the end of the illusion

[freeboy]

As the Newly elected( cough) head of the USSR, I am faced with Monumental dissasters after my predecessor, Stalin, ruined the army by, lets just say there are few generals and career oficers left after the purges..
News of from the front is even worse, if thats possible, millions of enemy troops streaming over the borders!
WE have an eneromous army still.. but where to fight and where to run away?

[freeboy]

the entire front has collapsed... So much for my planned appeal to Hitler for a reduction of forces on the border, He got it half right, the USSR has reductions !
after the turn ran and normal reinforcments arrived
these are the numbers
52 inf corps
25 Inf divs
19 armored corps
1 armored div
1 mech inf corp

There is also a a sizable army in the far Siberian East.. gaurding against the threat of Japan, As long as these troops do not revolt and form a new govt I think that we can draw them back into European USSR.. but it may take some time..
The latest plans from my ministers is to dismantle the forward factories... DISMANTAL? Incredible, how far the
East will we go in the removal.... One planners states that Karkov and Don basin and another states we must gain western aide, fortunately we have friends in the American White House, will dispatch an urgent plea.. they may not be at war but they are already helping the Brits....

[doomtrader]

I wonder where it goes

[freeboy]

here is a pic of Eastern Poland and surronds turn 2

[freeboy]

we choose run away..
Strange how effective the enemy is..
our total units actually went up this turn as the enemy, shocked at their gains on turn one, seem to have paused to refuel and only Odessa and Riga remain threatened...
forces ordered to retreat include all armored units.
we will see

[freeboy]

In a moment the debate over which troops to train ends as the defense states that all corps will take several months to orginise arm and trains.. whats the fastest? Inf divisions.. train
train them at the front another suggests...
And orders are cut for over fitfty ill trained divisions of infantry
The choice for better tanks came up, cheaper or equip troops with better range and speed? We go with better range... they already cost so much a few rubles saved on cutting corners hardly seems efficient...
our huge airforce is in a shambles, almost all the units need to be refitted.. only that tooo cost more that we can afford, they sit removed to the rear areas.
time will tell, the Finns also are threatening the Lenningrad area

[freeboy]

Well. the enemy is runningto the end of there supplies, we have proved we can outrun them! lol
In a bright light of hope, the defenders of Kishinev.. North of Odessa give a needed win...July begens in glory

[freeboy]

sorry .. will work on getingrid of the extra white zone in pix
 
now on to our story

[freeboy]

this is the problem,

[freeboy]

In just one area we see level three panzer korps.. tough buggers... already over 30 in strength when the replacments come in!
The heros of Kishinev hold out, but they took savage losses.. The Colonel leading the defense died.. the city is held now by little more than a reinforced Batalion, lead by a major.
They have earned the title, "Hero unit" and gained precious weeks in the delay.. only there is no joy to the South as 250 thousand troops are swept away by reletivley weak forces.
It is the moral collapse that must be stopped...
 

[freeboy]

The Finns stopped North of Lenningrad... Murmansk is threatened ..
Odessa over run.. Minsk is threatened and there is no one to stand in the face of the dreaded Death Panzer formations....
One report indicated special gas is being imployed that is oderless and tasteless, but reduces our troops to incoherent mobs throwingdown their guns and abandoning there tanks!
The next weeks will see over one million new, barely trained men arrive and begion to dig in...
One minister calls for reinforcing in place... building super divisions or small corps... this has merit, at least they will be in the way of the advancing enemy...
Several northern air units also received small amount of new planes and trained pilots... We are just two months short, that amount of time would allow us to get our forces dug in and enough trained pilots to man our still sizeble airforce.....

[freeboy]

we do not pray, we are Communists, but we do in secret, pray and pray hard for rain to fail, mud alone may save the nation

[freeboy]

the rains come... and like good athiest we beat our chest and howl
Still the armor creeps toward the cities, and our forces flee from the sound of the approaching tanks, Aug arrives
this shot shows the reletive forces in Pskov

[freeboy]

notice the emtpy spaces around the death star panzers.. these formerly had our best units.. ok, all our units are terrible.. but as one can readily see these hungry locusts of doom, the enemy, have not taken any serious losses.
Our best bet is to fly multiple misions per day agaisntthem.. they at least have to slow down and repair the dents our air force puts in their tanks...
Rumers are aliens are now in charge in Germany and new particle beam weapons are hidden inside these tanks.. although no confirmed reports verify these findings

[freeboy]

the enemy slows  and we get a turn of level three infantry, our panzers all jusp to strength t or three.. all inf is a one.. there is hope again if only the allies can come to our aid... but alas, the enemy forces release another wave of deadly fear gas, and our forces drop down again.. all ones and zeros.. mmelting away at the sound of the death panzers.. a local counterattack agisnt the spearheads at Smolensk and Gomel are brushed aside and Pskov fails.. kiev defenses are breached.. general order 216 goes into affect
The Sir robin order... "run away run away"
Even the lowly finns are pushing through our troops.. what a dissaster..

[freeboy]

We pour troops into every front... thousands of platoons
millions of men
The run away orders are ignored and forces dig in valiently

[freeboy]

I should have taken a picture before the turn... Our brave forces.. Kiev falls
Smolensk falls...
below is the after shot... before no enemy was in any hex adjacent to Kiev... why surrond and starbve them out?

[freeboy]

notice the amount of forces .. and the uber panzers attacked strong, relitively, red army forces and lost ONE POINT

[freeboy]

and we COUNTERATTACK!
What?
I need to book an appointment soon with the minister of war..
The order to run away was carried out in the south by our armored forces lingering around Kiev.. Pskov and Smolenk where rienforced... weirdness.. I succesfully dropped some paras behind Pskov.. thankfully the ai was distracted and attacked north out of Pskov area.. no hope of these doinganything more than delaying the enemy, its not 1943 and my forces are running on Vodka... but at least it will cause them to readress the need for sup;lies and revuild the rail lines.. one more week of Lenningrad digging in...
see below
 

[freeboy]

and