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Troubling development in Yugoslavia.

Yea, they are closer to me, but drifting toward USSR. I'm not sure how I will deal with them once I'm done with the west. Attacking the USSR might bring them in. Attacking them might bring the USSR, and in both cases the front is *very* long.
 
How did the Soviets annex Finland? Did the AI reject the truce offer and keep going?

I'm not sure honestly. As I wasn't paying attention to that part when I saw the first event about the end of the Winter War. :eek:o
 
1941:
January and February saw more sponsored allies activity in Germany. Czech Nationalists rising, armed with British weapons was put down in Bucovice. Poland aligned itself more toward the allies, and on the 10th of Febraury started to mobilize their reserves. Brazil, on the 20th, joined in the embargo against the Reich.
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The embargo by the western sphere is starting to worry the minister of armament. Our Rare materials stockpile dropped from 35k to 27k in the first 3 months. The few countries that produce different rare materials were under heavy pressure from the west and trade deals couldn’t be achieved. It was expected that our stockpiles would only be enough to support our industry until May 42 at worse.
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The shortage of rare materials didn’t stop our plans to strengthen the Wehrmacht. Two Battlecruisers soon to be commissioned.

Our new IX-class Battleships, KMS Ludendorff, KMS Mainfranken, KMS Sudetenland, KMS Friedrich der Grosse, and KMS Grossdeutschland, were commissioned in 7th of November ahead of schedule. The Kriegsmarine now became a true naval power that can challenge the status que.
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The new IX-Class Battleship

November 1941, saw our diplomacy scoring a victory. On the 17th, foreign ministers of Bulgaria and the Reich signed a military alliance between the two nations. This move was important to neutralize Bulgaria in case of hostilities with the Soviet Union. Focus shifted toward Romania and Turkey.
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Years effort finally succeed.

The 1st Heavy Tank Battalion, Schwere SS-Panzer Abteilung 103 was fully fitted in October and assigned to the OKW as a special mobile defense force, under the XI. Armeekorps, 87 Inf. Division. The Schwere SS-Panzer Abteilung 503 was also sent near the French border, part of the X. Armeekorps , 22. Inf. Divisions.
The OKH was assigned two more heavy battalions. The Schwere SS-Panzer Abteilung 501 and 502 became part of the 2. Inf. Div. (mot.), III. Panzerkorps and 13. Inf Div. (mot.), XXII. Panzerkorps respectively.
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The units were a mix of Tiger I and Panzer III

End of 1941 stats:
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January-August 1942: Build Up and Planning

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Junkers Ju 87C variant to be used with our new aircraft carriers.
-In January, the first planes designed for our aircraft carriers were ready. Pilot training commenced in Kiel while waiting for the carrier to be ready.
-I.SS Panzerkorps formed as part of the 1. Panzerarmee. It included 1. SS-Pz.Gr. SS-LAH , 2. SS-P-Div. “Das Reich” and Schwere SS-Panzer Abteilung 101.
-March saw Poland joining the embargo on the Reich.
-Our new research tech for refining raw materials was finished in April, giving a 7.5% increase in production. Stockpile stood at 10.5k and 7-8 months before running out. Our 3 Light Panzer divisions are upgraded with latest medium Panzer models.

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Our hard pressed industry working at full capacity to meet the demands of the Wehrmacht.
May 25, 1942:
The Reich celebrated the commission of its four aircraft carriers, KMS Graf Zeppelin, KMS Peter Strasser, KMS Europa, and KMS Germania. It took almost 42 months to complete them. But the knowledge of building them gave the German engineers the know-how experience and two more were ordered, expected to finish in 28 months only.
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Graf Zeppelin first sea trial was a success.


July 1942:
The western power frustration and jealousy of the new modern Kriegsmarine reached a boiling point with more countries refusing sign trade deals with the Reich. As of 2nd July 1942, the following countries placed an embargo on Germany: United Kingdom, French Republic, Poland, people’s Republic of China, Xing Yang, and Brazil.
All this didn’t matter to the Fuhrer anymore. The moment of action drawing near. At 15PM, 2nd of July, all reserve troops were recalled.
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Recalling of troops will take time to bring our divisions to full strength.


Kriegsmarine OOB:
The Kriegsmarine was divided into 5 fleets with different tasks after the completion of the Z-Plan as follow:
1) Carrier Flotte (Base: Wilhelmshaven) under command of Admiral Raeder
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Scharnhorst-Class BC KMS Moltke, part of the escort of the Carrier Flotte.
-4 Graf Zerpplin-class Fleet Carriers: KMS Graf Zeppelin, KMS Peter Strasser, KMS Europa, and KMS Germania
-3 Battlecruisers: 1 Scharnhorst-Class BC: KMS Moltke and 2 KW-50 Class BC: KMS Mecklenburg and KMS Oberdonau
-2 Large-class Heavy Cruisers: KMS Blucher and KMS Lutzow
-5 Light Cruisers: 1 Leipzig-class: KMS Leipzig, 1 Nurnberg-Class: KMS Nurnberg, 3 IX-Class: KMS Berslau, KMS Albatross, and KMS Kolbers
-2 Destroyers groups Spahkrenzer-Class

2) Battleship Flotte (Base: Kiel) under command of Vice Admiral Saalwachter
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Pride of the Fleet: KMS Bismark
-3 Bismarck-class Battleships: KMS Bismarck, KMS Tripitz, and KMS Hindenburg
-2 Deutschland-Class Heavy Cruisers: KMS Deutschland, and KMS Admiral Scheer
-3 Light Cruisers: 2 Late AA-Class: KMS Dresden and KMS Monchengladbach, 1 K-Class: KMS Koln
- 3 Destroyers groups Mowe-Class

3) Baltische Flotte (Base: Kiel ) under command of Vice Admiral Bohm
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Deutschland-Class Heavy Cruiser: Graf Spee
-4 IX-Class Battleships: KMS Mainfranken, KMS Sudetenland, KMS Grossdeutschlandm and KMS Friedrich der Grosse
-2 Heavy Cruisers: 1 large-Class: KMS Seydlite, 1 Deutschland-Class: KMS Graf Spee
-5 Light Cruisers: 2 IX-Class: KMS Mainz and KMS Augsburg, 3 Late AA-Class: KMS Oberhausen, KMS Mannheim and KMS Gelsenkirchen
-3 Destroyers groups 1936A (Mob)-Class

4) Reserve Flotte (Base: Kiel) under command of Rear Admiral Marschall
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German Destroyer 1936A (mob)-Class.
-1 IX-Class Battleship: KMS Ludendorff
-4 Light Cruisers: 3 Late AA-Class: KMS Munster, KMS Rostock, and KMS Wiesbaden. 1 K-Class: KMS Konigsberg
-5 Destroyers groups 1936A (Mob)-Class

5) Transport Flotte (Base: Kolberg) under command of Rear Admiral Carls
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Pocket Battleship KMS Schlesien in the sea.
-2 Deutschland-Class Pocket Battleships: KMS Schlesien and KMS Schleswig-Holstein
-6 Transports groups
-2 Light Cruisers: 1 Enden-Class: KMS Enden, 1 K-Class: KMS Karlsruhe
-1 Destroyer group G 7-Class



August 1942: Boiling Point
Talks with Poland regarding the return of Danzig reached nowhere in the last years. Poland, with the backing of UK and France kept resisting solving the issue peacefully and even embargoed the Reich. This meant an aggressive approach was the only solution. The plans to invade Poland was to be carried out on 10th of August 1942.
On the 5th of August, orders were sent to the U-boat wolfpacks to their operation sectors in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The three main fleets of the Kriegsmarine were given their orders as well. The following map show the deployment of the Reich Navy:
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Red areas are u-boats hunting ground, while Green Initial Patrol area for the fleets.

On the Front lines with Poland, the Heer was deployed in 2 Heeresgruppe as follows:
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Armies Deployment.


Stats as of August 5th:
18.jpg

=========
Few notes:
-I'm realized that I mixed up the SS heavy tank battalion with the normal ones, but I thought it was ok, it is an alternative history after all :)
-German ships, their classes, and all that is really confusing...I might have mixed something.
-Next update will be the planning and and start of the war
-Do you like that I mention the OOB of army in more/less details??
 
Looks good so far. Hopefully you can take France quickly and not get bogged down, although since it's after 1940 they won't get a NU hit when they lose Paris, so you'll need to take much more of the country than normal.

Oh, and the KMS Schlesien and KMS Schleswig-Holstein are not Deutschland-class pocket battleships, they are Deutschland-class battleships. I know, confusing since the names are identical and the official ship-types are similar, but those two pre-dreadnought battleships are leftovers from Imperial Germany's WW1 fleet, while the Deutschland Panzerschiffe are just heavy cruisers with really big guns when compared to the rest of the world's heavy cruisers. They were called pocket battleships due to their fact that their main guns were the same size as some battleships' main guns, but were substantially smaller and cheaper. The Panzerschiffe had 6 11 inch guns as their primary weapon (same as the old BBs Germany starts with), compared to the 8 inch guns the rest of the world used on their CAs.
 
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I fear that defeating the USSR will be incredibly difficult
 
Looks good so far. Hopefully you can take France quickly and not get bogged down, although since it's after 1940 they won't get a NU hit when they lose Paris, so you'll need to take much more of the country than normal.

Oh, and the KMS Schlesien and KMS Schleswig-Holstein are not Deutschland-class pocket battleships, they are Deutschland-class battleships. I know, confusing since the names are identical and the official ship-types are similar, but those two pre-dreadnought battleships are leftovers from Imperial Germany's WW1 fleet, while the Deutschland Panzerschiffe are just heavy cruisers with really big guns when compared to the rest of the world's heavy cruisers. They were called pocket battleships due to their fact that their main guns were the same size as some battleships' main guns, but were substantially smaller and cheaper. The Panzerschiffe had 6 11 inch guns as their primary weapon (same as the old BBs Germany starts with), compared to the 8 inch guns the rest of the world used on their CAs.
Yea, France might not fall fast, specially that I read that UK put alot of troops there.


I fear that defeating the USSR will be incredibly difficult
I'm hoping my a strong Arm/Mot/Mec investment will help me encircle as many divisions as possible in the opening stages. Although I'm still not sure I can get Yugoslavia to be neutral in case of war with USSR.
 
War with Poland: World Reaction
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The declaration of war on Poland was sent on the 10th of August, 1942, putting us in a state of war with allies nations. Hungary was the only other Axis power to join in the war, keeping Poland busy on its southern borders. Different countries had different reactions to the war.
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Norway denied British request for transit rights. A wise choice.

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Stalin reaction was worrisome. The last thing we needed is losing our only reliable trade partners.

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Belgium, Denmark and Yugoslavia mobilized their troops. Whats more worrying is the tri-alliance that now exists between Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and USSR.


War with Poland: Plan
The plan for the invasion of Poland, Operation Donner, was by Field Marshall von Rundstedt. The 1st phase of the attack will be with our infantry divisions north of Poznan and north of Breslau. After the infantry clear the first obstacles, our Panzer, Pz.Gr. and motorized divisions will thrust the lines deep in Poland territories creating two large pockets in Poznan and Danzig. The 1. Fallschirmajager Division under command of Maj. General Student will be paradroped behind the enemy lines in Konin.
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Fallschirmajager troops.
Further attacks by 1. Armee will achieve two goals:
1) Attacks from Danzig to north of Warsaw will tie the Polish divisions and make sure they don’t escape the planned pockets.
2) The attack on north of Warsaw by the 1., 12., 76. Inf divisions with support of the other divisions part of XX. Armeekorps and XIII. Armekorps.
After trapping the Polish army in the two pockets, our 1. Panzerarmee will move east and surround the Polish capital.
4-4.jpg

A map showing the plan of attack.

War with Poland: 10th August -7th of September
Infantry divisions from 2 and 5. Armee succeeded in clearing the Polish defenses giving our Panzer and motorized division a clear path deep into Poland to create the pockets.
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Reports of victories across the front.

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Our Panzerkorps planned movements.[

On 21:00 11 August, elements of the Pz Recon. Battalion belonging to the 14. Panzer division made contact with the 1. Fallschirmajager Division. To the south, the 20. Inf. Division (mot.) was pushing north to close the pocket of Poznan with light resistance.
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By 17:00 13 of August, the Pocket was formed. The 5. Pz, 3 and 10. Inf (mot.) pushed further north-east in order to seal the 2nd pocket and link with the XIII. Armeekorps of the 1. Armee.
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In which they succeed by midnight of 15th August.
10-4.jpg


Clearing the Pockets:
Poland fate was sealed. Our Panzerkorps started their move to encircle the capital Warsaw. While our Infantry started to clear the pockets.
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Four Polish divisions were trapped and destroyed in Poznan Pocket.

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Danzig Pocket getting cut into smaller pieces.

The battle in Warsaw begun on the 18th of August. The attacks didn’t make much progress until our Panzerkorps managed to fully encircle the city. Which fell on the 27th of August.
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Over 70,000 surrendered in Warsaw.
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German soldiers walking in the destroyed streets of the city.

The Polish army in Danzig refused to surrender even after the fall of their capital, and their resistance kept going until 3rd of September when more than 200,000 of their troops surrendered in Grudziadz.
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In the south, more Polish troops were surrounded in Krakow and Lubliniecs.
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I. SS Panzerkorps encircle the 9th Polish corps with 2 divisions in Lubliniecs.
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Battle of Krakow ended with 8,400 polish killed and 68,000 prisoners.

After the fall of Krakow, Polish resistance crashed. On the 7th of September, the German Reich declared victory.
19.jpg

======
The next update should cover the Naval actions :)
Edit: For some reason, my NAP with the USSR is no more :(
Also, due to a bug, USSR released the Baltic states as puppets :/
 
Kriegsmarine Operations during August 1942:
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On the sea, the Kriegsmarine’s surface fleet took a cautious approach, staying close to the mainland. Two weeks later, our Carrier Flotte was sent to partrol the Atlantic in the region between Spain and Ireland. The goal was to intercept and destroyer RN ASW ships, and prevent any fleets from joining the Home Fleet.
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New area of operation. The map also show the sunk conveys during the last week.

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Cover of the Kriegsmarine magazine with news of sinking allies conveys.


The RN didn’t intercept our Carrier Flotte, instead a large battleship fleet belonging to the RN was spotted and engaged near the coast of Jutland in 25th August. Our superior battleships, Bismarck-Class, and its screens showed their worth. The RN fleet was badly damaged and 10 destroyers were sunk.
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Naval Battle of Coast of Jutland.

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German attack miss its target, the HMS Warspite Battleship.


The battle wasn’t over, and after our Battleship Flotte lost contact, our Baltische Flotte, with its newer IX-Class Battleships, spotted and engaged the enemy. The battle raged for two days with both fleets cautious actions. On the 26th, Berlin received the news that the battleship KMS Mainfranken was lost. Admiral Bohm sent the following message: “…The battleship " Mainfranken " fought in an immobilized condition after the destruction of the rudder mechanism and propellers, and thus rendering the ship unable to maneuver, against steadily English naval forces, until she became the victim of overwhelmingly superior power from 5 enemy Battleships and countless escorts on the afternoon of the 26thth of August. The battleship sank with its flag flying.”
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First Battleship loss of the Kreigsmarine, KMS Mainfranken.


Even with the loss, our Flotte was able to greatly damage the enemy and sink many of its screens (Down from 5 capitals, 18 screens, to 5 capitals and 10 screens). Later at 17:00 27th, August. The 18. Destroyer group confirmed the sinking of HMS Warspite with torpedoes, avenging our earlier loss.
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First Battleship kill for the Kriegsmarine. The crew of the destroyers are to be awarded with the Iron Cross.


The remaining RN fleet was cornered in Helgoland, where our Flotte won another engagement on 29th. The result ened with sinking one enemy light cruiser and 20 destroyers for the loss of a heavy cruiser, KMS Seydlitz
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Another victory, though not without loses

The persuit of the fleeing RN continued, sinking another 5 destroyers in the midnight of 30th august, and in the afternoon at 16:00, reports reached Berlin with great news: “Two enemy battleships sinking confirmed, HMS Malaya and HMS Revenge. Along with 1 light cruiser and 10 destroyers.” This news was immediately broadcasted on the radio…German morale was high.
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Battle of Helgoland Bight

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News of sinking 3 British Battleships and various escorts were sent to the frontlines to rise the morale.

What the German population did not know about, is that soon afterward, a disaster almost struck the Kriegsmarine. The next day, while pursuing the remaining 2 battleships (HMS Valiant and Ramilies), the Battleship Flotte joined the battle. Our Batlische Flotte wasn’t informed and it mistaken the friendly reinforcements as RN’s. The pride of the Fleet, KMS Bismarck, was almost sank by friendly fire. Many escorts were damaged as well. News of this incident were never released.
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Battleship Flotte barely escaped friendly annihilation. Ramillies was sunk and Valiant was later torpedoed.

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Friendly fire almost brought KMS Bismarck to the bottom of the North Sea.

During the same period, our Carrier Flotte was hunting in the atlantic, with mediocre success:
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A Final report for the Kriegsmarine activity was sent to the OKW:
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Ship loses as of 1st September.
 
Ouch, the loss of the Mainfranken hurts, even if you sunk 5 UK ships as well. That said, I think you brought the UK's capital ships down to numerical equivalence to your own. If you can find and sink their carriers than you've pretty much won. Bringing in the Japanese, if you can, would seal the deal as the UK wouldn't be able to handle wars against both you and Japan.
 
Ouch, the loss of the Mainfranken hurts, even if you sunk 5 UK ships as well. That said, I think you brought the UK's capital ships down to numerical equivalence to your own. If you can find and sink their carriers than you've pretty much won. Bringing in the Japanese, if you can, would seal the deal as the UK wouldn't be able to handle wars against both you and Japan.
Yea, but I have most of my fleet damaged after these battles. My Battleship and Baltische Flotte are hurt the most. What I have left is the Reserve and Carrier Flotte now. Japan so far doesn't want to join the Axis sadly. My intellegince showed me that the UK have 5 carriers, and the French have 1. But this is 42, god know how many ships did they build in that time. Hopefully not much.
 
long wait for some action but it was worth it.. that's lot of new homes for the fish that you made£. though your own fleet will be out of action for a while. At least you can patrol the channel approaches more freely now.
 
long wait for some action but it was worth it.. that's lot of new homes for the fish that you made£. though your own fleet will be out of action for a while. At least you can patrol the channel approaches more freely now.
Ya, thats what I started to do.

Go the Z-Plan, loving the duels with the Britsh fleets. :)
Yea, I like the naval combat in HOI3....though it is annoying that my BS's were targeting just screenships while their BS's attacking my own :(


Next update coming soon!
 
Army Operations: September-December 1942
After Poland surrender, the OKH held meeting to discuss Operation Donner and the upcoming operations in the west. The meeting ended with the following recommendations:
-General von Bergmann is to be removed from the command of the 5. Armee, von Bock to be promoted to replace him.
-Maj. General von Manstein to be promoted and take the command of XII. Armeekorps
-1. Panzer Division command to Maj. General Stumme
-2. Armee, with 19 divisions will remain on the Soviet borders. III. Panzerkorps to be attached to the 4. Armee
-Denemark is to be considered a problem that need an urgent solution. Their embargo can be used a justification for military actions
-Netherlands to be considered a problem that need an urgent solution after their mobilization of their armed forces on the 11th of September. A lighting campaign to be planned. Their ports are of importance to future Kriegsmarine operation in the English Channel. Also, the Luftwaffe have needs of airfields near the Northsea coast.
-Belguim to be considered a problem that needs an urgent solution. An attack on Belgium must be part of the campaign against France, otherwise we lose the element of surprise when attacking France along the coast.


Netherlands Campaign:
The attack on Netherlands was mainly to be conducted by the 1. Panzerarmee, who have proven their worth on the battlefields of Poland. The Panzerkorps will attack through Arnhem and link with the 1. Fallschirmajager Division, which will be dropped in Apeldoorn. The Panzer units then will divide the country in 3 pockets, with the capital surrounded. The Operation was to begin at 6:00am, 17th of October.
1-6.png

Battle plans for Operation

The invasion proved to be a huge success, by the evening of 17th, elements of the Lt. General Hapre’s I. SS-Panzerkorps were the first to link with the Fallschirmajager , who secured the bridges leading to Ede. The German advance after that was a walkover. Dutch resistance was nonexistent.
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Paratroops dropping and the I. SS-Panzerkorps advance.

Netherlands was falling very fast. In less than 10 days, most of the country was under German control, with only 3 pockets of resistance.
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Situation as of 26th October.

Resistance in the south crumbled on the 31st with 19,000 soldiers surrendering in Eindhoven. Soon afterward, the capital Amestrdam fell as well and the 1. Pz.Gr. SS-LAH was given the honor of entering the city first.
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German armies clearing the last remaining pockets. SS Infanterie returning fire, buttoom left.

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By 3rd of November, all Dutch forces surrendered in European Netherlands.


Denmark Campaign:
Although Netherlands did not put much of a resistance, Denmark proved to be an easier battle. The plan was to drop our 1. Fallschirmajager Division in Slagelse and our 1. Panzerarmee to push through the borders north. Surprisingly, Denmark surrendered within hours on the 16th of November.
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Denmark surrendered few hours after the start of the war.

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German Ju 52 transport planes over Denmark on the morning of November 16th.




Naval Operations: September-October 1942
By the beginning of September, the RN has lost 5 Battleships, 1 Heavy Cruiser, 7 Light Cruisers, 16 Destroyer Groups, and 3 Transport Flotillas. Our Kriegsmarine lost 1 Battleships, 2 Heavy Cruisers, 2 Light Cruisers, and 1 destroyer group. Other Allies loses included 2 French Submarines Flotillas and countless conveys.
Although the sinking ratio was in our favor, the British still haven’t sent their own carriers (5 according to intelligence reports). The state of the rest of the RN was unknown.
8-6.jpg

German warships parade in Kiel

After the actions of August, the Carrier Flotte was ordered to patrol the English Channel, in order to stop any possible reinforcements from England going into France. The Flotte didn’t see much action, except for the sinking of a lonely Heavy Cruiser, HMS Effingham. But on the 7th, intelligence reported a large transport fleet was headed with reinforcements to France. Our Carrier Flotte succeed in intercepting the RN's Fleet and its light escort, sinking all transports.
The next few days, the Carrier Flotte reported sinking 3 light cruisers, 1 heavy cruiser, a transport fleet and 20 destroyers of the RN.
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British loses in men and equipment were unknown.

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The Allies-friendly Swedish based newspaper, The Daily Paradox, publishing false information as part of the allies propaganda efforts. They couldn’t even get the date right.

Our U-boats wolfpacks weren’t less successful:
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Such reports were sent from many more regions across the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.


First Contact with RN’s Carriers:
The success of the first two weeks of September forced the RN to retreat most of its Navy to the safety of its ports. It wasn’t until the 26th, that the RN formed a new strong fleet and sent it close to our coastal area in Helgoland Bight. But this time, the RN sent their 4 carriers, HMS Furious, HMS Eagle, HMS Argus, and HMS Hermes. It was unknown how the RN managed to sneak this large force pass the Channel, which was patrolled by our own Carrier Flotte.

The RN’s Carrier group was tailed by Vice Admiral Saalwachter and his remaining operational warships from the Battleship Flotte (2 BS’s, 1 CA, and 1 DD). Our Baltische Flotte soon arrived from Wilhelmshaven to attack. Support from our two Naval Bombers squadron was also present and lastly, the Reserve Flotte and Carrier Flotte were ordered to turn around and join in the hunt of the RN’s carriers.
12-4.jpg

Contact with the RN’s Carrier group.

The Naval battle did not go well. Our Naval bombers were met with a strong fighter force deployed from their carriers, and also some RAF fighters from British mainland. And before our Battleships were able to fire on the RN, their destroyers begun to deploy smoke screens, and were able to retreat 4 hours after the battle started. The Battleship KMS Tripitz and the Light cruiser KMS Konigsberg were badly damaged and miraculously saved, they had to be out of action for the rest of the year and more for repairs.
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The battle did not progress well.

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An overhead photo of KMS Tirpitz after the battle, showing an oil slick that surrounded her after being attacked by the Fleet Air Arm (FAAM).




Although attempts to locate the RN ended in failure for the next month, the morale in Kriegsmarine was still high….not knowing the disaster that was about to fall upon them from an unexpected enemy.
15-4.jpg
 
Although attempts to locate the RN ended in failure for the next month, the morale in Kriegsmarine was still high….not knowing the disaster that was about to fall upon them from an unexpected enemy.

Let me guess, the US joined the Allies because non-Axis Japan's threat got too high?
 
I left you the last picture in the update as a hint* :p


*That is if the description of the picture from where I took it is correct!
 
All very interesting so far. I look forward to seeing who will strike first, you or the Soviets. They promise to be quite powerful with the long time they've had to develop. Also I'm enjoying all the photos, do you have a specific website you are finding them from?
 
All very interesting so far. I look forward to seeing who will strike first, you or the Soviets. They promise to be quite powerful with the long time they've had to develop. Also I'm enjoying all the photos, do you have a specific website you are finding them from?
The Soviets have Japan as their highest threat at the moment, so I guess they won't bother with me??? I don't know how the threat things infuelence this, or what HPP have in mind.
For the pictures, I try to dig deep when looking for new photo with google ^^