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Updated 2005-11-01
1941 in Pete's Alternate Draka Timeline
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1941 (The Second Great War)
^ Up: 1941 in the "era" timeline ^
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January 1941
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[Map uses OTL 1917 boundaries outside Europe, slightly modified 1922 in Europe.] |
- Situation in January 1941:
The U.S. is drifting towards open alliance with Britain and threatening Germany and Japan if provoked, but is still officially neutral.
Germany has accomplished almost all of their known territorial goals, but there are still minor Scandinavian and Balkan nations nearby. The aerial "Battle of Britain" is in Germany's favor again.
Italy is barely holding on in Albania, with only support from Serbia against the Draka, and they have lost a significant portion of their navy to the British and Drakans. Their efforts to soften up Malta are not working, and there is insufficient amphibious capability to threaten more than some small Greek islands. Italian air power is unable to provide air superiority much beyond the Italian homeland and Albania, even as they continue to throw away planes at Malta.
Japan is gaining military control of China, but not the important resources of Southeast Asia, and there are still several western trading enclaves remaining that are supporting the Chinese armies.
Russia now holds the Baltic States, most of Poland, and a hard-won slice of Finland. They are reinforcing their borders, and have an eye on the remaining Balkan countries, but they must watch the Draka in Turkey, the British and Draka from Persia to India, and keep an eye on the Chinese and Japanese in Siberia.
Britain's only remaining Mediterranean presence is Gibraltar; they rule the north Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and can safely move forces around Africa due to the non-aggression pact with the Draka, and through the Panama Canal by American permission. British mobilization in Australia, Afghanistan and India is creating units that have no clear destination yet. Britain is unwilling to break the pact with the Domination, and has little clout against any of the other major powers' continental activities. Opening a conflict with Russia through Afghanistan is reckless, and the Japanese have not yet come to open warfare with Britain although it is just a matter of time.
The Domination is stamping out partisans in Greece, is into Albania, and is increasing border forces in Turkey and Persia. Cyprus has also been (basically) purchased from the British.
South and Central America and the Caribbean remain neutral, as do Nationalist Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia (besides Finland), and newly independent Iceland and Greenland. Switzerland is surrounded by territory of the Continental Pact, but it is still advantageous for all concerned that it remain as a neutral player.
Germany, Russia, and Japan are doing well as aggressors, but Italy isn't, and the Drakans have the Italians active (although basically ineffectual) against them. Britain is still the sole major guarantor of peace, but is not in any major conflicts at the moment except for severe tension with the Japanese, and a struggle for air superiority with Germany.
- January 1941: Japan seizes Hainan island, and tries to exclude non-Japanese shipping from the Yellow Sea and East China Sea with annoying inspections, but Hong Kong is still maintained by the British and Macau by the Portuguese. Deeper inroads are made into mainland China, but controlling such a vast land territory is starting to become beyond Japan's capabilities. Worse, the British and Americans are beginning to discuss forming a united front to prevent further expansion south and east, towards the important oil resources Japan still does not control. Russia concludes a new border with Finland, and substantial numbers of troops start appearing at the other borders as the Russian mobilization and training programs begin to bear fruit. The diversion of Balkan attention to the German and Russian threats, and the European aversion to winter warfare, lowers the defense of the Bulgarian region enough to attract the Domination's attention again. With snow on the ground in Eastern Europe, the Drakans begin attacking northward on a broad front into Bulgaria and southern Serbia.
- February 1941: The Drakans continue their push into Bulgaria, and Russia finally acts to invade Rumania before Germany or the Domination gets to it. Germany is galvanized into territorial grabs out of Austria and Slovakia, and the remainder of the winter turns into a race to grab Balkan territories and Hungary. Germany quickly conquers the relatively flat Hungary once an armored force is assembled. The other powers have more difficulty in rougher terrain, but finally meet in central Rumania to conclude the division of the Balkans as three large wedges. Italy manages to make some minor gains along the northern coast of the Adriatic, and has de facto control of northern Serbia, but is unable to hold onto Albania under continuing Drakan pressure. Skirmishing begins as Italy finally has other Continental Pact members in battlefield contact with the Domination.
Japan finally makes an overt move against Britain, and blockades Hong Kong on both land and sea. Britain declares war after an escorting destroyer is sunk trying to leave the harbor with a convoy, refusing Japan's apology for "this regrettable incident." The Kowloon Peninsula quickly falls to Japanese land forces but the major islands hold out for almost a month more. The Royal Navy begins sinking Japanese shipping in the South China Sea at an increasing rate, yet the Imperial Japanese Navy concentrates on the Royal Navy instead.
- March 1941: The Drakans give up most of their gains in Rumania voluntarily in late March, deliberately falling back to the Danube in the east after wrecking the Ploesti oil complex. But in the west, they continue to march through Serbia towards Trieste while firmly holding the Adriatic coast and eastern Balkan hills in Serbia. Germany and Russia soon realize that expansion into the vacuum of an unprecedented Drakan withdrawal has left their forces exposed on the Rumanian plain, with the Drakans holding the high rough ground to the west and Bulgaria to the south beyond the Danube. Germany and Russia finally meet with a frantic Italy, and plan a joint large-scale operation against the Domination.
The Japanese complete their seizure of Hong Kong, and quickly take Macau from a small Portuguese garrison. Japan now controls the entire coastline from the Russian border down to Cambodia Point. A British offer of a mutual defense pact with Portugal is taken under consideration. The arrogant Japanese miss another opportunity, and fail to make a friendly approach to the only native-ruled state in Southeast Asia, Siam.
- April and May 1941: The Continental Pact's first joint operation begins in late April. As the Drakans near the eastern border of Italy, the Germans and Italians attack from the north and west, as the Russians attack over the Danube into Bulgaria, and from Georgia into Turkey as well. Italy also arranges a small amphibious landing on the Adriatic coast. These attacks send the Drakans reeling back on all fronts for several weeks; their gains in the Balkans and Albania are erased, and the Domination is pressed back to the Greek and European Turkish borders. In Turkey, the Russian advance makes only a little headway on a broad front, but one armored column makes a breakthrough and speeds along the coast of the Black Sea. The Drakans cut it off with several paratroop drops, and wipe it out with forces earmarked for a counterattack. They eventually stabilize the eastern Turkish front in the mountains as a large salient down from Georgia, and intercept and repulse a Russian amphibious force from Sevastopol heading for a Turkish beach east of the port of Samsoun.
The British implement their planned spring invasion of Norway, which quickly takes control of the long coastline and presses in towards Oslo from Bergen. The British aggression against Norway ostensibly prompts Sweden to ask for anschluss, as steel and mineral exports to Germany are the biggest component of Sweden's trade, although Germany never expressed overt interest in Swedish Germans before. Strong covert pressure by Germany is suspected, with the British action in Norway a convenient pretext; this is confirmed when the Swedish Foreign Minister is appointed the head of the new German provincial government. German forces are quick to move across the Baltic, and most end up on the border with Norway. Portugal now agrees to a mutual defense pact with Britain, London announcing that any attacks on Portugal or Portuguese territory (only Goa in India, and the Azores and Madeira islands remain) will be treated as an attack on Britain.
The German Kriegsmarine initially disagrees with the proposed approach to an amphibious invasion of Britain, wanting to use the usual conventional naval escort and short-range landing craft loaded from transport vessels, but is finally mollified. The final plan envisions 20,000 long-range landing craft and almost 5,000 more anti-aircraft barges and torpedo boats in support, and is planned for 3 days in summer 1944 when calm weather can be predicted. There will be large airborne operations intended at blocking reinforcements to the invasion area, and seizing a British port intact to allow follow-up waves easier access and more supplies. Expectations are that each landing craft will make an average of two round trips, landing a total of 10 infantry and panzer divisions in England. There are no plans to build the large numbers of capital ships or submarines that would be required to meet the Royal Navy at sea, or attack British commerce. The grand German strategy at this time is that, with the assistance of other members of the Continental Pact, the Domination will be forced out of Europe and Britain will be the only current foe within range by 1944. The Luftwaffe is tasked to gain and maintain air superiority over Britain in the interim, not perform strategic bombing. Fortunately, the Luftwaffe is already involved in a counter-air strategy, but is leaning towards strategic bombing as the British don't seem to be running out of planes or pilots yet.
The Domination puts major naval forces into the Black Sea through the Dardanelles, and the Russian Black Sea Fleet finds itself confined to the Crimea and vicinity of Odessa. The Drakans counterattack in late May with their own Black Sea amphibious invasions; they land near Batum and make a raid that destroys much of the massive Russian petroleum production facilities at Maikop and on the coast nearby, using both amphibious and airborne troops. The confused mix of German, Italian, and Russian troops now holding the Balkans makes no headway against the Drakans holding on in Greece and European Turkey, although the fighting near the Bosphorus is extremely vicious and the Drakans hold on only because of their extensive pre-war fortifications. Russia puts cordons of green troops around the Batum and Maikop landings, but the Drakans withdraw from the Maikop area and fight their way down the coast towards Batum. The Russians hold their line in the eastern Turkish mountains, but begin drawing more seasoned troops from other garrisons (Poland, Finland, Baltic States) to build an attack against the "Batumi Pocket." The divergence from the use of inexperienced troops is permitted since this is a counterattack of an enemy on Russian soil. The Italians find they can finally mount a naval blockade of Malta as the Drakan navy has been drawn off to the Black Sea; a hasty Italian amphibious assault makes a landing, but is thrown back into the sea due to lack of air superiority. This still encourages the Italians to continue their attacks on Malta, which the Drakans supply by air from Tunisia.
Japan continues to consolidate its hold on the Chinese and Southeast Asian coasts, and now threatens to turn northwest from Cambodia Point towards Siam. Finland remains defiantly anti-Russian but otherwise unaligned, even though Germany could assist Russia in a second round. German and Italian diplomats renew their efforts to convince Spain to join the Continental Pact, which have fallen on deaf ears thus far. A British task force operating out of Singapore scores a major coup against a Japanese tanker convoy out of Brunei, sinking all the laden tankers and the paltry escort; the Japanese riposte two days later that bags two cruisers is dismissed as a fluke.
Drakan forces on the Persian border maintain a tense climate of daily skirmishes with the Russians, but no general offensive even as more Russian troops arrive, although those are slowing to a trickle with action elsewhere. The British Afghan borders are tense but quiet, with the influx of Indian and Australian units now giving the British a clear numerical superiority should they want to begin hostilities.
Encouraged by the success in Norway and pact with Portugal, and exaggerated news of a British naval victory against Japan, PM Goodley directs diplomatic efforts be made to bring Finland over to the British side, and to pressure the Japanese into halting their advance. There is no progress with Finland, which is still too scared of the Russians and doesn't trust Britain to provide significant assistance. Spain is fortifying their borders with German France, neutral Portugal and British Gibraltar, and building defenses against amphibious invasion of their long coastline. King Rama VIII (Samak Adunyadet) of Siam asks for British protection from Japanese aggression, and the British are stretched thin trying to cover the vast reaches of the Dutch East Indies as well. Japan is baffled by the British diplomatic approach, and ignores it.
A Japanese task force lands troops in northeastern Borneo (Dutch East Indies) to grab the oil production center of Balikpapan. A week later, another Japanese landing occurs at Brunei on the western side of Borneo; the defenders commit massive sabotage before being routed, preventing significant oil production there for many months, although the Japanese do take control of the Sultanate.
- June through September 1941: Germany opens another front in mid-June and pours forces over the Swedish border into Norway, seizing Oslo only 5 weeks after the British have accepted Norwegian surrender there. The British immediately fall back to ports on the western coast, particularly Bergen, and the Royal Navy evacuates most of the troops back to Britain. PM Goodley narrowly survives a "no confidence" vote in Parliament, and is forced to agree to inform a large circle of important MPs before making further aggressive moves with British forces. This "War Council" severely restricts the speed of British responses to strategic opportunities for the rest of the war. Germany maintains tenuous control over the long Norwegian coastline, and the British are still able to easily infiltrate commandos in the north for many months to come. Germany relies on control of the coastal highways and stationing groups of torpedo boats in major harbors, with search aircraft and naval bombers the first line of defense against incoming Royal Naval ships. Swedish and Norwegian collaborators are also lavishly supported by Germany, to make any resistance movement more a battle against countrymen than German occupiers. German naval and air power is insufficient to stop a second large-scale invasion of Norway, but weather in the region limits amphibious operations to a season that will soon end for the year.
The summer of 1941 sees the Japanese finally pressing home their attacks on Peking, ending with a fire burning down most of the "Forbidden City"; both sides blame each other for the destruction and the murder/suicide of the last Qing Emperor and his court. Tenuous Chinese resistance elsewhere collapses even further, and the Japanese find themselves spread very thin attempting to chase several warlords west, as well as control an area larger than Japan. Several warlords receiving British support now band together to form a Chinese Army of National Resistance. The Royal Navy essentially withdraws from the South China Sea now that Japanese petroleum supplies are secured, and the Imperial Japanese Navy expands their area of operations in response. Tension with the U.S. Navy increases, but the Japanese are careful to stay out of the Philippines. Hawaii admitted as a state on the 4th of July, in one of America's few expressions of concern about the Pacific that the Japanese can comprehend.
The Balkan conflict becomes a stalemate as the Italians re-assert control of Albania, and the Germans and Russians agree on sectors of control and front lines against the Domination. The Italians are able to cajole only a few concessions out of Germany and Russia, just a few expansions of the Albanian and northeastern Italian borders, and the Adriatic coast. Germany holds the central portion of the Balkans behind the Adriatic coast. Russia holds most of Rumania and Bulgaria, and the entire Black Sea coast. But the Domination still holds onto Greece and European Turkey. The Italians are more concerned with building defenses than pressing hard in their sector, and the Drakans are willing to concentrate their efforts elsewhere as well. The Continental Pact powers occupying the Balkans have nothing in common but their war with the Domination, and their lack of unity of command or operations is a major failing; only high-level strategy and operations are discussed jointly, with separate implementation and practically no cooperation in the field.
Britain begins to notice the many shipyards near the Channel building portions of landing craft, but the variations on the modular design fool photo analysts into thinking that over half are submarine components. Britain begins a bombing campaign against the shipyards, but this has a low priority compared to repulsing the continuing Luftwaffe raids, and the danger that the real number of landing craft might pose is not emphasized to higher levels of command.
Finland begins making overtures to Germany after the action in Norway; they would rather ally with Germany than the hated Russians. But the Russians are specifically lobbying Germany to refrain in case a second campaign in Finland is planned for the next year. Germany drags out the negotiations, which are ultimately inconclusive.
The shipments of Drakan arms to Ireland have ended, as few neutral countries remain for the equipment to be shipped through. The Republic of Ireland has been providing small arms to Catholics in Northern Ireland for years, and they coordinate an uprising with a surprise attack over the border on 12 July, the commemoration of the Battle of the Boyne. They quickly overwhelm the unprepared British and take control of Northern Ireland. Captured British soldiers and Protestant militias are disarmed and bundled onto boats sent across the Irish Sea. PM Goodley's government falls over this Irish Question coming so quickly after the Norwegian "no confidence" vote, and valuable time is wasted in debate while the Republic of Ireland proclaims their retrieval of their ancient territory and a united island. The new Prime Minister is Richard Trotham, a compromise candidate who continues the War Council that Goodley was forced into, and agrees to send another BEF to Ireland. The Continental Pact members recognize the united Ireland, but the U.S. officially doesn't, in spite of pro-Irish rallies and significant personal sympathy from President Kennedy. The Domination also doesn't recognize, both to conceal their providing arms to Ireland, and to avoid stressing the non-aggression pact with Britain — an uncharacteristic show of restraint. Britain asks for massive reparation payments and begins massing ships on the Welsh coast and in Bristol and Liverpool to cow the Irish. German offers of military assistance turn out to be only symbolic, as the Royal Navy and RAF prove themselves quite able at blockading Ireland and flying round-the-clock bombing missions to Belfast and Dublin. German air raids on south England escalate, but the RAF still has enough warning from the Cliff Chain electrodetector network to respond effectively.
In Turkey and Georgia, the Russians and Drakans both pour forces into the Batumi Pocket and Kars Line. In late July, the Russians break into the pocket and the Domination mounts a hurried reinforcement operation using airborne troops and a massive transport convoy from Samsoun that were originally earmarked for an invasion near Constanta in Rumania. The pocket is stabilized again at 3/4 its former size, but the Russians have temporarily exhausted their offensive potential there and in fruitless assaults on the European Turkish fortifications. A major earthquake occurs on August 26th centered west of Lake Van in Turkey, on the Russian side of the salient. The Kars Line is thrown into chaos but the Drakans recover first and mount an attack that eventually drives the Russians back over the Turkish border and into the central Georgian Kolkhida Lowlands; the Batumi Pocket is relieved. The new front line stabilizes in the southern foothills of the Great Caucasus Mountains by mid-October. The Domination begins visibly massing forces below the Caucasus, as the Russians struggle to upgrade their limited transport capabilities through the mountains and fortify the southern slopes. The new front extends from north of Batum to the Caspian Sea, including Baku as Drakan territory.
Continuing Russian mobilization begins cutting into industrial production, and a massive campaign to bring women into the industrial workforce is iconified by a woman who is anglicized as "Ludmilla the Laborer."
A surprise German armored thrust cuts to the Greek coast in late September, splitting Drakan Greece just west of Salonika. The German foothold on the coast is narrow, but persists as the Germans pour forces in to hold the breach open, although they cannot expand it against Drakan pressure. The Drakans are barely able to supply their troops in western Greece through naval control of the Aegean. The Italians attempt a flanking amphibious invasion on the western Greek coast, but their landing is contained and then repulsed by the Domination. The Drakan navy reduces their presence in the Black Sea to concentrate on supplying western Greece across the Aegean, and relieving the Italian pressure on Malta and the Ionian coasts.
Worried by the Portuguese alliance with Britain, Spain constructs more defenses on the Atlantic coast against a British amphibious invasion, and makes plans to attack both Portugal and Gibraltar. Cooperation with the Domination or the Continental Pact even seems feasible, if these allies gain nothing but the destruction of the British forces at Gibraltar. The Pyrenees defenses against an invasion from German France are also increased just in case; the Spanish Militarists are friends with nobody yet. Germany offers military support, but proposes basing such a large force in Spain that the Militarists get scared off; the cost to license German equipment designs is also ruinously high. Italy's navy is in no shape to take on the British fleet at Gibraltar until replacement capital ships are built, and their air force isn't much better than Spain's own and it would have to stage to the Balearics or mainland Spain to be of any use. The Spanish are stunned when the Domination suddenly secretly offers Spain possession of Gibraltar if it makes a land-based attack and allows Domination aircraft to make emergency landings in Spain, while the Domination will provide air and naval bombardment. Apparently the Domination would rather reduce the fortress and harbor to rubble rather than leave it in British control; in reality, this is a wild gambit to stress the non-aggression pact with Britain, hoping word will leak out and force Britain to break the pact in anger. Spanish response is cautiously non-commital, ostensibly fearing a British amphibious invasion on the Spanish Atlantic coast, but in reality fearing a trap by the Domination in conjunction with the British. Surprisingly, while the British learn of the Domination proposal, it is dismissed by the War Council as paranoia; they would rather not consider the consequences of Domination treachery. In such an atmosphere of mistrust and double-dealing, the idea of assaulting Gibraltar languishes for now.
- October to December 1941: The British mount an enormous and complicated amphibious operation against Ireland in early October; landings are planned at Dublin and then Belfast, along with minor landings at other locations on the eastern and southern coasts of Ireland. Instead of just taking back Northern Ireland, they are attempting to overwhelm the entire island. Lack of an effective Irish air force or navy allows the invading forces to mass and set out in impunity, although Welsh nationalists warn the Irish of the departure. But the British land at too many locations to be contained, and swiftly retake Belfast. The landing near Dublin succeeds, but at a high cost due to fanatical Irish resistance. The other landings are successful, but prove to be a logistical nightmare as some specialized equipment was sent to the wrong locations through bureaucratic mistakes. Eventually, the beachheads are consolidated against Irish resistance, and the British control practically all of Northern Ireland and much of the south and east coasts of Ireland within 3 weeks. The United States condemns the scope of the British operation, but does nothing concrete to further damage relations. The British pause to debate their future actions in Ireland. PM Trotham is pressured into re-establishment of Northern Ireland with a large British occupation force, confiscation of all Irish war equipment, and levying substantial reparations in exchange for withdrawal of British troops from the landings in the smaller-again Republic of Ireland. The Brits have finally "won one," but in their own backyard and at the cost of partially alienating the U.S.
At the end of October, the Domination mounts a small amphibious raid on the Sardinian port of Cagliari. It was planned only as a diversion, like a planned Sicilian operation that is indefinitely postponed, and the cohort of heavily armed commandos were to be extracted after night attacks on the harbor defenses. They unexpectedly gain complete control of the port through sheer luck when a courier carrying the latest local defense plans is captured. The first reinforcements arrive late the next day by air transport from Tunisia (originally intended for Malta) after Cohortach Milliket decides to remain instead of withdrawing by sea. A Drakan convoy carrying more troops and heavy equipment (a Janissary Legion just out of rebuilding) is able to arrive from Tunisia before the Italians on the mainland and elsewhere on Sardinia can mount coordinated counter-attacks. The Drakans heavily reinforce their presence in Cagliari, and soon control the southern coast of the island while the Italians attempt to rush troops from the mainland to lesser ports. Domination airpower transferred to Sardinia is able to severely interdict Italian transports and supply convoys heading to the island, and protect the Drakan reinforcement and supply vessels. By mid-December, the Domination controls all of Sardinia. In response, Germany begins fortifying the French coast and putting troops on Corsica, and Italy attempts to bolster the defense of their long coastline, including Sicily. The Albanian front begins moving northward again, as the Italians can no longer spare reinforcements there. Spain crosses the Continental Pact off the list of possible allies, and concentrates on the Domination's offer to take out Gibraltar.
An amateur radio operator in Philadelphia, inspired by a child's toy whistle, invents the resonant cavity magnetron, which efficiently generates power in the short-wavelength "microwave" band. When he goes to have the device evacuated and vacuum-sealed prior to its first test, a Domination informant working at the pneumatic equipment supplier gets a good look at it. The report is passed on to Technical Section, and the Drakans get a head start on microwave electrodetectors. The American War Department immediately classifies the device and sequesters the inventor once they realize its potential, although they refrain from advanced development since the U.S. is not yet at war. America is dismayed at the worldwide spread of war, but is now popularly split on whom to support (aside from the Domination and Japan). Increases in war production and preparedness are authorized, but corruption and inefficiency dissipate most of it. Militia readiness actually drops off, as able-bodied men are in demand to support trade with the various warring powers (again, except the Domination).
A small Russian amphibious operation in the Caspian Sea intending to make a landing near Baku, using landing craft brought down the Volga from St. Petersburg, is hit by a storm and the scattered troops that make landfall are annihilated before they can group into a cohesive force. A similar Drakan effort using fishing boats against the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea is better-planned, and succeeds in breaking the Russian front there, as it is coordinated with an attack from the previously-quiet border. Drakan mechanized columns fan out for the Caspian coast, the Amu Darya River separating Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and to hold down the border with Afghanistan. Only the early onset of winter and the need to deter the British in Afghanistan from turning the flank keep the Drakans from covering all of southern Asian Russia. The XXII Armored Legion makes amazing progress across the deserts and river valleys, reaching Tashkent after 36 days of nearly continuous movement against minimal resistance, almost 750 kilometers from their jump-off point. The front stabilizes for the winter with the Drakan lines running from Aqtau on the Caspian Sea over to the Aral Sea, southeast to Tashkent, then southwest to Termiz on the Afghan border. British defenses in Afghanistan are thrown into administrative chaos as some Russian border troops surrender to the British once the Drakans begin attacking border outposts from the rear as they advance.
The Japanese move carefully up the Cambodian coastline towards Siam, and make several landings on the Malayan peninsula during the fall monsoon season. Singapore is now threatened, and the Gulf of Siam is contested, but there have been no moves against the Philippines or the rest of the western Pacific. In China, they are still pushing back the British-supported Chinese armies, but the strain of administering such a large territory has been showing in the harshness of Japanese actions in dealing with Chinese civilians. The Japanese warrior code of bushido allows no mercy to a foe that surrenders, but the Chinese have an ancient ethic of civilian submission to conquest; the result is horrific atrocities.
Russia begins transferring experienced troops out of Siberia towards the fronts in southwestern Asia and Europe. The Trans-Siberian Railroad runs at full capacity, taking green troops east and bringing seasoned ones west. This violates official policy, but some Socialists are starting to see the error in relying on quantity vs. quality. Just so long as the Japanese are still friendly…
The Germans learn to conceal the completed landing craft in dockside warehouses to reduce the British response to their numbers. By working on a small number at any one location, the British severely underestimate the total under construction, and believe their bombing is very effective when no great submarine offensive materializes. This deception continues for the next year as the number of completed landing craft stays close to schedule. Even though French Resistance agents learn of over 20 production locations and pass what they know to the British, the entire scope is appreciated only by the Germans. Production begins at German shipyards on the torpedo boats called for in the invasion plans, yet this is only an increase on those already in use in the Baltic and in Norway. The British aren't really alarmed yet, and the Royal Navy has a low opinion of smaller craft. The long-running air campaign between Britain and Germany again swings to Britain's favor, both from increased aircraft parts imports from Canada and the U.S., and the withdrawal of units to support the German operations in the Balkans.
The Domination agrees to cooperate with Spain on attacking Gibraltar, but ask for a delay until they can concentrate more naval and air forces in Morocco. They also await an opportune moment to cancel the non-aggression pact with Britain; the situation in Asian Russia is too fluid to allow the British a chance to turn the tables.
[OTL Thailand is still called Siam at this point. Instead of the Japanese appealing to the only non-colonial state in Southeast Asia, they arrogantly blunder and are forced to invade. Even so, the Siamese forces are inadequate and inept, due to decades of complacency while surrounded by British and French colonial territories.]
January 1942
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[Map uses OTL 1917 boundaries outside Europe, slightly modified 1922 in Europe.] |
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