[FONT="]I decided to do my own version of a Alternate WW2. It'll have a few POD's and differences that what you usually see. I don't know that much history about World War 2 since a lot of what I find (oddly) is conflict. If you have anything to say tell me. Any mistakes or things I have to take out or edit would be helpful.
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[FONT="]Onward!
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[FONT="]July 20, 1936[/FONT]
[FONT="]Estoril, Portugal[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Everything is ready, yes?” General Sanjurjo asked, his tone indicating that heads would roll if the pilot told him no. The short, heavyset man looked at the wooden biplane with anticipation. “I cannot wait much longer! España is waiting for my return! The time I waste here is a time home cannot afford to waste!”[/FONT]
[FONT="]With a fearful and nervous look on his face, Juan Ansaldo paced back and forth, his agitation growing with every stride. His face became long as he watched a few of his General’s aides shove two large trunks into the back of his biplane. “Those look heavy,” he said at last after a very short internal argument. “What’s in them?”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“They hold his uniforms,” one of the aides said. “On the eve of his march into Madrid, he cannot arrive without uniforms!” He sounded scandalized by the very mention of it. Sanjurjo had chosen his aides very well. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Nervously, he lit a cigarette. Who was he, a simple major, to tell Spain’s most prestigious General what to do? He’d placed himself at the feet of the Nationalist Front in 1934, drawn to the action and change they promised to bring. And when Sanjurjo flew from Portugal to Burgos to take charge of the rising against the so-called Spanish Republic, he would embody that same Front he had pledged loyalty to. [/FONT]
[FONT="]But Burgos?[/FONT]
[FONT="]The center of where Franco’s Nationalist Government was, Burgos was where his esteemed General was going to take command. But Burgos was so far away from Estoril, and with all the cargo being put on his tiny Biplane, he wasn’t sure if they could make it all the way. The plane was only a two-seater and had only so much fuel and so strong a motor. He gulped and crushed his cigarette beneath his boot. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“General Sanjurjo...”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“What is it?” Growled the man nicknamed ‘Lion of the Rif’ for his great victories in the Rif War of 1909. “My flags await me in Spain,” he boomed, “Are things done here Major? Are we prepared to fly?”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“General, there is an issue-”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“What? What issue?”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Sir, those trunks are too heavy. I need full power to fly you to Spain, and I don’t think we’ll get far with those trunks aboard.” He leveled his hand at his plane. “My plane can only fly so fast, General.” [/FONT]
[FONT="]The General seemed affronted. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“I need to wear proper clothes as the new caudillo of Spain,” he declared, his voice deepening like nothing Ansaldo had heard before. By those few words alone, the Spanish pilot almost abandoned his protest, but he forged on instead. He could not be dissuaded by anything. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Sir, those uniforms will weight us down dramatically,” he protested, knowing he was probably going too far. By the look from the General’s aides, he probably was. But he didn’t want to die, and he didn’t want Sanjurjo to die either because of some clothes. It was an undignified way for a man to go. [/FONT]
[FONT="]To his luck, the General merely frowned. “I cannot fly to Burgos like this, now can I?” He brushed at the gray linen of his sleeve. Ansaldo almost nodded in agreement, but caught himself at the last moment. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Your Excellency, my plane isn’t fit for transporting you,” he insisted.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“You are a fine aviator! You will not fail me, or our nation!” Ansaldo felt his spirits plummet at that. Why did the General not understand? But by the graces of God, one of the aides intervened at that moment. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Your Excellency, what about the Dragon Rapide you flew in from los Canarias Islands? Surely it can fit all of your uniforms in it. ”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“What?”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“I am needed in the fight,” the Major pressed on, “The pilot who will fly you may not possess the same daring as I do, but it is not his job to fight. My purpose is above the battlefield, fighting for our liberty!”[/FONT]
[FONT="]The General didn’t waste time thinking. His mind had already been made up. “Take my uniform to the Rapide,” he barked, “hurry, hurry! Time is of the essence for even as we wait here, my people are led by Franco! My people cry! They cry dearly for my leadership!”[/FONT]
[FONT="]The aides nodded.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Ansaldo smiled wearily. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Viva Sanjurjo! Viva España!”[/FONT]