been left undefended, English Paratroopers retake the city in an aerial assault, resulting in great embarassment among the Red Army. A Soviet AEGIS Cruiser sinks an English battleship in the Mediterranean. Soviet scientists copy American helicopter designs, while military strategists begin seeing the effectiveness of Paratroops. Manchester is retaken by Soviet troops. After a preliminary Cruise Missile bombardment, Soviet troops succeed in taking Edinburgh in their second assault. Scottish nationalists rise up against the Soviet "invaders." Soviet troops capture the city of Athens in a surprise naval landing; Greek nationals take to the hills and form partisan groups, but these are quickly crushed.

December 1947 (epilogue)--Comrade Stalin pores over the strategic maps in his war room. Even as he is pondering over his next course of action, the Soviet Red Army is advancing across the Irish Sea against Belfast and is almost sure to eventually capture it. The Royal Navy Yard at Scapa Flow remains beyond Soviet control--for now, though, with reinforcements to arrive shortly, it too will soon fall. If all goes according to plan, then soon all of the British Isles will be under his boot. He has virtually nothing to worry about in this theater.

In the Middle East, however, he has a decision to make. Should he advance on Egypt first in a "double envelopment" from Libya and, via Palestine, from Syria? Or should he concentrate on securing Mesopotamia first? Both have their advantages: taking Egypt would place the Suez Canal under Soviet control, while Iraq holds key oil reserves. Alexandria has a strong garrison, but so does Baghdad. His will need to choose carefully on this issue...

Nonetheless, Stalin is in a good mood. He holds practically all of Europe in his grasp, and he has even stretched his influence to North Africa and the Middle East. Never since the Napoleonic Wars has an army from the Motherland advanced so deep into Europe. Morale is high among the people of the Soviet Union, and the "One Million Rails" campaign has brought a level of unprecedented development to the state.

He takes a moment to reflect on the past decade. When the capitalists showed their true colors by signing a peace agreement with the fascists, Stalin had taken it upon himself to cleanse the world of this "Aryan" fanaticism. Even then he had been forced to fight alone, with only Spain and Turkey as his allies. Now, however, it turned out that it had all worked out for the best. He was now the master of Europe, and he would shape it into a true utopia just as he was with the USSR. Workers of the world, unite!

He stopped to think about what might have happened had the British continued to fight the Nazi menace, if the Americans had joined the fight... But that was foolishness. It would never have happened, he thought. The capitalists would have been too busy protecting their own selfish interests no matter what.

But in the end, what had that gained them? Nothing. Indeed, their own selfishness had left Stalin in the perfect position to claim Europe for the good of socialism. Soon these "democrats" would see the folly of their greed.

Yes, in the end, it had all turned out for the best.

(Scenario ends here.)

 

[hlfranklin]

man that is very long!!!!

 

[hlfranklin]

really really long!!!!

 

[Tigerclaw]

THis reminds me of one of my first games of Civ2, as Russia in the WW2 scenario that came with the game. The battle against the German invaders was EPIC. Hordes of Axis armor crossing the border, with me, the rookie, barely holding on through desperate Cruise Msl counterattacks and striking incoming tanks with fighters and bombers straight off the production line, in a desperate struggle to stave them off... I wish I could recreate that early magic again...

 

[Dominus Romae]

Great story!