Hitler's gamble - An alternative German Strategy

1940

The man was sitting behind his large oak desk, alone in his office. He has been there for several hours now, it was late night already. A very difficult decision was weighing down on his shoulder. It was raining and the night was unusually cold even for the season. And he knew it will get worse before it would get better.



- Take care of him for me, will you?

- We are going to be stationed in the same city but that's it. I couldn't look after Hans even if I wanted to.

- And what are we going to do there, anyway?

- You will be informed when you need to. And we serve in completely different Army Corps of different Armies, how should I have any idea what your orders will be? For all I know, they might send you right over to England.

- England?!

- He is surely joking, honey! If you were going to England, why would they send you to Düsseldorf? Why not say Wilhelmshaven?

- To confuse the British!

- Martin!

- Alright, alright. Anyway, you already participated in a landing and it wasn't that bad, was it?

- But that was against the Soviets! The British have a Navy!

- True. But if it comes to a landing in Britain, you surely will get the cover you need from both the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe. And once you land, the Heer will take care of the enemy. No need to worry.

- It would be good to believe you, really...

- Everything will be fine, just don't forget to write often!

- I won't forget, I promise!

- And always read the news! It's very healthy to be well informed.



1940, November

He stood up and stepped over to the window. The city was dark at night in fear of enemy bombers. The long arms of the enemy could reach even here. They could do very little damage when they did come this far, but it was better not to provide them any targets. Even his office was dark, and even during such a rainy night. And of course there was nobody on the streets. Not that he could see them if there were any. He turned away from the window, back to his worries.



November 1, 1940

As it turns out, the boys were right. We were deployed close to the Turkish border and now we are at war with them. Some of them argued that we will invade Persia, and they may also turn out right in the end. Noone can be sure anymore. Seargent Martinovic was of the opinion that they shouldn't be guessing in the first place.


Our Division won't participate in the fighting, for the moment at least. Currently we are tasked with defending the Corps HQ. As for what we need to defend it from, I have no idea, nor do I care. As long as we don't have to go into any swamps, I'm a happy man.

Last week I shot a deer. We were on patrol with three of the boys led by Seargent Martinovic and one of them spotted this majestic animal. We all crouched an I took aim with my rifle. One of us must have made some noise because the prey noticed us and I had to act quickly. I didn't miss, but the shot was not as good as I intended it to be. Seargent Martinovic had to shoot it again with his pistol when we got close. The cook was overjoyed when we got back to the camp. I had worse.

Seargent Martinovic said that the war is getting serious in Europe as well. Not that it wasn't serious before, but now it is even more so, because the Reich has declared war on the Netherlands. Something about British submarines being aided by the Dutch Navy. I'm not sure how that was possible, but it doesn't really matter now, the deed is done. The Dutch choose the wrong side in this ever-growing whirlwind of clashing nations some are calling a World War. The name fits well, as I'm sure, soon enough the whole World will be consumed by this conflict.


1940, November 10

It would only take a short telephone call. All he needed to do was reach out... He raised his hand and almost touched the telephone but something stopped him. There would be consequences he needs to consider first, serious consequences. He sat back, staring at the painting on the opposite end of the office. It depicted a very important moment in the history of the nation. Dozens of statesmen and military officers were cheering with their swords drawn, as the new monarch was crowned, an Empire declared. The dawn of a new era. If he makes this decision, it could be a similarly important step towards the final goal, but it wouldn't provide for such a grandiose picture. A man making a telephone call is not comparable with that scene, yet the impact of this decision would be felt for years to come.

It must have been past mindight by then yet he still couldn't reach a conclusion. He took a sip of his coffee. It became a rather expensive commodity recently. He still couldn't get used to the taste but already became dependent on the effect. The responsibilities he had were too much of a burden to bear without it.



- This can't be good... - Martin was reading the report Erwin just brought him. It came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. King Leopold III of Belgium convinced his government to allow French troops to pass through Belgian territory in order to help out the Dutch, bypassing the Siegfried Line. - Do you know what this means?

- Of course I do! The Heer will soon start to kill Frenchies at last.

- You are a fool, Erwin, and you do very little to hide it. This means that Belgium is now a de facto member of the Allies!

- Yeah? So what? Should we be afraid of them?

- Of them? No. But with the Wehrmahct focused on the Dutch army stranded in the North, the French might cause trouble if they manage to flank our forces!

- And what are the odds of that?

- I don't know, but the possibility is there. And the terrain is unfavourable in Belgium, too. Back in the Great War, they had it easy, because all they had were soldiers and horses with the occasional cannon. But our Panzers are much less effective in those forests. Not to mention the rivers!

- You are a pessimist, that's your problem! This map here clearly shows how fast the Heer progressed in the Netherlands. Why would it be any different in Belgium?


- That map is three days old, Erwin, a lot of things happened in that time. But the main difference between the two is that the Dutch were cut off from direct support from the Allies, their only option to get reinforcements would have been via the Channel, and the Kriegsmarine could prevent even that. Belgium served as a kind of a neutral wall, much like that Yunnan warlord still does in Asia. Belgium was probably threatened with war or something by France to pull them in. Then again, it was only a matter of time before they got involved anyway, so I think I can understand their point...

- Alright, but what now? Do you really think that we will be defeated because Belgium went their way?

- It is a distinct possibility, yes, but only if the French manage to act fast enough and cut off our forces. I don't think it will come to that. Still, with most of the French forces redeploying into Belgium, I doubt that we will see another Blitzkrieg...



1940, November 10. Berlin

His original plans went up in flames the day before: it was now completely unfeasable to launch an amphibious invasion. He sat back on his chair and took another look at the reports before him. Now that Belgium is open to them, the French armies previousely defending the border with Italy are being redeployed to the North to hold off the German advance. Meanwhile, in Africa, things were quiet. The Reich's advance into Turkey was slow and indecisive. The entire Mediterranean was under firm Allied control, and this was not to be changed for a long time.

He stood up and went to the hanger, taking his coat and hat. He made his decision. This was not the time. Yet.


Index

Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito walk into a bar...

- Bartender, give me a beer!

- But Adolf, you are supposed to despise alcohol, are you not?

- Nonsense! I'm German, so of course I love beer!

- You are actually Austrian...

- Austria is in Germany! It has been for like three years now! Can't you even keep tabs on your neighbours getting annexed?

- Now, now, gentlemen, please remain civil, shall we? I'll have a sake. What will you have, my dear friend Benito?

- I don't know, let me see that wine list...

- You should pick something at random. I have a war to fight you know, I can't wait for you to look through all this!

- Oh, but selecting the best beverage to consume is of utmost importance! You can't just go stochastic on an issue like that!

- Why? Live a little! Take a risk! It wouldn't hurt every once in a while! When was the last time you took a risk anyway?

- A fair question I must say. I observed your actions in the past five years closely and I do believe that the most daring act you made was the invasion of Albania. And even that was through an event with no other options on their part!

- Yes, and in the meantime you were getting kicked around in China by the Garrison of Hong Kong! Thanks, but no, thanks.

- You know, the time will come when we will ask something from you. You did sign that paper, remember?

- You tricked me! You told me I would get the whole Balkans in exchange, and what happened? You brought Hungary and Belgium to join your stupid club, then split Yugoslavia up among them, leaving me nothing! Then Turkey! And soon you will be going after Greece, too! That's no fair!

- Sorry, once you joined a faction, you can't leave. Thems are the rules.

- I know, I know... But you know what? If you suddenly decide to Call me to Arms when I don't expect it, I will lose! I swear!

- And I don't doubt that for a minute...

- Neither do I. That's why I will wait for the time when even you can't lose. You know, you are pretty good at losing, but you are not THAT good!

- I can lose anytime I want! Wait...

- May I be so bold to ask when that time would be? I have a hard time imagining a situation where even our friend Benito here is unable to lose.

- Yeah, it was a tough one for me, too, and you know I can imagine almost anything. So here's my plan!



- You can't be serious.

- What now?!

- This is your strategic map?

- Yes!

- Did you draw it yourself?

- Of course!

- It shows...

- Shut up!

- What about using this one?



- Hey! This is a screenshot from MY game! Where did you get it?

- I have top men working on it.

- Who?

- Top... Men.

- Hey, you have almost maxed out Energy! I have less than 10000! Gimme gimme gimme!

- Benny, my dear, I would give you, really. But whenever I try to sell you anything, you say "Impossibile"...

- That must be my stupid foreign minister...

- Then why don't you ask officially? Tell your stupid foreign minister to ask for a trade! Or simply fire him. Literaly.

- Yeah, I might do just that. When I get home. Now, back to your plan!

- Yes, I'm quite interested to hear more about that, too.

- By the way, why do you have 4 IC wasted?

- Because when I load up a save, the game screws up my IC allocation. Now, can we get back to my plan?

- Yeah, sure...

- And where did you get that many rares?!

- I got it from Moscow. Took quite a while to haul it all over to Berlin.

- Yeah, like instantaneously...

- Shut up!

- Will you give me some? I can't seem to get a positive balance of rares even after conquering all of China. In fact, I'm losing like 70 of the stuff every day. Not to mention that I also lose 126 metal and 143 energy...

- Look, I can't feed both of your economies at the same time! And you would lose all of it to British submarines anyway. By the way I checked, you are actually only losing 33 rares and 9 metal a day, and you are actually positive on energy. I also have top... Men.

- Oh, yeah, I didn't wait for a day to clarify the data with my adjutant. But could you send me just a little?

- No! I am actually losing more than you, you know!

- But you will capture more soon enough, won't you? With your master plan?

- I'm glad you mentioned it. In fact, I will!

- And you have over 90000 fuel!

- Benny, would you just shut up already?! As I was saying, here's my master plan:


- So, my Wehrmacht armies will be advancing towards the Suez in the Middle-East. Once they get there, I will call Benny here to assist in delivering the pizza to Paris.

- You don't need to be all stereotipical you know. Just because I'm Italian...

- Talk about stereotypical... You speak in Italic for crying out loud! It's just an expression anyway...

- As I was saying, you will get them from behind!

- Alright, that's it! I'm done with you and your gay jokes! I'm outa here!

- What's wrong with him?...

- He'll return soon enough.

- Ah, whatever. In the meantime I think we should discuss just what the hell are you doing in Asia.

- I live there...

- Funny. I meant why does it take so damn long for you to get anything done?

- I have my own problems, okay? I might be God among men, but I still have a hard time making my soldiers and generals do what I want them to... And it's very hard to fight a two fronts war!

- What two fronts?!

- Well, you know, there's one in Indochina, near Hanoi...

- Yeah, I know about that one. The one where you were pushed back by a bunch of Frenc Chefs...

- Yes, that one. And there's another one in... Well... Shanwel.

- Where's that?

- A few kilometers east of Hong Kong.

- What?!

- The British made another landing!

- And you let them? Come on! You know how bad we all look because of your incompetence?!

- Well, I'm not the one who can't defeat Luxemburg!

- We are not even at war with Luxemburg!

- That's beside the point! You are bogged down in the Netherlands and Belgium, and I saw your save files from later on! You won't move an inch for two more months at least! Although that little operation on New Years Eve was quite well executed! Splendid job!

- Would you mind not spoiling the later Chapters? Thank you!

- So back on topic. Why would I even want to get down to Indochina? I'll get it for free when you force the French to surrender.

- Yes, you probably will. But it still looks pretty lame that you can't handle the French.

- You can't either.

- That's different. They have like 90% of their forces on my borders and in Belgium! Which reminds me. While I occupy the Dutch in their homelands, you should take out their colonies in Indonesia!

- Sorry, no can do.

- Why?!

- My Imperial Japanese Fleet (which has a chronic lack of Star Destroyers unfortunatelly) took matters into their own hands and they are already making invasions in more appropriate places.

- Where?

- Australian colonies, etc.


- WHY?! There's nothing there! You should take the important places where the resources are!

- But those have Victory Points! They must be useful for something!

- No, they are only a diversion, devised by Swedish partisans!

- You see? They ARE useful...

- Argh!...

- Ah, I see I choose tbe best moment to come back!

- ARGH!!!

- Please, Adolf, calm down! I'm not sure if we got to the end of your master plan yet!

- Well... You are right about that... Alright. So, my forces will fight their way down to the Suez and secure the canal. At that point, I will Call Benny to Arms, which he will accept.

- Like hell I...

- You will. Period. And if you don't, then your stupid foreign minister will, I don't care. At this point, my superior forces will be tying down the French defences in Northern France...

- You mean in Belgium.

- Northern France, Belgium, whatever. The point is that they will be tied down. Salazar (the Portugese guy) keeps the Spanish reinforcements busy. Your task will be to cut through the small French garrison in Southern France and force them to surrender.

- Awesome! I'll make them pay for not giving me my outrageous demands after World War I!

- You are not really familiar with how this game works, are you?

- No, why?

- Well, it shows...

- Alright, but I'm very cautious!

- We went over that already. Anyway, Dolfy's plan will give you nothing, are you aware of that?

- What?! Why?

- You see, there's this nice little event called the Vichy Armistice. It has been attacked by the forumites heavily since thegame came out.

- What's a forumite?

- It's a kind of an insect.

- And what is this Vichy Armistice about?

- It gives Northern and Western France to Germany and forms a new French minor in Southern France, also giving the French colonies to that new Vichy France. The point of that event is to rob Italy blind.

- WHAT?!

- Ah, we arrived to Phase Two of my master plan! You see, I have like 150 gazzillion threat already towards everyone, so right after Vichy forms, I'll declare war on them, too. You can then annex them, inheriting all the French colonies!

- Really?! You are the best! Thank you! Thank you!

- I must warn you though, that you will need to deal with all the rebels in every colony on your own!

- Bah, I can deal with that! I'll go now and tell my generals to prepare! We are going to war soon!

- But only on my command, not before!

- Alright, alright. It is gonna be sooooo awesome! Wait, what about Spain?

- What about it?

- What if they don't stay home and come to fend off my troops?

- You surely can take care of Spain! They are more of a joke than you are!

- I gues you are right... Can I annex them, too?

- We will see about that. Let's just leave this question open for now. Maybe we should restore that Franco guy. He has a funny mustache...

- Look who's talking...

- Do you have a problem with mustaches? They are manly!

- Look, with your height, you wouldn't look manly if you had the face of Chuck Norris...

- Look who's talking... I, on the other hand, have divine origin.

- Whatever. It's time we all went back home and prepared for our tasks for the near future, don't you think?

- You are absolutely right, my friend! Farewell! - Mussolini leaves without actually drinking anything. Can you believe that?

- You know, I couldn't help but notice that you failed to mention the Non-Aggression Pact included in the Vichy event. You won't be able to attack Vichy for at least six months after they form.

- Details. I will attack them when I'm ready. In the meantime I can force my will on Spain and hopefully will have enough time to deal with the British as well.

- We'll see...

Index