Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
- Thread starter fester
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I wonder how long it will take for Japanese aircrews to resort to the Special Attack in this timeline. It can't be far off, given the way that things are going.
Seaman Jaroshek could be in great danger.
Seaman Jaroshek could be in great danger.
Story 2446
Southern France, March 1, 1944
Half a dozen parachutes emerged out of the back of a dark blue painted transport plane. They were lightly lit by the quarter moon that was peaking in and out of thin, wispy clouds. Five minutes later, partisans were ripping open the crates and policing the fields. One crate and chute had landed in the river. The rest contained thousands of rifle and machine gun rounds, hundreds of pounds of plastic explosives, dozens of anti-personnel mines and a dozen boxes of sulfa drugs and morphine.
Two hours before dawn, the hundred and seventy three partisans were on the move again. They needed to provide cover to a radio team observing a railroad bend that had become extraordinarily congested over the past three days as the German position in Italy was failing.
Half a dozen parachutes emerged out of the back of a dark blue painted transport plane. They were lightly lit by the quarter moon that was peaking in and out of thin, wispy clouds. Five minutes later, partisans were ripping open the crates and policing the fields. One crate and chute had landed in the river. The rest contained thousands of rifle and machine gun rounds, hundreds of pounds of plastic explosives, dozens of anti-personnel mines and a dozen boxes of sulfa drugs and morphine.
Two hours before dawn, the hundred and seventy three partisans were on the move again. They needed to provide cover to a radio team observing a railroad bend that had become extraordinarily congested over the past three days as the German position in Italy was failing.
I believe there's a little mistake with the threadmarks as they jump backwards from Story 2439 to Story 2430.
Apart from that, great stories once again.
Apart from that, great stories once again.
Story 2447
East of Ishigaki, March 1, 1944
USS Pennsylvania was on fire. Even as damage control crews worked to pull out men on fire and string hoses from the pumps and fire mains to the blaze, gun crews continued to fire at another Judy diving on them. A trio of Bofor shells ripped open the left wing of that aircraft. The bomb it dropped went over the bow by thirty yards. The wounded pilot tried to crash into the main citadel of the battleship where his squadron mate had landed a clean bomb hit. He missed. The right wing scraped against the hull armor, and the engine bounced off the belt near the B-turret. Minimal, cosmetic damage had been done to the old warrior.
Eight hundred yards behind the Pennsylvania, Chief Swanson moved from one of the waiting damage control teams to the director controlling a significant portion of the anti-aircraft suite aboard USS Arizona. The plot was cleaning up. He heard men grumble as gun crews began to clear their stations of empty shells and the ready ammunition replenished. He spoke to a dozen men over the next twenty minutes. He heard the exhaustion of men who had been at battle stations for every moment of daylight for the past two days. He heard the pride of the claims of kills. He heard the frustration of men who saw half a dozen ships damaged by Japanese air attacks.
An hour later, the ship was secured from general quarters. A quarter of the anti-aircraft guns would still be manned. Half of the gunners were ordered to eat. A quarter were ordered to sleep.
USS Pennsylvania was on fire. Even as damage control crews worked to pull out men on fire and string hoses from the pumps and fire mains to the blaze, gun crews continued to fire at another Judy diving on them. A trio of Bofor shells ripped open the left wing of that aircraft. The bomb it dropped went over the bow by thirty yards. The wounded pilot tried to crash into the main citadel of the battleship where his squadron mate had landed a clean bomb hit. He missed. The right wing scraped against the hull armor, and the engine bounced off the belt near the B-turret. Minimal, cosmetic damage had been done to the old warrior.
Eight hundred yards behind the Pennsylvania, Chief Swanson moved from one of the waiting damage control teams to the director controlling a significant portion of the anti-aircraft suite aboard USS Arizona. The plot was cleaning up. He heard men grumble as gun crews began to clear their stations of empty shells and the ready ammunition replenished. He spoke to a dozen men over the next twenty minutes. He heard the exhaustion of men who had been at battle stations for every moment of daylight for the past two days. He heard the pride of the claims of kills. He heard the frustration of men who saw half a dozen ships damaged by Japanese air attacks.
An hour later, the ship was secured from general quarters. A quarter of the anti-aircraft guns would still be manned. Half of the gunners were ordered to eat. A quarter were ordered to sleep.
According to what I have for Allied losses at Makassar, we have:
USS SARATOGA - Aircraft Carrier
USS SOUTH DAKOTA - Battleship
USS LENNON - Destroyer
USS STARR - Destroyer
USS BOGUE - Escort Carrier
USS COPAHEE - Escort Carrier
USS SUWANEE - Escort Carrier
USS MONTPELIER - Light Cruiser
USS SAN DIEGO - Light Cruiser
HMS LONDON - Heavy Cruiser
HNLMS DE RUYTER - Light Cruiser
HMAS SYDNEY - Light Cruiser
These are the mentioned losses, there are probably more unmentioned, especially Destroyers.
Story 2448
Central Ukraine, March 2, 1944
The German army commander and his staff saw a perfect opportunity to counter-attack. A Soviet rifle corps backed by three tank brigades was isolated and hanging onto the neck of a salient. Signals intelligence and prisoners had indicated that the exposed elements were low on supplies and the tanks had perhaps a day worth of fuel. It was such an inviting target to anyone looking at a map. However, the men huddled around the staff table had all trampled through enough mud to stop an elephant in its tracks.
Instead of grand maneuvers, the conversation around the staff table was how to pull divisions back to another defensive line anchored on a north-south river and then how to break up the anticipated Soviet spring offensive.
The German army commander and his staff saw a perfect opportunity to counter-attack. A Soviet rifle corps backed by three tank brigades was isolated and hanging onto the neck of a salient. Signals intelligence and prisoners had indicated that the exposed elements were low on supplies and the tanks had perhaps a day worth of fuel. It was such an inviting target to anyone looking at a map. However, the men huddled around the staff table had all trampled through enough mud to stop an elephant in its tracks.
Instead of grand maneuvers, the conversation around the staff table was how to pull divisions back to another defensive line anchored on a north-south river and then how to break up the anticipated Soviet spring offensive.
NotBigBrother
Monthly Donor
"I have good news and bad news.
Good news: enemy forces are low on supplies and fuel.
Bad news: our forces are even lower on supplies and fuel."
Story 2449
Grande Terre, Keruelen Islands March 3, 1944
The Commadante entered the small hut. This was his exile. It was even worse than St. Helena could be. He had pressed too far and now he was being sent far away from any place of influence or power. The weather station would be his responsibility. It should have been the responsibility of a barely confident nor competent twenty four year old reservist who was not to be trusted with an infantry platoon. This was not where a professional, a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique should be on the eve of the liberation of his Homeland.
The Commadante entered the small hut. This was his exile. It was even worse than St. Helena could be. He had pressed too far and now he was being sent far away from any place of influence or power. The weather station would be his responsibility. It should have been the responsibility of a barely confident nor competent twenty four year old reservist who was not to be trusted with an infantry platoon. This was not where a professional, a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique should be on the eve of the liberation of his Homeland.
So he really stuffed up, pissed off the wrong person(s) or both. He is only about 400km better off than a Commonwealth officer posted to Heard & MacDonald Islands weather station.
Is it Keruelen or Kerguelen? Wiki suggests the latter, but it might be a different island.
Kerguelen Islands - Wikipedia
Commandant (= major in the French Army)
Kerguelen
I don't know who he pissed off, but this is a harsh punishment.
Ecole Polytechnique - is the Elite university of France.
I had a look at their famous Alumni but nothing leapt out at me as an obvious option
Is Darlan still dead ITTL? EDIT: Not a commandant!
This is a fictional officer. I was on a work Slack yesterday guessing which burrowed in Trump appointees would be counting penguins in the Aleutians due to new pressing operational requirements within the week.
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