The Second World War
In the aftermath of the Munich Agreement, Europe settled into an uneasy Détente. While most were thankful that war had been averted, it had come at a great cost. Peaceful expansion or no, a rapidly rearming nation that actively worked to expand its borders made people nervous, almost like they were afraid of being invaded or something.
Fortunately, the treaty, whether or not it was justified, seemed to have averted war, and so Chamberlain believed that, while unfortunate for the Czechoslovakians, the Munich Agreement was worth the cost. And surely, the Germans would uphold their end of the bargain, right?
Well...This is awkward...
Well, that's rather impolite, and it doesn't reflect very well on us either. In fact, it kind of makes us look like ineffectual backstabbing scumbags willing to sell out other nations to save our own skins. While that is absolutely the case, we don't look very prestigious when we do it too often. Quick, everyone try to look competent!
Whew, that was a close one. At least we look like we're ready for a war now. Over the past three years, the British have greatly expanded the size and firepower of their military, raising additional infantry divisions (both foot and motorized) plus armored units. A heavy armor division is on it's way and will be done in March 1940, which will complete the First Army.
However, while Europe seems to be on the brink of war, Germany seems reluctant to escalate the situation further, giving Britain a few more precious months to prepare. However, it is obvious what Germany's next target will be. German forces were massing on the Polish border, and it was obvious to the cabinet that an invasion was soon to follow. In a final bid to avoid another costly war, Britain guaranteed the independence of Poland in hopes of deterring a German invasion.
Despite this bold action, Britain was still not prepared for war, especially in the Mediterranean. When Italy signed the pact with Germany, additional forces were raised and dispatched to Malta in case the Italians attempted to seize it, but little else could be done. While Britain's Mediterranean Fleet was powerful, it was horribly outdated, as the Home Fleet had priority for modern warships. It would be a long time before new ships trickled down to the Mediterranean, and army units would have to wait until the war in France was over.
On September 1st, 1939, Germany declared war on Poland.
Yay for historical accuracy!
Britain honored the alliance immediately, the cabinet arguing that they didn't have to actually do anything in order to participate in the war (blockade, anyone?). Nonetheless, Chamberlain insisted that they at least try and pretend to care about helping Poland, so the First Army was shipped to France and positioned along the Belgian border. The French would hold the border with Germany, and if Germany attempted to outflank the Allies by invading Belgium, British mobile units were prepared to advance and blunt the offensive before it could enter France proper.
My completely original and novel strategy for fighting the Germans
No one thought to ask what Belgium thought about being a battlefield, but considering their history of being a road for the German Army it was a pretty safe bet that they'd be in the Allies sooner or later. As long as we insist that we're doing it to protect Belgium rather than keep the Wehrmacht out of France, we should be able to pass it off as heroic.
Oh...So close. Only off by three days.
Poland fell less than a month after the beginning of hostilities. In a surprising move, Germany split Poland with the Soviet Union. Figures that the communists would be involved somehow. Wait, why are they working together anyway? Didn't Hitler write a whole book about how he's going to conquer the Soviet Union and hates communists? What is Stalin smoking?
Well, it doesn't matter at the moment since the collapse of Poland means that the Wehrmacht is going to be moving west. The Maginot Line is strong, but the real test will come in Belgium. As proven by the Polish Campaign, Germany knows better than to attack someone it can't defeat, so the British Army is prepared to enter Belgium at any time while the French army group in charge of staring at the Germans will continue holding the Maginot Line.
However, Europe falls surprisingly silent after Poland's collapse. Weeks pass, and the Wehrmacht attempts no attack on either the Maginot Line or Belgium. In fact, the first move comes as a complete surprise - a declaration of war on Denmark.
Denmark is unable to offer any meaningful resistance against the Wehrmacht, and their army collapses within days as battle-hardened soldiers storm across the border. Within a week, German forces are on the outskirts of Copenhagen, the last remnants of the Danish Army desperately holding on to their capital.
Of course, Britain is never going to miss a chance to keep the war as far away as humanly possible, so they lend assistance to Denmark by landing the Gurkha Corps in Copenhagen before the Germans were able to seize it.
Furious counterattacks bore no fruit, however, resulting in high casualties without dislodging the entrenched Germans. Not helping matters was the fact that, despite a total blockade of the island by the Royal Navy, the Germans were able to teleport supplies and reinforcements, steadily increasing their strength on the island while Britain had little to spare.
Also during this period of time, the Germans declared war on Norway, indicating the reason for their invasion of Denmark was to gain a springboard for their push north to secure the iron ore coming from Sweden. Upon spotting a German invasion force near Narvik, the Royal Navy's battlecruiser squadron sortied to intercept.
One of several naval battles so far, and the most significant one in terms of losses.
The battle was a tactical success for the British, sinking the German Navy's flagship along with several transports, but unfortunately the fleet was unable to prevent the landing of a limited number of troops. With no forces available to assist Norway with the looming German attack on the West, Norway was left to fend for itself.
Denmark, however, could still be saved. As the French Theater was still quiet, the cabinet decided that a little extra punch was just what the Gurkhas needed to tip the scales in their favor. Britain's armored units were detached from the First Army and deployed to Copenhagen. A few days later, yet another attempt to dislodge the Germans was launched, this time with tanks spearheading the assault and Royal Navy battleships bombarding enemy positions from the Baltic.
However, the Germans offered stubborn resistance, and the armored units were rapidly worn down by the numerically superior Germans. Determined to force the Germans off Zealand, the British escalated the battle, gradually committing more and more forces until, finally, the German lines were broken and their forces retreated in disarray, again somehow through a massive fleet of battleships and destroyers guarding the strait.
The Germans repeatedly attacked across the strait, but the attacks were easily put down by stubborn resistance and gunfire support from the Royal Navy.
With Zealand secured, the Royal Army's tanks were returned to France, where they would be much more needed in the coming clash with the German Army. With no anti-tank guns to speak of and outdated infantry anti-armor weapons, British armored units were vital to help even the odds. A British Crusader tank was the match of any German equivalent, but the Germans had many more to spare, so every division counted. However, this proved to be a mistake, as without armored support the exhausted Gurkha divisions were unable to survive repeated German assaults, and eventually the line broke and they had to retreat. They were evacuated from Copenhagen shortly after and returned to France, leaving Denmark to it's fate.
A key weakness was identified in the Gurkha divisions as a result of the Battle of Zealand. While excellent in rough terrain, simply put they were too small and lacking in firepower to fight in a modern war. As a result, paratrooper brigades began training in order to supplement them without removing their airborne warfare capabilities, but it would be some time before they were ready to deploy. Until then, they would simply have to rely on heavier units for support.
In the summer of 1940, Germany finally made it's move. Minister Chamberlain is reported to have rubbed his hands together while cackling about how everything was proceeding according to plan.
Immediately, the First Army advanced into Belgium toward their predetermined positions along the country's rivers. While Belgium offered resistance to the German incursion, they were no match for the Wehrmacht's firepower, and so steadily fell back. Fortunately for the Allies, the British armored and motorized divisions easily reached their objectives and began digging in before the Germans managed to completely collapse the Belgian Army. The Wehrmacht ground to a screeching halt as they ran into determined British defenders. Once the Belgians had recovered, they joined the British in the defense, leaving Germany in control of only a handful of provinces.
Before the British were fully entrenched, the Germans did have limited success in open terrain.
But the front stabilized not long after, with neither side willing to commit to a general offensive without a significant numerical advantage.
The air war was similarly at a standstill. After several costly clashes in the skies, both sides grounded their aircraft, conserving their strength for when it would be most needed. British and German aircraft were evenly matched, and any attempt to bomb the other side's army was met by furious resistance from their respective interceptors. For a few weeks, the Luftwaffe and the RAF traded blows in the skies above Belgium, some of the larger battles involving as many as 2,000 planes at a time, but ultimately there was no decisive result. Eventually, both sides, by unspoken agreement, allowed the other air parity and decided to commit their planes only when supporting bombers during major attacks.
Desperate to avoid a repetition of the Great War, the cabinet decided on a limited counteroffensive using armored units as a spearhead, more as an experiment than anything. While the theory of using armored divisions to create a breakthrough had been discussed for some time, it had never been put into practice. A prime location for the attack would be Luxembourg. It was heavily forested, and while that would make it difficult to take, it would also allow the British infantry to hold it when the Germans attempted to retake it later on. Thus, the Battle of Luxembourg began, with British light armor, infantry, and the Gurkha Corps launching a coordinated assault from three sides. After more than a month of grueling battle, the British were successful and drove the Germans from their most recent conquest.
The battle was costly, but successful, and the British began digging in to hold the province against potential counterattacks. The French were given political control over the province, and they decided that the restoration of Luxembourg's government would wait. Right now, the war was chaotic enough without having any pesky third parties complaining about a massive army consuming all its resources and brutally suppressing their citizens to 'protect' them.
However, Germany finally decided it had enough and called upon it's major ally, Italy:
Wow, they'll let anyone into the Axis these days...
Fortunately, Britain had been expecting this sooner or later once Italy had allied itself with Germany, and was at least somewhat prepared in North Africa, where the 15,000 soldiers of the Middle Eastern forces had been assembled and dug in along the Libyan border.
The Italians almost immediately launched an offensive, their elite Alpini infantry spearheading the effort and concentrating on the Africa Corps' southern flank in hopes of pushing them back and outflanking the coastal garrison. However, a counterattack launched by the 7th Infantry Division was able to hinder them enough to allow the 8th Division to hold the line, albeit barely.
Seizing the opportunity, the Africa Corps immediately counterattacked, the Mediterranean Fleet's battleships offering fire support for the 7th Division. After an epic confrontation lasting almost fifteen minutes, the Italian lines collapsed and the exhausted British Infantry crossed into Libya. However, with both divisions on the verge of collapse, they advanced only around 50 kilometers before digging in. Full conquest of Libya, and later Italy itself, would have to wait until later. Until then, North Africa would remain a sideshow to the events unfolding in Belgium and France.
