1st November 1939
Sir John and his team had just finished their inspection of the two prototype tanks. These were a Sabre and a Cutlass which had been refitted to mount the 6pdr gun finishing development. The modifications had gone well, and while a few small problems had been found there were no serious issues. The change to a mechanical elevation mount in the Sabre earlier in the year had made the fitting simpler; the change allowed the gun to be moved forward in the turret, effectively allowing it to take up less space. The Cutlass had been designed to take the 6/18pdr, so again the 6pdr wasn't a problem.
The gun itself was due for its final acceptance trials in December, and Vickers had suggested that they include the two tank-mounted guns in the trials, as it was intended to be fitted on them. Once the gun had passed acceptance, they hoped to be able to offer it fitted to tanks by the summer, as long as they got the resources to open a new production line. The original idea had been to take over one of the HV3pdr lines, but the need for that gun was too great to close one down to convert to the 6pdr, so there would be a little longer delay than had originally been anticipated.
There had been discussions - and a lot of sketches and arm-waving - over the concept of a HE round for the gun. Woolwich had originally intended it as the heavy AT gun for the Royal Artillery, in which usage only an AT round was really needed, but the tank designers felt that something better than just an HE filling (as in the HV 3pdr) could be done with some thought, and if they could manage that then the 6pdr, which still not as effective as the 6/18pdr in the Close Support role, would be considerably more flexible. While the current solution the RTC had decided, mixing CS tanks in with the cruisers to provide a mixed force, it was recognised that this wasn't a perfect solution, and while they still intended to do this, a greater HE capability would be useful.
The suggested solution was to use two rather different shells. The HE or smoke round would be a longer and heavier shell, fired at a lower MV to reduce the need for a heavy, strong shell casing. The filling would extend back into the propellant space, as the shell wouldn't need to penetrate armour. They calculated that by doing this they could fit in an additional 50% explosive, a considerable improvement. As a result of the changes the shell would actually be considerably heavier than the 6pdr, they calculated it as nearly 9 pounds. The only drawback would be the need to modify the gunsight to allow for the two different muzzle velocities, but this had already been done for the 6/18pdr without any real issues. While it did require some additional training, it had been found that the combination of this plus learning the mechanical elevation and the move-stop-shoot technique actually required noticeably less time to reach acceptable standards than the old shoulder-elevated firing while moving.
7th November 1939
The Belgian and Dutch Monarch's emphasize their country's neutrality, but offer to act as peace negotiators. Hitler rejects the proposal, as do both Britain and France. Paul Thummel, a double agent, passes details of the German plans for the western offensive to the Czech government-in-exile, but there are concerns that this is not genuine intelligence.
8th November 1939
A bomb intended to kill Hitler explodes at the annual meeting of the veterans of the 1923 Nazi Putsch in Munich, but the Führer had already left the beer cellar. The German media accuses Britain of orchestrating an assassination attempt on Hitler, a claim strongly denied by the British Government.
9th November 1939
By November 1939, the French had decided that a defence along the Dyle Line in Belgium was feasible but the British were lukewarm about an advance into Belgium. The Escaut plan was considered the simpler of the two options, as the advance would involve only a day's march for the Allied left wing. This would allow the three non-motorised divisions of Seventh Army to reach their defensive line far more easily.
The Dyle plan meant that the BEF would have to advance 60 miles over roads which might be difficult to use due to refugees. Their complete move would take some seven days, although the main part of the force would reach its defence line much more quickly. The position of the Seventh Army was also more difficult, either they would need more time - assuming the Belgian Army would hold - or the advance would have to be led by their motorised units, which would then be tied down and unable to act as a reserve.
However there were advantages to the Dyle position as long as it could be reached in time. It would also make it easier for the retreating Belgian Army to fall back behind. With the Dendre and Escaut rivers and the prepared defences of the French frontier lying behind it, the Dyle position could be organised in greater depth. The defensive line was actually shorter than the Escaut line, and if held would deny a far larger area of Belgium to the enemy.
The British were still worried about the loss of the most mobile part of the reserve. While First Army had its own reserve, they felt one was needed for the northern part of the Army Group, as the Belgian Army could not be counted on to more than delay the Germans while falling back on the Allied lines. Once this had been done, it was expected that they would be in no condition to do more than recover from this.
Given their reservations, the British offered a modification to the plan. Seventh Army would be split in two, the three Infantry divisions and the two motorised divisions along with the 1st Light Mechanised division. While there was insufficient transport to make the 21st, 60th and 68th Divisions truly motorised, enough could be found to enable them, and particularly their advance units, to make the advance to the Dyle line in plenty of time. To add to the mobile reserve, the British would add the 1st Armoured Brigade immediately, and increase this to the full 1st Armoured division when it was fully deployed, which was expected in December. They also agreed to include the 5th Infantry division, again expected in France in December.
This, they pointed out, would have considerable advantages. There would now be a strong mobile reserve, including the armour which would be needed if the Germans committed strong Panzer forces in their area. By doing this now, it would allow time for the British and French units in the reformed Seventh Army to train together and so be more effective in combat. While Gamelin would have preferred his original plan - he was worried about the difficulty of finding the transport assets for the three infantry divisions - the addition of more British units, including an Armoured Division, did mean that Seventh Army should be fully capable of acting as the reserve for the northern section. He still expected the German advance to be further south, but this allowed him to retain the French armour to cover the expected thrust. On 9th November, the Dyle Plan/Plan D was formally put to the Supreme Allied War Council a few days later.
13th November 1939
German bombers attack Britain for the first time, a raid on the Shetland Islands in which no damage was done. It did however concern the RAF, who were worried about further attacks, and in particular the danger posed by the Luftwaffe gaining bases in the Low Countries. This added weight to the idea of the Dyle plan, as they were not convinced that the Escaut line would stop the Germans obtaining forward air bases. The issue if Holland was still not solved - while nota s close as Belgium, it would still make bombing Britain easier, but as Holland was neutral and unwilling to join in any official war planning it was felt little could be done at this point.
17th November 1939
The Supreme Allied War Council agrees on the co-ordination of British and French war production. While there is already co-operation between industries, it has been done in a piecemeal manner, and in order to maximise the war potential of the two countries this needs to be managed properly. It is also decided that if the Germans should invade Belgium, then both British and French troops will move forward in to Belgium to defend the Albert Canal, River Meuse and the River Dyle, which were considered strong positions from which to meet any German attack. However, the Belgium government refuses to allow Allied reconnaissance parties in to country for fear of provoking the Germans, and this means the Allied Armies will have to take their word as to the nature and completeness of defensive preparations. Gamelin issued a directive that day detailing a line from Givet to Namur, the Gembloux Gap, Wavre, Louvain and Antwerp
{ For those interested in some of the things you can do with shells to improve penetration and HE load, I recommend CANNON, MACHINE GUNS AND AMMUNITION (quarryhs.co.uk), Tony William's excellent site, he really knows his stuff on guns. I shamelessly adapted some of his concepts.}