Unless something like Nuremberg related NKVD dirt ends splattering Dewey here and he ends up being the first US President successfully impeached
Stupid Luck and Happenstance.
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Also depends on if Dewey is campaigning or actually buys the rhetoric. He wasn't that much of an isolationist OTL and frankly was pro-labor and had few real issues the New Deal. He was willing to work with the Democrats which were less willing to work with him in return. (So politics isn't all THAT different I suppose) He was also a strong supporter of military preparedness and budgeting priority where as Truman was very much more concerned with domestic issues than foreign policy. Truman's budgeting practice was to literally pay all domestic programs fully and split anything left over between branches of the military. He had to be forced to increase military spending and preparedness for Korea as if it hadn't happened there where more cuts coming after he defeated Dewey. (Winning was OBVIOUSLY a mandate from the people) He fully supported deep de-mobilization and cuts once the actual fighting was over at the end of WWII and felt the US did not require and could not afford a large military or expanded overseas presence.
If I read it right HE in fact was probably a firm supporter of domestic over military spending TTL and while he may be a bit worried now he's probably NOT planning on a major military expansion and is saying so in the campaign. (Again I'm not sure how he's running for President but it's PM's story as with the issues with South America. Dewey is no Trump and Truman is no renegade savior who can win the hearts and minds of America despite the OTL similarities in the election outcome of 48-2016) The Democrats are the ones who are probably going to get hit with any fallout from any NKVD files rather than the Republicans which is actually a shame but it will rapidly become obvious, (PM notes the 'energy' has changed and the Democrats are going to be blamed for the situation, not the Republicans) that changes have to be made. (MacArthur? TTL what's he done to deserve the attention? OTL the Republicans only wanted to cash in on his war-time fame and TTL he's frankly not been very effective. He in fact may have to much political baggage if the Bonus March happened TTL assuming he didn't get canned for it which he avoided OTL by going to the Philippines)
Randy
If I read it right HE in fact was probably a firm supporter of domestic over military spending TTL and while he may be a bit worried now he's probably NOT planning on a major military expansion and is saying so in the campaign. (Again I'm not sure how he's running for President but it's PM's story as with the issues with South America. Dewey is no Trump and Truman is no renegade savior who can win the hearts and minds of America despite the OTL similarities in the election outcome of 48-2016) The Democrats are the ones who are probably going to get hit with any fallout from any NKVD files rather than the Republicans which is actually a shame but it will rapidly become obvious, (PM notes the 'energy' has changed and the Democrats are going to be blamed for the situation, not the Republicans) that changes have to be made. (MacArthur? TTL what's he done to deserve the attention? OTL the Republicans only wanted to cash in on his war-time fame and TTL he's frankly not been very effective. He in fact may have to much political baggage if the Bonus March happened TTL assuming he didn't get canned for it which he avoided OTL by going to the Philippines)
Randy
The Republican Party platform IOTL 1944 was more pro civil rights than the 1944 OTL Democratic Party platform and with the anti-union President Garner running for reelection, Labor support may go to Dewey for President and to Democrats in state and local races.
Dewey had a very good record on civil rights as Governor of New York and he might win in some surprising places.
Dewey had a very good record on civil rights as Governor of New York and he might win in some surprising places.
A point I'm going to note as well is the need to be careful with assuming direct coincidence with OTL. I have a lot of doubt the "B-29" mentioned is fully equivalent with OTL version. Specifically the idea that simply flying one to England from the US is going to 'scare the crap' out of anyone. It would be noted that the range is awesome but unless the REST of the story we didn't get is having them say "Nope, no problem just a slight navigation error but due to that we need to drop some dead weight" at which point the drop a functional amount of 'simulated' bombs in the very obvious form of a load of sandbags... NOW you have everyone's attention. An empty plane gets some attention but since OTL B-29 couldn't get to England AND BACK on a load of fuel then it either needs to be refueled in the air coming and going and make a point of being obvious about it, (both the US and England were heavily experimenting with the concept prior to WWII but both dropped it once it started) or it needs to be closer in function to the B-36 rather than the B-29. Which brings up another possibility in that it might NOT be as vulnerable as one might think. The B-29 was actually able to fly a lot higher than it operationally did but it was quickly discovered that in doing so it could not bomb accurately therefore operational altitude was lowered, quite drastically in fact. At altitude both the later B-29 and B-36 were difficult for early jet aircraft to intercept and maneuver against. So much so in fact that the B-36 was pretty much invulnerable to intercept till very late in its career.
Similarly I have to ask what the logic to the A4 program is? Germany OTL put money into rockets as a means to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles limitations on artillery and with no such issues here rocketry is going to be mostly treated as a stunt, especially large rockets or missiles as they very obviously have limited function-to-cost value. The V1 equivalent makes vastly more sense and was the reason it was developed so rapidly from concept to operation while the V2/A4 lagged so far behind despite starting earlier and initially having lavish funding. This is actually a dangerous area for German research as the testing will be difficult to hide, (more so than OTL) and the lack of range (and payload) will obviously be of deep concern to the most possible future targets: France and England. (Functionally a large liquid fueled missile has VERY little actual utility beyond a very expensive terror weapon which is why the majority of combatants in OTL WWI didn't heavy pursue such till after the conflict ended. Short range missiles have a much higher utility but once you have effective solid propellant liquid propellant only comes into play when longer range and heavier payloads are required)
The shells only and frankly they wouldn't have worked. Keep in mind they had to be under tow to remain submerged which was a significant load on the towing submarines batteries and the underwater speed was rather low anyway so for the most part they would be towing at night while charging the batteries and making minimum to keep them submerged speed during the day. Worse the propellants would have to be in a separate pod and no matter how you worked it the LOX had to be kept cool by power from the sub which could not be provided on batteries and (assuming some close cycle generator) was going to require a THIRD pod with supplies for the U-boat. Lastly the entire assembly was NOISY and almost impossible to hide. Worse is it was very expensive and just as highly ineffective. No A-bomb and the only payload is a gas warhead which it was well known at the time was something the V2 could not actually carry or deploy.
And on the subject of that A-bomb keep in mind that Lang had the lead scientist offer his resignation rather than build a weapon. This would not be an isolated event as while we've noted that the "knowledge" was available the general consensus among top scientist was that barring a very pressing reason, (note that it was the idea that Nazi Germany might be building a bomb that pushed those objections to the side FOR THE MOMENT in OTL and with no such obvious 'incentive' TTL there is going be extreme reluctance on the part of those who actually KNOW the possibilities to pursue them) the concentration was on possible power production and not weapons. Lacking the afore mentioned incentives and the general lack of wide spread non-involved scientists and researchers understanding of the concepts it would be difficult to change the minds of those that do understand the possibilities. Further, and this can't be stressed enough, the required amount of resources and industry to generate such a weapon to the point of operation is too massive to hide. The main reason the US got away with it their physical isolation from the majority of enemy intelligence assets and even than as some like to point out the "not-yet-enemy" USSR managed to penetrate the project pretty well. (And as something to keep in mind the REASON anyone got the idea to look was the obvious slow down of discussion and shared research from England and the US and sudden vastly less visibility of "top men" in the field. Even Japan which had a pretty horrible intelligence community and far fewer high level scientist in the field immediately took note of that development.
At this point and time it would not be all that difficult to significantly delay A-Bomb development if one were a high level scientist in the project and promote the power plant aspect which was a prevailing sentiment of the time. As I said it took a very obvious and common 'threat' to overcome this and if we're honest continuation of that sentiment is what allowed and often drove the 'leaking' of atomic research to the USSR as it was seen as a lesser threat than the Nazi's and "maybe" lesser than a US monopoly on the bomb.
Randy
Similarly I have to ask what the logic to the A4 program is? Germany OTL put money into rockets as a means to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles limitations on artillery and with no such issues here rocketry is going to be mostly treated as a stunt, especially large rockets or missiles as they very obviously have limited function-to-cost value. The V1 equivalent makes vastly more sense and was the reason it was developed so rapidly from concept to operation while the V2/A4 lagged so far behind despite starting earlier and initially having lavish funding. This is actually a dangerous area for German research as the testing will be difficult to hide, (more so than OTL) and the lack of range (and payload) will obviously be of deep concern to the most possible future targets: France and England. (Functionally a large liquid fueled missile has VERY little actual utility beyond a very expensive terror weapon which is why the majority of combatants in OTL WWI didn't heavy pursue such till after the conflict ended. Short range missiles have a much higher utility but once you have effective solid propellant liquid propellant only comes into play when longer range and heavier payloads are required)
The shells only and frankly they wouldn't have worked. Keep in mind they had to be under tow to remain submerged which was a significant load on the towing submarines batteries and the underwater speed was rather low anyway so for the most part they would be towing at night while charging the batteries and making minimum to keep them submerged speed during the day. Worse the propellants would have to be in a separate pod and no matter how you worked it the LOX had to be kept cool by power from the sub which could not be provided on batteries and (assuming some close cycle generator) was going to require a THIRD pod with supplies for the U-boat. Lastly the entire assembly was NOISY and almost impossible to hide. Worse is it was very expensive and just as highly ineffective. No A-bomb and the only payload is a gas warhead which it was well known at the time was something the V2 could not actually carry or deploy.
And on the subject of that A-bomb keep in mind that Lang had the lead scientist offer his resignation rather than build a weapon. This would not be an isolated event as while we've noted that the "knowledge" was available the general consensus among top scientist was that barring a very pressing reason, (note that it was the idea that Nazi Germany might be building a bomb that pushed those objections to the side FOR THE MOMENT in OTL and with no such obvious 'incentive' TTL there is going be extreme reluctance on the part of those who actually KNOW the possibilities to pursue them) the concentration was on possible power production and not weapons. Lacking the afore mentioned incentives and the general lack of wide spread non-involved scientists and researchers understanding of the concepts it would be difficult to change the minds of those that do understand the possibilities. Further, and this can't be stressed enough, the required amount of resources and industry to generate such a weapon to the point of operation is too massive to hide. The main reason the US got away with it their physical isolation from the majority of enemy intelligence assets and even than as some like to point out the "not-yet-enemy" USSR managed to penetrate the project pretty well. (And as something to keep in mind the REASON anyone got the idea to look was the obvious slow down of discussion and shared research from England and the US and sudden vastly less visibility of "top men" in the field. Even Japan which had a pretty horrible intelligence community and far fewer high level scientist in the field immediately took note of that development.
At this point and time it would not be all that difficult to significantly delay A-Bomb development if one were a high level scientist in the project and promote the power plant aspect which was a prevailing sentiment of the time. As I said it took a very obvious and common 'threat' to overcome this and if we're honest continuation of that sentiment is what allowed and often drove the 'leaking' of atomic research to the USSR as it was seen as a lesser threat than the Nazi's and "maybe" lesser than a US monopoly on the bomb.
Randy
And Hoover might be in trouble with a Dewey Presidency since his biggest bugaboo the "Communists" are about to go down in military defeat and have been taking a beating in the court of public opinion. Dewey is not going to forget Hoover tended to ignore organized crime and focus on politics. Granted TTL Hoover has some 'assets' he didn't have OTL but in OTL Hoover was promised a supreme court seat with his hand picked replacement taking over the FBI but I suspect that this wasn't going to go all Hoovers way. TTL Germany has some reasons to want to see a Truman Presidency since Truman will probably be less inclined to either spend money on the military (limited numbers of 'modern' weapons systems rather than effective numbers for example) and less interested in foreign policy or intervention while Dewey is less of a hard line isolationist, wanted a more credible and equal military and saw foreign policy and involvement as a requirement to keep American secure. He also was serious about organized crime suppression and as noted, more open about civil and worker rights. Mac would be more comfortable with the Democrats at this point in time than the Republicans and vice versa.
Randy
Two things:
Would the idea not be that the uboats would schnorkel to their target?
The A-bomb: ITTL a few years back the Soviets were pushing towards Berlin and reached german soil. No question the incentive was there, and once started for real, well look at OTL.
Part 34, Chapter 412
Chapter Four Hundred Twelve
1st September 1944
Wunsdorf-Zossen
Maria could hear the sound of the heels of her shoes echoing off the concrete walls. She had needed to call in every favor she had to get here and that was with written permission from the parties involved. There were secrets stored in this building that could cost lives or even plunge the whole world into war. Peter Holz was walking with her explaining the importance of not revealing anything that she saw within these walls and it was noticeable that they had two armed guards walking just a few paces behind them.
So far, that had not been much, she had seen endless concrete corridors and she figured that she was somewhere deep underground but had lost all sense of direction some time ago. When she had entered, the building’s security had made her empty her pockets and leave her satchel behind. They had provided her with a notebook and a pencil. The notebook was paper bound so they would know if she had torn a page out. It was subject to inspection upon departure to make sure that all notes were solely about the subject matter that she was cleared to see. This really was where the Reich kept the coin of the realm.
“Because Kat is considered Abwehr and currently remains in the 28th Regiment, on leave pending discharge, her files are stored here” Peter said softly to Maria, “They will probably remain so for decades.”
That explained a great deal. Peter probably couldn’t have stored the files in his office if he wanted to. That did leave the open question as to how some of this information might have leaked out. Maria suspected that whoever controlled this surreal place was just as interested in figuring that out too.
Presently they came to one door that looked exactly like the dozens of others that they had walked past. “Wait here” one of the guards said they left her alone in a spare room. Maria took a seat in a hard, wooden chair at a steel table that seemed to be bolted to the floor. The whole room was lit by a single light bulb in a cage enclosure. They really went out of their way to make sure that visitors got the correct impression. Thou art not now nor ever shalt be welcome in this place. Peter entered the room carrying a cardboard box, they clearly didn’t want her to see where exactly it was stored. You’d think that a life would amount to far more than just that.
“Are you sure that you want to see this?” Peter asked.
“I get the impression that I’m already halfway to Hell” Maria said in a halfhearted attempt at humor.
“There’s entirely too much truth in that” Peter said.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The files were in fact a wealth of information. Peter said that there were still more files stored elsewhere but those were sealed and even looking at them was way above his paygrade. Still these were more than enough. Maria was looking at the medical and educational history of Katherine Katja v. Mischner.
The education records were straight forward enough. From the age of five she was in the top third of her class. There were however notes that while Katherine was intelligent, she tended to be disruptive and frequently talked out of turn. Maria could only imagine. Then she returned to school at the age of 12 after an unexplained, extended absence. Sullen, angry and argumentative were the words frequently used after that.
She had completed her secondary education and gone on to University. Maria knew that much already.
Then Maria opened the file pertaining to Kat’s medical history. The matters that had disrupted her life were like an onion, peel away one layer and there was the next. The deeper she got the worse it seemed. Kat had been beaten to a pulp and landed in the hospital where they quickly figured out what had happened. A later when it turned out that Kat was pregnant the determination was made that she was too physically immature to carry it to term. Unless aborted there was a high likelihood that result would be fatal. That if she survived she would be left mentally and physically crippled. This report was cosigned by the three experts who still grilled her about the consequences. Maria was disgusted but this, if they had succeeded then Kat could have died. Maria noticed one of the names, Doctor Carl Brack. It would require further research but Maria suspected that he was a relative of an Erik Brack, a photographer at the Berliner Bürger. Maria could tell the masters of this place that the leak wasn’t from here. She would also refer Kat to a good lawyer, if Maria could prove it than this man had grossly violated her privacy. Then there was the date of a surgical procedure that closed a painful chapter in her life.
Maria read on, Kat had recovered completely, physically anyway. Then came her being partially deafened in the Reichstag bombing. Her mental fragility following it that she had bounced back from. Her getting shot in the Hohenzollern Palace. Then there was a notation about a blunt force injury that had been sustained in an operation that was highly classified. There was a notation that only the Emperor himself could order it declassified.
Then Maria looked at what could only be Peter’s notes. In spite of many attempts he could not get her to talk about certain things. He had noticed her mannerisms, defensiveness and how she would lie about particular periods of her life. He had noticed that Kat’s maternal Aunt who had raised her as a daughter did the same thing. Kat would talk about her mother and how she had feared ending up that way. Peter had let her because that was as close as he could get to having her talk about how that really had almost happened. He had thought that Kat had been making progress and then the war came.
Peter had wrestled with whether or not to attempt to nix the waver when Kat had volunteered to join the Luftwaffe as an Auxiliary. In the end, he had decided to keep as close an eye on her as he could, he hadn’t anticipated that she would get sent to the SKA and would thrive there for a time. Finally, he had noted that she had started to struggle after the Empress herself had ordered her to stop taking chances.
At last there was her service file, dry stuff, dates of promotions, medals earned. Much of it was redacted.
Maria sat back in the uncomfortable chair, she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “I think you were right” She said to Peter, “She has had a difficult life.”
“All I ask is that you not make it more difficult” Peter said.
1st September 1944
Wunsdorf-Zossen
Maria could hear the sound of the heels of her shoes echoing off the concrete walls. She had needed to call in every favor she had to get here and that was with written permission from the parties involved. There were secrets stored in this building that could cost lives or even plunge the whole world into war. Peter Holz was walking with her explaining the importance of not revealing anything that she saw within these walls and it was noticeable that they had two armed guards walking just a few paces behind them.
So far, that had not been much, she had seen endless concrete corridors and she figured that she was somewhere deep underground but had lost all sense of direction some time ago. When she had entered, the building’s security had made her empty her pockets and leave her satchel behind. They had provided her with a notebook and a pencil. The notebook was paper bound so they would know if she had torn a page out. It was subject to inspection upon departure to make sure that all notes were solely about the subject matter that she was cleared to see. This really was where the Reich kept the coin of the realm.
“Because Kat is considered Abwehr and currently remains in the 28th Regiment, on leave pending discharge, her files are stored here” Peter said softly to Maria, “They will probably remain so for decades.”
That explained a great deal. Peter probably couldn’t have stored the files in his office if he wanted to. That did leave the open question as to how some of this information might have leaked out. Maria suspected that whoever controlled this surreal place was just as interested in figuring that out too.
Presently they came to one door that looked exactly like the dozens of others that they had walked past. “Wait here” one of the guards said they left her alone in a spare room. Maria took a seat in a hard, wooden chair at a steel table that seemed to be bolted to the floor. The whole room was lit by a single light bulb in a cage enclosure. They really went out of their way to make sure that visitors got the correct impression. Thou art not now nor ever shalt be welcome in this place. Peter entered the room carrying a cardboard box, they clearly didn’t want her to see where exactly it was stored. You’d think that a life would amount to far more than just that.
“Are you sure that you want to see this?” Peter asked.
“I get the impression that I’m already halfway to Hell” Maria said in a halfhearted attempt at humor.
“There’s entirely too much truth in that” Peter said.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The files were in fact a wealth of information. Peter said that there were still more files stored elsewhere but those were sealed and even looking at them was way above his paygrade. Still these were more than enough. Maria was looking at the medical and educational history of Katherine Katja v. Mischner.
The education records were straight forward enough. From the age of five she was in the top third of her class. There were however notes that while Katherine was intelligent, she tended to be disruptive and frequently talked out of turn. Maria could only imagine. Then she returned to school at the age of 12 after an unexplained, extended absence. Sullen, angry and argumentative were the words frequently used after that.
She had completed her secondary education and gone on to University. Maria knew that much already.
Then Maria opened the file pertaining to Kat’s medical history. The matters that had disrupted her life were like an onion, peel away one layer and there was the next. The deeper she got the worse it seemed. Kat had been beaten to a pulp and landed in the hospital where they quickly figured out what had happened. A later when it turned out that Kat was pregnant the determination was made that she was too physically immature to carry it to term. Unless aborted there was a high likelihood that result would be fatal. That if she survived she would be left mentally and physically crippled. This report was cosigned by the three experts who still grilled her about the consequences. Maria was disgusted but this, if they had succeeded then Kat could have died. Maria noticed one of the names, Doctor Carl Brack. It would require further research but Maria suspected that he was a relative of an Erik Brack, a photographer at the Berliner Bürger. Maria could tell the masters of this place that the leak wasn’t from here. She would also refer Kat to a good lawyer, if Maria could prove it than this man had grossly violated her privacy. Then there was the date of a surgical procedure that closed a painful chapter in her life.
Maria read on, Kat had recovered completely, physically anyway. Then came her being partially deafened in the Reichstag bombing. Her mental fragility following it that she had bounced back from. Her getting shot in the Hohenzollern Palace. Then there was a notation about a blunt force injury that had been sustained in an operation that was highly classified. There was a notation that only the Emperor himself could order it declassified.
Then Maria looked at what could only be Peter’s notes. In spite of many attempts he could not get her to talk about certain things. He had noticed her mannerisms, defensiveness and how she would lie about particular periods of her life. He had noticed that Kat’s maternal Aunt who had raised her as a daughter did the same thing. Kat would talk about her mother and how she had feared ending up that way. Peter had let her because that was as close as he could get to having her talk about how that really had almost happened. He had thought that Kat had been making progress and then the war came.
Peter had wrestled with whether or not to attempt to nix the waver when Kat had volunteered to join the Luftwaffe as an Auxiliary. In the end, he had decided to keep as close an eye on her as he could, he hadn’t anticipated that she would get sent to the SKA and would thrive there for a time. Finally, he had noted that she had started to struggle after the Empress herself had ordered her to stop taking chances.
At last there was her service file, dry stuff, dates of promotions, medals earned. Much of it was redacted.
Maria sat back in the uncomfortable chair, she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “I think you were right” She said to Peter, “She has had a difficult life.”
“All I ask is that you not make it more difficult” Peter said.
Last edited:
Part 34, Chapter 413
Chapter Four Hundred Thirteen
8th September 1944
Formosa
Tilo was tired to his core. This campaign had dragged on for months. It wasn’t until he had talked to some of the infantry from the 13th Corps who had fought in Russia that he discovered that the battles of the Pacific were something different.
The battles of annihilation had not taken place in Russia to the extent that they did here in the Pacific. Sure, they said, there were some Soviet Units composed of NKVD true believers led by whack job Commissars but those were the exception not the rule. As they had fought their way to the northern part of the island they had noticed that the climate had changed. Wetter and not quite as hot. They had also noticed that the Japanese soldiers were starving but still fought on. Tilo wasn’t sure if he could have done that. The MA was still trying to push the Japanese off what was absurdly called Second Highest Mountain, there had to be a better name for it. They had an unknown number of Japanese dug in up there. The Brass was saying that the last Japanese stronghold on the north end of the island would be visible from the top.
In the distance Tilo heard the sound of a helicopter getting closer and it flew past below their position. It had red crosses painted on the sides. As it had turned out, the KLM was having a hard time tropicalizing the strange aircraft. It had been hoped that the MA could play the same game that the posers in the SKA had in Russia but that had not been in the cards. Instead they were being used for medevac. Everyone in the Marine Infantry knew that being able to get from the field hospital to the hospital ship in minutes was saving a lot of lives and they were thankful for it.
“Schultz, Hauptmann wants you!”
That jarred Tilo from his thoughts. “He say what he wants?” Tilo yelled back.
“What do you think?”
Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer, Tilo thought to himself. Of course, the Hauptmann didn’t say he wanted. He never had let them know a damned thing in the past. Why would that change now?
He made his way down the mountain to the Hauptmann’s dugout. The Hauptmann was yelling into the telephone like receiver of the radio when he got there. Something about how the fleet had better yank their thumb out of their ass and get aircraft to provide fire support before the next attack on the mountaintop. When he saw Tilo he held up one finger, one minute.
Eventually he slammed the receiver down. “Loud is the only language that they seem to understand” The Hauptmann said.
“You asked to see me, Sir” Tilo said. Tilo knew from experience that whenever he garnered the notice of the Brass then whatever it was about the odds were good that he wouldn’t like it.
“Yeah, Schultz” The Hauptmann said, “I was a bit surprised when it was noticed that you have an exemplary record, I thought you were a proper Marine.”
Tilo just shrugged, that was an old joke.
“I just wanted to be the first to congratulate you on the promotion, Unterfeldwebel Schultz” The Hauptmann continued.
“Thank you, Sir” Tilo said. Great, Tilo thought to himself sarcastically. He would have more responsibilities and having to ride herd on Reier. The Brass had really screwed him this time.
Ballerup, Denmark
Olga had been pestering King George with telegrams until eventually he had sent a man to tell her stop it. He was a smooth talker. Olga had to give this Mister Fleming that much but she knew a bullshit artist when she met one. Fleming’s friend, Jack Kennedy seemed a bit more earnest but he said that he was just on his way home to Ireland after volunteering to fight in Russia with the Irish Regiment. The two of them had been traveling together when supposedly they had been diverted north to Denmark.
“The King is sympathetic with your cause” Fleming said before he handed Olga a photograph, “He just wants you to know that this matter requires the upmost discretion on your part.”
Olga felt her breath catch in her throat. The photograph a school picture of a young woman, the family resemblance was obvious, this was Tatiana’s daughter and it was recent. She would have recently turned sixteen. “Where is she?” Olga asked.
“After the NKVD killed Jehane’s family, she was placed in a new family under an assumed name” Fleming said, “The Agent who was responsible for her told the world she had died after she had hidden her away.”
“So, you don’t know?” Xenia asked sternly.
“Not even King George himself knows the answer to that” Fleming said.
“How is that possible?” Olga asked. She?
“You see the Agent in question is not one of ours” Fleming said, “As in British.”
Jack knew by the way that Fleming said that he had the sinking feeling that he knew who Fleming was talking about.
Olga noticed that Jack had the palm of his hand on his forehead and he was shaking his head. “What the Hell were you thinking Ian?” He muttered.
“I was thinking that it would be someone else’s problem” Fleming replied.
“Is there a problem here?” Olga asked.
“The last time I saw Jehane Thomas in Canada she was boarding an airplane in the company of a German Agent” Fleming said.
“So, the German Government knows where she is” Olga said brightening.
“No” Jack said, “The Agent in question is the favored catspaw of the German Kaiserin, she’s absolutely ruthless and because she’s a Baroness it’s doubtful that anyone can touch her in Germany.”
“An Agent of Kira Kirillovna?” Xenia demanded, unhappy with that revelation.
“Dear God” Olga whispered.
“It’s not as bad as it seems” Fleming said, “At least now you know your great niece is still alive.”
8th September 1944
Formosa
Tilo was tired to his core. This campaign had dragged on for months. It wasn’t until he had talked to some of the infantry from the 13th Corps who had fought in Russia that he discovered that the battles of the Pacific were something different.
The battles of annihilation had not taken place in Russia to the extent that they did here in the Pacific. Sure, they said, there were some Soviet Units composed of NKVD true believers led by whack job Commissars but those were the exception not the rule. As they had fought their way to the northern part of the island they had noticed that the climate had changed. Wetter and not quite as hot. They had also noticed that the Japanese soldiers were starving but still fought on. Tilo wasn’t sure if he could have done that. The MA was still trying to push the Japanese off what was absurdly called Second Highest Mountain, there had to be a better name for it. They had an unknown number of Japanese dug in up there. The Brass was saying that the last Japanese stronghold on the north end of the island would be visible from the top.
In the distance Tilo heard the sound of a helicopter getting closer and it flew past below their position. It had red crosses painted on the sides. As it had turned out, the KLM was having a hard time tropicalizing the strange aircraft. It had been hoped that the MA could play the same game that the posers in the SKA had in Russia but that had not been in the cards. Instead they were being used for medevac. Everyone in the Marine Infantry knew that being able to get from the field hospital to the hospital ship in minutes was saving a lot of lives and they were thankful for it.
“Schultz, Hauptmann wants you!”
That jarred Tilo from his thoughts. “He say what he wants?” Tilo yelled back.
“What do you think?”
Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer, Tilo thought to himself. Of course, the Hauptmann didn’t say he wanted. He never had let them know a damned thing in the past. Why would that change now?
He made his way down the mountain to the Hauptmann’s dugout. The Hauptmann was yelling into the telephone like receiver of the radio when he got there. Something about how the fleet had better yank their thumb out of their ass and get aircraft to provide fire support before the next attack on the mountaintop. When he saw Tilo he held up one finger, one minute.
Eventually he slammed the receiver down. “Loud is the only language that they seem to understand” The Hauptmann said.
“You asked to see me, Sir” Tilo said. Tilo knew from experience that whenever he garnered the notice of the Brass then whatever it was about the odds were good that he wouldn’t like it.
“Yeah, Schultz” The Hauptmann said, “I was a bit surprised when it was noticed that you have an exemplary record, I thought you were a proper Marine.”
Tilo just shrugged, that was an old joke.
“I just wanted to be the first to congratulate you on the promotion, Unterfeldwebel Schultz” The Hauptmann continued.
“Thank you, Sir” Tilo said. Great, Tilo thought to himself sarcastically. He would have more responsibilities and having to ride herd on Reier. The Brass had really screwed him this time.
Ballerup, Denmark
Olga had been pestering King George with telegrams until eventually he had sent a man to tell her stop it. He was a smooth talker. Olga had to give this Mister Fleming that much but she knew a bullshit artist when she met one. Fleming’s friend, Jack Kennedy seemed a bit more earnest but he said that he was just on his way home to Ireland after volunteering to fight in Russia with the Irish Regiment. The two of them had been traveling together when supposedly they had been diverted north to Denmark.
“The King is sympathetic with your cause” Fleming said before he handed Olga a photograph, “He just wants you to know that this matter requires the upmost discretion on your part.”
Olga felt her breath catch in her throat. The photograph a school picture of a young woman, the family resemblance was obvious, this was Tatiana’s daughter and it was recent. She would have recently turned sixteen. “Where is she?” Olga asked.
“After the NKVD killed Jehane’s family, she was placed in a new family under an assumed name” Fleming said, “The Agent who was responsible for her told the world she had died after she had hidden her away.”
“So, you don’t know?” Xenia asked sternly.
“Not even King George himself knows the answer to that” Fleming said.
“How is that possible?” Olga asked. She?
“You see the Agent in question is not one of ours” Fleming said, “As in British.”
Jack knew by the way that Fleming said that he had the sinking feeling that he knew who Fleming was talking about.
Olga noticed that Jack had the palm of his hand on his forehead and he was shaking his head. “What the Hell were you thinking Ian?” He muttered.
“I was thinking that it would be someone else’s problem” Fleming replied.
“Is there a problem here?” Olga asked.
“The last time I saw Jehane Thomas in Canada she was boarding an airplane in the company of a German Agent” Fleming said.
“So, the German Government knows where she is” Olga said brightening.
“No” Jack said, “The Agent in question is the favored catspaw of the German Kaiserin, she’s absolutely ruthless and because she’s a Baroness it’s doubtful that anyone can touch her in Germany.”
“An Agent of Kira Kirillovna?” Xenia demanded, unhappy with that revelation.
“Dear God” Olga whispered.
“It’s not as bad as it seems” Fleming said, “At least now you know your great niece is still alive.”
Last edited:
Md139115
Banned
No, Fleming was actually being evasive. It's Jack who royally (or presidentially!) screwed up. Perhaps he may actually be acquainted with the cat's claw a second time...
Not Jehane - she's got little to fear from assassins at this time - but Kira will get a visit from some very annoying and annoyed relatives and Kat shall probably have the spotlight on her again.
All good from Fleming's perspective - he's owed a favor or at least have an open door with Russian high nobility, the possibility for a scandal for an allied, but rival country, and a rival Operative is, at best, thrust into the open again or at least have a period of annoyance ahead.
Kat will probably mount both of their heads in the library for this.
I think that Jack unwittingly played the part that Fleming wanted him to play.
The British government does not want the occupation and reconstruction of Russia to be a strictly a German show.
The British may have their own favourites for the next people to run Russia and Jehane is the perfect figurehead to give them cover.
We must remember that under current rules of succession, Jehane is not eligible for the throne, but I have speculated that Nicholas left a document or letter with the British King, I think it was George V that has new rules of succession that makes Jehane first in line.
Fleming is trying to make the other members of Russian nobility flush out the existence of Jehane and cause a split in the families that would favor the British, and if that cause problems for the German government, even better.
The British government does not want the occupation and reconstruction of Russia to be a strictly a German show.
The British may have their own favourites for the next people to run Russia and Jehane is the perfect figurehead to give them cover.
We must remember that under current rules of succession, Jehane is not eligible for the throne, but I have speculated that Nicholas left a document or letter with the British King, I think it was George V that has new rules of succession that makes Jehane first in line.
Fleming is trying to make the other members of Russian nobility flush out the existence of Jehane and cause a split in the families that would favor the British, and if that cause problems for the German government, even better.
Part 34, Chapter 414
Four Hundred Fourteen
9th September 1944
Berlin
In less than a few hours Kat was going to completely blow apart her life. Maria had told her that she could pursue legal action against the newspaper that was the threat against her. If they used any information that had come from their source then she could sue them out of existence. The story about her didn’t need to run. Over the last couple weeks as Kat had emerged from her self-loathing and depression it had occurred to her that she didn’t want her past hanging over her head. No one was going to be allowed to blow up Kat Mischner’s life other than Kat. The feature in the Sunday Edition of the Berliner Tageblatt was going to be her story.
Kat had also gotten a message that Kira had summoned her to the Palace at her earliest convenience. It hardly mattered, this time tomorrow Kat would never have to worry about the Empress or the Imperial Court again. The truth was that Kat found that it was liberating.
“You look nice tonight” Marcella said. The one person who had had cared about her without reservation and Kat had treated her terribly. She felt guilty about that.
“I’m just going to a family dinner” Kat said. She had agreed to go with Hans when he met Helene’s parents. Helene and Hans would need a friendly face and someone who would provide cover if Hans had to get out of there fast. Might as well go to something like that before the public angrily turned on her was her thought on the matter. She was wearing a black dress with her emerald hair pins and pendant on its silver chain. She was also wearing the tiger brooch, she would need as much courage as she could get over the next few days.
“We could find matching earrings for those” Marcella said, “If you ever had your ears pierced.” It was something else that Kat had never cared enough about her appearance to be bothered with.
“There’s no need to” Kat said.
Marcella just smiled, “It is just a suggestion.”
“I know” Kat said as she got to her feet. “It’s probably a good one, just not for me.”
She walked out of the Klaus and Marcella’s bedroom and saw that Hans was stepping out of the guest room. What was once her bedroom. He was wearing the new dress uniform of the Heer, dark blue tunic and grey trousers. She saw a that he was wearing an assortment of medals mostly German but there were Polish and Spanish medals as well. There was a medal that she’d never seen before.
“Which one is that?” She asked.
“Federal Order of Merit” Hans answered, “For all the merit crosses I got during the war. I’m surprised you didn’t get one?”
“I haven’t asked” Kat said as she walked down the stairs, “That part of my life is over.”
Hans looked at the back of Kat’s head as she dropped out of sight. She had a Black Eagle and a PLM, that wasn’t something that a person could pretend never happened.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The press building smelled of hot metal, ink, paper and dust. As an Editor and Journalist Maria seldom made her way down here. Over the last week she had written up the story to explain unflinchingly what had happened, what had prompted the publication of the story and the individuals involved. She had done her best to depict Kat as someone who had overcome impossible odds to get where she is and as a sympathetic figure. Someone who had suffered personally for years. It was clear to anyone reading the story that they were reading about a young woman who should be a quivering wreck. Instead she had emerged as a heroic figure.
Kat had said that she thought that she was blowing up her life by agreeing to do this, that she would be shunned. Maria hoped that she was wrong on that score, that the people who judged her for what had happened were people who didn’t like her anyway. The first editions were rolling off the press. The artwork for the front page was austere as it tended to be when it dealt with serious topics. Kat as Maria had remembered her on the porch of her house on Langeoog sitting on a chair staring at the floor rendered in stark black lines. Her face wasn’t visible but the entire figure radiated loneliness, pain and despair. THE HIDDEN FACE OF KATHERINE VON MISCHNER the headline had read, The Shocking, Painful True Story of the Heroine of Berlin it read below.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The meal itself had been silent. While Manfred von Richthofen was unhappy about his oldest son Lothar going to work for Lufthansa, Lothar had still flown combat missions over Spain. Albrecht had been conducting research as a student in Aeronautical Engineering at University. His work was deemed necessary for the war effort and he had made a contribution to the development in the jet aircraft that were used by the Luftwaffe. It might have been unreasonable but all Manfred saw was that his youngest son had not only effectively avoided conscription but had failed to volunteer of his own accord before the war ended.
Then Manfred had found out that Helene had set her sights on Hans Mischner as a potential suitor. The worst part was that Manfred couldn’t find any obvious faults with him. According to the Oberst in charge of the Hans’ Regiment he was a capable leader who had served in Spain, the entire war with Russia and come up through the ranks on his own merits. Manfred could see from here that he was highly decorated as he was seated next to Helene. Käte had also invited Hans’ younger sister who Manfred had his own problems with, she was just nibbling her food nervously.
9th September 1944
Berlin
In less than a few hours Kat was going to completely blow apart her life. Maria had told her that she could pursue legal action against the newspaper that was the threat against her. If they used any information that had come from their source then she could sue them out of existence. The story about her didn’t need to run. Over the last couple weeks as Kat had emerged from her self-loathing and depression it had occurred to her that she didn’t want her past hanging over her head. No one was going to be allowed to blow up Kat Mischner’s life other than Kat. The feature in the Sunday Edition of the Berliner Tageblatt was going to be her story.
Kat had also gotten a message that Kira had summoned her to the Palace at her earliest convenience. It hardly mattered, this time tomorrow Kat would never have to worry about the Empress or the Imperial Court again. The truth was that Kat found that it was liberating.
“You look nice tonight” Marcella said. The one person who had had cared about her without reservation and Kat had treated her terribly. She felt guilty about that.
“I’m just going to a family dinner” Kat said. She had agreed to go with Hans when he met Helene’s parents. Helene and Hans would need a friendly face and someone who would provide cover if Hans had to get out of there fast. Might as well go to something like that before the public angrily turned on her was her thought on the matter. She was wearing a black dress with her emerald hair pins and pendant on its silver chain. She was also wearing the tiger brooch, she would need as much courage as she could get over the next few days.
“We could find matching earrings for those” Marcella said, “If you ever had your ears pierced.” It was something else that Kat had never cared enough about her appearance to be bothered with.
“There’s no need to” Kat said.
Marcella just smiled, “It is just a suggestion.”
“I know” Kat said as she got to her feet. “It’s probably a good one, just not for me.”
She walked out of the Klaus and Marcella’s bedroom and saw that Hans was stepping out of the guest room. What was once her bedroom. He was wearing the new dress uniform of the Heer, dark blue tunic and grey trousers. She saw a that he was wearing an assortment of medals mostly German but there were Polish and Spanish medals as well. There was a medal that she’d never seen before.
“Which one is that?” She asked.
“Federal Order of Merit” Hans answered, “For all the merit crosses I got during the war. I’m surprised you didn’t get one?”
“I haven’t asked” Kat said as she walked down the stairs, “That part of my life is over.”
Hans looked at the back of Kat’s head as she dropped out of sight. She had a Black Eagle and a PLM, that wasn’t something that a person could pretend never happened.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The press building smelled of hot metal, ink, paper and dust. As an Editor and Journalist Maria seldom made her way down here. Over the last week she had written up the story to explain unflinchingly what had happened, what had prompted the publication of the story and the individuals involved. She had done her best to depict Kat as someone who had overcome impossible odds to get where she is and as a sympathetic figure. Someone who had suffered personally for years. It was clear to anyone reading the story that they were reading about a young woman who should be a quivering wreck. Instead she had emerged as a heroic figure.
Kat had said that she thought that she was blowing up her life by agreeing to do this, that she would be shunned. Maria hoped that she was wrong on that score, that the people who judged her for what had happened were people who didn’t like her anyway. The first editions were rolling off the press. The artwork for the front page was austere as it tended to be when it dealt with serious topics. Kat as Maria had remembered her on the porch of her house on Langeoog sitting on a chair staring at the floor rendered in stark black lines. Her face wasn’t visible but the entire figure radiated loneliness, pain and despair. THE HIDDEN FACE OF KATHERINE VON MISCHNER the headline had read, The Shocking, Painful True Story of the Heroine of Berlin it read below.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The meal itself had been silent. While Manfred von Richthofen was unhappy about his oldest son Lothar going to work for Lufthansa, Lothar had still flown combat missions over Spain. Albrecht had been conducting research as a student in Aeronautical Engineering at University. His work was deemed necessary for the war effort and he had made a contribution to the development in the jet aircraft that were used by the Luftwaffe. It might have been unreasonable but all Manfred saw was that his youngest son had not only effectively avoided conscription but had failed to volunteer of his own accord before the war ended.
Then Manfred had found out that Helene had set her sights on Hans Mischner as a potential suitor. The worst part was that Manfred couldn’t find any obvious faults with him. According to the Oberst in charge of the Hans’ Regiment he was a capable leader who had served in Spain, the entire war with Russia and come up through the ranks on his own merits. Manfred could see from here that he was highly decorated as he was seated next to Helene. Käte had also invited Hans’ younger sister who Manfred had his own problems with, she was just nibbling her food nervously.
Last edited:
Shadow Master
Banned
I have to know what happens next...
As always, great storytelling PM, and a very entertaining and well written ATL.
You know, I wonder if Kat's story is going to have an analogous effect to Audie Murphy's openness about his PTSD in terms of de-shaming it.
A father needs no reason to dislike his daughter's suitors. I for one, plan to try to drive them all away.