Chapter II - The road to war
Countries played by humans: UK, France, Poland, Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, Japan
February, 1939
::Heinrich Hahn and his 1st Panzer Division had been based behind the Oder River during the winter. They were still far away from the Polish border but the talk was that war would surely come. In January they got a new divisional commander, Erwing Rommel. Heinrich had just seen him a couple of times when the major general came down to inspect the troops and even talk to people low in rank. He seemed a solid guy to Heinrich.::
::So far, they were three divisions under lieutenant general “Schneller-Heinz” Guderian. He was said to be the father of tank warfare - the way Heinrich and his fellows were trained. Heinrich’s tank commander, Michael Wittmann, had very high thoughts of Guderian and felt confident that their superior doctrines and skill would be the most powerful tool for victory. Heinrich in turn had very high thoughts of his tank commander and was sure his words were true. The gunner, a man called Bobby, thought the same and he and Heinrich quickly became friends.::
::Under Rommel’s command, they continued to train their Blitzkrieg tactics. The task of their panzer corps would most certainly be to blitz deep into Poland and lead the way for the infantry. Heinrich could barely wait for the war to come and he shared his thoughts with his fellow squad members, with whom he already felt a growing friendship. With few exceptions they felt like him. They were young and immortal, and they wanted to give Germany its grandness back and pay back to all those nations that had imposed the decade of poverty on them and their youth. The time was ripe.::
March, 1939
Since mid January, the Japanese forces hade mainly made successful offensives in the north and in the south, while the center was a stalemate. It was obvious, however, that China and her allies had little to do except stalling Japans march to victory.
…..
For now on – Poland have a player.
March 23rd, 1939
::The 1st Panzer Division was strengthened by a brigade of armored cars, transferred from a motorized division on the west front. Heinrich thought it was interesting with so many different vehicles in the division and when he was not training for the war, that everybody was sure to come, he visited the other brigades and made friends with other mechanics – helping them out. Several times, he wished that Johann could have been there with him, so they could have enjoyed these powerful vehicles together.::
::Johann Keller, being far away from any kinds of troops, cursed the hostilities in the world. Fortnum and Mason had paid handsomely for the first batch of cheese and Johann had felt like a king. Even if his family had a fair bit of land, they seldom had very much money. It felt so good to give a little bit of luxury to them. Also, secretly, Johann had been slightly envious of his older brother who had become an infantryman and thus received much honor back home. Now, Johann was the one everybody talked about.::
::But it would not last. Fortum and Mason did not want a second batch. Even though they said the cheese was delicious, the problem was that German products did not sell in London anymore and costumers even got annoyed by their appearance. Kaiser! What bad luck! Johann and Lucas had thought about ways to counter this but when it was clear that Johann couldn’t offer Lucas any more jobs, the tall man, always thinking short-term if at all, looked for other jobs.::
::Lucas found, however, that most jobs now days pointed in the directions of Wehrmacht. As girls around him found soldiers being attractive and some of his friends received a ridiculous amount of status after they became soldiers, Lucas started to drift in this direction. Rumors said it would be war with the Poles – a short and quick one – and then it would be peace again. Lucas though it’d be a nice adventure after all. The guys said they’d be heroes afterwards. Well, that sounded nice. Still, he had liked that business trip to London with Johann.::
::It all came down to pure coincident – as it usually did for Lucas. A recruiter in a smart uniform, medals and an iron cross, came to the village. He was a good speaker too and Lucas was swept away by grand nationalistic feelings and before his head cleared up he had signed on as an infantryman. He didn’t feel sorry about it, though. His whole life was just a series of coincident. You could just shrug, follow the path in front of you and make the best of it.::
April 25th, 1939
German is mobilizing after a several week long dispute with the Poles about the Danzig corridor. Would the Poles back down?
::Johann Keller heard the news on the radio and simply closed his eyes. What madness. He just did not have words for it. His last hope for a deal with Fortnum and Mason crumbled. Luckily, he had just got an offer from an Italian businessman. He had gone to Milano in the beginning of the month and it now appeared it was met with success. Still, cheese from the Alps where a lot less attractive in Italy than in Britain, which was painfully clear when he looked at the price per kilo of cheese. This would not make him rich. Still, the money earned would sustain him in his further pursuit for the perfect deal.::
::Lucas Bauer had made his officer notice him. It was not that he was brighter than average or hit better with the rifle, but his physical qualities and mental endurance made him stand out. Also, he was the kind of character that never got grumpy or sour. He could always muster a joke and a smile no matter what hell the drill sergeants dragged them through. One of his officers suggested that Lucas would apply for the new (second) paratrooper division that was about to be created. Lucas passed the trials with little problems and therefore left the regular infantry.::
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Authors note: The attack on Poland is one post away. The war is soon here. The question is - how will USSR react? And what will Allies do? They will probably not repeat "Operation Trident" as I executed it in
Years of Jolly Carnage but I expect them to do more than just sit back. The questions is what...