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trekaddict said:
Not sure yet. There will be a time when I have to decide this, but that is still very far off.
Ah, I meant primarily in real life, not in the AAR :)
Is it merely the generals who you see as acting too late, and do you include the younger ones (Speidel, Tresckow) in that group?
 
Eams said:
Ah, I meant primarily in real life, not in the AAR :)
Is it merely the generals who you see as acting too late, and do you include the younger ones (Speidel, Tresckow) in that group?


Primarily the Generals acting too late, or not acting at all when the whole bloody quagmire that was WW2 could still have been prevented. But partially also for the other ones, as they either acted too late or did it in a completely unprofessional manner, IIRC there was once an attempt on Hitler in 42 I think where the bomb failed because no one had anticipated that explosives could get cold in great heights when stowed away on a plane.
 
i'd have just shot him personally. probably easier for me to say now in my comfortable house with my wine than at the time.
 
BritishImperial said:
i'd have just shot him personally. probably easier for me to say now in my comfortable house with my wine than at the time.

True, but if I had been Stauffenberg and had I decided to sacrifice myself then I would have made sure that the bombs killed Hitler by placing them directly besides him and made sure that he stays there. Shooting him outright was not exactly possible, as no guns were allowed near him.
 
Oh and if anyone guesses the target of Pinie he is directed to PM me and hereby sworn to total secrecy. MI5 has his adress.
 
I will try to get an update posted today, but my Internet connection keeps timing out on me. *curses ISP* I will try no matter what, but have patience please.
 
trekaddict said:
I will try to get an update posted today, but my Internet connection keeps timing out on me. *curses ISP* I will try no matter what, but have patience please.

I will be as impatient as I like, thank you very much. ;)
 
Chapter 26



Buckingham Palace, November 15th, 1938

“His Majesty is ready to see you now, Sir.” Churchill was looking forward to this particular audience with the King. If he wanted to make his ideas for the Empire work he needed both the public and behind the scenes support of the King. He was sure that George VI would be receptive, as the King loved the Empire as much as Churchill did. The King and his Prime Minister had already talked and today Churchill would present the King the data he had gathered over the last few weeks, whenever his other duties had allowed him. “Ah, Prime Minister, come in.” “Your Majesty, I am glad you found the time to talk to me.” Churchill said. “Sit down, Winston.” George VI motioned Churchill into an Armchair. “So, my dear Prime Minister, what do you have for me today? How is the state of the British Empire?” Churchill hesitated. “Your Majesty, to be frank, the Empire is in a bad shape. We have nationalist movements everywhere from Quebec to India, our forces as they are would be hard pressed to defend it all and on the whole it is becoming prohibitively expensive to run. The Navy is just about the only branch of the Armed forces strong enough to deploy everywhere at once, and even that is stretching it dangerously thin.” The Prime Minister paused briefly and took a sip from the Ice Water a servant had brought in in the meantime. “We could go on like this for a couple more decades, but if... or rather when War breaks out with the Axis and possibly the Japanese Empire as well then we could not defend it all. We could perhaps defeat the Axis in Europe, but by that time our reserves would be depleted and we could not evict the Japanese from their gains, even more so if the defeat China which by the opinion of our Ambassadors in the respective countries will happen sooner rather than later. And even if we somehow managed to defeat them too then we would still sit on the same problems, and everything would collapse completely within a few decades. Now I must say that much of this report was assembled under my predecessor, but I spent the last few days reviewing it and I am sad to say that it is true to the dot.”

King George VI took in what he had just heard. When he spoke again Churchill felt as if he could detect a hint of despair in his Kings voice. “So I gather you have a plan for averting this?” Churchill nodded and placed a second folder on the table. “Yes, your Majesty. It is..unusual, and could be described as drastic, but after conferring with the Foreign and Home Secretaries as well as the Chancellor of the Exchequer we see this as the only possibility.” Churchill was a bit nervous when the King read the proposal. So much depended on his approval. Many of the Mps, not only here but also in the Dominions would howl blood and murder when this was presented to them. Churchill expected great resistance from all over the empire, and most of all from his own party. If he could however persuade the king to publicly support the plan then much of that resistance would be quickly silenced. Much of what the plan proposed went against some of Churchill's long-held core beliefs, but desperate times called for desperate measures. On field of resistance that could be ignored however was the French, who would possibly decry this as destabilizing and all. Churchill admired the French, but in some areas they could be incredibly backwards... King George VI interrpted him with a question. “So, Winston, this is really the only way?” “I can see no other, your Majesty.” The King was quick to answer. “You will have my full support on this, but...” Churchill was elated that the King had been so easy to persuade so that the but did not really concern him. “but the problem is that many of these measures are radical, and have not you yourself once that India for example was not able to rule itself?” Churchill had thought about this very point for a long time and said: “Well, your Majesty, it will not be complete self rule. Not like what the other Dominions have. Only domestic administration and economics would be transferred to local hands, foreign relations and such would still be in the hands of your Government at Whitehall.” Churchill knew that the King was just testing his belief in his own plan, but when the Kings ask Prime Ministers play along. “And Defence?” the King asked.



“That is a mixed case. The colonies would raise their own forces, and only be bolstered by British Regiments and Divisions. These British Units would provide a cadre for training and the such until local militaries can do the training themselves. For Officers Training Sandhurst alone would be too small of course, and that can be locally done as well.” Churchill paused again and said then: “In peacetime it would be under the command of the local Defence Minitries, and only transferred to the Imperial General Staff in War or during National Emergencies. But your Majesty, these are still details that need to be refined before the treaty can be ratified. I imagine the biggest opposition from this coming from some of the Dominions and some of the bigger nationalist groups in India.” “And how do you plan to get them to agree to this?” “Your Majesty, this is were you would come in. If I could count on the public support you have already assured me of that would go a long way, but for the rest...” Churchill did not have to speak any more. King George VI knew that once more the British Monarch would have to use his prestige to initiate backroom talks and deals, and he felt that the preservation of the British Empire was worth jumping over ones shadow. “Rest assured Prime Minister, you will have my full support.” Churchill let loose an audible sigh of relief. “Thank you, your Majesty. This is what I came here for. Thank you again.”

The King grinned, something Churchill had not yet seen on him. “That, my dear Prime Minister is what I am here for. The Empire must be saved at all costs.” After a pause he continued. “So what are you going to do now?” “I will put this in motion. As you know we have a great Imperial Conference planned that is scheduled to start soon.” “A question if I may.” As if Churchill would not allow the king to ask the stupidest of questions. “How did you organize everything so fast?” “This, your Majesty was not my work. It appears that my predecessor was already planning to hold some sort of conference on the Bermudas, and Mr. Eden simply took that over and revamped the schedule. Also note that this is merely the first, preliminary conference to inform the various colonies and Dominions that the plan exists. The next step, in an as of yet undetermined amount of time will be a Imperial congress that also includes the leaders of the biggest Nationalist groups from said colonies. What my main short-term concern is that Parliament will scream for blood when I return from the Conference. They have not been informed yet.” “And why is that?” “Your Majesty, when you tell parliament something Fleet Street normally knows only minutes later, and premature disclosure to the public could ruin the whole thing before it has begun. We need to tread very carefully with this.” “Well, Winston, how do you suggest we go about this then?” “Your Majesty, we must seem as if we had been coordinating this from the very beginning.” The King nodded. “I shall put out a decree of some sort. With it it will seem to the outside observer that the whole initiative was started by me, and you will not have too much trouble with your own party, after all you are simply of the same opinion as the Monarch.” “That, my King, would be excellent.”

After Churchill was on his way back to No. 10 George VI sat down to work and began to write: “The Empire Decree of 1938: "Wherein the separate territories, provinces, and dominions are equals in all regards to each other and no territory subordinate to another, it is the wish of the crown that they and their citizens exist as equals under the Authority of the British Empire, The self said same Monarch of which and of the Imperial offices he may empower to govern them as one peoples under the Imperial Crown of Britain."”




[Game Effects: None really. The Imperial Decree is a borrowed and slightly rewritten version of the one used by KiMaSa in his excellent new “Forging Destiny: Sunrise of a new world” AAR. I had a different ending for this update in mind, but then I read it in his latest update and thought it was perfect. And it is, honestly, a coincidence that we both tackle the same problem at the same time. KiMaSa, I hope you don't mind that I borrowed from you again.]
 
The intent is not so much preparing for the war but rather for the after the war. It is supposed to re-distribute the costs for running and defending the Empire so that they no longer have to be burdened upon the British Economy in the Home Islands alone and to get the nationalist movements ( especially in India, but more on that in due time ) to work with the Imperial authorities instead of against them. Call it federalization of the Empire. Some colonies will be reworked into counties under the direct controll of Whitehall, some will be granted a semi-dominion status like described in the update. I have special plans for India.

Before anyone asks: The existing dominions, i.e. the ANZACs, Canada, South Africa and Rhodesia ( IIRC they had Dominion Status in RL, anyone who knows differnt is free to correct me )will retain their Dominion Status, but I fear that Canada for example will never introduce the Maple Leaf Flag and rather stay with the one they use now. :D

EDIT: I will whip up one... maybe you will like it anyway. :)
 
Turns out that the Canadians thought about adopting a TTL-fitting flag in RL 1946.


Kanada.png




It is a bit Kaiserreich-ish, but I still like it. What do the Canadians ( if there are any ) think as this as a flag for a Canada that is much more oriented towards Britain than the one in RL ever was after WW2?
 
trekaddict said:
The intent is not so much preparing for the war but rather for the after the war. It is supposed to re-distribute the costs for running and defending the Empire so that they no longer have to be burdened upon the British Economy in the Home Islands alone and to get the nationalist movements ( especially in India, but more on that in due time ) to work with the Imperial authorities instead of against them. Call it federalization of the Empire. Some colonies will be reworked into counties under the direct controll of Whitehall, some will be granted a semi-dominion status like described in the update. I have special plans for India.

Before anyone asks: The existing dominions, i.e. the ANZACs, Canada, South Africa and Rhodesia ( IIRC they had Dominion Status in RL, anyone who knows differnt is free to correct me )will retain their Dominion Status, but I fear that Canada for example will never introduce the Maple Leaf Flag and rather stay with the one they use now. :D

EDIT: I will whip up one... maybe you will like it anyway. :)


I see, thanks for clearing that up. Of course, that would all be assuming that Britain and the Empire survive the coming conflict. No offense my good man, but with Germany, the Soviet Union, the USA, and the Empire of Japan as potential simultaneous enemies, it sounds like rough going.
 
I hope that the US stays neutral. Of course knowing the Japanese they would be even more trigger happy versus a communist America then they were in RL. IF the Japanese and the Americans keep each other busy I can concentrate most of my military in Europe.
 
My plan is to stay on the defensive against Japan, to hold the line. When/if I finish of the Axis in Europe or manage to get a satisfactory peace then I will shift towards the Pacific. If the Japanese have already been finished by the Yanks so much the better. This however is only a land warfare posture. The Royal Navy will send what units it can spare to the Pacific as soon as I have Naval Surpremacy in European waters.
 
RedAAR participation day #2


So where shall we go this time?

a) a plotting Japan
b) an equally plotting Communist America
c) the exploits of our favourite SIS man in Germany?
 
Let's go to (in the words of Deep Purple) To-kay-yo!

:D
 
love that song SO much. i too would like to see whats going on in the land of the rising sun.
 
Let's see what the Japs are up to.

In any case, I think India is gonna leave the Empire at some point, regardless of this fig leaf.
 
Tokio it is then.

As for India: I've been plotting to have them get Imperial Dominion Status, i.e. factually full independence like the ANZACs and Canada while still nominally part of Britain. They will probably get full Dominion status somtime during the 1980s with Lizzie still as the Empress of India.