Alternate History Merkels Operation Walküre - Story Only

[Tyr Anazasi]

US Bomber formation nearing Japan, Autumn 1944

Lt. Gerald "Jerry" Johnson and his comrades were once again escorting the bombers attacking the Japanese Home Islands. In the Pacific theatre, the atmosphere and morale were still good, though less than half a year earlier.

The disaster of Pais-de-Calais following D-Day, which led to the resignation of several top commanders had been stomached unexpectedly well. According to the news, the disaster was the result of the accumulation of all the bad luck an operation could have had.

The Russkie's "Operation Bagration" started well and made large gains initially, until the Jerries somehow managed to bring the Russian wave to a halt and even counterattack despite their severe lack of materiel and reserves. A counter-attack, conducted by the master of manoeuvre warfare Feldmarschall von Manstein, which led to cauldroning of two Russian fronts and ended in a new German counter-offensive into Ukraine. How the Germans managed to get a timely second wind was an enigma.

While most of the top brass did not want to hear it, many soldiers and even several high ranking officers believed that the rumours coming from Europe seemed to be based on truth.

Rumours that the Germans overthrew Hitler and wanted peace. There were further claims, so seemingly outrageous as if it were taken out of an H.G. Wells novel. A Germany from the future? Nothing more than propaganda from a country drunk on their recent success.


Whatever it was, the war went on for soldiers like him. And now, the pressure on the units fighting against Japan was higher than before. Good results had to be produced given the war situation in Europe. One thing that the Air Force Command wanted to keep suppressed, but were unable to, were the recent losses in Europe.

The 8th US Bomber command in Europe had thought that after the debacle in Schweinfurt or their first two attacks on Berlin the worst was over. And for roughly 3 months, that had been the case. Then in June, the losses started to skyrocket. The worst of it was not the loss of machines, bomber production was net positive, but the loss of experienced and skilled crews. If the losses kept up, soon there wouldn't be enough crews to fly the bombers and even the losses of aircraft would reach a critical level one day.

The last attack on Nuremberg had been a disaster of monumental proportions. The first losses occurred before the main bomber formation even reached Europe. That was followed by relentless attacks from Luftwaffe interceptors. The details of interception actions given by surviving bomber crews and D-Day personnel gave increasing credence to stories of a changed Germany amongst Gerald and other US “flyboys”.

The Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs had sharply risen power characteristics, up from their already excellent level and attacked from outside the range of the defensive guns with waves of unguided missiles first. Even more concerning were the German jets. The Me 262 and an unknown design, together with the high-altitude Me 109 and Fw 190 variants were slicing through the escorts with shocking ease now.

The Germans also had significantly improved their radar systems. No countermeasure was able to degrade their effectiveness anymore, the Jerries found incoming bomber fleets no matter the weather, heavy chaff usage or time of day. Anti-aircraft fire from the ground flak installations was frighteningly accurate now. The Germans already had a capable air defence system, just overwhelmed by numbers, but now even that factor was diminished.

The attack on Nuremberg had been abandoned well before reaching the Franconian metropole, the losses were so grave that further progress was made untenable. It had been kept hidden from the public that the 8th Bomber Command had suspended missions deep into Germany for the time being. They simply did not have enough operational bombers, new ones had to be delivered to Europe first, but that was not the only reason. Many bomber losses were total, which included their crews.

Worse rumours were whispered. The Luftwaffe in counter-attacks had destroyed the Air Fields Honington, High Wycombe, Benson and Wittering with exploding ordnance and fuel on station causing further losses of aircraft and personnel on the ground. In addition to that, the attack led to the airfields being disabled. Most of the commanding officers of RAF and USAAF 8th Bomber Command died in the surprise attack on High Wycombe, among them General Doolittle. How the Germans could do this was a mystery, as the attacks had been flown with a squadron of jet planes at most. According to supposed eyewitnesses, one of the bombs dropped landed instantly expelling a cloud of mist over a large area which was set alight resulting in large fireball tearing through the installation setting off ordnance and fuel on the ground.

The Germans were now wrestling back control of the skies in Europe! Only an idiot would believe the Germans would stop laying waste to the airfields in Britain. They made that mistake back in 1940/41, Gerald was sure they would not do it again.

What Gerald did not know was that in the blitz against the Airfields was an attack on Bletchley Park, destroying it completely. Therefore silencing the most important allied code crackers.

Gerald was really happy that he was able to fly against Japan. While he remembered the Japanese offensive early in the war quite well, the Gooks were fading due to the ceaseless bombing of their home. Even the forced reshuffling of the US Navy, with the Pacific Fleet losing several key task forces to bolster the European allies, would not save them.

Yes, the successes of the Axis in Europe and the loss of US Pacific combat strength to the European theatre had invigorated the Japanese, but their capacities were already seriously damaged. Today's attack on Tokyo would be another nail in the Japs coffin. Once the Japanese fell, the US could concentrate on Europe again.


Tokyo Haneda Airport

Lt. Johnson did not know it at that time, but the air war in the Pacific was about to get as complicated for the Allies as in Europe too.

After UT Berlin and DT Tokyo reaffirmed their alliance, the Merkel and Suzuki cabinets began brainstorming on what to do to force the Allies to negotiations and prevent the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

A big positive to arise out of this was, strangely enough, the Russian Air Defence Network. They were concentrated in few regions, and from a modern perspective had poor radar coverage and unable to lay accurate fire against fast-moving high altitude aircraft. Several modern, even civilian, and some old aircraft types were impossible to intercept for Soviet aircraft and also had the range to reach Manchukuo and Japan. If planned with care, transit flights could even evade recognition.

From June 1944 onwards Germany and Japan were in contact via air. The UT Lufthansa and Luftwaffe had over 100 planes which could reach Japanese-held territory in a one-way flight. And more, around four dozen, could return without refuelling if they took off from Germany's easternmost secure airfields. The old Luftwaffe was in it as well. The 2 still flight-ready Messerschmitt Me 264 bombers and the two Junkers Ju 290 and 390 prototypes were now used for this line of communication and transport too, when not being with the KG 200.

It was a testament to the quality of the Messerschmitt construction team that their bomber hull was modular enough that Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprop engines could be installed. Germany had manufactured this engine in licence and the existing surplus could be used as a stopgap upgrade for several old aircraft types.

With more powerful engines, the fully loaded Me 264 reached 830 km/h at service ceiling, which had been increased to 11,000 meters.

This upgraded Me 264 was manufactured in a small series as a stopgap strategic bomber and transport. BMW, Daimler-Benz, Heinkel, Dornier, Focke-Wulf, Fieseler, Messerschmitt and especially Junkers were frantically upgrading their engine and aircraft designs with the knowledge received from UT Germany. The Jumo 022, which in OTL was the ancestor of the Kusnetzow KN-12, was redesigned in record time.

In Japan, the new situation was met with relief. Due to the importance of the war effort, the Haneda airport main runway was lengthened in haste to accommodate the largest new German planes.

While the majority of the “Transeurasia Airline” was landing in Manchukuo, some special stuff was flown directly to the Japanese Home Islands. The incoming long-range planes had important materials, disassembled fighters, personnel, technology, food, codes and other materiel. The “Luftverteidigung von Tokio” (German spelling) was upgraded with radar being added to areas found lacking, new flak and anti-air missile installations were erected, information on the strengths and weaknesses of the American planes and tactics were shared.

For the defence of the Kanto and Kansei regions (others would follow over time) Focke-Wulf 190-D and Messerschmitt, 109-K fighters were delivered to the remaining Japanese elite squadrons. In addition to other German personnel, some old Luftwaffe experts were relocated with their squadrons to help. With the two Luftwaffe wrestling air superiority over mainland Europe back step by step, smaller units could be sent elsewhere.

In the months before, due to security and surprise reasons, no new implementations were active during attacks on Tokyo.

Today, modern radar scanning the Kanto skies, recognised the incoming 20th Bomber command still far out. The alarm sirens in Tokyo sounded.

 

[Tyr Anazasi]

Haneda airport, second start lane

The "Friederike" alarm (German military slang for an air attack alert) was still ringing, when Major Anton "Toni" Hackl made last pre-flight checks in his new Focke-Wulf 190-D9 "Black One". On his rear fuselage was the Winkel (chevron), the sign of the lead fighter plane, and once more the Eiserne Kreuz instead of the Balkenkreuz markings. On the rudder tail fin were victory marks, 183 in total. The group leader of the detached 3rd Group from Fighter Wing 11 was one of Germany's greatest aces at the time and nicknamed “Viermotexperte” (four-engine expert) as Anton was highly skilled in attacking bomber aircraft.

Improvements to aircraft provided by the UT Luftwaffe enabled him to increase the number of his victories even more. Anton had been one of the pilots attacking the Nuremberg bomber stream and ended that day with 7 more victories.

For a time the combined Luftwaffe Command had considered sending other aces like Otto Kittel or Georg Eder to Japan but Toni was chosen since he already was a major.

Under the wings of his "190", 24 R4M missiles were on their racks. The UT Germans had made some improvements to them, especially their accuracy, so now the pilots were not required to fire mass salvos to guarantee a hit, 2 missiles at a time were good enough, the old bombers not being nimble enough to evade the improved R4Ms. Surviving UT reports from the last war months were glowing in praise. The R4M outranged the defence weaponry of the bombers and depending on where you hit one, 1-3 R4Ms did the job.

It was not the sole modification made to his bird by their fellow countrymen from the future. The Jumo engine powering the Fw 190 had a better turbocharger installed. According to the "black crew", the mechanics, this was not the end of it. New motors were developed since the current engine could not handle the more powerful turbochargers UT Germany produced. But even with this average new turbo the Fw 190 now had far more power than the D-9 which was already an excellent fighter.

Looking around, it seemed to Anton as if he was standing in a German airfield. Most fighters assembled in Haneda were Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs sent over with the transport jets. Fighter production in 1944 had not been a problem for old Germany (actually OTL fighter production topped in 1944 despite all bombings), getting capable pilots were. The arrival of UT Germany had helped with that and new powerful planes allowed Germany to transfer some DT fighters to Japan.

Half of the fighters in Tokyo that day with the Sun symbol on it were of German origin, complemented with the newest variants of the Japanese fighters like the Ki-84 Hayate and some outdated planes, like the Nakajima Ki-43.

They too carried as many R4M rockets as they could, the rockets manufactured as fast as possible by several German and Japanese firms. The R4M was a potent rocket, easy to produce and a good stopgap measure until more "modern" weapons could be made in numbers needed for the war effort.

The biggest surprise for the incoming enemy would be the single Schwarm (Flight) of 4 modern Jets, the so-called "Taifun" (the DT Germans had soon labelled the jet incorrect German spelling instead English) Eurofighter. Their task, as would be the same for the first 2 squadrons of upgraded DT fighters, was to distract and destroy as many of the US command planes as possible, seeding confusion and breaking up the formations to be picked off by the intercepting force.

Since the jet fighters could reach the incoming bombers and escorts faster than the "old-time" planes, the 4 machines waited on the extended lane 1 until the piston-engined ones took off.

The Amis would be surprised in more ways than one. With modern radar, the combined German fighter force could be precisely guided to the bombers intercepting them much earlier than expected. The German and Japanese pilots knew US tactics, strengths and weaknesses of their aircraft, like the raised chances of a fire in the B-29 engines.

When Anton Hackl, Isamu Kashiide, Hugo Broch, Tetsuzo Iwamoto, Satoru Anabuki, Hiroyoshi Nishizawa and the other pilots lifted off, a new chapter in the Pacific War would soon be written.



20 km away from Gerald Johnson´s P-38 Lightning

The German recon flight shadowing the US task force, ironically with an American-built Boeing AWACS aircraft. Their second objective was to listen in on US radio communications to identify the leader planes and to scramble allied radar.

70 years of technological progress showed their devastating effects here. The Allied radar was jammed unable to detect aircraft at all, listening into the allied wireless traffic and recognising the leader planes from afar was child's play. This information was sent to the ground station in Tokyo and the fighters. The interceptors were guided unfailingly towards the bomber formation.

Anton Hackl´s FW 190 Langnase (Longnose, the nickname of the FW190 D types)

It was a different feeling from the operations of old. He received precise information on the allied attack force their, course, altitude, speed and command planes. The German-Japanese interceptors now were lying in wait, missiles "hot", with the sun to their backs. The first strike would come as a total surprise since it would be far earlier than usual. Anton had informed his pilots of the attack plan and all of them were waiting for the Americans to show up. When he recognised the approaching silhouettes, Anton´s thumb came to rest on the rocket fire button. "'Indians'* coming into range. We make pauke-pauke. Hals und Bein! Gute Jagd!"

The first wave of R4M rockets from the fighters were in flight.

*Indians=Indianer, German term for Bandits

 

[Tyr Anazasi]

Lead Bomber of the first “Box”

Rick Smedley, command pilot of “Suzy Dear”, was a veteran of the air war and flying into the sun made him nervous and cautious. Out of the blue, 3 bombers around him were cut in half with their flaming wrecks crashing to the water below. An attack? This early? The Japanese never attacked them this far out and this early before.

He spotted specks in the distance. As the interceptors closed in he spotted some new aircraft and strangely familiar ones as well.

"The Japs seemed to have rolled out some of their new planes," Rick thought. "What the hell...was that a Me 109 that flew past us? What is going on?"

Gerald “Jerry” Johnsons´s P-38

Jerry was a brave man, willing to fight the Axis Powers, but he could smell an unfolding FUBAR. The Japanese air defence was ambushing them, why had the radar guys not warned the attack force?

What he saw next threw him off for a second. Two flights of Focke-Wulf 190 fighters, one with the sun disc of Japan on the wings, the other with Iron Cross markings.

"How had the Germans delivered these planes to the Japanese? Or had the Japanese gotten the blueprints and made some of their own?" he thought.

"Wait. The Iron cross? How did they get here? Why were they here? Since when did the Germans switch to the Eisernes Kreuz?"

His questions had to wait as both sides started to engage in combat.

 

[Tyr Anazasi]

"It was clear that 'Z' was an outstanding pilot, definitely one from (Wolfram) von Richthofen's inner circle. A hundred times I examined my mind to find out different ways of attacking him—from above, from below, from the clouds or the sun. But these ideas always were countered and turned against you by 'Z'. ‘Z’ wasn’t someone whom you could lure into a trap, or who would lose nerve in a frontal attack. You would think that you had him dead in your sights only for 'Z' to turn the tables on you. No matter what you did he would always manage to get the upper hand in a fight.“
- Russian Ace Mikhail Avdeyev.

Mikhail wrote at length about an opponent encountered during WWII and named the pilot 'Z'. The pilot known as 'Z' was Anton Hackl from Regensburg who had fought on all fronts in Europe and took part in the Yamatoverteidigung.

Gerald Johnson's P-38

The whole operation was already going off track badly. The defenders were singling out leader planes and were successful in sowing chaos. Jerry had shot down an 'Oscar', the pilot's parachute just floating out of sight, when for a few moments his Lightning and an Fw 190 flew side by side. Seeing the space on the cockpit side, he remembered that the Luftwaffe was painting their victories on the side rudder or the tail fin.

Jerry threw a quick look at the tail of the 'Butcher Bird', as many allied pilots called the Focke-Wulf fighter and was surprised. There were well over 150 markings, this was not a newbie, but a top ace! And Gerald saw that the German pilot was looking at his Lightning as well.

The two aces evaluated each other, both knowing the other to be a threat. Toni Hackl had ten times the victories of Gerald Johnson but knew that most fighter pilots never became aces, so every ace had to be good to become one.

Gerald Johnson had never met an enemy ace with such a high total in the air. Whoever he was, he had to be a great pilot, astute and experienced. Unknown to him at that time, Tetsuzo Iwamoto and Hiroyoshi Nishizawa the leading Japanese aces were in this battle as well.

Ironically, this proved to be the closest both pilots would come to engaging each other, neither Hackl nor Johnson would engage each other this day, their respective roles and orders leading them to different parts of the air battle. Toni Hackl added nine victories to his already impressive total and Johnson himself adding two kills to his, would lead the retreating US planes home.

The successful defence of Tokyo that day was seen as one of the turning points in the Pacific Theatre. The strategy of making the war unbelievably expensive in men and materiel for the Allies, to force them to the negotiation table, was bearing fruit.

For several years neither Gerald Johnson nor Hiroyoshi Nishizawa would learn that uptime Germany's arrival and actions in the war would save their lives. The Japanese ace would never be a passenger on a certain ill-fated transport plane late in the war and the American ace would not fly his bomber into a typhoon postwar.

 

[Tyr Anazasi]

September 10th, Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, Bombay, 19:00:

Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi were having a discreet meeting in one of the small rooms in the hotel. They wanted to speak about the current situation before earnest talks would start tomorrow.

"So Muhammad, you must have received news from Europe. Do the Germans' claims hold true?" Gandhi asked.

"Yes, I did. Very recently. Our," Jinnah made a small pause "masters were very good in concealing things from us. Again."

"Indeed. But this has to be the last time."

"On that, I can agree."

"I was contacted by the Germans via the Vatican. They gave me a short history of India and Pakistan. Apparently, India seemed to have been partitioned in the future." Gandhi said.

"We need to stop this bloodshed. Now we have the chance. Now we need to take steps to prevent these atrocities and wars."

"Yes, I agree." Jinnah took a breath. "But we can't neglect the question of religion either."

"Oh, I don't intend to. I only want to separate religion and state."

"So for you, religion is a private matter?"

"Yes," Gandhi confirmed. "As far as politics and the country is concerned. It's still my personal opinion, that Hinduism has to be regarded as India's main religion. However, the consequences of this frightened me. So much so that I have retracted my stance on this issue."

"But religion is a far too important matter to be considered as such."

"What do you suggest?"

"Well, a partition of India is out of the question," Jinnah said.

"I agree."

"I don't think the Germans treat us unfairly. The stories they told us are too realistic."

Gandhi nodded and Jinnah took a deep breath.

"The danger of us brandishing nuclear weapons against each other in the future must be avoided."

"I concur."

Jinnah sipped at his water in front of him. Then he continued. "Our country has to be a federation, in which the federal states have the right to determine their religion."

"I can agree to a federation. But I can't agree with your second point. We need to have a secular state. India should not have an official religion. Otherwise, we will end up with the same problems sooner or later. A minority in one state gets problems, and then it escalates. A small matter, an accident, a bad decision by someone or something like this can lead us to a civil war. No. The only possibility we have is to introduce a secular state."

Jinnah looked at him for a moment. "Yes, that could be possible."

"A state, where freedom of religion is granted, where everyone can celebrate their own god, is the only answer."

"I am still not completely convinced," Jinnah remarked.

"Look, Kashmir is a good example. There are areas of Buddhist and Hindu majority, but the Muslims have an overall majority. And the Maharaja is Hindu. One mistake, one bad decision can cause great problems. One group may feel insulted and soon other groups in other states form as well. And we would have a civil war."

Jinnah took a deep breath. He looked again at the maps and the history of both nations. A history to prevent. "I agree, let's make one state, a secular state. Religion shall be a private matter with citizens deciding what religion or god they will follow." He made another pause and then continued. "There will be people, who will hate us. for doing this."

"I know, but even if we pay the highest price, we should be glad to do so," Gandhi answered. "I am ready."

"I know. And so am I. It would be a small sacrifice. If we prevent a civil war it is a small price."

Gandhi just nodded.

"And the monarchs?" Jinnah wanted to know.

"Well, let them keep, what is theirs. But they shall have no influence."

"Yes, I agree."

"Then do we have an agreement?"

"Yes." Gandhi concurred.

"So only some details left?"

"Yes, but that can become a problem as well."

The Treaty of Bombay from September 30th, 1944, was regarded as the declaration of independence of India and the formation of the Federal Republic of the Indian States.

The Allies, and especially the British, didn't recognise the treaty, they even imprisoned Gandhi and Jinnah for some time, but they had to finally give in, as the resistance started to grow.

Although India remained a part of the Allies and their war, the Indian forces, if they were not fighting on Indian soil, were of dubious worth. In some cases, they just retreated, even if fighting a small enemy unit. Some even surrendered to the Japanese. The Bengal famine in 1943 and Churchill's role, which had been made public by the Germans, was another problem for the British rule over India. These events had given rise to British fears of a second Indian rebellion.

 

[Tyr Anazasi]

Liuchow, China, September 4th 1944, 08:35:

Oberleutnant Michael Wittmann was driving his Tiger I tank on one of the many unnamed roads to the frontline. Wittmann was one of the few former Waffen-SS officers to be accepted by the Bundeswehr with their former rank. Most of them, if they were accepted at all, had to accept a lower rank, like the now Brigadier General Paul Hausser. Unknown to Wittmann, Hausser had regained the rank of Major General for his actions on the Eastern Front.

The Waffen-SS had been disbanded shortly after the Event due to obvious political circumstances and severe losses taken in the Minsk pocket. Most men and units were transferred to a separate branch considered to be a "penal army". Some officers had been arrested while the others, like him, had been transferred to the regular forces.

And so he was suddenly here in China. The Tiger Brigade was part of German assistance to the Japanese. The equipment was transferred from Germany by plane to Manchukuo. The six An-124 planes could transport one Tiger I tank and other equipment to Peking. From there the brigade was formed on the Shandong peninsula which became operational after 8 weeks.

As a part of Operation Ichi-Go, the capture of Liuchow was one of the most important. Liuchow had an airfield, which could allow US B-29 bombers to attack the Japanese home islands. The airfield had been evacuated before the Japanese were in a position to directly threaten it.

However, Chiang was forced to make a counter strike, partly forced by US-general Stillwell, who wanted to get the supreme command for himself, and partly to show the other members of the Kuomintang government, that he, Chiang, was able to defeat the Japanese. As such he had sent his elite tank units to this battle, amongst them was his son Wei-Kuo. He had received modern M4 Sherman tanks from the US. They were better than nearly all Japanese tanks, besides the Type 97 Shinhoto Chi-Ha, which was slightly inferior.

Rikugun Taii (Army Captain) Eji Takimoto looked out the viewing ports of his tanks cupola, searching for the enemy. Finding nothing, he looked down and reflected on the new tank he received.

Until a couple of weeks ago, Eji and his crew had driven a Type 97 Shinhoto and had been successful against the enemies of their Tenno. Which had been the reason he was one of a select few company leaders to get new equipment for the currently running Operations Ichi-Go and To-Go.

Compared to the old ride, their new sensha was a monster. The "Tora I" was about 3 1/2 times as heavy as their Type 97 had been, with a gun outranging every enemy tank, heavy armour and unexpectedly nimble for its size. Cross-country mobility was reportedly better than the M4 Shermans! Something about wide tracks and better length/width ratio than the allied constructions.

They were it the "Mahlzeitstellung" (lit. enjoy your meal position, meaning the Tiger was standing tilted, „creating“ angled armour with it), if your Tiger was positioned in that way, it´s armour was impervious to any enemy tank in the theatre. (1)

The Tora still had some flaws too. While the uptime German MTU multi-fuel engine installed had lowered fuel consumption somewhat and raised top speeds for the Tiger I fleet, the fuel consumption was still a lot higher than that of the Type 97.

And it could be a hangar queen, not because of it's reliability which was quite good, but due to high maintenance arising from its complex design.

-

The Chinese were waiting for the Japanese behind strong defences. But when the Japanese came, the Chinese forces made the first move and carried out an aggressive attack, which seemed to surprise the combined German-Japanese command staff. Among the first to attack was Chiang Wei-Kuo's M4 Sherman.

The Chinese had overcome the first Japanese line and were attacking further. Chiang Wei-Kuo thought it was a mistake to attack so aggressively and felt that they were running headlong into an ambush.

Boom. The gun of his tank fired. It destroyed a Japanese Ha-Go light tank. Wei-Kuo looked for other targets when he suddenly saw a Chinese M4 being destroyed. He looked for an anti-tank gun but found none. Another M4 got hit. Now he could see that his unit under a counterattack from tanks that he had never seen before. It was a huge machine. His gun fired and although it was a direct hit, the tanks seemed to be undamaged.

-

The mighty 8.8 cm gun roared again. Wittmann saw a third M4 Sherman being destroyed by his gun crew. He felt a dull thump reverberate through the tank. He looked around for the source of fire and saw yet another Chinese tank. He ordered the gunner to engage the threat. Thump. He was hit again, but that didn't matter much, as the thick armour protected him. Now his gun was pointing at the M4.

Wei-Kuo looked at this monster. He was surprised, that it carried an Iron Cross, German markings. Germans? Here? If that was a German tank, then lit was likely a Tiger I.

Chiang's son did not know it, but the M4 with the shorter 75mm cannon the Chinese had gotten, was something German tank crews called "Panzeranklopfgerät" (panzer tapping gadget).

Wei-Kuo seeing that his rounds were ineffective decided to close in. However, that was a decision taken too late and the German tank responded to his earlier attack. The first shell the German fired damaged the starboard track and suspension. Immobilised and unable to return effective fire Wei-Kuo chose to give up and surrender.

-

Wittmann saw the enemy crew leaving the tank. He wanted to cease firing but the gunner was unable to listen to his orders on time. The next hit destroyed the engine of the M4, which was set the tank on fire. He then continued onwards. Panzergrenadiere, both German and Japanese, who followed his tank, would deal with the crew which was hiding somewhere.

-

Wei-Kuo and his crew had taken cover when they saw the enemy tank continuing its path of destruction. He ordered his men to run for their lines, when he saw other German and Japanese vehicles following the Tiger I tanks. However, his hideout was spotted and he soon became a prisoner of war.

-

Wittmann, further up, drove on. The Chinese counter strike would have been much more effective if they hadn't deciphered encrypted messages and had copies of orders from history books. They knew the orders of the Chinese HQ before the Chinese field officers even received them. In the history that would now never come, the Japanese had won the battle too, but this time the victory came easier, losses much fewer and the rout significantly larger.

The battle plan was to have German-Japanese armour attack the Chinese lines and aggressively advance deeper behind Chinese lines allowing the Panzergrenadiere behind to mop up pockets of infantry. The Chinese attack which proved to be successful initially but after the attack was blunted and crushed by German-Japanese armour lead to significant disorder in the Chinese forward lines.

Soon Wittmann met enemy infantry and fired his HE shells. As the other Tigers joined them, the Chinese infantry retreated towards their fortifications. But the new Axis tank forces were faster and pushed through the lines with ease, as they were only poorly manned. A counterstrike by the Allies including an attack by armour was fought off. Wittmann and his crew added another four kills to their numbers from the morning. Takimoto and his crew added three to theirs.

Liuchow airfield fell before dusk. The city of Liuchow resisted for three more days before it fell.

Chiang Wei-Kuo was a German prisoner of war and sent to the HQ immediately after he was recognised.

Gensui Sugiyama, commander of the Operation, asked Tokyo to order more tanks from Germany until a new and more capable Japanese tank design could be made.


(1) Author note: The following events have been proven and happened, showing that things in the field are never quite the same as on paper. For example in 1944 a Tiger destroyed a JS-1 at 4000m. One day Tiger 121 was hit over 250 (!) times by calibers up to 100mm and drove home under it´s own power, having dished out serious hurt. The Tiger´s reputation did not pop up without reason.

 

[Tyr Anazasi]

Near Chongqing, September 8th, 1944, 00:23


It was already after midnight. Generalissimo Chiang was standing on a cleared field near Chongqing, the capital city of the Republic of China. He was standing there with only a handful of men, people he could trust with his life. The coming meeting was top secret. He couldn't trust anyone important in Chongqing, be it Chinese, British or American, at this moment. Several fires were lit to show the landing space.

Soon he heard a faint and strange sound, akin to a constant thumping drone, which grew increasingly loud. What came into his view shortly was something he had never seen before, an unusual aircraft with a very large propeller facing upwards and a smaller one at the tail facing sideways. To his astonishment, it came to a standstill midair and descended vertically to land.

Two soldiers, who were manning MGs onboard made way for the passengers. He knew all three of them. The first had been the ambassador of Germany before the war, Oskar Trautmann. The other was another German, John Rabe. An employee of Siemens, who had rescued many Chinese at Nanjing. The third he knew best, Jiang Wei-Kuo. His son. It had been a cold shock to hear of his son's capture. He felt relief, the stress coiled inside of him unravelled. It was through a handwritten letter from his son that this meeting was arranged.

"Your excellency," Chiang greeted the ambassador, "I hope your flight was well."

"Yes, it was," Trautmann said. "It's a marvellous thing, this Hubschrauber (helicopter). The Focke-Achgelis is quite a nice one, but our transport here is the result of decades of research. You can land or take off almost anywhere as long as there is enough space" He looked back and saw the crew ready to refuel.

"Ah, Mr Rabe. It's an honour to meet you." Chiang bowed.

"I am here just as the translator. But thank you." Rabe wanted to reduce his role. Indeed he was sent as he had leeway and was considered as the "German living Buddha" by the Chinese, a role he didn't like really.

Turning to his son he embraced him firmly. Trautmann saw him almost come to tears but soon Chiang schooled his expression to one fitting that of the leader of China.

"Gentlemen, I think, we should talk further in this barn." Jiang gesturing at an old barn next to them. "I apologise, but the circumstances require a more secret place to meet than the city. Luckily Stilwell is in India for a strategy conference, but there are still too many Yanquis left."

"I agree," Trautmann said and the group went into the barn. There were a table and four chairs, a soldier each of both Armed Forces stood at the back as guards.

"Before we start, we need to show you some more information, of what had happened in our time, could have, erm..., well...“ Oskar Trautmann started again. "What would have happened, if the flow of time was not disturbed by the Event. Some scientists call it Zeitsprung or Zeitensturz for the press. Undoubtedly they have another, far more boring name for it amongst each other."

That brought a few chuckles from the men in the barn.

Then Oskar showed Chiang the history of China in the time that would now never be. Too much had already happened to change it. And the history of his own Kuomintang. Chiang kept his face stoic, but one could see still, that he was furious.

"So if we continue to fight we will win the war against the Japanese but lose against the communists? Mao? Forced to flee to Formosa? With next to no help from the US and Britain?" Chiang wanted to know.

"Exactly," Trautmann said. "It proved to bite them in the ass later, pardon my French, but that won't help you and your men."

"What do you offer?" Jiang wanted to know.

"Reunification of China, help against the communists and later on assistance in the development," Trautmann said.

"These are reparations in all but the name, your excellency." Rabe made clear.

Generalissimo Chiang looked at tablet which showed a map of China with markings showing territories held by the powers in the region. Chiang concentrated on the red coloured areas occupied by the communists and the part of China under Japanese control.

Sighing he spoke, "I suppose, I have to sign something?"

Oskar Trautmann laughed. "No, there is no formal peace treaty ready. We don't want to make it a diktat. We need to discuss the finer points between all the parties; us, you and Japan. It would be a significant step towards peace if you send a negotiator as soon as possible

However, we could agree for a cease-fire with the Kuomintang forces. We are close to controlling territory from the Amur to Indochina. If your forces leave this area," Trautmann showed him an area on the map, "We, the German and Japanese Armed Forces, will not carry out further incursions into any part of China. All of continental China would be handed over once there is peace in all theatres worldwide.

The fate of Manchukuo is one of the finer points to be discussed. Considering what could happen, the Reds will use it as a rich staging area once the IJA leaves, there are still quite a few voices in Berlin and Tokyo who argue to keep the region under our control even after the war. Some of my colleagues and I argue for a special statute which would satisfy all sides which is something that would be far easier to talk about, should you and your forces agree to a cease-fire and peace negotiations.

I am sure you heard the term "Continental China". That is right, Formosa will stay Japanese for several reasons and then there is Tsingtao. Following the peace negotiations, Germany will take back control of the Kiautschou territory. Our governments are open to talks about special stipulations for these two territories. I am sure we can come to a positive conclusion.

By the way, to put it crudely, we will not give a fuck about the status of special territories of our enemies, like Hong Kong. So if you take control of those after our forces leave, neither Berlin nor Tokyo will have much to say about it.

Oh, before I forget! Even if we come to close to signing a treaty, we need transit and basing rights for our forces in these areas in your territory. The Reds do not fight our forces much and most of their territory is not at the frontlines. They were not heavily involved in the fighting yet. That we can change and this will only be in your favour"

"This is a better deal than what the Allies can give" Rabe added. "You can reunify China and we end the war for you. With our help, the communists will be beaten. Not to mention saving millions of lives and avoiding atrocities like the "Great Leap" or "Cultural Revolution".

Chiang looked again at the map. Then to Wei-Kuo, who just nodded slightly.

The talks were extensive, but eventually, the Germans flew home.

"So what do you think, Wei-Kuo?" Chiang asked his son.

"Father, I think we should accept. The Allies won't provide us with meaningful assistance, even if we win. Before you ask me about the German situation or if this is an elaborate scheme, Father, they showed me things. I believe they come from the future and want peace. The Allies lie to us, not only about the fact that the Germans come from the future but about the war situation too.

The Germans seem to be turning the tide in Europe and they have started to increase assistance to the Japanese. True, the Allies might be able to win, but they have suffered extreme losses on all fronts with the British practically out of the war. I doubt they can force Germany and Japan to an unconditional surrender any time soon.

If we refuse peace the Allies will continue to use us against the Axis in a futile effort, again and again, that will bleed Chinese lives, resources and time. This will weaken us and make us an easier target for Mao. I don't want what happened to China in the other time. Germany's offer is the best opportunity for us to strike and crush Mao and his band of communists."

"Many of your thoughts mirror mine on the topic, my son. So you do think we can trust them? Even when they openly support the Japanese and some of their claims?"

"Yes, father." Wei-Kuo nodded. "They tried to hide it from me, but many things point to the conclusion that the Germans and Japanese are frantically looking for a way out of the war. Anything that does not end in a defeat.“

"I fear, you're right, the Allies won't help us as we need. Again. Only when our interests align, we are good enough to help them. Indeed Mao is our foremost enemy, more so considering the current situation. If we carry on as before events might play out in the same manner as before, maybe worse.

With sufficient help and reparations, we could become as powerful as the other China. But we need to be careful. Yes, I think the best course of action would be to accept Germany's deal. We need to get rid of the communists and that's only possible with German and Japanese help. How that goes down with some of our factions and the general population is the big question."

"Wei-Kuo," Chiang continued after making a small pause, "I need you again, not as a soldier, but as a diplomat. You need to talk to them. You need to be my ambassador. You need to make a deal with Berlin and Tokyo and I will prepare everything to fight the communists."

His son just nodded. For Chiang night was short. He needed to act very carefully. He needed time to prepare for the final fight against the commies. Even more, he needed the time to prepare his men for the change in direction.

 

[Tyr Anazasi]

Bismarck Sea, October 1st, 1944:

U-183 under Kapitänleutnant Fritz Schneewind had left Penang for patrol approximately two weeks ago.

He had received orders to patrol just as refuelling at Manila was complete. The orders were to patrol the Bismarck Sea, then the Coral Sea and lastly the area off the eastern coast of Australia, the Tasman Sea before returning to Penang.

The boat was considered a dinosaur within the German navy. Most type VII and IX boats had been decommissioned, as they were regarded to be obsolete. In the Black Sea, the Type II boats were still used with some success, but they were about to be replaced by Type XXIII boats as well. Here, on the other side of the world, such a replacement was not possible so the crews had to rely on the boats already present. They were U-168, U-183, U-188, U-510 and U-532 of the first wave and U-181, U-196, U-198, U-537, U-859, U-860, U-1064 and U-843 of the second wave. U-490 had been recalled.

Boats already en route had been given strict orders not to use Enigma and to avoid all contact with enemy warships. Although not forbidden it was clear, the boats should not attack merchant convoys or escorted vessels. These measures led them safely to the Indian Ocean, where they finally, after great difficulties, were able to rendezvous with the German supply ships Bogota and Quito. These supply difficulties were later solved by regular drops from UT German long range transport aircraft.

UT Germany had decided to assist the Japanese thus decided to upgrade the boats of Gruppe Monsun. U-183 under Schneewind was the first boat to sortie. It had upgraded radar, sonar and had Stinger SAMs onboard for air defence.

So far they had encountered little in way of enemy activity, no vessels were spotted, except for two small sailing vessels. When he was about to give the order to continue to the Coral Sea, he received news that a ship was detected on their radar. He immediately made his way to the bridge and gave orders to intercept the detected vessel.

It was the SS Robert J. Walker, carrying ammunition for the US fleet to Eniwetok atoll. Engine troubles had led the master to miss the escorts. He had been ordered to go ahead alone.

For Schneewind the ship was an ideal and easy target. A ship sailing at 8 knots in a straight unadjusted course, no escorts, no aircraft in sight. He did have suspicions of this being a trap. Taking the plunge he nevertheless had four torpedoes fired at the ship and then dived. After three minutes he heard a torpedo hit and then felt the submarine shudder from a tremendous explosion. He didn't dare look at the aftermath, the ship was likely destroyed. U-183 quickly left the area after that.

The next day a PBY Catalina flying boat spotted the debris of a ship. Eventually, the USS Fletcher arrived to only find debris that they thought to be that of the SS Robert J. Walker. As there were no signs of an attack or break up due to weather, they considered the loss to be a tragic accident with the ship's cargo.

U-183 avoided detection once more and moved on to patrol the Coral Sea a few days later. As there were no suitable targets available Schneewind continued onwards to waters off the Eastern Coast of Australia, where he finally detected a group of warships. His boat carried four DM2A3 Seehecht torpedoes, he fired two of them on the cruiser, which was escorted by about six destroyers. As the torpedoes were wire-guided, they hit HMAS Australia, which was underway to join the Allied fleet at Eniwetok. Both torpedoes exploded below the rump of the ship. This caused her to literally jump out of the water and then break in three soon after. The escorts looked for a submarine in the vicinity but found none. U-183 was too far out and had already changed course.

As the Australian waters had become a bit too "hot", Schneewind decided to patrol off New Zealand. There he met a small convoy off Auckland. He fired a single T-11 homing torpedo at the single escort, HMNZS Arabis, and then three at the three escorted ships. The corvette sank quickly and so did one of the freighters, but the others were still afloat. So he turned and used his aft tubes to fire a coup de grâce at both. Both hit and he left again. All three freighters were sunk.

Schneewind turned west and went back to the Tasman Sea area. There he sank three further ships. He narrowly avoided detection several times and finally arrived at Penang the day before Christmas.

This was the first and most successful sortie of a Uboat into the Pacific Ocean in 1944. The other, by U-860, was less successful, with two ships sunk, the boat detected and eventually sunk. No casualties with all the crew escaping safely and becoming prisoners of war.

 

[Tyr Anazasi]

Yan'an, Mao's flat, October 3rd, 1944, 05:38:

Mao was sleeping well. He had two young girls with them, both not older than 14. His nightly activities had been thoroughly enjoyable. Suddenly a man hammered on his door. Mao awoke. The man hammering at the door, a servant, entered the room even before Mao had said something.

"Chairman Mao, the situation is severe. Japanese forces have attacked our positions with everything they have!" the servant said.

Oh, what a fool Mao thought. His servant had definitely overestimated the severity of the attack. Very likely there were only some skirmishes. His forces were playing only a minor role in this war. It was likely one of the many encirclements that were attacked. He wouldn't do much then. He needed his forces for the fight after the war against Chiang.

"I am coming." Mao would make sure to punish that servant later.

A car waited for him to take him to the HQ. Surprisingly Zhou Enlai was already waiting.

"Zedong, we need you urgently. We are being attacked!" Zhou started to explain the situation.

"Enlai, this may be true, but a small attack..."

"It's a full offensive by the Japanese and Chiang's forces!" Zhou stopped Mao. "Nearly every base we have is under attack, partly from two sides. There are rumours of a speech that Chiang will hold soon. It seems, he has teamed up with the damned Germans and the thrice-damned Japanese!"

"That is impossible..." Mao was cut off, as the blaring of air raid sirens begun.

Moments later the Japanese Army Air Force bombers were over Ya'nan, specifically targeting party infrastructure. Soon enough the Japanese found their mark and achieved a direct hit on the Communist HQ. Mao's driver panicked and ran for the open street away from the building with Mao and Zhou Enlai taking cover in the car. A Japanese Ki-44 followed up the bombing with a strafing attack kicking up dust and adding to the chaos.

The attack had been over as fast as it had started. Several cars in front of the HQ were burning, the HQ's was partially collapsed and on fire and the driver unfortunately killed by the strafing fighter. Zhou Enlai was dead, riddled with bullets. Mao, however, had survived, only slightly injured. The door was jammed shut and the locking mechanism damaged. Realising that the car was on fire Mao forced the door open with a few kicks and ran. Not a moment too soon the car went up in a massive deflagration.

Mao saw the destruction. He was sure, he needed to run again, to the north. He needed Soviet help or exile if they couldn't help!

 

[Tyr Anazasi]

Chongqing, Radio Station, October 3rd, 1944, 09:00:

It had been two hours since Chinese radio stations had broadcasted the news, that Generalissimus Chiang would make an address to the nation at 9 o'clock. It was time.

"For seven years we have been fighting Japanese aggression. For seven years we had to make great sacrifices. For seven years we have suffered immensely. But this moment is the moment we all wanted to achieve. We wanted to rid China of the Japanese, we wanted a free China, a China united in freedom!

To have a united and free China, we needed, as a first step, to get achieve a stop to the unjust war waged on us by the Japanese. And that we have achieved. Just after midnight, we agreed to make a truce, which will end in a peace treaty. Several core demands, like the retreat of all Japanese forces out of China, were agreed. China's territorial integrity was accepted. There are a few minor terms, which are to be discussed yet, but no great problems. Soon we will be able to sign a peace treaty with the Japanese. A peace treaty on our terms!

Of course, this will mean, that the Allied forces will withdraw from China as well. However, as they are our allies, we do not expect any problems.

As I said, our true enemy is not Japan, but the communists. Since the early morning hours, our forces have attacked the true enemy to restore national unity. As a condition by set by us, Japanese and German forces are attacking communist strongholds as well. Soon we will erase this rot from China. And then we will rebuild the country, peacefully, to prosper, to get mightier, than China ever was.

You may look behind and see the sacrifices and horrors we had to endure. And you might ask yourself, "Are not the Japanese getting off lightly for their aggression?". Be calm. They are not getting off lightly. We are dictating the conditions of peace to them. And they must obey. There is simply no reason to continue the war, as our war aims were achieved. We just have to go one step further and remove the cancerous rot of communism! That will be our last fight!

For peace, for China!"

Chiang had just ended the broadcast when a man stormed into the room. It was General Stillwell, liaison officer of the US.

He didn't greet Jiang at all, but barked loudly: "How dare you!"

"General Stillwell," Jiang didn't comment on Stillwell's behaviour, "We are victorious. We won the war. We got everything we wanted."

"Pah!" Stillwell caught his breath in the meantime. "You did nothing, achieved nothing and aren't dictating anything to the Japanese. They are following their agenda and you're a fool to trust them."

"Well, if we talk about trust, what will do you against the communists? Why hadn't you forced them through Stalin to fight against the Japanese? You did nothing. We were just fighting for you. And later you will stop us from fighting the Commies. And then it will be too late. No, you are not sincere, when talking about LOYALTY!"

"That means the end of our alliance!" Stillwell's face was red with fury.

"I guess so!" Jiang countered.

"You will be sorry!" Stillwell said and left the room. His mission to China had ended in a fiasco. There was little to do for him, except writing his last report and wait for new orders. He sighed. Yes, he had problems with Jiang in the last few weeks, but not more than before. And now this. He shook his head. Could Jiang be seriously so dumb to believe the Japanese?

Alas, Stillwell knew the history of that timeline, which was brought to an end with the Event. He knew about the actions of his country. He had to admit silently that Chiang wasn't completely wrong. The USA had made some serious mistakes later. And Chiang knew them as well. Stillwell sighed. He knew, his time was over. He needed to fight his cancer soon, to avoid his death in two years.

When he was going to enter his car, a Chinese soldier collided with him. The young officer excused him and gave him an envelope, which had been lying on the ground. Stillwell thought, it was the officer's letter, but he denied. So he took it and read it once he was in the car.

"Soon Jiang won't have much to say any longer. Be a bit patient! Signed V"

He didn't know, who this V was nor what was going on. The best that this could be a palace revolution and Chiang removed. The worst that it would turn out to be a trap. He needed to be careful. He burnt the letter once he was in his office. Perhaps there was some hope after all.

 

[Tyr Anazasi]

Somewhere north of Yan'an, October 7th, 1944, 21:05:

For Mao, the last few days had been a mess. The airstrike on Yan'an forced him to flee his former HQ. It wasn't safe anymore. Damn, it was a catastrophe. He had hoped to get out of the war without too many losses. Let Chiang take them, the better it was for him to seize power later. But now he was the primary target of the Japs AND Chiang. How could that happen? Why he wasn't warned? Was there treachery at work here? Is there a traitor?

He didn't know the answer. Only suspicions. A rival or Korean communists. Even Stalin would throw him under the bus. Not to speak about the Western Allies. It didn't help much. He sighed.

At least he didn't have to run like before. He was carried in a litter. Still, it was utter chaos. After another airstrike, in which he barely avoided being killed, the huge column of the communists dispersed. If he had an idea, what was going on, he had none now. He even didn't know, where he was. Just running north, through hills, through countless rice paddies. Soon he would reach open land, more steppe, which would eventually turn to desert. He was sure, there would be few survivors when they reached the Mongolian border. From there he could make new plans. He needed to talk to Stalin, though.

"Chairman Mao!" The voice of Captain Wang woke him up out of his deep thought.

"Yes!" he answered.

"We have walked for several hours in the dark without rest. I think it is safe enough to make camp for tonight" the young officer said.

"Yes, Captain, do it." Finally. In Mao's eyes, he would have had stopped for the night hours ago, but the young officer was right. They had to go further. There was a chance to evade the enemy reconnaissance and thus limiting the danger of yet another airstrike.

That young captain was good. In the chaos of the last airstrike, he had met him by chance. Half of his guards were dead while the others mostly fled This captain, however, had brought back some of them with soldiers of other units he had met on the way. Meeting him was great luck. He needed a guard. Badly.

He also needed sleep badly. And something to eat. They didn't dare to make a fire, so he had to eat some cold rice like the others. Even worse, there was no girl or woman, who would sleep with him this night.

He couldn't change it. But if this was a plot, then he would do everything to make sure the men behind this regretted this.

Two hours later Mao was sleeping. Captain Wang had a last look at the sentries.

"Stop! Who's there?" the soldier said. "Identify yourself!"

"It's me, Captain Wang. Good. You're on your post. Were there any problems? Did you see anything suspicious?"

"No, sir, I did not. Everything is calm."

"Fine. But what's over there?" Captain Wang pointed into the pitch black of the night.

"I don't see anything." the soldier replied. "Are you sure..."

The soldier was unceremoniously cut off by a shot to the head. Holstering his silenced pistol he then drew a small LED light. He gave the message, that the sentries were dead. Soon about twenty men appeared out of the dark, everyone wearing black clothes. Silently they stormed the camp, where everyone was sleeping. They shot everyone with their silenced submachine guns. None of the guards survived.

Captain Wang entered Mao's tent, who was awakened by the commotion occurring outside.

"Chairman Mao, we're under attack! Come with me quick!" Wang said.

Hearing this Mao was now fully awake. "Yes, of course!"

Mao was drawn out of the tent by Wang. Coming out of the tent he stood surprised in front of a line of about half a dozen men pointing guns at him.

"Mr Mao Zedong," Wang suddenly said, "you are under arrest under the charge of treason!"

Mao was shocked. They got him. And Captain Wang, the man he had trusted, had betrayed him!

At this moment a man wearing the uniform of a Major of the Republic of China entered the camp, together with six guards wearing the uniform of the Republic of China army.

"Mr Mao Zedong. I am Major Chiang Wei-Kuo. You are here to be tried on charges of treason, amongst others. How do you plead?"

Mao was speechless. It suddenly dawned on him that his life was over.

"I see. You were given the chance to defend yourself. You have been deemed guilty. Your punishment is to be shot to death!" Major Chiang said.

Mao fell on his knees and cried. His voice could hardly be understood, except "mercy."

When Chiang's guards went to drag him to the execution, Wang suddenly drew his pistol. "That is for my grandma Bing Guo. You raped her when she was 14. Because of that, she committed suicide. This is for her." Wang pulled the trigger and shot Mao in his head. He died instantly.

Everyone else was surprised or shocked. Chiang was the first to act. "I see, Mao was executed and thus the punishment fulfilled. There is no reason to stay here." He nodded to one of his men. The officer drew his sabre and beheaded the dead body of Mao.

"Hauptmann Wang!" one of the men dressed in black suddenly barked in German. "It was not your duty to execute him. Our missions have to be professional! You simply can't act on your own!"

"It's okay, Herr Oberst!" Chiang interrupted him. "Mao was shot to death. He was executed for his crimes."

"Yes," said the Oberst. "That will be also part of my written report! However, I will make it clear, that personal attitudes may not rule our deeds! Is that clear to everyone!" All others gulped and said loudly yes.

"Wang, as I said, I won't make a written testimony of that. However, I will report it to the admiral verbally. It will be up to him to decide whether you remain part of the team!"

"Jawoll, Herr Oberst!" Wang said.

The colonel breathed. "We're the Wildgänse! We're the MAD's secret combat unit. We're known to only a very few persons. We can't allow any room for error! We do the dirty work nobody else will do. Secrecy must be kept at all costs. There are many factors, which can endanger that. This is one of them. And so we can get rid of it as well."

A little later, back on the way to the helicopters, the colonel came to Wang again.

"Wang, it was a good job, nonetheless. Personally speaking, I can understand your actions. But this must never happen again!"

"Yes, Oberst Skorzeny, this won't happen again!"

 

[Tyr Anazasi]

Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek hadn't slept at all. Around 23:00 it was reported that Mao was dead. Mao's body was to be transported to him. It had been a secret mission, with only a few, who knew about this. So here he was, waiting for the moment of his triumph over the Japanese.


Suddenly he heard the same sound he first heard when he had started negotiations with the Germans. He couldn't see anything at first but eventually spotted specks in the distance. As they flew closer he was able to make out 6 of them. All painted in jet black with only two of them heavily armed with rockets and autocannons.

Chiang felt relieved when he saw his son leaving the helicopter next to him. "Father," Major Chiang Wei-Kuo, "I bring you the head of Mao, as ordered. The mission was accomplished without issue. No friendly casualties."

Chiang smiled and just nodded. "That was a very good work, Major."

Then he turned to the man standing behind his son.

"Colonel Skorzeny, I have to thank you, your men and Germany. It won't be forgotten. Mao was a snake, who would have poisoned and destroyed China. That snake was killed. I..."

Chiang was interrupted, as a man got out of one of the helicopters and hurried towards Skorzeny and whispered something that turned his expression to one of worry. At the very same moment, one of Chiang's aides came rushing to him.

"Generalissimo, a coup has taken place against you. Broadcasts from several groups of soldiers and politicians indicate this!"

"Who?"

"Unknown. The broadcasts are unclear on this."

Turning to Skorzeny Chiang Kai Shek said, "Colonel would you have any knowledge of this?"

"Yes, Generalissimo. It seems Li Zongren and Dai Li are attempting to stage a coup against you. They have taken your wife and other people, hostage." Skorzeny didn't mention, that the frequencies of the Chinese were supervised by the MAD. With the cracked codes one could read and hear very fast, partly faster than the recipient. The MAD had thus received every call the Chinese putschists did.

"Dai Li! And Li Zongren!" Chiang spat. He knew, Li was his enemy. But he thought, he had given him a powerless position, unable to do anything. But Dai Li? How could he have underestimated him? Anyway, there was no time to think, but to act.

"Do we know, where the hostages are?" Chiang asked.

"They are in your home," Skorzeny answered.

"Colonel Skorzeny, I know, I have little to offer to you just now, but could you and your men do me a favour? It won't be bad for you or Germany, in contrast."

"Herr Generalissimo, where is your home? And what can you tell me about the building?"

 

[Tyr Anazasi]

Chonqing, HQ of the Kuomintang, October 8th, 05:00:


Dai Li stood at the long table in the operations room to look on the map of Chongqing. Everything was going right so far. It was a situation, in which Chiang and his followers were completely surprised. Mrs Chiang and her brother Soong were under arrest in Chiang Kai-Shek's house. Soong was pressed to switch sides but remained loyal to Chiang for the moment. As he had similar points of view, Dai Li assumed, he would switch sides soon. But there was one crucial piece of the puzzle missing. Chiang himself. He hadn't been in the house, where he should have been at the time of the coup. So where was he?


His thoughts were interrupted when he saw the US General entering the room. "Ah, General Stillwell. You have come just in time to see the end of Chiang."


"So you staged a coup?" Stillwell didn't ask. It was more of a statement.


"Yes. Do you have any problems with that? Or your government?" Dai Li wanted to know.


"No. I don't have any problems with that. I don't know if Washington has issues. That may depend on the situation." Stillwell answered.


"I see. And if we continue the war on your side?" Dai Li didn't offer something new. He had expected such a move. Indeed that was one reason, why the coup happened. Stillwell hated Chiang and the US needed China. So the US would support the Kuomintang again. His Kuomintang.

"Well, that would make things easier. Much easier, indeed."

Dai Li nodded. "Understood."

"So what's the situation?" Stillwell asked.

Well, we have Mr Soong and Mrs Chiang under arrest. Here." Dai Li showed him the place, where the Chiang house was. "Other persons of interest were also arrested."

"And his forces?" Stillwell looked at the map while asking.

"Under control. We have only a few units that have not been completely turned to our side, including this tank regiment here. But these units will soon fall under our control." Dai Li said.

"Excellent work. And where is he?" Stillwell didn't need to explain, who was meant with "he."

"Well..." Dai Li trailed off.

"You don't know?" Stillwell was completely astonished. "You don't know? You have to know if you stage a coup. Without knowing that, he has a chance to escape. And without Chiang, your coup is less likely to be successful. This means, that your whole plan is in danger!"

Dai Li heard Stillwell. His face seemed to be drained of all colour. And although the Yankee was anything but polite, he spoke the truth. He had to know. His sources were certain, where he was. Was he warned at the last moment? Was there a traitor in his ranks? Or was it just karma? Did he have a new girlfriend he didn't know of?

His rapid-fire train of thought was broken when a messenger came in telling him, that there were mysterious fires lit at a place near the city.

Dai Li smiled and spoke with confidence. "General Stillwell, I think that problem has been solved. We know where he is. I am sending men to arrest him."

Internally Dai Li was was uneasy and unsure, that this was Chiang. If it was Chiang, it didn't make sense to light fires unless he had called the damned Germans for help.