Chapter 23 - Victory In The East!
June 23rd 1944 - July 11th 1945
Impressed by our victories over the Russians, the Portuguese have taken interest in joining our alliance. They are essentially a proto-fascist state and it is in our interest to make sure they are under our influence so no allied attack can come from there. Whether this because the really believe in our cause or because they are terrified of Axis power we can not be sure, but hours after our victory in Stalingrad our Foreign Minister Churchill25 reports from Lisbon that they have agreed to join our Axis alliance. So I ask the council to welcome the newest member of our fold, Portugal!
Moving into July 44 we continue our massive attack into the Caucasus Mountains. The Soviets counter attack as well, knowing this has to really be there last stand, and there are battles everywhere, the region is in flames!
It has proved impossible to take Viipuri, so we start to order redeployment of the force sin the Finnish region, ordering 2 of the 4 Panzer divisions there southwards. The others will remain with a couple infantry divisions to ensure the Soviet troops there can not break out.
In Late July our oil situation is starting to get bad as the strain of 5 years of warfare is eating into our supplies at too great a rate. We really need to finish the Soviets off soon. The United States has also taken Mallorca from our Spanish allies, hopefully they wont be able to actually invade mainland Spain though. Our push towards Baku is going ok, we must try and reach it before the end of the year, though we do plan on destroying the Soviets in Sevastopol first.
Pushing Southwards, August 4th 1944
By September Oil has reached critically low levels and we are handing much over to our allies in return for what supplies they can trade us. The Japanese are still going well in the east, annexing Tannu Tuva (a Soviet Satellite state) on the 14th.
On September 22nd a push from the East by German and Axis forces (supported by Panzers) has managed to push the Russians in the Crimea back to inside their fortress at Sevastopol. Surrounded and cut off, we will end them soon.
The Hungarians advanced into the region first, other units soon followed
On September 24th the carrier KMS ArneHD joined the German fleet. Our strength grows.
Sevastopol falls on the 26th, they could not hold out for long against our assault! With this Soviet enclave now captured, we can focus the troops in the area towards taking Baku.
As the Russian winter once more sets in during October, German commanders vow not to pause for winter this time, continuing the drive towards Baku. Portugal is becoming involved in the fighting, taking the last of the Belgian colonies in Africa and removing the Belgian seta of government there. However Britain now threatens to overrun the Portuguese colonies there, and we can do nothing to stop this for the time being, instead giving assurances to the Portuguese that we will turn our attention to Africa once the Soviets surrender. On October 28th we capture Grozny, we are getting very close to Baku!
The United States re-elects FDR in its November election. We think nothing of it, whoever leads them will still be our enemy. Our strike for Baku is slow but sure, taking Makhachkula on the 24th, the province next door to Baku. We decide before taking Baku that we should go for Tabriz first, to open the door to Iraq and the British held middle east.
December and we have 162 divisions (including Axis troops) attacking the Caucuses now. However the mountainous terrain and heavy snows and really slowing us down, its ideal conditions for the Soviet defenders. A US attempt at landing at Bergen is also defeated, clearly they are testing our defences.
In mid December is it decided to test the strength of our fleet at last! We engage and defeat a US carrier fleet, Battleship fleet and British battle fleet though there are no casualties on each side as they flee upon realise sing we are stronger. A morale victory for us and a good sign we can take them on!
Moving in January and a new year is upon us, 1945! The 6th year of the war and still it is as bitter as ever. It is disappointing to still be fighting the Soviets though, Supreme Commander Davo had hoped for a victory by 1944.
We decide to continue probing the UKs naval defences and launch a carrier strike against their naval port in Norwich, doing a lot of damage.
In February we manage to sink several British ships in battles in their waters, as we encroach on the bit of sea known as The Mouth Of The Thames. Those ships we sink are the HMSs Shropshire, Revenge, London, Warspite, Devonshire, Valiant, Norfolk and Essex. So quite a good total, our carriers have done well! However we have lost the KMS Tirpitz to British bomber planes, a bad blow that will take time to recover from. ArneHD, our industry expert has spend some time studying the designs as we build our ships and recommends in future that we separate our Battleships for our carriers.
On land, February is spend re-cooperating our forces before the final strike in the Caucasus. In the east, Japan annexes Bhutan on the 24th.
On March 11th, we receive word that the American President, Franklin D Roosevelt is dead. Truman now runs there country, stepping up to the role. The Russians winter begins to thaw and we start our attack on Tabriz.
On April 1st a new wave of interceptors are completed, Messerschmitt Me-163 Komet is their official designation. During April the US starts occupying Madagascar, an island technically under our control since the fall of Vichy France but in reality far from our hands. By the end of April we are forced into a last stand situation again in Africa, as our African Corp are surrounded at Tobruk. In the coming weeks Italians make a fight back, we arent quite dead there yet.
On May 3rd we finally capture Tabriz, and Baku falls to us on the 5th. We have now opened the route to the middle east and taken the Russians vital southern oilfields! Surely the Russians can not hold out for long now with so many vital cities in our hands! They had there last stand and have failed, now we await Stalin to sue for peace.
3 days later more good news from the East as Japan annexes Nepal.
Mid may sees us beginning to invade British held Iraq. They little in the way of garrison there at current and Iraqi troops are inferior to even our axis troops, let alone the mighty German forces. The Soviets attempt a minor counter attack in the North, apparently striking for Moscow but its nothing we cant handle. Into June we start attacking the USSR in the centre, trying to fully push them back to the Urals as we wait for Stalin to realise that he has lost and the Red Army is finished.
On July 2nd the World Eaters Panzer Corps capture Baghdad, our attack into Iraq is going well!
July 11th
the day we have waited for so long as come at last
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Stalin has sued for peace! The Soviet Union has surrendered! We are victorious at last! A glorious day for the German empire! To rub it in, we even meet the Russian delegation in the ruins of Stalingrad and sign the peace agreement there. Large sections of land are handed over to us and the Japanese, whilst the Finns receive Viipuri (despite staying out of the war). Stalin is replaced as the Soviet leader by Lavrenti P Beria, and the Soviet capital moved to Novosibirsk. We have our victory over reds, though it has cost us dear we emerge strong and ready to crush the allies in the west! Yes, it took a long time to achieve, but what matters is that it is done, the Soviet threat has been removed!
The new borders:
