United Kingdom at War, Popular Series brought to you by The History Channel

[telesien]

United Kingdom at War

A Popular Series brought to you by The History Channel

Introduction

This is going to be my first try to write something else besides school projects and hateful letters to my neighbours. Therefore I woud like you to bear (bare?) with me. Also keep in mind that this isn't going to be comedy AAR. As much as I like them, reading such master pieces as The Game or German Risk kills my hope of being funny person. This doesn't mean it will be completely serious, but don't expect to laugh much, unless you like typos.

As the title suggests, I aim to create some kind of light documentary for broad public about war from alternate history timeline. I don't know where I'm going to end and I will tend to do strange stuff to give my gameplay internal logic (it may sound strange, but I guess you'll get what I mean later on). Also expect some politics, which can't be separated from war, but rest assured, that it will be just descriptive and will stick to WW2 time.

Pics will surely be here, but if I'm lousy writer, than I'm terrible graphic artist, so don't expect anything besides some childish Paintbrush editing.

Technical stuff:
I'm going to use SF with 2.01 beta patch, Lothos LUA files and most of all Devildread's I.C.E. mod in 2.1.3 beta version.
I also use two personal modifications. I allow my ships to upgrade with the new SF system (don't know yet if I'll use it) and I make HoS and HoG to be manually replaceable to help me with some story lines.

I will probably post my first update tomorrow (11th July), since I plan to go see Predators this evening.

[Slan]

You got me interested

[XHR]

I do not know if you will succeed, but the title got me interested. I really like "history channel" AARs

Also, I added this AAR to the list of ICE-AARs (though not even started yet)!
Good luck!

[Devildread]

I wouldn't recommend you to start the game with 2.01 since it crashes in 1940 in most of the games (it does in my I.C.E. handsoffs).

Try the 2.03 instead.

[telesien]

I wouldn't recommend you to start the game with 2.01 since it crashes in 1940 in most of the games (it does in my I.C.E. handsoffs).

Try the 2.03 instead.

Too late, but I've already got two games until 1941 without any crash, so I'm very hopeful

EDIT: While searching through the forum I found Doomdark's comment that this CTD is caused by incorect return of exp. forces. I tried quick hands-off game and the CTD one day after Vichy seemed unavoidable. Than I deleted whole French army including exp. forces and it stoped the CTD. So this won't stop this AAR

[telesien]

Prelude to war

To better understand such gargantuan conflict as World War 2 clearly was, we first need to focus on the motives and goals each nation had. For the sake of clarity it is customary to dived all nations into three major factions.



Axis started as Germany alone, but it quickly grew through diplomatic influence on two other most prominent nations with similar ideologies



Being the most belligerent faction in World War 2, most events were driven by goals of these nations.

Germany started the war with the aim to control eastern Europe and European parts of Soviet Union with quick execution of operation Barbarossa. To really achieve this they also had to defeat France through Fall Gelb and United Kingdom by operation Sealion. Hitler decided that the only allies he needed in his campaign were Italy and Japan and other similar nations like Nationalist Spain or Portugal would only hinder his ambitions.

To power his enormous warmachine Hitler needed huge amount of iron from Sweden, but to get it home he had to conquer northern port of Narvik.

Italy aimed to turn Meditteranean Sea to her little pond by taking Gibraltar and Suez from British hands.

Japan had much bigger ambitions stretching from occupation of China (namely important targets represented by Shanghai and Chongqing) and aquiring rare materials and oil by conquering Manilaand Batavia, to dealing with dangerous United States by depriving them of Honolulu and finish their dominance in Pacific by seizing all important islands.



Allies represented democratic states opposing Axis advance. This faction started as equal partnership between France and United Kingdom, but this was quickly changed.

The first task for them was to get more nations to join. While some of them were logical choice (USA and Canada), other were more of pragmatic choice (Poland and Greece). Also keeping France democratic and sympatetic became important task.

The first succesful battleground for Allied forces was Notrhern Africa. At first the problematic supply lines held British advance back, but after launching operation Torch to liberate Morroco and Algeria and create second front, things have changed.

After securing what was theirs they could switch focus to liberation of Europe by executing enormous operation called Overlord. Important cities that had to be taken were: Paris, Bruxelles, Amsterdam and of course Berlin itself. Italy was also needed to be dealt with.

Apart from Europe, it was also necessary to stop Japan advancing through Pacific islands and of course defeating the Empire of the Rising Sun itself.

Last and mainly prestige task was to keep Switzerland neutral as always.



The last faction consisted of Soviet union and two insignificant Asian states. This was of course not enough for ambitious communist power, so most of the tasks consisted of gaining territories and puppets.

The first move was against three Baltic states and Finland. Than the nazi invasion came so Soviet Union was pushed to defensive position, but didn't give up. Post-war political situation in Europe after the fall of the Third Reich should have ensured communist Finland, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Greece, East Germany and Czechoslovakia. Those ambitious goals were not enough, so the last two Comintern members were supposed to be Korea and Mexico.

At least that were Stalin's plans.

[telesien]

1936
Part I

The Canadian Crisis

Various sources claim that World War 2 started in different years and by different events. For United Kingdom it all happened on 1st of January 1936 in Canada. This incident may seem little insignificant now, but it is believed that it may have changed the course of history.

So what happened on that fatefull day? The Minister od Security Sir John Simon, the Chief of the Air Force Sir Owen Boyd and commander James, leader of America&West Indies Station were guests at the New Years party hosted by Canadian Governor General and they all "had a glass too much." One thing led to another and the party quickly turned into an argument about still quite recent New Foundland boundary dispute.

Needless to say Canadian Governor General John Buchan, 1st Baron of Tweedsmuir wasn't very pleased and all three men and also the whole America&West Indies Station got imidiately banished without even getting chance to re-supply.



The Prime Minister Stanely Baldwin was understandably furious and Sir John Simon wasn't able to keep his government position. According to memoirs of then Cabinet Secretary sir Humphrey Appleby, the Elder, Stanley Baldwin muttered something about indescreet crime fighter and the need to appoint somene closer to the people. Finding noone better, Stanley Baldwin himself assumed this position. The second government victim was Sir Owen Boyd, who got replaced by Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, fierce proponent of modern interceptors.

The swift and resolute solution of the Canadian Crisis gave Stanley Baldwin so much power that he was also able to give the position of the Chief of the Army to his longtime friend Sir Cyril Deverell.

This first of many changes to come made the government of United Kingdom look like this.



Not loosing any time, Stanley Baldwin imidiately called the first meeting of new government to decide priorities for the first year. The most attention was given to fighting the effects of the Great Depression. One of the regions most hit by unemployment was the North East England. So it was decided that all available resources will go there.



Other resources were - as usual - subjects of process, that is in some countries called "carving up the bear."



It was decided that to keep Britain the leading world power, most of the budget must go towards research. Some of it was "booked" by Neville Chamberlain and went to better industrial production. Another small part was given to Sir Cyril Deverell who answered to pleas of Sir Basil Liddell Hart and invested them in armour research and publishing some Hart's works as official textbooks.
But most of the available resources where given to Sir Ernle Chatfield. While current industrial capacity was used elsewhere, the mighty Royal Navy could use some more modern equipment, at least for later production. A lot of attention was given to carrier building technologies. Although it is hard to exactly know the reasons now, it is rumoured, that the true power behind this was then aide-de-camp, rear admiral and future big star of war Andrew Cunningham known by his subordinates simply as "ABC".

The budget given to Anthony Eden was enough to appease Canada and to influence one specific nation. While everyone expected him to butter Germans up, he decided otherwise.



When later asked why he's done this, he merely claimed it to be only logical solution. Germany needed much iron and Sweden had plenty. Although now it may seem so, given the internationl relations and British official foreign policy back then, it would have been brilliant move. Perhaps a sign of things to come?

The small budget given to Sir Hugh Sinclair was only enough to keep spies at home and send some to Germany, Italy and Soviet Union.



Officers kept home were used boost the spirit of important people, previously damaged by the Great Depression and the Canadian Crisis.

Those in Germany tried to find out more about the enigmatic political situation there. Sir Hugh Sinclair thought that finding out true German motives was of prime importance. Spies sent to Soviet Union had simple task. Sabotage their five year plans or their success might increase popularity of communist parties worldwide. Task for his men in Italy was also simple. By attacking Ethiopia Mussollini proved that he is a menace and the rest of the world should see him as such.

Next part: the Rhineland Crisis and death of King George V

footnote: As you can probably see now, this AAR will be perhaps slightly different then you are used to. Expect less fighting and more personal relations and politics. Any resemblance to historical figures may be random or intentional, you decide. Also I used History Channel only as well known franchise and you may be disappointed that this doesn't look like some specific documentaries. Sorry for that. But still stay tuned for more twist and turns...

[telesien]

1936
Part II

The Rhineland Crisis

The new government didn't even have much time to settle down, when second crisis hit. This time completely foreign one.



It was 14th January 1936 when Hitler decided to break the rules set by the Versailles Treaty and moved soldiers to the demilitarized zone in Rhineland. PM Stanley Baldwin discussed the situation with French president Lebrun and they decided to... send a formal note.

While not causing much of an international tension, it led to interesting power struggle inside the British government. While Anthony Eden, weak-willed as usual, tried to calm everyone down and discouraged from using power or even arm to prevent war, he faced a dangerous force. Newly and purely pragmaticaly established triumvirate consisting of Cyril Deverell, Ernle Chatfield and Hugh Dowding saw this as great opportunit to gain some more power and all argued for more resources to prepare Britain to face the German threat.

Stanely Baldwin decided for the good old happy medium. Proposal to mobilize indsutry was rejected at once, PM even claimed it to be impossible, but some industrial capacity was freed for military production. This led to immediate break up of the said triumvirate and each member fought for himself. It turned out to be a very quick fight since Ernle Chatfield already got enormous research budget and his two new destroyer fleets were just before launch. Second out was Hugh Dowding, who was too new to really demand anything and so the victor became Cyril Deverell, who got support of the Chief of Staff and the PM himself. But in the end Hugh Dowding was so devasted, that he also got a minor share, just to appeace him.



While Hugh Dowding wanted to invest in modern interceptors, which was his ultimate goal, this resources were far from being sufficient. So he decided to start another plan. When unable to boost the defence directly, he turned to the latest invention of the Watt family and started a project that was claimed to be the first case of electronic warfare in history.

Cyril Deverell, ultimate winner in the Rhineland Crisis, decided not to establish new divisions, that would require quality soldiers that he just didn't have, but to modernize the current ones. His decision to get few hundreds of trucks to make British army mobile can be explained in two ways. While it is true, that it helped in the future war, his motives now seem to be less honorable. It is now widely known, that the Bedford Vehicles company, subsidiary of Vauxhall Motors company, was partially owned by his nephew and it is therefor no surprise, that this huge order was given to this particular company.

Death of King George V

In the morning hours of 5th March 1936 sad news swept though the country



Yes, the great man who led United Kingdom through the bleak days of the World War I was dead. Luckily the accession of a new king went without any problems and Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David could start his reign as Edward VIII



While being generally loved by the public, he caused a lot of unease in government circles. The most prominent reason was his enthusiasm for visiting various factories and mines. While people loved this, it often caused huge disturbance and all work had to be halted. Some analytics claim, that this alone decreased British GDP by 5%!!

Next part: Spanish Civil War and March of Jarrow

Footnote: I don't want to be pushy or such, but more then 300 people opened this AAR while left no comment. I would really like some kind of feedback, even if totally negative. I can than make some changes or stop wasting brandwith alltogether

[Slan]

I won't reply on demand!

...






Wait! D'oh....

[Devildread]

(I read it, and I fixed the rhinleand event picture bug thanks to you)

[brandonman]

I am really liking this! Subscribing!

[FrodoB]

Looking good so far. Will be following.

And appreciate the intro to the works of Jára Cimrman.

[The Messenger]

Great AAR!!!!!!! Subscribed!!!!!!!!

I just have a few questions/advices:
- Are you going to send troops to the Spanish Civil War or not? I think you should, because Nat. Spain will be a nightmare for France;
- You should also influence Portugal, because their colonies could be a major problem to your colonies, and because Portugal and England made the first alliance in the world, and it is the oldest one (it still exists, but there has been a few misunderstandings ).

[Cybvep]

I'm subscribing this, as it looks interesting. However, the whole "prelude to war" was rather pointless IMO - those are most likely well-known facts for most HOI series fans and they add nothing to the AAR, really.

I like your descriptive style, but you might think about adding some spice. Long descriptions may easily become boring. Add some propaganda (from different perspectives, if possible) and create some ballsy quotes to make things interesting.

[telesien]

Great AAR!!!!!!! Subscribed!!!!!!!!

I just have a few questions/advices:
- Are you going to send troops to the Spanish Civil War or not? I think you should, because Nat. Spain will be a nightmare for France;
- You should also influence Portugal, because their colonies could be a major problem to your colonies, and because Portugal and England made the first alliance in the world, and it is the oldest one (it still exists, but there has been a few misunderstandings ).

First of all I won't be sending troops to Spain, because that will be against the current government character I need to wait for some other political events that could justify some changes. But rest assured that I have some interesting twists in mind.

Portugal can be interesting nation... I will think about it

EDIT: Oh and thanks all for the feedback. As I said this my very first attempt to create something seroius in my non-native language. That is why I'm uncertain. But even two positive reactions are enough to motivate me further

[reis91]

Great AAR!!!!!!! Subscribed!!!!!!!!

I just have a few questions/advices:
- Are you going to send troops to the Spanish Civil War or not? I think you should, because Nat. Spain will be a nightmare for France;
- You should also influence Portugal, because their colonies could be a major problem to your colonies, and because Portugal and England made the first alliance in the world, and it is the oldest one (it still exists, but there has been a few misunderstandings ).

Allies really shouldn't threaten to invade their allies

[telesien]

I'm sorry, I wanted to post an update today (with more quotes and flavour writing, thanks for the tip, Cybvep), but whole day of typing stuff at 35°C really took a lot of my energy. Also switching girlfriends after two years of steady relationship isn't particulary pleasing experience.

So I will try to post two updates during weekend.

[FrodoB]

I'm sorry, I wanted to post an update today (with more quotes and flavour writing, thanks for the tip, Cybvep), but whole day of typing stuff at 35°C really took a lot of my energy. Also switching girlfriends after two years of steady relationship isn't particulary pleasing experience.

Yeah, RL's AI really sucks. Maybe we should get someone in the modding section to look into it.

[misterbean]

I think I'll tune in to the History Channel from now on as I only just got SF. it may help my own games. I like the "objective reporter" style, though.

[alexon47]

Yeah, RL's AI really sucks. Maybe we should get someone in the modding section to look into it.

RL doesnt need a mod, it needs a patch. Shoddy workmanship on this universe higher deity of choice, i won't be choosing to buy from you again until this issue is fixed.