Fantastic read Fenwick, saw the thread today, idly clicked to have a peek and was totally engrossed.
Good luck in America!
Good luck in America!
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Summer of 43’
The summer of 43’ was not a momentous one. The comintern secured itself, and made no major offensives. The Soviets were halted along the Afghan border, stopping any hopes of going into India. While the Russian army had numbers the only true way into British India was through the thin valleys and canyons. Needless to say the mobile Soviet military machine had to resort to trench warfare. Stalin, as recent documents have shown, constantly changed his opinion of the commander in charge. From April to November of 1943 the Red Afghan Expeditionary Force (RAEF) had twelve Generals taking command.
Germany on the other hand had numerous openings to strike. But it lacked the forces to make any great strides. Most of the German Army (including KUMD rifle brigades, and DFV militia) was in Europe. A good size force was in Italian Ethiopia, and it was decided that the “liberation” of India would use these troops. Field Marshall Erwin Rommel was given total control of the operation on June 21st. He hoped that by July a landing could be made. Most outside of the Indian Ocean theater saw the invasion as failing. Not enough supplies, the navy spread thin, and the army having to force almost monthly landings by the US back into the Atlantic.
Dealing with the devil
Molotov and Thälmann both representing their governments spoke with the Indian Peoples army, and the underground provisional government. Mahatma Gandhi spoke for the provisional government, but he refused any thought of becoming a politician himself. In the heart of Belin, a location Gandhi and his wife enjoyed, but Stalin fumed about it for days. Thälmann found Gandhi a bore, with his conversations ranging from freeing the Indian people to how con the Indian people be free? Molotov on the other hand saw Gandhi as a perfect example of the bourgeois middle class accepting the Marxist ways. Freedom from Imperialism, class’s unifying, Gandhi called it different things but in the end it was Marxism.
Molotov had strict instructions to persuade the Indian spokesman to give the Soviet Union control of India. For the Soviets had an intact society, a growing industry, and was the first Communist state.
Thälmann was give more free reign in discussions. Hitler’s opinion of India is best summed in this letter dated June 5th:
While the needs of the Indian people should be considered at all costs. It will take decades for India to truly embrace Marxist-Hitlerism. The nations of the world shall assist in building up this land, but Germany at this point is only concerned in security and prosperity. Plus the manpower India shall provide can easily tip the forthcoming war with America even more in our favor.
So as Molotov spoke of the noble Soviet, Thälmann offered freedom. It was a promise that when the war ended India would be given independence, but a German presence will exist to assist in building up the nation to German standards. After visiting Germany Gandhi could find nothing wrong in making India have the same standard of living as that of his German allies.
One thing both agreed on was giving the Indian rebels more weapons. Gandhi personally hated making deals for weapons, but he always held a belief that the european powers were waiting for the chance to back out on what ever deal they made.
Heart of Darkness
In Africa Belgium, South Africa, and the block of US troops in Algeria remained. Lanzer and his KUMD along with the various allied special operations groups was given the task of defeating these powers and make the African continent open for the Revolution. Between July 15th and 17th a meeting was held in Rome. The topics discussed ranged from supplying local rebels to fight, to full scale war. With Field Marshall’s Rommel, and Kietel holding the majority of divisions, and the Kriegsmarine hording all it can to defend the Western coast Lanzer new a full scale war of out of the question. With eight divisions and well of 100,000 square miles of Africa to cover not many envied the task before the KUMD minister.
To the north the Vichy France Royale I,III, and IV divisions held the line against the well defended American forces. The Royale was created as a military branch for the Milice française under the command of Jacques de Bernonville, a French KUMD officer. Knowing the French army was very unlikely to see any combat beyond guarding roads, and supply dumps, Bernonville set about creating a force that would actually be useful. Trained in partisan warfare, demolitions, and assassinations, the Royale was handcrafted to the standards of the KUMD. The most impressive feat the Royale did was destroying the communication lines around Cairo prior to the German landing.
Near the Belgian Congo was the Italian Red Brigade. When Mussolini and his Fascist regime fell it had under its command a Special forces unit called the Decimas, or X mas. Junio Valerio Borghese was born in Rome into the wealthy Borghese noble family, and educated in London and from 1923 at the Royal Italian Navy Academy (Accademia Navale) in Livorno. In 1929 his naval career began, and by 1933 he was a submarine commander. He took part in the Ethiopian War and during the Spanish Civil War was in command of the Iride.
At the start of the Second World War he took command of submarine Vittor Pisani, and in March 1940 was in command of submarine Sciré, which was modified to carry the new secret Italian weapon, the human torpedo. He surrendered along with his unit when Italy fell. After the Italian army was reinstated the X mas became the Red Brigade. With about six hundred members it excelled in covert operations.
Finally to finish Lanzer’s makeshift army was the Elitäre Kommandozahl 34 was loaned to Lanzer by Severing. With everything he needed, Lanzer made modest plans. First move into Belgium, not to take the province, but to hopefully pull allied troops from other fronts. Second was to make a landing with every troop the KUMD could spare in South Africa. Unlike most German generals at the time Lanzer had no illisiouns of victory. His goal was the make the enemy bleed, nothing more.
The summer of 43’ was not a momentous one. The comintern secured itself, and made no major offensives. The Soviets were halted along the Afghan border, stopping any hopes of going into India. While the Russian army had numbers the only true way into British India was through the thin valleys and canyons. Needless to say the mobile Soviet military machine had to resort to trench warfare. Stalin, as recent documents have shown, constantly changed his opinion of the commander in charge. From April to November of 1943 the Red Afghan Expeditionary Force (RAEF) had twelve Generals taking command.
Germany on the other hand had numerous openings to strike. But it lacked the forces to make any great strides. Most of the German Army (including KUMD rifle brigades, and DFV militia) was in Europe. A good size force was in Italian Ethiopia, and it was decided that the “liberation” of India would use these troops. Field Marshall Erwin Rommel was given total control of the operation on June 21st. He hoped that by July a landing could be made. Most outside of the Indian Ocean theater saw the invasion as failing. Not enough supplies, the navy spread thin, and the army having to force almost monthly landings by the US back into the Atlantic.
Dealing with the devil
Molotov had strict instructions to persuade the Indian spokesman to give the Soviet Union control of India. For the Soviets had an intact society, a growing industry, and was the first Communist state.
Thälmann was give more free reign in discussions. Hitler’s opinion of India is best summed in this letter dated June 5th:
While the needs of the Indian people should be considered at all costs. It will take decades for India to truly embrace Marxist-Hitlerism. The nations of the world shall assist in building up this land, but Germany at this point is only concerned in security and prosperity. Plus the manpower India shall provide can easily tip the forthcoming war with America even more in our favor.
So as Molotov spoke of the noble Soviet, Thälmann offered freedom. It was a promise that when the war ended India would be given independence, but a German presence will exist to assist in building up the nation to German standards. After visiting Germany Gandhi could find nothing wrong in making India have the same standard of living as that of his German allies.
Of all those who fought the British the Sikhs fought the hardest.
One thing both agreed on was giving the Indian rebels more weapons. Gandhi personally hated making deals for weapons, but he always held a belief that the european powers were waiting for the chance to back out on what ever deal they made.
Heart of Darkness
In Africa Belgium, South Africa, and the block of US troops in Algeria remained. Lanzer and his KUMD along with the various allied special operations groups was given the task of defeating these powers and make the African continent open for the Revolution. Between July 15th and 17th a meeting was held in Rome. The topics discussed ranged from supplying local rebels to fight, to full scale war. With Field Marshall’s Rommel, and Kietel holding the majority of divisions, and the Kriegsmarine hording all it can to defend the Western coast Lanzer new a full scale war of out of the question. With eight divisions and well of 100,000 square miles of Africa to cover not many envied the task before the KUMD minister.
To the north the Vichy France Royale I,III, and IV divisions held the line against the well defended American forces. The Royale was created as a military branch for the Milice française under the command of Jacques de Bernonville, a French KUMD officer. Knowing the French army was very unlikely to see any combat beyond guarding roads, and supply dumps, Bernonville set about creating a force that would actually be useful. Trained in partisan warfare, demolitions, and assassinations, the Royale was handcrafted to the standards of the KUMD. The most impressive feat the Royale did was destroying the communication lines around Cairo prior to the German landing.
Near the Belgian Congo was the Italian Red Brigade. When Mussolini and his Fascist regime fell it had under its command a Special forces unit called the Decimas, or X mas. Junio Valerio Borghese was born in Rome into the wealthy Borghese noble family, and educated in London and from 1923 at the Royal Italian Navy Academy (Accademia Navale) in Livorno. In 1929 his naval career began, and by 1933 he was a submarine commander. He took part in the Ethiopian War and during the Spanish Civil War was in command of the Iride.
Junio Valerio Borghese
At the start of the Second World War he took command of submarine Vittor Pisani, and in March 1940 was in command of submarine Sciré, which was modified to carry the new secret Italian weapon, the human torpedo. He surrendered along with his unit when Italy fell. After the Italian army was reinstated the X mas became the Red Brigade. With about six hundred members it excelled in covert operations.
Finally to finish Lanzer’s makeshift army was the Elitäre Kommandozahl 34 was loaned to Lanzer by Severing. With everything he needed, Lanzer made modest plans. First move into Belgium, not to take the province, but to hopefully pull allied troops from other fronts. Second was to make a landing with every troop the KUMD could spare in South Africa. Unlike most German generals at the time Lanzer had no illisiouns of victory. His goal was the make the enemy bleed, nothing more.
Creating a revolution
The Dominion of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of the African continent. South Africa has the largest population of people of European descent in Africa, the largest Indian population in Africa, as well as the largest Colored (of mixed European and African descent) community in Africa, making it one of the most ethnically diverse countries on the continent. Racial and ethnic strife between the black majority and the white minority have played a large part in the country's history and politics. Even though being considered the most diverse of African nations it wasn’t stacked evenly:
The South African army was made up of white citizens in fear of what training the Africans to use guns would do. Jan Smuts (May 24, 1870 – September 11, 1944) was the Prime Minister. He led commandos in the Second Boer War for the Transvaal. Later, he led the armies of South Africa against Germany, capturing Namibia and commanding the British Army in East Africa. He became a Field Marshal in the British Army in 1940, and served in the Imperial War Cabinet under Winston Churchill. Holding both supreme military authority and constitutional power, many Afrikaners saw him as a warlord. He was considered moderate, attempting to end segregation within South Africa, but when England fell he stomped on any and all forms of opposition to his government.
A twenty five year old student named Nelson Mandela became involved in political opposition to the white minority government's denial of political, social, and economic rights to South Africa's black majority. Joining the African National Congress in 1940, he founded its more dynamic Youth League two years later, together with Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and others.
Nelson Mandela was born to a Xhosa family on July 18, 1918 in the village of Tembu, situated on the banks of the Mbashe River in the Transkei. He then moved to Qunu where he lived until he was 9 years old. His father was Hendry Mphakanyiswa Gadla, chief of Tembu. At the age of 7, Rolihlahla Mandela became the first member of his family to attend school, where he was given the name "Nelson" by a Methodist teacher. His father died when he was 10, and Nelson attended a Wesleyan mission school next door to the palace of the Regent. Following Xhosa custom, he was initiated at age 16, and attended Clarkebury Boarding Institute, learning about Western culture. He completed his Junior Certificate in two years, instead of the usual three.
At age 16, in 1934, Mandela moved to the Wesleyan College in Fort Beaufort, which most Thembu royalty attended, and took an interest in boxing and running. After matriculating, he started with his B.A. at the Fort Hare University, where he met Oliver Tambo, and the two became lifelong friends and colleagues.
At the end of his first year, he became involved in a boycott of the Students' Representative Council against the university policies, and was asked to leave Fort Hare. He left for Johannesburg, where he completed his degree at the University of South Africa (UNISA) via correspondence, after which he started with his law studies at the University of Witwatersrand.
Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress (ANC). He was born in Engcobo in the homeland of Transkei (now part of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa). Educated in a local missionary school, he left in 1926 to work. He moved to Johannesburg in 1928 and experienced a wide range of manual jobs. He joined the ANC in 1940.
Oliver Tambo was born into a well to do middle class family. An oddity his father was Oxford educated and worked as a doctor to the county he lived in. When he was 19 he went to Fort Hare University and became involved in politics. After publishing a leaflet, which had his and Nelson Mandela’s names on the top he was promptly expelled.
Prior to 1943 no Communist parties existed. The South African government, made up of the white land owning minority, passed numerous laws banning such groups. In fact of South Africans (the blacks) cared more about achieving political independence, then the needs of the proletariat.
These three men arose, young, black, and militant. The Youth League decided originally upon civil disobedience. On May 9th, 1942 a group of over three hundred dock workers went on strike. The local police, assisted by the army cracked down hard. Twenty one people died, and over one hundred people were injured. Tambo and Mandela pushed for action. Sisulu wanted to continue using non-violence, believing the brutality of the whites could be over come by the blacks not working in their factories.
In public the Unholy Three, as Prime Minister Smuts named them, agreed on how to win civil rights. In private how ever Sisulu set up communications with out side powers and stressed demonstrations, and general strikes, while Mandela and Tambo collected weapons, and made small groups of men willing to fight in a guerrilla war. Called the Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) or the MK.
. By June Sisulu had shut down most of cape town and the west coast. The MK had small groups passing through the country side shooting up truck convoys, and whatever looked to belong to the army. On June 3rd Mandela was given a copy of the Communist Manifesto. A week later the Youth League became the People’s Youth League. Communism had spread to South Africa before a single Comintern solider reached its soil.
Africa settled
By September of 1943 four divisions had landed on the eastern coast of South Africa. Very little resistance was encountered. This on top of the Red Brigade making a daring attack upon the Beglian Congo and securing the nation. The mostly African population welcomed the Germans as liberators. But a brief battle was fought over the South African capital of Cape Town. On the 3rd the Red Army entered the city. For eight hours many assumed the city was free of enemy forces. Then the infantry divisions of the German army encountered two tank divisions, and one artillery division. What followed was intense fighting, while the Germans out numbered the South Africans they had prepared for the fight. From November 3rd to the 22nd the fighting went on till Germany took the city over. A “free” nation was created that day. The area was easy to control, so easy that by February the Germans withdrew to a single division.
The People’s Youth League took control of the state. Walter Sisulu was made the General Secretary, but that only lasted five days. On December 22nd Sisulu was shot by a South African army holdout as he walked to his car. A state funeral was held, and by January 1st Nelson Mandela was made the new Secretary General. Oddly Oliver Tambo was given command of the MK which fell under KUMD control. Many speculate on Mandela’s actions in the assassination of Sisulu, and Tambo being put in a position under German officers, but nothing has really be proven.
The Dominion of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of the African continent. South Africa has the largest population of people of European descent in Africa, the largest Indian population in Africa, as well as the largest Colored (of mixed European and African descent) community in Africa, making it one of the most ethnically diverse countries on the continent. Racial and ethnic strife between the black majority and the white minority have played a large part in the country's history and politics. Even though being considered the most diverse of African nations it wasn’t stacked evenly:
African/Black—79.0 percent
White—9.6 percent
Colored—8.9 percent
Indian/Asian—2.5 percent
White—9.6 percent
Colored—8.9 percent
Indian/Asian—2.5 percent
The South African army was made up of white citizens in fear of what training the Africans to use guns would do. Jan Smuts (May 24, 1870 – September 11, 1944) was the Prime Minister. He led commandos in the Second Boer War for the Transvaal. Later, he led the armies of South Africa against Germany, capturing Namibia and commanding the British Army in East Africa. He became a Field Marshal in the British Army in 1940, and served in the Imperial War Cabinet under Winston Churchill. Holding both supreme military authority and constitutional power, many Afrikaners saw him as a warlord. He was considered moderate, attempting to end segregation within South Africa, but when England fell he stomped on any and all forms of opposition to his government.
At age 16, in 1934, Mandela moved to the Wesleyan College in Fort Beaufort, which most Thembu royalty attended, and took an interest in boxing and running. After matriculating, he started with his B.A. at the Fort Hare University, where he met Oliver Tambo, and the two became lifelong friends and colleagues.
At the end of his first year, he became involved in a boycott of the Students' Representative Council against the university policies, and was asked to leave Fort Hare. He left for Johannesburg, where he completed his degree at the University of South Africa (UNISA) via correspondence, after which he started with his law studies at the University of Witwatersrand.
Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress (ANC). He was born in Engcobo in the homeland of Transkei (now part of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa). Educated in a local missionary school, he left in 1926 to work. He moved to Johannesburg in 1928 and experienced a wide range of manual jobs. He joined the ANC in 1940.
Oliver Tambo was born into a well to do middle class family. An oddity his father was Oxford educated and worked as a doctor to the county he lived in. When he was 19 he went to Fort Hare University and became involved in politics. After publishing a leaflet, which had his and Nelson Mandela’s names on the top he was promptly expelled.
Prior to 1943 no Communist parties existed. The South African government, made up of the white land owning minority, passed numerous laws banning such groups. In fact of South Africans (the blacks) cared more about achieving political independence, then the needs of the proletariat.
In public the Unholy Three, as Prime Minister Smuts named them, agreed on how to win civil rights. In private how ever Sisulu set up communications with out side powers and stressed demonstrations, and general strikes, while Mandela and Tambo collected weapons, and made small groups of men willing to fight in a guerrilla war. Called the Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) or the MK.
. By June Sisulu had shut down most of cape town and the west coast. The MK had small groups passing through the country side shooting up truck convoys, and whatever looked to belong to the army. On June 3rd Mandela was given a copy of the Communist Manifesto. A week later the Youth League became the People’s Youth League. Communism had spread to South Africa before a single Comintern solider reached its soil.
Africa settled
By September of 1943 four divisions had landed on the eastern coast of South Africa. Very little resistance was encountered. This on top of the Red Brigade making a daring attack upon the Beglian Congo and securing the nation. The mostly African population welcomed the Germans as liberators. But a brief battle was fought over the South African capital of Cape Town. On the 3rd the Red Army entered the city. For eight hours many assumed the city was free of enemy forces. Then the infantry divisions of the German army encountered two tank divisions, and one artillery division. What followed was intense fighting, while the Germans out numbered the South Africans they had prepared for the fight. From November 3rd to the 22nd the fighting went on till Germany took the city over. A “free” nation was created that day. The area was easy to control, so easy that by February the Germans withdrew to a single division.
Immensely enjoying this AAR still 
It really draws you in. Keep those great updates coming!
It really draws you in. Keep those great updates coming!
Man the Trenchs!
India was the crown Jewel of the British Empire. But as the German Red Army made plans for the liberation of the area in spring of 43’, the Allies moved troops in to slow down the decline of the last of the free, independent militaries of the European continent. Australian, Canadian, and American troops were stationed in India.
The remaining British army, under the command of General Montgomery totaled eight battle ready infantry divisions. On paper the number was twelve, but four divisions were nothing more then glorified militias. There were also four Tank divisions, and one to two motorized divisions. The once mighty RAF, which had harassed Germany since 1939, was now under the command of the British army. With allied help the British did manage to keep the majority of its ships in good condition. Australia sent six divisions, Canada had five divisions, and the United State had twenty-four Army and Marine divisions.
General Douglas McArthur was given command of the India’s defense. Despite his objects to, “return again” to the Philippines he did as he was ordered. The first thing was to send the Australian and Canadian troops to secure cities and towns on the western half of India. Later entrenchments, and fortifications were constructed around the Afghan border. The Soviet Red army made almost no moves into India, contrary to the boastings of Stalin. McArthur was of the opinion that the Germans would be the only real threat. With no land routes open to Germany the Indian Ocean was the only option they had and combined strength of Anglo-American navies would stop any attack attempted by the Communists. The English army had half of its forces turned into a police force. The other half was allowed to serve with US forces. General Montgomery was unhappy to say the least.
Raising a hand
As all of this was going on, Mahatma Gandhi continued his nonviolent protests of England, and India being in the war. He urged his countrymen to not aide the armies, and a wait the day when an independent India would exist. Vavek Majahra then appeared on the political scene. At twenty-eight he cast a very different figure from Gandhi, tall, muscular, with a deep gravely voice, and no formal education outside of a brief service in the colonial army. In 1940 he joined Gandhi and his nonviolence movement, he was not what anyone would call a violent man. He followed the teachings of Gandhi and saw that violence would do nothing but bring harm to India in the long run. It is hard to say when Majahra changed his political stance, but around 1943 he began speaking of armed resistance to the Allies.
Majahra saw the military cracking down on demonstrators. Gandhi himself was put in jail on October 15 the year before. While the protests did slow India, a bayonet normally got Majahra’s countrymen to go back to work. In February while working at a factory retrofitted to make rifles and other munitions, he witnessed a woman step from her station. Two armed guards told her to go back to work, the woman smiled and shook her head, saying she was tired. She received a rifle butt to the face, and was dragged from the factory floor. A week later in June of 1943 the entire factory stopped. The four to five hundred men and women working there were escorted to the courtyard. Out front stood two squads of English soldiers. What happened next is murky, for Majahra never spoke of the subject in detail. But the following account is from various reports done by a Major Dean Wootton, from army intelligence.
23rd, October 1943
The Quarter Master (Col. Kevin Dobbes) in charge of West Indian munitions has passed a note to my office recently. It shows an anomaly in a Calcutta munitions factory (official name: Calcutta Rifle Works #20341, locals call it the cannery). A request was filed to see if the rifles rejected for use, was due to sabotage within the line. Of the four thousand rifles created last week thirty-eight were found to be tooled incorrectly. I have ordered an investigation, just to make sure this isn’t an overzealous clerk’s fantasy.
12, December 1943
Investigations into case 310-22345-23-10-43 have shown probable cause of inappropriate use of British military equipment. Over the past three years a total of 496 out of 10,000 rifles have been reported unfit for military use that, according to reports given, should pass an inspection. In a course of three months forty alone have been deemed unfit. Also each day (starting April 15th 1943) anywhere from thirty to fifty rifle cartridges are missing. The factory also assembles hand grenades (total loss to date: 163), mortar rounds (total loss to date: 77), and mortar launchers themselves (total loss to date: 0. Mortar Springs: 13 Mortar tubes: 8 Mortar base: 6)
It is my belief that these acts on the face of things appear to be standard problems within any factory. But they are odd. The rifles turned down, due to improper tooling, are because of a small lump formed outside the barrel. My question is why are the rifles discarded? Cannot a new barrel be added? Does a small lump do any harm to the inner workings of a rifle? Losing thirty to forty bullets a day may seem minor, but I personally can fit twenty cartridges in my uniform without appearing to be hiding anything, and did so on the assembly line floor. The rounds of ammunition lost or stolen equal to about 9600 clips. That equals about 18 clips per rifle. A pattern is here. And it could mean trouble for our already thin forces.
5, June 1943
Lt. James Anderson, (USA 9th army 901-2538-0808) and myself interrogated a man arrested with a small box with a Nambu pistol (Japanese military issue) inside. After searching both British, and American intelligence files we know the man to be Abu Rahil (file # 287-427689-05-01-43). Rahil is linked to Nationalist partisan movements in Eastern India.
At 0231 Rahil confessed to delivering the weapon to a local Nationalist Kamal Kalai. Kalai is a worker at the Munitions factory, and according to Rahil has been stock piling weapons for future action against the government, and had sent a request for Japanese small arms to bolster his own. (Note: Rahil is to be shot on June 7th at 0630.)
15, June 1943
The factory was shut down. After every employee was assembled in the courtyard (483 total), my men each selected seven workers, from lists created prior to the raid. I had the hundred and twelve stand straight in front of me. I inquired each one as to who was involved with Kalai, and where his weapons were. I can report we have gained 112 of the 496 rifles with only eighty-six liquidations needed.
This rather lifeless description of what occurred on June 15th may not seem like much in the war as a whole. But Majahra saw his friends get shot one by one, and they just stood there and let them. The next day is when Majahra began taking small bits of rifle parts home. He assembled two rifles, and later bought bullets for them. He met with fellow followers of Gandhi, and showed them the rifles. His question was simple, “Do I fight alone?” What followed for the next five months were Majahra roaming India’s cities, and countryside shooting random Allied soldiers. His group (Indian Redemption League) at its height had thirty members, but well over two thousand murders where attributed to Majahra. Whether is figure is accurate is doubtful, but it added to the mystique of the group.
In August Majahra met a German spy, who offered weapons in return for attacking targets vital to a German landing. The German offer wasn’t very appealing to Majahra, but after a demonstration of the German MP-44 submachine gun, and the Walther PPK he took the offer up, and very quickly the Indian Redemption League became the face of the Indian communist revolutionary movement. The movement had two effects. One the Allied soldiers stuck to the cities, and held onto them hard. The other was that German Army Group A landing in India with little to no resistance in September. Rommel, along with various KPD members watched over as Majahra signed the Republic of India's provisional constitution.
India was the crown Jewel of the British Empire. But as the German Red Army made plans for the liberation of the area in spring of 43’, the Allies moved troops in to slow down the decline of the last of the free, independent militaries of the European continent. Australian, Canadian, and American troops were stationed in India.
Raising a hand
As all of this was going on, Mahatma Gandhi continued his nonviolent protests of England, and India being in the war. He urged his countrymen to not aide the armies, and a wait the day when an independent India would exist. Vavek Majahra then appeared on the political scene. At twenty-eight he cast a very different figure from Gandhi, tall, muscular, with a deep gravely voice, and no formal education outside of a brief service in the colonial army. In 1940 he joined Gandhi and his nonviolence movement, he was not what anyone would call a violent man. He followed the teachings of Gandhi and saw that violence would do nothing but bring harm to India in the long run. It is hard to say when Majahra changed his political stance, but around 1943 he began speaking of armed resistance to the Allies.
Majahra saw the military cracking down on demonstrators. Gandhi himself was put in jail on October 15 the year before. While the protests did slow India, a bayonet normally got Majahra’s countrymen to go back to work. In February while working at a factory retrofitted to make rifles and other munitions, he witnessed a woman step from her station. Two armed guards told her to go back to work, the woman smiled and shook her head, saying she was tired. She received a rifle butt to the face, and was dragged from the factory floor. A week later in June of 1943 the entire factory stopped. The four to five hundred men and women working there were escorted to the courtyard. Out front stood two squads of English soldiers. What happened next is murky, for Majahra never spoke of the subject in detail. But the following account is from various reports done by a Major Dean Wootton, from army intelligence.
23rd, October 1943
The Quarter Master (Col. Kevin Dobbes) in charge of West Indian munitions has passed a note to my office recently. It shows an anomaly in a Calcutta munitions factory (official name: Calcutta Rifle Works #20341, locals call it the cannery). A request was filed to see if the rifles rejected for use, was due to sabotage within the line. Of the four thousand rifles created last week thirty-eight were found to be tooled incorrectly. I have ordered an investigation, just to make sure this isn’t an overzealous clerk’s fantasy.
12, December 1943
Investigations into case 310-22345-23-10-43 have shown probable cause of inappropriate use of British military equipment. Over the past three years a total of 496 out of 10,000 rifles have been reported unfit for military use that, according to reports given, should pass an inspection. In a course of three months forty alone have been deemed unfit. Also each day (starting April 15th 1943) anywhere from thirty to fifty rifle cartridges are missing. The factory also assembles hand grenades (total loss to date: 163), mortar rounds (total loss to date: 77), and mortar launchers themselves (total loss to date: 0. Mortar Springs: 13 Mortar tubes: 8 Mortar base: 6)
It is my belief that these acts on the face of things appear to be standard problems within any factory. But they are odd. The rifles turned down, due to improper tooling, are because of a small lump formed outside the barrel. My question is why are the rifles discarded? Cannot a new barrel be added? Does a small lump do any harm to the inner workings of a rifle? Losing thirty to forty bullets a day may seem minor, but I personally can fit twenty cartridges in my uniform without appearing to be hiding anything, and did so on the assembly line floor. The rounds of ammunition lost or stolen equal to about 9600 clips. That equals about 18 clips per rifle. A pattern is here. And it could mean trouble for our already thin forces.
5, June 1943
Lt. James Anderson, (USA 9th army 901-2538-0808) and myself interrogated a man arrested with a small box with a Nambu pistol (Japanese military issue) inside. After searching both British, and American intelligence files we know the man to be Abu Rahil (file # 287-427689-05-01-43). Rahil is linked to Nationalist partisan movements in Eastern India.
At 0231 Rahil confessed to delivering the weapon to a local Nationalist Kamal Kalai. Kalai is a worker at the Munitions factory, and according to Rahil has been stock piling weapons for future action against the government, and had sent a request for Japanese small arms to bolster his own. (Note: Rahil is to be shot on June 7th at 0630.)
15, June 1943
The factory was shut down. After every employee was assembled in the courtyard (483 total), my men each selected seven workers, from lists created prior to the raid. I had the hundred and twelve stand straight in front of me. I inquired each one as to who was involved with Kalai, and where his weapons were. I can report we have gained 112 of the 496 rifles with only eighty-six liquidations needed.
This rather lifeless description of what occurred on June 15th may not seem like much in the war as a whole. But Majahra saw his friends get shot one by one, and they just stood there and let them. The next day is when Majahra began taking small bits of rifle parts home. He assembled two rifles, and later bought bullets for them. He met with fellow followers of Gandhi, and showed them the rifles. His question was simple, “Do I fight alone?” What followed for the next five months were Majahra roaming India’s cities, and countryside shooting random Allied soldiers. His group (Indian Redemption League) at its height had thirty members, but well over two thousand murders where attributed to Majahra. Whether is figure is accurate is doubtful, but it added to the mystique of the group.
Majahra, right, signing himself in as chairmen of the new communist India.
Rommel Unleashed
Rommel’s invasion of India was seriously flawed. With hardly enough ships to escort the transports, the majority of German troops went along the Indian ocean in a poorly armed freighter and maybe one destroyer for every three transports. The Kriegsmarine had its eight battleships patrolling the Atlantic to stop another landing attempt on England. This left destroyers, and submarines to disturb shipping. Hitler was in the way as well, seeing the United States, and English fleets still roaming the Atlantic, and fearing the revolution not ending before 1948 as he envisioned. His orders to the navy called for fake convoys sailing close to Allied fleets. After the allies took the bait the convoy would lead them to the eight battleships and two aircraft carriers of the People’s High Seas Fleet.
Rommel, faced with the challenge, focused one scraping together what ships he could. German Fleet One (GFO), a unimportant sounding name given to the center of Rommel’s entire strategy to get the Red Army into India. The bulk of the transport ships would make an almost suicidal run at the Southern tip of India. On December 13, 1943 the GFO went through the Suez Canal and went south. To the Allied navies it appeared the Germans were attempting to reinforce their position in South Africa. The six transports had four destroyers, and a few subs to screen them. Interestingly enough the transports reached the Indian coast safely by December 29th. The GFO on the other hand was slaughtered, by an almost four to one advantage by the allies.
Rommel personally led the first tank onto Indian soil. A small garrison was near by, but it equaled a single platoon worth of men. At 0735 January 6, 1944 the German hammer and sickle flew over Madras. The local British commander Jacob Mosely surrendered along with his men, there were small pockets of intense resistance, but the bulk of British troops laid their arms down. As column after column of German troops walked through the city, Indian men and women stood by the side of the road cheering them on.
Stealing the Jewel
Johan Whalen, a German army engineer in charge of analyzing the city and surrounding countryside for defensive purposes, wrote this:
“ It is a very odd place indeed. I have walked from the harbor, all the way to the edge of town, plains rolling on before me, the thick jungles off in the distance. The city itself is easy to defend; the British did most of the work for us. But the city has an odd atmosphere. What white people we see run into their homes and hide. The Indians though treat us like Kings. Hitler spoke of how the proletariat of the world would welcome us as liberators. But I think India is the first country to actually show us gratitude for freeing them.”
The people of India did welcome the Germans. On numerous occasions local businessmen, and anyone who spoke out against the Germans were dragged to the center of the street and forced to sit there with a sign saying “spy” in German till a soldier could arrest them. Those who moved from the street normally found themselves dead. With well over 90% of India’s population in poverty the message of fiscal, and racial equality, plus a classless system appealed to many Indians.
Securing the rear
Within the Red Army was a unit of forty KUMD investigators, and twenty DFV party officers. The KUMD was under the command of Ulrike Mienhof, made famous for his actions in France and later England the latter giving him the nick name “ Butcher Jerry,” Mienhof was a devote Communist, but had numerous vices that seemed to haunt his career.
When Hitler took power in 1932 he worked in a department store in Berlin as a stock boy at the age of twenty. The owner and a few of his friends spoke of how to fight off the communists before they all lost their stores. After the owner of the store, Erich Murdendroff, docked Mienhof of a days pay for ruining almost sixty dresses, he told the KUMD about the plot, and after the arrest was given a job within the party. The plot, was not an actual plan to combat the new regime, but fight to keep their positions within the department store. In 1937 he was made a Political Investigator in the KUMD, a new group created to assist police officers outside of the party structure. Having almost an instinctive edge over his fellow investigators Mienhof captured no less then forty-two reactionaries by himself. The fact that one actually was a spy spoke volumes of Mienhof. He himself claims he was able to spin his over zealousness into a party career.
At ten minutes to midnight when the party elite were to watch a fireworks show out on the balcony they had to move through a long hallway. The British where waiting for them closing one door after throwing a grenade in, then three men stood side by side mowing down Germans and collaborators with submachine guns. Twelve men died, and over thirty were wounded.
Mienhof was not at this party, he was bringing in the New Year with some where between three to five women in his staff on the other side of London. Upon hearing of the news he was moved to the Tower of London and met with Major General Martinek who the highest ranking officer in London, and his staff. Numerous German officers where injured, and Joseph Nye the KUMD Colonel was killed. As the only KUMD officer available Mienhof became acting head of London’s secret police. The next day, the KUMD assisted by German troops stomped on London hard. Three thousand arrests, sixty dead, various buildings raided, and it was all under Mienhofs control. The legend of “Butcher Jerry” was born that day.
Alongside Mienhof in India was a DVF advisor named Horst Mahler, a lawyer who joined the Communist party when the Germans swept into Austria. Mahler was almost the polar opposite of Mienhof. He did not drink, smoke, or sleep with anyone who wasn’t his wife. He joined the DVF at gunpoint, but once there he learned he had somewhat of a knack for public speaking. He had gone all through Europe and spoke about the benefits of joining the DVF. He had no official authority, but Rommel thought his light-handed police tactics would even out the harsh actions of his KUMD counterpart.
Rommel’s invasion of India was seriously flawed. With hardly enough ships to escort the transports, the majority of German troops went along the Indian ocean in a poorly armed freighter and maybe one destroyer for every three transports. The Kriegsmarine had its eight battleships patrolling the Atlantic to stop another landing attempt on England. This left destroyers, and submarines to disturb shipping. Hitler was in the way as well, seeing the United States, and English fleets still roaming the Atlantic, and fearing the revolution not ending before 1948 as he envisioned. His orders to the navy called for fake convoys sailing close to Allied fleets. After the allies took the bait the convoy would lead them to the eight battleships and two aircraft carriers of the People’s High Seas Fleet.
Rommel, faced with the challenge, focused one scraping together what ships he could. German Fleet One (GFO), a unimportant sounding name given to the center of Rommel’s entire strategy to get the Red Army into India. The bulk of the transport ships would make an almost suicidal run at the Southern tip of India. On December 13, 1943 the GFO went through the Suez Canal and went south. To the Allied navies it appeared the Germans were attempting to reinforce their position in South Africa. The six transports had four destroyers, and a few subs to screen them. Interestingly enough the transports reached the Indian coast safely by December 29th. The GFO on the other hand was slaughtered, by an almost four to one advantage by the allies.
Stealing the Jewel
Johan Whalen, a German army engineer in charge of analyzing the city and surrounding countryside for defensive purposes, wrote this:
“ It is a very odd place indeed. I have walked from the harbor, all the way to the edge of town, plains rolling on before me, the thick jungles off in the distance. The city itself is easy to defend; the British did most of the work for us. But the city has an odd atmosphere. What white people we see run into their homes and hide. The Indians though treat us like Kings. Hitler spoke of how the proletariat of the world would welcome us as liberators. But I think India is the first country to actually show us gratitude for freeing them.”
The people of India did welcome the Germans. On numerous occasions local businessmen, and anyone who spoke out against the Germans were dragged to the center of the street and forced to sit there with a sign saying “spy” in German till a soldier could arrest them. Those who moved from the street normally found themselves dead. With well over 90% of India’s population in poverty the message of fiscal, and racial equality, plus a classless system appealed to many Indians.
British troops marching to engage the German army.
The German troops in India spread out into neighboring provinces very slowly. Rommel, famous for the speed of his forces, decided on a slow pace building up defenses and waiting for logistical support to stockpile. General McArthur reacted to the Germans in an odd way. “Let Monty handle it,” were his orders. Six divisions of German soldiers, was hardly worth the time of his men. The Japanese and the Soviets were considered a larger threat, even though the Soviets had not moved since 1943, and the Japanese had their hands full in the Pacific, and in China.
Within the Red Army was a unit of forty KUMD investigators, and twenty DFV party officers. The KUMD was under the command of Ulrike Mienhof, made famous for his actions in France and later England the latter giving him the nick name “ Butcher Jerry,” Mienhof was a devote Communist, but had numerous vices that seemed to haunt his career.
When Hitler took power in 1932 he worked in a department store in Berlin as a stock boy at the age of twenty. The owner and a few of his friends spoke of how to fight off the communists before they all lost their stores. After the owner of the store, Erich Murdendroff, docked Mienhof of a days pay for ruining almost sixty dresses, he told the KUMD about the plot, and after the arrest was given a job within the party. The plot, was not an actual plan to combat the new regime, but fight to keep their positions within the department store. In 1937 he was made a Political Investigator in the KUMD, a new group created to assist police officers outside of the party structure. Having almost an instinctive edge over his fellow investigators Mienhof captured no less then forty-two reactionaries by himself. The fact that one actually was a spy spoke volumes of Mienhof. He himself claims he was able to spin his over zealousness into a party career.
Mienhof, seen smoking a cigarette.
When France was occupied Mienhof was granted a higher rank of Group Commander ( equivalent of a Sergeant) and men to command. Once again he tore through his assigned area, checking every house, questioning anyone who looked out of place which happened to be anyone who did not make his life more comfortable. In March 29, 1941 his men captured a Frenchmen with a pistol and plans to kill a local French Communist. The prisoner claims this was not for political reasons, but for the communist sleeping with his wife. Once again Mienhof was seen as a master at the cat and mouse game of intelligence and security. In November he went to London. He ranked as a Community Senior Officer ( equivalent of a Major) and had close to two hundred men to command. Around New Years eve, when most of the KUMD officers decided to celebrate in Buckingham Palace, a small group of British Partisans known as the Guy Fawkes Brigade snuck in. Led by Lt. Joseph Persico the band of twelve made numerous raids upon the German military in London. In August of 1942 the group become famous for its successful bombing of the paraliament building, during the first meeting of the British Communist Party, or New Labor in British circles.
A picture of the Guy Fawkes Brigade.
At ten minutes to midnight when the party elite were to watch a fireworks show out on the balcony they had to move through a long hallway. The British where waiting for them closing one door after throwing a grenade in, then three men stood side by side mowing down Germans and collaborators with submachine guns. Twelve men died, and over thirty were wounded.
Mienhof was not at this party, he was bringing in the New Year with some where between three to five women in his staff on the other side of London. Upon hearing of the news he was moved to the Tower of London and met with Major General Martinek who the highest ranking officer in London, and his staff. Numerous German officers where injured, and Joseph Nye the KUMD Colonel was killed. As the only KUMD officer available Mienhof became acting head of London’s secret police. The next day, the KUMD assisted by German troops stomped on London hard. Three thousand arrests, sixty dead, various buildings raided, and it was all under Mienhofs control. The legend of “Butcher Jerry” was born that day.
Alongside Mienhof in India was a DVF advisor named Horst Mahler, a lawyer who joined the Communist party when the Germans swept into Austria. Mahler was almost the polar opposite of Mienhof. He did not drink, smoke, or sleep with anyone who wasn’t his wife. He joined the DVF at gunpoint, but once there he learned he had somewhat of a knack for public speaking. He had gone all through Europe and spoke about the benefits of joining the DVF. He had no official authority, but Rommel thought his light-handed police tactics would even out the harsh actions of his KUMD counterpart.
Horst Mahler, third from the left looking at the camera.
If you lined all the Fenwick AARs end to end, it would be long enough to reach the moon. :nods:
Allied Response
New York celebrated the coming of 1943 by turning its lights off. The cities on the east coast were blacked out on December 31. A fishing boat reported seeing a large hull under the water near Maine. Many in the government believed this was the first sign of a German invasion. Newspapers had stories about planes being spotted from Rhode Island, to Florida. There was no invasion though, but everyone knew it had to be coming. Civil Defense forces began including armed members, “just in case.”
FDR had his hands full in 1942, balancing a war on fronts never intended to be fought on, handling the influx of refugees from Europe, taking care of the American people, and becoming the De Facto leader of the Allies. In Washington he met frequently with Winston Churchill who had taken up residence at the British embassy. They spoke of many things, Churchill wanting to attempt a landing in Britain knowing the people would back the King and himself, while FDR preferred to land in France and make a end run at Berlin. In the end though he focused on building up the army in America, and Canada.
General George S. Patton was not a happy man. He had bounced around the globe more then he had ever thought possible. Fighting the KUMD, and Vichy France in Northern Africa, then being reassigned to the failed Belgium landing, then the failed Netherlands landing, and then the failed landing in France. Now he was in Washington DC, spending his days staring at a desk. He helped design the new Sherman tanks, monstrous heavy tanks with 100mm cannon on it. Patton wanted out of his office, he wanted to go fight. By November of 1942 he was invited to talk about how to defend America in case of German invasion. In a staff meeting with FDR, and Generals Bradley and Eisenhower, he laid out his plans calling for pulling the Germans into cities and grinding them down. Eisenhower preferred a static defense wanting the Navy and Army air corp. to scout for enemy ships and move forces to where they are needed. Bradley spoke in terms of life and death wanting every foot of ground to be a blood bath for the Germans to take. He also shocked many when he spoke of requesting peace with the Japanese.
FDR listened to many arguments, and counterarguments for the three plans. Near the end he inquired as to how, and when a large attack could be made on Europe itself. Eisenhower said he would need at least a year so navy; army, and air could coordinate itself. McArthur would later send a letter calling for securing England and using it to carpet-bomb Germany’s industry. Patton said he needed six months.
Operation Betty Davis (originally called Knockout, but a staff officer thought it wasn’t funny so it was changed) called for four attacks. A small landing in Belgium or Holland, another landing in France, one in Ireland, and the main force to be in Spain. The plan made use of Patton’s previous experiences. A single landing would do nothing, but multiple landings of various sizes could, and would spread enemy forces enough to succeed in beating them back. FDR was interested and spoke with Patton and his staff.
The following is a transcript from that meeting.
ROOSEVELT: I see how much material, and men you need George. But tell me why this is any better then Ike’s plan to take Africa.
PATTON: The Germans, as I have seen them, are not the poor soldiers with good guns McArthur makes them out to be. Most of their strength lies in how fast they move their men around.
ROOSEVELT: But three…excuse me four landings? Could not our forces be better used in one big push as [General Macarthur] stated?
PATTON: Maybe Mr. President, but having our forces spread out makes the Germans do the same. I am afraid if we go head to head they will win.
ROOSEVELT: That’s understandable. But why Spain?
PATTON: Spain allows [US forces] in Morroco to get reinforced, and if done properly we will bottle the Germans in the Mediterranean. Also the Spain itself offers a staging point. The air force can use the land; the navy can use the ports, and [the army] can use the terrain.
Shock and awe
In June of 1944 as Canadian and British forces tried to halt the expanding German offensive in India, a small landing was made on the shores of Ireland. With few soldiers, and even fewer aircraft the small island nation was quickly over run by General Omar Bradley.
To the south France had its north western tip invaded. Further South the 101st airborne division landed a division in Spain. After securing the site Operation Betty Davis was under way. Patton himself led his forces deep into Republican Spain on June 17th, taking Madrid in two weeks. News of the attacks was a shock to the Germans. Hitler in a panic recalled Rommel and his forces believing the final battle was at hand. Rommel having no real choice, and losing men to the combined might of American, and English soldiers had to pull out.
New York celebrated the coming of 1943 by turning its lights off. The cities on the east coast were blacked out on December 31. A fishing boat reported seeing a large hull under the water near Maine. Many in the government believed this was the first sign of a German invasion. Newspapers had stories about planes being spotted from Rhode Island, to Florida. There was no invasion though, but everyone knew it had to be coming. Civil Defense forces began including armed members, “just in case.”
General George S. Patton was not a happy man. He had bounced around the globe more then he had ever thought possible. Fighting the KUMD, and Vichy France in Northern Africa, then being reassigned to the failed Belgium landing, then the failed Netherlands landing, and then the failed landing in France. Now he was in Washington DC, spending his days staring at a desk. He helped design the new Sherman tanks, monstrous heavy tanks with 100mm cannon on it. Patton wanted out of his office, he wanted to go fight. By November of 1942 he was invited to talk about how to defend America in case of German invasion. In a staff meeting with FDR, and Generals Bradley and Eisenhower, he laid out his plans calling for pulling the Germans into cities and grinding them down. Eisenhower preferred a static defense wanting the Navy and Army air corp. to scout for enemy ships and move forces to where they are needed. Bradley spoke in terms of life and death wanting every foot of ground to be a blood bath for the Germans to take. He also shocked many when he spoke of requesting peace with the Japanese.
FDR listened to many arguments, and counterarguments for the three plans. Near the end he inquired as to how, and when a large attack could be made on Europe itself. Eisenhower said he would need at least a year so navy; army, and air could coordinate itself. McArthur would later send a letter calling for securing England and using it to carpet-bomb Germany’s industry. Patton said he needed six months.
The following is a transcript from that meeting.
ROOSEVELT: I see how much material, and men you need George. But tell me why this is any better then Ike’s plan to take Africa.
PATTON: The Germans, as I have seen them, are not the poor soldiers with good guns McArthur makes them out to be. Most of their strength lies in how fast they move their men around.
ROOSEVELT: But three…excuse me four landings? Could not our forces be better used in one big push as [General Macarthur] stated?
PATTON: Maybe Mr. President, but having our forces spread out makes the Germans do the same. I am afraid if we go head to head they will win.
ROOSEVELT: That’s understandable. But why Spain?
PATTON: Spain allows [US forces] in Morroco to get reinforced, and if done properly we will bottle the Germans in the Mediterranean. Also the Spain itself offers a staging point. The air force can use the land; the navy can use the ports, and [the army] can use the terrain.
Shock and awe
In June of 1944 as Canadian and British forces tried to halt the expanding German offensive in India, a small landing was made on the shores of Ireland. With few soldiers, and even fewer aircraft the small island nation was quickly over run by General Omar Bradley.
Jesus! The US in Madrid and Belfast! Let's hope something is pulled out of the bag quickly.
He walks up to the microphone. Dressed in a simple black suit, white shirt, and black tie, he smiles out at the crowd. Tapping the microphone, and clearing his throat.
"Today Decmeber 3rd, 2005, I Fenwick will end my German Communist AAR. Not only that, I will be writing for HOI2 and Victoria from now on. The games has lead me astray, and I shall not go back to HOI. I thank all who read, and apologize for ending so soon. Thank you."
"Today Decmeber 3rd, 2005, I Fenwick will end my German Communist AAR. Not only that, I will be writing for HOI2 and Victoria from now on. The games has lead me astray, and I shall not go back to HOI. I thank all who read, and apologize for ending so soon. Thank you."