• 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.
As Belgium is liberated, Germany and the town of Hamburg faces mass destruction. Yet another humanitarian disaster caused by this war which will stay in the memories of the world forever.
 
Hamburg, your suffering will not be forgotten, by Germans or Belgians.
As Belgium is liberated, Germany and the town of Hamburg faces mass destruction. Yet another humanitarian disaster caused by this war which will stay in the memories of the world forever.
I fear that the destruction will not be limited to Hamburg, as German resistance is very strong. But Germany might turn things around regarding this...
 
It's always sad when we had to use those extreme means. I don't know if the end justifies it all, but this war has gone for far too long.
 
This is looking good! I loved the early politics that you added to the beginning. I would like to see more leader dynamics and conversations. Thank you!
 
It's always sad when we had to use those extreme means. I don't know if the end justifies it all, but this war has gone for far too long.
What is certain is that the war itself is nowhere close to reach its end yet. A strong foothold in Europe though should be the stepping stone for further liberating the world of the Axis powers.

This is looking good! I loved the early politics that you added to the beginning. I would like to see more leader dynamics and conversations. Thank you!
Thanks, I know I cut down on the conversations and such stuff during the war. Most of the things I had planned in my head while preparing this AAR have been shortened or just removed, mostly because of time issues. I know that's not quite an excuse but I want to hold onto my weekly update schedule or otherwise I fear people might get bored if there is a lack of updates though I am glad that (most) of my readers were very patient to wait out my whole exam period for another update.

You can argue whether this reduces the "quality" of the AAR - if such thing really exists - but I will try to keep your thoughts in mind when writing the following chapter(s), I'm very thankful to hear your opinion :). And that applies to others too, are you all happy with how I'm doing this AAR and if not what I could improve (it's up to you how much salt you want to use ;)).
 
*music*

"bongo bongo bongo Belgium just left the Congo nononononono.....! Dingle dangle dongle I'm so happy with my bomb-o gonna KILL you now.....!!!! "

*music*
 
*music*

"bongo bongo bongo Belgium just left the Congo nononononono.....! Dingle dangle dongle I'm so happy with my bomb-o gonna KILL you now.....!!!! "

*music*
That would be a great sequel for the original :D! And I'll interpret that as a yes to my question ;).
 
Dear readers, I am sorry to say that I will have to delay the update again. I already started Sunday but couldn't complete it on time and I'll have little time this week + an important deadline mid-next-week. So I'll be hopefully back with an update Sunday next week.
 
As and when, as and when.
 
Dear readers, I am sorry to say that I will have to delay the update again. I already started Sunday but couldn't complete it on time and I'll have little time this week + an important deadline mid-next-week. So I'll be hopefully back with an update Sunday next week.

Okay, I look forward to reading what you come up with Tom D. Have a good week!
 
Good luck with the deadline! :)
 
Chapter 11 – Frictions and rivalries within the Allies
Chapter 11 – Frictions and rivalries within the Allies

9th of October 1945, Versailles.

All prime ministers and leaders of the Allied faction came together in Versailles close to Paris for a crisis meeting. It was a grim and rainy day, as was the mood between the different countries in the Allied faction. The recent destruction caused by the atom bomb on Hamburg went way further than just material damage, as humanity in its entirety on all sides had been shocked. Belgium lost its innocent face in the eyes of the international community and together with Belgium so did the Allied faction. It would be too much to say the people were turning rebellious but they surely did not agree with what their governments had done. The Germans may have treated the occupied countries badly, that did not mean the Allies had to behave immoral – and on this scale - towards them. Being treated badly by the Germans doesn’t mean you have to become a German.

The prime ministers of the Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain, France, Denmark, Norway and the United States were present in the large, beautiful room of the Hall of Mirrors. Versailles had survived the occupation and served now as a base for secret Allied services. Or for crisis meetings as of today.

“We are not to blame for this!” the Belgian prime minister Pierlot said. “We have merely done our bit to the Allied war effort and now we are seen by our own population as no more than tyrants. Despite their liberation of the German occupation which was to say the least cruel and against all humanity. We will not bare this burden alone, I demand a public excuse in name of the whole Allied faction.”

“That is absurd!” the prime minister of Great Britain Halifax replied, annoyed by this unjust accusation. “If I recall correctly it was Belgium’s idea to construct an atom bomb, you even had a name for it: Plan C remember?”

“That plan was to say the least an all-or-nothing plan, as said back than it was never considered to be executed at all. Besides what else had we to offer the Allies, a petty and small country, only holding onto its colonies in Africa? We would’ve been left on our own! It was also thanks to Allied money and resources this project was able to succeed and I can’t recall you were horrified when you witnessed the tests in the Congo, were you?”

“Don’t you dare tell me I enjoyed it! If you ask me, you were very eager to try this out in real life, weren’t you?”

The other prime ministers were witnessing the grim debate between the two uneasily , which seemed to be going the wrong direction if nobody would intervene in time.

“Do I have to remind you of Belgium’s help in this war Halifax? What did we do when we were setting up in the Congo, when it was actually way too dangerous to let divisions go into unknown terrain to help YOU, British forces? What did we do with the Italians which YOUR divisions couldn’t do in Ethiopia and Libya? We SUCCEEDED in driving the Italians out of Africa, we SUCCEEDED in containing the Spanish when they joined the war on the side of the Axis, WE decided to use our own colony for this project and I could go on with this for another hour. I at least DEMAND some gratitude for that!”

This clearly was going to end with in a physical fight if nobody would intercept now. That’s why the French prime minister Daladier decided to help out Pierlot. He didn’t trust the British and probably had a secret agenda of their own, which Daladier didn’t like.

“Mister Pierlot does have a point though. Belgium risked much in this war and has done a lot to help the Allied war effort. That is something we have to acknowledge, at least.”

“I DO acknowledge Belgian help in the war, but I am just reminding them that it was THEIR plan, and thus THEIR bomb they dropped which shocked the world, NOT WE.”

“But I don’t recall the Allies being hesitant when they agreed to the bombing of Hamburg.” Daladier calmly continued. “I thought we reached a consensus very soon when we were discussing this. I don’t recall any objections too of the entire Allied faction to bomb Hamburg. So this is actually the entire Allied decision and thus responsibility, which we all have to take to help Belgium survive this crisis. It would be selfish to let Belgium bare this burden alone. And besides, this crisis has gone much farther than Belgium already, our reputation is at stake too.”

For a moment Halifax was stuck, as Daladier had a point. But before he would’ve had to admit his mistake, the American president decided that he didn’t like the direction this meeting was going, definitely as he saw the British as natural allies within the Allied faction. So he meddled now too:

“Of course we all agreed on this, as we all know it was a necessary thing. But if we would’ve known the consequences beforehand, we could’ve decided otherwise. Nonetheless what I think that mister Halifax is saying is that although this decision to bomb Hamburg was taken by the entire Allied faction, it still was Belgium’s plan and Belgian infrastructure which provided us with the bomb and thus this crisis.”

“We are going in circles at the moment, maybe it’s best to remind us all that we are not here to discuss the bombing itself but how to convince our peoples of the necessity of the bombing.” Daladier said. “What has happened, has happened. I say we better let this case rest a bit and let our population calm down. And I say that with time and more propaganda the people will be on our side again soon enough. And let us too calm down for a bit before we take wrong decisions or accuse each other.”

All prime ministers agreed with this and were glad the issue was ‘resolved’. When all leaders were leaving the room, the French prime minister stopped Pierlot:

“You know,” he whispered “the British and Americans never experienced the horror of war and occupation themselves. They had the luck there was enough water between them and the Germans. We didn’t have that luck. You have my support in this matter. Halifax just wants to walk away with all the glory, but we won’t let him. Now we better prepare ourselves for what is yet to come.” after which they left.

But although the crisis within the Allies seemed to be solved, the atom bomb would set a new rivalry between Pierlot and Halifax in motion which would determine the future war operations.

Immediately when Pierlot arrived back in Belgium he ordered the army to recruit new people into the now restored Belgian Army. The people were half-surprised and half-angered that they had to join the army after facing 5 years of German occupation. But the Allied war propaganda machine had specialised itself over the years, and were able to persuade the people that this was the final phase of the war, the phase where they had to throw in everything they had, for a last time. Of course the Belgian-British friction would decide otherwise and had a hand in this. Pierlot knew that if he wanted Halifax to acknowledge Belgian efforts in the war he had to do more. So that meant more men, more troops, more sacrifices. However nobody knew how long this final phase would take... But rethinking it after the war, the Belgian-British friction – or maybe even competition – had a lot of influence in this final phase.

20161030153934_1.jpg


The new Belgian divisions though lacked supplies, equipment, … just everything they were not able to produce en-masse in the Congo. Therefore most divisions were sent back from Congo to Belgium while the Belgian military factories were trying to close the gap in supplies and equipment as fast as they could.

The Belgian divisions, which were to say the least not that powerful, were given 3 new regiments of artillery per division. The problem remained though that the military factories were already at their maximum capacity to just produce the basic riffles, support equipment, etc. The followings months/year(s) would take a lot of balancing to find a good balance of what and when to produce everything needed.

Around the beginning of 1946 the small remains of German resistance around Calais and Dunkirk were defeated, freeing up most Belgian divisions for the Eastern Front. It became clear quickly that the Germans were far from defeated, and the Vichy regime had retreated to the dense woods and mountainous terrain near the border with Italy and Switzerland, blocking off an effective breakthrough. The front closed itself rock-solid.

20161103143842_1.jpg


But to the north, Belgium was able to get a first victory by liberating Luxembourg after the Germans retreated further east. All in all, near the end of February 1946 the situation was still tense. In the east, many countries like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, … who joined the Axis when the Soviet Union invaded them were defeated by the Allies. The Soviet Union itself was close to defeat, as the German and Romanian troops now even bordered China. And in Europe, France was a shattered map of resistance pockets where the last Vichy divisions with help of Germany held onto their positions, in a triangle of death going from Luxembourg, to Provence and to Switzerland in the east. But most importantly, the first steps in Germany itself had been set too.

20161103144955_1.png


The question was now not if we would defeat Germany, but how long it would take.
 
The Allies can't afford this schism right now. The German behemoth is still powerful and dangerous
 
With the Russians nearly out of the war it is going to be a long hard slog, that's for sure.
 
The Allies falling apart, while terrible news, would be rather interesting. A revived Belgium will the ultimate trump card and a not-so-trusted France against the British and America, all while the Axis continues to struggle.
 
Daladier is still in power in 1945. :eek:

Nice update. This bomb has consequences on Belgium and all the Allies. It's not surprising this causes tensions between them.
Let's hope they keep their focus on ending this war soon and not on conflict for reputation and glory.

And maybe, let's hope this bomb won't be use in the future.
 
Daladier is still in power in 1945. :eek:
Is it supposed to be someone else when the war kicks in? I didn't have any screenshots of the French overview so I didn't know who was the French prime minister at that moment so I just took the name the wiki gives from 1936. Because you're surprised, it probably wouldn't have been him but well... let's make it so than ;).
 
Chapter 12 – Magic mirror on the wall, who has the darkest secrets of all?

The fights against the Axis continued to last. Belgium did its best, stimulated by Pierlot, to achieve major victories, such as the take-over of the Maginot Line. This would bolster the Allied defence but also coming offensive into Germany. Although it was more because of luck the Belgian army succeeded, as some divisions left their position to help out other divisions after which the Belgian army quickly occupied the position they had just left. Nonetheless, it was a small gain but great boost to the Belgian morale. Halifax however thought otherwise, but he knew he had more of everything so didn't start to worry (yet).

20161103144931_1.jpg


The quick blitzkrieg of the Allies surrounded many enemy divisions who, after running out of supplies, had to surrender. Belgium achieved victory after victory, so when Belgium asked the Allies to gain the occupation of the western Rhineland Halifax had to bind in and agreed, although not willingly.

But if there is one thing he realised, it was that the more bombs Belgium would use against the Germans, the more ammunition he would have in the end to blackmail Pierlot. So when the front closed itself again, a second bomb was dropped. This time on Munich.

20161103150628_1.jpg


The disorder this caused in Germany did have its effect, as the Allies were able to push through in the north, the Americans only a few kilometres away of Frankfurt. With the Belgian army quickly following of course.

20161105150851_1.jpg


But the front was always fragile, and the Allies were thrown back again. Belgium itself was even invaded again! This could not last, so Pierlot decided to send 3 divisions via Great Britain to Norway where they hopefully would be able to open up a new front on the Danish-Swedish border.

20161105153229_1.jpg


7th of September 1946 02:00, Dover.

It was quiet at the harbour of Dover. A man walked as silent as he could towards one of the ships which lay in the harbour. Several ships lay in the harbour, some had just arrived in a convoy from America with supplies, some had just left. The 3 Belgian divisions heading towards Norway for example.

The Allies had given their permission, but didn’t want to join this reckless expedition. Sweden with its 37 divisions was never able to make a breakthrough at their border with Denmark, so why would it succeed 3 Belgian divisions? Nonetheless, the Belgians had some credit in the Allies after the row with Halifax so they gave permission, with Halifax the last one to agree.

But this constant Belgian meddling in the Allies, their constant efforts in the war… It troubled him. But hopefully this would soon end, it was up to him and him alone to win this war.

He finally reached the ship he was looking for. At first it seemed nobody was there but coming from behind some crates, another man approached him.

“Do you have it?” the man still walking asked him.

“I do.” he answered, handing out a small envelope.

The man wanted to grab it but he quickly took his hand back.

“You do remember the terms of our agreement?”

“Of course, I will bring these documents containing the plans of how to construct an atom bomb out of the country, and if we succeed in making one we will not use it against British divisions. And if possible target Belgian divisions.”

“Good.” after which he gave the envelope. “And remember: whatever happens, we never met and I never gave you anything.”

“Natürlich, guten Tag.”
 
Is it supposed to be someone else when the war kicks in? I didn't have any screenshots of the French overview so I didn't know who was the French prime minister at that moment so I just took the name the wiki gives from 1936. Because you're surprised, it probably wouldn't have been him but well... let's make it so than ;).

When France capitulated, Free France is lead by De Gaulle (as historically). When France is liberated, maybe Dalladier is back in power (which would be weird to be honest) but I don't remember such a thing. :)
But this is a minor thing of course, I was just surprised. :)


As for your last update, never trust a British. We know this for centuries in France. :p