Earlier ULTRA: Hitler held in the West

Proctol

Banned
WI Ultra had been available in early 1940, so that the Allies have virtually all the details of Hitler's May Blitzkrieg plan. What tactics would the fully alerted French, British, Dutch & Belgian armies have employed? Would they have preempted, or waited for the Panzers to advance, & with what results?
 

Redbeard

Banned
Not being out on a limp in Belgium would certainly help the allies, as would a timely concentration of reserves. The French doctrine first of all needed time to prepare it’s methodical firepower based tactics, and time could be provided in this way. I’m not in doubt that the Germans will still get far, and perhaps break through as in OTL, the French did have big difficulties in coping with the speed of Blitzkrieg, but there is also a much increased chance of the Germans loosing their nerve at some time (or just taking too big losses) and ordering a halt to gain their breath – and that would be fatal to Blitzkrieg and only have the French resistance stiffen to Verdun like character. If the very motorised BEF is intact at this time it would provide a splendid force to perform the decisive (flanking?) counter attack with.

Regards

Steffen Redbeard
 
This assumes that all the plans would be transmitted by radio. In the static conditions of the pre-invasion period most communications would be via landlines and much less subject to interception. In OTL this was a problem post D-Day as the Germans fell back onto their own soil and thus could revert to telephone / telegraph- hence, among others, the Ardennes Offensive coming as such a surprise. Under these circumstances it is unlikey that the initial Allied plans would have been changed

Where ULTRA may have been of use was in the post invasion phase when radio communication became the main means of communication between units. Had the French known that the Panzers were heading for the coast and not Paris, they may have made better use of their reserves and may possibly have withdrawn the armies in Holland / Belgium that much quicker thus preventing the Lille - Dunkirk pockets being formed. In this case a line based on the Somme might have been established and resistance prolonged. A defeat for the Allies, but not so catastrophic as to force French withdrawal from the war.
 
I'm guessing they would have worked overtime to shore up their defenses to be ready to hurl the Germans back when the Wehrmacht assault came.
 

NapoleonXIV

Banned
Or maybe even come up with an invasion plan of their own, bypassing all the Germans.

The problem is that the Allies have to win the war, because their action on the knowledge will most likely tip their hand to the Germans that their codes are broken and they'll change them.
 

NapoleonXIV

Banned
I've looked over the net a little and there seem to be two things that there is general concensus among scientists over:

1. There is global warming, and the science behind it is fairly well considered, rational and valid

2. The science behind Day After Tomorrow isn't.
 
NapoleonXIV said:
I've looked over the net a little and there seem to be two things that there is general concensus among scientists over:

1. There is global warming, and the science behind it is fairly well considered, rational and valid

2. The science behind Day After Tomorrow isn't.

To quote Ian himself, Dude, WTF?
 
Neutrality ?

But what about the avowedly neutralist stance of Belgium and the Netherlands when it came to any discussion of joint action against Nazi Germany during 1939-40 ? Doesn't that put a big crimp in any benefits which might've been provided by ULTRA and the sharing of intel- esp to ppl who don't wanna ?
 
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