Bahamas Casualty Report: Fill & Download for Free

The controversial incidents and theories involving the Bermuda triangle and Area 51 are my favorite. So i`d love to answer this one!It is a triangular shaped area in the North Atlantic Ocean, from Bermuda Island to Miami, USA and Puerto Rico.The first person to report about Bermuda Triangle was Christopher Columbus. He wrote in his journals that inside the triangle, the ship's compass stopped working and he also saw a fireball in the sky.Sulphur Queen1:Many ships have mysteriously disappeared in this region, some just sink down without any signs of significant damage. One reason given for this is the methane deposits that are released suddenly due to seismic activity, thus decreasing the buoyant force available.But, there are many counter reasons why such Methane gas theory may not actually justify disappearances in Bermuda triangle. Here are those:1. The largest chunks of Methane reserves are actually found at a distance away from the Bermuda triangle and not really inside the area where most of the disappearances have taken place.2. Even if Methane gas is to erupt, it has to cross thousands of feet of sediments below the ocean floor and then more than a thousand feet of water in Bermuda Triangle to reach the surface, and then sink a ship. And it has to rise far beyond to burn an aircraft. This itself is a remote possibility. To imagine that a ship or a plane will exactly be there that time, possibility is miniscule.3. How does it explain the lost ships or planes in Bahamas where water depth is only about 50 feet or so, and where any sunken ship can easily be found.4. In some occasions, drilling rigs had unknowingly bored into Methane layer under the sea floor and it has been observed that they actually sank slowly due to less dense water. But it was a slow process and they all had enough time to send out messages a number of times. There was never any casualty. Also, in many cases helicopters circling around the area took close pictures of such incidences. And in no case, any helicopter hovering around the area was ever affected.So these kinds of incidents are still not satisfactorily explained.5.The reason why no debris is found on most occasions is that Gulf Stream runs near the triangle, which quickly gets rid of the debris. Also the seafloor in Bermuda Triangle area is found to be quite strange. There are some unusual formations. From a gentle slope it takes a sudden deep drop. In fact, some of the deepest trenches in the world are found in this area. Ships or planes that sink into these deep trenches will probably never be found.2.Another very famous one is malfunction of electronics and guidance equipment.Legend has held that the Bermuda Triangle is one of only two places on the planet where a compass points true north, as opposed to the magnetic north.But this isn't a mystery . People who travel these waters are well aware of it and adjust their equipment accordingly.3.One of the most bizarre theories stated for disappearances is that the Bermuda triangle is a gateway to another dimension.I saw this one on discovery channel, Pilot Bruce Gernon of a Beachcraft Bonanza flying through Bermuda triangle got stuck in a storm and saw a vortex of clouds in front of him. As he entered it, his plane attained a very high speed, if i remember correctly around 600 km/hr, while the plane`s possible top speed is only 326 km/h and it became all foggy around the plane, by the time it all cleared out, he was in Miami. This lasted for only a few minutes but when it cleared out it resulted in "a time warp of 30 minutes forward in time, and 100 miles forward in space." He stated, he didn`t even have enough fuel to reach Miami.Pilot Bruce Gernon's Bermuda Triangle Electronic Fog Theory co-author of "The Fog"4.The Sargasso SeaSargasso sea is a strange area within Bermuda Triangle that has no shores but bounded by ocean currents on all sides. This has been the trap for many sailing vessels in the past. Many sailing boats and ships are believed to have become completely motionless while passing through this area and later found in derelict conditions without a soul on them. Dense seaweed on water surface and exceptionally low winds have been the main cause of making vessels motionless in this area. Check out Sargasso Sea for more information about the incidents and their causes.5. The Electronic Fog:One of the explanations of Bermuda Triangle disappearances is based on electronic fog - something similar to what the Canadian scientist John Hutchison could demonstrate in his own lab. It is something like a grayish cloud of electromagnetic fields that get formed above the ocean. Such electronic fog seems to appear from nowhere and completely engulfs a ship or an aircraft. The fog then keeps moving along with the ship or the plane. And soon, all the electronic systems and the instruments start going haywire. Nothing works correctly any longer. And finally the ship or the aircraft disappears without a trace.So far, all such incidents of electronic fog had been described as supernatural phenomena, or as mere sensational stories from writers wanting to sell their own books on Bermuda Triangle. This is despite the fact that some of the real SOS calls quoting the strange fog, actually came from veteran and experienced pilots or coast guards. Due to lack of any scientific explanations, these have been treated as unreal tales.Electronic Fog - A Hutchison Effect?6.It is also said the Triangle is an alien base sort of. That aliens make these things happen so that people will be afraid to visit and perform research at this place leading to the discovery of alien existence. Or in the pilot`s case could be a malfunction of an alien transporter device.7 Flight 19:One of the biggest and famous losses of US Military occurred in 1945. Flight 19 was the designation of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle on December 5, 1945 during a United States Navy overwater navigation training flight from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale,Florida. All 14 airmen on the flight were lost, as were all 13 crew members of a PBM Mariner flying boat assumed by professional investigators to have exploded in mid-air while searching for the flight. Navy investigators could not determine the cause of the loss of Flight 19 but said the airmen may have become disoriented and ditched in rough seas after running out of fuel.8. AUTEC:Inside the Bermuda Triangle, US Government has AUTEC (for Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center), which is located on the Andros Island of Bahamas. Here US Navy tests their submarines, sonar and other weapons. However many are of the view that it is more than just the testing center.

I'm going to tell you how they won the war first, then what the world would look like. Here's this alternate history scenario. Close your eyes and open them. This is history for as long as you are reading this. Go:(if you do not want the backstory, then please skip to where emboldened and labeled.)Edit: Originally this answer had a section dedicated to a successful Operation sea lion. After several complaints at the impossibility of such an event, even in an alternate history scenario, I will add another, more plausible, but I'm sure will create backlash, scenario to add on that would result in the possibility of operation sea lion.Here's an Italian solution to your British problem.…Upon Italian entry into World War 2, which Mussolini joined earlier than he might have, smelling possible weakness in the allies; Mussolini chose generals that had proven their ability to lead men, especially the Italians, with extremely high morale. Hitler had informed Mussolini of his intentions with the Allies early, this gave Mussolini time to place troops in Libya to combat French forces in Tunisia and British forces in Egypt. Alfredo Guzzoni would control Italian forces entering French Tunisia, Algeria, and the Mahgreb. Giovanni Messe would lead Italian forces into Egypt.(Italian soldiers in Tripoli, preparing to march into Tunisia. March, 1940.)Italy entered the war on the side of the Axis on April 1, 1940. Italian troops entered French Tunisia and Egypt.With these two competent generals at the helm and Il Duce supplying modern weapons to his military several years prior, and the majority of Allied troops in Europe to fend off the Nazis, the Italians found north africa to have been an easy conquest, logistics being their primary issue, as they were taking ground faster than the supply trains could keep up.(Italian forces under Messe advancing over a bridge on the way to Alexandria, Egypt, to cut off British support from the North. April 4, 1940.)(British drivers of a Matilda tank in the Aswan region of Egypt under Alan Cunningham. Circa de 1940.)(Left= Italian ‘Berber offensive.’Right= ‘Egypt offensive'.)The Italians also found conquest easier when they convinced local factions to support them by promising more autonomy than that they had under their ‘colonial oppressors’. Arabs and Berbers alike flocked to the Italian cause after that, proving themselves useful for dismantling British and French supply trains.(Italian soldiers performing a military exercise with fresh recruits in Algeria. April, 1940.)(Italian soldiers entrenched outside of Casablanca, Morocco. Italians met staunch French resistance because they were buying time to get as much men and supplies out of Morocco from Safi as possible. April 29, 1940.)Giovanni Messe wanted to cut the pulmonary artery of the British Empire in this region of the world, so they pushed for Suez Canal. Alan Cunningham ‘put up a hell of a fight’ according to Messe, all the way there, using guerilla tactics and the landscape to its full strategic advantage but he simply couldn't halt the Italian Army, only slow them down.Cunningham was faced with a choice. Defend Suez to the last man, or get as many soldiers out as possible and essentially give it to the Italians. Cunningham opted for a compromise where troops were sent to Aden and the Raj to be redeployed while the most experienced would remain to hold off the Italians, and hopefully receive reinforcements.(British troops loading onto transports to flee the Suez canal with the Italian Army, led by Messe, 50 miles away. May 5, 1940)(Italian soldiers in a tank advancing on a British position at The battle for Suez, May 6, 1940.)(‘Coraggiosi figli di Italia’ May 6, 1940.)With North Africa firmly in Mussolini's grip, he now had access to the British oil present there, and the British Navy could no longer pass through the Mediterranean. Leaving British troops on the island of Malta stranded in an Italian sea. They would later be forced to surrender to Italian forces in October. Mussolini traded large amounts of Oil to Germany for access to Germany’s rich supply of metals such as Tungsten, Chromium, and Steel.Now the British supply of crude oil had been severed and came in drips.Edit: War Expanded and the British Fleet is in dire straits, dire enough that with the aid of the Italian fleet, Germany could make Operation Sea lion possible.…August, 1940.The Luftwaffe has been stopping short of the British mainland to assist the inferior German navy aided by the very powerful Italian navy weaken the British Fleet, that was already on it's reserves of oil and quickly running out trying to sustain such a large fleet. The Germans have been doing this since June, and have proved themselves a headache for the British Navy. But the attacks have been more intense and aggressive the closer it gets to September. Something is coming. The British know it. There was a speech that Churchill had planned for June, but he was advised to give his second draft as opposed to this one, but he knows it's time. That day, proclaiming to the whole of Britain over the radio, Churchill gives this speech in preparation of what's to come.“We have asked much of you in the past months, you resilient people. The Germans across the water would ask more, worse for the British people. With no action on our island, we fear the worst. And we ask you, loyal sons and daughters of Britain to prepare to fight for the island. Give all that you can. But I give you this reassurance. We shall give the Germans something they do not expect. The resilience of our people will drive them back across the channel: We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”September 14, 1940 is remembered as the day Operation Seelöwe went into action.The Luftwaffe worked in deadly cohesion with the German navy to create small openings to Sussex and Kent. Brighton, Portsmoth, and Dover being the primary targets. Hundreds of German Paratroopers dropped into the countryside around these towns/cities and mobilized around them as the German ‘Kriegsmarine' launched a dangerous Amphibious assault on the beaches around these cities that were heavily guarded by British home guard. The paratroopers disabled connections from the beaches to British reinforcements farther north then proceeded to launch a flank move against the Brits holding the beaches. The British fought valiantly and almost to the last man, retreating to the nearest city to defend it with their lives, aided by locals who harried the Germans at every opportunity. With beach heads secured, except at Dover, where the resistance was the staunchest, the Kriegsmarine were faced with retreat or climbing the white cliffs. They chose retreat. Massive German convoy trains pour German veterans from France into Britain. This is the first time Britain has been invaded since the Norman conquest.(September 20, 1940. ‘The Proud March’, After having successfully pushed the British army from Chichester, these triumphant German soldiers march to Brighton to help their comrades break the siege.)(British Soldiers, September 28, 1940. These men are dug into a rocky hill, west of Lewes. Part of the ‘Churchill Line’ intended to stop or, at the very least, slow the German advance on London. This hill would come to be known as ‘Geronimo's last stand’ after the soldier who's platoon was wiped out in a German assault and called an artillery strike on his own position to cause as many German casualties as possible.)The German Blitzkrieg decimated the Churchill line after a month of planning, which was enough time to evacuate parliament and the royal household to Canada. Churchill, sticking to his old admiralty days, left as the Germans were within 30 miles of London, wishing to ‘go down with his ship' but was convinced by Montgomery, who was leading the defense, to flee to Canada while he continued resistance efforts. Churchill reluctantly agreed. Continuing his war of logistics from Ottawa, making sure Montgomery, and the majority of British Military, received food, supplies, and equipment from the rest of the commonwealth. By January 1, 1941, the Germans secured Gloucester, to Oxford, to Maldon.Montgomery is stationed in Edinburgh, leading British resistance from the Scottish city. Montgomery realizes that the Germans have stopped. He immediately plans a counter-offensive.Meanwhile, Erwin Rommel, head of the campaign returns to London to discuss that matter with Wilhelm Keitel who also considers himself head of the campaign. Göring has organized a visit for Hitler to London, upon Hitler's request and insistence.Rommel wanted to seize ports on the West coast of England so the resources reaching the British was minimal, while Keitel thought they had reached far enough and needed to set up a puppet, like in France, so they could pull these veterans from Britain and prepare for Barbarossa, which Keitel was adamantly against but it was out of his hands.(January 4, 1941. Adolf Hitler as he enters London's port. He is disappointed to find the city battered and mostly destroyed, unlike Paris.)(A popular phrase among civilian freedom fighters south of the German line. Circa de 1941)(British civilans exiting the ruins of neighborhoods in London, being pushed towards German checkpoints in the city. Circa de 1941)Keitel, pulling rank on Rommel, ordained Oswald Mosely as the leader of occupied Britain while they sent discord to Edward VIII, offering him control of Britain if he cooperates with the Nazi Regime on the mainland. Oswald Mosely had been leader of the British Union of Fascists, making him an ideal candidate, but he was perfectly content being temporary leader then serving under Edward VIII.(Febuary 1, 1941. Oswald Mosely on his way to the Palace of Westminster to be ordained as the (possibly temporary) leader of occupied Britain.)Edward VIII returned from his exile to the Bahamas and was ordained as King of Great Britain, but now, an absolute monarch.(Edward VIII met Adolf Hitler in Berlin on March 7, 1941, 3 days after reassuming the crown. After the dissolving of the Reich, Britain was remembered as ‘Edward’s England’ and ‘Britain Proper’ as Britain north of the ‘Oxford line'.)(Rough Approximation of the division of Britain.)On March 10, Oswald Mosely was shot while driving his car through London by a British Freedom fighter. many Londoners, guilty and not of freedom fighting, were rounded up and sent to prison camps erected in the country-side.(A German medic desperately tries to save Mosely after his fatal shooting, to no avail.)Rommel and Keitel are working as hard as possible to push back the date of Barbarossa. They managed to fake reports of logistical problems and exaggerated reports of British resistance to get Hitler to push the date into 1942.On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Empire bombed Pearl Harbor, forcing the United States into the conflict of world war 2. The United States was already at war with Japan as a given and technically with Bahamas, an unofficial part of Edwards British Empire. A marine division was dispatched December 16, 1941 and took the islands in 3 days.*’Over There’ plays*(U.S. Marines marching from their landing zone to Nassau, Bahamas. They met almost no resistance from the local Bahamans or the British garrison of 50 soldiers.)The United States then was defending against the Japanese at key points in the Pacific.The German Empire declared war on the United States on December 9, 1941. Italy, however, pushed the declaration back, not declaring war on the United States. This caused tension with the rest of the Axis, but Mussolini was firm. This created a strange relationship between the power houses where the Italians didn't oppose the Americans but didn't allow them access to Italian territory, which consisted of North Africa, The West Balkans, and the Italian Peninsula.The Americans sent forces under the control of Douglas MacArthur and Omar Bradley to Britain Proper. Rommel was extremely concerned now. MacArthur, with Montgomery, put Montgomery’s plan into action, but with MacArthur driving through the Germans center, rather than relying on surrounding the Germans solely in Mongomerys’ plan.(American soldiers securing the streets of Oxford that had been decimated by a prolonged fight with the Germans. Rommel pushed his line back, avoiding the copious amount of casualties that would have been born of Urban Warfare.)However, the Americans continued to push with the aid of Montgomery and Rommel simply didn't have the men or resources to hold back the allied ‘London Offensive’.(Hot Pink: Montgomerys' ForcesCyan: Bradley's ForcesDeep Blue: MacArthurs’ Forces.)The Offensive forced the Germans to retreat from Britain all-together and Edward VIII fled to Germany. Hitler was forced to shelve Barbarossa to prevent an allied invasion of Normandy. The German high command collectively sighed with relief.Realizing that an invasion of France would be next to impossible, the Allies decided against it.(Here's where Germany ceases to be relevant in world war 2 until later marked.)…In Asia and Oceania, the Americans led by Dwight Eisenhower and George S. Patton, were using the vast majority of their might, and with no real front in Europe, they opened a series of them in Japanese territory once the Japanese fleet had been decimated in 1943. Americans flooded into Indonesia, then into South East Asia into British Malaysia and fought their way up the peninsula.(The Southeast Asia campaign using modern map. Prominent battles in order being:Battle of JavaBattle of SumatraBattle of Borneo(alternatively, Battle of Brunei.)Battle of Kuala Lumpur (At same time as battle of Borneo.)Battle of the Malaysia road.Battle of Manilla.(important because it liberated the Philippines, which were taken by the Japanese early in the war.)Battle of Bangkok.)The Americans were seen as liberators to the people of these places, as they were far kinder to the civilians than the Japanese. The Americans quickly pushed out the Japanese with aid from local resistance, which had diverted forces to the North for a very probable Soviet declaration of war in the near future.After liberating Southeast Asia and creating democratic liberated regions, they pushed into Yunnan and rendevoued with Chinese forces fighting in Sichuan. The Americans were happy to find armed and organized resistance that hated the Japanese as much as they did. The Chinese and American soldiers got along well. Eisenhower worked with Chiang Kai-Shek, but he didn't agree with his treatment of his people. And brought this up with Roosevelt.(Americans teaching English to displaced Chinese children. Circa de 1943.)(American soldiers helping the Chinese forces repelling a Japanese offensive to Chongqing. November 28, 1943)(American troops invading the coast east of Hong Kong. December 9, 1943.)(American soldiers entrenched outside of Nanchang, Jiangxi, preparing to assist Chinese forces in retaking the city. February 16, 1944.)(‘Reinvigorated war/重振战争’. A photo of Chinese soldiers happy to be relieved by U.S. troops after being pummeled since 1937. November 13, 1943.)(American and Chinese soldier sharing a cigarette after the liberation of Suzhou. March 6, 1944.)Joseph Stalin, having seen the quick advance of American forces from the South, decided to strike against the Japanese and declared war on March 23, 1944.(Soviet Soldiers charging across the Manchukuo border with their T-34 Tank. March 24, 1944.)(Japanese soldiers preparing for the second attack by Soviet Forces on Changchun, the capital of Manchukuo. April 13, 1944.)With Stalin involved, Mao Zedong could advance towards Beijing from his forces home in Shaanxi and Shanxi with the Mongolians and planned to meet Ivan Konev and the Red Army there.(Communist Chinese troops using scavenged equipment gaze upon the smoke and dust rising above Beijing after a Soviet artillery strike. August 4, 1944.)(Map of offensives in China.Deep blue= Americans under Dwight Eisinhower.Light Blue= Americans under George Patton.Red= Japanese under Hatazo Adachi.Purple= Cooperated offensive between Chiang, Eisinhower, and Patton.Deep red= Soviet troops under Georgy Zhukov and Ivan Konev.Yellow= Chinese under Mao Zedong.)Soviet troops under the command of Vasily Chuikov entered Korea from the North and pushed Japanese forces to the Naktong-gang, where they managed to hold their ground under Hedeo Iwakuro.(Soviet Soldiers on the West side of the Nakdong-gang. Circa de 1944.)(The ‘Korea offensive’ headed by Vasily Chuikov pushed the Japanese almost entirely off of the Korean peninsula, except for the area marked with a black X, which was held by Hedeo Iwakuro.)The entirity of the Japanese fleet is now being used to keep the Soviets from launching an invasion of the home islands of Kyushu and Honshu.Knowledge of Germany’s attempts at an atomic weapon still got out and the Manhattan project produced several atomic warheads, but the two that would be used on the Japanese were named ‘Dragon’ and ‘Liberty’.On August 6, ‘Dragon’ was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, causing around 200,000 civilian and soldier casualties overall. Harry Truman, who had been elected president after the passing of Roosevelt, ordered an unconditional surrender from Hirohito and Tojo. After devastating losses in China and the crippling fear of a Soviet Invasion, the Japanese reluctantly surrendered, ending the war in Asia.…(Germany is relevant now.)In Germany, the entire Nazi party fell into disarray after Adolf Hitler was stabbed to death in his residence at Berghof by a Polish Nationalist.Heinrich Himmler was the most obvious choice for the new Führer, but not the most popular. Joseph Goebbles and Hermann Göring also vied for the position, Joseph Goebbles being the most popular and Göring having the support of the Luftwaffe. But a new player was becoming known on this list. A dangerous character that just might take it himself.Erwin Rommel.Himmler, in a fit, ordered the SS troops to surround the Reichstag(which was chosen to debate on Himmlers suggestion.) while the party was deciding how the next Führer would be elected. The SS, being under Himmlers command, forced the party to elect him Führer.(Waffen SS troops on their way to surround the Reichstag, September 5, 1945.)Goebbles and Göring were immediately arrested and there was outrage all across Germany. The troops loyal to Himmler were merciless in putting down even the slightest protest of his leadership.Rommel, in secret, spoke with members of the German high command and Nazi party suggesting a council of the party would lead Germany, but Himmler must be ousted first. Himmler, in his paranoia, discovered the plot, and ordered the cleansing of the Nazi party, very similar to Stalin's ‘Great Purge' and sent political enemies and prisoners to camps in Norway.Rommel, who had become something of a champion of the people and ‘a good German’ by the French, whom he was extremely lenient on in his garrison and a representitive of a stable and strong Germany, National Socialism or No.On December 21, 1945, Rommel declared himself leader of Germany and much of the German military, who loathed Himmler, fell under Rommel.The struggle for the future of the Reich had begun.(Erwin Rommel inspecting the soldiers of the Reich who flocked to his banner. January 3, 1946.)Rommel received heavy resistance from Waffen SS troops but pushed past them through strategy and numbers. As Rommel reached Berlin, Himmler was evacuated out on May 19, 1946, where he, and his supporters fled to Ecuador, where they would live out the rest of their lives on the Galapagos Islands.(‘Rommels' Boys'. Circa de 1946.)(‘The Face of the Reich’. Circa de 1946.)(Himmler supporters in Leipzig. April, 1946.)Rommel refused to siege Berlin, but opted for trapping the SS troops within and the sending soldiers in to root them out. Unfortunately, the SS divisions chose to use urban warfare to it's most deadly, regardless of civilian casualties.(SS soldiers and loyalists at a checkpoint in Berlin. May 24, 1946.)(Weremacht loyal to Rommel escaping an SS ambush. May 24, 1946.)(‘Welcome home.’ May 25, 1946.)Rommel seized Berlin after a 7 day fight with garrisoned troops. Rommel occupied Berlin and declared himself Fürher. He then abolished the National Socialism party. His troops scoured Germany for higher Nazi officials who were trying to escape or those that expected Rommel to have mercy.Now that he was Führer, nazi officials were fleeing the country and SS resistance was being quashed and they surrendered.(Erwin Rommel as the Führer of Germany. May 30, 1946.)Now that Rommel was the undisputed ruler of Germany, something Rommel knew of, but not their purpose, was becoming real to him. The Nazis horrifying secret.The concentration camps.(The last survivors of the Auschwitz death camp, June 3, 1946.)Rommel, horrified at this discovery, sent aid groups to retrieve the few survivors from the camps. There were a total of 30,000 survivors in the camps. 16,000 being Jews.Rommel was their hero now, putting all of their SS guards in prison for life or to death, depending on their level of involvement. But Germany was no longer their home, as a new branch of military, the ‘Bürgerverteidigungskraft’ was created to defend these survivors, and citizens in general, from the more radical elements of German society. But the majority of these people didn't want to remain in germany, and Rommel allocated funds to a relief effort for these people as they led a diaspora from germany. Many settled in Brazil, the United States, and India, which had been recently granted independence from Britain.Rommel released France and arrested Phillip Petain. He also released Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands, but under pro-german(not pro-nazi) regimes. He also released the northern Balkans under a new Austria-Hungary loyal to Germany and cooperative with Romania. free of the Hapsburgs and ethnic policies which destroyed the first.He banished Italy from the Axis powers, of which Italy was completely satisfied with. Mussolini had drifted away from Germany and with control of most of Africa, he had no need for them. He had chosen competent generals when fighting the British and French, and didn't persecute local populations, in fact, he gave them more autonomy than they enjoyed under the allies for unwavering loyalty to his New Roman Empire.Rommel created a new government for each Nation consisting of a council of qualified individuals for the position they occupied, but also one democratically elected individual to serve on the council as the representitive of the people. The a ‘high council’ consisting of the heads of each state and high elected officials from each country to represent their people. But leaders often brought provincial governors and advisers with them. Spain and Sweden would later join this ‘European Prosperity and Defense League'.(First meeting of the European Prosperity and Defence League. January 1, 1952.)Of Poland, to honor the man who sacrificed his life to kill Hitler, Rommel restored Germany to its pre 1918 borders and what was left was a bufferstate between them and the Soviet Union. A new German union was paying to repair the damage caused. Truman and Rommel, once enemies, got along fine, even if Truman always pushed more democratic ideals towards Rommel when they met. And Rommel responded to Truman suggesting a German republic in 1951 before the league had been officially founded:“When the people have been educated to know the dangers of radicalism and national socialism… When the people have been taught the trickery and cruelty present in the communist belief… When the people understand how democracies fail and see it as their civic duty to prevent that infection… When Europe has been restored, better than before, then, and only then, may they choose to have Democracy.”Rommel led Germany until 1964, in the middle of the space race with the United States and Soviet Union, when he retired to the city of his birth, Heidenheim an der Brenz, Württemberg, where he lived until his death in 1982 at the age of 91 years old.…While Germany was being led by Rommel in 1955, an insurrection in southern Nationalist China was growing. The American troops had introduced the idea of a republic style democracy, which was popular with those living under the oppressive system of Chiangs' regime but they feared the Northern part of China, which lost indepence and became a part of the Soviet Bloc. The movement started small in the coastal provinces and increased in intensity until there was a high risk of civil war if Chiang didn't agree to a referendum. He refused. China erupted into civil conflict, those in support of a democracy turning on the fewer in number but better equipped Nationalist forces.The U.S. under Eisinhower was ecstatic to support these rebels with training officers, funds, and arms. While Chiang saw this as a great betrayal, he was overthrown by the rebels within a few months. They moved the capital to Qingdao.(Republican soldiers hearing news of the fall of Chongqing. July, 1955.)China was now divided in half, with republicans controlling the South, and Communists controlling the North.(CPC= Communist party of China.DPRC= Democratic people's republic of China.)An unsettling peace exists between the two powers. The DPRC backed by the United States and the CPC in the Soviet Bloc.…And this has been my exercise in alternate history. A world where the Allies did not defeat Germany in World War 2. I hope you enjoyed that and let me know if there's anything I should expand on and what you thought of my scenario.And this is simply one theory. There are millions of other ways this could have gone. I'm not suggesting this is EXACTLY what would have happened. Merely 1 of infinite possibilities.Thank you for reading.

On Sunday the German Süddeutsche Zeitung started to publish articles[1] based on 11.5 million leaked documents from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca that helped some of the world’s wealthiest people — including politicians, athletes and business moguls — establish offshore bank accounts.The Süddeutsche Zeitung said its reporters had obtained the documents from a confidential source and shared the files with other media organizations, like The Guardian [2]and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists[3] .The published documents reveal offshore accounts of 140 politicians and public officials including a dozen current and former world leaders (e.g. Iceland, Ukraine) and several individuals with close ties like David Cameron or Vladimir Putin (my highlights in BLUE):The fallout is potentially huge - based on the revelations , the Premier of Iceland is under pressure to resign , but I'm most excited about the upcoming revelations on UK's PM David Cameron.As Scott Lowe pointed out in The Panama Papers Have Shown...What Exactly?Iceland's Prime Minister is under pressure from members of Iceland's parliament for not disclosing his directorship of an offshore company when he became a Member of Parliament[4].There has also been a few stories on the alleged involvement of FIFA executives in setting up offshore companies for tax avoidance, which is really news of the 'sky is blue' variety. The added twist is that the documents show links between ethics committee member Juan Pedro Damiani and a former FIFA vice-president who has been accused of corruption. So even the ethics committee is not immune to the corruption which has plagued football's leading body.[5]The links between Putin and his long-time friends raking in millions of dollars due to his largesse have been covered extensively by the Guardian[6], and have been so obvious that even I have covered them in regards to the Sochi Olympics[7]. I very much doubt that the exposure of this information will be seen as anything but a smear campaign by the Russian leadership, and already Russia Today, the state-owned media company has been already criticising other media for 'going after' Putin.UPDATE: The Guardian just revealed thatIceland’s PM, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, has become the first major casualty of the Panama Papers[8], resigning amid a mounting political crisis over his family’s offshore investments.David Cameron’s father ran an offshore fund that avoided ever having to pay tax in Britain by hiring a small army of Bahamas residents[9]. Cameron will also face a parliamentary investigation. [10]Fifa president Gianni Infantino pulled into corruption scandal by Panama Papers. Leaked documents raise questions over role played by new Fifa president in TV rights deal while he worked for UefaAs the Indian Express revealed[11] - corroborated by the many very technical answers by Indians in this thread - pretty much all of India's rich & famous used Mossack Fonseca's services to circumvent India's strict capital controls:What can we learn from the Panama Papers?Scott is right in asking whether there is anything new in the papers as it is already widely known how the rich and wealthy hide money from the taxman and the in-laws.But...... at 2.6TB, the Panama papers are the world's biggest leak - bigger than either WikiLeaks in 2010 or the NSA files in 2013. While the 2010 and 2013 US military and intelligence leaks were carried out by insiders (Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden respectively), Mossack Fonseca is blaming this leak on an attack on its email servers. I believe this might be true.So the shear amount of information will not only help journalists and researchers understand the how's and why's of off-shore finance, but it also provides quantitative insight which allow answering questions how this industry evolved but over time and how not important people and corporations are interconnected.I believe the biggest fallout of the Panama Papers will be a huge number of corporate corruption cases against a high number of Western Fortune 500 companies for bribing Presidents, Prime Ministers and high ranking public officials. What has been published so far in the ICIJ's The Power Players is only the tip of the Iceberg.What you see above[12]are the offshore entities of Putin's best buddy Sergey Roldugin. This is astonishing because Rodulgin is a modest Cello player but has apparently been placed in ostensible control of a series of assets worth at least $100m, possibly more.US and EU Intelligence Services may be involved in this leakAfter the GFC, the cash-strapped U.S. and German Governments started to buy Data-CDs originating from the big Swiss Private Banks, those banks concluded that government Intelligence Services were (at least partially) involved. Those bankers said that those government-sponsored attacks will intensify until our business is destroyed or we change the way we do business. At that time I didn't believe them. But what I can say is that while Panama is still unrepentant , Switzerland took painful steps to split their Private Banking into Wealth Management (100% clean) and Wealth Consultancy (clean & dirty).From all the documents I've seen so far, the Swiss were the masterminds of Putin's network of off-shore entities in Cyprus, but in anticipation of such leaks the Swiss didn't want to deal with those constructs afterwards:After reading the Putin-Cyprus story I also understood why the ECB and IMF didn't want to fully bail-out Cyprus - They knew about Putin's dealings, they thought it only fair that Russia also chips in (which it dutifully did).The quantitative part of the Panama papers shows that due to the post-GFC tax haven crack-downs, Mossack Fonseca's offshore business has sharply declined.As Mossack Fonseca is the fourth largest offshore law firm, this means the whole off-shoring business is in the decline.This only mean that as the persecution has become more global and sophisticated, the accountants had to keep a step ahead. When I recently asked a Swiss friend of mine what (off-shore) jurisdictions he recommends to clients - he responded:The U.K in Europe and Delaware in America - as those jurisdictions offer similar benefits as off-shore but without raising suspicions.Why the U.S.? Because shell companies are primarily set up to transact the money aspect in corruption or more generally to circumvent laws in legal way:The reason why the likes of Putin or FIFA chose Panama is because they don't want Uncle Sam to investigate their dealings - whereas for normal people who only wants to hide a bunch of dollars from they eyes of their wives - staying onshore has become much more attractiveIn this respect, I recommend playing the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists's game[13] the Stairway to Tax Heaven, where 'your goal is to navigate this parallel universe and hide your cash away' .Footnotes[1] Panama Papers - All articles by Süddeutsche Zeitung[2] The Panama Papers: how the world’s rich and famous hide their money offshore[3] The Panama Papers[4] Panama Papers: Iceland PM's investments questioned - BBC News[5] Disgraced FIFA officials, Lionel Messi named in secret offshore files[6] Revealed: the $2bn offshore trail that leads to Vladimir Putin[7] Space Post[8] Iceland PM resigns after protests over Panama Papers revelations[9] Fund run by David Cameron’s father avoided paying tax in Britain[10] What David Cameron did and didn't say about his father's offshore trust[11] #PanamaPapersIndia Part 1: Clients who knocked on a Panama door[12] The Power Players[13] Stairway to Tax Heaven