W.I.P But you guys can check back to see as it develops, and offer critique where needed. I'm having trouble locking down exact military numbers at the period of Dec 1941, so I'm having to make educated guesses in places. If you know better, or know of a site than can help me, then by all means shout out :) thanks.
Nation Name: Deutsches Reich
Leader: Adolf Hitler, Führer of Germany
Allegiance: Axis
Government: Fascist Dictatorship
Military: Germany has one of the greatest land armies in the known world; fuelled by an obsession for technological advancements, and anchored around the doctrine of risky but incredibly mobile warfare, the Nazi War Machine has left a string of states in utter defeat at little cost.
Relying heavily on their Blitzkrieg tactic, the idea of concentrated armoured pushes, backed by close Luftwaffe coordination, the German Army has achieved crushing victories against the Allies. However, the Blitzkrieg stratagem also has its weaknesses, and the Fuhrer's ill fated gamble against Russia has backfired to a point of Total War - a state of war that the Third Reich cannot possibly hope to sustain long term... though this has not been admitted yet, at an official level.
Deployments in Africa have put pressure on Germany's military reserves, who are desperately needed in the fight against Communism. Heavy losses have been sustained in Russia, and most of these are irreplaceable.
The British Channel broke the back of the Luftwaffe in the west, and the surviving squadrons and materials have been relocated to the East, leaving the German heartland lightly defended for the time being. Garrison forces are maintained across the occupied states of France, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium etc, but these are second-rate armies with little armoured support.
With the whole world united against it, the Deutsches Reich simply does not have the men and material to beat them all. However, should the Allies come up against a fully coordinated and reinforced Germany Army, they'll find themselves facing an experienced and extremely professional adversary with a knack for performing the unthinkable.
Current Deployment of Forces: Ost Front: 2,667,000 troops, 1,200 tanks, 1000 air craft, 14,000 guns.
Afrika: 32,000 men, 500 tanks, 250 aircraft, 100 guns.
Garrison Forces: Scattered across Europe, 2,000,000. 350 tanks, 400 aircraft.(Estimated)
Atlantic: The German navy is pittifully small compared to the likes of the UK and America, and it relies primarily on U-Boat wolf packs to upset Allied shipping. Most of the Kriegsmarine survived until 1945, as it wasn't really committed in any major battle, aside from the occasional sortie by large battleships.
Nation Name: Kingdom of Italy
Leader: Benito Mussolini, King Vittorio Emanuele III.
Allegiance: Axis
Government: Fascist Dictatorship, with Monarchical consent.
Military: Italy's performance in World War Two thus far has been disasterous, and ultimately, extremely costly to its greatest ally: Germany.
In June of 1940, an Italian army invaded the south of France, and although outnumbering the French garrison more than three to one, they were comprehensibly defeated.
An invasion of Greece also horribly backfired, requiring German forces to fatally divert men and material to save them, that should have been used in Operation Barbarossa. Some historians argue this costed them the capture of Moscow, as the offensive would have started earlier in the year if it were not for the Greek campaign.
Their gains from the British in Africa were slow and unimaginative; Mussolini expected a quick end to the war, and did not fully commit his commanders to the wider picture. Therefore, within six months, the British had retaken most of what they had lost, and crushed a large Italian army in the process.
Wheeling from these grievous defeats, Axis presence in Africa remained only through the tactical prowess of Erwin Rommel, who arrived with some supporting units from Germany, but who went on to take control of the entire theatre.
The Italians have also sent men to assist in Russia, and though these forces have faired better than their African counterparts, they're still a liability along the German lines.
Lacking effective armour and possessing an outdated air force, Italy may as well be a third world nation in comparison to the monsters of British and American industry. Strategically, they are an auxiliary for the German army, and an ineffective one at that.
Current Deployment of Forces: Africa: 1,000,000 soldiers, 800 tanks, 750 guns, 500 aircraft.
Italy: 1,000,000 soldiers, 250 tanks, 150 guns, 150 aircraft.
Eastern Front: 300,000 soldiers, 400 tanks, 400 guns, 200 aircraft.
Mediterranean: The Italian navy, like its army, is laughably ineffective. Aside from guarding Italy's coasts with its antique battleships, it primarily attempts to keep Rommel's logistical lines open - sometimes at heavy cost.
These are the minor Axis states in Europe. Though they all played their part in supplementing the German war machine, they all equally played rather minor roles. They are weak, economically depressed, and no thanks to those stupid Romanian's and Hitler's ignorance of military matters, the Germans lost Stalingrad because of them in '43.
I'm not going to give a detailed report of each, as that would be an insane effort. Instead, I'm grouping them to give the Allied players a gist of what's going on.
Minor Axis States: Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Finland.
Leader: Various
Allegiance: Axis
Government: Various, but mostly dictatorships and right winged.
Military: Second rate armies, using outdated equipment to supplement Germany's forces. Apart from the Finns, who are tactically devious and who use a lot of German equipment.
Current Deployment of Forces: Central Europe: 2,000,000 soldiers, 700 tanks, 1000 guns, 500 aircraft.
Eastern Front: 1,000,000 soldiers, 1000 tanks, 2000 guns, 750 aircraft.
Naval: Small and of little consequence in the real world's time line.
2x Thank
