by Unknown
Ricks looked at the young man with pride. He was on mission and resolved to get the job done at any cost. He remembered when even he needed to learn what that meant. He placed his hand on Petyr’s shoulder. “Corporal, you are more than making a difference. Some of these guys think this is just a game. I can tell you don’t think that way. What you are doing is opening the hole we need to help kick the Russians out of Slovakia. That will mean this little incursion into southern Poland will have to stop. It might even save your family and that young lady you miss from continued harm. Never think what you do is not making a difference to the war or to others. Now get something to eat and drink until I have another drone ready,” he said.
The weary look on Petyr’s face told Ricks and Nizewski the toll that the operations were taking on the 17 year old. He nodded. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said, as he made his way to the small canteen at the back of the room.
“He needs to stay in the army,” said Nizewski. “He would go far.”
Ricks shook his head. “He told me after this is over he was going to the university and get his degree, then marry his girl. I doubt you could change his mind,” he said.
Nizewski gave Ricks a look. “How come he confides in you and not me?” he asked in a grin.
“You are his sergeant. I’m just a curious American sent here to get you guys trained. Besides, I’m the fatherly type,” he said with a sly smile.
Nizewski grunted. He was nearly twice Ricks’ age. “I get all the hard work, is that it?”
Ricks shrugged. “I didn’t write the rules.”
Right on schedule, the people and equipment began moving through the holes in the lines made by the drone units. They were completely surprised when there was no opposition. The Czech border had been defended by only light forces since most of the efforts were being made to push through Poland. Once past the first five miles, the Slovaks welcomed the units with open arms.
Bratislava took almost an hour to secure. Light Russian forces used snipers to try and pin down the advance, but for the first time, a drone unit was sent out during the day. These drones were colored a light grey and were difficult to see. They easily found the snipers on rooftops and in windows and the advance continued on. By evening the Spanish and Italian advance began to meet up with Czech and Slovak forces. From there, the Spanish and Italians moved around from the south while the Czecks and Slovaks moved toward the northern part of the country. At this rate, within three days, Slovakia would become a nation again.
Norfolk, VA
It was one a.m. when the G650 landed at the naval air station. Three very exhausted people exited the plane and got into a car to head back to USS America. Despite the sleep they got aboard, the jet lag was a killer. No one spoke except to get their things and start heading toward the ship.
Jeffers sat in the front seat with the driver. As they rounded the turn to drive along the head of the finger piers he was surprised at the number of ships in port. Where before, there had been plenty of space on the piers, now the piers were full. In many cases, the ships were parked two or three deep. Although the lights on the base were off, the full moon clearly illuminated the ships in their berths. The America was almost as big as one of the carriers at the far end of the base, but what caught Jeffers’ eye were several huge ships sitting low in the water opposite her on the next piers. They had huge turrets and tall towers climbing into the night sky. Each was a little different from the others. Directly opposite the America was one of these ships. Despite the fact that America sat higher in the water, this one looked much more like a warship. The outline looked familiar.
The car checked in through the gate and made its way down the pier. Jeffers stared at the tall bow with what looked like a platform at the tip. A huge anchor sat just beneath it. Just behind that he dimly saw the numeral 61.
A smile appeared on Jeffers’ face. The Iowa was here. He remembered her from San Pedro. That had been the first time he had met Hammond. Just having her and her sisters here made him feel better. Things were finally coming together and tomorrow would be the brief for all the captains. Within three days they would be at sea.
The car pulled up to the darkened brow of the America. Because it was such a short trip, there was little to carry aboard. Jeffers grabbed his overnight bag and briefcase. They said farewell to General Richardson who had a room at the senior officers’ quarters and made their way aboard. Within minutes, Jeffers was asleep in his bunk.
CNN
“Good morning, ladies and Gentlemen, this is Ann Kendrick with the morning headlines. The capital of Slovakia has been liberated from Russian hands. In a bold sweep early this morning in Europe, as Spanish and Italian forces joined with Czech and Slovak forces to launch an offensive to clear Russian forces from Slovakia. CNN’s Bill Masters has this report.”
The image shifted to people cheering in the streets of Bratislava. “The citizens of Bratislava are celebrating today after a dawn attack liberated the city. The light Russian forces in the city crumbled when heavy mechanized divisions from Spain and Italy moved across the border from Austria. There were few casualties from the military side, however when the Spanish and Italian forces entered the city they found that the local population had been through quite a lot during the occupation.”
The imaged shifted to an older women flagging down some of the forces and pleading with them. A translator spoke. “They are looting our museums and banks. Please hurry. It is the very soul of our country.”
Masters came back on the screen. “The Italian forces we were with immediately went to the national museum in Bratislava only to find that most of the art work was gone.” The scene changed again to one of empty walls, smashed sculptures and broken display cases. “Everywhere we went inside the museum we found someone had either taken or destroyed the exhibits. Even the storage areas had been looted. As we exited the rear of the building a Russian truck was still partially filled with art objects. It was obvious that the Russians had not had the time to finish the job. Shortly after we arrived, we also received news of something found at the city jail complex. Upon arrival, this is what we found,” he said.
The scene shifted, once again, to an inner courtyard littered with bodies. “The inner courtyard of the prison had been turned into a killing ground. Local citizens identified victims as the Mayor of Bratislava, his staff and City Council members along with other locals they say are involved with local resistance activities. The victims are as old as 84 and as young as 14.” The imaged returned to Masters. “It appears the Russians are doing the same thing the Nazis did at the end of World War Two, looting valuables from their occupied lands and killing prisoners. This is Bill Masters, coming to you live from Bratislava.”
Berlin
“My God,” said Hammond after watching the report. “I didn’t think civilized people did such things anymore.”
Sir Richard closed his fingers together in thought. “There’s only two ways to get that stuff out of the country. It will go either by train or by truck. The air is not safe,” he said.
Hammond nodded. “I agree. Get hold of General Armstrong. I want every rail line and every road along the border bombed so that nothing can get out of the country. Notify the Slovak government in exile of what we are doing, then get the word to the troops that these treasures must be returned to the Slovaks. I’m not going to let Russia get away with this. Also let the air services know that the trucks and trains they target may hold the treasures of a nation. Do what we can to stop them, but do your best not to destroy those trucks. Finally, get the legal staffs on line. Begin procedures to identify who gave the orders and who is responsible. Then we catch them and bring them back to that same prison. I’m sure the Slovaks will know what to do with them.”
“I hope you’re right. The government is probably pretty angry right now,” said Sir Richard.
“Not as angry as I am. It’s one thing to make war, but another thing to be a common thief and murderer. I’ll talk t
o the government to share my thoughts on the matter,” Hammond said tersely. “Let’s also make sure our troops document every instance they find of such things. Call in the media too. It’s one more reason to get this job done,” Hammond said.
“You’re starting to sound like a politician,” Sir Richard chuckled.
“Only because they made me so. Our strike forces begin moving out in two days. Right now all I want to do is break out of this stalemate situation and teach people it is not smart to upset the good guys. Has the weather forecast come in yet?”
“Not yet. I expect it will be here within the hour.”
“That will give me just enough time to get something to eat, if I don’t get sidetracked again. You know, if this ever happens again, I may go hide somewhere,” Hammond said with a grin.
Sir Richard got to his feet. “I may hide with you.”
Moscow
“This places our forces in the south in jeopardy!” screamed Borodin. “How could five divisions launch an attack on our forces from two different locations without intelligence knowing about it?”
“We knew the Spanish and Italian forces were in Vienna, but our sources told us they were on their way to Krakow. The Czech and Slovak forces were a complete surprise. The last we had seen from them was they were dug in along the border and holding their major forces in the rear. By themselves they weren’t a threat. But sending them in with the other forces was a stroke of genius. We had weakened our internal forces to support the incursion into southern Poland. They must have found that out and took advantage of it,” said Marshall Zuikov, Chief of Intelligence. “Either they have spies in our camp or someone made a good guess.”
“No one makes those kinds of guesses,” groused Borodin. He briefly glanced at a noise coming from the window.
“We are in a war, Comrade President,” said General Pusko, reverting to the old Soviet address. “Anything could happen, but we must assume the worst. I suggest we take a good hard look at our security procedures and make some changes. It will not slow us down and might do some good,” he said.
“Do it. I cannot have our operations curtailed because we have a security leak. This may be why our forces have been having difficulty gaining ground. As far as I am concerned, anyone caught can immediately be taken out and shot. We have no time for spies or traitors,” Borodin said. “Now what else do you have for me?”
“The CNN news organization has reported the looting of the Slovak national museum. They also reported the execution of many political prisoners and terrorists in Bratislava,” reported Zuikov.
Borodin laughed. “What does this have to do with the war?”
Zuikov paused a moment. The President’s reaction made him believe the reports he had were true. Borodin was involved with such actions. He continued on. “Only that such reports will stiffen the resolve of our enemy. You remember these same things happened in the Great Patriotic War. Resistance will also arise within our occupied countries if they think we are taking their so called treasures,” he emphasized.
Borodin nodded. “I see your point. We will send out a message that there will be no looting from here on. Anything else?”
Zuikov shook his head. “Nothing further, Mister President.”
“Thank you for your report. Keep me informed on your security measures and results,” Borodin said dismissing the Marshal.
After Zuikov left the room Borodin turned to Pusko. “What happened? No one was supposed to find anything. We were going to say the Allies bombed the museums.”
“It all happened too fast. We got all but the last truck out before tanks swarmed into the front of the building. We will blame the bank operations on looters. As far as the people that were killed, we had no hand in it. The local commander overstepped his bounds simply through frustration with the local underground. Over fifty of our troops were killed over the past two weeks in and around Bratislava,” explained Pusko.
“Then tell the commanders to be more careful about such things. If something like this happens, there can’t be any evidence. Our goal is to win the war. After that, no one will be investigating the victor,” Borodin said with a slight grin.
“I will see to it,” said Pusko.
The noise from the window grew much louder. “What is that?” asked Borodin.
Pusko shook his head. “Another demonstration. They seem to get louder and larger each time they assemble outside the Kremlin walls. I was told this time they are protesting for more food.”
“More food? The rations we have allotted are still more than what it was during the Soviet times. I am weary of all the whining our people seem to do these days. Don’t they know there’s a war on?” Borodin complained.
“It appears our people grew soft in the interim. I’m sure the police will break it up in short order,” Pusko said.
Outside the Kremlin walls, a line of police surrounded the crowd of over 2,000 people chanting and waving banners. They remained at the gates of the Kremlin despite the orders of the police to move on. Several groups on the periphery of the crowd turned and began throwing stones at the police line. A shot rang out. It was followed by many more. The people in the crowd began to run, trampling several of the older participants and a small child. Unfortunately, they were running toward one of the police strongpoints. Tear gas flew into the air and was thrown back by some of the protesters. Suddenly the rapid hammering of submachine guns rang out. When the smoke cleared, more than four hundred people lay dead or seriously wounded in the street. A number of onlookers were carrying cell phones. Because the government had made a point to maintain the telephone system, the images and videos soon spread throughout Russia and across Europe.
Norfolk, VA
The hall was filled with Navy, Marine, Army and Air Force officers. The security to get in had been phenomenal. Two checkpoints, a search for devices, five security sweeps and photographic matches. No one would get in unless they were on one of the ships, in a squadron or commanding troops. The briefing had lasted two hours and each was told to expect a hand delivered message outlining what had been detailed within the next six hours. No one was to see it except the commanding officers, executive officers and operations officers – the very people in the room. After the last briefing was complete, Admiral Hustvedt took the podium.
“That’s the operation. There won’t be any deviations unless I approve them. The biggest part of this is security. Nothing is to get out. As a result, all leave and liberty is now cancelled. No one leaves the ships. No phone calls off the base either. I don’t even want your wives to know. That’s why I warned each of you to tell the families we were going to be busy for the next week. We get underway beginning with the submarines tonight and the escort vessels tomorrow morning at 0730. We will conduct this operation in total EMCON. No emissions except for encrypted satellite. The emissions panels installed on your ships will be operating all the time. You will still be able to receive information since we found that these same panels make superb receiving antennas, but no transmissions. If someone shoots a missile at us, no emissions and no weapons fire until I say so. If someone starts shooting at us, we have optics to target the intruder and will use naval gunfire. Our communications will be via Link 16. It’s all satellite. I believe you will find that we already have all the information we will need on the circuit. Don’t ask me where it comes from, just be glad it’s there,” he joked. “I will tell you, this is half the force we will be using against the Russians. There is a similar force in the Pacific. The target there is in the Russian Arctic, so be glad you only have a little snow to deal with. As we briefed, the transit will be at ten knots. I know this is painfully slow, but it also lets us transit below cavitation speed. We are using nearly all the assets in the Allied inventory to do this. Losing part of it to a submarine like we almost did with the Kennedy is unacceptable.”
“People, we have a job to do. It is a little different from what we have typically trained for, but we are going up against another superpow
er and have to take all precautions. We are all professionals. Let’s do this and get our people back home,” he said finishing the brief.
All the people in the room rose and stood as Hustvedt and his staff left the room, then they all began talking amongst themselves and moving toward the doors.
“He’s got to be shitting me,” Captain Donner of the USS America, quietly said to his Executive Officer. “I can’t use my defensive systems if someone is shooting at me?
“Captain, that’s not what he said. He said don’t do it till he said so. Besides, if these things do what they say, no missile will be able to lock in on us. That’s more than half the battle right there,” the XO said.
“If it works. I’m not sure I want to take that chance,” said Donner.
“We don’t have much choice. You heard the man. No exceptions. And with Hustvedt and his staff onboard, you won’t be able to go around him,” the XO almost pleaded. Donner scared him to death. He had a reputation of being hardnosed in the fleet, but as his XO, he realized he was just a plain old bully. He always wanted his way and didn’t care who he threw to the curb if things didn’t go right. His tour as XO had been a nightmare.
Donner grunted. “He may be onboard, but it is always a captain’s prerogative to protect his ship at any means. We’ll see,” Donner smirked, ending the conversation.
Krakow, Poland
There was no way to stop it. Krakow was overrun by Russian troops in the first 48 hours. Polish defense elements were completely caught off guard by the train and truck crossing. Moving at night had allowed the Russians to come within forty miles of Krakow before they had stopped. By that time they were well behind Polish defense positions and artillery. Unfortunately, the Russians had moved enough troops across the border that they could hold the roadways and keep resupplied. Several of the Polish staff likened it to the Battle of the Bulge in World War Two. Only this time, the enemy had plenty of reinforcements and supplies.
