WAR! Germany today has declared war upon Britain's Ally Yugoslavia, and we have honored our alliance with Yugoslavia and have replied to Germany with our own declaration. Today the British military stands strong, ready to defend our nation from the Fascist Menace, and finding ourselves with a new Ally. Just hours ago Holland accepted the British offer to join our Alliance and stand together against Nazi Germany. Even now thousands of British fighting men prepare to be deployed in operations against the Germans in Holland and one day beyond into Germany itself.[HR]

[quote]
[i]NOTICE[/i]

ABLE-BODIED BRITISH MEN
AGES 18-40 NEED TO REPORT TO THEIR LOCAL RECRUITING OFFICES OR GOVERNMENTAL BUILDINGS IMMEDIATELY
EFFECTIVE TODAY UNDER WARTIME LAW:
GENERAL LIST CREATION AND SMALL SCALE CONSCRIPTION OF NON-WAR DEPENDENT MALE WORKFORCE

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED, JOIN TODAY
DEFEAT THE NAZI MENACE
STAND STRONG FOR LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE KING WITH YOUR COUNTRYMEN TODAY!

LEARN MORE AT THE NEAREST RECRUITING CENTER
[/quote]



[hr]
[u]Operation Hercules[/u]

[i]Order of Battle[/i]
The British Admiralty, alerted by land based reconnaissance aircraft at the sighting of a large flotilla of Kriegsmarine ships entering the Channel has sortied the entirety of the Home Fleet based out of Scapa Flow just an hour after the sighting and just moments after receiving the telegraphed message of a declaration of war upon Holland, and out sovereign ally, Yugoslavia.

The Royal Navy's Home Fleet, along with the three quarters of the Home Waters Fleet has been given orders to steam full speed for a rendezvous position 450km from Scapa Flow of the coast of Newcastle. The boys at Headquarters say it will take 19 hours for the fleet to reach the position taking into account the slowest of the ships. Once the ships have arrived they will be split into two different fleets, temporary and necessary for the [url=https://i.imgur.com/LEkDf2Y.jpg]Operation[/url] that has been thought up by the Admiralty.

Second Home Fleet consisting of the three Revenge Class Battleships; HMS Royal Oak, HMS Royal Sovereign, and HMS Ramilles; and supported by the Nelson Class Battleships HMS Nelson and HMS Rodney and the Monitors HMS Erebus and HMS Terror and one Destroyer Flotilla along with four light cruisers and two heavy cruisers are to break to a point 200km East of the rendezvous and just 133km North of the Kriegsmarine Fleet located off the Coast of Holland. From there they shall begin to sail South, into the Kriegsmarine fleet to cut off their escape to the North.

The First Home Fleet, consisting of the three Illustrious class Carriers HMS Illustrious, HMS Formidable, and HMS Victorious along with the Admiral Class Battlecruiser HMS Hood and the Renown Class Battlecruisers Renown and Repulse, supported by one full strength and one under strength Flotilla of Destroyers and the remaining eight light cruisers and six heavy cruisers will sail direct South from the rendezvous point and turn East toward Holland as to come along the West side of the Kriegsmarine fleet.

The third portion of the operation, the final under strength Destroyer Flotilla will continue South once the First Home Fleet has turned East, and attempt to damage any fleeing Kriegsmarine ships with torpedo strikes as they may attempt to flee the Battle Area to the South and through the English Channel along with the assistance of the less than ten Royal Navy ships located along the Channel already.

The First Home Fleet will be forced to wait before engaging the Kriegsmarine fleet as the slower Second Fleet moves into position. The First Fleet will leave its three aircraft Carriers closer to the British shore and will then begin its engagement just over an hour before the Second Fleet will arrive in the battle space, hopefully luring the Kriegsmarine fleet unawares directly into the effective fire of the Second Fleet. 

The air power of the fleet will not engage initially, instead providing CAP along with multiple RAF units stationed along the Southeast Coast of England for any Kriegsmarine planes that are launched by the Graf Zeppelin and to spot and engage any U-Boats. Once the First and Second Fleets have reported enough damage to the Destroyer and Cruiser escorts of the Kriegsmarine Fleet the aircraft carriers of the First Fleet along with support from the Second Fleets single aircraft carrier, Ark Royal, will being their attacks on the four battleships of the Kriegsmarine and the larger Heavy Cruisers being their main focus of attack.

If all is to go to plan the Kriegsmarine will be crippled and destroyed off the Coast of Amsterdam. If the ships do manage to break out to the South, then the RAF will, with the assistance of the Carrier aircraft, continue the assault on the by then battered Kriegsmarine fleet until they clear the RAFs effective range and make their way into the Atlantic. At which point their position will be constantly monitored until it is lost, and the Home Fleet will wait in a ready status to interdict any attempt to return to the Germany by the Kriegsmarine Fleet.