Well, the great war for infantry men involved chemical attacks and muck, so he should feel right at home.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance.
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Also, I don't think it was rare that some soldiers, especially in some high stress situations (like under artillery fire), couldn't control their bowels. Also, at one point, the British improvised gas masks from urine-soaked rags. So a soldier would be inured, at least from the bodily waste situations.
He may somewhat panic to a baby's crying without discernible reason like any new parent, because even if he's in his 40s (I guess?), he haven't had any fatherhood experience.
But I think it's a bit soon to discuss what colour to paint the potential baby's room yet, and other joys of parenthood.
He may somewhat panic to a baby's crying without discernible reason like any new parent, because even if he's in his 40s (I guess?), he haven't had any fatherhood experience.
But I think it's a bit soon to discuss what colour to paint the potential baby's room yet, and other joys of parenthood.
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I created a genealogical base around this timeline, and I can make trees of the various families :
First, our main hero, Emil Holz :
Edit : I added the awards in WWI for Emil and corrected the grade of Emil after Arganda bridge. The Deutsche Heer didn't have the grade of Brigadier but the grade of Generalmajor above Oberst. Also between July 1922 and May 1930, we have no information on the career of Emil Holz.
Edit 2 : Modified tree upon info of P-M.
First, our main hero, Emil Holz :
Edit : I added the awards in WWI for Emil and corrected the grade of Emil after Arganda bridge. The Deutsche Heer didn't have the grade of Brigadier but the grade of Generalmajor above Oberst. Also between July 1922 and May 1930, we have no information on the career of Emil Holz.
Edit 2 : Modified tree upon info of P-M.
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That's pretty good.
Elina Holz would have been born in 1904 and there is a second sister, Beate born in 1906.
Peter's rank would have been that of a Stabstarzt when he was working in Poland in the early 30s
Part 19, Chapter 201
Chapter Two Hundred One
10th July 1940
Kleinburg
Helene had expected that this would be bad, just not this bad. What she had figured was that she would have to battle it out with her parents, instead she’d run headlong into a war that the two of them had been waging for years. Helene got to witness her parents shouting at each other over their differing positions on her as if she wasn’t there.
Eventually Helene retreated to the formal dining room and was going through her book bag which had accumulated a large amount of junk over the prior term. She was sorting it into three piles, to be thrown away, school related to keep, not school related to keep.
“How goes the battle” A voice asked. Helene looked up to see Lothar, her older brother, enter the room.
“Worse than I thought it would” Helene said, “I didn’t expect them to start fighting like that.”
“This is nothing” Lothar said, “You should have been here when I told Dad I wasn’t pursuing a Luftwaffe career. That was a knockdown, drag out fight.”
Helene knew that Lothar’s Football career had abruptly ended when he’d required surgery after a knee injury but he had recovered enough to fly bombers over Spain.
“You did what?” Helene asked in shock.
“I had been a reserve officer while going to University when I got a better offer” Lothar said, “It turns out that Lufthansa needs people with multi-engine experience and flying a Condor airliner is not that different from flying a Do-19.”
“That’s what you’re going to do?” Helene asked “Why?”
“The Luftwaffe requires ambition that I just don’t have” Lothar said, “Lufthansa will have me flying all over the world, with the advantage of no one shooting at me.”
“That sounds wonderful” Helene said, “I bet Dad had kittens when you told him.”
“That is an understatement” Lothar said, “He went off on how it was a disgrace that the son of the Great Generaloberst Manfred von Richthofen would be flying businessmen and mail to China as a glorified bus driver.”
“Did that also result in them arguing like this?”
“Yeah, Mom took my side, I think she likes the idea that I’ll be doing a job that doesn’t involve a whole lot of personal danger” Lothar replied, “What did you do?”
“I asked Dad to stop trying to manage my affairs” Helene answered.
“I wouldn’t be too hard on him, it was his way of trying to take care of you. He had this old-fashioned fantasy that he’d send you off to the Imperial Court and some Prince would sweep you off your feet. You’d be married and he’d have an acceptable son-in-law” Lothar said with a shrug “Between Spain, the death of the Crown Prince and life happening, things didn’t work out the way he intended.”
“I’ve met a few princes” Helene said, “And I can assure you, that was not going to happen.”
“That was basically what Mom said before they shipped you off to Berlin” Lothar said, “That you are your own person and too much like Dad to be sold so cheaply.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Helene said crossly. No matter what her opinion of the Imperial Court was, the idea of her being bought or sold offended her.
“If by a twist of fate you had born a boy you’d be after Dad’s job by now” Lothar said, “That’s what that means, and you know it.”
Manly, Sydney, New South Wales
Kat was walking down the shore, it being a winter weekday she more or less had the beach to herself. Heavy clouds were rolling in off the Pacific. When Emil had left for work, he’d said that Maria wasn’t feeling well but would be up later. Kat had sat around the house for an hour before she’d gotten bored and went walking down the beach. She felt a fat drop of rain hit her nose and laughed. She really did wish that her friends could be here with her, they would love this place.
It was going on towards mid-morning when Kat returned to the house. Maria was sitting on the porch with a blanket around her shoulders looking pale. “Have fun exploring?” She asked with a smile as Kat walked up.
“Emil said you weren’t feeling well before he took off” Kat said, “If you’re sick he probably should have stuck around until he was sure you’d be alright.”
“I’m not sick and Emil’s work can’t stop on account of me” Maria said, “Besides, this is normal enough.”
“How can you say you’re not sick?” Kat said, “You look terrible, is there a Doctor we can call or something…”
“I already know what a Doctor would say” Maria said, “That this is normal.”
“How can being sick like this be normal” Kat said, “I mean…”
It suddenly hit Kat what Maria was saying. She stood there with her mouth hanging open. Maria had hoped to wait a little longer before she had this conversation with Kat. This whole thing hit on some of Kat’s worst fears and hang ups.
“Emil and I had been discussing this and we decided that things being uncertain wasn’t an enough of a reason not to build a future for ourselves” Maria said, “After that things happened a lot faster than we thought it would.”
“Are you scared?” Kat asked.
“I’d lying if I said I wasn’t” Maria replied, “But odds are things will be fine, the Doctor I did see a couple of weeks ago said I was healthy and things are progressing normally.”
“Did you know when you invited me?”
“No” Maria said, “I only suspected a few weeks ago.”
Kat sat down on the bench next to Maria, her face was unreadable.
“It means that you’re going to be an Auntie in probably about seven months, give or take” Maria said.
“But I’m not in your family” Kat said, “I’m only your protégée, remember?”
“My father walked out on me and my mother when I was thirteen” Maria said “Ever since then I’ve understood that family is as much a matter of choice as blood. You chose some wonderful sisters for yourself and even took on a crazy uncle in the form of that Fritz character.”
That got a bit of a smile from Kat.
“Are sure things will be fine?” Kat asked.
“As sure as I can be” Maria said.
10th July 1940
Kleinburg
Helene had expected that this would be bad, just not this bad. What she had figured was that she would have to battle it out with her parents, instead she’d run headlong into a war that the two of them had been waging for years. Helene got to witness her parents shouting at each other over their differing positions on her as if she wasn’t there.
Eventually Helene retreated to the formal dining room and was going through her book bag which had accumulated a large amount of junk over the prior term. She was sorting it into three piles, to be thrown away, school related to keep, not school related to keep.
“How goes the battle” A voice asked. Helene looked up to see Lothar, her older brother, enter the room.
“Worse than I thought it would” Helene said, “I didn’t expect them to start fighting like that.”
“This is nothing” Lothar said, “You should have been here when I told Dad I wasn’t pursuing a Luftwaffe career. That was a knockdown, drag out fight.”
Helene knew that Lothar’s Football career had abruptly ended when he’d required surgery after a knee injury but he had recovered enough to fly bombers over Spain.
“You did what?” Helene asked in shock.
“I had been a reserve officer while going to University when I got a better offer” Lothar said, “It turns out that Lufthansa needs people with multi-engine experience and flying a Condor airliner is not that different from flying a Do-19.”
“That’s what you’re going to do?” Helene asked “Why?”
“The Luftwaffe requires ambition that I just don’t have” Lothar said, “Lufthansa will have me flying all over the world, with the advantage of no one shooting at me.”
“That sounds wonderful” Helene said, “I bet Dad had kittens when you told him.”
“That is an understatement” Lothar said, “He went off on how it was a disgrace that the son of the Great Generaloberst Manfred von Richthofen would be flying businessmen and mail to China as a glorified bus driver.”
“Did that also result in them arguing like this?”
“Yeah, Mom took my side, I think she likes the idea that I’ll be doing a job that doesn’t involve a whole lot of personal danger” Lothar replied, “What did you do?”
“I asked Dad to stop trying to manage my affairs” Helene answered.
“I wouldn’t be too hard on him, it was his way of trying to take care of you. He had this old-fashioned fantasy that he’d send you off to the Imperial Court and some Prince would sweep you off your feet. You’d be married and he’d have an acceptable son-in-law” Lothar said with a shrug “Between Spain, the death of the Crown Prince and life happening, things didn’t work out the way he intended.”
“I’ve met a few princes” Helene said, “And I can assure you, that was not going to happen.”
“That was basically what Mom said before they shipped you off to Berlin” Lothar said, “That you are your own person and too much like Dad to be sold so cheaply.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Helene said crossly. No matter what her opinion of the Imperial Court was, the idea of her being bought or sold offended her.
“If by a twist of fate you had born a boy you’d be after Dad’s job by now” Lothar said, “That’s what that means, and you know it.”
Manly, Sydney, New South Wales
Kat was walking down the shore, it being a winter weekday she more or less had the beach to herself. Heavy clouds were rolling in off the Pacific. When Emil had left for work, he’d said that Maria wasn’t feeling well but would be up later. Kat had sat around the house for an hour before she’d gotten bored and went walking down the beach. She felt a fat drop of rain hit her nose and laughed. She really did wish that her friends could be here with her, they would love this place.
It was going on towards mid-morning when Kat returned to the house. Maria was sitting on the porch with a blanket around her shoulders looking pale. “Have fun exploring?” She asked with a smile as Kat walked up.
“Emil said you weren’t feeling well before he took off” Kat said, “If you’re sick he probably should have stuck around until he was sure you’d be alright.”
“I’m not sick and Emil’s work can’t stop on account of me” Maria said, “Besides, this is normal enough.”
“How can you say you’re not sick?” Kat said, “You look terrible, is there a Doctor we can call or something…”
“I already know what a Doctor would say” Maria said, “That this is normal.”
“How can being sick like this be normal” Kat said, “I mean…”
It suddenly hit Kat what Maria was saying. She stood there with her mouth hanging open. Maria had hoped to wait a little longer before she had this conversation with Kat. This whole thing hit on some of Kat’s worst fears and hang ups.
“Emil and I had been discussing this and we decided that things being uncertain wasn’t an enough of a reason not to build a future for ourselves” Maria said, “After that things happened a lot faster than we thought it would.”
“Are you scared?” Kat asked.
“I’d lying if I said I wasn’t” Maria replied, “But odds are things will be fine, the Doctor I did see a couple of weeks ago said I was healthy and things are progressing normally.”
“Did you know when you invited me?”
“No” Maria said, “I only suspected a few weeks ago.”
Kat sat down on the bench next to Maria, her face was unreadable.
“It means that you’re going to be an Auntie in probably about seven months, give or take” Maria said.
“But I’m not in your family” Kat said, “I’m only your protégée, remember?”
“My father walked out on me and my mother when I was thirteen” Maria said “Ever since then I’ve understood that family is as much a matter of choice as blood. You chose some wonderful sisters for yourself and even took on a crazy uncle in the form of that Fritz character.”
That got a bit of a smile from Kat.
“Are sure things will be fine?” Kat asked.
“As sure as I can be” Maria said.
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The mistake has been corrected, thank you for that. Emil Holz was Promoted to Oberstlieutenant while still XO of the 1st Fallschirmjager Regiment in late 1925 and made Oberst commanding the 3rd Regiment mid 1929.
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Part 19, Chapter 202
Chapter Two Hundred Two
19th July 1940
Swan Island, Port Philip, Victoria
“Whenever I see that uniform I don’t know if I should salute or duck for cover” Colonel Townsend said to Emil as he walked in.
Emil was wearing the armored vest that had become standard issue for all field troops of the OKW over a Paras knochensack, both in the tropical version of Splinter camouflage. Neither of those things were of Great War vintage. Emil figured that it was actually the helmet under his arm, even cloth covered the shape was unmistakable. Colonel Townsend had spent his formative years in Gallipoli and the Arras front. Emil had found that he had a sort of kinship with Townsend that came from being former opponents, even if Emil had never fought BEF or ANZAC forces.
“While we’re in the field I’d prefer you did neither” Emil said looking out at the shooting range “How are the men doing?”
The Australian Government had adopted the FN33, a rifle that was close enough to the Mauser G/K31 pattern that it could use the same ammunition and magazines. Perfect in situations like this where the politics were iffy.
“They are adjusting” Townsend said, “When I saw that cartridge for the first time I had my doubts but when the entire regiment opens up on the targets from a hundred meters they just shred them.”
“Automatic fire does that” Emil said with a smile “Next we need to get them to start firing in short bursts or no bird is safe.”
That got a snort of laughter from the Australian Colonel.
“Speaking of birds, you ought to be warned that the SIS was burning up the wires at HQ this morning” Townsend said, “They found out about your little house guest.”
“Took them long enough” Emil said, “I’ve been expecting this for several days.”
“You know about that?” Townsend asked.
“Of course, I do” Emil said “If the SIS has decent information they’d know that Kat was pensioned out after her hearing was damaged and she became an emotional wreck because of combat stress. She’s just a University student these days.”
“They’re still going to have questions for you and probably her as well” Townsend said.
“That’s about what I’d expect” Emil said, “Just don’t approach Kat without me present, she doesn’t look like much but she was the one who put down César Sauvageot and came a hairsbreadth from stopping the Reichstag bombing.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“That people underestimate Kat because she’s young and a woman” Emil said, “They are making a big mistake if they do that.”
Manly, Sydney, New South Wales
“Are you sure that the information you had was correct?” Jack asked as Paul got back into the van.
“I saw the girl walking down on the beach” Paul said, “There were a couple men who looked like they were from the Aussie military watching her as well.”
“I don’t like this” Jack said “We see this girl, apparently, she can barely speak three words of English and she walks around openly during the afternoon. Does that sound like a spy of any sort to you?”
“You weren’t there in Chile, Jack” Paul said “The Krauts had people everywhere and we never knew it. Then the Chilean Government was telling us to get lost because the Krauts had threatened to withdraw trade and deny them access to the German market. German spies never look like what you’d assume spies look like, they look like that for example.” Paul pointed out the van’s window and there she was.
Jack watched as the girl, Katherine was walking down the street. She had bought some things from the market that she was carrying in a cloth bag and was eating an apple. He saw that she was wearing a grey coat over a blue dress. Jack could see she had nice legs.
“The house she’s staying in is the home of a General with a fearsome reputation” Paul said, “Ever hear of Jochen Loewe?”
“No” Jack said, “Should I have?”
“If you’re working the German section of the ONI you’d better have” Paul said “He’s the face of the Green Devils, supposedly one of the Kraut’s better outfits but I’d say it’s propaganda bullshit. The guy whose house that is happens to be the real deal if the rumors are true.”
“So, we avoid that guy’s house” Jack said, “In the meantime we observe as we were ordered to do.”
“I'm tired of sitting around with our thumbs up our asses” Paul said, “That girl is a wealth of information and just watching doesn’t cut it.”
----------------------------------------------------------------
Kat had spent some time filling a meaningless errand, getting a few things from the market that she didn't need. The Australians were still there, she’d known that they were shadowing her since she’d gotten off the airplane. It was her understanding that they were mostly there to keep an eye on Emil Holz. It was her new watchers that bothered her, the two men in the van. She had listened to the clerks in the market talking. While she couldn’t understand much of it she had caught the word Americans being thrown around.
Now Kat was walking down the street eating an apple and pretending that she couldn’t see them and trying to make herself seem as harmless as possible. One was older, at least forty, overweight and balding. He had gotten into the van and joined his friend, twenties and curly brown hair. She finished her apple and tossed the core into a trashcan. There were new players in this game, Kat’s hope had been that she’d quit this sort of thing and moved on with her life. Life had other ideas. For reassurance Kat shoved her hand into the right pocket of her coat and put her index finger through the ring of the karambit that had been a gift from Fritz Schaffer. Cats have claws is what Schaffer had said, Kat smiled at that memory. If these Americans were smart they would keep their distance like the Australians were.
19th July 1940
Swan Island, Port Philip, Victoria
“Whenever I see that uniform I don’t know if I should salute or duck for cover” Colonel Townsend said to Emil as he walked in.
Emil was wearing the armored vest that had become standard issue for all field troops of the OKW over a Paras knochensack, both in the tropical version of Splinter camouflage. Neither of those things were of Great War vintage. Emil figured that it was actually the helmet under his arm, even cloth covered the shape was unmistakable. Colonel Townsend had spent his formative years in Gallipoli and the Arras front. Emil had found that he had a sort of kinship with Townsend that came from being former opponents, even if Emil had never fought BEF or ANZAC forces.
“While we’re in the field I’d prefer you did neither” Emil said looking out at the shooting range “How are the men doing?”
The Australian Government had adopted the FN33, a rifle that was close enough to the Mauser G/K31 pattern that it could use the same ammunition and magazines. Perfect in situations like this where the politics were iffy.
“They are adjusting” Townsend said, “When I saw that cartridge for the first time I had my doubts but when the entire regiment opens up on the targets from a hundred meters they just shred them.”
“Automatic fire does that” Emil said with a smile “Next we need to get them to start firing in short bursts or no bird is safe.”
That got a snort of laughter from the Australian Colonel.
“Speaking of birds, you ought to be warned that the SIS was burning up the wires at HQ this morning” Townsend said, “They found out about your little house guest.”
“Took them long enough” Emil said, “I’ve been expecting this for several days.”
“You know about that?” Townsend asked.
“Of course, I do” Emil said “If the SIS has decent information they’d know that Kat was pensioned out after her hearing was damaged and she became an emotional wreck because of combat stress. She’s just a University student these days.”
“They’re still going to have questions for you and probably her as well” Townsend said.
“That’s about what I’d expect” Emil said, “Just don’t approach Kat without me present, she doesn’t look like much but she was the one who put down César Sauvageot and came a hairsbreadth from stopping the Reichstag bombing.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“That people underestimate Kat because she’s young and a woman” Emil said, “They are making a big mistake if they do that.”
Manly, Sydney, New South Wales
“Are you sure that the information you had was correct?” Jack asked as Paul got back into the van.
“I saw the girl walking down on the beach” Paul said, “There were a couple men who looked like they were from the Aussie military watching her as well.”
“I don’t like this” Jack said “We see this girl, apparently, she can barely speak three words of English and she walks around openly during the afternoon. Does that sound like a spy of any sort to you?”
“You weren’t there in Chile, Jack” Paul said “The Krauts had people everywhere and we never knew it. Then the Chilean Government was telling us to get lost because the Krauts had threatened to withdraw trade and deny them access to the German market. German spies never look like what you’d assume spies look like, they look like that for example.” Paul pointed out the van’s window and there she was.
Jack watched as the girl, Katherine was walking down the street. She had bought some things from the market that she was carrying in a cloth bag and was eating an apple. He saw that she was wearing a grey coat over a blue dress. Jack could see she had nice legs.
“The house she’s staying in is the home of a General with a fearsome reputation” Paul said, “Ever hear of Jochen Loewe?”
“No” Jack said, “Should I have?”
“If you’re working the German section of the ONI you’d better have” Paul said “He’s the face of the Green Devils, supposedly one of the Kraut’s better outfits but I’d say it’s propaganda bullshit. The guy whose house that is happens to be the real deal if the rumors are true.”
“So, we avoid that guy’s house” Jack said, “In the meantime we observe as we were ordered to do.”
“I'm tired of sitting around with our thumbs up our asses” Paul said, “That girl is a wealth of information and just watching doesn’t cut it.”
----------------------------------------------------------------
Kat had spent some time filling a meaningless errand, getting a few things from the market that she didn't need. The Australians were still there, she’d known that they were shadowing her since she’d gotten off the airplane. It was her understanding that they were mostly there to keep an eye on Emil Holz. It was her new watchers that bothered her, the two men in the van. She had listened to the clerks in the market talking. While she couldn’t understand much of it she had caught the word Americans being thrown around.
Now Kat was walking down the street eating an apple and pretending that she couldn’t see them and trying to make herself seem as harmless as possible. One was older, at least forty, overweight and balding. He had gotten into the van and joined his friend, twenties and curly brown hair. She finished her apple and tossed the core into a trashcan. There were new players in this game, Kat’s hope had been that she’d quit this sort of thing and moved on with her life. Life had other ideas. For reassurance Kat shoved her hand into the right pocket of her coat and put her index finger through the ring of the karambit that had been a gift from Fritz Schaffer. Cats have claws is what Schaffer had said, Kat smiled at that memory. If these Americans were smart they would keep their distance like the Australians were.
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Seems we are going to have a US, AUS, GER incident on our hands.
What is the political environment between the US and Australia like at the moment?
Seems that Kat will end returning by her own will to the Abwehr, if only to have backup to the hour of dealing with the usual idiots , and with an even bigger legend to her dismay after this.this sounds bad--which is the essence of a great story. You are constantly keeping me on the edge of my seat
Also, she's ironically destroying with her acts most of the doubts about females in military activities.....
And opening the way for the Pink Baron (Maria) to cut a path of Blood, Death, and Destruction through Soviet Russia so she can mount Stalin's head on a pike.
More like an impatient hothead leading an inexperienced trainee who'd been a fratboy a year earlier. I give you the real drivers of American foreign policy.
Will the Luftwaffe be starting a Women's section/auxiliary because someone would be the ideal person to end up running it?
Oh no, US has some far worse places.
Nope, too early for either one of the big punishment details.
For references, those would be Thule AFB and Shemya Island.
Or 29 Palms for the Marines.