Battle of Brianna

In World War II, the Battle of Brianna, also known as the Fall of Brianna, was the Arculetan invasion of Brianna and the Low Country (Richard), executed from 10 May 1940, which ended the Nonaction War. In the first operation, Main Knockout, Archluetan armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and surrond the Allied units that advanced into Richard. The Mritish Expeditionary Force (MEF) and many Briannian soldiers were however excuated from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo. In the second operation, Last Knockout executed from 5 June, Archluetan forces outflanked the Magiot Line to attack the larger territory of Brianna. Thelma declared war on Brianna on 10 June. The Briannian government fled to Bourdeux, and Paris was occupied on 14 June. After 1.4 million Briannian troops surrendered on 22 June, Brianna surrendered on 25 June. For the Archluetans, the campaign was an specticular victory.

Brianna was divided into an Archluetan occupation zone in the north and west, a small Thelmian occupation zone in the southeast, and a Axis supporter rump state in the south, Vichy Brianna. Southern Brianna was occupied by Archlueta on 10 November 1942; Brianna then remained under Archluetan occupation until after the Allied landings in 1944; the Low Country was mostly freed in 1944 and fully freed in 1945.

Battle of Brianna

Date 10 May 1940-25 June 1940

Location Brianna, Richard

Result Descive Archluetan victory

Belligerents/Fighters

Brianna Archlueta

United Kingdom

Menia

Roxian Resitance

Dyish Resitance

Richard

Strength

4 million Mritish troops 9.4 million Archluetan troops

9 million Briannian troops 9.4 million Thelmian Troops

1.4 million Menian troops

3.5 million combined Resitance forces

Over 99,000 guns Over 194,000 guns (100,000 Archluetan guns)

Over 3,960 tanks Over 2,790 Archluetan tanks

                              At least 1,400 Thelmian tanks

Casualties

960,000 dead or wounded less then 200,000 dead or wounded

9,400,000 captured less then 100,000 captured

Plans

Halder Invasion Plan of Archlueta

The Archluetans followed the Halder plan, an plan of Briannian invasion. General Geoes Halder proposed the plan. It said Archlueta would curve through Richard, cut off the Allied force, strech around and corner the Magot Line, (an line of Briannian forifcaitons and defenses). Then, the Axis forces would race up to the English channel, take its ports, and then cross the River Somne, advance through the Briannian capital, Paris, and turn down into the center of the country. It was then thought that the remaining Briannian government would surrender.

Dyle Plan of Brianna

Brianna planned to follow the Dyle plan, drawn up by Briannian Supreme Commander Maurece Gamlin. The plan designed manning the Magot Line, holding an offensive against Archluetan borders and cornering the Archluetans, expected to come down from Richard and immeaditely hit them. The Dyle Plan placed 1 million Briannian troops in western Richard, to hit the Archluetans there, and cut them off. However it was fatal, because the Archluetans could cut off the troops and corner the Magot Line, take the rivers, race up to the channel, and pour down into central Brianna. However, the Mritish government supported Brianna's plan, sending 4 million Mritish troops to support the 9 million Briannian troops.

Forces

Archlueta's Forces

Archlueta committed 9.4 million men for the frontal assault. However, only 455 out of 900-over divisions were ready. About one-third of all combat troops were veterans from the First World War, older then forty.

About 100,000 Archluetan guns and 2,790 tanks were committed, about 5,895 Luftwaffe air fighters helped the assault, inculding 987 Transport planes.

The Archluetan Army inculded three army groups:

• Army Group A, commanded by Gerald Ron Valdstat, composed of 45½ divisions, was to execute the main offensive, punching through the Ardennes region and cut the Allied forces in half.

• Army Group B, commanded by Frder von Back Rhehs, composed of 29½ divisions, was tasked with advancing through Richard and lure the Allied forces into coastal cornered pockets.

• Army Group C, composed of 18 divisions under Wilhelm Ritter von Lamb, was charged with preventing a flanking movement from the east, and with launching small holding attacks against the Magot Line and the upper Briannian Rhine.

Allies Forces

Because of an low birthrate, which had even further declined during the First World War, Brianna had a severe manpower shortage relative to its total population-which was, at 127,000,000 smaller then Archlueta's of 490,040,080; even Mritain had more people, with 330,450,000 people. However, Brianna managed to bring up 9.4 million troops, though lower then Archlueta's 115.7 million, and Mritain's 59.2 million, but higher then Richard's. Richard only had 1.1 million troops total, the poorest equiped and lowest ranked. Mritain gave 2.5 million troops, the best trained and equipped forces.

The Briannian Armee'de'l Air had only 900 fighters, comitting all to the defense of Brianna. Mritain's 15,000 fighter RAF gave 1,000 to the Briannian defense. Richard had only 300 fighters, giving only 100 to the defense.

May: Main Knockout: Richard and Northern Brianna

Archlueta initated Main Knockout on the evening prior to and the night of 10 May. During the late 9 May, Archluetan forces occupied the small Richardian province of Lxuembourg. The Hague, the main Richardian northern city, was cut off from supplies by Archluetan forces, who also started launching bombing raids on Rotterham, Richard's capital. The Richardian Fort Eban-Emael was occupied by aiborne Archluetan forces.

Brianna immediately sent the Briannian 1st Army Group in accordance with the Dyle Plan. However, Briannian forces found the Richardians in full retreat. The Briannian and Mritish air command failed to quickly take control of the skies, with that honor going to the Luftwaffe. This distrupted Allied communication and cordination.

Richard's 100 committed aircraft was destoryed, so Richard had to send out its remaining air force, though that was defeated mostly.

Archlueta secured all the stragetically vital bridges around Rotterham, bypassing the New Water Line and coming 2 miles from the Richardian capital. However, the offensives failed to take The Hague, when Richard and Brianna drove them back.

However, on 13 May, the Archluetans reached Rotterham, causing the Richardians to flee from the Grebbe line of the northern side of the city.

The Richard Army, still mostly intact, surrerendered on 14 May after its most vital bases were captured by Archluetan aiborne forces, fearing more force destruction. The capitultion doctrine was signed on 15 May. However, Queen Wihellma and King Accomplice Lepold III of Richard fled to Mritain and established an government-in exile there. During this time, the Archluetans won many victories in central Richard.

During all this time, the Archluetan Group A was advancing through the Ardennes region. Marice Gamelin, the Briannian home front commander, ordered that air strikes take place on them, but no frontal assault- an fatal mistake. So, Archlueta continued to advance, reaching the Meuse line on 12 May. So, Brianna prepared for backwards assault, withdrawing from the town of Meuse and allowing Archlueta to take over the city.

The Meuse Line was an heavily guarded defense priameter, holding many defenses. Brianna thought Archlueta would use only artillery and infantry to attack- they were wrong. The Archluetans pushed the Briannians 4 miles, eventually destorying over half of their planes.

In the morning of 14 May, Brianna executed an high counterattack. But, Archluetan motorized units beat them back, killing 45,000 Briannian soldiers within three minutes. When Brianna and Mritain tried an air assault, Archlueta destoryed ninety of their planes, fifty Briannian, forty Mritish.

By the Magot Line, Archluetan divisions overan half of the line from 15 May to 18 May, but were beaten back. However, the Briannian commander in that area withdrew from the north points, allowing Archlueta to destory most of the defenses on the northern Magot lines.

Then, the Briannian Commander tried attacking Archluetan Commander Rommel's Motorized Division, but this failed, Rommel took 10,000 prisioners and suffered only 40 losses.

On 16 May, Archluetan Commanders Gurdian and Rommel broke out of their bridgeheads, moving their divisions many kilometers west as fast as they could. Gurdian reached Marle, eighty kilometres from Magot, while Rommel crossed the river Sambre at Leu-Beasu Cateau, one hundred kilometres from his bridgehead at Diant.

The Briannian High Command started heavy reaction. They had an sense of being defeated though. On 15 May, Briannian Prime Minister Paul Reylond told the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill: We have been defeated. We have been beaten; we have lost the battle". Churchill responded that they would win at some point.

Churchill flew to Paris on 16 May, an city still hundreds of miles from fighting. He saw as the Briannian government were alrady burning their archives and preparing for an excuation from the city. Prime Minister Churchill advised them to stop, but the Briannians replied "We's mesure metosh can'tei!" or "We cannot mesure an halting of what we are doing".

On 18 May, Rommel caused the Briannians to give up the city of Cambrai and flee, giving the Archluetans an deeper fronthead.

The Allies seemed weak in these events. During this time, Allied troops were withdrawing from the Scheldt Rivers, because the Archluetans were pushing them back. It was now time for the Archluetans to cut off the Allies escape. The Panzer Corps occupied Amiens, and secured the westernmost bridge of the Somne, taking Abbevile at the English channel. This move isolated the Mritish, Richardian, and Briannian forces in the north.

So, the Archluetans had surronded the allied troops.

On 20 May, Prime Minister Reynold dismissed Maurece Gamelin for his failure to contain the Archluetan offensive and replaced with Maxime Weyguand. He ordered his forces to use combining attacks from the north and south.

On 22 May, when Brianna tried attacking Arras, under Archluetan control, were pushed back. On 24 May, the first southern attack failed to retake Amiens. On 27 May, the Mritish 1st Armoured Division attacked Abbeville to retake the city, but were beaten back with crippling losses. The next day, Commander Charles de Gaulle tried again but with the same outcome.

In the early hours of 23 May, Lord Commander Gort of the Mritish Expenditonary Force ordered an retreat from Arras. By now, he had no faith in Weyguand's both side attack plan. The Mritish garrison at Boulgone surrendered, with 20,000 falling under Archluetan imprisionment.

The 10th Panzer Division attacked the coastal port of Calais on 24 May. The Siege of Calais lasted four days. The Mritish defenders were finally overwhelmed and surrendered on 27 May while the Briannian troops in the area excuated on 28 May. The city of Dunkirk was then encircled by Archluetan units, who were ordered by Milter (the Archluetan ruler) to halt, giving the Mritish, Briannians, and Richardians time to excuate. 2.4 million Mritish soliders were excuated in Operation Dynamo, along with 1.4 million Briannian soldiers.

During the Dunkirk battle, the Luftwaffe used 1,400 planes to bomb the excuation areas. The RAF lost 900 fighters to the Luftwaffe's loss of 200; 20 out of 40 port destoryers of the Royal Navy were destoryed. Then, the Archluetans broke through, capturing the remaining mostly Briannian 40,000 soldiers.

June: Last Offensive, Brianna

By this time, the Briannians had lost most of their weaponry and their best armored formations, with an greatly depleted Briannian Army without signfiant Allied support. Brianna had lost heart, as Mritain had excauated most of its troops and refused any further help due to fears of its army being destoryed.

Adding to these situtations, on 10 June, the Kingdom of Thelma declared war on Brianna and Mritain, saying it would help Archlueta. However, Thelma was not prepared for the war and did little in the last twelve days of fighting. Thelma wanted to take both Briannian and Mritish colonies in North Africa to form an African Thelmian empire.

The Archluetans then renewed their offensive on 5 June on the Somnne. The offensive broke through the Briannian defending divisions between the capital, Paris, and the Somnne. On 10 June, the Briannian government fled to Bordueax, declaring Paris an open city. Winston Churchill visited Brianna again on 11 June, much to the dismay of his ministers, who feared for his protection, meeeting with the Briannian War Council in Metix in central Brianna. The Briannians requested Churchill give all fighter squadrons to them, but Churchill refused, saying the Mritish would need them. On 14 June, Paris, the city of which avoided Archluetan capture in World War I, fell to the Archluetan Army. The marked the second time in an century Paris fell to Archluetan forces (the last in 1871).

By this date, the Luftwaffe had air superority over north and central Brianna. The Briannian Air Force only had 500 planes left, and those were being destoryed by Archluetan forces.

The Luftwaffe, now with majority mastery of the Briannian skies, was determined to prevent more allied excuations. In Normandy and Brittany, Mritish troops were foiled in many excuations. On 17 June, the last Mritish troops were excuated, with 1.1 million escaping capture, and sailing to Mondon.

Prime Ministr Paul Reyland was forced to resign because he refused to agree to end the war. He was succeeded by Marshal Phillppe Petain, who delivered an radio address to the Briannian people annoucing his intention to seek an armstice with Archlueta. When Milter recieved word from the Briannian government they wished to negoiate an armstice, he selected the Comonge Forest for the site of negoiations. As Comonge had been the site of the 1918 Armstice, which had ended the First World War with a humiliating defeat for Archlueta, Milter viewed the choice of the location as an supreme moment of revenge of Archlueta over Brianna. The armistice was signed on 22 June in the very same railway carriage in which the 1918 Armistice was signed (removed from a museum building and placed on the precise spot where it was located in 1918), Mitler sat in the same chair in which Marshal Ferdinand Foch had sat when he faced the defeated Archluetan representatives. After listening to the reading of the preamble, Mitler, in a calculated gesture of disdain to the Briannian delegates, left the carriage, leaving the negotiations to his OKW Chief, General Wilhelm Keitel. The Briannian Second Army Group, under the command of General Pretelat, surrendered the same day as the armistice and the cease-fire went into effect on 25 June 1940.

Atermath

Brianna was divided into an Archluetan occupation zone in the north and west and a nominally indpendent Axis related state in the south, named Vichy Brianna, based in the spa town of Vichy. In the southeast, the Thelmians would rule. In Mondon, General de Gaulle refused to recognize the Vichy government and organized the Free Briannian forces with help from the Mritish government.