Deleted member 1487
Invasion part 1
Note: the Altmark incident does not happen and Finland is not invaded, so the British don't try to invade Norway. As a result Scandinavia stays completely neutral.
After months of inaction, the civilians of both sides began to think that the war was a farce. Nothing was happening. The armies were training, sure, and their sons were drafted, but no fighting had happened since the invasion of Poland. Hopes were rising that negotiations were on going and all this nonsense would be over. They would be sadly mistaken. They were right that negotiations were on going, but neither side was willing to budge on the most crucial issues. Support for the war was never very high in Britain and many were calling for a truce. Most everyone in Britain had never been to Poland and thought that this fuss over some silly Eastern European nation was none of their concern. In fact it was bad for business, as rationing cut into consumer goods. These goods were still available, but were harder and more expensive to find. Churchill and the British military were aware that the civilians would have to be bought off, so nation was not on a full war footing either. But still fighter planes, tanks and bombers rolled off the assembly lines. Ships were still being built and troops trained, but nothing had yet happened. The Allied High Command knew that the blow was coming in 1941 and were bracing themselves for a fight. French troops though were quite deficient in training and many conscripts had to work instead of train in their off duty hours. Many more applied for leave as they had families to support and could not afford to stay away from home for long. In all, readiness was low in the French army. The situation was the opposite in the German army. They were better paid and highly motivated to end this war in one engagement. The troops were run through tough, realistic training to prepare them for the coming battles. Then in May, everything changed.
It began early on May 5th. Gliders landed on the Belgian fort Eben Emal and heavily armed commandos proceeded to smash the gun turrets. They managed to seize control of the most modern fortress in the world within a day, and linked up with combat engineers that completed the coup the following day. This was just one part of the massive invasion of the Lowlands. The Netherlands was blanketed with paratroopers who moved in and seized their objectives despite being outnumbered 5:1. The greatest coup of all was the capture of the Dutch royal family at Den Haag by a special Brandenburger commando unit that had posed as tourists. They also managed to seize part of the government before having to withdraw before Dutch policemen and army units. Panzers spearheaded the advance and smashed the unprepared Lowland militaries. Soon much of the Netherlands and parts of Belgium were occupied by this suprise invasion.
The Allied High Command felt vindicated now that the Germans were running a variation of the Schlieffen plan. Their mobile units raced forward to the Dyle line and took up positions, ready to repel the enemy. But in the south the knock out blow was readied. Once it became apparent that the Allies were falling for the trap, Guderian and his corps blitzed through the Ardennes. The Belgian Chausseurs fled without even attempting to delay their advance and soon the French reservists were experiencing the full fury of the Panzers. Divisions broke and fled, hounded by the Luftwaffe and German mobile formations. Rumors led reserves astray or sent them fleeing away from the front, delaying other formations. The line was in chaos. Back in north Belgium, while trying to reorient themselves to deal with the developing threat, the armies of von Rundstedt engaged and pinned the mass of the Allied armies. The infantry and armored formations of both sides clashed, but the Luftwaffe controlled the air. The RAF and French air force were not to be seen. They could not compete with the Germans and were swept from the skies. With in 3 weeks the first tanks of Guderian's corps had reached the English channel. The Allies were in panic. The British were attempting to withdraw to the shore and embark for England, but Guderian had ordered his Panzers onwards. They had struck and seized most of the coast, but in the process, many had broken down. The Luftwaffe was diverted to the coast to prevent a break out and capture of Guderian's corps. Eventually in their despairation many Allied units managed to break out to the sea, forcing many of the German forces to abandon their equipment and flee. Though reduced in numbers, large Allied formations formed a pocket on the coast and waited for British ships to pick them up. Luftwaffe air fleets pounded the Allies day and night, including the Strategic air arm, that used their devestating carpet bombings to smash the pocket. Fighting raged all along the perimeter as German infantry fought to capture the Allied armies. The attempted rescue would be costly for the Allies, as nearly 60% of ships used were damaged or sunk. Particularly damaged were the destroyers, with 17 sunk. The Kriegsmarine naval bombers proved deadly. After nearly a week of napalm, phosphorus, cluster bombs, and other deadly muntions being hurrled at the pocket, it collapsed. Almost 200,000 men had been evacuated, mostly British. However, more than 40,000 were wounded. Additionally the RAF and RN had suffered thousands more in casualties. The pocket mangaged to yield over 200,000 prisoners.
More to come....
Note: the Altmark incident does not happen and Finland is not invaded, so the British don't try to invade Norway. As a result Scandinavia stays completely neutral.
After months of inaction, the civilians of both sides began to think that the war was a farce. Nothing was happening. The armies were training, sure, and their sons were drafted, but no fighting had happened since the invasion of Poland. Hopes were rising that negotiations were on going and all this nonsense would be over. They would be sadly mistaken. They were right that negotiations were on going, but neither side was willing to budge on the most crucial issues. Support for the war was never very high in Britain and many were calling for a truce. Most everyone in Britain had never been to Poland and thought that this fuss over some silly Eastern European nation was none of their concern. In fact it was bad for business, as rationing cut into consumer goods. These goods were still available, but were harder and more expensive to find. Churchill and the British military were aware that the civilians would have to be bought off, so nation was not on a full war footing either. But still fighter planes, tanks and bombers rolled off the assembly lines. Ships were still being built and troops trained, but nothing had yet happened. The Allied High Command knew that the blow was coming in 1941 and were bracing themselves for a fight. French troops though were quite deficient in training and many conscripts had to work instead of train in their off duty hours. Many more applied for leave as they had families to support and could not afford to stay away from home for long. In all, readiness was low in the French army. The situation was the opposite in the German army. They were better paid and highly motivated to end this war in one engagement. The troops were run through tough, realistic training to prepare them for the coming battles. Then in May, everything changed.
It began early on May 5th. Gliders landed on the Belgian fort Eben Emal and heavily armed commandos proceeded to smash the gun turrets. They managed to seize control of the most modern fortress in the world within a day, and linked up with combat engineers that completed the coup the following day. This was just one part of the massive invasion of the Lowlands. The Netherlands was blanketed with paratroopers who moved in and seized their objectives despite being outnumbered 5:1. The greatest coup of all was the capture of the Dutch royal family at Den Haag by a special Brandenburger commando unit that had posed as tourists. They also managed to seize part of the government before having to withdraw before Dutch policemen and army units. Panzers spearheaded the advance and smashed the unprepared Lowland militaries. Soon much of the Netherlands and parts of Belgium were occupied by this suprise invasion.
The Allied High Command felt vindicated now that the Germans were running a variation of the Schlieffen plan. Their mobile units raced forward to the Dyle line and took up positions, ready to repel the enemy. But in the south the knock out blow was readied. Once it became apparent that the Allies were falling for the trap, Guderian and his corps blitzed through the Ardennes. The Belgian Chausseurs fled without even attempting to delay their advance and soon the French reservists were experiencing the full fury of the Panzers. Divisions broke and fled, hounded by the Luftwaffe and German mobile formations. Rumors led reserves astray or sent them fleeing away from the front, delaying other formations. The line was in chaos. Back in north Belgium, while trying to reorient themselves to deal with the developing threat, the armies of von Rundstedt engaged and pinned the mass of the Allied armies. The infantry and armored formations of both sides clashed, but the Luftwaffe controlled the air. The RAF and French air force were not to be seen. They could not compete with the Germans and were swept from the skies. With in 3 weeks the first tanks of Guderian's corps had reached the English channel. The Allies were in panic. The British were attempting to withdraw to the shore and embark for England, but Guderian had ordered his Panzers onwards. They had struck and seized most of the coast, but in the process, many had broken down. The Luftwaffe was diverted to the coast to prevent a break out and capture of Guderian's corps. Eventually in their despairation many Allied units managed to break out to the sea, forcing many of the German forces to abandon their equipment and flee. Though reduced in numbers, large Allied formations formed a pocket on the coast and waited for British ships to pick them up. Luftwaffe air fleets pounded the Allies day and night, including the Strategic air arm, that used their devestating carpet bombings to smash the pocket. Fighting raged all along the perimeter as German infantry fought to capture the Allied armies. The attempted rescue would be costly for the Allies, as nearly 60% of ships used were damaged or sunk. Particularly damaged were the destroyers, with 17 sunk. The Kriegsmarine naval bombers proved deadly. After nearly a week of napalm, phosphorus, cluster bombs, and other deadly muntions being hurrled at the pocket, it collapsed. Almost 200,000 men had been evacuated, mostly British. However, more than 40,000 were wounded. Additionally the RAF and RN had suffered thousands more in casualties. The pocket mangaged to yield over 200,000 prisoners.
More to come....