“I agree, Comrade. If we can foretell where the first few targets of the raids will be, we can set the trap. As far as the enemy knows, it will be as if we have every possible area covered. If we have a week, we can set up everything ahead of time and if our calculations are correct, and the tests are accurate, we should be able to achieve twenty percent, or more, casualty rates. According to the estimates I have made with the information that the NKVD has so graciously supplied me with, they will not be able to absorb that level of attrition and will have to abandon their bombing campaign. The key is the advanced warning provided by the NKVD and its agents.”
“I hope that you are right Sergo. We have made an enormous gamble, in order to secure the Motherland for future generations. If we can convince the capitalist pigs that we have the means to defend ourselves in the short run, from their terror-weapons, we can then, make sure we have the means to defend ourselves forever. They do not have the will or bravery, to meet us man-to-man on the battlefield and will try to rely on their long-range bombers to rain death and destruction down upon us. They think they can do this with impunity. You, Sergo, have given us the opportunity to make even this threat too costly for the svolochy.”
“Thank you, Comrade Stalin. I am confident that our new weapons will work and will cause the enemy to pause and reflect, before they attack us from the skies.”
“One more detail Sergo. The British are planning a limited bombing raid in two weeks, and we know the target. We will allow this raid to proceed without spoiling the surprise. We will use our conventional forces to intercept the British bombers. We will retain your most advanced technological innovation for the arrogant Americans, who believe that their Superfortress is unstoppable. From what I have been told you have used your time wisely and have made skillful use of the three B-29 bombers that have dropped into our laps.”
“Spasibo, uvazhayemyy Tovarishch Stalin. We will not allow the Motherland to be destroyed by capitalist warmonger terror-weapons.”
“We must keep moving Greta! You can always take one more step. You are thirteen today. This is not the day to meet the Red Army soldiers face-to-face. You must leave your toys behind, and just keep moving.”
“But Papa I’m so tired! We have been walking for days. All I want to do is sleep. Please, Papa, just a few moments rest?”
“We cannot stop! If we stop, we will die. Your fear must overcome your sleepiness. Keep moving. You can always take just one more step. Just one more step. Just one more. And then, another…”
“Damn it, General they’re getting slaughtered… we have to do something!” The President thunders angrily
“Mr. President we have to stick with the plan. If we feed our troops in piecemeal straight off the ships, it will be like putting branches in a wood chipper. They’ll just get eaten alive, one by one. We have to wait till we have the Louisville Slugger ready, and hit ’em when they come over the plate.”
“This is the hardest decision we will ever make. I know right now, it looks like we are abandoning our troops and all the people of Europe, but we have to stick to the plan. To do anything else would be suicide. At this point we can only transport one or two divisions a week over to Europe. We need five full Corps just too even hold the line against the Reds.”
“Damn it Bob, the press is handing us our hat and kicking us out the door. They’re printing story after story about how we’re turning tail and giving up without even a fight. They’re writing stories about how we’re just giving up and letting the Russkies take over the world. We’ve got the damned atomic bomb, for God’s sake!”
“Sir, we have to stay committed to making the plan work. I would suggest that we cannot change horses in midstream.”
“I know the press and world opinion is against us; for now and they are calling us cowards. For the plan to work, we have to maintain absolute secrecy and a ‘need-to-know’ only policy.”
“We can’t even tell the Brits, sir. We have overwhelming evidence that there is a mole, or moles, in the British leadership. Someone is feeding the Reds every move we make. The same is true for our atomic secrets. They know more about our atomic bombs than I do. They know full well that we can’t just bomb them back to the Stone Age with what we’ve got.”
“Sir in just a few more weeks, we should have enough units in place to stop them. In the meantime we have to draw them in, and keep ’em thinking that we’re running scared. The trap is almost set in France. The Navy is almost in position to give them a big welcome; we just have to keep them getting closer to the coast and not thinking about anything else. That’s the key. Distract them from what is really going on.”
“Damn it, I know the plan! It’s just holy hell watching our boys getting the shit beat out of them.”
“Don’t worry, sir. Our time’s coming to start swingin’ back hard.”
“What do you think of the plan for controlling our “comrades-in-arms,” Nikandr? Checks and balances, divide and conquer, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, no?”
“It looks good, Nikolai. You have the Poles watching the Germans and the Germans watching the Czechs, and the Czechs watching the Hungarians, and so on. Then, we have the Ukrainians watching everyone, with us occupying the Ukraine. I see no reason why it would not work. They distrust each other enough to make it so they will have no qualms about following regulations and stopping sabotage, yet they will not be so ruthless knowing that their families are under similar occupation from an equally ruthless enemy. I think it is brilliant. Use their distrust of each other to keep each other from bothering their comrades who are at the front. Divide and conquer; very well played indeed Nikolai.”
“There will be virtually no men who are not at the front, or working on the collective farms, or watching for saboteurs, and none of them will be home for very long. Any male caught outside of his duty station will be thrown in prison, and be sent on his way to the GULAG. It will be possible to keep track of everyone for the next year in any case. Things will start to malfunction after that, but in the meantime this will work.”
“Your ‘no man’s land’ idea along supply routes will help, also. Anyone caught in the zone will be shot, and the closest community will suffer and all routes policed by ethnic enemies, who will not hesitate to shoot. It’s all quite fantastically sinister, and it should work. Not much chance of graft since no one speaks the same language, or even trusts each other. Where you do have problems, you make examples of the occupying troops by punishing them; along with their loved ones back home and all the surrounding communities.”
“Well, it’s working so far. We will have to constantly rotate commands so that they do not form attachments. It is a good place to make use of the zampoliti, the political commissars, as well. That’ll keep them off our backs. They can command the occupation forces, and teach the proletariat at the same time. One of the keys is to keep the troops rotating on an erratic time schedule. Different commanders and non-coms do things differently despite regulations so there is little chance that patterns can be formed and used against you.”