Long Live the Permament Revolution! - a Trotskyist Soviet AAR.

[ThaHoward]

I think it is far to say that nowhere shows Trotsky's brutality and hypocrisy more than Poland.

What brutality and hypocrisy? But it do indeed, remember his various quotes and the last one of Marx. They will be forgiven when the better world arrives.

And. Europe. Is. Won.

There's a few errors in typing and spelling in this chapter that you might want to correct. Unless the communists started an online party, Polan will just be written off as the last mistake of a corrupt and decadent western government.

The Russians do seem unbeatable here. An illusion I got uess since the Americans can still kill a lot of people on both sides I feel they want to play now...many more than they would have lost if they'd have been tough in 1942 but still.

I'm amazed the British still have bases in the Med. Malta, Gibraltar and Cyprus are going down.

Yes thank you for seeing my errors, now some of the letters on the keyboard are okay again, but it have moved over to mostly d these days, so it isn't every typo I manage to correct (often it is just me not writing correctly, others (hopefully most times) it is the keyboard's fault). So thanks,, I will look over them when I have the chance

Yes the war between USA and USSR will be epic.. if the allies manage to have a foothold in Britain and Europe. Afterall the US war machine is dependant on actually having a staging ground for their massive armed forces, and the same with Britain. For their bases, they still have a much more powerful fleet than USSR, and I suppose naval invasions of these bases would be very costly for the USSR. We will see how it all turn out, perhaps the Latin communists will take care of the med. while the Soviets focus on the heart of the the empire..

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

Well to be honest all the soviets need to do is get a populist communist uprising in South America for the us to drop everything and go completely overboard in stopping that from going anywhere. Which with any luck, will annoy the hell out of the rest of the Americas enough to slow them down for a while. And without the US...we can do what we like to those Brits now, so long as we don't invade the islands themselves. Although saying that...we could surround and blockade them and watch them starve to death

Or we can play the long game now and wait for their civilisation to collapse because they ran out of oil. That would be unstatfyingly logical. Basically now what I want to happen is for the soviets to recognise they need to do two things.

1) sink the British fleet. They do not have the resources or cash to replace it so tearing it apart piecemeal with planes, sabotage and yes! Naval engaments, should do the trick. Trap them in the Middle East and give them something they can't withdraw away from. Arabia or the suez maybe...

2) Neutralise the us by turning as many Latin American and South American countries communist as possible. With any luck, these countries are going to be both resource sinks for the US and, should it come down to it, nuke sinks too.

Once the us are distracted on the home front (it wouldn't take much, one or two going communist or threatening to go) and the British fleet is diminished, the Pacific is yours and you can clean up Australia and those other places of their lovely uranium and oil. Then take what's left of Africa and the Middle East (which really shouldn't be too hard atthe point) and then it's just North America and the British isles left! I mean...that's really the case now in most respects but when/if this pulls off it will be literally true as well.

 

[ThaHoward]

Well to be honest all the soviets need to do is get a populist communist uprising in South America for the us to drop everything and go completely overboard in stopping that from going anywhere. Which with any luck, will annoy the hell out of the rest of the Americas enough to slow them down for a while. And without the US...we can do what we like to those Brits now, so long as we don't invade the islands themselves. Although saying that...we could surround and blockade them and watch them starve to death

Or we can play the long game now and wait for their civilisation to collapse because they ran out of oil. That would be unstatfyingly logical. Basically now what I want to happen is for the soviets to recognise they need to do two things.

1) sink the British fleet. They do not have the resources or cash to replace it so tearing it apart piecemeal with planes, sabotage and yes! Naval engaments, should do the trick. Trap them in the Middle East and give them something they can't withdraw away from. Arabia or the suez maybe...

2) Neutralise the us by turning as many Latin American and South American countries communist as possible. With any luck, these countries are going to be both resource sinks for the US and, should it come down to it, nuke sinks too.

Once the us are distracted on the home front (it wouldn't take much, one or two going communist or threatening to go) and the British fleet is diminished, the Pacific is yours and you can clean up Australia and those other places of their lovely uranium and oil. Then take what's left of Africa and the Middle East (which really shouldn't be too hard atthe point) and then it's just North America and the British isles left! I mean...that's really the case now in most respects but when/if this pulls off it will be literally true as well.

Good points. It is certainly many possibilities, that I have thought of and you have many good points here. The British Fleet might be tricky, while the Soviet one is building up, it is ver much understrength compared to the Royal and US Navies, but perhaps they can be trapped somehow? And yes starving out the British Isles might be the trick, but again that open up for US and Commonwealth reinforcements to tick in. The strategy for the Soviet war will be outlined in the coming update, but that might very well be up for change. What's also interesting is that it is currently winter, and Britain is very dependent upon their oil for heating, so if the combined Soviet-Franco-Spanish manage to isolate Britain it might result in a humanitarian crisis, and Trotsky have showed he is not afraid to use such crisis' to reach his goals.

Now for Latin America, it is in a very fragile and turmoils (right word?) state and interesting stuff will happen there, but I won't spoil it

 

[ThaHoward]

Chapter 38: Boiling Point.

Spoiler: Music.

British men wanting jobs. Soon the Soviets will put them back to work - as soldiers in the Royal Armed Forces.

London, January of 1945. The median temperature was 1 celsius and dropping as far below as -7.1. But it wasn't just the weather who dropped with the New Year. The banks and London Stock Exchange opened up again after a break during Christmas and New Year, when it reopened the stock exchange plummeted, panic spread through the British Isles reminiscent of Black Tuesday in 1929. The reasons were many including an overspending in the British Armed Forces and rising inflation during the post war economy and the British economy being cut off from the European market at large. But in the end it was the loss of their steady oil supplies that thwarthed economic growth and the general tense world situation and insecure investments markets (the markets didn't react well to Anglo-Persian Oil Company and other companies all of Europe being nationalized). Britain was on the brink of using up their oil reserves, the British economy and war machine alike wasn't a well oiled machine anylonger. The people were freezing during the cold months of January and February and bussiness after bussiness, industry after industry had to foreclose and the people were turned to unemployment. The communists parties of Europe, and Britain, blamed it on the limitations of the capitalist system - ignoring the hardship of communists nations and their role in the crisis. The people starved and were freezing, Trotsky claimed the time was "ripe for the flames of revolution to engulf Britain". But as the temperature and stock market of Britain froze to new lows, the temperature of the world increased..

The Tommies and Yanks will be shot down from the skies and vaporated on the ground.

But the world went by, despite Lord Halifax being crippled at home from a growing opposition and a dissatisfied population, the world kept spinning. In the Soviet Union this translated mostly into new weapons for the Red Army. One of these weapons were the 100mm AA gun. It was towed by armored tractors (AT-Ts) and had a total crew of 15 where the ammonutions were stored in the AT-T and it reported that a crew could fire 15 rounds per minute. Anti Aircraft ammunition includes high explosive, high explosive fragmentation and fragmentation types all 100 mm, but the greatest improvement were in its improved sighting system and state of the art fire control radars and fire directors. However the KS-19 was also efficient in armor piercing roles, and as a result two armor piercing rounds was created with one of them being reported to 185mm of armor at a range of 1000m - as a refference the heaviest (and rare) Sherman variant had a maximum armor thickness of 177.8 mm (with the common Sherman having 90.8mm at the most) and the heavy British Churchill tank having a maximum thickness of 152mm. Suffice to say the KS-19 AA gun excelled in the role of taking out virtually any NATO tanks of the time.

The ZSU-37 had been introduced for testing in 1943, and now it reached its final stages. It was mounted upon the chassis of the SU-76 and had an 37mm automatic cannon. This cannon provided the armored forces a apable anti-aircraft gun that was also quite capable of combating infantrists and light armor and disrupt medium to heavy armored tanks, with the weapon's platform itself being light and good at cross country movement, keeping up with motorized and mechanized formations and quickly change their positions to counter new threats and shield the advancing armored forces. The Katyusha rockets of the 300mm variant was upgraded into the BM-31 variant. The former M-20 and M-30 rails (also 300mm) only had 4 rails, while the BM-31 provided a total of 12 rails. This providing a much heavier overall punch, at the expense of range. But that was evened out as there was several other variants in the Katyusha regiments with calibers ranging from 82 mm to 132 mm to 300 mm and tube rails that could hold 12-72 rockets.

Trotsky and confidants prepare for the unthinkable in a bunker - and give out orders for ruthless subjucations of internal enemies.

These new weapons was undeniably in light of the renewed arm's race and the developing situation in the Aegean Sea. Trotsky and his inner circle was seated in an underground bunker somewhere by the Black Sea planning their next steps. By his side he got up to date reports on the ongoing situation and gave direct orders to the Field Marshals of the Soviet Union and the Admirals who were stationed around the Straits ready to claim Aegean Seas when it was needed. An inside source later reported "the situation was strange. It was tense, several officers and commisars ate their nails and paced nervously back and forth as they were pushing the capitalists into an unacceptable situation. Trotsky himself sat by a gigantic map and chainsmoked along with hist trusted generals, the room was filled with smoke and stench of vodka and sweat the air-condition system could not process. By his side, other than the numerous generals and politicians, were the Field Marshals who participated during Southern Thrust. They pointed around on his map telling him in detail on how they were to respond in case of a NATO refusal. Tukhachevsky wanted an aggressive large front assault in the Middle East and Greece. His plan was to seize Northern Africa, Suez Canal and Middle East and the naval bases by having a large front, spreading out the NATO forces on a large front, and striking where it was best suited. Kuznetsov wanted to utilize Iraq-esque strategies. Naval and Airborne infantrists was to attack the key locations [Aegean Isles, Cyprus and Suez] with mechanized forces spearheading deep behind enemy lines. Vasilevsky wanted a catious approach. It was only Rokossovsky who advised against a war saying it shouldn't be pursued, this angered Trotsky greatly. Trotsky himself was beside his red phone, demanding reports from every naval group, every air group and every battle group. He gave out orders and counter orders and in the bunker poorly ventilated they planned for a world war. It was strange, it was terrifying and it was inspiring".

But it wasn't just the Aegean Crisis that were the topic in the bunker. While the prying eyes of the world gazed the vacation isles with great anxiety, Trotsky went on the offensive on his hometurf. He hadn't forgotten his assassination attempt and the unrest caused by the Muslims in Turkestan and the Cossacks in the Caucasus. Envoys was sent out with a hand of reconciliation. The leading members of the Cossacks of the Caucasus was invited to negotiations for autonomy and possibly Cossack self-rule! In Turkestan similat invites were sent out, here on the other hand it was decided that practising religion should be allowed again and a new commissariat with members from Moscow and local religious leaders was to be created to administrate the religious and spiritual life of Turkestan. With high spirits the Cossacks and Muftis assembled in Don-Kuban and Turkestan. But there was no hand of reconciliation, there was only red terror. All of the delegates was summarily executed by NKVD forces. NKVD divisions then outright invaded the homeland of the Cossacks and Turkestans. The Red Terror continued for weeks until the area was "pacified" as the leaders of the NKVD divisions called it. Those who opposed the new regimes and rules were brutally surpressed, however it was here the NKVD made a stroke of genius, those who accepted the new situation was granted lower quoatas to fulfill, with better ways of living and higher rations. You could choose between terror or an improved way of living, they were offered vinegar or honey. Those who survived the ordeal and accepted the harsh terms became loyal followers. But it had significant effects upon Turkmen and Cossack society, all the tribes and clans was abolished being labeled as feudalistic and detrimental to socialist spirits and society. The region faced widespread forced industrialization and collectivization.

The crisis in the Aegean Sea reach a boiling point, and so do the crisis at home.

Back in Britain the economy had still not recovered, food was on rations and the government was unable to counter the recession. For Britain the real threat was indeed not the Soviet Union, but poverty. In a speech Trotsky had "ordered" all communists countries to take action, and as he witnessed the development in Britain he said the communists there "stepped up". The masses were worn out and exhausted and they didn't need much convicning, with Trotsky's honeyed words in their ears they took their anger to the streets led on by professional communists and stood behind the proliferating strikes. Violence was common, even gunshots and explosions were heard, it was starting to look like civil war. The British government feared an imminent coup - not without reason - and police and military men were ordered en masse out on the streets to crack down on the violent strikers. 80.000 reservists were called in and ordered to shoot if needed. Crisis was brewing at home and in the Aeageas Sea, but Uncle Sam came to the rescue and helped the British economy with a much needed vitamin injection. For now the military and police managed to restore order, and it was hoped that US economic aid would put their economy back on track.

How dare NATO defy us? This is nothing but aggression!

It was crisis in Trotsky's bunker. The Soviet Ministry for Greek Affairs issued them an ultimatum: Agree to our lease agreement for the Aegean Islands vacate all national and foreign forces, or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics will be forced to secure her national interests by the means she find necessary". In the days before the situation escalated further. Soviet bombers was training to specifically target the naval bases in the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal. This was followed up by targeted strikes toward Greek troop concentrations, and later on against the British and American fleets in the area. Of course they bended away just before they violated sovereign Greek or British territory - with the notable exception of the Aegean Islands. The Soviets argued their fleets and planes had to travel freely through this sea. This motion was denied by the Americans. The Soviets then upped their claim, along with their aggressive behaviour, and demanded all foreign troops and ships to vacate from the Aegean Islands and Sea. This was again rejected. It was then observed several squadrons of Soviet battlesquadrons who crossed the Straits, furthermore spy-planes took photos of Soviet troop movements. Meanwhile in Greece and USA the public opinion turned against the USSR, in Britain the majority sided with the Greeks, however a sizeble and militant part of the population supported the Soviet claims. It was seen as nothing but Soviet aggression, and phrases like "the only good communists is a dead one" sprung up. February the first the Soviet manuevers increased, with even excercises of naval and airborne landings in Turkey and their islands. The last ultimatum was issued, and on the 3rd of February the Greeks, assured by Roosevelt and Lord Halifax, gave their reply: "No!". Metaxas then gave the bold claim "yesterday Constantinoples. Today the Aegean Islands. Tomorrow the Mediterranean". Even Halifax became emboldened by the Greco-American dismissal of the Soviet Union and said "there have come a time to draw a line. As we did with Germany and the Hiterlist expansion, we will do so with Russia and yet another example of Hiterlist expansion in a red coating. We will draw a line here in the Aegean Sea, and we will draw a line in the sand from Syria to Jordan". The strategy of appeasment had failed, but the Lord was now seeing a surge in popularity as he opposed the Soviets.

Roosevelt also made an adress:
"I, with many of you, hoped that Russia would work out its own problems, and that its government would eventually become a peace-loving, popular government with a free ballot, which would not interfere with the integrity of its neighbors.

That hope is today either shattered or put away in storage against some better day. The Soviet Union, as everybody who has the courage to face the fact knows, is run by a dictatorship as absolute as any other dictatorship in the world. It has allied itself with other dictatorships, and it has invaded neighbors so infinitesimally small that it could do no conceivable possible harm to the Soviet Union, a neighbor which seeks only to live at peace as a democracy, and a liberal, forward-looking democracy at that". The answer was clear, NATO was prepared to stand up for itself. Days earlier the US and Royal Navies mobilized in the area, with the 1st Marine Division occupying the islands, the 2nd being ready on ship and several army divisions being stationed on Cyprus, Egypt and Greece.

The US Navy leave their bases in the Mediterranean. The Imperialists will not bully us for long..

"The alarm sounded. An officer opened up the door and ordered us out. This is what we trained for, we ran straight out. I geared up and took the pilot sea in my Il-4 long range naval bomber. We were given a short brief that basically told us to resume on what we have trained for. We were ordered to turn off our radios once we got to the clouds and then turn them back on as we posed to strike. When we took to the skies, crossed the Black Sea several Pe-3s joined us as long range escorts from Trotskygrad as the smaller fighters couldn't support us for prolonged raids. The situation was tense. All around us we saw several squadrons getting into attack formations to their designated targets. Before our arrival Hellcats intercepted us. This was a normal course of action, they tried to hail us, but we remained silent. We started with evasive manuevers and soon LaGG-3s arrived to the scene intercepting the Hellcats. The Hellcats stalked us, I could feel their crosshairs on my tail ready to squeeze the trigger. We then got visuals on the Anglo-American Battlefleet. We turned on our radios, our commander ordered us to go in for the attack. We dived down, the planes and ships warned us. We ignored them. They then fired warning shots. We continued. The entire sky was then filled barrages hindering our approac vector. We turned around and asked our commanders to open fire. But they refused. We were instead ordered to make another round, with the Hellcats right behind us. We continued on, but were then ordered to rereat. But it was too late a splint came right through the cockpit and impaled my co-pilot right through his abdomen. Poor Igor. He screamed like an animal, but I could do nothing. He then sulked and as we landed he was dead", is the story of a Captain Mikhail Sokolov during the end of the Aegean Crisis.

In his bunker Trotsky first ordered to carry out the attack, but he was hesistant. It was reported he took up his red phone, but then slammed it back. Picked it up, slammed it back again. As Trotsky nervously lighted his smoke Rokossovsky advised him to stand down. To only attack if met with no opposition. Planes circled around the isles, bombers headed toward their targets, paratroopers stood by in the door ready to jump and the battleships steamed toward the vacation retreats. Paratroopers and marines along with the Black Sea Fleet and Air Force was ordered to the islands, but as they faced opposition they turned around. Where the other Marshals and officers wanted to strike in the Aegean Sea, Rokossovsky advised Trotsky they were not ready for war right now, and when the war of world revolution was to be done, it had to be in a quick strike to the very Heart of the Empire; England, not some periphal islands. At the very last moment Trotsky decided to go with his trusted Marshal. War was averted, but the Soviet Union was humiliated. An agreement was made, the USSR was allowed to move their fleet through the Aegean Sea along with its Air Force, however it was to remain in Greek hands and NATO was to station troops there if they deemed it necessary. War was averted, but Trotsky gave his Marshals, Admirals and Generals one condition: Make plans to materialize the World Revolution this year. No exceptions, no excuses.

Bulgaria is a small comfort for our loss in the Aegean Sea.

Humiliated in the Aegean Islands the Soviets looked toward Bulgaria. While not being an official member of NATO it was clear they were an affiliated memberstate. The NKVD and Bulgarian communists had since the inception of the Bulgarian Republic turned parts of the population toward communism, however with the conclusion and humiliation of the Aegean Crisis the USSR turned to Bulgaria to solidify their grip upon the Black Sea. From Trotskygrad, the Black Sea and Romania arms, partisans and agents was smuggled into eastern Bulgaria read to rise up when needed.

The Yak will tame the Mustang.

Yakovlev Yak-3, or somply Yak-3, was a singleseated piston engined fighter. It was first introduced in 1944, but due to budget limits it hadn't entered mass production. It was scheduled from the 8th of February to enter mass production. It was well liked by the pilots for being easy to maintain and handle. It was made an excellent dogfighter for its high power to weight ratio, being light but still having a powerful weaponary and an engine. Compared to the P51D Mustang, the Yak had an empty weight of 2105kg, a loaded weight of 2629kg with a maximum speed of 655km/h, the Mustang had an empty weight of 3465kg and a loaded one of 4175kg and a maximum speed of 708km/h. Despite being easy to handle and easy to fly, it packed fewer guns than the Mustang, and it had initial problems with poor engine reliability, still its light weight made it a significant dogfighter. Time would tell if it would be the new master of the skies, or if the Spitfire and Mustang continued to dominate the air.

India is under control... for now.

Further to the east the Indo-Pakistani war ended. With the support from its motherland the British Raj managed to quell the Pakistani insurgency. With its north-eastern border secured the lords and princes of India again looked with concerned eyes to the Soviet presence in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sinkiang. If the Suez fell they would be cut off from Europe and the Commonwealth. Still it was lot of internal disputes as the population asked question why they were still to be ruled by British appointed governors, a British appointed government and various princes when they were in fact independent. But for now war of independence was a taboo namely due to the failed Pakistani independence war. But with the British Raj now an independent state and equal with the other Commonwealth nations, they could surely rise to become a regional power - especially with the secret Smiling Buddha project...

Look at those beasts!

The SU-100 tank destroyer was started on already in February 1944. It was meant to replace the SU-85 tank destroyer based on the T-34 chassis. However as the war ended the project was mostly laid dead as focus was put on rebuilding the nation and economy, but as the drums of war was again playing for full plans was made for the SU-100 to come in full production by the end of March 1945. The SU-100 was also upgraded to be based upon the T-44 chassis and fielded a fixed casemate 100mm gun, with an improved commander position giving him better situational awarness. It was planned for the SU-100 to become the main tank destroyer in the Mechanized Corps and the (medium) Armored Brigades.

The Soviets are found of Congresses.

From the 14th of February to the 25th the Soviets held another Congress for the communist party. Here some changes was made. For example the All-Union Communist Party was renamed to the Communist Party. Moreover it was decided the Congresses was now to be held every fifth year instead of yearly and the next five years plan was accepted. Trotsky also vowed that when he resigned or he was no more, the positions of foreign commissar, General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Council of Ministers was to be given to three different individuals. All of them would be elected by both the Communist Party and the Soviets - with Trotsky having his recommendation - and following the end of Trotsky's reign the positions of General Secretary and Chairman had to have fixed term limits to prevent abuse of power. Now of course Trotsky didn't want to give up his powers himself. Other political reforms included the release of former imprisoned Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and (Left) Social-Revolutionaries - imprisoned by Lenin, Stalin or Trotsky. They were also allowed to return to the political life after a case of rehabilitation, reschooling and swearing fealty to the USSR. The Soviets was also given the power to elect the members to the legislative branch of the USSR, however under the supervision of political commissars and the local party chapter. There would also be free elections in the Communist Party on every Congress and the local chapters would elect their deputies freely, and they would elect the new members of the Politburo, the new political course etc. however there was purges among the membership of the party to reduce anti-Trotskyist sentiments, and the requirements for membership was being narrowed. So in an interesting move Trotsky both increased and loosened his grip upon Soviet society.

The Baltic Navy move out of the Baltics..

With the newest expansion of the Red Fleet the Soviet Admiralty and political leadership was keen on showing off their newfound powers as one of the mightiest, or so they believed, naval forces on the globe. The Arctic Fleet was ordered to commence on a fullscale naval manuever from Murmansk, along the Norwegian coast and all the way up to Iceland. The Black Sea Fleet was ordered to use its new rights to pass the Aegean Sea freely and manuever to the Gibraltar and all the way to the Azores. Meanwhile the Baltic Fleet would navigate through the Scandinavian Straits and the Kiel Canal and manuever in the English Channel and the Irish Sea. On the 17th of March these fleets left their bases and manuevered in their designated areas. This was a bold move, and a reckless one. The Americans and British was forced to react somehow to this major movement out of Soviet seas's and dangerously close to NATO waters. In the light of the Aegean Crisis many Soviet admirals and even politicians feared it would lead to outright escalation and war. But Trotsky and top politicians needed to reaffirm Soviet strength following their loss of face. So the warships steamed out, with orders to fire if necessary. But the British and Americans allowed the Soviets to operate freely, only observing them from a distance with smaller vessels and airplanes. This show of force was used for all it was worth in the USSR and communist nations aswell as parties. They proclaimed "this has shown the power of socialism and the weakness of the Imperialists". The USSR had made up for their loss of power projection in the Aegean Sea. In the long run, it was proven, they won by the deal with NATO by allowing free Soviet passage in the Aegean Sea.

Boom. And nope that isn't explosions, but the backblast from the 300mm rockets.

By the 20th of March the 300mm M-20-4 Katyusha systems was upgraded to be lighter and have spin stabilizer. Alltough it couldn't have as much tube rails as the M-31s, they could now fire with greater accuracy and length.

We will pluck them down from the skies.

The ZSU-57-44 was revolutionary for its time. In short it was two 57mm auto-cannons who was fielded on top of a T-44 chassis. This new self-propelled anti-aircraft gun was to work together with Mechanized Corps and (medium) Armored Brigades, providing both air-cover but also fire on armored vehicles and infantrists if needed, with a practical firing rate of 140 anti-piercing or fragmentation rounds per minute, with a maximum range up to 12km and a practical range of 4km against moving targets.

The Soviet economy is the best. At least that is what the propaganda says.

Despite what the propaganda would say, the living conditions was still behind compared to most western nations. However with the conclusion of the war Lenin's old prediction came through. He anticipated that the USSR would be the first of nations to enter into a state of socialism, and other industrialized powers would follow. From then on nations such as France and Germany would help out their socialist brothers. Under the de-jure pretex of the COMECON, and the de-facto of the Soviet dominance, industralized nations such as indeed France and Germany sent out their specialists to help out the newer industrialized nations such as the Soviet Union. The idea was for them to help both the workers, the planners and the bureaucrats to improve the conditions for the workers, let them specialize and improve production effeciency. Trotsky also gave several orders in conjuction with the new Five Years Plan. He didn't go deep into the specifics, but he gave superficial orders and expected the western experts and the Soviet planners to execute them. His orders were to "reform the economy and remove all traces of Stalinism and capitalism", "create Soviet style workshops in the state run farms and collectivize all remaining small scale farms" and his last order was to "upgrade our aging industries. Despite our many socialist reforms, too many of our factories and methods remain outdated and in a state of technological disadvantage. Finally we need to build several new factories in the steppes of Siberia, Turkestan and Caucasus and replace the feudal society with a socialist one". These orders were indeed very vague, but the specialists and planners didn't want to envoke the wrath of their master and sought to improve both the economy and the worker's conditions.

But despite the reforms of the Soviet economy, it had a long way to go. And even if the Soviets focused on domestic issues the world at large was preparing for the coming war.. It was 1945, a year that would forever change humankind and history.

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Yup, so I said the USSR woul back down if they met opposition. And now the did, so they backed down. Again the terms of war if is the USSR are directly threatened by the Allies, and I will not spoil anything but that may happen soon enough.. And for now the plan is to have updates detailing every three months, or it may be more depending on what happen - or less...

 

[stnylan]

So ... the final confrontation perhaps? And a world possibly bathed in nuclear fire.

 

[Draguss]

Very exciting update. Rest in peace, Igor! You will be avenged in the war to come. [Cue sad montage, Igor, never forget: 3/8/2018 - 3/8/2018]

 

[ThaHoward]

So ... the final confrontation perhaps? And a world possibly bathed in nuclear fire.

Trotsky really wanted those vacation islands, but Rokossovsky had to say no and say "we should vacation in England instead later this year". But yup, the confrontation will not happen... yet And yes nuclear fire is very possible.

Spoilers if you don't want to know about nuclear progress:

Spoiler: Last warning.

So the USSR are still quite behind, much to do with me being stupid after a gamecrash and forgetting to do some vital research... Buuut Germany! They are well underway actually getting a nuke! India is, as you seen, going down the Smiling Buddha past. USA is likely to have nukes. Is it a way to demand nukes from Germany?

Very exciting update. Rest in peace, Igor! You will be avenged in the war to come. [Cue sad montage, Igor, never forget: 3/8/2018 - 3/8/2018]

Yes, never forget poor Igor, he gave his life for well nothing in the end.

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

Now for Latin America, it is in a very fragile and turmoils (right word?) state and interesting stuff will happen there, but I won't spoil it

Tumultuous. I expect it may be one of the few places so hard to rule that neither side is going to cleanly take over but instead fight a nasty ground war which may escalate to bombing it flat.

The Soviets was also given the power to elect the members to the legislative branch of the USSR, however under the supervision of political commissars and the .

The...?

 

[ThaHoward]

Tumultuous. I expect it may be one of the few places so hard to rule that neither side is going to cleanly take over but instead fight a nasty ground war which may escalate to bombing it flat.



The...?

Yup, it may be best to stay clear of that area with direct Soviet intervention, except for perhaps Proxy wars just to shift US attention from Europe and toward their own backyard..

And my writing is really taking a dive recently.. "the local party chapter" was supposed to be filled in, I'll correct it now. And thanks for correcting me, keep up the good work

The next chapter should come out today or tommorow, and it will have some.. drastic changes.

 

[ThaHoward]

Chapter 39: A Red Threat to International Peace

Spoiler: Music.

NATO and Pact members meet in Geneva to secure the peace.

April 1945. The icefront between the two blocs that had frozen during the winter of 1945 withered away with the return of spring. In Genève leading diplomats of NATO and the Paris Pact met to settle their differences in a neutral country, at the behest of the United Nations and the iniative of Roosevelt. The first order of the day was to reaffirm the two "sphere of influence" between the blocs. In short this meant there would be no Soviet aggression in Europe, the Balkans, Greece or Asia, and NATO wouldn't intervene in the Middle East. This was, however, seen by the hardliners as both sides as a sell out. Hardline communists (most notably the NKVD) believed this was giving up on the promised world revolution that was according to them "imminent", and the hardliners in the liberal democracies believed this was an unforgivable act of bending the knees to the Red Menace, and yet another example of the "western betrayal". However it provided an uneasy peace and truce of some sorts. Moreover US and Swiss diplomats managed to persuade the Soviets to ratify the various protocols and conventions known as the Genève Treaty. The Americans believed this was a sign that the Soviet leadership was prepared to end their state of self-imposed isolation and take part in cooperating with the west peacefully. Others were more pessimistic claiming the "Soviets will simply wage fair wars with us". The last point was for the Pact and NATO to sign a treaty of non-aggression. Both blocs agreed to take their grievances to the UN and not wage aggressive wars against eachother. Roosevelt was largely, at least in the west, seen as the broker of final peace as only he managed to exert his authority (and backed up by an atomic crown) to put Trotsky into his place. Roosevelt also believed that together with the USSR they could establish a new world order, and ignored Churchill's warnings of "the Iron Blanket", and he gave the Soviets promises that he would end the embargo of the USSR if they again opened up their borders. The Soviets agreed to begin talks later that year to again let trade freely flow between their borders in place of "marching troops". If these promises were meant to be kept would never be known, but peace and cooperation was seemingly on the agenda for the two opposing blocs. Peace was celebrated all over NATO and Pact countries, however the hardline NKVD members were dissatisfied with the Genève talks..

Will the peace die with Roosevelt?

But as April started with great excitement and joy, it ended with tragedy. On the 12th of April during the afternoon Roosevelt returned home to Washington and said "I have a terrific headache". He then fell forward from his chair and was taken into his bedroom, at 3:35 p.m that day he died at the age of 63. An editorial wrote "Men will thank God on their knees a hundred years from now that Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the White House". Despite being met with shock and grief, his declining physical health had been kept a secret by the White House and Truman was soon sworn in as the 33rd President of the United States. Truman claimed Roosevelt's greatest legacy would be in his final weeks as he secured world peace. Back in Kremlin, however, the death of Roosevelt was met with hope. Trotsky was said to believe he was nothing but "a simple peasant" - a great irony that Trotsky who claimed to be the champion of the peasants and workers inhabitated such bourgeois sentiments. Anyway this and later events marked a sharp shift in US-Soviet relations, and to put a test to the new President Moscow openly sent troops toward Germany and even crossed the Elbe River to fortify the Danish and Dutch borders with Soviet and German troops.. During the early weeks of April their relations was improving after being on the brink of war, but the coming months would put a strain to their relations.

Once in a lifetime event indeed..

The first event to deteriorate the fragile truce was the US Black Chamber Operation. The nations of Brazil and Bolivia, who were among the last non-liberal-democratic nations of Latin America, broke into civil war. At first it apperead this was a popular uprising, one that even Trotsky first publically supported, but as the wars dragged on it was revealed this was in fact a clandenstine OSS op codenamed "Black Chamber" to topple the non-democratic regimes in Latin America and turn them into democracies molded in the vision of the Americans. Most of South America was turned into democracies peacefully under American pressure, however Bolivia and Brazil still clinged on to their authorian regimes. Truman responded by giving the OSS the greenlight to fund and train democratic rebels. This was, naturally, met with condemnation from the members of the Internationale who - in their hypocrisy - lashed out against American violation of national sovereignty and self-detirmination. Spanish and French officials even spoke up for intervention in the Americas, but it staid with the talks - for now.

The two liberal leaders fight eachother, and none of them want elections..

José Luis Tejada Sorzano was the current president of Bolivia and he came to power through a military coup. Despite being a member of the Liberal Party he didn't bring about liberal reforms and was instead turned into a puppet by the military. Public elections was banned, generals and senior officers was de-facto in charge and the legislative branch in the government was for all intents and purposes nullified. But armed by the Americans the democratic leaning members of the Liberal Party and Republicans started a civil war. The democrats quickly took control over northern Bolivia (calling themselves the Plurinationals) while the loyalists remained in power in southern Bolivia. Despite being well armed and trained, the Plurinationals was in a worse strategic position than the Loyalists and bitter fights embroiled the Andes and the Amazonas.

Brazil breaks down into war aswell.

The other nation to openly enter into a civil war was Brazil. Getúlio Dornelles Vargas was a populist president who came to power by coup in 1930 and from then turned Brazil into his personal dictatorship. However in 1934 he was elected as President by the Brazilian Congress, but in 1937 it turned out he could no longer retain his position as a democratic President and launched another coup to make himself, yet again, a dictator. However he had mostly ruled on the grace of the people, the military and most importantly the United States. With US support the military launched yet another coup in Brazil to topple Vargas and restore the principles of a liberal-democracy. Armando Sales was elected President by the new Brazilian Congress, however Vargas managed to escpe the coup and mobilize large parts of the population and the military to his side. With the people, government and military split in two Brazil was thrown into civil war, with neither side having much of an advantage over the other. The Brazilian Civil War would become the deadliest war in all of Latin American history.

Paraguay doesn't enter any war, but with their ideology their position in the Americas are insecure..

Another nation that was in a unique position was Paraguay. Rafael Franco, as with many other Latin American leaders, came to power through a coup. In 1936 he was made the President of Paraguay and alltough he was not at first an open communist he would launch several social reforms such as 8 hours workday, 48 hours workweek, free primary and secondary education and a general improvement in working conditions and central bank reforms. It was until 1943 that the popular president founded the Revolutionary Febrerista Party (PRF) a democratic-socialist party. Originally opposed to the Fourth International, they became in 1945 a member of the Internationale. Fearful of US regimechanges and pressure from left-wing elements the party's official ideologies was both Democratic Socialism and Marxism. Paraguay soon turned out to be the first communist nation in Latin America, and being the rare case of evolving slowly and peacefully instead of brutal coups, civil wars and popular uprisings.*

Soon.. but it may be too late.

Despite setbacks in early 1945, by the end of April it was reported the Atomic Bomb Project was well underway. The Soviets opened up their programme to the Germans under the agreement of a joint-nuclear program. By the start of April the Germans tested their first atomic bomb and was well underway to prouduce one atomic bomb to be used in a war by the end of 1945, with German help the Soviets was well underway to launch their first test-bomb by the end of 1945 despite the earlier setbacks. The Soviets and Germans held their test of the German produced atomic bomb in Siberia top secret - even from their own allies. They wanted their new nuclear capabilities to be a secret. Both to not escalate tensions in the world, and so they could use them in surprise attacks in a coming war. As both the Germans and the Soviets now knew the full potential of the atomic age they were fearful if the US had finished the developments of their own bomb.**

Spread communism*.

On May the 12th Truman adressed Congress in an 18 minute speech:

"I believe it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.

I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.

I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes."

This was in response to the rise of communism in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The doctrine of Roosevelt to peacefully cooperate with the USSR and gradually turn them into a responsible and democratic power and the appeasment policy of Lord Halifax was in one speech replaced by the Truman Doctrine. The United States took a much more aggressive stance, publically, against "all enemies of freedom" which included the authorian regimes in Latin America and the Communist ones in Europe. Truman claimed that because totalitarian regimes coerced free peoples, they automatically represented a threat to international peace and the national security of the United States. The stage was set. In January of 1945 the Internationale ratified the use of open interventions to back communist rebels and revolutions, Truman took now a similar stance. The Internationale sought to spread the revolution, while the United States saw it as their mission to contain its spread. As Eric Foner wrote "[the Doctrine] set a precedent for American assistance to anticommunist regimes throughout the world, no matter how undemocratic, and for the creation of a set of global military alliances directed against the Soviet Union." The peace established in Genève was withering away.

With wonderweapons we shall strike at the heart of the capitalist world.

With ground based multiple rocket launcher systems having seen rapid improvements in quality and quantity, the focus of the advancement of rocket systems was placed into the V-1 cruise missiles and Me 163 Komet rocket powered fighters that was on the drawing table as Germany fell to the Allied armies. The Komet's design was revolutionary and it could come up to speeds of 1000km/h. However due to its rocket engine it was in mny ways a flying bomb, still it had great potential. The V-1 flying bomb concept was also looked into, and the Soviets (who had built rocket sites in the Kola peninsula, in Kaliningrad, Crimea and Vladivostok) hoped to soon have these flying bombs in production so they could produce a cheap form of strategic bombing into NATO territory without risking any Soviet pilots. However this was merely seen as the first step to finalizing the German concept of the V-2 rocket and the Soviet R-1 rocket, and later on the R-2 missile that was hoped to reach the United States. The wet dream of Soviet rocket scientists was to conquer space and showcase the rapid Soviet scientific progress, the wet dream of the Kremlin was to outfit these rockets with nuclear weapons..

How dare they!

The 27th of May 1945. Fear and paranoia gripped the regime in Moscow. In London the parliament had openly debated a British intervention into Belgium - and approved it. Alltough it was unlikely for the British to invade the Low Countries, the House of Commons approved an intervention in Belgium if it was needed. Then on the 27th sleeper agents from the USSR, France, Belgium and Spain stationed in Britain reported that the Halifax Government was preparing an intervention into Iraq. This was a direct threat to the Soviet sphere of influence, and their oil supplies. The Red Army and the armed forces of the Pact was set to high alert and ordered to begin re-mobilization. Top Secret documents in Britain was then released to the British press. It was named "Operation Unthinkable". It showed that following the fall of Germany and the initial partition of Germany the British government planned to launch a massive operation to "impose the will of the Western Allies on the Soviets". This plan was, however, dropped as it was deemed "fanciful". But it nevertheless greatly soured the already strained relations between the west and the east. However Unthinkable also outlined a defensive plan, that was still to be used. It entailed that the British Empire should invade into Belgium to establish a bridgehead in Europe from there and in the Netherlands. In the following weeks the Americans would join into the fight and overwhelm the Pact. Trotsky and his generals was now convinced NATO would go to war, either over the pretex of re-establishing democracy in Belgium or to secure Iraq.

Peace did indeed die with Roosevelt.

And so the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics along with the other nations of the Internationale prepared for war. Trotsky even stated in an internal council "there is only one way to prevent their aggressive expansion. War!" The generals, admirals and marshals of the Soviet Union was ordered to ready the military and mobilize it and indeed do the unthinkable; to go to war against NATO. It remained to be seen if this crisis would actually manifest itself into a full scale war, or if it would fade away as the Aegean Crisis.

Workingman unrest in the Netherlands..

In the Netherlands the economic crisis took its toll. Relying upon American aid to barely survive the dire situation, the people took it to the streets. There they protested against the government and the social situation in what would become known as the June Strikes. At first it was reduced to better working conditions, wages, unionzation etc, however the neighbouring communist regimes decided this was their time to act. Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and France sent around 1000 men each to escalate the Dutch situation. Powered by these revolutionaries and agitators the protests soon turned to demands of socialism, republicanism and removal from NATO and even violence. The Soviet Union then soon took interests and together with the Internationale they made a declaration to condemn the "Dutch Reactionaries". 10.000 hardline NKVD officers was also sent to the Netherlands to both remove political adversaries but also to spread chaos. However, despite their best attempts, the troubles was seen by most for what it really was; Soviet expansion. The people turned away from the unions and strikers and instead sided with the government - helped with a major government crackdown on the strikers.

The proletariat of England shall come to our aid, and we to theirs.

But the Soviets used the troubles in the Netherlands as a diversion. While those who scream the loudest get the most attention, it is those who operate in the shadows who might be the most dangerous. Loyalist NKVD officers was sent to Liverpool and Manchester to train and arm the radical socialists and communists there. The British workingclass was slowly turning against the Conservative government, especially in the industrial lands of northern England. Lord Halifax and his government refused to concede to the many strikers and the Labour Party. There would be no establishment of a National Health Service or a further expansion of a welfare state under the current government. Halifac declared this was socialism, and Britain would stand steadfast against socialism. This, however, only fueled the rage of the workingman and radicalied the Labour Party. Despite the majority of the population still supporting the Conservative Party and the liberal-democracy and constitutional monarchy, around a third of the population did not. In the case of an allout war with the British Empire Trotsky and the Soviets therefore made efforts to spread chaos and diversions into the English industrial heartland. In case of war and invasion the masses of Liverpool, Manchester and Lancarshire would take to arms and proclaim a provisional government.

NKVD once a loyal ally of Trotsky, now nothing.

During this time Trotsky carried out a housecleaning to secure his position at home. The NKVD was split between those who supported Trotsky, and those who believed he was either too lenient on the capitalists, that he hadn't lived up to his democratic promises and even those who wanted the return of Stalin. Those who were opposed to him would later be known as the "Hardliners", but were by Trotsky exposed as counter-revolutionaries. The Trotskyists presented evidence that the assassination attempt against Trotsky and the uprisings by the Turkestans and the Cossacks was in fact organized by the Hardliners. If those evidence was true or fabricated is up to debate. However this led to a swift response. Trotsky used his position to crackdown on his adversaries. The 10.000 Hardliners that was sent to the Netherlands was in fact being betrayed as "anonymous" sources tipped off the Dutch security forces, those who returned was put in jail and executed. Meanwhile back home the adversaries of Trotsky was either arrested or gunned down. The Hardliners was purged from Soviet society. The 19 NKVD divisions was also disbanded with loyal troops being offered to enroll in the Red Army instead, while outright Hardliners was executed and those who the government was uncertain about were sent to "rehabilitation". The NKVD itself was split into two different ministries. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and Ministry for State Security (MGB). This in turn split the power of the NKVD, not allowing too much power to fall into the hands of one institution, but it also led to more specialized and focused structures. Trotsky never forgot that the NKVD was the ones who were responsible for getting rid of the near allpowerful Stalin, and while he owed his gratitudes to them they were becoming a state within the state and a threat to Trotsky who had already made several concessions to the NKVD out of fear, now he saw his opportunity to get rid of a potential threat and Trotsky's position was secured once and for all.***

Portugal will see the light too..

On the 19th of June the MGB got its first mission: to spread socialism to all of Iberia. With Spanish intelligence officers and worker's militias they crossed into Portugal to set up insurgency base of operations and spread their propaganda. This was something the Spanish had dreamed of for long, to spread the revolution to their distant cousins, but it also held clear geo-political goals. Portugal was as for now not a part of NATO, however it was incined towards the democratic regimes of the west. If another World War unleashed its fires upon the world, then Portugal was a potential threat to Spain if American troops used it as a staging ground, moreover its colonies provided a direct threat to the uranium deposits in Belgian Congo. The export of the revolution to Portugal can be explained by both ideological motives and by motives of realpolitik.

But conflict spread to Norway..

But on the 19th of June the revolution finally spread to Norway. After years of careful investments, and a closecall election, the small and cold nation was in the midst of a revolution. A revolution of violence, whose gunshots might aswell echo to the rest of the world, dragging it down with them. Would the Truman Doctrine or the Internationale Clause of Norwegian-Intervention kick in?

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*So I didn't pay much attention to South America until the wars started to kick off their. Turns out Paraguay is communist. As they have much support I reckon they have been so for a while. so narrative wise the PRF wasn't founded until 1943 and communist in 1945.

**Again I was to research it by the start of '45. Alas, game crash. That made me forget it so I didn't research it until 28th of April unfortunately, when I realized my mistake. Meanwhile Germany have researched the nuclear bomb tech themself. So narrative wise the German and Soviet nuclear programs are a joint effort, with the Red Army in the end controlling the German nuclear arsenal.

***So I disbanded the 19 NKVD/militia/MP divisions. It was really just so I could recruit better divisions by getting their guns, however I used it as oppurtunity to make up a powerstruggle between Trotsky and the NKVD.

So that was that update. Next update will focus on Norway under "communist revolutions" and we'll see if that revolution turn the world into another war or not! Exciting times.

 

[Draguss]

Great installment! Looking forward to seeing what happens next with Norway.

 

[ThaHoward]

Great installment! Looking forward to seeing what happens next with Norway.

Thank you!

 

[stnylan]

The world is about to get hot

 

[ThaHoward]

The world is about to get hot

Hm.

It's getting hot in here!

And after some fun with Waking the Tiger (more like waking the Kaiser) I've reverted the game version (thanks stnylan) because the show must go on.

 

[BattleFury]

I'm just starting to get into the series, but there is one problem that really nags me. You said that there was a famine between 32-33. This was intentional by Stalin, and killed as much, if not more people than the Holocaust. In Ukrainian, this is called the Holodomor. I have great grandparents that survived this, and it was meant to starve.

 

[ThaHoward]

I'm just starting to get into the series, but there is one problem that really nags me. You said that there was a famine between 32-33. This was intentional by Stalin, and killed as much, if not more people than the Holocaust. In Ukrainian, this is called the Holodomor. I have great grandparents that survived this, and it was meant to starve.

There are strict forum rules regarding certain events. That's why I play it safe by making refferences rather than putting things bluntly and specific that may close the AAR. So events like that are reffered to, and I leave it up to the reader to make the connections. It isn't downplaying events on my part, I rather just don't want the thread to be closed. Hope that cleared things up!

Other than that welcome and hope you enjoy it

 

[OtakuStrategy]

Recently I've brainstormed an alternate reality where a Trotskyist USSR hijacks the 1933 elections in Germany and put the GDR in power. After securing eastern europe, they let loose on the west in a fall gleb style. The war grinds to a stalemate in north africa as the americans get involved however, due to russian marines raiding dutch harbor while in construction. Other neutral powers include fascist japan and italy, with occasional border skirmishes.

 

[ThaHoward]

Recently I've brainstormed an alternate reality where a Trotskyist USSR hijacks the 1933 elections in Germany and put the GDR in power. After securing eastern europe, they let loose on the west in a fall gleb style. The war grinds to a stalemate in north africa as the americans get involved however, due to russian marines raiding dutch harbor while in construction. Other neutral powers include fascist japan and italy, with occasional border skirmishes.

A 1933 scenario is indeed very interesting, especially if the Soviets pushed Germany toward a communist takeover. The combined armies of Germany and USSR in '39 (or later) would be a terrible prospect. However I guess it would need serious purges in the German and especially Prussian Officer Corps. But if the Allies manage to take Germany, then it's "only" all of eastern Europe and the USSR left

 

[Anuerin]

Halifax really is a morons moron TTL. The sharpest sword against domestic communism is social democracy, to sap the legitimate grievances of the workers. If you make moderation untenable, radicalisation becomes inevitable. If even Churchill could eventually come round to that, you'd think Halifax could manage to.

 

[ThaHoward]

Halifax really is a morons moron TTL. The sharpest sword against domestic communism is social democracy, to sap the legitimate grievances of the workers. If you make moderation untenable, radicalisation becomes inevitable. If even Churchill could eventually come round to that, you'd think Halifax could manage to.

This really isn't a jab against Halifax (Poor fellow, gotten quite the reputation in this AAR) but it is to reflect the polarization in Britain in this timeline. Afterall prior to the post-war Labour government Churchill wasn't a fan of such ideas. Now the Labour Party and Unions in this timeline is much, much more radical than the original timeline. The idea is basically the many communist revolutions make left wing movements naturally more radical, as we saw following the Russian revolution, and the communist entryism doctrine from the continent.

So Halifax do believe he is fighting Socialism and the International by being opposed to such things. History will judge him if he were correct or not