A Gentleman's War : The Middle-East Command (HoI3 TFH - UK AAR)

[Eurasia]

A Gentleman’s War : A Middle-East Command
(HoI3 TFH - UK AAR)
Chapter Two-Hundred-Thirty-Eight: Reorganizing - 20.2.1941

When the Field Marshall came to breakfast he found a report that made him very happy.

The 3rd ME Infantry Corps was heading towards Messina. The idea was they would replace the 1st ME Infantry Corps.

The Veterans would be used, with the Armoured Corps, to invade Italy. The 3rd Corps would continue to defend Sicily and distract the Axis powers.

That was the hope, of course. And the Operation was called ‘Pax Romana’.

The Middle East Transport Flotilla had also been ordered to the Port of Catania. Where it could pick up the 1st ME.

On top of that the British Royal Navy pretty much dominated the Mediterranean.

Even with the convoy system being damaged by the Italians the flow of resources were still more than enough to keep the factories working and the refineries producing fuel.

Sadly there was some bad news on the table. The Battle of Dokka was being lost to the lone German unit. It was somewhat embarrassing but not unforeseen.

And of course the Germans pilots were bombing the Province of Dokka. They attacked it three times that day and killed four hundred-fifty-four Norwegian and British soldiers.

Still, the Province of Trondheim, with its major port and airbases, was firmly in British hands.

After lunch the Island of Sardinia was handed over to the Home Command Theatre. Though the armoured divisions would be there till either replaced or they were needed for the invasion of Italy.

The 2nd ME (Armoured) Corps were well supplied and rested. They were ready for a major operation and, in the end, just needed to be replaced by units of the Home Command. Nobody wanted to leave the island unguarded. But...if they had to choose between the island and Rome they would pick invading Italy and abandoning the island.

A few hours before midnight on the 20th of February there was news from London. Oliver Stanley had become the new Minister of Armaments.

Oliver Stanley seemed to believe that military supplies were the most important thing to keep producing during warfare.

Likely he had been picked due to the fact that the populace were overwhelming members of the Conservative Party.

“Not a bad pick,” said the Field Marshall as he finished dinner and prepared for bed. “It will be nice to have a never ending supply of ammo, fuel, and rations from now on.”

A few hours before midnight there was good news. A surprise really. The Battle of Dokka was a British victory. The British had lost one hundred-five men while the Germans had lost, an estimated, over two hundred soldiers.

And as this all happened the British Mediterranean troops were repositioning themselves.

 

[El Pip]

That was the hope, of course. And the Operation was called ‘Pax Romana’.

Hurrah for ambition. Mildly booing for continued unsubtle operation naming.

 

[serutan]

Hurrah for ambition. Mildly booing for continued unsubtle operation naming.

True, but better for morale than a truth-in-advertising code name like Operation Seppuku.

 

[Eurasia]

A Gentleman’s War : A Middle-East Command
(HoI3 TFH - UK AAR)
Chapter Two-Hundred-Thirty-Nine: Bombing Italy - 21.2.1941 To 23.2.1941

The morning of the 21st the Field Marshall, was once again, greeted with a pile of reports next to his bangers, toast, and beans.

The Middle East Transport Flotilla had arrived at the Port of Catania around 2 AM that morning.

At the same time this was happening the Mediterranean Fleet was attacked by Italian naval bombers. As the carrier planes were still recovering Horton did the only thing he could to respond to the attack.

He moved his ships northwards and escaped the naval strike.

Of course the Italians found him in the Adriatic Sea about four hours later.

So he just moved the ships back south and, once again, escaped them.

Then the Germans, with a Italian division, attacked Messina later that day, under the cover of darkness.

The Field Marshall read the report as he prepared for bed.​

“Interesting,” he said to himself. “Over thirty-two thousand soldiers, most of them Germans, attacking over thirty-seven thousand soldiers and artillery pieces. Across water.”

“Yes, sir,” replied the Captain as he pulled back the sheets on the Field Marshall’s bed. “They REALLY want Sicily back.”

Even while the Field Marshall was going to bed the Mediterranean Fleet’s planes found another Italian transport flotilla.

Of course where their planes went the warships were quick to follow.

So when the Field Marshall woke up on the 22nd he was greeted with news from the Mediterranean Fleet that another flotilla of enemy transports had been destroyed.

And when the Field Marshall came back from ‘lunch’ he was told that the Province of Napoli had been bombed by the tactical bombers. And not ONE Italian fighter plane had tried to stop them.

“Now I want to know where the Italian pilots are,” mumbled the Field Marshall has he started on his afternoon tea and paperwork.

Shortly before midnight the CAGs found and attacked a Italian Fleet while the tactical bombers hit the Province of Foggia. And there was no reaction from the Italian air units.

In the early hours of the 23rd the Mediterranean Fleet engaged the Italian Fleet.

The result was that the naval battle ended a British victory a few hours later. And the Italians lost the RM Bolzano - one of their Heavy Cruisers.

Before the sun was up, around 5 AM, the tactical bombers had bombed Napoli again. The crews reported that all the stockpiles, plus the factories, were showing massive damage.

The Italians tried a naval strike in the Gulf of Tunis but it seemed like a halfhearted attack.

After lunch the tactical bombers hit Foggia. This time the crews reported that the factories were all ruins and the metal stockpiles had been destroyed. Only some coal still existed.

Norwegian troops in the north were being sent south but it was likely too little too late.

A few hours before midnight the tactical bombers hit the Province of Reggio of Calabria. They damaged the factories, anti-aircraft positions, and the coal stockpiles.

By now the 3rd Corps had gotten as close as they could to the Port of Messina. They could not ride rails into the combat zone and had to leave the trains to start marching into the province.

As the Field Marshall yawned and prepared to go to sleep he tapped the map of Italy on the wall next to his bed.

“Due to our tactical bombers the Italians have many destroyed factory complexes, damaged anti-aircraft guns, empty stockpiles, and likely a very upset populace. Their nation is in flames.”

As the Field Marshall stepped towards his bed he added, “And we still keep sinking their ships!”

“Yes, sir,” replied the Captain. “Good times.”

 

[roverS3]

And the Operation was called ‘Pax Romana’.

I expect the landings are taking place in the North of Italy, near Genoa, and the name of the operation is misdirection.

Here's to hoping we can take out Italy before Germany takes out Norway...

 

[El Pip]

I expect the landings are taking place in the North of Italy, near Genoa, and the name of the operation is misdirection.

I hope the landings take place in Constana, Romanian and the name of the operation is both far too literal and contains a slight typo.

Here's to hoping we can take out Italy before Germany takes out Norway...

Indeed.

 

[Eurasia]

A Gentleman’s War : A Middle-East Command
(HoI3 TFH - UK AAR)
Chapter Two-Hundred-Thirty-Nine: Norway Disappears - 24.2.1941 To 26.2.1941

The morning of the 24th of January found some good news in the pile of reports that were next to the Field Marshall’s breakfast.

A report from Hong Kong started that the port had built their first lines of Land Forts. No doubt to the annoyance of the Japanese spies working within the province.

No doubt the neighboring Chinese warlords were not too happy about this development either.

And around 5 AM the tactical bombers bombed Napoli again. Crews reported that the factories were holes in the ground and the only a few warehouses, containing rare materials, still existed.

After breakfast, while the Field Marshall was preparing that day’s orders, there was news from Messina. The battle there had ended in another victory for the British. Who lost fifty-four men while the Axis lost over three thousand-six-hundred soldiers.

“Once again,” remarked the Field Marshall on reading the news. “That is a lot of soldiers they now have to replace.”

As if to add insult to injury the tactical bombers hit the Province of Reggio di Calabria a few hours after lunch. The crews reported only the anti-aircraft guns had survived.

The next morning, on the 25th, the first report on the table next to the Field Marshall’s breakfast was from the Quartermaster’s department. Seems all Corps were receiving more than enough supplies to keep them functioning.

A report was from the Mediterranean Fleet who had been attacked by Italian naval bombers. Not that they did much damage as the British ships just left the area.

After ‘lunch’ there was news from the, still existing, Norwegian Front. The Germans had attacked the Province of Dokka with over eight thousand soldiers. The British and Norwegians numbered about sixteen thousand and were dug in. There was a chance they would win. Unless other German units joined in.

Of course the German pilots showed up and bombed Dokka around the same time and killed ninety-eight British and Norwegian soldiers.

At the same time the Mediterranean Fleet was being attacked by more naval bombers. This time the warships failed to flee and just returned fire.

Shortly before midnight the Germans, now in Oslo, launched an attack on the Province of Lillestrom. Which was defended by nothing but Allied HQ units.

When the Field Marshall came to breakfast he was greeted with two pieces of bad news. First the Allies had lost the Battle of Lillestrom.

And the Germans had taken Norway. Kind of.

The Battle of Dokka continued and in many areas of Norway the Allied forces had taken the provinces. As these provinces now belonged to Germany this meant that Allied troops occupied German soil.

This also meant that the port and airbases in Trondheim were British. And soon was receiving supplies.

The Germans had also gained a lot of territory they would now need to protect.

An hour before midnight Sir Anthony C.H. Melchett was enjoying a glass of goat milk when there was a knock at the door of his private quarters.

“Enter Captain,” he said.

The Captain entered the room with a hand full of maps and said, “Evening sir. Good or bad news?”

“Is the bad news really bad or mixed?”​

“Well, the German air force had been bombing Plymouth a lot,” said the Captain. “But each attack has less Wings. I think they are burning through their craft and crews. Or they are going elsewhere.”

“Mixed news. Anything else?”

“Yugoslavia is still holding out,” replied the Captain. “Maybe they have another week before they collapse? A lot of German units have shown up.”

“Oh well. That’s kind of mixed news also. Anything else?”

“As you know the Norwegian government no longer exists,” added the Captain. “Unlike the Polish government its members decided to totally surrender. None went into exile. But that hasn’t helped the Germans.”

The Captain placed a map onto the Field Marshall’s desk.

“We pretty much have the north though the troops in Dokka are doomed. But still fighting,” said the Captain.

“So the Norwegian Front, once it gets reorganized, will have a good supply line, airbases for planes, and a stronger position than they had before,” remarked the Field Marshall with a smile.

“Did you foresee that?”

“No,” replied the Field Marshall. “Not really. But I had hope. Now the Germans will have to keep fighting. Those Axis troops are trapped in a never ending conflict. Now, give me my teddy. Time for bed.”

 

[Wraith11B]

Well, down goes Norway. I feel like there's got to be a better way to handle the GiE mechanic than a random chance. I can't think of any nation that was occupied that didn't have something approximating a GiE, or even two of them (especially, for instance, Poland). Can anyone else?

Doing a quick glance on Wiki: Belgium surrendered their nation, as did the Danes (the latter being given a very wide latitude of freedom until 1943). Belgium's government disobeyed the king and managed the overseas holdings during the course of the war. The Danish ambassador to Britain basically acted as a GiE, refusing to obey directives from Copenhagen. Same with the Thai ambassador. I don't get why this mechanic works the way it does. It seems like a more realistic version would be to have it tied to the base neutrality of the nation, where the more "neutral" a nation, the less likely it would be to go GiE, which would allow for the very neutral states (Lux, Belgium, Denmark) to fully surrender whereas the others would likely go GiE.

 

[Eurasia]

A Gentleman’s War : A Middle-East Command
(HoI3 TFH - UK AAR)
Chapter Two-Hundred-Forty : Meeting With The Mad Wolf - 27.2.1941

The Chief of Staff, Alfred Jodl, was not looking forward to his morning meeting with the Head of State. He had been asked to give a debriefing to the Leader of the military situation as of late February.

As his driver navigated the forest roads, bringing them closer to the Wolf’s Lair, the Chief of Staff become more and more worried about how his debriefing would be taken.

The Chief of the Air Force, Cark Friedrich von Siemens, had given him a report that was, mediocre, at best. Most the units could barely cover the UK, Norway, and occupied western Europe.

The Chief of the Navy, Erich Raeder, promised that his ships could keep up the fight for, maybe, half-a-year. After that no promises could be kept.

When asked about the invasion of Great Britain he just snorted.

And as for the Army…

Jodl sighed and glanced at the briefcase next to him. It was full of bad information he would have to present to the Leader.

The Chief of the Army, Werner von Blomberg, had reported a situation that could only be called dangerous.

Italy was completely worthless and even sending them expeditionary forces, most of which had fought in Yugoslavia along side other German forces, had done nothing to help the Italians keep the British out of Sicily

A huge amount of divisions, mostly in Sweden AND in Norway, were screaming for supplies. It didn’t help that the convoy system was like a spider web - full of holes.

Then there was the Eastern Border with the USSR. Where the German units were outnumbered. For every German unit there was said to be over ten Soviet units on the other side of the border. The Generals facing the Soviets were begging for more units.

As his car approached the Wolf’s Lair he rubbed his nose. He knew there was going to be yelling. The Leader were really upset lately. He refused to eat chocolate and had lost a lot of weight.

True, the newspaper put a spin on it, saying he was on a diet. But really it was his fear that somebody would try to kill him with candy. The chocolate bomb had really shook up the Leader. But its failure had also fueled his growing ego.

The newspapers, and Greater German Government, had put a lot of spin on things lately. True, there had been nothing but victories for the Germans. But other events, such as the Italian's defeats in Africa, were harder to make look good. Most of the time these events were just not talked about in public.

The Leader's fuse was getting shorter and bad news were not welcomed. It threatened his world view and his future plans for Europe.

As the car stopped to be checked by the Guards stationed on the road that entered the grounds of the Wolf's Lair the Chief of Staff wondered if he would be allowed to retire?

Somehow he doubted it.

----------​

Author’s Notes:

OOC: Just a closer look at the Russian border from the Soviet side.

 

[Eurasia]

A Gentleman’s War : A Middle-East Command
(HoI3 TFH - UK AA)
Chapter Two-Hundred-Forty-One : Norway Stands? - 27.2.1941 To 1.3.1941

On the morning of the 27th the Field Marshall came to breakfast to find a pile of reports next to his toast and grilled mushrooms.

Most of the reports, of course, were from Norway. Or at least related to Norway.

First off the Battle of Dokka was still going on. The British division, made up of Indian soldiers, were holding on but were doomed to fail sooner or later.

By 2 AM the Norge HQ had disbanded and many of its staff were captured.

To help control and organize the units still in Norway a HQ was formed in the Province of Roros. The newly formed Norge Defense Force was born. And its commander, Field Marshall Messervy, first demand was to ask for more forces. Mostly tanks.

Of course by then Field Marshall Wavell had escaped to Lerwick and formed a new HQ unit called Trondheim HQ. At this point the newly formed Norge Defense Force was attracted to it. Along with any other units that were running about outside the chain-of-command.

How did Wavell escape so easily? How did he cross all that water? And why return to Scotland when London would have been closer? Nobody knew or maybe nobody seemed to be willing to answer the questions.

Of course Wavell was told to hold Trondheim and retake Oslo.

“Well,” said Sir Anthony C.H. Melchett as he enjoyed his buttered toast and bangers, “it seems Wavell has things well in hand.”

At this point, realizing that the Norwegian Front now had its own airbases the government in London ordered some of the other commands to hand over some of their air units.

So Africa Command gave up two Wings of tactical bombers. Which then flew through German controlled air space over occupied Europe.

By sunrise the tactical bombers were fighting their way through Europe. Fighting off both Italian and German aircraft.

By lunch the tactical bombers were clashing with German aircraft based in Denmark. Three times they were attacked that day by the German fighters. And three times the British tactical bombers won.

The Battle of Dokka came to an end with the Indian troops being defeated. Two hundred-forty-nine were killed and the other seven thousand-two-hundred-fourteen soldiers were marched off to POW camp. The Germans only lost around two hundred men.

As this was happening the fighter unit in Iceland was taken away from Trondheim HQ and handed directly to the Norge Defense Force on the hopes it would DO something with it.

The next morning on the 28th, the tactical bombers, still on their journey to Trondheim, were attacked again by the German pilots stationed in Denmark. And once again won the air clash.

If was as if the German pilots had spent so much time bombing land targets they no longer knew how to dogfight.

And around 8 AM there came a horrible report from the UK. German ships attacked British ships in the Irish Sea!

By that time the tactical bombers, somewhat disorganized and having lost some of their bombers and crew, finally made it to the airbases in Trondheim.

After ‘lunch’ there was bad news from the Irish Sea. The British had been defeated and lost both HMS Frobisher and a while Destroyer Flotilla.

“What has happen to the Royal Navy?” said the Field Marshall as he looked up from the report. “Are they spread too thin?”

The Captain shrugged. “It could just be the German Navy is becoming more aggressive out of desperation?”

Shortly before midnight there was news from London about the Cabinet.

Seems Lord Beaverbrook was the Minister of Armaments again.

“I never liked him,” remarked the Field Marshall on hearing the news. “He always had a creepy smile.”

On the morning of the 1st of March there were no reports waiting for the Field Marshall. He was able to enjoy his meal, and his breakfast tea, in peace.

While he was about to finish breakfast there came news from the Mediterranean Fleet. Their carrier planes had found some Italian destroyers at sea. Of course the warships joined in.

By the time the Field Marshall was preparing to go to ‘lunch’ the destroyers had been…well…destroyed.

The rest of the day was somewhat boring. The Italian Navy and Air Force had done nothing and even Norway had become silent. Who knows what the Axis was up to.

Was this a good sign or a bad sign?

 

[Eurasia]

A Gentleman’s War : A Middle-East Command
(HoI3 TFH - UK AAR)
Chapter Two-Hundred-Forty-Two : Continuing The Fight - 2.3.1941 To 4.3.1941

When the Field Marshall came to breakfast on the 2nd of March he found some reports next to his plate. Including a piece of news from London.

Seems there had been advances made in Amphibious Warfare Equipment. Mostly it seemed to focus on landing craft and how silly the Scientists could make them look.

“Science,” said the Field Marshall as he buttered his bangers by accident, “what a wonderful thing. Without science we would not have working toilets and the technology of tea brewing.”

There was also news from Malta. Seems Lord Flasheart had chased another Wing of Italian Naval Bombers away from the island.

And shortly before he ended breakfast he also received news about the bombing of Napoli. The Italian populace must be very upset about all the attacks on their cities.

It likely didn’t help them when the bombers showed up after lunch to bomb Napoli again.

And Napoli was bombed again around 10 PM. Who knows how many people failed to go to sleep that night? Waiting for the British bombers to return, to destroy their homes, to burn down their businesses, to make them homeless.

The returning crews reported that the Province of Napoli had nothing left to bomb. The factories were gone and the warehouses had been flattened.

On the morning of the 3rd there was news from the Far East. Hong Kong had finished a second line of Coastal Forts. Soon Hong Kong would be a hard nut to crack. Not impossible but still soon the Japanese, if they joined the war, would not find it a easy target.

The rest of the 3rd was silent. At least in the Mediterranean.

And the next morning brought more news, good news, from the UK. The first unit made up of Spitfire Mark Ones had finally finished their training and had been assigned to the Home Command Theatre.

When the Field Marshall came back from ‘lunch’ he had another piece of good news waiting for him.

The 3rd ME Corps was in Messina. The 1st ME Corps could start redeploying south to the transports. Which they were ordered to do at once.

As he had his tea there was also news from Norway. The No.212 RAF Fighter Group had finally arrived at the airbases in Trondheim. Hopefully they would do something to protect the ground troops.

But nightfall brought some sad news from London. Laws just passed in Great Britain would increase the government’s powers and make fighting opposition at home easier.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” asked the Captain on hearing the news.

“The greatest threat during a conflict,” said the Field Marshall with a disappointed look on his face, “is becoming the very evil you are fighting against.”

Shortly before midnight there was more news from London. A series of Trade Deals had been canceled. It seems money was pouring out of the Treasury and the government was trying to reverse what could be a financial disaster.

The Field Marshall went to bed on the night of the 4th of March with mixed feelings about the future of England and the future of civilization.

 

[roverS3]

I'm impressed that the AI was able to limit their loss in Norway to one Infantry division. Let's hope the new Norge Defence HQ actually uses it's planes now.

The Royal Navy will definitely be needed to keep the Norwegian front going as without a substantial blockade of German supply ships, British forces will be hopelessly outgunned and outnumbered.

 

[Bullfilter]

After breakfast, while the Field Marshall was preparing that day’s orders, there was news from Messina. The battle there had ended in another victory for the British. Who lost fifty-four men while the Axis lost over three thousand-six-hundred soldiers.

Axis Operation Lemming still in full swing, I see!

After ‘lunch’

BTW, could you remind me why lunch is always put in inverted commas? Does he not actually ever eat it, or is it just a liquid lunch or some such?

 

[Eurasia]

BTW, could you remind me why lunch is always put in inverted commas? Does he not actually ever eat it, or is it just a liquid lunch or some such?

He pretends to have a liquid lunch and come back drunk.

 

[Wraith11B]

BTW, could you remind me why lunch is always put in inverted commas? Does he not actually ever eat it, or is it just a liquid lunch or some such?

I think it's because lunch is a short version of 'luncheon' which wasn't what people generally referred to it as back then. It was breakfast, supper and dinner.

 

[El Pip]

Unlike the Polish government its members decided to totally surrender. None went into exile.

King Haakon glares at them with the frozen intensity of a thousand disappointed Fjords.

The Chief of the Air Force, Cark Friedrich von Siemens, had given him a report that was, mediocre, at best.

I mean he is dead at this point and even when alive his experience was running a chemicals firm and the state railways. People should be impressed he's written a report at all.

The Chief of the Army, Werner von Blomberg, had reported a situation that could only be called dangerous.

He has noticed the German government is full of dead men and zombies?

The newly formed Norge Defense Force was born. And its commander, Field Marshall Messervy, first demand was to ask for more forces. Mostly tanks.

To quote wikipedia "Messervy knew little about tanks and was not considered a great success commanding armoured divisions by his superiors.". As he is asking for tanks to fight in Norway I am forced to agree with this assessment.

 

[Eurasia]

A Gentleman’s War : A Middle-East Command
(HoI3 TFH - UK AAR)
Chapter Two-Hundred-Forty-Three : A Moment In Time - 5.3.1941

At the moment, at midnight on the 4th/5th, Sir Anthony C.H. Melchett was sleeping. He slept in his silk pajamas, with his moustache protected by a tiny net, and his bed protected by his ever watchful teddy bear.

But the teddy bear could not keep out the nightmares. Jeeves had done a lot of work for British Intelligence. Mostly in the area of ‘wet’ work.

In other words he had spilled a lot of blood and killed a lot of people. He remembered each and every one of his targets. And many of them came to visit him in his sleep.

They were not really victims. They always brought their deaths onto themselves. Spies, assassins, double agents. They all deserved to die.

But something in him still felt a touch of guilt. Something suggested that maybe, just maybe, they could have been turned. Saved. That may be killing was a step too far?

As Jeeves twisted and turned in his sleep the rest of the world was very active.

Well, not all of the world was active.

Lord, Major General, Flasheart was sleeping a deep sleep. The sleep of a man who had spent the whole day fighting enemy pilots in the sky. When not knocking up the local populace of women.

The latter was getting hard to do as most of them were already knocked up and the rest were in hiding.

When not fighting or mating he enjoyed the cheap red wines available and a lot of fresh sea dishes.

He was a man who enjoyed life and planned to enjoy it till he died. He never had nightmares. He embraced war. He was the perfect warrior and laughed at those who mourned the dead. Surely those who died in battle were better off than those who died in their sleep?

Kevin Darling had woken up early. He also had nightmares. He never really recovered from the First War and would wake up fighting the covers of his bed,

It was still dark outside but the sun would be up soon. He was going through paperwork, calculating how many supplies this unit needed or how much fuel that unit needed.

The three Indian divisions under his command reported they were all ready.

And so was he in way. Waiting for action was the hardest part. It made the nightmares stronger somehow.

He stared out the nearest window and thought about his wife back in England. He sipped his Chai and pondered being back in his home with his wife and proper English staff and proper English tea.

The tea here wasn’t bad. But still….he didn’t want to die here. He wanted to die in bed, an old man, surrounded by family and friends.

Maybe he should get a dog? He had heard that dogs sometimes helped with the nightmares.

Field Marshall Sho-ichi Utsunimiya was enjoying his tea as he worked on his paperwork. He was a man with a mission. Strengthen the Japanese Empire and make the military, mostly the Army, stronger.

The fact that he had made his HQ in Juye had been looked at as somewhat stupid by many of his equals. Make the site of the Juye Incident your command center? Was he trying to start trouble?

But he ignored his critics among the military, mostly the loud critics in the Navy, and ruled the Japanese occupied territories with an iron fist.

The forces under him were massive. Even retired commanders, like Maj. General Kaku Surapi and Lt. General Matabai Burufiruta, had become active leaders. Both commanding a Corp of Marine Divisions.

True, there were the Advisors who had carefully guided the Empire towards the goal of ruling Asia. But they were mostly Pro-Navy and, therefore, didn't count.

Major General Skorzeny was not asleep. It WAS night but he was too busying deploying his units. And he was pleased. Germany had finally conquered Yugoslavia. Now the hundreds of German divisions and Italian divisions, who were also Germans, had to be deployed elsewhere.

But where would that be? Maybe to the east? There was still fighting in Norway. And there was Vichy. Also Nationalist Spain was likely to win the Civil War. Whose side would they join? The Allies? The Axis? Their borders would have to be guarded.

To the east Comrade Dimitri was moving his infantry, armoured units, artillery, tank destroyers, and anti-aircraft guns closer to the border with the German Empire. Soon the West would be RED!

And so the 5th of March started with the major players moving their pawns into position.

But when would the final moves began?

 

[Bullfilter]

An interesting and rather reflective episode this time. Seems like gears are in motion.

Field Marshall Sho-ichi Utsunimiya was enjoying his tea

Aha, good to see him making a return to the story.

Maj. General Kaku Surapi and Lt. General Matabai Burufiruta

I’m sure we’re both honoured to be of service.

Both commanding a Corp of Marine Divisions.

Bound to be plenty of wet work to come there, too.

 

[roverS3]

The foreboding is strong with this one...

Lovely to have a little look outside the Med and Norway and to see what some of our favourite characters are up to. Bold of Utsunimiya to be based at the site of the Juye incident, especially as Japan is allied with Germany.

 

[Eurasia]

A Gentleman’s War : A Middle-East Command
(HoI3 TFH - UK AAR)
Chapter Two-Hundred-Forty-Four : Operation ‘Pax Romana’ Is A Go! - 5.3.1941

When the Field Marshall woke up and arrived for breakfast on the morning of the 5th of March he found a pile of mixed reports next to his meal.

The Port of Singapore had finished its first series of Land Forts. As it was likely Singapore would be attacked from the land and the sea by the Japanese.

Also more Spitfire Mark Ones had been assembled and added to the Fighter Group in Liverpool. Soon the German pilots would find themselves fighting these advanced planes. Once the new units were organized enough.

But there was also some bad news. Yugoslavia had been conquered by the Axis. Well, mostly the German and Italian forces who had carved out some provinces for themselves.

Also both the Front in India and the Front in Norway were demanding more troops. At least the Field Marshall understood why the Trondheim HQ wanted more units. They were outnumbered.

And once again the coal supply was in danger of disappearing in two weeks.

“If we ever REALLY run out of coal we might be in trouble,” said the Field Marshall as he sipped his tea.

A report from the 1st Middle East Corps also stated they had finally arrived in Catania and just needed to resupply and reorganized before loading onto the transports.

And shortly after breakfast, as he was filling out the daily orders, he was alerted to the fact the British air units assigned to Norway were finally all assembled in Trondheim. The German Air Force might find it harder to take the rest of Norway now. Hopefully.

Near Midnight the Field Marshall was enjoying his goat milk and waiting for his ‘Seventh Day’ briefing.

When the Captain came he had a lot of maps and reports in his hands.

“Hello Captain,” said the Field Marshall. “Is the Fleet on its way?”

“Yes, sir,” replied the Captain. “The Mediterranean Fleet has been ordered to Italy’s west coast. It should get there slightly before the transports and give us a idea of what defenses are waiting for our men.”

“Excellent!” said the Field Marshall. “Now for the rest of the news!”

“A lot of news but most if it is useless to us,” remarked the Captain. "The Spanish Republic is on the ropes, Italy is losing the war according to its own newspapers, Greece is still alive, the USSR sees Germans as the greatest threat to its people and culture, and Yugoslavia fell. Which means a lot of Axis units are now free to…go where ever they wish them to go.”

“In other words Italy might be getting more units coming home soon?”

“Yes, sir,” said the Captain.

“Any other news?”

“The Royal Navy has been attacked in the Irish Sea by German pilots for the past week who, in return, have been attacked by the Royal Air Force,” answered the Captain. “And the RAF loses. A lot.”

“How embarrassing,” remarked the Field Marshall. “How are our ships doing?”

“Very well, sir,” replied the Captain. “I would say the Mediterranean Fleet has sunk so many enemy ships, just among themselves, to have crippled the Italian Navy. If not their whole military.”

“Between them and the tactical bombers I dare say Italy has almost been knocked out of the war,” remarked the Field Marshall as he picked up his teddy bear and walked towards his bed.

“I would not say that,” pointed out the Captain as he tucked his superior into bed. “We’ll see what happens when we invade the mainland. If they can’t keep us out then maybe I will agree with you,”