The Netherlands, and Alternate History. Part I
German Threats.
Germany had initially pledged to adhere to the Dutch declaration of neutrality given in late January. Nor had they interfered with the Morianeer coup, although rumors abounded that some of the troops which had besieged the Het Loo palace had in fact been German SS troops. These rumors were not to be proven until long after the war, by which time it made little difference. Things began to change somewhat though early in March, when Dutch spies began to report on large numbers of German troops massing several miles across the border.
When the German ambassador was asked about the troop movement he replied that the troops were a part of the army being massed for the planned invasion of France. And that the men had been placed near the Dutch border to throw the Entente off. He was then asked, with infinite politeness, if he could ask his government to move the troops further back into German territory. Meanwhile the Dutch army was mobilized to the border and put on a state of high alert. When news reached Adolf Hitler that the Dutch wanted the German troops moved back he grew furious. And told them through the ambassador that he would do no such thing. That the deployments of the German army were not the business of a neutral nation.
On the 25th of March, shortly after the signing of the Rotterdam-Brussels alliance the German ambassador delivered a document to the Staaten Generaal. It demanded to know if the Netherlands would follow its treaty commitments with Germany and aid in the war with France. On the 27th Hitler received the Dutch reply which although polite in its wording was in fact an attack upon the NAZI run Germany. The document said that the Dutch government had re-evaluated its commitments following the Morianeer coup and would focus their efforts of rebuilding their country, rather than attempting to expand it in a war with a country they had good relations with, such ad France or Belgium. Meanwhile the Netherlands sent out inquiries to Belgium, and later Luxembourg, if they would support them in the event that Germany insisted on its demands. Belgium and Luxembourg both pledged their support and the Netherlands moved the rest of their army to the German border.
Hitler learned of the Dutch deployment of their army on the 30th. Immediately he ordered his generals to begin preparations for an immediate invasion of the low countries. The target date for the invasion was the 10th of April, almost three hundred thousand troops were located for the invasion. These troops were hastily diverted from the force preparing to invade France, leading to near disaster for the Wehrmacht in the early Ardennes campaign where the Germans were often outnumbered and facing dug in machine gun pits.
In planning the invasion of the low countries German generals had taken into account the invasion of France and planned a two pronged offensive. The main push would swing north from Luxembourg and into Belgium before splitting in two, the southern force diving into France and increasing the pressure upon the already thinly spread Entente forces there. The other army, freshly re-enforced with new troops from Germany, would head northwards. Taking southern Dutch cities such as Antwerp and then proceeding straight for the heartland and cities such as Amsterdam and Utrecht. German generals hoped that the bulk of the Dutch army would be deployed along the German border, and thus of minimal use to them when the Heer attacked from Belgium.
Late on the 12th frantic calls from Luxembourg reached Rotterdam stating that German troops had invaded the country and swept the meager Luxembourgian army aside, they called for immediate assistance, hoping to get at least a few thousand Belgian troops to come to their aid. They also called for air support, Luxembourg having no aircraft to fight back the waves of Luftwaffe bombers which were terrorizing the cities. Destroying buildings and defensive works before ground troops arrived. The next day both Belgium and the Netherlands declared war upon Germany. For the first time in over one hundred years the Netherlands was at war.
Germany had initially pledged to adhere to the Dutch declaration of neutrality given in late January. Nor had they interfered with the Morianeer coup, although rumors abounded that some of the troops which had besieged the Het Loo palace had in fact been German SS troops. These rumors were not to be proven until long after the war, by which time it made little difference. Things began to change somewhat though early in March, when Dutch spies began to report on large numbers of German troops massing several miles across the border.
When the German ambassador was asked about the troop movement he replied that the troops were a part of the army being massed for the planned invasion of France. And that the men had been placed near the Dutch border to throw the Entente off. He was then asked, with infinite politeness, if he could ask his government to move the troops further back into German territory. Meanwhile the Dutch army was mobilized to the border and put on a state of high alert. When news reached Adolf Hitler that the Dutch wanted the German troops moved back he grew furious. And told them through the ambassador that he would do no such thing. That the deployments of the German army were not the business of a neutral nation.
On the 25th of March, shortly after the signing of the Rotterdam-Brussels alliance the German ambassador delivered a document to the Staaten Generaal. It demanded to know if the Netherlands would follow its treaty commitments with Germany and aid in the war with France. On the 27th Hitler received the Dutch reply which although polite in its wording was in fact an attack upon the NAZI run Germany. The document said that the Dutch government had re-evaluated its commitments following the Morianeer coup and would focus their efforts of rebuilding their country, rather than attempting to expand it in a war with a country they had good relations with, such ad France or Belgium. Meanwhile the Netherlands sent out inquiries to Belgium, and later Luxembourg, if they would support them in the event that Germany insisted on its demands. Belgium and Luxembourg both pledged their support and the Netherlands moved the rest of their army to the German border.
Hitler learned of the Dutch deployment of their army on the 30th. Immediately he ordered his generals to begin preparations for an immediate invasion of the low countries. The target date for the invasion was the 10th of April, almost three hundred thousand troops were located for the invasion. These troops were hastily diverted from the force preparing to invade France, leading to near disaster for the Wehrmacht in the early Ardennes campaign where the Germans were often outnumbered and facing dug in machine gun pits.
In planning the invasion of the low countries German generals had taken into account the invasion of France and planned a two pronged offensive. The main push would swing north from Luxembourg and into Belgium before splitting in two, the southern force diving into France and increasing the pressure upon the already thinly spread Entente forces there. The other army, freshly re-enforced with new troops from Germany, would head northwards. Taking southern Dutch cities such as Antwerp and then proceeding straight for the heartland and cities such as Amsterdam and Utrecht. German generals hoped that the bulk of the Dutch army would be deployed along the German border, and thus of minimal use to them when the Heer attacked from Belgium.
Late on the 12th frantic calls from Luxembourg reached Rotterdam stating that German troops had invaded the country and swept the meager Luxembourgian army aside, they called for immediate assistance, hoping to get at least a few thousand Belgian troops to come to their aid. They also called for air support, Luxembourg having no aircraft to fight back the waves of Luftwaffe bombers which were terrorizing the cities. Destroying buildings and defensive works before ground troops arrived. The next day both Belgium and the Netherlands declared war upon Germany. For the first time in over one hundred years the Netherlands was at war.
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Deleted member 2186
Would assume they where Brandenburgers as they where the German Special forces and not the SS.
Yeah a bit of a typo there on my part. The Germans present were by and large members of the Abwehr who volunteered for the assignment,
Deleted member 2186
No prob,
Also the Luxembourg army was in 1940 called the Gendarmes and Volunteers Corps, ore is in this timeline Luxembourg have a small regular army.
My thought was that they had a smallish army yes. Perhaps fifty thousand strong. Not sure if that is to large a force for so small a country though.
Deleted member 2186
That is way to much, the country in 1940 had only gotten a population of 284,000.
True, but ITTL they have a little bit more land. Not sure what that would do for their population though. I dont think it was a particularly populous Belgian province either.
That land makes them quite a bit more populous. I would estimate around 750,000 more people, not counting for more potential growth in TTL.
Deleted member 2186
That would mean using the OTL numbers of Belgian Luxembourg province (212,000 in 1940) and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (284,000 in 1940) the population would be around 496,000, lets add 100,000 people who have immigrated and such and this universe Luxembourg would have a population of around 594,000.
This is still a low number to have a army of 50,000 as you mention, Denmark with a population of 3,9 million in 1940 had only a army of 14,500, now if you like i could create something regarding a Luxembourg Army.
That would be amazing! Also Denmark was not invaded in world war one, and counted on neutrality to ensure they would not be invaded. Perhaps the Luxembourgian army is so large because the country was invaded by the Germans once before and they dont want to be stomped over now. Also assume the country has fifty thousand men if they mobilize reserves, during peacetime the army might stand at around ten thousand.
If you want to feel free to write something on Luxembourg though.
Deleted member 2186
Will do my best, the Luxembourg Army will be small (10,000), will not have any vehicles, few artillery and no aircraft at all.
Fall of Luxembourg.
Belgium and the Netherlands responded immediately to the Luxembourgian cry for help. The Belgian army mobilized a division, some fifty thousand men, and sent them on a forced march to join up with the bulk of the Luxembourgian armed forces which were holding out stubbornly in the capital city of Luxembourg city against a much larger German force equipped with tanks and aircraft. Of which neither Belgium or Luxembourg held any large amount of, forcing the Netherlands to send a portion of their armored and airborne forces to assist. Thus thirty tanks, the same number of armored cars, twenty five hundred elite troops and three squadrons of aircraft were detached from the main army to assist.
The aircraft arrived first on the fourteenth of April and immediately engaged the Luftwaffe planes bombarding the city. Their arrival caught the Germans by surprise, no one considered the possibility of the Netherlands sending aircraft, or any forces what soever to assist Luxembourg. The Dutch pilots managed to destroy eight Stuka dive bombers on the first day. The next day the Germans diverted BF109 fighters from the fighting in France to escort the bombers, leading to the first great air battles of the war. Dutch and German planes were found to be roughly similar, much the same could be said of both German and Dutch aces. Which both flew their planes very aggressively and effectively. It was the first time the German pilots had ever faced modern aircraft and it showed. Four BF109 were lost on the 15th, with a total of ninety three lost during the course of the low countries invasion.
Both Belgian and Dutch ground forces arrived in Luxembourg on the sixteenth and immediately charged the German lines. The attack was poorly planned, especially on the Belgian side, and was repulsed with heavy losses by a well planned German counter attack. The Luxembourgian army abandoned Luxembourg city not long after and along with the rest of the combined army began a fighting retreat out of the country. The Wehrmacht would occupy all of Luxembourg by the twentieth. Just eight days after the initial invasion. In total losses on the German side amounted to just under ten thousand, five tanks and twenty six aircraft. Allied losses amounted to around fifteen thousand, two tanks and fifteen aircraft.
The Luxembourgian government and royal family left the country on the 19th of April bound for the safety of the Netherlands. The Germans hastily rounded up a retired prime minister, held a phony election and re-instated him as PM. And then had him surrender Luxembourg unconditionally to Germany. Hitler then announced plans to add the country to the Reich, the first step in uniting all Aryans under one flag. Luxembourg would then be required to provide men for the war effort. Eventually thirty thousand men between the ages of eighteen to thirty five would serve in the Wehrmacht, often on the eastern front. And often against their will.
Battle of Belgium
The allies had little time to prepare for the German invasion of Belgium. After a brief two day break to gather up their forces the Germans launched their invasion into Belgium. The large Belgian army and extensive fortifications designed to repulse any invasion proved ill equipped to handle attack from mobile armored units and air attack. Within days the Germans had taken Liege and most of Namur. From the 25-29th the Belgians managed to halt the German advance, but all involved knew it would only be temporary.
On the 29th however the Germans powered through the Belgian lines and used sheer momentum to carry them through to the capital of Brussels. The government and royal family evacuated the country on the 1st of May. By which time ten thousand French troops arrived into the country and joined the allied troops in defending the Belgian capital city of Brussels from the Germans for the five day siege. On the sixth the allies abandoned the city, along with the provinces of Brabant and Hainaut, leaving only Ost and west Flanders out of German hands. The Germans would manage to take even these heavily defended provinces by the tenth.
Thousands of Belgian troops and civilians poured into neighboring France and the Netherlands. The fifteen thousand men who fled into France would form a special unit in the French army, fighting hard around Paris before the surrender. Those that escaped to the Netherlands aided in the defense of that country, serving well against increasingly stiff German attacks. Back in their homeland the Germans accepted the surrender of Belgium by remnants of the government on the twelfth of May. Belgium would be forced to cede the provinces of Liege and Namur to Germany, and join the Axis. Belgium declared war upon France, Britain and the Netherlands on the fifteenth. Sending a total of two hundred thousand of its men to fight in German armies in every theater of the war. Often Belgian units recieved the most dangerous assignments, and suffered extremely high casualty rates as a result.
Belgium and the Netherlands responded immediately to the Luxembourgian cry for help. The Belgian army mobilized a division, some fifty thousand men, and sent them on a forced march to join up with the bulk of the Luxembourgian armed forces which were holding out stubbornly in the capital city of Luxembourg city against a much larger German force equipped with tanks and aircraft. Of which neither Belgium or Luxembourg held any large amount of, forcing the Netherlands to send a portion of their armored and airborne forces to assist. Thus thirty tanks, the same number of armored cars, twenty five hundred elite troops and three squadrons of aircraft were detached from the main army to assist.
The aircraft arrived first on the fourteenth of April and immediately engaged the Luftwaffe planes bombarding the city. Their arrival caught the Germans by surprise, no one considered the possibility of the Netherlands sending aircraft, or any forces what soever to assist Luxembourg. The Dutch pilots managed to destroy eight Stuka dive bombers on the first day. The next day the Germans diverted BF109 fighters from the fighting in France to escort the bombers, leading to the first great air battles of the war. Dutch and German planes were found to be roughly similar, much the same could be said of both German and Dutch aces. Which both flew their planes very aggressively and effectively. It was the first time the German pilots had ever faced modern aircraft and it showed. Four BF109 were lost on the 15th, with a total of ninety three lost during the course of the low countries invasion.
Both Belgian and Dutch ground forces arrived in Luxembourg on the sixteenth and immediately charged the German lines. The attack was poorly planned, especially on the Belgian side, and was repulsed with heavy losses by a well planned German counter attack. The Luxembourgian army abandoned Luxembourg city not long after and along with the rest of the combined army began a fighting retreat out of the country. The Wehrmacht would occupy all of Luxembourg by the twentieth. Just eight days after the initial invasion. In total losses on the German side amounted to just under ten thousand, five tanks and twenty six aircraft. Allied losses amounted to around fifteen thousand, two tanks and fifteen aircraft.
The Luxembourgian government and royal family left the country on the 19th of April bound for the safety of the Netherlands. The Germans hastily rounded up a retired prime minister, held a phony election and re-instated him as PM. And then had him surrender Luxembourg unconditionally to Germany. Hitler then announced plans to add the country to the Reich, the first step in uniting all Aryans under one flag. Luxembourg would then be required to provide men for the war effort. Eventually thirty thousand men between the ages of eighteen to thirty five would serve in the Wehrmacht, often on the eastern front. And often against their will.
Battle of Belgium
The allies had little time to prepare for the German invasion of Belgium. After a brief two day break to gather up their forces the Germans launched their invasion into Belgium. The large Belgian army and extensive fortifications designed to repulse any invasion proved ill equipped to handle attack from mobile armored units and air attack. Within days the Germans had taken Liege and most of Namur. From the 25-29th the Belgians managed to halt the German advance, but all involved knew it would only be temporary.
On the 29th however the Germans powered through the Belgian lines and used sheer momentum to carry them through to the capital of Brussels. The government and royal family evacuated the country on the 1st of May. By which time ten thousand French troops arrived into the country and joined the allied troops in defending the Belgian capital city of Brussels from the Germans for the five day siege. On the sixth the allies abandoned the city, along with the provinces of Brabant and Hainaut, leaving only Ost and west Flanders out of German hands. The Germans would manage to take even these heavily defended provinces by the tenth.
Thousands of Belgian troops and civilians poured into neighboring France and the Netherlands. The fifteen thousand men who fled into France would form a special unit in the French army, fighting hard around Paris before the surrender. Those that escaped to the Netherlands aided in the defense of that country, serving well against increasingly stiff German attacks. Back in their homeland the Germans accepted the surrender of Belgium by remnants of the government on the twelfth of May. Belgium would be forced to cede the provinces of Liege and Namur to Germany, and join the Axis. Belgium declared war upon France, Britain and the Netherlands on the fifteenth. Sending a total of two hundred thousand of its men to fight in German armies in every theater of the war. Often Belgian units recieved the most dangerous assignments, and suffered extremely high casualty rates as a result.
Deleted member 2186
Okay i will go step for step and you can say if it is good ore not.
Corps de la Garde Grand-Ducale
The Grand Ducal Guard (French: Corps de la Garde Grand-Ducale) is the ceremonial guard unit of the military of Luxembourg and is made up of one infantry battalion.
Invasion.
May-August.
The Wehrmacht reached the Netherlands on the fourteenth of May, the day before the German puppet government in Belgium declared war on the allies. Initially the Germans expected similar fighting as with Luxembourg and Belgium. Slow, but inevitable progress in the face of slowly retreating defenders unable to stand up to the full might of German arms. However in the Netherlands the Germans received a major surprise. The Dutch, unlike the Belgians or Poles were well prepares, and as a result German armies had great difficulty in advancing through the Netherlands. It had been though that a quick invasion from the south would throw the Dutch armies off, their main defensive works being along the German border.
However this assumption was foolhardy at best. The Dutch army had up to half a year to prepare for the Germans. And they had used that time wisely. Across the Netherlands pillboxes, tank traps, trenches, forts, gun emplacements and airbases had been built. And the army reserves called up and brought up to full readiness. The Dutch army stood at easily three hundred and fifty thousand men, with four hundred and fifty tanks, some completed only recently, five hundred aircraft of various sorts, three hundred armored cars and seventy five large artillery pieces. When the Germans launched an initial attack through the provinces of Limburg and Antwerpen the full might of this force was brought to bare.
The Germans planned to take the port of Antwerp in a quick siege, as had been done already with Luxembourg city and Brussels, however in prior battles the Germans had enjoyed clear superiority in tanks and airplanes. Here the numbers favored the Dutch. The Germans had only two hundred and eleven tanks available for combat at the start of the battle. And only three hundred aircraft. Giving the advantage firmly to the Dutch who managed from the 16th to the 17th to gradually push the initial German attack back and inflict very heavy casualties. German generals then fell back to await re-enforcement's from France. The men began to arrive in numbers on the 21st with a new attempt on the city planned for the 25th.
Meanwhile the Dutch armed forces received a godsend in the form of fifty thousand British and Canadian soldiers sent by the British, these men had originally been intended to fight in France, but had been diverted following the fall of that country. The Netherlands and its allies had signed a secret alliance with the Entente days before the invasion of Luxembourg, but the effects of the alliance had not arrived soon enough to stop the fall of Belgium and Luxembourg. Nor even France. The Canadians came well equipped with tanks, artillery and aircraft, mostly Hawker Hurricanes though a few of the new Spitfires were sent along as well. These men made a welcome addition to the Dutch defense. And were unknown by the Germans until well after the attack on Antwerp had begun.
May-August.
The Wehrmacht reached the Netherlands on the fourteenth of May, the day before the German puppet government in Belgium declared war on the allies. Initially the Germans expected similar fighting as with Luxembourg and Belgium. Slow, but inevitable progress in the face of slowly retreating defenders unable to stand up to the full might of German arms. However in the Netherlands the Germans received a major surprise. The Dutch, unlike the Belgians or Poles were well prepares, and as a result German armies had great difficulty in advancing through the Netherlands. It had been though that a quick invasion from the south would throw the Dutch armies off, their main defensive works being along the German border.
However this assumption was foolhardy at best. The Dutch army had up to half a year to prepare for the Germans. And they had used that time wisely. Across the Netherlands pillboxes, tank traps, trenches, forts, gun emplacements and airbases had been built. And the army reserves called up and brought up to full readiness. The Dutch army stood at easily three hundred and fifty thousand men, with four hundred and fifty tanks, some completed only recently, five hundred aircraft of various sorts, three hundred armored cars and seventy five large artillery pieces. When the Germans launched an initial attack through the provinces of Limburg and Antwerpen the full might of this force was brought to bare.
The Germans planned to take the port of Antwerp in a quick siege, as had been done already with Luxembourg city and Brussels, however in prior battles the Germans had enjoyed clear superiority in tanks and airplanes. Here the numbers favored the Dutch. The Germans had only two hundred and eleven tanks available for combat at the start of the battle. And only three hundred aircraft. Giving the advantage firmly to the Dutch who managed from the 16th to the 17th to gradually push the initial German attack back and inflict very heavy casualties. German generals then fell back to await re-enforcement's from France. The men began to arrive in numbers on the 21st with a new attempt on the city planned for the 25th.
Meanwhile the Dutch armed forces received a godsend in the form of fifty thousand British and Canadian soldiers sent by the British, these men had originally been intended to fight in France, but had been diverted following the fall of that country. The Netherlands and its allies had signed a secret alliance with the Entente days before the invasion of Luxembourg, but the effects of the alliance had not arrived soon enough to stop the fall of Belgium and Luxembourg. Nor even France. The Canadians came well equipped with tanks, artillery and aircraft, mostly Hawker Hurricanes though a few of the new Spitfires were sent along as well. These men made a welcome addition to the Dutch defense. And were unknown by the Germans until well after the attack on Antwerp had begun.
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especially if you consider the damage they did in otl with fairly limited resources
Deleted member 2186
hundred and fifty thousand Canadian soldiers, that is more than the Canadian Army had in OTL.
Yeah I meant that as fifty thousand Canadian and British soldiers. It would seem that my dysfunctional brain decided a number thrice that large would be better. Edited.