can not expand the numbers of convocated or too soon? having some thing like more euro regions and more rest of world(or japan and her colonies are banned to partiicpated?)
TL-191 FILLING IN THE FUTURE
- Thread starter Tiro
- Start date
can not expand the numbers of convocated or too soon? having some thing like more euro regions and more rest of world(or japan and her colonies are banned to partiicpated?)
ZGradt
Banned
This is just a draft so nothing I write here is final, but I want your guys' thoughts on it.
German Empire: 1944-1952
The Prussians had done it: they had defeated the French a total of four times [1], established a new hegemony in the European continent, and are now one of the few superpowers on Earth. The Treaty of Berlin had added Champagne-Ardenne [2] to its lands, and to further humiliate its enemy, it managed to even add Alps-Maritames to Italy in spite of its neutrality during both Great Wars as well as Nor Pas de Calais for puppet Belgium. [3] The Germans had also forced the British and French to give the majority of their colonial empires, save for only a few money-sinking areas. To the east, the Germans had compensated the still politically-divided Kingdom of Poland by giving them the rest of the Belorussian territories and the United Kingdom of Livonia [4] had been re-established with not much complaint from the non-German natives, save for the minority nationalist groups.
But now was the time for reconstruction. Hamburg was hit with a superbomb, and much of western Germany was heavily damaged if not in smoldering ruins. The Americans were also preoccupied with its own affairs, though lines of credit were available to them if they needed. The Austrians and Hungarians still struggle to keep its nation from being torn in two, and the Ottomans are busy trying to get the rest of the Arabian peninsula under control.
Cooperation to Belligerence
Manfred von Richthofen had not aged well, despite only being 52. The Prime Minister had put forth a suitable replacement [5] that sat well with the Deutsche Reichspartei/Deutschkonservative Partei dominated right-wing coalition, but the SPD, Socialist Workers' Party (SAPD), and the LPD were in protest over the decision. Their opposition did not matter, as the Reichstag had voted him in with an overwhelming majority and he took office in 1946.
Richthofen's replacement turned out to be the complete opposite.
German Empire: 1944-1952
The Prussians had done it: they had defeated the French a total of four times [1], established a new hegemony in the European continent, and are now one of the few superpowers on Earth. The Treaty of Berlin had added Champagne-Ardenne [2] to its lands, and to further humiliate its enemy, it managed to even add Alps-Maritames to Italy in spite of its neutrality during both Great Wars as well as Nor Pas de Calais for puppet Belgium. [3] The Germans had also forced the British and French to give the majority of their colonial empires, save for only a few money-sinking areas. To the east, the Germans had compensated the still politically-divided Kingdom of Poland by giving them the rest of the Belorussian territories and the United Kingdom of Livonia [4] had been re-established with not much complaint from the non-German natives, save for the minority nationalist groups.
But now was the time for reconstruction. Hamburg was hit with a superbomb, and much of western Germany was heavily damaged if not in smoldering ruins. The Americans were also preoccupied with its own affairs, though lines of credit were available to them if they needed. The Austrians and Hungarians still struggle to keep its nation from being torn in two, and the Ottomans are busy trying to get the rest of the Arabian peninsula under control.
Cooperation to Belligerence
Manfred von Richthofen had not aged well, despite only being 52. The Prime Minister had put forth a suitable replacement [5] that sat well with the Deutsche Reichspartei/Deutschkonservative Partei dominated right-wing coalition, but the SPD, Socialist Workers' Party (SAPD), and the LPD were in protest over the decision. Their opposition did not matter, as the Reichstag had voted him in with an overwhelming majority and he took office in 1946.
Richthofen's replacement turned out to be the complete opposite.
Looks good, although Chancellor would be the title of the German head of government.
teg
ZGradt
Banned
My bad, I was typing stuff in and didn't bother with any editing. That's why I didn't erase the numbers that are supposed to be superscripts, either.
General question for the folks: wasn't there a post that had some bellicose Chancellor say something about being" encircled by Germany's enemies" in either of the two threads? I know it was a suggestion, but I think he fits well in this case: Richthofen would pick this guy thinking he'll keep Germany on the path to greatness, but not realize this guy is not alright in the head and his statements would threaten to tear US-German relations apart.
I did that. I originally put one of the July 20th plotters as chancellor but I think Richthofen is a more interesting and plausible choice. I don't think it is a case of the guy not being in right in the head, so much as that without the Entente, the differences between Germany and the United States are rapidly becoming more obvious. In this scenario, even someone level-headed like Richthofen is going to quickly see the US as a potential threat.
teg
ZGradt
Banned
Ah, probably should've just looked through the posts you made then. But yeah, the Red Baron is still alive ITTL. It's in Craigo's article regarding German Politics during the interwar period and during the Second Great War: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=3130975&postcount=55
That makes sense, its not that Richthofen doesn't like the US. As you said, its just the political structures and aims of each nation are drastically dissimilar in spite of common interests like preventing nuclear proliferation and preventing Japan from becoming too powerful.
However, at the same time, I also think that the German Empire will democratize with the DKP (German Conservatives) and the DRP (German Imperials) kicking and screaming. The expanded colonial empire may have to do something with said democratization.
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My Contribution
History of Hockey in TL 191
The Stanley Cup Era
In 1893, Canada's Governor General Stanley, who's sons were both avid ice hockey players, bought a trophy that would be dedicated to the top team in Canada, appropriately enough named the Stanley Cup. In the early years, both professional and amateur teams played for the cup. Although no team east of Manitoba had ever won it, the rising power of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, with teams on both sides of what was then an international border, meant that it looked likely that Vancouver or Victoria, or even Seattle or Portland, may challenge for the cup some day.
However, the PCHA obviously could not survive the outbreak of the First Great War, and the Canadian leagues ceased to play during the war. At the end of the war, when English speaking Canada was occupied by the United States, the Stanley Cup was shipped back to the United States as a museum piece (with President Roosevelt making sure to get a photograph of him holding it high above his head) and hockey games, as well as most spectator sports, were banned in the first years of the occupation.
Interwar Period
When Upton Sinclair was elected President in 1920, he eased some of the restrictions in the occupied territories, including on professional sports; the joke that "without hockey, Canadian women will get drunk and beat their husbands" is sometimes credited to him. Hockey leagues started in Ontario, the Prairies and the Maritimes, while the four team PCHA was resurrected, with teams in Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle and Portland. PCHA games however, frequently turned into scenes of violence between spectators, and after the uprising of 1924, hockey games were once again banned in occupied Canada.
In the United States, hockey was a fringe sport, with two dominant professional leagues: the Eastern Hockey League, with teams in Philadelphia, Boston, Buffalo, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and two teams in New York, and the Central Hockey League, with teams in Detroit, Pontiac, Chicago, Minnesota and Milwaukee. After the Depression though, only five teams: the New York Sentinels, Philadelphia Quakers, Boston Whales, Detroit Cougars and Chicago Towers were able to survive, and the two leagues merged into the American Hockey League in 1932.
But in terms of fan interest and quality of play, the Lique du Hockey Republique in Quebec was clearly the greatest in the continent and the world. Quebec was intensely proud of it's new league, even having the Premier's Cup pictured on their five cent piece, and sending their teams to play exhibition games throughout Europe. The 1920's and 30's are remembered as the Belle Epocque of the LHR.
The Second Great War and it's Aftermath:
The AHL managed to stay afloat in the outbreak of war in 1941, although it struggled: many of it's best players were either drafted, or tried to get on Quebec teams in order to avoid going to war. The quality of professional play dipped below college and university teams.
Meanwhile, the LHR's most celebrated team, the Montreal Habitants, started a run of dominance in 1942 that saw them win the Premier's Cup six years in a row.
After the 1946-47 season, the AHL teams approached the Habitant's owner, Joseph Drapeau with a proposition to come play in their league. The AHL wanted to drum up business by attracting fans to the best team in the world: Drapeau, who knew that he could count on a bigger share of the gate, and larger gates in bigger American cities, agreed. The LHR immediately took the Habitants to court, and the session dragged out so that the entire 1947-48 season meant that the Habitants didn't play a game in either league. However, Quebec's courts, despite public opinion, ruled that the LHR had no legal grounds, and the Habitants became the sixth franchise in the AHL.
If they were dominant in the LHR however, the Habitants proved completely unstoppable in the AHL. Quebecois fans watched with a mixture of pride in watching their team mop the floor with the Americans, and distress as to what this meant for their league, particularily when AHL teams began offering LHR players big money contracts in the hopes of shoring up their lineups. In response, the LRH installed new contract laws that effectively bound every player to their first franchise for a decade after they turned professional. Many Montrealers on the other hand, were faced with the decision to either cheer for Les Deseurters, as the Habitants became commonly called, or cheer for the crosstown Maroons, typically the team of Quebec's Anglophone population.
After a brief bump in attendance the first year, the AHL's numbers went down the second year, as the Habitants continued their mind-numbing dominance of the league. The AHL had to change some rules to try and level the playing field: for instance, ending a powerplay immediately after the team with a man advantage scored, instead of the LHR which would maintain the old rules. The AHL also turned to expansion in order to increase revenue, adding the Buffalo Bisons and Baltimore Unionists in 1949. Both teams had loyal fanbases and were successful financially, which could not be said for the next two franchises to join in 1951: the Saint Louis Choir and the Pontiac Firebirds. In 1954, the AHL reached out to the west coast with the Los Angeles Monarchs and Seattle Cosmos. Los Angeles was another questionable decision, but Seattle's new owners had a somewhat surprising strategy of recruiting players. Seattle had been the main target of Russian emigres to the United States since the Russian Civil War, including the man who would become the new team's coach and general manager, Anatoli Tarosov. Tarosov maintained some contacts in Russia, which had been the nation which had been most taken with hockey since the LHR's European tours.
No one knew what to expect when a team full of Russian players, but when the Cosmos took the ice they silenced all critics: they didn't give up a goal in their first three games, and they humiliated the Habitants 8-3 in Montreal the first time they played. Seattle posted the best record in the regular season, and while Montreal did get some revenge in the championship (winning Game 7 in overtime), the Cosmos took the cup their second year and the AHL's greatest rivalry was born.
A Third League Emerges
In 1950, Joseph Drapeau attempted to buy the Stanley Cup and donate it to the AHL: this was met with protests across the northern territories, and a New Brunswick man attempted to assassinate him (Drapeau would survive, but would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life). The former Canada would seem to be fertile ground for expansion or recruitment by the AHL, were it not for the formation of the Northern Hockey Association in 1952.
The NHA's six teams: (Vancouver Gassers, Calgary Snipers, Edmonton Drillers, Winnipeg Firestarters, Ottawa Legion and Toronto Tecumsehs) played with aggression unseen in either the AHL or LHR: indeed, it seemed like Canadians were sublimating their frustrations at American dominance into hockey. Many NHA franchises are owned and staffed by veterans of the Canadian nationalist movement, and have been suspected of being tied into organized crime. Indeed, many promising players in Canada who get approached by talent scouts from either AHL or LHR teams are visited in the night by suspicious men who want to remind them where their loyalty belongs.
Spectator violence has been a major problem in NHA games, and has been a huge stumbling block to get exhibition games against teams of either professional league.
History of Hockey in TL 191
The Stanley Cup Era
In 1893, Canada's Governor General Stanley, who's sons were both avid ice hockey players, bought a trophy that would be dedicated to the top team in Canada, appropriately enough named the Stanley Cup. In the early years, both professional and amateur teams played for the cup. Although no team east of Manitoba had ever won it, the rising power of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, with teams on both sides of what was then an international border, meant that it looked likely that Vancouver or Victoria, or even Seattle or Portland, may challenge for the cup some day.
However, the PCHA obviously could not survive the outbreak of the First Great War, and the Canadian leagues ceased to play during the war. At the end of the war, when English speaking Canada was occupied by the United States, the Stanley Cup was shipped back to the United States as a museum piece (with President Roosevelt making sure to get a photograph of him holding it high above his head) and hockey games, as well as most spectator sports, were banned in the first years of the occupation.
Interwar Period
When Upton Sinclair was elected President in 1920, he eased some of the restrictions in the occupied territories, including on professional sports; the joke that "without hockey, Canadian women will get drunk and beat their husbands" is sometimes credited to him. Hockey leagues started in Ontario, the Prairies and the Maritimes, while the four team PCHA was resurrected, with teams in Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle and Portland. PCHA games however, frequently turned into scenes of violence between spectators, and after the uprising of 1924, hockey games were once again banned in occupied Canada.
In the United States, hockey was a fringe sport, with two dominant professional leagues: the Eastern Hockey League, with teams in Philadelphia, Boston, Buffalo, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and two teams in New York, and the Central Hockey League, with teams in Detroit, Pontiac, Chicago, Minnesota and Milwaukee. After the Depression though, only five teams: the New York Sentinels, Philadelphia Quakers, Boston Whales, Detroit Cougars and Chicago Towers were able to survive, and the two leagues merged into the American Hockey League in 1932.
But in terms of fan interest and quality of play, the Lique du Hockey Republique in Quebec was clearly the greatest in the continent and the world. Quebec was intensely proud of it's new league, even having the Premier's Cup pictured on their five cent piece, and sending their teams to play exhibition games throughout Europe. The 1920's and 30's are remembered as the Belle Epocque of the LHR.
The Second Great War and it's Aftermath:
The AHL managed to stay afloat in the outbreak of war in 1941, although it struggled: many of it's best players were either drafted, or tried to get on Quebec teams in order to avoid going to war. The quality of professional play dipped below college and university teams.
Meanwhile, the LHR's most celebrated team, the Montreal Habitants, started a run of dominance in 1942 that saw them win the Premier's Cup six years in a row.
After the 1946-47 season, the AHL teams approached the Habitant's owner, Joseph Drapeau with a proposition to come play in their league. The AHL wanted to drum up business by attracting fans to the best team in the world: Drapeau, who knew that he could count on a bigger share of the gate, and larger gates in bigger American cities, agreed. The LHR immediately took the Habitants to court, and the session dragged out so that the entire 1947-48 season meant that the Habitants didn't play a game in either league. However, Quebec's courts, despite public opinion, ruled that the LHR had no legal grounds, and the Habitants became the sixth franchise in the AHL.
If they were dominant in the LHR however, the Habitants proved completely unstoppable in the AHL. Quebecois fans watched with a mixture of pride in watching their team mop the floor with the Americans, and distress as to what this meant for their league, particularily when AHL teams began offering LHR players big money contracts in the hopes of shoring up their lineups. In response, the LRH installed new contract laws that effectively bound every player to their first franchise for a decade after they turned professional. Many Montrealers on the other hand, were faced with the decision to either cheer for Les Deseurters, as the Habitants became commonly called, or cheer for the crosstown Maroons, typically the team of Quebec's Anglophone population.
After a brief bump in attendance the first year, the AHL's numbers went down the second year, as the Habitants continued their mind-numbing dominance of the league. The AHL had to change some rules to try and level the playing field: for instance, ending a powerplay immediately after the team with a man advantage scored, instead of the LHR which would maintain the old rules. The AHL also turned to expansion in order to increase revenue, adding the Buffalo Bisons and Baltimore Unionists in 1949. Both teams had loyal fanbases and were successful financially, which could not be said for the next two franchises to join in 1951: the Saint Louis Choir and the Pontiac Firebirds. In 1954, the AHL reached out to the west coast with the Los Angeles Monarchs and Seattle Cosmos. Los Angeles was another questionable decision, but Seattle's new owners had a somewhat surprising strategy of recruiting players. Seattle had been the main target of Russian emigres to the United States since the Russian Civil War, including the man who would become the new team's coach and general manager, Anatoli Tarosov. Tarosov maintained some contacts in Russia, which had been the nation which had been most taken with hockey since the LHR's European tours.
No one knew what to expect when a team full of Russian players, but when the Cosmos took the ice they silenced all critics: they didn't give up a goal in their first three games, and they humiliated the Habitants 8-3 in Montreal the first time they played. Seattle posted the best record in the regular season, and while Montreal did get some revenge in the championship (winning Game 7 in overtime), the Cosmos took the cup their second year and the AHL's greatest rivalry was born.
A Third League Emerges
In 1950, Joseph Drapeau attempted to buy the Stanley Cup and donate it to the AHL: this was met with protests across the northern territories, and a New Brunswick man attempted to assassinate him (Drapeau would survive, but would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life). The former Canada would seem to be fertile ground for expansion or recruitment by the AHL, were it not for the formation of the Northern Hockey Association in 1952.
The NHA's six teams: (Vancouver Gassers, Calgary Snipers, Edmonton Drillers, Winnipeg Firestarters, Ottawa Legion and Toronto Tecumsehs) played with aggression unseen in either the AHL or LHR: indeed, it seemed like Canadians were sublimating their frustrations at American dominance into hockey. Many NHA franchises are owned and staffed by veterans of the Canadian nationalist movement, and have been suspected of being tied into organized crime. Indeed, many promising players in Canada who get approached by talent scouts from either AHL or LHR teams are visited in the night by suspicious men who want to remind them where their loyalty belongs.
Spectator violence has been a major problem in NHA games, and has been a huge stumbling block to get exhibition games against teams of either professional league.
ZGradt
Banned
I decided to work on some firearms articles, specifically for the US military. Found some stuff on obscure US weapons like the M1941 Johnson Auto Rifle and M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun and decided to fit them into the TL-191 verse.
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M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun
Developed by Second Lieutenant Melvin Johnson, Jr of the United States Marine Corps, the M1941 was designed to replace the M1914 Browning Automatic Rifle[1] with the objective of providing lightweight firepower to US platoons and defensive positions. The M1941 Johnson, along with the M1940 Johnson Automatic Rifle[2] used the short recoil operation to cycle the next round into the gun’s loading chamber, similar to its bigger predecessor, the Maxim machine gun. The weapon was manufactured to a high standard; however Operation Blackbeard severely deprived Johnson’s factories of resources to create the weapon not to mention its higher-quality parts made it very difficult to replace any damaged or dirty parts. By 1944, only enough M1941s were produced to serve alongside the remaining M1914s amongst American troops in the final push to Richmond.
The M1941 is similar to the Confederates’ M42 Machine Gun[3] in terms of operation. However, its niche was already covered by the M1917 water-cooled machine gun and the air-cooled M1919. In addition, its 25-round curved detachable box magazine was attached to the left-side of the receiver. This made the gun awkward to carry due to the weight imbalance, although from a prone firing position without using its built-in metal bipod this actually made the gun more accurate due to the magazine decreasing the horizontal sway of the weapon. Also, the 25-round magazine was insufficient to provide enough suppression fire in fire support roles. The M2 Thompson submachine gun was more than sufficient to provide enough suppression fire onto enemy positions despite its decreased range and accuracy.
After the end of the Second Great War, the M1941 ceased to be produced. In spite of additional sales to rebels of the provisional government of the Republic of Haiti against the Dominican Republic the weapon was considered to be a failure. In spite of the M1941’s low sales however, Melvin saw that his short recoil action would be perfect for the next weapon he was working on: the M1946 Johnson Machine Gun.
M1941
Designed: 1940
Produced: 1940-44
Numbers Built: 3,500
Variants: None
In Service: 1941-45
Users: United States of America and Provisional Government of Haiti
Wars Served In: Second Great War, Operation Valiant Freedom [4] (US-Haitian War against the Dominican Republic)
Weight: 13 pounds loaded (5.9 kg.)
Length: 42 inches (1.1 m)
Barrel Length: 22 inches (5.6 cm)
Ammuniton: .30-06 Springfield
Firing Rate: 200-900, adjustable
Feeding System: 25-round detachable box magazine
Muzzle Velocity: 2,800 ft/s (853.6 m/s)
M1946 Johnson Machine Gun [5]
While his M1941 Automatic Rifle and M1941 Johnson LMG were considered failures due to their meticulous design and the US Armed Forces reduced budgets at their first unveiling, the M1946 was Melvin Johnson’s most successful weapon design. The M1946 was an up-scaled version of the failed M1941, with a couple major differences. First, the weight was increased from 13 pounds fully loaded to 24 pounds unloaded turning it from a light machine gun to medium machine gun. This helps with the massive recoil issues that US operators had when trying to fire the M1941 LMG in mobile fire support roles. Secondly, the magazine was discarded altogether. Instead, ammunition was fed into the gun using disposable cloth, and later metal belts that allow the gun to continuously fire until the belt is spent of ammunition. Its bipod returned, making it much more useful for squad or platoon-based suppression fire. Its parts were now of mass-production quality, allowing damaged or dirtied parts to be replaced faster and cheaper as well as getting more guns out to US troops on occupation duty. The iron sights were improved so the user has a clearer view of the target.
The M1946 became wildly popular with US occupation troops in the former Confederate States, allowing high rates of fire while still being able to go mobile. Its 50 to 200 round belts allow the gunner to carry more ammunition for less weight as opposed to the BAR’s metal box magazines. And while the cloth belts were more problematic due to the amount of residue build-up contaminating the strip, the M1946A1 and onwards used metallic strip belts to circumvent the issue. The US used the M1946 and its improved variants until 1967, but was still in use until 1978 and many are still kept in reserve armories to this day.
The US wasn’t the only nation to wildly enjoy the M1946; IJA and IJN troops enjoyed taking the American-made general-purpose machine gun from the corpses of Chinese and Filipino guerrillas. The Japanese government eventually made an indigenous copy, the Type 107 Machine Gun [6], so Japanese soldiers would stop abandoning their weapons and salvaging dirty ammunition off the dirty corpses. The Type 107 became the mainstay of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces until the end of the Second/Third Pacific War [7]. The M1946 and its variants have even been sold to countries such as India, Iran, Afghanistan, South Africa; some have filtered into anticolonial organizations in the German Congo and Italian Ethiopia [8]. The M1946 is nowadays an obsolete weapon due to its weight, but it still continues to be used by various paramilitary and rebel groups to this day, giving the Johnson Machine Gun an over-popular depiction in cinematic pictures.
M1946
Designed: 1945
Produced: 1946-present
Numbers Built: 56,300,800
Variants: 11 military variants, 7 civilian variants, hundreds of unauthorized variants [9]
In Service: 1946-1982 (South Africa was the last nation to replace the M1946 completely)
Users: United States of America, Texas, Quebec, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Liberia, South Africa, Nigeria [10], German Congo[11], Iran, Turkistan[12], Tajikistan, Afghanistan, India, China, Japan, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand; various anticolonial, paramilitary, and rebel groups
Wars Served In: 25 [13]
Weight: 24 pounds unloaded (M1946), 29 pounds unloaded (M1946A1-A5), 32 pounds unloaded (M1946A6-M1946B2)
Length: 48 inches (M1946-M1946A5), 52 inches (M1946A4-M1946B2)
Barrel Length: 22 inches (M1946-M1946A5), 26 inches (M1946A6-M1946B2)
Ammuniton: .30-06 Springfield
Firing Rate: 200-900, adjustable
Feeding System: 50 to 200-round ammunition belts, usually worn on gunner or kept in metal containers to keep ammunition clean and dry
Muzzle Velocity: 2,800 ft/s (853.6 m/s) [M1946-M1946A5], 3,012 ft/s (918.06 m/s) [M1946A6-M1946B2]
[1] I’m not sure if were still keeping John Browning as the developer of the M1911, M1917 BAR, M1917, M1919, and M2, considering Craigo has confirmed the US machine guns are water-cooled and air-cooled Maxims. For the sake of continuity, I will say Browning developed these weapons, but only the M1911, M1917, and M2 were successful.
[2] Johnson OTL made the M1941 Johnson Automatic Rifle and M1941 Johnson Machine Gun. Due to Turtledove omitting all use of semi-auto battle rifles, I have to assume the Garand and the Johnson were cancelled or considered failures.
[3] US designation for the MG42 Confederate expy.
[4] Name of the short war between Haiti and Dominican Republic Joshua and I discussed.
[5] Think of it as TTL's M60 machine gun. The only things missing that would make it visually identical to the former is the big charging handle on the right side of the gun, and the M60's 'unique' iron sights.
[6] The Empire of Japan OTL had a thing of taking foreign-made weapons and reverse engineering them before making their own indigenous copies.
[7] Kept this vague while you guys discuss amongst yourselves on whether the US confronts Japan; will be finalized when you guys figure it out.
[8] If the Treaty of Berlin is to be believed, then Italy has control of Eritrea and all of the coastal Somalilands. Ethiopia at this point would be an Italian protectorate or dependency, but I’m sure the Italians would just throw out any pretenses.
[9] OTL guns like the AK-47 have lots of local unauthorized or unlicensed variants and mish-mashed parts. TTL’s machine gun will be no exception. I may make a list of M1946 variants, but on another article since cramming it into this one would make this article a lot bigger than it already is.
[10] Considering its one of the UK's biggest moneysinks in OTL, TTL might see the nation gain an earlier independence.
[11] Added this one too since GeorgeUK had it listed as a participating country for the FIFA expy. Perhaps it's a self-governing domain now...
[12] Added another nation, no USSR to seperate the tribes into ethnic groups means a 'united' Turkistan.
[13] That's a lot of wars...but that's for a reason.
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I hope you guys enjoyed this. As a disclaimer, I'm not a professional gun expert so if any of my statistics or measurements are wrong then feel free to call me out on it.
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M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun
Developed by Second Lieutenant Melvin Johnson, Jr of the United States Marine Corps, the M1941 was designed to replace the M1914 Browning Automatic Rifle[1] with the objective of providing lightweight firepower to US platoons and defensive positions. The M1941 Johnson, along with the M1940 Johnson Automatic Rifle[2] used the short recoil operation to cycle the next round into the gun’s loading chamber, similar to its bigger predecessor, the Maxim machine gun. The weapon was manufactured to a high standard; however Operation Blackbeard severely deprived Johnson’s factories of resources to create the weapon not to mention its higher-quality parts made it very difficult to replace any damaged or dirty parts. By 1944, only enough M1941s were produced to serve alongside the remaining M1914s amongst American troops in the final push to Richmond.
The M1941 is similar to the Confederates’ M42 Machine Gun[3] in terms of operation. However, its niche was already covered by the M1917 water-cooled machine gun and the air-cooled M1919. In addition, its 25-round curved detachable box magazine was attached to the left-side of the receiver. This made the gun awkward to carry due to the weight imbalance, although from a prone firing position without using its built-in metal bipod this actually made the gun more accurate due to the magazine decreasing the horizontal sway of the weapon. Also, the 25-round magazine was insufficient to provide enough suppression fire in fire support roles. The M2 Thompson submachine gun was more than sufficient to provide enough suppression fire onto enemy positions despite its decreased range and accuracy.
After the end of the Second Great War, the M1941 ceased to be produced. In spite of additional sales to rebels of the provisional government of the Republic of Haiti against the Dominican Republic the weapon was considered to be a failure. In spite of the M1941’s low sales however, Melvin saw that his short recoil action would be perfect for the next weapon he was working on: the M1946 Johnson Machine Gun.
M1941
Designed: 1940
Produced: 1940-44
Numbers Built: 3,500
Variants: None
In Service: 1941-45
Users: United States of America and Provisional Government of Haiti
Wars Served In: Second Great War, Operation Valiant Freedom [4] (US-Haitian War against the Dominican Republic)
Weight: 13 pounds loaded (5.9 kg.)
Length: 42 inches (1.1 m)
Barrel Length: 22 inches (5.6 cm)
Ammuniton: .30-06 Springfield
Firing Rate: 200-900, adjustable
Feeding System: 25-round detachable box magazine
Muzzle Velocity: 2,800 ft/s (853.6 m/s)
M1946 Johnson Machine Gun [5]
While his M1941 Automatic Rifle and M1941 Johnson LMG were considered failures due to their meticulous design and the US Armed Forces reduced budgets at their first unveiling, the M1946 was Melvin Johnson’s most successful weapon design. The M1946 was an up-scaled version of the failed M1941, with a couple major differences. First, the weight was increased from 13 pounds fully loaded to 24 pounds unloaded turning it from a light machine gun to medium machine gun. This helps with the massive recoil issues that US operators had when trying to fire the M1941 LMG in mobile fire support roles. Secondly, the magazine was discarded altogether. Instead, ammunition was fed into the gun using disposable cloth, and later metal belts that allow the gun to continuously fire until the belt is spent of ammunition. Its bipod returned, making it much more useful for squad or platoon-based suppression fire. Its parts were now of mass-production quality, allowing damaged or dirtied parts to be replaced faster and cheaper as well as getting more guns out to US troops on occupation duty. The iron sights were improved so the user has a clearer view of the target.
The M1946 became wildly popular with US occupation troops in the former Confederate States, allowing high rates of fire while still being able to go mobile. Its 50 to 200 round belts allow the gunner to carry more ammunition for less weight as opposed to the BAR’s metal box magazines. And while the cloth belts were more problematic due to the amount of residue build-up contaminating the strip, the M1946A1 and onwards used metallic strip belts to circumvent the issue. The US used the M1946 and its improved variants until 1967, but was still in use until 1978 and many are still kept in reserve armories to this day.
The US wasn’t the only nation to wildly enjoy the M1946; IJA and IJN troops enjoyed taking the American-made general-purpose machine gun from the corpses of Chinese and Filipino guerrillas. The Japanese government eventually made an indigenous copy, the Type 107 Machine Gun [6], so Japanese soldiers would stop abandoning their weapons and salvaging dirty ammunition off the dirty corpses. The Type 107 became the mainstay of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces until the end of the Second/Third Pacific War [7]. The M1946 and its variants have even been sold to countries such as India, Iran, Afghanistan, South Africa; some have filtered into anticolonial organizations in the German Congo and Italian Ethiopia [8]. The M1946 is nowadays an obsolete weapon due to its weight, but it still continues to be used by various paramilitary and rebel groups to this day, giving the Johnson Machine Gun an over-popular depiction in cinematic pictures.
M1946
Designed: 1945
Produced: 1946-present
Numbers Built: 56,300,800
Variants: 11 military variants, 7 civilian variants, hundreds of unauthorized variants [9]
In Service: 1946-1982 (South Africa was the last nation to replace the M1946 completely)
Users: United States of America, Texas, Quebec, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Liberia, South Africa, Nigeria [10], German Congo[11], Iran, Turkistan[12], Tajikistan, Afghanistan, India, China, Japan, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand; various anticolonial, paramilitary, and rebel groups
Wars Served In: 25 [13]
Weight: 24 pounds unloaded (M1946), 29 pounds unloaded (M1946A1-A5), 32 pounds unloaded (M1946A6-M1946B2)
Length: 48 inches (M1946-M1946A5), 52 inches (M1946A4-M1946B2)
Barrel Length: 22 inches (M1946-M1946A5), 26 inches (M1946A6-M1946B2)
Ammuniton: .30-06 Springfield
Firing Rate: 200-900, adjustable
Feeding System: 50 to 200-round ammunition belts, usually worn on gunner or kept in metal containers to keep ammunition clean and dry
Muzzle Velocity: 2,800 ft/s (853.6 m/s) [M1946-M1946A5], 3,012 ft/s (918.06 m/s) [M1946A6-M1946B2]
[1] I’m not sure if were still keeping John Browning as the developer of the M1911, M1917 BAR, M1917, M1919, and M2, considering Craigo has confirmed the US machine guns are water-cooled and air-cooled Maxims. For the sake of continuity, I will say Browning developed these weapons, but only the M1911, M1917, and M2 were successful.
[2] Johnson OTL made the M1941 Johnson Automatic Rifle and M1941 Johnson Machine Gun. Due to Turtledove omitting all use of semi-auto battle rifles, I have to assume the Garand and the Johnson were cancelled or considered failures.
[3] US designation for the MG42 Confederate expy.
[4] Name of the short war between Haiti and Dominican Republic Joshua and I discussed.
[5] Think of it as TTL's M60 machine gun. The only things missing that would make it visually identical to the former is the big charging handle on the right side of the gun, and the M60's 'unique' iron sights.
[6] The Empire of Japan OTL had a thing of taking foreign-made weapons and reverse engineering them before making their own indigenous copies.
[7] Kept this vague while you guys discuss amongst yourselves on whether the US confronts Japan; will be finalized when you guys figure it out.
[8] If the Treaty of Berlin is to be believed, then Italy has control of Eritrea and all of the coastal Somalilands. Ethiopia at this point would be an Italian protectorate or dependency, but I’m sure the Italians would just throw out any pretenses.
[9] OTL guns like the AK-47 have lots of local unauthorized or unlicensed variants and mish-mashed parts. TTL’s machine gun will be no exception. I may make a list of M1946 variants, but on another article since cramming it into this one would make this article a lot bigger than it already is.
[10] Considering its one of the UK's biggest moneysinks in OTL, TTL might see the nation gain an earlier independence.
[11] Added this one too since GeorgeUK had it listed as a participating country for the FIFA expy. Perhaps it's a self-governing domain now...
[12] Added another nation, no USSR to seperate the tribes into ethnic groups means a 'united' Turkistan.
[13] That's a lot of wars...but that's for a reason.
----
I hope you guys enjoyed this. As a disclaimer, I'm not a professional gun expert so if any of my statistics or measurements are wrong then feel free to call me out on it.
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The 1974 IF World Cup
1974 saw the World Cup co-hosted for the first time, between Poland and Lithuania. This was the result of an agreement made between the two nations and Britain (who were still building a high-speed rail line for the then-new “Silver Bullet” trains). In return, Britain would host the 1982 tournament, by which time the London to Paris line would stretch to Glasgow. Australia, the German Congo, the Netherlands and Lithuania all made their debuts; France and Portugal both failed to qualify.
This tournament deviated from the format the last four had taken; the quarter final stage was replaced by a second group stage, with the top teams in the two groups going into the final and the second-placed teams into the third place play-off.
Group 1
1st: Lithuania 5pts
2nd: Germany 4pts
3rd: Chile 2pts
4th: Australia 1pt
This group threw up a huge shock as the unfancied Lithuanian side beat European Champions Germany 1-0 in the final group game. Carlos Caszely, of Chile, had the dishonour of being the first ever World Cup player to receive a red card, in the game against Germany. Australian football was shown to be far behind the nation's prowess in rugby and cricket.
Group 2
1st: Britain 5pts
2nd: Brazil 4pts
3rd: Austria-Hungary 3pts
4th: German Congo 0pts
This marked Britain's first “big scalp” in a World Cup, as they beat Brazil 2-1 to top the group. Austria-Hungary underachieved again; a defeat against Brazil and a draw with Britain rendered their 9-0 win over the German Congo moot.
Group 3
1st: Netherlands 5pts
2nd: USA 4pts
3rd: Bulgaria 2pts
4th: Uruguay 1pt
The Dutch quickly established themselves as favourites to win the competition, with their brand of “total football” seeing them qualify with ease. The Americans also qualified, with Bulgaria and Uruguay both failing to win a match.
Group 4
1st: Italy 5pts
2nd: Poland 4pts
3rd: Argentina 3pts
4th: Haiti 0pts
Haiti's second appearance at a World Cup once again saw them go home empty-handed. Italy were on the verge of elimination in their final game, but two goals from Fabio Capello and Gianni Rivera saw them qualify as group winners. Poland had already qualified by that stage, leaving Argentina, one of the favourites, on the early plane home.
Second group stage
Group A
1st: Netherlands 6pts
2nd: Poland 3pts
3rd: Brazil 2pts
4th: Lithuania 1pt
This group, surprisingly, saw both co-hosts together, along with the favourites and holders. It was the Netherlands who reached the final, with maximum points. Poland edged Brazil out to reach the third-place play-off. The game between the Netherlands and Brazil was saw several bookings and injuries.
Group B
1st: Italy 6pts
2nd: USA 4pts
3rd: Britain 2pts
4th: Germany 0pts
Ultimately, it was Italy who emerged from a tough group with maximum points. Britain gained a measure of revenge for 1966 and 1970 with a 2-0 win over the Germans, but 2-1 defeats to Italy and the USA saw them fail to make the final four.
Third place play-off
Poland 1-0 USA
Gregorz Lato scored the only goal to win the golden boot.
Final
Netherlands 1-2 Italy
Despite going behind to a penalty in the first minute, the Italians responded to lead 2-1 at half time and the Dutch could not respond; Italy became only the second country to win more than one title. The next tournament would be hosted in Chile.
1974 saw the World Cup co-hosted for the first time, between Poland and Lithuania. This was the result of an agreement made between the two nations and Britain (who were still building a high-speed rail line for the then-new “Silver Bullet” trains). In return, Britain would host the 1982 tournament, by which time the London to Paris line would stretch to Glasgow. Australia, the German Congo, the Netherlands and Lithuania all made their debuts; France and Portugal both failed to qualify.
This tournament deviated from the format the last four had taken; the quarter final stage was replaced by a second group stage, with the top teams in the two groups going into the final and the second-placed teams into the third place play-off.
Group 1
1st: Lithuania 5pts
2nd: Germany 4pts
3rd: Chile 2pts
4th: Australia 1pt
This group threw up a huge shock as the unfancied Lithuanian side beat European Champions Germany 1-0 in the final group game. Carlos Caszely, of Chile, had the dishonour of being the first ever World Cup player to receive a red card, in the game against Germany. Australian football was shown to be far behind the nation's prowess in rugby and cricket.
Group 2
1st: Britain 5pts
2nd: Brazil 4pts
3rd: Austria-Hungary 3pts
4th: German Congo 0pts
This marked Britain's first “big scalp” in a World Cup, as they beat Brazil 2-1 to top the group. Austria-Hungary underachieved again; a defeat against Brazil and a draw with Britain rendered their 9-0 win over the German Congo moot.
Group 3
1st: Netherlands 5pts
2nd: USA 4pts
3rd: Bulgaria 2pts
4th: Uruguay 1pt
The Dutch quickly established themselves as favourites to win the competition, with their brand of “total football” seeing them qualify with ease. The Americans also qualified, with Bulgaria and Uruguay both failing to win a match.
Group 4
1st: Italy 5pts
2nd: Poland 4pts
3rd: Argentina 3pts
4th: Haiti 0pts
Haiti's second appearance at a World Cup once again saw them go home empty-handed. Italy were on the verge of elimination in their final game, but two goals from Fabio Capello and Gianni Rivera saw them qualify as group winners. Poland had already qualified by that stage, leaving Argentina, one of the favourites, on the early plane home.
Second group stage
Group A
1st: Netherlands 6pts
2nd: Poland 3pts
3rd: Brazil 2pts
4th: Lithuania 1pt
This group, surprisingly, saw both co-hosts together, along with the favourites and holders. It was the Netherlands who reached the final, with maximum points. Poland edged Brazil out to reach the third-place play-off. The game between the Netherlands and Brazil was saw several bookings and injuries.
Group B
1st: Italy 6pts
2nd: USA 4pts
3rd: Britain 2pts
4th: Germany 0pts
Ultimately, it was Italy who emerged from a tough group with maximum points. Britain gained a measure of revenge for 1966 and 1970 with a 2-0 win over the Germans, but 2-1 defeats to Italy and the USA saw them fail to make the final four.
Third place play-off
Poland 1-0 USA
Gregorz Lato scored the only goal to win the golden boot.
Final
Netherlands 1-2 Italy
Despite going behind to a penalty in the first minute, the Italians responded to lead 2-1 at half time and the Dutch could not respond; Italy became only the second country to win more than one title. The next tournament would be hosted in Chile.
ZGradt
Banned
I'm loving these past few updates
I concur.
Also thanks to garbageman for semi-reviving hockey in North America. I know the US will either stamp out or 'localize' (read: Americanize) the sport, but its good to see the occupied Canadians still sticking it to us.
And of course, thanks to GeorgeUK for his continuance on the FIFA expy World Cups. The countries that show up in the competitions kind of give an idea of how the world at large is developing.
Yeah and that partial happen yet the last bastion of canada(quebec) dominated it till the russians in america come and conquer, a shame what happened to Monseuir Drapeau but seems canadian will not allow the last canada memoir(stanley cup) falls into american hands.
Still that would help later for other european 'ice countries'(Scandivanian one, germany, baltic and russia) to adopt it in the most 'american' variant?.
THE KILLING FIELDS [1970]
The Killing Fields was a 1984 documentary directed and narrated by Dennis Freeman depicting the Destruction of the South's African-American population and the latter effects of its victims. Among the people interviewed were Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Cassius Madison and Cincinnatus Driver. Despite his African-American heritage, Freeman also chose to interview several Population Reduction camp guards.
Born Dominitius in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1937, Freeman's escaped into the wilds and joined the growing bands of anti-Freedomite rebels roaming through the south by the start of the Second Great War. In this capacity, Freeman was able to survive the war until the US drive through the midwest in 1943 liberated Tennessee. When given the option of choosing a surname, Freeman's mother adopted Freeman as her last name. They moved to New York City, which by the late 1940s had the largest population of African-Americans in the world. In 1952, Freeman changed his first name to Dennis to rid himself of the last remnants of the south's racist institutions.
The film was controversial when first released. Some African-American leaders criticized Freeman for humanizing the camp guards to such a strong degree, although Freeman was adamant that he was intending only to show 'the evil men can do'. There was also controversy over Freeman's narration, which implied that the United States was responsible for the destruction of the southern blacks by refusing to grant them safe refuge quickly enough. On the other end of the spectrum, the film became a battleground in the 'Admission Wars' in the southern and former Canadian states. The territories of South Carolina; Mississippi; Arkansas; East Alaska [British Columbia. Yes, this really pissed off the Canadians.]; Manitoba and Nova Scotia refused to allow the film to be shown in their territories until they were granted statehood, although only Manitoba and East Alaska would hold out that long.
Alec Pomeroy
Born: 1936
Alec Pomeroy is a Canadian nationalist politician, and allegedly, terrorist. If he was the latter, it certainly ran in the blood as both his grandfather and his parents were killed resisting the American occupation of Canada.
Born in 1936 in Rosenfield, Manitoba (then the Manitoba Military District), Alec's life was marked by continuing American occupation and the loss of both his parents, the latter event sparked by the outbreak of the Second Great War. By 1941, the US occupation in Canada had effectively ground to a standstill; the Canadian nationalist movement had been unable to drive the Americans out of Canada but a political solution to the crisis seemed out of reach. With the outbreak of the Second Great War in North America, however, the situation in occupied Canada deteriorated. The United States government insisted on raising taxes without even consulting the collaborationist assemblies that had been established in the 1930s. In addition, large numbers of American troops were withdrawn from Canada and replaced by Quebecois soldiers. A secret initiative by Canadian leftists led by Henry Bethune, whereby the United States would grant the provinces statehood in return for assisting fully in the war effort ground to a halt in early 1942 due to the death of President Al Smith. The situation in Canada was explosive by the start of 1942 and all that was required to set it off was a spark.
That spark was partially provided by the execution of Alec Pomeroy's mother, Mary, in August 1942. Although historians have concluded that Mary Pomeroy was probably responsible for the string of bombings that she was executed for, this did not matter either to the Canadian populace or to Alec and his father. When Canada erupted into rebellion on October 1st 1942, Mort Pomeroy and Alec took up arms. The Canadian rebels initially had considerable success and controlled almost the entire prairie region except for a few isolated military outposts by the end of 1942.
However, the might of the United States could not be easily defeated. From March 1943 onward, as the American situation in the Midwest improved, American and Quebecois troops were redirected to the Canadian front. Alec's father was killed when American troops stormed his dinner and Alec was injured. During this incident, he was treated by a US soldier, whom he latter recalled being extremely rude to and regretted it. After the death of his father, Alec would be raised by his grandmother.
The town of Rosenfield could not easily hold Alec, not after so many tragedies had occurred there and in 1953, at the age of sixteen, Alec set off for Winnipeg to find work. Although the former Canada had been slower than the metropolitan United States to recover from the war, by the early 1950s the post-war boom was spreading to America's occupied territories and satellites. As a result, work was plentiful. Working his way through a series of low-paid clerk and shop assistant roles, it did not take long for Alec to fall in with the revived Canadian nationalist movement.
to be continued...
teg
The Killing Fields was a 1984 documentary directed and narrated by Dennis Freeman depicting the Destruction of the South's African-American population and the latter effects of its victims. Among the people interviewed were Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Cassius Madison and Cincinnatus Driver. Despite his African-American heritage, Freeman also chose to interview several Population Reduction camp guards.
Born Dominitius in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1937, Freeman's escaped into the wilds and joined the growing bands of anti-Freedomite rebels roaming through the south by the start of the Second Great War. In this capacity, Freeman was able to survive the war until the US drive through the midwest in 1943 liberated Tennessee. When given the option of choosing a surname, Freeman's mother adopted Freeman as her last name. They moved to New York City, which by the late 1940s had the largest population of African-Americans in the world. In 1952, Freeman changed his first name to Dennis to rid himself of the last remnants of the south's racist institutions.
The film was controversial when first released. Some African-American leaders criticized Freeman for humanizing the camp guards to such a strong degree, although Freeman was adamant that he was intending only to show 'the evil men can do'. There was also controversy over Freeman's narration, which implied that the United States was responsible for the destruction of the southern blacks by refusing to grant them safe refuge quickly enough. On the other end of the spectrum, the film became a battleground in the 'Admission Wars' in the southern and former Canadian states. The territories of South Carolina; Mississippi; Arkansas; East Alaska [British Columbia. Yes, this really pissed off the Canadians.]; Manitoba and Nova Scotia refused to allow the film to be shown in their territories until they were granted statehood, although only Manitoba and East Alaska would hold out that long.
Alec Pomeroy
Born: 1936
Alec Pomeroy is a Canadian nationalist politician, and allegedly, terrorist. If he was the latter, it certainly ran in the blood as both his grandfather and his parents were killed resisting the American occupation of Canada.
Born in 1936 in Rosenfield, Manitoba (then the Manitoba Military District), Alec's life was marked by continuing American occupation and the loss of both his parents, the latter event sparked by the outbreak of the Second Great War. By 1941, the US occupation in Canada had effectively ground to a standstill; the Canadian nationalist movement had been unable to drive the Americans out of Canada but a political solution to the crisis seemed out of reach. With the outbreak of the Second Great War in North America, however, the situation in occupied Canada deteriorated. The United States government insisted on raising taxes without even consulting the collaborationist assemblies that had been established in the 1930s. In addition, large numbers of American troops were withdrawn from Canada and replaced by Quebecois soldiers. A secret initiative by Canadian leftists led by Henry Bethune, whereby the United States would grant the provinces statehood in return for assisting fully in the war effort ground to a halt in early 1942 due to the death of President Al Smith. The situation in Canada was explosive by the start of 1942 and all that was required to set it off was a spark.
That spark was partially provided by the execution of Alec Pomeroy's mother, Mary, in August 1942. Although historians have concluded that Mary Pomeroy was probably responsible for the string of bombings that she was executed for, this did not matter either to the Canadian populace or to Alec and his father. When Canada erupted into rebellion on October 1st 1942, Mort Pomeroy and Alec took up arms. The Canadian rebels initially had considerable success and controlled almost the entire prairie region except for a few isolated military outposts by the end of 1942.
However, the might of the United States could not be easily defeated. From March 1943 onward, as the American situation in the Midwest improved, American and Quebecois troops were redirected to the Canadian front. Alec's father was killed when American troops stormed his dinner and Alec was injured. During this incident, he was treated by a US soldier, whom he latter recalled being extremely rude to and regretted it. After the death of his father, Alec would be raised by his grandmother.
The town of Rosenfield could not easily hold Alec, not after so many tragedies had occurred there and in 1953, at the age of sixteen, Alec set off for Winnipeg to find work. Although the former Canada had been slower than the metropolitan United States to recover from the war, by the early 1950s the post-war boom was spreading to America's occupied territories and satellites. As a result, work was plentiful. Working his way through a series of low-paid clerk and shop assistant roles, it did not take long for Alec to fall in with the revived Canadian nationalist movement.
to be continued...
teg
I'm very interested to see what happens with Alec Pomeroy. I may even use him as part of a Canadian National Party, if you have no objections.
Most have gone with Alberta (and I think in the books Alberta gets territorial status)
Gaius Julius Magnus
Gone Fishin'
That would actually be a cool idea, as well how the rest of the Comic industry has developed. Wolverine would also be an interesting to see since his nationality is Canadian.