Part IV: Off to War (January 1939 – August 1939)
1939 began with the news that both Portugal and the China minor Yunnan have both joined the Axis powers. Now the Axis forces will have a path towards British India. The bottleneck strategies in Asia will no longer work, so I prepared to cede Indochina when the time comes and make a secondary stand along the Burmese mountains. Token defenders were kept so the Japanese don’t get any ideas of starting an early conflict. The alpine troops transferred from Djibouti would remain at Haiphong for redeployment. Production got one final prewar boost as well, which went to more interceptors.
As expected Germany invaded Poland on May 1, 1939 and all of the Allies declared war on Germany. To my surprise, the Germans did not activate their Alliance so France was not at war with Italy or Japan. Several countries also rallied to the Allied cause in May 1939; Canada, Venezuela, and the USA. Too bad I knew the USA contribution would be as lame as FDR’s legs (Thank you
Family Guy!
).
Shifting Focus:
With the war now on, I immediately shifted the French economy into war mode with total mobilization and service by requirement. The leadership sliders are now going away from espionage and into officers. I reduced the technology slider by two points to get sixty new officers a day trained as the armies will need that to withstand the German army offensive.
Production was also shifted. All new IC contribution was put into upgrades, reinforcements and supplies. All extra IC’s in production were also converted away. The French troops needed to be brought up to full strength as quickly as possible. I assumed that most of the French forces were at least one or two levels below the Germans if the Germans kept their upgrades maxed out.
Blitzkrieg:
Early on, thought that maybe the Poles would have a fighting chance. I sent a sortie of tactical and interceptors across the Maginot line for some logistical bombing. There I discovered the German troops were out of supplies before the Luftwaffe shot down ¼ of the planes and sent them scurrying back into France. The Germans on day 2 make a poor reconnaissance choice and make some halfhearted attack on the Line. I think they just got lost.
Still, Poland and Denmark lose. The Poles go along for about a month, the Danes not much longer. Neither surrenders outright to the Germans. Germany followed this with their declarations of war against Sweden and Norway. Again, I was not surprised in the least. The Swedes were putting up a good fight in Southern Sweden but it is clear that the Germans are not sending in their front line troops either.
Early Naval Battles:
I sent two French submarine forces out immediately as an early warning beacon for when the German Navy attempted to patrol. Also I wanted to see if they were of any use against the U-boats. The third sub group was sent to patrol the shipping lanes from North America where early in the war German subs/ships sank three convoy merchants and an escort. The main French surface fleet including the Aircraft Carrier Bearn would patrol the Channel and was ready to be moved to any location on short notice.
In early June, 1939 this pays off as sub group 1 encounters the main German surface fleet in the Mouth of the Thames. The first attack goes well for both sides, the Germans take out one sub and heavily damage two others; the subs sank one destroyer and damaged another and the cruiser Admiral Hipper. Now detected, I sent the French battle fleet to the mouth of the Thames and the British brought in their Reserve Fleet of older ships. The British reached the Germans first, finished off the Hipper and the escort destroyers but also lost two older cruisers to the more modern German ships. It was then that the French battleships reached the engagement and completed “crossing the T”. By the time the battle was over, the Germans lost 4 cruisers, 5 destroyer squadrons and the old battle cruiser Schleswig-Holstein. No French surface ships were lost.
In the Atlantic, the British were faring much better than historically against the U-boats. By the end of the summer, British ASW sank fifteen subs, losing only three destroyers in the process. The French navy epically failed in comparison, losing a sub and sinking none.
Race up the coast:
By the end of June 1939, the Germans were ready to invade. They declared war on Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands at once. French forces in the theatre were as follows:
- Army of Belgium: 4 Corps consisting of 18 divisions (16 infantry, 2 armor)
- Army of Holland: 4 Corps consisting of 15 divisions (12 infantry, 2 armor, 1 motorized/cavalry)
- Air Power: 11 Interceptor squadrons, 5 tactical bombers
Three infantry divisions close to completion for assignment to either sector.
My plan for defense was to wheel the Army of Belgium clockwise, allowing one full corps with armor to garrison Lille with its land fortifications. The rest of the army would take positions along the Meuse River, and Turnhout on the Dutch-Belgian border. The Army of Holland moves up the North Sea coast to fortify Amsterdam and Rotterdam. One division will go further to Den Hagen where we expect the Germans to try an end round sea crossing from the islands.
The plan worked a little better than expected as the Dutch provide some extra resistance against the Germans. I take the time to try to help the Dutch Army hold onto Eindhoven, S. Hertogenbosch and Breda. But the French/Dutch combined are still outnumbered and the Hertogenbosch front is facing two divisions of German panzers. Panzer vs. People = FAIL. I had these troops fall back into the line along the river.
I think the German AI was a bit perplexed to be facing so many French troops as early as the German invasion grinded to a halt. The first assaults on Den Hagen begin and the Luftwaffe begins to use their CAS and Tactical Bombers to draw out the inferior French fighters. Granted, I took a pounding from that in strength and morale, but I was glad to see several British RAF fighters join in the battle. In many engagements, the Allied fighters were outgunning the Germans 2 to 1 or greater.
Below are some comparative army stats for Early September 1939.
Vive la France!
