The World After Appeasement-UK 1941 AAR

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October 1943: X-Day

Asia:

By the beginning of October the units which would spearhead the invasion of Japan were ready, or at least as ready as they could be under the given circumstances. In truth the battle hardened troops were surprisingly worried. They felt that the invasion had been planned to quickly and that the Japanese would fight to the last man, woman and child.

It is true that the invasion was planned and put into action quite quickly. After all the war in Europe had only ended two months ago. The reason for the haste was that Churchill and the British government wanted Japan to fall as swiftly as possible after the fall of the Fascist states in Europe. This was due to war weariness. If the war dragged on the British people would be increasingly less inclined to fight the Japanese, instead desiring to reach a peace agreement with the island nation, or so top British officials, including Churchill thought. A peace leaving Japan intact would be disastrous, for many in Churchill's government felt that leaving Japan under its current government would simply lead to another war in the future. Japan would have to be crushed before war weariness set in, even if it meant that the initial wave of the invasion would take higher casualties due to poor planning.

October 6th was the day the world would find out if the planning was as poor as some soldiers and critics of the Government thought.

British forces began landing at 6:00, their landings were unopposed. Within one hour General Burns attacked the strategic port of Nagoya with three mountain divisions and a motorized division. The defenders of Nagoya consisted of a Japanese infantry division and its corresponding headquarters. Although outnumbered they were still putting up a tough fight for Burns and his men. By 10:00 intelligence reported that Japanese divisions from both northern and southern Japan were moving towards the combat zone.

The Japanese defenders were giving Burns all he could handle despite the fact that he had twice as many divisions.

Intelligence had reported that two HQs and two divisions of unknown specification were headed to the combat zone.​

While Burns' men were attempting to capture Nagoya the rest of the British divisions were enacting the other part of the plan: capturing a backup port should the attack on Nagoya fail. To this end British troops were more successful than any could have imagined.

In transit to the ports British troops encountered minimal resistance. This was greeted with surprise and joy. Military experts had expected a fight for every inch of Japanese soil, so far that was proving to be a false expectation. Nobody was complaining though, the sooner the war was over the better. As good as this was there was an even better surprise: The condition of the Japanese troops at the "backup" ports. By the 10th both the ports of Osaka and Kanazawa had been engaged. The Japanese forces here did not put up as valiant of an effort as their brethren in Nagoya. Instead the defenders of the said ports began to fold rather quickly.

During the battle of Kanazawa British forces reported seeing a large portion of the Japanese fleet in port. The Royal Navy wanted to try and captialize on this. They sent Admiral Burrogh's CTF, recovered from its last engagement, to try and trap the Japanese fleet in port or at least to intercept them as they fled to another port. Ultimately Burrogh's efforts were unsuccessful. By the time he arrived the Japanese fleet had vanished. He and many Generals were rather angry about this. If the Japanese high seas fleet had been destroyed then it would have been extraordinarily difficult for the Japanese to recall their troops from China as their transports would not have a substantial escort, making them cannon fodder. With the Japanese fleet still at large the bolstering of Japanese forces in Japan proper was still a frighteningly real possibility. The Japanese had tens of thousands of men in China who would willingly die to defend Japan. It was Britain's desire to stop them from even having the chance.

China as of mid-October. The Japanese have many divisions deployed here.​

While this going on the details of "Operation Overlord" were altered. The idea of a defensive line in the east extending no further than Osaka was abandoned. Instead units were to advance to the tip of Honshu and to also capture Shikoku, Kyushu would be captured if it was practicable and Hokkaido was to be captured last.

Japan on the 11th of October.​

The invasion progressed rather well from this point on. All three contested ports had fallen by the 19th. In western Japan there had been a startlingly low amount of resistance. Most of it was captured with almost now bloodshed. The bulk of Japanese resistance in the west was ironically where it mattered least, on the islands of Shikoku and Kyushu. Still, the resistance on these islands was likely to be easily defeated.

Japanese forces in the east were putting up a better fight but were still being pushed back. A daring maneuver towards the very end of October left two Japanese divisions encircled.

Note: Two trapped Japanese divisions in Wajima.​

By the end of the month almost half of Japan had been captured. Although Tokyo and the Imperial Japanese fleet had escaped British hands in October it was unlikely they could do so in November. For some reason Japanese resistance had collapsed almost as soon as the invasion began. Perhaps the Japanese people saw the futility of fighting with the mightiest nation on Earth? Another contributing factor was the fact that at least 75% of the IJA was currently bogged down in China. It was theorized that these two factors accounted for the lack of Japanese resistance. This was why Burrogh was so upset when he could not locate the Japanese high seas fleet. If he had been able to destroy the fleet then all hope of Japanese reinforcements from China would have forever been destroyed. However the Japanese fleet escaped. While it was unlikely the Japanese would be able to draw substantial reinforcements from China it was still a possibility. November could be ruined by such reinforcements as well as Burrogh's reputation. Still, many were optimistic after what had occurred in October. Whether or not their optimism was unfounded will likely be determined in November.




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Sorry for such a long time between updates. I've been busy. I hope you are enjoying. Thank you all very much for reading and commenting.

 

[volksmarschall]

You've invaded Japan! Remarkable... I'm sure the Americans aren't happy that you've made the Manhattan Project irrelevant to the war effort now. A impressive turn of events in the East I must say, with Japan invaded... the war won't last much longer.

Great work as usual!

 

[unmerged(53301)]

You've invaded Japan! Remarkable... I'm sure the Americans aren't happy that you've made the Manhattan Project irrelevant to the war effort now. A impressive turn of events in the East I must say, with Japan invaded... the war won't last much longer.

Great work as usual!

Thank you so much! The war will not last much longer, but fear not. There will be a summary of the AAR, an epilogue and commentary.

I'd like to update late tonight but we'll see how things go.

 

[Hick101]

I'm sad such a great AAR is coming to a close so quickly.

 

[unmerged(53301)]

I'm sad such a great AAR is coming to a close so quickly.

Thank you for the compliment. I am sad that you are sad However let us both be happy that such an aar existed Perhaps one day I'll make an AAR for Arsenal of Democracy.

Update coming.

 

[unmerged(53301)]

November 1943: Shattered Jade

Asia:

At the beginning of the month the Japanese pocket in central Japan was finally crushed. The Japanese soldiers in the pocket fought to the death. Out of roughly 30,000 Japanese men only about 100 or so surrendered, the rest perished in the name of the Emperor. The units responsible for closing the pocket were sent to the front. Once they arrived the British army would have enough force to overwhelm what remained of Japanese defenses and drive up to the northern tip of Japan, leaving the Japanese with only the island of Hokkaido.

Before these units could arrive at the front however General Brocas-Burrows, commander of the 54th "East Anglia" motorized division noticed a massive hole in the Japanese lines that lead straight to Tokyo. Without orders Brocas-Burrows began moving towards the Japanese capital unopposed.

On the 5th of November the Battle for Tokyo began. Brocas-Burrows' men were more than a match for the Japanese defenders. The Japanese gave up the area surrounding the city rather easily, instead preferring to lure British vehicles into the city where their advantages were mitigated. Although this was a good strategy British firepower was just too much for the Japanese, who were behind in doctrines, technology and had serious supply problems. The Japanese did not have enough guns or bullets for their army. Many soldiers reported seeing men armed with only melee weapons. It was these reasons that enabled British success.

This breach of command did not go unnoticed. However since Brocas-Burrows' audacious move was apparently a success he was not reprimanded. Instead the now legendary Field Marshal Adam was sent to Japan to oversee the rest of the invasion and make sure that no such flagrant violations of the chain of command occurred.

While the battle of Tokyo ensued units on the northern part of the front advanced nearly unchallenged to northern Japan. Their objective was the port of Akita. On the 10th two British divisions attacked the port and the Japanese were unable to put up threatening resistance.

By the 15th the fate of Operation Downfall seemed certain. The final Japanese defenders had been driven from Tokyo and Akita was nearly captured. British newspapers went wild with the capture of Tokyo. The populace was thrilled. Many speculated that the war could not possibly last much longer. What many wondered was what happened to the Emperor, Hirohito? No news had been heard. The Imperial palace had been destroyed by the Japanese so that it would not be desecrated by having a foreign enemy enter and dishonor it. There was no clue as to where Hirohito and the government could have fled to.

The location of the Japanese government did not matter to the generals however. All they wanted to accomplish was the destruction of all Japanese military forces on Honshu, Japans main island. With this goal in mind the British army launched a series of attacks on the 17th that were designed to finally crush the remains of the Imperial Japanese Army.

By this point the Japanese force in mainland Japan were exhausted and severely lacking vital materiel including foodstuff and ammunition. British intelligence estimated that only 30% of the Imperial Japanese Army in mainland Japan had ammunition. Soldiers on the ground would support this claim. Japanese soldiers would charge British lines with crude instruments of war such as bludgeons, swords, knives or other such devices and be promptly mowed down. There were no battles anymore because that insinuates a struggle, there were only bloodbaths. Japanese soldiers would rather die than surrender, would rather die as "shattered jade" than live as an "intact tile". Unfortunately for Japan a whole generation of its youth had become shattered jade and the Japanese empire had nothing to show for it, only anguish...

The tragic result of a Japanese "Banzai charge". Such self-defeating actions lead only to the unnecessary deaths of many soldiers.​

The Japanese army was eventually bottled up into two pockets. One north of Akita and one north of Tokyo. By the end of November the pocket north of Tokyo was destroyed while the one near Akita was still contested. Once this battle was over mainland Japan would have been largely conquered. There were a handful of provinces that remained in Japanese hands due to civilian resistance but these provinces could be pacified rather easily. Japan was considered almost defeated by the end of the month. All awaited a surrender with bated breath.

Japan at November's end; Japanese resistance was nearly purged. Perhaps the Japanese government would accept its fate in December?​

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Again thanks so much for following everyone. We're really close to the end now. Sorry for no home front part but really absolutely nothing happened and even if anything did it would have no relevance as the war is nearly over. I hope you have all enjoyed the AAR so far.

 

[unmerged(157789)]

Just read it all the way through. A great read.

 

[unmerged(53301)]

Just read it all the way through. A great read.

Thank you! I really appreciate a comment like that!

Update either tonight or tomorrow. The upcoming update may possibly be the last gameplay update of the AAR.

 

[unmerged(53301)]

A Fitting End:

December 1943 would eventually be considered the last month of the war. During this month the last Japanese resistors in mainland Japan were put down and the main islands of Japan were stabilized. It took only two years for Japan to be crushed under the might of the Allied powers. While Japanese forces still remained on continental Asia public opinion was surprisingly against a campaign in Manchuria or Korea. Many, including Field Marshal Miller and Chief of Staff Alan Brooke, felt that the Japanese army in continental Asia was exclusively a Chinese problem. British blood should not be spilled to eradicate a Japanese force that would eventually be destroyed by the Chinese. Miller and Alan Brooke were able to create enough opposition to a Korean/Manchurian campaign to keep British troops away from the said places for good. Because of this December was the month where British operations ceased.

Despite the fact that the Japanese had lost their homeland and defeat was more than imminent they still fought on. Japanese forces in China were determined to fight to the death. By late December their situation was grim.

A majority of the Japanese army in China refused to surrender, they preferred death rather than dishonor. However a few more far sighted Japanese officers realized that there was a better course of action: Joining up with other scattered Japanese forces and creating a national redoubt on the still Japanese occupied island of Hainan.

This plan was certainly a bold one and one that would be legendary if successful. The plan, titled "Operation Rashomon" had been a contingency plan for quite some time. It was not put into practice however until early January. Japanese transports would bring any willing Japanese forces within range to Hainan. The Emperor, still in his undisclosed location (which was likely Hainan) issued an announcement saying that there was no dishonor in leaving China to make a last stand in Hainan. Even with this decree only three divisions volunteered to go to Hainan. The rest of the Japanese divisions in Asia were to become shattered jade. Six garrison divisions from remaining Pacific islands also volunteered to defend Hainan.

To buy the transports time to bring the troops to Hainan the Japanese fleet made its presence known to Admiral Burrogh's CTF, who was more than eager to finally sink the remnants of the IJN and write himself into the history books as the next Horatio Nelson. Burrogh ruthlessly chased down the Japanese high seas fleet, ignoring all else. Admiral Sommerville's SAG was in the area but was refueling when intelligence received word of Japanese transports in the area. Many transports escaped but not all of them, an estimated three flotillas of transports were sunk. If these transports did contain divisions it was likely that it was three flotillas worth of garrison troops, as the transports were coming from the west, not from China. Still, three flotillas out of many more was not enough. Now the Japanese had what they needed to create a formidable redoubt that the British populace and even army officials would not want to contend with.

While this was going on Burrogh was in a hell-bent pursuit of the Japanese fleet. He finally trapped the Japanese in the Makassar strait, near Borneo, in late January. The battle was not as decisive as he had hoped for. Two Japanese carriers were sunk along with one British heavy cruiser. After this engagement the Japanese fleet disappeared into the Pacific and has not been sighted since.

By the time this battle was over Burrogh realized that he had been duped by the Japanese. The skeleton garrison in the former Guangxi Clique had reported a disturbing increase in Japanese activity on Hainan. A probing attack was ordered and no one was happy with what was discovered: A Japanese national redoubt had been established.

It would be nigh impossible to repulse the entrenched, fanatical Japanese defenders from such an easily defensible island. Any efforts would surely be a waste of time and money any way. The Japanese civilians on mainland Japan had become disillusioned with the military and were slowly embracing the moderates of their nation. There as no point in attacking Hainan. The Japanese forces there were of no threat to anyone. The best course of action was to let the world forget about them. They sought to immortalize themselves and their struggle, not to be shattered jade but to be the most magnificent jade imaginable. Instead they would merely be the ashes of a past age...

No official surrender was ever signed with the "legitimate" Japanese government that had declared war on the United States and Great Britain. The war that devastated the entire world worse than any before it did not end on a single triumphant day. Instead the war slowly bled to death as the events of the war slipped from the headlines and into memory. Was this a fitting end to the greatest conflict the world had ever known? It did not matter, it was an end nonetheless...
















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Ok guys that was the last gameplay update of the AAR! Thank you all so much for following and commenting. I appreciate it so much!

I won't be saying goodbyes yet however because there is still more to be written! Here is what is upcoming:

1. A summary of the AAR and an epilogue. Don't feel like annoyed/dissatisfied with the ending. The epilogue will answer anything you need to know.
2. A secret bonus update.
3. Writer commentary.

After all these are done the AAR will be officially finished and I'll give my final thoughts on everything.

Please stay tuned for the summary and epilogue.

Thank you all SO MUCH for following. Please let me know what you thought of everything so far!

 

[itsdodge]

Looking forward to your writer commentary especially.

An excellent ARR - thanks for the effort.

 

[loki100]

its been a really enjoyable ride ... thanks, UK is always interesting due to the need to balance multiple theatres and land/air/naval campaigns at the same time.

 

[unmerged(53301)]

Looking forward to your writer commentary especially.

An excellent ARR - thanks for the effort.

Thank you! I hope you enjoy the commentary. You don't need to thank me, it was a lot of fun! Thanks again.

its been a really enjoyable ride ... thanks, UK is always interesting due to the need to balance multiple theatres and land/air/naval campaigns at the same time.

Thanks a lot Loki! Your continued comments throughout the AAR were and are certainly appreciated. The UK is always a fine choice for an AAR for the reasons you listed above.

OK guys this is the way i sort of envision the summary/epilogue working: I will start with the summary, how I'm going to divide them I'll figure out shortly but the more important part is that the summaries will eventually bypass what has happened in the game and become the epilogue. Then after that is all done I'll be posting my own personal commentary on each update. Once that has been posted the AAR will be finished and I'll provide my closing comments. Stay tuned and enjoy!

 

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A History of Britain in the Second World War
~ June and July 1941~​

June 22, 1941 was perhaps the most important day of the Second World War due to Germany's declaration of war on the Soviet Union. However this belligerent act had little immediate effect on the armies of Great Britain in Africa who were pitted against the Italian army.

June was a poor month for his majesty's soldiers in Egypt, they were pushed back by the Italian advances throughout the month. An Australian division under British control was eventually forced into a humiliating retreat of Tobruk. Reinforcements were called in but would not arrive for some time. The situation on the ground seemed rather grim by the end of June; The Italians outnumbered the British and their advance into Egypt showed no signs of slowing.

Thankfully the Royal Navy gave British newspapers something slightly less grim to report. Admiral Tovey's surface action group of relatively older vessels engaged a fleet of the Reggia Marina late in June in the first [anchorlink=1][/anchorlink]Battle of the Gulf of Bomba. The engagement was largely one sided with the Italians losing four vessels, including two battleships (The RM Conte Di Cavour and RM Giulio Cesare) while Tovey's fleet only lost a flotilla of obsolete destroyers.

The RM Giulio Cesare.​

After such success Tovey became overconfident. He pursued the retreating Italian fleet but was intercepted by a second Italian task force which was ready for battle. They engaged Tovey's fleet and the second Battle of the Gulf of Bomba ensued. Losses were high on both sides with each fleet losing several light cruisers and destroyers. Ultimately the Italian fleet withdrew but not before sinking the light carrier, HMS Eagle. The Italian fleet lost the heavy cruiser, RM Gorizia, during its retreat.

The HMS Eagle.​

A plan, uncreatively dubbed "The Plan for Africa", was designed by the end of the month. The plan called for the line to be held in Egypt while an amphibious landing was made in Western Libya. This would split the Italian army in Africa in half, easing the pressure on the battered British divisions in Egypt and making the defeat of the Italians that much easier.

A large number of divisions were needed to perform such a daring strategy, units on the home front were organized late in June. The units would wait at Liverpool until their deployment in Africa.

Armaments Minister Kingsley Wood was concerned that the deployment of even more troops would burden the already overstretched merchant marine. He ordered the cancellation of certain lines of production throughout the Empire, most notably all production of submarines was cancelled, so that those factories may produce merchant vessels. By the time Minister Wood sorted out the transport debacle June had ended.

A typical British merchant ship.​

July would prove to be a better month for Britain but at the beginning of the month few would have guessed that. In Egypt the army was still at the mercy of the Italians. Winston Churchill personally promoted a World War One General by the name of Ronald Forbes Adam to the rank of Field Marshal and gave him command of all British forces in Africa.

Adam's first action was to call British units in Ethiopia to the front. His second action was ordering a general retreat of the current front lines. Italian units were again overwhelming British positions, He felt that holding the ground with so few divisions was impossible and would only lead to a useless loss of life.

Ultimately however the Italian advance was stopped in July at the now legendary Battle of Qara. Here the Italians were finally stopped. They would not capture a single British province again for over a year. After the battle many hailed Adam as a military genius and hero. Although recent scholarship on the subject tells a slightly different story. It is now felt that Adam had little to do with the military success in Africa, especially with the battle of Qara.

The Field Marshal had only been in Egypt for three days by the time the battle for Qara had started. Adam did not command any of the units in the battle nor was he responsible for any of the tactics. Also the units that won the battle of Qara, the divisions that had been redeployed from Syria, had been ordered to the front long before Adam took over. Adam only made the obvious decision of telling them to go to the battle and Defend Qara, a decision even a junior aide-de-camp could have made. Adam's influence or lack thereof on the greater African campaign will be discussed in greater detail later on.

Despite the controversy over Adam's role, the Battle of Qara was still crucial. It demonstrated that the British could and would defeat the Italians and it allowed the army to regain their footing and the initiative. Churchill would later remark "Before Qara we never had a victory, after Qara we never had a defeat". Although not exactly true it summed up the general course of events after the battle.

A destroyed German tank of the "Afrika Korps". This photograph epitomized the battle of Qara.​

Concerning naval matters July saw the deployment of two large fleets, a SAG and a CTF, commanded by Admiral Sommerville and Admiral Burrogh respectively. These fleets were sent to replace the severely damaged fleet of Admiral Tovey.

Also during July a very peculiar incident lead to the exposure of large axis spy ring in Britain. A man was taking a taxi to his apartment and upon leaving the taxi he accidentally forgot his briefcase. The drive noticed this and went to give the briefcase back to the man but tripped on his way to do so and dropped it. Upon hitting the floor the briefcase opened and out came, among many other things, detailed schematics of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. The driver thought it was rather suspicious for a man living in such a poor part of town to have access to such privy information. He reported it to the authorities who informed Head of Intelligence Robert Menzies. Menzies ordered his men to keep an eye on the suspicious man and his activities. Menzies was shocked with what his men found. Seven nations were participating in a massive spy ring that stretched throughout the British Empire! Menzies devoted himself to ridding the empire of the spies. An angry Churchill stated that was Menzies' job in the first place.

The Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engine. The blueprints for this piece of machinery were a highly guarded secret at the time.
​

Although tales of espionage and battles are the most exciting parts of war, foreign policy cannot be overlooked. Foreign Minister Anthony Eden had spent years devising a brilliant system to classify the world's nations and place them on a chart according to how close they were to each classification. The classifications were Democratic, Communist and Fascist. The chart was a triangle with each point representing one of the said classifications. This chart allowed Eden and the diplomatic corps to see how close each nation was to joining a faction and plan their diplomatic strategy accordingly.

Churchill had ordered Eden to use the triangle to actually accomplish something useful (Churchill called it the "Daft triangle"). Ultimately Eden decided to flex Britain's diplomatic muscles and influence Venezuela and Turkey into joining the Allies. These nations would not actually do so for several months. This diplomatic blitzing was the last event of significance for Britain in July.






***Continued with August, September and October in the next update***

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OK so now you can see what I'm trying to do with the summaries, yes? I want to summarize everything but also sort of fill things in and add some more detail and some later historical interpretations of what "happened" in the aar. Let me know what you think/if you like it or not. I think it adds a little more flavor but thats just me. Thanks for reading people. The summary of the next three months will be in the next update. When all of the summaries are done I may just condense them into one update and put a link to that 1 update on the index instead of indexing all of them, we'll see.


P.S. The links in the update correspond to the update where the hyperlinked event took place.

 

[Darth Moose]

I like the historian's take on the AAR, please continue!

 

[volksmarschall]

I like the little history-based review of what has happened in the AAR, pretty nifty if you ask me!

 

[unmerged(53301)]

I like the historian's take on the AAR, please continue!

Thank you!

I like the little history-based review of what has happened in the AAR, pretty nifty if you ask me!

Thanks!

OK I'm glad that the summary is liked. Hopefully I can get another update done tonight. We'll see. Thanks for following even though technically there is nothing "new" happening. Still I think the summary is exciting because it looks at everything from a different perspective and adds some more information. Anyway hope you're all enjoying everything!

 

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A History of Britain in the Second World War
~August and September 1941~​

August, at least as far as naval matters go, signified the turning point of the battle for the Mediterranean. Thanks to the negligence of Robert Menzies in not recognizing a large spy ring the Regia Marina had received word that a British transport fleet would be shipping a large amount of reinforcements to Africa early in August. To combat this threat the Italians redoubled their naval patrols.

Fortunately the Royal Navy was keen in responding to the Italian threat. Admiral Sommerville's surface action group found a small Italian patrol and thus began a brief skirmish which would ultimately develop into the last large scale decisive battle between the Italian and British fleets, the Battle of the Eastern Tyrrhenian Sea.

A map of the central Mediterranean with the Tyrrhenian Sea at the center​

The Italian Admiral, Iachino, had spotted British planes flying back to their carrier due to inclement weather. He wrongfully assumed that the planes would lead him to a British carrier task force which was unable to get its plains airborne. This assumption would prove to be Iachino's undoing.

He followed the planes, which belonged to the HMS Argus, a light carrier, and he was lead right to the guns of Sommerville's fleet. Once Iachino realized his error he called for the assistance of any and all Italian ships in the area. This measure proved useless and all Italian ships involved in the matter were sunk. Among them were two battleships, the RM Caio Dulio and RM Vittorio Veneto. The battle also cost the Italians three heavy cruisers and countless smaller ships. The British fleet only lost the HMS Sheffield, a light cruiser, and several destroyers. A small price to pay for such a significant victory. This battle shattered Italian naval confidence and gave naval supremacy over the Mediterranean to the Royal Navy. The Italians could no longer say it was "Mare Nostrum"(Our Sea). After this the Regia Marina had limited engagements with the Royal Navy. Instead they preferred avoiding any sort of engagement with British ships by any means, even if it meant staying at port indefinitely. Perhaps they had forgotten Napoleon's maxim "The army that stays within its fortifications is beaten"? The Regia Marina resigned itself to defeat by hiding in port therefore making the Battle of the Eastern Tyrrhenian Sea one of the most crucial naval battles of the entire war.

The RM Vittorio Veneto was one of Italy's most modern battleships, its loss was devastating to the Regia Marina.

A picture taken on the HMS Sheffield only hours before it was sunk. The crew member responsible for this picture was one of only 15 survivors.​

Sadly the army did not perform as well in August. On the 6th a successful amphibious invasion of Tobruk was performed. The Italians were momentarily shocked by this and Field Marshal Adam used this to order a series of front wide attacks which were successful. It seemed as though the army would do very well but Adam made a crucial mistake. He became far too overconfident and reckless, ordering all units from the Tobruk amphibious invasion force to capture as much territory as possible no matter what the cost. This lead to British positions around Tobruk being far too overextended. Massive holes in the British lines opened up and the Italians exploited them, reclaiming Tobruk only weeks after it had been captured by British forces.

It is likely that Adam was attempting to advance his own reputation with a swift defeat of the Italians in Libya. Not unlike the captain of the Titanic who wanted to retire with fame by reaching his destination in spectacular time. However in Adam's case there was much more at stake than the loss of a luxury liner. Adam's blunder lead to the encirclement of an entire division and could have possibly cost the British army victory in Libya.

Luckily for him he devised an operation which saved his reputation: The amphibious invasion of Tripoli. Troops were landed here towards the end of August. What was unknown was that a small Italian fleet including two battleships, the RM Littorio and RM Andrea Doria. This fleet was forced to flee when the port facilities were being captured. The Italians had no choice but to attempt passing the British blockade commanded by Admiral Tovey. The Italian fleet was cut to pieces in what would be known as the Battle of the Gulf of Gabes. The Andrea Doria and Littorio were sunk. The Italians now had an extremely diminished naval presence and would never recover from losing four battleships in one month, the amphibious landings they would make later in the war notwithstanding.

The RM Littorio at sea. With the sinking of the Littorio the Italians had lost their most modern class of battleship, the Vittorio Veneto class.​

This battle occurred as a result of the invasion of Tripoli. Without this battle Field Marshal Adam's reputation would have taken a severe hit as he had managed to lose Tobruk despite numerical superiority. However one must give credit where credit is due. Adam's plan to push the Italians into the desert by attacking from both sides of Libya was a sound one. What is alarming about previous scholarship about Adam however is that he is treated almost as some sort of national myth. He is regarded as some sort of brilliant general but he simply was not. He was above average at best. The British government at the time recognized the value and necessity of a figure for the British people to rally around so they promoted Adam ad absurdum. Their efforts worked perhaps too well, with historians even thirty years later extolling the virtues of the Field Marshal.

Perhaps more could be known about the Field Marshal's strategic skill if the war papers and maps of the Mediterranean theater during September 1941 could ever be located. Many crucial papers and maps were lost aboard a British ship that was sunk by a German u-boat while bringing the papers back to England. This would aid the study of Adam a great deal. As very few know the exact events of September. All that is known is that the Italians were somehow pushed back a great deal. The testimonies of other Generals serving in the theater at the time all have conflicting accounts of what happened with each man claiming primary responsibility for the success of the British army in September. Perhaps the most ridiculous is the account of General Stopford, commander of the South African expeditionary force, who claimed that he convinced the bulk of the British army to attack while a conservative Adam urged too much caution. This story is highly dubious but despite this the South Africans view Stopford as some sort of icon, even creating a statue of him in Johannesburg. Such stories illustrate the problem of attempting to understand the true impact of Field Marshal Adam. It can never truly be known until the information of September is recovered. Perhaps Adam used the most brilliant tactics known to man? Or perhaps he just used basic stratagems to defeat an enemy inferior in numbers and technology? The answers are sadly lost although evidence seems to indicate the latter.







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October and November in the next update. I didn't plan to do them only 2 months at a time but it actually takes me a while to do only two months. I started this at 10:00 and it took me over an hour. Don't know when next update is as I have a ton of reading. 15-20 page research paper on lend-lease due in a week and I havent started yet and have only done about 1/4 of the research UGH. Then I have to read three different books about the cause of the war between the USA and Japan in addition to reading Moby Dick and some crappy textbook for another class. *Dies*. Yeah so I'll be busy. I'll update when I can. Worse comes to worse I can post a preview of the commentary to hold everyone over as I've actually written the commentaries for about half of the AAR already. I'd rather not resort to this though.

As always thanks a lot for following. Your continued comments and views make it all worth staying up late and ignoring my school work

 

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A History of Britain in the Second World War
~October and November 1941~​

October saw the Italian army reduced to little more than a disorganized mob. British attacks early in the month pushed the foe back quite a bit. Towards the middle of the month however the Italians managed to from a relatively solid defensive line around Benghazi. The British soldiers, who had been incessantly attacking for several weeks without by this point were exhausted and disorganized; They were unable to force the Italians back any further.

While the line in Eastern Libya was stationary the line in Western Libya was not. The small force that captured Tripoli moved out of the port city to capture several provinces from the Italians. The enemy was now surrounded by the British army on two sides. The only alternatives were retreat into the ocean and brave the guns of the Royal Navy or retreat into the desert and face certain death. If the Italians did want to brave the guns of the royal navy they had only one port which could handle an evacuation of that size: Benghazi.

In order to distract the Royal Navy, who were patrolling around the port constantly, the Italians performed a daring yet inconsequential invasion of Malta. Had Malta been taken before Tripoli was captured it may have been a problem, but now the Island was essentially worthless. It was a desperate move that accomplished nothing. It served only to weaken the front in Libya by taking away a division.

Most areas of Malta were undamaged during the invasion. This part of the Island however was not so lucky.​

Before Malta was taken however an event occurred that, at the time, was a source of controversy. It has long been stated that Malta was only captured due to the incompetence of Admiral Bruce-Fraser. It is said that he let himself be distracted by a small Italian fleet while transports carrying the men who would take Malta sneaked past him. This story originates from Royal Navy scapegoating. The truth of the matter is that Bruce-Fraser was ordered to blockade Benghazi while the other blockading fleets were in port for minor repairs. Typically Bruce-Frasers fleet, which was a transport fleet, would not be assigned to such strenuous combat duties but due to a bureaucratic mix up both Sommerville's SAG and Burrogh's CTF were in port. This means that the area around Malta was entirely devoid of a British naval presence for a brief time. The Italians exploited this by sending a transport fleet and capturing Malta.

Several hours before Malta was captured however Bruce-Fraser's fleet engaged a small Italian fleet attempting to run the blockade. The Italian ships were all sunk but this news was overshadowed by the loss of Malta. The Royal Navy did not want to admit to a foolish mistake so instead they pinned the blame on Bruce-Fraser, saying that he overpersued a small Italian diversionary fleet which allowed the Italian transports to reach Malta unharmed. The conspiracy went so far as to even rename documents, renaming the battle "The Battle of the West Central Mediterranean Sea". It was not until over thirty years after Malta was taken that Bruce-Fraser's name was cleared.

Admiral Bruce-Fraser. The man had such a sense of loyalty he never once publicly opposed the claims made by the Royal Navy against him.​

There is little else do discuss of naval matters during this time period.

By October 31st the Italian army in Libya was nearly defeated. The Italian back was ready to break, all it needed was one final straw. That final straw was "Operation Jack O Lantern" which began just as October crossed over into November. This operation called for massive attacks across the entire Eastern Libyan front. The attacks were successful and the Italian army was crushed. November was spent mopping up the remaining Italian forces. Libya would be fully occupied by December. So it was that the war in Africa was over, although almost year later the Italians would make a frightening resurgence.

In the only other theater of significance at this time, The Home Front, Britain was experiencing her most nerve racking month yet however one would not have guessed this by observing the actions that took place in the first 26 days of the month. During those days Britain was full of talk about the ever nearing deployment of the HMS Duke of York and the HMS Indomitable. Another matter that ruffled quite a few feathers was Ireland's refusal to join the allies. There is a famous anecdote where supposedly the Irish ambassador spat in Anthony Eden's face but this has not been proven. Funny stories such as this one were however forgotten for something far more serious, or at least it seemed serious at the time.

The Shetland islands were invaded by German paratroopers on October 27th 1941. Many thought this was the precursor to Operation Seelowe but it proved only to be an isolated incident. No major German operation took place afterwards and could not have taken place afterwards considering that the Germans were still deeply involved in Barbarossa against a Soviet foe that proved more steadfast than anticipated.

After that foolish panic Britain finally began worrying about something that was a legitimate problem: German u-boats. To combat the threat a large escort fleet was to be built in order to protect the valuable and vulnerable transport ships. This action however would not protect ships for quite some time. For a more immediate effect the Admiralty assembled a large ASW fleet and gave Admiral Evans command.

Evans devised a strategy of predicting u-boat attacks and then following them to their most likely base. Once their base was found it was to be blockaded. This strategy worked wonders and was crucial in winning the battle of the Atlantic. Many, many submarines were sunk by Evans' ASW fleet which finally eased the burden on the nearly depleted merchant marine.

By November's end the British military was looking towards the future. Fortress Europe had to be breached but few could agree on where or how. Churchill ordered three of his top men, Chief of Staff Alan Brooke, Chief of the Army Cyril Deverell and Field Marshal Adam to each come up with a plan to seize the walls of Fortress Europe.

Ultimately however these plans counted for nil as none of them would be followed. All that needs to be mentioned is that Cyril Deverell's plan "Operation Visigoth" which advocated an invasion of Italy was the one that was to be selected. It was because of this that British troops were left in Libya. Had "Operation Zeus" (a diversionary invasion of Southern Italy while a real invasion of the Balkans took place) been called for the British units in Libya would have been moved to Egypt. Also the invasion would have started much earlier, as soon as January. If this had happened the British army would have been tied down in the Balkans and Italy when Spain and Portugal declared war. If this had happened Gibraltar would have been lost and the war may have had a different outcome.

The events of November could prepare no one for the shock of what happened in December...







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OK I don't really like doing 2 months at a time but it doesnt matter because when they're all done I'll copy/paste them into as few posts as possible so it's all good. Once I start getting into December it'll be easier because it is no longer split with home front/mediterranean and all that. Again thank you all so much for following!

 

[Hick101]

Interesting reading.

So believable at times

 

[unmerged(53301)]

Interesting reading.

So believable at times

Thanks! I really appreciate that as I was so afraid everyone was going to be like "UGH THAT IS SOO DUMB" and point out anachronisms and other such nonsense.