Vive (l'Europe sans) la France
July 25 1940 to February 8 1942
Over 160 divisions poised to strike at the Allies on the morning of July 25th (of course, 40 of those were already busy at work in the south of France). The assault plan would be a traditional one – overwhelm the Low Countries via a drive through Belgium to the coast and then swing to Paris. Meanwhile, the Romanian forces, backed up by a handful of Slovakian divisions, would drive towards Vichy and the Spanish border. The French cant be everywhere at once, and they would have to stretch their forcers the length and breadth of France, from the English Channel all the way down to the Pyrenees. At this point, the static forces along the Maginot Line and Luxembourg would strike and gradually force their way through the gaps that had been created.
The plan worked to perfection, and on August 13th, a lucky day as it turned out, Paris fell.
Shortly there after, the French government fled to exile and the puppet government of Vicky was created. Ironically, Italy held out longer than the French did, which is a staggering condemnation.
But the fighting was not quite done, as a bit of housecleaning still had to be done. On August 24th, Germany declared on Denmark and annexed them five days later. On September 7th, Romania declared on Switzerland and annexed them ten days later. Why declare on Switzerland, you ask? Well… why not?
As the last bit of business on the "to do" list, Vichy was re-declared on by Romania (dissent hit) on October 12th, in order to gain the last few provinces not under the glorious colors of the Reich or the Republic. This triggered the left-wing radical government of Republican Spain to declare for the Allies, which was considerate of them and all, given that I was about to march troops down there anyways. Have to admire the Spanish for deciding to throw their lot in with the side that was still smarting from the lessons they were taught in France, but perhaps they were hoping that the British would land 60 divisions onto Spanish soil and help them out. Or that the hills and mountains of the Iberian peninsula would somehow defeat the tanks. Not sure which, or whether it was just a spur of the moment decision (or one caused by Romania’s massive belligerence), but irregardless of it all, on November 1st, 60 divisions of ARM, MECH or MOT (along with some infantry to hold the coastal regions) sat waiting to cross into Spain.
While the “cleanup” was happening, by the way, the long coast of France was garrisoned with 1 division of infantry in each region, backed with a mobile reactionary force of 3 combined arms (MECH/MOT). Typically the Germans liked garrisoning the coasts with 2 divisions (usually 1 INF and 1 ARM/MECH), which is an asinine waste, especially since the Germans are short some 75 divisions or so in comparison to the Russian juggernaut (according to my 6 spies, the Russians had 189 divisions, which means that they had upwards of 300 at least).
Because of the terrain, I expected a winter campaign only, which would help train up the armored divisions quite nicely. Taking care of the Iberian region was also critical to ensure that no back-door surprises hit later on, ala Spain declaring for the Allies while the forces of the Reich and the Republic are sitting in the Urals, allowing a few dozen Allied divisions to drive up the coast from Barcelona into the heart of the empire. Because of this fear, the fascist government of Portugal was also driven out, with a declaration on the 16th of December and a quick drive along the coast doing the trick.
There were whispers of Salazar, the Portuguese head of state and Foreign Minister, meeting with Allied representatives in the Azores, and that was more than enough to provide the excuse to invade.
On January 27th 1941, the Spanish made their last stand in Seville, with Field Marshal Menant bravely commanding his men, but the die was cast. Experienced tanks backed up by experienced leaders are really no match for raw recruits (especially when the former has a 4:1 ratio over the latter), and on January 30th, Spain capitulated.
That left only Gibraltor. This, of course, was the crowning jewel, and the assault on The Rock (but without Sean Connery, who was still a baby at this point) began on the 1st of February and was all over a week later.
With Gibraltar secure, the Western Campaign was complete, and Imperiul României Mari stretched from the Pillars of Hercules all the way to the Caucasus.
After garrisoning the Spanish coasts (again with 1 INF along with a reactionary force), and making sure Gibraltar would never fall (3 INF, 2 GAR, buildup of the Land Fort as well as the Coastal Fort to 10), the victorious divisions were shuttled back towards the Eastern Front in preparation for Barbarossa. For his outstanding leadership, Tukhachevsky was awarded the Knight’s Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds by the Reich Chancellor, the second highest military award available. The highest, of course, was the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross which Göring awarded himself for “the most outstanding strategic decisions that affected the course of the war” in regards to his command of the Luftwaffe during the Western Campaigns. In reality, while the Luftwaffe did serve with distinction, the decision to award Göring was made to ensure that a German held the highest Reich military honor, and not a Romanian. There was also the Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, but that was to be awarded only at the conclusion of the war, which was still a tad of a ways off.
On May 3rd, Michael visited Rome and in an elaborate ceremony, was crowned Imperator by Pope Pius XII, who gave papal blessing to the glorious Imperiul României Mari.
There was talk around the water coolers of kicking off Barbarossa on June 22nd, and plans were put in motion, but Tukhachevsky thought it best to wait on the decision. The arguments for attacking immediately were compelling – mostly settling on the fact that every day they wait is another Russian division to conquer, but it was successfully put forward that the troops deserved a break after their glorious victories in the west. With time to kill, the Reich Chancellor paid an official visit to Constantinople on August 3rd to witness for himself the rebirth of one of the great cities of ancient Christendom, and came away impressed with what he saw.
As summer morphed into fall and then into winter, word came that the Japanese had launched an attack on the Americans at Pearl Harbor (November 11th), and then attacked British and Dutch possessions in Asia (November 13th). The American response was to join the Allied cause on the 19th, which meant that American bombers would soon be joining their British counterparts in their daily bombing runs of the German occupied lands (to be honest, the daily bombing was more of a nuisance than anything at this point).
On November 4th, in his weekly radio address, Michael for the first time warned the people of the Republic about the evils of communism, calling it an “abomination which must be cleansed from the face of the earth,” that the coming conflict with the Soviets was an inevitable one between the forces of good and those of evil. The initial Soviet response was a muted one, but three months later, on February 8th, Stalin made clear his reaction by declaring war.
The real conflict that would decide the fate of Europe was about to begin.
