1943-02-27
Our daring raid on the Saudi Royal Palace in Riyadh ended successfully last night when our troops managed to capture king Abdulaziz and other high ranking members of the royal family. In the morning the official documents of the surrender were signed, after which I ordered Skorzeny to return to Berlin, so I could decorate him with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. He received his original Knight's Cross at the end of "Unternehmen Weserübung" in 1940, when he led the raid to capture the Swedish interim government in Falun. In 1941 he earned his Oak Leaves, when his unit captured and held vital bridges behind enemy lines during the opening stages of "Unternehmen Barbarossa". And in 1942 he got his Swords for his role he played in the conquest of Switzerland.
Otto Skorzeny and other deserving recipients at the awards ceremony in Berlin after the fall of Saudi Arabia.
1943-03-08
After the conquest of Palestine, General Rommel's Panzer forces began their advance into Iraq. The advance was relatively uneventful, the British had left their vassal to fend for themselves. The only real resistance was encountered when we came near their capital, but after a few days their troops where scattered and we were in control of the city. Just like Alexander the Great, when he conquered Babylon, Mesopotamia is now in German Hands.
After our troops entered Baghdad, the will of the British puppet was broken.
1943-03-12
Two days ago we entered the Turkish capital of Ankara, and just as we had expected, their government offered us the unconditional surrender today. After the capitulation most of their soldiers chose captivity instead of the continued fight alongside their former communist allies, leaving only very few pockets of resistance that we will have to eliminate before we can fully concentrate on the Caucasus and Persia.
Our fronts in Africa, Russia and the Middle East are now linked by land.
1943-03-21
The last step of Operation Crusade began today when elements of the 2nd marine infantry corps invaded Oman and Yemen. There was little resistance and we should be in full control of the Arabian peninsula very soon. Meanwhile our tanks are advancing through the desert of Mesopotamia into Persia and Kuwait, capturing the vital oil wells in the region almost intact.
The British have abandoned their former dominion and the locals seem almost indifferent to our presence.
1943-04-05
Our naval expansion program is near its end. More and more cruisers and destroyers are becoming available and the only ships still in the docks are our new battleships and carriers. With a total of 110 operational naval vessels, we are now finally on equal terms with the other big navies of the world and an increasing number of admirals is now sharing the belief that we have a realistic chance of beating the Royal Navy this summer.
The mighty KMS Großdeutschland being outfitted in the drydock of Gotenhafen.
1943-04-17
It took us a few more weeks to wrap up Operation Crusade, but today we've reached the Zagros Mountains in Persia, where our troops will dig in, while we transfer most of them to France and Russia for the upcoming operations there. With all the oil fields of the Caucasus and the Persian Gulf in our hands, our fuel-problems are solved for the foreseeable future.
Our troops are crossing from the Middle East into Central Asia.
1943-04-25
While my generals are hammering out the last details for Operation Citadel, which is scheduled to start on the 5th of May, my armaments minister Albert Speer and I went to a demonstration of our newest small arms weapons and infantry equipment.
We were unable to see the new equipment that is being developed for our garrison units, but all other branches of our infantry received some form of upgrade. I was especially impressed with the new "StG 43", a mix between an accurate carbine rifle and a fast firing machine pistol, which creates a whole new class of weapon, the "Sturmgewehr".
Even though the new weapons are already being produced, none of them will reach our troops in time for Operation Citadel. But I've singed an order, prioritizing our troops in France, so that they have the best equipment available once we start Operation Sea Lion. At the end of the day we inspected the new trucks for our motorized reserve units, but I had already decided to dissolve this branch of our forces. The existing units will be transfer to Northern France, where they will be integrated into our Panzer forces for the invasion of Britain.
Later this evening I also received an report that our new models for the light and medium tanks were almost completed. Our trusted Panzer IVs did server us well, but I'm sure the Allies did also improve their tank designs since we last encountered them, which is why I ordered suggestions for new designs last year.
The new Sturmgewehr "StG 43" assault rifle.