Against all Odds: The British Empire in World War Two

[unmerged(85800)]

sure thing. i suppose i thought people would get bored of me constantly saying 'good update' or 'hmmm very interesting' which is why i tend to only post when i have something proper to say. but thinking about it in my aar i like any comments, and so i will drop by more often

 

[Doge Robert]

You do tend to suddenly become a lot more serious about posting in the AARs you read, after starting one of your own..

At least that's what happened to me.. Not that I didn't post before, but now I post at least once pr update, in the AARs I read on a continuous basis.. But maybe the greatest difference is that if I'm in doubt about something or merely curious, I ask, instead of just letting it go.. That helps making my posts more than just 'good update' although I fall back on those, if I have nothing else to say..

 

[trekaddict]

Chapter 29​

November 23rd, 1938

30 miles south-east of Berlin

The men assembled in the old Army base did not know why they were there. Some had been snatched from their Divisions and all other branches of the Reich's Forces, some had been recruited from the SS. They were not allowed to talk amongst themselves, and they did not know why they were there. All they had been told was that their mission would be of great service to the Reich, and that was enough for most of them. They had been gathered from all over the Reich, and one of them, an Austrian, was the only one who had been here from the start. Otto Skorzeny did not know any more about the mission than the others, only that no more than the best ten men would carry it out, but he had been recruited by Canaris himself, and was busy learning English and improving his french, as the Admiral had hinted he might need them. Nevertheless, when he was pushed into this new Regiment he had been stripped of 'rank' just like everyone else. The instructors had said that each man in the Regiment would have to earn his rank on what he accomplished here not with what he had done with the regular Army. The Brandenburg Regiment would be a special formation all of its own. While formally part of the Wehrmacht it was in fact under the direct command of the Abwehr. They did not know their target, only that they were a highly experimental unit that had to prove itself, and whatever the mission was the men were intent to do so, Skorzeny among them. He had been one of the first to be promoted, now commanding a Company of the Regiment. Already pre-allocated for the mission, whatever it was he was he was commanding this company of candidates. Company was a overstatement, as it was massively understrength when compared to the regular Army, in fact the whole Regiment had only two-hundred men in it.

Yesterday's timetable had been gunnery practice with the Karabiner 98k. All of the men had been selected amongst other traits for their shooting skills, but they here got a specialized training that was adapted from the Wehrmacht's Sharpshooter training. More emphasis was laid on the distance, the accuracy and the speed with which these aimed shots could be fired. Today however Skorzeny issued his men a new rifle with which they would train from now on. “This, Gentlemen,” he yelled while holding the Rifle for everyone to see. “is what the English call the 'Lee Enfield Rifle No. 1 Mk. VI'. Courtesy to our gracious hosts in the Abwehr we have been able to acquire some that allows us to train you people on them. However, we have only few of them, so only the best will be issued one permanently. Everyone will however qualify on the shooting range and learn how to maintain that rifle. Fail any of these tasks and you are on the train back to your old units! I will demontrate.” With that he stepped into the shooting range and fired several shots from the carbine.

A bit away Admiral Wilhelm Canarais was watching the proceedings. He was sure that Skorzeny had been to correct selection to lead this mission, and today he would be briefed on the target and the location. Canarais had been unable to talk the Führer out of Pinie, but at least he had discovered the Führers real agenda behind it all. Yes, influencing the targets family was a goal, but the main impact was to be on the British Government. Hitler had an irrational fear of the British Prime Minister after they had met in 1934. Canarais at least partially agreed. Aside from attempting to fix the terminally ill British Empire the new man in No 10 was reaming Britain at a speed that was still considerably slower than that of Germany and their new friends to the east, at least on land. Their Navy was growing too. According to the few assets the Abwehr had on the British Isles five new King George V-Class Battleships would be built and a staggering eight flotillas of their new Battle-Class destroyers were ordered, to serve as escorts for their new Carrier Force, centered around the new Illustrious-Class Aircraft Carriers. In comparison to that the German Navy was jokingly small, and their only Carrier, the Graf Zeppelin would not be ready for a long time. No, if the Axis was to make its first moves without British interference they needed to be destabilized, and Pinie was made for that, he had to admit.

Officers Quarters, three hours later

When a mudded and dirty returned from the shooting range the last what he expected to find in his quarters was a person who was both an Admiral and his boss. Canaris was sitting behind the small desk and was reviewing some files. “Ah, Skorzeny.” he said after noticing the other man's entrance. “Admiral, what can I do for you?” “Otto, I am here because I want you to develop the last details for the mission. We have finally received the plan for the target's residence. I want brief you to develop the plan of action, that our people” ( the Admiral was referring to Oster here ) “came up with.” The Austrian Lieutenant then asked: “Who is the target then?” Instead of speaking Canaris handed Skorzeny the file he had been reading. The Austrians eyes bulged when he read the file. “Are you sure Admiral? This is fairly high-profile.” “The Führer ordered it himself.” That did not tell Skorzeny what the Admiral thought of Operation Pinie, only that there was no room for discussion about its merits and it would be carried out, no matter what. Skorzeny acknowledged this fact with a small nod and simply said: “And the plans?” “At the end of the file. Simply put it is a relatively easy target to get to, especially considering how we plan to get you there.” “And how is that?” The Admiral answered quietly. “First, you will take a freighter from Hamburg to a point here.” Canaris indicated a point on the map. “From there you will transfer to two U-Boats that will bring you to the target.” Canaris paused and looked at Skorzeny intently. “From there it is your job to develop the plan. We have acquired aerial photographs of the location and deduced that we would do it with a sniper.” He spread the photographs out on the table. “You see, Skorzeny,”he added. “you will land here at the back and make your way there and hide in the trees. The Target takes his afternoon walk around the grounds every day at the same time. You will then...” the Admiral continued to explain what he wanted to see, and Skorzeny, always the adventurer said: “Well, Admiral, it is certainly very risky, but I can't see why it should not work.”

Berlin, outside the British Embassy, November 24th, 0:21 AM

“Mr. Flemming I presume?”Flemming turned around on his heels. “Who is asking?”
He could not see the mysterious figure who had stopped him from re-entering the Embassy. “Let us just say I am a person who is concerned with the way things are going in Germany right now. Mr. Flemming, I know that you are not simply one of the Embassy's security officers.” Flemming had to struggle to keep level. Who was this man, and how did he know that Flemming was working for MI6? “Rubbish.” He said, trying to throw whoever this was off the scent. “I am working for the Embassy, and nothing else.” The other man chuckeled. “Can you remember the brawl you were in a while back? The old man attacked by these SA thugs?” Flemming just nodded. “Well, it was a setup. The SA men were real, but in the end it was an operation I set up to smoke you out. We have suspected you ever since you were seen at Tempelhof and later in front of the Reichstag, but couldn't prove it. Now, rest assured that the RSHH and the SD will never get to see this proof, at least not until after you have left Germany. I had originally intended to save this up for an emergency, but the need to use you has arisen much earlier than anticipated.” Flemming desperately tried to salvage the situation, but knew he was loosing the battle, and fast at that. “Now why should I help you?” “Because, Mr. Flemming, not only is Germany at stake, but also the security of your precious Empire could be threatened.” He handed Flemming a thin Manila Envelope. “This contains all I have about a clandestine Abwehr Job called 'Pinie'. It isn't much, only that it exists and that the target is a high member of British Society.” Flemming ripped the envelope open and said: “Wait, who are you?” But the other man was already gone. Flemming ran back into the Embassy and up to the Ambassador's office. “Sir, we might have a bit of a sticky situation here.”



[Game effects: None. Pinie is on its way, but ingame it doesn't have any effects, as I had the Idea for Pinie only after I played past that point in the game. And I finally found a way to get Flemming into Naval Intelligence.]

Authors note: in TTL the Lee Enfield Rifle No.1 Mk. VI was adopted by the British Army as a standard sidearm in 1929.

 

[ColossusCrusher]

Gogo Skorzeny!

 

[Eams]

Hopefully, Flemming and Skorzeny will meet and end up killing each other. The odds of that actually happening may not be bigger than Brazil beating Germany in Women's Football, but still

 

[unmerged(61296)]

Heavens ! I think I remember one person who used to take walks at regular hours.

Now will you join me in the "I killed Skorzeny and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" club ? Or will you take the "Leave no Skorzeny behind" group ?

 

[trekaddict]

ColossusCrusher

Eams Well, I am a huge Bond fan, so if they ever meet I think it is clear who will survive.

Atlantic Friend PM it to me then, but tbh, I don't know if he did it in reality too, because I made that one up. Nevertheless, your guesses are apprechiated.

 

[El Pip]

Now will you join me in the "I killed Skorzeny and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" club ?

You got so much more than a lousy t-shirt. You received the undying (or at least difficult to kill) respect and admiration of literally several readers.

 

[trekaddict]

You got so much more than a lousy t-shirt. You received the undying (or at least difficult to kill) respect and admiration of literally several readers.

I have a certain fate in mind for him that, if it works out, is even worse than death.

 

[trekaddict]

Everone guess the Airplane type and the origin of the markings. ( they are UK, but I was talking about the rest of the paintjob.

 

[Eams]

I have a certain fate in mind for him that, if it works out, is even worse than death.

Huzzah!

The plane's a Lockheed Super Electra, perhaps? I'll say that the markings are old Imperial Airways ones, just to get that option out of the way.

 

[Doge Robert]

Well, I'm afraid I don't know enough about airplanes to venture a guess.. To be completely honest, I know so little about airplanes, that I might even be able to mistake a spitfire for a He-109, if it wasn't for the national markings.. *hangs head in shame* o

I will improve.. I promise..

On account of the update, I too have a nagging suspicion on who it might be, but I might be completely off the mark.. None the less, i can think of only two people, whose deaths might cause the level of unrest in the Isles, which Germany needs and one of them should be beyond the reach of the german troops, after what happened with, was it his father?.. At least, if he isn't, the royal guard ought to be replaced and with them the MI5..

Excellent update.. You're keeping us chafing nails and tripping for the next part.. Very well done.

 

[trekaddict]

Huzzah!

The plane's a Lockheed Super Electra, perhaps? I'll say that the markings are old Imperial Airways ones, just to get that option out of the way.

On the spot. In the update it will be the plane that would have carried Chamberlain to the Munich conference, in TTL however it is just some plane.

 

[Eams]

On the spot. In the update it will be the plane that would have carried Chamberlain to the Munich conference, in TTL however it is just some plane.

Are you sure? I was under the impression that it was a Lockheed from British Airways that flew Neville back and forth.
Well, I was really under the impression that it was a Junkers Ju-52, and that Neville found its German crew to be very polite, but a bit inquisitive.

 

[trekaddict]

Are you sure? I was under the impression that it was a Lockheed from British Airways that flew Neville back and forth.
Well, I was really under the impression that it was a Junkers Ju-52, and that Neville found its German crew to be very polite, but a bit inquisitive.

Indeed, but in this timeline he would ahve taken this particular plane had the conference actually happened.

 

[trekaddict]

I had a friend of mine who is much more talented than me make this, mainyl to motivate myself. It is what I want as the outcome of this AAR.

 

[unmerged(61356)]

Sorry that I haven't replied to the last two updates, I've been on yet another string of double shifts.

As for the updates:
Look at me! Getting to talk to ol' Winston and all!
Now we have Skorzeny and Brandenburgers involved in Pinie with the mission being the apparent assassination of an important British figure. Added to that is mystery and intrigue with everyone's favorite author of spy novels. You very much have me on the edge of my seat regarding all of this.

 

[unmerged(62857)]

wow, you have really moved in just over a week! I try to keep up, but apparently you are faster at creating updates, than I can make comments! (Good updates too!)

As a Canadian, I have to say, that I like your version of the flag, but have no objections to the dominion of Canada flag either, and am obviously very proud of our current flag. How is that for non-commital? Add in some apologetic tones, and I'll fit the Canadian stereotype to a 'T'!

Jets are definitely the way to go. If you can't beat 'em in manpower, (and you can't) then you'd better beat 'em in tech.

 

[trekaddict]

Weeeell, maybe you'll get to talk to him again.


For everything else I can only say: I have a firm Idea as to where I want to go ( see above picture for that ) but my plans about getting there are not all that firm yet and many things can go wrong.

 

[El Pip]

That is spectacular, any AAR that involved Vulcans is spiffing but Luftwaffe Vulcans has set a new, far higher, benchmark!