Crossfires, a French AAR for HoI2 Doomsday

[merrick]

Chilling update. The lights are going out in Central Europe, and no mistake...

I wonder how this will be taken in the East - not just in Poland, but Hungary (are they a German ally yet?), Romania, Yugoslavia and of course the Soviet Union. Will Uncle Joe decide that the Western Powers are a busted flush and he has to make what deal he can with Hitler, or can he be persuaded to look for allies?

 

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Chilling update. The lights are going out in Central Europe, and no mistake...

I wonder how this will be taken in the East - not just in Poland, but Hungary (are they a German ally yet?), Romania, Yugoslavia and of course the Soviet Union. Will Uncle Joe decide that the Western Powers are a busted flush and he has to make what deal he can with Hitler, or can he be persuaded to look for allies?

Hungary is indeed a member of the Berlin-Tokyo Axis, and Germany's most important European ally. Lithuania is a solid prospect for an alliance with the Reich as well, and Slovakia is now a German puppet. There are other nations which could rapidly be cajoled or threatened into the Axis as well, as the death of Czechoslovakia now isolates them a little further from the West.

Uncle Joe needs to define a post-Prague strategy, particularly since he has Edvard Benes at his disposal, the NKVD having spirited him out of the country. The old Russian dilemma reaches another highpoint : courting Germany and hoping Nazis and Democrats will wear each other out, or courting the democracies to exert pressure on the Reich? It's Litvinov vs Molotov time.

 

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I just put down Pierre Assouline's biography of Jean Jardin, one of Laval's top aides at Vichy, and I couldn't recommend the book enough for anyone willing to immerser
himself into the many ambiguities of Vichy, the constant oscillation between resistance and collaboration, the feud between the pro-Petain and the pro-Hitler clans.

 

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I'm still working on the next update (more like trying to channel its growth, actually) which will taste of tea and cheddar cheese on crackers, but I hope to be able to post it within the next 8 days or so.

In the meanwhile, here's a picture of one of the characters that will make an appearance (and probably will visit us in future updates as well):

Uploaded with ImageShack.us​

Anyone wants to venture a guess as to who he is? All I can say is that, indirectly, he has already made one appearance.

 

[Eams]

Anyone prepared to wear that ghastly tie with that awful suit must be British.

 

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Yup, fashion was quite terrible back then. Actually, Eams, you're partly right, and partly wrong. Our man attained fame in Britain, but he wasn't a Briton by birth.

 

[Eams]

Ah, was he Jewish?

Also, what would you count as being a Briton by birth? Quite a few of them were born in parts of the Empire where the sun never sat.

 

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Ah, was he Jewish?

Also, what would you count as being a Briton by birth? Quite a few of them were born in parts of the Empire where the sun never sat.

As far as I know, he was a Gentile, and wasn't a Briton born overseas from British parents.

 

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As far as I know, he was a Gentile, and wasn't a Briton born overseas from British parents.

Is it Voltaire, the French spy working for the British?

 

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Is it Voltaire, the French spy working for the British?

No sir he isn't. He's not a politician nor a general nor, actually, a real public figure, though his name probably was known by many.

 

[Eams]

No sir he isn't. He's not a politician nor a general nor, actually, a real public figure, though his name probably was known by many.

He wasn't involved in radar, meteorology or radio?

 

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He wasn't involved in radar, meteorology or radio?

None of that Im afraid. He wasn't tech-oriented at all from what I could gather. War was not something for, or warned against. But looking at his work today, I'm sincerely struck by his clear vision of things to come.

Alright, a clue that's as good as a giveaway : Colonel Blimp.

 

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BTW, I'll do my damndest to post the next update this weekend, but truth is, I'm pretty much swamped in work (and I may or may have not lost an entire afternoon of work because computer maintenance took me by surprise, i'll see tomorrow the extent of the damage).

 

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CHAPTER 104 - EPIPHANY​

​

Westminster, the British Parliament, March the 15th, 1939

"Churchill's standing up!" said the young man excitedly, going from group to group to announce what would probably be the liveliest debate of the day.

"It's been a while since I didn't hear that cry" remarked Elland, who turned around to follow the progression of the self-appointed herald. "Or at least, with such enthusiasm. Who was this young fellow anyway?"

"Some junior aide to McMillan, if I'm not mistaken" said Low. "Something-Gore, I don't remember exactly. Probably aiming to complete his college education with a few weeks of immersion into the hurly-burly of real-life politics."

"Ah, down in the sewers with the rest of us, right where it gets grim and bloody. Excellent! No better way of learning, that - well, if he survives the initial culture shock, naturally" chuckled Elland. "Oh well, at least he picked himself an interesting champion to get excited about".

Low nodded with a smile. He too could remember when the young man's cry, resounding in the corridors of the House of Commons, never failed to cause a ruckus among junior members and journalists. For that cry always announced heated debate and murderous rhetoric launched at the government, things they either lived for, or thrived upon. In those days, Churchill had been freshly debarked from the Cabinet, having tested the patience of his colleagues one time too many. Still, everybody expected him to rebound in a matter of months. There was no denying Winston Churchill had charisma, something that most Cabinet members lacked. The man had that special kind of aura that came from a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue that delighted voters and reporters alike. He could make enemies on the spot, and rarely hesitated to add a few to an already impressive list. More than eloquence and audacity, though, Churchill's best quality in David Low's eyes was that he had the kind of physical features that were easily recognized and drawn, which made for great editorial cartoons. Under Low's pencil, Churchill's baby face came to life along with Chamberlain's dark eyebrows, Mussolini's massive jaw and Hitler's little mustache. There wasn't a statesman in the world that Low couldn't caricature - not even the ephemeral Présidents du Conseil of the turbulent French Third Republic could evade his pencil - but Churchill nevertheless remained a special case. Low's cartoons were published by the quite Conservative Evening Standard, for starters. The editing staff was often torn between the paper's avowed loyalty to the National Government that Churchill criticized daily, and the bonds of friendship that linked Lord Beaverbrook, the paper's owner, with the Tory dark horse. There were also personal factors to take into account. Although Low considered himself a very reasonable Labour voter, he nevertheless liked the way Churchill assumed the role of the Conservatives' enfant terrible. To Low, who deplored British politicians' frequent lack of inspiration and imagination in his 'Colonel Blimp' cartoons, Churchill's energy was a breath of fresh air, even if his parliamentary swashbuckling sometimes bordered on histrionics.

Throughout the 1930s, Low had thus expected Churchill to finally impose his views and regain a seat in His Majesty's Government. The nation seemed to teeter from crisis to crisis, and to break that dangerous cycle would obviously need more than goodwill and mild manners. The trouble had begun at home, as the aftershocks of the Wall Street Krach started rocking Britain in the winter of 1930. As firms defaulted on their payments one by one, causing banks to collapse in their wake, it had dawned on everybody that this was no mere economic hiccup that free soup and charities would weather down. Rather, it was undermining of the very pillars upon which Britain's economy and jobs rested, with markets shrinking and wages falling. In 1932, Britain's internal demand had dwindled dramatically, and none of its traditional Dominion and European customers was in good enough shape to maintain pre-Krach industrial output. Soon, Britain's industrial boroughs had been rocked by protests and marches by the jobless, which often led to clashes with the police, when it wasn't with their fellow workers who still had jobs. In the most extreme cases, looting was reported, while violent occupation of factories and acts of sabotage grew common. Pressed by the workers, and anxious to keep their influence over them, local union leaders were pushed by their worker base to make increasingly radical propositions at the national level. Ruined shop owners, brought down by lack of customers and the devaluation of the Pound, joined the strikers on several occasions. In the marches, one could also find ex-servicemen, who had either deserted after their pay had been frozen, or had been hastily discharged as a quick way to curb down military expenses. Escorted by police officers, 'crowbar brigades' roamed the streets, repossessing homes of laid-off workers and selling their furniture on the street - when they were not chased down by mobs of irate homeowners. Political agitators abounded, from Anarchist cells to armed groups of the British Union of Fascists. Communist propaganda in protests and factories had grown so widespread that from its Norwegian exile Leon Trotsky himself had announced that the British Revolution had begun. In 1936, despite of encouraging signs of economic recovery worldwide, the movement had reached such dimensions that it was dubbed the National Strike by the Liberal press. Neither the press, nor the government nor the unions felt certain it could be fully controlled anymore.

Not only had Europe's stricken economy caused unrest at home, but it had also limited its ability to keep colonies under control. In Syria and Indochina, French troops had faced renewed attacks from small nationalist groups setting up ambushes along colonial roads and trading potshots with isolated Army outposts. Italy had seen a flurry of nationalist activity in Libya as well, which had resulted in arson in Benghazi; Portugal was still struggling to regain control of the Angolan hinterland. In Asia, the Netherlands East Indies had turned into a hotbed of nationalist activity, despite brutal repression. In this respect, Britain had been luckier - though not by much. As British rule through local elites generated less resentment than its European counterparts, which favored bayonets to keep the natives in line, there had been less violent acts to deplore. Blood had been shed in Hebron, though, as well as in other places in Palestine. Inflamed by fiery preaching from the Grand Mufti, groups of Arabs nationalists had attacked Jews in the city as well as in various farms around in the area. In response, the Jews had dug up old weapons caches that had been established in case of such events, and had formed self-defense groups that had rapidly launched retaliatory raids in Arab villages. On both sides houses and farms were burnt, crops and grain wasted, men, women and children slaughtered. Though initially taken by surprise, the Indian troops composing the Palestine Command had managed to restore order in most of the region, but not before hundreds of lives had been lost. Dramatic as the news had been, it turned out that the worst threat to the Empire was not violent rebellion, but rather non-violent non-cooperation. In India, the prize jewel of the Empire, Hindu nationalists had organized strikes and called for a total boycott of European goods that had driven local importers into bankruptcy. In the countryside, spices, grain and meat had been distributed to neighbors and family rather than stored, as the protesters made it clear that they would refuse any trade with Britain as long as their demands were not met. To make the matter worse, Indian Princes had misused the influence the Raj system gave them to block most of the conciliatory measures proposed by the Viceroy, the Marquess of Linlithgow, to bring the subcontinent closer to self-government.

Mohandas Ghandi, inspirer of the boycott that struck British goods in 1936[/URL]​

Closer to British shores, the situation in continental Europe had also grown considerably darker in the 1930s. In Germany, the Republican regime seemed to be on its death throes, as the extreme-right was using the economic krach and its own solid foothold in the Reichstag to precipitate the regime into one ministerial crisis after the other. Those in the know in Whitehall deemed it inevitable that the German army would make its move before the country careened out of control. But if the Reichswehr was to move decisively to restore order, it would then have to mobilize its hidden, "black" regiments as well. How would France react to such a blatant violation of the Versailles Treaty? That worried the British government, which deemed another European war intolerable in every respect. As the German question rose, His Majesty's government had regularly sent special envoys to France, to ascertain Paris' position and to advise restraint. The envoys had cabled telegrams signaling their preoccupation about the situation they had found across the Channel. The French Republic seemed about to succumb as well, just like its German counterpart. It was dying not from Nazi cancer but from a depressing maladie de langueur that affected its government, and was contaminating its administration and army. French Governments rose and fell in a matter of weeks, and as a result tended to consider inaction as a valid method of government, if not of political survival. As perils seemed to mount all around France, the envoys from Whitehall saw signs of a coming convulsion everywhere they looked: closing factories, lingering strikes, persistent rumors of Communist coups, extremists' accusations of Jewish influence and Masonic corruption. Only the French Cabinet, which was itself a mere creature of the Parliament, seemed oblivious to the coming cataclysm, and continued its complicated game of building and unraveling coalitions. The final convulsion had finally come in February, 1934, not as a result of Hitler's rise to power as the distinguished diplomats from Whitehall had thought, but in the aftermath of what should have been a rather minor financial affair. In just eight days, Great Britain's major alliance on the Continent had been all but wiped out, leaving the Foreign Office in disarray and putting the British government in yet another tight spot at the House of Commons. "Fog over the Channel" had written a journalist. In Germany, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Turkey, Argentina, Fascists and Nationalists demanded concessions or territories from Great Britain. Japan made no secret it wanted to be given free rein in Asia, just as Germany demanded it in Central Europe. The Soviet Union was strongly encouraging both countries, hoping it would turn their appetites away from Russian land. As for America, its eyes were turned inward, fixed on its recovering economy and on the development of the Latin American War.

"Either Hitler duped you, or you have duped Britain!"

"How dare you!"

"Order! I demand order!"

"And we demand the truth! You cannot hide it forever!"

As Low and Elland pushed open the leather-padded doors leading to the balconies where the public was allowed, the low rumble of the debates rose to a furious clamor. From where he stood, Low could see that Churchill had started. He stood with a wad of papers crumpled in his pudgy hand, arms crossed in quiet defiance. From all benches rose cries of encouragement and of protest - clearly the news of the developing Czech crisis were troubling Tories as well as Labour Members of the Parliament. Colleagues sitting side by side were trading invectives, and others . On the government's benches, and staring intently at the empty desk before him, Lord Halifax sat ashen-faced next to a visibly troubled Simon. So was Neville Chamberlain, who presided this session in his quality of Leader of the House. All three ministers looked shaken. Chamberlain looked ill and angry, while Halifax seemed stricken and shocked. Simon looked simply appalled, and Low wondered if it was because of Churchill's introduction or of the gravity of the news. As for Churchill, he had composed himself a mask of patient virtue, barely glancing at the three ministers and never addressing them directly. Clearly he felt this was no time for gloating - that would come Later, Low was sure of it. There was indeed a lot for Churchill to brag about if he was ready to humble the three most powerful men of Britain after - and perhaps even before - the King himself. Through political clout - and also personal talent - these three men had indeed survived every crisis thrown at them in the 1930s, cutting Churchill at the knees on every occasion. Chamberlain's vigorous response to the nation's economic woes, first as Chancellor of the Exchequer and then as Prime Minister, had cost Britons dearly, but had nevertheless managed to preserve three quarters of their savings. It had also allowed British goods to conserve a competitive edge over European competitors that had helped hasten economic recovery. The Chamberlain-Ribbentrop economic treaties of 1937 - the biggest of a series of bilateral economic agreements - had also made sure Britain kept ahead of the rest of Europe in the most profitable market of the Continent, which had also given Sir John Simon the instrument he needed to deal with on the National Strike.

Publicly, Simon had presented to the unions the opportunity to hold a general round of social negotiations with representative syndicalists, just as it had been done in America and in other European nations. That would strengthen the position of the unions, and allow factories to start hiring again. Privately, he had leaked to the press a Special Branch report that showed a fraction of the workforce was starting to move away from traditional syndicalism, lured by BUF or Communist propaganda. The union leaders had conceded that it was in the best interest of everyone to put an orderly end to the strike, provided of course the government passed appropriate legislation to guarantee better conditions of work for the British worker. The Industrial Partnership agreement of 1937 had lifted the only obstacle that blocked Britain's road to a full recovery. Acting in his quality of Home Secretary, Simon had sent Special Branch officers to infiltrate and crack down clandestine Communist cells operating within local unions. Seconded by union officials, the Special branch had been able to subdue radical elements, with minimal violence. Chamberlain had used his newfound financial respite to get the armed forces back into shape, starting with those regions of the Empire that were rocked by unrest. With more men, more planes and more armored cars at his disposal, General Wavell had done wonders in Palestine, alternating cajoling, intimidation and brutal but impartial action against the warring communities. In August, order had been restored in major cities, and self-defense groups had been forced to go underground in the countryside. In India, the National Governments had used the respite brought by Britain's economic recovery to divide nationalists and weaken the population's resolve about the boycott. In Europe, the rise of the French Fourth Republic and the brutal demise of Mussolini had helped defuse tensions and created new opportunities for British firms, which were already present in post-war Argentina and Peru. Even the trade war with Ireland showed signs of abating, particularly since de Valera's death.

"Look at them" said Elland, nudging Low and pointing at Chamberlain's rigid silhouette. "And look at him, our good ol' Neville. Who'd have thought it could end like that?"

"Only last month they lauded him" said Low. "Sought his favor, feared his anger. Do you know I saw workers, regular blue-collar types, drink to his health? And to think even his fellow Cabinet members used to complain about his cold, formal manners!"

"Well, I'll bet today there won't be many pints raised in his honor" said Elland. "There goes the man who they said had brought progress at home, and peace abroad. Ah well, that's politics for you. Speaking of which - you should bring your Munich cartoon at tonight's editorial conference"

Low didn't answer. This cartoon was still a sore spot. In the aftermath of the Three Powers' peace conference, he had proposed an editorial cartoon for the Standard's next edition. It depicted Chamberlain coming out of Munich's Brown House, escorting two feminine figures whose bandages and torn clothes clearly showed they had had the roughest time inside. One was Peace, and the other, Liberty. The editor in chief had instantly refused the cartoon. It would be quite insulting, he had said, to put in the Standard's front page a cartoon insinuating that the Prime Minister had in some way helped violate such sacred notions. Elland had argued that Low's drawing merely portrayed the ambivalence of the sentiments with which people considered ceding the Sudetenland to the German Reich, and he had pointed out that the Prime Minister could also be seen in the cartoon as the man who had protected peace and liberty, but even then the cartoon had been refused after a short debate. It simply wouldn't do, the editor in chief had ruled, for the Evening Standard to appear so out of touch with the nation's mood. After weeks of real anguish over a possible second European war, the country was flush with relief, and so were the editors of the newspaper. It hadn't been the first time Low had had one of his cartoons set aside for excessive irony, and until then he had never let it weigh on his mind, but there had been such brusqueness in the way the editor in chief had refused that one that Elland had asked Low the permission to frame it and hang it in his cramped office. Now that rumors of German columns occupying Prague were swirling all around London, raising the possibility that the Munich conference had been little else than a scam, Low found himself wishing his editor in chief had been right. Because if he had been wrong, and if Peace and Liberty had indeed been raped in Munich, then Churchill had been right in calling Munich a parody of justice, and the hopes of peace it had brought Chamberlain's thirty silver dollars that would spare Britain neither war nor dishonor. And if after months of being ignored, Churchill was to be proven right, then the future was even bleaker than it had looked in the summer of 1938, when war had seemed so likely.

David Low's controversial cartoon​

"If I may continue, gentlemen" growled Churchill as the last murmurs finally died out. "I avail myself with relief of the opportunity of speaking to the people of all free nations. I do not know how long such liberties will be allowed after the news we have all received. The stations of uncensored expression are closing down one by one; the lights are going out; but there is still time for those to whom freedom and parliamentary government mean something, to consult together. Let me, then, speak in truth and earnestness while time remains."

Discreet murmurs of assent rose from Labour benches.

"The people from all free nations, in America, in Europe and in Asia, have, it seems to me, will tomorrow form a true judgment upon the disaster which today has befallen Europe. They'll realize, perhaps more clearly than the French and British governments have yet done, the far-reaching consequences of the abandonment and ruin of the Czechoslovak Republic. I hold to the conviction I expressed some months ago, that if Great Britain, France, and Russia had jointly declared that they would act together upon Nazi Germany if Herr Hitler committed an act of unprovoked aggression against this small State, and if they had told Poland, Yugoslavia, and Romania what they meant to do in good time, and invited these nations to join them, I hold that the German Dictator would have been confronted with such a formidable array that he would have been deterred from his purpose. This would also have been an opportunity for all decent and moderate forces in Germany, together with the chiefs of the German Army, to make a great effort to re-establish something like sane and civilized conditions in their own country. If the risks of war which were run by France and Britain at the last moment had been boldly faced in good time, and plain declarations made, and meant, how different would our prospects be today!"

"True, true!" cried some junior MPs in the back benches.

"But all these backward speculations belong to history. It is no good using hard words among friends about the past, and reproaching one another for what cannot be recalled. It is the future, not the past, that demands our earnest and anxious thought. We must recognize that the Parliamentary democracies and liberal, peaceful forces have everywhere sustained a defeat which leaves them weaker, morally and physically, to cope with dangers which have vastly grown. But the cause of freedom has in it a recuperative power and virtue which can draw strength from misfortune. If ever there was a time when those who cherish the ideals of the founders of the British, French and American Constitutions should take earnest counsel with one another, that time is now."

"All the world wishes for peace and security. Have we gained it by the sacrifice of the Czechoslovak Republic? Here was the model democratic State of Central Europe, a country where minorities were treated better than anywhere else. Today it has been deserted, destroyed and devoured. The question which is of interest to a lot of ordinary people, common people, is whether this destruction of the Czechoslovak Republic will bring upon the world a blessing or a curse. We must all hope it will bring a blessing; that after we have averted our gaze for a while from the process of subjugation and liquidation, everyone will breathe more freely; that a load will be taken off our chests allowing us to get on with our regular daily life. But are these hopes well founded or are we merely making the best of what we had not the force and virtue to stop? That is the question that the free peoples in all their lands must ask themselves today. Is this the end, or is there more to come?"

"More will come all right, if you drag us to another war!" shouted Sir Edward Mosley, the only elected Member of the British Union of Fascists.

"There is another question which arises out of this" continued Churchill, turning away from Mosley. "Has any benefit or progress ever been achieved by the human race by submission to organized and calculated violence? As we look back over the long story of the nations we must see that, on the contrary, their glory has been founded upon the spirit of resistance to tyranny and injustice, especially when these evils seemed to be backed by heavier force. Since the dawn of the Christian era a certain way of life has slowly been shaping itself among the Western peoples, and certain standards of conduct and government have come to be esteemed. After many miseries and prolonged confusion, there arose into the broad light of day the conception of the right of the individual; his right to be consulted in the government of his country; his right to invoke the law even against the State itself. Independent Courts of Justice were created to affirm and enforce this hard-won custom. Thus was assured throughout the English-speaking world, and in France by the stern lessons of the Revolution, what Kipling called, "Leave to live by no man's leave underneath the law." Now in this resides all that makes existence precious to man, and all that confers honor and health upon the State."

Churchill paused for effect, letting the words soak in.

"We are confronted with another theme. Oh, not a new one, for it leaps out upon us from the Dark Ages - racial persecution, religious intolerance, deprivation of free speech, the conception of the citizen as a mere soulless fraction of the State. To this has been added the cult of war. Children are to be taught in their earliest schooling the delights and profits of conquest and aggression. A whole mighty community has been drawn painfully, by severe privations, into a warlike frame. They are held in this condition, which they relish no more than we do, by a party organization, several millions strong, who derive all kinds of profits, good and bad, from the upkeep of the regime. Like the Communists, the Nazis tolerate no opinion but their own. Like the Communists, they feed on hatred. Like the Communists, they must seek, from time to time - and always at shorter intervals! - a new target, a new prize, a new victim. The Dictator, in all his pride, is held in the grip of his Party machine. He can go forward; he cannot go back. He must blood his hounds and show them sport, or else, like Actaeon of old, be devoured by them. All-strong without, he is all-weak within."

"No one must, however, underrate the power and efficiency of a totalitarian state. Where the whole population of a great country, amiable, good-hearted, peace-loving people are gripped by the neck and by the hair by a Communist or a Nazi tyranny - for they are the same things spelled in different ways - the rulers for the time being can exercise a power for the purposes of war and external domination before which the ordinary free parliamentary societies are at a grievous practical disadvantage. We have to recognize this. And then, on top of all, comes this wonderful mastery of the air which our century has discovered, but of which, alas, mankind has so far shown itself unworthy. Here is this air power with its claim to torture and terrorize the women and children, the civil population of neighboring countries. This combination of medieval passion, a party caucus, the weapons of modern science, and the blackmailing power of air-bombing, is the most monstrous menace to peace, order and fertile progress that has appeared in the world since the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century."

"We're strong in the air as well!" shouted another Conservative MP.

"The culminating question to which I have been leading is whether our free world - the great and hopeful world of our youth, the world of increasing hope and enjoyment for the common man, the world of honored tradition and expanding science - should meet this menace by submission or by resistance. Let us see, then, whether the means of resistance remain to us today. We have sustained an immense disaster; the renown of France is dimmed. In spite of her brave, efficient army, her influence is profoundly diminished. No one has a right to say that Britain, for all her blundering, has broken her word - indeed, when it was too late, she was better than her word. Nevertheless, Europe lies at this moment abashed and distracted before the triumphant assertions of dictatorial power. In the Czechoslovak Republic, a purely local quarrel has been carried by the intervention of Dictators, and the weakness of democracies into the region of a world cause. But it is not only in Europe that these oppressions prevail! Despite a brave and stubborn defense China is being torn to pieces by a military clique in Japan; The ancient empire of Ethiopia has been overrun. The Ethiopians were taught to look to the sanctity of public law, to the tribunal of many nations gathered in majestic union. But all failed; they were deceived, and now they are winning back their right to live by beginning again from the bottom a struggle on primordial lines. Even in South America, the Communist regime begins to undermine the fabric of Brazilian society, while Nazism unravels Argentina's."

"We are left in no doubt where the conviction and sympathies of the free peoples lie; but will they wait until British freedom and independence have succumbed, and then take up the cause when it is three-quarters ruined, yourselves alone? I hear that some are saying in the United States that because England and France have failed to do their duty therefore the American people can wash their hands of the whole business. This may be the passing mood of many people, but there is no sense in it. If things have got much worse, all the more must we try to cope with them together. The remaining forces of civilization; they are overwhelming. If only they were united in a common conception of right and duty, there would be no more war. On the contrary, the German people, industrious, faithful, valiant, but alas! presently lacking in the proper spirit of civic independence, liberated from their present nightmare, would take their place in the vanguard of human society. Alexander the Great remarked that the people of Asia were slaves because they had not learned to pronounce the word 'No.' Let that not be the epitaph of the English-speaking peoples or of Parliamentary democracy, or of France, or of the many surviving liberal States of Europe."

"No, never!" cried several MPs from both Tory and Labour benches.

"There, in one single word, is the resolve which the forces of freedom and progress, of tolerance and good will, should take. It is not in the power of one nation, however formidably armed, still less is it in the power of a small group of men, violent, ruthless men, who have always to cast their eyes back over their shoulders, to cramp and fetter the forward march of human destiny. The preponderant world forces are upon our side; they have but to be combined to be obeyed. We must arm. Britain must arm. America must arm. If, through an earnest desire for peace, we have placed ourselves at a disadvantage, we must make up for it by redoubled exertions, and, if necessary, by fortitude in suffering. We shall, no doubt, arm. Britain, casting away the habits of centuries, and decree national service upon her citizens. The British people will stand erect, and will face whatever may be coming. Of this we can be certain. But arms are not sufficient by themselves. We must add to them the power of ideas. People say we ought not to allow ourselves to be drawn into a theoretical antagonism between Nazism and democracy; but the antagonism is here now. It is this very conflict of spiritual and moral ideas which gives the free countries a great part of their strength. You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police. On all sides they are guarded by masses of armed men, cannons, airplanes, fortifications, and the like - they boast and vaunt themselves before the world, yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words spoken abroad, and of thoughts stirring at home. A little mouse of forbidden thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic. They make frantic efforts to bar our thoughts and words, for they are afraid of the workings of the human mind. Cannons, airplanes, they can manufacture in large quantities; but how are they to quell the natural promptings of human nature, which after all these centuries of trial and progress has inherited a whole armory of potent and indestructible knowledge?"

"So the pen's really mightier than the sword then?" mused Elland.

"Ah, depends on the length of the pen I suppose" said Low.

"Dictatorship - the fetish worship of one man - is a passing phase" continued Churchill. "A state of society where men dare not speak their minds, where children denounce their parents to the police, where a business man or small shopkeeper ruins his competitor by telling tales about his private opinions; such a state of society cannot long endure if brought into contact with the healthy outside world. The light of civilized progress with its tolerance and co-operation has often in the past been blotted out. But I hold the belief that we have now at last got far enough ahead of barbarism to control it, and to avert it, if only we realize what is afoot and make up our minds in time. We shall do it in the end, and we shall prevail. But how much harder our toil for every day's delay! One gentleman accused me of dragging the nation into war. Is this a call to war? Can anyone pretend that preparation for resistance to aggression is unleashing war? I declare it on the contrary to be the sole guarantee of peace. We need the swift gathering of forces to confront not only military but moral aggression; the resolute and sober acceptance of their duty by the free peoples of all nations, great and small, who wish to walk with us. And as we demand their help, let us help ourselves and walk together. Regardless of our differences and of our grievances, our faithful and zealous comradeship would almost between night and morning clear the path of progress and banish from all our lives the fear which already darkens the sunlight to hundreds of millions of men. I daresay that this goal justifies setting aside our quarrels, and I hope that my voice will find an echo in this very House of the British Parliament."

The first applause started on Labour benches, Low noted, as well of course as on the seats occupied by Churchill's Tory friends. But soon, the applause grew louder, as many "National MPs", as Chamberlain's partisans sometimes called themselves, joined the chorus after a quick look to the Leader of the House. Only Mosley ostensibly crossed his arms and turned his head away from Churchill in what Low thought was an acceptable copy of the late Mussolini's old mimics.

Massaging his aching stomach, Chamberlain kept his eyes on Churchill. His old adversary had now returned to his bench, accepting with the expected air of modesty heartfelt handshakes from members who hadn't spoken to him in months.

Chamberlain was no fool - Churchill's had been quite clement to the government, given the circumstances. He had not made any direct attack, and had only appealed to the House of Commons' highest civic and moral senses. Why, he had even extended the olive branch at the end of the speech, which was as good as an offer of service. Now there was a thought. So far Chamberlain had been just as good as Baldwin had been in circumventing Churchill and his little clique. Upon his return from Munich he had even caressed the hope that he could detach some Labour members from their party, seducing them with official positions, like that young McDonald. By offering them the kind of power they could not dream of obtaining through the electoral process, he would durably cripple Labour and broaden his majority to the point he would no longer need to lean on Churchill's friends. Quite the contrary, they would have to make amends with the National Government, or risk to be confined to the sidelines of British politics forever. But now...now! The reports from the British embassy was matched by those of the news services. The Czechoslovak Republic had ceased to exist, occupied by the Wehrmacht and the forces of the breakaway Slovak state. Czechoslovakia was no more, devoured, like Churchill had said, by its German neighbor. Within a few days at best, the annexation would be announced to the world by a triumphant Führer. Given the Nazis' appetite for self-aggrandizing pomp, there soon would not be a man in Britain - or the world - who would ignore the fact that Chamberlain and the French Premier had been duped by Hitler. Chamberlain boiled inside, remembering the endless discussions at the Brown House, the long hours during which Hitler had told an exhausted Chamberlain how much he valued peace, how highly he valued honor.

And that damn Ribbentrop, hanging over my seat like a vulture, parroting his master... The impudence of these men! I gave my word to vulgar criminals, and I kept it. Had I known...

For Neville Chamberlain, a cruel epiphany...​

A sudden pang of pain brought Chamberlain back to the present moment. It was quite sharper than usual these days, he noticed, trying to push aside further thoughts about his health. That's why he had wanted his Munich trip to close the deal with a few ambitious Labour members. That would have been his legacy to his successor: a Conservative party dominating the House of Commons as well as the House of Lords, enjoying a broad majority that would allow any reform to go through, however unpopular. Then he could have ended his term at peace with himself, take some time to write his memoirs and be with his family, and eventually leave this life proud of what he had accomplished. Now its dreams lay shattered. It was quite tempting, of course, to resign. Many of his colleagues probably expected him to do so, and some of them might even be so bold as to suggest it openly. His Majesty, he was certain, would understand if he chose that road. The fiasco of Munich was more than enough to justify taking a new course - his own words, after all - under the guidance of a new Prime Minister. But tempting and logical as that may be, Chamberlain loathed the idea of leaving the stage with his head hung in shame. For starters, he had always planned to propose Lord Halifax as his successor, as the two men had come to appreciate each other, and saw eye to eye in most issues. If Chamberlain left in the wake of the Czechoslovak affair, he knew that would disqualify Halifax as well, for the man had been too central a figure in the Three Powers' conference. Chamberlain was - as had been cruelly exposed - a man of his word, and he hated the idea of dragging his friend into forced retirement with him. He took a deep breath and examined his conscience. Chamberlain enjoyed his power as Prime Minister, but he knew it would not last - the doctors had been quite clear about that, when they had first diagnosed the tumor. He'd have to retire from public life soon, for its daily burden only helped the illness consume his body. It wasn't that he feared admitting failure or responsibility either. From the doctors' embarrassed pontifications Chamberlain had concluded he'd soon enough have to present himself before a higher authority, whose judgment would be more compelling that the Parliament's or the press'. No, most of all, it was rage, a white rage that was shaking him. He had come in good faith to secure peace, to extinguish the fires of conflict. And the man he had dealt with had used him, deceived him, made a fool of him. Resigning now would be handing victory to the likes of Hitler, who could then boast he had made a British government fall just by duping an old, sick man. And that, Chamberlain felt, couldn't be tolerated. Hitler had paid the piper, and he'd see to it that Hitler would face the music.

So, let's count the troops... John and Edward, of course. What other choice would they have anyway? Anderson, perhaps, as well as Maugham. Hoare and Stanhope, certainly. I can probably forget about National Labour, particularly if we embark on a more belligerent stance. National Liberals I can depend upon, with John as my go-between, and Runciman remaining at the head of the Privy Council...

Chamberlain looked at the faces of the members of the House, making the tally of due favors and frustrated ambitions. None of these men could be bought, of course, but many could be swayed, lured or seduced. Now that his moment of glory was decidedly over, he was going to need every favor he could call. That would allow him to go see His Majesty and propose to form a new Cabinet. But there were only so many favors one could grant at any given time, and too many of them were mutually exclusive. Chamberlain tried to read the faces of his colleagues - too many of them, it seemed, had been shaken by Churchill's clever speech. While they could still be brought to support the government, they'd certainly not understand Chamberlain's continued ostracism towards the man they had just applauded.

Just as I thought, he sighed. I have to bring Churchill in.

*****​

Game effects :

Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist; Slovakia is now a German puppet.


Writer's notes :

David Low (our mysterious Mr X of last week) is to me one of the greatest political cartoonists of all times, and one who never resorted to the all-too easy tricks that often befall political caricature. Looking at his cartoons today (a good many of which can be consulted online with a simple Google search), I am struck by the high-mindedness of his pencil strokes. He captured the comedic element of these terrible times, as well as their more tragic dimension. A mere look at his rendering of Himmler's Gestapo descending over Brussels, or his lone Tommy shaking his fist at the stormy skies and shouting defiantly towards the Channel "Very well, alone!" will, I hope, make you share my conviction that his poignant rendering of the 1930s-1940s has lost nothing of its evoking strength. I'll add his work earned him to be banned in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, and that he was among the people to be executed/deported in case of a German occupation of the British Isles. What better credentials does one man need?

Percy Elland was a journalist from the Evening Standard, of which he became an editor in 1952. I only included him to provide me with some dialogue in what would otherwise be a history-book update, laced with some 'real-life character' credibility.

Churchill's speech is a lightly-edited version of the one he gave in the summer of 1938, before Munich. I edited so it would fit its timing in this humble story, and the events and perspectives that belong to this timeline. In his original version, this speech was an appeal to the American people. This Churchill has been handed a golden opportunity by History to spring back onto the front stage, and he's using it not to bring Chamberlain down (which would still be pretty much suicidal in my understanding) but to make sure Chamberlain cannot govern without including him somewhere. BTW, to all readers who can have access to Radio-France broadcasts (in French) : France-Culture has aired last week a series of radio shows about Churchill, reading speeches and letters, and then hosting a debate with British and French historians. France-Culture has the nice habit to air re-runs of its daytime shows at night, so you might catch them. I think they can be downloaded from France-Culture's website as well.

Neville Chamberlain was indeed known for being a cold fish. There's an anecdote about it : his private secretary had arranged an informal chat between Chamberlain and Conservatives MPs, so they could mingle and chat at a more personal level. Apparently the result was appalling: an embarrassing silence that lingered on and on, until the secretary rushed in to send everybody home. Oddly enough, for a man not that skilled in social graces, Chamberlain had a remarkable comprehension of the interaction between politics and media, and can be credited for having been the first British politician to have a real press secretary. He also commanded a lot of clout among Conservatives, many of whom still looked to him for advice and guidance in 1940.

Hebron was rocked by inter-community violence in 1929 and 1936, with Arabs attacking Jews, whose population was quickly rising through immigration. In 1936 the city also saw a major Arab-Palestinian revolt, directed against British forces and, as before, Hebron's Jews. As a result, British troops and Jewish policemen and self-defense groups (of the Haganah) found themselves fighting the rebels. The revolt was finally put down in 1939, with 5,000 Arabs killed, as well as around 250 British soldiers and 300 Jews.

 

[trekaddict]

No thank you very much. I dislike Chamberlain maybe not as much as Halifax, with my hatred for Halifax being somewhat irrational and influenced by a piece of ficiton where he ended up handing the UK to the Nazis which resulted in Germany being turned into a glow-in-the-dark parking lot. (I kid you not, the author stated that everything above 5000 people was nuked.) Chamberlain may have been a bit naive, but at least his desire for peace was sincere.

 

[unmerged(61296)]

No thank you very much. I dislike Chamberlain maybe not as much as Halifax, with my hatred for Halifax being somewhat irrational and influenced by a piece of ficiton where he ended up handing the UK to the Nazis which resulted in Germany being turned into a glow-in-the-dark parking lot. (I kid you not, the author stated that everything above 5000 people was nuked.) Chamberlain may have been a bit naive, but at least his desire for peace was sincere.

Man, you must hate Churchill, then. He planned germ warfare on German cities in real life.

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

Well, Winnie is back, indeed. Countdown till he beheades Chamberlain.

No thank you very much. I dislike Chamberlain maybe not as much as Halifax, with my hatred for Halifax being somewhat irrational and influenced by a piece of ficiton where he ended up handing the UK to the Nazis which resulted in Germany being turned into a glow-in-the-dark parking lot. (I kid you not, the author stated that everything above 5000 people was nuked.) Chamberlain may have been a bit naive, but at least his desire for peace was sincere.

Hate the author, not poor Eddie.

 

[unmerged(61296)]

I'll add pictures tonight so it can be a little easier on the eyes, and I'll also start writing the next update, as news of the German occupation of Prague prompt action in Paris.

 

[trekaddict]

Man, you must hate Churchill, then. He planned germ warfare on German cities in real life.

Quite the opposite. I am Winston's greatest fan this side of the Channel. Whilst I can sort of see his point in certain things/can concede that he was a product of his time and background/or that he simply has different opinions, I can't forgive Appeasement, not with the Nazis.


*waves Federal German Flag*

 

[trekaddict]

Oh btw, your update gave me an idea about the solution of a problem I had in the AAO-verse.