Against all Odds: The British Empire in World War Two

Of course. It's not a UDF plot though.

Excerpt from 'Terrorism in the 20th Century – Chapter Three: The Irish Republican Army' Penguin Publishing Ottawa, 2002


'The Irish entrance into World War Two on the side of the British-led Allied Powers led to considerable ideological turmoil within the IRA. Moderates who were first of all interested in furthering the Irish cause in whatever way necessary threw themselves behind the war effort and joined the Irish Armed Forces (in fact archives reveal that the level of marksmanship in the Thunderbolt Division was far higher than one would normally expect from civilians) or at the very least refrained from attacking the British position in Northern Ireland. A result was the lowest recorded number of Anti-British incidents in Northern Ireland and Britain itself since Irish independence. [...]

The circumstances of the Irish Declaration of War and the way the British Foreign Office handled most of the negotiations leading to Irish entrance into the Allies through the Polish Government united most of Irish society behind the war but within and without the Irish Republican Army the split went far beyond dodging conscription or refusing to work in War industries.

Within days of Taoiseach de Valera's declaration of war against the Soviet Union and Germany a major conspirational meeting of the remaining active Brigade Commanders of the IRA revealed just how much the IRA had drifted apart ideologically. Most were content with supporting Ireland in times of need but a small and vocal minority denounced the proposed cease fire against the British and vowed to continue the struggle for a united Ireland at all costs. 'Britain's misfortune is Ireland's opportunity' was their slogan, ignoring the fact that even then the British enjoyed a comfortable loyalist majority in Northern Ireland.


What brought the matter to head and ended all debate was when through the many backchannels that had been established during the struggle for independence the Irish Government at de Valera's insistence and with the backing of most of the Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland let the movement know that any interference with the Irish or Allied war effort, including the British, would not be tolerated. The exact wording of the message is not known, only the results.[...]

The Irish Republican Army debated this for a considerable time and in the end the unity of the movement could not be maintained. In Spring 1942 several Brigade Commanders released a statement in that the mainstream IRA had given up on the struggle for a united Ireland. The statement has been preserved and is as follows:

'The leadership of the Irish Republican Army and the Government of the Republic have been corrupted by English money and English ideals. We and our man cannot in good faith continue to associate ourselves with this and hereby declare the Irish Republican Army to have dissolved itself. We however will continue the struggle and will reform the IRA apart form the corrupt and anglizized remnants of the old.'


It was the birth of the Reformed IRA.

In the beginning neither the IRA leadership nor the authorities in Dublin, Belfast and London took this claim very serious in fact it would be two months before the Prime Minister was even made aware of the fact.

Little is known about RIRA operations at this early stage other than two Irish Army depots were raided and several crates of rifles and other small arms stolen, and it would not be before the Troubles that the wider public of the United Kingdom was made aware of the distinction between IRA and RIRA.

However one of the Brigade Commanders had been none other than the IRA Operations Officer and he had taken the lists of assets and IRA sleepers in the United Kingdom in his head with him as he disappeared with the other RIRA cadres into the underground.

The Incident at Liverpool's Lime Street Station was only the beginning of the long career of the RIRA and what followed established the group as a force in it's own right, even though their actions were swallowed by the very noise background of the War.






Hunt was sitting in his Office behind his chair with Bloggs and Godliman on the other side of his desk.


“Now Inspector,” Hunt said and looked at Godliman, “when and where did all this start? The man in this file is clearly the bloke I threw into the bin, but it doesn't tell me why Special Branch is interested.”


Godliman smiled. “We are of course in reality working for Five. Before we came here we made sure you were cleared for knowing.”



“What does Five then want?” Hunt asked and smiled.

“DCI Bloggs can explain this much better than I can. He worked the field for most of this case.”

“Five weeks ago two sentries outside the Naval Base at Holy Loch disappeared, vanished into thin air. Now at first it was assumed that they had gone on a little unauthorized leave, but a couple of days later a inventory came up short by two crates of Hand Grenades from the Guard Armoury we began to take notice.”


He paused and Hunt used this to ask a question.

“What is a Naval Base doing with grenades if you don't mind my asking?”

Godliman grinned. “You know the military. When I was in the mob last time more than once I saw units being issued kit they didn't need and hold onto it as they might need it one day. Apparently Marine Units, wherever they are entitled to basic Infantry kit as long as they are stationed ashore.”[1]

“And if I had to wager I would say that the crate I almost fell over this morning is one of them?”

Bloggs nodded.

“It is. The serial number on the outside matches up.”


Hunt sensed a but.

“And...?”


Bloggs cringed. “Three grenades are missing. We know he arrived here in Liverpool two days ago, but didn't find that out until last night, and if you hadn't spotted him by chance we would have lost him in this city.”



“That does make sense,” Hunt said, “Liverpool has enough Paddies to re-enact the Easter Rising and there are bound to be a few IRA types among them.”


Godliman looked at Bloggs and then swore Hunt to secrecy.

“We aren't completely convinced that he is a member of the IRA, Inspector.”


Hunt was puzzled. “You did say that he came from Ireland and he is part...wait...”


He paused and then the truth came to him.

“Bloody hell, are you saying that there's someone else but the IRA out there?”


Bloggs nodded.


“An IRA splinter group that hates us more than the Reds and the Nazis and who believe that we have co-opted the Irish Government and society. We know next to nothing about them, not even their name. All we have are some rumours that have reached is via the Irish Security Services. Hell as far as we know not even the Irish know too much.”


The implication that they knew more than what they were telling was clear but not an issue here at the moment.


“What we must do is to look into the Irish in and around Liverpool.” Hunt said, “Most of them are perfectly law-abiding but there's bound to be a lot of bad apples, if only to look away at the right moment. War or not we still have a lot of enemies on the emerald Isle.”

“Agreed.” Godliman said, “besides, it's the only lead we have.”

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Comments, questions, rotten tomatoes?


This whole excerpt was supposed to be only four or five lines. There goes my crazy mind again...

[1] This is merely his personal opinion. He doesn't really care.

Kurt_Steiner said:

I don't think that a good Irish Catholic would join anything called "Reformed"

It would be funny if London finds the way to have the IRA hunting the RIRA...

Click to expand...

Both things that would display the Irony inherit in this universe.

“I must say this does look wrong on so many levels.” General der Jagdflieger Galland said to the Luftwaffe General in command of Erprobungsstelle Echterdingen. [1]

“You will be surprised how difficult it is to get parts for the Merlin Engine, Sir. We shoot down enough of theirs but all too often we cannot salvage anything because of the crash or because it happens behind enemy lines. Also there are at least nine different marques of the Merlin we know about, General.”


Galland grunted.

“How does this fly?”

“Surprisingly good, Sir.” the General said. “When we first tested it we had the worst nightmares and it's not as predictable as a 109, but it flies and it is enough for our purpose. We modified all four Spitfires we have, and Wanderzirkus Rosarius likes them, as we can use our Merlin parts to keep our other planes going.”


Justifying four Dbs for use in a captured Aircraft had been hard enough, eight was damn near impossible which was why the two captured Lancasters, one shot down near Essen last march and the other captured when the Pilot had mistaken Southern France for Northern Italy after a raid were still using strained and twice-overhauled Merlins.

KG-200 was the red-headed stepchild of all the zBVs in the Luftwaffe and was flying a ridiculous mixture of all sorts of Aircraft, mostly British but also several lingering French types and until they had been grounded for lack of spares two ex-polish fighters.


As Galland watched several mechanics were towing a formerly Dutch Mosquito out of a Hangar.


“We also replaced most of the electrics on our planes.” the General said, “the English are using a different voltage and we can't really make repairs to that.”

“So that,” Galland said and gestured towards the Spitfire, “is the result of the type of juice coming out of the socket as much as the shortage of parts?”

“Yes, Sir. We keep most of the others flying with hand-made parts and whatever we can scrounge, but we need those Spitfires the most, for training and what not, and so we can't afford to have them on the ground two thirds of the time.”


The Mosquito taxied and took off. As it roared overhead the General gestured at it and said: “Ironically this one is the easiest to repair. Lots of carpentry in this area.”

They shared a laugh and Galland turned towards the hangar.

“Aren't you worried about bombing?” he said, “I mean the British must know just what these works are making.”


“It hasn't been bombed yet, and in any case this is why you are here, Sir.”

“You want to be able to move just in case?”

“Yes, Sir.” the General said, “we haven't been bombed yet but I believe it is only a matter of time. It's nice to just be able to get a new engine during the coffee break but we are dangerously close to what has to be a target for bombing and many of these planes are irreplacable.”


Galland nodded and then noticed the Bloch MB.150 in the corner of the hangar.


“Why are you keeping crates like this one around for?”


The term OpForCombat was not yet coined but the General clearly was a believer in the concept.

“For training, Sir.”

Galland nodded as he realized what the General was on about.

“Of course. Pilots usually train against their Squadron...”

“Yes, Sir. And the more dissimilar the aircraft the better the effect.”

Galland agreed with that. The two Lancasters were invaluable for training, it was the KG 200 that had discovered that you best attacked them from below and behind, and when painted in a fantasy RAF scheme they were often used to make propaganda pictures.


“I will see what I can do.” Galland said and stepped aside to let the Soviet Liaison Officer through.


The General smiled.

“I can show you our newest catch then, Sir.”


They walked across the hangar to where it stood.

A Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vd and still with a Merlin Engine fitted, holes patched up but otherwise in pristine condition.

“Where did you get that one?” Galland asked and noted that except for the yellow tail and wingtips the plane still wore the dark brown of the Polish Air Force.

“It came in two weeks ago, and we just managed to get it flyable again this morning.”

He said nothing more, but Galland wasn't listening anyway. He had walked up to it and was looking into the cockpit. He noted that the instruments and levers were all marked in English. When he remarked this to the General the answer was:

“They build them in British Factories and their pilots learn to fly at British flying schools. The Allies use English for trans-national communications...”

“So they all learn it anyway so why bother expend time and money changing the planes.”


Galland sat into the cockpit and the General barely dared to suggest what Galland clearly wanted to do.



Galland looked over and looeked at the General's uncomfortable face and laughed hard.

“Can it fly?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Am I a qualified Fighter Pilot?”

The General knew that Galland kept himself qualified on -190s and -109s.

“Yes, Sir.” he said reluctantly.

As a reply Galland merely pulled the canopy close and familiarized himself with the aircraft. The layout was not to different. He wouldn't fly it today but he would be coming back tomorrow.





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Comments, questions, rotten Tomatoes?

[1] Near Stuttgart. Today the local airport, and OTL the abomination on top of this chapter was evaluated there. I come past the airport twice a day and IIRC the Americans still have some logistics units there.

Agent Larkin He's the personification of German Fighter Pilot at the time. In the BoB making-of he says how he regretted never getting to fly a Spitfire.

Kurt_Steiner Who knows?

stevep Not really. OTL the plane was built and tested there but, IIRC KG-200 was somewhere in Eastern Germany at the time. The fact that they are for the moment still here is merely raising the profile of the region I am from.


The factory hasn't been hit yet because the company was smart enough to disperse production as well as they could and because the smaller Bomber Command had other priorities (so far ).

EDIT: The next prominent appearance of Allied Tactical Aircraft that are named after an annoying insect and happen to be made out of wood will be something special.

ViperhawkZ Probably not. I want to keep at least an air of realism in this.

c0d5579 When they made BoB they had to saw off the wing tips of the Spanish 109s to make them the right length and shape. So I'm told.

Ehran Too true...

stevep said:

Wasn't he the one who gave the famous reply to the fat one when asked what was needed to win the BoB? 'Give us a squadron of Spitfires.

Click to expand...

Yup. Apparently Reichsmarschall Meyer never really forgave him for that one....

stevep said:

So Britain has a plane called the Wasp?, the Fly? the Ant? Seriously, waiting with expectation to see what the Mossies get up to. Is it historically based or something different?

Steve

Click to expand...

It's something new and something I wanted to write for ages and ages.

This Chapter is devoted to one of the most amazing war-time films and testaments against totalitarianism of all time. When I first saw 'The Great Dictator' in the original I was deeply impressed. I had heard so much about it and I didn't know what to expect. In the end it turned out better than I had expected, much, much better in fact. The Great Dictator is in my opinion Chaplin's best work and when I came up towards the time when I realized that the film was made around this time I decided to put it in. Yes, IOTL it was released earlier, but I think that Chaplin and the rest of United Artists would have had a harder time getting the plot right. It has of course significant differences to the OTL one, but I want it to have the same message. Yes, Chaplin was a flawed person but who is not? I can't say for sure how his work would develop but I think that this particular, 'The Great Dictators' would see the same appreciation in the decades to come, complete with a life-time BAFTA.

Now, without further ado, here comes Chapter 300!

Chapter 300​

Then, in the name of democracy, let us use that power! Let us all unite!! Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie! They do not fulfill their promise; they never will. Dictators free themselves, but they enslave the people!! Now, let us fight to fulfill that promise!! Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness.
Soldiers: In the name of democracy, let us all unite!!!
Hannah, can you hear me? Wherever you are, look up, Hannah. The clouds are lifting. The sun is breaking through. We are coming out of the darkness into the light. We are coming into a new world, a kindlier world, where men will rise above their hate, their greed and brutality.

Look up, Hannah. The soul of man has been given wings, and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow -- into the light of hope, into the future, the glorious future that belongs to you, to me, and to all of us. Look up, Hannah. Look up.


The professor turned off the recorder and flipped the lightswitch. The classroom became light again and he began to speak.

"Now, as any of you who have read the course book know 'The Great Dictators' was followed by the less well known but equally important 'Springtime for America' in 1944, three years after the initial release. Does anyone have an idea as to why the gap?"

A young man with greasy black hair raised his hand.

"In his biography Chaplin said that once he knew what was going on in Germany and the Soviet Union he couldn't stomach that he had just spent so much time and effort at making fun of such a regime."

The Professor nodded.
"Indeed. One must also understand that Chaplin and the rest of United Artists were involved in making many of the war-time classics that we have so far talked about in this course and we must also understand that The Great Dictators was in the first few months not very successful!"
He paused for emphasis.
"In the end it did run without interruption until 'Springtime' was released, and reportedly the last public screening was being held at Chaplin's personal invitation for the Queen the week before her coronation, although this annectote has never been confirmed either by the Chaplin Estate or the Palace, even now forty years later."

A ripple of laughter ran through the room. When it subsided the Professor turned towards the blackboard and picked up the chalk.

He wrote a quick few words and then turned back to his class.

"I know that most if not all of you have read the chapter that analyses the basic message of the film, but we here at the BAFTA like to do our own work in this regard. Can anyone tell me what they think?"

A young woman spoke.

"Didn't Chaplin want to say that both extremist notions are the same or something?"
The Professor nodded.

"Good. Someone else too?"

"Uhm...I heard the theory that Chaplin was trying to get people to wake up to the threat, but wasn't that pretty self-evident by the time it came out?"

"Not the answer I was looking for," the Professor said, "but still a very good question. I have heard this idea myself and while there probably is some merit to it, it isn't likely to be the sole motivation behind the film. Unlike what many people have said and written since Chaplin was not a Pacifist. He himself wrote in 1967 that he wanted to raise morale and steel them for what he knew was coming."

He cleared his throat.

"And frankly I believe this to be true. We have to look at The Great Dictators in the context of it's time. When production started the script had gone through re-writes since 1938 and was constantly adapted as history flowed past. When the first ideas where kicked around Universal the war had not even started and it truely was meant as a film to awaken the people to the danger the Axis were. However by 1940 France had fallen and we were staring defeat in the face."

He looked around the room and was satisfied to see the nodding heads.

"This is why it was sometimes dismissed as just another propaganda film during the '50s but we have since known this not to be true. Yes it shares some of the motifs, but the basic message was unusually uplifting. As you can see by the barber's ending speech can be interpreted in any number of ways, in fact there is a school of thought that says that in pre-revolutionary America the film would have bombed because many would have interpreted it as an attack on America and not the Nazis. However this is more than unlikely and we will never know this in any case."


"But United Artists did make a lot of straight-on propaganda pictures during the rest of the war!" a student exclaimed.

The Professor nodded in agreement.

"That they did, but let me ask you, what Film Company didn't? From the old Pinewood Company itself to United there were dozens of small outfits. David Niven, who was by the way United's first British member, said that during the war the industry did it's bit as much as everyone else."

"No," the Professor said after a small pause, "the significance of 'The Great Dictators' is the first work that really does not only show the Axis as the faceless, brutal and ruthless enemy. In my considered opinion Chaplin was at least a decade or two ahead of the times. He understood that one can expose evil for what it is not by propaganda along the lines of the Rape of Belgium but can make people laugh and open their eyes at the same time. And this is what film-making is all about in the end. True mastery is only achieved when you can do bot things at once, and 'The Great Dictators' has definitely achived this.”

He could see agreement and unfortunately also disbelief on the faces in the classroom.

“That's it for today then.”

The class filed out of the room and the Professor stepped to the window that overlooked Iver Heath and in the distance he could see the 007 Stage at the Pinewood Studios and the United Tower that was the centrepiece of the United Artists Studios. Would Chaplin and the others like what had become of their craft?

'Probably not.' he thought and shrugged as we walked out of the room, turning off the light as he went.



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Comments, questions, rotten Tomatoes?