Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2

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Story 2483
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    • fester

    Dover Castle, April 13, 1944

    The colonel smiled. The 33rd US Army Group was achieving its mission. Intelligence reports from a multitude of sources ranging from intercepts, to fighters making photo recon passes, and the French resistance sending back tidbits all agreed on two things. The invasion area was not the primary point of German concern at this time and secondary reserves were being moved within the Northern France theatre to locations out of immediate concern and a division was moving to the South of France as well. The Germans had moved half a dozen divisions out of their central reserve and placed three additional divisions that were rebuilding from their experience in Russia into France since the New Year. But most of them would never be immediately relevant.

    He sipped his coffee and then stepped out of his door into the organized chaos of several commands that shared the castle together. His men (and more than a few women) would be busy today as they had to move a pair of corps from Scotland to the Thames Estuary over the next week and the radio traffic needed to be convincing.
     
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    • Driftless

    Driftless

    Donor
    fester said:
    Dover Castle, April 13, 1944

    The colonel smiled. The 33rd US Army Group was achieving its mission. Intelligence reports from a multitude of sources ranging from intercepts, to fighters making photo recon passes, and the French resistance sending back tidbits all agreed on two things. The invasion area was not the primary point of German concern at this time and secondary reserves were being moved within the Northern France theatre to locations out of immediate concern and a division was moving to the South of France as well. The Germans had moved half a dozen divisions out of their central reserve and placed three additional divisions that were rebuilding from their experience in Russia into France since the New Year. But most of them would never be immediately relevant.

    He sipped his coffee and then stepped out of his door into the organized chaos of several commands that shared the castle together. His men (and more than a few women) would be busy today as they had to move a pair of corps from Scotland to the Thames Estuary over the next week and the radio traffic needed to be convincing.
    Click to expand...
    This universe's Ghost Army?
     
    Story 2484
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    • fester

    The North Atlantic April 14, 1944

    Two Norwegian destroyers that anyone else would call a large torpedo boat took their position on the port flank of the convoy. Three merchant ships had been lost in the past two days. The escorts had claimed an equal number of submarines. In a few more hours, another pair of warships would supplement the escort and the bombers flying out of Iceland would soon hand the convoy off to Coastal Command squadrons based in Scotland and Iceland.
     
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    • Ossian

    I've been reading this from the beginning, and all I can say is WOW!!!!!
    Bravo Zulu, fester, for everything. Long may it continue!
     
    Story 2485
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    • fester

    College Station, Texas April 15, 1944

    Across the campus, hundreds of men were opening up official letters. Some were shocked. A few who had been following reporting well and had long conversations with wounded veterans or their brothers were only slightly surprised. They would be allowed to finish up their school year, and then ordered to report to training camps for either July 1 or August 1 for active service and readiness to deploy oversea. Almost all of the men had expected these types of orders for 1945 or 1946 and many expected to commission as officers in the army or at least serve as technical specialists. Now they would be riflemen, machine gunners and mortarmen. The needs of the service outweighed their expectations. By late afternoon, a collective decision was made across campus to find beer.
     
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    • fester

    allanpcameron said:
    How did this differ from any other day?
    Click to expand...
    The US had delayed induction from the draft a large number of young men on the condition that they get at least some college education with the intent that these men would by the backbone of the technical specialists and junior officers of the army in 1946 and 1947. In OTL the Army had started to use this pool as replacements by March 1944. More success in Italy has delayed that action by about a month in TTL.
     

    Major Major

    fester said:
    fester said:
    College Station, Texas April 15, 1944

    Across the campus, hundreds of men were opening up official letters. Some were shocked. A few who had been following reporting well and had long conversations with wounded veterans or their brothers were only slightly surprised. They would be allowed to finish up their school year, and then ordered to report to training camps for either July 1 or August 1 for active service and readiness to deploy oversea. Almost all of the men had expected these types of orders for 1945 or 1946 and many expected to commission as officers in the army or at least serve as technical specialists. Now they would be riflemen, machine gunners and mortarmen. The needs of the service outweighed their expectations. By late afternoon, a collective decision was made across campus to find beer.
    Click to expand...

    allanpcameron said:
    How did this differ from any other day?
    Click to expand...

    The US had delayed induction from the draft a large number of young men on the condition that they get at least some college education with the intent that these men would by the backbone of the technical specialists and junior officers of the army in 1946 and 1947. In OTL the Army had started to use this pool as replacements by March 1944. More success in Italy has delayed that action by about a month in TTL.
    Click to expand...
    So it goes.

    (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was one of the would-be deferees.)
     

    allanpcameron

    Donor
    fester said:
    The US had delayed induction from the draft a large number of young men on the condition that they get at least some college education with the intent that these men would by the backbone of the technical specialists and junior officers of the army in 1946 and 1947. In OTL the Army had started to use this pool as replacements by March 1944. More success in Italy has delayed that action by about a month in TTL.
    Click to expand...
    Sorry, I just meant it facetiously: imagine people at college go find beer!
     

    Winestu

    fester said:
    College Station, Texas April 15, 1944

    Across the campus, hundreds of men were opening up official letters. Some were shocked. A few who had been following reporting well and had long conversations with wounded veterans or their brothers were only slightly surprised. They would be allowed to finish up their school year, and then ordered to report to training camps for either July 1 or August 1 for active service and readiness to deploy oversea. Almost all of the men had expected these types of orders for 1945 or 1946 and many expected to commission as officers in the army or at least serve as technical specialists. Now they would be riflemen, machine gunners and mortarmen. The needs of the service outweighed their expectations. By late afternoon, a collective decision was made across campus to find beer.
    Click to expand...

    Does the Army see a manpower shortage developing?
     
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