German Civil War (Timeline 1941)

The German Civil was a major conflict that immediately followed the end of World War II in early 1941, following Adolf Hitler's stroke and subsequent death. Despite initial celebrations in the allied nations, the rise of Hermann Goring to power, and his subsequent continuation of the war, albeit against the Western Allies instead of the Soviet Union as Hitler had planned, caused a major succession crisis. Goring purged the general staff of conservative Generals and Field Marshals, causing General Erwin Rommel to approach the British with an offer. The British accepted, and Rommel defected, and the German Civil War began.

Hitler's Goals
Adolf Hitler had always made his goal the restoration of German greatness. The vast majority of Germans, civilian and military alike, agreed with him. As Hitler repudiated the punitive and unpopular terms of the hated Treaty of Versailles, his popularity grew.

Despite this popularity, Hitler's increasingly predatory Foreign Policy would cause problems with his Generals, many of whom feared that he was leading Germany directly into another war and the ruin one would bring. Several attempted or planned coups occured, but each failed before they even got off the ground.

It was only when France and Britain actually declared war on September 3rd, 1939, that real momentum was gained.

World War II
Contrary to many assumptions, Germany's victories were rapid and relatively painless. In short order, the Germans conquered and occupied Poland, Norway, Denmark, Holland and Belgium, before overwhelming the seemingly superior French Army in the span of six weeks.

Hitler's Death; German Succession Crisis
Hitler's sudden death in early 1941 changed everything. Suddenly, a succession crisis occurred. Hermann Goring quickly moved to assume command, but his subsequent purges of the German Army horrified many officers. Even worse, many believed Germany should end the war then and there, when it was in a position of strength. But Goring continued the conflict. Large parts of the German military quickly turned mutinous, especially the Afrika Korps, which was fighting the British in Libya and Egypt.

Rivalries in the Wehrmacht
Rommel worried about the potential problems that continuing the war could bring. He also feared the rising power of the SS. This break with the Nazi elite would lead Rommel to consider the possibilities of launching his own coup.

His colleague, General Heinz Guderian thought similarly. Goring had posted him to France, in an attempt to distance him from the German High Command.

Guderian quickly contacted Rommel, and the two began to consider launching a coup.

Elsewhere, the German Navy also saw itself divided. The Battleship Bismarck, and its Admiral, Gunther Lutjens joined the correspondence.

Lines are Drawn
Goring discovered the two's correspondence, and ordered both arrested. Guderian's arrest sparked a mutiny in his men in Paris, with a small company shooting Guderian's captors.

Rommel's Offer
The result was chaos. Guderian's forces, organizing themselves as Army Group West, quickly mutinied. The Bismarck quickly left port, attempting to sail for France. Rommel, meanwhile, asked for British assistance. He offered to reduce Germany to its pre-Munich borders, and end the war immediately after victory.

Churchill immediately accepted the offer, and Rommel defected on April 14th, 1941, with his Afrika Korps opening the Civil War by routing the Italian forces in Libya, while the British Eighth Army moved to aid him.

Allied Victory in North Africa
Rommel was placed under the nominal command of a new 1st Army Group under Claude Auchinleck, which drove the Italians from Libya, and then to Tunisia. Meanwhile, the Vichy French defected to the allies, while a British force of thirty thousand men landed in Morocco. Caught between the 1st Army Group to the east and the newly activated 3rd Army Group of Anglo-French forces in the west, the Italians were quickly overcome.

Western Europe
Rommel's defection caused headlines throughout the world. Guderian joined Rommel, and his troops immediately entered Vichy France, where they put a new government in power under Paul Reynaud, which named itself the French Fourth Republic. Rommel's forces were quickly shifted out of Africa and then dispatched to reinforce Guderian's troops as they consolidated a reopened Western Front.

Goring was stunned by the defection of two of Hitler's favorite Generals, and unnerved by the fact that their forces had followed them. Goring had to increasingly rely on the SS to keep his own forces intact. However, Reinhard Heydrich convinced him that a quick victory in Western Europe could easily give him the credibility he needed. In truth, Himmler's goal was to seize power for himself. He was simply manipulating Goring into setting up his own failure.

Rommel and a reactivated British Expeditionary Force landed in Dieppe, and quickly moved to assist Guderian's Army as it formed along the French border. However, a massive Loyalist invasion through Belgium followed. The invasion dislodged the allies before they had a chance to consolidate their lines.

Nevertheless, the loyalist push wasn't as devastating as expected, due to constant defections as Germans on both sides damaged the cohesion of the Allied forces. By the end of the summer, however, Rommel and Guderian managed to stabilize their own forces, while an influx of British troops under Montgomery and a flood of French volunteers managed to save Paris much the same way as occured in 1914.

By October, the allies had halted the Loyalist push, though their forces had suffered heavy losses, and there were fears that they would be unable to prevent a renewed offensive in the spring.

The Atlantic
Karl Donitz remained loyal to Goring, and immediately intensified the U-Boat campaign, targeting Rommel-loyal ships. The Prinz Eugen was sunk early on, though the Bismarck was able to arrive in Scapa Flow.

However, her sister ship, Tirpitz, was ordered to break out into the Atlantic to attack shipping. The Admiralty, distrusting the loyalty of the Bismarck, dispatched HMS Hood and Prince of Wales to sink her.

In the resulting Battle of Iceland, Tirpitz sank the Prince of Wales and damaged Hood, after which a U-Boat finished off the limping Battlecruiser.

Tirpitz proceeded to wreak havoc in the Atlantic, so much so that the Bismarck was dispatched with HMS Duke of York and Warspite to defeat her. The taskforce suffered another crushing blow when Tirpitz destroyed the bridge of Warspite, killing the Admiral in command of the Taskforce. Lutjens exchanged gunfire with the Tirpitz as the other ships limped away. The "Clash of the German Battleships" became famous, and Bismarck was selected to lead several more attempts to find the Tirpitz.

Meanwhile, in the South Atlantic, the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau found themselves on opposite sides. Scharnhorst supported Rommel, while Gneisenau supported Goring. After a few skirmishes, Scharnhorst abandoned its sister.

Meanwhile, a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor followed that November, and Scharnhorst arrived in Jacksonville, where she was resupplied. Soon after, along with the American Battleship North Carolina, moved north to join the hunt for the Tirpitz.