Updated the background to expand upon the Pacific. I will add to this continually until the world is fleshed out enough. 

[center][b][u]World War Two – 1946[/u][/b][/center]

[i][center] June 6th, 1944 – Allied invasion of Normandy.

June 22nd, 1944 – Russians launch Operation Bagration, with the aims of crushing Army Group Center.

July 17, 1944 – Erwin Rommel, the fabled German general, comes close to getting killed when an Allied Spitfire strafes his staff car as he travels to Army Group B's headquarters. He miraculously escapes injury, but is left with a sudden and undeniable realization of Germany’s coming fate.

July 19th, 1944 – Adolf Hitler is shot and killed by a rogue unit of Wehrmacht officers en route to the Wolf’s Lair in East Prussia. The assassins are killed in the ensuing gun battle.

July 20th, 1944 – Wehrmacht launches military coup. Civil war erupts as Waffen SS divisions attempt to reassert their authority, but are badly outnumbered.

July 21st, 1944 – Leading Nazi Party officials including Hermann Goering and Dr. Paul Josef Goebbels are arrested as they attempt to flee Berlin. 

August 16th, 1944 – After an intense and bitter civil war, the SS are defeated in a string of battles and driven into Austria. 

August 20th, 1944 – Erwin Rommel emerges as Germany’s defacto leader, with popular support. He goes on to form a Military Council consisting of several decorated officers, such as Erich von Manstein and Gerd von Rundstedt.

August 21st, 1944 – Rommel offers unconditional surrender to the Western Powers, on the understanding that they save Germany from the Soviets. The West declines, stating that Germany must unconditionally surrender to both. 

August 22nd, 1944 – Rommel issues order 341, prompting Operation Verlorene Liebesmüh (Forlorn Hope). [/i][/center]

Operation Verlorene Liebesmüh was in essence, an order to all German forces within occupied states to return to the Fatherland. In a magnificent feat of logistics and cunning, the Wehrmacht in France, Holland and Belgium withdrew its men and material to Germany’s west borders. Despite the Allies’ best efforts to intercept the withdrawal, they were unable to prevent much of the Wehrmacht’s western strength from fleeing to the safety of the Rheine. 

Likewise in the east, the German army made a massive retreat. Much like on the Western Front, the rout was orderly and paced to save as much equipment and munitions as possible. By September, the Wehrmacht had consolidated itself within Germany’s borders, leaving Finland, Romania and SS-riddled Austria to fend for themselves. Though still defeated forces, the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe were able to coordinate a deadly defensive effort against the Allies and the Soviets. 

As 1944 drew to a close, and 1945 began, neither the Soviets nor the Allies had managed to penetrate Germany’s borders. It was a war of attrition however, and though Rommel and his staff were effective battlefield commanders, they were running out of industry and food with which to power their army. The German population was also falling victim to starvation, and Nazi terrorist cells were growing bolder – Hitler’s gruesome end had given them a martyr to rally around, ironically something Erwin Rommel had once wanted to avoid. 

In February, Romania, Hungary and Austria fall to the Soviets after a brief but collected campaign. Rommel admits to the international community that death camps had existed under Nazi rule, and that a great many people died as a result. He promises to release everything related to the practice, and to hand over all of those involved and implicated, in return for a conditional surrender. Both the Soviets and the Allies outright refuse. 

In a further bid to win international favour, and to distance himself from Germany’s former leaders, Rommel released the information anyway. Camp locations, inmate processing files, names of SS and Wehrmacht staff responsible for their day-to-day operating were published in a series of documents, and handed over to neutral Switzerland for distribution. Hundreds of thousands of former camp inmates released from the camps were placed on trains, and sent towards both the Soviets and the West depending on their proximity to either front. Rommel stated that he himself had a part to play in their existence, for serving the Reich in a military capacity, and made a pledge to stand trial at the war’s end. 

Rommel’s attempts to reach out to Germany’s enemies fell short of gaining either their favour of sympathy, however. On March 19th, the Soviets launched Operation Burning Star, with the aim of breaking through the German border and taking Berlin. After a week-long barrage of some 5,261 howitzers, the Russians made their attempt. Millions of soldiers, and thousands of tanks and planes were dedicated to the assault. However, a reformed Army Group East rose to the challenge and using its large assortment of refurbished Panzer Divisions, complex trench networks, dense minefields and a combat-effective Luftwaffe, it was able to smash the Soviet spearhead and encircle 500,000 Russians outside of Berlin in homage to Operation Barbarossa’s early triumphs. The Russians repeatedly attempted to restart the offensive, but the intricate German defences, coupled with Mainstein’s knack for mobile counter attacks, prevented them from making ground. Concerned that a large portion of their troops would soon succumb to the encirclement, Stalin reluctantly ordered his generals to abandon the attack. This was the last strategic victory for the German army in the year of 1945. 

In the West, the Allies probe and plot, but are not eager to launch a full scale offensive. Germany’s Army Group West has some 3,000,000 men, and 1,300 combat ready tanks; though still gravely outnumbered, it is coherent and battle tested. Allied commanders know that unlike France, where they fought a paralysed and demoralised enemy, fighting Rommel’s Army Group West on home ground would result in catastrophic casualties. 

Although fuel was becoming increasingly difficult to source, Rommel’s defensive plan along the Rheine required little mobility but maximum firepower, and with the Luftwaffe concentrated and therefore still at large, Allied air superiority was gradually losing the devastating effect it enjoyed months previous. Furthermore, through careful management of Germany’s faltering economy, and of its available resources, Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe squadrons started to become a prominent force. Though still vastly outnumbered, the Luftwaffe had made a slow but steady comeback.

 Russia’s failure to break the Germans, and the Allies’ hesitation, leads to a fallout between Stalin and the Western leaders. Washington, London and Moscow begin to distance themselves from each other; the Allies show their weaknesses. Whilst a red faced Churchill argued for the destruction of Germany, and its full inclusion in the Western political sphere, American President Harry S. Truman begins to lend support to an idea of a future where Germany exists unoccupied – a shield to be used against Stalin’s expansionism. 

As if acting on cue, Stalin goes back on his pledges to allow for Soviet occupied countries to undergo their own democratic elections, and states his intent to absorb them into the USSR. This enrages the West, and causes further concern amongst all political figures – especially those who had just reclaimed their countries – and a very visible crack forms between the Allies. No one wanted to be the victim of Communism, except for the growing internal communist political movements that were on the verge of being illegalised. 

Sensing the divisions of his enemies, Rommel made another plea to the West for a conditional surrender. This time his words are contemplated by the United States President as well as the British Prime Minister. The Soviets announce that any form of agreement without them involved will lead to war between Russia and the West.

Ever a clever tactician, Rommel made good of the situation. He declared Germany’s western borders “open” and moved Army Group West to the Eastern Front, providing the Russians with a truly formidable adversary. Allied troops crossed into western Germany shortly after, and began occupying the territory in the wake of Germany’s retreating army. They halted as they came half way across the country, so that their leaders could contemplate the situation. 

Stalin considered this a sly political attempt to bring the whole of Germany under western control, despite prior agreements. He declares war on the West in response, which creates a world-shattering chain of events leading to what is now known as ‘ The Extension War’. The Red Army starts to gather strength along the borders of Poland, Austria, Finland and Slovakia. The U.S and British armies respond in kind, and start to reposition their forces in preparation for the incoming invasion by their former ally. However, despite Rommel's pleas, they steer clear of lending any form of support to Germany's army. 

Sweden attempts to reaffirm its neutrality to the conflict, and a newly liberated Norway follows suit. However, with the establishment of the Soviet's Finland Front comprising of several armies, it is clear that the north will not be spared. 

Despite initially agreeing to declare war on Japan following Germany’s misconceived imminent defeat, Stalin offers the beleaguered nation an olive branch. In return for Soviet military assistance, Japan must conform to certain Communist ideals. Japanese Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki reluctantly accepts the terms, and cedes Manchuria to the USSR to provide them with a regional base from which to operate. Millions of Red Army soldiers start to arrive in the following weeks; although poorly armed compared to their brothers in the West, they are a much needed asset to the floundering Empire of the Rising Sun. Alongside these soldiers, thousands of aircraft too are donated to Japan’s defence. Stalin publicly announces an alliance between the two nations shortly after. 

This unexpected partnership leads to a halt of Allied operations in the Pacific theatre, and an uneasy stalemate continues into August.