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Don't forget the belt feed. Of course some mutual assistance from the Germans would be required - perhaps they could in return send a bus-load of nurses from Rinteln to support the development of the servizio di sanità militare?

Too late - that Belgian thing is already a 90mm. Cue what happened when Bertorelli borrowed Gruber's little tank...

That's not exactly true - there will be some people doing exactly this analysis and they're almost certain to have a decent idea of what resources the Germans have. They just aren't going to have anybody listening to them just yet - but the data and analysis will be there, so as soon as someone...

What is the lawful chain of command in Belgium at the time? I'm pretty sure that George VI could only do the same on advice from his ministers.

There's more to it than that: The ton-miles difference is immense. Narvik to the Tyne is 1,000 NM (maybe a bit more if they have to run out to sea a bit). New York to the Tyne is 3,300 NM. Not only is it further, it's different types of ship and handling facilities at the ports. Ore chemistry...

So, give it a day or so and the line will be re-established on the Meuse with the Germans taking enough damage that they're very unlikely to be able to start any major offensive for a few weeks with any expectation of success. That means it's time to take a step back and review what things look...

Different war, no reason it can't be a different Nouvion. Isn't René's identical twin brother René from around here somewhere?

Given that Nouvion is right in the middle of the current fighting, I can't imagine why you would need to. Might be different people trying to nick it though...

I'm really struggling to imagine any desert campaign ITTL - the Germans need to pull off a miracle to win on anything like the original schedule now, and it doesn't take much for Italy to sit it out. Once it does, there aren't any deserts to fight in.

I've heard of buckshee kit before, even up to the AAC picking up a mislaid US Army truck in GW1. A regiment worth of Panzers is a new one on me though - I'd love to see the RQMS explain it...

Uh... a modern 155mm (with proximity fuse, etc.) has a kill radius of 50m and an injury radius of 100m, against troops in the open. With a modicum of cover, that goes way down. This source suggests that 105mm with an impact fuse (page 14 - other slides suggest that impact and timed fuses are...

Don't want to do a thread-jack, but my suspicion is that the Germans would have chewed their way through. What happens after that I don't know - the Germans would certainly be in deep trouble.

That's maybe a little harsh - it was a very Germanic plan, but at the same time they had the communications system and the mental flexibility to change on the fly if they had to. Even if this plan falls apart, they've got the ability to come up with something else. It was a critical weakness of...

Any details? Best I can find is https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/CIOS-File-XXVII-Hanomeg-Hanover-SINTERED/30766581961/bd Doing it isn't surprising, doing so without wearing out the barrels much faster than a copper band is - and that would still hurt the Germans badly in an extended...

The Germans really don't want an artillery war. They're almost out of copper for driving bands.

It wasn't in the original plot for A Blunted Sickle, but sort of grew out of the discussion on the thread. Off the top of my head the key points which made me go down that route are: Fighting is still going on in Norway and France, with the Narvik railway still open. This neutralises Germany as...

It isn't just a foothold. It contains one of the biggest ports in the world at the time (Rotterdam) and a bridgehead across the Rhine. That's a dagger pointed right at the heart of Germany, not just a "foothold". The Germans can afford to leave it on the back burner until the Battle of France is...

Essentially the wing sweep adds in loads of new and really nasty characteristics, particularly around stalling. These took a long time to fix, and even now the pilot's notes will say something like "if you get into a spin, eject immediately". Given that the aircraft of the time could only reach...

More to the point they had pressing business in France. The Dutch need a big enough speed bump that the Germans can't take them on the bounce: if they can't, then they'll find themselves on the back burner until the Battle of France is decided one way or the other. My understanding is that the...

The 3" 20cwt is a close relative of the eventual 77mm HV (modified projectiles with the same case, a longer barrel and I'm not sure what they did to the rifling and recoil mechanism). That first appeared on the Comet which had a 64" turret ring, so 66" should be fine. Just make sure you don't go...