keep Kaiser Germany’s allies, namely the Americans, occupied. The National Socialists had little
sympathy there, but the Confederates embraced much of its nationalistic and racial beliefs. In 1928,
several National Socialists infiltrated Confederate political circles and started the Confederate Bund,
officially intended for German immigrants to the country.
However, the rhetoric of revenge against the Yankees and returning the Confederacy to its
glory days rang too loud, and seldom in any language but English. The Confederate Bund was
nothing more than the North American wing of the National Socialist party. The Confederate Bund’s
rise to power far outstripped the NSDAP, and by 1934, the Confederate Bund not only dominated
the Confederate congress, but also the Presidency of the Confederate States in the form of Anthony
Bedford.
The Bund moved fast to consolidate its power. With a written constitution, the only way it
could keep its hold was through amendments, that must be ratified by the states. The first such
amendment was to repeal manumission. The Manumission Amendment became law in the 1890s
and was designed to abolish slavery by massive compensation to the land-owning aristocracy. By
repealing this amendment, the Bund reopened the institution of slavery. The tenant farmers and field
hands were instantly the legal property of their employer, and millions of Africans in the
Confederacy were soon forced back into slavery.
An amendment eliminating the one-term for President failed, and with the invasion of Poland
on its way, Fuhrer Germany could ill afford to loose the Bund’s grip on Confederate power. Using
both Confederate and German arms, the Bund in effect launched a coup against its self. Martial law
was declared and voting postponed until ‘the crisis passed’. The crisis in question naturally being
a slaver uprising in Georgia. Such a power play was dangerous, for the Confederate armed forces
swore their allegiance to the constitution, not any party or man.
However, in 1939, the Confederate Army and Navy were too busy planning the invasion of
the United States. Bedford was a bit of a megalomaniac, and had dreams of a Greater Confederate
States, including all the land lost during the Great War, along with tradition southern states such as
Missouri, Maryland and Delaware. Confederate Admirals and Generals were appalled by the idea
of waging war with a nation several times more powerful than them and openly opposed the plan.
Only one general, George Patton, had confidence it could be done, but only if they could knock the
Union out of the fight within six months. Afterwards, the United States would be fully geared for
war and unstoppable.
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]Invasion of Poland[/FONT]
On September 1, 1939, Fuhrer Germany launched its invasion of the Republic of Poland-
Lithuania. Its pretext, and they did indeed invent one, was that Polish artillery fired upon German
positions inside Germany. It is entirely possible that the Poles did fire, but not likely until after
German soldiers marched across the frontier. Word of the invasion spread fast in the world of
wireless transmissions, and being a member of the Entente7, the two remaining members, Britain and
France, were immediately asked upon for assistance.
Britain declared war on September 3, along with its own miniature Commonwealth. France
took longer, not declaring war until September 5. Despite Hitler’s continuous saber rattling
concerning Poland-Lithuania, neither Britain nor France were prepared for war. British ships sortied
from Scapa Flow, but the carrier HMS [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Eagle [/FONT]and HMS [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Hermes [/FONT]could not enter the Baltic Sea until
after negotiations with the United Provinces.
The Dutch Commonwealth declared itself neutral in this war as it had with the last. They
permitted free access to and from the Baltic, provided Dutch ships were not harassed. Queen Juliana
and virtually every member of the Staaten-General knew that with its three neighbors at war, it was
only a matter of time before Dutch neutrality was violated and the Commonwealth would be drawn
into another war. Two Commonwealth divisions were pulled from Brazil, adding another forty-three
thousand men in the defense of the Provinces. Further entrenchment and improving old fortifications
were implemented, with a higher percentage of defense spending in the 1940 budget.
When Warsaw fell after three weeks, an emergency session of the Commonwealth Assembly
was called. Generals wanted to know just how the Germans managed to overrun the Poles so swiftly.
When the Germans forced a treaty upon the Poles that partitioned Poland-Lithuania, it was
speculated that perhaps Sweden would ally itself with the Fuhrer. The Axis Pact was always a
concern in the United Provinces; hardly any organization Spain was a part of escaped their notice.
The Berlin-Madrid axis, along with the Japanese Empire and the Confederate States were
problematic enough, but to add the sheer mass of Sweden behind it, and they might very well
overwhelm the world.8
The delegates from Brazil proposed increasing the garrisons in the United Provinces, to
defend against invasion. Queen Juliana was opposed to such measures, and not just because of the
financial strain it would put on the Provinces. Germany had never been an enemy of the Dutch. They
allied with Prussia in various wars against France, and the Provinces were once part of the Holy
Roman Empire, an essentially German institution. As a result, the bulk of the defenses were built
along the border with France.
Juliana did consent, however, that the Commonwealth fleet based out of Oslo and Rotterdam
should actively patrol the North Sea. If for no other reason than to not be caught in port because of
attack. To this, Juliana reminded her delegates yet again that Germany is not their enemy. Still, there
was prudence in keeping the fleet a mobile and thus harder to hit target of ‘enemy’ aircraft. Unlike
many other navies, which viewed aircraft as a mere scouting tool, the Commonwealth Navy built
itself several aircraft carriers, to escort the big guns.
In November, the emergency session of the Commonwealth Assembly came to an end with
little fruition. Little did Juliana know that her decision to allow the fleet to patrol indeed saved the
Commonwealth Navy from utter destruction. War was in the air, but not on the minds of
Netherlanders. Christmas was near, and families would be gathering. It was a time of celebration,
and to give thanks for peace and prosperity. What the Dutch people did not realize was this would
be the last they would see of peace and liberty for five long years.
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]Operation Arctic Thunder[/FONT]
With the exception of the British attempting to fight their way through the Denmark Straits,
the Germans launched no immediate attack after their conquest and partition of Poland-Lithuania,
not even as much as a single aircraft raid. For the time being, it was believed that Hitler only wanted
Poland and nothing further, though in his own political auto-biography, he ranted excessively about
destroying Slavo-Communism. Again, the leaders of the Entente failed to take Fuhrer Germany
serious.
The Silent War ended on April 1, 1940, with German bombers pounding Norwegian cities
from Oslo to Bergen, followed by an airborne assault against Oslo. This attack startled both France
and Britain, as they did not then comprehend the reason for attacking the United Provinces of
Norway. In later years, during the war with Sweden, the Germans would use bases in Norway to cut
off the Swedes from trade.
Following the invasion, an emergency session of the Commonwealth Assembly was called,
though would be delayed by a day due to the time it would take Brazilian delegates to fly via airship
to Amsterdam. Queen Juliana immediately ordered the fleet in the North Sea to move on Norway,
to first stop any further invasion, and secondly to destroy the paratroopers occupying Oslo.
Commonwealth ships in the North Sea came under immediate fire by U-boats, with the loss of one
cruiser (traveling alone) and several other ships were damage.
Before the Commonwealth could officially declare war, some fifteen German divisions
crossed the frontier. First to fall was the town of Oldenzaal, closest to the German border. The city
put up no resistance and panzers simply rolled through the town continuing onward into Drenthe.
The Lord of Drenthe ordered the Provincial militia to take to the field immediately. Only minutes
after the first German soldier crossed the frontier, hundreds of airplanes hit serval Dutch cities, from
Rotterdam to Luxembourg.
The worst hit city was that of Liege. The attack was such a surprise, that bombs were falling
before either the Regent or Bishop of Liege knew the Germans crossed the border. However, the
Regent did deploy some air defenses after hearing about the attacks across Norway. The meager airdefense
battalion did little against German bombers. After the wave flew over, much of the city was
burning, and the ancient cathedral, the same place where coronations of Kings (and Queen) took
place.
By April 5, German forces entered Maastricht, sweeping aside the Provincial garrison, and
by nightfall the same day, a second prong of the invasion took the ruins of Liege with little difficulty.
When attempting to advance on Amsterdam on the 6th, the Hollanders breached several levies and
dikes, flooding the fields and seriously impeding German advances. This did not stop a northern
flanking maneuver from Drenthe, taking Harlingen and nearly cutting Amsterdam off from the North
Sea.
On April 7, four days after the invasion of the low countries began, Germans surrounded
Amsterdam with one thrust from the north, and another two divisions quickly bypassing the flooded
fields. The Hague fell on the night of April 7, completely encircling Amsterdam, which surrendered
the next day. Within five days, the northern Province fell into the control of Fuhrer Germany. As
soon as the Hague fell and Amsterdam surrendered, the Germans pursued escaping Dutch officials
to Middleberg in Zeeland.
It was here that the House of Oranje boarded the battleship DCS [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Prinz van Oranje[/FONT], bound
to Recife. It was a repeat of the Napoleonic War, where the Dutch royal family again were forced
into exile. German generals were under orders to capture the Dutch queen and head of the
Commonwealth, and this pursuit delayed actions in the southern Provinces. At 0100, on April 8,
1940, the [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Prinz van Oranje [/FONT]left port, escorted by three cruisers and eight destroyers and the (light)
aircraft carrier [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Rotterdam[/FONT].
When the Kaiser fled Germany in 1934, most of the High Seas Fleet went with him, leaving
Fuhrer Germany to rebuild its navy. The Fuhrer had no carriers, one battleship and three
battlecruisers, along with ten cruisers, and dozens of submarines. Only two U-Boats were in place
to intercept the royal entourage, both sunk quickly by leading destroyers. The greatest threat to
Juliana’s safety came from the air.
JC-13s from the [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Rotterdam [/FONT]fought off many of the German aircraft, but the light carrier could
only field twenty fighters. The Luftwaffe came after them with over a hundred aircraft, though many
were level bombers. And those missed the target. Dive-bombers faired worse, for they were viewed
as the greatest threats. Dutch fighters downed many of them, but not without the loss of a cruiser,
the DCS [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Maas[/FONT].
A few of the German bombers flew low, equipped with torpedoes. Two torpedoes sunk a
destroyer, and three more were dead on for the [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Prinz van Oranje[/FONT]. One torpedo hit the ship at the
bow, but proved to be a dud. A second missed, but the third proved to be quite live. The third
torpedo was intercepted by the destroyer [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Trident[/FONT], which passed in front of the torpedo, taking the hit
for the Queen. The ship was struck amidship, split in half and sank quickly. Only seven survivors
made it to British shore.
While the royal family made its escape, fighting continued in the southern Provinces.
Luxembourg was overwhelmed on April 5. Namur fell on April 7, and those German divisions
linked with the force out of Luxembourg, and continued into France along with several divisions that
entered the Duchy of Luxembourg after the city fell. All of the United Provinces were under German
control by April 10, with the exception of Brussels.
Commonwealth and German forces fought fiercely around the city. No matter the valor of
the Commonwealth soldiers, the Germans were slowly pushing them back into the besieged city.
Germans spared little in the way of artillery and aircraft to neutralize Brussels; the bulk of their
forces storming through France. The people of Brussels suffered greatly during the siege and latter
during occupation. During the siege, every able-bodied Netherlander in the city pitched in to help
in the defense, from building breastworks to cooking for the soldiers. No matter its defiance,
Brussels fell seventeen days after the invasion started, on April 22.
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]The Other Ocean[/FONT]
A month after the Germans launched their assault against the United Provinces, the resourcestarved
Japanese moved against Indonesia. In order to secure a supply line to the oil rich islands, they
first landed soldiers on Formosa and Hainan. With millions of soldiers already based in China, the
Japanese had a nearly inexhaustible invasion force after they won control of the Strait of Taiwan.
The bulk of the Commonwealth Pacific fleet was based around Java, and the few ships in Formosa
were sunk or disabled while still in port.
Commonwealth forces only numbered some five divisions on the island, far more than the
initial invasion. However, with control of the seas and air, the Japanese continued to funnel
reinforcements and resupplies. Formosa held out far longer than the United Provinces, Taipei, the
final holdout, surrendering on September 8. Hainan faired worse, surrendering after three weeks of
heavy fighting. On both islands, the Japanese attempted to present themselves as liberators.
But liberators to what? Japan said ‘Asia for the Asians’, but the Chinese on both islands long
since considered themselves Dutch. They spoke the Dutch language, adopted Dutch personal names,
and knew nothing but Dutch liberty for centuries. For being liberators, the Japanese were quick to
suppress any dissent on the island. When the Formosans attempted to protest Japanese policy on food
rationing, the crowds were met not with reassurances but the rattle of machine guns.
The Japanese Navy and Army were very divided, so much so that it was a wonder they
advanced as far and as fast as they did. With the Army gaining much glory, the Navy set out to best
them. The Japanese Navy sought out and found the Commonwealth fleet in the Java Sea. In what
would be the first case of naval warfare without ships actually seeing each other, Japanese carriers
launched an attack against the Commonwealth.
Under the command of Admiral Karl
Doorman, the Commonwealth had only one
carrier, and it was stocked with mostly fighters.
Fighters that happened to be obsolete compared
to the legendary ‘Zero’, and were easily swept out
of the skies by veterans of three years worth of
war with China. Even with the fighter cover
effectively destroyed, the Japanese bombers first
targeted the fleet’s lone carrier, the DCS [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Delft[/FONT]. It
is unknown whether or not the Japanese knew the
significance of the carrier’s name, and by sinking
it that they committed a grievous insult to the House of Oranje. If they did, it is doubtful they even
cared.
With their air cover destroyed along with a carrier and a destroyer, the Commonwealth fleet
moved closer to Java, in hopes of air cover from the island. The air fields were the first targets of the
Japanese air forces. Many of the fighters were destroyed on the ground, leaving the island vulnerable.
The only thing Doorman managed to accomplish was to back his fleet against a wall. They might
not maneuver against a surface fleet, but the Japanese did not intend to slug it out with guns.
Instead the fleet was destroyed by two more air attacks. Admiral Doorman went down with
his flagship, the battleship DCS [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]William IV[/FONT]. Only after both navy and air forces were destroyed on
March 16, 1941, did the Japanese begin to land soldiers on the island. The island’s defenses and
morale were both eliminated in two weeks, with the garrison surrendering on April 1, 1941, one year
after the Commonwealth was plunged into war.
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]The Bermuda Conference[/FONT]
On September 15, 1940, American, Commonwealth and Kaiser German diplomats met on
Bermuda to discuss the course of action during the war. An alliance between the three was signed,
‘for the duration of hostilities’. Since Spanish captured Cape Verde, the Dutch lost any hold in the
eastern Atlantic. There was great concern that the Fuhrer Germans could use airfields on the island
to bomb targets in Brazil.
Brazil’s industrial capacity was several times that of the United Provinces. Loss of the mother
country hit morale, but destruction in Brazil might cost the Commonwealth the war. The Dutch
wished to make taking back those islands the top priority, for it would also allow a blockade of the
North Atlantic. The Commonwealth planned further invasions of the Azores and Canaries. For
defeating Spain, the Commonwealth would need assistance from the Americans, whose only
industrial output exceeded any one Commonwealth member (but not the Commonwealth as a
whole).
The Kaiser wished to win his nation
back, but to do that, they would need the
assistance of Britain, if for no other reason than
as a base to invade Europe. To reach Britain,
they would have to push the Spanish out of the
Atlantic. Both the Dutch and Americans agreed
that Spain would have to be completely knocked
out of the war. With the question of France
hanging in the air, it was known that
Commonwealth and Kaiser forces alone would
not suffice. To win back Europe, they needed
America’s help.
However, America was busy on its own continent, fighting the Fuhrer’s puppets, the
Confederate Bund. Unlike Japan or Spain, Hitler never considered the Confederates true allies. He
knew enough about the Americans to know that after the Great War, they were unchallenged in
North America. Their involvement in Europe would tip the scales against the Axis. In order to keep
them out of the war, the Confederate Bund would cause as much damage to America’s infrastructure
and perhaps prevent them from entering the European war, even after the inevitable United States
victory. What he did not know, was that Congress and the President both decided the only outcome
of the North American war would be full restoration of the Union.
That alone would keep the bulk of American forces busy for the duration. However, the
Commonwealth knew the Americans could not aid against Spain and German until after the
Confederates were defeated. That would be the first point of the Bermuda Conference: 1) the
Confederate States must be defeated first. Next; 2) Spain must be knocked out of the war. Lastly,
Germany would be liberated. The Americans and Kaiser wished for a Germany-First strategy before
moving against the Japanese. However, with so many Commonwealth citizens under Imperial
occupation, the Dutch could not afford this. They would fight both Japan and Germany at the same
time.
The Commonwealth immediately pledged support against the Confederates, only to be rebuffed by
their American allies. Since the goal was restoration, there could be no foreign soldiers on American
soil, north or south. The Dutch did, however, manage to cut off the Confederate invasion force on
Cuba, but respected American wishes and would not land soldiers or sail into the territorial waters.
By the end of 1941, after less than two years, the Americans destroyed the Confederate States, and
began to allocate soldiers for operations against Germany.
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]Battle of the Atlantic[/FONT]
In March of 1942, Commonwealth plans for the North Atlantic were drastically accelerated
by attacks from Cape Verde. The raid consisted of only a handful of German long-range maritime
bombers, and did little damage. However, the Commonwealth Assembly in Recife believed this to
be a trial run. Though little damage occurred, beach side houses were destroyed and one bomb hit
near the VOC Steam shipyard’s dry dock, the fact the bombers could reach Brazil with impunity
might just encourage the Germans to produce more of these four engine bombers. When hundreds
of bombers appear in the skies of Recife, Salvador, Mauricistadt, Natal and Cayenne, then the
Commonwealth Assembly was sure significant damage would occur.
It was with much advisement that Queen Juliana ordered War Plan Lilac, as the operation
to take back Cape Verde was called. Commanding the Commonwealth Atlantic Fleet, much rebuilt
thanks to Brazilian and Ceylonese shipyards, was none other than Admiral Dirk Jan van Natal,
veteran of forty years service in both Commonwealth and Royal (Brazilian) Navies. He was renown
as a submarine captain during the Great War for his daring and subterfuge. His most famous exploit,
one that earned him the Brazilian Medal of Merit and promotion to full Commander was the attack
on the HMS [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Behemoth[/FONT], a British dreadnought. To this date, the submarine [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Kingfisher [/FONT]is the only
submarine known to sink a battleship.
His fleet consisted of two new carriers, the [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Michel de Ruyter [/FONT]and [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Maarten Tromp[/FONT], along with
battleships [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Prinz van Oranje[/FONT], [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]King Maurice I[/FONT], and the [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Duke of Luxembourg[/FONT], eight cruisers, twenty-one
destroyers. The Commonwealth Marines delivered six regiments, numbering some eighteen
thousand men. The Marines were not embarked on typical transports, but rather the armed freighters
of the VOC. Some of these modified transports either held heavy guns, depth charges, and in one out
of every six cases, a flight deck with four fighters. Since the days of its conception, the VOC had a
habit of arming its merchantmen and manning its own private navy.
The VOC had a personal stake in the Atlantic Expedition. After all, it was its shipyards that
were bombed. VOC contracts with the Commonwealth required ships to be delivered before
payment. To loose a shipyard to enemy bombing would severely crunch the company’s bottom line.
Unlike many modern corporation, the VOC was fiercely nationalistic. In times of national crisis, the
company would put the benefit of the Dutch people over its own profit margins. Though the VOC
was known for high quality ships, it could not produce them fast enough to meet demands. Thus the
Commonwealth was force to further contract with shipyards around the world.
In particular, American shipyard prospered after the fall of the Confederates. VOC
shipwrights frowned upon the average quality of American ships. However, they were deeply
impressed at the rate the Americans pumped out cargo ships, much faster than the enemy could ever
hope to sink. As with in the past, when the VOC saw a good idea, foreign or not, it would adopt it
for its own use. America’s production-line ship building was adapted, but with such a proud
maritime tradition, the VOC refused to put numbers above quality. After the war’s end, the VOC’s
ship building department was forced to shut down several yards around the world due to the massive
excess of second-hand freighters.
On April 7, 1942, the Commonwealth fleet launched preliminary air attacks against the
German-built airfields in Cape Verde. In fifteen minutes, all the long-range bombers were destroyed
on the ground, and one of Spain’s two carriers was sent to the bottom of the Atlantic. A second
carrier, the [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]King Philip II[/FONT], was damaged, but remained afloat. With enemy air cover eliminated, a
second air raid was called off in favor of a more traditional approach.
Before landing could occur, Admiral van Natal wanted the Spanish fleet swept aside. Since
its war with America, Spain’s place on the oceans of the world was no longer what it use to be. On
board the [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Prinz van Oranje[/FONT], van Natal lead the fleet into battle. With Commonwealth ships in sight,
the Spanish admiral attempted to scuttle his wounded carrier, with little success. Commonwealth
cruisers fought of their Spanish counterparts, sinking three of the four. The [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Prinz van Oranje [/FONT]pulled
up along side the [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]King Philip II[/FONT]. Marines from the carrier boarded the damaged carrier. It was the
last time a boarding at sea would occur in naval warfare. To this day, the hull of the [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]King Philip II[/FONT]
can be viewed on the grounds of the Commonwealth Naval Academy in Recife, as the largest trophy
ever taken.
Remaining Spanish ships were forced to retreat to the Canary Islands while Commonwealth
ships began to bombard positions in the Cape Verde islands. The Spanish quickly abandoned most
islands, focusing their defense in the port of Bohrstadt. They planned to wait for reinforcements, but
when the Spanish fleet attempted to sortie from the Canaries, Commonwealth carriers launched
attacks, sinking the remaining cruiser, two destroyers and six troop transports and cargo ships. For
all intent purpose, the Spanish Navy ceased to be a factor in the war.
The Fuhrer German Navy refused to send what few surface ships it possessed in defense of
Spanish bases in the Atlantic. Nor could it afford any soldiers to aid in defense; seventy-five percent
of the Fuhrer’s resources poured into the war against Sweden. The rest was required to hold down
the Balkans and western nations under German control. Nor did the National Socialists fully trust
their own soldiers. There was still admiration for the Kaiser, who by law was the head of the German
Empire. Not only where there resistance movements across occupied Europe, but in the heart of
Germany as well. There was a great concern German soldiers, or even whole units might defect.
Less than three days after Cape Verde was fully under Commonwealth control, a joint
Commonwealth-Kaiser German invasion force landed on several of the Azores islands. With the
Azores under control of the Commonwealth, Dutch B-8s and B-9s would be able to strike cities and
bases on the Atlantic coast of Spain. In the Azores, the Spanish Navy was absent from battle, though
several U-boats were in the vicinity of the islands, and took shots at the invasion fleet. On
Commonwealth cruiser suffered damage, but at the cost of four U-boats. German-built radar stations
in the islands warned of the Commonwealth fleet, allowing the submarines to put to sea. It was
hoped by Admiral Baron van Voorst (van Natal still in Cape Verde, organizing an island-hope to the
Canaries) to strike those boats while still in port. The more U-boats that could be sunk in port, the
fewer that would harass Commonwealth, and other Allied and Entente ships later.
Spanish General Morgan de la Sona held out for a week, before his garrison was surrounded
in the highlands. When van Voorst offered terms, de la Sona ordered his artillery to fire one shot
each, for the honor of the Spanish Army, before accepting terms. Before surrender took place,
Spanish guns were packed full of concrete and pushed into the ocean. De la Sona was methodical
in destroying anything the Dutch or Germans could use against his homeland.
The Canary Islands resisted far harder than any other outlying Atlantic possessions. It is said
that King Carlos ordered the garrison to defend the islands to the last. There was no hope of a
garrison on an island, facing a foe with maritime supremacy in holding out. Spain knew the next
logical target was North Africa, and hoped to gain enough time to fortify the Moroccan coast. They
received far less time than hoped. Landings in the Canaries took place on July 12. Spain spread their
own garrison across all the islands, but the Commonwealth bypassed most, focusing only on taking
harbors. Carrier-based aircraft and battleship guns neutralized small airfields and coastal defense
guns across the islands. Many Spanish soldiers spent the remainder of the war on what van Natal
called ‘a prisoner-of-war camp ran by the enemy, for the enemy.’
With the Atlantic swept clean of Spanish presence and bases, the U-boat menace shrunk
drastically. Bombers and destroyers continued constant anti-submarine patrols in the Greenland Sea.
Without the High Seas Fleet, Fuhrer Germany could not hope to get past the British on the North Sea
and capture Iceland. Bombers from occupied Norway did strike at Iceland, but caused little damage.
The range and weather were extreme enough to limit the payload. From Hitler’s stand point, striking
taking Iceland. His lack of naval strategic insight prevented Britain
from being cut off, along with Sweden, and possibly cost the world-wide fascists plot the war.
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]Operation Torch[/FONT]
By November of 1942, the Americans afforded to spare only three divisions for the invasion
of North Africa. Called ‘Operation Torch’ by the allies, it called for three landing along the
Moroccan coast. Spain expended significant resources to build up fortifications along the Atlantic
Coast of Africa. They knew that a direct invasion of Spain was unlikely, for bases in Africa would
threaten the allies’ flanks. What they did not realize was just how much the allies would outnumber
them.
Because of Berlin’s promises, the King and the rest of Madrid written off the Americans as
a factor in the war. They would be to busy trying to hold down the Confederate States. Another error
on the Axis behalf was overestimating the usefulness of the Confederate Bund. Far from uniting the
Confederate States, the Bund managed to drive the Confederate people further away, much to the
point that it was a coup on behalf of the Confederate Army that removed them from office. Feelings
for reunification were higher than anticipated in the south, especially after the betrayal Confederates
believed by both the Bund and Fuhrer German.
The Kaiser’s own forces would equal seven divisions, including one armored division under
the able General Erwin Rommel. As soon as bases in Morocco were secured, the Kaiser’s air force,
commanded by Hermann Goering, would relocate from Rio del la Plata. The Commonwealth would
throw several more divisions against North Africa, however, the initial landing called for three
divisions, one for each landing zone. Only after port facilities were secured would the rest make the
journey across the Atlantic.
Landings began at pre-dawn hours on November 11, after several hours of nighttime
bombardment. The effectiveness of the shelling was less than hoped for, but Admiral van Voorst was
confident that the Spanish received little sleep. Commonwealth forces landed near Casablanca, but
lack of Spanish fortifications along the coast allowed the Dutch to move faster than planned.
However, what they did not realize, was that it was Spain’s plan to wait until the enemy gained a toehold
before throwing them back into the sea.
Commander of the landing force, General Izaak Reijinders, used the lull in the Spanish
response to immediately thrust inland. His actions are what spared the Commonwealth invasion the
casualties suffered by the Kaiser’s Army further south. The Germans were nearly thrown back into
the sea, and probably would have, had the Spanish in Casablanca not called for reinforcements. The
invasion received assistance from the Arabs native to the land. Nobody ever asked them if they
wanted the Spanish to rule over them, and they did not.
General uprisings by the Arab population preceded allied advances across the Atlas
Mountains and into Algeria and Tunisia. By the time Commonwealth forces broke through the
Atlases, Spanish organized resistance collapsed, to be replaced by brutal civil war between colonists
and natives. Americans fought to subdue both sides and insure a degree of stability during the
occupation. Commonwealth forces simply secured their supply lines and bypassed out-of-the-way
destinations. If the Americans wished to waste time in dealing with Spain’s mess, then let them. As
for the Dutch, they drove on to Tunis, which fell in April 1943 by a joint attack from east and west.
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]Spanish Knockout[/FONT]
During the summer of 1943, Sicily and Sardinia were liberated from Spanish occupation.
Much to the annoyance of his Axis partner, Carlos V was forced to ask Fuhrer Germany for aid
against the Allies and Entente. Despite the ideological clout of the government in Berlin, many
generals insisted that they reinforce Spanish holdings. From Sardinia, their enemies could either
attack Italy, southern France or strike at Spain itself. Hitler ordered addition divisions into Italy,
believing it was the next target.
On October 12, he was proven wrong. A joint Commonwealth-American-German-British
invasion force struck the Balearic Islands. The British landed on Minorica, the others on Majorca.
Though not officially allied with the Allies, Britain agreed with the Bermuda Conference and the
necessity to knock Spain out of the war before turning their full attention to Germany. The
Commonwealth had the potential to eliminate Spain all on its own, if not for the Japanese menace
in the Pacific. The fact that any of the Axis members lasted as long as they did is testimony to their
coordinated attacks on the Dutch Commonwealth as a whole.
On December 22, 1943, the Allies pressed harder, landing sixty thousand soldiers on the
Catalonian beaches north and south of Valencia. Upon hitting Spain Proper, it was learned there was
a great disparity between colonial soldiers and those fighting for their homeland. Spanish resistance
proved far fiercer than anticipated. Much so, that before Madrid fell in April of 1944, the Allies
poured in over three hundred thousand soldiers, tanks and guns. The war in Spain was a slow but
steady chipping away at various rings of fortifications on the road to Madrid.
Madrid fell on May 7, 1944, exactly one month after the Americans and Italians launched
their own invasion of the Italian mainland, and almost a month before the invasion of Normandy.
The war in Spain did not end with the toppling of King Carlos V and establishment of a provisional
government. Three days after the King’s removal, Two German armies crossed the Goranne River
into Spanish-occupied Aquitaine. Hitler’s invasion of Spain drew away much needed soldiers from
the decisive battle on the English Channel.
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]War Plan Tulip[/FONT]
On June 6, 1944, the largest invasion in the history of warfare took place, when several
divisions of Commonwealth, American, British (and Britain’s ‘Commonwealth’) and Kaiser German
soldiers crossed the English Channels and landed at Normandy. Preceding the invasion by several
hours were 43rd Commonwealth Paratrooper Division, and the American 101st Airborne (known as
the Warbling Turkeys), which captured key bridges and positions inland of the beaches.
For a week, the Allies and Entente struggled against the remaining Axis in Normandy.
Victory was not a foregone conclusion during this crucial week in June. Even as late as June 17, the
Fuhrer German counterattack drove the Kaiser’s forces back several kilometers. It was not until the
first week of July that Normandy was fully liberated and the invasion beachhead was secure. This
says much about the Dutch Commonwealth’s military might, launching the largest invasion ever
during the same time when fighting ripped through Indonesia, with landings on Sumatra in August
of 1943, and Java in January 1944. Unlike the Spanish, the Japanese did not surrender and seldom
gave ground.
The invasion of Normandy was but a modified version of War Plan Tulip. Tulip was the code
name given by the United Provinces to the United Provinces. It involved invading their own nation
to liberate it from foreign occupation. The plan originated from the Napoleonic War, and the fact that
such a small, coast-hugging nation would always be at the mercy of larger opponents. The Dutch
could close shipping to any nation, but if that nation was willing to take the economic impact, there
was little the Provinces could do without Commonwealth reinforcements.
During the planning stages of the invasion of Europe, Commonwealth General Conrad
Hendrick van Semarang, designed a two-prong invasion of northern Europe. Normandy was the first
part, one that involved all the Commonwealth’s temporary allies. Van Semarang was unique
amongst commanders in Europe, for he was the only Muslim general in the entire theater. Born on
Borneo, in a town near the Brunei border in 1892, van Semarang served with distinction during the
Great War along the Maas.
Though born on Borneo while the island was still undergoing Dutchification, van Semarang
considered himself every bit as Dutch and Ceylonese, Brazilians and even the Netherlanders himself.
While others from his town found work for Dutch Royal Shell, and later VOC Oil, van Semarang
decided to serve his King (and later Queen). His patriotism prompted a second, Commonwealth-only
phase of the invasion. This part of War Plan Tulip called for the direct invasion of the Provinces, and
freeing them from years of brutal occupation.
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]Life During Occupation[/FONT]
The Occupied Provinces (all but Iceland were under Fuhrer German control) suffered the
most severe crackdown on liberty since the nation’s founding, over three centuries previous.
Newspapers were shutdown, radio stations placed under the control of the German Army. Military
governors were placed in power over each Province. Most of the Provincial rulers went into exile
with the rest of the Staaten-General and the Queen. Only the Countess of Artois missed the boat.
Countess Jeanette had the means to escape, but refused to leave while her subject suffered under the
Fuhrer’s occupation. For her troubles, the Germans placed the Countess under house arrest, and
General von Beck attempted to rule the County of Artois in her name. The Artoisers did not buy the
farce.
Occupational authorities heavily rationed goods that the Dutch people long since took for
granted. Sugar and coffee were confiscated for use by the Germans, leaving little to none for
Netherlanders. At first there was protest, for it was a long standing Dutch tradition to speak out at
perceived injustices. For their troubles, the occupying authorities threw them into the one of many
detention centers erected around the Provinces. For the native-born Netherlanders and
Commonwealth citizens, the occupation was a major inconvenience, and a source to spark resistance.
For the tens of thousands of Balkan refugees, it was far worse.
Though they were Austro-Hungarian or Ottoman by birth, they were Netherlander by choice.
For when their countries were destroyed by revolution and to be replaced by the Marxists Balkan
Union, many found it easy to embrace their new nation; for their old one was dead. When Albanians,
Croatians, Crimeans and so on first arrived, they were held in suspicion, and not fully accepted.
However, when a far more violent foreign invasion occurred, all the Dutch people united behind
their nation. At first, many could not understand why these first-generation Netherlanders were being
carted away. They have committed no crime, violated no occupational mandate, done nothing to
warrant their singling out by the Germans. The only clue to pop up in 1940, was the term Slav.
Ironically, these immigrants were the most fanatical of the Dutch Resistance. By 1941, after
‘Slavic’ round-ups were taking place for many months, there was not a single Balkan immigrant who
was not connected to the resistance. By then, most of the people who spoke Serbian, Slovakian,
Polish, and other Slavic tongue as their first language were already vanished, relocated to unknown
destinations. It was a war on culture as it was on nations, but why attack these people, they were not
any of those nationalities, they were Dutch.
It was the same story all over occupied Europe, the Slavs vanished from their adopted homes.
Hitler’s true ambitions were made clear during Operation Stormbird in late 1940, the invasion of the
Union of Balkan Socialist Republics. The ‘communist menace’ was all but destroyed by early 1941.
Despite the devastation, no refugees from the Balkans appeared on distant shores. It was as if the
Germans went through great lengths to seal the Balkan border.
This was all very traumatic to the refugee community, but the Dutch Resistance had higher
priorities than to fight the Germans on the other side of the continent; such as fighting them in their
own home. At first, the resistance did everything it possibly could to make the occupation force’s
stay in the United Provinces as difficult as possible. Some actions were of downright defiance to the
Germans, such as on the night of February 5, 1941, some brazen Netherlanders managed to infiltrate
a German airbase near Lier, steal sugar from the pilot’s mess, dump it into the fuel tanks of the
pilot’s planes, and just to make absolutely certain the Germans knew who was responsible, the
perpetrators rose the orange-white-and-blue banner of the United Provinces over the airfield.
Needless to say, those Germans responsible for security that night were severely punished.
Any and all attempts at normalcy the Dutch people attempted to create failed. Netherlanders
continued to tend the fields and work the factories. The United Provinces faced a partial economic
collapse during the Occupation Years. Many foreign speculators who made fortunes on the
Amsterdam Stock Market, sold off their shares and commodities the day Germany launched its
attack. When they fled the United Provinces, they took with them the largest single-day transfer of
wealth in Dutch history. Companies were ruined and the banks of Amsterdam faced a run.
The Bank of Amsterdam, a bank that weathered centuries of economic ups and downs, would
sooner face a world-wide depression than what the Germans did to that institution. To fund the
German war machine, Hitler ordered the banks plundered, billions of guilders in gold and silver were
stripped from the financial capital of the world and shipped east across the Wesser. The Fuhrer
Government did not stop with the banks, cultural artifacts were pillaged, including some of the
greatest works of van Gogh.
For a nation that long since depended upon trade for its survival, German occupation of the
ports and harbors found many traders and merchants instantly out of work. Larger traders, with
offices in other Commonwealth states, would survive the occupation, but the small, individual trader,
a long standing Dutch tradition, was wiped out before New Year’s of 1941. Many factories were
taken under the control of occupational authorities, and put to use for the German war effort. Many
loyal Netherlanders quit rather than build bullets and bombs for the enemy.
Despite the nationalistic spirit of the Dutch people, so strong it drove many to go hungry
rather than assist conquerors, the Netherlands faced the same bane as all occupied nations;
collaboration. When not harassing the Germans, the Resistance targeted any and all that overtly aided
the Germans. Workers in factories were spared the retaliation, for there were still families than
needed feeding, but those who worked with and for the Gestapo were often found in the morning,
quite dead.
Though many individuals would rise up against the occupiers, the Resistance did its best to
keep a low profile. It specialized in both sabotaging the enemy, and aiding fellow Netherlanders left
unemployed and destitute by the occupation.13 It was not until the middle of 1944, that the Dutch
Resistance rose up against the occupiers. During the Battle of Normandy, which the Dutch
Resistance heard about only after the invasion took place, the Resistance blew up several rail lines
and bridges, preventing Germans from rushing reinforcements across the Rhine and into France.
For their deeds, the occupational authority cracked down on all the Provinces. Thousands
were arrested in raids. Those not executed immediately as ‘terrorists’ were deported to the east, to
the same places the ‘Slavs’ went. Only days after declaring the Dutch Resistance destroyed, Gestapo
leader, Reinhardt, was gunned down in his car while it drove through the streets of Wilstract in
Groningen. In response, the town of four thousand was raised to the ground, with over half of its
population killed in the town’s destruction.
As bad as life was for Netherlanders, it was far worse for Formosans and Javans. The
Principality of Java was never fully subjugated by the Japanese. Though they occupied ports,
airfields and coastal area, but never the interior. They were only interested in controlling the island
and seas around it, for the even larger oil fields of Sumatra and especially Borneo. Though Japan
would continue to proclaim Asia for the Asians, they simply could not spare the resources to bring
Java into full compliance, at least not while fighting multiple enemies on multiple fronts.
Formosa, however, was another story. As was stated earlier, when the Formosans attempted
to protest the Japanese the same way they would the Commonwealth, the Japanese replied with the
rat-tat of machine guns. That was just the start. To the Dutch, race meant little, but to the Japanese
it meant everything. Those ‘racially’ European, were interned in camps across the island. However,
after centuries, and mostly Dutch male colonization, there was little that could be called ‘white’.
What the Japanese did not understand was that ‘race is skin-deep, but nations go to the heart’. The
racially Asian, i.e. those whose ancestors came from southern China, considered themselves
Formosans, and ‘as Dutch as the next man’.
While the Europeans were interned, the Japanese, claiming to liberate the Chinese, repressed
them with the same vigor as they did on mainland Asia. Japanese nationalism in turn sparked Dutch
nationalism for all the islanders. The love of nation was so strong, that one monk gave up obtaining
Nirvana this lifetime for the sake of his country. Like most Buddhist monks, Singhanda Mantama
attempted to resist Japanese occupation through non-violent means, including civil disobedience.
The Japanese would crush any and all disobedience, and further retaliate by destroying several
Theravada temples, along with Catholic and Protestant churches.
Born in India, Mantama, like most Indians, was at first suspicious of the Dutch. Unlike
Ceylon, Java and Formosa, who were made Dutch over the course of centuries of colonization and
assimilation, India was conquered in a relatively short time. Aside from southern India, which was
inherited from Portugal following United Provinces’ independence, the rest of the subcontinent was
brought under Dutch rule by military force between 1783 to the 1870s. Some Indian states allied
themselves with the Dutch, and thus kept their own languages and cultures (though Commonwealth
culture would slowly filter in). The states brought into compliance by force, in turn had the Dutch
language, law and customs forced upon them. This odd arrangement makes India the most
cosmopolitan of Commonwealth states, and the most prone to instability.
Mantama grew up in northern India, in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. Even as
recent as the 1930s, when Mantama left India for Formosa, India was still backwards compared to
the rest of the Commonwealth. Because of its diversity, India was always the slowest Dutch nation
to adapt. Industrialization, which occurred in the United Provinces, Brazil and Formosa during the
Nineteenth Century, is still occurring in India of the Twenty-first Century. However, Mantama did
not leave in search of a better life, but in search of Enlightenment.
His quest for Enlightenment came to an end when Japanese bombs began to rain near his
monastery in 1940. His, along with the Formosans’ world, was turned upside down when the
Japanese overran the island, and forced the Commonwealth surrender. Though the politicians
surrendered, many of the Commonwealth soldiers went to ground and fled to the hills, to continue
to fight against the occupiers. However, unlike the Germans, the Japanese were not about to tolerate
any dissent.
When one of Mantama’s fellow monks went to the Japanese authorities in protest over the
seizure of rice from farmers without compensation, the Japanese guards ran him through with
bayonets. Monks that tried to block traffic with their bodies were simply ran over. Another, refusing
to bow to ‘savages’ was beaten to death by a Japanese patrol. It was these events that forced other
monks to realize they would have to fight back with force.
Knowing he could not stop the violence, Mantama endeavored to control and direct the
violence. His strategies in luring Japanese patrols into traps and minimizing Dutch deaths, improved
his own standing within the resistance. By 1943, Mantama was effectively the head of the Dutch
Resistance on Formosa. With each ambush, the Japanese were forced to increase size of patrols, until
entire platoons were patrolling the streets of Taipei and New Antwerp.
Killing of Japanese soldiers did not go without reprisal. The Japanese resorted to random
executions, adding that to policies of forced labor, reeducation, so-called comfort girls and genocide.
Each murder in the sake of retaliation weighed heavily on Mantama. Perhaps it was his
consciousness, but Mantama never made a decision lightly. He would prefer to have no killings at
all. His reluctance brought much criticism against him by the more radical resistance cells. They
wondered why should they not strike at the enemy. Nobody asked the Japanese to come to Formosa,
they just forced their way in, and it was the resistance’s job to drive them out.
It was not until the dawn of 1945, when a Commonwealth-American joint invasion loomed
over the horizon did Mantama unleash the resistance upon the Japanese. As soon as bombs fell and
smoke cleared, the resistance slipped into damaged barracks to slit the throats of any surviving
Japanese. Nor was it until Commonwealth soldiers set foot on Formosa did the resistance wheel out
artillery and a few tanks hidden away in the hills. If not for Mantama’s temperance, various
resistance cells might have piddled away resources until they had nothing to face the occupiers on
the day of liberation.
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]Liberation[/FONT]
In October of 1944, the second stage of War Plan Tulip unfolded as the Commonwealth
landed an invasion force almost the same size as the Normandy operation in Zeeland, north of
Middleberg. Middleberg was not the first choice of cities to be liberated, but Queen Juliana insisted
the invasion plans be changed. It was the port she left her homeland years before, and she wished
it to be the first city to be free, and the port of her re-entry.
After months of fighting in France, and the liberation of Paris, Allied and Entente armies
were still short of the borders with Artois and Flanders. Fuhrer Germany managed to dig in a static
line of defense, similar to the trenches seen during the Great War. The prospect of fighting another
prolonged war of attrition gave the allies dread. However, with the Commonwealth now in full
control of the North Sea and all seaborne routes into Europe, trenches would not stay static for long.
Germany did not anticipate a second invasion of northern Europe. By the middle of
November, Zeeland was all but liberated, and Commonwealth forces were now on both sides of the
mouth of the Rhine. Any hope of keeping the Dutch, or any other ally, on the far side of the river.
Germans began to retreat from their positions in France and consolidate further inland. Bridges
across the Rhine soon became the heaviest fortified positions in all of Europe.
Fuhrer Germany managed to hold this line until April of 1945, when the Commonwealth
provided a breakout along the Rhine. The Hague was cleared of occupational forces on May 7, 1945,
with Delft liberated one day later. Whilst be forced from Amsterdam, the Germans attempted to
breach levies and dikes all along the Holland coast. Only two breaches occurred, and those were
patched within a week. The Queen condemned the actions of the Fuhrer German government, but
as she and the world would soon learn, these were far from the most heinous crimes of the Fuhrer
regime,
Along the Eastern Front, Swedish soldiers liberated the first of the internment camps in
eastern Europe in February of 1945. These were not typical prisoner camps, for neither enemy soldier
or criminal were in these camps. What the Swedes found were tens of thousands of emaciated people
crammed in filthy bunkhouses. Worse yet, incinerated were discovered with the remnants of many
enemies of the Fuhrer state. This was one of the camps of the Fuhrer German’s ‘final solution to the
Slavic question’.
It was not until March of 1946 that the Fuhrer Germans were fully beaten in the west. An
army under the command of Field Marshall von Manstein, numbering some three hundred thousand,
surrendered to the Kaiser’s Field Marshall Rommel along the banks of the Wesser. For all intent
purpose, Germany west of the Elbe was liberate and back under the Kaiser’s rule. On April 20, 1946,
Cossacks of Sweden stormed the Reichstag in Berlin, and rose the Swedish flag over the last bastion
of National Socialism.
It is said that when the Kaiser returned to his palace in Berlin, and saw the city in ruins, he
fell to his knees and wept. For all the devastation in Europe, one can not forget that at the core of
World War II was a German civil war. For years, German fought fellow German, all of them subjects
of the Kaiser. So many of his people died in the conflict, and so much stress ate away at the Kaiser’s
health, that he died just over a year after the war’s end.
