World War Three May 1946

The Front Page of the New York Times

July 13th, 1946

Medal of Honor Winners to Fight Again

In an unprecedented show of courage, honor and
Patriotism almost all of the surviving World War
Two Metal of Honor awardees have pledged to follow
Audie Murphy’s example and join up again.

The following is just a short list of all the award
winners who are signing up to fight the Reds and
to free Europe once more. They have all signed a
pledge and urge all young men who are able to join
them in this crusade against a godless foe. They
are especially appealing to veterans. “We need the
vets to once more charge into the breach”. Here is
a short list of all those who have signed the pledge

AUDIE MURPHY
EDWARD A. BENNETT
ARTHUR O. BEYER
MELVIN E. BIDDLE
CECIL H. BOLTON
HERSCHEL F. BRILES
BOBBIE E. BROWN
FRANCIS S. CURREY
JOE FOSS
PIERPONT M. HAMILTON
JAMES H. HOWARD
JAMES R. HENDRIX
LEON W. JOHNSON
JOHN R. KANE
JOSE M. LOPEZ
VERNON McGARITY
WILLIAM A. SODERMAN
PAUL J. WIEDORFER



Not to be out done many members of the
entertainment industry have also pledged to do
their duty once more. Actors who are veterans
have pledged to fight for freedom once more.
These actors and veterans have joined the call
to join up once again and “Win One For the Gipper”.




GENE AUTRY
EDDIE ALBERT
JAMES ARNESS
ERNEST BORNINE
MEL BROOKS
RICHARD BURTON
ART CARNEY
KIRK DOUGLAS
HENRY FONDA
GLENN FORD
CLARK GABLE
WILLIAM HOLDEN
BURT LANCASTER
RONALD REAGAN

In a joint statement from The Actors Guild all
veterans are urged to sign up now. To quote
Clark Gable … “We have the training and the
experience to pitch right in, right away and to
drive the commies out of Europe and back to
where they belong. We don’t have time to train
all the men we need or wait for the draft. The
time is now. The road to freedom has always
started with our democracy and this time is no
different. To all you vets out there. Join up and
join up now! Let’s free the world from Godless
Communism. Let’s finish this job once and for all

AND FRANKLY, MY DEAR, I DO GIVE A DAMN…”

Noticeably absent from the announcement was
America’s favorite movie soldier and celebrity,
John Wayne who made 13 movies during WWII.

 

Chapter 16​

Polonium​

 

July 13th, 1946
9:04 hours
Oak Ridge
His hands were slick with sweat in the rubberized gloves as he carefully lifted the container from the vault. In his sweaty hands, he held the most expensive and deadliest substance on earth. It was the key to detonating the atomic bomb. Most people have never heard of it, but for the last year it had been his life. In his role of Health Physics Officer, he had full access to both the Oak Ridge and Dayton nuclear sites.

Both facilities were gearing up for maximum production and research. Many of the original team, along with many new members, were drafted after the Soviet attack to continue their work. Their newly acquired civilian jobs where left behind because their country needed them once again.

In his role as Health Physics Officer, he had handled the containers many times and even helped dispense its contents during the production process. He knew the dangers and knew what he had to do to protect his own life. A salt size grain of this harmless looking powder could kill thousands of the strongest and healthiest men on earth if breathed in or ingested. Death comes with less than 50 nanograms. The amount in each container could easily kill a small city.

Intellectually he knew that external alpha irradiation is not harmful because alpha particles are completely absorbed by a very thin layer of dead skin as well as by a few centimeters of air. But on a gut level he was scared shitless about what he was planning on doing. He had split the available supply into two separate containers. One was destined for Oak Ridge and the other for Dayton.

His Soviet handlers had taught him how to attach the detonator to the explosives and set the timers. He had in turn provided them with the best locations for the explosions in each facility. Each location was chosen to infect the maximum number of critical personnel, and the timers were to be set to a time when the maximum number would be gathered in the same place.
The explosions would be small, just enough to destroy the containers and disperse the Polonium. They would cause a momentary concern and investigation, but the buildings would continue to be used well after infecting most of his colleagues. Within weeks, they would be dead.

Polonium is virtually undetectable outside of the body of the victim and even then you have to be looking for it. The small damage by the explosive would be fixed in an afternoon, and the both operations would be up and running in hours. Even if they did suspect something, it would be too late for those in the facility at the time. The facilities would be useless for generations. The polonium would be there and would continue to kill.

He regretted this on one hand, but on the other their work had been responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths and countless tales of sickness and deformities for generations to come. It was easy for his Soviet handlers to convince him of what had to be done.

After seeing what happened in Japan, he might have done it anyway.
Ironic how Polonium was discovered by Madame Curie and her husband, and it probably killed them. It was named after her beloved country of Poland.

Polonium…The Holy Grail and key to causing a nuclear chain reaction in a Mark III atomic bomb. Polonium…the most sought after substance in the world and the most deadly.

The Soviet spy code named Delmar was about to change the course of history forever. George Koval almost forgot to replace the real containers with their fake replacements. He had actually closed the storage vault before he remembered. This fact filled him with doubts about his abilities to carry out his plan.

Full scale production of the atomic bombs was about to resume. The new assembly teams had been trained and had practiced for weeks. Just the right combination of individuals has been found and recruited. The US was down to 3 usable atomic bombs. His safely hidden containers held the entire US and the world’s supply of polonium

He had 48 hours to place both dirty bombs. He had 48 hours to become the deadliest saboteur in modern history. Ironically he also had 48 hours to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of his fellow countrymen from the fate of nuclear horror. He had 48 hours to literally stop, the American nuclear program for at least a year to. Enough time for the Soviet atomic weapons program to produce its own deterrent.

This weighed heavily on Delmar His heart was racing, and he was breathing hard. All the guards in both locations were used to seeing him crawling around in restricted areas carrying his tools and instruments in his tool bag. He was the Health Physics Officer, and it was his job to crawl around testing for radiation, just as he had been doing for over a year. He had Top Secret clearance. It should be no problem at all for him to both smuggle the containers in and place them where they needed to be set.
The explosives had been brought in bit by bit in hidden in his tools, hollow coins etc. during the last few months. The small detonators were hidden in his Geiger counter. The timers were two exact copies of his old and familiar watch. In fact, that had almost gotten him caught.

One of the new guards commented on his new watch. If one of the old guards had noticed the same thing, there might have been trouble. He had to figure out how to make his new watches look old. It’s surprisingly hard to do convincingly, but he had accomplished the task just last week.

The explosives, timers and detonators were waiting. All that was missing was the Polonium and the hands that would put them all together.

 

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Special Afternoon Edition
July 15th, 1946
HOOVER SHOT!
By UNITED PRESS
New York, NY. – Federal Bureau of Investigation
Director J. Edgar Hoover was shot early this morning
when gunman attacked the car he was riding in.
Director Hoover had just left his hotel to attend a
meeting with the Gunmen struck. Director Hoover was
in the city to attend a meeting dealing with the recent
sabotage at east coast shipping ports. A spokesman for
the New York Police Department stated that 4 of the
gunmen were killed by the FBI Agents during the
attack, and another 3 were killed by NYPD Officers
while attempting to flee the scene. The attackers killed
3 FBI Agents, 1 NYPD Officer, and 3 citizens. An FBI
spokesman listed the 3 murdered agents as, Mr. Clyde
Tolson, Mr. Herman Miller, and Mr. Richard Smith.
Director Hoover survived the attack and was rushed to
an area hospital. His condition was unknown
at the time this article went to press. The FBI has stated
that 3 of the gunmen were known members of
communist groups.

 

The Offer
“But sir you have to realize this might be a very appealing proposition to some. Suppose they make it public? There could be a lot of pressure to take a close look at his offer.”
“I’ll be damn if I’ll kowtow to his demands. He’s dictating that we let all of Europe fall behind an Iron Curtain of slavery that is Stalinism, that we allow our own traitorous Communists free rein to undermine our democracy and that we assist him in opening up the world’s oceans to his navy. Is he mad!’
‘Probably Sir Winston, but the alternative is equally unthinkable. If we don’t acquiesce to his demands, then he threatens to unleash the largest air force ever seen against our island. Every city south of Leeds is within their range, and we now know that they have jet bombers and jet fighters as well as thousands of conventional fighters and bombers. Not only that but he threatens to invade the Middle East, cut off our oil supplies and take over the Suez Canal. In addition if the Americans continue with their plan they will not be able to assist us. The great bulk of their air forces will be elsewhere carrying out their part of Plan Griddle.’
‘It seems to me that another diminutive, bombastic dictator threatened much the same. The Americans were not available then. I see Stalin and Communism as an even greater threat than Hitler and the Nazism, and he must be stopped. We fought then, and we won. We shall have to repeat the effort once again.’
‘If I may remind you sir you are not in power anymore, and that decision is out of your hands. Stalin has given us 2 months to make a decision. He is counting on the masses rising and demanding that we sit this one out. They will argue that we did enough. We lost an empire. We are drained. The communists are gaining ground fast. Unless something changes we will run out of time.',
‘Well Roger we shall see what we can do to change that dynamic.’

 

Lunch at Oak Ridge
Lunch
Oak Ridge, TN
July 17th, 1946

“What’s for lunch today Pete?”
“Just some same old stuff. They got … ah SOS. “
“Oh you mean Chipped Beef?”
“Yeah that’s what I mean.”
“Let’s sit over here. Man the place is packed today. I’m glad we got here before the crowd certainly got big.”
“What’s going on anyway?”
“I dunno, some big conference on a new Gadget. All the bigwigs and brainiacs are here. Can’t believe they’re going to eat in here with us. Kinda puts the cramp on our noon card game.”
“Ha don’t you think they want to join.”
“Not with a cheater like you playing. Your reputation is well known. I still don’t understand why I keep playing with you. Man there’s barely room to sit in here. Hey over there with Schmitt. He’s got some room.”
“Hey Schmitty how’s it going? You got some….Jeesus what was that?”

“Fuck something exploded by the kitchen. Can’t see much through the dust….Hey Bill what’s going on?”
“You know as much as I do Pete. Wasn’t that big of an explosion … maybe one of the cooks let the gas build up in the stove or something. Wait I can see where it happened.”
“It’s overhead in the air ducts. See by the wall there.”
“OH yeah nice little hole. What the hell could have done that? HEY DAVE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO EVACUATE OR WHAT?”
“CAN’T HEAR YA. I’LL COME OVER THERE.”
“I said are we supposed to evacuate or something?”

“Well no alarms yet. Kind of a small explosion. Maybe a little gas got up in the air ducts somehow.”
“LISTEN UP EVERYBODY…NO REASON TO PANIC BUT LET’S EVACUATE THE AREA UNTIL WE FIGURE OUT WHAT CAUSED THE EXPLOSION. NO ONE WAS HURT. TAKE YOUR LUNCHES WITH YOU IF YOU WANT AND EAT IN THE AUDITORIUM.”
“Damn straight I’m taking my lunch. I paid 10 cents for this feast, and I’m not wasting a mouthful. Let’s go before they change their mind.”
“Lucky that gas leak or whatever it was didn’t do more damage. Sounded like a big firecracker. Who in the hell would do something so stupid?”
“Maybe it was one of the circulation fans……no I don’t think that’s it. They’re still working see how that dust is blowing around. Huh it wasn’t a fan.”

2 HOURS LATER
In the head of security’s office

“It appears to have been a very small explosion set off by a cheap wrist watch as a timer. We just heard that a similar thing happened in Dayton in the middle of their big conference in the auditorium just before they were about to break for lunch. Same type of thing a small explosion that sent a dust cloud from the air ducts circulating. Funny thing about both explosions was there wasn’t that much dust in the other air ducts. These are all pretty new buildings, and it was strange.”
“Anyway HQ has ordered a lockdown of both facilities until we find the culprits. We’re going to test everyone for explosive residue etc. on their hands. Both air systems are back up and running and the holes are patched, but we’re going to keep everyone in place for at least 24 hours until we find out who was responsible for this … prank. I don’t know what else to call this. No one leaves, and both places are locked down tight till we find who did this. Was someone trying to test our security or something? I mean those tiny explosions couldn’t do much damage.”

 

Chapter 18​

The Pyrenees Line​

 

The Pyrenees Line
July 18th, 1946
Lt. Arthur Smyth
936th Field Artillery Battalion

Personal observations of an FO

From my observation post, I could see almost the whole attack unfolding. It was a strangely beautiful sight from 4000 ft. perched nice and safe far from the action. My BC scope was my weapon. It was to a Forward Observer what an M1 was to an infantry man.

In the days leading up to the attack, there had been many probes by the Red Army’s reconnaissance forces. All had been given bloody noses and sent scurrying back to their holes. There was a close call at Vielha when a Soviet OMSBON unit showed up a full 4 days before we thought possible and caught the local forces with their pants down. Somehow a battalion size unit had gotten to Vielha undetected and gave us quite a scare. Luckily they were far ahead of their support units, and supply and after a 6 hour fire fight they were surrounded and had to surrender. They were a tough bunch of yahoos. Pretty much fought to the last man.

I heard a few more meeting actions occurred with the Reds being turned back. Then they tried to bull rush us. I guess they were counting on sheer numbers and shock value. It’s pretty hard to continuously charge uphill, but they gave it their best shot. They die bravely…but they died. It was pretty much a slaughter after the first initial contact.

I mean we had pre-registered the artillery, had mine fields set, tank traps, interlocking fields of fire, our artillery was placed on the high ground, trenches dug. Everything that could be done by desperate men in desperate times we did. I’m surprised we didn’t have some boiling oil ready. Jees it was still a close call until the flyboys finally showed up. Man have we been missing them. I usually can’t stand to see them in a bar, but I would have kissed em this time. Those Red bastards just might have over whelmed us in a few key passes if the Navy and the Army fly boys hadn’t done their thing.

They got this new thing call napalm. Wicked stuff made out of gasoline they say. Somehow it sticks to you and burns like a son of a gun. I guess you die pretty horribly. Amazing what man can invent to kill another man.

The F4Us, P47s and even some P38s did the trick on the most advanced units, and it was over in less than 20 minutes from start to finish. Strafing and bombing till there was nothing left to kill. Hell the arty barely got started, and it was over. I guess it was a peek at what was to come. Those Reds are some fighters and man can they die hard. I hope I never meet one face to face. That’s why I have my scope and binoculars so I can get them before they get too close.

We still don’t have the kind of coordination we need between the flyboys and us ground pounders. One artillery barrage messed up a flight of P47s that attacked just as the shells hit. I’m pretty sure 3 of the planes went down. That’s not good for morale but neither was the bombing of the 20th Armored HQ. What those flyboys were thinking is beyond me. Why would there be and enemy command post so far behind our own lines? Once the first guy started they all joined in. It was a mess. That unit is one piece of bad luck.

The Reds pulled in their heads for a few days and are getting coiled like a spring. We can hear them bringing up their air units and heavy arty. It was going to get very ugly and hot sometime soon. They got those friggin rockets. Stalin’s organ they call em. More bark than bite I hope.

They say it’s going to be a war of attrition, and we don’t have any reserves. We got 15 full strength divisions against over 45 of theirs, and they are getting stronger every day, and we aren't I don’t know where all those new units are going we keep hearing about, but they aren’t showing up here. Ha that’s going to be edited out I’m sure.

They should come again tomorrow, or the day after and this time they will have their own air forces and those damn Stumevicks or whatever they call em. Those things are like a flying tank. Very hard to shoot down and they pack a mean wallop. I won’t be like that first attack. This time things will be very even. I hope we have some kind of bucket brigade waiting to plug the gaps that are sure to appear. Yeah this could get real ugly real fast.

“Request #10 “Fox oboe Baker number one fire mission! Azimuth 3200, from check point #210, right 300 add 500, enemy tanks in the open, will adjust.”
That’s how you do it. That’s how you rain death and destruction upon your fellow man.

It comes in a variety of sizes from mortars to 155 mm guns. I even got to assist the navy in Operation Louisville Slugger. Those 16” were truly something. You didn’t even have to get close. I doubt the Reds will be anywhere near our left and right flank. Not with those old battle wagons still move about.

 

I understand

“We finally have to use our supplies Niki. That’s good but it means that we have to wait to attack again. Those who died will not have died in vain. They have helped us to locate several weak points in their line. The trouble is the minute we gain a local victory they just fall back to the next prepared defenses on the next mountain. This will not be easy. This is not what we were led to believe would happen. Whatever happened to the notion that the Yanks are running away and leaving their things behind for us to take? No this is not very encouraging at all. You do know that what I just said will not leave this room don’t you Niki?”
“Oh yes comrade…I understand.”

 

Chapter 19​

Best Laid Plans​

July 21, 1946
Park bench #245 in Gorky Park

“The NVKD has done it again. The NATO planners are going to attempt a so called carpet bombing operation near Toulouse. We know the date and the location of the strike. The only question is are they able to get units in place in time. We still only have 60 operational jet interceptors and only a few dozen air to sky rockets. Air Marshal Nonikov anticipated this next move and much of the equipment is already in Western Europe and near Paris.”
“I suggest that we do not use the Pe9s for this operation. The fake Tu2s should be enough along with the air to sky rockets to give them a scare. Marshal Novikov was smart to move the equipment. After what happened in Leningrad, I don't believe the US will be sending many raids deep into the Mother Land.”
“I've heard that they have replaced the guidance system of the rockets with an even simpler method. The details are not for me to know. All I care is that they work and break up the blasted formations so our fighters can penetrate their defenses.”
“That Sergo fellow gave quite a lecture on how things are supposed to work together. Much like ground combat he has designed a combined arms plan. The air to sky rockets make the bombers take a few hits and unnerve the others who must stay in formation. Then the rocket launching heavy fighters and medium bombers move in and launch with the aim of drawing off the fighter escorts and dragging them down to lower levels where our conventional fighters can have the advantage.
Hopefully this will also serve to break up the bomber formation, and they too will fall prey to the Yak 3s and Lag 7s. Then there are the jet interceptors that will engage any of their jet fighters, and if they are not present then they will attack any remaining bombers. The rockets being launched by the heavy fighters and Tu2s will be different too. If unmolested they will be able to break up the bomber formations.”
“So the escorts are damned if they do and damned if they don't engage them.”
“Most interesting also is that they have stepped up production of the old Pe8 heavy bomber.”
“What in the world for. Those things are so obsolete and could not possibly survive against modern air defenses.”
“All I know is what I heard and that Sergo fellow mumbled something about the Pe8 being used for yet again another purpose.”
“Yes I was not present, but I heard about how strange that little Sergo is. An odd duck as the Limeys would say. Not your normal sort of person from all accounts.”
“I don't care if he has horns and a tail as long as he is on our side and keeps the Yankee pigs from using their bombers to destroy the Motherland.”
“I heard he has some kind of fetish for small animals.”
“Ha what can you do with a small animal? Now I know what you can do with a sheep and have seen it done many a time.”
“Sounds like you've been away from your wife too long comrade.”

 

July 21, 1946
Pyrenees Mountains
The Pyrenees Line

The foothills around the town of Vileha look like a WWI no-mans land. It reminds the few vets who fought at Monte Cassino of old times. Except this time they are the defenders and the Soviets are regulated to playing their part. Ominously the Red Army has made headway by shear force of being willing to take losses. They are not making banzai charges or even suicidal charges, but they are just not willing to give any ground once gained. Counter attacks are not the answer at this point, and NATO troops were not capable of making them.

As the Germans found out, the Red Army soldier was able to fight under the most extreme of conditions. They fought through the winter months just as their enemy did, but they were able to handle the elements and deprivation better. They live on less food, supplies and many times worse leadership. Yet they prevailed against the most deadly enemy the world has ever known. That is until now.

The NATO troops facing them are gaining valuable experience in the art of defensive warfare. They may not be capable of attacking yet. They are becoming very adept at defending. They are finally receiving enough supplies to take the fight to Ivan. They can give as good as they got mainly because of their strong defensive positions. It's pretty easy to give em hell from the high ground.

Luckily for the soldiers on the ground, the air war is a standoff with neither side gaining the advantage. This favors the defender on the high ground. They have a manageable fear of being blasted out of their defensive positions by IL10 and TU2s. Both are remarkably versatile at a tactical level. The fighters continue to cancel each other out. A special operation here or there will gain a decided advantage for one side or the other but no clear cut winners.

Much like Monte Cassino this is a soldier’s war. It takes grunts to take the high ground. Artillery can just make it unoccupied for a while. Air power can turn it to mush and debris. But only the grunt can take it and keep it. So far Ivan has been able to keep what he has won the hard way.

The sheer numbers of Soviet troops and planes are gradually pushing the NATO forces back foothill by foothill. There will be no breakthroughs yet there will be no letup in the attacks either. Much like Monte Cassino on a grand scale. The Allied forces eventually took Monte Casino...eventually and at considerable cost.

Unnoticed by the Stavka at this early stage is that as the US units are being rotated back to the rear for R & R they are increasingly being replaced by Spanish, Portuguese, British, Canadian and other NATO forces as they become trained and able to take up their positions. Even units of Belgians, French, Polish, Dutch and Danes are appearing in small numbers. All have new equipment, training and supplies courtesy of Uncle Sam.

Ironically the smaller front and the uselessness of armor have freed up a large number of Soviet mechanized units who are being moved to other fronts. Again ironically the lack of any massive armored operations have decreased the Red Armies need for supplies and fuel.

If you are a student of Management by Objective, you will know that the first thing you look at is the trend. You ask yourself "if nothing changes what will be the outcome?". The outcome of this situation is that the Soviets will pierce the Pyrenees Line in 3 months... if there are no changes.

 

Chapter 20​

It Spreads​

Take it Home

George Oppenheimer opened the door and was greeted by his dog. Iliad jumped up on his hind legs and hopped around hoping to get petted or even picked up. As usual he sniffed George for interesting odors drawing in the polonium particles from his master’s pants into his lungs. Oppenheimer was once again working for the government on a consulting basis and was attending a seminar when a small explosion livened things up at the Oak Ridge facility.

His wife Kitty came out of the bedroom and gave him a big hug breathing in a few particles of polonium from his suit jacket as she inhaled. 5 year old Frank and 2 year old Toni came running out and also gave George a hug and each buried their faces in to dad’s pants legs and inhaled particles of polonium.

The family decided to go out to eat in a restaurant down the street. George shook hands with a dozen people before they could sit down. His fame was still a novelty for his work on the atomic bomb. Each received a dose of polonium in some manner or form from contact with Oppenheimer. The waitress was next to receive a dose of polonium when she picked up a napkin that little Frank had dropped and pretended to blow her nose in it to the amusement of both children. The cook received his next, when the paper the order was written on was put on the spindle and was spun around for him to read.

Particles spread from the cook to 40 other people dinning and they went home and infected another 10 people each who infected 6 others etc. by this time the polonium was getting spread pretty thin and was not as potent. Yet it still packed a punch. All in all George Oppenheimer spread polonium to over a 6 thousand people. Not all died like he and his family the waitress, cook and 10 of the 40 other dinners but many were deathly ill and many never had a normal life again.

Now multiply that by the 1489 original people infected in Oak Ridge and add in another 1728 in Dayton and you have a problem of major proportions when they each give a dose of polonium to a couple of hundred more give or take a life.

Iliad died too by the way along with thousands of other pet dogs, cats, rats, mice and even cockroaches. Polonium is an equal opportunity killer.

 

The Whitehouse
July 22nd, 1946
The Map Room


The air is sweltering in the enclose room. There are too many big bodies crammed into a small place. The atmosphere is even more uncomfortable than the sweltering heat outside for more than one reason. The most powerful man on earth is speechless. At the moment there is not a more uncomfortable place on earth.

There is stunned silence as the news sinks in. No one moves waiting for Truman to say something… anything. Someone coughs and the silence is broken as others breathe again.

The president looks sick to his stomach and is as white as a ghost. Then the color returns to his face his fist clench and then the old WWI Captain is back in command.

“Truman finally explodes. Jesus Christ how many?”
“Virtually all of the personnel at both Oak Ridge and Dayton sir are sick or dying. Remember the report a few days ago about two small explosions at both facilities.”
“Hell yes!”
“There was something in those explosions that is causing everyone who was in the facilities at the time and who have since visited to become deathly ill. There was some kind of poison or germ or who knows what in those tiny explosions that was spread by the air system. The timing was perfect as almost everyone involved with the atomic program was either at the symposium or at one of the facilities within a few days.”
“What the hell can do something like this?”
“Well sir it could be a germ but probably it was some kind of radiation as the symptoms are strikingly like what we’ve seen in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. It’s hard to detect whatever it is. To make matters worse many of the relatives and hospital staff attending the victims are also contaminated and are becoming sick.”
“Holly shit! So what is being done to stop the spread of whatever it is for God’s sake?”
“Dr. Anderson will fill you in sir.”
“We have to quarantine everyone who has come in contact with any of the victims. So far it looks like it has to be direct contact with either the victims themselves or anything they’ve touched.”
“Holy mother of Mary!”
“Yes sir and it gets worse. We have no way of detecting what it is yet. Geiger counters register nothing yet the symptoms are very much like radiation poisoning. The good news is that the farther it gets away from the original victim the less potent it is. So their seems to be some dilution effect.”
“If this ever gets out to the press they will demand that we shut down all our atomic weapons and research facilities and that will be the end of the atomic bomb.”
“Ah sir… Wilkes… here sir… That in effect is what already has happened. All of our current experts are dead or dying, all of our facilities are infected by something and no one is allowed in or is going to enter them again for a long time until we figure out what it is and how to clean it up or kill it and even then who are we going to get to work in them. The atomic weapons program is essentially shut down until further notice sir.

Again a stunned silence fills the room.

Truman gets up and paced the room. All eyes are on the small yet powerful figure. Everyone is unsure of what to do. Finally he speaks directly to the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“Well gentleman I guess we have to do this the old fashioned way. We have to beat their asses fair and square. No secret super weapons or atomic wonder weapons. We have to use what we got against what they got. We have to outsmart them starting now. No more of this arrogance about how they can’t do this or they can’t possibly do that. They just did it to us! Now we have to figure out a way to beat em straight up man to man. There’s no more easy way around it. We can assume nothing about the Reds. So far they have outsmarted us at every turn except Louisville Slugger. “You can always amend a big plan, but you can never expand a little one. I don't believe in little plans. I believe in plans big enough to meet a situation which we can't possibly foresee now.” Now get the hell out of here and get to work ON JUST HOW THE Hell WE‘RE GOING TO DO IT! BY GOD YOU HAVE A WEEK TO FIGURE IT OUT OR I’LL FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN! DISMISSED YOU SONS OF BITCHES! Not you Marshal… You stay behind. By god it’s time to shake things up around here.”

 

Satellites Align
“Well Bill looks like we have confirmed reports of Soviet units joining the Bulgarians near the Greek border and the Yugoslavs on the Italian border and there are units of both Romanian and Czech armies in support roles as well.”
“Yeah I heard that the Yugoslavians are more than willing to invade Italy. According to our ambassador their hatred for the Italians goes way back, and they are more than willing to seek revenge for past real and imagined transgressions. This Tito fellow seems pretty upset about something the recent Italian government did to him. It had something to do with the Ustashe and their reign of terror in Croatia. Anyway he’s raring to go in order to show off for Stalin. He wants Italy to pay big time.”
“From what I heard this could get real ugly for the Italians. They will have to fight the Soviets and Yugoslavians as well as their own Communist Party who will constantly be asking for peace and trying to harm the war effort.”
“Our estimates are that the new Italian government will last only a matter of weeks before they surrender.”
“The same is true in Greece. The combination of Red Army training and equipment and Bulgarian hatred will be hard to stop. Let’s hope that the Reds do something to piss off Greek Commies, and they decide to fight for king and country instead of for some economic system.”
“I was reading about just this the other day and the article I read said that there is no love lost between the Greeks and Bulgarians since the 20s. This historian was boring me with all sorts of stories about these ridiculous border disputes about stray dogs and a massacre …all the kind of normal ethnic crap that goes on in the Balkans. Anyway they’re ready to impress Stalin as well and to take on their old enemy Greece.”
“I worked on the estimates for the Major on just this scenario. It does not look very good for the Greeks in a war with Soviet backed troops either. This could get truly ugly in the Balkans once again.”
“Hey is that Pecan Pie? Where'd you get that?”

 

Smudges
Washington D.C.
July 23rd, 1946

“Why is it that all these notes we get from agent Paul are all smudged and so hard to read? You’d think he could be a little more careful and neat with these things. He does know that they go directly to comrade Fyodor doesn’t he? I would never turn in such a mess to such a man as Fyodor.”
“It has something to do with the speed in which he has to gather his information and from where he gets it.”
“Apparently time is of the essence and neatness doesn’t matter.”
“You must be right comrade because he is still alive and sending us notes.”

 

Aberdeen Proving Grounds
July 30th, 1946
“Well Colonel, What do you think? That beast is the final complete test vehicle of the new T50 Patton tank. If all goes well, this tank will be standardized as the M50 Patton medium tank early next month.”
“My God, I thought they were kidding about naming it after Patton. So this is the answer to the Russian Stalin tanks, huh? I’m not seeing anything much different from the M26 tanks. Give me the run down on it.”
“Yes, Sir. We made enormous strides with this project. Once the President made up his mind we got straight to work. That turned out to be a immensely important, because the Centurion isn’t nearly as good as what Mr. Churchill said it was. It’s a maintenance nightmare. Hell it took us 15 hour to get the engine out of the first English tank we received. I thought we were doing something wrong, but the 2 English engineers that came over with the drawings said that it normally takes them 12 hours to pull an engine. And it’s a gas hog. The very best range we got with the English test tank was 45 miles. Once we took it off road the range dropped to around 30 miles. The turret is a real piece of work also; luckily we never planned on using the English turret anyways.”
“Major this isn’t making me feel any better. Give me the positives of switching tanks mid war.”
“Well Sir, I think the T50 is going to make you happy. It’s more of an improved version of the English tank, than just a copy. First we kept the 4 man crew. The turret is a new design made of cast armor, with a unusually narrow forward profile. The main armament is the 90mm M3 gun fitted with a muzzle break and bore evacuator. The secondary armament is a coaxial mounted .30 caliber Browning, and a .50 caliber Browning mounted before the tank commanders hatch for use as anti-aircraft weapon. We replaced the English made engine with a Ford V12 GAC engine from the T29 heavy tank project. That engine is rated at about 770 hp, That makes the T50 a little faster than the Centurion. We had to do a major redesign of the hull to fit the Ford engine, which allowed us also to increase fuel capacity, and make maintenance much easier. The test hulls got around 160 miles with the sheet steel mock up turrets. We got around 100 to 110 mile range once we put a full combat load in the complete tanks.”
“Well it sure sounds impressive. What’s the planned production? When will we have some for the Armor School at Fort Knox?”
“Right now, 20 tanks ready. 10 of those are going to Fort Knox, 10 to one of the new Armored Divisions. We have the Detroit and Fisher Tank Arsenals tooling up for full production and they should be on line by the end of next month. Also, production contracts have been given to 4 civilian companies. We hope to have close to 2000 ready by March.”
“Alright, what’s next?”
“Yes, Sir. Follow me please; the M38 Wolfhound armored car is next.”

 

Gathering Forces
Number 10 Downing
Prime Ministers Atlee’s private quarters
July 25th, 1946

“We can confirm that the Soviets are moving their air assets into position sir. Despite our efforts, they are bringing in all the supplies and fuel they will need to launch an all-out cross channel air assault. The range of their front line fighters puts all of southern England within their reach. That means their bombers will be escorted at all times and possibly by their new jets.”
“How are our preparations coming along?”
“We’re pumping out Meteors as fast as we can and pulling out all the Spits and Tempests from mothballs. As usual it will be the pilots that will determine if we survive or not. It’s a given that the Reds have studied all the mistakes by both sides in The Battle of Britain I and are not going to repeat them. We have to do the same and figure out how to survive their overwhelming numbers as we did against the Germans.”
“Everyone knows how close we came to defeat in that one. I just hope we learned our lessons as well. At least we have much more advanced warning and can concentrate our resources better. On the other hand, the numbers the Soviets can put against us are staggering, and we have a little more than a month to prepare.”
“Yes sir… I …”
“Well what is it Ronald? Spit it out.”
“Where are the American’s sir? I know that for propaganda purposes, we have a few units of American P80s available, but we both know the bulk of the USAAF is just not to be found despite the press releases.”
“We have to go it alone for a while Ronald. It’s all part of the plan that we agreed to long ago. We are going to take it on the chin but it will help win the war in the end.”
“It sounds very familiar sir.”
“How so Ronald?”
“Well sir we basically lost our empire in the last war and now we might just lose our country. Meanwhile the American’s come in late and pick up the pieces.”
“We really have no options here Ronald. I will not give in to Stalin’s demands. Our sacrifice will ensure that Stalin is defeated I’m sure of it. Lend Lease has opened the flood gates again and the American’s will be forever in our debt, I‘ve made sure of that. The world will be free of the this plague forever. A couple of months of hell will mean generations of peace and prosperity for our peoples.”

 

Italy
NATO HQ
Outside London
Aug. 2nd, 1946
Combined Chiefs of Staff meeting.



In attendance:

British:
Field Marshal Montgomery, 1st Viscount of Alamein
Admiral of the Fleet Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Kirtleside

United States:
General of the Army Omar Bradley
Admiral DeWitt Clinton Ramsey
General LeMay

Canada:
Lieutenant-General Graham

France:
Marshal of France Leclerc de Hauteclocque

Belguim:
Lieutenant-General Bievez

Netherlands:
Lieutenant-General van Oyen

Denmark:
Major-General Bjerregaard


Spain:
Rear Admiral Carrero-Blanco

Norway:
Lieutenant-General Helset

Italy:
Ambassador Bettino Craxi
Corps General Primieri

Associate members:

Polish Government in Exile Army:
Lieutenant-General Anders

German Volunteer Corps:
General Hasso von Manteuffel

“Field Marshal Montgomery: Settle down gentlemen…settle down. We know that Plan Cockspur has been presented and agreed upon by all the parties that matter. I just want to make sure we are all on the same page and that there are no misunderstandings amongst the parties involved. Mr. Ambassador we are well aware of your government’s objections to this plan. But the NATO command at the highest level has agreed that this is the only possible plan that will eventually save the Italian civilization and will lessen the suffering of the greater part of the Italian populace. General please continue…”
“General Roberts: Thank you, Sir. As I was saying as of September 1st the United States has one division and some service troops for a total of 34,000 men in the peninsula. The British have a division, two brigade groups and some artillery formations, a total of 70,000 troops supported by 112 RAF fighters. The Italian Army now fields 90,000 men with modern equipment plus 210,000 second line troops and 50,000 lightly armed police. Those forces are supported by 600 modern aircraft; also as of last week around 20% of those were grounded for maintenance. The main striking force of the Italian Army is 2 brigades of tanks and 1 motorized brigade. The largest ships of Italian Navy were released from British control in Ismailia in mid-May and have been refitting in their home ports for the last 3 months. NATO naval inspection teams report that 75 % of its capital ships and 60 % of the smaller ships are now ready for action. Major General Riley from NATO J2 will continue with the most recent threat assessment.”
“Major General Riley: Thank you Sir. We will split our brief into two part the first covering the Yugoslavian forces and the second the Russian forces. Our newest estimates put the Yugoslavian military at anywhere between 350,000 to 800,000 troops at full mobilization. We believe that the numbers will be closer to the lower end of that estimate due to the Yugoslavs continuing needs for manpower for national rebuilding projects. But we must be aware that the Yugoslav Communists were able to field the higher number for at least 4 months at the end of World War 2. The current Yugoslav Army is mainly a foot/horse traction infantry army. They organized 3 brigades of horse cavalry in late 1945 which are assigned to act as their forces main reconnaissance and pursuit element. Their artillery arm is generally of good quality but rather light in weight of ordnance. It mainly relies on pre-war Royal Yugo Army guns, captured German guns, and a mix of light to medium caliber Russian/British weapons. Their tank force has around 400 tanks, of which around 300 are modern T34/85 tanks they received earlier this year. The Yugoslav Air force is organized on the Russian model. It fields 700 modern aircraft organized into 4 fighter regiment, 4 attack plane regiments, 2 light bomber regiments, and a single transport regiment. These are modern Russian designs, like the Yak-3, Il-2, and Pe-2. Also they have anywhere from 30 to 40 captured German or Italian aircraft that may or may not be flyable. The Yugoslav Navy is very small, with only 9 small armed ships, around 30 patrol boats, and 6 coastal artillery batteries. These batteries are mainly made up of captured German 88mm guns.

We have now identified 3 Yugoslav Army’s that have deployed to the border region. These armies are the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The 1st Army has 3 infantry divisions, an artillery brigade and a cavalry brigade; the 2nd Army has 3 divisions, a cavalry brigade, an artillery brigade and an assault brigade, while the 3rd has 4 infantry divisions, an artillery brigade, a cavalry brigade, and a tank brigade. Based on deployment and radio traffic we believe the 3rd Army will be the main invasion force.

We have been able to identify 4 Russian rifle divisions and 1 Tank Corps of the 31st Guards Army which have advanced into southern Germany over the last few weeks. These divisions are at close to full strength and have not seen combat sense the early battles in Germany. We believe they will attempt to enter Italy via the Brenner Pass next week. In southern France near Nice there is an additional group of 8 Russian rifle divisions and 2 tank corps that we believe are staging to invade. These divisions saw heavy combat in the drive to the Spanish border. We believe that they are at best at 2/3 strength in terms of manpower and equipment. There are also parts of 4 Russian Air Armies based near Nice but we do to know if they are all to support operations in Italy or not. These units have suffered heavy losses fighting NATO aircraft in France, but still field around 900 modern aircraft. That concludes our brief for today.”

“General Roberts: Thank you, General. Finally we have Brigadier Blackstone with the J3 brief. Brigadier, please.”
“Brigadier Blackstone: Given the troop commitments of Plan Cockspur and the defenses in Pyrenees there are no available troops to reinforce the defenses in Italy. The estimates are that the Russians will be able to break through the defenses in the Alps passes in by D+5. The Yugoslav should be able to advance along a line stretching from La Spezia to Florence to Ancona by D+30. With Russian reinforcements the attack would reach Rome by D+80 and the Straits of Messina by D+100. We do not believe that a viable defense of Italy can be accomplished with the limited forces available.

But we do believe that there are alternatives to total defeat. Number one is to defend the Italian-Yugoslav border, evacuate forces from Italian west-coast ports to Sicily. Given the conditions and forces available this option has been regarded as unfeasible. The second alternative is a fighting retreat that would also relinquish the peninsula but would delay the enemy advance by as much as 5 months. The third alternative is to extricate all men and equipment intact to Sicily as rapidly as possible. As the Ambassador knows, such a rapid abandonment of the mainland would have a very negative effect on the morale of the Italian people but would spare them from further fighting over their already ravaged land. After carefully considering all the alternatives the planners have concluded that the most effective Allied course of action would be an immediate withdrawal from the Italian peninsula.”
“Corps General Primieri: Field Marshal, I object to this ridiculous plan. I would encourage you to at once relieve all the Officers that have wasted all of our time with this pointless idiocy. The Italian people have spent months mining and building defenses in the Alps passes on the French and Austrian borders. It is correct that we are tired of war but we are prepared to defend our homeland to the death. There is simply no way the Russians are going to get through the 600,000 mines we have laid in the Brenner Pass in 5 days. My God, Field Marshal they can only deploy in single brigade columns in that pass. That means we only have to defend against one brigade at a time. We believe we can hold there for at least 3 months. I believe we can also hold the French border. Should we fail in the passes we will fall back to first of 5 major defensive lines we have been building for 4 months; the first lines is near Parma and the last before Rome. Those lines can be held forever given our command of the sea. But those lines will not be needed Field Marshal if only NATO we help us. We need at least 10 Infantry Divisions and 2 armored divisions to help us defeat the Yugoslavs. We need air units to defend our airspace. Why Field Marshal can NATO provide fighters to defend Sicily but there are none to defend Rome? We need the same sort of Allied lend-lease support that is being given to your nation, the Norwegians and the Spanish.”
Field Marshal Montgomery: “Sir, I understand your passion but the decision has been made at the highest levels. No more NATO troops will be sent to Italy. The risk is just too great.”
Corps General Primieri: “Field Marshal, please...”
Field Marshal Montgomery: “General that is enough. It has been decided. General Robert please continue.”
Ambassador Bettino Craxi: “I have had enough of these insults. Did you really think we did not notice the words you used, “agreed upon by all the parties that matter”? Do we not matter? We have not agreed to this surrender. We have prepared a counter plan, which will work. But you refuse to listen. We have the third largest navy in NATO! We have to third largest Army in NATO! You willing to risk NATO troops by the thousands defending Franco’s fascist! But not Italy, we are too much of a risk. Well Field Marshal we refuse to accept this insult. As you know it was the Kingdom of Italy that signed the NATO treaty, that nation no longer exists. We are the Republic of Italy, and we see no value in remaining in an organization with allies that refuse to help us. I can now tell you that we have had talks through the Italian Communist Party with Moscow for the last month or so. They told us that you would refuse to live up to your end of our agreement. The Russians have offered us peace without occupation. Sure we lose half the Julian March and 2/3 of our Navy, but that is much less than losing the whole nation. I have been instructed to inform you that as of midnight London time the Republic of Italy with draws from NATO. Good day.”

 

Chapter 21​

Other Fronts​

August 1st. 1946
USAAF Air Force HQ
London England

Huge maps covering all of Western Europe and Western USSR cover the walls and huge tables. The WACs are pushing the markers with their hooked end sticks in much the way a Roulette croupier takes your hard earned cash. A scene familiar to all who have watched a WWII movie on British air operations.

Two officers are engaged in a heated debate.

“Let’s take this into my office shall we? Alright now settle down and tell me what this is all about.”
“It’s just that we don’t know who we can trust and bringing the Brits on this will only broaden the possible leaks. You know full well how screwed up the Leningrad raid was. All those wild stories about guided missiles and such. Ridiculous and now you want us to let them fly along and include them on the Toulouse raid. It just doesn’t make any sense sir at this late date.”
Listen to me and listen good. We have to be nice with them, or they will get their nose out of joint. It’s only 4 days till the attack,what can they do to mess it up? They are only asking to include some recon flights with movie camera operators to catch the whole raid from start to finish. You never know they might just gain some useful knowledge. I’ve heard they will be taking shots of everything from soup to nuts. Besides they already know all about our plans anyway.”
“It’s just a pain in the ass to have to inform them of all the details.”
“If we expect them to hang in there, and stay without fighting the second Battle of Britain, we have learn to work together again and to trust one another. Say have you seen those photos of the Russian rocket sites popping up all over the place? Amazing how fast they have been able to produce all those supposed ground to air missiles. Quite fishy if you ask me. Our Intel says their industrial capacity is not up to the task yet here they are.”
“You don’t actually believe that nonsense about them having guided missiles do you commander? How could they possibly …”
“The Germans had a missile called the Wasserfall that was said to be almost operational. Albert Speer was most adamant on their ability to stop our bombers cold, if he have been allowed to produce them, but Hitler wanted more offensive minded weapons and pretty much stopped the program. The Red Army did overrun their staging area near the end of the war. We’ve been assured by our wizards that they can jam anything the Soviets can shoot at us. Besides how could they have them near Toulouse in time for our raid.”
“How many Brits are we expected to have along with us Sir?”
“They want a full flight of recon aircraft to document our … er progress. Good luck and put on a good show for the Limeys. Show em how to kick ass.”

 

8th FIGHTER SQUADRON,
49TH FIGHTER GROUP
ARMY AIR FORCES

Aug. 2, 1946

INDIVIDUAL COMBAT REPORT OF First Lieut. Richard Gardner

A. Mission No. 633, September 1, 1946, 8th Fighter Squadron 9 P-80s

B. Combat Air Patrol, Break Heart Pass Pyrenees Line

C. Time of attack: 0730/K Altitude, 8-10,000 feet

D. I was element leader in White flight an we took off at 0615/K to when radar picked up incoming aircraft. We circled at 15,000 ft. over the pass until being vectored to the targets. At 0730/K we intercepted 5 Yaks of the 15 jet type. We were above them at 8 o'clock. Two of them climbed on me and I dove to make a head on pass. I was hit by a cannon shell that passed right through my left aileron. I pulled up and climbed to 8,000 feet and make a 45 degree head-on pass at two more Yaks with no observed results. Shot once at another on 90 degrees deflection and missed. I found myself on the tail of a lone Yak 15 who was unaware of my location. I made a 45 degree deflection shot from the rear and above until he turned almost into me. It was a long burst and he slid off on one wing and crashed east of the pass.

Two more Yaks chase me as I started for home and they finally gave up because they couldn't catch me. I left the area a 0925/K and joined up with the remainder of my flight and we came home and landed at 0955/K

E. I claim one Yak15, destroyed.

Richard Gardner
1st Lt., Air Corps

“There, done with that one. Man I hate typing those things.”
“Well at least you have something to type about. Those Yaks are hard to hit. We’re faster and can climb better, but man you just can’t turn with em. Kind of like the Jap Zero. Say did you notice that those ones today had more power than the earlier ones we encountered?”
“Yeah, I did notice it was a little harder to lose those two on my tail. Oh and by the way don’t go head to head with them. Jees those 30 mms put a big hole in my wing. I guess their improving them just like we’re improving our Shooting Stars. We have to keep one step ahead of them or the will be able to both out turn us and catch us, and that ain’t a good thing. This ain’t like it was fighting the Jerrys, Jack. It’s just not the same. You could count on one hand when you were outnumbered. Shoot with this bunch it’s a 50/50 crap shoot. Man they have as many planes as we do. Luckily we’re better at flying, but you can’t let up for an instant out there it’s getting on my nerves. I’m having these dreams and…I…”
“Hey, hey that’s ok… it’s only natural. Listen we’ll be shipping out soon and you’ll get some real R&R then. Come on Dick just think of those babes in…where ever it is we’re going to. They’ll throw themselves at you. You being an Ace and all. Come on let’s get a beer and forget about it.”
“It’s hard Jack. Three months ago I was starting school. I was a college freshman. I was going to be an engineer, and then they pulled me back into this hell hole. I just got to know my wife again, and my son was starting to play ball. God damn commies… I just want to …”
“Say come on and look at my sketches for my new nose art. See here… it’s that new dame Doris Day. Now she’s a real sweet heart. I hope she brings me good luck. But we won’t need it soon. Listen Dick don’t worry soon all those new boys will be able to take over. Hell I hear we’re going to be replaced by Spanish Kids. They got bigger plans for us. In the meantime, we’ll be living the high life with not a care in the world. Come on what-a-yeah-say let’s get that beer.”