Heck, Pippy's written a whole other AAR since this was last updated.
Ruddy
Ruddy
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yea i really miss this yarn, there was hints on the uk cooperative aar that he's been 'researching' for an update though!!
but not neccessarily for this one.....
but not neccessarily for this one.....
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Is it dead? Can I poke it?
*Pokes AAR with a stick, then jumps back when it bites*
Yes Ladies and Gentlemen this is far from dead. It is however far more tricky to write than I remember, I've written then deleted more starts to this update than I care to say today. But I do now have one I'm happy with and some of the old rhythm to the writing is coming back, which is nice.
As to when you will receive your next fix, that depends entirely on how I cope with the far too complex world I've created. For those keeping track of events there's war with Italy, potential involvement in the Spanish Civil War, agents watching Greece with concern, geo-political upheaval in Scandinavia, South Africa making trouble for everyone, instability in the US and a severely delayed Rhineland crisis. And that's just foreign issues not even looking domestically!
So when I map my way through that lot the next update will emerge dazed, confused and blinking into the sunlight, hopefully tomorrow but my rusting writing skills may make it take longer.
To finish I'd just like to say thank you to all those asking for updates, there is no better way of showing you like something than demanding more of it.
*Pokes AAR with a stick, then jumps back when it bites*
Yes Ladies and Gentlemen this is far from dead. It is however far more tricky to write than I remember, I've written then deleted more starts to this update than I care to say today. But I do now have one I'm happy with and some of the old rhythm to the writing is coming back, which is nice.
As to when you will receive your next fix, that depends entirely on how I cope with the far too complex world I've created. For those keeping track of events there's war with Italy, potential involvement in the Spanish Civil War, agents watching Greece with concern, geo-political upheaval in Scandinavia, South Africa making trouble for everyone, instability in the US and a severely delayed Rhineland crisis. And that's just foreign issues not even looking domestically!
So when I map my way through that lot the next update will emerge dazed, confused and blinking into the sunlight, hopefully tomorrow but my rusting writing skills may make it take longer.
To finish I'd just like to say thank you to all those asking for updates, there is no better way of showing you like something than demanding more of it.
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Chapter XXXVII: The Legacies of Predecessors.
Chapter XXXVII: The Legacies of Predecessors.
Churchill's legacy to Chamberlain is best described as a mixed bag, while some areas had seen great achievement and progress others had been woefully neglected. It was a legacy of contradictions; the economy was beginning to pick up but the budget was in tatters, the war with Italy had been a great success but the continent was a much more hostile and dangerous place. On balance it was very much the product of a short term focused administration, problems were solved as they arose with very little thought to the longer term consequences. While many of the unforeseen events, both good and bad, in the following months had their roots in decisions taken by Churchill, there is no doubting his effectiveness in reaching his aims, no matter how short sighted those aims may have been.
The two most immediate legacies for Chamberlain can be seen as a distillation of Churchill's Premiership, one was excellent news and the result of bold decisive action, the other was the fruit of neglect and inattention and would trigger a constitutional crisis.
The positive news came from the war which, in the aftermath of Operation Templar and the occupation of Italian North Africa, had appeared to be heading towards strategic stalemate. At sea the Royal Navy had reduced the Regia Marina to the point where it was struggling to supply Sardinia let alone mount an opposed invasion to North Africa. In East Africa General Smuts quickly reached the conclusion it was easier, safer and more effective to just starve the Italian forces into surrender rather than fight them. With their supply lines cut and the land too poor to support a large army he believed the Italian commander, General Rodolfo Graziani, would soon be forced to surrender just to keep his men fed.
Despite all this Il Duce was still unwilling to come to the negotiating table, banking on a long, drawn out conflict to turn British public opinion against the war and force the Empire to sue for peace from a weaker position. Faced with a stalemate and, as Il Duce correctly reasoned, not inconsiderable political pressure to end the war, the Imperial General Staff was forced to consider the possibility of invading mainland Italy to force Il Duce into peace talks. Their assessment of however was not positive, while the initial landing and expanding the beachhead phases of a proposed invasion would be possible, albeit with massive gunnery support from the Royal Navy, any attempt to push in land would be fraught with problems. At best any expeditionary force could hope for numerical parity with the Italians, and even that assumed full Dominion support and stripping the Empire all but bare of troops, while the Italian forces would not be the badly trained and low morale colonials faced in North Africa but fully professional troops defending their homeland. Worse the assessment made no allowance for partisan resistance or the possibility of direct or indirect support for Italy from another European power. In short the IGS decided that once the cleaning up in Africa was finished there was nothing more the Army could do without many months devoted to building up and training a dedicated invasion army.
The solution to this problem, as ordered by Churchill, was a pair of audacious strikes on the Italian mainland to demonstrate that waiting for Britain to give in was not a good long term plan. The first strike was to be at Taranto and the Regia Marina where the Royal Navy felt it had unfinished business. The plan, adapted from the one considered prior to the Second Battle of Taranto, was a massed strike by the Fleet Air Arm on the Regia Marina while it was still at anchor. That a plan once discarded was embraced is due to one factor; the delivery to the Fleet Air Arm of Swordfish torpedo aircraft in significant numbers. That the aircraft were available was thanks to Leo Amery's work as Minister for Coordination of Defence which, amongst other things, had seen the Swordfish given priority over almost every other military project in the country. Impressive as that feat of industrial exertion was it was matched by the efforts of Admiral Cunningham's staff in rapidly planning and preparing their pilots and crews for the strike.
The raid itself, in comparison to the efforts needed to equip, train and prepare the squadrons and ships taking part, was the model of simplicity. Force B, essentially the carriers HMS Eagle, HMS Glorious and HMS Courageous with their escorts, moved off to within 100 nautical miles of Taranto. Holding station until dusk fell the carriers launched their aircraft sending the four Swordfish squadrons that would carry out the attack on their way, the most experienced squadron, No.825 from HMS Eagle, leading the way. The Italian defences, lacking the benefits of radar, ground based spotters or even effective searchlights, were completely surprised as the 36 strike aircraft swept across the outer Mar Grande and onto the battleships in the inner Mar Piccolo, dropping their 'tin fish' as they went. The effect of the strike was devastating, the Regia Marina's two remaining battleships, the Andrea Doria and the Caio Duilio were sunk outright as were the 'twins', the heavy cruisers Trento and Trieste. As dawn rose the damage controls teams on the light cruiser Bari and heavy cruiser Fiume abandoned their fight with the inevitable and left their charges to sink taking the final toll to two battleships, three heavy cruisers and one light cruiser, a crushing victory by any standard.
It was during the Taranto raid that the Fleet Air Arm came of age, squadrons from all three carriers involved scoring significant victories.
As the government in Rome awoke to the news their shocked deliberations were disrupted by the bass drone of heavy aero-engines, the heavy bomber squadrons of the RAF paying the Italian capital a personal visit. Operating from RAF Luqa on Malta the A.W.38 Whitleys of Bomber Command were providing the second prong of Churchill's ordered twin strikes, relying on the element of surprise to carry them safely through to the heart of Fascist Italy. Unopposed by Italian fighters, the Regia Aeronautica squadrons not committed to the French border or still in Africa had been rushed down to Taranto that very morning on the personal order of Il Duce, the bombers were able to drop their load un-molested before beating a hasty retreat. For Mussolini's government the relief that bomber's load was only propaganda was soon overshadowed by fear of what the population might make of the leaflets, the state controlled media was already struggling to keep a lid on the reality of the war's progress for the simple reason it didn't square with people's experiences. Too many families were not hearing from their fathers and sons, too many dock workers counting out more ships than they counted back in. While the MVSN 'Blackshirts' militias and the OVRA secret police could have undoubtedly kept a lid on the worst of any dissent it was clear that the Italian public would tire of the war far faster than the British. With his strategy in tatters, no prospect of the situation improving and an increasingly difficult domestic situation Mussolini reluctantly order Galeazzo Ciano to put out peace feelers to the British and begin negotiations.
This grand success was more than balanced by Churchill's other urgent legacy to Chamberlain; King Edward VIII's refusal to give up the idea of marriage to Wallace Simpson and the consequences thereof. Presented with the stark choice of abdication or constitutional crisis, the King was insisted on his right to "Appeal directly to my subjects" and go over the head of Parliament. Naturally this was unacceptable to the government and was rejected out of hand but significant time was wasted in useless argument and debate, time that provided an opening for opportunists abroad. While the entire crisis was a most unwanted distraction during wartime, and was a far from an edifying sight that did little to enhance either Crown or Parliament, it was only elevated to the first rank of crises by the intervention of just such a overseas opportunists; Barry Hertzog.
As successful as Churchill's dealings with foreign affairs had been there can be little doubt his failure to act decisively in the matter of the King's marriage was a considerable mistake. Earlier intervention may have prevent the serious consequences of the crisis.
Bluntly speaking Hertzog was in deep trouble, discredited by his abortive electoral coup the only thing between him and a vote of no confidence was time, the moment General Smuts and his allies returned from East Africa he could expect to be forced into an election, an election he was almost certain to lose. With his back against the wall Hertzog was desperate and gambled on a grand gesture to save his skin; Refusing to accept Edward VIII's abdication and instead offering him the chance to remain King of South Africa, regardless of his marital status or choice of bride.
As an arch-republican the actual identity of the monarch was of supreme indifference to Hertzog, what was important was the opportunity to extort conditions out of Edward in exchange for the throne, namely giving Royal Assent to the Representation of the Natives Act, thus all but guaranteeing National Party domination of parliament. To the great surprise of Hertzog and his allies, if almost no-one else, this announcement did not go down well with the non-Boer elements of South African society, particularly among the 'British' contingent of the population for whom support for the monarchy was as much about 'sharing' a King or Queen with the mother country as the institution itself. For Hertzog however the die was cast, to back down now would condemn himself and his party to the electoral wilderness, exposed to the wrath of the now angry non-Boer majority. As the protest rallies marched through the towns and cities of the Cape Provinces and Hertzog order up the Active Citizens Force to regain control of the streets and disperse the crowds a flashpoint was inevitable. The aftershocks of the clash would be felt throughout Britain and her Empire.
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wow, great update el pip.
great result about italy, i wonder what will be demanded by the british?
and what a twist with hertzog! surely edward wouldnt say yes to such a crazy plan??
great result about italy, i wonder what will be demanded by the british?
and what a twist with hertzog! surely edward wouldnt say yes to such a crazy plan??
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South Africa might be in trouble soon...
I wonder what the peace terms will be...
I wonder what the peace terms will be...
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Wow, an update! I'm actually shocked...
Nice smashing of the Italians, and it looks like South Africa is determined to be annoying. They're playing a very important role in the Commonwealth, it appears...
Nice smashing of the Italians, and it looks like South Africa is determined to be annoying. They're playing a very important role in the Commonwealth, it appears...
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Damn Boers!
Good going with the RM, and nice to see such a great update.
Good going with the RM, and nice to see such a great update.
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Nice work on the Taranto raid there Pippy.
I take it Austen will be calling on his younger (and superior ) brother to clear up the Budget mess…
Cheers,
Dury.
I take it Austen will be calling on his younger (and superior
) brother to clear up the Budget mess… Cheers,
Dury.
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Spiffing!
Great update El Pip, just what the doctor ordered!
The 'Super-early Taranto' raid may well have been successful as described - after all, Fairey Swordfish were used in the real thing, and the defences could only improve in the years between...
Plus, I suspect that if the RAF could have cunningly got a couple of squadrons of Whitleys over Rome as described, it would have had an extreme effect on the Italians - even though they were only dropping paper. By this time prior to the war, the concensus amongst military aviation experts was that 'the bomber will always get through'; and discussion of what such bombers would carry, ie gas bombs, lethal amounts of incendiary and high explosives, had tended to suggest to governments that their population's morale would shatter.
Given this, I can't say I'm surprised that Bally Duce is coming to the negotiating table - he's lucky that he isn't swinging from a lamppost!
Cheers for the update, I'm off to test-pilot a Spitfire I... :rofl:
Great update El Pip, just what the doctor ordered!
The 'Super-early Taranto' raid may well have been successful as described - after all, Fairey Swordfish were used in the real thing, and the defences could only improve in the years between...
Plus, I suspect that if the RAF could have cunningly got a couple of squadrons of Whitleys over Rome as described, it would have had an extreme effect on the Italians - even though they were only dropping paper. By this time prior to the war, the concensus amongst military aviation experts was that 'the bomber will always get through'; and discussion of what such bombers would carry, ie gas bombs, lethal amounts of incendiary and high explosives, had tended to suggest to governments that their population's morale would shatter.
Given this, I can't say I'm surprised that Bally Duce is coming to the negotiating table - he's lucky that he isn't swinging from a lamppost!
Cheers for the update, I'm off to test-pilot a Spitfire I... :rofl:
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Heheh, I hope this'll make the Italians think twice before seeking another confrontation with Britain, let alone the Allies. I hope Franco and Hitler get the same no-nonsense treatment.
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The unity of the Commonwealth is being challenged, how outrageous!
I wonder whether there are other, meaner opportunists in European continent willing to use this distraction to their advantage
Great to see this AAR updated once again, by the way.
I wonder whether there are other, meaner opportunists in European continent willing to use this distraction to their advantage
Great to see this AAR updated once again, by the way.
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Excellent update, glad to see it's back on track. Looking forward to more.
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Splendid update, Pippy, but then you have quite a quality standard to uphold to offset the quantity issue. ;-)
Ruddy
Ruddy
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