The Sound of Drums - A British Hearts of Iron AAR
Part Thirty-Two
18th May - 8th June 1940
As Allied forces in France began their defence in earnest, the British Parliament at home began a reshuffling of its members to cope with the great events it was dealing with. With the exception of a few key members such as Raisin Bran and Rheinmetall, who both resigned due to personal reasons, the Cabinet remained essentially the same as it had always been since the start of Kan Sharuminars term.
The most significant change was to the Imperial Defence Council. Its former leader, Mr. Riptide_Monzarc, had succumbed to a long illness in early 1940 and this was taken as a sign to shut down his organisation. It was to be replaced with the Unified Intelligence Taskforce which would deal with British affairs in wartime as the IDC had dealt with its affairs in peace. Former IDC member Rapidveggie was given the rank of Brigadier and overall charge of UNIT, his rival in command Comrade Davo choosing instead to command the 1st CFC Infantry Division.
For Headquarters Rapidveggie was granted an office complex in Whitehall. It was large enough to accommodate all the chief members of UNIT as well as provide sufficient room to debate the governments handling of the war effort. At its entrance was a plaque dedicated to Riptide_Monzarc, as well as a bust of the former IDC founder.
The formation of UNIT caused a general resentment among existing intelligence bureaus who, alarmed by the naming of UNIT, worried that their own positions would be undermined. Ironman2055 in particular, was not impressed that UNIT wouldnt fall under his powers as Head of Intelligence. These fears were assuaged in mid-May with the publication of UNITs mission statement. In essence, while the rest of British Intelligence would continue to act as a weapon of the government in the war, UNIT would continue to act as an advisory board as the IDC had done. It could conduct its own investigations, provide recommendations and advice and even go so far as challenge the government in open debate, but it would not have any direct control in the war effort.
They had plenty to discuss in early June. Following the initial successes in holding back the Germans in Belgium, it seemed like the entire line was failing. Belgium had been totally overrun, the French defences were failing at Valenciennes and Reims, and Bocks Second Army Group loomed over British forces at Dunkirk . It seemed that the Germans were about to achieve total victory on the western front.
President Roosevelt urges for peace
Cross-Atlantic ties between Britain and the United States had been extremely strong even before the outbreak of war, and it was presumably through a desire to see Britain live that President Roosevelt stepped in to urge peace talks between the belligerent powers, suggesting that he himself could oversee such talks as a neutral power.
The response was fairly muted, mainly due to attention being fixed on the military campaign in France. The Italian leader Mussolini seemed fairly positive about such an event, even going so far as to offer neutral Italy as host nation to such talks. For the warring nations there was no official response, but there were rumours that some members of the British governments approved the notion of making peace now. Better to make a reasonable agreement now, rather than being forced into a humiliating peace if Germany totally destroyed Allied forces in France.
Regardless of if Roosevelts proposals were considered by Britain (or even Germany, as some reports supported), it made little effect on their generals. On the 5th June Bock launched his attack on Dunkirk, directly attacking British forces for the first time, and inflicting their first defeat.
British forces withdraw from Dunkirk
The retreat from Dunkirk was not as catastrophic as it may have first seemed. There were few losses beyond the many Stuart V tanks - already being phased out anyway. Thanks to the efforts of commanders such as General Davo most lives were spared, though the organisation and morale of their troops were spent at a time when the crisis in France was reaching its height.
With the BEF now thrown back, both the German First and Second Army Groups began an all out attack. Bocks forces began a push for Lille, where the joint French-British forces managed to hold out for several days before being overwhelmed. His forces arrived on the 7th June, protecting the northern flank of Field Marshal Lists First Army who had just begun the occupation of Compiegne. Paris was now just a river crossing away from conquest.
The front line in France, 8th June 1940
Even now there was still hope for peace, though clearly this would involve harsher terms from the Germans after their string of victories. That hope began to fade after Roosevelt withdrew his offer of overseeing any talks - it was an election year and he needed to commit to the American doctrine of isolation. Mussolini attempted to take his place, but this only resulted in Prime Minister Sharuminar making an angry speech in Parliament that he would never make a deal with Germany under the advice of Hitlers puppet. Britain would continue to fight on.
It was highly doubtful that it was this rejection and insult that spurred the Italian leader to declare war on Britain on the 8th June. Allied newspapers were, however, quick to label Mussolini as a hypocrite for all his desires for peace. Italy had clearly been preparing for a potential war with Britain for years now - the British response of military resources to Egypt was the most visible proof of that. And though Mussolini clearly dreamed of adding provinces of southern France to his nation before Germany ended the war, there was no doubt he wanted to grab at British and French provinces in Africa. The Mediterranean Front had been opened
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