1st May 1940 to 1st September 1940
-War in Europe-
May 1st, 1940: Following attacks on convoys by Finnish aircraft, the British government suddenly suspends aid to the Soviet Union. A certain Mr Churchil strongly criticises the 'complacency and weakness' of the current government. They are backed by public opinion. Most Brits are looking for some kind of action to be taken against the 'German hegemony' in europe. There are also fears about the disunity of the commonwealth countries. It seems that, despite an enormously expensive fleet and air force, the British Empire is becoming less and less relevant on the world stage...
The British government is more or less paralysed over the next few months by all the arguing.
Meanwhile, France and Canada continue to send supplies, mostly via the 'Persian Corridor'.
May 11th, 1940: Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish forces (in that order of troop numbers) launch new offensives against Soviets in the Karelian region. But Finland's honoured army commander dies of a heart attack hours later, probably brought on by the stress of leadership. Finland's troops continue to lead the attack, but with less boldness than before. Nonetheless, Soviet forces continue to fall back to Leningrad and other fortified positions. Norway's air force (using mainly German-designed aircraft) makes a name for itself in air battles over the city.
May 15th, 1940: Anti-war protestors take to the streets in Stockholm and other Swedish cities, demanding that Sweden stays out of the war. Swedish anti-communists hold their own smaller protests to declare their support of Swedish troops fighting alongside the Finns.
May 21st, 1940: Soviet bombers fly particularly damaging air raids against Berlin, Warsaw, Helsinki and Tyrana. The bombers return several times over the next few weeks. Thousands are killed, and important factories are damaged.
June 15th, 1940: Operation Koschei begins, a German plan named after a mythical Russian demon. Germany has finally deployed the bulk of its army to the east. They are split into three huge army groups - one directed through Byelorussia to Leningrad in the north, one through the central area heading to Moscow, and one through the western Ukraine heading to Stalingrad. Polish troops help out in the north, Italians and other International Brigades help out in the south.
The combined armies of Germany and her allies make up the greatest invasion force in history. The Soviets are once again outnumbered all along the front, despite their best efforts to conscript as many soldiers as possible.
The German army suffers high casualty rates in the first few days, as their troops run into some well-prepared Soviet defences. But afterwards, the Soviets are totally overwhelmed and outnumbered, and the front is pushed quickly eastwards. Troops on all parts of the front enjoy warm sunny weather.
June 16th, 1940: Spanish naval forces are suddenly stationed near to Gibraltar, the British enclave and naval base on the southern tip of Spain. This only encourages more protests across the country, with people demanding Gibraltar's return to Spain. The British show no sign of giving it up, as it is vital to their fleet operations in the mediterranean, which in turn protects supply routes to India and the far east via the Suez Canal.
June 22nd, 1940: Turkish troops begin their own offensive in the south. Once again, Soviet mountain troops are able to hold them off, or at least slow them down, and inflict heavy casualties on them. Over the following weeks, the Turks press the attack with ever greater numbers of troops, and try to encircle to Soviets. This fails, and though the Turks gain some ground, they are still a fair distance away from linking up with the German front.
French and Turkish troops were also fighting an unofficial war on this front. Several French divisions were safeguarding the supply route from Persia to the USSR, which was under increasing danger from the Turks. French dead and injured now number several hundred.
August 1st, 1940: German forces reach city of Stalingrad, and quickly attempt to surround it. Field Marshal Model of Army Group South has specially stockpiled all kinds of equipment for this battle. The city is quickly reduced to rubble, but the Soviets fight with predictable zeal to defend the city which bears the name of their leader. German casualties begin to rise again.
Meanwhile, German spearhead units establish toe-holds on the other side of the Volga river, with great assistance from German-Italian engineering corps and specialised vehicles.
August 2nd, 1940: The battle of Smolensk takes place. A major Soviet counter-attack, with considerable numbers of T-34's, comes close to halting Marshal Guderian's Army Group Centre. Both sides take especially heavy losses of tanks and vehicles. German reserves enter the battle and keep the advance going, but Moscow is not in danger yet.
August 16th, 1940: After months of fierce fighting, a separate operation codenamed 'Kyril' comes close to reaching its goals. German, Polish, Finnish and Norwegian forces meet up around Leningrad. The besieged city holds out against continual bombardment.
Meanwhile in Stalingrad, Soviet forces are left holding a few large buildings along the riverbank. Most of their men are fighting underground, amidst the sewers and cellars of the ruined city.
August 17th, 1940: An Italian army chaplain stationed with troops on the Ukrainian front gives an account of new war crimes by hard-line German units. The accounts are circulated across europe. However the Vatican refuses to lend its support, for fear of upsetting the fascist government. The Germans and Italians are able to dismiss the claims as communist propaganda.
At the same time, there are the usual reports of summary executions and death-camps going on in Hungary, but these are dismissed in the same way.
August 19th, 1940: One year on since Germany began the war against the Soviet Union. The war has moved slower than some had hoped for, but with Soviet forces falling back everywhere, German commanders and their allies remain very optimistic about the future.
September 1st, 1940: Leningrad and Stalingrad are both still holding out, thanks to the sheer tenacity of Russian defenders (including many civilians), and also by their enemy's supply problems, caused by the speed of their advance. Stalingrad looks likely to fall first. Stalin himself remains in self-imposed isolation, leaving his generals to run the war.
Although they are still outnumbered and outgunned, it is rumoured that the Soviets are concentrating their best forces for counter attacks to save both cities. Much of their industry has been safely relocated to central Russia, well out of reach of enemy attack, at least for now. And with help from the French, the Soviets still have a growing stockpile of weapons and vehicles at their disposal.
Meanwhile in France, there is less tension among the population. War had seemed almost certain, but it never came. The country remains on alert, but most are expecting France to end the year 1940 in peace. Even some of France's most hard-line politicians now speak of the need to accept 'the new European order' and renew friendly relations with the 'Restorationist' powers, whose combined armies now seem invincible.
However the situation in Britain is quite different. The British people are becoming more and more agitated, and their government is facing a political crisis, as it steadily loses support for its perceived failure to stand up to Germany...
(Germany: -9 land, -2 air. Italy: -2 land. Norway: -1 land, -1 air. Finland: -3 land. Poland: -4 land, -1 air. Turkey: -4 land, -1 air)
(USSR: -19 land, -5 air)
-War in East Asia-
May 1st: French, Australian and New Zealand navy ships continue the blockade of Hainan, with little change in the situation. The French later allow US observers onto the island, which goes some way to dispel all the rumours of French atrocities.
Japanese ships occasionally patrolled through the area to keep track of the allied ships, or just to stir up tensions. There were no more 'incidents' between the Australians and Japanese.
June 2nd: Nationalist Chinese forces are left at a standstill, while several senior generals face trial for conspiring against Chiang Kai-Shek and attempting to join forces with the eastern rebels. The Communists take the opportunity to attack in the west, using infiltration and guerrilla tactics to harass the Nationalist garrisons from all sides. After two months they are fought off, and take heavy casualties. But the Nationalist forces are disorganised and remain on the defensive, and Communist influence is on the rise again.
June 12th: Japanese troops begin an offensive designed to crush the Soviet-held pocket north of Nationalist Chinese borders. The area is captured swiftly, and only a few Soviet troops are able to escape to Mongolia. Chinese Nationalists make no attempt to get involved.
Soviet pockets along the pacific coast are also under attack. The isolated troops make full use of the mountainous terrain to hold up the Japanese for as long as possible. However, the outcome is inevitable. Japanese fleet has total control of the sea, and the overstretched Soviet forces on the main front have no intention of launching a breakthrough attempt.
The Soviet air force also backs away from the air war, as it conserves its strength for fighting on the European front. Only a few squadrons of experienced pilots remain behind to harass the Japanese.
July 5th: A resurgence of fighting in French Indo-China. French garrisons are able to contain the situation, and no major cities are threatened by the rebels at this point.
August 24th: It takes months of fighting, but the pacific pockets are gradually overrun. Many Soviet troops are captured, and many of these are only too glad to join the 'Russian Volunteer Army' and take up arms against their former comrades. After all, life in Japanese work-camps is not an appealing alternative.
The Japanese begin to consolidate their hold on the trans-Manchurian area. Casualties are heavy, but are almost ignored by the Japanese people as they celebrate victory.
It seems that Japan is in negotiations with Buryats and various local peoples (many of whom are already giving aid to Japanese troops). A re-drawing of the region's borders may not be too far away. Japan has also been doing its best to rebuild the area's industry.
(Japan: -6 land, -2 air. Nationalist China: -2 land, -1 air)
(USSR: -5 land, -1 air. Communist China: -3 land)
-The Rest of the World-
The USA: Franklin D Roosevelt seems certain of winning the election, due to be held in November. New social programmes have put Roosevelt's administration well ahead in the polls. The situation overseas is still of little interest to average Americans, nonetheless there is now more support for military spending.
The German-backed 'International Brigades' in the USA are under increasing criticism from various sides and are losing support. Leaders of these groups accuse the FBI of waging a propaganda war against them and deceiving the American people.
Impressive new aircraft have caught the attention of the press, in particular Boeing's B17, soon dubbed the 'Flying Fortress' by reporters, due to the number of gun turrets it carries. It is said that even bigger and faster aircraft are in development. However, there is some controversy over alleged dealings between Boeing and the Japanese military. American companies are continuing to sell oil, metals, weapons, and various equipment to just about all sides involved in the ongoing wars.
South America: Venezuela's industry continues to grow, as the government pumps its oil dollars into new factories. Meanwhile, there is growing rivalry between Brazil and Venezuela for influence over their neighbours, especially in Colombia, which now seems a close friend of Venezuela. Many countries in the north of the continent seem eager to make alliances, so long as things further south are not exactly settled. Argentina remains bitterly hostile to the US, and International Brigades are said to be flourishing there.
Brazil still seems to be the strongest overall, especially with the launch of the new aircraft carrier "Santa Catarina".
Holland: Closer trade links are established with Venezuela. With the isolation of the USSR, Holland and Venezuela now have a fairly big slice of the world oil market. But the USA and the UK are still the main exporters by a huge margin.
Of course, most of Holland's oil comes from Indonesia, which is slowly on the road to independence. Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles are also being given greater freedoms, and even their own parliaments. This has increased Holland's reputation as a fair and honourable nation, especially at a time when war and oppression are raging elsewhere in the world.
Italian East Africa: is looking more secure after Italy's well-equipped colonial forces have spent months patrolling and arresting troublemakers, particularly in former Abyssinia/Ethiopia. The same can not be said for British colonies in the middle east, were sporadic fighting still takes place.
Cyprus: is still plagued by riots, stabbings, and shootings. Violence between local Turks and Greeks has been stirred up and shows no signs of going away.
-Miscellaneous-
May 15th: The world's first McDonald's is founded in San Bernardino, California.
-Notes-
Feel free to PM me for any feedback about covert ops and stuff. I will probably be sending some PM's at some point anyway.
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