Turn 23(1939 1st Half): To Have More, we Must Produce More
Resources per turn 735+ULAG with 5 in storage
Party Support 35
Current Status of ULAG:
Population: 1,104,000 (I'll round to the nearest 100k)
Attitude: Stable
Food State: Hearty Meals, -82.5 Resources Per Turn
Guard State: Intensive Monitoring, -27.5 Resources Per Turn
Resource Income: Construction focused, 165 Resources Per Turn, Additional Actions
Chicago Tribune, October 31st, 1938
In a surprise discovery, the Soviet coal imports' new destination is a large steel complex situated in the Ural mountains. While there are only a few reports of the city itself and its product, it has been presumed to be a large scale steel mill. While so far, our reporters have failed to gain any access or interviews with anyone aware of the city due to the Soviet Union's totalitarian nature, we have kept trying. From multiple interviews of those who have escaped the regime's clutches, it can only be concluded that the plant itself is only there to convert political prisoners' labor into steel.
Domestic steel stocks have already felt the strain of their apparent attack on our markets, as the commodity's price has markedly gone down. There is now a considerable drive from the captains of industry to prevent these distortions. Fortunately, the Soviet steel export problem will solve itself in time, as the true nature of their low-quality steel becomes known to all. It may take a good quantity of time, but due to the backward political system and utter poverty of the Soviet Union, the idea that any form of quality steel can be made there is laughable.
Free dice to allocate: 4 Dice
Infrastructure 8 Dice
[]Regional Interlinked Grids: The construction of a full regional scale grid is necessary to ensure that every city and town can be connected to the central network of electrical capacity. While such an effort would be a massive arduous undertaking, progress will allow an enormous leap forward in the workers' comfort and quality of life. Such measures would also enable the expansion of new types of industry exploiting the production of electric power. (Select a region from: Far East and Siberia) (15 Resources per dice (0/300))
[]Road Programs(Stage 4): The construction of additional gravel roads in the countryside along with the leveling of multiple dirt roads, will ensure the continued access of trucks into the farming interior. These road programs will be far broader in scope than the previous ones, but also far less involved per road, as the priority will be creating a stable route into and out of the countryside. As an added bonus, these routes will significantly improve the integration of the rural areas into the union and easily purchase supplies from cities. (15 Resources per dice (70/500))
[]Create Trolly Lines: With the current expansion of bus-transit in many urban areas, it will be prudent to start the expansion of a massive electric trolly system all over the Union. While this will take a fair degree of electric power, it will allow workers to move around cities far easier. Simultaneously, the bulk of this effort will be focused on Moscow, renovating the home of the revolution to a new standard in ease of movement and quality of life. These will be all-electric and should also help to reduce the amount of smog inside of cities. (15 Resources per dice (0/300))
[]White Sea-Baltic Canal: There has always been a need to connect the white sea to the baltic sea. Now, with a single large scale canal construction effort, such an endeavor will be possible. While the project itself will be challenging due to the cold and distance, it should be reasonably light on resources, only necessitating a large quantity of manpower. With heated trains and some limited heating for tents, the workforce casualties will also be kept to acceptable levels. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 10 Resources per dice (0/200))
Heavy Industry 12 Dice
[]Magnitogorsk Barracks: Due to the multiple rushed components of the Magnitogorsk city complex and the current lack of housing for the workers, it is prudent to rapidly finish out proper apartment blocks. While these will need some bulldozing and creative budgeting to fit into the budget, they are functional and will at least allow everyone working at the plant to have a heated apartment. (-5 Party Influence upon completion, 10 Resources per dice (0/100))
[]Zlatoust Planned City(Stage 4): While the initial stages of the Zlatoust industrial city have been fully completed, there is still a considerable amount of progress that can be done. For this step of the plan, an additional mass of infrastructure needs to be constructed, but nothing needs to be rebuilt due to good planning. With these large industrial expansions, a considerably more significant amount of new alloys can be transferred to multiple industries. The most notable of these will be the production and processing of Tungsten, as the metal is critical for a large quantity of industrial machinery, and more is always in need. (10 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (205/700))
[]Stoylenskoye Planned City(Stage 1): The infrastructure base's construction to tap a new large deposit of iron for its production to steel is a critical step in further expanding Steel production in the Union. The deposits in the Kursk region are the highest in any place outside of Magnitogorsk. They are also fairly easily accessible, making the site a perfect one to construct a planned city. While the city itself will also be focused on Steel production, many of the early lessons learned during the construction of Magnitogorsk will be taken into account to optimize higher-quality steel production. (20 Resources per dice (0/100))
[]Donbas Coal Basin Mine Expansion(Stage 4): The expansion of the basin any further will be an impractical endeavor as the bulk of the easily reachable coal is already under utilization. Still, further efforts can be invested to produce more coal yet from the region. However, such material will be far harder to ship to the Urals, where the bulk of the coal use occurs. (15 Resources per dice (65/400))
[]Kuznetsk Basin Mine Expansion(Stage 4): With the current mining expansion stage, a further ramp-up of open-pit mines is necessary to increase significantly the amount of coal pulled from the earth. While such an expansion will only take a bit more labor, it will substantially increase diesel use in the coal mines due to heavy transportation and mining equipment. Still, progress must be made, and with the constant mechanization effort, far more coal can be extracted per worker. (15 Resources per dice (324/500))
[]Gorky Machine-building Plant(Stage 4): Now that the plant is in full production and can quickly meet the goals set out for it, the planned future expansion can be attempted. This expansion will massively expand the city. It is built-in along with considerably ramping up production. Such heavy machinery production will cause a massive amount of steel and coal use and allow mechanisms to start being issued to construction crews. While this will make many construction efforts more expensive, it will considerably speed up constructive effort all over the Union and free up a considerable amount of manpower. (10 Party Influence upon completion, 35 Resources per dice (2/600))
[]Power Production Campaigns(Stage 4): The next step is constructing yet more thermal power stations to power the Union. This stage of the effort will build a truly massive number of electric stations and use a similarly enormous quantity of coal. It will allow a good amount of grid redundancy and the introduction of central electric heating, as no longer will power under-production be able to cause people to freeze. This stage of the program will also ensure that most towns and segments of the grid have a similar redundancy level, hopefully relegating full blackouts to the past. (20 Resources per dice (52/500))
Light and Chemical Industry 6 Dice
[]Oil Prospecting: With the current Baku fields already tapped by as much as they can new fields need to be found. There are multiple promising field developments in Siberia but these are mostly of a heavier type of oil, and will need multiple improvements in refining. While these sources will also yield far less gasoline products, a far greater yield of diesel and fuel oil can be made from a similar quantity of oil feed-stock. These fields will represent a major industrial investment, but with them, a truly massive amount of oil and gas will be made. (10 Resources per dice (0/100))
[]High Octane Experiments: The current fuel production in the Union is of a decidedly lower octane than fuel made from other sources. While there is currently a lack of specific industrial and chemical processes to improve the octane beyond adding tetraethyl lead, there have to be other additives capable of enhancing the anti-knocking effect of fuel. While the results from such an attempt are unlikely to be dramatic, it should allow an increase in engine compression ratios. (20 Resources Per dice (84/100))
[]Large Scale Synthetic Rubber: Given the great success and progress that has occurred with the initial synthetic rubber experiments, a larger follow-on facility is recommended. While this plant will not substitute the entirety of the Union's rubber use, it will considerably reduce the dependence on foreign imports. This plant will use a considerable amount of feedstock, but that is unavoidable when ensuring independence from the vulnerable rubber trade. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 30 Resources per dice (0/250))
[]Expanded Radio Plants Further: Given the significant coordination issues of military units in Spain, further radio production is needed. This current proposal for improving radio access will be targeted towards the company level, with a new standardized truck mounting a large scale radio unit made. The advantage of such a setup is that the truck can power its own radio-unit and haul the fuel needed to run the generator while providing a mobile platform for coordinating the infantry. The production of such a quantity of radio, especially with the degree of mobilization, will pose a massive challenge, but the challenge can be overcome with time and labor. (30 Resources per dice (131/500))
[]Bakelite Production(Army): The army has a desperate need to produce more resin for various applications. With the construction of an additional number of bakelite plants, this need can be easily met. While no concrete applications for light plastic have yet made themselves evident, some engineers are already suggesting using it heavily in aircraft and personnel army devices. However, the quantity of the material needed has caused some delays as the future needs seem to be quite massive. (25 Resources per dice (279/300))
Agriculture 4 Dice
[]Banana Farming Cooperatives: With the banana tree's caloric yields and the multitude of good climatic zones for its cultivation, it would be prudent to start new large cooperatives growing it. While these installations will provide a good amount of fruit for the Union, the bulk of the product will be treated as a luxury good and supplied as a bonus for well-performing workers. Simultaneously, the plant's sweet flavor can be used in other ways as a viable addition to flavor dishes. (15 Resources per dice (0/150))
[]Fruit Tree Cultivation: Many fruiting trees can be grown in regions where conventional agricultural practices have proven to have poor results. While the food produced from these will likely be fairly minimal, additional luxury fruits will allow the workers to receive far more luxuries. Simultaneously, the production of fruits will allow for some export outside of the Union, producing a relatively decent quantity of resources. (15 Resources per dice (0/200))
[]Fish Farming Ponds: With many new methodologies developed towards the keeping and feeding of animals in captivity and some improvements cataloged from previous fish farming efforts, the first fish farms can be made. New fish food granules developed in earlier experiments with antibiotics have so far delivered incredibly promising results when used in river habitats for fish. With these innovations, pike can start to be farmed in mass, allowing far cheaper protein to be produced for the workers, and ensure that all can have fish. (20 Resources per dice (0/150))
Services 4 Dice
[]Polytechnic Universities(Stage 4): With the steady introduction of more experienced professors from initial university efforts, it would be prudent to further increase the number of schools. While much of the faculty in these new institutions would be reasonably low in experience, they have confidence and updated knowledge of the world. Simultaneously, an expanded number of slots will ensure that most graduates from lower education can have a chance at receiving a far better one and being far more productive workers. (10 Resources per dice (0/400))
[]Expand Medical Schooling: Medical schools have always provided a hard limit on the number of new experienced doctors and nurses available. While the current system produces a steady stream of graduates, large parts of the medical force are retiring. As it would be a shame to lose their experience and expertise, a further large series of medical schools can be constructed to ensure that the pipeline of doctors continues to remain strong. (15 Resources per dice (0/200))
[]Pharmacy Systems: With the newly available amount of medications that need to be distributed to workers all over the Union, the creation of a separate pharmacy system can enable far easier access. While the bulk of the pharmacies will be operated by newly trained nurses, they should shorten the amount of time the population needs to get medications. Simultaneously, the standardization of medication quality will allow a truly scientific approach to dosages and medicine. (10 Resources per dice (0/150))
[]Nursing Academies: With the current need for nurses all over the Union and in the army, a new cadre of Nurses needs to be trained far faster to allow for them to fill the roles needed. Despite the far shorter training time than full doctors, there is still an inadequate supply of trained nurses, necessitating a large scale program to improve personnel supply. The majority of these nurses will likely need multiple years to gain experience in the field under more senior practitioners, but they should provide decent care for most. (10 Resources per dice (207/250))
Military 8 Dice
(Authors note: Most military efforts will have quality dice rolled after they are completed, which will affect the quality of the buildup/equipment/information)
[]Trial New Armored Cars: Due to the light tank program's failure, some form of land-based scouting assets are still needed. These designs' focus will be a simple light car with MG or autocannon and enough armor to protect against small arms. Another focus of the design is creating a new periscope system to allow for the commander inside of the armored car to see all around. With these combined features and a simple suspension system, the cars should be able to provide a cheap and viable scouting asset. (20 Resources per dice (0/40))
[]Trial New Medium Tanks: With the failures in the light tanks' production and the considerable successes demonstrated in the heavy tank trials, it will be highly prudent to trial a new mid-weight tank. The bulk of these designs will be based on a simplified suspension system incorporated from the BT-7 for the cheapness of production and a simple single plate cast plate from the KV. So far, due to the lack of better guns for selection, the venerable 76mm AA gun will be requested as standard to ensure the commonality of shells with the KV series of tanks. (25 Resources per dice (0/40))
[]Trial New Fighters: Despite the performance of the new I-180 aircraft, more fighters are needed for the Union, and there is also a new 14 cylinder engine that can easily be utilized. There are currently many bids from three separate OKB's necessitating extensive trails, but all of the models should be viable and possible to put into production. These new planes will also represent the actual second generation of airframes to secure air supremacy, featuring more advanced features and far more range and durability. (25 Resources per dice (0/40))
[]New Moscow Aviation Plant: With the new I-180 aircraft set to enter service, and the technical testing of the design proving it as sound, full production should rapidly start. While it would be relatively simple to convert the old plants making the I-16 to new standards, a new plant's construction will allow a new and dedicated factory to be made. Such a plant will also allow a dedicated manufacturing plant to be assigned to the Polycarpov OKB. With such a plant, future designs will be considerably improved (30 Resources per Dice 0/150)
[]Leningrad Tank Plant: The new KV tank's production necessitates the large scale construction of novel tank factories. The tank's size and the new methods needed to make such a large turret have necessitated whole new factory lines to be constructed to produce it quickly and efficiently. While the supply of 76mm guns lasts, the production will be a good amount cheaper, as there is an enormous surplus of cheap guns. This new plant will also be able to more easily link into the Western networks and have more experienced staff as multiple local metal casting plants can be tapped for workers. (30 Resources per Dice 0/200)
[]Chelyabinsk Tank Plant: The new KV tank's production necessitates the large scale construction of novel tank factories. The tank's size and the new methods needed to make such a large turret have necessitated whole new factory lines to be constructed to produce it quickly and efficiently. While the supply of 76mm guns lasts, the production will be a good amount cheaper, as there is an enormous surplus of cheap guns. This new plant will also acquire far less expensive steel due to the close proximity to the center of the Union's steel and machinery production, allowing the tanks that are made to be more affordable. (30 Resources per Dice 0/200)
[]Expand Degtyaryov Arms Plant: With the need for the SMG expressed by a multitude of light infantry and sapper units, it would be prudent to produce a good quantity to equip them. While the general army does not necessitate a large number of these guns, there are multiple proposals to equip entire companies with SMGs for assault duty. For all of these, though, the production of thousands of guns will be necessary. (15 Resources per Dice 61/100)
[]Barricade Arms Plant Expansion(Stalingrad): The production of additional howitzers is a critical aspect of the army militarization program. While the bulk of the guns will be transferred into support units and attached at the army levels, there has been some talk of the formation of dedicated artillery divisions. Still, such formations have a massive need for many new long guns to ensure that enemy batteries can be quickly suppressed. (30 Resources per Dice (0/100))
Bureaucracy 2 Dice
[]Trial Production Staff: The poor state of military production must have someone be at fault for the disrepair and low standards. While they were likely supplied with poorly made domestic machinery older than a portion of the workers, that is no excuse for the degree of slack exhibited. Thus, with a large trial of the personnel, a considerable amount of progress can be made. (15 Party Support if completed, DC 20)
[]Introduce Statistical Planning: The massive policy change that Bazarov has been advocating for all of this time. With the use of statistics and means in planning, a fair amount more progress could be made. While cooking the books will become far harder, this should allow for greater coordination and action through the plan, at the minor cost of necessitating an education to really get into planning aspects. (-10 Party Support if Attempted, DC 60)
[]Transfer Personel: Many bureaucratic personnel are needed to ensure that the shock capacity of the NKPS can be retained. Due to the previous unfortunate incidents in personnel allocation, a good amount of the capacity has been lost to trials and time. Thus, a new cadre of experts must be hired and transferred into the command. These transfers will cause significant issues with other departments, but they are necessary to ensure the smooth functioning of the VSNKh. (-20 Party Support if completed, DC 40)
Moratorium 4 Hours
