by Unknown
The advance had been halted ten miles north of Krakow, when Polish units were finally moved into position and air assets were brought into play. But it was not the Poles who really stopped them. It was a concern that the Allied forces sweeping in from the Czech Republic and Austria might cut them off completely. A full division of men and equipment were rushed back across the border to hold northern Slovakia for the incursion.
Russian, Polish, German and then French aircraft battled mercilessly in the skies over southern Poland. Eventually, the Russians shifted back to their main push, but it had been costly. By that time, nearly a third of the assigned Allied aircraft had been lost. Russian losses were much worse. Some Allied units were surprised when they began seeing older Mig-21s appearing in some of the outer fringes of the battle.
In Krakow, the area surrounding the Kursov’s apothecary shop was nearly flattened. The shop and its building were riddled with shrapnel holes and the windows were boarded up. No one walked the streets. One of the plywood panels had been pried off the front of the shop. Looters had done the rest. The upper floor had been hit by a bomb or projectile. It had collapsed onto the next floor and one corner of that floor had also collapsed. Debris was everywhere. There was no one to clean it up.
Berlin
“We found them,” shouted one of the watch standers. His table was zoomed into a small convoy of trucks moving rapidly along a highway. Hammond and the others came over to look.
“You sure it’s them?” Hammond asked.
“Definite. The satellite feed is being recorded. I backed it up to the time just before we entered the city and caught these trucks leaving the museum compound. I fast forwarded it and watched them come along this highway. They are currently on the R-1 near Nitra. That set of highways will take them straight into the Ukraine,” he said.
“Zoom it out some,” said Hammond.
Looking at the road, it wormed its way up into some steep mountains past a city named Nova Bana. North of the city was walled in by mountains as the highway went through a number of narrow valleys. Hammond pointed to a spot just south of the town of Vosnica where the road ran next to a steep mountain on one side and a river on the other. “Let the Slovakian government know where these guys are. If they have any assets in the area, maybe they can get some word to them and stop these guys somewhere along here. If they can stop them in the mountains, the Russians will have a rough time getting them out of the country,” Hammond said.
“On the way,” said one of the aides. Little did they know but the Slovakian government had left some of its army behind in various parts of the country. One area was in Kozarovce, just fifteen minutes away. Within minutes a small team of men boarded a truck and began making their way toward the area Hammond had pointed out.
The White House
The Situation Room was filled with the President and his staff. This was a special meeting for one specific purpose. They were to be briefed by the Supreme Allied Commander on the final stages of the Allied effort. The room was quiet. Almost everything hinged on what they were about to do being a success. Even the President sat quietly in his chair.
There was some activity in one corner as a staff member made the connection. Admiral Roger Hammond’s face appeared on the screen. “Good afternoon Mister President, ladies and gentlemen,” he said smiling.
“Good afternoon, Admiral,” said the President, returning the smile. “We are all anxious to hear your report,” he said. “I understand you were able to get a handle on that Russian incursion.”
“Yes sir. The line was finally drawn just ten miles north of Krakow, but it cost the Poles a lot to hold them there. We were able to do it without bringing in the troops we have been holding back for our little surprise.”
“That’s good news,” muttered Black in his seat at the table. Hammond could see the relief on his face.
“It is, and as you know, the main forces take off tomorrow morning, your time. Thanks to the Transportation Command, we now have all the assets in place to rock and roll,” said Hammond. “In three weeks, when the ships arrive, we all strike at once. I have already been working with the Turks. They will cross the border when our forces land. Once General Richardson crosses to the other border, they will come up and go through the mountains. She will wheel round and come in from the northern part of the Caucuses and we will stair step up to the Ukraine. They will turn off every pipeline leading to Russia while keeping the lines to Turkey open. In the Pacific, General Bryant will land and go inland, then move south along the coast. They too will disrupt oil coming from the peninsula into Russia. The ultimate goal will be Vladivostok. Once there, he will sit and hold. I got the word from the State Department that Japan and Korea are onboard. That completes the circle.”
“One thing, I hope, will work on our side. Everywhere we go we will restore power, heat, light and food to the people there. I have instructed my troops that they will be nothing but courteous and helpful to anyone they meet. We will keep the telephone lines open so they can call their relatives. The fact that they are warm and fed should go a long way. We have plenty of panels and quite a few battery trucks for overnight operations.”
“By the way, Mister President, my intelligence people have begun receiving images and video shot by some of their people of a massacre at a rally in Moscow. They were apparently protesting a lack of food. It appears several hundred were killed when the soldiers opened fire on them,” Hammond said. “It’s working.”
“Can you get those to me?” the President asked.
“Of course. We are now targeting roads and railways. The Russians are wising up to us hitting stations where the lights come on. I am told they are now telling people to use blackout curtains. Not that it matters since we can see the heat at the plant, but they are also bringing in portable diesel units which take care of small sections of the cities. We won’t be able to hit all those. But keeping them hungry should still do the trick,” Hammond said.
“It’s a shame we have to resort to such things, but keep it up,” said the President.
“The main thing is we are ready. Troops, ships, planes and tanks are in place. I have supplies for eight months of all out warfare and I anticipate our resupply will be as efficient as the initial set up. I am told that all our ready aircraft, ships, trucks and tanks have been outfitted with the Maxwell panels. That should shake a few things up, especially with the additional assets from the boneyard. From the very beginning I said we needed to use our technology to win this war. Even though we are bringing in some retired equipment, things like the Maxwell panels will be just the thing to get the job done without much risk for our crews.”
“It’s been a long a difficult two and a half months, but everything has come together very swiftly. I believe our Korean episode paved the way for this. People are thinking outside the box and a number of people are already trained on any older equipment we will be using.”
“The Poles are fighting a desperate battle to keep their nation whole. All of Europe is with us to see this happen. I appreciate all that you have done to make this work. Does anyone have any questions?” Hammond concluded.
“Are the new drones there yet?” asked General Armstrong of the Transportation Command.
“I understand they are being offloaded as we speak. Folks, the drones have been the winner of this war so far. We would not have achieved anything near what we have without them. These new drones will be able to be used during daylight and at longer ranges. I can use that. Send over as many as you can. So far we have lost only around eight percent of the drones we received. Most of that was due to either operator error or someone on the ground got lucky. The Russians are scared to death of the things. Keep them coming,” emphasized Hammond.
“Any more word on their navy? Everything I have says they have bottled their surface ships in port. If you go by my count, they may only have about twenty or so submarines left. I’m still a little worried about what might happen if they gang up on these fleets,�
� said the CNO.
“I agree. My people here, which includes the Germans and Brits, agree with your figures. I also know that five or six of those subs were damaged and have been seen near their homeports in the last two days. I really don’t anticipate seeing much of their surface fleet until we are within range of their shipboard missiles. I would hope our subs are on the prowl for the rest of them. My biggest fear is their air capabilities. The Maxwell panels should take care of a lot of that, but you can still bomb using your eyes, so I am stressing that we have to be ready for that. Luckily, that means getting a lot closer where we can shoot them down. Long range missiles are not a problem. It will be the close range stuff. We are ready for that,” said Hammond.
“How does it feel leading a bunch of Army troops?” asked the President with a grin.
Hammond broke into a wide smile. “These guys over here are great. They don’t mind if I ask a question. But basically, it’s the same as maneuvering a large fleet. You get your best assets in where they are needed and let them do their jobs. I have tried to get around to most units and at least say hello. In some cases, I have observed their training. Sometimes they have to douse me with salt water, but I get by,” he joked.
The people in the room laughed. A few questions later and the meeting was about to end when the President held his hand up. “Admiral, you are doing a magnificent job. You have my fullest confidence, and I can say it is the same with every leader in Europe. That makes my next task very enjoyable,” he said pulling out a box. “Early on you had some difficulties with senior officers who were more senior than yourself and appeared to have a problem with the authority we placed in you. Well, we rectified that. A box like this one was supposed to have been handed you before this meeting. Did you get it?”
“Yes sir, I did.”
“Good. This will be a joint ceremony,” the President said as he opened the box in front of him. He pulled out a small set of insignia. It was a set of five stars set in a pentagon. “On behalf of the Congress, we have reinstated the rank of five stars. Today we will make two of you. First,” he said as he walked over to General Black, “Our Chairman has been promoted to General of the Marines,” he said handing the insignia to Black. “You have now achieved the rank of Fleet Admiral. Put them on today,” the President said.
Hammond and Black looked down on the insignia they held. Not since World War Two had the five star rank been used. For the first time, Black was speechless. Hammond looked from the insignia to the camera. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say much. This means Black can still fire you,” the President quipped.
The room erupted in laughter. “Congratulations to you both,” said the President. He gave Hammond a wink and then shut off the transmission.
Hammond rubbed his fingers across the shining stars. One of his aides walked over and pulled off the Velcroed stars he had and attached some new cloth ones. Inside the box were new shoulder boards. He would have to get another stripe on his blues, but he didn’t wear those much anymore.
“Congratulations, boss,” said the aide.
Hammond placed a hand on his shoulder and left the room without saying anything.
USS America
Jeffers was bone tired. Between the trip to Europe and then the briefings, he felt like a train had hit him. He almost staggered to the wardroom to grab a quick meal before he took Admiral Hustvedt’s advice and crashed. The room was filled with officers. Most were complaining about not having one last night on the town or with families. Not wanting to participate, he found a nice quiet table in one corner of the room and sat down. He had only taken two bites when he heard a friendly voice.
“Damn, Rod, you look like shit.”
Looking up he saw the concerned face of his friend Evan Chambers. A smile returned to his face. “You’d look that way too if you’d been to Europe and back since yesterday,” he said.
Chambers sat down. “You’re kidding me.”
“No, I’m not. Met some interesting people and got to see my old boss, Admiral Hammond. What’s been going on here?” he asked tiredly.
“Same old thing. The Captain’s screaming at everyone to make sure everything’s ready and jumping down people’s throats of he finds the least flaw. He went through my damage control operations two days ago and finally gave us a go. I’ll be so glad to finally get underway I may go into a dance,” Chambers said.
Jeffers nodded. He had been hearing more and more about Captain Donner. None of it sounded good. But he was the CO and he could run his ship pretty much however he wanted. “I feel the same way. I figure once we get moving, things will settle down a bit. You all set?” he asked.
“Who, me? You know I’m always ready to go. I saw you over here and wanted to see if you wanted to join our little bluegrass group. We’re getting together in about twenty minutes to have a little jam session up forward on the hanger deck. But from what I see, maybe you need to pass tonight,” Chambers said.
Life came back to Jeffers’ eyes. “No, that sounds like just the thing I need. It will help me settle down some before I crash for the night. You want me to bring the banjo or the guitar?”
“The banjo. I’ve been telling these guys about you and getting somebody that plays a banjo is just what we’ve been needing,” said Chambers.
“The forward part of the hanger bay. I’ll be there. Let me finish this and I’ll come down,” Jeffers said.
Jeffers hurried through his meal and stopped off at his stateroom to gather the banjo. When he entered the hanger deck he could hear guitars playing. He found seven guys sitting on folding chairs playing a soft melody. Two played guitar. There was a fiddle player, a mandolin player, a bass player, and a fellow playing a Dobro. One other guy was sitting back not doing much of anything, but as the music played he produced a harmonica and joined in. Chambers saw him and motioned him to a chair beside him.
“Guys, this is Lieutenant Commander Jeffers, the guy I’ve been telling you about. I asked him to join us tonight,” Chambers said.
The group was made of a mix of Chiefs, a First Class and two officers besides Jeffers. “Mister Chambers, here, says you’re pretty good with that thing. Why don’t you show us what you’ve got,” said one of the Chiefs.
Jeffers gave a quick look at Chambers. “Can you guys keep up?” he asked.
The Chiefs chuckled. “We can probably make sure you’re covered up,” said another chief.
Jeffers finished pitting on his picks. “Okay. Hang on.” He immediately went into the Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Chambers knew what was coming and stepped right in. The bass player was next and pretty soon everyone was in sync and playing rapidly. The grins on their faces told the story. This was what they got together for. At one point, with a nod from Jeffers, the fiddle player took off. The bow seemed to fly in his hand as he improvised a part of the piece.
There were yells from the other part of the deck and people started to gather round and listen. As the tune went round and round, even Chambers picked up a portion. His fingers appeared to pick the guitar strings almost like playing a banjo. On the last cord the whole group broke out in a yell.
“Damn! That’s the best I’ve ever heard it. Mister Chambers you weren’t kidding!” exclaimed one Chief.
“Glad to have you with us, Commander,” said the First Class.
The crowd of sailors around them also broke out in applause. Jeffers looked up toward one of the catwalks and saw Admiral Hustvedt standing in a doorway. He looked down at Jeffers and nodded his approval.
“You guys know the Grand Ole Opry Song?” asked Jeffers.
“Sure! You lead off,” said the first Chief. Jeffers started the song and the Chief sang the lyrics. On the chorus, everybody pitched in.
“There’ll be guitars and fiddles, Earl Scruggs and his banjo too.
Bill Munroe singing ‘bout them ol’ Kentucky blues.
Earnest Tubb’s number, ‘Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right’
At the Grand
Ole Opry ever Saturday night.
Once again, the group seemed to blend perfectly and the song seemed to lift the spirits of everyone around them.
It went on for about an hour before the guys reluctantly called it an evening. Jeffers bid everyone a good night and made his way to his stateroom. He knew already he would have a great night’s sleep.
In Space Above the Earth
There were five primary Russian spy satellites in orbit that had worried planners. At 0330 Eastern Time Zone five Brilliant Pebbles satellites turned on their lasing systems. The Russian satellite was focused on the eastern United States. There was another mid-Atlantic, just as there were three over the Pacific. The target was over five hundred miles away, but that wasn’t a deterrent. Lasers had problems only when in the atmosphere. In space, there was nothing to propagate the beam. Upon signal from the ground, five lasers shot across space to hit their targets.
At first, there didn’t seem to be anything happening. The temperatures inside the satellite casings rose steadily to well over 1,000 degrees. The circuit boards began to melt. At the Russian cosmodrome where the satellites were monitored, technicians were amazed when all five of their satellites shut down at once. There was no warning and no indication of a malfunction. Checks were made to insure that the satellites were still in orbit. Tracking stations confirmed that they were. The stations also confirmed that there was no satellite within a hundred miles of the units.
Something had just happened. Satellites that far apart didn’t shut down all at once. They contacted the Russian Space Agency to make sure the sun hadn’t sent out a solar flair. The one major concern was that for the first time, there was no live intelligence being gathered on the United States and across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
