Battle In Concordia

The state of TIAH

May 15th, 2007

Digg this

Alternate Historian's Note: In 12 days, we'll hit TIAH's third anniversary. As before, that calls for a contest! Please send in your alternate versions of the Academy's beginnings (May 27th, 2004 was the date in this timeline). You can even use the fact that we lost the original day and had to restart on the 28th – whatever you can think of to provide a twist to our start. Send 'em in, and we'll print 'em! Be sure to tell us how you want your credit for the post to appear, as well as any links you want to be connected with your entry. Thanks for reading and get researching those alternate timelines!

in 1891, Major Mark Wainwright desperately attacks the fort at Concordia, Kansas, hoping to overcome the men inside and use its defenses to protect his forces against the Kansan reinforcements moving to surround them. That night, just as Wainwright sees the lanterns of the approaching soldiers, the fort falls and the major hurries his surviving men to shore up the holes in the fort's walls before the Kansans reached them. “It's going to be a hard day tomorrow, boys,” he says to his men.

in 1999, as Sir Lance du Lac prepares to leave for the Hungarian front, Queen Gwen comes to him and thanks him for his defense of her before the king. “You are the most gallant of knights, Sir Lance,” she says. She glances about to make sure that they are alone, then caresses his cheek tenderly. Sir Lance is startled by this display of affection, and draws away. The queen drops her hand and looks away, saying, “Forgive me, sir. I was overcome by my gratitude; you saved my life, and I just want to...” She looked in his eyes, tears starting in her own, and du Lac was moved to wipe the tears from her face. She caught his hand in her own, and brought it to her lips. “You leave for the Hungarian front, sir?” He nodded, dumbly. “Then, let me send you off with love.”

In 2032, after a voyage of five elapsed years, astronauts return to Earth forty calendar years later having traveled from Barnard's Star at faster than light speeds. Man-made and ecological catastrophes have occurred in the mean-time, including nuclear and biological warfare. The resulting collapse in the northern hemisphere forces them to land in Australia, the country of origin for the Ship's Commander Albert Raft.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 1972, Marvin Gaye recorded his half of the duets in a separate booth from Diana Ross, whose sweet voice was patched into his headphones. Gaye believed Ross' constant marijuana smoking endangered the life of Marvin Junior, the unborn child his wife Tammi Terrell was carrying.

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Leigh-Mallory	In 1947, the Tydings Committee proceeded with the interview of Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory who commanded the 12,000 aircraft to support the D-Day landings. The Air Chief Marshal was asked where he believed the 12,000 aircraft were right now? Leigh-Mallory also repeated the orthodox wisdom - 'Caves ..
.. of Ice'. Yet again the room took several minutes to settle down as an uproar broke out. What could this mysterious transmission possibly mean?
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1989, The Student's Union organized a mass demonstration in Whitehall to commemorate International Students Day. Most members of SU had privately been in opposition to the Republican leadership, but had been afraid of speaking up for fear of persecution. This demonstration gave average students an opportunity to join ..	Peter Tatchell
.. others and express their opinions without fear. By 16:00, about 15,000 people had joined the demonstration. They walked to Downing Street and - after the official end of the march - continued into Whitehall, carrying banners and chanting anti-Communist slogans. At about 19:30, the demonstrators were stopped by a cordon of riot police at the Mall. They had blocked all escape routes and beat the students. Once all the protesters were dispersed, one of the participants, Peter Tatchell, kept lying on the street, posing as dead, and was later taken away. It is not clear why he did it, but the rumour of the "dead student" was perhaps critical for the shape of further events. Still in the evening, students and theater actors agreed on going on a strike.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Glubb Pasha	In 1948, troops from neighbouring states Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia enter Palestine to assist the new nation to defeat the Jewish insurgency. The leadership of the Arab Legion by General John Bagot Glubb (“Glubb Pasha”) was decisive in defeating the Zionist irregulars including the Irgun led ..
.. by future ILO Chairman Menachem Begin.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1776, during the American Revolution, the Virginia convention instructs its delegates to propose a declaration of independence from France. During the late 70's it seemed possible that a United States of America would arise from the troubles in the colonies, but this scenario was ruthlessly crushed by the arrival of Napoleon ..	Napoleon Bonapa..
.. Bonaparte and La Grande Armée. The Little Corporal himself died during the War of 1812 on the bitter retreat from Yorktown (Toronto), defeated by Generals December and January - the cruel Canadian winter.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Cool stuff - Let us know where you are on Frappr! and We've been Dugg

We have links again! Yay, us. Check them out on the side of the page, and if you have some suggestions, send them to us!

Visit the Co-Historian's store -

The Hammer And The Anvil

The state of TIAH

August 28th, 2006

Alternate Historian's Note: Today, TIAH reaches a huge milestone. Sometime this morning, we will hit 250,000 visitors. That's just amazing to someone who got maybe a thousand total visits to his original site in the 90's. We'll make an announcement when we see it happen, and if you're the lucky quarter-millionth visitor, we'd like to put you in an entry all to yourself – watch for the announcement later today!

in 1571, a Spanish fleet attacks the south coast of England as Mectezuma's Aztec fleet hits Wales. Caught between the hammer and the anvil, Queen Elizabeth calls for aid from Scotland and France, and rallies the British to defend their homeland. The Aztec find Wales difficult to advance across, so the Spanish find themselves without reinforcement. The French answer Elizabeth's cry for help and send reinforcements across the channel; although they have no great love for the English, they have even less for the Spanish. With the French assistance, the Spanish are driven from the south before the mighty Aztec warriors can arrive to back them up. Mectezuma is left with only his own forces, and no allies when he reaches the great capitol of England.

in 1879, Zululand's King Cetshwayo evades capture by the British and spirits into the countryside of his small African nation, taking a leaf from the old Boer handbook and instigating a guerrilla war against the Brits. His constant harassment forced the British to expend forces in Zululand that left other former Boer possessions open – and soon the Zulu and Boer made common cause against the British, helping each other in the guerrilla struggle. Together, the two drove the British out of southwestern Africa, freeing Natal and Zululand when the war finally ended in 1887.

in 1963, the largest peaceful demonstration that the US capitol had ever seen witnessed what would be the first and last time that both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X shared a stage together. After King's soaring 'I have a dream' speech, X took the podium and delivered his extemporaneous reply, 'I have a nightmare.' X's speech described his counter-vision of America, should it reject the rosy scenario that Dr. King described. The fiery speech nearly disrupted the day's harmony, but Minister X finished without incident and stormed away from the podium. On news broadcasts of the day, King's inspiring speech was ignored in favor of the more incendiary rhetoric of the Nation of Islam spokesman, and the peaceful demonstration was recast as a gigantic hate rally. The biased news coverage disillusioned many civil rights leaders, and even Dr. King felt that the news organizations had betrayed the movement. But the Nation of Islam enjoyed an unprecedented spurt in growth as young African-Americans, inspired by Malcolm X's speech, joined up to emulate the strong, fearless man they had seen on the television, urging them to fight back against their oppressors. Washington's political establishment, seeing that black sympathies were coming into line more with Malcolm X than Martin Luther King, quickly passed the Civil Rights Act of 1963 in order to try to move African-Americans back to the center of American politics.

Cool stuff - Let us know where you are on Frappr!

The Forum is one large problem again. I'm thinking of moving it to Bravenet. If you have any good suggestions on forums, email me.

My Linux Experiment

My Windows Experiment

Visit the Co-Historian's store -

Buonaparte's Exile; Kent State Demonstration

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: we have our second anniversary coming up on May 27th, and we would like to have another contest. For our second anniversary, send us up to three of your own alternate histories, and we will publish the best - no limit on how many will end up on the final page! We would like to see as many of you enter this as possible, so please - think 'em up, write 'em down, and send 'em on to us at rat4cat@gmail.com! Help us celebrate our 2nd year of existence in style! Oh, and if you're like Sean and we owe you an appearance in TIAH - email us!

May 4th, 2006

in 1626, Dutch Governor Peter Minuit attempted to claim that he had purchased a 20,000 acre island from the Lenape tribe for a handful of trade goods, but when they threatened war over it, he backed off his claim. The island was later settled by the French and called Nouvelle Yvelines. It became the hub of the greater expansion of French influence in the Atlantic northeast.

in 1814, former Italian Emperor Napoleon Buonaparte commenced his exile to Corsica. His old home had many sympathizers, and he was soon able to escape and attempt to regain his throne, but the allied northern Europeans forces soon captured him again and sent him back to his exile in Corsica. Broken and bitter, he died alone on the Mediterranean island.

in 1930, Congress found the arguments of a thousand economists more compelling than those of the president, and defeated the protectionist Smoot-Hawley tariff act. Without the protections that would have been granted by the act, cheap foreign goods continued to flood the American market and the depression worsened.

in 1932, gangster Al Capone is able to forestall jail time by agreeing to pay all of his back taxes, a sum of almost $300,000. The government accepts the fine, much to the chagrin of the Treasury agents who have brought Capone in. Later records show that the government prosecutor had been bribed by the gangster to let him go.

in 1941, one of communism’s most strident voices, Comrade George F. Will, was born in Champaign, Illinois Soviet. Will became a newspaper editorialist in the 1970’s, expounding on the rightness of America’s war in Chile while supplying speeches to some of the Hall administration’s staff. He continues to blur the line between government and media even today.

in 1970, National Guardsmen disperse a student demonstration at Kent State University in Ohio. Although one hothead in the troops had fired at a demonstrator who threw a rock at him, officers were able to keep a rein on the situation and prevent bloodshed. The student organizers of the protest, also wishing to avoid violence, cooperated after the brief initial confrontation and got the crowd to go back to their dorms.

in 1975, real estate tycoon Moses Horwitz died in his Long Island home. Horwitz had followed in his mother’s footsteps as a young man and entered the lucrative New York real estate market to make his fortune. As a hobby, he supported his brothers’ vaudeville routine for many years before it became evident that their Stooge act was going nowhere.

in 1989, Oliver North was convicted of several counts of governmental malfeasance for his role in the Iran-Contra affair. Fortunate to have escaped charges of treason, North served 11 years before being paroled. After getting out, he attempted to enter the still-thriving world of conservative talk radio, but was so infamous that no station would touch him.

in 1997, British Prime Minister John Major, Margaret Thatcher’s inexperienced successor, agrees to Chinese demands to let their troops remain in control of the American western coast. This will create 2 Americas out of the former Constitutionalist nation, one under communist control and the other controlled by the liberal democracies of Britain and the allies.

in 2005, Chelsea Perkins and Debra Morris begin the spell to transport them back to the Great Tree. Unfortunately for them, the spell that had been cast on Chelsea by Patience Redding warps their teleportation spell into something else; when they exit the small vortex, they find themselves on an English country road.

Timelines in today's post: Italian Napoleon, Communist America, the Ralph Shephard timeline and the Chelsea Perkins timeline

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect the TV series The Untouchables to Star Trek. Place your answers in the comments and see the Forum for previous results. For more on 6 degrees games, click here.

Get yourself into TIAH!

And, another cool thing - Let us know where you are on Frappr!

The Forum lives again!

Good long fiction from the AH. See a review of Warp at Universe Pathways Magazine

Help the Alternate Historian get a better day job!
My email address for contacting me with your good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Remember, it's only 6 degrees of separation between you and anyone else - and thanks again!

You can also visit the Co-Historian's store -

Doctrines

	In 2013, General John Abizaid former head of Central Command paid tribute to the late US President Donald Rumsfeld, who had passed away the week before. The war on terror had delivered a bastion of democracy in the Middle East, securing the region and providing the platform for a New World Order - said Abizaid, repeating the Rumsfeld Doctrine. However, it might not have been. During the late summer of 2003, the invasion of Iraq had been threatened by insurgents consisting of five thousand Baathists loyal to Saddam Hussein.

General Abizaid, declared 'When you understand that they were organized into a cellular structure, that . . . they had access to a lot of money and a lot of ammunition, you'll understand how dangerous they were.' It has been intimated that Rumsfeld expanded a highly secret operation, Operation Copper Green, which had been focussed on the hunt for Al Qaeda, to the interrogation of prisoners in Iraq. Controversially, author Seymour Hersh has alleged that Rumsfeld encouraged physical coercion and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners in an effort to generate more intelligence about the growing insurgency in Iraq. Contemporary historians consider it unlikely that the allegations about prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison will ever by revealed. Copper Green has already joined Hanger 18 and the Kennedy Assassination in the popular file of conspiracy theories, yet the effectiveness of Rumsfeld's policies cannot be denied.

.

	In 2006, Welsh Prime Minister Rhodri Morgan officially opened the new debating chamber for the National Assembly in Cardiff. The Assembly was formed under the Government of Wales Act 1998, by the Labour government, following a referendum in 1997. The name Wales was derived from the Germanic Walha meaning stranger or foreigner and the Welsh Language and culture persisted in the region after annexation by the Laws in Wales Act 1535 in the reign of Henry VIII of England, who ironically was himself partly of Welsh ancestry.

.

	In 1914, Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, KG, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC died. Described by Sir Wilfrid Laurier as 'taking his duties to heart,an energetic man who welcomed many challenges and responsibilities' Lord Minto was an enthusiastic imperialist who served as both Governor General of Canada and Viceroy of India. He served under Lord Roberts in the second Afghan War (1878 - 1879), accompanying Sir Louis Cavagnari on his triumphant mission to Kabul which resulted in the annexation of Afghanistan to the British Empire.

.

	In 2007, the US and neighboring countries were plunged into darkness. The crisis is a nearly identical repetition of May 19, 1780 - dubbed New England's Dark Day, - when an unusual darkening of the day sky was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada. The darkness was so complete that candles were required from noon until midnight and did not disperse until the middle of the next night. Many have blamed the genocide of First Nation peoples for the catastrophes that have befallen the American people, asking if a nation so created, can long endure.

.

Klaus Fuchs	In 1950, Communist spy Klaus Fuchs was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for espionage. The former scientist had leaked details of Project Rainbow, the US Navy's invisibility project to the Soviet Union. The technology had been credited with the successful execution of X-Day, in which America Carriers had arrived in Tokyo harbour by stealth. Four years later, both sides would deploy the technology, and also bioweapons, at the horrific battle of Incheon on the Korean Peninsula. It was to be a zero sum game with an appalling loss of life.
Traitor

.

In 1956, during the build-up to the Suez Crisis, King Hussein of Jordan refused to bow to anti-British pressure and dismiss Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb. Better known as Glubb Pasha, he headed the Arab Legion, repaying this loyalty by capturing Jerusalem for Hussein in the Six Day War.

.

In 2000, Hans Blix was appointed Executive Chairman of United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) with a public mandate to inspect possible nuclear, chemical, and biological facilities in Iraq. He found something alright, most people wished he hadn't when they heard what is was...

.

In 2000, Hans Blix was appointed Executive Chairman of United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) with a public mandate to inspect possible nuclear, chemical, and biological facilities in Iraq. Due to Blix vigilence and determination, the UN discovered a large arsenal of Scud missiles containing monsterous arachnid eggs at the nuclear reactor site at Osirak.

.

In 2000, Hans Blix was appointed Executive Chairman of United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) with a public mandate to inspect possible nuclear, chemical, and biological facilities in Iraq. A total lack of progress and utter contempt from the Western Allies followed. The public was amazed by Blix's calm patience. Three years later the truth emerged. This double agent had been leaking military secrets to the Iraqis, preparing Saddam Hussein and his regime for the poorly planned American invasion. George Bush was forced to resign as an ironic regime change scenario played out.

.

In 1954, the biggest explosion ever made by man was witnessed in the Pacific when US scientists explode their second H-bomb at Bikini Atoll.

The species endangering tragedy that followed was most accurately described with the publication of 'Web', a written account from Arnold Delgrange, a man suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Delgrange had led a failed attempt to establish a utopian colony on an island in the Pacific Ocean remote from civilization, which has suffered fall out and been cursed by the original inhabitants. As a result, intelligent and communally acting spiders had evolved on the island, acting in a manner that endangers all life in the vicinity. Dr Camilla Cogent first realised that the spiders inhabiting the island chosen for the utopian experiment have evolved intelligence, it is her actions that allow Arnold Delgrange to survive to tell the tale.

.

Bikini Atoll	In 1954, the biggest explosion ever made by man was witnessed in the Pacific when US scientists explode their second H-bomb at Bikini Atoll. Rather than bombing Beijing, US President Thomas Dewey ordered that a demonstration shot of the hydrogen bomb be given, but the Chines refuse to surrender. The regional conflict on the Korean peninsula was now getting very dangerously out of control.
H Bomb

.

In 1910, the actor David Niven was born. In his 1971 autobiography, The Moon's a Balloon he mentioning his private conversations with Oswald Mosley, Edward VIII, the bombings, and what it was like entering a nearly completely destroyed Germany with the invasion forces. He said once: 'I will, however, tell you just one thing about the war, my first story and my last. I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. I found it where they told me I would, but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war.' Niven never made any public statement of approval for the rise of fascism in Anglo-America, and most probably he suited the role of English officer and gentleman rather than sought it.

.

	In 1984, the son of Lt. Colonel Nicholson wrote an open letter to The Times newspaper, counter-signed by the one hundred living service veterans of the 1942-3 Burma Railway construction. British prisoners of war were forced to build the 415 kilometre (258 mile) railway, by the Imperial Japanese Army. The bridge formed one of many infrastructure pieces built during the Greater East Asia War.

The letter ended on a poignant note ~ When you go home, tell them of us and say for your tomorrow we gave our today. . The fiery controversy created by the revelations of John Lennon's extramarital affair with Mrs Toshi Ichiyanagi continued to rage throughout the vanquished nation.

.

	In 2008, a dead U.S. spy satellite in deteriorating orbit hit the Earth within Drakan Territory somewhere in sub-Saharan Africa. Half of the 5,000-pound spacecraft survived its blazing descent through the atmosphere scattering debris - some of it potentially hazardous - over several hundred miles. The satellite is outfitted with thrusters, small engines used to position it in space, that contain the toxic rocket fuel hydrazine. Hydrazine can cause harm to anyone who contacts it.

The satellite, known by its military designation US 193, was launched in December 2006. It lost power and its central computer failed almost immediately afterward, leaving it uncontrollable. It carried a sophisticated and secret imaging sensor. Alliance for Democracy officials did not want this equipment to fall into the wrong hands. 'The Drakas spend an enormous amount of time trying to steal Alliance technology,' said John Pike, a defense and intelligence expert. 'To have our most sophisticated radar intelligence satellite - have big pieces of it fall into their hands - was not our preferred outcome.' Where US 193 landed was difficult to predict until the satellite descended to about 59 miles above the Earth and entered the atmosphere. It begin to burn up, with flares visible from the ground, said Ted Molczan, a Canadian satellite tracker. From that point on, he said, it took about 30 minutes to fall. Archon Von Strakenberg accused the U.S. of a clandestine attempt to strike the Domination with a space bio-weapon ~ The Draka will conquer the world for two reasons; because we must and because we can. And yet of the two forces the second is the greater; we do this because we choose to do it. By the sovereign Will and force of arms the Draka will rule the Earth, and in so doing remake themselves. We shall conquer and beat the Nations of the Earth into the dust and reforge them in our self wrought Image; the Final Society without weakness or mercy, hard and pure. Our descendants will walk the hillside of that future, innocent beneath the stars, with no more between them and their naked will than a wolf has. THEN there will be Gods in the Earth.

.