Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

Gia should remind her cousin the Czar that allowing corruption and ignoring the people is a good way to end up like her family and get himself exiled to a farm in British Columbia.I
 
Re: "a popular and competent mayor of somewhere like Hershey and goes to watch Bears games occasionally with his family. "
I assume you ae referring to the Hershey Bears of the AHL and not our beloved and totally benighted Chicago Bears. How totally pedestrian.
 
Re: "a popular and competent mayor of somewhere like Hershey and goes to watch Bears games occasionally with his family. "
I assume you ae referring to the Hershey Bears of the AHL and not our beloved and totally benighted Chicago Bears. How totally pedestrian.
Yes, the AHL team. I was thinking of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins originally but that didn't really work.
It was deliberate and not a slight against any real world person, just a thought that not everyone in the TL who is OTL well known has to be in this one, and nor do they have to be totally anonymous either, just not TTL famous.



P. S. The Chicago Bears were the first, (and only), American football team I ever payed any attention too or followed.
 
Part 114, Chapter 1885
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Eighty-Five



13th October 1968

Mitte, Berlin

Playing toy soldier was one thing, but Manny had never considered what would happen when he was pulled away from that detail having done his time in front of the tourists as he had been a couple months earlier. There had been a reason why he had been assigned to the First Foot Guard Regiment in the first place and as it had turned out it had nothing to do with his family connections. Instead, it was because he had trained with Sniper Section of the 7th Recon Battalion and he was expected to be second to the Hauptmann commanding the Sniper Section of the First Foot. The implications of that were driven home when he had been briefed by the Regiment’s XO and a representative from the Justice Ministry. If anyone on the team was ever forced to take a shot, he should expect a full investigation and a mountain of paperwork, and God help him if it couldn’t be justified afterwards while he was in charge. That was why Manny found the team he was now a part of to be the most professional he had ever worked with. It wasn’t just about being marksmen. It was about seeing every single detail and missing nothing. Looking at a crowd and seeing who looked out of place, whose actions seemed off, then determining if that person were a threat and if they would need to be eliminated that instant or dealt with by quieter means.

Today, as he was sitting on rooftop overlooking a parade route that ran down the avenue towards Brandenburg gate and scanning the street with his binoculars. He had a heavily modified version of the G44 sitting on a sandbag in front of him. The heavy target barrel and tuned gas system were not standard issue, nor were the ten power Hensoldt rifle scope or the suppressor mounted on it. This was the rifle used by members of the team who were not issued with the far more powerful bolt-action rifles chambered in 8.5mm Thorwald Magnum, the 6.5 x 38k cartridge being considered less likely to create collateral damage. Listening in as the team checked in now that they were in position. They were already occupying the most likely places a shooter might attempt to access and the less likely places were well known to them. In a short time, the parade would start, and the Emperor would be at the reviewing stand with his guests for the event.

“Lieutenant von Mischner” The Hauptmann called over the radio, his voice garbled by the encoder that the First Foot used on all their radios. “Why the Hell did you neglect to mention that you are personally connected to three of the VIPs in this event?”

Manny was a bit annoyed that this had come up.

“It’s my Father and Aunt Katherine as the guests of the Emperor Sir” Manny said, “It will not affect how I do my job.”

“Don’t try to minimize this Lieutenant” The Hauptmann said, “The Emperor, his guests and their families are attending this event, meaning that it will be your mother, sister and whatever cousins you have down there. Do I need to remind you that emotional connections result in fuck ups in this job?”

It was something that the Hauptmann had lectured Manny about when he had been reassigned. Anything that might cause him to hesitate when he was supposed to act could result in tragedy. They had to be perfect at all times while those they were up against only had to get lucky once.

“Your father is getting the PLM today” The Hauptmann said “So I’ll let you off this time, but if you withhold pertinent information from me in the future I will see you busted down to Soldat and put on permanent latrine duty. Am I clear, Mischner?”

“Yes, Sir” Manny said as he noticed the reflections from the other hides along the parade route. Everyone in the section would have heard that. The Hauptmann said that everyone under him was treated the same in that he would land with both feet on whoever caused him problems and he didn’t give a rat’s ass about rank. He had just proven it.

“I’m sending Bouchard up there to relieve you” The Hauptmann said, “Stow your gear and get to the reviewing stand.”

“Yes, Sir” Manny replied, knowing that the Oberfeld from Alsace had a mouth on him and that he would never hear the end of this. He was still a newly minted Lieutenant and that meant that the Senior Noncoms felt they had a duty to make sure that he was up to snuff whether he liked it or not.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The KSK composed of the 28th Independent Fallschirmjäger Regiment, 91st Gebirgsjäger Regiment, and the 3rd Marine Recon Regiment led the triumphal procession through Brandenburg Gate followed closely by the 1st and 2nd Fallschirmjäger Divisions. They were the ones who had taken the city of Warsaw and had captured the Government ministers in the process, so they had the honor of leading the procession through the streets of Berlin. Elements of the various Army Groups would follow that would consist of units that had distinguished themselves. Hans had been happy to learn that included the 4th Panzer Division, which he still considered his home. For the Public, this was a chance to catch a rare glimpse of the KSK. There were already books, movies, and television shows about the secretive unit. To see them in real life was completely different.

For Hans, today was a long time coming. He had been in Spain, the entirety of the bloody Soviet War, Russia, Korea and China to bring the Second World War to a close, South Africa, Mexico, Korea again, and finally Poland over the course of his long career. While he had never had an itchy throat, it had been remarked upon that he lacked something that a man who had seen as much action as he had. Before they had made their way out to the reviewing stand, there had been a ceremony where Hans had been awarded the Pour le Mérite for his command of the operation in Poland. A pleasant surprise was that Manny’s CO had cut him loose in time for the ceremony and for a few minutes everyone was happy.

Beside Hans, Kat had stood seething. He knew that she hated medals. The gold wreath she had received for her PLM would tell everyone that she had been inducted into the Order twice and Kat said that it would be something else she didn’t want to have to explain. The real trouble was that it had come with a promotion and the loss of the KSK. Kat was now a General of the Parachute Corps and was going the be the deputy to the Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe High Command. Tilo Schultz had gotten a gold wreath that was the same as Kat’s and seemed to have transcended his position in the Marine Infantry, no one knew what to make of him.

Hans had no idea what was going to happen to him personally. He would no longer have a field command after this and to rise any higher would require him to play the political game. Hans knew that he was no good at that and perhaps it was time for him to find something else to do.
 
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So Kat now occupies the role once held by the original Green Devil - Emil Von Holtz.
Time for a new round of Joachim Lowe movies? Except this time Johanna Lowe? :evilsmile: x'D
 
Sounds like a quick way to come home to find a scare cat in your bedroom.
The "role" in the Bond Movies was bad enough, this would be...

Interesting.

Have there been any other biographies of Kat yet? I could see one of those being turned into a movie, although certain events would have to be toned down otherwise the film would be accused of fantasy!
 
Here's a thought:
At some point soon we're going to get to a significant anniversary for the Fallschirmjäger, probably with a comemerative jump involving all the previous Commanding Officers. An opportunity for Kat and Emil to jump in the same stick.
 
Here's a thought:
At some point soon we're going to get to a significant anniversary for the Fallschirmjäger, probably with a comemerative jump involving all the previous Commanding Officers. An opportunity for Kat and Emil to jump in the same stick.
The first combat drop by an Airborne Division occurred on the 6th of April 1922 in TTL, so we'll see won't we.
 
The first combat drop by an Airborne Division occurred on the 6th of April 1922 in TTL, so we'll see won't we.
Around 3 1/2 years to the 50th Anniversary. I wonder how many JU 52s are still flying?

On a slightly related and tangential note: Are there Air shows along the same lines as the Royal International Air Tattoo of OTL?
 
On a slightly related and tangential note: Are there Air shows along the same lines as the Royal International Air Tattoo of OTL?
And to add to that question are there precision aeronautics teams like the Blue Angels or the Snowbirds?
 
Hans had no idea what was going to happen to him personally. He would no longer have a field command after this and to rise any higher would require him to play the political game. Hans knew that he was no good at that and perhaps it was time for him to find something else to do.
In a totally ironic move since he joined the Herr in the first place to escape from working on the Railroads he can become the VP of Operations for the Railroads or he can have his dream job of being the head of the Bundesliga with an emphasis on player development.
 
And to add to that question are there precision aeronautics teams like the Blue Angels or the Snowbirds?

OTL at this point the RAF had the Black Arrows, which didn't become the Red Arrows until 1964, so if the Luftwaffe forms Die Rote Pfeile in the next year or so using, (for example), an intermediate or advanced trainer to perform Aerobatics.
If not the Red Arrows, then maybe The Flying Circus, (with Red aircraft as a hat tip to Manfred Von Richthofen).
 
Part 114, Chapter 1886
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Eighty-Six



21st October 1968

Mitte, Berlin

With the new Governing Coalition in place and the Cabinet sworn in, the first piece of business came as a bit of a surprise though everyone knew that it was a long time coming. In a rare address to the Reichstag that was broadcast on radio and television, Louis Ferdinand, King of Prussia, and Emperor of the Second German Realm announced his intention to abdicate the throne and retire at the age of sixty-three effective on the 10th of November 1970. The day after his birthday. Having given a lifetime to the service of the Empire, he said he was looking forward to watching his two youngest daughters grow up in relative peace. Helene knew that he was referring to his daughter Antonia from his second marriage and his adopted daughter Annette, the State of Bavaria having just made that official. He also called for a meeting of the Imperial Council of Electors to go about selecting his replacement starting in one year’s time.

That meant that Germany would have a new Emperor. The odds were extremely high that the choice had already been made and it would be Louis’ oldest son who would become Emperor Friedrich the IV of Germany. This way gave Friedrich a chance to win over the public before he ascended the throne. Helene looked at it from a Politician’s perspective. Friedrich was youthful, a Lawyer by training who had specialized in Contract Law. He had a beautiful wife and two young daughters who were incredibly photogenic, which didn’t hurt. Friedrich had also recently volunteered to take his Reserve Pioneer Battalion into action and had been awarded an EK2 by the Kaiserliche Marine with the citation endorsed by General Dietrich “Tilo” Schultz of the Marine Infantry and a Merit Cross in Gold for his prompt action in getting his unit in place to clear obstacles in the Vistula River so that the advance could continue. Actually, a good candidate even if Helene found the notion of Kings and Emperors to be quaint relics. She understood that was a bit rich for her to think that way considering who her father was.

For Helene herself things were going well, Democratic Ecology had managed to increase their representation in the latest round of elections. They had done well in areas that had been strongholds of the National Liberals, appealing to people were not thrilled with the NLP’s stance on industrialization and heavy-handed approach to local issues. They had yet to crack Bavaria, but Sophie Scholl felt that it was only a matter of time the last time that Helene had talked to her. She had also congratulated Helene on her new position in the Cabinet, something that would only increase the visibility of the DOP. Helene had feared that when she had been offered the position of Minister of the Interior which was considered the third most powerful position after the Offices of the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, Sophie would be jealous considering that she was a backbencher in Munich. She had been thankful when it had not worked out that way.



Wellesley, Massachusetts

Hillary Rodham had written a letter to Katherine von Mischner years earlier when her mother had given her a copy of Katherine’s biography when she was twelve. She remembered being enthralled by the stories of this woman who had started out as a waifish figure, riding on freight trains around Europe before being recruited by her nation’s military intelligence. Emerging as a heroine in the Reichstag bombing and in the war years that followed. She remembered that she had said that she had wanted to be just like her in the letter. Hillary had gotten an impersonal form letter back, thanking her and all the others who had written for their kind words.

Months earlier when she had been home for the holidays, Hillary had found the book on the shelf where it had been left years earlier. Reading it from the perspective of an adult she had seen things very differently. Physical and mental anguish along with battles with crippling depression were plain to see if you knew what you were looking at and could read between the lines. The valor in combat that Katherine had displayed looked less like bravery and more like a quest for self-destruction. Hillary had difficulty in trying to reconcile that with what she had read when she was a girl. For lack of anything better to do, she had written a letter to Katherine explaining how she felt after reading her biography for the second time. Hillary had also mentioned about how she was trying to get into Law School next year and directions she was being encouraged to go in. It was something that she had completely forgotten about until today.

A letter had arrived with a strange stamp and postmark, the return address was Cumulusweg 5, Tempelhof, Berlin, Deutschland. Opening it, she saw that there was a short response written on a single piece of paper.

To the young woman who read a bit too much into the biography that my friend Gloria wrote about me. She means well, but I don’t entirely agree with her characterizations. We all have problems and there was a great deal I didn’t tell her for simple reason that the truth might endanger her. So, she filled in the blanks with the best information available. That is hardly something that I can fault her for, and she got far more right than wrong.

As for you going into Law School, congratulations on getting that far. Just remember that regardless of what you are told, you do not need anyone else’s permission to go about achieving your goals. Few men would be expected to do so, instead they would apply everywhere no matter what the odds of gaining acceptance are and be applauded for it.

I would encourage you to do the same.

Sincerely, Fürstin Katherine von Mischner zu Berlin


Rereading the letter, Hillary realized that it had come at the perfect time because she had been debating as to whether she should send and application to Harvard in addition to the other applications she was sending out because it such was a longshot. This certainly answered that.
 
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