Pints of Sweat Gallons of Blood, Freedom Victorious (a very different WWI)
SO offically the PoD is during the Oregon Crisis were it is not resolved and a war insues with the border drawn at the 51st latitude. However due to the whole story taking place in the 20th century I decided to put it here. Hopefully this is not a problem. Anyways as one of the younger members of this board I have not yet learned as much as some of you. Which is a reason why I love this site Ive learned so much from you guys I wouldve never cared about the wars in South America or learned the names of Ausrtian Hungarian or Italian WWI generals if it werent for you guys. Still I havent had as much of an education as you guys so Ill need some help through CC please. Also since I cant know everything like some people Ime writing this less as a TL and more like a down to Earth ignore the specific novel form with characters -some historical some made up- and a good bit a parrelism. Alot of the background is actually taken from the Brittainia's Fist and Rainbow of Blood Civil War to World War series,s o this is kinda of after the war thing just with a different ending that what I predict will actually happen in that series. Anyway I will now begin.
Also there is some wishful thinking in here I apologize
A pint of sweat, saves a gallon of blood.
-George S. Patton
Washington D.C-1916
It was as always a busy day in Washington D.C, but that didn't stop work that needed to be done from getting done. And that was why a fifty year old General was stuck behind a desk. Filing papers wasn't what Butch Cassidy had dreamed about when he had joined the U.S Calvary back when he was still a young and naïve man. He had dreamed of adventure, of fighting for his life against insurmountable odds. Of course his dreams ended with him overcoming those odds, unscathed of course.
And he had gotten a taste of adventure and combat back in what people commonly called the Western Atlantic War of 1890. He sighed remembering the name. Did no one remember Custer's division and their march on Winnipeg? A March that at the time was spoken just as highly as Sherman's March through Georgia, the march that crippled the confederate industrial strength and had the Confederacy split in two until Sherman was force to redraw due to lack of supplies.
Oh yes he had tasted adventure. He heard a knock on his door causing him to look up. “Come in.” He said, a second later the door opened and his adjutant came in.
“General Cassidy sir.” Lieutenant Johnson said saluting.
“Yes?” Cassidy said not wasting anytime, he always wanted to know what was going on and he hated having to go in circles to get an answer.
“You might want to take a look at this sir.” Johnson said handing him a a piece of paper. “President Roosevelt demanded this be sent out to all high ranking military officials encase something becomes of it.” Roosevelt. Cassidy thought. If the President of the United States was demanding something be sent to all high ranking military officials then it sure as hell was more important than complaints about Mexicans crossing the border to rob farmers. He opened the paper and saw the headline, and for all his usually calmness skipped a breath. He quickly read through the paper once then looked up.
“Germany is going to be gunning for Paris and Vienna before the summer is out.”
A day later.
A young private dropped a handkerchief and yelled go. With that two Lieutenants pulled their sidearms from their holsters and started to fire away at targets. One was using the new M1911, the other used a 38. Caliber. They fired at ten targets, paper cutouts. Most of which had either the Union Jack or a Maple leaf painted on it. The Lieutenant using the 38. Caliber pistol was clearly the better shooter and quickly hit all the targets.
“Damn it you win again George.” The losing Lieutenant said shaking his head grinning.
“Thanks for the quarter Johnny Reb.” George said patting him on the back.
“Should of used only one target, would of made it seem that you only hit it once.” George chuckled at the joke.
“You don't need that quarter anyways John, you've got a wife back home. You don't need to be going to the whore house.”
“No but I sure as hell need to go to the bar and get drunk every time we get leave. Having to stay out at this god-forsaken piece of shit called an outpost. Watching a single dusty road for stupid banditos.”
“I don't think anymore will be coming this way. At least not if they heard what happened to the last few that tried to rob a rancher.”
“Yeah dragged them behind our horses until they were near death, then hung'em. I would piss my pants if I was a bandito and heard that story.”
“Sir how long do you think Maxy can hold onto his 'empire'.” The Private who had signaled the start of the race asked.
“At this rate not much longer. Those Mexicans have nothing to rally around and the seams are really starting to tear. Poverty, corruption, sense of loss identity. These are all problems that currently plague maxy's Mexico.”
“Agreed Johnny,” George said, “I'm going to go to the mess hall, get some water I guess. Maybe get some sleep. You should to, we both have the graveyard shift this week.”
“Let me rephrase what I said earlier, we're in a god-forsaken piece of shit called an outpost watching a single dusty road- inthedark.” George laughed as well as the surrounding soldiers. George started to walk towards the mess hall, halfway their he saw Corporal running while trying to keep balance with a large stack off newspapers in his arms.
“Why are you running Corporal?” George asked.
“Sir Tzar Nicholas was assassinated! Grenade sir, they say they killed the man who threw it and found evidence on his body that suggested that he had support from Austria-Hungary!” George's mouth dropped as did John's. “Please sir take a newspaper- please.” George nodded and took one of the copies though it made only a small dent in the stack, John helped out by taking one as well. George looked at the front page and started to read.
Czar Nicholas Killed
Yesterday during a Russian military parade Czar Nicholas of Russia was killed when shrapnel from a thrown grenade ripped open his windpipe. The Czar bodyguards who were not killed or incapacitated open fired immediately on the assassin, identified as prominent communist, Vladimir Lenin. Papers recovered from his house reveal that this attack was plotted over time. In his last note he writes. “I feel that soon a war will engulf the world. A war where the wealthy aristocracy will force the peasants and workers of the world to slain each other. My brothers rise up to stop this! Liberate your fellow brothers, who like you are shackled by the aristocracy.”
More disturbing papers were found if you can believe it. Papers suggesting that Austria-Hungary supported Lenin and even helped him plot the assassination. Russia is now in crisis and the new Duma may declare war. France has announced that any hostilities towards Austria-Hungary will be seen as an attack on France itself. Germany has started to organize troop movements to their forts on the French-Belgian border. Italy has declared support for Russia.
President Roosevelt vows not to abandon the very allies that refused to abandon the United States of America during the Great War of 1963-1968. There have also been rumors of troops being sent to Portland, Saratoga, Bismarck and Vancouver.
“Well Johnny you were the one complaining how it was to boring around here. Now look, were going to get dragged into this.”