The Bonaparte Legacy: British Victory
“From Stettin, in the Baltic, to Trieste, in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line, lie all the capitals of the ancient states of central and eastern Europe. Warsaw, Vienna, Prague, Budapest. All these famous cities, and the populations around him, lie, in what I must call, the Soviet Sphere.”
Churchill spoke these words one month after victory of Nazi France was achieved. “Dirigeant” Delonlce had committed suicide on the 27th of July, when the Battle of Paris had come to a close. The once invincible army of the Kingdom of France had broken. 7 days later, the Guards Armoured Division captured Bordeaux, and with it King Henri VII, who signed the capitulation of Nazi France the next day. Victory Day was August 4th, 1944.
Early September saw the Atlanta Conference, which was between the members of the British Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dominion of Canada in particular, and the Confederate States of America. Their concern was the Yankee question, which had dominated the politics of North America ever since the Second American Revolution in 1933. Luckily, it had become a minor concern for the duration of the war. The 1936 primaries saw social democrat Felix Frankfurter become the Socialist candidate for the presidency. When in 1940 Trotskyite Fredrick Delano Roosevelt gained the backing of the party leadership, Frankfurter endorsed the new Liberal Party and its candidate, Wendel Wilkie. A feat thought impossible only 4 years before, but the Socialist Party lost the 1940 elections. This didn’t mean that relations between the USSA and her neighbours improved. Whilst the Battle of Britain was raging in the skies above London, Bristol, Cardiff and Dublin, the USSA invaded the New England Republic, establish from the Canadian Occupation Zone which had been evacuated in 1936. Luckily, any aggressive moves ended there, maybe because of the government in Britain.
1932, the year that the Socialist Party was elected in the old USA, also saw the election of the Labour Party in the UK. Prime Minister Oswald Mosley began his National Effort to bring the economy back up, a policy he could continue after the 1936 elections. Because of this, he also oversaw the 1937 Imperial Conference, which finalized the move towards Imperial Federation. Imperial Preference Trade and the Shared Defence Policy laid the groundwork for federalization, a process halted, but strengthened, by the outbreak of war. Mosley and his German counterpart Adenauer had decided on a policy of Appeasement, to start rearmament and catch up with the French, but after the Pas de Calais had been granted to France, a line had been drawn. A line which the Nazi’s crossed when they demanded the end of Belgium in October 1939. Europe was at war again.
Belgium fell within 10 days. The Allies did the only thing they realistically could whilst they were mobilizing, evacuate the Belgian army via the port of Antwerp and east towards the Siegfried Line. And whilst everybody was preparing for the campaigns of the coming season, France struck in November, bypassing the most heavily fortified parts of the Siegfried line by moving trough the Netherlands and the Rhineland. British forces moved west into the Netherlands, holding the line at the Meuse, but the French broke the Germans and crossed the Rhine on the 1st of December, at which point it was all over. Air Marshall Goering and his own national socialist DAP launched a coup, and sued for peace. Austria was evacuated and Hitler reinstalled, Prussia, Posen and Silesia were handed over to Poland, the Rhineland was annexed by France and a protectorate was granted over the Ruhr. A small group of officers and soldiers escaped to the British positions, and later fled to London, where the Free German Government was proclaimed, later taking control over the German colonies. British, Dutch and Belgian forces now found themselves surrounded, and were forced to evacuate from the beaches of Holland and the port of IJmuiden. The Battle for Germany was over.
The Empire would continue the fight alone. Prime Minister Mosley resigned fearing a motion of no confidence. A government of national unity would be formed, headed by the Tory Winston Churchill. Having served in both Liberal and Conservative parties he was deemed the perfect candidate. Mosley would assume position as Minister of Armaments. The Battle of Britain would be won, Ethiopia would be liberated and British tanks rolled across Libya. From 1941 onward, France retreated from Africa, focusing on her new enemy, the Soviet Union.
France launched Operation Charlemagne, her crusade against communism, and China joined her in her fight, but didn’t march south. Finally, the manpower of India was somewhat opened up for other fronts. Combined Imperial forces would guard the USSA borders, and a invasion of Italy was launched to take pressure off of the Soviets. Italy, having faced heavy losses in Africa, crumbled, and Rome was liberated in early 1942, after which the king capitulated. The net was closing around France. In the east, the advance stalled just past Smolensk and Kiev. Greece joined the Allies, opening up a front in the Balkan. In response, Germany was allowed to rearm. A coup was launched in Poland to keep them in the fight. A coup was also launched in the Ottoman Empire, opening up the Caucasus in the hopes of capturing the oil there, but failing massively.
Eventually, the downfall would come on May 5th 1943, from the beaches where Britain had evacuated some 3 years before. Within hours, Mussert’s government was captured and the “Kingdom of Holland” had capitulated. Not only did this signal the beginning of the liberation of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, it also meant that the French army in the east also had an enemy army in its back constantly cutting off supply lines. Finally, the British and Soviets met at the city of Stettin. From that point on, it was just a rush to secure as much land as both sides could, Germany became first priority. Finally, once Germany was cleared, British forced moved into France itself, ending it on the 4th of August. In the east, China would fall soon after the western front was over for the Soviets. And once the fall of Chiang was clear, Commonwealth forces simply secured what they could, with Japan and Korea doing the same.
The world stands decided, with Britain at the head of the free world. Much will depend on the first postwar elections. Mosley is running on a platform of Renewed Effort, using the Empire to rebuild Britain and Europe. Churchill is running on a platform of anticommunism, capitalizing on public fear now that a German Peoples Republic has been established east of the Oder, not to forget the United Arab Republic being a great threat to British interests in the Middle East. The Liberals, meanwhile, are running on a more hands off approach. Letting things on the continent be for now and instead focusing on the Empire and building a real superpower.
Whatever the British public may decide, interesting times are ahead.
“From Stettin, in the Baltic, to Trieste, in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line, lie all the capitals of the ancient states of central and eastern Europe. Warsaw, Vienna, Prague, Budapest. All these famous cities, and the populations around him, lie, in what I must call, the Soviet Sphere.”
Churchill spoke these words one month after victory of Nazi France was achieved. “Dirigeant” Delonlce had committed suicide on the 27th of July, when the Battle of Paris had come to a close. The once invincible army of the Kingdom of France had broken. 7 days later, the Guards Armoured Division captured Bordeaux, and with it King Henri VII, who signed the capitulation of Nazi France the next day. Victory Day was August 4th, 1944.
Early September saw the Atlanta Conference, which was between the members of the British Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dominion of Canada in particular, and the Confederate States of America. Their concern was the Yankee question, which had dominated the politics of North America ever since the Second American Revolution in 1933. Luckily, it had become a minor concern for the duration of the war. The 1936 primaries saw social democrat Felix Frankfurter become the Socialist candidate for the presidency. When in 1940 Trotskyite Fredrick Delano Roosevelt gained the backing of the party leadership, Frankfurter endorsed the new Liberal Party and its candidate, Wendel Wilkie. A feat thought impossible only 4 years before, but the Socialist Party lost the 1940 elections. This didn’t mean that relations between the USSA and her neighbours improved. Whilst the Battle of Britain was raging in the skies above London, Bristol, Cardiff and Dublin, the USSA invaded the New England Republic, establish from the Canadian Occupation Zone which had been evacuated in 1936. Luckily, any aggressive moves ended there, maybe because of the government in Britain.
1932, the year that the Socialist Party was elected in the old USA, also saw the election of the Labour Party in the UK. Prime Minister Oswald Mosley began his National Effort to bring the economy back up, a policy he could continue after the 1936 elections. Because of this, he also oversaw the 1937 Imperial Conference, which finalized the move towards Imperial Federation. Imperial Preference Trade and the Shared Defence Policy laid the groundwork for federalization, a process halted, but strengthened, by the outbreak of war. Mosley and his German counterpart Adenauer had decided on a policy of Appeasement, to start rearmament and catch up with the French, but after the Pas de Calais had been granted to France, a line had been drawn. A line which the Nazi’s crossed when they demanded the end of Belgium in October 1939. Europe was at war again.
Belgium fell within 10 days. The Allies did the only thing they realistically could whilst they were mobilizing, evacuate the Belgian army via the port of Antwerp and east towards the Siegfried Line. And whilst everybody was preparing for the campaigns of the coming season, France struck in November, bypassing the most heavily fortified parts of the Siegfried line by moving trough the Netherlands and the Rhineland. British forces moved west into the Netherlands, holding the line at the Meuse, but the French broke the Germans and crossed the Rhine on the 1st of December, at which point it was all over. Air Marshall Goering and his own national socialist DAP launched a coup, and sued for peace. Austria was evacuated and Hitler reinstalled, Prussia, Posen and Silesia were handed over to Poland, the Rhineland was annexed by France and a protectorate was granted over the Ruhr. A small group of officers and soldiers escaped to the British positions, and later fled to London, where the Free German Government was proclaimed, later taking control over the German colonies. British, Dutch and Belgian forces now found themselves surrounded, and were forced to evacuate from the beaches of Holland and the port of IJmuiden. The Battle for Germany was over.
The Empire would continue the fight alone. Prime Minister Mosley resigned fearing a motion of no confidence. A government of national unity would be formed, headed by the Tory Winston Churchill. Having served in both Liberal and Conservative parties he was deemed the perfect candidate. Mosley would assume position as Minister of Armaments. The Battle of Britain would be won, Ethiopia would be liberated and British tanks rolled across Libya. From 1941 onward, France retreated from Africa, focusing on her new enemy, the Soviet Union.
France launched Operation Charlemagne, her crusade against communism, and China joined her in her fight, but didn’t march south. Finally, the manpower of India was somewhat opened up for other fronts. Combined Imperial forces would guard the USSA borders, and a invasion of Italy was launched to take pressure off of the Soviets. Italy, having faced heavy losses in Africa, crumbled, and Rome was liberated in early 1942, after which the king capitulated. The net was closing around France. In the east, the advance stalled just past Smolensk and Kiev. Greece joined the Allies, opening up a front in the Balkan. In response, Germany was allowed to rearm. A coup was launched in Poland to keep them in the fight. A coup was also launched in the Ottoman Empire, opening up the Caucasus in the hopes of capturing the oil there, but failing massively.
Eventually, the downfall would come on May 5th 1943, from the beaches where Britain had evacuated some 3 years before. Within hours, Mussert’s government was captured and the “Kingdom of Holland” had capitulated. Not only did this signal the beginning of the liberation of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, it also meant that the French army in the east also had an enemy army in its back constantly cutting off supply lines. Finally, the British and Soviets met at the city of Stettin. From that point on, it was just a rush to secure as much land as both sides could, Germany became first priority. Finally, once Germany was cleared, British forced moved into France itself, ending it on the 4th of August. In the east, China would fall soon after the western front was over for the Soviets. And once the fall of Chiang was clear, Commonwealth forces simply secured what they could, with Japan and Korea doing the same.
The world stands decided, with Britain at the head of the free world. Much will depend on the first postwar elections. Mosley is running on a platform of Renewed Effort, using the Empire to rebuild Britain and Europe. Churchill is running on a platform of anticommunism, capitalizing on public fear now that a German Peoples Republic has been established east of the Oder, not to forget the United Arab Republic being a great threat to British interests in the Middle East. The Liberals, meanwhile, are running on a more hands off approach. Letting things on the continent be for now and instead focusing on the Empire and building a real superpower.
Whatever the British public may decide, interesting times are ahead.
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