Battle for Germany

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Battle for Germany
Part of the Nazi war on Earth
270px
Space Nazis assaulting Free Western forces at Munich
Date9 January – 11 February 2010
Location
Result Axis marginal victory
Territorial
changes
Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg captured by the Space Nazis; invaders push into northern France, Slovakia
Belligerents
Greater German Space Reich
Clone Guild
Eastern Union
Free Western Army
Commanders and leaders
Manfred Hickten
Kurt Schäffer
Captain2
Maxim Brusilov
Bernard Montgomery
Erwin Rommel

The Battle for Germany was a protracted conflict between the Greater German Space Reich and allied forces of the Eastern Union and Free Western Army. The engagement quickly followed the Space Nazis' invasion of Poland after the expedition was able to deploy in force. The conquest of Germany constitutes Step 2 of Phase I of the Space Nazis' Earth campaign.

Invasion

Soon after the conquest of Poland, Space Nazi führer Manfred Hickten's ideological dispositions foreshadowed an assault on Germany. This was confirmed when Union personnel read his updates on Twitter.[1] The Union reassigned most of its forces to defend the country while the Free Western Army prepared defencive positions along the Rhine river and strategic cities. When Space Nazi troops crossed the border on 9 January, the Allies were well-prepared to meet their advance.

Hickten believed the numerical superiority of his forces would overwhelm the defenders and lead to a swift victory. To his surprise, he found the Union did not hold the line, falling back as he advanced. With little opposition, he reached far into Germany before the trap sprang. Mechanized units, Spetsnaz operatives, and marine detachments from Sweden and Denmark penetrated the enemy flank, and the Space Nazi front quickly deteriorated as the stormtroopers found themselves engaged in perpetual skirmishes from every direction.

Urban war

File:Union-Nazis-Deutsch.png
Union troops skirmishing with Space Nazi stormtroopers

Fighting in the cities was even worse than in the countryside. Jousting between forces now occurred street-by-street, and perpetual struggle for each city block fragmented territorial control. Allied garrisons turned nearly every available building into a blockhouse and booby-trapped the rest. Compounding the already fierce urban combat was the emergence of a German partisan army mustered by Feldmarschall Rommel, who was already informal commander of the remnant Bundeswehr. The Space Nazis, not expecting grassroots resistance, were unsure how to respond to the guerrillas.

Berlin

The capital city of Berlin was quickly established as a primary strategic objective. Although it was inevitable that Hickten would focus on securing the city early, the Allies committed themselves to making him fight for it. Perimeter defences barely a stone's throw from the border were the first hit by the Space Nazi advance, and quickly retreated to the city proper. The Union led a fighting retreat throughout the metropolitan area, and within hours the city was occupied. But they were successful in drawing the Space Nazis out further, and Rommel, in command of the reconstituted 1st Panzer Corps, struck their unprotected flank. For three days the opposing armies were caught in a tug-of-war until the Space Nazis secured the neighbouring fronts and Brusilov ordered a withdrawal.

Munich

File:MunichBtl-dusk.png
Free Western armoured forces defending Fortress Munich for the umpteenth time

The industrial centre of Munich was another priority objective. Using spare troops from the Rhine defences, Field Marshal Montgomery turned the city into a veritable citadel and prepared to wait out the assault.[1][2] The Space Nazis expected an opponent using Second World War equipment to be an easy kill, and were therefore understandably unnerved when they failed to penetrate the Free Western defences. Determined to break the garrison and re-establish his military superiority, Hickten repeatedly ordered fresh assaults. Fortress Munich, as it has come to be called, repelled wave after wave of attackers while rotating the garrison with fresh troops from Austria. After months of unrelenting enemy assault, Munich remains in Free Western hands[citation needed].

Axis breakthrough

The Space Nazis finally gained the upper hand after the Clone Guild pledged its support to the Space Nazis[3], providing fresh armies operating under a combat doctrine that shared none of Hickten's mistakes. This proved a major threat to the Allied strategy, which capitalized on the Space Nazis' ill-preparedness.

The second major breakthrough came in the form of Captain2, who piloted the Death Fuji in a flank attack on Paris, France.[4] With their defence line along the Rhine under threat of encirclement, the Free Western Army abandoned the position.[5] This opened a direct land route to the French capital, but also bought the FWA time to entrench along the 48th Parallel and solidify their control of southern Europe.

The Allied forces were ultimately forced to withdraw from Germany to protect their exposed flanks. This had the effect of separating the Union and Free Western armies, dividing them longitudinally along the Austro-Italian border.

Strategic shortfalls

Much of the Space Nazis' strategic and tactical failure in the invasion of Germany is attributed to outdated information and consequent insufficient preparation.[2] Although the Space Nazis were aware of the existence of the Eastern Union and Free Western Army, they did not know of and/or were insufficiently briefed by the Combine on the political atmosphere. When Hickten invaded Poland, he erroneously assumed Europe was still divided along its pre-war ties, and did not expect to re-encounter the Union in Germany. By the time he learned his mistake, it was too late to amend the attack procedure, and as consequence the battle quickly descended into chaos.

Allied Grand Strategy

"We did what we could. Hopefully it will pay off."
Erwin Rommel

Marshal Brusilov believes a short-term loss in Germany may provide long-term success against the Space Nazis. In comparison to previous defencive wars, the Union armed forces have operated with cohesion and precision. The apparent disjointed retaliation by the allied powers was a covert war of attrition, seeking to absorb the momentum of Hickten's army and lessen their capability for aggressive expansion, as well as provide a vent for officers frustrated over the Battle of Poland. While forces distracted the invaders on the front lines, logistics companies worked feverishly to evacuate the population and re-base German industry behind friendly lines, with the aim of minimizing the risk of civilian casualties and denying the enemy manufacturing capability for its war machine.

See also

References