He sighed. Jets had made most piston-engined aircraft obsolete. The problem was that the world's oil refineries were geared up to produce gasoline, not jet fuel, and there was a worldwide shortage of the latter. A shortage not made any better by the Americans buying up what supplies were available. There wasn't a single oil refinery in India that could produce jet fuel, if the Indian Air Force went to jets, every drop of fuel they burned would have to be imported. Sir Martyn's economic experts were predicting it would be a decade at least before jet fuel was available in adequate supplies. Until then, nations would have to go on flying large numbers of piston-engined aircraft despite their vulnerability. That was why India was developing the Hornet, piston-engined certainly but about the best anybody could come up with.
“Low cost indeed Sir Martyn. They are offering B-27s at a cost that is barely more than the amount we pay for a pair of Allison engines for a Mosquito. Sometimes I think they are using their huge supply of surplus aircraft to crush everybody else's aircraft industry before it can get off the ground.”
“I'm sure that has figured in their planning. In fact I think we can be certain it has. If The Big One proved anything, it is that the Americans do not play games where their interests are concerned. As for de Havilland, I have heard much the same as you from different sources. Originally, we had planned on allowing the new company a free hand but this Mosquito business gives me cause to question that decision. I think the time may have come for the Indian Government to take a stake in de Havilland (India).”
Chapter Two World Still At War
Headquarters, Army Group Vistula, Riga, “The Baltic Gallery”
The timing of the message had been purely happenstance but it was making a valuable point nevertheless. An intelligence report, adding one more pin to a map where the horde of red made the addition difficult. There were so many hostile units that there was literally not enough space on the map for them all. Opposing them, the scattered line of blue pins looked desperately thin. Yet, the red mass was increasing every day as more units arrived from the Kola Peninsula. The surrender of Finland had allowed the Russian/Canadian Army that had held the peninsula for five long years to split. The Canadians were going home; the Russians were moving to liberate the Baltic provinces.
“And now, given the situation we see before us, how do you suggest we go about securing the territory we presently occupy against the attack that is building up?”
The Field Marshal's staff had heard the dangerously silky tone in their master's voice and quickly found excuses to be anywhere else. That tone meant some unfortunate had said something extraordinarily stupid and was about to get a lesson in the military arts. If the recipient was wise, he would say nothing and listen for the speaker was an acknowledged master of the art of war. The commander of Army Group Vistula was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
The listener waffled with a few aimless comments about moral ascendancy and the German warrior-spirit. Eventually, Rommel cut him of impatiently. “Yes, yes, yes. All very good and it sounds most impressive. But do you know our troops will fight at all? I cannot be sure of that and I have taken pains to make sure we do not put the matter to the test. In case you have not noticed, Germany has been destroyed. The men here have nothing left to live for, that is true, but equally, they have nothing left to die for. Your SS troopers may be determined to leave the world in a blaze of revenge-filled glory but my Landsers are not so sure on the matter. And, just remember, we have tens of thousands of civilians here as well. We must think of them as well. The last thing we want is what happened to Germany being repeated on us.”
“But the Americans are leaving, they are going home.”
“Really? Then explain this.” Rommel produced a copy of Life magazine, dated the week before. Its cover story was how Russia and America were working together to rebuild Eastern Europe. One of the pictures was of Sheremetevo airfield, a big airfield on the outskirts of Moscow. The story was of how the airbase, once a major military facility, was being converted into an international airport, but the photographs showed the line of B-36 bombers parked by the runways. The SS General stared at the pictures, his stomach involuntarily curling at the sight of the bombers that had wiped a country from the map. Rommel watched his expression, then changed his tone.
“The American Army is going home, yes. So are the Australians, so are the Canadians. A good guest knows when it is time to leave. But the Americans have left their bombers and it is fair to guess that those bombers will not be dropping flowers on us. That is the American doctrine now. They do not fight their enemies any more, they just destroy them.”
“The problem with fighting the Americans is that they do not know what their doctrine is and those that do feel no obligation to obey it.” The general smirked as he repeated the quotation.
“General, that sounds very fine when you repeat it in an admiring salon filled with civilians. But we are professionals. The Americans know exactly what their doctrine is and they apply it consistently and ruthlessly. It is called overwhelming force. They applied it before they brought nuclear weapons into the world and they continue to apply it now. You remember the battles along the Volga bend? How our attacks were smothered under a mass of American machines? How their fighter-bombers crushed every attempt we made to move, saturating our rear areas with fire and death? From what I have heard, it was even worse in France and England.
“Remember how their artillery followed every move we made, their massed battalions of guns pointed with the unerring precision of a sniper, switching from target to target with the delicacy of a ballet dancer? The Americans fight our blood and flesh with their machines and, win or lose, we lose. Their bombers sitting on a Russian airfield tell us all we can look forward to is more of the same. Overwhelming force, applied against a helpless enemy that cannot even pretend to defend itself. If, General, you look for a slogan to apply to our situation, I would recommend a different one. 'When rape is inevitable, the only thing left is to lie back and enjoy it.” We're going to get raped. General.” Rommel gestured at the situation map again. “And it is inevitable. If we have no choice but to fight then fight we will, if we can and for as long as we can. But if an agreement is possible, then we should lie back and enjoy it. However much it hurts.”
The SS General looked at the chart as well. Beneath the bombast, he was an intelligent, some said brilliant, man and knew a hopeless situation when he saw one. If Army Group Vistula stayed where it was, it would be crushed. If it tried to break out, it would be massacred. And if it broke out, where would it go? What would it do? Poland was an independent country again, crossing that country would mean an act of war. Or would it? The General was no longer sure of exactly what the status of Army Group Vistula was. The SS had never particularly studied the rules of war. “Is an agreement possible?”
Rommel nodded. “It may well be, yes. The last orders we received from Germany were from President Goering. They ordered us lo cease all offensive operations; take only the minimum actions necessary for self defense. That we have done. Germany was surrendering unconditionally and, as an element of the German armed forces, that applied to us. There is another factor though. Under international law, an offer of surrender is only valid when there are forces capable of and competent to accept the surrender available. One of the reasons why we have withdrawn from the Petrograd front was that by doing so, we avoided being in contact with any forces competent and capable of accepting our surrender. We made sure we couldn't surrender because we carefully avoided meeting anybody we could surrender to. That brought us time but we've run out of it. We can't retreat anymore, we are pinned against the coast. We are under orders to surrender and the Russians know it. Don't deceive yourself General, so do our men.