stevep
Fleet admiral
Posts: 24,843 
Likes: 13,229
|
Post by stevep on Feb 2, 2019 0:50:39 GMT
July 8th, Hasselt, Belgium
The headquarters of the German Second Army was a mess of documents, maps, and staff officers running around.
General von Weichs and his staff were poring over a map. “Send the 267th to Leuven and the 45th to--”
An aide ran in. “Sir! I have a message from General Wager!”
Von Weichs took the piece of paper and read the message from the commander of XXVI Corps.
“Namur lost. Huy threatened. Heavy casualties.”
July 8th, Near Huy, Belguim
The 3rd SS Division was primarily made up of former guards from the camps in Eastern Germany. They had been sent to this part of Belgium to shore up the line.
The swift collapse and surrender of the Ninth Army had forced the 3rd SS to take up a defensive position in the fields next to the River Meuse. They had no air support, were short on artillery, and were about to face the Canadian 1st Division.
The standard combination of artillery and air support was followed by 95 Leopard tanks and 140 LAVs shattering the SS lines in the countryside. The 3rd Division was hard-pressed, yet still offered fierce resistance.
In the actual town of Huy, SS troops rejected calls for surrender and had to be blasted out of their dugouts, foxholes and their shelters in buildings. Many were killed trying to throw anti-tank grenades at the LAVs, but a few succeeded. The LAV-III and the LAV-VI were relatively soft skinned compared to the Leopard, but the AT grenades only damage them. There were not many anti-tank guns that could destroy the LAV in the German arsenal. The 88mm AA guns and the 75mm gun on the Panzer IV could, but most German units were equipped with the 37mm AT gun.
Despite putting up a fierce fight, the fate of the 3rd SS was sealed. Airstrikes punished the camp guards while Canadian troops pushed forwards. By nightfall, the remnants of the 3rd SS retreated, being harassed from the air all the way to Liege.
Canadian casualties were as follows: 58 killed, 10 wounded. By contrast, the 3rd SS suffered 3,800 killed and 6,600 wounded.
Following the capture of Huy, British troops took Leuven. By the 10th, German leaders were panicking. It looked like they would be pushed out of Belgium soon. Their situation appeared to be worse and worse by the day. The important town of Liege fell to the 2nd Canadian Division while French troops rolled into Luxembourg city.
Everything was unravelling for the Germans.
Great to see a update redrobin65
Fully agree and looks like things are going very well for the allies. Probably still a lot of fighting to come but the German core forces are taking a hell of a battering and while the Nazis can possibly still moblise a lot more men their equipment, training and morale is likely to be fragile.
Probably mentioned it before but there are some bridges and viaducts over the Rhine that its been suggested are pretty crucial for the German industrial economy. If this hasn't been done, suggested already its something that could be highly effective given the accurate strike capacity of the Canadian forces.
|
|
|
|
Post by redrobin65 on Feb 14, 2019 10:07:54 GMT
Arctic Anger: Residents of Nunavut Protest High Food Prices (National Post)
Your Options for a Vacation Abroad are Very Limited (Blog.TO)
Bernier says that People’s Party will have candidates in all 338 electoral districts by March (CTV)
What the Japanese are Doing in China (The Province)
2000 Workers Employed at General Dynamics Factory (London Free Press)
Opinion: Canada Needs Nuclear Weapons (Calgary Herald)
The Flagging Popularity of the Alberta NDP (Edmonton Sun)
Government Announces Naval Construction Plan (The Chronicle Herald)
Opinion: Bombardier’s Incompetence Knows no Bounds (Toronto Star)
Opinion: Why Trudeau Needs to Go (Calgary Sun)
Opinion: Singh and the NDP deserve to lose the election (Ottawa Citizen)
First Nations Suicide Crisis in Northern Manitoba (Winnipeg Sun)
9th, 10th, 11th Divisions Formed (Montreal Gazette)
CF-18 Crashes near Cold Lake (The Telegram)
New Brunswick Government Loses No-Confidence Vote (CBC News)
July to September, 1940
The morale of frontline German units had been on a downward spiral for months. Disaster after disaster struck with unfavourable effects for the Heer and SS. The attacks in May and June had mostly failed.
In occupied territory, German troops faced a vicious insurgency; local resistance groups supported by Canadian special forces wrought havoc on supply lines. Retribution was always brutal (the shooting of a Heer colonel near Lontzen in Belgium resulted in the entire population of that village being executed), but the attacks continued.
This was not helped by Operation CRUSADER, which saw Allied troops cross the Albert Canal and push into the Netherlands in August. The Germans inflicted serious casualties on Allied units, but they would often take heavy losses as well. The 4th SS Division is a prime example, as they suffered 87% casualties at the Battle of Tilburg.
The Germans were overstretched, and despite plenty of ranting from Hitler, that would not change in the foreseeable future. The British had landed on the Dutch coast while more Allied troops pushed up from Belgium. The French were moving through the Saarland. The Ruhr industry was being bombed day and night. Canadian troops were probing the Rhineland. The Poles were rebelling.
What could be done?Attachments:
|
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Feb 14, 2019 10:51:01 GMT
Canadian SAS causing havoc? What a shame!
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 68,007
Likes: 49,410
|
Post by lordroel on Feb 14, 2019 11:38:05 GMT
Canadian SAS causing havoc? What a shame! No Canadian SAS but elite Joint Task Force 2 (JTF ) and the Special Operations Regiment (CSOR). |
|
stevep
Fleet admiral
Posts: 24,843
Likes: 13,229
|
Post by stevep on Feb 14, 2019 12:12:03 GMT
redrobin65
Good summary of feelings in Canada and the steady decline of the German position.
I don't know about anybody else but that attachment isn't working for me? Have just changed internet provider so might be an hitch there but everything else seems largely OK. Anyone else having problems with it?
Steve
|
|
|
|
Post by redrobin65 on Feb 14, 2019 12:39:17 GMT
redrobin65
Good summary of feelings in Canada and the steady decline of the German position.
I don't know about anybody else but that attachment isn't working for me? Have just changed internet provider so might be an hitch there but everything else seems largely OK. Anyone else having problems with it?
Steve
I think the attachment was accidental. |
|
Zyobot
Fleet admiral
Just a time-traveling robot stranded on Earth.
Posts: 17,352
Likes: 7,260
|
Post by Zyobot on Feb 14, 2019 12:46:00 GMT
Since the Germans are clearly losing, I wonder what Hitler's fate will be. Committing suicide in the bunker again, being double-crossed by his own, or a drone strike taking him out are the possibilities running through my mind at the moment.
On a different note, I think it'd also have made for a good TL if you sent Canada back to, say, sometime in the early '40s so that it could steal America's thunder and prompt some interesting-to-read relations with its southern neighbor. But that's just my opinion.
Anyways, I look forward to what's coming next.
|
|
Zyobot
Fleet admiral
Just a time-traveling robot stranded on Earth.
Posts: 17,352
Likes: 7,260
|
Post by Zyobot on Feb 16, 2019 4:58:14 GMT
Out of curiosity, redrobin65, what do FDR & Friends make of the technologies the Canadians brought with them in the ISOT? They'd have certainly received word of the uptimer exhibition that put these innovations on display. Aside from military-oriented advancements like drones and GPS, I predict that digital devices and the World Wide Web would attract most of their attention at first. The reactions from the downtimer STEM community would be equally worth discussing as well. Although, considering the prospect of the Great White North uplifting other nations, many will inevitably grumble about potentially having to rebuild their knowledge from the ground up and go back to school. Perhaps their experiences visiting or even attending Canadian colleges and universities would be something to write about, if you feel so inclined. Eighty or so years is plenty of time for one's expertise to become obsolete. |
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 68,007
Likes: 49,410
|
Post by lordroel on Feb 16, 2019 8:57:18 GMT
Since the Germans are clearly losing, I wonder what Hitler's fate will be. Committing suicide in the bunker again, being double-crossed by his own, or a drone strike taking him out are the possibilities running through my mind at the moment. No Drone strike, as far as i know the Canadians in 2018 had no drone like a Predator in service, maybe a CF-18 strike. |
|
stevep
Fleet admiral
Posts: 24,843
Likes: 13,229
|
Post by stevep on Feb 16, 2019 12:28:50 GMT
Out of curiosity, redrobin65 , what do FDR & Friends make of the technologies the Canadians brought with them in the ISOT? They'd have certainly received word of the uptimer exhibition that put these innovations on display. Aside from military-oriented advancements like drones and GPS, I predict that digital devices and the World Wide Web would attract most of their attention at first. The reactions from the downtimer STEM community would be equally worth discussing as well. Although, considering the prospect of the Great White North uplifting other nations, many will inevitably grumble about potentially having to rebuild their knowledge from the ground up and go back to school. Perhaps their experiences visiting or even attending Canadian colleges and universities would be something to write about, if you feel so inclined. Eighty or so years is plenty of time for one's expertise to become obsolete.
I wonder how friendly to many of those advances the down-timers would be? Not only are many businesses facing mass obsolescence but things like the WWW would mean a massive loss of control over information. Especially since the latter would include many things a lot of up-timers would find unwelcome, from less respect for accepted values, ideas of racial, sexual and other rights, porn, etc. Of course attempts to restrict its spread would be counter-productive in the longer run but I can see some nations/communities trying.
There is going to be huge mass obsolescence anyway and it will be those nations and states that are willing to adjust rapidly and make the right decisions that will succeed while many others will struggle.
Just had a nasty thought. We often talk with ISOT's about what would be the legality and morality of say actions against leading communists or Nazis before they gained power but I could see some nasty elements seeking to remove 'future enemies'. For instance a young Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela or what will happen to Khrushchev or Deng for instances when Stalin and Mao find out who replaces them?
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 68,007
Likes: 49,410
|
Post by lordroel on Feb 16, 2019 12:30:30 GMT
Out of curiosity, redrobin65 , what do FDR & Friends make of the technologies the Canadians brought with them in the ISOT? They'd have certainly received word of the uptimer exhibition that put these innovations on display. Aside from military-oriented advancements like drones and GPS, I predict that digital devices and the World Wide Web would attract most of their attention at first. The reactions from the downtimer STEM community would be equally worth discussing as well. Although, considering the prospect of the Great White North uplifting other nations, many will inevitably grumble about potentially having to rebuild their knowledge from the ground up and go back to school. Perhaps their experiences visiting or even attending Canadian colleges and universities would be something to write about, if you feel so inclined. Eighty or so years is plenty of time for one's expertise to become obsolete. I wonder how friendly to many of those advances the down-timers would be? Not only are many businesses facing mass obsolescence but things like the WWW would mean a massive loss of control over information. Especially since the latter would include many things a lot of up-timers would find unwelcome, from less respect for accepted values, ideas of racial, sexual and other rights, porn, etc. Of course attempts to restrict its spread would be counter-productive in the longer run but I can see some nations/communities trying. There is going to be huge mass obsolescence anyway and it will be those nations and states that are willing to adjust rapidly and make the right decisions that will succeed while many others will struggle.
I wonder what the British and French have learned in military production, will we see before 1943 a jet fighter in allied service, a main battle tanks and so on. |
|
stevep
Fleet admiral
Posts: 24,843
Likes: 13,229
|
Post by stevep on Feb 16, 2019 12:49:25 GMT
I wonder how friendly to many of those advances the down-timers would be? Not only are many businesses facing mass obsolescence but things like the WWW would mean a massive loss of control over information. Especially since the latter would include many things a lot of up-timers would find unwelcome, from less respect for accepted values, ideas of racial, sexual and other rights, porn, etc. Of course attempts to restrict its spread would be counter-productive in the longer run but I can see some nations/communities trying. There is going to be huge mass obsolescence anyway and it will be those nations and states that are willing to adjust rapidly and make the right decisions that will succeed while many others will struggle.
I wonder what the British and French have learned in military production, will we see before 1943 a jet fighter in allied service, a main battle tanks and so on.
You could see, although hopefully the war will be over by then - presuming no wider wars against Japan or the USSR and you are likely to see some significant retrenchment of spending but there will definitely be development of new technologies and weapons to stay abreast of new events and possible threats. I suspect the big issue would be how many crash programmes to produce nuclear weapons there will be around the world?
If their really smart then nations will also look at information technology and how to handle social change as well. Wonder how Churchill and the Tories will react on hearing how they won the war in 45 and immediately got kicked out of power and the social changes that the Labour government brought in? Furthermore that following Tory governments, for a generation or so, largely supported those changes when they returned to power. Or how Churchill will react to the loss of empire and especially the very close loss of India? Will he and the Tories, on either the future of Britain and the end of empire accept change or seek to double down to prevent change? I hope the former rather than the latter as that could be very bad?
On the bright side 2018 Canada would offer a much better option for Alan Turing than what happened to his historically if Britain doesn't wise up.
|
|
Zyobot
Fleet admiral
Just a time-traveling robot stranded on Earth.
Posts: 17,352
Likes: 7,260
|
Post by Zyobot on Feb 16, 2019 21:45:45 GMT
Out of curiosity, redrobin65 , what do FDR & Friends make of the technologies the Canadians brought with them in the ISOT? They'd have certainly received word of the uptimer exhibition that put these innovations on display. Aside from military-oriented advancements like drones and GPS, I predict that digital devices and the World Wide Web would attract most of their attention at first. The reactions from the downtimer STEM community would be equally worth discussing as well. Although, considering the prospect of the Great White North uplifting other nations, many will inevitably grumble about potentially having to rebuild their knowledge from the ground up and go back to school. Perhaps their experiences visiting or even attending Canadian colleges and universities would be something to write about, if you feel so inclined. Eighty or so years is plenty of time for one's expertise to become obsolete.
I wonder how friendly to many of those advances the down-timers would be? Not only are many businesses facing mass obsolescence but things like the WWW would mean a massive loss of control over information. Especially since the latter would include many things a lot of up-timers would find unwelcome, from less respect for accepted values, ideas of racial, sexual and other rights, porn, etc. Of course attempts to restrict its spread would be counter-productive in the longer run but I can see some nations/communities trying.
There is going to be huge mass obsolescence anyway and it will be those nations and states that are willing to adjust rapidly and make the right decisions that will succeed while many others will struggle.
Just had a nasty thought. We often talk with ISOT's about what would be the legality and morality of say actions against leading communists or Nazis before they gained power but I could see some nasty elements seeking to remove 'future enemies'. For instance a young Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela or what will happen to Khrushchev or Deng for instances when Stalin and Mao find out who replaces them?
Yeah, these will certainly be problems for sure. For one, I've the feeling that assuming that downtimer societies are willing to adopt digital devices and the internet, they'd censor and otherwise regulate it far more than the Canadians would do with their own. Even if '40s leaders recognize the geopolitical value of accepting uptimer technologies anyway, that doesn't mean the moral guardians, panicked parents and confused masses will necessarily follow suit. I can't really comment on your third point, though I don't doubt that the prospect of removing future OTL enemies and "problematic persons" will be controversial at all levels. |
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Feb 20, 2019 11:40:10 GMT
When do we get back to seeing the Nazi war machine so effectively taken apart again?
|
|
Zyobot
Fleet admiral
Just a time-traveling robot stranded on Earth.
Posts: 17,352
Likes: 7,260
|
Post by Zyobot on Feb 20, 2019 13:13:20 GMT
When do we get back to seeing the Nazi war machine so effectively taken apart again? Indeed, I think most of us would like to see the Canadians keep plugging away at dismantling the Axis forces. Speaking for myself, I'm also guessing that by now, downtimer Allied leadership has gotten word of the technology and cultural phenomena that the Canadians have brought with them. Perhaps writing about FDR struggling with his new computer or smart device, or Churchill scratching his head as he tries to figure out social media--coupled with their thoughts on the advancements made in the nearly eighty years since 1940--are a few examples of what I mean by that. There's also the blatant and brutally clear generation gap between uptimers and the '40s people. Five separate post-WW2 cohorts--Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, Generation Z and Generation Alpha--have been sent back to the heyday of their parents or (sometimes even great!) grandparents. How might downtimer audiences perceive (if not always have the chance to interact) with these people from the future? For one, I bet they'd take none too kindly to their modern-day social liberalism and would be amazed at the wondertech they have at their beck and call on a daily basis--though its practical implications might also appall them from time to time. These questions are pertinent to answer in regards to downtimer Canadians who are coming back and must adjust to life in the Great White North from 2018. |
|
