In north-central Poland snow covers the rolling plains, smoothing over the scars of battle that disturb the terrain. Shell craters, bodies, and wrecked equipment lie coated under a smooth layer of freshly fallen snow. One could almost forget that a war was on. Except that intermittent rolling thunder split the air around the clock as Soviet and German artillery batteries dueled with each other and met out death to the opposing sides infantry.

Huddled in fox holes German soldiers in field gray winter uniforms huddle close to the Earth for warmth and keep weary eyes trained to the east. The Soviets have been quiet for several days which the average soldiers knows can not be good. The Soviets are up to something. Of this there can be no doubt.

So when the thunderous barrage of the first opening Soviet artillery salvo splits the air the German soldiers huddle closer to the Earth and wait calmly as the freight train shrieks of incoming shells pass over head. By a miracle of sorts the shells are passing over them to positions further to the west. Apparently the Soviets didn't realize they had taken up positions this far to the east.

Several minutes passed before Soviet soldiers in plain brown uniforms began streaming into view nearly a kilometer distant. Soon enough, Soviet tanks joined them. Some of the German fox holes contained Mortars. The pop and shrill whistle of their firing was soon joined by the thump of 80mm shells exploding among the advancing Soviet infantry. Undaunted, the Soviet soldiers came on relentlessly. Soon the constant poppopop of small arms fire joined the general din of battle.

Overhead waves of Soviet aircraft drone overhead, moving westward in endless numbers.

Soviet forces, largely through sheer weight of numbers, are forcing the Germans back in northern Poland at a steady pace. The Germans withdraw in good order covering their withdrawal with artillery bombardments and rear guard screening forces. The Red Air Force has seized control of the skies over northern Poland and Soviet bombers are smashing up the German lines of retreat.

In Sweden Soviet forces have crossed the frontier and are driving south down the coast with light German resistance. German forces are digging into several defensive lines north of Stockholm.The few Luftwaffe forces in Sweden are being overwhelmed by larger numbers of Red Air Force aircraft.

A German tactical counter attack pockets and destroys leading elements of one Soviet thrust in northern Poland.  However, the tide of Soviet advance continues to roll westward at a slow but steady pace. Soviet forces are entering East Prussia in several areas.

The Red Air Force, having maintained control of the skies over northern Poland, steps up bombing attacks in East Prussia and Germany itself. Central Berlin suffers moderate damage in three consecutive days of Soviet strategic bombing attacks. Soviet losses are extremely high however and the Red Air Force is forced to abandon attacks on Berlin and other major German cities in the face of such high losses.

In Sweden Soviet forces smash into the first of the German defensive lines north of Stockholm and penetrate it in several locations. Stockholm is coming under heavy Red Air Force bombardment. German forces are beginning to arrive via air and sea transport to bolster the defensive lines and the Stockholm garrison. However, these reinforcements are small in number and bring only light equipment. The bulk of the German army is tied down on the eastern front in East Prussia, Poland, and Romania.

Hitler enacts several economic measures designed to gear up the German economy onto more of a war footing. East Prussia is now in direct danger and the sporadic bombing raids on German cities have influenced Hitler and his advisors to a great extent. Some industry will be shifted away from civilian production and into military production.

The military governors in occupied Poland are granted authority to begin construction of forced labor camps in which Polish Jews and undesirable Poles will be used as slave labor.

In Germany, German Jews are coming under harsher measures as Hitler and the Nazi Party stir up more resentment against them. Hitler's inner circle begins to consider deporting Jews into Poland where they can then be exploited as slave labor along with Polish Jews. Anti-Jewish sentiment is on the rise in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Italy as German influence seeps around the nations of the Axis Powers.

Soviet forces are driving towards the Baltic coast in hopes of cutting off heavily engaged German forces. The Germans, seeing what the Soviets are attempting, launch a counter thrust out of Bydgoszez towards the northeast.

Stockholm comes within range of Soviet artillery and rockets. Around the clock bombardment of Stockholm begins as the German garrison in the city digs in and continues to fortify.

The German counter thrust in northern Poland has bogged down but it has succeeded in allowing over 100,000 German soldiers and hundreds of panzers to escape to the west. The Soviet effort to reach the East Prussian Baltic coast succeeds but fails to capture a German army. Roughly 20,000 German soldiers are taken prisoner by the Red Army in East Prussia but the Germans managed to avert a greater disaster.

Soviet forces enter the outskirts of Stockholm and fierce house to house fighting rages. Soviet forces are also  approaching Orebro in central Sweden as the Red Army attempts to broaden it's offensive in Sweden from the coast to the inland regions.

After two weeks of meetings in Brussels, Norway, Greece, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands all formally join the Alliance for Democracy. Denmark decides to remain neutral in order to not anger Hitler. Europe is now  effectively divided between the Alliance for Democracy, the Axis Powers,and the Soviet Union. The few remaining neutral nations are all considering joining one of the three great powers, with the exception of Denmark and Portugal who intend to remain neutral for the duration if possible. The U.S. remains locked in isolationism and the coming presidential race means that U.S. entry into the Alliance is not possible until 1941 at the earliest as no candidate wants to get the U.S. entangled in Europe before the election in 1940. U.S. arms sales to the Alliance and, to a lesser extent, the Axis Powers are on the rise however and the U.S. economy seems to be finally rebounding from the grip of the Great Depression. U.S. public opinion remains against the Soviets and favors the Alliance over the Axis Powers.

The Fascist Romanian government moves its capital back into devastated Bucharest and proclaims victory. The former Romanian communist government has been setup in exile in Kiev by the Soviets and vows to "liberate" Romania in due time. The front along the Romanian - Soviet border has settled down into a "quiet war" as both sides stay focused on the titanic struggle to the north. Small raids and air warfare do continue on the Romanian front however.

German aircraft designers begin development of a heavy bomber dubbed the "Ural" bomber by Hitler and Goering. It is envisioned as a four engine bomber to be capable of bombing targets to the east of the Ural mountains from potential German airbases in Sweden, Poland, or Turkey if the Turks join the Axis Powers. As a side benefit the bomber would also be able to reach Iceland, Greenland and even the eastern coast of North America if it operated out of an airbase in Iceland or Greenland. Hitler is desperate to bomb Moscow in revenge for the Soviet attacks on Berlin but Moscow remains out of the effective range of Germany's medium bombers.

In what Germans call the "Christmas day miracle" a German force of 35 older panzers manages to repel a Soviet force of over 150 more modern tanks. In East Prussia and northern Poland the front is beginning to stabilize and the Soviet offensive seems to be beginning to loose steam. Stalin orders the offensive to continue in spite of bad weather and German counter attacks.

Outside of Lodz the SS begins slaughtering Jews and Poles accused of being Soviet spies or sympathizers. Hundreds are machine gunned daily and then buried in large mass graves. This is the first time that such massacres have been carried out on this scale.

Soviet forces capture the city of Bydgoszez and establish a beach head across the Vistula there. Luftwaffe aircraft relentlessly hammer at the beach head but the Soviets manage to hold it until reinforcements arrive to secure the area.

A new Soviet thrust breaks free into the plains of central Poland and Soviet armored and mechanized forces are driving southwest towards Poznan and northwest towards Danzig.

The Battle of Poznan begins. Soviet forces and German forces clash just to the east of Poznan. It is the single largest engagement of the war to date, involving over a thousand tanks and 200,000 soldiers.

With superior numbers and aggressive tactics the Soviets manage to narrowly win the Battle of Poznan. German forces are forced to withdraw to the west of Poznan to prevent being pocketed by Soviet forces. Poznan falls to the Red Army and Soviet forces are west of the Warta river. To the north bitter German resistance has stalled the Soviet drive toward Danzig but most of East Prussia is now in the hands of the Red Army. News filtering out of East Prussia, of Soviet atrocities being committed against German citizens, sends Hitler into a rage. He vows to wreak vengeance on the Soviets "a hundred, hundred, hundred, times over!".

After a third failed assault on Stockholm with the loss of massive casualties the Soviets stop their drive in Sweden to consolidate gains. The Soviets control all of Sweden north of Orebro and Stockholm except for pockets in the northern Swedish mountains where isolated German units and Swedish guerillas harass Soviet supply lines.

A large-scale rebellion erupts in Finland against Soviet rule. Fighting erupts in the streets of many cities and pro-Soviet government officials are assassinated in a brilliant German organized "night of terror". Stalin is forced to redirect some Soviet forces from Sweden back to Finland to contain the rebellion.

The Rebellion in Finland has been crushed in urban areas but lives on in the countryside. A permanent Soviet occupation force will be required for the foreseeable future to hold the seething country. The Soviets abandon the pretense of a puppet regime in Finland and a Soviet military government assumes control.

Soviet forces in northern Poland reach the German border but firmly entrenched German units repel several Soviet crossing attempts. German forces harass the Soviet southern flank and force the Red Army to stop and consolidate their new gains. To the north Danzig is under attack from the east but German reserves have solidified the city's defenses and the Soviets are simply pounding more soldiers into the meat grinder.

Another large-scale Soviet attempt to break across the German border is repulsed with incredibly high Soviet losses in men, tanks, and aircraft. The Soviet offensive has reached the German border but has now lost all initiative. Soviet supply lines are under harassment from German partisans in northern Poland and East Prussia which further hampers their efforts.

With Soviet forces just 150 kilometers from Berlin Hitler and the Nazi party are in a state of near shock. The Fatherland itself is under direct threat. Hitler orders the formation of a national defense force. Millions of men will be conscripted as soon as possible. The move to set the economy on a war footing is accelerated dramatically. In addition, work begins on a series of fortified defense lines in eastern Germany which will be collectively named "East Wall". It will resembled the "West Wall" along the French border.

Stalin finally recognizes the obvious and orders a halt to offensive operations in Sweden and the eastern front. A lot of territory has been gained but Soviet losses were on a scale not yet seen in this war. Over a million dead, wounded, or missing in action in the span of just four months. German losses, although high, were much less than the Soviet losses. But the Soviets can afford the losses more than the Germans can.


In his southern German mountain redoubt Hitler and his inner circle breath a collective sigh of relief as the massive Soviet offensive is brought to a halt in Danzig and to the south at the German border. In some places Soviet artillery shells are falling on the soil of the Fatherland but not an inch of the Fatherland, aside from East Prussia, has yet fallen to the eastern "sub-humans". Stockholm continues to hold against overwhelming odds, preventing the Soviets from gobbling up Sweden. To the south Germany still holds southern Poland and Fascist Romania has been secured.

The time has come, Hitler proposes, for a counter stroke. Pouring over maps and charts Hitler, his inner circle, and the General Staff begin formulating a bold and aggressive plan. Its risks will be high but the gains all the higher. The Soviets, Hitler believes, have over committed to northern Poland and East Prussia. A bold strike into central Poland could take Warsaw and trap over a million Soviet soldiers in East Prussia and northern Poland.

In Moscow Stalin and his advisors are filled with a mixture of excitement and muted concern. East Prussia and northern Poland are in their hands and Germany itself lies threatened, half of Sweden belongs to them as well. Yet southern Poland remains under Hitler's thumb, Finland seethes with unrest, and Romania has been lost for the time being. Worse yet the Red Army has suffered brutal losses in men and materials. The factories of the Soviet Union's vast industrial heartland are turning out new weapons and supplies faster than they are lost or destroyed but morale is falling and the Red Army's best troops are being lost at an alarming rate.

Relentless and remorseless are usual, Stalin ignores the losses and leads the struggle on. The Soviet Union is vast and it's people numerous. Whatever losses must be endured will be endured. With the coming of Summer Soviet forces will open a new attack into Germany itself. Inhaling from a fine cigar, Stalin tells his closest advisors that he hopes to be in Berlin before the year is out.