World War Three 1946 Series Boxed Set: Stalin Strikes First

by Harry Kellogg

  Homes employed a unique method to disguise the Castle’s true function. He would constantly hire new workers and fire them for incompetent work after they had constructed part of his building. By hiring and firing dozens of workers Mr. Holmes made sure that no one had a complete understanding of the Hotel’s unique features and configuration. The Castle was filled with secret rooms, torture chambers, trap doors and a furnace room to dispose of the bodies.

  Sergo used the same technique to build a very special room beneath his office. By using one craftsman after another to work on various parts of his refuge he kept secret its purpose. The only entrance was through the safe in his office. Once the small safe was closed, it was impossible to detect the door leading to his hiding place.

  The only way to discover his safe shelter was to tear down the area surrounding his office. Trying to locate his highly-concealed space would involve shutting down this massive facility on what could only be a hunch. There was no paper trail or physical evidence that the chamber existed.

  Over the years he had acquired enough water and supplies, etc., to last for over a year and a half. With the guards following close behind he entered the factory where his office was located. He caught sight of his henchman Georgie. He signaled to him that the time to instigate their escape plan was at hand. Georgie quickly dispatched the guards, said goodbye to his friend, and left to enter his own hiding place to wait out the storm.

  Sergo entered his office, initiated the complicated procedure needed to enter and then secure the entrance to his haven. He was prepared for the end of the Soviet Union. He remained convinced that all was lost when Stalin rejected his ideas and would listen only to Admiral Kuznetsov.

  He knew Dr. B.F. Skinner would continue to develop countermeasures that would negate Soviet guided missiles. As far as Sergo was concerned this weapon system had been the main reason for the Red Army’s success and now all was lost.

  The Soviets were at least six months behind the Amerikosi in radar development. In those intervening six months, the Soviet Union would be at the mercy to all manner of new weapons being developed by the countries of NATO. His rejected solutions would have given the Red Army the breathing space they needed to catch up and possibly surpass the West in electronic warfare.

  Admiral Kuznetsov was going to squander the millions of electronic components acquired by the former Americans Joel Barr and Alfred Sarant. In his errant quest to develop an alternate guidance system for the Stalin’s Fire SAM, the Admiral would doom the Motherland.[cxliv]

  Sergo had every confidence, that in time, the Soviet system could outperform the capitalist pigs. That time was now lost due to the vagaries of an insane megalomaniac.

  The Alley

  Mario Fiat had once again slipped into the role of an itinerant Kurdish worker. This persona made the American spy almost invisible. He had successfully used this disguise during a previous visit to the area. He was able to move up and down the Turkish Straights almost at will. It was not a fast migration as he could only travel on foot. A poor worker could never afford a taxi or ferry ride. Even a stint on a donkey going to market would be out of character.

  After his last trip to the Bosporus, Fiat had made his way north intending to walk all the way to the entrance of the Black Sea. He was ordered back to perform one final reconnaissance mission of the region. Being on foot was actually an advantage. He could take his time inspecting the state of the Russian defensive works along the Straights.

  He was particularly interested in any possible naval minefields. It appeared that the Soviets had not placed many mines to date. There was a large amount of traffic up and down the Straights between Istanbul and Gallipoli. Much of the supplies being transported were military in nature. The materials were probably destined for units in the Levant.

  He suspected that the Stavka would now turn its attention towards the Caucasus Mountain range. He imagined they would setup a defensive line to cover their remaining large oil fields and production facilities. The Reds would be hanging on for dear life.

  They had no real choice in a matter. Building the line was the only logical strategic move open to the Soviet army at this juncture of the war. Even the Lesser Caucasus Mountain range was a formidable barrier. A defended barrier here would protect Baku by thwarting any NATO attempt to reach further into Soviet territory.

  Such a defensive line here would shorten the Soviet supply lines dramatically and could easily be connected to the Trans-Siberian railway. Reducing the amount of time to receive provisions would provide a huge advantage to the Stavka over NATO. Armies always tended to falter if their supply lines became too long. This fact had proven true for the Germans in their Operation Barbarossa as well as Napoleon, the Japanese and the United States in the Pacific.

  Fiat was a scholar of Sun Tzu and had virtually memorized an untranslated version of The Art of War. The current NATO strategy brought to mind the quote “You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.” [cxlv]

  First Mario had to make sure the coast was clear...literally. He was just outside Sariyer late on the night of 29 May 1947. He was looking for a spot to bed down for the evening. He needed to find an out-of-the way corner that no other beggar or refugee had already claimed. Suddenly he heard a voice he recognized speaking in Russian. His mind reeled at the possibility that he had been discovered. It took every bit of his self-control not to turn around and confront this past tormentor. [cxlvi]

  It was the Russian officer who had bullied him at several checkpoints during his previous mission. The man was drunk and larger than Fiat remembered. He could tell he was not a good drunk and in fact, he would bet his life that he was a violent one as well.

  The big man walked towards him smacking his right fist into his left hand and muttering threats in Russian. He kept going on and on about how some Turk had stolen his camera. Unfortunately for Mario, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The drunk Russian was going to make him pay for someone else’s transgression.

  Under normal circumstances Captain Fiat would simply throw the guy using one of his many jujitsu moves. Since the man was drunk he should be easy to disable and then Mario would be on his way. But, because it was their third encounter, it was likely that the Russian was going to remember the scrawny, helpless workman who kicked his ass. Any altercation would probably mean a general round up and undue attention aimed squarely at him just as he was about to finalize his mission.

  This final piece of surveillance was probably the trickiest and of course the most critical. All of his other work would be compromised if this last bit of spy craft was unsuccessful. He could not accomplish what he needed to do with a Soviet Officer trying to hunt him down.

  All of these thoughts took a few seconds and in those seconds the goon was about to get within arm’s reach. With such proximity would come the first clumsy, yet very powerful, attempt to hit Fiat in the head.

  Mario pretended to stumble at just the right second and ducked the swing. It still caught him a glancing blow and almost stunned him. He had to end this quickly. He rolled past his attacker and shot a glance back at the street to make sure the coast was clear and got a kick in the ribs that knocked the wind out of him and probably cracked one.

  Shit, this guy is faster than he should be for his size, thought Mario as he just missed getting kicked again. Even when he was seeing stars he could anticipate the Red’s next move...and there it was. The oaf raised his foot in an attempt to stomp on Fiat’s head. The Captain spun on his left hip as he was lying there and landed a straight on blow to his tormentor’s knee. Both heard something break.

  He knew a scream was about to erupt from the Russian and his next strike was to the man’s throat, as the now helpless giant, was falling towards him. The end result of that blow was the Red could no longer breathe, much less scream. Mario finished him off with the man’s own knife and made his way into the street to blend in with the crowd.

  In his quest
for a secluded spot to rest he had gone down a blind alley. In this case it turned out to be a dead end as well.

  Zhukov’s Second Life

  He was staring at his left hand. The fingernails were just beginning to grow back. He looked around the large room as memories of the last time he saw Beria flooded his thoughts. He had one of Beria’s chairs brought to his home and it would follow him to his new command post in Sheki at the foot of the Caucasus Mountain range.

  The Stavka had reinstated him with full command authorities. He was to stem the capitalist pig ground invasion coming from the South. It was essential to prevent them from capturing the Baku region and its oil production facilities. The best defensive terrain before the oil fields at Baku were the Lesser Caucasus Range. The mountains offered a number of 8000-foot peaks and numerous smaller mountains as well as the Kura River, and several large lakes and marshes. Also, The Lesser Caucasus Mountain Range was anchored by the Black Sea on the West end and the Caspian Sea on the East end.

  Further impeding attacking army, the Amerikosi atomic bombs had created a no-man’s land around Tbilisi and Baku. No sane NATO commander would place his troops in the nuclear hellhole that had now existed. The Americans would be well aware of the extreme hazards in the area and would avoid exposing their men.

  Political prisoners from all over Eurasia were being shipped into Tbilisi and Baku to repair and expand the oil production facilities. They were dying in large numbers due to radiation poisoning. When they became too weak to work they were shot and dumped in mass graves.

  These detainees all had relatives that were being held hostage in their homelands. Fear for the wellbeing of their families quelled any thought of rebellion. The captives literally worked themselves to death.

  Zhukov was no stranger to using slaves and prisoners for building defensive works. His former German prisoners of war had done an excellent job of erecting the defenses of Leningrad. Ultimately these very fortifications led to the death of many of their own countrymen who attacked the city. It is amazing what humans will do to survive.

  Zhukov was engaged in just such an exercise at the moment. He was working 18-hour days for a man who had ordered his torture and death just weeks before. Zhukov could have easily made his way to the front and surrendered to the Amerikosi. He cared little for his wife, and for his two married daughters who had abandoned him when he was first arrested. He barely knew his youngest child, 10-year old Ella. Instead he remained loyal and stayed to do his duty.

  His defensive line on the Lesser Caucasus Mountains would be strong and deep if the Stavka supported him. If not, he knew that eventually the American Air Force would wear down his air units. He knew that losing air defenses would result in his land troops being attacked relentlessly from the air. His only defense against the American fighter bombers was his own fighter force that was becoming alarmingly slimmer by the day. So far, the Stavka were holding back numerous squadrons for the defense of Moscow. They were fools.

  The supply of oil, the lifeblood of modern warfare, would soon cease to be available. No oil would ground fighter squadrons and Zhukov would be unable to stop the capitalist forces. As a consequence of limited fuel, the planes sitting around Moscow would be useless. The Soviets would be in the same situation as the Germans and Japanese found themselves at the end of the last war. They had enough planes to defend their airspace but no trained pilots and fuel to fly them. The two Axis powers were completely at the mercy of the American bombers.

  Novikov was in concurrence with Zhukov’s assessment of the state of the air war. So far the air battle was a draw and the only way to lose was to run out of fuel. He knew that the US air forces were losing men and planes like he was. The deciding factor would be NATO’s ability to overcome their 10,000-kilometer-long supply line.

  Zhukov was cognizant of the fact that at the end of World War Two, the West was dangerously close to running out of resources, including fuel, when the Soviets captured Berlin and ended the war.

  Between his defensive line and NATO’s long supply line America was facing an almost impossible task. In Zhukov’s estimation shipping enough fuel needed to fight all the way to Moscow and on to the industrial centers beyond the Urals was prohibitive. If the Red Army could save the oil production centers in Baku and reactivate the ones in Tbilisi and Rostov-on-don, the Soviet Union would survive and prosper. If not, it would die.

  Konev’s Forces Surrender

  The word had spread quickly of Konev’s death. For a week, it had been used to inspire the flagging Soviet troops into fighting with even more disregard for life and limb. As the supplies started to disappear, casualties where mounting, and with no possibility of escape, individuals started to surrender in ones and twos and then as whole squads.

  The Red officers and newly minted commissars shot the first deserters when they caught them. This practice soon stopped and only the most ardent and diehard of Konev’s once formidable force remained. They were slowly being crushed between the British and their coalition of forces retaking Palestine and finally the Golan Heights. The newly landed Americans were giving no ground on a line running from Beirut to Baghdad.

  After 8 days of relentless assault the NATO onslaught ceased. An intense psychological warfare program was deployed. For days the remaining trapped and seemingly suicidal Red soldiers were subjected to every method of psychological warfare. The British had honed these techniques through centuries of ruling their worldwide colonial empire. Each diabolical procedure was carefully designed to completely undermine the resolve of their enemies.

  Hundreds of loud speakers were placed along the Southern Front by the British and on the lines outside of Beirut by the Americans. At 0254 all the speakers simultaneously started blaring distorted jazz and forbidden Soviet compositions at the Reds trapped between the two armies. Six hours later dozens of planes dropped 12-page pamphlets containing a cartoon version of George Orwell’s anti-Stalinism book Animal Farm.[cxlvii]

  Every fifteen minutes the sound system would announce a reward of water, food and a warm bed for surrendering Soviet soldiers who possessed one of the pamphlets. All the defectors had to do was walk towards any NATO soldier with the pamphlet and both hands raised above their heads.

  Soon the psychological warfare started to take effect. The first few Soviets attempting to surrender were shot by their officers. As if on cue, the officers were disarmed or prevented from harming the next group who went forward carrying the pamphlets. The numbers were not large by any means. The vast majority of Konev’s former command stayed in place and endured the constant attempts of coercion meted out by the surrounding NATO forces.

  After another week, it was estimated that 5% of the trapped troops were surrendering each day. Their former comrades were put on the loud speakers imploring the remaining troops to surrender as well. The deserters extolled the treatment they were receiving and tried to assure the hardliners that it was not like giving up to the Germans.

  During World War Two Soviet soldiers that surrendered suffered a 60% mortality rate. A “weeding-out” program allowed the best and strongest to live. These prisoners were used for slave labor and literally worked to death. 3.3 million out of 5.7 million never returned home.

  After 21 days, the floodgates seemed to open and thousands of troops a day were surrendering. The last unit surrendering on day 28. These brave souls had endured over a month without food and were on their fourth day without water. Most were carried out by their comrades and were sent directly to hospitals in the area.

  The newspapers and newsreels were churning out copy and film on an hourly basis describing how well the Soviet prisoners were being treated. Reporters and various government officials went out of their way to emphasis that these were our former allies against Hitler and who had been led astray by the equally heinous Stalin.

  The

  “Animal Farm” book and comic book version shot to the bestseller list. The novel was considered mandatory reading throughout the nations that
comprised NATO. An animated cartoon version was within months of completion by the Disney Studios.

  There was a complete news blackout in the territories controlled by the USSR, yet word did reach much of the occupied territories of a major Soviet defeat. The news of this defeat inspired an increase in partisan activities. In turn the newly installed Communist governments began to crack down even harder on dissidents within France, Germany, Scandinavia and the Low countries. Atrocities kept pace with the increase in partisan attacks and the age-old cycle of action and retaliation continued.

  Shepherd’s Watch

  Mihalis was a shepherd on the island of Crete. Most days he just watched his sheep and goats. He was a very successful shepherd and had a large flock. Today he was watching his sheep and, what he was told, were Americans. The Americans were extremely entertaining. They rode in large trucks most of which were towing cannons with some towing trailers. Almost all of the trucks were filled with soldiers. Every so often a long line of tanks would pass by as well.

  He and his flock were high up in the foothills. He could barely hear the noise the convoy was making yet he could see it clearly for he had excellent eyesight. The sheep were startled at first but quickly got use to the noise.

  Mihalis had only seen one tank in his life. It was a wreck from World War One that was in the town square where he grew up. Compared to the old tank these new ones were not very impressive. The tank left over from World War One was much bigger and had much larger guns. In fact, it had multiple guns sticking out from both sides.

  Figure 17 – World War One Italian Fiat 2000 Heavy Tank

  He had no idea what tanks were used for but he guessed that these new ones did the job better than the old one, whatever job that was. He supposed that their task was to scare enemy soldiers into running away. Mihalis knew he would certainly run away if he were to see one of those machines coming at him.