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WHat do you mean with when "the war" will start? The European one, or does a ROTW start(like Asia) count too?
 
Oops! Sorry, Nikolai, I meant the war in Europe.

And Jape, how right you are!

Still working on getting the update posted...
 
CHAPTER FIFTY - Part Two

Something Evil this way comes.


54Broadway.jpg


54 Broadway
London, England
August 23, 1939
9:08 a.m.


Walking in with the slight limp that refused to go away and served as a reminder of his unpleasant treatment by certain members of the German government, Gordon Drake entered the office of MI-6’s chief. His new chief, Sir William Stephenson, was busily devouring a report from one of a multitude of MI-6 section chiefs. Drake new very little about the new MI-6 chief, but from what information he was able to obtain from his own contacts within the Imperial Intelligence Office, than man who’s code name used to be Intrepid had his fingers in almost every significant overseas operation since the end of the Great War. That in of itself would be only slightly intimidating, however, when coupled with a face to face meeting with the small Canadian and witnessing the intensity of his drive to preserve the British Empire by almost any means, that feeling of intimidation rose several notches. Even for an experienced field operative such as Drake.

Using his cane to announce his presence as he strode deeper into the office, Drake was awarded with a warm and welcoming smile from Stephenson. “Gordon, my lad, how are you? You look positively grave this morning.”

“I’m doing better, sir,” Drake grinned back, noting again that if Stephenson had an intimidating side he had an equal if not larger generous side. In Drake’s case, the small Canadian had taken Drake under his wing and showed almost fatherly affection for the younger man. “However, I have some disturbing news to bring to light, and I fear it’s quite disturbing.”

“Have a seat and do tell,” Stephenson said while indicating a chair in front of his desk and pulling a cigar from the humidor perched upon a bookshelf behind his desk. Handing a second cigar to the man he had decided would soon become his aide, the MI-6 chief ignited the end of his cigar and waved for Drake to continue.

“Our friends in Germany have let it be known that something positively ghastly is going to occur regarding the relations with the menace to the east.”

“How reliable is this information, Gordon,” Intrepid asked as he reviewed the dossier that Drake had handed over.

“Better than top shelf liquor, sir.”

“Ah, from those friends then,” Stephenson chuckled wryly. That chuckle died a sudden death as the MI-6 chief read into the meat of the report Drake had provided in the dossier. Clamping his jaws around his smoking cigar, he picked up the receiver of the bright red phone that sat on the one clear corner of his desk. “Your Highness? We have information that needs to be shared with His Majesty and the rest of the Privy Council... Well, Your Highness, I believe I’m going to be losing some sleep over it until we come up with a way to counter act the information. Very well, Your Highness. We’ll be prepared.”

Placing the receiver back in it’ cradle, Stephenson looked back at Drake. “Gordon, we meet with the Council and His Majesty in two hours. You’ve got until then to have a full briefing ready.”

“Yes sir,” Drake replied as he heaved himself up from his seat and retrieved the dossier from his boss’s outstretched hand.




Up next: Part three in which we will find out the dire news... maybe. :p



Still no takers on the betting pool as to what day the war in Europe begins? Have I gotten everyone confused or have I just bored everyone away? :eek:o
 
ack... all these "little bit" updates. they're maddening i tell you! maddening! but not in a bad way, of course :)

i'm neither confused or board, however i just haven't been keeping track of the dates [even if they are in almost every post. and, i must admit, due to my own meddling, wars in my games pretty much never start anywhere near when they're ment to.

so, yeah... i'm still betting on "when poland gets stomped" as for what that means in date terms... knowing how the AI in my game likes to do things... December 4th. [it has this habbit of setting up for something really big like that, and then just sitting there doing nothing for several months :confused:]
 
Hitler might be mad, but he's not so mad that he will do a original time line Danzig or war. I think. No, I think our dear Draco has made some other juicy way to get Hitler to war. The only thing I'm unsure about is where SU comes into the picture. It hardly is logical to think His Majesty wants anything to do with them as allies. I think I'll go with another year or so before real fighting occours, and I think it will have to do with the commies in some way or another...
 
Not a chance that you have bored us Draco. You have given me the impression that the war is to start relativly soon, but I might now go for a start of the war first in 1940, early 1940 that is, around 20 of February.

Great updates as always Draco! Getting Turkey to join your alliance is great. It usually gives Germany some troubles with Allies able to land forces in Istanbul.
 
Nikolai said:
Hitler might be mad, but he's not so mad that he will do a original time line Danzig or war. I think. No, I think our dear Draco has made some other juicy way to get Hitler to war. The only thing I'm unsure about is where SU comes into the picture. It hardly is logical to think His Majesty wants anything to do with them as allies. I think I'll go with another year or so before real fighting occours, and I think it will have to do with the commies in some way or another...

That would be his reason for the Imperial Alliance I'm guessing, to try and compensate for the power the SU can bring to the table by basically grabbing every Balkan fiefdom possible.
 
Draco Rexus said:
Okay friends and neighbors, anyone want to set up a bettin' pool to see when the war will acutally start? Any guesses? The winner (or closet there of) get's a guest spot... ifin they want one, that is! :eek:o
Page 70!!! :rolleyes: Which should be sometime next week, right? :rofl:

Rensslaer
 
Draco Rexus: ...Still no takers on the betting pool as to what day the war in Europe begins?..



i agree that the main event will be delayed a bit.























by about 8 days. that is, September 7, 1939! ! :D

excellent update! ! :cool:
 
draco -Okay friends and neighbors, anyone want to set up a bettin' pool to see when the war will acutally start? Any guesses? The winner (or closet there of) get's a guest spot... ifin they want one, that is!


when's the war going to start? officially or un-officialy??

un-officially, i think it started round about the end of '36 when His Majesty was brutally kicked into touch by the followers of the red.

as for the psychopathic corporal and his lackeys, if the empire try to interfere with this 'treaty' he may turn round and do something silly!!

of course, if he's got the red bear backing him up, maybe it wont be so silly....

my guess is september 4th........" and on that day the skies turned black, the rivers ran red with blood , the earth shivered as though in fear of the horror to be let loosed, man himself cowered in fear as the fate, and dreams of his future hung in the balance...... the ancients foretold of this day, and gave it a name, in their language 'the end of all things'

in ours that name is..... Armageddon......"

:eek:

too dramatic??? ;)

later, caff
 
No, Draco we aren’t bored at all. Jolly nice update, good to see Gordon again and now I look forward to get to know what this information from the Germans are. Looking forward to it :)
 
Definitely not bored, Draco. You seem to be implying that the start date of the war will be ahistorical but I can't see any definitive clues. The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact seems to be taking the historical route at the very least, though with the dramatic build-up you're giving it there's the possibility of it bieng something more. So I'm going to guess August 28 as the start of the war, which gives Britain just enough time to react to whatever the troubling news out of Germany is and provoke herr Hitler into openning up hostilities. Let's just hope it's not the Unholy Alliance or else the Empire could be in trouble. :eek:
 
Well that is one way to reward hard work!
 
I think that however the alliances shake out, Poland is going to be toast. "Socialized" by its more sophisticated neighbors, as Lech Walesa put it. ;)

I do wonder who these "those friends" are who Gordon has... How high up might they be?

Looking forward to your next update, Draco! Keep up the grand project!

Rensslaer
 
CHAPTER FIFTY - Part Three

Something Evil this way comes


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Windsor Castle
London, England
August 23, 1939
11:30 a.m.


Once the last member of the Privy Council arrived, King George sat down and looked over at his younger brother and nodded for the briefing to begin. Clearing his throat, Prince George decided to skip any thing to preface his announcement and allowed it to come out blutly. "Your Majesty, my lords, gentlemen. The Germans and the Soviets are about to crawl into bed with each other.”

While each member of the Council reacted in their own unique way, from Churchill’s scowling grump to Mosley’s jaw dropping bafflement, Prince George motioned to Drake and cleared his throat again. “Gordon here will give you the details.”

“Your Majesty, milords, sirs,” Drake started from behind the lectern that had been situated at the end of the U-shaped conference table. “We have learned from extremely reliable sources within Germany that tomorrow at approximately two o’clock London time, the Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop will sign what will be publicly announced as a “non-aggression” pact.”

“Molotov? What happened to Litvinov,” asked Foreign Secretary Eden.

“Litvinov was replaced, Sir Anthony,” Stephenson said from next to Prince George, “upon his return from London earlier this year and following a “tragic” hunting accident near Comrade Stalin’s dacha outside of Moscow.”

While a slightly pale Eden slumped back in his chair, War Minister Cooper smirked toward Drake, “I take it that despite the public announcement, there is something more than “non-aggression” discussions going on in this meeting?”

“Yes sir,” Drake replied. Before he could elaborate the Lord Chancellor, Lord Hailsham, with a look of incredulity raised the question that was racing through the minds of many of the members of the Council. “But the French Foreign Ministry has a delegation in Moscow right now negotiating a military agreement between France and the Soviets. What happened with those talks?”

“My lord, those discussions have been very rough upon the French,” Drake enlightened. “The Soviets have been seeking guarantees for support against German aggression as we all know, however the difficulties have been their demand from France, and thus every nation allied with France, for the recognition of the Communist’s right to interfere against "a change of policy favorable to an aggressor" in any of the countries along the western border of Communist Russia.”

“Well I can see why that could provide a stumbling block,” Prime Minister Churchill grumped. “That would allow the Russians to intervene in those nations’ affairs even if there were no threat from the Huns!”

“It also creates what could be called a “sanitary cordon” between the Soviets and the Germans,” remarked the normally silent Home Secretary, Sir John Simon.

“And hence the reluctance of the French to agree to it,” Eden pronounced as he once more entered the discussion. "Especially since several of those nations are already members of our alliance, specifically Finland, Poland and Turkey.”

“So we know the Soviets are backstabbing scum,” the King interjected with a growl, “however, just how bad does this agreement appear to be, Gordon?”

“Your Majesty, what will be announced publicly, is the ten year non-aggression pact that includes provisions for consultations and if necessary arbitrations on matters involving the nations that share borders with the two nations, neutrality if either goes to war against a third power, and a prohibition on becoming a member of a group or alliance which directly or indirectly may be aimed at the other or the interests of the other nation.”

“It gets worse than that,” Churchill snorted with a raised eyebrow of mock astonishment.

“Indeed it does, Mr. Prime Minister,” Drake chuckled darkly. “And this is the real reason that our sources in Germany and the Imperial Intelligence Office are gravely concerned. The agreement’s secret stratagem is the division of portions of Eastern and Northern Europe into Communist and German spheres of influence or actual annexation.”

“What sort of carving do Hitler and Stalin have planned for the regions,” War Secretary Cooper asked with a vague look in his eyes that announced that his mind was for seeing the possible military ramifications.

“In the North, Mr. Secretary,” Drake reported, “Finland, Estonia and Latvia are to be apportioned to the Soviet sphere while in the south due to German lack of interest, the Bessarabia portion of Romania is to be allocated to Moscow. Poland, in the event of a "political rearrangement,” is to be partitioned with the areas east of the rivers Narev, Vistula and San going to Communist Russia while everything west of those rivers would become part of Großdeutschland and give Hitler is much proclaimed lebensraum*. Finally, due to being adjacent to Prussia, Lithuania would fall under the German sphere of influence, or in other words become a puppet of Berlin.”

“What I don’t understand,” Buck de la Warr, Lord Privy Seal and ninth Earl De La Warr, asked with a certain amount of concerned bafflement, “is why the Nazis and the Communists would become so intimate with each other.”

Leaning forward in his chair with a grunt, Prince George explained. “Think about it, Buck. On the Soviet side, you have a very paranoid Comrade Stalin who is dealing with a border war with Japan in the Far East, and a very anti-Communist West giving the appearance of hoping the Nazis will take on the Communists and the two will destroy each other. Hell, I’ve had analysts in my own office allude to the fact that they think that is our policy, especially with the Munich Dictat that France was so generous to assist in. Signing such an agreement with Hitler would, or actually will, give Moscow a larger buffer between the West and the precious Rodina*, allowing for the issue with Japan to be dealt with securely as well as providing for an ally if the West ever does attempt to eliminate the so-called “Worker’s Paradise” that is Russian.”

“Fine, I can understand that,” de la Warr said thoughtfully, “but how do you explain Hitler dropping his vehement anti-Communist tirades of the last five years and joining hands with them?”

“I can answer that for you, Buck,” “Duff” Cooper replied with a resigned air. “It’s pure exploitation on a military level. With signing this agreement, not only does Germany secure her Eastern flank against attack and allow the Wehrmacht to concentrate to the West, Hitler is gaining a vast store room of raw materials for his war machine, a store room that we have no way of blocking.”

The War Minister’s proclamation cast a heavy dark pall across the room. After several moments of bleak silence as each member of the Council ran scenarios, solutions, and counter solutions through their minds, King George spoke softly. “Everyone take a breath and then another, and then relax. As the Americans put it, ‘this is a done deal’ and there is nothing we can do to prevent it, so let it go.”

Standing to his feet and beginning to pace about the room, taking in once again the age of the room and wondering what tales the walls could tell of previous kings in similar situations, the King continued, “Since we cannot prevent it, what can we do to make this joining as unharmonious as possible? What are the diplomatic ramifications? Who will wilt and seek to join the monstrosity that is growing in the East, and who will stand firm and seek to stifle that growth?”

“Your Majesty,” Drake spoke up, reminding the Council of his presence, “if we were to release the information of the impending agreement to the press of Europe several hours before the actual signing, it would sow a seed of distrust between Moscow and Berlin as each would question where the leak came from. Nothing like that to sour bedfellows, eh?”

“Drake has a very good point, Your Majesty,” Stephenson added. “With as much antagonism as has passed between the two that would allow a crack in the foundation to develop.”

“Diplomatically, Your Majesty,” Eden said with a light in his eyes, “this will make the Foreign Office’s task slightly easier. The lines have been drawn, as it were, and there is no longer any guesswork. Europe will have to decide to either stand with Hitler and Stalin, or it will have to join us and stand against them.”

“So who will do which, Tony,” the King asked while he began to do the mental calculations on his own.

“Western Europe will join us,” came the prompt reply. “Romania, after being thrown to the dogs, so to speak, by the Germans will more than likely come a-courting right quick, as will the rest of the Balkans. After our little tiff in the Med with Mussolini over King Zog, Italy will seek to join Hitler and Stalin. Hungary will also more than likely join the Germany-Soviet pact.”

“What about the Baltic Republics?”

Rubbing his eyes, Eden sighed heavily. “I don’t envy them, Your Majesty. They are truly between a rock and a hard place. They know that despite any assurance we in the West provide, there is nothing that can be done to prevent their being swallowed by either Germany or the Soviets, and because of that, I am going to be forced to conclude they are going to do everything they can to appease the two menaces they face for as long as possible. I hate to say it, but it would best to simply write them off for now and attempt to make some sort of recovery in the future.”

“Your Majesty,” Churchill said resolutely. “The battle lines have been drawn, even if the general public may not yet wish to realize that fact. The sides have been decided by both chance and design, there is nothing else that can be done at this time but to prepare for war.”

Looking about the remainder of the Council King George searched the eyes of his closest advisors and was rewarded with the determined agreement of each man. Taking a deep breath and knowing that the words he was about to utter were going to prove to be a turning point in the history of civilization, the King said solemnly, “Very well, gentleman. Leak this wedding of evil to the press here and abroad, and then make the necessary arrangements and alert the necessary commands. I want the Empire to be ready to react to any offensive operation started by either Germany or Communist Russia.”

Mucha_8_Wrzesien_1939_Warszawa.jpg


Hitler--Stalin-honeymoon_8BJIPdon.jpg

the Press response to the Pact


* - Living space
* - Motherland



Up next: A nice speech. But by whom? I'll give a hint, he ain't from the West. :eek: