Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Oh, how to utterly mess with Margot's head: she turns out to be related to Gia through her Metis family...
Part 148, Chapter 2676
Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Seventy-Six
16th April 1978
Tempelhof, Berlin
There was a stack of newspapers from around the world as Kat tried to gain some perspective regarding world events. Years earlier she had done this so that she could discus those events with Kira in the Imperial Court. Kat really did miss those discussions even if she didn’t miss the problematic relationship that she’d had with Kira, especially after the assassination attempt when the former Empress became obsessed with making sure that every aspect of her life was carefully controlled. Unfortunately that had included the people close to her as well.
Charlotte had been more focused on domestic concerns, her being a Social Worker by profession had lent itself to that. That her interest had come at a time when the Government had been trying to complete the implementation of the reforms of the care system. Kat had no objections at the time because the children within that system could not have asked for a better advocate. And as much as she had hated to admit it, Kat had been happy that she had finally reclaimed that part of her life and had always preferred to sleep in on Sunday mornings.
Still though it was good to be informed.
Petia’s granddaughter Darya was there to help her sort through it all. Still the Sunday Editions of what were considered the “Paper of Record” from across Europe and North America were a lot to get through. This wasn’t helped by Darya getting distracted by the Classified section of the San Francisco Chronicle. Kat didn’t see how the rent in San Francisco was of any interest to her beyond making living in Berlin seem like it was relatively inexpensive or the going price of a used Chrysler Newport. The Berliner Tageblatt had gone back to the colorful front pages with the Sunday Edition with this week featuring artwork by an American born Graphic Designer by the name of Patrick Nagel. The Hamburg Abendblatt had been added to the stack over the last few months as Kat had figured that not being so dependent on Darya, or worse, Jack Kennedy in fiscal matters might be a good idea. Jack had pulled some strings to get Marie Alexandra into Trinity College’s School of Law and she was trying to figure out what his motives were. Thinking of Marie, Kat was reminded that McGill University made a big production of graduation in a way that would never happen in Germany.
The plan was for her and Douglas to travel to Montreal for that, but they had already been informed that things had finally boiled over with Marie and Margot. The last time they had spoken, Kat’s father-in-law had also implied that he had noticed a few things about Marie that he found worrisome. It was something that Kat had known about for years. Kat’s youngest daughter had inherited a bit more than just her hair color, there was also the part of Kat that was absolutely ruthless when provoked and would attack with no regard personal safety. The sad part was that Marie kept that part of herself hidden because it scared her and she seemed to understand the price to her humanity that it demanded, while Kat’s other daughter wished that she could be that way but didn’t have it in her. Tatiana had no idea how fortunate she was in that regard.
Looking back at the front page of the New York Times and knowing that she wasn’t much better than Darya if she allowed her mind to wander, Kat was a bit disappointed by the headline story that was about rioting that had broken out in New York City over the prior weeks. The children and grandchildren of prior immigrants had a violent reaction to the arrival a new wave of immigrants. This time it was refugees from Turkey and Albania being attacked by Italians and Puerto Ricans. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free… Your milage may vary, Kat thought to herself sarcastically. With the Greeks hellbent on pushing the border as far east as they could get away with it was hardly a surprise that people there had tried to find a way out. Nor was it surprising the reaction they were getting in places like New York or Atlanta, which was also mentioned in the article.
Kat knew that Berlin wouldn’t be much better and that there had been relatively few refugees from that conflict coming to Germany. This was mostly because getting to Germany would likely mean crossing areas controlled by the Greeks or Russians and they would receive a very cold welcome if they had survived the journey. Kat was really starting to hate the Hellenic Military for the easy rationalizations they came up with to justify their actions. The Kissinger Government who had basically endorsed those actions after the violent incident on an Aegean Airlines flight in Hamburg. It was funny how Theologians who normally railed against that very sort of brutality and moral relativism got very quiet when it was Muslims who were on the receiving end.
With a bit of disgust, Kat looked away from that story to below the fold in the New York times and saw a story about a recent public statement by President Richard Nixon about the recent capture of a German spy working in the U.S. State Department, how the BND had spent decades getting this man into a position of authority. Kat had no way of knowing if the man in question had really been a sleeper agent of the BND but she had recently had a conversation with Asia who had told her that the American FBI had gotten suddenly a little too good at sniffing out their people. An investigation had started, and Asia had implied that she was heading it. Kat had almost asked if Asia was the right person to be heading that investigation, not after what the Americans had done to her. If someone was leaking information Kat wouldn’t put it past Asia to publicly crucify them on Opernplatz with an actual wooden cross and nails.
16th April 1978
Tempelhof, Berlin
There was a stack of newspapers from around the world as Kat tried to gain some perspective regarding world events. Years earlier she had done this so that she could discus those events with Kira in the Imperial Court. Kat really did miss those discussions even if she didn’t miss the problematic relationship that she’d had with Kira, especially after the assassination attempt when the former Empress became obsessed with making sure that every aspect of her life was carefully controlled. Unfortunately that had included the people close to her as well.
Charlotte had been more focused on domestic concerns, her being a Social Worker by profession had lent itself to that. That her interest had come at a time when the Government had been trying to complete the implementation of the reforms of the care system. Kat had no objections at the time because the children within that system could not have asked for a better advocate. And as much as she had hated to admit it, Kat had been happy that she had finally reclaimed that part of her life and had always preferred to sleep in on Sunday mornings.
Still though it was good to be informed.
Petia’s granddaughter Darya was there to help her sort through it all. Still the Sunday Editions of what were considered the “Paper of Record” from across Europe and North America were a lot to get through. This wasn’t helped by Darya getting distracted by the Classified section of the San Francisco Chronicle. Kat didn’t see how the rent in San Francisco was of any interest to her beyond making living in Berlin seem like it was relatively inexpensive or the going price of a used Chrysler Newport. The Berliner Tageblatt had gone back to the colorful front pages with the Sunday Edition with this week featuring artwork by an American born Graphic Designer by the name of Patrick Nagel. The Hamburg Abendblatt had been added to the stack over the last few months as Kat had figured that not being so dependent on Darya, or worse, Jack Kennedy in fiscal matters might be a good idea. Jack had pulled some strings to get Marie Alexandra into Trinity College’s School of Law and she was trying to figure out what his motives were. Thinking of Marie, Kat was reminded that McGill University made a big production of graduation in a way that would never happen in Germany.
The plan was for her and Douglas to travel to Montreal for that, but they had already been informed that things had finally boiled over with Marie and Margot. The last time they had spoken, Kat’s father-in-law had also implied that he had noticed a few things about Marie that he found worrisome. It was something that Kat had known about for years. Kat’s youngest daughter had inherited a bit more than just her hair color, there was also the part of Kat that was absolutely ruthless when provoked and would attack with no regard personal safety. The sad part was that Marie kept that part of herself hidden because it scared her and she seemed to understand the price to her humanity that it demanded, while Kat’s other daughter wished that she could be that way but didn’t have it in her. Tatiana had no idea how fortunate she was in that regard.
Looking back at the front page of the New York Times and knowing that she wasn’t much better than Darya if she allowed her mind to wander, Kat was a bit disappointed by the headline story that was about rioting that had broken out in New York City over the prior weeks. The children and grandchildren of prior immigrants had a violent reaction to the arrival a new wave of immigrants. This time it was refugees from Turkey and Albania being attacked by Italians and Puerto Ricans. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free… Your milage may vary, Kat thought to herself sarcastically. With the Greeks hellbent on pushing the border as far east as they could get away with it was hardly a surprise that people there had tried to find a way out. Nor was it surprising the reaction they were getting in places like New York or Atlanta, which was also mentioned in the article.
Kat knew that Berlin wouldn’t be much better and that there had been relatively few refugees from that conflict coming to Germany. This was mostly because getting to Germany would likely mean crossing areas controlled by the Greeks or Russians and they would receive a very cold welcome if they had survived the journey. Kat was really starting to hate the Hellenic Military for the easy rationalizations they came up with to justify their actions. The Kissinger Government who had basically endorsed those actions after the violent incident on an Aegean Airlines flight in Hamburg. It was funny how Theologians who normally railed against that very sort of brutality and moral relativism got very quiet when it was Muslims who were on the receiving end.
With a bit of disgust, Kat looked away from that story to below the fold in the New York times and saw a story about a recent public statement by President Richard Nixon about the recent capture of a German spy working in the U.S. State Department, how the BND had spent decades getting this man into a position of authority. Kat had no way of knowing if the man in question had really been a sleeper agent of the BND but she had recently had a conversation with Asia who had told her that the American FBI had gotten suddenly a little too good at sniffing out their people. An investigation had started, and Asia had implied that she was heading it. Kat had almost asked if Asia was the right person to be heading that investigation, not after what the Americans had done to her. If someone was leaking information Kat wouldn’t put it past Asia to publicly crucify them on Opernplatz with an actual wooden cross and nails.
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It very easy to figure out, Jack is 61 years old at this point ITTL, and while still healthy, there will come a point in time where he steps down from managing Kat's legal business.
Kat's business brings in a lot of money to Jack's firm, and it has made the firm a place where other international corporations also use Jack's firm for their European legal needs, and losing Kat's business will also lead them to lose their other international clients.
Having Marie go to Trinity Law School is way for Jack to foster a relationship with her for the future.
Marie going to Law School is way for her to delay making any decisions on her future, and while at Law School Marie will work as an intern at Jack's Firm where she will meet the other lawyers in the firm with whom she can learn to trust and advise her mother to use as her future legal counsel when Jack finally retires.
i doubt that Marie will make the law her career, but the education and training that she receives will give her a flexibility to do what she really wants to do in the future, and it will help her mother in keeping her eyes in what is going on with her legal portfolio.
Let me get in a comment on a Trinity College Law Degree.
While I fully expect her parents to support Marie in whatever decision she makes, someone should point out to her that it might not be as useful as she assumes.
Because in the end, it's based in common law, something not used in Germany, and probably something that has won less influence world wide in this ATL.
I'm specifically considering places like Japan and Korea, who IIRC don't use Common Law even OTL, but would probably be more influenced in their international dealings by Germany than the US this time around.
And outside very specialised positions, I'm pretty certain German employers would have denied applicants with a Law degree from a common law country in the 70s. Less so today, but that has more to do with the spread of influence of international business.
And even then, a law degree from an American or British university is often more as something to enhance a CV, than actually practical.
(Also something that should put a limit to what Kennedy can do for Kat as a business and financial advisor, but oh well...)
While I fully expect her parents to support Marie in whatever decision she makes, someone should point out to her that it might not be as useful as she assumes.
Because in the end, it's based in common law, something not used in Germany, and probably something that has won less influence world wide in this ATL.
I'm specifically considering places like Japan and Korea, who IIRC don't use Common Law even OTL, but would probably be more influenced in their international dealings by Germany than the US this time around.
And outside very specialised positions, I'm pretty certain German employers would have denied applicants with a Law degree from a common law country in the 70s. Less so today, but that has more to do with the spread of influence of international business.
And even then, a law degree from an American or British university is often more as something to enhance a CV, than actually practical.
(Also something that should put a limit to what Kennedy can do for Kat as a business and financial advisor, but oh well...)
There are law degrees and then there are LAW DEGREES. Trinity, it seems ITTL, is comparable Oxford, Cambridge, Berlin, Jena, Sorbonne, McDill and would be the critical thinking part not the actual type of law. The how they teach you and want you to do with it, instead of just the law part is most important. This is the difference between a major research university for a specific science and one that would just teach a type of science to someone. I have people in the family that are lawyers and married to lawyers, trust me its not the teaching of the law but how its taught and how they want you to deal with what they teach that is important.
Hoyahoo9
Donor
Ejpsan - Very astute commentary! As a corporate lawyer myself, I can confidently affirm that this is exactly what’s going on. And you’re re also right - even if you never take the bar and practice as an an attorney - a legal education provides a significant advantage in numerous other careers and pursuits. Marie has the potential to (very quietly and under the radar) be every bit as formidable as her mother. I suspect that Kat is also slowly coming to this realization.
Trinity College is a sister College to St. John's College, Cambridge and Oriel College, Oxford in OTL and in TTL. With the emerging system along the lines of the EU connections to Jenna and Berlin will have increasing importance. An odd note, Quebec, which would include Montreal, uses the Civic Code of Lower Canada which is based on the Napoleonic Code of 1804.
A consideration in TTL is that in 1920's Ireland had a clean slate as they were emerging from the Civil War as a very different Country than OTL. ITTL the British were not in a position to impose anything along the lines of the Anglo-Irish Treaty from OTL. The another is that Éamon de Valera was killed in the Irish Civil War in TTL, and the country was shaped by Michael Collins. Exactly what that looks like after six decades will come into greater focus.
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It is either kind of surprising that the US is still the choice of refugees to immigrate to, or logical that the US is basically the only country to take them in and let them "keep their cultural identity" when other countries don't want to help them.
For the immigrants\ refugees from Turkey, they should be prominently from the Southern Mediterranean Costal areas of Turkey, where they are fishermen, citrus, sunflower, and tobacco farmers for the most part.
IOTL many Vietnamese refugees were resettled on the Texas Gulf coast and became shrimpers, and with no Vietnam War ITTL, the same thing could happen, and we will see how things play basically the same way ITTL as it did IOTL (see 1985's Alamo Bay directed by Louis Malle and staring Ed Harris and Amy Madigan).
The Turkish refugees that were farmers could get small farms that are anywhere between 20-40 acres that have been left empty for years and that also goes the same for the Albanians who fled to the US as most of them should have come from small farms themselves.
I think that most of the farms are going to be in the American South, and that the Albanians and Turks are going to be successful much to the surprise of the white farmers in the area as their new neighbors will not be afraid to do the hard work necessary to bring them to profitability, when others have failed before, and that is going to bring a lot of resentment towards the resettled refugees.
For the immigrants\ refugees from Turkey, they should be prominently from the Southern Mediterranean Costal areas of Turkey, where they are fishermen, citrus, sunflower, and tobacco farmers for the most part.
IOTL many Vietnamese refugees were resettled on the Texas Gulf coast and became shrimpers, and with no Vietnam War ITTL, the same thing could happen, and we will see how things play basically the same way ITTL as it did IOTL (see 1985's Alamo Bay directed by Louis Malle and staring Ed Harris and Amy Madigan).
The Turkish refugees that were farmers could get small farms that are anywhere between 20-40 acres that have been left empty for years and that also goes the same for the Albanians who fled to the US as most of them should have come from small farms themselves.
I think that most of the farms are going to be in the American South, and that the Albanians and Turks are going to be successful much to the surprise of the white farmers in the area as their new neighbors will not be afraid to do the hard work necessary to bring them to profitability, when others have failed before, and that is going to bring a lot of resentment towards the resettled refugees.
Part 148, Chapter 2677
Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Seventy-Seven
28th April 1978
Tempelhof, Berlin
“Congratulations on the exam Herr Deisler” Professor Stenger said, “It seems that you have more than pudding in that head of yours.”
“Thank you Professor” Sepp replied, having learned months earlier that reacting to what Stenger called him was pointless.
The University Entrance Exam was the culmination of everything that Sepp had been working towards for years. While that didn’t assure his future, it was a huge step in that direction. The next term he would start his regular University studies and his time spent in Stenger’s class would count towards that. The truth was that the exam wasn’t as difficult as he had been led to believe, of course Stenger was perfectly happy to tell him that the getting into University was the easy part, it was what came next where the curve would get steep. Namely showing up and completing his studies in the sink or swim environment of the University of Berlin.
“There is also that other matter you might want to address” Stenger said with a wink.
It was something that must have been painfully obvious to everyone in the room. The tension that came from sitting just a few meters away from Sophie every single day. There had been a few extremely brief awkward conversations with Sophie, over the last several months with them trying not to talk about anything other than the totally superficial. What exactly was Sepp supposed to say? “Yeah, Zoe, sorry I didn’t understand why you reacted the way you did when I kissed you. Now I sort of do understand because of the massive invasion of your privacy by the press when you were in Montreal. Yeah, they got lot of it wrong, and I know that your own mother calling you a worthless little whore in a television interview that had been broadcast internationally must have sucked. Now, about those stupid things I said back then about you being a fake…” Sepp knew exactly how that would go over and that no amount of apologizing by him would cut the ice.
Fortunately, the Summer Holiday was coming. Sepp had applied for a job through the University, and they had to his complete bewilderment assigned him to the Imperial Forest Service. The University Administrator had been very open about how they needed warm bodies in the vast Riesengebirge National Park that straddled border of Bohemia and Silesia. He was told that it would involve some hard work, but he would have a whole lot of fun in the process. While Sepp felt that he was an unlikely candidate for that, the idea of getting out of Berlin for a while was certainly appealing. Getting paid while room and board was taken care of was the icing on the cake.
In the next term Sepp and Sophie would be in different fields of study, so he wouldn’t being seeing her every day.
----------------------------------------------------------------
A few days earlier Manny had come to visit with Suse and Johannes, so Aunt Marcella was delighted to talk about how wonderful they were. Unlike her little sister, Tatiana had never been particularly close to her cousins. Nikolaus and Sabastian had worshipped Manny when they were children and Marie Alexandra wasn’t immune to that. While that hero worship had fallen by the wayside because all three of them had their own accomplishments these days. After two decades of constantly being compared to Manny, Tatiana was tired of hearing about him. Still, though Aunt Marcella was happy to talk about Johannes and how he had recently discovered the words “Mine” and “No.” Which he apparently used often and loudly.
“He is exactly the same way that Manny was at that age” Marcella said happily. Which Tatiana looked at with nothing less than thinly veiled horror.
“Manfred was surprised to learn that you had finished with training to work for the Foreign Office and are waiting to hear about your first posting” Marcella said.
“Possibly because I avoided talking to him” Tatiana said. She was careful with the tone of her voice, but apparently not careful enough.
“This is not a competition Tat” Marcella said sharply, “No one is comparing you with Manfred.”
Tatiana didn’t respond to that. She knew better than to argue the point when she knew what the score was.
“I talked to your mother the other day” Marcella said, “You really should try to make peace with her before you leave for wherever they send you.”
“I don’t see much point in that” Tatiana replied, “All she does is treat me like a child, that is when I am not a huge disappointment to her.”
“You will always be your mother’s child, but she sees you as an adult” Marcella said, “And what gives you the idea that you are a disappointment?”
“She is always second guessing me” Tatiana replied, “Telling me what I should or shouldn’t be doing, and every time I talk to her she has that ragdoll you gave me as a baby on a shelf behind her desk.”
“She doesn’t want you to make the same mistakes she did” Marcella said. “And she saved that doll when you tried to throw it away. You called her Kara right?”
Aunt Marcella smiled when she asked that last part. As if that old ragdoll was a part of Tatiana’s past that she was in the least bit nostalgic for.
“Cora” Tatiana replied, “I don’t get why she did that, telling me that I might want it back someday.”
Marcella gave Tatiana look with a slight smile as if she knew something that Tatiana didn’t.
“She’s not keeping it for you Tat” Marcella said as if she were pointing out something that was painfully obvious.
“Who is she keeping it for then?” Tatiana asked.
“I swear that talking to you is exactly the same as talking to your mother thirty years ago” Marcella replied, “You are just like her. Asking questions whose answers you are clearly not ready to handle.”
Marcella didn’t elaborate on that, and Tatiana was annoyed by yet another comparison. This time to her mother.
28th April 1978
Tempelhof, Berlin
“Congratulations on the exam Herr Deisler” Professor Stenger said, “It seems that you have more than pudding in that head of yours.”
“Thank you Professor” Sepp replied, having learned months earlier that reacting to what Stenger called him was pointless.
The University Entrance Exam was the culmination of everything that Sepp had been working towards for years. While that didn’t assure his future, it was a huge step in that direction. The next term he would start his regular University studies and his time spent in Stenger’s class would count towards that. The truth was that the exam wasn’t as difficult as he had been led to believe, of course Stenger was perfectly happy to tell him that the getting into University was the easy part, it was what came next where the curve would get steep. Namely showing up and completing his studies in the sink or swim environment of the University of Berlin.
“There is also that other matter you might want to address” Stenger said with a wink.
It was something that must have been painfully obvious to everyone in the room. The tension that came from sitting just a few meters away from Sophie every single day. There had been a few extremely brief awkward conversations with Sophie, over the last several months with them trying not to talk about anything other than the totally superficial. What exactly was Sepp supposed to say? “Yeah, Zoe, sorry I didn’t understand why you reacted the way you did when I kissed you. Now I sort of do understand because of the massive invasion of your privacy by the press when you were in Montreal. Yeah, they got lot of it wrong, and I know that your own mother calling you a worthless little whore in a television interview that had been broadcast internationally must have sucked. Now, about those stupid things I said back then about you being a fake…” Sepp knew exactly how that would go over and that no amount of apologizing by him would cut the ice.
Fortunately, the Summer Holiday was coming. Sepp had applied for a job through the University, and they had to his complete bewilderment assigned him to the Imperial Forest Service. The University Administrator had been very open about how they needed warm bodies in the vast Riesengebirge National Park that straddled border of Bohemia and Silesia. He was told that it would involve some hard work, but he would have a whole lot of fun in the process. While Sepp felt that he was an unlikely candidate for that, the idea of getting out of Berlin for a while was certainly appealing. Getting paid while room and board was taken care of was the icing on the cake.
In the next term Sepp and Sophie would be in different fields of study, so he wouldn’t being seeing her every day.
----------------------------------------------------------------
A few days earlier Manny had come to visit with Suse and Johannes, so Aunt Marcella was delighted to talk about how wonderful they were. Unlike her little sister, Tatiana had never been particularly close to her cousins. Nikolaus and Sabastian had worshipped Manny when they were children and Marie Alexandra wasn’t immune to that. While that hero worship had fallen by the wayside because all three of them had their own accomplishments these days. After two decades of constantly being compared to Manny, Tatiana was tired of hearing about him. Still, though Aunt Marcella was happy to talk about Johannes and how he had recently discovered the words “Mine” and “No.” Which he apparently used often and loudly.
“He is exactly the same way that Manny was at that age” Marcella said happily. Which Tatiana looked at with nothing less than thinly veiled horror.
“Manfred was surprised to learn that you had finished with training to work for the Foreign Office and are waiting to hear about your first posting” Marcella said.
“Possibly because I avoided talking to him” Tatiana said. She was careful with the tone of her voice, but apparently not careful enough.
“This is not a competition Tat” Marcella said sharply, “No one is comparing you with Manfred.”
Tatiana didn’t respond to that. She knew better than to argue the point when she knew what the score was.
“I talked to your mother the other day” Marcella said, “You really should try to make peace with her before you leave for wherever they send you.”
“I don’t see much point in that” Tatiana replied, “All she does is treat me like a child, that is when I am not a huge disappointment to her.”
“You will always be your mother’s child, but she sees you as an adult” Marcella said, “And what gives you the idea that you are a disappointment?”
“She is always second guessing me” Tatiana replied, “Telling me what I should or shouldn’t be doing, and every time I talk to her she has that ragdoll you gave me as a baby on a shelf behind her desk.”
“She doesn’t want you to make the same mistakes she did” Marcella said. “And she saved that doll when you tried to throw it away. You called her Kara right?”
Aunt Marcella smiled when she asked that last part. As if that old ragdoll was a part of Tatiana’s past that she was in the least bit nostalgic for.
“Cora” Tatiana replied, “I don’t get why she did that, telling me that I might want it back someday.”
Marcella gave Tatiana look with a slight smile as if she knew something that Tatiana didn’t.
“She’s not keeping it for you Tat” Marcella said as if she were pointing out something that was painfully obvious.
“Who is she keeping it for then?” Tatiana asked.
“I swear that talking to you is exactly the same as talking to your mother thirty years ago” Marcella replied, “You are just like her. Asking questions whose answers you are clearly not ready to handle.”
Marcella didn’t elaborate on that, and Tatiana was annoyed by yet another comparison. This time to her mother.
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Part 148, Chapter 2678
Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Seventy-Eight
7th May 1978
Breslau, Silesia
It was Coronation Day.
The parade was to mark the official period of mourning as having ended. For many it looked like something from another century as representative Units from the four Divisions historically based in Silesia marched up the King’s Road to the Market Square in the blue and red dress uniforms. That included the Regular 11th and 12th Infantry Divisions and 11th Reserve Division, which had been the cause of endless bureaucratic confusion for decades, and finally the 3rd Landwehr Division.
Christian’s Battery marched behind the horse drawn artillery limbers of the old 105s that had been dug up from somewhere, possibly the same guns that had been taken away from the Battery when they had switched to the PzH15. There had been a rare and unexpected attack of sense in Division Headquarters, and someone had realized that driving the self-propelled guns into the narrow streets of Old-Town Breslau was a bad idea. If for no other reason than what the huge, tracked vehicles would do to the streets and bridges. That was the same reason that the Panzers and Armored Personnel Carriers had been left in the depots outside the city as well. Instead, the organizers had leaned into the Nineteenth Century theme.
Everywhere Christian looked the color crimson, the color of the House of Richthofen, was on display. As a Knight of the House Order who had been inducted by the late König himself, Christian had been given a place of honor in the Parade with his Battery leading the 6th Field Artillery Regiment just behind the Regular 10th and 11th Grenadier Regiments of the 21st Brigade. Those two Regiments had a long and storied history dating back to before even the formation of the VI Army Corps in 1815. Any of the Officers from the 10th or 11th Regiments who objected to having the Landwehr Artillery Battery just behind them saw the crimson ribbon with the green and gold medal pinned to Christian’s tunic and the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross on his collar and they got very quiet.
The crowning of King Albrecht was seen as a part of the continuing project by the House of Hohenzollern to carve up Prussia. This had started with the State Administration reform that had been a part of the federal Constitution of 1922. The Kingdoms that they had conquered a century earlier. It seemed that the expense and bother of the extra territory had grown to be more trouble than it was worth. Giving that territory to ambitious but loyal vassals while they remained the Imperial House was actually working out quite well. Thing was that when you looked at what they were willing to give away versus what they were intent on keeping a clear pattern was emerging…
There was the clatter of hoofs on cobblestones as Prince Nikolaus rushed past. Christian had seen the Prince of Breslau on his horse several times since they had started the march, he was wearing a Leutnant’s Uniform and supposedly was in command of a Reserve Platoon while he was attending University. The reality was that he was doing whatever his father, General Schultz, and the Staff of the VI Corps demanded of him at any given moment. Today, that was apparently keeping the parade moving.
It was a Sunday afternoon, and the streets were packed with onlookers. Breslau being a University town there were a huge number of students present. That was the direction that most of, but not all, of the trouble was expected from. Sure there were the student radicals, but Christian knew from his time in the First Foot that the vast majority of those were dilatants. It was those on the fringes of society who were truly dangerous, the clinically insane and the angry loners. With nearly everyone else, you had one of the most basic aspects of humanity working for you. Namely, the inability of people to keep secrets. People liked to brag, tell stories, impress their friends, and be the heroes of their own dramas. The Federal Police with the BII, and First Foot had come a long way since they had tangled with the Neo-Jacobins. There were still many though at all levels who looked in the wrong directions, turned to lazy answers like blaming all of society’s problems on Jews, Homosexuals, or Intellectuals.
The parade spilled into Breslau’s Market Square with the cannons turning down a side street. Normally on a Sunday afternoon it would be serving its intended purpose as a mixture of farmer’s market and jumble sale. Instead, it was a sea of people who had come to see the new King and Queen be crowned. That it was taking place in front of the Old City Hall was rather symbolic. There were religious differences between the Royal couple that they had never made an issue out of. With them was their young ward Mathilda who had made a bit of a splash singing at Manfred the Elder’s funeral and their daughter Ingrid. Christian had seen both of them play the role of Assistant for Ina on many occasions. Ina was there with her family, her parents Hans and Helene along with Manfred the Younger, his wife Suse Rosa and son Johannes. There were still people coming onto the stage.
“Aren’t you going to join them?” Einar asked.
“Yeah…” Christian replied. He didn’t need the Oberfeld to remind him, he had just not been in a rush to get up there.
Ina had said that they needed to start thinking about the future, then her Uncle Albrecht had mentioned that his time with the Battery was coming to an end, and they needed to figure out his place in the greater scheme of things in Silesia. Christian understood what those things meant and the implications. He just didn’t want to think about it. He was happy to see Ina, the rest of them, not so much because he already knew what they would want to talk about.
7th May 1978
Breslau, Silesia
It was Coronation Day.
The parade was to mark the official period of mourning as having ended. For many it looked like something from another century as representative Units from the four Divisions historically based in Silesia marched up the King’s Road to the Market Square in the blue and red dress uniforms. That included the Regular 11th and 12th Infantry Divisions and 11th Reserve Division, which had been the cause of endless bureaucratic confusion for decades, and finally the 3rd Landwehr Division.
Christian’s Battery marched behind the horse drawn artillery limbers of the old 105s that had been dug up from somewhere, possibly the same guns that had been taken away from the Battery when they had switched to the PzH15. There had been a rare and unexpected attack of sense in Division Headquarters, and someone had realized that driving the self-propelled guns into the narrow streets of Old-Town Breslau was a bad idea. If for no other reason than what the huge, tracked vehicles would do to the streets and bridges. That was the same reason that the Panzers and Armored Personnel Carriers had been left in the depots outside the city as well. Instead, the organizers had leaned into the Nineteenth Century theme.
Everywhere Christian looked the color crimson, the color of the House of Richthofen, was on display. As a Knight of the House Order who had been inducted by the late König himself, Christian had been given a place of honor in the Parade with his Battery leading the 6th Field Artillery Regiment just behind the Regular 10th and 11th Grenadier Regiments of the 21st Brigade. Those two Regiments had a long and storied history dating back to before even the formation of the VI Army Corps in 1815. Any of the Officers from the 10th or 11th Regiments who objected to having the Landwehr Artillery Battery just behind them saw the crimson ribbon with the green and gold medal pinned to Christian’s tunic and the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross on his collar and they got very quiet.
The crowning of King Albrecht was seen as a part of the continuing project by the House of Hohenzollern to carve up Prussia. This had started with the State Administration reform that had been a part of the federal Constitution of 1922. The Kingdoms that they had conquered a century earlier. It seemed that the expense and bother of the extra territory had grown to be more trouble than it was worth. Giving that territory to ambitious but loyal vassals while they remained the Imperial House was actually working out quite well. Thing was that when you looked at what they were willing to give away versus what they were intent on keeping a clear pattern was emerging…
There was the clatter of hoofs on cobblestones as Prince Nikolaus rushed past. Christian had seen the Prince of Breslau on his horse several times since they had started the march, he was wearing a Leutnant’s Uniform and supposedly was in command of a Reserve Platoon while he was attending University. The reality was that he was doing whatever his father, General Schultz, and the Staff of the VI Corps demanded of him at any given moment. Today, that was apparently keeping the parade moving.
It was a Sunday afternoon, and the streets were packed with onlookers. Breslau being a University town there were a huge number of students present. That was the direction that most of, but not all, of the trouble was expected from. Sure there were the student radicals, but Christian knew from his time in the First Foot that the vast majority of those were dilatants. It was those on the fringes of society who were truly dangerous, the clinically insane and the angry loners. With nearly everyone else, you had one of the most basic aspects of humanity working for you. Namely, the inability of people to keep secrets. People liked to brag, tell stories, impress their friends, and be the heroes of their own dramas. The Federal Police with the BII, and First Foot had come a long way since they had tangled with the Neo-Jacobins. There were still many though at all levels who looked in the wrong directions, turned to lazy answers like blaming all of society’s problems on Jews, Homosexuals, or Intellectuals.
The parade spilled into Breslau’s Market Square with the cannons turning down a side street. Normally on a Sunday afternoon it would be serving its intended purpose as a mixture of farmer’s market and jumble sale. Instead, it was a sea of people who had come to see the new King and Queen be crowned. That it was taking place in front of the Old City Hall was rather symbolic. There were religious differences between the Royal couple that they had never made an issue out of. With them was their young ward Mathilda who had made a bit of a splash singing at Manfred the Elder’s funeral and their daughter Ingrid. Christian had seen both of them play the role of Assistant for Ina on many occasions. Ina was there with her family, her parents Hans and Helene along with Manfred the Younger, his wife Suse Rosa and son Johannes. There were still people coming onto the stage.
“Aren’t you going to join them?” Einar asked.
“Yeah…” Christian replied. He didn’t need the Oberfeld to remind him, he had just not been in a rush to get up there.
Ina had said that they needed to start thinking about the future, then her Uncle Albrecht had mentioned that his time with the Battery was coming to an end, and they needed to figure out his place in the greater scheme of things in Silesia. Christian understood what those things meant and the implications. He just didn’t want to think about it. He was happy to see Ina, the rest of them, not so much because he already knew what they would want to talk about.
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Probably means the student fraternities were clambering for a space in the parade too (and Breslau had a lot of those with it's two traditional universities and having been the most 'catholic' of the Prussian university cities, and very likely retains most of them TTL) - aside from all kinds of other organisations who either see themselves in the service of (the crown of) Silesia or as keepers of tradition. Hell, for the matter with that big fire in Berlin just a couple years ago, we might see the fire brigade take a more prominent spot than they'd otherwise...
Christian should be happy that his place is regulated by some kind of arcane military precedence - behind them there's going to be a crab fight of status, prestige and precedence.
I would think that would be the other way round, Elizabeth would be the "Velvet glove on Albrecht's Iron fist"!!
Agree. Albrecht is the ‘faceworker’ for the von Richthofen organisation who has the name on the door. But Ilse Tritten/von Mischner/von Richthofen is the brains.