November 14th, 1963
New York City, Greater Nazi Reich
S.S Headquarters, Manhattan
*clink*
The Knights Cross of the Iron Cross Medal bounced effortlessly off the oak of the large war room table situated within the office of Generalfeldmarschall (General of the Army) William "Bill" Whitcroft. The young Unterscharfuhrer (Corporal) appeared to be stunned at the sudden action, as did the Generals and Admirals situated around the table. General Whitcroft had moments earlier given the order to delay the impending invasion of the Western States. Troops had already begun to march across the neutral zone, encountering varied levels of resistance across the Eastern border with the Greater Nazi Reich. The stunned Generals and Admirals looked at Whitcroft in confusion and disbelief. One such Admiral; Großadmiral Nathaniel Evan Phillips II, an older, balding gentlemen who had been a direct subordinate to the late Reichsfuhrer John Smith, just reported dead by the aforementioned Unterscharfuhrer, stood up in contest and objection with Whitcroft.
"Bill are you forgetting yourself?" he protested.
"Only if forgetting was to mean erasing everything I remember standing for all those years ago, my friend." He looked at Phillips with intrigue, as Phillips backed away from his chair. "This is an outrage! What do you intend to do? Throw everything away that's been built? As if the Fuhrer in Europe will see your optimism for a renewed Democratic America? Do you forget how deep in over our knees we were?" Phillips exclaimed, continuing to back away from the chair he had now pushed back in underneath the large rectangular table.
The other Generals looked in continued disbelief. The Reichsminister of War Sebastian Harlow, who had been sitting to the direct right of Phillips, slowly stepped away from his chair, grabbing the arms to it and kicking his feet back. The young Harlow, a man none familiar with Whitcroft prior to the start of the war, as he had come up through the ranks following the United States official and then secondary resistance capitulation in 1947, was none too pleased to see the rejection of party ideals rather. Autonomy from Berlin had not guaranteed the slightest bit of change in the new patriotism towards National Socialism, that had coincided with the previous year of 1962 ending with the onset of "Jahr Null" (Year Zero).
In contrast to Harlow, Phillips, and that of the latter's constituency in the Navy, two out of the three of Whitcroft's subordinates; Generalobersts George Hopkins and Frederic Böhm remained glued to their seats, with not a sound uttered from either. They effectively appeared to be in Whitcroft's corner. Phillips continued to back away from the large rectangular table. "Arrest his man and any who support him!" he exclaimed, shouting to the Waffen S.S security detail tasked with guarding the men of the High Command. Böhm, who had no intention of allowing Phillips to continue down this spiral, removed his Walther P38B pistol from his holster and aimed at Phillips' center mass.
Now provoked, two out of the four S.S privates of the security detail raised their H&K MP5s and aimed them directly at Böhm. Whitcroft, attempting to de-escalate the impending scenario, reached out slowly and grabbed Böhm's arm, lowering it as the man looked at Whitcroft with pleading eyes to allow him to stand his ground. The S.S guards then lowered their weapons, as Phillips then, with his fellow Navy staff, aides, and Harlow in tow, stormed out of the room as the doors opened by the Reichsfuhrers' Honor Guards outside.
The S.S men had not had the courage to gun down Böhm in the name of National Socalism, yet the guts to denounce its hellish policies and procedures in truth and swear a new oath to a reformed democracy. Whitcroft looked at the other two men now present in S.S attire, aside from the messenger who still stood to Whitcroft's left, awe-struck with what had just transpired.
It was a serious gamble allowing Phillips to leave, with the War Minister in tow nonetheless. The American Reich Kriegsmarine was no superior force comparatively to that of which Berlin maintained, between both Germany proper's Navy aside from the puppet states and various territories which maintained their own flotillas of ships. Nevertheless, war was inescapable. Whitcroft had indeed lobbied for a desire to become one nation again to the late Reichsfuhrer John Smith, but his plan had been to then gain the favor of the Reichsfuhrer's ear and attempt to denounce, and dethrone the fascist way of life in what had long been the GNR. Only recently having gained autonomy from Berlin during what was labeled the "November Putsch" in the short term by Nazi Historians. Propaganda aided by Goebbels in exchange for his life had championed Goertzmann and Smith as heroes who had, admittedly rather too late, sniffed out a plot to assassinate then Fuhrer of Germany Heinrich Himmler, who in truth had been murdered by Smith as part of the two's plot. Now with Smith dead, Whitcroft would attempt to make a power grab, only in order to attempt to establish a Democratic state.
One of the S.S soldiers of the detail left had removed his sam-bourne style belt and then discarded his S.S uniform on the ground, leaving him wearing a plain white t-shirt which had previously been his undershirt. He took his hat off as well, and stepped on it. "My father was killed in the war when I was merely just a baby," He proclaimed to Whitcroft. "If the America that returns is anything like the America he fought to uphold, I want a piece of that." the young man confessed. The other two young men, both the messenger and other guard, clad in S.S attire, removed their sam-bourne belts and uniforms similarly. Whitcroft, nodding to all three of the men in approval, looked to Böhm and Hopkins. Böhm ultimately could maintain complete control of the majority of the southern east coast, as he had control of the 3rd Army, which ultimately stretched in its contents from Miami, to Charlotte and in terms of the West, New Orleans at bare minimum. Hopkins, who ran the 7th Army in comparison, was based out of the Chicago area, and would be able to reach out to defectors in Canada as well. The fact of the matter was there were for sure a generation of people not indoctrinated by Jahr Null, but also a full-fledged generation of those who were American by birth but by blood and brain had grown up with no recollection of the America prior to occupation, and with the Depression. The fact of the matter was that, being in the Headquarters building would ultimately cost Whitcroft and his men a very short-lived campaign if they could not maintain control of the government.
"We need to gain control of this city. That's our top priority. We have the loyalty of the army, am I correct?" He glanced at Böhm, Hopkins, and other situated at the table, receiving a plethora of nods. "Good, then we need to initiate our own coup, I want to minimize blood. State security and the S.D will be our main problem, as well as Phillips, who evidently isn't going to side with us on our behalf."
It was no secret that the late Director of the American Reich Bureau of Investigation had conspired in a series of illegal and unethical wire taps, bugging of rooms, and heightened levels of espionage and spying by way of the use of informants, unparalleled to that of anything in Berlin. Hoover had been replaced by Clyde Tolson, his former Assistant Director, and had pledged allegiance to Smith upon the American Reich's autonomy from Berlin, and Smith simultaneously assuming the role of Reichsfuhrer. Tolson was Director of the ARBI, with the separation of power from Berlin, the Sicherheitsdienst or S.D of North America itself had been consolidated and the ARBI became the chief national security agency inside of it. Winston T. Perry, the former Colonel of the New York State Police in the former United States, had been swung in as the head of the S.D, rather than reforming the S.D into a separate American Reich Main Security Office. One of George Lincoln Rockwell's well known associates; Matthias Koehl, had been under Smith for some time in the S.S. Currently a Obergruppenfuhrer, Koehl was solely in charge of the S.S in America following Smith's ascendance to Reichsmarschall and Reichsfuhrer, and now most certainly with his death. These were just a handful of adversaries Whitcroft feared he would be seeing in the very near future. Fascism would not be going quietly in the new American Whitcroft planned on helping to put in place, if it went in its totality at all.
The main problem was the Wehrmacht, especially that of the American Reich, had first chiefly sworn an oath to Hitler, then Himmler, then Smith when he was announced as Reichsfuhrer of North America. With that oath affirmed, the party itself would make a power grab, this including Koehl, Tolson, and others. But too, there was the need to arrest party leadership in other areas not concerning the S.S and ARBI. The party itself needed to be accused of such a crime. Such a plot had never occurred in this version of history, but the current situation Bill Whitcroft found himself in was something very similar to that of the 1944 July 20th plot to kill Hitler and establish a pro-ally government in Berlin.
The Nationalsozialistische Amerikanisch Arbeiterpartei or NSAAP was founded on the eve of the November Putsch. It included all of the main elements to being a self-estabilished and self-governing National Socialist government in American, instead of the way the American Reich had been a quasi-vassal territory under the administration of Berlin as part of the GNR. Smith, having touching down in New York on the 12th, two days prior, hadn't prepared the offices accordingly and signed off on the new acts which would place various men of already high party rank within the old American GNR, into positions as Reichsleiters in this new NSAAP and North American Reich, respectively. Therefore, there was the potential to have them all arrested before any of them individually could make a power grab. One of their first meetings as proposed candidates under Smith had been scheduled for today of all days, and they were to meet at the new Reich Chancellery; located where New York City Hall had once been located and the current location of the Reichsstatthalter's Residence, that being Arthur Blankenship. The Reichsstatthalter had primary control over the group of former States including New York and New England, renamed Neu Prussia, which was governed regionally under the direction of both Party Leadership, the S.S, and the Office of the Reichsmarschall of North America, the latter being the formerly highest rank before Smith's elevation to Reichsfuhrer. So too, the courts would see power as well. In non-military crimes of citizens, in which many were brought in taken prisoner by the Ordnungspolizei, such as the NYPD, Geheime Staatspolizei; the Gestapo, and the Kriminalpolizei (Kripo) which were subordinates to the S.D. The courts too, like the Volksgerichtshof in Germany, were made up of men who were part of the elite in the party, who had ultimate control and always pushed the agenda and implication of National Socialism and the silence of the free in their work towards furthering the ideological purity of citizens, much like the ARBI did in its covert operations, kidnappings, tortures, executions, etc, but within the public eye to contribute to state propaganda.
"This is what I need," Bill said. "We need to evacuate this building immediately. We're in S.S Headquarters for Christ-sake. If Tolson and Koehl aren't here, they'll be hearing about it in short time with Phillips and Harlow having withdrawn. We have mere minutes to evacuate." He said, picking up his things scattered across the table, as his men; Böhm, Hopkins, other aides, generals and the S.S guards assisted. The doors opened, the S.S Reichsfuhrer Honor Guards stomping their feet in attention for the Generalfeldmarschall and his subordinates. "Böhm, I want you to get on the line with General Bennett at Fort Tottenheim. Mobilize the Reserve Army, arrest all senior level S.S and Party officials, including key members of the Gestapo, and Kriminalpolizei. I don't want to implicate the ARBI yet, we may be able to have some loyalties to Tolson broken, and for the greater good of America, some lower level technicians skilled in intelligence might break with us." He continued. "I want Fort Tilden mobilized as well, notify all active duty units of the Army and the Ordnungspolizei, specifically the Chief of the NYPD, to confirm they are with us. I want control of Rikers Island, I want anyone jailed by the ARBI in the last twenty four hours for crimes against ideology released, and those in the military immediately to report to me, especially General Bradley."
The men hustled throughout the halls to the elevator. Whitcroft's own Wehrmacht detail would be waiting outside, as his attaches and subordinate generals who had come to monitor the Western States invasion all additionally had cars of their own. As the elevator descended, Whitcroft continued to play out the coming hours and next few days in his head. With any luck, they could capitulate the party and have senior leadership and the S.S at least in New York in the palm of their hand by week's end. The worst-case scenario, would see all out war between those who supported National Socialism, and those who remembered and would fight for freedom and democracy, or those who were too young to remember it but continued through their parents and lineage to believe in it. The New York Cell of Resistance may have been snuffed out by John Smith a year prior, but that didn't mean there were people across the Reich, who didn't want to see Swastikas burn and crumble. They had just lost hope. Nothing could make up for what unspeakable truths Bill Whitcroft had been complacent with, even potentially aided with, although not directly through the use of his Wehrmacht forces throughout the Reich. One thing that was abundantly clear was the time was now to make decisive and long-lasting decisions that would spark change.
Bill and his crew came to the basement floor of S.S Headquarters. A contingent of men were standing about, some smoking cigarettes, others standing at attention, in staggered lines. The men of the various Generalobersts Bill had along with him. Upon sight of the Generalfeldmarschall, they all clicked their boots together and saluted with a Nazi salute. Bill, unwillingly wanting to salute back, but knowing that sparking a change this early on in the conflict, with even the most senior of his younger men, could finish this rebirth before it even started. He saluted back, as Hopkins and Böhm eyed him from behind, knowing his true intentions. "There's been a successful attempt on the Reichsfuhrer's life. This plot was orchestrated by party leadership and the S.S. Contact the nearest Wehrmacht units, this building is to be surrounded and once and the population of it arrested until further notice. Anyone and everyone low to high on the totem pole is a suspect." Whitcroft paused. The stunned looks on the men's faces only further illustrated to him and his subordinate high command behind him what a task this would be. Although Bill had been assured the loyalty of Böhm and Hopkins for months if not years now, and his ultimate goal of restoring American views and ways back to America, the young men in the Wehrmacht remained fiercely loyal to National Socialism and the Reichsfuhrer, as well as the fundamental ideal of Adolf Hitler as an almost religion-like substance. Jahr Null had just aided in furthering this construct in the even younger generation of children.
The men looked crushed. As if someone had just shot their puppy as a kid, as if they had just had a death of a loved one announced in the family. The whole of American had become passionate about National Socialism, the ideals of the Reich, the notion that none needed to starve or live in pure poverty under the guise of the promised dreams of stability and economic growth of the Reich. The culture that had been turned upside down, that was truly American, was nothing short of removed from history. Those who could remember it like Bill; were in many cases too scared to stand up and oppose what had become a decisive "World Order" of Nazism and Imperial Japan, or were much too comfortable and compelled to promote such a world, as the Depression had done America especially no favors in the 1930's.
"Your orders are to escort your respective commanding officers to their destinations, we have a lot of work to do to maintain control of the Reich in its purest form." Bill finished, biting his tongue with the worst sentence, not being able to stomach the idea of going off a lie to start off this resurgence of Americanization, but knowing it was necessary for the times.
November 14th, 1963
New York City, Greater Nazi Reich
Office of the Reich War Ministry
Harrison Ave, & Heyward Street
ring ..... ring
Whitcroft picked up the telephone at his desk within two rings, ashing the cigarette in the tray with his other, as he took another drag before speaking. "Whitcroft," he said to whoever was on the other end. "Generalfeldmarschall, sir. Major Reiner, returning your call. The General had elected to have me inform you all Heisenberg devices within our strategic arsenal are properly within the hands of Special Warfare and Weapons under Strategic Air Command. The General has advised me that we will increase security for all facilities as per your orders, in the meanwhile we will advise if any S.S or S.D leadership attempt any ploy to take control of said systems, sir." The other end responded. "Thank you Major."
As Whitcroft was putting down the phone onto the receiver, Böhm burst into his office. The sounds of typewriters, phone calls, and some relay computers, coming into contact with Wehrmacht forces throughout North America could be heard off in the distance away from Whitcroft's office.
"Sir," Böhm said. "I have a Colonel Clark on line two, he say's it's urgent. "Alright." Whitcroft said, picking the phone back up and opening his desk drawer to change the line to the second. "Whitcroft, Colonel Clark?" He questioned. "Yes sir, Colonel James Clark, 75th Panzer Division out of Pennsylvania. We've got rebel forces held up in the Poconos in close proximity to where Reichsfuhrer Smith's body was found. They've engaged our forces and seem heavily entrenched in the mountains. We're awaiting your orders sir. Are we to proceed with snuffing them out of there?" He asked. Whitcroft's eyes went wide. Realizing how much he could capitalize off this. "Colonel, your orders are to disengage from the target. I want all men who have already engaged to seize fire at once. I want a direct line of communication with the rebel leader from your command tent or position within the next thirty minutes. Is that understood?" He asked. "Yes sir. We'll be requesting a cease fire at once."
"Very good." Whitcroft said, again hanging up the phone.
"Sir," a young corporal, one of Whitcroft's assistants, entered the office as Böhm stood to the side of Bill's desk. "We've just received word from General Bennett. The Reserve Army has been mobilized, and the S.S building is ours sir. Additionally they've made their way to the Chancellery and surrounded it. We expect arrests of all of the high ranking party officials and the compound completely secure within the hour."
"Good, I'm glad to hear the good news Corporal. Now, get my Billy Turner on the phone, I want to make sure our propaganda and news isn't allowed to be distorted by these traitorous party elite, wherever else they may have ties." He said, firmness in his voice.
"Jawol, Generalfeldmarschall!
Things we're beginning to look promising for Bill's America.
