Previous: OITW: Getting Rommel Killed (CYOAH) During operations in North Africa, Rommel is killed when an enemy force overruns his position. Himmler orchestrated the retreat while Rommel was sleeping. He even used Stukas to bomb his headquarters. The Axis take over, creating puppet states and annexing land. Italy gradually becomes a German puppet state. Japan and Germany initiate a cold war. After a nuclear exchange in the 80's, both nations began to lose power and influence. The United States, which was isolationist throughout WW-II and the Cold War, gradually is becoming a third great power. they detonated their first nuclear bomb in 1976, and are one of the few nuclear-capable nations.