Stemming the Tide

[ObssesedNuker]

I would think that Stalin would propose (and Heinz might accept) that the USSR and Germany divide Poland on the 1914 borders. That would go a ways toward placading German conservatives as it means the Germans get back the territory they lost in the treaty of Versailles... particularly the Danzig corridor.

Only downside for Germany is how much it will piss off the Anglo-French. But then making peace so easily with Stalin is going to do that anyways.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

I would think that Stalin would propose (and Heinz might accept) that the USSR and Germany divide Poland on the 1914 borders. That would go a ways toward placading German conservatives as it means the Germans get back the territory they lost in the treaty of Versailles... particularly the Danzig corridor.

Only downside for Germany is how much it will piss off the Anglo-French. But then making peace so easily with Stalin is going to do that anyways.

Noted and changed. I have crossed my writers block and clue for the next update is below:

'Murica! Fuck yea!

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Japanese units celebrate the Fall of the Philippines

The Flight of the Eagle​

As the Russians advanced into Eastern Europe across the world a giant awoke. With the horrendous loss of most of their Pacific Fleet in the Pearl Harbor Attack, the United States suffered many early losses. Guam, Coral Sea, the Raid on Midway, the list goes on. Public panic only increased when a Japanese sub bombarded Ellwood California. Although it was wildly inaccurate and only blew a hole in some streets the Public feared a Japanese Invasion. This was only heightened when a small Japanese troop ship was sunk off the coast of California[1]. To counter the growing paranoia and fear of the Japanese population of the West Coast, Roosevelt made a controversial move. He started the Japanese Resettlement Program which removed Japanese Americans from the high valued West Coast cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle and moved them to the Midwest and into forced work programs aimed to rebuild the American farms devastated by the Dust Bowl.

Japanese on a Farm somewhere in Kansas​

Meanwhile in the Philippines General Douglas MacArthur realized he was fighting a losing battle. He and his men had been pushed from Luzon and Visayas and were doing heavy fighting on Mindanao. MacArthur was a proud man, but not a stupid man and he cared about his men. He knew if he didn’t get out off of Mindanao soon then the IJN would cut them off and surround the Island. He found that safe haven in Borneo, all he had to do was convince the Netherlands to ferry himself and his men across the Celebes Sea. On June 17th the Dutch Navy (or whatever was left of it) began to ferry MacArthur and his men across the Sea. The IJN was quick to respond and attacked the relatively heavily armed corridor of troops and supplies. MacArthur, who was already on Borneo, could do nothing but watch in horror as the Dutch Naval force was chased away and the transport corridor closed with only 29,000 of his remaining 60.000 men on Borneo. As his last order to his men before their position was overrun he ordered they never give up fighting and said the infinitely quotable line “I will return!. On the 18th of June the Japanese captured almost 80,000 troops (both American and Philippine) and the 27th Light Bomber Group. The 18th Heavy Bomber Group was able to flee the island protectorate before their base was overrun. The Invasion of the Philippines weighed heavily on MacArthur. He couldn’t think long about it though and he began to march West to meet a attempted Japanese landing on Borneo.

Japanese troops marching POW’s into captivity​

When news of the fall of the Philippines was wired to the mainland it instantly became international news. America had sustained it’s first major loss since Pearl Harbor and it seemed to be on the run across the Pacific, but one slip-up saved the US from total disaster. At Dawn on June 17th the Japanese attempted a bold new plan that aimed to sweep Borneo out from under the American’s and the Dutch. Tojo ordered General Kiyotake Kawaguchi to launch a blitz across the dense jungle and capture the strategic town of Banjarmasin where the Dutch were getting and storing their supplies. General Kawaguchi expressed his personal grievances in his journal calling the plan suicidal and pointed out how exposed his flanks would be should the Americans find out his plan, you can see where this is going. The Dutch, tired and ragged after a recent and fierce battle were pushed back almost 40 miles with nobody to resist them, until MacArthur came along. Little Mac and his almost 30,000 men stumbled through the forest trying to meet up with the Dutch position but instead found the Japanese advance’s rear guard. Little Mac ordered his men to attack while they still had the element of surprise. The Japanese were caught of guard and appeared to be surrounded. With the a encouraged Dutch at their front and a half-crazed American force at their rear the Japanese positions seemed to be in a pickle, this was when General Kawaguchi showed his strength, being able to run away expertly. Just as the Americans and Dutch seemed to have the Japanese in their hands a order shot across the lines. The order called for the grunts to make a break for the forest and hope they lose their pursuers, then make their way back to Paloh, were they were to regroup. It went off almost perfectly. The Japanese instantly broke ranks and fled to the forest to the bewilderment of both the Americans and the Dutch. They tried to give chase but quickly lost them in the dense jungle and were forced to give up the chase. In the coming days most of the Japanese who escaped made their way to Paloh and the final tally for the Borneo Offensive was counted. In the end the almost 13,500 of his original 20 thousand man force were lost in the offensive and subsequent retreat. It was a horrendous defeat and crippled the Japanese offensive, they would need at least 2-3 weeks to gather reinforcements but everyone expected a American attack. They got something much different.

MacArthur followed the Dutch back to Banjarmasin and met Dutch General Dominicus Mars. Mars and MacArthur were friendly for the most part, they both agreed that for the Japanese to be pushed off the Island they needed to be destroyed but hey butted heads over when to do so. Mars wanted to wait because he thought the Japanese were stronger, while MacArthur wanted a full out assault on Paloh. The two generals debated for days, some say MacArthur threatened to kill General Mars at one point, but eventually Mars relented but with one condition, that Dutch forces be used as a reserve force. He wanted for the Americans to suffer the defeat he was sure was coming. So on June 20th MacArthur moved his forces into position around Paloh while Dutch forces engaged Japanese patrols in Northern Borneo, keeping them from attacking the Americans. In Paloh General Kawaguchi began to panic, he had received almost one thousand re-enforcements from China but that would be insignificant against the 14,000 American soldiers poised to take the city. He had the IJN’s Aircraft Carriers flying bombing missions against American positions but due to the forests around the city it was hard to tell how much effect it was having. He needed something to turn the tide and force the Americans to halt for some weeks. He gained that when MacArthur came down with Typhoid. He was rushed to Australia for treatment and a new General, Joseph Stilwell, was placed in command of the American Forces in Dutch East Indies. Stilwell also shared Mars’s views that the Japanese were stronger than they were and decided against attacking, delaying the assault for a week and giving Kawaguchi enough time to re-enforce and entrench his positions. When Stilwell finally did attack on the 27th he realized his folly and paid a heavy price.

Japanese troops shelling Americans on Borneo​

When the Americans did attack the Japanese were ready. Kawaguchi had received almost 10,000 veterans from the Chinese front. Along with them came 3 pieces of Artillery and 12 tanks. While the tanks and artillery were not too effective outside the city they were excellent at defending. As the Americans charged in, expecting to wiped them away quickly, they were surprised as shells rained from the sky and tanks emerged from the darkness. The battle became a rather bloody affair as the Americans used any means necessary to take out the Japanese armor. Kawaguchi, while he knew he had a good defensive position, knew the Americans would call on the Dutch soon and destroy his force so be prepared a evacuation. As fighting raged on the streets around him and slowly but surely got closer the IJN once again came to the rescue. Using a combination of air and sea bombardment the Americans were stalemated. It was only a temporary move while the IJA evacuated to ships off the coast of Paloh.

The rear guard under the command of Renya Mutaguchi fought a hard battle and watched the Japanese Army flee. They knew what was to come next, and they did it with honor. While Renya was escorted to a plane and evacuated to the Philippines the rear guard launched an all out, no holds barred, no retreat attack against the Americans. By this time the IJN had left the area and the Americans were again steadily advancing. The attack was brushed aside with little difficulty after a lucky bomber hit the remaining ammunition stores. When the Americans raised the Dutch flag over Paloh a cheer rose from the Mainland. The US Army had stopped the seemingly invincible Japanese Army after a year of rampaging across the Pacific. And their naval power was soon to be challenged by a resurgent US Navy. The US was down, but not out, not by a long shot.

[1] It was empty. A search of the surrounding area showed no evidence of any landing.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

German troops in East Prussia amid tensions

The Iron Wall: Drawing the Lines​

With war still raging ever fiercely in the Pacific, Europe managed to stay out for the most part. While the Brits, and Dutch had sustained losses in both SE Asia and Indonesia a recent cold snap in Europe cooled relations and kept the public eye on the Continent. When the peace was signed Germany was the bad guy to everybody. The Russians, despite having little more than a puppet as Chancellor, hated them because they wanted peace and took the offer, denying them the rest of Poland. The Brits, French, Polish and some Germans hated the German government for abandoning Poland in her darkest hour. Suddenly, in the words of Lord Halifax (who probably got the saying from Churchill), “ Iron Walls had descended across the Continent, cutting it in three. The three parts were pretty obvious, the Russians in the East, Germany in Central Europe and the Brits and French in the West (with Poland). Each had varying degrees of hostility to each other but they all knew a war between the four would devastate Europe again, in the likes of which not seen since the Great War.

Stalin, sitting contently in Moscow, was already looking to the future. He aimed for complete hegemony over Eastern and Central Europe. With the end of the German-French-British-Polish Coalition he saw Europe as ripe for the taking. He knew he had only one opponent in that goal, Germany. While the Germans were steadily growing sympathetic to Communism they still held the tenant of German freedom dear. They would not take Soviet domination lightly and would likely fight for it. He had a man in high office already in Germany but the humiliation brought by the Treaty of Warsaw seemed to show he would not be in high office for long. Stalin did not want a war in Germany, its dense population, large and professional army and strong industrial base would make it too bloody to be worth it. He knew to achieve his goal he needed to continue his support for the KDP and hopefully make them emerge from the PR disaster stronger than ever. And also prepare the Red Army should a war breakout. Unfortunately he would soon have his lines cut.

Germany was in a tough spot though and did not seek external expansion. The Treaty had brought back fears of another post-WW1 bout of turmoil. The economy was still holding but by a tenuous grasp as the other three powers slowly began to cut financial ties with Germany. Even the mighty Soviet Union cut a trade deal that survived the Polish War. The Army was also taking a fair few dollars out of the German budget. The German Financial Minister turned to the Krupp Family, a wealthy business family which owned a monopoly of the German steel market. They cut a deal with Alfred Krupp, the Government would agree not to break the Krupp monopoly for 50 years if they gave the German government a 30 million mark bailout. Alfred agreed and wrote the check, the German economy could limp on. While Crispen dealt with the finances Heinz Neumann was allowed the honor to deal with the public. The public had taken to the streets in lieu of the surrender in outrage. They were winning for gods sake!

German workers march on Munich​

Heinz knew where they were coming from, he had become disillusioned with the KDP being subservient to Moscow. That is why, in an effort to both keep him, and by extension the KDP, in power by exposing the NKVD spy ring. Claiming he had been approached for a bribe, he launched a series of raids on meeting places for the agents. When the police also turned up with incriminating evidence linking the NKVD to the KDP, the evidence was conveniently lost. Heinz also took this as a chance to purge the hardliners from the party. In the end almost 150 arrests were made in 58 towns and cities across Germany. While investigating the the NKVD they stumbled across another foreign spy ring in Germany, the infamous Obenflatz Brewery Ring.

Britain, France, and the Lowlands (collectively as the West) had problems of their own. They had bowed to Stalin’s demands against both their military’s and people’s wishes. Halifax, who gained a reputation as a strong leader for his fight against Stalin and the surrender threw his reputation into the mud. Parliament began discussing reforming the government as public opinion began to tank. To save face and tame the lion that is Parliament Halifax began to whip up a masterful PR campaign. Its aim was to paint German’s as cowards who abandoned Poland. It worked and relations between the two powers went on ice much to France’s ire. France was a reluctant participant in the Cold War, it only hated Germany because it feared Britain. Although he did come into conflict with Germany about the Polish issue he was not stupid. He observed the professionalism of the German Army and was rightly concerned about it. He knew if relations broke down and war was declared France would once again become a battleground. Nevertheless the British presented a more clear threat in De Gaulle's eyes. He saw the British commanding of international trade as a clear and present danger to France, so he quickly began to support Halifax in the great halls of Europe.

In an effort to undermine the Germans the Brits smuggled M16 agents into Germany over the Rhine. They quickly made their way to Berlin and set up the Obenflatz Brewery as a front for their secret operations. The Brewery become a hub for military leaders as it was, at least on the outside, a comforting place with a good brew. The agents simply got them drunk on brew and women and wrote down whatever came out of their mouths. They operated freely for just over 3 weeks and gathered a unknown amount of info before a police raid shut down the operation after an anonymous tip ratted them out. The agents, both NKVD and M16, were put through the justice system and sentenced to death. The execution was a flash-point as both the Soviets and the British campaigned for their release, only to be mailed death certificates after their June 30th execution.

A still from a amature video of one of the executions​

The British and French were outraged at the sham trial and execution. In protest they formed the Western European Union which was an organization like the League of Nations, just stronger and smaller. The WEU’s stated goal was to liberate Occupied Poland and bring Democracy to Eastern Europe. The WEU also had a secret, not so secret goal of safeguarding France against any invasion from Germany or the USSR. In response the other two nations also formed pacts of their own. Germany formed a pact with Switzerland, Czechoslovakia[1], and Italy [2]. Called the Central Powers by both East and West Germany assured both the International community and the other pact members that it was purely defensive. To counter both the WEU and the Central Powers Russia formed the Moscow Pact. Made up of the USSR and many of East Europe (Save Turkey, who was neutral) it was the most fearsome as its stated goal was to facilitate a world Revolution, by force if necessary.

[1] Russia was trying to get the Slovaks to revolt and the West was also. Germany assured the Czechs that if they joined them they could keep the Slovaks down.

[2] The Italians had come under German influence after the German-Italian War.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

I have a paper to do so there probably won't be an update soon.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Expect an update sometime tomorrow as I am procrastinating.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Ok i have hit another stumbling block as all my planned scenarios have become unfeasible. I now turn to you all in my hour of need, any ideas for where you want me to explore next? If you do please TG me and I may just pick it up. If I do I will credit you for giving me the idea and you will get an advance copy of the chapter.