Prince Charles Ascends or how a car accident saves Europe

Johnrankins

Oct 11, 1940

The Kittyhawk makes its debut. German infantry hates them on first sight (As much as panzer commanders hate the 6 pounders early the next year) as a squadron of them means anywhere from 50-60 heavy machine guns suddenly starts firing amongst them out of nowhere.

Another lurch by the Anglo-French push the Germans back to Amiens and off the coast all the way to Lillie. The way is led by Char Bs and Valentines. The panzers can't hold them back but German AT tanks do them a lot of damage. Although they break their way through there are a lot of broken tanks getting there. Not a few panzers were destroyed as well.

The Germans are starting to figure they aren't going to win this war outright and are starting to hope for a settlement. Except for Hitler and the other fanatics who will settle only for victory or death. This lunge cost the Allies 15,000 dead and 30,000 wounded while the Germans lose 12,500 and 50,000.

Oct 23,1940

The US sells 75 M2 Mediums to GB and 40 to France. The previous battle left them shorter of tanks than they like. Fortunately, the Allies are not short on fighters. and GB sells 75 Hurricanes to Italy. The Hurricanes are being replaced by Spitfires.

The US sells its M2A3 machinery to Italy for 140 Fiat 3000 model 21s which are sent to China. The Italians start churning out M2A3s at 10 a week. The Italians change the twin machine gun turrets to a 35mm gun and add two forward-facing.30 caliber machine guns. This change in design takes a month. The factory is shut down a month and they start producing the upgraded tank in Dec starting at 10 a week.

Italy sets up a Fiat 3000 model 21 factory in Romania. This gets tanks quicker to the front line if war again breaks out. Romania is able to crank out the simpler tank starting at 15 a week.

The US sells Italy 300,000 M1903 Springfields, Romania 200,000, Hungry and Yugoslavia 150,000 each. It is partly paid by 400,000 Carcanos which are shipped to China.

The US sells 150 Kittyhawks to Italy and another 125 to Finland. 300 37 mm Gun M3s are sold to Finland as well. Stalin starts worrying that things might heat up. The Socialist-Capitalist War might start before he is ready. He isn't particularly worried about the Rome Bloc or Finland in and of themselves but what it might mean in the future. He doesn't need their added numbers when fighting the Anglo-French and the Americans!

Nov 1st, 1940

The L3/35s make their debut in China. After being delivered and men being trained with them, they are ready to be unleashed, some 200 of them. Like the Dutch found out even crappy tanks are very useful against an enemy totally unprepared for them. The Japanese, not suspecting that the Chinese had a single tank within several hundred miles where they struck and the Japanese had not a single AT gun or tank in the area. They had to be taken out by infantry, mortar, and artillery. The Chinese were able to launch a major offensive as a result. The Japanese were pushed back 40 miles before the Chinese could be stopped.

For once the Japanese suffered more casualties than the Chinese. They had 9.000 dead and 28,000 wounded compared to the Chinese 6,000 and 12,000. The Japanese are forced to cut back on cruiser production to make AT guns and tanks.
 
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FinnishFury

Johnrankins said:
Oct 23, 1940

The US sells 150 Thunderbolts to Italy and another 125 to Finland. 300 37 mm Gun M3s are sold to Finland as well. Stalin starts worrying that things might heat up. The Socialist-Capitalist War might start before he is ready. He isn't particularly worried about the Rome Bloc or Finland in and of themselves but what it might mean in the future. He doesn't need their added numbers when fighting the Anglo-French and the Americans!
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How does United States sell (P-47) Thunderbolts to Italy and Finland in October 1940 when the plane didn't take to the skies until 6 May 1941?
 

Johnrankins

Sauna_Operator said:
How does United States sell (P-47) Thunderbolts to Italy and Finland in October 1940 when the plane didn't take to the skies until 6 May 1941?
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Because I really screwed up! I will change them to Kittyhawks. Although these versions are suited mostly for attack aircraft (having more armor and 5 machine guns) they are still better than Bredas as fighters. Even if they are 15MPH slower than OTL due to armor they are still faster than Bredas.
 
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Xgentis

Xgentis

Actually back in thoses day, forming alliances was still a royal prerogative in Belgium. But I do think a 1939 pod is a bit late to change much.
 
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Starinski

For the French

  • Small arms: MAS40 (semi automatic) instead of MAS36. HEAT Brand rifle grenades.
More trucks, more Lorraine 39 APC( used by the Chasseurs Portés in the DCR).
Probably more 105 howitzers. AND MORE RADIOS
  • Lessons drawn by the French: armor should be used "en masse" and not be split up into penny packets. One-man turret overburdens the tank commander. The S35,B1bis and R40 have probably done well and their production must be maintained.
The Division Légère Mécanique(DLM)'s organization is very close to that of a Panzerdivision, and some more should be created. Maybe with more flak and more tanks(only S35s).

Regarding doctrine: the Entente will probably end up with something similar to what the Western Allies were applying in 1944.
 

Johnrankins

Nov 10,1940

The 1st and 2nd Canadian are sent to Norway from France while 2nd and 3 British Infantry divisions are sent back to France from Norway. It is felt that the Canadians will deal better with the cold than British soldiers. It is not that the Brits can't cope with it but that the Canadians are used to it. The Norwegians form the 1st infantry division. It is the first division formed by Norway since the reconquest began as until now they didn't have the numbers to do so.

The new line in France goes from Lille to Reims to Dijon to the Swiss border. Both sides are digging in for the winter. The Eschaut Line was being fortified by the German Labor Front. To allow soldiers to remain at the front lines tens of thousands of civilians, including slave labor from Jews and political prisoners, dig ditches, build bunkers, string barbed wire and place guns and ammo. The fortifications along the French-German border are also strengthened by Germans. The Germans are still hoping for an outright victory but the Wehrmacht's backup plan is to bleed the Anglo-French enough to reach a settlement.

The first rail depot on the Burma-China Railroad is built, not counting the original one on the coast. It is only 25 miles from Rangoon but it does save a few hours on the long trip by truck or horse cart from Rangoon to the Chinese border. The train is running there full and coming back near empty. Very cheap freight rates are available on the trip back so as to lessen expenses somewhat. A village is being built near the depot.

Nov 25,1940

Italy builds a couple more infantry training bases. During the cease-fire Italian infantry has been doing a lot of target practice due to the increasing amount of ammo coming in from the US.

Rome Pact soldiers join Belgian and Dutch ones at the new Foreign Armor Training Center the US newly opened in Ft Hood a month earlier. American soldiers are impressed with some of the ideas that some of the trainees come up with. Some of the ideas are used in US training from then on. The US Army grows to 135,000 men and the USN grows to 188,000 men, including marines by the end of the year. This is about half the number of OTL and is smaller than the Belgian Army. The forces are better equipped for their size, however.

The 4th and 5th Indian Infantry Divisions arrive in France. They are better equipped than OTL due to more available equipment. They are fully motorized and have 4.5 inch guns. They are armed as well as British regulars with Lee-Enfields and Bren Guns mostly but their communication systems aren't as good. They prove to be good, solid troops.

Dec 1,1940
The US sells Finnland 40 M2 Medium tanks, 250 37 mm Gun M3s and 10,000 BAR. The US government announced it was will willing to loan GB and France up to $6 billion each at 1/4% over the US Treasury Bond rate and members of the Rome Pact $2.5 billion each at 1/2% over US Treasury Bond rates. Debts were payable over 30 years.
 

pjmidd

Johnrankins said:
Any ideas for upgrades on Anglo-French forces in 1941 as compared to OTL are welcome.
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Well things in the pipeline will appear so Brits get the 6pdr without the delay of OTL, French the Char B1Ter ( OTL the prototypes were lost when the ship taking them to Algeria was sunk ). Plane wise its more upgrades for the French planes, so for instance Dewoitine D520 would become the D523/D530 with a more powerful engine ( 523 French engine/530 Merlin ), similar plans were in place for the MS 406. American planes that were on order for France would go to the AdA not the RAF as OTL (Consolidated LB-30 , Curtiss 75 , Douglas DB-7 , Grumman F4F , Vultee 72 and others ). Less panic means the British don't cancel/delay things to build a few more fighters, so possibly earlier Mosquito.
 

Johnrankins

Starinski said:
Regarding doctrine: the Entente will probably end up with something similar to what the Western Allies were applying in 1944.
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The doctrine would be considerably different as the war has been quite different. It has been closer to a mixture of WW1 and WW2. It is more fluid than WW1 but less so than OTL WW2. Attacking heavily fortified trenches have been the rule, not the exception. Breakouts have been infrequent and led to running into another fortified position. I think their doctrine would be closer to late WW1 than OTL.

That said, penny packets are gone. One man turrets are gone. Probably more TDs than OTL as the war has been more defensive. More AT, AA, artillery, and mortar than OTL. Radios are definitely more plentiful and trucks are everywhere by now. When M2 half-tracks become available the French and Brits will buy them like crazy.
 
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Johnrankins

Dec 16, 1940

An increasingly worried Stalin orders preparation for "Operation South Wind". A tank army and 2 infantry divisions are moved southeast.

Dec 26, 1940
On Boxing Day of 1940 production of 6 Pounders begins. Churchill begins negotiations with the US on licensing the gun. On the same day, Italy starts producing "scorpion" tanks which are M2A3s with their twin machine guns are replaced with a 35mm gun.
Japan starts initial planning for a war with the US. Burma is given more emphasis than OTL in the plans. Cutting off the growing Burma-Chinese Railroad is considered of vital importance. War hasn't been decided on as yet but it is seriously considered.

Although GB and France are stronger in TTL than ours the USN is considerably weaker. The Two Ocean Navy Act was not passed although the navy's size is increasing. The navy will increase at less than half the rate of OTL.

Jan 2, 1941

Italy orders 35 M2 Mediums, 200 Kittyhawks, 60,000 trucks, and 500 37 mm Gun M3s from the US using borrowed money. More orders will follow later

Romania orders 24 M2 Mediums, 130 Kittyhawks, and 40,000 trucks and 100 37 mm Gun M3s. It also buys the 40 M2A3s that Italy made that first month.

Hungry orders 34 M2 Mediums, 20 M2A4s, 100 Kitty hawks, and 30,000 trucks and 74 37 mm Gun M3s .

Yougoslavia orders 20 M2A4s, 200 Kittyhawks, 20.000 trucks and 40 37 mm Gun M3s.

Jan 4, 1941

GB starts producing Valentine Tanks with 6 pounder guns. The French start mass-producing the MAS 40 and declare it to be the standard rifle of the French soldier. France starts exporting the old MAS 36 to the Rome Bloc. They are able to sell them 50,000 of them the first month. The US then buys 50,000 Carcanos to ship to China.

Jan 6, 1941

The Soviet version of the Panzerjager I is being mass-produced. The Soviets also buy 300 Marder IIs,500 4.7 cm KPÚV vz. 38 AT, and 500 7.5 cm Gebirgsgeschütz 36. The Soviets are still mass-producing its own weapons, although slightly less numbers as its shipping much more raw materials to Germany than OTL.

The US agrees to buy the license at the price of the first 50 M2 57mm Medium tanks going to GB for free.
 
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Johnrankins

Jan 16, 1941

Since the British are less desperate and don't buy whatever crap the US is selling simply to get it in the field US quality in weapons have been going up in this TL and it that effects the US Armed Forces production of weapons. The Brewster Buffalo is decided to be outdated by the US at this date. It is to be replaced by the
F4F-3 Wildcat. The Buffalos are then sold to the Dutch who want naval fighters for the DEI.

This replacement happens over a number of months but by November 1941 all Brewster Buffalos in the USN have been replaced by Wildcats. All the biplanes in the DEI are replaced by Buffalos.

The US starts retooling to develop 6 pounder guns for its tanks. GB ships machinery to the US for manufacturing the first 5 pounders. GB wants the tanks as quickly as possible. The US starts manufacturing a 57mm TD at the same time which is a 6 pounder put on M2A4 chasis.

The Stuart tank will start being produced in May, 1941 but until then M2A4s will be built. The market for that is declining as the Italians can make tanks almost as good now and the Brits and French can make tanks considerably better than the M2A4. In fact, most of them wind up as TDs in the Italian Army.

Jan 24, 1941

The Chinese are most anxious about the Burma-China Railway. Weapons are backed up all the way to LA. Weapons given to China are being allocated faster than they can be delivered to China due to the lack of a railroad. The round trip is shortened by about a day but it still takes far too long.

Feb 8, 1941
The USSR launches "Operation South Wind" restarting the war with the Rome Pact. It goes worse than the start of the earlier war. The Rome Pact has plentiful light tanks, AT guns, motorized infantry, and artillery. The front line is heavily fortified with a large number of concrete pillboxes, emplaced artillery, and camouflaged light tanks. It takes a full month and a half to get past the defenses. It is a real bloodbath with the USSR has over 32,000 KIA and 64,000 WIA while the Rome Pact takes only 18.000 and 36,000 WIA. Thousands of light tanks on both sides are lost along with a similar number of artillery pieces and AT guns.

The US declares it will triple the amount of loan money available to the Franco-Brits and the Rome Pact as a response. The US sells the Rome Pact 200 M2 35mm tanks cheaply. The British want the new M2 57mm tanks anyways. Their 50 tanks roll off the assembly lines the first week.

Feb 12, 1941

Italy orders 500 Kittyhawks, 40,000 trucks, 2,000 150mm howitzers and 500 37 mm Gun M3s. GB also sells it 200 Hurricanes as the number of Spitfires it has swelled. It also sells its 100 remaining obsolete Cruiser MK II tanks. They were being used as training tanks in GB.

The Brits start putting 6 pounders on Valentines and the new Crusader Tank(Which comes out earlier than OTL obviously) which is closer to a Crusader II than a Crusader I, and Churchills beginning in April.

Romania orders 400 Kittyhawks, 60,000 trucks, 1,000 150 mm howitzers and 600 37 mm gun M3s. France sells 100 Dewoitine D520s as the 523s are going to start to come off the assembly lines in a month.

Hungry orders 350 Kittyhawks, 60,000 trucks, 600 150 mm howitzers and 500 37 mm gun M3s. Yougoslavia orders 250 Kittyhawks, 30,000 trucks, 1200 150 mm howitzers and 1000 37 mm gun M3s.

The Italians also open another couple of "scorpion tanks" factories in Italy. It also builds Fiat 3000 tank factories in Hungry and Yougoslavia and a 2nd one in Romania. They start producing tanks in March.
Feb 28. 1941

Germany increases greatly the production of Panzerjaeger Is as they are seen as very necessary to guard the lines. More than a few German generals are upset about the fact that they traded so many away earlier. They also produce a lot of howitzers and mortar.

Hitler and the Nazi Party are considerably less popular at this point than OTL. Most Germans still back it but their enthusiasm is considerably lower than OTL. Instead of one victory after another it has had a number of setbacks.
 
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Johnrankins

April 15, 1941

The first big push by the French is started with the spring weather. Germany is pushed out of France completely and is driven back to the Eschaut Line in Belgium over a two month period. The Allies lose 35,000 men KIA and 70,000 WIA while the Germans lose 33,000 KIA and 60,000 WIA due to the major fortifications built up over the winter. The 57mm gun on the new tanks is quite a shock to the Germans but their aren't enough of them and the Germans have a lot of AT guns spread all over their fortifications. It doesn't stop the Allies but it definitely slows them down and causes a whole lot of casualties. By the time the Allies get to the Eschaut Line they find it as bad as the line they just left. The Belgians are very eager to free their homeland. They will definitely do that but not without the loss of much blood.

The Brits order 400 more M2 57mm and the French 500. Germany is definitely on the back foot by this time and is exceedingly worried about the Allies breaking through Belgium and entering Germany.
April 30, 1941

The Germans evacuate Norway. The Germans see their position as hopeless and need the troops in Belgium. They, in fact, withdrew most of their troops in winter and bluffed the Allies with dummies and a skeleton troop presence. Norway becomes the second country totally liberated from the Germans.

The Russians reach the Oradea Line in Romania which goes from Oradea to Tigru Mures to Bacau to the border. It is a heavily fortified line with plenty of AT guns, artillery, mortar, and pillboxes. The Russians lost 50,000 KIA and 100,000 WIA just to get here while the Rome Pact lost about half as many. The expense is far higher than Stalin expected. Of course Stalin didn't expect that the Rome Pact would get heavy US support.

In Hungry the Russians get about 1/2 way to Budapest before they hit another fortified position. They lost about 35,000 KIA and 70,000 WIA to reach it with the Rome Pact taking about half as many.

The Italians order 500 M2A4 TDs which are called by the Rome Pact Badgers (Tassi in Italian) as they are small but deadly having 6 pounder guns. The Romanians order another 400 and the Hungarians another 500. The British sell 400 Hurricanes, the French 300 Dewoitine D520s as it starts switching to the new planes while the US sells 600 Kittyhawks. From now on the Rome Pact uses Kittyhawks mainly for ground attack as the Rome Pact gains air superiority.

"The Great Dictator" is released in Italy. There are surprisingly few changes to the film. A few words are changed here and there to show Napaloni even more dominant over Hynkel. The food fight scene is eliminated and in the train arrival scene, Napaloni comments on how this never would have happened at home.

There is also a scene added where Hynkel is overheard scheming with another ambassador who is obviously supposed to be Russian. The "Russian" ambassador leaves wearing a big furry hat making it clear who is being represented. An unseen Napaloni is told this behind a door and he says he expected that all along. He went along with things because he was forming an alliance of his own because he can't possibly fight Toyderia and Bearastiva (stand in for the USSR) at the same time.

May 6th,1941

The expanding Burma-Chinese railroad still has a long way to go but the farmers who used to take the back roads to market take it to the railhead. Many of them use the time saved to make some cash by hauling supplies to the next planned depot which warehouses supplies for the Chinese. They are protected from bandits by a British Army platoon which was arranged by Whitehall as part of a deal that resulted in an M2 57mm being thrown in for free with their next order. Travel time for the Chinese has been cut by over a week per trip. The railroad adds a 1900 Molgul engine train with a few boxcars for local freight and passengers. The passenger car on the end consists of a few benches bolted to the floor. The trip is short and the passengers are more concerned about price than amenities.
 
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Johnrankins

China has these weapons in addition to OTL, the rest going to China are still being transported. In addition to this, they have enough ammo and fuel to run them for a month. That is what is taking most of the available transport in fact.
100 L3/35s
300 Breda 65s
100,000 Carcanos
How does this affect the war? They may be only Italian cast-offs but there is quite a lot of them so it should have some effect. Japanese Army weapons, outside of some planes, are nothing to write home about either.

An idea I just got is something like the Battle of Shanggao. It was a Chinese victory OTL, so I figure if the Chinese had 50,000 more riflemen backed up with 50 L3/35s it could turn into a counter-offensive by China. In TTL the Japanese lose 30,000 men and lose half their armored cars as m-kills. Where would be the best place for them to wind up after the battle? Any ideas?
 
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Johnrankins

June 20, 1941

The Allies break through the lines with the reformed 1 ère Division de Chasseurs Ardennais leading the way. The Belgian people are overjoyed to be freed from Nazi Germany, at least the ones that were freed. The Germans are driven all the way to the Dyle Line when the Dutch enter the offensive. With their homeland now guarded on the south by nearby Maginot Line defenses when the Allies came in from the west, the Dutch drove down their tanks to join them. This caught the Germans by surprise and their Dyle Line only 3 weeks. The Allies lose "only" 12,500 KIA and a 25,000 WIA to the Germans 8,000 and 26.000. The Germans flee to the Meuse, the last defense of Germany proper.

The Nazis discuss the "Final Solution" but fortunately it is not put into effect in TTL. By the time they can get the wheels rolling it is too late. The Allies have broken through to Germany itself and they did not have time to organize it before it fell.

In desperation, the Germans finally put large numbers of women into factories to help the war effort, long after the British and French did so. This increases weapon production but it is too little too late. The handwriting is on the wall.

Just in case they are needed the Norwegians start training a corps of infantry. They also order 30 M2s from the Americans along with 100 M2A4 Badgers. They also buy 100 Kittyhawks.

The Americans come out with the new Thunderbolt fighter. It is released months earlier than OTL due to increased military R&D. The M3 Stuart is selling well to the Rome Pact who bought the entire month's production of 200 tanks.

June 22, 1941

The Rome Pact conducts its first major offensive against the Soviets. 60 M2s are sent across the Oradea Line along with 100 Stuarts. The T26s and BT7s are no match for the medium tank and take quite a beating from them. Meanwhile, the Stuarts come up right behind them and break into the Soviet rear causing havoc. Badgers join the party and the Soviet line becomes unglued. The Soviets don't stop retreating until they are 40 miles east of there. The five-day battle costs the Soviets 5.000 men and the Rome Pact 3,500.

Meanwhile, in Hungry the Rome Pact hits the Soviets with a similar attack and the Soviets retreat halfway to the border. This battle lasts only 3 days but is bloodier with 7.500 Soviet casualties and 6,000 Rome Pact ones.

After seeing pictures of the burned-out tanks Stalin orders the new T-34 to the front for the first time. Meanwhile, the Rome Pact orders 100 M2s with the 6 pounder gun as that is all that is being made.

June 25, 1941

The Japanese "accidentally" cross the border at Burma with fighters shooting up a convoy. Although no British soldiers were shot, 3 elderly Burmese men and 8 children are shot. British soldiers are able to save 3 of the children using their first aid kits. Mentions of the kids being killed are reported in both the New York Times and the London Times the next day.

Congress decides to send Japan a message about being overly aggressive and authorizes the building of 3CVs 3BBs 10 CAs and 20 DDs. Congress has been worried about Japan for some time and the incident gives them the excuse for the authorization. It also replaces the entire Philippine Army's with Gerands and sends them plenty off ammo. The army starts training in earnest.

Great Britain beefs up the security detail to an entire company with a battery of 4 Bofors guns. The British public is outraged and it helps with American relations. The British also allow the Americans to build an airbase in Northern Burma for the price of 20 M2s and 20 Kittyhawks. By the next month, the Americans have a base there with 30 Kittyhawks.

As far as Churchill is concerned it is a good deal all around for Great Britain. It boosts its relations with the US, it gets some military equipment, Burma is better protected at US expense and if Burma is attacked by Japan the US is likely to get involved.

June 28, 1941

When attacking a Chinese position the Japanese are surprised on the flank by 50,000 Chinese soldiers and 50 tanks. Greatly outnumbered, outflanked and outgunned the Japanese are in trouble from the first. Fanatic to the last the Japanese are nearly wiped out in the fighting. 15,000 Japanese soldiers lay dying on the field, with 7.500 Chinese lying dead nearby them. They manage to send a message to HQ about the large number of tanks they encountered before getting wiped out.
 
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