Part 1 (April 15th 1941 to June 1st)

April 15th, 1941: Adolf Hitler reads and rereads his files. The annual oil import was mostly Soviet and was being used by most of the army. As well as the oil, the Third Reich was also using iron ore and nickel from Sweden and Finland on a moderately high level. Although controlling the oil wells in the Soviet Union would generate more oil for the Third Reich, Hitler notices that the gap of time between the start of the invasion and the repair of the wells would be very long and devastating for the war industry of the Reich. The front in Russia would also force Hitler to draft and conscript most of the Reich's labor force. After much thought, the Nazi dictator writes a letter to the generals who had helped him plan the invasion. Operation Barbossa was being called off. April 22nd, 1941 Greece has capituted. After the string of victories in the Balkans, Hitler begins moving troops into Denmark and Norway. Eight panzer divisions are stationed throughout Norway and northern Denmark. Troop carriers swarm in Danish ports, ready to take four panzer divisions across the Kattegat to Sweden. Meanwhile, in Russia, Stalin moves more and more soldiers close to the Finnish border in order to avenge the embarrassing Winter War a year before. April 27th, 1941

Greece is all but destroyed as Axis troops march onto all of its major cities. British and other Allied troops retreat to Crete. As Greece surrenders, Italy is given the go-ahead by Germany to move an occupation force in. As soon as the first Italian garrison troops cross the border into occupied Greece from Albania, the Germans began a massive pullback north to Denmark. Three panzer divisions are left under Italian control for invading Crete.

April 29, 1941

British and Indian army begins invading Iraq. Iraq army and artillery assembles outside of the Habbaniya airbase, demanding that no activities take place out of the base. The British refuse, and the Iraqis begin shelling the base. The over six thousand Iraqi infantry attack the airbase, with the help of heavy artillery stationed nearby. German bombers operating out of Syria and Lebanon begin delivering paratroopers to help defend against the British.

May 2nd, 1941

Hitler begins negotiations with Sweden. He demands that 95% of all iron ore mined is sold to Germany to "serve the Aryan Race". Sweden refuses. Hitler twice more threatens to take drastic actions if the demands aren't taken out. For the next few days, negotiations between Germany and Sweden continue to break down and get worse. Meanwhile, in Iraq, German assistance appears in the form of air support. The Germans use relatively modern twin engine fighter/bombers, which completely outclasses the British biplanes. The British airbase in Habbaniya is taken by a combined German/Italian/Iraqi infantry force.

May 8, 1941

Soviet forces in the Far East bulk up on the border with Japanese territory. General Zhukov has been given orders to attack Manchukuo (Japanese puppet state). The bulk up of the Soviet army in the Far East has not gone unnoticed in Japan. The IJAF prepares to fight against Soviet ground troops, while long range bombers are moved into air bases all along the Soviet border. Several Japanese divisions prepare for war in Sakhalin. Almost a million soldiers in the Kwantung Army are based in northern China and Manchukuo. Weapons and supplies from throughout Northern China are taken to arm and supply the army. War steams somewhere over the horizon.

May 12th, 1941

Blitzkrieg in Sweden. The unaware Swedish army is crushed in the first few hours of combat. Two main branches of the Axis invasion force go after iron ore mines in the north and Stockholm in the south. Operation Freidrich has begun. Meanwhile in the Middle East, British soldiers begin arriving by sea from Basra. Two more divisions arrive, bringing the Allied forces to about four divisions, against six Axis divisions.

May 15th, 1941

Finland is invaded by two panzer divisions positioned in northeastern Norway. Most of the Finnish army is fighting the Soviets in the south. The Nickel deposits in the far north are secured by the German force. Phase two of Operation Freidrich has been started. Hitler contacts the government of Finland, telling them that the nickel mines were being secured so that the "treacherous Bolsheviks won't get to them first". Minimal damage is made to the mines and they are expected to be running at maximum rate in a week or two. The same is expected of the iron ore mines in Sweden.

May 20th, 1941

Crete is invaded by amphibious assault*. The Greek government-in-exile retreats to Egypt, while the Greek army on the island is crushed by the large panzer force. Three divisions of panzers and four more Italian infantry divisions storm south from landing sites all over the norht half of the island. Allied fortifications are destroyed by the repeated barrages by tanks and armored mobile troops.

*Note: The airborne force used to invade Crete in OTL is used in Iraq instead, so the Axis use amphibious attack instead.*

May 25, 1941

Sweden has been completely overrun by Axis forces. The transportation system is being repared at an unbelievably fast rate, and massive shipments of iron are already being shipped to Germany. The Northern quarter of Finland is being similarly annexed into the German industry. In Manchuria, a small skirmish results in a few soldiers being killed. The two opposing armies gear up for a major engagement.

June 1, 1941

The morning starts with Soviet tanks rushing over the border into Manchuria. Mines spread throughout the craggy hills cause horrendous casualties. The Japanese/Kwantung army rushes towards the Soviet army. Japanese and Red Air Force planes dogfight far above as Soviet and Japanese soldiers fight it out on the ground. The Battle of the Far East has begun.