The Sound of Drums - A British Hearts of Iron AAR
Part Two
7th March - 17th July 1936
The outcry over the German reoccupation of the Rhineland ended almost as soon as it began. The British Cabinet paid it little heed, the Prime Minister less so - as far as they were concerned Germany were merely reclaiming their own territory. The only real problem was mentioned by Foreign Minister Rheinmetall - almost as a musing - that this may just be the start of the charismatic German leaders ambitions.
Not that Britain could argue it was going to be unprepared! In late March the next generation of Field Artillery units were unveiled as prototypes (to which the Army Chiefs promptly depended several orders of) and more excitingly, the aircraft manufacturer Avro announced that it had been contracted by the RAF to develop a new type of plane - one that could transport soldiers to a target and allow them to jump out (with parachutes, obviously) into glorious battle below. It may have been said that the British Army is a missile that was fired by the navy, but it was clear that the airforce was doing it’s best to catch up.
It’s a grand old war after all…
However, the Royal Navy were hardly willing to let their recent rejuvenation slow down in light of such progress by the other armed branches. In addition to the reorganisation of the fleet to better deal with potential world problems, the keel to the first
King George V class battleship was laid down in April. With hindsight it might be easy to claim the government were a little quick to name a new vessel class after the recently deceased monarch head, but there is no doubt it did much to appease dissent following the King’s death. It also slightly quelled protests from the pro-battleship crowds, worrying that the aircraft carrier was taking over as the prime instrument in British "foreign relations".
For the rest of the world, war seemed to creep its way back into the grand scheme of things. After a long fight Ethiopia finally fell to the Italians, finally surrendering to them on the 28th March. In the Far East - a region so debated by the Cabinet - Nationalist China went to war with a southern faction, Guangxi Clique, the latter launching a major offensive throughout late June. The distraction allowed the communist Chinese faction - located in the north - to renew their own campaign for dominance. None were threats to British holdings in the region, but the destabilisation could only be described as worrying.
Spain is split!
However, as is the way of things, events closer to home quickly took precedence, as the anxious, yet calm peace in Spain finally ignited into fighting. The Popular Front was failing to live up to its name, assassinations were quickly galvanising right and leftist groups alike, and it was inevitable that civil war would follow. On the 17th of July, it did, as militarist right wing groups began a revolution against the government. Regardless of whether Britain decided to stay out of the immediate fighting, there was an overwhelming feeling that the fighting could be seen as a proxy war between the left and right governments in Europe…
