Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

[1962strat]

Just binged all of this story in like 2 weeks and it was absolutely worth it. Congratulations to @Peabody-Martini for this beautiful story, and I'm totally looking forward to more.

A couple of questions I have:

About the subdivisions of the German Empire, how integrated are the member states annexed after WW1? Do they send representatives to the Reichstag and answer to the Federal government or are they fully independent states that happen to share a monarch with Germany? Also, what's the state of independence movements? I would expect Bohemia (btw, is the state of Bohemia both the states of Bohemia and Moravia in AH or only Bohemia?) to be very content with its current position. It was already one of the most developed parts of Austria-Hungary and decades of being untouched by war and being a part of Germany can't have been bad, not to mention their large German minority. I gather it might be one of the most developed parts of Europe by now. Galicia is surrounded by states that would love to take a chunk of them and their multi-ethnic composition only helps that, so they are probably also comfortable in the Empire. Poland, on the other hand, might have much more complicated feelings after the war, to put it lightly. Slovakia was also mentioned to have some degree of independence movements. No idea about the Baltics though.

In terms of the pre-1914 states, is Prussia still a single state? Or has it been trimmed at some point? I gather that by now Alsace-Lorraine would've at least achieved statehood and some degree of independence once the tensions with the French receded.

How is the Navy organized? They probably have Nuclear Carriers by now, but how many of them, and how are they divided between Pacific and Atlantic? Given that the main purpose of a Carrier Group is power projection, I would expect one in the Pacific.

About the Patagonian War, what areas did Argentina annex? Were there any reparations involved? Also, I must say I expected Bolivia to join and get their coast back once the war turned against Chile.

Sorry for the barrage of questions, I don't necessarily expect all of them to be answered at once, they just were points that I felt were missing answers.

 

[dxe131]

I wouldn't call the Oberst incompetent - he's just risen to his level of mediocrity.

 

[Salamander]

Of course, while Malcolm understood where Margot was coming from he also wondered if there was a bit more to it than that. He had once joked that one day, a woman younger and prettier than Margot was going to one day take the city by storm and end her reign as the Grand Dame of Montreal. It was the natural order of things that it was their granddaughter who was a lovely young woman who clearly had no intention of that happening.

Margot knows that she has "lost". Some of her circle will be in denial, and will continue to treat her as the Grand Dame. The rest of her circle will hold the attitude of "The Queen is dead, long live the Queen", regardless of whether or not the "Young Queen" even wants or cares about the position. Margot's enemies, however, will be all "Ding, dong, the Witch is dead!"

 

[Th3saint]

I wouldn't call the Oberst incompetent - he's just risen to his level of mediocrity.

The feel is that the Oberst is too specialized in his normal environment and does not actually compute the changes in Patagonia.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Three Hundred Fifty-Eight



14th March 1975

Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina

All the effort to avoid showing up his Commanding Officer was all undone in a matter of minutes of the latest orders arrived from the High Command in Wunsdorf. Generalfeldmarschall Manfred Albrecht Kurfürst von Richthofen zu Silesia in his capacity as the former Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe High Command had requested the presence of his grandson, Fahnenjunker Nikolaus Oswald Jacob Louis Prinz von Richthofen zu Breslau. His return was to be done with the full assistance of any Units of Heer, Luftwaffe, and Kaiserliche Marine and with all due dispatch.

In the last letter, Bas had attempted to warn Niko of what he had been hearing about his grandfather’s plans for the coming months. It seemed that the old buzzard had been busy calling in every marker he had as well as leveraging a lifetime of service to make one last splash. Niko had known his entire life that Opa was incredibly ambitious, wanting to advance the family interests as far as he possibly could during his lifetime. Beyond even being the Elector of Silesia which everyone had thought was as far as he could push things without breaking them. Simply put, Opa dreamed of there being a Kingdom of Silesia and himself as King Manfred, the first of his name. That put the Richthofen family on par with the likes of the House of Wittelsbach or the House of Wettin, second only to the Hohenzollerns.

The content of those orders suggested that he had pulled it off for real and the announcement of that was going to be a political earthquake. One of the items discussed had been declaring Niko the Prince of Breslau due to him being just after his father in the line of succession. That was exactly how Niko had been identified in the orders. The next question for Niko was why Emperor Friedrich IV would have consented for another piece of Prussia to be carved out into a new Kingdom?

Even as he thought of the question, he realized that this move would cement the Richthofens to the Hohenzollerns for generations. It was with the same purpose as the efforts to elevate the Schultz family. They had been loyal to Niko’s family since Bas’ grandfather had served with Niko’s in the First World War and that loyalty was being rewarded. The Schultz family would also be forever in debt to them after that.

It also dovetailed neatly with the upcoming wedding. It was going to be the perfect venue for Opa to make that announcement, while at the same time the fortunes of the Richthofen family were going to be linked by ties of marriage to those of the Mischner, Wolvogle, and Knispel families. Niko had listened to the long running debates about the new Junkers versus the old Junkers. With this single move and eminent elevation, Opa was going to put an end that debate once and for all. Niko remembered that his grandfather was a Hunter by trade if he was said to have one. Niko remembered the countless times Opa had referred to the “Health of the Forest” or the “Health of the Herd” when talking about land and game management. Niko had also heard mention on more than one occasion exactly what Opa’s opinion of the old Junkers was despite the fact that he could be included among their ranks. He said that the day would come when it became clear that they could either adapt to a new reality or else they deserved to go extinct. It seemed that Opa had decided to hasten that day.

That meant absolutely nothing to Niko who was currently in Rio Gallegos having Oberst von Kropp staring at him with that vein throbbing on his forehead. Perhaps this whole wedding business might not have drawn such a strong reaction if it had not come on the heels of von Kropp figuring out just how little respect the local Grandees had had for him. He had also learned about all the invitations to Government and Social functions Niko had received. He just didn’t want to accept that Niko had done his level best to get the needs of the Regiment met and to guide him on navigating the precarious situation that existed just outside the gates of the Regimental Field Depot. Niko personally thought that von Kropp was a great leader in a crisis, but once the shooting stopped the trouble started. Not only didn’t he understand that above a certain rank politics becomes a major concern, but it seemed like he was deeply suspicious of those who understood how the game was played. On the other hand, Niko had been learning how politics worked at his grandfather’s side since about the time he had first learned to walk.

“Telegram from you” Oberst von Kropp said, “Care of me it seems.”

Something about the way he said that suggested that it was something else that the Oberst was unhappy about.

It wasn’t until Niko read it that he saw the problem. It was from the President of the Republic of Argentina, Raul Martínez. Because el Presidente was traveling to the same wedding that Niko was, he was offering him a seat on the airplane used by the Argentine Head of State. Needless to say, that would be a first-class accommodation.

Judging by the look on von Kropp’s face, being away from Rio Gallegos for a few days would probably be a good idea.

 

[Falkenburg]

The Oberst is merely compounding his error of political obliviousness by not being flexible/adaptable when his mistake becomes clear to him.
Nota great characteristic in any Officer aiming for higher command rank.

 

[1962strat]

And so we get King Opa I. Honestly the Red Baron is such a good character here.

The next question for Niko was why Emperor Friedrich IV would have consented for another piece of Prussia to be carved out into a new Kingdom?

What territories have been carved out before?

 

[Dan]

The Oberst is merely compounding his error of political obliviousness by not being flexible/adaptable when his mistake becomes clear to him.
Nota great characteristic in any Officer aiming for higher command rank.

Certain soldiers are born for a certain rank. Reier for example, was born to be the equivalent of a Regimental Sergeant Major, Von Kropp is one of life's natural Majors.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

What territories have been carved out before?

Galicia-Ruthenia, Anhalt, Thuringia, Berlin...

For different reasons. Galicia-Ruthenia and Berlin, now Silesia, were created to expand the power of the House of Hohenzollern. Anhalt and Thuringia to consolidate it at an earlier time.

 

[1962strat]

Galicia-Ruthenia, Anhalt, Thuringia, Berlin...

Not Alsace-Lorraine? Interesting...

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Not Alsace-Lorraine? Interesting...

The right "March Lord" has not come along yet. As long as Customs and Tariffs remain a huge issue no one aside from the Military High Command, Federal Internal Intelligence (BII) and Federal Police under the direct control of the Ministry of the Interior are trusted to control that region which remains the purview of the Kaiser.

 

[1962strat]

The right "March Lord" has not come along yet. As long as Customs and Tariffs remain a huge issue no one aside from the Military High Command, Federal Internal Intelligence (BII,) and Federal Police under the direct control of the Ministry of the Interior are trusted to control that region which remains the purview of the Kaiser.

Guess it'll have to wait for a functional EU then. Wonder what is the French minority's position in this. At this point they have probably abandoned hope of ever returning to France.

 

[jlckansas]

The best thing about this is the fact that Niko has played the game correctly and everyone back at Wunsdorf is going to know that. If the good Oberst tries to make any waves it will be causing problems for him and not Niko, especially if people talk about how diplomatic he has been on his current posting.

 

[ejpsan]

While I don't think it will happen, it would be nice if Ritchie got an invitation because unlike the majority of the guests Manny and Ritchie do know each other and have worked with each other, first at Ft. Drum and in Panama to blow up Senor Arbrusto's warehouse,
Also, when Manny and Suse Rosa came to Los Angeles, he drove them to and from the airport.
Then there is just recently in the Ted Bundy case, when Malcolm von Mischner-Blackwood had to come to LA to testify, Ritchie and his partner Big Mike took care of him and that should had pleased his mother, Kat about it.
And now with his recent stint as a spokesman during the riot for the California National Guard and the shootout where he killed 12 Gang members, Ritchie has raised his profile to receive some international attention.

I thought that with Helene being older, she would be first in line to any theoretical crown instead of her brother, Albrecht, unless of course the Kurfurst has made arraignments to skip over Helene.
I also doubt that Albrecht would like to be the King of Selicia and would defer to his son Nicholas for that dubious honor.

 

[Dan]

Guess it'll have to wait for a functional EU then. Wonder what is the French minority's position in this. At this point they have probably abandoned hope of ever returning to France.

They'll probably cling to their French ancestry and be very proud of it while barely speaking French, and in the event of a referendum, will probably vote to remain part of Germany.

 

[Explicit]

About the subdivisions of the German Empire, how integrated are the member states annexed after WW1? Do they send representatives to the Reichstag and answer to the Federal government or are they fully independent states that happen to share a monarch with Germany?

I actually asked a similar question a while ago so: Bohemia and Galicia got a Bavaria type deal so they send representatives to the Reichstag and have their own monarch (Interestingly enough, children of Louis Ferdinand for both) Poland, Slovakia, and i think the Baltics are more like Dominions.

 

[1962strat]

I actually asked a similar question a while ago so: Bohemia and Galicia got a Bavaria type deal so they send representatives to the Reichstag and have their own monarch (Interestingly enough, children of Louis Ferdinand for both) Poland, Slovakia, and i think the Baltics are more like Dominions.

The Baltics also have their own monarchs tho, but they are Princes instead of Kings. Idk where they fall here.

Galicia being an integral part of Germany might be especially interesting if Poland and Slovakia ever gain full independence, since it would be landlocked and separated from Germany.

 

[Explicit]

The Baltics also have their own monarchs tho, but they are Princes instead of Kings. Idk where they fall here.

Galicia being an integral part of Germany might be especially interesting if Poland and Slovakia ever gain full independence, since it would be landlocked and separated from Germany.

No it wouldn't, Galicia is basically the Austian partition of Poland, still connected to Bohemia

 

[ejpsan]

Galicia-Ruthann was carved out of Poland after The Polish Intervention War.
G-R has Marie Cecile Von Prussian zu Hohenzollern as the Queen, mostly as a placeholder to give a certain credibility to the new nation.

 

[1962strat]

No it wouldn't, Galicia is basically the Austian partition of Poland, still connected to Bohemia

Seems you're right. My bad. The border gore would be something though.

Galicia-Ruthann was carved out of Poland after The Polish Intervention War.
G-R has Marie Cecile Von Prussian zu Hohenzollern as the Queen, mostly as a placeholder to give a certain credibility to the new nation.

Given she was repeatedly mentioned as influencing the nation a lot, she's probably a bit more than a placeholder at this point.