World War Three 1946 Series Boxed Set: Stalin Strikes First

by Harry Kellogg

  One in an apparent mugging. Another in a hit and run accident. Two were killed in another car accident while home on leave for the holidays.

  These deaths should be considered the first casualties of the newest war that has been force upon the world by the ruthless dictator Joseph Stalin; one of our greatest allies in the war against Japan and the Nazis of Germany. What made “Old Joe” turn on his former comrades in arms may never be known. Perhaps he saw an opportunity to rid Europe of capitalism once and for all. Perhaps he went mad.

  Certain extraordinary circumstances had to occur for the war to have progressed so far in his favor. This reporter will itemize them one by one in this series of articles starting with today’s revelations.

  DEMOBILIZATION

  The public and governments of the US and Great Britain did not want a repeat of the fiasco of World War One. Troops were stranded for months in far flung parts of the world after the Great War and the people of the United States expressed their displeasure in no uncertain terms. Politicians lost their jobs over the unacceptable rate at which our boys were trickling home. Letters to the editor and demonstrations all over the country led politicians to vow that this would never happen again.

  Plans were drawn up early in 1944 on how to efficiently bring the boys home. It was a massive and successful effort led by General Eisenhower himself. By May 1946 the forces left in Germany and France were mere skeletons of their former war time self. Almost all of the veterans who won the war were rightfully sent home. Most were not replaced. The replacements, who trickled in by dribs and drabs, were untrained in the art of combat. They were there to police the German citizens. They had no training in heavy weapons, no training in antiaircraft operations nor were they trained in even how to drive a tank much less how to use one in combat.

  This reporter has in his possession a scathing report by the Army Inspector General that puts the combat effectiveness of the few troops left in Europe at close to an armed mob. They were ill trained and ill led by the 90 Day Wonders who replaced the real veteran officers. Their heavy equipment was packed up and stored in 11 massive depots spread throughout Germany and France; enough equipment to arm and supply 80 divisions for up to a period of 6 months.

  The tap of military supplies was not turned off, nor could it be turned off quickly after VE-Day and the tanks, fuel and bullets just kept on coming. It was backlogged and in the pipeline of Victory ships stretching all the way back to the East Coast. Who knows what other equipment or classified weapons systems have been put in the hands of Stalin and the Red Army.

  These depots were brimming with modern radar systems and other potentially valuable weapons that the Soviets had only dreamed of. The Soviets, through a series of French and German based spy networks, knew exactly what was in each depot and where they were located. During the initial stages of the war a combination of highly trained French Resistance fighters and Red Army Paratroopers took over these depots. They defended them with the weapons inside them for up to 2 weeks until they were relieved by the fast moving Red Army thus providing the invaders all the supplies they would need for months to come. Many American's did not know that a large portion of our French Resistance comrades in arms were devout Communists.

  UNDERESTIMATING THE SOVIET ARMY

  The Joint Chiefs of Staff have consistently underestimated the capabilities of the Soviet armed forces. Report after report has been pushed through the ranks and then out to the newspapers and radio about how without Lend Lease the Soviet army would have lost to the German's. How the US and British troops and planes won the war and how the Red Army was vastly inferior to our troops. New evidence suggests otherwise and a newly written report seen by this reporter proves it. The Red army conducted an attack named Operation August Storm near the end of the war that should have been a warning shot heard throughout the military establishment. In this virtually unknown and unreported military operation the Soviet Army demonstrated its prowess in the art of Blitzkrieg.

  In an operation in Manchuria, China they were able to transport dozens of divisions and thousands of aircraft from the West over 3500 miles to confront the Japanese in the Far East. Demonstrating a supply capacity and technical abilities previously not thought possible. Yet when their skills in the art of logistics was amply demonstrated the Western military experts chose to ignore their accomplishments. They chose to ignore them with the predictable results we now seen in Europe.

  In next week's article we will explore the question of just where is the atomic bomb in this war? Where is the US bomber force that devastated Germany and Japan?

  "We have to stop this reporter. I mean what the hell. What does he know?"

  "We can't just kill him. How about we put him on ice for a while until SAC starts its operations. By then the world will know."

  "We'll have to get some high level juice behind us on this one."

  "I'll call Ops and see when we can move on him and his files. We have to find out what he knows and delay this for a good 30 days."

  Diary of Burt Post Sept. 11th, 1946

  Reading an article on "Porky" Anderson and Hogan at this year's PGA Championship. It was held in Portland Oregon for goodness sake. Didn't even know they had enough days without rain to play golf out there. By the looks of picture in the article "Porky" lives up to his name. 5'9" and 240lbs. Now that's a lot of man especially for a golfer. Hogan got 3500 bucks for winning. I could sure use some of that money. Looks like Kimberly Clark is expanding again. Too bad my patent isn't in my name. I guess they did provide the lab and my salary. Kind of irks me however. You invent something that saves millions of dollars for your company and they give you a pat on the back. Oh well such is life.

  Diary of Burt Post Sept. 12th, 1946

  What a day! A police car drove up and escorted our two oldest up to the front door. John was supposed to take his little sister Lynn out for a walk starting at his Grandmas house. He got a little carried away and convinced his 4 year old sister to follow him downtown to see what was playing at the movie theatre. It's a 3 mile walk? Anyway they were doing pretty well when Lynn stepped out in front of a car and fell down. Luckily she fell down because the poor women driving the car would have hit her square with the bumper. Because she fell down the two front wheels missed her by passing on either side. What a horrible situation for everybody involved.

  I guess our little home town is getting too big for kids to run around loose for long periods of time. When I was a kid we would run out of the house after breakfast and then show up for lunch, run out again till supper and not come home until dark. I guess those days are over. We sure had a lot of fun playing army, Kick the Can, Kickball, baseball, Everyone Tackle the Guy With the Ball (gotta change that name) and a million variations of tag.

  I just read about some guy in Pennsylvania that started an organized league for boys to play baseball before they are in high school. What a ridiculous concept. You got ten or more kids together, rock-paper-scissors for the captains, threw a bat in the air, one captain caught it, you alternated gripping the bat until the was no bat left and the last one to fit a pinky on the end chose first. They alternated picks until Eddy was left (in our case he was always chosen last cause he threw like a girl) and the last captain got him. Jackie was always picked way before Eddy and even most of the time before Bill, Bob and sometimes even Jeff. They whined a lot being a few years younger than the rest of us. Jackie had quite an arm and held the high school girls record for throwing a softball for years. Then we played for at least 3 hours and had a ball. Well... except for Eddy.

  Diary of Burt Post Sept. 13th, 1946

  According to the Post Crescent the new French communist government has started a social security system and universal health care. Don't know why we would need either of those here. The kids take care of their parents and if there is someone is without kids they go into the home. Why bother with the medical care either. It's so cheap. My broken arm only cost me $20 including the ambulance ride and an overnight
in the hospital. I suppose it might be hard for some to do that but that's why you have St. Elizabeth's. They take in folks who can't pay. I don't know it just seems unnecessary. You'd think that someone was going to get rich on the misfortunes of others or something. Now that would be really bad for the country if that ever happened.

  I suppose someone is going to say that we need social security for our old age because someone might come along and steal our pension fund. Now that's really stupid. Who would do that and who would allow it to happen? No I expect to be well taken care of in my golden years with a good pension and great medical care.

  Chapter Six:

  The North Falls

  ***

  One defends when his strength is inadequate;

  he attacks when it is abundant.

  Sun Tzu

  ***

  Collapse by RangerElite

  Scandinavia in WWIII, 1946

  September 14th

  0945

  Scandinavian Prime Ministers' Summit

  Karlsborg Fortress

  Karlsborg, Kingdom of Sweden

  In Attendance:

  Mauno Pekkala, Prime Minister of the Republic of Finland

  Tage Erlander, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sweden

  Einar Gerhardsen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway

  Knud Kristensen, Prime Minister of the Gouvernment-in-Exile of the Kingdom of Denmark

  As the men take their seats, an air of desperation hangs heavy in the room. The situation on the Karelian, Salla and Petsamo fronts have decidedly turned against them, taking heavy losses outside Vyborg, thus handing the Soviets the initiative to roll the Scandinavian forces back to the defensive line close to Helsinki, the Soviets even having the nerve to shell Malmö from the Copenhagen harbor. Until this war, since 1814, the Swedish Crown and government had pursued a policy of strict neutrality. That was no longer the case, nor could it any longer be.

  This war brought the powers who fought so hard to be independent of each other earlier in the century back together again in military alliance against a common foe

  “Gentlemen, we need a miracle.” began the Finnish Prime Minister, Mauno Pekkala. “The Soviets are about to breach the final defensive ring around Helsinki. We cannot hold out much longer, and under the terms of the YYA Agreement of 1944, though the Soviets invaded us first, we would be considered as the aggressor and thus, subject to the full force of penalty to be administered by the Soviets. President Paasikivi has asked me to inform you that we will be asking the Soviets for terms of surrender, as of 1830 today. This notification is being given as a courtesy and we are asking that you begin issuing orders to your troops, that they may leave in an orderly fashion. We thank you for your aid in our valiant fight against Soviet aggression.”

  There are blank stares from the other Prime Ministers as Minister Pekkala delivers the grave news. The melancholy is broken the Swedish Prime Minister, Tage Erlander “So we are to give up the fight and submit? Even in the world of Realpolitik, we know this can never be possible. The Soviets will not stop at the Finnish frontier with Sweden, for they covet the iron ore and coal deposits that are abundant in both Sweden and Norway, and we simply have our backs to the wall. No, no matter what I once believed in, politically, I am descended from Viking blood first and foremost, as are you all. Home and hearth, and its incumbent defense, comes considered before all else. We will respect the Finnish government’s request to withdraw our forces, but we will not give up the fight. We simply cannot.” Minister Pekkala smiles weakly, and says to the other three Prime Ministers “Officially, I have no comment upon your future war aims, but personally, I wish you much success in smashing the Soviet warmonger pigs!” and having said that, Minister Pekkala gathers his papers and walks out of the room.

  Then the Danish Prime Minister, Knud Kristensen, stands up to be recognized and begins to speak, “Gentlemen, I fear that we may be facing war on two fronts very soon. I have received intelligence from the Hjemmeværnet modstand (Home Guard Resistance), smuggled out of Jutland at very great cost, that the Soviets have been massing special troops there with an as yet unknown purpose. We are uncertain if these are simply new NKVD units being stationed there to strike fear in our people, or if these units have a strategic aim.” At this, Einar Gerhardsen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway, takes his turn to speak “I am authorized by His Royal Majesty, King Haakon VII, to offer any and all assistance to our Alliance brethren, and to our Danish brothers, we offer a company of the Royal Norwegian Commandoes, to be inserted into occupied Denmark, for the express purpose of collecting further intelligence as to the intentions and purpose of the new Soviet troops...” Minister Gerhardsen's remarks are cut short by a Swedish communications officer bursting into the room and yelling “We've lost all communications with Stockholm! The last wireless transmission from the Royal High Command said that Soviet paratroopers landing in the capital, as well as other cities throughout Scandinavia!” Under his breath, Gerhardsen mutters “This is Narvik and Trömso all over again”, as they are rejoined by Pekkala and hustled by Swedish Royal Lifeguard troopers into the deepest air-raid shelter in the fortress...

  Paratroopers! By RangerElite

  Scandinavia in WWIII, 1946

  1025

  Field Headquarters for Kenraali Aksel Airo

  Outside Helsinki, Republic of Finland

  Even with the help of the very well-meaning Swedes and Norwegians, Aksel had known that this was the only possible outcome from the very beginning, and had prepared for it accordingly. New caches of weapons and war materiel had once again been pre-positioned so that his elite Sissi troopers and other patriots would be able to bleed the Soviet pigs dry, a little at a time. His only goal since his release has been to do just that: make the Soviets pay for his suffering at the hands of their lackeys in Valpo and make sure his nation stays free. It worked for a while, and with Swedish help, they were even able to take the fight to the Russian pigs, but the Soviets merely did what the Russians have always done through history, and poured men and machines into the fight until they overwhelmed their enemies. The Kenraali was determined to mitigate their numerical superiority by using aggressive guerrilla tactics to demoralize their troops. In addition, Kenraali Airo had absolutely NO intention of being incarcerated again, for he knew that he would not survive this time. He knew that in order for his plan to work, he needed to stay free and direct the battles that loomed ahead. This time, he would not heed the word of the cowards that deigned to call themselves the “duly constituted authority”... in his estimation, they gave up the fight far too soon...

  From outside his command tent, General Airo could hear the loud droning of aircraft engines, a lot of them, and began to hear shouts of “Paratroopers!”, followed by his aide rushing in and telling the General what he already knew, that they must leave, and quickly. They hurriedly began smashing radio equipment and setting fire to the papers and the tent, leaving only with a small briefcase in one hand, and his Colt M1911 pistol in the other. He assumed that the Soviets would try something like this, so now he would activate his chain of safe houses all throughout the country.

  It seemed like hours before they arrived at the first safe house, some distance to the north of his former headquarters, only to find it ransacked and the area lousy with Soviet NKVD troops. How could this be? He thought to himself that he had meticulously planned everything himself, only telling the few people that he trusted, and never confiding in anyone from the civilian government. Someone close to him had betrayed him, and God Himself will not help this person once Aksel catches him. Into the only refuge he had left to him now he went, the deep forest hides, into which no sane person would enter willingly. This was going to be a long war.

  The Royals by RangerElite

  Scandinavia in WWIII, 1946

  1030

  King Haakon VII's Royal Residence

  Øslo, Kingdom of Norway

  King Haakon was rushing to leave, for the second time thi
s decade. Surrounded by his Royal Guard, he and his family hurriedly gathered what they could carry, on their way to the ship that awaited them. He could hear the gunfire getting closer, and in complete irony, it was he who saw the Soviet parachutes attached to their troopers falling gently to earth...HIS piece of earth! He suppressed his anger and plowed forward, grabbing aides and handcuffing briefcases to their wrists, assigning a Royal Guard officer to each aide. It had been fully two hours now since he'd last heard from his Prime Minister, Einar Gerhardsen, at the conference at the Karlsborg Fortress, in Sweden. For that matter, he hadn't heard from the Royal Danish government-in-exile since earlier this morning, either. He knew that Danish King Christian X's Prime Minister was also at the same conference, along with the Swedish and Finnish Prime Ministers.

  As King Haakon and his family make their way to the armored trucks, they are joined by King Christian X of Denmark and his family. They hurriedly exchange pleasantries and board the trucks, then surrounded by a sea of their combined Royal Lifeguardsmen, begin the hard trip to the harbor, to the American submarine that had been docked there for the past week, training the Norwegian crew that would be replacing it, once the submarine was transferred to Norwegian command. There were a ring of flak trucks surrounding the Kings' convoy to the harbor, all mounting 20mm Oerlikon cannon, elevations fully depressed and hammering away at the Soviet paratroopers. As the two monarchs were now fully able to see Soviet paratroopers running and shooting through the streets of Øslo, out the back of their trucks, Haakon and Christian drew their sidearms and began participating in their own defense, along with the Royal Guardsmen who readily lay their lives down for them.