TSFE: Soviet Union, starting in 1941, facing the storm

[PinkyGen]

Having easily beaten TSFE when having almost a year to prepare for Barbarossa, instead of staring in 1940, I have begun in 1941. Needless to say, we are retreating.

History of the Great Patriotic War, Chapter 1, The Month of Tragedy, by Geoffrey Hoskings :
Despite signing a treaty a year before with the Soviet Union, Hitler broke his promise and launched a surprising and devastating attack on the motherland on June 7th, 1941.
Soviet troops were caught by surprise and in exposed positions. The Luffwaffle's Heinkels, Stukas, and Me-109's easily outclassed the main fighter, the I-16. Additionally, most of the forward bombing forces were destroyed on the ground in the initial attack. The luffwaffle began bombing forward cities and destroying exposed tanks and infantry. At the same time German Panzers and Waffen SS units began their assault. Two cities were immediatly lost, Brest-Litvosk, and Riga, seizing a majority of the Soviet Union's currency. Strong assaults were also felt in Odessa and surrounding cities, though one KV-1 tank, in a well fortified position was able to destroy some of the enroaching tanks. However, the majority of Soviet armor was caught unaware in the open, and the enemy panzers had a field day.
Comrade Stalin immediatly ordered the conversion of war industries. T-34's were to be the main focus of effort, as this was considered to be the better effective weapon. In fear of air attack, AA batteries were ordered trained, as well as additional I-16's, which while useless for defense, might fair better intercepting the bombers. However, it would be quite a while before production can be brought up to schedule, especially considering the low cash reserves.
Following the initial attack, Soviet forward command structures were paralyzed, so few units were able to receive orders. Unable to redeploy forces, the Red Army would face another month of pure futility in combat. And the Germans would go deeper...


ooc: First turn, and yikes. While perhaps not as scary as the first turn of Red Front (They took how many cities? ) this is still a disaster. My tanks are all exposed, and unable to hit back after the attack. Must be part of the design. The planes are worthless, and their are few AA batteries. Also, the industry is not that great, and the majority of industry is back at the Urals. It will be some time before I can check them.

 

[PinkyGen]

History of the Great Patriotic War, Chapter 2: Their Finest Hour:

After the first month of disorder, the Fascist aggressors began to encounter true resistance from an organized Red Army. Approximately half of Red Army front-line tanks survived the first assault. Their new orders would forever go down in history, "Counterattack the enemy at all costs." Thus, one of the most desperate yet famous counter-offensive was lost, utilizing all elements of Soviet power.
The armies of Bielorussia counterattacked at the occupied Brest-Litvosk. They captured the fascists unaware, destroying a few panzer divisions, but also dealing a crippling blow to their air forces that recently grounded there. The city was destroyed in this fight, but the fascists were destroyed along with it, as well as a crucial road link into the Soviet Union.
In the Baltics, brave BT-7's actually entered Germany proper around Konigsberg. Here, they surprised the Panzer armies of no less a general than Heinz Guderian himself. However, the Germans had ill-deployed their forces, and lost 12 Panzer divisions in the crowded fighting conditions, including the lost of the General himself.
Further north, the first arrving T-34's, coupled with newly arrived Katyusha's, staged a daring raid into Riga, destroying the German troops there, and then withdrawing. The Fascists foolishly destroyed paratroopers to the region. Riga was destroyed as well, but the fascists were killed along with it.
Further brave assaults were launched from Lvov into Eastern Europe, ambushing several Panzer III units, before withdrawing into the safety of the city.
In the Ukraine, rapidly arrving T-34's reinforced Kishnev and Odessa, and along with the older tanks, destroyed several German divisions.

At sea, the sub base in Talinn was attacked by two German cruisers, destroying 5 submarines of the red fleet. The 3 survivors sailed forth, and destroyed the two cruisers, though only one submarine returned to port. The rest of the Red fleet of two cruisers and one battleship sailed forth from Leningrad, and sank destroyers of the Fascist and colloborationist Finnish navy. German cruisers sank the two cruisers, but the Battleship Lenin and the surviving submarine destroyed these assaulting forces. The most trying part of this sea battle was when the German Battle Cruiser Schnarschorst arrived. The submarine rammed the German ship, while the Lenin finished her off. After this engagement, the Lenin was severely damaged, listing to port, and retreated into talinn for repairs.

The Great counter-assault destroyed a large portion of the German ground armies and parts of the Luffwaffle. But this was not without costs. Several units kept on attacking until they were no more. Few of the older tank divisions survived this assault, eventually subcumming to German counter-attack and Luffwaffle support. Nevertheless, they held the line, allowing valuable time for the T-34's to arrive to the front.

However, the Luffwaffle, while damaged, still continued to be the continous foe of the Red Army. In the north, the line held and was strengthened because German airpower was small. However, in the Ukraine, devastating waves of Ju-88's and He-111's, and even Me-109's and Stukas overwhelmed newly built AA guns, blasting Kishnev and Odessa. The Red Air Force's I-16's failed miserablly in stopping the bombers before they reached their targets. However, the brave pilots intercepted 80% of the bombers and destroyed them before they could return to their own base. However, the Luffwaffle seemed to have an endless supply of the bombers, and the assaults continued as if they were suffering no losses. Eventually the front was war down, and Kishnev was seized, though Soviet T-34's counter-attacked and reclaimed the city. Nevertheless, it remained weak and vulnerable, as well as Odessa when winter finally arrived. Untill the Air Force could intercept the bombers before they dropped their bombs, the Ukraine would never be secure.

Internationally, the war seemed to be going very poorly for the British. War was declared with Vichy France, complicating Britain's already extended recources. Bombers out of Gilbratar severely damaged French North Africa, but Britain lacked the ground troops to seize the cities. The situation worsened when the fortress of Tobruk was taken by Rommel, the famed Desert Fox. The front line of El-Alemain also seems weak and could soon fall.
The outraged British parliament began holding a no confidence vote, and few expected Churchill to survive. However in the middle of the vote, news arrived to the stunned MP's that Britain had invaded northern France. The vote was aborted. As winter set in, British forces were once again dug in at Dunkirk, as well as holding Caen and Amiens. Comrade Stalin was pleased at the opening of this second front.

As winter set in, the performance of the Red Army was mixed. In the northern and central fronts, a costly victory had been won. Cities were destroyed, but the Germans did not hold any strong-points on Soviet soil here. Numerous T-34's, I-16's and Katyusha rockets were reinforcing the front lines.
In the Ukraine, the situation was far more desperate. Kishnev was changing possession daily, and Odessa was severely weak as well.
However, winter brought time and new equipment, especially new air force fighters of La-5's and Il-2 tank destroyers. Several P-38's were also delivered. Nevertheless, the majority of the Air force remained the brave, daring, but obsolete I-16's. It remained to be seen if this would be enough to overcome the Luffwaffle and seize the initiative.
Historians refer to this time as the Red Army's finest hour. Surprised, confused, and with inferior equipment, any other army might have faded away, allowing the Fascists to make rapid advances. However, the Red Army persevered, under the calm and brave leadership of Comrade Stalin, and the Fascists did not advance.

ooc: How many bombers are these German's going to get. I must have killed 20 of the devils, but they keep on coming.

 

[PinkyGen]

History of the Great Patriotic War, Chapter 3: Winter stalemate and spring thaw.

After the flurry of activity over the summer and fall of 1941, both the fascists and the Soviets mainly rested and guarded their forces during the winter. For the Soviets, the plan was to build up the T-34's, AA guns, and an appropiate amount of still useful I-16's in order to launch a spring offensive. For the fascists, the winter severely limited their mobility, and the situation in France required the use of their forces elsewhere.
The fascists did launch piecemeal attacks across the front, but these were easily beaten back. The one of concern was the Ukraine. Despite Soviet production of AA guns, the Stuka's continued their constant bombardment of Odessa, destroying large numbers of reinforcing tank divisions, and the few AA guns. Due to the winter weather, reinforcements of AA guns were slow in arriving. The only thing that stopped the city from falling was the fact the Germans could not drive their tanks through the snow in order to capture it. The city of Chernovsky, despite receiving air support and destroy Ju-88's, falled to paratroopers, though the city was quickly retaken.

The last month of winter brought a change to the stalemate. T-34's arrived from the northern industrial cities, and combined with local forces launched the first true Soviet offensive, seizing Constanta, and then, stunning the Axis forces, managed to grab the Ploesti oil fields, complete with its built in Air Defenses. Superior mobility of the T-34's allowed this victory. The Germans wasted numerous Me-109's attempting to recapture Ploesti before it could be reinforced, but to no avail. By springtime, the war had been brought out of the Ukraine.

In Bielorussia, the spring about the second planned offensive. Under the command of Georgi Zhukov, T-34's and the few Katyusha's the drove the Germans out of Soviet territory and seized Konigsberg, and destroying numerous enemy planes on the ground. The war was brought to German soil for the first time, striking a crippling psychological blow to the Germans. The army group in Konigsberg is now free to seize Danzig, or liberate Warsaw. The glorious Red Army is taken the fight to the enemy.

In Europe, colloborationist Vichy French tanks fought alongside German ones in assaulting the allied bridgeheads, but to no avail. Slowly but surely, the British, aided by newly arrived American troops and B-17 bombers expanded their control, seizing Cherbourg, and liberating Belgium and the Netherlands by taking Amsterdam and Brussels. The northern coast was now in Allied hands.

The Red Army showed considerable tactical improvement during the winter months. T-34's replaced the older tanks, providing a powerful and mobile fighting force. The few La-5's of the Red Air Force engaged a few Fw-190, even destroying a few of them. The I-16's were properly deployed to cities behind the front lines. Though this meant front line cities would be bombed if the AA guns failed, the I-16's were able to destroy the bombers before they returned to their bases. Though the Germans still maintaned general air superiority, they were paying a very high for it.

ooc: I hope people are actually reading these things, it's no fun writing accounts of my battles if no one reads.

 

[PinkyGen]

History of the Great Patriotic War, Chapter 4: The Summer Offensive:

With the arrival of warm summer weather, the German High Command expected that they would easily be able to renew their failed invasion. Though the winter belonged to the Red Army, the Fascists foolishly assumed they would command the initiative during the summer. In warm weather, there tanks would once again be able to outmanuever the Soviets. And the Luffwaffle still held air superiority. They had bloodied the Red Army in 1941, and only seemed to fail because of weather. But these expectations proved to be false hopes indeed.

Though the record is murky, the main German attacks appeared to be aimed at Pinks and Chernovsky. These cities were odd choices, as they were far from the front lines. Perhaps the Germans assumed the Red Army would not be looking after these cities. They were mistaken, as both cities had at least one division of T-34's (quickly increased to two) and Pinsk had additional Katyusha's. The German attack fizzled.

With the Germans overextending themselves in unimportant cities, the Red Army resumed it's twin offensives, both quite succesfully. Varna, Burgas, and most importantly, Bucharest were taken, despite German fortifications and Luffwaffle support. All of Rumunia was now in the hands of the Soviet Union. The stage would now be set for an attack into Bulgaria, Greece, and occupied Yuguslovia.
The offensive in the north was even more succesfully. Despite having their home territory invaded, the German response was rather mild. Danzig was quickly taken, the second truly German city to fall. Driving south, Zhukov personally led the assault against Warsaw. With Warsaw taken, Central Poland was secured, and this also cut off the German army attacking Pinsk.

Soviet tactics were simple, yet effective. Massive amounts of T-34's were arriving at the front, and they easily destroyed any German tank they faced. The Luffwaffle was far less effective than the Red Army had feared. A sufficient amount of AA guns were now arriving at the front, and gaining experience shooting down the enemy air force. Also, the Luffwaffle was far less active, perhaps reflecting the sheer amount of bombers and fighters lost due to attrition and the interceptions by the brave I-16's they had suffered in 1941.
With the arrival of winter, the old Red Army T-40's were upgraded to SU-122's. The Red Army hoped that combining their attacks with the T-34's would allow easier assaults on fortifications, and aid in destruction of a new type of German tank, the Panther.

The summer war did not go well for the Allies. They failed to expand their French bridgehead, and only suceeding in seeing the small town of St. Lo destroyed in fighting. The war was even more disastrous in the desert, with El Alemain falling to Rommel's Afrika Korps. The Allied fleet had been moved their, and two battleships and numerous cruisers were sunk at their moorings, destroying the British naval presense in the Eastern Mediterranian. General Montgomery was placed in command after this disaster, but was killed in action. German panzers are now assaulting Alexandria, inflicting damage not only the British, but on Ancient Pyramids as well. The only bright points were the seizure of of Palermo in Sicily, and an amazing naval attack on Tripolis. But both cities could fall in the face of German counter-attack.

 

[Marko]

Very good story! I read it with big interest, especially as I'm now making new version of TSFE.

I look almost every day scenario forum but haven't visited stories section more than a month..

 

[Marko]

Do you know that you can change difficulty level during your game? Simply save the game as EU.sav, run Europe.bat and change the difficulty level.

For example as Russians start the scenario in hard level in 1941. After 2-3 turns (Germans most likely have taken Smolensk and Kijev by then) save as EU.sav,run Europe.bat, choose easy level and Summer 41 settings and reload the game. You will have hard fight to stop the germans now. In later game, when you are winning and things are getting too easy, switch to medium or hard level and enemy gets a new life

 

[PinkyGen]

History of the Great Patriotic War: Chapter 5: Operation Bagration

The following is a combined transcript of a journal of a German bomber crew and radio recording.
German co-pilot: So the Russians think they can seize Poznan and expand further into the Reich. We shall give them a pleasant surprise.
German pilot: We are approaching the target area hard. I am having difficulties manuevering, their anti-aircraft fire is very thick.
Co-Pilot: Only because they cannot build planes themselves, their society is to primitive to take to the air.
Forward gunner: Hans, I'm seeing fighters approaching.
Co-pilot: Impossible, those pathetic I-16s never attack until the escorts are gone.
Gunner: the Focke-Wolfe's are moving to intercept.
Co-pilot: Foolish slavs.
Gunner: They are engaging. Those Russians seem to be manuevering pretty well. They just shot down two of our fighters.
Co-pilot: Perhaps they sent some of their few Lashushkins. It makes no matter.
Gunner: My god, they are shooting down more. Half of our fighters our gone, the rest are fleeing.
Co-pilot: By the Fuhrer.
Gunner: They are heading this way.
Pilot: I am aborting the mission.
Gunner: My god, they already caught up. I'm firing. (Pause) These aren't I-16's. I dont know what planes these are, but their manuevering is incredible. I can't hit anything.
Co-Pilot: We've been hit, engine 2 is failing.
Gunner: They are coming in for another pass. I can't hold them......

1943 was marked by the fundemental role reversal between the Red Air Force and the Luffwaffle. The obsolete I-16 fighter wings received new Yak-9 aircraft. The Yak-9 was superior to any fighter currently in use, able to outfight a FW-190. And the Air force was full of them, though due to ground requirements, replacement aircraft would be spare in coming.
Now given air superiority, the Red Army, now overflowing with T-34's, SU-122's, and KV-1 and 2 tanks prepared to launch operation Bagration. The end goal of the operation was no less than the complete destruction of the German eastern armies, and the seizure of Berlin.
The attack was a complete success, as the Germans were overwhelmed and obliterated.
The army of south left Bucharest, advancing as far as Beograd in Yugoslavia. Here the army split. Half went into and liberated all of Greece and Albania, then returned and advanced as far as Split in Western Yugoslavia before winter came. The other army group seized Oradea, removing the last German outpost bordering the Soviet Union, and relieving pressure on Lvov. Budapest was taken, and then the Red Army stormed into Vienna, seizing the precious airfield. They continued farther, taking Prague and moving as far as Salzburg.
The Army of Poland soon became the army of Germany. Poznan was easily seized. Then Frankfurt was taken, and the siege of Berlin began. The German fortifications were fierce, but fell under relentless onslaught, and the city fell. With the fall of Berlin, German resistance in Eastern Germany crumbled. Dresden, Leipzig, Madleburg, and Rostock were all occupied. The hated Fuhrer fleed his capital of "Germania" to Koln, to direct the war that had cost Germany so dearly.

Even with the collapse of the German Eastern Front, the Allies only advanced slowly in the West. Wilmshaven was taken but destroyed in a German counter-attack. Arnhem constantly switched hands, and was in Fascist hands at wintertime. Brest and St. Nazarine were taken, and Orleans was heavily bombed. Lille was taken, and Paris came under air attack.
Rommel was killed at El Alemain shortly after Montgomery died, and the allies did suceed in taking back the small town. Allied forces operatin out of Malta held Tripoli and even managed to take al Khums. Two-thirds of Sicily were occupied, and only Siracusa was still held by the Italians. Napoli came under intense air attack, and was taken, though the entire mainland Italian army was preparing to counter-attack. Finally, the hated French colloborators lost Damascus to Allied Cromwell tanks.

When winter arrived, operation Bagration was rated a success. All of Eastern Europe and Greece had been liberated. The Red Army had taken Czechoslavakia and most of Austria. Finally, nearly half of Germany proper, including the capital Berlin, was now flying the hammer sickle. The Red Army had almost 100 T-34 divisions operational. 14 Yak-9 air divisions assured control of the air. 15 anti-tank gund divisions were destroying the heavy German machinery. And 7 new Joseph Stalin heavy tank units were preparing to enter combat. Backed up by over 100 Red Army infantry units, and 82 air defense regiments, the Red Army had not only defended the revolution, but was now finally exporting it, and liberating the workers abroad.

ooc: Oooh, those Yak-9's are nice. To bad I don't have the tech to build more, only 2 slow production cities are making them. I'm glad to see someone is reading the thread. I might just switch to a higher difficulty setting, as I feel rather sorry for them.

 

[thealien_83]

Very nice story indeed, and most of all, very well written. It's not just one of those boring "and then I built this-and-that many tanks and kicked their ass", but a bit alive too. That we like. Added kudos for that.

Good work Pinky, good work!

 

[PinkyGen]

Thanks for the compliment. I like to make stories more interesting.

Unfortunately, the Red Army is currently stalled by an insatiable force that not even Comrade Stalin can stop, College Exams! Got Spanish tommorrow morning, and spent earlier this week studying government.

Maybe a nice additon on Sunday.

 

[thealien_83]

Ahh yes, school is a force no-one can stop. Not even the greatest among us. It is, as my friend noted, the dark side of the force. Or some such.

 

[SunTzu]

Great story Comrade Pinky
I have semester finals this week, but today we are out of school because it flooded again!
Maybe tomorrow too

 

[PinkyGen]

History of the Great Patriotic War, Chapter 6: Success, Yet Difficulties:

As all Soviet schoolchildren now know, 1944 was the year fascism, the most degenerate form of capitalism, perished. It was also a year of victory, not only for the Red Army, but the newly resurgent navy as well. Prior to 1944, the navy had peformed only to safeguard Soviet waterways. It was under these conditions that the Soviet Baltic fleet had engaged and destroyed the northern German and Finnish fleet in 1941, with only the battleship Lenin surviving the encounter. Yet the navy was to arise again.
The Turks were startled, and concerned, to see the two cruisers pass through the Dardenells. Never had the warships of the Black Sea fleet ventured into the Mediterranian. The newly entitled Mediterranian fleet of the cruisers Zhukov and Vorishilov secured the waters around Greece, and escorted the invasion transport that easily seized Crete.
Intelligence then reached the fleet that Allied B-17 bombers had driven the Germans from Benghzai. Seizing the oppurtunity, the closest cruiser Zhukov immediatly landed a T-34 division in the city. Yet, all resistance had not been elimated, and a German Panther Division attacked the T-34's. The famous battle of the desert, immortalized in the book of then tank commander Leonid Brezhnev, was won by the beleaguered tank division, losing 180 of it's 200 T-34's in the battle. But the city was held.
Reinforcements soon arrived, seizing Darnah, and snatching away Surt before the Allies could occupy it. With their supply lines now under Soviet control, the garrison of Tobruk surrendered to the Allied Egyptian army.

The Finnish front had been considered the calmest of the war. Both sides had strongly fortified the paths to Leningrad and Helsinki. With Axis tanks advancing as far as Talinn and Pskov, the Soviet command was content to merely hold their position. The Finns, upon losing a few troops while attempting to seize the fortifications, losing their fleet to Soviet submarines and the battleship Lenin, and watching the German allies begin their long retreat, were content to merely fortify their own lines as well.
This stalemate was broken during the winter months of 1944, when a force of two T-34 divisions, one KV-85 division, and a division of ISU-122 assault guns bypassed the Finnish positions and landed directly outside Helsinki. The surprised Finish defenders were overwhelmed and quickly elimated, and Helsinki, the city that had inflicted the debacle of the 1940 war, finally fell. The Finnish defenders, upon realizing their entire front had been compromised by the Soviet naval maneuvers, abandoned their own version of the worthless French Maginot line and faded away. By June, the southern half of Finland had been seized, encountering only light resistance.
On the main German front, the Red Army continued their relentless advance. With the fall of Berlin, the Germans continued to resitance, but their attacks become even more innefectual. By June, all of Germany had been occupied, and Denmark liberated. Herr Hitler, foolishly attempting to rout his armies, committed suicide in the last German city to fall, Koln.
With the collapse of Germany, Italy, tried to surrender to Allied forces in Napoli. But the Red Army pressed on, driving down from the north to seize Rome, bypassing Napoli, and seizing Taranto. Mussonli, in desperation to avoid capture, drowned himself in the harbor.
With the fall of both Germany and Italy, the colloborationist Vichy regime began to implode. Allied forces liberated Paris, Lille, Brussels, Bordeoux (which had been German occupied), Orleans, and Limoges. But the Red Army, eager to spread the revolution to their French compatriots, moved in from the east. The Army of Germany secured Metz, Reims, and Bescanson from surrendering Germans. But then, fufilling "obligations" to the Allies, Lyon, and then, Vichy itself was captured. (The Italian army seized Toulon). Petain was seized and executed for collobrating with the fascist enemies. Only Toulose and Marseille continued to be held by Vichy forces, not counting the French Empire in Algeria and Lebanon.

With the linkup with allied forces, the Red Army units observed that Shermans, Cromwells, and Stuarts, along with allied aircraft, continued to pour onto the continent, even though the threat was over. With the ever-present allies, three schools of thought were presented to Comrade Stalin.

Idea 1: Mantain the current borders. Continue to fight the remains of Vichy France, and occupy Norway, but also cement control over the half of Europe now flying the hammer sickle. With the recources of the occupied territories, the revolution would never again be threatened. Also, redirect the focus towards Japan and China.

Idea 2: Unfinished buisness remains in Europe. Increasing number of Turkish troops have been spotted near the Causcas mountains. The Dardennell strait is now even more important to maintain naval stength in the mediterranian, particulary in helping to administer the North African cities.
More importantly, the oppurtunity has now arisen to deal with Franco's fascist Spain. Now was the chance to finally right that old humiliation and restore the Spanish Republic.

Idea 3: The merely presented an article, reproduced below, from Jane's Defense, of the current strength of the Red Army.
131 Rifle Divisions
108 T-34/85 tank divisions, with 20 more still being trained.
13 ISU-122 assault gun divisions
7 KV-85 heavy tank defender divisions
10 IS-1 heavy tank divisions, soon to be upgraded to IS-3
3 IS-2 heavy tank divisions
8 Katyusha Rocket divisions
6 Pe-2 Heavy Bomber Air Regiments of the newly resurgent Soviet Bomber Command. This number doubled from 3 in two months. Two B-24's, and one B-29 regiment were also purchased.
13 Yak-9 fighters Air Regiments, along with an assortment of La-5's and P-47's.

To use this force on such pitiful enemies as Turkey and Spain would be a joke. Instead, the presense of the threat from the Allied West still remains. Now, they are weak, barely even able to fight in France. But with the war over, the West's strength will continue to grow. Already, their B-17's and Mustang Fighters present far more of an air threat than the Luffwaffle ever was. They are also voicing disproval over policies of Soviet "Liberation." They dare suggest that they should also occupy Germany, even though it was the Red Army that did all of the fighting.
Also, they are boasting of a new bomb they are developing.

*end Book 1*

ooc: So, what shall it be? I think option 1 is boring. Seizing Spain, French Algeria, and Turkey will be fun, but also relatively easy.
Shall I betray the allies, and turn of all Europe Red?

P.S. How does one take a screenshot in civ 2?

 

[SunTzu]

Betray the Allies, make europe a red hell! If you can..........

 

[Marko]

To make screenshot, push "Print Scrn" button - it saves the screen as .bmp file in memory. Then open a paint program and select "Paste". You can later wish to save the picture as .jpg file because it takes less space.

 

[PinkyGen]

France: July 1944. Half of liberated France now flies the hammer and sickle. Half fly the imperialistic Union Jack. Also notice the large number of allied Sherman's and Churchills near the port cities, indicating the allies are resupplying.

 

[PinkyGen]

History of the Great Patriotic War, Book 2, Chapter 1: The Fateful Decision.

In August of 1944, a joint session of the Politboro and the Central Committee met to determine future Soviet policy. The most important part of the minutes of the meeting have been revealed below. This is the first time these documents have been allowed to be published.

Comrade Stalin: Comrade General, using the intelligence provided to you by army intelligence and Commissioner Beria, please report our military position in comparison to the allies.

Zhukov: Very well. Comrades, this map currently shows the position of our forces, and our estimate of allied forces, currently abiding in France. (reproduced below). As you can see, allied troops have firm control of their territories. There are also two concentrations of allied armies we are currently concerned about. The first, in the low countries, is a primarily British force, mostly consisting of their heavy Churchill tanks. The army is quite powerful, and apparently amassing right along our border troops sent out from Hamburg.
The second force is more spread out, deployed in southern France. They have positioned themselves between in the hills between Vichy and Toulouse, meaning this force is capable of striking at either city. We believe this is the famed Third Army, under the command of the fierce American General Patton. He has adopted Tuchavesky's... err... our grand Soviet tactics of massed armor attack.
While their ground forces our considerably strong, it is their air power which is constantly worrying us. Their P-51's have great range, and continue to fly over our cities and space. We believe they might be heading to reinforce Napoli in Italy. We have also spotted many of their B-17's patrolling their space.
Elsewhere, Allied airpower continues to "assist" our cause of seizing the Norwegian cities, though we really know they intended to capture those cities for themselves. Napoli is weak, but could be reinforced. And of course, the North African cities are surrounded by the Allies.

Comrade Stalin: And what of our forces?
Zhukov: Our grand forces are still superior to theirs. The puny Sherman has no where near the strength nor mobility of our T-34's, and we have 80 of those armored divisions in France right now. Their Churchill's, Comet's, and Cromwell heavy units are fairly even combat wise with the T-34, though they are much slower. The IS-1's and IS-2's, and the soon to arrive IS-3 are superior to any allied design, as our the assault guns.

Airpower is trickier to calculate. Our bomber force in France continues to grow. We have 4 B-24 "Liberators" we have purchased through Lend-lease, a B-29 air division, 7 Pe-2 heavy bombers, with new ones arriving constantly from the airfields in Berlin, Wien, and from far off as Stalingrad. We have some P-47's and one IL-2 unit for ground attack. While I am proud of the upgrading of our bomber force, it is still quite inferior compared to the hordes of B-17's, B-24's, and Mosquitos of the allied Air Force. If we do not deploy our own bombers wisely, their Mustangs and Spitfires will easily destroy their own force. Our primary attack must still be through the ground.
As for fighting their bombers, we have 8 Yak-9 air regiments in France, as well as some La-5's. We also have AA guns arriving. I think the Air Force would be kept quite busy, and suffer losses, but I believe they can make sure the ground forces are not to heavily bothered by the Allied Air Force.

Stalin: Interesting report. Comrade Molotov, what of the diplomatic situation.
Molotov: The Allies continue to be quite adamant of our need to "share" the occupation of the Fascist lands. Their petty General DeGaule, perhaps thinking himself King of France, has warned us to withdraw from French soil. The puppet Imperialist Governments of Poland, Denmark, Yugoslavia, and Greece have also requested our withdraw, or be labeled as an occupying force.
However, I think the most telling aspect of Western hostility can be gleaned from this speech Churchill gave to an American University. And I quote "An Iron Curtain has descended on Europe. The Great Nation of France has been bitterly cut in two. The rightful governments of countries occupied by the Nazi's continue to be ignored..." Of course, he and Roosevelt might just be talking tough, after losing both of their elections.

Stalin: No, it is more than that. As long as capitalism exists, the strugle will continue. The first phase of the struggle was the toppling of the Tsar and the establishment of socialism in this country. The second phase was the destruction of the fascist menace. And now, the third and final decisive stage of this conflict must be the elimination of the capitalist so-called "Democracies"
We will not be caught by surprise again. Together, with the strength of the Red Army, the liberated workers of Europe, and the proud spirit of the Soviet workers, we shall destroy the old world, and build it again anew. Remember, There is no Fortress a Bolshevik cannot storm We either do this, or we go under.

(General applause)
Stalin: General, your battle plan.
Zhukov: Of course Comrade Stalin, and may I praise your excellent forsight.
Comrades, we only have a limited amount of time to act before winter arrives and complicates our offensive. We will attack while the Allies are still solidifying their positions, and before they can strike at us. The offensive will begin in early October, and the goal shall be liberate France from the imperialists before and during the winter months!
General Command in France will be split between two fronts, and five seperate army groups.
Army Group A: based from Toulouse, will immediatly seize Bordeaux (with it's valuable navy base) and Limoges. Secondary goals will be St. Nazaire, Brest, and Cherbourg.
Army Group B: based from Vichy, will seize Orleans, and support the assault on Paris. Secondary goals will be Caen, Amiens, and the support of Army Group A.
Army Group C: based from Rheims, will seize Lille and capture Paris. Secondary goals will be Amiens, Dunkirk, and Antwerp.
Army Group D: based from Koln, and I will personally lead this group. Immediate goals will be to seize Brussels and Arnhem, and then take Amsterdam and Antwerp.
Army Group E: based from Bremen and Hamburg. Largely defensive. Mantain the border, and destroy any allied armies caught in the pocket between Germany and our advancing armies. We will not allow a second Dunkirk.
As for the rest of Europe, we will continue to advance in Norway, both operating from Denmark and Murmansk. Napoli should be eaisily seized, and then the Italian army must prepare for an assault on Sicily, and ultimately, Malta. The African Armies, unless they can be reinforced, will remain on the defensive, though local counter-attacks will be allowed.
Comrades, under this timetable, We shall see France falling in a month or two. Losses to our own forces must be minimal, as then we must immediatly prepare to cross the Channel and occupy England! The destruction of the British Empire will break Allied power, and exile them to across the Atlantic.
Stalin: Very good. Let the Revolution continue!!

*end minutes* End Chapter 1.

 

[SunTzu]

Hmmm i have a feeling the the Allied Command is going to push you out of France and back into Germany
Sorry comrade
Long live Capitalism!

 

[PinkyGen]

History of the Great Patriotic War, Chapter 2: The Second Battle of France

October has frequently been the month of revolution. The October of 1944 was no different, as the Red Army was unleashed on the decadent imperialistic armies of the West.
Though caught unaware, Allies resitance was quite fierce, and despite Zhukov's fine plan, the goal of securing France by winter was in jeopardy.
Army Group D easily secured Brussels, but considerable resistance was encountered when attempting to cross the Meuse at Arnhem. Instead of resorting to mass attacks of T-34's, the newly created bombers of the Red Air Force was brought into play. Pe-2's and acquired B-24's, turning against their creators, mercelessly pounded the city into rubble, allowing ground forces to seize it and cross the river into the Netherlands. Amsterdam was seized, but then bombarded by the battleships Hood and Rodney (the damaged retreating battleships were ambushed by the Lenin, and destroyed). They destroyed the fighter wing deployed to the city, and then the allies reversed the situation at Arnhem, hitting Amsterdam with nearly every B-17 in their arsenal. Allied troops managed to briefly recapture the city before once again being expelled. The rejuvenated T-34's, and newly arrived heavy Stalin tanks, then secured the rest of the low countries, and destroyed an allied army stationed at Dunkirk, this one failing to escape.

Army Group C's task was easier. Lille fell in hours. Paris was a tougher city to take. The Allies did not declare it an open city, and it had heavy air cover. T-34's and a few divisions of heavy tanks, supported by Army Group B units, surrounded the city, and pounded it into submission. The Allies eventually surrendered, but the city's infrastructure was devasted. The city, while still quite large, was industrially useless.
After securing Paris, Army Group C helped Group D entrap the allies at Dunkirk, then took Amiens.
Army Group B easily took Orleans, and supported the Paris attack. However, Patton's third army was a tough foe, and the army was bogged down engaging Sherman units. Units were not so much lost as wounded down and temporarily becoming offensive incapable. Comrade Stalin, sensing that the allies were tired, ordered the army keep on attacking. Patton's forces were destroyed on the field, and the channel ports of Caen and Cherbourg were secured.
Army Group A, with some difficulty, took Bordeaux and Limoges. However, 3rd and 1st army Allied tanks were still operating in the mountains between these cities, and their presense sapped away units from the front. Nevertheless, the army persevered, and the captured the vital port of St. Nazaire, and finally, Brest, securing and unite France under the workers banner.

In Italy, Napoli was easily seized, however the expected P-51's were evacuated to Sicily before the offensive start. Little equipment was destroyed in Napoli, and Allied P-51's and B-17's destroyed the 2 of 3 Yak regiments operating in the regiment. Wishing to destroy the Sicily air base, amphibious units seized Messina in December.
Allied counter-attacks failed to materialize in North Africa. In the East, Tobruk was seized, while in the West, all of Libya fell. The closest allied bases are now Tunis and Malta.

All of this constituted a great military disaster for the allies. In France, while the fighting was indeed quite difficult, their armies did not have time to withdraw, but instead fought until the end, and were destroyed. A great number of allied airfields were overrun, destroying 8 fighter wings of P-51's on the ground, and around 10 wings of B-17's. The Soviet Bomber Command, while losing the B-29 air division, suffered little losses, as the allies failed to attack the bombers pounding Arnhem. Front line fighter units suffered heavily however, and in December only 5 Yak-9 fighter wings protected all of France, and supporting P-47's and La-5's were too exhausted from attrition to aid them. Allied B-17's raided Toulouse, and could have wiped out the rest of the fighter force.

The key phrase is could have. The Labour government, upon seeing the British army destroyed in France, and the empire in Egypt once again threatened, lacked the steel will Churchill had in 1940. They asked for an armistice. Comrade Stalin could only laugh at the allies ineptitude. The Army in france, while victorious, was exhausted. Only a few T-34's remained at full strength. While the Red Army held the coast, this exposed them to the gunfire of the Royal Navy. But the fight was out of the British, and the Americans could not continue the war without their British lackeys. A cease-fire was granted. But Stalin knew it would not last, and prepared for a spring offensive into Britain itself.

He also ordered that one heretical Comrade SunTzu, questioning the strength and will of the Red Army, be sent to the Gulag in Kolmya for twenty years of hard labor.

 

[Leowind]

You go, Pinkey

 

[PinkyGen]

History of the Great Patriotic War, Chapter 3: There are Bitter Tidings in England.

Recorded from the BBC, May, 1944, Churchill's Address to the Evacuating House of Commons.
"Mr. Speaker, the disastrous military events, which have happened over the past fortnight, have tested the strength and courage of us all. The enemy, taking advantage of the weakness caused by my predecessor, has secured their place on British soil. As I speak, their T-34 tanks, their cruely but appropiatly named Joseph Stalin's, and their resurgent air force, having routed our forces in the great battles between here and Portsmouth, shall now take this city. A large portion of our own army, including the troops from those generous Dominions, and our own 'comrades', the Americans, have been butchered on the battlefield, or else taken into captivity, where they can slave in the camps of Kolmya or where they are required by the 'workers' army. The Great British Fleet, having lost most of it's Home Fleet from fire from the coastal batteries, is now leaving to safeguard the empire. The Air Force shall soon launch one last great hurrah at the oncoming forces, before shifting to it's Scottish bases.
Though we retain forces in the north, it appears as though this island indeed might fall. Yet the British Empire is more than just the motherland which we all ahve our roots in. The empire can, and will remain, to fight on against the enemy. Combined with other freedom loving peoples, including the power and might of the new world, coupled with iron will, discipline, and determination, shall prevail. Already, the enemy has overextended themselves, suffering crippling losses in Tripoli and Egypt.
But this is just a hint of what is to come. Already, the enemy fighters are unable to face the latest of American bombers. Though powerful on the ground, that shall come at nothing without control of the air. And soon, we shall have a new weapon, it's testing soon to be completed. This new weapon, this new bomb, shall have power never before seen on this planet. And their is no defense against it.
Therefor, let us brace ourselves to our duty. Let the enemy have England, for there will be bitter tidings for doing so."

Veterans mention the English campaign in the same breadth as the earliest days of the Barbarossa campaign. The British Isles had withstood Napolean, and more recently, the Panzers the of Hitler. They had prepared defenses, massive fleets of bombers, and a misguided will to fight the new world the revolution was constructing.
The intial landings at Portsmouth were difficult, with the T-34's and even the new IS-3's unable to effectively engage the dug in Comet's and Churchills. However, bomber command was able to devote twenty fresh Air Divisions of Pe-2 bombers to the entire theater, including support from meteor fighter-attack craft extorted from the labor government. Portsmouth's air defenses were only a few AA guns, and no fighters. The defensive strongpoints were pounded from the air. Severely weakened, Portsmouth then fell to ground attack.
Having taking a port, the newly constructed barges, built in the channel ports, began transporting the tanks, artillery, and infantry groups necessary to launch the offensive. Being unable to transport this entire force quickly severely limited the possible actions of the army in England. The Battleship Lenin, after sinking two more British battleships, sought refuge in Portsmouth, but was sunk by an air attack on the harbor. The famous battleship had almost single handly secured the seas for the Red Fleet, and it's memorial can be seen in Portsmouth today.
Wales was quickly seized, but the capital London, was heavily defended, largely by a force of Royal British Marines. Zhukov realized that as long as the enemy remained entrenched in London, he would never be able to assemble enough firepower to drive them out. Instead, he pretended to retreat, tricking the allies into pursuing him. He made his stand in a converted British fortress on the hills outside of London, sending the heavy tanks and the T-34's to dig in. The Allies foolishly launched wave after wave of suicidal attacks at these defenses. The Allied army destroyed a large portion of the Red Army, but they sufferred nearly 10 times the casaulties the Red Army suffered. Nearly 1/3 of the invading force was lost, but so were the allied defenders, and London then fell to a Red Army counter-attack, coupled by bomber attacks from the air.
Even after seizing London, process was slow, as the troops continued to suffer air attacks from B-17's, and B-29's. The Yak-9's were overwhelmed, particulary against the B-29's. Four tank divisions in Cardiff were destroyed in one week from this bombardment, and the city only survived due to lack of Allied troops. Zhukov himself, inspecting the captured city of Manchester, died in a bombing raid in June. His body was flown back to Moscow, embalmed, and was forever memoralized by being placed in Red Square along with the bodies of Stalin and Lenin.
The death of Zhukov, a close friend of Comrade Stalin, engraged him, ordering the army to finish Britain. The order was only to gladly carried out by the soldiers. Zhukov had lead them from Moscow, and they were only too happy to finish what he started. The offensive destroyed the remains of the Allied army, securing Ullapool in late July. At great cost, Britain was occupied.

Yet the end of Britain did not the end the war. In Norway, the last German soldiers surrendered to troops sent from Denmark and Murmansk, finally ending any semblence of the Reich. And Sicily was competely captured, though Palermo was destroyed in the process. However, the situation in Africa detoriated. Allied air strength was much to strong. A foolish attack was launched, seizing El Alemain. Yet the town instead became a death trap. The Allies surrounded the town from all sides, bombed in the air, and assaulted it with their own tanks. The Eastern African Army was destroyed, and Libya became open to attack from Egypt, with almost nothing capable of stopping the Allies should they invade.
Allied B-29's pounded Tripolis, taking the city, and threatening to advance further.
Even more ominous news was of tests of a new bomb being developed. Soviet research was nowhere near capable of constructing such a weapon, yet the Allies were already testing the device. The remants of the British Empire, and it's American Imperialist Lap Dogs, would soon need to be eliminated. Even with the fall of England, this would still prove to be difficult.

The Logistics of redploying the army from England to North African would be difficult. They would need to cross the Mediterranian, braving allied bombers from Egypt, Tunis, and Malta. And sea lift capability itself was extremely limited. However, two land routes remained open. The first, would require the invasion of Turkey, and then move into Syria, hitting the British from behind. However, Turkey too was far from Britain, and it would take some time.
The second route could be through Spain, which was already busy attempting to subdue Portugal in a petty war of their own. This would be an oppurtune to avenge the Republic. Yet this too, would take time, and time was no longer on the revolution's side.

The effort of the Allied war machine: