Only One Can Win The Eurasian War! Soviet IC Thread

Estro · Sep 10, 2016

Simpli said:
"Excuse me Comrade....but maybe you should take a look at our currently available ressources?", waiting for a moment to get the mans attention after his sudden spell of weakness, she lightly tips against the reports on their fuel stores: "I fear we would be unable to build two battleships at once."

Maçon looks at you, then at the report you were tapping on. Snatching it out of the pile, the Welshperson in the Belgians body sighed.
"How do you have an aggregate fuel report! I've been looking for one of these for days. Wow, yes, my numbers were off. Buggery."
Grabbing a fountain pen, large areas of the report was started to be scratched out and alternate orders written beneath. At least the report was compiled in double line spacing, otherwise editing would have been hell.

Simpli said:
"Not to critizie your plans Comrade....the Red Armies morale has after all reached peaks that haven't been known since the days of the revolution thanks to our care for the soldiers....but it seems that such a mechanism is already in place at the border. If I may....I would hazard a guess that the American Troop Movements to Anchorage could be interepretated as that being their source of VK....and the Pass seems to be our only one. Maybe your organizational talent might be of better use when it comes to organizing a security garrison for the factory...and use those ressources not in use by the second battleship to fortify the souce of this promising crystal?"

"Ahh. Yes, well, I don't really have time to read military reports..."
A nervous laugh escapes the central planners lips.
"Hmm. Alternately, perhaps I should see if we cannot create a military intelligence division. The KGB were a wonderful asset, so I am lead to believe."

Happerry · Sep 10, 2016

Simpli said:
Tilting her head lightly to the side, the blonde brushing through her hair once, before saying softly: "Actually Comrade...just out of interest? But what are you really oping to reach by combing an Acid with a Fire weapon...something that does not have to really react with one another and which works quite well when you keep them apart...together with an unknown material that has most likely been seeded by Aliens thanks to ROB?"

Tapping lightly against the table she clarifies: "I mean...what kind of weapon do you envision and what kind of role do you think this could take on teh battlefield? Because this sounds more like a test and a research project than an action which aims to design a finished product."

Shrugging lightly she adds: "As you seem interested in paratroopers...why don't you take a look at designing a transport Tilt Rotor Aircraft to land man and material behind enemy lines?"

"Because I can!"

"More seriously, we don't actually have a flamethrower type weapon designed yet, so if I'm going to design one, why not make it as utterly lethal as I can? Even if all else fails, it should give us more information on our new wonder-material."

"And speaking of said new wonder material, I consider it a very foolish idea to design any vehicle or armor type thing this turn, because until we actually take a look at the properties of VK in both armor and weapons, we don't know how much it is going to obsolete what is made without it. Is it only a little better then the older materials? Is it so much better that one man with a bag full of VK explosives is a deadly threat to an tank company? Is it somewhere in between? Before I design any new sort of plane or tank, I want to know the answer to this."

"...Beyond that, I suggest you take another look at our Master Data Sheet, for we don't have Tilt-Rotor aircraft researched yet, and so we can't design anything that uses it. While I think that looking into Tilt-Rotor technology is a good idea to do before we do the New Model Soviet Fighter, for the reasons stated above this turn my research action is locked onto researching VK Metallurgy."

Edit :

Estro said:
Social: Institute mandatory education for children from the age of Five till thirteen, focusing upon Literacy and Numaracy, as well as basic sciences. Ensure that schools are freely available, with a secondary option for further specialisation until eighteen. The tertiary education in this country will also be refocused upon research and further development of the base of Soviet knowledge. And if someone tries to push ideology instead of facts then murder the ever living fuck out of them.

"Whether or not this is a good thing to do, I must ask this question. Do we actually have the infrastructure to do such? It is all well and good, comrades, to say that all children should be educated, but I suspect that we lack the schools needed to do such. Perhaps you should build up some educational infrastructure first before this project is undertaken."

"...Also, my friend, be careful with the Ideology, yes? Don't pick a fight with it unless you really need to."

Estro · Sep 11, 2016

Happerry said:
"Whether or not this is a good thing to do, I must ask this question. Do we actually have the infrastructure to do such? It is all well and good, comrades, to say that all children should be educated, but I suspect that we lack the schools needed to do such. Perhaps you should build up some educational infrastructure first before this project is undertaken."

"...Also, my friend, be careful with the Ideology, yes? Don't pick a fight with it unless you really need to."

"I will only object to the ideology when it has the tenacity to contradict reality. Provided that it stays in the bounds of not lying about facts, it can do whatever it pleases."

"As for not having enough schools, do I not say 'Ensure that schools are freely avalible'? If there is no school in a location, to ensure that one is available, I dare say that one may have to be built.

Simpli · Sep 11, 2016

Estro said:
"I will only object to the ideology when it has the tenacity to contradict reality. Provided that it stays in the bounds of not lying about facts, it can do whatever it pleases."

"Let's not forget that ideologies are a way to interprete reality and facts....but yes: you should first look at the facts and then make a story out of them...only the fanatic makes himself a story and then chooses the facts that fit."

Lightly tapping against the side of her chin, she notes: "But maybe you shouldn't shot every teacher that displease you...better take them out of the schools and then see why they did what they did...you don't want to shot people only because they were a bit...too patriotic?"

Estro · Sep 11, 2016

Simpli said:
Lightly tapping against the side of her chin, she notes: "But maybe you shouldn't shot every teacher that displease you...better take them out of the schools and then see why they did what they did...you don't want to shot people only because they were a bit...too patriotic?"

Marçon shrugged.
"My enthusiasm and my good sense are tepid allies at best. However, you did not answer as to whether I should perhaps divert my military efforts into the penumbra of intelligence; that is to say the creation of the KGB."

Simpli · Sep 11, 2016

Estro said:
However, you did not answer as to whether I should perhaps divert my military efforts into the penumbra of intelligence; that is to say the creation of the KGB."

"We already have the NKVD...which is in our timeline the predecessor of the KGB for internal and external threads....as such your idea of having a particular military intelligence service might be quite a good idea. Maybe a comittee that is parted in three parts: Red Army Intelligence, Naval Intelligence and Aviation Intelligence?", musing for a moment she continues:
"Of course we would have to see that the branches are working together...and with the NKVD. But the idea to have military experts look over miltiary issues is a good one. If you think you can organize an institution in which the different parts of our armed forces are represented, that might give us better analysis of the enemy assets."

Shadows · Sep 13, 2016

"Tovarischka Dietrich?"

Jessica Dietrich looked up from her desk, to look at the man silhouetted against the window that looked out upon the functional, style-less engineering of the Soviet research city in which her office resided. "Ja, mein Kamerad? Was ist es?"

The young man in the Red Army uniform braced to attention. "Comrade-Kapitan, the Special Ventures Bureau would have your list of recommendations."

"Yes, yes..." Jessica said, handing over the file folder. "Thank you, Comrade Private."

"I serve the Soviet Union!" the young man said, bracing again and leaving.

Lyudmila, what in the hell have you gotten me into?

Two weeks after following her Soviet lover out of the Weimar Republic (incidentally betraying the Wehrmacht and its pet think-tanks in the process) and here she was, in a Soviet research city, doing the same job she'd been doing before.

The file folder said:
Social Action: Support the founding of the Bureau of Education and Social Advancement.
Research: Research Upscale Rocketry. (Basically, somewhere between RPGs and ICBMs. Y'know, like V2s.) Liquid-fueled, long-ranged, modestly-accurate rocketry intended as a stepping stone for orbital rocketry and weapons alike.
Design Action: Design a test rocket. Something to prove the concepts we come up with in research, to refine and hone the final products.
Production: Build a VK mine (or as many as my action can support), build up the oil wells in Siberia. Men may march on their stomachs, kamerad, but tanks roll on diesel and gasoline and lube oil.
Military Action: Improve the Generic Infantry Battalion to Guards Infantry Battalion (integrate artillery elements, anti-tank guns)

Gideon020 · Sep 15, 2016

Shadows said:
"Tovarischka Dietrich?"

Jessica Dietrich looked up from her desk, to look at the man silhouetted against the window that looked out upon the functional, style-less engineering of the Soviet research city in which her office resided. "Ja, mein Kamerad? Was ist es?"

The young man in the Red Army uniform braced to attention. "Comrade-Kapitan, the Special Ventures Bureau would have your list of recommendations."

"Yes, yes..." Jessica said, handing over the file folder. "Thank you, Comrade Private."

"I serve the Soviet Union!" the young man said, bracing again and leaving.

Lyudmila, what in the hell have you gotten me into?

Two weeks after following her Soviet lover out of the Weimar Republic (incidentally betraying the Wehrmacht and its pet think-tanks in the process) and here she was, in a Soviet research city, doing the same job she'd been doing before.

Social Action: Support the founding of the Bureau of Education and Social Advancement.

Result: Auto-Success!

The Bureau was in trouble but your involvement in it's creation quickly smoothed over several major problems and a few minor ones that could have escalated. Now, the BESA should be a light in the lives in the Soviet People!

Research: Research Upscale Rocketry. (Basically, somewhere between RPGs and ICBMs. Y'know, like V2s.) Liquid-fueled, long-ranged, modestly-accurate rocketry intended as a stepping stone for orbital rocketry and weapons alike.

Result: Critical Success!

While Russian Rocketry research was never on the level of Von Braun's genius, the scientists assigned to the project manage to work wonders considering the lack of a proper rocketry lab and the fact that they are essentially working with scraps, but they manage to build it.

They quickly move onto the testing phase after sweeping it for as many flaws and problems they could find.

(Test Rocket built)

Design Action: Design a test rocket. Something to prove the concepts we come up with in research, to refine and hone the final products.

Result: Critical Success!

The test rocket looks nothing more than a telephone pole with thrusters on the end, but some careful chemistry found a highly-energetic fuel source based on industrial chemicals due to the scarcity of proper fuel supplies, and with bated breath the launch commences...

And it flies! The rocket manages to climb some several thousand feet into the air before a structural flaw causes it to explode, but the rocket flew!

Now they imagine what adding the new VK material could do.

(New Research Unlocked: VK Rocketry)
(New Infrastructure Unlocked: Rocketry Lab)
(New Research Unlocked: Ballistic Rocketry)

Production: Build a VK mine (or as many as my action can support), build up the oil wells in Siberia. Men may march on their stomachs, kamerad, but tanks roll on diesel and gasoline and lube oil.

Result: Moderate Success!

The archaeological investigations of Dyatlov Pass prevent the establishment of a VK Mine, but in Siberia the work begins on a massive oil network, followed by pipelines and pumping stations that stretch far across the Siberian wastes to refineries established to supplement the Baku Oil Fields, which are still being rebuilt after the Draka destroyed much of the oil infrastructure there.

With Siberian Oil, the Soviet Union can heat its homes, power the lights, and fuel the engines of industry and war.

(Soviet Union Fuel Supply Tripled!)

Military Action: Improve the Generic Infantry Battalion to Guards Infantry Battalion (integrate artillery elements, anti-tank guns)

Result: Nat 100!

The Guards Infantry Battalion, the very name evokes images of mighty soldiers defending the Soviet Union against all threats, and crusading out to crush the threats in their nests and holes. As such, it is felt that these forces should be armed with the best available weaponry and so STAVKA gives the command authorization.

The Guards would be armed with the FSA-32 automatic rifle and DM-32 Machinegun, providing the firepower necessary to defend the main part of the Guards Infantry Battalion, the artillery and anti-tank guns.

The core is the 107mm Divisional Gun that served Russia faithfully during The Great War, supported by the 57mm Zis-2 Anti-tank Gun, both towed by autosteamer trucks until a better vehicle can be made. With the infantry as a blocking and striking force, the Guards Battalion can take ground and using their artillery and anti-tank guns hold it against incoming foes.

To better support the infantry, 82mm Mortars are issued to the Guards Infantry, allowing the troops to provide limited artillery fire when the big guns are unavailable.

(New Unit For Production: Guards Infantry Battalion)

Gideon020 · Sep 15, 2016

jacobplm said:
Social: We've already had luck with one Bureau, lets try another, yes? Establish the Bureau of Education and Social Advancement. The goal is to allow us to more easily enact social policy, while at the same time improving the quality of soviet life, both civilian and military.

Result: Major Success!

The Bureau of Education and Social Advancement, at its heart, an organisation dedicated to ensuring that the Soviet Citizen has all the basics of education necessary to be more productive while the children of these citizens will receive the benefits of a system that will drive them to excel and treat each other as comrades, an attitude necessary to advance in the rapidly reforming Party.

Children in farming villages now spend a portion of their day learning everything from proper speech to their numbers and letters, while older Russians are offered night classes to provide basic literacy and numeracy, along with optional courses to help understand things like proper tractor maintenance.

All of this results in an important advancement for you. More time to accomplish more social duties.

(+1 Social Action to all players.)

Research: Industrial Uses of VK.

Result: Critical Success!

VK has a variety of useful industrial applications, all of which the Soviet Union desperately needs.

Firstly, VK generates massive amounts of heat when exposed to electrical energy, allowing for metals to be melted faster than by traditional smelting methods, allowing for faster production of steels and metals, which come out of the foundries at a higher level of purity.

These same extreme temperatures allowed one bright spark to figure out a way to use molten salts as means to refine Titanium, which opens up the path to alloyed metals.

VK can also be used for oil production, providing the heating and electrical elements to refine and separate the different grades of oil, allowing for more compact refineries capable of higher outputs of fuel ranging from diesel to jet fuel should the need arise.

VK can also be used for power generation: VK rods arranged in a chamber and connected to a circuit generate huge amounts of electricity, but can also boil water to run through turbines as superheated steam, generating enough electricity that one reactor arrangement could probably power the entire Soviet Union...which says unflattering things about the state of the Union, Da?

(New Infrastructure Unlocked: VK Foundry)
(New Infratstructure Unlocked: VK Refinery)
(New Infrastructure Unlocked: VK Titanium Refinery)
(New Infrastructure Unlocked: VK Power Plant)

Design: Fortress-Towns are good, yes? They force the Draka to expend energy to capture them. Why not improve that? Design a possible upgrade for the things, a second, deeper layer, intended to be retreated into should the Draka break into the first layer, and force them to break into the fortress all over again. It should come with a hydroponics facility to provide food, of course, as well as generators.

Result: Success

Thanks to days of studies, constant research into growing equipment, and the design of the fuel bunkers for the diesel generators with provisions for VK-based ones, you create what in future days would become known around the world as the 'Soviet Two-Step', a town of village with two distinct layers allowing for Soviet citizens to withstand the most brutal sieges.

The new design upgrade to Fortress-Towns contains an entire array of barracks to allow citizens to sleep in a measure of peace and privacy with communal kitchens, followed by massive hydroponics farms and a second set of huge armories and ammunition storage, followed by Fuel Bunkers for the Diesel Generators which vent exhaust from concealed vents away from the towns.

This new level is sealed by behind heavy steel doors which stands in front of nests of Maxim Machineguns to mow down any invaders who breach the doors.

All in all, these new designs should make already formidable Fortress-Towns nearly impossible to capture or destroy.

(New Infrastructure Unlocked: Two-Step Fortress Towns)

Production 1: Infantry Battalions, to be stationed along the border.

Result: Success!

4 Battalions of Guards Infantry are raised and sent to the Drakan/Soviet Border to defend against Drakan aggression.

Production 2: Pharmaceuticals Factory

Result: Success!

The new Pharmaceuticals Factory comes online under intense secrecy; mass-produced medicines could be key to future military campaigns and other nations cannot know that the Soviet Union is rapidly expanding their medical capabilities.

Inside this facility, antibiotics, disinfectants, even vaccines are carefully made under the watchful eye of the NKVD, to ensure that when the time comes, Russia's medicines can save her brave soldiers from the disease and infection that war inevitably brings.

(Pharmaceutical Factory online.)
(Russian casualties reduced in combat.)

Military: Support DaLinty's action

Result: Auto-Success!

Gideon020 · Sep 15, 2016

DaLintyGuy said:
Social: Lend oversight and support to the establishment of the BESA.

Result: Auto-Success!

Research: Improve the AA fire director that was previously used to shoot down the Raptor. Two areas of use should be focused on: serving as the center of a battalion of flak guns, and as the sights for a rapid firing AAMG.

Result: Failure!

Your intended results don't pan out.

For one, the AA Fire Director is only suitable for directing the fire of one Anti-Air Gun, and using it at the center of a formation of guns means that those guns would only be able to fire on one aircraft at a time.

Second, the director cannot act as a sighting mechanism for any form of weapon, it requires data input into the mechanical computer, which then directs the gunner to fire ahead of the target aircraft.

Design: Upgrade Generic Infantry Battalion to Mechanized Line Battalion: possessing integrated snipers (both anti-infantry and anti-material), a section for using Incendiaries (not Acid due to upkeep issues), infantry armed with the AN-1 semi automatic rifle and the SMGs (PPD-32?), and a support section of DM-32 LMGs. Transport is provided by BR-2s.

Result: Success!

The Mechanised Line Infantry is the mobile striking arm compared to the slower Guards Infantry with their artillery and autosteamer trucks; using BR-2 APC's for transportation, the Line Infantry can quickly move ahead of slower forces to intercept the enemy and either bog them down long enough for Guards Infantry and their Artillery to pound them, or cut them off from reinforcements and supplies.

Their rapid movement also means that the Line Infantry can keep up with the newer T-32 Medium Tanks, which are markedly faster than the old T-26 and the relatively new T-28 tanks.

This then opens up the way for combined Infantry/Armour tactics.

(New Unit For Production: Mechanised Line Infantry Battalion)
(New Research Unlocked: Combined Infantry/Armour Doctrine)

Production 1: 4 T-32 Medium Tank Companies.

Result: Success!

The new T-32's are a far cry from the T-26's, with their faster engines and larger 76.2mm high-velocity guns, along with their thicker armour they are more than a match for the 56mm cannons of the Hond-II, and capable of outrunning and outmaneuvering them in the rough terrain of Central Asia.

To further give them anti-infantry punch, a DM-32 machinegun is fitted on the a ring-mount where the commander's hatch is, allowing the tank to better engage infantry without having to waste valuable canister and fragmentation shells on lone targets.

There's even space in the turret for a co-axial weapon to be fitted in the future, as well as as a bigger gun when the time comes.

Production 2: Oversee the setup of a new factory complex in the Urals, to produce armored vehicles for the Red Army as a whole.

Result: Critical Success!

The Patriotic People's Armour Works in the Ural Mountains is the largest military factory complex in Russia, possibly even the world. A sprawling, city-sized network of factories, fuelling stations, ammunition bunkers, and miles of barbed wire, mines and prepared emplacements. In this place, hundreds of tanks can be manufactured, squadrons of planes, and APC's for the Red Army.

Another bonus that comes out of this is the establishment of an Arsenal Works to manufacture rifles, mortars, and artillery which further reduces the time needed to get equipment rolled out across the Red Army's distant divisions and command districts.

(Patriotic People's Armour and Arsenal Works established in the Ural Mountains.)
(All Industrial Capacity Costs for Infantry, Tanks, Artillery and Aircraft have been reduced by 50%)

Military: Using the newly produced T-32s, begin a series of Russian probing attacks on the Drakan forces on the far side of the border, supported by some of the border troops: they deserve the chance. Hit and run, don't get bogged down in fighting as you will be overrun by Drakan forces if you don't get back behind the defenses in time.
-We might even use this as an occasion to ensure the safety of escaping Chinese Serfs, as their pursuers are highly unlikely to be bringing along tanks or even antiarmor weaponry. This is a tertiary objective at best.
-Run this operation in support of the planned operation to try and sucker the Draka. After all, it is predicated on making them mad.

Result: Critical Success!

To commemorate the beginning of the first actual attacks against the Draka, a film taken in a local Fortress Town on the border begins to circulate amidst the Red Army before it comes to your attention.

While clearly acted for propaganda purposes, you can see the enthusiasm in the face of the men, who the NKVD all identify as the crews of the four new T-32 companies that have been tasked for these raids.

The raids that follow are like lightning, and the small campaign becomes known as the 'Red Storm' as T-32's supported by border troops with BR-2 APC's smash aside Drakan border forts, breach compound walls and in doing so unleash a flood of humanity, in particular Chinese, rushing for the Soviet side of the border.

The tanks continue their raids until the time comes to open the hole, and in doing so truly show the impotence of the Draka in the face of soviet steel!

(The Red Storm smashes Drakan lines across the Drakan/Soviet Border)
(No Russian Losses)
(Chinese, Central Asian, and Arabic refugees begin fleeing into the Soviet Union.)
(Draka shocked and enraged by Soviet temerity.)

DaLintyGuy · Sep 16, 2016

Gideon020 said:
The new T-32's are a far cry from the T-26's, with their faster engines and larger 76.2mm high-velocity guns, along with their thicker armour they are more than a match for the 56mm cannons of the Hond-II, and capable of outrunning and outmaneuvering them in the rough terrain of Central Asia.

"Driver, slow forward." The dappled olive of the T-32 nosed it's way out of concealment, wide treads grabbing into the soil and rocks. Seeing their leader make it's move, others started emerging from their own hiding places. Long nosed cannons swung back and forth, ensuring that the coast was clear. None of the tankers saw any hostiles, and so at the hand signals of the various commanders a small group of BR-2s started their engines and pulled forwards to follow their greater brethren.

Fedevich Koross, Commissar-Lieutenant, grunted as the T-32 he was standing in slid forwards as a small bank collapsed under it's weight. Even with the frankly overengineered suspension the vehicle came with, dropping several feet was not pleasant and his knees buckled.

"Sir, could you please stop kneeing me in the shoulder?" The driver ground out, trying to keep in mind who he was talking to and the standards that the Commissar would enforce. "It's not helping me drive at all."

Grumbling, the Commissar tried to lock his knees more. The new 'everyone is a comrade' program worked both ways, after all. Giving the area another sweep with his binoculars, Fedevich felt his eyebrows rise and he held up a hand for the column to stop. It did so with some measure of clunkiness and almost an air of sulking, but the new tanks were soon lined up in uneven rows and ready to bolt to cover at a moments notice once they're leader gave the plan.

The flag several hills forward stopped waving, and soon a rough band of Chinese Serfs were assembling in front of the column. Armed with a ragged mix of weaponry, among which Fedevich proudly noted a large proportion of Mosin-Nagants and even one of the newer rifles, the terrorists communed among themselves before a handful of Russian speakers were found and started relaying some intelligence that they had passively gathered: apparently a tank patrol was stopping over in one of the border forts. Exactly why wasn't known, but several of the roving Janissary patrols had also been called in so it was nothing the Serfs wanted to happen.
Fedevich had to agree with them.

Thick, greasy clouds boiled up from sundered metal shells, matched by lighter smoke coming from some of the interior buildings in the base. The occasional spat of gunshots indicated resistance wasn't wholly eliminated, but the total elimination of the garrison wasn't part of their mission. Fedevich's tank bore several long streaks on it's front, including a spot where a shell had mashed into the front of the turret and broken up. Fedevich himself scowled at the scene arrayed before him, pointedly ignoring the bloody bandage around his upper arm. The other crew of his tank were in high spirits, the previously powerful Hond tanks presenting no match to their beautiful steed, and the gunner and loader were debating what the best kill marker was for snake armor.

For his part, though, Fedevich was mostly trying to ignore the fuzzy feeling in his arm and focus on the next part of his mission. He had heard the stories about what the new chemicals did to people who took them...

Gideon020 · Sep 16, 2016

Simpli said:
M.M.M's Actions:

Social Action:

Who would have guessed my study of archaeology in the real life would be useful for something in this strange world? Well: I'm going to organize an expedition towards the VK factory we have found inside a mountain and I'm going to take the infantry battalion that has stayed in Moscow with me. Both for security and potential labour force if I don't find enough workers....but also to get a feeling for the officers and the rank and file. At the mountain I will start to comb through the interior with a team of artists, engineers and architects, trying to get an overview about the installation, the way it is structured and built...with the intend of finding out more about it than simply knowing that it spits out glowing golden crystals that could revolutionize our technology.

Result: Critical Success!

Although a VK Mine was planned to be installed, you blocked the mine on the ground of archaeological importance, before you recruit local villagers to work alongside the soldiers under absolute secrecy enforced by the Commissars and grim-eyed NKVD officers as you begin searching the alien facility.

Inside is a treasure trove of technological artifacts ranging from the identifiable to the bizarre, along with several alien skeletons that even on cursory inspection clearly have VK in their bones, indicating a possible physiological need or perhaps these beings used VK's strange properties to enhance their bodies.

As you delve deeper, a cry goes up from a squad of infantry and you rush over to find out what caused the alarm, and gape.

There, preserved in some manner of medical stasis chamber, is a tall being, an actual living alien. It's proportions are long and thin, but clearly muscular, hairless with a wide head and what appears to be three eyes and a faintly reptilian mouth.

The machinery indicates that the system is still operational, and that the subject could possibly be woken up and released, though their reaction is likely to be unknown, as is their temperament.

(New Research Unlocked: Alien Technology)
(New Research Unlocked: Alien In Stasis)
(The Alien can only be released by finding a way to understanding the alien computer systems.)

Research:
VK Power sources: I would love to build oversee the creation of an engine for our new soviet fighter, but for now we should look into the properties of this new ressource, especially with the technological advancement the Axis have reached through it. As such our scientists should look for a way to use the VK as an energy source.

Result: Critical Success!

Drawing on earlier industrial successes regarding VK, the research into VK Power Sources bears important fruit.

First off, it is found that thick sheets of VK layered in a chemical working fluid can generate huge amounts of power in a compact, scalable package, with a potentially unlimited lifespan, while another team discovers a way to create an electrically powered prop engine which the teams calls the 'Electroprop' engine that promises to allow for faster fighters, ground-attack aircraft and bombers capable of carrying huge payloads.

The usage of VK as a power-source also has potential for tank engines; with the VK generator at the core it is possible to drive treads that can propel a much heavier tank than is currently in usage and your data indicates that apart from manpower, it will be Soviet armour formations that will break the Draka and other enemies. These Super-Heavy Tanks would be able move at the same speeds as the T-32, simply due to how powerful the electrical engines would be.

VK-powered ships will mean that the Russian Navy can build huge, powerful ships to match the Japanese and perhaps even the British.

And with VK, it is possible for long-life portable electronics such as Radios or other forms of consumer electronics.

And in a more esoteric direction, VK could be used to power some form of directed energy weapon.

(New Technology Unlocked: VK Power Pack)
(New Technology Unlocked: VK Electroprop Engine)
(New Research Unlocked: Super-Heavy Tanks)
(New Research Unlocked: Heavy Aircraft)
(New Research Unlocked: Super-Heavy Aircraft)
(New Research Unlocked: VK Energy Weapons)

Design Action:
Leonid Kurchevsky - A fraud or an innovator? I'm not sure yet, but in our timeline he was one of the greatest inventors when it came to recoilless rifles and his death also stopped this particular research in the soviet union. Right now we should see if we can seek him or similar researchers out to work on something new: a recoilless gun for the simple infantry man that should allow them the take out a tank. We already have the acid grenade and shaped warheads shouldn't be that hard to come by. What we now need is a weapon to deliver them against the enemy.
While the Carl Gustaf comes to ones mind, I should merely control the work from time to time - making sure that none of the researchers were too intimidated by the work....and that the product was still usable by an infantryman in the end.

Result: Critical Success!

Kurchevsky's work perhaps may have been fraudulent for more ambitious works, but the rest could clearly be blamed on the inferior state of Soviet metal-working. Here, Kurchevsky works under careful scrutiny to ensure that his product works to the specifications required, the Soviet Union requires a weapon capable of matching current and possible future Drakan tank designs.

What he comes up with is the 76mm DRP-32 Recoilless Rifle, a long weapon that can be loaded and fired by a single soldier and can be fired from the shoulder or braced with a folding bipod. The weapon fires using a mechanical trigger but could be converted to an electrical trigger, and it's long shape gives it the nickname of 'Spear' by the testing soldiers.

Careful reinforcement of the barrel means that the original test problem of the gun simply bursting when fired, and the Spear soon performs above specifications, reliably scoring mobility and mission kills on a test T-32 which is the closest the Soviets have to a current-generation Hond-II Medium Tank.

This kill capability is further enhanced by rocket-propelled ammunition deployed by 'kicking' the rocket out with a conventional charge, with Acid warheads proving suitably deadly to armour and Sulfur warheads being deadly to infantry thanks to the sticky mix of sulfur and chemicals.

(New Technology Unlocked: DRP-32 76mm Recoilless Rifle)
(New Technology Unlocked: DRP-32 Acid AT Warhead)
(New Technology Unlocked: DRP-32 Sulfur AP Warhead)

Production I:
We shouldn't forget the civilian side of the Union, as we have already heard before -and with our or at least my idea to open up with splendor- and should do something about improving the living condition and the state of our cities. As such I will work together with the cities to see how we can polish them back up to the splendor they had in the past...this might be an opportune moment to give the city soviets a real task once more. That will make them feel more involved and give them some real duties.

Result: Success!

The project to beautify the cities of Russia bring armies of workers from each city to replaster and paper walls, paint and scrub facades, polish metal and put up huge patriotic murals as slowly each city becomes filled with colour, with a dominance of red, banners slowly unfurling from buildings proclaiming the might of the Soviet Union, that together with their comrades, each man and woman can accomplish great things.

This soon spreads to the Fortress-Towns and soon splashes of colour go up, mostly in shades of red, to match the newly beautified cities.

(Civilian morale increased!)
(Soviet cities and Fortress-Towns become a great deal more colourful. Mostly in red though, it is the Soviet Union after all.)

Production II:
Our modernization of the infrastructure should not only be to the benefit of the military. If there are some capacities free, we should use them to establish civilian train routes and phone lines through the Soviet Union. We might have to start with "only" the larger cities, but we sure have to catch up to the rest of the world...

Result: Success!

While only the larger cities are connected by the new rail network, the introduction of a new diesel engine train and the flood of new fuel from Siberia while Baku is being rebuilt means that now Soviet citizens can visit friends and relatives in other cities, with the new inter-city phone lines allowing people across the Union to become closer to each other.

Now, going from Moscow to Stalingrad is not so daunting, and with phones to relieve the strain on the postal system, conversations can take place from one end of the Union to the other. Stalin even engages in the first phone call to the local Party headquarters in distant Vladivostok as part of a publicity event for local newspapers.

(Civilian rail and telephone networks established.)
(Greatly reduced chance for military and nation to be caught entirely unaware by enemy attack.)

Military Action:
The Draka are escalating things on our border...and noticing that something is going on on our side. If our intelligence reports are correct they are preparing to march against the Japanese held territories of China and they might not be willing to leave us on their sides without a show of force. A large raid or a small offensive might be the tool they would use to intimidate and test us - this might proof to be useful to us.
I shall try to coordinate with out commanders at the border to prepare a trap for the Draka: we will let one part of the front seem weaker and undisciplined than the rest of it, while pulling forces away from it and towards the cities - or at least make it appear like this.
With the advent of the larger and semi-automatic long range rifles, our soldiers might have something to keep the Draka from harrassing them right infront of their eyes - lets promise a small reward for each Draka officer shot by our marksman to rise their tempers.
As soon as the Draka try to attack the border in force, our forces at that position should set up a valiant...but short defense, bleeding them in the fixed defenses to rise their tempers even more... before starting a fighting retreat into the space between the cities, luring the Draka after them by never really breaking contact - it will be hard and we will take looses...
But this will allow us to get that force right onto our territory...and then the trap will close with other attachments of the border guard closing the way the Draka took to come in and using the Radar and massed Flak units to keep Air support from getting to them. The aim will be to encircle the Drakan invasion force and destroy them before enemy reinforcement can jump them out. Their total annihilation or at least their surrender will be our aim...especially if we can get the Senior officer Comrade Stalin wants.
This will also be a good opportunity to show off our new tank units - and as long we annihilate the Draka units completely, they can't send any word back home about them...and even if: that might be discarded as the excuses of weaklings that let themself get lured into a trap by mere "ferals"

Result: Nat 100!

*Bang!* "Janissary"

"One Point."

*Bang!* "Draka. Chest."

"Ten Points."

*Bang!* "Goat."

"I'll send Mischa to collect dinner."

"Oop, here they come."

"Better call the Commissar then."

It becomes known amongst STAVKA as 'Operation 12' while the soldiers have a more colorful name.

The Bloody Harvest.

After days, weeks of sharpshooter attacks, followed by the Red Storm, Merarch Joanna Winston finally has enough. Her entire Merarchy of Citizen Mountain Infantry, supported by four Tank Centuries and 50,000 Janissary troops, strikes at an 'opening' created by shifting Soviet troops and false info given by brave partisans who allow themselves to be captured.

The opening allows the Merarch's forces to breach the Soviet lines before turning her forces to breaking one of the nearby Fortress-Towns being presented as bait, and as soon as they get within range, the trap is sprung.

Instantly the border is sealed by infantry and armour, followed by artillery opening up on the Drakan forces; chaos reigns as Infantry armed with Incendiary Sulfur grenades set alight the rear-guard supply train before the cracking of An-1s and the chatter of FSA-32s begins to drown out the staccato tearing sound of Drakan automatic rifles and the barking of T-5 self-loading rifles.

Casualties are taken, the Hond-II's with their 56mm guns are effective against infantry, and the T-26 and T-28 Tanks also take losses.

And then the T-32's arrive on the scene, long-barreled guns thundering as their shells plow through Drakan armour, some of the shells even punching through both sides of the tanks to strike another or detonate in a Peltast APC or cluster of infantry but the general effect is carnage; turrets go flying or tanks slide to a halt as shells shred tracks before infantry pull open hatches and drop sulfur grenades inside tanks to unleash gouts of bright yellow flame before crew try to escape covered in flames before rifles gun them down.

Artillery pounds the locations of possible radio equipment and operators, followed by anti-tank guns lending their fire to deal with infantry and the few remaining tanks.

By the end of it, there are no survivors and trucks are being loaded with captured guns and wreckage for study or recycling while the T-32's are studied to see how the armour fared against the Wolfram (Tungsten) rounds favored as armour-piercing rounds by the Draka and the conclusion is heartening. Despite deep initial penetration, the armour of the T-32 prevented the shells from fully penetrating.

One individual who distinguished himself was one Commissar-Lieutenant Fedevich Koross, who's tank was responsible for no less than eight Drakan tank kills within a single hour of arriving at the combat area.

Drakan casualties are total as is surprise and the swiftness of the attack prevented any calls for reinforcements. By the end of it, the Draka have lost an officer, numerous Citizen lives and while the amount of Janissaries is a drop in the bucket, the sudden vanishing of so many will likely fuel rumours.

As for the corpses?

The vultures and crows fed well that day.

(Stalin is satisfied.)
(Red Army morale skyrockets!)
(250 casualties.)

DaLintyGuy · Sep 16, 2016

Gideon020 said:
(Draka shocked and enraged by Soviet temerity.)

"-this is an outrage!" I checked my forward momentum and reversed back to the door. I mean, this was the seat of Soviet power, you don't really hear many arguments like that. Nudging the door open slightly, I felt my eyebrows raise as I took in the scene waiting inside... Followed by one corner of my mouth twisting upward in a nasty smirk.

The ambassador from the Drakan Domination to the Soviet Union was pissed. Admittedly, the snakes didn't flail around when they were deeply offended, but you could still tell because they even further clamped down on their movements. Rather than looking like a superior being graciously holding back righteous judgement though, they often looked like anything from a recruit being torn a new one to someone who really had to go relieve themselves. Needling the few staff they still had in Moscow was a pleasure that everyone could appreciate. Well, everyone who was actually worth anything.
Standing at ramrod attention in front of the Foreign Affairs receptionist, the Ambassador was fit to burst. Her guards were standing at ease, and occasionally giving the odd glance around the room. A rational worry, given that they were outnumbered 10 to 1 as more guards showed up to ensure the snake didn't do anything untoward.

"The fact that your government is harboring terrorists and murderers is an affront to our graciousness!"

"Excuse me, but can I help?" I slide past one of the guards with a easy grin, the expression coming easily because payback is a bitch, bitch. "I was walking to my office, and couldn't help but overhear a wayward drill instructor practicing with his lungs." The ambassador looked at me like I was something she had just stepped in and was wondering what it had been excreted from. "This complex is partly under military supervision and as such it's my job to find wayward-"

"As the resident senior military officer, I have a request from my government demanding the help of the Soviet Union in finding and extraditing the perpetrators of the deaths of over a thousand Domination Citizens." The change was somewhat surprising. Then again, I suppose that facing what could be considered the equivalent of the Drakan Council, I think they had, would be enough of a bucket of water tot he face that most people would reconsider throwing a tantrum. "With how dangerous they are, it is in the best interests of both our nations to prevent them from further killing."

I brought a hand to my jaw and gave the snake a flat look, contrasting her outwardly in control figure with my lackadaisical-ness.
"To be honest, madam ambassador, I would be more afraid of overzealous investigators than any terrorists that you could mention. It's common knowledge that Drakan soldiers are poor of eyesight. Haven't you heard the news?" I continued at her expression of polite disbelief. "A dozen villages burned on suspicion. Now, I suppose to your kind all Chinese look the same, but a keen eye can discern differences. How the Domination has managed to overcome such a challenge is a credit to your people." I cocked my head like something had occurred to me. "Oh, but there was that business a few years back. No, I suppose that your flaws aren't very well covered at all."

The woman was nearly steaming, but I plowed over her attempt to interject.

It was a long, pleasant evening.

Gideon020 · Sep 16, 2016

Happerry said:
Luka Popov/Happerry's Actions

Social Action : Welp, Rasputin is probably the real thing. On one hand, it's nice he isn't the tool of some modern faction. On the other hand, oh crap it is the historic Rasputin. Time to go stop trying to subject him to a microscope and just ask him what he wants/intends to do that he seeks access to Stalin. Of course, take some reasonable precautions such as doing this conversation with someone else listening over an intercom just in case, but try not to be consumed with paranoia enough that we just insult the man instead of offering due respect to his reputation.

Result: Success!

Rasputin explains quite simply that he knows what you are all trying to do, but unless Stalin is willing to move outside the territory of the Soviet Union, to properly spread Communism, there is very little you can do. Stalin, the Mad Monk explains, was poisoned by a powerful mind-altering substance by his rivals, leaving him a shell of his former self.

And naturally, he declares, Rasputin can cure him, even make the man more pliable to your efforts, as he is sure you would prefer not to end up in a Gulag out of some paranoid fantasy.

Of course, he also offers to remove Stalin, allowing you to install your own puppet to lead the Soviet Union.

(Rasputin has made an offer; Cure Stalin or Replace him?)

Research Action : Research VK Metallurgy so we can see just how wonderful this wonder material really is. And then test the Hellsprout on the results.

Result: Critical Success!

VK, when alloyed with steel or aluminum has incredible properties that openly defy all conventional knowledge of physics. VK-alloyed metals are over 80% lighter, nearly impervious to heat except when exposed to the temperatures inside a VK-Foundry, and upon testing is found to possess incredible protective properties.

A protective chest and throat armour made to be strapped over the uniform of the Soviet rifleman made of steel was too heavy to be useful. A VK-Steel armour of similar thickness was not only light enough for a soldier to run while wearing the armour, but could potentially allow them to survive being hit with a tank shell. Well, the armour would survive without a mark while the soldier would be far unluckier.

VK-Steel armour held incredible potential for Soviet Tanks. The T-28 could become faster while the T-26 could become relevant again while the light-weight means that the proposed 'Super-Heavy' tank design could have incredibly thick armour before their top speed would drop by a noticeable amount.

VK would also allow for aircraft that were lighter, and therefore faster, with proposed Heavy and Super-Heavy aircraft likely able to outrun aircraft if fitted with Electroprop engines. Payloads would massively increase due to the strength of the VK-based metal, and without the usage of VK, such aircraft would be all but invulnerable to enemy fire.

Naval vessels would be able to be more able to survive combat conditions; the ancient battleships in the Red Navy would be able to savage Drakan naval assets if refitted with VK-Steel armour, and submarines would likely be able to run along the bottom of the ocean at pressures that would crush other submarines.

VK-Steel would also allow for firearms to be more reliable and longer-lasting. The AN-1, PPD-32 and FSA-32 would have their wooden parts rot into nothing before the metal rusts.

What is most important is the effect of Comrade Green and sulfur incendiary; Comrade Green is actually stopped by VK-Steel and Sulfur Incendiaries don't even heat the metal.

(New Technology Unlocked: VK Vehicle Armour)
(New Technology Unlocked: VK Aircraft Armour)
(New Technology Unlocked: VK Naval Armour)
(New Technology Unlocked: VK-Steel)
(New Research Unlocked: VK-Steel Infantry Armour)
(Bonus to VK Ammunition and VK Explosive Research)

Design Action : We have fire and acid, so time to see if they can be put to use together. Design the Hellsprout Sulfur Incendiary Projector, which uses our new Sulfur Incendiaries to design a flamethrower fit to give the Draka hell. Also, test the effect of the weapon on VK materials given that the Axis seems to be using it for armor.

Result: Critical Success!

The RPO-32 'Hell Spitter' is the world's first dual-purpose projection system as advances in VK-based Metallurgy in regards to interactions with Comrade Green and Sulfur Incendiaries, allowing Soviet Troops to have potent anti-armor and anti-personnel weapons alongside the DRP-32 'Spear' Recoilless Rifle and it's Comrade Green and Sulfur specialist ammunition.

Due to the violent way that Sulfur Incendiaries and Comrade Green interact, often resulting in toxic smoke and explosions, two specific versions of the Hell Spitter are made.

The Green Hell version uses a VK-Steel and Ceramic pressure tank to hold a large volume of pressurised Comrade Green, with a small VK-powered electric pump to project the liquid over several meters, allowing a single soldier to melt a tank into slag within seconds and render horrific casualties to enemy infantry.

The Yellow Peril version uses a standard VK-Steel tank to hold the Sulfur Incendiary gel, and is perfect for anti-infantry work typically done by traditional flamethrowers. These bright-yellow, stinking flames are capable of clearing houses and bunkers, and the chemicals make it naturally sticky and impossible to extinguish with water.

Both versions have potential for vehicle-scale versions, and that could be handy for upgrading tanks or creating new vehicles.

(New Technology Unlocked: RPO-32-G 'Green Hell' Acid Sprayer)
(New Technology Unlocked: RPO-32-Y 'Yellow Peril' Sulfur Jet)
(New Research Unlocked: Heavy Sulfur Jet)
(New Research Unlocked: Heavy Acid Sprayer)

First Production Action : Build Networked Supply Depots.

Result: Success!

The new depots are designed to work in conjunction with the rail/road logistical network established, and the effect is immediate at the new supply depots as supplies are stockpiled and the distribution network means that supplies can reach Soviet troops more quickly, allowing faster resupply in the field and the establishment of external logistical trains.

The main problem to tackle now is the fact that autosteamer trucks are pitifully slow for transporting supplies over such long distances.

(Supplies Income Doubled!)
(Supply network still hampered by usage of autosteamer trucks.)

Second Production Action : Produce a Generic Artillery Battery. Combined arms is all well and good, and infantry may be the queen of the battlefield, but Artillery is the king. And we all know what the king does the queen. Either way, any doctrine we develop should take artillery into account, whether normal guns or rocket artillery. But without Artillery to play with, this is hard to do. That is why this Artillery Battery is being built.

Result: Success!

A battery of 107mm Divisional Guns is constructed at the new Ural complexes and readied for exercises or deployment to the border to engage the Draka.

Military Action : Just as the Officer Academy trains officers, and the Military Academy trains soldiers, let us build a Special Operations Academy for, well, Specialists in Special Operations. Snipers, Commandos, Paratroopers (once we get planes for them to jump out of), and so on.

Result: Critical Success!

The Academy For Soviet Specialist Services is a clean, vague name for what many who study there call 'The Ghost Academy' as they learn all manner of specialist combat roles. It is not located in any dedicated location, in fact the Academy is located within a block of buildings in Moscow, fenced off and marked on official records as being responsible for 'the training of specialised servants of the Soviet Union' where the first Snipers, Commandos and Paratroops are trained.

When the classroom is insufficient, mountain forests are used to train in a variety of fighting methods and various skills.

By the end of the month, the Academy is ready for operations.

(New Unit Available For Production: 'Widowmakers' Sniper Company)
(New Unit Available For Production: 'Spetznaz' Special Operations Company)
(New Unit Available For Production: 'Eagles' Airborne Battalion)
(New Research Unlocked: New Model Transport Plane)
(New Research Unlocked: Assault Gliders)

Gideon020 · Sep 16, 2016

Estro said:
Social: Institute mandatory education for children from the age of Five till thirteen, focusing upon Literacy and Numaracy, as well as basic sciences. Ensure that schools are freely available, with a secondary option for further specialisation until eighteen. The tertiary education in this country will also be refocused upon research and further development of the base of Soviet knowledge. And if someone tries to push ideology instead of facts then murder the ever living fuck out of them.

Result: Success!

The Soviet Public Schooling Edict goes into effect, making it mandatory by law that children are to attain a basic level of literacy, numeracy and other essential education to allow for the Soviet Child's choices to be more than Farmer, Factory Worker, or Soldier. To ensure that schooling is not too loaded with propaganda, only the minimum such as 'All People Are Comrades' as well as specially-made Nikolai and Ivan films are used to help firm loyalty to the Soviet Union and it's ideals in the children while the rest of the time is dedicated to classroom learning, sports, and the occasional presentation by various researchers, soldiers, and political officers who have been carefully vetted by the NKVD.

(Russian Schooling System Improved! There is actually a schooling system in the Soviet Union!)

Research: We have a new material. VK. Wonder what it stands for. As a crystalline non-ionic substance, it has a decent chance of being a semiconductor. And given the potency of Comrade Green, layers of this substance over Green etched silicon may allow for excellent transistors, all integrated into one surface.

Result: Nat 100!

It is a miracle of engineering. In a fan-vented lab away from Moscow, Comrade Green is painstakingly applied to silicon before a VK emulsion is used to fill in the gaps in a process not unlike screen-printing, resulting in what the research team jokingly called 'Printed Circuits' before the experiments begin.

The results are illuminating, the primitive computer created to test the circuitry is able to operate at an incredible level of speed and the test machine can be made increasingly compact as well as complex.

(New Research Unlocked: VK Digital Computing)

Design: Victor Ivanovich Shestakov. Ahh, what a name. Logic gates are where he accelled. And given the more advanced state of computing, surely he can put his knowledge of Boolean Logic to use to develop a plan, just a plan, for a stored program device, fully capable of computation of a level comparable to... ATLAS (48 bit word size, 24 bit address space, 112 kilobits of storage space, and of course Turing Complete.).Just a design though. Notes and drawings. After all, with current technology, that would likely be the size of a city.

Result: Nat 100!

The news and data about VK-based Transistors inspired Shestakov, and the design he provides after days of careful design and theoretical extrapolation is not the size of a city, but instead the theoretical computer would be the size of a small building and capable of performance likely equal to a digital computer of the 1950's or 60's, with the size largely because of needs to have areas to observe in operation and easy technical access.

(Bonus to VK Digital Computing research)

Production -1: Build a Battleship in one of our black sea ports

Result: Success!

The most modern design you have is the Evstafi-Class but the only naval force that could be fought with this Pre-Dreadnought design would be the frankly pitiful Drakan Navy, but the fortifications of the Bosphorus would still shred this ship in open combat.

Even so, the guns of this ship still work, and they could still deal a heavy blow to Drakan forces in a shore bombardment or naval battle.

Production -2: Our source of VK cannot be left unguarded. Using the principles behind the Fortress Towns, fortify that pass until its as hard to take as Stalingrad! Well, okay, maybe not that hard. But it would be nice if it was.

Result: Success!

While the VK Mine is halted until the archaeolgical digs are complete, nothing is preventing the construction of a massive concrete and steel fortress that spreads across the Pass like a grey cancer, turning rugged and snowy terrain into a network of roads and emplacements for machineguns, artillery, tanks and infantry while rail lines are laid to make it easier to remove VK from the Dyatlov Enigma, the name given to the massive alien facility and it's bizarre machinery.

(Dyatlov Pass heavily fortified.)

Military: Create the committee on military intelligence, designed to amalgamate intelligence reports from all three factions of the military and the NKVD, and ensure greater sharing of information between groups.

Result: Success

The Committee for Soviet Intelligence brings together all the disparate intelligence services of the Army, Air Force and Navy before linking them to the secret police forces of the NKVD. With the new program of 'Everyone Is Your Comrade' the move is smooth and the effect of the uniting of these groups means more complete intelligence reports that will greatly benefit the Soviet Union in future conflicts.

(Intelligence services linked together. Soviet Union is now much harder to infiltrate.)

Gideon020 · Sep 16, 2016

April, 1932

World News:

-Despite it being an Anti-Drakan Propaganda Film, the movie 'Saints Of Bulgaria' takes much of the world by storm after it is released to standing ovations in Germany and finds a following across the world.

-The Olympics are starting! Use a Social Action to send athletes to the games being held in Los Angeles! Results will be displayed in the OOC Thread.

-President Von Hindenberg's health is slowly deteriorating, leaving many to fear what will happen to Germany should he die.

-Massive riots have swept across France, instigated by the French Socialists. The resulting violence was only quelled by the involvement of the Army and the United States has agreed to help the French and British governments against possible uprisings by providing weapons, food and ammunition to their militaries.

-Nikola Tesla has unveiled the military applications of this technology, creating a so-called 'Tesla Cannon' that unlike the strange ring-and-ball Tesla Coil looks much like a chimney, leading many to mock it as the 'Chimney Thunder' gun.

-More and more Chinese Peasants are migrating enmasse into the Soviet Union; reports indicate that entire villages of serfs are vanishing into the night, escaping towards the Soviet border where they are never seen again. Despite Comrade Mao's proclamations of armies being secretly trained, many believe that the Chinese are taking advantage of their relative 'newness' to vanish before the Draka can increase their grip further, as well as escape the predations of the Japanese.

-In a major move against Japanese saber rattling in the region, the United States has moved large numbers of troops, ships and aircraft to their far-flung Philippines territories.

-A massive explosion has rocked Japanese Machuria. Soon after, Prime Minister Yasaburo Otaka revealed that Japan has cracked the secret of the atom first put forward by Einstein's theories.

Outside Scientific Discoveries:
-The Japanese have revealed that they have created the world's first nuclear detonation.

Internal Scientific Discoveries:
-A team of agents has returned with data on Tesla's Wireless Energy Transmission and Tesla Cannon technology.
(New Research Unlocked: Wireless Energy Transmission)
(New Research Unlocked: Tesla Weaponry)

Military Movements:
-Drakan forces in China have suddenly launched themselves across the border! The Drakan-Japan War has begun! Japanese border forts are being rapidly overrun, and the Drakan forces have penetrated over twenty kilometers into Japanese China in a single day!
-Imperial Japanese Army forces are scrambling to intercept the Drakan forces.
-The Japanese Pacific Fleets are being recalled to shell Drakan positions and deploy their carrier aircraft to bomb vulnerable targets.
-The Drakan Elephant Bombers and Raptor Fighters are quickly proving their superiority over the Japanese air forces, and the Elephants have deployed large amounts of Mustard Gas on Japanese positions followed by conventional bombings.

Income Report:
+3000 Manpower
+4000 Supplies
+3000 Ammunition
+2000 Industrial Capacity
+6000 Fuel
+1200 VK

Bureau Of Modernisation Built: Siberian Gold Mine (Increased gains from Trade Deals)

Presidential Directives:
-Stalin remains in his usual funk.

Internal Troubles:
-Rasputin's deal is tempting. Should it be taken to cure Stalin, or kill him.
-The recent Socialist upheavals in Britain and France could spread to the US. The FBI wants to begin a very thorough and likely brutal crackdown on the American Nationalist Party and other socialist elements including the American Workers Party, and the Combined Syndicates Party.

There are new Intelligence Reports on the Master Data Sheet!

Simpli · Sep 16, 2016

"Comrades....", a small smile playing over the lips and with a small flick of her hand that pushed her glasses back once more, Lt. Mayakovskaya was standing up and giving everyone a small nod: "I think we can congratulate ourselves for what we have have been able to do in barely a few months. We have modernized a country that had withered from the inside by isolationismn and depression, we have turned the Military into a force that has to be reckoned with and have succesfully won the first larger victory against the Draka Military since the War of Patriotic Blood. We can be proud of ourselves.", she concludes the slightly enthusiastic beginning of her words, before giving a small nod towards their one eyed compatriot at the table: "And while Comrade Heschel and I haven't been of the same opinion often before...",
the hint of a smile once again ghosted over her lips: "...and I would have wished he would have listened to me when it came to our AA director...", giving it a small pause she continued: "It can be said that Operation 12 was concluded thanks to both of our military efforts...and that of the soldiers of the Red Army of course."

Looking once more at the table and her mood seemingly sombering a little, she gestured at the gathered information spread out before them, pulling four folders or rather four groups of folders out in particular:

"I think there are five big challenges that have appeared in the last month Comrades, if I may I would wish to present my opinion on them and would like to hear yours:

The matter of Secretary Stalin and the "options" Rasputin has presented to us

While it might be tempting to take a more "final" solution when it comes to a man who was one of the most feared dicators in our timeline...I don't think that killing him and replacing him with someone else would be the best option: our authority largely derives from being his close advisors and being seen as such - a potential new party leader might turn against us and try to get rid of us because we might otherwise overshadow them....even a puppet could get such fantasies if we aren't careful. Giving the power the should nominally have back to the Soviets isn't -as sad as it is- a good idea, especially as we are preparing for a full out war with the Draka and in the worst case: the rest of the world.
In a situation like this, as strange as it sounds, a healed Stalin with the the ruthless nature that would allow him to lead a war like this down to the last citizien and bullet, might be our best bet for internal stability and a firm stance against every foreign threat. Especially if Rasputin could mellow out his worse paranoid tendencies we might be able to work with him....but of course this would limit us a bit when it comes to internal policical reforms and who knows what directives he might come up?
Both plans have their problems but right now I would tend towards keeping Comrade Stalin alive, healing him and impressing him enough to keep us on his side and with a free hand: if the healing wouldn't take too long I might even be for organizing a little show. The marching soldiers of the Borderguards, Refugee families that thank him, as well as the Flags of the Draka Units and Insignia of their commanding officer to be laid out before him while the new T-32 parade down the streets. It will rise the spirits of our comrades watching it...and hopefully rose our leaders fighting spirit.
But both options still leave us with a big unknown factor: Rasputin. What does he want? I might doubt that he's doing this out of patriotic duty -even if that is possible- and if he can alter our leaders mind to be more malleable...who doesn't say that he wants to become the force behind his Throne? With Alien live possible, I wouldn't say I wouldn't believe him being the historical Rasputin: it is a possiblity, which leaves us with the big question: "What is he?"

The Proof of Alien Life

It might shock you as much as me Comrades, but in the Insides of the VK factory a squad of our soldiers that had helped me excavating the facility found something...excuse me: Not from this world. If you would look at the photos I put into the folder, you can see that we have not only found several alien skeletons that are undoubtly related to the facility as the VK is in their very bones, as well as a trove of technological artifacts, but also a living specimen in stasis.
As it stands the Soviet Union has found the first Alien lifeform - but of course we can't know if the Axis and Allies also examined their facilities more closely....or just went and dug a few holes into it for a mine...
While it might be prudent to spend some actions on axamining the Alien Technology and Remains more closely, we have also found the alien computer systems which are still partly powered - I think this would be a job for comrade Maçon as our local expert with organising computer related projects. Releasing the Alien might have to wait till we have a method to subdue it if necessary...but it still one of the more world shaking revelations since ROB cast us into this World. If the facilites weren't merely moved here the same way we were...what else might be outside of our home system?

The possibilities of VK - Its scarcity

I think the dozens of reports each of us has gathered over the last month and which show our engineers, as well as the scientists, salivating at the prospects this crystals open to them, speak for themselves. But I think we need to talk over something quite basic before we delve deeper into this technologies: our supply of VK comes from a single source and while the supplies we have right now are more than supple, we don't know yet just how much VK will be consumed for different projects and could easily lead to a bottleneck thanks to its limited supply. As such I think we should agree to "limit" the use of VK to larger projects, with that I mean: Plane, Super-Tank and upwards. I'm sure that using VK for infantry armour is quite frankly: overkill. They don't need to tank a tank shell and the man inside won't survive it anyway: instead I would look into ceramic plates, maybe with a VK coating to safe on the material and in the hope its heat resistance will also help against Energy Weapons. But as that is...I hope we can agree to be careful on how much we are spending when it comes to our use of VK, agreed Comrades?

The War between Draka and Japan

It seems our intelligence was correct when the Draka Invasion started this May as predicted. I think we can all agree we wan't to somehow intervene in this war. Depending on what option we take with Stalin we could bring the full force of our partly modernized Army to bear against their original holdings in a month: its not like they would expect the Hermit Kingdom to act offensively, or?
Of course we could also follow our current directive and simply support the Chinese Rebels, maybe give them a bit of help with graduates from the Ghost Academy and hope that they can haress their supply enough to take some pressure of the Japanese - of course this strategy can be combined with others.
Depending on the Status with Stalin we could also covertly or openly offer our support to the Japanese, giving them plans for our "mundane" assault rifles and Anti-Tank launchers, as well as the captured manual and specifics of the Raptor to give their pilots a better chance. We could try trading information and help for the Atom Bomb...instead of going and capturing it - even if that might be quite amusing should the NKVD be able to pull it off.

Furthermore there are some smaller issues we should discuss as well:

The situation of the worker parties in the other countries

It seems like the Germans used the lives of our french comrades for their own purposes and might attempt to interfere with the Allies try to reach out to France and the British Empire - meanwhile the FBI might crack down on the AWP in America thanks to this. Both other factions that have gotten Councils like us are playing with the lives of our comrades for their own purposes and we should do something to curtail this - if only to preserve and extend our influence over the international worker parties.

The Salvage from Operation 12

Someone might have to dig through those: not only the weapons and vehicles might quite a treasure trove for our analyists, but also the personal effects and official letters the soldiers and officers had with them. We might be able to analyze the current mood and climate of the border guard in the citizien and Jannisarry units - this might show some weaknesses or plans we could use later on. If someone be willing to research this, I would be rather grateful.

Our Western Neighbours

We have spend much of our time looking at China or America in the last months, but the things happening in France by the hands of the Germans, should remind us that we shouldn't forget our Western neighbours. We need to get into official or at least covert contact with them, maybe play up the threat of a German expansion into their direction once more and offer them our help and protection, while dangling a few of our more mundane VK less designs before their noses. Especially getting Finland and Sweden to at least be neutral and wary of the Germans might hamper their economy should they try to get on warfooting.

The Refugee Situation

With the unflux of whole villages of serfs running away from their overlords and into our borders we should take care to integrate them as best as we can -while at the same time being wary of potential spies. Our own population should see them as victims and comrades that need help, especially after our Propaganda efforts...we should get them lessons in Russian, offer them to teach their own language to people interested and then get them jobs in our growing industry....and offer those which yearn for it an opportunity to pay the snakes back in the military...or at the new Ghost Academy. They might proof useful trainers and leaders for rebel cells should we send them back later on."

M.M.M's Actions:

Social Action I:

Curing Comrade Stalin & Organizing a victory Parade to impress him and the people

Stalin will be healed and mellowed a little, by Rasputins hand and our will. To make sure of that I'm going to personally oversee this from a nearby room together with some of the soldierse from our Guard Regiments should the monk try anything unforward. If the healing won't take too long to kick in I will organize a little show for our Leader and the people. The marching soldiers of the Borderguards, Refugee families that thank Stalin, as well as the Flags of the Draka Units and Insignia of their commanding officer that were slain in Operation 12 are to be laid out before him while the new T-32 parade down the streets. It will rise the spirits of our comrades watching it...and hopefully rose our leaders fighting spirit and make him more trusting of our Councils good work even in his flunk...

Social Action II:

Creating an Experimental Design Bureau for infantry weapons.

A glance at the Allied and Axis technologies show it quite clearly: firearms are seemingly going to have to compete with energy weapons and the like in the close future and while we have to join this trend...we also have to keep in mind that we have just too many soldiers to arm each with a VK weapon. But at the same time we can't keep designing new models of "older"weapons all the time. As such it would be best to form a Bureau under one of our already test weapon designers to serve as think tank that creates new firearms...but for the most part keeps the materials and methods used to create our weapons up to "modern" standards as we progress and do minor improvements like changing the materials or adding new sights and modifications that the soldiers wished for after using the weapons in battle.

Research:

Alien Technology

Examining artifacts from a foreign culture is always hard (after all - how can you tell the difference between a toilet brush and a scepter?) and one that might be completely Alien to human ideas even more. But at the same time this could help propelling the Soviet Union even further forward, especially when it comes to dust...as such taking a look and trying to find out as much as possible from this treasure...seems to be the right thing to do.

Design Action:

Cermic Infantry Armour with VK coating

The Red Army can field millions of soldiers and creating a VK-steel armour for each of them is not only expensive but complete overkill - after all it doesn't help the soldier much if the armour can stop a tank shell if he still dies from the mere force. As such I will try experimenting with VK coated ceramic plates that use the bare minimum of the material on the outward facing side to be "heat resistant" in the hope it will help against Energy weapons, while using more mundance materials and polymerse to make the armour both comfortable and easy to move in, as well as protective. The helmet will most likely also need a redesign and needs to be of Steel with a VK coating too, while orientating itself on the German helmets in design and maybe taking some influence from our knowledge of the later M-36 series. Having the uniforms and helmets in green and other terrain colours would also be useful and completely mundane.

Production I:

VK Titanium Refinery

Getting our hands on some "mundane" material for better armour all over, seems to be a good idea if we want to armour normal sized vehicles, ships and planes in something less exotic than the VK material

Production II:

Expansion of the VK Facility

After having examined the facility in the last month -and true to my former profession having blocked a bit building project- I will continue what I did stop before. As such my people and I shall look into finding ways to "mine" more of the wondrous Crystal from the facilitiy.

Military Action:

Create an Military Theory Bureau

Headed by man like Ieronim Uborevich, Mikhail Tukhachevsky and Vladimir -don't let him use a plane- Triandafillov. This should become a think-tank of the Soviet Unions theoretical strategists, to form new doctrines for the Red Army. They could work together with the other officers in the Army - thanks to our new telefon network- and spread the influence of -and debete about- new doctrines to get a better feedback from those involved in putting them into practice one day.

DaLintyGuy · Sep 16, 2016

Simpli said:
it a small pause she continued: "It can be said that Operation 12 was concluded thanks to both of our military efforts...and that of the soldiers of the Red Army of course."

"Indeed. I had my doubts, but it seems like the Drakan general was too foolish to resist."

Simpli said:
The Refugee Situation

With the unflux of whole villages of serfs running away from their overlords and into our borders we should take care to integrate them as best as we can -while at the same time being wary of potential spies. Our own population should see them as victims and comrades that need help, especially after our Propaganda efforts...we should get them lessons in Russian, offer them to teach their own language to people interested and then get them jobs in our growing industry....and offer those which yearn for it an opportunity to pay the snakes back in the military...or at the new Ghost Academy. They might proof useful trainers and leaders for rebel cells should we send them back later on."

"I agree. Although, even if we do find any that have higher level education they should be kept out of our state funded research projects."

Simpli said:
The Salvage from Operation 12

Someone might have to dig through those: not only the weapons and vehicles might quite a treasure trove for our analyists, but also the personal effects and official letters the soldiers and officers had with them. We might be able to analyze the current mood and climate of the border guard in the citizien and Jannisarry units - this might show some weaknesses or plans we could use later on. If someone be willing to research this, I would be rather grateful.

"I was planning on doing something about this, although it's a little disappointing to not have any live prisoners to interrogate."

DaLintyGuy · Sep 16, 2016

Social 1: Analyse the information recovered from Operation Bloody Harvest. Personal effects to try and build up a picture of the other side of the border, the recovered tanks and equipment to see what other evolutionary advances the snakes are making or stealing from the Americans, and whatever else we can get from the piles of salvage.
-Extra effort is to go into whatever we recovered from the Merarch's HQ, of course.

Social 2: Refugees are coming over the border in large numbers. Welcome them, integrate them, but keep in mind the chance of planted agents trying to access or witness our inner workings, as well as remembering any that are eager for a chance at revenge.

Research: For the future when we fight the Domination, we will need a New Model Soviet Fighter. Otherwise, the enemy will be able to drop gas on our forces or cities with a large degree of freedom.

Design: In the vein of the famous German 88mm dual purpose cannon, make a high caliber gun that can serve as a direct fire heavy antitank gun or an indirect artillery piece. Our current 107mm barrels should be sufficient for this task.

Production 1: 4 Spetznaz and 4 Mechanized Line Infantry

Production 2: VK Foundry

Military: With our new Mechanized units and our slightly less new T-32 companies, work on a Combined Infantry/Armour Doctrine. Our infantry and tanks go hand in hand, for the betterment of both. Improving their teamwork will pay dividends.

Estro · Sep 16, 2016

"I would hope the VK restriction would not extend so far as to deprive me of what is necessary for the operation of our computers, no?"

Maçon lifted the large cup of imported drinking chocolate to his/my lips. For the briefest of moments an invasion of the ivory coast was considered, before the cup was once again set on the table.

"Now, to discuss both our Western neighbours and other powers we need to deal with. Why don't we send out some embassies to ... France, Weimar Republic, Britain, US, Sweden and... Oh, I'm sure there are more. Will allow us to see them a bit better, and perhaps precursor of the Internationale?"

DaLintyGuy · Sep 16, 2016

Estro said:
"Now, to discuss both our Western neighbours and other powers we need to deal with. Why don't we send out some embassies to ... France, Weimar Republic, Britain, US, Sweden and... Oh, I'm sure there are more. Will allow us to see them a bit better, and perhaps precursor of the Internationale?"

"It will have to wait for the... Resolution, of the Raspyurin situation I feel." I shrug. "But for now it is best to continue to look the insular and somewhat backwards nation while preparing to invade the nearest Drakan holdings."

"Speaking of things, our navy has been hopelessly negelected. Perhaps you could do a redesign of our destroyer forces using Second World War principles?"

Simpli · Sep 16, 2016

DaLintyGuy said:
Design: In the vein of the famous German 88mm dual purpose cannon, make a high caliber gun that can serve as a direct fire heavy antitank gun or an indirect artillery piece. Our current 107mm barrels should be sufficient for this task.

"Comrade...maybe you should think about what kind of comparisons you make: the 88m is an anti-air gun that can double as direct AT gun", she said carefully as she corrected him: " You mean a field gun like the A 19, or? The M1931 could already be around if you want to derive it from that artillery piece."

DaLintyGuy · Sep 16, 2016

Simpli said:
"Comrade...maybe you should think about what kind of comparisons you make: the 88m is an anti-air gun that can double as direct AT gun", she said carefully as she corrected him: " You mean a field gun like the A 19, or? The M1931 could already be around if you want to derive it from that artillery piece."

"It was a famous dual purpose weapon that everyone in our Circle knows about. Case in point, I don't know what those other weapons you've just mentioned are. But I'm sure our subordinates will pick the right starting point for the job at hand."

The Bird · Sep 16, 2016

Social 1: Establish an official Soviet research and science organization.

Social 2: Create the KGB, Russias first official foreign and domestic intelligence organization. Expand it out of our military intelligence organization.

Research: Wireless Energy Transmission

Production 1: Upgrade the Fortress-Towns to Two-Step Fortress Towns

Production 2: VK Power Plant

Design: It's time to make a better Tank. Using VK-Steel as an armor, equip it with acid-rockets as its prime armament, a secondary machine gun weapon, and give it a proper internal combustion engine instead of an auto-steamer.

Military: Mao is raising an army, yes? Well, why don't we give him a little help. Take some of the refugees, those who are capable of fighting, and train them up, to serve as a future liberation army for Mao and his rebels. Offer large incentives for those who volunteer. At the end of their training, they will be handed off to Mao to serve as his own private army.

DaLintyGuy · Sep 16, 2016

jacobplm said:
Design: It's time to make a better Tank. Using VK-Steel as an armor, equip it with acid-rockets as its prime armament, a secondary machine gun weapon, and give it a proper internal combustion engine instead of an auto-steamer.

"That sounds like it will make a fine light tank to replace our current aging or outmoded models. Although, does it use gyrojet ammunition or does it simply fire rockets at the enemy?"

Only One Can Win The Eurasian War! Soviet IC Thread

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