The Dark Colossus

Just popped back after a long absence and must say I am gratified by the continuing interest but must apologise for the long wait for new episodes! The story is still being worked on, in fact several new chapters have been written, though progress is slow. As I think I mentioned before, once it is finished I am going to start it again in this forum under a new title but will 'advertise' it on this thread here. Sadly I can't offer a clear idea of when that will be, but I hope you all enjoy the re-write when it finally appears! :)
 
Sorry for necromancy but any word on an update?:D

Nick

Just to point out that eltf177 isn't the only person keeping an eye out for any news. [Although I'm going to be away for a fortnight so an early May start suits me fine. :D]

Steve
 

katchen

Banned
Arctic strategy?

It's a very interesting timeline--with the Germans much more evenly matched to the Allies. I would assume that ITTL, Germany possesses Danish Greenland? ???
This might interest Germany in developing some ships with icebreaking and Arctic warfare capabilities--something the US is now discovering that it is deficient in right now ITTL. Sith possession of Svalbard (which has mineable coal deposits), Novaya Zemela, Severnaya Zemela, New Siberian Islands Wrangel Island , Big Diomede Island and the Kommanderski Islands (the last two or three could be possessed by Japan), Germany could control the Northern Sea Route, which opens an Axis channel to the Pacific for 4 months out of the year. All of these islands can have coaling stations.

If Germany is not worried about the Monroe Doctrinshe can also occupy the Canadian Arctic Islands.(some of which Norway claimed until the 1930s). As enemy territory, they are fair game for Germany.

These , includie Baffin Island and the Hudson Bay Islands, swhere it is possible to build airfields that can strike the cities of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, as well as Pittsburgh. With icebreakers, all of these places can be reached in the summer. And ice roads can be built to connect them in the winter. And U-boats can travel under the ice and surface through the ice wherever they need to to replenish their air tanks if they are engineered to do so, which is not difficult. Think of how readily the Nautilus surfaced at the North Pole in 1958, just for the publicity. Nazi bases in the American Arctic would give the US fits and force the US and Canada to get serious about infrastructure and settlement in the Arctic. and Alaska.

Frankly, ITTL, until very recently, the Arctic Ocean has been a very big strategic blind spot for everyone except the Russians. But even ITTL, the Nazis and the Japanese could have used it, if for nothing else, for faster U-boat transportation between the two Axis nations than going the long way around Africa.
 
Hi All, once again I am touched and gratified by the continuing interest in this story. Forgive the delay, I hit some bumps in the road over the last four years that have prevented me from completing this story. Both my parents died, my business came close to failing and my wife left me. BUT, for the past year or so things have been looking up and I've made a lot of progress.

It has been extensively revised and will re-appear under a new title (I hope) in the autumn. Of the 19 chapters that make up the remainder of the story, twelve are written. Roughly half the annexes and appendices are complete as well.

This summer will be busy, but by September I hope to be ready to start posting this tale once more.

Thank you again for your patience.
 
Hi All, once again I am touched and gratified by the continuing interest in this story. Forgive the delay, I hit some bumps in the road over the last four years that have prevented me from completing this story. Both my parents died, my business came close to failing and my wife left me. BUT, for the past year or so things have been looking up and I've made a lot of progress.

It has been extensively revised and will re-appear under a new title (I hope) in the autumn. Of the 19 chapters that make up the remainder of the story, twelve are written. Roughly half the annexes and appendices are complete as well.

This summer will be busy, but by September I hope to be ready to start posting this tale once more.

Thank you again for your patience.

Nick

Sorry to hear about all you're personal problems. Sounds like a very rough time. Hopefully its better now and I notice that you said the business came close to closing so hopefully its still in operation and doing better, although that would be difficult in the present climate.

Looking forward to some reading in September.:D

Steve
 
I am pleased to announce that after all this time, this story is still very much alive. It has had an extensive re-write and been re-named Drake's Drum. The first part, Drake's Drum: The Peace of Amiens, has been published by Sea Lion Press and is now available as a Kindle on amazon. There is a link in my sig line to the book. A paper edition will follow soon. The manuscript for Part 2, Drake's Drum: The Reckoning, is complete while the manuscript for Part 3, Drake's Drum: The Horizon of Our Hopes, is approaching completion. I hope to publish all of them in due time.

Thank you all for your patience and encouragement. I hope you enjoy reading the story as much as I enjoy writing it. With the permission of the webmasters, I will open a new thread with photographs, fact files and other snippets from the world of Drake's Drum.
 
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