That's really not how the Red Army worked; shooting your political officer would get you court martialed and shot whether or not you were Zhukov. Indeed, Stalin had taken steps to ensure none of his important commanders gained "spheres of influence". He bugged their communications, arrested their friends and coworkers as hostages or examples, and infiltrated their staffs with informants. Zhukov himself was smart enough to realize the limits of his relationship with Stalin, and while not fearing for his life, certainly saw the box being put around him. The most that would happen here is Zhukov explaining the situation and asking for a meeting of the STAVKA to discuss the changing situation. Nothing so radical as shooting a man for speaking out of turn.
How Silent Fall the Cherry Blossoms
- Thread starter Geon
- Start date
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Hello Sunray, this is Charlie 6. Yoke Target, Yoke Target, Yoke Target. Enemy Armoured forces in the open at grid AW 569 086. Enemy Armoured forces in the open at grid AW 569 086. Over.
"Grid AW 569 086, out."
"Shot, over."
"Shot, out."
"Splash, over."
"Splash, out."
"Fire for effect, over."
"Fire for effect, out."
"End of mission, target destroyed, over."
"End of mission, target destroyed, out."
Geon
Donor
Update Before and After
I am not good at battle scenes as I indicated so here is a before and after view of the last day of the Ardennes Offensive. Again, anyone who would like to do a story based on this is welcome to. Just PM it to me first to review.
Geon
-----------------------------------------------------
Date: December 27, 1944
Location: Airfields in Northern France and Great Britain
Time: 6:00 a.m. [Greenwich Time]
It was still dark as hundreds of fighter bombers and medium bombers prepared for take off. It had taken a full day to get things reorganized after the bloody battle now called by many of the air crews, “Hell over Belgium!” For a full day squadrons had retooled, reequipped and rearmed. Now they were ready. Their targets would be the 6th Panzer Army on its way to link up with Sepp Dietrich and his panzers.
A large flight of escorts and fighters would accompany the bombers. Intelligence indicated resistance would be light but still the thought of running back into the German jet fighters prompted Allied planners to send as many escorts as possible.
The plan was to bomb the 6th Panzer Army unmercifully for every mile it went along the Belgian roads. The objective: to totally reduce the 6th Panzer Army to scrap metal!
Many of the pilots were in a very foul mood. They had lost too many buddies in the Hell over Belgium and now were determined to make the Germans pay with interest for what they had done.
A dull roar built in crescendo until the hundreds of planes were ready to launch. By 6:30 a.m. they would be flying toward Belgium with one thought “Annihilate the 6th Panzer Army!
Date: December 27, 1944
Location: Road to Antwerp
Time: 6:00 p.m. [Belgian time]
It would be called the “Road of the Dead,” from this day forward. As the sun set on this bitter winter day it reflected a road of burning tank hulks and bodies. The air attack had been horrific in itself, column after column of tanks, trucks, and halftracks had simply been blasted to pieces. But then Patton had plowed into the enemy rear. Within a space of less then two hours the 6th Panzer Division no longer existed in anything but name. The survivors were either surrendering in droves or trying to move eastward back toward the Rhine by whatever means they could.
For Patton it had been an especially good day. His troops were finally approaching the outskirts of Antwerp. News had been received that Montgomery was holding the Germans in the city proper and some of the remains of the 6th Panzer had retreated into the city hoping the Allies would not bomb their own port. If all went well the 5th Panzer Army would be an unpleasant memory in another day.
For Patton the end of this long battle couldn’t come fast enough. He had suffered tremendous casualties both at Littleburg and at 3rd Waterloo. The easiest part of the drive had been the last day or two when he had finally caught up with the remains of 6th Panzer’s rear. He gave the Germans credit. They knew how to fight. But it hadn’t done them much good in the face of superior air power. Worse, the Germans were now getting a taste of their own medicine as allied artillery was lobbing mustard gas shells into the field ahead of them. Gas masks could only work if they were on correctly and many of the German soldiers had either not known or had been unable to put them on in time. Many were now lying beside the roads with last looks of horror on their faces as they had struggled to take one last breath
Patton remembered a line he thought had been quoted by Robert E. Lee during the Civil War, “It is well that war is so horrible, else we should become too fond of it!” That horror had not been entirely on the German side. His Third Army had lost a good 20 percent of its operational tanks because of this offensive. And Patton didn’t even want to think of the casualties on his side. Nevertheless when a bagpipe playing troupe of soldiers marched forward to meet him from Montgomery, Patton could not help thinking God help me, but I love every minute of it!
The Ardennes Offensive was over. The Germans had succeeded in drilling a hole deep into Allied lines and had come within a hairs breadth of taking their objective, Antwerp. Indeed, because of collateral damage caused by the battle the port itself would be out of service for a week while a cleanup ensued. But for that effort the Germans had lost the majority of their striking power in the Luftwaffe, and two of their precious Panzer Armies. Hitler had thrown his last bolt. But he still had some unpleasant surprises left for the Allies.
I am not good at battle scenes as I indicated so here is a before and after view of the last day of the Ardennes Offensive. Again, anyone who would like to do a story based on this is welcome to. Just PM it to me first to review.
Geon
-----------------------------------------------------
Date: December 27, 1944
Location: Airfields in Northern France and Great Britain
Time: 6:00 a.m. [Greenwich Time]
It was still dark as hundreds of fighter bombers and medium bombers prepared for take off. It had taken a full day to get things reorganized after the bloody battle now called by many of the air crews, “Hell over Belgium!” For a full day squadrons had retooled, reequipped and rearmed. Now they were ready. Their targets would be the 6th Panzer Army on its way to link up with Sepp Dietrich and his panzers.
A large flight of escorts and fighters would accompany the bombers. Intelligence indicated resistance would be light but still the thought of running back into the German jet fighters prompted Allied planners to send as many escorts as possible.
The plan was to bomb the 6th Panzer Army unmercifully for every mile it went along the Belgian roads. The objective: to totally reduce the 6th Panzer Army to scrap metal!
Many of the pilots were in a very foul mood. They had lost too many buddies in the Hell over Belgium and now were determined to make the Germans pay with interest for what they had done.
A dull roar built in crescendo until the hundreds of planes were ready to launch. By 6:30 a.m. they would be flying toward Belgium with one thought “Annihilate the 6th Panzer Army!
Date: December 27, 1944
Location: Road to Antwerp
Time: 6:00 p.m. [Belgian time]
It would be called the “Road of the Dead,” from this day forward. As the sun set on this bitter winter day it reflected a road of burning tank hulks and bodies. The air attack had been horrific in itself, column after column of tanks, trucks, and halftracks had simply been blasted to pieces. But then Patton had plowed into the enemy rear. Within a space of less then two hours the 6th Panzer Division no longer existed in anything but name. The survivors were either surrendering in droves or trying to move eastward back toward the Rhine by whatever means they could.
For Patton it had been an especially good day. His troops were finally approaching the outskirts of Antwerp. News had been received that Montgomery was holding the Germans in the city proper and some of the remains of the 6th Panzer had retreated into the city hoping the Allies would not bomb their own port. If all went well the 5th Panzer Army would be an unpleasant memory in another day.
For Patton the end of this long battle couldn’t come fast enough. He had suffered tremendous casualties both at Littleburg and at 3rd Waterloo. The easiest part of the drive had been the last day or two when he had finally caught up with the remains of 6th Panzer’s rear. He gave the Germans credit. They knew how to fight. But it hadn’t done them much good in the face of superior air power. Worse, the Germans were now getting a taste of their own medicine as allied artillery was lobbing mustard gas shells into the field ahead of them. Gas masks could only work if they were on correctly and many of the German soldiers had either not known or had been unable to put them on in time. Many were now lying beside the roads with last looks of horror on their faces as they had struggled to take one last breath
Patton remembered a line he thought had been quoted by Robert E. Lee during the Civil War, “It is well that war is so horrible, else we should become too fond of it!” That horror had not been entirely on the German side. His Third Army had lost a good 20 percent of its operational tanks because of this offensive. And Patton didn’t even want to think of the casualties on his side. Nevertheless when a bagpipe playing troupe of soldiers marched forward to meet him from Montgomery, Patton could not help thinking God help me, but I love every minute of it!
----------
The Ardennes Offensive was over. The Germans had succeeded in drilling a hole deep into Allied lines and had come within a hairs breadth of taking their objective, Antwerp. Indeed, because of collateral damage caused by the battle the port itself would be out of service for a week while a cleanup ensued. But for that effort the Germans had lost the majority of their striking power in the Luftwaffe, and two of their precious Panzer Armies. Hitler had thrown his last bolt. But he still had some unpleasant surprises left for the Allies.
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What for Climax !
but there back story to that: the Civilians
allot of Belgians and people of Luxembourg die do to gas warfare
in Belgium province of Liege, Luxembourg, Brabant, Antwerp and Limburg
Must be over hundred thousand civilian death or on run to France...
alone on town of Waterloo, south of Antwerp and Luxembourg city muss be empty!
but there back story to that: the Civilians
allot of Belgians and people of Luxembourg die do to gas warfare
in Belgium province of Liege, Luxembourg, Brabant, Antwerp and Limburg
Must be over hundred thousand civilian death or on run to France...
alone on town of Waterloo, south of Antwerp and Luxembourg city muss be empty!
Garrison
Donor
That may be the Allies biggest problem; a mass of refugees too afraid to go home; and with good reason in some places because I believe Tabun/Sarin can be quite persistent.
Garrison
Donor
Great update but one tiny point; I don't think they would have referred to APCs at the time. More likely trucks and half tracks.
Ooh, Ooh, I can hardly wait? Still more technological nastiness up Uncle Adolf's sleeve?
The fuel for jet aircraft like the Me262 and the Arado 234 was not in short supply. I was much easier to make that high octane fuel for piston engine aircraft.
Arado 234 high altitude resonance was very useful to the Germans.
When they flew of Normandy a few weeks after D-day the allied did not even know they were there. The got a complete picture of the battle field by then it was too late.
Arado 234 high altitude resonance was very useful to the Germans.
When they flew of Normandy a few weeks after D-day the allied did not even know they were there. The got a complete picture of the battle field by then it was too late.
Garrison
Donor
Problem for the jets is they are very vulnerable at take off and landing; it was how the Allies combated them OTL.
and the poor quality material used in making the engines and you need a skilled pilot to be careful with the engines tokeep them working.
Developing the new power unit was difficult enough, but German engineers faced a further problem. Owing to the Allied blockade; the hardening elements necessary for effective high-temperature-resistant steel alloys-in particular, chromium and nickel-were in short supply. Only limited quantities could be spared for the jet-engine program, so those who worked on the new propulsion system had to make the best of what was available. For the Jumo 004 engine that powered the Me 262, Junkers engineers used some substitute materials that were not up to the job.
For example, the combustion chambers were made of mild steel and coated with baked-on aluminum to prevent them from oxidizing. When the engine was running, these combustion chambers slowly buckled out of shape. The turbine blades were made of a steel-based alloy that contained some nickel and chromium. That material was insufficiently resilient, however, when the engine was running, the centrifugal forces used the blades to elongate, or "creep."
Limited by combustion chamber buckling and turbine blade"creep," the running life of pre production Jumo 004s rarely reached 10 hours. Throughout a flight, careful throttle handling was vital to avoid having an engine flame-out or overheat. At altitudes of above 13,000 feet, the engine became increasingly temperamental, and if it suffered a flameout, the pilot had to descend below that altitude before he attempted a relight. In its early form, the Jumo 004 had too many weaknesses to allow mass-production.
After much hard work to improve matters, late in June 1944, the Jumo 0048-4 emerged with a running life of 25 hours. That still wasn't impressive, and certain reliability problems remained, but the Luftwaffe couldn't afford to wait any longer. The design of the Jumo 0048-4 was "frozen" and the unit was put into mass production. During Sept '44, Jumo 004B-4 production reached significant levels, and that month, the Luftwaffe took delivery of 90 Me 262s.
http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/models/aircraft/Messerschmitt-Me262.html
Still time for Churchill to go first....the gas attacks may still get him.
For that to be an issue, Stalin and the NKVD have to know that the zampolit had been killed by Zhukov. If everyone sticks to the "heroic death saving the Marshal's life" story, then there shouldn't be a problem.
That's where your problem is. If someone can make a career opportunity out of this, then they will.
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