Shattered World -
A Worse World War: Part 27
On the Edge
Near the border with Belgium, thirty kilometers inside the Reich, a field
of concrete launching pads stretches for nearly a kilometer. Bristling on
this field is a manmade forest of the deadliest kind. Dozens of A-2b ballistic
missiles point into the air as hoses arranged around them feed rocket fuel.
Men scurry about checking and rechecking gauges, valves, and various indicators.
Around the launching complex anti-aircraft positions, aided by several nearby
radar stations, lie ready to defend against Alliance aircraft. Luftwaffe
security forces walk the perimeter, their canines occasionally barking into
the gloomy night.
Inside the control bunker an officer stares solemnly at the master control
switch, glancing at times to the teletype nearby. On receipt of an encrypted
codeword from Berlin he would launch all of his rockets towards pre-designated
target zones in Belgium, the Netherlands, and northern France.
Elsewhere along the Third Reich's western frontier, from the North Sea coast
to the Swiss border, dozens of similar facilities await the same orders.
Thousands of missiles lie ready to launch at targets in eastern France and
the Low Countries.
Near the border with the Netherlands a squadron of Me-275 fighter jets plays
a game of cat and mouse with British spitfires, impressing the British pilots
with their speed and incredible climb rate. The German pilots, anxious to
use their technologically superior jets against the best of the RAF, can
barely resist the urge to cross into Alliance airspace and let the glory
begin.
In the dark waters of the North Sea German U-boats by the dozens are making
their way generally north and west, into the transit lines where British
and French shipping reside. On the surface, hoping to break into the North
Atlantic before hostilities commence, the super battleship 'Fatherland',
the 'Tirpitz', and a host of lesser cruisers and pocket battleships
form what could be the greatest commerce raiding force in the history of
war.
In western Germany rail schedules begin to back up as movements of military
equipment and supplies have already begun, sending panzers and artillery
and ammunition towards the western frontiers of the Greater German Reich.
In Berlin it has been a tense night for Hitler and members of his inner circle.
There is little doubt the allies are ready for war. Their armies are fully
mobilized and their people prepared to fight. And so, as forces around Germany
await the commands that will put the Axis at war, Hitler issues no orders.
The sun rises over a Europe at peace, at peace for at least one more day.
July 23rd 1944 to October
28th 1944
July 23rd 1944
In western Europe, Axis and Alliance forces remain on alert but both sides
have refrained from making any offensive moves. Propaganda from the Alliance
and the Axis is reaching a feverish tone.
July 27th 1944
On Radio Berlin Hitler publicly orders the armed forces of the Reich to stand
down to a lower level of readiness "in the interests of world peace, in spite
of the loss of German sailors at sea due to British actions". The allies
lower their alert status later in the day. War, it would seem, has been avoided
for the time being.
August 7th 1944
Uruguay, under the dictatorship of Luis Alberto de Herrera, has been turning
increasingly towards outright fascism and now signs an economic and military
pact with Argentina, and formally joins the SAFB (South American Fascist
Bloc). The SAFB has been benefiting from increased trade with nations of
the Axis Powers.
Argentina has been attempting to convince General José Félix
Estigarribia, dictator/president of Paraguay, to also join the SAFB but the
Paraguayan president is hesitant about doing so. However, negotiations are
taking place. Paraguay has an old dispute with Bolivia over the Chaco region
and SAFB backing in the matter might convince Estigarribia to join that organization.
Bolivia has also been annoying Peru, another SAFB member, with claims toward
land linking it to the Pacific Coast.
In this timeline Estigarribia doesn't die in a plane crash and instead
gets the authoritarian powers he had been moving towards in OTL.
August 16th 1944
Germany successfully test fires its new A-2f, a version of the A-2 missile
modified to be launched from a small erector tower on a specially modified
submarine. Mass production of the missile and special submarine are not expected
to begin for at least another year.
September 4th 1944
Hitler informs his innermost circle that he has decided to invade France
and the Low Countries in 1945, plans for this invasion are being drafted.
September 15th 1944
Italy begins to deploy newer Panzer 3's and Panzer 4's, licensed from Germany
and produced by Italy, on the borders of France and Greece and also in Tunisia
and Libya. Italy has also been modernizing and expanding its navy and air force
with the results being that Italy is now roughly equal to Britain in the
Mediterranean in terms of overall numbers and quality of aircraft and naval
ships of all types. The British do maintain the key advantages of superior
training as well as the advantages that aircraft carriers provide. Italy
has yet to produce any real aircraft carriers of its own. The Alliance
does maintain an overall advantage in the Mediterranean when you include
the French fleet.
September 20th 1944
Mussolini initiates a massive reform of the Italian army due to many shortcomings
revealed in the ongoing Ethiopian rebellion. German staff officers will aid
in the widespread reforms.
October 4th 1944
Britain and France agree to begin transferring supplies, arms, and equipment
to Nationalist China. In addition, Alliance military advisors will aid in
the training and organization of the large but poorly led Chinese army. Japan
strongly protests but the Alliance is able to claim they are only engaging
in legitimate trade with China, a sovereign power.
October 8th 1944
Britain and France merge their two fledgling Atomic weapon development programs
into a single, better funded and more focused, effort. This new program is
years behind the U.S. and German efforts.
October 22nd 1944
Hitler gives initial approval for plans which outline a massive invasion
of western Europe. The plans call for total secrecy, with no other Axis nations
being aware of the attack. The immediate goals will be to seize the Low Countries,
the channel ports, and Oslo, with secondary objectives being the capture
of Paris, the western French Atlantic ports, and northern Norway. The invasion
is due to begin on May 5th, 1945.
October 25th 1944
The Soviet Union signs a trade pact with Britain whereby oil, spare parts,
and other supplies and civilian equipment will be transported via tenuous
land routes in Afghanistan in exchange for raw materials from Siberia. The
Soviet Union begins pressuring Afghanistan for permission to build a railroad
leading to British India. The British - Soviet treaty is more for diplomacy
than anything else, a sign that the Alliance is open to Soviet
assistance in countering the Axis Powers. The Soviets, though weakened, still
maintain a vital strategic position.
October 28th 1944
Germany announces the forced expulsion of all Slavs from the western Polish
provinces of the Greater German Reich. Millions of Poles will be forced to
migrate into eastern Poland and the Ukraine. Those judged by the SS and Gestapo
as "sufficiently Germanic" or "valuable to the aid of Aryans" will
be allowed to stay. The move is the first step in Hitler's plan to "Germanize"
the lands gained to the east by expelling Slavs or enslaving them.
The Soviet Union announces that it will take in as many fellow Slavs as possible.
In reality, Beria intends to allow in only those useful to the Soviet economy
and/or military.
To Be Continued...
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