Western Front (World War II): Difference between revisions

Fought between the [[Allies (World War II)|Allied]] [[nation]]s and [[Nazi]] [[Germany]], the war began as a result of a breakdown of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] which rebuilt pressure across the European [[continent]]. It formally began on [[3 September]] [[1939]] after the [[United Kingdom]] and [[France]] responded to [[Invasion of Poland|Germany's Invasion]] of [[Poland]] with a declaration of [[war]]. Germany therefore [[Blitzkrieg|launched a campaign]] against the Allies to secure their western flank, ahead of the [[Operation Barbarossa|planned invasion]] of the [[Soviet Union]] in the [[east]]. The success of this campaign closed the Western Front in the first half of [[1940]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Exodus (novel)|Timewyrm: Exodus]]'')

With the help of the [[United States of America|United States]], the Allies [[Normandy landings|invaded France]] in [[1944]], reopening the Western Front ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taint (novel)|The Taint]]'', ''[[The Shadow in the Glass (novel)|The Shadow in the Glass]]'') liberating the conquered nations and eventually invading Germany. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Made of Steel (novel)|Made of Steel]]'') The war ended with Germany's surrender in [[May]] [[1945]] after the [[Third Reich]] collapsed to the pressure of both the Western and Eastern Fronts. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Just War (novel)|Just War]]'', ''[[The Shadow in the Glass (novel)|The Shadow in the Glass]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Just War (audio story)|Just War]]'') The Second World War as a whole, however, would not end until the capitulation of [[Japan]] in the parallel [[Pacific War]] on [[2 September]] 1945. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Sky Jacks (comic story)|Sky Jacks]]'')

As the stalemate over Britain persisted, the war began to move away from the English Channel. The Germans moved into [[Romania]] via [[Invasion of Romania|an invasion]] as well as [[Bulgaria]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Just War (novel)|Just War]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Just War (audio story)|Just War]]'') and faced the British once more in after invading [[Greece]] in [[April]] 1941. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Just War (novel)|Just War]]'') [[North Africa Campaign|Fighting]] also continued in [[North Africa]], where the Italians sought to extend their control over the continent. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warlords of Utopia (novel)|Warlords of Utopia]]'') British and [[Australia]]n forces, with French forces under [[Charles de Gaulle]], clashed with the German [[Afrika Korps]], the Italians and their [[Tuareg]] tribesmen allies in the [[Sahara Desert]], [[Libya]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Instruments of War (comic story)|The Instruments of War]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Dying Days (novel)|The Dying Days]]'') The [[Royal Navy]] continued to engage in operations in the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Christmas Presence (short story)|The Christmas Presence]]'')

As a result of this shift, activity in the west became mostly covert, carried out by spies and other agents. [[Torchwood Institute|Torchwood]] agents [[LeDuc]] and his alien partner [[Gabriel (The Dying Room)|Gabriel]] travelled from [[Calais]] to Paris in search of the Germans' [[Project Hermod]]. While travelling through [[Montroy]], Nazi guards accidentally came in contact with Gabriel, whose abilities forced people to take on the form of their innermost self. This inadvertently caused a [[zombie]] outbreak which affected the SS ranks. Project Hermod's ''Oppenführer'' [[Hans Grau]] believed French socialite [[Madam]]e [[Berber]] was responsible, working for Torchwood and the [[French Resistance]]. Grau interrogated LeDuc to receive a confession to this effect but when he threatened Gabriel as part of the interrogation, Grau became a victim of the contagion himself. LeDuc estimated that 5,000 Germans would be killed before they could neutralise the contagion. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Dying Room (audio story)|The Dying Room]]'') Although [[Turkey (country)|Turkey]] was not involved in the war, one of their male agents was also operating in Paris, attempt to blend in by adopted the misguided alias [[Chanel Parfum]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Turing Test (novel)|The Turing Test]]'')