Against all Odds: The British Empire in World War Two

Chapter 376​

14th February 1944


'In spring 1944 the British Army and the Royal Armoured Corps were yet to really feel the beginning of the manpower crunch that would not only dictate strategy and to an extent tactics on the battlefield for the remainder of the war but also see the increasing use of 'colonial' Divisions and Regiments in Europe. But already the Allied leadership sought a way to carry the war deeper into Germany without the prohibitive losses a grinding war of the type that had been fought in Italy would bring.

The cracks in the Axis alliance would play into Allied hands, as the OKW and STAVKA faced increasing difficulty in formulating any type of coherent strategy. What kept the front from completely breaking down in the Allied 1944 offensive was that operational control of the GSFG fell to the Wehrmacht. Planning for Operation Granby had begun long before ULTRA intercepts in January 1944 opened up the perfect opportunity.

De-coded messages that had been exchanged between Rommel's Army Group Centre (which then defended eastern Bavaria from about Regensburg and Bohemia) and Manstein's Army Group East (then a line between south of Brno and the western-most purely Soviet Army Group, the Belorussian Front in western Poland) showed division on what was to do next. Guderian, Rommel and Manstein, for once being in agreement, argued that the sensible thing to do was to concentrate most of the available reserves in Bavaria as the Allies would most certainly attack there.

Hitler on the other hand, and through him Stalin, was convinced that the next blow by the Allied be pushing into Poland as to cut the land connection between the Reich and the USSR. There would then be a great pincer movement to cut off and afterwards destroy the bulk of their armoured forces. Rommel and Guderian both felt that this was hogwash, though neither said so towards Hitler.

Their own Intelligence sections had independently arrived at the conclusion that the Allies were going to try an offensive into Germany proper. While this was essentially correct, the Allied intelligence services did their level best to disabuse Hitler and Stalin of that notion. While there were few usable assets within the USSR at the time, Germany was a different story. Aided by strategically leaked 'intelligence reports', wireless deception methods and the proliferate use of double Agents Hitler was deceived.

The most successful product of the double-cross system was a supposed Corporal in the supply section of the 7th Armoured Division who was disaffected because he had been repeatedly passed over for promotion and who reported to Berlin via a very real but turned German agent. Through this source the RSHA heard that the British were preparing deception measures to cover the withdrawal of all but a token tank force from the front in Bavaria in order to attack north through the Polish bulge.

While there were some reinforcements heading that way (one had to make it look real after all) most of the reported train movements were actually reinforcing the 21st Army Group by taking in additional forces from both the strategic reserve in North Africa and by stripping Italy of the now unneeded occupation forces. To the 8th Army this added two more Armoured, the 25th Indian and the 30th Indian Divisions as well as two more of Infantry, the 35th and the 112th. The 35th had the somewhat outré addition of two Italian mechanized Battlegroups which everyone saw of as questionable value at best, but which were meant to form the vanguard for the 1st Italian Infantry Division.

Overall the 21st Army group now had eight Armoured Divisions at it's disposal, the biggest concentration of tanks in the history of the British Army and one that would not be surpassed before the lead up to the Battle of the Fulda Gap some eight months later.

Even though in February the tentative campaign start date of 10th March seemed to be difficult to achieve under the circumstances Field Marshal Alexander was optimistic.

Over the winter his Armoured Divisions had been reinforced back to establishment strength and beyond, two Divisions, the 51st Highland and the Guards Infantry Division were now fully mechanised and training furiously with their new equipment, the Royal Air Force had several squadrons of the newest planes and enough supplies to sustain the Army for several months had been stockpiled in massive supply dumps.

Enough guns to rival the height of the First World War had been assembled as well.

All in all the Army was ready for what promised and would be a tough fight.

The 7th Armoured Division and with them the 2nd Royal Scots Hussars would proceed into this pretty with several changes. Still paired with the Royal Irish Rangers, the two Battlegroups were part of 1st Brigade, which was under the command of newly minted Brigadier Niemczyk.



'Hussars triumphant – The 2nd Royal Scots in World War Two'



~**---**~



In spring 1944 the fortunes of war seemed to hang in the balance. The perception within the OKW was that no one really had the initiative, chiefly because no one had really reached any of his campaign goals for 1943. The Allies hadn't reached their supposed campaign goal of taking Munich (something which as it turned out never was serious target) while the Axis forces still had numerous Allied troops on German soil north of the Alps. Hitler's idea of pushing the Allies out of Austria entirely had proven to be entirely impossible given current and likely future military realities.

It didn't help that the military leadership in form of the OKW and their political counterparts were fundamentally at odds on how the Allies would proceed. The intricacies and particulars of this are looked at in great detail in Chapter 3, so here a summary will suffice.

The core problem was that with the near constant string of military setbacks since the Allies had landed in Italy had placed the Wehrmacht's credit in Berlin in firm decline. Hitler began to intensely distrust his Generals, pushed towards this by the manipulations of Heydrich and Bormann. This unlikely duo was formed because both had decided on similar means towards converging ends. Heydrich, ever the consummate technocrat strove to remove Himmler and his Ahnenerbe and SS-Ritterschaft theories from both the leadership of the SS as well as from relevancy within the political sphere.

Bormann on the other hand wanted to curb the power of the other leading figures of the Party. Some eight months earlier, Goebbels, Himmler and Göring had blocked Bormannn's attempt at cutting them off from direct access to Hitler by introducing a troika consisting of himself, the Chief of the OKW, Field Marshal Keitel and the Chief of the Reich Chancellery through which anyone seeking an audience with the Führer would have had to go.

When and how exactly this alliance was formed is unclear as many of the relevant documents, if there ever existed any, disappeared or were destroyed in the last days of Germany's involvement in the war and both men's diaries or personal files show little evidence, though most historians agree that Bormann likely approached Heydrich shortly after the 'death' of Admiral Canaris, as Bormann was instrumental in Heydrich's seizure of the German intelligence apparatus.

What is known though is that when Hitler's favourite Generals presented their estimation of likely Allied intentions in Berlin, the two of them presented a united front, saying the exact opposite...




Introduction to 'The rise and fall of Martin Bormann' – Klett Verlag, Stuttgart 1987


~**---**~


Somewhere in Berlin, spring 1943

The streets of the capital of the Greater German Reich were still covered in the sludge that remained of the last snow of the season, but to the man meeting in the back of the massive Mercedes limousine it was of no consequence as they had matters of state to discuss while at the same time not showing their disgust for one another. Heydrich looked at the other man in the car and decided that whatever Bormann wanted, it was worth listening to, as he was arguably the second most powerful man after the Führer.

Bormann on the other hand knew that the both of them had a great deal of work to do, so instead of talking around the issue, he got straight to the point.

“Heydrich, the Fatherland is in grave danger, and unfortunately there is... a crisis of leadership. In the Party and in the military alike.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“As it turns out in this I can trust neither the Propaganda Ministry or the Luftwaffe. Even the leadership of the SS...”

Heydrich realized what Bormann was up to. He had tried to undermine the positions of the closest thing he had to a peer competitor and failed to do so. Now that his alliance had broken apart with his military supporter being sent as chief of the German military mission to the Soviet forces in China. He obviouly hadn't given up on it and was looking for new allies now. With Goebbels and Göring on the other side of the line there were only so many places he could go.

As he watched Bormann light a cigarette and take a few hungry drags on it, Heydrich wondered what he was supposed to do. It hadn't been said outright, but he knew he was being approached about something that was imminently dangerous. Even as head of the RSHA and all of Germany's non-military intelligence services there were some things and some people he daren't touch.

Goebbels, more so than Göring was one of them. The sad sack of fat was easy to take down if you were willing to take a few risks, but the propaganda minister had the cunning of a fox. Heydrich didn't know what exactly had happened in the committee of three, but what little he'd been able to find out indicated that Goebbels had managed to undermine the whole affair quite easily.

Yet, there was the tantalizing possibility of getting that fool Himmler out of the way. Heydrich had no desire to see him dead. For all he cared the idiot could spend the rest of his days with SS Ahnenerbe and whatever other mystical claptrap caught his fancy on that castle of his. So long as he stopped trying to muscle his way into power at the RSHA, somehow seeing Heydrich as a vassal as the just rewards for getting him the job in the first place.

Heydrich had no intention of acceding to those demands, but so far there hadn't been any angle he could use to defend himself with. Now on the other hand...


“So what is it I can do against this crisis?”

Bormann gave a thin smile and tapped the ash of his cigarette into the ashtray mounted in the door.

“Right now? Nothing.” he said, knowing that he had Heydrich where he wanted him.

“But the crisis is worst inside the OKW. Frankly, some of them do not give the Führer's opinions due dilligence and that is what has helped cause the... reverses of the war so far. Some of that was caused by the OKW believing more in their intelligence reports than in what our officers at the front say. Frankly, that needs to be stopped.”

“I see,” Heydrich replied, now knowing what Bormann was getting at. “And if that happens again...”

“Well, it would be very disagreeable if the RSHA could not definitely confirm either side of this argument.”

“I see. But that would be taking grave risks with the Fatherland's security, for an uncertain outcome.”

Are you crazy? And what's in it for me?

Then again, the OKW was a bunch of scared old men who were unwilling and unable to take the risks needed to win this war. This entire affair would also present the perfect opportunity to draw in the balance of the enemy's forces and destroy them in detail, but those old men refused to see it.

“Well,” Bormann said, “if my concerns about the higher SS leadership prove to be true then some persons might need to be replaced.”

If this works, then I will make you the new Reichsführer SS.

“Well, the RSHA will do it's best to provide the intelligence needed.”

I will probably say yes, but give me a few days to think it over.

“I am glad to hear that.”

The meeting that had never taken place ended shortly afterwards.




tbc

Now come on, it's me writing the British Army fighting in Europe. A battle of the Fulda Gap is inevitable! Not much wooshing in this chapter, but this was easier to write.

Bormannn's Troika plan was OTL btw.

On another note: The document I'm currently using to write these updates starts at Chapter 243 (the earlier one was lost when I transferred computers due to my own idiocy) and is at present 408 pages long.

ViperhawkZ It had to happen at some point. The Nazis (as individuals) are too self-centred, power hungry and just plain crazy not to do it. Besides, in the beginning of 1943 it looked as if everything was still up in the air. If they do it now, Heydrich and Bormann are both smart enough to realize that it's bitten them hard...

Einheit_elf Not quite yet. The RAC isn't the only one getting new kit...

stevep Large-ish. For the Fulda Gap I'll have to track down every Armoured Division in Europe and where it is right now to see if it's going to be larger than Kursk or not. I'm not going to introduce more than two or three new Divisions. The battle will mean stripping the other armies of most of their tanks. It's going to be a risk, but between Churchill, the Imperial General Staff, Alexander and the SIS it might be seen as worth it.

Depending on how the coming offensive shakes out for the Allies, the Germans are toast, even if they only loose bits of Bavaria. Because if you look at a map, you might realize that if the Allies take the rest of Bohemia, they are awfully close to Berlin, and then the Germans will be forced to fight even if it's on ground of the other side's choosing.

Mind you, 3rd Shock Army vets will always wonder why they were sent there.

Generally, I think it's fairly obvious which of the principal German cities the Allies are going for first, seeing as they want to force an end to the war as fast as they can...

Well someone has to. You can't let Italian troops onto a battlefield without supervision.

That being said, those two Battlegroups are actually relatively competent, being that they have competent officers, equipment that isn't laughably outdated and they have been trained to the British pattern.

Alas, the Paras (all of them) are elsewhere. Of course any reports that they have been issued with tropical kit are just false rumours. Yes... rumours.

*shoves transfer papers out of sight*

Who said anything about bridges?

After all, AAO's Market Garden was the initial invasion of Italy.

Next chapter is in the works, but I got a bid sidetracked by the sentence "Dude, what if Anakin went to Yoda about his dreams in Episode III?"


Anyway, this little scene popped into my head today and wouldn't go away.

Some day in late 1944


The early winter snows had stopped falling on what was left of occupied Warsaw yesterday, but the few people that lived in the ruins that lay unrepaired since 1939 couldn't care. For them the cold was as mortal an enemy as the Germans were, as both didn't care who you were, as long as they could kill you. Most of those that could hear the thunder in the distance were too busy with trying to stay alive to pay it much heed.

The Germans had long since stopped food deliveries to the city, and now that the front came ever closer, most of what was left was gone or so expensive that even the wealthiest Poles left sometimes went hungry.

Something was different today. The thunder of guns was now so close that you could distinguish individual explosions, and the most stout-hearted among the citizens of Warsaw had begun counting the days until the British would arrive. But no one dared saying so.

For showing the least bit of defiance the punishment was instant death, the only difference being that if you were lucky, they shot you out of hand.

Then, suddenly, the thunder of guns stopped. Oh, there was still the rumble in the distance, but the sound of fighting everyone could hear so up close was gone. Even before the order ran through the destroyed city, it's inhabitants fled to the cellars, because rumours said that when they were forced out, they would kill everyone within their reach.

Hours passed, and only the occasional, singular shot was heard. The next morning, a few enterprising and courageous souls left their hiding places and came out onto the rubble-strewn streets.

The soldiers marching through the street were not German. But not Soviets either. The Germans were just... gone. As it turned out, they had left the city during the night. Normally, the crowds would have been in the streets greeting their liberators, but as the people slowly filled the streets, they only watched the stoic figures march by in perfect parade ground order that would have been fit for a Royal Review. The troops they watched marched like they were on parade, but they did not look it.

Most of them looked like they hadn't slept in days, they were dirty, grimy and many of them were wounded, but they held themselves with a martial pride that outshone the weak early winter sun.

The unit that marched towards the burnt out ruins of the Royal Castle was but one Company, as most were securing other points in the city, but this company somehow acquired a following as the crowds flowed behind them.

The troops reached the square in front of the castle. It was cleaned of rubble, as the Germans had often used it to make an example of those that had disobeyed them, but today most of the troops formed a perfect line, rifles at attention as if waiting for something. They stood facing the crowd that had filled the square, and as the people watched, three soldiers braved the dangerous climb up the ruins to their highest point. There they fastened a metal pole they had found somewhere and while two of them gave a perfect salute, the third one raised the white and red flag of the Republic of Poland.

For a few minutes the flag flew proudly in the wind over the ruined city, before one ragged, tired voice started to sing:

Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła,
Kiedy my żyjemy.
Co nam obca przemoc wzięła,
Szablą odbierzemy.

Marsz, marsz, Dąbrowski,
Z ziemi włoskiej do Polski.
Za twoim przewodem
Złączym się z narodem.

Przejdziem Wisłę, przejdziem Wartę,
Będziem Polakami.
Dał nam przykład Bonaparte,

Jak zwyciężać mamy.
Marsz, marsz, Dąbrowski,
Z ziemi włoskiej do Polski.
Za twoim przewodem
Złączym się z narodem.

Jak Czarniecki do Poznania
Po szwedzkim zaborze,
Dla ojczyzny ratowania
Wrócim się przez morze.

Marsz, marsz, Dąbrowski,
Z ziemi włoskiej do Polski.
Za twoim przewodem
Złączym się z narodem.

Już tam ojciec do swej Basi
Mówi zapłakany —
Słuchaj jeno, pono nasi
Biją w tarabany.

Marsz, marsz, Dąbrowski,
Z ziemi włoskiej do Polski.
Za twoim przewodem
Złączym się z narodem.​

One after another the people on the square and the troops of the 2nd Polish Infantry Division joined in, and by the time the refrain of the Polish National anthem was reached, the entire square was singing as loudly as they could, and then it seemed as if the city was exploding with joy.

Warsaw was free.

Thankee.

The Poles are as like to give up Warsaw again as Hell is winning the Stanley Cup.