Prince Charles Ascends or how a car accident saves Europe

[Johnrankins]

May 3rd, 1942
After fighting a naval battle in the Baltics for a month the UK starts landing Royal Marines in the Baltic nations. Balts flock to the UK banner. The Allies start pushing the Soviets out of Poland. Their troops are better trained, armed and concentrated than the Russians. It is a bloody battle. At the end of the month, 20,000 Allies and 30,000 Soviets lie dead. The Soviets use the time to strongly fortify the Soviet-Polish border.

The Rome Pact is pushed 40 miles losing 30,000 men to the Soviets 40,000 as the Soviets have to fight the old and reinforced fortifications. The same day an old M2 medium tank factory along with 3 6pounder artillery factories are set up in Italy by the US. By the end of the year, it is producing nothing but what amounts to Grant Tanks (I am going to call them Grants from now on)with 6 Pounder guns and Stuart tanks. It moves the last of its M2A4 factories to Romania and Hungry.

May 8th, 1942
China suddenly finds itself gifted with 400 M2 Grant tanks over the next month as US weapon production is ramping up faster than the training and Grants are being replaced by Shermans in the US Army, which Japan can't stop with its navy and airforce busy around Indochina and the Philippines.

Guam is much bloodier than OTL as there is a company of Stuarts and a whole lot more airpower that has learned how to fight the Japanese over Burma. They lose 5 more Zeros, 7 Bettys, 500 men to the US who lost 5 Thunderbolts, 4 B-17s and 5 Stuarts. The US position is becoming hopeless as the Japanese reinforce and the island falls 3 days later.

The Arizona, Maryland, and Nevada steam out of San Diego with 5 Fletcher Class and5 Gleeves Class Destroyers, along with 3 Brooklynn Class Light Cruisers arrive in Pearl Harbor. There they are meeting up with 5 more Fletcher Class Destroyers before going on to Guadacanal. 1,000 marines are to land on the island the next day after it arrives. The landing goes perfectly as there are almost no Japanese on the island when they invade. The US is overcautious and the Japanese are able to reinforce before more than half the island was taken.

May 10th, 1942

The Provence and Loirane are joined by the Dunkerque and Strasbourg making it the core of the French battle fleet along with all six La Fantastique class destroyers. They are meeting up with the Royal Navy which is sending KGV, Prince of Wales and Howe along with both E Class Light Cruisers, the HMS Ark Royal, Illustrious, Formidable and Victorious and 4 O and 4 P Class Destroyers headed for FIC.

The US lands 2 squadrons of Thunderbolts and 3 Squadrons of Dauntless Dive Bombers on a new airstrip near Rangoon.

May 15, 1942

General MacArthur is killed while giving Capt John A Rolands a silver star for valor. The bomb that kills the general sends the captain into surgery with heavy injuries. He is flown stateside on a B-17 for medical recovery for 6 months.

The battle has been bloody. The Grant tanks prove to be more than a match for the Japanese who have difficulty dealing with it. Japanese soldiers are having the fight of their lives fighting US troops and newly trained Philipino troops. The former are better trained but the latter is more stubborn and that proves a good combination. Although the Japanese are pushing them back slowly, it is going far too slowly. The Japanese lost 2,000 men in the last couple of weeks along with 10 zeros,12 zekes and 12 bettys compared to the US losing 1,000 men, 2 Grants, 5 thunderbolts, 3 dauntless and 5 kittyhawks. The Philippine Army lost another 1,200 men.

May 18, 1942
Ho Chi Minh is executed by his own men for treason as the Japanese prove themselves far worse than the French. The French-Vietnamese force starts to gel more with more and more Vietnamese helping the French against the Japanese. The Japanese have driven them back only 50 miles at the cost of 2,000 men compared to the French-Vietnamese 1,500.

 

[Johnrankins]

One thing to remember about TTL is that there were a few purges of the Soviet weapons factories and another small purge or two of the Red Army.

 

[Johnrankins]

What do you think the Japanese will do against the Allies combined fleet of 4 French battleships Provence,Loirane, Dunkerque, and Strasbourg, 3 British battleships KGV, Prince of Wales and Howe, both E Class Light Cruisers, 4 aircraft carriers Ark Royal, Illustrious, Formidable and Victorious and 14 destroyers? A formidable fleet to be sure but I think the KB should be able to at least damage it quite a bit.

 

[Johnrankins]

June 4th, 1942

A stalemate ensues in Poland. There is a lull in the fighting as the Allies reorganize Polish troops. The Poles are willing and eager to fight but they need to be rearmed. They are being rearmed with Lee-Enfields along with Stuart and Grant tanks. The British order another 500 Sherman tanks. They also order 300 Thunderbolts which they give to the Poles. They also order 30,000 M2 half-tracks.

June 6th, 1942
The Japanese take Hanoi after very bloody fighting losing 30,000 men over the last month as compared to the French-Vietnamese losing 40,000. The Allied and Japanese fleets finally fight each other in the Philippine Seas. The battle is costly to both sides. The French lose the Provence and 2 destroyers while the British lose the Howe and both E class cruisers and 3 O class destroyers. The KGV and the Loirane are both badly damaged and are in need of repairs. 23 Sea Hurricanes are shot down.

It isn't at all one-sided by any means. 2 dozen Zeros and a half a dozen Vals to Hurricanes and AAA. The Nagara, 4 destroyers, and the Ryūjō were all sunk from the KB. The Japanese Bombardment force lost the Ise and the Kako along with 3 more destroyers. The Yamashiro and Aoba and the Furutaka are badly damaged and are in need of repairs.

It is a tactical victory for the Japanese as the Allies return to Singapore as they think that the Japanese have a lot more ships in the area than they actually do. It is a strategic victory as the Allies can afford to lose 2 battleships, 2 cruisers and 5 destroyers much easier than the Japanese can lose a battleship. 2 cruisers, an aircraft carrier, and 7 destroyers.

June 9th, 1942

A rare pure battleship vs battleship battle happens between the US and Japan. The KB is busy in the Philippines and the Americans are expecting 3 CVs next month and since PH hasn't happened in TTL isn't that much in a rush. It wants those 3 carriers ready before risking the ones they have. Besides they expect that with the battleships they have they can beat the Japanese.

The First Battle of the Solomons is won by the Japanese. They lose the Nagato, the Myōkō, and the Nachi while the Americans lose the USS Arizona, USS Maryland, and the USS Brooklynn along with 3 Fletcher Class destroyers. The Americans are far from done with Guadacanal as they manage to land a brigade of marines along with 2 dozen Wildcats and 3 dozen Dauntlesses. A dozen Stuarts were also landed.

June 12th, 1942
A series of explosions are set off near Hamburg killing dozens of British soldiers on bridges and in small outposts. The bombings are claimed to be done in Germany by the Red Workers Faction, a Communist based terrorist group seeking to expel the Allies from Germany in the name of the workers.

In the following weeks, there are similar incidents near Dusseldorf, Frankfort, and Munich. They are claimed by various other far-left terrorist groups calling themselves the Workers Army, The Revolutionary Front, and Marxist Brigade. They use the offer of Stalin to reunite all Germany to good effect.

The supply chain is getting difficult for the Allies and troops are more and more having to be used to protect the supply lines.

June 18, 1942
The Red Army takes Budapest briefly before being kicked out again by the Rome Pact. 30,000 men are killed over the next month with 20,000 being Soviet and 10,000 being Rome Pact. The US sends 50 more Grants and the Rome Pact receives its first Shermans, 30 in all.

The Red Army tries to push back the Western Allies at the same time but fail. They lose another 30,000 men over the next month over the allies 12,000. The Allies really know how to defend a position at this point in the war. Stalin starts worrying about the north as the Finns start really driving towards Leningrad.

 

[Chungus Maximus]

I thought this was about Camilla’s husband...

 

[Johnrankins]

July 5th, 1940

The Japanese pushed their way down to San Jose. It has been a bloody month and a half with the Japanese losing 4,000 men, the Americans 2,500 along with 6 Grant Tanks and the Filipinos 4,000. The Japanese have a hard time getting past American Grant tanks and Filipino snipers.

The Japanese lost another 50 Zeros and 60 Bettys over the island. The Americans are badly attritted themselves as they have only 2 squadrons of Thunderbolts,1 Kittyhawk and 2 Duantlesses left at the end of the month The Japanese are clearly gaining air superiority now.

July 12th, 1942

The Soviets launch another attack on the Allies in Poland and it works better this time. They go through the front lines this time losing 50,000 in a month and a half while the Allies lose 30,000. Despite this, the Allies are pushed halfway through Poland.

July 15, 1942

The Soviets take Budapest again. This has been a month-long battle costing the Soviets another 30,000 men and the Rome Pact 25,000. Stalin is unable to continue to push as a crisis breaks out in the north.

A corps of Finnish Infantry breaks through the front line and the Finnish army start besieging Leningrad. The Soviets counter by sending armor north. The Finns are held for now.

July 22, 1942

The First Polish Infantry Corps outflanks the Soviet Army. The Soviets are surprised not only by the sudden attack but the aggressiveness of the Poles. The outflanked and overextended Soviet line begins to crumble as the other Allies join the offensive. They are pushed back to the border again losing 20,000 men to the Allies 25,000 including 5,000 Poles who had the highest percentage loss of any army in the fight.

The 31st Indian Armor Division arrives in Poland. It is much better equipped than OTL. It has all 340 tanks you would expect in a UK Armor Division with the medium tanks being Grants and the light tanks Stuarts. The 20th and 34th Indian Infantry Divisions also arrive.

The US sends 2 infantry divisions and an armor division to Burma. It also sends 4 squadrons of Thunderbolts and 3 of B-17s.

July 28, 1942
Over the last month, the Nationalists wipe out the Communists sending all their Italian tanks against them. Although Italian tanks are very poor they are better than the next to no tanks the Communists have. The Communists have no significant military or political power in China after this. The Nationalists lost 1/2 of their remaining Italian tanks and sell the rest to the French in Indochina who is having problems with replacing its tanks due to the war and the need for tanks in Europe. French troops consider them garbage but better than nothing.

The Americans manage to fly over 3 squadrons of Thunderbolts to FIC. The US plans to replace Wildcats with Hellcats on all USN carriers starting in September.

July 31, 1942

The Chinese start the Battle of Pingxiang. The attack is led by no less than 75 Grant tanks and the Japanese have little to stop them. The city is taken at a speed shocking for the Japanese as it is in entirely Chinese hands within two weeks. 30.000 Japanese soldiers lie dead alongside 35,000 Chinese. This is terrifying for the Japanese who are fully aware they will be attrited away to nothing unless they kill several Chinese soldiers for every Japanese.

 

[Johnrankins]

If it looks like the Japanese are pretty much screwed it is because they are. They are about 1/3 the way down the PI, 1/2 way across FIC, have only conquered Guam entirely and are being pushed back in China and out of the Solomons. With the Americans building up in Burma, I am not sure if Thailand will join Japan even after they conquer FIC. They will certainly not take Singapore or Rabul. The two biggest reasons for the change were they weren't able to waltz into FIC and since the Germans looked less of a threat than OTL the Americans paid more attention to Japan resulting in better preparations in the PI and more weapons and supplies getting to China. Also since Italy was fighting the USSR the US was willing to make unequal weapons trades and sending the Italian castoffs to China, which was better than nothing.

 

[Johnrankins]

Aug 5th, 1942
The US completes its conquest of the Solomon Islands. It spends the next two months their building airstrips to make sure the Japanese don't retake it and to make sure that the Japanese will have difficulty sailing near the islands.

Aug 7th, 1942
The Conte di Cavour, the Giulio Cesare, all three Trento class cruisers and 5 Navigatori-class destroyers leave Italian waters headed to the Pacific. They have 5 old freighters bought from the US as transport and supply ships. They will make stops in Suez and Singapore to refuel and resupply.

Aug 9th, 1942
The Franco-British fleet sets sail again from Singapore and clashes again near FIC. Both sides have land-based air support as well as from carriers and the result is more in favor of the Allies. In the air 3 dozen Zeros, a dozen Vals and a dozen Bettys are shot down while the Allies lose a dozen Thunderbolts, a dozen Sea hurricanes, and a dozen Dauntlesses. The Akaji and the Kaga are both sunk alongside 4 destroyers. The British lose 2 P class destroyers with the POW badly damaged while the French lose the Loirane.

Despite this, the Japanese manage to complete their conquest of FIC. A Vietnamese general named Ca Chien Nguyen declares himself King of Indochina and marries a Cambodian woman named Achariya Keo to be his queen. Happily, for both of them, the marriage is not entirely political.

Aug 11th,1942

The 2nd Norwegian Infantry Corps breaks through the Soviet lines followed up quickly by French and British armor. Minsk falls four days later. 40,000 Allies were killed along with 30,000 Russians in the last month.

The Soviet population is somewhat divided. Some are heartily sick of Stalin and join the Allies while most remain loyal. The loyalists start losing ground as the British and French military government is far less oppressive than Stalin.

The Allies also strengthen the economy by buying things locally when available. They also break up the communes by dividing the land equally among the peasants and splitting ownership of factories and stores among the workers giving them shares. This proves popular as the workers now actually do own everything directly. This slowly breaks down over time as the workers often sell shares because they need the money or are ignorant about what shares mean. Also, there are newly formed bankruptcy laws. Food production starts rising as the peasants no longer sabotage their own production.

Aug 16, 1942

The Thai government rejects Japan's demand to allow them access to their country. With the US building forces in Burma ready to invade if Thailand sides with Japan and with Japan being bogged down in the PI and being slowly pushed back in China it sees the US being the winning side. The way the government sees it will be forced to choose sides and wants to back the winning one.

Aug 18, 1942

Japan invades Thailand. Thailand calls for US help in fighting off the invasion. The US send the corps it already has in Burma into Thailand to reinforce. It then starts building airstrips in Thailand. Another corps is sent on its way to Thailand the next day.

Aug 20, 1942

The Battle of Manilla begins. Much stronger than OTL the Philippine Territorial Government decides to fight it out. The Japanese find the approaches to Manilla heavily fortified with extensive trenches full of Filipino and American soldiers. However, the US has no more planes in the Philippines as the last of its planes was shot down 3 days ago.

Aug 28, 1942

The Battle of Nanchang starts. The Chinese send no less than 3 rifle armies backed up with 100 Grant tanks. The battle lasts a couple of months. 60.000 dead Japanese lie alongside 90,000 Chinese casualties in one of the longest bloodiest battles of the war. Far more Japanese than Chinese are dead as many of them committed seppuku rather than surrender. Before the city fell there were no less than 4 "banzai attacks" as the odds started to look hopeless.

Aug 30, 1942
The Rome Pact pushes the Soviets back to the border in a month-long battle. 30,000 Russian died along with 50,000 Rome Pact soldiers. The Finns are pushed back from their route to Leningrad at the cost of 40,000 Russian lives to 30,000 Finnish ones.

 

[Johnrankins]

Sept 5,1942

The Italians land on the island of Peleliu. Less well guarded than OTL when we hit it a couple of years later it is still a formidable obstacle for the Italians. Still with the heavy guns, they manage to push inward. 1,000 Italian infantry in total landed along with a dozen Grant tanks. Even with the tank support the Italians are wiped out within two weeks but learned some valuable lessons. Wanting to pressure Japan FDR leans on Churchill to allow the Italians to stage out of Burma. Over the next month and a half Italy transfers 5,000 troops and 60 Grant tanks along with enough supplies to last a month.

Meanwhile 200 Sherman tanks and 300 75 mm artillery pieces are landed on Italian docks along with 5,000 half-tracks and 30,000 trucks.
Sept 10,1942
Although the PI are not entirely conquered yet the Japanese decide without the planes they can invade the DEI. The Japanese invasion goes fairly well but unlike OTL there are Buffaloes on Java. They are no match for Zeros but Bettys are another matter. They take down a dozen of them before the Japanese start escorting them. 4 days later the US sends a couple of squadrons of Thunderbolts and 3 squadrons of Dauntlesses to Java.

Sept 12,1942

The fight proves difficult for the Japanese as it is not only fighting Thailand but two US infantry corps. The Thais were pushed back 30 miles before US troops arrived and stabilized the situation meanwhile an entire US armored corps with a full allotment of Sherman tanks is on its way...,

Sept 15,1942

The Anglo-French forces head towards Kiev. The Baltic Forces head north to help Finnland with Leningrad. The Rome Pact bursts forth itself and isn't stopped until the outskirts of Kamenetz-Podolski. Many Ukranian Forces defect from the USSR, particularly in the countryside. The Allies are not Nazis and even the Rome Pact is willing to distribute food packs from the US as the US is supplying them and they see the value of recruiting Ukranian troops themselves. Although some are stolen by various corrupt Italian officials the people are still fed better than under Stalin, not that it is saying much.

The Anglo-French forces order 2,000 Shermans and 30,000 half-tracks. The air superiority in the north is becoming overwhelming as Spitfires swarm the battlefields in large numbers.
Sept 24, 1942

Manilla finally falls in a very bloody battle. 20,000 Japanese lives were lost in the last month and a half. The Filipinos lose 35,000 and the Americans 12,000. The American-Filipino Army retreats to the Bataan Peninsula in good order. Piles of supplies have been moved over the last couple of months and the garrison is in a good position to hold out for some time.

Sept 28, 1942

The Nationalist Chinese Army spends the next 3 months completing its liberating all of Jiangxi Provence. It is a very bloody affair with no less than 75,000 Japanese dead alongside 125,000 Chinese.

They receive 200 Sherman tanks, 300 Stuart tanks, 100 Thunderbolts and 25,000 half-tracks as with US entry into the war means that the US wants China to tie down as many Japanese troops as it can.

Sept 30,1942

With US carriers coming into service the US sends Saratoga, Lexington, and Enterprise along with 4 Porter Class and 8 Mahan class destroyers starts moving east from San Diego. All four Atlanta class cruisers join them being sent from San Fransisco.

 

[Johnrankins]

The Rome Pact will wind up a much weaker version of the Warsaw Pact post-war. Temporarily useful allies that will wind up a pain after the war. Although not the existential threat that the Warsaw Pact was, it is too big to get into a war with lightly. Italy, Hungry, Romania and Yugoslavia when all combined (Particularly with the US propping them up during the war) would be a bitch to take down. It certainly could be done but would GB and/or France want to pay the butcher's bill to do so? This is particularly true since they will have to occupy Germany for a long time.

 

[Johnrankins]

Oct 5, 1942
The Japanese are pushed back to the Thai-Indochina border. The Japanese simply have nothing to stop a corps of Sherman tanks. In the air things are as bad. Swarms of Thunderbolts battle Zeros. The Zeros are badly outnumbered and Japan loses far too many planes. 60 Zeros, 30 Vals and 40 Bettys are shot down at a cost of 50 Thunderbolts, 30 Kittyhawks and 30 B-17s. The land battle is no better losing 20,000 Japanese soldiers for 6,000 American as the Americans have far more numerous and powerful tanks and artillery.

Oct 12, 1942
The Second Battle of Palau begins. This time the Japanese can't stop them and the island falls within a month. The Marianas are recognized as an Italian Protectorate. The Japanese lose 5,000 men to the Rome Pact's 3,000 over the next month. Before Palau was totally taken the Italians invaded other key islands resulting in another 500 Italian dead as opposed to 700 Japanese.

Oct 17,1942

The First Free Ukrainian Infantry Corps is formed. They spend most of the first month holding fortified positions while familiarizing themselves with British equipment and tactics, most are deserters from the Red Army many in whole units as Stalin made himself very unpopular in the Ukraine the last several years. The beginning of the formation of the Second Free Ukrainian Infantry Corps begins as officers are chosen .

On the same date the 1st Norwegian Infantry Corps along with the 3rd Belgian are sent to Germany to do anti-partisan patrols as the number of German partisan bombings grow quickly in number. The British order 500 Sherman tanks from the US.

Oct 19, 1942
Kiev finally falls to the Allies. at the cost of 20,000 Allied lives and 30,000 Soviet ones. It is the first major Soviet city to fall as the Finns/Balts are pushed back from Leningrad at the cost of 13,000 Allied lives to 30,000 Soviets in the last month and a half.

Oct 25,1942

The Rome Pact is pushed back to Chernivtsi with 20,000 Rome Pact dead and 40,000 Soviet ones over the last month. Once there the 3rd Romanian Armor Corps manages to outflank the 2nd Russian Armored Corps driving them back 3 miles before the front stabilizes again. Later that day the 3rd British Armor Division is the first unit to start driving south of Kiev.


Oct 30 , 1942

The Chinese liberate the city of Shang Hai. This has been the most costly battle of the war for both sides. Over the last month the Japanese lose 60,000 men to the Chinese 100,000. The growing professionalism of the Chinese Army starts making the Japanese nervous. Under less desperate conditions the Chinese Army starts training its men longer before sending them out on the field. The Nationalists start shooting some of their more corrupt officials.

The US trades 100,000 1903 Springfields and 10,000 Browning Machine guns to the Kingdom of Indochina for rubber over French protests. The US was far more concerned about keeping the Japanese occupied than returning the ex-colony to France. Although it doesn't officially acknowledge the kingdom, it does trade with it.

 

[Johnrankins]

Nov 5, 1942
The US reaches Pnompenh and finds that the Royal Indochinese Army already has a presence in the area. Although neither numerous enough or trained enough to take on the Japanese in a major ground battle by themselves they are perfectly capable of police duties. As such the area is turned over to them while the US goes after more Japanese, over the protests of France. Figuring it has nothing to gain in Asia at this point it pulls its navy out of the Pacific War.

Nov 9 , 1942 The US fleet arrives off the coast of the Phillipines just off the Bataan Peninsula. There is a major clash of airpower and the USS Saratoga is sunk along with a pair of Mahan Class Destroyers and a Porter Class Destroyer. The IJN lose Akagi and Abukuma. However the Japanese aren't able to stop the US from dropping off 10,000 troops, 50 40mm AA guns, 20 150mm artillery guns and 40 Shermans. Even more important is the 10,000 tons of supplies.

Nov 12, 1942

A new fleet is gathered in San Diego centered around Wasp and Hornet. and the light carrier Independence with 6 Mahan Class destroyers and the USS Philadelphia. It sets off to the PI the next day.

Nov 15, 1942
300,000 Chinese troops start besieging the Japanese at Wuhan. The Japanese are well dug in with lots of AT guns. It is dawning on the Japanese that they are going to lose the war in China and they are starting to plan how to weaken it before the war is over....

Nov 20,1942

The Free Ukrainian First Infantry Corps gets its baptism of fire about half way to Dneproprovetik where it routs the 3rd Ukraine Infantry Corps losing 2,000 men in the next week which is more than made up by the 4,000 that switched sides while the Soviet Ukrainians lose another 3,000 men to boot. The British Army starts training the 2nd and 3rd Free Ukrainian Infantry Corps and the 1st Free Ukrainian Armored Division which is equipped with Grants. It is clear to the Allies that many Ukrainians have a grudge against the Stalinist government. The Allies lost 20,000 troops over the last month while the Russians lost 35,000.


Nov 25,, 1942
Leningrad falls to the Finns/Balts which reverts to the name St. Petersburg. Unlike in the Ukraine not many Soviet troops switch sides. The Finns send down more troops to prevent the Balts from committing atrocities against the Russians. Desperate to keep Japan in the war to distract the Americans (Every plane sent to China is one not sent to the Ukraine), Italians and Brits Stalin reluctantly sends 30,000 tons of oil to Japan.

Nov 27. 1942
The Rome Pact has driven the Soviets back 50 miles over the last month. The Rome pact has lost 30,000 men to the Russians 40,000. The Pact raises the 1st Roman-Ukrainian infantry corps . The Rome Pact isn't run by the most moral men on the planet but they still run their areas better than Stalin did.

 

[Johnrankins]

Any ideas on what Japan will do to weaken China post-war?

 

[Johnrankins]

Dec 6, 1942
With the pull out of French ships the US recognizes the Kingdom of Indochina and sends it 100 Stuart tanks, 50 Sherman tanks , 100 57 mm AA , 100 75 mm artillery, 1000 trucks , 2 squadrons of the new Mustang fighter and 3 squadrons of Dauntlesses. The Japanese have been pushed halfway through Indochina losing 76,000 troops to the American's 30,000 and Indochinese 40,000 in the last month.

Dec 7,1942
There is a carrier battle near the PI. The IJN Hiryu and 3 destroyers is sunk along with the USS independence and a couple of destroyers. The KB is almost gutted by this . They have already lost half their carriers so far in this war. The Japanese turn tail to preserve their carriers as they have few planes left on the remaining carriers. The US delivers a couple of squadrons of wildcats and the 3rd Armor Brigade of the 2nd Armor division are landed the next day.

Dec 21, 1942

The Japanese are driven 20 miles back in the PI. They simply don't have what to take on an entire brigade of Shermans. The road is a bloody one though as the Japanese lose 25,000 men to the US 14,000 in the last two weeks.

Dec 23, 1942
Before retreating the Japanese release millions of malaria infected mosquitoes by remote control. A malaria epidemic starts spreading in China.

Dec 25, 1942

The First Free Ukrainian Army reaches Dneproprovetik and starts besieging the city. It lost 24,000 troops to the Soviet 30,000. In the Ukraine at least it seems like the countryside is mostly anti-Stalin and there is widespread defections. The NKVD sends a message to Stalin that Ukrainian troops should be considered "unreliable at best"

Dec 31.1942

The Nationalists start planning "Operation Cloudburst" . The operation involves 300,000 troops with 500 Grant tanks and 100 Shermans. On the same date the Chinese receive their first 30,000 trucks, they should be ready for the operation.

 

[Johnrankins]

Jan 3, 1943

The Soviets launch their first winter offensive. Although they do drive back the Allies the next 4 months they don't do as well as they did OTL. The Allies are better supplied, they have winter uniforms, and the supply lines are pretty secure out of Dazing. .Also the Finns , Norwegians, Canadians, Poles and Free Ukrainians are as used to the cold as the Russians. There are problems in East Prussia but the Germans are fighting the Poles there as much as the Allies and rails in Dazing are protected by patrols and hidden snipers. The cars have spare tracks in case of sabotage with important junctions being guarded. When the train enters the Ukraine thing become safer. Unlike OTL the Ukrainians are being fed by the invaders not deliberately starved, they are eating better than under Stalin which gains the Allies a lot of sympathy. There are supplies coming in through St. Petersburg as well.

Jan 12.1943
Operation Cloudburst takes Japan by surprise. Instead of continuing up from the south the Nationalists decide to chop off a finger just east of Jining cutting of the Japanese west of there before moving further east.

Jan 14, 1943

The number of new cases of malaria in China passes 200,000 of which 50,000 die within the next month (OTL 15% of all American soldiers who got malaria died of it, China having much less money for medical treatment made me up up it to 25%. The Japanese get a taste of their own medicine as 3,000 of their own soldiers come down with it as well and they lose 600 of them in the next month. The US starts shipping anti-malarial supplies from the US, it takes months for the supplies to reach China as the US protects its own troops first.

Jan 19,1943
The Japanese Army is cut off inside the "finger" with an entire army trapped inside. The cut off army moving east to get back to their own lines. Cutting off that army cost the Chinese 76,000 men and the Japanese 97,000. The Japanese not the fact that they actually lost more troops than the Chinese with alarm. The speed and power of the new Chinese Army has surprised them.

Jan 25,1943

Known as "Black Monday" in the in when the last of the air arm of the KB was destroyed by the USN along with 3 destroyers near the PI. The last 3 carriers of the KB was sunk by Enterprise, Hornet , Yorktown with 15 destroyers and 4 light cruisers as support. The Hornet was badly damaged along with 2 destroyers being sunk. The Wildcats on the island helped provide a CAP over the carriers. After the battle 2 more squadrons of Wildcats and a 3 of Dauntlesses are unloaded on the island. Another 10,000 men and 100 Shermans arrive as well. The US Army arrives just outside Manila.

 

[Johnrankins]

Feb 5, 1943 After punching through the line of lightly fortified trench 4 miles north of Narva the Russians have been struggling through the snow and ice against Finns, Norwegians and Canadians to hit another line of trenches that are more heavily fortified 40 miles north of that line. It cost them 40,000 troops vs the Allies 30,000. They are struggling against total air superiority. Allied planes are simply much better than Soviet ones. Also the snow and cold is effecting the Soviets as much as the Allies.

Feb 7, 1943
Despite the Winter Offensive the Russians can not stop the fall of Dneproprovetik to the Free Ukrainians as it is too little , too late. They have , by this time, arrived in back in Pologi by this date. The drive from Donetsk cost the Russians another 40,000 troops to the Roman Ukrainians and Rome Pact's 50,000. Russian logistics is starting to show the strain. Allied dive bombers have knocked out Russian trucks, and worse, locomotive engines in large numbers. Kitty hawks have decimated the number of Russian horses.

Feb 12, 1943
The Japanese have been pushed entirely out of the Kingdom of Indochina. It cost the Japanese 200,000 troops fighting the Indochina Campaign while the US/Thai/Indochinese forces lose only 50,000. The kingdom becomes a strong US ally post-war, along with Thailand. Japan is becoming very nervous about its inability to stop the US anywhere. By this time Japan is having problems slowing it down.

Feb 15, 1943
US/Filipino troops reach Manila at the cost of 75,000 Japanese troops against only 15,000 American. Japan's outer perimeter starts withering on the vine as it is being strangled by US ships based in Indochina. US torpedo problems was spotted pre-war due to greater funding for testing. US subs a wrecking havoc on the Japanese Merchant Fleet as a result.

Feb 30., 1943

China has kicked out Japan from everywhere except Manchukuo . Under Japanese control since 1932 the fortifications here are the heaviest. With Malaria victims passing 500,000 by this time China is fighting disease more than the Japanese and despite their eagerness to liberate the area it takes almost 2 months before it starts its major offensive.

 

[Johnrankins]

Mar 7,1943
The Soviets besiege St. Petersburg. The defenses around the city are quite strong and the Red Army never quite manages to retake the city, although it comes close on at least 3 occasions. They lose 50,000 men trying to take the city as opposed to the Allies 35,000.

Mar 12,1943
The Soviets retake Dneproprovetik with heavy losses. The Soviets lose 40,000 men compared to the Rome Pact's 30,000. The city is purged and the numbered killed in the purges rivals the number dead in the battle getting there.

Mar 15, 1943
The 1st Roman-Ukrainian Infantry Corps is ready to be sent to the front lines. In the wake of the purges another corps is being formed . Snow is starting to melt in Southern-Central Russia. The front slows to a crawl for the next 6 weeks as there is too much mud.

Mar 23, 1943
The 3rd US Infantry Corps arrives on the border of Manchukwo. Far more important than the infantry is all the attached artillery. US Artillery has proven deadly the entire war and the Chinese are more than happy to see its arrival.

Mar 28, 1943

The Japanese are pushed entirely off the PI. Mopping up takes place over the next few months but the USMC is preparing to invade Korea. Unrest starts in Japan , without OTL's early victories the IJA has far less prestige.

 

[Atrophied]

well ur pod is abit strange but it kinda shows how much of a fluke the battle of france was in otl . Basicly almost everything went right for the germans to a horrific odds and pdf really cemented my thoughts about that to be honest . People also underestimate how useful the belgium army would be to the entente by the way if things stay on mainland europe and they dont surrender altough gearing them wont be fun.

The plan is to set up a independent ukraine i guess hopefully and restoring the baltics with maybe doing belarus aswell i guess from the soviets and wtf r u gonna do with st petesburg . Would be interested to see how the baltics do without 50 years of soviet occupation compared to otl atleast . And uk and france will be propping them up hopefully as u mentioned there will be a south europe block and north europe bloc i guess probably.
What will u do with india by the way is a question to consider and rest of the uk empire . I imagine france might try to keep theirs tough.(basicly what happens to africa and DEI eventually is the question outside india). Burma without invasion might actually accept dominion status and the same for malaysia altough the brits would probably keep singapore. The brits might also keep ceylon if india goes close to otl and cuts off relations by the way .

And my thought has been that brits should try to integrate gibaltar , malta and cyprus with maybe singapore and even ceylon thrown in eventually by the turn of the century . With falklands and the actual british parts of the carribean integrated aswell .

Also what about sweden , they might be persuaded to get involved against the soviets maybe and get dragged out of neutrality maybe even if they dont make many troop contributions and what they do contribute would be to the finns probably.

 

[Johnrankins]

well ur pod is abit strange but it kinda shows how much of a fluke the battle of france was in otl . Basicly almost everything went right for the germans to a horrific odds and pdf really cemented my thoughts about that to be honest . People also underestimate how useful the belgium army would be to the entente by the way if things stay on mainland europe and they dont surrender altough gearing them wont be fun.

The plan is to set up a independent ukraine i guess hopefully and restoring the baltics with maybe doing belarus aswell i guess from the soviets and wtf r u gonna do with st petesburg . Would be interested to see how the baltics do without 50 years of soviet occupation compared to otl atleast . And uk and france will be propping them up hopefully as u mentioned there will be a south europe block and north europe bloc i guess probably.
What will u do with india by the way is a question to consider and rest of the uk empire . I imagine france might try to keep theirs tough.(basicly what happens to africa and DEI eventually is the question outside india). Burma without invasion might actually accept dominion status and the same for malaysia altough the brits would probably keep singapore. The brits might also keep ceylon if india goes close to otl and cuts off relations by the way .

And my thought has been that brits should try to integrate gibaltar , malta and cyprus with maybe singapore and even ceylon thrown in eventually by the turn of the century . With falklands and the actual british parts of the carribean integrated aswell .

Also what about sweden , they might be persuaded to get involved against the soviets maybe and get dragged out of neutrality maybe even if they dont make many troop contributions and what they do contribute would be to the finns probably.

The Allies are definitely planning for there to be an independent Ukraine, at least for a while. The Baltics are already a done deal. Belerus will probably be independent but they don't expect it to last long. I haven't figured out what to do with St. Petersburg after the war. Either it is given to the Finns or handed back to the Russians post-war, most likely,

India will be lost and with it most of the British Empire. Too many troops are going to be pinned down occupying Germany, and to a lesser extent Russia as the Allies are planning to leave Russia fairly quickly post-war. They will keep Singapore , for a while at least. Gibraltar, Cyprus and Malta will be integrated with GB. France will lose most of its empire for the same reason as GB although it might hold on to Algeria.

 

[Johnrankins]

Apr 5, 1943
The Chinese begin their reconquest of Manchuria. They break through in the center which is a bloodbath. In 2 weeks of fighting 40,000 Chinese lives are lost along with 6,000 American. The Japanese lose 55,000 men themselves. American artillery proves as deadly as ever. Japan is running out of oil so it is the last time tanks are used by Japan. Truck use is highly limited after this date. This really hurts as the Chinese break out.

Apr 21, 1943
The city of Taryun is taken by the Chinese . It is taken cheaply(for the Chinese front) as the Chinese have tanks and Japan has not. It costs only 6,000 Chinese lives and 7,500 Japanese.

Apr 23, 1943
The Chinese break out in the south at a cheaper price than in the center. In two weeks of fighting they lose 30,000 men to the Japanese 40,000.
The Chinese surround entire Japanese armies as they zoom around in half-tracks while the Japanese are walking. The Japanese fight to the last man losing 150,000 men to the Chinese 50,000.

Apr 30
The US invades Korea losing 20,000 men in two weeks compared to the Japanese 35,000. The US manages to bag an entire Japanese-Korean Army a week later , although a 2 divisions manage to escape before being trapped. The divisions are disorganized however and it takes them 3 weeks before they are totally reorginized.