France after the lost of Algeria was now in a detrimental dilemma: they were defending four points Belgium, Alsace Lorraine, Spain, and Sardinia including the Papal states (which were still under the Sardinians control.) Marshal Petain gave the order to began recruiting young teenagers and old men to try and replenish their losses, at the same time he began asking their British allies to give assistance and abandon Denmark, Mosley refused because he knew the war was going against the Axis and was more interested in slowly pulling British forces out of Denmark and if possible to try and make peace with the Allies. (He was grasping at straws if he actually thought that the Allies would be making peace with him, the United States probably would, but definitely not Germany or Mexico.)
In the Italian peninsula the situation was going bad; the Siege of Venice was still going strong but the Austrians under General Kurt Schuschnigg were holding out for the long haul and were confident that the Allies would finally come and relieve them. In the southern part a stalemate was happening between Sardinians and Sicilians near Rome, meanwhile unbeknownst to the Sicilians, the French were constructing the Gallic Line to defend Turin, the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia, because at this point the French had lost all confidence in the Sardinians in defending France's southern flank and decided to take control of the Sardinian defenses and the line was also a psychological threat to make sure the Sardinians didn't turn on them and join the Allies. In Turin, the political situation was deteriorating for Mussolini and he desperate waited for a victory to raise morale, meanwhile King Victor Emmanuel III along with General Italo Balbo were discussing on whether they should overthrow arrest Mussolini then began negotiations with the Allies and try to get a Peace Treaty.
General Schuschnigg
The Gallic Line
On the Allied camp, the Supreme Commanders: Eisenhower, Villa for Europe, and Messe met in Palermo, Sicily and began discussing on how they should even approach Sardinia. Eisenhower wanted to advance through Rome to Piedmont but the other generals were appalled at the idea of marching on the Holy City and refused to go along with it. Messe and Villa gave their suggestion of invading through sea and use the US, Mexican, and Austrian navies to invade while using the Allied control Sardinia as a launching pad. So while the three generals were debating on the strategy, in the Balkans Serbia was now being invaded again.
On December 1942 Austrian forces numbering 200,000 and 30 tanks invaded from the North and were confident that this wasn't going to be a repeat of the debacle in the First Weltkrieg. Austrian Supreme Commander and veteran Alois Schönberg Hartenstein crossed the Drina River and encountered a Serbian army of 175,000 under also veteran General Petar Bojovic, Bojovic and his Army were now what stand in the way of the Austrians and Belgrade.
General Alois Schönberg Hartenstein
Petar Bojovic
Instead of heading straight towards the enemy, Hartenstein decided to just wait until either the Albanians declare war and invade or the Bulgarians make a breakthrough. But things didn't went as planned: the Bulgarian Army was on the verge of breaking through because of the now depleted Serbian army, but again fate dealt a cruel hand when the Ottomans were defeated at the Second Battle of Edirne by the Greeks and this forced Bulgaria to help them, delaying an invasion. So this left the Albanians to declare war and they did on December 15, but Albania was never known for it's stability and revolts immediately broke out in Vlora and in Epirus, so instead of invading the southern part of Serbia, Zog was busy suppressing rebellions.
With no other choice; Hartenstein decided to march forward and under the cover of artillery and bombers, the Austrian infantry advanced on the Serbian position but Bojovic was prepared for this and was hoping to repeat the Miracle of Drina on the First Weltkrieg and planted multiple lines of anti tank mines and also the Serbian army would engage in a fighting retreat towards Kolubara. But Bojovic didn't count on was that this wasn't the same Austrian Army back in 1914 but a new modern and reformed Army, so there was not going to be a miracle.
In the Italian peninsula the situation was going bad; the Siege of Venice was still going strong but the Austrians under General Kurt Schuschnigg were holding out for the long haul and were confident that the Allies would finally come and relieve them. In the southern part a stalemate was happening between Sardinians and Sicilians near Rome, meanwhile unbeknownst to the Sicilians, the French were constructing the Gallic Line to defend Turin, the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia, because at this point the French had lost all confidence in the Sardinians in defending France's southern flank and decided to take control of the Sardinian defenses and the line was also a psychological threat to make sure the Sardinians didn't turn on them and join the Allies. In Turin, the political situation was deteriorating for Mussolini and he desperate waited for a victory to raise morale, meanwhile King Victor Emmanuel III along with General Italo Balbo were discussing on whether they should overthrow arrest Mussolini then began negotiations with the Allies and try to get a Peace Treaty.
General Schuschnigg
The Gallic LineOn the Allied camp, the Supreme Commanders: Eisenhower, Villa for Europe, and Messe met in Palermo, Sicily and began discussing on how they should even approach Sardinia. Eisenhower wanted to advance through Rome to Piedmont but the other generals were appalled at the idea of marching on the Holy City and refused to go along with it. Messe and Villa gave their suggestion of invading through sea and use the US, Mexican, and Austrian navies to invade while using the Allied control Sardinia as a launching pad. So while the three generals were debating on the strategy, in the Balkans Serbia was now being invaded again.
On December 1942 Austrian forces numbering 200,000 and 30 tanks invaded from the North and were confident that this wasn't going to be a repeat of the debacle in the First Weltkrieg. Austrian Supreme Commander and veteran Alois Schönberg Hartenstein crossed the Drina River and encountered a Serbian army of 175,000 under also veteran General Petar Bojovic, Bojovic and his Army were now what stand in the way of the Austrians and Belgrade.
General Alois Schönberg Hartenstein
Petar BojovicInstead of heading straight towards the enemy, Hartenstein decided to just wait until either the Albanians declare war and invade or the Bulgarians make a breakthrough. But things didn't went as planned: the Bulgarian Army was on the verge of breaking through because of the now depleted Serbian army, but again fate dealt a cruel hand when the Ottomans were defeated at the Second Battle of Edirne by the Greeks and this forced Bulgaria to help them, delaying an invasion. So this left the Albanians to declare war and they did on December 15, but Albania was never known for it's stability and revolts immediately broke out in Vlora and in Epirus, so instead of invading the southern part of Serbia, Zog was busy suppressing rebellions.
With no other choice; Hartenstein decided to march forward and under the cover of artillery and bombers, the Austrian infantry advanced on the Serbian position but Bojovic was prepared for this and was hoping to repeat the Miracle of Drina on the First Weltkrieg and planted multiple lines of anti tank mines and also the Serbian army would engage in a fighting retreat towards Kolubara. But Bojovic didn't count on was that this wasn't the same Austrian Army back in 1914 but a new modern and reformed Army, so there was not going to be a miracle.