Tomorrow the World - A German AAR

[[MM]]

Unternehmen Kreuzzug
("Operation Crusade" or "the Conquest of the Middle East")

​

1943-01-02
With Northern Africa conquered and our armies in the east stuck in the frost of the Russian Winter, our next target is clear: The Middle East. With the Mediterranean Sea almost completely under our control, the oil rich, ill defended British colonies and puppets in Mesopotamia and Arabia are ripe for the picking. The constant expansion of our Panzer forces, Air Force and Kriegsmarine is causing increasing problems for our petroleum-industry, which is almost exclusively dependent on oil from Ploiesti in Romania. The conquest of the rich oil fields in the southern Caucasus and the Persian Gulf should fuel our armies and navies for the remainder of the war. To achieve this it won't be enough to simply send the Africa Corps into Palestine and Iraq. Instead my General Staff is working on an ambitious operation, in whose course we will crush Turkey, conquer the Arabian Peninsula, occupy the Caucasus and link the armies of our Russian and African theaters at the feet of the Zagros Mountains in Persia.

Planing for Operation Crusade with my Generals and Admirals in the OWK.​

This operation, codenamed "Kreuzzug", will start on the 7th of January and consist of three phases:

Phase 1
The territory we are trying to conquer consists mostly of mountains and deserts with poor infrastructure, which means that our usual tactic of attacking from a few chosen points with rapidly moving tank columns to encircle the enemy would take far too long or even fail completely. Instead we will use our local naval superiority to stage multiple amphibious invasions as basis for an offensive on a broad front: General List's 11th Army will land near Beirut in Syria, General Heinrici's troops will attack Southern Turkey while General Küchler's 2nd Army will attack Northern Turky from across the Black Sea. General von Leeb's 1st Army will start out from the Sinai Peninsula and advance into Palestine to capture the port and airfield in Tel Aviv. In the north General Grasser's 9th Infantry Army will push further into the Caucasus and the tanks of General Paulus, which were so instrumental last year in reaching Stalingrad, will advance along the banks of the Volga towards Astrakhan, cutting the supply lines of the Soviets into the Caucasus.
This initial phase should be completed within two weeks after the start of the operation.

Phase 2
In the second phase of Operation Crusade, the 1st Army will completely occupy Palestine and advance towards Iraq, while the 11th Army will conquer Syria. The 2nd and 4th Armies are supposed to split Turkey in two and link up near their capital, Ankara. Further north the 6th and 9th will continue to advance into the mountains of the Caucasus, pushing towards Baku.
We expect this phase of the operation to be completed by the end of February.

Phase 3
We expect the Turkish surrender to follow shortly after we've captured Ankara, allowing us to direct the 2nd, 4th and 11th Armies towards the Caucasus. Together with the 6th and 9th Armies we will attack from three sides and defeat the remaining, scattered Soviet troops. The 1st Army will conquer Iraq and advance towards the Persian border to the east and the British enclave of Kuwait in the south. With our troops closing in on Persia from two sides, the final step of this phase will be to conquer the rest of Arabia, consisting of the British puppets Oman and Yemen in the south and the neutral Saudi Arabia in the center. The latter is claiming to be neutral, but we have reports of them selling oil to the British, which we have to stop. Their combined land mass might look impressive on a map but one has to remember that these countries are by no means fully civilized nations. A well timed commando raid on the Saudi Royal Palace should allow us to take over this huge country within hours. As for Oman and Yemen, with the Suez Canal under our control it should be easy enough to land a few soldiers on their shores to put them back in their place: Gunboat Diplomacy at its best.
This third and last phase should be completed by the end of March, giving us enough time to send a few armies back north to the eastern front for our next spring offensive.

1943-01-04
I had my first meeting of the year with my armament minister Albert Speer today and he had good news: Thanks to our recently implemented policy of accepting volunteers between the ages of 16 and 18, our constant manpower shortages have stopped and we were able to create a healthy reserve, which should last through the planned offensives this year. The situation concerning our supply with rare minerals has improved as well. With all of Scandinavia under our control for a couple of months now, the output of their most important mines has returned almost to pre-war levels, giving us unhindered access to a constant supply of metals like Tungsten and Aluminum, which are vital for our industry. The only shortage remaining is oil shortage, but this problem will be solved once we complete Operation Crusade.

Our economic situation after three and a half years of war.​

1943-01-07
With temperatures between freezing -20°C and mild -2°C on the Caucasus front, operation Crusade started today. While General Rommel's tanks had no problems breaking through the hastily established British defenses in Palestine, our advance into the Caucasus has been slow on this first day. But this had to be expected.
Only a few hours ago the first wave of troops left the harbor of Athens and will reach the designated invasion sites in Syria and Turkey tomorrow. On their way they will also land troops on Crete, to dislodge the impertinent British paratroopers that landed there last month.

General Keppler's 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" advancing along the banks of the river Volga.​

1943-01-11
The offensive is slowly picking up speed and the tanks of the 6th Army are only a few dozen kilometers away from the Caspian Sea and their first target, Astrakhan. But apparently our advance further south had also the effect of frightening the Persians. The last couple of days they had been under increasing pressure by various Soviet officials. Fearing to loose their troops in the Caucasus in yet another of our huge encirclement, they convinced the Persian government today to sign a pact of military cooperation, opening up a new route for supplies and eventually their escape.
This had to be expected, but later today my foreign minister von Ribbentrop came into my office with much more serious news: After the Soviet foreign minister Molotov cleverly helped to negotiate a somewhat honorable peace treaty between China and Japan back in 1938, the Japanese have been sympathizing with the Soviets ever since and were eager for a new chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of their emperor. Today they finally got their wish, when Emperor Hirohito responded to a request by the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic for military aid by promising them to send their Korea-Army as expeditionary forces. This effectively means that we are now at war with Japan as well.

Like dominoes, one state after another is falling in the hands of the communists.​

1943-01-24
We are a little bit behind schedule with phase one of Operation Crusade and our third invasion in Northern Turkey had to be postponed because we are having trouble with getting enough ships through the strait of Istanbul. After all we are only controlling the European side of the gate. But all other advances are taking place as planned. Last week we captured Astrakhan and today our Gebirgsjäger climbed Mount Elbrus, the highest peak of the Caucasus, where they proudly raised our war flag.

A great moment for Germany and Alpinism.​

With the ports of Tel Aviv, Beirut, Cyprus and Antalya under our control, we are now in full control of the Mediterranean Sea. The remaining enemy sailors have no more place to hide and will most likely be forced to abandon ship. This does not only mean that our coasts are now save from enemy invasions, we can now also ship supplies to Africa and the Middle East unhindered.

Like the Romans centuries before us, we can now proclaim the Mediterranean Sea as "Mare Nostrum".​

1943-01-31
In went to bed late yesterday, constantly waiting for updates on the status of our planned invasion in Northern Turkey, which is vital for the success of phase two of Operation Crusade. But after only a few hours of sleep I was rudely woken up by my adjutant, who informed me that the Allies were attacking our shores in Norther Europe. By the time I reached the situation room of the OKW they had already established two bridgeheads in Holland near Den Helder. I gave the order to our garrison to hold out as long as possible, well knowing that they have no chance against the superior might of the combined strength of the British and American Expeditionary Army.
Last year I foolishly send all our battleships and carriers into the Mediterranean Sea, which means that we have no way of stopping this attack by destroying the invasion fleet. Instead I've given the order to the Reserve Army to relocate all available troops in the area to Frisia, in order to contain this invasion. As soon as possible we will also airlift our elite paratroopers from Athens to Amsterdam. They were originally earmarked for operations in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, but we have other concerns right now.

The first joined operation of Britain and the US in this war.​

 

[dlmt3]

Your custom events never cease to amaze me, Persia and Japan jumping in like that is crazy.

Kinda sad with no progress report on your V2s though.

 

[rkm0000]

looks like someone is spread to thin

 

[Mkoll13]

I really like your additions and modifications in this AAR. It allows you to pull very unexpected, very interesting things on us, like Japan joining the comintern.

You said the Japanese are sending their Korean Army as an expeditionary force. Will the rest of the IJA and the IJN join in? . And also, how much do the Japanese sympathize ideologically with the Soviet states at this point?

looks like someone is spread to thin

I think that just makes it vastly more interesting to see play out.

 

[HecNev]

Nice to see another update!

Looks like the situation is slowly becoming difficult.
I really hope the Reserve Armee can pull it off in the Low Countries, or else you might face some serieous trouble...
Also, your manpower-situation looks pretty dire, which makes additional fronts even worse.

 

[James Beil]

Just read through the whole thing in one sitting - magnificent work! Keep it up, and before you know it we'll be singing 'Die Wacht am Mississippi'!

 

[KLorberau]

How many troops in the west? I try to play historical and usually have at least 500,000 in France and Low Countries. Mostly infantry or Militia/Garrison Divisions + six or so Panzer /Motorized / Panzergrenadier Divisions. Usually have fifteen fighter wings and some navel bombers or CAS wings. I usually don't have many in the Home Army and usually have another fifteen to twenty fighter wings defending against bombings. Those pesky British and Americans can be a tough battle if the manage to get a port. Drive them back unto the sea!

 

[Nikolai]

Silly Anglo-Saxons, they wil regret this invasion!

 

[[MM]]

(...) Kinda sad with no progress report on your V2s though.

Don't worry, this update only covered January 43, as you can see here the first V2 Rockets will be finished on February the 6th.

(...) You said the Japanese are sending their Korean Army as an expeditionary force. Will the rest of the IJA and the IJN join in? . And also, how much do the Japanese sympathize ideologically with the Soviet states at this point? (...)

After Japan lost the war with China they switched from a fascist government to a socialist republic. After that they have been under the influence of the Soviet Union and have been drifting towards them for a long time (you can see the diplomatic triangle here). The Korean Army with about 30 divisions was send to the eastern front as soon as they joined the alliance and they are currently passing through Mongolia. As far as I can tell they have left the rest of their forces (another 30 divisions) on the mainland of Japan. With 650 manpower, 132% officer ratio and the entire Japanese Navy still intact they will be a small challenge late in the game, once I get into Asia.

(...) Also, your manpower-situation looks pretty dire, which makes additional fronts even worse.

I've had worse. Back at the end of 41 I was at zero manpower. Granted, I would need about 50 manpower to reinforce all my troops at the moment, but if I don't build too many new infantry divisions I should be fine.

How many troops in the west? I try to play historical and usually have at least 500,000 in France and Low Countries. (...)

I've got about 250,000 men in France, Spain and Northern Germany. Mostly garrisons but also about 8 infantry and 5 motorized divisions. It should take the British another day or two to capture a port, which is enough time to fly my three paratrooper divisions to the airfield in Amsterdam. Unless they can bring in a second wave in time, I'm confident that I can push back their invasion in a week or two.

 

[BootOnFace]

Looks like your enemies are going on the offensive for once. Looks like a sign to me that Britain needs to be "taken care of."

 

[[MM]]

1943-02-03
Three days ago the British dared to invade Holland. A pretty bold move, considering it is the middle of the winter and they are currently been driven back by our forces on all other fronts in the Middle East. Over the past few days we've hastily pulled together all available reserve units in the area and were able to contain their landing. Two days ago our out-gunned garrison in Den Helder had to surrender, granting the invaders access to an important high sea harbor. Yesterday our three paratrooper divisions arrived on the Amsterdam air field from where they marched strait to the new front line a few kilometers north of the city. Supported by the garrison of Amsterdam, they started a promising counterattack today.

The British invasion has been contained.​

1943-02-06
Despite the new front in Holland, our operations in the Middle East are continuing. Our troops have penetrated deep into the snowy mountains of the Caucasus and today we successfully landed the first wave of troops on the shores of northern Turkey. The next step of operation Crusade will be to link all of our beachheads after which we can eliminate Turkey as an opponent.

Our mountain infantry divisions are advancing with ease from one snow covered mountain pass to the next.​

1943-02-12
After almost two weeks of fighting, the British experiment of invading the mainland of Europe came to an end today. The last British Division capitulated near Leeuwarden in Friesland and all that remains from this costly invasion-attempt is a bunch of destroyed military equipment on the beaches and the countryside. Our propaganda is running wild with this success but it was a close call: With most of our troops in Russia and the Middle East, we would have been in serious trouble if the Allies had been able to reinforce their bridgehead in time before we retook the harbor of Den Helder. But the damage done to the port installations by the fighting and the rough winter sea meant that the enemy was unable to land new troops, especially tanks, which really could have tipped the balance of the fight in their favor. One has to wonder if this had only been a trial run for a much bigger invasion this summer, but the British are not the only ones who learned from this:

1. The relatively short time after which our garrison in Den Helder had to capitulate is a strong indicator that our garrison units are in dire need of better weapons. I've tasked my armaments minister Albert Speer to either procure or develop better equipment for them.
2. The participation of American troops in this operation, while comparatively small in scope, is a sign that they are preparing for a more offensive role in this conflict in the near future. My chief of intelligence, Reinhard Gehlen, already delivered a few reports of an increasing number of US soldiers stationed in Britain. We should do something about the rising thread in the west, sooner rather then later, before the Allies can use that pesky little island as a jumping board for an even greater invasion on our homeland. I've called for a meeting of the General Staff tomorrow to discuss this issue.

The invasion has successfully been repelled.​

1943-02-13
Today I met with my General Staff in the OKW to discuss our next plans for this year after the completion of Operation Crusade. We all agreed that we would have to invade Britain this year, before the United States can send enough troops to crush our hopes of ever gaining a foothold on that island. However any amphibious operations against Britain will have to wait until at least June, when our new battleships and aircraft carriers are becoming operational, which we will need to destroy or at least disable the British Home fleet before we can cross the Channel. Another pressing concern is that we have committed the majority of our troops to the Eastern Front, which is stretching for hundreds of kilometers from the White Sea in the north all the way down to the Caucasus in the South. If we want to defend against or maybe even attack the United States, we will have to find a way to lower the number of troops we've stationed in the east considerably.

A short Waffle-break between meetings in the OKW.​

The solution my Generals presented was the following: After the fall of Turkey we will begin to transfer troops from the theater in the Middle East to Northern France to guard our coast against any subsequent Allied invasions. Until the completion of Operation Crusade, one third of our troops should be transfered to France, including our two marine infantry corps, which we will need for the coming invasion of Britain. Once we have wrapped up Operation Crusade, another third of the involved troops will stay in the Middle East to protect the conquered territory and to guard the new front against Persia. The last third will be transfered back north to the front in Russia, where they will take part in one of our biggest offensives yet, aimed at destroying the Red Army once and for all. The new operation, codenamed "Unternehmen Zitadelle" (Operation Citadel) will involve troops along the entire front and culminate in one or two massive encirclements, eliminating the Communist's Armies as a foe. With no more serious opposition left in the east, we will then be able to transfer our best divisions to the west to fight against the Allies. Operation Citadel should start in May, after the ground has dried and the weather allows our tanks to move again. The details of the plan are still unclear but we will probably be able to complete the operation by the end of July.

As for the west: After our naval expansion program is completed in June, we will begin a joined operation of the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe to gain air- and naval-superiority in the English Channel and Southern Britain. And by August we should start our invasion, codenamed "Unternehmen Seelöwe" (Operation Sea Lion). The start of Sea Lion overlaps with the end of Citadel, which means that we can only use the troops already in place in Northern France, but any later date would be too risky, because of the treacherous autumn weather in the Channel.
In the meantime we will keep the British on their toes with the continuation of our strategic bombing campaign: Our new A4-rockets will become operational in a few days.

1943-02-17
The first wave of A4-rockets was launched from Cherbourg against targets in Southern Britain today. Among the first cities to be hit by this new, terrifying weapon were London and Birmingham. Traveling at supersonic speed and following a parabolic flight path, the enemy has no way of stopping or even predicting the attacks. The knowledge that the next strike could hit anywhere at anytime will surely lower their moral considerably and thereby justify the equally considerable production costs of these long-range artillery rockets.

Fueled by ethanol and liquid oxygen, this elegant wonder-weapon is delivering death and destruction to Britain.​

1943-02-20
Together with my chief of the air force, Field Marshal Ritter von Greim, I went to a demonstration of our newest aircraft models today. I was especially impressed with the revolutionary new design for our multi role fighter aircrafts, the Dornier Do-335. The combination of the front and tail mounted propeller allows this plane to travel at an unusually high speed with an formidable combat radius.
Adolf Galland, the head of the fighter forces, who also came along, made a test fight with the new Focke-Wulf Fw-190 interceptor, but all he was talking about was the new "jet engine" that is currently being developed by Messerschmitt for an even better generation of planes. Even though we saw a demonstration of the engine itself, it will still take almost a year to develop the first plane powered by this new type of motor. But if it is half as good as Galland insists, then our next generation of aircrafts will be even better than what we saw today.

Over the past months our aircraft manufacturers have been producing an increasing amount of planes, not only to compensate for our losses, but also to create several new squadrons. Especially the number of naval aviation units has increased to a respectable size. We now have more than enough planes to station on our new aircraft carriers when they are completed this summer. With these expansions of the Luftwaffe, we now have one of the largest air forces in the world. A fact that instills confidence in our pilots and helps to promote the nimbus of invincibility of our armed forces.

1943-02-24
Operation Crusade is a little bit behind schedule, but we have almost completed phase two. Our troops are only a few dozen kilometers apart before Turkey is split in two. So I felt confident enough to start with phase three of the plan: In the afternoon I authorized the commando raid on the capital of Saudi Arabia. Tomorrow morning a group of Condor transport planes will start from Tel Aviv and cross over into the airspace of this desert nation. Lead by one of our top commando leaders, Otto Skorzeny, these elite paratroopers will try to capture the Royal Palace in Riyadh and force the Saudi monarch to surrender. More than a thousand kilometers behind enemy lines, there is no option to evacuate our troops, should this operation fail. But I've faith in Skorzeny's abilities as an outstanding leader.

Palestine, Syria and Saudi Arabia. One Arab Nation after another falls in our hands.​

1943-02-25
Without any radar warning system or listening posts in the empty desert, the attack on their capital came as a complete surprise to the Saudis. Our paratroopers were able to land largely unopposed, before they were engaged by the Royal Guard at the gates of the palace.

No matter if employed in the Scandinavian forests, the Swiss alps or the Arabian desert, our Fallschirmjäger will get the job done.​

 

[rkm0000]

nice update, should be interesting to see you cut the red army to ribbons

 

[red_KLG]

Left guy in last picture is wearing a bullet mankini !!!! AWESOME !!!! xD xD

(Great update - as always )

 

[dlmt3]

Loving this AAR. Interesting to see how you invade England, hopefully they defend the home islands well.

 

[Mkoll13]

I am looking forward to the sleek and deadly Kreigsmarine sending the Royal Naval to the seabed.

I also love your use of battlecruisers and battleships. Would you say that with enough tech investment and proper usage and escorts big gun ships are still quite viable?

 

[superjames1992]

I love the risky operation against the Saudis! Sounds like a classic Hitler gamble!

 

[oss spy]

I have only one nitpick about your rockets: if something follows a parabolic path, then it is very easy to predict where it will be given a certain time after launch. Other than that, you've made yet another fantastic post!

 

[Belgiumruler]

Nice update, The Oil fields Will soon be in hands of the German Whermacht!!!

 

[guillec87]

nice update, I was missing your AAR

 

[Daan Riaste]

Awesome wAAR. Good luck for the final push towards Vladivostok and Seelöwe.