Sorry for the delays. I was not only trying to get my laptop working, but also giving Nathan Madien time to finish the Election map he was making for me hope this update and the next one prove worth it.
The Election results were in. In a massive upset, Truman had won in a landslide.
Truman carried 402 electoral votes where as MacArthur only managed to pull in 129. Amazingly, MacArthur even failed to win his home state of Arkansas. MacArthur was dumbfounded, as he believed he had the election in the bag but even his popularity was apparently no match for Truman's. MacArthur therefore decided to resume his command in the Pacific only to find that he had been replaced. Bradley, realizing that he needed a capable commander to command in the Pacific in MacArthur's absence, had assigned General Stilwell to be his temporary replacement.
This would not be a problem if it were not for the fact that Stilwell did not want to give the command back. The result was a complete and utter mess wrapped in a PR nightmare. Neither General were initially willing to make a big fuss. This was because the easiest solution would be for Truman to simply fire one of them and neither one wanted to be the unlucky one. However, they both appealed to other generals to back them in this matter. Stilwell appealed to Bradley, saying that He had appointed Stilwell for a reason and that MacArthur's personal grudge against the Japanese might make him less then ideal for the command. He also warned that MacArthur might very well be after Bradley's job as Chief of Staff as a stepping stone to help him if he decided to campaign for President a second time. Bradley, believing Stilwell just as capable of the command as MacArthur and intending to use MacArthur for an offensive he had planned elsewhere, agreed to back him. MacArthur appealed to Patton. His appeal was more simplistic. He said that Bradley was trying to undercut him. He also warned, and Patton feared, that if this could happen to MacArthur, it could just as easily happen to him. Patton therefore agreed to back MacArthur. Both made appeals to Truman to put one or the other in charge. That's when things got ugly. MacArthur, emboldened by Patton's backing, mounted an assault on Stilwell in the press, citing the fact that he was unproven as a theater commander, and at Bradley, citing his unworthiness for the position as Chief of Staff given his history of dismal failures in his own offensives. Bradley was thus drawn into the fray as he attempted to defend himself against MacArthur's attacks. Patton attempted to rein in MacArthur, knowing all to well how Truman liked to handle such situations, but it was to no avail. Eventually, Stilwell, enraged by MacArthur's attacks, started launching attacks of his own on both MacArthur and Patton. He called MacArthur "America's answer to Ceaser" trying to insinuate that he was a powermonger whose dangerous ambition would lead America down the path to totalitarianism. With Patton, he called him "The World's most prolific butcher", referring to the quagmire that Spain had become and the thousands of lives lost in the attempt. Patton therefore began firing back at Stilwell. Bradley also tried to restrain Stilwell, but with no more success then Patton had with MacArthur. The four generals were now in an all out war between MacArthur and Patton on one side and Stilwell and Bradley on the other. This was a nightmare for Truman, and one he could not easily solve. If he ruled in anyone's favor, he could very well end up having to fire two of his best generals. The royal brewhaha in the press went on for a month before Truman came up with a potential solution. Truman gave MacArthur back command of the Pacific. However, Stilwell was promised the command of the eventual invasion of China. To compensate for this, MacArthur was promised the command of the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands and India when they came. This satisfied everyone, but Truman made it clear that if such a thing happened again, he would fire all involved instantly. This also resulted in more generals being drawn into what was quickly becoming two armed camps. The lines now stood with Eisenhower and MacArthur in Patton's camp and Stilwell in Bradley's. This also created yet another seething rivalry. While Truman had forced the lid back on the powder keg, no one knew if or when it would explode again.
Politics and rivalries aside, the war was still going rather well. Burgos fell into American hands shortly after the conclusion of the election.
Patton also had a plan to break the stalemate in the west. He had discovered via spies and ships off the coast that Barcelona was very weakly held. He therefore ordered Eisenhower and 34 divisions unto boats and to try and launch an amphibious assault to create another breakout.
The Spanish instantly tried to throw them back into the Mediterranean without successes.
After Eisenhower established himself, he ordered an attack toward Tarragona in tandem with General Ironside in Castellon.
The result was that they were able to force the Germans from the region and secure it for the Americans.
It also had an unintended consequence. The Germans once again withdrew from Spain. This left the bulk of the country wide open for American attack.
Patton immediately ordered a general attack to seize as much of the country as possible.
The result was an American victory in all provinces except Huesca.
A second attack was immediately ordered and it succeeded.
An Attack was immediately ordered on Bilboa after the fall of Saragoza, however, a complication emerged. After much pleading by Franco, Hitler was finally convinced that Spain should not be abandoned and he sent his men into through them back out.
They forced the Americans to abandon the attack on Bilboa
Soon after, Oviedo fell to the Americans, leaving Franco in possesion of only two provinces.
After getting beaten by the Americans several times, Hitler sent in his best general, General Rommel, in to drive the Americans back.
Eisenhower was forced to retreat and a new stalemate ensued.
Truman ordered the raising of several new divisions, some to be sent to the Pacific to combat add raise the force once commanded by Hodge and now commanded by Stilwell from 7 divisions to 12. The rest would be held in reserve to be sent on new offensives as deemed necessary.
Patton had a plan for there use. He planned to send them to Brittany. The plan was simple. Since Spain was deadlocked, he would land in Brittany, were German defenses were weak. He would seize as much land as possible and anchor his line on the first available defensive barrier. Patton hoped this would force the Germans to chose between defending Spain or defending France, and he felt he knew which one they would chose if that happened. Whatever one they chose, the other would be left weakened and he hoped he could take advantage of that situation to create a breakthrough either in France or Spain.
Truman also decided it was time to launch the long-anticipated invasion of Africa.Several transports were ordered to return to the states to pick up the troops that would take part in the campaign, a force of 620,000 men. This would make Bradley's command second only to Patton in size.
As he was preparing to lead the attack, he received news from Truman. Truman informed Bradley that, seeing as he would then be Supreme Allied Commander of Africa, Chief of Staff, and Secretary of the Army, he felt that all of these responsibilities to be too much for anyone person and that he may remove him from the position of Chief of Staff or Secretary of the Army and replace him with MacArthur. Bradley knew that he had to perform, and perform well or most likely lose his Chief of Staff position to one of his rivals, who not only hated him, but also wanted the Pacific to take priority. That meant he would likely find reinforcements few and far between in Africa.
Truman also sent a peace offer to Franco. He offered to give back all of the territory he took if he would not only abandon the war effort, but also join the American alliance against the German (become an American puppet). Franco refused the generous offer and force Truman to call for an unconditional surrender.
In International Affairs, the British Monarch, George V finally died and was replaced by Elizabeth II. Clement Atlee's government also collapsed, which also brought Winston Churchill back into power.
Truman also finally declared war on Vichy France. Vichy France had managed to stay out of the war so far, but when they refused to allow the Americans access to their lands in Africa and join the Americans against Germany, Truman declared war.
Well, that's the most recent update done, the next will feature the invasion of Africa. Do not forget to vote for this AAR as your favorite Gameplay or History Book AAR ( I classify it as a little bit of both) in the ACA awards.