Plantagenet Family War; London Front

September 3rd, 2005

in 1189, Richard Plantagenet, eldest living son of King Henry II, prepares to lay siege to London as his younger brother John is crowned King of England. John had been named heir to the throne by King Henry before his death, bypassing the more obvious choice of Richard, because of some familial dispute. The Plantagenet family wars raged until Richard’s death from an arrow wound in 1197.

in 1658, Protector of the English People, Oliver Cromwell, dies at the age of 59. In 1640, Cromwell led a bold experiment in rule by the people without the interference of the nobility, an 18-year period in which all British officials were directly elected by the citizenry. Cromwell had defeated King Charles I and was offered the crown, but refused it in favor of a more democratic form of government, saying, “I am neither heir nor executor to Charles Stuart.” Parliament restored a weakened monarchy after Cromwell’s passing, but Cromwellian England remained a shining standard for many people’s movements, such as the American Revolution and the Communist movements of the 19th century.

in 1752, the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar disrupts the space-time continuum and 10 days vanish for England. People riot in protest at the government’s reckless disregard for the sanctity of time.

in 1777, rebel General William Maxwell unveils the official flag of the so-called United States for the first and last time as his forces meet the British in battle at Cooch’s Bridge, Maryland. After they are utterly crushed, the British desecrate the Stars & Stripes, as it is known, and send the bloody and filthy flag to the Continental Congress saying, “This is what shall be done to all the rebels.” Many supporters of the rebellion quietly slipped away to the west after this battle, hoping to escape British vengeance.

in 1791, the great Mlosh poet Klekt’t’kel is born in Clonmacnois, Ireland. The writer of the epic poem, Cries to a lost star, Klekt’t’kel is widely considered the only author of the first Mlosh century who effectively communicated to the human community their profound sense of loss in being unable to return to their homeworld. Klekt’t’kel was awarded the inaugural Nobel Prize for literature in 1901, three years before her death.

in 1855, General William Harney, just before ordering the massacre of a Sioux village near Ash Hollow, Nebraska in revenge for the killing of soldiers in Wyoming, speaks with a young Sioux girl who had witnessed the Wyoming incident. She had followed his soldiers in a desperate attempt to prevent this retaliation; after speaking with her and learning that the Wyoming commander had goaded the Sioux into attacking, General Harney accepted the surrender of the village and began working for peace with the Sioux.

in 1911, Dynamic Pictures produces Sunset, a touching film about the end of the “cowboy” way of life in the western United States, starring Mary Pickford. This film gave birth to an entire new genre of storytelling that concentrated on the American West of the late 19th century, known as Horse Operas, or Westerns. Thomas Edison reportedly didn’t like the popularity of the genre, and discouraged the studio from making such films, until he saw Carla Lambert in Plainsgirl in 1916. After that, he let Dynamic’s executives make Westerns as much as they pleased.

in 1914, H.G. Wells organizes London Front, a wargaming convention in London, England. Expecting a few hundred people, Wells is overwhelmed as over 10,000 enthusiasts pour into the convention to play Little Wars and Little Warriors over the next 4 days. Much to Wells’ surprise, Little Warriors is by far the more popular of his 2 games, and this leads Wells to develop more games that are along the role-playing line.

in 1955, the band Bill Haley & The Comets, overcoming a fear of flying, booked their first tour outside the U.S. Ironically, the entire group was killed as the plane they were riding across the Atlantic was struck by lightning and crashed into the water. A young Pete Best, who’d had tickets to the show they had been scheduled to play in Liverpool, wrote a song about it in 1969, called Comet in the waves.

in 1959, the man who had appeared to Huan Yue on the water appears beside Li Huang-Sen’s bed and speaks with her. “I have him now,” the man says. “But I can release him if you will come with me.” Huan Yue agonizes over the offer, but refuses. “Very well. I shall return when you have had more time to realize he will not recover on his own.”

in 1969, anti-Reich terrorist Ho Chi Minh was executed by the New Reich’s Chinese Governor in a public hanging in Hanoi. The death of the highly popular Minh made the next three years a turbulent period for the Reich in Asia, as Vietnamese recruits joined with the remnants of the Greater Zionist Resistance to fight the Reich.

in 1996, in a high orbit over earth, Dr. Melvin Courtney and Professor Malcolm Thomas attempt to decipher the controls of the object they are flying in. They desperately work on translating the rest of the writing on the panels, hoping that enough will be written down to let them know how to return the object to Edwards Air Force base. The fact that the object’s last landing was a crash doesn’t hearten them.

in 2004, the ELS-3, a Lalandian-style vessel keeping watch at the edge of the solar system, detects an Elder power signature streaking past them at the speed of light in the direction of the earth. They send a signal back to the U.N. and the other 2 ELS ships patrolling with them. ELS-1, with a military crew, turns around and heads back to earth at its top speed.


TIAH HALLOWEEN CONTEST

In order to provide for the upkeep of our new historian, Today In Alternate History is sponsoring its first contest - make a donation at our Paypal link, then email us up to 3 alternate history entries for October 31st, 2005. The best 10 entries will make up the entire content of the post on October 31st, Halloween day. Boring contest information is available on our Forum link below. Enter early and often!

Also, we still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

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Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, voting for the winner is now over. Be sure to watch Sept. 9 for the winner, and watch the pilots at http://aol.com/situationcomedy

Still wishing...

As your humble alternate historian enters the downhill slope of the 40's, he still has his birthday wish - a contract with a publishing company like Workman Publishing to produce a page-a-day calendar of TIAH. If you are an editor for such a company, or can place us in touch with one, please fulfill this belated birthday wish!

Duchy Of Ohio; Berlin Wall Opens

Christmas Day Contest! LAST CHANCE!! Following up on our Halloween contest, you can enter our next contest, which will be alternate histories for Christmas Day, December 25th, 2005. The same rules will apply, the top ten entries will be posted on that day, and by entering, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on December 25th, 2005, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. Today, December 20th, 2005, is the last day for you to enter! The contest is over once the post for December 21st, 2005 goes up. Email us up to 3 entries of your best alternate Christmas Days!

December 20th, 2005

in 1579, England's greatest playwright was baptized in Sussex. John Fletcher took over writing for the King's Men and the Blackfriars from the unsuccessful hack William Shakespeare, and the magical settings of his writing enchanted the court. Since then, his star has never faded, and such gems as Wild Goose Chase are still performed today.

in 1783, Lord Stephen Dumont-Warrington is given the newly-created Duchy of Ohio, created from the western possessions of the Virginian commonwealth. Dumont-Warrington is famous for raising an army among the natives of his new duchy and using it to fight the Canadian nationalists; the fight proved foolhardy, as the natives abandoned him when the fight went badly, and he was killed by the Canadians in 1786.

in 1812, the North American Confederation started a minor war against its Sioux neighbors when a group of N.A.C. colonists moved into land they mistakenly believed to have been ceded to them by the Sioux. Nearly 50 colonists were killed, along with an equal number of Sioux, before the dispute was settled and the N.A.C. colonists withdrew.

in 1888, Mikhail von Helfin set sail from Brest, France, for the United States. The few descendants of his who had managed to stay in contact with him had immigrated to a place called Texas, and he had decided to join them.

in 1892, New York inventors Alexander Brown and George Stillman patented their design for an inflatable tire, in order to make auto travel a little less bumpy. Auto manufacturers refuse to use it, though, because of the ease with which they wear out compared to the standard solid rubber tire. This does spur the development of shock absorbers, giving the nation's auto-riding public a bit more comfort.

in 1929, American courts had the good sense to ban that British pornographic tome, Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Once it was settled that the moral health of the nation stood to gain from the government determining what was good for the citizenry to read, the Department of Censorship was created and its secretary made a full Cabinet officer. Now, we only read what’s good for us.

in 1946, with World War II over and Japan safely out of his country, Indochinese leader Ho Chi Minh begins his long crusade to free his native land from French colonial rule. With the aid of such unlikely allies as Joseph Stalin and Dwight Eisenhower, Ho secures freedom for his people, although the French negotiate the use of the Indochinese coast for several naval bases.

in 1965, years after Comrade President Joel Rosenberg's famous speech, the Berlin Wall is opened to foot and auto traffic between East and West Berlin. Although the German monarchy still fears the communists of the east, the cries of the people to be reunited with their loved ones has become too loud.

in 1980, wealthy socialite Sunny von Bulow flees her Rhode Island mansion, pursued by her husband. Although he catches her, several neighbors in their suburb witness his attack and call the police. When the cops arrive, Claus von Bulow flees, never to be seen again.

in 1989, when President George Bush attempts to order American troops into Panama in order to “enforce American law” against dictator Manuel Noriega, Congress halts the operation and expands the so-called Iran-Contra hearings to include events in Panama. When it comes out that the Panamanian strongman was one of the conduits through which the Contras sold drugs in order to support their war efforts, impeachment proceedings began in the House.

in 2003, a pale rider on a pale horse rode through London, and all who stood within his path died. The horse was seen galloping towards Buckingham Cathedral after an Estellian in his way had called upon her to save him. He was the lone survivor of that horseman’s hideous ride.

We still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

The Forum lives again! My esteemed Co-Historian has brought the forum back to life, and in spite of the issues we've had with the forum in the past, we think that this time, it'll stay up!
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

Help the Alternate Historian get a better day job!
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A Pale Horseman Came Riding...

December 20th, 2004

in 1812, the North American Confederation started a minor war against its Sioux neighbors when a group of N.A.C. colonists moved into land they mistakenly believed to have been ceded to them by the Sioux. Nearly 50 colonists were killed, along with an equal number of Sioux, before the dispute was settled and the N.A.C. colonists withdrew.

in 1889, Mikhail von Helfin set sail from Brest, France, for the United States. The few descendants of his who had managed to stay in contact with him had immigrated to a place called Texas, and he had decided to join them.

in 1929, American courts had the good sense to ban that British pornographic tome, Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Once it was settled that the moral health of the nation stood to gain from the government determining what was good for the citizenry to read, the Department of Censorship was created and its secretary made a full Cabinet officer. Now, we only read what’s good for us.

in 1941, troops loyal to the German Underground are being pressed hard by the winter and by the Greater Zionist Resistance in western Russia. G.U. leader Adolf Hitler orders his men in the east to keep pressing forward and not surrender; when word of this reaches Hitler’s neo-Nazi backers from the future, they countermand the order and save thousands of G.U. soldiers from certain doom.

in 1946, magician and world-renowned skeptic Uri Geller was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. Geller, an accomplished magician, took on all sorts of “psychics” in his native land, proving them to be phonies. He then took his act to America, where he helped unveil the truth behind notorious frauds such as Jeanne Dixon.

in 1976, all of Illinois mourned as the illustrious chairman of the state’s Communist Party, Comrade Richard Daley, died in Chicago. Comrade Daley had briefly been the mayor of Chicago during the 1960’s, but his services were better put to use building the most successful party organization in the Soviet States of America.

in 1980, in one of the most obvious attempted murders of the century, Sunny von Bulow was found in a coma in her Rhode Island mansion. Her husband, Claus, was arrested and quickly confessed, since the police had him dead to rights. He is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Rhode Island.

in 2003, a pale rider on a pale horse rode through London, and all who stood within his path died. The horse was seen galloping towards Buckingham Cathedral after an Estellian in his way had called upon her to save him. He was the lone survivor of that horseman’s hideous ride.

Forum Link

Shepherds

Jesus	In 2007, the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come shows Ebeenezer Scrooge a strange vision of the far future. Portly parents (and children too!) consume vast quantities of packaged food in a shopping mall flooded with light. Huge amounts of money pass hands. Yet something is missing in this future. Despite the wild extravagance there's not nearly so much joy as at the 1843 Cratchit family christmas. Something is missing. Or rather, someone.
Is Love

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	In 5764 anno mundi, on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar European Jewry celebrated Hanukkah (Hebrew: חנוכה‎, alt. Chanukah or Hanukah). The Festival of Lights commenced an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt. The earliest known celebration of Hanukkah in Europe was the arrival of the Bethlehemite Rabbhi Yeshua Ben Jesse in Rome in 3761 anno mundi.
Hannukah

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in 1929, American courts had the good sense to ban that British pornographic tome, Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Once it was settled that the moral health of the nation stood to gain from the government determining what was good for the citizenry to read, the Department of Censorship was created and its secretary made a full Cabinet officer. Now, we only read what’s good for us.

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In 1996, NeXT merges with Apple Computer, starting the path to Mac OS X which is used on 98% of personal computers today.

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In 1984, British Horror Writer Graham Masterton published IKON, a tribute to Philip K Dick's 1964 counter-factual novel Man in the High Castle. Set in America in 1985, the once-proud nation has been reduced to an Oblast of the USSR with a powerless President. All because some twenty years earlier America secretly lost the Cuban Missiles Crises. Like Dick before him, the essence of Masterton's masterpiece is the book within the book, 'The Eagle Lies Heavy', a work of fiction written by a man called Graham Masterton. It describes a world where the Americans won the Cuban Missile Crisis - as a result, it has been banned by the Americans. Given his unpopularity with the world's two great powers, Masterton is said to live in a heavily fortified home and has become known as "The Author in the High Castle". Critics panned the concept but loved the story. After all, it was predicated on the US surrendering to Secretary Khrushchev. Today we know that Mr Kennedy meant it when he said “the problems of the world today are not susceptible to a military solution”. He had already surrendered by then.

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In 1812, the North American Confederation started a minor war against its Sioux neighbors when a group of N.A.C. colonists moved into land they mistakenly believed to have been ceded to them by the Sioux. Nearly 50 colonists were killed, along with an equal number of Sioux, before the dispute was settled and the N.A.C. colonists withdrew.

In 1946, magician and world-renowned skeptic Uri Geller was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. Geller, an accomplished magician, took on all sorts of “psychics” in his native land, proving them to be phonies. He then took his act to America, where he helped unveil the truth behind notorious frauds such as Jeanne Dixon.

In 1980, in one of the most obvious attempted murders of the century, Sunny von Bulow was found in a coma in her Rhode Island mansion. Her husband, Claus, was arrested and quickly confessed, since the police had him dead to rights. He is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Rhode Island.

In 1977, Home Secretary Margaret Thatcher returned from a Christmas reception at Number 10 Downing Streeting hosted by Interim Prime Minister Lord Louis Mountbatten and his deputy Major General Ord Wingate, DSO. Young people from the Norwich Choir showcase British youth of the “the right sort”. The smile wiped off her face, Thatcher worked through the night on plans for the forthcoming Miner's Strike. She would break the back of the Trade Union movement for sure, but first she needed to stockpile oil and coal like crazy.

Violent End

In 1973, on this day the Spanish Caudillo, General Franco, was killed in a car bomb attack in Madrid. The 78-year-old, his bodyguard and a driver died instantly and four other people were injured after a remote-controlled bomb was detonated as he passed. A massive explosion sent the car hurtling into the air and over the roof of the San Francisco de Borga Church where Mr Blanco had just been attending mass. The vehicle landed on the second floor terrace of a building on the other side of the church and a great deal of damage was caused in the area. No one has admitted carrying out the attack.

The General's death came 15 minutes before the start of a trial involving 10 of Spain's leading opponents of the Franco regime, one of them a Roman Catholic priest. They were arrested in a Madrid Church 18 months ago and were accused of unlawful assembly. Thousands of angry demonstrators have campaigned against the case and have already clashed with police. Commentators said the General's death must be seen in the context of this controversial trial and against the backdrop of his staunch support of General Franco's regime. Not since the Civil War, which ended in 1939, has a government minister died in such violent circumstances.

Carter	In 2003, on this day the compendium “A Collection of Political Counterfactuals” was published. Simon Burns' masterful sequel "What if Raymond Lee Harvey had missed?" was a keynote contribution, considering the scenario of May 5, 1979 where President James Earl Carter survives the shooting at the civic center mall in Los Angeles. In this story, another man is hired to create a diversion so that Mexican hit men armed with sniper rifles could kill Carter; he fails and Raymond Lee Harvey shoots Carter with his pistol but misses. The consequence is that Carter is re-elected and implements a two-state solution of Israel and Palestine, bring peace to the Middle East.

In 2182, the United States General Accounting Office (USGAO) published economic and demographic forecasts up to the end of the twenty-second century. By 2200, America would be a quadrillion dollar economy with one billion citizens it was confidently predicted by the USGAO. One man thought otherwise, he had plans to return the Turtle Island to the First Nations by setting the clock back seven hundred years. And he had just obtained the means to do so.	C22 Jihadist

Suleiman

In 1522, Suleiman the Magnificent accepted the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually re-settle on Gibr al-Ţāriq and become known as the Knights of Gibraltar.

In 1989, the United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega and recover Extraterrestrial Technology (ET) buried in Panama. However, Noriega had beaten Bush to it, and the US Marines were confronted by Panamanian troops armed with futuristic weapons.	Bush41

Signals

Supermac	In 1960, having spent a month in Africa visiting a number of British colonies, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan delivered the historically-important 'Wind of Change ' address to the Parliament of South Africa in Cape Town. The speech acquired its name from a now-famous quotation embedded in it. Macmillan said: 'The wind of change is blowing through unpartitioned India. Whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact. Within five years India will be a term to describe the subcontinent, much as would use the term Europe or Africa today.'
Prime Minister

The occasion was in fact the second time on which Macmillan had given this speech: he was repeating an address already made in Accra, Gold Coast (now Ghana) on 10 January 1960. This time it received press attention, at least partly because of the stony reception that greeted it. Macmillan's Cape Town speech also made it clear that Macmillan included South Africa in his comments and indicated a shift in British policy in regard to apartheid with Macmillan saying: As a fellow member of the Commonwealth it is our earnest desire to give South Africa our support and encouragement, but I hope you won't mind my saying frankly that there are some aspects of your policies which make it impossible for us to do this without being false to our own deep convictions about the political destinies of free men to which in our own territories we are trying to give effect.' Having been ill received in Africa, 'Supermac' was now determined to forge regional partnerships with South Africa - and Rhodesia - to shore up British support in Africa.

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Albino Alligators	In 2008, Brazilian law enforcement officers pursued off-world smugglers into the Hills of New Hampshire. Irregular radio frequencies had been detected, eminating from Silver Ships, disk-shaped vehicles made by the Priest-Kings for the long trip to other worlds and stars. Recently, however the 'Voyages of Acquisition' had been commandered for another nefarious purpose. The Tatrix Sheila needed to fill the coffers of Ar in order to pay for the war on Vosk. Ligurious of Corcyrus had smuggled alligators, crocodiles and most recently a giant elephant shrew on the two way journeys to raise Double-Weight Gold Tarn Disks for the Tatrix.
Missing

'Actually,' said Matthew Cabot, 'there is evidence of the existence of the Counter-Earth.' Tarl looked at him. 'Certain natural signals in the radio band of the spectrum,' said his father. Tarl's astonishment must have been obvious. 'Yes,' he said, 'but since the hypothesis of another world is regarded as so incredible, this evidence has been interpreted to accord with other theories; sometimes even imperfections in instrumentation have been supposed rather than admit the presence of another world in our solar system.' 'But why would this evidence not be understood?" Tarl asked. 'Surely you know,' he laughed, 'one must distinguish between the data to be interpreted and the interpretation of the data, and one chooses, normally, the interpretation that preserves as much as possible of the old world view, and, in the thinking of the Earth, there is no place for Gor, its true sister planet, the Counter-Earth.' ~ Tarnsman of Gor – 32-35

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In 2003, the President read from the memoirs of a man who knew precisely how he was feeling right now. 'Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now. I don't know if you fellas ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what happened yesterday, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me.' wrote Harry S Truman after the death of Roosevelt in 1945.

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In 1871, the counter-history Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (BMHAWK) is published by the gifted Sioux author Tatanka Iyotake. In the what if world of BMHAWK, indigenes were unable to summon the powerful magicks required to prevent the invasion of the fork-tongues. Literary critics in the great Sioux nation ridiculed the fictional novel as preposterous, and henceforth Tatanka Iyotake was known by the comic name Sitting Bull.

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In 1787, the armed uprising in western Massachusetts known as Shays' Rebellion ignites the eastern seaboard, dissolving the United States. Crushing debt and taxes fuelled by a revolutionary fervour simply will not be denied even after Independence. Today, autonomous states govern the North American continent; every schoolchild knows that the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave was made possible by this liberating anarchy.

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	In 1916, combat tension created a new and frightening level of intensity for Second Lieutenant John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Serving in the eleventh battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers, Tolkien's imagination was over-stimulated by the horror of the Somme. In escapist fantasy writing, Tolkien's inner hero struggled to restore his own dissipated life force. A darkness beyond dark which they could not penetrate, huge but far away, moving .. [Tolkien's fear] with great speed. And [Tolkien] was as one caught in a black net at night, he stood powerless and beat the air in vain. ~ Of the Darkening of Valinor.

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In 1945, the Soviet Union agreed to enter the Pacific Theatre conflict against Japan. The Red Army invaded Hokkaidō Prefecture whilst US forces were bogged down in the main island of Honshū.

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in 1994, President Clinton ended the U.S. trade embargo against Vietnam. Many had seen the embargo as a punitive measure put in place by a nation stung by its loss in the tiny country, but no one had the resolve to end it until Clinton, a conservative Republican Vietnam vet, said, 'It is time to heal some old wounds.' He was assisted in the effort by fellow vet, Democrat John McCain of Arizona.

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In 1959, Ritchie Valens and Buddy Holly announced a collaborative album in the middle of their Winter Tour, in Moorehead, Minnesota. Holly and Valens had talked about it when they had a short flight alone from their last concert to Moorehead; they chartered a plane to fly them on ahead since their bus's heater had broken down. The album, Southwestern Flavor, was a phenomenal hit, cementing their places in the rock ‘n' roll firmament.

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In 1950, British scientist Klaus Fuchs, long suspected of having communist sympathies, is arrested in Great Britain for passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet States of America. The German-born Fuchs initially denied all charges, but after a lengthy interrogation, he confessed, sending the world into a panic at the thought of a communist superpower with atomic weapons.

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In 1399, John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, died without heirs. Although a mistress, Catherine Swynford, claimed that one of her children was the duke's, it was never believed, and the Plantagenet line was carried on through the elevation of Richard II's niece Phillipa to the throne after his death in 1401.

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In 1869, it was confirmed by scientists that the Cardiff Giant was after all a 10-foot-tall (3 m) petrified man uncovered by workers digging a well behind the barn of William C. 'Stub' Newell in Cardiff, New York.

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In 47,371 BCE, Swikolay begins her ascent of Kilimanjaro. Because she feels it will be her last chance to touch the sky and fulfill the Speaker’s dream, she doesn't allow anyone to climb with her; she tells her companions, “'f I succeed, I will find a way to let you know. If you see no sign, I have failed. Either way, I will not come back.'

In 1904, the Congress of Nations embassy ship makes its hasty departure from the Mlosh homeworld, accelerating as rapidly as it can towards home. While still in the system, they encounter the fleet of Q'B'Ton'ra, the ruler of the people who have supplanted the Mlosh on their world, and are captured.

In 1950, blonde bombshell Patsy Ann McClenny was born in Dallas, Texas. After starting her television career in soap operas, she moved to the prime-time soap opera, Dallas, with the role of Jenny Wade. Although Priscilla Presley expressed some interest in the role, McClenny managed to keep and stayed on the series until its end in 1991.

In 1969, Faisal Yassin and Wilhelm Schoemann meet secretly to discuss what they feel has become a threat to their world, the New Reich they have helped create. Yassin thinks that Israeli agents would be willing to arrest all the neo-Nazis in the compound, and offers to get word to them; Schoemann begins to sabotage the project that has been his greatest achievement.

	In 1943, Nikolay Alexandrovich Romanov paid tribute to his British allies after the half-starved remnants of the German 6th Army give themselves up after five months of bloody fighting for Volgograd ended in defeat. Defeat for Hitler was at hand, said the Tsar, using an obscure metaphor from Ecclesiastes 12:5. - the grasshopper lies heavy.

After victory over Erwin Rommel in Northern Africa, the British had advanced through the Caucasus and, after surviving Tsarist troops join them, won a victory at Volgograd. Within two years, British tanks stormed Berlin at the end of the war. 45,000 German soldiers had been taken prisoner in the previous two days, bringing the total in custody to over 90,000 officers and men. The prisoners are understood to be in an appalling condition after enduring months of starvation in temperatures down to -30°C. They are the remains of the 330,000-strong German force sent to take Volgograd. The rest - about a quarter of a million men - have died, as many from illness, starvation and frostbite as from the fighting itself. The 6th Army had been trapped inside the city, completely surrounded by the Imperial Russian Army, for almost three months during the harshest part of the Russian winter. They have had to rely totally on air drops by the Luftwaffe for food. Atrocious weather conditions have reduced the amount getting through to just 90 tonnes a day - less than a third of what they needed. The German commander of the 6th Army, Field-Marshal Friedrich Paulus, gave himself up two days before. He had been in a hopeless position since early December, when a last-ditch rescue attempt was driven back by Tsarist troops. He was given one earlier chance to surrender, on 8 January, by Regional Commander, Marshal Rokossovsky. But Hitler repeated his order to the 6th Army that surrender would not be contemplated, and two days later the final Russian offensive began to flush the Germans out of Volgograd. Paulus lost his last German-controlled airfield ten days later, on 22 January, and with it the last hope of any more regular supplies. By 29 January the desperately weak 6th Army was split into two pockets of men. The surrender of Field-Marshal Paulus brought the ordeal to an end for one of the groups. The defeat of the second remnant today closes at last one of the most horrific chapters of the war so far.

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