Russian Revolution(s) . . .
Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 12:50 pm
I have mentioned this before but I feel that these might be handled slightly differently in the game. At the moment there seems to be a conflation of the February and October 1917 revolutions - and it also seems to depend on how badly the Russians are doing in 1916 or 1917 as to what the order of events are. I am not yet sure exactly what all the permutations are, but there does seem to be something wrong with the sequencing inasmuch as on one turn I was told that the Tsar had been overthrown but on the next turn I was told that crowds were out on the street demanding his abdication. 
My own view is that the two revolutions are quite distinct events and that October should definitely not happen in the game until the possibilities around February have been played out. So my sequence would be something like this - first of all the February revolution would be triggered in the way it is now, but then it would depend on what the Entente player did in subsequent moves as to whether a second October event would occur.
It seems to me that the key mistake made by Kerensky and the Provisional government was the launching of the "Kerensky Offensive" in June that had quickly ended in disaster. Since February 1917 there had been a situation of "Dual Power" in the country whereby there existed an uneasy relationship between the Provisional Government (a coalition comprised of liberals and socialists) and the Petrograd Soviet (a socialist body) and tensions rose sharply in May when it was discovered that Milyukov (a liberal) had sent a note to the Allies stating that Russia was still intent on pursuing its original war aims. The dominant attitude in the Soviet at this time was that the soldiers were prepared to continue fighting but only on a "defensive" basis (i.e. not for annexations). Then, despite this dominant attitude in the army, Kerensky was still able to mobilise it for a new offensive in June, but when this quickly hit the buffers the Provisional Government was almost certainly doomed. After the "July Days", most of the liberals left the government and its political base narrowed considerably. Kornilov's attempt to take control failed in August but the Bolsheviks were finally successful in October.
I think if the game allowed the Entente player to make a different military decision to Kerensky and fought only a "defensive war" after the February Revolution event then Russia could stay in the war for quite a bit longer and it might even avoid the October event altogether. I think "defensive war" could be defined as "Russian troops can only fight on Russian territory i.e. 1914 borders" (how the situation would be handled where Russian troops might be in, say, Anatolia when the February revolution event occurs would need some thought). Of course, if the Russians still continued to take heavy losses and lose cities even though they were fighting "defensively" then the October revolution would still occur.
What do people think?
My own view is that the two revolutions are quite distinct events and that October should definitely not happen in the game until the possibilities around February have been played out. So my sequence would be something like this - first of all the February revolution would be triggered in the way it is now, but then it would depend on what the Entente player did in subsequent moves as to whether a second October event would occur.
It seems to me that the key mistake made by Kerensky and the Provisional government was the launching of the "Kerensky Offensive" in June that had quickly ended in disaster. Since February 1917 there had been a situation of "Dual Power" in the country whereby there existed an uneasy relationship between the Provisional Government (a coalition comprised of liberals and socialists) and the Petrograd Soviet (a socialist body) and tensions rose sharply in May when it was discovered that Milyukov (a liberal) had sent a note to the Allies stating that Russia was still intent on pursuing its original war aims. The dominant attitude in the Soviet at this time was that the soldiers were prepared to continue fighting but only on a "defensive" basis (i.e. not for annexations). Then, despite this dominant attitude in the army, Kerensky was still able to mobilise it for a new offensive in June, but when this quickly hit the buffers the Provisional Government was almost certainly doomed. After the "July Days", most of the liberals left the government and its political base narrowed considerably. Kornilov's attempt to take control failed in August but the Bolsheviks were finally successful in October.
I think if the game allowed the Entente player to make a different military decision to Kerensky and fought only a "defensive war" after the February Revolution event then Russia could stay in the war for quite a bit longer and it might even avoid the October event altogether. I think "defensive war" could be defined as "Russian troops can only fight on Russian territory i.e. 1914 borders" (how the situation would be handled where Russian troops might be in, say, Anatolia when the February revolution event occurs would need some thought). Of course, if the Russians still continued to take heavy losses and lose cities even though they were fighting "defensively" then the October revolution would still occur.
What do people think?