They passed the crossroads and continued on with the Germans in hot but ragged pursuit. When the Germans were within two hundred yards of the road, the remainder of Patton’s force from the 7th Cavalry, three hundred strong, opened fire from their concealed positions.
The Germans panicked. Men and horses fell, tumbling over each other and creating ghastly mixed piles of human and horse flesh. God damn, Patton exulted. Didn’t the Germans give a stinking crap about the possibility of an ambush, or were they so confident and arrogant they didn’t care? He only wished he had a larger force, then he’d really kick some German ass. Too damn bad that the 7th Cavalry was scattered all over the place, same as all the other American units.
The Germans were withdrawing in great haste. Patton and his men mounted up and moved out cautiously. “We gonna chase them, Major?” asked a young private, his face flushed with excitement.
Patton laughed. The boy was a fighter. Good. The Army needed fighters. Too many men had gotten soft thanks to undemanding garrison duty. “Not this time. They’re headed to their main force and ain’t no way we can take them all on. Maybe next time.”
They counted the German casualties. Thirty-one dead and another sixteen wounded had been left behind. Two Americans had been slightly wounded. Not a bad day’s work, Patton thought.
A shriek from above shocked them. A German biplane was diving on them, its machine guns firing at all the foolish Americans the pilot had caught out in the open.
Now it was the turn of Patton and the rest of the Americans to panic. Bullets tore through flesh. Men and horses screamed in pain and fear. They scattered, instinctively trying to give the German pilot little to shoot at. They scattered like three hundred rabbits running in every direction. Patton drew his new 1911 Colt Automatic and fired at the plane. The .45 caliber pistol kicked like a mule but Patton’s fury overcame it. He hit nothing.
The German made pass after pass, shredding Patton’s command. Finally, the German flew away. Out of ammunition or low on fuel, or maybe just bored and out of targets. Patton didn’t care, just so long as it left. For whatever it was worth, he’d identified it as a Fokker VII, normally a high-altitude fighter.
Patton was lucky to be alive, shaken but alive. Planes like the German fighter usually did not fly alone, but this one had. Had there been others, the American force would all now be dead. He gathered his men. He’d suffered twenty-four dead and forty seriously enough wounded to be out of action. One of the dead was the boy who wanted to chase the Germans. What a fucking waste, he thought. The boy was a fighter, damn it.
Ironically, three captured German wounded had been killed by their own plane. Tough shit, Patton thought angrily. At least he still had some prisoners to be grilled. He doubted they could do anything but tell the obvious—Germany had invaded California.
Patton’s victory was now ashes. General Connor had ordered him to avoid fighting and only gather intelligence. Connor was going to rip his ass and, deep down, Patton knew he deserved it.
Count Johan von Bernsdorff had been Imperial Germany’s ambassador to the United States for a number of years. Ordinarily, he was a genial man who seemed to attract attention and didn’t care whether or not he scandalized what he considered the sometimes puritanical people of the United States. He was frequently found in the company of women of ill repute and even more frequently overindulged in alcohol. Photos of him with prostitutes had even appeared in newspapers. When the 1914 war had broken out, the British had sought to discredit him by publicizing his personal life, but Bernsdorff had confounded them all. He simply didn’t care and neither did his masters in Berlin.
He was ushered into the Oval Office where the new President of the United States awaited him. He sighed. He’d dealt with Robert Lansing on matters of state in the past and this was not going to be a pleasant meeting.
Lansing directed him to a chair. It wasn’t very comfortable. Bernsdorff was mildly surprised that they were alone. There was not even anyone to take notes. Interesting, he thought. Conversations between two people can always be denied, however frank and candid they might be. Well, he could play that game as well.
Lansing began. “Let me blunt, Count. Before your despicable and dastardly attack on our helpless ships in San Francisco, I was willing to negotiate and publish a fiction that the invasion of California was nothing more than a misguided raid against Mexican rebels. However, your attack on our ships makes it abundantly clear that Germany wants war. Tell me, sir, is all-out war with the United States what Germany desires?”
Bernsdorff felt himself starting to perspire. A shame he had drunk so much champagne the night before, but he didn’t think he’d be permitted to stay in the United States very much longer and wished to enjoy what time was left. One particular prostitute had been particularly creative. A shame he would never see her again.
He took a deep breath. It was time to enlighten President Lansing as to how the world now worked. “With regrets, President Lansing, immediate peace will not occur until you make it happen by acquiescing to our needs. Our goals and those of our ally, Mexico, are far more extensive than simple raids.”
Lansing shoved a piece of paper across his desk. Bernsdorff took it and read it quickly. Lansing glared at him. “Then this, Count, is correct? Assuming it is, your foreign minister, Zimmerman, has countenanced the invasion of my country and the severing of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas from the United States.”
Bernsdorff didn’t bother to look at it. “It is entirely correct. However, it is up to you whether or not you wish to minimize the damage to the rest of your country. To use your words, you are the one with the power to contain the potential tragedy, not Imperial Germany.”
Lansing was taken aback. “What do you mean?”
“Simply put, sir, Germany is the mightiest nation in the world, stronger than any alliance that can be put against her. Take a look at a world map and what do you see? As a result of the 1914 war and the subsequent treaty brokered by your pathetic predecessor, Woodrow Wilson, the nations of Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg are now essentially part of the Second Reich, and Germany now controls the channel ports of Cherbourg and Dunkirk. France has been required to discharge the bulk of her army and decommission most of her navy. Without France as an ally, England is helpless to impose her will on anyone. France is a helpless shell and England is impotent on land. Germany now has bases in Mexico, and in what used to be Indo-China. And Ireland, of course, is allied with us since we forced England to grant her full independence.
“Because it serves our interests, we permit Denmark, Switzerland, the Scandinavian countries and a handful of others to pretend they are neutral and independent. Our allies also include the inept but gigantic Austro-Hungarian Empire, the sick but cruel Ottomans, and the chaotic and farcical creation called Italy. Germany and Austria are propping up the Romanovs against revolutionary threats, which means that Russia is now beholden to Germany as well. Your United States is the only remaining power that could possibly pose a threat to future German ambitions and you are now being cut down to size. The Kaiser is getting older and wishes to pass on to his son and to the people of Germany an empire like none the world has ever seen. I would suggest you face reality, Mr. President. Pax Germanica is the order of the day, and your nation will never be more than a second-rate power.”
As Lansing recoiled from Bernsdorff’s words, the German smiled tightly and leaned forward. “Now it is my turn to be even more blunt. In conjunction with Mexican forces, we are seeing to it that property stolen from Mexico is returned to her. That stolen property is, of course, what you refer to as the states of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, which the United States ripped from Mexico about sixty years ago. California will become part of Germany. If you allow this absolutely just action by us and Mexico to occur, the remainder of the United States will be left alone. If you resist, your nation will incur the full wrath of the Kaiser’s Reich.”