Baby first mg-42, baby first tank?
Edit : I do not advocate giving baby guns. More in the spirit of irony like in fallout questions like if your grandmother ask you to kill someone ... ask for a bigger gun....
Stupid Luck and Happenstance.
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Edit : I do not advocate giving baby guns. More in the spirit of irony like in fallout questions like if your grandmother ask you to kill someone ... ask for a bigger gun....
Part 61, Chapter 861
Chapter Eight Hundred Sixty-One
15th October 1950
Washington DC
The Generals were pleased as punch with him for once. However, that wasn’t what had motivated him, Harry Truman had restarted the draft because he knew that it would give him some control in a spiraling situation and he didn’t like what the State Department was telling him was happening in Mexico. That the country was getting ready to fall into revolution again. If that happened while the South was wracked with continued violence, then he would have an even bigger problem on his hands. He saw bringing back the draft as killing two birds with one stone. He knew that he would be inducting the easy cannon fodder of any potential rebellion into the US Army. As much as those in the South liked to think of themselves as being some superior form of patriot right up until they ripped off the mask they were, in reality, a minority in the country. The South were sparsely populated, impoverished and took a surprising amount of Federal largess. It was a simple matter of drafting young men and leaving them spread thin across the whole of the US Army. Guarding the Canadian border against the day the Canucks invade North Dakota or Montana surrounded by cynical New Yorkers would be perfect. The issue was that he had extended the draft across the entire country and that would probably anger some voters eventually, if it already hadn’t.
It galled Truman that he needed to be pursuing this matter. He had been told that the French and the British were copying the Germans in building a site to launch rockets in French Guiana. It seemed like every time he tried to get America back on course another pile of domestic horseshit was thrown in his path. There were times when he felt like he was in the middle of Shakespearian play that was a mixture of tragedy and black comedy. While his delightful constituents where blowing each other up the entire country was falling further behind the rest of the world as it had continued to advance.
Judenbach
“I only want two things!” Kat yelled angerly, “A divorce and a new set of friends!”
“Don’t be that way Kat!” Helene yelled through the door, “We knew that this was the only way we could get you to come to something like this! We need you to unbar this door this instant!”
Everyone had conspired against her. Her husband, the Empress, her family and SKA itself. Everyone. All the subterfuge had been to get her to come to Judenbach so that they could throw a celebratory dinner in her honor. “You are carrying the Heir to Judenbach Katherine” Oberst Zimmer had said, “That might seem terribly patriarchal, but he might be the patron of the SKA one day, it’s politics.”
“It could just as easily be a girl” Kat replied, and Zimmer had just smiled at that.
“If she is as formidable as her mother then the future of the SKA will be in good hands” Zimmer said.
Kat had locked herself into her hut shortly after that and demanded that Douglas come for her so that she could go home because she didn’t trust anyone here after they had lured her here under a false pretense. Only to find out that Douglas was already in the camp and had been in on the plan from the start. After that she had refused to open the door for anyone. Food and water had been left for her and she had snuck out several times to use the latrine. She had been left alone Friday night and all-day Saturday but now that Sunday was here she had Helene, Douglas, Gerta, Ilse and Gia knocking on the door asking her to come out because the formal dinner couldn’t start until she did. As far as Kat was concerned she was prepared to stay in this hut until Hell froze over.
“Kat” She heard Douglas say from the other side of the door. “You know that this camp has a number of trained sappers, there are plenty of axes and chainsaws around as well. I know that this hut has always been a place of safety for you. Will you please be reasonable?”
With great reluctance she lifted the bar and opened the door, Douglas stepped inside with a smile.
“I will have you know that is the lowest form of blackmail” Kat hissed at him.
“Hardly” Doug replied, “I was just stating the obvious, everyone is here, and they are going to be waiting for you and your Aunt Marcella though that you should have a chance to get cleaned up before that happened. We were even able to convince the United States State Department to free Nancy Jensen for a few days.”
Kat groaned and threw herself back on the cot. That meant that every one of the people close to her was here. That also meant that… “Please tell me Kira isn’t here.”
“Not yet” Douglas said, “But Louis Ferdinand is due to arrive at any time, the Empress is expected to be accompanying him.”
This was far worse than Kat had imagined.
“I know you hate social functions like this, but it has to be done occasionally” Doug said.
“It’s politics” Kat said with her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“You are the Mistress of the Keys to the Empress” Douglas said, “There are politics involved but mostly it’s because she wants to be here to support her friend.”
When Kat was in a mood like this she hated it when Douglas was right. “Anything else?” She asked.
“No, but I always thought that this would be bigger the way you described it.”
Kat looked at Douglas and realized that the confines of the hut were hardly larger than the cot, small desk and foot locker that were contained inside. It seemed crowded with him standing there. She let loose a heavy sigh, Kat had been prepared to get sacked again when she came here. Was this really that much worse?
“I’m not happy about any of this and no one should expect me to enjoy it” Kat said to Douglas as she got to her feet.
“You said the same thing about our wedding” Douglas replied as he opened the door.
“And look where that got me” Kat said pointing at her midsection.
Douglas just shrugged.
15th October 1950
Washington DC
The Generals were pleased as punch with him for once. However, that wasn’t what had motivated him, Harry Truman had restarted the draft because he knew that it would give him some control in a spiraling situation and he didn’t like what the State Department was telling him was happening in Mexico. That the country was getting ready to fall into revolution again. If that happened while the South was wracked with continued violence, then he would have an even bigger problem on his hands. He saw bringing back the draft as killing two birds with one stone. He knew that he would be inducting the easy cannon fodder of any potential rebellion into the US Army. As much as those in the South liked to think of themselves as being some superior form of patriot right up until they ripped off the mask they were, in reality, a minority in the country. The South were sparsely populated, impoverished and took a surprising amount of Federal largess. It was a simple matter of drafting young men and leaving them spread thin across the whole of the US Army. Guarding the Canadian border against the day the Canucks invade North Dakota or Montana surrounded by cynical New Yorkers would be perfect. The issue was that he had extended the draft across the entire country and that would probably anger some voters eventually, if it already hadn’t.
It galled Truman that he needed to be pursuing this matter. He had been told that the French and the British were copying the Germans in building a site to launch rockets in French Guiana. It seemed like every time he tried to get America back on course another pile of domestic horseshit was thrown in his path. There were times when he felt like he was in the middle of Shakespearian play that was a mixture of tragedy and black comedy. While his delightful constituents where blowing each other up the entire country was falling further behind the rest of the world as it had continued to advance.
Judenbach
“I only want two things!” Kat yelled angerly, “A divorce and a new set of friends!”
“Don’t be that way Kat!” Helene yelled through the door, “We knew that this was the only way we could get you to come to something like this! We need you to unbar this door this instant!”
Everyone had conspired against her. Her husband, the Empress, her family and SKA itself. Everyone. All the subterfuge had been to get her to come to Judenbach so that they could throw a celebratory dinner in her honor. “You are carrying the Heir to Judenbach Katherine” Oberst Zimmer had said, “That might seem terribly patriarchal, but he might be the patron of the SKA one day, it’s politics.”
“It could just as easily be a girl” Kat replied, and Zimmer had just smiled at that.
“If she is as formidable as her mother then the future of the SKA will be in good hands” Zimmer said.
Kat had locked herself into her hut shortly after that and demanded that Douglas come for her so that she could go home because she didn’t trust anyone here after they had lured her here under a false pretense. Only to find out that Douglas was already in the camp and had been in on the plan from the start. After that she had refused to open the door for anyone. Food and water had been left for her and she had snuck out several times to use the latrine. She had been left alone Friday night and all-day Saturday but now that Sunday was here she had Helene, Douglas, Gerta, Ilse and Gia knocking on the door asking her to come out because the formal dinner couldn’t start until she did. As far as Kat was concerned she was prepared to stay in this hut until Hell froze over.
“Kat” She heard Douglas say from the other side of the door. “You know that this camp has a number of trained sappers, there are plenty of axes and chainsaws around as well. I know that this hut has always been a place of safety for you. Will you please be reasonable?”
With great reluctance she lifted the bar and opened the door, Douglas stepped inside with a smile.
“I will have you know that is the lowest form of blackmail” Kat hissed at him.
“Hardly” Doug replied, “I was just stating the obvious, everyone is here, and they are going to be waiting for you and your Aunt Marcella though that you should have a chance to get cleaned up before that happened. We were even able to convince the United States State Department to free Nancy Jensen for a few days.”
Kat groaned and threw herself back on the cot. That meant that every one of the people close to her was here. That also meant that… “Please tell me Kira isn’t here.”
“Not yet” Douglas said, “But Louis Ferdinand is due to arrive at any time, the Empress is expected to be accompanying him.”
This was far worse than Kat had imagined.
“I know you hate social functions like this, but it has to be done occasionally” Doug said.
“It’s politics” Kat said with her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“You are the Mistress of the Keys to the Empress” Douglas said, “There are politics involved but mostly it’s because she wants to be here to support her friend.”
When Kat was in a mood like this she hated it when Douglas was right. “Anything else?” She asked.
“No, but I always thought that this would be bigger the way you described it.”
Kat looked at Douglas and realized that the confines of the hut were hardly larger than the cot, small desk and foot locker that were contained inside. It seemed crowded with him standing there. She let loose a heavy sigh, Kat had been prepared to get sacked again when she came here. Was this really that much worse?
“I’m not happy about any of this and no one should expect me to enjoy it” Kat said to Douglas as she got to her feet.
“You said the same thing about our wedding” Douglas replied as he opened the door.
“And look where that got me” Kat said pointing at her midsection.
Douglas just shrugged.
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Clearly, the daughter/son is destined to be a spy. Father's career as a photographer, but in reality she is Black Widow/Ghurka...., or something like that.
If Fleming is still alive in about 30-odd years this type of character would give him a heart attack....
Well, she didn't say stop........
Shadow Master
Banned
Well, Kat may not have gotten what SHE wanted, but we, the dedicated readers of this epic alternative time line, sure did!
Once again, very well done PM!!!
An actual nemesis might make him live longer. People live much longer when they can do it out of spite.
Odds are that Kat's girls are going to prank him at one point with slipping him a firecracker in a cigarette on his packet, what Will make him quit out of paranoia... and make him add poisoned cigarettes and explosive ones to Bond....
Nah, too risky.
Just write something along the sides of one of his cigarettes.
Sends a message and harmless.
Boy, PM, I have said this before but your writing makes my day. I just want to jump out bed in the morning to see what new thread has happened or been added in your very imaginative world. Not that I do any jumping at my age but you get the idea. You are doing very well as a writer and story teller. I really loved the surprise baby shower. Just keep it up so I can get my fix.
Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey were both elected to the Senate in OTL 1948 and I don't see anything to prevent that ITTL.
Johnson is a fascinating character in the Twentieth Century, as a young school teacher in Texas he taught mostly poor Mexican children and he would tell the story on how they would save there school lunch to bring home to their families, and he would talk about how his black chauffeur and housekeeper would have to sleep in their car whenever they traveled between Texas and Washington D.C. because they couldn't get a room for the night.
Johnson was an ardent supporter of The New Deal and would most likely to support any massive spending programs that Truman proposes and I could see him supporting civil rights and would tie that in with Truman's proposals in selling it to his constituents.
i could see televised congressional hearings on civil rights highlighting on how petty, venal, and vile the results of segregation is having on the south.
There would also be hearings on literacy tests and questions being asked of the Senators from the south if they could pass these tests on national television.
With this timeline being told mostly from various individuals perspective, we are forced to speculate on bigger picture issues on the information that is provided.
Johnson is a fascinating character in the Twentieth Century, as a young school teacher in Texas he taught mostly poor Mexican children and he would tell the story on how they would save there school lunch to bring home to their families, and he would talk about how his black chauffeur and housekeeper would have to sleep in their car whenever they traveled between Texas and Washington D.C. because they couldn't get a room for the night.
Johnson was an ardent supporter of The New Deal and would most likely to support any massive spending programs that Truman proposes and I could see him supporting civil rights and would tie that in with Truman's proposals in selling it to his constituents.
i could see televised congressional hearings on civil rights highlighting on how petty, venal, and vile the results of segregation is having on the south.
There would also be hearings on literacy tests and questions being asked of the Senators from the south if they could pass these tests on national television.
With this timeline being told mostly from various individuals perspective, we are forced to speculate on bigger picture issues on the information that is provided.
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Part 61, Chapter 862
Chapter Eight Hundred Sixty-Two
20th October 1950
Chihuahua City, Mexico
So far from God, so close to the United States, or as the Canadians said, chained to a beast.
Two days earlier that cynical joke had kept running through Francisco’s head with every shovelful of dirt as he had dug the latest grave in the desert. The man who had died had been in the pay of Yanquis and had outlived his usefulness. Francisco knew he would be foolish to believe that his men had had gotten all the spies south of the Rio Grande, either from Yanquis or the Federales. He just knew that he needed to control what they said to their paymasters and if they got too annoying they vanished. Life was cheap in the border country, so it would be difficult to tell if someone died because they were a spy, gotten into a dispute over a woman or had owed enough money to someone that serving as an example was the closest that they would making good on the debt. Francisco had certainly dug enough graves for those reasons. He also had his own people in the North and in Mexico City to consider.
This time the spy in question had needed to die because he had learned that Francisco’s contact in Argentina had gotten him in touch with a Señor Arbusto. Soon Francisco would take possession of modern weapons that had been redirected from the South African conflict. More than enough to fight a war, which was exactly what Francisco intended to do. It would solve the problem that he’d had for years. His men had courage and knew how to fight but they had lacked modern weapons. Old rifles, revolvers and explosives stolen from mining operations in the North had been the extent of it. All those weapons would have been instantly recognizable to Pancho Villa, many of them were even the exact same weapons. That was about to change, and Mexico would never be the same again.
Francisco’s musings were interrupted when six men wearing the khaki uniforms of the Federal Police entered the cantina where he had been killing time this afternoon. He motioned the bartender over. “One round of drinks for these brave men” Francisco said with a wink as he placed the coins on the bar.
The Federales were delighted with their good fortune. They toasted Francisco and he returned the toast. Enjoy your fortune today, he thought to himself. Because when Francisco returned to Chihuahua that good fortune will have run out.
Berlin
Home again. It currently wasn’t a pleasant thought.
Kat had three months and change yawning in front of her like a vast chasm. Most of the things she liked to do were out of the question, that left sitting around waiting to have a damned baby. She had no idea who in her household had done it, but they had left a copy of Anne of Green Gables for her. That joke had stopped being funny while she was still in primary school. The only thing she had in common with that character was hair color. Instead, she had several books that she had been meaning to read and Kira had made it clear that over the next couple months she would be welcome in the Imperial Court.
That thought was a reminder of the latest absurd medal that Kat had received. Perhaps it was a badge of office though. Kira had it made specially for her, a gold medal on a ribbon that was two red stripes on a white background, that it was the city colors of Berlin had not been lost on Kat. The medal itself was a gold disk with a key crossed with a quill under a crown on one side and the Imperial eagle on the other. What had started out as a joke, calling Kat the Mistress of the Keys had become a formal appointment. It had started with jokes about Kat being the gatekeeper for the Empress, the only one with the keys. Over time it had come to mean that she was Kira’s companion, confidante and eyes out in the world. It was also as a reward for the ten years of loyal service that Kat had given the Imperial family. Oberst Zimmer had said that when Kat returned to Judenbach to refresh her training in the spring he looked forward to giving her a long service medal for nine years in the SKA. That had all been a shock to her. It had been that long?
The prior Sunday, what had become a tradition of the SKA, the formal dinner had been a bit difficult even before Kira had presented that medal in front of everyone near the end. Kat had sat at the instructor’s table, they had even allowed Doug to sit beside her this time. Then had come the toast, first the salute to the Spezielle Kriegsführung-Abteilung and to the fallen. This had been followed with a toast to the health of Kat and the child she carried to her utter mortification. Hearing an entire hall of men offer a toast to the “Future Graf of Judenbach” had been a shock to her system. Still though she had interjected that it could just as easily be a future Gräfin and that had been seen as cause for another toast followed by wild applause.
The rest of the time she had spent in Judenbach had been spent in the village. For once the people who lived there had been inviting of her. Kat figured that it had more to do with the considerable donation to the church made by the Family of Heinz Thorwald recently after it was announced that his remains were to be interred there. She had visited her friend’s grave before leaving the village.
20th October 1950
Chihuahua City, Mexico
So far from God, so close to the United States, or as the Canadians said, chained to a beast.
Two days earlier that cynical joke had kept running through Francisco’s head with every shovelful of dirt as he had dug the latest grave in the desert. The man who had died had been in the pay of Yanquis and had outlived his usefulness. Francisco knew he would be foolish to believe that his men had had gotten all the spies south of the Rio Grande, either from Yanquis or the Federales. He just knew that he needed to control what they said to their paymasters and if they got too annoying they vanished. Life was cheap in the border country, so it would be difficult to tell if someone died because they were a spy, gotten into a dispute over a woman or had owed enough money to someone that serving as an example was the closest that they would making good on the debt. Francisco had certainly dug enough graves for those reasons. He also had his own people in the North and in Mexico City to consider.
This time the spy in question had needed to die because he had learned that Francisco’s contact in Argentina had gotten him in touch with a Señor Arbusto. Soon Francisco would take possession of modern weapons that had been redirected from the South African conflict. More than enough to fight a war, which was exactly what Francisco intended to do. It would solve the problem that he’d had for years. His men had courage and knew how to fight but they had lacked modern weapons. Old rifles, revolvers and explosives stolen from mining operations in the North had been the extent of it. All those weapons would have been instantly recognizable to Pancho Villa, many of them were even the exact same weapons. That was about to change, and Mexico would never be the same again.
Francisco’s musings were interrupted when six men wearing the khaki uniforms of the Federal Police entered the cantina where he had been killing time this afternoon. He motioned the bartender over. “One round of drinks for these brave men” Francisco said with a wink as he placed the coins on the bar.
The Federales were delighted with their good fortune. They toasted Francisco and he returned the toast. Enjoy your fortune today, he thought to himself. Because when Francisco returned to Chihuahua that good fortune will have run out.
Berlin
Home again. It currently wasn’t a pleasant thought.
Kat had three months and change yawning in front of her like a vast chasm. Most of the things she liked to do were out of the question, that left sitting around waiting to have a damned baby. She had no idea who in her household had done it, but they had left a copy of Anne of Green Gables for her. That joke had stopped being funny while she was still in primary school. The only thing she had in common with that character was hair color. Instead, she had several books that she had been meaning to read and Kira had made it clear that over the next couple months she would be welcome in the Imperial Court.
That thought was a reminder of the latest absurd medal that Kat had received. Perhaps it was a badge of office though. Kira had it made specially for her, a gold medal on a ribbon that was two red stripes on a white background, that it was the city colors of Berlin had not been lost on Kat. The medal itself was a gold disk with a key crossed with a quill under a crown on one side and the Imperial eagle on the other. What had started out as a joke, calling Kat the Mistress of the Keys had become a formal appointment. It had started with jokes about Kat being the gatekeeper for the Empress, the only one with the keys. Over time it had come to mean that she was Kira’s companion, confidante and eyes out in the world. It was also as a reward for the ten years of loyal service that Kat had given the Imperial family. Oberst Zimmer had said that when Kat returned to Judenbach to refresh her training in the spring he looked forward to giving her a long service medal for nine years in the SKA. That had all been a shock to her. It had been that long?
The prior Sunday, what had become a tradition of the SKA, the formal dinner had been a bit difficult even before Kira had presented that medal in front of everyone near the end. Kat had sat at the instructor’s table, they had even allowed Doug to sit beside her this time. Then had come the toast, first the salute to the Spezielle Kriegsführung-Abteilung and to the fallen. This had been followed with a toast to the health of Kat and the child she carried to her utter mortification. Hearing an entire hall of men offer a toast to the “Future Graf of Judenbach” had been a shock to her system. Still though she had interjected that it could just as easily be a future Gräfin and that had been seen as cause for another toast followed by wild applause.
The rest of the time she had spent in Judenbach had been spent in the village. For once the people who lived there had been inviting of her. Kat figured that it had more to do with the considerable donation to the church made by the Family of Heinz Thorwald recently after it was announced that his remains were to be interred there. She had visited her friend’s grave before leaving the village.
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LBJ barely [who had more legitimate votes only God knows] got elected in 1948 - by 57 dead people in South Texas - and barely lost in the 1941 special election [also a God only knows who won legitimately]. He's VERY easy to butterfly as a politician with the different political mixture of ITTL.
Yes you are right, he wasn't called "Landslide Lyndon" for nothing.
But what is going for him that IOTL he had the support of John Nance Garner and that is something I don't think will change ITTL and besides that we can always use another patented Peabody-Martini cameo.
We'll see, I think it's going to be another straw on the camel's back, with tensions in the south so high. One of the things that Truman is rightfully concerned about. The last time Mexico had a civil war, it kept spilling over the border, so enough troops to keep that from happening is a good idea.
For not talk of the SERIOUSLY pissed questions of WHY THE FUCK there is American War material popping up left and right.
Pancho Villa seems to have developed a sense of patience and planning..... enough to know what and WHEN to hit to decapitate the current Mexican Government....
Moreover the US will pretty much be having a collective Oh SHIT case.....Villa was after a date most certainly NOT an American supporter.
The crowning detail would be if Villa welcome with open arms German investment and support.... should be a rather interesting situation when a German supporting country becomes your neighbor...
Pancho Villa seems to have developed a sense of patience and planning..... enough to know what and WHEN to hit to decapitate the current Mexican Government....
Moreover the US will pretty much be having a collective Oh SHIT case.....Villa was after a date most certainly NOT an American supporter.
The crowning detail would be if Villa welcome with open arms German investment and support.... should be a rather interesting situation when a German supporting country becomes your neighbor...
It's actually Francisco Garcia, and in OTL he was a very different person. As for the weapons, you'll see...