Part 117: Hearts of Iron II: Chapter 15 - Winter's Respite: Dec 1939 - Mar 1940

December 1939 - March 1940: Winter's Respite

After some more negotiation, in which the Russians agree to cede Novgorod and a few more territories along the Finnish border, a peace is signed and the Russian front is closed.


Rather than ruling their new Cossack subjects directly, the Lithuanians opt to create a satellite principiality, giving the title of Prince to a powerful cossack leader in exchange for soldiers to fight the Union.


The new state sits at the crossroads between Lithuania, Russia and Union-occupied Georgia, and is sure to see more fighting in the near future.


The string of naval defeats continues as the German submarine fleet is attacked off the coast of Morocco and forced to seek refuge in Casablanca, and a Mazulan navy enters the East Indies, defeating the Ostasien fleet and sinking several ships.



Aerial recon of Occitania reveals more bad news - the British have somehow ran the blockade surrounding their island and landed almost a dozen divisions to support the Iberians.


Intense fighting erupts in Austria as the Union makes one final attempt to break through towards Wien before the troops from the Russian front can arrive. The attempt is quickly repelled and Maribor retaken.


The airforce is redeployed to Austria to help discourage any further attempts.


The Caucasus is another hotspot as combined German-Lithuanian-Cossack forces attempt to advance into Georgia.


Communist partisans rise in revolt in Dunkerque, holding the city for a few weeks before Dutch troops brutally surpress the uprising.


The revolts in Jadakal continues as Muhajedz and Nova Aquitania join Jidligrib and Tarwajal to rise against their oppressors.


Germany begins diplomatic overtures to the victorious Tarrbitz - the Sultan of Tarrbitz has little interest in joining any other wars at the moment, but it hardly hurts to have a friend in the region if things in America should turn sour.


A small Union recon fleet sent out from North Africa is discovered and sunk in the Channel by the German blockade.


German forces from the Russian front arrive along the Romanian border and attack the weak Union forces in the area, taking Iasi and Ismail.


Angola falls to the League in Africa, the second HRE country to fall to the enemy since the start of the war.


The Scandinavians, meanwhile, for reasons known only to themselves have launched an amphibious invasion of Cyprus and captured the island. Victory celebrations in Stockholm are only interrupted by the occasional question of where exactly Cyprus is.


The steady bleed of convoy ships continues, and Waldemar orders the construction of a new air wing of torpedo bombers in the hopes of gaining more strike capacity against the Union and Iberian fleets.



Russia, after some deliberation over their recent defeats, decide to cut their losses and seek separate peace with the Union in the interest of being able to concentrate their forces against Japan. The Union is just as quick to see the benefit of closing a front as Germany, and readily agrees.


As November turns to December, the weather in the Balkans turns from bad to dismal, putting an effective stop to all combat operations.


A temporary calm settles along the European fronts as 1939 turns to 1940 and the snows continue to fall.


Along the Loire, both sides have dug in heavily and the numerically fewer Iberians await the German advance behind pillboxes and gun-nests perched on the riverbank.


Italy continues to be a quiet zone, with Lombard forces dug down around Genoa and Grenoble and Iberian troops building up their forces in Nice and Lyon.


Much of the Union forces remain committed against Austria, with particulariuly heavy troop concentrations in Split, Bjernovar and Pecs. Austrian and Lithuanian militia in the area are numerous, but depend on the German core troops to be able to match the Union forces.


The real Union weak spot seems to be Romania, where they simply have nothing to match the German veterans from the Russian front. When the thaw comes, Romania may very well prove the gateway into Greece.


In Georgia, the situation is the opposite, with over twenty Union divisions in the area, against only three German divisions and assorted Cossack and Lithuanian militias.


In Africa, Ljansitar continues to advance into Kongo, while the North Africans have finally conquered Morocco and wheeled around to face Egypt and Friland.


The Union is slowly advancing into India but have suffered some setbacks in Turkestan. The Indian front looks like it will continue to divert large numbers of Union soldiers for the time being.


The bitter war in Korea and Mongolia also continues with only minor gains on either side.


In America, Mazula is on the advance across the entire front, driving back the Americans and Vinlanders from their territory.


And finally, the days of the Jadakal Empire seem to be numbered, its armed forced overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the nationalist uprisings.


As January turns to February and February turns to March, the rains stop falling and the snow begins to thaw in France. The German and Iberian armies come out of their winter quarters, even as Communist and Monarchist soldiers in the Balkans await the chance to clash once more.

It will be a bloody spring.