by James Rosone
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During the following three days, the battle lines in Europe and the Middle East changed dramatically. The Russians had secured most of Romania and laid siege to Bucharest. They captured the majority of Hungary, and were preparing to invade the Balkans. The Poles and Germans continued to hold the Russians around Warsaw, forcing a bloody house-to-house fight in the outskirts of the city. General Schoen was proving to be a worthy adversary for General Putin; the suburbs around Warsaw were being heavily destroyed as German and Polish soldiers fought for each house and block of the city. The Russian offensive had ground to a halt for the time being while they continued to advance around the city and try to cut it off.
With Istanbul being a virtual ghost town after the neutron bomb attack, US Forces and 30,000 Greek soldiers quickly secured the city before the Russians or the IR were able to get any serious forces there. Within 24 hours, the Allies were in complete control of Istanbul and began to heavily mine the straights. Dozens of railgun systems were also strategically placed in and around the city and the waterways. Unfortunately for the Americans, while the loss of Istanbul did hurt the Russians, the Reds already controlled several large ports on the Black Sea, so the defeat did not cripple their operations in the Middle East.
After moving in and securing Istanbul, the Greek soldiers began to clear the city of the dead. Every house and street was littered with dead bodies that were well into the decomposition state. The Greeks began to dig mass graves outside the perimeter to bury the dead. The soldiers tried to identify people as best they could. The ones that could be named were being given separate graves; the ones that couldn’t be were lumped into mass grave sites. It was a terrible job, but something that had to be done before disease began to run rampant throughout the city. 45,000 additional Greek soldiers arrived in Istanbul to assist in both establishing new defenses for the city and the clearing of the millions of dead bodies.
Greece also initiated a massive draft, and moved to arm roughly 500,000 men and women. They were going to receive roughly two weeks of basic training--just enough to learn how to shoot, identify rank and engage in basic infantry tactics--before they would be sent to shore up defenses in Turkey and their border with Macedonia and Albania. Serbia also began to arm tens of thousands of their civilians in an effort to defend their border with Hungary and Romania as the Russians continued to advance towards them.
As the Reds continued to move their army group through Syria and Lebanon, they eventually ran into the American Third Army. General Gardner’s troops were tired but they were battle tested and ready when the Russians arrived. Despite being outnumbered, the American Pershing tanks proved their weight in gold. The Reds controlled the high altitude air war, while the Americans controlled the lower altitude fight. This was both a blessing and a curse for the Americans; they were able to provide better ground support than the Russians, but the MiG40 was still able to drop precision bombs from high altitude, hitting critical targets and remaining largely immune to allied air defense systems for the time being. They managed to destroy a number Pershings, turning the ground war into a war of attrition rather than the fast moving mobile tank war Gardner had hoped for.
With the situation being bogged down in the North with the Russians, the Chinese launched their invasion of Southern Israel. Despite the heavy losses the Israelis had sustained, they were holding the line. The Chinese had not fought a serious foreign army thus far, so their troops were simply ill-prepared to fight a determined and battle-tested foreign army like the IDF.
The Israeli and American forces stopped the Chinese just outside of Eilat, keeping them from gaining access to the critical port facilities nearby. The problem faced by both the Russian and Chinese forces was that they simply did not have enough troops to properly exploit any breakthroughs or opportunities. The Chinese started their operation with 250,000 soldiers, while the Russians had 350,000. With the IR not fully committing their entire army to the fight, the Axis powers did not have enough troops to push the Americans out of Israel once General Gardner had been fully reinforced.
The Israelis also had 25,000 Jews from Europe join the IDF militia forces, and close to 200,000 more volunteers had been raised from the US. The Israeli Air Force was working through the logistics of how they were going to move these additional people from the US to Israel where they could be integrated into other Israeli units.
WMD Unleashed
Day Twenty-Eight
26 December 2040
Seoul, South Korea
At 0400 in the early hours of the morning, the ROK Army launched their surprise attack on North Korea. 5,000 artillery pieces and hundreds of rocket launchers began to fire their deadly cargo of Sarin and VX gas all across the North Korean frontlines. They chose to hit the North Koreans with two different types of chemical attacks as each one acts slightly differently than the other; it was hoped that the duel attack would be more effective and harder to defend against. Though the North Koreans were known for their stoic nature, screams of agony echoed across the quiet of the early morning. The ROK Air Force immediately began to engage North Korean radar sites and Surface to Air Missile (SAM) sites, punching holes in their air defense system for the bombers to fly in and drop more chemical and gas bombs. This enabled the ROK bombers to swoop in and deliver a death blow to the second echelon of soldiers; they hit them with thousands of Sarin and VX laden bombs, from the frontlines to as far back as 50 miles.
In the first ten minutes of the attack, the ROK Army had effectively disabled nearly 70% of the enemy artillery crews while the Air Force began to drop cluster bombs and Napalm on the equipment, utterly destroying it. As the North Koreans tried to respond to the opening salvos, they found themselves completely immersed in Sarin and VX gas. The vast majority of soldiers were either unable to don their chemical protective gear, or lacked the gear entirely. Then the ROK Air Force began to pound them from the air, destroying their air defense systems and further depleting their ability to respond to this surprise attack.
At the end of the first hour, the ROK Army began to advance all across the frontlines, encountering little in the way of resistance. What they saw was horrifying; tens of thousands of twisted and disfigured bodies of those who had not been able to secure their chemical protective gear lined the battlefield. What minor conflict the ROK Army encountered was uncoordinated, and lacked sufficient force to stop their advance.
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With the army advancing across the frontlines and deeper into North Korea, the air force immediately began to attack every known and suspected missile site that may house the North’s nuclear missiles. Hundreds of bunker buster bombs and missiles were used against these positions in an attempt to neutralize the North’s only real trump card, their nuclear arsenal.
By 1800 hours, the ROK Army had advanced to Pyongsan, nearly 30 miles inland from the border. Slowly, the North Korean Army was responding to the invasion and tried to mount a defense. However, each time the North would amass their forces, they were immediately attacked by artillery and air force units, which dropped more Sarin gas on their positions. One of the true weaknesses of the North Korean Army is that they did not actively plan or train to fight in a chemical war because they had nuclear weapons. The South had, because the Americans always trained as if it was a certainty that chemical warfare would occur.
Despite the relentless human wave attacks by the North, they could not stop the ROK Army from advancing towards Pyongyang. The South was relentless in their use of chemical weapons, and by the end of the first day of the Second Korean War, the South had utilized the same quantity of chemical weapons that was employed during the first year of World War I. Nearly 300,000 North Korean soldiers were killed by the chemical attacks.
By the third day of the Korean War, the ROK Army was at the outskirts of Pyongyang and showing no signs of stopping. The North Koreans were desperate, and indeed had attempted to launch their nuclear missiles. However, due to the quick thinking of two ROK pilots
in the area, they were able to identify the silos as they were being opened and engaged them. They demolished both silos before the missiles could be launched. After blasting Pyongyang with Sarin for nearly four hours, the ROK Army moved in and secured the capital as the North Korean government fled to China. What tattered elements were left of the North Korean army quickly surrendered.
While the world was appalled with the massive use of chemical weapons by the South Koreans and the sheer loss of life (which, when including civilians had grown to over one million), there was no denying that they had effectively blocked the use of nuclear weapons by the North. Essentially, the Korean War had ended within 96 hours. The South quickly sued for a separate non-aggression pact with China, who agreed, so long as South Korea provided no military assistance or support to the Americans in the Chinese war against the US. After consultation with the Americans, the South Koreans agreed to the Chinese terms. For the first time in nearly 90 years, the Korean Peninsula was once again united.
Southern Negotiation
Day Twenty-Nine
27 December 2040
Brasilia, Brazil
Secretary of State Jim Wise and Secretary of Defense Eric Clarke arrived in Brasilia in a small unmarked private jet for a meeting with the President of Brazil, Michel Rousseff, and his national security staff and senior military leaders. President Stein had spoken with President Rousseff at length about their country joining the war and furthering their economic integration. Eventually, the Brazilian President agreed to meet with Secretaries Wise and Clarke to discuss what role Brazil and the other South American countries might have.
The harsh winter of Washington D.C. had been taking a toll on the aging body of Secretary Wise, so as he stepped out of the plane, the warm weather of South America felt like a sweet kiss upon his face. The armored SUV and escorts arrived right on time to take them to their meeting. After a short thirty-minute drive, they arrived at the President’s home to address the awaiting group.
Brazil had benefited greatly from the Grain Consortium, selling large amounts of food products to Asia prior to the war starting. With those trading partnerships terminated, they were starting to see the ill-effects of this bad news in their first quarter GDP numbers. The United States had stepped in, placing massive manufacturing orders for steel, copper and other manufactured goods that they used to purchase from Asia. This shift would help grow Brazil’s manufacturing base, and with any luck would turn the tide of the country’s economy.
The President of Brazil was waiting for his American guests at the front door when their vehicle arrived. He walked down the path to meet them and with genuine warmth said, “Welcome to Brazil, Misters Secretary.” He extended his hand to shake each of theirs. “Please come with me. We have some food, drinks and other refreshments set up for you in the library. The others are already in there waiting for us.” The President led his visitors through the spacious mansion to the library, which was equally grand. The room had vaulted 18-foot ceilings, with rows of bookshelves and paintings of famous Brazilian artists and other national icons all along the walls.
After everyone exchanged pleasantries and had some appetizers, President Rousseff motioned for everyone to find a seat around the large table that had been brought into the library for their meeting. A technician finished setting up the holographic presenter in the center of the table, and Secretaries Wise and Clarke both uploaded their briefings.
“Gentlemen, I appreciate your traveling to Brasilia to speak with us. I know both of you are incredibly busy men. Please, if you can begin, tell us what it is President Stein and America is requesting from Brazil,” said the President graciously.
“Mr. President, Ministers and Generals. We appreciate your willingness to speak with us and thank you for all that Brazil has done to help the United States in perhaps our greatest hour of need. As President Stein has conveyed to you, we are in need of assistance once again, and we are turning to you as an ally and friend.” Secretary Wise gauged the room for their initial reactions to his statement, trying to identify those who may pose as potential obstacles.
“As you know, last week the Islamic Republic detonated two nuclear bombs on American soil. While you have likely seen the footage of the devastation on the news, there is still information about the extent of the damage that we have not shared with the American public. We will be explaining the following in a press conference this evening, but we have determined that the structural damage to most of the skyscrapers, harbor, bridges, and surrounding boroughs (both in New York City and in Baltimore), is completely beyond repair. For safety, the remnants of any structures will need to be torn down and bull dozed. There is no salvaging what was left.”
As the videos showed the extent of the structural and human losses, Jim could see on their faces the shock and horror of the damage that they were witnessing.
“The casualty numbers right now stand at close to four million dead, with nearly eight million more injured and homeless. As you can see, the damage is nearly catastrophic. The cities of New York and Baltimore will have to be abandoned and sealed off until the radiation can be cleaned up and cleared. This may take close to a decade or more to complete.”
President Rousseff interjected, “America has our deepest condolences on the loss of life. This truly was a barbaric attack against a civilian target. What can Brazil do to help America?”
Jim cleared his throat before continuing. “America cannot fight this war on our own any longer. As you know, Russia just declared war on the Allies the other day, and has begun a massive invasion of Europe. The Chinese continue to conquer one country after another in Asia, and right now there is little that can stop them. We are asking that Brazil, along with the other South American countries, join the European Union, Great Britain, Israel, Australia, Canada and others in this war against tyranny.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs jumped into the conversation. “Brazil is already producing massive amounts of munitions, weapons and other materials that America and the Allies need for the war. What more can Brazil offer America that we have not already given?”
The Minister of Defense interjected, “Troops, the Secretaries of Defense and State are here to ask Brazil to start to participate militarily, am I right?”
Eric Clarke, the SecDef, answered, “Yes, that is what we are here to ask. We need soldiers, sailors and airman to help us defeat the Axis powers.”
President Rousseff nodded slowly and then surveyed his advisors and ministers before saying, “Secretary Clarke, while we certainly wish to assist you, Brazil does not have a large military right now. We also do not have the support structure to manage a large military right now. We could provide armed support, but it would be limited.”
“We recognize this, and we have a proposal we would like to make. First, we would like to request what forces you do have available be immediately sent to support NATO in Europe. Second, we would like to request that Brazil begin an immediate mobilization within your country for war--”
Before Secretary Clarke could finish his sentence, several ministers began to grumble, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs interrupted, “—Sir, the Axis powers are not directly threatening Brazil or South America. If we start a countrywide mobilization, they may perceive us as a direct military threat. Brazil does not live under the anti-ballistic laser missile defense bubble that America and Europe have.”
Eric tried to regain control of the meeting before he lost it completely. “We recognize that. We would immediately begin construction of over two dozen fixed site missile defense systems in South America, and would augment it with numerous mobile laser defense systems and a series of railgun defensive systems. America would extend our same missile defense technology to Brazil and South America.”
The President signaled for everyone to quiet down and let him speak. “Assuming we went along with this plan--exactly how many soldiers are you requesting of Brazil?”
“Mr. President, America is asking for an e
xpeditionary force of 600,000 soldiers,” the SecDef said.
For a moment, the room was completely silent. Then, suddenly, it burst into loud conversation among the various minister and advisors, with the President trying to gain control of the room. After nearly ten minutes of a heated discussion, Secretary Clarke and Wise signaled that they would like to address the group again. “Gentlemen, we realize this is a large commitment, and that this represents a lot of young men and women we are asking your nation to place in harm’s way. This war is a turning point in history; the Axis powers have a military force of over twenty million soldiers. If we do not ban together now, then it may be too late to stop them. If the Allies in Europe and America are defeated, there will be no one to help South America when the Chinese and Russians come for you. We must unite now, before it is too late.”
“We understand the threat; this is just a lot you are asking of us. I do not believe we have the ability to train and support such a large force,” said the President, looking to his military advisors for support. They nodded in agreement.
“We have thought about that as well, and President Stein has some ideas on how to address that. The US would send you 7,500 military trainers and advisors to help establish five new military training bases here in Brazil. Each new training base would have 1,500 military advisors who would train this expeditionary force. We propose that the training for these soldiers would last ten weeks and be focused on training specific military professions. One base would be dedicated to training men and women who will be filtered into various military support functions. Upon completion of their basic training, they would be sent to the US to attend their specific military support duties (e.g. medical, supply, administration etc.). Three of the training bases would focus on training combat arms career fields. The fifth training base would be designated for officer and senior NCO training. They would attend the same combat training everyone else receives. However, their final three weeks would be geared towards leadership and command training.” While SecDef Clarke spoke, he was showing them via holograph the various types of training facilities that they had envisioned.
