A fictional combat account based on the Objective: Sweden scenario in TEM #26

5 July 1943

2100 Hours: Our sergeant has told us to be vigilant and gather our thoughts, as we may soon embark upon an operation for special purposes. Hausmann seems to believe that we will be conducting some sort of maneuvers to counter an imaged invasion by the English south of Narvik, but I hear repeated whispers that we may be marching into Sweden to secure the strategic ore fields and guarantee safe transit for our supply needs. I hope, that this is not true, for I have visited Ostersund on leave, and have found the people there to be very friendly, reminding me of the home folks near Augsburg.

6 July 1943

2300 Hours: We moved from Trondheim today along the eastern fork of the road. It is clear now that we are nearing the Swedish border, and something must indeed be afoot. We have recently received some of our latest tanks. God, you should see them! I still dread the prospect of warring on these people, but it is said that the security of our fellow soldiers throughout Scandinavia is at risk.

7 July 1943

1300 Hours: We moved from our bivouac at 0400 this morning and as I write this we have already pushed into Sweden 24 kilometers! None of our troops have been fired upon yet as the mountains hereabouts are sparsely inhabited, and the natives appear confused and almost passive. Perhaps they are just dazed. I did see a contingent of prisoners under escort, but these looked to be locals, and not regular army lads.

8 July 1943

1900 Hours: We have stopped briefly to allow our tanks to refuel while the second battalion moves past us. We are in the midst of dense forest and two of my company have been wounded by sniper fire. The Swedes do not welcome us with open arms it appears. I can hear artillery fire further ahead, but as we are not in the vanguard, I do not know what this means. We are only about 30 kilometers from the city of Ostersund.

10 July 1943

0700 Hours: How proud I am of the soldiers of the 25th Panzer Division, of which I am a member! Already we are in control of Ostersund, and with extremely light losses- under 100 I hear. However, we have run short of petrol, and may not be able to move again until the morrow. I understand not a single enemy tank has been sighted to date. I begin to believe that I may not have to fire a shot.

11 July 1943

2200 Hours: We are on the move again. I hear that an amphibious landing by our infantry, aided by paratroopers, has occupied the city of Gavle, and we are hurrying to link up. The 181st Division is to prevent any annoyance from the north. The woods are thinning out as we move towards Stockholm, which I now believe is our ultimate goal.

13 July 1943

1000 Hours: We have entered the central plains without encountering any resistance after our target practice at Ostersund. Several battle groups have split off from our main body and are protecting our flanks. Reports from the south of the country tell of our capturing the port of Goteborg, and a big battle near Karlstad, in which we triumphed. Resistance is said to be much fiercer than we have witnessed.

20 July 1943

1900 Hours: We finally see action! The enemy managed to mount a defense along the Dalalven River, and according to prisoners, we ran full into the just mobilized 5th Infantry Division southwest of the city of Gavle. These chaps possessed a high quantity of tanks to bolster their efforts, and we have seen our first Saab aircraft. We hear the U.S. Air Force has also joined in the fray, although we still have not seen any Yanks hereabouts.

28 July 1943

At the end of a rough-and-tumble that lasted the better part of five days we have managed to throw the Swedes back across the Dalalven. But not without the loss of many good men, I fear. We are now pushing the Swedish perimeter ever closer to Stockholm. We were told the Swedes launched several attacks west of Stockholm, but the 214th Infantry repulsed all of them without difficulty.

15 August 1943

Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to force our way into the defenses of Stockholm. The Luftwaffe has been experiencing much success against the remnants of the Swedish air units. Nonetheless, our initial assault has come to nothing and it appears a siege will be inevitable.

10 September 1943

All of central Sweden except Stockholm is now in our hands, but still the garrison of Stockholm persists in resisting our attacks. The 27th Panzer Division is distracted by enemy relief efforts and it appears we will be here for a long time yet fighting these devils.

30 September 1943

I pen this last entry from hospital. Four days ago I had an unpleasant encounter with a Swedish bullet. Stockholm still holds out against all odds, stopping three major attacks over the last two months. It is now clear that we did not move aggressively enough to achieve proper shock. What a pity.