Red Flood

[Rodion Romanovich]

The tanks we're facing:
- Lighter tanks of some 3-15mm armor
- Crusader I 7-49mm
- Infantry Tank Mk. I 10-65mm
- Valentine I 7-65mm
- Matilda II & III 20-80mm armor

Our AT weaponry:
- AT hand grenades possible to throw the last 30 or so metres after sneaking up close to the enemy tanks. These were often magnetic devices. There were two versions, one 3.5 kg (magnetic, time fuse, hollow charge) and one 1.35 kg (impact fuse) version. I think the heavier one was able to take out all of the heavier British tanks of the time, while the lighter one could take out most light armored vehicles and lighter tanks, but it's unclear how well it performed against medium tanks.
- High calibre rifle PzB39 (1200 m/s muzzle velocity, 12.7kg weight, 25mm armor penetration). Armor penetration of 25mm - as you can see it can only hurt most better tanks from above or below or by targetting weak points, electronic equipment, or the window used for the crew to look, to blind the tanks. All light tanks and a few medium tanks could be penetrated by this rifle, with much greater chances of success when shooting at the sides or rear (absolutely required for the medium tanks).
- Mortars - the 5 cm mentioned above is the only one available at this time. There were apparently many complaints about the 5cm mortar and lack of better mortars as long as the 5cm mortar was used; it wasn't overly popular (the later 8cm mortar however was). The British on the other hand at this time had a very flexible collection of mortars of different calibres, apparently their lightest mortar, the 2inch mortar, was also possible to fire at horizontal angles (though this usage was invented by commandos a bit later in the war so I suppose in 1940 it wasn't known it could be used in that way) which was very effective for street fighting (and possibly also vs tanks in street fighting?)

[Rodion Romanovich]

Strengths and weaknesses in small arms:
- Rifles - slightly superior accuracy, penetration and range, but lower fire speed due to smaller magazine and slightly more difficult handling.
- Machineguns - British had the ZB26/Bren Gun, a light mg with only 30 rounds magazine, and heavier MGs that required transportation vehicles. The Germans had MG34 (later also MG42) with unmatched fire rate, large magazine, and good range and accuracy too, and not easily overheated. The MG34 could be mounted on bipod or tripod for light and heavy roles. German MGs were extremely superior to British at this time.
- SMGs - The British had good SMGs too but the German SMGs were more widely deployed it seems, especially the MP40 was made in large series. So the Germans have a slight edge in SMGs.
- Grenades - no fragmentation grenades but shock grenades. Good for offensive and bunker fighting, but for defense and outdoors fighting in the open.
- AT-weaponry - slight edge for the Germans over British counterparts due to the effective magnetic hollow charges. Otherwise pretty similar equipment.
- Artillery - the British had a bit more flexible mortars of different types already at this time, while the Germans only had the 5cm mortar.

Strenghts and weaknesses:
++ Fighting over long distances in the open - German MGs providing superior suppressive fire, the accuracy of the K98k slightly better
++ Medium distance fighting in the open - German MGs providing an edge here too
+/- Short distance fighting in the open - German MGs and the more widely spread SMGs providing an edge, though the rifles are slower than the British counterparts.
- Long distance fighting in complex terrain - British more flexible mortar strength giving a slight edge
- Medium distance fighting in complex terrain - British more flexible mortar strength giving a slight edge
- Short distance fighting in complex terrain - British faster rifles, better light mortars and fragmentation grenades (more effective outdoors) probably gave an edge here
++ Street fighting - German SMGs manufactured in greater series at this time, the British would mostly have rifles in response
++ Bunker and trench fighting - German SMGs better, plus the grenades extremely effective in confined spaces

These are weaknesses and strengths in weaponry, but depending on training and tactics the advantages in these situations could be lost and the disadvantages countered in some cases. A full analysis on strengths and weaknesses must also take training and tactics into account.

[JimBob]

1) If memory serves Luftlande were meant to be the second wave, they could be flown into airfields once the Fallschirmjager had captured them.
2) The training is among the best in the German army. They are among the most highly motivated soldiers, and they believe they are the best and the most important.
3) From Green Devils the weapons the Germans would have in 1940
Mauser K98
Caliber: 7.92mm (8mm), Length: 43.6 inches, Weight: 9lbs
Maximum Range: 1200 meters, Feed System: 5 round integral box magazine, Rate of fire: 15rpm
MP40
Caliber: 9mm, Length: 33.5 inches ,Weight: 9lbs
Maximum Range: 300 meters, Feed System: 32 Round Detachable Magazine, Rate of fire: 400-500rpm
MG34
Caliber: 7.92mm, Length: 48 inches, Weight: 26.5lbs
Maximum Range: 800 meters, Feed System: Belt or Drum Fed, Rate of fire: 900rpm
4) Again from memory, I believe that they jumped low in the area of 300 to 500 feet, which was considered low by the Allies (on D-Day the airobrne jumped at 500 feet and thought they it was dangerously low)

[IrishArmenian]

1)Well, I thought the luftflande was not as mobile as the Fallshrimjager. Now, I beleive there were many Fallschrimjager divisions at the end of the war, but early, I beleive there was only the German 1st Parachute Division, the German 2nd Parachute Division, and the Ramcke Parachute Brigade. The Luftlande was somewhat underpowered after fighting the the Poles and the Dutch in rapid succesion. If this takes place before Leningrad, the Fallschrimjager will be at full steam, but a grop of green soldiers (new guys).
2)Their training was beyond good. It was the most brutal in possibly the whole Axis alliance (for such large units, at least). It would take a long time to add replacements. I would start training more immediatley.
3) I beleive "we" really need a carbine. Place an order with Mauser, I beleive they were experimenting with one at this time. The paratroopers cannot jump with a K98, far too heavy. No STG-44's either (I do not know if those are around at this time, even). MP-40's and K98k is what "we" need.
4) I think we have to jump high. We will get eaten up at if we land anywhere near England by thier AA, not to mention their planes. We need a lot of escorts, and possibly a diversionary bombing/Naval battle. This is a 1 shot weapon, we screw this up, we might see much longer war, or (everything is a possiblility) defeat.
5) If possible, could we use JU88's? Britain would use only planes, and no troops would be on alert, except their firefiters. I assume we could make a door on the side of a JU88, it seems simple. I beleive we need a lot of BF109's to engage the British.
6) In my opinion, we do not have much going for us:
+ Suprise
+ Superior weapons
++ Superior training
++ Superior tactics
- British terrain is very unpredictable and varied
- Very hard to train for this operation
- They wil have more soldiers
-- They will fight to the death, not afraid to die
--- We cannot stop at London, the British Isles, have, are, and always will be an incredibly hard place to conquer, so much open space, hills, forests, small islands, rocky terrain. The people there have been conquered by so many, and many of their people have been rebels for over a thousand years: Scots, Irish. If we do conquer England, Sctoland and Erin, it will be tough to control. I am not sure about the Scots, but the IRB, IRA, and Sinn Fein would be completly distracted from the English, and any high-ranking officer who decides to inspect our new territory would have a good chance of turning up dead. Those lands have always been turbulent and hard to control due to the many different types of people. The Catholics and Protestants all around Britain will put aside their differences to fight us. Not a good thing to happen.
--- Scotland, the thing that I would fear the most, and here is why:
a) Those people have indominable spirits from being under other people rule for so long
b) They have been employing Guerilla warfare for hundreds of years
c) The altitude could really get to our troops
d) They know the terrain in and out, they could kill us with their hit and run tactics
e) Not afraid to die
f) Morale
And if what Demon says is correct, you best jump with your weapons. None of this cannister or leg-bag rubbish.

[Keba]

--- Scotland, the thing that I would fear the most, and here is why:
a) Those people have indominable spirits from being under other people rule for so long
b) They have been employing Guerilla warfare for hundreds of years
c) The altitude could really get to our troops
d) They know the terrain in and out, they could kill us with their hit and run tactics
e) Not afraid to die
f) Morale
And if what Demon says is correct, you best jump with your weapons. None of this cannister or leg-bag rubbish.

Simple solution to that problem. Offer them independence, and a beneficial peace treaty. Let them continue like Vichy France ... not involved but in friendly relations.

Although, as Franconius said, I doubt we will be involved in England. Not for at least a year of campaigning. The Kriegsmarine has no transports, and, as it is, lacks heavy ships (at this point, it has neither battleships nor carriers) to provide proper support. Air power alone is pointless if reinforcement cannot be taken to the island.

[DemonArchangel]

Most likely, we're going to perform some sort of operation in the Med. Probably in the Balkans or in North Africa. We have to train to jump and land in hilly, possibly forested terrain, or in desert, where the sand is whipping up and you can barely see anything.

[Franconicus]

Chapter 3 – At Berlin

Berlin, June 17th, 1940

When the plane touches ground a driver is already waiting to bring him to the Reichsluftfahrtministerium. Student is already waiting there.
“Ramcke, it is good to have you here at Berlin. I hope you had an interesting trip. Sorry for calling you back, but I need your support. Tomorrow morning we will meet Hitler. The branches will present their concepts for the campaign against England. Göring will suggest several options for the Luftwaffe: support of an invasion, strategic bombing and air war against the British oversea trade. I assume that airborne operations against harbors and airports will be one topic. The key issue here is how we can hold the line long enough and bond to that how can we get heavy arms to support the airborne troops? I know that you made a study to this issue and that you have some ideas, so I want you to join the meeting. Furthermore, I guess in the end Hitler will order to make a detailed operation plan for the invasion of England. It will be your job to care about the airborne part.”

Ramcke: “Invasion, strategic air war and war against sea trade; what do you think about these options?”
Student: “Why do you ask?”
Ramcke: “At Paris I met an old comrade from the navy. He was not confident about the invasion.”
Student: “Well, maybe it is not as easy as some people want it to be. There is a report called “Fall Blau” done by General Felmy in summer of 38. It says that the Luftwaffe does not have the ability to wrestle Britain down. German air raids can only be hecklings. Another analysis from last summer states that due to the British determination and the ability of its leaders to the British terror raids cannot break the moral of the British.”
Ramcke: “Does Göring now these reports?”
Student: “He ordered them! However, they are top secret. I doubt that Hitler has seen them. We should not rack the brains of somebody else. Let us focus on the airborne operations.”

Ramcke and Student talk for a while about the invasion of England and about the meeting at the next morning. In the evening Student says: “Before you can meet Hitler I have to introduce you to Göring.”
They cross the corridors of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium and enter the office of Göring. Student introduces to the Generalfeldmarschall. Göring welcomes Ramcke ebullient: „Herr Oberstleutnant, it is good to have you on board. The Fallschirmjäger are amazing. Their performance during the Western Campaign was outstanding. They are unique! Only we Germans can create an arm like that. All nations begrudge us. I am sure they will defeat the English and hold the fort until the army arrives, don’t you think so?”
“Well, Generalfeldmarschall, I do not think that it will be a walk in the park. We should not underrate the English. Cornered they will fight like lions. The invasion of England will cause a lot of trouble. Maybe it would be better to attack the English at the periphery, maybe at the Mediterranean Sea.”
Göring looks angry and turns to Student: “Do you really think that he can help us?”
Student: “No doubt, Generalfeldmarschall!”
Göring: “Then see about him! And make sure he will wear a proper uniform tomorrow.”
He turns around and the two officers leave his office. Ramcke spends the rest of the evening trying to get a proper uniform of the Luftwaffe.

Early next morning he comes to the conference at Hitler’s headquarter, wearing a proper uniform and all his decorations. Many high-ranking generals are there. Besides Göring and Student there are General Kesselring and General Sperrle of the Luftwaffe as well as half a dozen lower ranks. General von Brauchitsch and General Jodl lead the delegation of the Heer, Admiral Raeder leads the Reichsmarine. Ramcke sees Dönitz among the Navy officers.

Hitler enters the room. Ramcke has never been so close to the dictator before. He notices that Hitler is rather small; his appearance is not very impressive. However, this changes as he starts to talk:
”Good morning, Gentlemen. We meet here to discuss our military options. Before we start let me recall what happened in the past months and years. When I took the leadership of the Reich, Germany was in a miserable state. It was put down and mugged by the Entente, the economy was weak and the social groups were at odds with each others. Our military was weak and we were tied up by the Treaty of Versailles. Now look what happened during my regency. Today we are one people; each and every individual subordinates the collective goal. All criminal and subversive elements have been taken off. Coalesced by the ideals of the Nationalsozialsmus Germany has released a force that is huge, a force no other nation can compete with.
We torn the Treaty of Versailles to tatters, we rearmed, we unified all German territory to one realm, and we gained the domination in central Europe.
What did our enemies do? France, our eternal enemy, snarled, but it did not dare to bite. Too cowardly to fight French abetted the Poles. So we were forced to compel a solution of the Polish problem by military means. The French seduced the English to make war with us, a war I had never aspired, I had always tried to avoid. However, they still did not dare to attack us. They still hid behind their fortress lines.
Now our operations against France are in the last phase. The English are driven away, the French resistance is broken and our troops are chasing the retreating enemy. It won’t take long until France will surrender; then France will have to carry the consequences of its behavior. The Treaty of Versailles and the dishonor of 1918 will be wiped off. Germany will to take the position it is entitled to.
Gentlemen, we have seen outstanding victories, unique in military history. Take the credit for defeating France, the country with the strongest army of the world, within weeks!
Now that the victory over France is near and inevitable we have to talk about the political and military consequences. England is still standing but it has lost all its allies and all hopes to win the war. It is assumed that the English will now accept our position on the mainland. If they want peace I will meet them halfway.
Although in all probability we can end the war without further military operations we have to be prepared at all events. Therefore I ask you, the leader of the military branches, to present me your ideas about a campaign against England.”

Ramcke is impressed by Hitler’s speech. It was not only the words; it was the way he spoke.
Jodl opens the presentations. He describes the strength of the British army, at the most 35 divisions with only half of them prepared. For the army the Channel is nothing but a big anti-tank trench, Jodl says. The army will cross it and defeat the English. The Reichsmarine has to make sure that the assault divisions can cross the Channel speedy and uninterrupted and that the supply will flow afterwards. The Luftwaffe has to make sure that there will be no English attacks during the first two days of the invasion. The British army will be defeated within two weeks.

After General Jodl, Admiral Raeder explains the view of the Navy. He says that the Navy will gather as many ships as possible to ferry the army. This will take some time. To protect the transports against the Royal Navy the Reichsmarine will build mine belts at each side of the Channel. However, the transfer of the troops and the supply can only be guaranteed if the Luftwaffe will control the skies over the Channel and the landing zones. The RAF has to be defeated before the invasion and the Royal Navy ships and facilities have to be bombed.

An alternative to the invasion of the isles is the sea blockade. To bring England to its knees the production of submarines has to be increased significantly. At least 300 submarines are required. They will cut off the English supply together with the surface ships and the bombers of the Luftwaffe and enforce the capitulation of England.

Then Göring begins his presentation. He highlights the successful operations of the Luftwaffe during the campaigns against Poland, Norway and the western countries. He presents that the Luftwaffe has different options to bring England to its knees. First of all there is the invasion. The Luftwaffe can defeat the Royal Air Force. That is something it already did during the Western Campaign and it can do it again. The Luftwaffe can also protect the fleet against the Royal Navy and the Fallschirmjäger can support the army by taking important positions in advance. The second option is a strategic air war against the English industry and sea trade. The German bombers guarded by the outstanding long-range Zerstörer Me 110 can break the backbone of the English industry and the English military. The third option is psychological warfare. The German bombers can make terror raids against the English towns. Shock and awe will undermine the moral of the population and force the English government to end this useless war. Göring himself recommends the terror strategy. The raids against Warsaw and Rotterdam showed the disastrous effect of this kind of operations. Another advantage is that the Luftwaffe can defeat England all alone with minimum casualties.

After this presentation a discussion begins about the amount of support the Navy and the Luftwaffe had to guarantee for a successful invasion. Hitler listens to all that without saying a word. Then he stops the discussion:
“Gentlemen, I thank you for the debate. It is clear that the German army is able for any kind of operation against England and the English leaders must be crazy if they decide to continue the war. You painted a clear picture of the military side of the conflict. Now my part is to add some points of view from the political perspective. If we invade England, there are some things we have to consider. First of all, the English government could escape to Canada and continue to fight from there. This will bring the US into war, which is something we all do not want. Another scenario is that we occupy the islands and that the English social system collapses. This would not only be a huge loss for the western civilization. It would also lead to the breakup of the Empire. However, we won’t be able to take the heritage; other countries would have the benefit, the US, Russia and Japan.
My intention is to defeat Britain, not to destroy it. Therefore we have to find a way to compel the British to peace without defeating them completely. The invasion of Britain is not our first choice. Furthermore, there would be high casualties on both sides and in the end the winner would be Bolshevism.
The alternatives are terror raids against the English towns and a blockade of the islands. I know the English and I know their moral, to put it bluntly their stubbornness and I tell you that they will not give in when you bomb their houses. Forget that!
From all I heard today I have made up my mind. The army and navy will pretend to prepare an invasion against England. We must keep the pressure high, but we will not invade the islands as long as there are other options. The navy will intensify the operations against the English sea trade. This will include submarines, raiders and battle ships. The air force will start with massive air strikes. The targets will be: the sea trade, especially in the Channel and at the Western Approaches, the harbors especially at the Liverpool area, as well as military installations of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. Raids against the English population are strictly interdicted. The Luftwaffe will do these operations in co-operation with the navy. These measures will surely increase the pressure on the English government. In the next days I will shift the focus of the industrial production from the army to the air force and navy. Several army divisions will be disbanded to increase our production capacity.
Additionally we have to find another indirect way to attack the British to demonstrate them our strength. Mussolini will soon release the Italian operations at the Mediterranean Sea. I want you to analyze how we can support him. I am talking about short but hard military strikes. We do not have any major navy unit there, so the focus will be on air support and airborne operations. The Luftwaffe will have the leadership in the preparation of these operations. I expect possible scenarios as soon as possible.”
These words end the meeting.
The delegations leave the room. Göring does not look satisfied. On the way through the corridors he says to Kesselring: “We have to start the preparation at once. We will meet at 4 o’clock in my office. Bring along Sperrle and Stumpff!”
Then he turns to Student: “Alright, Student! Now your smart right hand can proof his theory. I order you to make this study about the Mediterranean Sea area!”
When they leave the building Student takes Ramcke aside: “Ramcke, I want you to go home, pack your bags and be in my office within an hour!”
50 minutes later Ramcke is back in the Reichsluftfahrtministerium. He is ready for departure. Student gives him his instructions:
“Ramcke, you heard Hitler’s idea. We have to find out where and how German troops can support the Italians in the Mediterranean Sea. The goal has to be to cut off this ocean for the British completely and to do them as much damage as possible. I want you to do this analysis. Identify the targets; try to get information about the defense, make a proposal of the required forces and a rough operational plan; a priority list or a roadmap for the operations would be good. To be honest, the Luftwaffe will not be able to support you much. There is little information. We have never thought that the Mediterranean Sea could be our next battle field. Therefore you have to gather all information. Identify the targets, find out the strength of the defense, and rate the strength of the forces we would need! Do not care about the political boundaries! Just make a military analysis, Hitler will decide then. I need your report in four weeks. So hurry!
Maybe one additional remark; it will be wise to operate unnoticed. It’s obvious that the British shall not notice your activities. Additionally we have to be careful about the Italians. Hitler agreed that they will lead all operation to the south of the Alps. They are thin-skinned sometimes”
Then Student hands him some documents. Ramcke looks at them: There is his transfer order to the 7. Fliegerdivision of the Luftwaffe, a passport; a list of contact persons; fourth document is ordering all authorities to support Ramcke. Ramcke is surprised when he looks at the signature.
Ramcke: “When did Hitler sign this?”
Student smiles: “The Luftwaffe is used to act rapidly. I always have some of these documents, just in case of emergency. You have a plane available, too. It is waiting at Tempelhof. Keep me updated! Leutnant Schulz will be your assistant. He will put up a team while you are away. Now I wish you good luck for your mission.”
Ramcke salutes, then they shake hands. When Ramcke leaves the room Student call after him: “Welcome at the Luftwaffe!”
After he had left the building Ramcke wonders where to turn to first. He has to get a lot of information and make a good proposal in a very short time. He looks at the list he had received from Student. Where should he go first?

The Foreign Office
The Abwehr, the military intelligence agency
Spain
Italy
The Balkans
Greece
Turkey
Or somewhere else?

[King Kurt]

It has to be The Abwehr, the military intelligence agency. You need some insight into the whole scene, political and military, across the Med. The Abwehr should have that sort of info. They will also have contacts/ offices in all the embasies so information could be sent secretly to those destinations. After a briefing with The Abwehr, our friend should head for the Balkans. They will need to be secured and the oil in Romania is vital - especially for an air/sea war.

[Keba]

It has to be The Abwehr, the military intelligence agency. You need some insight into the whole scene, political and military, across the Med. The Abwehr should have that sort of info. They will also have contacts/ offices in all the embasies so information could be sent secretly to those destinations. After a briefing with The Abwehr, our friend should head for the Balkans. They will need to be secured and the oil in Romania is vital - especially for an air/sea war.

The Balkans are secure, at the moment. A transfer of oil can go through Hungary, which is our ally.

I say Abwehr, naturally, it would be a good introduction and familiarisation, but afterward either Spain or Italy. Spain is a strategic country, allowing control of Gibraltar. Italy, with proper leadership (and equipment) would prove invaluable, especially in the African campaign and the attempt to capture the Middle East. So, uh, scratch the either, make it Spain, it would allow the weakening of the English very well.

[AggonyDuck]

Although the Abwehr might be nice, I personally prefer Italy. Proper coordination with the Italians is the key for winning in the mediterranean. Also I think the Italians can supply us with decent information if needed about British troop strengths.

[Rodion Romanovich]

Mauser K98

Odd in the headline it says K98, but in the text they say K98k. AFAIK the K98k was already deployed in 1940, so I suppose we already have the carbine we wanted.

[DemonArchangel]

The tanks we're facing:
- Lighter tanks of some 3-15mm armor
- Crusader I 7-49mm
- Infantry Tank Mk. I 10-65mm
- Valentine I 7-65mm
- Matilda II & III 20-80mm armor

Our AT weaponry:
- AT hand grenades possible to throw the last 30 or so metres after sneaking up close to the enemy tanks. These were often magnetic devices. There were two versions, one 3.5 kg (magnetic, time fuse, hollow charge) and one 1.35 kg (impact fuse) version. I think the heavier one was able to take out all of the heavier British tanks of the time, while the lighter one could take out most light armored vehicles and lighter tanks, but it's unclear how well it performed against medium tanks.
- High calibre rifle PzB39 (1200 m/s muzzle velocity, 12.7kg weight, 25mm armor penetration). Armor penetration of 25mm - as you can see it can only hurt most better tanks from above or below or by targetting weak points, electronic equipment, or the window used for the crew to look, to blind the tanks. All light tanks and a few medium tanks could be penetrated by this rifle, with much greater chances of success when shooting at the sides or rear (absolutely required for the medium tanks).
- Mortars - the 5 cm mentioned above is the only one available at this time. There were apparently many complaints about the 5cm mortar and lack of better mortars as long as the 5cm mortar was used; it wasn't overly popular (the later 8cm mortar however was). The British on the other hand at this time had a very flexible collection of mortars of different calibres, apparently their lightest mortar, the 2inch mortar, was also possible to fire at horizontal angles (though this usage was invented by commandos a bit later in the war so I suppose in 1940 it wasn't known it could be used in that way) which was very effective for street fighting (and possibly also vs tanks in street fighting?)

Very nice, don't forget the vehicles and the RRs though. And Franc, that's one sweet looking prime mover for the recoilless rifle. It should be paradroppable with a 3 parachute rig.

Also I learned this while Wiki diving:

A major flaw in Germans airborne procedures was that most of the men's individual weapons were dropped in canisters; this was in contrast with the practice of most other nations's airborne forces, who routinely jumped with personal weapons strapped to the jumper. While this facilitated exit from the aircraft and prevented loss and damage to the rifles, it left the paratroopers armed only with their sidearms and fighting knives in the critical few minutes after landing. The poor design of German parachutes compounded the problem: the standard German parachute harness had only a single riser connecting the paratrooper to the parachute canopy, and thus could not be steered toward weapons canisters and away from ground hazards during descent. Even the twenty-five percent of paratroops armed with machine pistols were at a distinct disadvantage, given the weapon's limited range. Many Fallschirmjäger were shot attempting to make it to their unit's weapons canisters.

[DemonArchangel]

Argh! Triple Post!

[Franconicus]

A major flaw in Germans airborne procedures was that most of the men's individual weapons were dropped in canisters; this was in contrast with the practice of most other nations's airborne forces, who routinely jumped with personal weapons strapped to the jumper. While this facilitated exit from the aircraft and prevented loss and damage to the rifles, it left the paratroopers armed only with their sidearms and fighting knives in the critical few minutes after landing. The poor design of German parachutes compounded the problem: the standard German parachute harness had only a single riser connecting the paratrooper to the parachute canopy, and thus could not be steered toward weapons canisters and away from ground hazards during descent. Even the twenty-five percent of paratroops armed with machine pistols were at a distinct disadvantage, given the weapon's limited range. Many Fallschirmjäger were shot attempting to make it to their unit's weapons canisters.

Very good

Their training was beyond good. It was the most brutal in possibly the whole Axis alliance (for such large units, at least). It would take a long time to add replacements. I would start training more immediatley.

I forgot my source but if I remember right the training of the Fallschirmjäger was 8 weeks, including 2 weeks of basic training. The pre-selection and the selection during the courses was tough, though.

Student ordered to lower the discipline and formal education of the paras compared to the rest. The FJ should not only be able to follow orders, but also to make their own decisions. Further more he thought that it would imptove theior pride and their comunity to see that they had less drill than the others.

Do not forget that the Wehmacht had the 'mission type tactics'. This made a big differenc to the Angloamerican tactics.

[Franconicus]

Chapter 2 – From Paris to Berlin

Paris, June 16th, 1940


Finally Ramcke reaches Paris. The French capitol is very impressive, especially at springtime, and even the red flags with the black crosses cannot spoil the atmosphere.

His first station is the commander’s office. The building is filled with German officers and generals. Ramcke cannot remember to have seen so much tinsel at one place before. A telegram is already waiting for Ramcke. He opens it and looks at the sender: General Student. He calls Ramcke back to Berlin, immediately! What a pity! Ramcke had been looking forward to a couple of pleasant days at Paris. It comes to nothing! Ramcke goes to the adjutant of the commander and tells him that he needs pressingly a flight to Berlin. The officer shakes his head: “I am sorry, Oberstleutnant! All planes are occupied. You have to wait.”
Ramcke urges the adjutant: “It is important! I have to report to General Student.”
“I see, Sir. Please look around. Do you see all these generals? They all are waiting for an opportunity to get to Berlin. I am sorry, but I cannot help you!”
He turns away.
“Damned”, Ramcke curses. “It is easier to conquer Paris than to get a flight to Berlin.”
“Maybe I can help you!” Ramcke turns around and looks at an admiral of the Navy.
“Maybe the Reichsmarine can help a former mate, who is now at the Heer – or should I say Luftwaffe?”
“Good morning, Konteradmiral Dönitz! It is still Heer. How did you run ashore here?”
“That is a long story! Maybe we can talk about this later. By accident I heard your conversation. It seems that you are the one who stranded and that you will not be able to leave Paris for several days. Maybe I can offer you a solution for your problem?”
“That would be great. Do you have a battleship here ready to set sails for Berlin?”
“No, I don’t, not even a submarine. However, the Reichsmarine has an extra wagon here at the railway station and it is ready to set sails. If you like you can come with me!”
“Your offer is very generous.”
“However, the train will go to Bremerhaven. I am sure that you will get a flight there to Berlin.”
Ramcke would prefer a train to Berlin, but he has no choice: “Let me send a telegram and then we can start right away!”

Hours later the two Germans are on their way back to the Reich.

The two officers have their own cabin and can talk unhindered. Dönitz tells his guest that he visited France to see how the Kriegsmarine can take advantage of the French defeat. Of course they talk about the German victory.

Ramcke: “Isn’t it amazing? We both know the struggling during the last war. Now everything is different, everything seems to be easy. We win everywhere, there is nothing that could stop us or even slow us down. France will fall within a few days. Then England will stand alone and has to find an agreement with Germany.”
Dönitz: “Our victory is amazing; and surprising. However, it is still incomplete. England is still standing. I do not think that the war is already finished.”
Ramcke looks surprised: “Come on! England is finished. The Poles had to give up, the French are out of the war and Germany controls the continent. The English are sitting on their islands and cannot do anything to hurt us. Do you think England has still hopes to win this war; to conquer Europe and to march in Berlin?”
Dönitz: “Well, the English are sitting on their islands and we cannot do anything to hurt them. Still you hope that we will win the war?”
Ramcke: “We cannot do anything to hurt them? We can cross that Channel and take their capitol, can’t we?”
Dönitz: “No, I do not think we can. There is still the Royal Navy. How can we cross the Channel without defeating them? One thing I can tell you, the Reichsmarine will not be able to protect the assault divisions or the supply against the Royal Navy.”
Ramcke: “However, our Luftwaffe can! We will simply sink the Royal Navy!”
Dönitz: “You are kidding, Oberstleutnant. You are an old Navy man and you know what we are talking about. There is still the Royal Air Force. Maybe I am wrong, but from all I have heard it is something else than the Polish or French Air Force. And they can stay outside the range of our fighters and enter the battle just when we try to cross the Channel. Anyway, let us assume that the Royal Air Force can be defeated by our fighters and that the bombers and divers can jump at the Royal Navy ships. Do you think they will be able to stop the Royal Navy from cutting off our supply? Maybe the bombers will be successful and sink the English battleships. That will mean nothing. The Royal Navy has thousand of smaller ships, cruisers, destroyer, frigates, and submarines and so on. Maybe they will have disastrous casualties; nevertheless, in the end they will destroy our supply chain. That will be the end of the invasion, or do you think that the Luftwaffe will be able to supply the troops?”
Ramcke: “Err, no, maybe not. I never looked at it that way. Well, maybe you are right; we would not be able to stop the RN if they mobilize all their small ships. Maybe we do not have to. Maybe England is already wondering how to get an agreement with Germany.”
Dönitz: “Maybe I know the English better than you do. They are bullheaded; they will not give in; no matter what Hitler will offer them, they will just ignore the fact that they lost France and Poland and fight on until they will win. Call it heroic or simply stupid, but that is the way it is and we should not pretend they want to have peace.”
Ramcke: “There is one thing you forgot, Konteradmiral. Our Luftwaffe can bomb London and I think that the English government will loose his lust for war as son as some bombs will trop on its heads.”
Dönitz: “I know that the Luftwaffe is strong. However, I am sure that air raids will only increase the English will to fight.”
Ramcke: “Alright! Then it is your business to defeat the British. After all I have heard your submarines are doing an excellent job. How long do you think the British can stand the attacks? They will run out of food and beg for peace.”
Dönitz: “Thank you very much for your faith. We have 60 boats; one third cannot operate in the Atlantic. From these 60 boats there are 20 in the operational area, not more. Do you really think that 20 boats will cut off the English supply? If I had 300 boats, that would be a different story. However with 60 … .”
Ramcke: “That is not many, but I thought that this number will increase soon.”
Dönitz: “I hope you are right! Additionally the French Atlantic bases will increase our strength too. But time is not on our side. The British will improve their defense. They will increase their air patrols. They will activate the resources of their Empire and sooner or later the US will join the war.”
Ramcke: “If I understand you right, you say that there will be a stand-off situation? Isn’t that another reason for both sides to make a peaceful agreement?”
Dönitz: “No. Not a stand-off. The English will be getting stronger and stronger, the US will join the fight and the position of the Russians is uncertain. No, unfortunately, there will be no stand-off.”
Ramcke: “So you think we already lost the war? That is defeatism, isn’t it?”
Dönitz: “I am not saying that we already lost the war. I just veto that we already won the war or that it will be a walk in the park to defeat the English. No, we will have to fight and we will have to concentrate all our efforts and then, maybe, we will win this war. Right now it seems to me that nobody really cares. Everybody ignores the fact that we are at war with England. There are no plans how to continue, no strategy. Everybody seems to think that this problem will go away all by itself. It will not!”
Ramcke: “So, what would you do?”
Dönitz: “First of all we have to accept that England will continue the fight and that it is a strong enemy. If we do not, we are just wasting precious time. Then we should have a plan. Attack the Atlantic connections is a must and we have to focus on that. Furthermore we have to adopt the traditional English war strategy; we have to attack the English at the periphery. England’s strength is that it controls the seas and has full access to resources all over the world. On the other side, this is its weakness. My idea is to attack them at the Mediterranean Sea. There are good opportunities to improve our situation. If we manage to occupy Gibraltar and the Suez the benefit would be high. The Mediterranean Sea would be free of English ships. We would control the whole area, Cyprus, Malta and all the other islands would be ours. Controlling the sea means controlling Northern Africa, too. Southern Europe would be ours. We could be sure that the French colonies stay on our side, too and we could use the resources of Africa. We could build bases for the submarines and planes at Northwestern Africa and at the shores of the Red Sea. The Italian fleet could stay inside the Med and threaten both, the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. The British would loose the shortest connection from the east; this alone would reduce their transport capacity. They would loose a lot of ships in the Mediterranean, too. Additionally they had to fear operations against the Iraqi oilfields as well as operations against India. Maybe they will accept a favorable peace rather than running into the danger of loosing their colonies.”
Ramcke: “That sounds good, although I always prefer to go the straight way. However, there is one thing you have forgotten. There are no German troops at the Mediterranean, no ships. Germany does not have access to that ocean.”
Dönitz gives a shrug: “Is that a problem? Look at Gibraltar! It is surrounded by Spanish and French territory. Franco owns us a lot. And the French are going to be defeated soon. Regarding Suez: As far as I know the Italians have a pretty strong army at the gate of Egypt.”

Ramcke and Dönitz are still arguing when the train stops at Bremerhaven. A car is waiting for Ramcke and soon he sits in the plane to Berlin. In the plane he is alone and he reflects the dispute he had with Dönitz. Is Dönitz right? Is a war at the periphery better than a direct assault?
Task for today: I think it is time to analyze the political situation after the fall of France. (GB, US, Russia, Italy, France; and do not the smaller countries!!)

[Rodion Romanovich]

Political situation:
1. GB - firmly determined to resist. Why? First of all they know their home islands can't be effectively blockaded from food (as there's also a lot of local agriculture etc.) or invaded (due to RN). It's difficult to say if the determination would remain after heavy blockade and/or under military threat, but they are on the verge of losing their empire and they still have an Imperial pride and belief in their military capabilities, so resistance is expected to be fierce. A surrender of their homelands is unthinkable unless a serious military threat of invasion exists. Maybe if they lose peripheral regions they might accept a peace proposal that means they will get their peripheral regions back, but that requires that they don't think there's any hope of USA joining. So to beat GB, a long war of attrition is needed. Peace and stability in the already conquered regions, and good trade and resource acquisition conditions elsewhere, so that there can be blockade and planes and ships capable of threatening the RN can be constructed over a period of half a decade or so.
2. France - apart from the Résistance there's not much of a military threat to a local garrison, but constant resistance and sabotage missions can be expected if large garrisons are maintained, or even a fierce guerilla war if small garrisons are maintained. Because there's no chance of making the resistance calm down, but the military forces are capable of keeping them under control, there's a position to pressure the French puppet government for some key military aid, such as lending bases in North West Africa (Morocco) for attacking Gibraltar, or maybe finding a way of stealing part of the Vichy fleet. Though none of the missions have much chance of success, if plenty are attempted there's a chance at least some of them will succeed. Many of them can be carried out secretly without the knowledge of the French people until later (lending bases in Morocco), and those are likely for Petain to accept because it doesn't put him in immediate danger of being killed by resistance fighters. However stealing the Vichy fleet or part of it would be quite difficult. Much of the French army if not most of it is trying to escape from France and rebuild abroad. So there's no possibility of having the French army side by side with the German doing parades and similar for propaganda and popularity improvement. So the chances of actually achieving much at all that would improve the situation with the French occupation are very, very small.
3. Italy hadn't received German help in 1940, but they did get German help later. When giving such help there would probably be plenty of chances of getting Italian favors in return. Mussolini seemed to have a desire to show Hitler he was a capable military leader - for example the Germans warned him not to attack Greece because it would make him lose but Mussolini still proceeded with the attack. Until Mussolini has lost, he's unlikely to accept military cooperation for dealing with the British Med fleet or any help on the ground. However if he loses badly on all fronts in both North Africa, East Africa and Greece, he's likely to accept help and be thankful about it. As he receives that help, pressuring him for favors in return would probably be possible. Better coordination of German and Italian efforts in the Mediterranean would probably have meant a difference to the axis efforts in the region.
4. US is divided in two camps - one for taking part in the war and one against it. The US seemed to have a majority against taking part in the war in 1940. It's probably obvious already in 1940 that the Japanese were going to aim east for US sooner or later, so breaking off connections with the Japanese would probably be necessary if war with the US were to be avoided for Germany. However, it's unclear if even that would have kept US out of the war, especially if Germany had been successful in North Africa, the Middle east and eventually started to seriously threaten Britain by such important (for resource and supply) successes. If North Africa is lost by the British the US would have to send their entire help to Britain if they would join in the war, because a direct landing from such a long sea transport wouldn't be feasible. They would send a strong fleet along with the land troops. The situation would be that of D-Day, only the German forces would have been pretty well supplied and possibly have more strength available to repel the attacks. It's possible that if the Japanese connections were broken and Japan would be successful enough, the US would choose a "Japan first" strategy and perhaps not declare war with Germany initially, or maybe not at all. It would give a 2-3 or maybe 5 year period for finishing the fight with Britain after seizing North Africa.
5. Spain - France could possibly be pressured to lend bases and possibly also some ground forces' help for a conquest of Gibraltar, because he owes a lot to Germany at the time. What he has in terms of fleet resources is difficult to say, plus he might not have the popularity to organize any larger-scale military operations or engage in full, open war. So smaller-scale favors is probably the only thing Spain can give. Or a radical possibility - giving Spain a promise of French land could perhaps make him want to engage in larger operations, with the result that he would get to deal with the unhappiness and occupation problems in France, taking a load off the Heer. It's difficult to say if his desire for more land like that would make him want the risk of helping more actively militarily.
6. USSR - USSR is the trickiest nation in this period. They might have a desire to attack Germany eventually, but they might also be so unsure of their capabilities after the Finnish winter war that they would rather not take the risk, unless German troops would be pinned down to the west. However comparing with what historically happened I'd consider it unlikely that Germany would have been unable to hold back an Operation Overlord with one third of their army if they hadn't been at war with the USSR, leaving plenty of troops available to respond to a USSR attack. The USSR was unprepared for the German blitz tactics and the first 2 days of Operation Barbarossa one of the most carefully planned operations in military history. It's unlikely the USSR would achieve anything comparable if they would attack first. So it's probable that not attacking the USSR until after Britain would be dealt with would work pretty well and not mean any risk. Attacking east without achieving a very quick breakthrough would result in defeat to the west as too much strength would be pinned to the east. A good idea to avoid a war with the USSR as quickly as possible would be to try to divert the USSR attention to somewhere else. Breaking of the the connections with the Japanese could perhaps make the USSR start to turn their attention eastwards.

Militarily I think a victory would be most likely if the FJs are used to:
1. take Malta as quickly as possible to strengthen axis convoys and cut off British supplies in the Med
2. help in the East African theatre by being inserted among the Italians to give them a better leadership, organization and an effective key unit to spearhead their counter-attacks vs the British. However they're unlikely to accept such help until they're aware that they're losing ground. But if the preparations to send help to them are made early, it's possible to have a shorter reaction time and get the aid there before the massive British victories and Italian losses had already taken place. Then the entire long-time war in North Africa carried out by Rommel later would never have happened, because the British wouldn't have been able to expand from their foothold in Egypt, and perhaps they wouldn't even have been able to keep that either (especially not if Malta could have been taken earlier).
3. help in the North African threatre by doing missions behind enemy lines much like SAS and LRGD did for the allies, for instance they could destroy enemy aircraft at airfields in Egypt, especially if the British would have been able to push back the front far west from Egypt so the airfields would be far from the front.
4. try to take Gibraltar with help from Franco and/or borrowing French airfields
5. seize the Suez channel in the North African advance
6. help hold the French north coast against a British-American Operation Overlord, if the US has joined the war. If the US hasn't joined the war, use the FJs to help in the conquest of Britain. There's perhaps a chance that the supply and economical situation after taking North Africa would allow the construction of some 2 more Bismarck/Tirpitz class battleships (probably ideal for fighting in the channel if given enough air support) in a 5 year period, plenty of light cruisers, and plenty of aircraft. If the armed forces would go through those necessary transformations and be able to take Britain there would be a chance of victory.

[Keba]

The Soviet Union knows that a showdown with the Third Reich is inevitable ... however, they do not expect war for at least 5 more years. Their doctrines are outdated, relying on a fixed defense, rather than defense in depth. They are busily fortifying the Soviet-German border, having abandoned the complete lines on the former Polish-Soviet border. However, it will be at least two or more years before that line even begins to pose any sort of threat.

Among the smaller countries ... the ones that we border with are the following:

Sweden - keeping neutral ... historically, they provided aid to the Germans (mainly transportation of goods and troops to Finland, during Barbarossa)
Spain - with some manouvering, Franco can be persuaded to join, but will want concessions ... in exchange for Axis control of Gibraltar, anything is acceptable
Yugoslavia - militarily fairly powerful (good equipment, but the army suffers from lack of morale, as was demonstrated), but wracked with internal dissent (historically, the underlying problems would begin to be solved only in 1941, namely, the first step happened about a week before invasion), friendly with Germany, but large numbers of people oppose that position ... if Italy can be prevented from free reign, then the area could become a very loyal one, apart from small, less organised groups akin to the French Resistance (again, historically, the revolt had several hundred thousand partisans, with an average of more than one train destroyed per day)
Greece - not truly a match for any other power, and they know it, properly motivated, they would be willing to join the Axis (unforutnately, Italy has other plans) ... the terrain favours them, but, again, they would be easily defeated, should they enter war, Greece also has a number of strategic ports on the Mediterranean.
Hungary - close relations with Germany, one of the more staunch of German allies (they were the only country to require actual military occupation by the Soviets, the others mostly surrendered)
An assortiment of other countries, mainly Switzerland and Ireland, keeping neutral, but friendly to Germany and the Axis.

Strategic objectives would be:
Malta - with Malta out of the way, we could send supplies to Africa quickly and easily
Cyprus - with Cyprus, operations could be undertaken in Syria, which was granted independence around the formation of Vichy France, it was friendly to the Axis
Gibraltar - should Gibraltar fall, convoys would have to go the long way around Africa, exposing them to our U-boats
Afrika Korps - a larger German force dropped into Africa, with the support of paratroopers would be able to flank and annihilate British positions, and take Suez, effectively turning the Mediterranean into an Axis playground ... if possible, strand the Royal Navy's Mediterranean fleet in the Mediterranean, cut them off from supplies and annihiliate them.
French fleet - must be taken as quickly as possible ... if it goes to the Kriegsmarine, the forces would offer a great boost to our naval power, even allowing us to challenge the British Home Fleet in limited engagements

The key in subduing the British is taking away their naval advantage, splintering their holdings ... and hitting the RAF's air bases. With that gone, the Brits will be in a difficult position.

[Kagemusha]

The Political Situation.

GB

Great Britain have suffered a defeat in mainland.,but is as determined as ever to continue the fight.Like Herr Admiral stated the Royal Navy and RAF are ready to defend Britain from any invasion at this point.On other case the Mediterrranian is lot more vulnerable to our attacks.

Suggestion for Strategy towards GB

There should be three main lines of Operations against GB in order to stand victorious in the end.Also there are many variables that can destroy our Strategy.
First priority should be to take actions in Mediterranian theatre to cut of Britain from her colonies.And also divide the Royal Navy so its more easy to defeat. We should make sure to conquer the Mediterranian strategig islands in order to launch invasion to Suez and Gibraltar.The capture of these locations could be enough for peace in best situation,without more Operations.In order to be succesfull we need to capture the French fleet as soon as possible.And also keep Italy on tight leech so their renegade actions wont harass our bigger plans.

Second Priority should be to start building an invasion fleet against Britain herself .If we wouldnt even succeed on building fleet big enough it should anyway restrict large parts of Royal Navy to protect Britain herself and by that cancelling the reserve of the Mediterranian fleet.

Third Priority should be to sink as many tons as possible in Atlantic.

Soviet Union

Soviet Union is the largest military power in the world at this time,atleast on paper.We have the Ribbentrop pact with Stalin and it should secure us peace for couple years,but not if the Soviets think we are weak.The Winter War against Finland shoved that while Soviets have great material army.But The Stalins purges in 1930´s have made the pool of capable officers very thin.And that should guarantee that at this point while Soviets have the men and equipment necessary to invade us,they dont have enough Leadership to prevail on their campaign.

Suggestion of Strategy against SU

In my opinion we should not agitate Soviet Union.We still have lot of small states between us and them except in Poland.But it would turn out impossible for Soviets to attack strictly in Poland.There just wouldnt be enough Operational space for Red Army. Also if they would attack in other routes.There are lot of Independent States between us and them that have good relations towards West.Including from South.Romania.Bulgaria,Creece,Yugoslavia,Hungary,Finland and Sweden.
Now if SU would launch a campaign against these countries.If not GB,the US would see them as worst threat then us and if we are victorius in our Campaign against GB,the US could force GB to peace talks with us. So in one sentence: If we are thinking of winning this war,we must not attack Soviet Union before GB has made peace with us or surrendered.We can spare great amount of troops against GB while depoying in defence against SU.But if we attack SU,we wont have enough troops for both fronts.

US

In my perspective US is a sleeping giant that should not be awaken if its not absolutely necessary.Their industrial capacity is huge and while they are already supplying GB.We should try to remain as neutral as possible when considering any straight forward confrontation against US.That is the reason i dont recommended any Strategy against US at this moment.

The Buffer Countries

Romania,Bulgaria,Creece,Yugoslavia,Hungary,Finland and Sweden.
These countries are between two Juggernauts. At this point it seems that majority of them are more or less leaning towards us.These countries include: Romania,Bulgaria,Hungary and Finland. Creece is allied with GB and Yugoslavia and Sweden are the most Neutral of these.

Strategy against Buffer countries

In my mind we should support the countries that are leaning towards us.And pressure the Neutrals to start leaning towards us in fear of SU. This leaves us with Creece.Creece is allied with British and we should think her as our enemy.
The Creek mainland is not essential to our goals,but the Mediterranian islands including Cretes are if we attack GB on mediterranian.We could bypass the mainland or Conquer it if necessary.We have land connection from Albania provided by Italy so it shouldnt be hard to take Creece. Altough once again the coordination with Italians is essential and the "short leech" with Italy is essential.

[Keba]

The US seemed to have a majority against taking part in the war in 1940. It's probably obvious already in 1940 that the Japanese were going to aim east for US sooner or later, so breaking off connections with the Japanese would probably be necessary if war with the US were to be avoided for Germany. However, it's unclear if even that would have kept US out of the war, especially if Germany had been successful in North Africa, the Middle east and eventually started to seriously threaten Britain by such important (for resource and supply) successes. If North Africa is lost by the British the US would have to send their entire help to Britain if they would join in the war, because a direct landing from such a long sea transport wouldn't be feasible. They would send a strong fleet along with the land troops. The situation would be that of D-Day, only the German forces would have been pretty well supplied and possibly have more strength available to repel the attacks. It's possible that if the Japanese connections were broken and Japan would be successful enough, the US would choose a "Japan first" strategy and perhaps not declare war with Germany initially, or maybe not at all. It would give a 2-3 or maybe 5 year period for finishing the fight with Britain after seizing North Africa.

Another solution to avoid war entirely is to convince the Japanese Empire to join in the assault on the Soviet Union ... it would prevent the Siberian troops from reaching Moscow in time to save the city, as they would be tied up with the Japanese and Manchurian forces in the Far East. Siberia and it's oil would go a long way to aid the Japanese economy relieve itself from dependence on outside sources, and it would ease the German assault on Russia.

Ideally, Operation Barbarossa should have four fronts, one from the Caucaus (Italy and the Afrika Korps), Finland (which would tie up northern troops), the Far East (Japan's attack on Vladivostok) and Poland (where the heaviest strike would come from). It is however imperative that the Ribbentrop plan be accepted, the one where local nations are promised freedom from the Soviet regime. That move would give us some 2,000,000 soldiers ... or more. It is also important to keep those soldiers on the East Front (rather than send them to France, as Hitler did, an event that ended in mass surrenders, especially on D-day).

A prolonged war with the Soviet Union heavily favours the Soviets. Speed is where Germany has the advantage. Rather wait for a year and strike at spring, than strike when there is insufficent time to complete the invasion.

[DemonArchangel]

Whoa, whoa. Try to remember the rules here. Try not to factor what you already know into here. Right now, we don't have to worry about Russia, at least until next year at the very minimum. Right now, we have to worry about a Mediterranean campaign, which means Malta, Gibraltar, and possibly North Africa. This means securing enough materiel to conduct a campagin, getting supply priority (including decent air support), getting enough well trained personnel to conduct said operations, etc. So let's start with the Med. first and try not to think about Russia until we actually know that war with Russia will develop.

Right now, we need to secure naval support. That means the French Navy (try to get their hardware ASAP), that means the Italian Navy. That also means that the we need to force the Italians to work more closely with us. See if we can get some personal influence with the Italian military and bypass Mussolini. Try to get German equipment in the hands of the Italians. I know certain Italian units (like the Bersaglieri) were extremely effective, but they just didn't have the equipment to carry it out correctly. Cross training with the Italians (and other allies) for joint operations would help too, as it would help to break down the language barrier and promote cooperation and understanding. And please, try to FORCE the Italians to cooperate with us, before they humiliate themselves even more.

We're not invading the British Isles anytime soon, but we have to get the experience in fighting in harsh terrain in, so combat in Malta or Crete would certainly be good (assuming our casualties aren't through the roof), but the improvements in combat methods, and the added artillery support will help to keep the casualities lower than they were in real life.

[Rodion Romanovich]

Another solution to avoid war entirely is to convince the Japanese Empire to join in the assault on the Soviet Union ... it would prevent the Siberian troops from reaching Moscow in time to save the city, as they would be tied up with the Japanese and Manchurian forces in the Far East. Siberia and it's oil would go a long way to aid the Japanese economy relieve itself from dependence on outside sources, and it would ease the German assault on Russia.

Ideally, Operation Barbarossa should have four fronts, one from the Caucaus (Italy and the Afrika Korps), Finland (which would tie up northern troops), the Far East (Japan's attack on Vladivostok) and Poland (where the heaviest strike would come from). It is however imperative that the Ribbentrop plan be accepted, the one where local nations are promised freedom from the Soviet regime. That move would give us some 2,000,000 soldiers ... or more. It is also important to keep those soldiers on the East Front (rather than send them to France, as Hitler did, an event that ended in mass surrenders, especially on D-day).

A prolonged war with the Soviet Union heavily favours the Soviets. Speed is where Germany has the advantage. Rather wait for a year and strike at spring, than strike when there is insufficent time to complete the invasion.

Yes, the USSR would be in trouble if attacked on two or even four fronts, AND the strike would have been launched earlier in 1941 (and Moscow-Leningrad taken) but the US specifically - even when they had a stance against taking part in the war - gave Japan a clear ultimatum not to expand too much further or they could expect war. It was in response to that the Japanese decided a war with the US would be necessary for them to fulfil their expansion goal - they sort of wanted the first strike by hitting Pearl Harbor as, in their judgement, the US were serious about that ultimatum. Now if Japan attacks the USSR it's likely the US would start going after the Japanese - at least within a year (a slower mobilization probably to be expected if the Japanese don't attack first), and if doing so they'd also be fairly likely to go after Germany too. Plus - the Japanese are already in deep trouble with a superpower in the Chinese at the time, and they have the threat of US joining. It would be difficult to convince them of joining a war with a third superpower. And the Japanese Pearl Harbor attack came in late 1941, so waiting until 1942 would mean it would be too late to get Japanese help - they'd already be at war with 2 superpowers. I doubt the Japanese can be of any help at all. The only possibility would perhaps be if help can be forced on the Italians quickly enough to give axis victory in Africa and the Middle east so early in 1941 that there's enough time to invade USSR early that spring, before Japan has got war with the US. Though I suppose the political situation is such that the chances of achieving those things is virtually nil, and EVERY part of that plan must be successful or the entire plan fails. Breaking of connections with the Japanese would give more time - I think a victory in the Med could take 1-2 years so more time is needed. Plus letting the Italians taste at least some defeat first would improve relations with the Italians a lot, and thereby also the possible help that could be received from them. But also allowing them to lose too badly before getting help could also worsen the relations. I suppose making preparations for quick help sent to the Italians, and ask (though a bit more like a statement than a question) the Italians to take the help as soon as things get the least rough for the Italians. At the same time breaking off connections with the Japanese.

[DemonArchangel]

ARGH! DOuble Post