“You also know that Truman wanted to slow it down, even stop it, until we knew what the Soviets had planned. And you know what? Who was the most vocal critic of that policy at the time, Dave?”
“Ah, come on, Fred! That’s not fair! How could we know that Uncle Joe was up to no good?!?”
“Exactly Dave, and you and others like you didn’t want to know… Now, I’m asking you a favor. You need to back off a little and get some of your rabble-rousing pals to get in line as well. We have a plan, and we are on the verge of executing it, but you have to trust us. If the Reds found out some of what I just told you, there would be holy hell to pay, and firing squads will be lined up to take care of the squealers. Do you catch my drift, old buddy?” Dave gives Fred a shocked slack-jawed look.
Grimly satisfied at Dave’s reaction, Fred continues, “No, Dave this is ugly… real ugly for us. This is just about as ugly as ugly can get and right now we don’t need any more grief from people in the press who won’t keep score properly.” Fred waits for Dave’s reply.
Dave collects his thoughts, obviously forming his reply, then speaks, “Alright Fred, I get it. I’ll back off and see what I can do about spreading the word to the other reporters. But so you know, when this is all over there’s gonna be an accounting, and you’ll have to answer the hard questions. Got me? Now… how much of this is on the record?”
“I can live with that Dave; as for what’s on the record, the part where Uncle Joe is a flat-out no-good-nik… that part. What’cha Got Today Smitty?
June 9, 1946
“Ah jeez Bill! Are you sure you’re not telling anyone about this? You could get us into a lot of trouble.”
“Don’t get your bloomers in a bunch. I’m the apex of discretion.”
“You’re what?”
“Never mind, just hand ’em over.”
“You heard about this De Gaulle guy? You know, the one that just resigned as the commander of the French Army? I guess he’s gathered together a bunch of die-hards and they are going to fight to the death, using the old Maginot Line fortifications as cover.”
“Yeah? Let’s see them maps.” Smitty hands the maps to Bill, who studies them carefully.
“Well, that first one don’t look so bad,” He comments on the first map he peruses. Then, he moves onto the next one.
“Now, that’s a horse of a different color. Dang, they split the line between the U.S. Army, French regulars and DeGaulle’s volunteers. That’s not good. And just when we finally stopped runnin’, too…”
June 16th, 1946
Field Headquarters,
Soviet Army’s Northern Group of Forces (NGF),
Near Bastogne, Belgium
“Well Nikolai, the French are finished. That was their last futile attempt to break out, and they are starting to surrender in droves. I hope the cameras are working overtime for Comrade Stalin’s entertainment. I personally found it distasteful to see the waste of so many brave men’s lives, on such a hopeless cause. Too bad our French Communist comrades did not try harder to put a stop to it sooner.”
“You know Marshal Sokolovsky that they are with us now. The hero of the Free French, that DeGaulle fellow, has fallen. He was a very brave, but ultimately, foolish man. I heard he put up quite a personal fight in one of the old forts, and died very heroically. I suppose someone with a nose that big cannot help but be a hero. It was the only way to get women.”
“Do not speak ill of the dead Nikolai. He may have been a great man under other circumstances, but as fate would have it, he is now dead. Zhukov assigned us to mop up here and we did, while he continues to attack along the coasts. Now, it is time to unleash our armies and do what we do best. Now, is the time for “deep operations”. After this delay, we can get on with trapping the Western forces against the sea.”
“We have finally made Stalin understand that cities should not be the primary focus. The enemy’s armies are the key. We will be bypassing Paris, and advancing toward LeHavre, where the NATO forces seem to be gathering for another Dunkirk. We will not make the same mistake that the Nazis made, and will crush them with our armor, or drown them in the English Channel.”
“Sounds like another glorious victory for the Red Army, and for you personally, Marshal Sokolovsky.”
“Yes, it will be. Zhukov captured Berlin, but I will win the whole of Europe for Tovarishch Stalin and the workers of the world, with one lightning thrust.”
“It should be a glorious day Marshal.”
“I’m glad those Frenchmen have finally given up Vasily. All this crawling around in these old forts was not terribly heroic. War is not what I had imagined. It is so noisy and confusing. How do you function so well?”
“Very easily Georgy… I’m mostly deaf in my left ear so I just don’t hear much of what is going on, so I can focus on what is in front of me. I have to rely on you to keep me from getting shot from behind. You are a good soldier Georgy. I’ll keep you alive by killing things in front of us. You keep watching our backs and we will do fine.”
“Vasily… I have heard rumors that the Americans are giving up. They say that most of their units are nowhere to be found. Our comrades up north are complaining that there are no Yankees to kill anymore, only Limeys and Frogs. The Yanks have turned and run away according to what I hear.”
“Why do they want to kill Yankees, more than the other capitalists?”
“Because of the treasures they have in their pockets and their watches are stunning… and the Zippo lighters. According to Mikhail, they have diamonds sewn in their hems of their clothes.”
“Don’t be so stupid Georgy, and don’t go passing on those silly rumors. I’m sure our leaders are aware of what is going on. They will come up with a plan to crush the capitalists, once and for all. You read the reports of how the capitalist pigs were using the Germans for slave labor. We must save the workers of Western Europe from a fate worse than death. Sometimes, it takes hard times to bring good times. What we are doing here will bring true freedom to the oppressed masses of the world.”
“You sound like a commissar, Vasily.”
“Well, I guess you have to be taught how to think, Georgy. I don’t want to lose you because of some misplaced counter-revolutionary ideas. Just listen to me, and what’s behind me, and I’ll do the fighting and thinking for both of us. Don’t worry about the disappearing Yankees. They are just running faster than we can catch up. They can’t run across water, so we will catch them on the coast. Our leaders have led us to victory, so far. First, over the Nazi pigs, and now, we have destroyed the French forces in front of us. Soon, we will be setting the workers of Europe free, and trapping the Yankees, against the sea. I just hope they give up easier than the French did.”
“I guess you’re right, Vasily. I should have more faith in our leaders. We have come so far, so fast, so how can we doubt them?”
Chapter Seven:
A Trap Is Set
