The Whole Bloody Afrika Korps! (Patreon)
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This week, the German Afrika Korps and their Italian allies launch a daring flank in the desert against Allied forces and are able to catch them by surprise. This does not come cheap for Erwin Rommel and his men, who have lost a third of their tanks and exhausted many more. In fact, the offensive has exhausted their fuel supplies, over extended supply lines, and put them in a dangerous position compared to the still strong defenses of the Allies. While this situation eventually improves, the Axis forces are still forced to take more defensive positions themselves. The Germans also launch another offensive in the Soviet Union, but this is done "behind" German lines, in which some 40,000 German troops attack a force of approximately 20,000 Soviet Partisans along the Vyazma-Bryansk supply railway.
It is not just the Germans who are moving this week. The British launch their own attack, but in this case through the sky. The first 1,000 bomber raid takes place on Cologne, which leaves thousands homeless and several key industries damaged or destroyed. Check out yesterday's war against humanity for more on this, and for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.
Much further to the East, Japan is preparing an offensive of their own on the US island of Midway. This will involve the entire Japanese main carrier fleet, and could prove to be a decisive battle. We'll be covering this next week in a special three part episode, so stay tuned... Hype party in the comments?