EA-ICS Allied Thread - Entry of the United States

[Mantis]

All right, I can see that you are all here, so let's get down to it, shall we, gentlemen?

I'll forego the preamble, and get right to the heart of the matter. The USA has joined the Allied war effort. Yes, great news indeed, Generals, but all is not as rosy as it may seem. But I'm getting ahead of myself, I'll start from the beginning.

It began with Spain joining the Axis powers. The political situation in both Europe and Africa had changed quite drastically, which was no doubt partially responsible for the policy change in Washington. Here's an look at Spain when she activated, from an intelligence briefing document we received:



The partisans shown on the map have since been eliminated by the Spanish, but we are doing everything we can to support the insurgents. Limited resistance continues, and we have already begun plans to supply small arms to the underground.

Franco's entry in the war did not come without cost to the Germans. They ceded French terrain in Africa to Spain in exchange for Franco's cooperation. The Vichy French were not amused by this apparent doublecross, and yes, once again, they have switched sides. I know, gentlemen; but at this point in the war, we welcome any assitance we can get.

I will detail for you the situation around the ETO as the change in loyalties came about.

Tunis;

Algiers;

Damascus;

Toulon. Please note the Vichy fleet offshore. Unfortunately, the Jerries were anticipating this reaction from the French, and had elements of the Regia Marina, along with German naval bombers in the area to deny us this prize.

As I'm sure you've observed, the French units in the maps above are only partisans. Regular units were 'caught in the act' of forming up, and quickly supressed by the Axis. There is little doubt that this entire escapade was very well thought out, and planned in detail prior to it's execution. Virtually all the elements of the French army that remained were denied to us. On the plus side, it is certain that when we liberate these areas, we will find experienced men willing to take up arms against the Germans.

There was a bright spot in all of this, as Casablanca was left untouched by the Axis as their plan came to fruition, and the Free French forces there were able to form up without hinderance.

Casablanca. In addation to the partisan elements located here, we have two Free French infantry divisions available.

There was also an armed uprising in France itself, centered around Lyons.

Lyon. This is the heart of the Vichy (now Free) French military. These units have already been forced to flee the city by the presence of nearby Italian and German units. Two Panzer Korps are approaching from the north, just off the top of the map. Every effort was made to extract these troops from France, but they were unable to make it to any port facilities with both the Germans and Italians being prepared for just such an occurrence.

(The events depicted below took place in the following week).

The Italians had based the remaining elements of the Regia Marina at Algiers with an infantry division, preparing to engage the rest of the Vichy fleet if there were any French issues with the 'Franco Plan'. Again, we were denied any naval assets by their high level of preparedness for just such a contingency.

Algiers.

To return to the matter of Spain, she does not seem to be willing to sit an be a passive part of the Axis powers. Already, infantry corps are being transported to Libya in an effort to swing the balance of power here in the Axis' favor.

Here is a view of the situation as it stood just after the second Spanish corps arrived in Tobruk:

Egypt/Libya border. The two Spanish corps are located in Tobruk, which we were unable to provide accurate intel on at the time of this map's creation.

Spain's naval forces, consisting of ten destroyers and two cruisers, were making full speed for Axis naval bases in France. Due to the unexpected nature of this, and our own shortages of shipping as we try to contain the German U-boat threat, we were unable to intercept these ships.

The icing on the cake, so far as the Americans were concerned, came about when it was discovered that the Germans had been secretly converting their industrial base towards a full war economy for several years. Their potential is far greater than we had earlier anticipated, and the amount of equipment and vehicles they can field is likely considerably higher than our previous intelligence suggests.

This proved to be enough for the US; the constant pressure by our diplomats, in conjunction with the recent bombings of British airbases, combined with all the other elements of Axis aggression proved enough for the American people - they are now calling for a more active role in the war. Roosevelt, emboldened by this public outcry, called for a Declaration of War against the Axis powers. The American Congress, by the narrowest of margins, has agreed.

The United States of America is now in the war.

Here is the situation in the US at the time of the DoW:

Eastern USA.

This is a great relief to the British, as you can well imagine. The latest inteligence reports, coupled with new recon photos, clearly show a massive movement to the French coast. There can be little doubt, Generals. The Germans plan to invade the UK...

[Mantis]

The invasion has begun!

I have received intelligence photos and information which is being processed as we speak. I will compile this data immediately, and prepare a briefing for you, Generals.