Workers of the World, Unite! ...I said Unite, damnit! - A 1914 Soviet Russia AAR

[Battle bunny]

Hello everyone!

This is a rather unique Soviet Russia AAR which starts from 1918, but which originally began in the 1914 scenario. The young soviet republic is under attack from all sides and is going to have a very hard time holding its own. It is currently at war with the Central Powers while trying to deal with an Ukrainian rebellion and partisans all around. My goal is to win the civil war and hold off the Germans... or at least win the civil war.

So, let us begin! If this gathers enough interest I'll continue.

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The Empire of Russia entered the Great War in 1914, full of promise. The Tsarist system was already cracking, but its military was still a juggernaut. The vast empire, which stretched from Poland to the Pacific Ocean, seemed indestructible back then and both the Tzar, his advisors and his people were confident that the victory against Germany would be an easy one.

The illusion was shattered almost straight away. Germany and Austria-Hungary went on the offensive against Russia, pushing them entirely out of Congress Poland - and even further - by the winter of 1915. City after city was lost to the Central Powers while the Ottomans were barely held off in the Caucasus. Tzar Nicholas personally took command of the army, but that didn't help, and by 1916 the city of Kiev was under siege, while in the north, German troops were threatening to break through into Estonia. The Ottoman Empire fell to a British offensive from Mesopotamia and Egypt in this year, freeing up troops to be delivered westwards, which finally stalled the German-Austro-Hungarian attacks.

The Austro-Hungarian warmachine finally collapsed in 1917, when Italian troops marched to Vienna in a glorious offensive. This was Russia's time to shine; but the Tzar would no longer take glory for the successes of the Russian army in the summer of 1917. In March, owing to the famines and poverty caused by the war, the people rose up in revolution. A constitutional monarchy was established under Alexis II, with the real power in the hands of Prince Georgy Lvov. This government reversed the failures on the Eastern Front and pushed back the Central Powers considerably.

But even these events failed to save the monarchy. Disgruntled by the fact that the government didn't carry through with its promises to make peace and distribute land, the Bolsheviks continued agitating against the new Tzar. After a failed coup by military man Lavr Kornilov, the Reds remained as the sole challengers of the Russian establishment. The monarchy collapsed in early November and all power was delivered into the hands of the soviets.

The revolution shocked the world. The Entente lost a loyal ally, but more importantly, they had to face a new idea, a new kind of system, one that threatened to spread like an infection through the cells of the body and topple the ancien regimes. Still, they weren't able to do anything: France was, by now, overrun by Germany and the rest of the Entente was only desparately holding on to its beachhead in northern France.

The governments of Finland and Ukraine were the first to take advantage of the chaotic situation, rising up in rebellion against the Soviets. The Kamenev-Lenin-Trotsky troika quickly consolidated power, banishing the less revolutionary SRs and Mensheviks from the Constitutional Assembly. The Bolshevik-dominated government immediately directed its forces to regain Ukraine - enlisting the help of Nestor Makhno's Soviet Ukrainian movement - while recognising the independence of Finland and accepting them as an ally against the German menace.

Ceasefire negotiations began with Germany soon, but they ended up being fruitless. The Germans refused to make peace without significant annexations, which the Bolsheviks wouldn't accept. Trotsky offered to unilaterally end hostilities - this would be called the "no peace, no war" policy - but the Germans ignored this gesture. In the end, Soviet troops were ordered to hold their ground when possible and retreat against superior numbers, but to attempt no counteroffensive. While Trotsky essentially failed to secure peace, his policy ended up gaining the support of numerous workers and peasants who were ready to defend their homeland.

The core of the Soviet force is now (on the 27th of January) concentrated against Ukraine. The Hetmanate is under siege from all sides: by Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine, as well as the Germans who are occupying Western Ukraine for security reasons. The Whites have already begun to move against the Soviet government. The Caucasus is in all-out rebellion, and is the strongest base of the dissenters. Isolated regions in the Far East and Siberia are also under partisan control; rebel groups are trying to capture Siberian industry without much success.

The situation as of 27 January, 1918 is as follows:

Soviet-German-Ukrainian front

South Ukrainian front

The Caucasus

The Far East

These comrades are responsible for winning the civil war (as you can see, the 1914 mod has some problems, including missing ministers, but the most important people are there):

 

[OnFire]

Very interesting. Subscribed!!

 

[gooy]

are the white forces represented only by partisans ??

 

[Battle bunny]

are the white forces represented only by partisans ??

Not exactly. For now, they are, but some splinter states can declare independence (there is a "Siberia" and a "Russian Whites", apparently). In addition, while there are partisan militias, there are also regular infantry units that deserted to the partisans. I'm not sure, but I think that the partisans will cause a splinter state to declare independence. Also, it seems to me that there will be more events that generate a lot more partisans still, especially if I accept the treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

 

[Gukpa]

Most Epic impossible Good luck.

 

[Battle bunny]

Very well. It is time to tell the epic tale of the Soviet Russian revolutionaries!

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On the 27th of January, Sovnarkom gave out several attack orders. The first of these was an attack directed against the Ukrainian infantry units holding Kerch. Already out of supply, the troops surrendered easily. This allowed the reserves to make their way towards Kiev once again after they took Kerch.

The second, and more important offensive was directed against Chernigov province. The province was defended by a single Ukrainian reserve battalion. The offensive had three main goals: shorten the frontline, prevent an attack against Priluki province and finally, most importantly, to trick the Ukrainian Hetman to send more troops as reinforcements to their northern flank - and thus draw defenders away from the well fortified Kiev.

The battle raged on for several weeks. The Ukrainian reserves were first joined by a cavalry division, then by another reserve division. The combined Red Armies displayed excellent courage and valor by systematically grinding down the defenders of Chernigov, not letting themselves be stopped by the terrible weather. An assault on the 7th of February provided the decisive breakthrough needed to finally route the defenders.

The situation was worse in the north. Hundreds of thousands of men were holed up in Leningrad (recently renamed from St. Petersburg), and due to the terrible logistical situation, they were unable to rapidly redeploy to the frontlines. While numerous, these troops were unable to react to the turmoil on the Baltic coast. Latvian nationalists seized Riga and several important cities nearby, and proclaimed their own independent state.

Much like Ukraine, they were immediately attacked by both German and Russian troops; however, the Red Army divisions stationed in Latvia were immediately forced out of the country and back to Leningrad.

Estonia was another problem. While it didn't proclaim its independence yet, it was close to doing so: Lt. General Dubovyi had deserted to the whites, along with two well-equipped cavalry divisions. The three infantry divisions in the region were unable to eliminate this threat, and were eventually ordered to redeploy back to the capital to avoid capture.

Dubovyi's cavalry moved out to the Narva river. Six infantry units, sent as reinforcements to Estonia, tried to defeat him, but attacking over the river, into the marshy province turned out to be impossible, especially with the weather. The decision was made to just hold the position for the time being, and sent more reinforcements south instead to destroy Latvia.

In the Caucasus, the Soviets were attacked by numerous White militias. While the Russian irregulars held their own quite well, defenders from Makhachkala were sent northwards to support the defenders of Grozny - had the Whites taken the city, the soldiers to the south would have been trapped in the mountains. Grozny was held, but the oilfields of Baku were now completely undefended. Soviet Russia's Armenian allies were also under White control; two partisan divisions flying the Armenian flag held the capital while the soldiers loyal to the workers' state were exiled into Soviet Russia.

The situation was even worse in Tikhoretsk, where Soviet Russian irregulars were completely overwhelmed by White warbands. A retreat was ordered in the direction of Rostov, where it was hoped that the Soviets could link up with their comrades in the city of Rostov and hold the river Don, and thus protect Soviet Ukraine's eastern flank.

6 divisions (5 infantry and 1 cavalry) were ordered to redeploy southwards to counter the increasing White threat in the Caucasus. Due to the logistical situation, however, the troops were estimated to arrive in around two months. It was uncertain whether they would even make the trip before the White partisans reached the destination of the Soviet reinforcements - Bashanta province.

The plan to draw defenders away from Kiev bore fruit on the 10th of February, when only two divisions remained in the city. Sovnarkom ordered all available Russian and Ukrainian troops to assault the city.

 

[OnFire]

Finish off the Ukrainian front first, then concentrate on the other fronts.