“It occurs 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 even Hitler and Nazism, and he MUST be stopped. We fought then, and we prevailed. We shall have to repeat the effort once more.”
“If I may remind you sir, you are not in power anymore, and that decision is out of your hands. Stalin has given us two months to make a decision. He is counting on the British people rising up and demanding that we sit this one out. They will argue that we have given up enough. We have lost an empire. We are drained, physically, emotionally, psychologically and financially. The communists are gaining ground rapidly. Unless something changes we will run out of time.”
“Well Roger, we shall see what we can do to change that dynamic.”
***
This is an overheard conversation of identities unknown. The NATO
diplomats have still not learned how to keep secrets, secret.
***
Satellites Align
“Well Bill, it looks like we have confirmed reports of Soviet units joining the Bulgarians near the Greek border. We also have the Yugoslavs massing on the Italian border, and there are units of the Czechslovakian, Hungarian and Romanian armies being called up to participate in supporting roles as well.”
“Yeah, I heard that the Yugoslavians are more than willing to invade Italy. According to our ambassador present, their hatred for the Italians goes way back, and they are more than willing to seek revenge for past transgressions real or imagined. This Tito fellow seems pretty upset about something the most 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 sabotage their 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, coupled with Bulgarian hatred, will be hard to stop. Let’s hope that the Russians do something to piss off the Red Greeks, and they decide to fight for king and country, instead of for some economic system.”
“I was reading about this just the other day, and the article I read said that there is no love lost between the Greeks and Bulgarians, especially since the 1920's. 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 doesn't look very good for the Greeks, in a war against Soviet-backed troops. It could get really ugly in the Balkans, once again.”
“Hey! Is that pecan pie? Where'd you get that?
***
One of the more astonishing ways the Soviets collected secrets. This involved a janitor and a used typewriter ribbon.
***
Smudges
Somewhere in
Washington, D.C.
July 30th, 1946
“Why is it that all these notes we get from 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. He actually reads the used typewriter ribbons of the area in which he works. That I would suggest accounts for the smudges and the things he has to report being so accurate.”
“You must be right comrade, because he is still alive and sending us notes.”
***
Quite quickly the Americans start to adopt and adapt their new choice of main battle tank, the Patton. The needed improvements are developed rather rapidly.
***
Aberdeen Proving Grounds
Fort Meade, Maryland
July 30th, 1946
“Well Colonel, What do you think? That beast is the final complete test vehicle of the new T-50 prototype tank. If all goes well this tank will be standardized as the M-50 Patton medium tank, early next month.”
“My God, I thought they were kidding about naming it after Patton. This is the answer to the Russian Stalin tanks, huh? I’m not seeing anything much different from the M-26 tanks. Give me the run down on it.”
“Yes sir; we've made enormous strides with this project. Once the President made up his mind, we got straight to work. That turned out to be an immensely important, because the Centurion isn’t nearly as good as what Mr. Churchill and Mr. Brandt implied that it was. It’s a maintenance nightmare. Hell, it took us fifteen hours just to get the engine out of the first British tank we received. I thought we were doing something wrong, but the two British engineers that came over with the drawings said that it normally takes them twelve hours to pull an engine. And it’s a gas-hog. The very best range we got with the British test tank was forty-five miles. Once we took it off-road, the range dropped to around thirty miles. The turret is a real piece of work; fortunately, we never planned on using the original 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 T-50 is going to make you happy. It’s an improved version of the original tank rather than just a copy. First, we kept the four-man crew. The turret is a new design made of cast armor, with an unusually narrow forward profile. The main armament is the 90-mm M3 gun, fitted with a muzzle break and a bore evacuator. The secondary armament is a coaxially-mounted .30-caliber Browning machine gun, with a .50-caliber Browning machine gun mounted before the tank commander's hatch for use as an antiaircraft weapon. We've replaced the original engine with a Ford V-12 GAC engine, from the T-29 heavy tank project. That engine is rated at about 770 horsepower. That gives the T-50 a bit more power than the Centurion. We had to do a major redesign of the hull in order to fit the Ford engine, which also allowed us to increase fuel capacity and make maintenance access much easier. The test hulls got around 160 miles, with the sheet-steel mock-up turrets installed. The range stabilized at around 100 to 110 miles once we put a full combat load in the completed test 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 twenty tanks are ready. Ten of those are going straight to Fort Knox, with the other ten going to one of the new Armored Divisions. We have the Detroit and Fisher Tank Arsenals tooling up for full production, and they should be fully ready by the end of next month. Also, production contracts have already been awarded to four civilian companies. We hope to have close to 2,000 ready by March.”
“Alright, what’s next?”
“Yes sir; follow me please, the improved M-38 Wolfhound armored car is next.”
***
Britain prepares for the worst.
***
Gathering Forces
Number 10 Downing Street
Prime Minister Atlee’s private library
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 frontline fighter aircraft puts all of southern Britain within their reach. That means their bombers will be escorted at all times, even possibly by their new jets.”
“How are our prepara
tions coming along?”
“We’re manufacturing Meteors and the new Vampires as quickly as we can, and pulling all the Spits and Tempests that we are able to out of storage. As usual it will be the pilots that will determine if we survive or not. It is fairly well understood that the Russians have studied all the mistakes made by both sides during the Battle of Britain, and they 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 in the air 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 Americans, sir? I know that for propaganda purposes, we have a few units of American P-80's available, but we both know that the bulk of the U.S.A.A.F. is just not to be found, despite the press releases.”
“We shall have to defend our home alone for a while Ronald. It’s all part of the plan that we agreed upon, long ago. We are going to take it on the chin, but in the end, it will help win the war.”
“It all sounds very familiar sir.”
“How so, Ronald?”
“Well in brief, sir, we lost our empire in the last war, and we now just might lose our country. Meanwhile, the Americans come in later 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 soundly defeated I’m sure of it. The floodgates of Lend-Lease have opened again, and the Americans will be forever in our debt I‘ve made sure of that. The world will be free of this Russian plague forever. A couple of months of hell will mean generations of peace and prosperity for our people.”
***
This was an astonishing announcement that showed just how strictly the NATO Allies would stick to their agreed upon plan. Italy was to be sacrificed
for the good of Europe.
***
Italy
Combined Chiefs of Staff Meeting
NATO Headquarters
Outside London
August 2nd, 1946
In attendance:
United Kingdom:
Field-Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount of Alamein, Royal Army
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, Royal Navy
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir William Sholto Douglas, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of Bath, Royal Air Force
United States:
General of the Army Omar Nelson Bradley
General Curtis Emerson LeMay
Admiral DeWitt Clinton Ramsey
Canada:
Lieutenant-General Howard Douglas Graham
France:
Marshal of France Philippe-François Leclerc de Hauteclocque, Comté de Hauteclocque
Belgium:
Lieutenant-General Léon Bievez
Netherlands:
Lieutenant-General Ludolph Hendrik van Oyen
Denmark:
Major-General Valdemar Bjerregaard
Spain:
Rear-Admiral Don Luis Carrero-Blanco, Primer Duque de Carrero-Blanco, Grande de España
Norway:
Lieutenant-General Olaf Helset
Italy:
Ambassador Ruggero Grieco
Corps-General Clemente Primieri
Polish Government-in-Exile's Army:
Lieutenant-General Władysław Anders
German Volunteer Corps:
General Hasso von Manteuffel
Field-Marshal Montgomery: “Settle down, gentlemen…settle down please. We know that 'Plan Cocklespur' has been presented, and agreed upon by all the parties that matter. I just want to make sure we are all in agreement and that there are no misunderstandings, amongst all the parties involved. Mr. Ambassador, we are well aware of your government’s objections to this plan. But the NATO command; at the highest levels have 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, 1945, the United States had one division, and some service troops, for a total of approximately 34,000 men in the peninsula. These numbers have not changed. The British have a division, two brigade groups and some artillery regiments, for a total of 70,000 troops supported by 112 RAF aircraft. The Italian Army now fields 90,000 men, largely equipped with modern equipment, plus 210,000 second-line troops and 50,000 lightly-armed police. Those forces are supported by 600 modern aircraft, of which, as of last week, fully twenty percent of those aircraft were grounded for maintenance issues. The main striking force of the Italian Army is two brigades of armor, and one motorized-infantry brigade. The largest ships of Italian Navy were released from British internment in Ismailia in mid-May, and with the aid of American and British naval engineers, have been refitting in their home ports for the last three months. NATO naval inspection teams report that seventy-five percent of its capital ships, and sixty percent of their smaller vessels, are now ready for action. Major General Riley, from NATO J-2, will continue from this point, with the most recent threat assessment.”
Major General Riley: “Thank you sir. We will split our brief into two parts; the first part covers the Yugoslavian forces, while the second part covers the Russian forces backing the Yugoslavians. 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 need 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 four months at the end of the Second World War. The current Yugoslav Army is mainly an infantry and horse-cavalry army. They've organized three brigades of horse cavalry since 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 and British weapons. Their tank force has around 400 tanks, of which around 300 are modern T-34/85 tanks that they received earlier this year. The Yugoslav Air force is organized on the Russian model. It fields 700 modern aircraft, organized into four fighter regiments, four attack-bomber regiments, two light-bomber regiments, and a single transport regiment. These are nearly all fairly-modern Russian designs, like the Yak-3, Il-2, and Pe-2. Also they have anywhere from thirty to forty captured German and Italian aircraft that may, or may not be flyable. The Yugoslav Navy is very small, with only nine small armed ships around thirty patrol boats and six coastal-artillery batteries. These batteries are mainly made up of captured German 88-mm guns.
We have now identified three Yugoslav Armies which they call 'fronts', after the Soviet model that have deployed to the border region. These armies are tentatively designated as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The 1st Army has three infantry divisions, an artillery brigade and a cavalry brigade; the 2nd Army has three infantry divisions, a cavalry brigade, an artillery brigade and an assault-engineer brigade, while the 3rd has four infantry divisions, an artillery brigade, a cavalry brigade, and a tank brigade. Based on their deployment patterns and intercepted radio traffic, we believe the 3rd Army will be the main invasion force, the tip of the spear, as it were.”
“We have been able to identify four rifle divisions and one tank corps of the Russian 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 since the early battl
es in Germany. We believe they will attempt to invade Italy, via the Brenner Pass next week. In southern France, near Nice, there is an additional group of eight Russian rifle divisions and two 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 two-thirds' strength, in terms of manpower and equipment. There are also parts of four Russian Air Armies based near Nice, but we don't know if they are all there to support combat operations in Italy. These units have suffered heavy losses fighting NATO aircraft in France, but still field around 900 modern aircraft. That concludes our threat assessment brief for today.”
General Roberts: “Thank you, General. Finally, we have Brigadier Blackstone, with the J-3 brief. Brigadier, please begin.”
Brigadier Blackstone: “Given the troop commitments of 'Plan Cocklespur', 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 Alpine passes, by D+5. The Yugoslavs 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 down to 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 our forces from the 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 five 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.”
World War Three 1946 Series Boxed Set: Stalin Strikes First Page 19
