Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
OTL the US had drones (radio controlled pilot less full sized planes) filming the Bikini Nuclear Tests so they could get closer in to film and not risk pilots. With the advance in technology ITTL we should be seeing drones as we know them in about 10 years.
I think that one of the unintended consequences of the Germans presence in Argentina is that there is going to be a major British investment in the Falklands Islands with a field station for signal intelligence, a major airfield for air reconnaissance and refueling, and improve port facilities for the RN.
This will butterfly the IOTL Falklands Islands War as Germany will not want to get in any direct or indirect conflict with Great Britain.
That could explain why Argentina is seemingly not interested in negotiating with Chile because it looks like the United States doesn't have the same influence with Chile that Germany has with Argentina and that means that there is less of a chance for a conflict between Germany and the United States which makes the possibility of something happening between Argentina and Chile more likely.
This will butterfly the IOTL Falklands Islands War as Germany will not want to get in any direct or indirect conflict with Great Britain.
That could explain why Argentina is seemingly not interested in negotiating with Chile because it looks like the United States doesn't have the same influence with Chile that Germany has with Argentina and that means that there is less of a chance for a conflict between Germany and the United States which makes the possibility of something happening between Argentina and Chile more likely.
Pretty sure the Falklands War wouldn't happen anyway. This Britain is far more powerful than OTL after all, and probably still has the largest navy in the world. Maybe. The US navy never had a reason to build a navy as large as today's after all.
Part 120, Chapter 2008
Chapter Two Thousand Eight
1st August 1970
Schwielochsee, Spreewald National Park
The previous year, Marie Alexandra had spent the Summer Holiday in Canada and spending it with her paternal grandmother had not been a great experience. This year was supposedly going to be different, unfortunately for Marie her mother’s intervention had blown apart whatever plans she might have had if she had made any. Instead, she had wanted weeks of unstructured time to just pursue her muses. Her mother had had none of it, she was going to camp with Sophie and that was the end of it. To Marie’s complete shock, she had found that every other adult in her life had presented a united front against her. Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop Aunt Marcella had said. And besides that, had it ever occurred Marie that her parents were looking forward to not having their children underfoot for the Holiday so that they could get personally reacquainted? Marie’s Great Aunt did have a point, sort of, but the images that came to mind that involved her parents… Marie found that incredibly gross.
Suse Rosa and Josefine had told Marie that she ought to be looking forward the spending the summer in the Spreewald, she was old enough to be a guard as opposed to one of the prisoners. She hadn’t quite gotten what that meant at the time and she was certain that Suse and Jo were up to something. Just they were older, in their 20’s, so unless it was something major Marie’s mother didn’t want to hear about it.
When Marie had arrived at the camp on the shore of the Schwielochsee, she had been told that as a fourteen-year-old she was responsible for minding the younger girls in her section. That included the cabin that Sophie and Ziska shared with Lina and Ilona. Mostly that included keeping them busy as much as possible, because as Marie had been warned keeping twenty girls who ranged in ages from seven to twelve out of trouble was difficult if she failed in that task. She had tried to get the girls interested some of the plays that she loved, without much luck so far, and had mostly been involved in exploring the forests and wetlands of the Spreewald with them. That didn’t mean that Marie was immune from involving herself in the very sort of tomfoolery that she was supposed to be preventing others from engaging in. Something that she was starting to have misgivings about even when she was in the process of doing it.
Maja, the girl who Marie was sharing a cabin with, knew about the gap in the hedge when Marie had asked her if the rumors were true. So, that was how Marie found herself stumbling through the dark on the second Saturday in which she was on holiday. This was decidedly not her idea of fun.
Everyone had all seen the lights of the camp next to theirs and were curious about who was there. The trouble was that a hedge of thorny bushes grew from the shoreline to the road that was backed by a tall wire mesh fence that was nearly impossible to climb. There was one gap in the hedge that allowed the fence to be approached and there had been talk about just what happened there at night if they happened along at the right moment. Maja said that she had done this the year before.
Leaving the tree line, Maja and Marie crept up to the fence, listening intently for signs that they had been discovered. The reason why Marie had been reluctant to do this in the first place was because it was impossible for the adults to not have heard the same rumors that she had, but it seemed like there was no one else around. Pushing through the narrow gap towards the fence in the starlight she felt a branch on the thorn bushes snag the hem of her dress and was reminded anew how stupid this was. Something about the arrangement bothered Marie, she started to say something, but she was interrupted by Maja.
“Is anyone there?” Maja asked in a stage whisper.
“Nobody here, except us chickens” A voice on the other side of the fence said. Marie wondered exactly what she had gotten herself into here.
“Shut the fuck up Adi” A different voice said.
“I was just joking around” the first voice, presumably Adi, replied.
“Is it just you tonight?” The second voice asked.
“I got Marie with me tonight Ferdi” Maja said, “You remember me from last summer?”
“Yeah, I guess” Ferdi replied.
This was even sillier than it had sounded to Marie when Maja had described it to her. Adi and Ferdi had come out here in the off chance that someone might happen along, and they could talk through the fence? What was the point in that? It all seemed so perfectly random.
“Does this Marie have anything to say for herself?” Adi asked.
“Other than being a bit annoyed and wondering what the big deal is” Marie said crossly.
“Never mind her” Maja said, “Marie’s been in a mood since her parents had her shipped here for the summer.”
“You could do worse Marie” Ferdi said, “Could you imagine spending all summer in the city?”
That was exactly what Marie had wanted. Sleeping in until noon everyday and watching television until something else caught her fancy. All while not being responsible for anyone or anything else. That would have been a proper holiday.
It was then that they were caught in the beam of a powerful flashlight. It was the thing that had bothered Marie, the gap being where it was happened to be a predictable location for this sort of interaction, a purpose made trap. Marie heard Adi and Ferdi running off on the other side of the fence, but there was nowhere for her to run away to because of the thorn bushes.
1st August 1970
Schwielochsee, Spreewald National Park
The previous year, Marie Alexandra had spent the Summer Holiday in Canada and spending it with her paternal grandmother had not been a great experience. This year was supposedly going to be different, unfortunately for Marie her mother’s intervention had blown apart whatever plans she might have had if she had made any. Instead, she had wanted weeks of unstructured time to just pursue her muses. Her mother had had none of it, she was going to camp with Sophie and that was the end of it. To Marie’s complete shock, she had found that every other adult in her life had presented a united front against her. Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop Aunt Marcella had said. And besides that, had it ever occurred Marie that her parents were looking forward to not having their children underfoot for the Holiday so that they could get personally reacquainted? Marie’s Great Aunt did have a point, sort of, but the images that came to mind that involved her parents… Marie found that incredibly gross.
Suse Rosa and Josefine had told Marie that she ought to be looking forward the spending the summer in the Spreewald, she was old enough to be a guard as opposed to one of the prisoners. She hadn’t quite gotten what that meant at the time and she was certain that Suse and Jo were up to something. Just they were older, in their 20’s, so unless it was something major Marie’s mother didn’t want to hear about it.
When Marie had arrived at the camp on the shore of the Schwielochsee, she had been told that as a fourteen-year-old she was responsible for minding the younger girls in her section. That included the cabin that Sophie and Ziska shared with Lina and Ilona. Mostly that included keeping them busy as much as possible, because as Marie had been warned keeping twenty girls who ranged in ages from seven to twelve out of trouble was difficult if she failed in that task. She had tried to get the girls interested some of the plays that she loved, without much luck so far, and had mostly been involved in exploring the forests and wetlands of the Spreewald with them. That didn’t mean that Marie was immune from involving herself in the very sort of tomfoolery that she was supposed to be preventing others from engaging in. Something that she was starting to have misgivings about even when she was in the process of doing it.
Maja, the girl who Marie was sharing a cabin with, knew about the gap in the hedge when Marie had asked her if the rumors were true. So, that was how Marie found herself stumbling through the dark on the second Saturday in which she was on holiday. This was decidedly not her idea of fun.
Everyone had all seen the lights of the camp next to theirs and were curious about who was there. The trouble was that a hedge of thorny bushes grew from the shoreline to the road that was backed by a tall wire mesh fence that was nearly impossible to climb. There was one gap in the hedge that allowed the fence to be approached and there had been talk about just what happened there at night if they happened along at the right moment. Maja said that she had done this the year before.
Leaving the tree line, Maja and Marie crept up to the fence, listening intently for signs that they had been discovered. The reason why Marie had been reluctant to do this in the first place was because it was impossible for the adults to not have heard the same rumors that she had, but it seemed like there was no one else around. Pushing through the narrow gap towards the fence in the starlight she felt a branch on the thorn bushes snag the hem of her dress and was reminded anew how stupid this was. Something about the arrangement bothered Marie, she started to say something, but she was interrupted by Maja.
“Is anyone there?” Maja asked in a stage whisper.
“Nobody here, except us chickens” A voice on the other side of the fence said. Marie wondered exactly what she had gotten herself into here.
“Shut the fuck up Adi” A different voice said.
“I was just joking around” the first voice, presumably Adi, replied.
“Is it just you tonight?” The second voice asked.
“I got Marie with me tonight Ferdi” Maja said, “You remember me from last summer?”
“Yeah, I guess” Ferdi replied.
This was even sillier than it had sounded to Marie when Maja had described it to her. Adi and Ferdi had come out here in the off chance that someone might happen along, and they could talk through the fence? What was the point in that? It all seemed so perfectly random.
“Does this Marie have anything to say for herself?” Adi asked.
“Other than being a bit annoyed and wondering what the big deal is” Marie said crossly.
“Never mind her” Maja said, “Marie’s been in a mood since her parents had her shipped here for the summer.”
“You could do worse Marie” Ferdi said, “Could you imagine spending all summer in the city?”
That was exactly what Marie had wanted. Sleeping in until noon everyday and watching television until something else caught her fancy. All while not being responsible for anyone or anything else. That would have been a proper holiday.
It was then that they were caught in the beam of a powerful flashlight. It was the thing that had bothered Marie, the gap being where it was happened to be a predictable location for this sort of interaction, a purpose made trap. Marie heard Adi and Ferdi running off on the other side of the fence, but there was nowhere for her to run away to because of the thorn bushes.
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Part 120, Chapter 2009
Chapter Two Thousand Nine
2nd August 1970
Plänterwald, Berlin
“Can you understand things from my perspective?” Kiki asked, “I’m not sure if I even want to… start a family, and I have everyone pushing me in that direction. The last thing anyone seems to want to talk about is what I want.”
Ben was trying to but wrapping his head around some of the things that Kiki was saying was a bit difficult. It had started when Kiki had talked with Zella. Ben knew that Kiki’s best friend had never been shy about sharing her opinions in the past and she had told Kiki where she thought Kiki’s life was going, apparently it wasn’t a pretty picture. Fitting neatly into a Princess Kristina shaped slot with Kira Kirillovna looking at her from the afterlife and nodding approvingly. Zella had always had a way with words and that had proven to be something that Kiki had been unable to shake off. Ben had never met Kiki’s mother, but it seemed like Kira’s disapproval was always floating around in the back of her head. Then Nora Berg had reminded Kiki that her IUD was nearing its expiration date and suggested that it may represent an opportunity, depending on what she wanted.
Ben knew he should have seen it coming, but this had caused Kiki to have her latest existential crisis. What did Kiki want with her life? Did she even want to have children? What about the Medical Service? Apparently, they really had placed had in her current assignment because they anticipated she might move in that direction. At the same time, word had spread that portions of the 34th Medical Services Regiment were being activated and if she wanted to push all of it aside, Kiki only needed to volunteer for whatever was going on.
Kiki had decided to talk to Ben about it and he was left in a quandary. While he was glad that she had talked to him before reaching any decisions this time. It was a reminder that she had not always included him in matters like this before they had gotten married, and he had worried that it would continue. Ben also realized the enormity of the questions that Kiki was asking. It wasn’t just her though. What did they want together? As in choices they made that would affect both of them. At the same time, Ben realized what wasn’t happening to him. He had been exploring his options for continuing his education and had not once been asked the questions that Kiki was getting presented with every day. He also knew the subtext of what Kiki was saying and what made her happy.
“Just what is the scuttlebutt regarding the 34th’s deployment?” Ben asked, “And just how long do you think you’ll be gone if you go?”
Kiki gave him a surprised look. “I never said I was going to do that” She replied.
“And you would be torturing yourself if you didn’t” Ben said, “I know that is what you will do.”
Tempelhof, Berlin
Looking under her desk, Kat saw that Fleur was the absolute picture of despondency as she laid curled in a ball by Kat’s feet.
“I miss them too” Kat said as she gave Fleur a pat on the head, “But they will be back at the end of the holiday.”
For the last fourteen years, the little terrier mix had lived for Kat’s children and she always got this way whenever they went away for more than a few days. Kat could also see that Fleur’s age was weighing on her, though she was apparently in good health. That was always the case with family pets. Having them really was a lifetime commitment.
When they had gotten Fleur the primary concern was that if she would be a good fit for Kat’s family living in the city. Hans had known a Farmer he had dealings with outside of Wunsdorf-Zossen who he knew was looking for homes for a litter of puppies. The timing was fortuitous because they had just moved into this house and Tatiana and Malcolm had wanted a dog for a long time by that point.
What Kat had not quite realized at the time was just what Fleur was. Not any particular breed, her kind was of the sort of terriers that had sprung up in the trenches of the First World War to combat the rats that numbered in the millions. Being tough and intelligent were what was needed in an environment like that far more than being pretty. Most of all they were survivors, which was something that Kat liked. In the decades since, they had followed the Military wherever it had gone and had remained consistent in form and function. It hadn’t been a coincidence that Fleur had been born just a few kilometers from the gates of a large military base.
Cursing herself for allowing that distraction, Kat focused on the sheets of paper on her desk or tried too anyway. After a few minutes, her mind started wandering again. This time it was about the call she had received from the Head Councilor of the summer camp that Marie and Sophie were attending. It seemed that Marie had gotten in trouble for being out after curfew and had been trying to contact the boys at the camp next door. Kat had almost asked if she was talking about Marie or some other girl.
Kat’s experience with her youngest daughter was that while Marie could act the part of a hormonal teenager at times, she hadn’t shown much inclination towards having a whole lot of interest towards boys. If anything, Marie was a total eccentric with her ever-changing appearance and persona. It was something that put off most of her peers. There was also her love of literature and plays as well as her inclination towards being completely frivolous at times. It was something that Marie shared with neither her nor Douglas and Kat had no idea where that had come from.
2nd August 1970
Plänterwald, Berlin
“Can you understand things from my perspective?” Kiki asked, “I’m not sure if I even want to… start a family, and I have everyone pushing me in that direction. The last thing anyone seems to want to talk about is what I want.”
Ben was trying to but wrapping his head around some of the things that Kiki was saying was a bit difficult. It had started when Kiki had talked with Zella. Ben knew that Kiki’s best friend had never been shy about sharing her opinions in the past and she had told Kiki where she thought Kiki’s life was going, apparently it wasn’t a pretty picture. Fitting neatly into a Princess Kristina shaped slot with Kira Kirillovna looking at her from the afterlife and nodding approvingly. Zella had always had a way with words and that had proven to be something that Kiki had been unable to shake off. Ben had never met Kiki’s mother, but it seemed like Kira’s disapproval was always floating around in the back of her head. Then Nora Berg had reminded Kiki that her IUD was nearing its expiration date and suggested that it may represent an opportunity, depending on what she wanted.
Ben knew he should have seen it coming, but this had caused Kiki to have her latest existential crisis. What did Kiki want with her life? Did she even want to have children? What about the Medical Service? Apparently, they really had placed had in her current assignment because they anticipated she might move in that direction. At the same time, word had spread that portions of the 34th Medical Services Regiment were being activated and if she wanted to push all of it aside, Kiki only needed to volunteer for whatever was going on.
Kiki had decided to talk to Ben about it and he was left in a quandary. While he was glad that she had talked to him before reaching any decisions this time. It was a reminder that she had not always included him in matters like this before they had gotten married, and he had worried that it would continue. Ben also realized the enormity of the questions that Kiki was asking. It wasn’t just her though. What did they want together? As in choices they made that would affect both of them. At the same time, Ben realized what wasn’t happening to him. He had been exploring his options for continuing his education and had not once been asked the questions that Kiki was getting presented with every day. He also knew the subtext of what Kiki was saying and what made her happy.
“Just what is the scuttlebutt regarding the 34th’s deployment?” Ben asked, “And just how long do you think you’ll be gone if you go?”
Kiki gave him a surprised look. “I never said I was going to do that” She replied.
“And you would be torturing yourself if you didn’t” Ben said, “I know that is what you will do.”
Tempelhof, Berlin
Looking under her desk, Kat saw that Fleur was the absolute picture of despondency as she laid curled in a ball by Kat’s feet.
“I miss them too” Kat said as she gave Fleur a pat on the head, “But they will be back at the end of the holiday.”
For the last fourteen years, the little terrier mix had lived for Kat’s children and she always got this way whenever they went away for more than a few days. Kat could also see that Fleur’s age was weighing on her, though she was apparently in good health. That was always the case with family pets. Having them really was a lifetime commitment.
When they had gotten Fleur the primary concern was that if she would be a good fit for Kat’s family living in the city. Hans had known a Farmer he had dealings with outside of Wunsdorf-Zossen who he knew was looking for homes for a litter of puppies. The timing was fortuitous because they had just moved into this house and Tatiana and Malcolm had wanted a dog for a long time by that point.
What Kat had not quite realized at the time was just what Fleur was. Not any particular breed, her kind was of the sort of terriers that had sprung up in the trenches of the First World War to combat the rats that numbered in the millions. Being tough and intelligent were what was needed in an environment like that far more than being pretty. Most of all they were survivors, which was something that Kat liked. In the decades since, they had followed the Military wherever it had gone and had remained consistent in form and function. It hadn’t been a coincidence that Fleur had been born just a few kilometers from the gates of a large military base.
Cursing herself for allowing that distraction, Kat focused on the sheets of paper on her desk or tried too anyway. After a few minutes, her mind started wandering again. This time it was about the call she had received from the Head Councilor of the summer camp that Marie and Sophie were attending. It seemed that Marie had gotten in trouble for being out after curfew and had been trying to contact the boys at the camp next door. Kat had almost asked if she was talking about Marie or some other girl.
Kat’s experience with her youngest daughter was that while Marie could act the part of a hormonal teenager at times, she hadn’t shown much inclination towards having a whole lot of interest towards boys. If anything, Marie was a total eccentric with her ever-changing appearance and persona. It was something that put off most of her peers. There was also her love of literature and plays as well as her inclination towards being completely frivolous at times. It was something that Marie shared with neither her nor Douglas and Kat had no idea where that had come from.
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Pounds to peanuts that if Kat's mum (Suse Rosa) had have lived, Grandmother and Granddaughter might have found themselves with a lot of traits in common. Of course, only speculation on my part, but sometimes these traits skip a generation before surfacing again.
Indeed, in fact the most heartbreaking part of this is that what Kat is seeing, without realising it, is what could have been without the events that she grew up with.
Part 120, Chapter 2010
Chapter Two Thousand Ten
3rd August 1970
Near Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina
The hills across the river from Rio Gallegos were in a strategic location regarding the city and the task of establishing hilltop fortifications had fallen on the 7th Recon when word reached them that the 4th Panzer Division was due to arrive from Germany in the near future. There were also hills located south and west of the city that had were in their focus as well. They had scouted out those locations, it was the arrival of the 16th Storm Pioneer Battalion along with a ship full of heavy equipment had kicked those plans into high gear.
No one had ever accused the Pioneers detachments of small thinking. They had taken one look at Rio Gallegos and had said that the port needed to be improved and expanded. Then they had started asking questions about the rail lines. Like why exactly had no one ever extended a Standard Gauge line south from the Rio Negro Province? As if a thousand kilometers was no big deal. In the thinking of the Pioneers, who worked on the Imperial German Railways which ran from Spain to the Russian Far East and Vietnam, it wasn’t. The Oberstlieutenant put them to work on the hilltop fortifications before they got bored, much to everyone else’s relief.
The trouble was when the Argentinians learned what was happening, the reaction was decidedly mixed. The locals who lived in the city of Rio Gallegos had celebrated learning that there were suddenly a number of jobs needing to be done over the winter. The landowners of the land the hills were located on were not happy that they were losing control over portions of their property for the duration of the crisis. The smarter members of the community looked at the arrival of eighteen thousand additional soldiers into the region with barely concealed horror.
Jost’s perspective was that they were doing work that should have been done years earlier when the Kaiserliche Marine had established itself here. It seemed to him that the live and let live attitude towards the British in the Falklands had not gone both ways. The British had understood that the Argentine Government had a conflicting claim on those islands that they had been pushing in the League of Nations for years and had acted accordingly. Jost knew that the secret network of listening posts rumored to have been established by Admiral von Schmidt was aimed just as much at their British and French allies as it was against the Americans.
As Jost watched, concrete was being poured that would become the base of an 8.8-centimeter Flak 56 Dual Purpose gun, more than enough to ruin the day of anyone who came within range. The radar that would be used to aim them was being installed in a bunker on the back side of this hill with the antenna on a tower on the crest. Jost could see that this position in the highlands held a commanding view of the plains south of Rio Gallegos and the Atlantic Ocean approaching the bay that the Gallegos River emptied into. Glancing over he saw that the three new men. Jost was perfectly aware of how absurd it was to call them that seeing that they looked like they were not old enough to shave. They were dicking around when they were supposed to be digging a trench so that PVC conduit could be installed for electrical and communications cables. All while having the mistaken notion that they were not being observed. Jost had made certain that all of them had were in different Squads within their Platoon so they could learn from the veterans who surrounded them without engaging in this sort of garbage. The trouble was that when it came to work details like this one, none of them were exempted from it.
“You little shits think I don’t see you! Back to work before I shove my foot up your ass!” Jost yelled at them and they swiftly got back to work except one of them seemed to be dragging his feet a bit. “That goes double for you Hauer!”
“You want to shove both your feet up Hauer’s ass Oberstaber Schultz?” Brun asked, “That’s pretty kinky, I didn’t know you were into that sort of thing.”
Hauer and Baier stood there trying to hide their reaction to what Brun had just said as they took a couple of steps away from him. They both knew that messing with Jost was a bad idea.
Washington D.C.
One of the unwritten rules of the Presidency had been established by George Washington back in 1796 when he chose not to run for a third term. Nelson Rockefeller was starting to understand why that was. That also was the same reason why his predecessor, Averell Harriman, had looked positively buoyant as he had left the White House years earlier. To stick around for a third term was asking to land in a rubber room, pumped full of tranquilizers. If the domestic situation wasn’t creating endless headaches, there was an international issue about to blow up elsewhere.
“We estimate that the Germans will have a Mechanized Division in place in Rio Gallegos within a month” Brent Scowcroft said. He was one of the few people who had been present when Rockefeller had been sworn into office what seemed like a million years earlier who was still left in the Administration.
“Why are we only learning about this now?” Rockefeller said.
“The CIA says that their source has been scarce lately” Scowcroft said, “The Tigress has been on the prowl and Gesellschaft der Stille, if I am reading this right, Germany’s answer to Cosa Nostra has been making their presence felt. There is an ongoing crackdown going on against what are called lifestyle crimes in the major cities. That coupled with the upcoming transfer of power in a few months means that everyone over there is on edge. And the CIA’s asset is getting cold feet because he fears exposure.”
“How bad could it be for him?”
“He told his handler that if he gets exposed, our first clue would be when his head gets thrown over the fence from Pennsylvania Avenue” Scowcroft replied, “The people he is dealing with are not known for moderation.”
“Regardless of that, what are we going to do about the Argentine situation?” Rockefeller asked.
“Us?” Scowcroft asked in reply, “Nothing. I would hope. Right now, South America is a web of interlocking alliances and precarious economies. The Germans getting involved in what has the potential to be a bottomless morass actually works out quite well for us.”
3rd August 1970
Near Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina
The hills across the river from Rio Gallegos were in a strategic location regarding the city and the task of establishing hilltop fortifications had fallen on the 7th Recon when word reached them that the 4th Panzer Division was due to arrive from Germany in the near future. There were also hills located south and west of the city that had were in their focus as well. They had scouted out those locations, it was the arrival of the 16th Storm Pioneer Battalion along with a ship full of heavy equipment had kicked those plans into high gear.
No one had ever accused the Pioneers detachments of small thinking. They had taken one look at Rio Gallegos and had said that the port needed to be improved and expanded. Then they had started asking questions about the rail lines. Like why exactly had no one ever extended a Standard Gauge line south from the Rio Negro Province? As if a thousand kilometers was no big deal. In the thinking of the Pioneers, who worked on the Imperial German Railways which ran from Spain to the Russian Far East and Vietnam, it wasn’t. The Oberstlieutenant put them to work on the hilltop fortifications before they got bored, much to everyone else’s relief.
The trouble was when the Argentinians learned what was happening, the reaction was decidedly mixed. The locals who lived in the city of Rio Gallegos had celebrated learning that there were suddenly a number of jobs needing to be done over the winter. The landowners of the land the hills were located on were not happy that they were losing control over portions of their property for the duration of the crisis. The smarter members of the community looked at the arrival of eighteen thousand additional soldiers into the region with barely concealed horror.
Jost’s perspective was that they were doing work that should have been done years earlier when the Kaiserliche Marine had established itself here. It seemed to him that the live and let live attitude towards the British in the Falklands had not gone both ways. The British had understood that the Argentine Government had a conflicting claim on those islands that they had been pushing in the League of Nations for years and had acted accordingly. Jost knew that the secret network of listening posts rumored to have been established by Admiral von Schmidt was aimed just as much at their British and French allies as it was against the Americans.
As Jost watched, concrete was being poured that would become the base of an 8.8-centimeter Flak 56 Dual Purpose gun, more than enough to ruin the day of anyone who came within range. The radar that would be used to aim them was being installed in a bunker on the back side of this hill with the antenna on a tower on the crest. Jost could see that this position in the highlands held a commanding view of the plains south of Rio Gallegos and the Atlantic Ocean approaching the bay that the Gallegos River emptied into. Glancing over he saw that the three new men. Jost was perfectly aware of how absurd it was to call them that seeing that they looked like they were not old enough to shave. They were dicking around when they were supposed to be digging a trench so that PVC conduit could be installed for electrical and communications cables. All while having the mistaken notion that they were not being observed. Jost had made certain that all of them had were in different Squads within their Platoon so they could learn from the veterans who surrounded them without engaging in this sort of garbage. The trouble was that when it came to work details like this one, none of them were exempted from it.
“You little shits think I don’t see you! Back to work before I shove my foot up your ass!” Jost yelled at them and they swiftly got back to work except one of them seemed to be dragging his feet a bit. “That goes double for you Hauer!”
“You want to shove both your feet up Hauer’s ass Oberstaber Schultz?” Brun asked, “That’s pretty kinky, I didn’t know you were into that sort of thing.”
Hauer and Baier stood there trying to hide their reaction to what Brun had just said as they took a couple of steps away from him. They both knew that messing with Jost was a bad idea.
Washington D.C.
One of the unwritten rules of the Presidency had been established by George Washington back in 1796 when he chose not to run for a third term. Nelson Rockefeller was starting to understand why that was. That also was the same reason why his predecessor, Averell Harriman, had looked positively buoyant as he had left the White House years earlier. To stick around for a third term was asking to land in a rubber room, pumped full of tranquilizers. If the domestic situation wasn’t creating endless headaches, there was an international issue about to blow up elsewhere.
“We estimate that the Germans will have a Mechanized Division in place in Rio Gallegos within a month” Brent Scowcroft said. He was one of the few people who had been present when Rockefeller had been sworn into office what seemed like a million years earlier who was still left in the Administration.
“Why are we only learning about this now?” Rockefeller said.
“The CIA says that their source has been scarce lately” Scowcroft said, “The Tigress has been on the prowl and Gesellschaft der Stille, if I am reading this right, Germany’s answer to Cosa Nostra has been making their presence felt. There is an ongoing crackdown going on against what are called lifestyle crimes in the major cities. That coupled with the upcoming transfer of power in a few months means that everyone over there is on edge. And the CIA’s asset is getting cold feet because he fears exposure.”
“How bad could it be for him?”
“He told his handler that if he gets exposed, our first clue would be when his head gets thrown over the fence from Pennsylvania Avenue” Scowcroft replied, “The people he is dealing with are not known for moderation.”
“Regardless of that, what are we going to do about the Argentine situation?” Rockefeller asked.
“Us?” Scowcroft asked in reply, “Nothing. I would hope. Right now, South America is a web of interlocking alliances and precarious economies. The Germans getting involved in what has the potential to be a bottomless morass actually works out quite well for us.”
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The only options I can see for the United States is just to supply weapons and intelligence to Chile and cooperate with Great Britain with sharing of information but otherwise no direct involvement with the growing crisis in the area, just let Germany get stuck with the potential mess.
I can see another patented Peabody-Martini cameo as the mole the CIA is running.
I can see another patented Peabody-Martini cameo as the mole the CIA is running.
So the TTL version of Vietnam or Afghanistan (Soviet or American) may well be Argentina.
With the way this spying works in this universe its probably another German con-job.
It isn't. You might recall this flash forward post from some time ago that I did as a gag.
The leak in question is the same one that the CIA is working in the last post.
Very well. Apologies.
Still, the only successful spy the us/Brits have had so far iirc is the dude who entered abwhr headquarters and stole that coding tape that implicated Schultz.
The situation is not like the Cold War from our timeline in that Germany is seen as an annoying rival as opposed to an existential threat. So, no pounding of shoes on tables or nuclear brinksmanship in Cuba. The focus of the CIA in TTL for the last decade has been China and South of the Rio Grande because turbulence in those countries tends to send a flood of refugees into America. When Germany was seen as a threat ITTL during the "Kraut scare" the CIA was pulling its collective hair out over the FBI launching investigations and conducting harsh interrogations of people with German grandparents. That action had the effect of depriving the CIA of their best available assets to conduct operations inside the Empire.
Conversely, the British had a better handle on matters inside Europe and the operation depicted happened to be one of the most daring. Besides that, depicting David Cornwell, AKA John le Carré at the height of his abilities was too much to resist.