How Silent Fall the Cherry Blossoms

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Dan

Dan

Regarding Dönitz, does he suspect that Enigma has been broken?
He's intelligent enough, if he launches with a crew of particularly un Prussian fanatical Nazis from somewhere where he's suspicious there's a resistance movement, for example Norway, he can let things take their natural course and take the chance that the Royal Navy sink it without actually knowing what they've sunk.
 
Michel Van

Michel Van

Geon said:
Michel

If you'll look back several postings you'll note a footnote which states that most of those with an asterisk beside their name ared fictitious people who I created for the sake of narrative. There is one exception and that is Boris Karloff who I put an asterisk beside to note a special incident that occurred in this timeline

I'll reiterate for those unaware. Most of the people whose names have an asterisk beside them are fictitious, unless mentioned other wise in a footnote with the posting.

Geon
Click to expand...

thx for info

Dan said:
Regarding Dönitz, does he suspect that Enigma has been broken?
He's intelligent enough, if he launches with a crew of particularly un Prussian fanatical Nazis from somewhere where he's suspicious there's a resistance movement, for example Norway, he can let things take their natural course and take the chance that the Royal Navy sink it without actually knowing what they've sunk.
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Dönitz was pragmatic man,
So he gave order to install in Kriegsmarine Enigma machine a additional rotor after may 1941, it gave the Kriegsmarine more time, while Bletchley Park crack the Wehrmacht enigmas code.
thanks reading the Enigma code from German weather-stations and British HMS Bulldog crew capture the German sub U-110 with intact Enigma machine in may 1941.
 
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RyuDrago

This TL is making me chilling, but it's really well written and so realistic. Anyway, at least from the small post-war details I could imagine the infection will be somehow contained. But it's the fate of Japan which scared me worse...

I was thinking if Canada or Mexico are planning to close the borders... Mexico especially could be really at risk, many Ispanics could refugee here bringing with them the virus..
 

Geon

Donor
War and Faith

Here is an update for today.

Two notes-first, the content of this update is partially religious based. I hope everyone will note the context and understand why I have included it. Secondly-I would like to further personalize this if possible. Does anyone here know a prominent African-American Baptist pastor who was active in the Los Angeles area (particularly Watts) during the war years? Geon

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Date: November 12, 1944
Location: Los Angeles (City hall)
Time: 9:00 a.m.

The night had not gone well for Los Angeles. During the night another 185 people had been reported with the plague. Many were being shuttled to the studio sound stages that had been converted to emergency medical centers. It was now clear yet a fourth army medical unit might need to be diverted to Los Angeles. In addition offers were pouring in from doctors and nurses all along the West Coast volunteering their services. These offers were quickly and eagerly accepted. At the expense of the city, special trains would be bringing these medical personnel to the city to help with the sick.

An additional concern was the continuing exodus out of the city. Many of the war plants were now reporting that they were short in several sectors of their plants because of this exodus. Absenteeism was now a major problem. If this continued some of the plants might have to double their shifts just to meet wartime quotas which would lead to more workers being absent from sheer exhaustion. Exhaustion also meant weaker immune systems which in turn meant greater vulnerability to the plague.

In the city proper, army troops with tanks of special rat poisons began spraying the famous palm trees and any other area that the pests might be hiding. Vacant lots, abandoned homes, garbage dumps, anyplace that the rats were hiding would be sprayed. A new front had opened in the war; it was a war on the rats in Los Angeles.


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Later that day in a small church in the Watts area of Los Angeles an African-American Baptist preacher spoke to a surprisingly packed church. Despite the fear many people had turned out for this special prayer service for the city. The church was so full that people were seated in the lobby and the windows were opened so that those outside could hear and participate in what was going on.

People of all persuasions regardless of color or creed attended. Some came from miles away having heard of the service. In the midst of fear they sought a certainty in their faith. The pastor was in top form that afternoon as he preached. His text was a familiar one taken from the Psalms.

1He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. (Psalm 91:1-10 KJV)
​
It is interesting to note that Los Angeles, did not suffer the devastation caused by the so-called “Plague Riots,” even though it was the hardest hit during the Outbreak. Part of the reason for this was summed up in the same Senate report which praised the LACG’s work during the crisis.
A major factor in keeping order in the city of Los Angeles, which had been the one to suffer the most during the Outbreak was the work of its local churches and synagogues. The various ministers and rabbis worked tirelessly to encourage and to calm a city that had seen a major catastrophe strike. Given the unrest that occurred in other U.S. cities whose casualty lists were a fraction of Los Angeles, a great debt is owed by the people of Los Angeles to their religious institutions. (From the summary of the Senate Report on the Los Angeles Outbreak, 1947.)
​
 

lukedalton

This TL is making me chilling, but it's really well written and so realistic. Anyway, at least from the small post-war details I could imagine the infection will be somehow contained. But it's the fate of Japan which scared me worse...
Click to expand...

Japan is history, if Pearl Harbour woke the giant the use of the plague will made the US goverment go totally Berserk, maybe even a reversal of Germany first strategy
 

Geon

Donor
A Grim Scorecard

Date: November 12, 1944
Location: Washington, D.C. (OCD HQ)
Time: 9:00 a.m. [EDT]
At the Office of Civilian Defense later in the day the task force NATJAB was also looking over the newest reports. The results from the previous night were in and the “score sheet,” did not look good.

City:/Number of Casualties/Deaths
Los Angeles/ 1,388/ 140
St. Louis / 20/ 6
New York/ 15/ 6
Seattle/ 5/ 2
Portland/ 5/ 3
Youngstown/ 3/ 1
Chicago/ 2/ 1
Atlanta/ 1/ 1

The good news was that no new cities had reported cases. However the bad news was that the cases were increasing in all the cities where it had been reported. Crisis task forces now existed in every one of the affected cities except New York and Youngstown and representatives from NATJAB would be arriving in both cities today to monitor the situation.

A representative from the White House arrived during the briefing and asked to be brought up to speed on the present situation. Two big questions were asked by the representative. How were the cities coping with the outbreaks and was this affecting war production?

It was clear to NATJAB that so far the only city where production was being affected was Los Angeles. Hopefully the other cities’ outbreaks could be localized and contained before any of their war production was interfered with. There were no serious signs of panic or unrest as a result of the plague in those cities, though the officials at NATJAB felt compelled to add a very conditional “yet,” to that statement. It was simply too early to tell how people would react in some of these areas.

The representative from the White House asked what could be done to ensure production in the Los Angeles area continued. After an hour of active discussion a recommendation was made to the President but only he could authorize it. The idea sounded a little desperate but then these were fast becoming desperate times. The representative left to brief FDR on the idea.

Just before the presidential representative left another pin was put up on the map and a new name added to the score card.

Oakland/ 2/ 0
 

Geon

Donor
New York

And here is my last update of the day.
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Date: November 12, 1944
Location: New York City (Brooklyn)
Time: 11:00 a.m. [EDT]
At the tenement where David Lewis lived the situation was becoming more and more tense. Loved ones and friends of residents of the apartment house were now starting to swarm outside the doors of the apartment house as a group of NYPD officers fought to keep the situation under control.

No one had been allowed to enter the tenement save for the doctors and a few others from the Health Department who arrived each day at 9 and left about two hours later. Each time they left they were preceded by a dead body covered with a sheet being carried out to a waiting ambulance. Worse, there was no phone contact with anyone inside. People had taken to yelling up to see if they could a response from someone, anyone in the apartments but no one had answered.

A similar situation was being played out at two other apartment houses in Brooklyn now under quarantine. Health Department officials refused to speak to the anxious people outside to let them know what was going on. A very tense situation existed which was about to explode.

At the tenement where the Lewis family lived the doctor and his two nurses were starting to come out of the front entrance. Another body had already been carried out, namely Graham Lewis, David’s younger brother. The doctor was followed by a young woman, Amelia Lewis*, David’s younger sister of 12. Amelia was in tears and begging the doctor to please take her remaining family to the hospital, they needed help. The doctor replied the city was doing all it could to help them. Young Amelia responded that all the city was doing was leaving them in the tenement to die. When the doctor refused to say anything more Amelia grabbed his coat and practically screamed at him to get her family to a hospital. The doctor turned around and tried to gently remove the hysterical girl from his coat but she held on. Two of the policemen grabbed her pulled her loose and roughly shoved her back in locking the door behind her. One of them yelled a racial epithet at the scared young lady.

The brother of Edgar Lewis, David’s father saw the pushing and heard the words. He rushed forward only to be blocked by the police at the door and pushed roughly back. But Nathaniel Lewis* was not one to be pushed around. He tried to come up to push past the three police officers guarding the steps. Again he was pushed back. A third time he rushed forward this time with several of the crowd joining him. The police pulled night sticks threatening everyone. Harsh words were exchanged. One of the officers drew his pistol and fired it into the air to try and scare the crowd back. The action caused some to believe he was aiming at the crowd. That was the final spark the crowd surged forward and in moments the police officers were overwhelmed. Two of the officers, bleeding and hurt managed to reach their patrol car where they were besieged by part of the crowd while the rest surged into the apartment house past the taped doors. The first of the Plague Riots had begun.
 

Garrison

Donor
I think LA has also benefitted from the openness of the authorities; in New York it looks like the panic is going to be worse than the plague.
 
Dan

Dan

New York was a major embarcation point to troops and equipment heating for the ETO. This is going to play in Hitler's mind for his Ardennes offensive as well.
 

Unknown

Isn't it supposed to be November 13th?

Good update, Geon.

The LA authorities will come out of this looking better, since they were open about the disease from the start.
 
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stevep

Geon

I've been rather worried about the attitude of the New York authorities but they seem to have descended into total stupidity here. There might be a reason to keep the sick quarantined in the apartment block but that should have been properly explained to both them and the people outside and families and communities informed on how their loved ones were faring.

It sounds like there's a distinct racial attitude at play here and its going to come back to bite the authorities but also the city.:(

Major disruption in New York will have an impact on the war in Europe but probably not a major one and Hitler is probably unlikely to find out many details. Although how much has the US a) made public to the world and b) informed their allies on the situation. I would expect they would have asked the latter for aid and hopefully given some warming as well. There could be nervous governments seeking to restrict contact with the US which might have some impact as well.

Steve
 
NHBL

NHBL

Great, chilling stuff...

I'm wondering about one thing here. The people who atacked the internment camp in time of war are very fortunate. The penalty for what they did--on a military facility, shooting at American soldiers, could have been a firing squad. If they know who actually killed someone, it probably would have been a firing squad or noose.
 
ScrewySqrl

ScrewySqrl

NHBL said:
I'm wondering about one thing here. The people who atacked the internment camp in time of war are very fortunate. The penalty for what they did--on a military facility, shooting at American soldiers, could have been a firing squad. If they know who actually killed someone, it probably would have been a firing squad or noose.
Click to expand...

Electric chair more likely. that wwas the preferred execution method of the era.
 
NHBL

NHBL

Military, not civilian...

If they were executed--and I wouldn't rule it out--wouldn't it be however the military did it, since it was on a milirtary facility. The ringleader certainly should qualify. If they trace it to the KKK, that might even help discredit the klan--or give it a boost in some areas...
 

Geon

Donor
Unknown said:
Isn't it supposed to be November 13th?

Good update, Geon.

The LA authorities will come out of this looking better, since they were open about the disease from the start.
Click to expand...

Unknown

Thanks for catching that! I have corrected the dates. Everyone: please assume that any dates listed after the Battle of Manzanar as November 12th are actually the 13th. I have made the corrections in the main tory and will publish them with the full story later.

Geon
 

Geon

Donor
Back at the Berghof

And back at the Berghof--enter Skorzeny.
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Date: November 13, 1944
Location: Berchtesgaden, Germany (The Berghof)
Time: 7:00 p.m. (German time)

Admiral Karl Donitz was nervous as his chauffeur stopped at the steps leading up to the Berghof. He had been summoned by Hitler to an important private meeting. Donitz knew he would be asked about the planned attack on America. As of right now, he could stall claiming lack of resources for the plan. But that excuse wouldn’t hold water for long. If it were perceived he was delaying things too long then things could turn very bad for the head of the Kriegsmarine.

An SS aide opened the door to Hitler’s private study to allow Donitz to enter. As he came in he saw Hitler with two other men. One was Heinrich Himmler, the dreaded head of the SS. And the other was Otto Skorzeny.

Donitz suppressed the feeling of revulsion he felt in the presence of Himmler. That man was a disgrace to humanity itself if half the rumors he had hears about the SS and its doings were true. If, no, when the allies discover what that fool Himmler has done, there will be hell for all of Germany to pay once this war is over. And if Hitler’s plans to attack the Americans come into play that hell will be multiplied, Donitz thought.

Keeping his face neutral, Donitz marched forward and saluted. Hitler waved him to a nearby couch. “Admiral Donitz, I am pleased you could see us on such short notice. Have you met Lt. Colonel Otto Skorzeny?” “No my Fuehrer, our paths have never crossed,” answered Donitz as he reached forward to shake Skorzeny’s hand. Of course he had heard of Skorzeny. One of the most ruthless and cunning of all of Himmler’s SS, Skorzeny had engineered the rescue of Italian dictator Mussolini. He was, Donitz noted a very cunning and very dangerous individual.

Hitler continued, “I have been giving some thought to what you said a few days ago, Admiral. I believe you are correct. Under present circumstances sending a submarine to the U.S. with a V-weapon to launch against one of their cities would be madness and a waste of submarines that are vitally needed elsewhere.”

Donitz felt cautiously optimistic. Perhaps the Fuehrer had finally seen reason, but if so why was he summoned here? If Hitler planned to cancel the operation a simple message sent to Donitz at his headquarters would have been sufficient. And why were Himmler and Skorzeny here? The uneasy feeling Donitz felt would not go away.

“Nevertheless, as I said at our last meeting I do not believe we can leave our Japanese allies in the lurch!” Hitler said. “We must find a way to continue the pressure on the American people. If the people of America find their homeland threatened then it is certain they will turn against their war-mongering leaders as they see exactly what the war has now brought to them. Then Admiral we will be able to negotiate peace from a strong position and be able to turn our full attention eastward. We must keep up the pressure on the Americans. Just so, I have been talking with Herr Himmler about this and he has in turn spoken with Lt. Col. Skorzeny. Herr Skorzeny has come up with an idea that I find to be imaginative and audacious which would give us the ability to hit the Americans in a critical place. I would like you to work with him on this idea, and I would like a preliminary plan and timetable on my desk within three days.”

Donitz managed to hide the look of sheer horror on his face. All his plans to try to diffuse this suicidal attack were now up in smoke. With Skorzeny of the blasted SS at his side constantly there would be no choice but to go ahead with this madness. But how was the plan to be carried out if not by submarine?

Himmler smiled and said, “Lt. Colonel, would you please outline for the Admiral what you have planned?” Skorzeny nodded and proceeded with his briefing. By its end Donitz was sure of two things. Skorzeny was an undoubted genius and Germany was irrevocably doomed.
 
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