Would Japan and China appear in this WW2? This I wanted to find out more when I asked about an Asian front.
America's Silver Era, The Story of William Jennings Bryan
- Thread starter CELTICEMPIRE
- Start date
Also, forgive me if I lost something, but Maurice Thorez has a role in your TL?
Probably, maybe after the official end of the TL, though.
The Southern Qing (Mergen) is still dealing with internal warfare at the beginning of the war. The Northern Qing (Zhao Zheng) will go with Japan. Japan lost a lot of troops to Russia and China, the Japanese people are not very eager to go to war. Things may or may not change in the future. I will say that there is at least one battle on Mainland Asia.
Born too long after the POD (anyone born after 1897 doesn't exist).
Chapter LXIII, Enter the United Kingdom
Despite Britain’s entry into the war, Adolphe Cartier was still confident in victory (Spanish leadership largely agreed while Argentine leadership was growing skeptical). He did, however, give up any hope of winning the naval war. It was also a major deterrent to the hawkish faction in the Russian Duma. France and Spain were going to hold Western Europe, repelling any American or British invasion, while France sought to finish off Germany. If this was successful, Cartier and much of the French high command theorized, the United States and the United Kingdom would grow tired of fighting and make peace with France. On June 6, the day after the British declaration of war, Cartier stated “Our enemies have increased in number, we will still be victorious, and our victory shall be even greater.”
-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.
On June 8, Stuttgart finally fell to the French. Germany was prepared for an offensive into Bavaria, where General Erwin Rommel was convinced the next French assault would come. But for the rest of the summer, the French only advanced a few miles into Bavaria. For the rest of June and July, there was relatively little action on the German front. France had been increasing conscription for two new offensives, none of which would take place in South Germany. The new recruits would not be ready for combat until August. Germany used this lull in fighting to deploy more anti-aircraft weapons (which Austria-Hungary began to mass-produce in 1937). Germany also continued to fight France on the seas.
In 1936 the French had an advantage at sea, in 1937 the Americans and Germans had an advantage over the French. When Britain entered the war, time was running out for the French Navy. In June, July, and August, Britain and Germany hunted down and destroyed the French Indian Ocean Fleet. Britain would also help in mopping up the remaining French warships in the Pacific. British and German ships also clashed with the French on the coast of Northern coast of Germany. By the end of August, the way was open for Britain to transport troops to Denmark and from there they could enter Germany. The only major body of water still controlled by the French and Spanish was the Mediterranean.
(The Royal Navy was not to be trifled with)
Former Vice President Joseph Stilwell was Commander of all American forces in the Pacific. He saw this as a slight by Hoover seeing as Eisenhower, MacArthur, and Patton were all in Africa where there was glory to be won. Stilwell had slowly been conducting an island-hopping campaign in the Pacific. He had relatively few troops at his disposal and there were only minor engagements in this theater. With Britain in the war, he could speed things up. On September 14, American, Philippine, and ANZAC forces stormed the city of Port Vila on the French-controlled Island of Efate. For the next few months, the rest of the French forces in the New Hebrides and New Caledonia were cleared out. It seemed insignificant at the time, but the campaign was important as France was no longer able to conduct bombing raids on New Guinea.
Britain was on the offensive elsewhere, too. British troops in Egypt launched an invasion of Libya. On June 24 they captured Tobruk without much resistance. On July 16, they captured the city of Benghazi, this time taking relatively high losses. They continued to advance along the coast, though they were bombed by French warplanes along the way. In August, they were repelled outside of Homs, and were ordered to stop until reinforcements from India and German African colonies could arrive. Back in Europe, British bombers raided the French city of Caen on July 30. Little was accomplished by the raid and many British pilots lost their lives, but it certainly had an effect on French morale. It was the first time that France had been on the receiving end of an air raid since 1936.
(British troops in North Africa)
The French Navy was, as Hoover wrote in his memoirs, “A mortally wounded beast that was nonetheless still able to bite.” In August the British lost five cruisers in an attempt to sink a French battleship off the Coast of Egypt. Two Portuguese ships, ostensibly carrying wine but mostly loaded with ammunition set sail from Lisbon with Swansea as its destination. They were both sunk by French submarines on September 2 (France had learned the power of submarines from the Great War). In a conversion with Prime Minister Halifax in October 1938, British MP Winston Churchill lamented that the French Navy was still strong enough to prevent any sort of invasion of Northern France. That was the only easy way to knock France out of the war.
Among the leaders of the major nations of the Grand Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary Britain, and the United States) there was disagreement about what to do next. German Commanders Erwin Rommel and Gerd von Rundstedt, along with Austro-Hungarian Field Marshall Géza Lakatos, argued for British troops to come to the German front through Denmark while the Americans and British Colonial troops enter through Austria-Hungary after the Mediterranean was mostly cleared of French ships. Eisenhower was open to the idea, but Patton and MacArthur rejected America’s role in the plan. Patton and British Commander Harold Alexander continued to push for the Portugal strategy, arguing that Spain would quickly collapse. Others suggested an invasion into Southern France. Soon enough, actions by the enemy would make clear what path to take.
-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.
On June 8, Stuttgart finally fell to the French. Germany was prepared for an offensive into Bavaria, where General Erwin Rommel was convinced the next French assault would come. But for the rest of the summer, the French only advanced a few miles into Bavaria. For the rest of June and July, there was relatively little action on the German front. France had been increasing conscription for two new offensives, none of which would take place in South Germany. The new recruits would not be ready for combat until August. Germany used this lull in fighting to deploy more anti-aircraft weapons (which Austria-Hungary began to mass-produce in 1937). Germany also continued to fight France on the seas.
In 1936 the French had an advantage at sea, in 1937 the Americans and Germans had an advantage over the French. When Britain entered the war, time was running out for the French Navy. In June, July, and August, Britain and Germany hunted down and destroyed the French Indian Ocean Fleet. Britain would also help in mopping up the remaining French warships in the Pacific. British and German ships also clashed with the French on the coast of Northern coast of Germany. By the end of August, the way was open for Britain to transport troops to Denmark and from there they could enter Germany. The only major body of water still controlled by the French and Spanish was the Mediterranean.
(The Royal Navy was not to be trifled with)
Former Vice President Joseph Stilwell was Commander of all American forces in the Pacific. He saw this as a slight by Hoover seeing as Eisenhower, MacArthur, and Patton were all in Africa where there was glory to be won. Stilwell had slowly been conducting an island-hopping campaign in the Pacific. He had relatively few troops at his disposal and there were only minor engagements in this theater. With Britain in the war, he could speed things up. On September 14, American, Philippine, and ANZAC forces stormed the city of Port Vila on the French-controlled Island of Efate. For the next few months, the rest of the French forces in the New Hebrides and New Caledonia were cleared out. It seemed insignificant at the time, but the campaign was important as France was no longer able to conduct bombing raids on New Guinea.
Britain was on the offensive elsewhere, too. British troops in Egypt launched an invasion of Libya. On June 24 they captured Tobruk without much resistance. On July 16, they captured the city of Benghazi, this time taking relatively high losses. They continued to advance along the coast, though they were bombed by French warplanes along the way. In August, they were repelled outside of Homs, and were ordered to stop until reinforcements from India and German African colonies could arrive. Back in Europe, British bombers raided the French city of Caen on July 30. Little was accomplished by the raid and many British pilots lost their lives, but it certainly had an effect on French morale. It was the first time that France had been on the receiving end of an air raid since 1936.
(British troops in North Africa)
The French Navy was, as Hoover wrote in his memoirs, “A mortally wounded beast that was nonetheless still able to bite.” In August the British lost five cruisers in an attempt to sink a French battleship off the Coast of Egypt. Two Portuguese ships, ostensibly carrying wine but mostly loaded with ammunition set sail from Lisbon with Swansea as its destination. They were both sunk by French submarines on September 2 (France had learned the power of submarines from the Great War). In a conversion with Prime Minister Halifax in October 1938, British MP Winston Churchill lamented that the French Navy was still strong enough to prevent any sort of invasion of Northern France. That was the only easy way to knock France out of the war.
Among the leaders of the major nations of the Grand Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary Britain, and the United States) there was disagreement about what to do next. German Commanders Erwin Rommel and Gerd von Rundstedt, along with Austro-Hungarian Field Marshall Géza Lakatos, argued for British troops to come to the German front through Denmark while the Americans and British Colonial troops enter through Austria-Hungary after the Mediterranean was mostly cleared of French ships. Eisenhower was open to the idea, but Patton and MacArthur rejected America’s role in the plan. Patton and British Commander Harold Alexander continued to push for the Portugal strategy, arguing that Spain would quickly collapse. Others suggested an invasion into Southern France. Soon enough, actions by the enemy would make clear what path to take.
Nice update on the war. I feel we're near a tipping point for it, and I can't wait to see how it plays out.
I agree with a combination of strategies. Patton leads an assault through Spain while the British fight on the German front.
Coming soon (the next chapter), a language that hasn't been featured on this TL yet. I've been on Duolingo trying to brush up on it.
I'll give some hints:
-It is the official language of a very large country (though the country that is prominent in the next chapter is much smaller).
-If you went to high school and college in a rural area of the United States (like me), it is highly unlikely that you'll ever have the chance to learn it.
-It does, however, have some shared vocabulary with a language that is much more common in the US.
-The next chapter isn't really about the language itself, it just has a few words in the language.
I won't confirm or deny
. I've used Spanish, German, French, Chinese, and Russian. And I wanted to use this language at least once in the TL and now I have the perfect opportunity!
Chapter LXIV, Os Defensores da Liberdade
After the fall of Timbuktu in May 1938, France was fully committed to its Continental strategy. But Adolphe Cartier had some concerns about creating the impregnable fortress of Western Europe. In his mind, everything was going to work exactly according to plan. That is, unless the allies find enter the fortress through an open door. And the “open doors” Cartier was concerned about were the neutral nations which bordered France and Spain. He became even more worried about this in June when French intelligence reported that American soldiers were going to invade Spain through Portugal (French intelligence was unaware that invasion through Portugal was just a suggestion at this point). France was going to launch a preemptive strike.
-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.
Spain and Portugal had been on bad terms with each other since the Great War. After the war, Portugal had given aid to the anti-Communists. Spanish dissidents fled to Portugal in large numbers and young Spanish men escaped over the border to dodge the draft once war broke out. Spanish President Alejandro Lerroux considered an invasion Portugal back in 1936, but Cartier strongly urged him not to, out of fear that Britain would intervene. With Britain already in the war, that argument no longer held any sway. By July, the decision to invade Portugal had already been made. The invasion would begin in September when French troops from Africa were scheduled to arrive in Southern Spain.
(Though French troops helped, the majority of the soldiers who invaded Portugal were Spanish)
On September 8, French and Spanish bombers flew over major Portuguese naval bases and bombed the ships docked there. Armies attacked from multiple points on the border. The main attacks were the Spanish from the North and the Franco-Spanish combined force from the East. Faro fell on the 13th, Braga on the 15th, and Porto on the 18th. The Portuguese Army made two final attempts at Alcácer do Sal and Setubal to stop the French and Spanish before they made it to Lisbon. They were routed within less than 24 hours. On the 29th, Lisbon was under siege. The defenders of Lisbon did everything they could, killing two attackers for every one defender lost. But on October 9, the city fell and the government fled. Over the next few days, Spanish troops executed over 15,000 Spanish dissidents and draft-dodgers.
But Portugal did not surrender. It was determined to continue the fight from Macau, from Africa, from Goa, and from the Azores. Portuguese soldiers in the mainland refused to lay down their arms and began guerilla warfare. Weapons were distributed to Portuguese civilians in the countryside who wished to resist. Some of the Spanish draft dodgers who were not discovered proved that they were not cowards by fighting alongside their Portuguese friends. While history remembers the Portuguese resistance, there were also collaborators. The Spanish and French found people to run local governments. These people were selected for ideological reasons, and usually had few qualifications. The new mayor of Alcobaça was a prisoner (convicted of rape) who was released and given the job of Mayor after claiming he was a member of the Portuguese Communist Party. He declared the police who arrested him and the judge who sentenced him “counter-revolutionaries” and had them publically executed.
(The Portuguese Army would fight to the end)
The puppet government in Portugal was run by fanatics. Fúlvio Gaspar was the most fanatical of the lot. He organized a group of like-minded radicals dressed in red called the Vanguarda Vermelha (red vanguard). They set monthly quotas for executions of “enemies of the people.” They also destroyed churches, monasteries, and cathedrals. The Vanguarda Vermelha would fill churches and other buildings full of people and then burn them. They went into the Portuguese countryside and used flamethrowers on the houses of those suspected of supporting the resistance. They committed acts of cruelty that even the Spanish soldiers, who had been indoctrinated to hate Portugal among many other nations their entire lives, were horrified by. In late November, 60 members of the VV accompanied Spanish troops on a mission to pacify the Trás-os-Montes region in the Northeast. The Spanish clashed with local resistance in a small town. The resisters were defeated; dozens were killed while others were taken prisoner. The VV was then given the task of interrogating the townsfolk (as they knew Portuguese).
No one in the town admitted to aiding the resistance. The VV changed tactics, killing people until someone spoke. Soon, an elderly man came forward and said he had helped the resistance. After he was tortured for information it was clear that he had no connection to the resistance at all. The leader of the VV group then determined that it was a waste of time to try getting any further information. An anonymous Spanish soldier describes what happened next. “After the Vanguards stole food from the townspeople and ate dinner, they brought everyone up to the biggest house in the town. They gave a young man a knife and told him that they would spare his life if he killed someone he knew and joined the Vanguards. He refused and was shot. The Vanguards then began killing everyone. Some ran into the woods but they were chased down and murdered. This lasted until sunset. But the terror did not end. Vanguards armed with flamethrowers burned houses and then I heard the screams of those who thought they were safely hidden. The scenes of people covered in red walking around fire and death was like a vision into hell.”
When Cartier heard about Fúlvio Gaspar and the VV, he was impressed. He proclaimed that “Gaspar is the Portuguese Robespierre.” In 1939, Gaspar would even travel to Paris to receive a medal for his actions. Cartier created the “Order of Robespierre” just for Gaspar. But the rest of the world saw things very differently. In 1939, the world would become aware of what was going on in Portugal. But even in 1938, most people in the neutral countries were aghast that France and Spain would invade a neutral nation. Brazil declared war on Spain, France, and Argentina on September 10th. Abyssinia, Vietnam, and China (Beijing government) joined Brazil later in the month. Emperor Mergen told Portuguese King Manuel II that “I can’t contribute much, but I promise that China will do as much as it can to see this threat to world peace eliminated.”
In the United States, House Minority leader Al Smith introduced a motion praising the Portuguese resistance, calling them the “Defenders of Liberty.” It passed with only the Communists voting no. The invasion of Portugal meant that the United States was now committed to fighting in that country. A planned invasion of Argentina was to be redirected for this amphibious assault as well. Before, the plan advocated by some generals involved the cooperation of the Portuguese government. Now, it would involve the liberation of Portugal before moving into Spain. But the troops for an invasion would not be ready until next year. In the meantime, France would advance in Central Europe while retreating in North Africa.
-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.
Spain and Portugal had been on bad terms with each other since the Great War. After the war, Portugal had given aid to the anti-Communists. Spanish dissidents fled to Portugal in large numbers and young Spanish men escaped over the border to dodge the draft once war broke out. Spanish President Alejandro Lerroux considered an invasion Portugal back in 1936, but Cartier strongly urged him not to, out of fear that Britain would intervene. With Britain already in the war, that argument no longer held any sway. By July, the decision to invade Portugal had already been made. The invasion would begin in September when French troops from Africa were scheduled to arrive in Southern Spain.
(Though French troops helped, the majority of the soldiers who invaded Portugal were Spanish)
On September 8, French and Spanish bombers flew over major Portuguese naval bases and bombed the ships docked there. Armies attacked from multiple points on the border. The main attacks were the Spanish from the North and the Franco-Spanish combined force from the East. Faro fell on the 13th, Braga on the 15th, and Porto on the 18th. The Portuguese Army made two final attempts at Alcácer do Sal and Setubal to stop the French and Spanish before they made it to Lisbon. They were routed within less than 24 hours. On the 29th, Lisbon was under siege. The defenders of Lisbon did everything they could, killing two attackers for every one defender lost. But on October 9, the city fell and the government fled. Over the next few days, Spanish troops executed over 15,000 Spanish dissidents and draft-dodgers.
But Portugal did not surrender. It was determined to continue the fight from Macau, from Africa, from Goa, and from the Azores. Portuguese soldiers in the mainland refused to lay down their arms and began guerilla warfare. Weapons were distributed to Portuguese civilians in the countryside who wished to resist. Some of the Spanish draft dodgers who were not discovered proved that they were not cowards by fighting alongside their Portuguese friends. While history remembers the Portuguese resistance, there were also collaborators. The Spanish and French found people to run local governments. These people were selected for ideological reasons, and usually had few qualifications. The new mayor of Alcobaça was a prisoner (convicted of rape) who was released and given the job of Mayor after claiming he was a member of the Portuguese Communist Party. He declared the police who arrested him and the judge who sentenced him “counter-revolutionaries” and had them publically executed.
(The Portuguese Army would fight to the end)
The puppet government in Portugal was run by fanatics. Fúlvio Gaspar was the most fanatical of the lot. He organized a group of like-minded radicals dressed in red called the Vanguarda Vermelha (red vanguard). They set monthly quotas for executions of “enemies of the people.” They also destroyed churches, monasteries, and cathedrals. The Vanguarda Vermelha would fill churches and other buildings full of people and then burn them. They went into the Portuguese countryside and used flamethrowers on the houses of those suspected of supporting the resistance. They committed acts of cruelty that even the Spanish soldiers, who had been indoctrinated to hate Portugal among many other nations their entire lives, were horrified by. In late November, 60 members of the VV accompanied Spanish troops on a mission to pacify the Trás-os-Montes region in the Northeast. The Spanish clashed with local resistance in a small town. The resisters were defeated; dozens were killed while others were taken prisoner. The VV was then given the task of interrogating the townsfolk (as they knew Portuguese).
No one in the town admitted to aiding the resistance. The VV changed tactics, killing people until someone spoke. Soon, an elderly man came forward and said he had helped the resistance. After he was tortured for information it was clear that he had no connection to the resistance at all. The leader of the VV group then determined that it was a waste of time to try getting any further information. An anonymous Spanish soldier describes what happened next. “After the Vanguards stole food from the townspeople and ate dinner, they brought everyone up to the biggest house in the town. They gave a young man a knife and told him that they would spare his life if he killed someone he knew and joined the Vanguards. He refused and was shot. The Vanguards then began killing everyone. Some ran into the woods but they were chased down and murdered. This lasted until sunset. But the terror did not end. Vanguards armed with flamethrowers burned houses and then I heard the screams of those who thought they were safely hidden. The scenes of people covered in red walking around fire and death was like a vision into hell.”
When Cartier heard about Fúlvio Gaspar and the VV, he was impressed. He proclaimed that “Gaspar is the Portuguese Robespierre.” In 1939, Gaspar would even travel to Paris to receive a medal for his actions. Cartier created the “Order of Robespierre” just for Gaspar. But the rest of the world saw things very differently. In 1939, the world would become aware of what was going on in Portugal. But even in 1938, most people in the neutral countries were aghast that France and Spain would invade a neutral nation. Brazil declared war on Spain, France, and Argentina on September 10th. Abyssinia, Vietnam, and China (Beijing government) joined Brazil later in the month. Emperor Mergen told Portuguese King Manuel II that “I can’t contribute much, but I promise that China will do as much as it can to see this threat to world peace eliminated.”
In the United States, House Minority leader Al Smith introduced a motion praising the Portuguese resistance, calling them the “Defenders of Liberty.” It passed with only the Communists voting no. The invasion of Portugal meant that the United States was now committed to fighting in that country. A planned invasion of Argentina was to be redirected for this amphibious assault as well. Before, the plan advocated by some generals involved the cooperation of the Portuguese government. Now, it would involve the liberation of Portugal before moving into Spain. But the troops for an invasion would not be ready until next year. In the meantime, France would advance in Central Europe while retreating in North Africa.
Well, this can't possibly backfire on the French.
I can't imagine the American Communist party will find itself doing well after the war, either.
I can't imagine the American Communist party will find itself doing well after the war, either.
In two more chapters, you'll get to see how they perform in the 1938 midterms.
Agreed. That's definitely going to bite them on the ass pretty soon.
All that's left at this point for the communists to do is create death camps and they'd complete the evil triad. Germany would be completely justified in Annexing all of Lorraine
Chapter LXV, Push to the East
In addition to the invasion of Portugal, France had recently trained over one million soldiers for a new offensive against Germany. The objective was to damage Germany as much as possible. France also hoped that by weakening Germany even further, Russia would join the war. And September was the perfect time. Minor rebellions had broken out in Poland as well as the Polish and Czech regions of Austria-Hungary and Germany. And while British troops had arrived in Germany already, they were still few in number. There would be no better time to strike. And thus on September 11, 1938 French, Belgian, and Spanish soldiers would advance in their biggest offensive of the war.
(French soldiers preparing for the 1938 offensive)
On the 12th, German defenses at Bonn were overrun by a horde of men and vehicles. Further South, Koblenz fell on the 14th. France had now crossed the Rhine in the North. Soon, Cologne was surrounded. Cologne was more heavily fortified, but it too fell on the 22nd. Meanwhile, France was advancing into Westfalen and Hessen-Nassau. German Commanders Rommel and von Rundstedt were at a loss as to how France was gaining ground so quickly. They couldn’t figure out how they were deploying so many troops. French forces in Southern Germany were reduced, but that couldn’t explain all of it. In reality, France and its allies had already begun increasing the maximum and decreasing the minimum age for conscription well before the spring of 1939, contrary to popular belief.
-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.
The German forces that remained west of the Rhine were systematically destroyed over the next four weeks. East of the Rhine, Germany tried to regroup at Wetzlar, but was pushed back once again on the 30th. The same French soldiers went south and captured Frankfurt on October 13. French and pro-French Belgian forces captured Essen, Dortmund, and Muenster. In late October, the front line began to stabilize. Germany held firm at Münster and Darmstadt, and the French offensive ran out of steam. French troops then dug in and focused on making the ground they conquered as difficult for Germany to win back as possible. French Commander Henri Giraud summed up the view among French military leadership at the time that the war could be won if France held its position in Germany. France from this point forward would let their enemies throw men at their fortified positions until they gave up. Time would tell if that strategy would work.
(German soldiers eventually stopped the French advance)
As France was winning in Germany, it was losing in North Africa. In October, American, ANZAC, and Indian troops, along with German African soldiers under the command of Lettow-Vorbeck, went on the offensive in Libya. On the 15th, Homs fell. French forces retreated all the way to Tunis. They were ordered to defend Tunis for as long as possible. France had written off North Africa already and was trying to transfer as many of its troops (as well as many of its civilians) as it could to Europe. But over 200,000 still remained in North Africa, compared to half a million opposing them in the region. The US Navy and the Royal Navy had now entered the Mediterranean, attempting to cut off the French North African Army from escape.
The allies rolled over the French at Tunis on November 5. By this point, the majority of those still in Africa were the sick or the wounded. A few days later, the British and their allies advanced into Algeria. Morocco declared war on the 8th and invaded Algeria from the other side. The token French garrisons that remained surrendered without a fight with a few exceptions. They felt like they were being abandoned by their own government and did not want to needlessly throw their lives away. Algiers put up a fight for the better part of a day, and then surrendered. By the end of the month, the French presence in Africa was limited to Djibouti (under attack from Abyssinia) and Gabon (under attack from Germany and Royal Spain.
Britain stepped up its bombing campaign in Northern France. France retaliated by bombing London. Cartier hoped that by relentless bombing the British will lose the will to fight, especially considering that they were fighting to defend their former enemy. Though France was stronger than Britain in the air, man of France’s pilots were in Germany or Spain. By late 1938 the French only had a slight advantage on the air. And now American bombers were being transported to Southern England. They would be able to participate in the bombing of France by January. It was fully expected that their sheer numbers would flip the balance of power in the skies. Nevertheless, Cartier was still fully confident in his ability to gain victory.
French agents in Moscow tried to stir up anti-German sentiment, hoping to get the country into the war. If Russia entered the war, there would be little stopping it from defeating Germany and its allies. Germany was already doing poorly against France, its industry was devastated by French bombs and many of its soldiers were still using equipment from 20 years ago. Its air force was barely capable of doing anything, leaving its troops vulnerable to French attacks. And many Russians wanted revenge for what happened in the Great War; the creation of German and Austro-Hungarian puppet states from Russian territory. The most prominent pro-war figure was Joseph Stalin, former Communist and Pan-Slavic Nationalist. Many Russians were involved in smuggling weapons to Slavic groups opposed to Germany and Austria-Hungary and some even joined anti-government cells in Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine.
Though Russia had many opportunities to join the war, the government had opted to remain neutral. Tsar Nicholas II, after being mostly quiet for the last 15 years, condemned the hawks in the Russian Duma. The ruling Liberal Party opposed war with Germany as well as the Popular Alliance (a party popular among rural and Eastern voters). The Nationalist Party called for war, but they were a minority in government. Opponents of war pointed out that France and its allies were harboring the people responsible for the Russian Civil War, like Trotsky in Argentina. The invasion of Portugal and scattered reports of French and Spanish atrocities also weakened the pro-war movement. Stalin and others claimed that the atrocities were fabrications. The Russian Orthodox Church opposed war against Germany as it meant Russia would make common cause with Communists. Ultimately, Russia would not declare war on Germany, and when what the Red Vanguard was doing in Portugal was confirmed without a shadow of doubt in 1939, support for France in Russia became a position that was almost as fringe as it was in the United States.
(French soldiers preparing for the 1938 offensive)
On the 12th, German defenses at Bonn were overrun by a horde of men and vehicles. Further South, Koblenz fell on the 14th. France had now crossed the Rhine in the North. Soon, Cologne was surrounded. Cologne was more heavily fortified, but it too fell on the 22nd. Meanwhile, France was advancing into Westfalen and Hessen-Nassau. German Commanders Rommel and von Rundstedt were at a loss as to how France was gaining ground so quickly. They couldn’t figure out how they were deploying so many troops. French forces in Southern Germany were reduced, but that couldn’t explain all of it. In reality, France and its allies had already begun increasing the maximum and decreasing the minimum age for conscription well before the spring of 1939, contrary to popular belief.
-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.
The German forces that remained west of the Rhine were systematically destroyed over the next four weeks. East of the Rhine, Germany tried to regroup at Wetzlar, but was pushed back once again on the 30th. The same French soldiers went south and captured Frankfurt on October 13. French and pro-French Belgian forces captured Essen, Dortmund, and Muenster. In late October, the front line began to stabilize. Germany held firm at Münster and Darmstadt, and the French offensive ran out of steam. French troops then dug in and focused on making the ground they conquered as difficult for Germany to win back as possible. French Commander Henri Giraud summed up the view among French military leadership at the time that the war could be won if France held its position in Germany. France from this point forward would let their enemies throw men at their fortified positions until they gave up. Time would tell if that strategy would work.
(German soldiers eventually stopped the French advance)
As France was winning in Germany, it was losing in North Africa. In October, American, ANZAC, and Indian troops, along with German African soldiers under the command of Lettow-Vorbeck, went on the offensive in Libya. On the 15th, Homs fell. French forces retreated all the way to Tunis. They were ordered to defend Tunis for as long as possible. France had written off North Africa already and was trying to transfer as many of its troops (as well as many of its civilians) as it could to Europe. But over 200,000 still remained in North Africa, compared to half a million opposing them in the region. The US Navy and the Royal Navy had now entered the Mediterranean, attempting to cut off the French North African Army from escape.
The allies rolled over the French at Tunis on November 5. By this point, the majority of those still in Africa were the sick or the wounded. A few days later, the British and their allies advanced into Algeria. Morocco declared war on the 8th and invaded Algeria from the other side. The token French garrisons that remained surrendered without a fight with a few exceptions. They felt like they were being abandoned by their own government and did not want to needlessly throw their lives away. Algiers put up a fight for the better part of a day, and then surrendered. By the end of the month, the French presence in Africa was limited to Djibouti (under attack from Abyssinia) and Gabon (under attack from Germany and Royal Spain.
Britain stepped up its bombing campaign in Northern France. France retaliated by bombing London. Cartier hoped that by relentless bombing the British will lose the will to fight, especially considering that they were fighting to defend their former enemy. Though France was stronger than Britain in the air, man of France’s pilots were in Germany or Spain. By late 1938 the French only had a slight advantage on the air. And now American bombers were being transported to Southern England. They would be able to participate in the bombing of France by January. It was fully expected that their sheer numbers would flip the balance of power in the skies. Nevertheless, Cartier was still fully confident in his ability to gain victory.
French agents in Moscow tried to stir up anti-German sentiment, hoping to get the country into the war. If Russia entered the war, there would be little stopping it from defeating Germany and its allies. Germany was already doing poorly against France, its industry was devastated by French bombs and many of its soldiers were still using equipment from 20 years ago. Its air force was barely capable of doing anything, leaving its troops vulnerable to French attacks. And many Russians wanted revenge for what happened in the Great War; the creation of German and Austro-Hungarian puppet states from Russian territory. The most prominent pro-war figure was Joseph Stalin, former Communist and Pan-Slavic Nationalist. Many Russians were involved in smuggling weapons to Slavic groups opposed to Germany and Austria-Hungary and some even joined anti-government cells in Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine.
Though Russia had many opportunities to join the war, the government had opted to remain neutral. Tsar Nicholas II, after being mostly quiet for the last 15 years, condemned the hawks in the Russian Duma. The ruling Liberal Party opposed war with Germany as well as the Popular Alliance (a party popular among rural and Eastern voters). The Nationalist Party called for war, but they were a minority in government. Opponents of war pointed out that France and its allies were harboring the people responsible for the Russian Civil War, like Trotsky in Argentina. The invasion of Portugal and scattered reports of French and Spanish atrocities also weakened the pro-war movement. Stalin and others claimed that the atrocities were fabrications. The Russian Orthodox Church opposed war against Germany as it meant Russia would make common cause with Communists. Ultimately, Russia would not declare war on Germany, and when what the Red Vanguard was doing in Portugal was confirmed without a shadow of doubt in 1939, support for France in Russia became a position that was almost as fringe as it was in the United States.
Well, France is fucked - even if they are doing well in Germany. The Germans need to make their military better.