22nd September 1944
22nd September
Having reluctantly accepted that Malar is the best candidate as Chief of the Army, Tiso and Tuka decided to push on and finish the army leadership review, the demands of the Race to Bratislava do not allow them to take the week off in a darkened room they would both preferred.
"Just the Chief of Staff to go, we can do this." Tuka reassured a doubtful Tiso.
"But what if he's saved the worst till last, in some kind of ridiculous and tortuous carpet bonding metaphor?" Tiso countered.
"We will just have to be firm with him." Tuka advised while Tiso nodded dubiously.
"Fritz, are you certain the candidates for Chief of Staff are all actually Slovakian?" Tiso asked.
"Yes, we asked twice just to be sure." Firtz replied.
"No traitors, dead people or confused cabbage farmers with delusions about a Slovak Marine Corps?" Tuka asked.
"None of them no." Fritz picked his words with care.
"So they are both fully qualified?" Tiso asked.
There was an awkward silence.
"They are both phyically capable of doing the job." Fritz conceded.
"I know Malar is one of the candidates, who is the other?" Tiso decided to move on before things got too depressing.
"Otomar Kubala." Fritz passed around the files.
"It says Otomar Kubela on this file." Tuka queried.
"He made a mistake on the application form, he's agreed to legally changed his name to Kubela to keep the paperwork simpler." Fritz explained.
"The name sounds familiar." Tuka said.
"He was Chief of Staff of the Hlinka Guard till 1942, then he was sacked for being too keen on Nazi Germany."
There was another pause as the room contemplated just how bad you would have to be to get sacked for being 'too keen' on Germany, while in the government of a German puppet state.
"I suppose that is relevant Chief of Staffing experience." Tiso reluctantly conceded.
"He also has a radical new plan for the armed forces." Fritz pointed at the file.
General Malar had hoped that as last man standing after the great betrayal he would be a shoe in for the job, hence he hasn't actually thought that hard about what he would do in the job. His new rival Kubela is marginally more aware of the situation and proposes mobilising the nation as the only hope of fending off the Race to Bratislava.
"So he wants to mobilise the population and use Human Wave tactics to win a war of attrition with the Soviet Union?" Tiso tried to understand what he had just read.
"I at no point said it was a good plan." Fritz clarified. "But is actually any worse than trying to use the superior firepower we haven't got, to support attacks we aren't going to make?"
Tiso considered arguing the point, but instead just nodded and approved Kubela for the role.
Then, realising he had appointed as his Chief of Staff a man who literally couldn't spell his own name, he hit the hipflask and hit it hard.
---
Notes:
Otomar Kubela does not exist. Otomar Kubala did and I must admit he is actually quite a good fit for the job, he was a proper frothing Nazi and Head of the Hlinka Guard who Tiso sacked for being too pro-German in 1942. Then after the Slovak National Uprising he returned to power and ended up very senior in the various panic militias that failed to defend Slovakia in any meaningful way.
And that's it, reshuffle sorted and back to the war. In the next thrilling update Kubela will update T&T with where their mighty armies are and what is happening on the fronts. There may even be hot OOB action, but I make no promises.
Having reluctantly accepted that Malar is the best candidate as Chief of the Army, Tiso and Tuka decided to push on and finish the army leadership review, the demands of the Race to Bratislava do not allow them to take the week off in a darkened room they would both preferred.
"Just the Chief of Staff to go, we can do this." Tuka reassured a doubtful Tiso.
"But what if he's saved the worst till last, in some kind of ridiculous and tortuous carpet bonding metaphor?" Tiso countered.
"We will just have to be firm with him." Tuka advised while Tiso nodded dubiously.
"Fritz, are you certain the candidates for Chief of Staff are all actually Slovakian?" Tiso asked.
"Yes, we asked twice just to be sure." Firtz replied.
"No traitors, dead people or confused cabbage farmers with delusions about a Slovak Marine Corps?" Tuka asked.
"None of them no." Fritz picked his words with care.
"So they are both fully qualified?" Tiso asked.
There was an awkward silence.
"They are both phyically capable of doing the job." Fritz conceded.
"I know Malar is one of the candidates, who is the other?" Tiso decided to move on before things got too depressing.
"Otomar Kubala." Fritz passed around the files.
"It says Otomar Kubela on this file." Tuka queried.
"He made a mistake on the application form, he's agreed to legally changed his name to Kubela to keep the paperwork simpler." Fritz explained.
"The name sounds familiar." Tuka said.
"He was Chief of Staff of the Hlinka Guard till 1942, then he was sacked for being too keen on Nazi Germany."
There was another pause as the room contemplated just how bad you would have to be to get sacked for being 'too keen' on Germany, while in the government of a German puppet state.
"I suppose that is relevant Chief of Staffing experience." Tiso reluctantly conceded.
"He also has a radical new plan for the armed forces." Fritz pointed at the file.
General Malar had hoped that as last man standing after the great betrayal he would be a shoe in for the job, hence he hasn't actually thought that hard about what he would do in the job. His new rival Kubela is marginally more aware of the situation and proposes mobilising the nation as the only hope of fending off the Race to Bratislava.
"So he wants to mobilise the population and use Human Wave tactics to win a war of attrition with the Soviet Union?" Tiso tried to understand what he had just read.
"I at no point said it was a good plan." Fritz clarified. "But is actually any worse than trying to use the superior firepower we haven't got, to support attacks we aren't going to make?"
Tiso considered arguing the point, but instead just nodded and approved Kubela for the role.
Then, realising he had appointed as his Chief of Staff a man who literally couldn't spell his own name, he hit the hipflask and hit it hard.
---
Notes:
Otomar Kubela does not exist. Otomar Kubala did and I must admit he is actually quite a good fit for the job, he was a proper frothing Nazi and Head of the Hlinka Guard who Tiso sacked for being too pro-German in 1942. Then after the Slovak National Uprising he returned to power and ended up very senior in the various panic militias that failed to defend Slovakia in any meaningful way.
And that's it, reshuffle sorted and back to the war. In the next thrilling update Kubela will update T&T with where their mighty armies are and what is happening on the fronts. There may even be hot OOB action, but I make no promises.
Last edited:
