Chapter 15 - Charge of the Steal Rat
On the second of February the Steal Rat was unleashed on Sweden with the declaration of war.
The 1st Corps moved quickly toward Goteborg and Karlstad, engaging Swedish forces that had been wintering in Karlstad on the 9th. The Swedish troops in Karlstad quickly rallied and fought the Sjællandske division to a standoff that would last nineteen days.
Word arrived in Copenhagen from the Far East on the 11th that the Chinese warlords of Shanxi had been completely overrun by the Japanese, dealing a serious blow to the Nationalist government and the Chinese armies trying to hold back the Japanese onslaught. This would also lead to the creation of Mengkukuo.
Meanwhile In the rugged northern snowbound mountain passes of Sweden, movement for the 2nd corps proved to be slow and dangerous but with little resistance from Swedish forces. The 2nd Corps encountered its first resistance on the 13th near the town of Stenudden.
On the 18th the Jutland Division took up positions on the outskirts of the port city of Göteborg. On the 21st the Jydske division engaged the Swedish infantry as they abandoned the city.
Stefan was recalled to Copenhagen from Oslo on the 20th when word came through diplomatic channels that Germany and Italy had formed an alliance. The Axis powers were consolidating their hold on Central Europe. There were rumors flying around that Hitler was attempting to pressure Austria into outright absorption into Germany.
In the north, the 2nd corps was feverishly working to cut Sweden in half, preventing any reinforcements from moving south. However a lone armor division escaped the trap and then made a daring raid into Danish Norway.
The Jutland Division officially occupied Göteborg at noon on the 28th and a couple of hours later Swedish troops in Karlstad finally retreated due to heavy causalities.
Index
Chapter 14 - The Next Great Adventure -
September to December 1937
Chapter 16 - Cat and Mouse Calamity -
March 1938