Timeline: Morgen die ganze Welt
Sunday, July 9 1944 Normandy
After hard fighting the British manage to occupy parts of Caen one month behind schedule.
The Allies have air superiority over Normandy. Axis armor has been devastated from the air. Typhoon fighter-bombers armed with rockets were especially deadly even to Tiger tanks. The Axis have learned their lesson and have become experts in camouflage. But this limits tanks to fighting defensive battles.
Axis reinforcements are now arriving in secret, withdrawn from other fronts. The arrival of 10th armored division containing 200 Tiger tanks and a platoon of King Tigers is particularly welcome. Veteran 21st Panzer division has suffered and is resupplied with Panther tanks.
Monday July 10 1944 Japan
Tokyo is bombed for the first time since the Doolittle raid of April, 1942. For many Japanese this is the first sign that the war is not going as planned.
Thursday, July 13 1944 Middle East
Rommel breaks through the Allied defenses in Jordan. After desultory fighting close to Haifa the Allies grew overconfident and thinned out the Jordan line. Axis forces race for Suez. The Allies are concentrating on operation Overlord and other war theaters are neglected. But now forces guarding the Tunis area are sent as reinforcements.
Sunday, July 16 1944 Middle East
Allied forces hastily retreating from Palestine are ambushed in the Sinai when moving through the Mitla pass. The Afrika Korps has made a daring night trek through the Sinai which was considered impossible. The retreat becomes a rout.
Thursday, July 20 1944 Suez
The Allies entrench on the west bank of the Suez canal. The aim of denying the Suez canal to Great Britain has been achieved. Mussolini is still arguing for an invasion of Africa so the Italian Empire can be restored. The OKH is worried about the invasion in Normandy and declines. A small token force is sent east to India, where the battle of the Imphal plain is still raging and the Japanese are hard pressed. The Afrika Korps entrenches and JG61 - its supporting Luftwaffe unit - is sent to France. JG53 and JG54 are withdrawn from Russia and sent to France as well. Axis intelligence has deciphered Allied messages that hint at an attack in the Saint-Lo area. Both sides are reading each other's secret messages. General Von Kluge who is in charge of Axis forces in France has demanded more Luftwaffe support. Surprisingly the Regia Aeronautica sends a squadron of Macchi C.205 fighters in support, the first Italian contribution to the battle of Normandy.
Tuesday, July 25 1944
Cobra
The Allies unleash Operation Cobra, a determined attempt by the US army under General Patton to break out south of the Normandy bridgehead. The attack starts with a heavy air bombardment that destroys Axis communications.
Thursday, July 27 1944 Normandy
Commando Nowotny arrives in Normandy with a strength of 50 jet fighters. It is the first Luftwaffe jet fighter unit. The intention is to develop tactics under battle conditions. All pilots are aces, some with more than 100 kills. This is the first attempt to use the Me262 as a pure fighter. Three Squadrons of Arado 234 jet bombers and reconnaissance aircraft are also sent to Normandy. The Luftwaffe is building up its strength.
Friday, July 28 1944 Normandy
Operation Cobra is making small but steady progress. British forces keep up the pressure in the Caen area to pin down Axis forces.
Wednesday, August 2 1944 Normandy
Axis resistance is crumbling in Operation Cobra. Patton's tanks are now advancing rapidly in Brittany.
Monday, August 7 1944 Tigers
Axis forces unleash a counterattack with three reinforced Panzer divisions and four in reserve in the Avranches area called operation Lüttich. The aim is to reach the coast and cut off Patton. Typhoons are scrambled but run into strong Luftwaffe resistance. Me262 jet fighters are used for the first time. They make up to four sorties during the day and concentrate on shooting down Allied fighter bombers. By the end of the day Allied Typhoon squadrons have been massacred by jets.
On the ground Tigers terrorize everybody. For the first time Allied soldiers experience a massive Tiger attack. Previously Tiger tanks were used singly or at most in platoon strength.
An unnerving sight it is to see a wall of metal monsters advance, spitting fire and eager to kill. The massive tracks cause a ground tremble which conducts through soldier's boots and backbone and seems to home in on the panic center of the brain. Infantry discovers that it is possible to outpace Tigers by getting rid of useless impediments like backpack, ammo and rifles.
Tigers approach the anti-tank defenses, shrugging of anti-tank fire at point-blank range. Allied soldiers stick to their positions in a heroic but useless effort. The guns are ground under their the tank tracks, the gunners offer no more resistance and surrender to the panzer grenadiers.
Thursday, August 9 1944 Avranches
Tigers reach the coast at Avranches. Allied morale is shattered and there is little resistance. Allied destroyers steam close to the shore to offer fire support but then come under accurate fire from Tigers and hastily retreat. The only hope of the Allies is strong air support but the best Typhoon squadrons are already knocked out. US forces in the area are routed, closely pursued by Axis armor. Axis jets manage to gain local air superiority whenever they appear. They have suffered losses to accidents and mechanical faults but not one has been shot down. Arados are very useful for air reconnaissance but not so good at low level bombing. Nevertheless there are so many targets that just dropping a bomb randomly is good enough.
The standard Allied doctrine of sacrificing a number of tanks while gaining time for other tanks to circle the battlefield and attack Tigers from behind is now proven fallacious. It worked as long as the front was static and the number of enemy tanks was low. But now the enemy rear is protected by anti-tank units and the Tigers are numerous enough to protect each other.
Two reserve Axis Panzer divisions now turn upon Patton's forces in Brittany. Encouraged by the strong presence of the Luftwaffe Panzers easily break through a makeshift Allied defensive line. Patton has no choice but retreat to the coast to be evacuated.
Saturday, August 12 1944 Brittany
Patton's forces are successfully evacuated in three days with minimal losses, but all heavy equipment including 1200 tanks is lost. Patton himself boards a Dakota, where he is heard to mutter "too many damned Tigers ..."
In Normandy Allied forces are pushed back to the positions they occupied before operation Cobra. The area has become more unhealthy. Nowotny's jet squadron makes three sorties per day over Normandy, sometimes with a full force of 50 jets. The jets fly at 900 km/hour at low level and anti-aircraft batteries can't track them. Even without firing a shot this demoralizes Allied troops. Unquestionable Nazi jets own the sky. Allied morale suffers accordingly. Patton recommends complete evacuation saying "you cain't fight them Tigers with pea-shooters" but Eisenhower is not willing to face the humiliation. He hopes that upgunned Shermans called "Firefly" and heavy 90 mm anti-tank guns will enable the Allied front to hold.
Sunday, August 13 1944 Murmansk
Finnish/German forces reach Murmansk and Archangelsk, cutting off the supply of Allied aid to the Soviet Union. Half a million tons of supplies are captured. With this last lifeline cut off all hope for the Soviet Union is lost.
Monday, August 14 1944 Caen
King Tigers, emboldened by faltering Allied air power, make probing attacks in the Caen area. First Me-262 fly over the area scaring away the Allied air force. Then Arados drop their bombs haphazardly. The tanks advance a few km but they are are underpowered which leads to much frustration as they are stopped by engine failure. This is not acceptable. Maybach factories are ordered to speed up work on a uprated fuel-injected engine. This engine is expected to have 30% more power: 700 kW.
Monday, August 21 1944 Ural
Axis forces reach the Ural-Volga line. Perm, Jekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk and Orenburg are captured and will be developed into strong points. There will be no continuous front but enemy challenges will be dealt with by combined attacks. The front line will be the new border of Germany. A large air base is built in Ula from where remaining industrial centers will be bombed. An armistice offer with stringent conditions is broadcast. The Soviet army must be disbanded except for a minimal force.
600,000 Soldiers will guard the Soviet border. Four Million are now available to fight the Allies. Normandy begins to look like a trap.
Tuesday, August 22 1944 Berlin
A regular air cargo service between Berlin and Tokyo is established using Ju-390 transporters and flying over the north pole. Germany sends blueprints and machine tools to Japan. The return flights carry rubber and Wolfram, a very important metal for machine tools and jet engines.
Machine tools are the most critical factor for all combatants.
Monday, August 28 1944 Normandy
The important harbor city of Cherbourg is recaptured by the Axis. General Bradley advises an evacuation. Significant enemy reinforcements are expected. General Eisenhower forbids retreat. He reasons if the Allies lose the Normandy bridgehead it will take years before an invasion can be attempted again.
Tuesday, August 29 1944 V2
All V1 weapons are now directed at English invasion ports. The weapons are inaccurate but they slow the supply chain. Churchill expresses his relief at the end of V1 bombing of London.
Friday, September 08 1944 The Hague
The first A4 rocket is launched at London from The Hague and lands at Chiswick with a terrific blast, followed by a double sonic boom and the delayed rushing sound of the approaching missile. The supersonic rocket gives no warning. Londoners are in for a nerve-wrecking time as an explosion can now happen any time anywhere. The era of modern warfare has begun. The only remedy is to detect and attack launching sites from the air, accepting heavy losses in the process. The Germans plan to launch 100 missiles per day eventually. This would make London uninhabitable. Unnoticed by air defense, a 4-engined Arado-234 passes at 14,000 meters overhead to observe the explosion.
Saturday, September 09 1944 Normandy
Allied soldiers report sightings of new types of enemy vehicles. It is soon realized these vehicles are captured Soviet Stalin tanks and Su-120 assault guns. Axis aircraft have increased in number and Stormovik assault aircraft have been seen with Italian markings. This is bad news. It means reinforcements from the East front have arrived. General Omar Bradley says one last time "let's get out while the going is good."
Sunday, September 17 1944 Normandy
The Allied evacuation of Normandy starts in an orderly way. At least 20 new panzer divisions have been confirmed in the area. The Nazis will not wait for long.
Eisenhower now digs up the memo he has prepared in case of failure, accepting all the blame in a public message.
Friday, September 22 1944 Atlantic
Americans are now using electronic countermeasures against guided bomb attacks on shipping in the Atlantic. The German success rate drops to zero. The unimpeded flow of supplies to Great Britain is a bright light in the war.
Saturday, September 23 1944 Normandy
The last Allied unit leaves Normandy under fire. Allied battleships and the air force protect the retreating soldiers.
Newspapers declare that the Allied air forces will now bomb Germany into submission without risking soldiers' lives.
October,12 1944 Regensburg
A futuristic looking Me-262 HGIII prototype with a 35 degree swept wing reaches Mach 0.96, trans-sonic speed in level flight. It uses upgraded Ju-004B engines. The pilot reports heavy tail flutter at that speed and frozen controls. Professor Messerschmitt contacts Von Braun to discuss control problems at supersonic speed . The standard Me-262 has a horizontal speed of Mach 0.7 and a Mach limit of 0.86. The results are so good that Messerschmit decides to base his next jet design on it: a supersonic fighter. The Allies are now more than five years behind in aircraft technology, although American engineers think they are slightly ahead. The new jet will now be used to study supersonic flight in a dive.