Crawford grabbed Logan’s shoulder and pointed. “See the roads, Lieutenant? They have to use the roads to get to us because the ground is so boggy. Big-ass tanks like those will get stuck otherwise. There’s lots of wooded areas down here, and I’ll bet if we chopped down a big bunch of trees near Potsdam we could slow them down a lot, maybe even get them to go where we want them to.”
Logan’s estimate of Crawford went up yet another notch. If the bombers couldn’t take out the tanks before they moved up, then artillery from Potsdam could straddle the roads as they got close. Regardless, it was imperative that General Miller get confirmation of Crawford’s discovery. They could notify the air force and begin zeroing in on the roads that led to Potsdam.
“Maybe we could mine the roads,” Logan said, and Crawford chuckled.
A woman’s scream pierced the night. She screamed again, groaned in agony, and whimpered. The raucous sound of men laughing followed.
“What the hell is that?” Logan asked.
“Some fucking Russian general. I think his name is Rednuts. He gets German women and that’s what happens. Heard it before. Kind of wonder what’s going on, but maybe I really don’t want to know.”
Jack agreed. It was time to get back inside the wire and report.
• • •
Harry Truman stared at the microphone on his desk and took a deep breath. He envied the late FDR’s calming voice and mellow tones. He knew he sounded tinny and had a tendency to speak too quickly and clip his words. Comedians and mimics were already having a field day with him. So be it. Sometimes their efforts were actually funny, although on some occasions it was merely spiteful. He thought it would be nice to punch one of the sons of bitches in the snoot.
The hell with them. He was president and they weren’t. The sound engineer signaled. He was on.
“Fellow Americans. I am taking these few moments to speak to you about the way the war with the Soviet Union is progressing. As you are aware, our boys are fighting bravely and well as they withdraw to more defensible positions. Despite the fact that we continue to withdraw, we are gradually winning this conflict and will continue fighting until final victory is ours.
“However, that is not the purpose of this address. Some of America’s enemies are planting the lie that we have signed a separate peace with Nazi Germany. This is absolutely false. There has been no treaty or understanding with the Nazis.
“Let me tell you what has actually happened. Before the savage and unprovoked attack on our boys by the Soviet Union, Germany was already fighting Russia and that has not changed. Germany continues to fight Russia, so, to that extent, she is on our side. Please recall the old saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Well, Germany’s enemy is now our enemy as well.
“During the past couple of months, we have taken possession of many excellent pieces of German equipment, including planes, tanks, and antitank weapons. We are using and will continue to use those captured weapons against the Russians. It just makes good sense and will save American lives. It also makes good sense to use captured German personnel to train American soldiers in their use. And, if that means German military personnel sometimes wind up fighting alongside Americans in a highly fluid military environment, then so be it. Our job and my duty is to end this war quickly and decisively. It would be sheer lunacy to be choosy when American lives are at stake.
“Please be assured that no SS, Gestapo, or suspected war criminals will be allowed to work with American soldiers and airmen.
“Does this mean that our policy of unconditional surrender regarding Germany is being reevaluated? Yes, it does. Following Russia’s brutal attack on us, any agreements previously made went down the drain. When the war is over, we will base treaties with Germany and other countries on current realities rather than the Soviet Union’s lies.
“Let everyone be assured that this does not mean that war criminals will go unpunished. They will be tried by an international court and the guilty will receive justice, which is not what is being meted out to the German people by the Soviets. The Russian armies are committing unspeakable acts of barbarity on the German civilians. They say that they are doing so because this is the way the SS acted in Russia. Yes, the German SS did behave brutally, raping and murdering innocent people, but what the Russians are doing is revenge, not justice. By torturing and killing innocent civilians, they are behaving like Mongol hordes, not a twentieth-century civilization. Justice will be meted out after a fair trial and not indiscriminately against innocent civilians.
“Finally, we will use every weapon at our disposal to bring this war to a successful conclusion, and I do mean every weapon.”
Truman took a sip of water as the radio people disconnected him. “Well,” he said to General Marshall, “do you think Uncle Joe understood me?”
Marshall smiled tightly. “We’ll find out, won’t we?”
CHAPTER 29
I mmediately upon his return from Iceland following his daylong conference with Colonel Tibbetts, Burke found himself held incommunicado at SHAEF headquarters. He was given no tasks and told not to talk to anyone or leave the compound. Meals were brought to him by an unsmiling cook and he had his own bathroom facilities. He had been ordered by Beetle Smith, who still did not know anything but the roughest outline about his assignment, to prepare notes and thoughts. Very soon after, he’d had a one-hour meeting with Eisenhower, who listened thoughtfully, then took Burke’s notes to read at his leisure.
Burke wasn’t surprised that the high command wanted him out of circulation so that he would not even inadvertently tell about his trip. The secret he had been told in Iceland had been so vast and significant that the knowledge of it had almost rendered him speechless. Thus, Burke felt a degree of anticipation when Beetle Smith entered his tent and returned the stack of papers Eisenhower had taken from him.
Smith was subdued. He had read them and understood their significance. “Burke, there will be a meeting in half an hour at Ike’s conference bunker. You are to be there and you will bring these papers. Eisenhower has made a lot of his own notes, but he feels he may have to call on you for something specific. Now, there will be a lot of very senior officers there, so you know exactly how you are to behave, don’t you?”
“Absolutely, General. I am to sit with my hands folded in my lap and I will not speak unless called upon by my betters.”
Smith grinned. “I knew I could trust you.”
The meeting was held in a sandbagged and heavily reinforced underground bunker that was as bombproof as such a place could be. Even though the Red air force had crumbled, there were still enough scares to make such security efforts a good idea, and there was always the fear that a suicide bomber might try to plunge through.
Of the other men in the room, only the scarred Godwin was even remotely of Burke’s own relatively low rank. Godwin winked, an incongruous act considering his lack of eyelids, but said nothing. Like Burke, he took a seat in the rear. The furnishings ranged from folding chairs to overstuffed couches.
Eisenhower, Bradley, and Field Marshal Alexander were the most senior officers present. Simpson, Patton, and Smith were the only other men who weren’t either a field marshal or a full general. It was a fairly exclusive meeting of the Allied high command, and one the Russians would have loved to have bombed. After only a few moments, the room was thick with cigarette and pipe smoke. The ventilation system was totally inadequate and the air turned stale very quickly.