SRA Military Developments and Projects

[Markus Wilding]

Given the recent reorganization of the Socialist Republics Army, Generals Winston Peel and Adrian Lombardi have been removed from active service. General Peel has been offered a position teaching at The Citadel, while General Lombardi is currently being investigated by the CIA for potential subversive activities. Therefore, General Sigmund Blanchett has been assigned to lead the 1st Field Army, while General Joseph Markwardt has retained his position as commander of the 2nd Field Army. General Dillan Kauffmann has been reassigned to the Reserve Field Army. Meanwhile, General Cornelius Snijders has been promoted to a 3-star General, elevated from a 2-star command in the Socialist Republic Marine Corps in order to effectively lead the 1st Marine Field Army.

[Markus Wilding]

By order of the President, the 1st and 3rd Marine Expeditionary Units, under the command of General Jonas Kirchner, have been dispatched to Victoria to assist in containing the German Flu in neighboring Tabora. This undertaking has been codenamed OPERATION HEALTH CODE within the Socialist Republic Marine Corps, and it is expected that General Kirchner will be able to undertake containign the Flu and destroying any enemy military resistance easily. Extra gas mask filters and inoculations have been provided to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Marine Divisions. Additionally, SRAAF forces including four air wings and one bomber wing have been dispatched.

[Markus Wilding]

D.O.D INTELLIGENCE REPORT
DATE: FEBRUARY 5TH, 1963
TOP SECRET
DO NOT REDISTRIBUTE, DO NOT COPY
FOR THE PRESIDENT'S EYES ONLY

SECTION I

CIA operations in the global arena have proved highly successful. Our agents of influence abroad have made great strides in establishing effective communication with socialist and communist elements who stand by to assist when the revolution comes across the globe. While State Department policy is to promote peaceful coexistence with capitalist states, we must stand guard for potential counterrevolutionaries and reactionaries that would prefer to see the Second American Revolution undone. Furthermore, OPERATION OPEN HOUSE is progressing excellently - we have revised OPERATION BRASS FLAKE in accordance with updated strategic concerns and conditions. We also have updated OPERATION LEVIATHAN - this is to be kept top secret, eyes only for all personnel involved and shall be expanded upon in Section II.

We have cataloged all known signals of Victoria, China, Korea and Iran. We have identified several operators that transmit frequently, and though we have not broken recent operating protocols and encryption methods, the CIA is confident that changes and advancements in American cryptological analysis and technology can overcome any subterfuge employed by our foes.

SECTION II

AFRICA

Queen Victoria has secured dominance over the eponymous Lake Victoria with the recent annexation of the Kingdom of Tabora. Furthermore, her marriage to King Atieno has opened up a unique opportunity. President Wood was well aware of a plot to assassinate Queen Victoria, an operation that has been hidden away for years in the CIA's vaults. With King Atieno now a key player in Victorian politics, the CIA believes a bid can be made for his ascension to the Victorian throne fully. King Atieno is a true moderate, especially in compare to his new wife, and thus far has had to rely on the word of advisers and royal aides to guide his nation. With the right people in the right place, the CIA believes it can influence King Atieno's beliefs to have him willingly give over control of the country to socialist and communist forces, securing Victoria's place as an American ally without bloodshed all the while making Victorian politics more amenable to the American people. This is detailed in the separate dossier for OPERATION LEVIATHAN.

ASIA

The CIA and State Department has made great strides in keeping tabs on the People's Republic of China, as well as transmissions from the Republic of China. Conflict between them is inevitable, especially as power struggles over Shanxi's Plague outbreak reach boiling points and increasing PRC transmissions concerning recon operations on the shared border reach our military attache and embedded CIA operatives. It is the opinion of Army Intelligence and the CIA that open warfare between the two Chinas is likely as early as Spring 1965.

Operations in Kazakhstan continue unhindered. A separate dossier details CIA and Socialist Republic Army operations in Kazakhstan as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces (UNPKF) is in the "Kazakhstan" dossier.

[Markus Wilding]

With the conclusion of active combat operations in Tabora, the Socialist Republics has withdrawn the 1st and 3rd Marine Expeditionary Units sent to the area. They shall return to Georgia and South Carolina for rest and refit following recent combat losses.

Citing dissatisfaction with the M14 and recent combat in Tabora and Cree, the Socialist Republic Marine Corps, Airborne and artillery branches have accepted the M16 rifle into active service to replace the M14. The Army has decided to continue to issue the M14 to front-line infantry units as Army high command remains unconvinced of the need for an intermediate-size rifle cartridge when their experience informed them that a full-powered rifle round was far more effective. Regardless, the Airborne, Marines and artillery got their new weapon, replacing the M14, M1 Carbine, M1918 BAR, and Thompson in their services while the Army retained their M14.

Recruitment and drafting quotas went up as the Socialist Republics retired units for rest and refit as well as replenishment due to recent losses. The 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 17th Infantry Divisions all needed infantry replacements equal to at least two brigades strength, while artillery losses plagued the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th Infantry Divisions. Similarly, the National Guard suffered losses, with replacements to be drawn from New England and the Midwest. Likewise, lost fighters wings will be replaced with F-4 Phantom aircraft instead of the craft they had maintained prior to destruction.

In order to keep the American military on the cutting edge, the Department of Defense has elected to introduce several new vehicles and technological innovations to the military. The first is a new type of artillery, the M1964 Multiple Launch Rocket System, which features a 122mm rocket artillery system mounted on a common truck. With the expansion of American industrial output in Detroit, the American military expects all new systems to be completed by next year, with experiments underway already to modify this system for the Airborne.

Likewise, the Socialist Republic Army has officially accepted the Studebaker-Packard main battle tank prototype into service after modifications have been made to fit with Socialist Republic Army requirements. The new tank, codified in Army service as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 125-mm Gun, M65, is expected to enter service next year when production in Detroit finishes. To accompany the new vehicle, the Marines are receiving a new transport as well, in line with American mechanized infantry development, the M64 Armored Personnel Carrier, an 8-wheeled APC with a closed roof and machine gun for local defense. The M59 is set to be retired from service, as is the LVT-4.

The SRA has elected to raise a corps of mechanized infantry in order to effectively prepare for upcoming operations.

[Markus Wilding]

The Socialist Republic Navy has ordered the decommission of several ship classes to make way for new production in line with the 1964 Naval Modernization Program.

These orders include the removal of the Paul Revere, Forrest Sherman, Boston, Forrestal, and Charles F. Adams classes from service. They shall be replaced by:

Providence-class, in service
Leahy-class, in service
Iwo Jima-class
Belknap-class
Enterprise-class

The Iowa-class will remain in service, as will the Whale-class of submarines. It is expected that all ships will be finished by 1966.

[Markus Wilding]

With 1964 came the official adoption of the M16 rifle in Airborne and Marine service, with rifles also given to artillery crews as a carbine. The Army as a whole still rejects the need for the M16 and has not issued it to front-line infantry.

The Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 125-mm Gun, M65 has entered service, popularly known as the M65 Clark. Likewise, new artillery models have entered service including a new rocket artillery piece and new 8-inch self propelled guns. Orders have come in to increase production to match military needs, as well as introduce new weapons such as the M65 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage, a prototype delivered by Kaiser-Frazer Automotive that has proved promising and greatly interests the military. A similar order has been delivered for the Air Defense Corps, to replace the MIM-4 Hector with the MIM-5 Achilles.

Deliveries of new F-4 Phantom jets have concluded, with another round ordered to replace older aircraft and combat losses. Nuclear ballistic missiles have also been ordered.

[Markus Wilding]

The SRA has ordered the expansion of facilities in Georgia, Kansas, Michigan and Florida to better serve the needs of the SRA. Furthermore, four new OTH radars have been ordered, to be built in Nebraska, Michigan, Alabama, and Iowa to provide better defense and advance warning capabilities for the SRA. It is expected that the new facilities will be complete by 1965, while new radars shall finish construction in 1966. Meanwhile, serious consideration has been given to opening a new senior military academy in Illinois, focused primarily on teaching new cadets in the art of airborne infantry.

[Markus Wilding]

The SRA has recalled the First Field Army from occupation duty in England to return home. Experience gained during the airborne landing there has been applied to OPERATION OPEN HOUSE, with the plan changing accordingly. It is expected the First Field Army will likely be the vanguard force of the upcoming operation, and their experience overseas will undoubtedly be of crucial value.

[Markus Wilding]

The new M65 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage has entered service with the Socialist Republic Army, replacing the previous M57 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage in service. It is expected that the M57 will be removed from active service within the year and shall be passed down to friendly states seeking SRA military aid in the future. Likewise, the MIM-4 Hector has been removed from active service to be replaced by the MIM-5 Achilles. Meanwhile, to bolster the Third Field Army's numbers, Congress has ordered new armor production to fully provide the M65 to all mechanized and armored units of the SRA. Likewise, the Second Fleet has been rebuilt save for the SRN Enterprise, which is expected to begin her shakedown cruise next year. Following the revamp of the Socialist Republic Navy's structure, American seapower is dominant once more.

Upgrade orders have been issued to remove older aircraft and artillery models from service to replace them with new models such as the F-4, while replacement of the older M59 continues. Select armored units are being issued a new vehicle, the M211 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, a new development that comes from Studebaker-Packard meant to accompany infantry and engage light armor with its 73mm gun.

[Markus Wilding]

The Second Fleet has been recalled from the Arabian Sea. Additional ammunition from factories in New England and Chicago have been distributed to front-line units in the Rockies.