A Devastating Alternate Second World War

August 07, 2008

Shattered World - Segment 54.3

September 8th 1949 to September 15th 1949




The airstrip on southeastern Kyushu hummed with activity, the heavy continuous drone of numerous massive propeller engines combining into a single terrific roar. Flight crews scurried about the air strip, or crawled lovingly over great lumbering bombers. These aircraft were the pride of the Japanese Air forces, and represented one the few remaining strategic offensive assets that the Japanese Empire possessed. Committing the majority of the precious heavy bombers in such a large operation was a huge gamble. Yet, Japan had to show the world that it remained in the Global War. To that end, in service of Japanese honor, the last fully operational squadron of Fukoku heavy bombers had been tasked with destroying a large new airfield on Okinawa, an airfield that Japanese intelligence believes the Americans are close to completing.
With jet fighters swarming overhead, the heavy bombers climbed into the air one by one, formed up, and headed out over the Pacific towards the flaming hell that Okinawa had become.
In the east, the rising sun dominated a clear blue sky.



September 8th 1949

Moscow, gradually being reduced to rubble, suffers yet more as the German strategic bombing campaign against the Soviet Union continues. Some 400 heavy bombers launch a mixed conventional and nerve gas raid on Moscow that kills tens of thousands and heavily damages an important factory district.
Immediately after the raid, Beria broadcasts a fiery and defiant message from his command bunker deep beneath the Kremlin, vowing to "fight from the hills and the plains of mother Russia, to fight from the sewers and the rubble, until the last Russian man kills the last fascist invader".

At Okinawa - Japanese heavy bombers escorted by long range propeller fighters strike a large U.S. SBC airbase that had been nearing completion on the island. Another distracting raid targets U.S. naval forces in the area, drawing away much of the U.S. carrier air cover while being torn to shreds before it ever reaches the U.S. fleet.
Of the 50 or so Japanese heavy bombers involved in the raid, only 25 reach Okinowa to drop their mix of nerve gas and conventional explosives, causing heavy damage to the base and setting back the construction time by several weeks. Another 10 of the Japanese heavy bombers are downed on their way back to Japan. Japanese heavy bomber capability is now dead.
On the ground, U.S. forces continue to push slowly north and south into the areas of fanatically defended Japanese control.


September 10th 1949

The U.S. and Britain launch a massive conventional raid on the Portuguese capitol of Lisbon, with some 700 allied bombers attacking the city's central and port districts. The port is virtually destroyed and some 100,000 civilians are killed in a hellish firestorm. Alliance radio broadcasts blame the bombing on Lisbon's support of Germany and its membership in the Axis Powers.

As German land based fighters clash with U.S carrier fighters just off the coast of Portugal, Axis maritime strike aircraft sink one Essex class U.S. carrier with guided anti-ship rockets and moderately damage a second. Several escort ships are also damaged to varying degrees. Large numbers of German maritime aircraft are downed in this operation but Radio Berlin hails the operation as a "stunning blow" against the U.S. Navy. In secret, the German High Command warns Hitler that Axis maritime air power in western Europe is in danger of being destroyed given the ongoing pace of operations and rates of attrition.

September 13th 1949

U.S. launches massive atomic and conventional attacks on coastal Iberia. B-34's drop single 40 kiloton atomic bombs on the cities of Malaga and Huelva as well as two large Axis air fields in coastal southern Spain. In addition, large conventional raids hammer other coastal cities and military installations. Deaths from the atomic attacks on the two cities combined exceed 60,000 and Axis air power in the region suffers another terrific blow, with two large airfields destroyed along with dozens of aircraft on the ground. Axis resistance to the sweeping raids is fierce, with over 80 U.S. B-31's downed along with dozens of carrier based fighters, but their own fighter losses are substantial as well.


September 14th 1949


On the Eastern front - German forces massing southeast of Smolensk open a fresh offensive, surging southeast towards Bryansk and Orel. Two veteran panzer divisions, probably the best two panzer divisions in the German army, lead the attack with the Luftwaffe swarming overhead temporarily controlling the skies and hitting everything that moves behind the Soviet lines.

To the south, the broad German offensive in the Caucasus is beginning to gather steam as the Soviets continue an orderly withdrawal, trading land for time. At the points of greatest penetration, Axis forces have reached Georgiyevsk and Kizlyar and are breaking into flatter country.

In the Eastern Ukraine the Red Army is moving into action. There is not quite a panic in the air, yet the need for a hasty evacuation is becoming more clear by the hour as reports come in of disastrous German penetrations to the north and slower but steady German advances to the south in the Caucasus. There seems to be little to stop the Germans from taking Bryansk and Orel, and little to hold them back after that. Around the Eastern Ukraine, Soviet special teams are swinging into action, carrying out carefully pre-planned total scorched earth operations even as what remains of the civilian population are being moved east by all available means.

In the north, the front from Leningrad to east of Smolensk has settled into an uneasy stalemate as Germany halts its efforts to envelop Leningrad in the face of mounting losses. Both sides are focused on the action in the south.


September 15th 1949

The Luftwaffe, under more and more pressure from the western allies in the air over Iberia and France and taking unsustainable losses, is none-the-less preparing for large air operations directed against Britain. Hitler has demanded a retaliatory response to allied nuclear attacks in Iberia. Heavy bomber squadrons are being transferred from the east where the strategic bombing campaign against the Soviet Union is to be temporarily halted, and fighters and medium bombers are being stripped from squadrons across every front.


With a general strike continuing in Chile, and daily street clashes and riots rocking Santiago and several other major cities, an accusation surfaces that the right-wing Chilean National Party(CNP) has been penetrated by, and received funding from, SAFB agents. Communists, prodded by armed radical elements of the People's Party of Chile(PPC), go on a rampage. CNP headquarters is ransacked and conservative political gatherings are assaulted and broken up. Dozens are killed and hundreds injured.
The following day, the PPC demands that the CNP be banned, branding them as "fascist stooges". More street violence breaks out, escalating to isolated gun fights between armed CNP and PPC elements. Across Chile there is a growing sense of anarchy.




TO BE CONTINUED in Segment 54.4...





23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whoa! What ever happens next installment will definitely tell us who will snatch victory from the Jaws of Defeat and who will snatch defeat from the Jaws of Victory.

My cousin who goes by Golladay on the board recommended me this story and only recently have I got around to reading the entire thing. Now I'm waiting for my account to be activated.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see you get to the story John, just remember this is not 40K.

Excellent post Bobby.

Bobby said...

Hey commissar, what user name did you use on the dicussion board? I need to go in and approve you manually.

I'm having amazing trouble dealing with all the spam bots.

Anonymous said...

What a great update!
This rate of attrition is amazing! And 4 nukes in 1 week... waaah! Poor Iberians. And adding to that this conventional bombing.

For the sake of the Iberian people... if the allies should ever land and occupy the place, i hope they enact some vengeance.

So... since this was rather short, i hope you got another update up your sleeve pretty soon :)

a long time reader

Bobby said...

Yeah, its bad luck for Iberia. Axis air defenses are weakest there meaning less risk of an atomic bomber being shot down.

4 atomic bombs in one day is nice, but its nothing compared to what will come eventually.

buahahaha

Shattered World can finally start living up to its name ;)

Bobby said...

Oh, as for the next part...I already have the skeleton of it in place, just need to flesh it out and then polish it.
Definitely should NOT be another multi-month wait.

Anonymous said...

Well, let's hope it wont be another multi-month break again ;)

I am really curious about that Japanese redoubt, and about the first german nuke. It's about time.
And why dont the damn ruskies dont fall? :D

Anyway, looking really forward to the next update.

That long time reader again.

Anonymous said...

I signed up as Commissar Gaunt. Spam Bots give everyone problems, if only someone could punish the people responsible, "sigh"

Anonymous said...

Olefin here

80 B-31's lost is a big hit - that is comparable to the losses on the ball bearing plants - keep in mind thats 800 crewmen lost in one day - so it wont just be the Germans who are being worn down

as for less chance of an atomic bomber being shot down - they have dropped a bunch of atomic bombs on Spain now - so that should be where any German B-34 interceptor should be - the Americans have obviously made it the centerpoint of their attack so why wouldnt a B-34 interceptor be there?

As for Russia - if they are already at Georgiyevsk then Grozny is free and clear of any Soviet artillery fire or nearby troops - looks like the Germans are about to get a big boost in their oil production

Anonymous said...

Big? Did you see the numbers that were posted on the forum? A boost, yes. Big? No.

(DanielJM)

Anonymous said...

Olefin here

Grozny's production in Russia was second only to Baku - it basically is like bringing in a second Ploesti field - so yes that would qualify as big

Just a few points

1) Where the heck are the interceptors that can take down a B-34? The Americans have now dropped almost ten atomic bombs in the Iberia theater including the ones dropped on the Canaries and the Madeiras. You cant tell me that the Japanese can develop an interceptor that can shoot down a B-34 but not the Germans. And with all the a-bomb attacks there you would have to be pretty dumb not to send some there.

2) While the German aircraft losses are bad the Americans arent laughing off their own - how any times can their carrier fighter pilots get their asses handed to them before the USN has a major problem with keeping the squadrons manned - or for that matter keep the pilots from having major morale problems from losing that high a number of planes in each engagement?

And 80 B-31's shot down is 800 crewmen lost in one day - that is comparable to the ball bearing raids of 1943 that just about gutted the 8th Air Force.

3) I agree about Hitler hitting back - either a lot of Brits - and by that I mean 30-50,000 plus - have to die in his raids or his whole Axis alliance is going to come apart. Plus he has got to be pushing for that a-bomb - even if they have to take chances. And why doesnt he hit Britain with a missile attack with nerve gas - he can do that now without having to expose the Luftwaffe to huge losses.

Anonymous said...

Ok, I like the New Chapter lots of explosions though we are using Nukes on targets that with 1949 bombers we probably dont need to use nukes on.... but what the hey its a really big bang.

Why not the B-34 Interceptor in Spain.... well because Berlin, and Baku are all much much more important to the Germans. The Germans have also not chosen a suicide piloted aircraft to attack the B-34.

Why not a nerve gas attack on GB with Missiles because the industrial heart land is in range or a retaliatory strike by the British using Gottard Missiles armed with Anthrax.... not a good trade.

Anonymous said...

I guess the Germans are not hitting back yet since they dont have the bomb yet. If they nerve gas attack any industrial city in UK, it would most likely lead to retaliatory attacks on the Fatherland by the Allies. And the last thing the Germans want is a nuke dropped on the Ruhr Valley, or on Berlin. They will wait until they have their own, and then drop it to show they have it, and BAM... the Allies cannot risk to lose one of their main cities if they drop something on the Fatherland.

that long time reader once again

Bobby said...

Hey Commissar, you should be able to log in now on the discussion board. Let me know here if you're having any trouble

Anonymous said...

Bobby I changed my E-mail and now I can't post till you reactivate my account. My old e-mail has since gone defunct so I switched to a new one.

Bobby said...

Golladay, you should be re-activated on the discussion board now.

I need to get with my brother and figure out how to get our user administration under control

Anonymous said...

Welcome back Golladay - and nice to see your cousin on board as well. Great to see new posters on board who arent spammers

Olefin

Anonymous said...

Bobby how many Japanese heavy bombers got back - it says 25 made it to the carriers and 10 were lost on the way back. Did any of the 25 that didnt make it turn back because of damage or are we looking at a total force of 15 remaining bombers?

While small thats enough to deliver at some kind of attack - say a small brand new made atomic bomb from Korea

hint hint hint hint hint

Olefin

Anonymous said...

Nice to finally see the Germans sink and Essex - was beginning to think they would never get one - i.e. if they can sink a British one they can sink a US CV. However you would think at least a couple of escorts would have been sunk - considering it only takes a few hits to sink an Essex you would think even one would basically blow a DD in two

Olefin

Anonymous said...

Per Bobby by the way (see forum) at least 17 of the Japanese bombers survived the attack and got back to base and are being hidden in bunkers to keep them available for "special missions". So while they have taken a big hit and the days of squadron raids are over the Japanese still retain a very small heavy bomber contingent - which most likely is vital for anything that may come out of the Korean special weapons plants.

Olefin

Anonymous said...

Bobby

I have been a fan of Shattered World since way back, but I have two questions. What does the manpower situation look like among the combatants at this time? Also, won't all of these atomic explosions over the past year or so impact the environment?

George

Anonymous said...

Bobby
Always good stuff. Did you put an RSS feedout for these updates?

Bobby said...

There is a link to subscribe to the RSS feed on the main page