Against all Odds: The British Empire in World War Two

Kurt_Steiner Here his talents were recognized and he was suitably promoted. If Marcks is anything how I read what I know of him then he'll complement Rommel nicely and together they'll make Alexander's job all the harder.


stevep What stopped the Japanese roughly at the halfway line on Java was that the Australians sent literally all even moderatly trained combat troops. For almost a month only near untrained recruits defended the country.

stevep(2) For the moment Alexander is content with taking Vienna and securing the northern approaches. That alone will be a nice propaganda coup.

As for Rommel's comms difficulties this only happens in dire emergencies (so far only twice).

Well you see, this IDF is, at least at first, equipped and trained by the British and thus they teach proper spelling everywhere in the country.

Alexander took Vienna by accident, always remember that.

Lord Strange And I'm not done with him yet....

ViperhawkZ Hitler could be surprisingly lucid IOTL, especially pre-Stalingrad. It was basically that if it worked (such as the DAK's withdrawal from Egypt) you were given a handshake and the Austrian took the credit, if it didn't your head was torn off.


Rommel will actually survive the war (though how and why I won't tell just yet). Here his justification was that his orders to pull back into Vienna were not obeyed for some reason and when he reached his HQ at AG Centre the city had already fallen.

Chapter 324​

“Sir, do you think that's wise?”

The aide was not happy that his Field Marshal was driving through recently captured Vienna in an open car. Who knew what was still hiding in all those open windows...

Alexander waved the objections away. He desired to move his Headquarters to Vienna as soon as possible, but for the moment all he could do was to have a quick look at the city.

“Oh yes.” Alexander said and waved his hand dismissively, “after all we are to fly back this afternoon anyway.”

Aide said nothing more as the car turned into the Elisabethstraße.

Alexander looked at a large almost neo-classical building half-hidden behind some trees. “Stop!”

To the driver the Field Marshal's bidding was as good as a word from God himself so he stopped. Much to the chagrin of his aides Alexander hopped out of the Land Rover and walked over to the building. Within seconds his aide and the two body-guards followed. Past a statue of Friedrich Schiller and through a door held open by two incredibly frightened youngsters who must have shed their Hitler Youth uniforms that very morning the British Field Marshal and Allied Supreme Commander walked into the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts.



The inside of the building was painted in baroque paintings and gold, fine works of art in their own right. All along the walls you could see the gaps in the row of paintings where the administration had hastily removed those that their new British Masters might find offensive and on the far end where doors diverged the flag-poles were still there though the Swastika Flag was missing. There also were half a dozen professors waiting for him there, likely the board or something that ran this establishment.

“So tell me,” Alexander asked as way of an opening, “why didn't you accept him?”




While this happened the Axis forces to the north of Vienna were settling into field fortifications that effectively abandoned all of Austria south of the Danube, east of Marbach an der Donau. Hitler had been convinced of this when both the OKW and STAVKA had stressed the need for room to manoeuvre and that at any smaller front the three Army groups would do more to step onto each other's feet than fight the enemy and the Danube, curvy as it was, formed a formidable defensive line. In the week since Vienna had fallen the area the Axis had abandoned had been captured by the 21st and 22nd Army Groups against scattered and determined but ultimately futile resistance by weak forces left behind or refusing to retreat. Rommel was more than happy to rid himself of the more fanatical elements of the stream of party refugees that had fled Vienna so he gladly allowed scattered SA militia go up against mechanized British Infantry.



Along the banks of the Danube both sides settled in and prepared for their next move. Axis strategy was defensive for once, one would await and defeat the Allied offensive before pushing back across the river while the Allies were adjusting their plans after this unexpected windfall of territory.



In Vienna itself the usual routine of occupation was begun. Curfew between 1900 in the evening and 08:00 in the morning, the display of German and Soviet Flags and symbols was prohibited as were assemblies of more than five persons, along with mandatory confiscation of all weapons and not-so-mandatory confiscation of whatever memorabilia the troops desired. While these instances where nowhere near the organized rape and pillage Axis propaganda made them out to be it was usual.


The capture of the city was decried as a belated and very much temporary triumph by the asiatic/turkic hordes under British tutelage (never mind that the only Muslim unit that entered the city for near a week was a Palestine Pioneer battalion attached to the 9th (Lowland) Division) and promised a swift re-conquest even while Göbbels wrote into his diary that 'the enemy capture of Vienna is likely to be permanent in the short term at the very least'.[1]


Both sides prepared for what promised to be a massive battle and one that had to be fought using every advantage they could possibly gain.


However the impromptu battle (that would end up being the subject of a Carry On film in 1966 where it was put down to a group of well-meaning but bumbling German Officers) forced the hand of others.

In Hungary efforts to re-equip the Army with modern, Allied weapons were re-doubled in order to activate another Field Army by the end of the year (4x Regular Infantry, 1x Motorized Division, 1x Armoured Division) and a third by the time of the 1944 campaign season, thus reaching the projected maximum strength of the Hungarian Army.

It was much the same picture in Romania, though there each of the Armies would be exchanging on of the Infantry for a second Motorized Division, while the Bulgarians would send their primary post-axis field formation, made up of three Mountaineer Divisions and three regular Infantry ones.


For all these Armies the scarcity of modern equipment was a larger issue than recruitment. They had all been unwilling Axis partners, in the case of Bulgaria more than the others perhaps, but when it came down to it a war against the Communists was easier to motivate the populace for than one where their countries would nominally at least be allied to them.

To alleviate the shortage of modern equipment the three countries had sent delegations to Southern Italy and North Africa where large numbers of discarded Allied Tanks and guns were available. For the Hungarians and the Romanians alike the shortage was biggest in the area of vehicles, as both countries produced considerable quantities of small arms and light Artillery.

Though even there changes needed to be made. For example in Hungary all units still carried the FÉG 35M Infantry Rifle which was an improvement of an old Austro-Hungarian design from the 1890s. While this was similar to the venerable Lee-Enfield the rest of the Allies used it complicated logistics to no end because of the different calibre. Production of a variant chambered for .303 had begun in the last week of January after a hasty modification was made, but so far only one production line had been re-tooled and those units with the 40th Army Group had absolute emergency priority for these weapons.

In Romania and Bulgaria similar efforts were under way though far less advanced,[2] since their Armies would not only fight side by side but also in the same area of the front. Ironically here any Allied Forces would be the ones to complicate the supply situation.



Still, the Romanian Army had a chronic shortage of heavy Artillery and anti-tank weapons. The former was not easy to fix, though they had expressed interest in the British 7.2inch Mk.I Howitzer that was slowly being joined by the longer-ranged Mk.II version[3] so that at least some guns were available.

Anti-tank weapons were easier to obtain. One of the first rail shipments of weapons that arrived had six carriages of PIATs with their ammunition in it and a licence for domestic production was quickly agreed upon, in exchange for Romanian Oil and Diesel Fuel, and shortly before Vienna fell to the Allies this deal was extended to the ubiquitous 6pounder Anti-Tank Gun.

What had not really changed was the situation in the air. The best and most long-ranged Soviet Bomber units were in the Far East by now while the Luftwaffe confined itself with attacks against the supply lines of the armies that directly threatened Germany itself, so while there were many attacks the combined British/Hungarian/Romanian Air Forces in the area kept damage at a minimum.

The Soviets failed to react to the fall of Vienna in any meaningful way. Stalin, and through him STAVKA, felt that now that their core territories were threatened the Germans would bring in the vast strategic reserve that they had built in Germany and France over the last year with which they would crush the Allied Forces.

Stalin had good reason for this optimism. Since the Italian surrender the Heer had been expanded significantly and the fifty Allied Divisions now in Europe would face almost eighty German and Soviet ones, and the British would suffer losses they could ill afford, even when they mobilized their subject peoples.[4]


One would smash the Japanese in the east and adopt a wait-and-see attitude in the west and then, when the Imperialists in Britain and Germany had bled each other white, then the hour of the Soviet Union would come. Stalin decided that to reach that goal Manchuria finally needed to be taken. That it hadn't already was frankly a disgrace. He dismissed the human waves the Chinese kept sending out. No, the failure of the Red Army had to lay elsewhere.


Maybe it was time to clean house again? This definitely needed to be pondered, especially when it concerned the Army in the Far East. In Europe at least the Generals were fighting like they were supposed to...

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[1] IOTL his diaries survived the war and were thought to partially lost until the missing bits were discovered in ex-Soviet Archives by David Irving or Elke Fröhlich, depending on who you ask. In Germany they were published as being 'historically significant' in 2006 in 29 volumes.

[2] Honestly it seems that everyone used those dodgy old Austro-Hungarian Mannlichers, though I doubt it's because their bullets have magic properties.

[3] Think of it as the OTL Mk.6, except with a British Carriage.

[4] And it's true. While of these seventy two Divisions (if the twelve in North Africa are figured in) maybe half are actually British (Indian and African Divisions included) Alexander really has to watch himself and even then the Brits will feel the pinch next year, though not nearly as bad as OTL, thanks to the aforementioned African and Indian troops, along with a total war footing from day one. Instead of disbanding some frontline Divisions to keep others up to strength there will be no new ones and home Defence units get the axe.

Agent Larkin I'd love to know it too...

TemplarComander Well, Alexander benefits from a classical education so I doubt he wants them to take just everyone.

stevep The Tiffie's ground-attack version and the better heavy guns come just in time.

Agent Larkin He probably managed to piss them off with something.

The Romanian Field Guns are indeed horse-drawn, but with the infrastructure up there in this area that might actually be an advantage. The Romanians aren't advancing very fast or far anyway, and by the time they do the war situation will be different.


The Capture of Vienna was by accident because it wasn't planned to happen for another month almost and definitely not with so little blood being shed for it. Alexander isn't someone to look a gift horse in the mouth though and he's happy that he also got a chunk of Austria in the bargain. If something similar had happened to ze Germanz the Austrian would have put it down to his own awesome leadership.

Well, part of the deal with the British for being allowed to change sides this easily were strong..uhm...suggestions that they (Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria) better come down hard on the Fascists. For the moment Horty is holding onto power in Hungary as are the monarchs in the others, but they all know that it won't last once the war is over. Romania is definitely going to keep the Monarchy (after all, the Monarch personally led a very popular coup against Antonescu), Hungary is definitely going to be a Republic. Bulgaria is still up in the air.

As for borders, in so far the territories are under Allied control all of them are back to pre-WW2 borders, i.e. they all had to give up the land they gained through the various treaties. Transylvania is an issue that Hungary and Romania will sort out after the war, with the British making sure that it doesn't get violent. We might see a Quebec-like deal for some of the minorities, it's all not yet decided. THey (or rather I) decided that for the moment there are bigger fish to fry.

The Romanians will definitely make a good case for getting Besserabia and Bukovina back, and if the war goes well enough they will get it, barring plesbicites to the contrary.

I know very well that this might not be all that easy, but that's at least the plan the Foreign Office follows for the moment.

10th March 1943

Chapter 325​

War or no war, for those living in London March 1943 was a good time. The weather was warming up again after the worst winter in living memory that at times had grounded Fighter Command and brought live on the island to a halt.

The war was going well too, in the Far East the Army was preparing to move into Siam and the fall of Vienna was still lingering in the papers even now. It was glaringly obvious that the big battle that would decide how the war went for the remainder of the year was at hand and every paper had it's own 'experts' that voiced their opinions.

On the wireless everyone was listening to E.R. Murrow's series as he toured the capitals of the Continent under Allied control and the children cheered on Captain Walker has he and the intrepid crew of their Flying Aircraft Carrier fought Nazis, Soviets and assorted bad guys.

The top-secret meeting taking place inside the deepest depths of the city in one of a number of Officers tuked away in side alleys, old tube stations and assorted buildings that were not officially owned by the Government or anyone directly connected to it had no mind for such things.

“Frankly Sir,” Admiral Tovey, First Sea Lord and one member of Winston's Talk Shop said, “Edgehill lacked any number of things to make her truly combat capable. For example her guns were too small, her machine guns to few and she lacked torpedo mounts. It pains me to say it, but the Germans were onto something with their commerce raiders before we sank them.”


“Probably true,” Churchill said, “but I gather that Captain Fleming was rather...open with his concerns about his mission?”

“He was, Sir.” Tovey scratched his chin while he tried how to formulate it without ruining the Captain's career.

“Mind you, I can't fault him for that,” he said after a while, “and no one can doubt the courage of a man and crew who go up against a Destroyer in a butchered tin can like they had. They are damn lucky they didn't loose the lot.”

Churchill nodded. He liked the two Officers in question, and for that matter so did the Regent and the Queen. While the prospective Elizabeth II didn't know the part they had played in the aftermath of her father's death she was aware of the role they had played after the death of her uncle in France before the war[1] and Churchill himself was also well aware of the role they had played in the war since.

There had been a time when Leiter had not been trusted by the establishment, fearing that the had been turned into a German spy[2]but it seemed that they were both on their way to earn a second bar to their DSO's if they lived long enough. Not for this mission but eventually fate would throw something their way.

“So I gather their open-ness will not have adverse effects on their careers?”

Tovey shook his head. “I doubt either of them would be happy with flag rank, and anyway they are far too valuable to waste in an Office at the Admiralty. I must say what they did in America was frankly...wrong to say the least. Not quite conduct unbecoming, not under the circumstances they operated under but thank god the Foreign Office isn't made up of men like them.”

Marshal of the Empire Dill spoke up for the first time in more than an hour and looked at Churchill.

“So what do you want done with them? They are due to arrive in two days.”

“Give them some leave. After that....”


Only nods were exchanged, and Churchill looked around at the faces around the table.

“Gentlemen, as usual with the next subject I am required to state to you that divulging any information on it would lead to the gravest consequences, no matter your position.”


“Well then, what is the status on Tube Alloys?”

Sir Hugh Dowding, Chief of the Air Staff and thus representative of the Royal Air Force on the Imperial General Staff rose. Any prospective weapon coming from Tube Alloys would by default fall under the responsibilities of the Air Force and so the RAF had taken over the military side of the project.

“Well, Professors Einstein and Bohr have sent us an estimate on how long it will take them to refine enough of the elements and I have to say it will take at the very least two years before they can begin assembly and that is even pre-supposing that nothing goes wrong and that they can overcome the scientific and engineering difficulties this project entails. I'm being told that they have the...reactor pile I believe they call it running and under control but the materials this process yields are so far in only very small amounts. They expect that they need somewhere between forty and sixty kilograms of that ore they use[3] and since it does not occur naturally, or if it does only in trace amounts, enriching the closest naturally occurring approximation has proven to be more difficult in both time and the technical effort needed than we expected.”


“What about the plant in Canada?”

“There production with the new process is expected to begin within two or three weeks, Sir. The main problem is to get the materials to our assembly site without loosing it to an enterprising U-Boat skipper and without the Americans getting wind of what we are doing. So far the plan is to wait until a suitable amount of material has been amassed to ship it in a specially converted and disguised freighter in the middle of the next available convoy from Canada to our stations east of Suez.”

“Disguised? What as?”

“Nothing fancy, Sir. But when someone searches the ship and sees her papers all he finds are crates labelled “Engine Parts, Merlin” with the crest of the RAF on it. Without actually opening one he has no way to see that they are led-lined and the crates in question are always hidden under crates containing actual engines. The ships are also equipped with scuttling charges and the officers on board are informed of what they are expected to do if boarded, but not of what they are actually transporting. However there is always one of my Officers who is in the know as it were, aboard to supervise.”





It made sense. The shadow factories in India were assembling planes by the dozen but as usual the real choke-point was the availability of engines. Rolls-Royce owned subsidiaries and several sub-contractors were turning out engines by the dozen in Canada and the UK and a significant part of the Merchant Navy shipped them all over the globe.

“Tell them they have my utmost confidence.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Well then. That's it for today.”

The Officers and officials filed out of the room but Churchill held back the Chief of the Air Staff.

“I hear the Canadians are working on a new plane?”


“Yes, Sir. Avro Canada calls it the Mustang, Prime Minister. They are looking at using it as a long-range escort fighter, both here and in the Pacific.”

“And you think it might be useful for us as well?”


“Yes, Sir. At least for daylight operations it is far superior to anything we have in the escort role. Our newest Spitfires have a slight advantage in speed and are superior dog-fighters. Problem is they are still rather short-ranged which isn't a handicap here but in the Pacific. So yes, we might want to look at it for Far Eastern Service at least.”


Dowding paused.

“But Sir,” he said hesitatingly, “this plane...it has aerodynamics far more advanced than those of the Spitfire. There is far more development potential in the Mustang, especially long-term.”


“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Hm...I will have to think about this, Marshal.”

“Yes, Sir.”

But Churchill already knew that totally replacing the thousands of Spitfires at this stage was not the right thing to do. In fourteen months at the latest the Gloster Meteor would enter service and he honestly believed that on that day the age of the piston engine was over.[6]

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Comments, questions, rotten Tomatoes?



[1] Come to think of it, being a British Royal in the AAO-verse isn't the healthiest of jobs...

[2] Which I seriously considered for a while but then rejected as it would totally destroy the dynamic of the duo.

[3] U-235.

[4] Yup, Canucks with Nukes. First under a Dual-Key arrangement with the British but then under the tutelage of a Defence Minister whom we all know and hate as a Canadian PM IOTL (Guesses via PM please) Canada starts building her own.

[5] TTL-term for the Griffon.

[6] Winston has taken a bit of a shining to the Jet Engine.