In many ways, January of 1944 was similar to January of 1943. Continuing tension between the Soviet Union and Germany (and Poland, and Romania), but partially held in check by the mutually beneficial trade relationship between the two powers. A wary peace – maybe even a relationship of trust – endured between Germany and France and Britain. But war clouds still seemed to hang over the horizon.
It was in this environment when everything changed, abruptly.
From the screenshot above, you can see the Intelligence Mapmode, showing Germany’s allies and the general reach of her electronic intelligence network. No surprise attack by sea was possible, due to the North Sea and Baltic coverage. Germany could see all the goings on along the French Border, and could even have a good idea of what was going on in the border regions of the USSR. Beyond that, intelligence was spotty.
But in January of 1944, one thing became startlingly distinct when it was first noticed by intelligence officers. I made hearts stop. It caused an instant quantum leap in perception of Soviet military abilities, which had previously been starting to settle into a general impression of “paper tiger.”
Germany believed she was far ahead of everybody else in Nuclear research. She had finished her first working research reactor in March of 1942 – nearly 2 years prior. Germany was already building a second reactor next to the first. Primarily for civilian purposes, but also for reasons of national priority – the potential energymaking possibilities, and military applications – this research had been rushed, and it wasn’t believed anyone else was rushing.
Then decrypted transmissions strongly suggested the Soviets had a nuclear reactor much like Germany’s, sited at Vitchevsk (Vitsyebsk) near the Polish border (for reasons known only to the Soviets). Espionage on the ground confirmed this discovery, which was already causing consternation throughout the levels of government privy to such information. High level meetings were convened to decide how to react.
For various reasons, Germany had not committed any research or development money to Heavy Bombers before 1944. Too much effort was being devoted to other things. Now, all this changed. Germany had to have the ability to reach these long-range targets. Research and development of long distance rockets also continued, with the first V2 Rockets being placed into production. These technologies were already beyond preliminary levels.
In March, these rockets were ready, and were deployed to Oppeln and other regions near the Polish border. Jet fighter and bomber technology was also progressing, and these new types of Heavy Jet Fighters and Jet Bombers began to be assembled at once. With the addition of radar-guided bombs, the possibility of a jet-delivered precision attack upon a reactor started to be considered. Those same jets might soon be able to deliver a nuclear bomb upon the target, or upon other major targets, though it might take long-range rockets to reach Moscow itself. Long-range bombers wouldn’t be ready before 1945. No one really knew how far along the Soviets were in these high technologies.
Since Germany had increased its military deployments over the course of 1943, France and the United Kingdom were understandably worried. Their skittish relationship remained quite peaceful, and they clearly believed the USSR was the most imminent threat to world peace. But defenses along the German border were also being reinforced.
The French also had light tanks deployed in 2-3 locations. British Royal Air Force units were stationed in France. It was moderately concerning, but nothing compared to the threat of the Soviet Union. The worry was that Germany might face a two-front war if she mishandled the Diplomatic game.
It was largely because of this that Germany carefully avoided adding to tensions by annexing Austria, though it was surely a tempting prospect. Even with intentionally reduced economic productivity, stockpiles of Energy were again beginning to wane.
In April, Germany was able to deploy three more Infantry divisions to the western border with France, which freed the two Motorized Infantry divisions to head east to the Polish border.
German technology continued to improve, with better assault weapons and even helicopters – aircraft which could take off and land from a stationary position, and could even hover for brief periods. When compared with the rockets and jets and nuclear technologies this may not have been a world-changer, but working helicopters defied the imaginations of most who had not been immersed in talk of aerospace technology through the late-thirties and early-forties.
And before summer, Germany began to produce the world’s first atomic bomb. It had long been hoped that no danger would compel this action, but Germany felt they had no choice other than to use every weapon at their disposal, should a life-or-death struggle for survival begin.
Ironically, the Resource shortage reared its ugly head again, despite intentional production slowdowns to preserve Energy stockpiles. Germany went from 50,000 units at the beginning of the year down to 35,000 on 1 June.
Through the summer years, every general tank technology (light and medium) and every general Infantry technology was improved by a degree. German Heavy Bombers were already being improved, and the organization and planning techniques of air and land units were also improved. Germany could boast the most professionally trained military in the world, though her navy remained unimpressive and her land units would have to take on 2 or 3 times their numbers against the Soviets, should war come.
In HOI terms, the major advantage was the reduction in Attack Delay – one of the things that slowed down armored spearheads, which could kill the German strategy and technological advantages.
By September, German technicians were even testing operational models of air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles. The SAMs would revolutionize German defenses against Strategic Bomber attacks, and might even be a partial shield against Soviet nuclear attack, if that spectre ever became reality.
On 4 November, 1944, Germany did finally produce the world’s first operational atomic weapon – an implosion atomic bomb crafted to use plutonium.
That same month, Heavy Jet Fighters and Jet Bombers capable of carrying atomic weapons also rolled off the production lines.
Despite worries about tensions with Britain and France, annexation of Austria remained on the table even at this late date. It seemed the most obvious solution to Germany’s resource problems, and would increase Germany’s economic and military strength as well. While it was thought that a forced annexation would be too disruptive to the tender sensibilities of Allied officials, but they might allow a diplomatic annexation to go forward without much complaint.
German espionage agents, working in Austria, had successfully prepared the ground for a peaceful takeover of the country. No one had yet agreed to go forward with the plan, but soon conditions might be in place to make it happen once the command was given.
Germany approached the New Year, 1945, with great apprehension of a new nuclear cold war with the Soviet Union, which could easily turn hot. The future looked grim, unless something changed dramatically for the better.
