Ghastly Victories: The United States in the World Wars

[RamscoopRaider]

…The shift of Belgium from a French ally to a true neutral left France’s main defensive line, the Maginot Line, in danger of being outflanked. While Belgium possessed formidable defenses and a relatively strong army, there was considerable fear that without the French Army fighting alongside in the forward positions that the Germans would quickly win and be able to invade France once more without facing the Maginot line. With neutrality making prepositioning and fighting alongside the Belgians impossible, that meant the French would have to either fight a mobile engagement in Belgium or fortify the border.

The French Army preferred a hybrid plan, moving up slightly into Belgium to a line based on the Scheldt river to gain space without risking a meeting engagement and then falling back on a line of border fortifications in a fighting retreat. This was the plan the French intended to execute, however with the other commitments on the French budget only a few hundred pillboxes were ordered to be built on the Belgian frontier from Maubenge to the sea, pillboxes that at the start of the war were still incomplete…

…The outbreak of war saw additional pillboxes and bunkers ordered both to thicken the existing set on the Belgian border and to cover the area of the Ardennes to be part of the “certain measures” that Marshal Petain stated were necessary to ensure the Ardennes were impassable. Funds for these bunkers were not released until December and while the bunkers had their concrete portions finished by mid-April, the metal doors and shutters that were to go with them did not even begin to be delivered until mid-May, to say nothing of the armaments…

…Land Mines were an important part of French defensive plans, being able to slow down an attacker considerably while they swept them or found safe routes. Yet for budgetary reasons no stockpiles were made in the interwar period, instead they were only ordered in November after the war had already broken out, and only started to be delivered en masse in March of 1941, with priority of course going to the belts supporting the Maginot line and not to building up a reserve or to the Belgian frontier…

…The French Army of 1940 was while much better equipped than the Army of 1914 not nearly as well trained or disciplined thanks to interwar reduction of conscription to one year, a lack of training budget and meddling by interwar socialist governments. The reservists of 1914 while lacking the tactical articulation of regulars could march, at the very least had the discipline to stand under fire and charge home with bayonets fixed and the organization to quickly carry out orders and adapt to changing circumstances.

This was not the case with the divisions mobilized in 1940. They could march and they could shoot but their ability to stand under fire, even with good morale, something they lacked, was questionable, as was the ability of the officers and NCOs to deal with the unexpected. This problem was not unique to the French, the British territorials had the same problem and the later waves of German infantry too were far inferior to the reservists of the Kaiser’s Army in 1914. Yet the British and Germans realized their problems and over the winter and early spring moved to correct them, training and drilling their reservists and conscripts to a fine edge.

The French did not. Troops stayed in their barracks and waited patiently for their furloughs, which were frequent and long, where they would take part time work for extra cash. Training was infrequent in most units as was drilling, with the poilus as 1940 simply waiting. Boredom quickly became the biggest problem for the French and as ever it proved more corrosive to morale than almost anything else. The British and Germans knew this and when they weren’t training they made sure to keep their troops busy, with make work if nothing else. The French Army, outside of elite units, had lost that habit thanks to years of Socialist governments meddling in the affairs of the army. As a result morale, never good, fell precipitously…

…Outside of fighting positions for the interval divisions on the Maginot Line no major fieldworks were constructed by the French. Attempts to construct such works were halted as “defeatist” and corrosive to morale. Why should they dig trenchlines in northern France when they would advance into Belgium and stop the Boche there, or in eastern France behind the Maginot Line, as if the Boche could break through that. No, building extra defenses would be a waste of effort and would demoralize the soldiers and the people of France…

-Excerpt From The Rooster has No Feathers, French History after 1919, New York, Philadelphia, 2007

…By the start of 1941 the Togo unit had perfected a new approach to biowarfare. Rather than attempt to generate a large scale outbreak using typhoid or paratyphoid fever and hope to incapacitate Chinese soldiers as part of it they would instead attempt to target the soldiers directly. The agent of choice for this was Gonorrhea, which while rarely lethal had a reputation for putting soldiers out of action going back to the Crusades.

The distribution vector that the Togo unit chose was condoms, impregnating the contraceptive sheaths with the gonococci bacterium and arranging for their distribution to brothels frequented by the Chinese military through contacts with the various Triads made by IJA intelligence. This proved almost instantly successful at generating venereal disease outbreaks and putting large numbers of Chinese troops, particularly officers on the sick list. The outbreaks proved self-reinforcing, as the spreading disease triggered greater condom use, which in turn further spread the disease among the prostitutes and troops they serviced, among others. By the time the Japanese Spring offensive was ready over 20,000 troops in combat theaters were incapacitated by the disease, disproportionately officers, and unlike previous attempts there was no significant blowback onto the Japanese.

The success of this campaign inspired the Togo unit to repeat the campaign with a new wrinkle in the next year, which would build off the success of the Gonorrhea contaminated condoms to further weaken the Chinese military apparatus, something that would also target the political one as well…

-Pandora’s Children: Weapons of Mass Destruction, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2012

Spoiler: Switzerland

The Swiss Confederation

Basics:

Switzerland is a Confederation of 26 Cantons. It is governed democratically and its current leading party is the Socialists. Switzerland has a tradition of neutrality and has remained neutral in all wars since 1815, and has no present alliances.

Economy:

Switzerland is a moderately industrialized nation specializing in precision industry. Switzerland is self-sufficient agriculturally and exports dairy products, but is highly dependent on raw materials imports. Switzerland is a major hub of international finance.

Land Forces:

Switzerland has a small professional army of 20,000 and a mobilization strength of 850,000. This Army is organized into 3 Corps of 12 divisions, with more to be raised under mobilization.

The standard Swiss long arm is the Furrer, a 6 round straight pull bolt action in 7.5x55mm Swiss, probably the most accurate service rifle in the world. Some units have older Schmidt Rubin M1911 the heavier predecessor design in the same chambering. Some reservists have Mondragon M1893 in 7.5x55, Mannlicher M1893 in 7.5x53.5, Vetterli M1881 in 10.4x38mm Swiss black powder or 1866 Winchesters in 10.4x38mm. Some lucky units have Mondragon M1908 semi-automatics in 7.5x55mm which is built by SIG and remains in low rate production.

The standard Swiss sidearm is the Luger P08 in 7.65x21mm, built in Berne. Reservists may be issued M1882 in 7.5x23mm Swiss or M1878 in 10.4x18mm Swiss revolvers, both still using black powder cartridges. Switzerland has only acquired small numbers of Submachine Guns for testing and has not adopted any.

The standard Swiss light machine gun is the Furrer M1925, a magazine fed design in 7.5x55mm attached one per squad. These are supplemented by clones of the German MG 27, another somewhat cheaper but heavier and less accurate design, in 7.5x55mm. The standard heavy machine gun is the MG 11, a clone of the water cooled German MG08 in 7.5x55mm.

Like many nations Switzerland makes use of a clone of the 81mm Brandt mortar as a battalion weapon, issuing 3 per.

For light anti-armor Switzerland has about 100 S-1100 AT rifles in 20x138mm. These are large carriage mounted semi-automatic designs used as mobile AT firepower to make up for a lack of proper AT guns. Some 5.3cm/24.5 Gruson Fahrpanzers exist, two man mobile pillboxes of armor steel, often mounted on railway track and used for fixed defense.

Swiss AA at the lowest level takes the form of 2cm autocannon, either the ST-4 predeccesor to the German 2cm design or the Oerlikon, the former in 20x138mm, the latter in 20x110mm. At higher levels Switzerland uses Bofors 75mm/52, a modern piece and older 75mm AA guns from WWI bought used from France.

The newest Swiss field artillery is the Bofors 105mm/24, a modern piece licensed from Sweden. Most units have older designs, Krupp 7.5cm/30 M1903, 8cm Staal M1880 from the Netherlands, 8.4cm M1879 and 1871, the last a bronze black powder piece they still have over 400 of. Lighter units may use 75mm/22 m1929 Bofors mountain guns, also licensed built in Switzerland. Reservists may have 7.5cm/14 M1906 or 7.5cm/13 M1880 from Krupp, obsolescent to obsolete designs the Swiss still have in numbers.

Swiss heavy artillery is also in the form of Bofors guns 105mm/42 guns and 150mm/22 howitzers, though Switzerland possesses very little of this.

The Swiss have an extensive fortress network with guns of 37mm-150mm built in concrete casemates and firing pits.

Switzerland has a small tank force. 10 machine gun armed FT’s are in service as training vehicles.

10 are machine gun armed Mark III Light tanks bought from the UK.

30 tanks are 10 ton Czech Panzer 38(t), with a 37mm/48, machine gun and decent armor.

10 are Swedish L40, similar to the 38(t).

Switzerland lacks armored cars.

The Swiss Army is poorly motorized primarily using horse transport and do not have the budget to change this. The Swiss do have a large number of bicycles, with every division having at least one battalion so mounted.

Switzerland is one of the most heavily fortified countries on Earth and the Swiss have effective plans to demolish all possible transit links during a withdrawal to their national redoubt.

Naval Forces:

As a landlocked country Switzerland does not have a navy. It does maintain about 20 machine gun armed patrol boats of under 5 tons on lakes Geneva, Lucerne, Constance, Lugano and Maggiore

Air Forces:

Switzerland has a relatively large air force of 400 aircraft, organized on the French pattern.

The standard Swiss fighter is the Me 115 for which Switzerland has a license and 90 are in service, a modern and potent monoplane. 60 more are old Potez 75, open cockpit gull wing monoplanes of mediocre performance license built in Switzerland. Finally Switzerland has 20 or so late WWI surplus of various types.

Switzerland operates 60 Fokker XI bombers, old and slow open cockpit biplanes with a 450 pound bombload and moderate range. Switzerland has a modern enclosed cockpit monoplane bomber in development to replace them, the C-45.

Switzerland operates a number of recon aircraft 90 C-44 and 20 Dh-5. The most numerous is the C-44, a domestic open cockpit biplane with fixed gear, slow but maneuverable with decent range and ceiling, it has a 20mm motor cannon, 2 forward and 1 rear machine gun and can carry up to 90 pounds of bombs. The DH-5 is an older domestic design, very slow and only somewhat maneuverable with two machine guns and a decent ceiling, it is a 20’s era wooden fixed gear open cockpit biplane.

Switzerland has about 10 transports and liaison aircraft of a variety of sources.

Switzerland has about 50 trainers, primarily domestic designs from Pilatus as basic trainers, with a handful of domestic Dewoitines and some imported German designs.

Switzerland lacks paratroopers or advanced aeronautical research.

Weapons of Mass Destruction:

Switzerland does not have a nuclear, biological or chemical weapons program.

Problems:

Switzerland is landlocked

Switzerland is completely dependent on imports for energy and raw materials

Switzerland has not fought a war since 1848

Switzerland has internal ethnic divisions

Switzerland has no allies

-The Eve of War, the World on October 1st 1940, Eagle Press, Philadelphia, 2001

 

[Pax_Nihil]

GonoherpesyphilAIDS is in the process of creation by the Japanese? D:

 

[Hydra1234]

Oh boy, Unit 731 is reaping far more dividends sooner.

 

[Jim Smitty]

Dear lord, Unit 731 is going to cause some problems down the road. I have a feeling once the US picks up on this the orders are don't use anything but government issued

 

[generalurist]

The author of that French history book is spitting utter venom at the Socialist government for fucking up the army. Big oof. Fits in with the rest of what we see, about socialists being easy blame for bad news in TTL's just-before-present.

The development of bioweapons in this TTL is utterly fascinating and utterly horrifying. I want to see more. (Seriously, it's very rare for a TL to do a deep look at the topic)

Were Switzerland's "internal ethnic divisions" a problem during OTL world war two, or is this hinting at future strife that colors hindsight?

 

[RamscoopRaider]

…At the start of May the focus of the Norwegian campaign became the port city of Bergen. Controlled by the British and Norwegians, it was the southernmost port they controlled. The Germans wanted to eliminate it, the British and Norwegians to break out of it. The problem for the latter was the geography of the part.

Bergen was accessible by sea through a set of narrow passages between rocky islands just off the Norwegian coast. To traverse these passages ships had to move slowly and predictably, making them very vulnerable to air attack. With Bergen far closer to German controlled air bases than friendly ones and with its airport only capable of servicing seaplanes this meant that the Germans had air supremacy and were able to constantly attack incoming ships with dive bombers, and the facilities on shore with level bombers. This did not stop the British from being able to supply the city but even with the diversion of AA batteries and escorts it meant that they could not supply an offensive out of the city, or even a full scale defense.

This left them attempting to link up by land. With Norway’s rocky, fjord cut coast being what it was combined with the inland mountain ranges the British were left with only one real option. A force would need to advance south from Trondheim along the railway to the town of Otta and then via the road network to the rail line from Oslo to Bergen where they would cut off the German line of supply and force them to withdraw. There were several possible points this could be done at ranging from Gol at the closest to Voss at the farthest, but thanks to geography this was the only way to form a line of communication with Bergen. The only possible alternative was to take Oslo, but the Germans were too well dug in for that to occur quickly.

Thus two Brigades would push south on Otta, once there one would hold position while another the other would push along the road network via a somewhat circuitous route to cut the German line of communication at Gol. A third brigade would advance south from the railway junction of Storen along the eastern fork as a diversion.

The two British attacks got off to a strong start, reaching Otta and Alvdal by May 5th. The Germans were over extended, suffering from attacks by isolated groups of Norwegians and focused on Bergen, thus they gave ground they did not need at the moment to reduce their losses. It was after this that the British started to run into trouble.

The Germans spotted the movement of the 24th (Guards) Brigade along the Norwegian road network on the 6th and launched a concerted campaign of air attacks on them, thinking they were a flanking attack to force them to withdraw from their defensive positions at Sjoa prematurely. On the 8th as they conducted a withdrawal to Vinstra after the British had brought up more artillery they realized that the British were nowhere to be found at the towns of Skabu or Kvikne where they assumed a flanking attack would come from. Recon flights on the 9th confirmed that the British were planning on attacking Gol and a battalion was quickly sent from Norway to reinforce the company guarding the town, while aircraft were vectored in to attack them.

The British were thus slowed and by the time their scouts arrived on the 10th a full battalion was dug in and waiting for them. By the time they were ready for a set piece assault on the 11th a second battalion had arrived and the Guards had only a 3:2 edge. Without the artillery superiority the British had elsewhere in the campaign this was not enough and after a day’s fighting the British had not gotten significantly past their starting positions. On the 12th a platoon of German Panzer’s arrived, and with the British having abandoned their AT weapons to lighten their logistics footprint they were forced to withdraw to their headquarters at Sanderstolen. The situation thus turned into a stalemate as the British were unable to bring enough artillery to bear over the long road route and the Germans felt no need to push them back further.

This changed on May 13th when the Admiralty requested that Bergen be evacuated. They had just lost a third destroyer to air attack while escorting merchants into the city and they felt that there was no military reason to hold the city. Given the constant German air attacks they judged that it was not worth trying to hold the city just for purposes of bolstering Norwegian morale. Politically sensitive to warship losses Prime Minister Eden agreed with the Royal Navy and made the decision to evacuate Bergen over the protests of the British Army and Norwegians.

A pair of carriers were brought in to provide temporary air cover to allow the evacuation of the troops in Bergen to Trondheim between the 15th and 18th. This gave a necessary respite to the air attacks on the city, but came at the cost of rendering the Ark Royal and Audacious hors de combat until their air wings were replenished. The Germans captured the city on the 19th and the focus of the campaign moved to Lillehammer and Elverum.

The British were advancing down the railroads to those two cities. They were doing so at a snails pace and with heavy losses, but they were advancing as if they could take them they would gain the room to conduct a mobile campaign. The brigade at Sanderstolen was withdrawn to join the Lillehammer prong while the Elverum prong was reinforced by brigade from Narvik. These would allow them to keep advancing, and hopefully reach the halfway point between Otta and Lillehammer and Alvdal and Elverum by the first week in June. More reinforcements however would be needed to actually complete the advance to those cities, and then advance on Oslo, both ground troops and aircraft to cover them.

The French were prepared to provide that, having five divisions of light infantry preparing to embark by the end of June and appropriate air cover to support them. With those extra light forces trained in mountain operations they could afford to conduct flanking attacks through all possible routes and force the Germans back at a much quicker pace…

-Excerpt From The Fall of Europe, Scholastic American Press, Philadelphia, 2005

Spoiler: Ireland

The Irish Free State

Basics:

Ireland is a nominal dominion of the British empire, in practice an independent republic, consisting of all but 6 of the island’s 32 counties. It gained its independence from Britian after a war in the aftermath of WWI.

Economy:

Ireland is a primarily agricultural economy, focused on food and processed food. It is highly dependent on imports of fuel and manufactured goods. It does have a limited amount of domestic industry.

Land Forces:

Ireland has a small army of 10,000 with the ability to rapidly expand from militia and volunteers, with small arms for at least 100,000. This army is in the form of 4 minimal mobile brigades and 26 territorial brigades, which are mere skeletons for volunteers and militia.

The standard Irish rifle is the Lee-Enfield of varying marks in .303 British, inherited from Britian. In reserve are Lee Metfords in .303 British and various quantities of rifles in odd calibers from the war of independence or purchases/barter deals/donations. The most common of these are secondhand Gewehr 98 in 7.92x57mm and Mannlicher M1895 in 8x50mm, and Mosin-Nagants from somewhere in 7.62x54mm.

The standard Irish sidearm is the Webley revolver in .38 British or .455. These are supplemented by a variety of automatic pistols in .32 ACP and a varying number of older revolvers in different calibers in reserve as well as small quantities of other automatic pistols. Ireland has a barter deal with Sapin for Astra pistols in .32 ACP as a standard sidearm. For submachine guns Ireland has standardized on the US Thompson in .45 ACP, but they are kept primarily in reserve.

The standard Irish machine guns are the Lewis and the Vickers, both in .303. The Lewis is used as a squad weapon, while the Vickers are issued 6 per battalion to provide a base of fire. Madsen Guns in .303 supplement the Lewis guns and are used as vehicle mounted weapons. Ireland is in talks with the US to purchase Brownings in .303 British.

Ireland issues 3 bolt action Anti-Tank rifles per battalion, US export designs in .50 BMG with a 5 round magazine. Ireland also has some German model 1918 AT guns in 37mm, bought secondhand from Belgium and issued 3 per mobile brigade.

Ireland issues 3” Stokes mortars 3 per battalion to provide indirect fire support. The Irish intend to replace them with French Brandt mortars.

Ireland’s standard AA weapon is the Vickers MG on an AA mount, supplemented by 1 and 2 pounder pom poms and 12 pounders from WWI. Ireland is shopping around for more modern AA.

Ireland’s standard field piece is the QF 18 pounder and the 4.5” Howitzer, still in their WWI configuration. Each mobile brigade has 2 batteries of 18 pounder and 1 of 4.5” howitzers, plus a central reserve. Ireland also has 8 batteries of 3.7” mountain howitzers, also unmodernized. Ireland lacks any artillery heavier than this beyond coastal guns inherited from the UK.

Ireland has 6 FT-17 tanks with machine guns bought from France for training purposes.

Ireland has about 30 armored cars of various types armed with machine guns.

The Irish army is largely unmotorized, with only limited motor transport for artillery and utility. It is expected to rely upon impressment of civilian transport during wartime.

Naval Forces:

Ireland has a small naval force for fisheries protection and law enforcement.

The oldest ships is the Muirchu, a 325 ton yacht formerly HMS Helga. She makes 15 knots and has 2 3” guns and two machine guns.

Supporting her are three larger formerly British trawlers from WWI, 440 ton Mersey class vessels. They make 11 knots and have 2 3” guns and two machine guns.

Supporting them are two 250 ton 11 knot Fort Rannoch class patrol vessels. They have a 3” gun and 3 machine guns.

Supporting them is a squadron of 6 30 ton Motor torpedo boats, carrying 3 machine guns and two 21” torpedoes with a speed of 40 knots.

The Irish naval service is prepared to convert a number of civilian fishing trawlers to minelayers in case of war

Ireland lacks naval infantry or naval aviation

Air Forces:

Ireland has a small air corps of 75 planes

12 fighters are American Boeing export designs, bought cheap after China could not accept delivery, open cockpit fixed gear monoplanes that while not fast are still decently maneuverable and are armed with a pair of rifle caliber machine guns and up to 200 pounds of bombs. The other 12 are Hawker Headsmen bought from Britian.

20 Avro Archers are used for Maritime patrol, twin engine monoplane light bombers with a 400 pound bombload and 2 machine guns, maneuverable but lacking in range.

5 Supermarine Saltern single engine flying boats are in use for coastal patrol, very slow short ranged biplanes with 2 machine guns and up to 600 pounds of bombs.

10 Westland Warrington have been bought as liaison aircraft.

The remaining aircraft are trainers of mixed British and American origin.

Ireland lacks paratroopers or advanced aeronautical research

Weapons of Mass Destruction:

Ireland lacks nuclear, biological or chemical weapons programs

Problems:

Ireland is still formally part of the British Empire

Ireland is home to a small anti-British insurgency

Ireland has strong anti-British sympathies

Ireland is right next to Britian

Ireland has a territorial dispute over the 6 counties of Northern Ireland with Britain
-The Eve of War, the World on October 1st 1940, Eagle Press, Philadelphia, 2001

 

[generalurist]

While it started out a mess, with fighting still raging in late May TTL's Norwegian campaign is dragging on for much longer than OTL's. Interesting.

 

[Pax_Nihil]

Those comments at the end of the Irish explainer are rather ominous in my eyes....

 

[RamscoopRaider]

…The poor performance of the British and French in Norway, and the excellent performance of the Germans was extremely notable to King Leopold III. The Royal Navy had failed to stop a German invasion force from reaching Norway, despite a margin of superiority that was nothing short of crushing. The Royal Air Force had comprehensively failed in Norway, being only barely able to defend a handful of debarkation ports and otherwise ceding the skies. And the British Army had proven to be sluggish in the extreme, effectively held off by poorly equipped Norwegian forces and unable to rapidly take action against the Germans. The French forces involved, few as they were, had done no better, while the Germans had shown even when the odds were against them they could act quickly and decisively.

For King Leopold that had an enormous implications for his defense policy. The current Belgian war plan involved inviting in British and French troops to take up defensive positions inside of Belgium. That however required them to act quickly and decisively, in order to get into position in time to resist the Germans. With the British having shown a shocking lack of quickness and decisiveness in Norway that was appearing a less than likely outcome. The failure of the RAF further shaded Leopold’s thinking, as it seemed certain that the Germans would have air superiority and be able to hinder Anglo-French troop movements and bomb Belgium at will.

Leopold thus decided to go with his personal inclination and on April 28th he ordered the Belgian Army to change its deployment plan to the defense of the National Redoubt, as opposed to the previous broad front deployment. This immediately sparked a constitutional crisis as the Prime Minister and Cabinet did not agree with this decision at all. On the one hand Article 64 of the Belgian Constitution made it clear that no Act of the King was valid unless signed by a Minister of Government, at the same time however Article 68 explicitly gave the King supreme power in military matters.

Thus began two weeks of political maneuvering as Prime Minister Van Zeeland attempted to make the King go back on his decision and acknowledge the supremacy of the government. He was excessively cautious in this matter however as he did not want to give the King an opening to force his resignation, something that would leave him vulnerable to bribery charges.

The military, taking the King’s perspective, executed their redeployment orders and by the 10th of May was well positioned to defend Antwerp for months on end…

…By May of 1941 Sanna was making preparations to take advantage of the imminent distraction of the other major European powers. He had received intelligence briefings on the German buildup on their western border and was convinced that Hitler would not back down this time. Once that happened he would have a totally free hand.

Sanna’s first priority was the Balkans and particularly Yugoslavia. He began rapidly stepping up support to the Chetnik movement, with the goal of making them strong enough to overthrow the Yugoslav monarchy and takeover the country. He would then be able to swoop in while Yugoslavia was reeling from the coup and break up the state, annexing the territories Italy failed to receive after WWI, and a few other choice bits, and dividing the remainder of the state into smaller, mutually hostile states that Italy could easily control. Following that, which he expected to occur by mid-1942, he planned to pressure the Greeks, with the aid of the Bulgarians, in exchange for territorial concessions, though he would offer to support them against the Turks to soften the blow.

His second priority was to integrate the territories that Italy already had. He planned to annex Albania and with that officially proclaim that Italy was an Empire and no longer a kingdom. Along with that he planned to have his fascist puppet government in San Marino agree to annexation as a symbolic reunion of the longest lost Italian territory.

His third priority was to economically exploit Germany for all it was worth. He expected that Hitler would be forced to surrender sometime in 1943, but until that time he would gain the maximum benefit from being Hitler’s only real hole in the blockade. Already he had managed to get significant payments in gold and coal in exchange for strategic materials, improving the strength of the Lira and Italy’s negotiating position vis a vis the British, their normal coal supplier, by building up a large reserve of the substance.

His fourth priority was to exploit the troubled security situation in eastern Europe to lay the groundwork for Italian hegemony. With Stalin having shown his true colors by invading 5 countries in three months, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary were increasingly nervous. All three wanted arms and security assurances an with Italy, along with the US, having the only major military industry that was not overbooked with domestic orders he had large amounts of leverage. Romania and Bulgaria received all the equipment they could afford at reasonable prices, while Hungary received nothing as punishment for their alignment with Hitler. Sanna further negotiated a three way defense pact between Bulgaria, Italy and Romania at the end of April…

…Sanna’s plans were no secret to the British, through a combination of communications intercepts and human intelligence they were aware that he was planning something in the Adriatic. Substantial movements of troops, aircraft and small warships had all been seen, as had increases in the amount of ready supplies. This was considered a major relief as it indicated that Italy had no plans for interfering in the war with Germany, drawing down strength in southern and western Italy. At the same point neither of them wanted Sanna to dismantle Yugoslavia, which he clearly had an interest in doing.

The French were stretched enough that they were unable to do anything. The British however were able to do something. The Royal Navy began using Malta as its primary base for its surface warships to work up. By May 1941 the Battleships Commonwealth, Dominion and King George V, the Aircraft Carrier Africa, 1 heavy, 4 light and 3 anti-aircraft cruisers and 16 destroyers were based out of the small island group, with another 8 destroyers and a light cruiser at Alexandria.

While highly exposed to potential air attack from Italy, hence the plans to transfer the Mediterranean fleet to Alexandria in case of Italian hostility, its proximity to Italy was politically important. By basing the fleet there the British sent a message that they were not afraid of the Italian military and that Italy should reconsider any adventures, or at the very least provide a suitable fig leaf for Britain to ignore them. At the same time however this fleet was a scarecrow, unready for action and kept at Malta secure in the knowledge they were under no real threat…

-Excerpt From The Fall of Europe, Scholastic American Press, Philadelphia, 2005

Spoiler: Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Basics:

Yugoslavia is a constitutional monarchy under the house of Karadordevic, currently governed by a centrist coalition led by the Croation People’s peasant Party. It was formed after WWI out of a merger of Serbia and Montenegro, including territories taken from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Economy:

Yugoslavia is a primarily agricultural country, with most of the population engaged in subsistence agriculture. It has very little industry and is only slightly more industrialized than Bulgaria. It does however have a relatively developed mining sector.

Land Forces:

Yugoslavia has a large Army of 1,200,000 at full mobilization strength. It is organized into 33 divisions, 28 infantry, 1 stormtrooper, 1 mountain and 3 cavalry, and 35 independent brigades.

The standard Yugoslav infantry weapon is the FN Model 1924, a Belgian Gewehr 98 variant in 7.92x57mm Mauser. Reservists may be issued the Zastava M1899, a Mauser 1895 clone converted to 7x57mm, Gewehr 98s or Mannlicher M1895 converted to 7.92mm.

The Standard Yugoslav sidearm is the Ruby pistol in .32 ACP or FN model 1922 in .38 ACP. Reservists may be issued the Rast and Gasser M1898 in 8mm Gasser, a double action revolver, or Roth Steyr Semi-automatics in 8mm Roth Steyr. Yugoslavia makes limited use of Vollmer Submachine guns imported from Germany in 9mm Parabellum.

The standard Yugoslav light machine gun is a variant of the Czech ZB-30, locally license built in 7.92mm Mauser. Other units may be issues ZB-26 variants, Madsen’s in 7.92mm, or Chauchats rechambered for 7.92mm as their squad weapons. Heavier company level weapons are the MG08, Schwarlose rechambered for 7.92mm, or rechambered Hotchkiss m1914.

Yugoslavia standard mortars are a 60mm Stokes variant, being replaced by an 81mm Brandt clone, four per battalion.

Yugoslavia makes use of Czech built 37mm/40 and 47mm/43 anti tank guns as a divisional weapon, with about 400 of each in service. A locally built variant of the Mauser T Gewehr is used for Regimental AT work, chambered in 13.2mm TuF and issued 12 per regiment.

For AA Yugoslavia uses 15mm Czech Heavy Machine guns and 20mm Oerlikon at lower levels. At mid-level they use the Skoda 40mm/67 Autocannon. At high level 83.5mm/55 and 90mm/45 AA guns from Skoda are used, modern pieces, with older French 75mm designs in service.

The standard Yugoslav field gun is a modern Skoda 80mm/40 field gun meant as a combination field, mountain and AA gun, but a failure at the last. Older 80mm FK M5 and M17 are in use by reservists. Mountain troops use 75mm/15.4 M1915 from Skoda. The 80mm Pieces are supplemented by 105mm/12 M1919 Schnieder Mountain guns, 100mm/16 M16 Mountain howitzer, 100mm/24 M16/19 mountain howitzer, 10.5cm/15.5 LfH 98/09, 100mm/24 M14/19 or the 100mm/25 M28, a modern combination howitzer and mountain gun, all from Skoda.

Heavier artillery includes the obsolete 105mm/28 M1913 Scheider and modern 10.5cm/42 K35 from Skoda. At the highest level for mobile artillery Skoda K Series 149mm/27 howitzers of modern design are used.

For siege work Yugoslavia has a mix of obsolete 120-305mm siege guns inherited from Austria Hungary and modern Czech 220mm and 305mm guns.

Yugoslavia has a modest tank force of 200 units.

50 are refitted FT-17 that have gone through a comprehensive refit program in the 20’s with new tracks and suspension, faster and more reliable but still obsolete.

50 more are French Renault NC 28, a 10 ton development of the FT capable of 12 mph, with a 47mm gun, two machine guns and some protection against 37mm AT guns.

50 more are Czech Skoda ST, 6 ton vehicles with a casemated 37mm/40 and limited traverse, capable of 25mph but only protected against AT rifles from the front.

50 are modern French N36.

Yugoslavia is attempting to license the Swedish S40, to replace their curtailed ST and N35 orders and obsolete FT’s with at least 100 vehicles.

Yugoslavia also has about 50 machine gun armored cars of various designs based on civil truck chassis.

The Yugoslavia army is poorly motorized but is currently importing large amounts of standardized trucks from the US to change that.

Naval Forces:

Yugoslavia has a small coastal navy.

The Dalmacija is the largest ship in the Yugoslav navy, formerly the Hapsburg Novara. She makes 25 knots presently with 7 10cm/47, 2 8.35cm/35 AA, 4 47mm guns and 4 15mm machine guns.

The Dubrovnik and Nada are British built 1900 ton 37 knot flotilla leaders. They have 4 14cm/54 main guns, 2 8.35cm/35 AA guns, 6 40 mm autocannon, 2 15mm HMG, two triple 533mm tubes and up to 40 mines.

The Beograd, Ljubljana and Zagreb are 1200 ton 35 knot vessels, the first French and the last tow domestic built. They have 4 120mm/46 on the centerline, 2 twin 40mm autocannon, 2 triple 550mm torpedo tubes, 2 15mm machine guns and up to 30 mines.

The Split is a 2400 ton large destroyer under construction, she will make 38 knots. She will have 5 140mm/56, 5 twin 40mm autocannon, 4 twin 15mm HMG, and two triple 533mm torpedo tubes. She is expected to finish in October 1942.

Yugoslavia has a 600 ton yacht, the Beli Oroa, built in Britian, that can double as a gunboat. She makes 19 knots and has 2 40mm autocannon and 4 15mm HMG.

Yugoslavia has 6 250ton 28 knot torpedo boats from Austria-Hungary. They have 2 66mm/45 guns, two twin 450mm torpedo tubes and two 15mm HMG.

4 Cetnik class torpedo boats are in service, British built, 15 ton 40 knot vessels. They have 2 7.92mm machine guns, and 2 457mm torpedo tubes or 4 depth charges.

8 Suvobor class supplement them, German built, 34 knot, 60 ton diesel powered vessels. They have 2 550mm tubes, a 40mm autocannon and 15mm machine gun.

Yugoslavia operates 4 submarines. The 2 Nebojsa class are British built 1000 ton vessels based on the WWI L class and using recycled parts. They have a 4”/40 deck gun, 6 21” tubes in the bow with 12 torpedoes, a 15mm machine gun and 2 7.92mm machine guns. They make 16 knots surfaced, 10 submerged and have a 5000 knot range.

The 2 Smeli class are French built, 650 ton vessels. They have 1 100mm/35 deck gun, a 40mm Autocannon and 15mm machine gun, and 6 550mm tubes, 4 bow, two stern, with 12 torpedoes or 25 mines. They make 15 knots surfaced and 9 submerged and have a 5000 knot range.

They are based on the Hvar, a 2700 ton British built tender.

Yugoslavia has an extensive mine warfare force.

6 minelayers are modified German M1916 minesweepers, 500 ton 15 knot vessels. They have 2 83.5mm/55 guns, 2 15mm HMG and up to 30 mines.

The Zmaj is a converted German built seaplane tender, 1900 tons and 15 knots. She has 2 83.5mm/55, 2 twin 40mm autocannon and up to 100 mines.

5 Austrian MT. 130 Minelayers were acquired by Yugosalvia, they are 130 ton vessels that make 9 knots and double as minesweepers. They have a 47mm/44 main gun, 2 machine guns and up to 39 mines.

Yugoslavia has a midsize river flotilla. The mainstay are 4 river monitors of 400-600 tons, with 2 12cm L35 or 45 and 1-3 12cm howitzer and speed of 10-13.5 knots, with limited armor against field artillery. Supporting these are auxiliary gunboats and minelayers to be mobilized in wartime.

Yugoslavia has a small naval aviation arm but no naval infantry.

Air Forces:

Yugoslavia has a mid-size Airforce of about 300 aircraft. It is structured into a hierarchy of brigades, regiments and groups, with groups being a squadron equivalent.

The main fighter of the Yugoslav Air Force is the Bristol Bullfinch, of which 60 are in service. This is supported by the domestic Ikarus IK-5, a high wing monoplane with fixed gear, and an open cockpit but is nonetheless not too far inferior from modern aircraft, with an excellent ceiling, a 20mm motorcannon and 2 7.92mm mg, 25 are in service. 15 Hawker Headsman are also in service as are 20 old Avia 505 low performance open cockpit biplanes with a pair of machine guns. An improved IK-6 is under development, with performance equal to other modern aircraft.

Yugoslavia’s primary bomber is the Avro Antlion with 50 in service. These are supported by 30 Do 25 flying pencils from Germany. 60 Breguet 21 are in service, very slow open cockpit biplanes with 1 fixed and two flexible machine guns and up to 1000 pounds of bombs.

The remainder of the air force are a mixture of transports, liaison and trainer aircraft, all of foreign design from a variety of sources.

The Yugoslav navy operates about 50 aircraft.

20 are Ikarus IIIO biplane flying boats, very slow, short ranged and unarmed but domestic.

5 more are Dornier Wal Flying boats

15 more are Dornier Co 5 export floatplanes, a relatively fast float plane with two machine guns, decent range and the ability to carry up to 1800 pounds of bombs or a torpedo.

The remaining aircraft are trainers.

Yugoslavia lacks paratroopers or advanced aeronautical research

Weapons of Mass Destruction:

Yugoslavia maintains a moderate stockpile of Chlorine and Mustard Gas. Deployment is by artillery shell and aerial bomb

Yugoslavia lacks a nuclear or biological weapons program

Problems:

Yugoslavia has severe issues with ethnic strife

Yugoslavia has territorial disputes with every single one of its neighbors

Yugoslavia is deep in debt

-The Eve of War, the World on October 1st 1940, Eagle Press, Philadelphia, 2001

 

[generalurist]

So war with competent!Italy is still a possibility... let's see if the Brits blink.

Yugoslavia's army looks decent, but it's a fish in a very large pond.

 

[Pax_Nihil]

I'm very interested in seeing how things go with Sanna, I hope that he can get the maximum of leverage vis a vis Hitler and the Allies and potentially cause an even quicker downfall for the Nazis than Mussolini caused in OTL (I don't have my hopes up though).

 

[RamscoopRaider]

…January 1941 saw the U-Boats finally able to sortie en masse and British losses spiked. Smaller U-Boats raided coastal traffic and laid minefields while medium sized vessels lurked in the western approaches, and the larger long ranged vessels raided Franco-British commerce off Africa. More tonnage was lost in January 1941 as in all three wartime months of 1940 combined.

The Kriegsmarine planned on utilizing its long range boats more aggressively, particularly against British commerce to its New World Empire. The United States had however, in consultation with the nations of Latin America, instituted a Pan American security zone in January 1941. Inside this zone, based on straight lines between 19 points 300 nautical miles offshore, belligerent acts would be forbidden. This nominally applied to both sides, but in practice favored Britain to a massive degree. Because of this the Kriegsmarine was not able to raid the flow of tankers going to Britain from the Caribbean refineries and was limited in attacking Canadian commerce.

February thus saw a dip in sinkings as opposed to January as the British adapted and the spike in U-Boat activity proved impossible to sustain even with slightly more boats available. In March sinkings fell further, as the U-boat fleet was recalled mid-month for positioning in support of the attack on Norway. The U-Boat fleet was to play an important part in this, by distracting the British and interdicting British attempts to interfere. The U-Boat fleet would further by accompanied by a mass sortie of the auxiliary cruisers Germany had been converting, who would penetrate into the open seas during the British distraction and wreak havoc while the British were focused on Norway.

The British preemptive invasion of Norway caught the U-Boats out of position and made it too risky for the Hilfskruezers to leave the North Sea. After a few days however the U-Boats were able to get into position and the fjord entrances became shooting galleries. 8 U-Boats were lost off Norway between mid-April and Mid-May, but in the process managed to kill 8 British and 1 French destroyer, 2 British light cruisers, 2 British sloops, 20 transports, and crippled the Battleship Venerable, forcing her to return to Portsmouth for length repairs. In addition the British lost 3 of their own submarines during the same period to friendly fire, attempting to use them against U-Boats too close to their own forces…

…The Hilfskruezers remained in port, or were used as additional transports during April or May, with a breakout only planned for when the Royal Navy had to reduce its operational tempo in the North Sea…

…By Spring of 1941 the Royal Navy was considering their building for the 1941 program. They had during the war emergency programs ordered 32 destroyers, 40 escort destroyers, 10 sloops, 60 corvettes and 32 submarines, along with large numbers of smaller craft such as mine sweepers and trawlers. Therefore it was decided that 8 large destroyers, 8 escort destroyers and 16 additional sloops would be ordered for escorts, with the amount being built under the war emergency program seen as mostly sufficient for their needs with only the need to replace losses, as well as 8 large submarines for the Pacific to completement the smaller submarines built for European waters.

Instead their concern was on heavier units. It was clear that their battleship force was sufficient, and thus the last pair of Conqueror class battleships, to be laid down in 1942, would be cancelled, though the earlier 4 units would continue construction at a slower pace. Instead two slightly modified Bulwark class carriers would be procured, Cochrane and Champion, to replace the lost Powerful.

Similarly their cruiser losses needed to be replaced and the older units phased out. As such 8 repeats of the Canterbury class were planned, 9000 ton 31 knot derivatives of Newcastle, they dropped the X turret for a heavier AA armament. This was in contrast to plans for larger cruisers, however with only 6 German large cruisers to consider the Royal Navy felt that quantity was more important than quality and 6 months extra war service could be important...

Excerpt From A Naval History of the European War, Harper & Brothers, New York, 2008

…For the first 7 months of WWII the Aerial war had been remarkably restrained. Germany and Poland briefly unleashed their full air forces against each other, yet even that was fairly limited, by the small size of the Polish Air Force and by the tactical/operational nature of the German campaign. Following the conclusion of the Polish campaign the air war became further restrained.

Von Richthofen put the Luftwaffe on a lower tempo to rebuild after the Polish Campaign, being well aware of the need for it to support the Heer against France. The Armee de Air was constrained by sheer obsolescence, in that it could not actually deliver bombs on target without suffering unsustainable losses, therefore it only rarely chose to operate offensively. The Royal Air Force, while still technologically behind the Germans was more eager but constrained by politics.

As such the Germans primarily focused on attacking British coastal traffic, the French on German air bases at the border and the British on dropping leaflets. The British nonlethal approach may seem incongruous however political leadership demanded that the RAF do nothing to destroy anything that was not a military target, to avoid the risk of killing civilians or destroying private property.

This began to change in April 1941 with the opening of the Norwegian front, and an increase of operational tempo there. The action however remained confined to the tactical and operational realm inside Norway, with neither side attempting to escalate to strategic attacks…

…By Spring of 1941 the Anglo-French inferiority in the air was beginning to reverse. Production of the Glaive, Bandit and Buccaneer was ramping up on the British side, allowing older Bullfinches and Headhunters to be retired to colonial theaters. The French saw later tranches of the MB235 and new MS 670 and HS 740 take flight and their deliveries of Dutch and American fighters accelerate.

By the September Britain expected to end building Headsmen, and France would stop building MS 400, with production to concentrate on newer types…

…In May 1941 as an alternative to the Westland Warhawk Blackburn offered a conventional development of their Bandit turret fighter, carrying 2 machine guns in the nose and 10 in the wings it would be better armed than the Glaive while having performance equal to the German He 120 and being available sooner than the Warhawk. This offer was refused as the Bandit was seen to have almost no long term growth potential, with a very tight nose and fuselage design making upgrades to the engine or cooling system difficult…

…In early 1941 Britain raced ahead of Germany in Jet propulsion research. Caught on the wrong end of the airpower race Britain was determined to pull ahead and stay ahead and while the RAF thought Warhawk would allow them to pull ahead, jets were seen as a way to keep ahead. Specifications were issued in April for prototypes for a point interceptor to enter service by the end of 1944…

-Excerpt from Airpower!, Dewitt Publishing, Los Angeles, 2010

Spoiler: Greece

The Kingdom of Greece

Basics: Greece is a weak Constitutional Monarchy under the house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg. The current King is George II, and the government is currently controlled by the royalist party. Greece became independent from the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century and entered WWI late, successfully acquiring territory in Asia Minor, if less than desired.

Economy:

Greece is a primarily agricultural economy, dependent on exports of wine and olive oil, with a relatively undeveloped agricultural sector. It has a relatively weak, primarily, light industrial sector but a strong shipping sector. It is almost completely dependent on imports for raw materials

Land Forces:

Greece has a relatively large army of 600,000 at full mobilization strength consisting of 17 infantry and 2 cavalry divisions.

The standard Greek Rifle is the Mannlicher Schonauer, an accurate conventional bolt action rifle with a 5 round rotary magazine, in 6.5x54mm Schonauer. Greece does not have domestic production of this rifle and imports from Switzerland. Second line units use Lebel and Berthier rifles in 8x50mm, and third line units use single shot Gras Rifles in 11x59 black powder or 8x50mm. Greece has a domestic semi automatic with a 20 round magazine based on the Mannlicher Schonauer under development to be introduced in the spring.

The standard Greek sidearm is the FN M1910/22 in .32 ACP, supplemented by the Ruby pistol M1914 in the same caliber. Second line units are issued Peiper M1898’s, variants of the Nagant M1895, in 7.62x38mm. Greece has a domestic gas operated submachine gun, the EPK, in an intermediate 7.92x36mm cartridge based off the 6.5mm Mannlicher-Schonauer, that is being issued to MPs.

The standard Greek light machine gun is the Hotchkiss M1922 in 6.5x54mm, with a 30 round feed strip. It is issued as a squad weapon and reservists have the Chauchat, in 6.5x54mm or 8x50mm. The standard Medium machine gun is a remanufactured Hotchkiss M1914 with doubled rate of fire in 6.5x54mm. Older un modified Hotchkiss M1914 in that caliber and 8x50mm are in use by second line units as are St. Etienne machine guns. The standard heavy is the Schwarzlose in 6.5x54mm.

Greece uses 81mm Brandt mortar clones for battalion fire support, 4 per battalion. They also have a domestic flamethrower design they make heavy use of.

Greece lacks dedicated AT weapons but is expressing interest.

Greece uses Hotckiss 13.2mm HMG and 25mm Autocannon for lower level AA work. Higher level AA is from Bofors 80mm/50 M1929, with some older WWI era French 75mm AA guns supplementing. Greece is currently attempting to purchase Bofors 40mm Autocannon for medium AA.

The standard Greek field piece is the Schneider 85mm/35 M1927, a potent modern piece. It is supplemented by 75mm weapons in second line units, Canon de 75 M1897 and Schneider-Cruesot M1906. For heavier fires the Skoda 100mm/24 is used to supplement divisional artillery. As Greece is mountainous all divisions have a mountain artillery section as well, with the standard piece being the Schneider 75mm M1919. Second line units may have 75mm Schneider Canet M1910, 75mm Schneider Danglis M1909 or 65mm Schneider Ducrest M1906 instead.

The standard heavy field piece is the Schneider 105mm/31 M1925/27, a modern companion piece to the 85mm used as Corps artillery. This piece works with the Schneider 155mm/15 M1917C, an obsolescent WWI era howitzer. De Bange 120mm M1878 and British 6”/30 cwt Howitzers from 1896. For their heavy pieces mountain artillery uses Schnieder 105mm M1919/24 or Skoda 105mm M1916 pieces, both obsolescent.

Greece has a small tank force. 10 FT-17 machine gun variants, and ten assorted models of British export designs from 2 tons to 6 tons make up the entirety of their tank force. Greece is expressing interest in purchasing more tanks.

Greece has about 50 armored cars based on civilian trucks with machine guns, primarily used by the military police in Asia Minor.

The Greek Army is only lightly motorized, with each cavalry division having a motorized regiment. Greece is attempting greater motorization with French pattern trucks, but only to the point of motorizing 3 infantry divisions.

Naval Forces:

Greece has a potent mid sized navy.

The pride of the Greek Navy is the battleship Nika, formerly HMS Erin. 24,000 tons and 21 kntos as rebuilt, she has improved torpedo defenses, enhanced elevation for her main turrets, oil firing boilers and a new superstructure, though she remains poorly protected from 14” shellfire. She has 10 13.5”/45 in 5 twins, two fore, two aft and one amidships, with B&X turrets superfiring, 8 6”/50 in casemates, 4 twin 4”/40 AA, 4 quadruple Pom Poms, and 4 quadruple .55 HMG.

Supporting her are the 14,500 ton old battleships Kilkis and Lemnos, formerly USS Mississippi (BB-23) and USS Idaho (BB-24). Pre dreadnoughts, they retain their two twin 12”/45 and 4 twin 8”/45, but have had their secondary armaments altered for use as training ships and speed reduced to 14 knots.

The last Greek capital ship is the 10,000 ton armored cruiser Georgios Averhof, making 20 knots in her old age. Protected against 8” fire in a pre WWI scheme, she has 2 twin 9.2”/47, 4 twin 7.5”/45, 8 3” casemate guns, 4 3” AA and 4 37mm AA guns.

The Elli is a 2600 ton US built protected cruiser laid down as Fei Hong for China, only making 18 knots by 1940. She has 3 6”/50, 2 3”AA, 3 Pom Poms, 2 18” torpedo tubes and up to 100 mines, but is only splinter protected.

The Antinavarchos Kountouriotis and Lambros Katsonis are 5200 ton 26.5 knot vessels briefly seized by the UK in WWI. They have 10 5.5”/50, two centerline and eight broadside, 2 3” AA, two twin Pom Poms, 4 twin .55HMG and 2 21” torpedo tubes, but have only modest protection from 6” shells.

An additional unnamed light cruiser is on order in the US, 7500 tons and 33 knots. She has 3 twin 6”/47, A-B-Y, a twin 5”/38 in X position, 4 single 5”/38 and 2 quad 21” torpedo tubes, lighter armament TBD, with marginal protection against 6” fire.

Two Thyella and 2 Niki class destroyers remain as training vessels, 350 ton, 30 knot ships. They have 2 3” and 4 6 pounder guns along with 2 18” torpedo tubes.

4 Aetos class destroyers are in service, bought from Argentina under construction they are 1000 ton 32 knot ships. They have 4 4”/50, 4 single 21” torpedo tubes, 1 depth charge rail and two projectors.

4 Kriti class destroyers follow them, temporarily seized by Britian in WWI, they are 1050 tons and 32 knot vessels. They have 3 4”/40, 1 pom pom, 2 machine guns, 2 twin 21” torpedo tubes, 1 depth charge rail and two projectors

4 Hydra class destroyers are French built Basque class derivatives, 1400 tons and 33 knots. They carry 4 130mm/40, 2 37mm and 4 13.2mm AA, two triple 21” tubes, two depth charge projectors and two depth charge rails.

The Imbros class destroyers are 1350 ton 35.5 knot British H class derivatives, 2 British built units are in service, while 2 Greek units are building. 4 5”/38 DP, 2 twin pom poms, 2 quad .55 HMG, 2 quad 21” torpedo tubes, 2 depth charge projectors and 2 depth charge rails.

Greece has 6 ex Austrian torpedo boats of 250 tons and 31 knots. They have 2 66mm/30, 2 8mm MG, and two twin 450mm torpedo tubes.

4 Egli type torpedo boats remain, 150 tons, and 21 knots with a 37mm gun and 3 450mm torpedo tubes.

Greece also has two motor torpedo boats, bought from the UK, 15 ton 40 knot vessels. They have 2 machine guns, and 2 18” torpedo tubes or 4 depth charges.

Greece has 4 Mersey class Trawlers from WWI as minesweepers, 450 ton, 11 knot vessels with a 3” gun, a pom pom and 2 machine guns.

Greece has 3 coastal freighter converted to minelayers of varying sizes.

Greece has 6 submarines. The two Kastonis class are older, French built 600 ton vessels. They make 14 knots surfaced, 9.5 submerged and have a 3500 knot range. They have two single shot 21” bow torpedo tubes, 2 reloadable bow tubes, 2 single shot stern tubes and reloads, plus a 100mm deck gun and 2 machine guns.

The 4 Nirefs class are 750 ton French built vessels. They make 14 knots surfaced, 9.5 submerged and have a 3500 knot range. They have 6 internal bow 21” tubes, 2 internal stern tubes, 8 reloads, a 100mm deck gun and a 47mm AA gun.

The Greek Navy lacks Marines but has a Naval Aviation branch based on shore.

Air Forces:

Greece has a small but effective air force. About 200 aircraft are in service.

The standard Greek fighter is the PZL-13, a high wing open cockpit monoplane with 4 machine guns, of which they have 30 at present. These are supplemented by 20 MB 235 from France, a more modern design. Additional PZL-13 are on order, with Greece having plans to license build the new PZL-41 in 1941.

The standard Greek light bomber is the PZL 25, somewhat obsolete but with good rough field performance, Greece has 30. Greece has an additional 20 SNCAO 300 from France. Greece has 40 PZL 47 on order with plans to license build the design.

Greece has 10 more Breguet 21 biplanes for reconnaissance that can double as bombers. Greece has a further 25 liaison/observation aircraft from Germany and Britian.

The remainder of the Greek Air Force is trainers and transports from a variety of sources.

The Greek Navy operates about 50 aircraft from land bases.

Greece has about 15 Avro Archer for maritime patrol as land planes.

Greece has 20 Dornier Co 5 export floatplanes, a relatively fast float plane with two machine guns, decent range and the ability to carry up to 1800 pounds of bombs or a torpedo.

Greece has 5 Dornier Wal Flying Boats and 10 British Hoopoe floatplanes for water based reconnaissance.

Greece lacks paratroopers or advanced aeronautical research

Weapons of Mass Destruction:

Greece has stockpiles of Mustard Gas, Chlorine and Phosgene. Deployment is by aerial bomb and artillery shell.

Greece does not have a biological or nuclear weapons program.

Problems:

Greece has a strong Republican Opposition

Greece has territorial disputes with all of its neighbors

Greece has poor foreign credit and a major domestic debt crisis on the horizon

-The Eve of War, the World on October 1st 1940, Eagle Press, Philadelphia, 2001

 

[generalurist]

This began to change in April 1940 with the opening of the Norwegian front, and an increase of operational tempo there. The action however remained confined to the tactical and operational realm inside Norway, with neither side attempting to escalate to strategic attacks…

Shouldn't this be 1941? Anyways, seems Britain is not staying far behind Germany in the air war after all!

Let's hope the Greek naval air arm manages to get some kills again, after its success in the war with Turkey.

 

[RamscoopRaider]

Shouldn't this be 1941?

Yes it should

 

[RamscoopRaider]

…On May 7th Germany began cancelling leaves and furloughs as the preparations for Case Grey entered their final stages. Anglo-French intelligence picked up on the operation on the 9th however reactions were muted. There had been many periods of increased German activity, and all of them had ended in false alarms. There was a consensus that this was a deliberate attempt to generate a feeling of weariness and underreaction for a late May offensive. Anglo-French planners thought the ground was too wet after a wet winter for a mechanized offensive, certainly their own major offensive was scheduled to occur in Summer unless preempted for exactly that reason, as to avoid bogging down on muddy terrain. The British thus merely reduced weekend leave passes by about half, while the French did by 10%, so as not to adversely affect morale.

This decision seemed to be vindicated by a reduction of German activity late on the 9th, something sparked by adverse weather forecasts for the 10th. German plans depended heavily on the Luftwaffe and with it predicted to be unable to fly Hitler allowed a one day delay to Sunday the 11th. On the 10th German meteorologists confirmed that the 11th would feature good weather, something that would to their best guesses continue for at least three days afterward and Hitler gave the final go ahead at 1:00.

During the low clouds and intermittent rain on the 10th German forces made final preparations for an assault to begin the next morning…

…Facing the German onslaught were 87 French, 15 British, 22 Belgian, 10 Dutch and 1 Free Polish divisions, totaling 135. They had 14,000 artillery pieces, 4700 tanks and 3400 aircraft, more than the Germans in the first two, less in the third. What they did not have was unity of command or concentration of force. These forces were spread out in a long line from the Swiss border to the Dollart Bay at the German-Dutch border.

Luxembourg had only a token defense, lacking a true army it would play no significant part in events to come save as a road for the German offensive.

The 10 Dutch divisions and 300 aircraft were deployed purely defensively. The Dutch plan was for light resistance at the border and the fortified lines of the Maas-Ijssel, and the O-O line in Groningen and Drenthe with independent battalions of light infantry. Following this the main line of resistance would be the Grebbe line, an anchored on the Utrecht hills, Raam river, the Peel canal and the Belgian works to the south. Following prolonged resistance at this line the Dutch planned to fall back on their traditional defense of the Waterline and a subsidiary set of works around Amsterdam.

The Belgian’s 22 divisions, and most of their 8 division equivalents of independent units, were deployed in the fortified positions surrounding Antwerp, supported by the 400 aircraft of the Belgian Air Force. The only forces outside of the Antwerp region were border and light units which would attempt to slow invaders without putting themselves at excessive risks, and far too few of them to fully man Belgium’s extensive fortress network, almost abandoned to focus on the defense of Antwerp.

The British Expeditionary Force’s 13 infantry divisions, single armored division and 1000 aircraft were located in northern France as in WWI, to enter Belgium upon outbreak of the war and hold a defensive line there anchored on the Dyle River. Unlike WWI the BEF was sandwiched by French units rather than holding the extreme flank to ensure that they would not disengage when politically convenient for Britain and not France.

The French Army in northern France was divided into 4 chunks, supported by 1700 aircraft of the Armee de l’Air. Third Army group controlled 9 infantry divisions and held the Maginot line south of Strasbourg, with the secondary role of dealing with a German invasion via Switzerland. Second Army group held the remainder of the line and controlled 30 infantry divisions, including the Free Polish division, and 1 Light armored division.

First Army group was the principal French formation, located in northern France and it controlled the British Expeditionary Force as well as its own 5 armored, 4 light armored, 5 light mechanized, 6 motorized and 17 infantry divisions. Its purpose was both to hold the Ardennes and to wheel into Belgium and take positions on the Dyle-Breda line alongside the Belgian and Dutch armies.

One British and Eleven French Infantry divisions were in reserve near Paris to provide reinforcements where needed…

…For the German hammer blow against the west they assembled 136 divisions, 8,000 guns, 3500 tanks and 5700 aircraft. No less than 14 divisions were Panzers, half reflagged light divisions, with 14 more motorized infantry divisions, half being reflagged stormtroopers, with two paratrooper, a mountain and a cavalry division supporting the mass of infantry divisions. As with the French the Germans divided their force into three army groups.

Army Group South controlled 24 infantry and 1 mountain division. It faced off against the French Second and Third Army groups and had the role of keeping them pinned to the Maginot line and unable to intervene in the decisive clashes to the north. To this end Army Group South had a relatively large contingent of deception troops to sow confusion.

Army Group North controlled 5 Panzer, 5 Motorized, 2 Paratrooper, 1 Cavalry and 20 infantry divisions. Its role was to conquer the Netherlands and occupy the Anglo-French main body in a pitched battle in Belgium while the decisive action occurred in the Ardennes. It would utilize its paratroopers and 500 transport aircraft to capture key forts and bridges, and hopefully force the Dutch to capitulate with a first day coup de main attack on the Hague. Army Group North also controlled the largest amount of special operations forces to ease its early moves.

Army Group Center provided the Schwerpunkt of the attack with 9 Panzer, 9 motorized, and 28 infantry divisions. Its main body would advance through the Ardennes in Belgium and Luxembourg, advance to and cross the Meuse, race to Saint Quentin then pivot to Abbeville and the sea, cutting off the Anglo-French main body in Belgium where it would be forced to surrender in place. Army Group Center had the highest priority on air support, with over 2000 combat aircraft dedicated to its support as speed and violence of action was absolutely critical to its operational success.

18 infantry divisions in two field armies were in the operational reserve to add weight to any Army Group having trouble, with the priority being Center, North and then South…

…At 4:25 in the morning on Sunday May 11th 1941 the German Army crossed the border into Luxembourg and started the most decisive phase of the Second World War…

-Excerpt From The Fall of Europe, Scholastic American Press, Philadelphia, 2005

Spoiler: Bulgaria

The Tsardom of Bulgaria

Basics:

Bulgaria is nominally a constitutional monarchy but in practice an autocracy under the house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Kohary with Tsar Boris I as the head of state and the prime minister a mere puppet. Bulgaria was a member of the Central Powers in WWI, but exited the war early with only minor repercussions.

Economy:

Bulgaria is a primarily agricultural economy with surprisingly high yields for its lack of development, focusing on tobacco and vegetables for export while more than self sufficient in cereals. It is unindustrialized and one of the poorest countries in Europe.

Land Forces:

Bulgaria has a relatively large army of 500,000 men at full strength, organized into 5 field armies of 4 infantry and 2 cavalry divisions each. Bulgaria has dropped its unique pentagonal organization in the interwar for a typical triangular one.

The standard Bulgarian long arm is the Steyr-Mannlicher M1895, both rifle and carbine variants, in 8x50mm Mannlicher. A process to rechamber these domestically to 8x56mm is underway. This is supplemented by Mosin Nagants in 7.62x54mm, predominantly captured in WWI, for use by reservists.

The standard Bulgarian sidearm is the Luger P08 in 9x19mm Parabellum, supplemented by Mauser M1914 in .32 ACP, with a small number of Langenhan and Dreyse pistols in .32 ACP. Bulgaria has a small number of Beretta M36 submachine guns issued as supplemental weapons.

The standard Bulgarian light machine gun is the Czech ZB-26 in 8x56mm. Reservists may have the Madsen in 8x50mm or MG 31’s from Austria in 8x56mm. Standard Heavy machine gun is the Schwarzlose in 8x50 or 8x56mm, supplemented by the MG 08 in 7.92mm Mauser. Bulgaria is replacing them with the Breda M1938 in 8x56mm. Bulgaria also operates 15mm ZB-61 as heavy machine guns.

The standard Bulgarian mortar is the Italian Model 34, a typical Brandt mortar clone issued 3 per battalion, with plans to increase this to 4. Bulgaria supplements this with 9 Solothurn S-100 20x105mm AT rifles per division.

Standard Bulgarian AA is the 15mm ZB-61 or 20mm Breda Autocannon at low levels. For higher level AA defense Bulgaria uses the 8.8cm/45 M1916 and 75mm/46 M1934 from Italy. Bulgaria has 37mm Autocannon on order from Italy.

For anti-tank defense Bulgaria has 3 French 25mm AT guns per division. Bulgaria is attempting to purchase Bofors 37mm AT guns to double their number of AT guns.

Standard Bulgarian artillery is 75mm field guns, Schneider Canet M1904 and 1907 and Krupp M1904, 1908, 1910 and 1913. These range from unmodernized WWI pieces to fully modernized versions as good as new pieces, with 12-24 per division. Supplementing these are 75mm mountain guns, Krupp M1904, Schneider Canet M1907, Skoda M1915 and modern Bofors M1934, with 12 per division.

Heavier artillery includes 105mm Howitzers, Gebirghaubitze L12, M98/09 L16 and leFH16 L22 from Germany. These are being replaced by Swedish 105mm/24 and supplemented by Schneider 120mm/13 M1915 120mm models.

Long 105mm are the 10.5cm/30 Belagerungskanone and 10cm K14 from WWI, full modernized, being supplemented by modern Bofors 105mm/42. Each army has 24 heavy 105mm guns. These are supplemented by 15cm L13 and L17 howitzers from WWI and Swedish 15cm/22, with 24 per Army.

Bulgaria has a range of coast artillery from 100mm to 254mm.

Bulgaria has a small Tank force.

20 are Italian export tankettes, 3 tons, 26mph with splinter protection and an 8mm Schwarzlose.

10 are Vickers 6 ton, protected from machine guns with 22 mph speed, a 47mm/32 and a Schwarzlose.

40 are Panzer 35(t) bought from Germany from ex Czech stocks.

Bulgaria is looking to buy export tanks form Italy.

Bulgaria has about 10 armored cars of various types on truck chassis with machine guns.

The Bulgarian military is only lightly motorized with no significant standardization. There is a drive to give every Army a motorized infantry regiment.

Naval Forces:

Bulgaria has a small coastal defense navy.

The most powerful units are 4 Crispi class destroyers, locally called the Krum class, built in Italy. They make 33 knots, have decent range and have 1 twin 120mm/45 aft, 1 single fore , 4 twin 15mm HMG, 2 twin 533mm torpedo tubes and up to 32 mines.

The 4 Varna class gunboats are 400 ton Italian built vessels, capable of 23 knots. They have 2 120mm/45, fore and aft, 3 twin 15mm HMG, 4 depth charge throwers and two rails.

6 Drazki class Torpedo boats, 100 ton 26 knot vessels survive from WWI. They have 2 47mm/40, 2 15mm HMG and 3 457mm Torpedo tubes at present.

Bulgaria has 8 MAS boats, 30 tons, 45 knots with as twin 20mm, 2 8mm MG and 2 450mm torpedo tubes.

4 ex American subchasers are in service, 80 tons, 18 knots, with a 3”, 2 machine guns and a depth charge projector.

The Asen is a 240 ton, 7 knot training ship with 2 65mm guns and 2 MGs.

Bulgaria operates 20 machine gun armed minesweeper boats of 6-20 tons and up to 8 knots.

Bulgaria has a single submarine, a 600 ton Italian type, the Strela. She makes 14 knots surfaced, 7 submerged with a range of 2100 knots. Armament is 4 bow and 2 stern 533mm tubes with 10-12 torpedoes, a 100mm/47 and 2-4 13.2mm HMG. Two more are on order.

Bulgaria lacks naval infantry or naval aviation.

Air Forces:

Bulgaria has a relatively small air force of about 300 aircraft organized on the Italian model.

The standard fighter is the CR. 34 with 40 in service. 20 older CR. 31 are in service as are 20 RE 2100 monoplanes. 40 more RE 2100 are in order and Bulgaria has a license to begin production in 1941.

Bulgaria has 40 old Caproni 110 as its primary bomber force supplemented by 15 PZL 25 from Poland. They have 20 Breda 72 and 20 FIAT BR.22 on order from Italy.

Bulgaria has 20 Caproni 87 recon aircraft in service. Bulgaria is funding the development of an improved Caproni 89 to be built domestically. Bulgaria also has 60 Aero 528, a Czech biplane bought from Germany which doubles as a light bomber. A domestic recon aircraft is in development.

About 80 trainers and transports of various types are in service. The transports are all foreign while the trainers are a mix of foreign and domestic.

Bulgaria lacks paratroopers or advanced aeronautical research.

Weapons of Mass Destruction:

Bulgaria has a small quantity of Chlorine and Mustard Gas. This is delivered by artillery shell.

Bulgaria lacks biological or nuclear weapons programs.

Problems:

Bulgaria has territorial disputes with all of its neighbors

Bulgaria is completely dependent on arms imports

Bulgaria lacks industry
-The Eve of War, the World on October 1st 1940, Eagle Press, Philadelphia, 2001

 

[generalurist]

So Germany starts the fight for France on time, despite Norway still being very hot. Interesting. Does Britain have the same amount of men on the continent as OTL?

 

[Jim Smitty]

Why do I get the feeling the BEF isn’t getting out this time

 

[Pax_Nihil]

I wonder if the Germans will enter Paris on my birthday ITTL or not 🤔

 

[RamscoopRaider]

…Luxembourg proved to be not even a speedbump to the Germans. Their 1000 strong corps of Gendarmes remained in their barracks to avoid provoking the Germans. Instead the only resistance was from the police who placed roadblocks and attempted to arrest the leading German detachments for immigration violations and breach of peace. This was unsuccessful, as the Germans had numbers, armored cars and machine guns, while the police merely had pistols and righteous indignation, but they did cause about a half hours’ worth of delay from bureaucratic officiousness and audacity. This did not however significantly impact the German timetable in moving through the country any more than the roadblocks did…

…The initial German attack on the Netherlands was in the form of airstrikes. The Dutch lacked domestic radar technology and their air force was caught on the ground as the Germans attacked just after dawn, destroying over half of the Dutch Air Arm.

This was followed up by a Regiment scale airdrop on Ypenburg Airport southeast of the city on the heels of bombing raids. The defending battalion of Dutch Grenadiers put up a strong fight, but heavily outnumbered and shaken by the bombing they were overwhelmed, allowing an additional regiment of troops to be flown in to the airport. This proved insufficient to take the city, but did secure a German position just outside the Dutch capital. Further reinforcements were prevented by the arrival of enough Dutch artillery to suppress the airfield and prevent further landings.

A smaller battalion drop captured Waalhaven airport south of Rotterdam, and a pocket of commandoes deployed by Lufthansa flying boats captured key bridges in the city center. The Dutch navy attempted to intervene but the gunboats Friso and Gruno were lost in the process and Dutch counterattacks were unable to dislodge the Germans.

Company level drops captured the Dodrecht and Moerdjik bridges on the island of Dodrecht and commandoes in false uniforms attacked other bridges closer to the front. The commandoes proved less successful than the paratroopers, failing more often than they succeeded, but they did capture several important bridges, most importantly the railway bridge at Gennep which allowed the Germans to put a regiment on the other side of the southern portion Grebbe line by midmorning. This obliged the Dutch to retreat from their positions on the Raam river and Peel canals far ahead of schedule, dislocating and inflicting chaos on an entire Corps.

South of this position the Germans overran Maastricht by noon, but failed to capture the bridges intact, leading to a 24 hour delay in their advance onwards. North of this position they managed to advance to the initial Dutch defensive line and breach it in several places by midafternoon, leading to another early withdrawal, if not nearly as early as in the south. In the far north of the country the German cavalry was limited more by logistics and broken bridges than by the Dutch military and reached Meppel and Groningen…

…The German invasion of Belgium proved more fraught than that of the Netherlands despite less active resistance. To start the Belgians had radar and their aircraft were in hardened shelters near Antwerp, meaning that they could not be easily neutralized and the Belgian Air force was available to meet them in the sky. Interactions between the two were few as the Germans did not attempt to attack Antwerp, but rather routes the British and French would attempt to use to reach the Belgian battlefront.

Secondly the actual airborne landings, all small scale, faced significantly tougher defenses, recently upgraded to deal with paratroopers. The attempts to seize bridges over the Albert canal failed miserably, even against lightly manned positions meant as tripwires. The attack on Fort Eben Emael was successful only because the fort had been reduced to a tiny caretaker crew that lacked the manpower to use all the machine gun positions. The German advance into central Belgium was thus delayed until the next day.

Elsewhere they were more successful, advancing to the Maas in numerous places as the Belgians offered only token resistance in most locations…

…Upon knowledge of the German attack the Belgian prime minister sent a request for the French and British to move up and aid them, the King remained silent. This was unnecessary but welcome as the two nations were already preparing to move. The French sent 3 light armored and 2 light mechanized divisions forward to prevent the Germans Dyle River until the main body of troops arrived and enter the Netherlands, while two more light mechanized divisions would serve as a screen east of the Maas/Meuse to protect against a potential assault through the Ardennes.

The French forces successfully took up positions east of the Dyle by the time they stopped at 10PM, however the light mechanized division intended to enter the Netherlands was unable. The Belgian Army was not allowing the French to pass through their lines around Antwerp, claiming neutrality on orders from the King, and appeals to the Prime Minister proved useless. Without time to bypass Antwerp, the French 3rd Light Mechanized joined its fellow 1st light mechanized and the three light armored divisions in screening the Dyle River…

…German bombers struck heavily at Anglo-French air bases on the 11th, aiming to destroy as many planes on the ground as possible before the decisive phase of the campaign. While the ferocity of the attack caught them off guard, they were still prepared for an attack and managed to get AA defenses on alert and fighters in the air, preventing them from taking major losses on the ground. They did however take significant losses in the air as they had few aircraft that could match the Luftwaffe’s frontline fighters and they were outnumbered in fighter craft in total…

…The German advance through the Ardennes was mostly unremarked. The Ardennes had only been lightly defended even before the Belgians switched to the Antwerp plan, leaving it only with a token defense. The few Belgian Chasseurs Ardennais who had not been drawn to Antwerp were able to cause havoc by laying mines, blocking roads, wrecking bridges and setting a few ambushes but they were unable to significantly delay the Germans, nor could they ascertain their full strength.

It was assumed that the German forces moving through the Ardennes were either a diversion or at most an attempt to outflank the battle in Belgium by a single Panzer division. Trying to get more than that would lead to an enormous traffic jam and would not allow heavy artillery support. Those facts in Franco-British minds precluded it being an actual threat. Thus the British, French and Belgians had no idea that a full seven Panzer divisions were advancing through the Ardennes, and that number was only because the roads could not handle the two additional Panzer divisions in reserve on that section of the front…

-Excerpt From The Fall of Europe, Scholastic American Press, Philadelphia, 2005

Spoiler: Romania

The Kingdom of Romania

Basics:

Romania is a nominally constitutional monarchy under the house of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen. It is currently a functional fascist dictatorship under King Carol II. Romania was a late joining member of the central powers in WWI and avoided any major consequences.

Economy:

Romania is a primarily agricultural economy, focused on internal consumption. It is only modestly industrialized and its exports are dominated by oil, of which it is one of the largest exporters.

Land Forces:

Romania has a relatively large army of 550,000 at full mobilization. This is organized into 17 infantry, 4 cavalry, 4 mountain and 1 stormtrooper divisions, typical triangular formations.

The standard Romanian Rifle is the Czech Gewehr 98 clone in 7.92x57mm, which they are domestically producing. This is backed up by Mannlicher M1893 in 6.5x53mm for reservists with stocks of captured Mosin-Nagants in 7.62x54mm for mobilization.

The standard Romanian sidearm is the Beretta M1933 in .380 ACP, supplemented by old Ruby M1914 in .32 ACP. Older Nagant Revolvers in 7.62x38mm captured from Russia are in storage. For submachine guns the Romanian MPs use MP 18 variants in 9mm Parabellum.

The standard Romanian squad machine gun is the Czeck ZB-30 in 7.92x57mm built under license. Older ZB-26 and Lewis guns in 7.92x57mm are in use with second line units. The standard medium machine gun is the ZB-53, which has replaced all water cooled machine guns in service. Some watercooled machine guns of various types remain in storage, primarily in 6.5x53mm.

Romania uses 60mm Brandt clones as company weapons and 81mm as battalion weapons, both license built. Romania supplements this with 20 domestic 13.2mm bolt action AT rifles per division.

AT defense is ideally in the form of French 25mm AT guns of which they have 6 per division. These are supplemented by 6 Italian built 47mm/32 dual purpose infantry support and AT guns.

Low level AA defense is in the form of Italian 13.2mm HMG and Breda 20mm cannon, 8 of either per division to be raised to 12. Romania has licensed the Breda 37mm AA for mid level work and has 200 guns currently. Heavy AA is in the form of the British 75mm/43 Vickers export gun.

Standard Romanian artillery is 75mm field guns, Schneider Canet and Krupp models from before WWI. These range from unmodernized WWI pieces to fully modernized versions as good as new pieces, and male up the majority of divisional artillery. Supplementing these are 75mm mountain guns, Krupp Schneider Canet, Skoda and modern Italian 75mm/18 M1934 as a supplement and for mountain divisions. Some divisions have the Skoda 100mm/25 which they intended to license produce but are unable to.

Standard Corps artillery is Schneider 105mm/38 imported from France, supplemented by Skoda 15cm/27 K series. This is the heaviest mobile artillery of Romania, though they have a certain amount of older pre WWI pieces in storage and heavier fortress and coast defense guns.

Romania has a moderately sized tank force. These are based on 4 battalions currently, all independent, with plans to raise an armored division.

The oldest are 50 FT-17 supplemented by 50 FIAT 3000, obsolete WWI designs half carrying machine guns and the other half cannon.

20 Czech export tankettes are in service, 4 tons they have 2 machine guns, 1 turreted, splinter armor and 30mph top speed.

40 Italian M10/38 export tanks are in service. They have a 37mm/40 and a coaxial machine gun, 35mph road speed and protection from 20mm fire in the front. Romania has a license to build more and production will commence shortly.

Romania is working on a 14 ton derivative with a 47mm gun and greater armor, if lower speed to enter production in 1942

Romania has about 30 armored cars based on domestic truck chassis and armed with machine guns.

The Romanian army is poorly motorized with limited standardization on a mix of imported and domestic designs. There is currently a drive to mechanize all of the artillery with tractors, followed by motorizing 1 battalion in each infantry division.

Naval Forces:

Romania has a small coastal defense and riverine navy.

Romania lacks capital ships but is in consideration to buy a pair of Italian built coastal defense ships armed with 8” or 10” guns.

The heart of the Romanian navy are their destroyers. The older pair are the Vifor and Viscol, 1600 ton pre WWI Italian export designs that briefly served in Italy. They make 34 knots and have 2 twin 120mm/50, 2 76mm/40 AA, 2 twin 37mm autocannon, 2 twin 13.2mm HMG, 2 twin 457mm torpedo tubes, 2 depth charge racks, 2 throwers and up to 50 mines.

The 4 1400 ton Regina Maria class are successors, 37 knot Italian export designs. They have 5 single 120mm/50, 1 76mm/40, 2 37mm Autocannon, 2 twin 13.2mm HMG, 2 triple 533mm torpedo tubes, 2 depth charge racks, 2 throwers and up to 50 mines. They are less stable and shorter ranged than their predecessors.

An additional quartet of destroyers to be built domestically is under consideration to start in 1943.

Larger than the destroyers is the 2700 ton Regele Carol I, an 18 knot submarine tender/minelayer. She has 2 150mm guns, 2 twin 37mm and 4 13.2mm AA and can carry 28 mines and a seaplane.

Supporting these are the minelaying corvettes of the Cetatea Alba class. They are domestically built, 850 tons and capable of 16 knots on diesels. They have 2 100mm/50 DP guns, 2 37mm, 4 20mm and 4 13.2mm AA, 2 depth charge throwers and up to 135 mines. 2 are building, the first to finish in June 1941, the second in July 1942, with two more on order.

Supporting the destroyers and corvettes are 3 250 ton torpedo boats gotten from Austria-Hungary via Italy in the interwar. Capable of 28 knots they have 2 66mm guns, 2 13.2mm HMG and either 2 457mm torpedoes or a depth charge thrower.

3 French Friponne class gunboats support them as escorts, 350 tons and 15 knots. They have 2 100mm/45, 4 HMG and 2 depth charge throwers.

An additional 3 Bistrita class cutters are in service, 100 tons with a 57mm and 37mm gun, 2 machine guns and 12 knots of speed.

Romania has 9 Italian built MAS boats, 30 tons, 45 knots with a twin 20mm, MG and 2 457mm torpedo tubes. Romania has 6 domestic torpedo boats building, slower at 31 knots but the same size they have 2 20mm, 2 MGs and 2 533mm torpedo tubes.

Romania has 2 Italian built 600 ton types the Delfinul and Marsuinul. 700 tons, they make 14 knots surfaced, 9 submerged with a range of 2400 knots. Armament is 4 bow and 4 stern 533mm tubes with 12 torpedoes, a 102mm/35 and 2 13.2mm HMG.

2 more submarines are under construction, a 600 ton minelayer Rechinul and a 650 ton standard submarine Balena. The former makes 17 knots surfaced and 9 submerged, the latter 16 and 8, with the former having 7000knots range, the latter 8000. The former has 1 20mm, 4 533mm tubes in the bow with 8 torpedoes and up to 40 mines, the latter 1 102mm/35, 1 37mm, and 4 bow and 2 stern 533mm tubes with 12 torpedoes.

Supporting them is a 1400 ton 13 knot tender, the Constanta. Italian built she has 2 102mm/35, 2 37mm and 4 13.2mm guns.

The Aurora is an ex-Austrian minelayer of 325 tons and 11 knots that had been placed in merchant service after WWI and recently bought out . She has 2 twin 13.2mm HMG and can carry 40 mines.

Romania has an extensive riverine fleet. The 4 Bratianu class are 700 ton river monitors capable of 13 knots. They are armored against field artillery and carry 3 120mm/50 in single turrets, 1 76mm AA gun, 2 47mm/44, 2 machine guns and two depth charge throwers. They have been modified to be capable of coastal operations with a new bow and greater waterproofing, but are still not seaworthy or long ranged.

The Bukovina is the ex-Austrian Temes, she is 600 tons and makes 13.5 knots, with a short radius of action. She has 1 twin 120mm/45, 1 twin 120mm/10, 1 twin 66mm/26, 4 13.2mm HMG and a depth charge thrower, with armor against field artillery.

The Besarabia is the ex-Austrian Enns. She is 550 tons and makes 13 knots, with a short radius of action and armor against field artillery. She has 2 twin 120mm/45, 2 47mm guns, 2 37mm autocannon and 4 13.2mm HMG.

The Ardeal is the ex-Austrian Bodrog, 450 tons and 13 knots with armor against field artillery and short range. She has 2 120mm/35 in single turrets fore, a 120mm/10 aft, and 4 13.2mm HMG.

4 armored launches of the Capitano Romano Mihail class complement them. 45 tons and capable of 18 knots they are armored against rifle caliber fire and carry a 47mm, a 20mm and a depth charge thrower.

Supporting these are 12 launches smaller than 10 tons of varying speeds with an armament of a 20mm and/or a machine gun and a depth charge thrower.

Romania is notable for presently having two sail training ships named Mircea. The first is a two masted 375 ton brig bought from Britian in 1882 and capable of 6 knots under motor. The second is a three masted barque bought from Germany, 1500 tons and capable of 10 knots under motor power.

Romania has a small naval aviation arm.

Romania has a regiment strength naval infantry force.

Air Forces:

Romania has a mid-sized Air Force of 600 aircraft, organized on the Italian model.

Romania has about 160 fighters. The most common is the PZL 13 of which Romania has 50, license built in Romania. 50 are improved PZL 13R, carrying 110 pounds of bombs and with greater speed, rate of climb and 2 20mm cannon and 2 machine guns. 30 are RE 2100 from Italy. 30 are SNCAO 300, a French twin engine heavy fighter, with 30 more on order. Romania is still producing the PZL 13R and is working a an advanced domestic monoplane fighter, the IAR 70, which will equal the frontline fighters of the great powers.

Romania’s standard light bomber is the IAR 40, of which they have 120. Slow, with average ceiling and decent range, it is a fixed gear enclosed cockpit biplane with 3 machine guns, 2 forward and 1 rear gunner, with 650 pounds of bombs. Romania plans on acquiring 50 Caproni 204 to supplement the IAR 40, and a dive bomber variant of the IAR 70.

Romania’s standard medium bomber is the IAR 180, a twin engine version of the Italian SM 180 built in Romania. Still fast it has 5 defensive machine guns, 1 20mm cannon in the tail and carriers 3300 pounds of bombs. 30 are in service with 50 more planned.

The remainder of Romania’s aircraft are trainers, liaison aircraft, and transports of many types, foreign and domestic.

Romanian Naval Aviation has about 50 aircraft.

10 are domestic low performance single engine biplane float planes. Slow and short ranged with only one defensive machine gun they are primarily trainers.

15 are domestically built Italian CANT 600 single engine flying boats.

25 are German AR 192 of older vintage, monoplane floatplanes of average performance.

Romania lacks paratroopers or advanced aeronautical research.

Weapons of Mass Destruction:

Romania maintains stockpiles of mustard gas, phosgene, chlorine and lewisite. Deployment is by artillery shell and aerial bomb

Romania lacks biological or nuclear weapons programs

Problems:

Romania has territorial disputes with all of its neighbors

Romania is next to the Soviet Union

-The Eve of War, the World on October 1st 1940, Eagle Press, Philadelphia, 2001

 

[generalurist]

The Belgian Army was not allowing the French to pass through their lines around Antwerp, claiming neutrality on orders from the King, and appeals to the Prime Minister proved useless. Without time to bypass Antwerp, the French 3rd Light Mechanized joined its fellow 1st light mechanized and the three light armored divisions in screening the Dyle River…

God damn it the King of Belgium is a goddamn traitor! IIRC the Netherlands did relatively well in the air war in OTL? If so, than the Luftwaffe took a fair bit less damage TTL.