“What the hell is De Gaulle doing? Who authorized this? What is going on? He resigned, for God’s sake! He no longer has a post in the army! Why are they listening to him? This is ridiculous! This is a disaster for more than just France! Doesn’t the idiot realize that? His little stunt will rip a hole in our lines that you can drive a Mack truck through! Does that stupid clown think we are actually going to use an atomic bomb in France? The French, and the rest of the world would hate us forever. The Brits might even pull out of the fight altogether.”
“Well sir, I guess he’s just has had enough. After spending all those years in England waiting to liberate his country, and then to see it free for only a little less than a couple years… you gotta feel for the guy.”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass for his feelings. His actions will kill a lot of people, and not only Frenchmen. This could be a disaster in the making. Any ideas gentlemen; on how we can mitigate his actions and rectify the situation?”
“Well sir, it appears that De Gaulle and his rebel units are making their stand near the French border for symbolic political and practical reasons. It’s easily defended from the Soviet tanks and they are going to use some of the most historic battle grounds for his little drama. They are anchoring their right flank on the Maginot Line defenses that are still intact, and will pivot south using the fortifications until he’s finally surrounded.”
“He’s counting on our support and is going to go down swinging. You know the French, and their pride. They can be quite dramatic at times. Their history is full of futile and heroic stunts just like this. I kind of admire the guy myself.”
“Horseshit! How can we use this to our advantage? I need suggestions, and I need them now!”
“Well sir, we could possibly use this to further the ‘Louisville Slugger’ operation.”
“How so? I would think that this would really mess it up and throw it out the window.”
“The Reds will see this as a huge hole in our lines, and will come pouring through. If history is any guide they will then cut behind our lines and attempt to encircle us, trapping as much personnel, equipment and supplies, as they can. Same tactics as they’ve used so far. The key would be to make them swing wide enough to draw them in. Make them keep widening the net to trap more troops. Keep their attention off the coast, and off us.”
“De Gaulle and his fanatics should be able to hold out at least a week, maybe more. This will slow up the Soviet advance as they deal with the trapped French troops. They can’t afford to leave pissed-off Frenchmen in their rear area. Plus, it makes for good headlines for the people back home; all those French troops surrendering makes for good propaganda films. This will also slow up their advance, towards the Mediterranean coast of France.”
“We use the time to separate our forces and follow Plan ‘Griddle,’ presented by the Combined Chiefs of Staff just last month. Meanwhile, the Brits can get their act together and, along with the French forces that are still in the fight, form around Le Havre just like we planned. Then we execute ‘Louisville Slugger,’ and bust ’em across the jaw with a big ol’ bat.”
“Sit down Dave. We need to talk.” The Army officer motions his friend to have a seat.
“What’s this about Fred? You know that even though we’re friends you can’t stifle free speech in this country. The public has a right to know. Currently the so-called NATO powers are getting their ass kicked, and the public has a right to know why, so I’ve been telling ’em. You can’t intimidate me Fred, if that’s what this is all about. The incompetence of this administration and our generals has to be part of the public record, so this never happens again. The public has a right to know!”
“Calm down Dave. Just let me fill you in on a few facts that you should keep in mind. Some are all well-known public facts. Easily looked up and easily verified, and some I’m letting you in on off the record. Capisce?”
“Off the record, huh? Well, since we’re old pals and all, just this once I’ll listen to your little spiel. If I can confirm by any other source, anything that we talk about, I’ll print it… Capisce?”
“I’ll take my chances Dave, but his has real-world consequences that can kill a lot of people if you mess up. Just keep that in mind as I fill you in.”
“Off the record… currently the U.S. has fifteen half-strength divisions remaining in Europe, the Brits have seven full-strength divisions and the French have ramped it up to around fifteen, but most are extremely weak and untrained.”
“Additionally there are only two U.S. divisions capable of offensive action; the rest are just cannon-fodder at this point. They have just enough power to save their own skins, and that is by running. There is no time to destroy bridges, supplies or anything else if you want to stay a cohesive fighting force while backing up as fast as you can as the other guy is running full tilt at you.”
“Imagine that it’s the Army-Navy football game, and that you’re a Navy defensive back. Army’s Doc Blanchard is coming straight at you. Would you have time to run over to the bench, and dump the drinking water, before trying to tackle him?”
“You can destroy the supplies, or save your life… most of our boys are concerned about saving their lives and I can’t blame them.”
“From what we have been able to gather the Soviets have yet to use their own internal supplies. You know; the supplies that they are carrying with them. Why should they? They just stop at the nearest supply depot fill up, and move on. They are not even doing much shooting. The most critical things are spare parts for their T-34 tanks.”
“If your tank breaks down, just grab an M-4 Sherman. There are plenty of spare M-4’s left abandoned and plenty of parts for them. Leave your broken-down T-34, and grab a Sherman. Let the second-line troops fix your tank. ‘Just keep moving’ is what they’ve been told. The Germans made great use of captured and discarded equipment, as does every other army, and the Reds are no different. The Soviets have the added advantage of having American Lend-Lease transports; both air and ground, and now replacement parts are all over the place.”
“Now look at our situation. Think of the French in 1940. It’s true that we have better air cover, but we’re still outnumbered three-to-one, in the air. Then you add the disadvantage of not having enough units to fill the line. At least the French in 1940 had a huge army bigger than that of the Germans.”
“Now think about this: our boys just plain do not have enough manpower to even physically make a cohesive defensive line. There is just too much territory to cover with just thirty or so divisions.”
“Divisions have to withstand an attack by a Tank Army, which was slightly larger than our full corps, and there are three of those to our one division.”
“A good old-fashioned carpet-bombing is months away and you need a static front for that.”
Dave interrupts, “Bomb their supply lines, then.” Incredulous, Fred replies, “What supply lines? This is Genghis Khan Time. Rape and pillage, without the burnings. Military supplies including fuel, are just lying around like a Walgreen’s in Chicago. Just pick up some ammunition or rations, like ice cream, whenever you want.”
“Just think back a few months Dave. We had over twelve million men under arms at the end of the last war, sixteen million at its peak. We have been in the process of rapidly demobilizing all but three and a half million, of those service personnel in less than six months. It’s been truly amazing, and, in retrospect, ghastly horrifying. They used battleships and aircraft carriers as troop transports, but you already knew that. One ship made close to ten round-trips taking back thousands at a time, camped out all over her decks. It was, without a doubt, the biggest mass-migration ever.”