A Better Decade - a British TL.
- Thread starter Sarthak
- Start date
Problem is Italian logistics are even worse than 1940, still no railway from Tripoli and only one decent road. Factor in less motor transport, general lack of mobility and the Italians are just not set up for desert warfare. Factor on top that the British seem to be even more mobile than 1940 with some of their logistics improved and its a case of encircled Italians having the choice of surrender or die of thirst just like during Compass.
I hope the British won’t use gas unless the Italians use it first against them. In such a scenario I think the Italians would think twice about opening that Particular can of worms (much like OTL WW2).
The problem is that it has already technically been used against them. It was almost certainly an accident, but when the war effectively started due to gas clouds, there'd be a strong expectation of the policy of retaliation in kind being enacted.
I'd expect the declaration of war acts as a reset ie its the response to the attack and only further uses will unleash the genie. There was a lot of resistance to using it in "civilized warfare" ( contemporary term ) as opposed to colonial warfare. Seems silly today but that's how they thought, lots of things were seen as ok as long as it was not against a "Power". The British even changed the bullets in their revolvers for WW1 as the softer ones used in "police actions" were seen as of dubious legality for European warfare ( they tended to deform on impact and make a bigger hole ).
Chapter 11: Starting Actions
Chapter 11: Starting Actions
***
November 3 – 10, 1937
***
The declaration of war came at an inopportune time for the British troops in North Africa and East Africa. Steady deployment had been going on, and currently 170,000 troops of the 300,000 strong British Expeditionary Forces had arrived in North Africa and East Africa to truly be a force to be reckoned with. The Dominions. Especially from the Indian Dominions, along with Australia and New Zealand had sent around 100,000 men in total to East Africa, and the troops sent were largely the best of the troops from the Dominions.
In 5th November, the British Commanders in Cairo discussed the War Plan.
The British Expeditionary Forces currently had two Corps in North Africa and Sudan. Initially there had been three, however for better defense in depth, the three Corps had been merged into one.
British Expeditionary Force Order of Battle November 5th:-
I Corps –Lieutenant General Michael Parker
General Alan Brooke
II Corps – Lieutenant General Alan Brooke
Of course, like the plan stated, the first area of attack for the British were to be in the skies, and squadrons currently based in the area, from Malta, Cyprus, Egypt and Aden were:-
The next day, the Royal Navy’s sloop HMS Aeneas, a L and W Class Destroyer, now converted into a sloop claimed the first kill of the war, as the sloop fired and sank an Italian convoy off the coast of Khoms, Libya. The Royal Navy in the Mediterranean was to act as the vanguard of the British in the sea, and cut off mainland Italy completely from it’s colonies and strand their men in their colonies and force a conditional surrender.
The Home Fleet was to strengthen the Mediterranean Fleet and Admiral Cunningham was made overall Fleet Commander in the Mediterranean Theatre.
Admiral Andrew Cunningham
The Declaration of War from Britain against Italy on the same day that the city of Addis Ababa fell was a huge morale boost for the remnants of the Ethiopian troops, and with the II Corps rushing in to form a proper line, the Ethiopians held the line against Italian attacks to protect their new defensive line from Bure-Ambo-Adama all the way south to Ambela as well, though somewhat tenuously almost breaking under a few assaults before stabilizing the lines until the British II corps rushed in.
Meanwhile Cunningham started to draft a plan to disable the Italian fleet at harbor with the 144 carrier based planes in his disposal atop HMS Canopus and HMS Monarch. The plan was ‘Operation Zero’ as a tribute to the fact that this operation would be the absolute first of it’s kind.
In November 8th, the destroyer HMS Gurkha managed to sink another round of convoys headed towards Benghazi in the Gulf of Sirte before being attacked by a dive bomber from the Italian sides. Around 3 bombers had attacked, and one was downed by the anti-air defenses and one forces to disengage, however the last remaining one managed to unload its payload into the middle sector of the destroyer. The explosion rocked the ship and whilst it didn’t sink, the Destroyer had to limp off to Alexandria for repairs; with around 12 seamen and sailors killed in the explosion of the destroyer.
Currently, in Europe the reactions to the war were very mixed and varied among all the powers. France was alarmed and their own forces in the Mediterranean were mobilized just in case, and the Germans were very, even though they wouldn’t admit it, frightened by the assertive stance, that Britain had taken and were cautiously eyeing this war as an opportunity to seek what Germany wanted with impunity far from British eyes. France alone wouldn’t be able to do much. However Germany also increased the scale of their backing of Francisco Franco in Spain to make sure that an ally would remain; because the military higher ups in Germany were plainly stating that 4 out of 5 times in this new war, they didn’t believe Italy was going to win at all. In Portugal, Britain’s age old ally, the government sent a missive to Westminster stating that whilst they wouldn’t enter the war; unless Britain activated the treaty, they would be willing to take over the Colonial garrisons in Rhodesia, and lease the Azores as forward aircraft base for the British if they so wished. The British accepted this deal and the Colonial garrisons in Rhodesia were transferred up north to East Africa as they were freed up by the Portuguese troops entering the land to take garrison. A few squadrons also were based into the Azores. In Soviet Union, the war was seen as another ‘capitalist’ war, however they were curiously looking at the military situations and developments. The Dominions were largely throwing their support behind Britain; and the fact that British people; people from the home country had died, had enraged the population in the Dominions (barring Indian dominions) by a whole lot as well. Italian Americans tourists in Canada found themselves subjected to the cold shoulder and a few select derogatory words, even from the Quebecois, surprisingly. In America, the war was very much in the favor of the British, though Italian Americans weren’t targeted as the German Americans like in the Great War. The use of mustard gas, etc had made the American public swing hard in the favor of the British, and the people were parading around with pro-british slogans, and many Americans were moving up north to volunteer as ‘canadians’ in the Dominion Army.
In November 10th, the Cabinet reached a decision to form an Imperial War Cabinet between the Dominions as an official Commonwealth policy during wartime, for better cohesion of forces; and as the day ended, the first skirmishes between the British and Italians broke out in the Libyan and Egyptian frontiers. A decision was also made. As long as the Italians did not use the chemical weapons anymore; most especially against British troops, then the British wouldn’t do the same against the Italians; however to ruin any effect of pre-emptive attacks, the troops were equipped with gas masks, just in case.
***
***
November 3 – 10, 1937
***
The declaration of war came at an inopportune time for the British troops in North Africa and East Africa. Steady deployment had been going on, and currently 170,000 troops of the 300,000 strong British Expeditionary Forces had arrived in North Africa and East Africa to truly be a force to be reckoned with. The Dominions. Especially from the Indian Dominions, along with Australia and New Zealand had sent around 100,000 men in total to East Africa, and the troops sent were largely the best of the troops from the Dominions.
In 5th November, the British Commanders in Cairo discussed the War Plan.
The British Expeditionary Forces currently had two Corps in North Africa and Sudan. Initially there had been three, however for better defense in depth, the three Corps had been merged into one.
British Expeditionary Force Order of Battle November 5th:-
I Corps –Lieutenant General Michael Parker
- 115th Royal Artillery Regiment
- 140th Royal Artillery Regiment
- 1st Medium Artillery Regiment
- 98th Field Artillery Regiment
- 1st Infantry Division – Major General Harold Alexander
- 2nd Infantry Division – Major General Henry Lloyd
- 48th Motorized Infantry Division – Major General Augustus Thorne
- Royal Armored Force – Major General Percy Hobart
- 4th Armored Regiment
- First Anti-Aircraft Brigade
- 2nd Anti-Aircraft Brigad
General Alan Brooke
II Corps – Lieutenant General Alan Brooke
- 222nd Army Field Company
- 108th Army Field Company
- 11th Engineer Corps
- 2nd Artillery Regiment
- 59th Medium Artillery Regiment
- 60th Heavy Artillery Regiment
- 2nd Super Heavy Battery Regiment
- 3rd Infantry Division – Major General Bernard Montgomery
- 4th Infantry Division – Major General Dudley Johnson
- 50th Motor Infantry Division – Major General Giffard Martel.
- 7th Armored Regiment
Of course, like the plan stated, the first area of attack for the British were to be in the skies, and squadrons currently based in the area, from Malta, Cyprus, Egypt and Aden were:-
- 1st Squadron (Hurricane)
- 3rd squadron (Hurricane)
- 17th Squadron (Hurricane)
- 19th Squadron (Spitfire)
- 23rd Squadron (Hurricane)
- 25th Squadron (Hurricane)
- 27th Squadron (Damocles)
- 41st squadron (Damocles)
- 65th Squadron (Damocles)
- 69th Squadron (Damocles)
- 79th Squadron (Damocles)
- 80th Squadron (Damocles)
- 85th Squadron (Damocles)
- 67th Squadron (Damocles)
- 70th Squadron (Damocles)
- 46th Squadron (Damocles)
- 48th Squadron (Damocles)
- 50th Squadron (Spitfire)
- 235th Squadron (Vickers Wellington)
- 236th Squadron (Vickers Wellington)
- 237th Squadron (Vickers Wellington)
- 238th Squadron (Vickers Wellington)
- 240th squadron (Fairey Seawolf)
- 245th Squadron (Fairey Seawolf)
- 248th Squadron (Fairey Seawolf)
The next day, the Royal Navy’s sloop HMS Aeneas, a L and W Class Destroyer, now converted into a sloop claimed the first kill of the war, as the sloop fired and sank an Italian convoy off the coast of Khoms, Libya. The Royal Navy in the Mediterranean was to act as the vanguard of the British in the sea, and cut off mainland Italy completely from it’s colonies and strand their men in their colonies and force a conditional surrender.
The Home Fleet was to strengthen the Mediterranean Fleet and Admiral Cunningham was made overall Fleet Commander in the Mediterranean Theatre.
Admiral Andrew Cunningham
The Declaration of War from Britain against Italy on the same day that the city of Addis Ababa fell was a huge morale boost for the remnants of the Ethiopian troops, and with the II Corps rushing in to form a proper line, the Ethiopians held the line against Italian attacks to protect their new defensive line from Bure-Ambo-Adama all the way south to Ambela as well, though somewhat tenuously almost breaking under a few assaults before stabilizing the lines until the British II corps rushed in.
Meanwhile Cunningham started to draft a plan to disable the Italian fleet at harbor with the 144 carrier based planes in his disposal atop HMS Canopus and HMS Monarch. The plan was ‘Operation Zero’ as a tribute to the fact that this operation would be the absolute first of it’s kind.
In November 8th, the destroyer HMS Gurkha managed to sink another round of convoys headed towards Benghazi in the Gulf of Sirte before being attacked by a dive bomber from the Italian sides. Around 3 bombers had attacked, and one was downed by the anti-air defenses and one forces to disengage, however the last remaining one managed to unload its payload into the middle sector of the destroyer. The explosion rocked the ship and whilst it didn’t sink, the Destroyer had to limp off to Alexandria for repairs; with around 12 seamen and sailors killed in the explosion of the destroyer.
Currently, in Europe the reactions to the war were very mixed and varied among all the powers. France was alarmed and their own forces in the Mediterranean were mobilized just in case, and the Germans were very, even though they wouldn’t admit it, frightened by the assertive stance, that Britain had taken and were cautiously eyeing this war as an opportunity to seek what Germany wanted with impunity far from British eyes. France alone wouldn’t be able to do much. However Germany also increased the scale of their backing of Francisco Franco in Spain to make sure that an ally would remain; because the military higher ups in Germany were plainly stating that 4 out of 5 times in this new war, they didn’t believe Italy was going to win at all. In Portugal, Britain’s age old ally, the government sent a missive to Westminster stating that whilst they wouldn’t enter the war; unless Britain activated the treaty, they would be willing to take over the Colonial garrisons in Rhodesia, and lease the Azores as forward aircraft base for the British if they so wished. The British accepted this deal and the Colonial garrisons in Rhodesia were transferred up north to East Africa as they were freed up by the Portuguese troops entering the land to take garrison. A few squadrons also were based into the Azores. In Soviet Union, the war was seen as another ‘capitalist’ war, however they were curiously looking at the military situations and developments. The Dominions were largely throwing their support behind Britain; and the fact that British people; people from the home country had died, had enraged the population in the Dominions (barring Indian dominions) by a whole lot as well. Italian Americans tourists in Canada found themselves subjected to the cold shoulder and a few select derogatory words, even from the Quebecois, surprisingly. In America, the war was very much in the favor of the British, though Italian Americans weren’t targeted as the German Americans like in the Great War. The use of mustard gas, etc had made the American public swing hard in the favor of the British, and the people were parading around with pro-british slogans, and many Americans were moving up north to volunteer as ‘canadians’ in the Dominion Army.
In November 10th, the Cabinet reached a decision to form an Imperial War Cabinet between the Dominions as an official Commonwealth policy during wartime, for better cohesion of forces; and as the day ended, the first skirmishes between the British and Italians broke out in the Libyan and Egyptian frontiers. A decision was also made. As long as the Italians did not use the chemical weapons anymore; most especially against British troops, then the British wouldn’t do the same against the Italians; however to ruin any effect of pre-emptive attacks, the troops were equipped with gas masks, just in case.
***
Imperial War Cabinet
Imperial War Cabinet
British PM: Herbert Samuel
Secretary of War: Archibald Sinclair
First Lord of the Admiralty: Winston Churchill
Canada PM: William Lyon MacKenzie King
Minister of Defense - Ian Allistair MacKenzie
Australia PM - Joseph Lyons
Minister of Defense - Archdale Parkhill
New Zealand PM - Michael Joseph Savage
Minister of Defense - Fred Jones
South African Prime Minister and Minister of Defense: Jan Smuts
Irish Prime Minister and Minister of Defense - Frank MacDermont.
British PM: Herbert Samuel
Secretary of War: Archibald Sinclair
First Lord of the Admiralty: Winston Churchill
Canada PM: William Lyon MacKenzie King
Minister of Defense - Ian Allistair MacKenzie
Australia PM - Joseph Lyons
Minister of Defense - Archdale Parkhill
New Zealand PM - Michael Joseph Savage
Minister of Defense - Fred Jones
South African Prime Minister and Minister of Defense: Jan Smuts
Irish Prime Minister and Minister of Defense - Frank MacDermont.
Given communications and other limitations , Domain PM's would only be members of the Cabinet when in the UK ( as per OTL ). I'd expect a permanent representative based in the UK to act as a proxy if they were not. You would not have 2 representatives for a Domain, OTL cabinets were small for a reason, quicker response.
Hmm, I bet the Germans are thinking that since the British are gunning for the Italians because they killed some of their countrymen then all they have to do is avoid killing British citizens and they can do whatever they want.
“The 1940 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XII Olympiad, were originally scheduled to be held from September 21 to October 6, 1940, in Tokyo, Japan.” Then they were rescheduled for Finland due to Japan being Japan then cancelled due to ww2 so depending on the timeline we could have a slightly earlier Finnish summer Olympic Games 1952 - 1940
