The original thread can be found here - all 500 pages of it!
26th August 1941
At just after 2am, Rudolf Hess who is attempting to fly to Scotland to intercede with the Duke of Hamilton in order to bring about peace negotiations is shot down and killed over the North Sea by a Beaufighter from 219 Squadron, RAF. His flight had been tracked by radar stations in the Netherlands and along the east coast of the UK, allowing time to scramble fighters from Catterick and shoot his aircraft down.
At around noon, Hess's adjutant Karlheinz Pinsch delivers a sealed letter to Hitler at the Berghof, in which Hess outlines his reasons for flying to Scotland. After reading the letter, Hitler remarks calmly that “at this particular moment in the war that could be a most hazardous escapade” and orders the Gestapo to arrest Pinsch along with Hess's other adjutant Alfred Leitgen. Both men are formally cashiered from the SS on the spot and placed in solitary confinement by the Gestapo, but are not interrogated.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the Governor General Lord Gowrie succeeds in hammering out an agreement whereby the two Independent members of Parliament, the former Lord Mayor of Melborne Arthur Coles and Alexander Wilson promise to support a Labour government under John Curtin until the next election, but without taking the Labour whip.
Since Curtin was unwilling to form a national government Lord Gowrie's preference had been to see the current coalition remain in power, but it rapidly became apparent during the talks that Billy Hughes was too old to take over the leadership of a barely cohesive coalition while the alternative leadership of Arthur Fadden would not be able to command the confidence of the House.
In Brussels, having received guarantees from the Belgian government that his men will all be treated as prisoners of war and will all receive immunity from prosecution for any war crimes alleged to have been committed during their occupation of the city General Reinhard orders his men to lay down their arms. To some extent this is a recognition of reality – they are desperately short of fuel and have virtually no ammunition larger than rifle calibre left – but the Belgians are also very keen not to have to fight their way across Brussels since their experiences to date have convinced them that doing so will lead to very heavy casualties both among their own troops and among the inhabitants of the city.
When news of the agreement leaks out in Brussels – which it very quickly does as the Belgian troops rapidly reoccupy the city and disarm the Germans – there are several situations where Belgian infantry are forced to disperse angry lynch mobs with fixed bayonets in order to safely evacuate the German troops. They are not always successful – since the tank troops wear black uniforms in a similar style to the SS, on occasion the Belgians make very half-hearted attempts to defend them – but overall the liberation of the city goes remarkably smoothly.
26th August 1941
At just after 2am, Rudolf Hess who is attempting to fly to Scotland to intercede with the Duke of Hamilton in order to bring about peace negotiations is shot down and killed over the North Sea by a Beaufighter from 219 Squadron, RAF. His flight had been tracked by radar stations in the Netherlands and along the east coast of the UK, allowing time to scramble fighters from Catterick and shoot his aircraft down.
At around noon, Hess's adjutant Karlheinz Pinsch delivers a sealed letter to Hitler at the Berghof, in which Hess outlines his reasons for flying to Scotland. After reading the letter, Hitler remarks calmly that “at this particular moment in the war that could be a most hazardous escapade” and orders the Gestapo to arrest Pinsch along with Hess's other adjutant Alfred Leitgen. Both men are formally cashiered from the SS on the spot and placed in solitary confinement by the Gestapo, but are not interrogated.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the Governor General Lord Gowrie succeeds in hammering out an agreement whereby the two Independent members of Parliament, the former Lord Mayor of Melborne Arthur Coles and Alexander Wilson promise to support a Labour government under John Curtin until the next election, but without taking the Labour whip.
Since Curtin was unwilling to form a national government Lord Gowrie's preference had been to see the current coalition remain in power, but it rapidly became apparent during the talks that Billy Hughes was too old to take over the leadership of a barely cohesive coalition while the alternative leadership of Arthur Fadden would not be able to command the confidence of the House.
In Brussels, having received guarantees from the Belgian government that his men will all be treated as prisoners of war and will all receive immunity from prosecution for any war crimes alleged to have been committed during their occupation of the city General Reinhard orders his men to lay down their arms. To some extent this is a recognition of reality – they are desperately short of fuel and have virtually no ammunition larger than rifle calibre left – but the Belgians are also very keen not to have to fight their way across Brussels since their experiences to date have convinced them that doing so will lead to very heavy casualties both among their own troops and among the inhabitants of the city.
When news of the agreement leaks out in Brussels – which it very quickly does as the Belgian troops rapidly reoccupy the city and disarm the Germans – there are several situations where Belgian infantry are forced to disperse angry lynch mobs with fixed bayonets in order to safely evacuate the German troops. They are not always successful – since the tank troops wear black uniforms in a similar style to the SS, on occasion the Belgians make very half-hearted attempts to defend them – but overall the liberation of the city goes remarkably smoothly.
Last edited:
