Tanks of the North: Rise of an Empire

May 13th, 1943, East of Leningrad “Prepare the device for usage.” Colonel Hans Koldberg, commander of the Abteilung für experimentelle Waffen, ordered. Commonly called die Wunderwaffe Ministerium, it was kind of a bad joke among the soldiers outside of it. But der fuhrer loved it. They had given him designs for many weapons, such as the Vengeance Weapon 1. But now, they had constructed a device using the atom that could change everything. This device could possibly send them back in time. But it was experimental. The creatures who gave them this technology in the first place didn’t exactly tell them what it could be used for. They just said it would have its uses. “Nuclear power primed!“ Koldberg’s assistant, Hermann Heim, reported. Koldberg breathed slowly. Now fort he moment of truth. An entire Panzer Division, Luftwaffe air fleet, and what remained of Germany’s fleet were assembled just outside. Koldberg nodded to Heim. Heim took a deep breath, and flipped the last switch. There was a flash of light. Then they saw the effect. Nothing. The 13th Panzer Division, the Tirpitz, Air Fleet 2, they were gone. They had dissapeared...

“What in the name of Lenin just happened?!” Commissar Pyotr Kukov demanded. The troops were reporting losing their weapons, their supplies, their vehicles, in a flash of light. 8th Army had lost everything. They were defenseless against a Fascist counteroffensive. “Sir!” A soldier cried. Major General Pavlov turned. “The Fascists have nothing! Their tanks are gone!” Pavlov froze. Something had happened. What it was, no one had any idea. But all Pavlov knew was that he would most likely be shot for this.

December 3rd, 1863, Near Knoxville

Ulysses Grant rode alongside his army commanders towards the location of the anomalies. His scouts had stumbled upon it just a few hours earlier, and Grant himself decided to check it out. As he rode, he heard General Sherman remark. “What do you think these…anomalies are?” “Well, according to our scouts, they’re some kind of…wagons?” But apparently they were unlike any wagons Grant ever saw. They were apparently made of iron, or even steel, and had long, cannon like tubes sticking out of a turret. They had found other weapons, rifles, and a strange machine that had long wings sticking out of its side and blades on the nose. A whole field of them, hundreds of these things. The cold December air bit at them, but Grant and the Division of the Mississippi commanders pressed on. “Do you think the Rebs found these things to?” Sherman asked. Grant shook his head, pulling out a cigar. “No. We forced old Braxton clear out of Tennessee at Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. I doubt we’ll see hide or tail of him for a while.” Grant commented. The procession pressed on, until they saw it. And what a site it was. A vast field full of pristine, steel objects. They had rubber tracks, large turrets with what appeared to be guns and cannons sticking out, and they smelled heavily of oil. “I’ll be damned, those scouts were right.” Sherman commented. Grant nodded. “Perhaps we could use these... things to fight the Rebs.” “I was thinking the same thing, look at those weapons.” Sherman agreed. ”Sir, shall we telegraph the President our discovery?” A member of his staff asked. Grant shook his head. “No, we need to find out what these are before we do anything. For all we know, they might not even work.”

Grant inspected the vehicle. "So, this big bastard is German?" He asked. "Ja, General. This most certainly is Deutsche." Charles replied. "That's what I thought. What did you call these back in Prussia?" Grant asked. Charles looked at Grant blankly. "You make a mistake General. My old country had nothing even close to this weapon." "Then where in blazes did this thing come from?!" Grant demanded. He wanted answers. Now. And Charles L. Matthies was German, so he should know what's going on. "I read the documents. It says 1943, near a place called Leningrad." Charles replied. "June 3rd, 1943 to be precise." He added. "So you're saying..." Grant couldn't believe it. It seemed impossible. But here was the proof. These things came from the future! "Also, they mentioned 1870s. They say that's when Prussia united Germany." There was the proof. These things were from the future. "Aw hell." Grant sighed. He sat down, trying to comprehend it all. "What are they anyway?" He asked. "They call this one," Charles pointed to the thing closest to them, the one he investigated. "A Panzerkampfwagen Ausfurhung H. In english it would be Armoured Battle Wagon Version H." Grant chuckled. That was one hell of a mouthful. "Anything else we could call it?" "Well, there was a nickname, the Tiger." Grant felt a shiver go down his spine for some reason. Tiger... That was the perfect name. "And the others? What are they?" "That one over there is nicknamed a Panther. That one is called Panzer IV. Panzer III's over there. Panzer II and one over there. But...General. There is something else you should see." "What?" Grant asked. Charles went quiet, and took out a picture. It showed what looked like a prisoner of war camp, but it was filled with shaved, emaciated people. Jewish by the look of it. There were what appeared to be soldiers nearby. Charles showed another picture. It was a ditch with a pile of bodies. The same people. Jews. They were getting gunned down, and thrown in. Grant put his hand to his mouth, in shock. Then it showed a man, with a toothbrush like moustache, and black hair. "This is the one who caused all of it." "Who is this bastard?" Grant demanded. He wanted to know who was responsible for such atrocities. "Adolf Hitler. It said here he came to power after Germany lost the Great War. And that he led it into another one. He thought all Russians, Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, and Homosexuals were untermenschen." "What was that last part?" "It means Sub-Human." Grant shook his head. "Please, no more." He sighed. A tear fell down his face. "Where did you find this?" "In the Tiger. It was a war manual. It also showed plans for what happened when Germany...started the war." "What did it say about my country?" Grant asked. Charles looked down, and read. "Everything about the behavior of American Society reveals it is one half judaized, the other half negrified." "It says that our new country would be at war with this man sometime around 1942, where it mentions a battle in North Africa." Charles explained. "North Africa? You mean Egypt?" Grant asked. Why in the blazes would Americans be there. "Nein. Algeria. Where the French are now." Grant sighed. He better keep this under wraps. No one must know. But Grant knew he needed to change this. Apparently, prejudice and racial hatred had allowed a madman to get into power. It sounded a lot like old Johnny Reb's slavery. Work them to death. That's what the south was doing. "Charles. No one is to know about this. You hear me?" "Ja, General. I understand." "Very well. I want us to figure out how these things work. I hear Meade could use them against Bobby Lee. Especially after Mine Run." "Perhaps you should lead them General? We obviously could use their tactics against the Confederates." Charles suggested. "Yes. I agree. Is there anything else?" "Well, there was one thing."

Grant took in the picture. It was the biggest ship he had ever seen. It had enormous guns, and massive steel structures on it. It's biggest guns looked to be as big as steers. Its shells must be the size of trees. "What is that?" He asked. "Tirpitz. A schlachtschiffe of the Kriegsmarine." Charles explained. He had studied the German manuals and pictures, and found out what they were. "It means Battleship." Grant was mesmerized. This dwarfed even the Tiger. "Apparently it was in the same place as our old friends there. That might mean its here somewhere." "Yes, and you said there was a whole fleet of these things?" "Ja. At least twenty vessels. But none as big as Tirpitz." "I got to find these behemoths. Imagine what it would be like to be on the receiving end of those cannons? If you think HMS Victory is powerful, imagine that monster." "But there was something else. A flying machine. Hitler used them to bomb and attack his enemies from the air." "You're kidding?" Grant asked. That was surely impossible. But Charles simply stood there. His face was serious. "You're serious?!" "Ja, General. Those vehicles, were used by the Germans. We could use them against the enemy." Grant thought about that for a moment. If this worked, they would easily defeat the rebs in battle. This whole war could be over by the next summer. But they needed to learn how to use them first. They couldn't just throw these things at the rebels, they needed to learn how to use them first. But still, they would soon be victorious, no matter the cost. Finally, this cursed war could end.