The Lion of the Empire: A British Doomsday AAR

[ddiplock]

Introduction

January 1st 1936
Dublin, Ireland

The rain continued to fall heavily amid flashes of lightening and crashes of thunder. In the dull rain washed morning people ran every which way under their umbrella’s, doing all they could to seek shelter from the storm that had so suddenly begun. Eamon de Valera stared lazily out the window of the Rolls Royce Wraith as it drove through the rain washed streets of Dublin to the Irish parliament. For the last few weeks he had been thinking about Ireland as a country and its future as a standing nation on the world stage. And we still haven’t achieved full independence from those British yokels he thought to himself as he listened to the rain thumping heavily on the roof of the car. That will have to change. We must make Ireland whole again. He broke himself from his train of thought, to save such matters instead for when he sat with his cabinet for this mornings meeting.

“So Liam, did you have a good Christmas? “ Eamon asked his driver politely.

Liam looked over his shoulder for a split second then returned his attention to the road as he began to speak. “Oh yeah, it was nice being with the family. Everyone got together for Christmas and New Year and had a grand time. Aye, it certainly was grand indeed. And what about yourself sir? How did you fare?”

Eamon didn’t respond right away. But considered the question. In truth he had had a quiet Christmas and New Year with his family, and, in his own quiet time he spent alone, he’d been thinking up how to make Ireland whole again, how to make the British understand Ireland’s position. “I had a quiet one this year Liam. Not too much drinking, just spending time with the family. But now it’s back to work, time to get Ireland on track for this New Year.”

The Rolls Royce slowed as it approached the Irish Parliament House. A rain drenched man with an umbrella stepped up to the black car and opened the door as more thunder crashed loudly above “Good morning sir. How are we this grand morning?” he said in a raised voice.

Eamon proceeded to climb out the car and drew himself to his full height. He fumbled with the buttons on his long trench coat and ducked in quickly under the protection of the umbrella. “There’s not a lot grand about this morning Robert.” He began to take long but unrushed strides to the entrance of the building. “But we’ll see what can be done to improve things for the future of this country.”
As they approached the entrance, Robert extended his arm and quickly opened the door, allowing Eamon to enter unhindered. As Eamon began to undo the buttons on his coat Robert, his assistant spoke once more. “The cabinet has been called in and are convened waiting for you now sir. Though they are puzzled as to why you’ve chosen to convene a meeting on New Years day when the holidays aren’t even over.”

Eamon proceeded to take off his coat and fold it over his arm, then passed it to Robert. “There are things that need to be covered and prepared. And I saw no reason in waiting until the holidays were over before endeavouring to get things sorted for this country. Now, go to the lounge, get yourself some breakfast. I’ll summon you if I need you again.”


As Robert had said, the cabinet was assembled and waiting around the large mahogany table that dominated the centre of the cabinet chamber. Eamon walked calmly to the head of the table, and proceeded to sit down. “Good morning gentlemen. Happy New Year to you all, and thank you for coming while the holidays are still in swing.” He inhaled a large breath before continuing. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the last few weeks. Thinking about the shape this country is in, and what is to become of it in the years to come. Now, we’ve made progress since the 1922 Anglo-Irish treaty was signed, I don’t deny that…..but, honestly, I still do not like what I see. Ireland is not a whole nation. Our northern quarter is still considered British territory.”


William Cosgrave, Ireland’s foreign minister spoke up. “You’re right that we’ve achieved a lot since the treaty was signed. But we don’t want to do anything to antagonise the British.”

“That is where you come in William” Eamon said. “As our foreign minister, you will go to London and meet with the British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin. In the best and polite possible terms, you are to request that he cedes British control over the northern quarter of our country.”

William made a playful scoff at Eamon’s words. “The British will never agree to any such request. We tried that before and they refused. Michael Collins got us that treaty which is all we could ever hope to have had from them. And how did some people repay him? They killed him because they thought he’d sold us out.”

Eamon grumbled quietly and continued. “That, is in the past William and shall remain as such. Besides, things are going to be different.”

Michael Brennan, the Chief of Staff intervened. “And how will things be different Eamon?”

Eamon leaned forward in his chair rooted his fingers down on the table top and splayed them outwards to emphasize his point. “Because, before William goes to London, I will go to America and seek a guarantee of independence from President Roosevelt. With America guaranteeing our independence, Britain will effectively be on a leash. And any hostile actions taken by them, against us, would result in a declaration of war from the US.”

“If you can secure that guarantee of independence from them.” Michael said. “America is a very isolated country these days. They stick to their own affairs and don’t much bother with the outside world. Plus, they’re still recovering from the Wall Street crash. If you ask me, President Roosevelt is likely to tell you to pole off and stop wasting his time.”

“I can get that guarantee from them Mike. Don’t you worry about that.”

“When do you plan for me to go to London then?” William piped up.

“Not yet. I’ll broach this matter in parliament before anything goes ahead. I want to get a feel for things, and get a feel as to what the Irish people think. And if it does work, then gentlemen....Ireland will truly be free from the shackles of the British Empire forever.”

After that meeting, the cabinet broke up for the day. But Eamon de Valera had no idea that he would be playing with fire in the months to come.

[Sir Humphrey]

Nice start.

[stnylan]

A different start, with the scene in a neighbouring country. I rather fear Ireland will not see the decade out.

[ddiplock]

Originally Posted by stnylan

A different start, with the scene in a neighbouring country. I rather fear Ireland will not see the decade out.

you'll just have to wait and see

updates to follow later.

hope to hear more positive comments from ppl who read this.

i hope you like it.

[lifeless]

very nice beginning

[beanster05]

an excellent start, i wonder how many of these characters will last and how many more we will meet?

[ddiplock]

Sorry there was no update today guys. I was at college all day and then at work till 9pm so there was no time to get anything written.

I imagine the next update will be sometime tomorrow night

thanks for the few good comments.
keep reading guys. I have a good feeling about this one

[ddiplock]

The Lion of the Empire

London, England
That same morning:

Stanley Baldwin shook the hot flame from the charred match and deposited it quickly into the ashtray. He took a few draws from his pipe and exhaled a thick cloud of grey smoke that wisped its way upwards and then settled into a small haze above his balding head. “Gentleman, I bid you all a good morning on this the first day of the New Year. I hope you all had as much a satisfying festive season as myself.” There were various nods and benign smiles around the table from the men seated before him. Satisfied, Baldwin continued. “But, as usual the New Year brings with it new challenges and dangers for the Empire. Challenges that we must rise to and confront if we are to ensure our status as the foremost world power.” Stanley opened the manila folder that sat before him and took another draw on his pipe. He flipped through the various papers, nodding slowly at some, frowning at others and occasionally shaking his head. He cleared his throat and continued. “One challenge that presents itself to our Empire are the present goings on in Germany that gives me cause for great concern. The actions of Adolf Hitler are troubling me greatly, as well as our friends in France. The people of this nation, need to know that should it be necessary, we need to have the means to protect our assets both at home, and in the Empire. And, some of these reports I’ve read do little to alleviate my worries.” Stanley looked over Cyril Deverell, Britain’s chief of the army. “Cyril, what do we have in terms of men in uniform?”


Cyril was direct and to the point. “Sir, we are suffering from a shortfall in manpower. And the men that we do have in uniform are still in the process of modernisation. We’re producing new Lee Enfield Mk 1 rifles as fast as we can and are doing our level best to get them to the men. But, to be honest with you if we had to go to war tomorrow, we would simply not have the manpower to survive a prolonged conflict.” He paused to cough and clear his throat. “If you want my opinion, I think we should draft more men in. Force them to do service to the uniform.”

Lord John Gort, the Chief of Staff looked aghast leaning forward in his chair. “With all due respect Cyril, I’m all for having as many men as we can have in the army, but you forget that we also have posts that need filling within both the RAF and Royal Navy. We need ground crews to service and keep planes maintained for the RAF, and trained men to fly the aircraft. And, of course for the Royal Navy, a ship, whatever kind it may be is only as good as the men who crew her. And without a crew, a ship of the Navy is useless.”

Deverell opened his mouth to counter Gort but Baldwin stepped in, exhaling another large cloud of smoke. “Now that’s enough. Cyril, you are as direct as ever.” A smile crept onto his face. “But I like a man who isn’t afraid to be honest. Now” he turned to Earnle Chatfield. “Earnle, please tell me you have good news about the Navy.”

“I suppose you could say that. From the reports I’ve read on the three branches of our Empire’s defence, I’d say the strongest branch is the Navy.” Earnle shuffled idly through some papers. “But then again, we’ve always had a strong Navy. We have six Carrier’s in active service at this very minute, as well as twelve Battleships of various classes. Various numbers of Cruisers, Destroyers and Submarines in service. However, there is something that I wish you to take a look at.” Chatfield produced a single sheet of paper of which upon it was drawn a detailed schematic. He passed it down the table, with each man taking a quick look at the schematic before passing it on until it reached Stanley.

Stanley removed his pipe from his lips and scrutinized the document carefully. It was at least thirty seconds or so before he spoke. “I don’t recognize this ship Earnle, what class is she?”

With a precise nod in the direction of the document, Chatfield continued. “That sir, is our proposed Defiant class battleship. To be more precise, she’s a Super Heavy Battleship. Bigger than anything we have in terms of Battleships, and if we build her, she’ll be the biggest ship in the world. That document is a rough plan of what she’ll look like, but we still need to research a few of the new components that we’re planning to have her fitted with.”

Baldwin gave a gentle wave of his pipe, causing smoke to swirl around and hang in front of his face. “Components such as?”

“Well sir, erm…” Chatfield began ticking off the components on his fingers. “In order to accommodate for a ship of such size, a completely new hull will need to be designed. On top of that, we’ll need to design a totally new propulsion system that’s powerful enough to propel the ship upto at least 25 to 30 knots.” He paused and fixed a stare on Baldwin. “And finally….we’re going to mount 20” guns on her for main armament.”

Baldwin’s jaw literally fell open, as did every other man at the table. “20” guns? Don’t you think that’s a little too big?”

Chatfield chuckled gently. “With respect, everything about the Defiant is big sir. But with this ship, it will be a statement to the world that Britain is taking a stance to ensure our survival as the foremost world power.”

“This will undoubtedly be an expensive undertaking in both research and construction Earnle” Baldwin said. “But, as Chief of the Navy you know what’s best for the fleet. Get a team together as soon as possible and begin work on this”

Chatfield was ecstatic. “Absolutely sir.”

Baldwin finally turned his attention to Hugh Dowding, the RAF chief. “Hugh, give me a brief rundown of the status of our airforce. What do we have, and what do we need?”

Dowding, with a nervous disposition shuffled through his papers. Everyone seems to be shuffling papers this morning Baldwin noted. “The airforce is lacking somewhat sir. We have few modern Hurricane aircraft in active service. Most of our Interceptor wings are still made up of WW1 bi-planes. We are working to rectify this problem at once, and are drawing up plans to build more Hurricanes. We have three Armstrong Whitworth bomber wings in active service, but, these will shortly be outdated. Like the interceptors, we’re working to modernise our Strategic bombing wings as fast as possible but as with everything in life, it takes time.”

“I think I’ve heard enough Hugh” Baldwin said crisply. “Gentlemen, I am disheartened with some of the reports you’ve delivered this morning. How can we expect to remain the dominant power in the world if we don’t have an army with which to defend our assets? Or an airforce to protect our skies? The only good news I’ve received this morning is the Navy, but all the burden of defending the Empire cannot solely rest upon the shoulders of the Fleet now can it?” He sighed heavily. “We need to rectify these shortfalls immediately. At this point in time, it could spell disaster if we are weak in any one area of defence.” Baldwin began filing his papers back into his folder, and clamped his pipe between his teeth as he did so. When finished, he took a quick draw and blew out yet more grey smoke. “Gentlemen, I believe we’ve covered all I’m prepared to listen to today. The next time we convene to discuss this country’s defence, please see to it you have some good news to report. That will be all, thank you.”

[ddiplock]

Just a note to everyone: From what I've read about Stanley Baldwin, everyone seems to have the same opinion about him: That he was interested in avoiding war at all costs with Germany, and would rather appease Hitler rather than start a war.

I intend to change that. For the record, in this AAR....Baldwin is not a man to be crossed....as you will find out soon

Hope you enjoy the update.

Keep the good comments coming in. Critisize if you find anything you don't like too much

FOR THE EMPIRE!!!!!!!!

[stnylan]

a Baldwin with a spine will be quite something to see.

[Sir Humphrey]

A strong Baldwin? So much for the amicable country gentleman. Good update.

[lifeless]

nice update! i wonder how this will turn out...

[ddiplock]

Tragedy at Home and Trouble Overseas

20th January 1936
London, England:

“What do you mean there have been grumblings in Jerusalem? Dammit man will you get to the bloody point and spit it out!” Baldwin was growing increasingly irritated with his Intelligence Chief William Gallacher, for the cryptic way in which he was delivering his latest report. Intelligence types are all the bloody same Baldwin thought.

“Well” Gallacher continued calmly, “Information gathered by some of our spies indicates that a small minority of the population in Jerusalem and the surrounding area’s may not be entirely happy in continuing to live under British rule. Look at these.” He produced some photographs from his folder and slid them down the table to Stanley, who caught them with an irritated look on his face. “These weapon caches were uncovered by two of our spies. Now, this is not a lot of weapons, but if this is not stopped we may be facing a major crisis in the Middle East.”

“I am already apprised of this situation Prime Minister” Deverell broke in. “And I can assure you that the men we have stationed at Jerusalem have been ordered to keep a scrupulous eye on the people from now on. These weapons have already been confiscated and the men who had them, arrested.”

“Wha-What?” Gallacher stammered. “How in Christ’s name did you know about this Sir Cyril?”

Cyril flashed Gallacher a devious grin, dropped it just as fast and spoke in a serious tone. “I have my own sources William. It has been known to me for quite some time that a few minors among the general population wish to cause trouble. And the fact that you seem to have only found out about this hiccup quite recently, begs the question what the hell are your boys over there really upto? Do they sit on their thumbs out in the desert?”

Gallacher looked affronted. “I’ll have you know that-”

“Enough!” Baldwin tersely interjected. “How many times do I have to tell you I will not tolerate bickering and sniping in my cabinet? You’re both acting like children for god’s sake.” Baldwin blew a thick cloud of smoke into the air, and stared at it briefly as it wisped about creating a myriad of grey strands in the air. “But Cyril delivers a valid question William. I’m not going to butt my nose in with this, intelligence business just irks me so.” He took the mouthpiece of his pipe and gently pointed it at William. “But you’d better see to it, that whomever you have out in the Middle East keeping an eye on things does as such. If a rebellion kicks in, and I discover your men have not been performing as they should….”he paused and fixed a stare on William. “Then woe betide you. Woe betide you.”

The large oak door to the rear of the room opened and a skinny gaunt man hurried over to Baldwin and whispered in his ear. A dejected look fell over Baldwin’s face, and the man as quick as he had come, disappeared from the room. Baldwin rose to his feet, and splayed his fingers out on the table. He cleared his throat with a gentle cough. “Gentlemen. It is with great regret, that I must inform you of the death of the King. Our great and noble monarch…has passed away.”



Edward VIII comes to the throne!!



Trouble brewing in the east....damn partisans!!!

[ddiplock]

Just a small update tonight guys.

Things should start getting intersting hopefully in the next update

Enjoy!!

[stnylan]

Woe betide indeed, if not quite in the way Baldwin meant.

[ddiplock]

Originally Posted by stnylan

Woe betide indeed, if not quite in the way Baldwin meant.

meaning what? lol

[stnylan]

Originally Posted by ddiplock

meaning what? lol

Baldin says "woe betide", and sure enough arrive tidings of woe

[lifeless]

nice update! indeed, darn partisans!

[ddiplock]

Originally Posted by stnylan

Baldin says "woe betide", and sure enough arrive tidings of woe

Ok, being honest, I hadn't picked up on that. It was intended to be a menacing threat from Baldwin to Gallacher.

Note: I have no idea though why some people in the middle east are at 2% partisan levels either. thats a tad irritating. lol

[SirCliveWolfe]

Verry nice start sir....

Love the 'propaganda' skins with Nelson and John Bull, just a shame 99% succesful Monty had to be there too...