Enough supposition (he had learned that word from Readers Digest), he thought as he scanned the horizon for them millionth time and saw nothing. Just an ordinary day he guessed unless you are considering that there was no oxygen at this level and he was flying over enemy territory, Ho hum. Just another day at the office. Man, he was going to miss this feeling when the war was over. The rush, the sense of purpose, the loss of this was going to be devastating he was sure.
He wondered if he could buy a P-38 for his own? Before this dust up, the government was destroying Lightnings at a frightening rate. Such a waste but what else besides killing other men would a Lightning or Mustang be used for? He was sure that you couldn’t buzz around them back in the states. Although, he had heard that before this war someone out in Nevada was proposing a low level air race. Now that would be something.
Billy was well into Yugoslavian air space when he turned around and started back after turning off the camera. Instead of a button to shoot cannons, he had a button to shoot pictures. He had looked at his log before this flight and this was his 53rd combat mission. That’s a lot of pictures. He wondered what would become of those pictures after the war. He caught a glimpse of something far below. Well what do you know, it was a fighter trying to intercept him. Way too late buddy. See yah later he thought. He couldn’t even see what kind of plane it was, but if it didn’t have a contrail he was safe. Yes, he would have to get him one of those Shooting Stars and then he wouldn’t have to worry at all.
After he landed, his photos would be developed and sent to the Pentagon for analysis, and for making scale models. Also, the camera Billy was using did three dimensional photos with incredibly high definition. These 3D shots were going to be used to make maps that would be invaluable to the top brass. Billy had little way of knowing, but similar flights were happening over Novomikhaylovskiy Istanbul, Gdansk, Lebanon and on the Black Sea.
From 44,000 feet the land looked so peaceful. Suddenly his plane jumped in his hands. He realized he was daydreaming and quickly returned to keeping his plane in the air. In the back of his mind were the bodies of all the innocents far below in the hell holes of Trieste.
99 Words per Minute
William White was a fast typist. He could type 99 words a minute with minimal mistakes on the order of 98% accuracy. He was a much sought after commodity in the navy, and now the Central Intelligence Agency.
Well, let’s see what they have for me today, thought William. He took a report from his in box that had scribbled instructions on it on how to format the report and who it would be sent to, etc. He placed the document into a page holder that consisted of a metal plate about the size of a piece of typing paper. The page holder tilted slightly and had a clip on the right side that had a page wide, very thin metal ruler. The metal ruler helped hold the page on to the metal plate and could be used to mark your place. William didn’t need to mark his place because he finished every page so quickly that it wasn’t necessary.
The first bunch of notes was about the Pyrenees Line. As William typed, his mind would wander about what the report actually said when all the superfluous words were out of the way.
He paraphrased as he typed in his head. The Spanish and British were the principal combat units and were starting limited offensive operations. The Spanish were improving dramatically and could now meet the Soviets head on in a defensive fight. While they still lacked the capacity to really launch an all-out offensive, they were gaining the necessary skills and leadership at a fast pace. They should be ready to mount a major attack in the spring to coincide with the planned invasions.
The British were their usual efficient selves. They just lacked manpower. Also, they could barely keep their troops supplied because of the problems caused UK’s by the severe winter weather. Rebellions were popping up all over their former empire with India leading the charge. On the Pyrenees Line, the Brits had over all command and were aided by the Spanish, French, German and other refugee military units of the former western European nations. The whole Pyrenees Line was poised for a large scale offensive as soon as the Soviets started to weaken.
These combined troops of the former European nations on the Line were to liberate Western Europe, while the Americans were to destroy the Soviet armies around the world.
Additionally, the British were in charge of the Sinai and Suez Canal defense as well as that of Kuwait. The troops involved were mainly from the still loyal parts of the empire, with the majority being from Australia and New Zealand. Also, Canada was supporting the planned US invasions.
The defense of the Suez and Kuwait were given top priority by NATO command and the British troops manning the lines were being lavished with all the material they requested. William noted that Montgomery’s defense of the Suez needed significantly more support per unit than anyone else.
His fingers were flying over the keys now. He bet he was producing at 120 wpm. He glanced at a clock just to set the time and missed a word. So he started over again. His supervisor looked up because it was so unusual for William to waste paper and the ripping sound was very loud as he tore the offending error out of the typewriter.
Soon William was prodigiously typing again. He did not get to see many of the reports from the US Army. They had a special group of super-secret typists who were very bad at typing but had gone through some very tough security checks. He guessed he didn’t make it for some reason. Probably due to his loud-mouthed uncle who used to belong to the Communist party. He always hated that guy.
Once again, he was in top typing form and his fingers were a blur. It was taking more time to move pages on and off the document holder than it was to type them. William had fantasies of having a page-turner like a concert pianist. Then, he could really produce typed copy. He had never been much good with mechanical things, which made his typing prowess all the more remarkable.
He nearly stopped typing for a second when he started on a new batch of papers. It was some pretty juicy stuff on the US Army. They must have cleared him or it was a major screw up. Ours is not to reason why, but to type till we die. Looks like a series of invasions are planned, with the first to be at a port named Trieste. He couldn’t even begin to say the names of two of the others. Luckily, you didn’t have to pronounce anything when you were typing. You just typed.
These numbers look huge. 25 divisions here, 10 more there and another 25 on Sicily waiting to board landing craft. There were mentions of the Black and Baltic seas. How the hell were they going to get into there (he thought).
The next page was a map. It was a very crude map of the so-called Soviet Empire. He looked at it for a second, and then returned to typing.
Figure 26- Hand Drawn Map of The Soviet Empire 1947
He wondered, how they were going to reproduce that map. Probably give it to some former New York Times cartoonist. The Reds sure were making headway. I hope these invasions work, otherwise the world is in deep trouble. If he didn’t know what he knew about the situation as a whole, he would probably be sympathetic to the peaceniks as they were being called.
This very vocal group wanted to leave Europe behind and worry about our own economy. It’s not like anyone in Germany, France, or even Britain is going to pay for all the bombers and tanks we were making to save them from the Reds. But, by reading and absorbing the information he had access to through his job he realized that this was a fight to the finish, and it was either us or them. There was no sitting this one out. With the population and resources of Eurasia, Stalin could become a very large threat to the US in a matter of a decade. Already there were rumors of German prototype bombers that could reach New York from Germany. Who knows how far another generation of rockets could eventually fly.
No, we had to stop them now before it was too late. Speaking of late he had to wrap it up. Lunch time was nigh. Let’s see … 114 words per minute. Not bad.
Chapter Fourteen:
The Commanders
Figure 27- Walton “Johnny” Walker
; Figure 28- Troy Middleton
***
On a historical note: General Walton Walker had acquired the nickname “Johnny”. His drink of choice was Johnny Walker brand Whiskey. No one dared to call him Johnny to his face.
***
Bulldog Unleashed
Newly minted Four Star General Walton “Johnny” Walker looked at the man like he was an ant. The comment by the reporter was inane and General Walker did not suffer fools. He looked right through the man and kept on walking. The reporter had asked the General how he had got the nick name “Johnny”. The rest of the press corps was speechless.
Walton Harris Walker was born in a small town in Texas. Both of his grandfathers were Civil War generals. His parents were teachers. He attended military school and then West Point. He fought in the Vera Cruz Expedition, as did many a future Second World War officer, including Dwight Eisenhower. During this time Walker and Eisenhower became great friends.
Walker went on to become the Executive Officer of George Marshal and command the 5th Division in World War One where he won the Silver Star. All in all, it was a typical career for a Corps Commander during the last war. His advance had been a combination of who you knew, luck and skill.
Certain men are made for combat. US Grant, Napoleon and Walker’s ultimate commander in Europe, George Patton. Walker made Patton look like a public relations expert. He never met a reporter he liked and none of them liked him.
He was a gruff, tough commander not given to sentiment, reticent of manner, and short of speech. He was not popular with his troops, but they would and did follow him anywhere. He was Patton’s bulldog and led the XX Corps of Patton’s Third Army to victory in Germany. His command moved so fast and aggressively that it gained the moniker “The Ghost Corps”. His command would show up just when it was needed and no one knew how he did it. He just did.
This is the man Ike wanted to command the landings in Trieste. Trieste was considered the most crucial of a cascading series of actions that would end the war quickly. Walker was the man that Ike wanted to confound the enemy until it was too late.
Walker and his First Army were to storm ashore in Trieste and move quicker than any US army ever has. They were to continue on to Vienna, forming a defensive line along the way that could withstand attack from both the east and west.
Then, the next move would be up to Stalin and the Stavka’s. How they reacted, would determine where and when the remaining attacks would occur. It was a giant chess game that could end up killing millions. The moves about to be made were on a colossal scale and fraught with victory or defeat.
Ike knew that the American public was sick of war. There could be no more “broad front strategy” like he orchestrated in World War Two. This new slashing and dashing strategy was like nothing anyone had ever seen or contemplated. The plan was made possible by the enormous amounts of amphibious invasion resources available for his use.
All the equipment and supplies for the invasion of Japan had never been disposed of. It was in warehouses all over the Pacific and now, it was concentrated where ever Ike wanted it to be. Douglas MacArthur came up with the concept but Ike would implement it.
Having Ike in command was in itself a brilliant piece of strategy. Dwight Eisenhower was not known for bold moves, or for basing his plans on lightning warfare. He had over seen a more controlled and contained offensive in Europe. He had been widely criticized for his caution. Many a critic (including his own subordinates) claimed that if he had given the supplies that Patton, Montgomery, or even Walker had asked for, the war would have ended six months earlier with the Russians still in Poland.
This criticism would actually work in Ike’s favor. The Soviet Stavka would never imagine that such a bold strategy would be executed by Ike. Hopefully, the Reds would reject what was before their eyes, until it was too late and had underestimated the man behind the plan.
Ike called Walton “Johnny” Walker “a fighter in every sense of the word”. He was counting on Walker to become the “Ghost Army”, showing up in unexpected and confounding locations. General Walton Harris Walker was the man for the job now that Patton past away.
Walker imagined that his First Army was going to move into position, sink its teeth into the enemy’s throat and not let go like a bulldog. The Reds would be fixated on the “Ghost Army.” Tito would be demanding support from units all over Eurasia.
As soon as the Red’s plans were clear, Ike would strike again and again and again, slicing army after army into smaller isolated pockets of starving individuals, no longer a cohesive force, no longer an army and no longer a brutal dictatorship capable of defending its homeland.
Forever the Quarterback
General Troy Middleton was going through his daily physical therapy for his knees. He had severely injured them a number of times playing football for the Army. When he had joined as a private and worked his way up to officer they had discovered his talents for leading men on the football field. Once again, he would be leading men in the field. This time the field would be between Trieste and Vienna.
He had been un-retired from the Army once again. This would be the third time if you were counting. The first time was just before World War Two. His good friend Ike had cautioned him that war was coming and that the Army would need his talents, but Louisiana State University called with an offer he could not pass up. That was until the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Once again, he put on some stars and eventually led the VIII Corps in battle throughout the war. In fact, he was the VIII Corps’ only commander, this added to his stellar career in World War One, the forming of the ROTC at LSU, along with leading the last major offensive of the Great War and planning the invasion of Sicily as well as leading the attack.
His ailing knees had once caused him to leave combat and return to the states just before a crucial time for the Allies. When General Eisenhower was told that Middleton had returned to the states because of his painful knees he is quoted as saying “I need him back. I don't give a damn about his knees; I want his head and heart. And I'll take him into battle on a litter if we have to.” He returned to duty shortly thereafter and was assigned a personal physical therapist for the remainder of his military career.
His return to the VIII Corps in July, 1946 was used as a marketing tool to entice former veterans to reenlist and to once again fight for and with their commander, General Middleton. Always the quarterback, General Middleton visited a number of wavering former colonels and majors encouraging them again to serve their country. His efforts had paid off with over 43% of the Corps returning vets. This was the highest ratio of any former corps.
He missed Patton but could easily work under General Walton “Johnny” Walker. Walker was a bulldog and Middleton liked dogs. One of his regrets was a falling out he had had with Patton over a cartoon. A soldier in his corps became very famous as a cartoonist by creating the characters Willey and Joe. Patton wanted the soldier to stop drawing irreverent cartoons. The soldiers name was Bill Maudlin and would become world famous for his cartoons. Patton ordered Middleton to transfer Maudlin. Middleton defended the cartoonist and refused unless he had the order in writing. Patton backed down and shortly thereafter was relieved for slapping two soldiers in a hospital visit. Their relationship was never quite the same.
Most of this is forgotten to all but the most curious and diligent historian. He is historically remembered for his decision to hold Bastogne at all costs against the German onslaught during the Battle of the Bulge. Without holding Bastogne the outcome of the battle might have been very different and it was his decision and then his defense of that decision that won him praise and metals from his commanders Patton and Ike.
There would likely be a number of Bastogne like defenses in this initial invasion of this new war. The VIII Corps was the tip of the dagger that was going to be plunged into the belly of the current Soviet Empire. He was going to twist that dagger and wait for the Reds to respond. His job was to first race to Vienna.
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That part was easy in his estimation. The Reds were stretched very thin and would be totally caught off guard at such an aggressive move by NATO.
Depending on how the Soviets responded he was to hold a defensive line from the expected attack as the Reds desperately would try to isolate his corps and open up their own supply lines in the south. His job was to counter their attacks and to hold a line running one hundred miles southwest of Vienna to Graz. He had good terrain for defending both east and west. A combination of mountains, rough terrain, rivers and even canals made the line defensible. The Soviets will have a hard time bringing to bear enough forces to launch a coordinated assault on his lines.
The other corps were also critical to the operation. Vienna to Graz was the key to the defense, and the Reds would have to pay dearly in oil to reach a point where they could form an attack. All the time the Army Air Corps and the Navy would be pounding away at their supply lines and keeping ours safe.
Vienna could very well become another Bastogne, and he had to hold until the other assaults occurred. These attacks by NATO would further isolate and drive more daggers into the body of the Red Menace. The plan called for three deeper thrusts by dagger point after his initial penetration.
If the late MacArthur, Ike and he had planned correctly, the upcoming Battle for Vienna would be the thrust that started the internal bleeding that would eventually terminate communism. His dagger point would nick an artery and the longer the enemy tried to reach the area the more they would bleed. In this case, it would be fuel.
The Red White & Blue Page 18
