Chapter 13: Right behind you
(Continental Tank Crew awaiting orders to move north to dresden)
Victories on both the Eastern and Western Front had finally enabled the last piece of Empress Octavia and the military leadership's plan for the war. Currently, the only Fascist country left on continental Europe was the North German Union that divided Scandinavia and the Holy Roman Empire. The North Germans had stayed neutral in the current conflict due to mutual hate of all three belligerents in the war. As the Axis power in europe continued to wane however the North Germans had proving to be growing increasingly nervous, drawing up treaties with Sudamerika for military aid as well as pledging to send supplies over the channel to the Celtic Union.
Leaving a hostile power in Europe while the Empire waged war in Russia, The Middle East and China was simply unacceptable. Despite the North German State taking no hostile actions against the empire for the duration of war documents were fabricated detailing a Celtic and North German plot to land millions of troops in the Netherlands and push south for Vienna and Prague. These papers were then fed to the media, who predictably ran with them giving the government more than enough excuse to go to war.
Unlike the Celtics or even the Russians the North Germans were already preparing for the eventuality of war. The Germans unfortunately simply did not have the numbers or supplies to effectively resist the coming invasion. By Late May the border had already been overrun, North Holland was cut off and Holy Infantry were marching more or less unopposed into East Prussia.
Such success was proof of the ever advancing Holy Roman military doctrine. Tanks and other armor had proved to once again be a vital part of the army, allowing well prepared defenses to be effectively crushed. It was only natural that the idea to also reinforce defensive lines with faster and more mobile vehicles such as tank destroyers and light tanks was put into practice just as cavalry had been in the past.
News from the Zululand Test Airstrips in spring had provided surprising results. Previously dismissed as a viable means of propulsion due to cost and complexity, Deutschland-Braun had successfully flown both a primitive rocket and jet fighter aircraft for several minutes. Performance for both the DB-200R and the DB-201A were superior to top of the line Prop Aircraft currently in service.
Jet and Rocket engines brought an entirely new host of problems, the most significant being that the engines had a nasty tendency to explode while spooling up. They also far less fuel efficient and due to how they were mounted significantly hindered the maneuverability of the aircraft while also requiring longer runways and maintenance crews specifically trained in the new Engine. Not seeing the benefits outside of specific circumstances the DB-201 was ordered back into development.
The IAF of course had its priorities on other things. Under pressure and complaint from the Navy the Holy Roman Empire still did not have an aircraft suitable for use on the new Carrier 'Claudius' or it's sister ship the 'Tiberius' both due to be launched later that year. There was of course significant argument to simply modify DB109's that were now being phased out of service for use, which the Navy adamantly rejected to, seeing them as inferior. The Navy also demanded that any such aircraft needed to be able to carry rockets and a notable bomb load for use in Ground support operations, which effectively eliminated every Holy Roman fighter currently in service.
(The Lt-91 'Sea Wolf' later designated the IFN-42)
Frustrated the IAF passed the contract to the smaller Lucius Tank aircraft design company. Headed by Lucius Tank himself the company had previously specialized in producing specific civilian aircraft for crop dusting and other services. The company's first military design, the Lt-90 was rejected due to being too late into the competition to compete with the likes of the DB109 and the Fe-40. The Lt-91, Tank changed to be primarily for Naval Combat, adding a tail hook and more powerful Radial engine for takeoff from short runways.
Upon seeing the aircraft's performance the Navy immediately accepted and ordered both Naval and ground based designs in bulk. The numbers demanded far exceeded Tank's own production capabilities, and so the Navy doing what it had been doing push pressure on the IAF and the Government to free up other potential aircraft factories for production. The IAF was furious as the Navy had now effectively negotiated a production contract by going directly to the Empress and attempted to sabotage the effort.
After a month of infighting with no advancements whatsoever the Empress ordered an investigation, and later officially divorced the Naval Air branch from the IAF as well as ordering the arrest of several high ranking IAF members that conspired to sabotage the carrier effort.
Now free to pursue their own Air contracts, the Imperial Navy finally ordered the Lt91 into mass production under the designation IFN-42.
There was a few reasons why the Leadership had favored the Navy enough to cause the IAF an eternal headache over the year. The Navy was of course a more established branch, had a string of decisive victories in just the current war alone and had a well entrenched leadership despite reform efforts that still held connections across the empire.
Then there was Ryu Yamamoto, otherwise known to many as 'The Sea Devil'. In the navy for most of his life Yamamoto had revolutionized Imperial Naval Doctrine since his rise to leadership. Unlike more conservative commanders who favored battleships alone and less experienced commanders who thought themselves more revolutionary for favoring submarine, destroyer and cruiser investment Yamato had a faction all his own designed around the idea of a 'Grand Battlefleet' consisting of both Battleships, Aircraft Carriers and Heavy Cruisers, escorted by destroyers and other craft.
(The Imperial Super Heavy Battleship and Ryu Yamamoto's command ship 'Gisela' leaving for the Atlantic for the first time)
Under Yamamoto's command at Gallipoli these tactics had been proven with the destruction of over 100 Axis regiments. Though Carriers were not present, Yamamoto's point had been made and the young Admiral found himself appointed commander and Chief of the Imperial Navy by 1941. From there Yamamoto had continued to campaign for the construction of carriers and their aircraft as well as an Invasion of Mainland Britain. He would eventually be given both the Carriers and the Aircraft by 1942, but Britain would be repeatedly put off, officially being canceled by the Fall of 1942 mostly in due to the reversal of the North African front, and Yamamoto's own marine campaign for Tangiers.
With Gibraltar open, and the Imperial Navy free to bombard the government in Exile in the Canaries the Spanish surrendered, followed by the Portuguese, Austria's enemies were now dropping like flies. With the Invasion of Northern Germany, and Sudamerika now promising to come to their aid, This war still far from over. The Holy Roman Empire would now be fighting a Global War, in Europe, Asia and now America on Land, Sea and Air.