Take Denmark, roll on to Berlin.

Or land in the Netherlands and roll on from there.

Or do Dragoon.

Might want to ask the US for assistance first though...since putting Adolf on a leash won't be easy.

Great read, I was surprised to see that you knocked out Japan for good so swiftly.

I'd also go for Denmark.

Denmark does seem to be the softest target. Aerial recce shows that the whole peninsula is pretty meagerly defended - only two garrison divisions were spotted. The French channel coast isn't too bad either, but that approach could mean a protracted campaign liberating France and a likely quagmire if and when German reinforcements are deployed. The Netherlands is pretty well cornered - I count at least 26 German divisions on the border, many of them mechanized or heavy armour.





So, Denmark is the easiest way in and also offers a pretty quick route to Berlin. Good chance to sweep up from the south with 1st Army Group if they can achieve a breakthrough. Still trying to bring America on board. Hitler has at least given up lobbying them to stay out of the war. I may set the time acceleration on for a few months until I can deploy my new armor/mechanized corps. I'll be keeping diplomatic pressure on the US to join the war, and let the Soviets have some fun for a little while.

Wait, Holland is friendly (neutral)?

Perfect for a huge Kessel. Start in Denmark, lure divisions from the dutch border northwards, break through the german weakened defenses and then race to Lübeck (or so) to cut off any units in southern Denmark.

The Dutch have joined the allies, but not the war with Germany. I can issue a 'call to arms' that will get them into the war. I'm not sure I have enough forces to split between the Dutch border and Denmark, unless I borrow a few corps from the armies in Italy, and I'd like to keep them buffed up for a big thrust up from the south when things get hairy.

I'm thinking a good solid landing in Denmark is the way to go. If and when those German divisions on the Dutch border start to move north, I can bring the Netherlands into the war, and those Dutch divisions can get on their heels. Might not do much, but they're a help. No particular attacking vector in this plan is very strong (except for 1st Army Group in the south), but simultaneously attacks from three directions - Denmark, Italy, Dutch border (actually four counting the Soviets) - will throw the Germans off balance. Shock and awe - they can't defend everything

Bonus: No Americans who might claim they did it all themselves afterwards.

Oh no, Hollywood will still claim the Americans did it plus throw in a love story to kill the whole thing.

"My dearest Catherine,

I'm missing you like the corn fields miss the rain.
We came ashore in Denmark today, and it was horrible.
Nothing happened.
Brave men sitting around, waiting for the enemy who is still days away. Some even tried to stir up a pub brawl with the local citizens, but the Danes just took the insults without complaints. Such brave people. I wonder how they could have taken the horror for so long.
Kozlowski snapped a few hours ago. He just threw his gear into the sand and ran screaming...into the waves. To take a swim.
Then the company got excited about the sighting of an unknows vehicle a few miles away. Turned out to be a tractor.

I don't know if I can take this much longer...but I will stay strong for you, my dear.


Love, Matt."

[Cut]

"Oi, Matt, ye writing that american #%&*$# again?!? Come on, Henry found some danish ale, lessee how ye yankee butt can take some real alcohol..."

The next few months pass without much to report while we organize and amass forces following the defeat of Japan.

In Defence of Spain

In October 1943, Spain enters the war on the side of the Allies.



In November, German infantry divisions attacking out of occupied France cause some problems for Spain, seizing territory on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. We have a strategic priority to provide assistance to our allies where possible, and with most of my forces simply standing around doing nothing while waiting for new deployments, I decide to lend Spain a hand by landing some marines near Bordeaux. 1st and 2nd Royal Marine Corps are deployed on 2 and 3 Transport Groups, escorted by the big guns of 2 and 3 Surface Groups.



Marines hit the beaches near Bordeaux and Bayonne on 5 December 1943 without issue. They quickly move out to encircle and destroy the German divisions.



2nd Royal Marine Corps, backed by Spanish infantry, advance from the south and push the Germans back into France. Further north, 1st Royal Marine Corps seizes Bordeaux on 13 December and pushes to the Vichy border. The Germans are caught in the noose, and are completely overrun by the end of December 1943. 30,000 prisoners are taken.





It’s been a fun little diversion, but with the immediate threat to Spain eliminated, the Royal Marines board transports at La Rochelle and return to England. We have work to do elsewhere.

In mid-January, the new 12th Corps stands up under Lieutenant General Hobart at Edinburgh, consisting of the 106th, 107th, and 108th Armoured Divisions, as well as the 15th ‘Scottish’ and 1st Indian Mechanized Infantry.



With the deployment of 12th Corps, we institute a number of organizational changes across the army:

• 2nd Airborne Corps is detached from 1st Special Operations Army, attached to 2nd Army alongside 1st Airborne Corps, and redeployed to northern Italy. 2nd Army effectively becomes an all-airborne army.
• 1st Special Operations Army is redesignated as 4th Army. All divisions are currently stationed in and around Edinburgh.
• 12th Corps is attached to 4th Army. 4th Army now consists of 1st and 2nd Royal Marine Corps and 12th Corps.
• 1st Army Group is redesignated as Expeditionary Forces Europe.
• 4th Army is attached to Expeditionary Forces Europe.
• Bernard Montgomery is promoted to Field Marshal and is assigned as Commander, Expeditionary Forces Europe.

Operation Cataclysm

Gentlemen, based on the advice of the esteemed war cabinet, it is now time to strike directly into the German homeland. Under Operation Cataclysm, 1st and 2nd Armies will surge northward out of Italy while 4th Army simultaneously conducts landings in Denmark. Both thrusts will have the objective of driving towards the heart of Germany, with the aim of ideally seizing Berlin before the Soviets. If German defences are thrown into sufficient disarray by this two-pronged attack, the Netherlands will be called to war, bringing combined Australian, Dutch, and Canadian corps attached to 1st Army (Dutch) into the fight. This operation will require combined contributions from as many air groups and naval fleets as can possibly be mustered.



Good weather pending, D-Day is scheduled for the morning of 25 February 1944. Good luck to everyone.

Hm. Are you planning on keeping reserves?

That "fun little diversion" might just be a perfect opportunity to stir the pot even more with a fourth front that could, in the best case, even go for the liberation of France.
I any case, keep southern France in mind. Should you grind to a halt (which I doubt, as the terrain plays along) in northern Germany you could take back your front and shuffle an army back to France for forcing a breakthrough there.

Also, try to keep north of the Elbe, as the river serves as a pretty good protection for your southern flank.
When the Dutch join the fray, let them run along the Weser and try to stop the Wehrmacht before it retreats into the Harz (capture Hannover). Ideally, this would create a huge Kessel that won't tie up too many of your units.

The flatlands in the north are a perfect pitch for tanks, so luring units from the south into the north might just be a viable tactic to avoid penalties in mountaneous terrain.