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So, the scenario is as follows:
  • The Soviets are losing badly, having lost Moscow and being on the defensive in the Caucasus. However, British and Indian troops from Iran are holding the line, and Germany hasn't conquered the oil fields yet.
  • The Allies have won in Africa a bit faster, due to Hitler not sending troops to Tunisia (ironically due to a longer front in the east tying more troops there).
  • Japan, after the fall of Moscow and the almost collapse of the USSR attacked the Far East. The USSR, more focused on the West, simply retreated beyond the Amur, where skirmishes happen between Soviet troops and partisans and IJA units. The Chinese front has stalemated as a result.
  • The Germans are about to launch a Spring/Summer offensive on 1943 to capture Murmansk, to cut the Lend-Lease Line going to Archangel.
  • Also, the German High Command, seeing how Tunisia could be used as a launch pad to invade Italy, decide to reinforce Sicily with troops from Norway, making any potential Allied invasion very bloody.
With all this, the Allies feel the need to land troops in Europe, to relieve pressure on the Soviets. Italy and the Balkans are a no-no due to Axis reinforcements in the area. Normandy is also viewed as an impossible assault due to generally flat terrain that favours an armored counterattack.
So the decision is made to attack Narvik the first of April of 1943 and then advance to the iron fields in Northern Sweden. This would have the following effects:
  • Denial of the iron ore to Nazi industries.
  • Blocking of possible reinforcements sent to Finland through Sweden (Sweden allowed German troops to pass through its territory)
  • Disruption of the planned German Offensive over Murmansk, which, if succesful, would cut the lifeline that is the Lend-Lease. The idea is that troops located in Finland would be needed to expell the Allies fron Sweden.
  • The Soviets would launch a coordinated offensive in Finland with the little spare troops they have, hoping to dislodge the Germans there and retrieve a bit of pressure on the overall front.
So, how plausible is it?
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