Part 3 (July 15th to September 1st, 1941)

Hideki Tojo overlooked the factory from a nearby hill. From the outside, he thought, it seems to be nothing. The Japanese General made his way inside. The factory was hot and uncomfortable, with metal devices strewn everywhere and sparks flying from nearby machines. One of the engineers met Tojo and showed the soldier the blueprints. Tojo raised his eyeglasses as he examined the designs. I had no idea it was possible so soon, Tojo thought. The paper he held seemed to demand respect, as if it itself was aware of its own importance. With a weapon like this, Tojo thought, we can capture the entire Chinese coastline. The Type 101 Heavy Battle tank seemed impossible to conceive but, the blueprints showed that the empire's best engineers were not idiots. Deep inside the cramped room, Tojo could see the first Type 101 prototype being built from the chassis of one of the captured T-34s. Once it was built, the tank would be tested and then commissioned into Imperial Army service. After that, victory. Tojo grinned as a 76 mm cannon was welded to the prototype tank's turret. July 15th, 1941 Japanese engineers start secret programs for building the Type 101 Heavy Battle Tank based off of captured T-34s. Hideki Tojo visits and endorses the program, winning the allegiance of many other military commanders. The new tank is planned to be done by late August and should enter army service in significant numbers by October. Aging and outdated planes and warships are scuttled and cannibalized for extra material for the tank project. The tank is planned to have the same primary armament as the T-34 and to have four more powerful machine guns. The engine is planned to be much more powerful than the T-34, capable of going almost forty five miles and hour. Meanwhile, in North Africa, Rommel and his Axis army is bolstered by two more panzer divisions arriving from ports in eastern Libya. The new divisions have the newest equipment that is commandeered by veterans from the Invasion of Poland and France. Rommel decides for a renewed push into Tobruk. July 17th, 1941

Hitler and other Axis leaders meet with Ismet Inonu, the president of Turkey. Hitler showed Inonu gains Turkey could make in the Middle East if they joined the Axis. Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq were all under British occupation and are ample targets for Turkey if it chose to accept German assistance. Also Cyprus would be given to Turkey after the invasion. Hitler also secretly promised Turkey the Baku oil fields and territory in the Caucasus after the invasion of the USSR in 1944. Inonu stated that he would take a while to decide, but soon after the meeting he ordered a handful of divisions to assemble on the Syrian border.

July 20th, 1941

After a period of extremely rapid work, Graf Zeppelin is completed. Sailors and naval engineers begin testing and crewing the aircraft carrier. It should be ready for service by mid to late 1942. Meanwhile, in East Asia, a very large Russian army has assembled in western Mongolia. The Japanese bombardments and waves of invasion have prevented the army from arriving in occupied West Mongolia, but they were planning to take a second route anyway. It's on this day that the Russian army begins mobilizing into Northern China. Chinese Communist guerrillas join the passing Soviet army. Nationalist forces stay far away.

July 22nd, 1941

First major clash between Nationalist forces and Soviet forces in western Inner Mongolia, about twenty miles northwest of Ningsia (the city) about fifty miles west of the border with Mengjiang (Japanese puppet state). The battle takes place between a 200,000 soldier arm of the Soviet army and a 40,000 infantry Chinese army. Both sides are poorly trained, and the Soviet army wins by numbers. The battle attracts Japanese spy planes, who learn about the Soviet army. The news is sent to the Japanese commanders immediately.

July 25th, 1941

Ulaanbaatar falls to Japanese troops after a week of house to house fighting. Towards the south, Japanese artillery and armor set up in the foothills of the Mongolian plateau in northern Mengjiang, ready to fire on the huge Soviet army coming from the west. At about 1300, the first Soviet infantry begin arriving, followed by air support. AAA guns take out the biplanes by the dozen. Almost a thousand Soviet foot soldiers die in the initial wave. Two artillery are taken out and three tanks are destroyed in the crossfire. The battle cools down by 2300, but Japanese intelligence grimly reports that the worst is yet to come.

July 27th

Heavy panzer surge in Spain forces the British out of Madrid and pushes into occupied territory. Constant harassment by Luftwaffe has the British operating on extremely weak supply lines, worsened by the fact that Gibraltar is cut off by a massive artillery attack force stationed around the city. German U-boats swarmed around Lisbon and other major Portuguese ports prevent large amounts of supplies from entering Iberia from sea, either. Meanwhile, in Mengjiang, the Soviets storm Japanese defenses with numbers on their side. The Japanese and Kwantung puppet forces kill one Soviet soldier for every ten Japanese or Kwantung killed, but the Soviets have numbers on their side. Over one and a half million Soviets begin arriving through northwest China. Chinese communists accompany them.

July 31st, 1941

In an attempt to cut off the flow of troops and supplies from Europe, Japanese bombers attack and destroy large portions of the Trans-Siberian railway north of Mongolia and Manchuria. Most of these bombers are based out of airbases in Mengjiang and Manchuria, but some are using recently captured airstrips in Western Mongolia. Meanwhile, in Sakhalin, three infantry divisions capture the north half of the island. A blockade by the IJN from the mainland spelled death to what few Russian defenders were on the island. In Tobruk, Libya, the British defenders retreat by sea after attack after attack from German panzers killed most of the soldiers in the city.

August 2nd, 1941

Three panzer divisions assemble in eastern Libya, bringing the number of divisions under Rommel to ten. Four Italian armor divisions bring the number to fourteen, more than twice the amount of British troops in North Africa. The numbers and superior leadership come in handy in the Battle of Gazala, an ambush on the Allied Western Desert army.

August 4th, 1941

40,000 Japanese marines and 100,000 Japanese soldiers land on the southern end of the Kamchatka peninsula, several dozen miles south of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Resistance is thin to non-existent and the army reaches the outskirts of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky soon after the landing. Meanwhile in Mengjiang, the Japanese army pulls back into the eastern half of the puppet state. Mines and demolition sites are set up in all of the mountain passes and roads. Armor and artillery continue to hammer Soviet positions, which combined with the scorched earth tactic takes out another 40,000 infantry troops. In the north, the Japanese soldiers continue to chew through Mongolia, cutting off badly needed Soviet supply lines stemming from the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

August 5th, 1941

At 0300, Japanese planes bombard Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky as marines and soldiers enter the inner core of the city. Terrified civilians flee by the thousand towards the docks, but any hope of escape is locked in by winter ice creeping in from the north. The garrison had been moved from the city towards Manchuria several weeks before, with the commanders nearby assuming the city was safe from attack. Japanese aircraft carriers near the city continue to send out bombers to flatten what's left of the city. Meanwhile, in Iberia, German panzers break through Allied fortifications and enter the outskirts of Portugal. Luftwaffe bombers attack Lisbon daily, destroying ships and docks alike.

August 8th, 1941

Rommel's army begins entering Egypt. The bulk of the British army was fighting in Iberia, and there was little resistance. Rommel has heavy air assistance operating out of cities in Libya, and plans to push all the way to Alexandria. Meanwhile in Finland, Stalin orders a second major push into the country, after over 100,000 soldiers had died in the first push. The Soviets controlled a chunk of Finland ranging from about twenty miles east of Helsinki north to Lake Nasijarv, east to Jyvaskyla, and northeast to Lake Pielinen and to the border. Finnish guerrillas in occupied Finland numbered to about 200,000. The forests and lake lands hide hundreds of guerrilla bases and and arsenals.

August 11th, 1941

The Northern Region of Portugal is almost completely under Axis occupation. Several troop transports land in captured ports to bolster the Spanish/German army in Portugal. The Algarve region and the southern quarter of the Alentejo region is occupied by the Axis as well. In the south of Spain surrounding Gibraltar, artillery continues to besiege the city. A convoy of Allied submarines sneaks past the Axis blockade and resupplies the city with supplies, food, and soldiers.

August 15th, 1941

Rommel's army reaches El Alamein. Over 200,000 Axis troops storm the British fortification spanning the desert between the port town of El Alamein and the Quatarra oasis. Heavy Luftwaffe assistance from occupied Greece and Libya pounds the British encampments while Rommel continuously reminds why he's called the Desert Fox. In the seas north of Egypt, Axis U-boats fight a bloody battle with the Royal Navy Mediterranean fleet. Malta is besieged and continually bombed. Meanwhile, in Kamchatka, the Japanese army marches on through the Siberian wilderness. Supplies arrive through Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky as the Japanese forces on the peninsula continue to mop up remnant Soviet forces. Japanese fishermen move into major ports on captured Kamchatka to harvest the waters around the peninsula's bountiful array of marine catches.

August 17th, 1941

The first oil refinery on Sakhalin is readily usable for the Japanese. Several others are very close to being up. On the mainland, Soviet forces push the Japanese out of Inner Mongolia, but at an extremely heavy cost. Tens of thousands of Soviets lie dead in the mud spanning Mengjiang. The Red Army tide is at its latest extending to the center of the former Chahar province. The kill ratio is over ten-to-one in Japanese favor.

August 20th, 1941

In Iberia, the Axis have pushed the Allies back to the westernmost fringes of Spain and have footholds in northern and southern Portugal. In the south, British naval transports capture the Canary Islands. Five German U-boats cause tremendous casualties during the raid, but the islands can't hold, especially with all of the Spanish army currently fighting in Iberia. In Spain, all but tiny footholds in the westernmost center of the country has been recaptured. The German panzer divisions in Iberia are split between rolling through Portugal and bombarding Gibraltar. The line of combat cuts the Region of the Centro in half. The Region of Alentejo is also cut in half, with Axis soldiers almost reaching the southern half of Lisboa. Meanwhile, Axis planes bomb Lisbon daily and some even reach the Madeiras and the Azores to attack Allied shipping lanes there.

August 23d, 1941

The Japanese army pushes south from captured Mongolia into the half of Mengjiang captured by the Soviets. The battle has been bogged down lately, but the Japanese counter-attack has changed troop movements. In Kamchatka, almost the entire peninsula has been captured. The ports in the south are used for bringing in supplies and troops. Raids in other coastal ports and regions in the Far East continue.

August 25th, 1941

The Type 101 Samurai tank is commissioned and released. The first models are shipped out to the front on the mainland. The IJA plans to build two thousand of these tanks in the next several months.

August 28th, 1941

The first Japanese Type 101 Samurai tanks arrive in northern Manchuria. The Japanese commanders there begin preparing for a blitzkrieg-like attack. Meanwhile in Mengjiang, the Japanese counter-attack pushes the Soviets back to about the pre-war boundary between China and the Japanese puppet state. In North Africa, Rommel finally pushes through the Allied lines in El Alamein. The Allied force is pocketed deep in the desert, locked in behind trenches and fortifications. Rommel stations spare artillery around the pocket, effectively destroying all hopes of the besieged division from escaping.

August 31st, 1941

5o Japanese Type 101 Samurai tanks fight their first battle in Mengjiang. The slaughter is unbelievable, and over twenty thousand Soviet infantry men lose their lives. Only one tank is hurt at all, but only mildly damaged. Zhukov almost has a conniption fit when he finds out, and begins deploying thousands more T-34s. The war on the Far Eastern front has reached a new level of bloodshed as the massive army of Type 101s shows no intent of stopping the massacre. In Iberia, the last Allied toeholds in Spain are pryed loose. The Axis army has pushed the Allies and Portuguese back to a coastal enclave based around Lisbon, but daily and nightly air raids and constant attacks by U-boats threaten this last hold in western Europe. In Gibraltar, the bombardment reaches a new level as long range artillery stationed in Morrocco begins firing at the Rock as well. The war in North Africa peaks as Rommel continues his warpath onto the outskirts of Alexandria and two more each of Panzer and infantry divisions arrive in Libya. The newly captured territories in Sweden and Finland are incorporated into the Greater German Reich as German currency is being printed out for the first time in mints in Scandinavia. The war is reaching new levels, and both sides are digging in (in the metaphorical sense), determined to show the other that they are determined not to lose the war.

Part 2 (June 2 1941 to July 14th)

June 2nd, 1941 German shipyards begin construction of several new warships for the navy. The largest is an aircraft carrier named the the Fuhrer Hitler. The ship is to be built almost exclusively from steel refined from Swedish iron. Several U-boats are planned as well. Other wartime materials are made en mass using the recently captured mineral deposits. June 4th, 1941 Fourth day of the Battle of the Far East. The Japanese air supremacy has hampered Soviet communication and supply lines since the battle began. The situation on the ground is more complex. The Soviets outnumber the Japanese by far, but the Japanese have better trained soldiers. The Kwantung Army bring the fascist numbers to about the Soviet numbers, but the Kwantung men are as equally trained as the Soviets. The Soviet armor greatly outnumber and outgun Japanese armor. The Battle rages along the Amur River as the Korean Puppet Army tries to push the Soviets out of Vladivostok. Urban warfare puts the Soviet tank advantage to null, and the Japanese steadily push the Soviets out of the "arm" of Russia leading south of the Amur River. Across the sea, northern Sakhalin is being bombarded by bombers from southern Sakhalin and Japan. The IJN blockades all major ports north from Sakhalin to the Kamkatchka peninsula. June 8th, 1941 Thousands of German contractors begin building more efficient ports in Tripoli, Cyrenaica, Algiers, Tunis, and Casablanca. Several outdated Italian battleships are scuttled for materials for the port upgrade. Other programs in North Africa include constructing synthetic oil plants in Cyrenaica and Algiers and building better railways that connect the major port cities along the shore. These programs are being run so that the Axis has a better hold on North Africa, and that the region will be useful in the future. For near-term uses, the ports will help the Axis easily transport troops and reduce supply lines while the synthetic oil plants will supply the army for invading Egypt. June 11th, 1941 Volunteer soldiers from the Republic of China arrive in Vladivostok, fighting against the Japanese. The Battle of the Far East breaks into many different battles, such as the Battle of Sakhalin, the Battle of Vladivostok, the Battle of the Amur, and the Battle of Mongolia. The last one started when Japanese artillery opened fire on a Soviet group attempting to retreat into Mongolia. The war escalates as both sides mobilize large armies to the battle sites. However, Japan is at an advantage because the troops can be moved to the battle at a fraction of the time it would take the Soviets.

June 15th, 1941

Hitler and other Axis leaders hold the Madrid Conference with Franco and Salazar, dictators/leaders of Spain and Portugal respectively. Hitler promised that if Portugal and/or Spain joined the Axis, Germany would grant the new members with financial and military support. The new members would have to comply to some strict regulations, such as an embargo on Allied goods, and a tax on certain materials to Germany. Portugal refuses, but Franco is interested in the financial support he would get. On June 15th, 1941, Spain joins the Axis powers.

June 18th, 1941

Negotiations between Spain (and the Axis) and Portugal break down and Portugal refuses to take out the demands of the Madrid Conference. The Germans begin moving two Panzer regiments and three infantry regiments to Spain from France. Spain declares war on Portugal and starts a skirmish in northern Portugal hours later. As Spanish soldiers fight minor skirmishes on the borders with Gibraltar and Portugal, it becomes apparent that World War Two has reached Iberia.

Meanwhile, in Finland, the Soviets use what troops are not headed for the Far East to once again attack Finland. Across the border, the Finnish army is recruiting volunteers and even raw conscripts and draftees. The country has been going into ruins as the two dominant powers of northern Europe take turns attacking it. Recently, however, Germany has been supplying the Finnish army with shipments of weapons in secret.

June 23rd, 1941

The Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu approaches Vladivostok. The seventy two aircraft based on it take off in the early hours and begin bombing Vladivostok. The aircraft continue to bombard the city and regroup back to the carrier to refuel and restock on bombs. The Red Air force can do nothing against these attacks, as they have nothing but aging, obsolete biplanes. Hundreds of Soviets in the city perish as the Japanese destroy the city, but along with them die a few dozen puppet Korean soldiers.

June 30th

Operation Reconquista, Spanish (heavily assisted by Germany) invasion of Portugal. The attack is mostly a Blitzkrieg, with massive armor, air, and infantry attacks at once from all directions. German U-boats torpedo Portuguese merchant boats in waters everywhere from the Bay of Biscay to the Canaries, to the western Mediterranean. Over thirty merchant ships are sunk on one day. The Invasion of Portugal has begun.

July 4th, 1941

Two Soviet destroyers engage an aging but intimidation battleship. Both destroyers are damaged, one almost sunk, and the Japanese battleship has minor damage. This is the first naval engagement of the Far Eastern War. Meanwhile, in Finland, the Finnish army begins a plan to fall back to more easily defended territory around Lake Saimaa. The forested area around the lake would slow down Soviet armor and the extensive lakes and rivers would also slow down the enemy considerably.

July 10th, 1941

British soldiers begin arriving in Iberia. They bolster Portuguese troops and the garrison in Gibraltar. The Battle of Galicia takes place between mostly German and British troops, with only minor assistance by Spanish and Portuguese. The Germans begin pulling back as British carrier planes destroy panzers and Axis infantry. Galicia marks the beginning of the Allied offensive in Iberia.

July 12th, 1941

Vladivostok falls to Japanese and Korean troops. Thirty T-34s stationed around the city are captured as their crews desert in the face of the massive Japanese army. Half of the captured tanks are taken to the Home Islands to be examined and hopefully duplicated. The rest are left in the battle to fight for the Japanese. Meanwhile, in Iberia, Axis planes bomb Gibraltar. All but one of the Gibraltar macaques are killed. The Gibraltarians fear that if this last monkey dies, Gibraltar will fall. Operation Felix begins as Axis artillery bombard Gibralatar from the north and west. Italian battleships also attack merchant ships attempting to escape.

July 14th, 1941

Much of western Spain falls systematically to the Allies. An arm in the south that is besieging Gibraltar is one exception. Brutal urban combat in the suburbs and fringes of Madrid result in horrendous civilian casualties. Artillery stationed around Gibraltar fires for day upon day, but the British ensieged in the Rock don't surrender. The town is supplied with enough food an ammunition to keep the siege going for years. The same cannot be said for Madrid, which is suffering dearly after only a few days of combat. Neither the Germans or the British seem to care what they damage as the battle rages.

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.

Day 1

Hello. Welcome to my Alternate History Blog. I'm still getting it organized, but pretty soon I'm going to start posting stories and ideas on here. So far there's nothing but I plan to change that pretty soon.