“Mister General Secretary Yermolov and Minister Marshal Budarenko, there is one point, the significance of which is vague. The magnitude of the blast in the North Sea was estimated by us to be 0.1 megaton. This is a much smaller magnitude than the standard nuclear missile warheads the Americans usually carry. It’s strange that precisely when attacking a real target, they used a much smaller warhead.”
“What are you hinting at, General?” the Party General Secretary asked. “That this is an action that happened inadvertently because of an error or failure in the system, and perhaps that could explain why there’s no continuation of their hostilities?”
“I’d hesitate to say this, Mister General Secretary, even though accidents do happen. And we should remember that in this very area, the Americans drill year-round for assaulting us with nuclear weapons. By the way, in the winter of 1968, in Greenland, which is not very far from this morning’s blast site, an American B-52 bomber crashed with four nuclear bombs on board. The bombs went off, but no nuclear explosion occurred because they were not armed.”
The Party Secretary looked now at the Minister of Defense who was continuing his histrionics from his chair and shooting threatening looks at the Air Force commander.
“Minister of Defense, I want to hear your opinion of the issue raised by the Commander of the Air Force.”
The Minister, who had not yet regained his composure, shifted his smoldering gaze from the officer to the General Secretary.
“Mister General Secretary, sometimes I can’t explain the bardak in the Air Force under General Mikhailov”, the Minister said, using the Russian word for bordello. “Is he trying to explain what happens in the American Air Force? General Mikhailov’s remark contains an obvious inherent contradiction. The bombs of the plane that crashed thirteen years ago in Greenland were not armed, and they had never been armed in their other training missions. This morning, the missile exploded only because it was armed. The person who decides whether to arm such a missile is not the ordnance NCO of the bomber which launches that missile. This is an order that comes down only from above, from the highest authority. Is that correct, General Mikhailov?”
The Minister didn’t wait for the Air Force Commander’s reply, and continued with great pathos.
“If you walk in the rain, you get wet, Mister Secretary. It’s as simple as that. In my opinion, there is no continuation of American hostilities at the moment, but only because they’re waiting in fear to see our response. They know that we’ll respond, but they don’t know how and where. Our forces in the West are prepared and they expect you, Mister General Secretary, to give them the order. We must now enter the German Democratic Republic and continue on from there, into the German Federal Republic.”
The Party General Secretary remembered, in great detail, the difficult conversation he had had with his Minister of Defense just a few hours ago. He decided to lead him into a trap.
“I understand you, Marshal. If I give you a green light now to enter the Democratic Republic, how long would it take you to cross the border into the Federal Republic? The forces you have mobilized there are only sufficient for handling civil obedience, not a war with NATO. Am I correct, Marshal Budarenko?”
But an old war fox like Marshal Budarenko would not step on a mine as crude as this, and indeed he skipped over it casually.
“Mister General Secretary, regarding your first question, our forces can roll through the Democratic Republic within 36 to 48 hours, and then start crossing the border into the Federal Republic. Regarding your first question, it is obvious that I still don’t have the order of battle I wish to have, but we’ll breach their defenses with what we have, and within another forty-eight hours, we’ll push everything we can into there.”
The Party General Secretary nodded as if approving his Minister’s explanation. This son of a gun has already mobilized enough forces to conquer almost all of Western Europe, the Party General Secretary thought. Is he going to request an approval for general mobilization now?
“Marshal Budarenko”, the General Secretary said in a steady, authoritative voice. “Move your forces into the German Democratic Republic, and when you reach the border with the Federal Republic, breach the border only in the northern sector.”
The General Secretary pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and studied it.
“You will get to the Weser River in the section from the city of Bremen in the North, to the city of Göttingen in the South. But approval to cross this river will be given only here in this room and in this forum, after we see the enemy’s response. Is everything clear so far, Marshal Budarenko?”
“Yes, Mister General Secretary. Everything is clear.”
President James Butler entered the White House Situation Room. His concern was apparent, and he spoke at once.
“I hope you’ve all updated and collected all the missing data so you can explain it to me, and give me a better understanding of the situation. Maybe now I can finally get the point of what these Russians are preparing for us.”
President Butler had a unique and somewhat unorthodox approach toward his senior staff and advisers in emergencies that required deliberations and decision-making of the highest order. Unlike his manner on less eventful days, when the President addressed them by their first names, this time he addressed them by their official titles, as if stressing their responsibility to the American people, and to him personally.
“Secretary of Defense Manning, please speak now, or perhaps you prefer that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Abramson continue from where he stopped the last time we met?”
“Mister President, there have now been quite a few developments, especially in the North Sea, and General Abramson has the details. Therefore, I request that he brief you on the present situation.”
The President turned to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Well, General, what’s new? Speak up.”
General Abramson stood up and walked to the chart on the wall.
“Mister President, a short while ago, the crew of a British frigate intercepted a suspicious Russian trawler sailing at full power from the area of the blast towards their major naval base in Murmansk.”
“And what was suspect about this trawler?” the President asked.
“Its direction indicated that it was coming from the area of the blast, so it seemed to be involved in that matter. In addition, this fishing vessel had no fishing nets and no other fishing equipment. Our intelligence photographed it from the air, and the pictures showed that it was equipped with many antennas, unlike a typical fishing vessel. Moreover, in the middle of the deck, there was a large object concealed with a tarp. Our intelligence analysts claim that it could be a tank or a self-propelled artillery gun.”
The President abruptly interrupted General Abramson
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about, General. You say ‘suspicious’, ‘our analysts’, ‘maybe a tank, may be a gun’. Is this a quiz? You said the British warship intercepted the trawler. Since when do the British hide information from us? Besides, even I know that the Soviets camouflage their surveillance ships as fishing vessels. This isn’t new to us, is it?”
“I’m sorry, Mister President, my mistake”, the General replied apologetically. “What I didn’t say was that when a takeover team boarded the trawler, a Russian submarine launched a torpedo at the trawler, and the boat sank, together with the British Marines.”