Briefing: February 1, 1943
With our new budget for Fiscal Year 1943 firmly in hand, instructions were given to our Generals to attack the Axis as ferociously as possible. The President spoke with Prime Minister Churchill early New Year's Day and asked for a British assault on the key French port of St. Malo. The Prime Minister promised he'd do everything he could, but that elements within his high command were uneasy about the prospect of assaulting Hitler's Atlantic Wall.
Given the constant communication problems General Vandegrift, Commander of US 7th Army Corps, and General MacArthur have been experiencing, General MacArthur left operations in Norway to General Vandegrift's discretion. With the gloves finally off, the General aggressively planned to surround and assault German positions in southern Norway.
General MacArthur -- who truly seemed like a new man -- gave detailed instructions to Generals Marshall, Patton, and Taylor after the New Years' Festivities.
His Majesty, King Victor Emmanuel III, has even offered Italian assistance in securing the Balkans -- no doubt expecting territorial considerations after the war.
While Generals Patton and Marshall complained about having insufficient forces to complete their objectives, Generals Taylor and Vandegrift went to their tasks with a will. Allied troops were given a further boost of morale when German radio stations broadcast an address from Reichschancellor Hitler, who called upon "all men of Aryan blood to defend the Fatherland against the Bolshevik-lover President Willkie." I can tell you that President Willkie and I had a good chuckle over that! ((Germany fired the 'Defence' decision, which improves leader defense and increases global manpower.)) Generalissimo Stalin responded by formally dissolving the Third International and calling for unity between the Allied nations. President Willkie applauded this initiative in a stirring speech delivered late New Year's Day.
Progress on the German border was slow, but General Vandegrift was able to begin securing positions for an attack on the starving German forces by January 5.
On January 6, it was General Patton's turn to show his stuff, as he began an enveloping maneuver around the German left flank.
General Taylor had his own progress to report, as more and more of Greece was liberated by American troops.
Our first attempt to seize Ljubljana on January 16 failed, but American commanders did not lose hope and continued to press on. It was exactly that sort of attitude that shows how far the American serviceman has come since before the war. We are truly a veteran and battle-hardened army!
Inspired, General Vandegrift ordered his assault on Axis positions in southern Norway on January 18; those Germans who did not surrender immediately were too tired and hungry to resist our advance. Progress reports from the commanders of 1st, 2nd, and 4th Army showed similar, if not as dramatic, progress.
General Patton's "Hook to the Left", as some of our reporters have called it, continued to expand, while only Skopje remained of General Taylor's initial objectives. General Marshall's progress was somewhat slower, but he still moved ever closer to Munich. January 24 saw the last few German soldiers depart southern Norway on ships bound for POW camps in the UK, while American forces set about liberating Norwegian provinces.
With southern Norway well in hand, Generals Lawson, Scott, and Hickey, 3rd US Army Corps, struck northern Norwegian positions.
On January 28, Admiral Spruance, commander of TRG 'Providence', was ordered back to Norfolk to pick up four new infantry divisions and tank destroyer brigades. As February begins, the Allies are in various states of progress throughout Europe.
Norway:
Germany:
Balkans:
To celebrate his tremendous success, General Taylor has been given a new objective: Belgrade, or as the natives call it, Beograd, where we plan to meet up with Italian troops for an eventual thrust into Romania.
That concludes this briefing. I understand that several Senators have begun discussing some bills; the President has asked that you forward them to his desk for consideration prior to a vote.
Techs researched: Cruiser Crew Training 4, Large Navigation Radar 1
Convoys sunk (transports/escorts): 3/0 (Japanese)
Convoys lost (transports/escorts): 2/0 (by Japan)
Units built: 4 divisions of 3 x INF, 3 transports (deployed to Norfolk, VA)
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Novatheorem, your PM wasn't entirely clear, so I went ahead and pulled back everybody in the Pacific but the subs for repairs. If you want to continue, let me know. Tom, you'll probably want some preliminary plans for hitting Romania and something to do with your four new infantry divisions and the 10 or so TD brigades. I completely forgot about northern Norway, or you'd have the Northern Command at your disposal too. As it is, you'll have them before the end of March, I bet.
Once I get a final version of the two bills being proposed, signed by both Senators, I'll put them up to an official vote. I'll see a deadline for the final version for
Sunday at 10 PM (-6 GMT); we'll begin formal voting shortly after that, if not soon. I'd like all votes and/or plans done by next
Friday at 10 PM (-6 GMT).