- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
90 new F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet ans EA-6 Growler are in the consideration. The other plane is a bomber version of the Eurofighter. The F-15 and F-35 are out.
Merkels Operation Walküre
- Thread starter Tyr Anazasi
- Start date
- Timeline Post-1900 Supernatural
-
- Tags
- isot (isekai) germany
- Status
90 new F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet ans EA-6 Growler are in the consideration. The other plane is a bomber version of the Eurofighter. The F-15 and F-35 are out.
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
Up to Chapter I, Part 4, the story has been edited by @Darksoul2142 . Thank you!
Chapter II, Part 11: The Königsberg Speech
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
Königsberg, Auditorium maximum of the Albertina, September 1st, 09:30
Angela Merkel stood on the auditorium maximum of the Albertina. It was a weird feeling being here; for her Königsberg had always been Kaliningrad and part of Russia. Now it was German. Again? Or always had been? The logical fallacies of time travelling were confusing to think about, so she just stopped thinking about it as she didn't want to get headaches – again. Indeed, Königsberg as set-up for what was about to come had been chosen with great care. It was time to write history; it was time for her speech, a speech, which would likely become as famous as "Yes, we can." or "Ich bin ein Berliner" in their old timeline. For all her faults, Angela Merkel was well aware that she wasn't a great charismatic orator, so she had to rely on other things to make her speech memorable. Content mostly.
The hall was full. The German chancellor found herself not only looking at professors and students, but also reporters and several ambassadors from all over the world.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
This speech is directed to everyone on this planet, not only Germany and her Allies or only neutral countries – no, it is my desire to reach everyone, including the people of the Allies. I speak to everyone, be they children or adults; be they women or men; beggar or millionaires, presidents or soldiers at the front. I speak to you and hope that you will have it in your hearts to listen.
Five years ago, what we call the Second World War began. During that time, unspeakable and despicable atrocities have been committed, to an extend never seen on this planet before, much of it, to my great shame, by a Germany controlled by a man who thought that he alone could separate the people of Europe into the worthy on one side and the unworthy on the other.
I stand before you today to announce that I do not want to continue what this man has started. I stand here to extend my hand and the hands of the German people in a gesture of reconciliation and friendship.
Right in this city, only a few meters from where I stand one of the most fundamental works on the basic rights of human beings has been written by a man called Immanuel Kant. It was nearly 150 years ago, that he published his "Metaphysik der Sitten" in which he decreed that no man shall ever be regarded as object, to be used by others, but as subject instead, to which others are responsible to. He called it 'pride of man'. This pride of man, a term that has been first used by another German philosopher, Samuel von Pufendorf, thus became the centre piece of modern legislature and public service.
Only mere weeks ago I would have never imagined to stand here and to talk about this. Mere weeks ago we still had the United Nations, despite its flaws still a powerful organization built on the ideals of peace and civil rights. Here, in this time, the UN is still only an idea in the mind of a few individuals, still taking shapes and forms. It is clear to all of us, though, that the old League of Nations has failed. But from its ashes something new – something better – shall rise:The United Nations. This organization shall be a place where the people of the world will come together peacefully like they did once before, in a time when peace reigned over vast parts of the world.
Therefore, I extend my sincerest and heartfelt gratitude to the Empire of Japan, the Estonian Republic, the Finish Republic, the Latvian Republic, the Lithuanian Republic, the Kingdom of Romania, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Czardom of Bulgaria, the Slovakian Republic, the Kingdom of Siam and the Kingdom of Croatia but also the neutral Kingdom of Sweden, the Helvetian Republic, the Republic of Turkey and the Spanish Republic for being here for this monumental occasion: The signing of the new Charta of the United Nations.
Again, I ask the Allied powers to accept peace talks. This war has dragged on for too long, has cost too many lives already, has destroyed too much. Let historians later tell the people of following generations that we were the ones to end this bloodshed instead of continuing it.
This is not a speech of war, but of peace. Mr. President Roosevelt, Mr. Churchill, Mr. Stalin, I beseech you to exchange weapons for words. Let us end this catastrophe.
Thank you."
Angela Merkel stood on the auditorium maximum of the Albertina. It was a weird feeling being here; for her Königsberg had always been Kaliningrad and part of Russia. Now it was German. Again? Or always had been? The logical fallacies of time travelling were confusing to think about, so she just stopped thinking about it as she didn't want to get headaches – again. Indeed, Königsberg as set-up for what was about to come had been chosen with great care. It was time to write history; it was time for her speech, a speech, which would likely become as famous as "Yes, we can." or "Ich bin ein Berliner" in their old timeline. For all her faults, Angela Merkel was well aware that she wasn't a great charismatic orator, so she had to rely on other things to make her speech memorable. Content mostly.
The hall was full. The German chancellor found herself not only looking at professors and students, but also reporters and several ambassadors from all over the world.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
This speech is directed to everyone on this planet, not only Germany and her Allies or only neutral countries – no, it is my desire to reach everyone, including the people of the Allies. I speak to everyone, be they children or adults; be they women or men; beggar or millionaires, presidents or soldiers at the front. I speak to you and hope that you will have it in your hearts to listen.
Five years ago, what we call the Second World War began. During that time, unspeakable and despicable atrocities have been committed, to an extend never seen on this planet before, much of it, to my great shame, by a Germany controlled by a man who thought that he alone could separate the people of Europe into the worthy on one side and the unworthy on the other.
I stand before you today to announce that I do not want to continue what this man has started. I stand here to extend my hand and the hands of the German people in a gesture of reconciliation and friendship.
Right in this city, only a few meters from where I stand one of the most fundamental works on the basic rights of human beings has been written by a man called Immanuel Kant. It was nearly 150 years ago, that he published his "Metaphysik der Sitten" in which he decreed that no man shall ever be regarded as object, to be used by others, but as subject instead, to which others are responsible to. He called it 'pride of man'. This pride of man, a term that has been first used by another German philosopher, Samuel von Pufendorf, thus became the centre piece of modern legislature and public service.
Only mere weeks ago I would have never imagined to stand here and to talk about this. Mere weeks ago we still had the United Nations, despite its flaws still a powerful organization built on the ideals of peace and civil rights. Here, in this time, the UN is still only an idea in the mind of a few individuals, still taking shapes and forms. It is clear to all of us, though, that the old League of Nations has failed. But from its ashes something new – something better – shall rise:The United Nations. This organization shall be a place where the people of the world will come together peacefully like they did once before, in a time when peace reigned over vast parts of the world.
Therefore, I extend my sincerest and heartfelt gratitude to the Empire of Japan, the Estonian Republic, the Finish Republic, the Latvian Republic, the Lithuanian Republic, the Kingdom of Romania, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Czardom of Bulgaria, the Slovakian Republic, the Kingdom of Siam and the Kingdom of Croatia but also the neutral Kingdom of Sweden, the Helvetian Republic, the Republic of Turkey and the Spanish Republic for being here for this monumental occasion: The signing of the new Charta of the United Nations.
Again, I ask the Allied powers to accept peace talks. This war has dragged on for too long, has cost too many lives already, has destroyed too much. Let historians later tell the people of following generations that we were the ones to end this bloodshed instead of continuing it.
This is not a speech of war, but of peace. Mr. President Roosevelt, Mr. Churchill, Mr. Stalin, I beseech you to exchange weapons for words. Let us end this catastrophe.
Thank you."
Chapter II, Part 12: Thoughts on Königsberg
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
Berlin, Café Einstein, September 3rd, 08:00
The Café Einstein had been founded in 1979 in the style of the coffee houses of Vienna Kaffeehaus. While it had never been the cheapest, it nevertheless had a certain quality and flair that could only be found within its wall. And although much of the foodstuff used in the Einstein was rationed and required food stamps, its kitchen still managed to prepare dishes that were equal to no other. You could start the day at the Einstein with freshly baked bread, homemade marmalade and the best coffee right of the Rhine, but you could also meet discreetly in one of its booths. That was the reason why three young men sat in a very quiet corner of the restaurant: Enver Öztürk (EÖ), member of the Turkish diplomatic corps, Christian von Lund (CL), member of the Swedish embassy and Diego Vega (DV) of Spain. For them Berlin had been the first station in their diplomatic career. They were all downtimers and would meet regularly, even before the Event had taken place, in order to talk about the current goings of the world. Of course, they would later have to report the content of their talks to the cultural attachés or however the chief spies were called in their embassies, but as long as everyone was aware of this it was a great way to get and share some informal information.
EÖ: So, how´s Königsberg been?
CL: Before the Event, I would have called it a normal German town in the province, far away from the problems of the world. Today, well, compared to what we have here, it´s like a time travel.
DV: Yes, true. And that is what worries me greatly. Should we ever go back to our countries, we will somehow feel the very same way as if we were visiting Königsberg. They, at least, will assimilate to the new Germany and its culture very fast, but our homes will not.
EÖ: Yes, very true.
DV: Any yet, all these new ideas won't be stopped by borders.
EÖ: Yes. And that frightens me a bit. Don't get me wrong, I am from a very liberal home, but my father will never accept gay marriages. He would rather shot me!
CL: Mine, too. The Germans, the UT Germans, are 70 years ahead, not only technologically, but culturally as well. I don't think they will make put great pressure on other countries, but even just knowing what´s happening here will irrevocably change our countries. I think it will take some time, but in the end, we´ll adapt to them, not the other way around.
DV: Don't you think the Germans will not become more, erm, conservative?
CL: Maybe a little. But the society will not change its core fundamentals.
EÖ: I guess there will be tensions between downtimers and uptimers.
CL: Of course, that goes without saying. However, it won't become serious in the case of a German victory. Then they will accept it.
DV: And if the Germans lose?
CL: Well, then they will have other problems to worry about than tensions between UTs and DTs. But I hardly think they´ll lose.
EÖ: Hmm, I have still some doubts, regardless of the last victories. They still face an enemy with numerical superiority.
CL: True.
DV: I think the Germans will still win, nonetheless. In relation to their numbers, they inflict so much more damage which the Allies can't sustain in the long run. I saw reports from Britain. They were hit heavily and only pressure from the US keeps them in the war.
EÖ: I am not so sure. Although, personally, I hope you're right. However, only if they can knock out one major enemy very soon they can win. They may have technological superiority, but once their stocks run out, they´ll have problems with producing more.
CL: That's true. Still, I think the Allies, especially the Soviets, won't be able to continue as long as needed to deplete the German military.
DV: I agree. I have something interesting to share with you, gentlemen: Our Caudillo has decided to exchange our foreign minister Sousa with Mr. Súñer. He´ll announce it tomorrow.
CL: Interesting, indeed. Mr. Sousa is anglophile, Mr. Súñer is germanophile. Will Spain send more volunteers to Germany again?
DV: It surely looks like it. That's why we were in Königsberg. Why were the Swedes there, though?
CL: Well, the new relatives of our Royal Family has been in intensive contact with ours. And of course, we are interested in economic ties to Germany.
EÖ: I guess the Allies are crying bloody murder about that, my dear friend.
CL: Damn right they are! However, what else can they do?
EÖ: I 'came across' new contracts with some German firms about ships you´ve made. Only civilian ships, eh?
CL: Of course! They don't carry guns, after all. And I heard you opened the Dardanelles for German shipping and even started to supply German held Dodecanese islands?
EÖ: We only deliver food and no contraband and the ships we allow through don't carry any guns. We never saw any.
DV: I see. Does a blanket suffice to hide a gun?
EÖ: Of course, it does. President Inönü is leaning towards Germany at the moment, but he is still undecided.
DV: It seems our governments begin to bet on a German victory. I received information that due to stronger pressure of both the US and the Soviets Chile will declare war on Germany soon. That will have consequences. Bolivia and Argentina are pro-German, Peru has some unresolved issues with Chile and in Chile there are many people of German origin. WW2 may still come to South America after all.
DV: We'll see. Ah, there is our breakfast!
The Café Einstein had been founded in 1979 in the style of the coffee houses of Vienna Kaffeehaus. While it had never been the cheapest, it nevertheless had a certain quality and flair that could only be found within its wall. And although much of the foodstuff used in the Einstein was rationed and required food stamps, its kitchen still managed to prepare dishes that were equal to no other. You could start the day at the Einstein with freshly baked bread, homemade marmalade and the best coffee right of the Rhine, but you could also meet discreetly in one of its booths. That was the reason why three young men sat in a very quiet corner of the restaurant: Enver Öztürk (EÖ), member of the Turkish diplomatic corps, Christian von Lund (CL), member of the Swedish embassy and Diego Vega (DV) of Spain. For them Berlin had been the first station in their diplomatic career. They were all downtimers and would meet regularly, even before the Event had taken place, in order to talk about the current goings of the world. Of course, they would later have to report the content of their talks to the cultural attachés or however the chief spies were called in their embassies, but as long as everyone was aware of this it was a great way to get and share some informal information.
EÖ: So, how´s Königsberg been?
CL: Before the Event, I would have called it a normal German town in the province, far away from the problems of the world. Today, well, compared to what we have here, it´s like a time travel.
DV: Yes, true. And that is what worries me greatly. Should we ever go back to our countries, we will somehow feel the very same way as if we were visiting Königsberg. They, at least, will assimilate to the new Germany and its culture very fast, but our homes will not.
EÖ: Yes, very true.
DV: Any yet, all these new ideas won't be stopped by borders.
EÖ: Yes. And that frightens me a bit. Don't get me wrong, I am from a very liberal home, but my father will never accept gay marriages. He would rather shot me!
CL: Mine, too. The Germans, the UT Germans, are 70 years ahead, not only technologically, but culturally as well. I don't think they will make put great pressure on other countries, but even just knowing what´s happening here will irrevocably change our countries. I think it will take some time, but in the end, we´ll adapt to them, not the other way around.
DV: Don't you think the Germans will not become more, erm, conservative?
CL: Maybe a little. But the society will not change its core fundamentals.
EÖ: I guess there will be tensions between downtimers and uptimers.
CL: Of course, that goes without saying. However, it won't become serious in the case of a German victory. Then they will accept it.
DV: And if the Germans lose?
CL: Well, then they will have other problems to worry about than tensions between UTs and DTs. But I hardly think they´ll lose.
EÖ: Hmm, I have still some doubts, regardless of the last victories. They still face an enemy with numerical superiority.
CL: True.
DV: I think the Germans will still win, nonetheless. In relation to their numbers, they inflict so much more damage which the Allies can't sustain in the long run. I saw reports from Britain. They were hit heavily and only pressure from the US keeps them in the war.
EÖ: I am not so sure. Although, personally, I hope you're right. However, only if they can knock out one major enemy very soon they can win. They may have technological superiority, but once their stocks run out, they´ll have problems with producing more.
CL: That's true. Still, I think the Allies, especially the Soviets, won't be able to continue as long as needed to deplete the German military.
DV: I agree. I have something interesting to share with you, gentlemen: Our Caudillo has decided to exchange our foreign minister Sousa with Mr. Súñer. He´ll announce it tomorrow.
CL: Interesting, indeed. Mr. Sousa is anglophile, Mr. Súñer is germanophile. Will Spain send more volunteers to Germany again?
DV: It surely looks like it. That's why we were in Königsberg. Why were the Swedes there, though?
CL: Well, the new relatives of our Royal Family has been in intensive contact with ours. And of course, we are interested in economic ties to Germany.
EÖ: I guess the Allies are crying bloody murder about that, my dear friend.
CL: Damn right they are! However, what else can they do?
EÖ: I 'came across' new contracts with some German firms about ships you´ve made. Only civilian ships, eh?
CL: Of course! They don't carry guns, after all. And I heard you opened the Dardanelles for German shipping and even started to supply German held Dodecanese islands?
EÖ: We only deliver food and no contraband and the ships we allow through don't carry any guns. We never saw any.
DV: I see. Does a blanket suffice to hide a gun?
EÖ: Of course, it does. President Inönü is leaning towards Germany at the moment, but he is still undecided.
DV: It seems our governments begin to bet on a German victory. I received information that due to stronger pressure of both the US and the Soviets Chile will declare war on Germany soon. That will have consequences. Bolivia and Argentina are pro-German, Peru has some unresolved issues with Chile and in Chile there are many people of German origin. WW2 may still come to South America after all.
DV: We'll see. Ah, there is our breakfast!
Chapter II, Part 13: A way to Hell, Part 1
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
Somewhere between Minsk and Beresino, September 3rd 1944, 22:32
The war was soon to be going into its 5th year and even though Annika Schröder had been fighting for only a few months, it felt longer than that. First she had been involved in the battles against the Allies near Bologne, then she had been assigned to the Eastern Front.
Born in Buchholz in der Nordheide, Annika, now age 29, didn't have a very joyous childhood. It wasn't that bad – certainly not as bad as the childhood of others – but her parents had been single-mindedly focused on only her younger sister while she and her brother had to make their way through life on their own. It was the reason why Annika had decided to join the Bundeswehr after her Abitur – a fight or flight response to the absence of any parental support in her life up until then. Maybe it was also the reason why she couldn't hold on to the men in her life: Three she had had, and each of them left her, the last one mere hours before the Event.
And then they were suddenly transported into the past and the war that was wrought in it. Annika had made the mistake of walking the beaches of the Normandy after the Allie´s failed assault on the shores. The pictures of the suffering and atrocities she had seen had burnt themselves in her mind and wouldn't let go of her, not even in her sleep: Human parts strewn everywhere – legs, arms, bullet riddled torsos – or corpses, eviscerated by German gunfire. Sometimes, when she closed her eyes she could still see the Allied soldier (He was a French, Annika thought, but the cries of the dying were a language understood by everyone) whose guts were oozing out of his stomach and who tried to shovel them back into his body with his bloody hand (She gave him the mercy of a quick death; at least that was what she told herself when the soldier came back to haunt her in her dreams).
At the Eastern Front Annika stayed at the back, shooting from safe distance. She only seldom saw what happened, where her bullets hit (or whom). She fought until she could barely stand anymore, because only then she was too exhausted to dream when she fell asleep.
" Frau Hauptmann, Frau Hauptmann," the Spieß, their company sergeant tore her out of her pitiful sleep. "We´ve got new intel. It seems, the enemy is attacking our front. We must…" The sound of several grenades exploding nearby drowned what he wanted to say.
Five minutes later, the company found itself in their Marder IFV.
"Frau Hauptmann, the enemy has broken through our lines," Schneider, their radio operator, told her.
"Fuck!" she cursed. "How could they miss that?"
"Because reconnaissance believed they would retreat," Schneider replied.
"We pulled that very trick ourselves and when the enemy does the same reconnaissance sleeps?" Annika exclaimed incredulously.
"Soviet tanks dead ahead!" Lehmann, her gunner, interrupted their squabble. Before she could even say anything, he had already launched the first MILAN missile. "JS 2 destroyed."
"Where are these damn Leos?" Annike shouted. "We can't win a fight against tanks!"
At this moment, several enemy tanks were suddenly exploding. A group of Tiger helicopters had appeared and continued on to turn the tanks into scrap metal. But that was only the first assault and soon the helis were gone while the next wave of Soviet tanks was about to hit them.
"Frau Hauptmann, HQ says our MBT are needed elsewhere. We have to retreat to 2829." Schneider relayed.
"Okay," Annika replied, furiously thinking about what to do now. "Two Marder and ours form the rear guard."
In this moment, a Boxer AFV, a special tank accompanying them, with a curious small turret swung this turret eastwards. No shots could be heard and still only seconds later a Soviet night bomber crashed. A second one soon after.
"It seems Luke Skywalker had his first kills." Annika joked. She knew the tank was only here for some testing at the front. It should have never been so near to it, though.
"Luke who?" Meyer asked confused. He was new and young to the force, just having completed his training.
"Erm, Star Wars?" Annika replied, but Meyer was as confused as before.
"I am a downtimer." he finally said.
That explained much. After all, Bundeswehr had started to mix the forces, when it was possible.
"Ah, okay. It is an outstanding science fiction movie. Or better series of movies, where they use weapons, which bundle light so much they can destroy..."
"T-34 from the side!" Lehmann shouted. Even while speaking he had already targeted one and destroyed it with a MILAN missile. And although another tank was hit by yet another MILAN fired by her IFV, her Marder was hit by the only shot that T-34 had fired. Three other T-34 retreated.
"Fuck!" she cursed. "Get out of the tank! Go! Go! Go!" The IFV was burning and could no longer drive. She had to see to the damage.
"Shit! Their went straight through the motor bloc," Huber, the commander of her Marder, told her.
Annika, knew however, that they had been extremely lucky. The other two Marder had been utterly annihilated with six men dead and three severely wounded. The rest of the company had retreated to the west.
"Frau Hauptmann, six dead and three wounded. Yilmaz was hit in the stomach by the explosion. It doesn't look well, Medicus said."
It was no joke, their medic was truly called Medicus. It had been his family name long before when the name had been latinized. It was only coincidence that that one of his descendants had decided to become a medic again. What irony!
"I can carry him," Johnson, her Spieß, offered. He was 2,10 m tall and could be very well used as actor for an imposing black US sergeant, with his imposing built. He was strong enough to use an MG3 as assault rifle if needed. Annika trusted him blindly.
"Frau Hauptmann, it seems we are behind enemy lines. We need to move about five km to the west to reach our lines," Oberleutnant Huber said, the commander of one of the other tanks.
"Then we should not wait any longer. Take everything we can use and then we go. The tanks are to be thoroughly destroyed!" Annika commanded.
"Jawoll, Frau Hauptmann."
Soon after the tanks were nothing but burning wrecks. The company then retreated westwards, but after two kilometers they met resistance in the form of a battalion of Soviet infantry. Fortuna must have smiled down benignly on them on this day, though, for a pair of Hs 123 night CAS planes saved their asses, as they had been ordered to attack just this particular battalion. However, they had to turn south to circumvent the enemy fire and therefore couldn't be of any further help to Annika and her soldiers.
After an hour, which felt like eternity to all of them their luck finally ran out as another company of the enemy stumbled upon them. It was a tough fight, but the technological advantage Annika´s team had let the enemy pay dearly for any attack. So, they were able to reach the last obstacle a small stream, which they could not pass, however, as the enemy was too close and would have discovered them.
"Okay, Huber, you lead the others to the other side. I will give you cover with Ernst and Schultz." she ordered. "Then you´ll cover us."
Their plan went through without a hitch. When Annika saw that the others had reached the other side, she gave Ernst and Schultz the order to follow them while she would keep up fire for a minute. As there were only 250 shots left for the MG, Annika´s plan was to spend the ammo and then to run as fast as she could. She waited until she could see the enemy soldiers again and then fired at them. While they ran for cover, she ran in the opposite direction.
However, before she got to the stream, five men, encircling her from the rear, attacked her. Two she shot quickly with her G-36, but then she was out of rounds. Her P8 got another one but then jammed.
Trying to evade the last two was not a possibility, as behind her the other Soviet soldiers would soon come. So Annika decided to do it the hard way and attached her SG2000 combat knife to the rifle as bayonet. Then she charged. The good thing was, that she completely surprised the two Soviet soldiers when she attacked them directly. Two shots missed her and a third one they could not fire. She slammed the bayonet into the stomach of the first, while kicking the second into the testicles. He went down, but her second attack with the Bayonet went through his chest.
In this moment, a ricochet hit her rifle and tore it out of Annika´s hand. She wanted to go after it, but twelve enemy soldiers were converging on her, forcing her to took cover behind some nearby streams. The only weapon Annika had left was her other combat knife which she wore hidden in her boot. The stream was near – she could see the dirty brown water, could hear the water flowing – but when she was about to make a run for it, two Soviet soldiers stepped in front of her, aiming their weapons straight at her. That was when Annika realized that it was either to die or to surrender.
She chose the latter.
The war was soon to be going into its 5th year and even though Annika Schröder had been fighting for only a few months, it felt longer than that. First she had been involved in the battles against the Allies near Bologne, then she had been assigned to the Eastern Front.
Born in Buchholz in der Nordheide, Annika, now age 29, didn't have a very joyous childhood. It wasn't that bad – certainly not as bad as the childhood of others – but her parents had been single-mindedly focused on only her younger sister while she and her brother had to make their way through life on their own. It was the reason why Annika had decided to join the Bundeswehr after her Abitur – a fight or flight response to the absence of any parental support in her life up until then. Maybe it was also the reason why she couldn't hold on to the men in her life: Three she had had, and each of them left her, the last one mere hours before the Event.
And then they were suddenly transported into the past and the war that was wrought in it. Annika had made the mistake of walking the beaches of the Normandy after the Allie´s failed assault on the shores. The pictures of the suffering and atrocities she had seen had burnt themselves in her mind and wouldn't let go of her, not even in her sleep: Human parts strewn everywhere – legs, arms, bullet riddled torsos – or corpses, eviscerated by German gunfire. Sometimes, when she closed her eyes she could still see the Allied soldier (He was a French, Annika thought, but the cries of the dying were a language understood by everyone) whose guts were oozing out of his stomach and who tried to shovel them back into his body with his bloody hand (She gave him the mercy of a quick death; at least that was what she told herself when the soldier came back to haunt her in her dreams).
At the Eastern Front Annika stayed at the back, shooting from safe distance. She only seldom saw what happened, where her bullets hit (or whom). She fought until she could barely stand anymore, because only then she was too exhausted to dream when she fell asleep.
" Frau Hauptmann, Frau Hauptmann," the Spieß, their company sergeant tore her out of her pitiful sleep. "We´ve got new intel. It seems, the enemy is attacking our front. We must…" The sound of several grenades exploding nearby drowned what he wanted to say.
Five minutes later, the company found itself in their Marder IFV.
"Frau Hauptmann, the enemy has broken through our lines," Schneider, their radio operator, told her.
"Fuck!" she cursed. "How could they miss that?"
"Because reconnaissance believed they would retreat," Schneider replied.
"We pulled that very trick ourselves and when the enemy does the same reconnaissance sleeps?" Annika exclaimed incredulously.
"Soviet tanks dead ahead!" Lehmann, her gunner, interrupted their squabble. Before she could even say anything, he had already launched the first MILAN missile. "JS 2 destroyed."
"Where are these damn Leos?" Annike shouted. "We can't win a fight against tanks!"
At this moment, several enemy tanks were suddenly exploding. A group of Tiger helicopters had appeared and continued on to turn the tanks into scrap metal. But that was only the first assault and soon the helis were gone while the next wave of Soviet tanks was about to hit them.
"Frau Hauptmann, HQ says our MBT are needed elsewhere. We have to retreat to 2829." Schneider relayed.
"Okay," Annika replied, furiously thinking about what to do now. "Two Marder and ours form the rear guard."
In this moment, a Boxer AFV, a special tank accompanying them, with a curious small turret swung this turret eastwards. No shots could be heard and still only seconds later a Soviet night bomber crashed. A second one soon after.
"It seems Luke Skywalker had his first kills." Annika joked. She knew the tank was only here for some testing at the front. It should have never been so near to it, though.
"Luke who?" Meyer asked confused. He was new and young to the force, just having completed his training.
"Erm, Star Wars?" Annika replied, but Meyer was as confused as before.
"I am a downtimer." he finally said.
That explained much. After all, Bundeswehr had started to mix the forces, when it was possible.
"Ah, okay. It is an outstanding science fiction movie. Or better series of movies, where they use weapons, which bundle light so much they can destroy..."
"T-34 from the side!" Lehmann shouted. Even while speaking he had already targeted one and destroyed it with a MILAN missile. And although another tank was hit by yet another MILAN fired by her IFV, her Marder was hit by the only shot that T-34 had fired. Three other T-34 retreated.
"Fuck!" she cursed. "Get out of the tank! Go! Go! Go!" The IFV was burning and could no longer drive. She had to see to the damage.
"Shit! Their went straight through the motor bloc," Huber, the commander of her Marder, told her.
Annika, knew however, that they had been extremely lucky. The other two Marder had been utterly annihilated with six men dead and three severely wounded. The rest of the company had retreated to the west.
"Frau Hauptmann, six dead and three wounded. Yilmaz was hit in the stomach by the explosion. It doesn't look well, Medicus said."
It was no joke, their medic was truly called Medicus. It had been his family name long before when the name had been latinized. It was only coincidence that that one of his descendants had decided to become a medic again. What irony!
"I can carry him," Johnson, her Spieß, offered. He was 2,10 m tall and could be very well used as actor for an imposing black US sergeant, with his imposing built. He was strong enough to use an MG3 as assault rifle if needed. Annika trusted him blindly.
"Frau Hauptmann, it seems we are behind enemy lines. We need to move about five km to the west to reach our lines," Oberleutnant Huber said, the commander of one of the other tanks.
"Then we should not wait any longer. Take everything we can use and then we go. The tanks are to be thoroughly destroyed!" Annika commanded.
"Jawoll, Frau Hauptmann."
Soon after the tanks were nothing but burning wrecks. The company then retreated westwards, but after two kilometers they met resistance in the form of a battalion of Soviet infantry. Fortuna must have smiled down benignly on them on this day, though, for a pair of Hs 123 night CAS planes saved their asses, as they had been ordered to attack just this particular battalion. However, they had to turn south to circumvent the enemy fire and therefore couldn't be of any further help to Annika and her soldiers.
After an hour, which felt like eternity to all of them their luck finally ran out as another company of the enemy stumbled upon them. It was a tough fight, but the technological advantage Annika´s team had let the enemy pay dearly for any attack. So, they were able to reach the last obstacle a small stream, which they could not pass, however, as the enemy was too close and would have discovered them.
"Okay, Huber, you lead the others to the other side. I will give you cover with Ernst and Schultz." she ordered. "Then you´ll cover us."
Their plan went through without a hitch. When Annika saw that the others had reached the other side, she gave Ernst and Schultz the order to follow them while she would keep up fire for a minute. As there were only 250 shots left for the MG, Annika´s plan was to spend the ammo and then to run as fast as she could. She waited until she could see the enemy soldiers again and then fired at them. While they ran for cover, she ran in the opposite direction.
However, before she got to the stream, five men, encircling her from the rear, attacked her. Two she shot quickly with her G-36, but then she was out of rounds. Her P8 got another one but then jammed.
Trying to evade the last two was not a possibility, as behind her the other Soviet soldiers would soon come. So Annika decided to do it the hard way and attached her SG2000 combat knife to the rifle as bayonet. Then she charged. The good thing was, that she completely surprised the two Soviet soldiers when she attacked them directly. Two shots missed her and a third one they could not fire. She slammed the bayonet into the stomach of the first, while kicking the second into the testicles. He went down, but her second attack with the Bayonet went through his chest.
In this moment, a ricochet hit her rifle and tore it out of Annika´s hand. She wanted to go after it, but twelve enemy soldiers were converging on her, forcing her to took cover behind some nearby streams. The only weapon Annika had left was her other combat knife which she wore hidden in her boot. The stream was near – she could see the dirty brown water, could hear the water flowing – but when she was about to make a run for it, two Soviet soldiers stepped in front of her, aiming their weapons straight at her. That was when Annika realized that it was either to die or to surrender.
She chose the latter.
Chapter II, Part 14: A way to Hell, Part 2
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
Somewhere between Minsk and Beresino, September 4th 1944, 07:12
Her captors made Annika walk back in the same direction she had come from. For hours she did nothing but trudge forward, occasionally helped along by a blow from the dull side Soviet soldier´s bayonet. All around her Annika could see the carnage the fighting was causing: The burning wrecks of tanks – both German and Soviet ones, but more of the latter – the corpses of German and Russians, alike, some having died during the fighting, some having been executed with their hands tied behind their backs. At dawn, she and her captors arrived at a farm, its original owners having fled long ago, where she was locked in together with another German soldier.
"Ah, very nice to meet a fellow country man, or woman in this case," the man spoke. "I´m Heinrich Hoffmann." He extended his hand in greeting which Annika shock.
"I´m Hauptmann Annika Schröder," she introduced herself. "How long have you been here? Do you reckon there´s any way out of here?..."
As if they had heard it, the door was opened by Soviet soldiers. Without uttering a single word, they marched up to Heinrich, who was quivering in fear, took him between them and led him out of the barn, not before locking the door behind them. A few minutes later, one lonely shot rang through the silence. Soon after, the soldiers came back – this time for Annika – and led her into the nearby house where she was sat down in front of an imposing looking man.
"So," he drawled. "You´re one of these German Amazons fighting us." He spoke German fluently without any trace of Russian accent. If Annika identified it correctly, he seemed to be an officer (colonel) of the Red Army. An interrogator.
"Let me lay this out for you," the Colonel continued. "I want information. You have information. I simply require from you to share what you have with me." He smiled, all teeth, no warmth. Annika just stared at him. "If you don´t…" His gaze flickered back to the soldiers at the door and as if they had waited for the sign, they took Annika outside again, where they forced her to kneel next to Heinrich´s corpse. They pushed her head into the mud, Heinrich´s empty eyes staring at her as if he was silently accusing her of not having done enough to prevent his death. Then Annika could feel the cold metal of a gun pressing against the back of her head.
Click. No pain. Nothing.
Annika let out a deep breath. She was shaking like a leaf, adrenaline surging through her body like fire and a primal fear coiling itself around her lungs, trying to suffocate her.
"Next time it won´t be a mock execution," she could hear the Colonel´s voice above her. "Take her back in." A few moments later, Annika found herself back in the house, opposite of her the grizzled man.
"Now," he spoke. "Are you ready to tell me something?" He arched his eyebrows at her.
"Why should I?" Annika replied, lifting her head in defiance. "You´ll shoot me no matter what. So, let it be an honourable death, at least." And because she was so sure that she was about to die, she added: "You´re pathetic. Pathetic and unworthy of being an officer, even in the Red Army."
"You dare to lecture me about worthiness?!" the Colonel bellowed at her, his face contorted into a mask of rage. "You, as part of the people who came to my land, pillaging, murdering everyone and burning everything in your wake? You, whose comrades butchered my family, every single one of them."
"'One seeking revenge should always dig two graves.' Confucius," Annika said as evenly as she could. "What kind of man would you be if you return the atrocities inflicted upon you in same kind? Wouldn't you be as vile then as the men you so despise?" He remained silent for a while.
"Here´s my hand. If you accept, you can keep your life." Annika did.
"This is Fritz, a good man from Saxony," the Colonel said and beckoned a nearby NCO to come nearer. "He´ll take you to the nearest PoW-Camp." And without further ado, Annika was led out of the building towards God knows where, the young soldier trailing behind her with a tight grip on his submachine gun.
They met a few Soviet soldiers along the way, but the sight of the soldier accompanying Annika made them pass her by with hostile glances only. One soldier tried to do her harm. Fritz shot him straight in the face.
"Thank you." Annika swallowed. "That mustn't have been easy for you."
"Order of the Colonel," the man shrugged. "Besides, they´re scum, anyway.
Later, Annika could already see the outlines of the camp, when all of a sudden an armoured car came to a halt right next to them.
["The woman, we´ll take her with us. Go back to Strelnikow and tell him, he must shoot his prisoners. The front has collapsed; the counter strike has started. The Germans will be here soon and then they won´t have any chance to retake any further prisoners. Do you copy, soldier?"] on the man spoke in Russian, which Annika was unable to understand. The Saxon soldier just nodded and saluted. Annika was manhandled into the car and taken to the next air strip where she was put into the only plane left. Direction: Moscow. What she didn't know, yet, was that the men accompanying her were agents of the NKWD.
Colonel Richard Goldstein of the Red Army was killed a few hours later in the fighting that engulfed the whole sector. Sergeant Fritz Gerhardt didn't relay the order of the NKWD, so that the PoW was later liberated by German forces. Yet, seeing the suffering the Red Army had inflicted upon the captured German soldiers, turned the already bad situation on the Eastern Front even worse, with atrocities committed on both sides, such as Red Army soldiers being shot even after they had surrendered. Gerhardt had luck: He was captured by Annika´s former unit and as he held vital information about her whereabouts, he was send on to a German PoW-Camp where he would sit out the rest of the war.
Annika´s fate, though, remained unsure.
[This story is based upon true events reported by a former German cavalry officer]
Her captors made Annika walk back in the same direction she had come from. For hours she did nothing but trudge forward, occasionally helped along by a blow from the dull side Soviet soldier´s bayonet. All around her Annika could see the carnage the fighting was causing: The burning wrecks of tanks – both German and Soviet ones, but more of the latter – the corpses of German and Russians, alike, some having died during the fighting, some having been executed with their hands tied behind their backs. At dawn, she and her captors arrived at a farm, its original owners having fled long ago, where she was locked in together with another German soldier.
"Ah, very nice to meet a fellow country man, or woman in this case," the man spoke. "I´m Heinrich Hoffmann." He extended his hand in greeting which Annika shock.
"I´m Hauptmann Annika Schröder," she introduced herself. "How long have you been here? Do you reckon there´s any way out of here?..."
As if they had heard it, the door was opened by Soviet soldiers. Without uttering a single word, they marched up to Heinrich, who was quivering in fear, took him between them and led him out of the barn, not before locking the door behind them. A few minutes later, one lonely shot rang through the silence. Soon after, the soldiers came back – this time for Annika – and led her into the nearby house where she was sat down in front of an imposing looking man.
"So," he drawled. "You´re one of these German Amazons fighting us." He spoke German fluently without any trace of Russian accent. If Annika identified it correctly, he seemed to be an officer (colonel) of the Red Army. An interrogator.
"Let me lay this out for you," the Colonel continued. "I want information. You have information. I simply require from you to share what you have with me." He smiled, all teeth, no warmth. Annika just stared at him. "If you don´t…" His gaze flickered back to the soldiers at the door and as if they had waited for the sign, they took Annika outside again, where they forced her to kneel next to Heinrich´s corpse. They pushed her head into the mud, Heinrich´s empty eyes staring at her as if he was silently accusing her of not having done enough to prevent his death. Then Annika could feel the cold metal of a gun pressing against the back of her head.
Click. No pain. Nothing.
Annika let out a deep breath. She was shaking like a leaf, adrenaline surging through her body like fire and a primal fear coiling itself around her lungs, trying to suffocate her.
"Next time it won´t be a mock execution," she could hear the Colonel´s voice above her. "Take her back in." A few moments later, Annika found herself back in the house, opposite of her the grizzled man.
"Now," he spoke. "Are you ready to tell me something?" He arched his eyebrows at her.
"Why should I?" Annika replied, lifting her head in defiance. "You´ll shoot me no matter what. So, let it be an honourable death, at least." And because she was so sure that she was about to die, she added: "You´re pathetic. Pathetic and unworthy of being an officer, even in the Red Army."
"You dare to lecture me about worthiness?!" the Colonel bellowed at her, his face contorted into a mask of rage. "You, as part of the people who came to my land, pillaging, murdering everyone and burning everything in your wake? You, whose comrades butchered my family, every single one of them."
"'One seeking revenge should always dig two graves.' Confucius," Annika said as evenly as she could. "What kind of man would you be if you return the atrocities inflicted upon you in same kind? Wouldn't you be as vile then as the men you so despise?" He remained silent for a while.
"Here´s my hand. If you accept, you can keep your life." Annika did.
"This is Fritz, a good man from Saxony," the Colonel said and beckoned a nearby NCO to come nearer. "He´ll take you to the nearest PoW-Camp." And without further ado, Annika was led out of the building towards God knows where, the young soldier trailing behind her with a tight grip on his submachine gun.
They met a few Soviet soldiers along the way, but the sight of the soldier accompanying Annika made them pass her by with hostile glances only. One soldier tried to do her harm. Fritz shot him straight in the face.
"Thank you." Annika swallowed. "That mustn't have been easy for you."
"Order of the Colonel," the man shrugged. "Besides, they´re scum, anyway.
Later, Annika could already see the outlines of the camp, when all of a sudden an armoured car came to a halt right next to them.
["The woman, we´ll take her with us. Go back to Strelnikow and tell him, he must shoot his prisoners. The front has collapsed; the counter strike has started. The Germans will be here soon and then they won´t have any chance to retake any further prisoners. Do you copy, soldier?"] on the man spoke in Russian, which Annika was unable to understand. The Saxon soldier just nodded and saluted. Annika was manhandled into the car and taken to the next air strip where she was put into the only plane left. Direction: Moscow. What she didn't know, yet, was that the men accompanying her were agents of the NKWD.
Colonel Richard Goldstein of the Red Army was killed a few hours later in the fighting that engulfed the whole sector. Sergeant Fritz Gerhardt didn't relay the order of the NKWD, so that the PoW was later liberated by German forces. Yet, seeing the suffering the Red Army had inflicted upon the captured German soldiers, turned the already bad situation on the Eastern Front even worse, with atrocities committed on both sides, such as Red Army soldiers being shot even after they had surrendered. Gerhardt had luck: He was captured by Annika´s former unit and as he held vital information about her whereabouts, he was send on to a German PoW-Camp where he would sit out the rest of the war.
Annika´s fate, though, remained unsure.
[This story is based upon true events reported by a former German cavalry officer]
Interludium III: Meeting Donald
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
Hamburg, September 20th 1944, 12:13:
Attorney of law Dr. Peter Voss was looking at one of the pictures he had received by post, showing young Anne Frank while writing, a picture which would become – or already was? Finding the right tense was difficult sometimes – quite famous. The handwritten addendum on the back was unique, though. "Thank you everything! Anne." He had seen Anne and her family one time after their initial meeting. They had many problems, some running very deep, but after six sessions of mediation, they had found a modus vivendi on which they could all agree on, at least for the time being. While he was still contemplating where to hang the picture, the doorbell rang. Due to his secretary being ill, Voss made his way towards the door to open it by himself, all the while he was hearing two people heatedly discussing something outside.
"Sir, this isn´t Black and Lost, but a single attorney," a woman implored.
"Nonsense," a male voice replied resolutely, "I have an appointment with Dr. Voss and I shall attend it!"
"But, Sir," the woman exclaimed. "This isn't Mr. Daniel Voss, LL. M., from Black and Lost, but…"
Dr. Voss opened the door, abruptly putting a halt to the discussion outside, but when he saw who was actually standing there outside of his office, his jaw dropped to the ground. Donald Trump!
"Good morning," Voss greeted he man and his…assistant?...not having realized that it was already noon, but working on an appeal to the Federal Court of Labour did funny things to your sense of time, but at least it was done after gruesome three weeks. "How may I be of help?"
"Ah, I´m Donald Trump and I´ve got an appointment with Dr. Voss," Trump said. It´s indeed him, a voice halfway between panicked and amused whispered in his mind.
"I´m Dr. Voss, but not the…" Voss tried to say, but Trump interrupted him. "Excellent, we have much to discuss." With a resigned sigh, Voss just stepped aside and allowed Trump and his assistant – who glanced at him with an apologetic expression – in.
"As you´re probably aware my grandparents on my father´s side were Germans," Trump started when they were seated in Voss' office. That explains why he´s here, Voss thought. Out loud he said: "No, I didn't know that."
"Due to that," Trump continued, "I was also taken back in time. I´ve taken Chancellor Merkel up on her offer to a German passport, which is why I´m a German citizen now. To cut it short, I want to restart my business, both in construction and in politics."
"Well," Voss replied with slowly dawning horror. "I can advise you on both, constitutional and in merchant and private law."
"Excellent!" Trump exclaimed. "You see, Germany may be great now, but I can make it even greater and to archive that I need to become president of…erm.."
"It´s Federal Republic, Sir," his aide added shyly. "I wasn´t introduced before, but I´m Nadine Koops and it´s a pleasure to meet you." Voss wanted to greet the young woman as well, but Trump was already continuing as if his assistant hadn't said anything at all.
"Yes, whatever, I want to become president."
"May I ask why?" Voss asked cautiously.
"Because Mrs. Merkel has to be stopped!" Trump nearly shouted. "She´s ruining Germany!"
"How so?" Voss wanted to know.
"Well, she could have nuked Moscow, for starters," Trump replied. "I would have. I´d have made Germany great again and feared by the whole world. Then she should make a deal with the US and Britain and if they don´t agree, we can nuke them, too. And her economy politics…"
"Mr. Trump are you sure you want to become Federal President of Germany?" Voss interrupted the other man´s rant.
"Of course I am!" Trump replied without a second of hesitation.
"That´s gonna be difficult, though," Voss told the man. "The next time the president is scheduled to be elected would be 2017…or rather 1947, barring no war by the federal assembly."
"I have to wait until 1947?" Trump repeated incredulously.
"Indeed," Voss affirmed. "And you can´t run on your own, anyway. You need to be sponsored by party." He took a sip from the water glass on his desk. "Are you even aware that the presidency, unlike the American one, is representative? You wouldn't be able to exert much influence on politics, because in Germany it´s the chancellor who has the actual power."
"Then I´ll just need to become chancellor then, won´t I?" Trump interceded.
"But even then, you´d need the support of one or several parties," Voss told Trump. "The chancellor isn't elected by the people, but by the parliament which represents them."
"Pretty crappy system, isn´t it," Trump said haughtily. "The people should vote him directly. One man, one vote, as I say. Another reason to become chancellor then, to overhaul this undemocratic system!"
"Which the electoral college isn´t?" Voss shot back. "Bush had less absolute votes than Al Gore and yet he became president. Not really one man, one vote, isn't it?" He paused for a moment. "Besides, it´s very unlike that one party alone has the majority to elect the chancellor, so you would probably also have to form a coalition with another one…or two."
"You mean I´d have to enter a party?"
"Theoretically, yes," Voss answered. However, he did not mention that this wasn't a legal necessity, as Ludwig Erhard himself had only joined the CDU after he had been elected as chancellor. "Anyway, becoming chancellor candidate for a party requires a lot of inter-party connections and more or less hard work. Late comers usually don´t make it that far."
"I´m Donald Trump, don´t forget that!"
"How could I?" Voss muttered under his breath. Out lout he said: "You may be, but you still need the sponsorship of a party."
"Can´t I just found my own one?" Trump asked.
"You could," Voss replied, "but it´s incredibly difficult to establish a new party. The last one to successfully manage it were the Greens. All other parties are as old as the Federal Republic itself, or even older. Many attempts have failed so far, the Statt party, PRO or the Pirates…."
"The Pirates?"
"Internet nerds," Voss explained. "They´re all for freedom of the internet and civil rights."
"Bah, liberal nonsense then," Trump cursed.
"I rather thought so," Voss said. "There´s also the Left Party…"
"Communists should be shot instead of being allowed to form their own party!"
"The Greens are too left, the FDP is too liberal," Voss summed up. "The CDU is Angela Merkel´s home turf and the CSU, or rather its chief, would never allow someone to enter who could challenge him. Then there´s the SPD…"
"What about the AFD?" Trump interrupted.
"Well," Voss gulped, "they certainly fit the profile of the US Republicans and they tend to criticise Angela Merkel a lot. There´s a lot of infighting there, though, between the liberal and the far-right wing, with the former fighting a loosing battle. They´re also tethering on the edge of still being constitutional."
"But I could make it there?" Trump wanted to know.
"Certainly," Voss replied.
"Well, I see I went to the right lawyer then," Trump stated as he stood up and buttoned his jacket. "You´re hired. My assistant will give you all the documents you need." And with that he turned around and left the office, not before – much to Voss' shock – giving a squeeze to his assistant´s bottom. When she saw Voss' expression, Nadine just shrugged.
"He pays well," she said. "Much of my family has lost their jobs due to the Event, so I have to pull my weight." She handed him over some papers. "Here´s your contract and your first assignment. Mr. Trump plans to build a skyscraper right here."
"There´s Blohm & Voss yard on the site," Voss pointed out. "He can´t build there."
"Then tell him that," Nadine shrugged. "By the way, you should definitely hire some additional staff. You´ll definitely need them." And with that she was gone as well.
With a huff, Voss sat down and stared at the paper. He really, really didn't want to do this, but with much of his business dried up due to the Event and with a pregnant wife and debts from the house they had bought, he clearly didn't have much of a choice.
At least, Nadine seemed to commiserate with him.
Attorney of law Dr. Peter Voss was looking at one of the pictures he had received by post, showing young Anne Frank while writing, a picture which would become – or already was? Finding the right tense was difficult sometimes – quite famous. The handwritten addendum on the back was unique, though. "Thank you everything! Anne." He had seen Anne and her family one time after their initial meeting. They had many problems, some running very deep, but after six sessions of mediation, they had found a modus vivendi on which they could all agree on, at least for the time being. While he was still contemplating where to hang the picture, the doorbell rang. Due to his secretary being ill, Voss made his way towards the door to open it by himself, all the while he was hearing two people heatedly discussing something outside.
"Sir, this isn´t Black and Lost, but a single attorney," a woman implored.
"Nonsense," a male voice replied resolutely, "I have an appointment with Dr. Voss and I shall attend it!"
"But, Sir," the woman exclaimed. "This isn't Mr. Daniel Voss, LL. M., from Black and Lost, but…"
Dr. Voss opened the door, abruptly putting a halt to the discussion outside, but when he saw who was actually standing there outside of his office, his jaw dropped to the ground. Donald Trump!
"Good morning," Voss greeted he man and his…assistant?...not having realized that it was already noon, but working on an appeal to the Federal Court of Labour did funny things to your sense of time, but at least it was done after gruesome three weeks. "How may I be of help?"
"Ah, I´m Donald Trump and I´ve got an appointment with Dr. Voss," Trump said. It´s indeed him, a voice halfway between panicked and amused whispered in his mind.
"I´m Dr. Voss, but not the…" Voss tried to say, but Trump interrupted him. "Excellent, we have much to discuss." With a resigned sigh, Voss just stepped aside and allowed Trump and his assistant – who glanced at him with an apologetic expression – in.
"As you´re probably aware my grandparents on my father´s side were Germans," Trump started when they were seated in Voss' office. That explains why he´s here, Voss thought. Out loud he said: "No, I didn't know that."
"Due to that," Trump continued, "I was also taken back in time. I´ve taken Chancellor Merkel up on her offer to a German passport, which is why I´m a German citizen now. To cut it short, I want to restart my business, both in construction and in politics."
"Well," Voss replied with slowly dawning horror. "I can advise you on both, constitutional and in merchant and private law."
"Excellent!" Trump exclaimed. "You see, Germany may be great now, but I can make it even greater and to archive that I need to become president of…erm.."
"It´s Federal Republic, Sir," his aide added shyly. "I wasn´t introduced before, but I´m Nadine Koops and it´s a pleasure to meet you." Voss wanted to greet the young woman as well, but Trump was already continuing as if his assistant hadn't said anything at all.
"Yes, whatever, I want to become president."
"May I ask why?" Voss asked cautiously.
"Because Mrs. Merkel has to be stopped!" Trump nearly shouted. "She´s ruining Germany!"
"How so?" Voss wanted to know.
"Well, she could have nuked Moscow, for starters," Trump replied. "I would have. I´d have made Germany great again and feared by the whole world. Then she should make a deal with the US and Britain and if they don´t agree, we can nuke them, too. And her economy politics…"
"Mr. Trump are you sure you want to become Federal President of Germany?" Voss interrupted the other man´s rant.
"Of course I am!" Trump replied without a second of hesitation.
"That´s gonna be difficult, though," Voss told the man. "The next time the president is scheduled to be elected would be 2017…or rather 1947, barring no war by the federal assembly."
"I have to wait until 1947?" Trump repeated incredulously.
"Indeed," Voss affirmed. "And you can´t run on your own, anyway. You need to be sponsored by party." He took a sip from the water glass on his desk. "Are you even aware that the presidency, unlike the American one, is representative? You wouldn't be able to exert much influence on politics, because in Germany it´s the chancellor who has the actual power."
"Then I´ll just need to become chancellor then, won´t I?" Trump interceded.
"But even then, you´d need the support of one or several parties," Voss told Trump. "The chancellor isn't elected by the people, but by the parliament which represents them."
"Pretty crappy system, isn´t it," Trump said haughtily. "The people should vote him directly. One man, one vote, as I say. Another reason to become chancellor then, to overhaul this undemocratic system!"
"Which the electoral college isn´t?" Voss shot back. "Bush had less absolute votes than Al Gore and yet he became president. Not really one man, one vote, isn't it?" He paused for a moment. "Besides, it´s very unlike that one party alone has the majority to elect the chancellor, so you would probably also have to form a coalition with another one…or two."
"You mean I´d have to enter a party?"
"Theoretically, yes," Voss answered. However, he did not mention that this wasn't a legal necessity, as Ludwig Erhard himself had only joined the CDU after he had been elected as chancellor. "Anyway, becoming chancellor candidate for a party requires a lot of inter-party connections and more or less hard work. Late comers usually don´t make it that far."
"I´m Donald Trump, don´t forget that!"
"How could I?" Voss muttered under his breath. Out lout he said: "You may be, but you still need the sponsorship of a party."
"Can´t I just found my own one?" Trump asked.
"You could," Voss replied, "but it´s incredibly difficult to establish a new party. The last one to successfully manage it were the Greens. All other parties are as old as the Federal Republic itself, or even older. Many attempts have failed so far, the Statt party, PRO or the Pirates…."
"The Pirates?"
"Internet nerds," Voss explained. "They´re all for freedom of the internet and civil rights."
"Bah, liberal nonsense then," Trump cursed.
"I rather thought so," Voss said. "There´s also the Left Party…"
"Communists should be shot instead of being allowed to form their own party!"
"The Greens are too left, the FDP is too liberal," Voss summed up. "The CDU is Angela Merkel´s home turf and the CSU, or rather its chief, would never allow someone to enter who could challenge him. Then there´s the SPD…"
"What about the AFD?" Trump interrupted.
"Well," Voss gulped, "they certainly fit the profile of the US Republicans and they tend to criticise Angela Merkel a lot. There´s a lot of infighting there, though, between the liberal and the far-right wing, with the former fighting a loosing battle. They´re also tethering on the edge of still being constitutional."
"But I could make it there?" Trump wanted to know.
"Certainly," Voss replied.
"Well, I see I went to the right lawyer then," Trump stated as he stood up and buttoned his jacket. "You´re hired. My assistant will give you all the documents you need." And with that he turned around and left the office, not before – much to Voss' shock – giving a squeeze to his assistant´s bottom. When she saw Voss' expression, Nadine just shrugged.
"He pays well," she said. "Much of my family has lost their jobs due to the Event, so I have to pull my weight." She handed him over some papers. "Here´s your contract and your first assignment. Mr. Trump plans to build a skyscraper right here."
"There´s Blohm & Voss yard on the site," Voss pointed out. "He can´t build there."
"Then tell him that," Nadine shrugged. "By the way, you should definitely hire some additional staff. You´ll definitely need them." And with that she was gone as well.
With a huff, Voss sat down and stared at the paper. He really, really didn't want to do this, but with much of his business dried up due to the Event and with a pregnant wife and debts from the house they had bought, he clearly didn't have much of a choice.
At least, Nadine seemed to commiserate with him.
- Location
- Asia
Oh right, I forgot Trump was also part of the ISOT -_-
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
Darksoul2142
SUMMONER OF DARK DRAGON
- Location
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Wait......u wot m8? How?
I seem to over look this fact every readthrough of this timeline
This also reminds me of one thing: What happened to Eva Braun?
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- Location
- Asia
Wouldn't she be in jail for being a Nazi?
Oh god what the fuck no. I need a horror rating.
Here's hoping the Finanzamt is on the ball before he continues his habit of dealing wth Russians.
The power of repression in action.
Here's hoping the Finanzamt is on the ball before he continues his habit of dealing wth Russians.
The power of repression in action.
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Darksoul2142
SUMMONER OF DARK DRAGON
- Location
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
But for what crimes other than being Hitler's girlfriend? I am not sure if she had any power over Hitler at all in terms of stopping the "Final Solution".
One question for the author and everyone else: Given that the Field Marshal rank has been reinstated. Is the rank insignia based on the Wehrmacht's (with Nazi symbolism removed) or the Deutsches Heer?
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- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
With Eva Braun, well, she will be part of another update. But that will last some time. The Genralfeldmarschall has the insignia of two golden crossed batons. The real baton follows the Prussian, but with federal motives.
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
@Darksoul2142 has sent me the edited versions of Chapter 1, parts 5-8. Thank you. They're online now.
Chapter II, Part 15: The 2nd Battle of Viipuuri
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
The 2nd Battle of Viipuuri (Wyborg), September 5th 1944
On June 10th, the Soviet 21st Army attacked the Finish defence line. After heavy fighting they were able to crush the defence mounted by the Finnish and soon reached the second defence line – called the VT-line – soon after. Though the Fins were able to halt the Soviet advance at Siiranmäki, they lost the battle of Kuuterselkä, where the Soviets managed to break through the lines. At least the Finnish defenders had been able to stop the Soviet advance temporarily so that the majority of the Finnish forces could retreat behind the VKT line.
The Germans had send reinforcements in the form of two more infantry divisions (352. Infanteriedivision, 91. Luftlandedivision) and a Panzerdivision (21. Panzerdivision) which had been transported to Finland, but were not battle ready yet. It was predicted that the German forces could only intervene during the final stages of the battle of Tali-Inhalata. The same rang true for many equipment that had been sent to the Finish forces. So, in the end, the Fins had to fight mostly with what they already had.
However, while those restriction applied for the ground forces, it didn´t apply for the Luftwaffe, which did sent twice as many DT planes to Finland. Furthermore, it was planned that 24 Tornados were to attack from Estonia. With them the Germans and Fins could deal some heavy blows to the Soviets. Despite that, the Soviets were still able to capture Viipuuri on July 1st 1944. This, however, was their last offensive action, as the Soviets went on the defence due to heavy losses having been inflicted upon them, just after the battle of Tali-Inhalata was lost on July 9th. The Soviet strategy was to defend against Finland for the time being, as with the defeat of Tali-Inhalata they wanted to concentrate the forces against Germany. For the Soviet forces, this meant to build up own defence positions.
On September 5th, just before dawn, the Soviet defenders of Wyborg were woken up by heavy artillery fire. For the only time the Baltic Fleet – consisting of the old pre-dreadnoughts Schlesien and Schleswig-Holstein, the Finish Coastal defence ship Väinamöinen, the light cruiser Emden, the torpedoboats Möwe, Kondor, Falke, Jaguar, Löwe, Panther, Leopard and Tiger and S-boats – attacked Soviet positions from the sea, including amphibious assaults of German and Finish forces towards the rear of the Soviet positions. Tornado bombers conducted air strikes on Soviet strong points.
Soon after German and Finish forces attacked the enemy, which still held numerical superiority. However, modern equipment led to a severe defeat: Using drones and other modern equipment Viipuuri was retaken within the next 48 hours. On September 10th Finish forces were advancing past the VT-line and soon reached the Main Line again. The Soviet defending armies were ordered to retreat soon, as Stalin did not want to lose more units. Still nearly 50.000 Soviets were either killed or taken prisoners by either German or Finnish units. The 21st Army was hit worst, though, and many of its units were no longer able to conduct more than basic self-defence.
On June 10th, the Soviet 21st Army attacked the Finish defence line. After heavy fighting they were able to crush the defence mounted by the Finnish and soon reached the second defence line – called the VT-line – soon after. Though the Fins were able to halt the Soviet advance at Siiranmäki, they lost the battle of Kuuterselkä, where the Soviets managed to break through the lines. At least the Finnish defenders had been able to stop the Soviet advance temporarily so that the majority of the Finnish forces could retreat behind the VKT line.
The Germans had send reinforcements in the form of two more infantry divisions (352. Infanteriedivision, 91. Luftlandedivision) and a Panzerdivision (21. Panzerdivision) which had been transported to Finland, but were not battle ready yet. It was predicted that the German forces could only intervene during the final stages of the battle of Tali-Inhalata. The same rang true for many equipment that had been sent to the Finish forces. So, in the end, the Fins had to fight mostly with what they already had.
However, while those restriction applied for the ground forces, it didn´t apply for the Luftwaffe, which did sent twice as many DT planes to Finland. Furthermore, it was planned that 24 Tornados were to attack from Estonia. With them the Germans and Fins could deal some heavy blows to the Soviets. Despite that, the Soviets were still able to capture Viipuuri on July 1st 1944. This, however, was their last offensive action, as the Soviets went on the defence due to heavy losses having been inflicted upon them, just after the battle of Tali-Inhalata was lost on July 9th. The Soviet strategy was to defend against Finland for the time being, as with the defeat of Tali-Inhalata they wanted to concentrate the forces against Germany. For the Soviet forces, this meant to build up own defence positions.
On September 5th, just before dawn, the Soviet defenders of Wyborg were woken up by heavy artillery fire. For the only time the Baltic Fleet – consisting of the old pre-dreadnoughts Schlesien and Schleswig-Holstein, the Finish Coastal defence ship Väinamöinen, the light cruiser Emden, the torpedoboats Möwe, Kondor, Falke, Jaguar, Löwe, Panther, Leopard and Tiger and S-boats – attacked Soviet positions from the sea, including amphibious assaults of German and Finish forces towards the rear of the Soviet positions. Tornado bombers conducted air strikes on Soviet strong points.
Soon after German and Finish forces attacked the enemy, which still held numerical superiority. However, modern equipment led to a severe defeat: Using drones and other modern equipment Viipuuri was retaken within the next 48 hours. On September 10th Finish forces were advancing past the VT-line and soon reached the Main Line again. The Soviet defending armies were ordered to retreat soon, as Stalin did not want to lose more units. Still nearly 50.000 Soviets were either killed or taken prisoners by either German or Finnish units. The 21st Army was hit worst, though, and many of its units were no longer able to conduct more than basic self-defence.
Chapter II, Part 16: Skirmish off Viipuuri, Part 1
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
Skirmish off Wyborg, September 5th 1944, Part 1
Soviet Post Action Report
In the early morning hours, we received the order to attack German and Finish vessels that were harassing our positions south of Wyborg. Our seven boats, TKA 222, 223, 226-230 – British design but built in the US – set sail about an hour after the first reports came in. We were accompanied by several Soviet built TKS boats. As soon as we had left Kronstadt a group of enemy fighters attacked our boats with MG fire, bombs and rockets. All my boats were left unscathed, but two of the TKS boats were sunk and another was severely damaged.
After the air strike, it was clear that my task force lost the moment of suprise. However, we continued on our way in order to attack the enemy, as our orders had been strict and clear. At about 08:00 we met the first defence line, which consisted of eight enemy S-Boats. The German boats were much better armed than ours, but ours are much faster, thus we did not engage them but instead tried to break through their line. TKA 223 was hit by the Germans, but the boat stayed operational. TKA 230, however, was sunk, as the boat´s engine suffered a direct hit, slowing it down and turning it into easy prey. The TKS boats fared no better: Four were sunk and another three damaged and had to return home.
The losses were heavy, but at full speed we were able to break through the German S-Boats, which then turned around and followed us. We then conducted the attack as ordered in one amassed group of 36 boats. Soon after, though, German torpedo boats attacked us. TKA 223 finally lost its engine as the damage done before apparently hadn't been noticed until then. The boat was hit by a single 10,5 cm shell and exploded. The very same fate met TKA 229 and six of the TKS boats.
By now I was the highest surviving officer and thus I ordered to split the force: Nine of the surviving TKS boats should engage the torpedo boats and then retreat, forcing the enemy to split their forces and hopefully disregard us. The TKS boats were, indeed, able to sink a torpedo boat and to damage another one. However, only three were able to return to their home port. The other boats were sunk by the torpedo boats and S-boats. We managed, however, to engage the enemy battlefleet: From great distance we launched our torpedoes, but one of the German helicopters reached us by then and fired six rockets at us. Five of them hit, sinking TKA 227, 228 and 226 as well as two of the TKS boats. As our torpedoes had all been shot and we had none left, we retreated. Luckily the gap from our earlier break-through was still wide open, so we could escape through it. One of our torpedoes hit and at least damaged a German Deutschland class pre-dreadnought.
TKA 222 and six TKS boats are still ready for action. The other boats were destroyed or are damaged.
Soviet Post Action Report
In the early morning hours, we received the order to attack German and Finish vessels that were harassing our positions south of Wyborg. Our seven boats, TKA 222, 223, 226-230 – British design but built in the US – set sail about an hour after the first reports came in. We were accompanied by several Soviet built TKS boats. As soon as we had left Kronstadt a group of enemy fighters attacked our boats with MG fire, bombs and rockets. All my boats were left unscathed, but two of the TKS boats were sunk and another was severely damaged.
After the air strike, it was clear that my task force lost the moment of suprise. However, we continued on our way in order to attack the enemy, as our orders had been strict and clear. At about 08:00 we met the first defence line, which consisted of eight enemy S-Boats. The German boats were much better armed than ours, but ours are much faster, thus we did not engage them but instead tried to break through their line. TKA 223 was hit by the Germans, but the boat stayed operational. TKA 230, however, was sunk, as the boat´s engine suffered a direct hit, slowing it down and turning it into easy prey. The TKS boats fared no better: Four were sunk and another three damaged and had to return home.
The losses were heavy, but at full speed we were able to break through the German S-Boats, which then turned around and followed us. We then conducted the attack as ordered in one amassed group of 36 boats. Soon after, though, German torpedo boats attacked us. TKA 223 finally lost its engine as the damage done before apparently hadn't been noticed until then. The boat was hit by a single 10,5 cm shell and exploded. The very same fate met TKA 229 and six of the TKS boats.
By now I was the highest surviving officer and thus I ordered to split the force: Nine of the surviving TKS boats should engage the torpedo boats and then retreat, forcing the enemy to split their forces and hopefully disregard us. The TKS boats were, indeed, able to sink a torpedo boat and to damage another one. However, only three were able to return to their home port. The other boats were sunk by the torpedo boats and S-boats. We managed, however, to engage the enemy battlefleet: From great distance we launched our torpedoes, but one of the German helicopters reached us by then and fired six rockets at us. Five of them hit, sinking TKA 227, 228 and 226 as well as two of the TKS boats. As our torpedoes had all been shot and we had none left, we retreated. Luckily the gap from our earlier break-through was still wide open, so we could escape through it. One of our torpedoes hit and at least damaged a German Deutschland class pre-dreadnought.
TKA 222 and six TKS boats are still ready for action. The other boats were destroyed or are damaged.
Chapter II, Part 17: Skirmish off Viipuuri, Part 2
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
Skirmish off Wyborg, September 5th 1944, Part 2
German Post Action Report
On September 4th the 6th Schnellbootflotille took position to shield the landing forces against possible attacks from Soviet torpedo cutters. My boats were the S-39, S-76, S-79, S-90, S-91, S-97, S-114, S-132 and S-135. In the morning hours, we received intelligence about a group of enemy torpedo cutters nearing us. We were able to get into a position from where we could intercept the enemy boats, which were more numerous – I estimated at least four times as much – than the forces at my disposal. Nevertheless, the fight didn't last long as the enemy attacked with great speed. The enemy torpedo cutters were in no way armed like the Schnellboote and thusly tried to evade us rather than fighting us head-on. The Soviets did not cause much damage, but still one man was killed and three others wounded by their MG fire. S-76, S-91, S-97 and S-132 were able to sink enemy boats, S-132 two. The other boats were able to break through, but were pursued by our forces.
The next defensive line, the torpedo boats, were another obstacle in their way. Some of them fired their eels from greatest range before retreating. In the following melee eight cutters were sunk – six by the torpedo boats, another two by S-135 and S-90. Another group was able slip through our lines and again fired their torpedoes before retreating. None of the enemy torpedoes reached their target, though.
In direct engagements our guns were effective. However, our boats seem to need more firepower in the future, either to fight such masses of enemy boats more efficiently or in order to be better prepared for enemy boats with upgraded hardware. Because of that, I support the decision to build the class 140 S-boats again.
Signed, Korvettenkapitän Obermaier
German Post Action Report
On September 4th the 6th Schnellbootflotille took position to shield the landing forces against possible attacks from Soviet torpedo cutters. My boats were the S-39, S-76, S-79, S-90, S-91, S-97, S-114, S-132 and S-135. In the morning hours, we received intelligence about a group of enemy torpedo cutters nearing us. We were able to get into a position from where we could intercept the enemy boats, which were more numerous – I estimated at least four times as much – than the forces at my disposal. Nevertheless, the fight didn't last long as the enemy attacked with great speed. The enemy torpedo cutters were in no way armed like the Schnellboote and thusly tried to evade us rather than fighting us head-on. The Soviets did not cause much damage, but still one man was killed and three others wounded by their MG fire. S-76, S-91, S-97 and S-132 were able to sink enemy boats, S-132 two. The other boats were able to break through, but were pursued by our forces.
The next defensive line, the torpedo boats, were another obstacle in their way. Some of them fired their eels from greatest range before retreating. In the following melee eight cutters were sunk – six by the torpedo boats, another two by S-135 and S-90. Another group was able slip through our lines and again fired their torpedoes before retreating. None of the enemy torpedoes reached their target, though.
In direct engagements our guns were effective. However, our boats seem to need more firepower in the future, either to fight such masses of enemy boats more efficiently or in order to be better prepared for enemy boats with upgraded hardware. Because of that, I support the decision to build the class 140 S-boats again.
Signed, Korvettenkapitän Obermaier
Chapter II, Part 18: The first Swallows
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
Runway, Amsterdam-Schiphol, September 6th 1944, 12:15
A Me 262 landed after its ferry flight from the factory. The pilot (U) was greeted by the group commander, Major Walter Nowotny (WN).
U: Hauptmann Uhse reports fit for duty, Herr Major!
WN: Excellent, Hauptmann. This was your first flight with this jet, wasn´t it?
U: No, sir. I already had two other planes ferried over here, but now I got my orders to report here for duty, as well.
WN: I see. Hmm. Did you engage with the enemy yet?
U: Not with this plane, no. But I was involved in some fights while flying the Bf 109 or the Fw 190.
WN: And?
U: Well, I was never shot down. Obviously.
WN: Wanna add another one to your ledger?
U: Jawoll!
WN: "Excellent. What do you think about this baby? The major nodded towards the Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow).
U: It is an excellent plane. I really enjoy flying it, especially as I only flew piston engined planes before.
WN: I hear a 'but' hidden in that sentence.
U: Well, erm, yes. It´s no Eurofighter… The major had to laugh.
WN: I guess you´re right. Personally, I´d like to give every of ours such a beauty, but we have only a few and they are all needed elsewhere by pilots trained to fly them. We´d all need new training courses in order to be able to fly then and by then the war would probably be over already. Laughs. Besides, the production of the Eurofighter can only resume after several factories are built, which will last at least until next year.
U: Yes, sir. I know, sir, but a soldier can dream.
WN: Don't be so formal, Hauptmann, after all we're all pilots; here to supplement the UT planes. The Me 262 is the best plane we can produce currently, but I still think it will have a rather short career though, as it will be replaced as soon as the other planes currently being designed and built are ready. You see, this is still the Me 262 A-1a model, wich engines are better but still, they´re only the Jumo 004 motors. The Me 262 B variant will be an all-day fighter with RADAR, HUD, Jumo 029 engines (GE J-49) with afterburners and the ability to carry AIM-9 Li Sidewinder missiles. And two BK-27 guns. They say, with some more modifications, Mach 1 could be achieved. I don´t know if that´s true…
In this moment, the alarm bells began to ring. Since the end of the 2nd battle of Britain no Allied plane had crossed the Channel, but apparently it was happening now.
WN: Hauptmann, do you have enough fuel?
U: Yes, sir!
WN: Then up into the air!
Thirty minutes later they were in the air. A group of Mosquitos had been discovered trying to attack the Phlipps factories in Eindhoven. And there they were, Hauptmann Uhse thought, and they noticed us. And while other planes may have had problems catching up with the enemy planes, the Me 262 certainly had none: A Mosquito only about 100 meters away. The four Mk 108 guns started shooting and soon the Hauptmann could see the result: The Mosquito went down with black smoke. Her first kill. When 16 of the 24 enemy planes had been shot down, they started to retreat.
Uhse and her fellow pilots followed the Mosquitos over the Channel now, but they were not allowed to enter British air space, so they would need to turn around soon. But then they were suddenly engaged by enemy jet fighters. Interesting, Hauptmann Uhse thought, Gloster Meteors. It was the only jet the Allies could field. One plane was in a good position behind the Hauptmann. A fast reaction was needed. The Me 262 could ascend much faster and higher than a Meteor. And indeed the enemy Meteor could not follow the Me 262 as Uhse ascended higher and higher: A turn to the right into the sun – and then a fast attack on the jet below. The Mk 108s fired again and the Gloster Meteor exploded.
But the Hauptmann had made a mistake. Behind the plane shot down was another Meteor. A first salvo barely missed the Me 262, yet a second never came. It looked like the guns had jammed. Only a second later another Me 262 appeared and fired the guns at the Meteor, which went down, leaving behind a black trail. After losing 6 Meteors, including another one for Uhse, for a badly damaged Me 262 the British planes retreated. As the fuel was low the Germans did the very same. And now the Hauptmann could recognize the plane that had saved her: It was the machine of the Major himself. He could now claim his 256th kill. But the kill of Hauptmann Beate Uhse was a special one: It was the first kill of a jet by another jet pilot, being her third. For the time being she was the best DT jet fighter pilot.
A Me 262 landed after its ferry flight from the factory. The pilot (U) was greeted by the group commander, Major Walter Nowotny (WN).
U: Hauptmann Uhse reports fit for duty, Herr Major!
WN: Excellent, Hauptmann. This was your first flight with this jet, wasn´t it?
U: No, sir. I already had two other planes ferried over here, but now I got my orders to report here for duty, as well.
WN: I see. Hmm. Did you engage with the enemy yet?
U: Not with this plane, no. But I was involved in some fights while flying the Bf 109 or the Fw 190.
WN: And?
U: Well, I was never shot down. Obviously.
WN: Wanna add another one to your ledger?
U: Jawoll!
WN: "Excellent. What do you think about this baby? The major nodded towards the Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow).
U: It is an excellent plane. I really enjoy flying it, especially as I only flew piston engined planes before.
WN: I hear a 'but' hidden in that sentence.
U: Well, erm, yes. It´s no Eurofighter… The major had to laugh.
WN: I guess you´re right. Personally, I´d like to give every of ours such a beauty, but we have only a few and they are all needed elsewhere by pilots trained to fly them. We´d all need new training courses in order to be able to fly then and by then the war would probably be over already. Laughs. Besides, the production of the Eurofighter can only resume after several factories are built, which will last at least until next year.
U: Yes, sir. I know, sir, but a soldier can dream.
WN: Don't be so formal, Hauptmann, after all we're all pilots; here to supplement the UT planes. The Me 262 is the best plane we can produce currently, but I still think it will have a rather short career though, as it will be replaced as soon as the other planes currently being designed and built are ready. You see, this is still the Me 262 A-1a model, wich engines are better but still, they´re only the Jumo 004 motors. The Me 262 B variant will be an all-day fighter with RADAR, HUD, Jumo 029 engines (GE J-49) with afterburners and the ability to carry AIM-9 Li Sidewinder missiles. And two BK-27 guns. They say, with some more modifications, Mach 1 could be achieved. I don´t know if that´s true…
In this moment, the alarm bells began to ring. Since the end of the 2nd battle of Britain no Allied plane had crossed the Channel, but apparently it was happening now.
WN: Hauptmann, do you have enough fuel?
U: Yes, sir!
WN: Then up into the air!
Thirty minutes later they were in the air. A group of Mosquitos had been discovered trying to attack the Phlipps factories in Eindhoven. And there they were, Hauptmann Uhse thought, and they noticed us. And while other planes may have had problems catching up with the enemy planes, the Me 262 certainly had none: A Mosquito only about 100 meters away. The four Mk 108 guns started shooting and soon the Hauptmann could see the result: The Mosquito went down with black smoke. Her first kill. When 16 of the 24 enemy planes had been shot down, they started to retreat.
Uhse and her fellow pilots followed the Mosquitos over the Channel now, but they were not allowed to enter British air space, so they would need to turn around soon. But then they were suddenly engaged by enemy jet fighters. Interesting, Hauptmann Uhse thought, Gloster Meteors. It was the only jet the Allies could field. One plane was in a good position behind the Hauptmann. A fast reaction was needed. The Me 262 could ascend much faster and higher than a Meteor. And indeed the enemy Meteor could not follow the Me 262 as Uhse ascended higher and higher: A turn to the right into the sun – and then a fast attack on the jet below. The Mk 108s fired again and the Gloster Meteor exploded.
But the Hauptmann had made a mistake. Behind the plane shot down was another Meteor. A first salvo barely missed the Me 262, yet a second never came. It looked like the guns had jammed. Only a second later another Me 262 appeared and fired the guns at the Meteor, which went down, leaving behind a black trail. After losing 6 Meteors, including another one for Uhse, for a badly damaged Me 262 the British planes retreated. As the fuel was low the Germans did the very same. And now the Hauptmann could recognize the plane that had saved her: It was the machine of the Major himself. He could now claim his 256th kill. But the kill of Hauptmann Beate Uhse was a special one: It was the first kill of a jet by another jet pilot, being her third. For the time being she was the best DT jet fighter pilot.
Chapter II, Part 19: Stalin's Orders
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
Moscow, Kremlin, September 6th 1944, 22:30:
Ever since Minsk had surrendered and the order to retreat had been given, Stalin (JS) hadn't spoken. No one dared to disturb him as rumours floated around that a servant doing so had been shot by the man himself. Finally, at noon on September 6th he ordered Lawrenti Beria (LB), Wjatscheslaw Molotow (WM) and Marshal Alexander Wassilewski (AW) to meet him in the Kremlin at 22:30. When Stalin entered the conference room, the first thing he saw was Beria and Wassilewski arguing.
LB: ...that's why I want to see his head on a plate.
AW: How dare you! He acted to save the armies under his command. If he hadn't done what he did, we would have already lost the war.
LB: He shot one of my officers! I want his head...
JS: Lawrenti, stop it. Your man was an idiot who was unwilling to adapt to the new circumstances. The retreat was the only possibility left.
LB: Josef, you can't be serious! He has shot one of my political officers. Even worse, a general, and he will remain untouched?
JS: Yes, at least for the time being. So keep your fingers off him.
LB: (after breathing) Yes, woschd.
JS: I know that some of you think that I shouldn't have excused myself from the running of this war for so long – don't deny it - but I needed time to ponder the situation. Obviously, we have severely underestimated the Germans, who have won a great victory against us. How bad are the numbers?
AW: About two million dead, missing or PoW...
JS: Two million?
AW: Yes.
JS: Can we at least replace them?
AW: Yes, we can even though our pool of recruits is nearly empty. Once, maybe twice if we thin out our garrisons.
JS: Do it. Our forces retreat towards the Dnjepr river?
AW: Yes, that should give us some space and time. When the rain period´s going to set in the ground will be muddy for months and when winter comes we can start another offensive. However, we also suffered great losses of war material: Many factories are not working at 100%, so we will run into problems of arming all soldiers in the future. As of now, we still have enough material left to arm most forces, but we have no reserves left. If we lose so much equipment again, we can't prepare for a counter offensive or even a second offensive in summer.
JS: I see. Wjatscheslaw, tell the Yankees we need new equipment, soon. Otherwise we can't continue the war.
AW: Woschd, there's another problem, too: The Germans have destroyed several key railway junctions. We can't repair them all in time, at least not in the extent we needed them. There is only one way open: Murmansk. And that one smells like a trap.
JS: That's not my problem. How many ships do the Germans have stationed in Norway?
LB: Not many, only the Tirpitz. The other ships are conducting intensive manoeuvres in the Baltic.
JS: There you have it: The Allies can still deliver us the goods without problems.
WM: I already got notice that the US would send us forces to help us here.
JS: NO! NEVER! I will never allow any capitalist forces to operate from Russian soil! Thank them for the offer, but give them a firm 'No'.
WM: I will see what I can do.
JS: Again: Their material support is absolutely necessary for us! Make it clear to them!
WM: Understood.
LB: And if they fail to deliver?
JS: Then we need another solution. (Short moment of silence) So how's the morale of the soldiers?
LB: So far, they are only shocked, not discontented. They obey the orders and will continue to do so. They fear the NKWD still more than they fear the Germans, which can change though, after another defeat...
JS: So, either we win the next battle or we face another revolution?
LB: Yes.
JS: And what's the situation with our Allies?
LB: It seems, Roosevelt is quite happy with current order of affairs, and he still thinks he can invade next year, which means that weakening us until the US forces can swoop in is a good idea in his eyes. Churchill has become a despondent drunk, a puppet of Washington.
JS: That's exactly why I don't want to have foreign forces here.
LB: And the Chinese have suffered yet another defeat at the hands of the Japanese.
JS: China is not our problem. As long as the Japanese don't attack us...
LB: They can't, they don´t have enough forces for a two fronts war.
JS: Then everything is said. You know your orders.
Ever since Minsk had surrendered and the order to retreat had been given, Stalin (JS) hadn't spoken. No one dared to disturb him as rumours floated around that a servant doing so had been shot by the man himself. Finally, at noon on September 6th he ordered Lawrenti Beria (LB), Wjatscheslaw Molotow (WM) and Marshal Alexander Wassilewski (AW) to meet him in the Kremlin at 22:30. When Stalin entered the conference room, the first thing he saw was Beria and Wassilewski arguing.
LB: ...that's why I want to see his head on a plate.
AW: How dare you! He acted to save the armies under his command. If he hadn't done what he did, we would have already lost the war.
LB: He shot one of my officers! I want his head...
JS: Lawrenti, stop it. Your man was an idiot who was unwilling to adapt to the new circumstances. The retreat was the only possibility left.
LB: Josef, you can't be serious! He has shot one of my political officers. Even worse, a general, and he will remain untouched?
JS: Yes, at least for the time being. So keep your fingers off him.
LB: (after breathing) Yes, woschd.
JS: I know that some of you think that I shouldn't have excused myself from the running of this war for so long – don't deny it - but I needed time to ponder the situation. Obviously, we have severely underestimated the Germans, who have won a great victory against us. How bad are the numbers?
AW: About two million dead, missing or PoW...
JS: Two million?
AW: Yes.
JS: Can we at least replace them?
AW: Yes, we can even though our pool of recruits is nearly empty. Once, maybe twice if we thin out our garrisons.
JS: Do it. Our forces retreat towards the Dnjepr river?
AW: Yes, that should give us some space and time. When the rain period´s going to set in the ground will be muddy for months and when winter comes we can start another offensive. However, we also suffered great losses of war material: Many factories are not working at 100%, so we will run into problems of arming all soldiers in the future. As of now, we still have enough material left to arm most forces, but we have no reserves left. If we lose so much equipment again, we can't prepare for a counter offensive or even a second offensive in summer.
JS: I see. Wjatscheslaw, tell the Yankees we need new equipment, soon. Otherwise we can't continue the war.
AW: Woschd, there's another problem, too: The Germans have destroyed several key railway junctions. We can't repair them all in time, at least not in the extent we needed them. There is only one way open: Murmansk. And that one smells like a trap.
JS: That's not my problem. How many ships do the Germans have stationed in Norway?
LB: Not many, only the Tirpitz. The other ships are conducting intensive manoeuvres in the Baltic.
JS: There you have it: The Allies can still deliver us the goods without problems.
WM: I already got notice that the US would send us forces to help us here.
JS: NO! NEVER! I will never allow any capitalist forces to operate from Russian soil! Thank them for the offer, but give them a firm 'No'.
WM: I will see what I can do.
JS: Again: Their material support is absolutely necessary for us! Make it clear to them!
WM: Understood.
LB: And if they fail to deliver?
JS: Then we need another solution. (Short moment of silence) So how's the morale of the soldiers?
LB: So far, they are only shocked, not discontented. They obey the orders and will continue to do so. They fear the NKWD still more than they fear the Germans, which can change though, after another defeat...
JS: So, either we win the next battle or we face another revolution?
LB: Yes.
JS: And what's the situation with our Allies?
LB: It seems, Roosevelt is quite happy with current order of affairs, and he still thinks he can invade next year, which means that weakening us until the US forces can swoop in is a good idea in his eyes. Churchill has become a despondent drunk, a puppet of Washington.
JS: That's exactly why I don't want to have foreign forces here.
LB: And the Chinese have suffered yet another defeat at the hands of the Japanese.
JS: China is not our problem. As long as the Japanese don't attack us...
LB: They can't, they don´t have enough forces for a two fronts war.
JS: Then everything is said. You know your orders.
Pictures
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
Gerdauen air field. Army and Luftwaffe preparing for Operation Tannenberg.
Bf 109 G en route to attack Münster air raid bombers. The Swastikas could not have been repainted yet. May 31st, 1944.
FW 190-A in air combat over Münster, May 31st, 1944.
Me 262 A-1d at Schiphol, August 1st 1944.
Test flight Me 262 A-1d from Manching air base, July 1944 with GE J85 engines.
- Location
- Romania
I can't see the images in the last post. They seem broken.
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
I can see them. 
- Location
- Romania
You linked them from somewhere. They may be still in your browser's cache. I have tried two different browsers and all I see is the error placeholder.I can see them.
- Location
- Asia
For once, Stalin's making sense. No US Forces on Soviet soil, because once they get established, they will never go.
- Status