May 2nd, 1946
6:00 am, Eastern Standard Time
War Room
The White House
Washington, DC
“Everyone please be seated. General, please brief us on the current situation.”
“Thank you sir. It appears as though the Soviets have decided to fulfill their goal of establishing a worldwide workers’ paradise starting with Europe. They have launched a full-scale surprise attack all along the Inter-German line. They have stated in a press release to the world; that their aim is to rid Germany of the B-29 base we have constructed, claiming that ‘It is an obvious provocation that must be eliminated.’ We have no reason to believe that they have any plan to halt their advance, once the base has been overrun. At the rate they are moving, that will be next week.”
“The forces we have left in Europe are at half-strength, due to replacement issues. Additionally, they are poorly trained, led by officers with little to no combat experience. Our demobilization efforts were remarkably efficient and comprehensive, resulting in very few combat-experienced veterans remaining in Europe, let alone in military service.”
“On paper, we have twenty-two divisions, and five hundred frontline tactical combat aircraft. Of those divisions, only two are anywhere near combat-ready. In the initial attack we have confirmed losses of seventy-five percent of our aircraft, and as of this moment, we are out of communication with ten of our divisions on the frontline.”
“The Soviets are attacking in army- and corps-strength. We believe that we are facing approximately 60 full-strength frontline divisions in Germany with up to seven thousand frontline fighters and ground attack aircraft supporting their operations.”
“During the last two major offensives conducted by the Soviets in the last World War, they’ve perfected their long-planned ‘Deep Battle’ doctrine. The Germans and Japanese were the first victims of this strategy. Now, we are the next to feel its strength. This ‘Deep Battle’ doctrine makes the vaunted German ‘Blitzkrieg’ look rather elementary by comparison.”
“We have reports of large gaps in our front lines with Soviet heavy armor exploiting them. They appear to be after our supply depots. The situation is very similar to the opening days of the Battle of the Bulge, magnified by a factor of ten. This time we have to contend with an enemy who can match our tactical- and operational-level air power, more than plane for plane and appears to have plenty of fuel. We do not, and will not, have air superiority for the foreseeable future.”
“In addition, they are using a full corps of airborne troops. These troops seem to concentrating on the massive arms depots mentioned earlier. There are reports that they have gained control over seven of them, with the help of French Communist fifth column forces.”
“As many of you may know, a large portion of the French Resistance leaned towards communism, as did the resistance in Italy and Greece.”
“Our artillery ordinance and fire-control are superior to theirs. They have the numbers and have used it extremely effectively. As of the last reports their massed artillery parks have been able to overwhelm our smaller, but more sophisticated, artillery arm. You are all aware; it is a matter of combined-arms coordination. A kind of a ‘rock-paper-scissors’ situation and right now they have two trump cards, which I will get to in a moment. Adding insult to injury our untrained troops in Europe are unable to use the equipment, in the most effective manner.”
“The reports also state that casualties are very high and units are losing cohesion, and surrendering when surrounded. The reports are that the prisoners are being treated relatively well within the bounds of the Geneva Conventions on the Conduct of Warfare.”
“Currently, the Soviets are using conventional weapons and systems. No biological or chemical weapons have been reported, or even suspected. That we are aware of, no secret or unexpected weapons are in use. Our strategic weapons systems are still relatively good order, both in the U.S., and in England.”
“Our nuclear capabilities are on a ‘need-to-know’ basis. Those of you, who have the clearance, will be briefed later.”
“In any event, we will not be using any atomic bombs in Europe at this time. I’m sure our allies would rather be ‘Red than Dead’, as I’ve heard some chant. We suspect that the Soviets have penetrated the inner-workings of our nuclear weapons programs, and know our best-kept secrets; secrets, by the way, that we cannot even tell you at this time. Suffice it to say that they know how many bombs we have at this time and exactly what the circumstances are for their use.”
“Earlier in the briefing I mentioned that they have two trump cards, and they have laid them on the table. The first is their heavy tanks. Their model T-44 and JS-3 are far superior to anything we have in Europe at this time. Our M4A2 76mm ‘Super Shermans are hopelessly outclassed, and we are in the middle of phasing out the tank destroyer doctrine, which some have called a “dismal failure”. We have some M-26 Pershing heavy tanks that have engaged their heavies, with disastrous results. We were able to counter the German heavy tanks with a combination of tactical air power and spotter-directed artillery.”
“Against the Reds, both of those options have been negated and we are having an almost impossible time stopping their heavy armor. The Soviet T-44 and JS-3 are virtually unstoppable at this point, from any range outside of point blank. Luckily they appear to be in limited numbers, and appear to be not particularly mechanically reliable.
The most commonly used Soviet armor is the T-34/85, a veteran of many a battle in the previous war. It still outclasses our armor in every category and it is being deployed in overwhelmingly huge numbers.”
“Because of the lack of experienced troops, we do not have any stand-off ability. Our only defense to Soviet armor is close-in assault tactics, using bazookas at point-blank range, and high-explosive charges placed directly on the undercarriages and engine decks of these tanks. In one documented encounter, it was reported that a German farmer helped our soldiers by uncovering a hidden cache of Panzerfausts and Panzerschrecks, to use against Soviet armor, with marginal results. This is, obviously, not acceptable, and we must find a solution to counter their very real advantage.”
“Our previous solutions including the use of massive tactical airpower and artillery barrages, are not available at this time due to lack of air superiority, and counterbattery fire on a massive scale, by the Soviet guns.”
“Their other advantage, at the moment, is in their sheer overwhelming numbers. We are well-matched in the air, and outmanned by a ratio of five-to-one on the ground. Their standard conventional frontline fighter planes are equal to ours in both performance and numbers on a tactical basis…”
A voice from the audience asks a question.
“What was that, Congressman…?”
“What I meant by ‘tactical’, are the actions that are specific to the local battlefield. Tactical weapons are things like pistols, rifles, machine guns, bazookas, ground attack aircraft, tanks. Things that are used on a small-scale are close-in to the battlefield, and short timelines. In the case of the fighters, to make it clear, I’ll say within sight of the ground. Their fighters are as good as ours, at lower to medium altitudes. We do, nonetheless, have an advantage higher up, but I’ll talk about that later.”