Last edited:
Photos from Featherston's Confederacy/ TL-191
- Thread starter Alternatehistoryguy47
- Start date
-
- Tags
- the rising sun
A photo of Kaiserliche Luftwaffe General Manfred von Richthofen, circa 1940.
Following his extensive career in the First Great War, famed ace Manfred von Richthofen (nicknamed the Red Baron) would stay in the Imperial German Air Service as the commander of Jagdgeschwader 1 until leaving the military in 1920 and subsequently went into the publishing occupation for three years. During this time tragedy would strike his family, being that his younger brother named Lothar was killed while test flying a new fighter prototype outside of Berlin and in 1921 would be married to a noblewoman named Elsa Marie von Griesenberg. Unsatisfied with his new career, von Richthofen would join the newly formed Kaiserliche Luftwaffe as a Major, where he became a senior flight instructor which he occupied until 1934 when he was promoted to the rank of Generalmajor. Throughout the 1930s, he sponsored a program to modernize Germany's fighter force and was even made a military attache to the United States of America for a brief period in 1938. During the the early days of the Second Great War, von Richthofen would command Fliegerkorps 7, which was stationed at first in Bavaria before being transferred to Norway in early 1942. His unit would famously have the tails of their airplanes painted red as a nod to their commander's nickname and they would become known as either "The Flying Circus" after the original unit that von Richthofen commanded during the previous war, or simply as the "Red Tails."
An artist's rendition of a Fw-190 F-6 fighter from Jg-13 that was attached to Fleigerkorps 7 in Norway, circa March of 1942.
Fleigerkorps 7 would play an important role in the Norwegian Campaign by providing friendly ground troops with air-support and by attacking British air, land, and naval forces which contributed to the defeat of the Radius Forces in Norway. During the Norwegian campaign, Richthofen would personally fly on several sorties in an Fw-190 as a he preferred to fly with his men to battle, which he shot down 13 Spitfires and 6 other British aircraft, thus adding 19 more victories to the previous 61 kills from the earlier Great War. After returning to Germany, von Richthofen would given the command of all German Air Units on the Western Front under Luftflotte Gruppe A until the very end of the war in July of 1944 and even played a role in the planning for the superbombings of Britain and Paris. From 1945 to 1948, von Richthofen was made the Reichsmarschall of the Luftwaffe before being made the Minister of War, to which he served from 1948 to his retirement in 1953. In 1955, von Richthofen would officially run for Chancellor under the National Liberal Party but was defeated by Konrad Adenauer in the elections. During his retirement, he would work on his autobiography titled Pilot, Ace, General, and Baron which was eventually published in 1962 in the German Empire. Manfred would be interviewed numerous times during the 1960s and 1970s on documentaries about the Great Wars and on himself, and would be involved in the making of the 1977 TV miniseries The Red Baron (which was based on his autobiography) as an adviser. Manfred von Richthofen would eventually pass away from old age on August 11th, 1991 at the ripe old age of 99 and would leave behind two sons (Karl (1922-2014) and Georg (1925-1944)) and three daughters (Ursula (1922-1998), Katherine (1924-2017), and Gerda (1926-2011.))
A photo of Karl von Richthofen (on the right) flying a Ju-88 bomber over Courland on the Eastern Front, circa 1942.
Last edited:
I have my personal doubts about Cyrus and Egypt coming under Ottoman influence. They got a million problems to deal with, and Egypt and Cyprus only add gas to the fire.
The Great @Joshua Ben Ari have spoken on this.
1: Maybe making it clearer that the Netherlands is under German economic domination.
2: Federal Austria, I'm not sure how likely that is as there was little support for it pre-war and post-war Austria would not be willing to give an inch.
3: I'm not sure about the Caucuses, however. I doubt the Mountainous Republic or Georgia would survive as independent states with Russia glaring down at them, but Azerbaijan likely would manage to survive. Armenia might just be annexed entirely by the Ottomans rather than be spun off as their own state, as the Armenian genocide ramps up.
4: Tunisia might be ceded to the Italians (or sold, either or), while the Germans might push for an independent Morocco or replacing the French influence on the country with their own.
Yeah, there were some countries that I had no idea what their fates would be in a Central Powers Victory.
I initially was going to label this as an immediate Post-1917 map and make a comment about how some of the victors of the war would gradually lose control of their puppet states as time passed.
Maybe Cyprus and Egypt would have gained their own independence decades sooner, similar to my own head canon about Jamaica, British Honduras, and other Caribbean islands.
1) I forgot about the possibility of the Netherlands being under German influence. Probably because I didn't view them as being a puppet state, per se.
2) I didn't want to erase the subdivisions of the Empire due to curiosity. I rarely see them get mentioned and labeled.
It may not have been federalized during the interbellum years, but eventually, there would have been some kind of plan in order to keep the empire alive. That or perhaps it just gradually falls apart, instead of crashing immediately and completely like its OTL ending.
3) Another wild card event I chose. Perhaps they eventually collapse, who knows?
I originally wanted Armenia to be fully independent, but I changed my mind when I realized that the Ottomans wouldn't completely leave it alone due to the ongoing and more successful genocide at the time.
4) I don't know what extra territory in Africa the Germans would have taken other than the ones that make up MittelAfrika. All of your choices are plausible; I just chose to play it a little bit safe. If anything, maybe I show Germany having way too much influence in Europe.
A painting of the Imperial Russian Battlecruiser Aleksandr Nevsky underway in the Gulf of Finland, circa December of 1941. During the Second Great War, the Nevsky would be one of two capital ships to be completed from the Russian Naval Expansion program of the 1930s, the other being the Battleship Imperator Nikolai I. During the 2nd Great War, the ship would clash with the Imperial German Navy in the Baltic before being sunk by the Luftwaffe at 59N and 23E on September 30th, 1943. The wreck is was designated as a war grave by the European Military Remains Commission following her discovery in 1992 and now being protected by the Finnish Navy.
Last edited:
Medicare is the name given to the single-payer health care system in place in the United States. Signed into law in 1962 by President Hubert Humphrey as the Universal Health-care for America Act, Medicare is one of the most popular health care programs in the world, and typically takes up the most of the federal budget yearly alongside the military. The US welfare state as a whole is renowned for its generosity, influenced heavily by the German Empire (albeit without denying the Socialist elements). It has served as a model for other countries worldwide.
Another Graphic for TL-191.
A US Navy World Capital Ship identification chart from August of 1941.
A US Navy World Capital Ship identification chart from August of 1941.
Last edited:
What would the CSS Confederacy be used for if non-combat? A training ship like the Constitution maybe?
Amazing how after the naval humiliations of the first two wars, the Great War made the United States the greatest naval power on Earth.Another Graphic for TL-191.
A US Navy World Capital Ship identification chart from August of 1941.
I like the chart, but isn't the Akagi and Hiryu names on the wrong ships. I mean both of them had their Island structures on the port side, but the Akagi was the one built on the hull of a battlecruiser, while the Hiryu was built from the keel up as an aircraft carrier.Another Graphic for TL-191.
A US Navy World Capital Ship identification chart from August of 1941.
Last edited:
Confederate Soldier Stabbing an American Soldier (Note the green color of the Confederate uniform. Some Confederate platoons would often use colors that were more appropriate for camouflage during Operation Blackbeard and when Confederate forces were pushed back across the Ohio river.
Photograph of German POW's in Japan during the First Great War.
Sources:
Blazing Combat
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200121/p2a/00m/0dm/008000c
Photograph of German POW's in Japan during the First Great War.
Sources:
Blazing Combat
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200121/p2a/00m/0dm/008000c
Last edited:
My explanations of how both Finland and Denmark joined the war on the side of the Central Powers.
Finnish Army StuG III barrel-busters advancing in Northern Finland during the so-called Lapland War, circa 1943. The Lapland War was caused by a Russian attempt to intervine in the Norwegian Campagin codenamed Operation Alkonost, which involved sending 22 divisions across the Finnish frontier into Finnmark, the northern region of Norway. However this move would provoke Finland into declaring war on the Russian Empire on July 14th, 1943. As a result of this blunder, the Russians were forced to divert a total of 28 divisions to the Finnish Front away from others such as the Baltic, Ruthenian, Ukrainian, and Caucasus Front. This would eventually lead to the Russian forces being overstretched during the war, which in turn led to their ultimate defeat in 1944.
British soldiers in Reykjavik, Iceland, circa 1942. In early 1942, the British would make the decision to invade the Danish colonies of Iceland and the Faroe Island, which was codenamed Operation Fork. The official reason for the invasion was that Britain would use these islands as land bases for their long range patrol aircraft to cover the far northern reaches of the Atlantic. The invasions would be quick, bloodless, and successful for the British, but would antagonize Denmark into declaring war on Britain. Iceland and the Faroe Islands would remain occupied by Britain until war's end in the summer of 1944. Denmark would eventually grant both colonies their independence following the war, 1945 and 1947 respectively.
Finnish Army StuG III barrel-busters advancing in Northern Finland during the so-called Lapland War, circa 1943. The Lapland War was caused by a Russian attempt to intervine in the Norwegian Campagin codenamed Operation Alkonost, which involved sending 22 divisions across the Finnish frontier into Finnmark, the northern region of Norway. However this move would provoke Finland into declaring war on the Russian Empire on July 14th, 1943. As a result of this blunder, the Russians were forced to divert a total of 28 divisions to the Finnish Front away from others such as the Baltic, Ruthenian, Ukrainian, and Caucasus Front. This would eventually lead to the Russian forces being overstretched during the war, which in turn led to their ultimate defeat in 1944.
British soldiers in Reykjavik, Iceland, circa 1942. In early 1942, the British would make the decision to invade the Danish colonies of Iceland and the Faroe Island, which was codenamed Operation Fork. The official reason for the invasion was that Britain would use these islands as land bases for their long range patrol aircraft to cover the far northern reaches of the Atlantic. The invasions would be quick, bloodless, and successful for the British, but would antagonize Denmark into declaring war on Britain. Iceland and the Faroe Islands would remain occupied by Britain until war's end in the summer of 1944. Denmark would eventually grant both colonies their independence following the war, 1945 and 1947 respectively.
Last edited:
The Story of the 1st Honor Guards Motorized Divison of the President Jacob Featherston
A blurry photograph of three soldiers from the 1st Honor Guards Bridgade of the President Jacob Featherston on a military exercise outside of Richmond, circa December of 1935. Note that they are wearing brown overcoats on top of their grey uniforms.
During the days of when the Freedom Party was building up to it's final victory in 1933, Jacob Featherston would be guarded a special unit of Stalwarts called the Freedom Party Guards, which was led by a man named Joseph "Fitz" Locke. Following his rise to power, Featherston would reform a section of the Freedom Party Guards until a specialized unit that was to guard him and the Grey House, it was named the 1st Honor Guards Regiment of the President Jacob Featherston or the HGRJF.
A photograph of Brigade Leader Fitz Locke, circa 1938.
The emblem adopted by the 1st Honor Guards Regiment in 1934 was a white key on a blue shield, which was inspired by the surname their commander. Aside from being worn on the should sleeves as patches, this emblem would also be painted onto the unit's vehicles. The Union Army would often refer to the division as simply the Key Division.
The unit's uniform while guarding the Grey House was a grey uniform that was heavily influenced by the Confederate Army Uniforms of the War of Secession, and until 1937, would wear the Brodie Helmet in grey until being replaced by the Sydenham Helmet, which was also painted in grey.
An M-1937 Helmet from the 1st Honor Guards Dress Uniform from a private collection, circa 2017.
Throughout the 1930s, the Honor Guards would grow in size, from a regiment, to a brigade, and in November of 1940, would be made a full division and would be reformed as an motorized infantry division as well. By this time their combat uniform would change from Confederate Grey to camouflage uniforms (though many of the Division's officers would retain their grey uniforms. In 1937, the unit would take part in the invasion of Louisiana , in which the men would engage the State Police and the Longist Militia and would also imprison and execute many of the state officials. The Honor Guards would also be heavily involved of quashing Willy Knight's coup by arresting Knight and many of the associates and even executing some of them at Georgia State Prison.
Members of the 1st Honor Guard in Ohio during Operation Blackbeard, circa 1941.
When Operation Blackbeard was unleashed in August of 1941, the 1st Honor Guard Division would be deployed to the western sector of the operation, in which they would be involved in the fighting around Northern Cincinnati, Dayton, and even advancing as far as Prattville in southern Michigan. There, the unit would infamously commit the Prattville Massacre*, which they would execute 80 captured Union soldiers in a barn near the hamlet under the orders of Assault Band Leader William Morris**. After about a month around Prattville, the Division then attempted an advance towards Lansing (as part of a plan to encircle Detroit) alongside the Regular Army's 2nd and 21st Infantry and 7th Armored Division, but only advanced as far as the banks of the Grand River, which was situated between Lansing and the city of Jackson Michigan before being order to halt by none other than The Snake himself. Thus proving to be the furthest north that Operation Blackbeard ever got, and the Confederate forces were then ordered to fall to back to the city of Jackson to which they stayed there until November of 1941 when they were pulled off from the front for rest and refit in Dayton. In the Spring of 1942, the Honor Guards Division would be ordered to take part in Operation Jupiter, which was a Confederate attempt to encircle the city of Detroit, but they were stopped dead in their tracks in the Battle of Fowlerville on May 19th. Following a period of refitting following the Operation Jupiter debacle, the division would be committed to Operation Coalscuttle and would fight in the area south of Pittsburgh, getting involved in fierce fighting around the towns of Washington, Monongahela, and Donora, which was the fighting in Donora was considered a "Little Pittsburgh" due to the intensity of the fighting. Following the Battle of Donora, the badly depleted division would be transferred out of the Pittsburgh region and would spend five months in Tennessee for rest and refitting. During the Union Counter-Offensive known as Operation Rosebud, the Division would be deployed to try and halt the advance of the Yankees, but were forced back across the Ohio, where they would attempt to stop the Union Offensive, but were battered during the Union Army's drive through Kentucky and Tennessee, fighting around the regions of Lexington and London Kentucky and in the region of Knoxville Tennessee.
The corpses of the colored soldiers of the Union Army in the snow near the town of Newport, Tennessee, circa January of 1944.
On January 14th, 1944, the unit from the Honor Guard led by John Piper**** would commit one of the most infamous war crimes of the war***. Following a skirmish in the town of Newport Tennessee, the Freedom Party Guards unit would capture about 100 black soldiers from the Union Army 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion. Piper would order them out on to an open field near the town and would order his machine-gunners to shoot them, killing 84 of the POWs. A few days later after the Confederates left the area, the graves would be discovered by the Union Army and after the war, a trial would be held where Piper was found guilty of the crime and would be sentenced for 30 years hard labor, but was released in 1962 and was eventually killed by the Black Panthers in 1977.
In the last months of the war, the 1st Honor Guards would be split up, with one detachment under Morris being involved in the fighting in and around Richmond, which they fought on until finally being defeated in July of 1944. The 2nd Group under Brigade Leader Howard D. Wilkes would fight against the Union Army in North Carolina, fighting within the vicinity of Charlotte, Albemarle, and Fayettesville before ultimately surrendering to the Union Army at Fort Bragg in July of 1944. After the war, Fitz Locke would be brought to trial at the Nashville War Crimes Tribunal and was charged with a life imprisonment sentence, and would eventually die in prison in 1962.
============================================================
Inspirations:
1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich
* = Wormhoudt Massacre
** = Wilhelm Mohnke
*** = Malmedy Massacre
**** = Joachim Peiper
A blurry photograph of three soldiers from the 1st Honor Guards Bridgade of the President Jacob Featherston on a military exercise outside of Richmond, circa December of 1935. Note that they are wearing brown overcoats on top of their grey uniforms.
During the days of when the Freedom Party was building up to it's final victory in 1933, Jacob Featherston would be guarded a special unit of Stalwarts called the Freedom Party Guards, which was led by a man named Joseph "Fitz" Locke. Following his rise to power, Featherston would reform a section of the Freedom Party Guards until a specialized unit that was to guard him and the Grey House, it was named the 1st Honor Guards Regiment of the President Jacob Featherston or the HGRJF.
A photograph of Brigade Leader Fitz Locke, circa 1938.
The emblem adopted by the 1st Honor Guards Regiment in 1934 was a white key on a blue shield, which was inspired by the surname their commander. Aside from being worn on the should sleeves as patches, this emblem would also be painted onto the unit's vehicles. The Union Army would often refer to the division as simply the Key Division.
The unit's uniform while guarding the Grey House was a grey uniform that was heavily influenced by the Confederate Army Uniforms of the War of Secession, and until 1937, would wear the Brodie Helmet in grey until being replaced by the Sydenham Helmet, which was also painted in grey.
An M-1937 Helmet from the 1st Honor Guards Dress Uniform from a private collection, circa 2017.
Throughout the 1930s, the Honor Guards would grow in size, from a regiment, to a brigade, and in November of 1940, would be made a full division and would be reformed as an motorized infantry division as well. By this time their combat uniform would change from Confederate Grey to camouflage uniforms (though many of the Division's officers would retain their grey uniforms. In 1937, the unit would take part in the invasion of Louisiana , in which the men would engage the State Police and the Longist Militia and would also imprison and execute many of the state officials. The Honor Guards would also be heavily involved of quashing Willy Knight's coup by arresting Knight and many of the associates and even executing some of them at Georgia State Prison.
Members of the 1st Honor Guard in Ohio during Operation Blackbeard, circa 1941.
When Operation Blackbeard was unleashed in August of 1941, the 1st Honor Guard Division would be deployed to the western sector of the operation, in which they would be involved in the fighting around Northern Cincinnati, Dayton, and even advancing as far as Prattville in southern Michigan. There, the unit would infamously commit the Prattville Massacre*, which they would execute 80 captured Union soldiers in a barn near the hamlet under the orders of Assault Band Leader William Morris**. After about a month around Prattville, the Division then attempted an advance towards Lansing (as part of a plan to encircle Detroit) alongside the Regular Army's 2nd and 21st Infantry and 7th Armored Division, but only advanced as far as the banks of the Grand River, which was situated between Lansing and the city of Jackson Michigan before being order to halt by none other than The Snake himself. Thus proving to be the furthest north that Operation Blackbeard ever got, and the Confederate forces were then ordered to fall to back to the city of Jackson to which they stayed there until November of 1941 when they were pulled off from the front for rest and refit in Dayton. In the Spring of 1942, the Honor Guards Division would be ordered to take part in Operation Jupiter, which was a Confederate attempt to encircle the city of Detroit, but they were stopped dead in their tracks in the Battle of Fowlerville on May 19th. Following a period of refitting following the Operation Jupiter debacle, the division would be committed to Operation Coalscuttle and would fight in the area south of Pittsburgh, getting involved in fierce fighting around the towns of Washington, Monongahela, and Donora, which was the fighting in Donora was considered a "Little Pittsburgh" due to the intensity of the fighting. Following the Battle of Donora, the badly depleted division would be transferred out of the Pittsburgh region and would spend five months in Tennessee for rest and refitting. During the Union Counter-Offensive known as Operation Rosebud, the Division would be deployed to try and halt the advance of the Yankees, but were forced back across the Ohio, where they would attempt to stop the Union Offensive, but were battered during the Union Army's drive through Kentucky and Tennessee, fighting around the regions of Lexington and London Kentucky and in the region of Knoxville Tennessee.
The corpses of the colored soldiers of the Union Army in the snow near the town of Newport, Tennessee, circa January of 1944.
On January 14th, 1944, the unit from the Honor Guard led by John Piper**** would commit one of the most infamous war crimes of the war***. Following a skirmish in the town of Newport Tennessee, the Freedom Party Guards unit would capture about 100 black soldiers from the Union Army 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion. Piper would order them out on to an open field near the town and would order his machine-gunners to shoot them, killing 84 of the POWs. A few days later after the Confederates left the area, the graves would be discovered by the Union Army and after the war, a trial would be held where Piper was found guilty of the crime and would be sentenced for 30 years hard labor, but was released in 1962 and was eventually killed by the Black Panthers in 1977.
In the last months of the war, the 1st Honor Guards would be split up, with one detachment under Morris being involved in the fighting in and around Richmond, which they fought on until finally being defeated in July of 1944. The 2nd Group under Brigade Leader Howard D. Wilkes would fight against the Union Army in North Carolina, fighting within the vicinity of Charlotte, Albemarle, and Fayettesville before ultimately surrendering to the Union Army at Fort Bragg in July of 1944. After the war, Fitz Locke would be brought to trial at the Nashville War Crimes Tribunal and was charged with a life imprisonment sentence, and would eventually die in prison in 1962.
============================================================
Inspirations:
1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich
* = Wormhoudt Massacre
** = Wilhelm Mohnke
*** = Malmedy Massacre
**** = Joachim Peiper
Last edited:
Good stuff Marlowski.The Story of the 1st Honor Guards Motorized Divison of the President Jacob President
A blurry photograph of three soldiers from the 1st Honor Guards Bridgade of the President Jacob President on a military exercise outside of Richmond, circa December of 1935. Note that they are wearing brown overcoats on top of their grey uniforms.
During the days of when the Freedom Party was building up to it's final victory in 1933, Jacob Featherston would be guarded a special unit of Stalwarts called the Freedom Party Guards, which was led by a man named Joseph "Fitz" Locke. Following his rise to power, Featherston would reform a section of the Freedom Party Guards until a specialized unit that was to guard him and the Grey House, it was named the 1st Honor Guards Regiment of the President Jacob Featherston or the HGRJF.
A photograph of Brigade Leader Fitz Locke, circa 1938.
View attachment 520082
The emblem adopted by the 1st Honor Guards Regiment in 1934 was a white key on a blue shield, which was inspired by the surname their commander. Aside from being worn on the should sleeves as patches, this emblem would also be painted onto the unit's vehicles.
The unit's uniform while guarding the Grey House was a grey uniform that was heavily influenced by the Confederate Army Uniforms of the War of Secession, and until 1937, would wear the Brodie Helmet in grey until being replaced by the Sydenham Helmet, which was also painted in grey.
An M-1937 Helmet from the 1st Honor Guards Dress Uniform from a private collection, circa 2017.
Throughout the 1930s, the Honor Guards would grow in size, from a regiment, to a brigade, and in November of 1940, would be made a full division and would be reformed as an motorized infantry division as well. By this time their combat uniform would change from Confederate Grey to camouflage uniforms (though many of the Division's officers would retain their grey uniforms. In 1937, the unit would take part in the invasion of Louisiana , in which the men would engage the State Police and the Longist Militia and would also imprison and execute many of the state officials. The Honor Guards would also be heavily involved of quashing Willy Knight's coup by arresting Knight and many of the associates and even executing some of them at Georgia State Prison.
Members of the 1st Honor Guard in Ohio during Operation Blackbeard, circa 1941.
When Operation Blackbeard was unleashed in August of 1941, the 1st Honor Guard Division would be deployed to the western sector of the operation, in which they would be involved in the fighting around Northern Cincinnati, Dayton, and even advancing as far as Prattville in southern Michigan. There, the unit would infamously commit the Prattville Massacre*, which they would execute 80 captured Union soldiers in a barn near the hamlet under the orders of Assault Band Leader William Morris**. After about a month around Prattville, the Division then attempted an advance towards Lansing (as part of a plan to encircle Detroit) alongside the Regular Army's 2nd and 21st Infantry and 7th Armored Division, but only advanced as far as the banks of the Grand River, which was situated between Lansing and the city of Jackson Michigan before being order to halt by none other than The Snake himself. Thus proving to be the furthest north that Operation Blackbeard ever got, and the Confederate forces were then ordered to fall to back to the city of Jackson to which they stayed there until November of 1941 when they were pulled off from the front for rest and refit in Dayton. In the Spring of 1942, the Honor Guards Division would be ordered to take part in Operation Jupiter, which was a Confederate attempt to encircle the city of Detroit, but they were stopped dead in their tracks in the Battle of Fowlerville on May 19th. Following a period of refitting following the Operation Jupiter debacle, the division would be committed to Operation Coalscuttle and would fight in the area south of Pittsburgh, getting involved in fierce fighting around the towns of Washington, Monongahela, and Donora, which was the fighting in Donora was considered a "Little Pittsburgh" due to the intensity of the fighting. Following the Battle of Donora, the badly depleted division would be transferred out of the Pittsburgh region and would spend five months in Tennessee for rest and refitting. During the Union Counter-Offensive known as Operation Rosebud, the Division would be deployed to try and halt the advance of the Yankees, but were forced back across the Ohio, where they would attempt to stop the Union Offensive, but were battered during the Union Army's drive through Kentucky and Tennessee, fighting around the regions of Lexington and London Kentucky and in the region of Knoxville Tennessee.
The corpses of the colored soldiers of the Union Army in the snow near the town of Newport, Tennessee, circa January of 1944.
On January 14th, 1944, the unit from the Honor Guard led by John Piper**** would commit one of the most infamous war crimes of the war***. Following a skirmish in the town of Newport Tennessee, the Freedom Party Guards unit would capture about 100 black soldiers from the Union Army 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion. Piper would order them out on to an open field near the town and would order his machine-gunners to shoot them, killing 84 of the POWs. A few days later after the Confederates left the area, the graves would be discovered by the Union Army and after the war, a trial would be held where Piper was found guilty of the crime and would be sentenced for 30 years hard labor, but was released in 1962 and was eventually killed by the Black Panthers in 1977.
In the last months of the war, the 1st Honor Guards would be split up, with one detachment under Morris being involved in the fighting in and around Richmond, which they fought on until finally being defeated in April of 1944. The 2nd Group under Brigade Leader Howard D. Wilkes would fight against the Union Army in North Carolina, fighting within the vicinity of Charlotte, Albemarle, and Fayettesville before ultimately surrendering to the Union Army at Fort Bragg in June of 1944. After the war, Fitz Locke would be brought to trial at the Nashville War Crimes Tribunal and was charged with a life imprisonment sentence, and would eventually die in prison in 1962.
============================================================
Inspirations:
1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich
* = Wormhoudt Massacre
** = Wilhelm Mohnke
*** = Malmedy Massacre
**** = Joachim Peiper
The Battle of Oak Alley Plantation
Oak Alley Plantation, fully restored, in 2020.
Oak Alley Plantation is a historic plantation located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, in the community of Vacherie, St. James Parish, Louisiana, USA. Oak Alley is named for its distinguishing visual feature, an alley or canopied path, created by a double row of southern live oak trees about 800 feet long. After the assassination of Louisiana’s dictatorial but beloved governor Huey Long under orders from C.S. President Jake Featherston, Oak Alley was used as a prison for high ranking Radical Liberals and other members of the deposed Longist state government who were deemed valuable to the government in Richmond. This was done in order to keep the Louisianians from rebelling against them which didn’t work (including Long’s own wife Rose Long and his son Russell Billiu Long). During the Population Reduction, the plantation was used as a waypoint for transporting Black Confederates and others deemed unfit to live by the Freedomite regime to the death camps (all the while still being used as a prison for Longists) although a good number of those destined for the camps were actually interned at Oak Alley permanently to be used for menial labour around the plantation.
Oak Alley Plantation, fully restored, in 2020.
On July 15, 1944 (after the death of C.S. President Jake Featherston on July 7, 1944), the prisoners and labourers, led by Russell, launched an uprising against the Confederate soldiers guarding them. The soldiers were completely surprised by this and were quickly overwhelmed with the prisoners and labourers grabbing their weapons as well as breaking into the plantation’s arsenal of military equipment (the labourers quickly and summarily executing the all guards).
Captain Elliot James Preston (left). Major Hayden Gallagher (right).
It was Major Gallagher who presented the mission to Preston. Gallagher had been informed of the situation at the plantation by the Black cook there who had manage to escape unscathed and had met up with local fighters from the Louisianan Partisans who had joined up with Gallagher’s men.
Colourised photograph of Louisianan partisans nearing the plantation.
The joint Union-Confederate-Louisianan Partisan force arrived at Oak Alley and helped the prisoners and labourers set up better defences of the plantation including; setting up positions in strategic locations such as the roof, parking a Confederate Army barrel at the plantation’s front gate to cover the road, and planning strategies to defend the plantation against the inevitable FPG assault.
That night, a small reconnaissance group of Freedom Party Guardsmen launched a probing attack on the Oak Alley Plantation to test the strength of their enemies with the defenders responding in kind.
At dawn the next day, the real battle for the plantation began with the Guardsmen using a 6-pounder anti-barrel gun to knock out the barrel at the gate and destroy part of the plantation. Throughout the whole battle, the Freedom Party Guardsmen where able to wound or kill several of the defenders, including Major Gallagher himself who saved the life of Russell B. Long from an incoming sniper’s bullet.
The battle ended in an victory for the defenders when reinforcements from 25th Infantry division of the 19th United States Army arrived and forced to surrender of the Freedom Party Guardsmen.
Members of the 25th division advancing towards Oak Alley Plantation.
Last edited:
I've heard about the OTL story you based this on, good job.The Battle of Oak Alley PlantationOak Alley Plantation is a historic plantation located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, in the community of Vacherie, St. James Parish, Louisiana, USA. Oak Alley is named for its distinguishing visual feature, an alley or canopied path, created by a double row of southern live oak trees about 800 feet long. After the assassination of Louisiana’s dictatorial but beloved governor Huey Long under orders from C.S. President Jake Featherston, Oak Alley was used a prison for high ranking Radical Liberals and other members of the deposed Longist state government deemed valuable to the government in Richmond in order to keep the Louisianians from rebelling against them which didn’t work (including Long’s own wife Rose Long and his son Russell Billiu Long). During the Population Reduction, the plantation was used as a waypoint for transporting Black Confederates and others deemed unfit to live by the Freedomite regime to the death camps (all the while still being used a a prison for Longists) although a good number of those destined for the camps were actually interned at Oak Alley permanently to be used for menial labour around the plantation.
On July 15, 1944 (after the death of C.S. President Jake Featherston on July 7, 1944), the prisoners and labourers, led by Russell, launched an uprising against the Confederate soldiers guarding them. The soldiers were completely surprised by this and were quickly overwhelmed with the prisoners and labourers grabbing their weapons as well as breaking into the plantation’s arsenal of military equipment (the labourers quickly and summarily executing the all guards).
However, nearby unit of the Freedom Party Guards, numbering 150 men, who were patrolling nearby marched on the plantation in order to recapture it. At the same time, a detachment of the 104th barrel battalion of the 19th United States Army under the command of U.S. Army captain Elliot J. Preston teamed up with a platoon of muntying Confederate soldiers, who surrendered to Preston’s group three days earlier at Vacherie, under the command of major Hayden Gallagher (Who has been collaborating with the Louisianian Partisans) to rescue the prisoners and labourers of Oak Alley.
Captain Ellioet James Preston (left). Major Hayden Gallagher (right).
Members of joint Union-Confederate forces who defended Oak Alley Plantation (top). Freedom Party Guardsmen attacking the plantation (upper-centre). Gallagher’s Mutineers fighting Guardsmen in the nearby forests (lower-centre). Union troops defend their positions against the FPG (bottom).
It was Major Gallagher who presented to mission to Preston. Gallagher has been informed of the situation at the plantation by the Black cook there who had meet up local Louisianian partisan resistance fighters who had joined up Gallagher’s men and now saw the major as their leader.
Louisianian partisans nearing the plantation.
The joint Union-Confederate-Partisan force arrived at Oak Alley and helped the prisoners and labourers set up better defences of the plantation including; setting up positions in strategic locations such as the roof, parking a Confederate Army tank at the plantation’s front gate to cover the road, and planning strategies to defend the plantation against the inevitable FPG assault.
That night, a small reconnaissance group of Freedom Party Guardsmen launched a probing attack on the Oak Alley Plantation to test the strength of their enemies with the defenders responding in kind.
At dawn the next day, the real battle for the plantation began with the Guardsmen using a 6-pounder anti-tank gun to knock out the tank at the gate and destroy part of the plantation. Throughout the whole battle, the Freedom Party Guardsmen where able to wound or kill several of the defenders, including Major Gallagher himself who saved the life of Russell B. Long from an incoming sniper’s bullet.
The battle ended in an victory for the defenders when reinforcements from 25th Infantry division of the 19th United State Army arrived and forced to surrender of the Freedom Party Guardsmen.
Members of the 25th division advancing towards Oak Alley Plantation.