Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2

[fester]

Warsaw, December 6, 1944

"Everyone check themselves and their partners one last time. We leave in ten minutes."

The small cellar was full of men and women. Almost all had a submachine gun slung over their shoulder. Some of the weapons had been made in Britain. A few weapons were manufactured in the soon to be cut off Ruhr Valley. Most of the guns that equipped the assault squads had been manufactured over the past year in a half dozen workshops scattered throughout the city. Bicycle repair shops had been a key node in the resistance groups' ability to arm themselves. Ammunition that had been carefully hoarded, stolen, and air dropped had been passed out after one of the few full meals that almost everyone in the cell had experienced in months. American rations dropped by Polish pilots flying British planes were enough to give their bodies strength to match their souls.

The few men and women who did not have submachine guns instead carried pistols and satchel charges. They had walked the streets near their targets for weeks now. The charges would break open the German defenses around key buildings and then assault teams could flow to first seize machine guns and rifles and then to clear the telephone exchanges, and the headquarters of both the occupation government and the occupying military forces. By dawn, if all had gone well, the bridges over the Vistula would be under the Home Army's control and then they just would need to hold until relieved. The dozens of fighters in this cell were silent as they made sure that they were ready and then their brothers and sisters in arms and blood were as ready as they could be.

Eleven minutes later, shadowy figures started to move down the alleys of the Polish capital in just one of the dozens of groups that knew tonight was their best and perhaps only chance to strike a decisive blow against the fascists.

 

[Trevayne]

By dawn, if all had gone well, the bridges over the Vistula would be under the Home Army's control and then they just would need to hold until relieved.

Hopefully, they have better luck than the OTL version. Are the Russians actually close enough to relieve them and do they think the Russians will? IIRC the Russians were close enough but had "logistical problems" which let the Germans destroy the uprising and remove (from the Soviet perspective) a bunch of potential troublemakers.

 

[Crowbar Six]

Hopefully, they have better luck than the OTL version. Are the Russians actually close enough to relieve them and do they think the Russians will? IIRC the Russians were close enough but had "logistical problems" which let the Germans destroy the uprising and remove (from the Soviet perspective) a bunch of potential troublemakers.

More importantly, are the Russians willing to relieve them.

 

[Trevayne]

More importantly, are the Russians willing to relieve them.

Good point. I described how they weren't willing in OTL. I don't know if they are even close enough ITTL and am curious about who the Warsaw uprising fighters are expecting to be relieved by.

 

[Curtain Jerker]

Good point. I described how they weren't willing in OTL. I don't know if they are even close enough ITTL and am curious about who the Warsaw uprising fighters are expecting to be relieved by.

I think the Russians are further east with this timeline's Bagraton being focused towards Romania as opposed to Belarus/Poland.

 

[Paulo the Limey]

If British transport planes can drop cargo on Warsaw, then they can drop Polish paratroopers too.

It’s more a political question of whether they would or not. Odds are that the polish forces would volunteer to a man if there was a chance they could liberate their nation from their invaders.

 

[fester]

I think the Russians are further east with this timeline's Bagraton being focused towards Romania as opposed to Belarus/Poland.

Yes, Bagration was a southern front offensive instead of a central Belarussian front operation. The outcomes were similar in that significant German field formations were overrun and destroyed. The Belarussian front operations have moved, relatively slowly to the Polish border/slightly over them before coming to a halt. Significant clearing operations have occurred on the Baltic coast and the Germans were willing/able to pull out more intact formations from the Northeast Soviet fronts because they were in more crisises TTL than OTL.

There are no logistical reasons for the Poles to not believe that the Soviets can get to the Vistula once they kick off their northern winter offensive.

 

[DifferentOutcomes]

"Scottish infantry riding in Kangaroo carriers with a half dozen tanks a hundred yards behind the bagpipers who were getting ready to play once the ramps had been lowered"

Kangaroos with ramps? Did I miss a change earlier in the story? I hope so, Kangaroos should have had ramps...

 

[fester]

"Scottish infantry riding in Kangaroo carriers with a half dozen tanks a hundred yards behind the bagpipers who were getting ready to play once the ramps had been lowered"

Kangaroos with ramps? Did I miss a change earlier in the story? I hope so, Kangaroos should have had ramps...

Updated.

 

[fester]

Eastern Poland, Dawn, December 7, 1944

The few pre-war trained gunners would have shaken their heads if they had enough time to spare.

Guns were lined up. There were no revetments. There were no U-shaped sand bagged pits. The next gun was perhaps fifteen meters away on either side.

Ammunition pits were large collection of wooden boxes. The emptied crates had been tossed aside as each gun crew had prepared the first twenty minutes worth of shells. Most guns would be firing impact fused high explosives. A few batteries filled with veterans had been given the rare and much more expensive timed fuse shells to burst just above the German trench lines. The heavy guns in the next echelon back were tasked to fire delayed fused shells that would ruin hasty defenses. The smoke shells and the next barrage of high explosives that would be used to shoot the infantry in were still in boxes.

They would have shaken their heads as this entire arrangement was asking for pre-emptive counter-battery fire. Half a dozen 170mm shells could readily destroy a battalion in a minute. And half a dozen shells had destroyed a battalion the night before but it did not matter. A dozen guns out of over a thousand was insignificant. Every gun was perfectly located and the fire plan was distributed to each battery commander. The only variable now was the weather as the wind could shift shells a few dozen meters here and there and the biting cold might change trajectories by figments of a degree but these errors, however real they could be, would be corrected by the sheer volume. Battalions that could survive one hundred or one thousand shells landing on their frontage would be hit with ten thousand shells in the first hour.

Quantity would be replacing quality as the sun slowly struggled to emerge over the eastern horizon.

 

[fester]

East Prussia, December 8, 1944

The train pulled out of the station. Aboard were thousands of Germans, mostly women with children and a few men too old to even think about giving them either a rifle or a shovel. Two platoons of walking wounded were able to provide some security against the Polish partisans that had become increasingly active since the fall. The train soon passed through the outskirts of town, picking up speed as the men stayed behind digging another set of anti-tank ditches and defensive hedgehogs as the German armies to the south and east were under ever more pressure. As the train passed through the next station without slowing down, the evacuees began to relax as the sun had set two hours ago and the clouds would keep any Communist night bombers blind.

Three hours and forty five miles later, the train stopped moving. A bridge had been blown a mile in front of them. The engines soon began to move in reverse and retraced an hour of their journey before being shunted aside to allow a munitions train to pass. Three hours later, they were across that small river that had been such a barrier to their progress, and the evacuation of East Prussia continued.

 

[fester]

Vladivistok, USSR, December 8, 1944

Two more lightly laden ships cleared the harbor. They would follow a minesweeper for the first part of the day, and then sail independently first for the Aleutians and then for Seattle where the first ship was due for twenty days in a yard and the other ship would begin to take on yet another cargo for the reverse run in April.

 

[fester]

Warsaw, December 9, 1944

"Go, go, go...."

The young man began to sprint. His eyes focused on where his feet would be. His hands were loose and relaxed to keep his balance even as he tried to move forward with a sub machine gun hanging on his body, several grenades and enough ammunition to make the single machine gunner smile. The machine gun had been taken from surprised and dead Germans minutes into the uprising. The first three steps were clear. Then a German started to fire. His cell mates began to fire back. The Bren guns wrapped in blankets sounded far more fierce than they were. No bullet struck anyone but the ricochets were further away as he took each additional step to cover across the street.

Hands reached out for him and pulled him against the wall when he had made it across. Now he was in cover. He took two deep breaths and then unslung his submachine gun, stolen from a depot a year ago and checked the magazine. He worked the bolt and took a knee. As another member of his cell began his run across the street, he took a fast glance around the shell of the building's corner and began to fire short two and three round bursts in the general direction of the Germans.

 

[jeandebueil]

Warsaw, December 9, 1944

"Go, go, go...."

The young man began to sprint. His eyes focused on where his feet would be. His hands were loose and relaxed to keep his balance even as he tried to move forward with a sub machine gun hanging on his body, several grenades and enough ammunition to make the single machine gunner smile. The machine gun had been taken from surprised and dead Germans minutes into the uprising. The first three steps were clear. Then a German started to fire. His cell mates began to fire back. The Bren guns wrapped in blankets sounded far more fierce than they were. No bullet struck anyone but the ricochets were further away as he took each additional step to cover across the street.

Hands reached out for him and pulled him against the wall when he had made it across. Now he was in cover. He took two deep breaths and then unslung his submachine gun, stolen from a depot a year ago and checked the magazine. He flipped the safety down and took a knee. As another member of his cell began his run across the street, he took a fast glance around the shell of the building's corner and began to fire short two and three round bursts in the general direction of the Germans.

Very minor nitpick: if we are talking about "stolen" (meaning German) smgs: there were no safety to flip. For the MP 40, the bolt itself was the safety (when cycled then put upwards instead of forwards). The rare MP 35 (used by the SS) had a safety though (and funnily enough, it had a bolt similar to a mauser bolt-action rifle at the end of the gun you had to cycle before firing).

Besides that, great story as always

 

[gallen95]

Very minor nitpick: if we are talking about "stolen" (meaning German) smgs: there were no safety to flip. For the MP 40, the bolt itself was the safety (when cycled then put upwards instead of forwards). The rare MP 35 (used by the SS) had a safety though (and funnily enough, it had a bolt similar to a mauser bolt-action rifle at the end of the gun you had to cycle before firing).

Besides that, great story as always

Germany captured and kept stored many weapons Polish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Flemish, French Yugoslavia and Russian. Just because the MP 35 was used by the SS doesn't mean it was an MP 35 taken from this depot.

 

[jeandebueil]

Germany captured and kept stored many weapons Polish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Flemish, French Yugoslavia and Russian. Just because the MP 35 was used by the SS doesn't mean it was an MP 35 taken from this depot.

The only SMGs they captured and actually used were the Sten (which hadn't a safety except for the bolt), the PPSH 41 (same thing) and the PPS 43 (which indeed had a safety but next to the trigger and didn't "flip").
You also have the Beretta 38 (best SMG of the war and probably the best ever created) but mostly used on the Italian front.

Anyway, this point is again a very minor nitpick from someone watching too much of "Forgotten Weapons" videos... and thorougly enjoying this TL for years.

 

[fester]

Pirmasens, Germany, December 10, 1944

The platoon was in good shape. They were the flank guard for the flank company of the flank battalion of the flank regiment of the flank division of the flank corps of the US 7th Army. The Pennsylvania Guardsmen had arrived at the position that morning after brushing past a rear guard of old men and young boys. To their northeast was a regiment from the fresh and green as hell 106th Infantry Division. They were raw and enthusiastic unlike the veterans of the Keystone division.

The LT walked through the position. Every man had a primary position and at least two other positions dug out before dinner. The machine guns covered the open ground to the south with interlocking fields of fire. The mortars attached to the platoon were sited and sighted to cover the woodline with high explosives and smoke as need be. The BAR teams were checking their ammunition as the LT made his way to check on his boys.

"All the men have clean, dry socks?"

"Yep, checked on the last one twenty minutes ago. They even powdered their feet right. A bit of grumbling about the food but..." The 22 year old squad leader looked at the combat hardened LT and smiled.

"Should I be worried about the grumbling?"

"No, rather have them think about food than birds right now... and if they aren't complaining, then we're in trouble."

A moment later, the LT walked to the next squad to check in before heading to the rear to talk with the Captain.

 

[Driftless]

^^^About 3 months ahead of OTL in that region?

 

[fester]

^^^About 3 months ahead of OTL in that region?

Yep, 12th US Army Group is making a push to the German Rhine as the 21st UK Army Group is clamping the northern edge of the Ruhr Valley while the 6th Allied Army Group is acting as flank guard.

 

[Indiana Beach Crow]

"and if they aren't complaining, then we're in trouble."

Always good advice to remember when you're in charge, no matter when or where in history.