“Production of JDAM weapons is up by fifty-seven percent,” Armin Prushank, the Minister for War Production, reported. As always, his voice was boring and depressing at the same time. Hanover always made him talk first, just to keep everyone awake. “While the demand for bombs for Norway and the rest of Scandinavia remains high, we should be able to meet production targets for the other war zones.
“Unfortunately, we cannot add more to the fleet of converted tactical heavy bombers,” he continued. Something very much like a sigh echoed from the military men in the room. “We have to balance the requirements and ensure that we have enough cargo capability to meet transportation requirements; only twelve aircraft can be spared.”
Hanover scowled to himself. Twelve. Twelve converted cargo planes; all converted into bombers, was all they had. Given a couple of years, they could have made the sky black with bombers, but there wasn’t time, not with Himmler running things just across the Channel.
“Fortunately, production of advanced anti-tank weapons, and limited anti-tank weapons from America, has risen considerably,” Prushank concluded. Hanover smiled to himself; fortunately Prushank was also good at writing briefing notes. “While building more than a handful of extra 2015 tanks is going to be difficult, we will maintain superiority in anti-tank weapons until the end of the war.”
He sat down. Hanover nodded to him and spoke gently. “Thank you,” he said. “Gentlemen, it is not an exaggeration to say that the decisions we make here will affect the course of history. We have to decide what we are doing to do – this year – to end the war.”
“That is an urgent requirement,” Noreen Adam, Public Affairs Representative, said. Her dark skin, partially concealed by a black headscarf, was bruised in places. She hadn’t had an easy life; everyone knew that. Hanover considered her; Muslim or not, she was no fool.
“As you know, dissatisfaction with the war is growing,” she said. “There was a great deal of expectation that the Americans would be able to take over and…”
“Do most of the heavy lifting,” Cunningham supplied.
“Effectively,” Noreen said. If she was rattled or annoyed, she didn’t show it. “Many people… just didn’t grasp that we were back in 1940, back in the days after the Transition. We are not a small island off the coast of America; we’re one entire country and – let’s face it – not many of us have relatives overseas to lose contact with entirely. In many ways, the rationing and the shortages, to say nothing of losing all of the communications and the Internet outside the United Kingdom, didn’t impact on that many people; they expected us to solve the problems and to some extent we have.
“Unfortunately, they want the war over with, so they can get back to their normal lives,” she continued. “Instead, we’re going to have to launch an invasion of Europe… and it’s harder to work up public anger at Himmler than Hitler. Hell, how many people know who Himmler was? Is? They know that the death toll will be appalling… and they don’t want their people to die.”
“Neither do we,” Cunningham snapped.
“I know that, General,” Noreen said. “It’s harder to convince the public. It wasn’t quite real, not until it dragged on and on and… when it became clear that there wouldn’t be a quick victory, they want the war to end with some kind of peaceful settlement.”
“Hah,” Admiral Grisham muttered. “These people are evil incarnate.”
Noreen met her eyes. “With all due respect, Admiral, so were some of the west’s allies in the terror war.”
“Enough,” Hanover said. “Yes, that is a problem, and hopefully the war can be ended this year, before this becomes a worse problem.” He scowled. “However… John?”
“Well, the Turks want us to launch an invasion up towards Stalingrad,” McLachlan, Hanover’s closest ally on the Cabinet, said. “They want us to rid Iran of the Russians, which – incidentally – would please the Indians.” He chuckled. “It’s pretty much the only thing they all agree on – that and the need to wipe out the Japanese force in Burma.”
Hanover scowled. The Japanese had launched three divisions into Burma after failing to take Singapore. Their logistics had collapsed in the awful terrain… and they’d just been left there, as far as any of PJHQ’s analysts could determine. The Japanese had been left there for nearly a year and a half, terrorising the local population and trying to muster the strength to tackle the line of defences along the Indian border.
“They’ve still not managed to agree on a constitution?” He asked. The Indians had ended up nearly fighting a civil war; only thirty thousand Contemporary troops and a great deal of luck had prevented one from breaking out… that, and the Japanese troops at the door. Hanover smiled; leaving them alone had proven to be worth the arguments from PJHQ.
“I’m afraid not,” McLachlan said. “From what General Wavell sent, the real problem is that none of the groups involved really trusts the others. Some of them – the Sikhs mainly – want us to stay involved as honest brokers, while the INC wants to move at once to full independence as part of the Commonwealth. As you know, this affects our ability to recruit troops from India… and in the meantime that fool Bose is making trouble in the north.”
Hanover scowled. “And the Americans?”
“Well, they’re finally getting over the manpower problems they had and they’re raising new forces now,” McLachlan said. “Ambassador King was working on training them up to our standards, equipped with the weapons we designed for them, and hopefully they’ll be ready to march all the way to Moscow. I believe that President Truman was going to discuss the long-range plans with you in a few weeks.”
Hanover nodded. “So… what are our options?” He asked. “Major?”
Major Steve Stirling coughed. As the most junior person in the room, he wasn’t always visible to the others in the room. “The Oversight Committee has been considering the matter,” he said. “It is reasonably clear that Germany remains our most dangerous opponent; the science of the Soviet Union can’t match the Allied production advantages. The Oversight Committee has therefore prepared a number of operation plans for your study and approval.
“The first plan is to force a landing in the Netherlands and take the docks there, rather like we did at Gallipoli, but far more complicated,” he said, adjusting the map. “Once established there, we can bring in forces from England – as we’re going to be building up forces in England anyway – and march into Germany, therefore bypassing France. Once we defeat the Germans in Berlin, we can mop up their occupation forces after defeating the Russians.
“The downside of the plan is while it promises the quickest end to the war, short of using nuclear weapons, it runs the greatest risk of catastrophic defeat by facing the might of the German army head on in very bad terrain. The Germans would have a window of opportunity to throw us back into the sea, which would be very costly in time and lives.
“The second plan is to invade through Spain,” he said, adjusting the display to match. “The build-up would be in north Africa, which would avoid the social problems in the time-honoured manner of passing them on to someone else. While that would allow us to link up with the resistance in Spain, it would force us to grind our way over the mountains, through France and into Germany. Again, the downside is serious; while it offers the best chance of establishing a secure position on the continent, it forces us to fight our way through growing opposition and the death toll will be immense.