1941: German-British Cease-Fire

1941 - Britain and Germany Ceasefire
POD. 14th of August 1941. A meeting of Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill aboard HMS Prince of Wales off the coast of Newfoundland. It was at this meeting where Roosevelt compelled Churchill to sign the Atlantic Charter. This charter contained Roosevelt's plans to carve up of the post-war world.

Churchill's response was as follows: (OTL) "Mr. President,' he cried, 'I believe you are trying to do away with the British Empire. Every idea you entertain about the structure of the postwar world demonstrates it. But in spite of that'--and his forefinger waved--'in spite of that, we know that you constitute our only hope. And'--his voice sank dramatically--'{you} know that {we} know it. {You} know that {we} know that without America, the Empire won't stand."

In this POD Churchill detects a hint of a smug grin from Roosevelt and loses his temper. "Never! We are fighting a war to avoid the very subjugation you intend to inflict upon us. The price you propose is too high. We may go down fighting but we will never surrender, not to Germany not to America."

Roosevelt, believing Britain was desperate, insisted that Churchill had no choice. The Empire was to be dismantled. He reminded Churchill that France had already fallen suffering nearly half a million casualties in the process.

"We will not give in to blackmail from a so-called friend. Better to fight a declared enemy." With this he stormed out of the meeting. Roosevelt was escorted from the Ship.

Eight weeks earlier on the 14th of May Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess had secretly flown solo to Scotland and was being held captive in Glasgow. To Churchill, who had repeatedly refused consider any peace plan or even to meet Hess, the peace proposals he carried with him were now looking increasingly attractive.

Hitler proposed a complete cessation of war on the western front. German forces would withdraw from most of France except Alsace Lorraine with it's high proportion of ethnic Germans. Furthermore he offered to completely withdraw German troops from Belgium, Holland, Norway and Denmark. Also Hitler proposed to withdraw from from Yugoslavia and Greece and German troops would be evacuated from the Mediterranean area. An agreeable settlement would be arranged in the Mediterranean conflict between Britain and Italy. In return for Germany evacuating it's troops from most of Western Europe and the Mediterranean region Britain must agree to neutrality regarding Germany's intentions in Eastern Europe.

Hess explained that the arrangements would work for the benefit of both Britain and France, not only in terms of security but also commercially. Germany would take the full production of the Allied war industries until they could be converted to a peacetime basis. Hitler saw England and France as the arsenals of free Europe against Asiatic communism on one side and rampant aggressive capitalism on the other.

Churchill agreed, Britain was at peace with Germany.