• 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.
Very interesting AAR, I must, however, express my support for Attlee and the Union rather than the Canadian Monarchy.
 
INTERLUDE: POLITICAL FACTIONS IN CIVIL WAR REPUBLICAN BRITAIN

The Federationists

LyWKiti.png


Faction Leader: General Thomas “Tom” Wintringham
Ideology: Revolutionary Syndicalism, Trade Unionism, Utopian Socialism, Moderate Isolationism, Social Conservatism
Faction Colors: Orange, Bright Red
Electoral Affiliation: In Coalition With Bevanite Maximists
General Position on Republican Spectrum: Right-Wing (Traditional Socialism)


Economic Position: Borne from the theories of Ramsay MacDonald’s Labour Party in the 1920s, it is no surprise that the Federationist movement grew ever closer to the Trade Unions throughout the turbulent Mosley years. The Maximist persecution of the Trade Unions failed to demoralize the alliance between the organizations and the political faction, despite zealous indictments from Mosley and his cabal. Although Mosley found the Trade Unions detestable, and frequently outlawed their existence, the Federationist exclusion from the political arena allowed the illicit faction to cooperate with their Union counterparts. Following Mosley’s eviction from power, the former Federationist leader, Arthur Horner, published an economic report entitled The System and the Union: Syndicalism in Britain. Horner’s publication would soon become Wintringham’s economic bible - as well as the Holy Writ of the party. In his work, Horner went to great lengths to clarify the careful coordination of the economy between government specialists and unionized workers. To specify, Horner spelled out the precise balance between Union and Government; a complex cooperative system developed around localized organization. Rather than impose total public ownership, the Syndicalist system would rely on a variation of regional and workplace democracy, intertwined with decentralized confederal socialism. In essence, industrial ownership would be invested into the hands’ of the Trade Union’s workers and management - effectively, a semi-private economy. In addition, deeply embedded into Horner’s new economic theories, was a severe suspicion of centralized government, undoubtedly a reaction to the Mosleyite administration. This vitriolic criticism of the state pushed Horner to the verge of the anarchism, although he never adopted the anarcho-syndicalist views of the French Anarchists.

Social Policy: It is important to note, that among all the political factions in the CTU, the Federationist faction was the persistent defender of traditional social views. They rejected Bohemian and progressive lifestyles, entertained by the London bureaucracy, as too ressemblant of the Aristocracy, and found the slightest whiff of libertine culture as an affront to their Utopian Britain. In addition, the Federationists, alongside their coalition partners, were especially infuriated with the Congregationalists’ radical feminist advances. The faction was an organization very much devoted to the paternalistic lifestyle - and social revolution was not viewed with any glee, unless of course, the matter was money. It is no surprise, therefore, that more conservative members of the CTU came into frequent conflict with the few Congregationalists in the chamber. With the election of female representatives, Trade Unionists, many of them religious, were especially reluctant to give any endorsement to a society that was becoming increasingly fluid to the gentle sex. The faction was, however, more open to systematic legal alterations, such as the abolition of the Death Penalty. These social exceptions, nonetheless, were uncommon among the Federationists - most retained the radical traditionalism of the previous century.

Foreign and Defense Policy: In the 1930s, British politics contained two strains of socialist interpretation as to the Republic’s commitment to the international movement. The Federationists, consumed with their own ambition for Britain, often found cause to neglect the internationalism preached by other parties. Indeed, Federationist sentiment was to forge a utopian socialist republic, not to provide martial aid for the establishment of a global bureaucracy. Arthur Horner and Philip Snowden were infamous for their isolationist convictions, as their careers, and their political loyalties, remained embedded in Britain’s economic progress, not territorial enlargement. Nonetheless, throughout the European War, Federationist delegates provided moderate support towards the war efforts, as their hatred for the German Autocracy extended beyond their contempt for foreign escapades. In general, their support for military expansion and an aggressive foreign policy varied upon their willingness to “share their ideals” with similar countries.


The Congregationalists

u6qZptW.png


Faction Leader: Annie Kenney
Ideology: Luxemburgism, Industrialism, Radical Feminism, Socialist Feminism, Hard Isolationism, Democratic Socialism
Faction Colors: Pink, Dark Pink
Electoral Affiliation: None
General Position on Republican Spectrum: Centre-Left to Soft Left


Economic Position: If there was ever to be produced a sexually egalitarian nation, the Congregationalist faction was determined to achieve that design in a manner most distinctive to the British Isles. Whereas in the Pacific States of America - where the League of Women Voters operated through a policy negotiation or lobby effort - Kenney’s Congregationalists conceived an entire society constructed around the feminist promotion and egalitarian establishment. This production would originate at the financial level, where an entirely new economic establishment would be created to promote a level-ground for the sexes. With an acute admiration for Attlee’s Five Year Plan, the Congregational movement sought to extend the national industrialization to wipe clean former prejudicial occupations. Rather than persuade society into reformation, this radical movement would force the total redevelopment of the economic structure, no matter the initial cost for such a vast recalibration. Although at first this examination would draw comparison to the Maximist position, Kenney’s economic vision was very much self-contained in the Federationist world of Trade Unionism. Congregationalism, however, cannot be defined as original Syndicalism, despite its union ties, as the power of industrialization is firmly invested in public responsibility and state administration.

Social Position: Needless to say, the Congregationalist faction frequently provoked the Republic’s conscience as to the moral righteousness of social progression. Because the faction believes in an aggressive domestic evolution, there are very few issues of the social context that have not been assumed by the Congregationalist’s “manifesto.” Above all, unsurprisingly, was the faction’s devotion to gender equality, extending from the home to the workplace without pause. Far from mendicant concerns, women’s vocalized outcry throughout the 1930s drove the Congregationalist’s support. These issues of contention ranged from domestic abuse (made all the more violent due to the British dependency on alcohol), equal educational opportunities, and a firm redistribution of managerial positions to end workplace discrimination.

Foreign and Defense Policy: Annie Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst infamously advanced female rights through militant tactics, designed to snatch the public’s attention. But although Kenney never conceded her firebrand discourse, the early hints of violent internationalism dimmed throughout the decade. By the breakout of the Second Weltkrieg, the Congregationalists were the most isolationist of the mainstream factions - they opposed the war on all fronts and demanded absolute gender egalitarianism before the pursuit of external conflicts. The faction was especially skeptical of the International, which it viewed as a paternalistic supernation that could not be molded to open their ranks to the opposite sex. Throughout the war, Pankhurst conducted several pacifistic marches - she demanded the termination of the war and the expansion of military service.


The Autonomists

G0lBFlo.png

Faction Leader: Thomas Evan Nicholas (Niclas y Glais)
Ideology: Regionalism, Democratic Socialism, Trade Unionism, Isolationism
Faction Colors: Light Orange
Electoral Affiliation: None
General Position on Republican Spectrum: Centre-Right to Centre-Left

Economic Position: Although the Autonomist fiscal policy can be accurately compared to the Federationist stratagem, the scope of the Autonomist plan was on a uniquely different scale. Unsurprisingly, the regionalist attitude of the faction drove an affiliation towards absolute financial autonomy - England, Wales, and Scotland would appropriate their own funds through independent legislatures. In effect, the United Republic as an institution would be effectively dissolved - with only the bonds of commercial movement and trade as a point of national cooperation. Autonomists believed that the British identity had falsified the Union as an effective force - different regions needed different policies and ideologies to be properly managed. Whereas the Federationist faction offered the Syndicates as the local solution, Glais believed that such Syndicates could only function if they were operated through autonomous, national governments. Their explanation for such a plan was deeply ideological - the English, Scots, and Welsh, according to the Autonomists, were incapable of effective cooperation, particularly in the community Syndicates. In order to maximize the ability of the Trade Unions to produce without delay, these Syndicates would have to be absorbed under the responsibility of an independent English, Scottish, and Welsh government.

Social Policy: Glais’ commitment to Democratic Socialism rarely transversed into the realm of progressive social reform. He was known to have frequent squabbles with Kenney and conventionally followed the Federationist opposition to Congregationalist advances. The factional enmity towards progressivism was not an aberration - the Trade Unions that supported the Autonomists were known to be derisive towards the new social scene. In the 1930s, most laborers were notably conservative in their social views, and found comfort in the Federationist and Autonomist position. Such a reactionary approach was known as the “Blue Labour” position, which defined the Autonomist movement as distinctly tradition in their social vision for the independent states.


Foreign and Defense Policy: As part of their collective manifesto in 1936, the Autonomist faction announced their intention to endorse the creation of independent armed forces - subject to the directive of each devolved nation. Leading Autonomists believed that this implementation would expedite the deterioration of a British bond - putting them in sharp conflict with the Maximist priorities. For this reason, nationalists and regionalists pressured moderate opposition to the Second Weltkrieg, as they believed participation would only consolidate the British identity. Opposition to the war in Wales became especially prominent - disillusioned Welsh regionalists and Scottish nationalists itched for a British departure from the conflict and a return to the internal considerations of the pre-Mosley period.


“Liberal” (or) Bevanite Maximists

ugKtBcU.png


Faction Leader: Aneurin “Nye” Bevan and Ernest Bevin
Ideology: Soft Authoritarian Socialism, Elitism, British Nationalism, Industrialism, Civil Justice
Faction Colors: Light Red
Electoral Affiliation: In Coalition
General Position on Republican Spectrum: Soft Left to Left-Wing


Economic Position: The legacy of Oswald Mosley’s rulership remained a contentious image in Republican politics throughout the Civil War. While many factors of his administration were abandoned by his more moderate successors, Mosley’s commitment to a manufacturing powerhouse was retained by the Maximist brood. The Liberal Maximists, long the solitary thorn in Mosley’s side, inherited the late leader’s admiration for this industrial concept. But they differed with more extreme Maximist convictions, prominently on the issue of Trade Unions, which the Bevanites found useful on a regulated scale. Nonetheless, Maximist connections to public sector bureaucrats made the promotion of a nationalized economy far easier to develop - in stark contrast to the Revolutionary Syndicalism of the Federationists.

Social Position: Bevanite Maximist’s’ greatest distinction from other Maximist factions was unquestionably their stance on social concerns. If the reader will recall, early divisions between Mosley and Ernest Bevin in 1938 over civil rights was the divisive catalyst in Mosley’s constitutional takeover. Although the Liberal Maximists preferred political operations through closed cabinets, the faction vociferously opposed government actions that injured the social stability of British citizens. While state surveillance and random imprisonments were not deemed inappropriate, other infringements, such as total press censorship and undue levies were viewed with suspicion. This strange, almost hypocritical social stance - was the most visible product of the Bevanite’s connection to the London elite. Most concerns that bothered the Maximist party-class were perceived as immediate and urgent problems that had to be solved with expediency. Meanwhile, impoverished Manchester workers were subject to frequent government abuses as focus shifted towards the bureaucratic orgy in the capital. This policy made the Maximist faction extraordinarily unpopular in the North - yet this loss was compensated by patriotic support in the South of England.

Foreign and Defense Policy: Bevanite Maximists were enthusiastic supporters of the European War, perceiving victory as the first step towards a Marxist supranational alliance. Although they were not explicitly internationalist, Liberal Maximists were militant interventionists and believed that the great class revolution was underway. This spirit transcended into the realm of British Nationalism - one of the great public boons of the Maximist faction. Many monarchists, residing in the English countryside, found cause to celebrate the Maximist ideology as Mosley transformed the party into a fiercely patriotic organization. As noted before, modern historians claim that Mosley’s victory in the 1936 CTU elections was a product of his outspoken British nationalism - an ideological component that was carried on by his Bevanite successors.


“Moderate” (or) Attleeite Maximists

oZfciwd.png


Faction Leader: Clement Attlee
Ideology: Authoritarian Socialism, State Socialism, Planned Economy, Pragmatism
Faction Colors: Red
Electoral Affiliation: In Coalition
General Position on Republican Spectrum: Left-Wing


Economic Position: In 1938, Attleeite Maximists were designated as “Moderate Maximists” by Bevan’s vast newspaper press. The designation is somewhat misleading, as it implies that Attlee and his supporters were more radical than Bevan’s “Liberal Maximists.” In truth, Bevan’s brand of politics was certainly more radical, but the principles he defended were perceived to be more acceptable and centrist than Attlee’s policies, chiefly in regards to the economy. Attlee, by no stretch, was an intensely ideological man - his vision for the Republic was vague, yet far more practical than the ambiguous clutter of Bevan’s policies. Generally, Attleeite Maximists rejected the Trade Unions and any degree of independent ownership, finding the planning of the Five Year Plan far more effective than the system proposed by Syndicalism. But Attleeite’s were also more inclined to support public service investment, such as a universal plan for healthcare, which still had yet to be achieved due to London bureaucratic and Bevanite opposition. Public ownership, from the Attleeite perspective, was viewed not with distrust, but open salutation. As a result, all legislation relating to the Five Year Plan became an enthusiastic point of support by the faction.

Social Position: In 1939, the Moderate Maximists were a faction that was consumed by the search for efficiency in all quarters of life. In economics, Attleeites sought great mechanized facilities, to produce with modern charge and shatter the distinction between the urban world and the rural countryside. In government, Attleeites were no different - they were moderately concerned with the vastness and inefficiency of the London bureaucracy, but found it to be a useful tool when properly managed. In order to secure a cohesive administration, Attleeites operated through executive decisions, and (as with other Maximists), were unsupportive of the CTU’s legislative power. Although the central committee was viewed, during the Mosley years, as too extreme, Moderate Maximists were comfortable with its usage and were never ultimately repulsed by its authoritarian nature. Perhaps most controversially, the Attleeite support for the mass interment was fundamental for its Mosleyite backing - authoritarian methods were perceived as necessary in order to secure the success of the Five Year Plan. Attlee’s apathy towards the prisoners, and his role as the architect of the FYP, made him quite the figure of disdain by Royalists - who were disgusted by the abuses imposed by the London government. On matters of civil rights and social justice, Attleeites generally supported whatever measure that ensure that their own methods of economic imposition were not affected, usually to the detriment of those progressive motions.
Foreign and Defense Policy: See Bevainte Position - Identical


“Traditional” (or) Mosleyite Maximists

Faction Leader: None - Undergound
Ideology: Totalism, Planned Economy, Marxism, Militarism, British Nationalism
Faction Colors: Dark Red
Electoral Affiliation: Outlawed
General Position on Republican Spectrum: Far-Left


Economic Position: Oswald Mosley’s economic vision is one familiar to most Maximists - an industrial Britain that could transform the world’s industrial balance and empower the Socialist Internationale to crush the capitalist residue. Mosley’s fanatical support for the Five Year Plan exceeded enthusiasm for any other policy. This encouragement from the Chairman allowed the FYP to proceed untarnished through its implementation, despite several calls for reconsideration from the Maximist ranks. But Mosley’s belief in the FYP was vindicated, as Attlee’s industrial plan transformed the nation into a potential superpower, with an industrial army prepared to fight in Europe. A clutter of events, from Mosley’s execution, and the prohibition of Totalism in the CTU by Lawrence, forced Mosley’s remaining supporters to continue their operations underground. Nonetheless, the Mosleyite contingency did not withdraw their support for the Republic, and continued to preach Totalism as the economic solution throughout the conflict.


Social Policy: Totalism, or Totalitarian Socialism, is the ideological center of the Mosleyite faction. Whereas other factions painted futuristic vignettes of perfected societies, Mosley’s brand of Socialism believed the national transmutation could only be implemented through a transitional period of ruthless Authoritarian rule. All boundaries between public and private life had to be broken down, and analyzed by the central government, in order to efficiency root out traitors and preserve order as the Revolution globalized. Beneath the external calm of Mosleyite politicians, dwell a deep suspicion of public upheaval - a fear that they believed could materialize and threaten the revolutionary progress. The labyrinthine that Mosley developed in surveillance and interment infuriated millions, but ensured that their obedience was unconditional. Mosley justified his actions through claims that the authoritarian measures ensured Britain’s preservation as a stable Republic. Despite this undoubtable misgiving, remnant Mosleyites continue to hold Totalism in high regard, and yearn for the eventual restoration.


Foreign and Defense Policy: See Above Positions - Identical

 
Federationist, Congregationalist, Maximist, whatever, all are traitors to the Crown.
 
Hang on: Bevan is against the NHS? I know this timeline isn't exactly a strict recount of history, but that strikes me as somewhat out of character for him.
 
Hang on: Bevan is against the NHS? I know this timeline isn't exactly a strict recount of history, but that strikes me as somewhat out of character for him.

Yes, alternate history, alternate views. For example, I've previously made Orwell accepting of totalitarian rulership in necessary circumstances, a position he would never have adopted in our OTL. There are a couple examples of this type of switching, especially when a character's ideological upbringing is distorted by alternative events.
 
Is this still alive?
 
I wouldn't worry just yet. Three weeks between updates is nothing. ;)
 
Is this still alive?

I wouldn't worry just yet. Three weeks between updates is nothing. ;)

Of course this is still alive! :p

Unfortunately, a bit of a delay; I tore just about every thing in my knee playing Football and had surgery today, so we'll have to wait through the recovery period.
 
  • 1
Reactions:
Federationist, Congregationalist, Maximist, whatever, all are traitors to the Crown.

I concur. Glory be to Lawrence.

Hang on: Bevan is against the NHS? I know this timeline isn't exactly a strict recount of history, but that strikes me as somewhat out of character for him.

Indeed, though compared to Totalist Attlee it isn't that much of a stretch. :p

Nice (if unoriginal) political interlude. With so many factions and political groups coming and going, it's always useful to have a bit of clarification as to where each one stands. :)
 
  • 1
Reactions:
DfsSGPV.png


In just under a month, Britain had been to hell and back again. Over a million soldiers marauded the English countryside, and familial bonds were being ripped at the seams. The population density of the nation only intensified the calamity, as partisan divides in the communal setting frequently sparked violence, even in relatively isolated villages. Whereas patriotic performances of Sir Edward Elgar’s Pomp And Circumstance could be heard but weeks before, now French bombers screeched across the Stygian sky and unloaded blockbuster bombs onto Blake’s Jerusalem. Already, sixty-thousand graves had been dug -- and more lifeless corpses were being hurriedly dumped into their bleak resting place. England was ablaze, and there was little refuge from the chaos. Evelyn Waugh, an Anglo-Canadian exile and Royalist officer, famously described the scene as “quite uncomfortable.” Aside from the constant artillery barrages, such a description was certainly not unjustified -- both the Royalist and Republican governments were quick to implement a rationing of bacon, butter, sugar, meat, jam, biscuits, cheese, eggs, lard, milk, canned fruit, and of course, tea. The swift transition of territory from consecutive offensives had convinced the nation that the war was not to be a simple rebellion, but a prolonged endeavor.

u0xlGMv.jpg

Rationing lines became a social norm in both the Republic and the United Kingdom.


The Republican High Command was not so gloomy in their operational strategy. Attlee’s industrial mobilization had driven Lord Stonehaven to defeat and stalled a reinforcement army under another martial exile, Sir Robert Brooke-Popham. Additionally, General Auchinleck’s planned offensive against London had been ruined by Anglo-Franco bombers. Wintringham and Montgomery believed, with conviction, that their fortunes had been reversed - and victory was within grasp. Indeed, so great was their numerical advantage, that the Royalist Army would have to score a victory like Marathon to survive through the month. But their optimism was unsubstantiated, as the Republican Army was not prepared to match an escalation of the Canadian commitment. The Canadian General Staff, directed by General Ernest Ashton, was enthusiastic in their devotion to King Edward’s ambitious conquest. The Staff pledged fourteen divisions, many of them British exiles, and hundreds of bombers to a transaction of control. Although the “gift” would not equalize the numerical imbalance, the reinforcements would be enough to stabilize the Royalists’ crumbling defensive frontier. When, with impeccable timing, the transport planes and ships shored alongside the Cornish coast, railroad and transporter cars were already present for relocation. The Canadians and their British allies were pulled to the front lines and placed under the command of the respective local authority - most likely a chain command under Auchinleck, Popham, Stonehaven, or Alexander. If the arrival was a relief to the officers, it was certainly a salvation to Prince Henry. The Duke of Gloucester had gambled the Royalist position on his initial offensive, and had paid a costly price. Indeed, Royalist industries remained vulnerable to strategic bombers, and the vastly powerful French Airfleet threatened to tear apart the regal lines at a moment’s notice.

The Royalist High Command, colloquially known as the “Princely Triumvirate” -- The Duke of Gloucester (Henry), Lord York (George), and Lord Mountbatten (Louis) -- concluded that the national preservation depended on the importation of aerial and naval expertise. Without appropriate experience to counteract William Benn’s vast Air Force and Fred Copeman’s Navy, all hope of sustaining supply lines and coastal ports would be lost. The status quo, therefore, was unsustainable. The Duke of York was especially uneasy about the Royal Air inferiority, and pushed the Cabinet to permit foreign volunteers into the Armed Forces. This proposition was somewhat controversial, as Mackinder was reluctant to welcome Yankee volunteers after New England Vice President Joseph Kennedy remarked “Democracy is finished in England.” This was nothing to say of the American Union State, which was still embroiled in the Civil War and disinclined to interventionism in Europe. Nonetheless, the Foreign Minister conceded his reservations and placed the foreign encouragement program under his protégé, Anthony Eden. With help from Lord Beaverbrook’s media empire in New England, and Lord Devonshire's popularity in Russia and National France, the program quickly attracted Russian, American, and French volunteers to the cause. Eden’s program was not popular among the nationalists, however, and Lord Stonehaven frequently complained that the program diluted the fierce patriotism necessary to triumph over the Syndicalists. Modern historians, in spite of traditional objections, concede that the Foreign Legion provided an imperative injection of military veterans -- experienced soldiers that were desperately needed for the Air Force and the front line.

B3aoRBa.jpg

American recruits in the 'Eagle Squadron,' a component division of the Foreign Legion.

Colonel Sir Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet -- the famed figure of the Sykes-Picot Agreement - arrived in England in March with special orders from His Majesty. Canadian intelligence had been informed that Colonel Harold Nicolson, a Royal-sleeper and a Republican officer, had apprehended Lawrence just sixty-miles from the frontline. Nicolson, himself a former Mosleyite, was previously renknown as Lawrence’s military favorite. But Lawrence’s defection had, rightly so, also brought Nicolson under suspicion. Republican special forces, with direct orders from Ian Fleming, had been ordered to relieve Nicolson of his command and reproduce him in London. But the chaos of the conflict had provided Nicolson the opportunity to evade his substitution, citing “Royalist maneuvers” as his excuse for noncooperation. When, at last, Fleming’s order for apprehension was made -- Nicolson deserted the army. Unable to cross into the United Kingdom, Nicolson and former RED operatives commenced a search and rescue mission for Lawrence, who was believed to be concealed in East Oxfordshire. Nicolson’s search was unintentionally aided by Field Marshall Kirke’s military repositioning. As the Republican Army organized itself to deliver a decisive blow against the Royalists, Nicolson shuffled East, where he operated essentially as a mobilized paramilitary. Isolated skirmishes against conscripted trade-unions and moving units did not dissuade his operation, but Nicolson suffered from a great deficiency of information. After four days in the English countryside, a Royalist operative informed Nicolson that Lawrence was believed to be in Manchester, perhaps preparing to flee to the neutral Netherlands.

As the RED units moved North, effortlessly blending into the populace without notice, Nicolson relayed several key informative points to Trevor-Roper’s intelligence agency. Most importantly, the Colonel informed Royalist officers that Kirke’s planned offensive had a vulnerability: Republican troops were dispersed and unorganized in Cheshire, where General Cunningham’s force was positioned. In order to exploit this vulnerability, Lord Stonehaven and the V Royal Corps led an indirect approach against deploying Republican divisions in and outside Birmingham. For the first week, Royalist troops poked and creamed dense Republican positions with superior firepower, before advancing with Canadian Anti-Aircraft guns. Republican General Brooke, seriously outnumbered, attempted to counterattack Stonehaven’s assault with a brazen ambush in Wolverhampton. But Stonehaven’s deployment of the Royalists’ pauca sed bona armored divisions was the decisive finale, smashing through the Republican lines in Birmingham and effectively ending the Republican ambition at landing a fatal blow by means of a Welsh invasion. General Cunningham was now set up for defeat, but Lord Stonehaven hesitated, and waited nearly four days before he ordered his ten reserve divisions in the suburb of Deeside to launch an attack at Chester -- only five miles outside the Republican lines. During the evening of April Fools, the Royalists made their first maneuver towards Chester - only to find that almost half of the Republican Army had evacuated the entire Manchester/Liverpool area, believing attacks from Birmingham and Chester would be too much to sustain with comfort. The other half of the Republican Army slowly pulled back to the comfortable defense lines of Sheffield and Lincolnshire, departing Manchester on the 10th of April.

FIpT9Ot.jpg

Lord Stonehaven's armored divisions proved to be the decisive component in the Battle of Birmingham,

Little did the Royalist General Staff know that the action in Manchester was merely a distraction by Kirke. With Royalist troops just a few miles south of the Thames, Bevan had pressured Wintringham and Kirke to launch a major offensive to isolate the Royalist garrisons alongside the Southern coastline. Bevan was particularly under pressure to pull the Republican government to Edinburgh, but his own conscience was vehemently repulsed by this motion, as the relocation would have conceded the Maximist constituency to the Royalists and would empower Wintringham’s untrustworthy supporters in the North. Aneurin expressed to Attlee his intent to secure the capital from any unexpected Royalist seizure by an adoption of offensive measures. Kingsley Martin, the editor of the New Statesmen, made damning accusations in reaction to Bevan’s procedures:

“Mr. Bevan has made it his objective to fight a subjective war. He has taken little effort to protect the Northern heartlands for he is all too willing to allow General Wintringham’s constituents to fall beneath the Royalist boot. And he has exerted all his efforts to protect his own Maximist constituents, primarily in London, through actions that imply the Chairman is fighting a “selective war.”’


fs85fYN.jpg

Nye Bevan gives a speech before the Trade Union Congress, planning general objectives for the war.

As pernicious media critiques intensified, Bevan found himself more and more in need of a scrap of triumph - a Verdun would have satisfied the Republican leader. No matter the result, the threat of appearing phlegmatic was intolerable. But not a day had gone by before the irascible Lord Stonehaven had reared his head towards Oxfordshire and again infuriated the Republican General Staff. The V Royal Corps had set up an artillery battery in Warwick, and wasted no time in shelling the two Republican infantry divisions outside Oxford. General Kirke, eager to please the bellicose Bevan, ignored the imminent attack on Oxford, and set his vision on the sizable coastal force at Southampton. Two militia divisions, two garrison divisions, and two infantry divisions -- layered along the English coastline -- were the perfect target to land a garish victory. Lt. Geberal Studholme-Brownrigg warned General Auchinleck that his likely defeat outside Portsmouth would strand the entire I Royal Corps in Dover. Auchinleck was frantic about a possible fiasco -- and urged Prince Henry to permit a swift withdrawal to reinforce Brownrigg in Southampton. But Prince Henry had devised a master plan -- a strategy which he withheld from everyone except George and Lord Mountbatten. The General Staff intended to finagle themselves to victory, playing off Kirke’s missed cues and neglected opportunities.


After rushed meetings and memos, the II and the V Royal Corps, armed with 100,000 soldiers and dozens of armored units, began their rushed march towards Oxford on April 11th, under the cover of Stonehaven’s artillery barrages. The Republican divisions detached from their positions in Oxford and entrenched themselves several miles north of the city -- preparing for open combat with the Royalists. The following day, a Canadian squadron of Hurricanes drove back a contesting fleet of Republican fighters. The battle secured aerial dominance for the Royalists and allowed the II and the V Corps to attempt a direct assault on the Republican army. But the outgunned Republican force did not concede their positions, and built a quaint but effective structure of defenses that included a barricade of Ordance QF 2-pounders. The V Royal Corps came within several hundred meters of exploiting a breach, but were so bloodied by the engagement that the entire Corps and all encompassing divisions fled nearly three miles. The II Corps had more success, and established a garrisoned position with close proximity and enough cover to avoid the Republican artillery. The V Corps returned on April 12th with heavy artillery, which were lined alongside the II Corps’ occupying line.

sQ1HuYv.jpg

Republican troops maneuvering in the Battle of Oxfordshire.

As noon approached on that glaring day, the Canadian Fairey Swordishes and Hurricanes returned to the battlefield and unleashed the most tremendous aerial assault of the war. The entire Republican force was showered in the smoke of raging fires - lost among the thick cloud of soot. Without a moment of Republican response, an armored and three infantry divisions from Bristol, encompassing the X Royal Corps, stormed into Oxford, covered by the dense fog. While local firefighters tried rushed to try and put out a massive fire at “The New Oxford University,” the X Corps attacked the Republican positions from the south and encircled the entire Republican Corps. It was not long after that a shower of artillery fire and bombs trickled over the Republican force, which tried desperately to ward off the impending attack with a spray of their own artillery fire. The strategy failed tremendously, as infantry squadrons retreated back towards the local HQ with fewer and fewer men. Terrified local officers began to plot their exit, devising a concentrated breach attack to poke a hole through the Royalist encirclement and save the integrity of the army.

NdNOUU6.jpg

Canadian Hurricanes prepare to fire on Republican targets during the battle.


Unaware of the intensifying disaster outside Oxford, Kirke initiated his own offensive against Portsmouth. The Field Marshall intended to launch a lightning strike from the Thames, while a series of French parachute divisions would occupy the ports. From there, Republican troops would hurry into London and commence the siege of Auchinleck’s army in Dover. On April 12th, the XXV Royalist Corps reported unknown enemy fire, citing a possible air strike; in fact, the French Groupe de Chasse 1 and 2 had thwarted a Royalist bombing run on London and were laying waste to the infrastructure of Portsmouth. That same day, Kirke’s Army in London crossed the Thames and attacked Basingstoke. Two Royalist infantry divisions rushed to the town to contest Kirke’s assault, while the remaining two divisions of the XXV Corps garrisoned Portsmouth and Southampton, respectively. The thin composition of the XXV Corps allowed the French parachutes more versatility in their landing - establishing ground control just outside of the Hampshire Woodlands and Hayling Island. Determined to prevent the first French invasion of mainland Britain in over 130 years, Royalist officers concentrated their forces across North Lake and destroyed Langstone Bridge to prevent the parachutes from crossing into Portsmouth. But the Royalists had failed to secure the western crossing across Loch Lake -- French troops either swam the 500 feet or hijacked local fisher ships to cross the strait. Having opened up their flank, the Royalist troops sprinted several miles around the coastline to protect the city, only to find that the French were marching down the Portsmouth streets with an HQ at the University. The Royalists resolved to withdraw from Portsmouth and make the long journey to Southampton, where the second division could be warned of the impending strike. Little did they know that during the afternoon, a second French parachute brigade had landed in Totton and were pressed in a fierce firefight with the Southampton defenders.


Meanwhile, Kirke’s main army was storming over the XXV’s counter-offensive towards Basingstoke. Whereas the Republicans in Oxford had made good use of anti-tank weaponry, the Royalist divisions were undersupplied and lacked efficient anti-armoured guns -- the result being an unending armored advance into Royalist lines. A single tank squadron would smash through any opposition, while infantry support filtered behind the guarding defenses. Not to mention that Kirke’s army enjoyed powerful French air support and heavy artillery in Basingstoke. The ingenuous strategies of the Royalist officers failed to prevent their catastrophic confrontation with Kirke. With the threat of extirpation, the forward divisions broke apart and wrenched themselves westward, in a flagrant admission of defeat. Kirke had no intention of pursuing the foe -- and rolled onward to suppress any resistance to the French offensive. There was no real need for intervention; the French divisions had forced the Southampton fighters to run to Exeter, while the Portsmouth division surrendered without a hint of intransigence. Kirke’s little operation appeared to have been a great success: 117,000 troops under Auchinleck were trapped in Dover, with a great labyrinthine of defenses protecting Kirke’s western flank from any attempted counterattack. But Kire had only flaunted his obtuse comprehension of war, in spite of the triumphant declarations in the London newspapers. He had forgotten about Oxford.


Kirke’s departure from London had deprived the Oxford defenders of a key injection of reserve soldiers and artillery. The one possible army capable of breaking through the Royalist encirclement was now dozens of miles to the south, and far too concerned with a coastal campaign. Acts of effrontery illustrated the possibility of a Republican mutiny -- obduracy was now pointed against Republican officers, not just Royalist regiments. The incendiary mood added to the sense of desperation; a sentiment that the worried Republicans sought to exploit. On April 15th, the Republican army launched an irate concentrated attack on the city itself. The very rage of the attack proved enough to poke a small aperture in the Royalist line. Divisions poured through the gap like water in a punctured dam, and streamed to London in a full rout. Casualties were extremely high, but the Royalists had failed to force a general surrender -- a slight piece of aggravating failure amid the victory. Triumph in Oxford meant that seven divisions were now within striking range of London and Portsmouth. But the Royalists had no intention of spilling their operational tactics, and pretended to pursue the fleeing Republicans with sporadic bombing runs and squadron ambushes.


3cYx1jk.gif

A Republican troop fires at Royalist squadrons during the successful Republican retreat to London,


Prince Henry plotted to attenuate Kirke’s divisions with a four pronged attack from Oxford, Exeter, and Dover, and the Channel. The Third Canadian Fleet warded off any French challengers and positioned itself just a mile beyond the shore, taunting the thinned Republican army with random salvos. Meanwhile, the defeated divisions in Exeter shuffled themselves back to the frontline, while Auchinleck moved his frontal divisions to support the Exeter attack. Now aware that his much lauded offensive was nothing more than a transient pyrrhic victory, Kirke’s vagary became the primary instinct of his subsequent actions. Without tarry or warning, on April 18th, Kirke attacked the recently defeated divisions that had taken refuge in Exeter and were preparing to attack Portsmouth. Not but an hour later, another French parachute division landed outside the Royalist capital in Plymouth. The potential for a ubiquitous Royalist disaster was now very possible, but the Republican offensive had drastically underestimated the mechanics of the planned Royalist attack. All divisions in Exeter, Oxford, and Dover were already battle ready - so by the time of the Republican offensive, the Royalists could quickly snap their own plan into action. General Vincent Massey of the defeated Plymouth XXV Corps retaliated against Kirke’s incursion on April 19th, with General Henry Wilson and Mj. General Alfred Goodwin-Austin in Oxfordshire providing infantry and artillery support. General Auchinleck lined his own troops along the West Sussex border and attacked Republican positions in Hampshire. Kirke’s position had become unsustainable, and without communication from the French parachute division (which had quickly surrendered to three Plymouth militia divisions), he began to peel away his forces. Within a day, the Republican armies were in full rout from the Portsmouth area -- Kirke’s major offensive had failed, and now, London was in danger.


Battle of the Brookes

The unpropitious advances of the Republican army had now failed to provide the security that Bevan demanded. Under pressure from Maxton and Attlee, Bevan finally succumbed to Wintringham’s suggestions: the government was rapidly relocated from London to Edinburgh. Many in London believed the remotion was Bevan’s official concession of London, but Nye had no real intention of forfeiting his largest constituency. If an assault from the front line would not vanquish his opponents, than an assault from the Republican heartland would have to suffice. General Alan Brooke prepared, on Bevan’s request, a major charge into Royalist Manchester -- a frenzied attempt to stave off any Royalist troop commitment towards London. But in the Royalist cabinet there was no room for dormancy towards Manchester. Brooke-Popham (not to be confused with the opposing General Alan Brooke) was made commanding officer of the XI Royal Corps, the largest army stationed in North West England, in order to stave off General Brooke’s planned three-pronged attack. Brooke-Popham would need to rely on his tactical ingenuity, for his odds were not favorable. In total, the Republicans planned their attack with 18 divisions -- a remarkable 250,000 soldiers. Indeed, the full weight of Attlee’s Five Year Plan was now to be deployed before General Brooke-Popham. Comparatively, the Royalist forces in Manchester and Liverpool numbered around 143,000, with potential reinforcements along the front line border of Birmingham, Bristol, and Portsmouth.

Royalist forces from the victorious battle in Portsmouth were now streaming back to defend the front lines from Republican skirmishes -- mere distraction tactics. The Republicans intended to exhaust the Royalist forces in Middle and Southern England until General Brooke could break through the Manchester defense and again open the Northern Wales and Birmingham front. On April 21st, the first Republican forces from Lancaster, Leeds, and Sheffield crossed into North West England. Whereas his Royalist predecessors had failed in defending Manchester and Liverpool by partitioning their forces into defensive lines, Brooke-Popham almost dared the Republicans to fight his entire army in Manchester. His foes did not decline his invitation -- Republican troops were in Bolton, Rochdale, and Hyde in the blink of an eye. General Brooke believed that his force in Bolton could avoid engagement and hurry towards Warrington and box in the entire Royalist army. An encirclement of that size, Brooke believed (and likely correctly so) could end the entire war. But Brooke never got his chance to attack; former RED operatives had discovered his plan. But more so, they had discovered Nicholson in Bolton. They had discovered Lawrence.

Bolton was no longer a battle of subtle motions -- it was, in effect, an operation to save the leader of the rebellion: the absentee Prime Minister. Brooke-Popham motioned nearly half of his Manchester army to quickly bat away the incoming Republican attackers. The General, however, conceded nearly half of the Manchester suburbs as a consequence -- with Brooke’s army from Leeds bearing down on the Royalist army. “Petty affairs!” Brooke-Popham declared that same day to his staff. Lawrence had indeed been rescued by Nicholson, on Sykes’ directive. But Lawrence, wounded from his German adventures and persistent bombings, had been trapped in Republican Oxfordshire during the battle. Nicholson had smuggled him North through the Republican frontier, until the Colonel had arrived in Republican Bolton. The duo were never able to cross the border of battle -- RED support was required for proper extraction. Instead, Lawrence and Nicholson got five Royalist divisions -- and a battle over Bolton. When, at last, they were rescued, both were secretly airlifted to hospital; their rescue made silent for the duration of the battle.

Brooke-Popham returned the bulk of his army to Manchester on the 22nd of April, just as his six garrisoned divisions endured a hailstorm of artillery shells and armoured offensives. But Brooke-Popham still refused to counter-attack into Hyde or Oldham, perceptibly aware that any offensive into the suburbs would expose a numerical disadvantage. He preferred, instead, to dragoon the Republicans into an urban brawl -- a maneuver to abate the Republican numerical dominance. General Brooke took the bait, as Republican tanks pushed into Manchester proper. But confronted with the “Boyes” in narrow corridors, Republican tanks were enfeebled from mass assault and compelled to defend themselves from a maneuverable infantry corps. Popham’s tanks, meanwhile, were rolling towards Stockport, where the Royalists intended to stretch Brooke’s lines southwards. The ploy achieved operational accomplishment as the Republican ranks pruned, while simultaneously maintaining the same confinement of engagement. Even so, the Royalist ranks were buckled down in urban conflict and unable to hold a consistent barrier against the superior Republican force. With more and more Republican units streaming into the city, the elasticity of the urban Royal fighting force was all but set to snap. Popham, however, understood that his victory depended not on his own forces, but the maneuvers of the southern armies. To preserve his army, and prevent a rout, Popham deployed a sweep of Fabian tactics -- all in the general pursuit of delaying the opposition.


k7VpA42.jpg

Royalists defend Manchester from incoming Republican forces.


The delay tactic was all that Popham ever needed to utilize. Prince Henry ordered the II Royal Corps (Oxford), the X Royal Corps (Oxford), and the V Royal Corps (Warwickshire), to attack all unoccupied portions of East Midlands. The Republican Army in Lincoln (the primary force in the East Midlands) had streamed its own forces to the fight in Manchester, and had left all but three divisions to face the brunt of Stonehaven’s army. The Second Battle of Lincoln was no contest; the Republicans crumbled under the weight of nearly 200,000 soldiers. Troops from Manchester hurried back into Lincoln, conceding Manchester to Popham, only to find that their entire army was routed back towards Sheffield. But Stonehaven’s scamper to the East Midlands had been careless and overzealous, exposing the southern Oxford front to a combined Internationale army in Norfolk. General Wilson was again forced to concede the entirety of Oxfordshire while under pressure from a cabal of rather shrewd French officers. Stonehaven was publicly adulated for his maneuver -- a maneuver that had divided the Republic into two. In private, however, Wilson cursed Stonehaven for killing thousands of Royalists through his reckless pursuit of Lincoln. Nonetheless, Stonehaven’s attack had relieved Popham, spliced the Republic, and provided the Royalists with a reinforced army in the East Midlands.[1]


To the Thames


Prime Minister Lawrence was introduced to the public on the 1st of May, 1939. The man appeared a tenuous shell, compared to his vivified personage during the European War. But Lawrence had lost little of his mental spirit, and announced to the distraught Plymouth crowds…

“Our persecution of the present conflict shall be the most principled stance that we shall pursue in our lifetimes. There is no greater cause than the defense of our ancient liberties, no greater rejection than of those opposing tyrants -- let us take no lull from this pursuit of freedom.”


Lawrence’s survival was, however, just as much of a coup for the Republicans as for the Royalists. Eric Blair, encouraged by the Republican authorities, emerged from his retirement and began a vociferous campaign against Lawrence. He wrote, the following morning after Lawrence’s speech:

Edward’s crown is that of ancient violations. But Mr. Lawrence’s betrayal is that of a surreptitious liar. His unranked status makes his actions all the more a cause of treason against the class of his brethren. [2]

The very content of Blair’s work and Lawrence’s mortal continuation gave the Republican’s a much needed demonic villain.


Contrary to the propagandists attitude, however, Bevan was furious, and rightly so. Perhaps the thought of his possible entrapment in Southern England (which he had escaped the previous month) struck a nerve. Or, more likely, the consideration that the existence of the Union now depended on some few valiant Southern Maximists, some ‘dirty’ Northern Federationists, or some French, provided a source of serious disturbance. Bevan was a man of independent mind and character, and thus, his dependence on Wintringham’s constituents enraged his own personal impulses. He clamoured for an exit -- another triumph to restore the Republican advantage. But the truth was nothing but further from cushy news: the Royalists had attacked London. On the 2nd of May, Auchinleck and Massey launched a paced offensive on the large Republican army in London. Field Marshall Kirke hurried to the general defense of London, which now came under the fate of great aerial skirmishes between Canadian and French fighters. The rumbling of anti-aircraft guns thundered the night sky, while artillery shells bounced off city buildings.

Lawrence believed that Auchinleck could prevent a French terrestrial intervention on the urging of Dunois’ by seizing the port exit of the London waterways: Medway. If the wetlands could be secured, and suitable artillery placed alongside the coast[3], both supplies and troops would be forced to come from the precarious aerial front. Meanwhile, Massey would move his force to Weybridge and establish a foothold on the least consistent aquatic portion of the Thames, allowing easy movement across both sides of the river. When the operation commenced, Kirke localized his forces into several corps - and ordered each corps as a rapid regional defense unit with swift assistance from its immediate neighbor. At the same time, two Republican divisions seized Redhill and Crawley - splitting the I Royal Corps and the XXV Corps. Kirke believed that if the two Royalist Corps were dissuaded from a battlefield amalgamation, the Republican army could pick apart the separate sides. But Kirke’s strategy depended on more than a shrewd local operation; Republican pressure would need to be applied to the Royalist line in the East Midlands. Furthermore, General Cunningham would have to be successful in an ongoing northern defense in Sheffield. If a supply route could not be forced open, the French would be compelled to commit their air force to supply Smith’s divisions. This was very much opposed by Marshall Antoine de Saint-Exupery -- the Chair of the French Air Staff -- on the grounds of potential conflict with the powerful Canadian air force. Nonetheless, the increasing French participation, advocated by Makhno and Montgomery, was an inarguable inevitability. Therefore, what the French provided in aeroplanes, the Royalists would have to compensate in Anti-Aircraft weaponry and shrewd positioning.


s9qDJ4C.jpg

The Royal Canadian Air force patrols Auchinleck's position from French fighters.

Fighting in the East Midlands commenced on the 5th of May, while General Booker-Popham pushed into Yorkshire the same afternoon. The following morning, the X and II Royal Corps launched a surprise attack against Oxfordshire, completing the Tetrarchy Offensive. Meanwhile, outside London, Auchinleck vanquished a Republican attack from Dartford and occupied the town. Royalists utilized the recently completed Dartford Crossing to cross the river, while other divisions continued downstream. The march towards central London from Dartford forced the Republicans in Redhill and Crawley to peel back. Simultaneously, the XXV Corps assaulted Richmond, but were thwarted off by a vigorous defense in Brentford. The Republican victory altered Kirke’s battle plan, which recalibrated its specifics for the forward divisions, which were instructed to attack the defeated XXV Corps. This indirectly allowed Auchinleck’s larger army to continue its assault on the garrison divisions without Republican armored support. Indeed, Massey’s army was forced all the way back to Weybridge, but Auchinleck punctured irremediable holes in the Republican lines, mainly along river crossings, and exposed central London to his attack. The following day, May the 6th, would prove to be the most contested day of the battle. Auchinleck and Kirke’s forces fought fanatically over the Isle of Dogs as large aerial squadrons dropped supplies and dueled with their challengers. Strategic bombers screeched across the sky, while their accompanying interceptors sprayed gunfire across the searing city. There were bountiful targets for all: Republican and French fighters unleashed their synchronized weaponry onto the hordes of Royalists streaming into the city, while Canadian bombers pounded Kirke’s positions on the Canary Wharf. The cover of the aerial attacks allowed Royalist units to slowly occupy the primary coastal fortifications, most notably, the Tower of London -- the makeshift HQ for the Republican defenders.

On May the 7th, Kirke’s divisions on the Wharf disintegrated, and Auchinleck’s army streamed into London. From all directions, Royalist fighters entered the metropolis, while Republicans received no report of a northern breakthrough or French invasion. In truth, limited success in the East Midlands was overshadowed by a rapid Royalist advance in Yorkshire and Oxfordshire. Lord Stonehaven’s forces were wavering, but his defeat was irrelevant if the Royalist forces could procure the Southern Republican surrender before his own lines broke. London had little time to stave off the Royalist advance. Auchinleck’s massive army shook out the defenders with recent land-to-air communications and targeted bombing runs. Even Massey’s forces were on the counter-attack, driving back the Republican armored divisions with energetic vigour. Desperate for any triumphalist conclusions, Republican bombers attempted to strike back by wreaking havoc in London and indiscriminately bombing vaguely Royalist positions. The Royalist bombers retaliated with a similar technique, and soon, the entire city was covered in soot. This was not to the Republican advantage -- party officials were frozen in the dust -- all information came to a swift stop. Auchinleck, however, afforded himself the enemy's confusion and pushed deeper into London, occupying the neighborhoods of the party elite: Chelsea, Wimbledon, etc. There was little time to retaliate; London had fallen.


fXMfmJV.jpg

Royalist soldiers parade in London, while silent crowds watch the procession.

The fall of London proved to be an unspectacular affair. Whereas in the weeks preceding, the defensive lines in London would have been too spectacular in power to breach, the gradual thinning of the Republican forces across Britain sanctioned Auchinleck’s swift triumph. However, the four months of land war on Brittania’s confined space had condemned London to the most unpleasant of experiences. As Auchinleck stormed through the capital, he found the great city to be reduced to pauperism. Party officials, once the masters of efficiency and the forefront of the liberal intelligentsia, were now buried high from ceaseless bombing. Whitehall could no longer lay claim to its own description -- the dingy charcoal of smoke blanketing the administrative buildings. Even Westminster, the wretched symbol of the old aristocracy, with the House of Lords ripped from its regal structure, now lay a languished shell -- shattered by the exhaustible test of time. Indeed, the Royalist procession through London was not one of pomp and pageantry. Londoners patrolled the triumphs with a great sense of unease -- they believed that it was only matter of time before the city swapped possession but again. Perhaps it would.

--
[1] The motion, in effect, divided the Republic, and would become the defining motion of the war.
[2] I can't write like Orwell. Not worth the try.
 
Last edited:
@99KingHigh:

Ah, I love the smell of republican traitors being purged by righteous bombardment in the morning. Or any time, for that matter.
But seriously, I'm glad to see you back: I was afraid this AAR was dead.
 
Whilst the brief arrival of Evelyn Waugh is of course highly gratifying, who on Earth is ‘Sir Edgar’ and what is he doing writing ‘Pomp and Circumstance’? Also, dukes are always “the Duke of Place” as opposed to “Lord Place” – but that's all really very minor considering British society has been shattered beyond any possibility of recognition.

I'll be interested to see how the new prime minister deals with it all.
 
Whilst the brief arrival of Evelyn Waugh is of course highly gratifying, who on Earth is ‘Sir Edgar’ and what is he doing writing ‘Pomp and Circumstance’? Also, dukes are always “the Duke of Place” as opposed to “Lord Place” – but that's all really very minor considering British society has been shattered beyond any possibility of recognition.

I'll be interested to see how the new prime minister deals with it all.
A good eye, my lad! Granted, my knowledge of English aristocratic nomenclature could always do some sprucing up.
 
So, London fell to traitors, slaves and mercenaries? Black day indeed!

I hope the Republic could recover herself from those wounds.
 
A good eye, my lad! Granted, my knowledge of English aristocratic nomenclature could always do some sprucing up.

That's very true, seeing as strictly ‘Sir Elgar’ is also incorrect. ‘Sir Edward’ or ‘Sir Edward Elgar’, yes – but not the surname alone.

But, as I say, a trifling concern when the Old Order has been limehoused so unequivocally.
 
That's very true, seeing as strictly ‘Sir Elgar’ is also incorrect. ‘Sir Edward’ or ‘Sir Edward Elgar’, yes – but not the surname alone.

But, as I say, a trifling concern when the Old Order has been limehoused so unequivocally.
Perhaps my ultimate goal is to turn the Isles into some sort of French mutation, complete with Parisian values and America culture.