Shattered World -
A Worse World War: Part 28
The city of Czestochowa in south-central Poland lay just inside the eastern
boundary of the newly proclaimed Slavic-Exclusion zone. It is a gloomy night
with light rains and heavy mists. Black clad SS soldiers stomp through the
night, dogs barking, as Gestapo men spread out through the alleys, highways,
and neighborhoods. Screams, occasional gun shots, wails of fear and agony.
Slavs being rounded up like cattle.
In parks, and outside of factories, in the outskirts of town, the crowds
grow. Poles by the hundreds and thousands. Across western Poland they gather
in the millions. The scene is the same in hundreds of towns and villages
and cities. SS officers dividing Poles into those deemed Slavic and those
deemed 'sufficiently Germanic'. For the lucky few Germanic appearing Poles
-- land grants, German citizenry, all the bbenefits of the Greater German
Reich. For those less fortunate Poles of clear Slavic descent -- Expulsion,
loss of land and property, possible slavery in forced labor camps, factories,
or German households.
Hitler's vision of 'eastern living space' is being realized and the face
of Europe is slowly, and tragically, changing.
October 30th 1944 to January 5th 1945
October 30th 1944
In a campaign speech Franklin Roosevelt refers to the expulsion of Slavs
from western Poland as "the worst case of mass expulsion in the history of
the world" and "among the greatest travesties in the history of mankind".
Though most Americans agree with the president's words, the speech makes
Roosevelt look like a radical internationalist to many.
November 7th 1944
Dewey narrowly wins the U.S. presidential election and the Republican party
wins a narrow majority in congress and the Senate, mostly on a platform of
conservative economics and moderately isolationist foreign politics.
November 18th 1944
Otto Skorzeny is tasked by the German general staff with forming and leading
a special operations unit which will be tasked with initiating hostilities
with the Alliance for Democracy. The unit will infiltrate into France and
then orchestrate a raid into Germany accompanied by artillery fire -- Hitler's
pretext for invading western Europe.
December 3rd 1944
Argentina purchases 200 older model Panzer 3's from Germany in its first
open arms transaction with the Axis Powers. Argentina has also begun to construct
submarine housing and construction facilities, built with money on credit
from Germany and guided by German advisors. Kriegsmarine ships have begun
making routine stops in Argentinian, Uruguayan, and Peruvian ports.
December 13th 1944
The U.S., viewing the growing ties between Argentina and Germany with concern,
severs all diplomatic ties with Argentina and joins with the Alliance in
an embargo against Argentina. Argentina accuses the U.S. of being the "bully
of the Americas" and calls on other Latin American nations to distance themselves
from the U.S.
December 17th 1944
France has begun to deploy its latest tank models, the B2 'Defender' and
the 41t. The B2 is an upgrade of the aging but still formidable B1 'Char'
with improved sloping frontal armor and a heavier 85mm cannon. It is more
than a match for late model Panzer IV's but is outclassed by the newer German
Cougars. The 41t is a light tank based on the 35t armed with a high
power 75mm gun in a turret, 60 mm armor and a speed of 40 km/h. The U.S.
has just recently put the formidable 'Pershing' with its 90mm cannon onto
the assembly lines and negotiations are underway to sell them to Britain
in France.
December 21st 1944
Italy finally crushes the last major rebel forces in Ethiopia, effectively
ending the rebellion which has claimed the lives of nearly 15,000 Italian
soldiers.
December 23rd 1944
Germany begins mass production of a radar-homing glide-bomb. The glide-bomb
can be launched from a medium bomber from as far away as several kilometers
and then locks in on a radar transmission source. Germany is also continuing
work on an anti-aircraft missile as well as a wire-guided air-to-air missile.
These are all weapons that the Germans completed prototypes of in OTL
before the end of WWII.
December 28th 1944
A final test firing of the A-3 ballistic missile is declared a success. The
missile, with a range of 600km and a warhead of 2000 lbs, is accurate to
within about a kilometer. Mass production of the A-3 is set to begin in several
months. Work on the A-3c, with an increased range of 850km, is moving ahead
smoothly and it should be ready for mass production by the summer. The A-4
has not yet reached the prototype stage but it is planned to have 2 stages
for a range of nearly 1200km and a 3500 lb. warhead capacity. Britain and
the U.S. are both nearing completion of ballistic missiles with ranges on
the order of 150 to 200 km but with limited warhead capacity and very poor
accuracy. The U.S., viewing the German missile development program as a future
transatlantic threat, is beginning to pump more resources into its missile
development programs.
January 3rd 1945
Britain begins mass production of the 'Meteor' jet fighter as a desperate
measure to counter the growing number of German Me-275's.
January 5th 1945
Germany commissions the 'Lightning Strike', a new class of light 'missile
frigate' armed with dozens of new TV-guided glide rockets, advanced new radar
gear, and only anti-aircraft guns and light cannon for close-in defense.
To Be Continued...
Back to Part 27
Advance to Part 29
Back to Main