-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Like Déat, but this man chose to move to Nationalist France. On that note, always found it peculiar that so many French collaborators had been socialist at one time in their life
Hey, the man is a Royalist in Kaiserreich. So why not include this chap into the adventure
.I hope to have an update tomorrow.
Hey, the man is a Royalist in Kaiserreich. So why not include this chap into the adventure
I hope to have an update tomorrow.
Isn't he a bit Junior at this point? Mind you, I don't know much about the man beyond his exploits in Burma.
Well when you think about it: Mussolini began as a socialist, Mosley had been part of the Labour, the young Goebbels was calling for a socialist revolution in Germany, and so on...
Nah, Wingate strikes me as one of those pushy-shovey people who either get sidelined early, or rise to ridiculous rank equally early. In good times, sidelines, in bad times, rank. IRL he formed one of the first recognizable commando units in Palestine in the '30s, so he's probably in a similar role here, as the Crown's SKORZENY!!111!!!EXCLAMATIONPOINT!!!ONE!
The man is indeed a far way from commanding divisions, but he is officer material, despite his rather eccentric behaviour. Young major Wingate will play a role when Karel and Costers reach Hong Kong.
I know this kind of ideology switch wasn't limited to the French far right. It remains a bit peculiar nontheless. OK, far left socialism wishes for the same kind of control as the average fascist wanted, but to suddenly see your former comrades as the biggest threat to the nation :wacko:.
No surprise that civil wars are surely the cruelest, family business...
An evening in Saigon
11 januari, Saigon – Deutsch-Indochina
Three days of non-stop stravelling had brought Karel and Mr. Costers no further than Saigon. All airway transport was suspended for three days because of a typhoon forecast, meaning the two man had no choice but to stay in the city for that time. To be honest, Karel didn’t mind a bit of a rest. Ever since Mr. Montague Smith had called him on that fateful new years day he had been shot at, traveled halfway around the world, gotten himself stabbed and was travelling yet again. And all of that in the span of just ten days! Worst of all, the only thing he had gotten from those days was a rather painful wound and only a handful of vague clues. Yet Costers was very sure of the fact that they would find some more evidence about the covert operations in Sarawak in Hong Kong. Karel shuddered at the thought of travelling to that place, as the cities reputation had plummeted along with that of the Empire that once posessed it. The Pearl of the East was now one of the corrupt and crime-ridden Legation Cities. The fact that anyone in that hellhole knew about a secret and dangerous opeation didn’t bode well for them. But now was not the time to worry about future problems. Costers had run off to some place in the slums of the city and had rather vividly described what those people would do to him if they saw him. Therefore Karel decided to try and relax in the hotel they would be staying in.
Saigon, the capital of the German colony of Deutsch-Indochina. As a former French colony it has more than 10.000 French kolonials or Colons. The relation between them and the German administration is one of mutual uneasyness. Yet the Germans need the French administrators to run the colony, while the French need to protection of the German garrison to protect them from the increasingly restless Vietnamese population.
Karel seated himself in the hotel bar, ordering a good whisky from the rather annoyed French waiter. The man probably mistook his Dutch accent with a German one. Ironic that the many Frenchmen in the city so openly despised the people that now governed the colony. Karel tried to read a bit more in the book that he had bought earlier. Apparently this diary of a certain sergeant Hitler was quite popular in Germany, with a movie based on the book on its way. In Karels eyes it was just a rather crudely written and highly nationalistic recollections of an obviously less than talented writer.
“Trying to wrestle your way through that poor excuse of literature sir?”, a German officer was adressing Karel. The bar of the Grand hotel was a popular place for German officers, despite the less than hospitabe reception of the French personnel. The man was looking for an opportunity to spend his time talking to someone else than the small group of officers that hang around here.
“It helps pass some time. Although my opinion on the quality of the book is the same as yours?”
“Hah, please don’t let some of my more nationalistic men hear you say that, mister …?”
“Van Doorn, Karel van Doorn”.
“You are a far way from Holland Mr. Van Doorn. What brings you here? Oh, but first let me introduce myself. Heinz Guderian, generalmajor Guderian if that kind of rank interests you. It is my task to guard this corner of the Reich.”
“Having too many independent thoughts usually gives one the privilege of receiving such a comission”, he added with some sarcasm.
“Well met general. It’s the typhoon season that brings me here. Keeps me from flying to Hong Kong for a business transaction”
“So in a way it is cool air that keeps you here and hot air that keeps me here. Then lets drink to better forecasts in the future.”, the man raised his own drink to toast with Karel.
Karel spend an hour or so talking with the General Generalmajor Guderian possesed a quick mindand a dry wit, making him an entertaining person to talk with. Their conversation was interrupted when a Frenchmen approached them. Guderian clearly wasn’t thrilled to see the man.
Pierre Laval, one of the many Frenchmen who had fled to the Colony after the collapse of France. He had become the unofficial spokesmen of the colons of Saigon.
“Mein Gott, Laval. The last person I would wish to see on this evening.” The look on the generals face changed immediately. He decided to elaborate a bit to Karel.
“That man sees himself as the leader of all those French colonials. As such he pesters me and governor Adenauer about the Vietnamese infringing old French rights.” Guderian sighed again, as Laval was now standing in front of him.
“Greetings general. I trust you have a pleasant evening?”
“Yes, I HAD a pleasant evening, Pierre. What do you want this time?” Guderian made no effort to hide his distaste for the man.
“It is about those barbaric Viet Minh, general. Three more Colons have been assasinated and the garrison does nothing. We demand either your protection or the right to protect ourselves!”
“So you want me to either use a military garrison to hunt for a group of three or four Vietnamese or you want the right to shoot Vietnamese on sight, Pierre?”
“General I must protest…”
But Laval wouldn’t have the time to protest. The Vietnamese waiter that had served them had drawn a pistol and shot the man through the chest shouting “Vive la Vietnam Libre, Es leben ein Freies Vietnam!!!”
He now pointed the weapon at the general. Karel instinctively grabbed the general by his collar and pulled him of his chair, making the general land on the hard teak floor of the hotel bar. Only a split second later did he hear a bullet flying past him.
In the mean while the other officers in the hotel had drawn their sidearms and the Vietnamese man was quicky shot down himself. Thanks to Karels quick thinking he and that Frenchmen had been the only casualties this evening.
“Well Mr. Van Doorn, I am very glad to have met you.” Karel detected a just small bit of shock in the voice of general Guderian. “I guess I own you one now”.
#############
Mr. Costers is shopping for some 'hardware' and Karel has made an influential friend. Which of these assets will have to be used first? Find out when Karel and Costers arrive in Hong Kong.
In the mean while Elsa will have a trip to syndicalist London...
Guderian in Asia? What's next? Tojo storming London?
Nah Yamamoto as a naval adviser for the PSA Navy.
I like what you've done in Vietnam in this timeline, I don't recall KR mentioning it much besides the Vietnam war starting 30 years early sometimes and also Guderian's stationed there for some reason. Karel really fits in quite well in the dumping ground for misfits it's become.
Long as he's in the area, there's a British expat named Fairbairn he might want to check in with. Probably still working with the Shanghai police even.
Laval and Guderian in the same udpate, well done !
Thanks. I always find historical cámeo's add to the flavour of an AAR.
Guderian in Asia? What's next? Tojo storming London?
Nah Yamamoto as a naval adviser for the PSA Navy.
Every one knows Yamamoto will lead the Panamese Zeppelin-Corps to GLORY.
I tried to combine the Kaiserreich canon of a Vietnamese uprising with some reasoning of my own. The exchange of civil authority from the French to the Germans must have created a gap for the Vietnamese resistance to organise, just as the Japanese occupation did in our time. Add to this that Ho Chi Minh must have some French and Bengal support, the Viet Minh could have come into existence earlier.
As for Guderian, his theories would be too radical for the conservative German staff. 'Promoting' him to lead some men in some dark corner of the Rech is the most elegant way to remove a potential troublemaker.
Like the suggestion. He looks like the kind of man good Sir Montague or Mr. Costers might have befriended in some previous journey.
To the City.
14 januari – Saigon, Deutsch Indochina
The aircraft towards Hong Kong where finally resuming their normal flights towards Hong Kong again. After a forced break Karel could now continue his work on unravelling the mystery behind the mysteriously well coordinated capture of British Sarawak and its oilinstallations. For now Karel only had the names of the two ships that could have carried all those men to invade the colony only a day after the fall of the British government. Either the ‘Stad Amsterdam’ or the Kankoumaru’ was the ship they needed. As both where privately owned ships, and very new at the time of the operations, it was very possible they would still be operating in the region. Costers had assured him that if the ship was still being used it would be operating from one of the Legation Cities.
Karel wasn’t looking forward to the trip, as Hong Kong had gathered a rather ominous reputation in the last few years. The Crowncolony of Hong Kong had once been the Pearl of the Far East, being a major center of trade in the region. The collapse of the British Empire and the German intervention in China had ended this prosperity. Hong Kong was now one of the infamous Legation Cities, important harbours under the joint control of Canada, Australasia, Japan, the USA, Qing and Germany. The squabbles between these six nations, and the ineffectiveness of the Legation Councils made the cities a legal no-mans land, where the worst of the East and the West met eachother.
Hong Kong, the largest, most prosperous and the most criminal of the Legation Cities.
He met up with Costers near the airport. He hadn’t seen the man in all these days he had spend in Saigon, as Costers was making some ‘arragements’ that would keep them safe in Hong Kong. When asked what those ‘arrangement’ where Costers only answered that Karel probably didn’t want to know. When Costers noticed him he only handed a metal object, wrapped in an old newspaper, to him.
“Yes it is what you think it is”, was his gruff explanation. Costers himself was carrying a rather heavy looking bag besides his normal luggage.
“Won’t the Germans notice things like this?”, was his only answer. The German garrison had been rather agitated after the murder of Laval and the attempted murder of their own commanding officer. Roadblocks where now present at all streetcorner, a strict curfew was now in place, while all foreigners where now seen as potential allies of the Viet Minh. This would be a very bad time to attempt smuggling a weapon into an airplane.
“Like I told you, I made ‘arrangements’. This isn’t my first time in this region you know. I spend quite a few years in Shanghai after the war. I met sir Montague Smith there in fact.”
This was probably the longest explanation Costers had ever given him. Normally the man preferred to answer with as little words as possible, but now he had even given him some inkling about his past. Was Costers finally opening up to him? Still puzzled Karel wrapped some of the paper from the gun, only to be slapped on the back of his head.
“You idiot, I made arrangements with the customs to hav us go to the plane unchecked, not to have you wave weapon around in public! Stupid Dutchman”.
Perhaps he was wrong after all about Costers, Karel thought to himself…
#########################
14 januari – London, Union of Britain
Elsa was finally feeling a bit better after her unfortunate falling into the icy cold sea. Mrs. Jones had kept her in bed for days, only allowing her to leave the hostel after Malcolm had insisted she had to catch some fresh air in order to recover fully. Malcolm McKenna was th young fisherman who had saved her life. He had told her exactly what had happened a week ago. Some German corvette had insisted on firing a few rounds at them, just before entering the Unions territorial waters. The shockwave had caused het to fall into the icy cold water. If it han’t been for Malcolm’s quick actions, she would have drowned.
“Still thinking of that day Miss Elsa?”, the reddish Scotsman must have noticed her being in thought. “Guess I cannae blame you, not every day you get shot at by the Hochseeflotte. You know, they should give us a medal for that. Did you know, in the old days they would have probably made me a knight for something like that. I can see it already. Sir McKenna! Or even better Earl McKenna of Stirling, what a jolly good title!” McKenna tried to mimic the distinct English upper class accent, which classed heavily with his own Scottish accent. Elsa could only smile at him, Malcolm always knew how to cheer her up.
And she needed to cheer up. This week she had found out the true nature of undercover work. She was here to find information on the true cause behind the British Revolution. Information that could harm the Union of Britain. The Union held so dear by Malcolm, the man that saved her, and Mrs. Jones, the woman that had nursed her back to health.
“Come on lass, keep it together. We’re almost in London. You will be walking past the Tower Bridge, Big Ben, the People’s Palace or MacLeans Collumn before you know it. You only need to get through some formalities before you can join the Unions educational programme for continentals. It will be clean sailing from there. I just…” Malcolm was blushing now. “I hope you remember the people who helped you out when you are out there leading the revolution in Holland.” Malcolm gave her a sheepish smile.
The Peoples Palace. Once known as Buckingham Palace, it is now a museum about the monarchy that once exploited the people of Britain.
#########
Both Karel and Elsa are getting closer to unravelling part of the mystery. What will they find? Will Costers 'arrangements' be put to the test? And what kind of history does our mysterious Belgian have with Sir Montague Smith?
Find out in the next episodes...
I think Eric Sykes (the other half of the Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Dagger team) may be my new hero, though he too is apparently a bit player in "The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha," since Schwabe was apparently "too German" a name for him. The man's a live Alan Quatermain.
Moral of this whole story: DO NOT MESS WITH THE SHANGHAI POLICE IN THE 1930S.
And back to the update - I think I like this Costers fellow.
Moral of this whole story: DO NOT MESS WITH THE SHANGHAI POLICE IN THE 1930S.
And back to the update - I think I like this Costers fellow.
This is a very good AAR, please continue. One request though, could you indicate what language the charachters are speaking in? With people from so many nations mixing together, it's hard to guess the language.
I'm looking forward to the next update- the UoB's an interesting nation in KR so I'm looking forward to seeing more of life there and it should certainly be interesting to see what's happened to Hong Kong.
The good sir stems from a long line of well respected officers. Unfortunately his own progressive ideas have kept him a major himself.
Glad you like Costers, felt the AAR needed a though SOB to contrast with Karel.
I think good sirs Fairbairn and Sykes might just make their appearance in the Legation Cities.
Glad to hear you like my AAR, welcome aboard.
As far as language is concerned, both Karel and Costers are proficient in English and German, while Costers probably learnt some bits and pieces of other languages during his travels. They speak Dutch when adressing eachother, but can switch to English or German.
Because of this I will not add which language they are speaking, as it only matters that they are able to speak to the people they meet. I will add which language they speak when it matters.
London is an interesting case is I am still trying to figure out how much it would have changed. Most of the famous London landmarks are basically monuments to Royal or Imperial power.
As for Hong Kong, you can bet the city hasn't changed for the better.