A window of opportunity 1905

[575]

1945
Besides Romania Italy was the only oilproducing state of note in Europe if You leave out the Sovietunion which stretches into Asia and Britain and the Netherlands which had oil production in their colonies.
The advantage to Italy was plain for all to see; it hadn't still made a true Great Power but it was on its way. Soon Italy would fuel its society and even more importantly its military with home produced oil fuel.
The USA being the largest producer in the World had no problems with this state of affairs as it would be selling to France and the other European states. Others however such as Japan and France wieved it as a problem.
Japan had been able to pull through the Japanese-Soviet-China War by being able to buy oil products from the Netherlands and USA even if the latter were supplying arms to China it also found that Japan was a counter to the Sovietunion in the Far East; though now China to a large extend had taken that role even if it still needed the British to prop it up in Xinkiang.

The oil had for Italy also meant the ability to continue the venture into jet-engines with an aim to build a Fighter initially and then as more powerfull engines be developed also build bombers.
The story of the jet-engine goes all the way back to around 1908 but Italy got favoured by the political development following the Italian-Yugoslavian War of 1935 with the defeat of Hungary which made for a number of Hungarian scientist's leave their country taking up residence in Italy. Later some Austrian scientist's would be drawn to the Italian renewed entry in building a jetengine and the combined Hungarian-Austrian-Italian brains fuelled by Italian finances due to oil extraction made for Italy getting a leap forward by 1942 testing its first turbo-jet engine that year and kept working it only to start a small production by 1945 which had been tested in Libya to keep it off prying eyes.

[575]

France 1945
France was in a quandry as the Popular Front Government weren't proponents of developing oilresearch in the Colonies as it was trying to better the conditions of the workers in France.
The situation was this year exploited by the Right parties argueing that Italy was benefitting from the oil industry in Libya and France ought to develop the Colonies to reap same benefits mainly by having its brains and trained industrial manpower move out of France and into the Colonies.
The proposal was seen by many as a well thought out one though the reality being France only saw a trickle of migration into the Colonies and industry preferred to tap into the raw materials of the Colonies by having these be shipped to France for industrial use.
The outlook had been for more than a century that the locals were unfit for the kind of skilled work industrial manufacture required and the birth deficit vis-a-vis Germany had also been a serious factor in the reckoning of not stripping France of it Army mobilization manpower pool. It was bad as it was with having a large Army in North Africa that had to be Convoy'ed when needed in France.
Now however the last decade had proved that living along a prospering democratic Germany albeit a Socialdemocratic one with a strong economy was possible without the fear of revanche.
It was time to ridicule the Popular Front Government and call for elections to develop France into the new league of industrial nations.

[575]

Disregard this post - did some faulty calculations.. will be deleted from the TL

USA April 1945

The death of President Roosevelt, USA on 12. April saw much mourning in the nation; Roosevelt had been a man true to his word which had earned him the victory when going for the third period during 1941. He had promised the Americans a New Deal and had delivered. He had kept the Nation out of petty squabbles not involving the Nation in any conflict during his term. The nation had come out of depression though it had been a long haul and the economy now better than ever. Due to the Japanese-Soviet-Chinese War the Navy had seen some strengthening in the Pacific as had the Army but still its was far from the European norm. The Philippines had become independent according to treaty which added to the trust in Roosevelt as a man to be relied upon.
The Nation had lost its Father.

[575]

Sovietunion 1945
Unknown of course to the majority as not much was slipping out of the Sovietunion though most states had an interest in knowing what would be the next on the agenda following Japan – though most expected China to be high on said list – Poland was considered a possible victim if only because of its being bereft of allies; true Romania as a frontline state bordering the Sovietunion along Poland and Finland would be so too but Finland were too deeply enmeshed with the other Nordic States conglomerate being seen as too much of a bite for even the Soviets to chew terrain and industrial output taken into the equation.
Romania however had been able to retain its alliance with France receiving regular supplies of the last withdrawn from frontline generation of French military equipment to be thought able to hold its own until reinforced from France or Czechoslovakia and to a lesser expectation Yugoslavia which had gotten rid of its adversary Italy during the 1935 War though still ridded with political unrest.
France had apparently in accord with Germany not done much to improve its quasialliance with Poland since 1921 and the on and off German - Polish trade feuds had persisted with France feeling no obligation to intervene.
One of the main issues of the Right wing of French political landscape with the Popular Front Government had been the alledged Soviet support of the Popular Front Government as had been seen during the short Spanish Civil War where the Sovietunion had openly proposed such a Governments in Spain and other places outside the Sovietunion to be a means to better the understanding with its neigbours. Allegations the Popular Front Government had fought back accusing the Right of intimidation on an invalid pretense.
With the Political turmoil and calls for elections in France the Sovietunion invaded Poland during early May to repossess the provinces stolen in 1921. The invaders seemed very cautious not to violate the borders of any Baltic states nor offend Romania though a few incursions in Romanian aerospace was seen though the Soviets were ready to excuse the violations by errors of navigation.
The Poles was caught by surprise just as everybody else.

The Soviet Ambassador to the LoN held a very long speech detailling Polish wrongdoings in the Eastern Territories occupied since 1921 having been stolen from the Sovietunion.
The Totalitarian Polish Regime which had been an ardent supporter of Japan doing the War for Liberation of Manchuria and that territory's return to China had been one totalitarian regime supporting another to repress a population. The valiant forces of the Sovietunion and the limited cooperation of China had in the end thrown out the Japanese oppressor of Korea by its peoples revolting against the Regime; a thing the Polish repression of the Eastern Territories hadn't left its population the ability to undertake and now the Sovietunion was to right that wrong.
Of course the speech was supported by written materiel supplied with plenty photograps of the poor situation in the Polish Eastern Occupied Territories and the already but expected discovered mass graves of the opposition of the Polish rule.
The Sovietunion also called upon the Baltic States to join the fight against the Polish oppressor which found some ears in Lithuania but generally was decried as a plot to lure more nations into the Soviet dominated sphere.
With the Polish forces having only a small detachment allocated to the German and Lithuanian Borders the forces in the east still had a very long frontline to man and much less developed communications from Central Poland out east which were split in a northern and southern sector by the extensive marsh area of the Pripyat; an area mostly devoid of military buildup due to its nature and lack of lines of communications.
This split naturally divided the Soviet forces too in a Northern and a Southern Front operating independent of each other.
The Southern Front was supported by the Kyiv area of industry and somewhat better lines of communications than in the north where the main line led from Moscow over Smolensk to Minsk.

[575]

May first week 1945:
As expected by the Poles the main thrusts would be along the major railways leading from Minsk to Vilno and Brest-Litowsk in the north and from the border to Kovel and Lvov in the south.
Even so Polish mobilization and movement east of mobilized troops took its time and by the time they arrived the Soviets were on the Szczara tributary to the Niemen north of the Pripyat and closing in on the city of Vilna close to the Lituanian border.
In the south the Soviet Front made a swift Motorized advance over the open Steppe pushing Polish units aside and reaching Ternopol and Rovno before Polish mobilized troops began arriving.
The initial Polish mobilization had little resound with the mobilizable in the North being old parts of Lithuania and Belarus and in the South the borderlands with Ukraine though more were appearing down there at mobilization centers.
At the end of the first week of fighting the Poles were surrounded in Vilna and the Soviet spearheads were at Grodno on the Niemen and at Baranovich on the Szczara tributary of the Niemen in the North; in the South at Lvov and Kovel pressing ahead but the Polish resistance stiffening as the Soviets moved closer to Lublin and Central Poland.
In the North the Poles were digging trenches east of Bialystok and fuelling all available units into the Niemen Szcara line.
With units cut off at the Dvina river in the far northeast and south of that river too Poland initiated talks with Lithuania of letting its cut off units transit Lithuanian territories to Poland; Lithuania took the neutral stance and rejected any transit but allowed the units to enter Lithuanian territories to be disarmed and interned for the duration of conflict. Poland got very angered at this and threatened Lithuania which that nation ignored due to the Polish retreat from its Belarus/Lithuanian territories.

[575]

May 1945 second week:
As the Poles were able to fortify the Niemen western bank the Soviets fought their way into Grodno. Futher southeast the Soviets managed to cross the Szcara at Baranovich and head towards Brest-Litovsk with the main trust at Bialystok to the north though Zhukov began to doubt the plan as it would limit his supplying the Bialystok drive to second rate railway lines.
In the South the Soviets had reached Lvov and were fighting their way into the suburbs while south of the Pripyat they moved from Kovel towards Brest-Litovsk as a diversory move while the main thrust was west towards Chelmo and Lublin.
Suffice to say the Red Airforce was very aggressive bombing citycenters and railwayyards to impede the use of these though the Polish Army Airforce was able to hold its own against the aggressor notably fending off airraids on Warsaw.

During this second week Poland again tried putting pressure on Lithuania to let troops transit its territories though this time reports began filtering through that units of Wehrkreis XI at Hanover had begun transferring troops to Lithuania to guarantee the sovereignty of said nation during the Conflict.
Wehrkreis XI in the Center of Germany being a highly Motorized Formation was mobilizing to become XI Corps of the German Army for duties in the Baltic States. The Corps being commanded by Lieutenantgeneral Röhm of Far Eastern fame and experience in mobile operations. To Röhm this posting was the epitome of his service to the German State; he had left the Army for politics in the Nazi-party now having endured 17 years in the Desert he was at home commanding the most prestitious field unit of the Army. As his 2nd in Command Majorgeneral of the Military Academy von Manstein.
With the German announcement of its intentions the Nordics decided to offer some military aid to the Baltic States of arms and ammunition including surplus upgraded Jaktfalk aircraft and Landsverk L-60 light Tanks.
The Polish Government again pleaded with the Lithuanians and Latvians to let its isolated troops transit those territories though again being rejected the plea let its troops leave the positions at the discretion of Commanders and be interned in Lithuaning or Latvia which would happen during the coming two weeks.

One of the shortcomings of the Red Army in Machuria had been lack of radios for the units mainly so to be able to conduct Armoured and Motorized operations.
This time Zhukov had stripped as much of the Army as possible of radios to be able to keep command and control of units in the operation. It did pay off as expected – next week would see the encirclement of Lvov and assault on Lublin and Bialystok; Brest-Litovsk being a mere diversory move to draw off Polish reserves.

[stevep]

Nov 12, 2022 10:22:46 GMT 575 said:

USA April 1945
The death of President Roosevelt, USA on 12. April saw much mourning in the nation; Roosevelt had been a man true to his word which had earned him the victory when going for the third period during 1941. He had promised the Americans a New Deal and had delivered. He had kept the Nation out of petty squabbles not involving the Nation in any conflict during his term. The nation had come out of depression though it had been a long haul and the economy now better than ever. Due to the Japanese-Soviet-Chinese War the Navy had seen some strengthening in the Pacific as had the Army but still its was far from the European norm. The Philippines had become independent according to treaty which added to the trust in Roosevelt as a man to be relied upon.
The Nation had lost its Father.

  Two small points here.  Without WWII and especially the crisis after the fall of western Europe to the Nazis plus Japan running rampant in China he might not stand for a 3rd term as it was contrary to US customs and I very much doubt he would stand for a 4th - since you refer to him as President at his death.  Also without the stress of WWII I suspect he would live a while longer.

[575]

Nov 13, 2022 12:46:21 GMT stevep said:

Nov 12, 2022 10:22:46 GMT 575 said:

USA April 1945
The death of President Roosevelt, USA on 12. April saw much mourning in the nation; Roosevelt had been a man true to his word which had earned him the victory when going for the third period during 1941. He had promised the Americans a New Deal and had delivered. He had kept the Nation out of petty squabbles not involving the Nation in any conflict during his term. The nation had come out of depression though it had been a long haul and the economy now better than ever. Due to the Japanese-Soviet-Chinese War the Navy had seen some strengthening in the Pacific as had the Army but still its was far from the European norm. The Philippines had become independent according to treaty which added to the trust in Roosevelt as a man to be relied upon.
The Nation had lost its Father.

  Two small points here.  Without WWII and especially the crisis after the fall of western Europe to the Nazis plus Japan running rampant in China he might not stand for a 3rd term as it was contrary to US customs and I very much doubt he would stand for a 4th - since you refer to him as President at his death.  Also without the stress of WWII I suspect he would live a while longer.

Note taken - thanks. Will edit.

[575]

May 1945 third week:
The crossing of the Niemen was a traditional Russian exercise carried out; in the early morning loads of Infantry in assault boats, loads of Artillery moved forward to soften up the Poles and then the new element: as the Soviet Infantry was landing on the western bank Soviet aircraft dropped Paratroops behind the Polish defensive lines.
Even if a number of Soviet Transports were shot down by Polish Fighters and AA-guns the drop was carried out even if rather scattered.
The Paratroop element was enough for the Poles to commit a Cavalry Brigade of the Reserve to round it up leaving the narrow window for the Soviets to get a foothold on the western bank and during the night build a pontoon bridge to enlarge it.
Suffice to say as the news of the Soviet Tanks approaching Bialystok reached the Polish Commander at Niemen he decided to abandon the defence of the riverline falling back on the Biala river as his new defensive line. East of Bialystok the Soviet Tanks had run into the tankdefences of the Poles on the Biala and in the gap of that and the Narev rivers.
Further southeast the advance from Baranovich was slowed by the forested terrain through which the advance was moving but the importance of the railwayline strongly influenced Zhukovs mind.

In the South Lvov had been surrounded by a Motorized move around the city and next the Tank Division moving from Tarnopol entered Lvov to finish the Poles off.
Further north the other Tank unit advanced on Lublin and ran into the defencelines outside the city. Here the Poles had been able to concentrate a reinforced Corps/Army that barred the way.

Entering Lvov turned out to be a nightmare to the Soviet Command; the built up area was just a trap in which to send unsupported Motorized and Tank units.
The Tank force at Lvov being a pure Tank formation it didn't have the necessary Infantry backup and suffered some 50% losses in tanks entering the city. The Motorized force surrounding Lvov had sealed off the way out of the city but as it moved furter into it the scale of the Tank loss was revealed to the Soviet command. There had been some tank setbacks in Machuria but not on this scale.
It didn't deter Stalin only Zhukov was ordered to continue the offensive against the Polish bourgeois defenders. However logistics was soon to slow the Soviet advance. To resume the offensive supplies of all kinds had to be brought forward which also applied to the leg Infantry Divisions needed to root the Poles out of Lvov and Lublin and force the way ahead in the Bialystok area.
Even if pressure was kept on the Polish defenders in the two cities the Soviets had been halted by their logistics.

Even the drive on Brest-Litovsk had been halted not by the Poles but logistics – the Poles had seen the move as diversory and just kept mobilizing the fortress and having strong Cavalry units screen it to the north and south as well as having Border Units pull back through the area taking advantage of the forests. The importance of the Minsk-Baranovic-Brest-Litovsk Railway didn't escape the Poles but they didn't understand the Soviet fixation on Bialystok initially.

Getting stopped by logistics the Soviets still had to funnel such into the Battle for Bialystok in the north as well as Lublin and Lvov in the south. The Polish Carpathian Divisions had been able to forge a way into Lvov from the south to keep the defence going.
Though retreat from the city had been considered though the Soviet halt had decided the issue. Of course fighting in the city had a high cost in men and resources but the Poles kept going and were also gnawing away at the Motorized force which had surrounded the city.
In the north the Poles were able to fuel troops and logistics to Bialystok to increase the defensive force but also prepare a new line linking the Bug to the Narev river.

[stevep]

   On the Polish war, unless Stalin has further crippled the Red Army the Poles will lose.  Especially since they have let themselves get isolated and upset a lot of their neighbours.

  However if the Soviets do stop at the Curson line - which IIRC was the proposed eastern border of the new Polish state what happens if Poland refuses to accept the war is over?  That could prove bad for the rest of Poland.

  I do suspect however that Stalin's actions will have consequences.  The rest of Europe is likely to both increase military spending on defence and also start looking for defensive allies.  Could easily see a rapprochement between France and Germany with the UK and Scandinavia along others also getting involved quite possibly.

PS - written prior to your last post as busy with lunch etc.  The Poles are putting up a fight but I can't see them holding anywhere east of the Soviet plans unless it really goes pear shaped for the Red Army.

[575]

Nov 13, 2022 14:02:58 GMT stevep said:

   On the Polish war, unless Stalin has further crippled the Red Army the Poles will lose.  Especially since they have let themselves get isolated and upset a lot of their neighbours.

  However if the Soviets do stop at the Curson line - which IIRC was the proposed eastern border of the new Polish state what happens if Poland refuses to accept the war is over?  That could prove bad for the rest of Poland.

  I do suspect however that Stalin's actions will have consequences.  The rest of Europe is likely to both increase military spending on defence and also start looking for defensive allies.  Could easily see a rapprochement between France and Germany with the UK and Scandinavia along others also getting involved quite possibly.

PS - written prior to your last post as busy with lunch etc.  The Poles are putting up a fight but I can't see them holding anywhere east of the Soviet plans unless it really goes pear shaped for the Red Army.

The Red Army was purged if only briefly mentioned earlier - the Special Military Districts in the West had been transferred East during the Japanese Wars and sustained severe losses. As always a lot of men and materiel burned off during the initial advance which will have to be replaced.

More on this soon - and something lurking in the dark alley.

The Poles did upset a number of neighbours during the Soviet-Japanese Wars but that was in the Far East - this time the Soviets are just in your neigbours backyard. That isn't nice..

[575]

Lull in operations Poland Maj-June 1945
The Soviets soon realized they needed getting more logistics forward from Minsk to the Battlefield at Bialystok; wanting to utilize the Leningrad – Pskov – Vilnius – Grodno line they tried pressuring the Latvians and Lithuanians to let more trains pass their territories. The arrival of the German XI Motorized Corps in the Baltics had those Governments refuse the pressure and Germany guarantee the integrity and borders of the Baltic Nations also supported by the Nordics.
Still Stalin was pressuring Zhukov to continue the buildup at Bialystok to resume the offensive.
In the south the routing of supplies went more swiftly though still at a Russian pace with the inevitable bottlenecks and rerouting of other stuff like food for the major cities of Russia; a situation that still would be contained but led to some un-revolutionary outcries of lack of food which was handled by Beria's NKVD. The continued warfare in the Far East since 1935 had sapped the Sovietunion of hands mostly so in the agricultural sector – never the strong one along the transportation – the women had done what had been necessary and some men had been moved from the cities to help out with harvests. Now however the call up of reserves in large numbers would make an impact on the Sovietunion come harvest though it was still a thing of the future if the near one.
Zhukov had begun rerouting logistics down the Baranovich – Brest-Litovsk railway line to get some more punch in that direction. He realized he couldn't depend on opening the Leningrad-Pskov-Vilno-Grodno Railway any time soon.

The Poles hadn't at the time of attack replaced their 37mm main AT-gun by the new 47mm AT-gun – a licence build Czechoslovak design - but the lull in Soviet operations made for this to happen with the new produced gun.
Being able to keep the Red Airforce off a lot of the territory the Polish Army Airforce Bomber Brigade were able to interdict Soviet railmovement into Poland; intially without fighter escort but soon lossed had this situation changed and the Poles were stepping up operations. The Poles soon realized that the Red Airforce was little match for the Polish pilots generally able to prevent bombing of cities but also to escort the Bombers against interception.
Poland managed to have France deliver much needed ammunition for its various arms to build up a large reserve in expectation for the upcoming Soviet offensive but also for the delivery of various military hardware – which the French saw fit to get rid of a lot of 1. generation Tanks – and Trucks! The planned Polish offensive in the south would depend on Trucks in large numbers but also Cavalry armed with AT-weapons to outflank the Soviet positions.
France also of course sent off a Military Mission to aid the Poles as during 1920 but the Poles seemed to be well off and not in need of much advice though any intelligence delivered were highly appreciated.
Poland had approached Germany but didn't get more than “the current difficult political situation” and Germany building up in the Baltic States to deter the Sovietunion from adventures there which anyway would be to the advantage of the Poles of having a secure flank. Germany was also mobilizing the East Prussian Wehrkreis I into the I Corps.
Just as Germany Romania had also partly mobilized its Armed forces mainly in the northeast of the country; as in the case of Poland Romania also received military surplus from France though due to the energetic efforts of one British MP Winston Churchill the British soon began selling more advanced aircraft to both Poland and Romania to bolster their defences.
In the north the Nordics were fielding the new Landsverk L-75 medium tank with the Danish and Swedish Armies but the Swedes were also able to build up the AT-defences in Norrland Division bordering Finland with the new Carl Gustav AT-recoilles Infantry carried gun which had also secretly been supplied to Finland. As with the Nordic Nuklear Works little if any news of the Carl Gustav slipped across the border to the Soviets.
A special Carl Gustav AT-recoilles Rifle vehicle had been developed by using a tankette to mount the gun and carry the rounds. The tankette would carry two guns one to be deployed by the crew on foot off the vehicle to make for a forward position to take on advancing tanks the second remaining mounted on the vehicle to pick up the advance crew and make the second line of defence. The tankette was deemed small enough to easily conceal itself but large enough to carry a four man team with loaders double as driver. The Finns had been really taken by the idea as it offered a cheap powerfull AT-unit but also Danes had seen the vehicle as a proposistion for its many inhabited small islands among these Bornholm in the Baltic.
With the transition of the major powers to heavier vehicles tankettes were up for sale on the cheap.

In the Far East China seeing the Soviets occupied in the West directed more funds into the Navy to be able to fend off the Japanese should these decide to appear hostile. Italy had again become a welcome tradepartner in maritime matters and now able to supply in greater quantity. For the Chinese this meant more Submarines, Destroyers and MTBs. As the Italians had oil on their hands they were still ready to enter trade agreements when suiting their needs; China could offer cotton in huge quantity, rice, tea of course, iron and coal making for exchange of such commodities as being substantial elements to pay for the new ships.

[stevep]

Nov 13, 2022 17:09:42 GMT 575 said:

Lull in operations Poland Maj-June 1945
The Soviets soon realized they needed getting more logistics forward from Minsk to the Battlefield at Bialystok; wanting to utilize the Leningrad – Pskov – Vilnius – Grodno line they tried pressuring the Latvians and Lithuanians to let more trains pass their territories. The arrival of the German XI Motorized Corps in the Baltics had those Governments refuse the pressure and Germany guarantee the integrity and borders of the Baltic Nations also supported by the Nordics.
Still Stalin was pressuring Zhukov to continue the buildup at Bialystok to resume the offensive.
In the south the routing of supplies went more swiftly though still at a Russian pace with the inevitable bottlenecks and rerouting of other stuff like food for the major cities of Russia; a situation that still would be contained but led to some un-revolutionary outcries of lack of food which was handled by Beria's NKVD. The continued warfare in the Far East since 1935 had sapped the Sovietunion of hands mostly so in the agricultural sector – never the strong one along the transportation – the women had done what had been necessary and some men had been moved from the cities to help out with harvests. Now however the call up of reserves in large numbers would make an impact on the Sovietunion come harvest though it was still a thing of the future if the near one.
Zhukov had begun rerouting logistics down the Baranovich – Brest-Litovsk railway line to get some more punch in that direction. He realized he couldn't depend on opening the Leningrad-Pskov-Vilno-Grodno Railway any time soon.

The Poles hadn't at the time of attack replaced their 37mm main AT-gun by the new 47mm AT-gun – a licence build Czechoslovak design - but the lull in Soviet operations made for this to happen with the new produced gun.
Being able to keep the Red Airforce off a lot of the territory the Polish Army Airforce Bomber Brigade were able to interdict Soviet railmovement into Poland; intially without fighter escort but soon lossed had this situation changed and the Poles were stepping up operations. The Poles soon realized that the Red Airforce was little match for the Polish pilots generally able to prevent bombing of cities but also to escort the Bombers against interception.
Poland managed to have France deliver much needed ammunition for its various arms to build up a large reserve in expectation for the upcoming Soviet offensive but also for the delivery of various military hardware – which the French saw fit to get rid of a lot of 1. generation Tanks – and Trucks! The planned Polish offensive in the south would depend on Trucks in large numbers but also Cavalry armed with AT-weapons to outflank the Soviet positions.
France also of course sent off a Military Mission to aid the Poles as during 1920 but the Poles seemed to be well off and not in need of much advice though any intelligence delivered were highly appreciated.
Poland had approached Germany but didn't get more than “the current difficult political situation” and Germany building up in the Baltic States to deter the Sovietunion from adventures there which anyway would be to the advantage of the Poles of having a secure flank. Germany was also mobilizing the East Prussian Wehrkreis I into the I Corps.
Just as Germany Romania had also partly mobilized its Armed forces mainly in the northeast of the country; as in the case of Poland Romania also received military surplus from France though due to the energetic efforts of one British MP Winston Churchill the British soon began selling more advanced aircraft to both Poland and Romania to bolster their defences.
In the north the Nordics were fielding the new Landsverk L-75 medium tank with the Danish and Swedish Armies but the Swedes were also able to build up the AT-defences in Norrland Division bordering Finland with the new Carl Gustav AT-recoilles Infantry carried gun which had also secretly been supplied to Finland. As with the Nordic Nuklear Works little if any news of the Carl Gustav slipped across the border to the Soviets.
A special Carl Gustav AT-recoilles Rifle vehicle had been developed by using a tankette to mount the gun and carry the rounds. The tankette would carry two guns one to be deployed by the crew on foot off the vehicle to make for a forward position to take on advancing tanks the second remaining mounted on the vehicle to pick up the advance crew and make the second line of defence. The tankette was deemed small enough to easily conceal itself but large enough to carry a four man team with loaders double as driver. The Finns had been really taken by the idea as it offered a cheap powerfull AT-unit but also Danes had seen the vehicle as a proposistion for its many inhabited small islands among these Bornholm in the Baltic.
With the transition of the major powers to heavier vehicles tankettes were up for sale on the cheap.

In the Far East China seeing the Soviets occupied in the West directed more funds into the Navy to be able to fend off the Japanese should these decide to appear hostile. Italy had again become a welcome tradepartner in maritime matters and now able to supply in greater quantity. For the Chinese this meant more Submarines, Destroyers and MTBs. As the Italians had oil on their hands they were still ready to enter trade agreements when suiting their needs; China could offer cotton in huge quantity, rice, tea of course, iron and coal making for exchange of such commodities as being substantial elements to pay for the new ships.

  Why do I have the feeling that a bigger war is brewing and that the Scandinavia alliance is going to be hardened in the fire of that war?

[575]

Nov 14, 2022 19:22:25 GMT stevep said:

Nov 13, 2022 17:09:42 GMT 575 said:

Lull in operations Poland Maj-June 1945
The Soviets soon realized they needed getting more logistics forward from Minsk to the Battlefield at Bialystok; wanting to utilize the Leningrad – Pskov – Vilnius – Grodno line they tried pressuring the Latvians and Lithuanians to let more trains pass their territories. The arrival of the German XI Motorized Corps in the Baltics had those Governments refuse the pressure and Germany guarantee the integrity and borders of the Baltic Nations also supported by the Nordics.
Still Stalin was pressuring Zhukov to continue the buildup at Bialystok to resume the offensive.
In the south the routing of supplies went more swiftly though still at a Russian pace with the inevitable bottlenecks and rerouting of other stuff like food for the major cities of Russia; a situation that still would be contained but led to some un-revolutionary outcries of lack of food which was handled by Beria's NKVD. The continued warfare in the Far East since 1935 had sapped the Sovietunion of hands mostly so in the agricultural sector – never the strong one along the transportation – the women had done what had been necessary and some men had been moved from the cities to help out with harvests. Now however the call up of reserves in large numbers would make an impact on the Sovietunion come harvest though it was still a thing of the future if the near one.
Zhukov had begun rerouting logistics down the Baranovich – Brest-Litovsk railway line to get some more punch in that direction. He realized he couldn't depend on opening the Leningrad-Pskov-Vilno-Grodno Railway any time soon.

The Poles hadn't at the time of attack replaced their 37mm main AT-gun by the new 47mm AT-gun – a licence build Czechoslovak design - but the lull in Soviet operations made for this to happen with the new produced gun.
Being able to keep the Red Airforce off a lot of the territory the Polish Army Airforce Bomber Brigade were able to interdict Soviet railmovement into Poland; intially without fighter escort but soon lossed had this situation changed and the Poles were stepping up operations. The Poles soon realized that the Red Airforce was little match for the Polish pilots generally able to prevent bombing of cities but also to escort the Bombers against interception.
Poland managed to have France deliver much needed ammunition for its various arms to build up a large reserve in expectation for the upcoming Soviet offensive but also for the delivery of various military hardware – which the French saw fit to get rid of a lot of 1. generation Tanks – and Trucks! The planned Polish offensive in the south would depend on Trucks in large numbers but also Cavalry armed with AT-weapons to outflank the Soviet positions.
France also of course sent off a Military Mission to aid the Poles as during 1920 but the Poles seemed to be well off and not in need of much advice though any intelligence delivered were highly appreciated.
Poland had approached Germany but didn't get more than “the current difficult political situation” and Germany building up in the Baltic States to deter the Sovietunion from adventures there which anyway would be to the advantage of the Poles of having a secure flank. Germany was also mobilizing the East Prussian Wehrkreis I into the I Corps.
Just as Germany Romania had also partly mobilized its Armed forces mainly in the northeast of the country; as in the case of Poland Romania also received military surplus from France though due to the energetic efforts of one British MP Winston Churchill the British soon began selling more advanced aircraft to both Poland and Romania to bolster their defences.
In the north the Nordics were fielding the new Landsverk L-75 medium tank with the Danish and Swedish Armies but the Swedes were also able to build up the AT-defences in Norrland Division bordering Finland with the new Carl Gustav AT-recoilles Infantry carried gun which had also secretly been supplied to Finland. As with the Nordic Nuklear Works little if any news of the Carl Gustav slipped across the border to the Soviets.
A special Carl Gustav AT-recoilles Rifle vehicle had been developed by using a tankette to mount the gun and carry the rounds. The tankette would carry two guns one to be deployed by the crew on foot off the vehicle to make for a forward position to take on advancing tanks the second remaining mounted on the vehicle to pick up the advance crew and make the second line of defence. The tankette was deemed small enough to easily conceal itself but large enough to carry a four man team with loaders double as driver. The Finns had been really taken by the idea as it offered a cheap powerfull AT-unit but also Danes had seen the vehicle as a proposistion for its many inhabited small islands among these Bornholm in the Baltic.
With the transition of the major powers to heavier vehicles tankettes were up for sale on the cheap.

In the Far East China seeing the Soviets occupied in the West directed more funds into the Navy to be able to fend off the Japanese should these decide to appear hostile. Italy had again become a welcome tradepartner in maritime matters and now able to supply in greater quantity. For the Chinese this meant more Submarines, Destroyers and MTBs. As the Italians had oil on their hands they were still ready to enter trade agreements when suiting their needs; China could offer cotton in huge quantity, rice, tea of course, iron and coal making for exchange of such commodities as being substantial elements to pay for the new ships.

  Why do I have the feeling that a bigger war is brewing and that the Scandinavia alliance is going to be hardened in the fire of that war?

Have absolutely no idea!

Well the ting is that war will spread but we have to go through some slog in Poland first.

Scandinavia alliance hardened - a destinct possible (nice to have readers pay attention

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Soviet offensive late June 1945
The Sovietunion resumed its offensive after its build-up pause; the build-up hadn't been to the satisfaction of Zhukov as the desired amounts of munitions and troops hadn't been funneled into the battlefield north of the Pripyat Marshes due to some sabotage incidents by Polish troops left behind the withdrawal from the area of the main Army but also to efficiency that had been steadily growing of Polish Bomber Brigade attacking the railway; which had prompted the need for advancing Red Airforce units to guard the railway which had been a detriment to the build-up for the offensive.
In the south the situation looked much better even if the Polish Bombers had been active there too but the larger railwaynetwork had delivered.

At Bialystok the Soviet Army delivered its traditional rivercrossing on the Biala to open the railway from Minsk-Baranovic for operations. A second crossing was made at the Hryuda southeast of Bialystok to open the Minsk - Brest-Litovsk railway and add its capacity to logistics.
The Biala crossing was costly very costly but having retreated from the riverline the Polish defenders abandoned Bialystok crossing the Narev west of the city for the new defensive line built there. To the Soviets the victory looked the part but Zhukov knew better; anyway he began building up for that rivercrossing too with stocks already moved forward to the Biala.

The Hryuda crossing also succeeded with heavy casualties; the river is small but around the railwayline the area is quite wet which had necessiated building access routes towards the river for Tanks and Trucks to pass.
Once the Soviets were across the river they ran into a new thing – a Polish mobile defence; to take steam out of the Soviet advance to the Nurzec – Lesna rivers - Brest-Litovsk line before the Bug would be reached.
Cavalry, Light Armour and Motorized units with generous amounts of AT-guns drawn by Horses, Tankettes and Trucks took a severe toll on the Soviet Tank units forcing the Motorized Infantry to move ahead and run into Infantry in the forest west of the town of Ivatsevichy with Artillery support; all in temporary positions to sap the Soviets of their strength.
With the Soviets moving head on into the AT-fire T-34s meeting the new 47mm AT-guns were taken out if not by direct kills then by deficient steel plates and a lack of radios, to react to command, due to initial campaign losses the attack began to fall apart. The Motorized Infantry would have to dismount to root the defenders out of the forest.
This type of defences would be the thown up all the way to Brest-Litovsk and prove quite effective.

In the south the Poles had used the time well to prepare the defences of Lvov and Lublin; lots of the cities population had been evacuated with any able male drafted.
The surrounding of Lvov had never been effective and the Polish Carpathian Corps able to hold off the Soviets from breaching the defences and keep supply into the city moving. West of Lvov and the old Fortress Complex at Przemysl Rzeszow on the San River and Mielec on the Wisloka River housed important Aircraft factories lately established to counter the Soviet threat.
Lublin had the advange of being situatied on the periphery of the Central Polish Reserves Area thus able to draw immediately of substantial forces for its defences. Seen as the door to the Vistula and thus Warsaw its defences was of prime importance and the build up reflected this.
The Soviet attacks were preceded by Artillery barrages destroying parts of Lvov though the defenders were able to stop the advance of the Soviet Infantry on the outskirts of the city. Fighting then bogged down in the suburbs. Further south on the Dnester River the Poles were able to defeat a Soviet river crossing and thus keep open the communications lines to Romania and Czechoslovakia.
At Lublin the countryside if flat still had a river and some lakes as well as forests channeling to some degree the Soviet attack. Here the Poles were able to hold off the Soviet assault in their outer trenches.