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Collaborative work on an alternative end of WWII story.

Discussion in 'Fiction' started by OpanaPointer, Oct 15, 2020.

  1. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    I tend to like my work too much. That's one reason all my works have been published under a pseudonym. I also let stories perk for a good while. The option is not so much these days.

    Anywho, I want to do a piece on how the war in the Pacific would have wound down if the parties in power absolutely hated each other. Hirohito is replaced by a nephew who has lost family to Allied fire bombing. Roosevelt chooses as his running mate in 1944 a senator who comes from missionary background and nearly all his family is "somewhere" in China.

    Most of the events in this alternative world will be based on facts that are true in the real world, but those events will inspire very different reactions by the important players. The mission of the piece will be to present a fact-based study of how much worse things could have gone in 1945.

    If you want to join me in mercilessly killing pixels send me a note. I'm hoping for 3 or 4 collaborators and a small cadre of readers/critics.
     
  2. Takao

    Takao Ace

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    I don't see that working too well, as it implies that some or all of his family are alive. Which would temper his quest for revenge, as any major action would likely have unfavorable effects on them.

    I would think family would have to be dead(preferably with gruesome details by Chinese witness). Or else have two sons(one dead on Bataan, one a killed aboard ship/submarine - and wife kills herself out of grief).

    Just spitballing.
     
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  3. CAC

    CAC Ace of Spades

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    I think the relos overseas would be largely irrelevant to the decision making process...very few decisions could be made by one person, and certainly not for personal reasons.
    The biggest what if in the end game of the Pacific would be what if the nuclear bombs didn't work or were not created soon enough.
    It could have been much worse if this had occurred, with 250k-500k Americans lost and as many as 4 million Japanese civilians killed, taking the main/home islands. And books worth of stories that never happened. This would have had an effect on the later outcome for Japan...

    An interesting take for me would be what if Roosevelt died early and someone like TRUMP gained power...a very different story - he'd be gun-ho, wouldn't listen to his Generals, put his allies way offside, and ignore anything that made him look bad...an interesting what if juxtaposed with todays events unfolding...

    Just my 2 cents.
     
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  4. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    They have to be alive to be used as hostages.
     
  5. belasar

    belasar Court Jester

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    Not sure about the timing, but a possibility might be a military move to 'protect' the Emperor that goes wrong and results in his incapacity or death which leads to either a hard liner or puppet taking the thrown.
     
  6. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    History shows that tragic accidents happen to rulers who aren't on the same page as the military.
     
  7. Carronade

    Carronade Ace

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    I'm reminded of the attempt to prevent the broadcast of the Emperor's surrender announcement. If they had succeeded in the short term, they would still have to hold Hirohito and the peace party incommunicado as long as the war went on. Of course assassination is one possibility, particularly for lower level people who knew of Hirohito's intent, but they might do better to keep the Emperor in confinement while claiming to direct the war effort in his name - which they had been largely doing the whole time.
     
  8. Takao

    Takao Ace

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    Yeah, what is another bomb explosion during a B-29 raid, and then blame the Americans for his death to double down on the fanaticism.
     
  9. Takao

    Takao Ace

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    So...Is this why you were looking for Japanese casualty predictions over at AHF?

    Did you find what you were looking for or should I keep digging?
     
  10. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    三笠宮崇仁親王, Mikasa-no-miya Takahito Shinnō, was fourth in line right then, hai?
     
  11. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    I didn't have Tom Lewis's book when I posted that. He looks to have boned most of the prior works, so I'm plowing through it.
     
  12. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    So, with a few small changes in the timeline we have an American leader who doesn't want the war to end and Japanese leadership which has sworn to "chew grass and eat dirt" defending Yamato. Once we open that can of worm we only have to figure out how to get the worms back in the can.

    The US would have been making in excess of six atomic bombs a month by March, 1946. Our president would be making the rubble jump. An early copy of Agent Orange would have been employed, making starvation a national pastime.

    Politics at home and among the Allies is now the newest spectator sport. (Will the President "accidentally" bomb the landing sites the Soviets have picked, to keep them off Hokkaido, or would he savor inflicting the Soviet system on at least some of the Japanese?)
     
  13. Takao

    Takao Ace

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    Dr. Tom Lewis is an excellent author, although not very well known here in the States. I have several of his books, and all are thoroughly researched.

    Atomic Salvation is on my "to get" list.
     
  14. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    I wish I had an English/Strine Strine/English dictionary.
     
  15. CAC

    CAC Ace of Spades

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    The net will help you...
     
  16. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    My favorite memory of Australia is of a young lad about 12 years old who said "Stop tryin' to sound like the telly!"
     
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  17. CAC

    CAC Ace of Spades

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    An example of how we try to keep it real...any posers are called out...
     
  18. HESH

    HESH Member

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    Hmm I always like alternative history, I'd be glad to be a critic... Or something...

    Maybe even Soviets invading japan could be interesting?
     

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