Of all the islands my country has obtain in the past year, one was absurdly important for its location. Jan Mayen controlled the access into the Denmark Strait, especially after receiving a pair of radar stations and two airports, as well as 5 submarine pens. The construction itself had cost 100 million dollars and might have delayed the Dacian Wall itself being completed, due to a dozen 155mm and a pair of 12 inch guns being transported and emplaced into fortified concrete forts.
Even Adolf was interested in this formerly uninhabited island, as seaplanes and jet fighters now flew over the former uncontrolled region, and detecting any ship moving about.
Using this island, the Romanian Navy and Airforce was able to lock the Soviet Union away from the Atlantic Ocean, leaving only the distant ports in Asia, like Vladivostok to be use for foreign trade. This might sound great for the Soviet Union, unless one counted over 9000 kilometers of railway from Vladivostok to Moscow.
As any proper gamer knew, any number over 9000 was too big.
Same for the Soviet Airforce. Once a mighty power, once it dropped under 9000 planes it became easier and easier to manage, although the number of planes killed dropped from over 100 per day to less than half. Unless you made biplanes of paper and fabric, building planes was a timely affair, while training pilots took even longer.
It was pretty sure we had actually destroyed over 9000 Soviet tanks as well, since my game menu was rather accurate, even to the last decimal.
The furious assaults on the Dacian Wall had stopped, once the Soviets realized a bit too late than we were quite well prepared.
I was waiting for the Continuation War on Finland to restart, but it seemed not. Than again, using the captured, repaired and dismantled Soviet tanks from the Winter War, Finland had a bit over 1500 functional tanks now, even more than Germany at the moment. The Soviets had many more, but they weren't eager to lose them against an unimportant target like Finland. Not when the hated imperialists from Romania still held Crimea.
A large media campaign had begun in the West, arguing for the Western powers to declare Romania an enemy of peace, and then attack us. To counter this, 400 Angels of the Legion with no flying skills departed for their next missions. Finding and eliminating communists sympathizers, spies and even Soviet diplomats. They were asked to evade capture and kill as many communists as possible, even at the cost of their life. Bomb vests and explosive cars, sabotaged gas pipes and arson were the preferred methods, but sniper rifles could also be used against targets less easy to reach.
Details of the Romanov's massacre and even the Trotsky assassination in Mexico appeared in friendly newspapers, including eye witness accounts about how the Romanovs were tortured, burned alive, raped, and then eaten with garlic and washed with vodka. I think the garlic part was a bit much, but who knows, it might be true.
While the French surrender still happened, two months later than in the other timeline, the situation was far different. Free France was far stronger and organized now, and was based in the French Levant, with easy access to the Suez Canal and their holdings in Indochina and Madagascar.
Italy obtained the French South as their victory gain, including Nice, Toulon and Marseille, plus Corsica.
And next, since Yugoslavia and Greece were not in the Allies now, Adolf turned on Sweden and attacked them, likely to obtain the Swedish iron and control over the Baltic Sea.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Much of the Swedish Airforce and Navy fled to Finland and got interned for the duration of the war, while Swedish submarines and the merchant fleet joined the Allies, same as Poland.
I know Adolf saw the same thing I did. Taking Britain was not in the cards, not without 10 times the fleet and the transport capacity. U-boats might starve Britain into submission eventually. But in the meantime, the army needed a worthy target.
So, he looked at the Soviet Army, and found them wanting. Both the Finns and the Romanians had beaten the Red Army until they cried. Surely, the Germans could do even better.
Von Ribbentrop arrived at my castle with threats and carrots, promising us the sea and the glaciers.
I asked to see Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad in German hands first.
The German diplomat looked me straight in the eye, and promised them by Christmas.
"Pack your winter uniforms then, Herr Ribbentrop. I hear prognostics of something like -50 Celsius for this winter. Your Panzers will freeze solid on Christmas Day" I answered while sipping my champagne.
"We are also researching the jet fighter, King Carol. You won't be the only one with advanced planes for too long." the man warned me in a glacial voice.
I had already traded my Eagle fighter plans to America for 1 battleship and 3 fleet carriers, plus 10 cruisers and 50 destroyers, along with other rare tech like radar guided anti-air and centimeter-range radar, plus other miscellaneous research on magnetic torpedoes needing different settings for each latitude degree, since we had islands spread all over the globe to test that.
The technology trade with America was already producing results. For example, the new Sherman tank will have 65 mm of frontal armor now, instead of 55mm, which might be a single centimeter, but a life saving one. I kept the spall liners and the spaced armor still secret though, since the Soviets were spying on America with impunity.
As the year 1941 came around, and Germany was preparing for Barbarossa, things were heating up in the desert. Benito had tried to take Egypt by himself, and found a half a million Indians with British tanks in reserve.
The Mediterranean Sea was a ship grave, with dozens of Italian and British ships getting sunk by submarines and airplanes, submarines sunk by destroyers and troops swimming for the nearest shore. Adolf was obliged to help his ally keep face, and sent the Africa Korps and more subs and planes to contribute, which worked somewhat.
Malta became a hot spot and a pride issue, and got split in half, one island getting taken by German paratroopers while the other still resisted furiously, due to the old Knight fortress being fortified to hell and back.
On the first of April 1941, three things happened at once. Japan attacked the East Indies to get some oil for themselves, causing Britain and France to declare on them too.
The Soviet Union had mostly recovered and attacked both Crimea and Finland at the same time, using about 3000 tanks and planes for each target.
And Adolf launched Operation Barbarossa much earlier than normal, even using several HE 280 jet fighters, as well as thousands of Panzer 3s and 4s, and even more Hetzers and STUG tank destroyers.
The Crimean Wall had reached level 4 by now, and with furious defense from cruisers and artillery, and with my 'last stand' orders it held agaisnt the Soviets for 3 weeks, causing 500000 Soviets killed.
The Karelia Wall in Finland was only level 3, but lasted 4 weeks, because the Finns were badass. Also 500000 Soviets killed, half of them to my own 'volunteer' snipers.
The German Army used their favorite Blitzkrieg tactics and captured 4 million Soviet soldiers in 4 weeks, halving the Red Army while destroying 10000 tanks and 5000 planes with ease.
As the German Panzers rolled in front of the ruined Crimean Wall towards Rostov and Stalingrad, the battered defenders could only blink in disbelief. The got saved by the bell, especially the Polish volunteer regiments. Either the Germans or the Soviets would shoot them on sight, so they lay low and waited for the German tank columns to move away.
Marshall Averescu was left without a job in Bukovina, as the German armies, plus Italian, Dutch and Danish brigades occupied the former Soviet Poland.
I felt pity for the Land Marshall, but what can you do?
Instead, General Antonescu was given a new mission and song. Marching through Georgia.