there will be some, although Dewitt (a primary motivator for that) is about to be fired... he was in charge of the Western Defense Command, and having Seattle bombed on your watch looks really bad on your resume
"Goring's Reich" An Alternate World War II
- Thread starter galveston bay
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there will be some, although Dewitt (a primary motivator for that) is about to be fired... he was in charge of the Western Defense Command, and having Seattle bombed on your watch looks really bad on your resume
Pacific Questions
Since trying to bomb ships is impossible will the US focus on long range torpedoes and rockets? What is the status of the US submarine campaign against Japanese merchant shipping?
Since trying to bomb ships is impossible will the US focus on long range torpedoes and rockets? What is the status of the US submarine campaign against Japanese merchant shipping?
to deal with bombing ships, the US Army Air Force invented skip bombing in OTL and will in this one... that works just great.
In OTL, the B17 was sold as an anti ship weapon by the AAF, which convinced Congress to buy them claiming they could hit ships at sea from high altitude. This as it happens is amazingly difficult to pull off, so the B17s never did work out as promised for that mission. They did great against land targets that aren't dodging at high speed though. The B24s when used as patrol bombers went in at low level against submarines, which worked fine as well.
B26s can carry a torpedo... they did at Midway... but strafing attacks with B25s and A20s bristling (literally) with 50 caliber machine guns and skip bombing, and later one with rockets too, worked fine against just about anything smaller than a heavy cruiser (and even them would slaughter AAA gunners). The Army and Navy did however use tv and radio guided bombs in the Pacific late war (Azon is the system used).
The USAAF just hasn't invented that tactic yet.. .but it will now that clearly the usual methods don't work
as to the submarines, pretty much as historical at this point... and that means torpedo problems and not a lot of scoring yet. It gets better though in 1943
about the only thing that would shift "Germany First" actually... at this point, as the British Isles are safe and the Mideast is holding well, there will indeed be a huge amount of pressure to deal with the Japanese
Time for America's Industrial Arsenal capacity to build more submarines with good torpedoes to attrite the Imperial Japanese Merchant Fleet & Tankers down two or three notches....
Oceania and Southeast Asia July - September 1942
The South Pacific July – September 1942
On July 1, a mere 24 hours after the fall of Corregidor, General Dwight Eisenhower is promoted to Lieutenant General and given command of all American and Filipino forces in the Philippines, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Australia, New Zealand and Polynesia.
On August 13, a new theater command is established, the Southwest Pacific Theater, which takes command of all Allied forces in the Dutch East Indies, Philippines, New Guinea, Solomons and Eisenhower is given command of that theater, while retaining his other duty as deputy commander of the South Pacific Theater, which remains responsible for Australia, New Zealand and Polynesia. Eisenhower learns that massive reinforcements are on their way once the engineer brigades complete the double tracked railroad to Alice Springs, and the airfield complexes at Alice Springs, Townsville, Port Moresby and Guadalcanal are completed.
The American 7th Air Force (General Martin), along with the Australians, will handle air operations aimed at Darwin as well as the defense of Australia, with the American 5th Air Force (General Kenny), along with the New Zealand Air Force will handle operations in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. The new 10th Air Force, to be commanded by General Doolittle, will consist of heavy bombers based out of Alice Springs, and once Darwin is liberated, out of northern Australia to attack and destroy Japanese oil production infrastructure in the Dutch East Indies.
Eisenhower has the 6th Army, consisting of American and New Zealand divisions in Polynesia and the Solomons, as well as Australian and American combat forces in New Guinea. He is also being sent the 2nd Cavalry Division, a Regular Army Division consisting of the African American 10th Cavalry Regiment, as well as the White 2nd and 14th Cavalry Regiments, all of whom have traded in their horses for light tanks, armored cars, jeeps, trucks and half tracks (authors note: essentially 3 of the US Army World War II Mechanized Cavalry Groups with a division headquarters and support units).
The American cavalry will join the Australian 1st and 2nd Cavalry and the Australian 10th Armored, which are organized and equipped similarly, in defending northern Australia from any movement by the Japanese in Darwin, as well as conducting raids and deep recon missions. This force is organized as the Australian 3rd Army. General Short is given command of the 6th Army, while Australian General Mackey will command the Australian 3rd Army. The rest of the Australian divisions and militia brigades remain tied down in static defense positions guarding the coasts, but are continuing their training and are reequipping.
Plans to raise several American divisions in 1943 are postponed, and instead their equipment is being sent to Australia, which is completely reequipping with American weapons, equipment and vehicles with a few notable exceptions such as the Stirling Submachinegun. The South Pacific also gets two newly trained Army amphibious engineer groups, which are division sized formations equipped with the DUCKW amphibious trucks, landing craft, port battalions, beach battalions and specialized construction battalions (authors note: which is unchanged from OTL). Additional engineer brigades are assigned as well for further development of airfields and other infrastructure, including road construction battalions.
A steady stream of transports make their way from the US West Coast to Australia, Polynesia, the Solomon Islands and New Guinea.
In the United States, the Army decides to rebuild the 1st Cavalry Division, and unlike the rest of the Army, under pressure by Roosevelt, this division will be completely integrated, with African Americans serving alongside Whites down to the squad and vehicle crew level. It is not expected to complete its training before late 1943, but it will be sent to fight the Japanese. It will also be manned only by volunteers, and soon develops a long waiting list, with only the Airborne Divisions and Mountain Division having similar prestige with volunteers. News, including photographs, of the slaughter of the African American troops of the 9th Cavalry Regiment makes a deep impression across America, and is the first instance during the War that American dead are shown to the public.
The Philippines
When the Philippines mobilized, a total of 12 regiments of Filipino troops were trained separately and then sent home. This force of nearly 40,000 men, including 500 American advisors, has remained covert from the time of the initial Japanese invasion until after the Fall of Corregidor. In September 1942, the Filipino Home Army becomes official, under the command of Lieutenant General Alfredo Santos who is closely advised by OSS Colonel Wendell Fertig, who was hand picked by Donovan during the organization of this force. The Filipinos have large stocks of rifles, ammunition and food, as well as signals equipment, but American submarines begin bringing in specialists and special equipment within weeks of the activation of the Home Army.
For now the Home Army is avoiding major entanglements with the Japanese, but they are already smuggling out American civilians and POWs who manage to escape the hellish Japanese prison camps, and are securing sanctuary areas in the jungles and mountains of the island chain and limiting harassment to wiping out the occasional Japanese patrol. The Japanese soon find that plans to leave only a small 75,000 men occupation force are overtaken by events, and the planned deployment of forces in excess of that are canceled. By merely existing, the Filipinos are soon tying down 9 Japanese Division sized units, nearly 200,000 troops. As the Japanese commit a steady stream of atrocities, frequently without orders from higher authority, the Filipino Home Army begins to grow.
Indochina and Indonesia
American operatives from the OSS, along with Australian commandos, begin making contact with Vietnamese and Indonesian nationalists. The two organizations are promising American and Australian support for independence post war. The Australians are looking at their economic interests, while the Americans are looking at economic interests and general expansion of friendly states in the region as potential partners for what will be an independent Philippines postwar. A stable three nation regional alliance would benefit American interests. In addition, the State Department and OSS both feel that there is little chance of the French or Dutch having the strength to reconquer them without US aid, something very unlikely to have Congressional support postwar. These Allied promises are received with considerable interest and intelligence soon starts to flow out of both regions.
The South Pacific July – September 1942
On July 1, a mere 24 hours after the fall of Corregidor, General Dwight Eisenhower is promoted to Lieutenant General and given command of all American and Filipino forces in the Philippines, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Australia, New Zealand and Polynesia.
On August 13, a new theater command is established, the Southwest Pacific Theater, which takes command of all Allied forces in the Dutch East Indies, Philippines, New Guinea, Solomons and Eisenhower is given command of that theater, while retaining his other duty as deputy commander of the South Pacific Theater, which remains responsible for Australia, New Zealand and Polynesia. Eisenhower learns that massive reinforcements are on their way once the engineer brigades complete the double tracked railroad to Alice Springs, and the airfield complexes at Alice Springs, Townsville, Port Moresby and Guadalcanal are completed.
The American 7th Air Force (General Martin), along with the Australians, will handle air operations aimed at Darwin as well as the defense of Australia, with the American 5th Air Force (General Kenny), along with the New Zealand Air Force will handle operations in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. The new 10th Air Force, to be commanded by General Doolittle, will consist of heavy bombers based out of Alice Springs, and once Darwin is liberated, out of northern Australia to attack and destroy Japanese oil production infrastructure in the Dutch East Indies.
Eisenhower has the 6th Army, consisting of American and New Zealand divisions in Polynesia and the Solomons, as well as Australian and American combat forces in New Guinea. He is also being sent the 2nd Cavalry Division, a Regular Army Division consisting of the African American 10th Cavalry Regiment, as well as the White 2nd and 14th Cavalry Regiments, all of whom have traded in their horses for light tanks, armored cars, jeeps, trucks and half tracks (authors note: essentially 3 of the US Army World War II Mechanized Cavalry Groups with a division headquarters and support units).
The American cavalry will join the Australian 1st and 2nd Cavalry and the Australian 10th Armored, which are organized and equipped similarly, in defending northern Australia from any movement by the Japanese in Darwin, as well as conducting raids and deep recon missions. This force is organized as the Australian 3rd Army. General Short is given command of the 6th Army, while Australian General Mackey will command the Australian 3rd Army. The rest of the Australian divisions and militia brigades remain tied down in static defense positions guarding the coasts, but are continuing their training and are reequipping.
Plans to raise several American divisions in 1943 are postponed, and instead their equipment is being sent to Australia, which is completely reequipping with American weapons, equipment and vehicles with a few notable exceptions such as the Stirling Submachinegun. The South Pacific also gets two newly trained Army amphibious engineer groups, which are division sized formations equipped with the DUCKW amphibious trucks, landing craft, port battalions, beach battalions and specialized construction battalions (authors note: which is unchanged from OTL). Additional engineer brigades are assigned as well for further development of airfields and other infrastructure, including road construction battalions.
A steady stream of transports make their way from the US West Coast to Australia, Polynesia, the Solomon Islands and New Guinea.
In the United States, the Army decides to rebuild the 1st Cavalry Division, and unlike the rest of the Army, under pressure by Roosevelt, this division will be completely integrated, with African Americans serving alongside Whites down to the squad and vehicle crew level. It is not expected to complete its training before late 1943, but it will be sent to fight the Japanese. It will also be manned only by volunteers, and soon develops a long waiting list, with only the Airborne Divisions and Mountain Division having similar prestige with volunteers. News, including photographs, of the slaughter of the African American troops of the 9th Cavalry Regiment makes a deep impression across America, and is the first instance during the War that American dead are shown to the public.
The Philippines
When the Philippines mobilized, a total of 12 regiments of Filipino troops were trained separately and then sent home. This force of nearly 40,000 men, including 500 American advisors, has remained covert from the time of the initial Japanese invasion until after the Fall of Corregidor. In September 1942, the Filipino Home Army becomes official, under the command of Lieutenant General Alfredo Santos who is closely advised by OSS Colonel Wendell Fertig, who was hand picked by Donovan during the organization of this force. The Filipinos have large stocks of rifles, ammunition and food, as well as signals equipment, but American submarines begin bringing in specialists and special equipment within weeks of the activation of the Home Army.
For now the Home Army is avoiding major entanglements with the Japanese, but they are already smuggling out American civilians and POWs who manage to escape the hellish Japanese prison camps, and are securing sanctuary areas in the jungles and mountains of the island chain and limiting harassment to wiping out the occasional Japanese patrol. The Japanese soon find that plans to leave only a small 75,000 men occupation force are overtaken by events, and the planned deployment of forces in excess of that are canceled. By merely existing, the Filipinos are soon tying down 9 Japanese Division sized units, nearly 200,000 troops. As the Japanese commit a steady stream of atrocities, frequently without orders from higher authority, the Filipino Home Army begins to grow.
Indochina and Indonesia
American operatives from the OSS, along with Australian commandos, begin making contact with Vietnamese and Indonesian nationalists. The two organizations are promising American and Australian support for independence post war. The Australians are looking at their economic interests, while the Americans are looking at economic interests and general expansion of friendly states in the region as potential partners for what will be an independent Philippines postwar. A stable three nation regional alliance would benefit American interests. In addition, the State Department and OSS both feel that there is little chance of the French or Dutch having the strength to reconquer them without US aid, something very unlikely to have Congressional support postwar. These Allied promises are received with considerable interest and intelligence soon starts to flow out of both regions.
This is not true
Esquimalt graving dock is 38 metres wide. It can only not take modern Nimitz size boats.
attacking Vancouver was just out of reach... still it cuts the number of available very large docks by half
but thanks for the information, it will be important
Atrocities in Europe 1942-43
The Serbian Genocide Spring 1942 – Autumn 1943
After months of continued and significant resistance by Serbian Nationalist Partisans and to a lesser extent by multi-ethnic Communists led by Tito, Heydrich, who has been handed the problem of Yugoslavia by Goring, has a conference in Zagreb with the Italians, Hungarians, Croats, his SS commanders, and the Bulgarians. Although nearly 500,000 Serbs have been deported, nearly all from the cities and larger towns, there are still nearly 5.5 million Serbs remaining, and they are providing the support that the Chetniks need to continue the fight.
Heydrich insists that this war must be brought to an end, and as the Serbs refuse to accept reality and voluntarily convert or accept relocation, it is time for harsher measures to be taken. Additional Bulgarian, Hungarian, Italian and some more German troops will deal with the partisans, while the Croats and special task forces of SS men, einsatzgruppen, will deal with reducing the Serbian population through relocation if possible but harsher measures will be used when necessary.
In all nearly 1 million troops from the occupying and collaborationist powers are used, and by mid summer the Chetniks have been all but destroyed as the invaders used blockade and clear tactics to pin the Chetniks into smaller and smaller pockets. The Germans and Italians used artillery in large quantities against Serbian villages and hamlets, generally ensuring the there is almost no organized resistance when they move into an area. The population soon is in mass flight into the mountains, and starvation and disease begins to kill far more than the fighting. Some villages and towns are spared heavy artillery bombardment, as the towns have useful buildings and shops. Here the Chetniks fight back more effectively but flamethrowers and armored vehicles are used with a free hand and there too the Serbs are driven into flight.
By August resistance has been broken, and desperate civilians are begging to surrender and be spared. The civilian population is then placed into a series of vast camps centered around Nis and guarded by Croatian and German SS guards. In what will be called the Serbian Selection now occurs, as tens of thousands of small children under 6 are taken away from their families along with tens of thousands of young women. Those young children are then adopted out through the Reich and Eastern Europe, with most adoptive families having only the suspicion that something horrible has occurred. The women, all young in their late teens, are enslaved for the most part, some becoming domestic servants, while others are placed in more sordid work as 'comfort women'. Nearly 1 million additional women and children are sent by train to the Volgograd area and deported, with almost 80% surviving the journey.
The rest, approximately 4 million people, have died in the fighting, the atrocities connected to it or after, disease, starvation or will die in the next year as they are worked to death on starvation levels of food or simply executed in gas chambers. Vast pyres are used as lumber is plentiful and the ashes are disposed of in pits.
By 1944 of the nearly 8 million Serbs in Yugoslavia, 1.5 million have been deported to Soviet territory, close to 1 million chose to convert and are living as second class citizens in their own homeland, and the rest, almost 6 million in all, are dead except for a few tens of thousands who have managed to remain hidden either by the Communists or in the deepest wilderness. Heydrich does not live to see the end of his 'work' however, as a partisan hit team specially assigned by Tito blows the building housing the SS in Belgrade while he is there on a conference on October 23, 1943, killing him and several dozen other people.
Tito and the Communists learn from this, and choose not to actively resist. The Communists build up a cell infrastructure all of the rest of Yugoslavia waiting for the day when justice can be done. They have a long wait. Tito spends much of the war hiding and running the recruitment program, while the occasional active attack is made only on specially selected targets like Heydrich. While it is common knowledge that atrocities are being committed on a huge scale, including the use of artillery on civilian populations (which ends finally in June when the Soviets threaten war if it continues), the massive scale of the slaughter of the civilians locked away in the camps trickles out much more slowly, not reaching the Soviet Union until November 1943.
The territory of the former Kingdom of Serbia is divided up by the Hungarians, Bulgarians and Croats.
The Serbian Genocide Spring 1942 – Autumn 1943
After months of continued and significant resistance by Serbian Nationalist Partisans and to a lesser extent by multi-ethnic Communists led by Tito, Heydrich, who has been handed the problem of Yugoslavia by Goring, has a conference in Zagreb with the Italians, Hungarians, Croats, his SS commanders, and the Bulgarians. Although nearly 500,000 Serbs have been deported, nearly all from the cities and larger towns, there are still nearly 5.5 million Serbs remaining, and they are providing the support that the Chetniks need to continue the fight.
Heydrich insists that this war must be brought to an end, and as the Serbs refuse to accept reality and voluntarily convert or accept relocation, it is time for harsher measures to be taken. Additional Bulgarian, Hungarian, Italian and some more German troops will deal with the partisans, while the Croats and special task forces of SS men, einsatzgruppen, will deal with reducing the Serbian population through relocation if possible but harsher measures will be used when necessary.
In all nearly 1 million troops from the occupying and collaborationist powers are used, and by mid summer the Chetniks have been all but destroyed as the invaders used blockade and clear tactics to pin the Chetniks into smaller and smaller pockets. The Germans and Italians used artillery in large quantities against Serbian villages and hamlets, generally ensuring the there is almost no organized resistance when they move into an area. The population soon is in mass flight into the mountains, and starvation and disease begins to kill far more than the fighting. Some villages and towns are spared heavy artillery bombardment, as the towns have useful buildings and shops. Here the Chetniks fight back more effectively but flamethrowers and armored vehicles are used with a free hand and there too the Serbs are driven into flight.
By August resistance has been broken, and desperate civilians are begging to surrender and be spared. The civilian population is then placed into a series of vast camps centered around Nis and guarded by Croatian and German SS guards. In what will be called the Serbian Selection now occurs, as tens of thousands of small children under 6 are taken away from their families along with tens of thousands of young women. Those young children are then adopted out through the Reich and Eastern Europe, with most adoptive families having only the suspicion that something horrible has occurred. The women, all young in their late teens, are enslaved for the most part, some becoming domestic servants, while others are placed in more sordid work as 'comfort women'. Nearly 1 million additional women and children are sent by train to the Volgograd area and deported, with almost 80% surviving the journey.
The rest, approximately 4 million people, have died in the fighting, the atrocities connected to it or after, disease, starvation or will die in the next year as they are worked to death on starvation levels of food or simply executed in gas chambers. Vast pyres are used as lumber is plentiful and the ashes are disposed of in pits.
By 1944 of the nearly 8 million Serbs in Yugoslavia, 1.5 million have been deported to Soviet territory, close to 1 million chose to convert and are living as second class citizens in their own homeland, and the rest, almost 6 million in all, are dead except for a few tens of thousands who have managed to remain hidden either by the Communists or in the deepest wilderness. Heydrich does not live to see the end of his 'work' however, as a partisan hit team specially assigned by Tito blows the building housing the SS in Belgrade while he is there on a conference on October 23, 1943, killing him and several dozen other people.
Tito and the Communists learn from this, and choose not to actively resist. The Communists build up a cell infrastructure all of the rest of Yugoslavia waiting for the day when justice can be done. They have a long wait. Tito spends much of the war hiding and running the recruitment program, while the occasional active attack is made only on specially selected targets like Heydrich. While it is common knowledge that atrocities are being committed on a huge scale, including the use of artillery on civilian populations (which ends finally in June when the Soviets threaten war if it continues), the massive scale of the slaughter of the civilians locked away in the camps trickles out much more slowly, not reaching the Soviet Union until November 1943.
The territory of the former Kingdom of Serbia is divided up by the Hungarians, Bulgarians and Croats.
Serbian genocide authors notes
the War in the Balkans was particularly savage during World War II, which of course had consequences in the 1990s when Yugoslavia dissolved. Over 10% of the total population were killed during the war, partly from fighting, but also from war crimes.
Large numbers of local people sided with the Germans and Italians, and indeed didn't really need a lot of help in committing massive atrocities
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasenovac_concentration_camp
Yugoslavia was a running sore for the German Army after the Italians left the war, and was already a serious headache before that, tying down 30 divisions including 300,000 German and a similar number of Italian troops.
In this timeline, with the Eastern Front at peace, and the only active front in North Africa, the Germans and Italians have plenty of forces available particularly when the other Balkan nations are involved. Enough to get that 10:1 superiority needed to win a partisan war, and more than enough to literally drain the sea that the partisan fish need to swim in.
It also (rather cynically too) allows the Germans to pay off its promises of territory to Hungary, Bulgaria, and offset some of the territory lost by Italy
It also, along with the savage campaign in China, is pushing the Soviets closer and closer to war as they are recovering quickly....
Goring isn't as crazy as Hitler, but he is definitely not a good guy
the War in the Balkans was particularly savage during World War II, which of course had consequences in the 1990s when Yugoslavia dissolved. Over 10% of the total population were killed during the war, partly from fighting, but also from war crimes.
Large numbers of local people sided with the Germans and Italians, and indeed didn't really need a lot of help in committing massive atrocities
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasenovac_concentration_camp
Yugoslavia was a running sore for the German Army after the Italians left the war, and was already a serious headache before that, tying down 30 divisions including 300,000 German and a similar number of Italian troops.
In this timeline, with the Eastern Front at peace, and the only active front in North Africa, the Germans and Italians have plenty of forces available particularly when the other Balkan nations are involved. Enough to get that 10:1 superiority needed to win a partisan war, and more than enough to literally drain the sea that the partisan fish need to swim in.
It also (rather cynically too) allows the Germans to pay off its promises of territory to Hungary, Bulgaria, and offset some of the territory lost by Italy
It also, along with the savage campaign in China, is pushing the Soviets closer and closer to war as they are recovering quickly....
Goring isn't as crazy as Hitler, but he is definitely not a good guy
So it seems the allies have contacted Amir Sjarifoeddin and Sutan Sjahrir both of them were the highest ranking leaders who organized active resistance movement aganist Japanese while Soekarno-Hatta cooperated with Japanese.
It is wirth noting that Soekarno, Hatta and Sjahrir decided that Sjahrir would be the one who go underground to organise the revolutionary resistance.
Both Sjarifoeddin and Sjahrir were socialist though Sjarifoeddin leaned more to communism, it will be interesting socialist Indonesia will be under their leadership especiallyu because General Abdul Harris Nasution and Sultan Hamengkoeboewono IX maintained strong informal links with Sjahrir's Socialist Party
It is wirth noting that Soekarno, Hatta and Sjahrir decided that Sjahrir would be the one who go underground to organise the revolutionary resistance.
Both Sjarifoeddin and Sjahrir were socialist though Sjarifoeddin leaned more to communism, it will be interesting socialist Indonesia will be under their leadership especiallyu because General Abdul Harris Nasution and Sultan Hamengkoeboewono IX maintained strong informal links with Sjahrir's Socialist Party
Knoxville Jim
Banned
How badly will Heydrich being killed effect things? Perhaps, I have always thought too much f his abilities to get things done and his importance to the way he could of effected things. Who will take over the SS and Reich's intelligence?
Germany at Apogee
The German Reich 1942
Germany is at the apogee of its power in 1942, having conquered France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, and Denmark in Western Europe, and with the assistance of allies has conquered much of the European Soviet Union, as well as Yugoslavia and Greece. The Reich has as allies, Spain (which has conquered Portugal), Italy, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland, Poland, the Baltic States, Sweden, the Ukraine, and some minor client states in the East as well, and Turkey is a non belligerent ally and the Reich is on good terms with Argentina. It also has the Japanese who are working much closer with the Reich than before and between them they have the British Empire on the run.
But the war continues. The British Empire has been hammered hard, and the Free French barely survive, but the North Americans cannot be touched effectively and the Battle of the Atlantic is looking more and more like a defeat. Luckily the Americans were not really ready for war, so their strength has not yet mattered anywhere except in the Atlantic and the Japanese are drawing much of that as well. But the war remains a drain on resources, and as much as Goring would like to partially demobilize the Army, he dare not release too many. In the East the Soviets are certainly rebuilding and improving their forces, and while the Poles and other Eastern Europeans are a useful manpower pool, it the threat of a Soviet surprise attack requires that the bulk of the Wehrmacht remain in the East. Goring does however force the Wehrmacht to release older conscripts, men in the mid to late 30s or above, who have families or important industrial or technical skills. This sends nearly 500,000 men home, but he does allow the Wehrmacht the option of recalling them should the Soviets attack.
In industrial production, hundred of thousands of Polish, Balt, Ukrainian and Slovenian guest workers are flooding in to take relatively high paying (from their viewpoint) industrial jobs at factories in the Reich and Poland, and indeed German industrial corporations have built large industrial plants in Kiev, Lvov, Odessa, and elsewhere in the East, which has the useful benefit of also putting them out of range of Allied bombers should the Western Allies ever begin an effective bombing campaign. Indeed the Reich has hardly been touched, as the occasional raid is little more than a nuisance at this point and serves more to sharpen and develop the skills of Luftwaffe Home Defenses than anything else.
Oil is flowing in from Soviet sources, and the Germans and Rumanians have restored oil production in Grozny and Maikop. Raw materials, such as chromium and rubber are also coming in from neutral Turkey or via the Soviet railroads from Japanese controlled Malaya. Food supplies are plentiful in the Reich and in its allied states, as all of Europe can be drawn from, and with large numbers of tractors available (again from Soviet sources) productivity is at an all time high, especially as the hated collective farm system has been ended in the Ukraine.
The Reich is riding high, and has resources to devote to projects previously put off for postwar.
The German War Machine
With the appointment of Speer as head of War Production late in 1941, German production is finally being rationalized and prioritized in a manner similar to what the Americans, British and Soviets are doing. The main priorities are aircraft, armored vehicles, artillery and trucks in that order, and large numbers are needed while at the same time new models are needed for armored vehicles and aircraft.
The Luftwaffe has an authorized strength of 5,000 combat aircraft, but as of the Summer of 1942 is at closer to 3,500 aircraft, as losses in bombers especially have been heavy during the campaign against the British (The Blitz). Aircrew figures are similarly below strength. In May, the Luftwaffe was mostly recalled to Germany to rest and refit, with only Luftflotte 1 remaining to cover the air defense of France and the Low Countries and Luftflotte 2 assigned to the Mediterranean remaining in combat.
The FW190 and the ME109 remain the primary fighters, serving as air superiority (FW190) and interceptors (ME109). The Me110 has been relegated to the night fighter role, which it is well suited for, but has been joined by the Ju88 which is excellent for the role as well. Both twin engined fighters as well as the FW190 have been found to be excellent ground attack aircraft. The JU88 and HE111 remain the primary bombers, with the JU87D and JU87R having their uses for ground support as well. The Italian P108 and German FW200 are doing well in the Atlantic, but are facing serious problems dealing with Allied carrier fighters and standing patrols of British Beaufighters and American P38s patrolling over Iceland and the Bay of Biscay. The Ju52 continues to soldier on as the primary air transport, but the new Go 242 and Me 323 air transports are now being produced in quality and have proven highly useful in moving vital equipment and personnel from Italy to North Africa.
In all, the Reich, including plants in Poland, Rumania and Hungary, produce nearly 30,000 aircraft between the Fall of 1941 and the Fall of 1942, more than making up for combat losses and allowing for the establishment of 10 Air Fleets. Two (Luftflotte 1 and 2) are engaged against the Western Allies, Luftflotte 10 is for training, while Luftflotte 9 handles air defense over Germany and Luftflotte 8 air defense over the Balkans (along with local forces). Luftflotte 7 handles operations supporting the Battle of the Atlantic, while Luftflotte 6 is given the new mission of creating, developing, training and fielding a strategic bombardment force. The remaining Luftflottes (3,4,5) are in Germany but will be assigned to the East as they recover from the Blitz and Battle of France.
The Ural Bomber and the Buzz Bomb
Luftflotte 6 is created in June 1942, and given the mission of strategic bombardment. The Blitz was fought with determination but the weapons just were not adequate for the job. While the He111 and the Ju88 as well as the Do217 are good medium bombers they just could not carry a large enough bomb load and only the Ju88 has a reasonable chance against British night fighters. Kesselring and Milch both like the Maybug (authors note: the V1), which can in theory be air launched as well as launched from ground facilities. Indeed potentially it could even be carried by a U-Boat or surface ship, although the likely accuracy makes that useful only for propaganda stunts. What is needed is a large aircraft that can carry a heavy bomb load against targets in the Urals, as well as Moscow and central England and the potential to carry significant bomb loads further afield as well.
The He177 meets part of that requirement, but has had serious development problems and Speer wants to cancel it. Heinkel however has been working on a 4 engine variant, the He177B, that would do away with the radical engine deployment that has caused so many problems. Indeed Goring upon being informed of the engine problems was outraged that this aircraft even saw the development money wasted so far. But he too is now convinced that a heavy bomber is needed, and he hates the idea that the Luftwaffe is using, even in small numbers, an Italian aircraft (the P108). Thus in the summer of 1942 the He277 is authorized with first flight set for February 1943. A suggestion that this aircraft might be the basis of an “Amerika Bomber” is rejected at first, but Heinkel is given permission to look at a He277C as well as the He274. Neither of those aircraft can be expected before 1945 however, while He277A bombers could be in squadron service within 12-18 months. Early design work for the Ju488 and Me264 is also authorized, although neither are likely to be available before 1946 at the earliest.
Meanwhile, testing and development work continues on the Maybug, and the first airframe becomes available in August 1942.
Jet aircraft
The Luftwaffe continues to experiment with the He 178 and He 280, both of which are flying under jet power alone, but neither aircraft is a threat to piston aircraft. The Me262 is well along in development, but the main problem is the jet engine. Access to a reliable supply of chromium however is allowing Jumo to experiment more with high temperature alloys, and this is markedly assisting the development of a reliable engine. Once that issue is resolved, which Jumo believes will be soon, then it is believed that the Me262 might be available for limited squadron service in early 1944 or even later 1943.
The Luftwaffe believes that the Me262 would be an excellent photo recon aircraft, as well as an interceptor to deal with very fast or very high flying Allied aircraft (such as their photo recon aircraft) and useful in the long term as a replacement for piston engine fighters, although the expense and reliability of jets means that this is a longer range goal probably not attainable before 1946 or 1947.
Aredo is working on a light bomber that would likely more just as suitable for the photo recon mission as well, although it too is waiting on a reliable jet engine.
The Luftwaffe also places orders for a small number of Fa223 helicopters which may have uses in special operations missions as well as other uses such as rescue operations. This remains an experiment for now.
Armored Vehicles
The Panzer IVH is selected as the primary medium tank for the Wehrmacht. This version is seen as the last likely version of the Panzer IV, as the 75 / 48 gun is a bit heavy for the turret and chassis. But as the Panzer IV is already in production, a minimum amount of retooling is needed. The Wehrmacht has 36 Panzer Divisions, while the SS has 10, each of which requires 150 tanks. A total of 7,000 PZIVH are thus needed. In addition, the Army needs assault guns for its infantry and panzergrenadier divisions, while the Luftwaffe needs them for their parachute divisions as well, and of course so does the SS. The Hetzer, STGIII, and TACAM (built on the PZ38, PZIII and T34 chassis respectively) are all in production and will continue to meet ensure that each division (over 350 divisions including the Poles, Rumanians and SS) has at company of tank destroyers, as well as providing battalions for Corps and brigades for Field Armies.
The fighting in France shows that the Wehrmacht needs a heavy assault tank, and development of the Panzer VI Tiger is nearly at the production stage. Battalions of these would be assigned to Panzer Corps and a total of 800 are ordered for delivery over the next 18 months. The problem is that the Tiger is mechanically complex and its reliability is an open question, but as a corps level asset that is viewed as less of a problem With an 88 mm gun and heavy armor, it is viewed as the answer to Russian fortifications as well as likely to defeat any present or projected Allied tank.
The T34 still troubles the Wehrmacht however, and while the T34A/B models that continue to be delivered by the Soviets are useful, they are rapidly becoming obsolete. What is troubling though is that rumors of a T34C with a better turret and a T34/85 with a larger gun are making their way to German intelligence, both of which would be a threat to the Panzer IV. There are also rumors of an improved KV1, a very heavily armored Soviet tank seen in very small numbers during the war and thus likely to exist in larger numbers now, as well as assault gun versions of both vehicles. What is needed is a new main battle tank, and development is well underway for the Panzer V, and indeed Speer orders that the Panther Aus D version be placed in production in limited numbers, with 750 to be given to Wehrmacht in 1943, enough to allow for 5 divisions to get them. At nearly half the price of a Tiger, and only a bit more expensive than the Panzer IV, it is viewed as the main battle tank of choice for 1944 or and 1945.
The problem is that it is a very complex machine, and this will limit production, so the Panzer IV will likely soldier on for some time.
Naval War
The Kreigsmarine finalizes design of the Type XXI U-Boat, which will be the first submarine to operate primarily underwater, with improved batteries and a better hull design for an underwater endurance as high as 3 days and which will be fitted with a schnorchel and better electronics. The first boat of this class is expected to have a test voyage in the Spring of 1943. Also under development and nearly ready are radio controlled bombs, and indeed the Fritz X is expected to be ready in small numbers as early as the Spring of 1943.
Rockets and Atomic research
Both are dismissed as too experimental by Speer and indeed when approached Goring to dismisses them as weapons available for this war. Goring does however authorize resources for continued experiments, but the Wehrmacht A4 project is relegated to experimental project, while nuclear research is even lower priority after Heisenberg tells Goring that such a weapon would be too expensive even for the Americans to build, and even then will not likely be factor before 1950. Heisenberg does feel that nuclear reactors for power might be an option, but that too is unlikely for years.
Nerve Gas
Goring orders that the production of Taubin at the special facility at the Hochwerk (Breslau) facility continue. Already 5,000 tons of nerve agents are available, and he orders that it be used for bombs. All stockpiles weapon at the facility, as he does not plan to use them at present. However Goring discusses using them as part of Luftflotte 6 is the Soviets enters the war, specifically against Moscow and the Urals factory cities. Sarin gas is nearly ready for production as well and that nerve agent is somewhat easier to handle and produce. Indeed if it comes to it such agents might be the difference between victory and defeat. The only risk is that the Americans could easily make them as well, assuming that they have researched them, as the Americans have a huge petrochemical industry and a large number of insecticide plants. Thus for now nerve gas is a weapon of desperation.
The German Reich 1942
Germany is at the apogee of its power in 1942, having conquered France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, and Denmark in Western Europe, and with the assistance of allies has conquered much of the European Soviet Union, as well as Yugoslavia and Greece. The Reich has as allies, Spain (which has conquered Portugal), Italy, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland, Poland, the Baltic States, Sweden, the Ukraine, and some minor client states in the East as well, and Turkey is a non belligerent ally and the Reich is on good terms with Argentina. It also has the Japanese who are working much closer with the Reich than before and between them they have the British Empire on the run.
But the war continues. The British Empire has been hammered hard, and the Free French barely survive, but the North Americans cannot be touched effectively and the Battle of the Atlantic is looking more and more like a defeat. Luckily the Americans were not really ready for war, so their strength has not yet mattered anywhere except in the Atlantic and the Japanese are drawing much of that as well. But the war remains a drain on resources, and as much as Goring would like to partially demobilize the Army, he dare not release too many. In the East the Soviets are certainly rebuilding and improving their forces, and while the Poles and other Eastern Europeans are a useful manpower pool, it the threat of a Soviet surprise attack requires that the bulk of the Wehrmacht remain in the East. Goring does however force the Wehrmacht to release older conscripts, men in the mid to late 30s or above, who have families or important industrial or technical skills. This sends nearly 500,000 men home, but he does allow the Wehrmacht the option of recalling them should the Soviets attack.
In industrial production, hundred of thousands of Polish, Balt, Ukrainian and Slovenian guest workers are flooding in to take relatively high paying (from their viewpoint) industrial jobs at factories in the Reich and Poland, and indeed German industrial corporations have built large industrial plants in Kiev, Lvov, Odessa, and elsewhere in the East, which has the useful benefit of also putting them out of range of Allied bombers should the Western Allies ever begin an effective bombing campaign. Indeed the Reich has hardly been touched, as the occasional raid is little more than a nuisance at this point and serves more to sharpen and develop the skills of Luftwaffe Home Defenses than anything else.
Oil is flowing in from Soviet sources, and the Germans and Rumanians have restored oil production in Grozny and Maikop. Raw materials, such as chromium and rubber are also coming in from neutral Turkey or via the Soviet railroads from Japanese controlled Malaya. Food supplies are plentiful in the Reich and in its allied states, as all of Europe can be drawn from, and with large numbers of tractors available (again from Soviet sources) productivity is at an all time high, especially as the hated collective farm system has been ended in the Ukraine.
The Reich is riding high, and has resources to devote to projects previously put off for postwar.
The German War Machine
With the appointment of Speer as head of War Production late in 1941, German production is finally being rationalized and prioritized in a manner similar to what the Americans, British and Soviets are doing. The main priorities are aircraft, armored vehicles, artillery and trucks in that order, and large numbers are needed while at the same time new models are needed for armored vehicles and aircraft.
The Luftwaffe has an authorized strength of 5,000 combat aircraft, but as of the Summer of 1942 is at closer to 3,500 aircraft, as losses in bombers especially have been heavy during the campaign against the British (The Blitz). Aircrew figures are similarly below strength. In May, the Luftwaffe was mostly recalled to Germany to rest and refit, with only Luftflotte 1 remaining to cover the air defense of France and the Low Countries and Luftflotte 2 assigned to the Mediterranean remaining in combat.
The FW190 and the ME109 remain the primary fighters, serving as air superiority (FW190) and interceptors (ME109). The Me110 has been relegated to the night fighter role, which it is well suited for, but has been joined by the Ju88 which is excellent for the role as well. Both twin engined fighters as well as the FW190 have been found to be excellent ground attack aircraft. The JU88 and HE111 remain the primary bombers, with the JU87D and JU87R having their uses for ground support as well. The Italian P108 and German FW200 are doing well in the Atlantic, but are facing serious problems dealing with Allied carrier fighters and standing patrols of British Beaufighters and American P38s patrolling over Iceland and the Bay of Biscay. The Ju52 continues to soldier on as the primary air transport, but the new Go 242 and Me 323 air transports are now being produced in quality and have proven highly useful in moving vital equipment and personnel from Italy to North Africa.
In all, the Reich, including plants in Poland, Rumania and Hungary, produce nearly 30,000 aircraft between the Fall of 1941 and the Fall of 1942, more than making up for combat losses and allowing for the establishment of 10 Air Fleets. Two (Luftflotte 1 and 2) are engaged against the Western Allies, Luftflotte 10 is for training, while Luftflotte 9 handles air defense over Germany and Luftflotte 8 air defense over the Balkans (along with local forces). Luftflotte 7 handles operations supporting the Battle of the Atlantic, while Luftflotte 6 is given the new mission of creating, developing, training and fielding a strategic bombardment force. The remaining Luftflottes (3,4,5) are in Germany but will be assigned to the East as they recover from the Blitz and Battle of France.
The Ural Bomber and the Buzz Bomb
Luftflotte 6 is created in June 1942, and given the mission of strategic bombardment. The Blitz was fought with determination but the weapons just were not adequate for the job. While the He111 and the Ju88 as well as the Do217 are good medium bombers they just could not carry a large enough bomb load and only the Ju88 has a reasonable chance against British night fighters. Kesselring and Milch both like the Maybug (authors note: the V1), which can in theory be air launched as well as launched from ground facilities. Indeed potentially it could even be carried by a U-Boat or surface ship, although the likely accuracy makes that useful only for propaganda stunts. What is needed is a large aircraft that can carry a heavy bomb load against targets in the Urals, as well as Moscow and central England and the potential to carry significant bomb loads further afield as well.
The He177 meets part of that requirement, but has had serious development problems and Speer wants to cancel it. Heinkel however has been working on a 4 engine variant, the He177B, that would do away with the radical engine deployment that has caused so many problems. Indeed Goring upon being informed of the engine problems was outraged that this aircraft even saw the development money wasted so far. But he too is now convinced that a heavy bomber is needed, and he hates the idea that the Luftwaffe is using, even in small numbers, an Italian aircraft (the P108). Thus in the summer of 1942 the He277 is authorized with first flight set for February 1943. A suggestion that this aircraft might be the basis of an “Amerika Bomber” is rejected at first, but Heinkel is given permission to look at a He277C as well as the He274. Neither of those aircraft can be expected before 1945 however, while He277A bombers could be in squadron service within 12-18 months. Early design work for the Ju488 and Me264 is also authorized, although neither are likely to be available before 1946 at the earliest.
Meanwhile, testing and development work continues on the Maybug, and the first airframe becomes available in August 1942.
Jet aircraft
The Luftwaffe continues to experiment with the He 178 and He 280, both of which are flying under jet power alone, but neither aircraft is a threat to piston aircraft. The Me262 is well along in development, but the main problem is the jet engine. Access to a reliable supply of chromium however is allowing Jumo to experiment more with high temperature alloys, and this is markedly assisting the development of a reliable engine. Once that issue is resolved, which Jumo believes will be soon, then it is believed that the Me262 might be available for limited squadron service in early 1944 or even later 1943.
The Luftwaffe believes that the Me262 would be an excellent photo recon aircraft, as well as an interceptor to deal with very fast or very high flying Allied aircraft (such as their photo recon aircraft) and useful in the long term as a replacement for piston engine fighters, although the expense and reliability of jets means that this is a longer range goal probably not attainable before 1946 or 1947.
Aredo is working on a light bomber that would likely more just as suitable for the photo recon mission as well, although it too is waiting on a reliable jet engine.
The Luftwaffe also places orders for a small number of Fa223 helicopters which may have uses in special operations missions as well as other uses such as rescue operations. This remains an experiment for now.
Armored Vehicles
The Panzer IVH is selected as the primary medium tank for the Wehrmacht. This version is seen as the last likely version of the Panzer IV, as the 75 / 48 gun is a bit heavy for the turret and chassis. But as the Panzer IV is already in production, a minimum amount of retooling is needed. The Wehrmacht has 36 Panzer Divisions, while the SS has 10, each of which requires 150 tanks. A total of 7,000 PZIVH are thus needed. In addition, the Army needs assault guns for its infantry and panzergrenadier divisions, while the Luftwaffe needs them for their parachute divisions as well, and of course so does the SS. The Hetzer, STGIII, and TACAM (built on the PZ38, PZIII and T34 chassis respectively) are all in production and will continue to meet ensure that each division (over 350 divisions including the Poles, Rumanians and SS) has at company of tank destroyers, as well as providing battalions for Corps and brigades for Field Armies.
The fighting in France shows that the Wehrmacht needs a heavy assault tank, and development of the Panzer VI Tiger is nearly at the production stage. Battalions of these would be assigned to Panzer Corps and a total of 800 are ordered for delivery over the next 18 months. The problem is that the Tiger is mechanically complex and its reliability is an open question, but as a corps level asset that is viewed as less of a problem With an 88 mm gun and heavy armor, it is viewed as the answer to Russian fortifications as well as likely to defeat any present or projected Allied tank.
The T34 still troubles the Wehrmacht however, and while the T34A/B models that continue to be delivered by the Soviets are useful, they are rapidly becoming obsolete. What is troubling though is that rumors of a T34C with a better turret and a T34/85 with a larger gun are making their way to German intelligence, both of which would be a threat to the Panzer IV. There are also rumors of an improved KV1, a very heavily armored Soviet tank seen in very small numbers during the war and thus likely to exist in larger numbers now, as well as assault gun versions of both vehicles. What is needed is a new main battle tank, and development is well underway for the Panzer V, and indeed Speer orders that the Panther Aus D version be placed in production in limited numbers, with 750 to be given to Wehrmacht in 1943, enough to allow for 5 divisions to get them. At nearly half the price of a Tiger, and only a bit more expensive than the Panzer IV, it is viewed as the main battle tank of choice for 1944 or and 1945.
The problem is that it is a very complex machine, and this will limit production, so the Panzer IV will likely soldier on for some time.
Naval War
The Kreigsmarine finalizes design of the Type XXI U-Boat, which will be the first submarine to operate primarily underwater, with improved batteries and a better hull design for an underwater endurance as high as 3 days and which will be fitted with a schnorchel and better electronics. The first boat of this class is expected to have a test voyage in the Spring of 1943. Also under development and nearly ready are radio controlled bombs, and indeed the Fritz X is expected to be ready in small numbers as early as the Spring of 1943.
Rockets and Atomic research
Both are dismissed as too experimental by Speer and indeed when approached Goring to dismisses them as weapons available for this war. Goring does however authorize resources for continued experiments, but the Wehrmacht A4 project is relegated to experimental project, while nuclear research is even lower priority after Heisenberg tells Goring that such a weapon would be too expensive even for the Americans to build, and even then will not likely be factor before 1950. Heisenberg does feel that nuclear reactors for power might be an option, but that too is unlikely for years.
Nerve Gas
Goring orders that the production of Taubin at the special facility at the Hochwerk (Breslau) facility continue. Already 5,000 tons of nerve agents are available, and he orders that it be used for bombs. All stockpiles weapon at the facility, as he does not plan to use them at present. However Goring discusses using them as part of Luftflotte 6 is the Soviets enters the war, specifically against Moscow and the Urals factory cities. Sarin gas is nearly ready for production as well and that nerve agent is somewhat easier to handle and produce. Indeed if it comes to it such agents might be the difference between victory and defeat. The only risk is that the Americans could easily make them as well, assuming that they have researched them, as the Americans have a huge petrochemical industry and a large number of insecticide plants. Thus for now nerve gas is a weapon of desperation.
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authors note: The Germans are getting 1943 production ability a year early, which means they will get 1944 (peak) numbers a year early too
I am assuming earlier development of jet engines able to operate at 100 hours (from the alternate history, "The Hitler Options" which devotes a scenario to the Me262), as Turkey is much friendlier to Germany (as it seems to be winning), and thus it is easier to make the high temperature alloys needed
The V1 actually was pretty cost effective, and relatively cheap, and thus a good weapon. The V2 was highly complex and much more expensive, and it was an Army project, thus is viewed with more skepticism by Goring. Basically he views it as an expensive toy, but a potentially interesting one. Thus it isn't cancelled, just relegated to interesting but maybe latter category of weapons research.
The Germans did produce anywhere from 10,000 tons to 50,000 tons of Taubin, depending on who you ask. Hitler didn't like chemical weapons, but Goring wasn't gassed in the trenches and is thus more open to the idea. Heisenberg and Goring were both certain that atomic weapons were a long time in the distance, but again some development as in OTL.
I am assuming earlier development of jet engines able to operate at 100 hours (from the alternate history, "The Hitler Options" which devotes a scenario to the Me262), as Turkey is much friendlier to Germany (as it seems to be winning), and thus it is easier to make the high temperature alloys needed
The V1 actually was pretty cost effective, and relatively cheap, and thus a good weapon. The V2 was highly complex and much more expensive, and it was an Army project, thus is viewed with more skepticism by Goring. Basically he views it as an expensive toy, but a potentially interesting one. Thus it isn't cancelled, just relegated to interesting but maybe latter category of weapons research.
The Germans did produce anywhere from 10,000 tons to 50,000 tons of Taubin, depending on who you ask. Hitler didn't like chemical weapons, but Goring wasn't gassed in the trenches and is thus more open to the idea. Heisenberg and Goring were both certain that atomic weapons were a long time in the distance, but again some development as in OTL.
How is the development for a successor to the Me-110 coming along? The Me-210 was a dog and the 310 only a little better but the Me-410 was considered a very good aircraft just too little too late but here I could see it coming online earlier.
I'm also curious about the Dornier Do-335 and what are the Horten Bros and Alexander Lippish up to? Might we see some Luft-46 in 45?
Also how is smal arms development coming along? With no Battle of Crete I imagine the FG-42 might have been butterflied away but since it was a Luftwaffe project I'm wondering if it still might be developed.
How is the STG-44 and Panzerfaust coming along?
Enjoying this TL very much and agree with your assessment of Goring's takes on the V-1 and V-2.
Keep up the good work.
I'm also curious about the Dornier Do-335 and what are the Horten Bros and Alexander Lippish up to? Might we see some Luft-46 in 45?
Also how is smal arms development coming along? With no Battle of Crete I imagine the FG-42 might have been butterflied away but since it was a Luftwaffe project I'm wondering if it still might be developed.
How is the STG-44 and Panzerfaust coming along?
Enjoying this TL very much and agree with your assessment of Goring's takes on the V-1 and V-2.
Keep up the good work.
the Me210 got cancelled in a previous post, so assume the 410 will come along eventually. Same with the Do335. The Horten Brothers and their projects are still seen as a bit 'science fiction' by the Goring. A major factor here is that there is no significant strategic bombing campaign yet, so the need for wonder weapons is less.
The Panzerfaust first shows up in 1942, and assume the assault rifle will get its historical development. Assume that the Luftwaffe ground troops get both first (because of political favoritism of course).
Ah I missed that bit about the 210 being cancelled or just don't remember it.
Everything else makes sense. Has Goring or maybe Student seen the possibilities of helicopters being used by the Falschirmjägers?
Ah I missed that bit about the 210 being cancelled or just don't remember it.
Everything else makes sense. Has Goring or maybe Student seen the possibilities of helicopters being used by the Falschirmjägers?
Skorzeny actually considered using the FA223 to rescue Mussolini... likely the Germans would have produced more than a handful if the Allies hadn't bombed the factory into rubble in Spring 1944