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Ahhhh how they actually need Brit tanks in there. Would make it so much better.

Just get the Priest. Thats the same as a Sexton, no?
 
Ahhhh how they actually need Brit tanks in there. Would make it so much better.

Just get the Priest. Thats the same as a Sexton, no?

Not at all. The Sexton has the mighty, glorious and absolutely epic 25 pounder. A proper gun and all thanks to our Canadian friends.

Sexton_25-Pounder_Self-Propelled_Gu.jpg
 
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Not at all. The Sexton has the mighty, glorious and absolutely epic 25 pounder. A proper gun and all thanks to our Canadian friends.

/salute

You mentioned the Tortoise; we going to see any super-heavy tanks rolling through Germany or Russia in TTL?
 
/salute

You mentioned the Tortoise; we going to see any super-heavy tanks rolling through Germany or Russia in TTL?

I've got a vague memory of trek despising Heavies as a concept, but that may be my memory playing tricks.
 
I've got a vague memory of trek despising Heavies as a concept, but that may be my memory playing tricks.

I do despise them. Not only because the concept is flawed but also because they spawned a bloody army of annoying Wehrmacht fanboys.


EDIT: Yey! My Poland Update is still there!
 
Chapter 335


The hamlet near the Polish-Hungarian border had been the back end of beyond even before the war. But when the foreign soldiers had arrived nearly four years ago life had gone from bad to absolutely horrible.

It had been spared the retribution for the raid on Nuremberg that had afflicted much of western Poland but the Soviets weren't any better lords and masters than the Germans. The people still living here could hear the sound of fighting to the south but they did not know what was going on. The news they were given by the Soviets only told of great battles and the Red Army driving towards victory but nothing more.

The old woman and her four year old grandson, the only survivors in their family after four years of war and occupation were busy herding the few scrawny chicken that remained of the farm back into the house. The Woman sent her grandson ahead and paused for a while to listen to the almost constant thunder and then she noticed that something was different this time. The thunder of the guns was still universally audible but she could hear something else now. The clatter of tracks and the roar of engines. Many engines.

And that meant tanks. If there was one thing she had learned out of the last years it was that Tanks meant death. So she ran inside and saw to her horror that that her grandson was standing in the door and staring south with the sort of confused fear she knew she would have felt at his age, in fact had felt in the last war when there had been no Poland.

“Aleksy! Get back inside!” she yelled and grabbed him under his arms and raced down into the cellar. She slammed the door shot and held Aleksy tightly to her. The roar of the engines grew louder and the ground began to vibrate and as chips of masonry came falling from the ceiling and the few remaining glass windows rattled. Soon the screaming and dying would begin.

But nothing happened. No rifle-butts smashing in doors, no screaming and no shooting. Only the constant vibrations and the roar of engines.

So she set Aleksy back down with a stern order to remain put and slowly opened the door. Her guts were heavy with trepidation and fear but when she still had not met a single soldier in the main room she took the lunge and opened the door.

She was struck with the last thing she had expected. The tanks were of a type she had never before seen.

The soldiers marching through the village all were dirty and dusty, some were wounded but they all had smiles on their faces. They wore British-style uniforms, British weapons and for a short moment she believed that they were British, but then she saw the shoulder patches, the flags on the antennae, vehicles and uniforms. She nearly fainted, for the flag was the white and red of the Republic of Poland.

Tears began to flow down her cheeks and as around her the people came out of their cellars and began to cheer. She felt her Grandson's hand in hers and heard Aleksy's voice.

“Who are they, grandmother?”

“Ours.” she managed to say.[1]

It was in fact the advance party of the 1st Polish Armoured Division, the 24th Polish Lancers and some of the 1st Polish Highland Infantry Regiment.

Polish-1st-Armd-Div-Badge.jpg

Divison badge of the 1st Polish Armoured Division

Liberating the Village was merely the first action of the 'Battle of the Border' on 21st April 1943 and the 1st Polish Army did not push that far into their country as their Generals were well aware that they would be frightfully exposed. Over the last week they and the Romanians had driven clear through what passed for the Czech Army these days and the German Forces supporting them.

If it had not been such a one-sided slaughter the picture of what the British considered to be a pre-war Light Tank of Czech design charging over open field against dug-in Polish Comets might have been comical.

lt_vz_38_02.jpg

Czech Tank moving to the front.

Whilst in Poland itself the Army was greeted like the second coming of Jesus Christ in the Czech Republic the approach of the war toppled the fragile balance the Junta had maintained since the coup more than four years ago. It was a case of irony that in Slovakia, where more than half of the modern-day Republic of Slovakia was already occupied the popular support for the Junta was the greatest.

In the rest of the country only the heavy presence of German Military 'assistance' kept the populace from open revolt but here too an Allied Army Group was near.

But the Poles did not care for a piece of their country had been liberated. The famous picture of clearly very moved Polish Soldiers hoisting their flag over the church of the first liberated village was taken on that day by Robert Capa.

It was only a small bulge but Poland had returned to the map of nations.

Farther west Allied and a few attached Canadian forces were moving into Slovakia proper and their long-range Artillery was already shelling the outskirts of Bratislava.

DEaRuD_41_123.jpg

Canadian Heavy Artillery[2]


But the news of the day was clearly the border crossing.

For the Polish Government in Exile (that was already tentatively plotting the return to the homeland) this was the beginning of a solution to a problem. Manpower.

In 1943 the Polish Armed Forces in Exile consisted of the three Services. The Polish Army with four Divisions, the Polish Air Force with six fighter and four bomber Squadrons (of with two were heavy Squadrons flying late-model Lancasters[3]) and lastly the Polish Navy with one Heavy Cruiser, one Light Cruiser, five Destroyers and two Submarines.


And that stretched a manpower base that could only decline to the limit. The Poles were not going out of their way to avoid combat casualties on the field, far from it, but the decline in numbers would soon have given them a problem. In the years to come the Polish Army would swell incredibly and a grateful British Empire would do it's level best to ensure that these soldiers would be where there were enemies to fight.

Right now however they had advanced beyond what their orders permitted, but any commander with a shred of sense would have exploited the gap that had opened up between two Divisions of the Soviet 11th Corps and the Romanians (and also some Hungarian Reserve formations) were keeping their flanks secured whilst British and Polish Cavalry[4] fanned out to attack the retreating Soviets to widen the gap, basically exactly the sort of work this sort of Cavalry had been created for.

For Poland the Battle of the Border can be compared to the Battle of Britain (for the British) or the Liberation of Amsterdam (For the Dutch) in terms of national importance. While the Republic was far from re-established the news was trumped in every Allied and a great many neutral newspapers, but most of all it raised morale.



Polish_Flag_Monte_Cassino3.jpg


It began a march that would take the Polish Army to Warsaw before the end of the year and on to further conquests in Germany and Russia but right on that moment the Republic of Poland was still occupied for the most part.

The local population in the bulge that been liberated was compratively tiny and the Allied Forces made them aware that there were still significant Soviet Forces dangerously near but in the long run this would turn out to be of no consequence.

Between the 30th and 23rd Army Groups Army Group East/Bohemian Front was far too busy to stamp out the bulge and any Soviet Reserves in the area had long since been stripped of their best Infantry Formations to reinforce the quagmire in China. That left only the Bessarabia Front and a Reserve Corps consisting of one Infantry and one Cavalry Divisions along with two 'Citizen Divisions' that were little more than poorly armed and equipped Militia. Of all the Militia that the Allies would encounter in future battles these were still the best equipped in all probability but their commanders still harboured no illusions about their performance against heavily mechanized troops that hated all things Russian and German with a holy fervour and for whom this war was a holy Crusade blessed by the (for the Soviets non-existent) almighty himself.


The Bessarabia Front on the other hand was far too busy keeping the main Romanian Field Army from pushing into the area that had lent it it's name to do much in the way of attacking. It took the Staffers several critical days to realize this thanks to a lack of intelligence that turned out to be fatal to several careers but the Poles had achieved a breakthrough of the type that Field Marshal Alexander dreamed of but that had so far been denied to him.

The irony there was that he lacked the forces to exploit it and a priceless opportunity had to be ignored. Had this occurred a year later at least eighteen additional Hungarian, Romanian and Bulgarian Divisions would have been available, along with the first purely Italian Corps but in 1943 they were not.


+-+-+-+-+-+-

Comments, questions rotten tomatoes.

[1] Alas, ironically the Polish Forces are smaller than OTL. According to what I read online near 30% of those employed there IOTL were evacuated from the Soviet Union and that obviously doesn't happen here. Mind you, the Poles won't give up their country again and soon the Polish Army, Navy and Air Force can recruit from the source. There is a trickle of refugees coming in through the Baltic States (which the Soviet AI never attacked for some reason) but only a little. And before anyone asks: The minimum the Polish are going to get if the British have anything to say about it are their pre-war borders. Outside the Commonwealth the Poles are one of two or three countries the British will have a sort of 'Special Relationship' with.

[2] Actually shows a Newfoundland Regiment, but meh. Close enough as Newfoundland will eventually join Canada anyway.

[3] Imagine. A Lancaster in the light-brown/sky blue colours and with the Checkersboard markings.

[4] Yes, the Poles will raise a British-style Cavalry Division. So we might actually get that famous (and German-invented) picture of Polish Cavalry charging tanks. Only that they will have some tanks of their own. :)
 
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Trek, you've made the war even better for this Brit.

You've actually rescued Poland.
 
It was a case of irony that in Slovakia, where more than half of the modern-day Republic of Slovakia was already occupied the popular support for the Junta was the greatest.
Farther west Canadian and ANZAC forces were moving into Slovakia proper and their long-range Artillery was already shelling the outskirts of Bratislava.

"Fear not, citizens of Slovakia! We have come to rescue you!"

"Boo! You suck!"

"Not the response I expected."

For Poland the Battle of the Border can be compared to the Battle of Britain (for the British) or the Liberation of Amsterdam (For the Dutch) in terms of national importance. While the Republic was far from re-established the news was trumped in every Allied and a great many neutral newspapers, but most of all it raised morale.

Liberation of Amsterdam you say? I ask a lot of TTL's Canada, but we did liberate the Netherlands IRL... I suspect that the honor will go to the Dutch forces in exile, but they don't have much manpower of their own. Speaking of, has the Dutch royal family gone to Ottawa as per OTL? I consider our relationship to the Netherlands to be one of Canada's Crowning Moments of Heartwarming.
 
Trekaddict

Great chapter highlighting the horrors of war and the best antidote to them. Massive boost to allied and especially Polish moral and they will probably start picking up additional recruits trickling south through enemy lines. It could also mean an even bloodier time in occupied Poland as the Poles are increasingly restless and the occupiers aware of that and determined to suppress opposition.

I'm a bit surprised that you're saying Poland will be at least as large as pre-war Poland. In the east it was probably weakened by having a lot of non-Polish population and keeping let alone expanding that would make any Ukrainian or Byerussian buffer state more difficult to organise and maintain. In the west you could see Polish gains but that's bound to see a lot of forced population moves of Germans which OTL was at least partly explained by compensating the Poles for the lands the Soviets were taking in the east and also a desire to weaken Germany. The latter may still be the case, for Britain and even more so many European allies but the former wouldn't be the case. Going to be interesting to see what you come up with here.

Steve
 
Trekaddict

Great chapter highlighting the horrors of war and the best antidote to them. Massive boost to allied and especially Polish moral and they will probably start picking up additional recruits trickling south through enemy lines. It could also mean an even bloodier time in occupied Poland as the Poles are increasingly restless and the occupiers aware of that and determined to suppress opposition.

I'm a bit surprised that you're saying Poland will be at least as large as pre-war Poland. In the east it was probably weakened by having a lot of non-Polish population and keeping let alone expanding that would make any Ukrainian or Byerussian buffer state more difficult to organise and maintain. In the west you could see Polish gains but that's bound to see a lot of forced population moves of Germans which OTL was at least partly explained by compensating the Poles for the lands the Soviets were taking in the east and also a desire to weaken Germany. The latter may still be the case, for Britain and even more so many European allies but the former wouldn't be the case. Going to be interesting to see what you come up with here.

Steve

I think they would be justified in taking East Prussia, at least.
 
Lord Strange - Many moons ago I watched the Episode of "World at War" where they tell us about the Siege of Warsaw. The image of an annoyed Hitler with the Polish Anthem playing was too epic and I decided that the Poles had to be better of in AAO. I always liked them but that was an awesome inspiration.

zeppelin247 - There is indeed a "Germany First" policy.

Agent Larkin - Yup. And if you ask this old Commie-hating Capitalist Imperialist's opinion, far better off across the board. :D

ViperhawkZ - :D Problem is, technically the Allies are at war with the Czechs..

Alas, here it won't be Canada who liberates the country. Just who it will be... I don't know yet. The Dutch Royal Family is indeed in Canada, though the Queen herself is currently in the UK.

stevep - Whatever happens, you'd need a Nuke to pry the 1st Polish Army loose from that bit of territory again. Whatever else happens, the fact that they were the first to begin the liberation of Poland and that they are doing it at all will be worth it to them.


stevep&ViperhawkZ - Answer to that via PM.
 
Alas, here it won't be Canada who liberates the country. Just who it will be... I don't know yet. The Dutch Royal Family is indeed in Canada, though the Queen herself is currently in the UK.

I kind of figured it wouldn't be. Even with the manpower boost of the American exiles, Canada in TTL has to spread itself thin to cover the Balkans' collective arse and fight the Japs.

You may have noticed that I bring up Canada every update they're mentioned in (and some that they're not :D). Call it crusading for my home and native land. So many AH settings have Canada eaten by 'Merrika or clinging to Britain like a baby to it's mommy. It's very refreshing to have a Commonwealth Wank where we get our dues. I'm rambling.
 
Well, the way I re-work the Commonwealth it can be compared to a Racing Team. The Empire is the Owner/trainer, Canada is the star driver, Australia and New Zealand are the other drivers, with the rest of the Allies being the hired but appreciated mechanics.
 
I think they would be justified in taking East Prussia, at least.

ViperhawkZ

That I could see, along with Danzig, as it would secure Polish access to the Baltic and avoid the problem of the corridor, i.e. of German lands separated by Polish ones. However, depending on how much the empire [and allies] wishes a stable Europe and how much desire there is to punish the Germans for Nazi atrocities it could be politically difficult to take more in the west.

Thinking more that it might be less than wise to expand Poland eastwards and possibly in Poland's interest to lose some of its eastern territories. [Getting rid of resentful minorities and avoiding bad relations with other states to the east if the allies are successful enough to carve out more buffers.

Steve
 
I like Poland's fate. The irony of WW2 (1) gets solved.




(1) To go to war to free a country from a dictator to leave it, at the end of the conflict, in the hands of another one.
 
Yeah, of all the nations the Poles are probably the biggest winners.
 
Query: will Italy be forced to surrender the Dodecanese to Greece? I haven't seen any mention of Greece, so I imagine they've managed to stay neutral?
 
That's actually only one of three dozen problems like that. In the end though the Brits are likely going to hand it over to Greece who indeed managed to stay neutral. As an indirect result of that the Queen never meets Prince Phillip.