World War Three 1946 Series Boxed Set: Stalin Strikes First

by Harry Kellogg

  “You have outdone yourself Alexi. This fish is magnificent. It brings back so many memories of my grandfather and fishing the waters The Seas of Armenia. This fish puts the Rainbow Trout of Kamchatka that Khrushchev brags about, to shame. Just wonderful Alexi...just wonderful.”

  “Thank you comrade.”

  The trout had come from Lake Sevan and probably was destined to have been eaten by the Fisherman but the soldiers had gotten there first. Unlike many of their other compatriots these group of soldiers had been ordered to catch the trout using fishing line and fly. Many of the other troops were dining on fish that had been blown out of the water using grenades. The general’s chef knew his commander would have none of that kind of fish and a full third of the lake had been designated off limits to the more destructive methods being used.

  Ivan Bagramian was from a village named Chardakhlu and it was less than 100 km from Sevan Lake. Until his teenage years he roamed these very hills and lakes. He was bombarded from an early age by tales of the Turks invading and massacring his people, the Armenians. Story after story of the Turk’s atrocities were common bed and fireside fare.

  His village is now known as a home of many heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Of the able bodied Armenians of the village, 1250 went to the front. Half of them were awarded with orders and medals, two gained the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union (himself and Hamazasp Babadzhanian), 12 became generals, and seven Hero of the Soviet Union. an amazing legacy for such a small, isolated area.

  Bagramian carried the tales of Turkish and Ottoman atrocities with him as he fought with various military units during the First World War, facing the blood curdling cry of the southern invader too many times to count. He fought the Turk hand to hand when he was young now he would command the Front that would stab at the heart of the former Ottoman empire and then on to the Levant and Persia. It was expected that the Turkish army would concentrate and provide the most resistance on its western border, while his forces cut through sparse opposition and swiftly moved onto the prize of the oil in fields in Iraq and the all-important Suez Canal. Zukov would be in control of the entire offensive with Konev having the honor of assaulting Constantinople and the more Westernized part of Turkey while he did the real damage coming in from the back door.

  Konev was to be given airborne troops and the marines. He was to take the Bosporus from land, air and sea. He was given all the toys while Bagramian was given all the power and maneuver units. He was to hit fast and hard and to keep on moving. He was to have the bulk of the remaining offensive fuel supplies that were to be used for the invasion of Korea and the consolidation of Manchuria. He would have plenty of fuel and supplies to make it to the Suez and Kuwait and then defend both of up to 3 months. The Stavka’s plan became very undefined at that point with a lot of contingencies and if that’s.

  His duty was to follow orders and hope for the best and he was one of the best at this as well as proposing alternatives. He had a habit of planning and then convincing his superiors and even Stalin to modify the grandiose plans he was to carry out. His brilliant variation of the original plan for Operation Bagration had won the battle for central Belarus. His detour through the dreaded Pripet Marsh area had caught the Germans completely by surprise and paved the way for the huge advances that were to follow. His many variations to the grandiose plans of the Stavka were legendary even in the West. If anyone could improvise it was Bagramian. His many improvisations had saved tens of thousands of Soviet lives and cost the tens of thousands of Germans theirs.

  The second mouthful of trout was just as good as the first and Marshal Bagramian relished the thought of finally bringing the overwhelming power of the Red Army crashing down on Armenia’s most deadly and implacable enemy, an enemy who tried to exterminate the Armenian people. A crime so heinous that the term genocide was coined to describe the systematic death by forced deportation and starvation of 1.5 Armenians in 1915.

  Yet Bagramian was not bent on revenge. He was focused on the mission and its twin objectives the closure of the Suez canal by any means and the occupation of the oil fields of Iraq and Kuwait. A secondary consequence of his maneuvers would be the capture and destruction of the strategic bomber bases being used by the Amerikosi to attack the homeland. This too would be an inevitable result of his twin thrusts.

  He was not a vindictive barbarian and would attempt to keep his forces from harming the buildings that three major religions of the world revered. Their continued existence under communist rule would just strengthen the idea of the inevitability of a workers paradise that transcend the superstitions that religions have used to rule the sheep of the world. A benevolent re-education would be an interesting experiment and if that failed then other means could be used.

  Many of the units under his command were not Armenian by design. This operation would require the utmost of professionalism and could not be threatened by emotional displays of revenge no matter how justified. The destruction of Ottoman Empire once and for all would be revenge enough for his generation.

  He had 2 months to prepare for a winter offensive in a mild climate. He was grateful it wasn’t Korea on the winter. He had heard stories about that area. He was from a cold place and was used to winter. From all indications this would be a very bad one in the north but not so in the south,. Cold would not stop him only mud and this area of the world did not receive much rain at any time, much less the winter. It was usually cold and dry, perfect weather to invade a country with minimal losses. It will certainly beat winter in the Pyrenees Mountains.

  Lake Sevan trout

  The Fifteen Rises Again

  In May 1946 the 15th Air Force had basically ceased to exist. It’s once proud fleet of B-17 and B-24 bombers were being scrapped at a record pace. Dumped unceremoniously into ravines, oceans and even mines, these products of Detroit and Ford’s Forest Run Factory had both caused the death of many and at the same time saved others with their powerful engines, well thought out designs and 50 caliber machine guns. The bombs they dropped had brought Fascism to its knees where it was finished off by the armies put on shore or attacking from the East.

  The newest among them that were still flying were being brought to their new bases in Turkey. The B-24M was the latest and greatest of this workhorse bomber. Over a thousand had been flown from the factory straight to scrap heaps in 1945. The other 1,500 were only available by clerical error. All should have been scrapped by May, 1946 but the lucky 1500 escaped destruction and were instead parked wing to wing awaiting their fate when the Soviets struck. This lucky 1500 would form the bulk of the 15th or the next 2 months.

  Although the B-17 Fighting Fortress took the limelight away from the B-24 Liberator it was the most abundantly produced heavy bomber and American plane of World War II. The Willow Run factory outside of Detroit was producing 650 a month at peak but now was producing 150. It far outstripped the more glamourous in bombs dropped, enemy fighters shot down and missions flown. Much like the P-38 Lightning being overshadowed by the less versatile P-51, the B-24 deserves higher praise than it garners.

  The 8th Air Force took over 8 months to become operational but the newly reconstituted 15th would be operating in 6 from bases near Adana Turkey. The Turks had been developing the site since June and it was near a number of ports on the Mediterranean where supplies could be shipped to easily until the bottleneck caused by the Seehunds off the coast of Tobruk appeared. 10 Freighters went down in the first week before the alarm was raised. The supply route had to be changed to the Suez until an answer for the Seehunds could be found. With LeMay screaming for supplies the 15th was put on the back burner for a good 3 weeks. The first 1000 plane raid was scheduled for November 3rd, 1946.

  It was anticipated that the losses would be high and in the 15% range but it would free up SAC from its missions and give LeMay time to restock his squadrons. No one expected the 15th to do any better or even any worse than SAC. The 15th welcomed many of the former bomber crews that were rejected by SAC fo
r security reasons. Now that the cat was out of the bag every veteran was fair game and Twinning had many of the best working for him. Men that had been saddled with questionable relatives or had made some bad political decisions in the past were now working for him and were eager to prove their patriotism.

  A couple of squadrons were working on special formations and maneuvers designed to evade the Stalin’s Fire missile. The bomber crews had notice with growing envy how easily the fighter pilots avoided both the X-4 air to air missile as well as the Wasserfal surface to air version. They were fairly easy to out maneuver for the fighters who did not have to fly in rigid formation.

  The concept was to maneuver in formation on a squad level to spoof the missiles and then to quickly link up with the other squadrons before the Red fighter pilots attacked. LeMay had virtually forbid SAC from such experiments but Twinning encouraged them if only to keep the moral of the bomber crews high enough to function. SAC was on the verge of becoming non-operational and all knew it but LeMay.

  LeMay was a brilliant strategic thinker with amazing insights on the tactical level as well. An example was his stripping of the B-29 of all defensive guns and armor once it became apparent that the Japanese could not defend themselves with fighter planes and the jet stream caused the B-29 to drop incendiaries at low altitudes. The increase in ordnance was a determining factor in creating the firestorms that killed hundreds of thousands.

  In hindsight it did little to win the war but it was a novel solution to a problem that won LeMay the praise he deserved. LeMay was not one to learn from his mistakes however and he relied on “his gut” for far too many decisions of late. This had led to the losses that could not be sustained, yet did have the effect the NATO planners wanted. The Soviet Army was going to invade Turkey and that was the real reason for the sacrifices being made by SAC and soon the 15th. Twinning and LeMay were not told this in so many words and if they were successful in their missions then possibly the next phase of the war would be unnecessary but few who knew the true odds were optimistic.

  The greatest killer of bombers was still the conventional single seat fighter plane second only to the 90 mm proximity fuse antiaircraft gun. The Yaks, Lags and MiGs shot down the bulk of the B-29s once their formations were broken apart by the missile volleys and marauding jets. The Soviet jets were kept pretty busy by the P-80 Shooting Stars of the USAAF so it was up to the swarms of Yak 3, 9, La 7 to bore in. Both the Soviets and NATO leaders knew the current missile systems were a temporary advantage for the defense. You would need more than a 10% hit rate to have a lasting effect on a strategic level so the race was on for the next technological leap forward for either the defense or the offence in the war over the skies of Eurasia.

  Not His Type

  “Remember Fenwick, this report goes to the White House and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and I don’t want any typographical errors, UNDERSTAND!”

  “Of course Sargent, when have I ever let you down, Sir.”

  “Stop calling me Sir FENWICK or I’ll bust you so fast it will make your head swim. Stop talking and even listening and get back to typing..NOW!”

  “YES…” “FENWICK!”

  “sir” under his breath.

  All righty then, what magnum opus have we got here from the spooks. Scary guys, luckily I’m just a clerk typist and will stay under their radar unless I screw up too badly and then all they’ll do is take away my typewriter and put a gun in my hand.

  Let’s see, all caps, double space for starters, three carbons and we’re off…let’s see if I can read his notes. Who would have thought that he could take short hand?”

  Pyrenees: The line is steady state. The 70% reduction of the fuel supplies caused by the attack of SAC has caused the Red Army to dig in. They are conserving fuel and massive transfers of tanks and trucks have been observed. See attached. The air war over the Pyrenees Line continues to be a stalemate. The VVS has ceased its air assault over the British Isles and has transferred a number of squadrons to this front thus keeping pressure on our forces.

  Neither side seems to be able to make any real advances although the Soviet forces are within 15 miles from breaking out of the mountainous terrain that has kept them in check up till now. It is estimated that a full breakout would have occurred within 2 weeks if the offensive had not stopped due to lack of fuel.

  The line is currently being held by a combination of NATO Divisions with most countries represented.

  British forces - 18 divisions

  Spanish forces - 15 divisions

  French forces - 2 divisions

  US forces - 2 divisions

  German expatriate forces - 1 division

  Combined Italian, Greek and a combination of Balkan expatriate forces - 1 division

  Currently only the US, GB, French and German forces are able to mount

  Any kind of offensive action but no plans have been offered to start a general advance against the dug in forces of the Soviet Union.

  British Empire The VVS has stopped offensive action over the British Isles

  The Red Air Force continues to defend vigorously the airspace over Germany and France

  This front appears to have been put on reserve status as well by the Stavka.

  The RAF is slowly gaining strength and the ability to once again defend itself with the influx of USAAF late war model fighters and 6 squadrons of P80 Shooting Stars. It has been decided to use USAAF equipment in the short term rather than concentrate on retooling their industrial base to once again produce war material and supplies.

  India is in full, yet peaceful revolt.

  Transjordan gains independence in exchange for military bases

  Java is in violent revolt.

  Hong Kong remains stable

  Palestine is in revolt

  Nigeria, Gambia and the Gold Coast have re-written their constitutions and are heading towards independence

  Food is being rationed but plentiful More of a financial measure than shortages

  A bill to loan them 1.5 billion dollars is being held up in the Senate

  Scandinavia Norway, Sweden and Finland are being controlled from the cities by puppet governments propped up by Soviet troops. The smaller cities and villages are virtually free of communist influence. An uneasy truce is in place after a large number of assassinations and retaliations. A number of hangings and atrocities by both sides have brought an uneasy truce as the long winter starts.

  Denmark is under very tight Soviet control. The area controlling access to the Baltic is being heavily fortified on both the Swedish and Denmark coasts.

  Reports indicate that the Baltic itself is rather uncontrolled with relative freedom of movement being allowed between all ports.

  Germany Very little is known of conditions in Germany. A puppet government has been created and appears to be in total control with behind the scenes support of the Red Army and NKGD.

  France The French Communist Party is in full control and is comprise of former resistance fighters. The majorities of the Soviet forces are in well defended bases and rarely venture out in the countryside.

  At the moment there is no organized resistance to the puppet French communist government.

  The Low Countries All countries are tightly controlled by the NKGD and Soviet forces along the coastlines.

  A number of attacks by resistance groups have been violently crushed and retaliations have been rampant.

  Soviet troops and security forces are numerous throughout the area and patrol with regularity.

  Our Intelligence Agents sent into the area have been unsuccessful to say the least with 75% going silent within weeks. Highly place moles are suspected in the collective NATO structures.

  Turkey Turkey has unofficially joined NATO and has allowed 12 large air bases to be developed.

  Their armed forces are in fair condition and are in the process of expanding and strengthening their defensive positions along the Dardanelles and Bosporus on their western front.

  Of
major concern is the lack of depth of these defenses. In addition the Turkish government started major construction on these defensive works in critical areas as late as September 13th.

  The far northeast border is very porous and defended lightly. 10 divisions from their border with Syria being transferred less than a week ago to this front. Total forces reported on the border are 17 divisions.

  Supplies to Turkey have been hampered by a large increase in submarine activity in the area of Tobruk and Sicily. A delay of 30 days has been experienced due to the rerouting of a large number of convoys to the Suez Canal. Much of the supplies were destined for Turkey but were diverted to SAC instead.

  The airbases in the Adana area are ready to receive the units of the 15th Air Force. The advanced teams are in position and hard at work finalizing the facilities.

  General LeRoche conducted a 1 month tour of Turkish territory and estimated that if attacked in force, the eastern border would hold for 20 days while the Northeast border with the USSR would be breached in 3 days. He strongly recommended that this border be strengthened immediately with NATO troops if necessary. The Turkish government is expected to respond to his report next week and will hopefully acquiesce to additional NATO troops being deployed in their territory.

  Japan Defense forces continue to be trained

  75% of the forces on mainland China, Korea, Burma, Malaya, Bruni, Dutch East Indies, British East Indies, North Borneo and Guam have been transported back to Japan proper and integrated into the defense forces.

  Manchuria Soviet occupied

  China Full-fledged civil war with fluid and chaotic conditions.

  Numerous Japanese units caught in the fighting after fleeing the Soviet forces in Manchuria.