"We're poor little lambs who have
lost our way. Bah, bah, bah.
We're little black sheep who have gone astray. Bah, bah, bah." ---R. Kipling
I haven't previously given anything more than minimal attention to Goeben. Essentially assume no divergence up until late April. At that point Ebergard's mission was to assist the AngloFrench forces at Gallipoli. In this context the May 10 engagement arose. With no Gallipoli in OU this does not happen. Instead the Black Sea Fleet remains passive while a blow against Bulgaria intended to save Serbia and impress Rumania is ironed out. That blow is a hit and run infantry raid against Varna. In OTL Ebergard became very fearful of U-Boats in the Black Sea (which ended up doing very little) Here that menace has not emerged so I see him being somewhat bolder (I said somewhat. It is Ebergard not Essen) The Russians were actually fairly competent at amphibious warfare OTL.
Several characters I have sadly neglected for too long make a return appearance late in this piece.
The Fabeck/Falkenhayn phone conversation ended up being a choice between revealing too little or revealing too much and I ended up choosing the former.
I originally intended the War Committee meeting to go longer and discuss additional topics but I feared it would become as interminable as the one in Part II
Likewise the Francois/Rundstedt scene was originally 3 paragraphs longer but I did not like it. I now fear I may have shortened it too much. I may go back and tweak that scene later.
Maybe more comments later.
We're little black sheep who have gone astray. Bah, bah, bah." ---R. Kipling
I haven't previously given anything more than minimal attention to Goeben. Essentially assume no divergence up until late April. At that point Ebergard's mission was to assist the AngloFrench forces at Gallipoli. In this context the May 10 engagement arose. With no Gallipoli in OU this does not happen. Instead the Black Sea Fleet remains passive while a blow against Bulgaria intended to save Serbia and impress Rumania is ironed out. That blow is a hit and run infantry raid against Varna. In OTL Ebergard became very fearful of U-Boats in the Black Sea (which ended up doing very little) Here that menace has not emerged so I see him being somewhat bolder (I said somewhat. It is Ebergard not Essen) The Russians were actually fairly competent at amphibious warfare OTL.
Several characters I have sadly neglected for too long make a return appearance late in this piece.
The Fabeck/Falkenhayn phone conversation ended up being a choice between revealing too little or revealing too much and I ended up choosing the former.
I originally intended the War Committee meeting to go longer and discuss additional topics but I feared it would become as interminable as the one in Part II
Likewise the Francois/Rundstedt scene was originally 3 paragraphs longer but I did not like it. I now fear I may have shortened it too much. I may go back and tweak that scene later.
Maybe more comments later.
