It was apparent to most in the Soviet ruling elite that Stalin’s irrational behavior was continuing to escalate as the Third World War progressed. His senseless actions never concerned Sergo as his brain was not wired to consider such issues.
Now, it might be his time to face the ultimate fate that millions had suffered under Stalinism. Only the increasingly damaged synapses of the brain of one Joseph Stalin would decide his fate. Sergo could be one mini stroke away from torture and death.
He was finally escorted into Stalin’s inner sanctum and was confronted immediately by the imposing personage of Admiral of the Fleet for the Soviet Union, Nikolay Kuznetsov. The Admiral was walking towards him screaming at the top of his lungs. Sergo could just make out some kind of question about why “his” missiles were failing to decimate the Yankee fleets.
The illogic of the situation took him aback for a few minutes then finally he recognized the political and survival techniques at play. Next, he understood that Kuznetsov was scared beyond reason. Scared, to the edge of insanity, by the small figure in the shadows of the office who had not spoken as of yet. The Admiral was desperately trying to cast blame away from himself and on to Sergo.
It seemed the Admiral had launched his modified Stalin’s Fire Missiles at the Yankee navy and they had only a marginal effect. He had launched over 200 and only 2 had struck a ship. The Admiral was going on and on about how all his tests had demonstrated that a reasonable hit rate was over 20 percent. Yet in combat conditions he was getting only one percent.
Kuznetsov alleged that the dismal hit rate had to be the fault of Sergo’s guidance system. Sergo thought, Logically the Admiral was probably correct. I have to quiet him down enough to collect the data needed to make the proper adjustments. The man was clearly scared into irrationality and this was just unacceptable. I have to do something to halt this harangue and make some actual progress in solving the puzzle.
Sergo finally spoke and address Stalin, not the Admiral.
“Your Excellency, please make this man stop shouting. I suggest that you assure him that if he cooperates and gives me the facts that I need, he will not be harmed.”
The little figure finally stirred and started to move out of the shadows. A calm, yet very menacing voice, addressed the nearly comatose Admiral.
“Kuznetsov, call in your aide. He has the facts and observations that Sergo requires.”
Kuznetsov starts to stammer.
“Comrade Stalin I assure you that I have all the knowledge needed to….”
The now visible personage of Stalin leans just a little closer to the Admiral. In that instant the Admiral understands what he must do and rushes out to find his second in command. No one else moves or says a word. The world’s most powerful lunatic and the chief architect of his success, stand in silence.
The Admiral hurries into the room practically dragging a junior officer and starts to stammer again. Just a glance from Stalin shuts down the beginnings of the tirade that was sure to follow. Sergo does not wait for permission and begins to question the Admiral’s aide. He covers all manner of subjects. He is particularly interested in the anecdotal evidence collected to date on the missiles’ performance.
The junior officer is surprisingly collected and lays out a rather clear picture of what has been reported. A daring pilot had gone over one of the American convoys in a MiG 9 Soviet jet fighter. The pilot did not encounter US jets and easily outran the propeller driven Corsairs sent to intercept him.
He observed a volley of missiles flying over the convoy. They appeared to ignore the Amerikosi ships below. They flew directly above a number of large transports and continued on. The MiG pilot did observe two hits. A smaller vessel was struck amid ships and sank in a manner of minutes. A second missile slammed into a freighter passing right through the whole ship without exploding. The device detonated only after it exited the other side of the ship.
The Admiral started to accuse Sergo of all sorts of various incompetence’s and errors in designing the Stalin's Fire Missile. Sergo weathered the repeated attacks until Stalin cleared his throat and Kuznetsov realized that his accusations bordered on absurdity. Sergo ignored the Admiral and continued to question the junior officer.
After about five minutes of seemingly random questions, Sergo's calm manner and queries stopped when the aid mentioned that a number of Soviet pilots had reported very odd paint schemes on most Amerikosi ships. They were painted in very peculiar geometric patterns that were very easy to see from a distance. Sergo asked if any of the Babushka mini-subs or ground forces had mentioned this odd paint scheme. The Admiral appeared to jump out of his skin answering in the affirmative. He was attempting to show Stalin about how knowledgeable he was on the subject.
Sergo ignored the outburst and asked if either of the naval officers had seen a photo or drawing that he could recount or even recreate for the group. The junior officer asked Stalin's aide to bring him a piece of paper. He began to sketch a recollection of several photos taken by a mini-sub.
Sergo studied the drawing intently. He seemed lost in thought. Finally the Admiral could not contain himself and started to bluster once again.
Sergo raised his hand and to the surprise of even the Admiral, Kuznetsov stopped talking.
Sergo immediately began to explain his theory and seemed excited to have an audience as he worked on this latest mystery.
“This pattern could have an effect on the pigeon’s ability to discern the targets properly. I believe I’ve seen an image like this before. If my memory is correct a British artist devised this paint scheme to fool the German submarines in World War One. The designed made it extremely hard for submarine commanders to judge the distance to target and accurately aim their torpedoes.
In addition the camouflage made it difficult for naval gunners to target enemy ships with the proper range. The advent of radar made the paint scheme irrelevant for the most part. It is just possible that it has been resurrected for the purpose of fooling our guidance system.
I am led to the conclusion that the Amerikosi have discovered our secret. This is a very disturbing development.”
Stalin moves closer and speaks.
“Surely you have thought of this eventuality, Sergo Peshkova, and have developed a number of alternate solutions? Within 24 hours you will present the Stavka with an effective strategy that will be implemented immediately. Have I made my self-clear Sergo Peshkova?”
***
At this point, dear reader, the spaced time continuum will once again split. One path will lead to a possible dire end for Sergo Peshkova and all that it entails for the future of the Soviet Union. Another path will once again save his life. This book follows the former path. The next in the series of World War Three 1946 - Book Five – The Red Star – Stalin’s Ace In the Hole ) will be another look into and alternate history and what might have been.
What if for the second time, the Navy rejects[HK1] Dr. B.F. Skinners theories? Can you imagine a world where Stalin has the ultimate naval weapons system? What could that system do to the convoys that are Britain’s lifeline and providing America with the raw materials it needs to wage modern war?
***
Chapter Three: The Levant
Figure 9 - Beirut, Lebanon, 1946
Utterly Ignored
Soviet Occupied Jordan
15 May 1947
He finally woke up. A man had kicked him in the head. He immediately crawled over to the person he loved and needed most in this world. He was shouting and crying. He was so upset he almost passed out from yelling so hard. Nothing he did seemed to make the slightest difference. In his haste to make himself understood, he forgot how to walk and continued crawling over to the familiar form on the floor. She was usually standing and watching him as he performed and tried to tell her what was wrong. Today she had been lying there since he last ate. He was very hungry.
He had tried his usual tricks and techniques to get her to respond but nothing worked. No one else in th
e house seemed to be paying attention to him as well. They were all lying about except for Poppa. He was apparently sleeping in his favorite chair but once again nothing he could do would wake him up.
His butt felt terrible and burned. That was one of the reasons he usually tried to get Momma’s attention along with being hungry, in pain or just plain bored. Now he needed all three and nobody seemed to care. He tried a new word or two but even that brought no response.
Earlier, he crawled right up to Momma and said “I’m hungry” but she said nothing. She didn’t even move a muscle. It was as if she hadn’t heard him uttering his first sentence. He would have thought that this would have brought a huge response from someone…but again nothing from anyone.
He had started to climb the forbidden stairs, which usually brought everyone running to stop him. He shouted to let people know he was doing a no-no. Not one person came rushing over to grab him. The fact that the small gate was open at the bottom of the stairs bothered him. Most changes in the household routine flustered him.
Now everything had changed and he was very upset. To make matters worse he could not stand any more. He had fallen down the stairs after climbing them and could only drag his legs behind him. They didn’t seem to work anymore. He felt no pain…they just didn’t work.
The bad men had come and made loud noises scaring Momma and pointing their sticks that shot flame. Then the man kicked him. When he woke up everyone was very quiet and he was hungry. He kept throwing up anything he found to eat for the longest time. Finally that had gone away and he could even see straight again. Everything was kind of fuzzy before that.
After all this trauma he felt tired and weak. He barely had the energy to moan or whimper anymore. He dragged himself over to Momma and put his head on her arm and tried to sleep.
Everyone smelled and there were big mice eating something off of Poppa. Everyone had pooped and peed themselves and there were flies everywhere.
He got excited when Momma seemed to move but it was something under her skin wiggling around. He played with it for a while but it escaped further into her body. He thought it was one of those white worms he had been seeing.
The only reason he was still alive was a broken pipe leaking water in the kitchen and a tin of crackers that had been ripped apart and spread around the floor.
He was too weak to cry anymore. He had no idea what was wrong. What troubled him the most was that Momma seemed not to care even when he screamed, cried and pulled on her hair.
He did not comprehend war or violence. Before today his life had been the bliss of his mother’s arms. World War Three changed all that.
Eventually he fell asleep. He slept like a baby, the sleep of innocence. He never woke up.
Zhukov Gambles
The Marshal had just started to issue orders calling off the attack on the Suez Canal when his second in command, Vasily, placed him under arrest. He had just gotten off the phone explaining his reasoning to the Stavka about a possible attack on his supply lines by the Amerikosi. They had not expressly forbidden him from taking defensive actions. However they insisted that he attack as planned. He had chosen to ignore that last order.
Vasily Sokolovsky must have been listening in on the conversation and reported to the Stavka the minute he started to call off the attack. Vasily had tears in his eyes as he ordered his arrest. Zhukov immediately and publicly forgave his friend. Unlike Zhukov, Sokolovsky was just doing as ordered.
The Marshal was stoic as he was led in handcuffs out of his headquarters and driven to the airfield to be placed on a transport. Protests would not alleviate his current predicament. The plane had just landed and Konev was just getting off. They exchanged looks and he thought he saw a hint of compassion and even admiration in Alexander’s steady gaze.
A forbidden bit of text from Shakespeare kept running through his thoughts “My pride fell with my fortunes.” He could be denounced for reading Shakespeare as well as disobeying orders.
He remained convinced that he made the correct assessment of the situation. He could see in Konev’s gaze that Alexander also understood the danger lurking off shore. He had never thought before of using Konev’s first name. Yet here he was seeing him for possibly the last time and thinking of him in the familiar.
Ironically only the Amerikosi could exonerate him by attacking as he predicted. If he were strapped to Beria’s chair, he would both dread and welcome an American invasion. Such an attack would mean a massive defeat for his former command. Yet, if his precautions proved correct he might be saved.
Before he was escorted out of the headquarters he had overheard Vasily countermanding his last set of orders. If the Amerikosi attacked, nothing could help Alexander Konev and the Soviet Levant Front. An immense defeat was sure to follow.
The Barrage
The ferocity of the barrage came as no surprise to the NATO units on the banks of the Suez Canal. However, it was the duration that shook then to their core. The terrain in the Pyrenees Mountains had made massive concentrations of guns extremely hard for the Soviets to engineer. Consequently, even veterans of the Pyrenees Line had never seen such a show of pure, raw power.
Here on the flat, hard sands of the Sinai the Soviets were able to do what they do best. And, that is gathering heavy artillery and rocket batteries and aiming them at their enemies.
Not since World War One had the British and Americans experienced the devastation that hours of shelling from thousands of heavy artillery guns can create. The Germans experienced this type of concentrated fire power many times on the Eastern Front in World War Two. The current generation of NATO soldiers were experiencing it for the first time.
Within 12 hours of the attack commencing, a bridgehead had been established over the Suez Canal by a Soviet regimental sized unit. The Reds were withstanding all counter attacks by the British 8th Army. The British forces were fighting as if their country’s future depended upon the outcome. As far as the Tommies knew this would be the deciding battle of World War Three. They were desperate in their attempts to throw the Reds back across the canal.
The Soviet forces in the bridgehead felt the same. In their minds, this was going to be the battle that would end the war. Once they reached Cairo they would be victorious and could finally go home. But first the Suez Canal had to be crossed and then held.
Many a soldier had been unable to aim or shoot his gun with any effectiveness due to sheer enervation and trauma. The fighting was reduced to hand to hand combat on the Western shores of the canal. The Soviet troops were exhausted by crossing the 300-meter-wide canal. They were met by British soldiers shell shocked from 152 mm projectiles detonating in near proximity to their bodies.
Konev was true to his word and threw his forces into the battle in ever increasing numbers. He was behaving a crazed loader blindly feeding bullets into a wrecked machine gun. Bullets were hitting dirt and air while the men were being wasted. Eventually the sheer mass of Soviet attackers began to overwhelm the severely stretched British lines.
The hours long Soviet barrage had torn gaps in the British communications network. An isolated sector was unable to communicate its dire predicament. For the first time in his long military career Montgomery was totally unaware of the danger his forces were facing.
The much-needed reinforcements were not sent and units of the 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division poured across the Suez Canal stepping on the dead bodies of the overwhelmed reconstituted British 7th Motor Brigade. The Second Battalion also known as the Sherwood Foresters took the brunt of the casualties. The Sherwood Foresters took three times their number of Soviets to their graves, but in the end, it was not enough.
After the Soviet forces crossed the canal they quickly organize their defenses before Montgomery knew the true situation. By the time he was able to send the proper reinforcements it was too late and the Soviets had secured the bridgehead.
Monty was preparing to pull back to a second line of defense when word reached him of the lan
dings in Lebanon. He was relieved to hear that the enemy supply lines were cut but upset that he had not been informed of the operation planned by the Americans.
The backbones of the British troops significantly stiffened once they learned of the American invasion of Beirut. Almost immediately the psychological warfare units of Montgomery’s command started broadcasting propaganda to the Soviet troops designed to inform them of their dire situation. For the first few days the broadcasts seem to be ignored and the Reds continued to advance. The reality of the situation started to sink in when the fuel and bullets ran out. Finally, the Soviet troops resolve started to erode.
If the Americans had not invaded Lebanon the Soviets would have been in Cairo in a matter of weeks. Zhukov’s prediction was ultimately realized. The fortunes of war had decided on another ending for Konev’s Levant Front. It would not be his destiny to march triumphantly into Cairo.
NATO Dodges a Bullet
Communications Room
Mediterranean Theater Command
18 May 1947
“Jones, get over here quick. Take this message to Headquarters and insist that it can only be delivered to Ike or George Marshall himself. I heard that Marshall is visiting the front.”
Private Jones answers “Yes sir.” and leaves the room.
Major Craig Yost leans over and pokes the other communications officer in the room, Lieutenant Bill Henderson.
Yost comments, “I like that Jones never asks questions.”
The Lieutenant answers then remarks that “He doesn’t have to. He knows everything that comes out of the teletype just by listening to the sounds of the keys.”
“No shit.”
“No shit. It’s amazing to watch. He demonstrated for me. He can recognize the vowels and a few of the major consonants when the keys hit the paper and our Model 15 teletype is not very fast.”
World War Three 1946 Series Boxed Set: Stalin Strikes First Page 114
