No Spanish Civil War in 1936 (my new Timeline)

[EmmettMcFly55]

Interesting. I've only got two questions this time:

1. You mentioned Soviet forces were in central Poland, crossing the Vistula, in Slovakia and in Central Hungary. But what about Romania? The Soviets should be advancing on that front too, if they're in Central Hungary already, so what's happening there? Or will that question be answered in the next update?

2. You said that the war was over when the Soviets crossed the Vistula and the British were at the Elbe (well, actually the other way round, but never mind that). But that sounds like an overestimation when Berlin and Vienna are still German. I get the feeling that those 'final weeks' of fighting will be quite interesting. They might not just determine the Iron Curtain, but also the final German-Polish border.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

1. You mentioned Soviet forces were in central Poland, crossing the Vistula, in Slovakia and in Central Hungary. But what about Romania? The Soviets should be advancing on that front too, if they're in Central Hungary already, so what's happening there? Or will that question be answered in the next update?

There will be a final update covering the final of the Eastern Front. I preferred to have it happening off camera than spending hours rehashing the same metaphors.

2. You said that the war was over when the Soviets crossed the Vistula and the British were at the Elbe (well, actually the other way round, but never mind that). But that sounds like an overestimation when Berlin and Vienna are still German. I get the feeling that those 'final weeks' of fighting will be quite interesting. They might not just determine the Iron Curtain, but also the final German-Polish border.

The war is practically over in the West since the Wehrmacht has lost all offensive capabilities, its command structure is shattered and Germany's main industrial areas are occupied or surrounded. There still is Berlin to be fought for, of course, but it will be an easier fight than OTL.

 

[King Henry]

So are all the allies planning on looting Germany's industry, or just Spain?

And I wonder what the Soviets do with their occupation zone, since apparently Germany's unified post-war. Give it to Poland?

I actually think the Soviets are coming out of this better, less of a European Empire to subsidies and garrison, and beefed up Poland might actually be useful for something besides a U.N. vote.

Also, have you figured out what you're doing with China yet?

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I thought I'd [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]never [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]get to write this update! Thanks to Tom_NUFC for giving me permission to use his photo.
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[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]From The second World War, by Winston Churchill, 1951[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]...my opinion is that Matador was a very badly chosen name: spanish matadors consider the bull a worthy and honorable enemy. There was nothing honorable in the way nazi leadership dealt with their nation's demise, fleeing like the cowards they were toward the Alps, where they could have checked our efforts to end the war for a long time, had...[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]...when the junction of british and canadian troops happened south of Hanover, Matador had succeeded far beyond our expectations. Germany's will and ability to fight had collapsed in a spectacular way, at least in the West, for in the East the Red Army was still experiencing tremendous resistance in their conquest of Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. It was not long before interrogation of prisoners revealed to allied intelligence that during the past months some serious rifts had been developed between the Heer and the Waffen SS, with the latter suddenly beginning to receive top priority in supplies and reinforcements, which would explain in part how many Wehrmacht units just gave up the fight once our army had entered German...[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]...Eisenhower and Wallace, however, maintained that reaching the Elbe line was enough. I don't know if there were political pressures, but for that matter, Auchinleck's decision to press on toward Berlin once the Dessau bridgehead was secure, was a very happy one...[/FONT]


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[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]After one month of furious fighting and lightning advance, allied spearheads pause for a few days before resuming their advance. Dozens of pontoon bridges secure the crossing of supplies through the Rhine, and an ambitious system of airborne drop of fuel and ammunition via captured airfields and even -at a small scale- transport gyrodynes ensures that the british army will be able to achieve its final objectives. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Those objectives are, according to Eisenhower, the Elbe river. It is believed that the few intact elite german formations in the West are retreating toward the Alps for a last stand there, and fresher troops and supplies must be directed there to help the struggling french and spaniards, whose advance is being checked by heavy resistance and the first autumn rains -Stuttgart, for example, still resists after one month of siege. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]In October 18, 250,000 german troops trapped at the Ruhr cauldron surrender to George Patton's Army and the Argentine Expeditionary Force who have advanced through the Rhineland. The same day, the 1st Canadian Army enters Hanover and advances through Braunschweig toward Magdeburg and the Elbe river. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]In October 20, after breaking through the Harz mountains and capturing the factories and concentration camps at Nordhausen, Auchinlek's troops enter Saxony. By this point, their main enemies are the rain and neverending columns of refugees that flee the Russians. Two days later, the british vanguard reaches Dessau and the Elbe. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]However, and at the same time the canadians are even forced to retreat a few kilometres against unexpectedly heavy resistance at Magdeburg, the british enter Dessau finding almost no enemy troops: it seems that enemy resources are so depleted that only one of Berlin's approaches was able to be properly defended. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]And, more importantly, the bridge that crosses the Elbe is intact. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It will never be clear if there were political pressures or not. Either way, Claude Auchinleck knows that Berlin lies 100 km ahead, almost unguarded. That day, he sets up headquarters at the old Bauhaus building and his tanks begin crossing the river. By nightfall, they have advanced eight kilometres in the eastern bank. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]When SACEUR finds out the next day at Sedan, the canadians have also taken Magdeburg and a bridge. Much to Eisenhower's chagrin, he accepts the facts on the ground and, after no little insistance from O'Connor, authorizes a major offensive toward Berlin. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]That day, October 21, Auchinlek advances 30 km north while the soviets liberate Cracow. The morning of the 22, british long range artillery begins shelling central Berlin from their advanced positions. The final battle in WWII (or so everybody believes) has begun. [/FONT]





[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]From: Down Like Inglorious Bastards. The last year of the Third Reich, by Rai Mohinder Pérez. Ed Alfaguara, Madrid, 2009[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]...Model was given only 30.000 men to defend the whole Berlin area and cover the Kamarilla's flight for as long as possible: his was no doubt one of the worst assignments in the entire war. Around 6500 of those men were SS: they fought fanatically until the end and gave the british the worse headaches when advancing towards the Reichstag. The rest were a mishmash of regular army units and demoralized Volkssturm kept in their places almost by gun point. The only thing Model had going was that Auchinleck's advance was being slowed by the rain and the refugess clogging the roads...[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]...Auchinleck's late hour recklesness cannot be discounted either: apparently having the big prize so near from his grasp made him forget all the cautiousness he had displayed in the earlier years of the war, caused by his experiences as a soldier in the First World War. Refusing to slow his advance or to wait for either the canadians -who were cautiously advancing toward Postdam and Brandenburg- or the fresh american troops that had begun to cross the Lower Elbe into Mecklemburg, Auchinleck marched into southern Berlin at the very end of a long and overstretched supply line. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]... in October 25 british troops were entering Berlin's southern suburbs by Steglitz and the Tempelhof-Schoneberg area. Here they found the first determined resistance after their almost unopposed advance from Dessau. What followed were five nightmare days of urban battle where british units slowly made their way into central Berlin...only Model's obsession with keeping his forces dispersed all over the city to protect himself against the canadian advance prevented Auchinlek's attack from being repulsed, as his vanguard consisted of barely 40.000 exhausted men. During the last days of October, however, reinforcements started to arrive, which did not prevent these days of battle from taking a horrific toll amongst Auchinleck's troops. However, british air superiority and liberal use of heavy and rocket artillery soon tipped the balance...[/FONT]

British machinegunners in action near the Reichstag, October 30


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Central Berlin, November 1 1944[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Field Marshal Lord Richard O'Connor, Viscount of Lisbon, commander in chief of all allied ground forces in Europe, is being denied his ultimate price. The front, discounting pockets of resistance at the Reichstag and fortified positions around the city's southern half, is now running through Central Berlin less than a kilometre east from this position, with british troops slowly but surely pushing the defenders towards the Spree. But O'Connor, who has spent the last month going from SACEUR's headquarters in Sedan to field headquarters all around central Germany, and the last week at Auchinleck's main base at the Dessau bridgehead, ran towards the front the second he heard that the Chancellery's capture was imminent. He has arrived half an hour ago and taken already a stroll through the gigantic and imposing halls clad in red marble, full of joyous british soldiers. He still hasn't visited Hitler's office: he prefers to fully enjoy his victory once formalities have been finished. Anyway, there isn't much left there: the bombs and soldiers looking for souvenirs have already taken everything not bolted to the walls. But in any case, Richard O'Connor has found an unexpected difficulty. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-Yes -he says- I would say he certainly is in no shape to surrender to anyone. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-He is not indeed. -answers Claude Auchinleck, conqueror of Berlin. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]At the other side of the desk, Walther Model, commander in chief for the defense of the Greater Berlin Area is looking at some point of the ceiling, in the most far away corner of the office. His brain is a red splatter in the concrete wall behind him. The Luger is somewhere under the desk. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-His aide says he locked himself up in the office early in the morning. He did not hear the shot, but I don't think he could hear much with artillery shots falling right over the bunker. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-I see. Did he leave any instructions anyway? [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-He left two letters, one to his wife and another to his men. Nothing for us, unfortunately. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-So in the end we will have to keep fighting for the city. Not a good situation. I would like to have this wrapped up before the Russians reached the Oder. And I definitely would have liked a nice surrendering ceremony. But with the enemy's military leadership beheaded, we will have to convince the rest of the defenders one by one... Can we at least secure a bridge over the Spree before the sun sets? [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-The advance on the Charlottenburg area is promising, and aerial reconaissance reports there may be a couple of intact bridges there. There still is heavy resistance on Kreuzberg and Treptow, though, preventing us from advancing East. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-Fine. I will be reporting to Sedan immediately and recommend that maximum priority be given to the advance on the Oder. I don't want the Russians on this side of the river. Berlin is irrelevant now, specially now that we have seen the house is empty. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-Well, even if they reached the city now, what were they going to do? Occupy one half and then refuse to leave?[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]They chuckle. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Both men leave the office, to the Bunker's main hall. Less than five hours ago, it bustled with activity, the central defense point in for Greater Berlin. From here, Walther Model saw how british troops entered the ruined city from the south and how, over the course of a week, they made their way towards the Chancellery. Until three hours ago, it bustled with the activity of desperate men who knew their attempt to save the city was doomed. Most of them are now on their way to a prison camp. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-Since you are here, do you want to see the rest of the bunker? There's not much to be seen in the residential areas, though. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-What do you mean? [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-I still don't know what intelligence must have gotten from interrogating prisoners, but I would say it confirms what we all suspected. There is a dense layer of dust covering everything... nobody has entered that area in weeks, perhaps months. Yes, the nest is empty... but I suspect it has been empty for longer than we thought. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]* * * * * * * *[/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Black rain falls over Robert Capa, covering his face with greyish streaks of soot. Berlin has been burning for weeks now. While it is not the first, nor the second devastated german city he sees now, Berlin has gotten the extra treatment of suffering a long street battle. Right now, the cinder and soot from the thousands of fires going on are mixing up with the autumn clouds creating this awful mess that covers the city and forces Capa to wipe his camera's lens at every moment. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]A blaze of lightning goes off a few miles south in the direction of the airport. Black rain begins to fall more heavily. Thunder arrives a few seconds later. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]They can still hear muffled fighting sounds coming from the basement. But here, at the Reichstag's rooftop, there is relative quietness, if one can ignore the black rain, the intense odor of smoke and death, and the occasional sounds of battle that wind still brings from the rest of the city. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-Well, -says Jack Churchill once the rest of the commando has reached the roof- this is not fair. Definitely not fair. I always pictured this moment as a gloriously sunny day that would do justice to the Union flag. This, no doubt, is Hitler's last crime. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Robert Capa has finally accepted that no, Jack Churchill is not playing a character. He really is like that. When he found his group six days ago on the road from Dessau he amused him with his quirks of eccentric british aristocrat. Like the claymore. Before he could inquire what the hell was that, Churchill helpfully reminded him that a true gentleman always carries his sword into battle. He then proposed Capa to join his group of commandos in the final drive to Berlin to pay Hitler a courtesy visit. Capa had spent the last weeks documenting what had been found in closed camps all over Germany. It is one thing to hear what the italians and the refugees say, it is another thing to see and specially smell it. That morning twelve days before next to the Elbe, Robert Capa felt an intense anger against the German Reich and welcomed this chance to be among the first to witness its collapse. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]He also found out that Churchill was not kidding about the claymore when he calmly unsheathed and drove it through a charging SS officer's chest, three days ago in the city's southern suburbs. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-I guess we could wait a little. -says one of Churchill's comrades- Waiting a few more hours is not going to hurt after these years. And -he points to an indeterminate point well below them, in the building's bowels- that isn't going to end anytime soon. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-Have they arrived to Brandenburg's gate yet? [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-I doubt it. From what I've heard before we entered here, there's still substantial resistance there. No one's going to be able to hang any flag there for a while. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-Fine, then. We will wait one hour. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]They spend the hour motionless, silent, sitting in the stairs that led to the rooftop to avoid the rain of cinder and any enemy sniper that could be left nearby. There is a general sensation of relief, but Capa seems to be the only one really glad that the war is going to end: the commando men have grown to like it too much. And here they are, eating sandwiches in the stairs that lead to the Reichstag's rooftop while they wait for the rain to end. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The worst of the storm has passed one hour later, although it still rains. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-Well then, -says Churchill- Hitler has decided that there will be no sun. This is all the americans' fault for not leaving us the job to clean Antwerp. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-But then the war would have ended earlier -replies Capa with a smirk while he changes the camera film. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-Fair point, hungarian chap. Fair point. But then we would be doing this in August under the sun. I suppose we will have to make do with what we have -and he opened his knapsack and took from it a large british flag, folded many times. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-It flew in our command post in Lisbon for months until we had to leave the city. I promised I would do this for the comrades that fell there and the poor portuguese we had to leave behind. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Capa, somewhat distanced from the men's grief, is already looking for a good place for a shot. A first general shot, maybe, to give some context. But he believes some close shots of the men's faces as they raise the flag will be better. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-Hey, Capa – the flag is already extended over the building, and Berlin, and Germany- make sure we look pretty! [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Ten minutes later, the men descend towards Berlin. If he runs, thinks Capa, he may have the negatives sent to London fast enough that they appear in tomorrow's papers. [/FONT]

“[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It is my humble opinion that overexposition to this photography has caused terrible and unrepairable damage to a whole generation of britons and, by extension, to Britain. No small part of our current quagmires can be directly blamed by what it neatly represents.” - George Orwell, 1968. [/FONT]

“[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]...but again let us look to results and not to principles for a recent example of historicism's inability to live up to actual historical happenings: in 1944 the world was at a stroke's distance of starting another -this time definitive- world war between communism and capitalism when the war against fascism had not been finished yet. How does that work in the framework of a system that claims to predict large historical trends? Not very well, I am afraid. The trotskyite version of historicist theory, as practiced in Spain and Portugal, is not as dogmatic in this sense, but still insidious in its claimed “flexibility”, that hides either philosophical nothingness or, worse, another hidden layer of dogmatism...” - The Poverty of Historicism, Karl Popper. 2[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]nd[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Revised and enlarged edition, Oxford, 1959. [/FONT]

 

[Goldstein]

So the Western theatre is over, and WWII will probabily end earlier than IOTL... for the first time in years, the postwar world seems near.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

So are all the allies planning on looting Germany's industry, or just Spain?

IOTL the soviets did substantial looting. Before allied attitude towards Germany mellowed, the plan was to strip Germany from its entire industrial base to make sure it would never stand again, so yes, everyone else is going to want a piece for themselves. The spaniards, portuguese and soviets, though, probably feel entitled to it.

And I wonder what the Soviets do with their occupation zone, since apparently Germany's unified post-war. Give it to Poland?

Yes, or accept a united but weakened Germany. Eden's goal when insisting that minor powers like Canada, Spain or Brazil got an occupation zone was to ensure that Soviet direct control over Germany was minimal and in any case unable to function independently.

Also, have you figured out what you're doing with China yet?

Yes, sort of, but I'm holding up on the Pacific Theatre until I have Europe wrapped up. Now that Berlin fell there are only a couple of weeks of war left, but they will be intense.

 

[EmmettMcFly55]

Well done. Very well done. It's amazing how fast we've gone from the point where there were a few Allied holds in the Saar to the fall of Berlin. Great work.

Oh, and I really liked the irony in that line about the Russians occupying half of Berlin and refusing to leave. If only they knew.

 

[Dunois]

When Britain first, at Heaven's commandArose from out the azure main;This was the charter of the land,And guardian angels sang this strain:"Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:"Britons never will be slaves."

“[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It is my humble opinion that overexposition to this photography has caused terrible and unrepairable damage to a whole generation of britons and, by extension, to Britain. No small part of our current quagmires can be directly blamed by what it neatly represents.” - George Orwell, 1968.

[/FONT]

I easily understand his point to be honest. Considering the fact that Britain has not lost as much influence either in Europe or in Asia. I can foresee decolonisation being a huge mess, especially if Enoch is in charge (do you plan to "mellow" his personnality a bit or not Strangelove?). What at the end of the day will matter though, is whether or not Britain avoid the economic malaise of OTL more than anything else, what are your plans in that respect?

On a side note and I wa sthinking about it while writing my last update to Sword of Freedom. Will Spain, France and Briatin be in the same timezone TTL? Considering the fact that the Germans asked Franco to move the clock forward an hour OTL during the war, I don't see why not.

 

[Archangel]

IOTL the soviets did substantial looting. Before allied attitude towards Germany mellowed, the plan was to strip Germany from its entire industrial base to make sure it would never stand again, so yes, everyone else is going to want a piece for themselves. The spaniards, portuguese and soviets, though, probably feel entitled to it.

In Portugal's case, the looting of German industrial equipment would (mostly) have the Greater Lisbon industrial areas as the destination, for political and economic reasons (reduce unemployment and recover a much destroyed area, while appeasing voters), even though I personally think that spreading industries throughout the country might be better in the long term.

Keep it up, Dr. Strangelove!

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Well done. Very well done. It's amazing how fast we've gone from the point where there were a few Allied holds in the Saar to the fall of Berlin. Great work.

It wasn't much faster than OTL, and the german army was in a much worse shape.

Oh, and I really liked the irony in that line about the Russians occupying half of Berlin and refusing to leave. If only they knew.

I easily understand his point to be honest. Considering the fact that Britain has not lost as much influence either in Europe or in Asia. I can foresee decolonisation being a huge mess, especially if Enoch is in charge (do you plan to "mellow" his personnality a bit or not Strangelove?).

IIRC it was his wife's death that finally threw Powell off the deep end, wasn't it? Well, there are 20 years of butterflies to work with, but it seems like the man was never very normal to begin with. There's even especulation that he may have had Aspergers. In any case, yes, the outcome of the war has left in Britain the lasting impression that things will continue to be as they were before the war.

Add that US-Soviet friendship will continue to go on for longer, and we have a very siege-mentality Britain determined to keep its place in the sun no matter the cost. And France, Spain and Portugal will be happy to help.

What at the end of the day will matter though, is whether or not Britain avoid the economic malaise of OTL more than anything else, what are your plans in that respect?

Well, Britain is in much better shape than IOTL -the U-Boote took a much lesser toll, german air attacks were reduced enough in size that their effect on british industry was negligible- but this war isn't going to pay itself, so Britain is in for hard times ahead until the mid-50's. Still, they will fare better than OTL.

On a side note and I wa sthinking about it while writing my last update to Sword of Freedom. Will Spain, France and Briatin be in the same timezone TTL? Considering the fact that the Germans asked Franco to move the clock forward an hour OTL during the war, I don't see why not.

Yes, I never mentioned it so far because it is one of those things that the point of divergence kept unchanged: Spain kept its original time zone shared with Portugal, Britain and Morocco because there was no Franco changing it to please Hitler. I can also see France and Benelux doing the same in the postwar.

 

[Dunois]

IIRC it was his wife's death that finally threw Powell off the deep end, wasn't it? Well, there are 20 years of butterflies to work with, but it seems like the man was never very normal to begin with. There's even especulation that he may have had Aspergers. In any case, yes, the outcome of the war has left in Britain the lasting impression that things will continue to be as they were before the war.

His wife dying is the POD used in Islands of Blood. OTL she outlived him!

Considering he met her in 1952 OTL his life can be very different if he meet someone else earlier. This should mellow him to an extent. Enoch Powell was a genius but he was also socially inept. But this can be changed under the right circumstances.

Well, Britain is in much better shape than IOTL -the U-Boote took a much lesser toll, german air attacks were reduced enough in size that their effect on british industry was negligible- but this war isn't going to pay itself, so Britain is in for hard times ahead until the mid-50's. Still, they will fare better than OTL.

Earlier European integration will help as well, especially if this allows an earlier end to rationning in Britain by tapping unto the potential of continental Europe. It seems to me that the Commonwealth and Europe will end up rather integrated and interlocked TTL, which would be good for Britain and her Dominions.

Depending on what happends post war, it should be possible to reverse industrial decline as Britain could have gained a good chunk of key markets OTL in aeropsace, compting and such had industrial modernisation been pursued over other things.
If there is indeed a war over India, the cost in blood and money will be very severe ...
Still a disunited India is very good for the long run (no Indian economic giant).

 

[Archangel]

Earlier European integration will help as well, especially if this allows an earlier end to rationning in Britain by tapping unto the potential of continental Europe. It seems to me that the Commonwealth and Europe will end up rather integrated and interlocked TTL, which would be good for Britain and her Dominions.

This should be very helpful concerning that there are and will be fascist and communist powers that may enter in conflict with western European countries.

 

[Milarqui]

It's a wonderful update! I really liked to see how the Brits end up being the ones that put their flag over the Reichstag! I wonder, which flags will be put on Brandenburg Gate? I hope that it will be all of the allies' flags, it would be cool to see the Spanish Republic flag flying there. Keep up!

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

His wife dying is the POD used in Islands of Blood. OTL she outlived him!

Ouch. I knew I had read that somewhere!

Considering he met her in 1952 OTL his life can be very different if he meet someone else earlier. This should mellow him to an extent. Enoch Powell was a genius but he was also socially inept. But this can be changed under the right circumstances.

Exactly.

Earlier European integration will help as well, especially if this allows an earlier end to rationning in Britain by tapping unto the potential of continental Europe. It seems to me that the Commonwealth and Europe will end up rather integrated and interlocked TTL, which would be good for Britain and her Dominions.

Yes, that's a likely outcome, and it will help Britain to survive the postwar economic slump. The years until 1949-1950 will be tough, but the 50's will probably begin a process of growth.

Still a disunited India is very good for the long run (no Indian economic giant).

But what about militaristic, hindu supremacist, fascistic half-of-India?

It's a wonderful update! I really liked to see how the Brits end up being the ones that put their flag over the Reichstag! I wonder, which flags will be put on Brandenburg Gate? I hope that it will be all of the allies' flags, it would be cool to see the Spanish Republic flag flying there. Keep up!

Why not? In any case Durruti already got his photo op with the occupation of Nuremberg.

 

[Dunois]

Ouch. I knew I had read that somewhere!

Considering his language skills, he may have been deployed in Spain during the war. Perhaps a nice señorita would mellow him somewhat .

But what about militaristic, hindu supremacist, fascistic half-of-India?

This depends on many things, if their economical base is poor they won't be a threat.

Still I am glad that the war is out of the way, I am very interested to learn what you have in store for the post-war world.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Considering his language skills, he may have been deployed in Spain during the war. Perhaps a nice señorita would mellow him somewhat .

I like the idea.

Still I am glad that the war is out of the way, I am very interested to learn what you have in store for the post-war world.

The war is almost out of the way. There still is some unfinished business.

 

[Geordie]

Always good to see NSCW progressing, Doc.
Hopefully the Union Flag over the Reichstag won't dominate British culture and politics as an overwhelming symbol for too long. Things could get bloody.

The war is almost out of the way. There still is some unfinished business.

I look forward to yet more, and can't wait to see what you've got in store for us.

 

[EmmettMcFly55]

It wasn't much faster than OTL, and the german army was in a much worse shape.

I know, but it seemed faster. Perhaps you were updating quickly all of a sudden.

Anyway, good to know it's almost over.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Berchtesgaden, November 4 1944[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So it had come to this. Well, at least the britons were honorable foes. Berlin was now a giant field of ruins, but at least it was in the hands of semicivilized enemies. Reinhard Heydrich almost shuddered thinking what would have happened had the russians taken the city: the tales of the orgy of blood and destruction that had fallen upon East Prussia, Pommerania and Silesia were horrible enough. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Too bad nothing could have been done about Nuremberg: to see the spiritual home of nazism desecrated and sacked by those latin anarchist pigs was far more painful than the photo Heydrich had on his desk, brought via Switzerland, of the Union Jack flying over the Reichstag. And, if reports were to be belived, they had also left a trail of sack, rape and destruction for the sake of it across southern Germany. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Rummaging through the desk, Heydrich finally found a magnifying glass hidden under some folders in one of the drawers. He had been installed here for a couple of days only. Himmler preferred to work in his rooms and the others had all but given up in governing tasks since they had fled from Berlin in the second half of October. And the man that this entire office -the entire complex- had once belonged to, while living there now, was in no shape to complain about Heydrich rummaging through his drawers and writing in his stationery. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Even with the magnifying glass, Heydrich was unable to tell his house apart in the photography's background. Either printing quality in british newspapers was not as good as it used to -understandable- or the house had been destroyed and he was just trying to make sense of a tiny blur of grey and black wreckage in the background of a photo. He dropped the newspaper and the glass, and wondered if it was really worth it to go back to bed now that dawn was already there. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]He would return to Berlin, though. Chances were slim, but realistic. It all depended on holding out enough. The SS divisions were redeploying into the Festung. Retreating them from frontline duty had been a difficult decision, one that had doomed the Western Front, as undermanned and unsupplied Heer divisions had been forced to fight on their own against the Western hordes. But that sacrifice could now save Germany. Six or seven SS divisions fighting from these mountains, with the Italians covering their back -and probably joining them, as the Soviets would probably break through Slovenia into the Padan plain- would be a fearsome foe against which the allies' number superiority would be useless. In a few months, Von Braun's missiles would be ready and nerve gas would begin raining over european cities. Even if it didn't come to that, the allies would not accept a soviet invasion of Italy: he would be happy to help them in their struggle against the real common enemy. Even the anarchists were welcome to help if they wanted to. Even if the Reich was diminished in the West, the allies would have to accept his supremacy in the East once Russia was finally defeated and partitioned, let's say around 1950. By that point, he was sure he would be Führer: Hitler was not long to live, and that wacko Himmler, more and more obsessed by his mystic claptrap, would be easy to be disposed of... All that was needed was to resist at this mountain holdout, like Parsifal's Graal Knights, for a few winter months, until those assembled against them understood the situation. Even yesterday he had read a report about Italian elite divisions being redeployed into Italy proper: surely Ciano had already responded to his petition by starting preparations for his part in defending the Festung. He decided that going to bed for a couple of hours wouldn't hurt him even if he could not sleep: he needed to be rested for the next crucial days. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]He had been hearing it for a few minutes, but only now realized its strangeness. It sounded like small arms fire, barely a series of irregular popping sounds. He could not hear any shouting or running: he did not realize that the house's thick stone walls muffled them. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Heydrich, in his night gown and slippers, stood for a few minutes in the middle of the office, listening. After a few minutes, the popping sounds subsided and finally the house fell silent. What had been that?[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Shortly after, he heard steps on the corridor. Hurried, heavy steps by someone wearing combat boots. No doubt some of his military aides had come to report about whatever incident had happened and, not finding him at his room, came now to the office. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Before Heydrich could open it, the door seemed to explode, brutally shut open. Into the office stepped an insect. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]At the timid light of dawn that came from the windows, Heydrich still needed a second or two to recognize that the man who had stepped into the office was just wearing a gas mask. Years of self-deception, however, forced him to take a little longer to accept that the man was shouting at him, and aiming a handgun at him. A Beretta model 1935, if we have to be precise. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]* * *[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Amedeo Guillet [1] and his arditi were following the scared aide through this labyrinth of corridors and stairs. He had memorized all the plans intelligence had managed to obtain from the complex, but it still was mind-boggingly labyrinthine. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The initial assault at dawn had been wildly succesful. Intelligence had been right: despite Heydrich's grandiose allegations, the defenses of this alleged last bastion were laughable, and the SS men unprepared to meet a surprise airborne attack. The ADRA[2] had been training for months, day and night, since the Duce had learned of Heydrich's plans in April. And it had paid off. Casualties were low, and most targets had been easily rounded up, caught in their sleep. Heydrich had been more difficult to find, until Lt De Tonno had found him in Hitler's office. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Down in the complex's bowels, the aide, almost pushed by Guillet's Beretta, finally opened an armored door. No, thought, Guillet, he cannot be here. A man like him, cannot resort to hiding in this hole deep into the mountain. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]But when he stepped into the room, Beretta first, followed by his men, there he was, lying on a bed, surrounded by medical equipment, a young, scared blonde woman beside him. [/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]In that moment, in Rome, the american embassy was sending an urgent cable to Washington, London and Paris: for the last fifteen minutes, all italian military radio frequencies had aired nothing but a Morse message in loop. It was a single word: GLADIO. They had repeated GLADIO... GLADIO... GLADIO... for fifteen minutes, and then silence. [/FONT]






[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif][1]OTL Guillet (1909-2010) was perhaps the last decorated cavalry commander in military history, having served as such in Spain, East Africa and Russia. ITTL, the lack of a spanish civil war to serve in had him trying his hand at paratrooping circa 1938. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif][2]Arditi Distruttori Regia Aeronautica: the Italian Air Force's special ops wing, IOTL created in 1942. It only had time for a couple of very succesful sabotage operations in allied-occupied North Africa before the Italian Armistice. ITTL, they've had quite more time to train...[/FONT]

An ADRA commando during training north of Rome, summer 1944.

 

[RCAF Brat]

So, the ATL version of the extraction of Mussolini (or is the neutralization of Horthy?) has the Nazis on the receiving end. And it is the Italians who pull it off...

Instead of being known as pushovers, Fascist Italy is known for being badass?