Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

18th September 1966

Laupheim, Württemberg

After spending a few days getting accustomed to the differences between how they did things differently here. They were regarded as professionals and expected to police themselves. There were the obvious details like the option of beer with every meal, far better food than he was used to and oddly, dinner for lunch. The thing that most surprised Ritchie though was the presence of the women who made up almost a quarter of those assigned to Laupheim, not the least of whom was their Liaison, Stabsarzt/Hauptmann Prinzessin Kristina von Preussen herself.

For the American soldiers, the long-term socio-political consequences of this joint operation could be interesting. Those who buy into the propaganda of American Exceptionalism and/or come from the more... conservative... sections of the US will go home convinced that all Europeans, but especially the Germans, are a bunch of wack-jobs who let women into the military & treat non-white people as equals. Those who don't share those views will be wondering if the Europeans, especially the Germans, who seem to be taking the whole "All Men Are Created Equal" business seriously, are onto something. After all, they just sent five people to the moon and back.

Disturbingly, the Germans seemed to know as much about their equipment as they did. Ritchie had eventually asked and had been told that the Kommando Spezialkräfte had been trained to fight the US Army in general and the 1st SFG specifically without further explanation. Kristina had also mentioned several other outfits who Ritchie had never heard of. Spetsnaz? Gesundheit. What that amounted to was being told that much of their gear was inadequate if they were going to play a cooperative role in the coming weeks. In Ritchie’s opinion they did not have to look so smug as they had explained how each new piece of equipment worked. Then Sunday came.

This shows a disturbing and spectacular failure on the part of the US intelligence services, especially military intelligence. How the f@#$ can US Special Forces be so f@#$ing ignorant of their foreign counterparts? Surely it must have occurred to someone that if the German Empire has the KSK, then it's neighbours and allies would have their own equivalent. And as for being surprised that the Germans knew about their equipment... my God, how bad are their training & operational planning staff?

Because Kiki had volunteered to join the FSR and be posted to an Army Helicopter Wing, she was required to wear the dark blue tunic of the Heer to formal events and probably would for the remainder of her career. Doctor Holz had joked that it was because the stink of that would never come off her. Not that Kiki minded though, she thought that it looked better than the light blue worn by the Medical Service. The Pour le Mérite that she was wearing tonight had raised a lot of questions among the Americans, as had the gold and white sash from the Order of St. Henry. They had instantly recognized the US Army Commendation Medal though and the question became how she had gotten it.

I can imagine some of the questions:

Yank #1: "Isn't that the same as our Medal of Honor?"
Yank #2: "I think so. Why does she have it?"
Yank #3 (possibly Parker): "It's probably political. She is their Emperor's daughter after all."
Yank #4 (possibly Richie): "Nah. I asked. She got it for rescuing wounded soldiers under fire in Korea. Repeatedly. The one next to it on her medal bar is the Korean equivalent."
Yank #1: "Wait, they let women in combat?"
Yank #4: "A woman was one of the founding members of this whole outfit. I think she's their commanding officer now."

Ben was threatening to come up here sometime in the coming weeks and Kiki looked at that with a mixture of amusement and terror. Amusement because Kiki didn’t think he was aware of the sort of reception that he would get in Laupheim and terror because she still hadn’t figured out how she was going to respond to his naming a part of the Moon after her. She still wondered what he had been thinking. In the weeks since the Press had learned of it and it had prompted a new round of speculation about their relationship, which was all too predictable.

One day Kiki might finally get the clue stick that he loves her, that he is an amazingly sappy romantic at heart, and that is why he named a part of the moon after her. Also, that he has the patience of a saint.

As the toasts were concluded everyone began their meal. Kiki just took sips of wine and delighted in being ignored. Specialist 2nd Class Valenzuela was talking with Major Parker and Kiki couldn’t help but hear Parker’s next words. “They seem nice but do not forget for an instant that these are the same people who killed Sergeant Casey.” That was entirely unexpected.

Parker is still suffering from foot-in-mouth disease, I see. Jonny Casey should be rolling in his grave at those words. First, Jonny himself would never have blamed the Germans, from memory he was all for blaming the idiots that were running his country & cursing his suddenly rotten luck. Second, stupid thinking like that, however justified the person thinking it might feel, could end up getting Parker's men killed if they don't trust their co-belligerents of the moment when the excrement hits the air impeller.

I hope that no one else heard that besides Kiki

Third, Parker said that in either English or Spanish*. In public. While sitting at a table with Kiki. And Kiki's protective detail. And German special forces personnel. At least some of whom will speak one or both of those languages, due to the US being a potential foe & their experiences in Mexico. So, yeah. I'd say the chances of other people hearing Parker say that are pretty high.

* Probably English, since Kiki understood every word.
 
For the American soldiers, the long-term socio-political consequences of this joint operation could be interesting. Those who buy into the propaganda of American Exceptionalism and/or come from the more... conservative... sections of the US will go home convinced that all Europeans, but especially the Germans, are a bunch of wack-jobs who let women into the military & treat non-white people as equals. Those who don't share those views will be wondering if the Europeans, especially the Germans, who seem to be taking the whole "All Men Are Created Equal" business seriously, are onto something. After all, they just sent five people to the moon and back.



This shows a disturbing and spectacular failure on the part of the US intelligence services, especially military intelligence. How the f@#$ can US Special Forces be so f@#$ing ignorant of their foreign counterparts? Surely it must have occurred to someone that if the German Empire has the KSK, then it's neighbours and allies would have their own equivalent. And as for being surprised that the Germans knew about their equipment... my God, how bad are their training & operational planning staff?



I can imagine some of the questions:

Yank #1: "Isn't that the same as our Medal of Honor?"
Yank #2: "I think so. Why does she have it?"
Yank #3 (possibly Parker): "It's probably political. She is their Emperor's daughter after all."
Yank #4 (possibly Richie): "Nah. I asked. She got it for rescuing wounded soldiers under fire in Korea. Repeatedly. The one next to it on her medal bar is the Korean equivalent."
Yank #1: "Wait, they let women in combat?"
Yank #4: "A woman was one of the founding members of this whole outfit. I think she's their commanding officer now."



One day Kiki might finally get the clue stick that he loves her, that he is an amazingly sappy romantic at heart, and that is why he named a part of the moon after her. Also, that he has the patience of a saint.



Parker is still suffering from foot-in-mouth disease, I see. Jonny Casey should be rolling in his grave at those words. First, Jonny himself would never have blamed the Germans, from memory he was all for blaming the idiots that were running his country & cursing his suddenly rotten luck. Second, stupid thinking like that, however justified the person thinking it might feel, could end up getting Parker's men killed if they don't trust their co-belligerents of the moment when the excrement hits the air impeller.



Third, Parker said that in either English or Spanish*. In public. While sitting at a table with Kiki. And Kiki's protective detail. And German special forces personnel. At least some of whom will speak one or both of those languages, due to the US being a potential foe & their experiences in Mexico. So, yeah. I'd say the chances of other people hearing Parker say that are pretty high.

* Probably English, since Kiki understood every word.

Not to mention Germany's experiences in Spain. Spanisch rules and all that. Wouldn't be too odd to have a bunch of Spanish speakers inside the German SF community.
 
If I remember correctly, the German army were also involved in Mexico at one point too, where we first encountered Senor Arbusto.
 
This is the first time in fourteen years since Mexico that the United States has been part of a military collation with other countries and has had limited contact with other nations military since then, it is no wonder that they are behind in equipment compared to the Germans.
Parker has displaced anger towards the Germans for Casey's death that should really be directed to the Chinese for starting the war against Korea and to the American government for ignoring his reports about the corruption he saw and experienced in China.
Maybe there is a psychiatrist stationed at the base he is on that he can talk to informally to put everything in perspective as his attitude may endanger the mission.
With the Sea Lions being involved with this mission and are on base, Parker and the Americans are risking themselves if they are deemed to be disrespectful towards Princess Kristina "The Angel of Anju" as she is seen by them to be one of them.
 
With the Sea Lions being involved with this mission and are on base, Parker and the Americans are risking themselves if they are deemed to be disrespectful towards Princess Kristina "The Angel of Anju" as she is seen by them to be one of them.
Hmmm. If that is ever picked up while they're training, they're likely to "Kat" them, and go for a "gentle jog" in full kit until the Green Berets are utterly chinstrapped.
 
Part 107, Chapter 1754
Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty-Four



20th September 1966

Laupheim, Württemberg

When it was a rainy day, Ritchie fully expected that their hosts were going to “celebrate” the turn in the weather by taking them on an extended hike through the mountainous terrain of Southern Württemberg. Instead, he found himself in the Mess Hall with all the tables pushed against one wall and Kristina sitting on one of the crates that had been unloaded from the back of one of the odd looking “Unimog” trucks that the Germans used. Rauchbier, who was never far from Kristina, was sleeping under one of the tables. Parker had assumed that the dog was a luxury given to her because of her being a Princess and Ritchie a similar thought until he learned otherwise. The truth was that the Germans had regulations regarding the care of Unit mascots who were considered vital for morale, one of those cases of keeping things under control if attempting to stop them would be unwise or impossible. Rauchbier’s tags revealed that he was a service animal for the FSR and Medical Service along with having had all his shots. That wasn’t exactly a surprise.

“The goals of the Medical Service and secretive nature of the KSK are sometimes at odds with each other” Kristina said, “That is why I had to call my father to convince them to issue you with the latest protective equipment. I hope that you can put your own personal considerations aside long enough to be sensible on this matter.”

Ritchie could tell that Kristina hadn’t liked having to have made that call, however mentioning the goals of the Medical Service implied that the overriding consideration was to save lives. It was something that Parker hadn’t picked up about her when she had been in the States, she was a Princess who seemed to hate having that title and had dedicated her life to finding a higher purpose, medicine apparently. The other thing was that when Kristina had said that last part she had been looking directly at Parker. Ritchie had wondered if she had overheard what Parker had said about Jonny, fortunately she hadn’t raised a big stink over it.

The crates had Panzerweste Ausf. E stenciled onto the top of them. When they were opened, Ritchie saw that they contained Flak vests like the ones that the German’s wore. Intelligence had only mentioned the C version which was supposedly comparable to the American equivalent. They had learned that assessment was wrong when the Germans had been appalled by the M-60 Combat Vest of the US Army with its construction of ballistic nylon and fiberglass. They had said that it was inferior to surplus vests left over from the Soviet War. They had also looked askance at the M-1 helmets but were obviously choosing their battles.

Getting handed one of the vests, Richie could tell instantly that it was heavier than the M-60, layers of cloth similar to ballistic nylon with what felt like small hexagonal plates of some sort sandwiched between them, on the inside were the rounded heads of dozens of aluminum rivets in neat lines.

“Supposedly the Kwolek fabric and ceramic plates will stop a rifle bullet” Kristina said, “Do not attempt to test that out yourself, there have been incidents.”

“What sort of incidents?” Ritchie asked.

“The sort that prove that nothing is ever soldier proof” Kristina replied, “You know, idiocy.”

So, some things truly were universal.



Rhodes, Dodecanese Islands

The Windhund got ignored when she pulled up to the harbor. With the threat of war in the offing, warships had become a common sight here. It was something that had not changed since antiquity, this city and the island of the same name had seen many empires come and go over the centuries. For years, the Greeks had been disputing the Italian claim on Rhodes. The Italians in turn had dragged out negotiations because it was in their national interest to maintain a presence here. It had worked out well because a message had been received by Louis that someone high up in the Italian Intelligence Service had information that they were willing to share, for a price.

Making his way on foot into the old city trailed by a half dozen of his men, Louis worried about getting lost as the man who had sent him directions would probably be amused if that happened. Finally, he found the taverna where the meeting was to take place. Cosimo de’ Medici was already waiting at an outdoor table sipping a glass of wine with a plate of bread and cheese in front of him.

“You really ought to try this wine” Cosimo said popping bread dipped in olive oil into his mouth, “There is nothing quite like a vintage that is absolutely seeped with tradition.”

“That isn’t why I came” Louis replied.

“Being all business is bad for you” Cosimo said, “A man your age needs to savor life. Wine, women, and fast cars. Though motorcycles and boats are your thing, yes?”

Louis wondered what Cosimo might have heard and if that compromised the mission. Supposedly, the Umberto’s fixer had connections everywhere.

“At least have a seat” Cosimo said, “People are staring.”

Pulling an envelope from his pocket, Louis placed it on the table as he sat down in the chair opposite Cosimo. It contained two tickets for the opening night of the upcoming season at the Berlin State Opera.

“It is there” Louis said and Cosimo put the envelope into the pocket of his suit jacket without comment or looking inside it.

“And this is what you wanted” Cosimo replied, handing Louis a photograph. A cannon on a pedestal mount was clearly visible along with the ship’s name. “I trust you will have this dealt with quickly.”

“If I can” Louis replied, “Hunting requires patience.”

“I understand completely” Cosimo said and Louis caught a glimpse of something in his eye. As much as the Italian fixer projected an affable persona, there was a ruthlessness underneath. Suddenly Louis was reminded that there were larger forces at play here.
 
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When Louis jr. shows back up to Trieste, imagine Tilo pulling his Lamont Cranston routine and appear out of no where to discuss everything. Then just as suddenly he disappears into the night. Bonus points if Reier is still standing there and before they ask he says “I don’t know how he does it”.
 
Tilo pulling his Lamont Cranston routine
You know before I remember who Lamont Cranston is - my mind whips through Sanford & Son; Then Honeymooners (yes i know it's Kramden not Cranston) and Breaking Bad until it finally lands on The Shadow. Incidentally, there is a (now culturally insensitive) joke about the opening lines of The Shadow radio serial.
 
I can see in the Balkans that Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria being allied with Russia, Croatia, Slovenia, and maybe Romania being allied with Italy.
For Romania they are probably one of the few countries that gained territory at the expense of Russia from the Second World War and that is not going to make Russia happy.
For Germany, Great Britian, and France they have less then pleasant memories of the last time the Balkans exploded in violence in 1914 and they want to head things off before history repeats itself.
For the United States being friendly with Turkey is mostly business as both a market for American goods and as a source of cheap imports from things like textiles, pharmaceuticals (I once met the son of one richest men in Turkey who got his start by getting a loan from the Marshall Plan to open a pharmaceutical plant that made generic drugs that was sold all over the world), and small appliances.
 
I am still completely LOVING his thread, and considering something nuts--going back to thread 1, page 1.
Could you perhaps put a link to the previous 2 threads in the first post of this one? It would make finding it easier.
From Verdun to the Moon...
 
Part 108, Chapter 1755
Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty-Five



24th September 1966

Off Sazan Island

When Louis got back from Rhodes, he said that he had acquired the final piece of the puzzle while he was there. The crew of the Windhund had days spent at the highest cruising speed that the boat could maintain as they made their way to and from Rhodes. He had radioed ahead telling the crews of the flotilla to meet the Windhund in Corfu. It had been there that Louis had told them that the Q-Ship they had been hunting was called the SS Krokodil, Crocodile in Albanian. According to the latest Intelligence, she had been in Vlorë just a few days earlier. The plan that Louis had was simple enough. Find out when the Krokodil was leaving port, then stop and search her when she got into International waters. If there was any resistance, they would sink her.

For Zella this was all exciting because it was exactly what she had come for. The camera she was using was the very latest model from Sony. When this documentary aired it would be in full color, so the audience would be treated to a vivid show of the blue water of the Strait of Otranto and the flotilla as it charged forward. The SK and S-Boats were in the lead with the slower R-Boats hanging back.

Looking through the view finder, Zella had the camera pointed out of the small window of the cabin just ahead of the pilot house. The radar operator shared the same space. It was one of the few parts of the boat that was actually armored and Louis had told her that if she was going to film this then she would need to stay in here and out of the way. Yuri was on the Galaxis, one of the R-Boats with the remainder of their equipment and spare video tapes. She had told him to be filming the action, having long shots would be useful in the editing process. Ahead, the Krokodil was visible steaming west, smoke pouring from her stack as she was moving at flank speed. The 37mm guns just ahead of Zella’s position fired, putting a shot across the bow of the steamship and she could hear Louis on the radio ordering the Krokodil to heave to and prepare to be boarded…

----------------------------------------------------------------

Looking through his binoculars, Louis could see that the Krokodil had ignored his command. He had warned his men of the need to keep their guard up, exactly what had happened to the Italian and Croatian boats that had gone against the ship was still unknown. The firing solution for the torpedoes was constantly being updated as they approached the tramp steamer. Louis was taking no chances, if the suspected Q-Ship gave them trouble then they were going to have their ship blown out from under them.

What happened next would be dissected at length in the days that followed, the unblinking eye of Zella’s video camera caught it all. There was furtive movement on the deck, what looked like a canvas screen fell and what looked like the quadruple mount for 20mm cannons was clearly visible. Without conscious thought, Louis brought his thumb down on the button that launched the two torpedoes which were driven out of their tubes by compressed air, hitting the water and making a sharp turn under the keel of Steamer. The cannons of the Windhund opened up, and Louis could see the shells punching through the hull before detonating inside. Then the torpedoes from the flotilla’s lead boats arrived and the Krokodil was blown out of the water. That might have seemed like overkill, but they had brought it upon themselves…

That was when a large splash erupted in the water between Windhund and Komet, one of the S-boats. In the seconds that followed, Louis caught a glimpse of Komet starting to list and much of her plywood structure was exposed as a portion of her deck was torn away. Then the Windhund was engulfed in smoke as Borchardt triggered the smoke mortars on the Windhund.

“That sounded like a damned 150” Borchardt growled as Louis was already sending the signal to the Engineer to give him as much power as the marine diesels could give. Louis knew instantly that he had made a mistake. They had reflexively expended most of their readily available torpedoes and now there had been an unexpected development, a second hostile ship that had fired at them.

It took a second for Louis to find it with his binoculars. The Krokodil had apparently been a decoy because what he was seeing looked exactly like what he had been expecting her to be.

There were two more large splashes as the Windhund sped across the water the gunners on the ship trying to compensate for the rapid movement of the fast boats of the flotilla missed wide. “Rose and Zirkle, assist the Komet” Louis said into the microphone of the radio as he saw a smoke bomb explode several hundred meters in front of the Windhund. The crew of the 8cm mortar mounted amidships had gotten into the act, they were primarily tasked with bombarding targets on shore but had found a way to get involved here. If they got out of this alive then they were getting an extra round at the tavern back in Trieste.

As they prepared to make a run on the ship with just cannons and machineguns Louis saw what looked like a streak of light and the superstructure of the second Q-Ship disintegrated, a second blow staggered the ship and she started to break up.

“A jolly good show” A voice said over the radio net with an English accent, “We figured that you Huns could use the assist on this one.”

“This is the SK-16 Windhund of the Kaiserliche Marine ” Louis said into the microphone, “Please identify yourself.”

“Her Majesty’s Ship Naiad” The voice said cheerfully.

Louis recognized the name of the ship as one that was on station in Cyprus. That did leave one question though.

“What are you doing in these waters?” Louis asked.

“You didn’t hear, the Serbs have invaded Albania” The voice replied. Louis could see the white British Frigate on the horizon and the news that she had brought meant that the risks that Louis had just taken had all been for naught.
 
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When Louis jr. shows back up to Trieste, imagine Tilo pulling his Lamont Cranston routine and appear out of no where to discuss everything. Then just as suddenly he disappears into the night. Bonus points if Reier is still standing there and before they ask he says “I don’t know how he does it”.
How very Batman of him.

Marc A
 
Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty-Five

24th September 1966

Off Sazan Island

Another cracking update @Peabody-Martini ! Zella has probably got some hair-raising, high-adrenalin close-up footage of the battle of the Otranto Strait from her vantage point on the Windhund. Hopefully Yuri in the R-boats was able to get more of the wide shot view of the battle, including the arrival of HMS Naiad to deal with the mysterious second Q-ship. If they can get back to shore in time to edit and for Zella to do her voiceover, the footage could well be on the late news that night or the next morning's news back in Germany.

I also hope the casualties were not too high aboard Komet either. Wooden ships and Iron Men may have been all well and good in the age of sail, but no match for a modern 6-inch naval gun.

And looking forward to more about the 2nd Q-ship please! Hopefully the Navy divers are heading to the site post-haste to see what's in the wreckage and the spooks are interrogating the survivors.
 
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I can see in the Balkans that Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria being allied with Russia, Croatia, Slovenia, and maybe Romania being allied with Italy.
For Romania they are probably one of the few countries that gained territory at the expense of Russia from the Second World War and that is not going to make Russia happy.
For Germany, Great Britian, and France they have less then pleasant memories of the last time the Balkans exploded in violence in 1914 and they want to head things off before history repeats itself.
For the United States being friendly with Turkey is mostly business as both a market for American goods and as a source of cheap imports from things like textiles, pharmaceuticals (I once met the son of one richest men in Turkey who got his start by getting a loan from the Marshall Plan to open a pharmaceutical plant that made generic drugs that was sold all over the world), and small appliances.

Based on the story so far, I'd say that Croatia, Slovenia & Romania are allied with Italy & Germany. Possibly Bosnia-Herzegovina also.
Bulgaria, I think would be aligned with Russia but not necessarily allied with Greece & Serbia, friendly-ish probably. Something to do with previous Balkans conflicts.
Russia, meanwhile, seems to be happy providing equipment & training advisors, but I don't think they'd be too happy with the Greco-Serbian plans for an Albanian genocide. To many memories of what Stalin got up to, plus they weren't at all pleased with the Greeks use of chlorotrifluoride during the last go-round.
 
I can see in the Balkans that Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria being allied with Russia, Croatia, Slovenia, and maybe Romania being allied with Italy.
For Romania they are probably one of the few countries that gained territory at the expense of Russia from the Second World War and that is not going to make Russia happy.
For Germany, Great Britian, and France they have less then pleasant memories of the last time the Balkans exploded in violence in 1914 and they want to head things off before history repeats itself.
For the United States being friendly with Turkey is mostly business as both a market for American goods and as a source of cheap imports from things like textiles, pharmaceuticals (I once met the son of one richest men in Turkey who got his start by getting a loan from the Marshall Plan to open a pharmaceutical plant that made generic drugs that was sold all over the world), and small appliances.
TTL, Slovenia is still part(possibly an autonomous region) of Austria. Which is how Louis is operating out of Trieste. Which will be a vibrant and successful port city OTL not cut off from its hinterland. Slovenia is unlikely to have gone for full independence as a) its economic links to Austria and Germany through trade (their principal Adriatic/Mediterranean port) and tourism (the Austrian Riviera) are enormously important and b) they will have wanted cultural autonomy but probably never pushed for full independence as they would have been nervous of Italy and OTL Yugoslavia/TTL Croatia's potential expansionist ambitions.
 

ferdi254

Banned
Oh oh, shooting at the Emperor’s son. No matter the circumstances this will not go down well with the Emperor.

Somebody has just pulled the wrath of the most powerful country in Europe upon him.
 
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