Part 120: Hearts of Iron II: Chapter 18 - Natural Border: Sep 1940 - Jan 1941

September 1940 - January 1941: Natural Border

German and Austrian troops advance into Belgrade, taking control of the Union capital of the Balkans and its considerable war indusries.


As the push through Occitania continues, Guderian's armored corps advances into an ambush and the already legendary general's career is cut short by a well-placed rocket that sets his vehicle ablaze and roasts him and his entire crew alive. A day of mourning is announced in Frankfurt and a grand state burial planned.


Nonetheless, the offensive continues unimpeded, and the League are driven further and further south.



Iberia's tepid defense of Occitania is puzzling - aerial scouting show that they certainly have the troops to reinforce their front, should they choose to, but they appear to be holding them back for some unknown purpose.


With Port Said secured, an attempt is made to retake Suez, but the task of launching an amphibious assault against dug-in Arabs proves too much for the expeditionary force.


Poor, beleagued Turkestan finally falls to the Union, opening a small front between Rome and China.


Korea falls a few days later, allowing Japan to consolidate its front against Russia.


The occupied French continue to make a bother of themselves, rising in revolt in Arlon. The disorganized revolt is quickly crushed by nearby Dutch troops, who go about the task with unrestrained glee.


German troops reach the Pyrenees in October, finding in place a large Iberian front. It appears the Iberians simply chose to leave Occitania to its fate and dig in along the mountain chain, a natural and easily defendable border.


Union troops make a breakthrough in Stryj, forcing a redeploying of troops from Serbia to beat them back.


By late november, the charming Balkan winter weather has already set in, making further offensive operations difficult at best.


In Jadakal, peace is made between Tarwajal and the Caliph, who agrees to recognize Tarwajal's independence and grant it its historical borders.


The situation in America is looking throughougly hopeless - German and Scandinavian bombers continue to do some damage to the Mazulans, but their offensive against Boston continues unabated. Preparations are made for the evacuation of the American government to Germany by air.


In one of the odder moments of the American campaign, the final defense of American Barasya is carried out by a division of Indonesian cavalry, sent by the colonial government of Ostasien to fight Mazula. Despite a valiant stand, they are wiped out to a man.


A few probing attacks are attempted against the Iberian positions in the Pyrenees, with little success. Lacking any further troops to help the advance, German High Command instead opts to redeploy troops from the Iberian front to the Union front, content to have Iberia contained on their peninsula for now.


Several new motorized divisons are deployed to Orléans to link up with the armored corps.


A union expedition force lands on the long-overlooked Crete, quickly overtaking its meager garrison and annexing the island.


An Iberian attack on Toulouse is repulsed in early December after heavy fighting.


Exploiting a lull in the weather, a wide front attack is launched against the Union lines in Serbia and Romania.


The Union retreats from their positions in Nis and Timistrara, but the push against Arad is thrown back by a union counter-attack.


An Italian-German advance into Perpignan is also forced back by a major counter-attack.


Heisenberg completes his research into isotope separation, bringing Germany one step closer to unlocking the powers of the atom.


A breakthrough is also made in rocketry with the development of a flying bomb prototype. With some more research into the topic, we could rain unmanned death on our enemies' cities.


The Iberians launch a massed attack of 30 divisions into Toulouse, completely overrunning the German lines before General Haase has a chance to react. In the ensuing rout, the general is killed by a stray bullet.


A desperate flanking attack is ordered to hinder the Iberian advance, and after several days of bitter fighting the attack is finally halted, though at a great cost in men and materials.



As 1940 turns to 1941, fighting continues unabated along the Pyrenees as the Iberians throw everything they have at us. The Balkan front is largely static, and the Union is pushing hard into India.

But what of the Scandinavians?

Well, they're in Taiwan.




No screenshot of fronts this time, going to do a 'state of the world' update later tonight with fronts, overview of Germany, world map and all that.