-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Trekaddict, the quality of late has actually been outstanding! As an absolutely lousy commenter I can safely say this is one of favourite AARs. But like BritishImperial posted on another AAR noted for the bwavery of its Prime Minister, sometimes saying something intelligent is very hard!
And the window into your mind certainly made a boring afternoon very interesting!
And the window into your mind certainly made a boring afternoon very interesting!
BritishImperial
Le Jones Thank you.
But anyway, this piece was intended to tell you all why I am doing this, and to explain my somewhat weird character some more.
Le Jones Thank you.
But anyway, this piece was intended to tell you all why I am doing this, and to explain my somewhat weird character some more.
I've been fairly busy and so have struggled to keep up and given your update speed once you fall behind the curve it's the devil's own job trying to catch up!
However I'm up to date now and can say the last few story updates were excellent, while 106 was... different. In a good way I hasten to add.
However I'm up to date now and can say the last few story updates were excellent, while 106 was... different. In a good way I hasten to add.
Glad you liked it. It is a one-off though, and normal service will be resumed with 107.
Also, as of late the number of comments seems to dwindle. I admit that I couldn't put the usual level of attention to this AAR due to RL reasons, but has the quality dropped that much?
No, but we were hugely dissapointed. No Hood cameo in the last update.
I'm still here... just haven't managed to read an update since page 96 I think. Now I'm terrified I won't be able to catch up!
canonized I hope it has cleared up my motivations.
humancalculator It's all Hollywood's fault you know.
Kurt_Steiner Believe me, Hood is destined for greatness so great even peti can't stand against it.
Raaritsgozilla No worries. The next update is somewhat difficult to write for me.
humancalculator It's all Hollywood's fault you know.
Kurt_Steiner Believe me, Hood is destined for greatness so great even peti can't stand against it.
Raaritsgozilla No worries. The next update is somewhat difficult to write for me.
gaiasabre11 Thank you.
17th May 1940, 8:45 AM
Netherlands
The six British stood at attention along with the rest of the Company as Queen Wilhelmina and her daughter exited the villa, preparing to leave their country behind. Reportedly the Queen had been less than enthusiastic about this, but the Government had insisted, given the fact that the Dutch Armies would collapse in a two weeks at best. Quietly evacuating the Queen now would perhaps hit the morale of the troops in the field if the news got out prematurely, but then again, if they left now they could start to build a Dutch Nation in Exile, prepare everything for the worst case without haste. Originally the plan had been to seat the Royals in an Armoured Car and bring them out under a heavy escort, but Drake, supported by Ian and Felix, had vetoed this plan, as it would draw undue attention to them. When he had suggested that the SAS would alone escort the Queen and her daughter while the latter rode in a perfectly normal car, the Captain in command of the Company had exploded in rage, accusing Drake of not taking the situation seriously. But the Dutch were eventually outgunned as the Queen herself intervened and had officially tasked Drake with the preparations, having taken a liking to the young Officer that amused Ian to no end for some reason. In the end they had settled for Drakes idea, and so at the end of the two rows of soldiers a car was waiting, ironically a Mercedes-Benz 320. The Queen personally thanked the commander of the guard and then made a short speech to the troops, having tears in her eyes while the Dutch flag was lowered from the top of the Villa. And right on cue, it started to rain, adding to the melancholic atmosphere of what was happening. The Queen and her daughter then boarded the car. Inside Ian and Felix were waiting. Felix, used to left-hand cars, would drive, while Ian sat on the other seat in the front. They had their rifles stashed away between the two seats, ready to be used should they be needed. Meanwhile the SAS troopers would escort in two more cars with two men each, one ahead, and one behind the Mercedes with the Royals.
“Everything in order your Majesty?” Ian asked the Queen. “Oh yes, thank you, Commander.” She leaned back and silently talked with her daughter, trying to make the younger woman feel better about the forced separation from the Children that had been evacuated to the United Kingdom on the outbreak of hostilities. The motorcade slowly moved out of the compound, the Dutch Soldiers standing at attention many with tears of their own, as for them the fact that the monarch was leaving the country signalled that the fight was lost, and in a way they were right. The cars moved down the road the British had taken, and now in proper daylight, the flashes of Artillery fire were gone, but the rumble could still be heard, and it was even closer now than it had been a few hours ago. The cars were all painted black, with no special markings that showed any onlookers who the passengers were, with the usual civilian plates. Only if someone took care to look through the windows he would see two British and a Dutch in the first, two British in the last and two British in the middle car, as the middle car had the window curtains stopping anyone from seeing whom the car was actually transporting. At the moment all was going well. They passed the camp where General de Klerck had given them their papers, noticing that it was strangely empty. Ian and Felix quickly shared a look, that told the other to be on their guard. As they could not take the bridge that they had crossed on their way here, so they left the road for a side road, or rather more a well-used dirt track, leading them to another road, clogged with refugees and military vehicles going in different directions. The convoy slowly moved through the masses trying to traverse the narrow road in two directions and under the constant danger of air attack. Soon enough they did reach a bridge, guarded by some decidedly down and defeated looking Dutch Military Policemen, who were trying to keep everyone in line and were failing spectacularly at this task. Ten men had no chance to control hundreds of people going in two directions. The convoy managed to pass the bridge without having to show any papers or identification, as they were probably written off as part of the masses. Felix looked out of the front window and was reminded of the scenes the newsreels from America had shown only a few years earlier. It caused him to swallow and sigh heavily. No one deserved a fate like this. When they were passing another group slowly walking southwards, Felix shook his head and decided that it was time to get back to the task at hand.
“Where next?” he asked Ian who was also acting as a navigator. Ian quickly glanced in the rear of the car where the Royals seemed to be sleeping off the strain of the last few days and hours. He turned his eyes away from them and looked at the map he had folded out in his lap. “Hmm..we are here....there should be an intersection of sorts about a mile down the road. From there we need to go left.” The plan was to short-cut the route they had taken on their way here from Amsterdam and go the more dangerous, more open route over the enclosure dike that had created the Ijsselmeer, the largest lake in western Europe. There they would have no chance to avoid any eventual air attacks, but then again, it shortened the way back to the plane in Amsterdam considerably. This way they could be home early tomorrow morning at the latest, given they managed to cross the dike with speed, something promised by the Dutch that had cut off the civilian traffic over the dam, as it was instrumental for their defence of Fortress Holland. After once more passing a checkpoint with their papers, the convoy turned left, driving down a road that would lead them straight to the small hamlet and the fort at the northern end of the dike. There were no more changes in direction until they reached the intersection where the road over the dike would go of from the on they were on right now. They followed the road for another hour, until they reached a small village, in reality nothing more than a collection of a few houses and a windmill in a field a few dozen yards away. When they entered it seemed as if the houses had been abandoned days ago, and a cat crossing the street between the cars was the only sign of life. “Ian, I have a bad feeling about this...” Felix said, and took his FN from the dashboard of the car and placed it in his lap, with the safety on to prevent him form accidentally shooting himself. Ian cocked his own Webley and answered: “You're not the only one, mate.” “Is something wrong?” Queen Wilhelmina asked from the back of the car. Ian turned around in his seat and answered quickly. “Not yet, your Majesty, but I recommend yourself and her Royal Highness fasten your seatbelts.. this could get nasty very fast.” “Very well then. I prefer honesty.” The two Dutch Royals fastened their seatbelts as instructed while the convoy slowly moved through the village. In the forward car Drake had had the same sickening feeling of dread Felix experienced and was looking out of the front passenger window. Something was odd.
He flipped the safety of his Sten to off and watched the houses closely. There was nothing here... except perhaps on that house to the left, where a curtain had just... He was interrupted, when suddenly gunfire seemed to erupt from all sides, smashing into the road and the cars. Drake felt a stinging hot pain, ducked down and just yelled over the rattling fire: “GOGO GO!” to 312 who was driving. Despite holding his arm where it had been grazed by a bullet, he smashed in the gear and pressed the accelerator down to the floor. The engine of the car roared loudly, and sped up. Drake blindly fired his Sten out of the window, not so much to actually hit anything but rather to give himself the feeling that he had fought back and perhaps to keep the heads of whoever it was down. They quickly raced past the remaining few houses, and Drake only hoped that no one had been killed and that all the cars had made it out more or less in one piece. The gunfire soon died down when they left the village. Only now did Drake dare to turn his head and look at the rest of the convoy through the shattered windows of his own car. He sighed with relief when he saw that all the cars had made it out. “Stop here.” he said after another mile or so. “LT, you are bleeding pretty badly.” 312 remarked and Drake realized that indeed a bullet had grazed his forehead, and that blood was streaming down his face, making the wound look many times worse than it actually was. He pulled his handkerchief from one of the many pockets on his battledress and slowly wiped the blood from his face with British stoicism, not making a sound when he carefully tapped off the wound, while looking at the one remaining rear-view mirror. The other cars caught up, and after making sure that no one else was mortally wounded, they resumed their way, more wary of ambushes than before.
Meanwhile at the village the commander of the Soviet NKVD unit that had laid the ambush was trying to deduce what had gone wrong. “Comrade Major?” a private addressed him. “Yes?” “We have finished clearing out the houses.” “Good. Tell the Colonel that we are on our way back.” He stepped behind the corner of a house and grabbed a cigarette from his pack. Using his cap as a shield and a lighter he had scavenged from a shot-down British Aviator, he lit his cigarette and leaned back against the wall. 'What has gone wrong? Intelligence was right, and the group had come through here, and in three cars. The source had been very explicit on that... What has gone wrong? We probably simply underestimated the British...' He threw the burning cigarette to the ground and extinguished it with the heel of his boot. There would be another time.
[Notes: The defence of the Dike is historical. If you look at a map you can see that had it fallen, the Germans could have attacked Amsterdam and all the other Dutch defensive lines from the rear. It stands to reason that perhaps a successful crossing would have prompted the Dutch to surrender even earlier.]
Chapter 107
17th May 1940, 8:45 AM
Netherlands
The six British stood at attention along with the rest of the Company as Queen Wilhelmina and her daughter exited the villa, preparing to leave their country behind. Reportedly the Queen had been less than enthusiastic about this, but the Government had insisted, given the fact that the Dutch Armies would collapse in a two weeks at best. Quietly evacuating the Queen now would perhaps hit the morale of the troops in the field if the news got out prematurely, but then again, if they left now they could start to build a Dutch Nation in Exile, prepare everything for the worst case without haste. Originally the plan had been to seat the Royals in an Armoured Car and bring them out under a heavy escort, but Drake, supported by Ian and Felix, had vetoed this plan, as it would draw undue attention to them. When he had suggested that the SAS would alone escort the Queen and her daughter while the latter rode in a perfectly normal car, the Captain in command of the Company had exploded in rage, accusing Drake of not taking the situation seriously. But the Dutch were eventually outgunned as the Queen herself intervened and had officially tasked Drake with the preparations, having taken a liking to the young Officer that amused Ian to no end for some reason. In the end they had settled for Drakes idea, and so at the end of the two rows of soldiers a car was waiting, ironically a Mercedes-Benz 320. The Queen personally thanked the commander of the guard and then made a short speech to the troops, having tears in her eyes while the Dutch flag was lowered from the top of the Villa. And right on cue, it started to rain, adding to the melancholic atmosphere of what was happening. The Queen and her daughter then boarded the car. Inside Ian and Felix were waiting. Felix, used to left-hand cars, would drive, while Ian sat on the other seat in the front. They had their rifles stashed away between the two seats, ready to be used should they be needed. Meanwhile the SAS troopers would escort in two more cars with two men each, one ahead, and one behind the Mercedes with the Royals.
“Everything in order your Majesty?” Ian asked the Queen. “Oh yes, thank you, Commander.” She leaned back and silently talked with her daughter, trying to make the younger woman feel better about the forced separation from the Children that had been evacuated to the United Kingdom on the outbreak of hostilities. The motorcade slowly moved out of the compound, the Dutch Soldiers standing at attention many with tears of their own, as for them the fact that the monarch was leaving the country signalled that the fight was lost, and in a way they were right. The cars moved down the road the British had taken, and now in proper daylight, the flashes of Artillery fire were gone, but the rumble could still be heard, and it was even closer now than it had been a few hours ago. The cars were all painted black, with no special markings that showed any onlookers who the passengers were, with the usual civilian plates. Only if someone took care to look through the windows he would see two British and a Dutch in the first, two British in the last and two British in the middle car, as the middle car had the window curtains stopping anyone from seeing whom the car was actually transporting. At the moment all was going well. They passed the camp where General de Klerck had given them their papers, noticing that it was strangely empty. Ian and Felix quickly shared a look, that told the other to be on their guard. As they could not take the bridge that they had crossed on their way here, so they left the road for a side road, or rather more a well-used dirt track, leading them to another road, clogged with refugees and military vehicles going in different directions. The convoy slowly moved through the masses trying to traverse the narrow road in two directions and under the constant danger of air attack. Soon enough they did reach a bridge, guarded by some decidedly down and defeated looking Dutch Military Policemen, who were trying to keep everyone in line and were failing spectacularly at this task. Ten men had no chance to control hundreds of people going in two directions. The convoy managed to pass the bridge without having to show any papers or identification, as they were probably written off as part of the masses. Felix looked out of the front window and was reminded of the scenes the newsreels from America had shown only a few years earlier. It caused him to swallow and sigh heavily. No one deserved a fate like this. When they were passing another group slowly walking southwards, Felix shook his head and decided that it was time to get back to the task at hand.
“Where next?” he asked Ian who was also acting as a navigator. Ian quickly glanced in the rear of the car where the Royals seemed to be sleeping off the strain of the last few days and hours. He turned his eyes away from them and looked at the map he had folded out in his lap. “Hmm..we are here....there should be an intersection of sorts about a mile down the road. From there we need to go left.” The plan was to short-cut the route they had taken on their way here from Amsterdam and go the more dangerous, more open route over the enclosure dike that had created the Ijsselmeer, the largest lake in western Europe. There they would have no chance to avoid any eventual air attacks, but then again, it shortened the way back to the plane in Amsterdam considerably. This way they could be home early tomorrow morning at the latest, given they managed to cross the dike with speed, something promised by the Dutch that had cut off the civilian traffic over the dam, as it was instrumental for their defence of Fortress Holland. After once more passing a checkpoint with their papers, the convoy turned left, driving down a road that would lead them straight to the small hamlet and the fort at the northern end of the dike. There were no more changes in direction until they reached the intersection where the road over the dike would go of from the on they were on right now. They followed the road for another hour, until they reached a small village, in reality nothing more than a collection of a few houses and a windmill in a field a few dozen yards away. When they entered it seemed as if the houses had been abandoned days ago, and a cat crossing the street between the cars was the only sign of life. “Ian, I have a bad feeling about this...” Felix said, and took his FN from the dashboard of the car and placed it in his lap, with the safety on to prevent him form accidentally shooting himself. Ian cocked his own Webley and answered: “You're not the only one, mate.” “Is something wrong?” Queen Wilhelmina asked from the back of the car. Ian turned around in his seat and answered quickly. “Not yet, your Majesty, but I recommend yourself and her Royal Highness fasten your seatbelts.. this could get nasty very fast.” “Very well then. I prefer honesty.” The two Dutch Royals fastened their seatbelts as instructed while the convoy slowly moved through the village. In the forward car Drake had had the same sickening feeling of dread Felix experienced and was looking out of the front passenger window. Something was odd.
He flipped the safety of his Sten to off and watched the houses closely. There was nothing here... except perhaps on that house to the left, where a curtain had just... He was interrupted, when suddenly gunfire seemed to erupt from all sides, smashing into the road and the cars. Drake felt a stinging hot pain, ducked down and just yelled over the rattling fire: “GOGO GO!” to 312 who was driving. Despite holding his arm where it had been grazed by a bullet, he smashed in the gear and pressed the accelerator down to the floor. The engine of the car roared loudly, and sped up. Drake blindly fired his Sten out of the window, not so much to actually hit anything but rather to give himself the feeling that he had fought back and perhaps to keep the heads of whoever it was down. They quickly raced past the remaining few houses, and Drake only hoped that no one had been killed and that all the cars had made it out more or less in one piece. The gunfire soon died down when they left the village. Only now did Drake dare to turn his head and look at the rest of the convoy through the shattered windows of his own car. He sighed with relief when he saw that all the cars had made it out. “Stop here.” he said after another mile or so. “LT, you are bleeding pretty badly.” 312 remarked and Drake realized that indeed a bullet had grazed his forehead, and that blood was streaming down his face, making the wound look many times worse than it actually was. He pulled his handkerchief from one of the many pockets on his battledress and slowly wiped the blood from his face with British stoicism, not making a sound when he carefully tapped off the wound, while looking at the one remaining rear-view mirror. The other cars caught up, and after making sure that no one else was mortally wounded, they resumed their way, more wary of ambushes than before.
Meanwhile at the village the commander of the Soviet NKVD unit that had laid the ambush was trying to deduce what had gone wrong. “Comrade Major?” a private addressed him. “Yes?” “We have finished clearing out the houses.” “Good. Tell the Colonel that we are on our way back.” He stepped behind the corner of a house and grabbed a cigarette from his pack. Using his cap as a shield and a lighter he had scavenged from a shot-down British Aviator, he lit his cigarette and leaned back against the wall. 'What has gone wrong? Intelligence was right, and the group had come through here, and in three cars. The source had been very explicit on that... What has gone wrong? We probably simply underestimated the British...' He threw the burning cigarette to the ground and extinguished it with the heel of his boot. There would be another time.
[Notes: The defence of the Dike is historical. If you look at a map you can see that had it fallen, the Germans could have attacked Amsterdam and all the other Dutch defensive lines from the rear. It stands to reason that perhaps a successful crossing would have prompted the Dutch to surrender even earlier.]
Lucky escape there, though the ambush did seem a bit badly planned - you should try and block the way in and out to trap the target or, just like our heroes, they'll drive straight out faster than you can shoot them. The other options are massive numbers and/or firepower, but I doubt that even a crack NKVD squad could sneak half a company with anti-tanks guns into place that quickly.
One point of your AAR did trigger a random thought, did Canada switch from driving on the left to the right as per OTL? With the US gone communist and the border shut I'd have thought not as there would be less practical reasons to. Of no real importance (except to car makers looking to make an Empire wide design ) just a question that popped into my head while reading.
Anyway good action update, I hope the Queen doesn't take too much of a shine to Drake or he could end up missing the action and end up as a liaison officer to Dutch government in exile!
One point of your AAR did trigger a random thought, did Canada switch from driving on the left to the right as per OTL? With the US gone communist and the border shut I'd have thought not as there would be less practical reasons to. Of no real importance (except to car makers looking to make an Empire wide design
) just a question that popped into my head while reading.Anyway good action update, I hope the Queen doesn't take too much of a shine to Drake or he could end up missing the action and end up as a liaison officer to Dutch government in exile!
Concerning the badly planned Ambush, I'm afraid I can only ask you to have patience and wait for a future chapter. As for Drake, the Queen will always fondly remember him, but I need in the future. I can't tell you much though, Official Secrets Act you know.
Canada did switch in the early to mid 1920s as per OTL, and they will probably keep that rule.
Canada did switch in the early to mid 1920s as per OTL, and they will probably keep that rule.
Well the Queen is safe, is she going to Canada like in OTL because of the Rednecks?
pretty shoddy ambush, i suppose they didnt have the benefit of german efficiency or british 'bulldog' spirit.
also, switching from the right to the left must have caused a few crashes, i hadnt realised that happened. then again i did accidentally drive on the right yesterday...
also, switching from the right to the left must have caused a few crashes, i hadnt realised that happened. then again i did accidentally drive on the right yesterday...
I guess the Russians just only have the "pump 'em full of lead" way of thinking.
Anyways I suppose you definitely drive better than me whether or not you are on the right or left, since I have the problem of stepping on the brakes when I panic (which happens a lot when I'm driving), and to make it worse sometimes I mix up the brakes with the gas.
o ZOOOMMM!!!
Griffin.Gen Dunno yet. I haven't given that matter much thought really, though there are arguments for both staying in the UK and going to Canada.
BritishImperial I can only repeat what I said to El Pip and ask you to have patience.
According to Wikipedia, the Canadians switch took place over a period from 1920 to 1924 and even to 1949 if you count in New Foundland, so there was a rather long period of adjustment.
gaiasabre11 Again, I want you to read above feedback, although I admit that I partially did it because I didn't want to 'loose' anybody. If I personally were to lay a 1940 ambush, I'd have two Machine Guns kill the first and the last car and then give the rest the option to surrender if I wanted the queen alive.
As for the driving, I can't comment, because despite being 23 years old I do not have a licence.o
BritishImperial I can only repeat what I said to El Pip and ask you to have patience.
According to Wikipedia, the Canadians switch took place over a period from 1920 to 1924 and even to 1949 if you count in New Foundland, so there was a rather long period of adjustment.
gaiasabre11 Again, I want you to read above feedback, although I admit that I partially did it because I didn't want to 'loose' anybody. If I personally were to lay a 1940 ambush, I'd have two Machine Guns kill the first and the last car and then give the rest the option to surrender if I wanted the queen alive.
As for the driving, I can't comment, because despite being 23 years old I do not have a licence.
o
A map of the defensive lines in 1940, nicked from Wikipedia.
The dam is up in the north.
The dam is up in the north.
I think I'd better reassure the author our complaints about the ambush are not directed at him, rather they are aimed at the NKVD major who has failed to live up to the high standards of Stalin. Doubtlessly he will be taking a trip east when he reports his miserable lack of effort and inability to master historical inevitability.
