1951
Island of Yeu
Henri-Philippe Pétain coughed loudly as he curled up on his uncomfortable bunk deep within the bowels of his accursed prison. Here in this cold dank cell was he sentenced to live out the rest of his days, if such a meager existence could even been called a life. His entire body ached, a sign of his advanced age. Once again he resumed the simple struggle that was breathing. It was a pure unadulterated battle to draw his next breath. To say that he regretted some of the things he had done would be a gross understatement. Yet confined not only by steel bars but by his own mortality he came to the realization that he had no more reason to live. With that realization Pétain let his eyelids droop shut and faded off into the darkness.
This is an odd dream Pétain thought as he stared into the stainless steel surface before him. A few quick observations revealed the strange device to resemble an elevator of some sort. Glancing at the buttons he observed that he was clearly headed down, seeing that this was a dream and he really felt his dream self had nothing better to do he leaned back and proceeded to wait out the rest of his elevator journey. As he peered into the mirror like surface of the walls before him Pétain saw that he was his usual dream self usually 20 years younger than he was at the time. He was immaculately dressed and groomed unlike the state he was in back at the prison.
After nearly an eternity Pétain finally reached his destination, the stainless steel doors opened and he instinctively strolled out. Into a living nightmare the entire room was pitch black illuminated only by the fleeting light of the elevator. The entire room was dank and wet and smelled of mold. From what he could see the walls were covered with a thick slimy substance as was the floor. Reaching into his pocket he found a packet of matches. Upon lighting one he jumped at the sight of a strange man. Soaked to the bone the man was hardly a prime specimen. His skin was as pale as most paper and his eyes a clear and piercing blue. His hair was about shoulder length wet and matted to his forehead. He scurried along the slimy floor and came right up next to Pétain only to put out his match. In the darkness Pétain began to speak
“Who are you? Where am I?”
A voice echoed from the darkness
“My name is not important, but I believe you know where you are...”
Pétain slumped to his knees in cold revelation and pure fear.
“No, it cannot be...” He whispered
“A good job is it not? I thought I picked your personal hell out rather well...”
“Damn you...” Pétain whispered to the darkness
“C’mon Pétain you can do better than that, yell it! You’re in hell, and there’s nothing you can do about it!”
Slowly Pétain began to sob
“You know what Pétain? I always thought you were a pussy. But then again you Frenchmen were always good at surrendering. That’s right Pétain! I’m insulting your whole race!”
Pétain simply sat there as the moisture perforated his uniform and the voice continued to berate him.
Suddenly, a pause, promptly followed by a gale of laughter as the voice continued to torment him. “You know Pétain you’re pathetic. How dare you call yourself a soldier! You’re a frenchman! You should know those two words contradict themselves! You know what you’ll be remembered for Pétain? You will go down in the history books as the man who ruled Vichy France. The old soldier who gave the dreaded Germans the keys to his country and let whatever honor it had left slide into the dust!”
Shocked Pétain tried to say something yet no words would come...
Finally he managed to stammer “I saved my country from the warfare that threatened to consume it... I should be remembered as a savior!” The voice came back more cynical than ever “And where exactly did that get you? Into prison that’s where! You know originally they were going to hang you. They decided to let you rot instead. A fine choice if you ask me...”
Stunned Pétain muttered “If only I would have known...” A hearty laugh came out from the darkness “Known what? And even if you did know what you know now what difference would it make?”
“I would...”
“Do what? Would you fight? Would you plunge your nation into another war just to erase the Nazi scum from the world? Or perhaps ease your guilty concience?”
Breathlessly, he whispered “Yes...”
Almost immediately a gigantic hand gripped his throat and hauled him upright. It felt almost reptilian and was certainly not human judging from the extremely sharp talons. Forcing himself to open his eyes Pétain stared into a mask of flame and shadow. Somehow he found the strength to speak “Do your worst.”
A belch of heat emerged from the visage as it spoke
“So, you want a second chance? This could be interesting...”
Pétain scowled and was about to reply when he felt himself thrown from the wall and forcibly dragged along the floor. A thin stripe of white light emerged along the wall as the elevator doors swung open. The creature detaining him then hurled his body into the stainless steel box. As Pétain struggled to rise he found himself joined by the same strange looking man he had seen upon entering the room. The strange pale figure then plunged a key into the elevator and it slowly began to rise.
“Where are we going?” Pétain asked.
“I lack the power to give you this second chance, but I know one who does.
Then a voice louder than he had ever heard before boomed through the incredibly well lit atrium. “I believe Henri is capable of speaking for himself. Yet your presence is interesting. What is it you wish O defeated one?”
For the first time Pétain saw the dark wet figure shift uncomfortably. “Remember Job? Yeah, well here’s an offer, you see this Pétain character here says that if he could do it all over again he’d fight the Nazi’s. Personally, I don’t think he has the guts, care to prove me wrong?”
Then a figure stepped out from the light. He was a middle-eastern man dressed in a white robe. His facial features and hair were non-descript, had he been dressed normally and had the situation been somewhat normal Pétain wouldn’t peg him as someone to stand out. The figure laughed a warm hearty laugh “I always enjoy watching you lose you know...” The figure then turned his attention to Pétain. Almost immediately he could feel the cold, wet feeling that had accompanied him thus far vanish. “Henri” the figure said “consider yourself blessed. You have been given a second chance to right the wrongs of the past.”
“But Lord why am I not here with you?” Pétain stammered
The figure simply smiled “You know why, and now you have no excuse...”
Pétain wanted to say so much more but in the blink of an eye he found himself not in the well lit atrium but sitting at his desk. Glancing around he recognized the room as his office in Vichy. He quickly stole a glance at the calendar June 21st 1941. He had plenty of work to do but more pressing matters occupied his mind. Walking over to his library he located a copy of the bible given to him a few years ago...
--------------------------------------------
Allright there you have it folks my 2nd attempt at an AAR. I tried one with EU2 a year or so ago but that really wasn't my favorite era of history. Fortunately, WW2 is so I plan to continue this AAR
I hope no one is offended by the opening scene. If anyone is I apologize
Post constructive criticism if you feel like it, frankly I'm quite surprized no one has ever done a Vichy France AAR before. But I guess there's a first time for every thing...
Island of Yeu
Henri-Philippe Pétain coughed loudly as he curled up on his uncomfortable bunk deep within the bowels of his accursed prison. Here in this cold dank cell was he sentenced to live out the rest of his days, if such a meager existence could even been called a life. His entire body ached, a sign of his advanced age. Once again he resumed the simple struggle that was breathing. It was a pure unadulterated battle to draw his next breath. To say that he regretted some of the things he had done would be a gross understatement. Yet confined not only by steel bars but by his own mortality he came to the realization that he had no more reason to live. With that realization Pétain let his eyelids droop shut and faded off into the darkness.
***
This is an odd dream Pétain thought as he stared into the stainless steel surface before him. A few quick observations revealed the strange device to resemble an elevator of some sort. Glancing at the buttons he observed that he was clearly headed down, seeing that this was a dream and he really felt his dream self had nothing better to do he leaned back and proceeded to wait out the rest of his elevator journey. As he peered into the mirror like surface of the walls before him Pétain saw that he was his usual dream self usually 20 years younger than he was at the time. He was immaculately dressed and groomed unlike the state he was in back at the prison.
After nearly an eternity Pétain finally reached his destination, the stainless steel doors opened and he instinctively strolled out. Into a living nightmare the entire room was pitch black illuminated only by the fleeting light of the elevator. The entire room was dank and wet and smelled of mold. From what he could see the walls were covered with a thick slimy substance as was the floor. Reaching into his pocket he found a packet of matches. Upon lighting one he jumped at the sight of a strange man. Soaked to the bone the man was hardly a prime specimen. His skin was as pale as most paper and his eyes a clear and piercing blue. His hair was about shoulder length wet and matted to his forehead. He scurried along the slimy floor and came right up next to Pétain only to put out his match. In the darkness Pétain began to speak
“Who are you? Where am I?”
A voice echoed from the darkness
“My name is not important, but I believe you know where you are...”
Pétain slumped to his knees in cold revelation and pure fear.
“No, it cannot be...” He whispered
“A good job is it not? I thought I picked your personal hell out rather well...”
“Damn you...” Pétain whispered to the darkness
“C’mon Pétain you can do better than that, yell it! You’re in hell, and there’s nothing you can do about it!”
Slowly Pétain began to sob
“You know what Pétain? I always thought you were a pussy. But then again you Frenchmen were always good at surrendering. That’s right Pétain! I’m insulting your whole race!”
Pétain simply sat there as the moisture perforated his uniform and the voice continued to berate him.
Suddenly, a pause, promptly followed by a gale of laughter as the voice continued to torment him. “You know Pétain you’re pathetic. How dare you call yourself a soldier! You’re a frenchman! You should know those two words contradict themselves! You know what you’ll be remembered for Pétain? You will go down in the history books as the man who ruled Vichy France. The old soldier who gave the dreaded Germans the keys to his country and let whatever honor it had left slide into the dust!”
Shocked Pétain tried to say something yet no words would come...
Finally he managed to stammer “I saved my country from the warfare that threatened to consume it... I should be remembered as a savior!” The voice came back more cynical than ever “And where exactly did that get you? Into prison that’s where! You know originally they were going to hang you. They decided to let you rot instead. A fine choice if you ask me...”
Stunned Pétain muttered “If only I would have known...” A hearty laugh came out from the darkness “Known what? And even if you did know what you know now what difference would it make?”
“I would...”
“Do what? Would you fight? Would you plunge your nation into another war just to erase the Nazi scum from the world? Or perhaps ease your guilty concience?”
Breathlessly, he whispered “Yes...”
Almost immediately a gigantic hand gripped his throat and hauled him upright. It felt almost reptilian and was certainly not human judging from the extremely sharp talons. Forcing himself to open his eyes Pétain stared into a mask of flame and shadow. Somehow he found the strength to speak “Do your worst.”
A belch of heat emerged from the visage as it spoke
“So, you want a second chance? This could be interesting...”
Pétain scowled and was about to reply when he felt himself thrown from the wall and forcibly dragged along the floor. A thin stripe of white light emerged along the wall as the elevator doors swung open. The creature detaining him then hurled his body into the stainless steel box. As Pétain struggled to rise he found himself joined by the same strange looking man he had seen upon entering the room. The strange pale figure then plunged a key into the elevator and it slowly began to rise.
“Where are we going?” Pétain asked.
“I lack the power to give you this second chance, but I know one who does.
****
After spending God knows how much time in that horrid dungeon Pétain still found the elevator intolerably bright. Yet when it reached it’s destination the intense light that emanated from the room was unbearable. Even when he shut his eyes he could not escape the blinding aura. A cold slimy had gripped his wrist and dragged him forward out of the direct path of the light. “Don’t look directly at him! And don’t worry I’ll do the talking.” Then a voice louder than he had ever heard before boomed through the incredibly well lit atrium. “I believe Henri is capable of speaking for himself. Yet your presence is interesting. What is it you wish O defeated one?”
For the first time Pétain saw the dark wet figure shift uncomfortably. “Remember Job? Yeah, well here’s an offer, you see this Pétain character here says that if he could do it all over again he’d fight the Nazi’s. Personally, I don’t think he has the guts, care to prove me wrong?”
Then a figure stepped out from the light. He was a middle-eastern man dressed in a white robe. His facial features and hair were non-descript, had he been dressed normally and had the situation been somewhat normal Pétain wouldn’t peg him as someone to stand out. The figure laughed a warm hearty laugh “I always enjoy watching you lose you know...” The figure then turned his attention to Pétain. Almost immediately he could feel the cold, wet feeling that had accompanied him thus far vanish. “Henri” the figure said “consider yourself blessed. You have been given a second chance to right the wrongs of the past.”
“But Lord why am I not here with you?” Pétain stammered
The figure simply smiled “You know why, and now you have no excuse...”
Pétain wanted to say so much more but in the blink of an eye he found himself not in the well lit atrium but sitting at his desk. Glancing around he recognized the room as his office in Vichy. He quickly stole a glance at the calendar June 21st 1941. He had plenty of work to do but more pressing matters occupied his mind. Walking over to his library he located a copy of the bible given to him a few years ago...
--------------------------------------------
Allright there you have it folks my 2nd attempt at an AAR. I tried one with EU2 a year or so ago but that really wasn't my favorite era of history. Fortunately, WW2 is so I plan to continue this AAR
I hope no one is offended by the opening scene. If anyone is I apologize
Post constructive criticism if you feel like it, frankly I'm quite surprized no one has ever done a Vichy France AAR before. But I guess there's a first time for every thing...