Bonus points if the troops from the German Pacific Islands are all in the Marines, easiest to recruit into the Naval services, and they make sure people know that this unit is composed of "Former" Cannibals from the pacific islands. Don't forget the lineage of the units that fought in WW1 in Ost Africa, Have an Askari unit in the Heer. Remind people that they fought all the Entente powers to a stand still and had them chasing all over East Africa.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Bonus points if the troops from the German Pacific Islands are all in the Marines, easiest to recruit into the Naval services, and they make sure people know that this unit is composed of "Former" Cannibals from the pacific islands. Don't forget the lineage of the units that fought in WW1 in Ost Africa, Have an Askari unit in the Heer. Remind people that they fought all the Entente powers to a stand still and had them chasing all over East Africa.
Kaisser Louis-Ferdinand: rahrahrha...oh by the way I am henceforth abdicating because of all of this shit!
Part 113, Chapter 1861
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Sixty-One
25th July 1968
Silesian-Polish Frontier
It was pouring down rain and the canvas cover had been put on the Iltis, making the interior stifling hot and humid. They were stuck in traffic, so Maus kept honking the horn and cussing at the lorry towing a field howitzer in front of them. The fact that they were able to pick up the University stations back in Berlin on the civilian radio that was held to the top of dashboard with tie wire showed just how whacked this entire operation was. At least there was music to listen to though, that is if Maus would cut it out.
“You hit that horn one more time, I’m ripping it out and shoving it up your ass!” Christian yelled at Maus.
“This guy drives like my fucking grandmother!” Maus yelled back.
“And if in a few days, we need fire support because we have half the Polish Army about to overrun us. It would be just our luck that his outfit is the one who gets the call” Christian said, “Then they lose the message and have a good laugh because you are being an asshole.”
“Whatever” Maus muttered under his breath, as he paused from honking the horn for at least a few minutes.
Einar was just staring at raindrops running down the clear plastic that made up the window, ignoring everyone else. Ralf was doing his job, in theory. He had his headphones on and was monitoring the two radios in the back in case something came through from either Command or tactical networks. It was impossible to tell if he was even awake.
They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. Then Einar farted loudly. Christian’s eyes were watering as he unzipped the window to let some air in, even diesel exhaust would have to smell better.
“What weird Viking shit have you been eating” Maus demanded as he waved his hand in front of his nose.
“I’m no more a Viking than you are, Maus” Einar replied tersely, “Vikings are from Norway, I’m Estonian.”
The thing was that Einar did look the part of a Viking raider from a thousand years earlier. It was just one more way in which he was the odd man out in this crew. Christian, Maus, and Ralf were from the Brandenburg suburbs outside of Berlin. Einar said he was from a place called Kuressaare in Estonia, which Christian had been unable to find on a map.
They sat in silence for a while more as the traffic inched ahead. Then the music cut out mid-song as it was preempted by special bulletin. Ralf, suddenly awake, said that the same transmission was coming over the Command network too.
“Today I speak to you not just as your Emperor…” Christian heard a voice that had been familiar to him since early childhood.
“It’s old Lutz” Maus said, though he didn’t need to.
“Shut up Maus” Einar said, saving Christian the trouble.
“…fellow citizen of a Federation that I have worked to make more inclusive. Because unlike what narrow minded chauvinists might tell you, time has proven that we are strong due to our differences, not despite them.” Louis said, “So it is with a heavy heart that I am forced to once again send our sons and daughters unto the breach to defend our values by committing to this police action in the Kingdom of Poland. It is something that I had sought to avoid, and to my eternal regret, the world recently stood by and watched as nations were overrun. Their populations put to the sword held by the blood-soaked hands of the nationalistic fool who thinks that is how you win the peace. We stood by, and now we pay the price by finding that it is about to happen on our very own doorstep. I say, speaking in the name of decency and humanity, no more!”
The Emperor was not exactly known for being the greatest Orator in the world, everyone knew that. From Christian’s perspective though, the old man was clearly firing on all cylinders with this radio address.
Fort Drum, New York
It had been a great relief that the Ecuadorians had not blundered into a war before Richie’s Team had rotated out. Once back in New York, he had time to focus on other things. Like the promised visit by Lucia.
Lucia had never been on an airplane before she had gotten on one that took her from LA to Idlewild. She had watched with amazement as Upstate New York rolled by on their way to Fort Drum where Ritchie had arranged accommodations for her. He had given her the grand tour of the base before the moment that held the greatest amount of trepidation for him, introducing her to the Team.
That occurred on a hot afternoon after they had packed it in early for the day. The Team along with girlfriends and other assorted guests were having pot-luck barbecue on the bank of the Black River which made up one of the Fort’s boundaries. As soon as Lucia got out of the car, Ritchie could see that all eyes were on her, mostly out of curiosity as he introduced her.
“I’ve heard a lot about all of you” Lucia said with a smile. “Nice to have faces to go with the names.”
“And the Runt has been talking about you all the time” Mullins said in reply.
“Runt?” Lucia asked, amused by the nickname that Casey and Parker had stuck him with years earlier.
“It’s an old joke Miss Cruz” Kravitz said as he handed her a can of coke.
Huck was fiddling with a backpack radio, ignoring everyone else. Then strange voices started coming from the speaker, in German. Ritchie, along with all the other men paused.
“What is that?” Lucia asked.
“The German tactical radio network” Ritchie replied, “We can pick it up on shortwave because those signals are typically unencrypted.”
“There doesn’t seem to be a battle yet, just the Army and Marines seem to be on the move” Huck said.
25th July 1968
Silesian-Polish Frontier
It was pouring down rain and the canvas cover had been put on the Iltis, making the interior stifling hot and humid. They were stuck in traffic, so Maus kept honking the horn and cussing at the lorry towing a field howitzer in front of them. The fact that they were able to pick up the University stations back in Berlin on the civilian radio that was held to the top of dashboard with tie wire showed just how whacked this entire operation was. At least there was music to listen to though, that is if Maus would cut it out.
“You hit that horn one more time, I’m ripping it out and shoving it up your ass!” Christian yelled at Maus.
“This guy drives like my fucking grandmother!” Maus yelled back.
“And if in a few days, we need fire support because we have half the Polish Army about to overrun us. It would be just our luck that his outfit is the one who gets the call” Christian said, “Then they lose the message and have a good laugh because you are being an asshole.”
“Whatever” Maus muttered under his breath, as he paused from honking the horn for at least a few minutes.
Einar was just staring at raindrops running down the clear plastic that made up the window, ignoring everyone else. Ralf was doing his job, in theory. He had his headphones on and was monitoring the two radios in the back in case something came through from either Command or tactical networks. It was impossible to tell if he was even awake.
They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. Then Einar farted loudly. Christian’s eyes were watering as he unzipped the window to let some air in, even diesel exhaust would have to smell better.
“What weird Viking shit have you been eating” Maus demanded as he waved his hand in front of his nose.
“I’m no more a Viking than you are, Maus” Einar replied tersely, “Vikings are from Norway, I’m Estonian.”
The thing was that Einar did look the part of a Viking raider from a thousand years earlier. It was just one more way in which he was the odd man out in this crew. Christian, Maus, and Ralf were from the Brandenburg suburbs outside of Berlin. Einar said he was from a place called Kuressaare in Estonia, which Christian had been unable to find on a map.
They sat in silence for a while more as the traffic inched ahead. Then the music cut out mid-song as it was preempted by special bulletin. Ralf, suddenly awake, said that the same transmission was coming over the Command network too.
“Today I speak to you not just as your Emperor…” Christian heard a voice that had been familiar to him since early childhood.
“It’s old Lutz” Maus said, though he didn’t need to.
“Shut up Maus” Einar said, saving Christian the trouble.
“…fellow citizen of a Federation that I have worked to make more inclusive. Because unlike what narrow minded chauvinists might tell you, time has proven that we are strong due to our differences, not despite them.” Louis said, “So it is with a heavy heart that I am forced to once again send our sons and daughters unto the breach to defend our values by committing to this police action in the Kingdom of Poland. It is something that I had sought to avoid, and to my eternal regret, the world recently stood by and watched as nations were overrun. Their populations put to the sword held by the blood-soaked hands of the nationalistic fool who thinks that is how you win the peace. We stood by, and now we pay the price by finding that it is about to happen on our very own doorstep. I say, speaking in the name of decency and humanity, no more!”
The Emperor was not exactly known for being the greatest Orator in the world, everyone knew that. From Christian’s perspective though, the old man was clearly firing on all cylinders with this radio address.
Fort Drum, New York
It had been a great relief that the Ecuadorians had not blundered into a war before Richie’s Team had rotated out. Once back in New York, he had time to focus on other things. Like the promised visit by Lucia.
Lucia had never been on an airplane before she had gotten on one that took her from LA to Idlewild. She had watched with amazement as Upstate New York rolled by on their way to Fort Drum where Ritchie had arranged accommodations for her. He had given her the grand tour of the base before the moment that held the greatest amount of trepidation for him, introducing her to the Team.
That occurred on a hot afternoon after they had packed it in early for the day. The Team along with girlfriends and other assorted guests were having pot-luck barbecue on the bank of the Black River which made up one of the Fort’s boundaries. As soon as Lucia got out of the car, Ritchie could see that all eyes were on her, mostly out of curiosity as he introduced her.
“I’ve heard a lot about all of you” Lucia said with a smile. “Nice to have faces to go with the names.”
“And the Runt has been talking about you all the time” Mullins said in reply.
“Runt?” Lucia asked, amused by the nickname that Casey and Parker had stuck him with years earlier.
“It’s an old joke Miss Cruz” Kravitz said as he handed her a can of coke.
Huck was fiddling with a backpack radio, ignoring everyone else. Then strange voices started coming from the speaker, in German. Ritchie, along with all the other men paused.
“What is that?” Lucia asked.
“The German tactical radio network” Ritchie replied, “We can pick it up on shortwave because those signals are typically unencrypted.”
“There doesn’t seem to be a battle yet, just the Army and Marines seem to be on the move” Huck said.
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Its not like the Yanks can invade Poland, but the question is whether o not they do something stupid?
That said, they are gathered around the radio listening to the German News like its a damn sports-game.
....
I know that Germany still has its WW1 borders, but oes that mean Poland landlocked then? I mean, if Germany has territory all the way up to Estonia, it must also have Lithuania and Latvia as territory/protectorates?
That said, they are gathered around the radio listening to the German News like its a damn sports-game.
....
I know that Germany still has its WW1 borders, but oes that mean Poland landlocked then? I mean, if Germany has territory all the way up to Estonia, it must also have Lithuania and Latvia as territory/protectorates?
[/QUOTE]
In the first timeline Gia was constantly being linked by the press much to her displeasure as being the potential bride of Prince Erik of Estonia and in the second timeline Zella had a Baltic Prince as her official escort for the wedding of Freddy and Suga that she quickly ditched at the reception.
Edit: Ninja'd by Author
The Baltic States are independent Principalities with German royalty as heads of states and they are part of the Empire.
In the first timeline Gia was constantly being linked by the press much to her displeasure as being the potential bride of Prince Erik of Estonia and in the second timeline Zella had a Baltic Prince as her official escort for the wedding of Freddy and Suga that she quickly ditched at the reception.
Edit: Ninja'd by Author
I saw that and he shouldn’t have because I thought his was the better post.
Part 113, Chapter 1862
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Sixty-Two
27th July 1968
Thorn, Prussian-Polish Frontier
It was two hundred and fifty kilometers from Bromberg to Warsaw and a large portion of the Polish Army was intent upon keeping Tilo from traveling that distance. Recon flights had revealed hastily dug trenches on either side of Vistula River, the blocking the route he intended to take, in theory. Clearly, they had no idea who they were actually dealing with. This was because Tilo was a Marine Officer who had spent a good deal of time aboard various ships during his long career as well as teaching the next generation of Naval Officers. The truth was that geography had given him a rather large hole in the enemy lines that was not immediately obvious to an Officer who had spent his entire career on land, namely the Vistula itself. The river also also ran straight into Warsaw, which would markedly simplify his logistics. The Flak-Lighter he was using as his command ship reflected that.
“This is just like the old days Kid” Reier said, “Us on a boat, getting ready to pull a fast one on the other side.”
“You didn’t always have the best luck during landings Reier” Tilo replied, “You recall how you got that wound badge. It took the surgeons a considerable amount of time to dig all that shrapnel out of your ass after you got hit at Ninh Bình?”
Reier gave Tilo a look that suggested that he wasn’t thrilled that anyone remembered that incident. Then he heard some snickering among the Junior Enlisted who must have overheard.
“You little shitheads think that’s funny?” Reier demanded as the Marines scattered. It was already too late for whatever revenge he might have tried to take on them. Word about how great and invincible Oberstaber Reier had gotten himself shot in the butt by the Japanese would be on everyone’s lips within a few hours.
Reier was right, this was just like the old days.
Tilo looked up the river with a smile. This was actually going to fun.
Balice, Provisional Galicia
After an entire day on the road, they had made shockingly little progress. What might have taken only a few hours normally had taken all day. Then this morning they had finally managed to break free of the traffic jam and had ranged ahead of the 4th Division down Autobahn 4, which happened to be their job. Now on the outskirts of Krakow something that no one could have planned for had occurred.
“They even have a band” Christian heard Einar say in disbelief behind him as the Iltis was mobbed by a crowd of people celebrating the arrival of the Heer in Galicia.
Stepping out of the front passenger seat, Christian stood before the gathered boisterous crowd. “The entire Second Army is behind us!” Christian tried to yell over the tumult. “We need you to let us through!”
And he was roundly ignored.
Christian could only imagine what would happen if Maus and Einar would do when they got impatient. Something stupid if he had to guess. Looking back up the Autobahn, Christian saw a pair of eight wheeled armored cars coming around the bend.
“General von Mischner is coming!” Christian called out, pointing at the 8-rads. They were just a different part of 7th Recon, but to the people here they looked impressive. The Cheering grew in pitch and all attention shifted to the oncoming vehicles. The Iltis was an afterthought for the crowd as Christian got back into his seat and Maus put it into gear.
“That really was dirty pool, what you did to those Specials” Maus said once they got rolling towards Krakow. Maus was referring to the original name given to the 8-rads, they had been called Special Vehicles, or Specials. That term had stuck in the slang that was used to describe them.
“I didn’t want to be stuck back there all day” Christian replied.
Minutes later, Krakow came into view and Maus took the turnoff to go into the city. The Provisional Capital had been visited many times by the Polish Air Force over the prior weeks and there was visible damage to most of the structures.
Christian had heard that in the first hours of the conflict, the Poles had attempted to snatch the General who commanded the Galician Forces. Apparently General Bauer had anticipated that and had rigged his headquarters to explode if anyone was stupid or crazy enough to try it. The Polish version of the KSK had an extremely bad night because they had.
Rounding a corner, they started to see more and more soldiers. The Galicians were wearing the odd homemade camouflage and others were wearing the water-splinter pattern Christian was familiar with. When they reached the old Market Square in Oldtown, Christian saw Panzers. Dozens of them parked in the Square. The same place where the massacre had occurred two years earlier, he figured that there was some justice in all of this because he recognized the markings on the Leopards.
“Get Command up and tell them that the Bohemians beat us into Krakow Ralf” Christian said over his shoulder, “And ask them for further instructions.”
When Maus parked the Iltis, they immediately had an official start yelling at them about their ugly vehicle. Compared to how squared away the Bohemian Leopards and APCs were, that was no surprise. The Iltis looked like a garbage scow by comparison.
27th July 1968
Thorn, Prussian-Polish Frontier
It was two hundred and fifty kilometers from Bromberg to Warsaw and a large portion of the Polish Army was intent upon keeping Tilo from traveling that distance. Recon flights had revealed hastily dug trenches on either side of Vistula River, the blocking the route he intended to take, in theory. Clearly, they had no idea who they were actually dealing with. This was because Tilo was a Marine Officer who had spent a good deal of time aboard various ships during his long career as well as teaching the next generation of Naval Officers. The truth was that geography had given him a rather large hole in the enemy lines that was not immediately obvious to an Officer who had spent his entire career on land, namely the Vistula itself. The river also also ran straight into Warsaw, which would markedly simplify his logistics. The Flak-Lighter he was using as his command ship reflected that.
“This is just like the old days Kid” Reier said, “Us on a boat, getting ready to pull a fast one on the other side.”
“You didn’t always have the best luck during landings Reier” Tilo replied, “You recall how you got that wound badge. It took the surgeons a considerable amount of time to dig all that shrapnel out of your ass after you got hit at Ninh Bình?”
Reier gave Tilo a look that suggested that he wasn’t thrilled that anyone remembered that incident. Then he heard some snickering among the Junior Enlisted who must have overheard.
“You little shitheads think that’s funny?” Reier demanded as the Marines scattered. It was already too late for whatever revenge he might have tried to take on them. Word about how great and invincible Oberstaber Reier had gotten himself shot in the butt by the Japanese would be on everyone’s lips within a few hours.
Reier was right, this was just like the old days.
Tilo looked up the river with a smile. This was actually going to fun.
Balice, Provisional Galicia
After an entire day on the road, they had made shockingly little progress. What might have taken only a few hours normally had taken all day. Then this morning they had finally managed to break free of the traffic jam and had ranged ahead of the 4th Division down Autobahn 4, which happened to be their job. Now on the outskirts of Krakow something that no one could have planned for had occurred.
“They even have a band” Christian heard Einar say in disbelief behind him as the Iltis was mobbed by a crowd of people celebrating the arrival of the Heer in Galicia.
Stepping out of the front passenger seat, Christian stood before the gathered boisterous crowd. “The entire Second Army is behind us!” Christian tried to yell over the tumult. “We need you to let us through!”
And he was roundly ignored.
Christian could only imagine what would happen if Maus and Einar would do when they got impatient. Something stupid if he had to guess. Looking back up the Autobahn, Christian saw a pair of eight wheeled armored cars coming around the bend.
“General von Mischner is coming!” Christian called out, pointing at the 8-rads. They were just a different part of 7th Recon, but to the people here they looked impressive. The Cheering grew in pitch and all attention shifted to the oncoming vehicles. The Iltis was an afterthought for the crowd as Christian got back into his seat and Maus put it into gear.
“That really was dirty pool, what you did to those Specials” Maus said once they got rolling towards Krakow. Maus was referring to the original name given to the 8-rads, they had been called Special Vehicles, or Specials. That term had stuck in the slang that was used to describe them.
“I didn’t want to be stuck back there all day” Christian replied.
Minutes later, Krakow came into view and Maus took the turnoff to go into the city. The Provisional Capital had been visited many times by the Polish Air Force over the prior weeks and there was visible damage to most of the structures.
Christian had heard that in the first hours of the conflict, the Poles had attempted to snatch the General who commanded the Galician Forces. Apparently General Bauer had anticipated that and had rigged his headquarters to explode if anyone was stupid or crazy enough to try it. The Polish version of the KSK had an extremely bad night because they had.
Rounding a corner, they started to see more and more soldiers. The Galicians were wearing the odd homemade camouflage and others were wearing the water-splinter pattern Christian was familiar with. When they reached the old Market Square in Oldtown, Christian saw Panzers. Dozens of them parked in the Square. The same place where the massacre had occurred two years earlier, he figured that there was some justice in all of this because he recognized the markings on the Leopards.
“Get Command up and tell them that the Bohemians beat us into Krakow Ralf” Christian said over his shoulder, “And ask them for further instructions.”
When Maus parked the Iltis, they immediately had an official start yelling at them about their ugly vehicle. Compared to how squared away the Bohemian Leopards and APCs were, that was no surprise. The Iltis looked like a garbage scow by comparison.
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Something tells me this is not a race between Hans, Tilo and Kurt to Warsaw. This is now a race between Kurt and Tilo as to who gets there first and my money is now on Tilo.
Yes I know Kat is involved but she is more than likely already there with her people just waiting to strike like a Tiger in the jungle at night.
Yes I know Kat is involved but she is more than likely already there with her people just waiting to strike like a Tiger in the jungle at night.
This TL always makes me marvel...it's the first German-centric TL where the Tiger that everyone fears isn't the Panzer
This way of military thinking is very... British. Something to do with seeing rivers and oceans as highways, not obstacles.
So many happy people flooding the streets to welcome their liberators that they slow down the advance & lengthen the campaign.
In other words, the Polish Nationalist government & military get so distracted watching and reacting to Hans, Tilo & Kurt, that they fail to realise that the Tigress' Cubs are in their situation room until AFTER their eyes start crossing as they try to focus on the muzzles of the SMGs.
Part 113, Chapter 1863
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Sixty-Three
1st August 1968
Near Miechów, Poland
The order had come to fall back on Miechów, then dig in and hold fast. After days of attempting to advance on Krakow, they had finally started to make progress when things had changed. There had been rumors flying around in the days since, that the Germans had entered the war and that Warsaw was a smoking pile of rubble. The latter seemed unlikely because the orders had to be coming from somewhere, the former on the other hand was all too plausible. That was how he found himself watching a stretch of narrow road from his foxhole when he heard the sound of vehicles approaching, the turbocharged diesel engines sounding strange to his ears. It took Bogdan a second to realize what he was looking at, the open-top vehicles were painted a grey and brown camouflage pattern, the men inside them advanced to a bend in the road and were peering cautiously ahead. An Iltis looked nothing like the Volkswagen Föhn hatchbacks it was supposedly based upon. The man sitting in the passenger seat of the following Iltis was wearing a helmet that had a cloth cover with a hole torn on the left side. For some reason Bogdan thought that was a bit odd.
“Nobody moves” Bogdan heard the Lieutenant say. “Those are scouts for the Panzer Corps.”
Bogdan felt his mouth go dry. He had only seen them in movies, the Cavalry Units that ranged ahead of the main advance. The instant they made contact, they would call down artillery to cover their retreat, then the Panzers and Dragoon Infantry would move up… Then Bogdan would have very few good choices left if that happened. The best thing they could do now was to delay long enough to…
Bogdan cursed to himself when he saw a stream of tracers leap out from his lines, mostly flying over the lead Iltis. The response was instant, and Bogdan was surprised by the volume of fire from such small vehicles. 8mm and 6.5mm bullets raked across the line of foxholes and a grenade hit the ground just a few meters to his right.
----------------------------------------------------------------
As soon as the Iltis in front of them came under fire, Maus slammed the vehicle into reverse and started backing down the road as fast as they could go. The other three men in the Iltis opened fire with everything they had. Then they were back around the bend.
“Get artillery on the enemy position!” Christian yelled at Rolf who sheepishly complied, as if he anything to be embarrassed about. The lead Iltis had smoke coming out from under the bonnet and the two of the men who had been aboard staggered back towards them. Hardly thinking, Christian ran to the lead Iltis. He grabbed the fire extinguisher out of the back and used it to put out the fire in the engine compartment before it consumed the whole vehicle. It was then that he saw the state of Feldwebel Wolter and Gérald, the driver. Gérald’s flak vest and the bulk of the Iltis’ engine had saved him, barely. The hole through Wolter’s head suggested that he had not been so lucky. For months, the Hauptmann had been trying to break Wolter of the habit of being too bold in the face of expected enemy fire. It clearly hadn’t taken. Christian had thought that driving around the bend in the road was stupid but had followed along because Wolter had been in charge.
The woosh and crash of artillery shells landing a few hundred meters away reminded Christian that he had done his part here. As absurd as that seemed.
Hohenzollern Castle
Marie was upset about how this summer was going.
Marie wished that the letter from her mother had said more. It had basically been the typical sort expected from when she was out in the field. Telling as much as possible without saying much at all. She had told Marie that she loved her, and she regrated missing out on what was an important moment for her. It contained nothing about where she was, what she was doing, or why she had been called away. It all added to the how much she was starting to dislike her life.
Marie had wanted this summer to be as fun as the year before, but then everything had gone sideways. The first thing that had gone wrong was that she had been given her own room by the adults and put in a position of responsibility. That had kept her separate from everyone else. Then there had been that thing that had happened next, which had been awful. It had taken Kiki only a few minutes to figure out what was really going on and it had been completely mortifying. Marie had known Kiki her entire life and wished she could be more like her. Kiki didn’t imagine going out and having adventures, instead she went out and had them.
Kiki had taken a motor barge all the way up the Elbe and Vltava Rivers to Prague. Gone to Korea to help people, twice, and had received the Pour le Mérite without firing a shot in anger. Rushed in as part of the search and rescue operation in the East Station Bombing and had later stood up to the terrorist mastermind who had done it. Basically, Kiki was everything that Marie wished she could be.
1st August 1968
Near Miechów, Poland
The order had come to fall back on Miechów, then dig in and hold fast. After days of attempting to advance on Krakow, they had finally started to make progress when things had changed. There had been rumors flying around in the days since, that the Germans had entered the war and that Warsaw was a smoking pile of rubble. The latter seemed unlikely because the orders had to be coming from somewhere, the former on the other hand was all too plausible. That was how he found himself watching a stretch of narrow road from his foxhole when he heard the sound of vehicles approaching, the turbocharged diesel engines sounding strange to his ears. It took Bogdan a second to realize what he was looking at, the open-top vehicles were painted a grey and brown camouflage pattern, the men inside them advanced to a bend in the road and were peering cautiously ahead. An Iltis looked nothing like the Volkswagen Föhn hatchbacks it was supposedly based upon. The man sitting in the passenger seat of the following Iltis was wearing a helmet that had a cloth cover with a hole torn on the left side. For some reason Bogdan thought that was a bit odd.
“Nobody moves” Bogdan heard the Lieutenant say. “Those are scouts for the Panzer Corps.”
Bogdan felt his mouth go dry. He had only seen them in movies, the Cavalry Units that ranged ahead of the main advance. The instant they made contact, they would call down artillery to cover their retreat, then the Panzers and Dragoon Infantry would move up… Then Bogdan would have very few good choices left if that happened. The best thing they could do now was to delay long enough to…
Bogdan cursed to himself when he saw a stream of tracers leap out from his lines, mostly flying over the lead Iltis. The response was instant, and Bogdan was surprised by the volume of fire from such small vehicles. 8mm and 6.5mm bullets raked across the line of foxholes and a grenade hit the ground just a few meters to his right.
----------------------------------------------------------------
As soon as the Iltis in front of them came under fire, Maus slammed the vehicle into reverse and started backing down the road as fast as they could go. The other three men in the Iltis opened fire with everything they had. Then they were back around the bend.
“Get artillery on the enemy position!” Christian yelled at Rolf who sheepishly complied, as if he anything to be embarrassed about. The lead Iltis had smoke coming out from under the bonnet and the two of the men who had been aboard staggered back towards them. Hardly thinking, Christian ran to the lead Iltis. He grabbed the fire extinguisher out of the back and used it to put out the fire in the engine compartment before it consumed the whole vehicle. It was then that he saw the state of Feldwebel Wolter and Gérald, the driver. Gérald’s flak vest and the bulk of the Iltis’ engine had saved him, barely. The hole through Wolter’s head suggested that he had not been so lucky. For months, the Hauptmann had been trying to break Wolter of the habit of being too bold in the face of expected enemy fire. It clearly hadn’t taken. Christian had thought that driving around the bend in the road was stupid but had followed along because Wolter had been in charge.
The woosh and crash of artillery shells landing a few hundred meters away reminded Christian that he had done his part here. As absurd as that seemed.
Hohenzollern Castle
Marie was upset about how this summer was going.
Marie wished that the letter from her mother had said more. It had basically been the typical sort expected from when she was out in the field. Telling as much as possible without saying much at all. She had told Marie that she loved her, and she regrated missing out on what was an important moment for her. It contained nothing about where she was, what she was doing, or why she had been called away. It all added to the how much she was starting to dislike her life.
Marie had wanted this summer to be as fun as the year before, but then everything had gone sideways. The first thing that had gone wrong was that she had been given her own room by the adults and put in a position of responsibility. That had kept her separate from everyone else. Then there had been that thing that had happened next, which had been awful. It had taken Kiki only a few minutes to figure out what was really going on and it had been completely mortifying. Marie had known Kiki her entire life and wished she could be more like her. Kiki didn’t imagine going out and having adventures, instead she went out and had them.
Kiki had taken a motor barge all the way up the Elbe and Vltava Rivers to Prague. Gone to Korea to help people, twice, and had received the Pour le Mérite without firing a shot in anger. Rushed in as part of the search and rescue operation in the East Station Bombing and had later stood up to the terrorist mastermind who had done it. Basically, Kiki was everything that Marie wished she could be.
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Is there: tracked guns and howitzers of all calibers on call; towed ones setup to fire cover; and finally what about rockets like a MLRS/Nebelwarfer?
And how much is there available?
Part of the 4th Panzer Division is the 76th Motorized Artillery Brigade which uses Panther "Wespe" Gunschleppers. So, in this case 15cm artillery shells from self propelled guns. 30 of them altogether.
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Bogdan is about to utter the Infantryman's Prayer (When Under Artillery Fire): "For what we are about to receive, may we be truly grateful"
Christian just got a battlefield promotion, in actual leadership responsibility if not rank.
Kat is even more pissed off than people think she is.
Marie has a serious case of hero worship, and for similar reasons to Kiki's own case of the syndrome. You tend to idolise the person who risked their life to save your own.
Christian just got a battlefield promotion, in actual leadership responsibility if not rank.
Kat is even more pissed off than people think she is.
Marie has a serious case of hero worship, and for similar reasons to Kiki's own case of the syndrome. You tend to idolise the person who risked their life to save your own.
...And once again the Unreliable Narrator strikes with Marie not realizing that she is a hero to many people like Kiki herself for the quick action in the kidnapping when she bit her hostage taker that distracted the others enough for Kiki to gut one of them.
She is also a hero to Nella, Nan, and Sophie otherwise known as the “Little Tigress’ Clowder”.
She is also a hero to Nella, Nan, and Sophie otherwise known as the “Little Tigress’ Clowder”.
Or, of course, Germany having reluctantly to intervene to protect people in danger of being ethnically cleansed. It can be spun many ways, and I imagine Germany's PA people are working hard to make sure that's the narrative that gets promoted out there...