Soviet Russia and the USSR, 1917–1941

Soviet Russia and the USSR, 1917–1941 is a guidebook on the USSR to 22 June 1941, when Germany invaded and began what the Soviets called the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. It’s an end result of of this question: How could the USSR, the largest country in the world, with a huge army and air force, a large population, vast natural resources, and a robust defense industry, do so badly in the war? The USSR by itself outnumbered Nazi Germany in almost all major respects. It seemed like the Red Army should have defeated the German invasion after only a few weeks or months of fighting and then marched victoriously into the enemy homeland. I later discovered this was, in broad outline, the actual Soviet defense plan for 1941. Instead, the German invasion in 1941 thrust the USSR into an existential crisis, with repeated immense losses of soldiers, weapons, territory, and population. German strategic blunders in 1942 finally turned the tide against Germany late that year. The USSR then pushed the invaders back during the next two and half years, ending the war victoriously in Berlin in May 1945.

This guidebook covers the Soviet state from its creation in 1917 through to the eve of invasion in June 1941. It overviews all major aspect of the Soviets: ideology, politics, the government, the military, the economy, and social aspects. They were interwoven in ways that is not clear in the many works on the 1917–1941 Soviets, which often concentrate on just political-social aspects or just the military history. The many weaknesses that almost did in the Soviets are explored, as are their strengths that would allowed them to weather the crises of 1941–1942.

Review of a Map of 1941 Soviet Industrial Evacuation

This supplement to the Classic Europa guidebooks contains a review and commentary on a popular Russian-language map of 1941 Soviet industrial evacuation. Find out more in the Review.

Analysis of Soviet Tank and Mechanized Corps, 1942-1945

This charts shows the total number of Soviet tank and mechanized corps in existence in 1942-1945, per month. It also shows how many of these corps were engaged in active operations each month. See the chart at Analysis of Soviet Tank and Mechanized Corps.

Soviet Ethnic Groups in 1941

This supplement to the Classic Europa guidebooks features a 1941 Soviet map of the ethnic groups of the USSR. It also covers the Soviet ethnic groups based on the 1939 Soviet census, analysis of the population gained by the Soviet annexations of 1939-40, and the languages of these ethnic groups. Find out more at Soviet Ethnic Groups in 1941.

Greater Germany

This guidebook maps and explains a hypothetical Greater Germany that Nazi Germany tried to created during World War II. Find out more about this in Greater Germany, based on WW2 German plans and intentions.

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The Renaming Revolution: Soviet City Name Changes, 1917-1945

The Bolshevik Revolution in late 1917 saw the Soviets take over Russia, become the Communists, and attempt to remold the country and its multitudes to their repressive Marxist-Leninist agenda. Part of this molding entailed a renaming revolution. The names of many villages, towns, and cities were changed to get rid of reminders of the imperialist, religious past and to celebrate Communist ideas, heroes, and politicians. Find out more about this renaming revolution in The Renaming Revolution: Soviet City Name Changes, 1917-1945.

Russian and Soviet Northern Ports

In 1914, the Russian Empire lost the use of most of its major ports soon after the outbreak of World War I. Russia had to turn to its backwater northern ports to import vitally needed weapons, materials, and supplies for its war effort. The empire embarked on an ambitious construction project to upgrade the existing ports and rail lines as well as building a brand new port and rail line there. However, the empire fell into revolution and after a civil war was replaced by the USSR. In 1941, history echoed when Germany invaded the Soviet Union, which quickly lost the use of most of its major ports. Once again, the northern ports became a major route for weapons, materials, and supplies to reach the USSR. Find out more about these ports in Russian and Soviet Northern Ports, 1915-1945.

High Tide of Empire

A Scenario for Wavell's War

• High Tide of Empire

High Tide of Empire is a Europa scenario for Wavell's War. It covers the brief Italian campaign in mid-1940 that seized British Somaliland from the small Allied garrison there. It represents the first and last campaign in World War II that Italy won without German assistance and thus in many ways marks the high tide of Mussolini’s “New Roman Empire”.

Grande Fantasia Imperiale

A Scenario for Wavell's War

• Part 1: Introduction
• Part 2: Scenario Rules
• Part 3: Orders of Battle
• Part 4: Final Notes

The Grande Fantasia Imperiale is a "historical-hypothetical" scenario exploring whether, with just a few reasonable changes in policy and preparations, Italy could have wrested north-eastern Africa and the Near East from Great Britain in 1940-41. Italy’s big chance came in the spring of 1940, with France defeated and Britain’s army abandoning its modern equipment in the Dunkirk evacuation. Since Britain had begun rearming for war late, British industry needed considerable time to replace these losses. Britain itself also faced a fight for survival, as the Luftwaffe soon attacked Britain in preparation for a German amphibious invasion of the country. Never again during the war would Britain be as weak.

The Carmel Plan

Adding the Carmel Plan to War in the Desert and Wavell's War

If the Germans had succeeded in defeating the British at El Alamein in 1942, the British might have been forced to withdraw from Egypt, Palestine, and nearby lands, leaving the 450,000 Jewish inhabitants of the British mandate of Palestine to their fates at the hands of the Nazis. The Carmel Plan was the Jewish plan to try to protect the Jews in Palestine from the Germans. This article, The Carmel Plan, covers the historical and geographical setting of the Carmel Plan and provides a set of house rules to add it to the Europa games, War in the Desert and Wavell's War.