Panzerdammerung
Long has this moment been waited. Thirty years is not enough to stave away the sheer anger that germany feels towards the traitorous western powers for the humiliating Versailles treaty. Some soldiers were alive when this shame came upon them. But no more.
First, however, the Fuhrer feels the need to do a check on our enemies. The Soviet army is understandably huge, twice our total size at this point. It is important to note that most of our manpower reserves have still not been used, and should the war work out the way the Fuhrer intends to, we wont need to use them.
The french army has clearly not moved on with the times. Intelligence reports that most of their army is composed of infantry and that they have a small armored reserve. They will be easily dealt with.
The usurping United Kingdom. They suffer from their lack of effort for the war, it is clear. Their bomber masses have been dealt with mostly, so it is not a serious problem for our mighty Luftwaffe to hold them back now, considering the new batch of 5 interceptors. Their fleet, though mighty, is mostly composed of older models which lack modernization, and our submarines are at the peak of their technological developments. It seems victory has defeated them.
Our army is gathered. Our Slovakian allies man up on the Sigfried line, as to draw french forces there. France expects an attack upon Belgium, while the foolish belgians expect us to uphold their neutrality. Hah! Had they simply let us pass through them during the great war, we might respect them. For the main attack sector, we have 18 armored divisions, supported by 30ish infantry divisions and 39ish motorized divisions. The preparations are made. Let us deliver the hammerblow!
The Luftwaffe, consisting of 9 wings of Tactical bombers, are ordered to interdict the enemy forces on Belgian soil. Most of the french and british airforce is still diverted on supporting strategic bombing campaigns on german cities, so the bombers will have little trouble in bombing the french back to the dark ages.
Unlike the invasion of Poland, which was essentially an attack against their heart, this will instead aim to cut off the head from the body. Our main panzerarmee will strike not through middle belgium, as the french expect, but through Luxembourgh, which will confuse the french as to the objective of the attack. From Arlon, we will move north to Liege and Namur, leaving it secured with our infantry and special forces group, then finally we will move south through Mons, outflanking both the north and south french frontlines. Once we are through, a third of the panzerarmee will head to Paris and beyond, while the other two thirds head north, to cut off the french coastline and destroy the french forces through a massive Kesselslacht.
Our northern front is simply a screening force, designed to keep the french unaware of our main objective at worst, and to make the french divert forces to other areas at best. Though at first Netherland's neutrality was going to be secured, it was eventually decided that having a western-friendly neutral power right next to holy Germany would be incredibly dangerous, and so it is decided to declare war on them. The first action they faced was an attack by our bombers on the city, with orders from the Fuhrer to 'not destroy the city, merely attack the garrison'. The 5e Divisie was caught completely off guard and it's combat efficiency was reduced to nothing, with a single bomber failing to return from this sortie. In the south, the other bomber wing attacks Luxembourgh, whose land army is obliterated when faced against the full might of the Heer.
The offensive begins!
Luxemburg falls with no problems, and it's territory is officially annexed to the german Reich. At Arlon the Panzerarmee reaches quickly enough, and attacks the two french infantry divisions. Despite a hill location, the outnumbered and terrified french will not hold out for long.
Liege and Namur are swiftly brushed aside. And it is here that the battles begins to take apocaliptic proportions. The french deployment had been so slow that they were still deploying INTO belgium when we attacked, so instead of facing french forces in the north of belgium, we face french forces on the rear of belgium. Was this a deliberate plan, or did the french simply decide to sacrifice their staunch belgian ally? Rommel's panzers discover that the intelligence area of the army will need serious purging: their so called Foot army is composed of older trucks, but all well equipped with a myriad of infanty support tanks and recon vehicles. Fortunately for Rommel, these Infantry Tanks are slow and easily destroyed, even if we must first get close to do so.
The situation has changed. We have seen the best the french have to offer, and Germany laughs in their face. The french army suffers from manning a large border with germany, as well as with Italy in the south, and so they send whatever can be spared to hold at Mons. The result is something that defies all of the reporters from both sides of the conflict: The mighty french army, once considered the most powerful army in the world, is getting destroyed. Rommel is given a temporary role of leadership, and leads his men brilliantly, smashing french defensive lines and striking deep into their rear, the motorized divisions following close behind, and the infantry and Special Forces clearing out the remaining french pockets of resistance on the battlefield.
At the same time this happens, the forces attacking Netherlands first attack Arnhem, trapping 3 Netherland divisions and capturing them mostly intact.
Mons has fallen! Rommel however, a genius of mobile warfare and an old Great War soldier, tells the men not to rest, and pushes on south with his panzer forces. At Sedan, the french had managed to muster a reserve, originally intended to rotate in and out of Mons, as per the obsolete french concept of trench warfare. The fall of Mons is a harsh blow, and these reserve forces had barely time to dig in before the Panzer forces strike directly at them. In open ground, with little in the way of Anti Tank equipment, they will soon fall. Also, back in Aachen, a single reserve panzer division, supported by infantry at Aachen and Cologne, strikes at Maastrich, trapping four belgian divisions inside. The way to Hasselt and Eindhoven is clear, and so is the way clear to the south.
Sedan falls. Not a factor that shocked german soldiers, but the fact that Reims fell, along with it's valuable airfield and 600 french fighter wings are destroyed on their airports, never expecting to see German forces so deep into their rear.
With Rheims broken, the road to the west, and to Paris, lays exposed and inviting. Instead of the older leadership and commanding styles of other armies, that wait for a chain of command to give the orders and who have no idea of the situation at the front, German forces have a leadership and command structure based on initiative, and are allowed to commandeer forces from other areas to achieve strategic objectives with minimal losses. Hasselt falls to the north, and the Falchirmjaeger corps are sent to deny the french a strategic foothold there.
Rommel broke down in tears when he blitzed straight onto Paris. There were no french forces there to fight; The french population at first received them with cheers, thinking them to be french armored divisions, however the truth came down with shocking weight. Little looting or stopping took over the german forces, who had orders to move north and west, to cut off the french off their supply lines, and to strike deep into the empty rear french area.
In the central front, the forces there set had achieved their objectives with incredible ease. Rotterdam was going to fall and trap Amsterdam and it's defenders, Hasselt had held and the french were now cut in two. Throughout all of this, the lack of a british force, other than the constant bombing attacks they launched against german forces, had led many to believe that they had simply abandoned their french allies.
(Author's note: Since Herr Rommel was not too far away from his historical WW2 area, i decided to send him there instead of Hausser to repeat history. Hausser will have to bite his lip, and he is ordered south. Let's not deny Rommel his glory!)
French resistance to the south is nil. Save for two hastily sent infantry divisions, France has no way of defending their exposed rear. However, more worrying to the Heer is a heavy french attack on Rheims, protected by 6 motorized divisions. By rotating frontline troops and calling for nearby reinforcements, 12 motorized divisions now defend Rheims. Supported by Luftwaffe bombers, the french attack is beaten back with relatively few german losses. The situation is stabilized, the campaign must continue!
Also, in the north, while France crumbles, the french army tries one last offensive in the north, both to link with their own forces south, and both to cause as many losses on german forces as possible. Mons is also counterattacked heavily, however reinforcements will be sent there. The northern arm of the Panzer force attacks Antwerp from east and west, and the city is expected to fall soon. German forces on Maastrich and Cologne are ordered to attack the remains of the Netherland/French army at Eindhoven and Njimegen, and easily repulse them.
If there is one thing Germany can boast, is that is has the greatest Panzer Generals the world has yet to see. Herr Manstein, a genius both in research and leadership, ignores his empty flanks and pushes straight south, while Rommel strikes west and Hausser strikes south. The ironically called "Triple Alliance", as the three generals are called by french prisoners, strike fear onto french civilians and soldiers alike.
Rheims is still heavily engaged on another french effort to relieve the city and connect the french forces trapped there. The battle of Antwerp continues, and little more can be expected of the defenders, even though German forces begin to show fatigue after a month long advance onto french land. At Nijmegen more netherlandese forces are captured.
But then...
The mighty french, a country unbowed, had been conquered. The french government called for a peace settlement with germany. The french army had been decisively defeated, and german losses in total were of 80 thousand men, while french losses totalled their
entire army. A rump french state was set up in the southern part of France, so called Vichy because that was where they chose to place their capital, led by Petain, our old Great War Nemesis. With no more support from the massacred french army, Belgium and Netherlands will propose peace, or face utter destruction.
The Fuhrer looks at a map, grey so much of it now that it is german land. He ponders for a second when a sudden knock on the door catches his attention.
"Mein Fuhrer! The people await your speech! they gather in front of the Reichstag! What will you Mein Fuhrer?"
The Fuhrer slowly turn his head, his back still facing his subordinate, and only shows half his face as he turns. He looks to the left, with his eyes looking at nothing in particular.
"I once fought there..." - The Fuhrer points to a certain location on the map. The subordinate, too far away and far too accelerated to pay close attention and still breathing agitated, wide open eyes and open mouth spewing breath after breath, looks with abandonment.
"The world is what it is because we have changed it" -his face slowly turns back to the map - "We have redemmed ourselves in our own eyes, but the world is still watching us. I am... afraid. Afraid for Sacred Germany."
The Fuhrer, with a snap worthy of a soldier, swiftly turns around and walks, straight arched and with his chin aiming high, towards the subordinate. He stands straight at attention.
As the Fuhrer passes by the subordinate with a perfect marching order, he stops for a moment. The subordinate feels a hand in his shoulder, and a sigh from his great leader.
"We won a battle, but with this we may lose this war."
"We should have known better..." the Fuhrer whispers, as he makes his way past the subordinate, into a great hall full of people, who begin to uproar a great cheer for their loved Fuhrer.
