Prologue
Pre-1945 period
Prime Minister Per Albin Hanssen, whose military expeditions created a greater Sweden.
Sweden, under the rule of Prime Minister Per Albin Hanssen, had enjoyed an early military victory against Norway in a year-long war in 1939. With an army that grew from only 5 divisions to nearly 15, the Swedish commanders planned well in advance their first venture for military expansion. The initial assaults, due to dissent among the population, only gained small bits of ground. An assault on the northern part of Norway was driven back, and only the region north of Oslo was secured by Army Group South. However, a second attack to the north inspired the population to support the war, and the Swedish army found new strength. Oslo was taken in a month, and the rest of “Operation Thunder” followed suite. Norway was finally annexed in the Treaty of Kristiansand. Contrary to Allied propaganda - which portrayed Swedish soldiers as dwarfish brutes - the Norwegian people were treated the same as a Swedish citizen, and were welcomed into the new larger Sweden. Their language in certain areas were well observed, although primary schools were changed to teach the children Swedish.
As a result of the attack, the Allied powers - including the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Canada, declared war on Sweden. Hanssen, through his Foreign Minister Christian Günther, attempted several times to make peace with the Allied powers. This came to of no avail. At the time, the United Kingdom and France were at war with the Axis powers, led by Germany. Hitler personally requested to Hansson that Sweden - although a very socialist nation - should join the Axis. Hansson continued to turn down the offer.
Standard uniform/equipment of the Swedish soldier. The later desert campaigns would create a modified version.
As Sweden pondered the next action, the World War in Europe grew to include the Balkans. Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria joined Germany’s alliance, and soon Slovakia came to exist in the alliance as well. Yugoslavia chose to join the Allies but found it impossible to defend itself from so many enemies. Italy carved up Albania, while Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Germany each took parts of Yugoslavia. In the west, German tanks rolled over Dutch and Belgian troops to turn the French flank. Paris fell, and with it French independence. A Vichy France was formed and what remained of independent forces fled to Africa to continue the fight.
Prime Minister Hanssen and his cabinet.
Finally, after months of diplomatic arguing, Prime Minister Hanssen decided to take action. He called upon his ministers to devise a way to strike back at the Allied colonies, expanding Sweden’s holds and also gaining needed resources for her growing industry.
Chief of Staff Oscar Nygren came up with a bold plan: Sweden’s navy, barely a fleet’s size, would pass around Britain, down Africa, and strike at the British colonies in Arabia. The operation was approved and carried out In 1941, when 40,000 Swedish soldiers marched into scattered transports and - guarded by two cruisers - made their way down the Atlantic and around the tip of Africa. Admiral Hamm, commander of the miniscule task force, skillfully avoided Allied ships and got the SEF to Oman. The puppet was annexed, followed by another amphibious operation to Kuwait. Colonial reinforcements were raised in Oman and sent through Yemen, while forces in Kuwait moved up the Middle East to take the oil fields.
Around this time, an important decision would be made by Hansson; Germany again offered an alliance. By now, Turkey and Italy had joined the Axis, and the Allied war in Africa - at first a stunning success - was now being pushed back to the Indian Ocean. Turkish divisions were now marching into the oil fields of Iraq and the Holy Land where they had once ruled thirty years before. When Iran joined the Axis, British and Russian troops quickly smashed through their defenses, and the Iranian government called for help. Germany called on Sweden to assist in the campaign.
Victorious Turkish troops approach Bagdhad.
Hansson consulted his ministers for a whole week on this issue. Getting supplies to the Middle Eastern possessions was becoming difficult, as the convoys were coming under constant Allied attacks. Admiral Hamm complained that he couldn’t make effective strikes against the Allies, and that the best he could do was harass Allied convoys around India and Africa (which he did quite successfully). Russian armies were no longer a threat to Swedish soil, as Germany had overrun Moscow and were continuing to push the Russians out of Europe. If Sweden were to ally with the Axis powers, it would allow supplies to move over land to the Middle East, and would allow Swedish troops to claim more resources from the Allied powers. Hansson sent Günther to Churchill with a peace ultimatum to give one more try at peace. Churchill slammed the book shut. On Sunday at noon, Hansson accepted Germany’s request for an alliance.
Immediately, a Swedish landing in southern India took the British by surprise. Portugal joined the Axis powers and assisted the Swedish from their colony in the Orient. Japan, too, joined the Axis and helped distract Russian forces from the Iran/Western front, and even took possessions in India, moving in from their annexed Chinese possessions. Germany forces took control of northern India, while southern India fell to the Swedes.
By now, things had turned disastrously bad for the Allied powers. Russia had signed a bitter peace with the Germans, and what remained of the Free French was now rotting in the Sahara. British forces were fighting desperately in Africa, but their fight was futile. India, Singapore, Malaysia…all falling to enemy troops.
In 1944, a large transport armada had been raised in the Swedish capital’s port. As soon as it was finished, a small landing force of 30,000 men was shipped across the North Sea and landed on the east coast of Britain. Intelligence said there was very little defense on the Isle - Britain’s losses in India and Africa had drained nearly all her manpower. The landing force, commanded by low-ranking General Högberg, marched into London a few days later. This was Högberg's first military campaign, but not his last...
No sooner had London been taken that another landing force, almost 200,000 man strong, arrived in Edinburgh. Half of the forces moved down into England and Wales, while the next half moved up to Scotland. Germany landed a small amount of troops in the two northern provinces, taking a small claim to the island. As soon as three Swedish divisions marched down the streets of Northern Ireland the British government finally surrendered. Britain’s remaining colonies in Africa were handed over to Swedish authorities.
The year 1944 is now nearing an end. Swedish diplomats are trying to open up negotiations with the remaining Allied powers, but the Axis wheel won't stop turning. New Zealand has been conquered and Australia is currently under attack from Japanese forces. South Africa is pushing up in a strong counterattack, but Axis powers are quickly being sent down the dark continent to deal with it.
Now Sweden looks to the only strong Allied power left standing: Canada.
NEXT TIME: Canada's situation; Battle plans
Oh wait *checks*..darn. You should expect the Swedish prime minister's name to take many forms because I keep spelling it one way and just when I think I've corrected every thing I've spelt it another way. The original text had him named Hensson before I realized that was terribly wrong...unless the Swedish army is made up of puppets.
