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I’m with @Dain on this but I think there’s ways you can accomplish this and still tell the story you want to tell.

For instance: An overconfident German counterattack after an initial repulse of the French attacks ending with their center point Army surrounded and annihilated, Stalingrad style, stunning the OKH and leading to a haphazard retreat by the left and right Wings of their lines to safer ground as they scramble to redeploy forces held elsewhere and not expected to be needed?
That would be the only way possible. Cimino in his excellent "The German Way of War" gives numerous examples of Prussian/German field-grade commanders being akin to rabid dogs and exceeding the scope of their respective commanders' intent and through overzelaous attacking outpacing their support or opening a flank that should have stayed covered.
In this case, this would be worthy of a pro-forma court martial and subsequent reduction in rank to private and an immediate front posting or outright execution.
The plans for defending against a French invasion dated back decades and were mostly officer-proof. Let them batter themselves to bloody pieces against the German lines, open a gap, let them penetrate, close the cauldron, annihatw them.
As stated, no counterattack would normally be allowed to run into such an obvious trap. All those overzealous commanders mentioned by Cimino overreached their authority in the offensive, not defensive/counterattack. About the latter, I may however be mistaken.
 
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The way to do it is to have Russia attack. Have the French attacks fail and the Germans start to move forward. Then Russia attacks with an army that did not suffer a purge. Germany panics and France takes advantage of this panic to Reach the Rhine while Russia reaches the Vistula. At the same time have Britain attack the coasts and starve the Germans out with another blockade.
France in this war should be like Italy in OTL, Russia should be like Germany and Britain should be like Japan.
 
Okay, I'll have to do some revisions to the text. I'll admit I have very little knowledge on how a war like this would play out. I intended to have the Germans act like the French army IOTL where they became overconfident and complacent and the French TTL as punching above their weight.

A push through the netherlands makes more sense. The terrain west of the rhine heavily favours the defenders as the allies found out in 44/45. Bonus points if a batte of teuteburg forest happens in this timeline and it ends with a crushing german defeat. The ruhr area suffering a leningrad style siege is also a possible event in this scenario.
 
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A push through the netherlands makes more sense. The terrain west of the rhine heavily favours the defenders as the allies found out in 44/45. Bonus points if a batte of teuteburg forest happens in this timeline and it ends with a crushing german defeat. The ruhr area suffering a leningrad style siege is also a possible event in this scenario.
Flooding the low areas of The Netherlands would make any war of movement a very slow slog through the mud.
Do you have any idea how big the Ruhr area is? The whole of the French Army would be hard pressed to close a ring around it.
 
Flooding the low areas of The Netherlands would make any war of movement a very slow slog through the mud.
Do you have any idea how big the Ruhr area is? The whole of the French Army would be hard pressed to close a ring around it.
Yeah, you could hypothetically try to Stalingrad a Cologne, but not the whole of the Ruhr
 
A push through the netherlands makes more sense. The terrain west of the rhine heavily favours the defenders as the allies found out in 44/45. Bonus points if a batte of teuteburg forest happens in this timeline and it ends with a crushing german defeat. The ruhr area suffering a leningrad style siege is also a possible event in this scenario.
Yep, better go north through Belgium (at least until you are close to Aachen) before going west as otherwise there is this nice mountain range called the Eifel in your way.
 
Flooding the low areas of The Netherlands would make any war of movement a very slow slog through the mud.
Do you have any idea how big the Ruhr area is? The whole of the French Army would be hard pressed to close a ring around it.
How much of Netherlands would be flooded if the djiks are opened? It would suicidal in any way to do this without evacuating the population first
 
How much of Netherlands would be flooded if the djiks are opened? It would suicidal in any way to do this without evacuating the population first
It is not the area flooded that‘s important but the attackers would be forced to move along easily defined a es of advance where they can be targeted much easier. It also creates a series of traffic jams.
 
Flooding the low areas of The Netherlands would make any war of movement a very slow slog through the mud.
Do you have any idea how big the Ruhr area is? The whole of the French Army would be hard pressed to close a ring around it.
Unless they fuck up and the british pull off a super successfull market garden operation. The germans never managed to completly close the ring around leningrad. Supplying 5-7 million people is going to be "fun" with a hostile army at your doorsteps.
 
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Unless they fuck up and the british pull off a super successfull market garden operation. The germans never managed to completly close the ring around leningrad. Supplying 5-7 million people is going to be "fun" with a hostile army at your doorsteps.
Let‘s not get ahead of ourselves. Crossing the Rhine and the various other rivers on the way there is not going to be easy. This isn‘t OTL‘s 1945. I also fail to see how Britain alone (Market Garden was one Brit and two US abn divisions along with one Polish brigade) could manage to airdrop three divisions‘ worth of paratroopers over enemy territory. Once again, this isn‘t the endgame phase of WW2 with a nonexistant Luftwaffe and exhausted troops on the receiving end. Furhermore, airborne operations haven‘t yet matured into the art form they turned into by the end of WW2.
Another thing that has not yet found appropriate mention here is the inherent weakness of Communist/Socialist armed forces. In history, there wasn‘t a single "red" army that has managed to implement anything other than the strictest of strict top-down order-based and plan-based organization that stifled any semblance of initiative and independent thinking. Why do you think NATO practised going for the unit and sub-unit leadership of WP formations? A, say, armored battalion that suddenly lost its CO by a well-aimed shot lost as much as half of its combat effectiveness.
German military leadership was and is is task and intent based. Every serviceperson was and is trained to take over the task of one step above and one step below them. A unit is given a desired outcome ("take Hill 335"), available means and a rough timetable and is then left to its own devices. A "red“ unit would be given a string of orders, to be ahered to slavishly. Any change in the overall tactical situation would have been reported upwards, with new order coming down later, while a German unit would take the new situation into account and react accordingly and independently. This independence and initiative was practised, lived and breathed from Generalfeldmarschall down to the newest Private fresh out of boot camp.
 
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Let‘s not get ahead of ourselves. Crossing the Rhine and the various other rivers on the way there is not going to be easy. This isn‘t OTL‘s 1945. I also fail to see how Britain alone (Market Garden was one Brit and two US abn divisions along with one Polish brigade) could manage to airdrop three divisions‘ worth of paratroopers over enemy territory. Once again, this isn‘t the endgame phase of WW2 with a nonexistant Luftwaffe and exhausted troops on the receiving end. Furhermore, airborne operations haven‘t yet matured into the art form they turned into by the end of WW2.

The western allies lost the battle of france in six weeks and they only had one front to worry about. Here the german forces are stationed in a potentially hostile country (flanders wallonia) and they have another hostile power on their eastern border. A recipe for a desaster if their forces are crippled by a pro belgian uprising after they have launched an attack into northern france.
 
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The western allies lost the battle of france in six weeks and they only had one front to worry about. Here the german forces are stationed in a potentially hostile country (flanders wallonia) and they have another hostile power on their eastern border. A recipe for a desaster if their forces are crippled by a pro belgian uprising after they have launched an attack into northern france.
Moving the goal posts, are we?
 
If nothing significant changed, the Dutch forces will be an absolute joke at this time. Outdated, undertrained, and very poorly led. That however won't stop inundations from protecting Holland from occupation (landings are asking for a massive disaster because they would be very vulnerable to any sort of naval attack, particularly submarines.
 
If nothing significant changed, the Dutch forces will be an absolute joke at this time. Outdated, undertrained, and very poorly led. That however won't stop inundations from protecting Holland from occupation (landings are asking for a massive disaster because they would be very vulnerable to any sort of naval attack, particularly submarines.
The West Frisian Islands are not one bit better than the East Frisian islands 😁
 
The West Frisian Islands are not one bit better than the East Frisian islands 😁
They are far better! Much nicer to visit in summer!

But you're right. The northern coastline can't be attacked. The western is more vulnerable, but it would probably be covered by dense minefields.
 
They are far better! Much nicer to visit in summer!

But you're right. The northern coastline can't be attacked. The western is more vulnerable, but it would probably be covered by dense minefields.
Have you ever heard about the train wreck that was an attempt at a TL here in which the WAllies ditch Normandy in favor of going via the East Frisian Islands? Yeah. It was bad 😁
 
Have you ever heard about the train wreck that was an attempt at a TL here in which the WAllies ditch Normandy in favor of going via the East Frisian Islands? Yeah. It was bad 😁
I haven't, but it sounds like something special indeed. Some people probably never even saw what the terrain is like. You might as well just not bother building any sort of heavy equipment at all. Or chain up your soldiers before sinking the landing ships yourself. It takes a little less time but is about as efficient.
 
Has anyone made QBAM Map of this timeline? I have some free time today to make one.
Finally, someone that can make better maps than me! There have been a few Worlda maps from Michel Van, but no QBAM map. It would be really helpful if you can make one. I can tell what it should like in PM if you want.
 
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