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Senators, those of you that are voting to delay war with Germany, what would you have us do if the United Kingdom formally asks us to join? Secretary Smith can maybe put them off for thirty days.
Should they call us to war with Germany, we answer the call. However, we should not rush into combat operations too quickly. Let us actually fight on our terms.
 
Should they call us to war with Germany, we answer the call. However, we should not rush into combat operations too quickly. Let us actually fight on our terms.

Poll:

DOW Germany
Now: 4
Delay: 5

Voting on this closes Monday. We still need a new IC and leadership distribution (now that we're at war) and war plans. Do we want to do anything with Japan or not? If I haven't heard differently by Wednesday at 10 PM, I'll play through the end of 1941 and we can decide then.
 
I vote Aye on everything, we have been directly attacked by a nation who has shown itself to be Americas greatest enemy and is closely aligned with the Axis powers of Europe. We cannot stand for this unprovoked attack and become the true arsenal of democracy and crush this Axis of Evil once and for all.
 
We still need a new IC and leadership distribution (now that we're at war) and war plans.

((Ask and ye shall receive! I'm still waiting for Chimina to respond, but Saithis has approved, and son of liberty has read it, so I'm posting my Norway invasion plan in the thread. I'm still working on plans for North Africa, but I'll send those around and post them here when I finish. Feel free to comment all you like; any suggestions would be welcome.))

Operation Fortitude

The information contained in this briefing is classified Top Secret, and is protected by the provisions of the Espionage Act. Any transmission of this briefing to unauthorized parties will result in criminal prosecution per the provisions of that Act, which will result in a minimum of imprisonment for thirty (30) years, and may potentially include the death penalty should the court deem such punishment necessary.

Background: War Plan Indigo

Operation Fortitude is the first operation in War Plan Indigo - the liberation of Scandinavia from German occupation. We have chosen Scandinavia as the site of our initial offensive in Northern Europe to take advantage of the weakness of the Kriegsmarine, and to eliminate the vital strategic resources of Norway and Sweden from Germany's arsenal. Aside from the universal objective of destroying German forces, War Plan Indigo is intended to achieve the following goals:

1. Deprive Germany of Scandinavian manpower, resources, and industry.
2. Cripple the German nuclear program by seizing the Norwegian heavy water plant at Seljord.
3. Damage Germany's armored forces by neutralizing (and potentially acquiring) Swedish tungsten and ballbearing production capabilities.
4. Gain a stable base for future operations in Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea region.

Preparation Adjustments

In light of the failure of our initial landings, we have adjusted our force distributions for Operation Fortitude. We have also changed our landing strategy; any item not specifically mentioned has not changed between plan variants.

Order of Battle Changes

  • The 3rd U.S. Army Corps will be transferred from First Army to Third Army.
  • The 7th U.S. Army Corps will be transferred from Third Army to First Army.
  • The 2nd U.S. Armored Corps will be disbanded; its divisions (the 3rd and 4th Armored Divisions) will be attached to the 1st U.S. Armored Corps.

Landing Operations

Third Army forces will land at Trondheim: the 3rd U.S. Army Corps will land at Brekstad, just west of Trondheim, while the 1st U.S. Special Forces Corps will land at Afjord, just east of Trondheim. Upon landing, 3rd Corps' 13th and 14th Infantry Divisions will attack Trondheim from the west, while the Special Forces' 1st Ranger and 82nd Airborne Divisions will attack Trondheim from the east; the remaining forces will encircle Trondheim to the south, with the 15th and 16th Infantry Divisions marching to Storen, the 2nd Ranger Division marching to Stjordalshalsen, and the 3rd Ranger Division marching to Kraklivollen, after which they will join the attack on Trondheim. Once Trondheim has been secured, TRG Buffalo will land Third Army HQ there.

Shortly afterwards (see Timetable, below), First Armt forces will secure Bergen and Stavanger: the 4th U.S. Army Corps will land at Fedje, north of Bergen, while the 7th U.S. Army Corps will land at Haugesund, between Bergen and Stavanger. 4th Corps' divisions will then take Bergen, while 7th Corps' 4th, 5th, and 30th Infantry Divisions take Stavanger.

Once Trondheim, Bergen, and Stavanger are all secure, we will transport the remaining forces of Atlantic Northern Command to Bergen: the 1st U.S. Armored Corps and the HQs of Atlantic Northern Command, First Army, and the 4th, 7th, and 1st Armored Corps will disembark there; meanwhile, the HQs of Third Army, the 1st U.S. Special Forces Corps, and the 3rd U.S. Army Corps will disembark at Trondheim. At this time, we will transfer command of Operation Fortitude to General Marshall, who will command our forces throughout the operation ((read: enable the AI for Atlantic Northern Command)). Atlantic Northern Command will be tasked to capture Oslo, Narvik, Seljord, Kristiansand, and Tromso, utilizing aggressive tactics to ensure a swift victory ((read: Blitzing Stance, Air/Naval Offensive, objectives listed above)).

Naval Operations

TRG Buffalo will carry troops to the landing sites at Trondheim, Bergen, and Stavanger. Once these landings are completed, it will return to England for availability in the event of an emergency evacuation.

SAG Texas will escort TRG Buffalo during the landing phase of the operation, and support our forces during the landings. Once all allied forces have landed, it will patrol the Skaggerack and prevent the transportation of German forces to Denmark.

CTF Yorktown will send its CAGs to attack Kriegsmarine vessels in the Baltic ports, starting at Fredrikshavn and ending in Konigsberg.

SSQs Coyote and Vulture will hunt for German convoys bringing supplies to Norway; 'Vulture' will operate in the English Channel, while 'Coyote' will operate in the Baltic Sea.

Aerial Operations

Each army has been assigned a fighter squadron of 3 interceptor wings; these squadrons will be based out of the airbases at Bergen and Trondheim, and will run air superiority missions over Norway.

First Army has been assigned a 2-wing squadron of strategic bombers; these bombers will attack hostile air and naval bases in Oslo, Fredrikshavn, and potentially Copenhagen. Third Army has been assigned a 2-wing squadron of tactical bombers; they will attack enemy ground units, both directly and logistically.

Operational Analysis

Operational Timetable

January 1st: 01:00 - Attack on Trondheim canceled. TRG Buffalo is ordered back to Newcastle.
January 2nd: 09:00 - TRG arrives in Newcastle. 7th Corps is offloaded, and ANC's OOB is adjusted per included instructions. 1st SFC and 3rd USAC are loaded onto TRG, which begins moving to Trondelag Coast. (09:00)
January 3rd: 17:00 - TRG arrives at Trondelag Coast; 1st SFC begins landing at Afjord, while 3rd USAC begins landing at Brekstad.
January 4th: 05:00 - 1st SFC and 3rd USAC complete their landings; TRG Buffalo begins return to Newcastle. For 3rd USAC, 13th and 14th IDs attack Trondheim from Brekstad; 15th and 16th IDs march to Storen. For 1st SFC, 1st Ranger and 82nd Airborne Divisions attack Trondheim; 2nd Ranger Division marches to Stjordalshalsen, 3rd Ranger Division marches to Kraklivollen.
January 5th: 13:00 - TRG arrives back in Newcastle, and embarks First Army's eight infantry divisions; it then moves to Boknafjorden.
January 6th: 09:00 - TRG arrives at Boknafjorden. 4th Corps begins landing at Fedje; 7th Corps begins landing at Haugesund
21:00 - 4th and 7th Corps complete their landings; 4th Corps' forces attack Bergen, while 7th Corps' 4th, 5th, and 30th Infantry Divisions attack Stavanger.
January 7th: 16:00 - TRG returns to Newcastle. Remaining Atlantic Northern Command forces are loaded, prioritizing armored divisions over HQ units.
January 11th: Stavanger (05:00), Bergen (11:00), and Trondheim (18:00) are all secured. At 11:00 hours, TRG begins transporting remaining Atlantic Northern Command units from Newcastle to Bergen; simultaneously, air units begin transit from England to Bergen airbase.
January 12th: 07:00 - TRG unloads 1st USARC units and First Army HQ elements in Bergen, then returns to Newcastle.
January 13th: 03:00 - TRG arrives in Newcastle and loads remaining Atlantic Northern Command elements for transport to Trondheim.
January 14th: 11:00 - TRG arrives at Trondheim and unloads Third Army HQ elements and any remaining Atlantic Northern Command forces.
January 15th: 07:00 - TRG returns to Newcastle. Atlantic Northern Command begins autonomous operations.

Casualty Estimates and Conclusion

Of the 235,000 men involved in this operation (181,200 ground troops, 34,400 sailors, and 19,400 airmen), we expect that we will lose roughly twenty thousand (20,000) more over the course of the campaign to all combined causes. We expect that we will complete our mission within ninety (90) days.

Once Oslo, Narvik, Bergen, and the heavy water plant at Seljord have been liberated from German control, and German forces in Norway have been totally destroyed, we will restore the Norwegian government-in-exile to Oslo. At that time, we will withdraw Atlantic Northern Command to England for operations elsewhere, potentially leaving behind a ground or naval garrison to prevent a German counterattack, unless circumstances necessitate its continued deployment in Norway.

Proposed: General Stillwell, C-in-C Atlantic Northern Command
Seconded: General MacArthur, C-in-C Atlantic Theater
Approved: General Craig, Chief of Staff of the United States Army; Admiral Standley, Chief of Naval Operations; Secretary Grumman, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army Air Force; Secretary Cox, Secretary of War
 
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In regards to Operation Fortitude are you sure that the Kriegsmarine is as weak as we think, if they prove more than able to cut the majority of our troops off from supply our forces would not last very long once the Germans get reinforcements into Norway. Are our naval force sufficient to ensure that this situation does not happen? , I doubt we can count on the British Navy as they have their own issues to deal with. In regards to the overall War Plan, would the entry into Swedish Territory be considered in order to stop Swedish Ores and Heavy Water being shipped to Germany and give us access into Finland in order to contain the Soviets advance into Scandinavia if they prove capable of defeating the Wehrmacht.

Regards
Senator Peter Dawson, D-MD
 
In regards to Operation Fortitude are you sure that the Kriegsmarine is as weak as we think, if they prove more than able to cut the majority of our troops off from supply our forces would not last very long once the Germans get reinforcements into Norway. Are our naval force sufficient to ensure that this situation does not happen? , I doubt we can count on the British Navy as they have their own issues to deal with. In regards to the overall War Plan, would the entry into Swedish Territory be considered in order to stop Swedish Ores and Heavy Water being shipped to Germany and give us access into Finland in order to contain the Soviets advance into Scandinavia if they prove capable of defeating the Wehrmacht.

Regards
Senator Peter Dawson, D-MD

Senator Dawson,

Through the combined efforts of both the CIA and British ONI, we have learned that the Kriegsmarine has been eliminated as a viable combat force by the Royal Navy; the Germans have lost all but a small handful of their surface vessels, and only retain a few U-boat squadrons for offensive warfare. We believe that the SAG Texas, which contains no fewer than three battleships, and possesses a strong destroyer complement for anti-submarine warfare, should be more than sufficient to protect our troopships and supply convoys from German raiders. ((The KM has been effectively destroyed by the RN, and has maybe a dozen ships left, probably all screens and subs.))

As for our mission in Sweden, bear in mind that Sweden has not yet joined the Axis powers, despite the fact that the Soviet occupation of Finland has alarmed the Swedish government enough to contemplate an alliance with Hitler. Though diplomacy is the Senate's field, rather than the Army's, we would like to drive a wedge between Germany and Sweden diplomatically, thereby causing the Swedish government to end its shipments of tungsten and ballbearings to Germany without need of an American invasion. We would further like to bring Sweden into the Allied camp, thereby securing its resources for our cause and ensuring easy access to Finland in the (currently unlikely, but eventually probable) event of war with the USSR.

Sincerely,
General Douglas A. MacArthur,
Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army Atlantic Theater
 
That plan sounds excellent, General MacArthur. Unless I miss my guess, that is the entirety of Atlantic North Command, correct?

I will begin ordering transport of our soldiers to the United Kingdom; even if we do not enter the war right away, I think it would be wise.

I cannot help but notice that none of our specially trained Marines are part of our invasion. Was this intentional, or do your sources suggest opposition to be so weak that it will be unnecessary?

Your plan also seems to neglect the air forces assigned.

President Willkie
 
Senator Dawson,

Through the combined efforts of both the CIA and British ONI, we have learned that the Kriegsmarine has been eliminated as a viable combat force by the Royal Navy; the Germans have lost all but a small handful of their surface vessels, and only retain a few U-boat squadrons for offensive warfare. We believe that the SAG Texas, which contains no fewer than three battleships, and possesses a strong destroyer complement for anti-submarine warfare, should be more than sufficient to protect our troopships and supply convoys from German raiders. ((The KM has been effectively destroyed by the RN, and has maybe a dozen ships left, probably all screens and subs.))

As for our mission in Sweden, bear in mind that Sweden has not yet joined the Axis powers, despite the fact that the Soviet occupation of Finland has alarmed the Swedish government enough to contemplate an alliance with Hitler. Though diplomacy is the Senate's field, rather than the Army's, we would like to drive a wedge between Germany and Sweden diplomatically, thereby causing the Swedish government to end its shipments of tungsten and ballbearings to Germany without need of an American invasion. We would further like to bring Sweden into the Allied camp, thereby securing its resources for our cause and ensuring easy access to Finland in the (currently unlikely, but eventually probable) event of war with the USSR.

Sincerely,
General Douglas A. MacArthur,
Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army Atlantic Theater

My thanks General MacArthur, this calms my nerves about this operation, good luck and god speed.

Regards
Senator Peter Dawson, D-MD
 
That plan sounds excellent, General MacArthur. Unless I miss my guess, that is the entirety of Atlantic North Command, correct?

I will begin ordering transport of our soldiers to the United Kingdom; even if we do not enter the war right away, I think it would be wise.

Yes, Mr. President - every asset allocated to Northern Command will be directly involved in this operation. Given the number of fronts we have to defend, we can't afford to leave even a single brigade idle - if a division isn't slated to fight, it should be either recuperating or traveling to the next battlefield.

I cannot help but notice that none of our specially trained Marines are part of our invasion. Was this intentional, or do your sources suggest opposition to be so weak that it will be unnecessary?

Unfortunately, Mr. President, all of our Marines were assigned to the Pacific theater, as the Chiefs believe they will be of greater use there; while I sympathize with their sentiments, I wish we had received at least one Marine division, if only to open a beachhead for the remainder of our landing force. Nonetheless, we believe the firepower offered by the battleships accompanying our landing forces should partially compensate for their lack of specialized training, and German forces in Norway are believed to be weak enough that we can overcome them even without Marine assistance.

Your plan also seems to neglect the air forces assigned.

My apologies, Mr. President; in my haste to submit these plans to Congress for review, I neglected to include the section on our planned aerial operations! I have now remedied this deficiency, and humbly beg your pardon. I assure you that the Chiefs did receive that section in the draft I sent to them.

((What can I say? Normally, I keep everything related to the AAR on my desktop, but I forgot to copy the full version of the plan I actually sent to the Chiefs to it. As a result, I just decided to copy the code from the original PM I sent to the Chiefs... and forgot to include the aerial warfare section. D'oh. :rolleyes:))

((EDIT: Also, if it's not too much trouble, can you provide a link on the front page to my post detailing the operation? I think it's going to be buried under several pages of questions - to say nothing of the North Africa invasion plans I'm still drafting - and I'd like to give everyone an easy way to reference the plans if they have questions.))
 
By the grace of god my plan, with excellent input from General MacArthur, will succeed with the fewest number of casulties. This also opens up a northern front to germany itself once the few remaining Kreigsmarine surface units are destroyed. Most likely this will happen during the invasion of Norway. If any senators would like to give input on the next planned invasion, possibly Denmark, feel free to send a courier. ((Message me with any information. This would open a HUGE can of worms with Germany)) I also request that our industrialists consider building two bombardment wings of four squadrons each of strategic bombers to assist in culling Germany's ability to make war. ((I know this would take awhile but it is useful to killing off infrastructer))

General Stillwell
C-in-C Atlantic Northern Command
 
I must say though your plan is solid, I'm not sure 60,000 men is a neccesary loss for such a minor target. I approve your operation with hesitiance, and say if loss should exceed 20,000 I might request for your removal as commander of the Atlantic Theater, with all due respect.

Senator Randall McGeehan Jr.
 
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General MacArthur --

Thank you for alleviating my concerns. You have my complete confidence.

I do not see General Craig's name on your plan: has the Chief of the Army reviewed it?

President Willkie

((I will link the operation; good idea!))
 
I must say though your plan is solid, I'm not sure 60,000 men is a neccesary loss for such a minor target. I approve your operation with hesitiance, and say if loss should exceed 20,000 I might request for your removal as commander of the Atlantic Theater, with all due respect.

Senator Randall McGeehan Jr.

Senator McGeehan,

Bear in mind that our casualty counts are speculative and designed to be pessimistic - we would rather bring home more men that we promised than suffer unexpectedly high casualties. It is, of course, your prerogative to replace me should you feel I am unsuited to lead the war effort - in which case, I wish you the best of luck finding a replacement.

In the meantime, having received word from the CIA that the Norwegian resistance will provide our troops with shelter for the duration of our mission in Norway, I have cut the expected casualty estimates in half, to thirty thousand.

((Two things: firstly, that count includes all possible losses - combat, hostile bombing, attrition, etc - and it's based on enemy force estimates that are now outdated. Secondly, at the time, I thought that we'd take pretty heavy attrition in Norway because it's mountainous and has bad infrastructure - but as it turns out, we take no attrition in allied provinces, regardless of attrition-inducing factors, so we can take off at least half of that 60K count, possibly more. Bear in mind that I was working under the assumption we'd need four full months to take Norway - if we win faster than that, our casualties are reduced accordingly))

General MacArthur --

Thank you for alleviating my concerns. You have my complete confidence.

I do not see General Craig's name on your plan: has the Chief of the Army reviewed it?

President Willkie

((I will link the operation; good idea!))

Mr. President, I have sent a copy to the Chief of the Army, but I have yet to receive a response from him. When he replies (either positively or negatively), I will be sure to inform you.

- General MacArthur

P.S. General Craig has approved the operation, and I believe (based on the wording ) that Secretary Grumman and Admiral Leahy have approved as well. As such, I have updated the operational plan for Fortitude with this information.
 
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It seems like a excellent plan to deliver quite an opening blow to Germany. One question, though: what is the estimate of the strength of the German garrison in Norway? It sounds fairly large going by your time and casualty expectations.
I hope to see the American troops marching into Oslo, led by our capable commanders!
Regards,
Sen. Micheal Collins (R-TN)
 
Very good, General. Keep up the good work!

President Willkie

Poll:

Germany DOW

Now: 5 ((Sorry for missing your vote earlier, Senator Dawson.))
Delay: 5

Remember: as Vice President, I decide all ties. That's no fun, so if you haven't voted, vote! Deadline is still Wednesday.

Admiral Standley, do we have any plans for dealing with Japan at present? General MacArthur, should we cancel our current patrols and fold the units back into the SAGs?
 
General MacArthur, should we cancel our current patrols and fold the units back into the SAGs?

Yes, Mr. President, we should consolidate our SAGs and prepare them for deployment. The Germans have lost four submarines already; given their shortage of vessels and plethora of targets closer to home, I believe they will withdraw their surviving subs from our shores... making it the ideal time for us to strike.

Also, General Devers and I are still working on plans for North Africa; with luck, we should have a working draft by tomorrow evening. ((Assuming, of course, that we're not overtaken by events... again. How did the British lose Gibraltar, of all places?))

- General MacArthur
 
(( That 20,000 limit i gave is because thats 2000 more than U.S. casulties in North Africa, that was about as an important target as Norway in this case.)) Genaral I've done some thinking and 30,000 is more resonible number, so lets hope for your sake and our contries it stays in that figure and more so that the plan works.

Senator Randall McGeehan Jr.
 
Yes, Mr. President, we should consolidate our SAGs and prepare them for deployment. The Germans have lost four submarines already; given their shortage of vessels and plethora of targets closer to home, I believe they will withdraw their surviving subs from our shores... making it the ideal time for us to strike.

Also, General Devers and I are still working on plans for North Africa; with luck, we should have a working draft by tomorrow evening. ((Assuming, of course, that we're not overtaken by events... again. How did the British lose Gibraltar, of all places?))

- General MacArthur

Thank you again for your prompt reply. Should we perhaps consider liberating Gibraltar for our allies? Will this be part of your North Africa plan?

President Willkie

((I'm not sure what's more embarrassing: losing Gibraltar at all, or losing it to the Italians! :rolleyes: It happened sometime between January and July of '41, FYI.))
 
Thank you again for your prompt reply. Should we perhaps consider liberating Gibraltar for our allies? Will this be part of your North Africa plan?

President Willkie

((I'm not sure what's more embarrassing: losing Gibraltar at all, or losing it to the Italians! :rolleyes: It happened sometime between January and July of '41, FYI.))

Hot damn! the British lost Gibralter and to the Italians no less, what on earth were they doing? Sleeping! We should retake it and station it with American soldiers for the duration of the conflict, clearly the British cannot be relied upon to hold it.

Senator Peter Dawson, D-MD
 
I vote "Aye" on sending a formal DOW to the German Government.
Plan Indigo needs to be put into Action as fast as possible, to give us another waypoint on the road to berlin.

- Senator Franz Vormüller (I - WA)