I recently completed reading John Terraine's excellent history of the RAF in WW2, The Right of the Line, and was fascinated by the strategic focus of the senior leaders of the RAF in the inter war years on the capability of air power to decide a war alone. Attempts were made during the war to implement these ideas, but the agenda set by the axis powers meant the RAF was never free to fully implement them. So what better place than HOI3 to test an alternate universe?
The scenario contends that in 1936 the RAF achieved the patronage of a significant number of politicians and Whitehall mandarins, and strategic air power became the basis for the defence of the realm. Never again would the Empire's flower of youth be sacriificed in a continental meat grinder! Air and sea power would safeguard the home isles, but what of the continental allies - does this new policy abandon them to confront fascism alone? Could the UK's new strategy protect France?
PREPARATION
The strategy followed was broadly thus:
* everything aviation related was top priority for research and procurement.
* the heavy bomber force consisted of 8 fully upgraded units by Sep'39 , with a further 6 under construction due to be completed in the second half of '40.
* CAS, TAC, INT, FTR and NAV were also built.
* additional airfields, radar and AA constructed throughout SE England.
* the navy was second priority, with the carrier force expanded and cruisers and escorts added to the fleet. No emphasis on bb's or BC's apart from AA.
* the army was a distant poor relation. Only infantry equipment and doctrines were researched, everything else was left pre war. The only job the army would have would be to safeguard the Middle East, East Africa, Malaya and India.
WAR
At the outbreak of war the entire peacetime army was shipped from the UK to Egypt to prepare for Italy's entry. Likewise, the entire Army of India was shipped to East Africa. Garrison units were built starting with the outbreak of war to safeguard against any random German attempt to invade the UK.
The RAF was deployed to France, with the exception the strategic bombers which remained in England.
The RN immediately launched port strikes on the German fleet in its home bases. This crippled the German Navy so that it did not feature as a threat for the first 18 mths of the war ( Norway was never seriously threatened as a result).
In Feb'40 the RAF started attacking all the Luftwaffe bases in western Germany. TAC's mated with multi role FTR's hit the airfields in reach, while those out of range were bombed by the STR's at night. By the end of Feb the Luftwaffe had disappeared from the skies - grounded on bases pounded to rubble.
This then allowed the RAF to create a one province wide infrastructure "wasteland" stretching from Emden to the Maginot line. By bombing every provinces infrastructure to less than 5% along this corridor the movement of supplies across this barrier was reduced to a trickle.
Germany then invaded the Low Countries ....... Would the thin blue line hold?
THE OUTCOME
All of the German units cross the border with 30 days supplies and fuel. Once this is expended they need to rely on the logistics system to keep going.
Consequently the Netherlands and Belgium were steam rolled, and the German juggernaut made it a far as the provinces adjacent to Paris, but there they ran out of fuel and supplies. The AI controlled French army was then able to hold them, and eventually in late '40 was able to start to push the starved units back.
As the Maginot line fell, the infrastructure barrier was extended. Eventually it stretched all the way from Emden to Switzerland - 16 provinces which needed to be constantly shuttle bombed to prevent infrastructure recovering.
When the Italians invaded the three provinces west of Milan were attacked by STR's from Malta. The Italians made it as far as Bordeux before they ran out of supplies.
By the middle of '41 the French were back in Brussels and were holding a line roughly running south from there, but the Italians had been pushed all the way back to Milan.
All this without a single UK ground unit committed to the continent!
By mid 41 the AI seems to have woken up to the need to contest the skies and it's getting harder to maintain the barrier. Carriers in the North Sea are providing air superiority missions over 12 of the 16 provinces but it's getting harder.
More to Follow!
The scenario contends that in 1936 the RAF achieved the patronage of a significant number of politicians and Whitehall mandarins, and strategic air power became the basis for the defence of the realm. Never again would the Empire's flower of youth be sacriificed in a continental meat grinder! Air and sea power would safeguard the home isles, but what of the continental allies - does this new policy abandon them to confront fascism alone? Could the UK's new strategy protect France?
PREPARATION
The strategy followed was broadly thus:
* everything aviation related was top priority for research and procurement.
* the heavy bomber force consisted of 8 fully upgraded units by Sep'39 , with a further 6 under construction due to be completed in the second half of '40.
* CAS, TAC, INT, FTR and NAV were also built.
* additional airfields, radar and AA constructed throughout SE England.
* the navy was second priority, with the carrier force expanded and cruisers and escorts added to the fleet. No emphasis on bb's or BC's apart from AA.
* the army was a distant poor relation. Only infantry equipment and doctrines were researched, everything else was left pre war. The only job the army would have would be to safeguard the Middle East, East Africa, Malaya and India.
WAR
At the outbreak of war the entire peacetime army was shipped from the UK to Egypt to prepare for Italy's entry. Likewise, the entire Army of India was shipped to East Africa. Garrison units were built starting with the outbreak of war to safeguard against any random German attempt to invade the UK.
The RAF was deployed to France, with the exception the strategic bombers which remained in England.
The RN immediately launched port strikes on the German fleet in its home bases. This crippled the German Navy so that it did not feature as a threat for the first 18 mths of the war ( Norway was never seriously threatened as a result).
In Feb'40 the RAF started attacking all the Luftwaffe bases in western Germany. TAC's mated with multi role FTR's hit the airfields in reach, while those out of range were bombed by the STR's at night. By the end of Feb the Luftwaffe had disappeared from the skies - grounded on bases pounded to rubble.
This then allowed the RAF to create a one province wide infrastructure "wasteland" stretching from Emden to the Maginot line. By bombing every provinces infrastructure to less than 5% along this corridor the movement of supplies across this barrier was reduced to a trickle.
Germany then invaded the Low Countries ....... Would the thin blue line hold?
THE OUTCOME
All of the German units cross the border with 30 days supplies and fuel. Once this is expended they need to rely on the logistics system to keep going.
Consequently the Netherlands and Belgium were steam rolled, and the German juggernaut made it a far as the provinces adjacent to Paris, but there they ran out of fuel and supplies. The AI controlled French army was then able to hold them, and eventually in late '40 was able to start to push the starved units back.
As the Maginot line fell, the infrastructure barrier was extended. Eventually it stretched all the way from Emden to Switzerland - 16 provinces which needed to be constantly shuttle bombed to prevent infrastructure recovering.
When the Italians invaded the three provinces west of Milan were attacked by STR's from Malta. The Italians made it as far as Bordeux before they ran out of supplies.
By the middle of '41 the French were back in Brussels and were holding a line roughly running south from there, but the Italians had been pushed all the way back to Milan.
All this without a single UK ground unit committed to the continent!
By mid 41 the AI seems to have woken up to the need to contest the skies and it's getting harder to maintain the barrier. Carriers in the North Sea are providing air superiority missions over 12 of the 16 provinces but it's getting harder.
More to Follow!
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