Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
- Thread starter fester
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Yeah. I mean, Italy is screwed, but they don't have a Commonwealth Army Group about to march virtually unopposed through their country. Don't think Mussolini is getting overthrown just yet.
Honestly, I would think they would hold back all the Yamatos until the next "decisive battle".
The 'next' decisive battle? Are they asking for 'best out of three' now?
Where? The Baltic is a Nazi lake, and the Germans hold Norway and Petsamo as well.
They can trade with other neutral nations and possibly even the Allies. If the Swiss could do it so could Finland.
Switzerland was the piggy bank of Nazi leadership, but what can the Finnish government do if Hitler decides to blackmail them?
In this TL, both Stalin and Hitler seem to handle the Finns with velvet gloves for some reason, giving them a lot of leeway and allowing them to get away with things that would have been very difficult to get away with IOTL. I commented about this during Vol I. It is as if the two dictators have entered into a joint agreement that it is total war in other parts of the Eastern Front, but with regards to Finland they act like rule-abiding, kindly gentlemen.
In reality, if Germans control the Danish straits and Norway, and have boots on the ground in Finnish Lapland, then Finland would most likely be dependent on Germany for food, fuels and fertilizer pretty much like IOTL. Some trade would go through Sweden, like IOTL, but then the Swedes would look after their own interests first and not stick their heads out for the Finns any more than would be necessary - again, just like IOTL. If the Finns are on the German shit list for being too accommodating towards the USSR and/or the Western Allies, they would have trouble getting enough food into Finland to feed the Finnish people itself. In that case, Finland would not be selling food to the USSR, not even at inflated prices. They would be staving off famine themselves the best they can.
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Same import pathways that the Swedes get --- a few freighters a month from Argentina, Persia and Ecuador.
My take on this is that Finland is a tough enough nut to crack that it is not worth the effort in a tertiary front for either Germany or Russia. If either/both powers decide that knocking Finland out is worthwhile, they could marshal the forces to do so but the opportunity cost is high enough that it is not worthwhile. Finnish neutrality has made supplying Leningrad easier for the Russians while significant exports are still heading across the Baltic to Germany. The Germans don't need to supply the Finnish military with consumables or high end capital goods (fighter aircraft etc)
Story 1857
Northeast Georgia 0800 January 8, 1943
His chest heaved. Cold clouds condensed in front of his nose. His right foot landed on the slick path up the mountain. 2.9 miles up, and another tenth of a mile to go. His left foot took off and another yard was eaten up.
The rest of the platoon was behind their popular lieutenant. He ran them hard, and ran them often, but he made sure that he was running with them. The paratroopers had spent the past seven months hardening up, and by now, this run with full combat packs on was a good warm-up and no longer a punishment detail.
His hand slapped the flag pole at the top of the mountain and he led the men around and started down. Every step down made his right knee creak. He was no longer eighteen and able to run forever. It would not slow his pace, only affect his off-key singing.
Rumors had it that the brigade would be shipping out sooner rather than later. Half of the paratroopers were still on holiday leave. Every man had received a fifteen day pass and a top priority travel voucher. The first tranche had been able to spend Christmas away from camp. The other half had left just a few days before the New Year. The 1st Lieutenant had made it to Pennsylvania and back with hours to spare. The men now on leave still had a few more days before they had to report back. A few had been in the barracks already, while one hell of a shindig was happening in Atlanta where fit young men with money and no sergeants around knew how to have a good time.
That was not his concern yet. He just had to worry about the three miles down.
His chest heaved. Cold clouds condensed in front of his nose. His right foot landed on the slick path up the mountain. 2.9 miles up, and another tenth of a mile to go. His left foot took off and another yard was eaten up.
The rest of the platoon was behind their popular lieutenant. He ran them hard, and ran them often, but he made sure that he was running with them. The paratroopers had spent the past seven months hardening up, and by now, this run with full combat packs on was a good warm-up and no longer a punishment detail.
His hand slapped the flag pole at the top of the mountain and he led the men around and started down. Every step down made his right knee creak. He was no longer eighteen and able to run forever. It would not slow his pace, only affect his off-key singing.
Rumors had it that the brigade would be shipping out sooner rather than later. Half of the paratroopers were still on holiday leave. Every man had received a fifteen day pass and a top priority travel voucher. The first tranche had been able to spend Christmas away from camp. The other half had left just a few days before the New Year. The 1st Lieutenant had made it to Pennsylvania and back with hours to spare. The men now on leave still had a few more days before they had to report back. A few had been in the barracks already, while one hell of a shindig was happening in Atlanta where fit young men with money and no sergeants around knew how to have a good time.
That was not his concern yet. He just had to worry about the three miles down.
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Looking forward to the next piece.
Story 1858
Burma, 0000 January 9, 1943
The 14th Army stopped.
A few patrols were still in the bush. Artillery batteries were still available to fire on call missions. Sentries were still scanning the tree line for counter-attacks and infiltrators. Tank crewmen had their vehicles in laager with guns pointing out and machine guns sweeping the air.
Yet the divisions that had advanced from the Sittang to Dawei would advance no more. The Japanese fragments and remnants would have to come to them. Starvation and desperation would beat steel and explosives in doing the job. Field Marshall Percival had ordered the stop and the change in mission the day before. The Navy had promised that nothing could enter the Gulf of Thailand any more, and very little would ever be delivered through Bangkok’s rail hub. Eliminating inconveniences would not be worth the blood.
The 14th Army stopped.
A few patrols were still in the bush. Artillery batteries were still available to fire on call missions. Sentries were still scanning the tree line for counter-attacks and infiltrators. Tank crewmen had their vehicles in laager with guns pointing out and machine guns sweeping the air.
Yet the divisions that had advanced from the Sittang to Dawei would advance no more. The Japanese fragments and remnants would have to come to them. Starvation and desperation would beat steel and explosives in doing the job. Field Marshall Percival had ordered the stop and the change in mission the day before. The Navy had promised that nothing could enter the Gulf of Thailand any more, and very little would ever be delivered through Bangkok’s rail hub. Eliminating inconveniences would not be worth the blood.
Story 1859
Stalingrad, January 10, 1943
The cold was biting. A front had stalled out over the city and a bubble of frigid air permeated every crack in every building. The grandfather did his duty. His grandson was snuggling on his lap. His little wool hat tickled his grandfather’s nose as a nonsense song about the alphabet erupted from an a too small voice. He joined in, smiling as he heard the song that he learned to read and write with. It was only a few minutes of peace before the tea kettle started to scream. Hot tea, and warm bread was enough fuel to sustain him. He ate quickly as his daughter chased his granddaughter around the small two room apartment. She would be taking the children to the creche before heading to the hospital to care for the hundreds of wounded men. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and each child a squeeze before he started to walk to the tractor factory where the tanks that had defended the city and threw back the fascists were made. Those tanks were either destroyed in combat or breaking down. He would make their replacements today.
The cold was biting. A front had stalled out over the city and a bubble of frigid air permeated every crack in every building. The grandfather did his duty. His grandson was snuggling on his lap. His little wool hat tickled his grandfather’s nose as a nonsense song about the alphabet erupted from an a too small voice. He joined in, smiling as he heard the song that he learned to read and write with. It was only a few minutes of peace before the tea kettle started to scream. Hot tea, and warm bread was enough fuel to sustain him. He ate quickly as his daughter chased his granddaughter around the small two room apartment. She would be taking the children to the creche before heading to the hospital to care for the hundreds of wounded men. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and each child a squeeze before he started to walk to the tractor factory where the tanks that had defended the city and threw back the fascists were made. Those tanks were either destroyed in combat or breaking down. He would make their replacements today.
They tore into the outskirts of the city and were grinding it down before the Soviet offensives forced them to withdraw
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