I.C.For the vast majority of World War II the outcome of the conflict was anything but certain it took many good decisions on the part of allied leadership, bad decisions on the part of the Axis leaders, and more than a fair share of luck for World War II to end the way it did.... But history is a fragile thing, a thin chain of events with each link entirely dependent on the last and equally vital to all that will follow. Any change, any break in the chain, no matter how small can have drastic, far reaching, and near limitless consequences.
This story will be set in a reality where just such a change has occurred, where the chain of historical events as we know it has been irrecoverably broken. Where the outcome of World War II and the fate of the entire world is no longer set in stone. The following is an abbreviated and simplified timeline of major events that have taken place in this timeline.
The When
July 1940 Events have thus far transpired in an identical manner to our world's timeline.
August 1940 24: Clear skies insure that all German bombing missions strike their intended targets there are no bombs dropped on Coventry or any other major British population center.
Luftwaffe air operations continue to be targeted at RAF airfields and fighter wings.
30: With RAF fighter command strained to the breaking point Winston Churchill orders the bombing of Berlin as a desperate gambit to goad Hitler into changing the focus of his air campaign and give RAF fighter command much needed time to regain its footing.
September 19407: Hermann Goring manages to dissuade Hitler from making a major misjudgement and shifting the Luftwaffe's focus from the RAF airfields to London. His success means that the RAF's airfields and fighter wings remain the Luftwaffe's primary targets in the Battle of Britain.
8-17: The Luftwaffe continues to pressure RAF fighter command the number of British Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters, as well as the pilots and airports needed for them continues to drop daily. In desperation the RAF begins to refit and modify its remaining bombers and air transports in the hopes of using them as flying anti-aircraft batteries.
18: The Luftwaffe launches a massive air raid aimed at destroying the final RAF airbases still in working order and wiping out the RAF fighter wings once and for all. Three hours of near continuous air combat ensues. When the dust finally settles the RAF is not completely destroyed but its numbers are so small that it no longer poses a strategic threat to German air operations.
19: Preparation of forces for Operation Sea Lion, the Nazi plan for the invasion of Britain, begins. Churchill declares that Britain will "Never fall."
21: In order for it to take part in the upcoming offensive, the battleship Tirpitz, is pushed into early completion at the cost of some minor combat systems and much of the ships planned crew accommodations. Alongside it's sister ship, the Bismarck, the Tripitz and its escort fleet make for German held French ports near the English Channel.
22-24: Allied spies report ever growing numbers of German soldiers in Bruges, Dunkirk, Calais, Boulogne, Cherbourg, and Le Havre
23: Reacting to word that Germany's two largest battleships are making way for the coast of France the Royal Navy sends several battleships including the HMS Hood to attempt to intercept them.
24: Royal Navy ships attempt to engage and sink the Bismark and Tripitz roughly 30 nautical miles off the coast of France. The HMS Hood, and HMS Prince of Wales are sunk during the engagement. Enjoying heavy fighter cover from nearby airfields the German battleships are un-phased by the horribly out of date torpedo bombers launched from several RAF carriers.
26: Operation Sea Lion takes place one day ahead of schedule in order to take advantage of exceptionally good weather. Landings are made near Ramsgate, Dover, Bexhill, Brighton, Ventnor, and Lyme Regis.
29: Despite determined fighting by British and Allied land forces, and a nearly successful attack on the German beachheads by the Royal Navy the German invasion continues to gain ground
October 19404: The first advance elements of German Army Group A enter London's Suburbs. The British government begins to prepare to evacuate London
17: Under the protection of The Royal Navy, British transport and cargo ships begin to evacuate as much of Britain's population as possible.
24: The final elements of the Allied ground forces in Britain have either evacuated, surrendered, or been defeated
30: The British, Free French, Polish, Belgian, and other Allied governments in exile seek and find sanctuary within the United States
November 1940 1: With winter quickly approaching and the possibility of any real counter attack unlikely Germany begins to fortify its new holdings.
December 1940-February 1947 Years pass, while technically at war, the United States and Germany both seem unwilling to launch a major offensive action. The Atlantic proves thus far to simply be too large an obstacle to overcome. A time of near Cold War envelops the globe. As the United States and the Allies attempting to regroup and prepare for what will undoubtedly be a massive undertaking. Germany solidifies its hold on Western Europe crushing all but the most stubborn and inconsequential resistance within all of the occupied countries. And the Soviet Union frantically attempts to prepare for the time when Germany will turn its eyes to the East and they will be forced to defend the Motherland.
March 19475: Germany initiates Operation Barbarossa, thousands of German soldiers storm across the Soviet Border and their campaign shows no signs of being stopped
23: With news of the war in the East hope begins to form in occupied Europe that the Allies will choose this time to strike and liberate Europe from the Nazis. With this hope comes the first whispers of once again forming organized resistance to the Nazi occupation.
The Where
Nazi Occupied ParisOnce the city of lights, love, and art, Paris is now the central headquarters for all German occupation forces within western Europe. Second only to Berlin in it's importance to Germany's chain of command. Under the Nazis and their puppet French government have Paris has turned into a nightmarish vision of soldiers, guns, tanks, jackboots, and Nazi banners.
The sight of SS and Wehrmacht troops walking the streets of Paris is now a common one. The sounds of raids on the houses of 'anti-party agitators' can be heard in many corners of the city on an almost daily basis. And news of the disappearance of anyone but the most staunch Nazi supporter can only mean that they will never be seen or heard from again.
In the time that they have occupied Paris, the Nazis have turned it into a city of the fearful ruled by evil.
