The Thousand Year Reich : Chapter 13, The Battle of Morocco

Author: Mattekillert
Published: 2017-02-01, edited: 1970-01-01

Part of the campaign:

The Thousand Year Reich

Previous part:

Game: Hearts of Iron III

The Thousand Year Reich : Chapter 12, Drang Nach Osten

Images: 35, author: Mattekillert, published: 2017-02-01, edited: 1970-01-01

As the situation in the Tangier pocket is stabilizing more reinforcements are sent in. The Großdeutschland Panzer Korps is reinforced and sent to Tangier.
As the Luftwaffe is finally freed from having to defend the long Eastern Front they are split between reinforcing the fighters in the east defending under the Luftflotte ‘West’. The others are sent to reinforce Luftflotte ‘Afrika’.

The primary aircraft currently used in the interceptor wings is the BF-109 G6. It is well armed with a strong engine and should be a match for the Mustang hordes the Americans field in Morocco.
The impact of the air war over Morocco has inflicted heavy losses on our fighter groups. Every day hundreds of fighters fight to defend the positions of their soldiers on the ground. However with new reinforcements of veteran pilots from the east it is hoped the situation will shift once again.
The never ending battle on the ground continues but German superiority is proving itself in combat. Even though the Panzer IV is equivalent to the Sherman design the Americans are employing in great numbers our training is far superior. Each German considers himself superior as if he has fought in a hundred battles while the green Americans are getting their first experience of true warfare.
Yet the poor infantry continue to hold on against all odds. They shuffle around constantly, finding new hiding spots for their few pak guns. Wave after wave hits them yet they soldier on, in true German fashion.
The losses are heavy but the men have a great sense of normality even with such heavy losses. The propaganda ministry speaks of the heroic men who hold back the American hordes of tanks only to sit down and read the newspaper in the brief rest they get.
In the east every railroad is packed to the brim with troops. Men march, ride and drive home in great numbers. Most towards the long awaited “Der Lange Urlaub” or The Long Leave, the much awaited vacation for most of the troops over the winter, many will finally get to spend a Christmas with their families for the first time since 1940.
For the soldiers in Africa there is no break as a combined effort between the exhausted infantry and panzers to knock the Americans out of Rabat. Rabat is the key to get to Casablanca and cut the American supply line.
The Großdeutschland panzer korps finally arrives, they will turn the tide!
And Rabat breaks, the road to Casablanca is open.
The French have finally stabilized a line but are unwilling to attack the Americans. Although the Führer is outraged the Advisor understands, as he said to the Führer, “They have no anti-tank guns, of course they can’t attack.” Hitler just retorted with something about French cowardice and ordered them to attack; he has yet to understand that the French troops are not under German command. More surprising is the Italian landing attempt in Melilla which has been ongoing for nearly a week.
Rabat is reinforced by the Americans and the attempted counterattack in Ouezzane ends in disaster for the Americans.
In India an encounter with the 19th Indian Division ends with heavy loss of life. The loss of life is primarily due to the incompetence of the Serbian SS and a suicidal lack of anti-tank guns for the Romanians.
Yet overall the situation is going well, nearly all of India has been taken from the British.
The second battle of Rabat ends with the reinforcements of units from the Großdeutschland korps
Reconnaissance of Casablanca shows that the American Air Force has been all but destroyed. Unable to even keep the airfield clean wreckage's are pushed out of the way by tractors as our bombers continue to pummel the airfield in Casablanca. We are approaching complete air superiority.
The Swedish Crisis of 1943
On the 30th of October the news reach Germany that an assassination attempt has been made on Gustav V, the king of Sweden. The man, a young communist shot the king three times with a Soviet supplied TT-30 pistol. This in turn triggered a communist coup attempt with uprising in Gothenburg, Malmö and Stockholm. The communists had been on a constant rise in Sweden throughout the war in the east even as German victory seemed closer and closer. Now with the Soviets finally defeated it seems the Communists have acted out in desperation.

The news triggers German troops to move into positions to enact Operation Ostseeübung, Operation Baltic Sea Exercise. Fallschirmjäger and Germany marines prepare to invade all major Swedish cities in case of a communist victory within the country.

Yet no such operation needed to be put into action as the army swiftly cracked down on the communist uprisings. The following brutal crackdown all over Sweden led to the death of thousands and the arrest of over 20.000 individuals. The Abwehr, under direction from the Advisor was quick to provide information on Soviet spies within Sweden which had been uncovered after the surrender of the Soviet Union. Over 300 Soviet spies were arrested and shot within a week and the leader of the Communist Party a Sven Linderot was sentenced to death for high treason alongside them even with the 1921 law outlawing the death penalty during peace time.

Gustav V survived the attempt after a long operation. Germany offered to fly in the finest doctors of the Reich and offered military support in Malmö all of which were denied by the Socialist government. The Swedish upcoming election in 1944 was expected to see the collapse of the Socialists and the rise of conservatives and the right wing. The complete chaos following the assassination attempt led to the outlawing of the communist party even though they held 6 seats in the parliament this along with 23 seats lost by the socialists due to the chair holders being arrested led to a right wing dominated parliament.

The seats were fiercely debated over as the right refused to allow them to be reoccupied due to the support of the Swedish people for the King and the conservatives. Unable to come to terms with each other the right offered Gustav V the seats. Gustav V declined and instead urged an emergency election which barely passed without the 29 seats.
The elections saw a huge shift in the Swedish parliament. The Socialists went down to 23.2% the lowest in their entire history and losing over 50% of their seats. The right soared and a coalition between the conservatives, national socialists and the SNF held over 70% of seats within the government. Shortly after the election the government, with the support of the king asked to join the Axis to ”further cooperation within Europe.”

Public opinion was of course mixed at the decision and as such the German Aid was created and sent Sweden things that they had largely lost due to the longtime blockade of The United Kingdom. Coffee, chocolate and large amounts of meat came flooding in. The rations inside Sweden had grown worse and worse and during 1942 an individual was down to 3 grams of coffee a day. Now the adults drank German coffee and the children ate German chocolate. In addition the Swedish government was provided with a large sum of free coal for joining. It would later be dubbed “The Greatest Bribe in History.”
The Schwere Panzer Korps ‘Afrika’ contains about half of the Tiger H1. With veteran tank crews taken from Russia they are sure to give the Americans a beating of a lifetime.
Yet in Germany little changed, more SS divisions were created and the dying in Morocco went on while in the east a constant battle against partisans went on.
.
To aid with supplying the increasing number of troops in the Tangier Pocket supplies are to be flown in of course this is only to supplement the supplies provided by sea. Because who would realistically believe that they could supply hundreds of thousands of troops by air alone?
A look at one of the Schwere Panzer Battalions.
With air superiority achieved the first V-1’s are launched from Tangier towards Casablanca. The port within the city went up in flames as rockets rained down on the city and buildings and roads were destroyed en masse.
Shortly after the Schwere panzer battalions started entering the city. The Americans using outdated AT guns or the British 6 pounder found the strength of the Tiger horrifying and the legend of the Tiger tank was born. The fact that they had severe problems penetrating the tank is probably the primary factor behind their fears.
And so on the 16th after three days of fighting Casablanca falls for the loss of a few hundred German troops.
A pocket has now been created in eastern Morocco. With no supply there can be no escape only death or capture awaits.
In Fez a short but deadly battle is fought.
While in Taounate the dead littered the fields. The sheer amount of American troops reminded many of the ferocious Soviet soldiers defending inside of pockets formed in the east. The 133 infantry division now sits at 30% strength. It is clear that the revamping of our infantry divisions needs to be hurried up.
The progress continues as the American lines begin collapsing. The end approaches.
280.000 Germans against what is estimated to be at least 750.000 Americans. German superiority makes up for numbers any day.
The Tigers clear up the coast.
The infantry finally get some time to rest and reinforce. They fought heroically before reinforcements could reach them and they paid a heavy price.
The reward for their sacrifice is nearing fruition. Hundreds of thousands of trapped Americans!
Yet another SS division is formed named after the famous Horst Wessel.
The Americans are driven over The Moylouya. Yet there is no salvation on the other bank.
The last part of Eastern Morocco is cleared up.
Bhutan surrenders after a rushing Panzer division captures the Bhutanese capital. The Bhutanese army had been mostly destroyed in trying to defend British India which left Bhutan itself open to us.
Slowly but surely the Americans are having the life squeezed out of them. As the American propaganda goes quiet the German grows louder each day. How many will be captured is the one thing everybody wants to know.
The Advisor continues his investment in nuclear technology. While the Führer doesn’t believe in “Jewish physics” The Advisor continues to lobby for it and a Nuclear reactor is being built in Northern Germany.
In Oujda the largest mass surrender of the American troops in Morocco takes place. In total some 600.000 troops surrendered to German, French or Italian troops. The amount killed is still being tallied but is believed to be somewhere around 300.000. America has suffered their largest defeat ever.

It is clear that while the Americans have the industry and the technology to wage a total war they lack the spirit and toughness that we have gained over the long war in the east. What was to be their testing ground turned into their doom.

The question now becomes if the Allies will dare to strike at France at all. As such Operation Seelöwe the long planned Invasion of the British Isles is being finalized and having troops assigned to it. If the Allies won’t come to us we will come to them!

Next chapter:

Game: Hearts of Iron III

The Thousand Year Reich : Chapter 14, The Great Crusade

Images: 50, author: Mattekillert, published: 2017-02-01, edited: 1970-01-01

Check out another AAR:

Game: Hearts of Iron IV

Geistige Landesverteidigung, a Kaiserriech Swizerland AAR

Images: 34, author: Cowguypig, published: 2017-09-30