12th of September 1938 - Salon-de-Provence, Socialist Republic of France
A French Dewoitine D.520 fighter in the skies above Nice.
The first squadron of new Dewoitine D.520 fighters has flown out today, marking the beginning of the expansion of l'Armée de l'Air. One week ago, the new Lioré et Olivier LeO 45 tactical bombers flew out as well.
A Lioré et Olvier LeO 45 tactical bomber.
L'Armée de l'Air has been given priority over the navy, in order to be completely combat ready by the Spring of 1939. The reason for this headlong expansion is Plan Arc-en-Ciel: to accompany it, the strategical geniuses of l'Armée de l'Air have thought up a plan to ensure that the Germans won't go past the "last lines of defense": Plan Luciole. Plan Luciole is very simple: l'Armée de l'Air should have air superiority over the German corridor at all times, and to a less extent the entire northern front. Therefore a new command has been set up near Abbeville, at the Somme river: Luciole Command. During peace time, it will be an officer training ground; during war time, it will become the biggest air hub of France, with over 250 missions launching from, or being coördinated by, Luciole Command a day.
29th of September 1938 - Prague, Republic of Czechoslovakia, Central Europe
German forces have invaded Czechoslovakia! At approximately 4am in the morning of the 26th of September, units of the German Sixth Army infiltrated the German-speaking Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia and occupied it. The Czechoslovak troops stationed in the area were taken by suprise, and most of them were captured. The Czechoslovak government, afraid they might be abandoned by their British Allies If they responded too hastily, have called for a conference to discuss the Sudeten-matter. The Germans agreed, without withdrawing their forces from the Sudetenland, to hold a conference in the German city of Munich. On the 28th of September, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Polish President Ignacy Mościcki, Italian dictator Benitto Mussolini, Hungarian Prime Minister Béla Imrédy and Führer Adolf Hitler assembled at the Bierhalle in Munich to discuss the matter. The British, still war weary from the Great War, refused to guarantee Czechoslovak safety If that led to open war. Under pressure of Poland, Italy, Hungary and Germany, the British delegation of Neville Chamberlain and British MP Édouard Daladier signed the Treaty of Munich, handing over the Sudetenland to Germany. The Czechoslovak government themselves weren't represented and neither was the Socialist Republic of France. The treaty brings about drastic changes to the Czechoslovak republic: it is transformed from a federal republic into a loose confederation between the to-be-established Czech and Slovak republics. The Carpatho-Ukraine is handed over to Hungary, and several small border changes are made to the Czechoslovak-Polish border.
From left to right: British PM Neville Chamberlain, British MP Edouard Daladier, Adolf Hitler, Benitto Mussolini and Italian foreign minister Count Ciano.
Jean Longuet, Président of the Socialist Republic of France, has denounced the treaty as being undemocratic and accused the British from "selling their souls to the devil himself". Longuet has proclaimed that France will guarantee the independece of the Czechoslovak state, even If that means war with Germany. However, it seems uncertain If the Czechoslovaks will accept our offer to defend them: they have traditionally been very sceptical of socialism, so it might be hard to convince them we're not out to subdue them...
A French Dewoitine D.520 fighter in the skies above Nice.
The first squadron of new Dewoitine D.520 fighters has flown out today, marking the beginning of the expansion of l'Armée de l'Air. One week ago, the new Lioré et Olivier LeO 45 tactical bombers flew out as well.
A Lioré et Olvier LeO 45 tactical bomber.
L'Armée de l'Air has been given priority over the navy, in order to be completely combat ready by the Spring of 1939. The reason for this headlong expansion is Plan Arc-en-Ciel: to accompany it, the strategical geniuses of l'Armée de l'Air have thought up a plan to ensure that the Germans won't go past the "last lines of defense": Plan Luciole. Plan Luciole is very simple: l'Armée de l'Air should have air superiority over the German corridor at all times, and to a less extent the entire northern front. Therefore a new command has been set up near Abbeville, at the Somme river: Luciole Command. During peace time, it will be an officer training ground; during war time, it will become the biggest air hub of France, with over 250 missions launching from, or being coördinated by, Luciole Command a day.
29th of September 1938 - Prague, Republic of Czechoslovakia, Central Europe
German forces have invaded Czechoslovakia! At approximately 4am in the morning of the 26th of September, units of the German Sixth Army infiltrated the German-speaking Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia and occupied it. The Czechoslovak troops stationed in the area were taken by suprise, and most of them were captured. The Czechoslovak government, afraid they might be abandoned by their British Allies If they responded too hastily, have called for a conference to discuss the Sudeten-matter. The Germans agreed, without withdrawing their forces from the Sudetenland, to hold a conference in the German city of Munich. On the 28th of September, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Polish President Ignacy Mościcki, Italian dictator Benitto Mussolini, Hungarian Prime Minister Béla Imrédy and Führer Adolf Hitler assembled at the Bierhalle in Munich to discuss the matter. The British, still war weary from the Great War, refused to guarantee Czechoslovak safety If that led to open war. Under pressure of Poland, Italy, Hungary and Germany, the British delegation of Neville Chamberlain and British MP Édouard Daladier signed the Treaty of Munich, handing over the Sudetenland to Germany. The Czechoslovak government themselves weren't represented and neither was the Socialist Republic of France. The treaty brings about drastic changes to the Czechoslovak republic: it is transformed from a federal republic into a loose confederation between the to-be-established Czech and Slovak republics. The Carpatho-Ukraine is handed over to Hungary, and several small border changes are made to the Czechoslovak-Polish border.
From left to right: British PM Neville Chamberlain, British MP Edouard Daladier, Adolf Hitler, Benitto Mussolini and Italian foreign minister Count Ciano.
Jean Longuet, Président of the Socialist Republic of France, has denounced the treaty as being undemocratic and accused the British from "selling their souls to the devil himself". Longuet has proclaimed that France will guarantee the independece of the Czechoslovak state, even If that means war with Germany. However, it seems uncertain If the Czechoslovaks will accept our offer to defend them: they have traditionally been very sceptical of socialism, so it might be hard to convince them we're not out to subdue them...
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