Paris, 9 February 1941
'Free ice cream' the few signs floating through the streets said. Mussolini had thrown a big parade after the conquest of the city of love, and had tried to cool the heated resistance down with the most effective way he knew. Hitler and the Governator had been Germany's representatives during the festivities, but now that the official part was over, they found themselves wandering through the many streets, pondering what had happened the past two weeks.
Hitler: This should have been
our parade, with Mussolini as a guest!
Governator: Affirmative. Our paratroopers had been fighting the terminators for a whole month, not those Italians. It's still hard to phantom what happened there.
Hitler: They came looking around when the terminators were already on the retreat. What I should have done, was... Ooohh, ice cream!
Governator: No, Hitler, you already had an ice cream today.
Hitler: But I'm the führer! I wanna wanna wanna.
Governator: *sight* Alright, but it's going to be the last one for today. Give me a hand, we need to cross the street.
Some people gave strange looks when the well-known führer gave the muscled man a hand, but no-one dared to say anything about it. Cars stopped even tough they weren't at a zebra crossing. At the other site of the road stood an ice cream man with his cart. His black mustage was full, unlike the short spark of hair above Hitler's lip. In his red cloths he looked more like a plumber than an ice cream merchant. All Italians had used the occasion to become expert icemen.
Iceman: It's-a you, Hitler!
Hitler: You bet I am! Now gimme
ice ice baby.
Iceman: Here we go!
Governator: And what do we say to the nice ice cream man?
Hitler: Gimme more!
Einstein: Ah, there you guys are, we were looking for you.
Gauss: There will be another film and photo session at the Eiffel Tower in an hour or so. Do you think Hitler can handle that?
Governator: As long as he doesn't spill any of this ice cream, he'll be fine. He's still able to pose and to give inspiring speeches, even tough they make less sense each passing day.
Einstein: How's it possible that a leader that has plunged the world into war is acting like a child? Not capable any more to understand the complex political intrigues that he once had set up by himself?
Governator: If we wait a little bit longer we can do some tests without him noticing. I'm sure it's some kind of decease, or maybe a trauma from the first World War.
Gauss: I guess he had it going for quite a while. Think about those yoyos and his hot tubes. But the past two weeks it has been getting even worse.
Einstein: Hitler hasn't been the same since Mussolini stole Paris.
Gauss: How did he do it?
Our men were fighting in these streets for over a month. The last days, when the Belgians were retreating, he comes along and grabs the entire city form our grasp!
Governator: It's a matter of advancing armies. When you fight with allies - no, not Allies - and conquer some piece of land bordering their territory, your conquered land automatically will be claimed in their name. This prevents patchworks of scattered lands to form.
Gauss: And I thought that armies and battles in
my century were weird.
Paris fell on 30 January 1941, but the Italians seized that city in front of the Germans. The French government fled to Lille, but when that city fell to the Italians, they took up residence in Metz.
The group continues their stroll towards the Eiffel Tower, where a lot of photographers and even people from the cinema journals are waiting for the führer and his companions. Before they emerged form the alley, Gauss stopped them all.
Gauss: Before we do this, I really need to be sure that he can do it.
Einstein: If the Governator says so, I believe him. He has spend the whole day with him.
Hitler: Hey! Don't talk like I'm not here. That's rude.
Einstein: We know you're here, but you're just not important anymore.
Gauss: Don't belittle him like that. He can't help it that he's a moron.
Hitler: Hey! I'm not a moron.
Gauss: Well, then look me in the eyes, and say after me: 'Ich bin ein Berliner.'
Hitler: Ich... Bin... Laden?
Einstein: You see? Hopeless.
Governator: Knock it, you two. He has to face the media one day, and sooner is better than later, looking at the rate his brain is failing.
Einstein: That will leave us in charge of Nazi Germany... By Mercury, that's not something I signed up for when I started to travel through time!
Governator: Then you should have read the small letters before inventing it.
Einstein: There were?
Gauss: Yeah, even
I read them. Come, let's do this. Hitler: we are going to see some people. Don't say much, or else the Danes will haunt you tonight.
Hitler: Not the Danes!
Gauss: When we'll stand there, in front of the Eiffel Tower, you need to concentrate on the sky. There you can see Iceland!
Einstein: Really?
Gauss: Well, in the clouds we can see anything.
When they emerged from their alley, all media turned their attention towards the führer. He waved a little bit like he had done so many times the past few years, he shook some hands. Then it was time for a photo. Hitler looked up in the sky, while the Governator sat beside him, to make sure nothing strange would happen.
Hitler: Gauss was right: I
can see Iceland high in the sky.
Governator: Shut up, fool.
Hitler: No, really: it's like a map up there. Iceland, France, Italy...
Governator: You're right... Those clouds do look like... Wait a minute, I've got an idea for teaching those Italians a lesson. Alright people, the photo session is over. The führer needs to get back to work.
Hitler: Really? Can I have some more ice cream while we're at it?
Governator: *sight*
Finally Hitler arrived in Paris, although not under the conditions he had hoped. The Governator was already thinking of a plan to retaliate on the Italians.
Stockholm, 16 February 1941
A week had passed since Hitler's visit to Paris. Now he's back in Stockholm, the capital of Germany. Tied up to a chair, he isn't in a position most führers would like to find themselves in.
Hitler: Release me! I'm the führer!
Governator: I'm sorry, but this is something we just have to do. Maybe it's not for your best, but at least it will be for ours.
Hitler: You can't treat me like this. I rule the most powerful country in the world, for yoyo's sake!
Einstein: We've done more ruling the past year than you could do in a lifetime.
Hitler: Release me before I... Oh, shiny!
Einstein: Where do you need such a saw for?
Governator: There's only one way we can see what's going on in his skull. If we want to cure him, we do need to dig deeper.
Einstein: Now this is what I signed up for. While we're at it, could you tell me what you've been doing for the past week?
Governator: It's a surprise. You'll see in two weeks.
Einstein: Does it have to do with the airborne assaults on Berlin and Leipzig?
Governator: You'll see. But I can say that paratroopers are preparing as we speak to fly to Dresden, Erfurt and Rostock.
Einstein: Ah, you're going to force France to surrender. But that would mean all of France would cede to Mussolini.
Governator: Just you...
Gauss: Hey guys, have you heard the news... What the... What are you doing with Hitler?
Hitler: It's a trap!
Einstein: He still talks!
Governator: Let's all calm down now. Gauss, what did you want to say?
Gauss: Erm... Well... The Belgians, the spoke with the Dutch queen, and... please, could someone put something over his head?
Hitler: I'm not dead yet.
Governator: You will be.
Gauss: Thanks. The Dutch queen has agreed to join the Allies. In return the terminators liberated the Netherlands. Holland is back in business.
Governator: How unlike those machines. What would have driven them to giving up half their conquered territory? There has to be a catch.
Gauss: Maybe we should recapture the place and have a look?
Governator: We certainly will. But first things first. Could you hand me that transmitter?
The Netherlands was liberated by the Belgian terminators.
Stockholm, 1 March 1941
Mussolini: Hitler! What have you done? Why? Why did you take it all away from me? And how? Stop drooling and answer me!
Hitler: I scream ice cream.
Mussolini: Answer me! You took it all. Everything is lost now.
Governator: Leave him alone. He had some serious surgery, and needs to recover. All your questions will have to go through me for now.
Mussolini: Then tell me right now why I lost all my gains in Africa.
Governator: When we took some of our cities back, France hadn't had enough important cities left to continue to struggle.
Mussolini: I understand that, and I see how they were forced to surrender due to this. But why create a
second France? Vichy France they call themselves.
Governator: Because you took Paris from under our noses. You've got that city, and as a response I managed to gather enough support for the creation of a brand new France.
Mussolini: But they are shifting towards the Allies! They will be a new problem soon.
Governator: Not soon. But by the time we might fight them, we will be ready.
Mussolini: It's not fair.
Governator: Don't complain: you still got Paris. And don't worry, we'll find a way one day to connect the different parts of your country.
The Vichy scheme was enacted.
Einstein: Ah, there you are. Can I borrow Hitler?
Governator: Of course. Here's the remote control.
Mussolini: Remote control?
Hitler: Is it time for my hot tube?
Einstein: No, I've got something even better for you.
Hitler: Yay!
Mussolini: What the... What has happened to him?
Governator: He argued too much. You were saying...?
Mussolini: Nothing...
Governator: That's what I thought.
A very confused Mussolini left the room, leaving the Governator truly smiling for the first time since he arrived in Hitler's study. News that something had happened to the führer was leaking to the outside world, but that didn't matter. The Soviets were mobilizing because of this, but even they couldn't stop him. Not now. Not after he finally regained his mission details, something that he had deemed lost due to Jürgen's bullet. Soon the world would learn why he came back. But when they did, it would be too late.
Europe on 1 March 1941
********************
Author's note:
I was greatly disappointed that, when I conquered Paris, Italy received the province. But then I capture Berlin: France collapsed and Vichy France was formed. I laughed very hard at the Italian loss there.
I've now met the minimum requierments for the
Writing with the StAARs competition. Just in time, I say! Now I can relax a little bit. It takes me between 1 and 1.5 days full-time to create a chapter (I had a head start when I started posting). That's excluding the time I need to actually play the game. So far I played till the end of this chapter. The coming weekend I'll be practically away most of the time, so the next chapter will be somewhere next week. I'm sorry for that, but I really need some time to create more chapters. Also, I'll continue in a less fast posting rate. One or two a day is really something I can't keep up.
Thanks everyone!
olvirki: I didn't know that Iceland was already practically independent at that time. I guess the German propaganda machine worked even better than I could have imagined, since everyone in this timeline, including Icelanders themselves, saw the Danish as truly evil overlords. I raised the thread level of Denmark till even the United Kingdom was afraid of them. That's how I got the idea for a German rescue war
. Timetravel does screw up many things, so I agree that this is a separate timeline or parallel universe. Else I wouldn't play 'Hearts of Iron', but 'Yoyo's of Iron'.
ROMMEL_HSQ: They're not there yet. Let's first see how they think they can launch a rocket form Greenland.
mnplastic: Berlin is so overrated... Too bad I couldn't choose the new capital myself, else Greenland would be definately a 'hot' spot: it's much closer to the great nation of Iceland.
Baltasar: I use
Gimp, but that's the same idea. I've made a mall for the maps using
this tutorial, so I can easily insert screenshots and create a new map. I take for each map three screenshots (zoomed out to the maximum): one general overview of Europe, one of the left upper corner that I use to delete the control bar, and one of the lower right corner, to delete the minimap. After I combine these three screenshots, I insert them into my 'map'-mall, use
a fancy font to write the date, combine all different layers and make a dropshadow for it. I make first the large one you get when you click the picture, then I resize it to 800 pixels wide.