Timeline (Zossen Conspiracy)

Major PoDs

 * Wilhelm Solf, without whom German-Japanese relations would never have recovered after World War I, dies in 1919 due to a stroke.
 * Due to this, Japan never recovers its relations with Germany, and never joins the Axis. In fact, over the next few years, relations worsen between the two states almost to the point of war.
 * In 1932, Hans Oster, an officer of the German Army got into an affair with a married woman. Due to this, he was forced to resign from service. He later rejoined the army, and rose to the rank of brigadier general, although he was never on the General Staff. He had always been anti-Nazi, and in 1938, after hearing Hitler's plans, Oster sent an emissary with secret documents regarding German weapons stockpiles just before the Munich Agreement. The British military proceeded to tell Neville Chamberlain that the Wehrmacht was not ready to invade Czechoslovakia, and would stand down. Due to these, he does not choose the policy of appeasing Hitler, and instead commits British support in case of a German invasion of Czechoslovakia. Hitler invades anyway, and the German army becomes bogged down in Czechoslovakia.
 * Due to this, the USSR declares war on Germany much earlier than OTL.

Minor PoDs

 * Maurice Gamelin also grows a backbone and doesn't order his troops to stop advancing into Germany.

1938

 * May 12– U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull rejects Russia's offer of a joint defense pact to counter the rise of Nazi Germany.
 * May 20- Czechoslovakia orders partial mobilization of forces on the German border.
 * May 28- In a conference at the Reich's chancellery, Hitler declares his decision to invade Czechoslovakia and mobilizes 96 divisions.
 * September 1- Hans Oster sends a secret message to the British government which says that the Wehrmacht is woefully unprepared for a war in Czechoslovakia.
 * September 18- The Soviet Union declares it will come to the support of Czechoslovakia. France and Britain follow suit.
 * September 24- Chamberlain declares to Hitler, as well as his cabinet, that they will defend any aggression against Czechoslovakia.
 * September 29- French and British leaders forcibly deny Hitler’s “request” to annex Sudetenland. They again say they will defend Czechoslovakia.
 * September 28- German forces begin a surprise attack into Czechoslovakia, overrunning the border posts. However, they get bogged down almost immediately by prepared Czech forces at Most and Teplice.
 * September 29- Upon hearing news of the German invasion, both Great Britain and France declare war on Germany. The USSR does so soon after. The USSR also requests Poland to allow its troops to cross in order to defend Czechoslovakia. The request is, predictably, denied.
 * September 30- A large French force begins to push into Saarland.
 * October 4- The German army makes a breakthrough at Most, forcing Czech forces to retreat. The government is evacuated out of Prague.
 * October 6- The Czech army forms a solid defense line with the mountains, as well as their extremely advanced pillbox network. The Germans suffer huge casualties trying to break these pillboxes.
 * October 11- French forces continue pushing into Germany. However, they advance extremely slowly. British generals urge French generals to hurry up.
 * October 12- Soviet warplanes begin making raids against German forces. They land at Czech airbases.
 * October 13- German forces mount a major offensive against Czech forces. However, it is repulsed with heavy casualties.
 * October 15- French High Command orders their military to hurry up in Germany. They have advanced 20 km, and have captured 40 abandoned villages. Resistance is extremely light.
 * October 17- As per their High Command’s wishes, the French army begins to speed up in Germany, advancing at a pace of 5 km a day. Germany becomes worried about the French forces.
 * October 18- French forces encounter their first “real” resistance when they reach the Siegfried line. The battle ends with a huge loss for the French, who lost over 500 men to the German 150. French forces regroup for another attack.
 * October 19- German forces gather for another attack. However, this is again repulsed with heavy German casualties.
 * October 20- The Soviet Union again requests Poland for their troops to be allowed through. Predictably, Poland declines.
 * October 21- Seven Soviet bombers bomb Königsberg, killing 24 civilians.
 * October 22- Eighteen more Soviet bombers land in Czechoslovakia and begin routine bombing raids against Germany.
 * October 24- The British Expeditionary Force lands in France, and begins to push towards Germany.
 * October 25- Another French assault is pushed back on the Siegfried line. Hitler’s staff advises him to move several divisions back for defense. Hitler refuses.
 * October 28- The BEF links up with the French force in Germany and prepares for a major push against the Siegfried line.
 * October 30- The Allied Force launches a major assault into Germany. They successfully puncture through several points in the Siegfried line.
 * October 31- German forces begin to retreat.
 * November 2- Hitler issues his “fight to your death” command. This leads to the destruction of many German soldiers who could have lived to fight another day.
 * November 3- Field Marshall Erich von Manstein advises Hitler to pull back troops on the Western Front to better defensible positions, as well as pull at least ten divisions from the invasion of Czechoslovakia to counter the French and British threat. His requests are refused, and Hitler goes on a rampage about defeatism.
 * November 4- Allied troops continue to push into Germany. They reach St. Wendel and Frankfurt becomes threatened.
 * November 5- RAF bombers bomb Düsseldorf, as well as Cologne to target their industrial areas. Enraged, Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to begin bombing London.
 * November 7- The first major bombing of London commences, with over 70 bombers involved in the raid. However, radar, combined with the fact that Belgium and the Netherlands stand in the way, only 17 bombers return, with the rest shot down by either anti-aircraft guns or the RAF. But, 42 managed to drop their payloads on London, killing 300 civilians. Göring advises Hitler to stop bombing London, fearing the loss of the entire Luftwaffe.
 * November 8- Another major bombing raid occurs into Düsseldorf, destroying several factories.
 * November 9- Allied forces reach Frankfurt, where they encounter stiff resistance from German troops stationed in the area. Manstein again forcibly suggests to Hitler that he move several divisions from Czechoslovakia to counter the Allies. Hitler says he will think about it. Manstein becomes increasingly frustrated with Hitler.
 * November 10- A major German counterattack forces the Allies out of Frankfurt, and back several miles. This, however, leads Hitler to believe they can defeat the Allies without the divisions from Czechoslovakia, and leads to him not committing these divisions to the homeland.
 * November 11- German troops continue to push at Allied troops. However, re-enforcements for the Allies are soon arriving.
 * November 12- The Second British Expeditionary Force lands in France, and begins to move rapidly towards the front. They are smaller than the first force, consisting of 175,000 men. Motorized infantry is used en masse for the first time by the British.
 * November 13- The German counterattack is stopped cold by the Allies in Germany.
 * November 14- After Manstein advises Hitler for the third time to move troops back from Czechoslovakia, Hitler goes on a rampage and demands the immediate resignation of Manstein. Manstein takes this without complaint and immediately resigns from the Wehrmacht. His fellow Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt tries to defend Manstein. However, Hitler screams that if he doesn’t want to be next, he should shut his mouth.
 * November 15- Soviet and British bombers strike Berlin for the first time, filling the skies with over 50 bombers. Hitler is stunned, and angrily orders another raid on London.
 * November 16- A large Luftwaffe raid begins to form that will take hundreds of planes over London. However, British spies get wind of this and send messages back to the Admiralty as well as the RAF. They both get ready for the raid.
 * November 17- The German raid is launched over England, consisting of over 200 planes. However, as they circle around the Low Countries, RAF fighters intercept them and begin downing them. By the time they reach England, only 35 are left. None of them return home to Germany. This is a crippling blow for the Luftwaffe.
 * November 18- Another major German push occurs in Czechoslovakia. It is again pushed back.
 * November 19- Allied forces launch another counterattack into Frankfurt, routing the German forces there. Vicious house to house fighting begins.
 * November 20- Frustrated with the lack of success in Czechoslovakia, Hitler actually orders eight ‘’more’’ divisions to move into the region to reinforce the 96 already there.