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Drake's Drum

Currently reading and enjoying the current Drake's Drum volume. I particularly like the use of the OTL 1947 bitter winter and its effect on a longer/interrupted WW2. Overall the conceit reminds me a bit of Bobby Hardenbrooke's Shattered World online AH, but feels a bit less tech-wowie for the sake of it, probably more realistically so.

This may change as I get further into it, but the only way I feel there's a bit of a missed opportunity is that a lot of the military brass are the same people as in OTL. (Not always in the same theatre as OTL, but still). Given natural turnover and retirement, it might have been interesting to feature people who are relatively obscure names from the 1950s in OTL but would have been top commanders in a longer WW2. But, of course, I imagine that's much harder to write about (he says, with the privilege of someone currently writing a 1920s world war in a TL with a 1727 POD so I can make up whatever generals I want).
 
Thande, you raise a good point and one I've wrestled with a bit. As you point out, while we have a plethora of information regarding the commanders of OTL WW2, those who followed them in the immediate post war period are not nearly as well covered.

What I will say though is that high military command tends to involve a pool of talent whose members ages will be roughly 15 to 20 years before the mandatory retirement age of their service. Whomever is considered to be the best person for a job then tends to get given the job. They then stay in it if they make a success of it or are quickly moved on if they don't. Its easy to see this as a sort of 'Buggin's Turn' approach, but its usually a lot more considered than that. Because the main war of the DD TL takes place at a similar time in history to the main war of OTL the talent pool is therefore very similar to OTL. Also, in times of crisis, military leaders often get frozen in place because when you have that many balls in the air, handing the show on to another juggler is a bit tricky. Mandatory retirement dates tend to slip - ie Ernie King in OTL.

In the case of the British in DD they have the same post Dunkirk calamity clear out that they did in OTL. Montgomery is promoted to CIGS in the interbellum but because Slim hasn't really had a chance to shine, he is still in the talent pool waiting for an opportunity. O'Connor gets his chance to shine (and also doesn't get captured) so he flies far higher than he did in OTL. The leaders of TTL's D-Day and North Europe Campaign are completely different from OTL. For the RAF, Harris argues with Sinclair and is replaced by Slessor. In the RN Holland does really well in TTL by avoiding his encounter with Bismarck ;).

The US Army is expanding so fast in TTL that they are going to have serious difficulties filling high positions. Eisenhower is kicked upstairs (spoiler alert for DD4) killing his political chances later, while Bradley gets the 4 star billet in the ETO and thus becomes the American commander seen as synonymous with victory. For the US Navy, Kimmel goes from Zero to (not quite) Hero.

The Germans were among the worst with ossified command structures, they had a veritable herd of Field Marshals whose place in the pecking order was guaranteed by their loyalty to the Nazi Party but as the book goes on you will see huge changes in the Wehrmacht high command from OTL.

Anyway, forgive my rambling, I hope you continue to enjoy DD3!
 
Thande, you raise a good point and one I've wrestled with a bit. As you point out, while we have a plethora of information regarding the commanders of OTL WW2, those who followed them in the immediate post war period are not nearly as well covered.

What I will say though is that high military command tends to involve a pool of talent whose members ages will be roughly 15 to 20 years before the mandatory retirement age of their service. Whomever is considered to be the best person for a job then tends to get given the job. They then stay in it if they make a success of it or are quickly moved on if they don't. Its easy to see this as a sort of 'Buggin's Turn' approach, but its usually a lot more considered than that. Because the main war of the DD TL takes place at a similar time in history to the main war of OTL the talent pool is therefore very similar to OTL. Also, in times of crisis, military leaders often get frozen in place because when you have that many balls in the air, handing the show on to another juggler is a bit tricky. Mandatory retirement dates tend to slip - ie Ernie King in OTL.

In the case of the British in DD they have the same post Dunkirk calamity clear out that they did in OTL. Montgomery is promoted to CIGS in the interbellum but because Slim hasn't really had a chance to shine, he is still in the talent pool waiting for an opportunity. O'Connor gets his chance to shine (and also doesn't get captured) so he flies far higher than he did in OTL. The leaders of TTL's D-Day and North Europe Campaign are completely different from OTL. For the RAF, Harris argues with Sinclair and is replaced by Slessor. In the RN Holland does really well in TTL by avoiding his encounter with Bismarck ;).

The US Army is expanding so fast in TTL that they are going to have serious difficulties filling high positions. Eisenhower is kicked upstairs (spoiler alert for DD4) killing his political chances later, while Bradley gets the 4 star billet in the ETO and thus becomes the American commander seen as synonymous with victory. For the US Navy, Kimmel goes from Zero to (not quite) Hero.

The Germans were among the worst with ossified command structures, they had a veritable herd of Field Marshals whose place in the pecking order was guaranteed by their loyalty to the Nazi Party but as the book goes on you will see huge changes in the Wehrmacht high command from OTL.

Anyway, forgive my rambling, I hope you continue to enjoy DD3!
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I've just got to the part where Harris goes and we get more targeted bombing of oil and electricity vs city bombing, it's certainly an interesting question.

I think what helps a lot in DD is that every time it looks as though things are going too well for the Allies/from the perspective of the reader's values, you throw a curveball such as the thing about the British and Americans reluctantly abandoning the Caucasus to the tender mercies of the Soviets in order to keep the latter in the war.
 
To further support the release of the third book in the Drake’s Drum tetralogy, the ‘Beta’ version of the Luftwaffe appendix has been added to the Drakes Drum website. It is unfinished, but the sections for the issues and aircraft that are most integral to the Drake’s Drum timeline are complete. This includes the most important German strategic bombers, the Messerschmitt Me 364, Heinkel He 274 and the Tank Ta 400. The sections for the Junkers 338 transport aircraft and the DFS 346 research aircraft are also complete. Updated versions of the Heer, Kriegsmarine and Seeluftsteitkraft appendices have also been uploaded.

Below: The DFS 346 mounted on its He 274 carrier aircraft.

HR record flight 1.jpg
 
Heisenberg is concerned about his "devices'" effectiveness. Khrushchev's speech deserves a highlight. Hell, Slim's routing and destruction of the German armies in Iran and their flight back in to the Volga region and Ukraine was bloody brilliant enheartening.

Imagine the Iceland conference's reaction if they learned that the Battle of Stalingrad went on for *200* days in our timeline, instead of just 80.
 
My father-out-law was delighted to get volume iii for his birthday - excitedly described it to his wife as “it’s about a different WWII, there’s a lot of naval stuff, very good”.

I don’t mean to profile Nick’s readers, but if you grew one in a lab…
 
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