Soviet Union 1939 introduction

[joegrundman]

For the Soviet Union, it is unlikely that there will be major combat operations until after a couple of years

The most important thing to keep an eye on is the status of the Russia-Germany tension (RGT) table. This table governs the state of USSR mobilisation and war readiness. When the RGT level reaches 50, the USSR is fully mobilised and Comrade Stalin is ready to declare war on the strutting Bavarian dictatoor without awaiting further provocation. This does not of course prevent Germany from treacherously attacking earlier.

In the meantime there are several things to think about, in particular making sure the USSR obtains it's fair rewards from the Molotov Ribbentrop pact.

This is the information i posted on another thread:

the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact has already taken place. the agreed line of seperation is shown on the europe map as a dotted line. it starts at the border of East Prussia and the Baltic States on the Baltic Sea and continues south splitting Poland and then cutting off 4 hexes from Rumania (labelled Bessarabia, and later to be incorporated as the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR) with a few pieces of Ukraine thrown in.

In addition you will see that the dotted lines continues to cut off the three Finnish hexes that border the USSR.

german units may not stay on the other side of this line without breaking the terms of this treaty, however they may temporarily cross over this line as part of an attack on Western Poland, so long as they are not still there at the end of your turn.

The details are found in rule section 63, but the pertinant points for Germany and the Soviet union are that:

- Eastern poland automatically falls under russian control, no declaration of war or offensive operations are needed
- The baltic states require a declaration of war, but that is all. They surrender without fighting so no offensive operations are needed. If russia declines to do this in fall 1939, then germany may attack in Winter 1939 and so on. Russia may not declare war over this. germany may not attack in fall 1939.
- Russia may make a demand for territory from rumania during the russian diplomatic phase but not if any part of rumania is already under german control. Russian demands on Rumania trigger an automatic Rumanian response roll. This may result in Rumania being prepared to fight a border war.
- Likewise Russia may make a demand for territory from Finland during the Russsian diplomatic phase but not if any part of Finland is already under german control. Russian demands on Finland trigger an automatic Finnish response roll. This may result in Finland being prepared to fight a border war.

In both these last two cases, it is possible for Germany to support these two nations, and in fact a conflagration between the USSR and Germany can ensue

The other issue of concern is that the USSR controls the brave Communist Chinese forces. Please bear in mind - you are not only fighting to rid the land of your ancestors of the foul Japanese invader, you are also fighting to make sure that it is you and not the capitalist-feudalist American stooges claiming to be the Chinese Nationalist forces that are destined to rule China after the war is won.

The USSR also has 3 diplomatic points to be assigned before the game starts. No more than 1 may be assigned to one target at this stage. Potential targets are: The 4 Balkan countries (Rumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Yugoslavia), Finland, Greece, Sweden, Turkey and the Ukraine (if the axis controls Kiev)

The USSR also has 6 research points to allocate before the game starts. These can be assigned as per the rules (see the research section of the training academy thread) NOTE: in 1939, RPs may not be assigned to production projects.

Thses allocations are secret, so PM me your decisions. Don't think too much about it! This is an easy part of the game and your fate is highly unlikely to hinge on the decisions you make this turn

[joegrundman]

You will be able to move USSR units around, but there are some restrictions about where they can be depedning on RGT levels

Russian Garrison Requirements
At the end of any Russian player turn in which RGT are 20 or greater:
* Ten Russian 2-3 infantry units, four Russian 3-3 infantry units and six Russian 3-5 armor units must end their turn within four hexes of an Axis-controlled east Prussian, Baltic or Polish hex, or an Axis-controlled or neutral Rumanian hex.
* 15 Russian AAF must end their turn within three hexes of an Axis-controlled east Prussian, Baltic or Polish hex.
These requirements do not apply to Russian one-factor infantry or airborne units, Russian ground and air units added to the Russian force pool after Fall 1939, Russian units which begin the game in the Pacific theater, or to Russian associated or minor ally units. These restrictions are lifted once Russia and Germany go to war or when RGT reach 50.

Russian Prewar Force Pool Additions
Until Russia and Germany have gone to war or the RGT level is 40 or more, half of each type of newly-produced Russian unit must be constructed and remain in Leningrad or Moscow; the other half may be deployed without restriction. If there is an odd number of a certain type of unit, it may be deployed without restriction. This restriction does not apply to units mobilized with the assistance of deferred production

Both these are from the footnotes to the RGT table in the windows help file

Any USSR realted questions belong in this thread and i will do my best to answer them