diff --git a/.github/scripts/history-read.sh b/.github/scripts/history-read.sh
index 8f0e93d63..cb3c094d1 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/history-read.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/history-read.sh
@@ -6,14 +6,14 @@
 #
 # Usage: history-read.sh <ref> <path> [--absent <text>]
 #
-# Existence comes from the ref's tree (`git ls-tree --full-tree`, local data only). A path
-# the tree does not list is absent: prints <text> (default: nothing), exits 0.
-# A listed path is read with `git show`, tried 3 times in a partial clone
-# (only a fetch can recover) and once otherwise, waiting
-# HISTORY_READ_BACKOFF_SECONDS (default 2) times the attempt between tries.
-# Anything else (a ref that does not resolve, a fetch that keeps failing) exits
-# 1 with HISTORY_READ_FAILED naming the ref, the path and the git version, and
-# never reads as absent.
+# A read that `git show` answers is the file. When it fails, existence comes
+# from the ref's tree (`git ls-tree --full-tree`, local data only): a path the
+# tree does not list is absent, so this prints <text> (default: nothing) and
+# exits 0. A listed path is retried, 3 tries in all in a partial clone (only a
+# fetch can recover) and none otherwise, waiting HISTORY_READ_BACKOFF_SECONDS
+# (default 2) times the attempt between tries. Anything else (a ref that does
+# not resolve, a fetch that keeps failing) exits 1 with HISTORY_READ_FAILED
+# naming the ref, the path and the git version, and never reads as absent.
 # docs/troubleshooting.md#history-read-failed
 set -euo pipefail
 
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ fail() {
   exit 1
 }
 
+if git show "${ref}:${file}" >"$out" 2>"$err"; then cat "$out"; exit 0; fi
 listed=$(git ls-tree --full-tree "$ref" -- "$file" 2>"$err") || fail "git ls-tree failed: $(head -n 1 "$err")"
 if [ -z "$listed" ]; then
   printf '%s' "$absent"
@@ -39,9 +40,9 @@ fi
 tries=1
 if git config --get-regexp '^(remote\..+\.promisor|extensions\.partialclone)$' | grep -qvi ' false$'; then tries=3; fi
 try=1
-until git show "${ref}:${file}" >"$out" 2>"$err"; do
-  [ "$try" -lt "$tries" ] || fail "git show failed ${tries} time(s): $(head -n 1 "$err")"
+while [ "$try" -lt "$tries" ]; do
   sleep "$(( try * ${HISTORY_READ_BACKOFF_SECONDS:-2} ))"
+  if git show "${ref}:${file}" >"$out" 2>"$err"; then cat "$out"; exit 0; fi
   try=$(( try + 1 ))
 done
-cat "$out"
+fail "git show failed ${tries} time(s): $(head -n 1 "$err")"
diff --git a/lib/changelog-fragments.ts b/lib/changelog-fragments.ts
index 3f5404cf8..3d21af17b 100644
--- a/lib/changelog-fragments.ts
+++ b/lib/changelog-fragments.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
  */
 import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
 import { headingVersion, parseChangelog } from './changelog-check';
+import { readHistoryFile } from './history-read';
 import type { Bump } from './version-source';
 
 export const FRAGMENT_README = 'README.md';
@@ -75,8 +76,8 @@ export function readFragments(cwd: string, treeish: string | null, dir: string,
     return out;
   };
   const excluded = new Map((exclude ? list(exclude) : []).map(e => [e.path, e.sha]));
-  const shown = exclude && changelog ? git(cwd, ['show', `${exclude}:${changelog}`]) : null;
-  const released = shown?.ok ? parseChangelog(shown.out.replace(/\r\n/g, '\n')).sections.filter(s => !s.unreleased).map(s => s.lines) : [];
+  const shown = exclude && changelog ? readHistoryFile(cwd, exclude, changelog) : null;
+  const released = shown !== null ? parseChangelog(shown.replace(/\r\n/g, '\n')).sections.filter(s => !s.unreleased).map(s => s.lines) : [];
   const isReleased = (body: string) => {
     const want = body.split('\n');
     return released.some(lines => lines.some((_, i) => want.every((w, k) => lines[i + k] === w)));
diff --git a/lib/history-read.ts b/lib/history-read.ts
index c0702512a..f1fb39f9f 100644
--- a/lib/history-read.ts
+++ b/lib/history-read.ts
@@ -2,12 +2,14 @@
  * Read one file at a commit when the checkout may be a blobless clone
  * (`filter: blob:none`), where git fetches an old file's contents on demand
  * and that fetch can fail. The TypeScript twin of
- * .github/scripts/history-read.sh: existence comes from the ref's tree
- * (`git ls-tree`, local data only); a listed path is read with `git show`,
- * tried 3 times in a partial clone (only a fetch can recover) and once
- * otherwise, waiting HISTORY_READ_BACKOFF_SECONDS (default 2) times the attempt
- * between tries; every other failure throws HISTORY_READ_FAILED instead of
- * reading as absent (docs/troubleshooting.md#history-read-failed).
+ * .github/scripts/history-read.sh. A read that `git show` answers is the
+ * file. When it fails, existence comes from the ref's tree (`git ls-tree
+ * --full-tree`, local data only): a path the tree does not list is absent, and
+ * a listed one is retried, 3 tries in all in a partial clone (only a fetch can
+ * recover) and none otherwise, waiting HISTORY_READ_BACKOFF_SECONDS (default 2)
+ * times the attempt between tries. Every other failure throws
+ * HISTORY_READ_FAILED instead of reading as absent
+ * (docs/troubleshooting.md#history-read-failed).
  */
 import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
 
@@ -25,15 +27,17 @@ export function readHistoryFile(repoRoot: string, ref: string, file: string): st
     return new HistoryReadError(`cannot read ${file} at ${ref}. ${cause} (${version}). Fix: see docs/troubleshooting.md#history-read-failed (HISTORY_READ_FAILED)`);
   };
   const firstLine = (r: ReturnType<typeof git>) => (r.stderr ?? '').split('\n')[0] || r.error?.message || `exit ${r.status}`;
+  let shown = git(['show', `${ref}:${file}`]);
+  if (shown.status === 0) return shown.stdout;
   const listed = git(['ls-tree', '--full-tree', ref, '--', file]);
   if (listed.status !== 0) throw fail(`git ls-tree failed: ${firstLine(listed)}`);
   if (!listed.stdout.trim()) return null;
   const promisors = (git(['config', '--get-regexp', '^(remote\\..+\\.promisor|extensions\\.partialclone)$']).stdout ?? '').split('\n');
   const tries = promisors.some(line => line && !/ false$/i.test(line)) ? HISTORY_READ_TRIES : 1;
-  for (let attempt = 1; ; attempt++) {
-    const shown = git(['show', `${ref}:${file}`]);
-    if (shown.status === 0) return shown.stdout;
-    if (attempt === tries) throw fail(`git show failed ${tries === 1 ? 'once (not a partial clone, so no retry)' : `${tries} times`}: ${firstLine(shown)}`);
+  for (let attempt = 1; attempt < tries; attempt++) {
     Bun.sleepSync(attempt * 1000 * Number(process.env.HISTORY_READ_BACKOFF_SECONDS ?? 2));
+    shown = git(['show', `${ref}:${file}`]);
+    if (shown.status === 0) return shown.stdout;
   }
+  throw fail(`git show failed ${tries === 1 ? 'once (not a partial clone, so no retry)' : `${tries} times`}: ${firstLine(shown)}`);
 }
diff --git a/test/ci-history-read.test.ts b/test/ci-history-read.test.ts
index 8c4d064a7..b29465802 100644
--- a/test/ci-history-read.test.ts
+++ b/test/ci-history-read.test.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
 import * as fs from 'node:fs';
 import * as os from 'node:os';
 import * as path from 'node:path';
+import { readFragments } from '../lib/changelog-fragments';
 import { HistoryReadError, readHistoryFile } from '../lib/history-read';
 import { classifyTrainHead } from '../lib/version-gate-train';
 
@@ -157,6 +158,13 @@ describe('history-read.sh and lib/history-read.ts on a blobless clone', () => {
     absent.cut();
     expect(classifyTrainHead({ repoRoot: absent.clone, baseRef: 'main', head: absent.one })).toEqual({ kind: 'off' });
   });
+
+  test('the fragment reader fails loudly when the base CHANGELOG cannot be fetched, and treats an absent one as nothing released', () => {
+    const fx = fixture('fragments', { ...ONE, 'CHANGELOG.md': '# Changelog\n\n## [1.0.0.0]\n\n- one\n', 'changelog.d/pr.md': '- the PR entry\n' }, { 'CHANGELOG.md': '# Changelog\n\n## [1.0.0.1]\n\n- two\n\n## [1.0.0.0]\n\n- one\n' });
+    fx.cut();
+    expect(() => readFragments(fx.clone, fx.one, 'changelog.d', fx.two, 'CHANGELOG.md', 'skip')).toThrow(HistoryReadError);
+    expect(readFragments(fx.clone, fx.one, 'changelog.d', fx.two, 'NO-CHANGELOG.md', 'skip').errors).toEqual([]);
+  });
 });
 
 type Step = { name?: string; uses?: string; run?: string; with?: Record<string, unknown> };