The Scenarios

One of the hardest parts of designing a hypothetical scenario is to justify its plausibility. Critics can claim that thus and so could not have happened because of this or that, and there really is no arguing with them--after all, the Germans did not invade Sweden in World War II. The painful sweep of events in other theaters consistently frustrated Hitler's ambition of creating an operational reserve in Norway capable of undertaking sustained offensive action in Scandinavia in 1943.

But we've never been one to let mere facts stand in our way. Here is the alternate historical twist that serves as the preamble to this little scenario:

Quite suddenly in early 1943 the fortunes of Hitler's Germany seem to turn ever so slightly back in favor of the Reich. On the Eastern Front von Manstein has knocked the Red Army back on its heels, regaining Kharkov and ending the Soviet winter offensive. In Tunisia, Rommel appears to have stabilized the fragile situation there. Thus, for the first time in many months, Hitler has the luxury of contemplating limited offensive action. Furthermore, his new tanks are becoming available in numbers, and the Fuhrer is anxious to unleash these "secret weapons."

To this end, on 15 April 1943, Hitler issues Operational Order No. 16-the blueprint for Operation Zitadelle. Upon hearing of this initiative, Colonel-General Heinz Guderian, Inspector- General of Armored Troops, immediately raises a formidable array of arguments against the proposed offensive. Quoting from his memoirs, Guderian sums these up as follows:

"I asked permission to express my views and declared that the attack was pointless; we had only just completed the reorganization and re-equipment of our Eastern Front; if we attacked according to the plan of the Chief of General Staff we were certain to suffer heavy tank casualties, which we would not be in a position to replace in 1943; on the contrary, we ought to be devoting our new tank production to the Western Front so as to have mobile reserves available for use against the Allied landing which could be expected with certainty to take place in 1944.

Furthermore, I pointed out that the Panthers, on whose performance the Chief of Army General Staff was relying on so heavily, were still suffering from many teething troubles inherent in all new equipment and it seemed unlikely that these could be put right in time for the launching of the attack."

Manstein also demurs, offering a plan whereby the Russians will first be enticed into attacking towards the Dnepr. Then, with the Soviets fully engaged and with their heads completely into the trap, a counter-stroke can pin the Soviets against the Black Sea coast and inflict terrible losses upon them. After this victory an attack further north towards the center of the front can be examined.

Even more forbidding is the fact that Colonel-General Walther Model, whose 9th Army is to be instrumental in the planned attack, reports that his aerial photos have revealed that the Red Army is deploying in depth as if they are actually counting on the Germans to launch their attack at Kursk.

Colonel von Mellenthin, chief-of-staff of XLVIII Panzer Korps, also slated to play a key role in the Zitadelle affair, corroborates Model's report.

So far this fairy tale has relied strictly on historical facts; however, here comes the quantum jump:

Hitler decides to listen to the advice of his Generals!

The upshot of this unlikely occurrence is that the OKW finds itself with the resources to allow Hitler to punish the preceived intractableness of the Swedes by occupying their country. This will guarantee German transit rights through Sweden and permit direct access to the iron ore fields in the northern part of the country. To this end, several static divisions transfer to Norway freeing Army Norway's best divisions for the attack. The newly formed 27th Panzer Division is also ferried to Sweden. The Swedish operation, scheduled for early July, will serve as a practical exercise to work the bugs out of the new Panther tanks. This is the Objective: Sweden scenario.

The Operation I and Operation II scenarios examine what might have happened had Germany been forced to tackle Sweden with only slightly reinforced historical forces. These scenarios present quite a challenge for the German player, who will often find himself in quite a predicament!

The ULTRA scenario is the Allied dream scenario. The unwitting Germans attack an alerted Sweden only to find that they have a tiger by the tail. Yet, German might may still prevail by sheer brute force.

The Orders of Battle

The German OB is a best guess at what Germany would have been able to patch together for an invasion of Sweden in 1943 in light of the Reich's fading prospects. The Tiger and Panther battalions aren't merely for play balance; it is very likely that Hitler would have committed such formations to spotlight his new wonder weapons.

In all scenarios, feel free to use Jason Long's suggested Swedish air order of battle from page 11 of this issue. Be warned, however, that you will have to create most of these counters. Place his third airfield in any hex of mainland Sweden. The Re 2000 (3F5 0/9) is available as an air replacement as per the scenario OB.

The Swedish order of battle, although clearly modeled on the Swedish Mobilization Schedule from Narvik, is more compressed. It is supposed that by 1943 Sweden would be more prepared to defend herself than in 1939, given the desperate struggle swirling around her and the growing possibility of German aggression. It also gives an indirect tip of the hat to ULTRA, as it anticipates some level of warning being conveyed to the Swedish government by the Western Allies prior to any German buildup and attack.

The Western Allied intervention forces are based on ground and air units available in the United Kingdom in 1943. It is doubtful the Brits would have been anxious to inject ground forces into an area completely surrounded by enemy-held territory and with no hope for any naval rescue as at Dunkirk or in Greece. Thus, the low probability of any meaningful Allied ground intervention. The Allied air units that enter the fray are those long-ranged types that were not earmarked for the strategic bombing campaign.

The Rules

The Balkan Front rules were chosen as the base rules set for this scenario, as they contain the most recent edition of the core Europa rules.

It was felt from the first playtest game that the use of incremental odds would greatly enhance the play of this scenario. In that game, the Germans faced repeated odds against Stockholm ranging from 1.51:1 to 1.99:1, with little to no possibility of achieving a straight up 2:1. Incremental odds give the Germans a chance to get the 2:1. Warning: The use of incremental odds, although widely used in the play of Europa, is NOT official, and you may play the scenario without using this rule if you don't have the appropriate dice or merely choose not to use it.

Objective Sweden The Hypothetical Invasion of Sweden by Germany: July 1943

Europa Rules
Allied Order of Battle
German Order of Battle
Designer's Notes