One for the History Books
The World As It Was
Chapter VIII: The Beginning of the End
Aachen could not be held by either the Allies of the Nazis. Each side had their forces arrayed in such a way that whenever one side secured the city, it was counterattacked on three sides and the occupiers were invariably driven back. This inability to break through troubled Hitler greatly, and his public appearances showed him to be getting more desperate. Even with the widespread economic reforms, the Reich hadn't the resources to support all the production that it needed to survive.
Stretched Thin
This stress was compounded by the disappointment in the East. While Stalin had promised vengeance for the British betrayal, and had said he would consider any alliance between the buffer states of Iran and Afghanistan to be a declaration of war, the border remained maddeningly static. While this could be attributed to the vast distances the Red Army had to traverse, Hitler suspected that Stalin simply wasn't interested in driving the British off of the Asian continent.
July saw a tentative break in the deadlock over Aachen; unfortunately it was due to the Allies' determination and resolve. Just before the end of the month, a bulk of 30 Allied divisions plowed through Aachen and sent an exploratory corps into undefended Dortmund. Only the brashest move by Feldmaschall Manstein saved Dortmund, but the rerouting of troops had effectively depleted any advantage the Wehrmacht had in the West. Hitler ordered a fundamental change in doctrine: there would be not one step back that the enemy didn't pay for with gallons of blood. Ever-new divisions were routed West in an attempt to stem the Allied flood into Germany.
As if this weren't enough, Hitler recieved reports of the Soviet southern front:
A Rather Surprising Development
Rather than advancing in a massive steamroll over the Persians and Afghans, Stalin was actually
giving ground to the hordes. Meanwhile massive numbers of Bolsheviks remained poised against the German border, as if salivating for a chance to stab Hitler in the back.
In the beginning of August, the Wehrmacht led a valiant offensive to retake Aachen from the districts around Essen and Dortmund, employing forces on par with the Allied entrenchments. Supporting units were brought up from Cologne, bringing the Wehrmacht's offensive power to 60 divisions for this one battle. The devastated urban center was awash in the blood of families massacred by the blind artillery shells. By the 15th the city was once again secure under the German flag, and what citizens were left alive were evacuated East. The Allies allowed this operation to go on, giving the Wehrmacht hope of a breakthrough, but when the last train left Aachen Station routed for Berlin, the Allies brought their force to bear once again on the beleaguered German forces. After sustaining incredible losses, Manstein again ordered a retreat in contravention of Hitler's orderes. Again Manstein attempted to resign, and again Hitler would not hear it.
This breakdown in the command structure led to other officers showing open contempt for their Nazi leaders. Tactical offensives and withdrawals were attempted without orders from OKW, and the Wehrmacht became, in effect, an independent government that barely listened to Berlin. In response, Hitler grew more and more despondent. He simply stopped issuing orders, telling anyone who asked him for advice to 'do what they want'. The vast majority of Germans, from high-ranking military officers to children playing in the street, remained fiercely loyal to Hitler. But he seemed not to care about their fate, constantly muttering to himself about Aachen and his inability to retain control of it. In the privacy of his own home he blamed his German countrymen for not being strong enough to do what he wanted them to do.
Word of a Soviet advance through the Caucasus and into Western Persia, bringing their front-line to the British puppet of Iraq, didn't better Hitler's spirits. Aside from Afganistan retaining large tracts of Central Asian territory, Hitler saw little to celebrate in further Soviet dominance in the globe. The German fighting spirit began to slacken, and threatened to collapse if nothing was done. A few media outlets tentatively began protesting the continued war, raising the level of national dissent by a small fraction. Humbled by his many reverses, Hitler feared prosecuting these dissenters would only lead to their support blossoming into rebellion.
Hitler retired to Warsaw, of course bringing a massive security detail, to speak with sympathetic Polish collaborators. The 'Generalgovernment Polen' was tolerated by the majority of Poles, but there was an active resistance against its authority. Without taking any considerations to its effects in his homeland, Hitler unilaterally negotiated the independance of Poland, minus of course the core German territories to link East Prussia with the rest of Deutschland.
Will it make a difference?
The resultant state was much smaller than Poland had been originally, and was only marginally more independant than it had been. Nevertheless Hitler called this an example of his “supreme modesty and willingness to cooperate in order to obtain a lasting peace.” The Allies heard none of it, of course. To them, any Polish government which was allied to Germany was illigitimate, and thus they simply refused to acknowledge Hitler's move.
Domestically, the news was met with derision. If Germany wasn't going to take control of Poland, what was the point of this horrible war? Was all of the Germans' suffering for nothing? The fury with which the average German responded to Hitler's announcement led to demonstrations and small riots, which stopped just short of open rebellions. Hitler hadn't anticipated this result at all.
The decision was a slap in the face of his closest allies in the German government. Even in the new Polish government, his name was spoken with contempt. Hitler truly seemed to be losing his political as well as his martial ability.
Weeks after Hitler's unilateral action, he recieved a request to settle a dispute between Hungary and Romania. While neither were formally allied to the Reich, both were still considered relatively friendly. The issue of Transylvania remained a contentious one since the end of the First World War, and it threatened to spill into another armed conflict. Romania's government had been toppled by a coup, installing a leader and cabinet very friendly to the National Socialists in Germany. Hitler considered the implications on both of his neighbors, and eventually ruled that Hungary should recieve the territory. He also sounded out the possibility of bringing Hungary formally into the Axis, a proposition which was accepted with very few reservations.
Similar overtures to Romania were rejected after long deliberations, with Hitler's decision having rubbed the Romanians raw. The possibility for future negotiations remained, offering hope to the ailing German leader. This possibility was strengthened when Bulgaria showed its aggressive intentions, claiming the city of Constanta with a threat of force; the nation had chosen to act of its own accord, without approaching Berlin for arbitration. Worried that the Balkans would erupt in a conflagration that he couldn't contain, Hitler diverted the resources of Germany to reducing dissent, as well as a renewed offensive to capture Aachen.
The latest battle for the rubble that had once been Aachen was no less bloody for either side, but eventually the German forces secured a perimeter around the buildings that remained standing and launched further tactical offensives to secure the remainder of the province. Forced to retreat back into Belgian territory, the Allies could not immediately counter-attack, giving the haggard Wehrmacht forces precious time to recouperate their strength. At the front, Heinz Guderian continued his research into Blitzkrieg, beginning to develop a theory of the 'Kampfgruppe' or struggle-group, a new way of organizing small units of soldiers to bring about victory. While still in its early stages, it had proved invaluable in the latest offensive to secure Germany. Hearing this news, Hitler again became active in the planning and execution of military operations.
For the Oberkommand des Heers, who had gained some latitude to act on their own initiative, the return of Hitler's attention chafed. For Hitler, the small military and diplomatic victories he had brought to bear had reinvigorated his will as well as his confidence. To punctuate this surge in morale, Hitler finally got the long-sought alliance with Romania in the closing days of September, bringing his influence from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea.
Further east, the Soviets slowly reclaimed territory lost to the Persians and Afghans. Stalin seemed to commit himself to victory at last. Hitler began having second thoughts, but there was little he could do besides attempt to force a decision with the West which was favorable to him. Overtures for peace with the Allies went continually unanswered, however, and the common man began growing weary of the war.
The German war effort was partially revitalized, however. The inclusion of Hungary and Romania into the Axis effectively doubled its ground army and air force sizes, even if the forces of the minor powers weren't up to the German standard. Almost immediately the skies over Germany became a battlezone once more, as planes from Eastern Europe duked it out with the British Royal Air Force.
More good news came from the Far East, as the Japanese bulldozer completed its plough over of the Chinese. Hirohito installed a puppet state, gaining considerable territorial concessions while at the same time having a powerful puppet on the mainland.
The Sun has Risen
A worrying note for Japanese prosperity was struck when the Allies and America increased their trading sanctions, though not to the level of full-on embargoes. The resource-starved Empire of Japan depended on importing its raw materils from abroad, and as willing sources dried up, the militaristic cabal in Tokyo had every inclination to look to military options, something which Hitler could only support.
Back on the Western front, the Wehrmacht took the opportunity to rest and plan for a major offensive. With Aachen secured and reinforcements flowing every day, not only for the Wehrmacht but entire Armies from Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania, the German High Command was relatively comfortable with the strategic position. A reinvigorated Luftwaffe banded together with the Hungarian and Romanian airforces to help keep the skies over Germany clear, with almost immediate results for German industry, which saw a massive jump in productivity that more than made up for the 'lost' territories of Poland.
Despite renewed hopes with the inclusion of the new Axis members, and their troop strength which helped to bring the narrow Western front to stasis, Germany's strategic position offered little in the way of expansion. The massive bulk of infantry and armor was forced to relive the Sitzkrieg of the previous winter while plans were laid down to begin as soon as General Guderian finished his research into the Kampfgruppe.
News from across the 'pond' rang in Berlin, as the Americans voiced their dissatisfaction with Roosevelt's interventionistic policies by electing Alf M. Landon as President of the United States of America. Hitler made a speech praising the wisdom of the Americans, and privately sighed with relief that they might choose to avoid war.
America's Next President
Aside from the constant air-raids, which were becoming so routine that they hardly effected German industrial output anymore, winter progressed relatively calmly. More divisions poured in from German factories and the plains of Hungary and Romania daily, until the amount of force both sides could bring to bear on the Rhine were on par...which, naturally, meant German superiority. Hitler was unwilling to begin an offensive in the middle of winter, especially without the doctrinal advances of Guderian and the technological advances that other research teams were working frenetically to accomplish.
To keep the diplomatic initiative Hitler had sustained, he attended several conferences with Benito Mussolini in hopes of warming relations which had never properly recovered since Anschluss. While there looked to be no real chance of a formal alliance, Hitler felt optimistic that a general victory in France would bring the Italian dictator around. There was nothing left to do but wait for the ground to thaw and the men to retrain, for another attempt at tearing through the Belgian countryside.
Midway through December, news reached Hitler's ears that was truly bittersweet:
Hello Afghan SSR!
Stalin had made good on his vow to flatten the Muslim states of Central Asia. Red Army troops had begun the march into the open plains of British Pakistan, skirting the natural defenses of the Indian subcontinent—the Himalayas. The Bolsheviks also counted the province of Kirkuk as a fledgling Kurdistan Soviet Socialist Republic, though the native population was less than enthusiastic about its new Communist overlords.
Iran was in its last throes, and with it the British foothold on the Asian, and perhaps African, continents. Hitler was worried that the Soviets would advance deep into Africa, which spurred his attempts to bring Italy into the fold; Mussolini would not budge, even at the promise of a weakly-defended Egypt and his precious 'Mare Nostrum,' at least until the Axis could show some significant military gains.
In preparation of the coming offensive (and to clear the skies of Germany), Hitler shifted Deutschland's war production to emphasize the Luftwaffe, particularly Interceptors. Five new squadrons were slated to be completed in the month of April, which was near the anticipated start date of 'Fall Schwarz,' the name of the invasion of Belgium-France.
The plan was much less straightforward than the original Ardennes Offensive; it called for the encirclement of massive numbers of Allied troops in Belgium. From the OKW's best estimations, two pockets could be made, each entrapping almost 50 Allied divisions. This assumed, of course, that Allied troops would react with timidity from the long silence as more than 100 Axis divisions plowed them over...but this was not an unreasonable assumption in Hitler's mind.
As time trickled past, Hitler put all of his faith in the new operation. It occupied his thoughts from morning until well into the night; it had to be perfect. Everything depended on it, and if it failed...well, Hitler assured his staff that there would be no more unapproved retreats as long as
he was Führer. This declaration chilled the hearts of the leading Generals of the Wehrmacht: Schwarz would be all—or nothing.
February brought the latest tank designs to the front, with entire divisions of outdated panzers getting their equipment replaced with the more advanced Panzerkampfwagen III's. It was expected that these new armored divisions would deliver the punch necessary to put a sizable hole in the Franco-Belgian lines. As soon as the snows began to melt it would be time to come up out of the trenches and roll over France like...well, like a bunch of multi-ton killing machines.
Hitler stood by enviously as the Soviet tanks and boots stomped through the Persian desert unimpeded, claiming another Soviet Republic. The Red Army had set up lines along the Indus River, almost ready to declare their integration of the Soviet Republic of Pakistan into the greater Union. Hitler got a bad feeling that he had invited disaster in his brashness, but there was nothing to be done about it now. He could only refocus his mind to the West, and hopefully win. He would worry about the rotting morass of Communism afterward.
In the midst of the furious preparations for Fall Schwarz, one of the Reich's ablest Ministers died of natural causes. Karl Friedrich von Siemens was well-liked and respected, a baron of industry and one of the major financiers of Deutschland's recent rise to prominence. His loss, while tragic, only served to steel the resolve of the German people for a final victory over the decadence of the West.
The beginning of March ushered in the completion of the Kampfgruppe doctrine, as well as a better way of organizing field hospitals that promised to save as many casualties as possible. With the snow melting in spots, Hitler could hardly wait. Every day brought him nearer to the day he could begin. At last, on the 10th of May, weather reports from reconnaissance planes flying over Belgium gave the all-clear for the beginning of the campaign season. Hitler moved his timetable forward, and by the 15th the fresh Axis divisions had been set into motion.
The initial attach was staged at Liege...everything depended on the breakthrough at that one spot. Unfortunately, the Allied response was quicker than expected...the Wehrmacht found every opening soon plugged with fresh divisions, and the outcome of the battle was thrown into doubt. Before it even began, Fall Schwarz was ground to a halt, and every centimeter of blood-soaked ground gained was lost.
Surprisingly, Hitler resolved to try again, and again if need be. He would not be denied his victory. The operation was continued, after a brief recuperation period. But now the objective was changed: encircle the massive pocket of Allied troops at Liege. Incredibly, this plan was foiled as well, to the Führer's consternation.
Hitler's sense of reason vanished. There would be a breakout, or every single officer in the Wehrmacht would be executed and replaced. Units were given no time with which to recover between attacks, and every tactical retreat was a disobedience of the Führer's orders. All available divisions were called to the front, and the ones which were already in place attacked again and again and again. Finally, Hitler accepted Manstein's resignation when the latter refused to command his troops any more—or what was left of them.
Norway was evacuated of all troops, both of German and Norwegian origin. Poland was stripped of any presence, even on the border to the dreaded Soviet Union. Hungary and Romania threatened to leave the Axis if their nations were left in such a pitiable state, so Hitler left their home-guards in place.
The situation became so desperate that Aachen was again lost, even though Axis forces in the area outnumbered their attackers five to one. Hitler became fanatical, and many dissenting officers were simply executed. Order and discipline collapsed, but Hitler's iron-grip on the country only strengthened, even as Allied troops once again entered proper German soil.
Once More Into the Breach
A realistic look at Germany's strategic position would have sent even the toughest soldiers fleeing, but unfortunately for Hitler everyone left who could influence him was simply too frightened. He began to formulate plans based on imagined numbers of force strength, rather than what reality dictated. In truth, the Wehrmacht had taken such a beating over such a short time that it was barely holding together, with several Army Groups having less strength than a well-formed Allied Corps. The Germans were forced to retreat again and again, until Hitler refused to believe the reports coming from the front. The world, and the Wehrmacht, were getting truly desperate.
Can They Hold?