Quite a landmark you've reached. But if you want to make it to six million you'd better start posting some updates. 
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Vincent Julien: Well, yes, I've had a very good offer should I update. So I shall be getting along with that presently.
wonderful ! !
VILenin: ..But if you want to make it to six million you'd better start posting some updates.
so true! ! i was beginning to think that perhaps we should have some balloon fights in Vincent Julien's absence... IIRC, that did work before...
wonderful ! !
VILenin: ..But if you want to make it to six million you'd better start posting some updates.
so true! !
i was beginning to think that perhaps we should have some balloon fights in Vincent Julien's absence... IIRC, that did work before... 
Sir Humphrey: Thank you, sir.
VILenin: I'm on it!
GhostWriter: Balloon fights?! If anyone start misbheaving, then I'm going to stop the AAR and turn around.
VILenin: I'm on it!
GhostWriter: Balloon fights?!
If anyone start misbheaving, then I'm going to stop the AAR and turn around.
Well, if we can't have balloon fights, how 'bout paper fights? (said as several wads of balled up paper come flying from over his desk and Draco hurriedly leaps for cover. )
)
Draco Rexus, VILenin You shall be fighting no more soon enough, for an update is on the way. :nods:
(calling out from beneath a desk) No disrespect, VJ, but we've heard that one before! (suddenly several more wads of paper come flying through the air.)
(suddenly several more wads of paper come flying through the air.)
Vincent Julien: Tomorrow, I promise ye.
notes that this was posted yesterday...
yesterday's tomorrow, today's tomorrow, tomorrow's tomorrow, .... well i hope you get the idea...
notes that this was posted yesterday...
yesterday's tomorrow, today's tomorrow, tomorrow's tomorrow, .... well i hope you get the idea...
While I rejoice at the promise of an update, until such time as it is delivered the fighting must continue! (aims straw at Draco's desk)
I know I said today, but the menace of a defective installation of Paint Shop Pro has reared it's head and bit me on the arse. I shall be arranging all the maps, etc, tonight, polishing the text, and the update shall definetley be here tommorow.
Expect war. War and death. Death and war. Those are my chief weapons.
Expect war. War and death. Death and war. Those are my chief weapons.
(dodging an incoming spitball from VILenin's direction)
Sa-wheet! I love War. I love Death. And I REALLY love War and Death together... they're kinda like those twin sisters that all teenage boys dream about.
Sa-wheet! I love War. I love Death. And I REALLY love War and Death together... they're kinda like those twin sisters that all teenage boys dream about.
Your two main weapons: War, Death and Surprise. Three! Three main weapons: War, Death, Surprise, and picklehaube. Four! Your four main weapons are... nevermind.
I am glad you are so thrilled, gentlemen. The update shall be along momentarily, once I upload the pictures, etc.
The update shall be along momentarily, once I upload the pictures, etc.
First Blood - March - May, 1937
The bombing of Zaragossa, as portrayed by Pablo Picasso.
The bombing of Zaragossa, as portrayed by Pablo Picasso.
"We have been subject here to the most unpardonable betrayal in our history.”, Goebbels would write in his diary, describing the Austrian Crisis. “Even Mussolini has now fallen as a dupe to the influence of the hand of Parisian Jewry. The whole situation stinks to high heaven!”, he would conclude. Some blamed for the Dolfuss incident years before; some blamed Neurath for overplaying his hand; some blamed President Beck for not realising the potential difficulties. This rancorous and highly tense atmosphere would be the background to the official considerations in Germany over what to do regarding ‘the Austrian Question.’ It was generally regarded that war was closer than it had ever been and that this might very well be the ‘tipping point’ at which all of Europe was once more plunged into a new war, perhaps even more grisly, murderous and prolonged the last. It was not a prospect which most people viewed with any degree of satisfaction, although many in government were becoming increasingly impatient and intransigent over the behaviour of their neighbours. The very lack of openness in the procedures of government across Europe only served to fuel speculation and debate as to what the response would be.
While the fighting in and around the Austrian-Italian border continued into, the leaders of the German government debated what to do. Initial approaches to Rome and Vienna based on a diplomatic solution to the crisis from both the League of Nations and Germany were rebuffed, strongly so in the case of Italy, with Mussolini pressing ahead in the face of stiff opposition, at home and abroad, and Austria on the grounds that any diplomatic settlement would likely appease Italy and only reward aggression. As the fighting continued, so was the seriousness of the crisis was heightened, and Germany would clearly have to forge a coherent policy towards the crisis. Manstein had already reported to the Reichspräsident on the 1st of April that military forces in Germany were being placed in readiness. Some considered if this might now not simply be the opportunity to drive into Austria and seize the country for Germany, under the pretext of securing the countries’ borders. Beck would reject any overly aggressive moves out of hand as being unnecessary and likely to only heighten the crisis. With an eye on rearmament, many reckoned that, if war must come, then 1937 was not Germany’s year, and that any conflict under current circumstances could well be disastrous; Germany was still behind France in terms of tanks and equipment in some areas, and if Italy should join with her, then the consequences could well be disastrous.
As the conflict looked to be drawing on, and diplomatic prospects receded, it became increasingly apparent that Germany would have to take sides. This was not a protracted process, as many had already decided that Italy was in the wrong, long before the government planned any action. The SDP in exile, The Sopade, recorded this sentiment in its ‘reports from Germany’ - opinion feelers garnered covertly by SPD supporters within Germany. “There’s going to be war here. It‘s Sarajevo again” was one reported opinion from the Rhineland, and certainly a sentiment held by many. The debate was not so much over whether to aid Austria, but merely what form it should take. Despite much of the bluster and anger surrounding the Italian action, few would go so far as to recommend direct intervention, as the inevitable conclusion of such an act could easily be drawn by all but the most simple. Instead, the German policy would be based around a policy of non-belligerence, but mixed with aid to Austria, and the continual pressing for a diplomatic solution. This policy would be outlined in a speech the Reichspräsident would give the Reichstag on the 2nd - his first such speech since becoming President. Solid but uninspiring, and with a flat delivery, Beck would outline, in a generally moderate fashion what Germany’s policy would be. William Shirer, reporting in the press box, described Beck as being "unnerved and sweaty, wearing his army uniform and clearly ill at ease in an atmosphere like this.” The speech was framed as an ‘appeal to reason’, doubtless with international opinion in mind. “We cannot abandon bonds of brotherhood and affiliation which have kept German peoples together for hundreds of years”, he would state. The speech would receive a staged, but none the less heartfelt, three-minute standing ovation from the Reichstag delegates, and would be followed by a speech from Reichskanzler von Krosigk, outlining the need for a strengthening of domestic solidarity and the “absolute faith” that the people had in the military to defend them against external threat.
This would in turn be followed by a more robust speech by Goebbels, which was intended more for the domestic market and the more hot-headed types, many of whom filled the floor of the chamber. The tone was harsh and threatening, and it was clear this was more for the stiffening of domestic resolve than any international consumption, as Beck’s speech was. Often gesticulating wildly, and with a long-standing and acute grasp of how to stir up the right sorts of emotions, Goebbels, carried away with himself, lashed into Mussolini, Trotsky, and all the “evil, greasy, murderous reds and their avaricious ambitions, now focused on pillaging Austria in their next step towards inaugurating their new kingdom of Israelite-materialism.” Mussolini was pitied and dismissed more than denigrated. It was clear that the largely unnamed ‘enemy’, and his guiding hand in the conflict lay elsewhere; the real enemy was France. Reaching the final peak, the speech concluded with the promise that the “the Germanic people will resist, resist, resist, in the perfect union of blood that has bound them for millenia, until the enemy is trampled underfoot so absolutely and completely that he shall be stamped out, [Pause] forever!” No orchestration was necessary, as the floor of the Reichstag erupted in wild Sieg Heils.
Germany policy was clearly set, and Beck began the very next day to outline his plans on Austria at a joint meeting of the General Staff and Wehrmacht High Command, held in his Palace on the Wilhelmstrasse. The top men of the military had been ordered to dress informally so as not to arouse any suspicion or alarm, and to arrive separately in their cars. Beck had noted in a memo that “not a word should reach the foreign press, until we wish it to. The success of any operation depends upon complete secrecy.” Göring apparently took the instruction to dress informally somewhat too literally, and arrived wearing, according to Vice-Admiral Boehm, “a soft-collared white shirt under a green elkskin jerkin adorned with big buttons of bright yellow leather, grey shorts and grey silk stockings that displayed his impressive calves to considerable effect. This dainty hosiery was offset by a pair of massive laced boots. To cap it all, his paunch was girded by a scarlet sword belt, richly inlaid with gold, from which dangled an ornamental dagger in an ample sheath of the same material." Manstein reportedly cried out, on seeing him: “General! Are you the bouncer?”
Much more at ease amongst his fellows than the day before, Beck began, after the men had taken their seats, by outlining his policy towards Austria and the military measures which would be put into effect. Beck began by stating that there would have to be a sufficient material transfer to Austria to keep her ‘afloat’, but which would also have to be counted against Germany’s own needs in terms of production. Aid to the beleaguered Nationalists in Spain, it was decided, would be almost entirely discontinued, apart from necessary medical supplies and other such items, in light of the Austrian situation and the continuing decline of the Nationalist military position; Beck had decided to cut his loses and diplomatic strategy would now be focused around propping up the moderate Republicans in the face of left-wing challenges. The Nationalists, it was increasingly believed, were a ‘busted flush.’, and the total lack of any military success on their part in the early year bore this out. Austria would also be much easier to supply, with trucks and flat-bed lorries easily able to travel over the frontier; medical supplies, small arms, and even some artillery and panzers were to be made available for the task. Beck suggested that he thought that Italy would have to be ‘bloodied’ before she would wish to come to the negotiating table. Doubts had already been expressed regarding the competence of Austria’s armed forces before, and this had been of especial importance since hostilities began against Italy. To rectify this, Beck ordered Neurath to contact the Austrians in order to prepare the way for a German ‘military envoy’, with accompanying staff, to be sent to Vienna. Despite initial resistance, the Austrians saw the benefit of receiving some expert advice at a time of dire need and, perhaps subconsciously aware of their own failings, the stature of the German General Staff in such matters. In terms of German backing, then, the Austrian were well set up to whether the initial Italian impact.
The actual progress of operations in the Austrian Alps had, up to this point, been sluggish. Neither Austria nor Italy were fully prepared for war, either against each other, or on other fronts. Many in both countries were as surprised as international observers were to find themselves in the current situation. By late March, therefore, the front had roughly stabalised around the established borders. The rocky terrain, remoteness of the theatre, and the lack of easy maneuverability put the attacker at a disadvantage. Surely, however, this could only be a temporary state of affairs, since Austria would find herself ill-equipped to face the full force of the Italian army. Despite a lack of modern equipment and notable leadership on both sides, the Italians had a clear advantage in terms of numbers.
Many of these considerations doubtless floated in the mind of the young German officer chosen as the emissary of the German general staff to the Austrian High Command. This man, newly promoted to Generalmajor only in the new year, had been singled out by von Manstein for greater things, and he felt confident enough to recommend him to Beck to head up the mission to Austria. Careers had been broken on lesser tasks than this. Assisting in the Austrian defence would certainly be a challenge for every ability at the disposal of Erwin Rommel. Arriving in Vienna on the 7th he quickly set to work in drawing up several ‘recommendations’ with regards to Austria’s strategy, organisation and co-ordination of her army. Although only technically recommendations, these proposals carried a certain amount of weight, coming as they did from the representative of the General Staff. Rommel began by effectively suggesting that the entirety of the Austrian force should be directed towards the border with Italy, thus robbing the borders with Hungary and Czechoslovakia of all but the most token of forces, to be left in the hands of General Brudeman. Rommel was sure that German diplomatic pressure could easily take care of such matters, and that, in any case, Austria had to make use of all available force at her disposable to counter the gravity of the Italian threat. The forces on the border were to be re-organised, with central command going to General Beyer in Innsbruck, with the western sector going under the sub-command of General Kubena. After much consultation between Berlin, and Vienna, it was also agreed to take the somewhat risky move of sending a small German expeditionary force to the region, to hold Innsbruck, as a warning against Italy’s perceived territorial avarice; the signal was clear, if Italy was going to advance into Austria she would have to go through Germany first. Rommel also envisaged that the force would deal with logistics, and especially the distribution of artillery, both generic and anti-aircraft, to the front line. Training of fresh troops would also be a priority. The force itself, to be commanded by Generalleutnant Reichenau would not, however, be assembled and in place until mid to late April, and until then, the Austrians would largely be on their own.
Rommel's recommendations on Austria.
Events were moving with more considerable swiftness in China, where the events of the last year were finally reaching their denouement. In late March a large Japanese force would begin to pound the provisional Chinese capital at Chengdu, after crossing the western Yangtze; the Chinese air force was already effectively destroyed, and Japanese planes would harass the Chinese positions unmolested, smashing the city and it's defenders. On the 27th of March, the city would fall to the Japanese under Hata, and the last remaining vestiges of the authority of Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalist regime would swiftly collapse. A large number of senior Nationalists would fall into the Japanese hands, some defecting willingly, some much less so. Chiang himself would charter a plane into Tibet, and from there, to British India. Almost all the rest of the country was now in Japanese hands; the south, the north east, her entire coastline. Now, only the Muslim warlords in the far North-West remained nominally free, although they had already began negotiations which would result in their effective submission to the Japanese on the 1st of April. The ageing Lin Sen, now tired and exhausted, but still the nominal Head of State and the most senior Nationalist captured by the Japanese, would sign a declaration of unconditional surrender in Shanghai to the Japanese on the 2nd. The war in China was officially over. In under a year, the Japanese had effectively conquered that vast, disparate, but divided country, yet conquest was one thing; administering this huge new territory would be quite another thing altogether.
With the unconditional surrender of the Nationalist government, and the effective extinguishing of all other sources of political authority in the country, it was imperative that Japan establish some means of governing China. Opinion within the Japanese government was relatively divided on how best to approach this issue; some believed that China should simply be ‘united’ with Japan directly, drawing on some nationalist thinking which had it that the Chinese and Japanese were essentially one people who deserved to live under one state - the army, in particular, emboldened by it‘s swift victory and flushed with success, was very much in favour of implementing this, with the use of Korea as precedent with Terauchi being suggested as Governor-General; however, a more pragmatic faction, spearheaded by the new Prime Minister, Konoe Fumimaro, argued that this would only further anger Japan’s rivals, and would betray the principles on which the invasion was launched - as a means of defeating ‘disorder’ and Communism within China, not as a means of subjugating her. Consequently, a compromise was eventually arrived at, for which Konoe significantly gained the support of former Prime Minister Hirota Koki, which embodied ideas from both schools of thought.
What would be the manifesto of Japanese rule in China, the so-called Shanghai Declaration, would be published by the Japanese on the 7th of April, in the city which it took it’s name from. This document would lay down the essential principles of the Japanese occupation, and the basic political structures by which China would be controlled. The most outstanding feature of the declaration was the ‘restoration’ of the Emperor Xuantong, otherwise known as Pu Yi, and currently Emperor K’ang Te of Manchuria. This was a move that mirrored the behaviour of the Japanese after their takeover of Manchuria several years before, and more recently in Mengukuo, albeit on a much grander scale. Whilst not a popular move with many Chinese, who had grown accustomed to republicanism and who regarded Pu-Yi as at best, a Japanese puppet, and at worst a traitor, the Japanese had grown deeply suspicious of republican principles in China, which had brought with them apparent instability, banditry, and disorder, and, as they saw it, encouraged the growth of Communism - which was merely another route by which Russia could enter China ‘through the back door.’ The restoration of the Qing also highlighted the totality of Japan’s victory and their ability to shape China as they wished, and their established confidence in Pu-Yi to act as an obedient tool for their ambitions and policy. Aside from the restoration of Xuantong, China’s ‘government’ was re-constituted much as it had been under the Nationalists, and much of the structures of the old system remained intact. The leading personality of the new government was Wang Jingwei, sometime political adversary of Chiang and head of the reconstituted Kuomintang and President of the Executive Yuan, with Wang Kemin as Deputy.
While China had a new, technically independent government, she was not free, as the country remained under Japanese occupation - the issue of which would remain untouched by the declaration and would continue in it’s present open-ended fashion. Despite it being the only source of political authority, however intangible, left in the country, many foreign governments - notably the United States - would as of yet decline to recognise it. Although the end of the war had halted the deterioration of relations between the USA and Japan to an extent, the diplomatic damage done by the war had been extensive, and many in or around the US administration were now talking about embargoes and other diplomatic sanctions.
The declaration would also recognise the independence of Tibet, Mongolia, and Xinjiang (Sinking), in a move which many interpreted as a means of reassuring the Soviets and the British of the limitation of Japan’s ambitions, although this was, once again, not popular with the Chinese who traditionally regarded many of these areas as falling under Chinese suzerainty or control. The declaration also pledged that Japan would ensure that all “malignant, foreign, and imperialistic advances within China would be extinguished”, which was seen by many as an allusion to the Communists in the north, who continued to hold out against the Japanese and who were already preparing for the inevitable onslaught on their Yenan fastness. Whether the Japanese could achieve what the Nationalists had failed to do in more than a decade remained to be seen, although the pressure on the Communists was now likely to become intense over the following months as Terauchi reorganised his forces and newly-recruited Chinese troops for an attack on the Communist positions.
China subjugated - 15th of April.
Spain was also moving into the final stages of her particular conflict. Two major events would happen in mid-April, both likely marking the final turning point against the Nationalists. Both the Germans and the Italians were now focused on conflict more closely at home, and material support was already drying up from the two. That however, was simply a symptom of decline, not the cause of it. The Nationalists had been met with continued disasters on the battlefield, with Seville falling, and much of the occupied North being over-run shortly thereafter. This would be as nothing however, to the coming events, for, on the 17th of April, the Republicans staged a massive attack on Madrid, masterminded by the skilled Republican general Vicente Rojo Lluch. Much of the Nationalist positions would be flattened, and the city would be besieged for a second time in less than a year. The already present theme of Republican air superiority would be repeated in Madrid as it had been at Seville, with the Nationalists now showing a notable deficiency in other areas of heavy equipment, to the extent that the fighting resembled mass slaughter in many areas. The civilian population would bear the brunt of this, with heavy casualties due to the fighting. After two days, the Republicans could say they were in general possession of the city once more, as tens of thousands of Nationalists surrendered. The feeling that the tide had well and truly turned was nearly universal. When President Azaña broadcast to the nation the following day, he could say with some confidence that “however long, dangerous, or testing the road ahead, we know that there is only one destination for Spain.”
Disposition of Spain, 1st of May.
The success in Madrid would be repeated in Catalonia. Harassed by partisans, suffering from overstretch, and with other fronts receiving priority over it, the Nationalists were all but disintegrating in this area before the Republicans launched their attack. Seizing the iniative, the Republicans attacked on two fronts, pushing in from the South as well as from the Basque country in the West. Whilst the Republicans pushed the Nationalists back on the ground, the French decided to stall any reinforcements of the Nationalist positions by bombing the strategic town of Zaragossa, a town that, moreover, had a long association with the Nationalists politically. This huge carpet-bombing operation almost destroyed the Northern town, and destroyed the effective means by which the positions in the east could be re-enforced by destroying transportation links. By the 27th, the Republicans were at the French border, having re-taken Barcelona three days before. The Nationalists were now truly on the run, and aid and personnel began to pour over the border into Spain, along with Andreu Nin and the remainder of the exiled POUM leadership.
The Germans too were also pouring aid into Austria, and quickly devising their strategy with regards to the conflict. As soon as Reichenau’s force had assembled in Austria, Rommel and the Austrians began to seek a means to consolidate their position, and even, perhaps, to bring the war to an early end. One possible opportunity presented itself in terms of an offensive into the South Tyrol, still effectively disputed between Austrians and the Italians. The Italians had been presented with more severe logistical problems than first expected, and their army - much of it still in Africa - had yet to fully assemble; now would likely be the best chance for any possible offensive. Despite the possibilities of scoring a victory over Italy and securing the South Tyrol, many Austrians were intensely sceptical of the idea of abandoning their positions in the mountains, now under fortification, in pursuit of Trento. Rommel, however, was convinced that this was the only possibility open to the Austrians to end the war favourably. “To sit still is a recipe for death in strategically difficult circumstances like these”, he would comment in a report back to the OKH on the 12th. Gradually, slowly, the Austrians opened up to the possibility. Kubena was to advance forward, with support from a quarter of Beyer’s force on his left.
Commencing on the 22nd of April, this attack would meet with surprising success. Armed with German artillery, closely directed, and with the element of surprise on their side, the Austrians would descend from their mountain fastness, breaking the Italian lines, and occupy Italian soil for the first time since the Great War. Flowing down towards the Adige River, the Austrians would capture Merano on the first day. The Italians had had little time to entrench themselves, and were quickly pushed back. Bolzano would be taken during the night with almost no resistance. Now, the way was open for the for the prize of Trento, and a possible end to the war. The Austrians would enter the town the following day, and would swiftly begin re-enforcing their positions in the whole theatre. Trent was dangerously isolated, and, without proper defence, the Austrians could be pushed back. Certainly, many suspected that Mussolini would not be content to end the war so quickly and on such unfavourable terms, and, as early May arrived, the Austrians were watching closely at the Italian reaction.
Austro-German positions, 4th of May.
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Nice promise...Vincent Julien said:
..but you made it up with this monster update! You are hereby forgiven. Let me know read it during worktime, ah...