“They also need hostages. Don’t be unrealistic and believe that you, and your family, have any meaning to Stalin. But you are the reason the Americans refrain from using atomic bombs on the Soviet field armies here. More importantly than that, they know this. They have every reason to keep you with your families, building their new empire in Western Europe. They need you as human shields, and as cheap labor. There is no historical or cultural reason for them to abuse us.”
“Go now, everyone. Surrender, and wait patiently for the right moment to strike. I promise you, it will come.”
Temporary Headquarters,
On The English Channel
Le Havre, France
June 14th, 1946
“All reports say that the British and Americans have run away, and we now own the continent.”
“Our units are proceeding cautiously, and the NATO rear-guard has surrendered en masse. It appears that the evacuation was completed last night and early into this morning. They snuck out like rats from a rubbish can. There are troubling reports.”
“Yes, and what are those?”
“Our people in England say there are no great numbers of Americans among the evacuees.”
“That is why we must proceed with cautious haste in clearing all of France, then Spain, of every American soldier. We cannot defeat their navies, but we can defeat their armies. They will never set foot on this continent ever again. There will be no second ‘D-Day’. Once we clear the areas in question then we will send in the commissars who will change their way of thinking, forever.”
“The Americans never had more than twenty understrength divisions in Europe before the Liberation War. We can account for ten divisions that have been confirmed as destroyed or captured. Where the other ten, and how many reinforcements are could have arrived from America in just sixty days? That as well as where are they located right now, are my main concerns.”
“We will catch them, and put them back on their horses, like Tom Mix, to ride off into the Western sunset.”
War Room
July 14th, 1946
14:17 hours
“The evacuations went without a hitch sir. It appears that ‘Louisville Slugger’ did the trick, and kept the Bolshies away until we could transport everyone that wanted to leave the continent. We have reports that they are in Le Havre, and other coastal towns north of Paris, and are continuing their advance into southern France.”
“Very good Edward; it looks like we’ve accomplished our goals with that operation. Stalin was given a punch in the gut and a bloody nose. At the very least, he’ll be more cautious and that will play to our advantage. Uncle Joe has turned out to be a bloody monster. I tried to warn Truman, but he believed, and put blind faith in, FDR’s advisors right up until the very last moment. I sure wish we had gotten the first punches in. Instead, we are the ones licking our wounds.”
“I do hope the American’s plan works sir.”
“I concur. I will rather enjoy not having England be used, once again as a jumping off point and supply depot this time. We have to concentrate on sweeping the skies clear above England and looking to our colonies. The Soviets would never dare invading us, so long as we control the skies, and the seas, around our little island paradise. Thankfully, the Soviets don’t have the bomber force to attack us, like the Germans did during the Blitz. Hopefully they will spend their resources on other things besides the V-1 and V-2 rocket-bombs. Although, as terrifying as they were they never did much real damage.”
“We do have reports that they have spent a lot of time and effort on missile technology. They seem to be concentrating on shorter-ranged defensive missiles. However, they do love their Katyushas.”
“They had better bloody well be getting prepared to get attacked from the skies! The Americans will be up to strength again in the fall, and will be hitting them exceedingly hard once all their bases are setup. That should catch Uncle Joe between a rock and a hard place. Curiously the Bolsheviks seem to have a good spy network when it comes to tactical and operational matters, but seem to be somewhat clueless on strategic matters concerning the Americans plans. On the other hand, we seem to be able to catch Uncle Joe with his pants down on small-scale operations but not on our strategic goals. Make a note to pass that along to MI-6, and then onto the Americans. It could help us to discover who the agents are and where they are placed.”
“It is chilling to think that there are spies in these very offices sir.
“It is more than chilling, Edward… it’s deadly.”
Temporary Command Headquarters,
Le Havre, France
July 15th, 1946
13:01 Hours
“We continue our search for the Americans today Comrade Marshal. I wonder where they are hiding? Our agents have confirmed that they are not in England so, unless they have donned underwater gear and walked away across the ocean floor, they are still on land.”
“We just got the orders to continue our advance south in haste. Order the OMSBON units out to scout, to interrogate the locals and extract all the information they can. Counsel them to do it discreetly and only to pick up undesirables who will not be missed if things get a little rough. Give them the freedom they need to get the information I need. I suppose I have to leave this location by the sea. I do so love the sea.”
“I’m sure Paris will be a pleasant stop on our way to annihilate the Americans. They are still running with their tail between their legs, Comrade Commissar. Have you seen some of the prisoners? They whine more than even the Germans. Red Cross says this, Geneva Convention says that. They are all a bunch of Jewish lawyers.”
“Ha! Don’t they know what happened to the Jewish lawyers here?”
“I would suggest, Comrade Marshal, that we don’t treat them too badly. If we keep them alive they can keep asking for more Red Cross supplies; supplies that we can use; a little for them, a lot for us. A number of their families came from Russia before and after the First World War and our glorious Worker’s Revolution. We could be torturing one of your cousins. Just keep them away from the more primitive units, and they should be fine. They were our allies at one time. It’s hard to fight alongside someone one day, the then shove a bayonet in their gut the next, is it not?”
“Yes, I agree with you old friend, but sometimes it needs to be done. We do not have the resources to support them in luxury. Craft an order that no one can misinterpret. The Americans are not to be mistreated. Comrade Stalin has an idea to cause a rift between the Americans and the British. Mistreating the prisoners of either faction would not help his efforts.”
“So for now, this has the highest priority. Keep them safe and out of harm’s way, and let the propaganda machine publicize this fact.”
“I see no advantage at this point in wasting time and energy on transporting them to Russia. Let’s use the German camps in Poland. The one near Gdansk would be a good choice. Then, if something more permanent needs to be done with them the infrastructure is already in place.”
Chapter Eleven:
Stalin and Beria as Rivals
