alternatehistory.com

An alternate timeline of WWII I did to amuse the people in a WWII gaming forum:
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[FONT=&quot]May 10th, 1940: Germany invades the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and ultimately France.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 13th, 1940: German forces break through the French defensive line at Sedan and Dinant.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 23rd, 1940: 2nd Panzer Division rolls into Dunkirque against minimal opposition, trapping the French 1st and 7th Armies and the B.E.F.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 26th, 1940: French 1st Army surrenders.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 29th, 1940: French 7th Army and B.E.F. surrender.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 4th, 1940: Adlertag; Repositioned Luftwaffe squadrons begin the air Battle of Britain.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 25th, 1940: German invasion fleet sets sail for England. HMS Nelson, HMS Resolution, HMS York, 2 light cruisers and 5 destroyers of the Home Fleet lost to mines and air attack in the Channel trying to stop the German invasion fleet. KM Scharnhorst damaged and incapacitated by Luftwaffe attack, and sunk when she drifted into a German minefield. KM Deutschland and 2 destroyers sunk by gunfire and torpedoes in the Battle of the Channel.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 26th to 29th, 1940: Elements of 3rd Panzer and 56th and 129th Divisions land on the Kent coastline of England. Dover, Brighton and Chatham are taken against widespread but feeble and uncoordinated resistance. The invading forces come to a halt after that due to a lack of supplies. In an attempt to cut off supplies and reinforcements to the Germans, the Home Fleet once again ventures into the narrowest part of the Channel. HMS Renown takes several aerial torpedoes and is required to beach west of Brighton. Her gunfire is a nuisance to local German forces for a day or so; on the 29th she is scuttled to keep her out of German hands. 7 destroyers and 1 light cruiser are also lost. However the Kriegsmarine is effectively reduced to 3 destroyers plus light forces. Due to heavy losses the RAF is approaching the point of ineffectiveness.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 30th, 1940: The rest of 3rd Panzer Division is landed along with another infantry division. HMS Royal Sovereign is damaged by mines and sunk by the Luftwaffe off Boulogne. Capital ships of the Home Fleet are withdrawn from the Channel, leaving only strained and battered destroyers to stop German supplies from getting through. RAF Bomber Command releases 200 pilots to Fighter Command.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]July 2nd, 1940: Victory Day; Luftwaffe fighter pilots claim 250 RAF aircraft shot down. 3rd Panzer Division starts a limited offensive west toward Portsmouth and Southampton.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]July 4th, 1940: Luftwaffe dive bombers and torpedo planes sink 8 British destroyers. 2nd Panzer breaks through thin British defenses and rolls almost unopposed into a Southampton whose docking facilities are still 90% intact.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]July 5th, 1940: Winston Churchill resigns due to the rising clamour of opposition in the House of Commons. Chamberlain is again asked to form a government with the aim of negotiating with the Germans. A “major offensive” by the British Army does nothing much more than deplete the local German ammunition reserves. What there are of Dover port facilities are now almost fully operational and the British are unable to stop the increasing flow of supplies and reinforcements coming across the Channel.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]July 6th, 1940: 19th (Bavarian) Infantry Division becomes operational in Kent and the invading Anglanderarmee is now formed into two corps.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]July 7th, 1940: 3rd Panzer Division and part of 2nd Panzer Division break through British defenses south of Oxford and begin a drive up the right bank of the Thames.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]July 8th, 1940: The British government asks for a ceasefire pending the signing of an armistice. Major units of the Home Fleet sail for Canada carrying the King and Queen and the Polish Government in exile.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]July 10th, 1940: Britain officially surrenders.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]August 1st: In an executive meeting, it is decided that - because of the removal of Britain as an opponent - resources allocated to the Kriegsmarine shall be used to repair/replace/increase the surface units. Submarine production is cut back to 1 unit a month, and research is strictly curtailed.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]August 4th, 1940: German forces cross the Somme in a major offensive in France. There are almost 36 hours of bitter fighting before they achieve a breakthrough.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]August 7th, 1940: Paris falls.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]August 13th, 1940: France surrenders. Most of the Toulon fleet sails to Algiers.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]August 17th, 1940: In accordance with a secret clause in the French surrender agreement, German troops begin to occupy French North Africa. The lead troops are paratroopers and air landing troops flown into the major ports and rushed to the docks areas in commandeered vehicles. However the French Navy has apparently been forewarned. All major units either escape to sea or are scuttled. The Germans manage to capture a total of 2 destroyers in dry dock for major repairs and 1 obsolescent light cruiser.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]November 24th: Italian forces in Libya invade Egypt. They triumphantly parade into Alexandria and claim capture of the north end of the Suez Canal on January 14th, 1941.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]- Italy invades Greece from Albania.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]- Germany invades Jugoslavia and Greece.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 20th, 1941: German paratroopers descend on Malta. Resistance is poor, consisting of three under strength and under-equipped brigades. However German losses are high. The island is conquered within three days.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 22nd, 1941: Germany invades the USSR. Plans call for almost all armour to be concentrated for a thrust for Moscow. Subsidiary forces are assigned to guard the northern flank and to make a diversion into the Ukraine in the direction of Kiev.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]October 9th, 1941: Moscow is surrounded and falls 4 days later. Major German forces are diverted south.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]October 28th, 1941: Kiev falls. Hitler waits in joyous anticipation but in vain for Stalin to surrender.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]December 7th, 1941: The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. Two French heavy cruisers and a battleship which have fled to India weigh anchor for Australia.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]December 9th, 1941: Hitler comes down with a nasty cold. He wisely takes this as a sign that he should NOT give his speech the next day declaring war on the United States.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]December 20th, 1941: The Soviets launch a major offensive and manage to retake a burnt and partly-destroyed Moscow.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]January 12th, 1942: The US 25th Infantry Division lands on and occupies key islands in the Gilberts archipelago.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]April 19th, 1942: In a local offensive, German forces retake Moscow. On this day also Franco signs an alliance with Germany and Italy.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 7th, 1942: The Germans begin a drive to Stalingrad and the Caucasus.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 8th, 1942: Battle of the Coral Sea. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 4th, 1942: Battle of Midway. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]August 2nd, 1942: The hastily organized and ill-prepared “Operation Shoestring,” the invasion of Guadalcanal, is called off at the last moment.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]August, 1942: The Germans capture the oilfields at Maykop, and later Grozni. Their drive stops at the Caucasus Mountains and the shores of the Caspian Sea. The oilfields are badly sabotaged and will take over a year to get back into production.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]August 19th, 1942: Stalingrad is surrounded. The German 6th Army has made crossings of the Volga above and below the city, and all supplies and reinforcements are cut off.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]September 27th, 1942: The remnants of 4 Soviet Armies surrender in Stalingrad.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]November 8th, 1942: In a reversal of strategy, the resources earmarked for Guadalcanal and naval units that might have otherwise have been needed in the Atlantic are concentrated on an attack on Wake Island. The bored and minimal Japanese garrison are in no way prepared to seriously defend the island; convinced of the inevitability of Japanese victory they haven't even dug slit trenches. Beset by 5 fleet and 2 light carriers, 11 battleships, and 2 infantry and 1 marine divisions, they are overwhelmed in less than 5 hours.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]November 9th, 1942: In a momentous and controversial council of war, against the combined wishes of his task force commanders, Admiral Spruance orders that the 5th Fleet press on. The resources not used against Wake (most of them) will be used for a landing on Saipan in the Marianas Islands. Restoration and enlargement of the Wake airfield and construction of a submarine base begin immediately.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]November 19th, 1942: Zhukov starts his winter offensive with the intention of cutting off German forces in and around Stalingrad and the Caucasus. The going is difficult as the Germans have forces previously tied up around Stalingrad now available to help in the defense.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]November 25th, 1942: Saipan falls almost as quickly as Wake. Tinian and Guam are invaded as well. Spruance orders that work on Wake be suspended and the engineers there shipped with equipment immediately to the Marianas.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]December 15th, 1942: The first land-based aircraft are ferried to Guam.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]December 18th to 26th, 1942: Soviet forces across the Donets River are approaching Rostov. However, they find that their supplies have been cut off. Panzer forces assembled to the west of the River Chir and in the Caucasus have met at Kalach, cutting off the Soviet spearhead.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]January 1st, 1943: An attempt by the main Soviet attack forces to recapture Kalach and escape to the east is easily defeated. In Germany, Albert Speer is placed in overall charge of armaments manufacture.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]January 12th: Patrolling US submarines are now able to use Guam as a resupply base, making the waters around Japan and the Philippines an easy reach for them. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 15th, 1943: The Germans begin their summer offensive. Their line of advance now runs from the Caspian Sea up the Volga past Stalingrad, then up minor river lines to east of Moscow. From there it goes almost due west to East Prussia. Both sides know that it is an obvious German strategy to attack at the base of this huge salient, strike toward Leningrad and cut off all Soviet forces west of there. Thus the Soviets have set up a strong defensive front heavy with mines and anti-tank guns backed up by large tank reserves in the areas where the attack would most logically go in.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Instead the Germans under Manstein punch due east from the Moscow area, then wheel north past the end of the Soviet defensive line. The going is difficult at first but they make steady progress.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 18th, 1943: On the third day of the German offensive they are counterattacked by the massive Soviet armoured reserve bringing about the largest tank battle of the war so far, at Kalinin. Trounced, the remnants of the Soviet armour escape to the east along with almost half the troops from the defensive line.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 11th, 1943: The US 5th Fleet under Halsey attacks Palau and Yap. Yap is taken within a day and engineers begin building an airfield there before the firing stops. Palau contains most of the defenders who are well dug in and take almost two weeks to destroy. Engineers are building the first airfield on the second day, under fire.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 12th-15th, 1943: In a prepared response to the latest US invasion, the Japanese launch a 4-pronged counterattack. The First Air Fleet, an eclectic combination of light, escort and 2 fleet carriers with under-strength and under-trained air components, sorties from the Inland Sea. They are to perform the multiple roles of reconnaissance, decoy and to beat down the last remaining air elements of the 7th Fleet. This last is expected to be easy as the land-based 11th Air Fleet based on the Caroline Islands have reported sinking 5 US carriers and 2 battleships before they were completely eliminated. (In actual fact the 7th Fleet has lost only 31 aircraft, mostly due to operational accidents.)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Also from the Inland Sea, leaving 11 hours later but sailing more quickly, comes Force "B," a collection of fast battleships and heavy cruisers. From Singapore comes the main Force "A" of slower battleships. Force "C" sorties west from the main Japanese southern naval base of Truk, and consists of 2 fast battleships plus heavy and light cruisers.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Force C is detected first by long-range patrol aircraft out of Guam. 2 picket submarines are moved into their path and sink 3 destroyers and a light cruiser between them. Long-range air attacks from Guam harry them but do no considerable damage. An air strike from the westernmost carrier task force of 7th Fleet sinks the flagship battleship IJN Kirishima and another light cruiser. A wet, sick and wounded Admiral Ikawa orders the remnants of the fleet to return to Truk. They stumble upon the same two submarines and lose another heavy cruiser and a destroyer. The air strike from Guam - at the limit of its range - manages to sink another destroyer.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The other US carrier task forces do not launch strikes against Force C because the Japanese First Air Fleet has been detected. Already steaming west at full speed to get in range of Force C, 7th Fleet turns north. As they do so, their combat air patrols plus reinforcement fighters easily fend off the incoming Japanese air strike in what becomes known as the second part of the "Great Carolinas Turkey Shoot."[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The return air strike of 365 aircraft devastates the almost-defenseless First Air Fleet, leaving only 1 fleet carrier and 1 light carrier still operational. Some of the last attack planes to arrive detect Force B on the horizon in the gathering dusk.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Halsey immediately forms his escorting battleships into a battle line, but has second thoughts about bringing on a night battle. He has the 7th Fleet retire on the Carolinas with the battleships as a rearguard.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Early morning reconnaissance and the first air strikes find Force B less than 50 miles away. The American battleships - soon to be joined by the invasion fleet's older escort battleships - get to indulge in almost unhindered target practice. The Japanese have no such luxury as they are constantly dodging and circling under continuous air attack.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] With half of Force B disabled or sunk and the rest fleeing, Halsey is distracted from playtime by urgent cries for help from the invasion fleet itself. They are under fire from Force A![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Force A has not approached undetected. 2 patrolling submarines have detected them – one of them putting 5 torpedoes into the side of the battleship Hyuga and sinking her in under 4 minutes. Both reported the sighting to Submarine Base Guam, which immediately passed the information on to Submarine HQ Pearl. Each HQ assumes the other would pass the word on to Halsey. A long-range patrol aircraft also spots the fleet and radios it in, only to find later that it has lost its radio antenna. A second patrol airplane that would have overflown the fleet was diverted to track the remnants of the First Air Fleet.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Many of the transports are able to flee, but many others are at anchor or beached and unloading. In one hour Force A is able to sink 17 ships for a total of over 100,000 tons before the first diverted air strike from 7th Fleet arrives. After that they are kept busy dodging bombs and rescuing admirals for over two hours until they turn tail and run. Half their warships have been sunk.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Halsey then has a delightful dilemma – which enemy to pursue. He allows the old escort battleships – almost out of AP ammunition – to pursue Force A while taking the whole of 7th Fleet north after Force B and the First Air Fleet. He is strongly criticized for this division, especially since he only manages to sink a further 2 heavy cruisers and 1 destroyer. The escort battleships never manage to catch Force A, but do sink 2 battered and abandoned Japanese battleships. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 12th, 1943: In carefully coordinated attacks, German troops hidden in cargo ships invade Iceland, the Azores and the Canary Islands. The only place where there is any resistance is Iceland, and it is sporadic and short-lived. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] German forces in Northern Ireland fan out and occupy the rest of Ireland. Resistance is almost nonexistent. Many of the Irish have a skeptical, wait-and-see attitude.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 22nd, 1943: In a unanimous vote, the United States Congress declares war on Hitler. Admiral King - cursing Congress - begins allocating considerably more naval units to the Atlantic. These are mostly newer destroyers still working up. King is later overheard to grudgingly admit that they weren't needed in the Pacific anyway.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]July 19th, 1943: German submarines begin their "Happy Time" off the eastern and southern coasts of the U.S., which lasts for about 5 months. Unfortunately for the Germans there are too few long-range submarines to be really effective due to cutbacks. Toward the end several submarines are lost due to improved anti-submarine technology developed in the U.S. or imported from Britain before she went under.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]August 1st, 1943: The spearhead of the reorganized German attack force passes east and north of Lake Ladoga. Leningrad is surrounded and under siege. Light mobile German forces have no serious difficulty occupying Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]September 2nd, 1943: All naval support for the Carolina Islands is withdrawn as being unnecessary. Huge airfields on Yap and Palau are full of warplanes, as are bases in Guam, Saipan and Tinian. Traffic between Japan and her southern “empire” is completely interdicted. Submarines from the huge new bases at Yap and Saipan have an easy run to the shores of Japan, Formosa and the Philippines. Japanese cargo ships are disappearing under the waves in record numbers. The remnants of Force C in Truk have to sail south to New Guinea, then around west of the Philippines before they can rejoin what is left of the main fleet.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]September 29th, 1943: 5th Fleet ranges along the Inland Sea attacking Japanese installations at will. They subsequently move on to Formosa and the Philippines. Japanese land-based air power is virtually wiped out. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]October 9th, 1943: The first shipment of oil from the restored pumps around Maykop sets off for the Black Sea. It will travel along the north shore of the sea to the mouth of the Danube and then on to Romanian refineries. Long-range bombing attempts by the Soviets so far have had no effect on oil production. Stalin is pressing for an increase in the strategic bombing forces in order to be able to put a stronger effort into halting the oil production. By 1944, German army commanders will be under considerably less restrictions regarding fuel use during mobile operations.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]October 17th, 1943: Bismarck and Tirpitz sortie from Scapa Flow to sweep through Bermuda and the Bahamas and down toward Cuba before returning to the Azores. Between them they manage to sink one cargo ship of 10,000 tons burden. They spot many other ships and some smaller warships all fleeing from them, which is very encouraging, but Admiral Lutjens is under orders to protect his units. In surprisingly clear weather they are shadowed almost all the way by Canadian de Havilland Sutherlands and U.S. PBY's.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]October 23rd, 1943: In a political coupe the US administration lets the Japanese government know – through Swedish intermediaries – that the surrender of Japan would not include the surrender of the Emperor of Japan.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]November 10th, 1943: The first Pacific Fleet escort group (TF 111), having been released to the Atlantic, passes through the Panama Canal. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]November 12th, 1943: The Japanese high command officially agrees to surrender unconditionally to the United States of America. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]December 1st, 1943: In bad weather, the Bismarck and Tirpitz manage to surprise Escort Group 111 bringing a convoy of tankers north from Venezuela. They sink the two escort carriers, two destroyers and a destroyer escort, but avengers from the USS Barnes depth charge the Bismarck, springing several of her hull plates and bending a propeller shaft. Bismarck limps back to the Azores and then to Wilhelmshaven where she is laid up for 6 months. Because of the resistance of the escort group, the tankers manage to scatter, although 1 is sunk later by a U-boat.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]December 2nd, 1943: Soviet armoured forces from the Yaroslavl Front drive down the upper Volga River toward Dimitrov.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]December 3rd, 1943: Further Soviet forces of the Vladimir Front strike down the Oka valley toward Kashira and Kaluga. Both attacking forces have their flanks and rear harried by German mobile forces. Yaroslavl Front stalls out crossing the Moscow-Volga Canal, and fierce fighting rages in Dimitrov. They create a major bridgehead over the canal, but further advances are painstakingly slow.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]December 8th, 1943: Vladimir Front captures Yukhnov after a hard fight and moves on to try to cut the "Moscow Runway" at Viazma.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]December 9th, 1943: The main German armoured reserve has been assembled at Tula and proceeds to assail the Soviet defenses at Kashira. General Koniev, in charge of Vladimir Front, asks permission to turn about and make sure of his supply line by destroying the German threat. He is ordered to continue his attack on Viazma. Two days later, with the Germans now in possession of Kashira, he is finally given permission to clear his supply lines. Short on ammunition and fuel he attacks the German defenses. This brings on a tank battle between Moscow and Kashira possibly larger than the one at Kalinin. Koniev has his attack shredded by the Germans who are waiting for him. In many places, however, his assaulting tanks do get into the German lines and cause great havoc. Some Soviet troops get away but mostly without their heavy equipment.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]December 11th, 1943: Yaroslavl Front is given permission to abandon Dimitrov and fall back on their supply base. After recrossing the Moscow-Volga Canal they encounter the spearhead of 4th Panzer Armee and a long running battle takes place causing considerable loss to both sides. 6th Panzer Armee has had time to take Yaroslavl and prepare defenses west of there. They are ready when the running fight arrives on their doorstep. Very little of Yaroslavl Front succeeds in escaping, and only by fleeing straight north without anything but small arms.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]January 1st, 1944: The first fleet carrier task force (#54) passes through the Panama Canal. #55 is right behind them, waiting for the locks to clear. The initial orders for these task forces are to patrol the mid-Atlantic, searching for submarines and surface vessels. Most of the Pacific Fleet is now streaming for the Canal and will all be in the Atlantic by March. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]January 13th, 1944: Tirpitz, Gneisnau and Scheer leave the Azores in bad weather for a cruise in the Caribbean. Unfortunately for them they are spotted almost immediately by a picket submarine, USS Sunfish. Task Forces 53, 54 and 55 are vectored to intercept.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]January 14th, 1944: In a break in the weather in the late afternoon a B-24 out of Bermuda spots the German ships. Task Force 55 is 40 miles directly south of them steaming in the opposite direction. They intercept the sighting report and launch an immediate air strike. Battleships South Dakota and Indiana are detached to intercept. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Scheer - the rearmost German ship - is discovered first. She takes 3 torpedoes in the bows, all within 30 seconds. She drives underwater at full speed and disappears. Gneisnau is plastered with bombs and torpedoes, turns turtle and refuses to sink. Tirpitz - furthest away - takes 3 bombs and two torpedoes which do no more damage than slowing her by 2 knots and temporarily jamming a secondary turret. She escapes into a squall in the gathering dusk and turns back.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Five hours later shells begin falling around her. South Dakota and Indiana are following and firing by radar. They pound her into a blazing motionless hulk before she can reply, 10 miles from the Azores.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] USS Sunfish sinks her with torpedoes the next morning. It requires 7 of them before she goes down. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]January 27th, 1944: 5 Ranger battalions and the "Devil's Brigade" land from fast transports at key points in the Azores. Carrier task forces 52 and 54 provide air support. Most of the garrison is surprised, but elements of one battalion hold out for 8 hours in key points in upper Sao Miguel. Under constant aerial and naval bombardment they finally surrender. "After Palau, this was a cake walk," says one Ranger Lieutenant. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]February 22nd, 1944: On a cold clear morning just under 150 US Hellcats swarm over Reykjavik, Iceland. 23 Bf 109's are already up to receive them. About half of the Condor reconnaissance aircraft usually stationed there have already been flown off to Norway, because the German garrison had detected a large number of ships approaching. The Messerschmidts give a good account of themselves despite the superior numbers, taking down 3 while losing 10. They land when the Americans leave, only to be strafed and bombed by the next wave of Hellcats, Helldivers and Avengers arriving almost immediately. From then on the Americans keep the Germans down with a continuous combat air patrol over the main airport of Reykjavik. About midmorning an even larger swarm of aircraft appears, signaling the arrival of the second carrier task force. By noon there isn't an undamaged aircraft on the island. Anti-aircraft sites are identified and destroyed. Anything that moves is attacked.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]February 23rd, 1944: The next morning after the fog departs from Reykjavik the horde of US aircraft are back. This time they include 24 C-47's flown off the deck of the USS Bonhomme Richard. The C-47's make a low-level drop of a half-battalion of the 501st Airborne Regiment in fields northeast of Reykjavik and then crash-land on a level snowfield inland. The paratroopers attack the outskirts of Reykjavik.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] While the German garrison is distracted by the paratroopers the 4th Marine Brigade assaults the docks of Reykjavik from the decks of a number of small fast transports (old converted flush-deck destroyers.) The first transport is sunk by two newly-revealed 88mm AA guns, which are promptly dive-bombed. The rest dock without major damage. Despite heavy casualties to the marines most of the docks are quickly secured. The rest of the 2nd Marine Division begins landing from a hodge-podge collection of freighters. Fighting is over within 24 hours, and as the whole German garrison of Iceland is based in Reykjavik, Iceland is liberated. 2nd Marine Division is badly cut up and is soon withdrawn to the States to be rebuilt.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]March 16th, 1944: 200 B-24's from Iceland make a daylight raid on industrial targets in Hamburg. 17 aircraft are lost despite the fact that the local fighter and anti-aircraft defenses are rudimentary.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]March 19th, 1944: B-24's attack a major factory complex in Birmingham, the second in a series of daylight raids from Iceland.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]April 9th, 1944: Because of heavy losses - mostly due to weather and distance - bomber raids on targets on England and northern France and Germany are temporarily suspended. The raids have been not much more than a nuisance to the Germans. Fighter and AA defenses in the west are still very thin, indicating Hitler's obsession with the war in the east.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]April 8-10th, 1944: 7 carrier task forces appear off the west coast of England. German air response is strong at first, sinking a destroyer and badly damaging 2 others, but their losses are heavy. The carriers work around England and northern France, beating down the local air opposition. The air defenses of Western Europe are badly crippled.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]April 10th, 1944: Hitler orders almost half of the Luftwaffe squadrons in Russia to be transferred to the west. Keitel argues uselessly that this will blunt their upcoming summer offensive. Hitler also orders priority given to submarine construction, and the speeding up of various languishing research projects that involve anti-shipping weapons.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Many ships are reported approaching the southwest corner of England.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]April 11th, 1944: 2 US, 1 Canadian and 1 Australian divisions land on the north shore of the Bristol Channel. German occupational forces are not prepared for this. Hitler has long ago convinced himself that the United States will not interfere in Europe but will stay isolated on their own continent. The taking of the Azores and Iceland are just defensive measures, he maintains.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Von Bock, commandant of the occupational forces in Great Britain, was certain that if the U.S. was going to attack the British Isles they would land in Ireland first as a base for the greater undertaking of England and Scotland. Thus he has posted most of what armoured forces he could wheedle out of Hitler in the Emerald Isle. He orders them transferred to England, and demands reinforcements for OKW.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Alarmed with OKW's stupidity in not garrisoning "Deutschland West" better, Hitler orders all training, rebuilding and reserve units west, including some divisions earmarked for the summer offensive in the east. 3 divisions in northern France are ordered to cross to England immediately.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] There is one big problem with this. The active component of the Kriegsmarine consists of 6 destroyers, about 100 S-boats and 2 dozen submarines. Everything else is either sunk, damaged or still building.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] To maintain a naval presence in the North Sea and Channel from Iceland, the Allies have to have almost twice as many ships to cover vessels resupplying and in transit. However, since the various nations have no other serious naval obligations, concentrated in this one part of the world's oceans are both parts of the U.S. two-ocean navy, the considerable remnants of the Royal Navy, The Marine Francais, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal New Zealand Navy and even a few ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Needless to say, German reinforcements that have to cross any bodies of salt water, don't.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The German forces in England are all motorized to make the most of their numbers in their occupational duties. They quickly converge on Newport and South Wales to try to contain and expel the invasion. Since there are only really 5 divisions against 5 Allied divisions landed, plus naval and air support, this task will be - to say the least - difficult. Of particular concern is the small port of Cardiff.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] This has been captured by the veteran 4th US Infantry Division on the first day with 80% of its dockyard facilities intact. The Germans are concentrating their ground forces and artillery there in an attempt at immediate recapture, to stop it being used for supply of the Allies. Swansea - which also fell the first day almost intact - is felt to be inadequate to supply the invaders.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]April 12th, 1944: The 4th US Infantry Division is having trouble expanding its bridgehead east from Cardiff against the stiff German opposition. Most of its divisional artillery is engaged in counter-battery fire with German artillery around Newport. The 1st US Infantry Division is meeting considerably less opposition, expanding north and east on their left flank. They have advanced to the Ebbw Vale and are swinging east toward the English border. On their flank 1st Canadian Infantry Division has captured Rhonnda and Merthylr Tydfil - more a liberation parade than an attack. 9th Australian Division is driving up the River Towy, and 2nd New Zealand Division has broken out completely and is racing up the coast of Wales. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]April 13th, 1944: Elements of US 1st Div break out and drive to the outskirts of Hereford by evening. 1st Cdn Div also breaks free as German defenses begin to crumble. 9th Australian and 2nd New Zealand are moving up through the center of Wales. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The Allied High Command is encouraged by the good progress enough to take a big gamble. In the afternoon the US 1st Marine Division and parts of the 1st South African Division land on the south shore of the Bristol Channel near Weston. The Marines rush to secure Bristol while the South Africans head south to cut off the peninsula. 2nd South African Brigade are given priority in transport and supplies and ordered toward Exeter and eventually Plymouth. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] During the night von Bock requests permission to withdraw all forces north of the Thames immediately. Instead he is ordered to hold his position at all costs; reinforcements are on the way. ("How?" replies von Bock. He receives no answer.)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The Commandant of the London District, General Spitznagel, is ordered to "devastate" the city of London.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]April 14th, 1944: Luftwaffe units begin to arrive along the northern coast of France over the next several days. They are thrown piecemeal into battle against the Allied naval elements and are invariably shredded without accomplishing much.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] US 1st Inf Div strikes south to the Severn River at Tewkesbury, effectively surrounding the last 3 organized German divisions in England. These are now almost out of ammunition anyway. 1st Cdn Div, out on a motoring picnic by now, drives into Birmingham. The only thing holding them up now is the mobs of celebrating civilians. 9th Australian and 2nd New Zealand are racing to see who can liberate Liverpool first. 9th has the more direct route but 2nd - following the coastline - has much better roads. 2nd NZ reconn btn motors into Chester.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] 1st Marine Division gets into a brisk little firefight as they enter Bristol, only to find that they are fighting engineers only. They capture Bath without incident and push on across the plains for Swindon. Their main problem is lack of transport and fuel - can't get it ashore fast enough. The South Africans take Plymouth intact. Old plans to use it as a main supply are quickly shelved - it's too far away from the action already.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] An uprising breaks out in the east end of London. As there are almost no troops to put it down it quickly spreads throughout the city. German engineers drilling Nelson's Column to place explosives are suddenly mobbed and beaten to death. Engineers setting charges in the docks are fired upon and have to take cover. Soon all troops are ordered to return to barracks.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Von Bock has a Storch waiting at a small airfield near Newport to take him out of the cauldron and escape to London or France. Before he can get to it, it is strafed by land-based aircraft, some of the new air group operating out of Cardiff airport. Von Bock is now trapped with his men.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]April 15th, 1944: Von Bock receives a radio message from Hitler exhorting him to fight to the last bullet and the last man. He spends all of ten seconds considering the message before sending an aide to open negotiations with the commander of the US 4th Inf Div. Perhaps it has something to do with the 15" shells raining down from USS Colorado and HMS Hood. A ceasefire is arranged for noon pending the surrender of the German Occupational Forces the next morning. Fedor von Bock becomes the first German General to surrender during the war. "Good thing they never sent us any SS," he is overheard to mutter.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] As the invasion forces spread out across the country, they mostly find their job already done for them. Irate Britons have risen up with horded shotguns, WWI Enfields, army pistols, and whatever comes to hand, and have shot up, penned in or even captured the few small garrisons remaining.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] In an interesting case of "the tail wagging the dog," Great Britain becomes a protectorate of the United States of America until such time as a proper government can be organized.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]April 17th, 1944: In a fit of pique, Hitler orders that London be "bombed into oblivion" by the Luftwaffe. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]April 19th, 1944: The first air raid on London is staged in daylight, and is quite successful. Defenses have yet to be properly organized and no radar is yet operational. In a touch of irony, many of the anti-aircraft firing at the German aircraft are captured German pieces.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]April 23rd, 1944: The fifth daylight air raid on England encounters stiff opposition. Several squadrons of P-38L Lightnings have been ferried in via Newfoundland and Iceland. Chain Home radar stations have been resuscitated or replaced by units ripped out of warships. The P-38's surprise the complacent German pilots, brush past the fighter escort and rip into the bombers. They take some punishment from the fighters, but get their own back when they get to chase the enemy back home.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]April 24th, 1944: Goering files in overnight so he can exhort the Luftwaffe crews to "show more determination." He demands that every available aircraft be put up for one mammoth air attack on London.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Due to his interference the attack is late and the fighter escort is low on fuel when they get over England. Not only are they met by the same air defenses, but two carrier task forces - 1 American, 1 British - have moved into the southern North Sea and send 300 Hellcats and Corsairs to help out.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] That evening, daylight raids on England are cancelled. Goering will try night attacks.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]For a long time Liverpool becomes the busiest port in Europe. Troops, supplies, boxed aircraft, guns, tanks, trucks and more trucks, coming across the Atlantic from North America and from the Commonwealth around the world.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Engineers. Engineers are everywhere around the island. Enlarging roads, reinforcing bridges, building bases, building airfields, turning England and Scotland into the world’s biggest aircraft carrier. Factories are revived, enlarged and retooled. Mostly American designs are put into production at first, along with a few improved versions of top-notch English equipment such as the Spitfire. Soon British engineers – happy to be properly employed again – are making ingenious improvements and simplifications to the American equipment and calling it their own.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Ireland is not a problem. Aircraft from western Scotland and Wales are overhead whenever the sun is up and the weather is good. Nothing can move during the day without being investigated. Schnell-boots are hunted down in small harbours and coves and destroyed. American fast patrol boats buzz around the coastline, looking for anything that shouldn’t be there. No ammunition, no fuel, no lubricants get through. The German garrison quickly becomes an irrelevancy.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 5th, 1944: Panzer forces have never been so confident. The homeland factories have been pouring out new equipment for them. Panthers, Tigers, new Mark IV’s, sturmgeshutzes. 37 Panzer Divisions in two wings. Almost 6,000 tanks for one offensive. What can possibly stop them?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Admittedly many of the crews are new and inexperienced, but they are well trained and there is always a leavening of veteran crews. Admittedly the Luftwaffe is not as numerous as before, but there should be enough of them to do the job.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] 05:00 hours, south of Stalingrad. 5,000 German guns lay down a ten-minute barrage on the Soviet lines. Then white flares and rockets go up all along the line, signaling the end of the barrage and the beginning of the advance. Panzer grenadiers in rubber boats and wooden ones launch their craft on the Volga River and paddle furiously for the other side. Smoke shells rain down on the opposite shore. Return fire is light, always a good sign. A half hour of stubborn resistance on the far shore, and then the lead troops are fanning out, looking for more enemies, advancing.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Engineers move up with boats and cranes and start throwing bridges across the river; rebuilding old ones; creating new ones. By noon panzers are streaming across in several places. They move up, trying to catch up to the advancing infantry, their long guns swinging nervously from side to side.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] All that the Germans encounter are light rearguards at key points. A few fleeing squads or trucks are caught, as well as 9 heavy field pieces firing across the Volga at positions in Stalingrad. Otherwise it is open field running. The panzers spread out and advance as quickly as the terrain will allow. Where is the enemy?[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 6th, 1944: In a similar manner 3rd, 4th and 6th PanzerArmee of 2nd Panzerarmeegruppe attack over the Don River between Kletskaya and Serafimovich. Resistance is brief and progress is swift.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 11th, 1944: As they approach Yelan, 5th Panzerarmee is assailed by hundreds of Soviet tanks. The massive Soviet armoured reserve has been assembled northwest of Saratov and is now being used to counterattack the German left flank advance. A rolling tank battle ensues. As more and more Soviet armour appears, 6th and then 3rd Panzerarmees get drawn into the conflict.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The Germans are doing fearful execution among the enemy tanks, but there are thousands more and they just keep coming. The Germans are taking serious casualties as well, particularly when they follow up temporary Soviet withdrawals only to run up against minefields backed by anti-tank artillery.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 14th, 1944: After 3 days of almost continuous fighting and continuous losses, 2nd Panzerarmeegruppe has less than 50% operational tanks. Hoeppner – Armeegruppe commander – orders all units to dig in and fight a defensive battle. Within hours the Soviet attacks die off completely.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] 1st Panzerarmeegruppe has been encountering more and more opposition in the form of strategically-placed minefields and hit-and-run rearguards. Sturmoviks are often overhead except for the infrequent periods when the Luftwaffe makes a sweep.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Luftwaffe attack aircraft are busy over Saratov. There they have the ideal target: a huge traffic jam as the Soviet reserves try to cross to the other side of the Volga. The only problems are the constant harrying by Soviet fighters and the large numbers of antiaircraft guns deployed.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 16th, 1944: 20 miles from Saratov, 1st Panzerarmeegruppe pauses and digs in. Air reconnaissance and patrol activity indicate a massive buildup to their front. Estimates give over 10,000 Soviet tanks assembled.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Just after noon the Luftwaffe arrives in force over the prospective battlefield. They are distracted from going after the enemy tanks by many calls from air liaison. The German forward positions are under heavy artillery bombardment. The Luftwaffe manages to disrupt the rows of Soviet artillery after fighting their way through the swarms of enemy fighters. Losses are considerable.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Less than an hour later the Soviet tanks hit the German lines en masse in long lines. It is virtually a cavalry charge at full speed. Hull down and dug in, the Germans have lots of easy targets. It seems almost every shot takes out an enemy tank, but thousands more dodge around the blazing hulks and keep coming. Less than half of them make it to the German lines, but there their guns are almost as effective as the enemy’s and their turrets and tanks swing around more quickly. The infighting is fast and furious and only lasts about an hour before both sides begin to withdraw. Some German units, seeing the enemy falling back, stop and resume target practice. In short order German repair crews appear right behind the forward units and begin scavenging the battlefield. This is necessary. Many of the panzer divisions have fewer than 50 tanks left.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] 2nd Panzerarmeegruppe has renewed its drive on Saratov. After and expensive entanglement with mines and artillery they break through and are advancing quickly once more.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] 800 B-17’s and B-24’s bomb Dusseldorf in a daylight raid. B-25’s and B-26’s begin attacks on railroad marshalling yards and bridges in France.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 17th, 1944: 48th Panzerkorps drives to the edge of Saratov. 5th Panzergrenadier Division storms through the city. By nightfall they have captured the main bridge across the Volga, damaged but intact.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] 1st Panzerarmeegruppe has outflanked the Soviet position before them and is on the move once more. 7th Panzer Division catches a long convoy of retreating Soviet heavy artillery, shooting them up and capturing many abandoned guns.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Approximately 700 US bombers conduct a daylight raid on Kiel.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 18th, 1944: 1st and 2nd Panzerarmeegruppes meet in Saratov. There are no Soviet forces trapped in the pocket they have created.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] 900 US aircraft attack Schweinfurt.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 19th, 1944: Hitler orders the stalled offensive in the east to be called off. He is alarmed at how quickly the massed panzers were cutting into Germany’s oil reserves (although this is not such a problem now,) and he has ordered 90% of the Luftwaffe fighter squadrons in the east back to Western Germany.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] 2nd, 15th and 1st SS Panzer Divisions get marching orders for France.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] 800 plus bombers raid Spandau.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 22nd, 1944: 3 US infantry divisions are landed in the Pas de Calais area of France. 2nd Marine and 7th and 77th Infantry Divisions land on the beaches north of Etaples. Initially there is very little to stop them: no beach obstacles; no mines; no bunkers; and just a scattering of infantry outposts. Etaples is assaulted by 2 Ranger battalions who are joined within 2 hours by units of 77th Div. 7th Div in the center is counterattacked around noon by most of the 568th Infantry Division and stopped dead 2 miles inland. 5th Marine Brigade moves north up the coast for Boulogne. They arrive about noon and spend a couple of hours evicting a small but determined garrison. They just get the place to themselves when more German infantry arrives, backed up by heavy artillery and tanks. 3rd Panzer Division has arrived from reserve and 5th Marine Brigade is cut off from 2nd Marine Div and the rest of the invasion force.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 23rd, 1944: 77th Div., which had some success the evening before attacking the flank of 568th Div., is not engaged and pinned by 157th Panzergrenadier Div. They hold their ground, but mostly due to naval gunnery and air support. Combat Command “A” of US 1st Armored Div. begins landing over the beaches and they are put into the line as fast as they arrive. Reinforcements are also landed directly in Boulogne, but the garrison there needs naval help just to be able to hold the town.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] 397th Inf. Div. moves up the coast to attack Etaples.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 24th, 1944: The rest of 1st Armored Div. is landed. They assist 2nd Marine Div in establishing a connection with 5th Marine Bgd in Boulogne. Several destroyers risk running aground in the shallow shelving seas of this part of the Channel to fire over open gun sights in support of the attack.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] 2nd SS Panzer Div. and 2 new infantry divisions are identified among the defenders in line against the invasion forces.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 25th, 1944: More German divisions are identified joining the defenders, with more streaming up, mostly from the east and south. Light bombers and fighter bombers are doing their utmost to slow and/or stop them, but they keep on coming. The invading forces are heavily outnumbered. The only thing stopping their destruction is the heavy naval and air support they are getting. Luftwaffe squadrons formerly in Russia are starting to make their presence felt.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The (US dominated) Allied High Command admits that a dangerous stalemate situation has arisen. There are not enough troops ashore for offensive action and there is not enough room to properly deploy more. Plans for a large air drop, a landing on the flank, or both, or a new landing near Calais are dropped as impractical and no help to the present situation. The hard decision to withdraw the troops is finally agreed.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] During the day the American forces fend off several attacks including a concerted effort to split the bridgehead and an attempt to get a foothold in Boulogne. The 1st Armored act as a fire brigade. Boulogne docks are under frequent but intermittent shell fire: the German artillery has to keep moving around to avoid the 15” and 16” return fire and the annoying hovering jabos.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] To protect the docks the Americans put up a smoke screen in Boulogne – burning tires. (“Gas warfare,” jokes one US engineer, but the Marines are bothered by the effect more than the Germans.) Under this cover the Americans slip in 3 ships and evacuate almost all of the Marines’ artillery, some now-unnecessary food supplies, and a number of trucks. 229th Brigade is brought piecemeal from Etaples to south of Boulogne, where they are set to preparing a defensive line covering the south face of the town.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The staffs have had a long day to plan, but a short night for execution. At 22:00 hours a heavy bombardment from many ships lays a curtain of dust around the bridgehead. Soon after 231st Brigade of 77th Division leaves their lines and move into Etaples where destroyers and fast transports whisk them away. The Ranger battalions – having destroyed left supplies and equipment - follow them, and the right flank is open.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] At the same time 7th Division is swinging back toward Boulogne. As the line gets shorter units are detached into Boulogne itself, to board small freighters coming into the shallow port.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The Germans catch on to what’s going on and start pressing in. Random shelling by their artillery doesn’t do much damage except to a fast transport coming in. It goes aground on the edge of the fairway leading into the port. It becomes a major headache to all ships coming in and leaving.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]May 26th, 1944: Morning finds almost 5,000 US infantry, marines and engineers still in Boulogne. The town is chaotic with German troops infiltrating, stores and trucks burning, street fights, and rearguard actions going on all around. Two ships collide in the mouth of the harbor but manage to stagger out and back to England. More small ships take their place.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] In the end about 2,000 troops don’t make it out of Boulogne. Despite the general destruction huge stocks of food, fuel and ammunition are left on the docks.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] In all the confusion, 230th Brigade never gets any marching orders and don’t catch on soon enough to the units disappearing on either flank. In the afternoon, surrounded and abandoned, they have to surrender.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The US High Command admits to themselves that maybe challenging the Germans directly on the Continent was not a good idea. They start looking for alternate avenues of approach.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 19th, 1944: Allied fleets appear in strength off the west coast of Morocco, attacking airfields and shooting the few German aircraft to bits.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 20th, 1944: Operation Torch: US forces land at Safi, Fedala, Port Lyautey, and Agadir. French forces not only do not oppose them, in most cases they greet them as liberators and often join them.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The only resistance is from the German garrison in Casablanca. They manage to hold out until the next day before surrendering to overwhelming forces.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 21st, 1944: Lead elements of 4th US Infantry Division begin motoring east from Port Lyautey toward Fez. The rest of the Division follows as soon as transport and supplies are landed. The Division is widely strung out and very vulnerable.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 24th, 1944: French forces in Algiers provoke a fight with the German garrison there. Poorly equipped, they cannot overcome the Germans but the do manage to hem them in to one area with superior numbers.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 25th, 1944: More French troops are streaming in to Algiers to fight the Boche. In Oran, 250 miles west along the coast of Algeria, the same thing happens.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] US 4th Div. is about 100 miles from the Algerian border but they are stalled due to lack of fuel.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 26th, 1944: US 29th Infantry Division, scheduled to land the previous day in Casablanca, start landing in the port of Oran instead.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 27th, 1944: In Oran, after a brief bombardment form the artillery of the 29th Div, the German garrison hoists the white flag.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]June 29th, 1944: The US 9th Infantry Division – instead of advancing overland from Morocco – has been reloaded into transports and now unloads in Algiers.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] The Italians begin landing troops in Tunisia.[/FONT]
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