Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

Part 140, Chapter 2416
Chapter Two Thousand Four Hundred Sixteen



15th November 1975

Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, Russia

Russia and Ukraine were not at war, at least that was the official version of events. It was sort of hard to tell as the Grindwal entered Tsemes Bay and the port city of Novorossiysk with the Coastal Artillery clearly visible on the ridgetops. As Louis Ferdinand Junior looked at them through his binoculars on the rail outside the bridge, he figured that they were 180mm/56 Pattern 33’s. Those were practically antiques. Not that it would matter much to the Grindwal, the plunging shells would punch right through her hull and being inside the bay would completely negate the Corvette’s advantages of speed and mobility. Even the smaller 130mm guns that were a part of the defenses could do a number on light units.

The reason why all these fortifications was obvious. The Russians wanted Sevastopol and the Crimean Peninsula back. That wasn’t a secret to anyone, least all the Ukrainians. Louis had been told that this area was considered a flash point if a war broke out. The Ukrainian Navy, as small as it was, was a threat to Russian operations on the Black Sea. Louis could also see that there was a substantial number of light units from the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the harbor. Naval Intelligence had told Louis that heavy units had been moved down the coast to Sochi in anticipation of his visit, much to the discomfort of the tiny nation of Georgia.

“How would you take this place?” Borchardt asked.

“I wouldn’t” Louis replied, “Not directly anyway. Marine Infantry would need to land on the other side of the headlands and take it from behind. The Squadron would provide fire support, but it would be the Apes’ show.”

Borchardt snorted with a slight laugh when Louis said that. The reason why the German Marine Infantry were called that was lost in the history of the Indochina Campaign during the Pacific War. Was there a better term for anyone from one of the four Infantry Divisions of the German Navy who reveled in being the worst of the worst? Anyone who commanded the defenses of Novorossiysk had to be aware of Louis’ line of thinking. So, most of the artillery would probably be set up with turning them around in mind. It wouldn’t make sense to have your strongest defenses pointed in the wrong direction.

“What do you think of that?” Borchardt asked nodding towards one of the hilltops and what looked like a forest of radio antennae. “Listening post?”

“I think that the telephoto lens I paid for out of my own pocket had better be seeing a lot of use this afternoon” Louis replied. The small Intelligence Section aboard the Grindwal had insisted that they needed the thing though the Fleet had disagreed, that had been where Louis had stepped in. “And I doubt that even the Russians would make their signal intelligence or communications assets so painfully obvious. That is probably a decoy in case someone starts firing missiles.”

Borchardt just shrugged. Apparently Louis had a higher opinion of the Russians than he did. The Russians had to have learned something over the last few decades. Hadn’t they? His presence here was a courtesy, though Louis would have to be a fool not to recognize the tenuous balance of power in this region. Just days before he had seen similar fortifications in Ukraine.

“You are meeting the Commander of the City Garrison and the Officials” Borchardt said, “You think they will be forthcoming about any of this?”

“I think that they will make sure I see what they want and tell me what I want to hear” Louis replied.

“Politics” Borchardt muttered with a considerable amount of disgust. “When I first joined the Navy there were a lot of old salts who had fought on the Black Sea or in the Baltic against the Russians. They wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of all of this. The Russians still being here and this stupid game we are playing.”

“Peace had to break out eventually” Louis replied. This wasn’t the first time he had heard about the attitudes of the generation that had fought the Naval component of the Soviet War. They had played second chair to the Heer, mostly involved in keeping the supply lines open to shipping and barge traffic across the Black Sea to keep Army Group South fed. That was after most of their heavy units had been transferred to the Pacific and the surviving Russian Naval units had been able continue to wage a protracted guerrilla war on the Black Sea. Louis’ understanding was that there had been a lot of bitterness with hate towards the Russians in general, not just the Bolsheviks, and that had left a stain. It was a forgotten theater of the Second World War and one that had suddenly become critically important to Louis’ mission.

“There is also the Romanian question” Borchardt said, and Louis wished that he had not brought that up.

Louis understood that his career was headed down a dead end due to politics, meaning that he was unlikely to rise any further than his present rank. The King of Romania had offered him a commission in the Romanian Navy and with it Flag rank if he became the Prince-Consort upon his marriage to Margarita. That was the lens through which the Russians, the Ukrainians, the Greeks, everyone, viewed their dealings with Louis.
 
Last edited:
Does Germany and/or GB and France have any mutual defense treaties with Ukraine (and the other post-Soviet states)? That would have been the logical thing to do after the Soviet war, to prevent Russian irredentism.

I'm looking forward to Louis in Romania. Don't think we've seen much of thr country ITTL.

Also, regarding Crimean demographics, they are probably much different than OTL if Russia lost it in the 40s and Ukraine has held it for 35 years.
 
Last edited:
Also, regarding Crimean demographics, they are probably much different than OTL if Russia lost it in the 40s and Ukraine has held it for 35 years.

OTL, the area had 60 years of being a Soviet naval base, meaning a lot of Russian and Russophone former Navy sailors will have retired there, giving the area a "Russian" feel.
ITTL, that period of defacto occupation hasn't occurred, so I think you're right, more Tartars and Ukrainians than Russians this time.
 
Does Germany and/or GB and France have any mutual defense treaties with Ukraine (and the other post-Soviet states)? That would have been the logical thing to do after the Soviet war, to prevent Russian irredentism.
I would’ve assumed Germany’s first priority after that war would have been defence and economic treaties with all new post-Soviet states, bring them under the German roof so to speak.
 
So very much to unpack here…
It is not an accident that the KLM sent a naval vessel commanded by an Imperial Prince, this is to show Russia that Germany will honor its commitment to the Ukraine.
As for the “Romanian Situation”, a lot of things must be taken in consideration by LF Jr, one does he really have any sort of affection for Margareta that will e enough for marriage other.
Second, has the Rules of Succession have been changed to allow Margareta to become the next Reigning Monarch of Romania?
Third how much of a budget and freedom will LF Jr have in running the Romanian Navy?
I could see LF Jr taking Deck Officer Borchardt with him if he takes the deal.
 
OTL, the area had 60 years of being a Soviet naval base, meaning a lot of Russian and Russophone former Navy sailors will have retired there, giving the area a "Russian" feel.
ITTL, that period of defacto occupation hasn't occurred, so I think you're right, more Tartars and Ukrainians than Russians this time.
Add to that that Ukranians probably foresaw this problem and used the 35 years they held the peninsula to send more Ukranian settlers.
I would’ve assumed Germany’s first priority after that war would have been defence and economic treaties with all new post-Soviet states, bring them under the German roof so to speak.
Yeah agree.
 
Germany most certainly has "Mutual Defense Agreements" with Ukraine and Belarus. but the question is with the National Liberals in charge will Germany find a reason to get out of their commitments?
Another concern is that Russia could have by now nuclear weapons, you don't need to actually need to trigger a device, but you do need to make sure the conventional implosive trigger device works and that you have pure enough plutonium or U-23 for a nuclear explosion.
While most of the focus of this timeline has been on US-Germany relations but the BND should have been focusing more on any potential Russian nuclear weapons development program.
 
but the question is with the National Liberals in charge will Germany find a reason to get out of their commitments?
That doesn’t seem likely tbh. This isn’t like the wars in Mexico, South Africa and South America, which to the average German would seem totally foreign and might wonder why are they even spending German lives and resources. Most of the adults alive went through the Soviet War, and would see the prospect of a resurgent and irredentist Russia as genuinely terrifying.

Abandoning their commitments towards Ukraine and the post-Soviet states would totally alienate this adults, as well as the military, which I might add probably holds tremendous sway and prestige, probably comparable to something like OTL Israel. Not to mention that it would destroy German credibility on which it relies to keep it‘s network of allies aligned with itself.

TL;DR: Germany forsaking its commitments would be political suicide, both at an internal and external level. This is not some conflict in the other end of the world, but in the heart of what Germany probably considers it’s sphere of influence in Europe.
 
Part 140, Chapter 2417
Chapter Two Thousand Four Hundred Seventeen



21st November 1975

Odessa, Ukraine

Climbing stairs wasn’t exactly Louis Ferdinand Junior’s idea of fun. With him being in Odessa and Margareta having come to meet him, it seemed like a good time to play the role of tourist. The respective protection details for the two of them were far enough away to let them speak freely, which was good. Even so, Odessa was a port city which meant that Louis barely got a second glance, Sailors and Ship’s Officers were a dime a dozen it seemed.

The Primorsky Steps, or Potemkin Stairs as they were famously known, were one of the most instantly recognizable landmarks in Odessa. This was because of the film Battleship Potemkin and the scene which Sergei Eisenstein had filmed on those stairs in the 1920’s, though it was rather obvious that Eisenstein had taken a whole lot of liberties with when and where the events had taken place. It was a scene that had been recreated dozens of times in various films since. Most recently by George Lucas in his latest Star Wars film in response to critics who had complained that the Galactic Empire was seemingly too stupid and cartoonish to be believable though it was clearly based on the French Empire under Napoleon. Soldiers marching in lockstep over the dead and wounded as they fired volleys into a crowd of mostly women and children. Then there was the Cavalry waiting at the base of the stairs for anyone attempting to flee. That certainly made an impression. Evil didn’t need to be smart to crush a rebellion, it only needed to be ruthless.

“You’re being quiet today Louis” Margareta said as they walked up the stairs. The funicular which ran parallel to the stairway rattled by.

“I was just thinking about how when I was at the Mürwik Naval Academy they made us watch Battleship Potemkin and Alexander Nevsky” Louis replied, “These stairs played a starring role in Battleship Potemkin.”

“A bunch of German children at a military school watching Soviet era Russian films?” Margareta asked. The tone of her voice suggesting that she found that a bit hard to believe. “In Paris there are a lot of the starving artists and self-styled student revolutionaries around who watched those films. Perfectly happy to talk at length about class struggle so long as they receive regular checks from their parents.”

“It could not have been more different” Louis said, “We also watched a lot of other movies, British, French, and American, Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, or Howard Hawks for example. There was always a discussion afterwards. The point was to be able to analyze what we were seeing and what was being said, recognize propaganda.”

“Sounds like an interesting class” Margareta said as they topped the stairs. There was a carousel to their right and a bronze statue which curiously was of a man in Classical Roman garb directly in front of them.

The weather on the shores of the Black Sea had been relatively mild, with the daily temperature above freezing. In her last letter, Kiki had said that where she was living in Bavaria was already getting snow and Louis had seen the weather reports spelling out what it was like at the moment in the Ukrainian interior. Which meant a sunny day in Odessa wasn’t that bad, still there was a cold wind blowing off the sea, so Louis was glad that he had remembered to wear his wool coat. The way that Margareta was dressed, one would think that she was on an expedition to the Arctic.

“Can you tell which ship is yours?” Margareta asked looking back down the stairs at the harbor which they had an amazing view of. There were a large number of ships anchored out there under the midday sun. Among them the 2nd Eastern Mediterranean Squadron, which Louis presently commanded.

“That is the Grindwal right there” Louis said stepping beside to Margareta so she could see what he was pointing at.

“A big grey ship?” Margareta asked, “Aren’t they are hard to tell apart.”

“She is a Corvette, which is quite small as warships go. Put the Grindwal next to Fischadler II and you’d see” Louis said, mentioning the newest Aircraft Carrier in the High Seas Fleet which was named for the original Fischadler of the Pacific War. “I would know her at a glance.”

“Really?” Margareta asked with a smile.

It was almost true. The Grindwal was anchored next to Estoc, which was a big help. The Säbel, the Grindwal’s true sistership was anchored a few hundred meters further out and almost identical in appearance. While also being a 1970 Class Corvette, Ozelot was of later production, so she had the enlarged radar needed for the installation of the Sperling missile system. That bolstered the already formidable air defenses of the Squadron and the bulged radome atop the Ozelot’s superstructure made her easy to spot. The Jagdterrier and Natter, the two Fast Gunboats that rounded out the Squadron were hidden from view as they were moored on the far side of the Ozelot.

“Yes” Louis replied, “Now, about this lunch you promised. Now I’ve nothing against the Grindwal’s Cook, but something different would be very welcome. Then we can see the sights.”

“Sounds good” Margareta said as they crossed the street and into the City Center. She had told Louis about the food at the hotel she was staying at, and it really did sound good. What he had not told Margareta was that if he had one more helping of potted meat-kimchee stew he wouldn’t be as likely to stop the wild talk by the crew about keelhauling the Cook.

When they passed what smelled like a tobacconist’s shop, Louis saw that there were several newspapers for sale out front. While he couldn’t read Cyrillic, he saw the photographs.

“Tante Kat is in the news again” Louis observed.

“You call her that?” Margareta asked.

“I was nearly twelve when I found out that Katherine wasn’t actually my aunt” Louis replied, “That is how close she is to my family.”

“You know about her reputation? Former Royal Assassin, supposedly.”

“Most of what people say about Kat isn’t true” Louis replied.

“I don’t know, you should never, ever underestimate a redhead” Margareta said with an impish smile.

“Of course, you would think that” Louis said.

Margareta blew a raspberry at him as they walked up the street.
 
Last edited:
Glacial pace? It's been two years of them dancing around each other, most of which has been time which Louis Junior has been at sea. Think that it is an accident that he just happened to get sent to the Eastern Med and Black Sea at this time? Someone is hoping to speed things along.

That said, this really is one of the most instantly recognizable landmarks.
d5bddf978d056b8ef330f61189226c52.jpg
 
Last edited:
At least they like each other...

But seriously, it must be a bit depressing for LF Jr to realize that he is no longer is going to move upward in the KLM and that from now on, if he continues his career in the Navy he is only going to move sideways compared to his peers who he has surpassed earlier by his own merits, are now starting to move up pass him.
It must also be ironic for him to see that a potential marriage between him and Princess Margareta is something from the Middle Ages when countries would arrange marriages as a way to make alliances.
For Romania, a marriage between LF Jr and Margareta keeps the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen from continuing to be next in line for the throne, and lets face it, on paper LF Jr is the best Prince Consort candidate out there.
For Germany, LF Jr as head of the Romanian Navy means they can sell surplus ships with upgraded systems without competing against other nations and with the rail and road links between Germany and Romania, the KLM can establish a base on the Black Sea as a way to keep a check on the region.

As a sidenote, the speculation that Kira made a deal with King Michael of Romania for LF Jr to marry Margareta if Michael didn't have any sons to inherit the throne, is not canon but something I thought would be logical as Kira was shown to be making plans for Kiki.
 
As a sidenote, the speculation that Kira made a deal with King Michael of Romania for LF Jr to marry Margareta if Michael didn't have any sons to inherit the throne, is not canon but something I thought would be logical as Kira was shown to be making plans for Kiki
Kira had plans for all of her kids....
 
Margareta seems to be enjoying the chase. From her POV, her chosen prey is intelligent, handsome, courageous, kind, mostly thoughtful, more than slightly obsessed with the sea, and of more than acceptable rank,both militarily and socially. Most importantly, however, Louis sees her as an equal. That alone makes him more than suitable.
 
Part 140, Chapter2418
Chapter Two Thousand Four Hundred Eighteen



23rd November 1975

Moscow, Russia

Getting the Black Eagle had felt absurd decades earlier. That was after Kat had survived the shootout outside the nursery in the old Winter Residence with that group of killers sent by the very man who had ultimately resulted in this latest bit of absurdity and Kat remained the only individual who had been made a full member of the Order of the Balck Eagle who was not also a member of the Hohenzollern family as opposed to a Knighthood of the Order. That was at least concrete. Kat had saved the lives of Kira, Freddy, and Michael. Unknown to her, Kira had been pregnant with at the time, giving birth to Kiki in December of that year. When you factored in what they had done with their lives in the years since, the impact of what Kat had done became staggering. Freddy was now Emperor Friedrich IV of Germany. Michael was the King of Bohemia, and the exact benefit of his pursuits was debatable. Kiki though, she had personally saved thousands of lives first as a Paramedic and then as Field Surgeon. Finally, there was Louis Ferdinand Junior along with Vicky and Rea who were born later. A whole lot of good had come of that single action on Kat’s part.

That was at the start of her strange career. Now, bookending the other side of her career was this latest development, her being awarded the Order of Saint Andrew by the Russian Czar and Duma. The surreal part was that these were people who should hate her for some of the things that she had done to them.

The opening of the Abwehr files had revealed the role she had played in the capture of Lavrentiy Beria. There had also been the extensive back and forth in those files detailing that Kat had turned his execution into an undignified spectacle. Kat recalled that she had not been punished for that incident, but apparently she had almost been demoted and given a letter of reprimand for it. Of course, she had been awarded the Pour le Mérite for her role in the capture of Beria so any punishment for her might result in the whole thing being thrown into question. It was something that the OKW and Abwehr had not been able to afford at the time, so Kat had been sent to Wales as a consult with the SAS. She had met Elizabeth on that trip, then the Princess and designated heir to the throne of British Empire.

Kat was almost disappointed about that outcome. When she had baited Beria in the minutes before he was hung, she had done it because she had felt that mere hanging was too good for him, and she had not cared about the consequences, allowing anger and disgust to get the better of her. All she had cared about was that Beria represented everything in the world that Kat personally despised. The Abwehr files had buttressed the claims of those who had complained that Kat had gotten away with everything for years.

The Russians saw things differently.

They seemed to think that Beria dying without all the begging and screaming would have been an injustice. There were also the many other things mentioned in the citation. The key role Kat had played in the capture of Stalin. Keeping Gia safe during the years after the Tumbler Ridge massacre. How she had honored Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaeva Romanova, Gia’s mother, by making her the first Dame Commander of Berlin’s Order of Merit and the only Dame of the Order of the Tigress. Both of those had been awarded posthumously which was something of a break from tradition, and Kat remembered the look on Gia’s face when Kat had handed them to her as her mother’s proxy. That had been what had actually prompted her to come to Moscow despite her own misgivings about this. She had a considerable debt to Gia still. Too protect her, Kat had taken Gia away from the life she had known. Gia had lost everything in the process including her identity. Then years later when Asia had painted herself into a corner, Kat had failed Gia again by obeying Kira when she knew that what was happening was wrong on many levels. Gia had made a bargain with the Devil to save Asia and had bravely faced the consequences of that action afterwards. She could have just buried it in the same manner that Kat had with so many other matters in the past.

Looking in the mirror, Kat saw someone who she hardly recognized. Like if she needed to be reminded of her age every time she saw herself. She had too much dignity to color her hair. Or was it simply a refusal to admit her age because of pride? The copper tresses she’d had in her youth were long gone with how faded her hair had gotten. Aunt Marcella had told her that her grandmother had gone completely white by the time she was sixty, Kat was already well on her way there. There was also the aspect of this which required her to display the prior Orders and medals that she had received. Stars, medals, ribbons, and a few different sashes pinned to her tunic or draped over her shoulder and across her body. The Russians would see that she had already been awarded the Order of Saint Catherine and the gold medal with the two-headed eagle which had been awarded to Kat when she had ironically been named a Voyevoda of the Russian People. Though she had retired years earlier, Kat was still required to wear the uniform of a General of Parachute Corps for this occasion.

Stepping out of her hotel room, Kat saw that Doug was waiting for her and he was not alone. Aunt Marcella, Gia, Josefine, Tatiana, Malcolm, Marie Alexandra, Sophie, and Angelica were waiting for her. To Kat’s surprise, they had been joined by Petia and Darya from her household, Anne, and Leni from the sisterhood, and even Cosimo de Medici, Angelica’s father. Someone had gone through a great deal of expense to get all of them here.

“Here to see me get ritually humiliated?” Kat asked, they didn’t need to have found that funny.
 
Last edited:
Top