Time of Writhe - Allies

[gwgardner]

Ides of March, '40

Betrayal, dastardly betrayal!

In a move that has caught Mother Russia completely by surprise, the German army attacked across the borders, from Lithuania south to Lvov. Stavka ordered an immediate mobilization. It will take time to muster the forces and get them in place to block any German advance.

As the Germans had not yet been able to bring the French and British to their knees, and as their Italian ally is in the midst of a two-pronged attack in Algeria, as they made only slow progress in Yugoslavia, it was inconceivable to the Russian high command that the Germans would want to open up a four front war.

The situation upon mobilization:

[gwgardner]

Russia is in good position with regard to its industrial base and stores of vital supplies. It has also invested heavily in research.

[gwgardner]

late March '40

UK: The Italian position at Tobruk has been completely invested by British forces, and Bengazi has fallen to light armored units who sped across the desert againt no resistance. Iraqi garrison forces are now in place in Alexandria and Lisbon, freeing up another British division for the front.


France: British reinforcements have arrived at Tunis and are enroute to help with the attack on Tripoli from the west.

Imperial Russia: The steady grind on the Finnish front continues, with the aid of the Imperial Navy, which is called in for heavy bombardments of finnish positions. These bombardments are singulary effective in reducing the enemy's ability to man the front lines in force.

In the second week of the German invasion, the weather has been both a blessing and a curse. Note in the attached sitrep around Vilnius that heavy rains stalled an attempt to drive south, to cut off the lead elements of the German advance.

[gwgardner]

April '40

West: status unchanged, continued exchanges of artillery fire around Tobruk, as the British move forces in for the final push; French repositioning of their lines to make way for the more powerful British forces near Tripoli; The US has started supply convoys to France, at the rate of 5 PPs per convoy. The US administration is searching for ways to provide more aid, especially to the Brits, but Congress is resistant, noting that the US military is far behind in both quantity and quality of its forces. The military research programs and current military budget of the US are contrasted with that of the Russians here:

[gwgardner]

Russia:

Mobilization is 95% complete, with forces taking up initial positions prior to the expected German breakthroughs.

As of yet, however, there is no indication that the Wermacht has attacked in full force. Vilnius still holds out, and German units are still 100 miles away from the main Russian defensive line, on the Minsk - Gomel - Kiev line.

Russia has benefitted from the fact that the Germans have apparently been reluctant to violate Latvia's territory, though how long that will last is questionable. Ominously, the Romanians are showing every sign of preparing to join the Axis.

Overall sitrep:

[gwgardner]

In detail, the defenses at Kiev, Gomel and Minks are built along the Stalin Line of fortifications.

Kiev is typical:

[gwgardner]

Where Russian forces have been isolated, orders have gone out to dissolve into the surrounding mountains and forests to carry on a partisan war.

[gwgardner]

The German attack has not deflected the High Command from its determination to finish what Stalin started in Finland. Russian tank forces are in sight of Helsinki now. In the far north, Petsamo has been cut off and is slowly being decimated.

[gwgardner]

early June, '40

Western Allies: After a long race across the desert, British forces arrived at Tripoli this week. The city has been surrounded and is expected to capitulate without further fighting within the next week or two. The UK has taken up strong positions in Greece, both in front of Thesalonika and the Pelopennesus, alongside the valiant Greeks. Without heavy German reinforcement to aid their Italian puppets, it is expected that the Greek invasion will prove a costly one for the Italians.

Planning at Mediterranean Command in Alexandria is already looking forward to possible British feints against Sicily. Royal Air Force recon planes based in Malta are now in position to start doing detailed reconaissance of Southern Italy.

[gwgardner]

AP Oslo

Finland Falls

The last remnants of the Finnish Army are expected to lay down their arms in the very near future, with the Russian advance into the last strongpoint held by the Finns. The city of Turku fell to armored assaults, and the Tzarina Anastasia sat briefly for photos with representatives of the Finnish government, prior to discussions on how to end hostilities.

Wasting no time, the Tsarina boarded her train soon after those preliminary meetings, enroute to an undisclosed location. If her past actions since taking the throne are any indication, she may next be seen on the frontline outside of Minsk!

[gwgardner]

The Wermacht's strongest offensive to date is underway around Minsk. It appears the the Germans have decided upon a 'Moscow Strategy,' pinning all their hopes on being able to punch through the Russian lines to the capitol. There has been little fighting elsewhere along the front, except along the Romanian border.

The Minsk Front is in danger of being flanked by the strongest German armored columns, but reinforcements are arriving to stem that incursion.

[gwgardner]

The situation is chaotic on the Romanian Front, with the lines fluid. General Zhukov has ordered any Russain unit that gets cut off to go into Partisan mode. The Romanians will have to deal with those harrassing tactics if they are to continue any kind of forward momentum.

[gwgardner]

AP Oslo
August 15, 1940

The Allied and Comintern news blackout since June has aroused suspicions that the major powers arrayed against the Axis are planning some kind of joint operations.

Rumors are, however, that on the contrary, the dearth of information from both East and West is because of reverses at the front.

A British attempt at an amphibious assault in Sicily has apparently ended in a complete annihilation of the invading forces, with heavy losses to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.

After their victory in Finland, which took the mighty USSR many long months to achieve, the Red Army has apparently been on the defensive all along the long front with Germany and her allies. Analysis of the scant testimony which has leaked out of Russia indicates that the Germans have achieved a breakthrough east of Minsk, and are driving hard towards Moscow.

Nothing has been seen or heard of the Tzarina Anastasia or the probable power behind her throne, General (or is it Marshall) Georgy Zhukov, since June.

[gwgardner]

August '41

Using the armored forces brought south from Finland and the new and better tank forces produced in recent months, Russia has launched an offensive against the weakpoint of the Axis front, in Romania. The effort is aimed at biting off the enemy salient west of Odessa, and driving deep into Romania. A secondary aim is to draw down the German offensive power around Smolensk.

[gwgardner]

Three weeks into the offensive, the Germans and Romanians have succeeded in stabilizing the front. With minor territorial gains, High Command has had to admit that the offensive has failed in its primary objective. It did succeed in drawing powerful German units south.

The German counter-offensive succeeded in completely destroying one Russian tank corps, and is driving on Odessa itself. High Command is not ready to pull back, thinking that reinforcements will reach Odessa in time to forestall any more German advance.

The weather has not been kind to the Russian advance, with rain squalls and storms hindering tank movements.

An intensive air battle has raged over the entire battlefield, with continued incremental losses to the Russian air force. It is unknown at this time whether the Luftwaffe has suffered similarly. Many of Russian losses have come in intercept missions and recon. 70% of the Russian air force is committed to the offensive.

[gwgardner]

Farther north, High Command has been willing to give ground to the German offensive east of Smolensk, in hopes that it will be seriously hindered by upcoming Fall weather.

Here the lone Russian air army has been unable to successfully recon behind the German lines.

Within the next two to three months, with technological advances and production of new and better equipment, the Russian infantry will upgraded to a much more powerful force.

[gwgardner]

The German offensive east of Smolensk has now reached alarming proportions. Lead German units are no more than 200 miles from Moscow.

The Tzarina has authorized the third callup of reserves, midst grumblings from the populace. Unfortunately, the reserve pool has dwindled drastically. Russia has only 600 PPs left in its reserves, which is going to put a major hold on upgrades of frontline units starting next month.

(The expected breakthroughs in technology have been delayed by at least a month. these things are not predictable.)

To add to the problems faced by the Imperial Govt., there are worries about how to hold the Caucasus region, should the Turks fail to stem the recent German attack on that neutral power.

Sitrep: nothing will stand between Moscow and the Germans but new recruits.

[gwgardner]

The Allied Combined Command is scrambling to meet the completely unexpected German assault on Turkey. A high-level military and diplomatic group has left Alexandria for Ankara, in hopes of getting approval by the Turks for Allied forces to come to their aid.

In the meeantime, the Iraqi reserves have been called up around Mosul, and French and British units have been transported by air, land, and sea to Aleppo and Beirut, enroute to the Turkish border.

An entire air army has been shipped from England to Aleppo.

[gwgardner]

Dec 9, '40

With German forces 100 miles from Moscow, and with winter screaming in from Siberia, it is time for an offensive that will force them to pull back. All of Russia's armored forces are being massed for a thrust into the underbelly of the German salient. Projected date for the start of the offensive is Feb 1st, but it could take place earlier if the forces can move into place without too much interference from the weather.

[Fishbed]

Fantastic read by the way, the same with your Axis opponent. You guys really convinced me into buying the game I guess. Too bad it doesn't draw as much attention from the general public as it seems to deserve, actually.

Good luck with the offensive, Marshall Zhukov!