Ah finally Turkey joined the war, now that there is no chance they may actually need to fight?
It also helps Turkey in keeping the Soviets from eyeing Turkish territory to eagerly.
Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
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It also helps Turkey in keeping the Soviets from eyeing Turkish territory to eagerly.
Story 2705
Pirmasens, Germany, December 25, 1944
The LT walked up and down the line. He was wearing a red bandana atop his steel helmet, laughing as he passed out mail and an extra ration of chocolate to his men. The quartermasters had arranged for the infantry that were not on the outpost lines to have a hot meal of ham or turkey with all of the fixings. They had eaten well in the late morning, and only a few shells that had landed a mile away reminded all of the men that the war was still going on.
Ten thousand yards away, a pair of 150 mm gun crews hurriedly loaded shells into the breach. The spotters had relayed a target, a few dozen American infantrymen out in the open on the reverse slope of a small hill that the half battery could hold in a near defilade. The terrain offered some protection but a good shot could plausibly land a shell. The master gunner who had first fought in the Spring Offensive and had been remobilized a year ago slightly adjusted the aim. He called out. Everyone blocked their ears. Two heart beats later, the lanyard was pulled and a fragment of a figment of imagination led to the detonation of the propellent. Two shells soon arced through the air even as the gun crews hurried to load another shell with its propellent. Before the first shells landed two hundred yards long, exploding in a wood lot, the guns were ready to fire again. The master gunner made a small adjustment, and another round and then the final round of the shoot was fired. Three shells per gun and the team was working fast to displace before the American artillery, or more awfully, the American jabos would find them.
As the LT was handing out a Hershey bar to one of his squad leaders, they heard the incoming shells. Both veterans were on the ground, hands on helmets, weight on their elbows and knees. The two shells exploded well outside of the fragmentation range. They stayed low and crawled forward to the scraps of available cover. The rest of the platoon was also on the ground, even the replacements who had only just arrived in the past two weeks. The next two shells were split. One landed well wide as it had been fired from a gun with a very worn barrel, while the other was only twenty five yards long. The last salvo had a shell landed eighty yards to the left, while the master gunner had placed a nearly perfect shot. The shell buried itself into the ground two yards from the LT.
The fuse, built by forced laborers and slaves, failed.
The LT walked up and down the line. He was wearing a red bandana atop his steel helmet, laughing as he passed out mail and an extra ration of chocolate to his men. The quartermasters had arranged for the infantry that were not on the outpost lines to have a hot meal of ham or turkey with all of the fixings. They had eaten well in the late morning, and only a few shells that had landed a mile away reminded all of the men that the war was still going on.
Ten thousand yards away, a pair of 150 mm gun crews hurriedly loaded shells into the breach. The spotters had relayed a target, a few dozen American infantrymen out in the open on the reverse slope of a small hill that the half battery could hold in a near defilade. The terrain offered some protection but a good shot could plausibly land a shell. The master gunner who had first fought in the Spring Offensive and had been remobilized a year ago slightly adjusted the aim. He called out. Everyone blocked their ears. Two heart beats later, the lanyard was pulled and a fragment of a figment of imagination led to the detonation of the propellent. Two shells soon arced through the air even as the gun crews hurried to load another shell with its propellent. Before the first shells landed two hundred yards long, exploding in a wood lot, the guns were ready to fire again. The master gunner made a small adjustment, and another round and then the final round of the shoot was fired. Three shells per gun and the team was working fast to displace before the American artillery, or more awfully, the American jabos would find them.
As the LT was handing out a Hershey bar to one of his squad leaders, they heard the incoming shells. Both veterans were on the ground, hands on helmets, weight on their elbows and knees. The two shells exploded well outside of the fragmentation range. They stayed low and crawled forward to the scraps of available cover. The rest of the platoon was also on the ground, even the replacements who had only just arrived in the past two weeks. The next two shells were split. One landed well wide as it had been fired from a gun with a very worn barrel, while the other was only twenty five yards long. The last salvo had a shell landed eighty yards to the left, while the master gunner had placed a nearly perfect shot. The shell buried itself into the ground two yards from the LT.
The fuse, built by forced laborers and slaves, failed.
Story 2706
Warsaw, December 26, 1944
The partisans no longer had to fight alone.
The Red Army's spearheads of tanks and submachine gunners riding atop their T-34s and Shermans had arrived that morning. A dozen tanks and perhaps three hundred infantrymen were on the west side of the Vistula. Hundreds of artillery pieces were now available and on call as the Germans were being forced back from the few intact bridges over the entire length of the Vistula.
The partisans no longer had to fight alone.
The Red Army's spearheads of tanks and submachine gunners riding atop their T-34s and Shermans had arrived that morning. A dozen tanks and perhaps three hundred infantrymen were on the west side of the Vistula. Hundreds of artillery pieces were now available and on call as the Germans were being forced back from the few intact bridges over the entire length of the Vistula.
Excellent update. Does a good job showing how Germany is not only scraping the bottom of the barrel manpower-wise (that master gunner has to be at least 45 at the youngest and is probably much older) but how their industry is completely shot as well.
This war will be over shortly. Hopefully, this timeline won't be though!
Driftless
Donor
This post made me think of a M*A*S*H TV series episode where two of the surgeons deperately try to keep a terminally wounded soldier alive through Christmas day into Dec 26, so that his family won't always think of Dad dying on Christmas. Meanwhile the rest of the unit parties on, unaware of the dire medical situation taking place nearby.
Merry Christmas, Lieutenant. That was the best Christmas present you'll ever receive.
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I think (and this is subject to change) that the timeline will be 98% done at some point in timeline 1945. There will be a few updates post-war to acknowledge some of the differences that have been driven by the differing outcomes (the place and prioritization of nukes is something that I am still marinating on). But realistically, given where I have committed for work that I actually get paid for, this story only can consume so many brain cycles....
That's fair, I really wonder how history through the 50s and 60s will look to be perfectly honest.
A very different Cold War and a very different set of decolonization wars as well. Likely to not have a Korean War for a multitude of reasons and the Chinese Civil War is going to be very different....
Story 2707
Newport News Shipbuilding, December 27, 1944
The yard manager sighed. The news was not unexpected but it was unwanted. The Navy had just officially cancelled the contract for the last Essex class carrier the yard had contracted for. Steel had already been assembled and the work crews were soon to be available after rotating off of several other ships. He yelled for his secretary to schedule a meeting with a dozen of his top managers. Lay-offs were likely to come in the next few weeks as the pace of work was slowing down.
The yard manager sighed. The news was not unexpected but it was unwanted. The Navy had just officially cancelled the contract for the last Essex class carrier the yard had contracted for. Steel had already been assembled and the work crews were soon to be available after rotating off of several other ships. He yelled for his secretary to schedule a meeting with a dozen of his top managers. Lay-offs were likely to come in the next few weeks as the pace of work was slowing down.
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Story 2708
William Beardmore & Company, Dalmuir, December 28, 1944
The yard manager smiled. The news was not unexpected but it was wanted. The Navy had officially awarded the contract for the construction of the lead ship of the new cruiser class, HMS Dragon. Her keel would not be laid until 1946, but the manager had authorization to begin purchasing steel and long lead items. Her sister, HMS Diamond would be built at His Majesty's shipyard in Portsmouth. He whistled for his secretary to order lunch for a dozen of his top managers. They had cause to celebrate as lay-offs could be avoided in a few weeks.
The yard manager smiled. The news was not unexpected but it was wanted. The Navy had officially awarded the contract for the construction of the lead ship of the new cruiser class, HMS Dragon. Her keel would not be laid until 1946, but the manager had authorization to begin purchasing steel and long lead items. Her sister, HMS Diamond would be built at His Majesty's shipyard in Portsmouth. He whistled for his secretary to order lunch for a dozen of his top managers. They had cause to celebrate as lay-offs could be avoided in a few weeks.
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Rather generous of the Great Stalin, the Great Leader and Teacher, First Marshal of World Communism (five minutes of tumultous applause), isn't it?
Story 2709
Conical Hill, Okinawa Japan December 29, 1944
Thousands of American infantrymen shuddered as shells from battalion support guns, organic divisional artillery, corps artillery, and even the army siege and super heavy artillery command landed on the keystone of the Japanese defensive line. As dawn broke, the redlegs paused to allow for their barrels to cool, ammunition to be restocked and shell cases to be removed from the gun pits. The Japanese defenders' respite was only for two minutes as five battlewagons that had been bombed at Pearl Harbor, half a dozen cruisers and an equal number of destroyers resumed the maelstrom for another hour before the air groups of five carriers swept in to lay down a field of napalm, and delayed fuse high explosive bombs before the red legs resumed the bombardment, this time, mixing high explosives with a predominant line of smoke as the infantry began to advance again.
Thousands of American infantrymen shuddered as shells from battalion support guns, organic divisional artillery, corps artillery, and even the army siege and super heavy artillery command landed on the keystone of the Japanese defensive line. As dawn broke, the redlegs paused to allow for their barrels to cool, ammunition to be restocked and shell cases to be removed from the gun pits. The Japanese defenders' respite was only for two minutes as five battlewagons that had been bombed at Pearl Harbor, half a dozen cruisers and an equal number of destroyers resumed the maelstrom for another hour before the air groups of five carriers swept in to lay down a field of napalm, and delayed fuse high explosive bombs before the red legs resumed the bombardment, this time, mixing high explosives with a predominant line of smoke as the infantry began to advance again.
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When in doubt, make the redlegs work.
The problem at Verdun was not enough fire power.
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