One oftheir major spies maybe working for the Abwehr, but the Russians and the Poles have a former director each of the OTL Mossad living there.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
ITTL, Wolfgang Lotz who OTL Spied for Israel after serving inthe British, then Israeli armies will probably gravitate towards the Abwehr.
ITTL, with no Nazi rise, its likely he'd have served in the army, drifted towards intelligence after having bern promoted to a junior officer. By 1961 he'll be reaching 40 and in better shape for not having been in an Egyptian jail for a few years.
ITTL, with no Nazi rise, its likely he'd have served in the army, drifted towards intelligence after having bern promoted to a junior officer. By 1961 he'll be reaching 40 and in better shape for not having been in an Egyptian jail for a few years.
Speaking of spies, were is Juan Pujol these days? He helped with the disinformation campaign against the Russians and otehrs did he not?
Also speaking of spies, I've been wondering if Sydney Reilly survived his forays into the Soviet Union ITTL? I can't remember seeing anything in previous posts, but seeing as he WAS Britain's best spy until his death in the 1920s, he really could have been playing cat-&-mouse with German intelligence in this most excellent of timelines.
Part 93, Chapter 1466
Chapter One Thousand Four Hundred Sixty-Six
23rd October 1961
Kiel
For Louis, becoming qualified to run the launch alone was a revelation. Suddenly, he had a staggering amount of freedom to travel not just between the ships moored on the piers of the Naval base and the harbor but many of the rivers and canals that ran throughout the region that surrounded it. Captain Hase told him that while he didn’t need to go back to the Academy this term, he would need to start showing that he was learning as much aboard the Fleet in Being as he would be there. Passing the Coxswain’s examination had gone a long way towards that. Lately though Hase had been giving Louis more responsibilities that went with what he was supposed to be learning and as he would learn, that came with working closely with Fähnrich Ehud “Udi” Brog. Louis remembered the Lithuanian as having been a year ahead of him at the Academy and that he had done the unthinkable when he had opted to join the Marine Infantry despite being in the top third of his class. That went double for Udi because he was Jewish. Everyone knew that the Marine Infantry weren’t exactly known for their enlightened perspective when it came to minorities of any sort. Yet months later, here was Udi having not only passed through Cuxhaven but having landed one of the coveted Battleship berths that almost all of the Marines would cheerfully kill for as well.
Today, Louis was running an errand for Captain Hase in the realm of what would be considered Grey Market activity. The Captain had told him that he was such a common sight on the water that no one would think to stop him. He was to bring Udi along as muscle in case anyone other than the Shore Patrol gave him trouble. If the Shore Patrol stopped him then he was to get them to call Hase and it would be sorted from there. While Louis knew that this was extremely questionable. He also knew that this was the sort of grease that kept the Navy going and that there seemed to be more going on here than just a mere transaction. Captain Hase had also told him that while he was aboard the American vessel that was his destination, he was to pay attention to everything that he saw because he was going to be questioned afterwards. Because Louis spoke English, he was to introduce himself as Captain Hase’s agent in Kiel. Then Hase had handed him a small cloth bag that contained a large amount of money that Louis shoved into his coat pocket. He couldn’t help but notice that the stacks of hundred Reichsmark bills had bands that said they were from the Imperial Bank of Berlin. That would mean little to anyone outside of Germany, to Louis that screamed that this whole thing was an official operation of some kind.
While Louis wasn’t as smooth as other, more experienced, mariners, when he pulled the ten-meter open launch up to the side of the SS O’Brian and shut down the outboard engine. Still though, he did a creditable job of it. The weight of the Reichsmarks was heavy in his pocket as he climbed the ladder up the side of the O’Brian as Udi remained on the launch to supervise the loading of the cargo. He saw the crates in the cargo net waiting to be lowered. They were stamped with names like Lucky Strike, Chesterfield, Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. Not particularly valuable but if they were taken from the O’Brian to the SMS Brandenburg, they could bypass customs and import duties and then could be sold at a considerable profit by certain wholesalers in Kiel.
Being led through the ship, Louis noticed that the radio room seemed to be too large for a tramp steamer and there seemed to be a lot of activity for a ship in port. Then he entered the mess cabin and saw a man in his fifties who had the appearance of having spent a lifetime at sea. Louis had been given a detailed description of Captain Smith including the wart on his chin. He didn’t look anything like what Louis imagined a CIA Officer would look like.
“Captain Smith?” Louis asked.
“Yes, and Chris Hase finally decided to delegate?” Smith asked in reply.
“He said that he has gotten too senior for this sort of thing” Louis replied.
“I see” Smith said, “And just who are you son?”
“Louis von Spree, Sir” Louis said. If his older brothers and sister had been throwing around fake surnames, then so could he. “The Captain told me to inform you that I am authorized to act as his agent.”
With that Louis handed Smith the bag from his pocket.
The American Captain looked at the money within and smiled.
“Well Lou, it looks like we are in business” Smith said.
Rural Bavaria, in transit
The conversation with Doctor Berg about how the training had started long before she had thought it would had come to mind as Kiki left Bad Reichenhall. It had apparently not stopped when they had gone on liberty. Spear Brahms, who had come from Laupheim had been there when Kiki and Mitzi had returned from liberty well rested after a good night’s sleep and enjoying all the amenities that the spa hotel had to offer. He had seemed quite amused by that, saying something about what girls brought to the KSK.
Over the following hours, Kiki would learn that most of the men had not been as fortunate as they had gone on a nice forced march up into the mountains. Bruised faces, split knuckles and nasty hangovers had abounded. As it would turn out, they had been the lucky ones. A few of the men had gotten themselves thrown in the stockade and would be missing movement on Monday morning. That meant getting ejected from the program with only a few weeks left and having no one to blame but themselves. Kiki was thinking about that as she climbed aboard the lorry that would take her to whatever was going to happen in Pfullendorf.
23rd October 1961
Kiel
For Louis, becoming qualified to run the launch alone was a revelation. Suddenly, he had a staggering amount of freedom to travel not just between the ships moored on the piers of the Naval base and the harbor but many of the rivers and canals that ran throughout the region that surrounded it. Captain Hase told him that while he didn’t need to go back to the Academy this term, he would need to start showing that he was learning as much aboard the Fleet in Being as he would be there. Passing the Coxswain’s examination had gone a long way towards that. Lately though Hase had been giving Louis more responsibilities that went with what he was supposed to be learning and as he would learn, that came with working closely with Fähnrich Ehud “Udi” Brog. Louis remembered the Lithuanian as having been a year ahead of him at the Academy and that he had done the unthinkable when he had opted to join the Marine Infantry despite being in the top third of his class. That went double for Udi because he was Jewish. Everyone knew that the Marine Infantry weren’t exactly known for their enlightened perspective when it came to minorities of any sort. Yet months later, here was Udi having not only passed through Cuxhaven but having landed one of the coveted Battleship berths that almost all of the Marines would cheerfully kill for as well.
Today, Louis was running an errand for Captain Hase in the realm of what would be considered Grey Market activity. The Captain had told him that he was such a common sight on the water that no one would think to stop him. He was to bring Udi along as muscle in case anyone other than the Shore Patrol gave him trouble. If the Shore Patrol stopped him then he was to get them to call Hase and it would be sorted from there. While Louis knew that this was extremely questionable. He also knew that this was the sort of grease that kept the Navy going and that there seemed to be more going on here than just a mere transaction. Captain Hase had also told him that while he was aboard the American vessel that was his destination, he was to pay attention to everything that he saw because he was going to be questioned afterwards. Because Louis spoke English, he was to introduce himself as Captain Hase’s agent in Kiel. Then Hase had handed him a small cloth bag that contained a large amount of money that Louis shoved into his coat pocket. He couldn’t help but notice that the stacks of hundred Reichsmark bills had bands that said they were from the Imperial Bank of Berlin. That would mean little to anyone outside of Germany, to Louis that screamed that this whole thing was an official operation of some kind.
While Louis wasn’t as smooth as other, more experienced, mariners, when he pulled the ten-meter open launch up to the side of the SS O’Brian and shut down the outboard engine. Still though, he did a creditable job of it. The weight of the Reichsmarks was heavy in his pocket as he climbed the ladder up the side of the O’Brian as Udi remained on the launch to supervise the loading of the cargo. He saw the crates in the cargo net waiting to be lowered. They were stamped with names like Lucky Strike, Chesterfield, Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. Not particularly valuable but if they were taken from the O’Brian to the SMS Brandenburg, they could bypass customs and import duties and then could be sold at a considerable profit by certain wholesalers in Kiel.
Being led through the ship, Louis noticed that the radio room seemed to be too large for a tramp steamer and there seemed to be a lot of activity for a ship in port. Then he entered the mess cabin and saw a man in his fifties who had the appearance of having spent a lifetime at sea. Louis had been given a detailed description of Captain Smith including the wart on his chin. He didn’t look anything like what Louis imagined a CIA Officer would look like.
“Captain Smith?” Louis asked.
“Yes, and Chris Hase finally decided to delegate?” Smith asked in reply.
“He said that he has gotten too senior for this sort of thing” Louis replied.
“I see” Smith said, “And just who are you son?”
“Louis von Spree, Sir” Louis said. If his older brothers and sister had been throwing around fake surnames, then so could he. “The Captain told me to inform you that I am authorized to act as his agent.”
With that Louis handed Smith the bag from his pocket.
The American Captain looked at the money within and smiled.
“Well Lou, it looks like we are in business” Smith said.
Rural Bavaria, in transit
The conversation with Doctor Berg about how the training had started long before she had thought it would had come to mind as Kiki left Bad Reichenhall. It had apparently not stopped when they had gone on liberty. Spear Brahms, who had come from Laupheim had been there when Kiki and Mitzi had returned from liberty well rested after a good night’s sleep and enjoying all the amenities that the spa hotel had to offer. He had seemed quite amused by that, saying something about what girls brought to the KSK.
Over the following hours, Kiki would learn that most of the men had not been as fortunate as they had gone on a nice forced march up into the mountains. Bruised faces, split knuckles and nasty hangovers had abounded. As it would turn out, they had been the lucky ones. A few of the men had gotten themselves thrown in the stockade and would be missing movement on Monday morning. That meant getting ejected from the program with only a few weeks left and having no one to blame but themselves. Kiki was thinking about that as she climbed aboard the lorry that would take her to whatever was going to happen in Pfullendorf.
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THis is how you get contraband between ships, I assume. Such as swapping/bartering alcohol and food....or its just ca lovely way to bribe.
"This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." If he is anything like his namesake IOTL, this is one of those "stupid luck" moments.
In case it is not obvious the SS O'Brian is a CIA spy ship moored in Kiel as a tramp freighter and the Captain of the O'Brian is trying to work through German Officers who are already bent by selling them contraband. At the same time, the BND is aware of this and is financing the purchase of said contraband and is subverting the mission of the O'Brian. Spy vs. Spy circle jerk.
I prefer Jim Beam over Jim Bean because Jim Bean gives me the worst hangover with an extremely noxious case of gas to go along with it, but to each their own.
Glad to see young Louis Ferdinand getting some face time, he might have an interesting career if he keeps hanging out with the likes of Christoph Hase as his instructor.
And Kiki and Mitzi are going to be held as examples of how productive they were in using their free time: rest, bath, and good food showed how they had their priorities straight.
Glad to see young Louis Ferdinand getting some face time, he might have an interesting career if he keeps hanging out with the likes of Christoph Hase as his instructor.
And Kiki and Mitzi are going to be held as examples of how productive they were in using their free time: rest, bath, and good food showed how they had their priorities straight.
Kiki and Mitzi have absorbed the most important lesson of being a soldier, eat & sleep whenever you get the opportunity, because you never know when your next chance will be.
Lets see who wisdom Louis might be getting:
Jakob Schmidt From Christoph Hase's Father and Christoph himself
Christoph's father
Christoph himself
Emil
His Father Louis
Kat
Mighty fine list if you look at it that way. Have Louis take over as the Head of the BND when he gets older.
Part 93, Chapter 1467
Chapter One Thousand Four Hundred Sixty-Seven
20th November 1961
East of Regen, Bavarian-Bohemian Frontier
The Dragonfly helicopter raced through the predawn night and Kiki checked the chinstrap on her helmet for what must have been the thousandth time. It, along with the rest of her gear had to be in working order.
Looking out the window Kiki saw a forested hillside covered in early snow flashing past. The last few weeks had been pleasant, surprisingly so. She had been expecting Pfullendorf to be more of the frenetic activity that had preceded it. Instead, she had spent it learning about conducting patrols in enemy held areas and doing what had been dubbed “team building exercises” during that time. What that boiled down to was that from here on, the six of them would all either pass or fail as a team. In addition to Mitzi Gott, her team had been joined by four others. Rolf Ebner and Ingo Reuter were both from the Fallschirmjäger Corps. They had volunteered for the FSR on the assumption that it would be easier than trying to get into the Hellcats. They quickly had learned the error of that sort of thinking but had also come to understand the mission of the FSR and had opted to stay. Valentin Siegel was a bit different, like Kiki he had come from a medical background. The difference was that he had been a Veterinary Technician before he been recruited by the Medical Service. Anton Rain, the radio operator rounded out their team.
Oddly, Kiki found that as the team leader the most difficult part was to step aside and let the others in her team do what they were good at doing in the first place. Then there was also the aspect of being able to trust someone who she had only met a few weeks earlier. So far, the best example of that had come from Rolf telling Kiki to not get them killed for no goddamned reason. Today, they had finally made it through to the final exercise. Kiki would need to use every bit of what she had learned since the end of July over the next few days. Kiki had only been given fairly clear instructions. There was a downed pilot south of the landing zone and she had been given the last known location of the pilot. Her team was supposed to locate the pilot, assess his condition and evacuate him to safety. Kiki had also been informed that she could expect a dynamic, rapidly changing situation and that it was as close to what she could expect in a real search and rescue situations. Just the fact that this exercise had been planned to last more than a few hours suggested that there would be a considerable number of surprises ahead of them.
The door of the helicopter opened, and a blast of cold air came through. Kiki got up and stood in the door. The helicopter was hovering over a small clearing and she watched as the ropes dropped down to the ground. She had done this before, but that had been in daylight and during the summertime. Kat had once told her that in situations like this, she needed to be seen as the first one doing it. That way she had more experience than whoever was right behind her. With Rolf and Ingo along that was unlikely but she knew she needed to fake it as best she could, she caught a glimpse of them going out the door on the other side, so she was out of time to think about it. Clipping to the rope, Kiki repelled to the ground and she scrambled to get clear as Mitzi and Valentin came down seconds behind her. Anton hit the ground and no sooner had he cleared the rope than the helicopter took off to presumably the west. Having been trained not to just stand around once on the ground, Kiki followed Rolf as he headed straight for the nearest tree line even as she belatedly cleared her rifle, in case she needed it and hoping that no one had noticed. They were left sitting on the edge of a field with the sound of the turboshaft engines fading in the distance.
“What next?” Rolf asked as Kiki pulled the map from her vest pocket and peered at it in the dim light.
“The pilot is south of here, which is…” Kiki realized even as she said it that though the landing zone was marked on the map, she didn’t have a proper context of where she was. The compass was on its lariat around her neck and was under her vest. She would need to get her bearings as soon as there was enough light. Pulling out the compass and opening it, Kiki looked at the luminous dial and arrow to see which way was north. “That way.” Kiki said pointing south, which was right at a steep ridge.
“Welcome to the field Fraulein Fähnrich” Ingo said, “The only surprise is that that the Brass didn’t arrange for an entire mountain range to be there.”
Valentin and Mitzi smiled when they heard that.
Kiki was relieved that none of her team was holding the current situation against her. It was going to a long day and from the top of the ridge she ought to be able to figure out exactly where she was on the map.
20th November 1961
East of Regen, Bavarian-Bohemian Frontier
The Dragonfly helicopter raced through the predawn night and Kiki checked the chinstrap on her helmet for what must have been the thousandth time. It, along with the rest of her gear had to be in working order.
Looking out the window Kiki saw a forested hillside covered in early snow flashing past. The last few weeks had been pleasant, surprisingly so. She had been expecting Pfullendorf to be more of the frenetic activity that had preceded it. Instead, she had spent it learning about conducting patrols in enemy held areas and doing what had been dubbed “team building exercises” during that time. What that boiled down to was that from here on, the six of them would all either pass or fail as a team. In addition to Mitzi Gott, her team had been joined by four others. Rolf Ebner and Ingo Reuter were both from the Fallschirmjäger Corps. They had volunteered for the FSR on the assumption that it would be easier than trying to get into the Hellcats. They quickly had learned the error of that sort of thinking but had also come to understand the mission of the FSR and had opted to stay. Valentin Siegel was a bit different, like Kiki he had come from a medical background. The difference was that he had been a Veterinary Technician before he been recruited by the Medical Service. Anton Rain, the radio operator rounded out their team.
Oddly, Kiki found that as the team leader the most difficult part was to step aside and let the others in her team do what they were good at doing in the first place. Then there was also the aspect of being able to trust someone who she had only met a few weeks earlier. So far, the best example of that had come from Rolf telling Kiki to not get them killed for no goddamned reason. Today, they had finally made it through to the final exercise. Kiki would need to use every bit of what she had learned since the end of July over the next few days. Kiki had only been given fairly clear instructions. There was a downed pilot south of the landing zone and she had been given the last known location of the pilot. Her team was supposed to locate the pilot, assess his condition and evacuate him to safety. Kiki had also been informed that she could expect a dynamic, rapidly changing situation and that it was as close to what she could expect in a real search and rescue situations. Just the fact that this exercise had been planned to last more than a few hours suggested that there would be a considerable number of surprises ahead of them.
The door of the helicopter opened, and a blast of cold air came through. Kiki got up and stood in the door. The helicopter was hovering over a small clearing and she watched as the ropes dropped down to the ground. She had done this before, but that had been in daylight and during the summertime. Kat had once told her that in situations like this, she needed to be seen as the first one doing it. That way she had more experience than whoever was right behind her. With Rolf and Ingo along that was unlikely but she knew she needed to fake it as best she could, she caught a glimpse of them going out the door on the other side, so she was out of time to think about it. Clipping to the rope, Kiki repelled to the ground and she scrambled to get clear as Mitzi and Valentin came down seconds behind her. Anton hit the ground and no sooner had he cleared the rope than the helicopter took off to presumably the west. Having been trained not to just stand around once on the ground, Kiki followed Rolf as he headed straight for the nearest tree line even as she belatedly cleared her rifle, in case she needed it and hoping that no one had noticed. They were left sitting on the edge of a field with the sound of the turboshaft engines fading in the distance.
“What next?” Rolf asked as Kiki pulled the map from her vest pocket and peered at it in the dim light.
“The pilot is south of here, which is…” Kiki realized even as she said it that though the landing zone was marked on the map, she didn’t have a proper context of where she was. The compass was on its lariat around her neck and was under her vest. She would need to get her bearings as soon as there was enough light. Pulling out the compass and opening it, Kiki looked at the luminous dial and arrow to see which way was north. “That way.” Kiki said pointing south, which was right at a steep ridge.
“Welcome to the field Fraulein Fähnrich” Ingo said, “The only surprise is that that the Brass didn’t arrange for an entire mountain range to be there.”
Valentin and Mitzi smiled when they heard that.
Kiki was relieved that none of her team was holding the current situation against her. It was going to a long day and from the top of the ridge she ought to be able to figure out exactly where she was on the map.
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In the research for the last post I was looking at pictures of various paratrooper helmets including those used by the US, UK, Australia and Germany over the last 70 years. Trying to picture what the German M38, pictured, would evolve if it had been in use for 30 or 40 years like it has in TTL.
Well, if they went a similar route to OTL, this is the OTL version of a Bundeswehr paratrooper helmet:
https://www.schuberth.com/produkte/militaer/airborne-828.html
https://www.schuberth.com/produkte/militaer/airborne-828.html
Maybe the question's been asked earlier in the thread or there's been some mention of it that I've forgotten, but I've been wondering what the helmets across the services look like ITTL. I'm personally holding out hope that some model of the Stahlhelm is still in use for infantry because there are no negative connotations with it here and it's such a distinct, practical, and ,IMO, aesthetically pleasing design.
Part 93, Chapter 1468
Chapter One Thousand Six Hundred Sixty-Eight
20th November 1961
East of Regen, Bavarian-Bohemian Frontier
It was early evening before they caught up with the “pilot” who had proven to be particularly elusive. The Hauptgefreiter who had volunteered to play that role had played the role of a downed flier who was hiding from enemy patrols while attempting to link up with friendly forces. The situation became ironic in that when the team caught up with him. They were supposed to treat him for exposure and minor injuries related to taking a tumble or two down a hillside, those were exactly things that they had needed to treat him for. Then no sooner then they had raised Battalion HQ on the radio they learned that a major storm was closing in on their position and they needed to shelter in place until the storm passed.
For the team that posed a bit of a problem. They were equipped for a simulated combat mission with questions about the weather not having been their first consideration. The entire time they were taking stock of their situation Kiki had realized that it had laid bare her complete lack of experience. A more experienced team leader would have known just how unpredictable the weather could be this time of the year and made adequate preparations. Pushing her self-loathing aside, Kiki considered what they had. The brown-grey-tan universal splinter uniforms, a hooded parka under a flak vest, the usual hob-nailed boots. It all would have been good if they had been caught in a rainstorm earlier in the year, now not so much. The Helmet that Kiki had been wearing was an improvement on the older paratrooper helmet that had been modified version of the M30 Stehlhelm used by the rest of the military that had parts cut away so that it wouldn’t interfere with the use of a parachute. The M47 Paratrooper’s helmet did a good job of protecting the wearer’s head while conducting airborne operations and from shrapnel. However, it didn’t provide any warmth, so Kiki switched it for her blue Medical Service beret under the hood of her parka.
After finding a hollow to spend the night in, everyone worked to gather as much deadfall as they could. As it turned out, a red marker flare was great for starting fires even with wet wood. If anyone was hunting them, they were caught up in the same storm that they were, so evading detection wasn’t exactly a priority. Wrapped in the blankets what they had and sitting as close to the fire as they could, no one expected to get much sleep that night as snowflakes started to fall on their improvised bivouac. The Hauptgefreiter didn’t seem too interested in being social. He was just staring at the fire and ignoring them, so they left him be. Ingo grew tired of the only sounds being the wind in the trees and the sound of the fire and decided that they needed to play a game right about the time that he remembered that his canteen was full of the homemade vodka that had been popular with the Fallschirmjäger Corps since the Soviet War. That was a major breach of regulations, but Kiki was willing to overlook it this time.
“How about two truths and one lie” Ingo said.
“That’s a silly game” Kiki replied, “When I was twelve, I played it with my friends when we were camping with the scouts.”
“We’re supposed to be learning about each other so that we can work seamlessly as a team” Anton said, “And why am I not surprised that you were a girl scout?”
Kiki heard the others taking Anton’s perspective on this. Kat had said that one of things that she needed to remember about leadership was that she needed to pick her battles. It was a way to kill a little time during what was going to be a long night.
“For that, our brave team leader gets to go first” Rolf said as he passed the canteen to Kiki. Taking a drink, it was as awful as she thought it would be.
With a bit of exasperation, Kiki said, “Me not getting into medical school this year was the second time in my life that I failed at something. The first time was when the Headmistress of my Gymnasia refused to allow me to sit the exam to receive my Abitur early. I am actually Princess Kristina von Preussen. And finally, my father is a mechanic for the European Division of the Ford Motor Company.”
Mitzi was silent. She could expose Kiki in that moment, but she didn’t.
“Real clever” Valentin said, “Your father might have started out as a mechanic, but I would say Poppa Fischer sits on the Board of Directors of Ford’s European Division.”
“I’m not surprised that you left school early for University” Rolf said, “But seriously Kiki, you’re no Princess even if you share the same first name as one.”
There was a bit of laughter over that.
“You’re turn Valentin” Anton said.
Valentin thought for a minute. “I lost my virginity to my piano teacher, I quit my job working for a Veterinary Clinic because I hated putting down animals and my best friend in grade school was a parrot” He said.
“You couldn’t carry a tune in a paper bag” Kiki said, “I know this because I’ve heard you sing, so I would say that you’ve never had a music teacher of any kind.”
Valentin reaction to that let everyone know that he had been caught in an obvious lie.
“What about you Mitzi?” Rolf said.
Mitzi didn’t look like she wanted to play this game.
“You don’t have to…” Kiki started to say.
“No, I want to” Mitzi told Kiki, then she blurted out. “I joined the Medical service because it was the only job I could get after my father died, I have two younger sisters and I’ve never been in love.”
Because Kat had insisted on checking out Mitzi when she became her friend, Kiki knew what the lie was. Mitzi’s father was very much alive though his daughter probably wished that he wasn’t. He had run off to Berlin with a younger woman, leaving his family in Dresden to fend for themselves. Mitzi, who had been seventeen at the time, had been forced to drop out of school to look for work to help her family. The Medical Service had turned out to be a godsend for her at that minute.
“Wait, how many sisters did you say you had?” Anton asked awkwardly. The fun had been drained out of the game by the stark realities of Mitzi’s existence. Rolf threw some more branches on the fire as they sat there in silence and the wood hissed and popped for a few minutes before catching alight.
20th November 1961
East of Regen, Bavarian-Bohemian Frontier
It was early evening before they caught up with the “pilot” who had proven to be particularly elusive. The Hauptgefreiter who had volunteered to play that role had played the role of a downed flier who was hiding from enemy patrols while attempting to link up with friendly forces. The situation became ironic in that when the team caught up with him. They were supposed to treat him for exposure and minor injuries related to taking a tumble or two down a hillside, those were exactly things that they had needed to treat him for. Then no sooner then they had raised Battalion HQ on the radio they learned that a major storm was closing in on their position and they needed to shelter in place until the storm passed.
For the team that posed a bit of a problem. They were equipped for a simulated combat mission with questions about the weather not having been their first consideration. The entire time they were taking stock of their situation Kiki had realized that it had laid bare her complete lack of experience. A more experienced team leader would have known just how unpredictable the weather could be this time of the year and made adequate preparations. Pushing her self-loathing aside, Kiki considered what they had. The brown-grey-tan universal splinter uniforms, a hooded parka under a flak vest, the usual hob-nailed boots. It all would have been good if they had been caught in a rainstorm earlier in the year, now not so much. The Helmet that Kiki had been wearing was an improvement on the older paratrooper helmet that had been modified version of the M30 Stehlhelm used by the rest of the military that had parts cut away so that it wouldn’t interfere with the use of a parachute. The M47 Paratrooper’s helmet did a good job of protecting the wearer’s head while conducting airborne operations and from shrapnel. However, it didn’t provide any warmth, so Kiki switched it for her blue Medical Service beret under the hood of her parka.
After finding a hollow to spend the night in, everyone worked to gather as much deadfall as they could. As it turned out, a red marker flare was great for starting fires even with wet wood. If anyone was hunting them, they were caught up in the same storm that they were, so evading detection wasn’t exactly a priority. Wrapped in the blankets what they had and sitting as close to the fire as they could, no one expected to get much sleep that night as snowflakes started to fall on their improvised bivouac. The Hauptgefreiter didn’t seem too interested in being social. He was just staring at the fire and ignoring them, so they left him be. Ingo grew tired of the only sounds being the wind in the trees and the sound of the fire and decided that they needed to play a game right about the time that he remembered that his canteen was full of the homemade vodka that had been popular with the Fallschirmjäger Corps since the Soviet War. That was a major breach of regulations, but Kiki was willing to overlook it this time.
“How about two truths and one lie” Ingo said.
“That’s a silly game” Kiki replied, “When I was twelve, I played it with my friends when we were camping with the scouts.”
“We’re supposed to be learning about each other so that we can work seamlessly as a team” Anton said, “And why am I not surprised that you were a girl scout?”
Kiki heard the others taking Anton’s perspective on this. Kat had said that one of things that she needed to remember about leadership was that she needed to pick her battles. It was a way to kill a little time during what was going to be a long night.
“For that, our brave team leader gets to go first” Rolf said as he passed the canteen to Kiki. Taking a drink, it was as awful as she thought it would be.
With a bit of exasperation, Kiki said, “Me not getting into medical school this year was the second time in my life that I failed at something. The first time was when the Headmistress of my Gymnasia refused to allow me to sit the exam to receive my Abitur early. I am actually Princess Kristina von Preussen. And finally, my father is a mechanic for the European Division of the Ford Motor Company.”
Mitzi was silent. She could expose Kiki in that moment, but she didn’t.
“Real clever” Valentin said, “Your father might have started out as a mechanic, but I would say Poppa Fischer sits on the Board of Directors of Ford’s European Division.”
“I’m not surprised that you left school early for University” Rolf said, “But seriously Kiki, you’re no Princess even if you share the same first name as one.”
There was a bit of laughter over that.
“You’re turn Valentin” Anton said.
Valentin thought for a minute. “I lost my virginity to my piano teacher, I quit my job working for a Veterinary Clinic because I hated putting down animals and my best friend in grade school was a parrot” He said.
“You couldn’t carry a tune in a paper bag” Kiki said, “I know this because I’ve heard you sing, so I would say that you’ve never had a music teacher of any kind.”
Valentin reaction to that let everyone know that he had been caught in an obvious lie.
“What about you Mitzi?” Rolf said.
Mitzi didn’t look like she wanted to play this game.
“You don’t have to…” Kiki started to say.
“No, I want to” Mitzi told Kiki, then she blurted out. “I joined the Medical service because it was the only job I could get after my father died, I have two younger sisters and I’ve never been in love.”
Because Kat had insisted on checking out Mitzi when she became her friend, Kiki knew what the lie was. Mitzi’s father was very much alive though his daughter probably wished that he wasn’t. He had run off to Berlin with a younger woman, leaving his family in Dresden to fend for themselves. Mitzi, who had been seventeen at the time, had been forced to drop out of school to look for work to help her family. The Medical Service had turned out to be a godsend for her at that minute.
“Wait, how many sisters did you say you had?” Anton asked awkwardly. The fun had been drained out of the game by the stark realities of Mitzi’s existence. Rolf threw some more branches on the fire as they sat there in silence and the wood hissed and popped for a few minutes before catching alight.