Turn 20(1937 2nd Half): There is no Fortress that Bolsheviks Cannot Storm Results
Resources per turn 725-10+15+10+ULAG=740+ULAG with 195 in storage.
Party Support 50-5+5=50
Current Status of ULAG:
Population: 828,000 (I'll round to the nearest 100k)
Attitude: Stable
Food State: Hearty Meals, -60 Resources Per Turn
Guard State: Intensive Monitoring, -20 Resources Per Turn
Resource Income: Construction focused, 120 Resources Per Turn, Additional Actions
Infrastructure
Bitumen Road Programs(Stage 3): With the previous successes in constructing a new series of roads through the Union, it would be a further benefit to start the roads' mass paving. As the current inter-city roads are made of gravel, there are multiple large speed limitations on the roads; thus, a paving effort is critical to speed up travel for both local grain and for military goods. Once the bulk of the new main-road system is constructed, further small gravel distribution roads to farms and villages can be made. (570/500, Stage 3 Completed) (70/500, Stage 4)
With more than forty labor divisions assigned along with engineers and thousands of trucks and trains, the effort starts out rapidly. The old reserves of bitumen that were simply stockpiled are quickly melted down and laid down all over the Union with massive work crews using wheelbarrows and shovels to refurbish the already decaying gravel roads new, paved ones. Despite the paving not being the best quality and using a single central painted line for cheapness, these new roads represented a significant improvement in military and industrial infrastructure. Enabling a reduction of the fuel cost of food transportation and allowing new trucks to easily pick up grain for rapid shipment to cities.
Despite the large quantity of labor assigned to the project, there has been a considerable quantity of under fulfillment from newer labor units. While they are working far greater hours than their older compatriots, they have had a consistent degree of problems working efficiently and are taking an almost doubled casualty rate.
-Statistical Commisariat
Heavy Industry
Magnitogorsk Planned City(Stage 5): The further expansion of the planned city will be one of the largest efforts undertaken by the Union. The complex will nearly double in size and become the premier steel production installation in the world. The alloying vats will be further expanded with more steel blends tested out to improve quality, and another metallurgical university will be constructed. The goal of this final level of expansion would be to create an industrial complex nearly half a million strong focused on the production of steel for the Union, making a true paragon city for industrialization. (15 Party Influence upon completion, 20 Resources per dice (393/1200))
The start of the massive construction effort occurs with thirty-six NKPS labor units assigned to expand the urban complex significantly for housing hundreds of thousands of workers that are soon needed to operate the massive refinery. While the crews themselves got moved into tents due to the effort's intensity and scale, most of the construction occurred during the summer, sparing them from the worst of the climate. In the city itself, a multitude of newly planned urban blocks is made with a considerable number of improvements incorporated into them to ensure the ability of the workers to commute and live far more efficiently. Now there is a system of proper central heating integrated into the bulk of a block of people, and new more comfortable and larger rooms to encourage workers to have families on-site, further emphasizing the importance and prestige of a Magnitogorsk posting.
Again we all got shipped out to that fucking city to build yet more housing. This time we even got the old tents, but hey, at least managed to get us some warm hats and old boots this time. Work during the summer was also far kinder, and hell, this time, the homes we were building were at least a bit roomier, and we were allowed to use them. Though, the new political guys sent in were absolute idiots, incapable of even building a wall to stand independently.
-Efrosin Novikov, Journal
All of the new political guys could be considered to be untrained, incompetent idiots incapable of so much as cutting plants. I would recommend mass remedial classes in construction and understanding what they are doing. Otherwise, the bulk of the idiots can best be used as transportation labor for other far more useful workers.
-Georgiy Popov, Engineering Commissariat
Leningrad Metallurgical Plant: With more aluminum needed for a multitude of new possible projects and engines, more production cannot go amiss. While this plant will be inherently smaller than that constructed in Stalingrad, it will still produce a truly massive quantity of material. The plant would mostly use local hydroelectric power along with some of the thermal plants. Still, such an effort will represent a good quantity of additional capacity and is highly recommended. (5 Party Influence) (167/150) (Completed) (+15 Resources per Turn)
The construction of a new aluminum plant is seen as a sign that soon, the material's availability will be increased considerably, allowing multiple improvements to be made in a considerable number of military designs. The material has been mostly exported as there is little domestic use, but with the new quantity of the material, this is slowly changing. Multiple civilian goods incorporate limited amounts of it for both lightness and inability to rust, allowing it to readily be issued out in the form of a thin foil for packing food. While power-intensive to produce new duralumin, it is durable and light, allowing it to replace most parts of an aircraft, significantly increasing performance.
Power Production Campaigns(Stage 3): Further construction of more power plants is still needed all over the Union, as multiple future projects necessitate more power. At the same time, civilian power consumption is going up continuously as more cooking implements are issued out. Still, the heating and cooking effort should as a total save some coal, as the electric systems are far more efficient than their older coal-based alternatives. This stage of the construction of more thermal power plants will also allow the construction of multiple new factories and aluminum working facilities with their new supply of power. (20 Resources per dice (231/250))
The startup of another few thermal power plants continues to be reasonably slow as multiple turbines need to be replaced by far improved new models, slowing down the issuing of turbines to new plants. Still, progress is being made, with fourteen of the planned twenty plants now online and producing electrical power. The project itself is yet to be finished, but the plants produce enough energy to prevent most brown-outs in the civilian sector.
Light and Chemical Industry 6 Dice
Baku Oil Refineries(Stage 3): With the plans to nearly totally utilize the oil deposits in Baku, there also needs to be a plan to refine the massive quantity of oil products. However, these industrial facilities would necessitate a high cost of production with little return on spending. These would further improve the number of oil products available to the Union for larger military projects and secure the position of the Union as the source of Eastern European oil. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (67/300))
With the current surplus in oil production, the need to construct additional refining complexes is considerable. Thus, a new large lot of land is cleared, with rail lines hooked up to the new site to ensure that the material can be steadily made. The refining equipment is ordered from Gorky, but a considerable amount of time is needed, as the plant's current production is designated towards other projects.
Sulfuric Acid Plants: With the current likely expansion of shell and industrial chemical production, there needs to be dedicated production of the chemical industry's basic feedstock. Given the current and planned expansions for ore refining and chemical industrial processes, a more efficient way to convert waste sulfur on a large scale is needed. Thus, multiple large scale plants will be constructed through the Union to act as supply points for the material. (283/200) (Completed) (Chemistry Options) (+10 Resources per Turn)
The construction of a massive quantity of sulfuric acid plants around the coal deposits has allowed an enormous ramp-up of the chemical industry all over the Union. The bulk of the sulfur product is designated for use in the petrochemical and explosives industry. The feedstock for these plants is set to take advantage of the production of sulfur ores from the coal mines, as there is no shortage of material to turn into more acid. However, the problem of these plants is the production of electricity as the process needs massive amounts of electricity to ensure a steady quantity can be refined.
Expanded Radio Plants: With the soon to occur mobilization of the military and considerable advantages of radio-integration into the lower commands, it has become a priority to increase radio production. While these units will entirely focus on being equipped with aircraft and tanks, they should provide a massive coordination advantage. While the infantry radio prototypes are still far too large, they will not be so forever given the currently advancing technology. Thus, it will be prudent to ensure that production and advancement are kept up to date. (348/300) (Completed)
The plants' construction goes well with the factory producing by November through the assignment of multiple engineering units and a considerable quantity of skilled personnel available. While the current radio examples are a bit shorter than planned for in the design, they are still a massive improvement over the previous signal flags, improving tank and aircrew performance considerably. With the expansion done, any new aircraft and tank models will receive updated radio-sets, greatly helping coordinate units and frontal commands. With such a proliferation of radios, though, another solution has come; to create a new standardized radio truck on the company level. While immensely expensive, such a new system would allow communications to quickly proliferate down the command line, ensuring far greater lower unit coordination.
Agriculture
New Socialist Towns(Stage 5): The further expansion of the last stage of the new towns will be the triumphant moment of the Union, as the conversion will indicate that all planned agricultural and rural communities have adopted the new model. While some have fought, the prices have broken most of their will to fight back, and just the last holdouts need to be converted. Over time, these towns may shift over into far larger installations, but this step has allowed a clean break with old peasants. (5 Party Influence upon completion) (Think Moshav with more propaganda) (10 Resources per dice (367/500))
The construction effort on the new towns has considerably accelerated with substantial resources allocated to it. While there is a narrowing quantity of land on which these towns are planned to be built, there is no shortage of nostalgic old workers, longing for simpler lives. While such workers are counterproductive and not acting in the collective interest, such minor deviations can be overlooked when more labor on the fields is needed. With these volunteers, the new towns and fields are rapidly worked on, securing yet more food for the Union.
Pisciculture Experiments: Fish farming has always been an attractive concept for cheap bulk meat production. There are, however, constant issues as current feed systems are inadequate, and fish require considerable amounts of water. Still, a new developmental effort for fish farming can yield some results in cheap meat if the proposal turns out to be viable. But, odds are that this experiment will be an expensive waste of resources. (104/50) (Completed)
A multitude of small scale cultivation for many fish species is set up, with a variety of environmental conditions and feeds tested. So far, the programs have had relatively limited results. While fish do multiply in captivity, feeding them in bulk is challenging. Water quality is hard to maintain, and disease is common at the densities of fish needed to maintain efficiency. Still, the efforts are funded and may, at some point, have a result capable of mass implementation.
Through the testing of new spherical food in the feeding of large quantities of fish, an optimal ratio of consumption has been attained. The newly formulated mixed protein-grain food has allowed fish to easily consume it in bulk and for easy storage of the mass of food. However, the experiment has failed after two weeks when a case of fin disease spread through the pond, rapidly killing off the new farmed stock. Progress is being made.
-Experimental Conclusion, Trial 092
Services
State Childcare Services: As more and more women are entering the workforce, it has become a critical concern of the state to ensure that their children are cared for. While such an effort will take some resources and only apply to the cities, it will allow for more working-age women to go into the factories to further increase production. The effort will also enable the further removal of religion from society with the proper education of the youth of those taken in by various cults. (207/200) (Completed)
With the current number of women entering the workforce through the creation of new jobs in the cities and the need to care for orphans throughout the Union, further expansions of the childcare system is needed. Thus, a new enlarged state orphanage system, along with an extensive preschool system, has been created. With these new systems, the bulk of the Union's orphans are now being cared for, including both those due to adverse circumstances and those due to political circumstances. This has also freed up a considerable number of women, allowing them to proceed into the workforce when more labor is needed.
After we all got booted out onto the streets after the old priest left, a stuffy party man went to us and offered us a spot at the new building down the road. My friends and I all said yes, they even fed us some food! Sure, there were constant lectures about the importance of communism and the party every day, but it was no different from going to church.
-Lara Aleksandrova, Diary
Technical Colleges: With the current massive pool of workers, and the need to train them properly on a wide variety of small scale repair and machinery tasks, it has become the concern of the Union to expand schooling systems further. Not all students in the Union can qualify for university positions to study the sciences, but knowledge and experience are still needed in the workforce. Thus, a comprehensive system of technical colleges should be established for those graduating from primary schools without qualifying for any other form of higher education. (10 Resources per dice (250/500))
The first construction efforts on the technical colleges go well with many new schools constructed for those that fail to meet muster in the university system. Through an overview of many plants, the most experienced and capable workers and managers are chosen to teach classes. These classes are on various topics, with the bulk of them focused on being far better industrial laborers, though more personal applications are also taught. New cadres of welders, plumbers, and electricians also enter training as they will form a considerable new pool of trained personnel capable of a multitude of repairs and operations.
Military
(Authors note: Most military efforts will have quality dice rolled after they are completed, which will affect the quality of the buildup/equipment/information) (ABM points are a thing that most factory actions will cost while you have them, but while you have them, all will be around ¼ cheaper. Currently, you will have 75.)
Trial New Close Air Support: In Spain, the German Stukas have demonstrated the effectiveness of a plane capable of performing close-air-support against a multitude of troops, necessitating some form of domestic design capable of doing the same. While the older features of the Stuka can easily be done away with along with the siren, a simple one engined plane armed with some bombs will go a long way towards alleviating the need of providing cheap ground support. (26/40) (Rush Completion) (Military Quality: 75)
Despite the massive rush in the design process, considerable innovation has been made to create a new up to date ground attacker. The initial proposal for the design focuses on a plane with a rear 12.7mm gun and four wing-mounted 12.7mm guns with the ability to carry up to 500kg of ordinance, including mounts for eight 82mm rockets. The updated M-63, 9 cylinder engine, is used by almost all entrants, with one using the licensed inline. Still, due to the power issues in the inline engine, that design is immediately shelved. The design that ended up selected featured light anti-shrapnel plating around the pilot and gunner, along with an incorporated radio and intercom system for its two crew members.
Further Perm Plant Expansions: With the current need for more speed and horsepower from the engines of the Union, multiple engineers have come forward with the idea to double up the engines in order to almost double the horsepower. While such a combination will be heavier and far more expensive, it should provide enough power for nearly any heavy single-engine fighter in the future. Such a design is near guaranteed to have teething issues and may not be usable on the first production model, but maybe a massive national asset. (86/50) (Complete) (-25 ABM) (Military Quality: 13)
The new 18 cylinder engine's creation rapidly runs into many problems with overheating and insufficient cooling. Many of these problems come down to the simple fact that the simple joining of two M-63 engines creates many issues despite greatly increasing horsepower. The first solution to the overheating problem was constructing large aluminum cooling fins, but it was removed from the production model due to cost. Then an attempt was made to cut down chamber pressures, but horsepower was considerably reduced in such an instance. Thus, in the end, a compromise solution that mostly works is made with additional heating fins added to each of the engines, the crankshaft re-enforced, and a slight reduction in combustion intensity. Despite all of this, the engine is only mostly reliable and needs a considerable amount of time to make it all functional, but it does produce almost two thousand horsepower.
Berezin Plant: The newly created MG's production is a high priority for the military, with a constant stream needed for vehicles of every type. While this plant will produce enough for most applications, many tanks and planes will need upgrades, creating a spike in need. The planes desperately need the gun as the new Messerschmitt type fighter over Spain has been causing significant issues with its armor and speed. (98/75) (-25 ABM) (Completed) (Military Quality: 83)
With the current desperate need for more machineguns in all fields, the plant's construction is sped up as fast as it can be. The new gun is easily able to be mass-produced at little cost, causing it to be seen as a cheap option for most military development, and a multitude of engineers push for its adoption all across the army. Still, the first batches are rapidly transferred over to become modification kits for I-16 fighters in Spain. After the first batches are made and transferred out in bulk, the rest of the military starts to receive their guns, with tanks getting the new guns as commanders guns and as new coax guns. So far, for the men in Spain, while the gun is seen as hard to charge by hand, the rate of fire and reliability has received glowing remarks by personnel in the field.
Expansion of the Moscow ZiL Plant: More trucks are always in need, and production must be further increased to meet the constant demand for more monetization options. While this plant needs modernizations and expansions, it should provide a good basis for further increasing the new model trucks' production. Production may start slow, but in time the bulk of the logistical forces may be motorized. (197/150) (-50 ABM) (Completed) (Military Quality: 64)
The expansion and modernization of the ZiL plant for the production of the new model of the 6x4 5-ton truck. While the expansion of the facility itself is relatively easy and is done at a rapid pace. The older machinery's conversions take the bulk of the time, as the production lines are set up to make far smaller and older trucks capable of carrying only half the cargo. Still, the modernization effort keeps the amount of production constant in the old sections of the plant despite the increasing complexity and scope of the new truck.
Construction of the GAZ Plant: More factories are needed to create the unrelenting tide of trucks to support any possible mobilization and the war effort. Simultaneously, these new trucks can free up older trucks to use in farming and the civilian economy. Still, more production is greatly needed, thus necessitating the construction of another plant. (119/150) (-75 ABM) (Rush Completed) (Military Quality: 47)
With the rush to complete a greater quantity of truck production before the end of the five-year plan, the factory sections responsible for the final assembly of the trucks are focused on to the exclusion of everything else. Still, with the surplus of extra parts easy to take advantage of, the plant manages to come into production by the end of the year with trucks rolling off the line. Despite the rush and the off-siting of the bulk of the trucks' components, the production manages to almost reach the initially targeted figure, with options to further ramp up production of such a critical military good.
Bureaucracy
Recruit Young Officers: A greater degree of military experience is required to undertake yet more projects for the Union. Thus, necessitating the hiring of much new personnel towards the department's management to expand its capabilities. While the bulk of these would be reasonably green, they show potential and are educated, allowing them to function as decent planners. (DC 30/69) (-10 Resources per Turn) (Completed) (Military Actions)
Due to the undertaking needed towards the expansion of the military so that it is ready for the apparent and upcoming war with either the fascists or capitalists. The officers recruited are all young and relatively inexperienced, but they are well trained and have some experience with the equipment. Still, a large quantity of university-educated military personnel is hired and transferred over, greatly expanding the managerial capacity of the VSNKh.
Current Economic Issues:
Rail: Meeting Demand
Coal: Minor Surplus
Aluminum: Massive Surplus (You aren't using much)
Steel: Moderate Shortage
Energy: Meeting Demand
Food: Major Surplus
Labor: Moderate Surplus
