Armageddon: The state of things in T2K

[Raellus]

On the old board there were lots of discussions and debates about the state of things c. 2000- militaries, cities, civilian populations, industry, fuel production, etc.

For answers, I think we need to look no further than Germany in late '44 & early '45.

I'm re-reading Armageddon by Max Hastings and the annecdotal material contained therein is a fantastic resource for GMs and T2K world builders.

Compare Germany in the last few months of the European war to the Poland of T2K.

By January of '45, Germany was in a complete shambles. Her cities were devastated by conventional bombing, her countryside was populated by frantic urban refugees trading in their last earthly possessions to peasant farmers for food and shelter. Town and villages on the battlefront were shelled to rubble.

Germany's military was in tatters. Armies and Corps more or less ceased to exist, replaced instead by ad-hoc Kampfgruppes (battle groups) made up of odds and ends from various shattered units. Centralized command and control was breaking down. Desertion was endemic in some units while others fought fiercely to the bitter end. Almost the entire country's remaining available manpower had been mobilized by the military- teenagers, pensioners, mildly disabled veterans. Some combat units had casualty rates well over 100%.

The flow of mlitary supplies- food, weapons, ammo, vehicles, replacement parts, etc.- slowed to a trickle. Artillery tubes were down to a handful of rounds with no promise of resupply. German troops increasingly made use of captured Allied weapons, vehicles, and equipment.

Industry was finally beginning to grind to a halt under the weight of the allied strategic bombing campaign. The targetting of Germany's oil production and refining facilities meant that units had to scrimp and scavenge fuel for their few remaining vehicles. Some units had to use a volatile mixture petrol and alcohol which wreaked havoc on their vehicle's engines.

Miles of German territory was occupied by the soldiers of several different armies. The Soviets, in particular, were brutal in their treatment of German prisoners and civilians.

There are so many parallels here with the T2K world, especially the combat zones in Central Europe. The only major difference is the bulk of the devastation of cities, industry, and fuel production would be caused by nuclear weapons instead of conventional, strategic bombing. With EMP, radiation, and the like, the devastation would be even more widespread.

And, in the Twilight War, everyone's army would be in a similar position.

Anyway, I recommend the book for any WWII buff or T2Ker who wants to add realism and atmosphere to his/her campaign. It's full of first hand accounts by German civilians as well as the combatants of the various armies involved. Check it out.