Empire of Fu Manchu

11 Downing Street, London
England, British Empire
Wednesday, August 13th 1940



‘Welcome Gentlemen and please be seated!’ Prime Minister Lord Halifax said, taking his seat at the head of the table.

For the first meeting of the Prime Minister with his military advisor committee, the atmosphere was charged. For the last few hours London, England, the whole of Great Britain, was holding its collective breath, awaiting the first news from the front.

Sitting by Lord Halifax’s side was the newly appointed War Secretary, Sir Winston Churchill.

Naturally the joint Chiefs were there; the Chief of the Imperial General Staff General Sir John Dill, also chairman of the joint chiefs, the First Sea Lord Sir Dudley Pound and the Chief of the Air Staff Lord Cyril Newall.

The Intelligence community were represented by Sir Vernon Kell of the Security Service and Sir Stewart Menzies, the new head of the Secret Service since the death of Admiral Sinclair, who had brought with him as an expert Sir Dennis Nayland Smith, the Empire’s top authority on Fu Manchu.

‘Now, Sir John, why don’t you begin with letting us know how things are going?’ Halifax began.

‘Yes, Prime Minister’, the General said and rose to stand next to a big map of Asia, swagger stick in hand to point out the locations mentioned.

‘As indicated by our pre-hostilities reconnaissance, the enemy was ready and waiting for us with great strength. Our early offensive plans were therefore shelved even before the outbreak of war and we have been preparing a strategic defence along the front from Afghanistan to Singapore. In accordance with the instructions received from you, Prime Minister, we’ve pulled back all forces from Hong Kong and Sarawak. We also evacuated most of the English colonies there, which was lucky. Hong Kong was declared an open city at the outbreak of war and was immediately occupied by the Pan-Asians. Sarawak has not as of yet been invaded, but the war is only a few hours old.’

‘It’s a damn shame!’ Churchill said forcefully, as if to berate the PM for the loss of the crown colony. ‘But there was no way around it. Hong Kong was always indefensible against a powerful China. We’ve always known that and hoped China would never be powerful enough to dare to challenge us. Now it must be our business to break up this mongrel Empire and put these people back in their place!’

Halifax nodded, somewhat relieved. He knew Winston was no friend of giving up parts of the Empire, but he was intelligent enough to know that Britain didn't have the power to defend everything against such strong opposition.

‘We’re making our main effort in Malaya’, General Dill continued. ‘We are of the opinion that Singapore is the linchpin of our whole Empire in Asia. As long as we hold Singapore, the Pan-Asians have no chance of conquering the Dutch East Indies, and any forces tied up fighting in Malaya can not be sent against Burma and India. For the moment, the enemy doesn’t seem too intent on advancing in that sector, only four infantry divisions have been identified probing our lines.’

‘So where is the enemy attacking then?’ Churchill asked, frowning. It was a bad sign that the Pan-Asians didn’t seem eager to tackle the main British concentration.

‘India, and Burma’, the General answered, mirroring Churchill’s frown. ‘The Pan-Asians are attacking in great strength all along the border, from the Punjab to Rangoon. We estimate thirty to forty infantry divisions, four field armies attacking India – two against Punjab, one against Nepal and one against Bhutan. Three more armies are attacking Burma.’

‘My God, a whole army each against Bhutan and Nepal?’ Churchill said, sounding horrified. ‘They cannot hold against numbers like that! They’ll be swept aside, opening up the whole of India to the enemy! They’ll be in Delhi in a few weeks!’

‘Unfortunately, so it would seem’ the Chief of the Imperial General Staff conceded. ‘The terrain is very difficult, but the enemy attacks with such overwhelming force that our Himalayan allies have been unable to hold the passes.’

In the face of such dire news, Lord Halifax was an image of determination. ‘Gentlemen, much as I mourn this news, let’s not forget why we’re fighting this war – to save America. Already, we’ve tied up sixty or more enemy divisions. Imagine what chances the Americans would have if those same sixty divisions were now being deployed to the fronts in America. The strength of the Pan-Asian attack against us is a measure of our success! Now we must strive to hang on for dear life for as long as possible – and thus give America a chance to bring its strength to bear. Britain can never hope to defeat such a colossal foe alone. Only with America is victory even possible.’

‘Well spoken, Prime Minister!’ Dill agreed. ‘We may loose India, and still win the war if we can keep America in the fight, and if we can keep Singapore.’

‘Sir Dudley?’ Churchill asked. ‘What do you say to that? Can we keep Singapore?’

The elderly admiral shrugged. ‘As soon as the fleet gets there, I will answer for the safety of Singapore with my head, if required. Before that… if the Pan-Asians send an invasion fleet against Malaya, I doubt the Fleet Air Arm will be able to stop them. But on the other hand, it sounds as if we have ground forces to spare in Malaya to crush any landings, most especially the armoured division will be invaluable for this.’

‘Sir Stewart? Does the Secret Service believe that the Pan-Asians will be able to invade Malaya?’ Lord Halifax asked.

‘Undoubtedly, Prime Minister, but not for a few weeks yet. Our intelligence resources within Pan-Asia indicate that at present most of their transport tonnage is dedicated to two vast troop convoys to America, each one including a full Field Army – that’s eighteen divisions total.’

‘That is very bad news!’ Dill commented, looking upset. ‘The Americans are against the ropes, but they are on the verge of activating a large number of fresh divisions – they expect to have around a hundred divisions, including ten armoured in the field before the end of the year, but right now they’re not only outgunned but outnumbered. Fresh Pan-Asian formations are the last thing that they need.’

‘We can always hope the US Navy can reduce those convoys for a bit’, the First Sea Lord replied. ‘Their last carrier, the Wasp, is currently en route from Christmas Island to Vancouver, from which it will be able to operate against the Pan-Asian lines of communication with the west coast.’

‘Speaking of which’, Halifax asked, ‘how are talks on naval issues progressing with our former enemies, Sir Dudley?’

‘We can now count with the enthusiastic support of Mussolini’s Regia Marina!’ Sir Dudley said his voice heavy with sarcasm. ‘The Duce will send a battle group of his own to help us defend Singapore, which will include their four modern battleships.’

‘You shouldn’t sound so smug, Sir Dudley!’ Churchill objected. ‘The Vittorio Veneto and the Littorio are first rate battleships!’

‘But their seamen are not, Sir Winston! The day the Royal Navy needs help from their kind will be a day to mourn! And we will have to refuel them from our stores in Ceylon, and Singapore. After they top up in Asmara, the Italians can’t provide for them any longer.’

‘But we'll diplomatically accept their help anyway’, Halifax said with finality, ‘and we will provide them with all the fuel they need, and extend them every help and courtesy. We’re not just fighting a war together with Italy and Germany – we’re building a new concert of Europe, a lasting peace!’

Churchill briefly looked as if he was choking on something, but managed to repress whatever objections he was ruminating on. ‘How about the Kriegsmarine?’ he said instead. ‘Few as they are, their U-boots did some pretty impressive damage for a three month war.’

Again, the First Sea Lord shrugged. ‘They’re not eager to contribute. It’s a pity – they built their few surface ships expressly as commerce raiders, also their first true battleship, the “Bismarck” which is set to be launched in less than ten days. I imagine she, their two battle cruisers and four pocket battleships could wreak havoc in the Pacific while the Pan-Asian Navy is tied down by us, but I guess Herr Hitler wants to preserve what few ships he has. They have agreed to deploy some U-boots to Panama though, let’s see if that helps any.’

‘Let’s pray it does.’ Halifax summed up. ‘Any news from Canada?’

‘No fighting as of yet’, General Dill replied. ‘– but the Canadians are only directly facing the Pan-Asians at Vancouver. The enemy has an infantry corps defending Seattle, but they are pinned in place by US army forces holding the high terrain to the East. The Canadian Army has a single division in Vancouver, and we’re loath to reinforce it. The enemy can land reinforcements at any point along the Pacific Coast. Best we can hope for is to hold Vancouver as a naval base, but realistically, the Pan-Asians will land one of those Field Armies at Seattle and use it to capture Vancouver before moving it east and there’s precious little we can do about it. The Canadians are moving most of their forces into north-central United States to threaten the northern flank of the Pan-Asian advance towards the Mississippi. We don’t have many troops to send there yet, but the Americans and Canadians should be able to eventually handle what the enemy has there as long as we prevent them from sending any more.’

‘We’re in the process of ferrying over six squadrons of Spitfires and all of bomber Command to the United States’, Lord Newall reported. ‘The Americans have requested that they cooperate in blunting the Pan-Asian armoured spearheads in the southern end of the front.’

‘Very well, we’ll just have to await further news then’, Halifax summed up. ‘Sir Vernon, any update on the security situation?’

Sir Vernon looked very much as if he didn’t know what to say. ‘Prime Minister, as per the instructions from the SIS, we've put in place round the clock surveillance of all the cemeteries in the United Kingdom. Personally, I find this completely demented, but I have complied to the best of my abilities. May I know the reason for this highly unorthodox measure?’

‘You may not, but well done nonetheless. Believe me, I know it sounds insane, but the security issue is very real. Thank you for your reports gentlemen. Now I would like to ask Sir Dennis, our top man in the field of knowledge regarding our enemy, Emperor Fu Manchu – what will Fu do next? I seem to remember you were of the opinion that he would desperately try to avoid war with us. This, obviously, has failed. What will be his next move?’

Nayland Smith felt somewhat self-conscious in that assembly of greats, all looking at him. He cleared his throat. ‘Prime Minister, without claiming complete understanding of his fiendish mind, in my experience Fu Manchu can be very devious and subtle when preparing his next attack, but when he strikes, he is ruthlessness incarnate. In this case, we’re not merely a stumbling block in his path – destroying our Asian Empire was always his ultimate goal, removing the United States and gaining control of her resources was ever only intended as a first step in his Master Plan. So he will attack us with overwhelming force, trying to make as short as possible the period during which we can distract him from his American adventure, which has now become a liability to him. I expect him to devote his full production of tanks and aircraft to the Asian theatre until we are crushed. I expect him to strike with reckless abandon at the Royal Navy when it arrives – own losses won’t be an issue to him; he’ll gladly trade his entire Navy for ours if he has to. And I expect him to have some underhanded means at his disposal for evening the odds; Fu never fights fairly if he can help it. He’ll tailor his attack to our way of thinking and acting – for example, if he pockets any of our troops, he could use them as bait to lure us in even deeper as we try to rescue them and cause us even greater damage. And once we’ve been kicked out of Asia, or been reduced enough that our defeat is certain… he will send overwhelming forces across the Pacific and utterly crush the United States of America.’

Halifax frowned, looking anguished. ‘Well, it’s our duty to insure that never happens. Like the ill-fated republicans liked to say in the Spanish Civil War, “To resist is to triumph!” We have taken upon ourselves to stand up to the full fury of Fu Manchu. In so doing, we shall ultimately save America, our Empire and the world!’​