Getting Ahead of Ourselves: A B-29 TL

[Pangur]

He is a war criminal and ss officer to boot. Those fuckers did most of the war crimes the NAZIS did. Also we never should have let unit731 get away with their war crimes either.

I was not in any shape or form suggesting that he was anything better than that. That is not my point, once the TAAT starting to use German troops/fliers then that has consequences One of them is that they cant just shoot them. Makes more sense to keep pushing especially the ex SS scum in to combat as often as possible. That waythey get dead and the TAAT get some use out of them along they way

 

[Parmenion]

Cologne, July 24th, 1945​

For the first time since the war with the BT had begun, General Eisenhower had assembled everyone. Not only the high command of TAAT, but every army and army group commander was present, not an easy feat in times like this. Still, Eisenhower was counting on the plan he had gathered them here to see, things needed to turn around and fast. Early in the evening of the 24th, maps were set up, coffee brewed, and the men got to work.

"Long story short" Eisenhower began "What happened over Moscow should be happening again somewhere else in the next 36 hours, a fact you'll all keep to yourselves." Upon hearing nothing but murmurs in the affirmative, the general went on "Since this war began, our forces have taken a total of 300,000 casualties give or take, for about 450,000 inflicted on the enemy. In that time we've received about 1.2 million reinforcements, the enemy about half that.

"What you're getting at" Air Marshal Tedder said "Is that things aren't quite so buggered as they were a month ago." "Exactly, which is a fact we need to exploit. Once the second strike goes ahead, I think we should launch our own attack to throw the enemy off balance, any objections?" "Yes sir." General Clark stood to speak "We're still outnumbered by quite a large margin, I think any attack should be saved for a time when that's not the case."

Eisenhower nodded, but went on "Mark, if we wait that long there won't be a Germany left to protect. Raw numbers in one thing, quality is another. If we can overwhelm the Russians now, they'll with any luck see the writing on the wall, and we can end this. "Ike?" General Patton stood "Why bother hitting Ivan himself? Why not hit them down South? Half the damn armies down there are Romanian or Bulgarian or lord knows what, they don't wanna be there. If we light them up now, they'll run and we'll have a clear pathball the way to Bucharest."

"The weakness of Stalin's allies is precisely why we shouldn't attack them, for several reasons." Eisenhower countered "I plan to confine our offensive to the North. That way, the BT will face a difficult situation in the North, and soldiers with questionable loyalty in the South, it'll only increase the pressure on them. I think it'll be bloody, but we can pull this off. Zhukov and Joe may have us on the backfoot, but my campaign begins now..."

 

[David Floyd]

1.2 million reinforcements? Out of curiosity, where did they come from?

 

[Parmenion]

1.2 million reinforcements? Out of curiosity, where did they come from?

Everywhere more or less. Some are new American units, some are French, some are African colonial. Others are from other European countrys or more German militia.

 

[David Floyd]

Everywhere more or less. Some are new American units, some are French, some are African colonial. Others are from other European countrys or more German militia.

Got it. Would love to see an updated ORBAT at some point!

African colonial troops won’t do very well in Soviet captivity, if captured. Nor, obviously, will anyone who even looks German.

 

[weasel_airlift]

African colonial troops won’t do very well in Soviet captivity, if captured. Nor, obviously, will anyone who even looks German.

I don't think Soviet captivity would go well on anyone.

 

[mattep74]

Matt clark? Was he not sent home after taking rome?

 

[Parmenion]

In the predawn hours of July 26th, 1945, Baku found itself under heavy attack by fighter-bomber. Flying at the extreme end of their range from improvised airstrips in Iraq, 200 RAF P-51s wreak havoc on the unprepared city. While air defenses from the war against Germany were still in place, they were poorly maintained and not designed for low flying fighters. Still, the hasty arrival of 190 Yak-9s just 18 hours prior prove a boon to the city, so much so that many people gather on rooftops to watch the dogfights.

At low altitude against the loaded Mustangs, the Yaks put up a stiff fight, shooting down or forcing the landing of 55 fighters for roughly even losses. Oddly, many of the targets hit by the planes don't seem like military targets at all. Fire stations, pumping stations, and other locations are bombed, with seemingly no purpose. As the first light of dawn becomes visible, the Soviet radar stations detect a force of around 150 escorted heavy bombers approaching.

Local commander General Trofimenko, realizing what's about to happen, acts without orders from Tbilisi, and orders Baku evacuated. In the merely 40 minutes of warning before the bombers reach the city, mayhem breaks out. As trains are swamped and roads clogged with civilians, others look to revenge. Of the several thousand POWs in the city, some are lynched or shot, others are tied up in the open, or simply abandoned as the planes approach. The evacuation is still in full swing as the planes arrive.

A fatter looking bomb falls from one of the B-29s, and Baku lights up. This bomb targets several refineries on edge of town, as Baku is the largest oil producer in the entirity of the BT. As the city is smaller and the bomb not aimed at its heart, losses are far lower. Still, the fires rapidly burn out of control, the earlier strikes having made any responce impossible. Several refineries go up in flames, as oil wells are strafed with impunity.

In the bombing and resulting aftermath, 100,000 are killed and three times as many left homeless. More than half of the Soviet oil industry is destroyed in one morning, much of which will take months to repair. Upon hearing the news about the strike, Stalin flies into a rage. He had been a firm believer that the bomb used on Moscow had required years to build, and it was simply a one time shot. The reveal that "The bomb" was merely "A bomb" terrifies the man...

 

[David Floyd]

Stalin REALLY won’t like it in a few months when bombs start coming off the line at a rate of several per month. Assuming, of course, the war lasts that long.

 

[David Floyd]

I have to say, a REALLY tempting propaganda target for the 3rd bomb would be….Stalingrad.

 

[Pangur]

Stalin REALLY won’t like it in a few months when bombs start coming off the line at a rate of several per month. Assuming, of course, the war lasts that long.

Tough s/_,t Joe

 

[Pangur]

Everywhere more or less. Some are new American units, some are French, some are African colonial. Others are from other European countrys or more German militia.

There may be a wee problem. If thats it, at least for now until more soldiers are conscripted/drafted/volunteer then Eisenhowers plan had better work because if it fails there is nothing to stop Ivan and co

 

[weasel_airlift]

I have to say, a REALLY tempting propaganda target for the 3rd bomb would be….Stalingrad.

I don't know if it's in range, but Chelyabinsk is a good target too. Not because Stalin is there, though that is a good reason, but because it's a major tank manufacturing area. As fighter patrols become less common, Allied fighter bombers ought to be targeting Soviet locomotives. Many (all?) run on coal, so are unaffected by Baku.

Was Baku only 50% of the Soviet oil? I thought it was much more than that. Still, that's going to hurt, real bad, especially with American imports cut off. It's been touched on, but there's now no Lend Lease food, and no LL petroleum products. A lot of Soviet labor was freed up by having American food pour in.

Incidentally, it strikes me that the HMS Royal Sovereign is still in Soviet hands. They didn't even try to keep her up OTL, but I imagine she's going to be squirreled away somewhere to be maintained ITTL.

 

[David Floyd]

Chelyabinsk would definitely be out of range.

 

[Pangur]

I don't know if it's in range, but Chelyabinsk is a good target too. Not because Stalin is there, though that is a good reason, but because it's a major tank manufacturing area. As fighter patrols become less common, Allied fighter bombers ought to be targeting Soviet locomotives. Many (all?) run on coal, so are unaffected by Baku.

Was Baku only 50% of the Soviet oil? I thought it was much more than that. Still, that's going to hurt, real bad, especially with American imports cut off. It's been touched on, but there's now no Lend Lease food, and no LL petroleum products. A lot of Soviet labor was freed up by having American food pour in.

Incidentally, it strikes me that the HMS Royal Sovereign is still in Soviet hands. They didn't even try to keep her up OTL, but I imagine she's going to be squirreled away somewhere to be maintained ITTL.

Train bashing is the way to go, the Russian road network is near enough non existence. They depend on rail for logistics. Some tunnels n bridges might be about to get redesigned!

 

[David Floyd]

I wonder how important Ploesti will be for the Soviets? That could definitely be a major target for B-29s (though I probably wouldn’t nuke it).

 

[The Wooksta!]

Given Baku has been oblivionised, I'd think Ploesti has become lot more important, but it's well within range for Lancasters and Lincolns for night attack. Bonus points if they use napalm. TBH, Mosquito B.35s with either 4,000lb cookies or NF36 nightfighters with napalm tanks could make a nice mess.

 

[Danilov II]

JMO but the next priority would be figuring out where the main facilities of the Soviet nuke program are, and hitting them, at least conventionally. Denying them the ability to develop a counter-strike capability is as important as continuing to build yours. Oh, and making sure that Oak Ridge, Hanford, Los Alamos, etc. are even more air-tight than IOTL is also of prime importance.

 

[Pangur]

JMO but the next priority would be figuring out where the main facilities of the Soviet nuke program are, and hitting them, at least conventionally. Denying them the ability to develop a counter-strike capability is as important as continuing to build yours. Oh, and making sure that Oak Ridge, Hanford, Los Alamos, etc. are even more air-tight than IOTL is also of prime importance.

Is the west aware of a Sov nuclear program?

 

[Ammonios]

Is the west aware of a Sov nuclear program?

Hello,

If there is, it does not look like it could provide a weapon in time for the Soviets to use.

It could be time to see if the Allies could bluff the Soviets and the Japanese into thinking there are more weapons available (which is true, just not immediately).