'Odin' and Stalin's Secret Committee

[roverS3]

The 21st of October 1941, Leningrad, 4,2°C, 1pm Moscow Time,

Report on the state of the Soviet Union for the ten day period between the 12th and the 21st of October 1941,

by 'Odin'

Army:

117. SD, is the fifth and last Rifle Division (Infx3, AT, Art) to join Lt. General Fediuninski's XXXIII SK, NKGBF HQ, 1st Army Group, Leningrad HQ.
28. KP now has it's full complement of Half-tracks, this means that Maj. General Rodin A.G.'s 29. KD, II KK, 2ya Tankovaya Armiya, Armoured Army Group, STAVKA/Moskva HQ is entirely mechanised now.
Army numbers (Brigades/Personnel) Reserves included (these numbers don't include regiments being upgraded):

Front line troops: 665 / 1.995.000
Support troops: 300 / 300.000

Total fighting troops: 965 / 2.295.000​

Headquarters: 63 / 63.000

Total Army Personnel: 1.028 / 2.358.000​

Officers: 93.513 + / 102.110 needed / 91,581 %
Active Leaders: 271 / 152 more available
Half-Track production continues, and both Cavalry Regiments of 5. KD will be getting half-tracks in parallel now.
A new Motorised Rifle Division, 129. Motostrelkovaya Diviziya (Motx3, SPArt, Eng), has started training while Su-152s and Lorries are produced.
Production of 152mm ML-20 guns has been increased once more, with another Regiment's complement on the way.​

Army Leadership:

New Maj. General Martirosyan SK2, Eng has been placed in command of the brand new 117. SD, XXXIII SK, NKGBF HQ, 1st Army Group, Leningrad HQ.
​

Air Force:

124 La-7s and have been delivered to the VVS, they have been formed into 129. IAD-PVO.
124 new Il-10s were delivered as well, forming 1. ShAD, both of these wings will form the core of V. ShAK
Aeroplane Numbers (Wings/Planes):
Interceptors: 26 / 3.224

Multi-Role Fighters: 7 / 868
Close Air Support: 9 / 1.116
Carrier Air Groups: 7 / 434

Single Engined: 49 / 5.642​

Tactical Bomber: 4 / 400

Total Bombers: 13 / 1.516​

Transport Planes: 2 / 248

Total VVS: 47 / 5.856
Total Navy: 7 / 434
Total Aeroplanes: 55 / 6.290​

Active Leaders: 19 / 23 Reserve
Production of La-7s continues, the next 124 will form 133. IAD.
Production has been switched away from the VVS version of the Il-10 to the Navy's Il-10MVs and La-7MVs. These planes will form 8. KPA and will probably join 7. KPA on the Carrier Novorossiysk, once it is deployed in about a year.
​

Navy:

No changes in the Navy for the last 10 days.
​

Politics / International:

Norway has surrendered it's armed forces and territory to Germany, their government is in exile in London.
British North Africa Front

United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,6
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 5,90 / 79,4

British tanks have turned towards the coast, and are advancing towards Bengasi with the Mediterranean to their right, they have now reached Derna, 140km from Bengasi. Italian resistance remains minimal. Occasionally the Regio Esercito manages to scrounge together the supplies to make a short stand, resulting in RAF bombardments, and running out of supply again after a couple of hours of fighting.
13 Axis Convoys were sunk in the Med, only 2 British convoys were sunk in the Atlantic. Two U-boot flotillas were also sunk by the Royal Navy, indicating that the RN is shifting focus towards the Atlantic somewhat.
Another attempt was made to bomb Roma, but the bombers were intercepted once again, and had to be repaired and replaced once more.​

French North Africa Front

France is a Government in exile.
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 79,4

French territory in Northern Africa has been entirely taken over by Italy. All of the Armée de l'Afrique was taken into captivity.
The French surface navy remains in Dakar, with limited supply and repair facilities, unable and/or unwilling to contribute to the war.
Interestingly, a last little effort was made by French CAGs based out of Gibraltar, flying a single bombing mission over Marrakech, before the Armée de l'Afrique was entirely wiped out.
​

Industry:

Working Industrial Capacity / available capacity: 240 / 324
IC Usage: ( Allocated IC / Need )

Upgrades: 55,10 / 56,73
Reinforcement: 3,00 / 3,13
Supplies: 28,00 / 47,02
Production: 208,74 / 242,03 (the Licensed MP remains mostly unfunded, as well as three Mountain Rifle Divisions and 10. TTGvD)
Consumer Goods: 29,16 / 29,16​

Stockpiles:

Energy: Maximum tonnes +
Metal: Maximum tonnes +
Rares: 42.533 tonnes +
Crude: 99.226 barrels -
Supplies: 40.841 tonnes -
Fuel: 98.661 barrels -
Money: 2.008 -​

Intelligence:

Spy numbers, spies in (active / added / lost / caught by us)

France (Supporting our Party / Counterespionage): 5 / 0 / 0 / 0

{ Germany (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }
{ Japan (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }​

UK (/) : 6 / 1 / 2 / 0
Other: 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Total: 11 / 1 / 2 / 1​

Reserves: 0
Spy training leadership expenditure: 0,65 (a new spy every 10 days)
Despite their best efforts to not attract attention, 2 more of our spies in the UK were caught by British, and Yemeni spy hunters.
In the SU, a spy from Hungary was captured.
​

Research:

After a lot of joint Red Army - VVS research, Airborne Assault Tactics (Level 1) are now ready for implementation. The manuals have gone out, and our Airborne Divisions have been retrained to incorporate the advances.
There is still room for improvements, so work continues towards more effective Airborne Assault Tactics (Level 2)
Red Army theorists have come up with improvements to Infantry Warfare (Level 4). Their conclusions and recommendations should make our many standard Rifle Regiments more organised.
Now, the Army is looking into improvements to our Motorised Rifle Regiment's Tactical Command Structure (Level 4). This should improve their Morale significantly, allowing them to reorganise more rapidly after each engagement.
​

Statistics:

National Unity: 83,241 =
Neutrality: 0,00 =
Dissent: 0,00 =
Manpower:

Available: 2.112.000
Men To reinforce(need): 7.270
Men To mobilise(need): See above
Monthly gain: 48.200 Men (1 fully mobilised Infx3, AT Division every 7 days)​

No changes in Party Popularity for the last 10 days.
Party Organisation:

- Communist Party: 83,50 (+0,68)
- Trotskyite: 8,30 (-0,1)
- Bukharinite: 3,40 (-0,1)

- Octobrist: 4,00 (-0,1)
- Trudoviks: 0,70 (-0,1)
- Social-Revolutionary: 0,00 =
- Kadets: 0,00 =

- Tsarists: 0,00 =
- NTS: 0,00 =
- POA: 0,00 =​

This Information is accurate on the morning of the 21st of October 1941, I hope it serves you well in fine-tuning your possible suggestions.

'Odin'​

 

[Bullfilter]

Vale Norway - a great effort to string the Germans out like that. They have bought the Rodina precious months: either the delay will extend a good few more until better weather or the Hun will attack at an inopportune (for them) time. Either way, it has been a boon.

 

[Eurasia]

With French Africa now under Italian control is there any way to see the shift in forces as the Italians move their Divisions east? Will we be able to scout that coast out?

 

[roverS3]

Ah, I get it, that’s why there was no skill level

Well, you could always write a mod where provinces have skill levels... as the province's skill increases, attrition of units in the province goes up...

Looking good - I’m sure you’ll refine it when the fur really starts flying

Thanks, I'll do that.

Vale Norway - a great effort to string the Germans out like that. They have bought the Rodina precious months: either the delay will extend a good few more until better weather or the Hun will attack at an inopportune (for them) time. Either way, it has been a boon.

I'm sure that when this is all over, there will be some significant recognition of Norway's valiant efforts and their contribution to the survival of the SU...

With French Africa now under Italian control is there any way to see the shift in forces as the Italians move their Divisions east? Will we be able to scout that coast out?

This is a great idea, orders will go out to I Avianosets Flote to scout the North-African coast... All the way from Morocco to Egypt.

 

[Finshades]

With French Africa now under Italian control is there any way to see the shift in forces as the Italians move their Divisions east? Will we be able to scout that coast out?

I recall only one Italian division in the West, so if that is correct it will be too little, too late. Well, it probably is, regardless of how many troops there are.

The suggestion for a new reporting style of battles (as proposed by Bullfilter and improved by our gracious host, roverS3) gets my enthusiastic support, it seems to contain everything necessary in the most data-rich format.

Glad to see both VDV and infantry receiving improved tactical manuals. That should make our infantry formations a lot more robust and improve the efficiency of any airborne assaults.

 

[markkur]

Maybe we will see the US invade Casablanca and quickly push to Tunis?

 

[roverS3]

I recall only one Italian division in the West, so if that is correct it will be too little, too late. Well, it probably is, regardless of how many troops there are.

They added at least one more a few months ago, around the fall of Casablanca.

Glad to see both VDV and infantry receiving improved tactical manuals. That should make our infantry formations a lot more robust and improve the efficiency of any airborne assaults.

Tactical manuals are vital to the war effort...

Maybe we will see the US invade Casablanca and quickly push to Tunis?

For that, the US has to be in the war first... and right now, they're staying out of it. What will be needed to change their mind?

 

[Bullfilter]

Maybe we will see the US invade Casablanca and quickly push to Tunis?

For that, the US has to be in the war first... and right now, they're staying out of it. What will be needed to change their mind?

Well, a series of German provocations in the Atlantic then a Japanese attack, one imagines. With Japan in the war against the Allies and the US at war with Germany, your path would of course be considerably smoothed. Especially if the Japanese don’t declare on you as well.

Let’s hope that event chain fires on time and the Germans haven’t attacked (and even if they have, it will be winter and they will have missed the whole 1941 campaigning season). And if that happens, voila - Fascists on toast!

 

[alhoward]

For that, the US has to be in the war first... and right now, they're staying out of it. What will be needed to change their mind?

Victor Laszlo arriving in America, of course.

 

[Finshades]

Personally, assuming Japan stays out of the war, I'd quite prefer if the US of A does the same. It will complicate our life somewhat, but contingency plans in the shape of ATKDs are in the works, which should at least hold that front stable. But the USA staying out of the war means vastly reduced Allied strength, meaning we should be able to take and hold more ground. It's a complicated situation: in the short term, the stronger the Allies are the better, but looking beyond this war, the weaker the Allies are the better.

 

[roverS3]

Personally, assuming Japan stays out of the war, I'd quite prefer if the US of A does the same. It will complicate our life somewhat, but contingency plans in the shape of ATKDs are in the works, which should at least hold that front stable. But the USA staying out of the war means vastly reduced Allied strength, meaning we should be able to take and hold more ground. It's a complicated situation: in the short term, the stronger the Allies are the better, but looking beyond this war, the weaker the Allies are the better.

If Japan stays out of the war... the USA will probably stay out of the war and that would be the desirable outcome. Our contingency plans are decent. What would really help is if the Japanese were to DOW the Allies, but not the US... Our Commanders in the Far East are now more confident, though still not 100% sure, they will be able to hold the Japs back. ATKDs are on hold, but if we were to become at war, production and training will immediately resume...

Well, a series of German provocations in the Atlantic then a Japanese attack, one imagines. With Japan in the war against the Allies and the US at war with Germany, your path would of course be considerably smoothed. Especially if the Japanese don’t declare on you as well.

Let’s hope that event chain fires on time and the Germans haven’t attacked (and even if they have, it will be winter and they will have missed the whole 1941 campaigning season). And if that happens, voila - Fascists on toast!

As stated by @Finshades the short term benefits would be significant, but long term, this outcome will give the Allies a significant advantage in any follow-up war between Comintern and Allies. Fascists on toast is an alluring prospect though.

Victor Laszlo arriving in America, of course.

Seems perfectly logical to me, but sadly, we have no information on the whereabouts of Laszlo...

 

[roverS3]

The 31st of October 1941, Leningrad, 3,2°C, 10am Moscow Time,

"If it wasn't for those pesky wannabe officers putting up a futile last ditch defence, we would have beaten 5th Finnish Partisans to Lammi, and they would have run right into our arms, now they want to fight again. They're disorganised, bombs and Artillery shells raining down on them, and they ask for more?... Well, comrades, we will give them more!

Lieutenant-Colonel, I want the men to use Marching Fire tactics, with the Artillery blowing holes into the forest ahead of the Assault, and LMG and Mortar teams moving up with the forward elements of the Assault."
Maj. General Popov A.F., when faced with the same insurgents he just chased out of Hämeenlinna, the gambit worked, and he lost not a single riflemen in the three hour raid.
Plentiful ammunition and a demoralised enemy surely helped, but it was a great tactical exercise nonetheless.

The initiative now rests squarely on the side of the NKGBF, the rebels made no further gains, but lost 8 provinces, most of them without a fight. The use of understaffed Headquarters to slow down our operations was a mere nuisance, not to mention the added target practice for our pilots. After Pieksämäki was returned to our control, the Eastern objective was switched to Kuusjärvi. Now that 123. SD is walking into the province, the focus of NKGBF was placed further west, towards Kankaanpää. Meanwhile, the Southern objective was moved from Tampere to Lammi, and then to Jämsä, as the first two were secured.

Currently, NKGBF is moving units around to go for the Western part of the rebellious territory, state security raids will surely resume in a couple of days as Commissioner Second Class for State Security Provalov will surely give the green light once his units arrive where he wants them. Thanks to NKGBF raids taking control of the rebel supply depots in Lammi and the dissident factories of Tampere, as well as incessant Ground Attacks on every single of their Brigade-sized units, the capacity of the insurgents to take any additional territory has been effectively annihilated. Resistance is now expected to be nothing more than the occasional token effort. The insurgency will soon be a thing of the past.

The numbers show the order in which actions were initiated, see below:

1. Hämeenlinna (Attack - Plains - 3,0°C - Victory)

21 Oct 41 14:00 - 21 Oct 41 18:00

SU: Forssa: 218 SD (Popov A.F., L2, BM): 10.993 men / 1 KIA
Fin: 5th Finnish Partisans (None): 2.981 men / 90 KIA
​

2. Tampere (Attack - Plains - River Crossing - 3,0°C - Victory)

22 Oct 41 02:00 - 22 Oct 41 12:00

SU: Huittinen: 111 SD (Komarovskij A.F., L2): 10.995 men / 3 KIA
Fin: 1st Finnish Partisans III (None): 2.961 men / 77 KIA
​

3. Lammi (Attack - Forest - 3,0°C - Victory)

24 Oct 41 22:00 - 25 Oct 41 01:00

SU: Hämeenlinna: 218 SD (Popov A.F., L2, BM): 10.990 men / 0 KIA
Fin: 5th Finnish Partisans (None): 2.860 men / 3 KIA
​

In the meantime, the VVS and the Red Navy continued their massive bombing campaign, destroying enemy morale and organisation, killing many enemies of the state and foreign agents in the process.

The numbers show the amount of missions flown over that particular province.

Fewer missions were flown as the number of targets has decreased as Insurgents band together or are overrun.
In 10 days, the navy flew a total of 48 bombing missions, with three Groups, resulting in 1.069 enemy casualties:

1 KPA - CAGx1 - 62 La-7VM / Il-10VM - Moskva (CVL) - Navy Air Commander Zhavronkov L4, FD

- 39 x Kankaanpää (0 Downed / 882 KIA)
​

2 KPA - CAGx1 - 62 La-7VM / Il-10VM - Leningrad (CVL) - Navy Air Commander Falaleev L4

- 7 x Orivesi (0 Downed / 135 KIA)
​

7 KPA - CAGx1 - 62 LaGG-3VM / Il-2M3VM - Helsinki - Navy Air Commander Kapitochin L2

- 2 x Hämeenlinna (0 Downed / 52 KIA)
​

Additionally, the VVS flew a total of 39 bombing missions, with 2 full Aviation Corps, resulting in 3.920 enemy casualties.

II. BAK - Tacx2, Ftrx1 - 200 Yak-4, 124 La-7 - Leningrad - Air Lt. General Yakovlev SK3, TB

- 13 x Lammi (0 Downed / 1.685 KIA)
- 2 x Hienavesi (0 Downed / 224 KIA)
- 14 x Padasjoki (1 Yak-4 Downed / 1.296 KIA)
​

IV. ShAK - CASx2, Ftrx1 - 124 Il-10, 124 Il-2M3, 124 La-7 - Helsinki - Air Lt. General Rudenko SK2, TB

- 2 x Virrat (1 Il-2M3 Downed / 619 KIA)
- 8 x Padasjoki (0 Downed / 96 KIA)
​

Adding the numbers up, this is the current state of our latest Finnish counter-insurgency operation:

Insurgents killed from the Air / Aeroplanes lost: 16.416 / 3 (2 Yak-4, 1 Il-2M3)
Insurgents killed by NKGBF / NKGBF Officers KIA: 248 / 8
Insurgents arrested: 3.158 (1st Finnish Partisans and a couple of understaffed HQs were overrun)
​

The usual report is coming soon,

Greetings,

'Odin'​

 

[Bullfilter]

Finland now looking more satisfactory. Good experience or the aviators too. And still the Germans dither? Any indication of where they are redeploying post-Norway?

 

[Eurasia]

At this rate Finland should be secure within two weeks or so. Maybe faster. And those pilots who gained experience can be prepared for a much tougher foe.

 

[Finshades]

Another rebellion practically handled, and with no embarrassing teething issues with brand new units this time around. No doubt VVS and Navy leadership are thankful for the live fire exercise, and it's been a good test of the Mounted Security Comrades, too. Let's hope next time they won't even need extra help in the form of a rifle corps

 

[roverS3]

Finland now looking more satisfactory. Good experience or the aviators too.

At this rate Finland should be secure within two weeks or so. Maybe faster. And those pilots who gained experience can be prepared for a much tougher foe.

Another rebellion practically handled, and with no embarrassing teething issues with brand new units this time around. No doubt VVS and Navy leadership are thankful for the live fire exercise, and it's been a good test of the Mounted Security Comrades, too. Let's hope next time they won't even need extra help in the form of a rifle corps

Yes, the Finnish insurgency will soon be wrapped up, and the experienced gained by our airmen, at no real cost, will surely be valuable.
As for Mounted Security Comrades, more are being trained, as this insurgency has proven that 2 Brigades simply isn't enough to keep Finland secure. The plan is now to double the NKGBF to 4 Mounted Brigades.

And still the Germans dither? Any indication of where they are redeploying post-Norway?

They seem to be returning to the Soviet Border, we have seen a recent but gradual increase in the number of German troops since the fall of Oslo, north of the marshes in particular.

 

[roverS3]

The 31st of October 1941, Leningrad, 4,2°C, 1pm Moscow Time,

Report on the state of the Soviet Union for the ten day period between the 22nd and the 31st of October 1941,

by 'Odin'

Army:

Army numbers (Brigades/Personnel) Reserves included (these numbers don't include regiments being upgraded):

Front line troops: 664 / 1.992.000
Support troops: 300 / 300.000

Total fighting troops: 964 / 2.292.000​

Headquarters: 63 / 63.000

Total Army Personnel: 1.027 / 2.355.000​

Officers: 94.013 + / 102.010 needed / 92,161 %
Active Leaders: 271 / 152 more available
Production of half-tracks was increased, 124 MGvSP will be receiving the next batch.
With all of our Tank Divisions now equipped with the new T-34s, a new Tank Division, 13. Tankovaya Diviziya (Arm, Motx2, Eng, TD) has started training.
4 more Regiments of Artillery are being raised as the production rate of 152mm ML-20 guns is increased to new levels.
No changes to Army Leadership.
​

Air Force:

No changes in the VVS nor the Navy Air Fleet for the last 10 days.
​

Navy:

No changes in the Navy for the last 10 days.
​

Politics / International:

British North Africa Front

United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,6
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 5,90 / 79,4

Beda Littoria, 70km from Bengasi, has been taken by British tanks. The advance has been halted for a few days as the vanguard has outrun the British supply lines and damaged infrastructure has made things worse in the bottleneck that it Ra's at Tin. Bengasi-based Italian bombers hit British infantry in Zawiyat Masus, but the RAF flew 3 bombing Missions over various Italian formations, more than making up for any losses the British may have sustained. There is still no sign of stabilising Italian lines, and it is expected that, as soon as they fix their supply issues, the British will be moving West again.
No naval units were sunk. No convoys were hit in the Atlantic, and a further 4 Italian convoys were sunk in the Western Mediterranean.​

Industry:

Tbilisi Air Base now sports two hardened runways and more hangars (Level 4).
The secondary Air Strip and Control tower (Level 3) in Riga Air Base are now operational. III ShAK has been rebased there as it is significantly closer to the front than Rezneke Air Base.
Tallinn Air base will get the same improvements (Level 3) now, providing a CAS base in between Rezneke and Leningrad.
At Demjansk Air Base an additional airstrip, a new aviation fuel pipeline system and underground ammunition storage facilities (Level 9) are now operational.
The same improvements will now be added to Smolensk Air Base.
Lwow Air Base, now with 3 hardened runways and Pilot's sleeping quarters and more (Level 6), still isn't large enough.
Another Airstrip will be added, along with concrete taxiways and the addition of larger maintenance hangars. (Level 7)
For the first time, a series of elements will be constructed, designed specifically to be deployed into new Airstrip anywhere at short notice. The steel elements can be carried by train or by ship to wherever we need them.
Working Industrial Capacity / available capacity: 240 / 324
IC Usage: ( Allocated IC / Need )

Upgrades: 22,80 / 32,47
Reinforcement: 1,50 / 3,13
Supplies: 30,00 / 47,18
Production: 240,54 / 273,80 (the Licensed MP remains mostly unfunded, as well as three Mountain Rifle Divisions and 10. TTGvD)
Consumer Goods: 29,16 / 29,16​

Stockpiles:

Energy: Maximum tonnes +
Metal: Maximum tonnes +
Rares: 42.921 tonnes +
Crude: 98.711 barrels -
Supplies: 39.974 tonnes -
Fuel: 98.879 barrels +
Money: 1.974 -​

Intelligence:

Spy numbers, spies in (active / added / lost / caught by us)

France (Supporting our Party / Counterespionage): 5 / 0 / 0 / 0

{ Germany (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }
{ Japan (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }​

UK (/) : 7 / 1 / 0 / 0
Other: 0 / 0 / 0 / 0

Total: 12 / 1 / 0 / 0​

Reserves: 0
Spy training leadership expenditure: 0,65 (a new spy every 10 days)
Another GRU operative has been successfully infiltrated into the UK.
​

Research:

A newly designed Air Launched Torpedo (Level 2) is ready for use by the Navy Air Fleet, the TT-4 will surely increase the lethality of our KPA's against enemy vessels.
This Torpedo did exist, but I couldn't find anything conclusive about it on the Internet except that it is a homing torpedo that tracks the heat signature of enemy vessels... no date, but the design seems to advanced for 1941 Soviet Union. It's not clear whether it could be Air Launched, but it wouldn't be that far fetched as many more well-known Soviet torpedo's of the 1940 could be launched from both submarines and aeroplanes.
VVS theorists have now started looking into improving Ground Attack Tactics (Level 3) once more.
The Yak-4 has gone through another re-design, in which the wings were thickened to allow for larger Medium Fuel Tanks (Level 1). The new and modified Yak-4s will have an operating range of approximately 550 km, which is, incidentally, also the operating range of the latest La-7 Fighters.
The designers now turn their attention to even larger Aeroplanes, looking to increase the fuel load of our TB-3 Bombers and Li-2 Transport Planes, by redesigning their Large Fuel Tanks (Level 1).
​

Statistics:

National Unity: 83,241 =
Neutrality: 0,00 =
Dissent: 0,00 =
Manpower:

Available: 2.109.000
Men To reinforce(need): 2.660
Men To mobilise(need): See above
Monthly gain: 48.200 Men (1 fully mobilised Infx3, AT Division every 7 days)​

No changes in Party Popularity for the last 10 days.
Party Organisation:

- Communist Party: 83,90 (+0,40)
- Trotskyite: 8,20 (-0,1)
- Bukharinite: 3,30 (-0,1)

- Octobrist: 3,90 (-0,1)
- Trudoviks: 0,60 (-0,1)
- Social-Revolutionary: 0,00 =
- Kadets: 0,00 =

- Tsarists: 0,00 =
- NTS: 0,00 =
- POA: 0,00 =​

This Information is accurate on the morning of the 31st of October 1941, I hope it serves you well in fine-tuning your possible suggestions.

'Odin'​

 

[Bullfilter]

They seem to be returning to the Soviet Border, we have seen a recent but gradual increase in the number of German troops since the fall of Oslo, north of the marshes in particular.

Ominous, but not surprising. Let’s hope in this ATL (and with the extra time) they don’t have winter or arctic equipment.

 

[Eurasia]

OOC: They are already late. They may try a Autumn/Winter Invasion. Either way I assume the shoe is about to fall unless they try to go for Operation Sea Lion which I doubt. The British Battle Fleet is WAY too powerful.

 

[roverS3]

The 3rd of November 1941, Leningrad (CVL), somewhere in the Gulf of Bothnia, -5,3°C, 11pm Moscow Time,

In a couple of days, the weather cooled down significantly. The Aeroplanes of II. BAK started taking off with fewer bombs to compensate for the weight of the ice that quickly coated the Yak-4's skin. The lubricants had to be changed, anti-freeze had to be added to the aviation fuel. Everything has been prepared for another cold winter. It still doesn't take away from the intense cold, and I was happy to have my fur hat with me on my trip to the Leningrad.

I walked to the Navy Air Base, right next door to the VVS's base, it was still a good three kilometers from the VVS office buildings I'd been staying in. I was glad I had taken my fur hat. When I got there, a single Il-10VM was waiting outside the hangar. The Klimov M-105P Engine was idling I stepped into the Gunner's seat. I wore a VVS Colonel's uniform, and after saluting 'my' rank, the Pilot got into the plane in front of me without asking any questions.

Overflying Leningrad Naval Base, it looked empty without the Black sea fleet, nothing but a couple of submarines, and a couple of supply ships to bring ammunition, fuel, and food to the fleet, 450km away. The flight took no more than one and a half hour, and upon my arrival, I was greeted by 'Piat', who flew in yesterday as an observer from the Navy Air Fleet Academy. We soon got talking to Navy Air Commander Falaleev, who insisted on giving his opinion of the current exercise to any observer.

He was very pleased with the large role the navy was playing in the counter-insurgency operations in Finland, and even more so about the valuable experience gained by his pilots and gunners. He did admit that neither their machines, nor the pilot's training, had been devised with the bombing of soft targets in forested areas in mind, this was why, when compared to the VVS, the results were underwhelming. However, short of getting permission to sink a couple of obsolete battle wagons with their new Air Launched Torpedoes, this was the best combat training available to the Naval Airmen, short of actual war. Most importantly, the operation allowed for many Carrier Launches and Landings to take place, in varied weather conditions, and under pressure.

Just as the conversation was veering of towards both 'Piat' and the Air Commander's preference of Carriers over Battleships, a Junior Lieutenant stuck his head through the door, and looked over both me and 'Piat', before deciding that I was the one he needed to speak to. He motioned for me to come to the door, looked at me quizically and said:

"Sir, we've received a strange transmission. The sender didn't identify himself, but knew all of the clearance codes and the right frequency on which to contact the ship. Even more strangely, he told me he wanted to speak to the officer who was wearing a fur hat inside..."
​

At this point I noticed that I had forgotten to take of my fur hat as I had entered the ship, following Air Commander Falaleev to his office. The Junior Lieutenant went on:

"you seem to fit the profile sir, will you please follow me."
​

I took off my hat, and followed the Junior Lieutenant to a cramped room filled with old electronic equipment, there he handed me a receiver.

"Are you the one with the fur hat?"

The voice on the other end sounded familiar

"Uhm... yes"

Soon, I realised it was 'Tri', of course...

"All right.... The hat thing was fun, but let's get down to business... My sources in Washington have told me that Japan has declared war on the United States of America. President Roosevelt will soon make a public speech on the radio talking about 'A day of Infamy', though it's not quite clear what he's referencing here as no attacks seem to have taken place as of yet. Some of my sources suggest that he may have yelled 'Tora Tora Tora' as he walked into the President's office to deliver the declaration, at least that's what the Japanese press is saying, but that might just be a morale boosting exercise.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt prepares to address the nation on, what he's about to call a 'Day of Infamy'.
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Interestingly, this whole affair is a limited war, the USA hasn't applied to join the Allies, and Japan hasn't involved any of it's European Allies either. We now have, in effect, two large scale wars, the European Axis nations are at war with the Allies, while the Japanese are at war with the USA, but not the Allies. In any case, this is good news, as it will inevitably distract Japan's attention away from our border. My office is holding bets on how long the two wars will remain separate, my money's on 20 days... 'Odin', enjoy the military exercise while we remain at peace, there are now two big wars we could become embroiled in before long, whether we want it or not. The worst part about this is that the Japanese have awakened an industrial giant, the United States of America, probably the only country on earth with more factories than the Soviet Union, will now start producing ships, guns, tanks, aeroplanes, mortars, ammunition, rations, armoured cars, etc. I'm sure they'll be outproducing us, let alone the Japanese, in no time..."
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The line went dead, and as I left the tower to take some air and think over the ominous news that two more super-powers were now at war with each other, I noticed that I was just in time to see the last Aeroplanes of 2 KPA land on the Moskva, which, it's deck flooded by electrical lights, was sailing about 100m starboard of Leningrad. An impressive spectacle.

That's all for now, a Japanese declaration of war on the United States of America, I'm going to bed, and in the morning, I will hop onto another Il-10VM that will drop me off in Helsinki, where I will be staying for a while, ostensibly to check on IV. ShAK.

Greetings,

'Odin'

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OOC: There was a Japanese DOW on the US and all of the events fired, but it seems no ships were damaged and no Islands were attacked yet. A very tame start to the war in the Pacific, compared to OTL...

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