An Alternate World War for The Netherlands.
Jul 20, 2016 15:29:43 GMT
lordroel and Roderick3D like this
Post by eurowatch on Jul 20, 2016 15:29:43 GMT
This timeline is based on the Alternate History of the Netherlands timeline written by the Kiat. Reading that timeline should not be necaserry to enjoy this one.
Part 1: Buildup to War.
For over a century the Dutch Commonwealth had supported the Chinese government with advisors and material to turn the ancient empire into a modern country. The Chinese civil war in 1927 did not change that, instead support for the nationalist government only increased with an entire volunteer force being mobilised to help train and equip Nationalist troops. What did throw a spanner in the work however was the Japanese invasion of China. While Tokyo claimed that they only did so in order to help restore the legitimate government, Den Haag did not see it that way. What they saw was an upstart country moving in on their turf. Their backing for the national government doubled and they even convinced Germany and Sweden-Russia to help them. The Swedish and German media were quick to criticise the “Nederlands-Duits-Sweedse Vrijwilligers Korps” as government money-wasting, with Der Spiegel stating that: “these brave men will serve no purpose but as food for the condors.” The unit would forever be known as the Condor Legion.
Publicly the legion’s mission was still only to train and advise the Nationalist army and test out new hardware, in reality they were there to deter Japanese troops from attacking vital areas.
Tokyo was furious over this development and publicly demanded that the Condor Legion was withdrawn, a demand which was blankly refused.
With supply lines running through India and the shear difference in strength between the two powers, there was little Japan could do. Or so analysts in Amsterdam thought. Unlike the Dutch military, the VOC did not have access to the Indian supply lines and had to instead covertly use the few harbours open to foreign ships.
Tokyo had had its suspicions for a long time and during a surprise inspection of a VOC convoy, they found the goods. In the battle that followed all nine ships would be sunk, including the escorting frigates Aanbieding and Uitverkoop.
The VOC immediately went into a state of semi-war and deployed its navy and private security forces to protect their resources. While fighting a company with the military resources of a small country was not that much of a problem for Asia’s rising power, attracting the attention of the Dutch Commonwealth was.
Amsterdam might have looked the other way to the VOC’s business adventures as long as they were promoting Dutch interests, but the killing of their countrymen was another matter entirely. “Who did those upstarts think they were?” Was asked more than once in the First Chamber.
Only the combined efforts of the Swedish and German diplomats kept the Dutch Pacific fleet from sailing out to knock the Japanese down a few pegs, a process that would inevitable have led to war.
Instead all import to Japan was shut down while the Condor Legion went on the offensive, booking several victories against an army only experienced in fighting poorly led militias. As their enemy adapted to this new war, so did the Allies. Panzer IIIs and T-30s were gradually switched out with Panzer IVs and T-40s, which boosted superior armour and firepower to anything the Japanese had in their arsenal. The Germans even brought in a few examples of their new heavy tank, the Tiger I, and fooled the IJA into thinking they had an entire army of them by driving them in circles inside a forest.
Unfortunately, Japan was not the only one watching. The Axis were keeping a close eye on the Condor Legion as well, interested in the latest of Allied weapon technology.
They did not take the news of an army of modern heavy tanks well. Doriot immediately ordered the development of a tank that could beat the Tiger while strategists hurriedly pushed the timetable for the war forward.
If the Allies could afford to send weapons like this to China, who knew what weapons they had at home? Rumours were already flying about fighters that could break the sound barrier and bombs that aimed themselves at the enemy.
In Tokyo the situation was likewise grim. Resolute resistance had slowed the IJA’s advance had to a crawl while they struggled to gain air superiority and develop new anti-tank weapons.
The war against the VOC had effectively become a sideshow at this point, with the Company’s navy having been ambushed and swept from the sea by the 1st mobile fleet at the battle of Singapore. That victory was a small comfort for the Diet, for while the VOC had been forced to sign a ceasefire, the DC maintained their embargo. With Japan threatening to run out of vital resources, the diet was only seeing one way out of this crisis.
Part 1: Buildup to War.
For over a century the Dutch Commonwealth had supported the Chinese government with advisors and material to turn the ancient empire into a modern country. The Chinese civil war in 1927 did not change that, instead support for the nationalist government only increased with an entire volunteer force being mobilised to help train and equip Nationalist troops. What did throw a spanner in the work however was the Japanese invasion of China. While Tokyo claimed that they only did so in order to help restore the legitimate government, Den Haag did not see it that way. What they saw was an upstart country moving in on their turf. Their backing for the national government doubled and they even convinced Germany and Sweden-Russia to help them. The Swedish and German media were quick to criticise the “Nederlands-Duits-Sweedse Vrijwilligers Korps” as government money-wasting, with Der Spiegel stating that: “these brave men will serve no purpose but as food for the condors.” The unit would forever be known as the Condor Legion.
Publicly the legion’s mission was still only to train and advise the Nationalist army and test out new hardware, in reality they were there to deter Japanese troops from attacking vital areas.
Tokyo was furious over this development and publicly demanded that the Condor Legion was withdrawn, a demand which was blankly refused.
With supply lines running through India and the shear difference in strength between the two powers, there was little Japan could do. Or so analysts in Amsterdam thought. Unlike the Dutch military, the VOC did not have access to the Indian supply lines and had to instead covertly use the few harbours open to foreign ships.
Tokyo had had its suspicions for a long time and during a surprise inspection of a VOC convoy, they found the goods. In the battle that followed all nine ships would be sunk, including the escorting frigates Aanbieding and Uitverkoop.
The VOC immediately went into a state of semi-war and deployed its navy and private security forces to protect their resources. While fighting a company with the military resources of a small country was not that much of a problem for Asia’s rising power, attracting the attention of the Dutch Commonwealth was.
Amsterdam might have looked the other way to the VOC’s business adventures as long as they were promoting Dutch interests, but the killing of their countrymen was another matter entirely. “Who did those upstarts think they were?” Was asked more than once in the First Chamber.
Only the combined efforts of the Swedish and German diplomats kept the Dutch Pacific fleet from sailing out to knock the Japanese down a few pegs, a process that would inevitable have led to war.
Instead all import to Japan was shut down while the Condor Legion went on the offensive, booking several victories against an army only experienced in fighting poorly led militias. As their enemy adapted to this new war, so did the Allies. Panzer IIIs and T-30s were gradually switched out with Panzer IVs and T-40s, which boosted superior armour and firepower to anything the Japanese had in their arsenal. The Germans even brought in a few examples of their new heavy tank, the Tiger I, and fooled the IJA into thinking they had an entire army of them by driving them in circles inside a forest.
Unfortunately, Japan was not the only one watching. The Axis were keeping a close eye on the Condor Legion as well, interested in the latest of Allied weapon technology.
They did not take the news of an army of modern heavy tanks well. Doriot immediately ordered the development of a tank that could beat the Tiger while strategists hurriedly pushed the timetable for the war forward.
If the Allies could afford to send weapons like this to China, who knew what weapons they had at home? Rumours were already flying about fighters that could break the sound barrier and bombs that aimed themselves at the enemy.
In Tokyo the situation was likewise grim. Resolute resistance had slowed the IJA’s advance had to a crawl while they struggled to gain air superiority and develop new anti-tank weapons.
The war against the VOC had effectively become a sideshow at this point, with the Company’s navy having been ambushed and swept from the sea by the 1st mobile fleet at the battle of Singapore. That victory was a small comfort for the Diet, for while the VOC had been forced to sign a ceasefire, the DC maintained their embargo. With Japan threatening to run out of vital resources, the diet was only seeing one way out of this crisis.
