Shattered World - A Worse World War :
Part 11
August 25th 1940 to December 3rd 1940
August 25th 1940
Amidst the smoke and chaos of another full day of battle German field commanders
around Warsaw can barely contain their glee. The ring around Warsaw remains
solid, the Soviets have failed to break it despite the fact that they threw
over 500 tanks at German forces from all directions. The Soviets have had
much of their armored reserves blunted and smashed. The Soviet position in
northwest Poland appears in danger of becoming an epic disaster. But Zhukov
has one last card to play...
August 26th 1940
Several hundred Soviet tanks, carefully hoarded by Zhukov as a last-chance
breakout force, hurl themselves against the northwest sector of the German
ring around Warsaw. Soviet infantry attack in human-waves as the armor attempt
to exploit any weaknesses that appear in the German lines. For a time the
gamble seems to have worked, but by late afternoon the Soviet drive has stalled,
their supplies of fuel exhausted in the hard maneuvering of the day's battle.
August 28th 1940
German forces reach the Baltic coast of northern Poland, completing the entrapment
of nearly 1 million Soviet soldiers in western Poland. Soviet General Zhukov,
commanding the three trapped Soviet armies in western Poland, begins sending
out probing attacks all along the German lines to his east. Zhukov has just
enough mobile assets left for one last big breakout attempt. If it fails
three Soviet armies, over 900,000 men, will have no choice but to surrender.
September 2nd 1940
Soviet forces in Warsaw launch an attack to the east in an effort to open
a relief corridor into the city. At the same time, Soviet forces in the Polish
pocket attack east across the plains in a dramatic attempt at a breakout.
The Red Air Force and the Luftwaffe engage in some of the heaviest aerial
combat of the war to date and neither side can achieve complete air superiority.
September 6th 1940
The simultaneous Soviet attacks have left the thinly stretched German forces
in central Poland in a dilemma. Both attacks are on the verge of forcing
breaks in the German lines. The commander of German Army Group B makes a
fateful decision which will change the course of the war. Rather than attempting
to hold back both attacks, German forces will concentrate on keeping the
Polish pocket bottled up. This will mean allowing the Soviets to relieve
Warsaw, a fair tradeoff in the estimation of the German commanders.
September 8th 1940
After German forces abandon their position east of Warsaw, Soviet forces
enter the area and secure a corridor into Warsaw. To the north another large
series of tank battles are taking place. Both sides are severely depleted
but continue to throw everything they have into the battle.
September 13th 1940
The Soviet attempt to break out of the Polish pocket allows roughly 200,000
Soviet soldiers to escape before the Germans, using forces transferred from
east of Warsaw, can seal off the front in central Poland. 700,000 Soviet
soldiers remain trapped in northwest Poland.
September 25th 1940
Soviet forces in the Polish pocket have run out of fuel, ammunition, and
food. Several more pointless breakout attempts don't even come close to succeeding.
German forces are now advancing into the Soviet Polish pocket from the east,
south, and the west.
September 27th 1940
General Zhukov commits suicide rather than allowing himself to be taken prisoner.
An hour later three entire Soviet armies, over 700,000 soldiers and large
amounts of heavy equipment, surrender to German forces in northwestern Poland.
October 12th 1940
Soviet forces in Sweden succeed in surrounding Stockholm but the German garrison
in the city fights on.
October 23rd 1940
German forces once again close a ring of steel around Warsaw, putting the
city under siege again.
November 13th 1940
Soviet paratroopers land east of Warsaw in an effort to open a corridor through
which Soviet forces to the east can relieve the city again. The operation
is a disaster, most of the paratroopers are scattered and the corridor never
materializes. The Soviet attack from the east runs into strong German defenses
and is smashed with heavy Soviet losses.
November 16th 1940
With the eastern front now deadlocked, and Warsaw under relentless siege,
morale in the Red Army has collapsed and the NKVD is sweeping through the
Ukraine in an effort to force-draft fresh recruits to replenish the Red Army's
manpower levels. The total war footing of the Soviet economy has placed great
hardships on the Soviet people. This combined with the recent disastrous
defeats in Poland has had an extremely negative impact on Soviet morale.
Rather than being the victims of German aggression, in this timeline the
Soviets are themselves the aggressors. Thus the sense of "defending the motherland"
has never arisen and the war is relatively unpopular among the population
of the Soviet Union, especially to those in the western Republics.
November 18th 1940
Open dissension within the ranks of the Red Army has convinced Stalin that
a "house cleaning" is long past due. A ruthless purge of "disloyal" elements
within the Red Army and society in general is put into motion. The purge
couldn't have come at a worse time.
December 1st 1940
Across the Ukraine, the Baltic Republics, and western Russia, peasants and
factory workers begin a general strike to protest the actions of the communist
leadership. The disasters in Poland, the terror of the ongoing purge, and
the stresses of the total war economic footing, have shaken the already fragile
faith in Stalin and communism in general. Nationalist elements suppressed
since the failed revolt earlier in the year rise to the surface once again.
December 2nd 1940
NKVD and Red Army units begin cracking down on the general strike and forcing
people to work. Arrests and executions are initiated on a large scale. By
the end of the day rioting is breaking out in many western cities and rural
areas are blocking access roads and raising the flags of rebellion.
December 3rd 1940
Major elements of the Red Army, mainly those consisting of soldiers from
the Ukraine and Baltic Republics, refuse to obey orders to move against the
rioters and rebels.
December 6th 1940
Harsh Soviet attempts to crush the unrest in the west have utterly backfired
and led many to side with the rebels. By the end of the day over 40% of the
Red Army in European Russia has laid down its arms to German forces or turned
to fight loyal communist units. In Kiev the Ukrainian national flag is raised
over the capital and rebel forces sieze state run radio broadcasting facilities,
the Baltic states quickly follow suit. All of the rebel Republics call for
Axis assistance against their "Soviet Oppressors". In Poland, and to the
south along the Romanian - Ukrainian border, the Soviet front has utterly
collapsed with loyal communist forces either in headlong retreat to the east
or locked in fighting with rebel forces. The Germans, surprised by the rapid
turn of events, are gearing up to take advantage of the Soviet confusion
by advancing into eastern Poland and the Ukraine.
{This is similar to what happened to the Germans in OTL when the Romanians
and Bulgarians abandoned Germany and joined the Soviets. But the chaos erupting
on the eastern front is on a much greater scale in this alternate timeline.
The entire Soviet front in the east had melted down and German forces face
virtually no organized opposition anywhere along the eastern front.}
In Moscow, Stalin and his inner circle are in a grim mood, to put it mildly.
The bloody purge is only accelerated with the onset of the rebellion in the
west and Stalin is looking over his shoulder in case Beria's NKVD or the
shell shocked Red Army decide to move against him. The tension in Moscow
is as thick as blood.
The mood in Berlin, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. With the danger
to the Fatherland lifted and the Soviets in an apparent state of collapse,
Hitler and the General Staff are free to plan the "liberation" of eastern
and Southern Poland, as well as the Ukraine. In Ankara the Turkish government
is tracking the situation with interest, joining the Axis is beginning to
look very tempting but the Soviets are not quite dead yet so the Turks will
wait.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles to the east, the Japanese Empire looks at the
Soviet far east with hungry eyes. Stripped of much of its forces by the Soviets
to maintain the front in the west, it is looking extremely vulnerable and
Siberia has a lot of resources to offer. But the Japanese also need oil and
rubber, resources much more accessible in southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Pounce on the Soviets in the northwest or move south and east against the
Western powers? The Japanese military is leaning towards moving against the
Soviets since the western powers are at peace while the Soviets are bleeding
from a war which, at least currently, they appear to be losing.
Japan has a decision to make, and Admiral Yamamoto has an idea about how
to deal with the Soviet Pacific fleet...
To Be Continued...
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