Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

To be honest, I'm not really sure why the Chileans decided to attack in the first place; the Germans and their allies have proved that they are able and more importantly are willing to intervene in conflicts in the past, (Mexico, South Africa, Korea) and unlike the Chinese the Chileans know that there's no possible way they could have had a victory once an intervention occurred due to the force disparity.

IOTL in the Falklands and the Gulf War, Argentina and Iraq believed that after their invasion they could have presented the situation as a fait accompli, and that the UK/the US and allies wouldn't intervene for political reasons (and that the cost of winning would be too high if they did try thus they'd be able to keep their early gains), but ITTL the Germans and allies have shown that they both have the power and are willing to be the world policeman already; unless the Chilean government is approaching Imperial Japan levels of crazy they're not going to attack a German ally like Argentina- or at the very most, be like the German occupation of the Rhineland IOTL; do a smaller scale provocation and just withdraw if the Germans call their bluff.
Well, the Chileans probably thought they'd have more US support than they do. Now, though...odds are good they'll be looking to peace out fairly soon.
 
The Chileans hope right now is that the Germans and their Allies will our run their logistics and get held up in the Andes and take a lot of casualties that will make Germany rethink its participation in South American affairs.
That in turn may make Argentina reassess its relationship with Germany if Germany agrees to any peace deal that results in Argentina losing any territory which is good for Great Britain and the United States.
But the problem for that strategy is that Germany is so much better than the Chilean military.
 

ferdi254

Banned
The problem with the Andes is a two pronged sword. If Germany drops a couple para troops on the passes the Chileans may be in serious trouble 👿.
 
The problem with the Andes is a two pronged sword. If Germany drops a couple para troops on the passes the Chileans may be in serious trouble 👿.
IIRC there is a whole unit of the Hellcats that is composed of nothing but Gebirgsjager troops and I could see them already in place just waiting on some one to give them the word. Tilo knows this and would have no problem putting them there.
 
It is 1971 right now ITTL and four out of the five movies nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Picture IOTL this year, The French Connection (winner) A Clockwork Orange, Fiddler on the Roof, and The Last Picture Show, are basically the same ITTL as in OTL.
It is the fifth nominated movie that should have a much different ending ITTL, that movie is Nicholas and Alexandra where instead of the family are executed by the Bolsheviks the last scene is the family arriving at the farm in British Columbia to spend their lives in exile.
Another thing that could possibly change is that ITTL the film is made in Russia using the actual locations where the events really happened.
The part of Tatiana could be expanded and the actress Lynn Fredrick career could go in another direction.
 

ferdi254

Banned
And of course mountain passes do not take well to bombs. And once a large part of the Chilean army is pow than the Chilean government will find it‘s brains again.
 

ferdi254

Banned
Oh and btw OTL Argentine has and had more than double the inhabitants of Chile so a war of attrition is gonna end in a very certain way.
 
To be honest, I'm not really sure why the Chileans decided to attack in the first place; [...]

IOTL in the Falklands and the Gulf War, Argentina and Iraq believed that after their invasion they could have presented the situation as a fait accompli, and that the UK/the US and allies wouldn't intervene for political reasons (and that the cost of winning would be too high if they did try thus they'd be able to keep their early gains), [...]
The only reasonable explanation I can come up with is that Chile planned to do exactly that. Do a quick land-grab before Argentina can be reinforced by its allies and then call it quits while they are still ahead. Following the armistice they could demand favorable border adjustments in the peace negotiations since they still have boots on the contested ground.

However, if that was truly their intention, they should have sued for peace by now.
 
Part 123, Chapter 2083
Chapter Two Thousand Eighty-Three



12th August 1971

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sitting in the bow section of the Meta, Bram could hear music from the saloon through the skylights. When the Englishman and his girlfriend had arrived earlier that evening they had been warmly welcomed. Apparently, he was an old friend of Kristina’s and was one of the front men of a band whose music she listened to. The music on the album had sounded like an industrial accident to Bram and what was coming out of the saloon couldn’t have sounded more different. The simple arrangements favored the guitar and viola duet, which made Bram wonder why they had not done that on the album as opposed to the heavily distorted guitars and pounding drums. It was one more thing about the world he was finding foreign now that he was out in it.

It seemed that feeling useless or lost at times was a part of the job. Bram had no idea what he was getting into when he had been appointed to be the Aide of Oberstleutnant Markgraf von Hirsch zu Balderschwang. He had been excited about the prospect of learning from a Luftwaffe Ace and highly decorated hero. The presence of his wife Kristina, the current Princess Royal of Germany, or this long voyage to nowhere that they were indulging in over the Summer Holiday were not what he was expecting.

It wasn’t the accommodations that had been a shock to his system. He had gotten used to crowded conditions at the schools he had attended and if anything, the food on the Meta was far better. Instead, it had been the people who surrounded him now. It was hard not to feel a bit of hero worship for the men from the First Foot, they were basically who Bram aspired to be in a few years. Gregor the Helmsman was always kind to him, telling him ribald jokes and explaining to him how things really worked when Bram got confused by something the Princess or the Markgraf did, which was often. He was a Petty Officer in the Naval Reserve, something that Bram had never encountered, and Gregor had explained that part of his job was to show Apprentice Sailors the ropes. Steffi Bader barely acknowledged Bram’s presence. Fianna Dunn was nice to him, except there was an undercurrent to that. Like if there were things about him that she found distasteful at times but was too tactful to say anything.

Finally, there was the Princess and the Markgraf themselves, they had odd tastes, listened to outlandish music, and their friends… First there had been Wim, who was supposedly a highly regarded WSO who had flown with the Markgraf but was the most unlikely Officer Bram had ever met. Then he had met Zella when they had gone up that side canal and he had thought people like her only existed on television in some weird, oversaturated parallel reality. She had pointedly refused to stay on the Meta, going to find a hotel every night. Zella said that she wasn’t interested in sleeping in a bed that moved if there were better options. There was another woman who they had met Leipzig, Aurora. Kristina and Zella had spoken at length to her about the plans for an upcoming wedding and some of the terms had sounded strange until Bram had figured out that Aurora was Jewish. Bram liked to think that he wasn’t an elderly reactionary like his grandfather, but he had noticed his own reaction to learning about Aurora and the man he had been told was her intended. Bram had felt a sense of revulsion, but for himself for thinking that way. Gregor had told him that was a good thing, it meant that he was learning. Then there was that other incident that was too embarrassing to talk about.

He knew that Kristina had a baby and had spent his childhood on his grandfather’s rural estate, so he knew about what happened. The embarrassing part was that when he had walked in on the women discussing their upcoming plans and she had been sitting there half naked with her baby at her breast. It was the first time he had seen anything like that in real life. That was not something that he didn’t want to talk about with anyone.

It was perfectly keeping with what Bram’s grandfather had been telling him for as long as he could remember. That because he was the in the line of succession after his uncles it was rather likely that he would need to make his own way in the world a task that seemed impossibly daunting at times. While it was just as well his grandfather had made sure that Bram wouldn’t carry the name of his father, a man who Duke Joachim had loathed, Bram was actually glad that there was little chance he would inherit the Duchy. It was that concept of manhood that bothered him though, what would his grandfather have to say if he knew that Bram was clueless about women? That he found girls his own age intimidating and his brain seemed to turn to mush when he tried to talk to them? The episode with Kristina only seemed to highlight that and she was old, almost thirty.

Looking at the lights reflected off the IJ, Bram seriously wondered what he was doing with his life and realized that little of his education had prepared him for what he was encountering in the real world. Knowing that, how was he supposed to return to Ballenstedt next year and not make a total mess of things?
 
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The IJ at night
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It was that concept of manhood that bothered him though, what would his grandfather have to say if he knew that Bram was clueless about women? That he found girls his own age intimidating and his brain seemed to turn to mush when he tried to talk to them? The episode with Kristina only seemed to highlight that and she was old, almost thirty.
Firstly, if he mentions her age then he's likely to recreate Louis Jr's trip to the Antarctic. Secondly, if Wim ever hears of Bram's relative inexperience then things could get very messy indeed. It could be worst, it could be Jost that hears about it...
 
Part 124, Chapter 2084
Chapter Two Thousand Eighty-Four



20th August 1971

Mitte, Berlin

“It’s custom paint that I had specially done in California a few years ago by Leo’s paint guy” Molly Fryer said, describing her guitar which she had been playing on stage just minutes earlier. A candy green Stratocaster with a white pickguard and a maple neck. It was in a case by her feet, and she had been describing it in loving tones with an accent that revealed her background Middle Class background in rural Southern England. Zella had struck up a conversation with Molly after she had gotten through playing her set.

When Zella had been asked to cover tonight’s concert at the V8 Club by the BT Entertainment Desk, she had not been too thrilled by the prospect of spending a Friday night in the club but had no other plans. Sitting at home watching television with her parents was even less appealing. It tended to be packed with tourists on weekends this time of year and the better acts got themselves booked at larger venues on the festival circuit. Why play in front of a couple hundred people packed into a club at the center of Berlin when you could be in front of thousands on Rügen Island, the Tiergarten, or any one of dozens of other venues. A band with even the slightest amount of talent could make a good living over the summer that way. Places like the V8 Club was where they came home to during the winter.

Still, when Zella had looked into Molly, she had been intrigued. At the age twenty-six Molly had been playing in various bands for several years and then went silent for a couple years. It had taken some digging but Zella had learned what had happened when she had gotten the village gossip on the phone. A disastrous marriage that had ended in divorce and Molly getting run out of the village she had been born in. While the reason stated in the divorce filing was intolerable cruelty and gross bodily harm, Molly had in fact ended up in the hospital after being beaten to pulp by her soon to be ex. The gossip had however told Zella that word had gotten around that Molly had had an affair with a woman and that was what considered to have set things off. Apparently, her ex-husband had also forbidden her from playing music out of jealousy as well. Threatening to break every bone in her hands if he ever caught her playing out. It was a reminder to Zella of how she had lived most of her life inside a tolerant bubble, but the part of Germany that was still stuck in the Fifteenth Century was never more than a few kilometers away.

Apparently, Molly’s coming to Berlin was something of a fresh start for her. Playing in the Club scene in front of crowds that were only there to soak in the atmosphere and wouldn’t judge her too harshly. This was also her first foray as a solo act with a minimal backing band, it was something that Zella understood was extremely difficult. In Zella’s opinion, Molly was good and had told her as much, she had recorded the whole show and would be giving it a few more listens before writing the review. After a while, the conversation sort of petered out and Molly started flirting with Sarah. Zella tried to figure out how she had ended up married in the village she had grown up in but came up empty.

Zella said her goodbyes before heading out to her car. She knew she could have the review written up in a couple hours and could hand it off to the Entertainment Editor when to BT opened in the morning. He would be working on finalizing his part of the all-important Sunday Edition and would be after any content he could get his hands on.



Binz, Germany

To the north of them was a Colossus of Prora, the vast hotel complex that gave this region it’s nickname of the Jewish Riviera. To the south was the field where the Rügen Festival of the Arts was held every summer. To George Bush’s shock, in the last couple years they had managed to net more in sales over the month of August than over the winter months combined. This year, he had planned ahead not wanting to have the embarrassing shortages of the first couple summers that he and Robin had spent here. That required ordering beer and soft drinks by the truckful. They also sold a considerable amount of sunscreen, hats, novelty t-shirts, and all manner of snacks. It was only two thirds of the way through August and the shelves were already starting to look a bit bare. He knew that he would need to open the store up in the early morning hours when the truck from the vendor arrived along with the merchandisers, which was always a bother.

Robin still liked it here though, he looked out through the two-way mirror in his office that looked out into the store and saw her helping the last customers of the night as the store was closing. The locals saw them as the tame Americans who had moved into their community and didn’t seem to have any objections to their presence. He had a feeling that they merely tolerated him, while they actually liked Robin. She had been attending classes in Economics and Business Administration at the FH in Stralsund, catching the train most weekdays, and coming back in time to work in the afternoons and evenings. George wasn’t complaining because Robin was helping him run this business with what she was learning.

That was when Torsten, the local boy who George had hired to help them out over the summer came from the backroom pushing a hand truck loaded with cases of beer towards the cooler. He normally worked the fishing boats with his father and younger brothers but had ambitions for bigger things which was why George had hired him. Not having to tell the boy to restock the beer cooler was a part of that. George couldn’t help but notice how Robin watched Torsten as he passed and was glad that summer was drawing to a close.
 
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With the new television broadcasting satellites going up all the time this would be a good opportunity for Zella to have an international syndicated television music show showcasing the latest acts that are showing up in Berlin she can tape the introductions and wrap around segments in the languages of the countries they are shown in and these types of programs are really cheap to produce and the acts wanting to get the international exposure will preform at a scale rate and vastly reduced residuals and royalties to be on the show.

The irony of the Prora resort being the "Catskills of the Baltic" is still funny after all this time and giving the popularity of the resort I wouldn't be surprised if it had been expanded with various different levels of new accommodations from budget to luxury.
I wonder if Herr Busche in his quiet moments reflects on his life and how he got there in first place and more importantly all the damage and deaths he caused over the years.
 
With the new television broadcasting satellites going up all the time this would be a good opportunity for Zella to have an international syndicated television music show showcasing the latest acts that are showing up in Berlin she can tape the introductions and wrap around segments in the languages of the countries they are shown in and these types of programs are really cheap to produce and the acts wanting to get the international exposure will preform at a scale rate and vastly reduced residuals and royalties to be on the show.
Let's just say that live music on German television did not exactly enjoy the best reputation in OTL, though it did result in moments that are extraordinary for reasons that had little to do with playing music. I give you the infamous performance of Wasted Years. Never, ever, ask these guys to lip sync on live television.
However, the large annual festivals are real.
The irony of the Prora resort being the "Catskills of the Baltic" is still funny after all this time and giving the popularity of the resort I wouldn't be surprised if it had been expanded with various different levels of new accommodations from budget to luxury.
I wonder if Herr Busche in his quiet moments reflects on his life and how he got there in first place and more importantly all the damage and deaths he caused over the years.
The idea was based on an interview of the neighbor of an elderly man being extradited to Eastern Europe because he was to stand trial over being held responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands 50 years earlier. The neighbor kept saying that he was a nice guy, unable to comprehend what the man who had lived next door for decades having been in the Einsatzgruppen meant.
 
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This is a 1956 Candy Green Stratocaster, Candy Apple Red being far better known. Some think it is ugly, all I can say is that it is a matter of taste and personally like it.

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And if you hadn't already guessed, Molly Fryer is another genetic joke. I have to amuse myself somehow.
 
Let's just say that live music on German television did not exactly enjoy the best reputation in OTL, though it did result in moments that are extraordinary for reasons that had little to do with playing music. I give you the infamous performance of Wasted Years. Never, ever, ask these guys to lip sync on live television.
However, the large annual festivals are real.

The idea was based on an interview of the neighbor of an elderly man being extradited to Eastern Europe because he was to stand trial over being held responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands 50 years earlier. The neighbor kept saying that he was a nice guy, unable to comprehend what the man who had lived next door for decades having been in the Einsatzgruppen meant.
There's a wonderful clip floating about of Frankie Goes to Hollywood on a German TV show playing Relax, with a scantily clad girl trying to seduce Holly Johnson (ha ha) and then Lemmy wanders on playing a guitar. Surreal.
 
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