(Act 1) Chapter 2 - A Shining Trident

May 1940The battle for France had come to an end. The German blitzkrieg had failed, and now the contact line between the Third Reich and the Allies was stabilizing as both forces began to entrench themselves. The line ran along most of the right bank of the Seine and Marne rivers, then went through Luxembourg, and ran south in parallel to the Maginot Line all the way to the Swiss border.Although the situation looked grim for the Germans as they were forced to once again engage in trench warfare against the Allies, the situation was just as precarious for the Allies. Due to their hasty retreat from Belgium, much of the Allied heavy equipment and armor had to be abandoned, and as a consequence, it was captured by the Germans. The Allied situation was further exacerbated when the Germans began their strategic bombing campaign over France, known as the French Air Campaign or, as it became popularized after the war, the Battle for the French Skies.The Blitz, as it became known, was the start of the Air Campaign over France. The Germans conducted mass air attacks against the remaining French industrial areas and logistic networks, especially the northern ports, in an attempt to break the British and Japanese supply lines. That phase of the campaign would see some of the largest bomber formations in history at the time, as German bombers flew almost uncontested over French cities in the skies.Initially, the Luftwaffe was able to maintain its domination of the skies as the Allied air force was still plagued with disorganization and a lack of coordination between their multinational forces. The Luftwaffe, during that period between May and June, was able to bomb France with near impunity, and in some cases, even launched daring raids into Britain and Norway. However, by July, the Allies started to contest the Luftwaffe's domination in force after the command and coordination issues of the Allied air force were resolved.But the Allies were only able to start their contest of the skies early on, thanks to the hasty arrival of the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Imperial Japanese Air Service. These forces helped plug the various losses that Britain and France had suffered during the German blitzkrieg at the hands of the Luftwaffe. Another reason for the Allied aerial counteroffensive was the arrival of both American and Japanese airframes en masse into France.The US and Japan had the perfect position of being completely safeguarded from German bombing due to their distance from the battlefield. However, the Japanese were currently much more necessary. Due to their status as belligerent, neither France, Britain, nor any other Allied nation had to pay for Japanese supplies. However, Japan alone wasn't capable of supplying all of the Allies. And that's where the US entered. As the industrial juggernaut, the US was more than capable of providing for the Allies, but to obtain American equipment, they had to pay for it, which drained resources from the British and French treasuries as they were also fighting a war, and in the case of France, a war of survival.During the period from July to December, the skies became famous for having some of the largest aerial dogfights in history as a wide range of British, Japanese, and French fighters engaged the feared Bf-109s and Fw-190s. Yet, while the aerial war over France raged on, many things were still happening across the world.In Asia, the Japanese and French governments struck a deal in which the French agreed to transfer French Indochina to Japan in exchange for a payment of 600 million yen to the French. This was mostly caused by France's necessity to plug their trenches to help prevent another breakthrough like the one that happened in the Ardennes, as well as their need to acquire more currency to provide payment for their troops and factory workers, as well as to buy the much-needed equipment and supplies for their war effort. Without Indochina, many of the forces being used to occupy and fight guerrillas in the region were hurriedly transferred back to Metropolitan France, while the Imperial Japanese Army arrived to take the place of the French Army in the region for the maintenance of stability.For Japan, Indochina would be treated as an experiment to see the results of the government's plan on ruling the region through indirect rule. In another deal, this time with the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (VNQDD), the main anti-colonial guerrilla group in Indochina, it would be agreed that the region would be granted full independence while allowing for Japan to keep key economic privileges in the region and to reinforce their Asian anti-colonialism rhetoric.Meanwhile, in the insular part of the region, the Japanese also began to build their influence over the Dutch East Indies due to the Dutch situation of being a government in exile with little industry but ruling over a massive amount of natural resources. Resources that the Japanese industry and military were always hungry for more, and as a result, the Japanese government would continually pressure the Dutch exiles into granting Japan more and more exclusive extraction and economic rights in Indonesia and as a consequence building the necessary bricks for the eventual overthrow of the Dutch out of the region, under Japanese guidance.As for Eastern Europe, Romania succumbed to a coup by the Fascist Iron Guard, bringing it into the arms of the Axis powers and consequently guaranteeing Germany at least a minimal necessary production of oil that was believed to be outside the range of Allied bombers and under German control. While, in the USSR, tensions remained relatively low between them and the Germans, as neither side could or was willing to start a war for the time being.Southern Europe on the other hand, the situation was tense as Italy began to build up forces on its border with France. This was mostly due to pressure from the Nazi Party on the Italian Fascists to open a second front in Southern France. However, the Il Duce, Benito Mussolini, and the Grand Council of Fascism were aware that Italy wasn't ready for war yet. They knew that for Italy to have a chance in this war, they would need a minimum of two more years of preparation. This meant that for now, all they could afford to do was apply pressure on the Allies while begrudgingly abandoning all of their expansionist plans in the Balkans, as the Italians were forced to maintain the appearance of war preparations for the Germans.But those demands didn't come without a price. The so-called Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy, also known as the Pact of Steel, began showing an ever-growing rift between the two nations. It was clear to both Il Duce and the Grand Council of Fascism that the German Nazi Party and Hitler treated Italy merely as a secondary power in their so-called alliance and friendship of equals.Even with the halting of Italian incursions in the Adriatic Coast, the reduction of Italian forces in Albania, and the movement of more and more German, Hungarian, and Romanian troops to the Western Front, the Balkan nations of Yugoslavia, Greece, and Bulgaria were not at peace yet.Yugoslavia, practically surrounded by Axis powers, had been granted a small breathing space due to the German failure in France and the Italians having to stop their incursions into Yugoslavian territory. This guaranteed that the Axis powers wouldn't attack the nation, but only as long as the nation didn't completely swing into the arms of the Allies and France continued to tie down Axis forces in the west. This grace period would be used by the nation to equip and prepare their armed forces for the impending war, while the government did what it could to stabilize the multi-ethnic nation that was always on the verge of imploding under its own weight, but always barely hanging by a thread.Greece, on the other hand, would not be so lucky. The political situation inside the kingdom was already too unstable, and with the departure of most Italian forces in Albania, the last pillar keeping the nation together was removed. Communist forces began an uprising against the Royalist and Autocratic forces, which quickly turned into a full-blown civil war as the Communist forces consolidated their gains in the north, while the Royalist forces held on to the south. The Greek Civil War, as it became known, would last for almost three years, ending with a Royalist victory due to the wider support it received from Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and whenever possible, from the Allies, and even Italy to a lesser extent.And finally, Bulgaria was at a crossroads, with the nation internally divided between many factions all vying for control. The people were pro-Russia, the queen was pro-Italian, and many in the government sympathized with Germany due to their shared struggle in the First World War. However, with the failure of Germany in France, King Boris III, the self-proclaimed neutral leader of Bulgaria, was unwilling to commit his nation to what could become a repeat of events from 26 years ago. His unwillingness was such, that he even refused to meet with the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, a meeting that according to certain conspiracies, is suspected to have been no more than a nazi plot to kill Boris III and install an Axis-friendly government in Bulgaria. To worsen the situation in the already fragile nation, the Soviets began increasing their influence on the communist circles inside Bulgaria. Much like Yugoslavia, Bulgaria was on the verge of a civil war as the nation did what it could to protect its sovereignty and stability while preparing for the coming war.And back to the Allied forces...In 1940, the British and Japanese would start a joint development project due to equipment losses suffered and the Japanese tanks being vastly outmatched in Europe. The leadership of both nations agreed to jointly develop a medium tank. Initially, French leadership also participated in the project, but due to diverging requirements and doctrines, they eventually left the program to pursue their own independent military projects.The joint British-Japanese project required the tank to be capable of fulfilling multiple roles, be within Japan's industrial capability for mass production and transport, and with a high degree of part interchangeability for improved maintenance. The tank itself resembled the British Cruiser tanks but was more capable thanks to the lessons learned during World War II and its reliable diesel engine.During the course of the war, the joint development program expanded to include aircraft and guns, aiming to streamline and integrate the benefits derived from British and Japanese designs and lessons, while also facilitating the logistics of the multinational nature of the allied forces.1941The beginning of the year brought minimal changes to the front. The Maginot Line defiantly held Paris remained within German artillery range, and the Germans thwarted French offensives. The only noticeable difference was the diminished German bombing, as the Allies had finally managed to contest enough of the airspace against the Luftwaffe. This allowed British and French bombers to conduct daring attacks into Germany itself, with varying levels of success and failure, yet always resulting in heavy losses. However, the Allies were still incapable of achieving total air superiority over France.Most of the year would be marked by an almost unchanging situation on the battlefield, as both Allied and German forces were unable to make any noticeable breakthroughs. Every offensive so far had only achieved minimal gains with heavy losses. For the Allies, the situation wasn't ideal, but they had the advantage of time. The "big three" continued to strengthen their numbers and replace old equipment with new and deadlier war machines by leveraging their resource-rich colonies in Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, Germany slowly but surely kept spending more and more of its limited resources on the meat grinder that was trench warfare.Days, weeks, and then months passed until the preparations for one of the most daring operations of the war would commence. This operation aimed to achieve total dominance of the North Sea. At the time, it was simply called Operation King Solomon, and the reasoning behind its name is still discussed. However, the operation would become popularly known as merely...The Attack on Wilhelmshaven HarborOn September 23rd, a powerful carrier strike force set sail from Scapa Flow. Their target was the Kriegsmarine's main surface fleet, currently anchored at Wilhelmshaven, which consisted of all their capital ships and heavy cruisers, alongside a number of destroyers. Traveling at flank speed, this task force was primarily composed of the British carriers HMS Indomitable, HMS Formidable, and HMS Victorious, as well as the Japanese light carrier IJN Ryujo and the fleet carriers IJN Taiho and IJN Shinyo.When the task force reached their rendezvous point, under the cover of night, the Allied planes took to the clear skies of the northern summer sea. The strike group consisted primarily of British Swordfish and Japanese Kates. The massive wave of aircraft made their way to their targets, and by 1:30 AM, the Allied pilots had a clear view of the harbor, and their attack commenced as flares were dropped, lighting up the harbor.Under the hail of anti-aircraft fire and spotlights, the Swordfish, slow but reliable and stable, and now armed with modified Long Lance torpedoes, made their attack run. Flying close to the water, the British bombers dropped their torpedoes and broke off. Moments later, a series of water plumes hit every German battleship. The Scharnhorst was struck by two torpedoes, Gneisenau by three, and Bismarck, the pride of the Kriegsmarine, was hit by five, causing it to rapidly capsize. The Vals, on the other hand, badly damaged the heavy cruisers Hipper and Deutschland, while causing further damage to the battleships and minimal damage to the destroyers and the Heavy Cruiser Prinz Eugen.With all of their ordnance gone and the element of surprise lost, the bombers returned to their carriers still under the cover of night. But the results of their raid were clear, two badly damaged battleships and heavy cruisers, with the Bismarck had received a catastrophic blow. In this one attack and one night, the damage received by those ships effectively took them out for the remainder of World War II. The German surface force, now without their prized capital ships, was neutralized, and they were unwilling to risk their only remaining battleship, Tirpitz, the lone queen of the Baltic, into what would certainly become suicidal missions. Instead, she was moved further east alongside much of the remaining Kriegsmarine surface fleet into the safety of the East Prussian ports, still outside the range of the Allied bombers at the time.The successful attack on the Kriegsmarine by the joint Allied task force would cause a series of domino effects. The Allies, who had been plagued by setbacks, victories achieved with hundreds to thousands of casualties, and an almost outright defeat at the very start of the war, had, for the first time in two years, achieved their first true decisive victory against the Huns.The Allies, who so far were not an all-encompassing alliance but instead a series of individual treaties and guarantees held together by a common enemy, would see a significant change with the growing confidence in the execution of joint operations from both the air campaign over France and from Operation King Solomon. The leaders of every nation, exiled or not, fighting against Germany would conduct a series of meetings over the remainder of 1941 for the creation and ratification of a unified command structure and defensive organization that would guarantee the defense of all its members.As for the name of said organization, the name would be picked from a speech by Winston Churchill, who during one of the meetings would refer to the British Empire, The French Republic, and the Empire of Japan as..."The Trident of Democracy and Liberty fighting against the Nazi Menace."The term he used at the time would quickly be popularized by the mass media as the Trident Alliance and later become the de facto name of the organization when it was proclaimed. However, the Trident Alliance would soon become simply known as Trident.Yet, amidst all the pain and joy caused by The Attack on Wilhelmshaven Harbor, one nation would be hit particularly hard as the news of the attack reached the high echelons of government and the military. Because it only showed them that there was only one path forward in that war: if they joined Germany's side, that would mean they would have to fight against what would basically entail the entirety of the British, Japanese, and French navies all by themselves. And the results of such a fight were obvious; the results of the war were now clearly obvious. Germany was on the path of defeat as Hitler and his Nazi Party continued to pressure Italy more and more into joining them in their assured defeat...But the Italians were keen on being the victors of this war.