Wallace did surprisingly well at the 1944 Convention until the big shots moved the NY delegation over to Truman. This had FDR's implied approval though he never was able to be pinned down on it. So, with FDR gone, and Wallace having left-wing and Eleanor Roosevelt's support, plus Truman was considered a no-body at that point, no, I don't think Wallace would be able to be pressured out
How Silent Fall the Cherry Blossoms
- Thread starter Geon
- Start date
- Status
I think the only feasible way would be for both The Speaker of the Hpuse and the President Pro Temp to resign and Truman elected to the latter post by the Senate. Wallace then resigns and with the Speakership vacant Truman becomes President. It certainly wouldn't be an elegant way to do it and therefore if FDR does due before Inauguration Day Wallace will become the 33rd President and may have a shorter term of office than William Harrison.
Er, it was still the cabinet, it didn't change back to the Speaker till '47.
And Cordell Hull resigns Nov. 30 OTL due to failing health.
It's actually ridiculously easy to get Truman in there.
And Cordell Hull resigns Nov. 30 OTL due to failing health.
It's actually ridiculously easy to get Truman in there.
Geon
Donor
Washington, Montana, and Germany
Here is a brief weekend update.
---------------------------------
Date: November 21, 1944
Location: Washington, D.C. (OCD)
Time: 9:00 a.m. [EST]
The cautious optimism experienced the last few days by NATJAB was growing. The disease was now considered contained in two more cities and there had been no further new outbreaks reported.
Cities/ Number of Casualties/ Deaths/ Special
Los Angeles/ 2,360/ 261
St. Louis/ 145/ 79
New York/ 118/ 46
Seattle/ 15/ 10/ contained
Portland/ 10/ 8/contained
Youngstown/ 15/ 9
Detroit / 42/ 12
San Bernardino/ 3/ 1/ contained
San Francisco/ 6/ 3/ contained
Chicago/ 2/ 1/ contained
Oakland/ 2/ 1/ contained
Atlanta / 1/ 1/ contained
Total Infected: 2,719 Total Deaths: 432
There were still problems. The riots that had erupted in New York and St. Louis had spread the disease and it might well be into the New Year before the plague was contained in those cities. In addition there was no report about the whereabouts of patient zero in Detroit. There were those who wondered if he or she was still alive by this time. Without treatment the plague was usually fatal and it was several days since the Detroit outbreak. With six out of the eleven cities contained there was hope that the worst was over. Unfortunately, a discovery in Montana would put an end to that hope.
At the White House the results of the first successful raid of Operation Carthage were being reported to President Roosevelt. Substantial damage had been done to Osaka as evidenced from later photo reconnaissance photos. While Radio Tokyo was trumpeting the loss of ten U.S. bombers, it was reported that the number was actually 4. (Even Hirohito’s advisors had been misinformed on that one.) One had actually crashed on Honshu; the other three had suffered mechanical failures on the way back to Saipan. There were no reports of how effective the mustard gas phase of the attacks had been. However, projections indicated at least ten thousand casualties. For Roosevelt it was good news. The Japanese had unleashed a biological attack on the U.S. and had thrown several cities into chaos or near chaos. Now the U.S. was returning the favor in kind. Roosevelt hoped the message was being sent loud and clear to both Tokyo and Berlin that the U.S. could and would use every tool available to win this war. Unfortunately that same thought was also filling the minds of both Ozawa and Hitler. The gloves had come off for both Japan and the United States, and Germany within the month would also be making its move, with even more devastating consequences.
Date: November 21, 1944
Location: A ranch near Butte, Montana
Time: 7:00 a.m. [CST]
Rancher Peter Anders* was busy making his rounds on his cattle ranch. Like most ranchers Peter was up before the crack of dawn and out riding his ranch to ensure everything was okay. The war had made things much busier for Peter as there was an acute manpower shortage of men to help with the ranch. Fewer ranch hands meant more work for Peter and his family. Peter’s two sons; Tony and Russell were also riding with him to check fences and keep an eye on the herds. Both were of age to be drafted but Peter had gotten a deferment for Tony who was 21. Russell was 19 and had told his dad he intended to enlist after Christmas to give his Dad time to hire at least one ranch hand if possible. Peter didn’t like the idea of losing his son to the military. And it wasn’t just about losing manpower, Peter had a deep love for his two sons and the thought of one of them going off to war and possibly getting hurt or worse just did not sit well with him.
Abruptly Tony, riding on ahead of his Dad, came back and said, “There’s something over there on the hill he said pointing to one of the small hills toward the east. Looking in the direction Tony pointed his Dad noticed something big fluttering on the hillside. It looked like a large parachute.
Riding together Peter and his three sons rode toward the hill until they could clearly make out a large bag fluttering in the morning breeze. There appeared to be something large attached to it. Dismounting the three men approached it until they were about 5 yards away. In the morning light Russell noticed something written on the object and carefully moved closer to see what it was. He saw the lettering and it looked familiar. Abruptly he realized he was looking at some sort of Japanese lettering. Russell had planned to enlist for the Pacific Theater and had made a point of reading up at the library in Butte about the Japanese. This writing definitely looked like some of the Japanese characters he had seen in some of the books on Japan in the library. “Dad, I wouldn’t get too close to that,” he advised. “It looks like it’s some sort of Japanese.” His dad looked at him skeptically and was about to go closer when he stopped. His son was a very bright young man and Peter had actually read some of the books his son had brought home on Japan. It did look like characters in the Japanese language now that he thought about it.
Gesturing quickly, Peter and his sons mounted up their horses and rode back toward the house where Peter would put in a quick call to the police. Within an hour the state police would be investigating the strange object and within another hour they would be calling in help from the federal government.
Peter Anders had feared for his son going off to war. However, now the war had come to him and his two sons; just as it would come to many ranchers in Wyoming, the rest of Montana, and the Dakotas.
Date: November 21, 1944
Location: Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Time: 10:00 p.m. (German time)
Otto Skorzeny was pleased with the progress of Operation Trojan Victory. He now had access to Swedish shipping schedules and knew their arrival and departure dates. He had selected one which had tonnage enough for the plan. It would be leaving Stockholm on December 2 which did not leave much time for final preparations for the plan.
Skorzeny had now commandeered two submarines from Donitz; both of them were Type IX. One was being stripped down to become a cargo carrier sub. The other would be involved in both the capture phase and would escort the ship until they reached their final destination. Donitz had insisted and Skorzeny had agreed that the crews of both subs be volunteers given the great danger of this mission. The third crew, the one which would be pivotal for the operation to work had been combed from the very best the SS had to offer. They were fluent in Swedish, and also were well versed in the handling of cargo vessels. They were also to a man dedicated, loyal, and willing to die for the Fatherland. After the abortive plan of Operation Pastorius*, had failed so dismally Skorzeny was taking no chances.
If the plan worked it would deal a major blow to the Americans and would send shockwaves of a magnitude equal to the Japanese attack throughout the United States. Skorzeny hoped the sacrifice of himself and his men would be sufficient to bring the war to a successful end for Germany.
* This was the plan in 1942 to land German saboteurs in the United States. The plan failed because two of the saboteurs turned themselves into authorities and ended up revealing the plans and their comrades to the American authorities.
Here is a brief weekend update.
---------------------------------
Date: November 21, 1944
Location: Washington, D.C. (OCD)
Time: 9:00 a.m. [EST]
The cautious optimism experienced the last few days by NATJAB was growing. The disease was now considered contained in two more cities and there had been no further new outbreaks reported.
Cities/ Number of Casualties/ Deaths/ Special
Los Angeles/ 2,360/ 261
St. Louis/ 145/ 79
New York/ 118/ 46
Seattle/ 15/ 10/ contained
Portland/ 10/ 8/contained
Youngstown/ 15/ 9
Detroit / 42/ 12
San Bernardino/ 3/ 1/ contained
San Francisco/ 6/ 3/ contained
Chicago/ 2/ 1/ contained
Oakland/ 2/ 1/ contained
Atlanta / 1/ 1/ contained
Total Infected: 2,719 Total Deaths: 432
There were still problems. The riots that had erupted in New York and St. Louis had spread the disease and it might well be into the New Year before the plague was contained in those cities. In addition there was no report about the whereabouts of patient zero in Detroit. There were those who wondered if he or she was still alive by this time. Without treatment the plague was usually fatal and it was several days since the Detroit outbreak. With six out of the eleven cities contained there was hope that the worst was over. Unfortunately, a discovery in Montana would put an end to that hope.
----------
At the White House the results of the first successful raid of Operation Carthage were being reported to President Roosevelt. Substantial damage had been done to Osaka as evidenced from later photo reconnaissance photos. While Radio Tokyo was trumpeting the loss of ten U.S. bombers, it was reported that the number was actually 4. (Even Hirohito’s advisors had been misinformed on that one.) One had actually crashed on Honshu; the other three had suffered mechanical failures on the way back to Saipan. There were no reports of how effective the mustard gas phase of the attacks had been. However, projections indicated at least ten thousand casualties. For Roosevelt it was good news. The Japanese had unleashed a biological attack on the U.S. and had thrown several cities into chaos or near chaos. Now the U.S. was returning the favor in kind. Roosevelt hoped the message was being sent loud and clear to both Tokyo and Berlin that the U.S. could and would use every tool available to win this war. Unfortunately that same thought was also filling the minds of both Ozawa and Hitler. The gloves had come off for both Japan and the United States, and Germany within the month would also be making its move, with even more devastating consequences.
Date: November 21, 1944
Location: A ranch near Butte, Montana
Time: 7:00 a.m. [CST]
Rancher Peter Anders* was busy making his rounds on his cattle ranch. Like most ranchers Peter was up before the crack of dawn and out riding his ranch to ensure everything was okay. The war had made things much busier for Peter as there was an acute manpower shortage of men to help with the ranch. Fewer ranch hands meant more work for Peter and his family. Peter’s two sons; Tony and Russell were also riding with him to check fences and keep an eye on the herds. Both were of age to be drafted but Peter had gotten a deferment for Tony who was 21. Russell was 19 and had told his dad he intended to enlist after Christmas to give his Dad time to hire at least one ranch hand if possible. Peter didn’t like the idea of losing his son to the military. And it wasn’t just about losing manpower, Peter had a deep love for his two sons and the thought of one of them going off to war and possibly getting hurt or worse just did not sit well with him.
Abruptly Tony, riding on ahead of his Dad, came back and said, “There’s something over there on the hill he said pointing to one of the small hills toward the east. Looking in the direction Tony pointed his Dad noticed something big fluttering on the hillside. It looked like a large parachute.
Riding together Peter and his three sons rode toward the hill until they could clearly make out a large bag fluttering in the morning breeze. There appeared to be something large attached to it. Dismounting the three men approached it until they were about 5 yards away. In the morning light Russell noticed something written on the object and carefully moved closer to see what it was. He saw the lettering and it looked familiar. Abruptly he realized he was looking at some sort of Japanese lettering. Russell had planned to enlist for the Pacific Theater and had made a point of reading up at the library in Butte about the Japanese. This writing definitely looked like some of the Japanese characters he had seen in some of the books on Japan in the library. “Dad, I wouldn’t get too close to that,” he advised. “It looks like it’s some sort of Japanese.” His dad looked at him skeptically and was about to go closer when he stopped. His son was a very bright young man and Peter had actually read some of the books his son had brought home on Japan. It did look like characters in the Japanese language now that he thought about it.
Gesturing quickly, Peter and his sons mounted up their horses and rode back toward the house where Peter would put in a quick call to the police. Within an hour the state police would be investigating the strange object and within another hour they would be calling in help from the federal government.
Peter Anders had feared for his son going off to war. However, now the war had come to him and his two sons; just as it would come to many ranchers in Wyoming, the rest of Montana, and the Dakotas.
Date: November 21, 1944
Location: Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Time: 10:00 p.m. (German time)
Otto Skorzeny was pleased with the progress of Operation Trojan Victory. He now had access to Swedish shipping schedules and knew their arrival and departure dates. He had selected one which had tonnage enough for the plan. It would be leaving Stockholm on December 2 which did not leave much time for final preparations for the plan.
Skorzeny had now commandeered two submarines from Donitz; both of them were Type IX. One was being stripped down to become a cargo carrier sub. The other would be involved in both the capture phase and would escort the ship until they reached their final destination. Donitz had insisted and Skorzeny had agreed that the crews of both subs be volunteers given the great danger of this mission. The third crew, the one which would be pivotal for the operation to work had been combed from the very best the SS had to offer. They were fluent in Swedish, and also were well versed in the handling of cargo vessels. They were also to a man dedicated, loyal, and willing to die for the Fatherland. After the abortive plan of Operation Pastorius*, had failed so dismally Skorzeny was taking no chances.
If the plan worked it would deal a major blow to the Americans and would send shockwaves of a magnitude equal to the Japanese attack throughout the United States. Skorzeny hoped the sacrifice of himself and his men would be sufficient to bring the war to a successful end for Germany.
* This was the plan in 1942 to land German saboteurs in the United States. The plan failed because two of the saboteurs turned themselves into authorities and ended up revealing the plans and their comrades to the American authorities.
Artatochor
Banned
So, the cargo vessel shall be hijacked. And Skorzeny is making sure the plan is as foolproof as it can be. I still am not able to figure out what the complete plan is.
Again, i ask, what Swedish merchant vessels would begoing directly to the US? Britain, yes, Britain has need of lots of things that sweden produces, but the US is pretty self sufficient in most things. Even if the US did buy Swedish stuff, wouldnt it be easier to transship in Britain?
Lycaon pictus
Donor
Machine tools, probably. It's a little far to be shipping raw iron ore, but a country that's trying to build and equip a massive army can always use more things to make things with.
Nukes wouldn't end the war, the war would end for the same reason it did OTL. Strategic bombing, even with gas or nukes, is ineffective at forcing a nation into submission.
Garrison
Donor
Ball bearings perhaps? And doing a little checking it seems there may have been Swedish ships travelling the Atlantic as part of the ongoing effort to persuade them to come in on the Allies side.
Remember that Swedish vessels were inspected by the Germans as well as the British. They had to stop at both the German control station and the British control station. Anything military or military/industrial related would probably be regarded as contraband.
This question has intrigued me and I've been doing some searching but I really can't find much about Swedish exports during the war to places other than Germany. Swedish ships did sail to North America in order ship goods home but I can't find any info on what they were allowed to export.
Archibald
Banned
So they are going to hijack a swedish cargo vessel ? using submarines ? Wow.
The Swedes will be forced to cooperate, or killed. Worse, if they try to resist in any way, I feel that the second submarine will just torpedo the cargo. It is as simple as that: cooperate, or die a) being shot by Skorzeny or b) torpedoed by a submarine.
Geon,
this sounds more and more like the early episodes of a season of 24 ... based on historical grounds, a hundred times more interesting and so well written.
Except there's no Jack Bauer to save the day, unfortunately for America. Skorzeny looks like the archetypal, machiavellian villain.
Back to the hijacking of the swedish cargo: sounds a bit like 9/11. Skorzeny = Atta ?
The Swedes will be forced to cooperate, or killed. Worse, if they try to resist in any way, I feel that the second submarine will just torpedo the cargo. It is as simple as that: cooperate, or die a) being shot by Skorzeny or b) torpedoed by a submarine.
Geon,
this sounds more and more like the early episodes of a season of 24 ... based on historical grounds, a hundred times more interesting and so well written.
Except there's no Jack Bauer to save the day, unfortunately for America. Skorzeny looks like the archetypal, machiavellian villain.
Back to the hijacking of the swedish cargo: sounds a bit like 9/11. Skorzeny = Atta ?
It's just like a classic piece of German engineering - never use one simple piece where ten complicated ones will do...
- Status