-- The 1st of March - the 31st of march
Yunnan surrendered as expected after 3 months.
***
In Italy a surprise amphibious invasion by the Germans was launched.
But incoming reinforcements caused the invasion to fail.
The Swiss front was slowly expanding.
This was balanced by the loss of yet another province on the Danish front.
***
In Memel the German defenders were slowly being worn down and it was now a matter of time before they surrender.
The Danzig pocket was also being crushed as the Soviet troops closed in on the port city.
***
The liberation of Italy came to a stop as the Soviet troops were unable to cross the Straits of Messina due to an interfering enemy navy.
***
With the slow destruction of the Danish front and the lack of progress into Germany, Stalin had decided that another front line was needed.
A meeting was called so Stalin could discuss this idea with his generals.
Stalin: Evening everyone, I have called you here to discuss the possibility of opening another front to the Germans.
Stalin: Any ideas?
General: The only non-amphibious assault we can make is through Spain, Sir.
Stalin: Spain? Hmm.
Stalin: That would require us to move a large invasion force across the Mediterranean and keep them supplied and reinforced.
General: Yes sir, but I'm sure we can pull it off. All we need are transports.
General: And of course a lot less enemy ships.
Stalin: What do you propose?
General: I suggest that we force Italy to surrender completely, so that we do not have to worry about their navy.
General: And if we can close the Suez canal as well, the large number of German ships passing through the Mediterranean will drop, as they will be forced to move their supplies the long way south of Africa.
Stalin: Excellent idea, general.
Stalin: How close are the Italians to surrendering?
General: Our spies indicate they are roughly halfway.
General: And almost all of their remaining important cities are in northern Africa.
General: What we must do is the following.
General: A swift attack along the red axis will allow us to strike deep into Italian territory and deny both them and the Germans access to some of their Mediterranean ports.
General: It will also allow us to capture Suez as indicated by the yellow line.
General: The blue arrows indicate the required liberation of Turkish cities in order to facilitate the capture of Italian Africa.
Stalin: Good, good. I assume we can capture all of North Africa this way?
General: Yes sir, I expect us to control the Mediterranean after this campaign. Spain will be defenceless after this.
Stalin: Good, begin building transport and deploy troops near Turkey.
Yunnan surrendered as expected after 3 months.
***
In Italy a surprise amphibious invasion by the Germans was launched.
But incoming reinforcements caused the invasion to fail.
The Swiss front was slowly expanding.
This was balanced by the loss of yet another province on the Danish front.
***
In Memel the German defenders were slowly being worn down and it was now a matter of time before they surrender.
The Danzig pocket was also being crushed as the Soviet troops closed in on the port city.
***
The liberation of Italy came to a stop as the Soviet troops were unable to cross the Straits of Messina due to an interfering enemy navy.
***
With the slow destruction of the Danish front and the lack of progress into Germany, Stalin had decided that another front line was needed.
A meeting was called so Stalin could discuss this idea with his generals.
Stalin: Evening everyone, I have called you here to discuss the possibility of opening another front to the Germans.
Stalin: Any ideas?
General: The only non-amphibious assault we can make is through Spain, Sir.
Stalin: Spain? Hmm.
Stalin: That would require us to move a large invasion force across the Mediterranean and keep them supplied and reinforced.
General: Yes sir, but I'm sure we can pull it off. All we need are transports.
General: And of course a lot less enemy ships.
Stalin: What do you propose?
General: I suggest that we force Italy to surrender completely, so that we do not have to worry about their navy.
General: And if we can close the Suez canal as well, the large number of German ships passing through the Mediterranean will drop, as they will be forced to move their supplies the long way south of Africa.
Stalin: Excellent idea, general.
Stalin: How close are the Italians to surrendering?
General: Our spies indicate they are roughly halfway.
General: And almost all of their remaining important cities are in northern Africa.
General: What we must do is the following.
General: A swift attack along the red axis will allow us to strike deep into Italian territory and deny both them and the Germans access to some of their Mediterranean ports.
General: It will also allow us to capture Suez as indicated by the yellow line.
General: The blue arrows indicate the required liberation of Turkish cities in order to facilitate the capture of Italian Africa.
Stalin: Good, good. I assume we can capture all of North Africa this way?
General: Yes sir, I expect us to control the Mediterranean after this campaign. Spain will be defenceless after this.
Stalin: Good, begin building transport and deploy troops near Turkey.
