Recaps

Germany ended its war with Britain, then launched a devastating air campaign and invaded the United States through Canada. Manstein’s forces shattered the American defenses in Maine and began encircling the remaining US troops as American reinforcements moved north.

• Oscar set harsh terms for Britain’s surrender, and Anthony Eden and Ribbentrop signed an armistice on January 16, 1941.
• Churchill kept Britain out of the war and allowed German forces to use Canada’s roads, railways, and waterways, while Roosevelt prepared the United States to fight alone.
• Milch’s forces began bombing the American Northeast on February 10, destroying targets across Maine and then attacking New Hampshire and Vermont.
• Oscar appointed Manstein to command the North American campaign and showed him and other commanders Oppenheimer’s successful nuclear test, while warning them not to rely on the weapon alone.
• Manstein assembled eight million German and allied troops in Canada and began the offensive on April 12, as Guderian’s forces battered American defenses along the Saint Croix River.
• German forces crossed the river, broke through the US lines, and defeated American counterattacks around Topsfield, forcing Truscott to order a retreat.
• Guderian reported that the US 5th Army Corps was retreating and the 6th Army Corps had been wiped out, while Manstein ordered German forces to pursue and encircle the Americans in Maine.
• Marshall sent the 24th and 25th Army Corps north to rescue the trapped forces, as German troops moved to intercept them and close the encirclement.

German forces destroyed the American armies and forced the United States to surrender unconditionally, after which Germany divided its territory among itself and its allies. With the Island Nation now facing Germany alone, its peace mission failed and Germany prepared for a final campaign.

• German forces crushed the encircled American armies in Maine, and General Marshall ordered the remaining troops to retreat toward Washington as the German advance continued.
• President Roosevelt gathered more than three million troops around Washington, but German bombing and ground attacks broke through the defenses and devastated the American forces.
• After the American army lost the ability to resist, Roosevelt and his officials agreed to seek peace, but Oscar rejected negotiations and demanded unconditional surrender.
• On June 12, 1941, Roosevelt signed the United States’ unconditional surrender, and Qin Tian approved a settlement that divided most American territory among Germany and its client states.
• Oscar ordered preparations to defeat the Island Nation, authorized nuclear weapons if necessary, and approved Manstein’s plan to reinforce the Southern Theater.
• After learning of the American surrender, Hideki Tojo and his ministers agreed to seek a ceasefire while preparing to fight Germany.
• Matsumoto Taro asked Schneider to accept a ceasefire based on the Island Nation’s current territorial control, but Germany rejected the proposal.
• Qin Tian ordered Germany to prepare for the final battle against the Island Nation, and Schneider informed Matsumoto Taro that Germany rejected both its threats and its peace offer.

Germany launched a massive offensive across the South Seas and destroyed the Island Nation’s armies and Combined Fleet. With Germany poised to invade the Mainland, Hideki Tojo and Emperor Hirohito prepared the country for resistance.

• Hideki Tojo and the Cabinet rejected Germany’s failed peace negotiations, placed the Island Nation under emergency status, and ordered weapons distributed to civilians.
• Manstein sent German forces to attack Sumatra, Java, and New Guinea, while General Terauchi Juichi ordered the Southern Army to defend its positions.
• German troops landed across the islands and overwhelmed the Island Nation’s defenses, destroying the 5th Area Army and driving the remaining forces back.
• Hideki Tojo pressed the Navy to support the Southern Army, and Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto led the Combined Fleet south to seek a decisive battle.
• The German Navy annihilated the Combined Fleet, sinking its carriers and battleships, and Isoroku Yamamoto committed seppuku.
• German forces captured Medan, Batavia, Luzon, and Manila, while Terauchi Juichi and Tadaichi Tsukada committed seppuku as Manila fell.
• Hideki Tojo and Gen Sugiyama prepared five million poorly armed recruits and civilians to resist Germany’s expected Mainland invasion, and Emperor Hirohito urged the people to take up arms.