Shattered World -
A Worse World War: Part 18
The Heavy Fist Falls
In a block of communal housing in northwestern Moscow the sniper cleaned
his rifle meticulously. The weapon was his only friend, his only means of
revenge against the invaders of his country, and his only true love. Not
that the inanimate object could ever truly replace the woman that the invaders
had killed. Stuffed in a cellar with twelve members of her extended family,
the shell had wrought a horrific death toll and killed his precious Anna.
Now he would kill them. Revenge was all he had left, he clung to it with
a deadly passion.
He had found this spot by random chance, or perhaps by divine inspiration.
Anna had been a devout religious girl, in spite of the party's disfavor of
such things. The sniper had no love for God, but if the entity wished to
aid him this day in order to help give him his vengeance he would not turn
down the gesture. He was twelve meters above street level, perched at the
window in this apartment's attic which looked straight down a broad avenue.
The lighting conditions were ideal. He could see out, the enemy would not
be able to see within.
Cleaning complete, the sniper lit a cigarette and took a long drag on the
precious commodity. Being a sniper of some renown had its advantages. The
sniper didn't have long to wait. Half a dozen Germans emerged from a cross
street and began moving cautiously up the avenue directly into his sights.
They were advancing carefully, in leap frog order. Three of them moving in
short rushes to take cover behind debris and idle vehicles while the other
three kept a close over-watch. He waited until they were less than thirty
meters from his position. He could see the blonde curls of one of the men,
a boy really. Their field gray uniforms matched the bland concrete closely.
But not close enough.
The sniper took careful aim through the rifle's scope and gently squeezed
the trigger. The head of the last German, in the group of three who were
advancing, exploded as the crack of the gunshot pierced the air. Even as
the echoes from the first shot continued to reverberate the sniper fired
a second shot that took the next German through the neck. The man fell grasping
at his throat and struggling for air. His death would be slower than the
first man's. The third German had managed to take cover behind an overturned
wall.
The three Germans who were covering began laying down suppression fire in
the sniper's general direction. He ducked behind the window ledge and clung
to the wooden floor. Luckily they hadn't seen his exact position. Just then
another, more ominous, sound caught the sniper's attention. A clattering
and mechanical growl that had marked the death of many a Red Army soldier
in these past few years. Tanks, several of them. The sniper took a last drag
at his precious cigarette and tossed the butt to the floor. He risked a peak
and was disappointed to find the leading tank's command hatch buttoned up.
German panzer commanders not smart enough to remain buttoned up in an urban
environment had all been killed in earlier campaigns. Minsk, Kiev, Warsaw,
and countless others.
The sniper slung his rifle over his back, checked to make sure he had all
of his gear, and hurried down the flight of stairs. His company was dug in
just a few block further to the east. If he were quick he could probably
find another good position from which to harass the German advance. Then
he would join his comrades back at the official line of defense and help
drive the invaders from Moscow.
December 5th 1941 to March 13th 1942
December 5th 1941
Thousands of Soviet artillery pieces fire simultaneously in a massive barrage
to the northwest of Smolensk. The first echelon of the Soviet attack, 500,000
troops and 2000 tanks, rolls forward following the three hour bombardment.
The German reaction is swift, 6th panzer army begins shifting southwest to
cover the gap that the Soviets are pounding into the German flank. Some units
had already begun moving towards the area the day before. Initial Soviet
progress is encouraging to STAVKA but the Germans are falling back in good
order and even holding in several places. The Red Air Force has gained temporary
air superiority as carefully hoarded aircraft make a tremendous surge into
the skies over the offensive.
December 7th 1941
The Soviet advance continues, though its pace is less than stellar. German
panzer forces are beginning to join the heavy fighting southeast of Vitebsk.
A new Soviet ground attack aircraft, the Iliushin IL-2 Shturmovik, has begun
to wreak havoc among German ground forces. The Soviet offensive seems a bit
sluggish to the German command staff, they assume this is a sign of the growing
weakness of the Red Army. They are wrong.
December 9th 1941
Just as major elements of 6th panzer army begin confronting the Soviet thrust
towards Vitebsk, the second phase of operation Heavy Fist is unleashed. 600,000
soldiers and over 3000 tanks crash directly north from Smolensk seeking to
cut off most of army group B, including 4th and 5th panzer armies as well
as numerous other forces. The new thrust catches the Germans completely off
guard, the Germans had underestimated the Soviet strength around Smolensk.
Soviet forces advance over 35km in the opening day of phase two.
December 11th 1941
Despite desperate pleas from the commander of army group B, Hitler refuses
to authorize a withdrawal to the west. German forces will not budge from
the gates of Moscow. 6th Panzer army and its supporting units, outnumbered
by nearly three to one, are tasked with holding Vitebsk and blunting the
Soviet thrust that is cutting through Army Group B's supply lines.
December 12th 1941
The commanders of 5th and 4th panzer armies meet in secret to plan a pullback
to the west. If Manstein tells them he can no longer hold then they will
withdraw in contradiction to Hitler's orders. The commander of Army Group
B is aware of the plot and chooses to ignore it. He agrees with the field
marshals but does not want to directly go against Hitler's orders.
Note: Remember, Hitler has less prestige in this timeline that he did
in OTL. The army is not as scared of him nor do they respect him nearly as
much. There has been no miraculous crushing of France to make him a German
"demi-god" as in OTL.
December 16th 1941
The second echelon of the Soviet offensive continues to make rapid progress
north. 6th Panzer army is being overwhelmed through sheer numbers. However,
STAVKA has already been forced to start diverting units away from the
offensive to the Caucasus where Soviet forces are beginning to mass north
of Baku for a drive to retake the strategic oilfields.
December 17th 1941
With his own forces on the verge of collapse, Field Marshall Manstein sends
a coded message to the commanders of 4th and 5th panzer armies. He can no
longer hold, 6th panzer army is on the verge of being destroyed.
December 18th 1941
Claiming that "communications to headquarters have been cut", 4th and 5th
panzer armies begin making preparations for a withdrawal. The commander of
army group B sends word of what is occurring to Berlin. Hitler is furious,
but there is nothing that he can do. He will wait to see what happens.
December 20th 1941
Soviet forces have entered Vitebsk, to the northeast the second echelon of
the Soviet attack is beginning to swing to the east in an effort to block
withdrawing German forces.
December 28th 1941
After eight days of confused and fluid armored engagements on a huge scale,
most of army group B has managed to link up with 6th panzer army northeast
of Vitebsk. The Germans have only narrowly averted total disaster.
The Soviets have managed to capture over 100,000 German soldiers but have
failed to destroy the powerful German armies they had hoped to trap. Moscow
is out of danger, Kalinin has been retaken, and the Germans are now withdrawing
west in the general direction of Minsk.
December 30th 1941
The Soviet flag flies over Vitebsk as the last German forces evacuate the
city to join other units in withdrawing westward.
January 3rd 1942
In spite of atrocious weather conditions, the Red Army launches a counter
offensive in the Caucasus towards the vital Baku oil fields. The Turks, well
dug in and determined to hold Baku, put up a stubborn and well executed defense.
They are, however, outmatched by the maneuver warfare capabilities of the
experienced Red Army.
January 11th 1942
A smaller, secondary, Soviet winter offensive is opened on the northern section
of the eastern front. Soviet forces strike from out of Leningrad towards
lake Peipus in an effort to relieve Leningrad from any potential danger.
January 13th 1942
A quiet two week power struggle in Berlin has ended with Hitler publicly
supporting the withdrawal from Moscow. In private he is furious, but he needs
the German Army to remain with him, so Hitler doesn't push the issue. There
is a growing division between the SS, the Nazi party structure, and the army.
For the moment Hitler is keeping all three in a precarious balance.
January 16th 1942
Soviet forces recapture the Baku oil fields. Unfortunately for them, the
oil fields have been almost totally destroyed and will require months of
repairs before any new production can begin. Oil is going to be in short
supply very soon for the Soviet Union.
The Turks, and other minor axis forces supporting them, have taken up defensive
positions on the west bank of the Kura river.
January 18th 1942
Soviet forces have liberated a swath of land up to within 75km of Minsk,
but the Germans have managed to form a strong defensive front east of the
city.
January 22nd 1942
Soviet forces reach the east bank of lake Peipus, the objective of their
counter offensive in the north.
January 28th 1942
Hitler and the German general staff convene a meeting in Hitler's south German
mountain redoubt where the state of the war is discussed. The general staff
informs Hitler that total defeat of the Soviets is no longer a realistic
objective. They suggest offering a cease-fire and a peace treaty ending the
war as things stand. The Reich has gained Poland, the Baltic States, and
the Ukraine.
Hitler is not satisfied with what has been accomplished. However, he is well
aware that the war is now approaching its fourth year and the German people
are growing extremely war weary. Hitler proposes a compromise. In the coming
summer Germany will launch one last great offensive, a last blow to weaken
the Soviets in the post-war era and gain the Reich more eastern "living space".
The General staff quickly agrees to the proposal, anxious to grab onto any
plan that will end the war in the foreseeable future. Before the meeting
ends, Hitler adds one more nugget to his compromise. The Soviets must withdraw
from northern Sweden, with its vital strategic ores, or there is to be no
peace. Pleased with himself for getting in the last word, Hitler brings the
high level meeting to a close.
February 12th 1942
STAVKA finally declares an end to offensive operations on the east front,
bringing operation Heavy Fist to a close. Beria is pleased. The Red Army
is pleased. In spite of the increasing German bombing in the Urals the industry
there is turning out an expanding torrent of war materials. Leningrad is
out of danger, Minsk is becoming a realistic target for liberation, and the
Turks have been pushed away from Baku. For the first time in over a year
things are looking up for the Soviet Union.
However, not all of the news is good. Casualties in operation Heavy Fist
were enormous even by the standards of the wasteful Red Army. With three
fronts to hold Soviet manpower has passed beyond emergency levels. There
are simply no more massive reserves of fresh troops to call on. Lastly, and
perhaps worst of all, Baku is not going to be up to 100% capacity until near
the end of the year. It might not even be up to 25% of capacity by May.
Beria privately informs his most trusted inner circle that he would consider
peace terms with the Germans in order to end the war. The Soviets begin sending
out unofficial peace feelers through diplomatic offices in various South
American nations.
February 17th 1942
A group of prominent scientists from the U.S. and other western powers send
a letter to U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt urging him to explore a powerful
theoretical new weapon, a Uranium bomb of immense power. Albert Einstein
is the most prominent of the physicists to sign the letter. The U.S. government
had already been secretly funding several moderate projects in the area of
fission research, but this letter grabs the president's
attention.
February 18th 1942
The Soviet Union begins mass producing a new anti-tank weapon, the SU 152.
The Soviets have married a 152mm field gun to an obsolete tank chassis. The
vehicle was developed in response to reports coming out of Germany about
a deadly new panzer. The Soviets have several other new tanks in development
to counter the improving German designs, the T-85 with an 85mm cannon and
the IS-2m with a 122mm cannon. Also, the Soviets are close to producing several
new fighter designs that will be a match for Germany's current generation
of fighters.
The German Cougar, with it's 75mm cannon, superior suspension and sighting
and faster effective combat speeds, should be at least the equal of these
new Soviet designs. The Germans do have other designs in the works as well,
including a new heavy panzer that will have an 88mm cannon and armor thicker
than any tank ever built.
February 20th 1942
The Alliance for Democracy and the United States begin pushing strongly for
a cease-fire to end the war. Both the Germans and Soviets are somewhat receptive
to their efforts but neither side is yet willing to fully embrace the proposals.
February 24th 1942
Britain and France form the "Combined Expeditionary Force" which will be
permanently stationed in Belgium and the Netherlands. France also begins
constructing a new defensive line from the channel coast to Luxembourg, though
the line is not planned to be anything near the strength of the Maginet line
to the south.
March 3rd 1942
Germany's first jet aircraft takes to the skies, the Me-232a. The aircraft
is a test model designed only to test a prototype jet engine that has been
under development. Plans for several fighter and bomber designs are under
development, though jet aircraft are not expected to enter service in the
Luftwaffe for at least another year or two.
March 10th 1942
Ukrainian and Romanian forces, who have been slowly probing eastward for
several weeks, reach the outskirts of Rostov and begin to shell the city.
March 13th 1942
Panzer V Cougars begin to roll off German assembly lines in large numbers.
Deployment of the new weapon is expected to begin by late April.
In Paris and London the leaders of the Alliance for Democracy are breathing
a collective sight of relief. It had seemed, for a time, that the Germans
were on the verge of victory. Now a total victory by the Axis seems extremely
unlikely. The Soviet Union would likely survive and a balance of power could
be maintained in Eurasia. Even if Japan aligns itself with the Axis, the
Soviets will form a formidable wedge to keep them from joining too closely.
Plans for the post-war diplomacy are already in the works. Denmark,
Portugal, and Persia have been targeted as potential new Alliance members.
When Hitler's attention turns back to the west the Alliance must stand ready
and show not a single sign of weakness. France and Britain are deploying
upgraded tanks and aircraft, officers have been studiously studying the results
of the total warfare ongoing to the east, Britain is eyeing the German and
Italian naval buildups with great concern and has accelerated its own naval
expansion efforts to insure the Royal Navy maintains its total superiority
on the high seas.
The United States, meanwhile, has finally climbed out of the depths of depression.
Despite the better economic times, isolationism remains rampant. The war
between totalitarian states in far away Eurasia is of little concern to the
average American. So, a moderate military buildup continues on pace, and
U.S. staff officers continue to study the lessons learned by the Germans
and Soviets. The U.S., however, will not yet join the Alliance for
Democracy.
To Be Continued...
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