Gorings Reich (Part 2) Heartland versus Rimland

[galveston bay]

Gorings Reich: The Heartland versus the Rimland



“Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland;
who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island;
who rules the World-Island commands the world."
(Mackinder, Democratic Ideals and Reality, p. 150)

Germany celebrates September – October 1944
The Reich Empire Folk Festival ("Großdeutsches Volksfest ) is a huge celebration in 1944, as for Germans (and Austrians) it appears that the war has been won, the humiliation of 1918 avenged and overturned, and Germans are now the masters of Europe. Nearly every man in the Wehrmacht is sent home for a few days over the six weeks of the holiday. Huge parades are held in Munich, Berlin and Vienna, war heroes are honored with public appearances and decorations, and for some they even are able to view it on television while Goring announces that April 20 will become a permanent holiday to honor Hitler whose master plan and brilliant leadership laid the groundwork for German victory.

Goring and Goebbels between them have made Hitler very nearly a patron saint in Germany, and much of the political support they have is because of their effective use of his tragic death to ensure that National Socialism (and themselves) have received all the credit for the success Germany has had in the war so far. Only a handful of people close to Goring know what really happened to Hitler and how Himmler was made the scapegoat.

Germany October 1944
The Fuhrer of Germany, Herman Goring, has avenged the German defeat in World War I, overturned Versailles, brought down Stalin and Churchill, outlived Franklin Roosevelt and created a Fascist Europe from Gibraltar to Jutland, and from the English Channel to the banks of the Volga River. Indeed German allies control the oil wealth of the Caucasus, Iraq and Persia, while others control the rich food producing regions of France, the Ukraine, Poland and Denmark. Kaiser Wilhelm and Adolph Hitler dreamed of such, but Goring has brought it about. The British Empire is falling, the Soviet Union has been stripped of vast sections of territory, and the Dutch, Portuguese, and French Empires are no more. The British and Soviets have accepted peace treaties and while the United States and its allies in the United Nations are still officially at war with Germany and its allies, there has been a truce in effect for over a year in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. While some sabotage continues in Western Europe, and there remains fighting between troops and partisans in Spain, Yugoslavia and Belorussia, there is peace of a sort in Europe.

The Germans and their allies have demobilized large numbers of troops. The Heer has brought 100 divisions and nearly 2 million men home, while the bulk of the Hungarian, Bulgarian and Italian armies have returned home and demobilized as well. Albert Speer, the Economic Minister of not only Germany but also the European Pact, has pushed successfully for the military forces to release highly skilled workers, particularly engineers and chemists. Production is at record levels and older obsolete or obsolescent weapons, vehicles and aircraft are replaced with more state of the art items during late 1943 and all through 1944. The Reich and several economies such as France, Italy and Belgium are also now starting to produce consumer goods in increasing quantities, while the economies of Poland and the Ukraine remain primarily devoted to war production. Some of this production is now being exported to South Africa and Argentina, and markets in Paraguay and Uruguay are expected to open up soon.

 

[galveston bay]

Previously on "Gorings Reich"

https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/gorings-reich-an-alternate-world-war-ii.375064/

a summary of events 1933- 1944

Part I Gorings Reich: The Victorious Years

early 1930s Goring becomes sober after nearly dying from a drug overdose and more effectively manages the 4 year plan and Luftwaffe buildup
1930s Hitler as Fuhrer centralizes control over Germany, annexes Austria and Czechslovakia. The French government panics after Austria and begins a crash project to extend the Maginot Line to the sea, which along with Belgian decisions makes it clear to outside powers that France intends a defensive war only
spring 1939 Goring assassinates Hitler, Hess, and Borman, puts blame on Himmler who is crushed by Army and Luftwaffe, Goring assumes full power as Fuhrer. Poles and Balts ally with Germany as it is clear the French can't be trusted to keep their word and attack Germany if Germany attacks Poland. Japan suffers embarrassment at the hands of Zhukov in Mongolia
Summer 1939 Stalin panics at this new Fascist alliance and attacks, meets disaster and defeat, Japan prepares for another round with Soviets, gets German help
Spring - Fall 1940 Fascist crusade (with Japan too) defeats Stalin, imposes a harsh peace treaty, Stalin is executed by Politburo. Western Allies prepare for war
Winter 1940-41 Goring persuades German people that reversing Versailles and 1918 are possible, plans made to deal with France, Allies attempt to neutralize Spain and plot to demolish Italy certain that they can hold the Maginot Line against Germany
Spring 1941 Germany attacks France, Norway, Denmark, and Netherlands, begin Battle of the Atlantic. Germany and allies attack Greece. Western Allies attack Italians in Libya and E Africa. German surface fleet defeated at Broad Fourteens. Americans begins Lend Lease
Summer 1941 France suffers disaster as Germans crash through Maginot Line, Norway and Denmark falls, Greece falls, Allies win in Libya and E Africa. Japan crushes China with improved weapons and logistics.
Late summer 1941 French government flees to Algeria with what it can evacuate, Belgium and Netherlands fall, British and some Dutch and Belgian forces evacuated from. Allied shipping losses climb, US moves toward intervention in Atlantic. Allied surface fleets shifted from Southeast Asia to Mediterranean Sea.
Fall 1941 Germans begin Battle of Britain aimed at supporting Battle of Atlantic, fierce air battles inflict heavy attrition on RAF and Luftwaffe.
Japan enters war, destroys Allied navies in Southeast Asia, conquer French Indochina, Malaya, Dutch East Indies, Wake Island, Guam, Gilbert Islands, New Ireland, Darwin, but run into problems in the Philippines against a well prepared American/Filipino defense under Krueger and Wainwright
Winter 1941-42 Axis invade Tunisia by air and sea, threaten Algeria. American troops sent to North Africa. Allied defensive victory in Algeria
Japanese overrun Burma and invade India. Dutch East Indies conquered, Continued success in Philippines by Allies
Spring - Fall 1942 Climax of Battle of Atlantic, Allied Combined Bomber offensive postponed to throw resources into survival at sea
Spring 1942 Philippines finally falls, word of Japanese widespread atrocities reaches US and UK, continued fighting in Algeria and Libya, stalemate
Doolittle Raid against Japan, American offensive in Pacific, first major carrier battle
Summer - Fall 1942 Japan vs Allies at sea, Air raid on Seattle, fall of Aleutians, Allied victory at Darwin, Allied victory at Guadalcanal, Second Japanese campaign in India and collapse of the Raj
Fall 1942- Winter 1943 Truce and the Great Exchange... all POWs and many internees transferred, Allies turn down Axis peace treaty demands
Spring 1943 Turkey joins Axis, Axis offensive takes Baku, Armenia, Georgia, Persia, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. United Kingdom sues for peace with Germany, other Western Allies and Soviets agree to armistice. Churchill is replaced by Attlee. All available resources thrown at Japan. 3rd India Campaign results in Allied victory and decisive Japanese defeat
Fall 1942 - Fall 1945 India falls into chaos, faces the Bengal Famine, civil disorder and ethnic / religious riots, order gradually restored and Indian Federation with independent Pakistan, Sikhistan, and several other states created but this keeps large numbers of British troops tied down and ends possibility of a Burma front.
Spring - Fall 1944 Soviet offensive destroys Japanese forces in Mongolia, Sinkiang, North China Allied offensive in Pacific takes Aleutians, Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Marshal Islands, Southern and central Philippines, battles of Marshal Islands, Philippine Sea and Sulu Sea destroy the Japanese Navy as a fighting force
Summer 1944 First meeting of the United Nations with English speaking nations and Latin Americans (less Argentina) as founding members
Franklin Roosevelt dies, replaced by Wallace
Fall 1944 US Presidential Election, Truman wins, vows to achieve victory over Germany and its allies. UN Report on Axis atrocities, pro-Fascist coup in Argentina, Boer Nationalist Party takes power in South Africa (which leaves the war with Japan and declares neutrality), Unconditional surrender policy announced for Japan. Massive celebrations held in Germany for Octoberfest to celebrate victory

 

[CrimsonKing]

Looking forward to more! Part I was great. Will we have a look at the status of the various nuclear programs soon? Much would seem to ride on their efforts.

 

[DurableShift]

So time to rearm and re-equip for round two. Should be interesting once the US finishes off Japan and focuses on Germany.

 

[Art]

Germany is doomed because of the fact it could count on no one but German people for it's armies.

 

[Yuelang]

Germany is doomed because of the fact it could count on no one but German people for it's armies.

Ummm nope, not ITTL

They are basically treated Poles, Balts, Ukrainians etc as equals and only demanded coordinated efforts. Plus on the war being started by Soviet attack at first, it would be Germany seen as heroes in Central and Eastern Europe.

Aside of Jews and Gypsies and Serbs...

 

[traveller76]

What happens to all the guest workers brought into Axis countries during the war? Expulsion or reassignment to other industries? What happens to the older and obsolete weapons? Are they going to be sold off or given to friendly governments around the world?

 

[ppaul16]

What are the current developments in nuclear weapons throughout the world?

 

[galveston bay]

What happens to all the guest workers brought into Axis countries during the war? Expulsion or reassignment to other industries? What happens to the older and obsolete weapons? Are they going to be sold off or given to friendly governments around the world?

guest workers are sent back home if surplus, while surplus weapons and equipment are handed over to friendly governments

Nuclear developments will get their own post

Something to remember, Germany had a serious labor shortage in OTL, in spite of slave labor practices, because women were not put into industry like they were in English speaking nations and in the Soviet Union. Productivity for slave labor was poor as well (not feeding people enough to avoid starvation will do that). In this timeline productivity is better, but the Eastern European workers lack the education and skills that many of the German workers have. So they will end up doing the less skilled work. In other words, Germany productivity is gaining a major improvement over OTL, while some skilled Germans are now working in factories in Poland and the Ukraine. In short, while not matching the American capabilities this is still a significant improvement over OTL.

Also a lot of guest workers are working as domestic servants and farm laborers (as in OTL) which yes is wasteful, but the Germans are enjoying their improved standard of living

 

[galveston bay]

The White Sulphur Springs Conference November 20-25, 1944
The election of Harry Truman as President brings a change in the war. Dewey and Truman meet within days of his victory, and agree to a joint conference with the Joint Chiefs and senior Congressional leaders at the resort at White Sulphur Springs, which is now being used by the military for returned veterans with serious combat fatigue (authors note: which we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). It is at this meeting that the Executive Branch, supported by Northern and Western Democrats and Republicans inform the Army and Navy and Southern Democrats that the United States military will be desegregated as soon as practical. There is of course considerable resistance, but Truman and Wallace point out that as the meeting is underway there are two divisions of Black Americans fighting valiantly and well in Luzon, while two other divisions of Black Americans are in Arabia and covered themselves with glory in Australia and earlier in Luzon during the Japanese attack. A Black American fighter group has done superbly with the 13th Air Force, while several Black American sailors have won medals for gallantry. The United States cannot continue to discriminate against Black Americans while expecting to lead a crusade against Nazi Germany.

However, there is some negotiating, and Truman a skilled deal maker, works out the deal. The proposed unification of the Army and Navy under a Defense Department will be scrapped. The proposed independent Air Force will also not be brought about either. The current organization of the Army, with the Army Service Forces, Army Ground Forces and Army Air Forces will continue as is, but the head of the Army Air Force will remain as a member of the Joint Chiefs. The Marine Corps will also have a seat at the Joint Chiefs. However, the Army Air Force will continue its work to develop a delivery system for the Manhattan Project, which at this meeting Truman learns about for the first time.

As for the direction of the war. Nimitz will be made Commander in Chief United Nations Forces Pacific, East Asia and Southeast Asia. All UN forces in this part of the world will be under his control. This gives the Navy the full overall command of the war against Japan. General Eisenhower, who like Nimitz is not present at the meeting as they are both directing their part of the war, which even now is being fiercely waged in Luzon and against Japanese merchant shipping, will be sent to Europe after a short leave, where he will take command of all United Nations Forces Europe and Northwest Africa.

The blood letting in the Battle of Manila, along with the widespread use of the Japanese of suicide attacks both in the air and on the ground, make it clear that any invasion of Japan would be a massive bloodbath, while the proposed aerial bombardment of Japan requires bases at Okinawa, Saipan and Tinian or Hokkaido to gain the needed space for airfields for such a campaign, at a serious cost in lives. As the Army Air Force barely has a couple of hundred B29s ready, and they are still having development issues, a sustained campaign is still many months away. While the Manhattan Project might offer the solution, progress is uncertain and who knows when it will be ready.

With those facts facing Wallace and Truman, they both agree that the Navy original plan to blockade Japan into submission is the best decision. With the Soviets having cleared North China and already pushing toward Korea and Manchuria, the Japanese are cut off from their land access to their imperial possessions in the south. The liberation of Luzon will place their sea lanes under easy attack from air and sea, and the Navy carriers, supported by land based aircraft will destroy the remainder of Japanese merchant marine and destroy their transportation infrastructure at home. While this might take a couple of years, it puts the fewest American lives at risk and frees up vast resources to deal with the Germans, who are more dangerous than ever.

A series of announcements over the next few days is released to the press announcing the end of segregation of the United States military and all Federal installations and property, followed by the announcement that General Eisenhower will be appointed as Supreme Commander United Nations Forces Europe and Northwest Africa, while Admiral Nimitz receives his due as well. Both men are also promoted to five star rank as is Admiral Stark and General Marshal.

 

[galveston bay]

so no Battle of Okinawa, and no battles of Saipan or Tinian either and definitely no Operation Downfall with Coronet and Olympic

Japan will be starved out

 

[Wendigo]

so no Battle of Okinawa, and no battles of Saipan or Tinian either and definitely no Operation Downfall with Coronet and Olympic

Japan will be starved out

I expect there to be at least 5-10 million deaths before Japan surrenders.

 

[galveston bay]

I expect there to be at least 5-10 million deaths before Japan surrenders.

ultimately for the United States it was about saving American and other Allied lives. With the Great Exchange earlier in the war, there are few if any surviving American POWs or Internees in Japanese hands, which was a serious consideration in OTL

 

[Alias]

Shouldn't 1945 be 1944?

 

[galveston bay]

Shouldn't 1945 be 1944?

indeed it should

 

[galveston bay]

The Third Russo-Japanese War: Liberation of North China September 1944 – December 1944


Summer preparations
As it becomes clear that the Germans are not intending an invasion in the spring of 1944, the Soviets are able to again focus energy on the Japanese. The veteran units used in the winter campaign are now in European Russia, refitting with new equipment and weapons, and the new intake of conscripts for the year have finished their basic and advanced training. By August these forces are moving east to Siberia and Mongolia to reinforce troops already there.


The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army
As of 1944 the Communists are the only really national resistance movement left in China. The old 8th Route Army and its hardened cadre of 60,000 men is transformed under the leadership of General Zhu De into a force of 300,000 men during the spring and summer of 1944, equipped with Soviet weapons and equipment and organized into a disciplined and well trained light infantry force of 24 infantry divisions organized into 8 field armies (the size of Western corps) and 3 fronts with the objectives of Sian, Chungking and Chengtu. A number of specialist elite sapper (commando/engineer troops) are also organized, while to support this a network of nearly 200,000 partisans under the command of the Fourth Army has been armed in central and southern China to put pressure on the Japanese there, while another 100,000 partisans are in northern China and Manchuria to provide intelligence and interfere with Japanese movements.

This force, equipped with sufficient weapons and equipment for the first time in its history, is ready to liberate the Chinese homeland.

Allied balance of forces Fall 1944

The Soviets have assembled 2 tank armies (7 tank corps and 4 mechanized corps), and 9 Guards Armies (45 Guards Rifle Divisions) plus large amounts of artillery and 2 air armies to deal with the Japanese. Another 3 Cavalry Corps and some airborne brigades plus an air army are supporting the Chinese PLA. In all the Soviets and Chinese have nearly 2 million troops supported by 300,000 armed partisans and a vast network of unarmed people to provide intelligence. Along with that are nearly 6,000 armored vehicles and thousands of pieces of artillery and tens of thousands of trucks plus 4,000 combat aircraft.

The Japanese are in far worse shape.


The Japanese Army Summer 1944
The defeats in India and Mongolia in 1943 and early 1944 have destroyed a significant portion of the best divisions in the Japanese Army. American offensives have cut off or destroyed whole armies in the Pacific area. Every available formation has been sent to defend the Empire, and now cadres are desperately needed at home to form the core of new divisions. A total of 16 divisions are now cut off or destroyed in the Allied Pacific offensive of 1943-44, while 9 are tied down in the Philippines, 8 are in eastern India and Burma, 24 defending the East Indies, Malaya, Siam and Indochina, and thus only 16 divisions are available to garrison China, Formosa, Manchuria and Eastern Siberia, as well as 10 divisions that have been rebuilt and are in the Home Islands and Korea. In addition the Japanese Army has 12 Manchurian, 15 Chinese, 4 Siamese and 3 Azad Hind Divisions to garrison rear areas and provide other second line support but none of these are likely to survive contact with any Allied force as their reliability is questionable and there training and equipment levels weak.

The Imperial Japanese Army shifts 9 of its rebuilt divisions into 3 armies organized into the 1st North China Army to hold the mountains east of Peking and Tai-Yuan, and to assist this force, 6 Manchurian divisions are broken up into brigades and battalions, and those units are parceled out to provide more manpower for this shield. Only 2 divisions and some Chinese police brigades are behind this, but there is nothing else available. Yamashita has only 8 divisions to keep the Soviets away from Manchuria and eastern Siberia, while only 2 divisions are available to hold the Chengtu/Chungking/Sian area, plus some Chinese troops.

This still leaves Japan with almost nothing as a reserve. There is only one source of troops available now, and that is stripping Southeast Asia of every man that can be spared. The forces in Southeast Asia still have rail access to Korea, or are close enough to Malaya so that heavily escorted convoys are likely to successfully reach it. Those 24 divisions are stripped of 5,000 men each, so that a total of 105,000 men are successfully sent by ship, rail and then ship again (via the Pusan to Kyushu route) to Japan to form the cadres for 48 new divisions to defend the Home Islands along with the call up off 450,000 men. None of these new divisions will be ready before July 1945, which is when based on the current rate of Allied advance, the Japanese expect an invasion. Meanwhile, the Japanese withdraw their troops from India and send 2 divisions to reinforce the Formosan garrison so that it has 4 divisions, and to place 2 divisions on Okinawa. These movements are completed by the end of August, which turns out to be just in time. This still leaves the Japanese with no reserves to spare to help defend Luzon or to spare to help fight the Soviets or PLA.

The Imperial Japanese Army Air Force is similarly in bad shape. The American invasion of the Philippines wipes out an entire Air Army, while 2 were gutted in Mongolia and only one remains in Southeast Asia and it is still understrength from the defeat in India. An air defense Air Army guards the Home Islands, while the heavy bomber force and air transport force are also all in reduced circumstances. The Army strips everything except a few fighter units left behind to defend oil fields in Borneo, Sumatra and Java, and concentrates them to defend North China and Manchuria giving them a total of 2,000 combat aircraft, and what remains is concentrated in the Home Islands, where the transport pilots are sent to duty as instructors, the remaining fighter pilots are assigned to home defense, and most of the new aviation cadets are now being trained as Kamikaze pilots. The few remaining bomber crews are assigned to special missions and held in reserve.


Kicking in the door: the Communist assault on the Japanese Chinese Expeditionary Army
By September 4, the Communist armies are in position, while the Japanese have been digging in for weeks using every possible advantage of terrain they can. The Soviet offensive begins with their Guards Armies pushing into the Tiahang Shan and western Yan Shan mountains. The Japanese are dug in along the Great Wall of China, as well as in the hills and mountains in front of it and behind it. The Japanese also have deployed several batteries of their 20 cm Type 4 rockets equipped with mustard gas while nearly 300 Army light attack aircraft have been equipped as Kamikazes and are armed with mustard gas bombs.

A step further into madness
The Soviets begin pushing against the outlying defenses of the 1st Northern China Army, and make faster progress than the Japanese expect, being willing to take heavy losses to push through. By September 11, they have breached the Great Wall defenses in several places, and Soviet tanks are pushing into the Japanese rear area, threatening artillery positions. General Baba, commander of the Japanese forces, panics, and orders a massive attack with every shell and rocket that he has, including the mustard gas weapons. Soviet casualties are heavy, as while the Soviet troops have gas masks, as so far in the war no one has used chemical weapons (as few outside of China are aware of the Japanese use against the Chinese earlier in the war), most soldiers have either mislaid them or used the bags to carry more useful items.
Marshal Konev, commander of the Soviet Forces facing Japan is outraged, and he telephones Krushchev and Zhukov asking for permission and the means to retaliate. The Soviet offensive comes to a halt after suffering 40,000 casualties, and several Guards Rifle divisions are little more than weak battalion sized combat groups.

Central China

Meanwhile, the PLA is advancing on its objectives against weak opposition with the goal of capturing Chungking, Chengtu and Sian. The Japanese and their puppet Chinese troops have dug in, converting those cities into fortresses, and conceded the area outside. However, as the Chinese advance, and General Baba has ordered the use of chemical weapons against the Soviets, he also orders, with the approval of Marshal Hata himself in Tokyo, the use of the remaining bombers of the long range Army Air Force to attack the approaching Chinese with chemical and biological weapons, including mustard gas, typhus and bubonic plague bombs. While many are shot down by Soviet fighters, including several regiments of fighters with Communist Chinese pilots, many get through, and the PLA suffers heavy casualties from the chemical attacks. The biological agents cause few military casualties as accuracy is poor, and most simply land in areas where no when is. But a number impact civilian villages and a nasty pandemic will kills tens of thousands of civilians in Sichuan province. It will be months before the Allies even determine that this pandemic was caused by the Japanese however.


By October the PLA has secured all three cities, in spite of horrendous casualties and total casualties to the Japanese defenders, all of whom are killed in the fighting or immediately after, along with many of the puppet troops. Civilian casualties are awful, with reports estimating them in the hundreds of thousands, but the PLA has liberated an entire province and part of two others. It will spend the rest of the year rebuilding and expanding its tattered armies.

The Fall of Peking
Meanwhile, the Soviets have shifted tens of thousands of tons of mustard gas to the Far East, and renew their offensive on October 13, firing shell after shell of high explosive and mustard gas at the Japanese defenders who find that the worst place to be is in a hole below ground. After a week of bombardment the Soviets push through to find that over half of the defenders are already dead and the rest are in poor physical and mental shape. The Japanese divisions are butchered where they stand or when they try to retreat, attacked by bombers and attack aircraft that bomb, strafe and rocket them unmercifully while Soviet bombers attack Japanese airfields, train yards, and other vital installations with bombs and gas.

Civilian casualties are staggeringly high as vast clouds of gas drift outside of the strike zones engulfing villages and farms, but mercifully frequent high winds that create dust storms also disperse most of the clouds before they drift too far. Nevertheless the UN report generated post war, simply from using what data it can obtain with a few survivor accounts of those who flee Communist China postwar estimate that a couple of million Chinese civilians die in this time period in the various combat zones.

By October 30 the Soviets have blasted apart the 1st Northern China Army, and finally are able to reach relatively flat ground. At this point the 5th and 6th Tank Armies are released, and ordered to head for Peking and Tiayuan. There is little to stop them, aside form the survivors of Japanese divisions that were in garrison which have been fighting an uprising for weeks now. Soviet aircraft rule the skies, while Chinese partisans have cut rail lines and blown bridges, preventing what little the Japanese have left from escaping or any reinforcements, which are ad hoc units raised from garrison and line of communications troops, from moving to interfere with the Soviet advance. Peking falls on November 2, and charging forward with the help of gasoline brought forward by air transport, the Soviet 5th Tank Army reaches Tientsin on November 12. With the fall of Tientsin the Japanese South China Army, and all of the Japanese forces in Southeast Asia are now cut off from Japan except by sea. That option is removed as well when the Americans secure Luzon in an operation that is already underway as the Soviets are completing theirs.


This offensive, although costing nearly the combined Chinese / Soviet armies nearly 300,000 casualties, has liberated Shanxi, Hebei, and Sichuan provinces, taken the old Imperial Chinese capital and cut off the Japanese from much of their empire by land. It has also killed nearly 400,000 Japanese troops, eliminated most of their puppet forces who are either dead or now find themselves inducted into the PLA, and wiped away decades of Japanese efforts in China.

It has also seen widespread use of chemical weapons and the United States changes its own policy regarding the use of chemical weapons and by July 1945, biological weapons once Soviet reports of Japanese use of them reach Truman.

 

[galveston bay]

the Japanese and Soviets both had chemical weapons available in large quantities... thankfully never used

In OTL the Kwantung Army was wiped out so quickly that even if it had them available, the collapse was so quick that any intention to use them would have been overwhelmed by events. Not so here, as for the Imperial Army the whole point of this war is to win in China and all means are to be used.

Obviously it would have been a disaster for Japan but at this point so would not be using them, at least as far as the Imperial Army is concerned.

The only hope now for the Army is the break the Americans when they invade.... and they of course are certain that the Americans will come

The blockade and starvation that is to come is thus inevitable now

This also explains in part why Truman has cancelled any further steps forward and is willing to let the Blockade work. Better that Japanese die rather than Allied troops

note that of the 120,000 troops stripped from Southeast Asia only 105,000 made it to Japan, the rest were lost in transit

coming soon will be a look at the Blockade of Japan and the Liberation of Luzon

 

[Wendigo]

the Japanese and Soviets both had chemical weapons available in large quantities... thankfully never used

In OTL the Kwantung Army was wiped out so quickly that even if it had them available, the collapse was so quick that any intention to use them would have been overwhelmed by events. Not so here, as for the Imperial Army the whole point of this war is to win in China and all means are to be used.

Obviously it would have been a disaster for Japan but at this point so would not be using them, at least as far as the Imperial Army is concerned.

The only hope now for the Army is the break the Americans when they invade.... and they of course are certain that the Americans will come

The blockade and starvation that is to come is thus inevitable now

This also explains in part why Truman has cancelled any further steps forward and is willing to let the Blockade work. Better that Japanese die rather than Allied troops

note that of the 120,000 troops stripped from Southeast Asia only 105,000 made it to Japan, the rest were lost in transit

coming soon will be a look at the Blockade of Japan and the Liberation of Luzon

According to Wiki in 1945 Japan had 4.3 million troops stationed in the Home Islands with 3.5 million elsewhere.

Are there similar numbers in this TL?

 

[galveston bay]

According to Wiki in 1945 Japan had 4.3 million troops stationed in the Home Islands with 3.5 million elsewhere.

Are there similar numbers in this TL?

not yet, a lot of those troops in 1945 were raised in 1945, and those number include depot troops, administrative and other support troops and the like

But they are working on it.

 

[galveston bay]

Countdown: War Returns to Europe November – December 1944
The United Nations Ultimatum
On November 23, 1944, with the support of President Elect Truman, the United Nations issues an ultimatum to the Japanese Empire calling for its unconditional surrender or face blockade until such time as the Japanese people can no longer resist Allied pressure to surrender. The Japanese are required to respond by January 1, 1945.

The European Pact is ordered to withdraw from and restore the independence of Greece, Albania, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Portugal and Luxembourg, as well as allow free elections in Spain and restore Belorussia and eastern Ukraine to the Soviet Union. The European Pact has until January 1, 1945 to accede to these demands. The Pact must also pay restitution to the survivors of the 10 million murdered by their policies and agree to sharp decreases in military forces. Failure to submit to these demands will result in the UN carrying out nothing less than military efforts to force the unconditional surrender of the European Pact nations.

Germany reacts
Goring is nearly apoplectic with rage when the cable from Monaco arrives with the United Nations demands, and he very nearly responds on the spot with orders for war. But at the urging of his staff he waits a few hours before responding. The German government will simply stall for time, ask for clarification on each minor point and prepare this time to defeat the Allies once and for all. He also summons Albert Speer, General Dornberger, Field Marshal Kesselring and Admiral Doenitz to Berlin for an immediate meeting regarding German strategic weapons systems.

German Weapons of Mass Destruction Development 1944-45
In the Fall of 1944 the Germans have a substantial stockpile of 500 tons of Taubun variant B nerve gas, suitable for deployment in bombs and have nearly completed a high speed production facility for Sarin in East Prussia. There are already several tons of it available, although for now those quantities are only sufficient for some testing. At the Berlin meeting Goring orders General Dornberger to develop a suitable warhead that can deploy either weapon for his A4 Rocket (authors note: the V2), which is finally had sufficient success in testing to warrant pilot production. Goring orders Dornberger to produce and equip several artillery brigades with this weapon for use against the Soviets or Western Allies should they use chemical weapons against Germany and for those units to be ready by August 1945. He also gives the General a priority similar to the Manhattan Project priority in the United States, although Goring does not know of that programs existence.

Germany in the Fall of 1944 has 400 He277 bombers assigned to heavy bomber groups, plus the 200 assigned to support the Navy. Goring orders that those aircraft be trained for missions against Soviet factories in the Urals and if necessary to carry out missions using chemical weapons. Kesselring requests and is granted permission to obtain another 200 of these bombers and ordered to accelerate work on the Me264.

At this point the Germans have several hundred of the F103 Doodlebug (authors note: the V1) available and Goring orders that the launching ramps needed to launch them at the British be prepared in France immediately. Kesselring promises that a version that can be launched from the HE277 will be ready soon, which will allow attacks deeper into Allied territory although still with limited accuracy.

Defending the Reich against the massed American bombers that devastated Japanese airpower in the Pacific will be a more difficult proposition. While the Luftwaffe has 4,000 FW190s and Me109s (evenly divided), 1,000 nightfighters (mix of Ju88, Me110 and Me410, plus a few He219s) and 200 Me262 jet fighters are deployed for the defense of Berlin, including a few equipped as night fighters. Most of these aircraft can be equipped with rockets and all are heavily armed and the Luftwaffe pilot corps has recovered from the heavy losses earlier in the war. More jets are being built, but the accident rate remains high and the serviceability rate remains low. The Luftwaffe still has nearly 3,000 bombers, including He277s, Ju88 and Ju188s, He111s, Stukas, and a few AR234s have reached squadrons. Supporting the Reich are another 4,000 Italian, Polish, and other Eastern European aircraft mixed evenly between bombers and fighters, usually older German models or Italian designs. The Poles are working on their own fighter, PZL54 but it more suitable as a ground attack aircraft.

The Luftwaffe also has a lot of flak guns, thousands of them, of light, medium and heavy calibers from 20 mm to 120 mm, with superb fire direction and nearly 2 million people assigned to air defense and civil defense duties. It lacks however the proximity fuse, although rumors of such a thing are reaching Germany from the Japanese experience in the Pacific. However Speer is forced to devote more resources to offensive weapons than defensive ones, and the proximity fuse, as well as the potentially promising Wasserfall system are still in in very early stages of development. Similarly in early development is the German nuclear program which finds funds drawn away from it to support the rocket program which Goring feels is more likely to bring results while the nuclear program is at least a decade away according to his scientists. Even the Americans and their resources can overcome the basic laws of physics, so the war will be long over before nuclear energy is anything more than interesting science.

The Kreigsmarine reports that experiments to launch Doodlebugs from Type XXI and Type IXC Uboats are still ongoing but Doenitz feels that potentially Uboats can launch Doodlebugs against American coastal cities within a few months. He also feels that the Japanese should keep the bulk of the US carrier fleet busy for at least two more years and will likely inflict serious losses on the Americans.

German plan for victory
With the UN threatening to attack by the start of the year, Goring brings the High Command as well as representatives from the rest of the European Pact to Berlin. He informs them that the European Pact will fight a defensive war against the Western Allies while in the upcoming spring a full scale assault will be made to take Moscow and force the Soviets behind into Siberia and Central Asia, ending their threat to Europe. With them beaten, Europe can hold out until such time as the Western Allies finally are exhausted politically and decide on peace. If the Soviets or Western Allies use chemical weapons, the Reich is fully able and ready to retaliate massively.

Meanwhile, the European Pact will prepare for a renewal of the fighting and full mobilization will be needed once again. Mobilization Notices begin reaching the 2 million Germans previously demobilized the day after Christmas 1944.