Driftless
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Like the OTL British nabbed Heinrich Himmler, travelling incognito on forged papers. (More or less OTL.... It got a bit more complicated than that, but that's the gist)
Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
- Thread starter fester
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Fully agree that a good plan can be crippled by poor execution. That said, at the risk of bringing up recent events, for most of the last 20 years, the US was dealing with the consequences of failing to plan for what would happen after Iraq's military defeat. As the saying goes, "Failure to plan = planning to fail".
For that matter, they had the advantage of looking back on a pretty successful occupation and the lessons learned. ITTL, they don't have that advantage, but they do have a massive occupation force and the Germans are fully aware that they have been beaten. No Dolchstosslegenden this time.
How many Greek units were send to the Western Front and kept in the Corps?
There was a Greek infantry brigade that was moved to the Berlin axis in early April. It is mostly symbolic
Symbolic or not, it is a major difference from IOTL. I guess that there will be no Greek Civil War ? Or will it be less severe?
Story 2876
Bremerton, Washington May 17, 1945
USS Minneapolis and USS Alabama both left the shipyard. They formed up north of Everett and were joined by a pair of new destroyers. The four ships went past the orcas in the Straits before their engines began to be stressed and the crews started to retrain. By the end of the month, they would head back to 5th Fleet.
USS Minneapolis and USS Alabama both left the shipyard. They formed up north of Everett and were joined by a pair of new destroyers. The four ships went past the orcas in the Straits before their engines began to be stressed and the crews started to retrain. By the end of the month, they would head back to 5th Fleet.
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Story 2877
Strasbourg, France May 18, 1945
Anna Marie smiled. She had two letters. Her brother was well and would soon be able to bring the farm back into production. His friend, the American Lieutenant also wrote in his slowly improving French. He wanted to know if he could visit sometime this summer. The rumors in the American Army was that volunteers were being sought for long term occupation duties. And if he could see her, that might be a benefit to spend another year on the Continent.
Anna Marie smiled. She had two letters. Her brother was well and would soon be able to bring the farm back into production. His friend, the American Lieutenant also wrote in his slowly improving French. He wanted to know if he could visit sometime this summer. The rumors in the American Army was that volunteers were being sought for long term occupation duties. And if he could see her, that might be a benefit to spend another year on the Continent.
Story 2878
Guam, May 19, 1945
Half a dozen assault ships waited. Infantry men were struggling to get into the landing craft as they waddled in their gear. Soon, the barges were beginning to form up and head to shore. A few men started to vomit, most kept their breakfast down even as the waves annoyed them. A trio of Coast Guard manned subchasers shepherded the landing craft into straight lines a mile away from the beach. By early afternoon , the green battalions were receiving detailed critiques of their many failures, and notice of the few successes.
Tomorrow they would do it again.
Half a dozen assault ships waited. Infantry men were struggling to get into the landing craft as they waddled in their gear. Soon, the barges were beginning to form up and head to shore. A few men started to vomit, most kept their breakfast down even as the waves annoyed them. A trio of Coast Guard manned subchasers shepherded the landing craft into straight lines a mile away from the beach. By early afternoon , the green battalions were receiving detailed critiques of their many failures, and notice of the few successes.
Tomorrow they would do it again.
At least there was no danger of a Slapton Sands incident.
Story 2879
San Francisco, May 20, 1945
The couple left the church with a smile on their face. The priest's Latin was a bit accented but the familiarity of the rites were comforting to both Patrick and Elaine. It brought them to their childhood. As the pews emptied, they had a decision for the day. A long walk to the Golden Gate or a return to their single occupancy room which had replaced the hotel that she had stayed in. They decided to walk and search for ice cream. Elaine absentmindedly rubbed her stomach as everything felt a little off but it was nothing that chocolate ice cream could not cure.
The couple left the church with a smile on their face. The priest's Latin was a bit accented but the familiarity of the rites were comforting to both Patrick and Elaine. It brought them to their childhood. As the pews emptied, they had a decision for the day. A long walk to the Golden Gate or a return to their single occupancy room which had replaced the hotel that she had stayed in. They decided to walk and search for ice cream. Elaine absentmindedly rubbed her stomach as everything felt a little off but it was nothing that chocolate ice cream could not cure.
Story 2880
Sendai, Japan May 21, 1945
USS Runner accelerated. The half dozen frogmen were still sinking their rafts as the rudder turned the new submarine for open water. Within minutes, the sail was no longer crowded. Lookouts searched for trouble even as the specialists began to sort and describe their samples. Two other men collected each individual diver's maps. They would plot where each sample came from and where there might be problems. Three hours and fifty eight miles later the submarine dove for the day. She continued to slowly creep back to the rendezvous point where a Catalina could collect the information that justified the patrol.
USS Runner accelerated. The half dozen frogmen were still sinking their rafts as the rudder turned the new submarine for open water. Within minutes, the sail was no longer crowded. Lookouts searched for trouble even as the specialists began to sort and describe their samples. Two other men collected each individual diver's maps. They would plot where each sample came from and where there might be problems. Three hours and fifty eight miles later the submarine dove for the day. She continued to slowly creep back to the rendezvous point where a Catalina could collect the information that justified the patrol.
Story 2881
New Territories, Hong Kong, May 22, 1945
Half a dozen Corsairs pulled up. Long streaks of flames splattered along the ground as the napalm canisters straddled the Japanese defense line. Even as the aircraft zoomed out to sea, a regiment of 25 pounders resumed pounding the position even as the Punjabis advanced another two hundred yards. They finally took the position with a mixture of fire, grenades, submachine gunners emptying their Stens' magazines in seconds at ten feet or less and then bayonets and rifle butts. Two prisoners were taken, both underweight and overage. One had been beaten to a near pulp and the other had burns on three quarters of his body.
Half a dozen Corsairs pulled up. Long streaks of flames splattered along the ground as the napalm canisters straddled the Japanese defense line. Even as the aircraft zoomed out to sea, a regiment of 25 pounders resumed pounding the position even as the Punjabis advanced another two hundred yards. They finally took the position with a mixture of fire, grenades, submachine gunners emptying their Stens' magazines in seconds at ten feet or less and then bayonets and rifle butts. Two prisoners were taken, both underweight and overage. One had been beaten to a near pulp and the other had burns on three quarters of his body.
Story 2882
Shantou, China May 23, 1945
A pair of American Liberty ships had arrived that morning. Both were heavy in the water. Hundreds of coolies had been assembled to begin unloading the holds of trucks and cranes. Most of the material would be pulled into town for assembly and then brought back to the docks for future installation to speed other ships' unloading. Dock workers also took note and advantage of the cans of spam, crates of powdered milk and sacks of wheat. Families that had not eaten well in years would have a feast by the end of the week even if the recipes were sudden improvisations that would evolve to accommodate the unusual ingredients.
A pair of American Liberty ships had arrived that morning. Both were heavy in the water. Hundreds of coolies had been assembled to begin unloading the holds of trucks and cranes. Most of the material would be pulled into town for assembly and then brought back to the docks for future installation to speed other ships' unloading. Dock workers also took note and advantage of the cans of spam, crates of powdered milk and sacks of wheat. Families that had not eaten well in years would have a feast by the end of the week even if the recipes were sudden improvisations that would evolve to accommodate the unusual ingredients.
And so spam conquers yet more lands. Wonder what the Chinese version of spam musubi will be like.
It’s a weird thing to almost condone theft, but having the dockyard workers build up their strength isn’t exactly a bad thing, even if manual Labour will soon be supplemented by machinery.
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