# By Popular Demand: Pandora in a Bottle



## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

PANDORA IN A BOTTLE:

An Alternate History of World War Two in Europe


By Captain Sensible​In February, 1943, the German adventure in Africa was over.  German forces in Tunisia had surrendered to the Anglo American forces in their thousands.  In the Soviet Union, the Sixth Army at  Stalingrad had also just surrendered, spelling the end of some 90 thousand survivors of the over 200 thousand soldiers who fought their way into that city some several months earlier.  On the 18th, Dr. Goebbels, the propaganda minister, announced "total war" to an enthusiastic crowd in Berlin.  It seemed as though Germany simply wanted to stay the course in the war.
Many army officers, however, were furious that the Fuehrer had so ineptly handled the war.  They came to the conclusion that something had to be done.  No less than four attempts to assassinate Hitler were plotted.
At Army Group "B" Headquarters near Poltava in the Ukraine, General Lanz, Chief of Staff of the Army Group and Colonel Count von Strachwitz, commanding officer of the Grossdeutschland regiment, intended to arrest Hitler on his anticipated visit to their headquarters.  At the last minute, however, Hitler changed his itinerary and instead visited formations in Zaporozhe.  Fate had spared Hitler for now.
13 March 1943 was to prove both a frustrating and fateful day for the Third Reich.  Field Marshal Guenther von Kluge had managed to get Hitler to visit his headquarters at Smolensk.  Unbeknownst to the Field Marshal, several members of his staff had other ideas, namely, to assassinate the Fuehrer.  
They had a number of plans.  The first was to conduct an escort of Hilter from the airfield to the Headquarters, and then simply gun down Hitler and his entourage as they rode in convoy.  The plan was aborted, however, when Captain Georg von Boeslager and his company, who were to administer the coup de grace, discovered that an SS company was to escort the Fuehrer.  Nonplussed, they reverted to their first alternate plan, which was to simply shoot Hitler as he dined in the mess hall.  The intended gunman, Lt. Fabian von Schlabrendorff, couldn't get close enough to Hitler to guarantee a killing shot.  As it turned out, the would-be plotters had to rely on their second alternate plan.
At the airfield, Schlabrendorff approached Colonel Heinz Brandt, a member of Hitler's staff.  He asked if he would be so kind as to take back a couple of bottles of brandy for a Major General Helmuth Stieff in Berlin.  Colonel Brandt agreed and carried the bottles onto the plan with him, placing them under his seat near the starboard wing.
Hitler's Ju-52, complete with fighter escort, then headed back to Berlin.  On board, known only to a few, were some time activated bombs, hidden in those cognac bottles.  The planes encountered a storm front on the way home and were about to go above it to avoid hitting heavy turbelence.  Just as the planes were about to go higher, the lead pilot noted a clear patch a bit farther south.  He reckoned that there was a good tail wind there, making the long flight that much shorter.  He announced the change to the fighter pilots and began to turn south.  As the aircraft banked, the pilot suddenly heared a loud explosion from within the plane.  He quickly lost control of the aircraft as it began to lose altitude.  He sent out his SOS, announcing that his engine has caught fire and exploded.  The Fuehrer was quickly roused from his sleep and his aides began to strap a parachute to him.  The plane was bucking and yawing so much that they were not successful.  The planed exploded in a fiery ball in the Pripjet marshes.  All aboard were killed instantly.
There was chaos in Berlin as the news reached every headquarters.  Himmler, Goebbels and even Speer all clamoured to establish themselves as the rightful heir to the Fuehrer's position.  Being paranoid about the rites of succession in the ten year old Reich, Hitler had never established who would succeed him in the event of his death.


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

The politicos at the high end of the Nazi Food Chain began to posture for position.  In the end, a nervous (and drug addicted) Hermann Goering was nominated Fuehrer.  He instantly began to meddle in the military matters of the conduct of the war, but due to some clever background manoeuvring (and some spiking of his heroin cocktails); "Dicker Hermann" begins to slip only into the realm of "Grand Strategy" and "International Politics".  Speer takes over manufacturing as von Manstein, Guderian et al consider the future of the war, less half a million fine young soldiers now permanently struck off the order of battle.
After careful consideration, they made some very key decisions.
First, due to careful examination of events over the previous year, they decided that ENIGMA is somehow compromised.  ENIGMA II is prepared for use.  In the meantime, transmissions are sent using veiled speech; the U Boats are recalled with "fixed" orders waiting the issuing of ENIGMA II.  As well, "fake" ENIGMA transmissions and directives are sent, and the Western Allies are none the wiser.
Next, the main effort will continue to be the war in the east.  Von Manstein, flush with victory at Kharkov, is recalled to Berlin and due to his being one of the few Field Marshalls with a perfect record, was appointed to the OKW.  Von Manstein's plan for a "Back hand blow" is accepted and put into place for the upcoming summer.  Though the German forces remain quite powerful, they lack sufficient strength to bash through the Russian defences.  Through a set of stratagems, the Russians are lead to believe that a massive offensive will be mounted around Kursk.
The secondary effort is set at the blunting of the Anglo/American air offensive.  Here Speer initiates development and production for "Wasserfall", a radar guided anti aircraft rocket.  First use is anticipated for October, 1943.  The Germans just hope that it isn't too late by then.
The next priority is the Atlantic Wall.  Rommel is dispatched to "do his thing" and starts by strengthening the wall and gets his wish for panzer and Panzergrenedier units to be pushed forward in order to meet the invasion, expected for May 1944 at the earliest, at the beaches.


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

The "offensive" at Kursk kicks off on 5 July 1943.  The Russians commit to their counteroffensive, and learn only on 7 July that the "offensive" was nothing more than a demonstration.  Their forces make great headway and more and more units are thrown into the breach by Stalin, including the strategic reserve, the 5th Guards Tank Army.  After an advance of 200 km in some areas, and in spite of warnings from the STAVKA that the German offensive was nothing but a ruse, Stalin "dismisses" the naysayers and installs a batch of sycophants in their place.  He announces that the Red Army has achieved mastery over the Wehrmacht, even in the summer months.
On 10 July, the same day that Anglo-American forces invade Sicily, the Germans launch their real offensive in the east. Gone are the lofty goals of oil fields in Asia; their goal now is the destruction of the Red Army.  By 12 July, they have sealed the trap and some five complete armies are encircled.  There are no untrapped forces left who can assist in a break out, even though Stalin would have none of that.  Attempts to "link up" are foiled by layers of German AT defences as von Manstein expertly husbands the forces available.
In Sicily, the Anglo American forces are able to advance, albeit slowly in the face of a skilful delaying action: trading space for time.
By the end of August, 1943, the Russian Forces trapped in the so-called "Poltava" pocket begin to show signs that they are soon to be destroyed.  After yet another failed breakout attempt, the pocket begins to contract.  The Germans tighten the noose, and begin to reduce it with patience, employing the large siege artillery used the year before at Sevastopol.  Elsewhere, the front is shortened and divisions are freed up for the intended defence of Italy.
On 1 September 1943, Pravda issues an announcement that "Army Group Poltava" has ceased to exist, destroyed due to traitorous conduct by key members of the STAVKA.  Of the 'convicted', Zhukov is the most important one to be named.  He and the others are hanged in Red Square, and a massive stalemate akin to the front in World War One settles across Russia.  Germany has its breathing space: for now.


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

Situation: Stalemate.
A stalemate akin to the trench warfare on the Western Front in the first world war stretches from Leningrad in the north to the Black Sea in the south.  The Soviet Union had lost massive tank reserves and were again in a rebuilding stage in order to press home another offensive.  The initial dates for the start of their latest offensive was to begin on 1 December 1943, however, due to the sheer numbers of lost tanks and crews, the date was postponed until sometime in the new year.  In the meantime, the Germans were strengthening their positions and placing powerful mobile reserves behind the front in order to once again apply a "back hand blow" to any Soviet offensive, which they suspected to begin sometime around mid December.
In the West, the Allies had finally landed in Italy in early September.  Their gains were less than expected initially.  On the political front, the government in Rome surrendered following a coup that ousted Mussolini et al.  The Germans reacted strongly, reinforcing their own forces in Italy such that they were able to occupy the entire nation, much as they had done with so many other nations they had already conquered.
In France, Rommel's staff, along with OB West, completed an extensive estimate as to the expected cross-channel invasion.  For a timeline, they didn't expect any attempt to land until sometime in the spring.  For a location, they dismissed outright the Pas de Calais.  Although that area was closest to the shores of the UK, it was some distance from the ports that would be required to embark any invasion fleet.  The unanimous opinion was that the area between Cherbourg and Le Havre (Normandy) was the obvious choice for any invasion.  The beaches were suitable for landing draft, it was well within range for fighter support and the distance to the embarking ports was much closer than the Pas de Calais.  As well, Cherbourg and Le Havre could serve initially as ports for supplying any invading army.  Also curious was the rather rampant use of un encoded wireless traffic from Patton's "Army" opposite the Pas de Calais.  Given the lack of traffic from anywhere else in the UK, it was obvious to Canaris and his staff that this was a ruse.  Nevertheless, the armies in the Pas de Calais were readied in the event.
The Abwehr made a key intercept due to interrogations of captured Resistance leaders in France.  Two lines of a poem by Verlaine, Chanson d'Autumne, would indicate the landings.  The BBC broadcast "messages" to the occupied nations, most of which were in fact coded instructions for the resistance.  The first line, "Les sanglot longs des violons de l'automne" mean that the day would happen soon.  The follow up or executive would be broadcast within 48 hours of the invasion: "Blesse mon coeur d'une langueur monotone."  Radio intercept units were listening intently for these lines.  Chiefs of staff were instructed to put cancel leaves whenever the first line were heard.  When the second line was intercepted, all units would go to maximum alert.
The months of winter 1943-1944 dragged on.  Fighting in Italy was savage, but rather small scaled compared to the fighting of the previous years.  The offensive in the East never materialised, which only bought time for the Germans.  Their preparations for their defensive works were carried out.  The only offensive action with any repercussions at all was the intensifying of the siege at Leningrad.  The Germans brought up their powerful railway guns to put pressure on the city.  They reasoned correctly that any attempt on their part to attack the city would draw in Soviets like moths to a flame.  Repeated attacks to break into the city failed miserably in the face of German opposition.  In a military sense, the continued pressure on Leningrad did little.  On a psychological and political sense, it drained the USSR of vital resources and effort in a fruitless mission.


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

At the home front of the US/UK bombing offensive over Germany, the autumn raids over Schweinfurt caused such loss that the US daylight raids ceased.  The Wasserfall project was ready for initial implementation; however, the numbers were low.  The Germans decided to place the missile batteries around the Ruhr and to use them exclusively at night: fighters would continue to form the first line of defence against any resumption of the US bomber offensive.
On the night of 1/2 December 1943, a UK raid over the Ruhr was engaged for the first time by Wasserfall.  Night fighters initially conducted their intercepts as they followed the waves of bombers from the coast to the German border.  As one British pilot commented later, they noticed that as soon as they entered German airspace, the fighter attacks ceased completely.  At first the pilots reasoned that these fighters were called off and the next wave of fighters were simply delayed in making their intercept attempts.  As they flew on, they became more and more suspicious of what was to await them.  The normal 88mm FLAK was engaging them throughout their flight; however, there were no fighters at all.
As they passed over the Rhine on their terminal approaches to their targets, something awful happened.  As the pilot noted, a plane to his left suddenly erupted in a bright flash.  A direct hit by FLAK would do that, and it wasn't all that rare of a sight, though disheartening.  The pilot then noted a slow "tracer" arcing up from the ground towards them.  It hit another plane directly and it too exploded.  Looking around him, the pilot noted at least three other planes had burst into flame and were spiralling towards the earth.  Little did he know that these were radar guided missiles, the "Wasserfall" in their first combat operation.  Of 233 planes heading towards their target that night, 55 were destroyed by the Wasserfall intercepts.  Combined with the 8 lost to night fighters and 3 to FLAK, the 28% casualty rate to the bombing force was totally unacceptable.
Thinking that the high rate was a freak of luck, the UK Bombers approached Germany again the next night.  This time, of 198 planes, 68 were destroyed by Wasserfall, 4 to night fighters and 1 to FLAK.  With a total of 37% of the force destroyed at night, UK Bomber Command suspended all bombing operations until they could figure out was the problem was.
On 8 December 1943, they amended their tactics such that they bombed military targets over France in anticipation of the invasion in the spring: for the first time in years, the nights were quiet in Germany.
As dawn broke over Europe on 1 January 1944, there was a noticeable change in the course of the war.  In one year, the Germans had gone from operating on two continents to one.  No longer were they fighting in Africa, and in the Soviet Union, they were on a line roughly from Leningrad in the north to Smolensk in the centre and Zaporozhe in the South.  The Crimea was under German rule, and scores upon scores of blackened hulks of Soviet tanks littered the fields near Belgorod.  The German "Landser", or infantryman, made up the bulk of the German front lines, encased by earth and concrete, and supported with Anti tank guns, minefields and wire.  The scene was eerily similar to the Western Front in the "old war".


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

Italy was no longer a member state of the "Axis" powers.  Mussolini was thrown out and in his place the "new" government sued for peace with the Western Allies.  The Wehrmacht had occupied all of Italy, save for southern parts of the boot now under Anglo-American occupation.
France was being fortified day by day, with particular emphasis on the coast between Cherbourg and Le Havre, as well as many of the other channel ports up to Antwerp.  The bombers were leaving Germany alone, due to the now-implemented Wasserfall air defence system.  As a result, German cities were being repaired and the war production, long since under Speer's guiding hands, were starting to churn out more and more war material.  Still, the losses suffered in the East and in Africa took their toll on the Wehrmacht.  As new replacements were being trained, there just wasn't enough manpower to go around.
ENIGMA II was ready for implementation and soon the U Boats would be free to conduct unrestricted warfare upon the shipping lanes of the Atlantic.  In the meantime, U.S. and Canadian convoys were able to take full advantage of the lull to make the UK a virtual armed camp, sitting like a spring ready to explode upon the continent.
The Soviets weren't able to launch their offensive due to delays in production of tanks and training of crews.  Of the infantry there was always enough, and instead of husbanding this vital resource for the upcoming offensive, they were thrown needlessly at the Germans near Leningrad, in a vain attempt to break that siege.  It was becoming known as "Stalingrad of the North" for the Russians, not because of their vaunted victory there of the year before, but because of the losses they suffered: some regiments were down to 10% of their effective strengths after only one week's worth of combat!
Although the German High Command knew that offensive action was the decisive action in war, they also realised that they didn't have the resources to deal a knockout blow to any of their enemies.  Their Schwerpunkt remained the Eastern Front, and it was decided to bleed off the Soviet Army to the point where a decisive attack could be made.  This time, the goal would not be territorial, but rather would be centred on the destruction of Soviet men and material.
In the West, their goal was to fight a delaying operation across Italy, allowing the Allies and themselves to destroy that nation, if necessary, in order to bleed off western material.  In France, when the invasion came, the plan was to destroy it on the beaches, handing the Western Allies a blow from which they could not recover any time soon.  That would offer the Germans a virtual free hand in the East.  Although they had plans for offensive operations in the East, it would not start until certain conditions were met.  First, the Western Allies would be destroyed on the beaches of France, and secondly the Russians had to attack in order to make the front fluid.  The Germans realised that they lacked the strength to bust through a fortified defensive line at the strategic level, but they had more than enough combat power to destroy any foe on a fluid battlefield.


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

WASSERFALL DETECTED
The US/UK bombing offensive over the Reich once again started up in early March.  Once again, the bombing forces were decimated.  This time, however, a UK radio operator from a bomber that survived the raids reported picking up some strange signals on his set.  He was an amateur radio junkie and he often wondered if there was a way to pick up the German RADAR signals with his own radio.  As they approached Germany one night, he picked up a strange signal where no RADAR had previously been used.  He dutifully reported this upon his return to the UK, and the intelligence forces investigated further.
A week later, on 28 March 1944, a specially outfitted bomber accompanied a UK raid over the Ruhr.  As was anticipated, the force suffered grave losses.  The bomber that accompanied the force flew some five thousand feet above the others.  It monitored for and recorded the radio intercepts and returned to England for analysis.
It was quickly deduced that the Germans had some specially outfitted rockets that could "home in" on radio returns from the attacking aircraft.  The radio signals detected were the broadcast beams.  In typical eccentric English fashion, a bombing force was specially outfitted with a number of countermeasures.  Some bombers had "Chaff": aluminium foil they would drop upon discovering that they were "painted" by the guiding radar.  Others would broadcast "white noise" on the very frequencies used by the radar.  In one case a bomber made completely from wood (less the engines, naturally) was sent to see if it would look "invisible" to the searching radars.
On 15 April, 1944, a UK bombing force set out for the Ruhr.  The lead planes were to detect and then bomb the searching radars.  Knowing that accuracy for these planes would be dubious at best, a number of "Specials" accompanied the attacking force.  As they crossed into Germany, the usual assortment of night fighters broke off their attacks, and the lead "Path makers" soon picked up the radar signals as they searched the night skies for the incoming British bombers.  Using simple radio triangulation, the sources of the RADAR were soon picked out and the "path makers" gave instructions to the "Pathfinders" to illuminate the RADAR stations.  
The RADAR operators were shocked to find themselves suddenly illuminated by parachute flares as the pathfinders dropped their loads over their sites.  The follow on forces then attacked.  As was anticipated, the results were poor, but not without psychological effect.  Though only one RADAR site was knocked out, a panicky controller in Cologne ordered all WASSERFALL Radar sites to temporarily shut down.
The follow on "Specials" noted with glee that the RADAR signals all shut off, pretty well at once.  The attacking force was able to proceed with virtually no losses and most bombs were delivered on target: a synthetic oil production facility somewhere in the Ruhr.
In the weeks that followed, the Allies and the Germans played a massive chess game of counter-measure, counter-counter measure.  In the end, the Allied casualty rates for their bombing formations dropped to nearly 15% of attacking formation.  Still a high cost, but certainly much better than the close to 40% they were suffering initially.  As well, the German WASSERFALL Radar sites were forced to go mobile in order to avoid the Allied bombing efforts.


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

PREPARATIONS IN THE EAST 
The Soviets finally had the resources together for an offensive in the East.  Operation BAGRATION was ready to launch for early June, 1944.  Its aim was to isolate those forces in the North of the USSR that were right now isolating Leningrad.  Striking westward from the area of Novgorod, the Soviets initial objective was Pskov (Peskau as renamed by the Germans) and then on to the final objective of Riga.  The force would then seal off the entire Baltic region and trap within it, it was hoped, the entirety of Army Group North.
To accomplish this task, some three tank armies and six guards' armies were earmarked.  The plan was simple: following a massive artillery and aircraft bombardment of the front from Leningrad to Novgorod, infantry forces would infiltrate the German front lines, clearing a path for the tanks to break through.  Once in Pskov, two guards' armies would cover the northern flank as the remaining elements of the "Moscow Front" would drive on to Riga.  The Germans would not be able to handle such a massive force and they believed that the Germans were expecting an attack further south.
As it turned out, the Germans were well aware of BAGRATION and its intended objectives.  Though the start date was as yet unknown, preparations were well in hand.  Realising that they needed the Russians on the move to be able to defeat them, woefully few improvements were made at the front.  Here and there bridges in the depth behind the German front were destroyed or "weakened": the hope being that this would help channel the advancing Soviet forces into preset killing zones.  Powerful tank and Panzergrenedier reserves were concealed from prying Soviet eyes in the hinterlands of the Baltic nations.  In this area, the Germans were relatively secure from Partisan operations: most Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians hated the Germans, but they hated the Russians even more and thus were not inclined to take part in operations that were seen further south in White Russia and in the Ukraine.  The Germans were ready for their backhand blow.  The only question remained: would the western allies attack prior to BAGRATION?


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

INVASION! 
Their answer came on 6 June 1944.  On the first day of that month, the opening line of Verlaine's poem was broadcast by the BBC.  As a result, all leave in France was cancelled.  In order to not tip their hand that they realised the invasion was coming, the reason for the cancellation of leave was for an upcoming exercise to take place on 15 June.  As well, rolling stock was "heading east" for upcoming operations in Russia.  Though rolling stock was indeed "heading east" in anticipation for the countermoves to BAGRATION, no exercise, or Kriegsspiel was planned for June
At 0001 hours on 6 June, the second line of Verlaine's poem was broadcast.  Immediately all forces in France and Belgium went to full alert status.  The conditions were ripe for invasion: though the weather was spotty at best, there was a late moon and ideal tide conditions for an invasion.  Soon after midnight, intense allied bombings centred roughly on Caen, followed by reports of parachute landings all across Normandy confirmed the suspicions of many.  Panzer Lehr, 21st Panzer Division and the 12th SS "Hitlerjugend" were ordered forward to just behind the coast, centred on Caen.  Though dead for over six months, Hitler was still, even in death, a powerful figure in Germany.  Now that he couldn't interfere with operations from the grave, his name was often used in vain to rally the German soldiers and Germany itself.  
All throughout the night, Germans and Allied paratroopers battled in a confused set of pitched battles as the last quarter of the moon rose over Europe.  Key bridges were seized in the British sector, and in the US sector, Ste Mere Eglise was one of the first French cities to be liberated from the Germans.
Three hours prior to first light, German coastal radar picked up a massive force approaching the coast off Normandy.  Most were centred on the Caen sector, with a second large "blip" a bit farther west.  Hurried intelligence assessments put the allied landing into two roughly equal halves: one near Caen and one near Ste Mere Eglise.  As things turned out, they weren't far off.
Though hampered by the Parachute landings, the 12th SS and 21st Panzer made their way to Caen prior to first light.  Due to the sheer size of the forces, the low light conditions and the rubble in the streets, both forces had to make their way around the city in order to have a clear path to the coast.  21st Panzer took the eastern side, with their centre for advancing being Cabourg.  12th SS took the western side, with their centre of advance being Lion sur Mer.  The divisional boundary was set as the Orne River.  As it turned out, 21st Panzer would miss the beaches, while 12th SS would hit square into Sword beach, as it was called by the Allies.
At first light, the landings started.  At Utah beach, the opposition facing the allies was less than spectacular.  Though suffering some 66 fatalities at sea, these were largely due to mishaps than enemy action.  On the beaches, remarkably accurate allied bombing and naval gunnery silenced most opposition.  As a result, the US forces landing here were able to link up with airborne forces at Ste Mere Eglise by nightfall.
At Omaha, the US forces were virtually wiped out at the beach.   It took several small acts of courage, but by 1500, the US forces were able to clear the beaches and establish enough of a beachhead to allow follow on forces to begin landing.  Casualties were severe in the first waves, but by the end of the day, the forces were ashore and more were coming in.
The British and Canadian beaches of Gold and Juno suffered moderate casualties in their first waves, but by 1000 they were able to declare the beaches "secure" and were fighting their way inland against mounting opposition.  The Canadians drove for the Carpiquet airfield, but were unable to reach it, due to mounting pressure and concerns to their left flank: Sword beach.
The British never had a chance as Sword.  Though their first few waves made it ashore with relatively light casualties and though they quickly linked up with their airborne forces, the sounds of tanks could soon be heard coming from the south.
By 1000, without having properly established their positions, the first tanks of the 12th SS began to attack into Quistreham.  By 1130, the town was cleared of all allied forces and soon the Panthers and Mark IVs were firing directly onto the landing beaches.  Using the coastal buildings for cover, the young fanatics of the 12th SS were able to avoid most allied efforts to destroy them from the air.  By the end of the day, SWORD was abandoned, and the Allied invasion beaches now went from Ste Mere Eglise in the west to St Aubin sur Mer in the East.  The Canadian division at St Aubin sur Mer stopped their advance and deployed in a defensive position to cover the flank of the beaches.  6th Para was now surrounded and was fighting off the attacks of two panzer divisions.
Over the month that followed, the US forces were able to drive to the Atlantic coast, but at great cost.  The German forces defended with infantry heavy forces and manoeuvred their heavy forces mostly at night, attacking near first light in almost every case.  Though far from "destroyed on the beaches", the Allies were quickly losing the race to reinforce the Normandy front.  Events would soon tip the scales in their favour, if ever so slightly.


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

FIRE IN THE EAST
22 June 1944, the third anniversary of the opening of the Great Patriotic War was chosen by Stalin himself for the date for BAGRATION to open.  Reasoning that German eyes were focussed on France, Stalin wanted to wait for two weeks prior to launching "his" offensive.  He calculated that two weeks would give enough time to the Germans to let them think that there would be no offensive this summer.  He was wrong.
At 0200 hours on 22 June, the bombardment began.  It was unlike any other suffered by the Germans thus far in the war.  Front lines were reduced to dust and massive holes began to appear in the lines.  At division level and below, a sense of panic began to creep in as reports flooded in of the sounds of impending attack: tank engines revving up in the lines opposite their own.  Contact was lost with battalion after battalion, as the Red Army's infantry was successful in cutting off land line communications.  At dawn the Red Air Force joined in the attack, striking deeper targets and providing battle damage assessments to the artillery.  Their attack is not without heavy loss, however, as the Luftwaffe is able to intercept many of the attacking waves.  By noon, the Red Air Force has pretty well shot its bolt and with very few exceptions, had no further effect on the opening stages of the battle.
By 1500, under a cloud of dust, smoke and fire, the tanks of the Red Army moved forward to exploit the gains of 10 hours of infantry combat.  By last light, some formations have broken through to a depth of 20 miles, though in most places the gains are more modest.  Still, the majority of the German front line is broken and into the gap pour the tanks of three entire tank armies.
The Germans were ready for the onslaught, and all things being equal, fully expected the results of the opening rounds.  Their only problem was to restrain the panzers from launching their attacks too soon.  The staffs all calculated that they needed to see the echelons of the attacking armies moving forward before they could strike back.  In one case, a division commander could no longer bear to hear the calls for help going unanswered.  He sent forward a tank regiment in order to make contact with the beleaguered Landsers at the front.  They linked up by 1800, but soon found themselves surrounded.  In the end, they were destroyed to a machine, the divisional commander replaced and the division reverted to "reserve" status for replacements.  In the end, however, this wayward attack helped the Russians believe that they were making greater gains than they actually were.  They miscalculated and thought that the Germans were in desperate shape, throwing into the breach all that they had left.  Unbeknownst to them, two powerful Panzer corps stood ready to allow the Russians to pass by, and then to cut it off as the advancing Tanks would then run headlong into a PAK front from which they could not escape.
Unlike in the West, the Germans were able to read the Soviets like an open book.  Much as in a staff exercise, the Germans were able to calculate their timings for attack, and the Soviets unwittingly complied with virtually every German course of action.  Although they didn't know it, the Soviets were heading closer to disaster with every mile moved westward.
30 June 1944 was the blackest day in Soviet War History.  Two previously undetected Panzer Corps, backed by two infantry corps, attacked into the flanks of their advancing armies.  Within a day, 3 tank armies, representing some 90% of the Soviet Tank force, along with two guards' armies, were cut off.  They had just suffered massive losses after running headlong into what was essentially an army sized kill zone east of Pskov.  Powerful anti tank forces (PAKs) blunted all attacks forward.  Luftwaffe FW-190s struck at the depths of the columns, reducing ammo and fuel trains to burning piles.  There was no hope for survival, and the Germans once again demonstrated their mastery at mobile warfare.


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

SITUATION IN THE WEST
Due to BAGRATION, however, the Germans were forced to allocate some forces to the East that were previously scheduled to go to France to fight off the invasion, now heading into its second month.  The Western Allies, under constant pressure, were fighting for their virtual lives on the coast, instead of running roughshod across Europe, straight into Berlin as was originally hoped.  Though the US forces were able to liberate most of the Cherbourg Peninsula, the port itself remained in German hands.  Even so, they had sabotaged it to the point that it would take upwards of a week to clear it for use.  British and Canadian forces, on the other hand, were still trying to make their way into Caen.  Though they had effectively destroyed the 12th SS Panzer in a month's continuous fighting, the 21st Panzer and Panzer Lehr, now reinforced by 2nd SS and other heavy formations, were starting to put the squeeze on the eastern beachheads.  Plans for a second "Dunkirk" were readied in London
STALEMATE IN EUROPE 
The Germans had intended to launch a great counter offensive in the East when two conditions were met.  First, the Western Allied invasion had to be defeated and second, the expected Soviet offensive had to be drawn in and quartered.  Neither condition was met.  In France, the western allies had cleared up to and including Cherbourg and by August, the port was functioning, albeit in limited capacity.  British and Canadian forces on the eastern part of the beachhead had barely pressed 10 miles inland, and Caen remained in German hands.  This was not due to poor performance; rather, it was due to having to scrap with battle hardened Panzer and Panzergrenedier divisions.  Had the US forces had to deal with the German panzers, things would have gone differently.  Though the US had mass in terms of tank power, they could not go toe to toe with the Germans.  They lacked the powerful 17 pounder guns that the Commonwealth forces, though in limited numbers, in their Sherman variant, the Firefly.  Nevertheless, the US forces were closing in on Brest, forcing the U Boat fleet to move south to other ports.  The net result was that the planned "U Boat Offensive" in the Atlantic never materialised, ENIGMA II or not.
In Italy, the Allies continued their long, hard slog up the boot of Italy.  Though they were closing in on Rome, "Smiling Albert" Kesselring was able to conduct what would later be termed a textbook delay action.  US, British, Canadian and Polish forces weren't receiving the logistical support that their counterparts were getting in France; however, the Germans opposite them also felt as though they were in some sort of "Side Show".  Still, the fighting was brutal, conducted in rough terrain, and the weather was less than forgiving.  Still, as was the case in Africa, military chivalry remained extant, even between the Poles and the Germans, though to a lesser degree than with the other Allied Forces.
In the East, the Soviet offensive "BAGRATION" was a total failure.  3 tank armies were smashed near Pskov.  A further 2 whole Guards armies were destroyed, and the remnants of the attacking forces were making themselves back to the East.  It was only due to the shortage of German forces that they were able to break through and make their way back to Soviet lines.  In the end, Leningrad was still under siege, Army Group North was still a powerful formation, and the Germans had bought more time to build up.  
At the high command, another winter of stalemate was making them restless.  They feared another strategic stalemate that would lead to massive uprisings across the Reich as what happened in 1918.  But this time, the Germans weren't starving: yet.  Production of coal and other necessities for survival in winter carried on, even in the occupied lands.  Iron Ore and other materials flowed uninterrupted across the Baltic from Sweden and Norway.  Ploesti, now the Reich's only real oil production facility, was the most heavily guarded site in the Reich, after Berlin.  Wasserfall batteries, along with interceptor squadrons, including the Me 262 Schwalbe squadrons, guarded its airspace.
In France, the Americans had finally landed enough tank forces to make a difference.  Though their tanks were inferior to even the Mark IV, they were numerous and backed up by massive artillery and the dreaded "Jabos" (as the Germans called the US fighter-bombers).  Progress was slow, but as summer turned to autumn, the planned landings in the South of France were called off so that only one front line would need support: the landing craft simply weren't available.
In short, a "Sitzkrieg" threatened to settle across Europe.  The Soviets were running out of ideas, and men.  Hundreds of thousands of young Russians, Ukrainians, Kazakhs and others from the far flung Soviet Empire were needlessly fed into the sausage grinder of the East.  Rumours were spread (thanks to the Germans, once again) of incompetence at STAVKA and the Soviet high command, and even Stalin, began to realise that something would have to be done to crack the nut, as it were.
Frustration was being felt in Berlin as well.  Though the Anglo American bomber offensive was still threatening the Reich, its effects were not as bad as feared, due mainly to a more effective air defence system, including Wasserfall and the Schwalbe.  Though Reichsführer Goering wanted such fantastical planes as a "New York Bomber", he realised that the fighter wing would be more decisive for Germany.  Also, being a former fighter pilot, he still reserved special affection for that arm.  Though development of more advanced rockets and other systems carried on, they rarely made it through the development stage.  The German high command also felt that "something" had to happen.  And it had to happen soon.  The USSR was still a formidable foe, even though for the past 18 months, every major offensive conducted by the Red Army was blunted at great cost to the Soviets.  Vast stretches of land remained under German rule, and the Ukraine was becoming the Breadbasket for the Reich.  Though about half of Italy was under Allied occupation, the repercussions of losing ground in Italy were slight: once they reached the Alps, the allies would be hard pressed to keep on their advance (with or without elephants!)
The Western Allies were also feeling the crunch.  Though the North Atlantic was finally virtually U-Boat free, Italy was proving harder than expected, and advances in France were measured in yards, not miles.  Fears of another stalemate as was seen in 1915-1918 loomed, especially for the British.  As things turned out, their forces were facing the cream of the Panzer divisions.  They were faring well, but they were losing replacements.  Adding to the drain was the continuing war in the Pacific, specifically in India and Burma.  "Germany First" remained the mantra for the Western Allies, but even the US found itself splitting resources between two parts of the globe.


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

BREAKING THE STALEMATE
Throughout history, wars have changed course due sometimes to happenstance, or fate.  Such an event was about to happen in France, though nobody realised it at the time.  It didn't happen on the front near Caen or Brest, but farther east, near Strasbourg, or Straßburg, as the Germans now called it.  (Technically, it was in Germany, as Alsace was annexed into the Reich back in 1940).  A novel FLAR ("FlugzeugAbwehrRakete", or Anti-Aircraft Missile) battery commander was tinkering around with the RADAR element and wondered "what if" the emitter were separate from the receiver element.  He brought this forward to some technicians who seemed excited with the idea.  Even when mobile, the RADAR was a large, ungainly beast.  Mounted on a large truck, the components it carried were massive and quiet vulnerable.  By the end of the week, the technicians had jury rigged a separate emitter and receiver.  The battery commander got an air force friend of his to have his squadron conduct "training" over Strasbourg as the new emitter set was tested at tracking.  The technicians noted that there was no loss in fidelity.  The net result was that emitter, receiver and launcher could all be decentralised from each other, linked only by radio commands if necessary.  Such a decentralisation would make all elements smaller and harder to detect.  As well, if one element were lost, the other two would probably survive, given their separation from each other.  As well, a smaller rocket was developed.  It wasn't anywhere near man portable, but it was the aim of the scientists who were working on it.  Much as the Anti Tank gun had evolved into a hand held weapon by 1943, the same was being attempted for the Anti Aircraft gun.
The newly developed FLAR Wasserfall II was fielded for the first time in November of 1944.  The effect on the war for the airspace over Germany was negligible.  Its real effect was the impetus for the Germans to further develop a hand held anti aircraft rocket.  Their hypothesis was that a ground based RADAR emitter would "illuminate" enemy aircraft as they flew overhead.  The ground based soldiers manning the FLAR Wasserfall II would point their rockets at the planes until a tone were emitted by the launcher, that indicated that the system was picking up a good RADAR reflection from the target.  Then the soldier would simply initiate the launch and the rocket would do the rest.
Initial testings were a dismal failure to the casual observer.  Not only did the rockets fail to pick up the RADAR reflections, but when launched, they cart wheeled across the sky, threatening all who were in attendance.  In actuality, the faults were troubleshooted and the technicians and scientists were able to sort out the "bugs": they wished to avoid fielding a substandard product too soon, as what happened with the initial Panzer Mark Vs in 1943.  The first successful test occurred at Peenemunde in February, 1945.  The target was a remotely piloted Me-109.  Though it was flying level and didn't attempt to outmanoeuvre the rocket, scientists considered it a full success.  Nevertheless, results would be carefully monitored during the initial fielding phase.
It was decided to first field the Wasserfall II in France in March 1945.  Though the Western Allies still didn't have air supremacy in France, it was getting that way.  US and British fighters were being replaced at a faster rate than Luftwaffe crews, in spite of Goering personal influence in emphasising the need for the modern day Knights.  Air superiority was having a dreadful effect on German tank formations in France.  Although units were almost always able to make it through, the losses were beginning to mount and it seemed as though the allies, the US forces in particular, had an endless supply of men and material.
7 March 1945 saw Wasserfall II implemented with mixed physical results.  An element of the reformed 12th SS was moving up to the front near Caen when it was attacked by Jabos of the US Army Air Force.  As they came in for their strafing runs, Wasserfall II rockets reached up to greet the attacking planes.  Mixed with 20mm FLAK and machine gun fire, the Americans ran into a virtual wall of lead.  Though no fighters were actually hit by the Wasserfall rockets (only ten were fired, and of them, only 1 launcher actually had positive lock: the remainder had emitted the "lock" tone in error, which was soon sorted out), the attack was aborted with no loss to the 12th SS.  To say the least, morale within the ranks of the mostly 16 year old soldiers was heightened almost to the point of frenzy!  Other air attacks on German field formations were also met with Wasserfall FLAR units.  Soon the US Army Air Force reverted to attacking FLAR and FLAK units in an effort to once again have a free hand in attacking German field units.  Naturally, German logistics were well protected by FLAR and FLAK, and as a result, these rear units suffered more from air attack than the front line Panzer and Panzergrenedier units.  
The net result was that German field units were able to move with more freedom in France.  Though the Jabos always remained a threat, mounting pressure on them by the FLAR and FLAK, combined with the occasional surge by the Luftwaffe over the battlefield, gave the Germans their first real victory in France since their destruction of SWORD back in June of 1944.
Noting the danger to Brest, the staff of OB West planned an offensive to relieve the pressure on that city (and its vital ports).  Such a port would allow the Western Allies to double their logistical intake.  As it stood now, the only thing holding back the US, UK and Canadian forces was their own supply trails.  The port of Brest would double logistical intake and allow the Western Allies to unleash fully into the Germans opposite them.
The German plan was relatively simple.  Two tank divisions, supported by a Panzergrenedier division, a motorised division and several infantry divisions, would attack straight north from just south of Brest.  The city was under the control of neither side, and the port was fully functional: the Germans had it rigged for sabotage, but failed to actually carry out this destruction.  The local commander "disappeared" once he reached Paris, but rumours abounded that he was in fact a British spy!
Due to the US Army Air force's concentration on suppressing the German air defences, the German build up went unnoticed until it was too late.  The night prior to the launching of the offensive, prepetory moves by the advance elements of the Germans tipped off to the US forces opposite them that "something was up".  Though alerted, it was too late.  At 0400 on 28 March 1945, the Germans attacked.  By noon, the US forward lines were overwhelmed in spite of heroic stands.  The Germans simply bypassed the strongpoints and allowed follow on Infantry Divisions to "deal with them".  The bulk of the US forces were farther east, and the Commonwealth forces were in no shape to come to their aid.  
The offensive was successful beyond any expectations of the Germans.  Not only was Brest secured, but the advance carried on much farther north than was expected.  Still, by 4 April, the US opposition had stiffened to the point where an entire Panzer Regiment was virtually destroyed by strongly held positions 25 miles north of Brest.  This combined with a surge by the dreaded Jabos blunted any further advance.  Still, the Germans secured Brest and denied the Western Allies their greatly needed second port!


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

FIRE OVER BERLIN
Robert Oppenheimer.  He was the head scientist running Operation MANHATTAN, a super-secret experiment being conducted in the deserts of Nevada.  The plan was to create a bomb so powerful that it would render an entire city into flame.  There were nay-sayers at all levels, but even the new president, Harry Truman, felt that "something had to happen" to end the war.  Though "Germany First" was the policy, it was proving to be more difficult.  The Japanese were being driven back on all fronts, due in thanks mostly to the US.  If successful, the new "Atomic" bombs would be dropped on Germany.  It was hoped that by destroying an entire city with just one bomb would break the back of resistance.
The USSR was bogged down in an extended line of trench warfare with the Germans.  This gave the Germans the opportunity to rotate divisions in and out of the line, as well as to give new divisions some combat experience before heading to the Western or Italian front.  Unlike 1943, the Eastern Front was the "quiet" front for Germany.  The Western Allies noted that there were several attacks being conducted by the Soviets, but in every case, they were blunted by the Germans.  Manpower was also in decline in the Soviet Union.  Some "divisions" had fewer than 5000 soldiers!  Tanks were plentiful, but tank crews were not.  Any crewmen with experience were either dead or captured.  Every year, it seemed, the Soviet tank arm had to reinvent itself.
The Italian front bogged down north of Rome.  When liberated from the Germans in October 1944, the Pope himself greeted the British General commanding the forces upon his arrival at The Holy See.  Following a short audience with His Holiness, the British and Americans went back to the deadly business of fighting the Germans.  By April 1945, they were only 20 miles north of Rome: the terrain and dogged resistance of the Germans prevented any marked advance.
In France, the offensive near Brest was a psychological blow to the US forces.  Thus far, they had conducted all offensive operations above division level.  Though the Commonwealth forces had faced their share of offensives, all with mixed results, the allocation of the US Army Air Force to Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) missions had let them down.  They were unable to note the build up of some six divisions south of Brest, in spite of warnings from the Resistance.  It was noted, however, that the Resistance was heavily compromised by Canaris' effective counter insurgency campaign.  In short, the Resistance was basically ignored.  For the first time since 5 June 1944, there were no major combat operations occurring in France: both sides were spent, and the Allies decided to keep up the pressure with their air units, allowing the ground units to build up for a surge to finally break the back of German resistance in France.
6 June 1945, the first anniversary of the landings in France came and went with nary a fan fare.  "Signal" magazine noted the anniversary with a photo respective of the event, and included an extensive photo spread of the 12th SS's attack into SWORD beach.  Some of the photos were published for the first time, including one in which a smiling young Hitler Youth, brandishing an MG-42, is seen standing over the bodies of unidentified Allied soldiers.  Later, the UK press used this very photo to accuse Germany of war crimes, suggesting that the dead were just gunned down by the smiling fanatic.  In actuality, the photo was staged, and the "dead" were simply friends of the soldier lying face down in the sand, field grey greatcoats covering their distinctive "Flecktarn" tunics.  In fact, the photo was taken well before D-Day, back in Germany, on exercise!
The summer of 1945 was one of flow and ebb in France.  In the end, the US forces on the Allied right wing were able to break through the thinning German ranks and reached Brest.  Though the city was still garrisoned by some 10,000 Germans, the Americans carried on their advance.  It was not without loss, but once more, the front was moving, albeit at a snail's pace.
By the end of July, the Americans had doubled the amount of "liberated" French territory.  The Germans simply failed to have sufficient forces to push the Americans back, though they still retained enough combat power to keep their advances minimal.
The summer of 1945 was quite quiet in the Eastern Front.  The soviets simply didn't have any ideas left.  Stalin was enraged and initiated his third purge.  This time, the Generals had enough!  Once word spread that any purge was underway, a group of generals, under a young Nikita Khrushchev, branded Stalin as a Nazi puppet and called for his head.  Stalin was to blame, they asserted, and slowly but surely the USSR split into two camps.  The effect on the front was negligible at first, as the front line divisions were content to let the rear echelon pigeons sort out the national leadership.  As far as they were concerned, it mattered not who was in charge, for nothing would change the fact that they were at war with Germany.  As the Communists fought amongst themselves in the rear, production was curtailed, limited supplies to the front.  The Germans were well aware of the situation and chose to exploit it by not attacking.  They simply allowed the USSR to fight amongst itself.  The German High Command estimated that the USSR would implode in a matter of months, if not weeks, much as had happened back in 1917.
Early August would bring about an end to the war, much swifter than anyone had expected.  The USSR was for all intents and purposes embroiled in a civil war, though the front was still maintained.  German forces opposite curtailed combat operations there such that Soviets were free to emerge from their bunkers and in some cases, mingle with German, Hungarian, Dutch, Finnish and even Rumanian soldiers in the bunkers opposite.  This practice was officially forbidden, but in reality, it happened more often than the High Command cared to know about.
At Bremerhaven at 0100 on 6 August 1945, coastal RADAR detected a single bomber approaching the airspace of the Reich.  This was not unusual: single bombers usually made reconnaissance flights over the Reich.  They flew too high for most fighters, but due to operations elsewhere, none of the high flying jets were available for intercept.  As well, Wasserfall wasn't very good against solo aircraft.  To be most effective, the enemy bombers had to be in a mass formation, which they themselves needed to have any accuracy when they bombed.   So, the operators reported the contact and began to track it.  
The plane was a single RAF Lancaster.  On board was a mixed Allied crew.  The pilot was Canadian, the rest of the flight crew were British, but the bombardier and "special crewman" were American.  Though the US wanted to use a high flying B-29 for this mission, Eisenhower decided against it.  None were used as yet in Europe, and he didn't want anything tipping off the Germans that this mission was different.  For purely political reasons, the crew was a mixed Commonwealth crew, but the bombardier and "special crewman" had to be American.  The bombardier was trained in the use of the "Little Boy" Atomic Bomb.  The target for the crew was Berlin.  Specifically, the Reichstag.  
Berlin was chosen for a few key reasons.  First, as capital of the Reich, it was serve to give notice to the Germans that not even their vaunted "Reichshauptstadt" were safe.  Also, it had been nearly two years since the Allies had bombed Berlin in any serious level.  Therefore, any and all damage in the heart of the city would be seen to have been caused by one plane carrying one bomb.  As well, with any luck, the German government may be caught in the blast, decapitating the German war machine, giving the Allies the upper hand they most desperately needed!
At 0315 on 6 August 1945, parts of Eastern Germany reported "the greatest flash of light" ever seen coming from Berlin.  On the ground moments before the blast it was a calm Monday morning.  The explosion changed all that in an instant.  Though most people were sleeping, those who were out in the open were killed instantly.  Farther away from the epicentre, there were survivors from the initial effects of the explosion, but soon the air was filled with flying debris of all kinds, from the expected, such as masonry, to the macabre, including bodies and parts of bodies.  As fortune would have it, the German Government was readying for a meeting that was to start at 0330.  An emergency session was called due to a recent telegram received "through Switzerland" from Khrushchev.  Apparently he was seeking terms for a ceasefire, to be followed up by a peace agreement.  The first elements of the government were just arriving at the Reichstag when the Little Boy exploded some 1,500 feet above them.  There were no survivors.
 Goering was still in Potsdam, his driver waiting for him outside a dank apartment building.  What was going on in there was never questioned.  Once it was clear that Berlin had just suffered an attack on a biblical scale, Goering and the remnants of his staff drove hell bent for leather for Rastenburg.  Orders were given to shoot down any unidentified planes that came within 100 miles, and a significant number of Wasserfall batteries were positioned.  Goering went into a radio silence mode as he contemplated his next moves.  As the first streaks of sun began to fill the skies of Europe, Germans awoke to the sight of dark, foreboding clouds over Berlin.  Though it was true that most of the city was unharmed by the blast, the centre had been gutted.  There was no communication coming from Berlin, and a general sense of panic began to creep into the national German psyche.


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

The western allies were ecstatic with the results.  The Germans were so shocked that most messages were sent in the clear and un encrypted, and therefore intercepted.  Units were screaming for direction from above, but nobody seemed to know what to do, or even what was going on.  The only front that remained somewhat calm was the Eastern Front, where they had their own problems to deal with, let alone the "unfounded" rumours that Berlin had just been destroyed by a single plane!
As they pored over the results, the western allies struggled with finding a suitable second target.  Though offers of ceasefire were given, no replies were received.  Though they intended to inflict a severe blow to the German government, they didn't think that they would be so effective, and as a result, nobody in the German camp knew who had authority any more!  Given that a second attempt by a solo bomber would probably not go through the air defence systems so easily, a coastal city would be chosen so that the air defences would have less of a chance to engage the bomber.  This time, Hamburg was chosen.  Not only was it on the coast, it was large enough to psychologically attack the Germans.  
Three nights later, on 9 August 1945, the raid on Hamburg was underway.  The Lancaster approached the coast low so as to avoid RADAR.  A deception mission was currently underway with a number of "solo" bombers approaching the Reich that night.  One raid was actually intercepted by an Me-110 night fighter, but the rest got through.  Most importantly, the Lancaster with the "Fat Man" bomb aboard made it to Hamburg.  The crew climbed to altitude and dropped their load right over the harbour.  As the explosion ripped through the yards, fires spread through the city.  Panic reigned supreme over the normal staid Germans and they began to flee the city.  Normal bombing raids were hard on a person, but there was nothing like the effect of awakening from a deep slumber to only suddenly realise that your city was on fire!
Panic spread throughout the Reich right to the front.  First Berlin and now Hamburg were in flames!  The government had somehow reformed, and there were violent arguments in the depths of Berlin as to what to do next.  Some argued for staying the course.  Others argued that any further resistance would be in vain.  And it would destroy Germany in the mean time.  The tipping point came in his broadcast to the union on the morning of 9 August.  President Truman announced the Atomic Bombings of Berlin and Hamburg.  He promised his citizens that the rain of Atomic Bombs would continue until the German government surrendered to "the Western Allies".
Upon hearing the two words "Western Allies", the German High Command realised that they got their wish: the end of the war with the West.  Though the Soviet Union was vast and had a seemingly endless supply of men, the industry of the West, and the United States in Particular, was what they feared most.  Also, the USSR was in the midst of full blown civil war.  Nothing was to be gained by continuing the war.  Germany was relatively unscathed, the forces in moderate shape, and they could finally have "peace with honour".  As well, “unconditional surrender” was never mentioned.  
At 1245 9 August 1945, Field Marshall Jodl announced on the radio that he had ordered "All German forces on land, at sea and in the air" to cease combat operations effective 1800 9 August, Berlin time.  Though the negotiations would continue, specifically regarding reparations to France, the war was over.  The USSR was in the midst of a bloody civil war.  It was ironic that the Western Allies asked the Germans to continue their occupation of western Russia and the Ukraine to maintain "Law and Order".  Unknown to Washington and London, but the German sense of "Law and Order" for the Slavic peoples was rather brutish: the concentration camps had pretty well finished up exterminating the European Jewish population, and was beginning to work overtime on other 'undesirables'.  Though the war was over, and France, the low countries, Denmark and Norway were liberated, the Germans "maintained" a presence over Eastern Europe, at least for the time being.
By 1948, the civil war in the USSR was over.  Stalin's supporters had emerged victorious, with Khrushchev's group being all but eliminated.  The Germans had handed over control of Poland and the rest of eastern Europe, only after they eliminated all traces of the death camps.  Though rumours abounded as to their existence, most people wished these away as fanciful propaganda.  Stalin wanted to press on the war against Germany, but the US and UK would have none of it.  Though no longer supported by the lend-lease convoys, the USSR was still a formidable opponent.


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## vonGarvin (20 Jul 2007)

AFTERMATH AND PRELUDE
Berlin and Hamburg lay in ruins.  The Americans had been able to force a Japanese surrender in September 1945, shortly after Germany threw in the towel.  Massive US forces surrounded the home island and promises of Atomic Bombs falling on Japanese cities forced the hand of the Emperor.  In Europe, Germany withdrew from the occupied territories and returned her meagre fleet to ports.  As they withdrew from Soviet Russia, White Russia and the Ukraine, the follow on Soviet forces were met with occasional resistance from ethnic groups bent on resisting a return to Soviet rule.  They had been under German occupation for so long, that they no longer wanted more rule: they wanted autonomy.  Soviet reaction was brutish.  Thousands were killed as the Red Army took out its revenge for not being able to beat the Germans on the field of battle.  Though battered, the German forces were still a force to be contended with, and under terms of the Paris Treaty of 1945, withdrew their forces to their Autumn 1939 borders.
This caused a rift with ex patriated Poles in particular.  They feared that the eastern half of their nation would fall under Soviet rule.  Upon returning to Warsaw, a government was quickly formed that established Polish Borders as they were prior to the Soviet and Nazi invasions of 1939.  Unfortunately for them, expatriate Poles who had spent the previous six plus years in the Soviet Union had other ideas.  Not wanting the just ended war to spark up again, the Western Allies sought talks with the Soviet Union over the future of Poland.  The Soviets wanted the borders reset to June 21, 1941.  That would encompass over half of Poland!  For the Americans in particular, this was just not acceptable.  In the end, a compromise was made, and Poland was divided into two spheres of influence with the Bug river forming the boundary between "East Poland" and "West Poland".  West Poland had as its capital Warsaw, right on the border, and East Poland had Lvov as its capital.  By 1948, the USSR had established several "Friendship Divisions" in East Poland to aid in the fledgling communist nation's "security".  The Poles of west, also known by now as "Warsaw Poles" invited US and UK forces to counterbalance.  
As the demobilisation of the Wehrmacht carried on, Rommel was named to head the General Staff.  Berlin, now in ruins, was no longer the seat of government as the clean up continued.  A new Reichstag was established in Bonn, on the Rhine, where Reichsführer Goering was "allowed" by the west to carry on as leader of the nation.  Even though the Americans wanted a change in the regime, they realised that Goering was immensely popular in Germany, and that any overt attempt to remove his influence could prove disastrous.  As well, Goering now had the Western Allies to counterbalance the SS under Himmler.  He wanted them gone, in a new "Night of the Long Knives", but feared the back lash.  He was uncertain if the Wehrmacht in general; the Heer in particular, would support him.  He had the full backing of the Luftwaffe, who openly referred to him as "Onkel Hermann" (Uncle Hermann).  The Kriegsmarine was so minute that its support or opposition was virtually negligible, as far as he was concerned.
Looking east, the Western Allies feared that the USSR would indeed be bent on expanding westward, Atomic bomb or no Atomic bomb!  Though the Poles, White Russians, Latvians and others were nominally running their own nations, it was clear that all direction came from Moscow.  In an effort to counter this threat, they formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).  The initial member states, including Canada and the United States as well as the UK and Germany, all vowed to come to the aid if any of the member states were attacked.  In other words, if the USSR decided to attack Norway, then they may as well be attacking all member states.
Moscow smelled a propaganda coup.  The poor communist nations were now facing an overt alliance of capitalist states, all aligned against them!  It was regrettable, but their hand was forced: they formed their very own alliance: the Lvov Pact!  The Democratic Republic of Poland, the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic and even the White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic all joined this "alliance", who similarly decreed to go to war to protect one another.  In reality, the Soviets ran everything from Moscow.  The signing of the Pact did nothing to alter the reality: Russians were in charge of everything, even Polish divisions and in one case; there was a Russian Regimental Commander in a Latvian division!
In the end, the Heer was allowed to retain 10 divisions dispersed in three corps.  Three divisions were Panzer, six were Panzergrenedier and one was Fallschirmjäger.  The Luftwaffe was more lavishly outfitted, but only with fighter squadrons: a mix of FW-190 and Me-262.  The navy was allowed a small surface fleet, but no submersibles were allowed.  In the end, the Germans weren't humiliated as they were in 1918/1919.  They retained an effective combat force and were part of an alliance against the Soviet Union.  Their withdrawal from the Soviet Union had been fairly orderly and many a young Landser was happy to return to civilian life.
By 1949, Europe was once again an armed camp.  The border between the two Polands had been sealed off under what Churchill called an "Iron Curtain".  Moscow was more paranoid than ever and vowed to never again suffer what it did in 1941: betrayal at the hands of a supposed ally.  Powerful tank forces were stationed near the intra Polish border and the socialist rhetoric implied that the Nazis and the West were allied the whole time against the USSR.  NATO forces in Poland included a number of Polish units, as well as US, UK and French units.  German units remained in Germany, in spite of them being equipped with the most advanced armour in Europe.  Still, it was much too soon to have German troops back in Poland.  In any event, if war came, they were out of harms way and it was reasoned that they would make a very effective counter attack, if needed.  After all, they already had much practice in Poland and they knew the countryside quite well.


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## ironduke57 (23 Jul 2007)

Is there a new part in sight?

Regards,
ironduke57


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## vonGarvin (25 Jul 2007)

*PRELUDE TO DARKNESS*​
	Following such a long period of destruction across Europe, not even those in the Politburo were ready to plunge Europe into its third major war in less than forty years.  The losses on all sides had been steep, and although infrastructure damage in the United States was virtually nil, the drain on the economy and manpower had been enough to almost keep the soldiers of that nation out of Europe, even in the advent of the forming of NATO.  From President Truman on down in Washington, it was felt that Europeans must stand ready to fight for Europe, if the confrontation with the USSR came to blows.
	Still, the policy makers in the US realised that Europe wasn’t ready for that yet.  Though the industry of the USSR was primitive by western standards, it was effective enough to churn out weaponry in massive quantities.  The late war tank models had proven to be very powerful, and the Red Army artillery had not suffered the great losses that the infantry had, even in the Civil war between the Communists and the upstart “revolutionaries” led by Khrushchev.  Now with Stalin’s grip on the USSR even tighter than following the purges of ten years prior, the USSR, paranoid as ever, was indeed a dangerous beast.  To add to the nervousness of Truman, there were some well-founded rumours that the USSR was on the verge of detonating an atomic weapon.  It was not known how they got the technology to be able to get an atomic weapon, but there lacked the means in the west to deliver their own atomic weapons to any place in the USSR that would actually deter the Soviets from attacking.
	In Germany prior to the ascent of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime, there was a powerful communist movement.  Discretion being the better part of valour, some communist-leaning scientists kept their politics to themselves during the 1930s and 1940s.  Once the war was over, some of these scientists made contact with the German communist underground and put out feelers to the East to see if there was anything they could do.  They to a man hated the Nazi regime, and even more so, hated the occupation of their land by the “decadents” of the West.  Americans, Britons and even the French had set up “zones of occupation” in Germany, as well as in West Poland.  To them, this was an affront to what they saw as the next stage in the evolution of society: a just society under socialist rule.   Not the perverted view offered by the Nazis, but the “true” communists, as seen in the USSR, and the newly founded People’s Republic of China.  Communism was the future, and they wanted in on the ground floor.  They saw themselves as the founding fathers of Communism’s spread to the West.
	On 15 September 1950, an atomic bomb was detonated by the Soviets in Eastern Siberia.  Pravda announced this to the world on the morning of the 16th, and this was confirmed to President Truman by seismic readings picked up across the globe: something huge had happened and the only explanation was that the Soviets weren’t lying.  Tensions ran high at the newly founded United Nations, with the west accusing the Soviets of trying to intimidate the west.  The Soviets countered that they were doing what was best for them, that is, defending themselves with means previously only available to the Americans.
	The Bug River in Poland became a very tense place that winter.  As soon as the announcement was made, NATO units in West Poland went on alert and in a show of force deployed to defensive positions from the Baltic to the Czech border.  The Soviets countered by alerting Lvov Pact divisions all along the frontier.  The world waited to see if this would be yet another Sitzkrieg, or if the two Super Alliances would actually square off on the field of battle, which would almost certainly involve the liberal use of atomic weapons.


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## Greymatters (25 Jul 2007)

Smoke!

Now it will appear in my recent posts...


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## vonGarvin (25 Jul 2007)

GreyMatter said:
			
		

> Smoke!
> 
> Now it will appear in my recent posts...


???


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## Greymatters (25 Jul 2007)

As in 'pop smoke' ? ... sends up a cloud of coloured gases to indicate a spot for identification?  ... never mind...  :-X


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## Pte AJB (25 Jul 2007)

Great stuff, looking forward to the next installment.


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## Greymatters (25 Jul 2007)

Can you clear up which eastern European countries are under USSR rule at this time? And whether they are supporting Greek communist guerillas?


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## Mike Baker (25 Jul 2007)

How did I miss this?! Keep it comming Garvin  ;D


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## vonGarvin (25 Jul 2007)

GreyMatter said:
			
		

> Can you clear up which eastern European countries are under USSR rule at this time? And whether they are supporting Greek communist guerillas?


It's coming...it's coming ;D


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## vonGarvin (26 Jul 2007)

Suddenly, the author realised that his essay for his OPME is overdue, so the world went into stasis for a (hopefully) short period of time.  Back soon, I promise!


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## ironduke57 (3 Aug 2007)

It´s now a week. Did you find time to write a bit?

Regards,
ironduke57


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## vonGarvin (3 Aug 2007)

Actually, just a bit.  I was camping until today.  Hopefully some more juicy tidbits by Sunday (hoffentlich!)


Servus!


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## Greymatters (3 Aug 2007)

Slacker!  Im still waiting....


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## Mike Baker (3 Aug 2007)

GreyMatter said:
			
		

> Slacker!  Im still waiting....


Yeah! What he said!


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## ironduke57 (7 Aug 2007)

,
ironduke57


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## ironduke57 (12 Aug 2007)

"cough" "cough"

Regards,
ironduke57


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## vonGarvin (23 Aug 2007)

*BACK FROM THE BRINK*​	In spite of the increased tension along the border, relations at the political cooled somewhat that autumn.  As time went by, the units stood down and the brinkmanship was over.  Both sides crowed in the press that they showed the moral fortitude to refrain from engaging the other side.  In reality, neither side could afford to go to war.  
	The previous war had nearly destroyed Great Britain.  Economically, it was a shadow of its former self.  Former colonies across the globe were gaining independence and they no longer had guaranteed access to the goods required for their economies.  France too had lost much, and the United States, though relatively untouched by the war at home, had no stomach to once again send its young men off to die in a war on foreign soil.  
	The Soviet Union was literally decimated in the war, losing some 10% of its population in the previous fifteen years, first in the purges, then to the Germans, and finally in the civil war that erupted at the end of the last year of the war.  The majority of these losses were the young men who even now should have been moving up in society as managers and bosses of the various economic initiatives across the USSR.
	Germany, though a member of NATO, had no real say at the political decision making level.  Having been let off relatively easily at the end of the war, it was still rebuilding across the land.  The centres of Hamburg and Berlin were being rebuilt from scratch, and as in the case of the USSR, there was a literal shortage of manpower across the land.
	So, in the end, though both sides glared at each other, neither wanted to start a war.  Having said that, the USSR did indeed have plans to push their agenda west.


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## vonGarvin (23 Aug 2007)

*cough*  I know that this is only a few paragraphs.  But I just thought I'd put "something" up there, since it's been so long!  (And I have a few moments to spare)


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## Mike Baker (23 Aug 2007)

Still good. When can we expect some more?


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## vonGarvin (23 Aug 2007)

Hopefully soon!


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## Mike Baker (23 Aug 2007)

Captain Sensible said:
			
		

> Hopefully soon!


Woo Hoo!  ;D


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## vonGarvin (23 Aug 2007)

*YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION?*​
	Though Poland, Germany and the rest of north western Europe were now fairly stable, economically and politically, the same could not be said for the south east.  Hungary, Rumania, Yugoslavia, Greece and even Bulgaria were all in a state of near revolt.  None of those countries had any democratic history (in spite of the word “democracy” coming from the Greek).  Stalin looked that way, and realised that if he were to secure a series of puppet governments that stretched to the Adriatic and the Mediterranean, he would have access to a whole new world of opportunities.
	He sat with his Politburo late in 1950.  The mood was somewhat euphoric after the recent “stand off” with NATO along the border in Poland.  The USSR had “The Bomb”, the army was rebuilding and the forces of NATO, though united, appeared to be dismantling.
	“Gentlemen.  We’ve been going at this all wrong.  We tried through force of military power to influence our neighbours.  It didn’t work in Poland in 1920, and the Germans nearly did us in, but they too failed.  I ask you.  How did communism take over this land of ours?  Let me tell you: revolution!  It was the will of the people!  It comes from within, not from without.  The same happened in China.  So, I ask you: how do we get the rest of Europe to fall under our control?  From within!”
	Stalin went on to propose a covert offensive operation aimed at all the nations in the south and east of Europe.  From Italy to Turkey, Stalin foresaw a sea of revolution.  All he had to do was to sow the seeds and the bounty of communism would indeed be a bountiful harvest.
	His plan was relatively simple.  He would introduce into each “targeted nation” a collection of “refugees”, among whom would be several agents of the USSR.  They would form unions, make demands of the governments, stage demonstrations, and the like.  When the time was ready, they would provoke revolution.  Stalin realised that this would take time, and he was indeed quite old.  He wanted more, but given the internal troubles within the USSR, he was too busy to be worried about the fact that he would not probably live to see the Hammer and Sickle stretch from the Pacific to the Mediterranean.
	The USSR, though at peace and rebuilding, was still suffering the political aftershocks of the civil war.  Reconciliation was not an option, and though Moscow was intent on fostering revolution abroad, it was wary of revolution at home.  The NKVD was indeed targeting leaders of the revolutionaries, but their methods of suppression were less than violent.  Mostly, they discredited these leaders, by creating scandal and doubt as to their character.  Naturally, they weren’t always successful, and in some cases were comically unsuccessful, but nevertheless, they were winning the battle for the state.
	In early 1951, Stalin announced that a great number of refugee applicants in the Ukraine were being allowed to migrate west.  15 thousand refugees arrived at border crossings in Rumania and soon there were refugee camps across that land.  Among these mostly legitimate refugees were well-trained members of the KGB.  Almost at once, they began their work.  They agitated and pointed out the low standard of living across the land.  Though it was true that the standard of living in Rumania was indeed low, it wasn’t as bad as the agitators were saying.  Still, that didn’t matter.  They were rather successful in getting people to join their “cause”.  They didn’t call it “communism” or “socialism”, they called their movement the “People’s Justice Coalition”.  
	By late 1952, some 18 months after the “refugees” started across the border, Rumania was a hotbed of revolution.  The state police had been dispatched several times to quell riots, especially workers’ riots that were started to protest oppressive conditions and poor wages.  As the fires began to rise throughout Rumania, the USSR warned the government of Rumania that they would not stand idly by if any Soviet Nationals were harmed.  Secretly, they armed their revolutionaries who were now recruiting large numbers of young Rumanians.  The stage was set for revolution.


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## ironduke57 (23 Aug 2007)

Captain Sensible said:
			
		

> ... since it's been so long!  ...



LOL! I am reading an fanfic story (Crossover between StarWars and PerryRhodan Universe.) which started in in 01 and it isn´t nearly finished.

But that doesn´t mean that you shouldn´t get your lazy ass to work! ;D

SCNR,
ironduke57


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## a_majoor (5 Sep 2007)

And while Southern Europe is cooking, what about Iran, the rest of the Middle East, Africa, Korea, Japan (or for that matter the fifth column activities in Canada and the United States?)

There is also a missile gap, a Space Race (look up Project Horizon to see how it *might* have turned out), South American revolutions, Africa, Australia......

Even without ginger addicted aliens or time travelling Confederates it seems you have bitten off a very big piece of steak. Now we all want to see you chew and swallow.

op:


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## vonGarvin (5 Sep 2007)

a_majoor said:
			
		

> *Now we all want to see you chew and swallow.*


Captain Sensible swallows for no man (or woman for that matter)  

;D


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## Greymatters (5 Sep 2007)

Hey, hey, PC Police are gonna get attracted if you keep that up!


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## ironduke57 (10 Sep 2007)

We are waiting!

, ironduke57


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## vonGarvin (15 Oct 2007)

Apologies to one and all for my recent "writer's blocks".  You see, for some reason, a big cloud of drunkeness hits me every friday, hangovers on Saturday....(just kidding)

Actually, my mind races on this, I plan to write, and then life interferes.  So, I plan (sometime) to sit in a darkened room and flesh out more of my alternate universe.  

Thanks for your patience, but mostly thank you for your inspiration.


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## vonGarvin (5 Nov 2007)

*February 1st, 1953.  Bucharest, Rumania*.​Since earlier in the previous year, many Ukrainian refugees, or "undesirables" from the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic had flowed into the capital in search of a better life.  However, just as Stalin had wished, there were many agitators within the ranks of the disenchanted who were given the simple mission to destablise Rumania and set the conditions for Revolution.  This would be the test for any future revolutions.  If Rumania could be taken from within, then the west, in spite of all of its military power, could be destroyed in a similar fashion, thus securing the Soviet Union from external threats.
On the 1st of February, a massive protest against the government started in the "Refugee Ghetto" of Bucharest.  Ukrainians in their hundreds, spurred on by the fifth columnists, took to the streets, demanding fair wages for their work.  Many had indeed been explioted by ruthless businessmen in the capital, but the living conditions were actually better than in the Ukraine.  The problem was one of relativity.  Rumanians had a much better standard of living, and the oil fields of Ploesti literally fuelled the economy of the country, feeding into the rebuilding efforts of central Europe.
For three days the protests were relatively peaceful, and many Rumanian citizens actually joined the protests until eventually a civil strike rendered the city to a stand still.  Businesses were losing money, and many powerful tycoons secretly lobbied the government for action.  They wanted the workers back in their shops to keep the economy going.  The government, however, was worried that any provocative acts on their part could stir the pot too much and the Bear to the East could put great pressure on the country, economically and militarily.
The general strike began to hurt the city, making conditions worse and actually having the negative effect of more and more people joining the ranks of the protesters.
Finally, on the 10th, the government acted.  It declared a curfew for Bucharest from dusk until dawn, but this was generally ignored.  In the early morning hours of the 12th the spark was lit that would send Rumania into a full fledged revolution.  
A fire started around 4 am in the "Refugee Ghetto".  Fearing for their own safety, the fire brigades refused at first to venture into the area to quell the flames.  It was only after dawn broke that that the full scope of the tragedy that was  unfolding came to light.  The overcrowded areas sealed the fate for many who lived there, and initial estimates suggested that upwards of twenty people had died in the fires, with many more wounded.  The fire brigade finally was ordered in, with police escort.  They arrived on the scene to a horrific site.  Row after row of sub standard housing was ablaze, and many of the residents were passing buckets to quell the flames.  Instead of welcoming the fire brigade, they instead turned their wrath on them and a massive riot broke out.  In the end, the police were able to suppress the rioters, but only after firing into the crowds that killed upwards of a dozen, including mothers who were enraged that their children had perished.  Bucharest was on fire, and it was only getting worse.
Stalin summoned Beria to the Kremlin to receive a briefing.  The head of Security for the USSR briefed that all was going well in Rumania.  The police had panicked, and the early inaction of the government had only made the situation worse.  Revolution was in full swing, and Beria suggested that Stalin's time was now to offer support to the oppressed people of Rumania.
On the evening of the 15th of February, PRAVDA reported that two soviet divisions were ready to move on Bucharest in order to assist with the situation in the Rumanian capital.  NATO was caught napping and failed to detect this move and were as surprised as any at the Soviet reaction. They were lulled into a deep slumber by the USSR's relative apparent indifference to the plight of the Rumanians.  Though NATO counter offered their support, but since with so many democratic nations there was no time to unify NATO's official stance, there was the USSR, ready and willing to assist, along with tacit support of the Lvov Pact nations.
Though no member of the Rumanian Government officially replied to the Soviet "assistance request", the Soviets moved nevertheless and by the 20th of February, Soviet troops were moving in on Bucharest.  The Rumanian Army, too worried about the situation in Bucharest, made no effort to oppose the Soviets.  Before anyone had realised it, Rumania had fallen to  the Soviets and a young Rumanian communist, Nicolae Ceausescu, barely 35 years old and relatively unheard of in Rumania, declared that he was President of Rumania, and he had support.  He was chosen early by Beria's services to be the Rumanian face of Revolution. 
The incumbent government didn't have the power to resist.  Striken by his failure to stop the quick revolution, and shocked into inaction by the horrors of the Ghetto Fires, (which were still burning), King Michael abdicated his throne, but not before confirming the young Ceausescu as Premier of Rumania.
Ceausescu was able to "stop" the revolution in a matter of days.  He publicly welcomed the Ukrainian "guests" into Rumania, and declared Rumania to be a workers' republic.  Finally, in a move that stunned NATO leadership, especially in Poland, Ceausescu publicly joined the Lvov Pact on 1 March, 1953.  Economically, this was a boon for the USSR, as the oil from Ploesti would now flow East rather than North, stunting the regrowth of Poland while providing vital energy to the USSR and its satellites.  
To celebrate the newest member of the Lvov Pact, Stalin hosted a party in the Kremlin later that evening.  This was to be a fateful dinner and party for the USSR, as well as for the future of Europe itself.


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## ironduke57 (21 Feb 2008)

Regards,
ironduke57


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## vonGarvin (22 Feb 2008)

Man, do I ever wish I had time for writing. I even have it on my computer, but alas.....


I promise: next opportunity, I'll do stuff up.

Thanks for the reminder


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## Blackadder1916 (26 Mar 2008)

You were not the only one to look at an alternate post-war scenario.  Maybe this wll provide some ideas for your continuing saga.

FM 30-102 - Handbook on Aggressor Military Forces (31 March 1951)   pdf 6.9MB



> Section II. HISTORICAL OUTLINE
> 3. History of Aggressor.
> 
> a.    At the close of World War II in 1945 the chaotic conditions in Western Europe, resulting from fundamental disagreements between the victorious allied nations, gave rise to a new nation, Aggressor (fig. 1).
> ...


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## vonGarvin (31 Mar 2008)

*ASSASSIN*​

To celebrate the newest member of the Lvov Pact, Stalin hosted a party in the Kremlin later that evening.  This was to be a fateful dinner and party for the USSR, as well as for the future of Europe itself.
Unknown to Stalin, Beria was planning his overthrow for some time.  This evening of the 4th of March, 1953 was to be eventful indeed!  His plan was rather simple: poison Stalin and leave vacant the top spot in the most powerful nation on earth.  Beria would then be free to manoeuvre himself into a position of power.  He realised that it would take time, and he realised that many would be drawing their knives even before Stalin’s blood had turned cold in his veins.  He had already waited many years for this, so he was prepared to wait a few more if necessary.
During the dinner, Stalin drank much (as was his custom) and the party dragged on into the wee hours of the morning.  Rumania and its oil was his!  Poland would freeze and the NATO forces there would soon be viewed as invaders, resulting in a popular uprising of the people demanding protection from expansion from the West!
Due to the late hour, Stalin’s private guard was less attentive than usual.  Beria took full advantage and poured drinks for Stalin, just as Stalin had demanded.  Spilling some of the drink as though he were drunk, the fully sober Beria bent over to clean up his mess, taking the opportunity to slip the poison into Stalin’s vodka.  He just hoped that the curse of Rasputin was still not clouding over Russia, and that the poison would work!
Beria’s poisoning of the drink went unnoticed.  He stumbled up to the dictator, gave him his glass, and raised his own, as was the custom.  
“Na strovia!” Beria shouted.  To good health indeed!  For the health of the Union, though Beria!  Stalin returned his toast and downed his drink in one gulp.  “Now go get me some more,” slurred Stalin.  Nobody was going to tell him that he had too much.  Beria didn’t mind, in fact, the drunker Stalin got, the better it was!  Maybe the alcohol would kill him?
A few hours later, just as the gray streaks of dawn were appearing in the East, Stalin suddenly announced that he was going to bed.  The party was over, all would leave now!  Beria was nervous, but it didn’t go noticed.  Most around were either drunk or asleep and failed to notice his nervous pacing and sweating.  As he watched Stalin stumble from the room, Beria sighed and left on his own, feigning his own inebriation.  
At ten the next morning, Beria’s aid was banging on his door and yelling for him to come.  Beria had fallen asleep and hadn’t a clue what the time was.  
“What is it?” he asked, this time not feigning his grogginess.  
“It’s Comrade Stalin!  Come quickly!” the aide shouted back through the heavy oak door.
Beria quickly put on his cloak and rushed out of the room.  He was both excited and nervous.  Had the poison worked?  Or had Stalin proven himself to be truly “of steel” as his name suggested?  The ten minutes to Stalin’s room had seemed to take a lifetime, and upon his arrival, Beria noted the number of people at the door.  There must have been twenty!  Were there that many even awake in all of the Kremlin on this day?
Beria was called into the room from within.  Upon entering, he was actually shocked by the sight that met him.  Though he alone was responsible for this, he still felt compassion for the dying man in the bed before him.  His face pale, his eyes glazed and slowly moving about and with his ever-loving daughter at his side, Stalin was dying before him.  Beria suddenly felt guilt and anger: at himself.  Who was he to decide the fate of the world?  This was STALIN!  He saved the USSR from the Germans!  He saved the USSR from the rebellions within the USSR at the very time of its most grave hour!  He alone was challenging NATO and defending the USSR against its aggression!  Beria was but a bureaucrat within a great machine.  His acts had doomed the USSR!  And he felt it in the very depths of his soul!
As he stood there, staring at the dying Stalin, Beria failed to note those around him.  Even before Stalin took his last breath, the politburo was already scheming!  This brought Beria back to his senses, numbing his emotions.  THIS too was a man, and he almost destroyed the USSR.  If it weren’t for the USA and its atomic weapons, they would STILL be fighting the Germans, and each other!  No, I did a right thing, he thought.  Now is the time for me to wait, to see who needs me, and who will attempt to use me.
At 11:34 am on the 5th of March, 1953, Joseph Stalin was assassinated, and only one person knew about it.  That person was destined to be kingmaker for the USSR.


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## mariomike (30 May 2011)

Bump.
An amazing read, T-V.  
Regarding Wasserfall. Bomber Command aircrews ( at least some of them ) believed in "radio-rockets". It was actually "schrage musik". A pair of upward firing cannon mounted behind the fighter's cockpit. It fired into the blind-spot of British night-bombers below the fuselage. Into the bomb bay, or fuel tanks on the wings. It was almost invariably lethal. It was not until the end of the war that the British learned of the existence of it. In a post-war interogation, Heinz Schnaufer said that he had attacked 20 to 30 bombers at a range of 80 yards with his Schrage Musik guns and of those only about 10% saw him approaching at a distance of 150 to 200 metres and tried to evade him by "corkscrewing" before he could open fire.
Herbert Altner shot down five Lancasters in 33 minutes on the Revigny raids using it, and Major Schnaufer himself shot down seven, in just 19 minutes.
"If we had taken the evidence more seriously, we might have discovered Schräge Musik in time to respond with effective countermeasures.":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeman_Dyson#Warfare_and_weapons
He also "proposed ripping out two gun turrets from the RAF Lancaster bombers, to cut the catastrophic losses to German fighters in the Battle of Berlin. A Lancaster without turrets could fly 50 mph (80 km/h) faster and be much more maneuverable." 

Night-bomber crews also believed in "Scarecrows". That German ground crews were firing pyrotechnic shells into the air to frighten them. But, there was no such thing as Scarecrows. What the crews saw was really exploding bombers. Even decades later, many Bomber Command survivors refused to accept the fact that Scarecrows did not exist. 
Squadron leaders taught crews to switch their IFF transmitter on to jam the German searchlights if they were coned. Not only was this of no use over Germany, but it was a danger to aircrews that could be monitored by the enemy.


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