Either by boat (when the climate allows it) or by train through Norway/Sweden
Into the Fire - the "Minor" nations of WW2 strike back
- Thread starter Wings
- Start date
Both options have their advantages and disadvantages.
On one hand, the sea route would be risky as the ships would run the risk of interception by the Allies given the Soviet presence in Murmansk. On the other hand, the shipping can go year-round as the Finnish arctic port of Liinahamari doesn't freeze in winter.
Land route meanwhile is largely only a theoretical possibility. First, the nickel ore (or more likely, the smelted nickel matte containing 50% nickel) would need to be transported more than 450 kilometres on gravel roads to the nearest rail head in Rovaniemi. From there, it could be transported south to the Finnish ports and shipped to Germany. In winter, the situation goes through additional complication with the Baltic Sea ice conditions.
If the nickel matte is moved via Sweden it faces the additional hurdle of break of gauge at the Finno-Swedish border. I won't go guessing how realistic the transportation of the nickel matte would be on the Swedish State Railways as I can only scratch the surface with my information.
Chapter 61: Leaving the sinking ship: Italy (May – August 1942)
Chapter 61
Mediterranean Theatre
May - August 1942
Mediterranean Theatre
May - August 1942
The fall of Sicily, on May 29th, sent a jolt through the Italian political apparatus, from the Duce to the King. In fact, even amidst the Fascists, we knew that the Duce’s days at the head of Italy were numbered, and that it was only a matter of time until he was replaced. These certitudes even made their way to Berlin, where they reached Adolf Hitler, who likewise worried about the fate of Italy itself, especially as Case Blue was going to start the following month.
On the other hand, Commander in Chief of the Italian forces Vittorio Ambrosio got ready for the worst. He had already recalled several units from Greece under the pretext of opposing an Allied landing in Calabria, and already prepared the defence of southern Italy…but against who, this remained to be seen.
Mussolini, for his part, was now completely isolated. On June 2nd, the Great Fascist council gathered to discuss the loss of Italy, with Mussolini vigorously accusing the Army and even the King of having let him down. He then accused several party members of planning to topple him, something he warned heavily against. However, the Duce was not his former self. His impassioned speeches about the glory of Italy did not resonate now that Italy had paid the price of war. Its army was stuck at the gates of Athens, had been crushed in Sicily, while the navy was at the bottom of the Mediterranean or stuck in its ports and the air force likewise pounded by the Allies. In the end, Mussolini lost his last battle. In convincing fashion, the Fascist council voted to oust him. A few hours later, it is a completely shattered Mussolini who gave his resignation to the King.
Ambrosio did not waste any time. Immediately, he got the troops of the Armata di Levante to secure Rome and its approaches. In the meantime, an emergency government was formed with Marshal Badoglio at the head. The old marshal, prudent as ever, would first of all send a message to Berlin stating of his unconditional support for the war effort, and that his priority was to defend Italy and its possessions against Allied attacks. In private, however, Badoglio had already been thinking about the best way of contacting the Allies for a quick exit from the Axis. Mussolini, for his part, was sent to Sardinia, under armed guard [1]. Count Ciano, wishing to escape arrest and not wanting to end up in Germany in another prison, chose to flee to Switzerland [2].
In Berlin, while Hitler did receive Badoglio’s message, things were tense. Preparations for Case Blue were in full swing, and this incident did not do much to raise the Fuhrer’s spirits. Hitler wished for Mussolini to be immediately broken out of his Sardinian prison, and to occupy Italy. Under Himmler’s suggestions, he validated the transfer of the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord from Petsamo, and sought to create a “PanzerKorps Italien” which would be tasked with ensuring Italian loyalty. The only thing left was to find the troops to comprise it. Hitler did however give Badoglio a note stating the need for German troops to “temporarily” move through Trieste and Verona in order to participate in anti-partisan warfare in Yugoslavia and prepare for an upcoming offensive in Greece.
This prompted Badoglio to study with Ambrosio the question of a defence line around Rome [3]. Ambrosio noted that it would be impossible to defend the entire Italian peninsula, but that a perimeter around the capital could be held long enough for the Allies to rush to their aid. Negotiations were also immediately started with the Americans via the Vatican…while U.S. bombers started to ravage the Italian coastline.
Ambrosio, in the meantime, took his precautions. After the transfer of units from Greece, he made sure to have his best units around the capital, most notably the 132nd Armored Division Ariete and the 133rd Armored Division Italia. The 3rd Motorized Division (celere) Principe Amedeo Duca d’Aosta, freshly arrived from Greece, would take position around Naples, and the 102nd Motorized Division Trento would defend the ports of Bari and Taranto. Finally, Ambrosio gave instructions for the Italian commanders in Greece “in case of a sudden change in attitude from our Allies”. In fact, these instructions told the commanders to hold their ground in case of a German attack, and accept disarmament by the Allies. If neither were possible, the commanders would either scatter into the mountains or surrender after destroying their weapons. As for the Regia Marina, all large units present in Genoa were sent southwards “for the defence of southern Italy”, and several squadrons of the Regia Aeronautica were redeployed to airfields around Rome.
Badoglio for his part sent a small delegation to Lisbon for secret negotiations with the Allies, led by General Giuseppe Castellano. The old marshal knew that time was not on his side, and he thus needed to get the Allies on side before Hitler could gather enough troops to invade Italy. Ambrosio warned him, however, to not overplay his hand, as he knew that a major German operation was about to start on the Eastern Front. Waiting for this operation to start, which would likely be during the month of June, was preferable to set their plans in motion.
Ambrosio would find his prayers answered by…the Allies. Badoglio did not expect them to put such harsh conditions on Italy to accept an armistice, most notably the complete surrender of Italian forces in the peninsula! For the better part of the month of June, negotiations would bog down, as neither of the “three main powers” of the Allies wished to budge on an unconditional surrender, with the British being more open to some “workarounds” while the French did not budge on their positions, with the Americans playing the middle man, but with absolutely no sympathy for “Mussolini’s clique” [4].
Ambrosio had started to worry. While Case Blue had started, Hitler had assembled a good number of forces for his PanzerKorps Italien. The 10th Panzer had been recalled from France, while the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division was transferred from Thessaloniki to Trieste “in transit for rest and recuperation in Austria”. The first units of the SS Nord Division also started to arrive in Germany, after having transited through Norway and Sweden. These movements finally pushed Ambrosio to convince marshal Badoglio to accede to the Allied demands: Italy would unconditionally surrender, if only to avoid the catastrophic occupation of the entire country by the Germans.
The Allies then presented further conditions. Once Italy had capitulated, it would have to accept an occupation of the country by Allied forces, and declare war on Germany and Japan. Furthermore, the Regia Marina would be interned in Malta, with any submarines surrendering to the nearest Allied port. Informed, Badoglio and the King consented to the surrender on July 19th, 1942. That same day, American general Bedell-Smith, in charge of the negotiations in Lisbon, sent Eisenhower the message “Dress warmly, Avalanches and Blizzard announced". As for General Castellano, he left from his Portuguese vacation with his bags full of souvenirs…including a very rare sight these days, a brand-new portable radio coming straight from the U.S.A.
On the Italian side, the dice had been thrown [5]. At the beginning of August, and while the Germans were in difficulty on the Don, Italy would change sides. Now, it was only a matter of stopping the Germans from occupying too much Italian territory and to prepare for what Ambrosio saw as an inevitable confrontation between Italian and German troops in Greece. All troops on the other side of the Adriatic were placed on full alert, and the Italian presence around the capital was reinforced.
This, of course, did not go unnoticed in Berlin. In all, Hitler had managed to assemble a substantial force for his “PanzerKorps Italien”. 9 Divisions, including three armored ones! Well, technically two reinforced ones, since the 26th Panzer was only hastily created and the Fallschirm-Panzer Hermann-Goring had been in the process of being reequipped after the mauling it had received in Sicily. In fact, it had just been put near Rome “to assure of the security of the Italian government” [6]. Neither side was fooled by the other’s shoddy attempts at deception, but it hardly mattered anymore.
Ambrosio, though, saw that he would need for the Allies to come and bail him out in Rome. The fall of the capital and potential capture of the King and government would be disastrous. As such, on July 26th, he sent General Castellano, under the cover of night, to Sicily with a message urging the Allied command to send troops as soon as possible to the Italian capital to avoid this turn of events. With General Castellano was another piece of paper, announcing the unconditional surrender of Italy [7]. The next day, an American reconnaissance plane would manage to find large columns of German troops heading south along the Adriatic coast “for embarcation at Bari for Greece”. While the Allies responded positively, they still refused to give Ambrosio or Badoglio any date on which they would arrive.
Finally, after what seemed like an unending amount of time, the Allied high command finally woke up. In the early morning hours of August 2nd, it transmitted the following message to units west of Benghazi: “Awaken the Mountain.”
Operation Avalanche had just started.
Units affected to PanzerKorps Italien:
6th SS Mountain Division Nord
23rd SS Division Nederland
10th Panzer Division
26th Panzer Division
1st Fallschirm-Panzer Division Hermann-Goring
3rd Motorized Infantry Division
90th Panzergrenadier Division
334th Infantry Division
715th Infantry Division
Italian units affected to the Armata di Levante (southern area):
2nd Motorized Division (celere) Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro (Rome)
3rd Motorized Division (celere) Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta (Naples)
16th Motorized Division Pistoia (Sardinia)
102nd Motorized Division Trento (Taranto)
132nd Armored Division Ariete (Rome)
133rd Armored Division Italia (Rome)
17th Infantry Division Pavia (Pescara)
20th Infantry Division Friuli (Corsica)
27th Infantry Division Brescia (Pescara)
44th Infantry Division Cremona (Corsica)
185th Parachute Division Folgore (Foggia)
[1] At the islands of La Maddalena, where he was supposed to be sent in the first place.
[2] Ciano never looked like someone that was overly attached to Mussolini, so he does manage to get out here.
[3] Though Badoglio always thought that he could get away with lying to the Germans' faces OTL. Evidently, he was likely a very bad poker player.
[4] The French never forgave the Italians for the "stab in the back" of 1940.
[5] Alea jacta est, as the Romans would say.
[6] And, more importantly, the securing of major roads leading to the capital, as well as airfields which could be used by German aircraft.
[7] Signed by Generals Eisenhower (for the U.S), Montgomery (for the U.K), Juin (for France) and Pire (for Belgium).
Losing the capital or the government would be bad, yes. I'm less sure about losing the king.
Well the King from my (barebones) reading draws a lot of support & loyalty from the Army officer class, so if the Germans are able to do a Horthy style coup, it could cause massive confusion in the Italian Army like in OTL
Will the Allies due an Operation Giant II-style of mission?
Link: https://codenames.info/operation/giant-ii/
Link: https://codenames.info/operation/giant-ii/
But it sure would be convenient for the government if he could heroically die resisting the Germans. He’d be so much more inspiring as a dead martyr.
Agreed right here, it might be bad momentarily for the Army (or more precisely the officer corps), but a quick glance at the wikipedia tells me how much Vittorio screwed up, that any government formed under him is sure going to be unpopular
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Chapter 62: Avalanche on Rome (August 1942)
Chapter 62
August 1942
Italian Front
August 1942
Italian Front
The Allied invasion of Italy would be one of the most challenging operations for them yet, simply due to the sheer scale. All “three major” countries had their own plans for the operation, and that wasn’t even counting the Greek Front. The Americans wished to land at Salerno, with the French pushing for a more direct assault on Rome with a landing at Anzio. On the opposite side, however, the British pushed for a landing across the Strait of Messina and a landing at Taranto later, in order to cautiously move up the Boot. What’s more, Sardinia and especially Corsica (for the French) also needed to be secured as fast as possible. This would thus require every single transport the Allies had in that area, and more.
In the end, and after much deliberation, it was finally decided to follow the initial American plan. The Americans were not especially pleased with a landing in Italy, as they wished for a landing in France as soon as possible, but the political imperative had been too great. Landing at Salerno would thus be the 1st Armored Division, 1st Infantry Division, 34th Infantry Division, and the French 192nd Infantry Division. The composition of this force, placed under the command of General Lloyd Fredendall, was quite controversial. The French wished to instead re-use the Franco-Belgian Armored Group, which distinguished itself in Sicily, instead of the untested 1st Armored. Political imperatives, however, dictated that the 1st Armored needed to be engaged. The Franco-Belgian Armored Group would only be committed as part of a floating reserve.
What’s more, the commander of this force, Fredendall, was not well-looked upon by the French or British. Considered generally incompetent and out of touch with reality, it took all the diplomacy in the world for the French to agree to place an infantry division under his nominal command. It must be said that already, in Algeria, when U.S. soldiers were living in basic conditions, Fredendall put his flag in the Grand Hotel of Tunis, and then proceeded to pester the logistical train with priority requests such as a bulletproof Cadillac, frequently asking why it had not yet been delivered [1]. Thus, General de Lattre, commanding the French forces in Italy, was given a sort of “free pass” by the French command to do anything necessary to protect his troops if General Fredendall’s orders were either unclear or suicidal.
The British would also land in the Salerno area, though their command, under General Montgomery, was separate from the American one. These forces would be the 44th and 56th Infantry Divisions, 7th Armoured Division, and the 1st South African Infantry Division. They would be quickly reinforced with the 6th and 50th Infantry Divisions as well as the 5th Indian Division, which would be landed across the Strait of Messina and come reinforce Eighth Army as soon as possible. The 1st Airborne Division would for its part land around Taranto to help secure the port and get it in working order as soon as possible.
For Sardinia and Corsica, neither Americans nor British would be used. The Belgian 5th Infantry Division would be disembarked in Sardinia, and the French 14th Infantry Division would secure Corsica with the help of the local resistance. Finally, in order to support the Italians in securing the capital, an airborne assault will be prepared, with the full might of the 82nd Airborne Division, supported by the French 3rd RCP and 1st REP. Their objective would also be to secure the airfields in order for Allied planes to be able to land there quickly and deny them to the Germans.
On August 2nd, Operation Avalanche was finally launched. However, between the massive convoys setting sail from North Africa or Sicily, it would not be until August 3rd that they would finally land in Italy proper. And unfortunately for them, the Germans had spotted them. Thus, the Germans did not waste any time. On the evening of August 2nd, the Panzer-Division Hermann-Goring began attacking Italian positions around Rome. For Badoglio, it was a shock. For Ambrosio, this was little more than what had to be expected. Now, he could only pray that his lines would hold, while waiting for the Allies.
All night long, clashes between German troops degenerated into all-out fighting, both in Rome and Pescara. Italian troops valiantly held on, allowing to make time for the gliders of the 82nd Airborne and French regiments to land in and around the airfields. Likewise, the landings around Salerno, Gaeta, Reggio Calabria and Taranto went on without a hitch, but it was all not smooth sailing. The Regia Marina, which had been battered the past two years, did not get to rest even after the Italian capitulation. Several German planes managed to intercept a convoy of Italian ships off of Elba, sinking the battleship Italia (ex-Littorio), fresh out of repairs, and one of the escort destroyers. The Regia Marina would not forget it.
The arrival of the Allied paratroopers came right on time for the Italians. The Americans secured the city, including the government and the King, but now had to hold it, as the Italian divisions struggled to contain the German troops in the northern airfields. In the afternoon, the first Allied aircraft landed on the Boot, but the situation around Rome remained precarious. The American landing was slow and disorganized, with the British noting that “[the Americans] would have gotten wiped out if they had landed with opposition”.
In Algiers, Juin noted that without urgent support, the 82nd Airborne, Italians and French would not be able to hold off the Germans for long, especially since the 10th Panzer had Hermann-Goring Divisions had launched an offensive to try and clear the city. Thus, acting with the assent of his hierarchy and Eisenhower, he released the Franco-Belgian Armored Group, held in floating reserve, which landed at Anzio under heavy air cover. This unit would be placed under Juin’s direct command, allowing to bypass Fredendall’s authority, something which was completely unheard of, but was necessary. Eisenhower also sent Omar Bradley to Gaeta, to check on the situation as his personal representative. And as Bradley arrived, he was shocked to find that Fredendall had stayed on the boats! [2]
In the early evening, with the 10th Panzer and Hermann-Goring closing in, the Franco-Belgian Armored Group’s vanguard raced towards the capital. In the other direction, however, was the King and his family, who embarked on Italian torpedo boats for Naples. The Belgians were the first to reach the capital, immediately securing the roads and accesses, and sending reconnaissance vehicles to help the retreating Ariete and Italia divisions. In the early evening, the German tanks attacked from the west, facing heavy resistance from the 82nd Airborne, who quickly received the support of the Belgian tanks. During the night, fierce fighting once again took place around the western approaches to Rome, with German tanks reaching within sight of the Vatican before being repulsed by the Franco-Belgian armor.
While this tragedy was going on, Fredendall continued to check his mass of men. De Lattre’s Frenchmen had run to Latina, whilst his forces were a mass of disorganized troops cluttering the roads from Terracina to Mondragone. However, at 11PM, and despite it being the work of the 1st South African Infantry, he sent a triumphant telegram to Eisenhower saying: “Naples is ours”. Patton would later write in a letter that Eisenhower considered answering “You’re fired” before deciding on a more prudent congratulations and orders to reinforce the defence of Rome.
With the German armored offensive to take the city having failed, Hitler ordered a “punishment strike” on the city. Sign of the difficult times, only about thirty bombers were available for this night raid, which caused more psychological damage than anything else. The real damage for the Allies will be at sea, where the Germans struck the Allied fleet in the early morning, sinking the cruiser USS Brooklyn.
As fighting continued, the first units of the 1st Armored finally entered Rome via the south on the morning of August 4th. At the same time, the British troops of the 44th Infantry Division finally met German troops around Avezzano, pushing them back with heavy losses. In the evening, seeing that the battle for Rome was lost, General Kesselring ordered to disengage from the fight. Rome was saved, and so was the Italy: at least, for now.
This did not mean that the fighting ceased. As Rome and its approaches were cleared, the British continued to advance in the hills and mountains. With Avezzano secured, they then moved on to the slopes of the Monte Velino. Likewise, the 7th Armoured Division secured the airfields around Foggia, which had since then been evacuated by X Fliegerkorps. Amongst the first to land were the planes of the 369th FS (M), on P-40s. These were strange, as they not only bore the American roundel, but something which resembled an Italian roundel. The locals, curious, tried to speak to the men, only to realize that some spoke English with heavy accents and did not know a word of Italian! In fact, these were the Mexicans of the Voluntary Air Corps, which had been folded into the 369th Fighter Squadron (Mexican). This one had been formed along with an infantry division (for now a brigade) which the Mexican government had sent following their declaration of war against Germany, with their shipping having been hit quite hard in the early months of 1942. The Americans hoped to use the Mexicans as a fighting force in this “secondary theatre” in order to allow some of their forces to be deployed to France the following year [3].
The Americans, and especially Fredendall, furious at having been “beaten” in the race to Rome, engaged in hunting down the retreating Germans along the coastal road, on August 6th. However, lacking experience, they received a beating, with the 133rd Armored Division Italia allowing for the 1st Armored to avoid a costly withdrawal towards Fregene or worse, Fiumicino. The arrival during the day of the first elements of the 34th Infantry Division will help alleviate the situation, and air support will allow the Allied forces to push on to Santa Severa. In the hinterlands, the 1st Infantry Division conducted itself well, holding the British flank at Altipiani di Arcinazzo as they secured Rome’s eastern approaches, notably under Omar Bradley’s direction. L’Aquila was taken by the British on August 9th, with the 7th Armoured reaching Pescara and thus relieving the 27th Infantry Division Brescia on the same day.
Allies and Italians continued to push from all sides, with the Germans only now forming a cohesive line as reinforcements poured in from Austria. Civitavecchia fell on August 12th, Tarquinia on August 15th, and Viterbo on August 17th. The fall of Viterbo allowed the British and Americans to move from L’Aquila towards Terni, but no further. The Germans had managed to reform their lines and were now staring down the Allies. The 6th SS Mountain Division Nord, in particular, proved itself quite a tough nut to crack in the heights above L’Aquila, near Capitignano. The British could attack it, but Montgomery refused. His units were scattered across the entire Peninsula, and logistics were still not completely secured, and he has only now received the reinforcement of the 1st Canadian Infantry. In short, for the British, the offensive was over. Even if the Germans were weak, he could not afford to overextend himself.
For the Americans, considerations were different. Lloyd Fredendall was not sacked, but merely “transferred” and his command was given to general Ernest Dawley. But in the highest circles, his reputation as “the man who almost lost Rome”, the fact that he had to be bailed out by the French and Belgians, and the fact that the Italians themselves had saved him from a costly defeat outside the Italian capital, made sure that he would not command in Europe again. Thankfully, things could have been a lot worse… [4]
And it was not over. In the meantime, the French had secured Corsica without too many problems. The Corsican resistance and Italian troops had helped contain the German contingent, who were not very numerous. However, French flags on Ajaccio and the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte did make headlines in North Africa for some time, even eclipsing the liberation of Rome.
But the real headline was made by the Belgians. Securing Sardinia, elements of the 5th Infantry took control of the islands of La Maddalena…where they discovered Benito Mussolini! The Italian dictator had been held there, with the Germans’ attempt at getting him out having ended in failure as their aircraft ran out of fuel and had to ditch off Corsica. The dictator was immediately cuffed and sent to Africa, while waiting a transfer to Britain [5]. For Hitler, this was a disaster. Without Mussolini, Ciano or Grandi, he did not have anyone to lead the Italian puppet state in the northern area. In the end, his sights were placed on Marshal Rudolfo Graziani, who took control of the "Italian Military Administration", a name which really did not leave much to the imagination of who was truly in control...
Operation Avalanche had been a massive Allied success, but it was also unfinished. If Fredendall’s Corps had managed to rush to Rome, it was possible to secure the coast up to Ortobello, or even annihilate the 10th Panzer entirely. It was also possible to avoid the scare of losing the Italian capital, and the Allies could have even pushed on the coast towards San Benedetto del Tronto if Montgomery had been more enterprising.
But the Germans were not done yet, and would strike back soon enough.
[1] As OTL, trading Oran for Tunis.
[2] Fredendall rarely visited the frontlines, having a super secure headquarters far back, so much that it caused him to be mocked by his men.
[3] Given the need for training, it's unlikely that the Mexicans will see combat before the end of 1942 at best. This also means that Overlord (or ITTL's version of Overlord) will occur in 1943. The evacuated Belgian Army allows for it, the Allies will just need about every LCT available...
[4] Rome is ITTL's Kasserine. The Americans have been bloodied and they won't make the same mistake again when the Germans come knocking in the Autumn.
[5] Mussolini being captured will make the Nuremberg trials certainly more interesting.
Benny the Moose getting capture will make things fun indeed! I wonder what other excellent additions the Allies will get to their collections?
Interesting... So the Italian fleet might get to see action yet later in the war?
Aquila was seized by the Germans when they took Genoa, but it is nowhere near as close to completion as OTL.
Sparviero doesn't exist: the SS Augustus was seized by the Germans before any conversion work could begin.
Chapter 63: Blizzard on Greece (August 1942)
Chapter 63
Greek Front
August 1942
Greek Front
August 1942
In Greece, one began to feel a little crowded, and even without the Italian turn-around, things were bound to get underway soon for the Allies. The Italian defection only accelerated these plans by a month or two. The need to liberate the Greek territory was pressing, and the need to ensure that Athens was no longer under threat even more so.
During the past months, the Allied presence in Greece had been continually reinforced. The Greek Army was no longer the poorly-equipped force of 1941, notably with the addition of the brand-new 20th Armoured Division Makedonia. The French had started receiving their brand-new S-60s, and the British had replaced the 7th Armoured with the 6th Armoured along the Ambracian Gulf. In addition, the 6th British Infantry was replaced with an entire Yugoslav Army Corps, in reserve in the Peloponnese, while awaiting the liberation of their country. And it wasn’t over, with two African divisions in training in Crete, the 2nd NZ Division being announced soon, and the potential transfer of the 1st Australian Armoured, which had been mauled in Malaya and would be reconstituted [1].
Richard O’Connor could also count on a bolstered air arm with the roundels of many nations flying in the skies of Greece, and on an efficient intelligence and resistance network which spanned all the way to Belgrade and even further beyond.
One could not say the same for his opponents. With Operation Barbarossa, then the Soviet winter offensives, and finally Case Blue, General Alexander Lohr saw his reinforcements allocated to different fronts. After all, the Allies had not moved a muscle for almost a year, and the planned landings at Thessaloniki turned out to have been a false flag with the real objective having been Sicily. All in all, Lohr only got a single motorized division, and even then, he was forced to keep it in reserve to guard the Turkish border. And as for the Italians, their forces had also been reduced, both for anti-partisan warfare and the defence of their homeland.
The Italians themselves had been partially warned of the imminent defection of the motherland. Letters had been sent to each division commander instructing them to surrender to the Allies, not resist any disarmament from the Allies, but resist attacks from the Germans. Naval units would evacuate as many Italian civilians and administrators as they could to Italian ports in the south of the country, or to the Allies if this was not possible.
As such, when the orders came on August 3rd, there was a sense of general chaos. First of all, the Germans, instructed by Berlin, began attacking the Italian positions. However, almost immediately, they also came under attack by the Allies! The 1st DB and the 20th Armoured attacked the positions of the 16th Panzer, launching Operation Blizzard. This attack was a nasty surprise for the Germans, especially when they were confronted with the S-60 and the Greek guns, which were superior to their own armor. What’s worse, with the Italian betrayal, no reinforcements could come!
On the western side of the front, the British 6th Armoured and 10th Indian Division took charge of the surrenders of the Italians, rightly surmising that the Greeks would not be as eager [2]. Thus, around the Ambracian Gulf, there was little fighting, and more of a general sense of chaos on both sides. Greek troops assisted by the 51st Highland Division did however step in to attack German positions which had attacked the Italians, thus taking them from two sides.
Quickly, coherence broke down in Lohr’s HQ as he could not look everywhere. He was attacking the Italians, but the Allies had hit him, and he had almost no reserves! What’s more, the Greek resistance was brutally effective in sectioning his communication lines and blowing up railways and supply depots. It was as if the entire Greek countryside rose up in one go.
Faced with too many problems, Lohr had to abandon his attacks on the Italians. They had been massed on the western side of the Pindus mountains regardless, and as such the Germans could not exactly reach them apart from attacking through mountain passes or using the reserve units in Ioannia to block the path on the other side. The main issue was that there was now a gigantic gaping hole on the German left, which could threaten his position in case the Allies decided to move quickly! Luckily for Lohr, with the high number of Italian surrenders, this was simply impossible. It wasn’t until August 7th that the Allied forces finally occupied the ground left by the Italians.
And with Case Blue and the invasion of Italy, Greece was not exactly a priority for Hitler. His main worry laying elsewhere, Lohr was rebuffed for reinforcements, and no one in their right mind was going to ask the Bulgarians for anything. Martyred, the 16th Panzer was pushed back to Domokos after 48 hours of intense fighting [3]. The counter-attack of the 21st Panzer, holding the flank at Mount Othrys, gave nothing. Dispersed and with conflicting reports, under constant air attack, and fighting against an enemy with deadly new tanks and tank hunters, it too was forced to withdraw to Volos or risk encirclement. On August 6th, Franco-Greek troops reached Pharsalus, forcing the 21st Panzer to withdraw further, regrouping with the 16th Panzer to attempt a counter-attack on more favorable grounds. The rest of the German deployment likewise needed to retreat fast towards Trikala, with the 6th Australian and the 6th Norwegian Divisions pushing like madmen against the very destabilized Germans…and with the Greeks and Yugoslavs right behind them.
Lohr had no choice. To avoid a rout or a destruction of his army group in the open country, he would need to withdraw at least to the slopes of Mount Olympus. Likewise, he intended to hold the Ioannina-Trikala line, with the Ambracian Gulf area having been conceded to the Allies. This meant that he had to completely reposition his forces, notably by moving Jaeger Divisions from Albania and Macedonia. And Berlin, seeing the Allied progress, finally consented to give Lohr some air support, though it was too late to stop a full retreat.
The Greeks thus liberated Volos on August 8th, with the Yugoslav Army Corps coming to finally position itself on the front lines, in the center of the Allied line. This one had been reconstituted using the divisions which had escaped in the 1941 invasion, and was constituted of four divisions: three infantry and one armoured. However, these divisions were not up to British – or French – standard and were more reinforced brigades than anything else. But still, they would have to do, as the Yugoslav Royal Government counted on the integration of Royalist partisans into the army once they had liberated the national territory. On August 9th, the Yugoslavs thus relieved the 6th Australian at Karditsa, and got ready to move towards Trikala, and then Macedonia!
Under the Yugoslav fervor, the German line at Trikala did not last more than twenty-four hours. After a determined assault, supported with tanks, the German 46th Infantry Division was swept aside from Trikala. On August 13th, Greek troops had climbed on top of the Meteora monastery, planting the Greek flag on the Agio Pneuma rock. Lohr’s defensive line had just crumbled. Larissa could thus be liberated, with the Franco-Greeks reaching the slopes of Mount Olympus on August 18th, finally facing determined resistance. For twenty-four hours, the German mountaineers sought to delay the Allied push which would eventually lead them straight towards the Aliakmon and Thessaloniki. The 1st Mountain Division proved to be a headache for the Allies, who only managed to dislodge them thanks to bombing runs from the air force, and the threat of an encirclement from the west.
It is true that in the meantime, the Yugoslavs had cavalcaded to Siatista, with the Australians and Norwegians providing cover. The Greeks had for their part liberated Ioannina on August 20th, with Igoumenitsa falling the following day, along with Corfu, which was surrendered to the British by the Italian garrison without a fuss. The very next day, the 6th Armoured Division entered Italian Albania. This combination of movements forced the 1st Mountain Division to withdraw into the plain towards the Aliakmon River, finally conceding the slopes of Mount Olympus for which the Allies had paid a very high price.
While the offensive was certainly successful, the Allies were also running out of steam. O’Connor wished to not overextend himself too much, and as such agreed with General Papagos that the Allies would push to Thessaloniki to fix their logistics, but no more [4]. The 1st DB and 20th Armoured thus pushed forward, where they finally met the two German armoured formations.
The 16th and 21st Panzer Divisions had decided to attack before the Allies reached the Aliakmon, to try and slow down the advance and give time for the Germans to fortify Thessaloniki. The great battle in the plains would unfortunately not turn to their advantage. Even together, the German Panzer Divisions were no match for the combined might of the Allies. Although the land battle was close, with the Germans mastering the art of the ambush, the quick intervention of the Allied air force put an end to these pretences. A vast array of roundels filled the sky, pounding the German armor (and the German air force!), lined up in the open country. The Poles were especially brave, flying their P-40s and Spitfires as close to the German armour as possible to guarantee their kill. And, finally, to add insult to injury, the guns of the Royal Navy were brought to bear as they sailed without opposition into the Thermaic Gulf. The monitors Erebus and Terror were particularly destructive, sealing the fate of the two German armoured divisions. These had to limp past the Aliakmon, with half of their tanks gone, conceding Thessaloniki to the Allies [5].
However, the battle of the Aliakmon also cost the Allies a lot. The two armoured divisions had to withdraw, leaving the 1st French Division and the Yugoslav 1st Armored to take the lead, with the Greeks following closely behind. The Yugoslav infantry, for its part, swept the Germans but had to contend with more and more supply difficulties. On August 26th, at the end of its logistical lines, the Yugoslav Corps had to stop on the shores of Lake Petron, a heartbreaking 10km away from the Yugoslav border. The Greeks likewise stopped at Katsoria, with their scouts reporting that the Germans had conceded the ground up to Lake Prespa. But Papagos did not want a repeat of the disaster of 1941: there would be no incursion deep into Albania until the lines could be reinforced.
However, some units did penetrate into Albania. The 6th Armoured stopped at Saranda, and the 10th Indian and 8th Greek Infantry Divisions stopped at Dervican. The latter made a good show of flying the Greek flag on about every building they could before halting their offensive. Blizzard was almost over.
On August 28th, Greek troops of the former EMAG (East Macedonian Army Group) entered the suburbs of Thessaloniki, to the cheers of the population. The Germans had wished to fortify the town, but in front of the failed armoured counter-offensive, they had retreated towards Loutros. The Allies could not pursue. Exhausted after a month of fighting, they just let the Greeks take control of Thessaloniki and the area south of the Mount Chortiatis chain. The 6th Australian and 6th Norwegian thus moved up to Skydra and Giannitsa to ensure the link with the Yugoslavs.
Operation Blizzard was over. Richard O’Connor had won a massive success over the Axis, completely dismantling the lines of Alexander Lohr’s 12th Army. The Axis presence in Greece had been almost eradicated, causing celebrations to break out in Athens and everywhere else. The occupation of Greece had only lasted a year and a half [6].
But things were not done. O’Connor was not stupid, and knew that the Axis would come to try and dislodge him from his hard-won positions. In fact, Berlin had ordered the formation of PanzerKorps Makedonien, with none other than the victor of Leningrad at its head! And General…sorry, Field Marshal Rommel had some ideas in mind in order to trap the Allied forces, namely this little salient poking out from the Aliakmon and towards Thessaloniki [7]. Lohr for his part was not dismissed, but merely reassigned to the command of the German forces in Albania, who would have to fight both partisans and stop the British and Greek forces from advancing further into Yugoslavia or even further. Berlin also promised reinforcements, and not only from Germany! Croatia would have to contribute if it wished to keep the Italian territories generously gifted by Berlin, and the Bulgarians too!
However, the Bulgarian government had much, much different plans.
[1] Will be covered when we return to Asia.
[2] A lot of bad blood after the Greco-Italian War made such a presence necessary.
[3] With most of the reinforcements going to the East, and the division facing brand new armor, and fighting under an Allied sky, means that the offensive is extremely easy for the Allies to undertake.
[4] O'Connor wanted the symbol for the liberation of Greece, but also the port facilities to not have to bring everything from Athens or rely on the small port of Volos.
[5] The capture of an intact Thessaloniki will do wonders for the Allied logistics in the region, and make the Aegean Sea an Allied lake for good.
[6] Which will have massive political repercussions. The Communist Party, for example, will be nowhere near as strong as it was OTL. The Royalists will be extremely solidified by this.
[7] Just like in Italy, Berlin will not take this lying down. The counter-offensive is only a matter of time...but here it will be a little more difficult considering the beating the 16th and 21st Panzer took.
Two questions:
1st: Events in Iceland would most likely be as OTL. But could the Icelandic Parlament allow volunteers to join the Free Danish forces, at their own personal risk?
2nd: You mentioned that only the Mexicans and Brazilians would send forces overseas (as OTL, but in with much more forces), but some Argentinians (mostly British-Argentinians) did join the British Armed Forces (much famous been the No.164 RAF Squadron). Would more Argentinians volunteer for the British forces?
1st: Events in Iceland would most likely be as OTL. But could the Icelandic Parlament allow volunteers to join the Free Danish forces, at their own personal risk?
2nd: You mentioned that only the Mexicans and Brazilians would send forces overseas (as OTL, but in with much more forces), but some Argentinians (mostly British-Argentinians) did join the British Armed Forces (much famous been the No.164 RAF Squadron). Would more Argentinians volunteer for the British forces?
For some reason, I've not been getting the updates and so just had to do a crash course in the last few posts
With the escape and surrender/internment of the Italian navy, could we see them steaming out with the Grey Funnel Line, USN, French Navy and some of the other Free Navies as it would make a hell of a battlefleet...? It also leads to the amusing prospect of Lieutenant Mountbatten serving as a liaison officer, boarding one of the ships, looking at damage from his previous engagement and going "Huh... I missed"
With the escape and surrender/internment of the Italian navy, could we see them steaming out with the Grey Funnel Line, USN, French Navy and some of the other Free Navies as it would make a hell of a battlefleet...? It also leads to the amusing prospect of Lieutenant Mountbatten serving as a liaison officer, boarding one of the ships, looking at damage from his previous engagement and going "Huh... I missed"
The allies might as well put out ads in the newspaper: "Any Axis satellite wishing to make a separate peace, write in confidence, c/o Vatican. Regime preservation not guaranteed. Territorial integrity on a first come basis."
Probably, though the numbers would be quite low.
Doubtful.
The Italian surface fleet is done for the war. The only upside is that, since Italy never declared war on the USSR, none of them will ever serve under the Soviet flag. The submarine arm, on the other hand...
The Soviets might eventually have something to say on the matter.
Highly unlikely.
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I somewhat disagree with your view of Stalin's reaction to the Western allies successes with the Axis satellites - it's too early for Stalin to be thinking of the post-war division of Europe. The USSR is still just hanging on for dear life: while they did better in the center than OTL, they have lost Leningrad and even if they're doing better in the south than OTL, they are still on the wrong side of the Dnieper and far away from it. I think it would more likely that Stalin gets paranoid about the Italian surrender and the upcoming Bulgarian switch (I assume) in the sense of thinking: "Suppose someone knocks off Hitler, are the Americans and the English going to make peace with Germany?"