Good update, I think I like this Blakely fellow. The suspense with the Rhineland situation is killing me though. 
-
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Impressive ! I wonder where all this intrigue is going to lead to.
Nice character-buildup you did for that blakely fellow. The thing with his cleaning his glasses is super. I just love this kind of detail in an AAR.
Looking forward to read more of you !
Nice character-buildup you did for that blakely fellow. The thing with his cleaning his glasses is super. I just love this kind of detail in an AAR.
Looking forward to read more of you !
Alright, update!Commander-DK said:Just wanted to let you know there will be an update in the next two to three hours
Episode XVII – The pass
January 15th, 1936
Hôtel Matignon, Paris
H-Hour plus 23
The sun was still not up when the milkman drove up the driveway to the Hôtel Matignon. Two security officers checked his papers – he had already shown them at the gate – but it was merely routine. He had delivered milk to the Prime Minister’s mansion for almost three years and all the agents on protection detail knew his face. They took a minute to exchange small talk before he drove around the main building to the service entrance.
He placed the full milk bottles at the kitchen door and put the empty ones back in his basket, which he put in the back of his truck. As he pulled out of the courtyard he looked up at a particular window on the third floor. The curtains had only been opened halfway this morning.
**********************************
Two hours later Félix Briel was walking down Rue de Varenne. When he came to the Boulevard Raspail he turned left and continued his usual morning walk up towards Boulevard Saint-Germain.
He was halfway there when he came to a man selling newspapers from a small roofed cart.
‘Newspaper monsieur?’ the man asked.
‘Yes. Let me see Le Canard enchaîné’.
The man handed Félix the weekly edition of what many regarded as one of France’s most satirical newspapers but also one notorious for its political sources and investigative journalism. He briefly flipped through the first couple of pages, taking in the headlines, which were mostly about a sex scandal in the conservative party. The events in the Rhineland had not made the deadline.
‘No, give me Le Temps and Les Échos instead’, Félix said and handed the edition of Le Canard enchainé back to the newspaper vendor.
‘Certainly monsieur. Here you go’, he said and gave him the two other newspapers. Nobody noticed that he did not place the newspaper Félix handed him back onto the stand. Briel paid him and continued his walk. The newspaper vendor pushed his cart down the Boulevard Raspail turning left at Rue de Grenelle.
A few hundred yards down the street he was stopped by a Parisian wearing a long coat and a broad brimmed hat.
‘Do you have Le Canard enchainé? Those cartoons always crack me up’, he asked the vendor.
‘Oui monsieur. Here you go’. The vendor reached down and handed him the newspaper he had just gotten back from Briel. The man in the coat smiled, paid the vendor and walked to a car parked around the corner.
Half an hour later he was at the Paris Station of the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, also known as the NKVD.
January 15th, 1936
Hôtel Matignon, Paris
H-Hour plus 23
The sun was still not up when the milkman drove up the driveway to the Hôtel Matignon. Two security officers checked his papers – he had already shown them at the gate – but it was merely routine. He had delivered milk to the Prime Minister’s mansion for almost three years and all the agents on protection detail knew his face. They took a minute to exchange small talk before he drove around the main building to the service entrance.
He placed the full milk bottles at the kitchen door and put the empty ones back in his basket, which he put in the back of his truck. As he pulled out of the courtyard he looked up at a particular window on the third floor. The curtains had only been opened halfway this morning.
**********************************
Two hours later Félix Briel was walking down Rue de Varenne. When he came to the Boulevard Raspail he turned left and continued his usual morning walk up towards Boulevard Saint-Germain.
He was halfway there when he came to a man selling newspapers from a small roofed cart.
‘Newspaper monsieur?’ the man asked.
‘Yes. Let me see Le Canard enchaîné’.
The man handed Félix the weekly edition of what many regarded as one of France’s most satirical newspapers but also one notorious for its political sources and investigative journalism. He briefly flipped through the first couple of pages, taking in the headlines, which were mostly about a sex scandal in the conservative party. The events in the Rhineland had not made the deadline.
‘No, give me Le Temps and Les Échos instead’, Félix said and handed the edition of Le Canard enchainé back to the newspaper vendor.
‘Certainly monsieur. Here you go’, he said and gave him the two other newspapers. Nobody noticed that he did not place the newspaper Félix handed him back onto the stand. Briel paid him and continued his walk. The newspaper vendor pushed his cart down the Boulevard Raspail turning left at Rue de Grenelle.
A few hundred yards down the street he was stopped by a Parisian wearing a long coat and a broad brimmed hat.
‘Do you have Le Canard enchainé? Those cartoons always crack me up’, he asked the vendor.
‘Oui monsieur. Here you go’. The vendor reached down and handed him the newspaper he had just gotten back from Briel. The man in the coat smiled, paid the vendor and walked to a car parked around the corner.
Half an hour later he was at the Paris Station of the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, also known as the NKVD.
Last edited:
Feedback time
Hm... I seem to experience problems with the Paradox server whenever it is past midnight Central European Time. Somehow it won't connect me and sometimes it does anyway and then I have to delete a double post.
Anyway, no harm done as I wanted to give all my wonderful readAARs some long overdue feedback.
vladimorowich: Thank you. I hope that Hitler's oratory skills did not disappoint
Atlantic Friend: Thanks a lot AF! I have been meaning to find the time to catch up on Crossfires. I read the first couple of posts and was instantly hooked! Right now I just need to find the time to catch up on the entire story so that I can continue to follow it on a regular basis. You and Prufrock have really gotten me interested in France in a way I didn't think possible Oh, and don't worry. Mr. Smith will return to this AAR, have no fear.
Prufrock: I know you do. After all, you are the one who inspired me to add an extra four or five layers of deceit and treachery to this story
latinsword: Welcome aboard latinsword! Glad you like the story so far. Beck and von Fritsch might be biting off more than they can chew but the same could be said for the Abwehr, if they really get serious about knocking off the high command of the army :rofl:
Hardraade: I am glad you liked the updates. Truth be told I took Thursday off from work because I have been working overtime for far too long. And so I decided to catch up on a lot of the episodes I already had written inside my head.
Hardraade and vladimirowich (2): Its always funny to me which characters turn out likeable. It is the same thing when I game master a roleplaying game with some friends. Some of the intended main personaes get dull and one-dimensional quickly but the players (or in this case the readers) might suddenly develop an affection for what was intended to be a side-character, which then possibly develops into a much more central figure in the story.
I actually wanted to write the episode about Sir Hugh's response to Hitler's speech (seemed a logical next step) but suddenly Ted Blakely popped into my head and then the episode sort of wrote itself. I am as interested as you guys to see where he might take us
I am glad that this AAR seems to remain popular with the readAARs. That - and all your nice comments and encouragement - has removed any insecurities I might have had about undertaking an AAR in the start. I thank you all for that.
The first 24 hours of the Rhineland Crisis are over now and I expect to take slightly bigger steps (time-wise) in the next couple of episodes to try and keep a high level of tension and basically skip to the interesting bits.
Stay tuned for more world-shaking events!
Jesper
Hm... I seem to experience problems with the Paradox server whenever it is past midnight Central European Time. Somehow it won't connect me and sometimes it does anyway and then I have to delete a double post.
Anyway, no harm done as I wanted to give all my wonderful readAARs some long overdue feedback.
vladimorowich: Thank you. I hope that Hitler's oratory skills did not disappoint
Atlantic Friend: Thanks a lot AF! I have been meaning to find the time to catch up on Crossfires. I read the first couple of posts and was instantly hooked! Right now I just need to find the time to catch up on the entire story so that I can continue to follow it on a regular basis. You and Prufrock have really gotten me interested in France in a way I didn't think possible
Oh, and don't worry. Mr. Smith will return to this AAR, have no fear.Prufrock: I know you do. After all, you are the one who inspired me to add an extra four or five layers of deceit and treachery to this story
latinsword: Welcome aboard latinsword! Glad you like the story so far. Beck and von Fritsch might be biting off more than they can chew but the same could be said for the Abwehr, if they really get serious about knocking off the high command of the army :rofl:
Hardraade: I am glad you liked the updates. Truth be told I took Thursday off from work because I have been working overtime for far too long. And so I decided to catch up on a lot of the episodes I already had written inside my head.
Hardraade and vladimirowich (2): Its always funny to me which characters turn out likeable. It is the same thing when I game master a roleplaying game with some friends. Some of the intended main personaes get dull and one-dimensional quickly but the players (or in this case the readers) might suddenly develop an affection for what was intended to be a side-character, which then possibly develops into a much more central figure in the story.
I actually wanted to write the episode about Sir Hugh's response to Hitler's speech (seemed a logical next step) but suddenly Ted Blakely popped into my head and then the episode sort of wrote itself. I am as interested as you guys to see where he might take us
I am glad that this AAR seems to remain popular with the readAARs. That - and all your nice comments and encouragement - has removed any insecurities I might have had about undertaking an AAR in the start. I thank you all for that.
The first 24 hours of the Rhineland Crisis are over now and I expect to take slightly bigger steps (time-wise) in the next couple of episodes to try and keep a high level of tension and basically skip to the interesting bits.
Stay tuned for more world-shaking events!
Jesper
Last edited:
Ah, a good "drop" here. Probably all he has to do to warn the courrier that something is wrong is to ask for a different set of newspapers. That drop line will be hard to notice for the Sûreté Nationale inspectors, unless they already have a clue about the Soviet agent.
Episode XVIII – Mobilisation
January 15th, 1936
Gare du Nord, Paris
H-Hour plus 30
The hustle and bustle of the train station was enough to make most people wish they had stayed at home. The shrill noise of trains breaking, the hissing of the steam vents in the enormous engines and the shouting of thousands of passengers milling around was a most unpleasant assault of the senses, Max Addison thought.
‘It has been announced!’ Pierre Coquard called out to him as he made his way through the crowd holding up a special afternoon edition of a newspaper.
‘What’s that?’ Addison asked him.
‘The mobilisation. It has been announced this morning by General Gamelin. If we want to catch a couple of seats we had better get onboard right away’.
Pierre had been assigned to cover the next day’s conference of the Council of the League of Nations in Geneva and had to catch the all-night train south to Lyon, switching in Sancé. The New York Times had not telegraphed Addison what they wanted him to report on, so he had decided to tag along with Pierre and see what would happen.
They got onboard as quickly as they could and stowed away their luggage above their seats in the train compartment. Max looked out at the platform. Hundreds of Parisians were saying their goodbyes and it struck him that most of them were young men kissing their girlfriends au revoir or hugging their families. Tears were falling and anxious promises made as one heart gripping scene played out before him after another.
‘Pierre, what do you think is going to happen?’ Addison asked his friend.
‘With this mad-man Hitler, who knows?’ Pierre shrugged. ‘The bosche are rattling the sabre. France must show that she is not scared’.
‘They look scared’, Addison said and nodded his head at the young men outside on the platform.
‘Oui. And who can blame them? France lost 300,000 civilians and almost 1.4 million soldiers in the Great War. An entire generation withered away in the most horrible conflict ever endured by man. They died on the barbed wire in no man’s land or in the cold mud of the trenches, gunned down by machineguns, torn to pieces by high explosive shells or coughing their lungs up in gas attacks’.
Addison shuddered. ‘Do you think Sarraut will be able to stop this thing from escalating?’
‘I hope so. Much will depend on the British and what their delegation says tomorrow. France has a pact of mutual assistance with the Soviet Union in case either of us is attacked. Unfortunately the pact is only defensive in nature, which gives Stalin an excuse to stay out of this mess’.
The train blew its whistle and jerkily moved out of the station. Addison leaned back and looked out the window. A few moments later he closed his eyes and let his mind drift back to his family at home in the States.
January 15th, 1936
Gare du Nord, Paris
H-Hour plus 30
The hustle and bustle of the train station was enough to make most people wish they had stayed at home. The shrill noise of trains breaking, the hissing of the steam vents in the enormous engines and the shouting of thousands of passengers milling around was a most unpleasant assault of the senses, Max Addison thought.
‘It has been announced!’ Pierre Coquard called out to him as he made his way through the crowd holding up a special afternoon edition of a newspaper.
‘What’s that?’ Addison asked him.
‘The mobilisation. It has been announced this morning by General Gamelin. If we want to catch a couple of seats we had better get onboard right away’.
Pierre had been assigned to cover the next day’s conference of the Council of the League of Nations in Geneva and had to catch the all-night train south to Lyon, switching in Sancé. The New York Times had not telegraphed Addison what they wanted him to report on, so he had decided to tag along with Pierre and see what would happen.
They got onboard as quickly as they could and stowed away their luggage above their seats in the train compartment. Max looked out at the platform. Hundreds of Parisians were saying their goodbyes and it struck him that most of them were young men kissing their girlfriends au revoir or hugging their families. Tears were falling and anxious promises made as one heart gripping scene played out before him after another.
‘Pierre, what do you think is going to happen?’ Addison asked his friend.
‘With this mad-man Hitler, who knows?’ Pierre shrugged. ‘The bosche are rattling the sabre. France must show that she is not scared’.
‘They look scared’, Addison said and nodded his head at the young men outside on the platform.
‘Oui. And who can blame them? France lost 300,000 civilians and almost 1.4 million soldiers in the Great War. An entire generation withered away in the most horrible conflict ever endured by man. They died on the barbed wire in no man’s land or in the cold mud of the trenches, gunned down by machineguns, torn to pieces by high explosive shells or coughing their lungs up in gas attacks’.
Addison shuddered. ‘Do you think Sarraut will be able to stop this thing from escalating?’
‘I hope so. Much will depend on the British and what their delegation says tomorrow. France has a pact of mutual assistance with the Soviet Union in case either of us is attacked. Unfortunately the pact is only defensive in nature, which gives Stalin an excuse to stay out of this mess’.
The train blew its whistle and jerkily moved out of the station. Addison leaned back and looked out the window. A few moments later he closed his eyes and let his mind drift back to his family at home in the States.
Train at Gare du Nord
France mobilizes, but will they do anything more? Without the British, I would not think so. I anxiously await the word from London. Nice update.
Whoa, is that general mobilization or the recall of a number of reservists ?
If the GHQ managed to talk the government into ordering general mobilization, now is the (last) chance to nip Nazism in the bud !
If the GHQ managed to talk the government into ordering general mobilization, now is the (last) chance to nip Nazism in the bud !
Atlantic Friend said:
Hmm... I actually did not think about the difference between the two. I'll have to clarify that. Update sometime tonight (in the next 8-10 hours).
Jesper
Episode XIX – Shuffling the pieces of the board
January 15th, 1936
Downing Street 10, London
H-Hour plus 39
It had been a busy weekend for Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and his foreign secretary Anthony Eden. Following the meetings the day before with the French foreign minister Flandin and the cabinet, they had spent most of Sunday going over military plans, budgets and intelligence estimates. The reality that confronted them was a depressing one. In order to proceed with Field Marshal Montgomery-Massingberd’s plan for an expeditionary force for the Continent it would be necessary to strengthen Home Fleet with a significant part of the Mediterranean Fleet. The Admiralty argued against this, saying it would leave Gibraltar, Malta and the Suez and the convoys passing by them from the Far East vulnerable to Italian aggression.
Right now the First Sea Lord, Admiral Ernle Chatfield, was giving the Prime Minister and the foreign secretary a detailed briefing on the situation in the Mediterranean.
‘We are talking about covering 965,000 square miles of ocean and three vital strategic naval bases with a fleet of less than 50 ships and 20 submarines’, Chatfield explained. ‘The Mediterranean Fleet consists mainly of Great War era battleships and heavy cruisers and the aircraft carriers HMS Glorious and HMS Courageous that were converted from light cruisers back in 1928. These capital ships are supported by six light cruisers of varying design and six squadrons of destroyers’.
‘Which ones do you propose bringing home?’ Prime Minister Baldwin asked.
‘If we must do this Prime Minister’, Chatfield said, ‘I recommend both the carriers as well as the battleships HMS Barham and HMS Warspite and the heavy cruisers HMS Exeter and HMS Devonshire’.
‘Withdraw both our carriers from the Mediterranean?’ Anthony Eden asked in surprise.
‘Yes Mr. Foreign Secretary. The bases at Gibraltar, Malta and Alexandria have enough support from the RAF to perform their own defences – at least for a time. By withdrawing the HMS Courageous and the HMS Glorious we take away the offensive advantage we have over the Italian navy whose primary strength comes from its battleships, but it is the only way to ensure the complete safety of the British Isles. It is either that or delay sending the Expeditionary Forces to the Continent until September when Home Fleet is back to full operational strength’.
‘Impossible’, Baldwin said.
‘What about the rest of the Royal Navy?’ Eden inquired. ‘Surely there must be ships in Bermuda or the South Atlantic or even the Indian Ocean we can use?’
‘I am afraid not Mr. Foreign Secretary’, Chatfield replied. ‘Our naval forces cover most of the globe and are already stretched thin as it is. If we pull out any of the capital vessels we risk not being able to defend the overseas dominions or the nations of the Commonwealth’.
‘Anthony, how does the foreign service regard Italy’s position in this matter?’ Baldwin asked.
‘In our opinion the withdrawal of our carriers from the Mediterranean means loosing our most effective scare tactic to keep Mussolini in check – the complete domination of the sea and the ability to close the Suez Canal. Without this leverage we will have to rely on Mussolini’s desire for trade with the British Empire to keep him from voting in favour of Germany at tomorrow’s meeting at the Council of the League of Nations’.
‘Admiral Chatfield, how long before the ships will be ready to leave the Mediterranean?’ Baldwin asked.
‘They will be ready to sail by noon Wednesday if they get the order tomorrow morning Prime Minister’, Chatfield answered.
‘Don’t issue the order until we know the result of the League of Nations meeting’, Baldwin said. ‘I don’t want to tip off Hitler and Mussolini what we’re up to just yet’.
‘As you wish Prime Minister’.
**********************************
Meanwhile at…
Sandringham House, Norfolk, England
King George V, ruler of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Emperor of India, was not used to not having his way. In fact, his position as monarch of the largest empire in the world covering nearly a quarter of the globe meant that he could do almost as he pleased. Thus, it did not sit well with the old king when his body no longer behaved as he wanted it to.
All day he had felt the symptoms coming on. A soreness in the throat. A sneeze. Then trouble breathing through the nose and a slight headache. By suppertime he was feeling hot and sweating one minute and then shivering with cold in front of the fireplace the next.
His staff had already sent for Bertrand Dawson – the personal physician of the Royal Family – but with all the snow clogging the roads there was little hope that he would be here before some time tomorrow.
The king blew his nose in a handkerchief with his initials embroidered on it. For all his power and wealth he could not grasp why a simple cold could bring him to such a state of misery. He felt tired. And the room was spinning just a little. Then all of a sudden his knees gave in and the floor seemed to rise up towards him. And then darkness.
January 15th, 1936
Downing Street 10, London
H-Hour plus 39
It had been a busy weekend for Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and his foreign secretary Anthony Eden. Following the meetings the day before with the French foreign minister Flandin and the cabinet, they had spent most of Sunday going over military plans, budgets and intelligence estimates. The reality that confronted them was a depressing one. In order to proceed with Field Marshal Montgomery-Massingberd’s plan for an expeditionary force for the Continent it would be necessary to strengthen Home Fleet with a significant part of the Mediterranean Fleet. The Admiralty argued against this, saying it would leave Gibraltar, Malta and the Suez and the convoys passing by them from the Far East vulnerable to Italian aggression.
Right now the First Sea Lord, Admiral Ernle Chatfield, was giving the Prime Minister and the foreign secretary a detailed briefing on the situation in the Mediterranean.
‘We are talking about covering 965,000 square miles of ocean and three vital strategic naval bases with a fleet of less than 50 ships and 20 submarines’, Chatfield explained. ‘The Mediterranean Fleet consists mainly of Great War era battleships and heavy cruisers and the aircraft carriers HMS Glorious and HMS Courageous that were converted from light cruisers back in 1928. These capital ships are supported by six light cruisers of varying design and six squadrons of destroyers’.
‘Which ones do you propose bringing home?’ Prime Minister Baldwin asked.
‘If we must do this Prime Minister’, Chatfield said, ‘I recommend both the carriers as well as the battleships HMS Barham and HMS Warspite and the heavy cruisers HMS Exeter and HMS Devonshire’.
‘Withdraw both our carriers from the Mediterranean?’ Anthony Eden asked in surprise.
‘Yes Mr. Foreign Secretary. The bases at Gibraltar, Malta and Alexandria have enough support from the RAF to perform their own defences – at least for a time. By withdrawing the HMS Courageous and the HMS Glorious we take away the offensive advantage we have over the Italian navy whose primary strength comes from its battleships, but it is the only way to ensure the complete safety of the British Isles. It is either that or delay sending the Expeditionary Forces to the Continent until September when Home Fleet is back to full operational strength’.
‘Impossible’, Baldwin said.
‘What about the rest of the Royal Navy?’ Eden inquired. ‘Surely there must be ships in Bermuda or the South Atlantic or even the Indian Ocean we can use?’
‘I am afraid not Mr. Foreign Secretary’, Chatfield replied. ‘Our naval forces cover most of the globe and are already stretched thin as it is. If we pull out any of the capital vessels we risk not being able to defend the overseas dominions or the nations of the Commonwealth’.
‘Anthony, how does the foreign service regard Italy’s position in this matter?’ Baldwin asked.
‘In our opinion the withdrawal of our carriers from the Mediterranean means loosing our most effective scare tactic to keep Mussolini in check – the complete domination of the sea and the ability to close the Suez Canal. Without this leverage we will have to rely on Mussolini’s desire for trade with the British Empire to keep him from voting in favour of Germany at tomorrow’s meeting at the Council of the League of Nations’.
‘Admiral Chatfield, how long before the ships will be ready to leave the Mediterranean?’ Baldwin asked.
‘They will be ready to sail by noon Wednesday if they get the order tomorrow morning Prime Minister’, Chatfield answered.
‘Don’t issue the order until we know the result of the League of Nations meeting’, Baldwin said. ‘I don’t want to tip off Hitler and Mussolini what we’re up to just yet’.
‘As you wish Prime Minister’.
**********************************
Meanwhile at…
Sandringham House, Norfolk, England
King George V, ruler of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Emperor of India, was not used to not having his way. In fact, his position as monarch of the largest empire in the world covering nearly a quarter of the globe meant that he could do almost as he pleased. Thus, it did not sit well with the old king when his body no longer behaved as he wanted it to.
All day he had felt the symptoms coming on. A soreness in the throat. A sneeze. Then trouble breathing through the nose and a slight headache. By suppertime he was feeling hot and sweating one minute and then shivering with cold in front of the fireplace the next.
His staff had already sent for Bertrand Dawson – the personal physician of the Royal Family – but with all the snow clogging the roads there was little hope that he would be here before some time tomorrow.
The king blew his nose in a handkerchief with his initials embroidered on it. For all his power and wealth he could not grasp why a simple cold could bring him to such a state of misery. He felt tired. And the room was spinning just a little. Then all of a sudden his knees gave in and the floor seemed to rise up towards him. And then darkness.
The British seem hesitant just as King George goes down for the count: Germany may yet get away with it.
Hardraade said:
Aye, Grandfather England isn't feeling too well. But will the bold Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin use the nation's focused concern for their monarch to push forward with his interventionist agenda? And what desperate measures will Beck and von Fritsch take as the hours pass and everything still hangs in a balance? Stay tuned and find out!
Update sometime tonight (meaning in 9-14 hours).
Jesper
Rest assured that I will indeed be staying tuned.Commander-DK said:Aye, Grandfather England isn't feeling too well. But will the bold Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin use the nation's focused concern for their monarch to push forward with his interventionist agenda? And what desperate measures will Beck and von Fritsch take as the hours pass and everything still hangs in a balance? Stay tuned and find out!
Update sometime tonight (meaning in 9-14 hours).
Episode XX - Machinations
January 16th, 1936
Paris
H-Hour plus 49
Viktor Timofei Kozlov was an officer of the NKVD and proud to do his patriotic duty for the Motherland. The fact that his duty required him to live in beautiful Paris was merely one of life’s little benefits, but certainly one that he did not mind.
He had been here since 1934 and come to appreciate French cuisine, art and culture. Even though the Revolution idealised and celebrated the working class, Viktor Kozlov was educated enough to appreciate classical literature in many languages. He understood that even if the political system in France – and indeed the rest of Europe – eventually had to perish only to be reborn in a socialist revolution, a legacy of hundreds of years’ worth of philosophy, science, poetry and culture would still remain. And unlike some of his political masters, Kozlov was not afraid of that. If anything he felt empowered by the knowledge, certain in his ability to turn this understanding to his advantage.
Kozlov’s primary mission at Paris Station was the monitoring of the Trotskyist Movement in Paris, which Moscow had viewed as a threat for years. His secondary mission was to liaison in various unofficial ways with the Parti communiste français, the French Communist Party also known as PCF.
Being not only a gifted agent with a keen understanding of field craft and good analytical abilities but also an ambitious officer of the NKVD, Kozlov had soon begun to develop his own assets in Paris. He had successfully turned several low-level ministerial employees who were now supplying him with information and six months ago he had set up his ace of operations so far: a source right next to the Prime Minister of France.
At that time Sarraut was only a minister in the cabinet but still a valuable source of information. Kozlov had discovered that his personal secretary, Félix Briel, was engaged in secret homosexual relationships with various men and had used that knowledge to set up an affair between Briel and a male prostitute on the NKVD payroll. The entire affair had been secretly photographed and since then Félix Briel had been firmly in Kozlov’s pocket.
Three months ago, Briel had informed Kozlov that the French Prime Minister Pierre Laval was trying to engineer a settlement to the Abyssinia Crisis with the British Foreign Secretary Samuel Hoare by secretly proposing to split Ethiopia and give part of it to Mussolini. With Moscow’s blessing Viktor Kozlov had leaked the information to the press, resulting in a major scandal that cost Laval the job as Prime Minister. A new centre-left government had been formed around Albert Sarraut and Kozlov now had access to the very heart of the Republic’s government.
January 16th, 1936
Paris
H-Hour plus 49
Viktor Timofei Kozlov was an officer of the NKVD and proud to do his patriotic duty for the Motherland. The fact that his duty required him to live in beautiful Paris was merely one of life’s little benefits, but certainly one that he did not mind.
He had been here since 1934 and come to appreciate French cuisine, art and culture. Even though the Revolution idealised and celebrated the working class, Viktor Kozlov was educated enough to appreciate classical literature in many languages. He understood that even if the political system in France – and indeed the rest of Europe – eventually had to perish only to be reborn in a socialist revolution, a legacy of hundreds of years’ worth of philosophy, science, poetry and culture would still remain. And unlike some of his political masters, Kozlov was not afraid of that. If anything he felt empowered by the knowledge, certain in his ability to turn this understanding to his advantage.
Kozlov’s primary mission at Paris Station was the monitoring of the Trotskyist Movement in Paris, which Moscow had viewed as a threat for years. His secondary mission was to liaison in various unofficial ways with the Parti communiste français, the French Communist Party also known as PCF.
Being not only a gifted agent with a keen understanding of field craft and good analytical abilities but also an ambitious officer of the NKVD, Kozlov had soon begun to develop his own assets in Paris. He had successfully turned several low-level ministerial employees who were now supplying him with information and six months ago he had set up his ace of operations so far: a source right next to the Prime Minister of France.
At that time Sarraut was only a minister in the cabinet but still a valuable source of information. Kozlov had discovered that his personal secretary, Félix Briel, was engaged in secret homosexual relationships with various men and had used that knowledge to set up an affair between Briel and a male prostitute on the NKVD payroll. The entire affair had been secretly photographed and since then Félix Briel had been firmly in Kozlov’s pocket.
Three months ago, Briel had informed Kozlov that the French Prime Minister Pierre Laval was trying to engineer a settlement to the Abyssinia Crisis with the British Foreign Secretary Samuel Hoare by secretly proposing to split Ethiopia and give part of it to Mussolini. With Moscow’s blessing Viktor Kozlov had leaked the information to the press, resulting in a major scandal that cost Laval the job as Prime Minister. A new centre-left government had been formed around Albert Sarraut and Kozlov now had access to the very heart of the Republic’s government.
I apologize for the briefness of the post tonight. I was going to write an episode on the League of Nations session but found out that I had too little research to get the result I wanted. So, instead I got to introduce you to Briel's "handler" in the NKVD.
Goodnight.
Jesper
Goodnight.
Jesper
Goodness! DK - a great start to what promises to be an excellent AAR.
The Allies are blind men shuffling around in the dark. Up and at'em - before they start to figure things out!
The Allies are blind men shuffling around in the dark. Up and at'em - before they start to figure things out!
Good update, I'll be looking forward to that League of Nations meeting when you're ready.