TTL with the German/USSR war instead of WW2 and German motor industry not massively dislocated or suffering materials shortages earlier extensive use of aluminium and magnesium alloys in car bodies is likely to feature.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Probably the same reason as OTL. Adam Opel didn't want the hassle of running a car company.
I wonder with the thrilling finish of the race thru the streets of Berlin that maybe there will be a demand for closed wheel stock car type Grand Prix style racing in Europe?
My knowledge of racing in Europe is limited to F1 and Le Mans type racing and I have seen in the early Nineties races with Ford Escorts.
My knowledge of racing in Europe is limited to F1 and Le Mans type racing and I have seen in the early Nineties races with Ford Escorts.
You mean like OTL DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters/Meisterschaft) or WTCC?
Maybe in this timeline it will be organized much earlier.
Part 74, Chapter 1092
Chapter One Thousand Ninety-Two
31st August 1954
Berlin
If this was Doctor Glas’ idea of a joke, then Ilse didn’t find it funny. She had insisted that Ilse walk with her in the Tiergarten along the canal across from the Zoo. It was everything that the Ilse loved if she couldn’t find an excuse to go to a real forest. An oasis of nature in the center of the city, but at the same time it triggered her phobias. That had caused her to spend almost all of her time indoors over the last couple years.
“I want to try something new today, tell me what you are feeling Elisabeth in as much detail as possible” Doctor Glas said as they walked down the foot path that ran parallel to the canal. “Leave nothing out.”
As much as she was reluctant do this, Ilse would have agreed to do almost anything to be free of the paralyzing fear that had afflicted her. Looking up Ilse saw the sky, blue with puffy white clouds.
“I feel like I am suffocating when I am out here like this” Ilse said, “That my heart is about to explode and that my lungs are freezing.”
“You are able to walk with me though?” Doctor Glas asked.
“I’ve told you that I have always loved this place” Ilse said, “But I want to run away from it.”
“You don’t have to answer the question, but if you think back on it, when was the first time you remember feeling the way you do right now?”
Ilse had the memory come unbidden of a vicelike grip on her arm as she was dragged helplessly by someone a lot stronger than she was, an adult, and then bouncing off a wall with enough force to blast the air from her lungs. Ilse shuttered at the memory as she tried not to have another panic attack. Then there was the memory of even more pain in the minutes that followed as she had been beaten for some infraction so minor, she couldn’t remember what it had been.
“You are safe here” Doctor Glas said, “Look around, you are in a beautiful place on a nice summer morning.”
As Ilse tried to bring her breathing back under control, she noticed that Doctor Glas was watching her intently.
“If you can answer this question only if you are comfortable doing so” Doctor Glas said, “How long ago was it?”
“Twenty years, or more. I don’t know” Ilse said, “I was still little.”
“Whatever it was, it shouldn’t have happened” Doctor Glas said, “And do you think you can stop it from having power over you?”
Ilse had absolutely no idea if she ever could.
Grafenwöhr, Bavaria
It was going to be a good day in the vast military reserve, for Kurt anyway. He was sitting in the turret of a brand-new Pzkpfw VII Lynx that was hull down behind a low forested hill and hidden behind netting playing the “enemy” force. There was also an entire Brigade of Panzer Dragoons dug in around the Panzers. When the “allied” force blundered into the prepared defenses, they were going to have a very bad day if Kurt had anything to do with it. The Panzer’s design had been so thoroughly reworked that it was basically a completely new Panzer. There had been jokes flying around about how it was basically a Lynx II, Kurt had a feeling that it was going to stick.
It had taken a few days, but he was still getting used to how the entire turret had been reversed in orientation. A move necessitated by the new 10.5cm main gun. The heaver shell cases had meant that the Loader had needed to be moved from the right side of the turret to the left. Likewise, the PC and the gunner had needed to be moved to the right-hand side of the turret. To Kurt it still felt like the commander’s cupola was on the wrong side.
The other changes were the new more powerful Junkers supercharged diesel engine and the improved optics. One of the most visible changes was the addition of a periscopic sight on the roof of turret for the gunner. It was a British idea that had been borrowed. Not that Kurt minded, he wondered why it hadn’t been done sooner. If that improved the ability of the gunner to do his job so much the better. He remembered his time as a gunner in Spain. Only having a narrow dim gunsight to see out into the world, trying to get onto target based entirely upon what the PC was yelling in your ear.
When Kurt had been ordered to get a proper evaluation of the newest version of the Lynx in the field, he had known that the pretext of it was that the talks to end the war Greco-Turkish war had stalled and suddenly Wunsdorf was concerned about that the near future might include involvement in that war, even though no one with a shred of sense wanted that. He didn’t care though. Kurt just knew that it had finally in the cupola of a Panzer commanding a Regiment which was where he belonged. Even if it wasn’t with his preferred crew. He had been given a crew that was composed of children, the oldest being the loader who had just turned twenty. Worse, they were all in awe of him. They had grown up reading about Kurt Knispel as the legendary Panzer Ace of Aces, mostly in comic books. Oddly, having them fall all over themselves to obey his commands had made getting them to gel as a crew difficult. It had taken a few days, but he gotten them to within screaming distance of his standards.
Watching the road through his binoculars Kurt saw movement on the road exactly a thousand meters away. The “Allied” force presently mostly German with substantial British and Italian elements had been planning that the “Enemy” force was several kilometers from where they were presently dug in and were walking along enjoying a pleasant walk in the woods. The first rule of war was the enemy never followed your plans.
With that Kurt repeatedly keyed the mic on his radio. Everyone around him listening on the radios would have heard the sequence of “pops” that signaled that the attack was to commence…
31st August 1954
Berlin
If this was Doctor Glas’ idea of a joke, then Ilse didn’t find it funny. She had insisted that Ilse walk with her in the Tiergarten along the canal across from the Zoo. It was everything that the Ilse loved if she couldn’t find an excuse to go to a real forest. An oasis of nature in the center of the city, but at the same time it triggered her phobias. That had caused her to spend almost all of her time indoors over the last couple years.
“I want to try something new today, tell me what you are feeling Elisabeth in as much detail as possible” Doctor Glas said as they walked down the foot path that ran parallel to the canal. “Leave nothing out.”
As much as she was reluctant do this, Ilse would have agreed to do almost anything to be free of the paralyzing fear that had afflicted her. Looking up Ilse saw the sky, blue with puffy white clouds.
“I feel like I am suffocating when I am out here like this” Ilse said, “That my heart is about to explode and that my lungs are freezing.”
“You are able to walk with me though?” Doctor Glas asked.
“I’ve told you that I have always loved this place” Ilse said, “But I want to run away from it.”
“You don’t have to answer the question, but if you think back on it, when was the first time you remember feeling the way you do right now?”
Ilse had the memory come unbidden of a vicelike grip on her arm as she was dragged helplessly by someone a lot stronger than she was, an adult, and then bouncing off a wall with enough force to blast the air from her lungs. Ilse shuttered at the memory as she tried not to have another panic attack. Then there was the memory of even more pain in the minutes that followed as she had been beaten for some infraction so minor, she couldn’t remember what it had been.
“You are safe here” Doctor Glas said, “Look around, you are in a beautiful place on a nice summer morning.”
As Ilse tried to bring her breathing back under control, she noticed that Doctor Glas was watching her intently.
“If you can answer this question only if you are comfortable doing so” Doctor Glas said, “How long ago was it?”
“Twenty years, or more. I don’t know” Ilse said, “I was still little.”
“Whatever it was, it shouldn’t have happened” Doctor Glas said, “And do you think you can stop it from having power over you?”
Ilse had absolutely no idea if she ever could.
Grafenwöhr, Bavaria
It was going to be a good day in the vast military reserve, for Kurt anyway. He was sitting in the turret of a brand-new Pzkpfw VII Lynx that was hull down behind a low forested hill and hidden behind netting playing the “enemy” force. There was also an entire Brigade of Panzer Dragoons dug in around the Panzers. When the “allied” force blundered into the prepared defenses, they were going to have a very bad day if Kurt had anything to do with it. The Panzer’s design had been so thoroughly reworked that it was basically a completely new Panzer. There had been jokes flying around about how it was basically a Lynx II, Kurt had a feeling that it was going to stick.
It had taken a few days, but he was still getting used to how the entire turret had been reversed in orientation. A move necessitated by the new 10.5cm main gun. The heaver shell cases had meant that the Loader had needed to be moved from the right side of the turret to the left. Likewise, the PC and the gunner had needed to be moved to the right-hand side of the turret. To Kurt it still felt like the commander’s cupola was on the wrong side.
The other changes were the new more powerful Junkers supercharged diesel engine and the improved optics. One of the most visible changes was the addition of a periscopic sight on the roof of turret for the gunner. It was a British idea that had been borrowed. Not that Kurt minded, he wondered why it hadn’t been done sooner. If that improved the ability of the gunner to do his job so much the better. He remembered his time as a gunner in Spain. Only having a narrow dim gunsight to see out into the world, trying to get onto target based entirely upon what the PC was yelling in your ear.
When Kurt had been ordered to get a proper evaluation of the newest version of the Lynx in the field, he had known that the pretext of it was that the talks to end the war Greco-Turkish war had stalled and suddenly Wunsdorf was concerned about that the near future might include involvement in that war, even though no one with a shred of sense wanted that. He didn’t care though. Kurt just knew that it had finally in the cupola of a Panzer commanding a Regiment which was where he belonged. Even if it wasn’t with his preferred crew. He had been given a crew that was composed of children, the oldest being the loader who had just turned twenty. Worse, they were all in awe of him. They had grown up reading about Kurt Knispel as the legendary Panzer Ace of Aces, mostly in comic books. Oddly, having them fall all over themselves to obey his commands had made getting them to gel as a crew difficult. It had taken a few days, but he gotten them to within screaming distance of his standards.
Watching the road through his binoculars Kurt saw movement on the road exactly a thousand meters away. The “Allied” force presently mostly German with substantial British and Italian elements had been planning that the “Enemy” force was several kilometers from where they were presently dug in and were walking along enjoying a pleasant walk in the woods. The first rule of war was the enemy never followed your plans.
With that Kurt repeatedly keyed the mic on his radio. Everyone around him listening on the radios would have heard the sequence of “pops” that signaled that the attack was to commence…
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So they took the already great Panzer and made it even better. That's what institutional experience is all about. Certain countries will certainly have coniptions when they learn that the Lynx they thought they knew turned to be just a tad nastier than they thought. Yes, the saying about assumptions is valid as ever.
Part 74, Chapter 1093
Chapter One Thousand Ninety-Three
1st September 1954
Wunsdorf-Zossen
There were some days when Emil wished that he could just go back to bed. As late summer progressed into autumn Germany was hosting the large military exercise that included all the allied nations that wished to participate. So far, Emil was learning that the sort of aggressive commanders whose careers he had wanted to cultivate were turning out to be major headaches when it came to outrage those allied nations. In Bavaria a Generalmajor had at the suggestion of a Panzer Oberst torn apart an opposing column well outside the planned engagement area. Then there was closer to Berlin, where elements of the 1st Guards Division and 4th Division had subjected French and Russian forces to what could only be described as grinding guerrilla conflict around Wunsdorf itself. It seemed that whoever had come up with the plan knew the entire area extremely well. Emil had a good idea of who it was after Walter Horst had looked extremely pleased with himself. The current head of the OKH, Generaloberst Erwin Rommel was looking happy as well, worrying signs if one knew to pay attention to these things like Emil did.
Sitting in the base Officer’s Club saw that the Russians Generals were drinking their sorrows while the French Generals were shooting him dirty looks and promising retribution next year in Ukraine. The British Generals had apparently been quite impressed by the latest incarnation of the Lynx Panzer after finding themselves on the receiving end of them. It was something that worried Emil far more than anything the French. The British probably already knew about the Rheinmetall 10.5 and were trying to figure out how to get it, renamed the thirty-two pounder or some-such thing into their Centurion.
The Italian General commanding the forces that had been sent to Germany had decided that Emil was someone to get to know. Personally, Emil found General Balbo to be a bit obnoxious, continually boasting of his men’s abilities in the field and with all the women they encountered. Supposedly, he had attempted to buy a Lynx II from Oberst Knispel when he had realized that it was superior to the Panther IIs that had been produced in Italy under license. Emil figured that he would get an earful from Daimler when Balbo called them trying to license the Lynx.
“You hear that the Russians have come to grief at the hands of a woman and her brothers?” Balbo asked, “Supposedly one of the great beauties of her generation as well, the Emerald of Berlin.”
“I know her well” Emil said, “And she would probably be far more than even you could handle. More Wagner than Rossini if you get my meaning.”
Rangsdorf, Germany
This was the first time that Hans and Kat had worked together, and the results were nothing less than terrifying. Kat had experience fighting the sort of irregular war that they had decided they were going to use. The heavier infantry of the Panzer Dragoons had found that they were able to maneuver quickly with the intelligence provided by the First Foot. The Russian Division had found themselves staggering around finding themselves trying to go after infantrymen who had already vanished.
Stefan had found himself leading a Platoon in the area operation where things had not gone so smoothly. Apparently, the Russians had a different outfit around here. Navy of all things, which Stefan found absurd, and according to the men who had already tangled with them they did not play nice. Kat had said that this was a unit that had sprung up from hunting groups that had hunted her people during the war when she had been with the SKA. She had also said to be careful, that was rich considering who it was coming from.
Looking across the wide field and a distant tree-line with a canal running at a right angle marking one side and the dirt road on the other. Stefan took a look through his field glasses, careful of the position of the sun, but he couldn’t see any movement.
“Am I the only one who smells an ambush?” Stefan asked Jost.
“It’s where I would do it” Jost said, “Machine guns at the far corner, hit us on the road and we can’t go around because of the canal.”
That was when Stefan saw a bush move that clearly wasn’t from the wind.
“What’s our move?” Stefan asked.
“If this wasn’t an exercise, we could call in an artillery strike” Jost said, “Drop some fifteen-centimeter shells on their heads and finish them off with the machine guns when they ran.”
“Then what are our options?”
Jost smiled, “Now that is a good question” He said, “We can charge across this field and make complete asses of ourselves. Or we can fall back, radio in that we had a possible sighting of enemy forces and they sit out here for the rest of the day with their thumbs up their butts.”
“I’d say we now have a plan” Stefan said.
“Which one?” Jost asked.
“Which one do you think?” Stefan asked in reply.
“I’ll spread the word that we are falling back” Jost said, “Think the men ought to leave a few parting gifts for our friends over there?”
“Nothing that might hurt anyone too badly” Stefan replied, “After all this is a friendly match.”
Stefan watched the far tree-line, this hadn’t been such a bad day after all.
1st September 1954
Wunsdorf-Zossen
There were some days when Emil wished that he could just go back to bed. As late summer progressed into autumn Germany was hosting the large military exercise that included all the allied nations that wished to participate. So far, Emil was learning that the sort of aggressive commanders whose careers he had wanted to cultivate were turning out to be major headaches when it came to outrage those allied nations. In Bavaria a Generalmajor had at the suggestion of a Panzer Oberst torn apart an opposing column well outside the planned engagement area. Then there was closer to Berlin, where elements of the 1st Guards Division and 4th Division had subjected French and Russian forces to what could only be described as grinding guerrilla conflict around Wunsdorf itself. It seemed that whoever had come up with the plan knew the entire area extremely well. Emil had a good idea of who it was after Walter Horst had looked extremely pleased with himself. The current head of the OKH, Generaloberst Erwin Rommel was looking happy as well, worrying signs if one knew to pay attention to these things like Emil did.
Sitting in the base Officer’s Club saw that the Russians Generals were drinking their sorrows while the French Generals were shooting him dirty looks and promising retribution next year in Ukraine. The British Generals had apparently been quite impressed by the latest incarnation of the Lynx Panzer after finding themselves on the receiving end of them. It was something that worried Emil far more than anything the French. The British probably already knew about the Rheinmetall 10.5 and were trying to figure out how to get it, renamed the thirty-two pounder or some-such thing into their Centurion.
The Italian General commanding the forces that had been sent to Germany had decided that Emil was someone to get to know. Personally, Emil found General Balbo to be a bit obnoxious, continually boasting of his men’s abilities in the field and with all the women they encountered. Supposedly, he had attempted to buy a Lynx II from Oberst Knispel when he had realized that it was superior to the Panther IIs that had been produced in Italy under license. Emil figured that he would get an earful from Daimler when Balbo called them trying to license the Lynx.
“You hear that the Russians have come to grief at the hands of a woman and her brothers?” Balbo asked, “Supposedly one of the great beauties of her generation as well, the Emerald of Berlin.”
“I know her well” Emil said, “And she would probably be far more than even you could handle. More Wagner than Rossini if you get my meaning.”
Rangsdorf, Germany
This was the first time that Hans and Kat had worked together, and the results were nothing less than terrifying. Kat had experience fighting the sort of irregular war that they had decided they were going to use. The heavier infantry of the Panzer Dragoons had found that they were able to maneuver quickly with the intelligence provided by the First Foot. The Russian Division had found themselves staggering around finding themselves trying to go after infantrymen who had already vanished.
Stefan had found himself leading a Platoon in the area operation where things had not gone so smoothly. Apparently, the Russians had a different outfit around here. Navy of all things, which Stefan found absurd, and according to the men who had already tangled with them they did not play nice. Kat had said that this was a unit that had sprung up from hunting groups that had hunted her people during the war when she had been with the SKA. She had also said to be careful, that was rich considering who it was coming from.
Looking across the wide field and a distant tree-line with a canal running at a right angle marking one side and the dirt road on the other. Stefan took a look through his field glasses, careful of the position of the sun, but he couldn’t see any movement.
“Am I the only one who smells an ambush?” Stefan asked Jost.
“It’s where I would do it” Jost said, “Machine guns at the far corner, hit us on the road and we can’t go around because of the canal.”
That was when Stefan saw a bush move that clearly wasn’t from the wind.
“What’s our move?” Stefan asked.
“If this wasn’t an exercise, we could call in an artillery strike” Jost said, “Drop some fifteen-centimeter shells on their heads and finish them off with the machine guns when they ran.”
“Then what are our options?”
Jost smiled, “Now that is a good question” He said, “We can charge across this field and make complete asses of ourselves. Or we can fall back, radio in that we had a possible sighting of enemy forces and they sit out here for the rest of the day with their thumbs up their butts.”
“I’d say we now have a plan” Stefan said.
“Which one?” Jost asked.
“Which one do you think?” Stefan asked in reply.
“I’ll spread the word that we are falling back” Jost said, “Think the men ought to leave a few parting gifts for our friends over there?”
“Nothing that might hurt anyone too badly” Stefan replied, “After all this is a friendly match.”
Stefan watched the far tree-line, this hadn’t been such a bad day after all.
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Silly guy.....when someone like Kat tells you to be CAREFUL about someone in the Black Ops circle, it means that they are probably the kind of jackasses who ALREADY trap-mined your likely fall back path from where you are, and are just giggling and drinking Vodka, while counting down to the incoming screams and curses of Jost and company.
.......Nothing like being the Head Honcho of the Armed Forces and having to deal with your subordinates enjoying themselves in unmitigated, shameless and LEGAL trolling during War Games, likely with several barrels and boxes of beer and spirits counting in the most spectacular example of getting metaphorically and literally your own ass served with a generous helping of humility......
Team von Mischner FTW!!! Please tell us these three will see an actual battle together. This sort of wargame just basically convinced the three in another tier of mutual respect working together. If they actually had to do it for real? They'd go through the problem like thermite through a Yugo!
Hallmark of a good junior officer - knowing when to listen to your NCO but also when to remind him you're in command.
Emil is probably noticing something that we are missing.
There is another round of budget readjustment in the near future, some support units are going to be shifted from active duty units to reserve and Landswehr units in order to save some money that can be used to upgrade to the Lynx II tanks.
There is another round of budget readjustment in the near future, some support units are going to be shifted from active duty units to reserve and Landswehr units in order to save some money that can be used to upgrade to the Lynx II tanks.
The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree, though you probably wouldn't want to be the one to tell them that.
Well, that's what war is all about. If you want to do things the orderly way, go join the French.
No no, old boy, if you want a proper orderly war done properly, you join the British Army. When we go to war, we do it as it should be done, but not until everyone has finished their tea and sandwiches!
Just not the Italians. Synchronized panicking is not a battle plan.
*Sigh* It's only fair, next time europe goes to war we all will have the italians as Allied.
