tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post587897724412580256..comments2024-03-29T04:38:28.940-07:00Comments on Chant du Départ: Alternate History Friday, Chapter OneOldAFSargehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-47586266515976955712019-08-02T16:34:55.974-07:002019-08-02T16:34:55.974-07:00Yup.Yup.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-74317521821597194512019-08-02T16:32:32.199-07:002019-08-02T16:32:32.199-07:00But he tried, which was, from what I understand, w...But he tried, which was, from what I understand, why he was so damned tired and mentally beat by the time the Nazis got around to going west.<br /><br />Nothing like beating your best leader like a rented pinata to really give you a chance of winning, no?Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-83962540675195925252019-08-02T14:16:57.873-07:002019-08-02T14:16:57.873-07:00Not even WWI Petain could have saved France from i...Not even WWI Petain could have saved France from itself, the rot was too deep.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-25641410898043360052019-08-02T14:15:59.322-07:002019-08-02T14:15:59.322-07:00But I still despise both of them...But I still despise both of them...OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-73436750329186740932019-08-02T14:15:13.113-07:002019-08-02T14:15:13.113-07:00I do, I do.I do, I do.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-54362907387318575072019-08-02T13:53:09.303-07:002019-08-02T13:53:09.303-07:00Yes.
Now, what would WWII have been like if Pre-W...Yes.<br /><br />Now, what would WWII have been like if Pre-WWII France had listened to Petain railing about the Nazis and about the stilted command structure that was setting France up for a fall, and actually put him in charge and allowed him to prepare as he wanted?<br /><br />That would have been interesting. A man villified by modern people, especially the French after the war was over, who was just trying to safe France from itself before the war and trying to keep France as some semblance of France during.<br /><br />I used to dislike him immensely. Now? A sad figure. Extremely misunderstood. Yet still guilty by association for the horrid crimes committed by his government, in the name of France...Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-46704375375433706202019-08-02T13:42:55.541-07:002019-08-02T13:42:55.541-07:00And both Arnold and Forrest had a certain elan and...And both Arnold and Forrest had a certain elan and panache to their fighting. Grant was more studied and careful. So, well, comparing Arnold and Forrest does work, if you overlook mostly-infantry with some combined-arms vs mostly-cavalry with mounted-infantry.<br /><br />Do you see what Eye mean?...Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-68263158439772417502019-08-02T13:40:30.326-07:002019-08-02T13:40:30.326-07:00What I was trying to say was, in his role, Arnold ...What I was trying to say was, in his role, Arnold was almost as competent as NBF in his role. Yes, NBF was more specialized, but then again, 80+ years earlier cavalry was not as well armed as NBF's troopers were, with revolvers and rifled-muskets. And the multi-fire capability, along with long-ranged fire of rifled-muskets, did change the tactics of cavalry from the RevWar times to the early 1860's. (Just because some generals in the 1860's didn't understand that times had changed and tried to use their troops (mounted and infantry) as if it was RevWar times, doesn't mean other generals didn't react and learn and use new tactics...) (Just like the tactics of the English Civil War and the 30 Years War didn't stand up to late 18th Century weapons that were just a shade better than 17th Century weapons in a lot of ways, but still far advanced in other ways (universal adoption of flintlock vs wheel/matchlock, introduction of more rifles, adaptation of weapons to the different terrains found in the new world.)<br /><br />Arnold was one of the best American generals at the start of the war. And as you said, he got screwed by Congress and he got all butt-hurt and history was written.<br /><br />Okay, maybe I should have said an earlier and not quite as competent Grant, who was an exceptional general who did use a varied-arms force, including using naval forces in land battles, even though Grant has gotten a bad reputation as a boozing body-wasting clown (which he wasn't, just when you're on the offensive, you expect to lose between 2-3 times the number of the defender, even worse odds when laying siege to fortified positions...)Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-39841260900973831402019-08-02T10:34:12.389-07:002019-08-02T10:34:12.389-07:00Fun, innit?Fun, innit?OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-82235601912743963332019-08-02T10:33:41.125-07:002019-08-02T10:33:41.125-07:00Congress screwed him (surprise, surprise), so he s...Congress screwed him (surprise, surprise), so he screwed them back.<br /><br />When did Nathan Bedford Forrest command an all-arms force? I thought he was simply a very good cavalry commander. Any Chanters reading this, feel free to educate me. Personally, I'm not a fan of ForrestOldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-47657306773965534842019-08-02T10:31:30.061-07:002019-08-02T10:31:30.061-07:00Time travel is prohibited in my alternate world. D...Time travel is prohibited in my alternate world. Don't want to mess with time.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-90814367274676246042019-08-02T10:30:37.594-07:002019-08-02T10:30:37.594-07:00I did open that door...I did open that door...OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-51581773305813692262019-08-02T09:41:53.113-07:002019-08-02T09:41:53.113-07:00Alternate pasts are intriguing.
What if the USS M...Alternate pasts are intriguing.<br /><br />What if the USS Merrimack's engines had been sound so she wasn't in dock and subsequently burned to the waterline? <br />What if Pershing had found Pancho Villa quickly and stonked Mehico into bloody submission for their part in the whole border raid thingy (which, well, they should have...)<br /><br />What if Heisenberg was as good a Nazi as he was a physicist? (Seeing as it seems he actively slowed down the Nazi nuke program.)<br /><br />What if the carriers were in Pearl Harbor on December 7th? That could go two ways. What if all were destroyed. Or... What if the warning got out in time (fishing boat, broken communications, something) and the carriers were able to launch along with the land based planes and stonk the first wave, then go out and find the Japanese?<br /><br />Even weirder, since 'experts study logistics,' what if the South had all the same rail gauge and uniformity in rolling stock and connecting equipment?<br /><br />What if, where the Pilgrims landed, hadn't been decimated by both 'civil war' amongst the various local tribes (or one tribe had reigned supreme) and not by local plagues (they just weren't caused by whitey showing up, plenty of illness before eastern contact) and the locals were full strength and not willing to play nice?<br /><br />What if the Norse had succeeded against the Skraelings? A Christian Norse culture by 1200AD in North America?<br /><br />Lots of rabbit holes to fall into...<br /><br />And the Iron Duke (who wasn't the Iron Duke until well after Waterloo...) losing at Waterloo is an interesting idea. Could Napoleon be stopped then? Hmmmm...<br />Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-83300970244970099252019-08-02T09:30:47.933-07:002019-08-02T09:30:47.933-07:00Even more 'bake your noodle-ish' would be ...Even more 'bake your noodle-ish' would be what if Arnold had not turned traitor but stayed a patriot. The man could fight, unlike some of the American commanders. Kind of an earlier-times and not quite as competent Nathan B. Forrest. Which is why his defection was so hard on Washington, to lose one of his top commanders.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-6252173934628008762019-08-02T09:28:49.737-07:002019-08-02T09:28:49.737-07:00Just as long as some alternate timeline Brits don&...Just as long as some alternate timeline Brits don't go back in time and give them the L85 Enfield, because then the past Brits post Waterloo would be given the worst battlerifle ever and they'd really lose... <br /><br />(Shades of Turtledove and "Guns of the South.")<br /><br />Now if the future alt-timeline Brits gave them some SMLEs, well, that would be a different ending now, wouldn't it?Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-81728861584672583092019-08-02T09:25:39.521-07:002019-08-02T09:25:39.521-07:00Well, in the 'For want of a nail' battle, ...Well, in the 'For want of a nail' battle, if Henry Tudor hadn't had 15,000 Froggies with him, Richard III would have prevailed, the House of York would have continued to rule England (for a while, at least) and one of the most sane and mellow royals would have made his rule felt in the future.<br /><br />Why for want of a nail? Well, examination of Richard III's corpse, only recently discovered, showed that he had severe scoliosis. In armor, on a horse, he was a beast of a fighter, as the horse and saddle supported the armor and him. (He was noted historically for having very strong arms, verrry strong arms.) So with lance and sword on horseback, he was pretty much unequaled. On foot? Because his horse had a flat became lame? The armor crushed him and reduced his ability to breath. Still a strong fighter, just with no wind. (Some English university found someone about the same age as Richard when he died with about the same deformity. Trained him in armor and fighting, and found out, yes, that on horseback the man could do just about anything with really no hint of his disability (extremely severe scoliosis.) But in armor on foot, well, no. Even not in armor on foot, swinging a sword was painful and the young man got out of breath quickly. Thus, an experiment to see if Richard III could fight proved he could, on horseback.)<br /><br />Well, YOU (OldAFS) did say it was alternate history...Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-83618619990906369002019-08-02T07:54:32.018-07:002019-08-02T07:54:32.018-07:00Small things can make big changes.Small things can make big changes.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-25444802681956135122019-08-02T07:18:30.407-07:002019-08-02T07:18:30.407-07:00Hey AFSarge;
*Wow* How small things can swi...Hey AFSarge;<br /><br /> *Wow* How small things can swing history. Another one would be Arnold being successful in betraying Washington, how things would have changed. or even better if the Spartans did surrender instead of fight, the cradle of Western Civilization would have been woped before the seeds sprouted.MrGarabaldihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05768774166065615995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-24194106138567135002019-08-02T05:07:59.643-07:002019-08-02T05:07:59.643-07:00Thanks Nylon12.Thanks Nylon12.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-34627785705539723752019-08-02T05:07:40.853-07:002019-08-02T05:07:40.853-07:00We shall see!We shall see!OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-80691512559840325932019-08-02T05:07:16.942-07:002019-08-02T05:07:16.942-07:00Well now.....shades of Turtledove, Ringo and Stirl...Well now.....shades of Turtledove, Ringo and Stirling.....anticipation on this...(hopping from one foot to the other and repeating). Hoisting the "MOAR" flag, nice, very nice Sarge. Nylon12noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-6864278919361071962019-08-02T05:04:01.204-07:002019-08-02T05:04:01.204-07:00For want of a nail.... Your imagination is outsta...For want of a nail.... Your imagination is outstanding OAFS, although I shudder to contemplate the possibilities of Bonaparte's resurgence.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15482185271178889753noreply@blogger.com