A Shift in Priorities

Status
Not open for further replies.

Archangel

Has Banjul been occupied or it became an isolated British possession, like Freetown?
1SaBy said:
I'm confused. What happened here? :confused:
Click to expand...
The local population of Portuguese Guinea preferred to stay under non-interfering Portuguese rule instead of joining Ala Ka Kuma.:)


Keep it up, rast!:)
 

Expat

And another tiny sliver falls away.

I'm curious about the Caribbean. I've been going under the assumption that the US had occupied most of the islands at one point, with only Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago left out. But was that the case? They certainly occupied several more than they ended up keeping. I wrote in the past that the occupation went down to at least St. Vincent (In this Wallis Simpson bio) but that was under the assumption of a broad occupation in the region. Could I have been wrong?

I only bring it up now because remaining British colonies in the Caribbean might be targets.

We know Jamaica's gone very red, and the last we heard they were supporting communist insurgencies on the larger Caribbean islands. It seems possible that Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic might want to put a stop to that (and the US would probably be interested in helping them.)

The same is possibly true for Trinidad & Tobago and any other islands still under British control, if they're seen as sources of unrest for the larger islands.
 

rast

There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.
(Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov)

Enough was enough. Insult had been added to humiliation. And these tame dingbats in Westminster were doing… exactly nothing. They were promoting socialism by kicking the can down the road – and safeguarding the British Empire by burying their heads in the sand. Limp and languid muppets!

It was a propitious time to grab the chance. His old enemy, the Field Marshal, had gone into retirement. The military was paralysed – by the still ongoing redeployment from Sierra Leone and by the implementation of the controller system. MI5, who had been pruned by the military, was on his side – not Strafer Gott, the MI5 chief, a creature of the Field Marshal, but the operational level, at least those of the old guard still in office.

Well, one could snatch the others from the camps, once one had seized power. – And this was an important lesson: eliminate your enemies, don’t put them into detention only – otherwise, they may come back with a vengeance.

Truly, this woebegone soft course had to end. Life was not all guns and roses. Britain hadn’t built her empire by being wimpish. The time of soft-pedalling must end. Toughness was the name of the new game.

Diligently, Rajani Palme Dutt and his comrades Rust, Wintringham, Gallacher and Kirkwood were preparing their coup. One had to strike as fast as a lightning – and everywhere simultaneously. MI5, eager to regain their old influence, would co-operate to the fullest extent. Wintringham had even convinced a number of soldiers to join. Yes, not everybody in uniform was a fan of the Field Marshal’s methods…
 

Expat

Good post! Excellently keeps things vague, so it's hard to judge the real strength of the putschists.:D

We don't know where the Controllers stand, or the real disposition of forces. Canada's the other big linchpin we know nothing about.

Every time this happens I express my hope that Scotland will finally break away...here we go again!:D
 

rast

In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and, to the young, it comes with bitterest agony, because it takes them unawares.
(Abraham Lincoln)

The Chief Controller Caribbean was a Negro: Ferdinand Christopher Smith, a proven communist and loyal SUP member. His primary mission, other than the preservation of British vested rights, was close co-ordination and co-operation with superordinate Chief Controller Canada. However, being who he was, he had given British policy in Central America a special touch – and a special message: racial emancipation.

If communism in general sought to alleviate the lot of the working man opposite the class owning the means of production, Ferdy Smith sought to alleviate the lot of the coloured man opposite his white oppressor. This subtext was well understood on all islands of the West Indies. And therefore – not without some justification – Britain was viewed as trouble maker, even if the main lines of conflict were not of racial nature.

Malcolm Little was working for Wilfred Adolphus Domingo, the controller responsible for Cuba. He was a field agent, usually tasked with trafficking weapons, drugs and people. He had been born in the US, but his mother was a British subject – originating from Grenada. After his father had been killed by white racists in Lansing, Michigan, in 1931, she had returned the family to St. George’s.

The British welfare system on Grenada had smoothly accommodated these escapees from the realm of the arch-capitalists. Subsequently, Malcolm and his six siblings had been put into a protectory to be raised in best SUP spirit – and to be prepared to become subservient tools of the regime. In Malcolm’s case, this had worked out well, initially...

However, he was twenty-three now – and his frequent trips to Cuba had shown him a world completely different from what he knew. On Jamaica and the other isles owned by Britain, everybody was poor. (Malcolm had no access to and no knowledge of the secluded circles of the controllers.) On Cuba, there were many poor, true, but they weren’t preordained to remain poor. One could become rich on Cuba, if one was clever – and shrewd…

Malcolm wasn’t stupid, had only been conditioned to serve the system – but that was rapidly wearing off. The items he was smuggling could earn him a lot of money, if he sold them on the black market – instead of delivering them for free to the groups he was to support. There always was a certain margin of loss… Something could be pieced together…

His boss, Wil Domingo, was conspiring to become Chief Controller Jamaica; he didn’t care much about details of Malcolm’s activities – and he wouldn’t perceive what was going on, at least not as long as he was tied by the infighting for promotion. The most dangerous moment would arrive when Domingo succeeded – and Malcolm had to face a new boss…

Well, until then Malcolm could have accumulated enough riches to say goodbye to the desolate British Empire. The money would enable him to start a legitimate business on Cuba. Now that the US had recovered, or at least stabilised, the opportunities offered on Cuba should easily multiply. The traditional lines of business, like rum and tobacco, were all taken. It had to be something new, like tourism – or movies…
 

Expat

That's an interesting post, and confirms some of my thoughts on how the British might be perceived by the independent Caribbean nations. But what the British actually control is still hazy.

I guess we know that Britain controls Jamaica and "other islands," and that they at least controlled Grenada in 1931 (and presumably for a certain number of years after that, possibly never having lost control of her.)

If a US occupation of smaller Caribbean islands was a mistake on my part, I think we should clear it up.
If it wasn't a mistake, it's still ill-defined. I would suggest that Grenada, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Dutch Antilles remained un-occupied, plus Jamaica (and I have no clue about the Caymans.)

If the larger islands were able to put together working governments after US occupation, the smaller islands could have as well. But perhaps the British successfully undermined sovereignty and now control them. Or perhaps they banded together for protection and clout?

Just some questions to think about.
 

Expat

rast said:
The US took over the French possessions, never those of Britain (except the Bahamas).
Click to expand...

Okay then.:eek: It's a tiny point that I doubt anyone else would notice, but a correction is needed for Charles Lindbergh's and Wallis Simpson's bio. The simplest solution is to station them on a Bahamian island rather than St. Vincent.

Can't change the original at this point, but maybe it can be changed in the posts-only thread? (Probably too late for that as well.)

I guess my initial confusion came when the US invaded Cuba and Hispaniola. If security was the reason for those invasions, why would they stop there? Especially when so many islands directly threaten them. Dominica, for example, is sitting right between their two former French possessions.
 

rast

Expat said:
O If security was the reason for those invasions, why would they stop there?
Click to expand...

At that time, Britain was still considered co-operative, if not friendly. - On the large islands, the US were already present since before the Great War - and only hit by rebelion.
 

rast

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.
(Lao Tzu)

Physically, the Canadian Wolf Division was in peak form. The outfit was superbly trained for all kinds of combat. One could drop them from the sky, or throw them into the water, or let them take their bearings in the gloomy wilderness, or have them clean up nasty urban terrain. They were simply outstanding. – What was missing now was a jolly little war. – But that was not going to happen, knew Major James Cleveland Owens. He had studied the policy of Chief Controller Canada: it was all about pussyfooting and mousing. Eternal love, peace and harmony with the wonderful United States of A, peaceful co-existence as nauseam...

The long and the short of it was: it had become boring. The Wolves were excellent, as were the Bears, the Pumas, the Bisons, the Wapitis, the Beavers, the Moose and the Wolverines, the whole Quick Reaction Army. There was nothing to do, except dreary routine.

Therefore, Owens was thrilled when Tony Patterson got in touch with him. How long hadn’t he seen the chap? Ten years? – They were meeting in the Wild Cat Café at Yellowknife. Everybody here knew Owens, nobody had ever run across Patterson. Owens was startled: where was the lean and death-dealing man of the past? Hidden inside that heavyset bloke with flabby cheeks?

Patterson was impeccably dressed in the last cut: workman’s cap, waistcoat, plaid shirt, corduroys, low leather shoes, all items looking baggy and shoddy; the perfect example of a proud member of the working class. This attire must have cost a fortune… He truly looked the successful business man he claimed to be.

Well, actually, he was considering retirement, had already bought a nice hacienda on Cuba. He didn’t have a heir… Now, there ought to be a whole bunch of kids, dispersed over half the globe. But he didn’t know them. – So, would Jimbo consider to doff the fatigues and become Tony’s co-partner and heir?

Learning what Tony’s business encompassed, Jimbo was dumbstruck. Could he learn to handle all that? – Oh, one would have two or three years, before Tony was going to drop everything. That should suffice to learn the ropes. After all, Jimbo was made of the right stuff.

And so, the People’s Army of Canada lost a promising junior staff officer. Because he resigned on his own volition, he lost his pension claim and all other benefits. But that didn’t appear to bother the man. It was later said, he had been whistling when he received his papers.
 

rast

The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad.
(Mark Twain)

The ‘Zolotoy Rog’ had been launched two weeks ago. The hulk was now moored to the fitting-out quay – and waiting for the reactor elements to arrive. They were expected to come from Berezniki on the River Kama, but weren’t ready yet. Stanislav Borisovich Vershinin, the director of shipbuilding for ‘Zolotoy Rog’, had jumped at the opportunity and asked for leave. It was early October, thus staying in St. Peterburg was not really an option. Nina, his wife, was proposing Dalmatia. Well, that definitely would be an improvement over Pitter, but not what Stas had in mind. It was the start of the rainy season down there, even if it still was reasonably warm.

He could get a cruise on the Nile! A last minute offer! Nina was delighted. That would be wonderful! The kids could stay at home, under the supervision of their governess, and the two of them were flying to Egypt! The pyramids! The sphinx! Thebes with Luxor and Karnak! The Valley of the Kings! Lovely!

Hardly twenty-four hours later, they were sitting in a plane to Cairo. The travel agency had got them visa and tickets in expedited procedure. Stas was looking forward to lazy days on board of the river boat, while Nina was dreaming of all the antiquities they were going to see. She had studied fine arts – and happened to know a lot about this Egyptian stuff.

The plane was full of tourists from the greater Pitter area. Many of them had booked a Mediterranean cruise, which was due to start from Alexandria the day after tomorrow. – For Stas, the shipbuilder, such an ocean cruise held no suspense. His next ocean cruise would be on board ‘Zolotoy Rog’ – six months, perhaps even longer! Nay, he’d rather occupy his deckchair on the Nile cruiser. There would be no swell. One could see land all the time. – And the travel agent had promised him that food on the cruiser was excellent.

Okay, the excursions Nina was fantasising about he would survive. It would be beautifully warm – and cold beer would be available everywhere, the travel agent had vowed. Vodka was no good in that infernal heat, the agent had counselled, beer was better, or wine mixed with water. – Nina, who had a window seat, was getting excited. Yes, they were flying above Constantinople. One could see the Istanbul Strait and the Golden Horn.

Stas grinned. He wondered whether the Turks knew about ‘Zolotoy Rog’ – and what they might think of the Russians naming their nuclear powered cruiser ‘Golden Horn’. – Well, there was a Golden Horn Bay near Vladivostok. Therefore, the diplomatists always could explain away any spirit of mischief. But of course, the name was programme… One day, perhaps not in Stas’ lifetime, Russia was going to rule the Bosporus.
 

Nivek

1SaBy said:
This again? Will there ever be a time, place and/or timeline where/when this isn't the case?
Click to expand...

I wonder how they will react when Ottomans saluted them with their own Sultan Osman nuclear powered ship(but again would be needed, ottomans have enough oil to drive arround the world like three time) or just a big mushroom thanks to the hungarian club.

Etto, did the ottomans have found the oil in libia yet?
 

Nerdlinger

Expat said:
Can't change the original at this point, but maybe it can be changed in the posts-only thread? (Probably too late for that as well.)
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, it's been more than a month since I posted it, so I can't change it either. You'd have to beg a mod.
 

rast

Compulsory schooling is essentially a means of curtailing natural strength and exploiting people. The same is true of military conscription, which developed within the same context.
(Ernst Jünger)

The German constitution did not provide for conscientious objection to military service – or at least for unarmed service. Because the – peacetime – armed forces were not strong enough to exhaust the manpower pool, this hadn’t mattered thus far; dodgy elements simply hadn’t been called to arms. The advent of the peace movement, however, did change that fundamentally.

Opinion survey showed that about one out of three eligible young men was an adherent of the peace movement, while the second guy generally was happy to serve – and the third one was undecided. Because this was so, the policy of not conscripting unwanted folks soon ran into problems. Many peaceniks were mustered fit and healthy, but wouldn’t show up for recruitment.

Draft dodging was a criminal offence. So, where to hide? With the COMECON countries, Germany had signed extradition treaties. There was Switzerland. The Swiss were ready to welcome the sons of affluent parents, when those parents were prepared to pay for their fugitive offspring. Poor sods were bidden good riddance.

Poland and Greece were impoverished – and in general hostile to Germans. Therefore, one better avoided these countries. Great Britain wasn’t exactly destitute, but there were persistent rumours about camps, where one could end without any indictment, and about networks of spies and snitches.

Remained Ireland. The official language was forbidding, but off the record one could still get very well along with English. Life wasn’t expensive and the Irishmen were a jolly lot. So, before long, Dublin was hosting an ever-growing colony of draft-dodging German peaceniks, which in turn were attracting a host of Fräuleins and other retinue.

Günther Graß, a draft dodger from Danzig, had just arrived with the boat from Brest, France. The French, always good for some obstructiveness when it came to co-operation with Germany, did not pursue draft dodgers with great élan. Therefore, the escape route via France was generally considered safe, at least when one had sufficient loose cash for greasing the wheels.

[FONT=&quot]Graß had never been wealthy, now he was broke. But he was a qualified stonecutter – and was full of hope to find work in Ireland. His mother was Catholic – and he had been raised in that faith, had even acted as altar server. That should help him along here, shouldn’t it? It was raining, but it wasn’t cold. He nosed the fresh air. Was this the scent of freedom? [/FONT]
 
Top
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top