Schneller, schneller!

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
16 January 1940

France must be desparate for British help, but thus far we have seen very few Britons.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
24 January 1940

France is a large country, for Western Europe anyway. Taking Paris will not end her warmaking, but it is a great psychological focus, and it is our second objective now. The French army, the Allied armies, are our primary target. Everything comes if the enemy is weak, and continual attrition, in the crucial sectors, is the source of their weakness.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
1 February 1940

(When I saved this turn I captured the Finns, and fog of war had to be turned off to see the French positions.)

It is time to address the Russo-Finnish war. The Soviets attacked Finland, which promptly manned the Mannerheim Line. They also prepared to defend their northern positions from Soviet incursions. The Soviets hve their hands full.

In France we are running a bit ahead of our supplies.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
9 February 1940

The national command authority (political) informs us that the Italian military will begin a campaign in the South of France. This broadening of the war is not an unmixed blessing. Italy has North African and Mediterranean concerns that do not mesh well with our war efforts. The Italians can certainly help us, but we must be careful to not be drawn into their battles too deeply.

We are very close to Paris now, not in great strength. All our production is directed to the military, leaving the naval forces of the Reich to act as a fleet in being. Just now we are concentrating on ending the war with France in our favor.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
16 February 1940

We will soon get to test ourselves against the British. They have crossed the channel in force, and will surely be a thorn in our side. With the fall of Paris we must begin to think of the endgame, and weakening the British will be important. Our Italian allies will find the British active in defending their Empire, and every British Tommie left in France is one less in Egypt. We must also consider a possible attack, an invasion, of Great Britain itself.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
24 February 1940

Things are going well, and we seem to be moving too fast for the enemy to react. The British newspapers are full of shock, almost doom filled. The British PM is floundering, and at the Admirality Churchill has begun making stirring speechs, but he is not in control. The French have engaged the Italians near Tripoli, but the British are still not visible near Egypt.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
1 March 1940

Things go well. We are rebuilding rail lines as we go, and pushing as quickly as is prudent. Metz is invested and will fall eventually. The Germans and Italians are nearly in touch with one another. Dunkirk and Orleans have fallen.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
9 March 1940

The Italians are getting ready for the British at Bardia. Supply is very difficult in the Med, especially with Malta in British hands.

Our Germans are grinding away, doing the business of winning a campaign. We know of no grand strategic moves that will help us win now. We just have to execute competently.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
16 March 1940

We are doing well enough in the west to look in another direction. See the next post.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
16 March 1940, continued.

We attack south into Yugoslavia. We do not any longer hope for Great Britain to fold their cards when France does. This southern campaign will threaten their interests more directly. As resources free up we will increase our forces here, and perhaps drive into Greece. Britain has ties to Greece that will make any attack there very sensitive for them. We may even be able to prepare for Balkan campaigns beyond these.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
24 March 1940

Progress on all fronts is adequate. We are having strategy sessions within the high command. Possible future operations include a focus to the southeast and Balkan campaigning. Heading through Turkey, hopefully with their consent, and into the Levant would give Great Britain real problems. Another option under discussion is the invasion of Great Britain itself. This is a daunting task, but one that is within our grasp.

[Chocolino]

Chuck - I really enjoy your AAR. Glad you share this.

How do you like the Third Reich mod so far and what are the key differences? I hear it has fewer (or no?) events but know little else.

Good luck with your further endeavours - I will follow closely.

[cpdeyoung]

Chocolino,

It is fun doing an AAR again. I am not sure I have seen many events so you may be right.

I am not sure I am expert enough on the differences to know.

Chuck

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
1 April 1940

The British have arrived in considerable strength at Bardia, and the supply strapped Italians are not ready to meet them. Supplies are suffering from the attacks out of Malta. We are consulting with the Italians about possible resolutions of this thorn in their side, all of which involve heavy Luftwaffe participation.

In Yugoslavia we press on in a campaign which will take sometime. Unless the British send troops into the Balkans we will crush the Yugoslavs, in more or less time.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
9 April 1940

The Army and KM have conducted lightning campaigns in Denmark and Norway, and both countries are under our control.

These successes have caused great joy in the Fatherland, as has our progress in France, and the Balkans. Much thought is being given to possible future campaigns. The Italians are under significant pressure near Bardia. The British have a big advantage in number of units there.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
16 April 1940

Our campaigns progress satisfactorily.

We provide a map of the Italian positions near Tobruk to illustrate the British attack there.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
24 April 1940

France has left the conflict. Immense excitement throughout the population, but in command councils we know that there is Great Britain, and Yugoslavia yet to deal with. The Luftwaffe is moving to the coast to face the RAF. We have begun the battle to take and hold superiority over Great Britain. We are also consulting with the Italians about Mediterranean prospects.

Eight months ago we were stumbling into Poland, and now our arms have gained the Reich security, and wealth.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
1 May 1940

We continue to make progress in Yugoslavia, but the British are pushing hard in North Africa. The Greek option is looking better all the time. Success there may draw the British away from their campaign near Tobruk. We are tempted to cast the dice now with a premature declaration of war just to call their hand. We address the British in the skies above southern England too. We will consider an invasion of Great Britain, risky though it is.

(Posted 1 May 2012

72 years have passed since those May days in France, 1940. This all seems so famillar to me now, and not old fashioned. I guess the wars of our childhood stories seems fresh for our lives. My father fought in the Pacific, and I was born while he was in Toyko Bay aboard the battleship Idaho. World War Two was almost current history to me as a child, and still seems fresh now. Yet surely it must all seem dated to those born years after me.}

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
9 May 1940

We are furiously exploring options to counter Great Britain. Driving through the Levant and into Egypt has an exotic appeal. The Turks may not grant passage, but a campaign to subdue them is not beyond possibility. Reinforcing the Italians in the desert is a more likely scenario. Great Britain had best watch their own defenses, as we are examining a campaign there too.

[cpdeyoung]

OKH Situation Report
16 May 1940

Things are going badly in North Africa, and we have decided to support an operation against Malta.

In Yugoslavia Split has been captured and powerful German forces are heading south toward Greece. Other forces are driving on Belgrade.

The preparations for an invasion of Great Britain continue.