9 November - 20 December '39 - Catching up
"We are in a very different position from that we were in ten weeks ago. We are far stronger than we were ten weeks ago, we are far better prepared to endure the worst malice of Hitler and his Huns than we were at the beginning of September."
- Winston Churchill, 1939 -
Merry Christmas, old boy! So glad to see you! Come in, come in. Bloody cold outside, snow up to the nose! How long has it been? Over a month, surely. Yes, yes, my office is a mess as ever. How was your vacation? You and the missus enjoy Manchester? Bloody awful city if you ask me, but if one has family matters to attend to I guess one must go.
Back in London the war has chugged along at its well felt pace. I won't bore you too much with the details of every day matter, so I'll just give you the brief overview on what we are dealing with.
Too bad you missed it, chap. Everyone was there welcoming the Home Fleet back as heroes. They had been sent on a return attack on the ports of Wilhelmshaven. Unfortunately, sly Admiral Marschall had disappeared in the night with his fleet. We did attack a smaller force, but no ships sunk. When the Home Fleet returned to Britain we held a big parade. Churchill was there, Chamberlain. Music, uniforms, the works. And the crowd was so happy, so proud. Finally a bright hour in the war, something for the boys to remember in the darker nights to come.
This last month saw a proper reinforcing of Nore Command. After the attack at Heligoland Bight, it was important for us to punch it up a couple of levels. Now it's a true force to be reckoned with. It's object is anti-submarine duties in the Jutland areas. But mainly we have placed it there to plug the path to and from the Baltic Sea. If the Kriegsmarine is to make a move again they will have to go through Nore Command - Backed up by Home Fleet always close by. Listen to this. HMS Valiant straight off her refitting, HMS York, and HMS London, from the West Indies force. HMS Carlisle from the Reserve Fleet - HMS Curlew is still being repaired and will probably not see combat in a long time. backed up by 25 destroyers. Now all serving in the Nore Command. Rule, Britannia, Rule.
In late November, Churchill had his second speech on BBC. The first few months of the war, the Ambush at Kattegat, and the revenge in Heligoland Bight were addressed. Also the need for a common focus, to see this thing through. A most marvelous of speeches. What would we ever do without our dear Winston?
"I will say without a doubt that the fate of Holland and Belgium like that of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Austria, will be decided by the victory of the British Empire and the French Republic. If we are conquered all will be enslaved and the United States will be left single handed to guard the rights of men."
"As the Nazis look out tonight from their blatant, clattering panoplied Germany, they cannot find one single friendly eye in the whole circumference of the globe - not one. The whole world is against Hitler and Hitlerism."
"Men of every race and climb feel that this monstrous apparition stands between them and the forward move which is their due and to which the age and time are ripe."
"It may well be that the final extinction of a baleful domination will pave the way to a broader solidarity of all the men in all the lands than we could ever have planned if we had not marched together through the fire."
Speaking of which, on our march to Lille we lost 2000 men. I know! I know! It should not have happened but we were caught by Luftwaffe bombers in an area without AA. British Raj lost 1000 and Britain the rest. France herself has had to withstand some rather uncomfortable bombings, but not as severe as the once we saw. The troops have finally arrived at Lille, all of the Commonwealth forces save New Zealand and Australia. Luftwaffe won't dare to attack us here as we are guarded by AA, and the RAF. Now we must sit down and do the logistics. Which divisions are to be transported where. All 5 provinces are of grave concern, but the Ardenne - after Control and SIS' strong recommendations - will be our top priority. We should be mobilising from Lille within the next two weeks.
Well, Jerry's been at it again. Portsmouth has been hit several time, France as well, and now Dover, after we sent a militia there for homeland defence. Our air battle's have fared very well after we adopted Sholto-Douglas's Big Wing tactic, under the leadership of Dowding, and with the extra AA courtesy of the War Cabinet's master planners. France has been at the air game too, and dealt a great deal damage on the Huns over the straight of Dover. I told you those devils could fight! As off now... One second, chap, let me get the numbers. Ah, yes.
Royal Air Force - Losses - 550 airplanes. 250 of those are bombers. So many boys have laid down their lives to guard this Island. England's best.
Luftwaffe Losses - 1331 airplanes, 1000 of those are bombers. Sod them to hell. We are beating them at their own game. RAF has full control of British airspace for the time being.
With the Industrial Capacity freed up after the extensive AA project, we have focused the last month on finishing up the attachments to our troops in France. Those should be finished in February at the latest. Then we focus on equipment, upgrading our older troops there. We also have to be able to help the RAF out. The Luftwaffe has taken appalling numbers of casualties, but Hitler and Goering knows this war can be won in the factories. We are in dire need of an additional 2 interceptor wings in Dover by the summer. Kingsley Wood has been put on the case.
Not much to say on the matters of Africa. Italy again restated her neutrality and we are confident she has few viable invasion options as long as France and Britain remain strong and resolute. We've had to deploy several div. In the Middle East on partisan duty to calm down the population there. That area is a restless place, chap. I've been there. It's a cross road for the world. A strong presence is required to quell any dissent from the locals.
During these few months of war so many people have died. Just the Polish alone lost almost half a million men. Now the Russians are bashing their heads against Finland. The Finns are standing their ground though. In true Polish and Spartan spirit, they are withstanding the Russian agitators. Both sides are taking heavy loses and we are concerned with how long a smaller Finland can withstand the full might of the unlimited manpower of the Soviet Union. If you ask me it seems like Britain is the only major nation interested in preserving the lives of her young boys. China, Japan, Soviet, and Germany are throwing their's head first into the meat-grinder. Germany has lost 45 000 men. No, chap, no exaggeration needed! After all those bombing runs, the Heligoland Bight, the French and us giving them a proper licking, the death toll is starting to rise.
THE DEATH OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Ah, the League.... It was born with the exalted mission of preventing another “Great War,” it proved ineffectual, being unable to protect China from the Japanese invasion or Ethiopia from the Italian one. The League was also useless in reacting to German remilitarisation.
Germany and Japan voluntarily withdrew from the League in 1933, and Italy left in 1937. The true imperial designs of the Soviet Union became apparent when it invaded and occupied eastern Poland, ostensibly with the intention of protecting Russian “blood brothers,” Ukrainians and Byelorussians, who were supposedly menaced by the Poles. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia were then terrorised into signing “mutual assistance” pacts, primarily one-sided agreements that gave the USSR air and naval bases in those countries. But the invasion of Finland, where no provocation or pact could credibly be adduced to justify the aggression, resulted in worldwide reaction. President Roosevelt, although an “ally” of the USSR, condemned the invasion, causing the Soviets to withdraw from the New York World’s Fair. And finally, the League of Nations, drawing almost its last breath, expelled it. And what a joke it proved to be. Here we are again, on the precipice, nation against nation.
And that's it, old boy. Next week we will look at the China Fleet and the Mediterranean fleet that we sent to Australia to pick up the last soldiers for the great stand in France.
I'm glad to have you back. Stay safe out there, have a merry Christmas with your family,
but remember,
England Expects.
