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Crusader Kings III Available Now!
The realm rejoices as Paradox Interactive announces the launch of Crusader Kings III, the latest entry in the publisher’s grand strategy role-playing game franchise. Advisors may now jockey for positions of influence and adversaries should save their schemes for another day, because on this day Crusader Kings III can be purchased on Steam, the Paradox Store, and other major online retailers.
BritishImperial said:
I didn't really like Fallout 3 either, something about the whole End of the world thing turns me off, as I am a half-full type of guy, other than taht I agree with you. For one thing the SP campaign is way too short.
I have been somewhat distracted by MDS II lately, so work on the next update is proceeding slower than usual. But I did good I think...
Chapter 69
September 21st, 1939
Cabinet Bunker, London
“Well then tell those bloody frogs that the BEF won't move a flamin' inch before we have seen some initiative on their part!!” Churchill yelled into the phone. Foreign Secretary Eden was taken aback when he heard Churchill's rather colourful half of the conversation. When the Prime Minister slammed slammed the phone down again Eden visibly flinched. He knew that Churchill had once held great faith in the French, but that had changed recently, but especially since the French High Command refused to reveal what and if any at all, plans it had for going onto the offensive, publicly stating that until the BEF was in France no serious offensive could even be planned, and in the back-rooms saying that Britain had dragged France into a war she did not want or need. The result of this was that the Anglo-French alliance was less cordial than it seemed for most of the population, and the Imperial General Staff had already drawn up contingency plans in case the French withdrew from the fighting. The French General Staff on the other hand was trying to hinder any British attempts to change the Dyle Plan which was, in the words of Field Marshal Gort, new Chief of the IGS: 'utter folly and only good to force the hun into do something stupid'. Gort, and almost the entire Officer Corps of the Imperial Armed Forces remembered all too well what had happened last time something like this had been tried, and if the rumours and intelligence reports about the German and Soviet doctrines were true then the French and British forces would be in for a hard fight, whatever they did, and Gort feared that the French approach might not work at all. Because of that he had spent the better part of the last month to try and convince his French counterpart that another approach to the problem might be prudent, but so far the French refused to see reason. “I gather it was not a successful conversation, Prime Minister?” Eden asked. “Not at all.”
The two men sat back and decided to smoke their cigars rather than discuss annoying allies, as there would be enough time for that once the rest of the cabinet arrived, and soon the rest of the ministers filtered into the room, closely followed by the Service Chiefs and the usual gaggle of aides. “Gentlemen, I have called this meeting of the War Cabinet in order to discuss the most recent developments in the war.” Churchill opened. FM Gort rose from his chair. “As you know the front lines in Western Europe have not changed. At all. It seems that the French are content with sitting it out for the time being. I have talked with General Weygand, and the says that the Germans will never go through Belgium and if they do the French will rely on that blasted Dyle plan of theirs. I again say what I said to General Weygand: this plan is not good enough and it includes to many assumptions about the German actions. The French also seem to have forgotten that the Germans are no longer alone. The forces that are arrayed against us are at least double the size we expected when the war started. It seems that the Soviets and Germans are already shifting forces from Poland to the western Front. Poland...” he paused, and the pained look on his face was answer enough for those surrounding him. The Poles are holding fast in Warsaw and are screaming for help, but other than with our Night-Bombing Campaign we can't really help them without the French who refuse to do anything because they fear, and I quote: 'that attacking into a Siegfried line manned by two Armies instead of one might cause unacceptable losses to the French Army' end quote.” The First Sea Lord spoke up: “So basically the French are unwilling to conduct ANY offensive operations?” Gort nodded. “Yes, Admiral. They are also unwilling to plan anything unless the BEF is already in France and ready to enact the Dyle plan.” This caused murmurs all around the room. “Suffice it to say the BEF is still in the United Kingdom for the time being.”
“So far the French Army is valiantly holding the line against the German and Soviet patrols in the no-man's-land between the fronts, and the BEF is still outfitting in southern Scotland. The Poles.. well, the transmitter of our Embassy has been damaged, but the last report we received stated that they were defending every inch of Warsaw tooth and nail. Their own Rouke's Drift if you will, only that this time there will be no Cavalry.” The awkward silence in the Cabinet Room was only broken when the First Lord of the Admiralty rose to deliver his report. “Currently the Royal Navy is on close and distant blockade in the North Sea and we have effectively sealed the foreign trade relations of Germany. That said, they can still use the Soviet Ports, as we lack the ships we need to blockade these too.” Churchill, always on the prowl for opportunities to discredit the politically appointed First Lord of the Admiralty asked: “Doesn't that expose the fleet to an unnecessary risk of attack from the air?” The First Lord sighed inwardly but refused to let Churchill provoke him. “Not at all, Prime Minister. First they have to find the Fleet, and hitting a Battleship at full steam and manoeuvring at sea from an Aircraft is not easy.” Some of the men around the table had their doubts, but he was the First Lord of the Admiralty and he could therefore conduct the Naval War as he pleased, especially if, as in this case, the First Sea Lord was of the same opinion. So far the German and Soviet Navies have yet to let themselves be seen by us, and it seems that they are hiding in port like they did last time.” “And what about that German Aircraft Carrier?” “One Carrier, Prime Minister, is no danger to our Battlefleet, even if it were operational, which it isn't.” Churchill was not so sure about that, and he once again both these men weren't as politically connected as they were, with powerful friends in Industry, Press and Parliament. This exchange however convinced the PM even more that he had to get rid of both at the first possible opportunity.
The rest of the naval briefing was only of minor interest to the PM, as it dealt mainly with the First Sea Lords complaints that the resources available for the construction of the King George V-Class ships were cut short by the construction of the Illustrious-Class Carriers, a concept he still did not really believe in. When everything turned towards the Air Force his attention was again concentrated on what he was hearing. Air Vice Marshal Park was replacing Dowding in this meeting as the latter had broken his left leg in an accident recently and was still confined to a hospital bed. “Gentlemen, the RAF is fighting a mostly defensive war for now. As you know the mainstay of Fighter Command is the Supermarine Spitfire, but as production is still relatively slow we are forced to keep them back for the Defence of the British Isles until we can produce such numbers that allow us to send a group or two to France to bolster the Hurricanes we already have there. As you know the Germans and Soviets have recently begun probing our defences over the United Kingdom with their medium-range bombers, but so far damage has been light, while their losses are mounting. The Soviets in particular are still sending in their bombers without escort fighters, but even the newest Bf-110 variants the Germans are introducing is of questionable value against our Spitfires. It seems that Bomber Commands decision to only bomb Germany by night was correct, as their night-interception methods are even cruder than ours.” Park couldn't reveal that several Companies, among them de Havilland were currently working on aircraft to rectify this very situation, as all the RAF's efforts in that area were under the strictest secrecy, so that even the Prime Minister only spoke of them in code. Churchill knew that the risk of something leaking was rather slim, but if it was ever to be revealed were for example, the main part of the Intelligence about the Axis forces came from, or how far the plans for fighting the war alone had actually progressed then this administration would be in serious peril, and a coalition Government would be unavoidable, and he wanted to prevent that at all costs. If Halifax and his consorts were ever to come to any position of power it might prove disastrous for the war effort. Still, so far Parliament was backing the Administration thanks to a solid Conservative majority and backing in the population, despite the stalemated war and the fact that many were dissatisfied that nothing was done to help the poles.
[Game notes: I don't mil-con the French, and I won't do so except in emergencies. ( For example in a test game they got the BEF encircled when I didn't watch for a minute and I had to mil-con them to save my Divisions. I also had planned the next update already, but once again my fantasy dragged me somewhere else. I must have ADS or something. So anyway, up next is a visit to the de Havilland works. It seems as if the fine folks there are working on something rather neat. * wink wink nudge nudge * I also hope that soon I finally get around to open the next big plotline. Hopefully the next one will be better, as I wasn't really paying attention to this one due to RL troubles. I tried to apply to university but was told that I couldn't do so until the middle of next week... Idiots. Is it too much to ask to update your webpage once in a while instead of having last years dates up all the time?]
Damn French. You just can't reason with them. Or win a war with them. Against them sure, but not with them.
Ahhh the surrender monkeys. Looks like you could be in for a tough time as a result of their fear of getting hurt. Bad luck.
I can only speculate what those de Havilland folk are up to. Invisible planes? 50 mm cannon? Oh excitement!
I can only speculate what those de Havilland folk are up to. Invisible planes? 50 mm cannon? Oh excitement!
You've been threatening this big plot line long enough, I only hope it lives up to it's hype and anticipation! 
Interesting Churchill still feels he has to tread gently around his First Lord and First Sea Lord, then again there are limits on what you can do to people who haven't made any proven mistakes.
Interesting Churchill still feels he has to tread gently around his First Lord and First Sea Lord, then again there are limits on what you can do to people who haven't made any proven mistakes.
Hardraade You can also win a war without them.
humancalculator It's more the French Generals you should dislike, the common soldier fought bravely for the most part.
Raaritsgozilla I never anticipated I would get much hel form the frogs save for the odd Air attack. As for de Havilland: I will reveal it in the next update, but suffice it to say it's someone we all know and love.
El Pip The trouble is that I have to decide between the hunt/the exiting live of a Soviet raider in the atlantic, the beginnings of the SAS and their first mission and some intelligence activity that involved the Commie Americans. Oh the Humanity, oh the desicions I face.
Rest assured, once one of them makes a mistake, and they will, they will be gone. Pound and Alexander are already ready and waiting, and once Pound dies a suitable candidate is already in the making in the persion of for-now Admiral Cunningham. I will take good care of the Royal Navy, promised. Backhouse and the First Lord are in power because I forgot to add his position when I wrote the Cabinet changes into the "Churchill comes to power" event, and was pretty much stuck with him.
humancalculator It's more the French Generals you should dislike, the common soldier fought bravely for the most part.
Raaritsgozilla I never anticipated I would get much hel form the frogs save for the odd Air attack. As for de Havilland: I will reveal it in the next update, but suffice it to say it's someone we all know and love.
El Pip The trouble is that I have to decide between the hunt/the exiting live of a Soviet raider in the atlantic, the beginnings of the SAS and their first mission and some intelligence activity that involved the Commie Americans. Oh the Humanity, oh the desicions I face.
Rest assured, once one of them makes a mistake, and they will, they will be gone. Pound and Alexander are already ready and waiting, and once Pound dies a suitable candidate is already in the making in the persion of for-now Admiral Cunningham. I will take good care of the Royal Navy, promised. Backhouse and the First Lord are in power because I forgot to add his position when I wrote the Cabinet changes into the "Churchill comes to power" event, and was pretty much stuck with him.
Um I only just started reading from the Battle of Britain update with the German bombers. Is it someone I know and love? Or do I have to read 65 odd updates to find them?trekaddict said:
Raaritsgozilla said:Um I only just started reading from the Battle of Britain update with the German bombers. Is it someone I know and love? Or do I have to read 65 odd updates to find them?
He or rather she hasn't appeared yet. But I do recommend reading it all in order to understand some of the changes and lines I will use in the future.
Chapter 70
September 20th, 1939
de Havilland Aircraft Company
The party from the War Office and the Air Staff was ushered around with the greatest possible deference and shown into a hangar at the far end of the Companies small Airfield. In there there was what they had come to see. Ronald Bishop, the Chief Designer of this ultra-secret project, was nervous, as he of course wanted the Air Ministry to buy his plane. Project NF would be his masterpiece once it was ready to fly, and he knew that it was. The only thing that remained was to convince this honoured group of men. To this end he and his team had a mock-up in the final stages of assembly, with the complete interior and so on, even the propellers would be rotated via a small electrical motor. Bishop was a master of the effects, and he intended to use this ability to the fullest. Lord Beaverbook, the new Minister for Armaments and Aircraft production, was among the members of the delegation, and from what Bishop had heard he was always open to new ideas, a surprising change that had taken place in the upper echelons of British Politics in the last year. The old de Havilland was stalling the visitors with a tour during the factory as best as he could, but Bishop estimated that he had half an hour at most before he had to make his presentation. He rushed back into the hangar where his team was currently lowering the fuselage into the wings, ready to install the mock-engines where eventually, in a real plane, a Rolls-Royce Merlin would be installed, a version of the engine that powered the Spitfires that were roaring over the airfield every other day. He leaned at the wall and surveyed the teams work. Project NF was the companies answer to a specification for a night Fighter, but Bishop was convinced that his design could easily be adapted to serve in a wide variety of roles, from escorting Bomber Command to being a fast attack Bomber in it's own right, provided it really received the Merlins he wanted, as those were in priority production for Supermarine and others. Still, it would be as fast as a cat, and this alone would make it an attractive concept.
On the dot thirty minutes later he could hear the party approaching. He was laying the last hands on the instruments in the cockpit, as there was still a gremlin somewhere in the wiring. He could hear the voice of Geoffrey de Havilland. “...and in there we have our entry into the competition.” While he climbed down from the Cockpit Bishop could see them entering. The four visitors and the old man looked at the mock-up with interest. He approached them and introductions were exchanged. Bishop was not surprised when Beaverbrook was the first to speak: “And this is it, your plane?” “Yes, Sir. Now this is only a mock-up of course, as we still have some work to do, especially on the structural integrity and the housing for the electronics, but in the end it will look very much like this, barring a few changes for the RDF set in the nose.” Beaverbrook nodded and stepped closer. “What engines do you propose we put in it?” Bishop grinned inwardly. This was his big chance. “For the prototype two standard Merlins would suffice, Sir. For serial production I would need to have a look at it, but I think we would need only minor adjustments, especially to the fire-proofness.” When everyone looked at him with a puzzled look he decided to drop the bombshell. “Well, this will be necessary, as the plane will be constructed almost entirely without metal. Not only would this be good for the national stockpiles but it would also make the plane very light and therefore also very fast.” Beaverbrook looked back at him with an expression that clearly indicated that he thought Bishop was joking. “Wood you say?” he said, his finger circling around. Bishop nodded. “Yes, Sir, wood.” The conversation then turned to capabilities and power. “We have projected that given we install the RX-11 RDF set and the Merlins we should have speeds of around 280 to 290 knots, even with the armament installed.” “And that would be?” Bishop sighed and thought about the different configurations that had been discussed. “The configuration we want to enter would be four 20mm cannons in the fuselage belly, firing forward, and four RO .303s in the nose. We still have to test how that works together with the RDF set though.” They spent another few minutes chatting about this and that, and Bishop thought that Beaverbrook and the rest of the party seemed receptive. “There are of course many other possible uses for the Airframe, among others I...WE are currently working on a Fast Attack Bomber variant. This would be unarmed, relying mainly on speed and manoeuvrability to evade attack. And, given the range we projected it might even be suited to provide long-range Bomber escort in the pure fighter variant. It's worlds apart from the BF-110 the Germans use and god knows why the Soviets still fly bi-planes in their front-line Fighter Squadrons.”
Beaverbrook said nothing. Bishop on the other hand knew exactly that this was it, that what the minister said next would decide the fate of his latest pet project. During the last few months, when the buildup of the Armed Forces had begun in earnest companies all over Britain had started to develop such planes of all sorts. In the beginning the project had been a fast bomber, developed in private initiative by de Havilland, but when the Air Ministry specification for the night fighter had arrived just in the wake of the RAF's decision to buy the Bristol Buckingham instead as the future replacement for the Wellington, it had quickly been decided to refurbish it as a Night Fighter, hence the plane's dual capabilities. Bishop had been less than impressed with the specifications the Air Ministry had wanted in the beginning, concluding that the Project would exceed them with ease and had instead decided upon making it as good as possible in the new role without compromising the old one, as he still believed that the plane would also be excellent at that one. In fact, the plans for the unarmed Bomber version were still in the desk draywer. But at the moment this was none of his concern. Beaverbrook started to walk around the mockup, studying it from all sides with an intent gaze that made it clear that he knew a thing or two about aircraft. “Tell me, Mr. Bishop,” his voice could be heard from behind the left wing. “If we buy it, how many can you say, a year?” “That depends on materials, factory space and the labour we need, but I should say that we have made plans for two factories and around two-hundred in the second year. I must remind you though that I do not know how big the RAF's demand for a Night Fighter is. Nevertheless this plane could be produced relatively quick, and it needs only few strategic materials.”
“And performance? You said earlier that you had computed the figures with a Merlin 21, and I am interested to hear what you found out.” Bishop gave a rough figure and in return the visitors from the Ministry all had looks of disbelief on their faces, something that amused Bishop and de Havilland to no end. The too had checked the calculations three times, but had arrived at that speed each and every time, so for now they were using them. “Well then,” Beaverbrook said, “I will have to submit this to the Air Staff and procurment of course, but I will definitely add a favourable recommendation.” “Thank you, Sir.” All around them people were visibly elated at these news, because if the Minister of Aircraft production endorsed a plane it meant it had the backing of No.10, and that was a strong argument within the RAF. Beaverbrook knew this too and turned back to de Havilland, who was congratulating Bishop. “I gather I shall be invited to the maiden flight?” When de Havilland nodded in the affirmative Beaverbrook continued: “Tell me, does this aircraft have a name?” Bishop nodded ans answered: “Yes Sir, we call it the Mosquito.”
[Game notes: The Mossie will enter service in a few months, much earlier than OTL, but at the beginning as a Night-Fighter only. My reasoning behind the earlier introduction of it is mainly the fact that the last year has seen a more and more warlike attitude in the UK and the simple fact that more money + earlier start + less official obstructions = earlier entry into service. Also I have finally decided on the new plotline, due to start in the next update.]
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Good update. I'm not sure what mocking you are referring to. I'll be looking forward to seeing the RAF's new toy in action.
Our national Football ( the proper kind ) just lost against England.Hardraade said:
Believe me, I have great things in store for the Mossie once she enters service. *whistles the theme tune of 633 Squadron*
Don't be too downhearted, it was more a German/American/Polish defeat, there can't have been more than two or three actual Germans on the pitch.trekaddict said:Our national Football ( the proper kind ) just lost against England.
Spiffing to see the Mosquito, an absolute classic and fated for great things regardless of the timeline.
Ah. I kind of know how you feel. My football team(you know what I mean when I say football) just lost their fourth game in a row and effectively ended any chance of a postseason appearance.
El Pip Not everyone has the British Empire to fall back on.
The mossie is indeed destined for greatness.
Hardraade Nods in agreement.
BritishImperial Pff. Next time then.
The mossie is indeed destined for greatness.
Hardraade Nods in agreement.
BritishImperial Pff. Next time then.
STOP! COOKIE TIME