Operation Gotterdammerung (Operation European Freedom)

Operation Götterdämmerung (German: Unternehmen Götterdämmerung) was the German invasion of the United States of America shortly after the close of the European war.

Nazi Germany
So far, Germany has managed to remain neutral to the Soviet Union, which has managed to give it more leeway for this operation. However, Hitler's paranoia over the USSR attacking has led to a significant troop installation across the Soviet-German border and the construction of the "warsaw curtain", a string of fortifications across that border. Germany's chief advantages were that most of the veteran American troops were still struggling in Operation downfall, and the rest were still in the west coast. also the Germans had a massive technological lead, with superior aircraft including the Ta 183 and the Me 262T Naval fighter, and tanks like the King Tiger and Panther II, along with a battalion of Maus super heavies. the Kriegsmarine had committed all its best ships, including the Battleships Bizmark and Tirpitz, the aircraft carriers Graf Zepplin, Peter Strasser and Gorch Fock, and the new H-Class Superbattleships Hindenburg, Götz von Berlichingen and Ulrich von Hutten. they were only slightly less powerful than the Japanese Yamato class, but superior to the Soviet Soyuz class or any American equivalant. the carriers would carry Me 262T Carrier fighters, which were modifications of the Me 262 A5A into a carrier based fighter. the Me 264 'Amerika' bomber would be invaluble, as it could carry three tons of bombs across the atlantic from bases in Germany to attack the US proper.

Secretly, Hitler knew that this operation was going to be a big gamble. he read about how Ulysses Grant had undone Robert E Lee via logistics. Germany had to send all reinforcements by the Atlantic, and getting such a large force across such an ocean was no mean feat, especially as US battleships such as Missouri and Minnesota were patrolling the East coast of the USA. Furthermore, the German forces would have to fight from the East Coast all the way to the Rocky mountains, where most of the US heavy industry is located. Hitler is also well aware that he is going to go up against one of the most powerful nations on earth as well as many of the best generals (Patton, MacArthur, Bradley, Marshall and Eisenhower)

United States
Fresh from defeating Japan, The USA has more battle-hardened veterans than Germany. But most were tied up in Japan (by now, seen as a lost cause in German propaganda) and the rest were on the west coast. The USA also had the new F-86 sabre fighter, which would prove to be a formidable challenge to the Me 262, thought woefully inferior to the Ta 183 or the Ho IXas well as some primitive AA and Air to Air missiles, mainly copied and reverse-engineered from German models 'recovered' in the middle east. This was going to get very messy.

The initial plans
German strategists planned a three way attack. Maryland and long island would be key points to seize shortly after S-Day. the major problem would be logistics. everything would need to be shipped over the Atlantic, a long process compounded by US Submarines. even the new FW 249 heavy transport, which could carry a Tiger Tank 1000 miles due to its eight engines, could not save the German logistics problem. German Ju 390 long ranged Maritime Patrol aircraft would prove invaluable for hunting the American Subs. there was a planned fourth beachhead on Texas, but that plan was abandoned.

The Americans had no real plans for a German Invasion, as it was thought to be unfeasible, even impossible, due to the logistics Difficulties.

The Opening Moves
early in the morning, two elite Fallschirmjäger Battalions dropped from Zepplin airships onto American soil. their mission was to seize important objectives prior to the landings. However, many of the airships were being used for target practice by the USA.

the Battle of Bermuda
the German 3rd fleet, consisting of the H-Class Superbattleship Ulrich von Hutten, the O-Class Battlecriusers Sachsen and Markgraf, the carrier Gorch Fock and the cruiser Admiral Hipper was sent on what was in equvalant a 'Hammerhead run' towards Panama. the plan was to smash the Panama canal, in order to delay the arrival of the US Pacific Fleet. however the Americans were expecting this, and had laid a well planned trap for the german fleet

The Battle of Long Island Sound
The Germans were racing up to Croton-on-Hudson, which scared George Marshall as he hurriedly tried to build up fortifications in the city. One defence was a new kind of artillery, one that used a multiple rocket launcher system designed for carpet bombardment, which many in the invasion force called Trumanorgel (Truman's organs) the Artillery's official name was the Sherman T-34 Calliope rocket launcher. By this stage, unlike Poland and France, most Germans knew that the USA would not go down without a fight. out at sea, the German 2nd fleet was moving towards Long Island Sound, in order to pound new york city directly. to protect the city, the Battleship Missouri was stationed there, along with two cruisers and four destroyers. The battle was a victory for the Germans, and gave them some measure of revenge for the disaster defeat at Bermuda. the Missouri and 3 destroyers and 1 cruiser were sunk, the 2nd fleet had taken a beating though. the Hindenburg was only slightly damaged, as its massive armoured decks easily withstood the American Fire. at 3:34 Pm that afternoon, the 2nd fleet opened up on new york city proper. the fire was devastating, causing several small skyscrapers to collapse. later that night Me 264 'Amerika' Bombers pounded the city farther, and early that morning the German ships opened up again. at 10:16 The Mayor of New York flew out to the ships in a flying boat to discuss surrender terms, and at 1:17pm, New York surrendered. this enabled the German troops landed on long island access to the mainland, and gave the Germans a valuable forward supply port. Shortly after the surrender, General MacArthur (fresh from defeating Japan) issued an arrest warrant against the NY mayor for treason and imposed martial law across the East coast.

The Battle of the bridgehead
[[Image:[[Image:T-34 Calliope rocket launcher.jpg|thumb|right|300px|An American Sherman T-34 Calliope Multiple Rocket Launcher, nicknamed Truman's Organ.]] the German soldiers now dug in, in expectation of the American counterattacks that would try to throw the Invasion back into the sea. the American 2nd Armoured Division (hell on wheels) and the 3rd Armoured Division (spearhead) would be used to attack the two german beachheads. on May 1st, 1946, they attacked. hell on Wheels, by a stroke of good fortune, found the hinge between the 91st Luftlande (Air mobile) Division and the 352nd Infantry Division. driving deep into the gap between them, the 2nd armoured drove for the sea. however the newly landed 101st Schwere SS Panzer Abteilung had been moving to the front, and it now found itself directly in the path of the 2nd armoured's advance.

Wittman's wild ride
Obersturmfuhrer Michael Wittman and his second company had just started moving up when scouts reported the lead elements of Hell on Wheels advancing on their position. wittman sent the rest of his company to a nearby hill where elements of the 2nd were resting and waiting for orders. he himself concealed himself in a country lane and waited. at 10: 12, the leading element of Combat Command A drove past his position. he then drove onto the road and engaged the two rearmost tanks, destroying them. then he drove along the road for half a mile, systematically destroying the column. 17 shermans, 2 Pershings, 7 M3 Half-tracks and 3 M7 Priests were destroyed by his actions. meanwhile the other tigers of his company attacked the American troops on the nearby hill. most of them were still eating their breakfast when the king tigers set upon them. the result was another massacre. when he heard about this, Marshall ordered Hell on Wheels to halt while re-enforcements arrived. this fatal flaw alloed more troops to arrive and seal off the breakthrough. Patton, when he heard about this, called Marshall a "Lilly livered son of a B****" after three more days of savage fighting, the 2nd armoured was forced to retreat.

Operation Nurnberg
with the 1st and 2nd SS Panzer Divisions Landed, it was now time to strike out and capture the ultimate goal, washington D.C. So Operation Nurnberg was planned to be launched on the 1st of June. to compliment the Attack, Super Schwere Panzer Abteilung 401 and its Maus tanks would take part. But Marshall had already been given ample time to prepare for the inevitable attack on Washington, and ordered that his soldiers fight closely against the German forces, in a tactic he called "hugging" the German forces.

Operation Lumberjack
the time had finally come for the Americans to strike back. the main pacific fleet under the command of Admirals Nimitz and Leahy passed through the panama canal with veteran soldiers. The main US fleets were supplemented by a new Minnesota Class battlecruiser, fresh from the California shipyards.