Ryder Cup PBEM Archibald & JerseyJohn

[JerseyJohn]

Early April 1941

A busy time for the Luftwaffe with Luftflottes I & III bombing British defenses at Bergen in support of 10th Army's probing attacks while along the English Channel, Luftflottes IV, V and VI continue to attack London.

Dueling Batons

But while his planes and aircrews are busy in the West, Reichsmarshal Hermann Goering takes a break, visiting Finland to stag hunt with his old friend, Fieldmarshal Mannerheim. The Luftwaffe Chief, and number three man in the Reich behind Hitler and Hess, was heard to say, "This is to be a pleasure tip only, Carl. We will have no talk of anything other than hunting, except we can also discuss drinking and dining and the opposite sex, of course!"

When asked if he thought it seemed odd that his trip coincided with Molotov's visit to Berlin, Goering became annoyed. "That is the problem with you people of the foreign press, you are a bunch of suspicious, gossiping old hens! And for your information, I do not run my calendar by the visits of scheming diplomats."

In typical fasion, he smiled immediately afterward, "But of course, you must be like that, it is your profession. Let me assure you gentlemen, my purpose is to visit my old friend and spend some pleasant time hunting in these magnificent Lapland forests. If you would like a real story, I suggest you sail to London, I will personally grant you safe passage. When you arrive there you will see only a few buildings left standing. If he is still alive, please tell that fool Churchill that he is a curse upon the Noble people of England. Now, gentlemen, I've said my piece, provided a choice statement for your editors to distort and now the fieldmarshal and myself really must take leave of you."

Meanwhile, in Berlin, the informal discussions between Chief Diplomats Molotov and Ribbentrop are proceeding well.

Information Minister Goebbels confides to foreign jounalists that much of the recent tension between the nations has been difused.

At a reception for the Soviet reprecentitive, Dr Goeebels is quoted as saying, "It is as I have always felt, we are two different peoples who share similar goals, what better basis for a lasting friendship."

[ September 06, 2003, 03:46 AM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[Archibald]

27 Apr 41

Minor damage to the London and Bergen garrisons, but both are standing up well to the German onslaught.

The RAF are still refusing to be drawn into a battle intended to give the Luftwaffe much needed experience before it inevitably turns east.

Of the six known luftflotten, three have been identified in France, with another two in Norway. The location of the sixth is unknown, but we would assess that it is in position to attack an increasingly restive Yugoslavia.

[JerseyJohn]

May 11, 1941

Refugees flee from the hell that was once Bergen. It is estimated that the unidentified British corps tanaciously holding the city has suffered 35,000 casualties in the most recent attacks by the 8th & 10th Armies, supported by Luftflottes I & III. The Wehrmacht believes there are currently no more than 5,000 battle worthy troops within the city. Fieldmarshal von Rundstedt, CinC Norway, assures OKH that the city will fall in the next assault.

At the urging of Deputy Fuhrer Rudolph Hess, Germany's humane leader, Adolf Hitler, has agreed to relent momentarily in the air attacks on London. It is felt that the civilian population has been suffering needless losses and is hearby advised to complete the evacuation of children before the middle of the month; after which time the attacks will resume with increased fury.

The diplomatic talks in Berlin have concluded and Foreign Minister Molotov has returned to Moscow leaving behind a renewed spirit of friendship and cooperation between the two nations.

[ September 06, 2003, 01:13 PM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[Archibald]

25 May 41

In the face of powerful German attacks, Bergen has been reluctantly evacuated; six months after the initial German invasion. Norway's heroism has bought the British Empire precious time.

[JerseyJohn]

June 11, 1941

German shock troops with light tanks (Pnz I) enter evacuated Bergen.

Reich Information Minister, Joseph Goebbels announces to the world that Germany has lifted it's humanitarian suspension of operations over London.

"The British have had better than ample time to relocate their young, elderly and infirm from their capital and bombing of the city will resume without prior announcement.

"Let the people of the civilized world take note that the Reich has extended itself beyond any reasonable obligation in conducting this war humanely. Let it also be noted that Germany neither started this war, nor wishes it to continue."

A terse statement has been issued from Berlin explaining the 17 of May flight of Rudolph Hess. "The Reich's Deputy Fuhrer was on a flight across the North Sea to Norway and was apparently moved off course by gale force winds. He is believed to have crashed off the coast of Scotland and will be honored, in abstentia, with an Honored State Funeral."

[ September 06, 2003, 09:01 PM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[Archibald]

15 Jun 41

Dramatic developments in the Mediterranean with a major naval battle developing around Tobruk with the Regia Marina.

Scouting well east of Malta, HMS Rodney spotted Vittorio Veneto immediately west of Tobruk Port. HMS Resolution was sent in to get the first blow in, and ran into Andrea Doria immediately north of the port.

This contact also revealed the cruiser Fiume in Tobruk Port and Caio Duilio immediately east of Tobruk. in short, the entire Italian surface fleet in and around Tobruk.

To maximise the element of surprise, HMS Warspite was sent in to further attack Andrea Doria, knocking it down to half strength.

Three relatively experienced British capital ships now face a less experienced Italian surface fleet which has the advantage of supply from Tobruk port.

The next round of the battle will be critical for allied prospects in the Mediterranean.

[ September 06, 2003, 09:44 PM: Message edited by: Archibald ]

[JerseyJohn]

29 June 1941

In by far the greatest naval action of the war to date, the Italian Battleships Vittorio Veneto, Caio Dulio and Andrea Doria, together with the heavy cruiser Fiume, have embarked from Tobruck Harbor to sail around the British task force and attack it from the North.

Though several escorting destroyers are known to have been lost on each side, all capital ships remain afloat, though the Italian Fleet has been badly battered, and the British BB Resolution is ablaze and listing to starboard, though still heading east under it's own power. No word as to the condition of the British BBs Warspite and Rodney, neither of which appear to be badly damaged.

[ September 06, 2003, 10:38 PM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[Archibald]

29 Jun 41

The British Empire has won a mighty victory.

Vittorio Veneto and Fiume are sunk, Andrea Doria is a blazing hulk, and Caio Diuilio has taken substantial damage. No British units have been lost.

In a combined air-sea operation a gigantic trap was sprung on the Italians by the following:

Two air fleets and a strategic bomber attacking from Egypt.

Three aircraft carriers sortied from Malta.

HMS Warspite and HMS Rodney turning on their attackers.

At a stroke, we have won naval supremacy in the Mediterranean and secured the Canal Zone.

GOD SAVE THE KING!

[ September 06, 2003, 11:12 PM: Message edited by: Archibald ]

[JerseyJohn]

Late June, 1941

Encouraged by word of British victories in the Mediteranean, Sweden has begun massing troops for an invasion of Norway in alliance with the British. In the interest of self defense, the Reich finds itself obliged to invade that country in order to preserve it's supplies of iron ore.

Aided by support from Luftflottes I & III, the 14th Army entered the country and marched till making contact with security troops dug in around Sweden's major air bases. Brushing these troops aside, the shock troops proceeded to destroy much of the Swedish Air Force in it's hangers. Meanwhile the Kriegsmarine shelled Swedish troops in defensive positions near Stockholm.

Elsewhere, Luftflottes II, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII bombed the apparently invincible British corps defending London.

The shattered Italian fleet withdraws toward home waters.

[ September 07, 2003, 12:13 AM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[Archibald]

13 Jul 41

With the German attack on Sweden, USA readiness has jumped to 59%, while the USSR is now at 80%.

Germany now has eight positively id'd luftflotten - two supporting the invasion of Sweden, with the remaining six bombarding London. British air defence is proving it's worth however, and London is shrugging off the attacks while inflicting steady damage on the Luftwaffe.

A single German corps has appeared off the Sussex coast. The Royal Navy declines the opportunity to sortie and be destroyed by the Luftwaffe.

In Sweden, the remnants of the Royal Swedish Air Force attack and damage the German First Army as it sits on it's transports near Stockholm. A Swedish corps has moved to block the landing of First Army, while a Swedish Army has counter-attacked, turned the German left flank and damaged Von Rundstedt's HQ. Sweden intends to fight as hard as the Norwegians did.

[JerseyJohn]

July 1941

German motorcyclists speed past an abandoned Swedish tank of Soviet manufacture.

Fieldmarshal von Rundstedt, having destroyed Sweden's Air Force and one of it's two armies, continues the drive toward Stockholm.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin protests Germany's Scandinavian operations and claims the invasion of Sweden had been discussed in Berlin during Molotov's recent visit and that he left with the assurance the country would remain neutral. German explanations of Sweden's preparations for action against Norway are openly denounced by Stalin and relations between the two nations have become chilly of late.

[ September 07, 2003, 04:29 AM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[Archibald]

27 Jul 41

The Italians have evacuated Tobruk, which has now become the first Axis possession to fall to the Allies.

Sweden's gallant defence continues with a corps moving into a blocking position north west of Stockholm and unsuccessfully attacking Von Rundstedt's HQ again.

German-Soviet relations continue to deteriorate.

[JerseyJohn]

Early August 1941

Fieldmarshal von Rundstedt's Army Group Scandinavia finishes destroying Sweden's field army and moves upon Stockholm itself.

At an OKH conference held at the newly completed Wolf's Lear HQ in East Prussia, Hitler unleashed upon his top generals a scathing tirade about the ineffectiveness of army and air force operations in Norway and Sweden. Afterwards, the room engulfed in complete silence, he looked from one commander to another, his face still red with rage, then became calm, straightened, and resumed in a normal voice.

"I blame neither List, nor Rundstedt, nor Richtoffen with the air fleets, they are in the field doing the best they can with what they have to work with.

"Instead I say we need a complete change in our manner of conducting offensives. We are now months behind schedule.

"Also, that maggot Stalin has sent his agents and equipment to help our enemies. Then there's that note Hess left behind. For all we know that madman might actually have reached Scotland and is even now running his mouth off about our plans and troop placement.

"The Italians are useless, they've lost half their fleet and half of Libya.

"Despite thier failings, I have decided to turn Operation Fickle Friend over to our Latin Allies, which is to say we will come back to it later on, along with our British problem.

"Meanwhile, we must complete our preparations for Barbarossa with all haste and strike at that race of mutts and vermin with the last of this year's good weather.

"True, we will not have very much time before winter slows or stops us, but I assure you, we need only kick the door open and the whole rotten structure will come tumbling down."

[ September 07, 2003, 05:37 PM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[Archibald]

10 Aug 41

Britain continues to bend all her efforts to vicory.

Elsewhere, relations between Germany and the USSR continue to deteriorate over the issue of Sweden. The Soviet Union begins preparing for war.

[JerseyJohn]

Stockholm

Swedish Garrison absorbs attacks from an air fleet, three armies supported by an adjacent HQ and a heavy cruiser and laughs it off. Ha Ha Ha!

Soviet German relations deteriorate to the breaking point, Barbarossa will begin very soon, or Russia will declare war.

"There are those who say we are aggressors, that we have struck out in all directions to subjugate our neighbors. To those I say it was not long ago that those same neighbors were looting our burning house --"

Wild applause, he stops to push the hair off his forehead, takes a deep breath, allowing the applause to die down before continuing

" -- and we neither forgive nore do we forget!"

More applause, this time he comes back quickly.

"And we remember best those who pretend to be our friends only to betray us later on in order to go to our enemies!"

Thunderous applause.

"Yes, let them be giants, for we are a race of Giant Slayers!"

Hitler leaves the stage abruptly to roars of

"Sig Heil! Sig Heil! Sig Heil! Sig Heil!", each more deafening than the one before, while he strides angrily, right hand half raised in a nazi salute, moving quickly out of view.

[ September 07, 2003, 10:31 PM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[Archibald]

24 Aug 41

Stockholm still holds out, but the end can't be far off.

Soviet readiness now at 96% - if Germany doesn't attack now, it will be too late.

[JerseyJohn]

Sweden Conquered, Stockhom surrenders, Fieldmarshal Gert von Rundstedt declares campaign successfully concluded at last.

Germany Declares War on the USSR

Two years after signing a ten year non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, The Government of the Third Reich finds itself forced to launch a preventive war against the treacherous regime of Joseph Stalin.

Also declaring war on the USSR were Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Finland.

Campaign Report

With preparations far from complete and the launching of operations months behind schedule, the Axis forces, spearheaded by German and Italian armor, were able to outflank several Soviet border armies and bring the fighting immediately behind the enemy's front lines.

[ September 07, 2003, 10:16 PM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[Archibald]

7 Sep 41

The Axis attack on the Soviet Union has yet to penetrate more than a hundred kilometres. The Red Army is preparing a powerful counter attack.

On the northern front, 13th Army attacks out of Leningrad and reduces the Finnish Isthmus Army to seven, while the cruisers Marat and Oktyabrskaya attack and cripple Scharnhorst.

After two months of gallant resistance, Sweden has been overwhelmed in a last desperate battle in the streets of Stockholm. King Gustav V was evacuated by submarine to London, where he has set up his government in exile.

Sweden will fight on!

[JerseyJohn]

Axis forces continue moving into the Soviet Union, destroying several armies that were cut off in the initial offensive.

Combat engineers work feverishly to rebuild or repair vital briges at the crossing points of Russia's wide, swollen rivers.

In the Baltic, one of Russias two cruiser squadrons is sunk by German U-boats near Leningrad and the Finns regroup north of the isthmus.

[ September 08, 2003, 04:18 PM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[Archibald]

5 Oct 41

The gallant sacrifice of the Soviet frontier forces has bought time to form a solid defensive line running Riga-Minsk-Kiev Odessa. The first counter attack against the Fascists has been launched north of Odessa against an Italian corps. It was reduced to half strength for no damage to the attackers.

We will defend the achievements of October!

In the north, an air attack on Gneisenau near Kronstadt was intercepted by a luftflotten in Finland. A fierce air battle resulted.

The cruiser Marat broke through the German blockade to intercept the crippled Scharnhorst, but was sadly unsuccessful in making contact.

Elsewhere, an anti-Axis coup has taken place in Yugoslavia, while the USA, increasingly angered by German aggression, is now preparing for war.

[ September 08, 2003, 04:19 PM: Message edited by: Archibald ]

[kurt88]

I'm nominating this AAR for ' the best written AAR and Best pictures posted in an AAR

This is a great read,I check it every day.Keep up the great story telling,both of you!!

[JerseyJohn]

Kurt

Thanks and pleased you're enjoying it. I'd be enjoying it myself if Archibald weren't getting the jump on me at every turn! Likewise, having a good time following your AAR with disorder, except for the errotic pictures, which I think oversteps the bounds of decency!

=======

The weather begins worsening at the Front, where Axis units advance to the next river line and await reinforcements and the Luftwaffe before resuming the offensive.

The Abwehr reports the USSR has replaced it's considerable initial losses and may be preparing a counteroffensive.

The only action to report is the sinking of the Soviet cruiser squadron Marrat off Estonia by the pursueing Gneisnau BC squadron assisted by U-boats.

Yugoslavia treacherously joins the Allies and various Italian and German rear area corps, along with available minor ally units are sent to handle the situation.

It is announced that, after being subdued, the country will be jointly administered by Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria.

German and Italian representitives have flown to Athens to enquire as to that nation's future status in the War.

In a meeting with his generals and admirals, Benitto Mussolini declared that the fleet must be rebuilt and Italy needs to reassert it's position as the dominant power in the Mediteranean.

The German American Bund holds a mass rally in Manhattan's Madison Square Garden to protest the Roosevelt administration's pro-British bias and the growing sentiment in the United States against Hitler's regime.

After declaring Germany to be grossly misunderstood and blamed for being the agressor when actually doing nothing more than protecting it's own sovereignty, the Rally closed with the members singing the German and American National Anthems. Many hundreds of New York City police were stationed outside the Garden to maintain order and protect the American Nazis as they exited.

In answer to protests from Jewish leaders, a spokesman for the FBI said the rally, all of which was captured on newsreel footage, was the greatest gift the Bund could have given America's crime and espionage fighting organization.

[ September 08, 2003, 06:17 PM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[Archibald]

2 Nov 41

The sacrificial heroism of countless Soviet soldiers has given the Soviet Union more time to prepare it's main defence line against the Fascists. Their ground forces are only now coming in contact with our well prepared positions between Riga and Minsk.

In the Southern Ukraine, the invaders have formed up 50 km short of our line. They are scared to attack the Red Army of Workers and Peasants!

Yugoslavia is still holding out, with two corps in and around Belgrade, and a third corps ensconced in the mountains of Croatia.

In the USA, a declaration of war against the Axis now seems inevitable.

[ September 17, 2003, 06:47 PM: Message edited by: Archibald ]

[JerseyJohn]

Italian, Hungarian, Bulgarian and German infantry destroy a Yugoslavian corps guarding the western approaches to Belgrade while another Yugoslavian corps is contained in the mountains.

In Russia the German army recieves replacements and prepares for it's first winter offensive since Fredrick the Great.

The degenerate Roosevelt drags his country into a war it has no business getting involved in. The civilized world is appaled at such flagrant beligerence!

[ September 09, 2003, 03:06 AM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[Archibald]

30 Nov 41

The Soviet Union, the British Empire and the United States are now united in the crusade against the Axis.

The only activity in the USSR is a spoiling attack from Leningrad on a Finnish corps to the north. Otherwise, the main front against the fascists is unusually quiet. Germany now has L1 infantry and L3 jets. We expect a major attack soon.

Meanwhile, vexed by Axis attempts to subvert the legitimate government of Iraq, the British Empire has launched a pre-emptive strike on Baghdad. A concerted air ground offensive has reduced the single Iraqi corps to two.

[ September 09, 2003, 03:59 PM: Message edited by: Archibald ]