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Duke Valentino
Mar 23, 2003
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My first AAR. Settings are Easy (I'm new at this :)) and Furious, playing as the USSR. The game is stock 1.05 except that I modified the Great Purge events with MKSheppard's event series.

Marshals of the Soviet Union!

Europe 1936

In 1936, the Soviet Union was a colossus in the making. Her army and industry weres some of the most powerful in the world, and the massive resource base could sustain nearly unlimited expansion. However, the giant had feet of clay. The majority of the Red Army was composed of poorly organized infantry divisions and a handful of obsolescent tanks. The claims of Nazi Germany on the territory of its neighbors showed that a major European war was in the making, and the USSR was woefully unprepared for this conflict.

German Claims 1936

The first act on the road to modernizing the USSR was put in motion on January 1 of that year. Orders from Moscow began the industrialization of the Urals and territories all along the Trans-Siberian railroad. In addition, Tukhachevsky submitted his Three Year Army Plan--the effect of which was to devote all available industrial resources to improve the Red Army, spending only the minimum for other purposes. This plan was accepted over the protests of naval and air representatives and Lazar Kaganovich, commissar of heavy industries.

On March 8, 1936, a sign of the difficult times to come appeared as Germany reoccupied the Rhineland in blatant violation of the treaty of Versailles. The French and English did nothing.

Said Stalin: "Capitalists have no stomach for war. It will be up to us to stop Hitler."

An even more disturbing demonstration of reactionary currents in Western Europe was to come on July 18, as rightist soldiers in Spain began a war against the legitimate government.


NKVD Transcript
July 19, 1936

V.M. Molotov: It is a dark hole, Comrade Stalin. The Republicans have no chance, whatever we send to them will be wasted.

I.V. Stalin: No effort is ever wasted, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich. The Republican army has a purpose for us.

V.M. Molotov: What would that be?

I.V. Stalin: What would I do with a bottomless pit? I would put my refuse in it, so that I would not have to see it again.

V.M. Molotov: Volunteers then? To dispose of the most fanatical Comsomol and Party members.

I.V. Stalin: A call for 30,000 volunteers should be sufficient. We will equip them and ship them to Spain, and if we see any of them again, they will disillusioned.

V.M. Molotov: I see. We are preparing then, for a potential rapproachment with the West?

I.V. Stalin: It is best to be prepared--and if we didn't send them, they would agitate for intervention.


Republican Spain disappeared from maps within a month after the Soviet volunteers' arrival. Most were killed in combat or executed by Franco in the wake of victory. Those that returned had lost their revolutionary fervor.

On November 4, 1936, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to a second term in the United States. He was a political authority more willing to work with the Soviet Union than most Americans, and it was heartening for the USSR to have a friendly leader in the USA.

At the beginning of 1937, the first wave of the Trans-Uralic Industrial Plan was completed, greatly increasing the USSR's industrial base. The second wave was reduced in extent because of the possibility of war in the near future, though it was still significant.

On February 12, a major workers' strike occurred in Moscow. The ringleaders were soon to disappear, but the effects remained. The Commissariat of Heavy Industries allowed a slight increase in the production of luxury goods to mollify the proletariat.

March 2, 1937 brought disturbing news.


NKVD Transcript
March 2, 1937

I.V. Stalin: I want him dead. And not just Tukhachevsky, if he's a traitor, who else could be?

G.G. Yagoda: Any officer in the army, from top to bottom.

I.V. Stalin: I knew this would happen. I knew it. The whole rotten structure is full of Trotskyite bandits. Maybe if I killed every other officer over the rank of Captain, then they would see why I am the boss.

V.M. Molotov: I think they already know that.

I.V. Stalin: Then why do they plot against me?

V.M. Molotov: It has to be considered... how much information do we have on this?

G.G. Yagoda: A rather thin amount.

I.V. Stalin: But I can feel it. They are plotting against me, all the time.

V.M. Molotov: Perhaps. But we need to remember the threats we face from abroad.

I.V. Stalin: How can I plan for such things while my own Marshals hold a dagger to my chest?

V.M. Molotov: There is little evidence for this plotting, and what you suggest would throw the army into a ferment and remove our best officers. We have to fight a war with Germany soon enough--the army can't fight without officers.

I.V. Stalin: I have plans--you and I have plans, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich, that will postpone a war with Germany for years. There will be ample time to recover the army's strength.

G.G. Yagoda: Yes. I suggest that you allow me to clean the whole command structure of the army. Even if there isn't a plot, it's still good sense and costs us nothing.

V.M. Molotov: It could cost us. This plan, nothing about it is certain yet, and even if it was Hitler hasn't honored Versailles, has he?

I.V. Stalin: True. He's an untrustworthy reactionary if there ever was one.

V.M. Molotov: My suggestion, Comrade Stalin, is that you place the high command under surveillance. Those of them who are suspicious enough, we will know what to do with them. But it isn't worth tearing our strength to bits and throwing the country into a fervor over something which may or may not be true.

G.G. Yagoda: What are you implying?

I.V. Stalin: He's not implying anything, he's just making good sense. Yes, that will be my plan of action--Yagoda, ensure that it goes correctly.
 
OIOIIOIOIOI


nice start m8
 
July 4, 1937. A black day for Asia, as the Japanese Empire declared war on the Republic of China. The naked aggression brought protests from politicians throughout the civilized world, but the proletariat of the western world remained unconcerned and largely unaware of the occurrence.

Said Stalin, "You must tell the proletariat what to think. If you don't, nothing gets done."

Initially, the war in China went badly for Japan. The massive numbers of Chinese militia and infantry actually managed to push forward and sieze a handful of provinces in and around Manchuria, while the aggressors lacked the strength to take them back. Unfortunately, the Japanese naval superiority began to tell, and they managed a landing in the south of China.

Japanese Beachhead in China

Forced to fight on another front, the Nationalist effort began to collapse. By the end of the year, the Japanese would hold the entire coastline of China and most of it's eastern provinces, stopping only when their advance moved beyond the capacity of their navy to support the army.*


NKVD Transcript
November 19, 1937

I.V. Stalin: This is intolerable, Maksim. I want you to redouble your efforts, do whatever is necessary. I need Vladivostok and the Trans-Siberian to be secure. Keep the Japanese aware of how badly they want to avoid a war with us.

M.M. Litvinov: I am doing so, and I have been doing so for years. But it is difficult, they are intractable.

I.V. Stalin: I don't care if they're donkeys. Just make sure that the Imperialists in the east do not align with the Fascists to our west.

M.M. Litvinov: Diplomacy is the art of the possible, Comrade Stalin.

I.V. Stalin: I don't want what's possible. I want a secure far east. Do not fail me! You know what happened to the last jew that tested me!


In January of 1938, the second wave of Siberian industrialization was completed, further increasing Soviet strength. In addition, the army modernization programs began to bear fruit. Early prototypes of a new, superb tank were being tested, and Soviet equipment and training were as advanced as any in the world.


NKVD Transcript
February 5, 1938

G.G. Yagoda: My surveillance of General Gamarnik has turned up evidence that he is a pro-German traitor.

I.V. Stalin: You should know what to do. What do you want me to say?

G.G. Yagoda: I felt you should know that the program is getting results.

I.V. Stalin: Results? How many traitors have you found, over the usual day-to-day number? And only one a highly placed military officer. What happened to the vast plot of '37?

G.G. Yagoda: I told you then that there was not enough evidence to--

I.V. Stalin: You were very sure, despite that.

G.G. Yagoda: So were you!

I.V. Stalin: Be careful, Yagoda. Even a wolf can be eaten.


March 16 brought the most startling move by Germany yet, as Hitler forced the entry of Austria into his 'Greater German Reich.' Protests in the western nations were muted, reinforcing Stalin's belief that it would come down to a war between the USSR and Germany. The western nations hoped that Hitler would be satisfied with Austria, but scarcely four days later he began sending firey despatches to Czechoslovakia demanding the repatriation of the Sudetenland to Germany. The Czechs rebuffed these demands, thanks in large part to the promise of British and French support.

April 8 brought a shakeup in the Politburo, as Genrikh Yagoda died of a long-time illness and was replaced by the more reliable Lavrenti Beria. Klimenti Voroshilov was also demoted and replaced by the capable Semyon Timoshenko.

The first tank divisions equipped with the T-34/76 tank entered production and training early in July, with deployment expected by the end of November. STAVKA doctrine called for tank armies of 5 or 6 such divisions to be deployed at the front. They would concentrate at a single point on the enemy line, routing the troops, and then rapidly move deep into enemy territory to cut him off from supplies. What seperated this "Deep Operation" from the German doctrine of blitzkrieg was its scale; the plans for a war in Poland indicated an encirclement that would terminate as far west as Warsaw, trapping not just the German front line, but their entire army.

September 30, 1938 showed the world exactly what the promises of the Western Democracies meant: Nothing. The dastardly Munich pact allowed the cowardly French and English to skirt a war with Germany, in exchange for Czechoslovakia's richest regions. The disillusioned Czechs began a slide into rightest tendencies in an effort to mollify the insatiable Hitler. Coincident with the Czech decline was the fall from grace of Litvinov. The Munich pact served to isolate the Soviet Union from the west, demonstrating the failure of Litvinov's pro-western stance.

The first T-34/76 divisions, with attached Engineer brigades, entered service on November 23, 1938.

Americans recieved a late Christmas present in the form of the Nanking Massacre. Japanese troops entered the Chinese city and engaged in a long orgy of rape and murder. The American people finally began to wake up to the threat of Japanese aggression, though it would be a long time before they would recognize war as the only remaining option.

The new year 1939 saw another major strike of the workers, which was quickly 'resolved,' though the effects remained for some time. On March 15, Hitler eased tensions with Czechoslovakia by reaffirming his intention to abide by the terms of the Munich Pact. On the 24th, however, Germany siezed the province of Memel from the Lithuanians, largely counteracting the calming effect of his earlier announcement. Politicians in London and Paris began putting plans into motion as German troops moved into the Baltic province.


NKVD Transcript
March 30, 1939

I.V. Stalin: That's it, Maksim. Your plan of aligning with the west--it's finished!

M.M. Litvinov: I don't think it's quite that hopeless. There's still every possibility of success.

I.V. Stalin: The Frogs spit in our face at Munich. They smiled and minced and let Hitler grab as much as he could lay his grubby Austrian paws on. Now they're setting up allies on our border.

M.M. Litvinov: I think that their alliance with Poland springs from a desire to halt German expansion, not a plan to launch offensive operations into our nation.

I.V. Stalin: They want to--to defend Poland? France can't defend Poland! They haven't the guts or the strength for it! The Tommy's are strung out from Burma to Canada; they can barely defend themselves. If they wanted to protect Poland, they would have come to us, given us military access and a free hand.

M.M. Litvinov: The Poles would never have agreed to such--

I.V. Stalin: You don't understand, you're nothing but a fatuous Jew, playing at diplomacy! It doesn't matter what the Poles think. They're a weak people, unfit to rule themselves. The imperialist Britons, they know such a country when they see one. No, they're going to try something.

M.M. Litvinov: I still have great confidence in the possibility of aligning with the Allies against Hitler.

I.V. Stalin: You're done, Litvinov, you've failed me, just like Yagoda. Just like every damn Yid who's worked for me. Be thankful you're only a diplomat, you'll get a Dacha in the Crimea and pension, instead of a bullet from your own men.

M.M. Litvinov: I'm... done?

I.V. Stalin: Molotov will replace you. Get out of my sight.






*The Japanese conquered the most important parts of China, probably demolishing their army, and were poised to sieze the last three Chinese VP provinces and annex the country. Except they decided that sitting there for a few years was better.

Also, I fudged the sequence a bit. I didn't replace Litvinov until a month after Poland joined the allies, mostly because I got tied up with fine-tuning the industry to churn out T-34s. It was better story to have him replaced in the aftermath, so I fudged it.

Also, I have to ask a couple of questions:
1) Are the picture links working for all concerned?
2) Is it all right to have Stalin use racist language?
 
On August 24, 1939, the newly appointed Commissar of Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov met with Joachim von Ribbentrop, his German counterpart, to sign the Nazi-Soviet non-agression pact. The public part of the document was disturbing enough to the West, as it allowed Germany to sieze Poland without provoking the USSR. The secret portions of the document would have been still more disturbing. It contained a plan for a partition of Poland and Germany recognition of expansive Soviet claims on the Baltic, and against Finland and Romania. In fact, Molotov's plane flew directly from Berlin to Talinn, where he bluntly forced the Estonians to concede to be absorbed by the USSR. His next stop was Latvia on the 26th, where much the same event transpired, earning Molotov the nickname of "Le Grande Ogre Russe" in the Paris press. On August 28, the Lithuanians refused to be annexed. General G.K. Zhukov's tank army was moved to the new border with the nation, and Molotov waited for the Liths to become intimidated.

Then, on August 30, 1939, the dam broke. Hitler demanded the immediate cession of Danzig and surrounding territories, Poland refused, and the Axis and Allies were at war. Poland would fall to Germany on October 8, and the agreed upon eastern provinces would be ceded to the USSR.

The Axis, October 1939
(Czechoslovakia would join the Axis on October 22)

In the wake of the Polish invasion, Lithuanian resistence to annexation collapsed, and they agreed to become an SSR on September 13.


NKVD Transcript
November 14, 1939

V.M. Molotov: I don't see any point in it.

I.V. Stalin: It is prestige. It is to show Hitler that we are strong.

V.M. Molotov: Finland's border provinces are worthless to us, and a show of strength is similarly useless. We've moved troops to the border, he knows we have six tank armies waiting for him to blink.

I.V. Stalin: You may be right, but I want to see Mannerheim crushed under my boot.

V.M. Molotov: Can it wait until after you've seen Hitler in that pose?


On November 14, Stalin backed down from earlier demands that Finland submit to Russian claims, averting a war in the northern winter.

France experienced the fury of a non-existent war through the winter of '39-'40. German and French troops stared at one another across the border for several months, while a German army invaded and crushed Denmark. The 'Phoney War' became real on March 2, 1940. German tanks and infantry exploded across the border into Belgium and quickly occupied the small country, though not before the Belgians evacuated their army into France and placed it under the control of their allies. The limited French reserves in the north rapidly collapsed in the face of Nazi strength, and the breakthrough put had them at the gates of Paris by the sixth.

German gains in Northern France

With all German forces committed to the west, Stalin reached a decision. War with Germany was inevitable, and the concentration in France gave the Red Army an opportunity that could not be wasted.

Operation Nevsky, the plan to eliminate the Teutonic armies in the East

On March 12, 1940, the Soviet Embassy in Berlin recieved a short message from Moscow.

"Destroy all documents and equipment. We are at war."
 
Last edited:
The History Channel Presents
Marshals of the Soviet Union
A new docudrama from the 'all WWII, all the time' channel.
But first, part four of our pre-show

Narrator:
On March 12, 1939, the Soviet Union went to war with Germany, in a war that would decide not only the future of the two nations, but the fate of all Europe. The instrument of the Soviets' victory would be the Red Army. This was a completely different entity from the army of 1936; the speed and totality of its modernization surprised not only the Germans but sometimes even the Soviet generals themselves.

Nikolai R. Balinovsky (Soviet tank driver):
[translated]
When I started in the Russian army we were a lot of peasants, either on horses or on foot. It stayed like this until, maybe, 1938. Then we got the first T-34 divisions. Then, what we had when it came to war in 1940 was still a bunch of peasants--but now we had tanks, and trucks [laughs]. A lot of the army was still 'leg' infantry, but they didn't have to do a lot of the fighting. The tank armies would smash the enemy and move forward, and the infantry armies would come behind and hold the ground, secure and liquidate surrounded strongpoints. The grunt work.

T-34/76s being tested at Magnitogorsk

Narrator:
Universally regarded as the best tank of the era, the T-34 was decisive in the Russian effort against the Werhmacht.

Gerhardt Schulz (German tank commander, 1940):
[accented English]
In 1940, we didn't know a lot about what the Russians had. They told us, 'Oh, they are inferior slavs, no match for strong German boys,' or 'They haven't got the technology to beat us. Just waves of men that we can cut down with machineguns!' Maybe that's what they were like in the Great War, but that isn't what I fought. When they first came across the border, the best tank we had was the Panzer III, with a 30mm gun and two machineguns. This was good enough against, say, the French or the Tommies. But it didn't cut it when it came to blows with a T-34!

Nikolai R. Balinovsky:
[translated]
The German tanks were a bit of a joke. We would drive straight at them, and BANG! BANG! You would hear shells hitting the tank. But the T-34 had thick armor, and it was sloped at an angle, so that when the shells hit them they would bounce off. We would get out of the tank to eat after the battle and look at the hull, and the front plate would have a lot of scrapes where the shells had hit but we had barely noticed. Meanwhile, we would shoot back, and the German tanks were not as well designed. So they didn't get out to eat after the battle.

Narrator:
The Red Army had not just improved technically. It had also advanced by leaps and bounds in training and organization.

Jan Makovika (Czech Captain):
[translated]
In 1938, we thought we were good, tough soldiers. Then we got a look at the Germans, and gave up the Sudetenland. Now we thought we knew what was tough! Then, in 1940, we fought the Russians. It was awful. They had such equipment that we would have killed for, and they didn't make mistakes. They advanced like clockwork, their artillery was well coordinated, and each group supported the next; every man was well trained and disciplined. This was a far cry from what we had hoped we would face, and even what they had been a few years ago. If we had had soldiers like the Russians in '38, we'd have told Hitler what to do with himself.

Gerhardt Schulz:
When it started, we found out how badly off we were. The Soviets had thirty tank divisions in six armies ready to go. We had about 20, with inferior tanks and training. We did outnumber them in infantry divisions, probably for the first time anyone had ever fought Russia, but pound for pound their's were better.

Narrator:
Now it's time for a commercial break. When we return, the beginning of the new TV movie from the people that brought you R. Lee Ermey's "Mail Call."
 
what the hell is going on, how did you get thru poland to germany Military access. tsk tsk you naughty man
 
The History Channel presents
Marshals of the Soviet Union

...

Outside Konigsburg, East Prussia
March 12, 1940

Borislav crawled to the crest of the hill just behind Godunov, his spotter. He cradled his Mosin-Nagant as if afraid that careless handling would damage it, despite the weapon's hardy construction. The sniper team took up position in some thick undergrowth and Godunov set his PPSh-41 aside in favor of his binoculars. Borislav used his rifle's scope to scan the terrain ahead.

"Nothing," Godunov finally said, "Just empty trenches. No kitchen smoke, no troops."

"Pfft. You sound surprised, it's been like that after every hill. There are more Prussians in Belgium than there are in Prussia!" Borislav chuckled.

Godunov sighed, "I heard that there's two rifle divisions north of here, near Memel."

Borislav shrugged, "We'll never see 'em. Let's get back to the half-track and report in."

...

Zhukov's Headquarters

"The scouts are reporting in, General. It's the same as before, no troops in sight," Colonel Spodarik said, "the spearhead entered Konigsberg without resistence."

Zhukov scowled, "Long range reconnaissance?"

Spodarik smiled, "The closest known German forces are in Memel, but they're about to be engaged by the Baltic Front."

"Then we'll worry about what's unknown, colonel. We rest for the rest of the day, consolidate our hold, and move into Elbing at first light," Zhukov ordered.

...

Elbing, East Prussia
March 13

Artillery fired flashed in the west as lieutenant Strelnikov ordered his tank forward. He stared intently through his periscope, trying to locate signs of Germans. After a few minutes he found what he was looking for.

Strelnikov began to bark out orders, "Driver, stop. Loader, load HE; gunner, strongpoint forward, 400 yards."

"Enemy strongpoint located, twelve o'clock, 400 yards," he told the tank platoon over his radio.

There was an abbreviated German trenchline with what appeared to be dug in anti-tank guns. They were much smaller than the Soviet standard 76mm field gun, making it probable that they were of 50mm or smaller caliber. Strelnikov saw the rest of his tank platoon similarly slowing, and he was sure that the infantry were dismounting their trucks. Ahead of him, the anti-tank guns began to flash and machineguns started up.

Strelnikov's loader shouted, "HE loaded!"

"Ready to fire," the gunner reported.

"Fire!" Strelnikov ordered.

The entire tank shuddered as the T-34's main gun fired. The 76mm shell screamed out of the barrel and whipped downrange in a little over a third of a second. A hillock just behind an anti-tank gun bloomed into orange flame.

"Missed. Gunner, load HE."

"HE loaded!"

"Ready to fire," the gunner reported.

"Fire!" Strelnikov ordered.

The tank trembled again, and another round shot towards the enemy emplacement. This time, the hit was square and the gun was blown to pieces, with the barrel going one way and the carriage another.

"Hit! Gunner, load HE."

Strelnikov looked for another good target. Just as he spotted one, it's muzzle flashed and a moment later there was a terrific crash on the glacis plate.

He keyed the intercom, "Driver, report!"

The driver replied calmly, "Shot was deflected, I'm fine."

The tank platoon kept up the fire steadily, until all the anti-tank guns were silenced. Then the infantry half-tracks moved forward with the tanks until the position was completely overrun.

...

Zhukov's Headquarters
March 14

"The German fifth and sixth infantry divisions are in full retreat. We estimate their losses at 25 to 35 percent effective strength from both divisions," Spodarik reported to Zhukov.

"Our losses?" Zhukov asked.

"Scarcely four percent, mainly damaged tanks and wounded," the colonel replied.

Zhukov smiled, "More a rout than a retreat. How went the battle in Memel?"

"Both German divisions surrendered, and the Baltic Front will be able to move forward by tomorrow."

"No time to wait. East Prussia is ours, now we have only to move south and link up with Tukhachevsky to encircle Warsaw."

...

Moscow
March 19

The Encirclement of Warsaw

"Two divisions?" Stalin asked incredulously, "That's all they have in the area?"

Timoshenko nodded, "They committed everything to the breakthrough in Northern France. We've only confirmed six German divisions on the entire Eastern Front--two were captured in Memel, Zhukov routed another pair from Elbing, and we'll soon capture the two guarding Warsaw. Tank armies are moving towards Torun, Lublin, Ost-Poleka, and Radom. We'll collapse the ring and eliminate them outside Warsaw itself."

"Hitler was a fool to think I would let him move his entire army to France and get away with it," Stalin said, "But what of the Czechs, and German divisions in the west?"

"The French say that offensive operations against their lines have slowed but not ceased. He is probably transferring divisions to this front, but still hoping to knock the Allies off the continent so that he can concentrate on us. The Czechs have 14 to 16 divisions prepared to oppose us, but they're of low quality and have few tanks or anti-tank guns," Timoshenko said, "Chuikov's Southern Front will smash them in Munkacs and Konev will move south to cut off a retreat into Bohemia."

"Excellent. My plan is going even better than I could have hoped," Stalin said.

...

Warsaw
March 23

Most of the Poles didn't know what to do. They had cowered in their homes as the Red Army rolled through the city, they had watched in fear as the artillery flashed to the east. It was said that two German divisions had been totally destroyed by the Soviets. Some, especially the younger men, were jubilant and filled the streets to cheer Zhukov's soldiers. Poland had been saved from the slavering German beast. But the elderly--those who remembered the terror of 1920, when the Red Army had first marched on Warsaw, those who remembered the harsh rule of the Russian Empire--they stayed in their homes.

Zhukov's men systematically moved through the city, eliminating scattered German holdouts and siezing government buildings. The Russian soldiers were disciplined and efficient, and for a time even the old people began to think that it might be alright, that it might be as it was before. But then Zhukov's men moved west and garrison troops with attached NKVD brigades moved in. People began to disappear, and by the end of the month the new government was being put in place over the protests of London and Paris.

Tukhachevsky had corrected his failure of 1920. Stalin had come home to roost.
 
The Conclusion of Operation Nevsky

Moscow
April 2, 1940

Timoshenko stepped away from the map as he finished explaining the troop dispositions to Stalin, "Therefore, as of April 2, 1940, STAVKA has declared Operation Nevsky at an end. Tukhachevsky and Zhukov have established a defensive line along the Oder River just in front of Berlin itself, and Konev and Chuikov's armies are preparing to knock Czechoslovakia and Hungary from the war."

Stalin nodded from his chair, "Good, good! How long until the lapdogs of the Fascists are finished?"

"Within a month, perhaps sooner," Timoshenko said, "We have intercepted a communique from Hitler telling them to 'look to their own defense.' Without German aid, they will not last."

...

Köln

"Mein Fuhrer, it is imperative that we transfer more troops to the east!" von Manstein said, "The situation on the Oder appears to have stabilized, but if we do not act quickly, we will lose Czechoslovakia and Hungary."

Hitler shook his head, "No! I have already diverted twenty divisions from the Paris front, I will not divert any more!"

"The Russians have 30 panzer divisions alone! If I do not recieve more troops," he paused, then continued quietly, "I cannot hold Berlin."

"I will not have such defeatism! Berlin is the greatest city in the world, it will withstand this menace. Berlin will NEVER be surrendered!" Hitler shouted back.

"The capital cannot be held with propaganda. Intelligence reports at least fifteen Russian tank divisions in northern Germany, and the Czechs are being ravaged by a further ten. If you do not give me anything, I will lose Prague, and then I will lose Berlin," von Manstein said acidly.

Hitler turned red and looked like he was about to begin a rant, but just as quickly he calmed down, "Feld Marschall von Rundstedt assures me that he will have the French surrender in hand within the month. Then you will have your troops. Now, I must go and address the German people. I will tell them what I have told you--and at least they have confidence in me!"

The Fuhrer stood and stalked out of the meeting room. After a moment, von Manstein also stood, and approached the situation maps which had been prepared for the meeting. Hitler had barely looked at them, preferring to rely on his own false impressions and promises of newly commissioned divisions. Manstein looked at the maps and sighed. Prussia was lost, and soon enough Brandenburg would be added to the Soviet Empire.

...

Prague
April 12, 1940

"Such a beautiful city," Konev mused to his aide, "It's a good thing that the Czechs broke before it could be damaged."

The colonel frowned, "The Germans are moving to rescue their allies. We may yet see fighting here."

The two men stood on a hotel balcony overlooking the city of Prague, captured just the day before. The defenders had surrendered unconditionally, and Molotov was already in the capital building, 'hammering' out the terms of the Czech's surrender as was his specialty.

"It could have been more difficult," Konev said.

"What do you mean, sir?" his aide asked.

"This part of the war--the siezure of Czechoslovakia. It would have taken twice as long and four times as many casualties if the Czechs had their hearts in it. As it is, most of their soldiers were more friendly to us than to the Germans."

"Perhaps."

Night was falling over Prague, and the lights on streets and in houses flickered on. The city still had electricity, a remarkable thing in such a war. Normally the defenders would have smashed the powerplants and fled, like the Germans had done in Warsaw. But the Czechs... perhaps they had been planning on this surrender.

"Smart of them," Konev said, "Now they're out from under Hitler's thumb. But will we be any better?"

The End of Czechoslovakia

...

Moscow
April 15, 1940

"Zhukov's tank army will form the northern pincer, Tukhachevsky's the southern. They are scheduled to surround Berlin by the eighteenth, and Rokossovsky will enter the city proper on the twentieth," Timoshenko summarized.

"A fine birthday present for Adolf, eh?" Stalin said with a chortle, "this is the first day of the end of this war, Marshal. I want no mistakes."
 
Interlude
Russian Industry Moves East

Within a week of the declaration of war against Germany, the Soviet Government embarked on a campaign of industrial resettlement, a program which would shift the industrial center of the nation to the East. This was in some ways a safety measure, in case the current (or unforseen future) wars would endanger the USSR west of the Urals. In other ways, it was a culmination of a power play formulated and begun by Stalin as early as 1936.

One consequence of the first Five Year Plan (which drastically increased Soviet industrial strength) was the creation of a new power structure; that of industrial engineers and managers, and to a lesser extent the workers themselves. These were powerful groups, as the strikes of 1937 and 1939 revealed. But at the same time, they were essential and difficult to replace. Stalin could dispose of some dangerous persons by trying them as wreckers, but to obliterate them as a class would involve much more difficulty than his casual and summary destruction of the kulaks. Stalin envisioned a solution to his problem: Siberia.

Siberia had been the dark hole where he had placed many of his problems, this one would be no different. First, the movement of his industries to that trackless waste would displace the new elite; breaking up social connections, potential conspiracies, and providing an excuse to shift authority from troublesome (but indispensible) persons to more reliable partisans. Second, the new factories could be placed in planned cities (or at least smaller cities), which would be more easily monitored than the warrens of Kiev, Moscow, and Leningrad. Finally, it would place the power center of the industrial elite far from the political center of the party, making it nearly impossible for them to impose direct influence on Stalin's government.

He had already put the first stages in action with the Siberian industrialization waves of '36 and '37. All he needed was the excuse to physically move the factories from the West to the East. The excuse came with the declaration of war against the Axis. Stalin had managed a bloodless purge of his industries with his trademark skill, and all that remained for him to fully consolidate his power was victory in the war. With the USSR's enemies finished, he could then safely put in motion the plan he had first considered in March of 1937: the elimination of the Red Army's officer corps.




OOC:
I reflexively moved my industries east when the event came up, then I tried to figure a plausible reason to do so.
 
"Berlin will never be captured! It is the great city of the Third German Empire, a city that will last forever in the hearts and minds of the German people. If Berlin were to fall to Slavs, it would bring an age of darkness in Europe that would never lift. The devilish bolsheviks and their subhuman subjects would march over the face of the Earth, extinguishing Christianity itself! But the German people are too strong for them--all we must do is stand in the face of their hordes and tell them that they will NOT pass by the Brandenburg gate, and we will scatter them to the winds. Berlin must not--cannot--be taken!"
--Hitler's radio address to Germany
April 3, 1940

Magdeburg
April 13, 1940

Colonel Spodarik reported, "Message from Marshal Tukhachevsky, sir. He reports that intelligence has revealed heavy concentrations of German troops on the Breslau axis of advance, and he has postponed his crossing of the Oder."

"Damn," Zhukov said, "I suppose we will be alone in the encirclement, then. What other news do you have?"

"German divisions in Bohemia have launched a heavy counterattack. Konev and Bogdanov are defending, but they do not have enough troops to defend the area and have fallen back from Prague."

Zhukov shrugged, "Things are slowing down, but I suppose that was to be expected. Tell Tukhachevsky that as soon as Berlin is fully encircled, we will launch an attack against the rear of the Germans in Breslau while he cross the river. We'll make a sauerkraut sandwich."

...

Slavkov
April 16, 1940

General Bogdanov shook his head, though this didn't translate over the radio, "No! I will not lead my men into Troppau. The terrain is murderous for tanks and the Germans are too well dug in."

"Nevertheless, the Boss wants you to launch an immediate attack," Timoshenko said from the other end.

"Well, make sure my complaint has been recorded!"

...

Outskirts of Berlin
4:00 AM, April 17, 1940

It had been dark crossing the Oder, darker still meeting the first line of German defenses. But the Soviet troops were well trained, and night fighting didn't pose too much of a challenge. The collapsed and surrounded Nazi line in the Seelow heights was being eliminated, the only troops now opposing Rokossovky's Fifth Tank Army were panicked and routing back into the city proper. Though it grated on him, Rokossovsky had to rush into the city, and quickly. There were no less than eleven divisions waiting for him, and if he allowed von Manstein time to breath, then he might not be able to defeat him.

The general had heard of the disastrous Troppau operation, still being executed despite heavy losses and minimal success. He was afraid that something similar would happen to his tanks in the urban maze of Berlin. It might occur, if he allowed his opponent time to prepare a defense. The Germans had always said that Russian officers were stupid, able only to use their men as primitive clubs. Rokossovsky would have to prove them right.

...

The Reichstag
5:00 PM, April 17, 1940

"Get behind the tanks, damnit!" Captain Volkov shouted at his men. He plopped onto the ground behind one of the armored vehicles and tried to figure out what to do. The building before him was a near fortress, despite the fact that it had been mostly empty since a fire years ago. It's symbolic value was enormous, and this was probably the only place in Berlin where the German soldiers were actually holding on.

Therefore, Volkov and his company of assault engineers had been ordered forward. They were better equipped than the regular riflemen to take such a building, though Volkov didn't quite known how he was to go about it.

"Screw it," he said. He got to his feet and climbed aboard the engine deck of the T-34, then rapped on the commander's hatch. It opened, a young-looking central asian gazed up at him.

"What is it?" the tankist asked.

"See that big Reichstag-looking building up there?"

"Yeah."

"Blow the shit out of it, and lay smoke all over the place, but watch out not to hit my men. We'll be running up there."

"Brave man!"

The hatch closed again, and the commander was certainly relaying the plan to the rest of his tank company.

Volkov slid off the tank and to the ground, just as the machineguns began to open up.

His subordinates clustered around him, waiting for orders.

Volkov sighed, "Once the whole courtyard is covered in smoke, I want you guys to advance by fire teams. Once you're in the building, it's all standard room clearing. They're probably a bunch of stunned little boys, but be careful."

The men spread out to their platoons and squads to relay the plan, such as it was. Volkov wiped the sweat from his forehead and unslung his PPSh.

Oh well, he thought, even if I die, I'll still get Hero of the Soviet Union.

A minute later, his men began to move across the wide expanse of concrete seperating the Reichstag from the rest of the area. Volkov waited a moment, then leapt up to advance. The moment he rose, he caught a burst of machinegun fire across the chest.

A German fired his MG-34 randomly into the smoke and never saw whether he hit or missed. By the end of the day, he would be dead, along with most of his fellows. Driven out of the rooms by flamethrowers, hand grenades, and explosive charges, the fanatical SS troops fought to the last man. Only those knocked unconscious by concussion or too badly wounded to continue the fight would be captured, but in the end, the building would still be taken.

Hammer and Sickle over the Reichstag

...

On April 20th, 1940, Adolf Hitler's 51st birthday, Rokossovsky declared German resistence in Berlin officially at an end. Eleven divisions under the command of Erich von Manstein surrendered; altogether, more than 140,000 Germans were killed or captured in the Battle of Berlin.

Berlin
 
May and June in Brief

The two months after the capture of Berlin saw the first counterattacks by Germany. Hitler was jolted to the realization that he could lose this war, so he quickly halted all offensive operations in France and transferred divisions to the Ostfront.

The German response came in two distinct directions. First was the drive for Berlin, the second and more powerful was the attack on Czechoslovakia. Gerd von Rundstedt (the replacement for Manstein) concentrated on the Czech advance, because of Soviet weakness in that theater and the potential of using the Sudeten fortifications and mountainous Austrian terrain to bottle up the Communist advance in the South. Generals Konev, Bogdanov, and Chuikov were the primary Soviet commanders in the area. STAVKA recognized the danger of encirclement posed by the victorious German divisions in Troppau (Bogdanov's attack had been bloodily repulsed) and ordered them to fall back to more defensible positions. In addition, Stalin commanded Konev to take prevent the Hungarians from assisting their German allies. This was Operation Lechfield, and it opened on April 28, 1940.

The Hungarian armies had neither the numbers nor the strength to resist Konev and Chuikov's hammer blows, and they capitulated by May 8.

Hungary Falls

Meanwhile, German forces occupied the Czech homeland. Their attacks on the Berlin Axis managed to retake Magdeburg, Halle, and Leipzig before stalling in the face of sudden Soviet resistence. Having drawn the Germans in, Tukhachevsky launched a massive counterattack. This carried the Northern Front across Germany, liberating Denmark (and driving five German divisions into the Sund) by June 21.

Over this period, Czechoslovakia was the scene of violent back and forth warfare, as Soviet forces cut off a major Wehrmacht offensive in northern Bohemia and German forces in Austria desperately attempted to relieve them. With forces diverted from the now quiet Northern front, the Soviets completed the encirclement and trapped 27 german divisions in and around Troppau.

Troppau Kessel

von Rundstedt surrendered this pocket on July 9th, just before committing suicide. More than 400,000 German soldiers marched into captivity that day, the largest mass surrender in the history of warfare. For Germany, it was the end. Effective resistence in the theatre collapsed, allowing Zhukov and Konev to combine forces and cut German forces in two.

The Two Germanies

...

"In the mountains and valleys of Austria, the Reich continues. It is the duty of every German beneath the enemy horde to take up the fight, by day and by night, in the cities and in the forests. We must show the bolshevik that he can occupy our land, but as long as a Russian boot remains on our soil, its owner is not safe! We must punish those who cooperate with the enemy, and prevent him from laying hands on any which is valuable. Farmers must burn their crops, workers must smash their lathes. Germany will be a wasteland, with only death to welcome the Russian."
Adolf Hitler, radio address to the German people
July 13, 1940
 
The Russo-German War
To the Death

...

Moscow
July 30, 1940

Tuckhachevsky had returned to Moscow in order to personally report to Stalin. He had little but good news.

"The Germans now lack the stockpiles of ammunition, fuel, and food to sustain anything more than the weakest defensive movements. We have captured the last of Austria and cut them off from resupply by Mussolini," he said.

Austria Finished

The marshal continued, "All that remains is to capture the north of France and to extract a surrender from Hitler."

"What, the French can't do it themselves?" Stalin asked.

Tukhachevsky shrugged, "They've got more than enough muscle to do it, but they haven't moved since we declared war. Cowards, I suppose."

"So much the better," Stalin grunted, "I'm going to send Molotov to Paris to discuss the state of post-war Europe. If they're cowards, I won't have to worry about what they're going to say."

...

Rouen
August 15, 1940

Karl counted his bullets. He had three left for his Mauser, and six for the Walther he'd taken off a dead SS man. His men, such as they were, had nothing more to give. None of them had eaten in three days. They hadn't seen hide nor hair of an actual officer since their lieutenant had fled in the night four days ago.

"Screw it..." Karl whispered. Nobody looked at him; he'd said that at least ten times in the last hour. The eight sad soldiers huddled in a farmer's shack and waited for the Soviets to kill them.

But this time, Karl stood up, "Fuck Hitler!"

He spit on the dirt floor and turned to get his pack.

"What're you doing, Karl?" one of his soldiers asked. They were all privates, but they were Karl's soldiers because none of them were older than eighteen and he was twenty-five.

"I'm going to see the Arc de Triumphe," he replied.

The boys stared at him.

"B-but... the SS men shoot deserters!"

Karl looked at them, "The Ivans shoot soldiers, and there are a lot more of them than there are SS men. I'll swim the Loire if I have to. I'm not going to die in some shitty French hovel, or spend thirty years in Siberia. The French are people like us, not animals like the Nazis and Russians."

He tossed his helmet to the floor and set his pack on his shoulders.

Karl thought for a moment, "And if Hitler himself barred my way... I'd shoot him. Austrian bastard."

He stepped through the door into the cloudless late summer day, and began to walk south. His soldiers followed him.

...

Maginot Fortifications, Metz
August 29, 1940

"This is the situation, Mein Fuhrer," Rommel said, pointing at a map.

Germany

"We have been compressed into a pocket around the cities of Troyes, Nancy, and Metz. We have 72 divisions remaining in action, but none are above half-strength, all are low on supplies, and morale could not be lower. Every hour, thousands of soldiers flee to the south. The war is lost," Rommel concluded.

If Hitler heard his last field marshal (he had sacked or shot all the rest), he did not show it. He stared at the map silently, his eyes glassy and his mouth shut tight.

Rommel waited before he continued, "My men are done fighting. It is a crime to keep them in combat any longer. Germany is gone, but there are still 600,000 German soldiers alive. If we surrender to the French now, it will keep them out of the hands of the Russians. It is the best we can do."

The word 'surrender' finally stirred Hitler, "No. No surrender."

"There is no other choice," Rommel said evenly. He saw the dictator drawing himself up, summoning the reserves of his strength for a final explosive rant.

"There is always another choice," Hitler said, gaining momentum, "We will make an end for Germany that will ring through the ages. Our soldiers will fight the last and demonstrate once and for all that Germans are the greatest people on Earth! We will not fade into the night like some crowd of sheep; we will explode into infinite space like the shot of a cannon! Germany will make a stand today that will be resonate in time until the end of the world!"

Rommel wasn't affected by this display, he was not some weak Nazi fool, "That is what I thought you would say. I have made the necessary arrangements. This meeting is ended."

As the Marshal stood and walked out of the room, Hitler raved over his shoulder.

"Good! Good! I always knew I could trust you, Rommel. You weren't like Manstein, to surrender to the enemy in Berlin itself. Or Rundstedt, a coward to shoot himself as his men bled! Or Heinrici, who--"

The last of it was cut off as the SS guard shut the door behind Rommel. The Prussian stopped and the looked the man up and down. He was a tall wall of muscle, his face scarred, and his body language singularly dangerous. Otto Skorzeny, the most famous and deadly soldier in Germany. But there wasn't a Germany anymore, and still this anachronism persisted in defending his madman Fuhrer.

Rommel resumed his march through the French bunker. This had been a waste of time. He had hoped that it would not be necessary, but all hope was foolish when dealing with Hitler.

It took minutes to get to the surface. Rommel squinted at the morning sun and stepped into his car.

"Take me to the rail junction," he ordered his driver.

The trip was only five minutes, but it gave him more than enough time to sink into depression. When at last he arrived, he got out of the vehicle and strode briskly to the group of Opel Blitz trucks parked behind the train station. He stood at the rear of the lead truck and gazed levelly into the dark interior.

"Your mission is to proceed as planned. My men have been ordered not to intervene, and the SS men are positioned as I described. Remember the deal--he must be dead, not captured," Rommel said.

"Oui, oui, je me rappelle. Germany, it will fight to the death... his death."

Rommel turned on his heel and marched back to his car.

"Take me to Goering."

Through the drive to Hitler's Second-in-Command, Rommel heard gunfire behind him, but it faded into the background soon enough. With the luftwaffe destroyed, Germany itself lost, and his substantive duties at an end, Goering had faded into a twilight of morphine binges. He would not be difficult to convince. Rommel rubbed at his forehead tiredly.

It was going to be a long day.

The Fate of Germany
 
The War in Europe
End

At noon on August 29, 1940, Hermann Goering signed the unconditional surrender of Germany. 600,000 German soldiers, all that remained of the once proud Third Reich, marched into capitivity in France. Behind lay their homeland under the heel of the Soviet Union, ahead lay an uncertain future.

Meanwhile, Soviet troops repositioned themselves to eliminate the final Axis nations of Italy and Bulgaria. Neither would last the year.

Operation Latin, the invasion of Italy

Molotov bullied the Yugoslav government into granting military access, in the first of their many concessions to the new world order. Bulgaria fell in a matter of days.

Dinner in Sofia

Italy lasted not much longer, with Tukhachevsky and Konev racing the length of the peninsula to capture Mussolini in Messina and force the surrender of Fascist Italy.

Finé Italia

With that, the war was won.

The War in Europe
Aftermath

Despite the (irrelevant) protests from France and Britain, Stalin had his own way with Eastern Europe. By 1944, puppet governments were firmly emplaced in Germany, Poland, Italy, Bulgaria, and Czechaslovakia. Romania and Yugoslavia existed under heavy Soviet influence, and by 1945, de facto rule from Moscow. To compensate Poland for the loss of territory to the USSR, it's western border with Germany was pushed to the Oder-Niesse line and it was granted Elbing, while the USSR siezed Konigsberg.

The allies remained an Anglo-French affair, their appeals to the still isolationist United States consistently rebuffed. They could do little more than formally protest the Communist advance in Eastern Europe, and their assurances of support for Greece and Turkey only revived memories of the fall of Poland. The stage was set for a new Communist Europe.

Asian Sideshow

In January 1943, Stalin declared war on Japan. More than 150 infantry divisions and 30 tank divisions eliminated resistence on the mainland of China. Later, the Soviet navy snuck tank armies onto the home islands and route the defenders. China and Japan were administered by communist puppet governments by the end of the decade.

Sic Semper Tyranus

Stalin died of a cerebral hemorrage, January 15, 1949, after constructing the largest political empire the world had ever seen. Stretching from the Rhine to Tokyo, embracing most of the population of the world, the Comintern was an unstoppable powerhouse.

Recently released NKVD archival information indicates that Stalin was planning a final purge, that would finish all possible opposition within the Comintern--including many of the heroes of the War in Europe. He died before this could be set in motion, his embalmed body placed in honor beside Lenin. He would be remembered as a great hero of the Soviet Union...

...as would his killers, the Marshals of the Soviet Union.

Tukhachevsky
 
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