After some further discussion, General Grigory Sobolev took a deep breath, then depressed the mute button to return to the conversation. “Mr. President,” he began, “if Russia is to fully denuclearize, then I need a security guarantee from the United States that if Russia is attacked by an outside power, the United States would be militarily obligated to come to our aid. I would like that guarantee to be in writing for up to twenty-five years, along with a $100 billion economic aid and reconstruction package for our nation. You are, after all, essentially buying our entire stock of nuclear weapons, which I might add is still quite vast.”
The others in the room with Sobolev nodded in approval of his approach.
The Americans had clearly decided to utilize the mute button themselves, because a few moments of silence passed. Then, after a pause, President Foss came back on the line. “General Sobolev, I’ve spoken with my military advisors about your proposition. In principle, we agree with the security guarantee. However, I’m not willing to give Russia a $100 billion economic aid package. Our nation has suffered horrifically from this war, including the major cities on our West Coast that were completely obliterated. Millions of my people have been killed or displaced by the war. We can agree to give you $25 billion in hard currency to aid in your reconstruction. Is this acceptable for the complete denuclearization?”
General Sobolev looked at the men around the table. They all nodded in agreement, elated that they had been able to elicit even $25 billion in aid and a 25-year defense agreement. These two things would allow the country to focus heavily on rebuilding before they had to think about defense again.
“Yes, this will be a win for the people of Russia,” thought Sobolev. He hated to think about how much his own people had already suffered during the war.
“Mr. President, I can agree to those terms, and speaking for my nation, I thank you for allowing us to end this war on mutually agreed-upon terms that respect both of our nations.” He paused for a moment. “Let’s move on to the occupation and when that will begin. If I may, I would like to suggest a three-day cooling period before your forces move to occupy our cities. I would like to order my armies to return to their garrisons, where they will wait to be greeted by your forces. They can then work out the best way to manage the occupation,” Sobolev proposed.
“General, these are agreeable terms,” President Foss answered. “I will leave you with my generals and advisors to go over further details. I must excuse myself to consult with the rest of the Alliance and inform General Cotton to cease hostilities with your forces. I look forward to talking with you again soon.”
The military leaders talked for a while longer, going over more details of the occupation. They agreed that a contingent group of Allied officers would fly to Moscow immediately to begin work on coordinating a full ceasefire across the country. It was time to end the war and stop the killing as quickly as possible. With millions of soldiers on both sides still locked in battle, it was critical that things start to deescalate.
Victory over Russia
Command Sergeant Major Luke Childers couldn’t believe the war was finally over. He gazed across the Bolshaya Nevka River at the Petrogradsky District of the city they hadn’t captured yet. The bridges across the river lay in ruins, destroyed by the Russian Army as they continued to fall back. The river had finally iced over sufficiently that they could now cross it on foot, but the order never came to seize this last bastion of Russian resistance.
Two hours earlier, a message had been sent from headquarters letting them know that the war was officially over; the Russians had surrendered. When the news was disseminated to the rest of the Corps, the men broke out into spontaneous celebration. Many of them were elated that they had survived — yet the danger was not completely over. The Russians who were less than a few hundred meters away needed to be made aware of the surrender, and hopefully they would go along with it.
A brigadier general from the V Corps had assembled a small cadre of officers and senior NCOs near the edge of the Russian lines to head out to meet their Russian counterparts. Sergeant Major Childers joined the group as they raised a large white flag and approached the enemy. Several tense moments passed.
Finally, a small group of soldiers came to meet with the American contingent, who made their request to speak with the senior Russian commander. It took nearly half an hour for the Russian general to be tracked down and travel to meet them. When the group did finally gather together in the same room, the US delegation informed the Russian general of the formal surrender by Moscow.
At first, the Russian commander didn’t believe the news. However, then he learned of the coup and read the transcript of the surrender between Lieutenant General Sobolev and President Foss. He sat down on a nearby chair, dejected at first, and then he couldn’t help but cry for a moment.
As Childers watched this man fall apart before him, his own eyes got a bit misty. He understood the crazy mix of emotions the commander must be going through. His soldiers had fought and bled for their country for more than two years, ultimately losing. However, they had survived, and he must also be filled with relief that the war was officially over.
When he had had a moment to recover, the Russian general announced, “I will inform my soldiers at once and order them all to surrender their weapons to you and the other Allies.”
The rest of the day went by relatively smoothly as unit after unit of Russian soldiers lined up in the streets to discard their weapons. One by one, they slowly grouped off into unarmed formations, where they waited for the Allied troops to enter their sections of the city and take possession of them. No one offered any resistance. Many of these soldiers were tired and underfed and just wanted to return home to their families.
Two days after the surrender, Sergeant Major Childers was walking through the Peter and Paul Fortress in the heart of the city as his regiment moved in to assume control of this critically important fortress. Judging by the fortifications he’d seen up to this point, the Russians had intended on turning this into a bloody contest if the Allies had wanted to seize it.
As he meandered through the cathedral and the museum, Childers was very happy they hadn’t leveled it. It was a beautiful gem in the city. He was glad the residents would still have this piece of history to hold on to as they looked to rebuild their nation.
When Childers walked into the main building, he spotted a gaggle of officers, soldiers and NCOs going through the various rooms. At first, he didn’t think much of it and figured they were touring and securing at the same time, just as he was doing, but then he witnessed some of them snatching up items they’d found around them — probably to take home as mementos.
He remembered what had happened in Iraq when Baghdad had fallen, and how the country’s national treasures had been pillaged by the looters at an astonishing rate. He knew he had to get this situation under control immediately. Right now, two companies in his battalion were already present at the fortress, but by evening, the rest of the battalion and eventually the regiment would be there.
He quickly turned around and walked right back through the main entrance of the building before anyone else could enter. Swiftly, he unslung his rifle. He yelled at the soldiers near the entrance, “Stand back!”
Childers switched his selector switch to semiauto and proceeded to fire off several rounds, which obviously immediately gathered the attention of everyone around him. Those inside would have heard the shots, too.