Perhaps many divisions of the Army Group North hand been redeployed to the Western Front, and the Soviet didn't need to knock Finland out of the War ITTL?
Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
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Perhaps many divisions of the Army Group North hand been redeployed to the Western Front, and the Soviet didn't need to knock Finland out of the War ITTL?
Story 2546
Siret River, Romania July 30, 1944
The Panther tank bucked backwards. A three inch shell raced across the river. It pierced the smoke from a burning scout car. It arced ever so slightly downward as gravity. It slowed as the hot humid air slammed nitrogen and oxygen molecules against the ballistic cap. It exploded in the dirt three yards from its target. The Soviet driver in the exposed T-34 had not survived a 500 kilometer advance with only a slight bruise on his left cheek without some awareness and skill. He had yanked the tank to the left just as the German gunner sent the shell at him. The Soviet tank and three others all came to a stop. Their turrets turned and the guns lifted slightly. A moment later, four eighty five millimeter shells were sent at the Panther tank's hull down silhouette. One shell went high. One went wide. The other two wasted themselves on the thick mounds of dirt in front of one of the last two dozen tanks in the 24th Panzer Division.
Fourteen minutes later, that dug-in Panther and its partner had claimed a trio of T-34s and a quartet of half tracks as the first artillery shells from a regiment of 122 millimeter guns began to dig into the earth on the far side of the river bank. By mid-afternoon, the small skirmish had become a race between reserves, reinforcements and exploitation groups all converging on the small ford that the scouts had discovered that morning.
The Panther tank bucked backwards. A three inch shell raced across the river. It pierced the smoke from a burning scout car. It arced ever so slightly downward as gravity. It slowed as the hot humid air slammed nitrogen and oxygen molecules against the ballistic cap. It exploded in the dirt three yards from its target. The Soviet driver in the exposed T-34 had not survived a 500 kilometer advance with only a slight bruise on his left cheek without some awareness and skill. He had yanked the tank to the left just as the German gunner sent the shell at him. The Soviet tank and three others all came to a stop. Their turrets turned and the guns lifted slightly. A moment later, four eighty five millimeter shells were sent at the Panther tank's hull down silhouette. One shell went high. One went wide. The other two wasted themselves on the thick mounds of dirt in front of one of the last two dozen tanks in the 24th Panzer Division.
Fourteen minutes later, that dug-in Panther and its partner had claimed a trio of T-34s and a quartet of half tracks as the first artillery shells from a regiment of 122 millimeter guns began to dig into the earth on the far side of the river bank. By mid-afternoon, the small skirmish had become a race between reserves, reinforcements and exploitation groups all converging on the small ford that the scouts had discovered that morning.
Story 2547
Wolf's Lair, East Prussia July 30, 1944
The colonel was pulled out of the small cluster of officers milling around the hallway in front of the Fuhrer's meeting room moments before the doors open. A general whom he had served with in the late 20s needed to discuss logistics of transferring two infantry divisions that had been in Vienna to reconstitute since March towards the collapsing Romanian front. The colonel carried his heavy briefcase with him as his mind engaged with the problem presented to him as the other staff officers filed into the conference room to resolve the ongoing set of crisises that were besetting the Heer.
The colonel was pulled out of the small cluster of officers milling around the hallway in front of the Fuhrer's meeting room moments before the doors open. A general whom he had served with in the late 20s needed to discuss logistics of transferring two infantry divisions that had been in Vienna to reconstitute since March towards the collapsing Romanian front. The colonel carried his heavy briefcase with him as his mind engaged with the problem presented to him as the other staff officers filed into the conference room to resolve the ongoing set of crisises that were besetting the Heer.
Valkyrie time it seems. Also given the progress the Soviets are making I wonder if Romania will bow out and switch as per OTL.
Suitcase is probably just full of sandwiches or chocolate. Nothing suspicious at all and no need to check it.
NotBigBrother
Monthly Donor
Maybe this time the colonel will not remove the other sandwich from a case even if he'll have time to plug toothpicks only in one sandwich.
Story 2548
Selongey, France July 31, 1944
The jeep backed up. The private manning the Browning braced his knees and sank his weight onto his toes even as he tried to stabilize himself against the gun mount. Several blocks away, a dirty, low vehicle also backed to cover. The rest of the cavalry troop soon arrived. Riflemen had started to spread out and soon, they were leap frogging down the streets of the small village. As the leading half squad bounded past the village's stone church, movement was seen. A helmet slowly rose from cover. Beneath the helmet was a tall man in olive drab.
"Who did Babe Ruth originally play for?" The tall man shouted.
"The Facking Sox."
The point man kept his rifle ready but the barrel pointed to the ground a dozen yards in front of him.
"Oscar"
"Mayer" was the countersign and with that rifles went from ready to relaxed.
The US 3rd Army was now linked up with the US 7th Army.
The jeep backed up. The private manning the Browning braced his knees and sank his weight onto his toes even as he tried to stabilize himself against the gun mount. Several blocks away, a dirty, low vehicle also backed to cover. The rest of the cavalry troop soon arrived. Riflemen had started to spread out and soon, they were leap frogging down the streets of the small village. As the leading half squad bounded past the village's stone church, movement was seen. A helmet slowly rose from cover. Beneath the helmet was a tall man in olive drab.
"Who did Babe Ruth originally play for?" The tall man shouted.
"The Facking Sox."
The point man kept his rifle ready but the barrel pointed to the ground a dozen yards in front of him.
"Oscar"
"Mayer" was the countersign and with that rifles went from ready to relaxed.
The US 3rd Army was now linked up with the US 7th Army.
7th Army landed TTL in far greater force roughly 3 months early. Their advance from the coast to Dijon is, if anything, slightly slower on a per day basis TTL than OTL, but they have a lot more days available as well as a lot more force available.
Story 2549
Zenica, Yugoslavia August 1, 1944
The partisan squad ducked behind cover. The fifth riflewoman was not lucky. A burst from a Croatian machine gun caught her in the hip, shattering bone and breaking open arteries. As she was bleeding out, her squad mates pulled her behind cover and applied a tourniquet to slow the pulsing blood flow. A battlefield medic looked at her and shook his head. He could do little as she went into shock. Even as he made the assessment, the dozen surviving partisans began to lay down a base of fire to cover another dozen sprinted across the street. Soon the infantry platoon was ready to assault another house that gave cover to a trio of anti-tank guns that had already claimed a pair of kills against the Yugoslavian crewed British cruiser tanks that were burning in the town square. Before that assault went in, half a dozen Hurricanes came in low and fast to toss a trio of bombs apiece at a collaborationist position a few hundred yards away.
The partisan squad ducked behind cover. The fifth riflewoman was not lucky. A burst from a Croatian machine gun caught her in the hip, shattering bone and breaking open arteries. As she was bleeding out, her squad mates pulled her behind cover and applied a tourniquet to slow the pulsing blood flow. A battlefield medic looked at her and shook his head. He could do little as she went into shock. Even as he made the assessment, the dozen surviving partisans began to lay down a base of fire to cover another dozen sprinted across the street. Soon the infantry platoon was ready to assault another house that gave cover to a trio of anti-tank guns that had already claimed a pair of kills against the Yugoslavian crewed British cruiser tanks that were burning in the town square. Before that assault went in, half a dozen Hurricanes came in low and fast to toss a trio of bombs apiece at a collaborationist position a few hundred yards away.
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Great update and love this series so much! Curious will you do a map to show what this ww2 ttl theatres and stuff is compare to otl ww2
I guess the German troops in Southwestern France are now completely encircled and unable to escape like they partially did OTL?
That's a least 100 000 men (7 Divisions) belonging to the First Army trapped and destroyed, not including the men in coastal fortresses.
I also guess that the German Nineteenth Army ( 10 Divisions, so roughly 160 000 men in total) has been partially destroyed as OTL if not more. OTL, its successful retreat allowed the Germans to fortify the Vosges and Belfort, thus eventually creating the Colmar Pocket west of the Rhine. If this Army is more weakened by the Franco-Americans, holding in central Alsace becomes impossible, thus making French and US Armies' life in the region easier (shorter frontline, more reserves to deal with a potential Operation Nordlich etc.)
And naturally, "amazing work so far"
Story 2550
Naha Harbor, August 2, 1944
No vessel of more than fifteen tons was afloat and not on fire. The American navy's air strikes had started at dawn with a hundred fighters dominating any challengers that managed to take-off from the airfields scattered up and down the island. Forty minutes behind the fighter sweep was a two hundred aircraft raid that concentrated on every fighter field. An hour after that raid crossed the east coast of the island, another two hundred aircraft began bombing the harbor. An hour after that raid departed, another two hundred aircraft attacked the bomber fields. An hour after the bomber bases started to burn, a pair of fifty aircraft raids hit the harbor and fuel storage tanks ago. The single engine attackers let up briefly in the early afternoon as two groups of Liberators covered by an equal number of Mustangs plastered the airbases again. In the mid-afternoon, a quartet of heavy cruisers began to shell the beach defenses on Miyagi island. Several hundred more aircraft bombed, rocketed, napalm and strafed anything that moved before the Americans disappeared into the night.
No vessel of more than fifteen tons was afloat and not on fire. The American navy's air strikes had started at dawn with a hundred fighters dominating any challengers that managed to take-off from the airfields scattered up and down the island. Forty minutes behind the fighter sweep was a two hundred aircraft raid that concentrated on every fighter field. An hour after that raid crossed the east coast of the island, another two hundred aircraft began bombing the harbor. An hour after that raid departed, another two hundred aircraft attacked the bomber fields. An hour after the bomber bases started to burn, a pair of fifty aircraft raids hit the harbor and fuel storage tanks ago. The single engine attackers let up briefly in the early afternoon as two groups of Liberators covered by an equal number of Mustangs plastered the airbases again. In the mid-afternoon, a quartet of heavy cruisers began to shell the beach defenses on Miyagi island. Several hundred more aircraft bombed, rocketed, napalm and strafed anything that moved before the Americans disappeared into the night.
Story 2551
Mayport, Florida August 3, 1944
The escort carrier, USS Guadalcanal, slowly steamed out of the harbor just before dawn. She had arrived in Florida after three anti-submarine patrols that had led to three force downs and one kill shared between the Avengers she carried and a pair of destroyer escorts of her task group. Now she was heading to sea to be a training field for the massive stream of hopeful aviators who would eventually become nuggets and replacements for men who were only a few months ahead of them in the training and deployment pipeline.
The escort carrier, USS Guadalcanal, slowly steamed out of the harbor just before dawn. She had arrived in Florida after three anti-submarine patrols that had led to three force downs and one kill shared between the Avengers she carried and a pair of destroyer escorts of her task group. Now she was heading to sea to be a training field for the massive stream of hopeful aviators who would eventually become nuggets and replacements for men who were only a few months ahead of them in the training and deployment pipeline.
As a Chicagoan that bums me out. Seeing U-505 at MSI is a must for anyone.
Europe SitRep Map August 1, 1944
This is going to be an interesting post-war Europe. An Iron Curtain that's pushed east, a smaller Warsaw Pact, etc. I can't even begin to imagine all the ways this will impact the worldviews and strategies of both Soviet and Western leaders.
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