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Crossfires, a French AAR for HoI2 Doomsday

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Ahahahahahahaha!

Thwarted by a waiter! What's up now!

Good stuff with the 'spy games.' I especially liked the part where she wondered if his lovemaking was sincere. Reminds me of a book I read once called The Masada Plan.

TheExecuter
 
You really manage to present Goering as one half predator, one half buffoon, while Keitel comes across as a scheeming little coward.
Good stuff :)
 
CHAPTER 26 : DISHONOURABLE DISCHARGE​

Berlin, headquarters of the Gestapo, January the 27th, 1938


What a haughty little twit thought SS-Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler, waiting for an answer as Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Gestapo and in this respect his subordinate, was fastidiously picking up a speck of dust from his uniform. Heydrich was casually sitting on the corner of his desk, brushing the sleeve of his uniform.

Around them, Himmler's office looked almost Spartan - or would have been if the Spartans had indulged into Germanic mythology and modern management charts. A few paintings represented Himmler, Siegfried and Arminius, but the rest of the decoration was devoted to representing the complicated and often nebulous hierarchies that, woven together, composed the SS. Contrary to some Nazi official's offices, such as Goering's, this one was a place designed for work, which, given the kind of work Himmler had in mind, only made it scarier.

"So ?" Himmler finally asked again as neutrally as he could, knowing full well that was exactly what Heydrich wanted. The man loved his little mind games, always playing cat-and-mouse with his superiors and subordinates alike. Even his sitting on the desk, towering over Himmler, was one of the little ways in which he liked to remind his boss who was the taller, the leaner, the fitter one of the two.

One of these days I should make sure he has an accident mused Himmler. I really should.

Even though he, Himmler, was one of the most feared men in Nazi Germany, there was something about Heydrich that always made him uneasy. His impavid posture hid an uncommon appetite for power, something Himmler was very familiar with, but also for blood - and there, Himmler always felt a little lost. Always the first to recommend brutal solutions, Himmler felt queasy at the actual sight of blood and direct violence. To Heinrich Himmler, the best form of violence was to devise a policy which would enslave or annihilate a nation. Not to Heydrich. Heydrich was a different kind of animal. To Heydrich, Himmler strongly suspected, violence was not a means to an end. It was a personal vice, from which the tall and pale man derived some kind of sensuous pleasure. As such, his association with Heydrich always gave Himmler the feeling he was skating on thin, very thin ice, under which dark, bottomless waters were waiting for one little mishap to swallow him whole and spit out his cadaver.



Reinhardt Heydrich, the ambitious Head of the Gestapo​

"So, Herr Reichsführer, Goering has swallowed it all, bait, sinker and line, to make a long story short. When he saw the file we have compiled on General von Fritsch, he practically snatched it from my hands in his haste to read the damaging material"

"Of course he did. Didn't I tell you he would ?" replied Himmler, his thin lips turning into an almost benign smile. He liked to remind Heydrich that there was no fooling him - partly to boast, partly as a friendly warning.

"The Gestapo has done a splendid job on that one, I think." said Heydrich, instantly freezing Himmler's smile. He had a way of saying things in such a way that seemed to both agree with Himmler and to correct his assertions.

He's so easy to play on thought Heydrich, looking at the ridiculous little man Fate had seen fit to give the responsibility of protecting the Aryan race. Behold the one true knight of the Aryan race ! Short, pot-bellied, balding, and with this grotesque absence of chin. Not to mention the intellectual vivacity of a roast chicken, of course. Heinrich, Heinrich, you poultry farmer, what are we going to do of you ? And more importantly,what am I going to do TO you ?

"The documents have been written as per the draft you sent me, Herr Reichsführer" said Heydrich, throwing his boss a bone. "They state that the Kriminalpolizei has arrested a man of very dubious reputation, names Hans Schmidt, whose principal mean of existence is to spy on homosexuals and blackmail them, threatening to denounce them to the police, as such deviant behavior is liable to land them in jail, or worse. Anyway, this Schmidt scum has been briefed as planned, and will claim that General von Fritsch has been paying him money for the past few years to keep quiet about his inverted and degenerate tastes."



Old-School General Baron von Fritsch, a pawn in a complicated power play​

"Sehr Gut." said Himmler, slowly nodding approval like a teacher rewarding a gifted pupil. He knew Heydrich hated to be patronized. "Now that Goering has the documents, and that I led him to believe Blomberg recommended von Fritsch as his successor, he will go straight to the Reichskanzlerei and ask to see the Führer."

"As a matter of fact he already has, two hours ago. One of his drivers works for me." replied Heydrich, his voice betraying deep satisfaction.

This gave Himmler some pause, and he took off his glasses to hide his alarm and allow himself a few seconds to mull this information over.

You little piece of shit, you were supposed to come here immediately after giving the papers to the Fatso. What have you done during those two hours ?



Heinrich Himmler, overzealous Führer of the SS​

"Well. Have you made sure von Fritsch gets informed about the accusations ?" he asked, putting his round glasses back on, affecting impassibility and inwardly wondering, for the umpteenth time, how much longer he could really depend on his dangerous subordinate.

"Yes, through Colonel Hossbach, the Führer's own military adjutant. I presented it to him as a lowly attempt by Goering to throw mud at a possible rival, of course." said Heydrich, dismissively.

"Of course. Excellent job, Reinhardt" said Himmler, who after due consideration felt the need to extend an olive branch. If he and Heydrich had played their cards right, the SS would score not one, but two major victories in the next few hours. Annoying as Heydrich may be, and dangerous as he certainly was, Himmler didn't want personal antipathies, however deep, to spoil their chances.

There will be plenty of time later for you to have an unfortunate accident, my oh so dear Reinhardt he thought, picking up a dagger-shaped letter opener. At the edge of his conscience, there was a terrible urge to stab Heydrich's thigh, which was resting a few centimeters away, and to watch him bleed white. That, he knew, would be one very welcome exception to his personal dislike for direct violence. Feeling the tip of the letter opener with his thumb, he fought back the untimely impulsion.

"You see, Reinhardt" continued Himmler, still toying with the letter opener, " tonight we will kill two birds with the same muddy stone. The accusations contained in the documents we have made available will look solid enough for the Führer to eliminate von Fritsch. You know how he is about such, ah, personal issues. We'll thus get rid of this old-fashioned windbag of a General, who understands nothing to the Third Reich, and nothing to the great and noble mission the SS have volunteered for. Do you know von Fritsch has been blabbing all around Berlin about the SS, Reinhardt ? He even does it in front of foreign journalists, like that Shirer. We cannot tolerate this abuse any longer."

"And at the same time, Goering's monstrous accusations will be easily proven groundless in the next few days, when the Wehrmacht begins to investigate. They'll clear von Fristch's name, but even though they'll be too late to save him, it will still be soon enough to ruin Goering's chances to ever take control of the armed forces and the War Ministry" concluded Heydrich, eager to show he fully understood the extent of the plot. Half-turning towards his boss, he noticed the letter opener for the first time, along with the strangely vacuous look in Himmler's eyes. "Just as you planned, Herr Reichsführer", he concluded, feeling it would be wise not to pugh Himmler too far for the time being.

"Exactly. Just as I planned. And best of all, while Goering will have totally alienated the Prussian Generals and the whole officer caste, we, Reinhardt, will look like their true friends."

"If I may ask the Herr Reichsführer" asked Heydrich in a rare display of formal politeness, as he stood up and walked a few steps away from the desk, "what about the War Ministry ? When all the mud finally settle and the waters clear up, who will be appointed as the head of the Bendlerstrasse ?"

"My dear Reinhardt" replied Himmler, leaning back in his chair "I meet the Führer often enough to know that he already has one name in mind..." Himmler stopped at that, smirking.

Let that ambitious bastard imagine that it's going to be me up there.
 
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I've only read the first page, but let me get this in before I go on: I'm hooked!
 
CHAPTER 27 : ALCHEMY​

Paris, the Hotel Matignon, seat of the french government, January the 27th, 1938



Inside the walls of the Hotel Matignon, France's political future is in the making ​


"Good grief ! This is it, I can't take it anymore !" bursted out de La Rocque, massaging his aching hand "The more you work for me, the less I can feel my hands ! I tell you, Henri, your middle name is 'paperwork', and your mission on this Earth is probably to make sure I end up with neither legs nor arms"

In front of France's Prime Minister, a stack of folders, piled up haphazardly by an increasingly impatient de la Rocque, seemed on the verge of collapsing. To de La Rocque's left, a neater but equally high stack was awaiting his ministerial signature. Inside, dozens of laws, decrees, projects, letters, and even autographed pictures, demanded to be signed. He had been doing that for the best part of the morning, and wondered how could anyone truly desire to land a job this strenuous and dreary task was such an important part of.

God, he's really tired thought Henri Richemont, the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff. And well, so am I.

It had been a gloomy, cold and dark day, and the copper banker's lamp which sat in the corner of de La Rocque's office had not been superfluous to shed some light on France's complicated government business.

"We have a few minutes before your next appointment, so I think we could take a break, mon Colonel" said Richemont. Like most of the old Croix de Feu hands, he used de La Rocque's military title over his civilian one that was employed by the rest of the staff. And like them, he made sure the newcomers always called him "Mr Prime Minister". That showed the newly appointed staff members, if they ever needed to be reminded the fact, that the "old guard" and the head of France's government went way back.

As de La Rocque painstakingly extirpated himself from his armchair, leaning on his cane, Richemont walked to the cupboard where he knew some liquor was kept.

"Things are getting tougher in Congress, Henri" said de la Rocque, as Richemont was filling two glasses with a fine Armagnac a Croix de Feu winegrower had sent four years earlier to celebrate the Colonel's election.

Christ, four years, really ? thought Richemont, startled. In some ways it felt like yesterday. And in some others, it felt like a thousand years. Shaking his head in amazement, he tried to focus on what de La Rocque had said.

Ah, yes, Blum, Daladier.

"Yes, mon Colonel. The Social Radicals have gained momentum with their so-called 'December Coalition', and they're now trying to occupy the center field. We should bring the PSF up to speed urgently if we don't want to be isolated in 1939" he said, walking to the desk to hand de La Rocque his glass.

"I too was wondering if it wouldn't be time for us to do a little coalition-building of our own" mused de La Rocque, rocking his glass gently and admiring the amber and golden tones of the fiery liquid.

"Well, there are some sympathetic Center-Right parties who are getting nervous about next year's elections, as they realize their funds won't be sufficient to really compete with us or the Social-Radicals. These could help us make inroads with Centrist voters, and be in a very favorable position in 1939" said Richemont, closing the cupboard.

"What about Flandin's Democratic Alliance ?" asked de la Rocque, referring to the Centrist party whose members sat on either side of the Assemblée Nationale, and to which President Albert Lebrun also belonged. "Flandin is tough on Germany, and tough on Communism. There could be chemistry between us on these issues, even if I know we don't see eye to eye about the economy"

"It is an option indeed, mon Colonel. But to win the DA sympathizers to our side, it's not just Flandin or Lebrun we have to get onboard. They may be the public leaders of the Democratic Alliance, but the real driving force of the party is Paul Reynaud"



Paul Reynaud, a man on the move​

"I know Reynaud. Great orator, can inspire people. So, let's try to seduce him, even if I understand his personal tastes push him more toward elegant and aristocratic dames than towards former aristocratic colonial officers" said de La Rocque, who felt in much better spirits now that the liquid fire of the Armagnac had burned its way down his throat.

"We certainly can, mon Colonel. But Reynaud holds a few potentially problematic causes very dear to his heart that he will undoubtedly demand guarantees about"

"Ah. Well, that was to be expected anyway" said de La Rocque, putting down his empty glass. "What causes does Mr Reynaud hold this dear ?"

"First, he wants total and unconditional commitment to the defense of Czechoslovakia in case of German aggression" said Richemont, in an apologetic tone.

"Oh, bloody Hell ! Has our little Spanish adventure intoxicated these people ?" exclaimed de La Rocque "Do they realize that the Spanish campaign cost us over two thousand soldiers, and revealed serious problems in our armed forces ? Do they realize that they're asking us to attack - and to attack alone ! - a country that has twice our population, three times our industrial base, and more than five times as many modern bombers than we have ? Do they realize that, for the next three years at least, our military stance towards Germany cannot be anything but defensive ?"

"Well, mon Colonel, Reynaud does know all that" said Richemont. "Hence his second demand"

"Which is ?" asked de La Rocque, bracing himself for the worst.

"He wants that de Gaulle general to be appointed either at the War Ministry or at the Ecole de Guerre, so we can build a fully mechanized army to conduct offensive operations if the need arises"

Before de la Rocque could answer, an usher knocked politely at the door, signaling the Prime Minister's next appointment.

"I beg your pardon, Mr Prime Minister, Mr Chief of Staff" said the middle-aged usher, "but Docteur Irène Joliot-Curie has arrived"

"We'll talk about that later, Henri", said de la Rocque, as he walked towards the door to welcome his guest.

As the stern-looking physicist walked into the office, the Prime Minister took her hand for an old-world baisemain.



May Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie usher France into a new age ?​

"I am so glad to finally meet you, Doctor", he said, as he walked her to a leather armchair "but I am also deeply sorry to have kept you waiting. I am afraid politics these days has become nothing but terrible red tape. And to think they used to say politics was the art of possibilities !"

"I personally tend to think science, not politics, is the art of possibilities" said Irène Joliot-Curie, sitting down with a chiding smile that reminded de La Rocque of his childhood's governess. "But as it appears, both arts are required if the particular possibility I'd like to discuss with you is to be brought into existence."

"Really ?" said de la Rocque, who was now bitterly regretting he hadn't taken the time to read his aides' memorandums about France's ongoing and emerging scientific programs. "Could you please tell me what this project you have in mind is about ?"

'"Alchemy, Mr Prime Minister" said Dr Joliot-Curie, who out of experience knew that some poetry always helped people understand what her domain of research was about. "No, really. It's about the transmutation of metals"

"You mean, like a Philosopher's stone ?" asked a puzzled de la Rocque.

"Exactly. The project is all about alchemy. Oh, and about France harnessing almost unlimited power, of course"

Ten minutes later, Colonel de la Rocque was on the phone, while Dr Joliot was sipping a cup of coffee an usher had brought. "Henri", said de la Rocque urgently "Could you please come ? Yes, now. And cancel all my appointments, too."

Bloody Hell, he thought as he hung the phone up. Just like that ?Bloody Hell.
 
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Damn, I wanted to hear the PM's opinion on De Gaulle. Anyway, with Nuclear Power on the table....


Also, wasn't Reynaud mostly an outcast from his party and the right in general? Not that he has to be in this TL ;)

Anyway, I just read the last 3 chapters and I liked the reference to Shirer, just started reading Collapse of the Third Republic, very interesting so far.
 
GeneralHannibal said:
Damn, I wanted to hear the PM's opinion on De Gaulle. Anyway, with Nuclear Power on the table....
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An author always has to keep his readers waiting for something, I guess ! ;)
But fear not, Charles de Gaulle's fate, which depends on conflicting influences, will be discussed soon. As soon as I check a few things up.

Also, wasn't Reynaud mostly an outcast from his party and the right in general? Not that he has to be in this TL ;)
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He was. He and Flandin had conflicting views about a lot of things, including how to deal with France's troubled economy, what policy to pursue towards the USSR, IIRC. And Flandin, supposedly Centrist, did end in the Vichy Government in our RL timeline, while Reynaud was jailed on Pétain's orders, along with many prominent figures of the Third Republic.

Here the general idea is less to win the DA than to win their voters in the mid-1939 elections, for that it's better to have the orator onboard than the rest of the DA guys.

Anyway, I just read the last 3 chapters and I liked the reference to Shirer, just started reading Collapse of the Third Republic, very interesting so far.
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A fabulous book to understand France's situation in the thirties indeed. Von Fritsch is really supposed to have criticized the Nazis, Hitler, and the SS in front of Shirer and other foreign correspondents, BTW. No wonder he had few friends. In RL, Hossbach is supposed to have told him about the false accusations out of sheer solidarity, and Himmler is supposed to have really tried to get rid of him, but I thought it would be more interesting to have the SS play against everyone all at once.
 
Ooh... Exciting if you survive long enough for this to bear fruit. And it looks like wooing Reynauld could bear other advantages.

Vann
 
And so the coalitions form...so much more exciting than political intrigue over here on this side of the 'pond'...(i.e. what intrigue...subtlety seems to be a lost art. :( )

As for taking on Germany 'alone' for the sake of Czechoslovakia..."You must be mad!"

That may be...but he who dares, wins!

Looking forward to what awaits our heroes at the bottom of the cliff!

KUTGW...
TheExecuter
 
Quite something, I must say. I've never felt quite so invested in characters that, while historical, I knew little about, not to mention the fictitious ones!
 
Petrarca said:
Quite something, I must say. I've never felt quite so invested in characters that, while historical, I knew little about, not to mention the fictitious ones!
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Aw, shucks, thanks a lot. That's the great thing with modern history - you get a full cast of fascinating characters.
 
just read through this AAR, and i must say its been a spectacular read! Very interested to see where Madame Curie will be leading France... hopefully towards a bomb before the Boches reach Paris!

/subscribed

-Maximilliano
 
Damn, I step away for a couple of days and I almost get buried in updates, my friend! Not that I'm complaining mind you, just making an observation. That'll teach me to step away, eh?

Outstanding work, nice vivid details on quite a few interesting events. Glad to see things work out well for France in Spain, now if only a coalition can be formed to face of Nazi Germany. Good luck.
 
rcduggan said:
alchemy in modern france??? :eek:

this looks good.
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She didn't work on traditional mythical alchemy which had a goal to turn things into gold.
She worked on a way how to easier produce radioactive elements:
Quote from wikipedia:
Finally, in 1934 they made the discovery that did seal their place in scientific history. Building on the work of Marie and Pierre, who had isolated naturally occurring radioactive elements, Irène and Frédéric realised the alchemist’s dream of turning one element into another. Not iron into gold as earlier pioneers had sought to do but initially creating radioactive nitrogen from boron and then radioactive isotopes of phosphorus from aluminium and silicon from magnesium. By now the application of radioactive materials for use in medicine was growing and this discovery lead to an ability to create radioactive materials quickly, cheaply and plentifully. The Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1935 brought with it fame and recognition from the scientific community and Irène was awarded a professorship at the Faculty of Science.
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CHAPTER 28 : A NEW COURSE​


10, Downing Street, the office of the Prime Minister

Making a pause to let the arguments sink, Stanley Baldwin took a short sip of sherry. As he watched the liquid sloshing gently in the glass, he carefully observed the faces of his guests, trying to assess which way they would jump.



Stanley Baldwin, Britain's savvy yet unsavoury Prime Minister​


"I personally concur with the conclusions of this memorandum, for all the aforementioned reasons", said Sir John Simon, who in this Cabinet handled both the Industry and Interior Ministries. Such arrangement was highly unconventional, but it had been felt, in the aftermath of last summer's violent general strikes, that industrial progress had to walk hand in hand with law and order, if it was to walk anywhere.

The so-called National Strike of 1937 had begun immediately after the Soviet-inspired coup in Spain, and had swept throughout the country like a brushfire. The coal mines had been hit first, and then the social agitation had spread to steel factories, shipyards, docks, and car factories. While most British workers had little truck with Communism, which in the United Kingdom hadn't managed to grow out of bourgeois-minded liberalism anyway, there had been enough unsettled social issues to fuel the fires of unrest for weeks, . The National Strike had presented the British government with a real threat to the still fragile recovery of the country's economy. The situation in some industrial towns had soon become very confrontational, making the use of public force unavoidable. Rapidly, there had been some legitimate concern that, given the lack of influence of the English Communist Party, the government would have no-one to actually negociate with, while industrial output would plummet. To many, 1937 was the Kingdom's gravest crisis since the Great War. To Stanley Baldwin, it was, quite the contrary, the Tories' finest hour.

Realizing that direct action against the workers would do little to hurt the Party on its left while strengthening it on its right and center, Baldwin had made a series of blunt speeches denouncing the fact the country's economy, and every Briton's savings, were being taken hostage by the irresponsible behavior of a fanatical minority "whose true allegiance laid farther east than Norwich". He had then made it clear that illegal strikes would be met by force whenever and wherever necessary, and that the occupation of industrial sites would simply not be tolerated. He had also appointed Sir John Simon, the respected Interior Minister, as head of the Industry Ministry, showing voters than the economy upon which their ways of existence depended would be defended. Still, it had taken weeks before police and army forces managed to wrestle back the control of the country's industrial centers.

If this harsh policy had given mixed results, unnecessarily polarizing some of the social conflicts and hampering every attempt to reach a general agreement on work conditions similar to what had happened in Italy or France three years earlier, it had put the Labour party on the defensive. And that, to a man like Stanley Baldwin, was more important than anything.



The 1937 National Strike, a defining moment in Britain's political life​


"In my opinion, the documents we've just heard the conclusions of do ask the right questions" said Neville Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in a deliberately cautious tone "We face irresponsible social unrest, undesirable foreign influence, and unacceptable external threats. The question is, does the 'New Course' whose principles the Prime Minister just exposed give us the necessary answers to all this challenges ?"

With that question, Chamberlain's vivacious eyes jumped from guest to guest. As they finally settled on Baldwin, the Prime Minister read in them an unspoken promise - and a question.

I can pledge support to this new policy, but will you support me as your official successor when the time comes ?

Yes, I will, answered Baldwin silently, as he gave his Chancellor a short nod.

"I dare say it does !" finally said Chamberlain, to Baldwin's relief. "We appreciate Italian neutrality in the Mediterranean, and we were right not to endanger it by taking sides in the League of Nations about that minor Abissynian crisis. No African tribal throne is worth putting the City of London upside-down, gentlemen. It is also wise and proper to seek Germany's friendship when not even a generation before our two Anglo-Saxon nations have bled so much for so little in return. We live through uncertain times, when yesterday's allies have turned into our mortal foes. Maybe we can make it happen that yesterday's deadly foes turn into tomorrow's allies ?"

"Oh, really, Neville ?" mumbled Foreign Minister Eden, loud enough to be heard and to earn a venomous glance from the Lord Chancellor.

"Last year's National Strike has shown us all where the real danger is" chimed in Simon, "and this year's terrible events have confirmed that the Soviet Union is a far greater threat to our nation, to any civilized nation in fact, than Germany can ever be. The Nazis certainly are dreadful people, using distasteful methods to bring back law and order in their country, but I'll remind you that Germany had a real revolutionary situation on their hands not so long ago. If our Cabinet hadn't intervened so boldly and so quickly last summer, we could have faced a similar plight, and I find it strange that so many people do not understand the gravity of the situation. And even stranger that so many others do not want to understand it"

That last sentence had been dropped with an oblique look to Eden. It was well known he had serious reservations about the course the Cabinet had begun to chart for the United Kingdom, particularly on the diplomatic stage. Eden had welcomed the return of Germany on the international scene, but he found the Nazi regime particularly abhorrent, and its leaders no better than simple hoodlums. With the Third Reich flexing new muscle everyday, Eden had advocated seeking closer ties with Italy and France to revive the 'Stresa Front', but had faced strong opposition among the Cabinet. Since then, he had become increasingly critical during Cabinet meetings, and as such, he was now a man to watch, and a man closely watched indeed, particularly by the Prime Minister who knew Eden had been making contacts with his dangerous Tory rival Winston Churchill.

"Anthony", asked Baldwin amicably, "you seem to be awfully deep in thought. The 'New Course' we have been discussing tonight is a vast enterprise, which you'll understand requires cooperation of every branch of the government, particularly on the diplomatic stage. Could you share your thoughts with us ?"

What utter hypocrisy thought Eden. You know my opinion on the matter, and so would the nation if I was half as indiscreet as you when it comes to leaking information to the press.



Anthony Eden, Foreign Secretary​

"I have heard, over the past few weeks, quite a few arguments in favor of this 'New Course' the Cabinet has been plotting" said Eden, "and I must say that while many were well-made, I found none to be compelling. The Memorandum does adress some issues about which I think we all are in agreement, but I must respectfully voice my complete disagreement with the general conclusions of this document"

That came as no surprise to Stanley Baldwin, who had long seen the moment when the young and rapidly rising Foreign Secretary would assert his independence.

Ah, Anthony, my dear boy. This Greek tragedy has been written long ago, and now all we can do is to play our part until its bitter end - yours, to be more precise.

"Really, Anthony." he said in the reasonable voice that was his deadliest weapon. "Could you please elaborate ? I can assure you this memorandum has been born out of months of due consideration on my part, and of exhaustive analysis from this country's sharpest minds", he concluded with an intrigued smile, half-raising his glass to Eden to cull him gently into voicing his opinions.

"I shall elaborate at once, Mr Prime Minister" said Eden stiffly, who by that sudden display of formality wanted to signal Baldwin he was aware of the trap. He was getting the impression this evening was going to be his last one in the Cabinet, and was rather surprised to feel nothing but elation at the prospect.

"First, this memorandum assumes that, for the coming five years, the greatest peril we will face shall be Soviet-inspired agitation, at home, in the Colonies, and in friendly countries and Dominions. I find the assertion highly unrealistic."

"The National Strike last year, and the Spanish crisis a few months ago prove this analysis is spot on !" interjected Sir John Simon.

"Thank you, Sir John, to remind me such unimportant moments I might have otherwise forgotten" replied Eden acidly, "but the Memorandum did not foresee these crisis. In fact, and unless I'm sorely mistaken, these events inspired the Memorandum, didn't they ?"

"Of course they did" said Chamberlain, dismissively "as these conflicts brought upon this nation its most severe crisis since 1914."

"And I am also aware of that, thank you very much, my Lord Chancellor" replied Eden. He did not like or trust Chamberlain, but he knew better than to cross swords with him directly. "But we shouldn't mistake an analysis for a forecast. What worries me is the temptation to read too much of our future in our recent past. A past crisis can all too easily hide the emergence of a future threat, and I humbly think it it is our duty as Cabinet members to see further than yesterday's newspapers"

"Threats, eh ? Look, Anthony, we do live in dangerous times" said Baldwin, trying to find the good attack angle. "But the course we're about to chart will attenuate the threats we're facing"

"Will it ?" mused Eden aloud. "I certainly hope so, though I keep my reservations about that. ushering in a new age of international cooperation among European nations is a generous idea indeed. But what if it fails, as so many generous intentions and so much well-wishing initiatives has failed so often since the Great War ? What if Italy embarks in yet another perilous adventure, this time at our expense ? What if Germany threatens our vital interests on the Continent ? Two years ago the re-claimed the Rhineland for their military"

"And it belonged to them, Anthony" said Simon.

"So did Alsace and Lorraine not so long ago, and so did Poland. Am I to understand this Cabinet now sees it as its mission to support German territorial claims ?"

Undaunted by the raised eyebrows of his colleagues, who clearly thought he was being over-dramatic, Eden went on.

"Secondly, this memorandum is a vibrant call to inaction. We did nothing when Germany reoccupied the Rhineland two years ago. We merely issued a warning - to France and Belgium, of all things, to discourage any dangerous initiative from their part. We chose not to intervene in the first Spanish civil war two summers ago. We preferred isolation and neutrality. Well, we were - and I personally was - wrong in those two occasions. Our failure to issue Germany a strong warning has planted the seeds for more territorial ambitions. Our failure to strengthen an emerging Spanish democracy could have brought upon us a Fascist Spain, and it did bring a Soviet Spain into existence. To put it bluntly, we played with the matches and got our fingers burnt, and we were lucky Spain's neighbors found it in their best interest to put out the fire. We all know why we stayed out of the fray this summer. Our armed forces are simply not up to the task, not through incompetence of lack of bravery, but because despite the fact our divisions are few and far between, they are undertrained, undermanned, underequipped ! While Soviet Spain fielded over thirty infantry divisions, we have only thirteen currently operational to defend our shores and our colonial possessions !"

I'll have to remind some Generals not to meddle into politics, thought Baldwin sourly, who for quite some time had nurtured the strong suspicion some of high-ranking officers had been providing Eden with official statistics.

"Anthony" said Baldwin, who now had decided his Foreign Secretary would have to go first thing in the morning, "infantry divisions are by and large unimportant in this day and age. As the French have themselves discovered, the best use one can make of an army is to use it in a defensive posture, manning prepared positions, so as to deter an invasion, and to blunt any offensive until the attacking army's morale breaks up. The next war will be an air war, and it will be dominated by extensive bombing campaigns on the enemy industry, that will always go through air defense. Thanks to this Cabinet, Anthony, Great Britain will dominate this new battlefield."

Actually, Baldwin had embraced the "Bomber Party" mostly as a way to cut Winston Churchill down at the knees, for the ebullient politician was trying to gather rebellious Tories around his "Broken Covenant" platform, accusing every Cabinet of having let the air force lag behind its European counterparts. For the fourth consecutive year, he had given speeches quoting Germany's and France's recent investments in their plane industry and lamenting the British Cabinet hadn't done the same. With time, however, Baldwin had also found out the policy had many advantages. Depending on a limited number of planes and pilots, it was a very cost-efficient form of war, which the public loved because it didn't mean high taxes. Also, it sounded modern, almost futuristic, and thus it easily captured the public's attention.

"I dare say the French troops who have entered Spain last summer were not used in a defensive posture, Mr Prime Minister" said Eden in exasperation. "And it is distressing that the British foreign policy should rely on, or even depend upon, French willingness to fight our enemies. Nothing indicates France will keep doing us this favor, gentlemen, and even if it was the case I'd prefer our policy not so dependant on foreign favors - be that from France, or, God forbid, from Nazi Germany we seem to court so much these days"

His face reddening with anger, Chamberlain half-rose from his chair, his eyes turned cold, for these last words were clearly aimed at him. Now knowing he'd have to resign his position first thing of the morning, Eden had decided to burn every bridge. And this one, he had to admit, he particularly enjoyed burning.

Two days before, Chamberlain had received a delegation of German industrialists eager to invest in Britain, in a variety of domains, ranging from chemistry to mineral imports. Baldwin, Eden knew, wanted to extend Germany a friendly hand, a hand that would hold mutually profitable contracts. These contracts would help defuse the social conflicts by providing work for British workers, and would also help British firms secure markets they particularly needed now that France, Spain, Italy, Argentina, and even the United States, had significantly slowed down trade with the United Kingdom since the Great Depression. Even though he recognized the necessity to do business with even such an uncivilized regime in times of peace, Eden thought Chamberlain had done himself and the British Empire a great disservice by being so blatantly and publicly pro-German during that visit that he had seemed subservient to many observers.



Neville Chamberlain, the astute Chancellor of the Exchequer, shows a copy of the first Anglo-German Trade Agreement as he announces "Prosperity in our time"​

"I see" said Baldwin, taking a puff off his pipe. "Well, as I said, I am sure you understand the success of this New Course, and in fact the success of our every policy, depends on the Cabinet's unanimous adhesion and sincere solidarity. I think, Anthony, that it'll be best to announce your decision no sooner than Monday."

Turning away from Eden, who now no longer had an existence in Baldwin's eyes, and towards Chamberlain, he added :

"Now, Neville, I think it's time to signal your friends in the City that we look forward, with great impatience, to the establishments of tighter economical relationships with Germany. I've heard some contracts, which had been signed on with French firms, are soon to be re-negociated. Tell them we see nothing but advantages that they consider German partners this time"

Looking into Chamberlain's eyes, Eden shook his head slowly.

"Well, Gentlemen" concluded Baldwin, rising to his feet, "I think we can call it a day. We all have a lot to do tomorrow !"

As the sedan cars who had been waiting outside began picking up his guests, Baldwin touched Chamberlain's elbow.

"One last word, Neville. See if your friends in Fleet Street can prepare some articles about our overzealous friend over there" he said, pointing his pipe towards Eden's disappearing car "He admitted to have been wrong about Spain tonight ? Then present him as the man who lost us Spain and France, for example"

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[Game effect : In the UK, Eden resigns, and is replaced by Lord Halifax. Two days later, Great Britain denounces no less than four trade agreements it had with France]
 
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I would think that France's and the UK's Conservative governments would have found a lot in common, but I guess not. Now may it seems to be France and Spain vs. Italy, Germany and the UK.
 
Baldwin...Baldwin...

<shakes head>

When will you learn to treat your enemies as dear friends...Eden has much more power now as an unattached outsider than he ever had chained to your cabinet. He can say what he wants, when he wants, to whom he wants...and he is assured of finding friends among the opposition.

I am a little afraid that your Britain's closer ties to Germany may result in something more than just a repudiation of Czech independence. If so...<buckles seatbelt>...I in for the ride!

TheExecuter
 
And the horizon grows darker for France. I suspect wooing Italy into the anti-German league would be most beneficial.

Vann
 
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