1948 was an year of great successes and a few setbacks for Germany. The occupation of Gibraltar sealed the Mediterranean and led to the destruction of several dozens of divisions in Greece. In response to that, the US convinced the rest of the Americas to unite under a single banner, the Free World Coalition.
"Welcome all" Bormann began "Julius, status report please"
"I have prepared some maps of theatres of interest to us. First, Europe."
"This is a much more comforting map compared to one year ago, now that we've eliminated the Allied threat in Gibraltar and Greece. With the Mediterranean under our firm grasp, we won't have to worry about the Allies landing on European soil."
"Next, our only theatre of operations at present. We have advanced at a snail's pace last year, but this campaign is finally drawing to a close. The Allied forces are cornered in Rangoon and we're only waiting for our troops to reorganize in order to launch the final assault. Control of the skies is still disputed, however."
"With many of our divisions enjoying a period of relative peace since the fall of the Soviet Union, we can afford the luxury to attack two new countries at once - even in Winter. First target is Switzerland. Seventy-three German and one Russian divisions will attack Switzerland from all direction. We estimate they have twelve divisions. Fighting will be fairly fierce yet brief - we expect them to fall in one or two weeks."
"Next up is Turkey. The main thrust will come from the East, with fifty-four divisions ready to pour into Turkey at any given moment. We will leave Istanbul as our latest prize. It is unlikely they will be able to muster a solid defence, with only the terrain to slow us down. We will need some months to subdue the Country. And now, have a look at this."
"This blue monster is what is still formerly called the US of America; however, it's changing its name into 'Free World Coalition'. Names aside, they saw our litte nuclear experiment on Gibraltar as a huge threat to their sovereignity; therefore, they hope they can stem the tide by joining their forces under a single banner. When we did the same with Austria, it was a threat to world peace. When they do it, it's for the defence of freedom and democracy. Anyway, this abomination possesses an industrial and manpower base that greatly overshadows ours. We're fighting something like 10:1 here."
"Make that 11:1" Schacht added "The United Kingdom is not part of the Free World Coalition."
"Their industry seems to suffer from some chronic lack of materials; that is understandable, with India under our control. What is less understandable is why the FWC doesn't supply the UK with so much needed raw materials."
"Airstrip One doesn't need that apparently" Speer chimed in "and quite frankly, let's not care about the reasons of our enemies' mistakes. We have enough of ours to address."
"Last year was not good for Germany production-wise. The Allies are determined on bombing us to stone age and they're quite successful at that. Without any serious opposition from the Luftwaffe, they pretty much have free reign over the German industrial heartland - what's left of it. Our industrial base is in shambles. We have enough resources to keep our industry running, but with every month, it gets smaller and smaller. We only have enough to satify our civilians and military supplies; in truth, we need some cyclopic effort to rebuild a war-torn Germany, modernize our armed forces, expand our nuclear programme."
"At least our manpower situation is not critical for the time being. We're not fighting a major land force such as the Soviet Union right now, so we can enjoy a period of relative peace. We have enough manpower to sustain a medium-sized offensive if we were to fight, say, the Soviets."
Bormann concluded "We will need that manpower. We have bigger fish to catch than Switzerland or Turkey."