And if the US allows that to happen, Portugal will jump into the arms of Germania and militarize the Azores, Angola and Mozambique. It's bad enough that the South African Boers and Arabs are friendly with the Nazis, if Portugal joins them not only will the situation in Africa become even worse, the RSHA and SST would have free rein to crack down over Lisbon, so goodbye to their main channel for espionage and only "neutral" harbor into the Continent.
The Iron Eagle - The History of the Cold War
- Thread starter Kaiser of Brazil
- Start date
But how can the USA stop them if they're really determined to push Portugal out ?
Surely the USA declaring war, or sending military forces to defend the disputed territories, or even major sanctions, on Asian countries for taking back their rightful territory from some Nazi-friendly colonialist country wouldn't fly to US opinion (which is culturally anti-Nazi, fancies itself as anti-colonial, and has a strong isolationist undercurrent).
Moreover, if the USA oppose Asian takover of Portuguese outposts by military action or economical sanctions (and somehow the US opinion accepts it), the Reich might throw Portugal under the bus (knowing that Lisbon won't join the US bloc when it's so easy to invade from Spain, Salazar won't risk national suicide over Goa or Macao...) and instead woo China, India and Indonesia as friends which would be far worse than Portugal going full Linz.
Surely the USA declaring war, or sending military forces to defend the disputed territories, or even major sanctions, on Asian countries for taking back their rightful territory from some Nazi-friendly colonialist country wouldn't fly to US opinion (which is culturally anti-Nazi, fancies itself as anti-colonial, and has a strong isolationist undercurrent).
Moreover, if the USA oppose Asian takover of Portuguese outposts by military action or economical sanctions (and somehow the US opinion accepts it), the Reich might throw Portugal under the bus (knowing that Lisbon won't join the US bloc when it's so easy to invade from Spain, Salazar won't risk national suicide over Goa or Macao...) and instead woo China, India and Indonesia as friends which would be far worse than Portugal going full Linz.
The problem here is you are thinking in the traditional approach to diplomacy, something which just doesn't exist with Rudolf Hess. The US could nuke Beijing and the Reich would still never accept any cooperation with the Asiatic states, they are the whole reason they are even engaged in a war for the Urals. If someone truly dangerous took over Germania, then we can discuss this, but considering the government structure (or destructure) of the Germans. The Security Services have had their hands full to try to keep the Arabs from being fully alienated by Hess' rhetoric and his actions in Algeria!
So basically, the USA are so supremely confident that (because of Hess) the Reich won't befriend Asian countries, that they're ready to prioritize Portugal's interests over India, China and Indonesia combined ? Makes sense, as weird as it sounds
Though again, what can the USA do in practice (taking into account internal politics and opinion) if one day, the Asians wake up and decide that fuck it, today is the day Portuguese imperialists will be sent packing ?
They will be in the awkward position of publicly condemning an aggression on the same side as the Germans while both sides are somewhat relieved that perhaps this will finally make the Portuguese side with one of them more decisively.
But if it's just words of condemnation, would the three Asian countries care ?
Plot twist Portugal gets so angry it decides to side against both of them more decisively
"Macau is a integral part of Portugal and by the way now we have nukes!"
- Salazar right after discovering magic
Of course, the Germans don't truly have another entry door to East Asia (at least not officially), and even if Hess has no interest in those areas, other elements such as Heydrich and the RSHA do have interests in the area.
Here is a little teaser, I plan on writing this chapter as soon as Carnaval ends:
I’m guessing we’re going back to the Ural War and there’s gonna be another Battle On The Ice?
Fodedor_de_Casadas
Banned
This is such a good TL. I believe Mao will definitely annex Mongolia in the future and Russia will have to grudgingly accept it as a compromise. But I don't think Vladivostok is on the table, it's too Russian already.
China will be better ITTL now that Mao isn't so hell-bent on industrialization at all cost. Could the lack of famines lead to an earlier one child policy now that there are so many more people in China?
China will be better ITTL now that Mao isn't so hell-bent on industrialization at all cost. Could the lack of famines lead to an earlier one child policy now that there are so many more people in China?
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XXXI - UNBESIEGBAR
THE IRON EAGLE
UNBESIEGBAR
UNBESIEGBAR
Ever since 1943, Europe has not seen a winter as bloody and destructive, in fact many would say this winter was the deathliest one in European History, surpassing the scale of the German-Soviet War between 1941 and 1943. Ferdinand Schörner, a man with a reputation as fearsome as the SSF with the brutality of a wild animal, a man appointed following the terrorist strike at Rostock as a direct retaliation to the continuous resistance of the Russian people. No man had been more devoted to Adolf Hitler's doctrines in the entire Wehrmacht, no man had such a reputation of being a relentless commander as he did in the Eastern Front. Busch and Manstein, commanders of the Groups North and South respectively, now had to contend with a commander who was known to be far harsher and aggressive than Heusinger. On the 1st of November, in the former Kazan, Schörner arrived and called for a conference with the High command, immediately issuing orders to scrap Operation Hidenburg, claiming that the previous hesitation has cost Germania the element of surprise and the crucial field advantages of the Wehrmacht. The Air superiority of the Luftwaffe was not as assured, with planes and pilots arriving from factories in both Siberia and the outside world, which is why the strategy would have to be changed in order to force a breakthrough now that the Russians reached a parity with the Wehrmacht in several areas where the OKW once believed itself invincible. Worse is that the supplies were limited at the start of the campaign by the belief of the complete destruction of the enemy armies in large encirclements which just did not materialize, the Russian tactics of exchanging terrain for men and wearing down the German troops by turning the countryside into a warzone with Partisan attacks were crucial in reducing the supplies that were never meant to go past the winter. Wegener had been in many ways the main sponsor of this operation as he planned for a foreign success to endorse his policies to reorganize the Reich internally, in fact he was the hand behind appointing Heusinger and Speidel in the command of Operation Hidenburg. Now Schörner was in charge and the plans changed for the new "Operation Sutur".
Named after the mythological destroyer in Nordic Mythology, the plan would be a change of the direction the Reich was following in the war, but that would also require collaboration with the Kriegsmarine and the Portuguese government. Salazar, already caught in an uncomfortable situation, now had to deal with a day which many dreaded would come: Macau had to be used as a U-Boat naval resupply station, as the German government planned to strike the Port of Vladivostock, enforcing a U-Boat blockade at the single most important port of Russia. But, naturally, Salazar began to stall and bid for time, knowing that with the situation in Asia, engaging to this extent with the Linz Pakt would put at risk the Portuguese overseas territories that were so exposed to India, Indonesia and China. Besides, the United States and Great Britain were helping to keep the situation under control in Angola and Mozambique, while also supporting the regime in the mainland by exempting them from the Embargo in return for their continued neutrality. It was the second time that the Portuguese had to play a balancing act between an Atlantic-based Power and a Continental Power, but this time fleeing to Brazil was not exactly an option. On the other hand, Schörner wished to sideline the Waffen-SSK in the planning of the operation, despite being a known loyal supporter of the Führer, Ferdinand defended the Primacy of the Wehrmacht on military operations as he did not consider the "Policemen" adequate for large-scale military operations.
The Germans at the moment still treated this as a frontier war, the economy was not yet mobilized, the number of troops was not ramped up by conscripts in any large scale, the government attempted to keep it as an operation to crush insurgents in some way. Meanwhile the Russians considered this a war of survival, refusing any compromise even if the Germans had offered any. Besides, foreign Minister Bohle refused to even establish contacts with the Russian government itself, there was no formal declaration of war because the Reich did not consider them even worthy of conversing with Aryans. This type of arrogance in the level of State, added with the fact the generation in the battlefield was indoctrinated from birth into seeing themselves as superior, with stories being told of how easily the Red Army collapsed, gave a sense of supremacy to the soldiers that directly led to additional casualties and a shock when the Russians were successfully defending the line behind the Kama and Belaya rivers by the time Winter arrived, even the use of a Nuclear device was not sufficient for the capture of Perm. Now Ferdinand would treat this as a real war, hoping that a successful winter offensive would break the Russian morale before the Wehrmacht was forced to scale up the war and risk the failure of their invincibility mythos.
On the Russian side, the nuclear attack on Perm proved itself to be a boon to their cause, the shock by the use of Nuclear armaments, which were only used once as a last resort to break Japan in 1947, caused the United States to increase it's intervention in the conflict, the news of the attack and unexpectedly powerful resistance of the Russians led to a "Rally around the flag" effect to the American people in solidarity with the Russians and opposition to the Third Reich after the anti-German sentiment skyrocketed following the persecution of Christian churches in 1956. Even previously neutral States began to offer support to the Russian Empire, with volunteers arriving at the thousands from places such as Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam and Australia. The support in both material and financial matters was officialized when, for once, the United Nations was used as a medium to directly intervene against the German aggression. In a unanimous resolution, with just a few absences including China's, the United Nations passed a resolution in it's Security Council to send forces to Russia in order to halt the "German Aggression against the Slavic People". That meant the numerical inferiority of the Germans would only increase as the help was expected to increase following the Winter, which is why Schörner and Germania were willing to use all means necessary to break the Russian resistance in the winter of 1958-1959.
Operation Surtr was set to begin on the 20th of November, as the preparations had to be rushed over the month to strike before the arrival of winter. Intelligence from the Russian Army began to pick the signs of a coming offensive in both the reduced patterns of German attacks and partisan reports of coming of large amounts of supplies. Chuikov was informed of such developments and feared of what a breakthrough could lead to as the Werhmacht was feared for it's capacity of exploiting those through the Bewegungskrieg, however further retreats were becoming harder as the proximity with the Ural mountains meant the loss of the Perm-Ufa line would allow the Germans to collapse the central defense of the Russian military and achieve their main ideological goal. A capture of the West of the Urals would allow the Germans to consolidate their goals and halt operations, restoring the conflict to a "cold war" phase and provoking instability that could threaten the Empire itself. Nevermind the fact that the emboldened Mao Zedong would see such defeat as the perfect opportunity to rid himself of his troublesome Northern Neighbor. Chinese divisions were mobilizing around Inner Mongolia for what many expected to be an invasion of the Khanate after the Russian military presence was reduced by both previous agreements and the diversion of troops to the West. The Imperial army had to prepare itself to absorb the damage of a potentially catastrophic offensive, for that all resources had to be mobilized as there would be no break for the winter just yet.
The Wehrmacht launched it's attack on the 20th by making the sun rise two hours before the hour. The line crossed at Perm would be obliterated by Schörner through the mass use of tactical nuclear weapons, this time sent by the Luftwaffe to avoid the information from arriving days in advance as it did when using Long-range artillery guns. In five different locations across the front with the cities of Birsk and Kambarka destroyed alongside several Russian positions. The artillery was silent, in order to avoid alarming the enemy troops to run to shelters, while the Luftwaffe has spent the previous two weeks focusing against enemy radar sites to cover the area. Fallschirmjägers would strike in other areas of the line in order to sabotage the Russian communication lines, the Heer moved in after the bombardment ceased by crossing the riverline and striking at the flanks where numerous Russian troops were still shattered by the nuclear element. There was an obvious disregard for the effects of the fallout on the German advancing units, with many believing that anti-radiation suits and Iodine pills would suffice to protect them from the proximity to low-yield Nuclear bombs. The breakthrough was the world's most radical example of Shock and Awe tactics, as Heusinger previously avoided those in Perm out of concern of the Radiation effect on his own troops and an arrogant belief that the Russians were both unaware and unprepared for a nuclear strike. Tens of Thousands had died just within the first hour as the Reich shocked the world again by only doubling down on their "Wunderwaffen" armaments.
As the crossing was made, Panzer divisions would cross the Russian defenses over the following days, avoiding the epicenter of the Fallout but with many still being caught in the radius of the blast, it's no wonder many would be delayed due to the health issues of the troops. Nevertheless, Perm fell on the 24th, although it was already a mostly abandoned wasteland by the time the Red-White-Black flag with the Hooked Cross was raised in the city. The Russian high command scrambled into action to move in reserves and close the several gaps, racing against the German troops while the fight intensified in the snowy skies above. The weather was affecting the attackers and defenders alike, but most of all the Germans who relied on speed and had to deal with the muddy ground of the Russian countryside while harassed by Partisans, sometimes reinforcement columns would spend the way from Ukraine to Izhevsk being struck by hidden enemies, the soldiers arriving exhausted and with numbers dwindling. The Germans would manage to encircle the town of Tchaikovsky, trapping over 60 thousand troops inside the city as the place would be bombarded day and night to force their surrender, something similar happening further south as Prince Fyodor's troops were trapped in the city of Orenburg by the troops of Otto Remer.
Back in Germania, many circles had begun to celebrate victory, toasts were given in the name of Marshal Schörner, the Wehrmacht was reaching a level of prestige not seen since the days of Hitler's conquests. Comes in December and the expectation of reaching the Ural mountains by winter was close to reality, the situation could still be seen as a victory despite the unexpected tenaciousness of the Slavic troops. On the Sunday, November 31st, Rudolf Hess called for a meeting in the Chancellery between several high figures of the Reich, Wegener was the first one to arrive, followed by others such as Heydrich and Speer. It was more of a social gathering where the Führer, in a rare public appearance, offered a toast for the Wehrmacht's success on the East. He went on to make an incoherent speech where he spoke of the odds stacked against them and also praised the show of force as a way for the rest of the world to finally come to terms with the German supremacy through the power of it's military, while also talking a lot of occultist and racial theories that made the guests only have their beliefs about their leader's sanity. Wegener was the one to give the cue to end the speech by raising a toast for Hess, who suddenly turned to the Party Chancellor and spoke that only Hitler deserved praise, going on to act like a maniac, speaking like the late Führer and copying his mannerisms, rumors that he was possessed by Hitler's spirit at times were claimed to be only propaganda to win the more unorthodox and fringe groups within the NSDAP, but after that incident it was reinforced to those who watched that Hess was becoming a lunatic, if he was not one already, his health has been in decline due to the stress, not much physically but especially mentally. The celebration would continue after Hess went back to his chambers, although the SSK guards looked more like they were escorting him "like he was sneaking in his own party".
But one thing that was worrying the SSK was the growth in the Wehr's prestige, especially as the "Bloodhound" Schörner continued to acquire gains, and as consequence it was Wegener who reaped the rewards from the success of this operation. Sure, he did appoint Heusinger in the first place, but now that the "Führer" had chosen a more assertive commander who shot soldiers who refused to march into radioactive wastelands everything was fine. Heydrich did not like that, he had previously been at constant odds with Wegener and old wounds were always open in Germania's rotten halls, the SSK was supposed to lead the ideological charge of the Reich but he only ended up humiliated by the bombing in Rostock. The Waffen-SSK troops were left behind as secondaries while the Werhmacht's Panzer divisions mowed down the Russian tank formations in Burayevo on the 4th of December, the "Blackboots" as some called them, were reduced to striking partisans in the conquered territories or protecting the rearguard. Entire Panzer divisions being left to protect the rear in a war of conquest was such an insult that Joachim Peiper exclaimed "We were reduced to hunting rats with Panzerfausts". That is where the infighting within the Reich sabotaged it's war effort, while it did not go as far as shootouts between the two groups, the SSK refused to engage in battles to support the Werh, and if they did they would only appear after Russian troops had sapped away the most of the Army's strength. In return the Wehrmacht's logistics chain ignored the SSK's requests, giving them second-hand equipment at best when during the conflict. The uncooperative nature of the German troops was a crucial issue considering how the rapid conquest and the refusal of the leadership, especially by Speer, to push for a total mobilization of conscripts and military industry was leaving the attackers outnumbered and overextended.
That is when the Battle of Chernushka began, in this context the Wehrmacht has been rushing to advance towards the foot of the Ural mountains, in a tight schedule to do so by the end of December. Winter was getting harsher, settling around 30 degrees negative, right ahead of the German advance coming from the West was the town which was one of the major oilfields of the region and one of the last obstacles for the Germans. It was the 6th of December when the Vanguard of the 7th Panzer Army arrived at the city outskirts to meet a surprisingly stiff resistance. Russian troops had fallen back in many positions to avoid encirclements at the same time as reservists crossed the Mountains to flood the West. Amongst the defenders was the 8th Volunteer Corps made up from English-speaking countries, most of them Americans and Australians, there was also the "Revenge Batallion" as they were nicknamed, a force compromised by Lithuanian and Belarussian refugees who fled to the town and now were defending it to the last, indeed they would have a casualty rate of 80%, one of the highest in the war.
Perhaps the Month-long struggle for the city could have been avoided entirely, it was not a vital target for the Wehrmacht, most of the towns targeted by Operation Sutur had been captured and all that was needed was for the Wehr to dig in for the coming counter attack, but instead it was pride that drove their decisions. Schörner could not allow a single Russian city west of the Urals to stay unconquered, he wanted to show himself as the victor where Heusinger and others failed. Speidel insisted on the need to concentrate the efforts on the flanks, Kesselring proposed to just bomb the city into ashes and call it a day, but none of them would back down from the victory fever. As a result, when the initial defenses stopped the 7th Panzer Army, the Germans doubled down on the pressure by sending in their reserves and even units from other "successful" sectors. The SSK was supposed to take a part on the offensive, specifically Joachim Peiper's "Kampfgruppe", an armored force that had a substantial amount of opportunities to breach the defenses of the Russians from the south, however he did not attack, retreating at the first signal of resistance and overexagerating reports of the enemy forces in the south. Truthfully, the SSK could have struck down at the flank and routed the Russian defenses, but Heydrich gave subtle commands to Peiper, the Wehrmacht needed to lose, Wegener's bet had to be lost. Along the month, 300 thousand German troops would attempt to break the city, while the Russians only increased their numbers as the routed troops returned and reinforcements crossed the Urals. The Luftwaffe punished the resistance, turning the city into rubble, however their air efforts overall were being impaired by winter to the advantage of the Russian infantry on the ground. From the North, the Germans would be halted in Bedryazh, the largest armored engagement of the war so far. Russian tanks, despite being inferior to the German MBTs, benefitted from an assault of combined arms that included even cavalry, with the use of the lethal RPG-7 and the superior speed of American tanks. On the 25th, German Christmas, they had failed to take the lands west of the Urals.
"Disaster is the Cost of Failure."
The counter attack was built up since before the Operation, the sheer violence the Germans unleashed in November caught most by surprise, nobody expected the atomic weapons to become yet another machine of war, which made the control of the skies even more crucial. The Russian air force was still very far from defeating the Luftwaffe, which is why the only time such attack was possible was in winter, where weather and visibility was in their favor. Winds from the south, on the night of the 10th of January, struck the German lines with a cloud of poisonous gas in the Northern flank. An artillery barrage, short and precise, would be unleashed shortly before 300 thousand Germans were overwhelmed by a force of almost a million men, striking at their exhausted and overextended lines, partisans continuously harrassed the back and the lack of proper economic engagement in Germania left resources to dwindle. The invincible German army, which so far had only been stalled at best, was now on the run trying to avoid an encirclement as a general counter offensive, Operation Kutuzov, was launched by the Imperial forces. The SSK was the first to obey the order to fall back to the West, but then orders came from Germania, no step back could be given, a directive straight from the Führer ordered the German troops to keep every inch of ground that was taken. This order would be disobeyed by several field commanders on a situational basis, but most of those who did so belonged to the old generation, the new ones, indoctrinated into the fanatical standards of the NSDAP, refused to ever disobey a command of the Führer and admit their defeat. The Russians took full advantage of it, capturing thousands of troops who stayed behind in a last stand, for the first time the troops carrying the Swastika were being captured as whole batallions, being taken to the East to never return. But most of them fought ferociously, in a manner that American volunteers compared to the fanaticism of the Japanese, that resistance did cause some delays but the retreat was turning into a rout.
The conquests of Operation Sutur were reversed entirely in January, in fact, as German troops had to be redeployed to the center, a relief force would end the encirclement of Orenburg on the south, including saving the younger brother of Tsar Andrey, Fyodor, although the stress of the siege and the weather greatly worsened his tuberculosis and forced him to return to Novossibirsky following the relief. Ufa and Perm would be retaken and Russian troops boldly crossed the Ufa river, with Izhevsk being retaken in the north and the Counter attack reaching as far as Almetiersk in the Center. The Germans scrambled to attempt to stop the collapse of the front, sending in reservists and transferring troops from garrison duties to the East. It was an unprecedented crisis, especially after German troops were trapped in the Yanaul pocket, with the surrender of 70 thousand men being the greatest single blow the Heer had suffered since the World War. However, the Russians were finally halted as they reached the limits of their logistics train and the Luftwaffe mercilessly bombarded the Imperial railroads. But by the time February arrived the message was clear: The Wehrmacht was not invincible.
The Germans aren’t so invincible after all! Great chapter, though I wish it was longer.
To be fair Stalingrad at least had some strategic value, Chernushka was a small town and the Germans aren't lacking in oil, it was by pure ego.
Yeah I have wanted to write the Wehrmacht being actually beaten for 2 years. I admit this was a shorter chapter as it is restricted to the winter of 1958-59, I guess I usually write such long chapters that the readers get used to it.
True, but not enough for Hitler to refuse to withdraw even as the noose was tightening.