The Third Empire - An Imperial France AAR

The Yogi: He he It struck me as I was thinking about a name for the ship and I couldn't resist a little homage.

Mettermrck: It's good to hear that both aspects of the story entertains you and I'm sure Haddo's sinister machinations won't disappoint you.

The Battle Of Vienna

Having concentrated their best forces and amassed the bulk of their heavy weaponry around Innsbruck, the German High Command had managed to fend off the attacks on the city and the vital Brenner Pass. This was an important achievement but it came to the price of a serious drawback: it left the defenders of Vienna in a weakened state. The ten armored divisions of the Grand Army were rumbling towards the Germans outer defenses on the east bank of the river Steyr. Field Marshal Fedor von Bock fielded nine infantry divisions that sorely lacked any serious quantities of anti-tank weapons to be used against the French. One important factor was favorable to the Germans: an extensive area of low pressure lay over the former Austrian capital and was expected to remain there for some weeks, this would of course greatly hamper the effectiveness of the Imperial French Air Force.






The French attack came on the 26th of June 1940 and it quickly overran the defenses on the river Steyr and pressed on towards Vienna between the mountains and the Danube. The Oberkommando Der Wehrmacht managed to rush in reinforcements; four fresh infantry divisions took positions outside the town of Sankt Pölten. The Germans fought bravely but their determined defense only slowed down the French advance. They did however manage to inflict considerable damage on the French armor using improvised bombs and mines. The fighting reached Vienna on the evening of the 1st of July. The western part of the city fell quickly but it took the French until the morning of the 5th of July until they dislodged the last German forces on the east bank of the Danube and could declare victory in the battle of Vienna. The cost had been high, six hundred tanks were out of action, of which around two hundred were beyond repair. Inexperienced soldiers and officers just out of training made up the bulk of crew casualties; a testament to the grave drawbacks of the hasty and enormous expansion of the French armored forces that had been implemented during the last two years. This was soon forgotten though as the high command enjoyed champagne and congratulated itself and the French Emperor; 33 German divisions had been surrounded!



A New Axis Member & The Ambitions Of Governments In Exile

As promised, Hungary announced its entry into the Axis alliance and declared war on both Germany and Slovakia on the 6th of July. Admiral Horthy addressed his people in a radio broadcast and cited a long list of grievances allegedly committed by primarily Slovakia but also Germany as the reason to its entry into the conflict. The governments in Belgrade and Bucharest received the news with alarm; no doubt Hungary would use its membership in the Axis as a platform to attempt to regain territories lost to Yugoslavia and Romania after the Great War. The Romanians had already been forced to cede Bessarabia to the Soviet Union on the 27th of June and was particularly vulnerable. London was also alarmed as this move cemented French influence in central and Eastern Europe, but they’d soon have more to worry about.

London sheltered two exile governments: the Polish and the Czechoslovakian. The fall of Vienna and the expected imminent collapse of Beck’s Germany prompted them to send a delegation on the 11th of July, accompanied by Sir Ronald Campbell, London’s ambassador to France, to meet with French Imperial Foreign Minister Alexander Maret. They were received amiably and Maret listened to their demands and hopes graciously. Maret then declared the Emperor’s position: France had agreed to receive the delegations out of respect for the wishes of Great Britain but the fact was that none of them had produced evidence that they had any claims to be the legitimate rulers of the areas in question. The Czech and Polish representatives were bewildered and asked for a clarification. Maret was happy to comply: “Neither of you have any dynastic claims on the crowns of Bohemia or Poland or represents such a person, accordingly this discussion is without meaning.” The British ambassador reminded Maret that the western powers had recognized the status of both Poland and Czechoslovakia in 1920. Maret replied that the French Empire was not bound by assurances made by republican rabble. The humiliated delegation returned to London and there could no longer be any doubt that France would dictate the postwar order of central Europe.

Animal Mother: Of course it will...when the stars are right... Cool smiley!

Mettermrck: Thanks! Yes imagine the faces of the poor delegates when they received the French stance from Maret...

elbasto: Yes the Italians will be crucial to clean up the Alps, especially their mountain troops. Hmm,can't answer your questions about restoration without revealing too much, but more will be known soon.

The Yogi: You make a good point but never take a foreign minister at face value, especially one with the trait 'The Cloak-and-Dagger schemer' I think you will find France’s new central European order quite pragmatic in essence and in some ways in line with Napoleon I’s ideas.

Oxymore: Yes it’s going pretty good but I’m more and more worried about a Soviet intervention, which would mess up a lot, so I feel the pressure to end this as soon as possible. And yes I’ll continue to keep an eye on our English friend.

Sir Humphrey: Thank you Sir!

Neroon: Thank you.

July & August 1940

The German Reich was almost bled dry; casualties had been appalling the last six months and the fall of Vienna led to 33 German divisions being surrounded in the Austrian Alps without any hope of rescue. This situation prompted Reich Chancellor Goerdler to act; he immediately requested a meeting with Reich President Beck that took place on the 12th of July. Goerdler simply asked Beck to resign and to allow him to seek peace with Britain and France; Germany’s resources and manpower were depleted, there was no hope. Beck flew into a fit of rage and accused the Chancellor of high treason and then had his guard arrest Goerdler. Beck then ordered troops to enter Berlin and seize all ministries and important public buildings including the Reichtag, who’s members were forced at gun point to sign a declaration of loyalty to the Reich President and also appoint him Reich Chancellor as well. The final collapse of the crumbling state structure was delayed because of the German army’s misdirected loyalty.






The battleship Richelieu became operational on the 16th of July, despite this prestigious addition to the Atlantic fleet Admiral Francois Darlan and his staff were not particularly pleased. The French Imperial Navy felt neglected and had watched with envy as Imperial budget after budget had increased spending for both Army and Air Force. The only thing that kept the quick-tempered Darlan from resigning was a personal promise from the Emperor of a new and ambitious naval program as soon as Germany was defeated.

The Grand Army advanced north from Vienna and captured Horn on the 21st of July; easily expelling the three Volkssturm divisions that was desperately trying to hold the area. To Marshal de Gaulle’s annoyance he was ordered to halt his advance, the French High Command wanted to crush the German divisions trapped in the Alps before any further offensive operations was carried out. Meanwhile the newly formed French 1ère Armée Blindée (1st Tank Army) rolled towards Budapest to reinforce the weak Hungarian army against a possible German incursion through Slovakia. The Hungarians had boldly invaded Slovakia and seized the town of Lucenec; Admiral Horthy and his General Staff were convinced that it was only a matter of weeks before all of Slovakia would be conquered. The Slovaks however, were in no way defeated and General Golian attacked with 3 armored and 2 infantry divisions from Bratislava, threatening to cut off the advancing Hungarian division and taking Budapest itself. Luckily for the Hungarians, General de Verdillac’s 1st Tank Army arrived just in time to repulse the Slovaks in the northern suburbs of the city on the 7th of August. It was the first time the newly created mechanized infantry formations saw combat and they performed above all expectations.

With its ally saved and propped up with French fire power the High Command turned their attention back to the French and Italian forces under Field Marshal Gamelin’s command that were slowly pushing the Germans eastward and had finally captured Innsbruck and the Brenner Pass by the 6th of August. Just six weeks ago the defenders of Innsbruck had been one of the best equipped and well supplied formations of the German Army; now surrounded, lacking basic supplies and ammunition, only their famous discipline and morale kept them fighting. Field Marshal von Bock in his Head Quarter in Graz was determined to continue the struggle as long as humanly possible to give his countrymen more time to prepare the defenses for the next French offensive.

Marshal de Gaulle finally received orders to advance on the 14th of August, but to his chagrin his objective wasn’t Prague as he had expected but Bratislava. The French High Command was worried about the stability of Hungary and wanted to cripple the Slovak armed forces’ capacity to threaten the new Axis ally. The armored fist of the Grand Army struck the 6 Slovak divisions defending the capital on the early hours of the 16th, the old Czech tanks inherited by the Slovak Army was no match for the modern French tanks and they were blown to pieces. The defense crumbled rapidly and de Gaulle later reported slightly nonchalantly to the High Command that ‘he’ had captured Bratislava after just five hours of combat.

25th August 1940, On the Mekong River, French Indochina

The sun was setting as the river steamer passed several small fishing boats on its way to Stung Treng. The majority of the passengers were Europeans; mostly French but there were some wealthy Cambodians too. Henry Doyle knew the river as well as the palm of his hand; he had spent the last five years in Indochina, smuggling relics and sometimes acting as a guide for European visitors. Most of them were French of course, visiting some relative’s plantation far upriver or traveling to some remote mission, but in this case it was an Englishman. Henry eyed his employer again and felt contempt for the man; Oliver Haddo sat among the Cambodians for some reason and wore a snow-white suit with a matching hat and rested his fat hands on a large walking cane that looked more like a club. He was sweating profusely but appeared unbothered as he looked at the sunset, seemingly meditating. Haddo was bringing with him a huge coffer, which Henry was sure held an extensive collection of summer suits and other useless items. He sighed, at least he was paid well, but Henry had to admit he was a bit worried how his employer would be able to handle the last leg of the journey, a long trek through the jungle, well first things first he thought.

He shouldn’t complain though, it was good to be back on the river, Saigon was dangerous for a man like him; there were too many temptations to indulge in. If he ever amassed the wealth he dreamed of he would be dead within a year of booze, drugs, women and food, he had no character at all. Henry blamed spending his youth as a hit man for the mob in Chicago during the thirties but suspected that he was just plain bad. He had been young but could’ve chosen another path, hadn’t Father Flanagan told him he could be anything he wanted? He smiled at the memory of the kind man, the priest was dead since long but he was the only person Henry had ever respected. His craving for money and excitement had won in the end though and boy hadn’t the ‘good years’ been great! Always driving new and expensive cars, buying new clothes, chasing pretty girls and spending more money on them than he cared to remember. Then the failed hit on Don Lucese had made him a condemned man and he had fled the country; he was the only one of the conspirators that was still alive. Henry was sure they’d never be able to follow him here but if they did he’d not go down without a fight. He fingered his Browning High power pistol under the khaki jacket while imagining how he would be attacked in his favorite bar in Saigon but dismissed the idea as ludicrous. The steamer entered Stung Treng’s docks and Henry rose and walked over to Haddo, “Stay here while I’ll go and find some bearers for your…coffer.”

“As you wish Mr. Doyle.” Haddo said and rose and wiped his sweaty face with a silk handkerchief.

The Yogi: Nothing like a reader yearning for more , I’m trying to portion the Mythos knowledge, I don’t want you to end up in Arkham Asylum (yet…)

Mettermrck: Thanks! Henry Doyle is my creation, but the name does have an authentic almost familiar sound to it, if I may say so.

elbasto: Thank you. Yes the mech forces are great but I only have two divisions yet. But I expect to have two 9 div armies with mech and arm in a not too distant future.

Maku: Thank you! Todays update will reveal much about the future order.

Allenby: I think that although a towering figure in French politics after the war, de Gaulle was too controversial (to the left) to be awarded/recognized in such a way. Regarding Gamelin skills as a commander: I'm sure you're right, I'm portraying him as an old guard conservative officer with the skills Paradox has given him. Thanks