Some Loose Ends
On the 29th of December, a contingent of the Indochina group landed at Kuantan in Malaya. Expecting fierce resistance, they were only met by two Australian divisions. Over the next two months control was quickly regained and on February 25th, 1949, a friendly government was put into power in the newly formed Malaysia.
On April 25th, the troops from the African campaigns arrived at the port in Bizerte, Tunisia. New transport fleets were formed to take them to Toulon, France, and return to Germany from there. On May 5th, the divisions in South Arabia and Oman were forced to dissolve due to lack of supplies. The region had poor supply lines and they weren't able to receive enough to function.
In August, the Soviets dropped a third bomb on Stornoway. This seemingly didn't affect the Allies at all, as they absolutely refused to vacate the island. Any attack sent over the Minch was quickly repelled by the constant Canadian naval patrols going through. It was decided that they had to be forced off very soon. Eighty-seven German divisions sit in Inverness to prevent an Allied force from making it's way back into Scotland. Those divisions were desperately needed elsewhere. On the 19th, the
Volksmarine was stationed inside the Minch, and Germany dropped it's own bomb on Stornoway.
Once the bomb hit, all 87 divisions were ordered across the strait. The
Volksmarine were able to hold off the Canadian fleets, but they weren't faring well. The remnants of the much larger Royal Navy were put under Canadian command and they were ripping the German fleet apart. On the 9th of September, the last two remaining ships, the
Deutschland, the
Leipzig, and what remained of the
5. Torpedobootsflottile were eliminated by an aggressive Canadian offensive to get into the Minch. At that point, however, too many German and English divisions had made it across. On October 3rd, the English IV Corps arrived first and dealt with what remaining Allied divisions remained. Overall, the battle was deemed a failure. The entire offensive capability of the
Volksmarine was lost for a small, irradiated, uninhabitable island. Grand Admiral Bettenhäuser and much of the fleet staff were found by a passing Yugoslav patrol sent to locate any survivors and returned to Germany. Within the month, new hulls would be laid down to build a new fleet. Until then, however, all the remained were the transport fleets.
With the taking of the island did, however, complete the conquest of Great Britain. The Communist Party of Scotland was put into power in Edinburgh, and the nation of Scotland was granted independence.
Back in Germany, however, the mood was very different. Late in the afternoon of the 3rd, Ernst Thälmann, leader of the Communist Party of Germany, passed away in his residence in Berlin at the age of 63. The day before he left a meeting of the Chamber early, complaining of feeling very ill, and headed home. The following day, he was discovered by his wife, Rosa, to have passed in his sleep. The cause was currently unknown and being looked into. Chairman of the State Council Emil Barth took the opportunity to retire from his position, and in his place appointed Wilhelm Pieck. Chairman of the Council of Ministers Richard Müller ascended to a position on the Central Committee. In his place, Foreign Minister Walter Ulbricht was appointed, with Georg Derlinger to take his former position. Minister of National Defense Andres Hermes was replaced by Wili Stoph. A day of national mourning was declared for Thälmann, and communist parties from within the Comintern and around the world sent their consolations. Mao Zedong, leader of the Chinese Communist Party, took the time to personally write a letter to the Communist Party of Germany, remembering Thälmann for the support sent over the years in their fight against Japan. Josip Broz Tito said that while they had their disagreements, Thälmann did help them secure power. Many forgot their was still a war on, though, and all events had to be put aside until it's conclusion. In the meantime, a monument was commissioned and set in Berlin.
On October 21st, the Soviets dropped a bomb on Ohka, possibly to stem any American advance into Sibera. On New Years' Day, January 1st, 1950, the recently formed
I. Spartakus-Panzerkorps,
II. Spartakuskorps, and a regular army division, were sent to deal with the rebel state of Iceland. The operation, named
Unternehmen Wiking, was to secure the breakaway parts of Denmark and restore Comintern control. With support from the Danish, Albanian, Spanish, Polish, and Dutch navies, the task force fought off the two militia divisions guarding the coast and arrived in the city of Reykjavik on January 14th.
The following day, on the 15th, SK troops rounded up and arrested key government officials, and dissolved the rebel government. On the 23rd, the Danish government decided against reintegrating Iceland, and allowed the state to have independence. The People's Unity Party was put in charge, and was awarded one of Denmark's seats in the Executive Committee of the Communist International.
While the negotiations over Iceland were taking place, the
II. Spartakuskorps was already on it's way to Greenland to commence the second phase of
Unternehmen Wiking. SK troops landed in the regional capital of Nuuk and violently repressed the uprising. On February 14th, control was reestablished and returned to Denmark.
In May 14, the SK was sent to deal with the former British colony of Ceylon, now under Canadian administration. On the 25th, the force came ashore and defeated the Canadian garrison at Colombo. By August 1st, the entirety of the island was taken from Canadian control, and Ceylon was granted independence under the Communist Party of Ceylon.
With communist power further extended, and some small loose ends dealt with, the time began for the invasion of Australia. Troops boarded the fleets in Toulon, and set of for Dili.