Author: Gerald Hall
Date: 2018-11-27T18:00:00+00:00
Description: The war in Europe is over. The new post-Nazi German leaders have agreed to a second Armistice after their victory over the Soviet Union. There is an uneasy peace now with the major combatants now struggling with massive wartime debts and the need to rebuild their battered economies. But the war in the Pacific continues. Only now, the Japanese are the ones using weapons of mass destruction in a desperate attempt to stave off defeat at the hands of the Allies. China, Australia and England have finally been joined by America in a final push to end the threat of the Japanese imperialists. Harold C
Publisher: Independently published

Untimely Losses

Book #3 of the Yesterday’s War series

By Gerald L. Hall

Dedicated to my wife who is known to all as ‘Rev Bev’. She’s the good Shepherd that this old ‘sheepdog’ has been working together in love with for over twenty-four years. She has been and continues to be my ‘walking, talking miracle’.

Copyright Pending 2018, Gerald Hall

Image credits: Cover Art by Nijhia Serrano

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission by the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Prologue:

The war in Europe is over. But instead of the Allies winning a clear victory over Nazi Germany, a second armistice treaty was signed between England and a Germany that had removed the Nazi party from power. Adolf Hitler was dead along with his dreams of exterminating the Jewish people. The Soviet Union had been defeated by the Germans though and was now led by a former political prisoner of the late Josef Stalin.

All of the main combatants in Europe are struggling to rebuild their nations after the war’s devastation. The cost of the war is hindering their efforts though.

The war in the Pacific continues. The Japanese still hold much of what they have initially captured. But China, Australia and the other Allies in the East are pushing back. America is helping more now to try to prevent the attacks hitting her West Coast. But back home, America is strongly divided. While many Americans impatiently want the push to end the war, there is a strong isolationist minority who wishes only for America to return to a fortress mentality and to avoid further foreign entanglements.

Harold Cavill has continued to try to influence the course of history to avoid the causes of humanity’s final apocalyptic war from his previous timeline. But, as with all of man’s plans, there are always complications.

Chapter One:

Australian Military Headquarters

Canberra, Australia

April 9, 1945

After learning of Dorothy’s misuse of the computer database and her premature release of information on transistor technology, Harold spent several sleepless nights, praying for guidance. He was terrified about what completely unexpected changes to the timeline would occur after Dorothy’s actions.

Then Harold thought of something that had frequently been used by governments to restrict technology from being shared. He contacted Colonel Burke immediately and had him arrange for a meeting with the head of military technology research and development in Canberra. The next day, Harold went to visit the officer in charge there.

Colonel Willard Hunt looked like he would be just as comfortable wearing a lab coat as he did wearing a uniform as he stood there examining a piece of new equipment. This was actually a very familiar sight for Harold since he had often met such officers in the years prior to the Final War during the course of his defense-related business ventures.

“Good morning, Mister Cavill. I’m rather surprised that it took you this long to finally come visit us here. I had always thought that we would eventually work together on some new technological wonder that would help our troops. You have done so much on your own, of course.”

“It’s all really already out there, Colonel. We just have to combine the available technologies to create something useful for our customers, whether they are our men in uniform or our civilians back home.”

“So, how can we help you here, Mister Cavill?”

“Sir, there has been a security incident within my organization that I am hoping that the government can help contain. We have a new prototype technology that was recently developed by one of my laboratories that could revolutionize many electronic devices used by our military. It would allow for much smaller and more powerful radios and related devices to be constructed.

Unfortunately, this technology was disseminated to an outside commercial firm without my permission. I would like for the government is classify this technology under the War Secrets Act and restrict it for military use to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. After the current hostilities have concluded and my scientists assure me that no one else will be able to use this technology against us, I will then request that it be released from the necessary restrictions and made available for commercial use.”

“So you want the government to prevent this outside firm from being able to sell it or do anything else with your purloined electronic technology?”

“Exactly, Sir. We would also want all copies, documentation or examples of the technology to be immediately returned to my control for safekeeping. Of course, my people will continue to develop the technology to give our troops a decisive advantage against the Japanese. I have already taken measures to ensure that this sort of incident will not happen again, of course.”

“Mister Cavill, I’m sure that we can arrange for your stolen information to be sequestered as you have requested. You have done so much to help our country defend itself so far. It would be a small price to assist you in return in this matter.”

When Harold returned home by plane the next day, a dour-faced Dorothy met him at the front door.

“Sweetheart, I just tried to get into the secret room to do some research but something has happened to the lock. I couldn’t get in.”

“I know. I changed the locking mechanism a couple of days ago.” Harold somberly replied.

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I can no longer trust you with access to the information in that room. In fact, I didn’t just change the lock on the door. I have also set up the equipment so that if anyone tries to force their way into the room, the computer and all of the papers would be set on fire and destroyed forever.”

“Harold, it would be such a terrible crime to do such a thing. All that knowledge destroyed? I can’t believe that you would even consider that.”

“All that knowledge in the wrong hands or exposed at the wrong time would be an even worse crime because of all of the death, destruction and misery that it would cause. No, you have no idea of the danger that you have created by ignoring my admonitions about releasing any of this technology prematurely, Dorothy.”

“What about all of the money that we were given for such a tiny piece of the future, Sweetheart?”

“I will return every penny of that money back to the person that you sold that technology to. The Australian government will ensure that he does not use the knowledge in any way for the foreseeable future also. The ‘tiny piece of the future’ has the potential of changing far too much, far too quickly. We cannot take that risk.”

“But we are fighting a war now, Harold.”

“I know. But the changes in history that I am already responsible for terrify me enough as it is. To have this extraordinarily transformative technology available at this time would change everything beyond any realm of my ability to responsibly control events.”

“I’m sorry, Sweetheart. I just wanted to help our people win this terrible war against the Nazis, Fascists and the Japanese imperialists.”

“That is what the Americans said to themselves in my timeline as they worked to build the atomic bomb. But that technology got out into the hands of many people who had no benevolent feelings at all towards the rest of the world. That ended humanity’s future nearly a hundred years from now. We have to change this somehow.” Harold tried to explain, knowing how hurt Dorothy felt at this moment.

“What can I do to change your mind, Harold?” Dorothy begged, tears running from her eyes.

“Dorothy, I don’t see how you can change my decision at this point, I’m afraid. You’ve gone too far. I still love you, but this is far too important for me to do nothing about. You still have a lot of other important things that you are involved in. Please focus on them instead.” Harold said before turning and walking away.

Dorothy sat down in a nearby chair, shocked into silence by the unexpected turn of events. Couldn’t Harold see that she only wanted what was best for her family and her country? All she saw was that grim, determined look on his face that told her that he was not only angry, but also that he was not going to change his mind anytime soon.

Sitting in that secret room had become addictive to Dorothy. She had been spending hours at a time reading about future historical events in addition to the technological wonders to come. It had gotten to the point that Dorothy was perhaps even neglecting her family and her work training new pilots in order to spend more time in the secret room.

Dorothy had to find some way to redeem herself in Harold’s eyes. But she knew that trust was one of the most difficult things to rebuild. But she wasn’t going to do that by sulking. Dorothy had spent enough time with Harold to know that it would not change his mind. While Dorothy loved spending time with the children, she would have to focus on doing the thing that she knew and loved best.

First, Dorothy would have to cry. Then she would go out to fly. Flying would, at least, take her mind off of her sadness for now.

Chapter Two:

White House Oval Office

Washington, DC

September 4, 1945

President Dewey and his Secretary of War William Marshall met for a private discussion about the future of the US military. The mood in the room was somewhat jubilant in spite of the situation in the Pacific.

“I am certainly relieved to not have to commit more American troops to fight against the Germans, Sir. That was something that Churchill had been pushing us to do for nearly six years.” Secretary Marshall noted.

“I suppose it was the threat that we would intervene much more directly that finally got the Germans to the negotiating table though. The two front war that they had been waging had to have drained them dry, both financially and in terms of manpower. Plus, with Hitler out of the picture, it had to be very difficult to motivate the German people to continue the war after the defeat of the Soviet Union. After all, Hitler used the threat of the Bolsheviks very effectively in his speeches.”

“From what we have learned from our overseas intelligence sources, apparently the German Nazi party attempted to stage a coup against Hitler. They got their target alright. But the Nazi plot was uncovered by the German generals. The plotters were quickly arrested, tried and convicted by the German courts.

At least, that is what the Germans are saying to the rest of the world. It seems a little odd that the Nazis would try to assassinate their own leader, but we have little evidence to the contrary. Most of the people involved in war crimes have already been executed by the new German government.”

“Well, quickly putting their own people on trial and executing them does prevent a lot of dirty laundry from being aired, doesn’t it? That was indeed very shrewd on the part of the people running Germany now, I’m sure.”

“So, what are we going to do about the American Tigers Division and General Patton, Mister President? They are no longer needed in Europe with the armistice and the new governments in both Germany and Italy.” Marshall asked.

“We need to bring them home as quickly as possible. Then we will either demobilize the unit or prepare it for service in the Pacific as a regular Army unit, of course.”

“You know that General Patton has expressed an interest in becoming the Commandant of West Point. I suppose that he wants to infuse America’s future officers with his ideas on combat and leadership. But I am already receiving a lot of pressure from the rest of the Army’s senior leadership, especially the traditionalists. They really don’t like Patton personally or much of what he espouses. So what they want very much is for George S. Patton to simply disappear from the scene.”

“Will General Patton be willing to quietly retire to prevent any additional problems?” President Dewey asked.

“I think that he would rather resign his commission rather than retire under pressure, Sir. If Patton retires, the Army can order him to keep his mouth shut. But if he resigns, he will probably have an even bigger forum to speak from, especially since he now is the most combat experienced senior combat-arms officer in the entire US Army at this point.

But Patton wants most of all to get back into the fight. He believes that it is his destiny to go to war and lead troops into battle.”

“Then perhaps we need to find another war for General Patton to be a part of, gentlemen.”

“Well. Mister President. Since we are not about to invade Japan, that only really leaves one option. We send General Patton to China to act as a military advisor to the Chinese forces fighting Japan. I don’t think that there will be nearly as many reporters out there to hear anything ‘awkward’ that Patton to say.” Secretary Marshall said with a sarcastic chuckle.

While General Patton’s success in Italy and North Africa with the American Eagles division had been extraordinary, it was not without some problems. His relationship with his British allies was tempestuous at best. Patton often competed with them for resources and for the opportunity to strike decisive blows against Italian and German forces.

General Patton’s use of colorful language and verbal swipes against both friend and foe alike drew a lot of attention from the press. Reporters were always ready to seize upon any controversial quotes from Patton to highlight their bylines. Unfortunately, that not only caused problems at home for Patton’s supporters, it also gave fresh ammunition for his rivals within the US Army to use against him.

“Are you planning on sending any troops with General Patton out there, Bill?” The President asked.

“No, Sir. In fact, the American Tigers division is to be disbanded upon its return. We wish to spread the combat experience of the Division throughout the rest of the US Army by sending the members of the Tigers that wish to remain in uniform into regular Army units. Hopefully, that will also dilute General Patton’s less laudable attributes among his soldiers at the same time.

We would send the general with a very small staff and security element, of course. But this force will certainly not be large enough that Patton will be tempted to use it for any ‘adventures’ of his own.”

“But will he accept such an assignment?”

“If the alternative is sitting behind a desk for the rest of his military career, yes. General Patton will likely accept going to China to help the Chinese fight the Japs. Such a move would also boost the impression to the public and our allies that you are continuing to take the war in the Pacific seriously as well.”

“One thing, Bill. I would strongly recommend that you hold off on disbanding his Tigers until Patton is in China and thoroughly tied up with his new assignment. Otherwise, he sounds like the sort of person who would turn down the assignment, resign his position and then publically tell us all where to get off.”

“Then I better order Patton onto a plane back here to the States as quickly as possible. I will then let him have his ticker tape parade and immediately shove him onto another plane heading west. The sooner that we get that man into China, the more comfortable the rest of the Army will be.”

“Hopefully, General Patton will somehow manage to help shorten this war while he is out there in the Far East. I really want to get America back to a peacetime stance finally.”

Military Seaplane Ramp

Haiphong Harbor, French Indochina

October 21, 1945

General George Patton stepped out of the huge Cavalier flying boat and onto the pier, followed by more than a score of other American soldiers. While the other American soldiers disembarked, General Patton looked around to survey the scene in Haiphong Harbor. The main port in French Indochina was a flurry of activity.

The French battleship Richelieu and the hybrid battleship-carrier Jean Bart had recently replaced the battle cruiser Strasbourg after four long years of operations and the withdrawal of Wehrmacht troops from French soil. The arrival of the two French capital ships was a portent of increased French activity against the Japanese navy now that the European war was over. There were dozens of other warships and transports also at anchor in the harbor, adding to the hectic atmosphere there.

Patton saw dozens of French soldiers also arriving from a naval transport. Had the American general been any closer, he would have seen that the soldiers were wearing Foreign Legion patches.

More than a few of these Legionnaires were speaking German as they were former SS soldiers who had left Germany after the destruction of the National Socialist Party there. Not everyone in Germany was happy with the new political reality there after the demise of the Nazi Party. Many former SS soldiers left the ‘new’ Germany and joined the French Foreign Legion to continue fighting against the Communists, some of whom were fighting the French in a nasty little Marxist insurgency in French Indochina.

After Patton watched the port activities, a handful of Americans in uniform walked up to you. In the lead was a slender American man with black hair, wearing an Army Air Corps uniform, an American Volunteer Group patch and captain’s insignia. The captain then walked up and crisply saluted General Patton.

“Welcome to Haiphong, Sir. I’m Captain John Birch. General Claire Chennault sent me down to intercept you before the rest of the US Army here found you. We are looking forward to having you work with the Chinese Army, Sir.”

“Well, Captain. The Army must have figured that they didn’t need me out in Europe with the Armistice and all. So they shipped me back home, gave me a ticker tape parade then shoved me on a west-bound airplane. The next thing that I knew, I learned that was the new senior American military advisor to the Chinese Army.

I know that General Stillwell had been the senior officer out here before. I wonder what happened to him? I’m surprised that he didn’t send anyone himself to meet me. He and I went to West Point together.”

“I’m afraid that General Stillwell is not exactly the most popular American with the leaders of the Kuomintang. General Stillwell has returned to Singapore recently as a result of his difficulties with the leadership of the KMT. General Chennault thought that perhaps we could help you develop a much more productive relationship with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. We all want the same goal, to defeat the Japanese and to prevent the Communists from taking over China, of course.” Captain Birch explained.

“Yes, Captain. That is what we want. Tell me, son. What do you do for General Chennault?” Patton asked.

“I work for General Chennault in a variety of functions, mostly as an intelligence officer. I know the Chinese people very well and can speak Mandarin Chinese fluently. But I see myself first as a servant of God. I came here to China before the war to serve as a missionary of God to the people of China.”

“I read my Bible daily, in spite of what a lot of people think of me, Captain. How did you get drawn into the Army though?”

“I was serving the Lord as a missionary in the inland areas near Shangjao when I was led by a Chinese man to a group of American aviators, Sir. These Americans turned out to be Colonel Jimmy Doolittle and several members of his aircraft. They had crash-landed their bomber nearby after they had conducted an air raid on Japan.”

“I remember that attack. President Roosevelt ordered it to try to rebuild American morale after that debacle with the US Pacific Fleet where they managed to get the entire battle line sunk fighting the Japs. It was still risky as hell to fly a squadron of medium bombers off of an aircraft carrier from that close to the Japanese islands. They were lucky to have not been intercepted by a Jap task force.”

“I helped Colonel Doolittle and his men make their way back into friendly hands. As a result of my contact with them, I received a letter from the US Army requesting that I go to the air base at Ch’u Hsein and await further orders. Eventually, I ended up meeting with General Chennault. He had already heard of me from Colonel Doolittle.

I told General Chennault, who was still a colonel at that time, that I wanted to serve God and Country as a chaplain. He told me that he already had a chaplain. But I eventually ended up being commissioned as an intelligence officer because of my knowledge of China, the Chinese people and my command of their language. I only asked that I be allowed to preach God’s Word on Sundays as an assistant chaplain.”

“That is quite a remarkable story, Son. I have always treasured the value of good intelligence. It has always been a key element in my success. Something tells me that you would be a tremendous asset in my mission here too.” Patton said with a smile.

“Thank you, Sir. I have simply tried to be a good servant of my Lord in addition to serving my country in some small way.” Birch humbly replied.

“Well, Captain. I am arranging for air transport for my men and me to fly up to Chungking to meet with General Chennault. Right now, he is the senior American officer on the ground in China. I would like for you to come with us. I’m sure that it will enable you to get back to your regular duties much more quickly by traveling with us.”

“Thank you, Sir. I just need to take care of a few other things here first, if you don’t mind. We are badly in need of more Bibles for the Christians in China. I am taking the opportunity to pick up some while I am here in French Indochina.”

“Of course, Captain. My staff and I will be ready to leave for China soon. I look forward to seeing you again soon.” Patton said before shaking Captain Birch’s hand. They exchanged salutes and both went on their separate ways for the moment. They would meet again a couple of days later at the French airfield near Haiphong.

Shortly afterwards, General Patton, Captain Birch and the rest of Patton’s staff were flying north onboard a pair of US Army Air Corps C-47 transport aircraft. It took the better part of a day for the pair of transports and their fighter escorts to arrive at the airfield near Chungking.

“I am very pleased to meet you, Sir. Welcome to China.” General Chennault said as he saluted Patton after the latter had walked off the steps from the C-47 that brought him to Chungking.

“I’ve heard a great deal about you and the rest of the members of the Flying Tigers, General Chennault. You have had a great deal of success in the air against the Japs.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you as well, Sir. Why don’t we go inside and talk more privately? We have a small officer’s club here as the base next to our operations center.” Chennault replied while pointing towards a small group of nondescript Quonset huts sitting under camouflage netting. Captain Birch and the other officers waited outside after Patton indicated that he wanted a private meeting with Chennault.

The two generals sat down inside the hut marked ‘Officers Club’ and then began to discuss a variety of issues.

“I guess that you are now the senior American military officer in China, Sir.” General Chennault started.

“I suppose that I am, especially since you are nominally still a member of the US Army since the Japs attacked the Philippines and declared war on the US. Now, having said that, I’m not going to try to interfere with your operations, General. In fact, I will do what I can to get you more support. But if we can work together, I think that we can beat the hell of the Japs in China.” Patton explained.

“That is perfectly acceptable to me, Sir.”

“Excellent. The way that I see it is that we are a couple of rebels that the Army doesn’t want anything to do with. But we also do our jobs too well for them to do without us completely if they want to win this damned war.” Patton said with a smile.

“I am looking forward to beating the hell out of the Japs with you, Sir.” Chennault replied while returning a toothy smile of his own.

The two generals spoke for another half an hour before emerging. Captain Birch was standing outside.

“I like your boss, Captain. We should be able to work nicely together to kill some Japanese ass out here. But I also need someone who knows the Chinese very well for me to do my job here. So I am going to be stealing you away from General Chennault, I’m afraid.” Patton told the young captain.

“I had made certain conditions with General Chennault as part of my accepting a commission, Sir.”

“Yes, son. I know. Those conditions will be honored by me too. But I need what you have, Captain. I need it very badly if I am going to be successful here. If we are going to get the Chinese Army working so that it can effectively take the fight to the Japs, we have to train and motivate the hell out of them.

I am going to work to get them the modern equipment that they need to beat the Japs. But you understand the Chinese and what it will take to accept the sort of training that they will need. We need for them to be good soldiers. But we also need to develop the great leaders from among them so that they go far beyond simply serving warlords, but instead fighting for their country and all of their people.

We need people who will take the basic framework of the orders that I develop and use initiative to execute them, even when they are hundreds of miles away from the nearest headquarters. At the same time, they have to have discipline to obey orders and to not take advantage of the peasants that they encounter. The self-discipline and pride that I want to instill into these Chinese soldiers will make them victorious in battle and honorable in life. I know that it won’t be easy. But it is necessary if we are going to defeat all of China’s enemies and give them the freedom that they deserve.” Patton explained.

Captain Birch listened intently. The more that he heard Patton talk, the more than he liked the gruff old cavalry officer with a few exceptions. He could see that Patton shared Birch’s vision for the Chinese people. Birch also knew that Patton also saw Mao and his Chinese People’s Army as just as big of a threat to China as the Japanese in the long run. It still bothered the young missionary in Captain Birch when he heard Patton curse so prolifically and passionately though.

“Sir, if this is what you want, then I will be proud to help you achieve this.” Birch answered.

“Well, welcome aboard Captain. We have a lot to do and a short time to do it in. Come on, let’s get started.” Patton said with a smile and a handshake.

“It is a hell of a thing to see a bunch of Chinese soldiers wearing Kraut helmets.” Patton growled as he saw a group of Chinese soldiers marching past.

“I understand, Sir. The Chinese purchased a lot of military equipment from Germany prior to the war including helmets and rifles. German trainers also conducted the training of much of the Chinese army during that time.” Captain Birch explained.

“I’ve seen those rifles that a few of the Chinese soldiers are carrying before though. Those are Australian designs. I remember seeing many of the Australian soldiers using those rifles in North Africa before the troops were withdrawn back to the Pacific.”

“Yes, Sir. These Kuomintang has a license from Cavill Ordnance to produce those particular rifles. The Cavill rifles can even use some of the Japanese ammunition since it is of the same caliber.”

“The Australian troops were very effective with their rifles. I can see how the Chinese Army would also find these rifles very useful. My troops were largely equipped with M1 Garand rifles and M1 Carbines, which were very effective in their own right. But those Australia automatic rifles served in both the role of the battle rifle and the submachine gun very admirably. There were many times when I wished that the US Army would have provided my Tigers with those fine weapons however.”

“Unfortunately, only a relatively small number of Chinese troops have these CR-1 rifles, Sir. The rest are armed with a mixture of bolt-action rifles, some of which date back to the turn of the century.”

“We will definitely have to do something about that. I will be talking to the Generalissimo about the equipment and training that we will need to turn the Chinese Army around. In fact, we both will be meeting him in a couple of days. I already have a meeting scheduled with him.”

“This man is not wasting any time.” Captain Birch silently said to himself. He hoped that he was indeed the man that China needed to help it defeat its enemies. Birch still worried about Patton’s reputation for profane language and brusque behavior. But there had to be something special about this man being here at this time. Perhaps it was an answer to Birch’s prayers?

Just as General Patton had said, two days later he and Captain Birch were driven to Generalissimo Chang Kai’shek’s headquarters for a private meeting. Madame Chang, the Generalissimo’s beautiful American-educated wife was also there in attendance. She translated for her husband while Captain Birch translated for General Patton.

“I am very pleased to meet you, Generalissimo. I am looking forward to doing all that I can to help you retake your country back from its enemies. It was unfortunate that you were not able to resolve the situation with General Stillwell prior to my arrival. He was still a good man and a good officer.” Patton told his host.

“We have some serious disagreements with General Stillwell, I’m afraid. He wanted to assume full command of not only the American Volunteer Group, but also all Chinese Army forces. Unfortunately, he had not demonstrated the qualities that we felt were necessary. At the same time, General Stillwell showed a certain insensitivity to our political and social concerns here in China.

“Yea, Joe Stillwell always has wanted things done his way, no matter what. I suppose in some ways, I am not much different, Sir.”

“Yes, but you have an enviable record of success, General. There are many people here who would like to emulate it.”

“I will do my best. However, I will need your full cooperation as well. Winning is a combination of leadership, equipment and preparation in addition to having good intelligence. I’m sure that you are well aware of what your Sun Zhu had to say about knowing yourself and your enemies.”

“Indeed, I do.” The Generalissimo laughed.

“What about your allies under the leadership of this Mao Tse Tung character?” Patton asked.

“Any cooperation between the Chinese Nationalist government and the Chinese Communists has always been a marriage of convenience. It has been very clear from the beginning that Mao and his people will wage an insurrection against the Nationalists at the first opportunity once the Japanese have been defeated, if not sooner.”

“I’m not surprised that the damned Bolsheviks would lie, cheat and steal to get what they want. If they get in my way, I am going to bury them and let them rot.” Patton tersely replied.

“I promise to help in any way that I can so that you can bury both the Japanese and the Communists in our midst, General.” The Generalissimo firmly replied.

“Thank you, Sir.  I want to help your soldiers succeed on the battlefield. I hate seeing young men come home dead and broken as a result of attrition warfare. Well trained, motivated, aggressive and well-led troops are far less likely to suffer unnecessary casualties. I am sure that you want the same for your soldiers also.” Patton passionately explained.

“Yes, I do. But they must also accountable to the country’s leadership.” Madame Chang translated for her husband.

“With good training, discipline and motivation in addition to good communications, this can be accomplished.”

“I have heard this about your soldiers in the American Tigers. What equipment will you need to accomplish this?

“New weapons and radios will be important elements for the improvement of the Kuomintang. I am also interested in what do you have in terms of tanks, Sir?” General Patton asked.

“Not very much, I’m afraid. We had several battalions of tanks that we had purchased from a variety of sources including the Soviet’s and the Germans. But virtually all of them have either been destroyed or are out of service because of maintenance issues. They were also very lightly armored and armed.”

“If we are going to defeat the Japs, then we need an effective force that is both very mobile and can focus firepower at critical points. The mobility is essential to exploit any weaknesses that we find in the Japanese lines.

Do you have the financial resources to purchase more armored vehicles, Sir?” Patton asked.

“Yes, General. I believe that we can find a pay to pay for new tanks if that is what is needed to push the Japanese out of our country.”

“Then I know where you can purchase them.” Patton said with a smile.

“Very good, General. I would also like to point out that we do have other units that are very mobile, namely twelve cavalry divisions. They would be very useful in the sort of mobile warfare that you are famous for if properly trained, equipped and led. Don’t you agree?”

While George S. Patton was famous for his brand of armored warfare, he started his career as a cavalryman. While he certainly wanted to push turning the Chinese Army into a mechanized force capable of destroying the Japanese, Patton immediately saw the potential for taking conventional horse cavalry and using them effectively in the modern battlefield.

Patton was already aware of how the Red Army used mounted Cossack troops to great effect against the Wehrmacht until after the death of Hitler and the resurgence of the German army. He also believed that Japan had no match to German generals like Rommel or Guderian who could find effective counters to a highly mobile cavalry force armed with modern weapons.

“This is most interesting, Generalissimo.  I still believe that it is vital that the Chinese Army be reequipped with more modern armored vehicles for use against the Japanese. But I certainly want to learn more about your cavalry. They could be a very useful complement to a resurgent Chinese armored corps.” An intrigued Patton explained through Captain Birch.

“Then I will give you one of my cavalry divisions to work with. You will be permitted to have a free hand in its training also. Let me know what you need in terms of equipment. I will try to fulfill your requirements. I have not been able to procure any modern armored vehicles from your country. Perhaps you can suggest another source that would provide us with the quality and quantity that we will need to rebuild our armored corps also? You mentioned something a few minutes ago about knowing of just such a source.”

Patton smiled at the opportunity. It wasn’t until he was given the American Tigers that he had been able to train, organize and lead a unit in exactly the way that he believed would be the most effective. Now, Generalissimo Chang Kai’shek was giving him the opportunity again, perhaps even with fewer operational restrictions than he had while fighting in Europe and North Africa.

George Patton had been raised on the tales of traditional horseborne cavalry fighting mobile warfare during the American Civil War and during the Indian Wars in the American West. Patton was also an expert horseman in his own right. Even though he loved his tanks, Patton still found the idea of leading true cavalrymen on horseback into battle to appeal to his deepest desires.

“Thank you, Sir. I will see to it that your cavalrymen will become among the finest warriors in the world. We will lead the charge to sweep the Japanese invaders out of China for good.” Patton answered while his face crinkled with a smile of utter delight.

After the meeting with the Generalissimo, Patton and Captain Birch went back to the sedan that they had been driven to the meeting in. During the trip back to Patton’s headquarters, Patton spoke passionately about his background.

“You know, Captain. My grandfather, Colonel George S. Patton was a cavalryman too. He died in battle during the Civil War at the battle of Opequon. I still have the saddle that he rode on when he died even. When I was growing up, I heard tales of the war from my neighbor John Singleton Mosby. He was a fine cavalryman and commander who gave the fits to many a Union general. I had always dreamed of being a cavalryman even though with the age of mechanization, it seemed as though riding a horse into battle was to be a thing of the past.”

“It seems that might just have that opportunity after all, Sir.” Birch replied before the two officers saluted and went their separate ways for the night.

But now, Major General George S. Patton Jr. was going back to war at the head of thousands of Chinese cavalrymen. He could only imagine the dismay of the people who had tried to send him off to exile once again.

Chapter Three:

Cavill Industries Headquarters

Derby, Western Australia

December 19, 1945

Eric Poole, Harold’s chief weapons designer had come in to provide Harold with a status report on the various projects being worked on at Cavill Ordnance Works. He was already sweating from the early summer heat as he arrived at Harold’s office.

“Hello, Eric. How have things been going at Ordnance? I heard that you have some new ‘toys’ that you have been working on there. I’m afraid that I haven’t had much time to go down there myself lately, unfortunately.”

“We have a lot of interesting things going on at the Ordnance Works right now. Before the Japanese tried to invade us near Derby, you had use manufacture thousands of those miniature hand grenades for issue to the militia. They were only about the size of a golf ball and could easily be thrown over forty meters by a soldier because of their light weight. Those grenades were very popular with our militia troops because of their weight and size. I even saw a couple of our militiamen carrying over two dozen grenades each into battle.

Well, I saw a couple of our militiamen do something very interesting with those grenades during those battles. They were using homemade slingshots to hurl their grenades at enemy positions.

I swear that those grenades were landing over a hundred meters out. The aborigines were accurate as hell with those slingshots too. So I had an idea.” Eric explained.

“What was that?”

“I rigged up a device that used the same rubber bands as a speargun like divers use to hunt fish with. But this device is able to silently hurl hand grenades such as your mini-fragmentation grenades. It is also able to hurl larger hand grenades such as smoke grenades as well. My initial tests have this new weapon throwing grenades over one hundred meters out with extremely high accuracy regardless of the skill or strength of the soldier using the weapon. The speed of the projectile is high enough that the grenade will not detonate before it reaches its target either.

There are no special modifications required for the grenade used in the launcher either. You just pull back the rubber bands and put the grenade in place. You can go ahead and pull the pin since the launcher will keep the spoon from releasing until the weapon is fired.

The launcher is easy to build, made out of inexpensive materials like wood and very easy to fire with little training.”

“Sounds like it would be perfect for our militia to use. Go ahead and start building the first prototypes for testing. If it works out like you claim, I will approve its production and see about marketing it to the Australian Army and to our allies.” Harold quickly replied.

“It will make a great companion for that shoulder-launched rocket launcher that you had our munitions division design. Together, they would give an infantry unit an incredible punch that they can carry anywhere.”

Harold was very impressed with Eric’s idea. It actually worked in very well with Harold’s preference for using technology well within the state of the art for the period. Harold had to take a somewhat riskier approach with the shoulder-launched rocket launcher since it was slightly more advanced for the period.

Harold had suggested the weapon because the Commonwealth needed a man-portable anti-armor weapon that would be far more effective that the British PIAT and more versatile than the American Army’s bazooka. To someone from Harold’s timeline, the design that Harold outlined combined many features from the German Panzerfaust and the Russian RPG-2.

But Harold took things one step further and required that additional over-caliber warhead designs be created that could be fired from the forty-millimeter launcher tube. These included a shaped charge round for anti-armor use, a high-explosive fragmentation round for use against personnel at over three hundred meters distance that employed the body of a sixty-millimeter mortar round and a white phosphorus round that could be used to lay screening smoke as well as for its incendiary effects upon enemy troops and materiel.”

“That is why I have already decided that we will be producing both for our militia. I will also be offering the rocket launcher to the Australian Army if they are interested.

How about with our larger weapons? I know that we still haven’t been able to break through with the issues of producing any cannons with a bore larger than 10.5 centimeter.”

“That’s still true, Sir. But the performance of all of our products has been exceptionally good. The move to placing the howitzers on wheeled chassis has been very trouble-free so far. We have introduced the new twelve-centimeter mortar system in both man-portable and self-propelled versions. It is much easier for us to produce larger caliber mortar tubes because they are not as highly stressed as the barrels of a conventional gun are. Also, the twenty-five millimeter gatling guns are going out of the factory doors for installation as fast as they are being produced.

We not only have new customers from the Royal Navy asking about these guns, but the French now want to put gatlings on all of their carriers and battleships. I swear that Pappy Gunn bloody well sits outside our production line waiting on the next gun to be finished so that he can put it in another aircraft.”

“I guess that I will have to look into opening a second production line for the gatling guns then to fill the increased demand. You’ve told me the good news. Now what about the bad news, Eric?” Harold finally asked.

“Well, Sir. All of our factories are still having considerable difficulty meeting our orders for the Australian military, much less the British and French orders. We have also just received a major order from the Chinese as well, though they are willing to accept some of our older tanks for now. First, there is the issue of manpower availability. I never know from one day to the next if our manufacturing divisions will have ten workers present or one hundred, especially with our aborigines.”

“You have been training all of our workers to be able to fill in at other positions as necessary, I know.”

“Yes, Sir. I have. But while crosstraining a worker to fill multiple job positions is sometimes necessary, but it is still akin to robbing Peter to pay Paul. Not only am I not able to have someone be an expert at one particular job, but then I have to take people off of one task to fill in shortages at another. I have to take someone off of another production line that is usually also shorthanded to work an even more vital job in that case.

Secondly, I just don’t know how you are going to fill all of these orders anyway with the limited number of manufacturing and assembly facilities that we have. That’s not just with the Ordnance Works, either. I know that is the case with virtually all of your manufacturing, Sir. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but it is hard for us to do what is expected of us, even if our equipment is among the best in the world. We just don’t have enough manufacturing equipment and facilities to do it all.”

Harold understood the frustration that Eric was expressing. Harold had deliberately chosen not to construct larger facilities and what he felt would be an excessive amount of production equipment. Lean manufacturing had always been a hallmark of Harold’s industrial operations in the twenty-first century. Twenty-first century style lean manufacturing also relied on significant amounts of automation and high-tech manufacturing equipment, none of which was available yet in this timeline. To Harold’s constant chagrin, manufacturing at this time was still very manpower intensive.

The reality was that most of Harold’s personal profits still came from his mining concerns, not from the manufacturing plants that he purchased or built. Australia as a whole was at a severe disadvantage because of its relatively small population for the sheer size of the country.

Harold never intended to be primarily known as an arms manufacturer. But, for
Australia and its allies to be able to defeat the Japanese without major American involvement that would inevitably lead to the atomic bomb, Harold had to build weapons of his own to help the Allies in the Pacific hold their own against the Japanese.

When this conflict was over, Harold wanted to focus on other things like helping mankind to thrive on this world and to spread out beyond it. He had been heavily involved in space technology when he was known as James Stevenson, billionaire tech giant in the late 2030’s. But a mysterious series of accidents within the space programs of several Western countries that cost the lives of over two dozen astronauts put a virtual halt to manned space exploration worldwide. Many people of the time, including James, felt that the accidents were the result of sabotage or even state-sponsored terrorism. But no one had proof of either.

Harold hoped that things would be different this time. This was why he was already reaching out to Werner Von Braun to lure him to Australia to resume his work in rocketry design.

But now, Harold had to deal with this current issue first.

“I suppose that I will have to see if I can farm out some of the work to other factories in perhaps French Indochina or even China to make up for our production shortfalls. It will take some funds out of the country, but it would be better in the long run than building factories here that will become idle after the war is over. Besides, as you have already shown, we just don’t have the manpower to operate additional manufacturing facilities here in Australia. Many of our able-bodied men are already in uniform and unavailable to work. Many of our militiamen here also work in my businesses at least part of the time as it is.”

“Yes, Sir. That only makes the situation even worse, I’m afraid.” Eric said with a grimace.

“I know. But I will still do what I can, Eric. No worries.”

All the while, Harold still was focused on the bigger issue of how to save humanity’s future without managing to destroy it in another way unintentionally. He had been trying to keep as much of the production of his most advanced technology in-house at the Derby facilities to make it harder for others to copy it. Now, Harold had to decide what items that he could risk being made by the French, Chinese and even other Australian manufacturers.

The new US Army officer in charge of training and advising the Chinese military had already started making inquiries about new equipment for the Chinese Army. Obviously, the Chinese had already started taking General Patton’s advice as evidenced by their purchase order of tanks and other armored vehicles from Cavill’s ordnance factories.

But what the Chinese wanted far outstripped what Cavill’s factories could produce and the Chinese ability to pay for it. Harold had to find a way to meet all of those needs, maintaining the security of his new home and somehow continue to shape the timeline to prevent a catastrophe from happening in the future. It would not be easy without revealing much of the technology that he was employing.

Harold Cavill’s Home

Derby, Western Australia

December 25, 1945

Christmas Day seemed rather subdued at the Cavill residence this year to their four children. They had the usual Christmas tree with all of the decorations with more than two dozen gift-wrapped boxes under it. The supper meal was also as grand as ever.

Yet, something was definitely different this year. The children could see the growing distance between Harold and Dorothy ever since the previous spring. Harold was sure that the children did not know the real reason for the change in the relationship between himself and their mother.

Harold and Dorothy still did things with their children as much as possible. Judith, her sisters and brother were at first, homeschooled by their parents. Then Harold brought in tutors who were usually engineers that he had sent to university before they came back to work at his factories. It didn’t take very long for the children to become highly knowledgeable about math and the sciences. Whenever he could, Harold would personally teach his children though.

The children loved the adventurous spirit that their mother had. She was always at the airfield, flying aircraft as often as possible. Because of this, Dorothy was away from home almost as often as Harold.

But the mystery and passion of their father utterly enthralled Judith and her younger siblings. They missed Harold very much when he was gone. But when he was home, they all rushed to him. There was just something about that ‘knowing, yet loving’ look that Harold had in his eyes all of the time that made his children love him all the more whenever he was around. This was especially true for Judith and her sisters. They all also longed to know the secrets that he obviously kept so closely guarded.

While Harold and Dorothy’s children were not spoiled, their Christmases and birthdays were always days of joy. When they were younger, the children had received brand new bicycles of the latest design from Harold’s own factories. Recently, three more American quarter-horses had been added to the Cavill’s personal stable as gifts for the girls.

But the children took nothing for granted. They worked hard on their schoolwork and helped with the chores at home. The children also took time out of each day to take care of their horses and other pets. In spite of their wealth, the Cavill’s did not maintain any personal servants outside of Harold’s personal business assistant and the tutors for the children. Workers were hired from time to time for specific tasks. But in most ways, the Cavill’s lived a life at home that was not much different than the average Australian rancher or farmer.

Judith was the oldest at fourteen. Thirteen year old twins Sarah and Beatrice and the youngest, ten year old James. Sarah and Beatrice had just had their birthdays only three weeks earlier.

Whatever Judith and her siblings received, they had earned. But regardless of circumstances, they all received and valued the love of both of their parents.

Harold and Dorothy sat back and smiled as their children opened up their presents. There was such joy in the children’s eyes as they saw what they had been given. They were so excited while Harold and Dorothy were also excited for them. Judith and her siblings hugged their parents and thanked them for their presents.

Then it was time for Harold and Dorothy to exchange gifts. They smiled, were polite to each other, kissed and hugged while telling each other how much they loved them. But there was still something missing from the Christmases of years past. After dinner was done and all of the packages were opened, Harold and Dorothy went to separate parts of the house to do different tasks.

Later in the afternoon, Harold was cleaning the dishes over the kitchen sink when his oldest daughter walked up and started to help with a dishcloth. She didn’t say very much at the beginning. But eventually she looked up at her father and spoke.

“What is the matter between you and Mum, Dad? The two of you haven’t been spending nearly as much time together since just after Easter. Are you mad at her? You are not going to leave her, are you?” Fourteen year old Judith asked.

“Your mother and I have been having some issues lately. I still love her very much and have no intentions of leaving her or any of you, however.”

“Thank you, Dad. I want you to know that we all love you and Mum both, no matter what happens.” Judith replied while giving her father a hug and smiling up at him.

“Thank you, Sweetheart. Please make sure that you tell your mother how much you love her too. OK?” Harold asked.

“Sure, Dad.” Judith replied with a smile as she continued to dry and put away the dishes that Harold had already washed.

Harold felt a pang of sadness as he learned about how his children could see the strain in the relationship between their parents. It was still as though Harold had the weight of the world on his shoulders and the pain of this to bear at the same time.

Just after this, Dorothy came into the kitchen with a load of plates and other dinnerware from the dining room.

“Hello there, Sweetheart. I’m sure that your father appreciates your help with the dishes very much.” She told Judith.

“It’s just fun getting a chance to do things with Dad. You know how busy he can be sometimes. Don’t you, Mum?”

Dorothy quietly sighed for a moment before answering.

“Yes, I certainly do, Judith. If you would, could you please go back out to the dining room and help your brother and sisters finish cleaning up while I take your place here. I will help your father finish the dishes here.”

“Sure, Mum. I love you.” Judith said with a quick smile and hug to both of her parents before heading out to the dining room.

Harold and Dorothy quietly continued to clean, dry and put away dishes until Harold finally turned towards his wife and spoke.

“You know that our children are very worried about us, Dorothy.”

“I’m not surprised. They are all very bright. I guess that they inherited that from you, Harold.”

“They are the product of both of us, Dorothy. I can see your energy and daring in them as well. In any event, they love us both very much. The tension between you and I is clear as day to them.”

“But you know the reason for that, Harold.”

“Yes, I do. Unfortunately, I cannot undo what you did. There is also far too much at stake for me to allow the situation to return to what it had been.”

If only Dorothy had not tried to go behind his back and share some of the information from the future to make extra money. Harold knew that she had wanted to open up access to his computer database from the twenty-first century to try to help win the war. The end result was an estrangement between Harold and his wife that he could not find a way to resolve. He simply could not afford to trust her with the information from the future any longer. What made it worse was that she had become addicted to it and the power that it contained.

“How many times can I say that I am sorry, Harold?” Dorothy sadly replied.

“It’s not about you being sorry, Dorothy. It’s about my inability to trust you with the fate of the world’s future. We cannot afford to make another mistake here.” Harold calmly said before turning back towards the sink and returning to silently finish with the dishes.

Dorothy stood there, not making a sound, for a few moments before finally putting away the plate that she had been drying and leaving the kitchen. Her pain and frustration was plainly evident. But she wasn’t the only one hurting.

Harold prayed that saving the world was worth all of this heartache.

Chapter Four:

Philippine Resistance Base

Luzon, Philippines

January 4, 1946

The mood at the base was upbeat that day. The Resistance had just received another shipment of weapons via a nighttime Cavalier delivery. The American and Philippine resistance fighters had been engaging the Japanese occupiers on an almost daily basis with ambushes in addition to hit and run raids. There was a real sense that the insurgency was gaining ground against the Japanese.

“Well, even since I was ‘evacuated’ from Philippine General Hospital, I have been working out here to help our people reclaim our nation from the Japanese with every ounce of energy that I have.” Brigadier General Vicente Lim told a group of resistance leaders, both American and Pilipino, that afternoon.

General Lim had been the commander of the Philippine 41st Division at the time of the Japanese invasion of the Philippine Islands. His troops fought the Japanese to a standstill in a series of battles, saving Bataan from Japanese occupation for several critical weeks through his Division’s stalwart defense of the peninsula at the Abucay Line. Eventually, General Lim’s Division was forced to surrender along with the rest of the US and Philippine defenders due to a combination of disease, malnutrition and the exhaustion of their ammunition supplies.

After the surrender of the US Army forces in the Philippines, an ill General Lim was paroled and sent him along with many of the other surviving Philippine troops. But the General was determined to find a way to remove the Japanese from his homeland.

From his hospital bed at the Philippine General Hospital, the general continued to direct the Philippine resistance. But intelligence was received that the Japanese were about to arrest General Lim. A quick nighttime operation by the Resistance deep into occupied Manila pulled General Lim out just before the Japanese could seize him.

Now, the hero of the Abucay Line was directing the efforts of thousands of guerillas operating in the jungles and within the cities against the Japanese occupiers. The Imperial Japanese Army’s secret police, the Kempetai, continued to search for General Lim. This forced the Resistance leader to always be on the guard.

But now, the Philippine Resistance is looking to truly go on the offense for the first time. The excitement at that prospect from everyone there at the meeting was clear.

“It’s very good to see that we are finally getting some decent support from America. We have been operating with the help of the Australians and their allies, but it has been a very thin lifeline, Sir.” A young Philippine militia lieutenant remarked.

“Yes, it has been. The new weapons that we have received from the Americans and the Australians have been a tremendous help, especially the new automatic rifles and the shoulder-launched grenade launchers. With the increase in the amount of supplies coming in, we will be able to face the occupiers at a much more equal basis.

Of course, the food and medical supplies are just as important if not more so. Our soldiers and the civilians that we are defending badly need these things to survive under these difficult conditions. The Japanese are taking much of the food that our people grow and giving it to their troops for their own use.”

“Yes, Sir. The Japs have become even more brutal towards our people in addition to what they have done to the people in the camps. Beheadings and murder seem to be something that they relish all too easily. Then there are the things that the Japs have done to our women.”

Everyone in the room cringed at the thought of the mass rapes of Philippine women by the Japanese and brothels being staffed by unwilling Philippine ‘comfort women’. Most everyone in the meeting knew someone who had been touched by these particular atrocities and all of the others perpetrated by the Japanese occupiers.

“We will make the damned Japs pay dearly for what they have done to our people…all of our people. But we have to be patient and ensure that we have all of the resources that we need before we launch a full scale offensive against the bastards. Until then, we limit ourselves to small unit actions. We want to sap the Jap’s strength by hitting them where they are weakest and least ready for us.”

“Until then, our people will continue to suffer?” One of the junior Filipino guerilla leaders asked.

General Lim bitterly replied, “Yes. I’m afraid that our people will continue to suffer for a while longer.”

The General silently paused for a moment while the others looked at him before continuing.

“But remember this, all of you. The Americans have already lost over twenty thousand of their men in their first attempt to remove the Japanese from these islands. The Americans also may have committed to granting the Philippine people their independence after the war with Japan is over. But we are going to show the world that we have earned that independence when we are done dealing with the Japanese here that they deserve.” General Lim resolutely told the others.

“Then we can deal with that collaborator Jose Laurel and the others who have helped the Japanese.” The younger guerilla leader replied.

“Yes, but everything in due time. First, we must focus on the fight at hand.” General Lim told the others before resuming discussion on the more mundane, but vital, details such as supply and intelligence.

Prime Minister’s Residence at 10 Downing Street

London, England

January 9, 1946

Prime Minister Winston Churchill sat at his office desk looking over the papers that had just been presented to him by an official from the Exchequer Ministry. The more that Churchill read, the grimmer the expression on his face became. The Prime Minister’s mood did not improve after his visitor began to brief him on the contents of the report.

“Our financial situation is quite dire, Sir. Even though the war in the Pacific is still actively being prosecuted, we have to find some ways of reducing our military expenditures. Our debts are going to overwhelm us if we don’t do something soon about them. It is absolutely necessary for a significant portion of our industry to revert back to civilian production very soon. We have to get back to producing trade goods for sale frankly.” Jonathan Sykes, assistant to the Exchequer Ministry calmly explained to Prime Minister Churchill.

“What does the Chancellor of the Exchequer now want us to do?” Churchill bitterly asked.

“What he has requested is that we reduce significantly the size of our operational capital ship force. This would start with the retirement and scrapping of HMS Nelson and the surviving ships of the Queen Elizabeth class of battleships. All of these vessels are over twenty years old and are now in very poor condition from a combination of battle damage and wear.

With operations now in the Pacific, the slower speeds of these ships make them far less suitable for operations there. In addition, we need the funding and the raw materials from these ships for our other construction programs. As you well know, the Royal Navy is, by far, the most expensive part of our military. So, anything that we can do to reduce its costs help our budget substantially.”

“Is this all? I understand this. But we are still facing the possibility of additional losses in combat. The Japanese still have a formidable air force on their home islands based on the latest intelligence reports. The Japanese also have one or more of those massive battleships still available for operations. One on one, the Japanese Yamato still outmatches any other battleship in the world. We have to prepare for the near certainty that our forces could face those monsters again.”

“Yes, I agree. The Japanese still represent a very credible threat to our forces. But none of the vessels that we must decommission would be able to stand up to the large Japanese battleships that you refer to. Unfortunately, even the retirement of the older battleships are not the only economy measures that we must take anyway. We also need to put all of our battle cruisers into reserve status in addition to other economy measures. All three of these surviving capital warships are also over twenty years old and have seen extremely hard use in combat. There is another issue that we must consider, Sir. Tiger and Nelson are the only capital ships that use ammunition calibers other than the standard fifteen-inch guns of our other ships. Both ships have expended most of their available shells now. The costs are restarting production of those heavy munitions would be a heavy drain on our overall munitions budget.

HMS Hood and HMS Renown are also suffering from rapidly increasing maintenance costs due to their age. They are also more vulnerable to modern threats. By placing these three ships into reserve status, we will still have vessels in reserve that we can draw from if necessary to replace combat losses. Unfortunately, HMS Tiger will likely still need to be scrapped outright with the overage battleships because of the ammunition issue also, Sir.”

“That will leave us with only the five fast battleships of the King George V class in active service, Mister Sykes. With normal refitting and maintenance cycles in addition to potential battle damage or loss, there is little room for error with such a small number of battleships. There are also no plans on building any more such vessels, I’m sure that you are aware.”

“We are all quite aware of this. But the Germans now have only one surviving capital ship, a vessel that is clearly inferior to even one of our KGV class vessels. The Italians have ended hostilities with only one of their Roma class battleships and one incomplete aircraft carrier that can potentially be brought back into commission. The remaining French fleet in the Mediterranean is still clearly a match for the Italians in the unlikely event that there should there be any future conflict in those waters. The French are already building new cruisers and other warships to replace their war losses also.”

“We should be building more cruisers of our own.”

“On the contrary, we actually need to eliminate some of our existing cruiser fleet instead, Sir. The vessels in question are all of our older cruisers from the Great War. Like Hood and Renown, they are far past their retirement age and have excessive maintenance costs compared to our newer ships. With our reduced requirements, we have projected that we can still perform all necessary military missions even without the older cruisers. We would simply use the war-construction cruisers instead.

Getting back to the subject of operations in the Pacific, the Japanese have lost virtually all of their capital ships also. The rest are bottled up in their posts by our allies’ very successful mining campaign. We have little to worry about from them now, Sir.” Jonathan said in a matter of fact tone.

“We cannot guarantee that our mines will permanently keep the Japanese Navy in port. The Japanese could find countermeasures for our mines and breakout as a result.”

“We understand this, Sir. While we will be reducing our capital ship force out of necessity, we are not completely abandoning the Royal Navy to the breakers. We are continuing to build new aircraft carriers and escort vessels. As you already knew, the newest carriers that we are building will be as large as the battleships that we are keeping in service. They will have an armored and angled flight deck in addition to two full size hangar decks. These vessels will be the equivalent to the Americans’ new Freedom-class aircraft carriers, I have been told. They will carry the fight to our enemies now that we have thoroughly modern aircraft to operate from their decks. The new aircraft carriers are why we do not need so many expensive battleships. We still have significant numbers of transports that have had flight decks constructed on them for use by fighters and light bombers. They will continue to support convoy defense.

The new escort vessels will include the new large destroyers and the smaller dedicated anti-submarine escort ships. I have been told by the Admiralty that the current cruiser force will be more than adequate for quite some time for the needs of the current conflict. All of these actions will bring significant economies to the cost of the Royal Navy.

The Royal Navy is the most expensive single part of our military budget, I’m afraid. So if we are going to pay for the continuing conflict with Japan, we must reduce the Navy’s operating cost. Large big-gun ships will still have to be the first to go, I’m afraid. The British Army and the Royal Air Force are also facing cuts, but with the nature of the conflict in Asia, they should be far easier to swallow budget-wise and operationally. We will be returning many troops back to their civilian jobs and demobilizing quite a few Army units. The commander of the Royal Air Force still assures me that he sees the development of new jet aircraft as a much higher priority over continuing to produce and field large numbers of the older generation of fighters and bombers. So they will still receive a reasonable supply of funds for modernization of the force.

In any event, Fighter Command will soon see significant reductions in the number of active squadrons now that the war with Germany and Italy is over. Bomber Command will be shifting operations to Asia for expanded operations against Japan to end the threat against Singapore and Malaya.”

Though still quite formidable politically, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was also feeling the effects of his age and the strains of wartime leadership. Several mild heart attacks and strokes had been kept hidden from the British public in order to maintain Churchill’s image as the indomitable face of British resistance to the Axis. Now, he wasn’t sure that he would be able to fight against the one foe that he always had the hardest time overcoming, the depleted Royal Treasury.

The bean counters in Parliament had obviously gone behind Churchill’s back to convince the services to endorse the reductions in force. It was almost as though they had forgotten that there was a war still going on in the Pacific. The Germans had not been truly defeated in the war. They were merely content to accept a second armistice to end the bloodshed and to avoid complete economic collapse. While the Nazis were no longer in charge there, the Germans still had the most formidable military in Europe. They had also established mutual defense treaties and beneficial trade arrangements with virtually every nation between the Ural and Carpathian mountains.

At the same time, the British Empire was rapidly shrinking. It was clear that the passive resistance movement led by Mahatma Gandhi would eventually force England to grant independence to India and the rest of the South Asia subcontinent. The rest of the British Empire was shrinking also with the loss of the Mandate in Palestine and the abandonment of Egypt and many other outposts around the world. Great Britain still expected to maintain a few of her colonial holdings, but they paled in comparison to what had previously belonged to the Empire.

Chapter Five:

Temple Mount

Jerusalem, Israeli Disputed Territories

January 28, 1946

It had been less than six months since Jewish refugees and emigres from all over the world gathered in Tel Aviv to declare the independence of the Jewish state of Israel. Less than two hours later, multiple Arab Muslim states declared war upon Israel with the intent of driving all of the Jews into the sea.

Things just didn’t work out as planned for the Arabs in spite of the fact that their armed forces vastly outnumbered the quickly-organized Israel Defense Force. The Israelis were surprisingly well armed, but more importantly, very motivated after the years of persecution in the many nations that Israeli settlers came from.

These men and women were willing to do anything to secure a home for the Jewish people, especially after the horrors that so many of them had experienced in places like Auschwitz, Treblinka and Sobibór. The cry ‘Never again’ was frequently heard among Israel troops fighting for the survival of their new state.

Colonel Moshe Dayan led a battalion of Haganah militia into East Jerusalem as the Israelis fought fanatically to reclaim the rest of their historical capital from the Hashemites. Moshe was well prepared for the intense fighting after having been trained by Orde Wingate years earlier in a variety of unconventional military tactics for use against the Arabs.

Dayan and his five hundred battle-hardened fighters reclaimed the old city, block by block, house by house. The Israelis were well armed with Australian-made CR-1 assault rifles that had been supplied by a mysterious benefactor. These weapons would be frequently used along with Sten submachine guns, hand grenades and even bayonets during the bitter fighting.

In spite of it being wintertime, the fighting left everyone struggling to keep up with the physical toll, much less the psychological one. Everyone was hot, dirty and sweaty from hauling heavy packs and running from one firefight to another. But as tired as they were, Dayan’s troops never let up.

Colonel Dayan and his troops had fought hard to take East Jerusalem. Every single man or woman lost along the way was painful to Moshe. It was like he had lost a brother or a sister with each casualty. Tears flowed down the faces of his men and women after they had reached the Western Wall of the old Temple. But the fight continued as Dayan’s battalion continued to push east to secure the rest of the ancient city.

A powerful series of explosions rocked the Temple Mount behind the Dayan’s battalion only a few hours after the capture of the ancient site of the Second Temple by Israeli forces. The sounds of the massive explosions were a shock to the weary Israeli commander and his troops. But what Dayan and his battalion was an even bigger shock. The massive golden structure of the Dome of the Rock, one of the three most holy sites in Islam, now lay crumbled in a huge pile of rubble along with the al Aqsa mosque and all of its surrounding minarets while a huge column of smoke and dust rose in the sky above them. The mosque had been built on top of the Temple Mount as a symbol of Islam’s supremacy over the Jews over eleven-hundred years ago.

A group of men dressed in combat fatigues slowly walked down from the Temple Mount as Dayan and his troops watched in horror at the wreckage. Dayan recognized many of the approaching men as Orthodox rabbis who had long called publically for the retaking of Judaism’s holiest site.

Colonel Dayan was furious when he yelled out to the rabbis.

“What the hell have you done?”

“Calm yourself, brother. We have begun the first step towards the rebuilding the Great Temple to the one true God. The destruction of that desecration that the Arabs had placed on God’s holy ground was absolutely necessary to fulfill God’s will.” Rabbi Eli Weiss spoke with a tone of authority.

“Don’t you realize that this act will even further inflame the anger of the Arab world against us. The Arabs will surely reassemble their forces to try to destroy us because of what you have just done, Rabbi. They will show us no quarter either, civilian or military.”

The lead rabbi was not deterred at all by Dayan’s warning.

“The one true God has honored his word and brought us back to the Promised Land. He will provide His chosen people with the strength and means to defeat our enemies much as He did for Samson in the midst of his enemies, Colonel Dayan.”

“But Samson died in that battle.” Dayan silently said to himself as he turned away and began to prepare for the inevitable Arab counterattack. To do this, the one-eyed Israeli commander knew that his best option now was to continue to attack the Arabs and to push them all the way back to the eastern shore of the Jordan River. Then, the Israelis could finally set up a good defensive position in preparation for the Arab counterattack to come.

The group of rabbis then said ‘Shalom’ to the exhausted Israeli troops before turning around and heading back up onto Temple Mount.

Colonel Dayan had no option but to order his troops to continue to push east before the Arabs could reorganize. He prayed that he would not lose too many of these precious souls along the way. These men and women had gone through enough suffering already as they fought along his side against the Arabs.

The fighting continued throughout the former Palestinian Mandate as the Israelis pushed south and east to further expand their borders against the Arabs and Egyptians. The United Nations never came to be as had been the case during Harold’s previous timeline. The League of Nations still existed on paper. But that organization had been shown to be impotent in stopping the Second World War or preventing any other tragedy.

It could do nothing to stop this or even set up a brief ceasefire for the sake of the civilians that had been caught in the crossfire. But in this battle, there was little distinction between combatant and non-combatant anyway. The Arabs had been mobilizing as much of their population as possible to help push the Jews into the sea.

Arab partisans and other irregular troops made it very difficult for Israeli troops to separate the wolves from the sheep that they lived amongst. Tens of thousands of civilians on both sides lost their lives as a result of the bitter fighting that followed.

The mutual distrust that resulted from this slaughter of nominally non-combatants poisoned any attempts at a negotiated peace afterwards.

General Patton’s Headquarters

Chongsha, China

February 5, 1946

General Patton had started very quickly to retrain the Chinese Seventh Cavalry Division after having been given Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s blessing. He had started the process by training a company of cavalry himself using the manuals that he had developed from his time leading the American Tigers and with the aid of a group of English-speaking Chinese working as translators. Captain Birch provided invaluable assistance with both language and cultural advice.

Once the first company of Chinese cavalry had been trained in the methods that Patton desired, this unit’s personnel were used to train other Chinese units while new equipment came in to arm these new style cavalry. Patton saw to it that every cavalryman was armed with an Australian-built CR-1 6.5 millimeter assault rifle. Selected troopers would also carry a support weapon such as a light machine gun or some other type of heavy weapon. These cavalrymen were trained thoroughly to use these new weapons as effectively as possible.

Patton had personally sent inquiries about the weapons used by the Derby militia. He had personal experience seeing Harold Cavill’s weapons in action in the hands of the Australian units there. Patton had also heard of the successful defense by the Derby militia and wanted to know what weapons that they were equipped with.

Armed with that information, Patton then began ordering significant quantities of additional weapons for his cavalrymen. What Harold Cavill’s factories could not themselves produce due to limited capacity, Patton arranged through the Chinese government arranged to have manufactured under license by other factories in Australia, China or French Indochina. Since the equipment was going to a Kuomintang unit, it was all being paid for by China.

General Patton was also very interested in creating uniforms for the new Chinese cavalry to wear into combat. He had been very impressed with the Wehrmacht’s camouflage pattern uniforms that he encountered late in the European War. During the Thirties, Patton had designed a new uniform for tank crews that many referred to as the ‘Green Hornet’. This time, instead of a form-fitting garment, Patton had a camouflage uniform that was more loose-fitting and comfortable, while at the same time being very practical with lots of pockets to carry things like ammunition magazines. The uniform used a pattern of green, black and tan that blended in well with the terrain.

He had examples of the new uniform sent to the Generalissmo who wholeheartedly approved of the design. Within a month, truckloads of the new uniforms produced by Chinese garment workers, began showing up for issue to the Seventh Cavalry. The cavalrymen were very proud of their distinctive new uniforms.

Late this morning, Patton came riding up on a Mongolian pony while Captain Birch observed the training of one of the new cavalry companies. While Patton was accustomed to riding a larger horse, he had quickly found that the local mounts were quite sturdy and had excellent stamina.

As was Patton’s custom, he wore his two ivory-handled revolvers on either hip. He also had a CR-1 secured in a scabbard on the side of his saddle. The troops of the cavalry company were practicing fighting from horseback, then dismounting to conduct a hasty defense.

“These soldiers are coming along well, don’t you think?” Patton asked.

“Yes, Sir. They certainly appear to be very motivated. The concept of using the first soldiers that you trained to conduct the same training to the rest of the division has been very effective as well. More of the combat leaders are also being taught to speak English to have facilitate communications with us. I still worry that they will be very vulnerable on horseback, especially with the weapons that these soldiers have.” Captain Birch noted.

“These cavalrymen are not going to be some lightly armed recon troops, Captain. They are going to be able to take the fight to the enemy either while mounted or as dismounted dragoons when necessary.

We will be providing these soldiers with weapons that will greatly increase their firepower to facilitate this. Add this to the mobility that their mounts will provide to them and we will have a force that will be able to hit the Japanese where they are most vulnerable, destroy their morale and eliminate their will to fire.”

“What sort of weapons are you planning on arming these troops with? I see that they no longer have their lances.”

“Yes, I have been very busy bringing them into the twentieth century. These Chinese cavalrymen have finally abandoned the use of the lance though some of them still carry swords. You have seen the Australian automatic rifles that some KMT troops have already, I’m sure. All of the cavalrymen in the Seventh Division will be armed with these weapons as soon as we can receive them. In addition to this, the folks working for Harold Cavill are working on a light machine gun for our people that uses the same round as these automatic rifles. The new machine gun will be belt-fed and use a barrel that can be quickly changed out so that our cavalrymen will have the best firepower available with them.

The individual cavalrymen will also be carrying large numbers of lightweight hand grenades that are of Australian design and are much smaller than most grenade designs. Most, if not all of our troops, will also be equipped with silent grenade launchers to allow each troop to destroy enemy positions at extended ranges with a minimum of carried weight. Mobility is vital so we don’t want to overload them with unnecessary weight.”

“What if these troops run into Japanese tanks? They will be very difficult to stop with rifles and hand grenades alone.” Birch asked.

“We are purchasing fifty-caliber anti-tank rifles from Australia that are able to penetrate Jap tanks without much difficulty. They will also be helpful in destroying enemy aircraft on the ground from a distance.

We are also obtaining enough Australian shoulder-launched rocket launchers to be able to destroy any heavier armor or hardened positions. Each cavalry squadron will also be able to have its own mortar detachment to provide them with indirect fire against enemy defensive positions.

Finally, I have already heard from the Generalissimo that the KMT will be getting some new tanks soon. They won’t be the most powerful vehicles out there. But they will certainly outmatch anything that the Japs have available. We will also get more modern artillery guns later as they become available.”

The training was continuing to progress as Patton and Birch watched the Chinese cavalrymen remount their horses and continue the attack after the Chinese captain had communicated with his higher command through the shortwave radio that his radio operator brought.

“Communications is absolutely vital as is timely intelligence for our Chinese cavalrymen to be successful. As you know, good intelligence is a two-way street. It helps commanders at all levels to find weaknesses in the enemy forces and to exploit them. Communications of this information gives these commanders the ability to decide what to do to achieve victory with a minimum of casualties. Every company will have its own shortwave radio to communicate between it and higher headquarters. I am also fighting to obtain short-range FM radios for communications with each company as well. All of this was key to my success in Europe and North Africa.

Captain, I have seen the horrors of attrition warfare in two major conflicts already. Too many young men and innocent civilians have suffered needlessly as a result of what I have witnessed. I want to do everything that I can to avoid unnecessary bloodshed on the part of my forces through skillful leadership; timely, accurate intelligence and aggressive, decisive action against key targets.

But subordinate commanders have to understand their commander’s intent and exercise individual initiative in achieving mission objectives. This is very important because these cavalry units will frequently be operating far from established friendly lines and with unreliable communications at times.” Patton explained as the two American officers continued to watch the training exercise.

“I understand, Sir. I see the point behind what you emphasized in training the first company so firmly regarding discipline, honor and integrity. They are key elements of achieving what you want. Hopefully, they will also serve to eliminate corruption among the ranks at the same time. ”

“That is my intent, certainly. If any of these soldiers fall into old habits of corruption and lackluster discipline, then we have to stop it quickly and decisively. You saw that we replaced more than a few soldiers in our units who failed to follow instructions or who could not understand the basic concepts of what was needed. We need to create an elite force if we are going to defeat the Japanese or anyone else who threatens Chinese independence.

You have been a very important element in achieving this, Captain. You not only understand the Chinese people, but your own personal morality as a Christian missionary has made you a fine example of what these men need to emulate.” Patton proudly told the young intelligence officer.

“Thank you, Sir. I have learned of a new Chinese development that should help our soldiers reduce casualties also, Sir. There is a Chinese company in the south that has started to produce a lightweight body-armor vest that is made of multiple layers of silk. The Chinese have been using silk to make body armor for centuries, you know. This armor will not stop rifle rounds, but will certainly reduce casualties from high explosive fragments and perhaps some pistol rounds. Lightweight aluminum or steel plates can also be inserted into pockets on the armor vest to increase its protection against high velocity projectiles. One of my contacts in the Chinese government just informed me of this development.”

“That is excellent news, Captain. Please find out more about this armor. I need to know how expensive it will be and how soon these vests can be available. I will pass the request up to the Generalissimo. He has promised me that we will have priority in supplies. If we can equip each of our cavalrymen with their own personal body armor, we can save a hell of a lot of lives.” Patton said.

The two American officers continued to watch the training for a while longer. Then Patton spoke again.

“Our people will be ready to go on the offensive soon. Then we will kick those Jap sons of bitches all the way into the Yellow Sea. Then we are going to turn around and finish off Mao and his gang of Communist bastards.” Patton growled.

“What happens after that, Sir?” Birch asked, continuing to feel discomfort at the General’s profane language and seemingly bloodthirsty attitude.

“That’s where you and people like you come in, son. I go home and answer for my sins while you are going to continue to teach these people about the Bible and how to live the way that God intended for us to do. Hopefully, between the two of us, all of this fighting and bloodshed will not be in vain. Then we can finally have some real peace in this world.” Patton said, his voice becoming much quieter and introspective than before.

Captain Birch left there thinking that perhaps there was much more to General George S. Patton than met the eye.

Chapter Six:

Cavill Aviation Design Headquarters

Derby, Western Australia

February 7, 1946

Harold stopped his truck in front of the hangar that also served as the main office for Cavill Aviation. He had been making the rounds to his various enterprises after Harold’s latest trip overseas. Harold was continuing to recruit new engineering personnel and meeting with a variety of political leaders to get a feel for how the world had been changed.

The door to the hangar was wide open because of the massive aircraft parked partially inside of it. Once Harold walked inside of the hanger, he saw Theodore Rosewood, the program manager and chief engineer for Cavill Aviation was looking over the prototype for the new six-engine heavy transport aircraft that dominated the entire hangar’s entrance.

“How are our deliveries going so far, Theo?” Harold asked after walking up and shaking the aeronautical engineer’s hand.

“Slow as usual. We still have a lot of backlogs due to personnel shortages and limited production facilities. Our biggest backlog is engine supply though. We finally got the latest version of our licensed Wright Cyclone radial engine in production. Having two thousand horsepower available has been a godsend for so many of our designs like the Cassowary since they have been underpowered with the older engines.”

“I understand that. We know that we have been basing a lot of our larger aircraft on Cavalier components including the wing and the six-engine configuration.”

“But requires that for each aircraft that we have six engines available to complete it, Sir. The engine factory only produces a limited number of engines per month. These large aircraft also consume a lot of other resources as well only being able to operate from a limited variety of sites. I was hoping to talk with you about an alternative to this, especially concerning our new land-based transport aircraft.

Here, let me show you, Sir.”

Theo pulled out a set of engineering drawings from a large flat file drawer and spread them out over a large drafting table. The twin-engine aircraft that was depicted appeared to be a cross between a C-82 Packet and a Gotha 244 transport with a shoulder-mounted high-aspect wing and the empennage connected to the rear of the engines by a pair of tail booms. Both of the other similar aircraft were contemporary to the timeline though.

“It looks a lot like a flying boxcar, Theo.”

“Yes, but it would be efficient as hell according to the wind tunnel models. My engineers say that it should be able to carry at least ten tons of cargo. We can even drive a vehicle directly inside using the ramp in the back of the main fuselage.

I feel that this design is a really good fit for tactical transport since it can operate from airfields that are a lot smaller than what we would require for that massive six-engine transport that we have started to build. It also only requires two Cyclone engines, so we can build three times as many with our available engine production.”

Harold looked over the blueprints spread out in front of him. As much as Harold loved the large aircraft concept and the control that he would have because so few countries could afford purchasing them, Theo’s concept for the smaller transport made a great deal of business and tactical sense.

So Harold made a snap decision.

“Ok, Theo. I want you to start work on two prototypes right away. Use as many components as possible from our other designs so that we can reduce cost and simplify the logistics for all of our production. If your prototypes prove to be as good in flight testing as they appear, I will put them into immediate production.”

Theo practically glowed with the approval that Harold demonstrated with him.

“Thank you, Sir. I will get started on this right away. It will be incredibly popular, I am sure. But we still will have the problem of engine supply, even though this design will only use a third as much of our Cyclone production as a Cavalier or Cassowary does.” Theo noted.

“I do have a development that I hope will alleviate the situation with engine supplies. Our people working on the new gas turbine engines have also been developing a new application to the gas generator core.” Harold said.

Theo looked up with considerable curiosity in his expression.

“You want to redesign my aircraft to use jet engines, Sir?” He asked.

“Not exactly, Theo. What we are doing at my Propulsion division is taking the output of the turbine of our new jet engine to not only drive the intake compressor but also to drive a power shaft. We can use the power for a variety of applications by hooking it to a gearbox to reduce the RPM to a more useable number. One of these applications is to turn an aircraft propeller or even the screw of a warship.”

Theo’s expression lit up when he saw the possibilities. He was clearly stoked at the prospect of using this new engine.

“How much horsepower do you think that you will be able to generate, Sir? Theo immediately asked.

“They claim that they will be able to transmit between twenty-five hundred and three thousand horsepower to a four bladed propeller in a package that would basically replace a Wright Cyclone. It could be adapted for the same mount and would probably be slightly lighter than the equivalent piston engine, especially since it doesn’t require a massive cooling system either.”

“That would solve a lot of issues with virtually all of our issues with our transport aircraft, including our Cavaliers. It would also potentially increase the available payload for this new transport design as well.

I am curious about how this new engine compares to the Cyclone regarding specific fuel consumption, Sir?”

“Fuel consumption is a little bit of an issue. It does burn more fuel than a piston engine. But it can use a greater variety of fuels to start with. Also, with the lighter weight of the engine for a given horsepower, it allows for the aircraft to carry more payload, even if some of that payload has to include some additional fuel. The engine itself is mechanically simpler too, so it should be somewhat more reliable than the piston engine that it would replace.”

“This is incredible news. We will have to try to design a common engine mount so that we can replace our radial engines on our aircraft in a one for one basis. Of course, we wouldn’t mix the two types on the same aircraft.” Theo explained.

Harold stood and listened while Theo continued to extrapolate on what he could possibly do with his aircraft in combination with gas-turboshaft propulsion. This included the replacement of the Twin-Wasp radial engine used in the very popular Cavill Aviation tandem-rotor helicopters.

Finally Harold had to put up his hand to get Theo to stop talking.

“Well, I have given you a lot to work on now. I have to do what I can to be able to produce this engine in sufficient quantities after testing is complete. Otherwise, we will be in the same boat as we are with Cyclone production. In any event, I look forward to seeing this new transport in the air. Just please do me one favor?”

“Anything, Sir.” A delighted Theo replied.

“Please don’t let my wife be a test pilot on this. I would hate for her to break this airplane on you before you even get a chance to fully test it.”

“Fair Dinkum, Sir.” Theo said with a chuckle. They both knew how much Dorothy loved to fly new aircraft with a certain reckless abandon. Dorothy saw herself as being like another female pioneer of aviation, Amelia Earhart. Only because Dorothy had become a mother to four children, she could not break records flying around the world. That would take her away from her children for too long.

Instead, Dorothy got her thrills by pushing the latest aircraft right to the limit and occasionally beyond even that.

Darwin Airbase

Darwin, Australia

February 14, 1946

The US Army Air Corps B-25 Mitchell medium bomber taxied up to the sandbag revetment after flying another early morning mission against Japanese shipping and island outposts north of New Guinea.  The five-barrel twenty-five millimeter gatling gun poking out of the bomber’s nose was grey with gunpowder residue from repeated firings. On either side of the bomber’s nose, a gaping tiger shark mouth with numerous sharp teeth had been painted as a reflection of the aircrew’s aggressive attitudes. Below the pilot’s side window, there were dozens of symbols painted for successful bombing missions, sunken enemy ships and even several of Japanese aircraft that had been shot down by the crew.

Captain Pappy Gunn dropped down from the belly hatch of the Mitchell almost as soon as the bomber’s propellers stopped turning. Then he ambled down to the wing command hut to give his debriefing to the wing commander and his staff there.

But Pappy was only slightly surprised to find both Harold Cavill and Colonel Harlan Burke patiently waiting there for him.

“G’morning, Pappy. How was today’s run?” Harlan quickly asked after he and Harold shook Pappy’s hand.

“My boys and I hit the Japs pretty hard, I think. My bomber took out a Jap freighter east of Kao before we hit the main airfield at North Faluku. We strafed the hell out of the aircraft on the ground there before heading back. I saw at least a dozen burning Jap planes on the ground on the way back home.” Pappy detailed with great enthusiasm.

“It sounds like you had a very successful mission then, Pappy.” Harlan replied.

“Thank you, Sir. You know, North Faluku is in an ideal location for us to take as an advance base of operations against the Japanese. The Japanese garrison is relatively weak there, especially after our latest strikes on their airfields. The island has a couple of protected ports that our ships can use. It is also far enough north to give our bombers command over the seas between here and the Philippines.” Pappy explained.

Of course, Pappy was thinking about something else that the islands would be useful for. They would certainly serve as an ideal staging area for raids conducted against the Japanese forces in the Philippine Islands.

“We’ve looked at these islands before. In fact, there used to be a small Australian garrison there before the Japanese invaded the island.” Harlan noted.

“Then perhaps it is about time to reclaim your territory, Sir.” Pappy quickly replied, always looking for the opportunity to push closer to the Philippines and the possibility of their eventual liberation from Japanese occupation.

“I could certainly see also that an installation there could be very useful for a lot of reasons.” Harold noted. Of course, he was thinking in a much longer term than merely using the island as a military base.

“I suppose that we could look into this, gentlemen. What you have suggested does have a lot of merit. We can’t just continue to stay on the defensive if we are going to defeat the Japanese.”

Pappy and Harold both started to make suggestions on how such an operation could be conducted. Pappy was looking at the air element while Harold started to explain what materiel assets that he could provide in support. In less than two hours, the framework for a possible amphibious invasion of North Faluku began to take form.

During the next three weeks, Colonel Burke and his staff continued to develop the plan. By the middle of March, Harlan was ready to begin putting elements of the operation into motion.              But they would need some help on the high seas to successfully complete this mission still. The French, British and remaining Dutch forces were all tied up in other operations. That mean that Harlan would have to turn to the Americans for the naval support that he needed.

Chapter Seven:

Darwin Naval Base

Darwin, Australia

March 21, 1946

The US Navy had increased the number of lighter warships being based at Darwin after the end of the war in the Atlantic. This composition was mostly because there were relatively few cruisers and even fewer capital ships available for deployment to Australia. Among these was a new squadron of destroyers that Colonel Burke took a keen interest in, especially after he heard who was commanding it.

Colonel Burke did not waste any time flying to Darwin to meet this new squadron commander. After all, he had a little ‘job’ for him. From what Harlan had heard, this captain was just the kind of man he was looking for too. First, Harlan paid the admiral in charge of US Navy forces at Darwin a short visit. After spending an hour there, Harlan next walked over to another set of metal Quonset huts to meet a certain Captain Thomas J. Dillon at the DESRON 14 squadron office.

When Harlan arrived at the hut, he found Captain Dillon inside talking with an US Navy Lieutenant Commander. It was soon apparent that Colonel Harlan’s reputation had already preceded him when he stepped inside of the office as the tall, lanky American captain turned to look at the newcomer.

“Good morning, gentlemen. I’m Colonel Harlan Burke with the Royal Australian Army. I was hoping to have a short chat with Captain Dillon here today.”

Aren’t you the fellow who was in command of those militia troops when the Japs hit near Derby a little while ago?” the lieutenant commander next to Captain Dillon quickly asked.

“Yes, I was. But I had some excellent troops working for me. They made all of the difference along with the preparations that we made beforehand.” Harlan proudly explained.

“Good subordinates often make their commanders’ reputations, I agree. But Captain Dillon here was decorated with the Navy Cross for his heroism during the US Navy’s battle against the Japanese battle line. He was in command of the destroyer USS Fanning as part of the screening force.” The other American officer noted.

“I heard all about that first major naval action against the Japanese. That was a hell of a battle, Captain. I’m sure that you felt lucky as hell to return home with your ship.” Colonel Burke noted.

“Yes, Sir.  My crew and I were all very lucky. Unfortunately, a lot of our fellow sailors were not nearly as lucky that day. I just wish that we could have done more to help them.”

“Captain, you and your crew did much more than your share during that battle based on what I heard. You not only managed to put three of your torpedoes into Yamato, forcing her to turn away from your own battleships, but your ship also rescued over two hundred of your fellow sailors who had been forced to abandon ship. That’s why you received your promotion and commendation.” Harlan said to Captain Dillon’s surprise. The US Navy officer had no idea that anyone outside of his own chain of command knew of his role in the battle.

“Yes, Colonel. My shipmates and I did accomplish a lot in what ended up being an utter debacle. The brass back at Pearl offered me the command of a light cruiser along with the promotion and medals after we got back home. But I didn’t want to leave my ‘tin-cans’.

“And now Captain, you are in command of an entire squadron of destroyers. This is why I asked your Admiral for your services on a mission. We need an escort force to help my people capture some enemy-held islands near the Philippines. Would you be interested, Captain?”

“Perhaps. What islands are you planning on taking from the Japanese?”

“We want to take North Maluku and the small islands surrounding it. We used to have a base there until the Japanese captured it early in the war. Kao has a protected harbor and an airfield that will give us the ability to hit Japanese targets in the Philippines much more easily.”

“What about the Japanese garrison there? Certainly, they are going to object to our presence there.”

“True, but we believe that we have the means to conduct a surprise attack. I’m not just talking about commandoes delivered by our Cavalier flying boats. Of course, we already have a small number of those troops there. But I am thinking of delivering the vast majority of our troops right on their doorstep in mass before the Japanese are even aware of it.”

“How are you planning on accomplishing this without getting everyone killed before they get within one hundred kilometers of that island, Colonel?’

“We plan on arriving in a Trojan horse, so to speak. Actually, we will be arriving on six of them. The Japanese will not even suspect that we are an enemy invasion force because we will have told them that a German raider will be leading a column of Japanese reinforcements for their garrison.

You see, Sir. We have the latest Japanese codes now, courtesy of your United States Navy and their codebreakers. So by the time that the Japs figure out that we aren’t friendly, we will have already be slamming shells right down their throats.”

“You really think that you can pull this off, Colonel? Also, where are you going to get the troops? We don’t really have many to spare right now.”

“Besides the commandoes that we are already using on the island, I will be using four battalions of soldiers from the Derby Militia. That should give me enough troops for the initial assault. They are some of the best armed troops in the country. By the time that we take Kao, you should be able to round up another Brigade or two to finish mopping up the rest of the Jap garrison.”

“How long will it take before you are ready, Colonel?”

“We can be ready to leave in seventy-two hours. The bigger question is how long it will take our allies to find us some reinforcements to secure the rest of the island after we take Kao? Either way, we are going to push ahead with the operation.” Harlan said with a confident smile.

North Maluku Invasion Force

200 miles northeast of Derby, Australia

March 18, 1946

The convoy was very unusual to say the least. Five of the eight ships being escorted were former Japanese transports that had been salvaged from the waters north of King South after the battle for Derby. The sole exceptions were the former raider Kormoron; MS Miraculous, one of the large cargo transports built at the Derby shipyard, three other Cavill Line transport ships and Captain Dillon’s Destroyer Squadron Five. Captain Dillon flew his flag from the Somers-class destroyer leader USS Sampson and two divisions of four destroyers each. One destroyer division consisted of four Mahan-class vessels including Dillon’s old command USS Fanning. The other division consisted of Benson-class destroyers but was short one ship. A Cavill-produced RAN destroyer filled out that division.

Captain Dillon’s flagship Sampson had given up its dual five-inch mounts in the X position to gain two pairs of forty-millimeter Bofors antiaircraft cannons while eight Oerlikon twenty-millimeter cannons replaced the two obsolete 1.1 inch quad antiaircraft mounts. This modification significantly improved Sampson’s antiaircraft capability while reducing its topweight problem. The destroyer leader still retained its three quadruple torpedo tube launchers and six of its low-angle five-inch guns however. This weapons configuration gave the destroyer leader a very formidable anti-ship armament as a result.

Harold had quickly started work on modernizing the captured German raider Kormoran almost as soon as she was sailed into King Sound. While the exterior of the former transport cum disguised raider was kept as intact as possible, Harold’s workers made extensive modifications to the ship under her skin. One of the first things that was added was a thoroughly modern electronics suite to include new surveillance and fire control radars. This gave the former disguised raider an extended view of the seas and air around it regardless of weather or sea conditions. Her engines were also replaced with modern diesel motors to increase her speed and range.

Kormoron had also replaced its main armament with six of the now scrapped cruiser HMAS Adelaide’s six-inch Mark XII guns replacing the raider’s even older German guns. Kormoron’s secondary armament was also extensively modified as well with weapons produced in Harold’s own ordnance works. This included a pair of the new six-pounder automatic antiaircraft guns, four Oerlikon automatic cannons and one of the new 2.5cm gatling guns. These guns were all hidden from easy view as has been the raider’s earlier armament. The underwater torpedo tubes had been removed to save weight and space for other equipment while the above-deck mounts were retained. The internal hangar for Kormoran’s two Arado AR 196 floatplanes was given over to a pair of newly designed Cavill Aviation tandem-rotor helicopters which would be flown from a spot cleared on the former raider’s deck. Those helicopters would still not be the only aircraft available for the invasion force.

After extensive refitting, the former Japanese liner Tatsuta Maru had been converted into a very capable light fleet carrier that carried over forty fighter and attack aircraft. She had been captured immediately after the Japanese invasion attempt near Derby a short while earlier. During the former liner’s reconstruction, her engines were upgraded with more powerful diesels to increase her speed to over twenty-four knots. The ship’s armament was also significantly increased to protect her primarily from aerial threats with a variety of light and medium automatic cannons supplementing eight dual-purpose four-inch guns. The higher speed would make it easier for the carrier to employ the latest models of aircraft.

This new aircraft carrier was to provide air cover for the invasion convoy. Along with the new role came a new name. The new aircraft carrier was now named the HMAS Adelaide in honor of the decommissioned Town-class light cruiser.

The salvaged Japanese transports maintained their original external appearance as closely as possible. But they had dozens of weapons hidden under tarps and behind false walls also. Most of these weapons were mortars, howitzers and multiple rocket launchers. But these transports also had multiple automatic antiaircraft cannons that could also be used in the direct fire role as well.

MS Miraculous had to be disguised as one of the larger Japanese transport ship designs. Underneath the false structures were additional anti-aircraft guns, landing craft and two more of the new tandem-rotor helicopters. There were also another five hundred troops waiting below-decks for the call to action.

The other three transports were sister ships to MS Miraculous but they had not been modified at all except for landing platforms being added on their sterns for helicopter operations. These three transports remained far astern from the ships that were doing the initial assault. This kept the undisguised transports under the protection of Adelaide’s aircraft and Captain Dillon’s destroyers.

Cavill Motor Ship Kormoron

150 Miles Southeast of North Maluku

March 21, 1946

The morning sunrise from the east lit up the skies behind Kormoron and the six other transports traveling with her. Their escort force of an aircraft carrier and several destroyers sailed off in the distance to the north so as to not give away their association with the small convoy. As far as the rest of the world was concerned, these merchant ships still belonged to their German and Japanese masters.

On board the ships, there was considerable activity, though most of it was hidden below decks as sailors and troops prepared for their mission. Aboard Kormoron, the leaders of the invasion force were busy as well making last minute plans. Australian commandos had been landed on the island a few days earlier via Cavalier flying boats to provide intelligence reports. But the commandos were not the only intelligence gathering assets available to Colonel Burke’s invasion force.

“We just got the latest recon photos from our Cassowary surveillance bomber of North Maluku and the surrounding seas. They found something very interesting at the port of Kao.” The Kormoron’s captain, Jackson Fisher, said as he walked into one of the ship’s smaller storage compartments that had been converted into a tactical command center for the invasion.

Colonel Burke took the packet of photos that had been delivered to Kormoron via seaplane less than an hour earlier and began to spread them out over the table in the center of the compartment.

“This ship wasn’t there a couple of days ago. We were hoping to arrive while no ships were in port to complicate our cover story. What are we going to do?” Captain Fisher noted. He had only been in command of Kormoron for a few months. The former disguised German raider had been in the Cavill Shipyards for over eight months being refitted. Before then, Captain Fisher had served as first officer of a freighter and had also commanded one of the torpedo boat squadrons that fought during the defense of Derby.

Officially, Kormoron was under the command of RAN Lieutenant Commander William Stuart. The Royal Australian Navy had insisted that one of their officers be in command of the former German disguised raider since the ship was still armed as a light cruiser. However, the reality of the real chain of command was rather forcefully explained to Lieutenant Commander Stuart by both Colonel Burke and Harold Cavill, Kormoron’s owner, before the ship sailed from Derby. So, the RAN officer remained on the bridge where he was to have no real role in the battle except as an observer.

“We had not heard anything about this ship’s arrival through our own radio intercepts. It is very likely that she came in without prior warning as well. Her presence may actually help with our cover story though.”

Captain Fisher had started looking through a binder of intelligence reports on Japanese naval vessels. The loose leaf binder contained the latest information on every known Japanese ship including illustrations and technical data. Colonel Fisher would often jokingly refer to the thick binder as the Australian Jane’s Encyclopedia. Captain Fisher finally stopped at one page and showed it to the others in the compartment.

“This looks like a tanker. But look at that little deck amidships with half a dozen seaplanes and a pair of catapults on her. Also, look at those deck guns fore and aft. That ship appears to be Hayasui according to the ship recognition book. She’s no mere tanker. Hayasui is a fleet support ship. I don’t know why she is here. But, we are going to have to deal with her, one way or another. Otherwise, this whole mission falls apart.” Kormoron’s captain explained.

“Well, we don’t want to fire on her right away. That will give away our entire mission too. Besides, her tanks have got to be full of fuel right now. We don’t want that going up in our faces. If we can capture her intact, we can also put the fuel and other cargo to good use for ourselves. In addition to that, the loss of a new fleet support ship will put a serious dent in the Japs’ ability to project power. She may even be supporting those damned missile-firing submarines.

What we need is a plan to quietly seize her at the same time that our ships come into the harbor.”

“That’s going to mean getting some more commandoes into the port early without being spotted, Colonel.”

“That may not be terribly difficult if we can use your helicopters to drop off some personnel and some dinghies a few hours prior to daybreak. We were planning on coming at first light anyway.”

“Hopefully, they can neutralize the gun crews on Hayasui without prematurely alerting the garrison.”

“Captain, I will need all of the information that you have on Hayasui so that my commandoes can plan how they are going to take her. We only have about twenty hours before we would have to launch the helicopters and twenty-four hours before we reach Kao ourselves. Once we secure the port and the nearby airstrip, then we can fly in reinforcements with those new transport aircraft that Mister Cavill has been building lately.”

“I’m sure that Mister Cavill will want to keep Hayasui to add to his little fleet of captured Axis ships if we can capture her intact. After all, he’s not doing all of this for free.” Captain Fisher said with a smile.

“No, he isn’t. But I have had the feeling for the past few years that he has other motivations beyond profit or even patriotism for what he has been doing for the Australian military and our allies. I just can’t quite put my finger on what those motivations are. I’m just glad as hell that he is doing what he is doing at this point.”

“Well, I am hoping that the Japs accept that phony radio message tomorrow telling them that we are escorting a lost Japanese convoy. Otherwise, things are going to get very nasty out there.”

“We know that the captured enemy codes are good. All we need are a couple of good breaks now. Mister Cavill and all of the connections that he has managed to build over the past couple of decades seem to have been able to pull off quite a few miracles for us so far. I just have to trust that we will continue with our success.”

Cavill Motor Ship Kormoron

Kao Bay, North Maluku

March 22, 1946

Kormoron and her consorts were already working their way south towards Kao when the first light of daybreak peeked out from the eastern horizon. They were traveling slowly through the waterway at just over eight knots, working their way around several sunken Japanese ships that Pappy Gunn and his pilots had hit in the bay earlier. Captain Fisher and Colonel Burke did not want to do anything that seemed out of the ordinary.

“I am damned glad that we were able to get past Morotai Island without being discovered. I am still worried about getting trapped in the bay though.”

“We will be alright. We needed to get in closer to our objective if we were going to be able to quickly seize the Jap base and airfield. Captain Dillon and his destroyers will be able to take care of the defenses at Morotai just as long as we neutralize the airfield here.

We are passing Bobale Island right now. So far, so good. We will be entering Kao Bay in just a few minutes now.”

“Yes, I can see Hayasui from here now. Everyone remember that we are all ‘cobbers’ here. We all want to get in nice and close before we show the Japs our true colors. We also want Kormoron positioned so that she can open fire on Hayasui with guns and torpedoes if our commandoes are not able to signal that they have control of her.”

As the invasion commanders spoke, over twenty commandoes were already swarming over the side of the Japanese support ship from their dinghies and rapidly overcoming her crew. Most of the work was done with knives and bludgeons though a few Japanese had to be dispatched by sound-suppressed submachine guns and pistols.

Silently, the Australians continued to sail south towards the Japanese base at Kao. Gunners sat hidden, waiting for the order to unmask their guns and open fire on the Japanese positions that were already visible in the morning light. Lookouts could see Japanese troops and sailors walking back and forth. It was apparent that the invasion force had achieved complete surprise so far.

Just before Kormoron was about to lower her gun flaps to engage the Japanese supply ship, a quick series of light flashes were seen coming from the Japanese ship. Everyone on Kormoron’s bridge quickly raised their binoculars to see what the message was.

“It looks like we are getting signal code flashes from the deck of that Japanese ship. It’s from the commandoes. They are signaling that they have taken the ship!” Captain Fisher quickly said with a note of relief in his voice as he looked towards the objective.

“Send the signal to the invasion force. Hoist the battle ensign and open fire on the enemy.” Colonel Burke immediately ordered.

In just a few seconds, the Kriegsmarine flag was lowered from Kormoron’s stern and in its place rose the Australian naval ensign. Likewise, the Rising Sun disappeared from the ships following Kormoron, only to be replaced by more Australian flags.

Kormoron’s gun flaps were quickly lowered as the raider turned away from Hayasui, exposing the full firepower of the disguised raider towards the beach. Within seconds, Kormoron opened fire on every Japanese gun position in sight with its six-inch naval rifles. The lighter automatic weapons on the other ships also opened fire along with hundreds of rockets that had also been waiting hidden on the transports’ decks, raking Japanese troops and equipment in a blaze of explosions. In less than a minute, every gun that could have threatened Kormoron and her tiny fleet of transports had been neutralized.

But Kormoron’s guns continued to fire at any Japanese that came into view as landing craft were lowered into the water. Soon, hundreds of Australian soldiers, many of whom belonged to the Derby militia, were on the way to land on the beaches at Kao.

Immediately after Miraculous launched her landing craft, her crew quickly worked to clear her main deck and prepare a large flat area for two more helicopters to take off and land from.

At first, the Australian invasion force met little resistance from the stunned Japanese defenders. But as the Australian troops moved in from the beachhead, Japanese gunfire soon began to increase in volume and effectiveness. In response, the troops began to fire machine guns, mortars and shoulder-launched heavy grenade launchers. The staccato sounds of hundreds of machine guns and assault rifles filled the air and overwhelmed the loud cracks of Japanese rifles.

The invading Allied troops had been liberally supplied each with literally dozens of small golf-ball sized fragmentation grenades that had been designed and built in one of Harold’s munitions factories, especially the Derby militiamen. The average infantryman could easily hurl one of these miniature explosives over sixty meters without even using the new grenade throwers. So whenever a Japanese position would open fire, it would literally be smothered by a multitude of small grenade explosions in addition to machine gun and automatic rifle fire.

Kormoron’s gunners still fired their guns periodically in response to requests by the ground troops for heavy fire support, but mostly they remained silent now. Aircraft were now flying over from HMAS Adelaide to provide direct ground support as well as air cover against any attacking Japanese aircraft.

But the first thing that Adelaide’s aircraft did was to strafe and bomb the Japanese aircraft that had been parked at the nearby airfield. They were very careful to only use light fragmentation and incendiary bombs to avoid damaging the runway.

Colonel Burke listened to the radio transmissions coming from his troops over half a dozen radios set up in Kormoron’s command center. So far, the reports coming in indicated that the Japanese garrison had been hit very hard during the initial bombardment.

But the Japanese were far from defeated. Harlan had already heard far too many calls for medical assistance.

“What are our casualties so far?”

“We have twenty-two dead and over fifty wounded, Sir.” Major Colin Adams replied from his position near the airfield. He was the commander of the 1st Battalion, 25th Australian Infantry Brigade; the lead unit for the assault.

“Major, we are going to use our helicopters to evacuate your wounded for medical treatment aboard Miraculous. On the return trip, we will bring you in reinforcements and more supplies.”

“Are you sure that those machines are safe? I would hate to trust my soldiers’ lives to one of those noisy, strange-looking beasts. They look like they are about to crash at any moment and chop everyone around them to pieces with those spinning blades.” The skeptical major asked.

“Trust me, Major. I’ve ridden on one of those helicopters before. They are just as safe as any aeroplane that we have. More importantly, they can get our boys back for real medical care faster than anything else that we have.”

“Yes, Sir. I will have them waiting at the northeast end of the runway for you. Please hurry.”

“We will do our best, Major. Some of those soldiers out there are my lads too.” Harlan quickly replied.

As the hours passed, more troops flowed through the beachhead as the Australian force pushed through Kao and secured the town, the Japanese garrison facility and the nearby airfield. As soon as the airfield was secured, Colonel Burke called back to Sydney via radio to give the news to his superiors there.

Even though the commanders in Sydney was surprised about the speed of advance by the invasion force, they quickly launched the next phase of the attack. Over a dozen aerial transports flew hundreds of reinforcements and tons of supplies to the newly captured airfield. At the same time, four light tanks from the Derby militia were finally landed at Kao by Miraculous’ landing craft, providing badly needed mobile firepower to the invasion force.

Harlan flew to the airfield aboard one of Kormoron’s helicopters once the base had been secured. He could tell that many of the reinforcements coming in were from the Derby militia because of the mix of white and aborigine faces that he saw coming in off of the two and six-engine transport aircraft that had landed at the newly captured airfield. Many of the troops from the original invasion force were also from the Derby militia, but the commanders in Sydney wanted the first wave going into Kao to be Australian Army regulars.

Commonwealth Base

Kao, North Maluku

March 27, 1946

Colonel Harlan Burke looked out over the bay at the steady stream of men and materiel coming in from the transport ships anchored there from where he was standing at the pier.  The drone of aircraft flying overhead was a comforting noise because Pappy Gunn and his airmen had already flown in dozens of fighters, bombers and transport aircraft onto the formerly Japanese-held airstrip nearby. A platoon each of light tanks and self-propelled artillery pieces had also been offloaded from the transports and put to immediate use in clearing Japanese strongpoints.

The eight helicopters that the invasion force brought with them were being heavily used for both medical evacuation and the transport of fresh troops to cut off retreating Japanese troops. The distinctive sound of the tandem helicopter rotors returning was all too often a harbinger of more wounded soldiers.

One thing that Colonel Burke noticed was that there were no Japanese prisoners being returned at all. Even with the attack on Derby, the militiamen managed to capture a few Japanese soldiers. But this time, there were absolutely none with the exception of a few wounded Japanese prisoners of war on the first day of the invasion. The troops that had come back to Kao for resupply and evacuation were all unusually silent.

Colonel Burke requested that Major Adams report to him at the first opportunity. A few hours later, Major Adams arrived aboard one of the helicopters and immediately came to Colonel Harlan’s office in one of the captured Japanese bunkers. One look at the major’s grime-covered face told Harlan that the fighting had been pretty heavy out there wherever the major had just come from.

“G’day, Major. I wanted you to come back and give me a first-hand account of how we are doing. I know that it has been early in the fight, but I haven’t gotten a lot of information outside of normal requests for food, water, ammunition and such. What the hell is going on out there?” Harlan asked.

“Sir, we are making good progress out there kicking the Japs across the island. I figure than in a week, we should have full control of the main island and most of the smaller islands surrounding it.”

“Well, if that is the case, our men should be happy as hell. Instead, all I see are a bunch of blokes who look like they just came back from a mate’s funeral. That includes you. So what is it that I haven’t been told yet?”

“We found a large mass grave out there, Sir. It was filled with the bodies of some of our mates that had been able to escape the island before the Japs captured it at the beginning of the war. It was also full of local islanders as well. It looks like all of them had their hands tied behind their backs and murdered. Some of them have had their heads chopped off too.” The grim-faced major reported.

“Is that the reason why we haven’t received any more Japanese prisoners back here, Major?”

“In part, Sir, that is correct. But the Japs are not surrendering. Oh, on occasion, one of them would come out with his hands up and pretend to be giving up the fight. Then he would reveal the live grenade in his hand and set it off to kill some more of our people along with himself. So, we’ve just pretty much given up on taking prisoners at this point. To be honest, Sir. I don’t really want a single one of those murdering bastards to leave this island alive after what they did to our mates. I believe that the rest of our troops feel about the same way now.”

“Pass the word along to our troops that we have to at least try to get the Japanese troops to surrender. It’s better for them and for our people if the Japanese would give up the fight peacefully. I know that it is a hard order to give, especially with what our people found. But we have to be better than the Japs, if only for the sake of our own humanity. There’s already been enough death here. We don’t need to see any more of it if we don’t have to.”

“Yes, Sir. I will pass the word along to the troops. We will do what we can.” The major said with a weary sigh, hoping that this would not cause the deaths of more of his troops.

“Thank you. We are going to drive the Japs out of this place, one way or another. But we have to be better men than they are. Otherwise, what we do will haunt us for the rest of our lives.”

“Well, at least we have those tanks and artillery now that you promised us. They will make a huge difference even in these conditions. I don’t want to lose any more of my men than I have to.”

“Amen to that, mate. Now, go get cleaned up and eat some food before you go back out on the front line.” Harlan said before the major left.

Harlan saw several people in Cavill Shipping Lines uniforms just stepping up from a small ship’s boat onto a pier. He had noticed this morning that the Japanese supply ship that had been anchored in the harbor was missing this morning.

“Good morning, mates. You wouldn’t happen to know what happened to that big Jap cargo ship that was here when my people first arrived, would you?”

“Yes, Sir. We do. It set sail for Derby just before daybreak for refitting.”

“Does that mean that Mister Cavill is adding her to his little navy?”

“Well, Sir. It is our understanding that the ship was claimed under maritime salvage laws by Cavill Industries because Cavill employees were among the people involved in the ship’s capture.”

Harlan snorted for a moment. Of course, Harold Cavill would ensure that he would have militiamen trained to take ships among the troops going into North Faluku. He had personally footed the bill for the training and equipment of the Derby militia. Derby militiamen made up nearly half of the force involved in this invasion.

While Colonel Burke understood that Harold would want to get something back in return for his investment, he wasn’t so sure that the Australian Defense Ministry would see things that way. Either way, it was a problem between Harold and the officials in Canberra. It wasn’t as though Harold Cavill was going to use this little navy of his against Australia. In fact, Harold had used every acquisition to help the Commonwealth war effort.

The battle for North Faluku continued on for another week and a half before the last of the Japanese strongholds were captured. Even before then, more Australian troops, ships and aircraft poured into the island to prepare it as a forward base for operations against other Japanese bases in the Philippine Islands. North Faluki would be an important stepping stone towards the Japanese home islands.

Chapter Eight:

German High Command Headquarters

Berlin, Germany

April 11, 1946

Several members of Germany’s new military-led government had gathered for a short meeting concerning the military and economic situation for post-war Germany. Among the many other subjects under discussion were consideration of the relationships that Germany now had with many of its neighbors.

“Diplomatic recognition of our new government has been progressing very quickly. In fact, it has been far faster than I dared imagine after our country’s role in the war. There are also a lot of foreign countries inquiring about investing in Der Deutschland once again. Do you have any idea for the fortunate turn of events?” Major General Dr. Hans Speidel asked. Speidel had been one of the key conspirators against Adolf Hitler and an architect of the new German government.

“It was very simple. After Hitler’s death, we shut down the hunting of Jews and others that were considered undesirables by the National Socialists. We followed that up with the trials for the people in charge of the ‘Final Solution’ so that we had scapegoats to offer up for the crimes of Hitler’s regime. Then we offered to support independent governments for the Baltic States and the Ukraine in return for their support in the war against the Bolsheviks. We also offered military support and favorable trade agreements to these potential allies as an additional incentive to join our cause. It took some time for the full effect to become apparent, but this has all played very well among the international press.” Admiral Wilhelm Canaris: Commander of Germany’s military intelligence service, the Abwehr, told the others in the conference room.

“How much direct support did the Baltic States and Ukraine provide to us?” Colonel Maximillian Arndt asked. He had just returned Germany after discussions with several of the Western powers that Germany signed the armistice agreement with.

“The Ukraine alone raised the equivalent of nearly four divisions of troops during the past four years. They have been very helpful in rooting out the partisans that have plagued our troops throughout the necessary occupation of Russia west of the Ural Mountains. This enabled many of our own troops to be reassigned from anti-partisan duties to fighting on the front lines. This was invaluable because these reinforcements were key to our capture of Moscow and the coming end of the Bolshevik regime.

Moreover, the Ukrainian and Baltic State troops also require few of our valuable resources to be set up and maintained. These local forces are primarily armed with former Red Army weapons including a few tanks and artillery pieces.” Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt explained. He had been working directly with some of Germany’s new allies to the east.

“They won’t eventually become a threat to Germany?” Colonel Arndt asked.

“No, they shouldn’t be. As a group of smaller independent nations, they will not be able to amass the sort of military power to threaten us. Even if some were to decide to create an alliance, they could not be sufficiently large or organized to cause us any real concern. Besides, we will do all that we can to remain friends with these newly independent nations. They can certainly then be assets rather than liabilities, or worse, enemies.” Admiral Canaris explained.

“We are going to need all of the allies that we can get. You know that the French will not be very forgiving even though they were given back their country without any preconditions. We have already learned that the French are designing their next generation of tanks even as their politicians argue about who was to blame about their defeat at our hands. We don’t have a lot of details about their new tank designs. But I personally believe that they are going to learn as much as they can from other armored vehicle designers including our own.

The Englanders are still wary of us in spite of our acceptance of their armistice conditions as well. The Low Countries have very little to say in the matter since their militaries all have to be completely rebuilt after we destroyed them during the beginning of the war.” Colonel Arndt noted.

“What about the Amerikaners?” General Adolf Galland, the new commander of the Luftwaffe bluntly asked as he chewed on an unlit cigar.

“I believe that if we do not interfere with what the Amerikaners believe are their own regional interests, they will not interfere with ours. At most, they will see us as business competitors instead of a military threat because we have an ocean between us still.

Of course, we are working on weapons that will not be stopped by a mere ocean should the need arise.” The newly designated Industrial Minister Albert Speer informed the uniformed members of the German ruling junta.

“I already know about our modernized U-Boat force. But hasn’t Doctor Von Braun been rather unwilling to continue his rocketry work for the Wehrmacht as of late?” General Heinz Guderian asked pointedly.

“Yes, he has been. Perhaps he has been growing a conscience after what he did during the war to keep his little ‘hobby’ funded? In any event, we have other scientists who are now quite experienced in the field and more than able to continue working on large rockets for the Deutschland.

We have also buried all evidence of what the National Socialists had done to the Juden and other enemies of the Third Reich at the work camps, with the exception of the survivors who have mostly traveled to their new Israel. At least these Juden are being kept busy fighting the filthy Arabs in this new Israel of theirs and keeping the Muslims from annoying us and our allies with their damned Jihad nonsense.

It still astounds me that Hitler found common cause with those Arab barbarians. From what I saw, all the Muslims really wanted to do is watch the world burn and take civilization back to the seventh century.” Speer replied.

“Der Führer had a great many strange beliefs, I’m afraid. He very nearly brought an end to the Deutschland and the German people as a result.” Speidel commented with a tone of bitterness.

“I know. Now, we have to finish the war that he started and end the Bolshevik threat. Then all of our men can come home to rebuild the wreckage that little Bohemian corporal left behind.” Von Rundstedt firmly told the new leaders of the German nation.

The White House Oval Office

Washington, DC

April 13, 1946

President Dewey sat at his desk and discussed the world situation with several of his advisors. The news that he was given was not very comforting at all though.

“France’s leaders in Paris are now utterly terrified of the Germans. They won’t dare do anything militarily against Germany. So politically, the French have to accomplish something to regain some sense of national pride. This is why they are so anxious to hang onto Indochina. There is also the fact that trade between Indochina and Australia has become a very important source of revenue for France’s coffers.” Secretary of State John Foster Dulles explained.

“They certainly need the funds. Like everyone else in Europe, France was badly hurt economically even though they were spared the worst of the fighting after Dunkirk. The Germans had simply stripped the French bare, even with the requirement that they return French property. There was simply not very much available to return by the time of the armistice.” Dewey noted.

“I wonder if the French would be open to Americans investing in their country, especially in rebuilding its industry. We could certainly give them the boost needed to revitalize their economy. Of course, we would need to have assurances that France would not later turn around and nationalize those investments. That would be effectively stealing from our country if they did that.”

“I don’t know, Mister President. The Socialists have been a very powerful force in French politics for at least the last couple of decades. With them in the government, there is always the risk that they could decide to nationalize foreign businesses under the guise of reclaiming resources that they claim were stolen from them by foreigners. This has happened before as you well know.”

“We will have to make sure that the French understand how much they need our dollars if they want to recover from what the Nazis did to France. Of course, that will mean that some of their socialist laws will have to be changed to facilitate our investments. Otherwise, the French will simply fall further behind the rest of the Western world.”

“What about the British, Sir? They have to be in dire financial straits even with the help that the US provided them via Lend-Lease. They could also be ideal for additional American investments into their industries. This could give us a foothold into some of the new technologies that the Brits have been developing, Sir.”

“We are trying, Sir. But the British are doing everything that they can to pay off their war debts, including selling off or scrapping a considerable portion of the Royal Navy. Mostly, this has involved warships that the British had launched during the First World War or shortly afterwards.

The British reduction in force has also significantly impacted their army and air force as well, but the Royal Navy has borne the brunt of the cuts.

The bottom line is that they are limiting the amount of money and influence that we have been able to inject into the British economy. There is a certain amount of information sharing that has continued to go on between ourselves and the Commonwealth. But they have managed to keep their technological ‘royal jewels’ unavailable to us still.”

“We need to keep trying. A lot of our voters still want us to keep federal spending down as much as possible because of the explosive growth of the National Debt under Roosevelt. Unless we can see some way of benefitting America, it is going to be very difficult for us to justify sending any dollars overseas, especially in the form of foreign aid. The isolationists are still very influential here. There are going to be some very difficult times for many of our industrialists unless we can encourage export sales to replace the war production for our own military. Our economy is still recovering though from the Depression and FDR’s failed economic policies that hamstrung so many American businesses.”

“I’ve received some new reports about General Patton and his activities in China.” Secretary Dulles noted.

“I certainly hope that Patton hasn’t put his foot into his mouth in front of a reporter again. That is what the other generals in the Army warned that he would do.” The President bitterly replied.

“No, Sir. Actually, according to our diplomatic sources in China, Patton has been training a large number of Chinese cavalrymen in preparation for a new offensive against the Japanese. He somehow managed to make an agreement with Chang Kai’shek to have these troops reequipped with new weapons.”

“Are the Chinese buying any of these new weapons from us?” Dewey asked.

“Not very many, I’m afraid. We’ve been hesitant in the past to sell the Chinese any heavy armor or other major end items in any event. The Army did not want any of our advanced designs falling into the wrong hands. Instead, I understand that the Chinese are either purchasing weapons produced under license from their neighbors to the south or have started making Australian designs, also under license.

The Chinese may be purchasing some tanks from the Australians. But Australia’s industrial capacity to produce heavy armored vehicles is still quite limited, even taking into consideration Harold Cavill’s factories in Western Australia. There is also the question of China’s current ability or inability to pay for a massive rearmament program. So it is doubtful that Patton will be able to launch any grand armored offensive against the Japanese in the near future.”

“Do the Japanese have any idea of what Patton is doing?” The President asked.

“I don’t think so, Sir. The Japanese do know that Patton is in China. But they think of him only as a tank commander. So they are apparently focused on looking for Patton being involved with some sort of rejuvenation of China’s armored forces, not working with something as archaic as horse-mounted cavalry.”

“Well, first Patton has to find some decent tanks to work with. We are certainly not going to sell any to the Chinese. The few truly modern tanks that we have need to remain in our own Army’s ranks. Our best hope would be that Patton manages not to embarrass us somehow. I think that we should not interfere with whatever he is doing in any event.”

“I agree. I should also mention that the Chinese are purchasing more military aircraft from Australia and England to supplement the American-built aircraft being flown by the American Volunteer Group. We have not provided any significant support for the AVG since the last shipment of two squadrons of B-25 Mitchell medium bombers back in 1945.” Secretary Dulles noted.

“Perhaps then the Chinese are really serious about launching a new offensive against the Japanese. Is there anything that we can do to quietly help, John? Congress still controls the budget strings pretty tightly to avoid going any further into debt. I only have so much political capital available, especially after over four years of war.”

“I will look into it, Sir. Obviously, we have a lot of political considerations to worry about, especially with the continued opposition of the America First people to any significant American involvements in spite of the Japanese air attacks on the West Coast.”

“Please do everything that you can. I would much rather spend American steel and Chinese blood in defeating the Japanese than to spend one extra drop of American blood than necessary. We will find a way to deal with the politics of the matter somehow.” President Dewey told the others.

Northern Suburbs General Cemetery

Sydney, Australia

April 14, 1946

Harold Cavill watched as his old friend, former Prime Minister Billy Hughes was being laid to rest. While Billy was nearly 86 years old, his death was still a surprise to Harold because in the original timeline, the former had lived until the year 1952. But Harold imagined that the stress of the war continuing for so long took an additional toll upon the ‘the little digger’.

Shadowed by a quartet of aborigine militiamen who served as Harold’s security detachment while he was away from Derby, Harold watched Billy’s casket being lowered into the ground. As he said a silent prayer for his old friend, the time traveler from the twenty-first century saw a tall distinguished-looking man begin to walk closer. Harold did not need to see the pair of stocky men following to know who was approaching.

“Good afternoon, Mister Prime Minister. I’m guessing that you are also here to pay your respects to the former Prime Minister.” Harold calmly said to Prime Minister Robert Menzies.

“Yes, Mister Cavill. Billy was a difficult man to work with. But he was still a leading member of the UAP and a former Prime Minister of our nation. No matter what disagreements I might have had with him over the years, it was still important for me to show my respects to his memory and his service.”

“Yes, Sir. Had he not made certain decisions that assisted myself in preparing to this conflict, we might well have had Japanese troops occupying parts of Australia right now. I didn’t necessarily agree with Billy on everything either. But he was a patriot who always felt that his first duty was to protect our nation against its enemies.”

“Yes, Mister Cavill. Your militia out there and the arms factories that support it certainly have hurt the Japanese very badly. For that, we are all very thankful. I find it quite remarkable that your militia is as capable as it is. It must cost you a considerable amount of money to maintain it.”

“Yes, Sir. It does. But I do everything that I can to do so as efficiently as possible. Even my resources are limited. In addition, my militia troops have been doing their part in helping take the battle to the Japanese. Some of that cost has been borne by the Australian government as appropriate.”

“I know. We are all thankful for their role in the retaking of North Faluku. That operation has greatly expanded our nation’s defensive perimeter. As a result, the Japanese will find it much harder to attack Australian soil now. It is my understanding that, with the exception of the squadron of American destroyers and an aircraft carrier converted from a Japanese transport, ships belonging to your militia or your companies conducted the entire naval operation there.”

“That is basically true. We have provided considerable support to Australian military operations with forces drawn from the Derby militia.”

“It seems that you now have quite the little navy of your own, including an entire flotilla of large torpedo boats, that captured German raider and now that Japanese supply ship that was seized during the invasion of North Faluku. There are also all those new aircraft of yours. There are more than a few people in our Ministry of Defense and elsewhere in the government who are a bit concerned that you personally have so large of a military force.”

“My ships have all been legitimately salvaged after being captured from enemy forces. The Royal Australian Navy has certainly benefited because now it has two aircraft carriers at its disposal; Melbourne and Adelaide. The latter was, of course, one of those captured Japanese ships before I converted it into a carrier for use by the Royal Australian Navy. But these armed ships are officially part of the Derby militia which has been legally sanctioned by the government, of course.

The rest of my militia has been assembled using my own resources. The militia’s primary purpose remains the defense of northwestern Australia. Besides, you don’t really think that I would suddenly decide to stage a coup d'état against a legitimate Australian government, do you, Mister Prime Minister?” Harold asked with a confident smile that conveyed a certain lack of fear about the idea.

“No. Of course, not.” Prime Minister Menzies quickly replied, now worried that he might have said too much. Australia still badly needed all of the help that it could this. This especially included Harold’s militia. Both Harold and the Prime Minister knew that any attempt to seize control of the Derby militia and its assets could very well backfire on the government.

“I didn’t think so. We actually need more help out here if we are ever going to end this war. I remember that when John Curtin was Prime Minister and caused such a stir by publically stating that Australia should look to America as its key ally instead of England.

While Prime Minister Curtin got a great many things wrong politically, this was one instance where he was quite right. While we already host some American forces here, more due to their escape from the Philippines than anything else, we need an even greater American presence here to aid in the defeat of the Japanese. They have the resources in terms of personnel, manufacturing capacity and most importantly wealth.

Mister Prime Minister, you already know that I maintain a close friendship with Prime Minister Churchill. Despite the many reservations that the Australian people and previous governments have had with him, Churchill has been vitally important in the defeat of the Nazis and other Fascists in Europe. But England is now bankrupt as a result of the sacrifices that it has made during the course of the war. We cannot rely upon them for much more assistance, I’m afraid.

We need to contact the Americans and inform them about our desire for more American forces to be based in Australia. It provides us with more protection. More importantly, it gives the Americans more major bases to launch strikes against the Japanese in the Philippines.” Harold offered.

“How will the Americans react to such an offer now? After England allowed us to bring our troops back from North Africa and the Coalition naval forces achieved a couple of key victories against the Japanese Navy, Prime Minister Curtin basically retracted his original request for American assistance. Then he went back to publically relying on England again. The Americans were certainly not amused back then. I doubt that they have forgotten the slight either.

With what the Japanese are doing right now with their submarines launching missiles at the American West Coast, I don’t think that the Americans are going to forget what we publically did to them, Mister Cavill.” Prime Minister Menzies grimly said.

“Perhaps. But there are a few things that we have going for us. First, we have been allowing a limited American military presence here in Australia ever since the beginning of the war. In a sense, both American and Australian military leaders turned a bit of a blind eye to that in spite of orders from above. Our people have built a solid relationship with the Americans here. That ultimately will lead to success on the battlefield.

Second, you would be dealing with a new American President with the election of Thomas Dewey. Politically, he has a lot more in common with you than President Roosevelt ever had. If you deal with him honestly, chances are that you can strike an agreement with him. Finally, we need more personnel, materiel and capital if we are going to do anything to finally end this war and set the stage for the peace to follow. America is the natural source for both. My people are working on developing new weapons to fight the Japanese, but you cannot predict a technological breakthrough.” Harold said. The time traveler actually could not tell Prime Minister Menzies that information was available to build weapons to end the war within days. But such developments released prematurely could potentially lead to a war that would end mankind’s existence once again.

“Mister Prime Minister, you and I both know that we don’t have enough people to man a major expansion of the Royal Australian Navy, much less add more troops to invade and occupy more islands on the way to Japan. It strained our nation’s military resources enough to launch the attack on North Maluku that I was forced to supplement Australian regular army troops with members of the Derby militia. On the other hand, the Americans have a wealth of materiel and personnel to bring to bear if they are willing to do so.”

Of course, Harold had his own ulterior motives for sending militia forces on the North Faluku operation, even if it strained his own finances considerably at the time.

“So what you are saying is that unless we can make some sort of unexpected breakthrough against the Japanese or that the Americans get involved in a far greater way, then you don’t see an end to this war anytime soon?” The Prime Minister asked.

“Yes, Sir. That is exactly what I am saying.” Harold answered with a tired grimace on his face.

“I will see what I can so, Mister Cavill. Thank you for your time. Hopefully, we will be able to honor our mutual friend’s desire for a peaceful, prosperous and secure Australia.” Prime Minister Menzies finally said before shaking Harold’s hand and turning to leave.

Chapter Nine:

White House Oval Office

Washington, D.C.

April 24, 1946

“President Dewey, the British and their allies in the Pacific have absolutely no stomach for launching an invasion against Japan any more than we do in spite of the Commonwealth’s success in retaking North Maluku. But at the same time, the Japanese are completely unwilling to surrender. If anything, they have stepped up those damned submarine rocket attacks on our West Coast and even against the Panama Canal.” Secretary of War William Marshall explained.

“The Panama Canal strike hurt us very badly. It will take us months to get the locks repaired from the Jap rocket hits. The effects from that attack will make it much harder for us to transfer warships from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The Japs don’t seem to be launching nearly as many attacks on the Australians or British in the Pacific though.” The President noted.

“I believe that the Coalition forces have proven to be more effective at defending themselves against both the Japanese submarines and their rockets that we have, Sir. So the Japs have decided not to waste their resources on Coalition targets. This is in spite of heavy Coalition support for Chinese efforts to push out the Japanese on the ground. Apparently, the Japanese fear us more or at least think that it would be easier to intimidate us into peace talks on their terms.”

“We must do something to hit the Japanese on their main islands to convince them to sue for peace. Obviously, they are planning on continuing the war until they achieve their goals, no matter how unrealistic those goals happen to be.”

“The Coalition hasn’t been sending many troops into China. What England and the others have been doing was training and equipping many of the warlord militias to oppose the Japanese. In essence, it has been Chinese blood and foreign steel that has been used to fight the Japanese in China. It is also the reason why the Chinese has allowed the Coalition to build airfields to launch bomber strikes on the Japanese. Even the French have sent a squadron of ex-RAF heavy bombers to assist in operations against the Japs.”

“Haven’t the British also been selling aircraft to the Chinese to use against the Japanese?” Dewey asked.

“Yes, but these have all been their older designs, not the new jet fighters or even the latest propeller-driven models. The argument that the British have been making is that it would be much easier to train the Chinese to fly and maintain the older designs that are still a match for most Japanese aircraft. It is expected that these and some new-build Australian designs are being prepared to support a new ground offensive against the Japanese. The Chinese have even replaced many of the old P-40 fighters used by our American Volunteer Group with aircraft purchased from England.

Of course, the British are undercutting our prices for new American-built aircraft by offering the Chinese, French and even the Greek militaries older British designs like the Hurricane and Wellington. The British have large numbers of these aircraft in storage that they badly need to dispose of. This means that our factories have far fewer export sales that we had originally anticipated. That could put a lot of Americans out of work soon. We will have to find some other way to keep Americans employed.”

“I’m sure that there will be a lot of pent-up demand for manufactured trade goods after the troops in the Pacific and from the American Tigers Division return home. After we eliminate a lot of the regulations that have strangled American businesses for the past decade, they will be more than willing to hire returning veterans also.”

“What about the export market for our manufacturers, Sir?”

“I would think that the export market would be incredibly profitable for American businesses once potential customers regain the ability to actually pay for our goods. This will also be a lot easier for overseas markets when they allow Americans to invest in their countries. Then we can build more factories, employ more of their citizens and create enough wealth there for those countries to buy what we have to sell.”

“The latter is probably going to be the biggest problem, Sir. Many foreign countries like Mexico have laws that greatly restrict foreign investment. The foreign governments look at it as protecting their national resources for what they consider outside interference.”

“Until we can find a way to work around those laws, then it will just have to work harder to sell our goods overseas. I don’t want to have to resort to additional tariffs to pressure other nations into lowering their trade barriers.”

“Hopefully, our upcoming invasion of Guam will bring us close enough that we can launch heavier air raids against the Japanese home islands. The American people need to hear some good news about our forces reclaiming more American territory from Japanese occupation, Sir.”

“It was very uplifting for morale when the news was released about the task force recapturing Wake Island. But the real moment of truth will be happening in just a couple of days. That is when our Marines and soldiers begin their assault on the beaches of Guam. May God protect them all.” President Dewey solemnly replied.

“At least now, we are getting more new ships for them. The Congress has loosened up the purse strings a little more to allow us to build some more cruisers. But Congress has insisted on more of the smaller Wichita-class heavy cruisers be built rather than the planned Baltimore-class vessels. They are being very tight on our defense budget in spite of the current situation overseas.”

“I will be glad to get every new hull that I can get, Sir.” Secretary Marshall noted.

“I know that you are, Bill. I just hope that what Congress does give you will be enough to get the job done finally.”

US Navy Task Force

Guam, Mariana Islands

April 26, 1946

The American task force had faced several torpedo attacks from Japanese submarines during the long journey from Pearl Harbor. Fortunately, the Americans had managed to lose only one ship, the Brooklyn-class light cruiser USS Philadelphia. The dozens of destroyers, many of which had been constructed since the beginning of the Pacific war, attending the fleet had managed to fend off the attacking Japanese submarines. The Japanese had lost five submarines as a result of the destroyers’ furious defense. As the invasion force approached Guam, they also faced an increasing number of air attacks from airfields on the island itself. Some of these Japanese aerial attackers even attempted to crash their aircraft into US Navy warships out of desperation. The American aircraft carriers sent wave after wave of fighters out to help defend the fleet from these suicidal attackers.

But now the island was finally within range of the four battleships of the US Pacific Fleet. USS North Carolina and Washington had been joined by the USS South Dakota and the newly reconstructed USS Colorado. The latter was an old Standard design battleship that had been heavily modified since the destruction of the Pacific Fleet battle line to improve her air defense and anti-torpedo defenses. Together, they had nearly three dozen sixteen-inch naval rifles ready to hurt their massive shells upon the Japanese.

The battleships were accompanied by nearly a dozen cruisers of various classes; heavy cruisers with their eight-inch naval rifles, light cruisers with their rapid firing six-inch guns and a pair of anti-aircraft cruisers with masses of five-inch dual-purpose guns. Streams of destroyers screened the large American warships.

Miles behind the battleships and their other warship consorts were seven aircraft carriers of various types in addition to nearly three dozen troop transports. Among these ships were the two converted flight deck liners that had originally been built in Harold Cavill’s shipyards before the war. These two ships had been taken over by the US Navy and quickly converted into light fleet aircraft carriers. All of these vessels were also surrounded by a second protective host of destroyers.

Waiting on the Americans were over eighteen thousand Japanese soldiers. While they had been largely cut off from supplies with the exception of small quantities delivered by aircraft and by submarine, the Japanese garrison was ready to fight with an almost religious fervor.

The Japanese had constructed reinforced gun emplacements all over the island. Heavy coastal defense guns had been positioned near the most likely landing zones to destroy landing craft and attacking ships.

Admiral Chester Nimitz stood on the bridge of South Dakota looking out towards Guam as his battleships prepared for the initial bombardment.

“This is certainly going to be a hell of a lot more difficult than Wake, Sir.” South Dakota’s commander, Captain Allen E. Smith commended as he too looked out in the distance with his binoculars.

“I know. But it has to be done. We are facing a lot of pressure now from Washington to reclaim more of our territory, especially after the Australians took North Maluku so easily. At least the remaining Japanese battleships appear to be stuck in port for now. Hopefully, our big guns will soften up the Jap defenses sufficiently so that our troops can quickly set up a beachhead. We can’t afford to take too many casualties right away. Then the hard part will begin, capturing the rest of the island.

But now, let’s begin with our part. Order the Task Force to begin bombardment now.” Admiral Nimitz grimly ordered.

A few moments later, the big guns began to roar aboard South Dakota and the other battleships. Eight cruisers accompanying the battleships opened fire on other targets less than a minute afterwards. Massive fountains of fire, smoke and flying earth erupted all along the beaches and the hills above them a few moments later as the heavy shells began to impact.

Almost as soon as the shore bombardment began, dozens of landing craft filled with Marines and soldiers began moving from the troop transports towards Guam’s beaches. In spite of the covering gunfire from the American warships, scores of shells from Japanese shore defense guns soon started sending tall fountains of water around the incoming landing craft.

Private John Whitcomb stood in one of those landing craft as it pushed forward towards the landing zone. The LCP(L) (Landing Craft Personnel - Large) carried Private Whitcomb and another thirty-five of his fellow soldiers at a lumbering speed of only eight knots. Still, even with the Higgins Boat traveling at that slow speed, the constant buffeting of the waves caused more than a few of the soldiers to throw up the contents of their stomachs on the way to the Guam shoreline.

“Whoever designed this Higgins Boat, needs to have their head examined. We need a much better way to get off of this beast than just jumping over the sides.” One of the other soldiers commented.

“I know. But right now, I am more worried about getting out to the landing zone in one piece. I know that those swabbies out there are pounding the hell out of the island ahead of us. But I just know that the Japs have got to begin firing back soon if they have any guns left at all.” Private Whitcomb replied just a few moments before the first Japanese shore batteries began to fire.

The first Japanese shells landed some distance away from the incoming landing craft. But within a couple of salvoes, they had found the range. A couple of near misses showered everyone on Whitcomb’s landing craft with seawater.

But what was worse was hearing a much closer and louder explosion after one of the nearby landing craft took a direct hit. That explosion was immediately followed by the screams of wounded men and roar of burning fuel from ruptured fuel tanks. Still, Whitcomb’s landing craft and the others continued their journey towards their targets.

Eventually, Private Whitcomb felt his landing craft begin to bump against the sandy bottom of the cove that was its designated landing zone. Immediately, Private Whitcomb began to hear the sounds of Japanese machine gun fire followed by the voices of his platoon sergeant.

“Get out! Get out!” Sergeant First Class George Edmonds screamed out at his soldiers. He needed for his soldiers to hurry up and get out of their Higgins Boat before the Japanese gunners focused their fire on them.

Olive-drab clad soldiers, heavily laden with weapons, ammo and other supplies crawled over the sides or leapt off of the bow of the Higgins Boat as quickly as they could. Many of them landed in water over their heads and struggled to avoid being dragged to their deaths by the weight of the equipment that they were carrying. But they had little choice but to move forward. They knew from their previous experience on Wake Island that only the dead and those about to die would remain on the beach.

Private Whitcomb was one of those who went over the side of his Higgins Boat. He ended up dragging himself onto the beach with little more than his M1 Garand rifle and what was on his web belt. But at least he was alive for now.

Lying flat on the beach to catch his breath for a few moments after nearly drowning, Private Whitcomb looked back at the landing craft still approaching the tiny beachhead. Each of the landing craft seemed to be surrounded by hundreds of tiny fountains of water from the impact of machine gun bullets or the massive eruptions caused by heavier gun shells. He could even see a few of the larger splashes near the closest warships. The American ships were still firing to try to suppress enemy fire and support the invading troops.

Back on South Dakota, Admiral Nimitz read through the latest reports from the first landings, his weathered face grimacing while he smoked a cigarette.

“The Japs must have fortified the entire damned island. We are still getting return fire from shore batteries of up to eight inch caliber. We’ve got two beachheads established now but casualties are already much higher than what we received retaking Wake.

Tell the transports that we need to push those reinforcements up there as quickly as possible. We are going to continue to bombard the island until we run out of shells or the Japanese are pushed off of this island. I better have plenty of supply ships on the way to make sure that I don’t run out of shells because I don’t plan on leaving here before the Japs do.” Nimitz growled before handing the reports back over to a bridge yeoman.

Private Whitcomb would have been quite happy if Admiral Nimitz fired enough shells to kill every living Japanese soldier on the island ten times over if it meant that the young soldier and the rest of his platoon stayed alive for another day.

“When are they going to get those damned tanks up here? We are getting slaughtered up here without some armor support against all of these Jap machine gun emplacements.” Private Whitcomb asked while taking cover from the fire of a Japanese machine gun bunker.

“They’re coming. The Navy just has to get the damned things off of the beach and up to help us now.” Sergeant First Class Alan Moore, the platoon sergeant yelled back from a nearby shell crater.

In the earlier invasion of Wake Island, the US Marine Corps had introduced an amphibious version of the M8 Greyhound armored car. The Marine version of the Greyhound had additional floatation chambers and propellers in the rear to push the vehicle along. The vehicle also had Dual Drive-style flotation screens for open-water operations. The 37mm gun of the Greyhound was replaced the open-topped turret by a 75mm pack howitzer for close fire support. The turret also was armed with a fifty-caliber heavy machine gun for additional firepower. The problem was that the wheeled chassis got bogged down in the soft sands of Wake Island.

This time, the initial landing force found a relatively solid patch of beach for the armored cars to come ashore at. Now, six of the bulky armored vehicles were busily providing close support for American forces pushing their way across the island. One of the transports also had a couple of platoons of M3 light tanks, but they were waiting on transports to offload the tanks directly onto a pier near Sasa Bay. Unfortunately, Japanese coastal battery fire from the hillsides near Piti was still making this very difficult.

One of the armored cars finally trundled up and began to fire at Japanese machine gun bunkers. Private Whitcomb saw a rapid surge forward of American troops when the first bunker was knocked out by a 75mm high-explosive round. But then, a massive barrage of mortar rounds began to land on and around the armored car, quickly setting it ablaze and chopping apart all six of its tires. All but one of the amphibious armored cars fell to much the same fate within the first week of the invasion.

But Sergeant Moore and the rest of his platoon continued to advance against the Japanese defenders as the Americans continued to push in spite of mounting casualties. Americans commanders told their troops before the landing started that Guam had to be recaptured, regardless of the cost.

Three weeks after the first US troops landed on Guam, the last major Japanese opposition was finally eliminated. But between the fanatical resistance of the Japanese defenders, suicidal aerial attacks and continued submarine attacks, more than fourteen thousand American sailors, soldiers, Marines and airmen lost their lives. Americans at home were shocked by the butcher’s bill incurred at Guam. But while several Congressmen called for investigations into what went wrong at Guam and a couple of newspapers even called for President Dewey’s impeachment, there was nothing more that could be done.

The Japanese were utterly dedicated to fighting to the bitter end, no matter what. They also fully intended to take as many Americans down with them as possible.

Chapter Ten:

Kriegsmarine Headquarters

Berlin, Germany

May 14, 1946

While the conflict in Europe was largely over, with the Wehrmacht continuing the withdrawal of the last German troops back home, the rest of the German military was busy planning their own future. A working group had been formed within the Kreigsmarine to work out its future construction plans now that there were no longer Allied bombs dropping onto Kiel’s construction slips.

“We have much to do now with Großadmiral Raeder’s recent resignation. Admiral Donitz has been focused on the submarine fleet for the past three years, of course. But now with active hostilities over, he has asked me to look into reconstituting the surface fleet within the constraints of the Armistice. The Admiral has already decided to consolidate the Unterseeboot force on the Type XXI class U-Boot. The older Unterseeboot’s are to be scrapped for political purposes with a few being sold to certain countries. But this disposal of military equipment costs us very little because they were already obsolete compared to the Type XXI design anyway.” Konteradmiral Josef von Spee noted.

“Jawohr, Herr Admiral. Especially, since we have one hundred and twenty Type XXI’s either in commission or under construction. Of course, the Allies have no idea that we have so many even if we suspend construction of all boats except for those about to be completed. Most of our Type XXI’s are safely hidden in tunnels and concrete bunkers built all along our northern coastline.  We can use the steel from the decommissioned older U-boats for other useful purposes, of course.

Graf Zeppelin is also undergoing a major reconstruction now that all of our large docks have finally been repaired of bombing damage. Our shipyards are removing all of her weapons, especially her casemate anti-surface ship guns and rebuilding virtually everything above the main deck. The Kriegsmarine wants to give Graf Zeppelin a much larger aircraft complement in addition to a completely new armament. Graf Zeppelin’s main armament will be centered around of the twelve 12.7 centimeter dual-purpose guns in six KM 40 Flakzwilling twin mounts. She will carry the latest designs in short-range 3 and 5.5 centimeter automatic anti-aircraft guns.

The ship will also incorporate many of the features of the latest Englander and Australian aircraft carriers in its redesigned hangar, catapults and flight deck. This included the Australian carrier’s angled flight deck. These innovations will make Graf Zeppelin particularly well suited for the naval jet aircraft that are currently being developed.” Fregattenkapitan Hans Kurtman, the Kriegsmarine’s technical liaison for the Blohm and Voss shipyard explained.

“This sounds very promising. It would be wise to leave the incomplete Type XXI Unterseeboot’s in their current condition rather than complete them immediately. This decision will allow us to redirect resources to other priorities for now. This would also make it easier to incorporate newer technologies as our scientists develop them.

What are we going to do with Admiral Scheer? It is obvious that our last remaining Panzerschiff is poorly suited for any future conflict that we might encounter due to her lack of effective defenses against enemy aircraft.” von Spee asked.

“When Hitler ordered that our surface fleet be scrapped shortly before he was removed from office, the Kriegsmarine had considered the possibility of converting our Panzerschiff into aircraft carriers. As I remember, the conversion would have lengthened the vessel by about ten meters, but would have still allowed a maximum speed of twenty-eight knots to be attained. The number of aircraft supported was originally quite small. But from what we have learned about British and American aircraft carrier design through our intelligence operatives, we could make certain changes during the ship’s reconstruction to significantly increase that number. Her engines would have to be upgraded as well, but we can salvage and rebuild additional diesel motors from the wreck of her sister ship that was wrecked by bombers at the docks.

The aircraft onboard our new aircraft carriers will be the primary offensive and defensive weapon of our surface fleet in the future. That much is certain. I will be recommending to the new Großadmiral that the Panzerschiff conversion take place, Herr Admiral. ”

“That could be an interesting possibility. It would probably mirror what is planned for the heavy kruizer Seydlitz. What about the defensive armament for such a conversion? We do not have many surviving surface warships to act as escorts.”

“Certainly we could arm these aircraft carriers with the same KM 40 Flakzwilling twin mount gun that is being refitted to the Graf Zeppelin and Gneisenau. This 12.7 centimeter naval rifle would be extremely effective against aircraft as well as surface ships. The British learned to protect their aircraft carriers with more than just a handful of small, antiquated Zerstörers, after one encounter with some of our heavy raiders. We will have to remember the same lesson as well and build more proper escorts ourselves.”

“Seydlitz and Admiral Scheer wouldn’t be able to carry nearly as many aircraft or defensive weapons as Graf Zeppelin due to their relatively limited displacement though, correct?”

“That and also because they were not designed from the beginning to be aircraft carriers. That is why we will need the additional hulls to provide the Kriegsmarine with sufficient aircraft capacity for the kinds of missions that we foresee. Of course, none of our carriers have the aircraft capacity of the designs used by the Amerikaner Navy.

But returning to your original point, Herr Kapitan, two twin Flakzwilling mounts on either side of Admiral Scheer’s new flight deck along with the new 5.5cm Flak. Gerät 58 automatic cannons and quadruple MK 103 3cm automatic cannon mounts should be more than adequate to defend the carrier. We still have Prinz Eugen available now for escort duties. As soon as repairs and modifications are complete with Admiral Hipper, we will then have two heavy kruizers ready to sail alongside our aircraft carriers. We haven’t decided what to do with the heavy kruizer Lützow yet. We towed her hull back from Saint Petersburg a few months ago before we returned the city to the new Russian government, but she is still incomplete.”

“I suggest that we complete Lützow in the same configuration as Prinz Eugen. We can use some of the guns and armor taken from Seydlitz during her conversion to help finish Lützow’s construction. I would also suggest that we not continue with the name however. It has not had the best luck in the past few years. Perhaps we should rename her Blucher instead.”

“Ships with that name haven’t done so well either in recent years. But perhaps they simply haven’t had the opportunity to succeed. But your suggestion about completing Lützow to give us a full three ships of the Admiral Hipper class does have considerable merit.”

“If we do that, then we will have a total of three heavy kruizers and three light kruizers after the repair and modernization work to Leipzig, Nurnberg and Koln are complete. Of course, soon we will have Gneisenau rejoining the fleet after her reconstruction as well.”

“I don’t think that we will be able to get the Allies to accept us resuming the construction of additional large warships like kruizers and battleships beyond what we already possess. But it is probable that we will be able to build new Zerstörers or what the Englanders call ‘destroyers’, since we can claim that these vessels are for defensive purposes. We lost virtually of our existing Zerstörer fleet during the war.

We could now use the opportunity to apply the lessons learned during the war to newly constructed vessels as well. Since our new warships would not be constricted in displacement by the old treaties, we could build new Type 1942C Zerstörers to replace our war losses. These warships displace over thirty-five hundred tons. Certainly, the latest Amerikaner designs are twice as large as the vessels that they built prior to the war.

Our shipyards already had plans for a design armed with three of the KM40 twin mounts. Each one of the Type 1942C Zerstörers was nearly as powerful as a prewar light kruizer. They would certainly provide adequate escorts for our aircraft carriers along with our existing cruiser force.

We can also easily construct sufficient numbers of the Type 1942C. A Zerstörer takes far fewer resources to build than a battleship or kruizer. The incorporation of the lessons learned during the past conflict, including the need for more reliable engines, longer range and enhanced antiaircraft defenses will make our Zerstörers the most powerful of their class in the world. With its diesel engines and the latest in armament improvements, the Type 1942C will certainly fulfill the Kriegsmarine’s requirements.”

“The Englanders are not nearly as worried about destroyers as they are about battleships and aircraft carriers. I would agree with increasing our seaborne firepower with a large construction program for new Zerstörers would be both economical and politically acceptable. I would also recommend the design and construction of smaller vessels that can serve as anti-submarine escorts in addition to playing a more offensive role with their torpedo tubes and guns.”

“We should also build more of our Dithmarschen-class support ships as well. They gave our ships badly needed logistical support while on the high seas.”

“Herr Kapitan, I agree fully. The Dithmarschen-class was one of the things that Großadmiral Raeder got right. We still have two of the trosschiff operational, but we need at least another four more constructed. That would give us two available for each surface warship group. Since they are not warships themselves, they would not come under any sort of restrictions under our peace treaty with the Englanders. Even so, we should modify their armament to provide them with better antiaircraft defenses to include the use of modern dual-purpose medium caliber guns like the KM40.”

“What of the aircraft being designed for use on these new aircraft carriers? Obviously, they will not be using conventional propeller-driven aircraft as the original Graf Zeppelin had intended.”

“There will be some roles for propeller-driven aircraft on these vessels still. Our jet designs still do not have the range or endurance necessary for long-range strike missions with heavy bomb loads. Our jets would also not be suitable for long-range anti-submarine missions either. However, a modified version of the Arado AR-234 is quite promising for some strike missions that we will need to fly. The new jet fighter is much more challenging because of its need for high maximum speed in addition to good low speed handling for carrier takeoffs and landings. Currently, the Horton HO 229 seems to have the advantage in spite of some issues with lateral instability. But Messerschmitt, Heinkel and Focke-Wulf all have designs that they are proposing for the role also.

“It is a shame that we are being forced to give the French back Jean Bart and Joffre. We could have most certainly found a good use for those two aircraft carriers, even if the combat capability for Jean Bart was somewhat limited.”

“Jean Bart was a bastardized design that was neither optimized for aviation or naval combat. It was just something that could be done relatively quickly. The idea of taking a battleship and giving it its own air cover also made for good politics. Joffre would have probably been far more useful militarily since she was designed to be an aircraft carrier from the keel up. Besides, the French only have two real capital ships left beyond their aircraft carriers, the battleship Richelieu and the battlecruiser Strasbourg.

According to our intelligence reports, Strasbourg will not be going back to French Indochina for quite some time. The French battlecruiser is currently returning to France for a long overdue refit before rejoining the French Mediterranean Fleet. We also expect that the French will soon resume construction on Joffre’s sister ship to eventually replace Bearn.

I am sure that more French warships will be joining Richelieu and Jean Bart out there in the Pacific soon enough with the Japanese being so obstinate in their resistance. The French will likely also be sending their aircraft carrier Bearn out to French Indochina to support their forces, in spite of that warship’s limited capabilities. In any event, the Japanese will also give the French something to focus on after their humiliation early in the war by the Wehrmacht.”

“Yes, but weren’t the Japanese our allies, Herr Admiral?”

“They were at one time, but their usefulness to us is of a different nature now. Fighting the Japanese will keep the Allies occupied for at least several years. It will also wear the Allies down economically while we rebuild. The Japanese were useful to us for a while as allies. But they can now be sacrificed for the good of Der Deutschland.

However, it appears that America is largely sitting out this conflict and leaving the heaviest fighting to others. For the most part, I am very thankful of that. Otherwise, we would have been overwhelmed between the Amerikaners, the Englanders and the Bolsheviks during the first several years of the war. We came out of this conflict better than we had any right to expect, I think. But we must still watch the Amerikaners, no matter what happens.”

“I agree that we managed to survive all of this surprisingly well. But, I don’t care what the Berlin newspapers say though concerning who gets the credit for the outcome. Hitler was no hero or martyr. He was a madman and a rabble-rouser who managed to get millions of Germans killed for nothing. Now, Hitler and his loyalists have left us to pick up the pieces of our great Deutschland and rebuild it.”

“Herr Kapitan, few of us still view Hitler as highly as he was regarded at the beginning of the war, I think. But this time, we end this conflict on a much more equitable basis than before. Whether this is because of Hitler or in spite of him, who knows?”

“My friends in the High Command tell me that Adolf Hitler’s constant interference in the war against the Bolsheviks cost us well over a million German soldiers unnecessarily. While I am not saying that invading Russia was necessarily a good thing at the time. Stalin was obviously planning on breaking the non-aggression pact with us just as soon as he had gotten the Red Army back to rights. Ready or not, Hitler threw our soldiers into battle, hoping that we could crush the Bolsheviks quickly. The job took a lot longer and cost far more than we had hoped. But at least now, the Wehrmacht has taken care of one of the Deutschland’s greatest enemies.”

“We must continue to rebuild the Kriegsmarine to help deter our rivals from attempting an act of vengeance against us. We all know that the next war will not be won strictly on the ground or even in the air. Hopefully, our new leaders will continue to give us the resources and the time necessary to accomplish this.”

“It is good to know that neither the Russians nor the Englanders are in any condition to threaten us for some time to come. Our pet Russian who is now in charge in Moscow is certainly no Bolshevik, not after he had spent several years in one of Stalin’s prisons. He was quite happy to be free of that particular hell.”

“So, you believe that he will owe us a certain degree of loyalty for saving his life, Herr Admiral?”

“Well, he never claimed to have any love for the National Socialists. But we aren’t Nazi’s, are we? We are simply German nationalists trying to protect and rebuild our homeland.” Admiral von Spee laughed before continuing.

“But we do need to be careful not to make the new Russian leader a target for his own people. Otherwise, we could get someone else in charge who is much more hostile to our interests. So we must keep at least a certain distance from Mister Tupolev publically. We will be watching to ensure that he makes no overt moves against us, however.”

“Of course, Herr Admiral. I am certain that Admiral Canaris’ Abwehr agents are keeping a very close eye on what is happening in Moscow in addition to what the Amerikaners are doing in Washington.

Derby Flying Boat Ramp

Derby, Western Australia

May 22, 1946

Harold Cavill was anxiously waiting by the Cavalier flying boat ramp as one of the huge flying boats roared up out of the water on its beaching gear. After emerging completely from the waters of King Sound, the six powerful radial engines were shut down and a ramp lowered from near the nose of the Cavalier.

A few moments later, a stream of people began to walk down the ramp from the flying boat. One of the passengers, a distinguished looking man in his mid-thirties and wearing a dark pin-striped suit, turned and began to walk directly towards Harold after recognizing the latter. Harold immediately recognized the newcomer from photos that he had seen as well.

“Good afternoon, Doctor von Braun. I am very pleased that you have come here.” Harold said as he walked up and extended his hand to shake hands with the German rocket scientist.

“I am very pleased to be here, Mister Cavill. My brother Sigismund has spoken very highly of you. Apparently, you had a great deal to do with the peaceful end of the war in Europe.” Werner replied.

“I am simply glad that we were able to end the war in Europe as quickly as we did. Too many lives were lost as it was unfortunately. We still have a war to deal with here in the Pacific however.”

“War is a terrible thing. I would much rather be building rockets to send mankind out to explore space.” The German rocket scientist noted.

“Yes, I know. That is why I asked you to come here and work for me on developing rockets for just that purpose. You know more about rocketry than anyone else in the world as far as I am aware of.”

“You made quite an appealing offer, I have to admit, Mister Cavill. You must have considerable resources available to be able to offer to finance fully my rocketry development programs. I know from personal experience that large rocket programs can be extremely expensive.”

“I do indeed have the necessary resources in addition to a certain amount of knowledge of my own on the subject. Together, I believe that we will be able to put men into space within a decade with your assistance, Doctor von Braun.” Harold said with a knowing smile. Of course, Harold already had the key technologies stored away inside of his computer database from the future.”

“I have dreamed of doing exactly that ever since I was a young boy. Of course, there are a great many useful objects that we can launch into space in addition to manned capsules.”

Harold’s smile grew even broader hearing Werner’s words. It clearly led to another step in Harold’s plan to prevent the final nuclear war that doomed humanity. If Werner von Braun’s genius could harnessed purely towards space flight instead of any future ballistic missile program, then the likelihood of a worldwide nuclear catastrophe would be far smaller. If manned rockets could be developed earlier, then perhaps mankind could spread itself outside of Earth and ensure that no single terrestrial catastrophe would condemn humanity to extinction.

“Yes, Doctor. There certainly are. We could put cameras in the heavens to help us predict weather around the world. We could also place radio relays into orbit that would allow us to communicate with each other from one side of the world to the other virtually instantaneously.

Harold could see Werner’s face light up as he considered the possibilities of what Harold had suggested. From that point on, Harold knew that Werner would be there to stay.

The two men continued to talk as they walked to Harold’s truck. A couple of Harold’s employees loaded Werner’s bags from the Cavalier into the back of the truck. Harold told Werner all about Derby and the area surrounding it as they traveled back to Harold’s main office.

They continued to talk on a variety of subjects for the next two hours. Then Harold took Werner to a hotel where a room had already been reserved for the German rocket scientist. Finally, Harold went back to his office where Theodore Rosewood was waiting on him.

“Hello, Theo. I am feeling great today. Doctor Werner von Braun arrived here this morning to begin working for us in developing rockets to fly people and satellites into space. This is going to be a great opportunity for us to truly do some good for the world.”

Harold’s Aeronautics Program Manager and Chief Aeronautical Engineer did not seem very happy however when he saw Harold, however.

“That sounds like great news, Sir. However, there is something else that I’ve been wanting to talk with you for a while about Dorothy and what she has been doing over the past six months or so. I feel very awkward about all of this because we have all seen that things have been strained between you and Mrs. Cavill ever since late last year.”

“So, what has Dorothy been doing that has you so upset, Theo?” A concerned Harold asked.

“She’s continued test flying many of our new aircraft in addition to the flight training classes that she has been teaching. But the big problem has been the terrible risks that your wife has been taking while flying these new aircraft.

We barely know how they are going to perform because of how new they are. Yet, Dorothy has been constantly flying these prototype aircraft at the very edge of their designed performance envelope. We are gathering a lot of excellent information whenever she flies. But I am afraid that she is going to soon make a mistake that will come with a terrible cost to her and your entire family.”

“I see. I understand your concerns completely, Theo. Thank you for telling about this. I will have a talk with Dorothy soon about what she has been doing. Hopefully, I will be able to talk some sense into her before it is too late.”

“Thank you, Sir. I really would hate for something bad to happen to her.” Theo replied, still with a grim look of concern on his face.

Harold left for home a short while later. When he arrived, Harold saw that Dorothy’s sedan was already there.

Harold went in the front door and called out for Dorothy. She met him inside a few moments later.

“Dorothy, let’s take a walk. We need to talk, away from the kids.” Harold told his wife with a solemn look on his face.

“You have been spending a lot of time at the airfield lately, I understand.” Harold noted after he and Dorothy had walked several hundred meters away from their house and any potential listening ears.

“Yes, Sweetheart. We’ve had so many new aircraft coming out of our factories lately. We need to understand how these new aircraft fly before we put them in the hands of other pilots, you know.”

“That’s why I hired several very talented test pilots, Dorothy. That’s their job to push the limits of our new aircraft, not yours.” Harold insisted.

“But I have to do something, Sweetheart.” Dorothy replied, saying nothing about the real reason why she has been flying so much, Harold’s exclusion of her from the secret room and all of its secrets from the future that he came from.

“Dorothy, I do not want to put our children through the pain of losing a parent, especially not at their age. Do you?” Harold pointedly asked.

“I don’t either, Sweetheart. But I can’t just sit around the house doing nothing either. I was doing important work when I had access to the database. But you have taken that away from me, Harold.”

“You know that you didn’t give me much choice, Dorothy. The secrets that were in that room were far too dangerous to be exposed prematurely to the world. You had no idea of how dangerous what you did could have been. There is still lots of other work that you can do on the ground within any number of my other businesses and still be of great value to me.

But I have heard now that your flying has become increasingly reckless, especially with new aircraft that we just don’t know very well yet. I would rather that you stop trying to be a test pilot. In any event, please be careful up there, Dorothy. I don’t want to lose you.” Harold said, his eyes pleading.

“I’m sorry, Sweetheart. I will try to be more careful.” Dorothy responded, while still knowing that she ultimately would not honor her word on this either.

As the couple silently walked back to their home, Harold also worried that the woman that he still loved very much would not honor her word to be careful. He knew that someday, she could end up paying a terrible price as a result.

Chapter Eleven:

Russian Government Headquarters

Moscow, Russia

June 1, 1946

The massive buildings of the Kremlin had been largely shattered during the bitter struggle for control of the former Soviet Union’s capital. The leaders of the new Russian government were forced to meet several kilometers away at one of the few government buildings that remained standing.

The meeting hall where the new Russian President and his cabinet now met had only recently completed repairs from the damage inside that had been inflicted during the fighting. Most of the people sitting at the conference table wore civilian clothing, though there were a few military officers in the room as well.

At the head of the table was a slender man who appeared to be in his early fifties. He had thin blonde hair and a gaunt appearance. This man’s appearance was not surprising since the new president of the Republic of Russia had been imprisoned by Josef Stalin for the past five years in a Siberian Gulag. Before Vladimir Ivanovich Tupolev’s imprisonment on the charge of counterrevolutionary activities at the beginning of the war, he had served with distinction as an officer in the Red Army and then as an agent for the NKVD, Stalin’s own secret police.

“It is official. The last of the German troops have now left the soil of our beloved Rodina.” Russian President Tupolev declared to his cabinet.

“Da, but our people paid one hell of a price while the fascists were here.” Russia’s new defense minister Andre Novonnoski noted bitterly.

“I know. There are many who bear responsibility for that. This is not limited to the Germans either. But now, the Russian people have the opportunity for a fresh start, free of both the fascists and the Bolsheviks.”

“We still have the problem with the Japanese. The fact that they occupy parts of Manchuria is completely unacceptable.” The Russian Defense Minister complained.

“Well, our German ‘friends’ didn’t say anything forbidding us from defending Mother Russia, especially those parts that are far away from our western border, did they? Nor are we completely helpless any longer.” Tupolev said with a sly smile.

“Nyet, they didn’t. It is also true that we are no longer helpless. We have been reconstituting four tank divisions east of the Urals with new vehicles to supplement the equipment that we salvaged from the last battles with the Germans. Since we did this far away from Moscow and the German occupiers, the units were free to rebuild. We were fortunate that the local commanders saw fit to show some initiative after Stalin’s death.”  The minister said with a growing smile.

“Then it is time for us to put them to good use. Field Marshall Zhukov has been anxious to show his loyalty to the new Russian government after his defeat and capture by the Germans. We can send him and these divisions east via the Trans-Siberian Railway to teach the Japanese a lesson that they will never forget.”

“I will send the orders right away, Sir.”  Novonnoski said, barely avoiding using the old Bolshevik honorific Tovarich. In an effort to avoid the affiliation with the old Soviet Union, many of the phrases commonly used by Communist Party members to address each other had been abandoned by the new regime.

“The Russian people need to regain their pride and patriotism after this humiliating loss to the Germans. Crushing the Japanese invaders in Manchuria will be ideal for that purpose. It will be hard enough rebuilding what the Germans have taken or destroyed during the war. But we will rebuild and make Russia even better than before.”

“That will take money that we do not have, Sir.” Novonnoski replied.

“I know. As much as I hate this, we will have to invite investment in Russian industries from outsiders. We will use their money to rebuild our industry and exploit our country’s material wealth. I suspect that the Americans would be the ones who would be most suitable and capable to do this.”

“It would not surprise me if that is what the Amerikosy’s had planned all along in spite of all of their zadrota progressives who had professed their love for the old Soviet Union and communism. When we needed them most during the war, they demanded hard cash for their trucks and guns however.” Novonnoski snorted derisively.

“But we must be nice to those who would be our benefactors if we are to achieve what we have planned for. Mother Russia will be great again. We will take our rightful place in the world then.

But first, we punish the Japanese for their insolence in violating their non-aggression treaty with us. The Japanese are only surviving because the Amerikosy’s are not willing to pay the price in blood necessary to destroy them. ”

“Perhaps we will even find the opportunity to finally gain that warm water port that we have been seeking for so long. Port Arthur is only a short distance south of the Manchurian border.”

“We will have to be very careful though. The Chinese will surely oppose such a move since it means taking territory that they also claim as their own.”

“The Chinese will have plenty to worry about on their own, I assure you. After the Japanese are gone, they will almost certainly fall back into a civil war. At that point, they will not have the means to stop us from taking back what we once possessed.”

“That will be very interesting to watch. It will be even better to watch it from the decks of a Russian warship docked at a newly reacquired Port Arthur.” Tupolev said with a predatory smile.

General Patton’s Headquarters

Chongsha, China

June 7, 1946

Captain Birch had just finished spending that Friday looking over dozens of new intelligence reports that had come in from his network of sources. It had been a busy week with the third battalion of Chinese cavalry completing their training in the new style of warfare that General Patton had conceived for them.

General Patton had declared that these cavalrymen were ready to go back into, especially now that they had received their new weapons and had been fully trained in their use. Now, the final preparations for these battalions’ first operations were almost complete.

As the young missionary and intelligence officer stood there watching the first columns of mounted cavalrymen moving northeast towards the front line, he was startled to see General Patton riding up on his own horse. Patton not only wore his usual pair of ivory-handled revolvers but also had a CR-1 automatic rifle securely sitting in a scabbard beside his saddle and a full pack of field gear.

Behind Patton was a quartet of mounted American soldiers that were also armed with automatic rifles. They led a string of pack horses that carried additional supplies as well as a shortwave radio.

“I didn’t think that you were serious about leading our first Chinese cavalrymen from the front, Sir.” Birch said as he quickly saluted Patton after the latter had quickly dismounted his Mongolian pony.

“A good commander leads from the front. Besides, I have to be an example of this for the Chinese troop commanders. I can also see how they perform on the battlefield firsthand. That will be the true test of how well our training has succeeded with these troops.”

“It will be very dangerous for you to be on the front lines, Sir. It would be catastrophic if you were to be captured or killed.” A worried Birch told Patton.

“This is not my first time under fire, son. I just have to trust that God will be with me out there while I take the fight to the damned Japs. If something does happen to me, then it will have been God’s will. I will still have lived a full life in any event.”

“It has been entertaining to watch some of our American soldiers learn to ride horseback, especially the ones that grew up in a city. But they are here for your protection. Please don’t leave them behind, Sir.” Birch noted as he and Patton watched more of the Chinese cavalrymen ride proudly by. Many of them saluted Patton, who enthusiastically returned the cavalrymen’s salutes.

“Don’t worry, Captain. I will be just fine. Those Jap bastards are the ones who need to worry now. I just hope that Chennault can keep the damned Jap bombers and fighters off of us after we hit the enemy flanks.” Patton said while looking up at the skies.

“General Chennault promised that he would give you as much support as possible. The Flying Tigers are about as ready as I have ever seen them, especially with all of the additional aircraft that they have received from England over the past few months. He is also sending forward observers with our Chinese cavalry units with radios that can talk to the Flying Tigers’ aircraft to coordinate ground support missions.”

“Excellent! It will a glorious battle, Captain. But this is just the beginning of our campaign against the Japs. When we get the new Chinese armored corps ready, then the enemy will feel like hell itself has descended upon them. The damned bastards will feel God’s full vengeance for all of the evil that they have perpetrated upon the Chinese people and ours as well before we are done with the Japs. Then we will clean out that rat’s nest of Mao’s so that this country can finally get its house back in order.”

“Before you leave, Sir, I have someone here that I would like for you to meet.” Birch said, pointing to a young Chinese captain standing next to him before continuing.

“This is Captain Soo Leung. I met him a few years ago while I was doing missionary work. He was studying English at the time. During the next few months, I helped him refine his ability to read and write English as well as speaking it fluently. I’ve arranged for Soo to work with you as your translator and aide, Sir. This will enable me to focus more on my military intelligence tasks in addition to my chaplain’s duties.” Captain Birch explained.

“He’s not going to fall apart in combat or when I get a little upset, is he, Captain Birch?” Patton asked.

“No, Sir. Captain Birch has already explained to me about your use of ‘colorful’ language to motivate soldiers to improve their efforts, Sir. I have already been in combat several times with the Chinese Army since the Japanese invasion of my country. I can handle myself adequately, I promise.” Captain Leung explained for himself.

“Very good. If you say that Soo here is a good man to have around, I will take your word for it, Captain Birch.”

With that, Patton mounted back upon his horse with the vigor of a man thirty years his junior. Captain Birch saluted the old cavalryman as the latter pulled back on his horse’s reins and left at a gallop in the direction of the rest of the Chinese mounted column. He was quickly followed by his security squad and support mounts. Following along behind was Captain Leung, riding his own pony.

Captain Birch quietly prayed for their success and safe return as he watched the long line of cavalry continuing its long march forward towards the inevitable fight.

Chapter Twelve:

Kure Navy Yard

Kure, Japan

June 13, 1946

Admiral Takeo Takagi grimaced as he looked down at the heart of the remaining Imperial Japanese Navy from the bridge of his flagship, the battleship Yamato. There were more than a few empty berths at Kure where proud members of the Imperial Fleet such as Nagato, Mutsu, Kaga and Akagi once laid at anchor. Of the dozen IJN battleships that were in commission or were nearing completion, only Yamato and the fast battleship Haruna remained afloat. The giant battleship Musashi had been sunk by a wolfpack of Allied submarines east of Okinawa while the carriers Kaga and Akagi met their end after receiving several direct hits by heavy guided bombs launched by Australian Cassowary heavy bombers. Even now, the fleet aircraft carriers Taiho and Shinano were in drydock for repairs from Allied submarine-launched torpedoes.

A handful of new surface warships were under construction. But progress on their construction was slow due to a lack of resources and continuing Allied air attacks. Those air attacks had inflicted much of the devastation of the Japanese Imperial Fleet that had not already suffered at the hands of Allied submarines.

Yamato herself had been heavily modified in the past eighteen months while undergoing repairs for mine damage. Most of her triple Type 96 mounts had been replaced by reverse-engineered copies of the Bofors 40mm automatic cannon in Type 5 twin-gun mounts. The cannon was based on a Bofors salvaged from a US Navy fleet submarine that had been sunk in shallow water near the coast of Japan. At the same time as the upgrades to Yamato’s short range defenses were being done, twelve Type 98 twin 10cm dual-purpose gun mounts replaced all of the Type 89 12.7cm gun mounts in addition to the port and starboard 3rd Year Type 15.5cm gun triple mounts. These combined changes led to a significant improvement in Yamato’s anti-aircraft defenses.

Haruna had also been heavily modified to upgrade its anti-aircraft defenses. All of the fast battleship’s secondary guns, with the exception of a few casemate weapons, had been replaced by eight Type 98 gun mounts. Haruna had also replaced many of her Type 96 mounts with the Type 5 twin 4cm mounts as well.

The Japanese carrier strike force had been almost as badly decimated as the battleships. However, unlike the battleships which were no longer under construction, the Japanese chose to continue to construct more Unryu-class aircraft carriers, learning the lessons taught in a score of clashes with Allied air and naval forces. The Japanese also built other warships as well to replace the losses in other categories, especially escorts. But the Japanese did not have nearly the resources to match the Allies in terms of sheer numbers. In fact, Japanese workers had to salvage steel from warships sunk in their own harbors in order to provide materials for new construction. So Japanese engineers had to resort to other means to match their adversaries as the ring tightened slowly around the Japanese home islands and the remnants of their empire.

Japan’s enemies had made the situation even worse with the use of hundreds of naval mines to blockade many of Japan’s ports. In spite of constant efforts to sweep passages clear of mines, each day brought a new report of a Japanese ship hitting another mine and either being sunk or being forced to return to port for repairs. Takagi had lost track of how many mines that Yamato herself had hit in the past year. Only Yamato’s exceptionally heavy armor and compartmentation kept the battleship from being crippled by the mine explosions.

Admiral Takagi walked down from the bridge of his flagship to its main deck in preparation for a trip to inspect what many of his fellow Japanese sailors believed was the future of the Japanese Navy. A launch was waiting alongside Yamato for the senior admiral.

Once Admiral Takagi was aboard, the launch began a three hour journey to a new constructed underground tunnel complex that had been burrowed into the side of a rock cliff. The entrance to the complex had been carefully camouflaged from aerial view by the Allies’ seemingly omnipresent reconnaissance aircraft. A section of the camouflage netting was opened up briefly for the Admiral’s launch to sail through directly into the tunnel after the launch also passed through a large torpedo net. There was actually five separate tunnels in this particular complex, each over two hundred meters long and nearly forty meters wide.

After travelling nearly fifty meters inside of the tunnel, the admiral began to see the shapes of a pair of long, grey hulls lying low in the water. Admiral Takagi recognized them as a pair of the new I-410 submarines from blueprints that he had been shown the year before. These submarines were among the largest ever built. It was clear that they still had many of the features of their predecessors of the I-400 class including the offset island structure and the large long compartment on top of the twin joined hulls that was designed to store aircraft. However, there were also some significant changes to the superstructure as well.

Twenty white-clad sailors stood at attention on a quay at the side of the tunnel as they awaited the admiral’s arrival. Joining them were a pair of Japanese Navy officers in their black uniforms who also saluted the admiral as the launch stopped at the quay and was being secured. Admiral Takagi stepped out onto the quay and was immediately greeted by the two officers.

“Kon'nichiwa, Taishō. We are very pleased to have you inspect our construction facility here. I-411 and I-412 are very nearly ready for sea trials at this time. There are eight more submarines like these under construction at this site as well.” Kaigun-daisa Hiro Takashima reported.

“The speed of these new submarines is even more impressive than that of the original I-400’s, Sir. They do not have very much visible armament compared to their predecessors however.”

“Hai, this is something that we had learned earlier with an experimental submarine that we had built earlier. But the full lesson about the need for streamlining was brought home by the Germans, the technical data that they provided us as well as the loss of I-401. She was unable to move quickly enough underwater to escape an American destroyer that was nearby. I-401 had just fired two of her missiles when the Americans rushed in.”

”She could not fight off the destroyer with her guns and torpedoes?”

“Iie. Our submarine was barely able to dive underwater before the Americans could hit her with their own guns. Unfortunately, a submarine this large is not very agile compared to a destroyer nor could it hope to survive a gun battle on the surface with a destroyer. After submerging, I-401 was detected by American sound detection equipment and was unable to evade its attacker or make a torpedo attack before being sunk. ”

“How did you learn all of this?”

“Taishō, we intercepted a radio report from the American ship describing the Americans’ attack on I-401. We also have no reason to believe that the report was intended to be a deception effort.”

“So ka. So you believe that this new design will be able to evade the Americans’ naval and aerial patrols long enough to be able to launch its weapons without being detected? Obviously, we are putting much of our naval construction effort into these submarines since they can be constructed far more quickly than new aircraft carriers. They also can be assembled inside tunnels like this, safe from aerial bombs and torpedoes.”

“Hai, Taishō. With these new submarines, we will be able to reclaim the initiative in this war from both the Americans, the British and all of their allies.”

“What about these mysterious ‘ghost’ submarines that have been bedeviling our surface fleet for the past three years? So many of our greatest warships have fallen prey to these enemy submarines that are so quiet that we often cannot detect them even after their torpedoes have hit our ships. We have been told by our contacts in Germany that these ‘ghosts’ are even quieter than the latest German submarines. Will your vessels be safe from them as well?”

“We believe so. The navy had done research before the war in making submarines much faster and quieter. We have used much of that scientific research in the design of the I-410 as well as technology that the Germans provided prior to their armistice with the West. Since it is very difficult to for one submarine to attack another while submerged, it will be very hard for even a ‘ghost’ to attack one of our submarines. While using its snorkel, it will not need to surface to recharge its batteries.

Besides, it is a big ocean. Our enemies would have to be magicians to be able to find our vessels in its vastness, especially when they are underwater. These submarines would still have to surface to launch our Baika’s, but only for a relatively brief time. Then we would return to our safety under the ocean’s surface to return home, reload and then launch another attack upon our enemies.”

Admiral Takagi thought back to the Japanese assault upon King Sound. He heard some of his own sailors swear that the people defending that part of Australia were also ‘magicians’. That was because everyone on the Japanese invasion force thought that the area would be poorly defended and easily captured. Then, when heavy coastal defense guns began to fire, vast numbers of large torpedo boats swarmed out to engage their transport ships and scores of fighters and bombers suddenly appeared in the skies over the Japanese force, they all seemed to appear like magic.

No one in the Japanese command had any idea that the Australian defending forces were there at all.

“There is still the problem of obtaining enough fuel for our ships to operate at all. The damned Americans are sinking our transport and tanker ships faster than we are able to construct them.” Admiral Takagi noted.

“We are working on two different programs to try to deal with this problem. The Germans provided us with the technology to convert coal into a refined liquid petroleum fuel that would be suitable for aircraft and diesel engine use. It would not be too difficult to modify our warship boilers to use this fuel.

We have already started building facilities to turn Korean coal into refined fuel. The problems then is how to produce enough of this fuel and to deliver the fuel to our home islands for use.”

“So ka. Obviously, we can’t simply build more tankers for the gaijin to sink out from under our sailors’ feet.”

“We are working on two possible solutions to this dilemma even as we speak, Taishō. Already, tens of thousands of workers in Korea and Japan are constructing a fuel pipeline that will run from Korea to our home islands. We are also building an entirely new kind of tanker that will not only take fuel to our home islands, but will also be used to supply our island garrisons.”

“A pipeline would be a massive undertaking. I hope that we are successful with it. But I want to learn how you plan on getting new tankers to their destinations without them being sunk by the gaijin with their bombers and submarines?”

“By sailing them under the surface of the ocean where the gaijin’s bombers cannot find them. We are already constructing eight enlarged Toku-gata vessels that will carry large amounts of fuel to our troops and to the home islands.”

“You will have to provide me with details on these new vessels and when you will be able to put them into service.”

“Hai, Taishō. The information that you have requested will be sent to your office tomorrow.”

“Arigato. We cannot fail our Emperor. He is already very concerned about the resurgence of the Chinese Army in addition to our difficulties in the Pacific. We must be able to reverse the situation on one front soon so that we can turn and focus on the other.”

American Volunteer Group Headquarters

Nanchung, China

June 21, 1946

General Patton had flown to Nanchung aboard a Dakota transport aircraft after spending the past two weeks in the field with the Seventh Cavalry Division. The flight was part of a periodic series of meetings that Patton had with General Chennault to discuss the situation inside China and what Washington was doing to help.

General Patton was now traveling regularly with his new Chinese Army translator, Captain Leung. Captain Birch was busy with his other duties for the Flying Tigers as an intelligence officer and part-time chaplain, leaving him unavailable for this trip.

The skies were overcast with low-lying grey clouds above the airfield. General Chennault considered this to be good news because that meant that Japanese fighters would have a difficult time intercepting the slow-flying Dakota. When General Patton’s transport arrived, Chennault was standing there at the airfield waiting while smoking a cigarette. When Patton got off the Dakota, Chennault quickly saluted the old cavalryman, shook hands and walked with him towards a waiting jeep.

“Good afternoon, Sir. I trust that you had a good flight down here.” Chennault asked as the two maverick generals walked towards a small wooden building with sandbags piled around it. Captain Leung walked a few paces behind Patton.

“The flight was fine. I am looking forward to having my own scout plane shipped here so that I can travel quickly by flying myself without having to go through all of the bureaucracy.”

“I had heard that you had your own pilot’s license, Sir. Just be very careful while flying around here. You just never know when a Jap Zero will show up. They can turn on a dime too.”

“Yes, Claire. I read your reports on the Zero. We are going to need for you to keep them off of the backs of my cavalrymen when we go on the attack soon. Will you have enough planes and trained pilots to do that now?”

“Hopefully, very soon. Many of my pilots, along with some new Chinese pilots that we are mentoring, are in the process of being retrained on some aircraft that we have recently received. We need the newly trained personnel very badly as you are well aware.”

“What aircraft have you received, Claire? The last that I heard was that Washington was still trying to play both political sides and had been unwilling to send anything new into China beyond old cavalrymen who were apparently not welcome back home.” Patton said with a wry laugh.

“We’ve gotten eight more squadrons of Hawker Hurricane IIC fighter-bombers that the RAF was disposing of. They are all pretty worn, but we think that we can cannibalize enough of them to get at least six of the squadrons fully operational. They normally are armed with four twenty-millimeter Hispano-Suiza automatic cannons, but so many of the Hurricanes’ cannons are worn out that we have replaced them with locally produced fifty-caliber Browning machine guns. The modified Hurricanes armed with four Brownings will still have more than enough firepower to fight Jap warplanes though. The ammunition supply situation for the Browning heavy machine gun is much better for us also.

We still have enough good cannons and ammunition supplies to equip one of the Hurricane squadrons as originally built though. We also received some ex-RAF Kittyhawks that we are using to replace all of our original Tomahawks that are now worn-out. You are probably familiar with the Kittyhawks from your time in North Africa with your American Tigers, Sir. We are actually using parts from the older P-40’s to repair the newer aircraft and keep them operational.”

“How about bombers? I know that two squadrons of Mitchell’s that you received from the States a couple of years ago are clearly inadequate for hitting Jap front line ground formations decisively, much less ripping up their rear echelon forces.” Patton asked.

“The Chinese government also picked up nearly a dozen squadrons worth of bombers from the RAF. It is a pretty mixed bunch though; Vickers Wellington medium bombers, Bristol Blenheim light bombers, a squadron’s worth of Bristol Beaufighters, a mixture of de Havilland Mosquito models and even a handful of Shorts Stirling and Handley Page Halifax heavy bombers.”

“You have heavy bombers now?” An intrigued Patton quickly asked.

“Yes, Sir. But only just barely enough aircraft for one full squadron of the Halifax and a short squadron of the Stirling. The RAF was eliminating the entire fleet of Stirlings and Halifax as part of their force reductions. The RAF was consolidating its entire heavy bomber fleet on the Avro Lancaster. The French Air Force purchased more than one hundred and twenty of the surviving heavy bombers that the RAF was selling off.

The purchasing agents for the Chinese government were able to get to pick from the best of the RAF’s surviving Sterlings and Halifax. They were also able to obtain a significant amount of spare parts for these heavy bombers in the form of several scrapped airframes. That should help us keep the bombers that we do have operational for a while however.”

“You should use those big bombers to start hitting the Jap sonofabitches right where they live. Those Sterlings have the range to reach Tokyo, don’t they?”

“We would have to stage the Sterlings from one of the more forward airfields, but yes, we can reach that far. The Halifax has somewhat shorter legs, but we can use them to help on the tactical strikes. Each bomber can carry nearly six thousand kilograms of bombs per sortie. That payload can saturate the hell out of a target area.

One of the problems with both bomber types is that the size of their individual bomb bay cells was relatively small. The Sterling and Halifax can carry plenty of bombs per sortie, just not anything larger than a one-thousand kilogram weapon. That is one of the main reasons why the Brits were disposing of them.”

“Let’s get those bombers into action as quickly as possible. I would use Chinese aircrew for those missions rather than Americans though. It makes for good politics, something that I have been accused of not knowing anything about, I’m afraid.” Patton sarcastically laughed.

“I see that you have a new Chinese liaison officer. I would imagine that Captain Birch had him specifically selected for you. I don’t think that John is much of the type to tag along behind senior officers. Captain Birch is a hell of an intelligence asset with his language skills, his knowledge of China and the Chinese people. But he would much rather be a missionary than anything else.”

“Captain Leung here seems to be pretty quiet himself, though I have seen his expression change a few times when I have had to be a bit more colorful in my language.”

“Tell me something, Captain. What did Captain Birch tell you to do whenever General Patton here started to curse or use profanity?” Chennault asked while leaning against a nearby table.

“Sir, Captain Birch told me that the General was a good man, but to ignore all of the General’s bad words if I wanted to get along well with him.”

Both senior officers burst out in laughter at hearing Captain Leung’s response.

“Sounds like Birch has already trained Captain Leung here very well indeed. Now if I could just get some of our news reporters similarly trained.” Patton replied with a laugh.

“How are you doing with your own logistics issues, Sir? I know that the Chinese Army has been woefully lacking in regards to adequate quantities of modern weaponry.“ Chennault then asked.

“We are focusing on the one cavalry division to retrain it first in modern combat with an emphasis on fire and maneuver in addition to the traditional cavalry roles of reconnaissance and economy of force. Once we prove its increased performance in combat, then we will spread the methods and the new equipment to the rest of the Chinese Nationalist Army. The new equipment that the Chinese Army is beginning to purchase will be intended to turn it from a mass army of infantrymen to a modern mechanized army with tanks, mobile artillery and fast-moving combined arms teams, capable of defeating any foe.

One factor has already provided us with a significant advantage. A major industrialist from northwest Australia has set up several factories in Southern China to produce not only our rifles, but also a large variety of other support weapons. This includes production of the fifty-caliber Browning’s and ammunition for them that you need for your fighters. Apparently, he just doesn’t have enough capacity at his Australian facilities to fill all of his orders. But by producing weapons and ammunition in China, we have a much shorter logistics trail to deal with.

Of course, we have to prevent the Japanese from hitting these factories, either on the ground or in the air. After the war, they can begin building other things that the Chinese people will need to survive and prosper.

The Chinese are doing everything that they can to help with the logistics issues. The Chinese peasants are even picking up every piece of expended brass off of the battlefield and turning it in for cash to either be reloaded for use in our weapons or to be melted down to make new cartridges. That saves lots of money and speeds up our resupply. Every vehicle that can be salvaged and put back into service in some form is being rebuilt in dozens of cottage workshops too.

We must also change also the mindset of the Chinese Army’s troops and leadership. I have already had to send back over a hundred soldiers and officers because of inappropriate activities against civilians ranging from looting to rape and murder. We must have discipline within the ranks if we are going to defeat the Japanese and rebuild this country. Having an undisciplined assembly of armed men, praying upon the civilians that they are supposed to be protecting, only leads to another round of feuding warlords in this country.

One last element of the renewal of the Chinese Nationalist Army will be the reconstruction of its Armored Corps. We are in the process of procuring more modern tanks and other armored vehicles to equip this unit. The Chinese, the Australians and I are also looking at the Chinese Army’s remaining armored fighting vehicles to determine if they can be refitted to serve in other roles to support the Corps such as being rearmed as mobile tank destroyers or self-propelled artillery pieces.

I want to take many of the best soldiers and officers from the Seventh Cavalry and assign them to the new Chinese Armored Corps eventually. Cavalrymen understand the value of fire and maneuver more than most soldiers. Once they are fully trained, they will be ready to take on the Japs or anyone else in Asia.” Patton explained.

“You have one hell of a job ahead of you then. There are a lot of good Chinese out there, but we still have a lot to learn about how to show them the benefits of Western methods and integrate them into the Chinese way.”

“The Chinese already know how to conduct war effectively. Hell, Sun-Tzu literally wrote the book on it. It’s just a matter of getting everyone on the same sheet of music plus leading them to think of what they are doing is fighting for China as a whole, not just for themselves or for a particular province alone. They need to look at their fellow soldier as a brother that they fight for regardless of where he is from.”

“Maybe our Captain Birch will end up being a key part of making that happen? I certainly hope so, Sir.”

“I do too.”  Patton replied.

German National Assembly Headquarters

Berlin, Germany

June 28, 1946

The construction workers had just finished the interior of the new National Assembly Headquarters only a week early. The German capital city was a beehive of activity as its citizens worked to rebuild from the wreckage left by British nighttime bomber raids.

A growing number of the people working on the various reconstruction projects were Wehrmacht soldiers that had recently been demobilized after returning from occupation duty in Russia and elsewhere. There were plenty of jobs waiting on them as the new German government strove to get the nation back on its feet.

Even though these men were no longer in uniform, most of them remained in Germany’s reserve units. This preserved the soldiers’ combat experience and served as an economical way for the Wehrmacht to continue to act as a deterrent against Germany’s potential enemies. The Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine had also gone through reductions in their active manpower, though to a much smaller extent due to their overall smaller sizes.

This day, there was a meeting of the leading German government planners for both the military and civilian industries. This included high-ranking German government officials, the leaders of the largest German industrial concerns and several senior military officers.

“When are we going to see more funding pushed towards building new armored vehicles for the Wehrmacht?” Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of Porsche Automotive.

“We are still running a tremendous fiscal deficit with both the reconstruction efforts and the current military budget, Herr Porsche. I’m afraid that you will have to focus your efforts on the civilian market for the present.” Finance Minister Ernst Gotha explained.

“I have to echo Minister Gotha’s sentiments here. We do not have much of a choice if we are going to provide our people with jobs, housing and food this winter. If we are to make it through the next several years, we will still have to focus on civilian goods. Your Volkswagens are certain to be very popular export items because of their affordability and quality, I’m sure.” German Chancellor Conrad Schlichter.

The new Chancellor had been a minor politician plucked out of obscurity to become Germany’s new leader with the support of the military junta that had taken over the reins of power immediately after Hitler’s death. Chancellor Schlichter’s primary qualification seems to have been that he had been thrown out of the Nazi Party just before Hitler’s demise because of an accusation of criticizing the Fuhrer. But the generals trusted him, even with the knowledge of what really happened to the late Fuhrer.

“Herr Chancellor, if we continue to export excess military equipment and begin to produce manufactured goods also for export, then we will be able to accumulate enough capital to pay for all of the spending that we must do.” Gotha responded.

“Perhaps. But I think that we must still try to focus on civilian production because of how our neighbors will perceive us. We do not want them to think that our industries are only meant to make weapons to attack our neighbors with once again.

Maintaining our military is still important, of course. Minister Speer. What are our most recent developments regarding that?” The Chancellor asked.

“It has been tremendously helpful to resume unencumbered imports of Swedish iron ore for our steel factories. We are still tremendously short of steel for all of the reconstruction projects under consideration.” Armaments Minister Albert Speer explained.

“That is why we are sparing no effort to recover and bring back scrap metal from everywhere that we have fought. Every salvaged ship, every armored vehicle, even every wrecked aircraft is being brought back to either be repaired or be fed into the furnaces to provide the raw materials for new equipment. One way or another, we will have the resources that we need.” General Hans Speidel interjected. He had been one of the original leaders of the military coup that brought Hitler down from power and remained a key leader of the new government.

“It still won’t be enough for what we need to fulfill our plans. I hope that our newfound friends to the east will export the raw materials that we need for the Deutschland and our people.

I must again emphasize that we also have to do something to allay the concerns of our neighbors if we are going to be able to sell anything more than weapons to pariah nations. We want to be able to sell Heinkel airliners, Mercedes sedans and BMW sports cars to the Dutch as well as to the British and elsewhere in the world market. We can’t do that if all of our neighbors are afraid that we are going to invade them again.” Chancellor Schlichter explained.

“Then we cannot have any part of our government be affiliated with the National Socialist Party. Otherwise, few nations will trade with us at all. We must have trade if we are going to have the funds to rebuild the Deutschland after the destruction of this war. It is my understanding that this is why I am here in this position now.” Schlichter noted pointedly.

“Almost all of the leaders of our industries were also members of the Nazi Party including Herr Porsche here. It was virtually impossible for anyone to get a contract with the German government without already being a member after Hitler took control.” Speer explained.

“Then we must find new people to take their places, at least in name. The same must be the case in our civilian government as well.” Gotha interjected.

“That will require bringing in more people from the political opposition including some who actively opposed Hitler such as Reverend Bonhoffer. That will cause considerable discontent among those who supported Der Fuhrer during the war and even before it. Some of those Germans who loved Adolf Hitler are among our most ardent supporters.

Of course, none of them are aware of our own role in Hitler’s death. We still must avoid creating an insurrection from within Germany even though the armed conflict with England and the Bolsheviks has ended. It will be far too easy for our rivals to take advantage of such an internal conflict.” General Speidel noted.

“It will indeed be a very delicate balancing act that we must perform. But there are some party members that we must include in our plans regardless. Even I was a member of the National Socialist Party at one point. But what alternative do we have?” Schlichter asked.

“None at this point, though we may be able to create some sort of documentation for people like you that explains that you were a Party member in name only. Fortunately, the world is much more focused on what is happening in Asia and in the Pacific now that the Wehrmacht has completely returned to German soil. We have added substantially to our available civilian work force with all of the military personnel that have been demobilized, though most of those personnel still remain as part of our military reserves.

It is very interesting that the Russians have managed to scrape up enough forces to launch an offensive against the Japanese now. It can only help us in the long run because of the resources that the Russians will have to expend.”

“True, but the Russians are also taking back resources from the Japanese in that area. Remember, there is no love lost between Russia and Japan, especially not after the Japanese defeated the Russians so decisively in 1905. Perhaps, the Russians will even finally claim Port Arthur for their own use after all of these years.

No one would reasonably oppose them except Japan and perhaps the Chinese, of course.”

“If an offensive against the Japanese changes Russia’s focus towards the east instead of towards us, such an action would be good for the Deutschland in any event.”

“True enough. It will be another market for our industrialists to fill as soon as our factories are rebuilt and our workers have returned from military service. Even so, we have plenty to sell to customers who need our excess aircraft, armored vehicles and the few surviving warships that do not fit our future needs.”

“The Arabs have been searching throughout Europe for weapons to use against the Juden in Israel. We still have quite a few older Panzers that we can sell to them. The same goes for our surviving pre-war fighter and bomber designs as well.”

“That will mean less steel for our furnaces, but more funding for other things certainly for other items that we might need more. We can always purchase more iron ore from Sweden, of course. Then we take the profits from the sales of our obsolete equipment to help rebuild Germany and continue the modernization of our military.”

“It will also divert more of the world’s attention from our other activities that they may not necessarily approve of as well. It would be hard to convince the world that we actually are an honorable people if it knew that we were continuing to develop the most powerful military in all of Europe, even after signing the armistice.”

“You are including the continued research into atomic fission?”

“Yes, of course. But we cannot reveal any of that publically until other nations openly exhibit their own projects in the use of the atom’s power. From what our scientists who are working on this technology have explained, we can first utilize this power to produce electricity without the creation of smoke from the burning of coal.”

“What will prevent such an installation from exploding like a massive bomb?”

“I am assured that there are adequate measures that can be taken to prevent such a catastrophe. Rest assured, we will not build something in the heart of the Deutschland that will someday explode and kill many of our Volk. But for now, we work and watch the others. Remember, we agreed with the Englanders that we would give them all of our research and materials. It is far too soon after the signing of the armistice for us to overtly violate it.”

“Of course, Herr Speer. I agree completely. Our energy resources are still relatively limited, even taking into consideration our coal reserves and our newly secured access to oil from Romania and the Caucasus. Possessing another source to operate our factories would be very helpful for the Volk.” the Chancellor explained.

“Are we the only ones working on this fission technology?” General Speidel asked.

“No, Herr General. I do not believe that we are. There is someone in Australia, an industrialist named Harold Cavill, who was intimately involved in the negotiations on the armistice for the Englanders. He apparently knew a great deal about atomic fission and will very likely also be working on the same technology.

But, Herr Cavill was very interested in ensuring that atomic fission technology not be applied into weapons production. So I believe that while he will be working on its application for electrical production, he will not be attempting to build a fission bomb. Our scientists also say that he is using a different fission fuel system than the purely uranium-fueled process that we will be focusing on.”

“We will have to keep a very close eye upon Herr Cavill’s activities, won’t we?” Speer commented.

“Yes, I’m sure that Admiral Canaris already has people from the Abwehr monitoring  Herr Cavill’s activities. He has been of considerable interest to us for quite a few years already for a variety of reasons.” General Speidel explained to the others.

“And we have some reasons to be thankful to Herr Cavill, don’t forget. He was instrumental in ensuring that the armistice was much more even-handed, this time.” Chancellor Schlichter noted.

“Yes. But I wish that he would not lure so many of our talented Volk to immigrate to Australia to work for him. We need brilliant people like Werner von Braun to continue to work for us on our programs.” Minister Speer complained.

“As least von Braun is not working for the French.” Speidel remarked to the amusement of everyone in the room.

“But the French are not playing ‘Pied Piper’ to so many of our most beautiful frauleins and war widows either. This Herr Cavill certainly is with his offers of jobs and a peaceful life.” Chancellor Schlichter quietly grumbled.

“True enough. But Herr Cavill has also invested several million Deutschmarks worth of capital in the reconstruction in my factories in addition to some of our shipyards. We badly need his support, regardless of who has left Germany to go work for him.” Ferdinand Porsche responded.

“That is something to be considered. We need foreign investment beyond the Ford Motor Company and our other existing foreign partners. I agree that we should watch Herr Cavill, we also should not interfere with whatever he is doing. We have too much at stake here.” Speer added.

The other men in the room nodded in agreement before continuing discussion on this and other matters.

US Embassy Consulate

Guangzhou, China

July 1, 1946

General Patton had returned to Guangzhou from the front lines to check any messages from Washington and to meet with Chinese government officials. One of the first meetings upon his arrival was at the Consulate with Brigadier General Soong Liu from the Kuomintang and a US State Department attaché named Donald Kingston. Following at Patton’s heels was his Chinese translator and Kuomintang aide Captain Leung.

General Patton found the two men standing there to be a study in contrasts. General Liu was in his early forties, a short stocky man with short-cropped dark hair and leathery skin from many days out in the field. He also wore a standard khaki field uniform, unlike so many of the other military officers that Patton had seen near the consulate. On the other hand, Mister Kingston was a tall, slender pale man who looked like he had come straight out of a college classroom and dressed as though he was still a college professor.

General Liu spoke heavily accented English. He learned the language while studying civil engineering at an American university. But when he returned to China, he joined the military because of the ongoing wars going on within his home country.

“I am very pleased to meet you, General. I’m sure that we will have much to talk about.” Patton told General Liu.

“If we are going to crush the Japanese currently occupying northeast China, we are going to need more firepower. Part of that can come from additional airpower like from the newly acquired aircraft that your government has supplied to the Flying Tigers. But the rest needs to be more artillery. Artillery can respond to a ground commander’s needs under virtually any weather conditions, even those in which an aircraft cannot fly at all.”

“We do not have enough guns?”

“I have found during my time here that the Chinese Army currently lacks sufficient numbers and sheer firepower in its artillery force. Most of your guns are copies of Japanese designs which are largely obsolete. The vast majority of your cannons are relatively small caliber as well. A seventy-five millimeter gun may be alright to provide close support to a battalion, it simply doesn’t have the reach or the punch to truly hit the Japs where it can truly hurt.”

“It is very difficult to move larger guns around though, isn’t it, General?” the State Department attaché asked Patton.

“Relatively speaking, yes. But I know of several designs that are much more mobile. Even the lighter guns can be made much more mobile using certain measures. While I served in North Africa, I witnessed the British practice of putting piece pieces and light anti-tank guns on the backs of trucks to increase their mobility and bring them into action much more quickly. They referred to it as ‘portee’ configuration. Your troops could do the same thing.

I have also read reports about some new self-propelled artillery pieces that the Australians used to help defend themselves when the Japs attempted to invade a couple of years ago. They would also be very helpful, especially since the Australian guns were heavier than almost anything that the Kuomintang has in its inventory at this time.”

“You wish for our government to purchase some of these guns from Australia for use against the Japanese, I take it?” General Liu asked.

“That is part of the solution. But we need to do more than that. We need to increase the mobility of as many of your current artillery pieces as possible. They need to be able to move rapidly to support a very mobile striking force, whether it is armor or cavalry. This is how we will be able to defeat the Japanese.” Patton explained. Kingston found it curious that Patton was referring to himself and the Chinese as ‘we’ in his description as they had common cause.

“The Kuomintang will certainly need to purchase or produce more self-propelled, or at least, easier to move, artillery pieces. But these weapons also need to be powerful enough to defeat enemy armor and fortifications. Range is an important factor as well for these weapons. Artillery firepower will create the openings for our new mobile forces to strike through, one way or another.” Patton passionately continued.

“Will your government help provide any of this new artillery that you say that we need, General?” Liu asked.

“I don’t think so. First, they really don’t have any designs readily available that will fit our needs. Secondly, I do not believe that the US government, even with our new President, is totally committed to prosecuting this war. Therefore, I believe that we will have to find sources other than the United States government. The Chinese people will have to pay for it, but I think that we can perhaps obtain what we need from Australia.”

The Chinese general was intensely interested in what Patton had to say. On the other hand, the American attaché was almost aghast. Patton had just told the Chinese that the American government was not really interested in helping them defeat the Japanese invaders. The diplomat dared never be as blunt and honest as the old cavalryman had just been.

The conversation between Patton and General Liu continued while Mister Kingston quietly seethed.

But before Mister Kingston could confront General Patton, they see General Chennault and Generalissimo Chang Kai-shek’s wife Madame Chang walking up to meet them.

“Good afternoon, General Patton. I have heard so much about you from my husband and the many news reports. I have been looking forward to finally meeting you in person.” Madame Chang pleasantly said as she greeted the old General and the others who were with him.

“Thank you, Ma’am. I am very honored by your complement.” Patton said as he bent over and gently kissed her on the hand.

“You are indeed, quite the romantic. I had heard that about you too, General.” Madame Chang replied sweetly.

“I am afraid that I am the victim of a formal education, Ma’am. But I also believe that I have a destiny that I must fulfill.”

“I see. It is unfortunate that Captain Birch was not able to be with you. I enjoy talking with him very much. He too, feels that he has a destiny that he must fulfill, only his destiny comes from God. I’m sure that you have been struck by his dedication and talents.”

“Yes, Ma’am. I certainly have. Fortunately, I have Captain Leung here to help me in Captain Birch’s absence.”

“Captain Birch is quite a remarkable man. He has so many skills and so much passion for his work as well. Did you know that he went to the same university that my sister and I attended?” Madame Chang said with a glowing smile.

“No, Ma’am. I didn’t. The captain certainly has been very helpful in assisting me in my task of advising some of your cavalrymen and officers. I just that I had him available more often. I think that Captain Birch spends as much time being a chaplain as he does being an intelligence officer.” Patton said with a sardonic laugh.

“General, I completely agree. Captain Birch certainly is very committed to his faith.”

“As I am very committed to my duty and fulfilling my mission, Ma’am. That is why I am here today. The Kuomintang needs something better than a bunch of short-ranged Japanese artillery copies.

I already know that the Chinese have purchased a fairly large number of surplus RAF warplanes to refit the Flying Tigers and stand up several new squadrons of its own. I’m sure that the Chinese government can find a way to obtain modern artillery and armored vehicles to use in its quest to drive the Japanese invaders out of China for good.” General Patton explained.

“And you wish to lead this force into battle, don’t you?” Madam Chang asked.

“Yes, Ma’am. It would be my honor. I have already been on the front lines with many Chinese cavalrymen. They have proven themselves to be brave, dedicated warriors. Give them the tools and I am sure that they will leave the battlefield, victorious.”

The wife of the Chinese leader was very impressed with the passion that General Patton showed towards his mission and the troops that he had doubtlessly already led into battle.

“I will talk to my husband about your request. Please give General Liu the details on what you need and where you believe that it can be obtained. We have a shared desire here, General. We will do all that we can to accomplish this.”

“Thank you, Ma’am. That is all that I can ask for.” Patton replied.

He remained oblivious to the glaring gaze of the angry American diplomat standing nearby. Patton continued to talk with Madame Chang, General Chennault and General Liu while Mister Kingston stood back a few steps away. Kingston was being left out of the discussion almost as though he was a little child instead of a credentialed State Department diplomat.

Kingston listened in for a few more moments before turning on his heel and walking away in disgust. He promised himself that he would write a report to send to Washington that would not be complementary of General Patton. The diplomat knew of several of his co-workers who were none too happy about Patton’s arrival here in China in the first place.

Chapter Thirteen:

Commercial Seaplane Ramp

Cleveland, Ohio

July 6, 1946

President Dewey had quietly boarded a train the night before after receiving word that Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies was traveling to the US via seaplane and wanted to meet with Dewey on a very important matter.

“It is damned presumptuous of Prime Minister Menzies to basically demand a covert meeting on such short notice. He was just elected for the second time to be Prime Minister there, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, Sir. Menzies represents their new Liberal Party which is a coalition of over a dozen opposition parties. The Australian Labor Party received a major blow after a recent corruption scandal. The Labor candidate for Prime Minister, Ben Chifley, accused one of the Liberal Party supporters of having manufactured the evidence for the scandal in retaliation for attempts to nationalize some of his industrial and mining holdings.

In the wake of the scandal, the Liberal Party managed to eke out a narrow victory in the Australian Parliament. Menzies was the natural selection for Prime Minister in view of former Prime Minister Billy Hughes’ advanced age.”

“Still, did Prime Minister Menzies give any idea as to why it was so important to have this meeting?”

“He only said that it was vital considering the current situation with the Pacific conflict.”

Just after sunrise, a massive Cavalier flying boat flew in from the west, turned over Lake Erie and gracefully landed on its waters. The Cavalier quickly taxied across the water to the end of the seaplane ramp where it finally came to a gentle stop. After its six powerful engines had come to a stop, the side door below the cockpit swung open for a walkway to be extended from the ramp into the Cavalier’s doorway.

A few hard-faced men stepped out first onto the ramp, obviously security for the Prime Minister. Finally, the Australian Prime Minister stepped out.  He quickly walked and got into a waiting sedan that immediately drove to a hotel where President Dewey was waiting.

Prime Minister Menzies was escorted from the car where he took an elevator to the fifth floor suite that the American President had secured for the meeting. Menzies then was accompanied by Secret Service agents who opened the door to the suite.

The Australian leader walked up to President Dewey with his hand already extended.

“Mister President, thank you for meeting on such short notice and without much fanfare. It was hard enough for me to slip out of Canberra unnoticed. Fortunately, I had a little help from an ally back home with considerable resources. But the politics are difficult enough without the press interfering in what we need to do.” Menzies said as he firmly shook President Dewey’s hand.

“Which is?” A curious President Dewey asked while looking the Australian Prime Minister straight in the eye.

“We need to coordinate our actions and resources much more closely. We also need much more of America’s military assets deployed forward to help in taking the fight to the Japanese. The example of our joint operation in retaking North Faluku should be only the beginning of this.

We, in Australia, simply do not have the manpower to effectively pursue offensive operations against the Japanese, even with the weakened state of the Imperial Japanese Navy. While England is still nominally supporting us, they have progressively weakened the numbers and quality of forces fighting in the Pacific.”

“Aren’t you all part of the Commonwealth?”

“Yes, Mister President. Prime Minister Churchill has done an admirable job fending off the Axis with very little assistance outside of the Commonwealth. He has always put England’s interests first and foremost however. Commonwealth troops and ships have played a substantial role in assisting England’s defense in the West.

Even at the beginning of the war, England only sent two capital ships to reinforce the naval forces in the Pacific. Now, we only have the battle cruiser Tiger since the withdrawal of the battleship Prince of Wales. While Tiger has been significantly modernized, she is still a battle cruiser design from the previous way. The French have withdrawn their battle cruiser Strasbourg also. But at least she was replaced with the battleship Richelieu and the battleship/aircraft carrier Jean Bart. The French Navy aircraft carrier Bearn may also be deployed to French Indochina as well.

With the war having crippled the British economy and the debt further strained England’s ability to rebuild, we have scant resources available to pursue the continued conflict here. We have even received indications that HMS Tiger will soon be withdrawn and scrapped herself because England’s budgetary and logistical issues.

The rest of the Royal Navy here in the Pacific consists of older heavy cruisers and carriers like Furious. Now that Singapore appears to be secure, England seems to feel that our part of the world does not need first line units here any longer.

Part of what cost my predecessor his job was the loss of nearly half of our navy’s cruiser force in the Pacific to Japanese submarine torpedoes in the months just prior to the election. We have been building up our escort forces as quickly as possible. But our manpower issues continue to prevent us from having enough escorts. The cruisers themselves are irreplaceable because we do not have the ability at any of our shipyards to build a new cruiser or capital ship.

Unfortunately, England has not seen fit to provide the help that we need. That is why I have come here to see you. Australia needs a strategic partner that it can count on. Not someone who thinks that we are at their beck and call, but gives us short thrift in our time of need.” The Australian Prime Minister explained.

“So why are you contacting me now, especially with such secrecy?” President Dewey asked.

“You may recall that Prime Minister John Curtin had actually discussed this same problem just after the beginning of the Pacific War. Only that time, his concerns had been made public to the press because they would contained within his New Year’s speech. Needless to say, those reports caused him considerable difficulties with the British government as well as back home and with your then President Roosevelt.”

“Yes, I remember that. I also remember how he snubbed the US shortly afterwards as well after Churchill sent more reinforcements to Australia. The American people do not appreciate such behavior.”

“Nor should you, Mister President. I think that you will find that my administration will be far more willing to stand by their friends, especially friends who follow through with their commitments. Right now, the war isn’t about protecting Australia from invasion any longer. It is about ending this conflict before even more of these terrible weapons are used not only against you but also against us as well.

To that end, we are willing to provide your forces with even more access to Australian facilities, including the newly recovered bases in North Faluku. We are very appreciative of the fact that some of your lighter naval forces actually assisted in the recapture of that island cluster from the Japanese in fact. You know that bases there would give your forces far easier reach to the Philippines and beyond, I’m certain.

The resiliency of the Japanese will to fight continues to be manifested in a fanaticism and fatalism that we have been unable to overcome by conventional means in any event.”

“I will take your proposal under serious consideration, Mister Prime Minister. It should not be all that difficult since we already have some American forces operating from Australian bases. We have also been providing advisory assistance to the Chinese with one of our capable generals leading our efforts. Hopefully, he will help put additional pressure on Japanese forces in China and further strain the enemy’s ability to sustain this conflict.

We will have to deal with the Japanese situation, one way or another. If they continue their attacks upon American soil with these inhumane weapons, we will soon have no choice but to employ equally devastating weapons on Japanese cities and military installations.”

“I don’t think that any of us would want that, Mister President. One of our most prominent industrialists, someone without whom we might not have survived this conflict, has expressed certain very strong reservations about the development of what he has described as weapons of mass destruction.”

“He is not the only one, from what I understand. Professor Einstein refused to endorse a certain highly classified weapons program for much the same reasons, I learned shortly after assuming office. Einstein is supposed to be one of the most intelligent people on the planet. His refusal led President Roosevelt to defer work on that program as a result. I wonder if they have both been looking into the same crystal ball concerning the future?”

“Scientists are constantly coming up with new ways to either improve our lives or to make them much shorter.  I sincerely wish that they would do much more of the former and a lot less of the latter.” Menzies noted sadly.

“It is not the fault of the scientists, but of the men who lead countries and peoples to wage aggressive war against their neighbors. The scientists may create the tools that end up being the weapons of war. But the will of evil men is what lends those tools to acts of murder and destruction.”

“Right now, I am asking if you can, at least, provide us or the Chinese with additional resources, even if it only is in the form of additional funds, to help defeat the Japanese before the situation gets even further out of hand with those damned chemical and germ weapons of theirs. Australia is truly strapped in terms of manpower. The Chinese have many men, but relatively few weapons of adequate quality, not to mention reliable battlefield leadership. The one exception to that has been that General Patton of yours. He seems to have gotten at least some of the Chinese troops sorted out and ready to fight.”

President Dewey cringed at the mention of George S. Patton by the Australian Prime Minister. The last thing that most people in Washington wanted to do was to further highlight General Patton’s activities in China. The State Department just received a scathing report concerning Patton’s relationships with Chinese leaders and his comments about US policy towards China. But President Dewey still needed to find a way to finally end this war without involving large numbers of American troops. He also did not want the political backlash resulting from heavy American casualties either.

“I will try to see if I can get Congress to pass a military aid package to send to China. I have to warn you that Congress has been loath to spend any more money than they have to now that they finally got us out of deficit spending. We finally got our economy back on its feet after the Depression and the socialist regulations of the previous administration that stifled our recovery for so long.”

“Thank you, Mister President. We can use all of the help that we can get.” Menzies replied while shaking President Dewey’s hand.

Cavill Industries Headquarters

Derby, Western Australia

August 4, 1946

Harold was in his office when his secretary Janice Springfield messaged him via the phone that Colonel Burke was here to see him. Harold told her then to go ahead and let the Australian commander of the Derby militia come in.

“Hello, Harlan. How can I help you?” Harold politely asked.

“I saw that Miraculous just arrived back from Singapore with a full load of Chinese Army vehicles. That seemed a bit curious so I thought that I would come here and ask you about them.”

“Your curiosity is understandable. The Chinese are sending nearly one hundred of their old tanks to be refitted by us for other roles.”

“Well that explains all of the Vickers-pattern light tanks and the Italian tankettes sitting on the docks. But what about all of those old Jap and Russian artillery pieces and anti-tank guns being offloaded as well?”

“They are also coming from the Chinese Army. We will be using them as part of the vehicle refitting program for the Chinese. Virtually all of these vehicles are obsolete in their current form. However, if we rebuild them into self-propelled guns or light tank destroyers, then the Chinese can actually be able to get some benefit from them.

We are also selling the Chinese three hundred heavy trucks for their military to be delivered as quickly as possible. These vehicles will significantly improve their ability transport supplies and troops to the front lines.” Harold replied.

“That is going to take up at least half of our truck chassis production for the next six months and all of our current inventory, Sir.”

“I know, but the Chinese are going to need the vehicles to do what they have in mind. It is the least that we could do considering what all that they want.”

“But we can’t possibly build enough of these vehicles to supply what the Chinese need in time. We just don’t have the capacity available.”

“I know. This is why we are not going to build a significant amount of additional equipment for them, at least not in the short run. But the Chinese government and I have come to an arrangement concerning the supply of some of our wheeled, self-propelled 105 millimeter artillery pieces and some of our tanks.”

“How many of them?”

“We will be keeping a battery of the self-propelled artillery, a company of light tanks and two platoons of the new Echidna II medium tanks here. The rest is going to China.”

“But we just got most of the Echidna II’s in the militia a few months ago, Sir. They have the seventeen-pounders that we wanted to defeat the latest armor.” Colonel Burke complained.

“I know, but the threat to Western Australia is a lot lower now, thanks to the success of your invasion of North Faluku. Anyway, we are not giving any of these armored vehicles to the Chinese. We are basically leasing them to the Chinese. The Chinese government borrowed money from the Americans to pay for everything that we are doing for them. I guess that the Americans were rather unwilling to simply give the Chinese the money.

We will have more than a hundred representatives from my companies, as well as our militia, there to supply maintenance and do evaluations on the equipment. Besides, any vehicles that the Chinese lose, they will have to pay us full price on. They are also paying our personnel who are going out with the equipment.

The militia will end up receiving newer equipment in the long run. I have to find some way to recoup some of the funds that I have invested in it, especially in view of our situation regarding our limited production capacity. Also, the Chinese didn’t have enough funds to purchase all of the hardware that they needed outright anyway.”

“What else are you selling or ‘renting’ to the Chinese, Sir?”

“The Chinese are already making their own copies of the CR-1 under license. What we are selling them are more of the shoulder-launched grenade launchers. This includes the new anti-personnel rounds that our Ordnance Works engineers came up with. Of course, the Chinese will be buying plenty of the anti-tank shaped charge grenades to go with the launchers too.”

“I do have to admit that was a smart idea to mate up a standard sixty-millimeter mortar round with the propellant charge and fin assembly from our anti-tank grenade. We end up with personal pocket artillery for any infantryman.” Harlan noted.

“Yes. Now, we get to let the Chinese field test it for us without risking any of our own people. We have sufficient production capacity for both the Chinese and our own forces. Our militia will have plenty of firepower to deal with the Japanese with our remaining vehicles and these new weapons.”

“How much to you stand to make from this deal of yours, Sir?”

“Enough to keep the militia fully funded for several years to come, plus enough money to assist in another one of my special projects. But, if we can help the Chinese go on the offensive against the Japanese, then it makes any further attacks on us very much less likely. It appears to be a benefit for all of us in the long run, I dare say.

In any event, I have to send off a message to someone regarding one of those special projects of mine that I alluded to earlier. Do you have any other questions, Harlan?”

Harlan was just about to respond when he heard a loud whistling sound approaching the office building. The noise continued to get even louder, so much so that Harlan was barely able to hear anything that Harold was saying. The windows began to rattle with ever increasing intensity as well.

A few seconds later, a nearly deafening scream passed overhead and then began to rapidly fade. Harlan looked over to see Harold’s expression of frustration as he looked up towards the fading noise.

“What the hell was that?” Harlan asked.

“That was Dorothy buzzing my office again in one of the new prototype jet fighters, I’m afraid. I really wish that she would quit doing that. It disrupts everyone here while they are trying to get their work done. She’s also broken a few windows here because of all the noise and vibration.” Harold wryly explained. He was at least glad that Dorothy had not been able to break the sound barrier just yet. He would have to then replace nearly every window in Derby.

“Why does she do it, Sir?”

“Showing off, I would imagine. Whatever the reason is, it is not very helpful or considerate. I’ve talked with Dorothy several times about this, but she continues to buzz us here periodically.

Anyway, I really do need to get back to sending that message. Thank you for your visit. I do appreciate your concerns, Harlan. But I think that the militia and the rest of us here will be alright.”

As Harlan left Harold’s office, Harold called Janice back into his office again for another task. He then handed her a large, thick envelope.

“Janice, please send this off on the very next Cavalier flight to Europe. I need for Prime Minister Churchill to receive this as quickly as possible. Please ensure that this is hand-delivered directly to the intended recipient, no one else.”

“Of course, Sir. I will take it right away to the port. I think that we have a flight going out tonight.” The young woman pleasantly replied.

“Thank you, Janice. Now, I have to go home and deal with Dorothy’s latest ‘demonstration’ flight.” Harold said with a sigh of frustration. He already knew the futility of the exercise, but Harold knew that he had to at least make the attempt.

Chapter Fourteen:

Fourth Regiment, Seventh Cavalry Division, Kuomintang

Wuhan, China

January 4, 1947

General Patton returned to his field headquarters riding on his favorite Mongolian pony as though he was Caesar returning to Rome at the head of his legions. The Chinese cavalrymen that he had been advising from the front lines had won a series of dramatic victories during the past couple of months. They had taken advantage of extensive intelligence efforts in the area including hundreds of reports from agents on the ground and thousands of aerial photos taken by Mosquito fighter-bombers operating in the photo-reconnaissance role.

At the same time, the rest of the Seventh Division was finishing its training in preparation for a much larger operation against the Japanese forces occupying northeast China. General Patton was awaiting the beginning of that operation when he received an urgent message from one of the lead units.

“Sir, we’ve received reports that the Japanese have used chemical weapons near Jining. One of our cavalry troops was reported to be there, I’m afraid.” An English-speaking Chinese sergeant from Division Operations quickly explained.

“Those damned Jap bastards. Chemical weapons are not weapons for civilized warriors. Do you have any idea what sort of chemical agent that they used, Captain?”

“No, Sir. Not, yet.”

“We need to find out as quickly as possible. We also need to emphasize to the Chinese troops that they must carry and be prepared to quickly use their chemical masks, both for themselves and for their horses. I did not personally witness a chemical attack during the First World War, but many of my fellow officers on the front line did. It is a horrible thing to see the aftermath of, I assure you.”

Patton paced back and forth in his headquarters for a couple of minutes before suddenly stopping.

“I need to get my airplane and go see where this happened.” He immediately said. Patton had arranged for a small Piper Cub to be shipped to China a couple of months earlier. Patton had been using it to fly to visit the various Chinese cavalry units in addition to flights to meet with Generalissimo Chang Kai’Shek concerning supply issues.

“What about Japanese fighters, Sir?” The Chinese operations sergeant asked.

“Then call up Chennault and tell him to get some of his damned fighters up in the air to cover me immediately. I need to see what happened with my own eyes as quickly as possible.” Patton angrily responded before storming out of the field headquarters tent.

General Patton then quickly climbed back on his pony and galloped towards the nearby airfield where his scout plane was located. When he arrived, Patton immediately walked around the small high-winged aircraft to do a preflight check, then climbed inside. After a few more checks, he started the aircraft motor taxied down to the end of the airstrip in preparation to take off.

The old cavalry general paused for a few moments, pushed the throttle full forward, pulled back on the stick and then roared into the sky. Less than an hour later, Patton’s airplane reached the sight of the reported chemical attack. Patton called over the plane’s radio to the Chinese commander on the ground using his old call-sign from when he was commanding the American Tigers Division.

“Where are you at, ‘Tiger Six’?” Patton heard over the Cub’s radio.

“I’m over the location where the gas attack was supposed to have occurred. I am flying at about four thousand feet, but I can’t see a damned thing because of the low clouds. I’m going down to take a closer look now.” Patton radioed back.

Patton wasn’t the only one listening to that frequency though. Within minutes, a pair of Japanese Army Air Force Frank fighters were lifting off from an airfield near Pyongyang, Korea.

Patton looked down at the ghostly mists that filled the valley where the Chinese cavalry troop has laagered that morning. He flew down even lower to pick out more details. What Patton then saw sickened him.

There were dozens of horses lying on the ground, dead or thrashing in agony as they were dying. Alongside them, there were many Chinese cavalrymen in much the same condition. There were no Japanese soldiers in the vicinity. Patton reasoned that the Japanese had already left or had used artillery and mortars to launch the deadly gases. There were very few craters present that were the tell-tales of high explosive shells in the area. But those were his boys down there dying in agony, nonetheless.

After spending about ten minutes over the location where so many of his cavalrymen had died, Patton sudden saw a stream of tracers race by the side of his airplane. Instinctively, he banked hard to the opposite direction and dove towards the ground. Looking over, Patton saw a pair of Japanese Nakajima Ki-84 Frank fighters attempting to get in behind him.

The only hope that the old cavalryman had was to somehow get into some nearby low-lying clouds and hide. There was no way that Patton could survive trying to outrun or evade the agile Japanese fighters pursuing him.

The little Piper Cub managed to slip into the clouds, but not before a few machine gun rounds riddled parts of her right wing. Patton managed to remain unharmed so far. Patton knew that he could not remain hidden in the clouds forever though.

“Oh. Shit.” Patton said to himself as he flew out of a group of clouds and immediately was seen by the Japanese fighters. Patton dove down below treetop height to try to evade the streams of tracers flying past him. But when he thought that had run out of time, Patton heard a clearly American voice over the radio.

“Tiger Six, you have help now. We will get these Japs off of your back right away.”

Patton looked up and saw six fighters with Chinese insignia and gleaming tiger shark teeth painted under their noses roaring down upon the pair of enemy Franks. Four of the fighters were Hawker Hurricane IIC’s armed with four 20mm automatic cannons. The other two were de Havilland Mosquito twin-engine fighter-bombers. All of them were marked with Chinese Air Force markings and had tiger shark mouths with sharp teeth painted on their noses.

The Nakajima Frank was fairly well-armed, but was still exceptionally agile. The Franks’ agility allowed the Japanese fighters to avoid the initial pass by the six Flying Tiger fighters. But then the Flying Tigers focused on one of the Japanese fighters, hemming it in and quickly shooting it down.

The surviving Frank attempted to escape using its methanol-water injection system to boost its engine power and accelerate away. But the speedy Mosquitos were able to pursue the Frank and shoot it to pieces with their cannons.

Patton turned back with the Flying Tigers serving as escorts. While Patton was relieved to have survived this close call, he was still angry as hell about what the Japanese had done to the Chinese cavalrymen.

“Men, thank you for saving my neck back there. I never imagined that this old cavalryman would almost be killed while flying in a little airplane. But this fight isn’t over yet. I need for you to call back to your base now.

Tell General Chennault that we need every aircraft that he can muster to fly on the way over here now. The Japanese here need to know that using chemical weapons on our troops has to come with one hell of a heavy price. I want every damned Japanese unit in this area bombed completely out of existence as soon as possible.

Is that understood?” The fury in Patton’s voice plainly evident over the radio.

“Yes, Sir. We will get the message to General Chennault immediately.” The leader of the fighter escorts acknowledged.

Patton continued to fly back to his field headquarters in his Piper Cub. His heart was racing still after his latest brush with death. But his mind was racing too as he considered the implications of what the Japanese had just done and what needed to be done to counter this.

As soon as General Patton touched down at the airfield near his headquarters, he got on his waiting pony and galloped back to his headquarters. Patton had been developing a list of items that he wanted to have acted on ever since his narrow escape.

Everyone in the headquarters tent breathed a sigh of relief when General Patton entered the headquarters tent. They didn’t quite expect the flurry of instructions that he began to immediately issue though after he learned that mustard gas had been used against his cavalrymen.

“I need for all of our cavalry and armor units to receive gas masks as quickly as possible if they do not already have them. Everyone is to practice donning their mask so that they can be adequately protected as soon as there is any indication of a gas attack. We also need to ensure that we have protective masks for our mounts and even our military dogs so that they are protected as well.

I also want to have as many slugs as possible collected and distributed among the cavalry units.” Patton ordered to the surprise of the men in the headquarters tent.

“Slugs, Sir?” One of the sergeants asked.

“Yes. It’s a trick that the Allies learned during the First World War. An ordinary garden slug will sense a mustard gas attack far sooner than any other method that we know of. When the slugs react, then our troops can immediately mask and remain safe. The slugs can not only sense the gases but also apparently are quite resistant to them.”

“I will send out some men to procure them as quickly as possible, Sir.”

“Very good. Now everyone, we are going to get our troops ready to go back on the offensive as quickly as possible. Those Jap bastards are going to pay dearly for using those damned gas bombs on our troops, I promise you.”

Shortly after General Patton arrived inside of his headquarters, he heard the sound of multiple aircraft engines. As he looked out of the tent, Patton saw a flight of four camouflaged transport aircraft coming in to land at the same airfield. These were twin-engine aircraft like the Dakotas that the Chinese and many other Western air forces flew. But these transports were larger and far different in appearance.

Each transport had a high, shoulder-mounted wing attached to a boxy, but streamlined fuselage. Instead of a conventional tail, these aircraft had twin tail booms extending back from each powerful Wright Cyclone radial engine and attached to each other by a large horizontal stabilizer. At the end of each tail boom was also a medium-sized vertical stabilizer and rudder.

The transports each landed upon three short wheels that extended from below stubby sponsons on each side of the fuselage. A tricycle twin-nose wheel assembly that extended from underneath the nose completed the landing gear grouping. Even though the local landing strip was fairly short, each transport was easily able to land less than half the length of runway.

As soon as the first transport taxied up to near where Patton was standing, it shut its engines down. A few seconds later, an American wearing a Flying Tigers jacket and captain’s insignia climbed out of a hatch below the cockpit and walked up to Patton before saluting the general.

“That plane looks like someone strapped a pair of wings and engines to a damned boxcar, Captain.” Patton told the pilot.

“I could see how you have described these aircraft in that way, Sir. These aircraft just happen to be of the latest design in medium transport aircraft from Cavill Aviation. They can not only carry twice as much cargo as a Dakota, but can easily transport a light vehicle inside. They are very efficient in terms of how much cargo that they can carry and how easily they can be loaded and unloaded. Look closer.” Captain James Striker explained.

Patton saw that the rear main fuselage of the first transport slanted sharply upward, while the top of the fuselage was largely flat from the back of the cockpit to its rear. Patton then saw the back of the fuselage begin to open up. The slanted section opened downward to form a large ramp. Once the ramp was lowered and set up on each transport, a truck towing a trailer was driven out from inside the transport’s cargo bay. Both truck and trailer were loaded full of supplies.

“That aircraft looks pretty damned useful to me. You could drop off a lot of ammunition and other supplies with one of those things. Flying one of these transports must be a far cry from flying a fighter, I would imagine.” Patton commented as he continued to watch the transports being unloaded.

“Actually, Sir. I normally fly one of the B-25 Mitchell’s. So flying one of these transports isn’t all that much different than flying a bomber. It’s just a bit slower and doesn’t drop bombs. I suspect that we could dump bombs out of the back in a pinch though if we needed to.”

A few minutes later, one of the transport’s crewmen waved over to the pilot after the transport aircraft had some other cargo loaded onboard.

“Sir, I need to get going now. Good luck and God Bless.” Captain Striker said before quickly saluting and running back to his plane.

Only a few minutes later, the ramp on each of the transports was closed back up in preparation for the return flight back south. One by one, each of the boxy transports roared down the runway and lumbered back up into the sky.

“We definitely need to get some more of those.” Patton said to himself as he stood there watching the four transports fly away.

Before he left to ride in a small truck back to his personal quarters, Patton asked for someone at the airfield to get his Piper Cub repaired. He had a feeling that he would be needing again soon.

General Patton’s Forward Command Post

Yuncheng, China

March 15, 1947

Captain John Birch had driven up from the AVG headquarters to brief General Patton on the latest developments in the battle for the skies over China. But the American missionary cum intelligence officer was unable to locate General Patton. So he asked one of the Chinese officers working at the command post.

“Lieutenant, can you tell me where I could find General Patton?”

The lieutenant pointed quickly in the general direction of northwest then responded.

“Somewhere up there, Sir. We can seldom keep track of the General because he is hardly here. Most of the time, we just hear his voice on the radio or the voice of his Chinese Army radio operator.”

As usual, General Patton was directing units from the front lines. But this time, he wasn’t on the back of a horse. Instead, Patton was riding in the track commander’s hatch of an Australian-built heavy armored car that had been specially outfitted with additional radio equipment that replaced the turret and 57mm main gun.

The refitted Chinese Armored Corps was about to go back into combat as a unified striking force. The First Chinese Armored Division now had over two hundred tanks, tank destroyers and self-propelled artillery pieces. Many of the Chinese tanks and tank destroyers would have squads of heavily armed infantrymen riding on top of each armored vehicle.

The Chinese armored formations were backed up by four divisions of infantry. Many of the infantrymen would be riding up to the front lines in trucks and armed with the latest weapons including the same automatic rifles and shoulder-launched grenade launchers that Patton had armed the Seventh Cavalry Division with earlier.

Two Chinese cavalry divisions also worked their way forward, supporting the flanks of the armored strike force and ready to exploit any weaknesses exposed in the Japanese front lines. This included the Seventh Cavalry Division that General Patton had originally trained and even led earlier so effectively against the Japanese.

Overhead, Patton heard the sound of numerous aircraft engines. Looking up, Patton saw more than three dozen Vickers Wellington twin-engine bombers flying north along with at least three squadrons of Hawker Hurricane fighter-bombers in close attendance. They all wore the blue and white insignia of the Chinese Nationalist Air Force. These were only the aircraft that Patton could see. The Chinese had launched even more of their available air strength in an effort to deal the Japanese a crippling blow.

At the sight of all of these aircraft racing forward to hit Japanese positions, General Patton’s craggy face broke out into a huge smile. Whenever he had adequate intelligence and overwhelming available firepower, these combined elements had enabled his units to attack the enemy, exploit its weaknesses and destroy its will to fight.

Overhead, Lieutenant Li Chang was nervous as he flew in the lead of a formation of twelve Vickers Wellington Mark III medium bombers. Each bomber was carrying a payload of eight five-hundred pound high explosive bombs. He and his crew diligently searched the skies for Japanese fighters as the Chinese bombers flew towards their target, a Japanese airfield near the border of Manchuria.

The other bomber squadrons in this operation had other targets including munitions depots and troop formations that had been identified by Chinese intelligence sources in the days prior.

Flying protectively around their charges, three squadrons of Hurricanes and two squadrons of the Flying Tigers’ P-40’s sought to keep the Japanese from intercepting the large bomber raid before it could deliver its payload upon its targets.

For many of the Chinese bomber crews, this was the very first time that they had flown in a combat mission. They had been practicing for the past few months with their newly acquired former RAF aircraft like Lt. Chang’s Wellington. Now, they were flying in support of Patton’s new offensive against the Japanese.

A swarm of Japanese fighters appeared just before Lt. Chang’s squadron began its bombing run. Very quickly, reports came in over the radio and the bomber’s intercom system about attacking enemy fighters. A few moments later, Lt. Chang started to hear the machine guns in the Wellington’s nose and tail open fire on the incoming Japanese fighters.

In spite of the defensive fire from the quadruple machine-gun turrets in the tails of each of the Wellingtons, the Japanese fighters pressed their attacks on the Chinese bombers from behind after the initial head-on attacks. Lt. Chang saw several of his fellow bombers fall burning from the skies. In spite of feeling his plane being sit several times by machine gun and cannon fire from Japanese fighters, Lt. Chang kept his bomber on course and in formation.

Approaching the squadron’s target, Lt. Chang and his fellow bomber pilots then began to receive anti-aircraft fire from the ground. Black puffs of smoke began to erupt all around the formation even as Japanese fighters continued their attacks, ignoring the danger of their own guns on the ground and the fire from the escorting Chinese fighters.

Several Chinese bombers were hit and damaged by antiaircraft fire, but all of the bombers that had survived the initial clash with Japanese fighters continued their bombing run. The Wellingtons already had a well-earned reputation of toughness because of their sturdy construction. This reputation was earned the hard way over the skies of Nazi Germany and occupied Europe during the beginning of the war. One Wellington was still flying even after a Japanese Zero fighter had rammed the bomber’s fuselage and tore a gaping hole in the Chinese bomber.

The lead bomber reached the target and called out for the release of all aircraft bombs. When Lt. Chang’s Wellington released its load of bombs onto the target, it suddenly leapt higher without the heavy burden. A few seconds later, the seven surviving bombers of Lt. Chang’s squadron turned around and raced back towards their base. All of them were damaged in one way or another. But they reached their target.

Multiple explosions erupted on the ground, both from the bombs’ detonations and from a series of secondary explosions at the target. A photo-reconnaissance Mosquito raced in to record the results of the attack and bring back for analysis. But the large secondary explosions themselves spoke volumes for the effectiveness of the attack upon the Japanese main bomber airfield and its adjacent ammunition depot.

Lt. Chang and the other surviving Wellington bomber crews were outwardly stoic as they returned from their mission. Inside, they seethed over being sent in daylight in such poorly armed aircraft. They knew that the aircrews of the B-25 Mitchell bombers that also flew that day for the Flying Tigers took far fewer losses because their bombers had much heavier defensive armament than the ex-RAF Wellingtons.

But at least the Chinese fliers were finally having a chance to strike back at the Japanese occupiers.

Captain Birch remained at Patton’s forward command post for the rest of the day and most of the evening when suddenly everyone began running around with even more urgency after the sound of an armored vehicle approaching was heard.

“Have the Japanese broken through to our location?” Captain Birch asked one of the Chinese sergeants carrying a stack of photos.

“No, Sir. General Patton is back.” The sergeant quickly replied before running elsewhere. Birch imagined that a lot of American soldiers also felt a renewed sense of urgency or perhaps terror upon the arrival of General Patton back when he was the commander of the American Tigers also.

A few moments later, General Patton walked into the command tent and began to issue orders to the various officers and staff personnel still inside. An English-speaking Chinese colonel quickly told Patton of a penetration in the Japanese lines near the city of Datong.

“Then have our men get to it as quickly as possible. We need to keep the pressure on the Japs and not give them half a change to get their feet back under themselves. They are going to pay dearly for using chemical weapons against us, one way or another.”

The Chinese colonel immediately responded in the affirmative, saluted and ran out to get more troops moved to the enemy salient.

“Welcome, Sir. I’m glad to see you again.” Captain Birch said as he stepped up and saluted General Patton.

“I’m glad to see that you are doing well also, Captain. It’s been far too long since I last saw you. But your intelligence reports have still been invaluable in helping me plan my operations.”

“Thank you, Sir. We’ve had excellent help from the AVG with their aerial photography aircraft. Their photos along with the intercepts of Japanese radio communications have given us tremendous insight into enemy operations. But none of this would have mattered without the network of Chinese civilians on the ground who have been reporting Japanese movements, base locations and other activity.”

“We have been doing well so far, in spite of a lack of proper heavy weapons. Once we receive what we need, it will be a monumental occasion when our new Chinese Armored Corps finally takes the field. They will be able to smash through the Japanese lines and reap havoc through their rear areas.”

“I had heard that much of our armor had been withdrawn for some sort of maintenance work, Sir.” Birch replied.

“It is much more than mere maintenance work. But we are still taking the fight to the Japs. In addition to exploiting a breech that our troops have forced into the enemy front lines, our cavalrymen will be hitting the enemy flanks as well.  The lessons learned by our Seventh Cavalry are now being passed along to all of the other Chinese cavalry divisions. They will very soon be tearing apart the Japanese like we have been.

At least now, we have sufficiently artillery support to make our current offensive possible.”

General Patton and Generalissimo Chang Kai’shek committed considerable resources into upgrading the Kuomintang’s conventional tube artillery force. However, they still could not produce or upgrade nearly enough weapons to provide the sort of firepower that General Patton wanted to overwhelm the Japanese forces in China. This was in spite of several dozen 105mm self-propelled gun-howitzers on wheeled chassis that had been ‘leased’ from Harold Cavill’s Derby militia.

But historically, the Chinese had used another kind of long range weapon centuries before the West. This came into play once again for the Kuomintang as a tool to overcome the Japanese. Forty of the heavy trucks that the Chinese had purchased from Cavill Automotive drove into position a short distance behind the Chinese front lines. Each of these trucks had towed a four-wheel trailer mounting launch tubes for twelve long-range artillery rockets. These thirteen centimeter diameter solid-fuel rockets were also every bit as deadly as the Russian Katyusha artillery rockets that plagued the Wehrmacht during much of the war in Europe.

When the command to fire was given, nearly five hundred of these rockets were fired into the Japanese front lines and all of their identified artillery positions. The density of fire was particularly heavy near the reported breakthrough. The Japanese had not seen this degree of fire since the mauling that they had received at the hands of the Russians approximately ten years earlier in Mongolia.

Generals Patton and Chennault had both wished for some modern dive bombers to be available to provide close support for the Chinese troops on the front lines. The early days of the European war saw the success of the Wehrmacht being often closely tied to the use of Stuka dive bombers that served as quick reaction artillery for precision strikes against enemy strongpoints.

However, no one was willing to supply any dive bombers to the Chinese. The Fairey Barracuda which had now equipped the Royal Navy’s carriers and the Curtiss Helldiver being built to replace the USN’s Douglas Dauntless were both requested by the Chinese. But neither nation permitted export of the aircraft under the argument that all production was needed for their own navies. Even the elderly Douglas SBD Dauntless had not been made available to the Chinese by the Americans.

However, the Chinese skill in rocketry came to the rescue once again. They designed and built an indigenous thirteen-centimeter aerial rocket that could be fired from the wings of many of the more-modern fighters in use by the Chinese in addition to the Mitchell bombers flown by the Flying Tigers. These rockets proved to be so effective that the Chinese actually exported some of their rocket production to French Indochina and to Australia for use by the French and other allied aircraft. This rocket also used the same warhead as the ground launched artillery rocket.

These rockets were accurate enough to hit pinpoint targets when fired at short range. They also could be launched far enough away to allow the launching aircraft to avoid at least some of the Japanese defensive anti-aircraft fire. Many of the Mitchell and ex-RAF twin-engine bombers carried rockets in addition to bombs. Both were used to significant effectiveness despite the relatively small numbers of Chinese bomber aircraft.

When the Chinese fighters and their Flying Tiger counterparts came back from their bomber escort mission, they were quickly refueled, battle damage repaired as necessary and rearmed. The fighters would carry a combination of rockets and bombs to attack ground targets in support of advancing Chinese troops. Joining these fighter-bombers in the attack role were a handful of ex-RAF Beaufighters that had been purchased by the Chinese during the ‘fire sale’ conducted by the RAF after the end of the European war to reduce expenses.

The Bristol Beaufighter was a tremendously powerful twin-engine fighter-bomber with some of the heaviest firepower of any aircraft in the air with four twenty-millimeter automatic cannons and six machine guns. It could also carry a variety of external ordnance including torpedoes, bombs and air-launched rockets.

The toll that the Beaufighters and other Chinese fighter-bombers took upon the Japanese was devastating. Still the Japanese refused to give ground willingly in the face of such firepower being employed against them.

“The damned bastards just don’t want to give up, do they?” Patton mused as the latest reports from the front came into his forward command post.

“They are very determined to fight and die for their Emperor, Sir.” Captain Birch replied.

“They will certainly be doing enough dying for their Emperor very soon in a few hours when our tanks begin their assault, I assure you.”

Even as Patton was speaking, the lead units of the new Chinese Armored Corps were unloading from their tank transporter trailers and preparing to go into battle. The tanks had been returning from the rework shops for the past few weeks and were now ready for combat.

Sergeant Hang Chow climbed into the commander’s hatch of his Echidna medium tank. Until recently, the vehicle had belonged to the Derby Militia in Australia until a leasing arrangement had been made with the Chinese Nationalist government. Prior to this, Sergeant Chow had operated a Soviet-built T-26 light tank. He and the other Chinese tank crews that had been assigned to the newly arrived Australian tanks were put through a rapid training regime to prepare them to fight and win.

The three other crewmen of Sergeant Chow’s tank had spent the last several hours loading ammunition and other supplies aboard the Echidna. It was now fully armed and fueled for combat.

Sergeant Chow felt a sense of power with this new tank that he never quite felt with the tiny T-26. The Echidna looked and felt so much more solid and modern. It also had a far more powerful gun with its long barreled six-pounder cannon.

A few minutes later, Sergeant Chow received the order over the radio to move out and engage the enemy. Chow’s Echidna led a platoon of three other identical tanks to the northeast where the main breakthrough of the Japanese front lines had been reported. Sergeant Chow was eager to repay with interest the horrors that the Japanese had inflicted upon the Chinese people. He had personally lost several family members since the Japanese invasion as well.

Most of the first Japanese tanks that the Chinese armored units met were the small Type 95 Ha-Go light tanks. Even the small Australian-built light tanks among the vehicles leased by the Chinese could penetrate the Type 95 at all aspects with the automatic 25mm cannon that the Australian Mark III light tanks used.

The Type 95 Ha-Go light tank was armed with a 37mm main gun and also had two machine guns. The new Chinese armored force cut through the Japanese Type 95’s as though the Japanese armor wasn’t even there. The fighting was tougher when the Chinese met heavier Japanese tanks like the Type 97 Chi-Ha with its 47mm high velocity main gun and others like the

Type 1 Chi-He medium tank armed with a 47mm high velocity main gun. There was also a handful of Japanese tanks with 75mm guns that could potentially kill the new Chinese armor.

But even these heavier opponents found themselves overwhelmed, not only by the more modern Chinese armored vehicles, but also by the swift and aggressive maneuvering by Chinese commanders who had thoroughly adopted General Patton’s way of war.

The panicked Japanese even attempted to use mustard gas and phosgene against the Chinese armor. But this time, the Chinese were ready and had protective gear at the ready. They pushed through the Japanese chemical attacks and continued on the attack.

Sergeant Chow and his crew donned their protective masks immediately after receiving a warning over the radio. The masks reduced their vision and slowed their rate of fire. But the effect was even worse upon the Japanese, whose chemical protective equipment was of lesser quality. Repeated use of high explosive shells from the Echidna’s six-pounder into the enemy positions further degraded the Japanese ability to deal with their own chemical agents.

General Patton quickly was informed of the continued success of his troops in spite of the Japanese chemical attacks. But Patton had no illusions as to the effects of these horrific weapons.

“The vehicles and equipment will all have to be thoroughly washed off to get that chemical shit off of them. But the Japs suffered from their own weapons too, especially when our men got in close to enemy forces. But the people who will have suffered the worst are the Chinese civilians who have been caught up in these attacks.

I am afraid that we are going to find a lot of dead Chinese civilians once we fully secure the area.” Patton angrily commented before ordering that as many medical personnel as possible be sent into the affected areas to treat any survivors, both military and civilian.

Patton thought of Captain Birch and knew that the latter would be praying for everyone there in those killing fields that day whether it was friend, foe or innocent bystander. The General quietly prayed for them too.

Chapter Fifteen:

General Lim’s Command Post

Near Malaybalay City, Philippine Islands

May 21, 1947

The cave that had served as General Vicente Lim’s command post for the past few months was abuzz with activity. Armed men and a few women, most in uniform but a few still in civilian clothing, walked back and forth within the command post. A small gasoline-fueled generator powered a strand of small electric lights that dimly lit the cave.

The insurgency was catching fire in the Philippines. Men were joining the ranks of the insurgency is large numbers now. That meant that the resistance needed more of everything; weapons, ammunition, food, uniforms and medicine. A small contingent of US Army Rangers had been transported to the Philippines to help with training the new personnel and to conduct raids of their own against the Japanese occupiers.

General Lim sat at a small field desk looking over a small stack of reports. His uniform was relatively clean though clearly worn from many hard months out in the field. It barely hung on the general’s thin frame because, like most of the soldiers here, General Lim had been living on short rations for many months at a time. But he still had a M1911 automatic pistol on his hip, showing the General’s readiness to get into the battle himself if necessary.

“What we need is a solid foothold here where there is no Japanese military presence at all so that we can use it to bring in large amounts of equipment and personnel.” General Lim grimly told the others as he got up and pointed at a map of the Philippine Islands that had been placed on a board mounted on a cave wall.

“We hope to be able to secure a small protected harbor within the next week, Sir. We are already getting supply flights from Australia and North Faluku into Mindanao. But they still have to operate mostly at night in order to avoid Japanese fighter patrols.”

Major Charles Marcos reported. The diminutive Philippine militia officer had been fighting against the Japanese ever since shortly after the invasion.

“Major Clark, is there anything more that you can do to help there?” General Lim asked a lanky US Army officer in a sweat-stained but still intact uniform.

“My commander Admiral Hart out in Australia has been working very hard to gather supplies. Many of your new small arms were Australian-manufactured but paid for with American dollars. Admiral Hart has been using every transport aircraft at my disposal to fly supplies in to us, American, British and Australian. He has also been using a variety of Allied destroyers and submarines to make supply runs to us as well.

What we don’t have are a lot of long range fighters that can keep the Jap fighters off of our backs. We and the Australians have been bombing and strafing the hell out of Jap airfields though, in spite of the losses that we have been taking as a result.” Major William Clark, the newly arrived Ranger liaison officer explained with a pronounced Texas drawl.

“Major, we appreciate all of the help that you can provide to us. Americans have been fighting and dying alongside my people ever since the war began here. So everything that Admiral Hart can get to us is greatly appreciated. I just wish that we could somehow get more, not just weapons and ammunition, but also food and medical supplies. There are a lot of starving people out there because the damned Japs have been stealing badly needed food from hungry civilians.” General Lim replied. He had owed much of his success on the battlefield by his appreciation of the importance of adequate logistics support.

“Gentlemen, every inch of land that we take back from the Japs means more of our people that we can save. It also means more land that can be used to grow food to alleviate the starvation that we are all, military and civilian, have been dealing with. Our people need this. We owe it to them also.” General Lim solemnly said.

“Sir, all we need to open things up a bit more in Mindanao. We are already getting most of our supplies there. From there, we are using small boats to supply the active insurgencies in Panay, Samar, Negros, Mindoro and Luzon. Once we are able to achieve this, perhaps even enough to establish an airfield where we can stage our own fighters and bombers out of, then we can hammer the hell out of the Japs. The rest of the islands will fall like dominoes then.” Major Clark replied.

“Until we do that, our people are going to suffer terribly. We need to push our fight into a new, more aggressive phase. The Japs are short of supplies too, thanks to the Allies sinking every Japanese ship that gets into their crosshairs. But we cannot afford to let this opportunity go to waste. Just think of what is happening to our friends, our family members, not to mention our women and children at the hands of those Jap bastards.

I can’t bear to have those horrors inflicted upon our people and the Americans being held prisoner here for even one day longer than we have to. We have to take the fight to the Japs. I need the help of each and every one of you to accomplish this.” General Lim told the others in the cave.”

“We will do everything that we can, Sir. We trust you to lead us to reclaim our country and our freedom.” A slender Philippine militia captain named Ferdinand Aquino confidently replied.

“I know that you will, soldier.” Lim said with a weary smile before continuing. “But unfortunately, we cannot do this alone. Our pride tells us that we must force our enemies out of our land ourselves. But our brain has to recognize that we need friends and allies to help us in our fight for freedom.

Once we succeed there, then we can truly claim our independence as we join a world of friends and partners.”

The others there stood there silently for a few moments before Captain Aquino loudly spoke up. “Victory and freedom!”

“Yes, indeed. We want victory and freedom. We also need one other thing at the same time: peace.” General Lim finally said before returning back to his small desk and the reports waiting there for him.

Cavill Industries Headquarters

Derby, Western Australia

July 1, 1947

Harold was working in his office that morning. He could hear the familiar sound of a jet aircraft flying in the distance, but was then faintly surprised when the sound suddenly stopped and was immediately followed by a deep rumble. A minute later, one of his aborigine office workers rushed into his office. Sally had a horrified look on her face when she began to speak to Harold.

“What the hell happened?” Harold asked.

“There’s been an accident at the airfield, Mister Cavill. Your wife was flying a new airplane when it crashed.”

Harold quickly looked out of the office window. He was shocked to see a tall plume of dark smoke rising from the direction of the airfield.

“Is Dorothy alright?’ A frantic Harold yelled as he grabbed the keys to his truck and started to run out the door.

“I don’t know, Sir. I just know that she was flying one of those new jet aircraft before it crashed near the airfield.”

Harold dashed out of his office, jumped into his truck and raced down towards the airfield. When he arrived there, there were already a pair of fire trucks and several other vehicles ahead of him heading towards the rising plume of smoke.

Theodore Rosewood, Cavill Aeronautics program manager and chief engineer was already at the crash site when he saw Harold racing up. Theo dashed back and stopped Harold before he could see the remains of the crashed aircraft. The look on Theo’s face immediately told Harold that the worst had occurred.

“Mister Cavill, you don’t want to go down there and see the crash site, Sir. There’s nothing left recognizable for you to see of her.” Theo sadly said as he held Harold back. Harold continued to try to wrestle himself free from Theo’s grasp before finally stopping.

Harold just stood there silently for nearly a minute, the look of shock ever present on his face, before he finally spoke again.

“Do we have any idea what happened to Dorothy’s plane?”

“We don’t know yet. She was test-flying one of the new jet versions of the Dragonfly fighter when something happened to one of the engines. I could see a dark puff of smoke overhead, then a stream of flame quickly coming out of the rear of the fighter.

She still tried to bring the aircraft in for a landing in spite of it being on fire. You know that Dorothy had never bailed out of an aircraft in all of the years that she has been flying.

Well, I finally saw the canopy being jettisoned in preparation for abandoning the aircraft. But then, the fighter just rolled over and dove straight into the ground without anyone getting out. The new ejection seat was supposed to be able to hurl the pilot out safely from the aircraft. But it apparently never fired.”

“Had anyone been seen near that aircraft before Dorothy took off?” Harold immediately asked.

“No. Just the mechanic who is normally the crew chief for our new jets. He couldn’t have possibly done anything to sabotage your wife’s aircraft. Pete is an aborigine and has been working for us for years. You know that even now, the abos still virtually worship you as though you were one of their own native shaman.”

Everyone called the aircraft mechanic Pete because his real aborigine name was very long and virtually unpronounceable by most English speakers.

“I know that you trust Pete. We all know that no one is completely incorruptible though. We also know that outside forces have already targeted me and my family before. One way or another, we need to find out what happened to Dorothy’s aircraft and check every single component of our other prototype fighters to see if there is potentially anything wrong with them before we take another flight in any of them.”

“How do you plan on doing that, Sir?”

“First, I will have you thoroughly examine Dorothy’s aircraft wreckage. I will also have other people look quietly into Pete. I’m sure that you are right about him. But I have to be sure. Everyone’s life here is at stake, not to mention the lives of all of the people who fly in the aircraft that we build here.”

“I will personally make sure that everything is closely looked at. I don’t want to lose anyone else either if we could have done something to have prevented it.”

“Thank you, Theo. Right now, I need to go home at tell the children what has happened to their mother.” Harold said before grabbing his coat and heading out into the cold winter air.

“I certainly don’t envy you that job, Sir.” Theo quietly said after Harold left.

Harold and Dorothy’s four children had also seen the thin, black column of smoke rising from near the airfield. The three girls and their baby brother were already waiting at the door when Harold arrived home. The children all quickly guessed what had happened when they saw Harold’s grief-stricken expression as he walked quietly through the front door.

“It was Mum, wasn’t it?” Judith immediately asked.

“Yes, Sweetheart. I’m afraid so. She had an accident with her airplane and will not be coming back home anymore.” Harold sadly replied.

Upon hearing this, all four of Harold’s children ran up and hugged him. Tears streamed from their eyes as well as from Harold’s as father and children all clung to each other for what seemed like hours. It was time to mourn now.

Derby Cemetery

Derby, Western Australia

July 4, 1947

While Harold wanted for Dorothy’s funeral to be a private affair, there were still hundreds of people who attended. Many of the local aborigine workers watched from afar while standing on top of nearby hills while Dorothy’s remains were laid to rest. In spite of it being such a solemn occasion, it was a beautiful day with clear blue skies overhead. There was even an impromptu aerial memorial as several aircraft from the Derby airfield flew over the gravesite in formation.

After Dorothy’s casket was lowered into her grave and many tears were shed, Harold and his four children got back into their truck and drove back to their home. Harold tried to be strong for his children, but the grief that he felt after losing his second wife was almost overwhelming.

But when Harold and his children all walked into the house and closed the front door, the question that was immediately posed by one of his children completely caught him off guard.

“When are you going to tell us about what is inside that secret room of yours, Dad? We’ve all known about it for a very long time. We just didn’t ask you before or try to get inside that room ourselves out of respect for you and Mum.” Judith, his eldest daughter, quietly asked after her siblings had gone to the kitchen.

Once again, Harold could not hide his secrets from his loved ones for any longer. But will his children do a better job of keeping those secrets than Dorothy had done. They were certainly all proving to be brilliant in their own right. But will they be able to show the judgement and wisdom necessary to help guide humanity towards the course of survival? Harold knew that he had to make a decision on this quickly because he was already seventy-two years old and didn’t know how much longer that he had available to continue his work.

Harold had been growing much more aware of his own mortality, especially after having recently passed the age of seventy. Everyone around his thought that he was at least a decade younger, but Harold was already forty years old when he passed through the temporal portal to travel from the year 2040 back to 1918. What if he died and no one was around to explain the importance of what happened to humanity in his timeline? What if there was no one around who understood Harold’s vision on how to preserve humanity’s future?

“I suppose that now is as good of a time as any to tell you about the greatest secret that mankind has ever beheld. But I need for all of you to be here for this revelation. So go ahead and gather up your sisters and brother. Then we will talk about things that you never dared consider before.”

Judith quickly ran to where her siblings were elsewhere in the house while Harold pondered over what might happen once his children learned the truth about him. But without Dorothy, no one truly knew the truth about his past or his plans for the future.

With the knowledge that his children were already aware of the secret room in their home, though not of its contents, Harold felt that he really had no choice any longer. His children had to be told. He prayed that they would have the good judgement to use this tremendous knowledge wisely.

The bright spot for Harold was what he already saw in all of his children, especially Judith, the oldest. Even before Dorothy was laid to rest, Judith had already begun to act as a surrogate mother for her siblings, especially James. She had also excelled academically and had an instinctive understanding of technology that far exceeded her peers. While all of his children were so academically gifted that some would consider them to be polymaths, Harold’s children still loved the outdoors as well as being equally capable with their hands. They rode horses, hunted, were skilled in self-defense and had learned to be mechanically adept as well. Harold imagined that much of that came from their mother.

Harold then heard Judith coming back, followed closely by the twins and finally James. Harold then took a deep breath and finally turned to speak to all of his children.

“What I have inside of here is perhaps the greatest secret of this entire world. It cannot be revealed to anyone else. If that were to happen, it could destroy the entire world and certainly risk all of our lives. If any of you does not believe with absolute certainty that they can keep this secret for the rest of their lives, please turn around and walk away now. I will not love you any less if you do.

But this secret was the reason why your mother and I have been so distant for the past couple of years. For any relationship to work, trust is the most important thing that you have to maintain. If you violate the trust that someone has in you, it is very difficult to regain it. Everything else suffers as a result. I loved your mother very much all the way to the day that she died. But I just couldn’t trust her any longer with the contents inside of this room. I don’t want to ever feel that way about any of you.

So, what is your decision?” Harold solemnly asked.

Judith turned around and looked at each of her siblings. One by one, they nodded at Judith as she looked at them. Then Judith turned around to give her answer.

“We all agree. We will keep your secrets, no matter what. You don’t have to keep this burden all to yourself. I know that this has been very hard on you, Dad. But we are going to help you, we promise.” She said with a smile that brought tears to Harold’s eyes with its warmth, innocence and strength.

“Alright, everyone. Be prepared to have your world changed before your eyes. After you see all of this, life will never be the same for any of you.” Harold solemnly said before opening a hidden panel and punching in the code to open the passage to the secret room.

The children’s eyes all opened wide when they saw the bookcase swing away to a short hallway. But that was nothing compared to what they saw after following closely behind their father and seeing the various technological wonders that he had brought with him from the last days of mankind in the twenty-first century.

“What is all of this, Dad?” James asked as he looked around the room.

“This is the future, or at least, could be the future. You see, children. I traveled back in time from the year 2040 to just after the First World War through a portal in time that had accidentally been created by technological means. Back then, I was also a wealthy industrialist. My name was James Stevenson at that time.

Harold’s son perked up when he heard his father’s story and realized that he had been named after his father after all.

“So this equipment is all from one hundred years from now, Dad?” Judith cautiously asked.

“Yes, Sweetheart. But I have been very careful not to reveal it to the outside world. Not only would people not understand the implications of the technology, but that it would be very dangerous to all of us. There would most certainly be people who would be willing to harm us all in order to obtain what is inside of this room. There is also the danger to humanity if this technology would be released prematurely or fall into the wrong hands.

You see, I decided to travel back into the past because of a horrific war that was so devastating that it had doomed all of humanity, if not all life on this world.”

“How long did this war go on before such an outcome, Daddy?” Sarah asked.

“The main part of the war only lasted about an hour.” Harold grimly answered.

“How could that be? This war has lasted over seven years already. Yet, in many places, people have not been harmed at all. Are the weapons that much more powerful in the future?” Beatrice, Sarah’s twin sister asked with a tone of disbelief clearly evident in her voice.

“Yes, they are. Actually, in my timeline, the beginning of these nuclear weapons had already started before the year 1944. The first two of these terrible weapons had been used on Japan by the Americans to force them to surrender. But then other countries began developing them as well.

Within a decade, there were thousands of these nuclear weapons, each one powerful enough to destroy an entire city. I have been working quietly to ensure that these weapons do not get developed. So far, I have been successful though eventually I’m sure that someone will manage to build one.

Hopefully, we will have matured enough to not use them to destroy each other. I would much rather use the power of the atom to benefit humanity and even allow it to reach beyond Earth to live on other worlds.” Harold explained.

Then Harold spent the next several hours explaining all of the technology that he had brought back from the future and the most important events that had happened in the world during the next ninety years in his timeline. When Harold was done, all four of his children looked at him with a mixture of amazement, joy and love.

“We knew that you were special, Dad. But we didn’t know just how special you truly were.” Judith said, a look of wonder filling her blue eyes.

“It was a situation that I wish that I had not been thrust into though.” Harold sadly responded.

“No one else came through this ‘time portal’ after you did, Dad?” Sarah asked.

“I don’t think so. Besides, I took measures before I left to ensure that no one else could come back and disrupt my plans. I set up a computer program that would activate four hours after I passed through the time portal. At that time, the particle accelerator and all of the computer software running it would suffer a fatal error. The hardware would be severely damaged and all of the computer instructions would be corrupted beyond repair.

I left the tokamak intact however so that they would be able to use it to generate electricity, at least for a while.”

“That was pretty drastic, but I guess that one person traveling back in time was dangerous enough, Dad.”

“Yes, who knows what damage that multiple people from the future could do to human development. I needed to keep things as simple as possible if I was going to try to prevent humanity from essentially blowing itself up.” Harold explained to his children, who all stared up at him, fascinated with what he has just told them.

“What can we do to help?”  James then asked.

“I don’t know yet, son. But I’m sure that we can figure it out together.” Harold replied with a sense of relief that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Dad, I can see this very clearly already. This information has to be preserved if we are going to be able to continue to use it.” Judith noted.

“Sweetheart, that is a problem that I have been struggling with ever since I traveled back to 1918. When these particular data storage devices were first built, these were rated to have a component mean time between failure of something around fifty years on continuous use. That rating was based on the available power in the future though. That means the average amount of time before something within the storage drive breaks. Of course, if it breaks, we probably will not be able to fix it.”

“You can’t get enough electricity for this ‘computer’ of yours in our time, Dad?” Sarah asked.

“I have been able to adapt other means of producing power. But modern electronics requires a ‘clean’ power source. That means that the voltage and amperage has to be stable and within certain limits. A power spike could damage or destroy computer components that we have no means of replacing in this timeline for another seventy years or more.

There is also the issue of how much your mother was using the computer. Even though I had asked her to keep her use of the computer database to a minimum, she was constantly sneaking into this room to look up information on the computer. Each time that she did that, it risked a malfunction that we could not repair.

You might say that your mother was addicted to the information that was here. That is why it was so hard on her when I was forced to block her ability to come into this room.”

“Why did you do that, Dad?” James then asked.

“Because I have always been concerned about introducing technology into this timeline well before it was supposed to appear. Such advances could change the course of history in ways that I could not predict by any means. I worked very hard to carefully introduce things that would have been developed at that point in history anyway, just in a slightly different manner or being provided to someone else.

Your mom tried to make extra money by selling a piece of electronics to another company. That technology was decades ahead of its time, unfortunately. That revelation could have caused us all a lot of problems in the long run. Besides, we still have plenty of money and the means to obtain more if we really need it.”

“We understand, Dad. I’m sure that we can find a way to use this information more effectively without compromising its origin or disrupting the world’s technological progress unnecessarily.” Judith confidently declared.

“Why not simply build a ‘black box’ to do what we need to have something do, Dad? I have been reading about a lot of the technology that you used ninety years ago. Very few people actually understood the technical principles of how the machines that they used operated, especially the electronic devices. I read that they used to call them ‘black boxes’. So let’s build a few ‘black boxes’. No one needs to know how they work, just that they do the task necessary.”

Harold thought for a few moments about what his son had proposed. He actually had a point. Arthur C. Clark didn’t just write science fiction and invent the concept of geostationary orbiting satellites. He also had a tremendous understanding of the human relationship with advanced technologies that was demonstrated by the quote, ‘Any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic’.

It would be relatively easy to build a black box with technology decades ahead of the state of the art for Harold and his children. But the problem was two-fold. First, he had to find a way to ensure that no one else could access the technology and reverse-engineer it. Harold had already attempted this with his computer data center. Harold had built this in secret using a mix of contemporary technology combined with bits and pieces of salvaged twenty-first century technology that he had brought back with him thirty years earlier.

Harold and his children would have to make the ‘black box’ itself physically inaccessible to others by some means. The degree of risk would have to be commensurate with the amount of gain that would be achieved with the use of the ‘black box’ Even building the ‘black box’, would require outside contractors building individual components without any understanding of what they were actually making or what it would be capable of.

Secondly, Harold would have to be able to hide the full capabilities of the ‘black box’ from the world as a whole. That means that he and his children would see the full fruits of the device. Essentially, a redacted version of the data output would be what the rest of world would see instead.

“That sounds very intriguing, James. We can look into it, but we must still be very careful with this technology. We have to use a lot of sleight of hand to make something like this work, much like a magician, so to speak.”

But with all of this talk of using ‘black boxes’ and employing his children to continue his work, Harold still felt a deep sense of sadness and loss. He had shared so much with Dorothy concerning his life and his mission for the future. But now, she was gone and in spite of Dorothy’s betrayal of his trust, he still loved and missed her.

Was any of this worth what he had done to try to achieve a different future for humanity? Harold just wasn’t sure anymore.

Cavill Industries Headquarters

Derby, Western Australia

July 7, 1947

Harold was in his office when Theodore Rosewood came in, preceded by Harold’s secretary Janice Springfield.

“Hello, Sir. I have the final report on Dorothy’s accident.” Theo quickly said.

“Thank you, please sit down Theo.” Harold replied before turning towards his secretary and asking.

“Janice, would you please excuse us?”

“Of course, Sir.” She replied with a polite smile before turning and leaving Harold’s office and closing the door behind her.

“OK, Theo. Please tell me what you have discovered.” Harold solemnly requested.

“Mister Cavill, we closely examined the engines on Dorothy’s aircraft after we recovered them from the crash site. It appears that the starboard engine had two of its turbine blades fail during flight. The blades then detached and exited the engine casing, striking a fuel line and causing the fire. The escaping blades may have also damaged the port engine as well.

A metallurgic study of the damaged blades showed a flaw in construction. The engines used were a slightly older design. We believe that the new production engines will not have this problem because of an improved manufacturing process and overall design, Sir.”

“Obviously, I want all of the older engines removed immediately and taken out of service. We are not going to risk another life with them.”

“We are in the process of doing this already. But that still leaves us with forty engines in our inventory of the older design. What do you want us to do with them, Sir?”

Harold knew that he had a lot of money tied up in those engines. Even with his considerable wealth, he could not afford to waste his resources. This was one of the reasons why he was so successful in the twenty-first century. Harold never let anything go to waste.

“I need for plans to be drawn up for an unmanned aircraft that can use a single jet engine of the older design. We may not want to put a pilot in it. But we could use these aircraft as expendable drones for reconnaissance or target practice. I also want provisions made to place a high-explosive warhead and a terminal guidance system inside. This will allow us to use it to attack enemy targets without risking a single pilot.

The key elements will be that the drone aircraft will be very inexpensive to build and easy to fly by remote control.

Do you have any questions?”

“No, Sir. I will see to it right away. At least, we can salvage something out of all of this.”

“One other thing, what about Dorothy’s ejection seat? Why did it not work?”

“I don’t think that she tried to use it until it was already too late. I know how much Dorothy obsessed about not losing a single one of your aircraft while she was the pilot. I know that she jettisoned the canopy which is required before firing the ejection seat. But from what we have learned from the wreckage, the control cables to the rear control surfaces appear to have been burned through by the engine fire. That probably caused Dorothy’s aircraft to go inverted before she could escape.”

Harold grimaced as he wondered if his decision to bar Dorothy’s access to the secret database ultimately led to her death. In any event, there was nothing more to do except to try to use this tragedy to save the lives of future pilots.

“Then we will have to make some changes to the overall design to reduce the vulnerability of the control runs and fuel lines. We have to make our aircraft survivable as possible because we know that they are going to take hits.

Dorothy would want us to do all that we could to make sure that our pilots would be able to come home after a flight, preferably with their aircraft relatively intact.”

“I will have the engineers get to work on it right away, Sir.”

“How is our other new project going?” Harold asked.

“You are talking about our aircraft refit project, I suppose. We have been upgrading about a dozen aircraft a month with new engines and other systems. We still are suffering from our usual roadblocks of limited facilities, manpower and supply of new engines though. The work is interesting, however.”

“Well, keep at it. I will try to see if I can find alternate supplies of engines from other sources to help with the process. With the war over in Europe, we may even be able to convince some of the refugees to come settle here, especially those with some skills in manufacturing and engineering. I’m sure that will help you some. At least the government is willing to take in new emigres from there.”

“That is great. But if we have too large of an influx of people coming in, there could be difficulties in feeding them. A lot of the area around here is still very arid.”

“I understand, Theo. I am developing some means of providing more useable water for agriculture and other human needs already. But the technology is still not very mature and will take some time before it potentially could be implemented. But I will do what I can, I promise.”

One of the technologies that would be needed to provide more fresh water for a growing technology will be a ready source of affordable energy. This would be required to run a desalinization plant.

In order to provide that power, Harold had already started work on designing what would be the world’s first nuclear fission power station. This project would be constructed on the same grounds at the existing Derby coal-fueled power generation plant. This particular project was probably the most expensive task that Harold had ever undertaken.

In fact, it was so expensive that Harold actively solicited funding from the Australian government to help pay for the reactor. In return, Harold promised to provide some of the electric power to communities outside of Derby.

“I am looking forward to seeing this new technology that you are referring to, Sir. Everything else that you have suggested has proven to be extraordinarily successful.”

A few moments later, Janice knocked on the door and opened it to tell Harold that one of the aborigine chiefs had come in to speak with him.

“I’m done with everything here, Sir.” Theo quickly said.

“Thank you, Theo. Please let Janice know to send the chief in while you are leaving.”

“No worries, Boss.” Theo responded with a quick smile.

As soon as Theo left Harold’s office, a short, dark-skinned aborigine man with a very slight build walked in. Harold could never properly pronounce the young chief’s actual name because it consisted of close to thirty letters and nearly a dozen syllables, but everyone in town simply called him Tony for short. But Tony was known among the aborigines as being a bit of a mystic.

“Hello, Tony. How have you been doing? It has been quite a while since we last spoke.”

“Yes, Mister Cavill. I have been on ‘walkabout’ for a while. But I returned to the territory here a few weeks ago.

“What brings you here then today, my friend?” Harold pleasantly asked. He was certainly very curious why Tony wanted to see him at this time.

“I have known you all of my life. I also know that you have lost a great deal recently, especially with the death of your wife. But I wanted to make sure that you have also not lost your way as well, Mister Cavill.”

“What do you mean?” Harold asked.

“My father’s father told me that you came here from beyond the mists of time to save us all from destruction at the hands of foolish men.”

“I still am committed to that. It is a very difficult thing because there are so many uncertainties with each piece of the future that I change, I am afraid.”

“I understand this. You have already done many good things for my people. It is also my understanding that you have also saved many innocent lives elsewhere with your acts. There is still much work to be done. You are not alone. Your family is there to help you and your family with your mission long after you have passed from this world too. My people are also there to help you as well, if you or your children need it. Please do not forget this, my friend.”

Harold pondered Tony’s words for what seemed like hours as he looked into the young aborigine’s eyes, even though it was less than a minute in reality.

“No, I have not lost my way. I may not understand each twist and turn that the world takes along the path before me. But I still know that my purpose is to save this world and all of humanity from a terrible fate.

Thank you for reminding me of this, Tony.”

Chapter Sixteen:

White House Oval Office

Washington, DC

August 14, 1947

“I don’t know where the Japanese are getting fuel for their jet fighters, but those new warplanes are making it much more difficult for us and the Americans to conduct heavy bomber raids over the Japanese mainland. The Japs also have a bunch of new propeller-driven aircraft that they are using against us. As a result of this, we have lost several dozen heavy bombers during raids over Japan.

Our intelligence has been looking for those new fuel sources and the means that the Japanese are using to transport it. Our forces have already been forced to go to nighttime raids over Japan to avoid their fighters. That has significantly dropped the accuracy of our bombs. Our general in charge of the heavy bomber force in the Pacific, Curtis LeMay, has decided to adopt British bomber tactics to hit the Japanese cities as a result.” Secretary Marshall reported to President Dewey.

“I remember that the British started hitting German cities at night with large numbers of incendiary bombs shortly after the beginning of the London Blitz in retaliation.” Dewey replied.

“Yes, Sir. General LeMay is doing the same thing to the Japs now. With the highly flammable nature of Japanese cities with their largely wooden construction, General LeMay has chosen to employ mostly incendiary bombs against the Japanese to maximize the effectiveness of his bombers. Unfortunately, he is unable to mass enough bombers to hit Japan because of the extreme ranges involved.

There are also very few fighters that can escort LeMay’s bombers for the same reason. He has lost at least twenty percent of his heavy bomber force due to Japanese fighters because of the lack of long-range fighter escorts. We have asked Lockheed to increase production of their P-38 Lightning fighters to help provide additional escorts for out bombers.”

In this timeline, the P-51 Mustang had never been developed by North American Aviation because the Army Air Corps did not need them in Europe.

“The idea of firebombing whole cities seems very extreme and inhumane. But with the germ warfare attacks against the West Coast, we are being forced to employ extreme measures to try to end these attacks against our own civilian population.

We also have to do something more about the Philippine Islands. I know that FDR promised the Philippine people their independence after the war. But if the Japanese are able to continue to occupy the islands while we do nothing to help, our credibility will be severely damaged as a result. But we still have the problem with domestic sensitivity to heavy casualties.”

“We might have a solution though with the proposal that Prime Minister Menzies presented during your meeting with him in Cleveland. We could use Australia as a base for launching quick commando raids against Japanese targets in the Philippines and elsewhere. There are some officers in the Army and the Marines who have also suggested some very radical tactics against the Japanese.”

“What do you mean by ‘radical’?” President Dewey asked.

“They want to feed in large amounts of small arms and other infantry weapons to Philippine rebels to further fuel an insurgency against the Japanese. The Australians are already doing this to a small degree using some elite troops of their own. But if we were to significantly fund an expansion of this program and supply some small infantry units like the new Rangers to train and lead these insurgents against the Japanese, they could have an effect far in excess of the numbers of American troops that we send.

The injection of more supplies and Ranger support would help General Vicente Lim’s guerillas significantly, we believe. But the Army is still not going to like having the cream of their soldiers skimmed off for what some of the senior staff consider a harebrained scheme.”

You already know how sensitive that the American people have become concerning casualties. The Australians have a lot fewer people available, so the loss of each of their soldiers hits them far harder. But with these commando tactics supporting native resistance fighters, the Australians don’t appear to be losing very many soldiers during their operations.

Still, it seems ideal for us, especially in the aftermath of the bloodbath on Guam, Sir. We won’t be committing many of our troops. The Philippine resistance fighters will actually be doing most of the fighting. In many ways, it will be a lot like what General Patton is supposed to be setting up in China.”

“Maybe, but Americans are also inpatient when it comes to wars now. This sort of operation sounds like something that could take years to complete successfully, if at all. Will such an operation do anything more than kill a few more Japanese soldiers?”

“According to the plan’s proponents, it will. By increasing pressure on the Japanese garrisons, it will force Tokyo to either send reinforcements that we can interdict with air and naval forces from North Faluku and Australia or to withdraw their troops from the Philippines altogether.

As commander in chief, ultimately it is your decision though to go ahead with this program, Sir.”

“I want more information first. Set up a briefing for later this week on this idea. But unless someone convinces me otherwise, I am inclined to approve it. But we are probably going to have to do much more than helping the resistance in the Philippines. We still have American civilians and military personnel being held prisoner in the Philippines. We have to do something to help them, especially with the reports of those people being held under very poor conditions.

We have to also continue to hit the Japanese war machine hard, even if we are not planning on invading their home islands. For that, we are going to need additional help from another great power.”

“You are talking about England, I’m sure. But Mister President, we are going to have a hard time getting that help with their fiscal situation. Our sources say that their military is in the process of a major reduction in the size of their military. They will probably be even smaller than they were in the mid-thirties.”

“We will have to find a way to convince the British to send what forces that they have available to assist us.” President Dewey replied thoughtfully. Obviously, he already had something in mind.

Harold Cavill’s Home

Derby, Western Australia

August 19, 1947

Harold came home from work late that afternoon, only to find all four of his children sitting in the living room waiting on him. They all had a certain knowing smile on each of their faces, as though they had discovered something unexpected that they wanted to share.

“Hello, Dad. We hope that you had a good day at work. We have come up with an idea to preserve the database information for as long as we want.” Judith explained.

“What do you four have in mind?” Harold asked.

“We want to build a new computer device to copy all of the information to as a means of ensuring that we never lose it to mechanical failure.”

“It is impossible to build a new computer like mine with the technology that we have available. We don’t even have the ability to build the machines necessary to manufacture a portable computer of any sort.” Harold countered.

“We don’t need to build a small computer like yours using the technology from the time that you came from. In fact, it would be to our benefit if the machine that we construct is rather large. This way, no one can possibly come in and steal it or the information that we will copy onto it.”

Harold thought about Judith’s suggestion for a few moments before he came up with a few points of his own.

“We still don’t have the ability to build many of the advanced components. Anything that we build will be hideously slow compared to my portable computer.”

“We know. But we can begin to build the first generation computer with the technology that we already have. If we begin to construct some slightly more advanced components like the transistors that Mum tried to sell to that other company, then we can begin the process to improve the machine’s capability and capacity. Any new technologies that we incorporate can still easily be ahead of the rest of the world because as far as anyone else knows, they are purely experimental. No one will know that we already have components that have been proven decades earlier because we won’t tell them and will not be selling them to anyone either.

Little by little, we will copy the information into this new computing device as we continually upgrade it. It can be done without disrupting the timeline, Dad. I’m sure of it.”

“Well, children. We certainly do not have the space inside our secret room for something like that.”

“We will need to build a new facility that will be known as a research laboratory, Dad. But we are going to be the only ones who will actually know what is in it.”

“If we are going to do that, I would suggest that we take one of the existing underground storage areas that I had constructed earlier. We have a few that are no longer in use for a variety of reasons.”

“That sounds perfect, Dad. We will also need to build some sort of video screen to view the information from the new computer, a device to print out content from the database and a keyboard to enter in manual data. I don’t think that we should use those punch cards or tapes like so many of the early computers used. Just because we have to use some primitive components doesn’t mean that we have to go all the way back to ‘caveman technology’ on everything.” Beatrice said to the amusement of all of her siblings.

“Yes, Sweetheart. I would have to agree with that as well. I wouldn’t want to work with purely ‘caveman tech’ either.” Harold said with a smile before continuing.

“But WE are going to have to do the actual work on constructing and maintaining this new computer. While I can have other people and companies build individual components without telling them what they are for or how they work, we cannot afford to let anyone else see or learn about what we have actually built.

When I mean ‘we’, I am talking about myself and all of you four children. Somehow, I think that you already know this however.”

“Yes, Dad. It sounds like a grand project. We can get the designs for the earliest computer models from the database. Then we would adapt them to technology that is roughly appropriate to this era. I’m sure that we can find a way to explain the slightly more advanced components that we will need too, especially since we will only need a relatively small number of them. Then we scale everything up until we have sufficient capacity and capability. ” Judith enthusiastically responded.

James then excitedly spoke up as well.

“Dad, we can also put a few of the ‘black boxes’ that we talked about before to make this new machine even more capable. Since it will be located someplace where we will be the only ones to have access, then what the machine can do won’t be seen by anyone anyway.”

“You have all come up with some very good ideas. But, it will still be a lot of work. You will not be able to skip out on your schoolwork, your household chores or the time that you are spending learning from our engineers at the factories either. The time that you spent with them is going to be especially important if you are going to be able to assemble this new device.” Harold said with a stern look on his face.

“We understand, Dad. We want to see this succeed as much as you do, I am sure. Besides, it will be fun.” James interjected with a smile.

Imperial Japanese Navy Headquarters

Near Nagano, Japan

August 26, 1947

The large underground facility housing the Imperial General Headquarters housed the main headquarters for both the Imperial Navy and Army. The joint headquarters was moved under the base of Mount Maizuru after the firebombing of Tokyo by Allied heavy bombers based in China and the Aleutian Islands.

Admiral Yamamoto and other senior IJN officers were meeting inside one of the underground rooms to discuss current operations and the deteriorating situation in the Pacific. The atmosphere in the room was not only dark because of the poor lighting, but also because of the desperate situation that the Imperial Japanese Navy faced.

“We need solutions. The Fleet has been decimated by the damned Americans and their Commonwealth allies. Enemy submarines plague us wherever we sail. There are countless mines blocking our ports. Bombers have been hitting our cities and our ships with near impunity. Our fuel situation continues to limit what even our diminished fleet can do. The Emperor wants to know what we are doing to stop this.”

“Taishō, we are continuing to launch strikes against America, especially against their industrial centers and naval bases on the American West coast. The defenses around Pearl Harbor have become much more difficult to penetrate because of the improvements that have been made there. But the American West Coast is still very vulnerable. Our attacks there have reduced the number of American naval vessels attacking our home islands and shipping.” Chūshō Shiro Numashima reported.

“If that is so, Chūshō. Why is so little fuel coming in for our military and industry to continue to operate?”

“We have been unable to acquire new sources of crude oil because of our failure to capture the Java oil fields. However, we are beginning to develop other sources of fuel. The Germans had provided us before their armistice with the technology to convert coal into a useable liquid fuel through gasification. We have already started construction of refineries here in Japan and near the Korean coal mine fields to begin the conversion of coal into badly needed fuel for our ships and aircraft. Coal from Manchukuo is being shipped by rail to the Korean refineries for conversation also.”

“This is very good news, Chūshō. However, I know that even our domestic coal reserves are relatively limited. We would still have the problem of transporting any fuel produced in Korea to Japan because of the shortage of tankers and the incessant enemy attacks on shipping traveling between the Asian mainland and here.”

“So, ka. We have already been working on solutions for this for the last three years. There have been several proposals presented already. While most have been abandoned as being completely unfeasible, two proposals remain.

The first proposal is to build a fuel pipeline running under the Sea of Japan from the port of Busan, through the islands of Tsushima and Iki to Karatsu. This would allow us to send the maximum amount of fuel without risk of detection or interception. However, that would require a significant amount of our steel production to construct over two hundred kilometers of pipe for this.”

“Would the enemy be able to find and bomb this underwater pipeline, Chūshō? It would be very difficult to repair if this were to happen, I would think.”

“We believe that it would be very difficult to find the pipeline once it had been laid, Taishō. It would also take a very precise strike to hit it. However, we also have had this concern as well. This is why we have another solution being worked on. In fact, our second proposal is already in the process of being implemented. We are constructing a series of highly modified variants of the Type I-400 submarine that are designed as submersible tankers. These vessels are much longer than the aircraft and missile-launching ships that we have been using to hit the enemy’s homeland. These submersible tankers are unarmed but can carry a substantial amount of fuel for their size.

In place of the I-400’s aircraft hangars, these ships have two long fuel tanks sitting, side by side, on top of the submarine’s main hulls for virtually the entire length of the vessel. The torpedo rooms have also been omitted, providing for additional storage for fuel and high value cargo.  The submersible tankers’ main hulls were also extended by an additional thirty percent over those of the I-400 to provide additional storage space.

This submersible tanker will spend most of its journey at periscope depth, operating with its diesel engines that were aspirated by the submarine’s snorkel device, another gift by the Germans. The submersible tanker can submerge deeper in case of enemy detection and operate using batteries alone, but her range underwater will be much shorter. Because of the additional streamlining with the removal of armament and the greater fineness of the vessel’s hull, the submersible tanker is actually slightly faster underwater than the I-400 in spite of using the same diesel-electric propulsion system.

Instead of the offset sail of the I-400, the submersible tanker has a very small sail located in between the two large upper fuel tanks. Overall, the submarine tanker displaces nearly nine thousand tons fully loaded and can transport up to three thousand tons of deliverable fuel on each trip. This design is also well suited for the resupply of our remote island outposts with the fuel that they badly need.”

“So, ka. You have already constructed one of these vessels, Chūshō?” Yamamoto asked, surprised that he was not already aware of the program.

“Hai, Taishō. We converted a partially completed I-400 submarine to the tanker version and have already started testing it. The hull was awaiting armament and other components so it was relatively easy to refit it in one of more remote underground naval construction tunnels. I apologize for not informing you of this because of the priority of the I-400 construction. I felt that the situation with fuel transport required that risk and initiative be taken to deal with it, especially with the pipeline delays.”

“It will take many sorties to provide enough fuel for one of our capital ships to operate with.”

“Hai, Taishō. We considered making the design even larger, but it would take much longer for each vessel to be built and also make it more vulnerable to detection. It would be better to have a larger number of smaller ships where a single loss could be acceptable than a small number whose loss would be devastating.”

Admiral Yamamoto silently thought about the situation for a few moments. The junior officer’s statement was essentially the counterpoint to the design of the massive Yamato. Then Yamamoto asked another question.

“Will the construction of more of these submersible tanker take away from the production of our missile-carrying versions, Chūshō?”

“We will need more resources certainly, Taishō. But because this uses so many of the same components as the I-400, the commonality will streamline production and create more efficiencies for both submarine designs.”

“Then proceed with building more of the tanker versions, provided that it does not interfere with what is now our main offensive weapon against our enemies, Chūshō. I agree that we badly need the fuel. I want to return to sending out well trained pilots to fight our enemies. It shames me to have to send out brave, but poorly trained, men to simply die. That is a waste of both people and resources as well as a disservice to our Emperor.”

“Hai, Taishō.”

“Now, what about our surface fleet? We must regain control above the surface of the ocean if we are to be able to turn the tide against our enemies.”

“The refitting of Yamato and Haruna to improve their anti-aircraft defenses is almost complete. We have taken advantage of economies of scale with the production of the ten centimeter dual-purpose Type 98 naval rifle. The replacement of both battleships’ Type 89 twin mounts with the Type 98 along with has significantly improved their medium to long range anti-aircraft fire. The replacement of almost all of their 2.5 centimeter Type 96 automatic cannons with the new four centimeter Type 5 automatic cannons will also improve their short range defenses.

We were very fortunate to have captured the wreckage of an American submarine with one of their Bofors automatic cannons. Our engineers have reverse-engineered and improved the weapon for our use as the Type 5. We will be incorporating the Type 5 into practically all of our new construction ships so that we can counter enemy air attacks more effectively.

All of the newest destroyer designs are using new Type 98 now as their main armament. The Type 98 has also been modified for use on land and is being rapidly emplaced around all of our major naval bases along with the Type 5 automatic cannons.

With the improved air defenses and more production of interceptor fighters, we believe that we will be able to finally complete four new fleet aircraft carriers of the Unryu class without the threat of aerial attack of the construction yards. The Unryu’s will be protected from enemy aircraft and submarine attacks by improved versions of the Akizuki-class destroyers. We have already completed Kitakaze with six of her sister ships undergoing final construction.

Our larger tunnel construction yards are also beginning to build an even larger destroyer along with additional missile-launching submarines and the new submersible tankers. The Haruguma is a further development of the Kitakaze and Akizuki with an additional twin Type 98 gun turret and more of the Type 5 automatic cannons. The Americans and their allies will soon find it far more difficult to attack our new destroyers with their damned bombers.

The construction of more destroyers and other escort vessels will also help us defend against enemy submarines. We have learned this at a very steep price, Taishō. ”

“What about new cruiser construction?” Yamamoto immediately asked.

“That is much more difficult. We cannot assemble a cruiser inside of one of our underground construction tunnels that we have excavated in the sides of shoreline cliffs because of the size of a cruiser’s superstructure. Rather than attempt to build and defend cruisers, the naval construction board has decided that aircraft carriers will be the only warship class that we will build outside of the tunnels. Carriers will be few enough in number that we should be able to focus our air defenses to defend them while under construction.

As you know, we do have seven surviving cruisers that have returned back to Japanese ports for repairs and refitting. These warships consist of four heavy cruisers, Tone, Myoko, Takao and Haguro in addition to the three surviving light cruisers, Sakawa, Yahagi and Oyodo. This does not include the four training cruisers of the Katori class which are really not suitable for fleet action. All of these cruisers may eventually be available, but they have been subjected to the same air attacks by enemy heavy bombers that Yamato and Haruna have endured.

Submarines and destroyers are small enough that we can build them while still protected against enemy bombs and torpedoes. All that we need are the parts and the manpower to assemble them. Of course, we will still need fuel, but the high-pressure steam engines that were first used on Shimakaze are very fuel efficient as are the diesel motors used by our submarines and lighter escort ships.”

“This is all very impressive, Chūshō. However, we must not only build more warships. We also have to construct replacements for our merchant marine as well. Otherwise, we will be strangled to death by our enemies, regardless of all of the new technology that you are working on.”

“So Ka, Taishō. We will find a way.”

Australian Ministry of Defense

Canberra, Australia

August 28, 1947

Colonel Harlan Burke had just flown in to the local airfield at the request of the Ministry of Defense, then driven to the main headquarters. When he arrived, he was quickly ushered into a conference room where several senior Australian and American military officers were already waiting.

“Good afternoon, Colonel. I know that this meeting was called on rather short notice, but there have been some recent developments in the Philippines that we will need your expertise with. The Americans have made a couple of requests of us regarding new operations in the Philippine Islands.

You have already been involved in providing support to the Philippine resistance movement, Colonel. The Americans want to significantly expand that program to include sending in small detachments of their commandoes to assist. We want you to help with this. We have already contacted Harold Cavill. He will be providing additional support from his fleet of Cavalier flying boats.” Brigadier General Clive Hamill explained.

“Sir, there is something else you need to know. I just received word from our friends in the Philippines that there are at least a thousand American civilians in internment camps who are in danger right now. The conditions of their captivity are not only deteriorating rapidly but there is a real risk that they will be killed by the Japanese in the near future. Many of the American prisoners of war that were captured in the Philippines have either died or have been shipped out to Japan to serve as slave labor. But there are at least some remaining in the Philippines. They will most certainly be killed if conditions for the Japanese in the Philippines become much worse.”

“What do you propose doing to save these people, Colonel?” A US Navy Vice Admiral with the name Adams on his uniform quickly asked. It was plainly obvious that he was very disturbed by the news about the captive Americans.

“We have to go in and rescue them very soon, Sir.” Harlan replied.

“Do you have anything particular in mind in terms of a plan and the resources needed to achieve it? I know that you have been given very little notice.” Admiral Adams quickly asked.

“We actually have been considering this for a while because of our existing support operations for the Philippine resistance. Some of our new equipment would be very well suited for an operation of this type.

We now have twenty-six new rotary-wing aircraft that can take-off and land vertically in any cleared area large enough for the rotors to operate. These helicopters can carry up to a dozen passengers each. The helicopters can fly some of our people to the coast where Cavalier flying boats can be waiting to receive them. The rest will have to be taken to ships offshore.

We will need significant support from both our military and the Americans if we are going to successfully rescue these people. We also have to do this all in one operation. Once we attempt a rescue operation like this even once, the Japanese will surely take measures to ensure that we are unable to easily conduct another one.” Harlan warned.

“We can provide both Melbourne and Adelaide to provide air support for the rescue. Because Tiger and her support squadron are going to be busy with other operations, we will only have surface support from our heavy cruisers Canberra, Australia and the American USS Houston along with a couple of light cruisers and two reinforced squadrons of destroyers.”

“We will need some transport ships available for the evacuees to come home in along with sufficient escorts, of course.” Harlan noted.

“We’ll make sure that the evacuation ships have enough protection. How far can your helicopters fly? Do they need a ship to operate from also?” General Hamill asked.

Harlan knew that Harold had already started converting the captured Japanese supply ship so that it would be better suited for helicopter operations. But he did not have enough time to do much more than remove the ship’s catapult and expand the amidships aircraft parking deck. The ship simply wasn’t ready to carry the number of helicopters that Harlan knew would be needed for this proposed operation.

“We will need at least one escort carrier as well to support our helicopters. That will require disembarking all of her fixed-wing aircraft to provide enough space for the necessary number of helicopters though.”

“Just let us know what you will need, Colonel. We will do everything that we can to provide you with the necessary support within reason. You are going to be in charge of overall planning and execution of the rescue mission starting today.”

Harlan knew that he would not be getting a lot of sleep over the next few weeks because of this operation. There were a lot of plans that needed to be made very quickly, even if he had already started the groundwork months earlier after learning of the situation at the camps.

The Americans would be particularly anxious because of the political implications back home if the mission failed. The lives of those civilian internees especially were important. Who knows what the Japanese would do to them if the rescue mission failed.

Harlan also knew that Pappy Gunn would want to be on the front lines of this mission as well. Some of the people still in the internment camps were friends of his wife and family prior to their rescue. There was also the matter of the surviving Americans in the POW camps. Rescuing them would be a lot harder because of the larger guard forces at the POW camps.

But Pappy would need to be flying strike missions in support of the rescue, not flying transports or helicopters into the camps. He was far too valuable to risk doing that.

Chapter Seventeen:

Imperial Japanese Navy Submarine I-10

Vicinity of Pualu Siko Island

August 29, 1946

The Japanese submarine I-10 had surfaced just before dawn just a few kilometers northwest of North Faluku, adjacent to the tiny island of Pulau Siko. Her mission was to launch a smallpox-laden Baika suicide flying bomb at the industrial complex near Derby, Australia. The I-10’s captain Kaigun-chūsa Shima Koga knew that North Faluku had been captured by Australian forces over a year earlier, but believed that the Australians would not be watching the western coastline. He was wrong.

“Chūsa, the water here will be too shallow for us to dive if we are detected.” I-10’s navigator Kaigun-daii Yagimori warned.

“We will have fired our weapon and escaped long before anyone will see us. Besides, I want to force the enemy to devote more of his ships and planes to protect themselves here rather than attacking our homes in Japan. I want them to feel fear of us again also.”

“I must caution that it is still an unnecessary risk, Chūsa.”

“Your concerns have been duly noted. Please continue with our course.” Captain Koga brusquely ordered.

Less than an hour later, a radio operator at the main military headquarters bunker at Kao, North Faluku ran into the next room where Major Sam Riker was the night duty officer.

“Major, we just received a report about a submarine on the surface just off of Pulau Siko.”

“Are you sure that it is not one of ours, Sergeant?”

“The coast watcher that sent the report is positive that it is a Jap boat. He says that it is one of those big boats with an aircraft hangar on it.”

That immediately got the Major’s attention. He had read the intelligence reports about how the Japanese were using those submarines to launch the suicide aircraft or missiles that have been hitting the Americans so badly.

“Quick. We need to send our torpedo boat detachment on patrol out there before that sub can get away. More importantly, we need to stop it from launching whatever aircraft it is carrying.” Major Riker urgently ordered.

Three of the big Cavill-built torpedo boats were soon racing from east of Pulau Kajoa towards the location where the I-10 had been sighted. The torpedo boats closed the range, using a couple of adjacent islets to screen themselves from enemy observation. As the trio of torpedo boats cleared Pulau Siko, they saw the big Jap submarine on the surface.

“Look there. That must be one of those damned buzz bombs on her deck right now. They must be about to launch it.” Lieutenant Scott Johannsen, commander of Torpedo Boat 47, known by her crew as the ‘Hornet’, remarked.

“Are we going in for the attack now, Sir?” The Hornet’s helmsman asked.

“You damned right, we are. Full speed ahead! Gunners, shoot the hell out of that sub and everyone on her deck. I don’t want them to get a chance to launch that buzz bomb while we close to launch torpedoes.”

Preparations were well underway onboard I-10 to launch their Baika missile when one of the Japanese submarine’s lookouts called out.

“Enemy patrol boats approaching at high speed from the east!”

“Turn hard to port and go to full speed. Gun crews engage the enemy craft as your guns bear.” Captain Koga quickly ordered in spite of the risk of the Baika falling off of the submarine’s bow-mounted catapult.

At the same time, the three Australian torpedo boats split up in different directions to attack the Japanese submarine. Tracers began to stream from the patrol boats’ six-pounders, automatic cannons and heavy machine guns towards I-10. Dozens of those tracers could be seen ricocheting off of the submarine’s steel hull and arcing high into the early morning sky.

A large column of water erupted alongside one of the torpedo boats at the same time a large puff of smoke erupted from I-10’s heavy deck gun. The water showered over everyone in the torpedo boat’s crew but failed to do any damage.

“Sweep your guns over that deck gun and the enemy anti-aircraft guns before they are able to correct their aim.” Lieutenant Johannsen yelled out to his gunners as his boat continued to close the range towards the enemy submarine.

The submarine and the attacking torpedo boats continued to trade fire as the submarine turned to get into open water. Several men could be seen being hit by heavy automatic fire and hurled off of the deck of the submarine.

“Prepare to launch torpedoes at that submarine. Set depth for five meters. We don’t want our fish to detonate prematurely on the sea floor.”

Johannsen’s torpedo boat turned to point her bow just forward of the big submarine when he gave the command to launch a torpedo.

The Captain Koga spotted the torpedo launch and immediately ordered his helmsman to reverse his turn back to starboard.

“Chūsa! We are going back into very shallow water, Sir.” I-10’s navigator Yagimori quickly warned as he felt the submarine lurch into a radical turn to the right. But I-10’s captain ignored the warning as he continued to fight his ship against the three attacking torpedo boats.

“Aww, shit. That damned Jap sub just dodged our torpedo. Now we will never be able to stop her from getting away.” Lieutenant Johannsen angrily growled.

“Wait, Sir. The enemy sub has stopped moving.” One of the machine gunners yelled out.

I-10 shuddered violently and lurched to a halt, listing heavily to one side while attempting evade another torpedo. The Baika was dangling from the catapult, having been partially dislodged from its launch carriage.

“We’ve run aground on a hidden reef or sandbar, Sir.” A terrified young lieutenant reported to the submarine’s captain who was still picking himself up after being hurled to the deck by the impact of the grounding. Captain Koga stood up for a moment, seemingly stunned before finally speaking.

“If we cannot get free, we will have to scuttle the boat to keep the enemy from seizing it. Hurry, help with whatever is necessary to get us moving again.”

“Hai, Chūsa!”

“”We’ve got the bastards now. They’ve run aground. Now, keep pouring it on, mates!” Lieutenant Johannsen ordered as the guns from the torpedo boats continued to rake the upper deck and conning tower of the big Japanese submarine.

Very quickly, I-10’s conning tower was running with blood as automatic cannon fire from the torpedo boats ripped it to shreds. Captain Koga and most of the Japanese sailors on deck were either dead or mortally wounded within a few moments. All return fire from the submarine ended just as quickly after her decks had been swept clean of her gun crews.

With the Japanese submarine apparently unable to either move or fire back, Lieutenant Johannsen saw a rare opportunity.

“Radio to the other boats that we are going in to try to board and capture that Jap sub. Any help that they can provide would be most welcome, of course.” A fiercely grinning Lieutenant Johannsen told his crew.

Moments later, they were speeding directly towards the grounded submarine with the other two torpedo boats following suit. Every available crewmember from the three Australian torpedo boats had quickly armed himself with either the ubiquitous CR-1 assault rifle or a Sten 9mm submachine gun, a pouch full of mini-grenades and an assortment of knives.

“I swear, you all look like a bunch of bloody pirates, I’m happy to say.” Lieutenant Johannsen told his crew as their boat swung over to float next to the submarine’s riddled conning tower. As the other torpedo boats also came alongside I-10, more than a score of the heavily-armed Australian sailors leapt over onto the submarine and started to look for an available hatch.

“Hey, mates. The Japs left the hatch near their deck gun wide open.” A junior sailor yelled out as he ran towards it.

“Better drop in a grenade first before you decide to climb down there. You wouldn’t want to meet up with any nasty surprises inside, would you?” another sailor replied as he ran up to help.

Within moments, a pair of mini-grenades had been fuzed and dropped down into the Jap submarine. A pair of muffled explosions soon followed along with a cloud of grey smoke that erupted from within the open hatch. The sound of several screams could be heard by the boarders coming from within the submarine. Another grenade followed the first pair into the open hatch. The screams suddenly stopped after that grenade’s detonation.

The other teams of boarders started looking for other points of entry into the Japanese submarine while waiting for smoke to clear from the first hatch. While the hatch down from the conning tower had been dogged down from within, the forward hatch near the submarine’s catapult was found unsecure. Like with the first hatch, a pair of grenades were tossed down to detonate in the midst of anyone below.

Howling like banshees, the Australian sailors quickly went down inside of the Japanese submarine. The sounds of screams and automatic weapons fire began to echo within the submarine, punctuated by the periodic explosion of a grenade.

After about ten minutes, the boarders began to emerge from within the submarine as smoke continued to emerge from within the open hatches. They were bloody, soot and grease-covered. But they were all smiling.

“We got them all, boss. Every single one of the Japs fought to the death though. There are a couple of fires going on inside that Jap boat because of the fighting. It’s only a matter of time before they reach the torpedoes or something else explosive inside though.” An aborigine gunner’s mate from one of the other two boats explained after finishing a coughing fit from the smoke that he had just inhaled.

“Do you think that we can put the fires out first?” Lieutenant Johannsen quickly asked.

“I don’t think so, boss.” The gunner’s mate replied.

“Well, I need a volunteer or two to go back inside and see if they can find something important. If the Japs have any documents or code machines inside, we definitely want to get them before this damned piece of shit blows up.”

It only took a few seconds before a couple of men volunteered and had gone back inside of the burning submarine. One of the boarders was one of the junior gunner’s mates while the other was a burly red-haired machinist mate off of the Hornet. This time, both men put on gas masks to protect themselves from the smoke before heading back inside of the submarine.

“We need to pull that bloody buzz bomb off of that sub and into the water before it can detonate. From what I have read, whatever shit is inside of that thing can spread deadly germs for miles around. I figure that sea water should be able to kill whatever is inside though.” Lieutenant Johannsen told his crew.

“Aye, aye, Captain. I’ll get some rope that we can tie to the damned thing. Then we will tie the other end of the rope to the back of our boat and yank the whole buzz bomb out into the ocean.”

“Very good, sailor. Let’s make it happen as fast as we can. We’ve still got people inside of that sub trying to find anything useful inside before that boat blows up.

Several sailors quickly got a long length of rope. One end was tied to Hornet’s stern cleats while the other end was secured to the nose of the Baika. It took three tries to yank the deadly suicide flying bomb loose from the submarine’s catapult. But the Lieutenant Johannsen’s torpedo boat was finally able to pull the Baika free and drag it out into open water. The rope was cut free from the torpedo boat so that the Baika could sink to the sea floor.

Lieutenant Johannsen was relieved to get rid of his deadly ‘guest’. He ordered his vessel back to the I-10. The smoke coming out of the grounded Japanese submarine’s hatches was getting heavier but several Australian sailors were still standing on her riddled deck.  Several of them were motioning to the torpedo boat commander to come back over.

“Look what we have here, Lieutenant. There is an entire crate full of Jap documents here that didn’t get burned up.” Machinist Mate Martin Cobb called up from inside the Japanese submarine.

“Well, let’s grab them and get the hell out of here. The way that fire is spreading, it will reach the forward torpedo room any minute now. We don’t want to be anywhere near this sub when that happens, do we?”

“No, Sir. I wouldn’t want to be here either. That will be one hell of a bang when those warheads go off.” Martin replied as he dragged the large box of documents towards the conning tower ladder.

Someone tossed down a rope for Martin to tie around the box. It was quickly hauled up through the hatch, followed quickly by the young Australian gunner’s mate. The box was tossed over the side of the grounded submarine onto the deck of the waiting torpedo boat. After that, all three torpedo boats moved well away from the burning submarine. Flames had become visible coming out of the submarine’s forward hatch. Less than a minute later, a large explosion tore apart the forward third of the submarine’s hull.

A large pall of smoke marked the remains of I-10 as the three victorious Australian patrol boats returned back to their base in North Faluku. The Australians not only returned with a treasure trove of captured documents, but also carrying the tattered Rising Sun ensign that had once belonged to the shattered I-10. The flag would soon hang with pride on the wall of the torpedo boat squadron’s duty shack at North Fakulu.

Prime Minister’s Residence, 10 Downing Street

London, England

August 30, 1947

“Can we build jet bombers that can reach Japan and be sufficiently fast to avoid even the Japanese jet fighters with the current technology?” Churchill asked.

“There are several engine companies that are testing more powerful jet engines than our new fighters utilize. These engines could be used in a new generation of high-speed bombers. However, their high fuel consumption would limit either their range or the amount of bombs that they could carry.” The new commander of the Royal Air Force, Air Marshall Sir Howard Simpson explained.

“So you are saying that we are no longer able to effectively launch bombing raids because of a handful of Japanese jet fighters using Nazi technology?”

“We might have another option, Sir. Your friend in Australia has been working on the concept of refueling aircraft in mid-air. The Americans had tried this as a stunt during the twenties. We had even done just before the war to extend the range of our civilian transatlantic flying boats before the advent of the Cavalier. But Mister Cavill seems to have something that could work more effectively.

We had been using a grappled-line, looped-hose refueling system earlier. But this was problematic at best. Mister Cavill has come up with a new device that he calls a ‘probe and drogue’ refueling system.  He claims that he can refuel two aircraft at the same time with his system attached to one of his Cassowary heavy bombers or one of his large transport aircraft. The refueling system can also be used to extend the range of our new jet fighters.”

“All we would need to do then is the design a jet bomber with a refueling probe to receive the fuel. Let me know what our aircraft designers are working on presently in that regards. We need to do everything that we can to continue to apply pressure on the Japanese to end this conflict.”

“I will bring you a report on the latest jet bomber development programs, Sir. The British people do not want to risk the lives of our men any longer unfortunately. But I know that we still have allies at risk to the Japanese, Sir.”

“I know. But we have to find some way to help still. The people in Labour have been busy working to convince people that there is nothing to worry about any longer. Perhaps we can see if we can provide some of our excess heavy bombers for conversion into aerial tankers? Right now, many of these aircraft that haven’t already been sold are scheduled to be scrapped. It would be a very cost-effective way of helping our allies in the Pacific with very little risk to our own people.” Churchill noted.

“Then I will immediately send out instructions to the RAF to make several squadrons of Lancasters and any other heavy bombers that we still have available for testing for use as aerial tankers. If the testing proves to be successful, then I will authorize the conversion of these aircraft. Then we can deploy them to Singapore and Australia in support of our allies.” Marshall Sir Howard replied.

“Very good, Marshall. Hopefully, the Aussies will be able to put these aircraft to good use and finally put an end to this damned war. We need to get back to rebuilding our country after what it has already gone though.” Churchill firmly declared.

He knew that England’s troubles were far from over, even with the end of the war in Europe. With the return of British military and civil service personnel from Egypt, India and Burma, local authorities in those nations were taking control of the former British colonies. They were only the beginning, Churchill knew.

If England was fortunate, these former colonies would choose to remain friendly to it. But Churchill could not be sure, especially with Egypt. Not only were the Egyptians solidly Muslim and thus in league with the rest of the Arabs in their desire to obliterate Israel, but there was also the issue of the Suez Canal.

France had financed the construction of the Suez Canal. But the British had protected the canal ever the declaration of the Convention of Constantinople in 1888. The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 further legitimized British control of the canal.

However, there were already rumblings from the new Egyptian government that they wanted to repudiate the treaty and take back control of the strategic waterway by whatever means necessary. This concerned Churchill greatly because so much of England’s oil supply from the Middle East passed through the canal, not to mention other British shipping that used the Canal. But for now, several thousand British troops remained on post at the Canal.

Australian Ministry of Defense

Canberra, Australia

September 11, 1947

Captain Trevor Hollingsworth resumed reading through the box of documents that had been forwarded to him from I-10 after the Japanese submarine had been wrecked just off of North Faluku. The papers still reeked of smoke and diesel fuel from inside of the Japanese submarine even after they had been delivered to Trevor’s office nearly two weeks ago. Trevor was one of the Ministry’s top Japanese linguists. This was the reason why he had been selected to search through this treasure trove of Japanese documents for clues about the enemy’s biological weapons program.

The papers contained a considerable amount of valuable intelligence. But two particular documents caught Trevor’s attention most of all. He did a quick reading first and then pulled out a stack of maps to check against. After he thoroughly read through and transcribed translations of the documents onto his notes, Trevor immediately got onto the telephone and called his superiors.

“Sir, you need to get the senior leadership together immediately. They are most definitely going to want to hear about what I have just discovered.” The analyst quickly explained over the phone.

“It appears that we have the locations where these damned germ warheads are being manufactured in addition to where the weapons are being stored just prior to being deployed to sea, gentlemen.”

The half dozen generals and admirals all intently focused on Trevor as he began to explain his findings at a hastily organized meeting two hours later.

“These documents were captured from a Japanese submarine near North Faluku that was attempting to launch a suicide missile against what appears to be a target within Australia. One of the recovered documents appears to confirm other intelligence reports that the Imperial Japanese Navy has moved its main headquarters underground near Yokohama.

But what the other documents that we received tell are even more important because of the Japanese missile strikes against the Americans and against the Commonwealth. We had always suspected that the Japanese had a central site where the germ warfare agents were being produced and stored.

We now have the shipping documents showing that the weapons were placed inside of the missiles at a facility near the Yokosuka Naval Base. As expected, the facility is underground to protect it against our bombers. The specific location is under Mount Ogusu which is near the naval base.

But the laboratory and central storage facility for the weapons is located elsewhere. Again, the shipping documents from the submarine provided the key information here. The biological agents were shipped from a facility under Mount Tsurugi to the site near Yokosuka. Mount Tsurugi is located just west of Nagano.” Trevor explained as he showed the senior officers a series of recent photos of both sites.

“Very good work, Captain. These weapons have already cost the Americans tens of thousands of lives. It is only a matter of time before one of these missiles gets through to one of our major military bases, or worse, to one of our cities. Now that we know where they are coming from, we can try to eliminate them at their source.” General Mark Hammond declared.

“But do we have the means to knock out these sites? It seems like the Japanese have dug them in pretty deeply. Do we have any bombs that can reach down that far?” Admiral Thomas C. Hart: Commander of the United States Navy’s Asiatic Fleet, immediately asked.

Obviously, Admiral Hart had considerable interest in ending this threat to America as quickly as possible.

“We might be able to. But the problem is a matter of resources as well as the kind of weapons that we need to use here. I have an idea of what we might use, but there are only limited quantities of these weapons available. We would have only one good shot at this because if we fail, the Japanese will move everything to another location. Then we will have to go hunting for it again.”

“Are you inferring that we can only hit one of the two targets, General?” Admiral Hart asked.

“Yes, Admiral. I’m afraid so. We are looking at a very long distance airstrike against the chosen target. We only have a handful of bombers that can reach that far with sufficient payload. So we have to choose the target that will be most likely to permanently end the threat.” General Hammond noted.

“May I suggest that we strike at the facility near Nagano, Sir?” Trevor asked.

“Why do you feel that would be the best target, Captain?” Hammond asked.

“There are two reasons. The first is that the area around Yokosuka is very likely to be heavily defended due to the presence of the existing naval base. But the most important reason is that if we can destroy the facility that is actually making these germ weapons, we will likely end the threat altogether. The scientists who developed these horrific weapons are very likely to also be present. If these scientists are killed, that alone will set back the Japanese program by years. The destruction of the laboratory would almost be secondary to that.

If we attack Yokosuka, even if we are completely successful, the Japanese will simply move the operations from Yokosuka to someplace else and dig it in even deeper than before.”

The senior officers in the room silently thought for a few moments about what Trevor had said. Then, one by one, they nodded in agreement.

“Alright, so it is settled. Now, we have to find the means to ensure total destruction of the site at Nagano. I already have some ideas that I have to discuss with others first before we can act to end this threat.” General Hammond finally said.

Chapter Eighteen:

Oval Office, White House

Washington, DC

November 6, 1947

President Dewey stood up and walked towards the British Prime Minister to shake his hand.

“Good afternoon, Prime Minister. I’m glad that you were able to come on such short notice. The situation with Japan has not improved very much unfortunately. Our West Coast has continued to be under attack by those damned Japanese buzz bombs. Not only are our hospitals been inundated by the epidemics being spread by these weapons, but morale among the civilian population is at an all-time low.

I hate to say this, but we need your help. I know that America let England down during your struggle against the Nazis. Too many of our people simply did not want to have anything to do with another European war.

But we just don’t have the means to stop these Japanese attacks. We have tried to attack the Japanese islands with heavy bombers. But just as we were starting to have some effect, the damned Japanese started sending jet fighters up to slaughter our airmen. That has meant shifting to night attacks to avoid the fighters. But those have proven to do little more than burn down cities. The Japanese just continue to hit us.

I do understand that the Australians are working on a plan to eliminate the germ warfare attacks being launched against us and the Commonwealth. We have not been given the full details on the plan so far though.

After the bloodbath at Guam, the American people don’t have the stomach for another major land battle against the Japanese. While we did return a small amount of American territory back to our control, the price that we paid in lives at Guam almost cost me the Presidency. But we can’t just sit back and wait in Japan to come to its senses either.

I’ve already entered into an agreement with Australia to provide support for an insurgency inside of the Philippine Islands to try to drive the Japanese from our colony there. As part of the program, the United States will grant the Philippines independence upon the removal of the Japanese occupation. If we fail to stop the Japanese attacks on the US mainland or try to negotiate from anything other than a position of absolute strength, my Presidency is finished.”

“Well, we can’t have that now, can we, Mister President? What kind of help do you need?” Churchill asked.

“Ironically, you have as nearly as many battleships as well do, even after your war losses and force reductions. My Congress would not authorize replacements for most of the US Navy’s war losses except for destroyers and submarines. We could certainly use the support of your big guns to bombard Japanese positions to destroy enemy war making capability. We also need additional aircraft carrier flight decks for the same purpose. I have also pushed to build more American aircraft carriers, but Congress simply will not allocate the funds necessary. So I have to look elsewhere.”

“The United Kingdom is also equally strapped for funds. We are fighting the war in the Pacific with a bare minimum of forces. If it wasn’t for the tremendous contribution of Australia and the rest of the Commonwealth, we would have lost everything out there by now. I cannot even afford the fuel to operate additional capital ships, much less ammunition and other logistics to increase our forces in the Pacific.

So most of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force are now sitting idle at their bases or are busy preparing their equipment for scrapping.”

“Maybe I can help England out in return for your help?”

Churchill looked with great interest with what President Dewey had to offer.

“What exactly do you have in mind, Mister President?”

“I can work to forgive some of England’s war debt to the United States. That should free up some funding to put those idle ships and warplanes back into the fight against the Japanese. I can do some things via executive order like allocating fuel oil for use by your warships, but some measures will still have to be approved by my Congress.”

“Our war debt is already crushing us, President Dewey But I promise you that the more that you will be able help us get back on our feet economically, the more that England will be able to help you finally end this terrible war.”

Harold Cavill’s Home

Derby, Western Australia

December 21, 1947

“Father, we have been looking a lot at this computer database from the future of yours for the past few months now. We feel that it is absolutely vital that we are able to preserve all of this information while maintaining our ability to continue to readily access it. With this, we can use the database to manage the growth of technology and the current world political situation to avoid the final war.” Judith explained as she and the rest of her siblings sat at the dinner table with Harold. She had become the spokesperson for all of Harold’s children regarding the computer database since Harold revealed it after their mother’s funeral.

“The people who built this equipment said that it was reliable enough to have a fifty year mean time between failure, Judith. But, with the irregular nature of the power supply of this era, I couldn’t count on this equipment lasting anywhere approaching that length of time. That is why I couldn’t afford to constantly use it, Sweetheart.

There is also the issue of what going through the time portal might have done to the components. There was a lot of electromagnetic flux occurring in that area. I have always worried about the damage it might have done to the components.”

“I understand, Father. In any event, we have to build new equipment to be able to copy the information to some sort of long term storage. We also need to construct a sustainable means of accessing the data as well.”

“We don’t have the means to build the high density microprocessors, much less the solid state data storage units of my laptop computer, Judith.”

“I understand that, Father. We talked about this before. But I’m sure that we could set up a much larger device with technology from a time much closer to our own here to store and process the information that you have here. In fact, it would much better for security that we build something very large so that no one can possibly steal it or even copy it.

We will have to impose very strict limits on the number of people who can access I am proposing that we build. Even then, the only people who would have access to your ‘historical’ data would be you, myself, Beatrice, Sarah and James. You are absolutely right in believing that this information is far too dangerous to be prematurely released into the world.”

Harold was shocked at the wisdom that his children were already demonstrating. He knew from the progress with their tutors that they were all very intelligent. But the maturity that Judith and her siblings showed still caught Harold by surprise.

“That will still require some outsiders to learn technologies that are ahead of what had been the case in my original timeline.” Harold countered.

“Yes, it would. But if we break up the tasks sufficiently, it will be very difficult for any one person to be able to ascertain what it is all for. Mother took the first step already with the premature release of transistor technology. You got that information back by claiming that it was being experimental in nature while using your influence to ensure that no one could stop you.

So, we are going to be developing a lot of different ‘experimental’ technologies that are nowhere close to being ready for commercial or military use. But we will know that they do work already. We just put the pieces together privately to build a sufficiently powerful machine to hold the entire database for our use.

When the time is right, we will release certain elements of technology perhaps a few months ahead of our competitors to maintain control of it through copyrights and to add to our wealth. But we don’t want to be too obvious about gaining a monopoly on certain technologies. We want to be the Microsoft, IBM and Intel of this new timeline. We just don’t want everyone to know it. They will know that if they want a job done that involves advanced calculations, we are the people to go to for it. If they want a computer, then we will be the one to build it for them, but it will roughly match what was available technologically for the period.”

“We will have a long wait before we can be the equivalent of all those companies, Judith. Many of them will not exist for another thirty years.”

“But they don’t know that, do they?” Judith said with a knowing smile accompanying a pleasant laugh that her siblings joined in with.

“With my current age, you four are going to have to be responsible for ensuring that since I probably won’t be around by then. You know that I am a lot older than what the rest of the world thinks that I am.”

“No, Father. You are going to with us forever.” Beatrice confidently stated as she gave her father a hug.

“I am having some problems with the design of the new computer, Dad. We need to be able to take full advantage of the electronic technology of today, but to even design the most basic electric circuits is proving to be extremely difficult. Can you help us with that?” Judith asked.

“I may not be able to help. But I know something that can. Your mother was just learning about some of the advanced functions of my computer when she decided to try to market capacitor technology against my wishes. One of those pieces of advanced computer software that she started to use was an AI expert program that was on my laptop.”

“What is AI?” James asked.

“AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. Now, this doesn’t mean that my computer is sentient or has real emotions like a human being. But the AI expert software is very flexible and can help us design the most capable system based on the available technology. The interface is very user friendly and can sometimes seem to be like talking to another human being. My AI is called IDA which stands for ‘Intelligent Data Assistant’.”

“But can IDA help us design a computer that can do what we need while using components like vacuum tubes and transistors, Dad?” Judith asked.

“Well, kids. After you brought up the idea of trying to build a contemporary analogue to my computer to save the database, I put a lot of thought into the idea. I guess that it was something that I had dismissed for a long time. But maybe the current technology is advanced enough that we can perhaps build something good enough to actually save the database and operating system onto. We have an even better chance of success if we incorporate a few ‘experimental’ elements that are a few years ahead of their time. But those elements certainly have to be kept away from prying eyes. There is also the possibility that our AI can help adapt some elements of current technology in ways that maybe had not even been considered before. The AI on my computer is pretty smart, even if IDA isn’t truly sentient.”

“Of course, Dad. Are there any of the salvaged components from that little wheeled ‘robot’ that we can use to increase the capability of the new computer? They might help us build the ‘black boxes’ that would enhance the new computer’s capability.”

“There might be. We will have to look at what might still work, Sweetheart. I’m sure that we will come up with a solution to preserve the database and help keep our family in control of events as much as one family can be. But we still have to be very careful in using the technology that we have access to. It has been said that ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’.

That is what your mom forgot, unfortunately. I loved your mom very much. But, we need to do better than that.”

“We will do better than that, Dad. We promise.” Judith and her siblings all replied.

“Perhaps we can all take a break from this soon to go watch Doctor von Braun launch his latest rocket? It promises to be very exciting since it will be the first flight of his latest design.” Harold told his children after then had been working on the new computer for a couple of hours.

Needless to say, the children were all excited about the idea of watching a rocket launch, especially James.

Harold and his children quickly got into a sedan and drove about an hour to where the Cavill Rocketry Center was located. This was the facility where Werner von Braun and several of his fellow German rocket scientists had been working on new rocket designs. As they got closer to the launch site, Harold could see the rocket being prepared next to the launch gantry in the distance.

The latest rocket was already a far cry from the von Braun’s original A-5 rocket that had been militarized as the V-2 ballistic missile. The Germans at Harold’s facility now had access to far superior materials for the construction of new rockets than had been the case in wartime Germany. Harold had also quietly made some suggestions to Werner in the course of months of discussions that significantly advanced von Braun’s rocket designs.

Already, the rocket on the launch pad looked far closer in appearance with its cylindrical body to the Redstone rocket than it did to any A-5 ancestry. Even then, this rocket was at least ten percent larger than the Redstone from Harold’s original timeline and used four powerful rocket motors. The motors had been derived from the A-5’s original rocket, but used a different fuel than before.

Harold felt safe in incorporating this technological advance because of the remoteness of the rocket design site and the obscurity of the entire rocket program. There were no reporters watching near the launch site. Also, with the launches being angled to fly over the Pacific Ocean, there was no way for other nations to be able to collect the used rockets and attempt to reverse-engineer the technology in them.

Harold and his children joined Werner von Braun and his team in the reinforced concrete bunker where the controls to the launch were located. They were immediately allowed entrance by the security guard posted at the door. Doctor von Braun immediately noticed their arrival and turned to greet the Cavill’s.

“Good afternoon, Herr Cavill. I see that you brought your entire family with you for this historical event.”

“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world, Werner.” Harold replied with a smile.

“Radar reports that everything is clear. There are no aircraft flying near the rocket’s projected flight path.” A remote radar installation operator announced over the radio.

“Gut. Continue the countdown, Bitte.” Werner replied in return.

A dozen other men and women, some German but others Australian and even American, reported on the status of various technical aspects of the rocket and the launch site equipment.

Less than a minute later, Harold and his children could see smoke and flame erupt from the base of the rocket moments after a spray of water began to flow over the base of the launch pad. A couple of seconds later, the rocket began to slowly lift up from the launch gantry in a cloud of smoke, fire and steam, then climb into the sky as the ground shook from the rocket’s powerful engines.

Jubilant cheering erupted from within the launch bunker. Everyone was looking up at the top of the rising plume from the rocket. The rocket’s path took it primarily over either the Pacific Ocean or sparsely inhabited land areas. Even so, the rocket trail could be seen for hundreds of miles around.

“The rocket appears to have been a complete success. I cannot thank you enough for the suggestion of using a methane-based fuel instead of ethanol. We have had a significant improvement in both power and fuel efficiency.” Werner noted.

“I am looking forward very much to the next phase in this program. How is development of the new second stage proceeding?”

“It will be ready to fly in about four months as an independent launch. Once it has been mated and fully tested on top of the first stage that we successfully launched today, we can begin to launch the first of your satellite payloads into orbit.”

“Are you talking about the satellites that you mentioned to us earlier, Dad?” James asked.

“Yes, they are. We will begin changing the world in tremendous ways through space technology. You and your sisters are going to be a big part of that too, I’m sure.” Harold happily explained.

“You must be very proud of your children, Herr Cavill. They all appear to be very intelligent.” Werner remarked.

“Thank you, Doctor. They are all going to help change the future, hopefully for the better.” Harold remarked while exchanging a knowing smile with his children.

Werner then showed all of the equipment and explained everything to Harold and his children before they left to return back to their home.

After they left the launch bunker, Judith looked up at her father and asked, “Do we have to worry about other countries thinking that we are building ballistic missiles of our own now, Dad?”

“They might. This is why we must begin with the civilian satellite launches as quickly as possible so that we can convince everyone of our actual purpose for von Braun’s rocket program here.”

“Will we be advancing Doctor von Braun’s rocket technology with the knowledge of the data base, Dad?”

“We already have a little. I want to help him along more. But we have to make sure that he and his fellow German scientists do not share that knowledge with anyone else though. The more that we focus on space and less on hitting targets precisely on earth, the less likely that anyone will attempt to use our rockets as weapons, however.”

“You know that our government will try to push us to develop a military version, Dad. What are we going to do to avoid this?”

“We won’t build ballistic missiles with our rockets. But we can launch satellites with cameras to perform reconnaissance roles for the military and weather observation for civilian applications. We can also build communications relay satellites that can allow people to talk from one side of the world to the other.

When we emphasize these possible roles and the fact that our rockets are too expensive to use to launch high explosive bombs on targets, the authorities will soon see our point.”

“That sounds like a great idea. Obviously, these satellites did all of these things when you were a young man in the twenty-first century.” James noted.

“Yes, Son. They did all of these things and so much more too.” Harold replied as he remembered the glory years of sending research probes out into deep space to explore the solar system and beyond. He hoped that before he died that he would get to see this era of space exploration begin to happen once again.

Royal Australian Navy Base

Darwin, Australia

January 4, 1948

Colonel Harlan Burke had just flown in after conferring with senior Australian and American military officials in Canberra. Just as soon as Harlan landed at the nearby airfield, he jumped into a waiting jeep and sped towards the base headquarters.

He had radioed a few minutes ahead to have some key personnel waiting for him there. When Harlan walked into the conference room, a leather briefcase in one hand and a rolled up map in the other, nearly a dozen officers were already there.

Harlan immediately got down to business.

“As you all know, I have been flying back and forth quite a bit between here, Derby and Canberra. There have been a lot of things going on with the war in the Pacific, some of which have been very surprising.

But I do have some good news for you. Gentlemen, the rescue mission has been approved. But, we are going to have to work fast because there are some other major operations in motion that will most certainly complicate our operations very quickly. I know that you have all done a lot of the preliminary work for the operation. So now, we have no more than two weeks to accomplish this.”

“That’s not a lot of time, Sir.” Major Colin Adams complained.

“Ordinarily, I would agree with you. But I already have the necessary assets available, including air and naval support. Are we going to allow those people trapped in those damned concentration camps sit there for one day longer than we have to?”

“Hell, no! If we could, I’d run the mission tomorrow.” Pappy Gunn responded with a determined look on his face.

The others in the room soon echoed Pappy’s sentiments.

“How soon can you get our commandoes ready to go?” Harlan asked the leader of the Australian commando unit in Darwin.

“I can have them ready to move five days after you give us the final details on the operation.” Major Efren Morrison quickly replied.

“We are also going to get additional support from the Americans. They are going to assume much of the role that we have been playing in supplying and supporting the resistance movement within the Philippines. General Lim’s forces have been gathering strength in the hopes of reclaiming much of the territory that the Japanese now hold in the Philippines. Since it will be a lot of American civilians and POWs that they want to get back home, the Americans also want to play a key role in their rescue.

To that end, the Americans are providing us with a pair of escort carriers for our helicopters to operate off of. They will also be reinforcing the escorting force with an additional cruiser and another division of destroyers. The Adelaide will still be providing us with air cover while Major Gunn’s bombers will be hitting the Japanese elsewhere to keep them occupied during the rescue operation. Our heavy cruisers will be bombarding Japanese shore installations in the northern part of the Philippine Islands and watching for any significant Japanese naval response to our operations.

Any questions, gentlemen?”

“How soon, Sir?”

“We will have the American ships here in five days. They will be bringing two hundred of their Rangers to support the operation. The Rangers will be staying afterwards to work with the Philippine resistance.

So unless something else unexpected happens, we will launch the mission in seven days from today.

Good luck, Gentlemen. My prayers will be with you all. Dismissed.” Harlan concluded.

King Sound Naval Installation

Derby, Western Australia

January 11, 1948

Four Cavalier flying boats sat in the water at the flying boat ramp. All of them had their nose cargo doors open as troops and materiel were being quickly loaded inside in the hour just before nightfall. Most of these troops were Australian commandoes though a few Derby militiamen and American Rangers were also among the personnel boarding the massive six-engine aircraft.

Twenty-five tandem-rotor helicopters had flown earlier that week from the Derby airfield to a pair of waiting escort aircraft carriers just outside of King Sound. The carriers’ own complements of fixed-wing aircraft had been unloaded to make space for the helicopters. The US Army Rangers were already onboard the small carriers waiting for their first time flying aboard a helicopter. There had not been nearly enough time for the Rangers to practice aboard the helicopters unfortunately. Their commander simply told them that they would just have to learn along the way and listen carefully to the Australians manning the strange-looking aircraft.

Harold Cavill stood at the nearby pier along with Colonel Burke as they watched the final preparations for the rescue mission being finished.

“In many ways, this is going to be even more daring than the invasion of North Faluku, Harlan.” Harold noted as the last of the troops boarded the Cavaliers.

“Yes, it will be. It will also make one hell of an impact on our morale and that of the Japanese. Most importantly, if we successfully pull this off, we will be bringing back hundreds or more back to safety and freedom. They’ve been kept out there in those damned camps for far too long, Sir.”

“I know. I also know that you have been talking to Pappy Gunn quite a bit over the last couple of years about this very subject. He’s practically chomping at the bit by now.”

“Yes, he certainly is. It took me quite a bit of effort to get Pappy to fly with his bombers instead of getting onboard one of the flying boats. He and his wife still have more than a few of their friends out there.”

“My people will do their best to get those people safely out of there. You can be sure of that. Of course, none of this would be possible without all of the tools that you have given us with the Cavaliers, the helicopters and everything else that has come out of your factories.”

“We have to do what we can to bring this war to a peaceful and just resolution that will last for generations after we are gone.” Harold replied.

“Amen to that. I am certainly tired of war. I’ve lost far too many of my people already. I want for everyone to be able safely to come home.” Harlan said with a sigh before turning to walk away into the night.

This time, Harlan was not going with the troops. He would be remaining back at his headquarters in Derby. This battle would be left to others to fight on the front lines.

The darkness of that night’s new moon covered the movement of the raiders towards their targets. The ships involved in the operation had actually started their movement a couple of days earlier. The seaborne force took a more indirect route to avoid warning the Japanese of the intended targets. US Navy and Australian PBYs flew ahead of the ships to scout for enemy submarines and surface warships. The Catalina flying boats were armed with torpedoes and depth charges to strike any Japanese vessels that they encountered.

It was still only about three o’clock in the morning when the first of the helicopter groups made their first landing on Philippine soil. The first of the five helicopters landed on a clearing that had been marked by Philippine resistance forces on Cebu and Mindanao islands.

The mix of American soldiers and Philippine irregulars waiting at the landing zone were a hard scrabble lot, armed with a variety of American and captured Japanese weapons. They wore the remnants of American Army uniforms and looked like they had been on a starvation diet.

The incoming helicopters quickly landed and offloaded boxes of food, ammunition and weapons for the resistance first. Then small teams of Australian and American commandoes got out of the tandem-rotor craft before the strange-looking craft lifted back off for their next destination.

One of the Americans, a man who appeared to be in his mid-forties, immediately walked up to the newly arrived commandoes and shook the hands of the Australian and American officers.

“Hello there. You are all surely a sight for sore eyes. I’m Major Wendell Fertig, United States Army. I’ve been leading these men in fighting the Japanese ever since the Japs took Bataan and chopped off MacArthur’s head.”

“We’re glad to help, Sir. You’ve been doing a hell of a job here. As you can see, our men brought supplies for your guerillas before we start off on our own mission here.” The American captain quickly replied in spite of the noise from the helicopters.

“I heard rumors about an attempt to rescue some of the American and British internees and POWs. It is a shame that you don’t have nearly enough troops to relieve the folks at the camp at Los Banos. That is where the largest number of civilian prisoners are being held.”

“I know, Sir. But that would take a full-scale invasion to accomplish that. We’re going to be stepping up support for you and your people though. That includes more supplied and fresh troops. My Rangers are among the toughest soldiers in the entire Army.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Captain. We appreciate all the help that we can get from back home.” Major Fertig replied back, holding back a grimace at the realization that America wasn’t planning on sending a full-scale relief expedition to take the Philippines back from the Japanese.

“The brass in DC believe that between the added pressure that a resurgent resistance would place on the Japanese occupation here and the cutting off of supplies from Japan by our aircraft and subs, the Japs will have no choice but to abandon the Philippines.”

“I certainly hope that you are right, Captain. Hopefully, these new aircraft of yours will make a difference here. They are certainly very different than what we had available when the Japs invaded.” The weary guerilla leader replied as he watched the helicopters begin to leave.

After the last helicopter left, the new arrivals gathered together. The young, but tough-looking American Army Rangers carried a variety of weapons with them. They were led by a captain armed with an M-1 carbine while the rest of his platoon carried a mix of M-1 Garand battle rifles, Thompson submachine guns and Browning Automatic Rifles, also known as BAR’s.

The rest of the troops that got off the helicopters were a combination of Australian Army commandoes and Derby militia soldiers. They were all armed with CR-1 assault rifles along with a variety of grenade launchers and other specialized weapons.

The American captain then walked up to the leader of the Australians and introduced himself.

“Hello, there. I’m Paul Cook. We didn’t get much of a chance to talk before we were transferred to that baby flattop for the journey here.”

“’Ello, Mate. I’m Captain Eugene Wells. Everyone here calls me Gene though. This mission was put together very quickly, but my lads here are no strangers to this area. We’ve been here on the islands a couple of times already dropping off supplies to your people here. It will be good to help you get some of your people out of this hellhole though. The Japs are getting pretty desperate now.”

“Yes. We’ve lost a lot of people back home because of these damned suicide missiles of theirs that have been dropping lethal gases and diseases up and down our West Coast. I want to do what I can to get this damned war over.”

“Yes, mate. We all would like to get back to some sense of a normal life back home, I’m sure. But at least we haven’t had it as bad as the people who we are here to rescue. I hear that they have barely had anything to eat for quite a while.”

“Yea. I heard the same thing. I suppose that the Japs haven’t been particularly anxious to share from their own food rations, especially with our subs sinking so many Jap ships during the past few years.”

“Well, we better get on the move. We have a few kilometers left to go to the internment camp before the helicopters come back after their last supply drop. Then they will have enough room inside for us and the people that we are here to rescue.”

The commandoes silent walked through the Philippine jungle until they saw the lights of the camp. The Japanese had a few electric lamps set up along the camp perimeter in addition to their huts to illuminate them. Half a dozen guard towers also ringed the camp perimeter. All were manned by Japanese soldiers with two of the towers also being armed with a light machine gun.

The commandoes quickly took their positions watching the guard towers when the first sounds of the incoming helicopters were heard. Helicopters were still very new so few people were familiar with what the aircraft sounded like or what they were capable of.

The Japanese guards looked around at the skies in confusion when they first heard the sounds of the incoming helicopters. They had never heard the distinctive sounds of the huge rotors. The distraction of the guards gave the commandoes on the ground the opportunity to strike.

“William, go ahead and take out those guards on the towers. But remember, we have to be quiet. We don’t want the Japs to know that we are already down here.” Captain Wells instructed one of his scouts.

“Fair dinkum, Sir.” The young aborigine soldier answered with a smile.

William pulled out what appeared to be a medieval crossbow but with a telescopic sight on it. Then he cocked it by pulling back the weapon’s string, affixed a short arrow to it and carefully aimed at the Japanese guard manning the machine gun on the tower. A quiet twang of the crossbow’s string was heard before the Japanese guard fell with a crossbow bolt transfixed through his chest.

The assistant gunner for the machine gun was apparently asleep at the time. He woke up to the sound of the dying gunner falling down. The time that the guard took to realize what had happened gave William enough time to cock his crossbow once again and fire another bolt to neutralize that Japanese soldier as well.

On the other side of the camp, another Australian soldier used a crossbow to dispatch the Japanese guard in the other machine gun-armed tower. Unfortunately, the other guard at that tower was more alert and shouted out an alarm. This spurred firing from the other towers blindly out into the jungle.

After the first shots were fired, several of the Australian soldiers began using their grenade throwers to lob mini-grenades silently into the remaining guard towers and other Japanese positions. The explosions woke up the rest of the Japanese in the camp, who came rushing out in whatever clothing they had on to grab their weapons.

Arriving a few seconds later, the helicopters began to hover just outside of the camp perimeter in preparation for the commandoes to assault.

Gunners in the side doors of the helicopters were armed with Browning thirty-caliber machine guns. Any standing guard towers or troop concentrations were quickly met with a hail of automatic gunfire from the helicopters as soon as they got in sight.

A few of the Japanese guards tried to fire back. But as soon as they opened fire, return fire from the helicopters and the commandoes already on the ground utterly overwhelmed the guards.

After a few minutes of silence, the commandoes enter the camp.

“Everyone, we are American and Australian soldiers here to take all of you to freedom.” Captain Wells began to announce as he walked through the camp. His call was soon echoed by both Australian and American soldiers. Nervous internees started to finally come out of the various huts after a few moments. They all appeared to be severely malnourished.

“We need to hurry and leave here to a place where you all can be transported before the Japanese can send reinforcements. Please point out where any of you are located who need help moving.” Captain Wells calmly but quickly told a group of internees that had gathered together.

Long lines of men, women and children were soon proceeding towards where the helicopters had landed. Allied soldiers followed along carrying litters loaded with internees who were unable to walk due to illness or injuries.

There were far more internees than the helicopters could carry in a single trip though in spite of how thin the internees were after several years of Japanese imprisonment.

“Let’s get the women, children and the sick loaded up first. Our aircraft will come back for the rest of you as quickly as possible.” The rescuers told the internees at the landing zone.

It took over three hours of continuous flights before all of the internees and their rescuers could be evacuated from the nearby Martina Airfield where transport aircraft from North Faluku had been quickly dispatched to assist.

This scene was repeated in all five of the internment camps that were targeted. The camp located at the Davao Penal Colony where American POWs were being held was contested far more vigorously by the Japanese. Even though a couple of the Australian helicopters took hits from Japanese machine gun fire and there were several casualties among the rescuers, more than one thousand emaciated American POWs were rescued by air and by sea.

Unfortunately, the large internment camp at Santo Tomas could not be rescued because it was so close to Manila and the heavy Japanese forces there.

When the escort carriers returned to Darwin several days later, Pappy Gunn and his entire family were there waiting at the docks. The former internees who were in the worst physical condition had been flown by helicopter to Australian hospitals just as soon as the carriers got into range. But there were still hundreds of grateful Americans and British civilians and soldiers onboard when the carriers docked.

The gangways were quickly raised to the ships’ main decks for the crowds of former internees to begin the last leg of their journey to freedom.

“I’m glad that see that you finally got out of that hellhole.” Pappy said to one of the rescued Army Air Corps pilots that had been stranded in the Philippines after MacArthur’s surrender.

“It was about time that you people decided to come get us. I was starting to acquire a taste for Japanese food.” Captain Alan Hale sarcastically replied.

“You two men play nice. We got you as quickly as we could. Besides, you know the brass didn’t want to let Pappy out of their sight for fear of all of the mischief that he is prone to get into anyways.” Polly Gunn, Pappy’s wife, interjected.

Polly had finally gained back most of the weight that she had lost during the time that she and her children had been held in an internment camp themselves before escaping.

“I just hope that the people that we weren’t able to rescue don’t end up paying for this mission’s success. The Japs are certainly vindictive as hell.” Pappy grimly noted before the smile broke out on his face again at the appearance of another one of his Army friends.

“I wish that we could have gotten you and all of the others out of these hellholes. We just don’t have enough people or resources just yet. But hopefully, this operation will shake up the Japs and convince them to leave the Philippines once and for all.”

“Fortunately, we didn’t lose many men in the operations. The Japs appear to have also taken the bait when our cruisers hit them up north. We hit their warships pretty hard that came out to fight with our bombers and strafers.” Pappy replied.

“How many Jap warships did you hit, Pappy?” Hale asked.

“I don’t have the final tally yet. But my pilots have reported that we sank two Jap cruisers and at least half a dozen of their escorts. We also damaged at least dozen other Jap ships including several transports before their fighters were able to scramble to intercept us.

Most of our losses were to Jap fighters, though we knocked down a few of them in return ourselves.” the veteran pilot explained.

“I just wish that we could have gotten the people out of Santo Tomas. We are going to have a hell of a time trying to rescue them.” Polly added.

“I know, Sweetheart. But maybe all of the fuss that we raised with this raid will make the Japs move their troops around and make it easier for General Lim’s people. The more territory that the resistance can reclaim and the more Japs that our people can kill, the faster we can free all of the Philippines.” Pappy explained.

“But I still worry about the ones that our people had to leave behind, Pappy. I’ve seen far too much of the brutality that the Japanese inflict upon their prisoners from the time that I was in that damned internment camp.

A lot of people are going to suffer, I’m afraid.” Polly sadly said.

“I’m afraid that I am going to have to agree, Captain Gunn. The Japs are going to want revenge after the success of your rescue mission. Unfortunately, the only people that are going to be available for the Japs to take their anger out on are going to be the remaining prisoners and Philippine civilians.

I know that you guys did the best that you could. You have probably saved the lives of a lot of innocent people too.  You are just going to have say a lot of prayers for the ones that were left behind. Hopefully, General Lim can get the rest of them out soon.” Hale grimly remarked.

On the other side, the Japanese military governor of the Philippines, Tomobumi Yamashita, was extremely upset by the news of the multiple raids. He paced around his office in Manila contemplating what his next move would be.

The situation was already very difficult with supplies in short supply. Virtually every supply convoy coming from Japan had been savaged by either Allied aircraft or submarines. General Yamashita was charged with defending the Philippines from American forces attempting to recapture the islands from Japanese occupation. This required considerable efforts put into fortifying the archipelago.

The Japanese used mostly forced labor to build these fortifications, mostly Philippine civilians or Allied prisoners of war. This was because Japanese troops were focused on dealing with the various insurgent groups and manning defensive positions to oppose the expected invasion.

The constant and increasing number of insurgent attacks were slowly sapping away at General Yamashita’s troop strength. He had resorted to punitive executions of civilians to attempt to put down the insurgents. But these war crimes only served to make the resistance movement even more determined.

Yamashita’s operations officer, Colonel Shira Toyoda stood at attention, waiting on his commander to stop pacing and give him an order. Colonel Toyoda had been the soldier who had to inform General Yamashita of the bad news.

Finally, General Yamashita stopped pacing, turned to face Colonel Toyoda and then spoke in a harsh tone that reflected his anger and frustration.

“Bakayaro! We had enough problems already without this happening. Tell me, what were our losses as a result of the ‘gaijin’ attack?”

Colonel Toyoda wasn’t sure if Yamashita was calling him a SOB or if he was referring to the Allies who attacked them. But, he was obligated under warrior’s code of Bushida to obey his commander regardless.

“In the more than ten camps hit by these ‘bandits’, virtually the entire guard forces of the camps were massacred. Some of our troops were able to escape into the jungle. But all that stood and fought were killed. We don’t have the exact numbers of losses yet, but believe that they are more than three hundred dead.”

General Yamashita seethed with anger at the news of even more losses among his ever shrinking command. Colonel Toyoda continued to report on the action of the past few days.

“We were hit by an enemy task force northeast of the Philippine Island that consisted of at least one aircraft carrier, several cruisers and multiple escorts. Our warships engaged this force in the belief that it was supporting a possible invasion force in the north. Instead, our ships were hit by heavy enemy air attacks by land-based aircraft.”

“What were our losses, Taisa?”

“The cruisers Agano and Nagara along with five destroyers were sunk along with three transports. Another four destroyers and three transports were hit and damaged by enemy air attacks also.”

“Did we inflict any losses among the enemy aircraft, Taisa?”

“Hai. We shot down two of their bombers and another three of their fighters, Sir.” Toyoda answered with an even voice.

“So, ka. Is that all?” Yamashira growled angrily.

“The enemy aircraft caught us at a disadvantage and ambushed our fighters that tried to protect our shipping. Other enemy bombers hit our airfields and heavily damaged many of our aircraft there as well, Sir.

I am afraid that we have also had five other attacks on internment camps for enemy civilians by the insurgents since the main enemy raids. They killed nearly one hundred of our soldiers and released another five hundred prisoners, Sir.”

General Yamashita stood there, fists clenched in utter fury. He knew that he needed to hold the Philippines because that was his duty to the Emperor. But this task was becoming more difficult each passing day with the losses of equipment and personnel. Morale among the troops was also suffering with the constant attacks. Everyone was hungry, not just the Philippine civilians.

General Yamashita knew that something drastic needed to be done.

“The gaijin must pay for this outrage against Japanese honor. Take all of the enemy internees and put them to work on our fortifications alongside the prisoners of war. The camps will also be consolidated near our main garrisons so that we can guard the enemy prisoners against any more rescue attempts.”

“You want the women, children and even the elderly to be put into work camps, Sir?”

“Hai, no exceptions, not even for the sick. They will all work or die. We cannot spare any more of our soldiers for anything other than fighting.” Yamashita bitterly replied.

“I will implement your orders starting tomorrow morning, Sir.” Toyoda responded forcefully while saluting General Yamashita. Once the general returned his salute, Colonel Toyoda immediately did an about-face and left the office.

Those orders would soon lead to the brutal deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of Philippine and Western prisoners over the course of the next few months.

Chapter Nineteen:

Cavill Industries Headquarters

Derby, Western Australia

January 13, 1948

“We’ve finally found the source of the Japanese germ weapons. They are coming from an underground facility near the base of Mount Tsurugi is located just west of Nagano on the island of Hokkaido. If we destroy it, we will cripple their entire program. We may even destroy that Jap program completely if we are lucky and our reports are correct.” General Hammond explained during a hastily called meeting of personnel, mostly military but also including one civilian.

“That is excellent news, General. I had suspected this to be the case. I simply did not know the exact location. How can I help you?” Harold asked.

“I don’t know how we destroy this facility with our current weapons if it is buried under a mountain? We don’t anything that can penetrate that deeply into the ground. Plus, we will need a degree of accuracy that will be very difficult to obtain with conventional bombs.”

“We already have a solution on the way, General. My company has a pair of ships coming here from England loaded with Tallboy penetrating bombs. They will provide us with the ability to penetrate to the depth necessary to destroy these facilities. But since we cannot launch hundreds of bombers loaded with these powerful weapons, we have to make each one count. So once the Tallboys arrive here in Australia, we are going to modify them with new tail units that will allow us to control them via radio control from our bombers.”

General Hammond was shocked to learn that Harold was aware of the situation and had already started developing a solution. But the general did not know that Harold had been discussing the situation with Colonel Burke ever since the first of the Japanese biological weapons attacks.

“How long would it take before you can receive these bombs and get them ready for use, Mister Cavill?”

“Five to seven days, I would estimate. I already have the modification kits ready. So all we have to do is install them. We will only have a limited number of bombs, so we won’t get to test them before use, I’m afraid. But based on the performance of our earlier radio-guided bombs and our wind tunnel testing of the tail control unit configuration, they should do very well. Of greater importance, we have only a limited number of our heavy Cassowary bombers that are able to carry the Tallboy the necessary distance. Even then, they will require mid-air refueling to accomplish the mission.”

“How many of these aircraft do you have available, Sir?”

“We have six operational bombers plus one prototype version that has been configured for maritime and strategic photo recon. These aircraft all already have been equipped for aerial refueling.” Harold replied.

“Do you think that they will be enough?”

“To strike one hardened underground target? Probably. To try to strike more than one target at the same time? I seriously doubt it. There are just too many variables involved, General.”

“Then we must select our target aimpoint very carefully to maximize the effectiveness of our attack, Mister Cavill. We must find a way to stop these Japanese germ weapons before they finally succeed in hitting us.”

RAAF Cassowary Heavy Bomber

Flying southeast of Hokkaido, Japan

January 21, 1948

“The last of our refueling hookups is complete. Now for the interesting part.” Major Carl Carroll said as he watched the Lancaster pull away. The RAAF bomber had been converted into an aerial tanker using a refueling drogue trailing behind it and extra fuel tanks in its bomb bay. Now the converted bomber was heading back south to land and refuel along with its five companions.

A seventh Cassowary was also part of the mission. This was the prototype bomber that had been used as a testbed for several new systems by Cavill Aviation during the past couple of years. In its current configuration, this aircraft was operating as a maritime reconnaissance bomber with a ground mapping radar and a variety of high-resolution cameras. It also carried Window to combat Japanese surveillance radar and radio jammers to confuse Japanese communications. Window was a British development where packets of thin metal strips were dropped from aircraft and saturated any radar image with thousands of false returns.

Unlike the other heavy bombers, the seventh Cassowary was also carrying extra fuel in its bomb bay so that it would not require aerial refueling for the mission against the Japanese biological weapons facility.

All seven of these large aircraft had lifted off several hours earlier from an airfield near Darwin. They had been accompanied by four other Lancasters that had been fitted to also be aerial tankers. These four Lancaster bombers had transferred the fuel from their bomb bay fuel tanks into the Cassowary’s and the fifth Lancaster tanker hours earlier and then turned to fly back home. The fifth Lancaster had its own aerial refueling receptacle which enabled it to fly along with the Cassowary’s during the last leg of the mission.

The flight of six Cassowary’s, each carrying a single six-thousand kilogram radio-guided penetrating bomb, was only five minutes away from its target. The weapon that they were carrying was derived from the existing Tallboy penetrating bomb. Only these bombs had been modified with a radio-guidance control tail kit. Ahead of the Cassowary’s flew four Mosquito pathfinder fighter-bombers. To give the Mosquitos the necessary range to reach the target, they had been loaded onto HMAS Melbourne a week earlier for the operation.

The Mosquitos were launched from the Australian aircraft carrier armed with a combination of incendiary bombs for marking the target and twenty-millimeter cannons in the event that they had to fight Japanese interceptors. After the Mosquitos marked the target for the Cassowary’s, the plan was for the swift wooden fighter-bombers to fly back towards Guam rather than risk a landing in China or on Melbourne.

Major Carroll’s heavy bomber and its companions continued to climb to as close to their service ceiling as possible. This was done to reduce the chance of interception by Japanese fighters and to allow the modified Tallboy’s with the radio-guidance kits to reach the maximum velocity possible upon impact.

The two groups of aircraft carefully timed their approaches so that the Pathfinders would arrive on target less than a minute before the bombers did. But this all had to be done with a minimum of radio communications to avoid detection by Japanese radio interception receivers.

“We have the target in sight. Marking now with incendiaries.” Reported the lead pilot of the Pathfinders.

The use of the incendiaries to mark the target was intended to increase the accuracy of the drop. The mission planners could have tried to make the drop based on new bombing radars that had been installed on the Cassowary’s. But accuracy was a critical element for this particular target. There were some who felt that the smoke from the incendiaries would cause problems for the Tallboy’s radio command guidance system. But Harold’s engineers and test crews assured the Australian military leaders that accuracy would not be affected.

The four Mosquito pathfinders roared at low level over the target and dropped multiple incendiary clusters on top of where intelligence photos indicated that the main underground chambers should be.

“Right on target, mates. Great job! But now, we’ve got Jap fighters coming our way.” The first Mosquito’s navigator called over the aircraft intercom.

“Well, let’s get the hell out of here and try to lure them down low away from the big boys.” His pilot replied as he turned towards the southwest, followed immediately by the other three fighter-bombers.

As the pathfinders raced away from Nagano, the six Cassowary’s came in for their bomb runs at over thirty-thousand feet altitude. They lined up in a straight column directly towards their target. The Japanese anti-aircraft guns began to fire, but few of their guns could reach the height that the bombers were coming in from. Several shells burst near the Australian bombers, but none were close enough to do any damage.

The lead bomber soon reached the ‘basket’ where the Tallboy could be successfully dropped and guided to its target. Immediately, the Cassowary’s bomb bay doors opened up and the massive guided bomb released. Because of the velocity of the bomber and the altitude of the drop, the Tallboy was actually released several miles away from the actual target.

Lightened by over six thousand kilograms, the first Cassowary immediately began to climb higher. Her pilot then turned back towards the southeast, clearing the path for the next bomber in the stream. The bombardier took control of the Tallboy within a few seconds of the drop, using one of three different available radio command channels. Each bomber had its own set of command channels to avoid interfering with other bombs and to maintain control in the event of Japanese radio jamming.

Twenty seconds later, the next bomber dropped its payload and repeated the maneuver of its predecessor. The last four Cassowary’s were able to release their payloads even before the first weapon reached its target at about the same interval to avoid interfering with each other’s weapons. The streamlined form of the Tallboy bombs allowed each weapon to actually break the speed of sound on the way down, maximizing each weapon’s ability to penetrate into the underground target.

The first of the modified Tallboy penetrating bombs hit less than fifty meters from its intended aimpoint. The sheer impact force of the bomb driving deep within the rocky soil at the base of the mountain collapsed several tunnels even before the twenty-four hundred kilogram Topex warhead went off.

A few seconds later, a second Tallboy hit even closer to the designated aimpoint after passing through the dust and smoke cloud from the first impact. The hardened case of the heavy bomb penetrated even deeper into the fractured rock before its warhead exploded. In rapid succession, four more of these modified Tallboys hammered through the surface above the Japanese biological weapons factory.

Fire and high velocity shockwaves roared through the many chambers of the underground complex. The shockwaves were so powerful that they compressed and heated the air inside sufficiently to ignite much of what was inside the complex.

What none of the Commonwealth strike planners knew was that the complex was also being used as a large munitions storage facility in addition to the biological weapons production laboratory. The last Tallboy punched so deeply into the Japanese underground complex that it went down below the biological weapons level and into the munitions storage.

A series of massive explosions began to erupt underneath the ground, finally breaking through the surface with a towering cloud of dust, smoke and debris. It also hurled high into the air, the contents of more than twenty biological warheads that were in one of the upper chambers being prepared for transport.

“Oh my God! We hit something really big down there.” The bombardier of the Captain Carroll’s Cassowary said after seeing the first impacts and then the beginning of the secondary explosions.

But the six Cassowary’s did not wait to see the results of their bombing run. They were quickly heading back to the southeast for a rendezvous with another set of Lancaster tankers for the trip home. The seventh Cassowary, the prototype maritime reconnaissance version, however circled overhead for a few minutes longer, taking photos of the target area. It too, then left the area, flying high above where any conventional Japanese fighters could reach it.

A pair of Kikka jet fighters did sortie from an airfield near Yokosuka, but could not reach any of the retreating bombers before running short of fuel. The Kikka’s then had to turn around and return to their base emptyhanded.

Over eight hours and one mid-air refueling later, all seven Cassowary’s returned to their base near Darwin. As soon as the recon bird landed, crews rushed out to retrieve the aircraft’s photo canisters. The canisters were taken immediately to the base photo lab for processing. The intelligence analysts at the base were eagerly waiting to see what the post-attack photos showed.

Less than an hour after all of the aircraft from the strike landed, the photos taken were in a packet on the way to the base headquarters for analysis.

The base conference room was already crowded with senior Australian and American officers in addition to several military intelligence analysts. The lead pilot of the Nagano raid was also there for the meeting to provide feedback.

“That is one hell of a big hole in the ground. I know that the Tallboy is designed to create large craters in the ground. But still, there had to have been a lot more than a laboratory inside of that mountain.” Said an American Army Air Corps colonel after quickly looking at the photos.

“The photos show a series of large secondary explosions following the impact of the last two bombs. My assessment is that the Japanese also used the facility as a munitions storage site in addition to the biological warfare site that we had already determined was present.” Replied one of the photo analysts after carefully examining the photos with the aid of a magnifier. Unlike most of the people in the conference room, Edward Starnes wore civilian clothes because he was not in the military. Instead, he was a civilian working for the Australian Ministry of Defense as a photo analyst.

“Will the explosions have destroyed all of that germ warfare shit? I’m sure that we have thoroughly demolished the facility that the Japs were using to make it. But is it all gone now?” General Hammond asked.

“There’s really no way to tell from here, Sir. Of course, there is still the possible storage site at Yokosuka. I am just wondering what sort of impact this raid will have on the Japanese themselves, especially if anything from the laboratories survived the explosions and escaped into the outside environment.” Edward answered after a few moments.

“Are we going to target the facility at Yokosuka now before the Japanese can react? They could still have some of those damned germ weapons inside.” One of the American officers asked.

“We will have to prepare more Tallboys first. But that will not take very long at all since their conversion to radio guidance is already in progress. Of course, the Japanese defenses will be much more prepared for this sort of attack this time.”

“What about the Pathfinders? There is no way in hell that we will be able to get more Mosquitos loaded aboard a carrier in less than two weeks, much less only a couple of days.”  One of the Australian admirals noted.

“I don’t think that we need Pathfinders this time, Sir. If anything, the smoke from their incendiaries obscured the target unnecessarily in my view. My bombardiers can hit the target just fine without them, I’m sure.” Major Carroll said from the back of the room.

“That still doesn’t address the problem of Japanese defenses. They have to be looking for your bombers now.”

“I understand that, mate. Perhaps we can give them something else to look at instead? A diversionary raid elsewhere in Japan could work quite nicely.” The Cassowary pilot explained.

“We’ve got five squadrons of Liberators now on Guam. We can put them all over Tokyo whenever you need them if it will shorten this damned war by one day. Besides, there are always good targets to hit in Tokyo, aren’t there?

But there is one small problem. You did say that you saw Japanese jet fighters after you had made your bomb run, didn’t you? My pilots are going to need some protection from them as well. I don’t relish the idea of my bombers getting chopped up just like the Brits were when the Germans started using their jet fighters.” Colonel Joshua King commented. He had been the officer who commented earlier about the amount of damage that the Tallboy bombs had inflicted at the bunker.

“I think that we have a potential solution for that little problem, Colonel. We could prove you with some fighter protection from our carrier, Colonel. We do still have three full squadrons of Dragonfly fighter-bombers aboard Melbourne even after she launched those pathfinders earlier.”

“Well, Hell!!! It looks like we have us a plan if the rest of you gentlemen agree.” Colonel King remarked.

“It does seem that we have all of the necessary pieces. But we must still act very quickly if we are going to take full advantage of the situation. Once the Japanese realize the vulnerability of their main underground sites, who knows where they will move the remainder of their germ and chemical weapons?”

“Then get your staffs working on the next operation right now. We are certainly going to have to burn the midnight oil here for the next few nights.” General Hammond informed the room before dismissing them.

Kure Navy Yard

Kure, Japan

January 23, 1948

Admiral Yamamoto was visibly shaken after the initial reports of what had happened at Nagano. He had only left there a few hours prior to visit Kure. But the commander of what was left of the Imperial Combined Fleet was still close enough to see the towering cloud of smoke and debris. Some people even thought that the mountain had erupted from what they had seen in the sky.

The senior Japanese leadership had been rocked earlier by the news of the raid upon the internment and POW camps in the Philippines. Initially, Japanese troops there fanned out into the jungles to find any of the escapees and the guerillas who had assisted in their escape.

But when spread out into small units in the jungle, the Japanese forces repeatedly were ambushed by well-armed guerillas supported by fresh American Rangers. They quickly drove the Japanese back towards Luzon and Manila, leaving virtually all of Mindanao Island and the southern portion of Cebu Island under the effective control of the Philippine resistance led by General Vicente Lim. Additional flights of supplies flowed into the liberated areas of the Philippines.

In response to the insurgent offensive, the Japanese launched a renewed campaign of brutality against the people in Luzon and especially against the prisoners within the internment and POW camps. This only spurred the Philippine resistance to push even harder to take control of even more territory and create places of safety for the Philippine people. It was going to take time, but General Lim’s guerillas were determined to recapture all of their country back from the Japanese and eliminate all Japanese resistance there.

The rest of the Allies continued to attack Japanese forces elsewhere. The Allies refused to make any additional amphibious assaults against heavily-fortified Japanese-occupied islands. The butcher’s bill at Guam was enough to deter that. But US Navy warships, now reinforced by newly arrived Royal Navy vessels launched strikes against both major Japanese bases in the Pacific and targets on the Japanese mainland.  This included both airstrikes launched from carriers and naval bombardments carried out by warships.

American heavy bombers were finally given permission to build more airbases in eastern China to increase the number and size of bombing raids against the Japanese home islands also.  Life in Japan was becoming increasingly desperate. Many older aircraft were being converted into flying bombs for use in kamikaze attacks against Allied warships.

At the moment, Admiral Yamamoto was being briefed by a naval intelligence officer who happened to be in the vicinity of Nagano at the time of the attack. The officer was very lucky to have been upwind of the contamination plume from the explosions. Lieutenant Noroshi Yaguro then quickly found transportation to a nearby airfield where he obtained additional information. Because of the urgency of the situation and the fact that no one else seemed to have an idea about what happened in Nagano, Lieutenant Yaguro was immediately ordered to Kure to brief Yamamoto.

“The special weapons site at Nagano was attacked by a small flight of six-engine bombers according to the pilots of the Kikka’s that were able to close within visual range before being forced to turn back. The Kikka’s were running out of fuel by then. The only operators of six-engine heavy bombers are the Australians. These bombers used extremely heavy bombers to penetrate deep within our underground facilities before exploding. We believe that these are the same bombs that the English used against certain very well protected German targets during the European conflict. The gaijin were able to achieve exceptional accuracy with their bombs, perhaps due to the light bombers that flew in first to mark the targets.” Lieutenant Yaguro explained.

Apparently, the Japanese had not yet realized that the Tallboys had been radio-guided to their targets. The Allied use of Pathfinders had inadvertently deceived the Japanese as to the true nature of the raid’s accuracy.

“Taishō, the attack by the Australians has been far more devastating than we dared imagine. The facilities at Mount Tsurugi were being visited by a delegation of very senior government officials including members of the Imperial Family and Prime Minister Tojo.” A second Japanese officer, this one wearing the dress uniform of the Japanese Imperial Army, announced in a grim voice.

There was an audible gasp in the room in spite of the traditional stoic demeanor of Japanese military leaders.

“What have the casualties been among the military leaders and the Imperial Family from this attack?” Yamamoto quickly asked.

“Prime Minister Tojo, the Prince and Princess Consort have been confirmed to be among the dead. There have been at least three thousand others who have also already died already as well. Taishō.”

Shock filled the room at the news of the deaths of Emperor Hirohito’s heir and the country’s Prime Minister. Even though General Tojo and Admiral Yamamoto frequently argued about the course of the war, the news was still devastating even to the head of the Combined Fleet. But Yamamoto still had other concerns to consider at this time.

“There any danger to Tokyo at this time?”

“The winds are moving generally northwesterly as is normal for this time of the year. The cloud from the impact site is spreading contamination from Nagano across the country towards Toyama.”

The men in the room breathed a sigh of relief because Tokyo and the Emperor were upwind from the danger zone. Little attention was being paid to the hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians who were now in danger of infection by the biological agents that had been stored inside the shattered mountain.

Of course, no one in that room had any idea what would happen next, especially when they began to hear the air raid alarm going off.

“What is happening?” Yamamoto quickly asked.

There was considerable confusion as aides attempted to learn more about the threat at the same time that Yamamoto and the remaining senior naval officers were being quickly shuffled off to a nearby bomb shelter. After a few minutes, a young officer ran in with information that he immediately presented after going to the position of attention.

“Taishō, there is a large formation of enemy heavy bombers flying towards Tokyo. There are more than seventy enemy aircraft, including a significant fighter escort. The fighter aircraft are similar to our new Shinden fighters in appearance.”

“That means that the Americans are attacking us this time. That means that Tokyo will probably be hit with those damned fire bombs again. The fighters have to come from an Australian aircraft carrier though based on the description. I wonder what the Americans’ specific target is today?”

Yamamoto thought silently for a few moments before asking a question.

“Where is the Emperor now?”

“The Emperor is visiting our personnel at Yokosuka today, Taishō.” The aide answered while still ramrod straight at attention.

“At least he is safe at the moment.” One of the other officers present remarked.

“We need to send as many fighters as possible to intercept these gaijin attackers to send them the message that we are still quite capable of defending ourselves. This includes all of our operational Kikka jet fighters.” Yamamoto ordered.

The orders were immediately sent out to the various Japanese Army and Navy airbases. Yamamoto was one of the most senior Japanese military officials still alive after what had happened in Nagano.

Within twenty minutes, the skies over Tokyo were filled with aircraft firing at each other. Hundreds of bombs, mostly incendiary devices, still rained upon Japan’s capital city. But they were not the only things falling out of the skies. Black plumes trailing dying aircraft from both sides also could be seen falling downward as well.

But as the fight raged over Tokyo, the headquarters at Kure received additional information.

“Taishō, we just received information from ground observers that another small group of large aircraft were just sighted near Yokosuka. These aircraft were very large six-engine aircraft.” The reporting officer explained.

Yamamoto instantly realized the significance of the sighting.

“Redirect the Kikka’s to Yokosuka immediately. Those bombers are about to hit the underground base there with those damned heavy bombs. The Emperor is in grave danger!” He immediately ordered.

It was already too late. Major Carroll’s bombers hit their target with near-pinpoint accuracy. While there were only a relatively small number of the biological warfare warheads present within the tunnels of the Yokosuka base, there were large tanks of phosgene and mustard agent inside along with thousands of tons of munitions. Those bombs and explosive shells were meant for use by the surviving units of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

So, instead of the cloud of disease-carrying material that spread over Nagano and the thousands of square kilometers surrounding it, this cloud that enveloped Yokosuka was a lethal soup of chemical agents that sickened and killed all that it touched.

Emperor Hirohito had little warning when the first massive explosions rumbled out from the base of Mount Ogusu. Less than a minute after the last bomb hit, the cloud had already reached the last emperor of Japan. Two minutes later, he was among the thousands of dead in Yokosuka. Within the next two weeks, more than two hundred thousand Japanese would be sick, dead or dying as a result of the lethal agents that had been stored in the two underground facilities.

Darwin Military Airfield

Darwin, Western Australia

January 24, 1948

Colonel Harlan Burke landed at the airfield just after daybreak and quickly got into a truck to ride to the airfield’s headquarters. Once there, he quickly walked inside to the S-2 office to find that the base intelligence officer and several analysts looking over dozens of aerial photos that had been freshly developed.

“Hello, Gent’s. How did we do on the bombing raid at Yokosuka?” Harlan asked as he started to look at the photos himself.

We can’t be sure, but the immediate reports from our recon Cassowary of numerous secondary explosions indicate very heavy damage to the facility, Sir. We are closely looking at the photos that the Cassowary also took to get a better assessment of the damage. We have also received a flurry of Japanese radio message traffic indicating something may have happened to the Imperial family also.” Lieutenant Colonel Marc Anderson, the base intelligence officer replied.

“Are you sending any more aircraft over Yokosuka to get a second look there?”

“Yes, we do plan on it. We are right now organizing a mission in coordination with our allies. They want to know more about what happened to the Japs as a result of our two bombing raids on their germ warfare sites too.”

“I’m sure that they are all very interested in stopping those attacks, especially the Americans. Their West Coast has been hit very hard by those Jap germ suicide bombs.

But what will happen if we actually did kill the Japanese Emperor and his family?  Will the Japanese finally surrender or are they going to fight to the bitter end instead? We have already seen a growing number of suicide attacks by Japanese aircraft against Allied warships, not the mention how Japanese soldiers basically fought to the death when the Americans landed to retake Guam. That sort of fanaticism cost the Americans a lot of lives there.”

“We don’t know yet, Sir. There is a lot of confusion in the Japanese radio communications, both military and civilian. Getting information from the military transmissions is a bit slower because of the need to decode them, of course. But the military seems to be possibly split on how to proceed, based on what we have learned so far.” Anderson explained.

“No worries, Colonel. If we have managed to stop the germ attacks, then we will just wait the bastards out until they are starved into submission. I don’t see any need to go invading that damned place, especially now.”

“I just want to get this damned war over with, Sir. I’ve seen enough bloody killing for a lifetime already.”

“I’m afraid that the dead are the only ones who have seen the last of war. I read that somewhere, but it still rings true even now. But perhaps we can do something else to make war a lot less frequent and even less devastating for the innocents out there who suffer the most from it.”

“A lot of Japanese women and children are going to die from our bombing raids on their home islands until their leaders finally decide to end this war, I’m afraid. Even the limited number of American bombers hitting Japanese cities from bases in Guam and China are doing devastating damage to Japanese cities with incendiary bombs.”

“The Americans certainly don’t seem to care. They lost a lot of civilians from the Japanese attacks on their West Coast and are mad as hell about that.”

“Maybe if the Yanks had been a bit more willing to help the rest of us out at the beginning, it might not have come to that though, you reckon, Sir?” Anderson wryly asked.

“It always sounded like the Yanks wanted to avoid getting bogged down in another war outside of their own back yard though. I can’t say that I blame them completely. But usually wars don’t exactly respect what you want to do.”

“Fair Dinkum, Sir. On another note, how’s your civilian boss out there in Derby? I heard that he lost his wife in a plane crash a few months ago and was in a bad sort afterwards.”

“Well, Mister Cavill is a pretty couchy fellow. You’re right that losing his wife hurt him bloody hard. But he and his kids are pretty tight though. That’s probably helped him through this rough patch in his life. I’m not going to knock the man because he doesn’t go out every night to get all rotten though. He’s done us all right with everything that he’s provided our blokes in uniform to help them stop the Japs and the rest of the Axis. Plus, he’s been a good mate to me and everyone who works for him.”

“That’s good to hear, Sir. Well, let’s get on with figuring out what to do about the bloody Japs now.” Anderson replied with a sad smile before turning back to look down at more of the photos.

Chapter Twenty:

Kure Navy Yard

Kure, Japan

February 21, 1948

The mood in the underground headquarters was extremely solemn. Following the Allied attacks on Nagano and Yokosuka that decimated the Imperial Family and almost all of the Japanese senior military leadership, there were another series of setbacks in China, the Philippines and elsewhere. Admiral Yamamoto and much of the surviving Japanese military leadership were informed of the deteriorating situation during the meeting.

“The Russians are overwhelming our troops in Manchuria. They apparently sent all of their remaining tank divisions east on the Trans-Siberian Railroad to throw against our forces after the last German troops left Russian territory. We cannot hold for much longer, especially without any tanks that are a match to the Russian vehicles.” General Kumano explained to the others in the meeting.

General Arinaga Kumano was the senior surviving Japanese Army officer on the Japanese home islands. He then continued to paint a very gloomy picture of the current situation for the Japanese military.

“We do not have the means to build any armored vehicles that can match the tanks that the Russians have employed against us. Even the hundreds of tanks that Russia still possesses after being defeated by the Germans can utterly destroy our most advanced tanks in the Imperial Army with little effort.

With the entire Imperial family gone, there is nothing to hold the troops together any longer. I know that we had planned on mobilizing the entire nation to resist the gaijin. But now, there is a growing sense of futility within the Japanese people. The enemy is striking us with virtual impunity now.

Even in our other areas where our troops are deployed, the situation is deteriorating. The recent raid to remove many gaijin prisoners from our control has significantly degraded the morale of the troops there. Our commanders now have expressed doubts that we will be able to successfully reinforce them. They are also very unsure if they would be able to successfully resist an enemy invasion after the success of the raid. The criminals hiding in the jungle there that continue to attack our troops are growing bolder with the additional support that they have been receiving as well. Our commanders in the Philippines are now calling the conflict in their area of operations a full insurrection. All of their measures to suppress these bandits appear to have failed. There will soon be little more than our home islands under our control as our island garrisons are being strangled into impotence and eventual submission. Then, we will face possible invasion of our homes by mass number of the gaijin.”

“The Americans will not dare invade us. The Japanese people will still defend our land to the very last breath in vengeance for the death of the Emperor.” A Japanese Army colonel who had been aligned closely with General Tojo’s faction declared loudly.

“They will probably not even need to invade us soon. All that the Americans and their allies have to do is starve us to death. We cannot hope to build enough ships to move supplies back and forth with so many being sunk by enemy submarines and aircraft. Our people are starving already. Many of our people are dying from diseases and poisons of our making as well.

The Germans provided us with technologies to build jet propelled fighters and missiles that can potentially defeat enemy forces. But we do not have the means to provide them with sufficient fuel even if we were to build these advanced weapons in sufficient numbers.

It may seem like sacrilege, but exacting vengeance for a dead Emperor will not fill an empty stomach nor comfort a grieving widow. This is especially true when the enemy is content with sinking our ships, bombing our homes and arming millions of Chinese with modern rifles to throw themselves against our surviving armies in Asia. ” Yamamoto told the others.

“So what do you propose, Taishō?”

“I know the Americans. They will act with honor if treated honorably. We have no other choice now. We must sue for terms and end this conflict as quickly as possible for our people to survive.”

“The Americans will still want blood in payment for what has been done to their prisoners of war. Some of our troops certainly mistreated the Americans in the Philippines, both at the very beginning of the conflict and recently after the escape of several thousand American and British prisoners during that raid.”

“I know. We will have to give them what they want if the Japanese people are to survive however.”

The other officers in the room looked down in dismay. But they also acknowledged the truth in what the Commander of the Japanese Imperial Fleet had just told them.

“It is settled then. I must go now and prepare a message to send to our forces before we send an envoy to the Americans. I pray that it will be enough to save our people.”

“It is with a very heavy heart that I send out this message.” Yamamoto began with his radio message to the commanders of Japan’s outposts several hours later.

Oval Office, White House

Washington, DC

February 26, 1948

The White House Chief of Staff entered the Oval Office just as President Dewey was about to leave for the evening.

“Sir. We have a message that we just received from Admiral Yamamoto via a courier. It was delivered to a representative of our forces in China under a flag of truce.” Stuart Cummings informed the American President.

“What does the message say, Stuart?” The President quickly asked.

“They are asking for an immediate ceasefire in preparation for an unconditional surrender of all Japanese forces fighting American, Chinese and Commonwealth forces. The message also claims that Admiral Yamamoto is the senior military leader in Japan with the deaths of the Emperor, the Prime Minister and the majority of the Japanese senior military leadership.

This ties in with a radio message that we intercepted being transmitted from Japan to its forces both inside and outside of Japan. It appears to be coming from Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander of the Japanese Navy. The message seems to be intended to prepare their field commanders for a surrender.”

“Well, Stuart. What are we waiting on? Send out the orders to cease all offensive operations pending further instructions. Then, let’s break out a bottle of some of that bourbon that you have been putting aside for a special occasion.” Dewey said with a growing smile.

“It sounds like this damned war is finally over.”

“What about the Russians? They are hitting the Japanese pretty hard in Manchuria right now.”

“The Japs will have make their own peace arrangements with the Russians. I am simply interested in ending the war between Japan and ourselves so that we can end all of this spending on the war and get back to the business of getting America back on its feet.”

“General Patton will be very upset. He was anxious to take those Chinese troops of his and not only boot all of the Japanese out of China, but also to clean them out of Korea as well.” The President’s chief of staff wryly commented.

German High Command Headquarters

Berlin, Germany

March 11, 1948

Everyone around the table in the main conference room was in very good spirits. The war was over. Germany had returned to its pre-First World War borders and had reliable allies between it and its traditional enemy, Russia. Germany’s former Axis allies had all now been defeated without casting any further shadows upon their most powerful ally. But no one was calling for action to be taken against Germany.

However, Germany was not about to disarm itself anytime soon, in spite of its current fiscal situation. But, the German military still had to compete with all of the other national spending priorities like infrastructure construction. That was the only thing dampening down the atmosphere in the conference room. Germany could not afford to go into deficit spending in order to maintain a large military. The German officers were all trying to get a larger slide of the country’s finite military budget as a result.

Luftwaffe Field Marshal Adolf Galland chewed on an unlit cigar as he listened to the senior officers of the Wehrmacht discussing its restructuring and modernization program. Galland had replaced Herman Goering as the head of the Luftwaffe after Goering had been arrested, tried and executed in the wake of Hitler’s death.

The general in charge of weapons development was proudly describing how virtually all of the older generation of armored vehicles was going to be scrapped in favor of a new generation of weapons. Everything was going to be on self-propelled chassis, even the infantry and artillery, so that they could keep up with the Panzers.

“This all is going to be very expensive, Herr Field Marshal. How do you plan on paying for all of this? Even we have only many Deutschmarks to spend.” Galland asked as he sat back in his chair.

“First, we will be converting our entire vehicle fleet to diesel engines. We have been closely examining the engines that the Russians used in their tanks and are using much of their technology in our new vehicle engines. This will give us far greater fuel efficiency, thus reducing the number of fuel tankers that are required for each Wehrmacht unit. With the use of diesel fuel, there is also a significantly reduced chance of fire, protecting both vehicle and its crew.

With the increased effectiveness of each of our new combat vehicles, we will also be able to reduce the overall numbers of armored vehicles. A smaller force will be useful politically while we continue to show everyone that Germany is no longer a threat.”  Field Marshall Erich von Manstein noted with a smile before continuing. Manstein was, of course, very interested in strengthening his Panzer Corps as much as possible.

“What are you doing, Field Marshal Galland with your Luftwaffe at this time?” Field Marshall Erich von Manstein finally asked.

“To start with, we are eliminating a significant number of aircraft types to consolidate our aircraft fleet and simply our logistics system. We badly need to do this to reduce costs of our aircraft fleet in the Luftwaffe. Many of these are older designs that are no longer viable against more modern foreign designs. Besides, we are transitioning as quickly as possible to the new jet aircraft.”

“What aircraft are you eliminating first, Herr Field Marshall?”

“We will retire the obsolete and single mission aircraft types first, especially those that rely upon foreign engines like the Henschel HS-129 ground attack aircraft. We can do the same mission with other types that are modified for a given role as needed. We simply cannot trust that we will have access to the necessary parts from a foreign manufacturers.

There are a few exceptions such as large transport aircraft. We do need to replace the Junkers and Messerschmitt transports with new designs that can carry heavy payloads for a militarily useful distance. All of the current aircraft are simply too small, too fragile or cannot carry enough materiel.

We lost far too many good German soldiers at Stalingrad and elsewhere in Russia because we did not have the means to deliver sufficient supplies with the transport aircraft that we had. It will require both smaller transports that can operate from short, austere airfields close to the front lines and larger transports that can carry more than twenty metric tons at a time. But both types must be survivable and sustainable.”

“I agree with Field Marshal Galland in that regards. We also lost many opportunities and soldiers in North Africa because of a lack of supplies. The Englanders were sinking many of our cargo transports before they could cross the Mediterranean. Likewise, old Tuntie Ju and Gigant transport aircraft were so slow and unwieldy that enemy fighters shot them down in large numbers also. If new transports can be designed that can perform the necessary tasks, it would benefit us all greatly. I’m also sure that these aircraft could find other useful missions as well.” Field Marshal Rommel interjected.

“What will you do with the old aircraft?” Manstein asked.

“We will sell them on the open market. I’m sure that we can find someone to purchase them to upgrade their air forces, especially one of the countries that cannot afford a new aircraft. We would gain more currency that way instead of merely scrapping the aircraft. Of course, we will strip everything off of them of use beforehand.” The new commander of the Luftwaffe said with a smile.

“Perhaps the Chinese can use them? They have been trying to buy every bargain warplane that they can get their hands onto since the Americans have stopped supplying them with replacements.”

“Perhaps they can? If they can find the money to pay for them with, of course.” Admiral Donitz laughed.

“Perhaps they will. If not, someone else might. Once the new transports are designed and production started, they would also make a fine export product as well. That would earn Germany additional funds that are still very badly needed.” Galland responded.

The other senior officers nodded in agreement with what Galland had to say there. Germany needed to build more products that they could export to other nations if it was going to ever recover from the devastation of the Second World War. No one else was going to come to their rescue. That much was certain.

Then everyone’s eyes turned towards the leaders of the Kriegsmarine who were also attending this meeting. They had remained silent to this point.

Großadmiral Karl Donitz had ascended to the leadership of the Kriegsmarine after the resignation of Großadmiral Erich Raeder. But the German naval force was far different than it had been at the beginning of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine had arrived at a major reassessment of what it needed to be a viable force in the post-war era.

“We are going to scrap Gneisenau to start with.” Donitz said to the shock of everyone in the room. The battlecruiser was the last of the big gun capital ships of the Kriegsmarine and the only one to survive the war. She had also been rearmed with six fifteen-inch main guns and entirely new secondary battery during the latter days of the war.

“Why are you doing this? Even Hitler never actually scrapped our capital ships in spite of calling for it several times during the war.” Manstein asked.

“Because this is an entirely new world now. We need an entirely new Kriegsmarine in order to survive and be victorious in it. We will be focusing on using the aircraft carrier as our new capital ship. The Amerikaners and Englanders still have many more of these important warships. But we have already started development on weapons that will enable us to equalize the situation at sea.

We will maintain our three Admiral Hipper class heavy cruisers. They will give us a powerful anti-ship and shore bombardment capability. These ships, in addition to our new destroyers, will be replacing many of our torpedo tubes with new anti-ship cruise missiles, even on our cruisers.”

“How far along is the development of these missiles?” Manstein asked.

“You should be asking Field Marshal Galland and Minister of Industry Albert Speer about that. They actually know a lot more about these missiles and our improvements to our naval air defenses because they are largely based on Luftwaffe air-launched anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles.” Großadmiral Donitz replied while looking back at Galland and Speer.

Galland smiled through his cigar before looking also over to Speer and nodding silently in acknowledgement before Minister Speer began to speak.

“Gentlemen, we have had considerable experience in cruise missile design with the previous use of our Fieseler Fi-103 missiles in the war. However, we have also learned about the vulnerabilities of these designs to interception by conventional aircraft. So we have designed a more advanced missile that can be launched from an aircraft that is much faster than the Fieseler. This weapon has a terminal guidance system rather than relying on inertial guidance or radio command guidance. This missile can also be launched from a surface warship using a supplemental booster rocket.

This missile is powered by a turbojet engine, making it at least one hundred and eighty kilometers per hour faster than the original Fieseler design. This will make the weapon almost impossible to intercept with conventional weapons.

We are also in the process of replacing many of our cruisers’ secondary and anti-aircraft guns with a combination of multi-barrel three centimeter Mk 103 automatic cannon mounts and command-guided surface-to-air missiles. The latter are based on the latest ground based missile built by Henschel, the Schmetterling.

We are also developing smaller missiles that can be fired by our fighter aircraft and guided by either radio command guidance or infrared homing against enemy aircraft. These missiles will also have versions that can be launched from the ground or from surface warships.” Albert Speer explained before turning back to Donitz.

“We are going to also decommission all of our light kruizers except for Nurnberg. We have found that they are simply in too poor of a condition for full modernization. These ships will be replaced as part of our overall new construction program. We are building twenty-four new fleet Zerstorers under this program.

Sixteen of these ships were of a modified Zerstorer 1944 design, The Type 1942C. They were originally intended to be with six 12.8cm Flak 40 guns in dual turrets.

We are also building another eight ships with a revised main armament of eight 10.5cm Flak 38 guns in four fully enclosed dual purpose twin turrets but essentially using the same hull.

After the first four Zerstorers were built using high pressure steam turbines, the rest were constructed with new high-speed diesel engines for improved range and fuel efficiency. Both classes were also originally armed with two quadruple 21” torpedo mounts and a variety of 5.5cm and 3cm antiaircraft guns. These ships had a standard displacement of slightly over 4000 tons.

We have started replacing the quadruple torpedo mounts on these Zerstorers with a traversable twin anti-ship missile mount. Each mount has two missiles in box launchers. Each missile has the capability of sinking an enemy Zerstorer or doing significant damage to a larger warship with a single hit.

We are also replacing the aft main gun turrets with a surface-to-air missile launcher just like the Hippers and Nurnberg are receiving. The Zerstorers will retain a limited torpedo launch capability. But this will consist of two fixed lightweight torpedoes with acoustic homing heads for anti-U-Boat attack for each ship.”

“This sounds like quite a potent escort force for Graf Zeppelin, Admiral Scheer and the Hippers. Is this all that you are doing?” Field Marshal Rommel asked.

“We are building some smaller vessels for traditional escort and anti-submarine duty. These are all diesel-powered ships related to the Flottentorpedoboat 1944 design. They are armed four 10.5cm dual purpose guns in fully enclosed twin mounts.

These ships were originally going to be armed with a quadruple torpedo tube mount. But instead, they are going to also replace their torpedo tubes with a twin anti-ship missile mount and a pair of fixed anti-U-Boat homing torpedo tubes. They will also carry enhanced anti-U-Boat equipment as well.

Our own U-Boat program has continued as we had indicated after the end of the war. With the exception of a few specialized vessels, our entire U-Boat fleet has now been standardized around the Type XXI Elektroboot. The vast majority of that fleet remains concealed from prying eyes in underground submarine pens along the Baltic Coast. We continue to do periodic upgrades to the fleet as technologies develop. But as a whole, it remains the most powerful U-Boat force in the entire world.”

“This is all very impressive, Herr Großadmiral. I would like to note that per our previous agreement, the Kriegsmarine agreed to coordinate its development of aircraft for your aircraft carriers with us. Perhaps you will share the fruits of that agreement with the others?” Galland asked.

“Of course, Herr Field Marshal. The primary jet aircraft that will be flying from Graf Zeppelin and Admiral Scheer will be derivatives of the Arado Ar-234 bomber and the Gotha Go-229 fighter-bomber. It has been somewhat of a challenge ensuring that the Gotha could operate safely aboard an aircraft carrier, both with its unique flight characteristics and its largely wooden construction. But our engineers believe that we have resolved the most important issues concerning flight stability and the use of wooden composite construction in a saltwater environment.

We will still use some propeller-driven aircraft on the carriers for missions that require long endurance flights at lower speeds, but our jets will give us a unique advantage over other navies.” Donitz explained further.

“In any event, we will still have to keep the full capabilities of each of our services somewhat hidden from the rest of the world. It would be best if they thought that we were now all sheep, rather than the wolves that we are still quite capable of becoming, don’t you think, Gentlemen?” Field Marshall von Rundstedt spoke up after listening silently to the entire conversation.

“Jawohr, Herr Field Marshal!” the others immediately responded, many with fierce grins on their faces.

Russian Government Headquarters

Moscow, Russia

March 18, 1948

“So Japan has surrendered to the Americans and their allies now. What shall we do about our forces in Manchuria?”

“Have the Japanese been evacuated back to their home yet?” President Tupolev asked his defense minister Andre Novonnoski.

“Nyet. There are still over fifty thousand Japanese soldiers and aviators there.”

“Then we continue to have our troops ‘encourage’ the Japanese to leave. Then our troops are to push even further southwest of Korea. Then our forces are to turn towards the coast. Once we occupy the territory, then it will be very difficult for anyone to force us to leave. The Americans and British will do nothing. If the Chinese object, I’m sure that our troops can handle them just as easily as they did the Japanese. It’s not as though the Chinese are equipped with any tanks or artillery of any consequence.”

“The competency of several Chinese Army units have significantly improved recently. They pushed most of the Japanese Army back up into Korea and crushed the Chinese Communist forces during the past few months.” Novonnoski noted

“But the Japanese were already beaten by that time.”

“Perhaps, but the Japanese troops had not yet lost their will to fight. In fact, the Japanese even dared to use chemical weapons on several advancing Chinese units. You know the outcry that occurred in the United States when the Japanese used chemical and germ weapons in the missile attacks on the American West Coast.

No, the Japanese were defeated by freshly retrained Chinese cavalry units according to our intelligence. One of the American Army’s best generals may even be involved in the retraining and reorganization of these units. The Americans have continued to support the Chinese against the Japanese. It remains to be seen if the Americans will continue that support if the Chinese were fighting any of our troops however.”

“You think that their politicians might withdraw that support now that the Japanese have surrendered?” Tupolev asked.

“They may. They will certainly not be willing to shed American blood for the sake of millions of Chinese, I believe.”

“I certainly hope that you are right,

Chapter Twenty-One:

Daimler-Benz Engineering Headquarters

Stuttgart, Germany

14 April, 1948

“Guten Morgen, Herr Othmann. I trust that everything is going well in Berlin.” Manfred Ostermann noted as the new head of Daimler-Benz walked into the large underground chamber where the company’s prototype work was being done. The chamber was part of the vast array of tunnels that had been built during the war to protect German industry from Allied bombing.

“Ja, Herr Ostermann. The government is continuing its transition from the General High Command to civilian leadership. The recent leadership changes of some German companies, including our own, have been prompted by our leaders to try to convince the rest of the world that we are no longer led by the National Socialists.” Alaric Othmann told his company’s head of armored vehicle engineering.

“I hope that we are successful. I have many workers who would benefit if we can resume producing new armored vehicles. There are certainly many older Panzers that badly need replacement. However, I believe that our real future is in the production of vehicles for other nations’ armies.”

“I agree completely, Herr Ostermann. We need to generate foreign capital from export sales in order to rebuild Germany. Is this the new vehicle that you wished to demonstrate to me?” The Daimler-Benz chairman asked as the pointed towards a grey-painted armored vehicle with a long-barreled cannon in its sloped turret.

“Jawohr, Herr Othmann. During the war, we had proposed a somewhat similar vehicle to this as an answer to the Bolshevik’s T-34 armored vehicle with our concept for the VK 30.01 Panzer. Ultimately, Henschel won the competition. However, my engineers continued to refine our original concept. We considered our design to be much easier and less expensive to produce than the Henschel design, especially with the retention of the conventional large road wheels and the use of a torsion bar suspension.

We foresee that Panzers will continue to grow in size and firepower. So we slightly enlarged the original VK 30.01 design to accommodate future requirements. The armor has been improved in thickness on the forward glacis and the turret. The turret itself has also been enlarged to be able to accommodate either the 8.8 centimeter KwK 36 L56 or the 7.5 centimeter KwK 42 L70 cannon as you see here on this particular vehicle. The turret also incorporates a significantly larger bustle than before. This is where the Panzer’s radio equipment can be located. This modification frees up additional space within the hull for ammunition and acts as a counterbalance for the main gun’s mass. We still have a coaxial machine gun in the turret and provisions for a second machine gun at the commander’s cupola position in a pintle mount.

We have also incorporated a new turbo-charged diesel engine of an entirely Daimler design rather than the original Maybach petrol-fueled engine. This provides for a much superior range for the vehicle. The diesel fuel is far less volatile in the event that the Panzer’s armor is penetrated by an adversary’s shells. We have seen far too many Panzer crewmen who were badly burned as a result of petrol fires, I’m afraid.”

“What is the net effect of all of these changes on the basic design?” Alaric asked while walking around the vehicle prototype with its heavily angled front and side armor.

“We have chosen to reduce the size of the crew from five to four men with the elimination of the dedicated radio operator. My engineers have also eliminated the bow machine gun to eliminate a weak point in the frontal armor as with the original prototype. These two changes will allow the Panzer to carry more ammunition and fuel for greater combat endurance.

The increase in hull and turret armor thickness by an average of fifteen millimeters has increased the mass of the Panzer from the original thirty-one metric tons by nearly three metric tons. This is particularly the case when the KwK 36 cannon has been mounted.”

“What about the workload on the Panzer commander without the assistance of a radio operator? Will he be able to effectively command his crew while communicating on the radio?”

“My engineers have spoken with many Panzer crewmen. We believe that the Panzer commander will be able to handle speaking on the radio and commanding his vehicle at the same time. We have also worked to improve the turret controls to make it easier for the crew as a whole. But it was necessary to eliminate a crewman if we were going to find the space for the fuel and ammunition without significantly increasing the dimensions of the vehicle.

This was something that had been impressed upon us by the Panzer veteran crews. They told us that the first crew to see their enemy was usually the one that survived the encounter. We want to make sure that our tanks were as difficult to see as possible. That meant keeping the size down while still retaining adequate elevation and depression of the main gun.”

Alaric smiled after hearing the conclusion of the Panzer’s description.

“Very good, Herr Ostermann. I believe that your new Panzer will do very well in the export market. I will also vigorously promote it as the replacement for our remaining Panzer IV force. Do you believe that you can adapt this chassis for other specialized roles?

“Jawohr! My engineers already have drawn up plans for combat engineer, mobile anti-aircraft vehicles armed with either three centimeter or fifty-five millimeter Flak guns in addition to armored recovery vehicle variants.”

“Continue your work on this vehicle and its variants. I will do my part to lobby the Wehrmacht to purchase our design here. I will also task our foreign representatives with the sales promotion of this vehicle to other militaries. It is very important that your new Panzer be able to compete effectively against vehicles produced by other countries like America and Australia. Those are the vehicles that your new Panzer could well be fighting against on the battlefield. Remember that our reputation for German quality is at stake here.”

“We will do our best, Herr Othmann.” Manfred confidently replied.

“I’m sure that you will. We will need this and all of our other technological developments to lead our Fatherland back to its rightful place in the world.” Alaric said with a ferocious smile.

“Have we finished disposing of all of our obsolescent and obsolete Wehrmacht equipment yet?”

“Nein, Herr Ostermann. But we should have all of it sold to the Arabs within the next six months after we have finished repairs.”

“Wunderbar! Perhaps our sales to them will purchase a little goodwill with the Arabs. I’m sure that they were somewhat upset over our sending the Juden from the ‘work camps’ to Palestine.”

“Ja. They were. But many of the Arabs now look at this as an opportunity to herd all of the Juden into one place to be exterminated.”

“No wonder that Hitler and the Arabs got along so well. They had so much in common.”

Chinese 7th Cavalry Forward Headquarters

Datong, China

June 4, 1948

“What the hell do the Russians think that they are doing? That is over fifty kilometers into China.” Patton growled angrily.

“We think that the Russians are going for the port at Dalian. Only the Russian call it, Port Arthur back when they leased the port from China around the turn of the century. Remember, the Japanese fought the Russians for control of that port a little over forty years ago and decisively won.” Captain Leung explained.

“I remember reading about that. The Russians needed a warm-water port to operate its Pacific Fleet from. Why don’t they just try to negotiate with the Chinese to lease the port again? It would be a lot less expensive than going to war for it again.”

“I don’t know, Sir. The Russians have their own particular reasons for doing things, I’m afraid.”

“It looks like we are just going to have to teach the Russians a lesson that they won’t soon forget. Our cavalrymen will certainly be in the fight. But it is about time to bring up the tanks now. Our men have already kicked the Japs’ asses. I’m sure that they are ready to do the same to the Russians.”

“But that is going to mean putting horses against armor. Out in the open, that is going to be suicide for our cavalrymen.” Leung noted.

“That is why we are bringing up our new armored corps. We’ve just finished with the training on the new equipment. So they are about as ready as they are going to be now. Come take a look.” Patton proudly said.

Patton and Leung drove a few kilometers south to the new Chinese armored corps assembly area. The assembly area was just outside of Russian artillery range and was ringed by more than a dozen heavy anti-aircraft guns in addition to dozens of lighter automatic weapons. Patton had forcefully argued that this force needed to be protected against enemy air attack.

Looking over the assembly of vehicles, Captain Leung recognized many of them. But at the same time, he noticed that quite a few of the armored vehicles had been heavily modified from their original configuration.

The surviving Soviet-built T-26 and BT-5 light tanks of the Kuomintang had been withdrawn and reconstructed with 75mm howitzers in open-topped casemate mounts. This gave these artillery pieces far superior mobility. The 45mm high velocity guns from the BT-5’s had been placed into CV-33 tankettes to turn these tiny, thinly-armored vehicles into tank destroyers and light assault guns. There were even a handful of ex-Japanese armored vehicles that had been converted to other roles.

Captain Leung pointed towards several score other armored vehicles that were hidden under an array of camouflage nets. Some were wheeled vehicles but the majority were tracked. Almost all of the tracked vehicles, regardless of size, had the unique characteristic of having the turret mounted towards the rear of the hull, rather than the usual center.

“Are those the tanks that we are leasing from the Australians, Sir?”

“Yes, they are. While we did get a few light scout tanks, most of the tanks that you see there are mediums. Many are of what the Australians call the Echidna. The older ones are a little smaller and are armed with a 57mm main gun, but we also received two companies worth of their latest version. The Echidna II is a little larger and carries a seventeen-pounder gun which has a three-inch diameter bore. That gun can kill pretty much anything that the Russians have on the battlefield. I first saw these Australian tanks in action in North Africa. They outclassed pretty much anything that the Axis had out in the desert.”

“I see some artillery mounted on the backs of large trucks there also, Sir.”

“Yes, Captain. Those also are leased from the Australians. I am very impressed with those self-propelled 105mm gun-howitzers of theirs. These guns will give us quite an edge with their range and mobility. They say that each individual gun can do the work of four towed cannons.”

Just then, Patton and Leung heard the sound of an air raid siren in the distance. A few moments later, the sound of heavy anti-aircraft guns firing could be heard.

“We need to get under cover.” Captain Leung told Patton.

“I need to see what is happening.” Patton said, refusing to take the shelter of a bomb shelter, but still finding the concealment of a nearby camouflage net while standing upright in a relatively shallow slit trench.

Overhead, several squadrons of twin-engine Russian bombers flew overhead, dropping bombs on several lines of vehicles. Automatic weapons on the ground sprayed the skies above with thousands of tracers and exploding shells. One of the Russian bombers was hit hard by Chinese anti-aircraft fire, a wing being blown off. The stricken aircraft tumbling into the side of a nearby hill. Another bomber had also been hit directly in its bomb bay and violently blew up in midair, sending a cloud of debris over hundreds of meters. Several other Russian bombers could be seen trailing smoke as they left as they finally left.

Several tankette cum tank destroyers could be seen burning after the Russian bombing pass. Patton cursed loudly seeing the destruction of portions of the newly reconstituted Armored Corps. But he quickly turned his head towards a resurgence of anti-aircraft fire as another group of Russian warplanes, this time more than a dozen single engine monoplanes, attacked the assembly area.

First, these aircraft came in on a strafing run. Their wing-mounted automatic cannons churning the ground as the Russians attempted to target another line of Chinese armor. Smoke from earlier bombs, burning vehicles and cannon fire obscured much of the Chinese assembly area. The air was filled with the sounds of explosions and gunfire from both sides.

After the first strafing run, the Russian aircraft came around for another pass.

“Those have to be those damned Sturmoviks that I heard about.” Patton said as he watched the Russian warplanes roar down again.

This time, the Russian warplanes began to drop a line of small bombs from wing root bomb bays. The bombs were nowhere nearly as powerful as the larger bombs dropped by the earlier twin-engine bombers. But each of these smaller weapons contained a powerful shaped charge, capable of piercing and destroying any armored vehicle.

“Get me a damned phone. I need to call General Chennault.” Patton said as he and Captain Leung ran towards the headquarters building. Once inside, Captain Leung found a telephone and demanded a line to AVG Headquarters.

A minute later, Captain Leung handed the phone to General Patton. On the other end of the line was General Claire Chennault, commander of the American Volunteer Group.

“This is George Patton, Claire. He have a hell of a situation here. We need more air support. I don’t care how you get it, Claire. But we are getting the shit bombed out of us here by the damned Russians even as we speak.” General Patton told the leader of the American Volunteer Group over the phone. The sound of gunfire and exploding bombs could still be heard over the telephone line.

“I don’t think that Washington is going to help us at all here, Sir. But I will do what I can. We, at the Flying Tigers, have gotten accustomed with making do with makeshift solutions, over the years. We are already working to get more Beaufighters from either the RAF or the Australians. Those have worked out very well for us so far. We are also training new aircrew as quickly as we can.”

“You need to hurry. I know that your bomber crews have gotten chopped up pretty damned bad by the Japs earlier. But we can’t afford to give these Russian bastards even the smallest break. We need more bomber and fighter support right away. Those damned attack aircraft, I think that the Russians call a ‘Sturmovik’, are giving my tanks one hell of a time.”

“We know. Those Russian planes are hard as hell to kill with all of the armor that they have on them. Even the Germans had a hard time knocking down those Russian birds. But just as we had to come up with special tactics to deal with the Jap Zero’s, we will find a way to effectively deal with these aircraft as well, I promise you.”

“We will need some relief quickly. I can’t afford to lose many more tanks, especially not the ones that we got from the Australians. The Russians have too damn many of those T-34’s for us to be able to stand up to them without our most modern and powerful tanks otherwise.”

“Sir, I suggest that you look into procuring more anti-aircraft guns to help your units defend themselves against these Russian aircraft. As much as I would like it, we simply cannot obtain and operate enough aircraft to cover all of your troops all of the time.”

“Claire, I’m already putting fifty-caliber heavy machine guns on every vehicle that I can get my hands onto for self-defense against enemy aircraft. The Kraut eighty-eight millimeter guns are good weapons. Hell, I often use them to take out Russian tanks just like the Kraut’s did. But, they can’t handle fast, low-flying aircraft worth a damn.” Patton loudly complained.

“Adding more heavy machine guns to protect your ground units is going to help you a lot, but you are going to need heavier guns to not only reach up and hit enemy bombers at high altitude but also take down those armored Russian aircraft. You can knock down a Sturmovik with a fifty-cal., but it is still hard to do because of all of the armor that aircraft has. It normally takes automatic cannon fire from multiple mounts to effectively defeat a Sturmovik attack unfortunately.”

“I’ve got every automatic cannon that I can get a hold of here already. I guess that I will have to talk to the Generalissimo again and see what he can do for us. But time is running short.”

“Thankfully, we know that the Germans shot down most of the Sturmovik’s that the Russians had produced. There should not be more than a handful left out there, Sir.”

“Then why am I seeing dozens of those damned machines at a time flying over my battlefield, Claire?”

“Probably because the Russians produced over thirty-six thousand of them before the Germans captured Moscow and destroyed the Soviet Union.”

“That is not the sort of news that I needed to hear, Claire. Just keep those damned things off of my back while I try to figure out a way to push the Russians out of Manchuria.” Patton said as the last of the Russian attackers finally left the area.

Captain Leung looked outside just in time to see the Sturmoviks leaving the area. There were a couple more plumes of smoke in the distance that had to be from crashed attackers. There were also several other burning vehicles in the assembly area. Fortunately, none of the leased Australian armor and artillery that had been hidden under camouflage had been hit during the attack.

General Patton finished his call and walked out to see the aftermath of the Russian attack.

“Damned Russians. At least they missed our most important vehicles. We are going to have to get this mess straightened out and find another location before the Russians pay us another visit.” The American general growled as hundreds of Chinese and American men ran around putting out fires and moving vehicles around.

When General Chennault got off the phone, he sat back and thought for a few moments before getting up and walking over to the office of the AVG’s logistics chief, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Harper.

“Hello, Joe. How are we doing with the new aircraft?” Chennault asked.

“Money is tight as usual, so no new production aircraft are available at all. The Chinese Nationalists are still trying to get back on their feet with a functioning government. They are still putting every resource that they have into the war effort though. What do you need, Sir?”

“Well, we could certainly use more Beaufighters. There are very few of the Wellingtons left in Chinese service now after they got chopped up so badly by Jap fighters. We have been retraining their remaining Wellington crews to operate the latest batch of Beaufighters that you were able to get from the Australians. Of course, we always need more fighters, especially since we are now facing the Russians.”

“I’m doing what I can, Sir.”

“I know. It’s just that I just got off the phone with General Patton. He is demanding more aircraft that can help him stop Russian ground attack aircraft and support Chinese troops fighting against Russian tanks.”

“Sir, I could talk to my friends in the Chinese government to see if they can work out another leasing deal with that Harold Cavill like they did for those tanks that Patton is using now. Cavill’s probably got more money than Howard Hughes at this point from what I have learned. Plus he pretty much owns all of the equipment from that local militia force so he can do with it whatever he wants.

We can then see what they might have available. They probably still have some of their Whirlwinds in service. They are older aircraft but are armed with four automatic cannons and can also carry bombs or rockets. That sounds like the sort of aircraft that would help Patton and his troops pretty well.

“Who knows? Maybe we can pick up some more ground attack aircraft from other sources as well.”

“I’m already working on that, Sir. But if Patton wants any real tank-busters, it may take a little while. I do have a possible deal going to pick up some Hurricane Mark IID’s and Mark IV’s with the forty-millimeter cannons though. The RAF appears to be getting rid of theirs pretty cheaply, but I don’t know what condition that they are in. These tank-busters will also definitely need escorts if there are any Russian fighters lurking in the area too. We have plenty of pilots already trained on the Hurricane, so we can get these aircraft into action much more quickly.”

“I understand. Whatever you do, please get me aircraft as soon as you can though.

Oval Office, White House

Washington, DC

September 4, 1948

“What has that damned Patton think that he is doing? The last thing that we need is to get into a war with Russia.” President Dewey angrily remarked after reading the news of events in Manchuria.

“Officially, General Patton is still only advising the Chinese. He has been doing a lot of that ‘advising’ from the front lines though. Still, the Chinese are the ones doing the actual fighting there, Sir.” Secretary of State John Foster Dulles explained.

“But the news media only sees that damned egomaniac on horseback riding off into battle with his pistols on his hips against the Russians. I am trying to get us out of wars, not getting into more of them. We just finished getting our troops back to a peacetime posture after the Japanese finally surrendered.”

“You could always present this as America helping the Chinese to defend their sovereignty against another foreign invader, Sir.”

“I realize that. But we also want to do business with the new Russian government as well. This conflict in China could complicate this very badly. I suppose that you are going to tell me now that it is impractical for us to order Patton to leave China and come back to the States?”

“I’m afraid that the Chinese have grown particularly fond of General Patton, especially since the troops that he trained are winning battles against the armies that have invaded China, Sir. Their leader, Chang Kai-Shek, has also been particularly appreciative that General Patton’s troops have virtually destroyed the Chinese Communists as well. The Chinese government would probably feel that we really did not support it against nations attempting to violate its national sovereignty.”

President Dewey sighed in frustration. He was in the midst of a contentious reelection campaign in spite of having presided over the conclusion of the wars in both Europe and the Pacific. The Democrats were still attempting to save FDR’s socialist legacy through this election. Adlai Stevenson had recently won the nomination as the Democratic Party presidential candidate from a field of liberal and outright socialist candidates and was conducting a vigorous campaign. Dewey simply did not need another political headache to deal with at this time.

“Well, if we can’t pull Patton out of China, will someone please convince him to stay away from reporters and their cameras, at least?”

“We will try, Mister President. But you know that reporters go to where the headlines are. Unfortunately, Patton is very prone to make headlines wherever he goes.”

“At least he is getting the job done for the Chinese. I am not surprised that Patton is helping the Chinese fight the Russians though. He has always opposed the Soviet Union. He probably sees the Russians as simply being Bolsheviks in different clothing, I would imagine.”

“You are probably right, Sir. Perhaps we should talk about what we are going to do about Japan now that it has surrendered to the Allies. At least, we managed to get a seat at the table with our actions during the latter part of the Pacific War.

Of course, the Japanese managed quite handily to hoist themselves upon their own petard with their chemical and germ warfare weapons. It was very unfortunate for them that the Australians bombed the main Japanese facility for those terrible weapons and contaminated so much of the Japanese mainland. There will be very little of the spoils of war remaining for us to claim afterwards.”

“I understand that most of the main naval facilities are still relatively clean. Could we claim some of the surviving Japanese warships? The latest reports from the War Department say that the Japs were given some technology by the Germans before the armistice. Perhaps we can get a peek at some German technology that way?” Dewey asked.

“I don’t know about most of the Jap surface fleet, but I think that we should let the Japanese keep that big-assed battleship Yamato. We already know that we can sink it because we managed to sink her sister ship easily enough. If the Japs want to keep it in service, that battleship will be just another ‘white elephant’ for them because of the costs of simply maintaining it, much less providing enough fuel for the damned thing to sail anywhere.”

“That sounds pretty reasonable. The Japs do have a special affection for that monster. But, what about the aircraft carriers and submarines that they have under construction then? They are obviously far more of a threat to us based on what the Japs used them for against us.”

“Oh, I certainly agree with that, Sir. I think that the Allies should confiscate every carrier and submarine that the Japs still possess except for the very smallest ones. Those ships will be too small to be of any use outside of their territorial waters. They do have an aircraft carrier that is based on a Yamato hull. She might even be refitted for use by our navy. It is one hell of a big ship.”

“They will all make good bargaining chips for the negotiation for the final peace treaty. We certainly want to inspect all of Japan for any remaining chemical and germ warfare materials.”

“But, remember. We don’t want the Japs to recover too well, especially not their military. They have to pay a steep price for the war in the Pacific, even though we are not going demand that the peace treaty terms be as vindictive as the Versailles Treaty was towards Germany. I have no desire to plant the roots for the next war with what we do with the Japanese now.”

“With all of the casualties that the Japanese suffered during the war, I don’t think that they would have enough manpower to really restore their economy to a peacetime level. They are even less able to engage in another war of aggression for at least a couple of generations. In the meanwhile, Japan can become a new market for us, once they are able to produce anything that Americans will want to buy in return.” Dewey responded firmly.

Chinese Northern Defensive Line

Chafeng, China

October 11, 1948

The Russians continued to push down south through Manchuria. The Chinese had only recently reoccupied much of the area after ouster of the Japanese and were not prepared for the attack by the Russians. But the Chinese defenders give up ground very grudgingly while reinforcements were being rushed forward.

While the Chinese were the primary force defending their country now that the Japanese had been defeated, there were still some foreigners involved in her defense. Most of these were Americans along with a few French and Australians.

After the disbandment of the American Tigers, hundreds of its former members, almost all men who had not returned to their original jobs in the US Regular Army, volunteered to go to China to help Patton. As soon as they arrived, they were given jobs supporting the Chinese National Army in a variety of technical roles mostly. A few others went to work on Patton’s personal staff.

As the Chinese wanted this conflict to have a Chinese face, only a select few of the American volunteers went to the front lines. A few worked as scouts, but the rest were trained to be forward air controllers. They directed the fighters and bombers of the Chinese Air Force and the Flying Tigers against priority ground targets from positions near the front lines.

A few of the Americans also worked in a far more secretive function. They manned radios that were tuned to the frequencies that the Japanese and then the Russians used. They searched for information on enemy activities to determine enemy plans, locations and capabilities. These radio intercept reports supplemented the intelligence reports from human sources on the ground as well as aerial reconnaissance photos.

The Russian invasion had been a rude shock for the Chinese who had just finished defeating both the Japanese that had occupied much of northern and eastern China. After defeating the Japanese occupiers that had retreated hastily into Korea, the Kuomintang then turned and eliminated Mao Tse Tung’s Chinese Communist Army.

But before the Chinese could finally stand down from a war standing and begin rebuilding their country, the Russians came boiling across the border. The Chinese had learned a great deal from the American military advisors during the past couple of years. While war weary, the Chinese were ready to fight these new invaders. The newly reconstituted Chinese Armored Corps had even leased additional armored vehicles from Australia to supplement their numbers for this new fight. Fresh orders were going out from the Generalissimo.

“Stop the invaders and drive them all out of China!” They clearly stated.

Major General Cheng Zhang ordered his 3rd Cavalry Division to attack the eastern flank of the Russian advance. As part of that attack, Captain Hui Dǒng led his troop of over one hundred heavily-armed cavalrymen along the southwestern border of Korea.

Two days into their road march towards the Russian invaders, Captain Dǒng’s radio operator called the troop commander over for a message from the cavalry squadron commander.  Captain Dǒng’s cavalrymen were to set up an ambush against a column of Russian troops moving southwest down a valley near the Korean border.

The cavalrymen moved as quickly as possible through the rugged terrain near the edge of the valley before ordering his men to dismount and prepare their positions. One of the most recent additions to the Chinese cavalry troop was the addition of several hand-held short range radios that had been issued to the squad leaders. These Australian-manufactured communications devices gave them an unprecedented ability to share information and coordinate their activities with their commander and each other.

Riding with Captain Dǒng was an American volunteer, Sergeant Fred Dockery. Fred was armed with an automatic rifle just like the Chinese cavalrymen and even wore the same ballistic fabric body armor vest. But more importantly, Fred also led a pack horse that carried a second long-range radio. This radio used the same frequencies as the Chinese and Flying Tiger aviators and could be transported in a backpack for short distances.

The cavalry troop broke up into several smaller groups, each covering a different avenue of approach. Less than two hours after the cavalrymen had settled into their ambush positions, Captain Dǒng received a radio report of Russian scouts moving towards one of his ambush teams. A few minutes later, his other teams also began to report enemy scouts as well as a column of armored vehicles also moving towards the largest of the routes south where the enemy scouts had been spotted. Captain Dǒng immediately had as many of his cavalrymen adjust their positions to cover this route

Near the top of one of the hills, Captain Dǒng swept the area with his field glasses until he found the enemy column. There appeared to be a reinforced battalion of armor and infantry approaching. The Chinese cavalry officer could see more than a dozen T-34 tanks with what appeared to be 76mm main guns. Scores of infantrymen were riding on the backs and turrets of the tanks. A trio of BT-7 light tanks and BA-30 armored cars led the column as scouts, while a line of trucks brought up the rear of the column.

Captain Dǒng quickly issued out a series of orders to his cavalrymen before calling his battalion commander over the radio to report the sighting of the Russian column. After that, all that he could do is wait and trust in his cavalrymen to do their jobs once they got the enemy in their sights.

One of the squad machine gunners began to open fire after the Russian column got within the ambush’s killing zone, signaling the rest of the troop to begin firing upon the Russian armored column. Fire from dozens of automatic weapons began to quickly rain down upon the Russian troops. Russian infantrymen began to quickly fall off of the tops of their tanks, some dead but many others scrambling to find cover and return fire against their Chinese ambushers.

The lead T-34 was hit at short range by a round from a Chinese cavalryman’s shoulder-launched grenade launcher. The shaped charge grenade punched through the side of the Russian tank right below the turret. The resulting explosion from several dozen 76mm rounds inside the T-34 blew the turret roof completely off and killed not only the tank crew, but several Russian infantrymen nearby. Another Russian tank near the rear of the column was also hit and destroyed by an anti-tank grenade. The Russians scouts had several vehicles disabled by fire from Chinese .50 caliber anti-tank rifle fire that had penetrated their light armor. This all resulted in the enemy column being bottled up in the ambush’s kill zone.

“Gōng hé” Captain Dǒng called out to his cavalrymen, reminding them of what the American general had impressed upon the cavalrymen of the 7th Cavalry Division. This admonition to work together to was something that General Patton demanded of all of his soldiers along with an aggressive fighting style. A lot of the Americans fighting or working in China would often mangle the original Chinese pronunciation of the phrase and say ‘Gung ho’ instead though.

The Chinese cavalrymen rained down machine gun fire, many scores of hand grenades plus numerous shoulder-launched high explosive and anti-tank grenades down upon the Russians. But the enemy invaders were not giving up at all. They continued to push toward the Chinese cavalrymen that had ambushed them.

Captain Dǒng’s cavalrymen were hitting the Russians hard, but the Chinese force would soon be overwhelmed without additional support, especially now that Russian artillery fire was starting to hit around the troop’s positions. The Chinese cavalry commander immediately instructed his radio operator to call the squadron to report the situation and request immediate support.

Captain Dǒng’s cavalrymen were beginning to receive some casualties already. This was especially worrisome because the Russians were pushing more and more troops up in spite of the heavy fire that Captain Dǒng’s cavalrymen were unleashing upon the invaders. Things were also starting to heat up in the air above the Chinese troops as well.

Lieutenant Jin Cáo had been hurriedly trained in flying the Hurricane fighter-bomber for the past four weeks. He had started his flight training on C-47 transport aircraft and flying a few sorties as a co-pilot of a Flying Tigers’ B-25 Mitchell bomber.

It had only been a few short years before that Lieutenant Cao had been a student in university studying English. Then he was drafted into the Chinese Nationalist Army where he learned to fly and was commissioned as a pilot.

Now, Lieutenant Cáo was about to fly on his first combat mission as a pilot of an ex-RAF Hawker Hurricane Mark IID. His fighter-bomber was armed with a pair of wing-mounted forty-millimeter Vickers-S automatic cannons, a pair of Browning thirty-caliber machine guns loaded with tracers for aiming the cannons and a single 250 pound bomb under its belly. His primary mission was to attack Russian armored vehicles moving south.

His flight of four Hurricanes were now raced towards where a column of Russian armor had been reported. The other eight Hurricanes of his squadron were already moving to attack other targets at the same time. Lieutenant Cáo soon saw several columns of black smoke where Russian vehicles burning.

“I have enemy tanks in sight, requesting permission to fire.” Lt. Cao radioed down to the forward air controller who was on the ground with the cavalry.

Only a few moments later, Sgt. Dockery quickly replied. “Permission granted. Knock the hell out of those damned tanks.”

The four Hurricanes of Lieutenant Cáo’s flight quickly began their attack. Lieutenant Cáo swept down in a slight dive and selected one of the Russian T-34’s to attack. First, he pressed the trigger on his control stick after selecting his two Browning .30 caliber machine guns. Two streams of tracers streaked downward and converged on the targeted vehicle. Immediately, the Chinese Hurricane pilot selected his twin forty-millimeter cannons and fired two shots from each.

Unfortunately, either both pairs of shots missed or they did not penetrate a vital part of the targeted tank. Lieutenant Cáo swore to himself in disgust because he could not see any discernable effect on his target. What he could see was several streams of tracers coming up from the ground towards him. The enemy column had several trucks with triple DShKM heavy machine guns in anti-aircraft mounts on them. He quickly made a series of evasive maneuvers to avoid Russian fire before coming back in for another attack run.

Lieutenant Cáo selected another Russian T-34 and dove down on it. Once again, the Chinese Hurricane pilot fired his machine guns at the enemy tank to sight in his cannon. This time though, when Cáo selected his cannons and fired, the result was much different than the first time. His shells slammed into and penetrated the sides of the targeted T-34, causing the tank to skid to a halt and burst into flame. He also dropped his bomb onto a Russian column of trucks, scattering them and setting several on fire.

With those successes, Lieutenant Cáo quickly turned to make additional attacks. The defensive fire from Russian anti-aircraft guns continued to increase in intensity though. The Chinese Hurricane pilot was able to make three more successful attacks on Russian armor until he received damage from ground fire to his left wing.

It was fortunate that Lieutenant Cáo was forced to withdraw though. Only a few minutes later, Russian fighters arrived over the battlefield. But they did not arrive in time to prevent much of the invading force from being disabled or destroyed by the Chinese attack fighters. Lieutenant Cáo’s Hurricane would have been no match for one of the agile Russian fighters in any event.

General Patton continued to monitor the battle from his armored command vehicle. He had brought as close to the front line as he dared. In fact, there were many Chinese officers who felt that Patton was already entirely too close at his current location.

“We have reports of Russian aircraft coming in from the northwest, Sir.” Patton’s radio operator reported.

“Our people need to get their anti-aircraft guns ready then. It appears that our own air cover hasn’t arrived yet to take over from the tank-busters that hit the Russians earlier.”

The Chinese troops had gotten the message about the incoming Russian aircraft too as the sky began to fill with tracers racing skyward. Each armored regiment had its own anti-aircraft section in addition to the Division’s dedicated anti-aircraft guns. The Chinese Nationalists’ original light twenty-millimeter automatic cannons that made up its primary light anti-aircraft weapons were still part of the inventory. But they had now largely been supplanted by remanufactured Japanese Type 98 twenty millimeter and Type 96 twenty-five millimeter automatic cannons that had been captured by the Chinese during the war.

The former Japanese guns had been heavily modified in a Cavill-owned factory in southern China before being returned to service. While there had been some consideration to placing these guns on self-propelled mounts, the Chinese simply did not have enough available vehicles. So instead, the modified guns were placed on new towed mounts that could be quickly emplaced. The Type 98’s were mounted in four-gun mounts while the Type 96’s were on twin-gun mounts. The aiming mechanisms were substantially improved for all of these weapons. In addition, they both utilized larger capacity drum ammunition magazines to increase their effective rates of fire against aerial targets. The towed mounts looked remarkably similar to the Russian ZPU-4 and ZU-23 anti-aircraft mounts of just a decade or two later.

These automatic cannons were supplemented at short ranges by numerous Browning M2 heavy machine guns that had been mounted on many Chinese tanks, light armored vehicles and even a large number of standard cargo trucks. Altogether, these weapons provided for a formidable short-range defense.

What was lacking for the Chinese were weapons that were both mobile and powerful enough to reach out to targets flying at medium altitudes. The German-made eighty-eight millimeter cannons were too slow to keep up with a mobile formation and too few to make a substantial difference The Chinese could not afford to purchase modern forty millimeter Bofors cannons or the new Australian 57mm automatic cannon. So they had to make do with what they already had. The importance of what the Chinese were able to assemble would soon be apparent.

General Patton saw the first flight of Il-2’s himself from his vantage point. He was just about to call on the radio for air cover when he then saw a pair of newly acquired Whirlwind-R twin-engine fighters in Chinese insignia along with a quartet of AVG P-40 Kittyhawk’s with their tiger shark teeth painted on their noses. The six friendly fighters quickly dove in on the marauding Russian ‘flying tanks’.

The fifty-caliber heavy machine guns of the AVG’s P-40s were hitting the Sturmoviks pretty hard. But the four Hispano-Suiza twenty-millimeter automatic cannons in the nose of each of the Whirlwind-R’s were utterly devastating to the Russian ground attack aircraft.

Patton found himself smiling as the Chinese fighters began chopping down the Russian ground attack aircraft that had been taking such a toll on the armored force that he had put together. He grimaced though when he saw several Yak-3 fighters with the red star emblazoned on them roar into the fray a few minutes later.

More aircraft from both sides soon also joined the battle in the skies above Patton’s location. Russian Petlakov Pe-2 and Tupolev Tu-2 twin engine bombers attempted to bomb Chinese columns, but were met by additional Chinese fighters, both from the Flying Tigers and from other Chinese fighter squadrons that had recently been reformed and reequipped. During the next hour, multiple trails of smoke arced downward as warplanes from both sides were plucked from the heavens by their opponents. Streams of tracers also continued to soar into the sky from a variety of Chinese vehicles attempting to shoot down attacking Russian fighters and bombers.

Between the various Chinese fighters and the heavy ground fire coming up from literally hundreds of automatic weapons, the attacking Russian aircraft were finally swept from the skies above the battlefield. But while there was a pause in the fighting in the skies, the fighting on the ground was still very intense.

Patton stepped back into his personal command vehicle. While he looked down at the latest reports on Russian activity that his radio operator had documented, he mused out loud.

“This is the last big war that I will ever see, I’m afraid.”

Captain Leung, General Patton’s aide, had been standing quietly nearby, watching the American general as usual.

“That is the most relaxed statement in the middle of a battle that I have ever heard you say, Sir.” The Chinese officer noted.

“I’m afraid that Captain Birch has been having some affect upon my language. I don’t swear nearly as much as I used to.” Patton laughed for a moment before seeing something else going in the battle in the latest reports.

While Patton was not the commander of the Chinese forces fighting the Russians, he certainly felt a sense of responsibility for them. He yearned for the opportunity to go into battle once again, in spite of his age and position. The more that Patton thought about it, the more willing he was to do something rash and impulsive.

General Patton just could not simply sit back and watch this battle from the sidelines any longer. He drove up to one of the forward camps where Chinese units were being reorganized and supplied. Patton then walked up to a Chinese major who had been talking to an American quartermaster in English.

“Do you have a tank crew that can understand English?” Patton hurriedly asked.

The Chinese captain quickly answered, “Yes, Sir. That medium tank right there. They lost their commander to enemy fire, but the others can speak English.”

“Good. I’m taking command of that tank. I need the rest of that platoon to come with me to the front as quickly as they can get fuel and ammunition replenished.”

Captain Leung ran up behind Patton after catching enough of the conversation to be very alarmed. The Chinese officer called out, causing Patton to stop and turn around.

“Sir, what are you going to do?” Patton’s Chinese aide quickly asked.

“I’m going up to the front line to see what is going on, first hand.” Patton said with a knowing smile.

“It is far too dangerous for someone of your seniority to be in the middle of the fighting. We cannot afford to lose you, Sir.” The fear in Captain Leung’s voice clearly apparent.

“Just do me a big favor, Captain. Please tell Captain Birch where I went. Whatever happens, we will all be just fine.” Patton said as he put a hand on Leung’s shoulder and smiling once again. Then Patton turned and walked away towards the tank that he had asked for.

The indicated vehicle looked like it had already been in the thick of battle. Its armor was scarred by numerous hits from small arms fire. There were also several gouges from hits by enemy tank guns on the tank’s front glacis plate. But the tank’s armor had held against everything that the Russians had thrown at it.

The sixty-three year old American general climbed aboard the Echidna II medium tank as its crew loaded in the last of the rounds for its 17-pounder high velocity main gun. He pointed to the tank’s loader and called out.

“Private, I am going to need for you to do something for me.”

“Yes, Sir.” Came the heavily accented and somewhat terrified reply.

It isn’t very often in a private’s career that you are addressed directly by a living legend. General Patton had indeed become a legend within the Kuomintang after what he had accomplished with the Seventh Cavalry and his dramatic reformation of the Chinese Armored Corps.

“Since I can’t speak Chinese worth a damn, I am going to have to rely on you to pass on any orders and other information to the battalion and the platoon. I will be focusing on commanding this tank. Do you have any problem with that, soldier?”

“No, Sir.” The loader instantly replied.

“Well, let’s get going. We’ve got a battle to fight and Russians to kill.” Patton growled before flashing a huge smile to his new tank crew.

For the first time in over thirty years, George S. Patton was going to be personally commanding a tank going into direct battle against an enemy force. He somehow knew that this was his ultimate destiny too.

Patton didn’t even know any of the names of the Chinese soldiers who were in the tank with him. But they were still His soldiers, just as any of the Americans who served with him in the American Tigers had been. He just addressed each of them as ‘soldier’ or by their individual crew position in the Australian-built medium tank.

It did not take long for the tank platoon to be formed up and ready to go back into battle. A handful of Chinese infantry hopped on top of the tanks to serve as protection against enemy anti-tank teams. The Kuomintang had learned that hard lesson at the hands of the Japanese.

Patton’s tank platoon moved quickly towards the last reported position of the Russian armored spearhead. He gave instructions to the platoon that were passed along to the other three tanks by his loader.

Patton’s platoon moved as stealthily as possible using all available terrain as cover as they closed with the Russians’ last reported position. Driving through dry river beds and using hills to block line of sight, the Chinese armor moved steadily forward.

Patton was looking out of his tank commander’s hatch when he spotted a large plume of dust off to the west. He quickly stopped the platoon and instructed his loader to tell the infantry riding on the tanks to dismount, go up a nearby hill and look for enemy movement.

Less than ten minutes later, the Chinese infantrymen came running back the hill, yelling excitedly in Chinese.

Patton turned to his loader to ask what they were saying.

“Sir, the infantry are reporting that there are many enemy tanks and other vehicles moving south on the other side of that hill.”

“Were our infantry seen by the Russians?” Patton quickly asked.

“No, Sir. They don’t think so.”

Patton grimly smiled. But it was also a predatory smile as well.

“Very good. I need for you to send a radio report to your battalion informing them of the Russian armored column. Also tell them that we are about to engage the enemy force and give the battalion our location. We don’t want to be hit by our own aircraft, of course.” Patton instructed his loader.

After the message was sent, Patton gave the tank’s loader one more set of instructions.”

“Tell the Platoon that we are going to attack the Russian force from the flank and do as much damage as possible. That will buy the rest of our forces enough time to hit the Russians at full strength and destroy the invaders.

Now, let’s get to it and may God be with us on this mission.”

Patton ordered his tank forward while the other three tanks followed behind. They continued to move north through a dry river bed until they found a convenient point to come out without highlighting themselves on top of a ridgeline. They got into hull-down firing positions and began to fire into the flank of the Russian column which had large numbers of T-34-85 medium tanks, the best Russian medium tanks available. Patton ordered his platoon to focus on the enemy’s tanks.

More than half a dozen of these powerful Russian tanks were soon hit and burning before the enemy column appeared to react to Patton’s hasty tank ambush. Patton saw a Russian tank company turn towards his platoon and begin to charge. Patton and his platoon stood their ground for the moment, slamming shell after shell into the oncoming T-34’s.

Patton and his Chinese tankers were getting kill after kill. But in response, the Russians were turning and pushing more tanks towards Patton’s location. He tried to withdraw, but by then Patton discovered that he was already being flanked by even more Russian armor.

The limited visibility of the T-34 crews was made even worse by their tank commanders being forced to remain buttoned up. The handful of Chinese infantry that rode on Patton’s tanks had started sniping at any Russian tank crewmen that dared to open a hatch to look out from. Patton’s Echidna’s had far better visibility from within, even when buttoned up, giving them the advantage.

“Damn it! Just charge them!” Patton yelled out to his loader to send out to the rest of the platoon. The Echidna’s turret rang like a bell when a Russian 85mm round ricocheted off of it. But the tank was still operational as it suddenly plunged into the midst of the Russian force, Patton’s gunner firing armor-piercing shells as quickly as he could. They were still getting kills in the midst of this short range armored melee. That is what mattered most now.

The tank shuddered repeatedly as Russian shells bounced off of its armor. The concussive force of the impacts caused the entire tank crew to suffer from ringing ears and nosebleeds as a result.

But, the rapidly-moving tank just was too agile for the Russians to get a clean shot at it. But one by one, the Chinese tank platoon was being whittled down. There were just too many Russian tanks firing at the Chinese tanks for the latter to avoid being holed by an armor piercing round. Patton swore loudly as he saw two of his tanks stopped and burning after they had each been hit multiple times by enemy fire.

Suddenly, Patton’s own tank shuddered to a halt when a shell struck and broke its left track. Patton and his crew still continued to fight in spite of the certainty that a Russian round would soon find its way through the immobile tank’s armor.

The other surviving Chinese tank suddenly rushed in to interpose itself between Patton’s disabled tank and the attacking Russian armor. The self-sacrificial act by the Chinese tank crew bought Patton and his men a little more time. But the other Chinese tank paid for its bravery a few moments later when half a dozen heavy Russian shells slammed into it and turned the Echidna II into a blazing inferno.

General Patton was only barely conscious of the death of his last platoon mate as he and his crew desperately fought from their now immobile tank. They were traversing their turret and firing their guns as quickly as possible as the Russians continued to close in. Smoke from the constant firing of the main gun and co-axial machine gun filled the turret and hull of Patton’s tank, making it hard to breathe. But still they fought on, yelling out their defiance as still another Russian tank died.

Patton had been still calling out targets to his gunner when an 85mm shell from one of the Russian T-34’s finally pierced the side armor of his tank and set off a catastrophic explosion within his remaining ammunition. He was fully engaged in battle one moment, then for Patton and his crew, it all ended in sudden oblivion.

Lieutenant General George S. Patton died in battle as he always wanted, not fighting against politicians or journalists, but fighting gloriously inside of a tank against a worthy foe. The epic stand that Patton and his fellow tankers fought against such overwhelming odds virtually gutted the better part of a tank battalion. It also threw the Russian main attack into considerable disarray. But the Russians still had more tanks available than the Chinese at the moment.

For General Patton’s opposite number, his fate was far different.

Marshall Georgy Zhukov was at his forward command post when he received news that one of his main columns of armor was under attack near the eastern border with Korea. This was the force that Marshal Zhukov expected would be the one that would finally punch through the Chinese lines and reach Port Arthur. But the messages that the Russian command in the East had recently received were very disquieting.

It was a far cry from the string of successes that Marshal Zhukov had accomplished against the Japanese. Zhukov had been utterly victorious, both during the brief campaign prior to the beginning of the Second World War and more recently with the destruction of the tattered remnants of the Japanese Army in Manchuria.

The only black mark in the most recent campaign was the toll that Japanese fighters had taken upon Russian air power. The recently introduced Japanese canard-winged Shinden fighters had been swept out of the skies by Russian fighters. But the cost to the Russians for those clear skies over Manchuria was very high because the Japanese fanatically fought to the very last aircraft. Unfortunately for Zhukov, that also meant his aerial reconnaissance force had been decimated as well.

So when Zhukov asked his staff about the strength of the enemy force that had attacked, the answer was not to his liking at all.”

“Nyet. We do not know for certain.”

“We must reinforce that regiment immediately.” Zhukov ordered his operations chief to send to the reserve regiment via radio. Lacking precise information, he had no choice. He preferred to use artillery and indeed ordered additional artillery support immediately upon receiving the report of the battle. However, it was quickly clear from the panicked messages being received from the regimental commander that the situation required more direct assistance.

Zhukov did not have the wealth of artillery that he once had when he was facing the Wehrmacht on the outskirts of Moscow. That wealth helped hold back the Germans for a while until after Hitler’s death and the resurgence of both the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe. Then, much of that firepower had been destroyed when the Germans destroyed so much of the Red Army during the final days of the war before the Soviet Union’s surrender and dissolution.

More disturbing was that the main Russian artillery force in the Far East had been badly hit by a combination of Chinese air attacks and multiple rocket launcher strikes two days earlier. Zhukov’s artillery commanders had assured him that they had very carefully concealed and protected the battalions that had been hit. But yet, the Chinese still managed to do a considerable amount of damage to the Russian artillery force. Zhukov’s artillery units would take additional days to reorganize into something approaching an effective force.

President Tupolev still regarded Marshall Zhukov with a certain amount of suspicion as a result of Zhukov’s relationship with Josef Stalin and refused to give the Marshall everything that he wanted. Nonetheless, the Russian leader had demanded that Zhukov take Port Arthur with the assets that were given to him.

So the reserve force that Zhukov had hoped to save to use to exploit any penetrations of the Chinese front lines had to be committed elsewhere. The threat of a flank attack that could penetrate and hit his own rear areas was far too serious to ignore. So the orders went out over the radio to retask the Russian reserves. What Zhukov did not count on was that the American radio interception teams working for General Patton were so capable.

Not only had his orders been intercepted and decoded, but the location of Zhukov’s headquarters had been pinpointed as well. This had confirmed other intelligence reports that the Chinese had also received concerning the location of the Russian command post.

A battery of Chinese multiple rocket launchers was rushed to within range of that location and began to set up as quickly as possible. In less than thirty minutes, a massive barrage of rockets were on their way. It was fortunate for the Chinese that the rockets were available because the alternative would have been to send an air strike. Zhukov had heavily reinforced the anti-aircraft defenses of his forward field headquarters after his experiences with both the Luftwaffe and the Imperial Japanese Air Forces.

But these guns could not shoot down scores of large incoming artillery rockets. Those rockets began to land on and around Zhukov’s headquarters a few short minutes later.

Zhukov had been under artillery fire before. But this was much more intense than he had ever endured before. He and all of the personnel in the headquarters began to run to a nearby bomb shelter that had been hastily emplaced only a few hours before.

But before the Russian commander could reach the shelter, one of those rockets landed less than a meter from him and a cluster of a dozen other staffers. They were all torn to pieces and either died instantly or were mortally wounded. Zhukov lay dying as more explosions continued to tear apart all of his headquarters apart. No one was left to save him or the rest of the men who had been directing the Russian forces.

With Marshal Zhukov’s death and the destruction of his forward command post, the Russian force found itself decapitated. This plunged the Russian invaders into disarray and unable to react to a Chinese counterattack. Thousands of men and hundreds of vehicles were lost as a result of the struggle in Manchuria.

Eventually, both sides fought to exhaustion. But the Russians were forced to hastily withdraw because of the heavy losses and the international outcry over their incursion into China. In the Chinese capital of Bejing, there were massive celebrations by jubilant Chinese.

In Moscow, the mood was far more somber. The Russians’ great gamble for a short, victorious war had failed.

Russian Government Executive Office

Moscow, Russia

October 28, 1948

The Chinese diplomatic flight arrived at the newly reconstructed Vnukovo airport near Moscow only an hour earlier. Ambassador Chou Ping had been quickly driven via official motorcade to the new Russian government office building. The building was so new that Ambassador Ping could still smell the fresh paint inside.

The new Chinese Ambassador to Russia was quickly ushered by a pair of Russians from their Foreign Ministry to a small conference room. The two Russians then left Ambassador Ping alone in the room. A few moments later, Russian President Vladimir Tupolev walked in. Tupolev smiled and extended his hand as though he was glad to see the Chinese senior diplomat.

“Welcome to Moscow, Ambassador Ping. It has been a very busy time here with all of the construction going here in Moscow. I’m afraid that our German ‘guests’ left quite a mess before they left.” Tupolev said to his guest.

“We, Chinese, certainly know how destructive unwanted ‘visitors’ can be. We will be very busy cleaning up the destruction in northern China and Manchuria for quite some time, I’m afraid.” Ping pointedly remarked.

“Yes, I’m sure that you will be. On that note, I wish to formally apologize for the recent events in Manchuria. I certainly do not wish for the relationship between our two great nations to be in conflict, Ambassador.”

“It seems that your army’s presence in Manchuria was no accident though. We captured quite a few documents when we overran several of your army’s field headquarters. They indicated that your forces planned to drive all the way to the port at Dalian. I know that over forty years ago, the Russian Navy had leased facilities there in order to have a warm-weather port available.

Why didn’t you merely ask us if you could lease the facilities at Dalian for your Pacific Fleet instead of trying to take them by military force, President Tupolev? We would have been more than happy to have come to a mutually satisfactory arrangement if you had asked.” Ping asked. It almost sounded like the Chinese diplomat had a hint of sympathy in his voice for the situation that Russia found itself in, but only almost.

“I wish that we had known of your willingness to negotiate a new leasing agreement for the port facilities at what we knew as Port Arthur. I know that our military has badly needed an ice-free port since our defeat by the Japanese forty years ago. I’m afraid that our commanders in the Eastern district far exceeded their authority while fighting the remnants of the Japanese occupying forces. I assure you that they will be harshly disciplined for attacking your nation.” Russian President Tupolev calmly lied.

He could not admit that he personally authorized the military move into Manchuria to seize the port for both military and political purposes. He needed a quick military victory to cement confidence in his government. Unfortunately for the Russians, the Chinese military had somehow managed to mount an effective defense in spite of having been so badly mauled by the Japanese during in the war.

In a sense, it was fortunate that the commander of the Russian forces, Marshall Zhukov, died in a Chinese air attack on his command post. So there was no one who could be questioned afterwards about Tupolev’s order to invade Chinese territory.

“The Chinese people will require an accounting for what was done in Manchuria by members of the Russian Army.” Ping responded.

“Of course. We will hold a tribunal for all surviving senior officers to determine where the illegal order originated. We are indeed interested in leasing port facilities at Dalian. All of our existing ports are unavailable during winter because of heavy ice. We badly need to be able to conduct shipping during the winter months.” Tupolev explained.

“We are willing to allow the lease to occur, but the conditions will certainly be different. First, the price for the lease will be higher to compensate the Chinese people for the losses in life and materiel incurred during your unlawful invasion of our territory. Secondly, the base must be used only as a logistical station, not as a military base. There will be no Marines or other ground forces allowed in the facility at any time. The numbers and types of ships allowed will the strictly limited as well.”

It would be a bitter pill for Tupolev to swallow. But he already faced increasing opposition from within Russia for the heavy losses in the fight against the Chinese. He needed to get something positive. He would need to spin this as being somehow something that he forced upon the Chinese to give up basing rights. But Russia still desperately needed access to that warm-water port, whatever the price.

For the Chinese, the situation was nearly as desperate. They were essentially broke and needed to find additional sources of income until the Chinese economy and industries could be rebuilt. Generalissimo Chang Kai-Shek had sent Ambassador Ping with orders to get the best deal possible, but to make the deal with the Russians for the lease of naval base facilities at Dalian, one way or another.

“While we do need the warm water port that your facilities would provide us, the Russian people will not be subjected to extortion.” Tupolev firmly demanded.

“Of course, not. What we want is to have a mutually beneficial relationship between our two countries in spite of what has happened recently in Manchuria. But the Chinese people will not accept a Russian military presence on our soil without significant restrictions. The acts of certain Russian military commanders also cannot be excused either. We must be properly compensated for our losses. But we can be reasonable, if Russia is willing to be reasonable with us.” Ambassador Ping countered in a firm, but not confrontational manner.

The discussion continued for another two hours. The end result of that discussion was that they agreed to proceed with detailed negotiations. This was the beginning of a process that led three months later to a ten year leasing agreement with options for five year periodic renewals. The Russians were also forced to pay more than fifty millions dollars’ worth of gold as restitution for the deaths of Chinese citizens and destruction of Chinese property.

Both sides heralded the agreement as a model of cooperation and reconciliation between nations. Both sides also quietly still looked at each other with suspicion. But the Chinese got a badly needed infusion of funding from the Russians. The Russians finally got their warm-water port. They also received an agreement to allow a rail line to be run from eastern Siberia to Dalian to move materiel from Dalian to the rest of Russia.

But President Tupolev would still have to face the Russian people to answer for the deaths of so many Russian soldiers in a war that they did not need to fight.

Chapter Twenty-Two:

Cavill Shipyards

Derby, Western Australia

November 21, 1948

Harold and his engineering team from the shipyards watched as tugs brought in the former Japanese warships that had been allocated to Australia as part of the peace treaty with Japan. A pair of Akizuki-class destroyers and an Unryu-class fleet carrier led a small flotilla of warships into King Sound. Harold had gotten the contract to examine these vessels and assess their suitability for inclusion into the Royal Australian Navy. This group of vessels included a quartet of I-401-class cruise missile launching submarines, one of the massive tanker submarines that had been derived from the I-401 and one of the I-201-class Sen Taka class high-speed submarines.

“These ships will be very interesting to examine. The Japanese obviously did some very innovative engineering work on many of these ships. I’m sure that we will learn quite a bit from them. Those big submarines are of particular interest to me. The Japanese were years ahead of their time with the use of these boats as a missile-launching platform.” Harold said as he watched the slow progress up the waterway of the ex-Japanese warships.

“The Americans certainly wish that the Japs had not picked up on that particular combination though.” Alexander Portman, the chief naval architect for Cavill Shipyards noted.

“I don’t think that the Americans have yet to design an effective counter to those Jap buzz bombs that had been launched from these subs. But I am sure that the American anti-submarine forces are going to be looking very closely at the Jap boats that they received as part of the post-war compensations from the Japanese.”

“I heard that the Royal Navy received an Unryu in addition to the aircraft carrier Taiho and the fast battleship Haruna to replace some of British combat losses.” Alex replied.

“Yes, they did. The British also received a pair of those bloody big I-401’s. The engineers at Portsmouth will be very keen to learn more about those missile launching submarines. I know that we will be also. But I am sure that we will be able to improve significantly upon the Japanese design before we feed the buggers into our blast furnaces. I expect that the British will end up scrapping most of their prize ships because of the difficulty in adapting them into the British logistics system in any event.” Harold replied confidently.

Of course, Harold had considerably superior technology already available at his fingertips from his computer database. But having access to the I-401 would give him the opportunity to cover the release of some of that technology.

“It sounds like almost all of the ships from the Imperial Japanese Navy will end up back into a furnace. The Japanese certainly have been raising every ship that has been sunken that they can and breaking them up for the steel themselves.” Alex noted.

“Yes, the Japanese are trying very hard to pick up the pieces after the mess their leaders left them with. Yamamoto has become the de facto leader of the Japanese people after the death of the Imperial Family and the death or arrest of everyone else who was involved in the prosecution of the war. They simply don’t have the resources to repair all of the damage to the nation’s infrastructure.”

“They will have even fewer resources now that the Americans have claimed Shinano for themselves. That’s a lot of steel that could have fed Japanese blast furnaces if that massive aircraft carrier was broken up at home rather than being patched up to send to the Americans.” Alex replied.

“This is true. But my sources in Washington tell me that the American Congress specifically wanted Shinano so that they could refit her for use in the US Navy. Apparently, the American legislators see this as an opportunity to cancel construction on one of the new large Freedom-class aircraft carriers while receiving a warship that is considerably larger.”

“Apparently, they don’t understand that it will cost the US Navy very nearly as much to refit Shinano to American specifications as it would to build am entire Freedom-class carrier. In any event, it will be their problem, not ours. I fully expect that once we closely examine these ships, all of them will be judged unsuitable for Australian service and broken up for scrap.

After all, we want to be the ones building new ships for our navy, don’t we?” Harold said while he continued to watch the column of ships preparing to dock at the nearby quay.

Harold finally turned away and began to walk towards his truck. As he turned, he said to Alex.

“I need to go now to the airfield to meet with my aircraft designers. There is much that we have to do in order to refocus on a peacetime market, I’m afraid.”

“There are still going to be wars out there, Sir. We will need to be ready to produce products to meet that market as well. Things are certainly not cooling down much in the Middle East or in China, not to mention the various brushfire conflicts in South America and Africa.”

“I know. We will have to do what we can. But I have other projects that I must focus on now in addition to our shipyard. So as I mentioned before, I really must leave for my next meeting, Alex.” Harold hurriedly replied before resuming his walk to his vehicle.

The trip to the airfield where Harold’s main aircraft design and production facilities were located took him about twenty minutes to drive to.

When Harold arrived, Theodore Rosewood was already waiting for him in his office. The large room was filled with drafting tables, blueprint storage cabinets, filled bookshelves and stacks of reports.

“How are you doing, Sir? We’ve been very busy here, as you can well imagine.” Theo said as he stood up to greet his employer.

“Yes, I know. There were a few subjects that I wanted to discuss with you after my latest trip overseas. The Americans are building quite a few large piston-engine airliners that are intended for intercontinental flights. They are going to take to take over the entire airline market, even from the British and the Germans. I think that we can design a better airliner than even the Americans can.” Harold told his chief aeronautical engineer.

“The Americans have access to very large, powerful piston engines that we simply cannot build in our engine factories, Sir. We have pushed our domestically-built Twin-Cyclone engines to around two-thousand horsepower output. But it takes six of these engines each to power our Cavaliers, Cassowary’s and our new large cargo aircraft. That eats up much of our engine production by themselves, much less for any new designs.” Theo replied.

“I know that. What I want to do in the near-future is to start transitioning all of our engine production from piston engines to gas-turbine based powerplants with the exception of those engines needed for ground vehicles like trucks and the like.

We are already beginning to use a lot of common components from the core of the jet engine intended for the new fighter design. We can build a propeller-driving engine using that same gas generator core that is nearly as efficient as a conventional piston engine and is still more powerful than the largest Pratt and Whitney piston design.”

“Will we still have to use six engines to have enough power or will we be able to reduce that number to four or less, Sir?”

“I think that we could most certainly be able produce enough horsepower to reduce the required number of engines by a third. Of course, your twin-engined ‘flying boxcar’, could also gain some tremendously advantages from the use of the new engines, don’t you think Theo? It has already been quite successful in spite of being slightly underpowered as you have previously told me. I’m sure that with more powerful engines that it would become even more popular with increased speed and payload.

Of course, Harold could see from the expression on the aeronautical engineer’s face that the latter was delighted at the possibilities. Theo loved trying to build the best aircraft that he could with the available technology. So having a new, more powerful engine was like having a brand new toy to play with for Theo. Besides, Harold reasoned, such engines were being developed at that same point in history before.

“Yes, Sir. I agree. It certainly would make a huge difference in terms of the payload for that transport.  We could also redesign the wing for the Cavalier and the new heavy transport for four of these gas-turboshaft engines. This would probably give them increased speed and payload, both very important for a large transport.”

“Could we afford to build a completely new airliner that combined our new turbo-prop engines with a swept wing so that we can combine fuel efficiency with a relatively high speed, Theo?” Harold quietly asked.

The engineer thought for a few moments, then scribbled a few notes on a pad of paper that he carried with him before replying to Harold’s question.

“Yes, Sir. But it would take a considerable capital investment since you are talking about a completely new airframe, even if we can incorporate some components from our earlier designs. We would also not be able to build enough aircraft to fill the demand before someone else copies the basic design.”

“Maybe, but if you can design an ace aircraft, perhaps we can enter into a co-production agreement with another company, perhaps in England, to build enough airframes to make it profitable for us and to fill the potential market’s requirements. What do you think, Theo?”

“Fair Dinkum, Sir. I may not be an expert in marketing. But what you are suggesting sounds like as good of a plan as any that I can think so. After all, we have already started one cooperative development program with Avro for a new jet bomber that could be produced for both the RAF and our air force to fully modernize our bomber fleet.”

“Yes. I have very high hopes for that particular program also. Are there any particular features that you would like to incorporate into this new airliner design that you are going to focused on creating and building, Theo?”

“I would advise on a wing design with only a moderate amount of sweep. We still don’t know a lot about the flight characteristics of a swept wing. But what I have learned is that it does make some compromises in low speed flight. This will make it harder to land on shorter airfields without the use of a lot of supplemental lift devices, Sir. We might like to have an aircraft that is limited to only the longest runways.”

“That sounds reasonable, my friend. I would like for you to contact Carl Summers at our engine design division. He can give you the technical information on the new turboshaft engine design. I want you to go ahead and work on the new airliner. I also want you to start work on adapting that engine for the Cavalier along with the necessary redesign work for the wing.”

“If that is the case, I might as well start work on the new heavy transport and the modifications to my twin-engine ‘flying boxcar’ as you put it at the same time.”

“Of course. Since the worldwide market for these aircraft is much smaller, we certainly could produce enough to corner a sufficient market share with what we produce here.” Harold explained.

After that, Harold left to go back home. As he drove back, Harold pondered the impact of his latest aircraft development programs.

“This all still fits within the technological level of the period. Besides, we could never build enough aircraft to truly threaten the dominance of aircraft manufacturers like Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed.” Harold quietly said to himself.

He still thought in terms of changing the political landscape while keeping the vast majority of the technological innovations within the timeline of the future that he came from. His overall goal still remained the same, the prevention of the nuclear holocaust that would someday doom humanity. But, what about the other unintended consequences of his changes to history? Harold just didn’t know what world that he would leave to his children. Historical events were now so far different that the computer database’s historical files could not help very much at all now.

Now, Harold had to rely upon what he hoped was his own good judgement and lots of prayer in order to get things right.

10 Downing Street, Prime Minister’s Residence

London, UK

January 4, 1949

Prime Minister Churchill is sitting in the small conference room at the Prime Minister’s residence with the Foreign Secretary and several members of the Ministry of War after the New Year’s Day pronouncement that came out of Cairo, Egypt. Almost overnight, the Egyptians had nationalized a variety of foreign holdings including the Suez Canal. They had also barred passage of Israeli shipping in violation of international agreements. Churchill listened intently at first as some of the other officials spoke.

“We lost a tremendous amount of leverage over the Egyptians when Gamal Nasser and his fellow officers ousted King Farouk in a coup d’etat in 1948. The King may have been corrupt as hell, but he still took in consideration the legitimate vested interests that we had in the region.” RAF General Alstair Shelby told the others.

“I would have to agree, General. I know that the loss of the naval base at Alexandria and your airbase at Deversoir have both seriously affected our ability to project power in the region.” Defense Minister Philip Archibald added.

“I’m afraid the President Gamal Nasser has pushing this issue too far this time. We have given in to Egyptian demands on modifying our treaty regarding the Suez Canal several times already. But we have a vested interested in keeping that strategic waterway open for international shipping. The only way that we can ensure that is to have British troops on the ground at the canal.” General Harold McAllister explained.

“What does the Foreign Ministry have to say about this, Sir William.” Churchill asked his Foreign Minister, Sir William McClain.

“The French feel the same way as we do, I’m afraid. They put a lot of francs into building the Suez Canal. They are bloody angry about the Egyptians nationalizing the canal and cutting the French off from the income that the canal generated. The French are also very concerned on how much the Egyptians have been cozying up to the Germans, especially after we and the French dropped our financing plans for a new Aswan High Dam.

After King Farouk was ousted by Nasser, both of us were very concerned with Nasser’s public comments about nationalizing foreign-owned assets. After all, we have tens of millions of Pounds of investment in Egypt already and had planned on putting at least that much more into the Aswan project. So, both France and Great Britain pulled out of the Aswan deal. We couldn’t afford to lose that much, especially with our current fiscal situation.”

“What are the French planning to do?” Churchill then asked.

“De Gaulle wants to airdrop some of his Foreign Legionnaires on several Egyptian targets to seize the Egyptian government and take custody of President Nasser. Other French troops will move over from Algeria and land from transport ships to secure Egypt’s military bases. The French also want to take some of those heavy bombers that they bought from us a couple of years ago to neutralize the rest of Nasser’s ability to intervene militarily.”

“What do the French want of us, Sir William?” Churchill asked.

“They’d like for us to help neutralizing Eqypt’s military and blockading its ports using the Royal Navy. The French feel that the Egyptians don’t really have the means to defend against French bombers, so they are providing their own escort fighters however.”

“The French are making a lot of assumptions there. I’m sure the Egyptians have been making some military preparations to defend themselves against foreign attack. After all, President Nasser was an Army officer before he took over the government.”

“There is one other element in the equation also. The Israelis have approached the French and ourselves with an offer to participate in coordinated attacks against the Egyptians.” Sir William quietly explained.

“That is pretty cheeky on the part of the Israelis to want to go on the offensive against the Egyptians, even in conjunction with us and the French.” McAllister noted.

“Well, the Israelis have been holding their own against the Arabs in spite of numerous attacks since the formation of the State of Israel. But Nasser has been especially vocal in his intentions of destroying Israel. Perhaps, the Israelis believe that if they help us, we can eliminate Nasser as a threat to them.”

“Well, we can certainly use all of the help that we can get, even from the Israelis. But we must all realize that they have a vested interest beyond the rest of us. They know that revenue from the canal would be used to finance military operations against them and also as leverage to force Western nations to act against Israel.” Churchill said while lighting a fresh cigar.

“I can certainly see how the Israelis would want our efforts to succeed then. But I still wonder if the Americans do anything to get in the way of our operation?” General Shelby asked the Foreign Minister.

“I don’t think so, particularly with how the American public still has quite the isolationist attitude. But who knows what President Dewey will decide to do on his own.”

“As far as the Americans are concerned, the fact still remains that it is far easier to beg for forgiveness than to obtain permission.” Churchill remarked to the quiet amusement of the others in the meeting.

“So we are in agreement to proceed with the operation?” General McAllister asked.

“Yes, I believe so. But, we must be prepared for any surprises once the operation begins. If this all falls apart, the current government will have hell to pay in the next election. That much is certain.” Churchill sternly warned.

Derby Electrical Power Station

Derby, Western Australia

March 22, 1949

Harold had arranged for a small ceremony at the electrical power station. Most of the heavy factories were closed for the day so that Harold could afford to reduce the number of boilers running at the power station that day. Otherwise, the dark smoke plume from the coal-fired power plant would spoil the view for everyone attending.

But smoke still came out of one of the four tall smokestacks at the plant from the burning of coal so that the homes of Derby would still have electricity that day.

One of the dignitaries that came to visit for the groundbreaking ceremony was Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley. He had flown in after receiving Harold’s invitation. A few months earlier, Harold had traveled to Canberra to talk with the Prime Minister about receiving a government grant to help pay for the new power plant.

The Prime Minister was very receptive during Harold’s visit, especially noting Harold’s previous hydroelectric and irrigation projects and their similarity with Chifley’s own Snowy Mountains Scheme. While the Australian government’s contribution to the project of several million dollars was only a drop in the bucket compared to the total cost, it still helped Harold. More importantly, Chifley’s public support of the new nuclear fission reactor facilitated any governmental regulator hurtles.

Harold saw the car with the Prime Minister pull up near the ceremony with little fanfare. A tall, slender grey-haired man in a grey suit got out and began to walk towards Harold. The Prime Minister was holding his usual tobacco pipe in his left hand while reaching out with his right to shake Harold’s hand.

“Good morning, Mister Cavill. I was very pleased when I received your invitation to come here.” Prime Minister Chifley said in his normal affable manner.

Harold already knew that the Prime Minister was in ill-health already, largely to the latter’s lifelong smoking habit and would only have a few months to live. But with the success of receiving at least a small amount of government aid for the construction of the reactor from the very fiscally conservative Chifley, Harold felt that he had to invite the Prime Minister to the event.

“I am very pleased that you were able to come, Sir.” Harold replied with a smile.

“This could very well be a landmark event for our nation, Mister Cavill. I just wish that we could have gone further in assisting you with its funding. Of course, you know that my administration is attempting to control inflation and minimize foreign debt. So we have to be very fiscally responsible with the taxpapers’ money.”

Harold silently added, ‘unless we are spending those funds towards the Labour Party’s objective of socialism’.

Of course, the Prime Minister had no idea just how much money that Harold had spent towards the Liberal candidate Robert Menzies in an effort to get him reelected. Harold knew the flawed outcome of Labour’s policies and wanted no part of it.

“I understand. As a businessman, I have to be very responsible with all of the funds that I have. Otherwise, I run the risk of running out of money and going bankrupt. All my employees, their families and my customers all rely upon me to avoid that unpleasant outcome, as you can well imagine, Sir.”

“Being one of the largest employers in all of Australia, you have helped keep our economy afloat. It is quite remarkable that you have come up from nothing to such wealth. You have made an extraordinary contribution to our nation.” Chifley responded, completely oblivious to Harold’s distaste for many of the Labour politician’s domestic policies and continued heavy taxation.

Harold then escorted Prime Minister Chifley to a waiting podium where the politician then made a few prepared statements to a small crowd after Harold himself had spoken. After the ceremony, the two men walked together towards Chifley’s waiting car.

“I’ve been keeping my eye on the future in a number of areas, Mister Prime Minister. My mines where I produce the ores for this new power plant not only produce uranium and thorium, but also many rare earth metals as a byproduct. I’m absolutely certain that there will be many applications for these unusual elements in the future.” Harold proudly explained.

He had already been mining for the thorium and uranium for the past few years. Using a unique refining process, Harold’s workers had been separating the rare earth metals from the thorium-bearing ore and stockpiling the rare minerals for later use.

Harold had taken a great deal of effort in concealing just how advanced the reactor design actually was. Though thorium-uranium reactors had been designed initially in the fifties, Harold’s design employed certain elements that would not be common until several decades later.

Harold has also been using a limited number of centrifuges to enrich the natural uranium that he had mined in preparation for use in the reactor. But he was very careful not to reach enrichment levels anywhere close to bomb grade material.

“I’m sure that you are right, given your track record. I expect that you will gain even more wealth from this new enterprise, Mister Cavill. Of course, that will mean more revenue available for the Australian government to share among the people here for their benefit.”

“Of course.” Harold answered with a slight hint of irritation. Harold knew that he probably paid more in taxes than nearly anyone else in all of Australia.

“I did want to say that the people in our Defense Ministry are very pleased with your Aviation Division’s work on the new jet bomber. It was quite a pleasant surprise that you were able to keep it on schedule and under budget. So many of our contracts with other companies seem to cost much more than anticipated.” The Prime Minister continued.

“Thank you, Sir. The RAF also has expressed their appreciation for our work on that joint venture. But before you go, there is another subject that I would like very much to speak with you about.” Harold said after pausing for a few moments.

“Go ahead. I’m sure that I can make a little time to listen to what you have to say before I have to board my flight back to Canberra, Mister Cavill.”

“I would like to talk about the issue with New Guinea. I know that we have reasserted administration of the eastern half of the island already. But there is potentially a problem with the western half of Papua.”

“How so?” A curious Prime Minister asked after stopping and turning to face Harold.

“The Dutch are planning on granting independence to Papua in a few years along with the rest of the West Indies. However, I have recently learned that the native leadership of the rest of the archipelago intends to annex Papua. With the Christian minority that lives in Papua, there is a real danger of being overwhelmed by the Muslim majority that lives within the archipelago. It is very heavily populated already, while Papua has only a sparse population there.

I am very worried that the Muslims will try to oppress the residents of Papua if we do not do something to protect the latter.”

“But it is my understanding that the Muslims of the West Indies are a very tolerant lot concerning their religion.”

“It is true that some of them are very tolerant at this time. But there are sects within Islam that are already encouraging a far less tolerant vision of that faith around the world, including within the West Indies.”

“So, what would you have the government of Australia do to prevent this catastrophe that you are so concerned about, Mister Cavill?”

“I would like for us to look into annexing New Guinea ourselves, both halves, and incorporating it within a greater Australia. It would give many people who would want to live under Australian laws, freedoms and protections an opportunity to do so.

There are many people who want to be a part of our nation already, but are unable to immigrate to Australia due to our very selective immigration policies. But by annexation, we would have a place where they could come to and be a part of us, without disrupting our traditional Australian culture.”

Of course, Harold was referring to the ‘White Australia’ policy that had banned the immigration of many people to Australia from Asia and Africa for well over a century.

“Well, I don’t know, Mister Cavill. There may not be a lot of interest in expanding the size of our nation at this time.” Chifley hesitantly replied.

“I think that there might be, if presented properly though. We would also be gaining a tremendous amount of mineral wealth and extensive arable land. Both of these would be of a great benefit to our economy, including our tax base. Besides, we already administer the eastern half of the island. It would not be a great stretch for us to go ahead and assume control of the rest as soon as the Dutch depart. The expenses of such a move would be minimal, of course.

Also think of the strategic buffer that we would gain for our traditional territory by being able to place forward military bases on New Guinea. We would not need to place many military personnel to achieve our security goals there fortunately. Would you please consider the possibility, Sir? I’m absolutely certain that our economy and people will benefit greatly if we do, not to mention the people of New Guinea as a whole.”

“I will consider your suggestion, Mister Cavill.” The Prime Minister replied before turning to take the last few steps to his waiting car.

“Thank you, Sir. That is all that I can ask for you to do.” Harold replied.

Now it would be time for Harold to begin to use his influence with other Australian politicians and business leaders to ensure that the government decides in favor of the annexation. Australia needed to be larger and stronger so that it would be able to wield more influence in the direction of the world in the twenty-first century. This is the world that Harold’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren would soon inherit.

Harold needed to prepare things for them in the time that he had left in this new world.

Chapter Twenty-Three:

Armée de l'Air Française Air Base Orange-Caritat

Near Orange, France

April 14, 1949

It was just before daybreak when Capitaine Jacques Fournier began to taxi down the main runway in his ex-RAF Shorts Sterling in preparation for bombing operations against the Almaza military airfield near Cairo. The large four-engined heavy bomber was a relic that the French Air Force had purchased at near fire-sale prices from the Royal Air Force in order to rebuild France’s offensive capability. President De Gaulle did not wish to wait several years for France’s decimated aircraft industry to develop a heavy bomber of its own. So he arranged to purchase well over one hundred of Britain’s excess heavy bombers in spite of France’s own limited finances.

France had modified the ex-RAF heavy bombers with added armor for the crew and a modified defensive armament. The four Vickers machine guns in each bomber’s rear turret were replaced by a pair of Hispano-Suiza 20mm automatic cannons. The French felt that the rifle-caliber machine guns simply did not have enough punch or range to stop a modern fighter-interceptor.

Orders had gone out for over a half of France’s bomber fleet, virtually every airworthy bomber that the French could assemble, to hit targets within Egypt in support of an airborne assault on the Suez Canal and nearby Egyptian military facilities. Within a few minutes, over thirty Sterlings, including Capitaine Fournier’s aircraft, had lifted off from the main runway at Orange-Caritat and were turning south towards Egypt.

These bombers would be joined by over forty other Sterlings and Handley Page Halifax heavy bombers being flown from Nice and Salon-de-Provence towards targets in Egypt. The French intended for this surprise air strike to paralyze Egypt’s ability to react to an airborne assault by soldiers from the French Foreign Legion.

Since France still had few fighter aircraft with sufficient range to escort the bombers from French air bases, the hybrid battleship-aircraft carrier Jean Bart would be launching a squadron of Dewoitine D.790 fighters that had been modified for carrier use and powered by a Rolls Royce Merlin V-12 engine. Jean Bart had already sailed just outside of Egyptian territorial waters in anticipation of the operation. After launching her fighters, Jean Bart would then use its four fifteen-inch guns and numerous secondary weapons to provide naval gunfire support against coastal targets. Jean Bart would be escorted by the heavy cruiser Algerie, the battle cruiser Strasbourg and six destroyers.

Capitaine Fournier’s Stirling flew over the Mediterranean towards its target, the French pilot looked over towards his co-pilot Lieutenant Marc Leveau and commented with a laugh.

“At least, we are not flying against the Boche this time. They are devils in the air. I am looking forward to seeing the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx from the air during this mission however.

“What if there are sand storms in the area, Mon Capitaine? If they are present, you will not be able to see the works of the Pharaohs. ” The Stirling’s co-pilot then asked.

“C'est la vie.” Jacques then replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

The French aviators simply had no idea what truly awaited them over the sands of Egypt though.

Mulazim Awwal (First Lieutenant) Bahadur Mubarak heard the alert klaxon loudly sounding off in the middle of the morning. He went running towards his new jet fighter that was parked inside of a hardened concrete aircraft shelter. Most of the world had no idea what the Egyptian military had obtained in the months prior to the nationalization of the Suez Canal.

After the ouster of King Farouk, President Nasser had traveled to Berlin to procure weapons to defend Egypt from the nations of the West. Nasser had felt that Egypt had been exploited by the West for far too long. He wanted for Egypt to take its place once again among the great nations of the world.

Germany was more than willing to sell weapons to the Egyptians under long-term loan payment agreements. The Germans saw this as another means of ensuring that England and France would be kept busy dealing with other problems rather than interfering in German affairs. Plus, the sales of weapons would be a long term income stream for the German economy.

As part of the weapons deal that President Nasser inked with the Germans, they received five squadrons of jet fighters. Some of these aircraft came partially disassembled and shipped in crates aboard freighters. But the rest had been delivered ready for operational use. These aircraft had been delivered under the cover of darkness during the visit of the German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin to the port of Alexandria only a few weeks earlier.

One of these aircraft, a new Heinkel HE-162C, was the destination of a running Bahadur Mubarak, already dressed in his flight uniform and carrying his helmet. He had spent over three months undergoing intense training on the new Heinkel fighter in secret at an airfield in northern Germany. Bahadur was very glad to finally get back home after spending so much time in the frigid German winter and then more than a week below decks onboard the German aircraft carrier.

The warmth of the Egyptian springtime was a welcome sensation even as the young pilot ran towards the reinforced concrete aircraft shelter. Inside were two oddly shaped small aircraft. On top of the fuselage, there was a single turbojet engine just behind the bubble cockpit. The aircraft had shoulder-mounted swept wings that were gull-shaped in that the outer third of the wing was angled slightly downward while the inner wing panels were angled upward. The jet exhausted between the fighter’s V-shaped tail fins that served as both vertical and horizontal stabilizers as well as combination rudder and elevator.

Bahadur quickly climbed up a small ladder to get inside of the Heinkel’s cockpit. Just as soon as he sat in the cockpit, a waiting German technician strapped Bahadur into the aircraft’s rudimentary ejection seat. Another technician then hooked up a small tractor to tow the fighter out of the shelter and next to a waiting starter cart.

In less than thirty seconds, the fully armed and fueled jet had its engine running and was ready for takeoff. Bahadur gave a quick salute to the German technician before advancing the throttle slightly, releasing the brakes and beginning to taxi to the end of the nearby runway for takeoff.

Bahadur’s wingman, Mulazin Tani (Second Lieutenant) Nadim Malouf, was close behind in a second Heinkel. They quickly taxied together as they had been trained in Germany. Bahadur could see another ten similar fighters also in various stages of movement towards the staging area at the end of the runway. After receiving permission from the control tower, the squadron of Heinkel HE-162C jet fighters quickly took off from the Abu Sueir military airfield west of Ismaïlia, Egypt

The Egyptians had also purchased a sextet of another German jet fighter design to complement their new Heinkel HE-162C force. This was a stretched two-seat version of the Junkers EF-128. Like the Heinkel, the Junkers design had its origins in the late-war emergency jet fighter design program. Also, like the Heinkel, development was continued on the Junkers design after the war

These two-seat Junkers aircraft were an early all-weather interceptor that already served in the Luftwaffe. This design took advantage of one of the Abwehr’s first post-war successes, the successful of a cavity magnetron, one of Britain’s key radar technologies of the war. As a result, the Junkers carried a millimeter wavelength radar in a streamlined nose instead of having large external aerials like the wartime German aircraft equipped with radar had.

The French heavy bombers were on their final approach to their first target when some of their crewmen saw something unexpected approaching the bomber formation.

“What the hell are those, Mon Capitaine?” Sergent Peter St. Ives, the Stirling’s nose turret gunner called out over the intercom as he saw the approaching Heinkels for the first time. He tried to track the incoming jet fighters with his turret-mounted twin 7.5mm MAC 1934 machine guns that had replaced the Stirling’s original Vickers .303 machine guns. But the high closing speeds of the Heinkels made it impossible for the French turret gunner to bring his weapons to bear before the jets zoomed past.

Streams of tracers flew closely past several of the Sterlings as the Egyptian pilots fired their cannon at the incoming bombers. The word quickly spread among the French bomber crews that enemy jet fighters were attacking.

“The enemy fighters are coming around for another pass.” Sergent Charles Lumet called over the intercom from his rear turret position.

“Be ready to engage them, Mes Amis.” Capitaine Fournier told his crew as he focused on keeping the big bomber steady for its bombing run.

Bahadur cursed loudly after missing with his first burst during his head-on attack against one of the French heavy bombers. He and his wingman sped through the formation so quickly that the gunners on the bombers were unable to get a single shot off. Now, the Heinkels made a hard turn to get into firing position on the rear of the French bomber formation.

But this time, the Egyptians were going to use another weapon for their next attack instead of cannons. Hung under the wings of the German-built fighters were a pair of ungainly-looking missiles.

The Ruhrstahl-Kramer RK 344 had been originally designed in Germany towards the end of the war but never saw service before the end of the war. But development work continued on the missile. A heavily modified version of the missile called the RK 345 was successfully developed and put into service in the Luftwaffe and made available for export to certain special clients like Egypt.

This wire-guided missile was guided by a pair of wires that unwound as the missile traveled. The wires led back to the firing aircraft so that the missile could be maneuvered to its target by a joystick controller slaved to the fighter’s standard gunsight. The key differences between the RK 355 and the original missile were that the production weapon used a solid fuel motor instead of the original volatile liquid-fuel rocket motor and a key change to the proximity fuze used to detonate the ten-kilogram warhead. Instead of using an acoustic proximity fuze, the RK 355 used a radar proximity fuze. This technology had also been clandestinely obtained from the Americans by the Abwehr also, making the weapon far more deadly.

Bahadur lined up his gunsight on one of the French heavy bombers. As soon as the bomber was in the Egyptian pilot's sights, he fired one of his RK 355 missiles from outside the range of the rear gunner’s automatic cannons. Bahadur watched the missile fly quickly towards the targeted bomber in a cork-screw path. He made small corrections to the missile’s path until the weapon detonated less than two meters from the Sterling’s right wing. The wing was torn nearly in half by the missile’s explosion. Bahadur fired his second missile, but it narrowly missed its target, only slightly damaging the bomber.

Half a dozen other Sterlings were soon falling in flames after the Egyptian’s fired their missiles into the French bomber formation. But the French doggedly closed their formation and continued towards their target.

Bahadur and his fellow pilots then used their speed to rapidly close the range and began to engage the bombers with cannon fire. The jets’ twin Mk-108 30mm automatic cannons were fired in short bursts at each targeted bomber. While the rate of fire and shell velocity was relatively low, the impact of even a single round was devastating. Bahadur called out “Allahu Akbar!” several times as he saw his shells slamming into one after another French bomber, tearing huge chunks of each aircraft away and starting fatal fires aboard them.

But while the attacking Heinkel’s zoomed in for their attacks, the bombers’ gunners bravely fought back. Sergent Lumet fired numerous bursts of cannon fire back at the attacking Egyptian fighters from his twin Hispano-Suiza 20mm automatic cannons. Charles could see the tracers from the attacking fighters’ gun racing towards his bomber, sending chills down his spine. But he continued to fire back as the Heinkel’s flew through and past the bomber formation.

Whenever one of these powerful 30mm shells from a Heinkel’s guns hit a bomber, it would do tremendous damage. It only took a handful of hits to tear even one of the tough Sterlings apart. Capitaine Fournier’s heart sank whenever he saw one of the French bombers begin to fall out of the sky in flames. These were his friends and fellow aviators that were dying in front of his eyes.

Jacques was determined that their deaths would not be in vain. So he pressed on towards his target.

The newly purchased German jets were not the only weapons that the Egyptians were employing against the French. Egypt had also openly purchased a few squadrons of ex-Luftwaffe Messerschmitt ME-109G propeller-driven fighters from Germany. They took to the skies to try to intercept the French bombers too. But because of their slower speed, the older fighters soon faced another threat. The Dewoitine D.790 fighters from Jean Bart finally arrived in addition to a squadron of Mills Brothers-built Dragonfly tandem-wing fighters that had been launched by the Royal Navy aircraft carrier Ark Royal in support of the French. But neither the French nor the British could immediately deploy a jet fighter at the time that could counter the German-supplied Egyptian jets in Egyptian airspace.

RAF Gloster Meteor and De Havilland Vampires were unable to provide escort for the French bombers because they could not be operated from Royal Navy aircraft carriers. While the French had offered to allow the RAF fighters to be temporarily based at southern French air bases, these early jets were still very range-limited. This meant that RAF jet fighters could not yet intervene over Egypt.

However, the Fleet Air Arm had started to deploy Miles Brothers-produced Dragonfly-J jet-powered tandem-wing fighter-bombers. A squadron of these twin-engine jet warplanes was working up onboard the new Royal Navy aircraft carrier Ark Royal. She was the largest aircraft carrier in the fleet and incorporated all of the latest design features including an angled flight deck and deck edge elevators to save hangar space. But these jets were not ready for launch yet, while the older piston-engine Dragonfly fighter-bombers that were still operating from Ark Royal were already on the flight deck ready for combat and were immediately launched.

The Dewoitines and Dragonflies immediately engaged the Egyptian Messerschmitts, keeping the latter from attacking the surviving French bombers. But these older fighters were simply no match for the Heinkel jets.

The intervention of the carrier-based fighters saved the other French bomber groups though. They only faced anti-aircraft fire from the ground as they attacked their targets. Capitaine Fournier’s group took heavy losses from the defending jets, but a third of those bombers, including Capitaine Fournier’s, were still able to hit their target at the Deversoir, now called Abu Sultan, military airfield south-southeast of Ismaïlia

The other French bomber groups were able to successfully bomb the Almaza joint civilian-military airfield near Cairo and the Fayd military airfield south of Ismaïlia. They also hit several Egyptian Army bases as well. But they also took significant losses due the Egyptian fighters and anti-aircraft guns.

Following the bombers, were dozens of C-47 Dakota transports and more than a dozen ex-RAF Stirling bombers that had been converted to paratroop transports during the European war.

Bahadur and the other Egyptian jet pilots were soon running out of both fuel and ammunition after their attacks on the French bomber formations. They had to return to Abu Sueir to refuel and rearm. What they did not count on was that their airfield was targeted by the French also, but not for bombing.

Bahadur and his fellow pilots tried to find another airfield to land their fighters, but a quick call over the radio quickly revealed that all of the other available bases had been knocked out of action by French bombers. He and his wingman had no choice but to land in the middle of the airdrop on his home airstrip.

Other Egyptian pilots tried landing at the bombed airfields, but the damage to the airstrips was so bad that all of them crashed or were so badly damaged upon landing that they could not be flown back out.

The French paratroops were soon landing all around the Egyptian airfield at Abu Sueir and setting up to capture key base facilities. Automatic weapons fire sprayed the Egyptian airfield, driving all of the Egyptian aircrew and maintenance personnel to cover. A few Egyptian soldiers tried to fight back, but they were quickly being overwhelmed by aggressive Legionnaires firing rifles and submachine guns while tossing scores of grenades at the defenders.

Bahadur had no idea what to do. He didn’t have enough fuel to fly his Heinkel anywhere else. All of the ground crew were now busy trying to avoid being shot by the attacking French paratroopers. Unfortunately for Bahadur, he was caught out in the open and cut down by French rifle fire. His wingman did not survive much longer than Bahadur with the French paratroopers shooting at anything that moved.

The six Junkers jet fighters had not gotten a chance to take off before their base at Abu Sueir was captured by French paratroopers. A couple of the jets had been damaged on the ground by French paratroopers, but the other four were captured intact after French officers ordered their men not to destroy the invaluable aircraft.

Soon after the airfield at Abu Sueir was secured, dozens of additional transport aircraft, both French and British, began to land and disgorge hundreds of additional troops and tons of supplies. They also brought in artillery pieces and other support weapons to reinforce the troops that had landed there.

Jacques and the rest of his crew onboard their Shorts Stirling had their hands full with other matters. They had successfully dropped their bombs on their target, but had been badly damaged by a combination of anti-aircraft fire and a couple of Egyptian fighters. The Messerschmitt’s had managed to avoid both the British and French fighters and put several dozen rounds of machine gun and cannon fire into Jacques’ bomber.

The attacks left them with two wounded crewmen, a damaged engine and severe damage to their port wing. Now, Jacques had to struggle with flying their battered bomber back home to France. But they were the lucky ones. Of the more than eighty heavy bombers that flew from France to hit Egyptian targets that day, more than thirty were shot down by Egyptian defenses.  So as Jacques and his bomber crew struggled to get back home, many of their fellow Frenchmen would never get home at all.

During all of this, the fighting extended to the sea as well. The Egyptians had a pair of new German-built corvettes that had sailed from their home port of Alexandria as soon as French and British warships were spotted heading towards the Egyptian coast. These two diesel-powered light warships were mostly armed with conventional guns and torpedoes when they were delivered to the Egyptian Navy. But the two boxy-looking missile launchers that they now carried amidships had not been added until recently. The missiles had each replaced a pair of twin-torpedo launchers.

But the French had no clue just how deadly those shipboard missiles would be.

As soon as one of the Egyptian corvettes got into range, it fired both of her missiles at Jean Bart. The huge warship opened up with every anti-aircraft gun that it had as soon as her radar detected the incoming missiles. But Jean Bart’s guns were simply not sufficient to defend it against this new threat.

One of the missiles hit Jean Bart just aft of the warship’s large island structure, starting a massive fire in the hangar deck. Scores of French sailors were killed instantly while many others suffered terrible burns from the flaming aviation fuel. The other missile hit her just above the waterline near her forward main turret. In this case, the hybrid battleship-carrier’s heavy belt armor was able to defeat the missile’s warhead with relatively little damage though.

A second Egyptian corvette also engaged the French naval formation. He fired his missiles at the French battle cruiser Strasbourg and one of her escorting destroyers. The destroyer immediately began a series of hard evasive turns that confused the Egyptian missile and caused a narrow miss.

The missile aimed at Strasbourg stayed on course. But the battle cruiser had been rearmed during the Pacific War with a combination of 25mm gatling guns and six-pounder automatic cannons by the Cavill Shipyards as part of the upgrade of her anti-aircraft battery. Even though the gatlings did not have radar control, the sheer amount of fire coming from the three such weapons on Strasbourg’s starboard side was able to hit and shoot down the incoming missile before it could do any damage.

At the same time that the Egyptians were attacking the French task force, a pair of RAF Vampire jet fighters were flying south over the Mediterranean. They had just staged out of the French airfield at Nice after a hurried deployment there. Even so, the two fighters were nearing the edge of their range when they saw the Egyptian cruise missile racing towards the huge French warship.

The RAF Vampire flying closest to Jean Bart was unable to intercept the Egyptian missile. But the British jet’s pilot saw the smoke trail leading back to the Egyptian warship. The pilot called out over the radio to his wingman.

“Look at that bastard over there. I don’t know what the hell he fired, but we need to keep him away from our landing ships. Otherwise, I’m afraid a lot of our lads are going to die.” Flying Officer Anthony Tomkins reported.

After, Anthony’s wingman acknowledged, then both of the British jets swooped down and started a strafing attack upon the Egyptian corvette. Each Vampire was armed with a quartet of Hispano-Suiza 20mm automatic cannons. Scores of shells hammered into the frantically maneuvering corvette. At the same time, it fired back with its own anti-aircraft guns. Anthony saw smoke trailing from his wingman’s Vampire after it had been hit by at least one 30mm shell fired from the corvette’s quadruple Mk 108 automatic cannon mount.

But the Egyptian corvette had been hit hard too. Fires had broken out in several places aboard the unarmored warship. Apparently, she had also been heavily hit in her engine room because the corvette was now rapidly slowing as well.

Anthony quickly radioed a warning to other RAF pilots and allied ships about the Egyptian warships while escorting his damaged wingman back to Nice. More French and British warplanes began to scour the Mediterranean for other Egyptian vessels to prevent any more missile attacks. The second Egyptian corvette was soon located and sunk as a result.

At the same time all of this action was happening in the air and on the high seas, the Israelis were pushing a combined arms force across the Sinai Peninsula towards the Suez Canal. The shock of being hit by a combination of French, British and now Israeli forces paralyzed the Egyptian troops on the ground.

The British delivered a final two-pronged punch to crush Egyptian resistance. First, the British task force already in the Mediterranean was escorting a group of LST’s or Landing Ship, Tank. These vessels had been designed during the war and first used in the invasion of Italy. The six LSTs landed on the Egyptian coastline after a brief naval bombardment and disgorged dozens of vehicles, including more than a company of the British Army’s latest tanks. They began to push towards the canal, cutting off thousands of Egyptian troops and forcing them to surrender.

The second prong was the first use of the RAF’s new Vickers Valiant jet bombers. With the appearance of the Egyptian jet fighters, the leaders of the RAF decided to use the Valiants instead of the legacy bomber force of Lancasters. A squadron of Valiants flew in from their bases in southern England after having been refueled in mid-air by converted Lancaster bombers. The Valiants then hit several strategic Egyptian targets including their Defense Ministry headquarters, the port of Alexandria and the Presidential offices in Cairo. These decapitation strikes ended all effective resistance. President Nasser simply disappeared, either by escaping the country or having died in the airstrikes.

The American government tried to intervene, but they simply did not have the influence necessary to get the French and British, much less the Israelis, to back down. The three nations now had full control of the canal and had no intentions of relinquishing it.

Harold Cavill’s Office

Derby, Western Australia

September 21, 1949

Harold Cavill arrived at this office that morning and began to read through a stack of reports. Every month, he received a series of reports from his subsidiary businesses overseas. Like with most business reports, they contained information like sales numbers, earnings, expenses and other information related to the health of the business.

Harold had invested in a wide array of companies to diversify his business interests and to take advantage of local conditions. He simply did not have a large enough base of workers or facilities locally to be able to take advantage of the worldwide market. Harold’s Australian manufacturing facilities were more focused on the production of more specialized equipment.

Much of the production of Harold’s latest truck designs were actually being conducted under license by foreign companies like Tatra in Czechoslovakia and Willys-Kaiser in the United States. Harold had purchased stakes a pair of Indian manufacturers as well; Mahindra & Mahindra were producing Cavill light truck designs while Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company build heavier truck chassis for a variety of purposes.

Harold also had entered into partnerships with several aviation manufacturers similar to the one that they created with Miles Aircraft prior to the war to create the Dragonfly fighter-bomber. Most of these were with English companies, but a notable exception was with the American company, Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. Similarly, Cavill Propulsion did considerable work with General Electric, mostly with the latest generation of gas turbines.

Harold’s representatives to these companies would have the opportunity to see what other companies are doing in the countries that they serve in or sell products to. In each region, Harold has a special representative. Their job is not only to send business reports, but also to report on any new technologies that are being developed or being placed in production. All of these reports were sent via special deliveries aboard Cavaliers or other Cavill-controlled aircraft.

Harold stopped and began to look much more closely at the report from the Cavill representative in Germany. More than a few Tata-built trucks were being sold in Germany because one of Tata’s business partners was Daimler-Benz. So Harold’s representative there stayed very busy traveling throughout Germany.

Whenever possible, Harold had instructed his technical representative to take photos and send them to him. In the Tata package were a series of photos from the German naval shipyards in Kiel. The photos showed the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin and five German heavy destroyers. All of them were undergoing modifications. The most extensive modifications were for the destroyers. Their torpedo tubes and rear main guns had all been removed. Two large boxy canisters on a turntable replaced each of the quadruple torpedo tube banks. The aft guns had been replaced by a traversing set of what appeared to be launch rails angled to nearly eighty degrees elevation. An elevating radar dish had also been located on the aft superstructure.

The aircraft carrier was docked by the pier, but its flight deck had over twenty jet aircraft parked on it. Something caught Harold’s eye under the wings of one of the swept wing jets. It was apparently a guided rocket of some kind. Based on the size and configuration, it had to be some kind of air-to-air guided missile though. This weapon appeared somewhat
different than the missiles that the French captured from the Egyptians during the Suez Conflict though. Harold would have to task his representatives to find out more about the new missiles.

Harold read through this representative’s report even more closely. She explained that the reconstruction work was occurring not only at Kiel but also at Bremen and Wilhelmshaven. The report also discussed observations at Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht bases at the same where upgrades were also occurring.

Another part of the report dealt with the equipment that the Germans had sold to the Egyptians and had been used against the French during the Suez Canal conflict. The French had captured several German-built jet fighters and had shipped them back to France for evaluation. The representative fully expected that the French would then move to reverse-engineer the captured jets in addition to the missiles that were also captured at the Egyptian air base.

Harold looked further at the report, then referred back to several others that he had received from Germany and several other nations during the past eight months. Harold kept all of these reports locked up in a heavy safe in his office. Afterwards, Harold made a phone call over a special phone line to his head engineer at Cavill Ordnance Works.

“Hello, Boss. How has your day been? I’ve been up to my neck in work for the new production equipment that you bought to replace that crap that we have been using to make gun barrels for the past fifteen years.” Eric Poole dryly replied.

“Well, I have something else for you to work on, Eric. I just got the latest reports in from my field representatives today.”

“So what has your little private spy network found this time, Sir?”

“Quite a few things, I’m afraid. I need for you to go ahead and activate the Cavill Guided Missile development program to Stage 2 towards a minimum of low-rate production. We will need the anti-air and anti-surface missile program teams both up and running within the four weeks.”

“It’s about bloody time, Sir. We’ve been sitting on these programs for at least four years now.”

“Well, Eric. I’m sure that you have still been quietly doing some work on those projects when you have had spare time.”

“Of course, Sir. You know the adage of ‘idle hands’. Besides, the possibilities were just too appealing for me to simply drop what I was doing on these guided missile projects completely.”

Harold could practically see Eric’s smile over the telephone.

“I suspected that you hadn’t packed everything up. So what do you have for me already, Eric?”

“I haven’t built any complete missiles. But I have created some elements that can easily be applied to new missile systems. One of those elements concern new rocket motors. I’ve been working on improved solid-fuel rocket motors for our multiple rocket launcher system for the last couple of years. I reckoned that this technology would perhaps also help with Mister von Braun’s rocket program at some time.

These improved rocket motors can easily be applied to a guided missile obviously.”

“Anything more specific, Eric?” Harold then asked.

“Yes, Sir. I have a basic missile design that uses a thirteen-centimeter aluminum-alloy rocket body. This Cavill Guided Missile or CGM-1 is only in blueprint form, but I can create a prototype within ninety days pretty easily. This design can be used in both the air-to-air role and the surface-to-air role. The latter would probably require an additional booster to get the missile sufficient range.

The CGM-1 missile uses an infrared homing guidance system that allows the missile to track on a heat source. This would work well enough in daytime engagements or against a particularly intense heat source. I have designed the missile though to be able to potentially replace the existing guidance system, complete with the forward canard guidance fins, with a different guidance system module. One alternative guidance system we have been looking at involves putting a radio receiver that allows the missile to home in on radio signals reflected off the target. These radio signals would be transmitted by the launching platform.”

“Eric, you are definitely a genius.” A pleasantly surprised Harold replied. The engineer had just described the basic premise for a semi-active radar homing guidance system.

“Thank you, Sir. I must warn you that this missile concept does have some other limitations. The small size allows aircraft to easily carry two or more missiles or for a ship to carry the missile in a four or six-round traversing deck launcher. But the missile only has a ten-kilogram warhead. This means that it has to get very close to kill an aircraft with a proximity fuse.

The missile’s range is also limited. So far, I have projected that it would have a six-to-ten kilometer range. But at least it will push out the engagement range beyond conventional bomb and torpedo range.”

“It’s a beginning, Eric. But it is a very promising beginning. Obviously, I want you to proceed with it. This includes working with my electronics people on that radar homing version in addition to the infrared seeker. Now, please tell me about what you have been doing with anti-surface missiles.”

“First, I looked at the German and Japanese wartime missile designs before I started working on a missile design of our own. We had gotten examples of those missiles after the war ended. But what I saw, I really didn’t like all that much. So I decided to go a different route.

Rather than being designed essentially as an unmanned aircraft, the anti-ship missile that I am designing is much more like a high speed aerial torpedo. The missile is much more slender, so it is faster and much harder to kill. It is also much more compact. I believe that we can perhaps carry fifty percent more missiles than the German pattern.

To get the higher speed, I believe that we need to use either a rocket motor or a small turbojet. That may mean a shorter range, especially with the rocket motor, but I feel that is acceptable.

One of the other sacrifices that we would have to make with the design is a smaller warhead. It would perhaps only be about two hundred and fifty kilograms in size. But that is large enough to sink a destroyer and severely damage anything larger. The missile’s higher velocity would contribute substantially to the damage inflicted on the target.”

“It sounds like you have done more than a little work on this, Eric. How will you get this missile to hit its target, I wonder?”

“I’m not sure yet. I will probably use either a radio frequency homing system or something using infrared homing. However, I have considered using a television camera in the nose of the missile so that an operator can guide the weapon to its target.”

“Please continue development of this as soon as feasible. Obviously, we need an anti-ship weapon that can threaten the larger ships of other navies far beyond the range of a conventional torpedo. But you know what this also means, Eric?”

“What is that, Sir?”

“You are going to also have to develop an effective defense against your missile and any similar missiles of other nations now.”

“Don’t worry, Sir. I have already started considering that. We already have a good weapon for active defense against missiles with our twenty-five millimeter Gatling gun. The French confirmed this during the battle in the Med. We just have to marry it up with a sufficiently accurate aiming and fire control system to ensure adequate performance under all conditions.

But I also realize that we can’t rely upon guns alone to defend a ship any longer. A guided missile could potentially engage an incoming anti-ship missile from a significantly longer range and also destroy enemy aircraft before they can be a threat. There are also possible passive defenses against these new missiles like some sort of radar or infrared decoy as well as radio jamming of the signals used by a radar homing signal.”

Harold was very impressed with Eric’s forethought considering missile design and countermeasures. If Harold went ahead with development of everything that Eric described, then it would certainly be ahead of what the Germans were installing on their ships.

What Eric’s proposals also opened up the possibility of building a new class of small warships that would be affordable for minor nations, yet capable of deterring aggression by larger neighbors. He had already seen Alexander Portman, his chief naval architect, and discussed the idea of an eight-hundred ton fast corvette.

This new warship was originally intended to use torpedoes as its primary anti-ship armament. But it was ideally suited for the use of anti-ship missile to replace torpedoes. Now, he could propose building the corvette in a modified form to friendly nations and keep his shipyard busy.

“Eric, you’ve done some very good work here. Let me know when you will be able to get prototypes completed. The Germans are already putting missiles on some of their ships. So I am sure that the English will be very interested in what you are able to successfully develop into an operational system.”

“Thank you, Sir. I will get working on them right away.” Eric proudly replied.

It felt good to Harold to give his people something to do that they enjoy. Harold’s mining concerns, manufacturing plants and agricultural farms had been very profitable in the few years since the end of the war. Harold needed to keep all of these parts of his business empire moving forward if he would have the necessary funds to finance von Braun’s space program.

But he also wanted to make something that would allow Israel to be able to protect itself at sea against its enemies. Alexander was already working for Harold on a new coastal submarine design for Israel. But the Israelis needed something more than war-surplus destroyers for its surface fleet. The fact that the Germans had sold missile-armed corvettes and jet fighters to the Egyptians underscored this need even more.

Harold was determined that Israel would get whatever it needed to survive against the forces arrayed against her too. His factories in Derby would produce some of the equipment that would be destined for Israel.

But those factories would eventually be joined by others that Harold was now planning on building in New Guinea. Only a few days earlier, the new Australian Liberal government had decided to move troops into that island as part of an annexation declaration.

Prime Minister Robert Menzies had taken over Australia’s leadership earlier that month. His predecessor Ben Chifley had sudden died of a heart attack, spurring new elections. Harold had thrown his public support for Menzies immediately after Chifley’s death. A quiet meeting with the new Prime Minister followed shortly afterwards that secured the rights to construct those factories and to mine the natural resources of the island.

Harold immediately had some of his people travel to New Guinea to scout for new mining sites and potential factory locations. Harold’s reputation for business success meant that dozens of Australian and other companies quickly sought him out to form partnerships for the construction and operation of any new factories.

This saved Harold millions of dollars and untold risk because the products coming from those factories were only part of Harold’s objective. He wanted to use the fact that the factories were not in Australia proper to be able to recruit engineers, scientists, technicians and skilled workers from Asia and elsewhere to move there.

Harold wanted the best people that he could find, regardless of the color of their skin. But he needed someplace for them to live and work that would avoid the current ‘White Australia’ immigration policy. New Guinea would be ideal for this new industrial complex, in spite of the frequent earthquakes, tsunamis and other geographical headaches that would occasionally hit the island.

Woodford Aerodrome

Greater Manchester, UK

December 14, 1949

Prime Minister Churchill had just gotten out of his official car that had pulled up next to one of the large hangars near the Avro factory next to Woodford Aerodrome in Greater Manchester. Churchill had travelled to Woodford to see the new jet bomber that had just been rolled out for the first time.

The new aircraft was massive, even compared to the wartime Lancaster bombers that had been produced previously in the same factory. The aircraft had a large roughly delta-shaped wing with a large elongated air intake in the leading edge near the fuselage. A sharply pointed nose protruded ahead of the engine air intakes that blended into the large wing. The wing section thinned out towards the wingtips that ended with canted vertical stabilizers.

The Prime Minister walked around the aircraft to observe it more closely. A pair of large jet engine exhausts protruded from each of the wings’ trailing edges near the wing root. In between, was an extended tail cone that contained both a gunner’s position and a pair of rearward-facing twenty-millimeter automatic cannons.

The chief designer of the new jet bomber, Charles Hungerford, walked next to Churchill, explaining about the various features of the powerful aircraft.

“Sir, you will notice the large probe on the nose of the Vindicator, as we have christened her. It contains the aerial refueling probe that would connect to a tanker aircraft’s drogue to refuel the bomber for extended range missions.”

“Yes, this is the refueling system that we and the Australians used during the raid upon the Japanese germ warfare plant, I understand.”

“Yes, Sir. It is. Without it, those Australian heavy bombers could not have reached Japan while carrying those radio command-guided Tall Boy bombs. They simply would not have had the range with such a heavy payload. This jet bomber here would also not be able to reach very far with a full payload without the use of aerial refueling either, unfortunately.”

“But is your Vindicator fast enough to evade opposing jet fighters, correct?”

“Yes, Sir. She can either outrun enemy fighters or with its high operational ceiling, she can simply fly over them. That is the results of the Vindicator’s large wing which gives it a very low wing-loading. The Vindicator is nearly one hundred knots faster than the Valiant, making her very difficult to catch indeed. We have also incorporated the latest in defensive systems to prevent our bomber from being targeted by radar or hit by enemy ground fire.”

“What about the guided missiles that I have heard are being fielded by the Germans? Certainly, they will be more advanced than the weapons that they sold to the Egyptians. How will your aircraft here be able to avoid being hit by these more lethal weapons?”

“Our electronics experts are designing equipment that they say will be able to confuse the radio guidance signals being used by the missiles. By using this in combination with the Window metallic radar decoy strips, our bombers should be safe from enemy missiles. But we still do have cannons in the tail cone to fend off pursuing jet fighters if necessary, as you can see.”

“I am very impressed with what you have created here. Several other British aircraft manufacturers such as Vickers and Handley-Page have also designed new jet bombers to replace the old wartime propeller-driven aircraft like the Lancaster and Stirling. Vickers has even produced a limited number of their Valiant jet bomber for RAF use. As you remember, they were used over Egypt during the recent crisis over the canal.

The Vickers design was a low-risk venture however. It was designed by Vickers to get into service quickly. The Valiant is not a bad aircraft, mind you. But from what I have seen, our Vindicator is the most advanced aircraft being offered for RAF service by far, Mister Hungerford.”

“Thank you, Sir. Did you know that the AWC Vindicator design actually was a joint venture between ourselves at Avro, Westland Aviation of Australia and Cavill Aviation, also of Australia?”

Churchill laughed for a moment before replying.

“Somehow, I am not surprised at all that Harold Cavill had something to do with the design of this aircraft.”

Of course, Churchill knew of Harold’s involvement in the design of the Vindicator. The Prime Minister quickly fired off a question towards the bomber’s designer in response.

“Are the Australians interested in also purchasing the Vindicator?”

“Yes, Prime Minister. If the RAF purchases the Vindicator, we will be participating in a joint-production arrangement that will mean at least three squadrons of Vindicators will also be purchased for Australian service in addition to aircraft that the UK purchases. That scale of production will certainly lead to significant cost savings overall for both customers.” Hungerford confidently answered.

“I’m sure that the cost savings will be a significant factor in who wins the bid. Of course, we may decide to purchase aircraft from more than one company. That way, we can help keep more aircraft workers employed and take advantage of the particular qualities of one design over another for a given mission. After all, no one aircraft is perfect for every mission. Isn’t that true, Mister Hungerford?” Churchill noted.

“Perhaps, Sir. But we think that the Vindicator is closer to that ideal than most designs though.”

“I think so too. But I can’t guarantee that it will be our primary choice, at least not just yet. Keep up the excellent work in any event. I look forward to being able to give you some good news in a few months once the selection is made.” Churchill smiled before tipping his hat and turning to walk back to his car.

“I just hope that we can get all of this done before the next election. There is a real chance of us losing to Labour this time. If that happens, the damned fools in Labour are likely to cancel the entire program in their haste to further cut our military so that they can pay for their social welfare programs.” Churchill quietly said to himself as he walked away.

He knew that there were other aircraft programs under development that possibly would not be affected by the change of government policies promised by Labour. But the development of new airliners and transports would not be enough to keep more than a handful of aircraft manufacturers in business within a few years. That would mean thousands of skilled workers being put out of work.

Churchill only hoped that someone would be able to find work for these dedicated craftsmen before they would be forced to go on government assistance or to leave the country altogether. It would be a total waste if either of the latter options occurred.

Surely the French aircraft designers will be very busy indeed with their newly acquired German jet fighters that they captured in Egypt. Churchill wondered just long it would take for the French to reverse engineer the German technology and put it into production in new French aircraft.

The French certainly weren’t interested in purchasing any more retired RAF heavy bombers after having over forty of them shot down by the Egyptians in operations around the Suez Canal. Of course, the RAF didn’t have all that many piston-engine bombers left to be sold off anyway. The Lancasters that were in the best condition were expected to be converted into aerial tankers for the new jet bombers within the next few years. The rest of them would be sent to the scrapyards.

But the British and French still will face problems in the Suez Canal zone because the Egyptians had not given up the idea of regaining control of the canal, Churchill knew. What he did not know was what the Israelis were doing at a secret site in the Negev Desert that could change everything in the region.

Chapter Twenty-Four:

Albert Einstein’s Office.

Princeton, New Jersey

May 31, 1950

Harold had written to Professor Einstein several weeks earlier to let him know that Harold would be travelling to America and wanted to talk privately with the renowned physicist. So when Harold arrived, he was quickly escorted into Einstein’s Princeton University office by Einstein’s secretary. She immediately left the room, leaving the old time traveler alone with Einstein.

“Professor, I am very pleased to get to talk with you again. The world has changed a great deal since we last met in person.”

“Indeed it has, Mister Cavill. Somehow, I have a feeling that you have had something to do with that too.” Einstein replied with a knowing look as he lit his pipe.

After all, Albert Einstein was one of a very few people who actually knew that Harold had traveled back in time from the future. Harold had revealed his identity to Einstein before the war in order to prevent the celebrated physicist from endorsing the creation of what would become the Manhattan Project.

“Perhaps. What is important right now is what the future is going to be like now. We can’t allow mankind to stagnate now. Otherwise, people will simply go back to making war upon each other until we wipe out all of civilization.”

“What exactly do you have in mind, Mister Cavill?”

“Professor Einstein, nuclear power is going to be developed eventually by someone. Humanity actually needs the power of the atom in meet its energy needs without resorting to the use of fuels that will eventually alter the composition of our atmosphere, our land and our water. When people run out of the necessities of life, they will do desperate things like war to obtain what they feel that they need.

There is also the danger that one or more of the foreign developers of nuclear power will eventually take nuclear fission technology in a more military direction. We would like your assistance in going a slightly different direction than that. This focus of this particular technology will make it far more difficult to create the means for building nuclear weapons from.”

“I take that you already have the technology available from somewhere in the future.” Einstein said with a wary smile before continuing.

“But, you want me to be the public face of this project so that it appears to have a much more contemporary origin. Is that not so?”

“Yes, Professor. That is quite true. But I also strongly believe that this power can be used safely for the benefit for mankind. It will even help humanity go out into space to explore and inhabit other worlds.” Harold said as he visualized the smoke-spewing coal power plant back home in Derby being replaced by a nuclear power station with the skies above being free of clouds of foul-smelling black smoke.

“But what if someone like Germany does decide to go ahead and build a fission device for their military based on the research that they had already conducted.”

“If they do and I am unable to stop them, I will have the means to build equivalent weapons to as a deterrent against their use. But these weapons will only be permitted to be in the hands of leaders rational and responsible enough not to ever truly want to use such weapons. You have my word and that of my children on this.”

“I wonder if such leaders even exist on this world. We have already seen the horrors inflicted by leaders who were thought to be rational by their followers when they came to power unfortunately.”

“History has already been changed so that the Soviet Union does not exist and that the Americans no longer seek hegemony beyond their own hemisphere. All of the other countries that could potentially have the technology base to develop nuclear weapons are too busy rebuilding after the war or are bankrupt from it.”

“Except for you.” Einstein pointedly noted.

“You know that I will absolutely not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into this world, not after seeing what they were used for in my future. I will however be using nuclear technology to provide the energy this world needs to feed people and to bring them out of poverty. In fact, I have already started building a fission power station near Derby, Australia.

I just wish that I could end the armed conflicts that still cause so much suffering like what is happening in Israel right now.”
“I’m afraid that there are some hatreds that you can do very little about. For the Arabs and those who follow Islam; war, hate and envy are the things that binds them together most passionately.”

“I know. It is going to be very difficult for the Israelis, especially with all of the rage that the Muslim world feels after the Israeli destruction of the al Aqsa Mosque and their recent takeover of the Sinai Peninsula. Israel has literally been under siege ever since its creation anyway. The Israeli’s have had only limited support from Europe and America, even with the guilt that so many Europeans feel after the truth of the death camps was made public.”

“But they are not without at least some support, are they Mister Cavill?” Einstein asked with a knowing look in his eyes.

“No, Israel does have a few noteworthy friends in public and also a few quiet but very capable ones as well.”

“So, I have heard. I don’t know if I will be able to help much with your nuclear power project. I have been very busy with my theoretical projects of my own, not to mention the classes that I teach here at Princeton. I suppose that is what you came here to talk with me about.

I am curious as to what you plan for this new fission power station that you are building, Mister Cavill? I do remember that you have a unique knowledge of nuclear technology and the future.” Einstein asked, remembering their first conversation years earlier when Harold revealed his origins and certain future events to the ground-breaking physicist.

“If you could officially support my project, your words would be very helpful to my cause. Of course, Professor, you already know that I have my own sources of information on nuclear physics that are quite advanced.

In any event, I am in the process of building a nuclear reactor that uses a combination of uranium and thorium to produce a sustainable and controllable chain reaction. The heat produced will be harnessed to turn steam turbines attached to electrical generators. The chain reaction process has the attribute of being able to breed additional fuel for use in other nuclear reactors. The new fuel will be harvested from the fuel rods when they are recycled during the refueling process.”

“Will there be a problem of the byproducts of the recycling process being used to create a fission bomb? As I recall, there was a man-made element that came from the uranium fission cycle that was theoretically capable of being used for a different kind of fission bomb.”

“No, Professor. This fuel cycle will be far less easy to produce the sort of nuclear fuel for a bomb. In fact, the byproducts of the uranium-thorium fuel cycle will require a degree of shielding that will preclude easy reprocessing without a very specialized facility. I am building that sort of facility, but no one else in the world has that expertise at this point in time, of course.” Harold explained.

“So this design was in common use in your timeline, Mister Cavill?”

“Actually, no. It wasn’t. The two superpowers of the early nuclear age had mandated that their nuclear reactor designs would use only isotopes of uranium. This was, in part, so that the fuel rods could be recycled and that certain fissionable byproducts be extracted to make the cores of nuclear weapons from. This decision spread out among the other nations that wanted to eventually make nuclear weapons as well. I am going to try to change that with my nuclear power reactor design being built first instead.”

“Will you only build the one reactor?”

“No, this will only be the first of many, hopefully. But I have to refine the design first, of course. If all goes well, it will lead the way in providing clean, sustainable and affordable energy for mankind for generations to come.”

“I wish you success in your endeavor, Mister Cavill. If I remember correctly, Thorium is far more common than even uranium. By utilizing the system that you have described, you will have sufficient fissile fuel available for centuries.”

“Thank you.” Harold replied. He had already invested heavily in mines that would be very fruitful in the future, especially those in Australia and China that not only produced rare earth metals. These mines not only would be producing these priceless metals, but also provided vast amounts of thorium as a byproduct of the mining process.

Harold would have secured a long term income stream for his children that they could use, not only to live a comfortable life, but also to continue his work in preventing the future nuclear holocaust that he escaped from. Harold had procured the mineral rights for the location of what would become a massive rare earth mine in China in exchange for providing military hardware to the Chinese Army during the Russian invasion.

Of course, the Chinese government had no idea of the true value of what lay under the ground at the location that they sold Harold the rights to.

After Harold left Einstein’s office, he met with his children who had accompanied Harold for their first trip outside of Australia. They were traveling with him now that they had concluded school for the year. Harold had hired an American security firm to provide himself and his family an armed escort while they were in America. The security officer actually looked quite ordinary, as Harold had requested someone who would blend in well. But the security firm assured Harold that the former OSS agent assigned to his family was very capable.

“It must be amazing to meet with the man whose theories had shaped so much of our science and mankind’s views on the universe.” Sarah Cavill remarked with a look of awe on her lovely face. She and her identical twin sister Beatrice were already nearly 1.7 meters tall, willowy thin like their mother and with shoulder-length strawberry-blonde hair.

“I have met with Einstein before the war, you know. As a result, the Americans decided not to pursue a nuclear weapons program. But he could be important in promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy, however. It will be one of the products that I want to focus on building besides weapons, now that the war is over.”

“Father, aren’t you worried about what the weapons that you are still building will be used for?” Judith asked. She looked much like her younger sisters, only slightly taller and with her hair running midway down her back.

“Yes, I always am. But I work very hard to ensure that these tools of war only end up in the hands of just men who will only use them to defend themselves. There will always be evil men out there preying upon the weak. An Irish statesman and philosopher named Edmund Burke said it very well with his statement ‘All that evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing.’

“And good women…” Judith interjected with a smile.

“Yes, Sweetheart. Good women too have an important role in helping defend against evil as well.” Harold said, returning his oldest daughter’s smile with one of his own. Judith and her younger siblings had already started to play key roles, especially after Judith and her twin younger sisters, Sarah and Beatrice, had returned from University. Harold’s son James was in his final year there at the engineering school that Harold had donated large sums of money to set up. The school was located in Derby but was affiliated with the University of Sydney.

All of Harold’s children had started to go to University at an early age, especially after learning so much at home from their father. This was even before they had learned about their father’s computer database from the future. But now they knew so much more in terms of science and technology as well as how history developed during the other timeline. This included the mistakes that nations and leaders made that led up to the final war.

Harold was extraordinarily proud of all of his children and the way that they conducted themselves after learning the secrets of his origins. He was nearing seventy years of age now. Someone had to carry on his work to try to save humanity. Harold and Dorothy’s children were already proving themselves to be worthy stewards of the future’s secrets. But Harold still worried that even his children would not be able to change the future enough to save humanity from itself.

Elsewhere in America, there were others who had their own plans for the future. After the defeat of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Kennedy Sr. had lost his political patron. But even after this and his controversial statements during the Battle of Britain, the wealthy head of the Kennedy family still had political ambitions for his children.

His oldest son, Joseph Kennedy Jr. had been a B-25 bomber pilot supporting the expeditionary American Tigers unit in North Africa. He had won several awards for valor in combat during his tour of duty. Immediately after returning from his tour of duty, the young Army Air Corps captain went into the Reserves and parlayed his military fame into votes. He successfully ran for Congress in his home state of Massachusetts as a moderate Democrat.

Congressman Kennedy was in his office at the Capitol when his father arrived to pay him a visit. The young Congressman still looks every bit the military officer though with his short, well-groomed hair and ramrod-straight posture as he stood up to greet the senior Kennedy.

“Good morning, Son. How has life been treating you here on the Hill?”

“It has been very hectic here on the Hill with the mid-term elections coming up. I just flew back from my district after meeting with many of my constituents. They have a lot of concerns, of course.” The congressman said after asking his father to take a seat before sitting down next to him on the office sofa.

“Oh, I’m sure that they do, Son. America has taken a beating during the current administration with all of the attacks on the West Coast during the war. But there are more important things for us to think about as well.

President Dewey is coming up on the end of his second term. The Republicans will be very hard pressed to find a popular successor, much less to elect one after eight years of Republican rule. It doesn’t matter what the economy is doing as long as we can find enough people willing to vote to receive more of the government benefits that FDR promised them during his administration.

Jack is still too busy trying to play sailor while in the Navy. Robert is much more interested in his law career than anything else at the moment. I could see him perhaps someday becoming Attorney General, but I am not quite sure that he would be able to reach the White House. I worry about Ted, of course. He just started college at Harvard. But I have already heard rumors about his behavior there. If Ted is not much more careful, he is going to get himself expelled.”

“Well, you know that Jack is too busy chasing skirts anyway to make a reliable President, Father. He’s certainly intelligent enough. But, all it would take is for one of his women to talk to the press to ruin him.”

“This is why it is so very important that you start working on plans for your long term political future now.”

“Don’t you think that I should take care of the people in my district first, Father?” The congressman asked, his brow furrowed as he looked over at his wealthy and powerful father.

“Certainly, you should try to take care of your constituents’ desires. After all, without their votes, you cannot remain in office. All you have to do is explain to the American people that the Republican Party is the party of the wealthy. Then tell them that you are committed to forcing the wealthy to share some of that wealth with the rest of America.”

“Father, we also belong to that wealthy upper class, you know. Are you willing to part with our millions to help give some dirt farmer in Alabama a few extra dollars?”

“Of course, not. We will find a way to write the tax codes to ensure that someone else’s money will be going to help the needy and more importantly, to the ‘right kind’ of needy person. We use our assets for far too important of a purpose to have any more of it squandered by a government that we do not have direct control of.”

“But that is not fair to the American people. We had been taxed at over seventy percent during the better part of the previous two decades. Why should we be sheltered against the taxes that we pass upon others?”

“You are being very naïve, Son. We have to take care of our own. You should know that by now. I am offering to help you advance your career so that you will be in a position to help our friends and family as well as what we feel are our nation’s best interests.”

“Father, I’m afraid that I am going to have to turn down your direct assistance. As it is, you have simply offended too many people in this country with some of your ill-considered public statements that you made during the war. I am also not so sure that what you think is in the best interest of our family is necessarily in the best interests of America. For right now, I am focused on winning this election. My next step will probably be to run for the next open Senate seat here but that may not be for another six years. If I am successful in the Senate, then, and only then, I might consider a Presidential run if I feel that the time is right.

But first, I have to serve the people that I represent here in my district properly. Then I will consider what I will do next politically, Father.”

“Well, Son. You know that you have my full support in whatever you do here. We, Kennedy’s need to lead the rest of America to make the right choices for the direction that we want them to follow.” The elder Kennedy sadly said before standing up to leave.

Joseph then stood up as well, shook his father’s hand and bid him a safe journey back to their family home in Massachusetts.

Joseph Jr. sat down in disgust after his father left. He wanted to run a clean campaign against his Republican opponent. The young congressman was fully aware of all of the dirty tricks that his father had used to eliminate rivals and achieve a variety of business goals.

His father had even tacit approval to the Nazis to a certain extent, much to the dismay of the British people when he serving as US ambassador. Joseph believed much of that was due to his father’s anti-Semitic views which Joseph Sr. shared with Hitler.

But while his father cowered in the British countryside, having abandoned London during the German bombings, Joseph had volunteered to fight as part of the aerial element of the American Tigers division. Joseph was proud to have fought alongside the British in North Africa and over the Mediterranean. He knew what it was like to be in combat against the Germans and their Italian allies.

Congressman Kennedy also knew about the atrocities that the Nazis inflicted upon their subjects. He was deeply suspicious still of the new German leadership because so many of the names of their leadership had still been deeply involved in supporting the Nazis. Of course, he didn’t exactly trust the new leaders in Russia either.

Joseph Jr. had already gotten onto the House Foreign Relations Committee as a Congressman. This gave him an opportunity to look deeper into what the new German leadership had been doing. What the young Kennedy had already learned about German activities from intelligence reports already concerned him greatly.

It was this and his desire to help his fellow Americans that kept Joseph Kennedy Jr. interested in advancing his political career, not manipulating the system to conduct social engineering or to consolidate wealth among political cronies.

This was another reason why Joseph Jr. was so upset with what his father had to say. Congressman Kennedy knew that the American economy had rebounded from the Great Depression after President Dewey lowered the overall tax rate by over twenty-percent. The ensuing growth rate from that and the elimination of so many regulations stemming from the New Deal era more than made up for any lost tax revenues.

The tax rates were still significantly higher than was the case prior to the FDR administration, but the overall rate reductions and tax code simplifications made a huge difference within the American business community. There had still been enough resistance from Democrats in Congress to prevent even deeper cuts in tax rates by the Republicans.

Joseph Jr. wanted to make things better for all Americans, not just a select few. All that he saw since returning from duty overseas was that using class envy to drive selected groups to vote for one party or the other was immoral. Congressman Kennedy wanted no part of that at all, even if meant breaking with his own party.

Winston Churchill’s Home ‘Chartwell’

Westerham, Kent

April 10, 1951

The mood in Churchill’s private study was somber as he and a long-time associate sat down to talk about recent events.

“I guess that the Labour Party finally got what they have wanted for so long; to award me the Royal Order of the Boot. It was a good run while it lasted though.” Churchill said with a wry laugh after learning the final results of the election. Labour had managed a narrow win over the Tories finally six years after the end of the European War.

“You still saved England from the Nazis and kept the Japanese from taking over our colonies in the Far East, Sir. You also helped maintain control of the Suez Canal after Nasser’s moves against us and the French to nationalize it.” Churchill’s assistant Alfred Campbell noted with a sad smile.

“I know, but we still paid one hell of a price for our successes. We are utterly broke right now. We’ve even had to put all five of our remaining battleships into reserve.

Additional spending reductions mandated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer have forced the Ministry of Defense to send all of our prewar cruisers and destroyers to the breakers or to be sold to foreign navies. Most of our remaining cruisers and destroyers have also been placed in reserve as well.” Churchill responded as he pulled one of his favorite Cuban cigars from a humidor and lighting it. The aromatic smoke quickly filled Churchill’s study as the two men sat and talked.

“At least a number of the other austerity measures have the potential of continuing to support our security, Sir. Some of those surplus warships are being sold to India and Pakistan now that we have granted them their independence, of course. The others that we have sold have gone to China and other navies looking to increase strength at bargain prices. They are relatively friendly nations towards us.”

“Yes, but the payments that we received for those old ships barely scratched our massive national debt though. Labour is still going to sacrifice England’s security for the sake of its beloved social programs in any event, I’m afraid.”

“At least you got some of our debt to the Americans forgiven with your bargain for our help in the Pacific, Sir.”

“But you know that Labour accused me of turning the Royal Navy into a bunch of mercenaries and pirates to get a quarter of our war debt to the Americans wiped out.”

“Yes, I thought that criticism was utterly foolish, especially with their calls for reducing the defense budget in favor of increased domestic spending. The reduction in our debt to our largest creditor that you arranged has helped our economy tremendously.”

“But that is not how the newspapers reported it though, my friend. They made it appear that England received practically nothing from the deal.”

“They should have known better, Sir.” Alfred promptly responded.

“I know. But such is the way of politics. With the exception of our battleships, we sent the oldest carriers and cruisers available to the Pacific. We had already either sold or sent to the breakers, all of our other surviving capital ships. It particularly broke my heart to send Hood and Renown to the scrapyards. They had both served England exceptionally well. We should have kept them as museums or found some other way to honor their service while keeping them intact.” Churchill sadly replied as he remembered those grand old warships sailing out of Portsmouth for the last time.

“But the RAF has certainly benefitted handsomely over the past couple of years. I read that the sixth squadron of the new Vindicator jet bomber has recently entered service. That has given us one of the most modern bomber forces in the world.”

“The RAF also chose to purchase more of the Vickers Valiants to supplement the Vindicator bomber force. The upgraded Valiant B2 model was certainly made for the low level mission. But the Vindicator is also going into service with the Australians. They will have four squadrons of their own along with their latest jet fighters. The program costs for the Vindicator were shared by ourselves and the Australians. That allowed each of our nations to afford an extra squadron of aircraft, you know. There are also the rumors that the French have shown some interest in the Vindicator. We would benefit from that as well.”

“You had something to do with that, of course. In any event, I’m sure that your work in service to Queen and Country is not yet over with though, Sir. You have many good years ahead of you. The British people will remember your leadership again after a few years of Labour’s usual bungling. That is for certain, Sir.”

“Until then, I will resume my long role as part of the loyal opposition. Even if I am the only voice of reason being heard, I will continue to speak out against flawed policies and for the continued struggle of the West against tyranny.”

“Do you think that anyone will listen?”

“I’m sure that some will. Hopefully, there will be enough listening to the truths that I speak about to make a difference.”

“It has made a difference before. After all, we are not being forced to learn to speak German now, are we?” Alfred laughed.

“But the Germans are still out there, my friend. They also have new jet bombers and fighters going into service. I hate that I am not completely sure that the ‘Jerries’ might not have even more advanced aircraft than what we are aware of. I rather doubt that the Germans sold their most advanced designs to the Egyptians. So we prepare and hope that Germany has finally ended its ambitions of claiming more territory and power from its neighbors.”

“The French are certainly worried that Germany will come looking in their direction again. “

“President De Gaulle is trying to rebuild his military the best that he can. He is dealing with a fiscal situation that is almost as bad as ours. The French just don’t have the debt that we do because they were defeated so quickly that the war ended for them before they owed America or anyone else any significant amount for wartime purchases. The French still had to rebuild their cities after the damage incurred during the war. The French Army has to basically rebuild from scratch though the Foreign Legion still fields some tough bastards. They proved that in that airborne assault on that Egyptian airfield.”

“Didn’t the French capture some of the Egyptian jets when they captured that airfield, Sir?”

“Yes, Alfred. They took everything that they could get their hands onto back to France aboard Jean Bart. Of course, they had to wait until all of the fires were put out on her hangar deck. I suppose that the French figured that no one would look inside of Jean Bart after all of the damage she took from that missile hit.”

“I heard that the French are possibly going to decommission her after what happened, Sir.”

“That remains to be seen, my friend. The French still want to have the extra flight deck, even if it is a very inefficient one. The French may decide to upgrade Jean Bart’s defenses instead. There are certainly companies that are working of defensive weapons capable of reliably shooting down guided missiles.” Churchill said while thinking automatically about Harold Cavill.

Churchill then continued. “We will have to wait to learn what ends up happening with the French defense industry.

But going back to your comment about the captured Egyptian jets, the French didn’t even offer to share any information on the equipment that they captured from the Egyptians. Doubtlessly, they want to obtain any advantage that they can over their neighbors.” Churchill said before taking another puff on his cigar.

“So what will you do now, Sir?”

“I think that I will get back to my painting, Alfred. I have long found it to be one of my most relaxing activities. I’m sure that I also have at least a couple of books worth of new material to write now that I have the time.

The world will survive without me being in residence at 10 Downing Street. It has done so before, of course.” Churchill said with a smile amidst his usual cloud of cigar smoke and with a freshly poured glass of sherry in his hand.

Cavill Naval Yards

Derby, Western Australia

May 20, 1951

Today was a bittersweet day for Harold as he watched one of his first projects in the twentieth century come to an end. He was standing there at the edge of King Sound just after dawn with several of his senior employees and the commander of the Derby militia to pay their respects.

“It is a bloody shame to see the old lady finally get scrapped for real.” Harold said as the aircraft carrier RAN Melbourne sailed into King Sound towards the drydock where she was reborn. Only this trip was going to be her very last one.

“Yes, I’m afraid that she’s pretty much worn out now even after all of the reconstruction work that you did to her. The Japanese tried their best to sink Melbourne certainly. But she kept on fighting even after taking a beating.

At least, we will still have the two new carriers that you built for our navy. Since you built them from the keel up as aircraft carriers, they are even better adapted for the task at hand. Now that the Japanese have surrendered, we don’t need a third aircraft carrier.” Colonel Burke replied.

“I know. But aren’t you worried that we are cutting back on our military forces far too much now that the war is over, Harlan? The navy is probably going to scrap all of its remaining prewar cruisers, especially the Counties. All of the old prewar destroyers are also going to the breakers. The army is demobilizing an entire corps of troops. Finally, the air force is disbanding over half of its squadrons. The world is still a pretty dangerous place.” A worried Harold noted.

“Oh, I agree. But unfortunately, someone still has to pay the bills. It’s been a miracle that we in Australia have avoided being in the same financial hole as Great Britain. You are responsible for much of that, Mister Cavill. You managed to find ways to keep the funds coming in to pay for our defense. You also built weapons that allowed our forces to defeat much larger Japanese and German forces without having to push us into bankruptcy or a bloodbath.

But the ‘pollys’ hate having to pay for diggers and sailors when there is not a war going on. They also hate to pay for ships and guns that aren’t being used. So for now, our military budget is being slashed very severely.”

“No worries, Colonel. I think that we might be able to save at least a couple of our light cruisers, probably Perth and Hobart, maybe even Sydney too. They are the ships that have received the least amount of damage during the war. These are also the youngest cruisers in our fleet as well. I’ve already submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Defense for a full modernization of these ships that would incorporate the latest technology.”

“What do you have in mind for them?”

“My proposal involves removing the aft main turrets, the torpedo tubes and all of the secondary armament. Then I would add a battery of my new anti-ship guided missiles amidships, replace the secondary guns with automatic four-inch and six-pounder cannons along with the latest version of my gatling guns. The aft turrets would be replaced with a surface-to-air missile launcher. There would also be a hangar for a helicopter or two and a landing pad on the stern.”

“Wouldn’t this all be very expensive?” Harlan quickly asked.

“It would cost some money, but would be far less expensive that building an entirely new ship. The manning requirements would also be slightly lower, especially with the smaller number of automatic cannons replacing all of the manually operated weapons. But the modified cruiser would be far more effective and survivable in the current environment. “

“Do you have any more new toys in that bag of tricks of yours, Mister Cavill?”

“My company is proposing a new light escort vessel to replace all of those old destroyers that we are scrapping. It’s a diesel-powered vessel that little more than half the displacement of the ships that she would be replacing. But it will have the new automatic four-inch single gun mount and the same models of secondary guns that we want to put on the modified cruisers.

Instead of carrying conventional torpedoes, this ship will carry several of our new anti-ship missiles. But it will reserve some extra space and weight for anti-submarine weapons. We do have plans under development for a lightweight acoustic-homing torpedo for use against submarines and an anti-submarine mortar that can fire bombs forward. So this ship will have one hell of a punch in a fight.

This design is also well suited for export sales with the main gun being available in either four-inch or 10.5cm caliber. We have a seventeen-pounder automatic cannon currently under development as well. While that is essentially a three-inch caliber naval rifle, this prototype dual-purpose weapon will have both a lighter weight mount and a higher rate of fire than the four-inch mount. This would make her very suitable for lighter combatants. Other options for this light escort vessel are also available including a modification to the propulsion system that will use a gas turbine motor by itself or in combination with the standard diesel engines.”

“Fair Dinkum, Mister Cavill. Now if you could only do something like that for our army troops, not that you haven’t done a tremendous amount for our lads already.”

“I know, Harlan. The militia will receive new equipment in due time. Notably, our air force is getting some new Vindicator jet bombers to replace the obsolete Lancasters in the next two years. Our surviving heavy propeller-driven bombers like the Cassowary will then be converted to be able to conduct midair refueling for the new Vindicators at the same time. The Vindicators will give us a powerful strike capability that no one else in the region can match. Most of the older combat aircraft are obsolete now in this new age of jets anyway.”

“Thank God for the procurement of the Vindicators, Sir. Prime Minister Menzies has done at least that much to keep us viable. But I still heard that our government has asked you to demilitarize or hand over all of your armed ships, especially the larger ones like Kormoron.”

“Yes, it is disappointing to have to dispose of the ships that we lawfully acquired during the course of the war. But we will still be able to profit some from them, even if it is only for scrap metal. We do have a lot of experience here breaking up old warships, just like the ones that we received from the Japanese navy at the end of the war. I hope to keep a couple of these ships by disarming them and using the vessels as regular transports. Hayasui would be particularly useful for my operations for a variety of reasons, even after being disarmed.

In any event, the Derby militia will still be maintaining six of our patrol boats for coast guard duties. They will also be available for use as testbeds for experimental equipment. The aerial and ground elements of the Derby militia will be reduced in size somewhat, but will still maintain a significant degree of effectiveness. I can promise you that, Harlan.”

“Well, that is some degree of a silver lining for us, Sir. Not surprisingly, the Americans have cut back their military even more than we have. They have essentially gone back to the size of their prewar military. Granted, the equipment is much more modern than before with the new aircraft carriers, aircraft and armored vehicles. But the Americans are still in the midst of beating most of their surviving swords into plowshares, especially if the weapons dated back before the war.”

“That’s not going to help us very much if something else goes wrong in Asia. Our nation still needs a powerful ally in the region. Obviously, England is not going to be able to help us very much with its current fiscal situation. I would much rather use my resources for other priorities than rearmament. But if we are forced to get involved in another war, it might be much more difficult for us to have enough time to get ready for it in the future.”

“Yes, I already know about your work with that German rocket scientist. I was surprised that you were working on something as daring as space flight. Most people think of that as the stuff of science fiction. But, that was still a shrewd move recruiting him and getting him away from making missiles for the German military. Do you think that you will still be able to keep him focused on rockets for space rather than military applications?”

“I think so. Werner and I both want the same thing out of rocketry, the chance to send mankind out into space. We both want to explore and colonize other worlds so that people are not dependent on just this one planet. You can never know what might happen to it. The Nazi’s were the only people willing to support Werner’s work before and during the war. I’m giving him and his fellow German rocket scientists another option now.”

“There will be some people who will think that you are using von Braun to build new missiles for the Australian military.”

“If they believe that, they will be proven wrong. Werner and I are in total agreement about that. In fact, I will be going to meet with Werner later today. I’m sure that he has something new and fascinating to show me too.”

“I’m sure that he will. It is a relief to know that Doctor von Braun is working on our side now.” Colonel Burke said with a smile before leaving.

Harold shortly afterwards took a short flight northeast to Kalumburu where he had recently built a new rocket assembly and launch facility. As soon as Harold’s transport plane landed and taxied to the hangar, Werner was there to meet him.

“Good afternoon, Herr Cavill. I am very pleased to see you today. I see that you brought me some more supplies.”

“Of course, I knew that you needed some things. We will soon have the rail line completed between here and Derby. Then we will be able to safely and efficiently send large amounts of materiel to you.”

“Danke, Herr Cavill. A new railroad line will obviously also encourage considerable economic development here also.”

“You’re quite welcome. I do have a question for you though. Will you be able to launch your new rocket tomorrow, Werner?”

“Of course, Mister Cavill. I am looking forward to seeing you and your family there to watch this momentous occasion.  This is our first rocket design that will be capable of launching a useful payload into orbit. You will not be disappointed, I promise.”

“Very good. I look forward to watching the launch personally. I have always found first flights to be immensely fascinating.” Harold said with a knowing smile.

Werner von Braun had no idea of just how many rocket launches that Harold had witnessed as James Stevenson before the Final War and the latter’s journey into the past from the year 2040.

Chapter Twenty-Five:

Cavill Astronautics Launch Site.

Kalumburu, Western Australia

May 21, 1951

Harold and his children were flying aboard one of the new twin-engine medium transport aircraft towards the new Kalumburu rocket launch site that he had constructed recently. Harold was still using transport aircraft to deliver bulk cargo to von Braun because the rail line to Kalumburu was still a couple of months from completion.

The new facility’s location was much more ideal for rocket launches due to its relative proximity to the equator. The near-equatorial location made it much easier to launch rockets into space than from near Derby because of the fuel saved and the greater payload that could be sent into orbit.

While flying to Kalumburu, Harold and his children talked in the privacy of the transport’s cargo cabin where they were the only passengers among the pallets of cargo being carried on this flight.

“If we are going to be able to continue to utilize the information that you have on this ‘computer’ then have to find some way of preserving it, Dad. You inferred earlier that this device would not last forever, I believe.” Judith noted.

“Yes, I did. The key to doing preserving this data is within the information itself. You and your siblings will have to find a way to reproduce enough of the data storage and processing technology from my future to create a duplicate of the database and the means to retrieve the data as needed. The difficult part is doing this without anyone else realizing what you are doing and why.”

“The way that we can accomplish this is clear, Dad. We start with utilizing the technologies that Mum has already introduced into this world a little earlier than what you had in mind. We then divide the tasks and the technologies among several different companies or subsidiaries to build each individual element. Next, we build a place here to put together all of the disparate pieces into a single facility. I doubt that we can totally recreate the technology needed to build something as small and powerful as this laptop. But we can make something much larger that can perform the same functions. We can easily build something that will fit into a large room perhaps, can’t we? Those few people who would know about it would be told that it was a computer. They would just think that it was a big adding machine, nothing more.”

“Yes, you are probably right. We would have to set it up as an experimental technology center for Cavill Industries. Then we would have to restrict access very heavily to even the individual components that we develop. Final assembly and testing would have to strictly be kept within the family. We will also have to tell everyone that the individual components that we build are completely experimental and not ready for incorporation in any planned future product.”

“All of you will still need to go to University so that you will be able to learn more of the fundamentals. But you will also need to be very careful not to reveal what you have already learned from here. The School of Engineering that I built near Derby shortly before the war would be a very good place for you to begin if you are interested. We have already graduated over one hundred engineers from there. Most of these graduates still work for us here in Derby or elsewhere.”

“We are all looking forward to formally learning to be engineers. Maybe someday, I will even get to travel to America to study for my PhD at MIT. Of course, I will still know more than the professors concerning future technology.” Judith laughed.

“You just have to make sure that the Americans don’t know just how far ahead you are, Judith.”

“Of course, Dad. But I might still learn a thing or two while I am there. Sometimes, you just need the certificate before people will accept that you know more on a subject. We will need that accreditation so that certain people will not ask the wrong questions.

Still, we know people who haven’t gone to university at all, but are still very knowledgeable in their fields. They are always worthy of our respect too, aren’t they?”

Harold realized that while he was helping fight the Japanese, his children had been watching and learning far more than he dared imagine.

As Harold continued to contemplate his childrens’ future and before he could answer Judith’s question, he heard his son James call out. “Look out over to the right!”

Harold and his daughters all moved to the right side of the transport to see through the windows. Out in the distance, they could see the new rocket launch facilities that had been constructed for von Braun’s projects. The tall launch gantry and the rocket sitting next to it were clearly visible under a clear sky.

“That is an incredible sight, Dad.” James remarked with a huge smile of delight on his face.

“Yes, Son. It certainly is. That, out there, is the future of mankind.” Harold proudly replied, echoing his own hopes that in this history that mankind would actually get to spread out beyond Earth and eventually to the stars. Only then, could he be sure that mankind would be preserved from its own follies.

“Well, children. We better get strapped in now. We are about to land the airplane soon.” Harold told his family as he sat down in a seat and began to strap himself in. His children all quickly did the same as the transport turned for its final approach to the nearby airfield.

The transport shortly landed at the Kalumburu airfield with the Cavills and its cargo of rocket components. As soon as the engines stopped, the transport’s crew lowered the rear cargo ramp. Harold and his children walked down the ramp, between the transport’s twin tail booms and towards a waiting sedan.

They rode for about fifteen minutes until they reached the rocket launch complex. There were a series of buildings there in addition to three brand new concrete launch pads with tall steel lattice gantries. Two of those launch gantries already had rockets on them being prepared for launch.

The children stared up in wonder at von Braun’s creations after they all got out of the sedan. Even Harold couldn’t help but feel a sense of amazement as he and his children looked up at the rockets.

“I want to learn to fly like Mum, only in one of those.” James said as he pointed to one of the towering rockets being prepared for launch.

“Perhaps someday you will get the opportunity, James. I know that I wanted to do the same thing when I was your age. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out for me.”

“Maybe things will be different this time, Dad.” James optimistically replied.

“I certainly hope so. Let’s go to the bunker now to watch the launch from. It will be a lot safer than here in case something does go wrong.” Harold told his family.

Once Harold and his family entered the bunker, he found Werner von Braun and over a dozen other personnel inside. They were monitoring a variety of instruments and making preparations for the test launch of one of his new rockets.

“Good morning, Werner. It looks like you picked a fine day to launch your rocket.” Harold said after shaking the German rocket scientist’s hand.

“Yes, it is a fine location. Thank you for having it constructed for my project. Its proximity to the equator will help tremendously in launching satellites into orbit.”

“I had tried to procure a site on Mitchell Plateau which was even closer to the equator. However, there was strong opposition from many people who greatly valued the natural beauty with the many waterfalls and other features. I had to admit that I did not want to risk spoiling such a beautiful area myself. So I selected Kalumburu instead.”

“That is understandable. Mister Cavill, we will be launching our new rocket in less than five minutes. If you and your family will look through the viewport to the northeast, you will have a fine view of the launch.” von Braun quickly explained before returning to his preparations for the launch.

The launch countdown proceeded smoothly. Less than ten seconds before launch, a deep rumbling began to be heard. The towering rocket with its alternating black and white panels for the purposes of visually observing the movements of the rocket in flight sat there, clouds of smoke and steam billowing from below it for a few moments. The roar of the multiple rocket motors of the first stage were near-deafening as the clamps holding the rocket to the launch pad were released. The rocket slowly crawled upward initially. But with each passing moment, the rocket accelerated faster and faster as it climbed up into the sky.

The cheering from a small crowd gathered near Derby as they watched the rocket rise into the sky was only a portent of what was to come later. That was because the next rocket design lifting off of that concrete pad would be launching the world’s first communications satellite. After that, space would be the Cavills’ ultimate arena for saving mankind.

From within the bunker, there was a lot of cheering as well. The rocket’s performance clearly met or exceeded its designers’ expectations. After the cheering had died down, Werner turned towards Harold.

“That was an excellent launch. I believe that we are now ready to put a satellite into orbit around the earth.”

“Very good, because I have two satellites ready to be launched here already. I brought them with us on the transport that my family and I flew in on.”

“Wunderbar! I will have the first one mounted on a rocket next week. We will be able to launch it into orbit shortly afterwards.”

“When will you be able to launch the second satellite, Werner? It is identical to the first one. Both are designed to send back signals to a terrestrial station for analysis.” Harold then replied.

“I can have another rocket ready in another month. It will have some small improvements from the rocket launched today. This will help me considerably with the larger rocket that I have already started building.”

“Excellent. I may not get to see the next launch, but I will certainly try to be here to watch the first rocket of your enlarged design begin its journey into space.” Harold said before gathering his children up for the return flight back to Derby.

Israel Defense Ministry Headquarters

Jerusalem, Israel

June 15, 1951

General Moshe Dayan sat at the conference table with several other senior leaders of the Israeli Defense Force. There were also several officers from the Defense Procurement office in the room.

“The fighting against the Arabs has tapered down for now. But we believe that this is only a temporary pause in enemy attacks. It is certain that the Arab forces will attack again as soon as they feel that they have the advantage. We need to ensure that our enemies do not feel that they have such an advantage. Otherwise, our families will be the ones who pay the price in blood.” General Dayan began.

“As many of you are aware, a great many of our citizens have sold their entire family’s most treasured belongings to help pay for the weapons that we need to protect Israel. This includes the treasures that the Nazis were forced to return to their rightful owners as part of the armistice agreement. Therefore, we need to get the best value for the funds that they have entrusted us with.”

Colonel Aaron Teidemann was the first to speak in response to General Dayan’s initial statement. The Colonel was in charge of procurement for both the Israeli air and ground forces.

“Sir, we are acquiring aircraft and armored vehicles from a variety of sources to fill the IDF’s requirements. As you have indicated, we are attempting to get the very best value for our funding. But we are also striving to give our soldiers the tools that will defeat our enemies while protecting our men and women in uniform as well as possible.

One of the biggest issues that are dealing with is logistics compatibility. If we purchase equipment from multiple sources, but the aircraft and tanks use few, if any, of the same components, the serviceability of what we buy will be significantly compromised. Before long, we will find most of our equipment in workshops, awaiting parts, rather than on the battlefield where our soldiers need them. Our sources of equipment and spare parts have to be reliable. Otherwise, a change in the political winds would mean that we would be without logistical support from our foreign suppliers when we need it most.”

“Your concerns are certainly legitimate, Colonel. At least for the most part, outside of the militias, we have standardized our ammunition calibers, I know. The initial stocks of small arms that had been provided just prior to our nation’s independence has helped considerably in that aspect. The rest has been much more problematic. I would suggest that we standardize more on English and American standard equipment whenever possible. Fortunately, many of our Australian built equipment are compatible with English or American systems.

What can our Navy friends tell us about their progress?” Dayan then asked.

Captain Ari Weizman opened up a folder and pulled out a stack of papers that he quickly glanced at before speaking. His accented Hebrew indicated that Captain Weizman had lived in Germany at some point.

“Gentlemen, while the army and air force have received the lion’s share of funding and equipment, we have not ignored our naval requirements. The sea is vital to use because the Arabs control all land routes to Israel. If the Arabs are able to cut off our ability to conduct trade through the Mediterranean, then we will not be able to survive for very long.

Normally, naval equipment is among the most expensive investments of any service. But we have been able to obtain several major end-items at bargain prices due to the cost-cutting measures being undertaken by the major combatants from the war in Europe.

This includes three former Royal Navy destroyers, a merchant ship that was fitted out as a disguised auxiliary cruiser and a Type VIIC U-Boat. While all of these ships were designed and built prior to the Second World War, we are already in the process of refitting them with modern equipment to substantially increase their capabilities.

The U-Boat is going to receive the most upgrades as it will be our primary offensive naval vessel. The upgrades will increase its underwater speed and endurance through the use of greater streamlining, new batteries and a snorkel device. Her weapons, radar and sonar will also receive upgrades to the highest possible level.

In addition to the submarine and destroyers, we have contracted with Cavill industries to construct an entire squadron of large, fast torpedo boats. These are the same craft that proved to be very deadly to Japanese warships operating in the southwest Pacific. The torpedo boats will also require far fewer personnel to operate them. Their biggest shortcomings are a relatively light gun armament and proportionally weak anti-aircraft defenses compared to the destroyers that we have purchased.

However, Mister Cavill has offered to modernize our destroyers with guided missiles that will make them much more capable, both defensively and offensively. He has also proposed to build for us several large corvettes that will also be armed with missiles.

But until we receive such upgrades, our ships will be vulnerable.”

“So you will need more air cover from the Air Force to protect your ships from enemy bombers at this time, correct?”

“Yes, Sir. It was very fortunate that the French were able to remove the threat of the Egyptian jet fighters. We have the British Royal Navy and RAF to thank for the destruction of the new Egyptian missile ships though. We still need more aircraft though, preferably some of the new jets, if we are going to maintain air superiority and protect the skies over our homes.” The Israeli Air Force commander. Brigadier General Samuel Koln reported.

“What can be done, will be done, General. All of you need to find a way of coordinating with each other so that our military can effectively defend itself with the limited resources that it has. What we must all ask ourselves is will we allow the Israeli people to suffer another Masada? Dayan pointedly asked the others in the room.

“Never again!” They all responded.

“Then we must also find a means to deterring the Arabs. This must be done in a way that will strike utter terror in the Arab world such that their suicide bombers and assassins can never do. I wish to propose a program to build a weapon of such devastating power. All of you in this room must understand that no one can be told of this weapon, particularly at this early stage of its development.” General Dayan sternly warned everyone.

After a few moments, everyone solemnly nodded in agreement before the Israeli military leader continued.

“Prior to the war, there were several prominent Jewish scientists that had been working on fundamental breakthroughs on exploiting the power of the atom. Most of these scientists were able to escape the Nazis before the beginning of the war. After the death camps were closed and the return of our people to our ancestral homeland began, these scientists also left their places of refuge like America and England to come back home here.

Once here, these scientists resumed their work and now believe that they are able to use certain elements like uranium in a highly refined form to create a new type of bomb. This weapon is projected to be so powerful that a single device can burn out the heart of a large city or decimate an entire army.

It would be a very large device, at least in the early designs, I am told. But the scientists also say that with enough research, that they could significantly reduce the weapon’s size and even increase its power.

The secrets of this weapon are very dangerous. If our enemies were to obtain them, we could face annihilation from a single device because of the small size of our nation. What I ask is permission to approach our civilian leadership about developing this weapon.

Some of our civilian leaders may not want us to introduce such technology into this region for fear of escalating the existing arms race between ourselves and the Arabs. Some of our leaders will not be willing to expend the resources needed to develop an atomic bomb.”

“I cannot see how we can afford not to develop such a powerful deterrent. We must do something that will convince the Arabs that it is simply not worth the blood that will be shed in order to continue this useless campaign of genocide against the Jewish people.” Colonel Teidemann argued fervently.

“If we were to go ahead with this program, how would be conceal its existence from the world, General?” Captain Weizman asked.

“We would use a civilian atomic energy program as a cover for the development of an atomic bomb. We already have close contacts with the Australians who are already using electric power created by an atomic fission reactor. We simply use those same contacts to help build a fission reactor of our own. Then we use an expansion of those facilities for the purposes of developing an atomic fission weapon.”

One by one, the leaders of the IDF signaled their agreement. The next day, General Dayan would meet with the Israeli Prime Minister with the results of the meeting. Work would soon begin to give the Jewish state the ultimate means to defend itself against its mortal enemies.

Cavill Astronautics Launch Site.

Kalumburu, Western Australia

July 14, 1951

After landing in a transport aircraft at the nearby airfield, Harold drove up near the large steel gantry where the newest rocket design was being prepared for a momentous launch. This rocket was at least five times as large as the V-2 rockets that the Germans had been working on prior to the end of the European war. Harold was very fortunate that the de facto end of offensive operations between Germany and Great Britain after Hitler’s death meant that the V-2’s were never launched against England. Instead, the Germans launched more than one hundred V-2’s against the Soviet Union to destroy critical targets during the operation to capture Moscow.

“Mister Cavill, I am very pleased to see you once again. Your support of my rocketry project has been incredible. Thank you very much.” A smiling Werner von Braun said as he extended his hand toward Harold. Werner still had a strong German accent but his English was much better than when he first arrived in Australia several years earlier.

“You have accomplished a great deal, Werner. Your latest rocket design is far superior to the A4’s that you built for Germany.”

“They need to be if we are going to successfully launch this new satellite of yours. It will be incredible to be able to relay communications signals through an orbiting satellite to a receiving station thousands of miles away.”

“It will require several such satellites to create a truly effective worldwide communications network. However, this is only the first step to our shared dream of sending men into space and the planets beyond this world, Werner.”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this effort. I am already working on more powerful rocket motor designs. I also think that if we group several of the new larger motors into the same launch vehicle, then we can significantly boost a rocket’s overall payload.”

“Excellent! I believe that you are on the right track, Werner. My children and I can’t wait until your next launch.”

“I am looking forward to looking up in the night skies and seeing our satellites moving in the heavens as they benefit all of mankind.”

“So am I, Werner….so am I.” Harold said with a quiet smile as he considered a long, peaceful future for mankind this time.

“So, Mister Cavill. How long before your new satellite is ready? The first two orbital satellites are still in stable orbits and transmitting signals. I am very hopeful to be able to use one of my next launch vehicles to send up a satellite that will finally be able to perform a truly useful task for humanity.”

“I hope to have the first of the communications satellites ready within the next three months. For these devices to have a useful lifespan, they will need to be launched to a high orbit just like what Mister Arthur C. Clarke had described in his paper. He referred to it as a ‘geo-synchronous orbit’ because the object would remain over the same location on the Earth’s surface because the orbit was coordinated with the Earth’s rotation.”

“That sounds very useful, indeed. I will ensure that my rocket will be able to place the satellite exactly where you want it.”

“Thank you, Werner.

Warner did not know this, but Harold had placed television cameras inside the first two satellites. They weren’t just transmitting signals. The satellites were transmitting images of the world below. They were primitive compared to the weather and surveillance satellites of the twenty-first century, but they already were giving Harold information that could prove to be critical in the future.

Harold had arranged for several ground stations to receive the video signals transmitted from the orbiting satellites. The video signals would be recorded onto magnetic tape and flown back to Derby on a regular basis for Harold and a small number of select personnel to review.

Eventually, Harold planned to announce that these satellites would be the world’s first weather forecasting satellites. But before then, they would be his own personal spy satellites, looking down at the world and revealing its secrets.

Chinese Nationalist War Ministry

Bejing, Nationalist China

August 11, 1951

“The Chinese Nationalist Navy needs to find more hulls to fill out its numbers. We have only been able to purchase a limited number of warships from the English. The Americans want to sell warships to us also, but they are ships that are no more recent than the old English warships. It is very important that we find vessels that are much more modern than these. However, I cannot afford to purchase a newly constructed warship from Germany, France or Italy.” Captain Tsiang Chin explained to the arms merchant from India.

“Yes, Captain. I can see the dilemma that you are facing. I do know of sellers of warships who cannot afford to maintain them or even to complete their construction for economic or political reasons. Perhaps they may suit your requirements provided that your own political sensitivities don’t get in the way.” Hamid Singh noticed with a slight smile. The Indians had procured a significant amount of surplus weapons in the handful of years since their declaration of independence and the partition of the sub-continent into separate Hindu and Muslim states.

An intrigued Captain Chin drew closer. “What exactly do you have in mind, Mister Singh?”

“I happen to know that the Japanese economy has been completely devastated since their surrender to the Allies. The Japanese are scrapping every warship wreck and incomplete hull that they can get their hands onto. They had started to build a series of new heavy destroyers that were based on their Akizuki-class vessels. They were to be slightly larger and more heavily armed with torpedoes and anti-aircraft guns. Four of these ships were nearly complete at the time of the surrender. They have their engines and part of their main armament already installed even though construction on the warships had been suspended.

They are all scheduled to be scrapped within the next two months. But perhaps arrangements could be made for them to be purchased by you and towed to a Chinese port for ‘scrapping’ instead. Then you can do with them whatever you wish. This could include completing their construction in whatever form that you choose.”

“These are all brand new hulls?”

“They have been sitting on the construction ways for at least four years awaiting a decision. But they have not spent one day at sea. So essentially, they are all brand new, Captain.”

That sounds very promising, Sir. What about their armament?”

“We are looking into several different sources for that. We would prefer to purchase from that Australian company that leased us the tanks during the conflict with the Russians. I have heard stories of some very advanced weapons that they are currently developing. But the question is whether or not Cavill Industries is willing to sell that equipment to us.

The Japanese might be willing to do the fitting out themselves. They are still in the process of recovering from the catastrophe that had happened to much of their country though. Mind you, they could most certainly use the funds and the opportunity to more of their people back to work.”

“I would like to ultimately begin building our own ships, both commercial and military, though. Then we can take the best features of every nation’s ship designs and incorporate them into our own vessels.”

Derby Power Station #1

Derby, Western Australia

August 12, 1951

Harold stood just outside of the large reinforced concrete building that held the reactor core and its associated power turbines, looking up with pride at the new building and associated structures. A pair of large cooling towers had been constructed adjacent to the reactor containment building. On the opposite side of the reactor building was the old coal-fired power plant that had existed on the same site for more than two decades.

The new fission reactor went critical, beginning to produce power for the first time just a few hours earlier. Harold had breathed a sigh of relief when the station came on line and produced stable power at designed levels. But the new fission power station could not be constructed using indigenous components alone, much to Harold’s discomfort.

Harold had to have components produced and imported from around the world to add to the elements of the reactor that he built within his own industries. At this point, Harold’s own factories could not produce everything needed to build the reactor. The Australian government helped finance the project, if only to have a stake in the power being produced by the reactor.

But this was still Harold Cavill’s most important project now that the war was over. Food and water were very often the root causes for conflict. But in an industrialized economy, power was just as important. Electric power ran the machines, heated the homes, lit the offices, created the chemicals needed to make products and would eventually run the computers.

The coal-fired boilers of the existing Derby power station provided enough power for Derby and the facilities around it for now. Harold had even supplemented that power with the production and operation of small wind turbines that were used by many of the rural households. Harold had subsidized the manufacture of these unsophisticated electric generators so that he could afford to not expand the coal-fired power station any further until he was ready to build the nuclear reactor. Still, the wind could not be relied upon to provide consistent, reliable power at all times.

But Harold knew that affordable power was also needed to create fertilizers for commercial agriculture to feed large populations and to help clean the water needed for people to drink. Australia’s population was growing rapidly after the war and would need reliable energy supplies. The Middle East with its vast supplies of oil had provided much of that energy for decades, especially in the post-war era.

This led to many other problems because the billions earned by Muslim states in the Middle East had been invested primarily in the purchase of modern weapons, the establishment of fundamentalist Islamic schools throughout the world and the support of jihadist fighters attacking the West and moderate or liberal Muslim populations. The actions of the Gulf oil states in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century were the causes of numerous wars and many millions of lives lost. They also were one of the principle reasons why mankind had not been able to set up permanent human colonies on the Moon and Mars.

The construction of the first nuclear power station was a powerful symbol of Harold’s desire to chart a different course for mankind as a whole and Australia in particular. But the most obvious physical symbol of this was that the smoke stacks of the next-door coal-fired power station were not issuing their normal plumes of black smoke that had choked the skies near Derby for the past couple of decades.

This pleasant sight was because even this first generation nuclear reactor was producing enough power to supply the area’s needs by itself. Harold knew that with the success of this prototype reactor plant, this would only be the beginning.

As he stood there looking up at the new reactor building, Harold heard a couple of people walk up beside him and looked over to see who it was. He saw Adam Findler, one of his American-born mechanical engineers and Alex Boyd, Cavill Industries’ Industrial Supply and Sales Manager. Both men had been heavily involved in the design and construction of the reactor.

Adam had been Harold’s jack of all trades engineer on a variety of projects throughout Cavill Industries’ different design and production facilities. Alex had been deeply involved in the procurement of the necessary materials and subcomponents from outside sources. Together, they had performed miracles in helping build the world’s first nuclear power station.

“G’Day, gentlemen. This is an incredible piece of work. I am totally stoked when I look at all of this. We are going to make history here, thanks largely to your efforts.” Harold proudly said to Adam and Alex.

“Thank you, Sir. A lot of people put heaps of hard work into this. If it does everything that you say that it can do, it will be utterly revolutionary. It still astounds me to think that this facility can produce enough electrical power to operate everything within this community and the areas surrounding it for close to ten years without needing to be refueled at all.” Alex replied, the sense of wonder clearly evident in his voice.

“I don’t know if I could have done it without you two though.” Harold quickly answered.

“Well, I’m glad that we went with the boiling water reactor design, Sir. It certainly simplified the design process, especially after my consultations with the physicists that you brought in. This building is certainly one big beastie of a container though.” Adam replied.

“Fair Dinkum. I wasn’t overly concerned though about the size of the reactor or the containment building since it was a stationary, land-based system. Ordinary steel alloys and concrete are cheap compared to making a more compact reactor using more exotic alloys and more complicated equipment.” Harold admitted.

“No worries, Sir. After what all of the physicists told me about the nastiness that we would be holding inside of the reactor while it was in operation, I wanted to make bloody damned sure that none of that crap would be accidentally coming out.” Adam said.

“You did a hell of a good job, Adam. I looked over the design very thoroughly before we started construction. I was deadset that we wouldn’t do anything at this site before we were absolutely certain that the reactor was designed to be extremely safe, even under the most extreme situations.

Of course, Alex did a bloody fine job of getting us quality components from all around Australia. Without his efforts, we could not have built a safe and affordable reactor within the time that we had.”

Harold already knew that the design was safe based on his work on a uranium-thorium reactor in his original timeline. Of course, this reactor design had to be adapted to accommodate the lower technology levels of the early nineteen-fifties. However, no one other than Harold and his children knew this. Harold had given his engineers broad guidance concerning the design of the reactor initially and then allowed them to find solutions. Only when the engineers ran into a roadblock or were going in a direction that Harold knew would not work, would he intercede with more detailed suggestions on the reactor design.

If there had been any doubt that the existing technology would have a safety issue, Harold would insist on additional redundancies or substantial overengineering of key systems in order to ensure that there would be no problems. The last thing that Harold needed would be for there to be a major incident involving a radiation leak to destroy all that he was trying to create here.

Perhaps the most amazing part is that Harold and his engineers manage to do all of this without using any digital computers. The new reactor had all analogue controls, including analogue computers that fit perfectly within the era’s technology level. But the reactor was safe. Harold knew that he could make the design smaller and a lot more efficient soon enough when the materials and computer technology had advanced sufficiently.

“There was one thing that I was wondering about, Sir. Are you sure that we are going to have enough fuel for these fission reactors of yours?” Adam asked.

“Australia has the world’s largest reserves of Thorium, you know. I assure you, we have more than enough of that element to fulfill our requirements. We also have significant quantities of Uranium ore at the Olympic Dam mine along with the large copper deposit there. The silver and gold that we also mine from that site are almost an afterthought.” Harold replied.

Of course, he had purchased the mining rights to the Olympic Dam site in the mid-twenties long before anyone else had even thought to explore it. As a result, the mine had provided Harold with badly needed funds prior to the war with the ensuing massive demand for copper.

Harold had also purchased the rights to all of the rare earth sites in Australia in addition to the largest deposit of rare earth metals in China. The vast majority of these mines also produced vast amounts of Thorium as a byproduct of the rare earth mining. Harold had enough fuel available to operate large numbers of reactors for centuries. At the same time, he had secured access to the resources of the future in the electronics industry for his family’s future and the needs of the world as a whole.

“Now, we secure financing to build up to ten more fission power stations here in Australia. This will give us enough power to supply virtually all of the nation’s needs for the next twenty-five years. That will keep the both of you busy for a while.

Of course, you know that I will ensure that you will be well compensated for your efforts as usual.”

“That is going to take a lot of money, Sir.” Alex noted.

“The money will be coming, one way or another.” Harold was confident of this. There were no mushroom clouds or meltdowns of badly managed reactors to terrify the public into fearing the enormous potential of nuclear power technology.

Of course, Harold was not yet aware of what was going on in secret within Germany or Israel.

Chapter Twenty-Six:

Cavill Industries Main Office

Derby, Western Australia

August 18, 1951

“For someone who supposedly is trying to get out of the weapons business, you certainly seem to still have a lot of involvement in it, Harold.” Colonel Harlan Burke said after coming in to Harold’s office and seeing all of the blueprints for new military equipment on a table. The manner that the Australian commander of the Derby militia stated this was lighthearted, but still had a tiny bit of an edge to it. The war in the Pacific was over, but not everything was settled internationally by any means.

“I know. But there are still a lot of conflicts going on in the world. Nations need to have the means to defend themselves against aggression. My companies still have several customers who are unable to produce this equipment on their own and need to import from elsewhere. Even so, half of my defense-related business is not even building new weapons but instead refitting existing ships, aircraft and vehicles anymore.

We still have not replaced all of the equipment that was leased to the Chinese and was lost in combat yet. At this point, I don’t think that we need the replacements though. Things are pretty settled in our area for now.”

What Harold did not mention was that by building and selling the weapons that he did make available, he was also controlling the development of the technology. If he could supply equipment that could do the job cost-effectively, that would reduce the demand for engineers elsewhere to push the state of the art even further.

Most of the focus of Harold’s technological advancements now were on electronics and space related technologies. But he still had people constantly looking into military technology being developed elsewhere, just in case.

“I would have to agree that the Derby militia doesn’t have very much to do now that the war has ended with Japan. However, the Germans certainly appear to have been busy attempting to expand their markets, both in the civilian and military arenas, Harold.”

“Well, the Germans do make very good automobiles, I have to admit. We could make better, but it isn’t the sort of market that I feel very passionate about. I would rather build things for the ordinary customer, not merely the wealthy.”

“On that note, it looks like the Germans have been building a new tank design for export. It’s got that high-velocity gun of the Panther, but the chassis is much closer in size to that of their Panzer IV. This vehicle also appears to be replacing all of the older Panzer III and IV tanks in the Wehrmacht that had been previously kept in service after the armistice’s mandated arms reductions.”

“I saw the photos too. I think that the Germans have decided to simplify this tank as well. You see that this new tank doesn’t have the interwoven bogie wheels of either the Panther or the Tiger. If anything, it is much closer in design to the T-34 with its Christie pattern suspension. The simpler construction will make it a lot easier and less expensive to build, I’m sure.”

“This tank also has the T-34’s sloped armor, but the vehicle is not quite as compact as the Russian tank. I am guessing also that it is not as heavily armored as the Panther. Nonetheless, this new vehicle appears to be very formidable, even if it is not a Tiger or a Panther.”

“Still, the Egyptians have already contracted to buy over one hundred of these new export tanks. I would imagine that the Egyptians want these vehicles to counter the armour that the British have stationed near the Canal.”

“That doesn’t surprise me at all either. The Egyptians have continued to be very aggressive towards the French and their allies concerning the Suez Canal ever since the Suez Crisis and the Allied military takeover of the Canal.” Colonel Burke noted.

“I’ve heard the official announcements from the Egyptian government claiming that the Suez Canal is Egyptian sovereign territory and should be controlled by Egypt. Of course, it is ridiculous because the Egyptians never put one shilling into the construction of the canal. The French and British governments spent many millions of pounds and francs building the damned thing however. We need it to facilitate the economical shipping of goods to and from Asia including the oil that we need to run our economy.”

“The Egyptians see the canal as their tool to gain influence in the world. That is why they tried to nationalize it in the first place and why they want it back so badly. It is also something that they wish to use in their quest to destroy Israel. The Egyptians know how much the rest of the world needs to be able to use passage through the Suez Canal. It could be a way to blackmail countries in the West into providing Egypt with weapons or political support to achieve that end.”

“That makes sense. I have also noticed that the Saudis have been terribly willing to pump as much oil as possible out of their fields to whoever wants to purchase it. Even with the reasonable prices that they are charging, the Arabs should be practically swimming in money by now.”

“Well, the Saudis must be spending that cash as quickly as they are getting it. Our intelligence has receiving word that the Saudis have been funding the expansion of the militaries of several other Arab states, especially since the beginning of the ugly state of affairs in Israel. Syria, Egypt and even Transjordan have been purchasing a lot of weapons on the international market.”

“Do you believe that the Saudis are financing Egypt’s weapons purchases, Harlan?” Harold asked.

“Yes, that is what our latest intelligence appears to indicate. It’s bad enough that the Egyptians had been purchasing more fast torpedo boats from the Italians. But now, the Egyptians procuring much larger warships as well.

The latest ships that the Italians have been building for the Egyptians are surprisingly large for what is supposed to be a coastal defense navy. The Egyptians are calling these new ships ‘destroyers’. But these three ships displace nearly five thousand tons each. That makes them nearly as big as some of our prewar light cruisers.”

“You know what many of our own ship designers say. ‘Steel is cheap and air is free’. That is how they justify building bigger ships for their customers. You can bet that those Italian ships are going to be very fast also. I wonder what their armament will consist of?”

“I’d say that the Egyptians will be looking to Germany again for that. The Germans have been very aggressive about finding customers for some of their weapons. I’m not just talking about war surplus tanks and machine guns. The Germans have continued to develop advanced weapons even after the signing of the Armistice. I know of at least three nations who have purchased German military aircraft and tanks. The jet fighters that the French seized during the Suez Crisis were all German-produced. Much of this new equipment has obviously been developed exclusively for the export market by the Germans. So, I would not be surprised at all if we end up seeing German weapons on board these new Egyptian warships too.”

“The Germans have been working hard to compete with the Americans. Both nations have proven themselves to be able to produce quality equipment, both civilian and military.”

“True enough, but if you want the best quality, people and nations still opt for something produced in Germany. That is why the Germans can charge a premium for their export products. The Americans continue to improve however, so it remains a running battle for sales between Germany and America.”

“The new power station is proving to be quite a success. It is astounding to many people to see that there is no black smoke coming out of the stacks now, only steam vapor from the cooling towers.” Harlan said as he looked out the window towards the billowing cloud of steam coming from the Derby power station near the coast.

“Yes, the air is a lot cleaner around here than since before the coal fueled power plants went into operation. I’m sure that we can use the coal for other purposes. I hope to expand our synthetic fuel production facilities that use coal to create methanol and derivative fuels from it.

The desalinization plant that is being powered by waste heat from the reactor has significantly increased the amount of drinkable water that is available for people here too. That, combined with the new hydroelectric dam that is feeding a larger irrigation system is making it possible to significantly increase the amount of land that we can devote to agriculture now.”

“Yes, that would be very good news for people living here. There certainly has been an influx of quite a few immigrants from Germany, England and America coming here since the end of the war. They all need to be fed and have clean drinking water certainly.”

“Yes, even Pappy Gunn and his family spend part of their time here. The rest of the time, they live in the Philippines now that the nation has achieved its independence from America. His air transport business is really booming now that the war is over and no one is shooting at him. Pappy’s good friend General Lim is now President Lim. The new Philippine president has been very busy setting up business and defense installations with the Philippines’ neighbors ever since assuming the office

A lot of the Germans that have come here are actually young women who were widowed during the war. They are not only spending time at my university learning English, but also have a lot of technical skills that they learned in German factories that will help fill a lot of jobs that need employees who will be available on a regular basis. I expect that many of these women will eventually get married to Australian and American men working here.”

“You reckon? I have already heard heaps of our men showing interest in those pretty frau’s and fraulein’s. In fact, some of them are totally stoked about taking them out to tea.” Harlan laughed for a moment before continuing.

“I did hear something else that surprised me though. I recently heard that you have been providing financial aid to the Japanese. That seems to be very unusual considering what they did during the war.”

“Actually, I have provided over one hundred million dollars to Japan during the past couple of years, though I would prefer to think of it as an investment. The aid is in the form of technical assistance in cleaning up the contaminated areas of their country and investments in new industrial facilities. I would actually be the majority owner in the facilities still. But it would put a lot of Japanese back to work building something other than weapons. My investments will also build a lot of good will out there as well. It is a lot harder to declare war on someone who has helped feed you and give you a job, you know.”

Harold didn’t mention just how many Japanese that he had also recruited to work in his new factories in North Faluku and New Guinea to work as technicians and engineers. He didn’t want their presence to cause problems back home in Australia.

“Well, hopefully all of that will work out. There are still a lot of people around here who have hard feelings towards the Japanese because of what they did during the war. These people probably would not be nearly as forgiving as you appear to be.”

While Harold and Harlan talked in Harold’s office, Werner von Braun was having a visit at his office near the Cavill Rocketry Center from one of his fellow Germans who had come halfway around the world to see him. Helmut Bluth was an engineer that had worked with von Braun on the A-4 project during the war. Helmut had traveled to Derby after corresponding with von Braun for the past two years.

“Guten Tag! I am very pleased to see you again, Werner. I trust that you and your family are doing well. ” Helmut pleasantly said as he walked up and shook von Braun’s hand.

“I am very pleased to see you again as well, my friend. Yes, we have a very good life here in our new home. I still hope that things are going well for you back in das Vaterland.”

“Ja. We remain very busy, both rebuilding our country after the war and developing new technologies in many different disciplines. We would like for you to be a part of that glorious effort.”

“How so?” A curious von Braun quickly asked.

“Werner, we would like for you to return to Germany and work again for the Fatherland. Your knowledge would be very helpful for us as it has been in the past.” Helmut was careful not to specifically mention any more about the war or the V-2 rocket.

Werner was suddenly very concerned. What had started as a very friendly visit had now taken a very unwelcome turn.

“I’m afraid that I can’t do that now. I’ve set up roots here in Australia now. I am finally able to have the opportunity to use my talents to put mankind into space, not to build weapons for one country or another. You don’t understand how much that means to me.” von Braun replied sadly.

“What about the needs of your Vaterland, Doctor?”

“Germany will do just fine without me. This here is my home now. Besides, Mister Cavill had provided me with all of the financial support that I will need here. Who knows, perhaps Germans will get the opportunity in the years to come to fly into space aboard one of my rockets.”

What Werner von Braun did not say was that moving to Australia to work on Harold Cavill’s space program was also an opportunity to leave the past behind. Werner desperately wanted to put his sins behind him from the days of working on the V-2. He knew that many innocent people working as slave labor died building the V-2 rockets, not to mention the others who died where the ballistic missiles struck. The conditions were horrific, but Werner had been driven at the time by his own desire to do whatever was necessary to continue his work on rockets. Werner hoped that in time, he would find his own forgiveness through his efforts to get mankind into space.

“I do wish that you would reconsider your decision, Herr Professor. We are working on some very exciting ideas back at Peenemünde.”

“So am I, Helmut. Mister Cavill has provided me with excellent facilities and the freedom to pursue concepts that have nothing to do with weapons or death. I finally feel that I am truly able to work on getting mankind into space. That means so very much to me.”

“I am sorry to hear that, my friend. I had looked forward so much to being to work with you again at Peenemünde. I do wish you well here though.”

“Danke. But my life is here now. Haben Sie einen schönen Tag, Helmut.“ Werner said while sending his old friend on his way. It was only the polite thing to wish him a good day after denying Helmut what the latter come all the way to Australia for.

Cavill Astronautics Launch Site.

Kalumburu, Western Australia

October 14, 1951

Harold was in the bunker with Werner von Braun when the latest rocket design from Cavill Astronautics lifted off from the launch pad. This was not only the largest rocket to be successfully launched from the Kalumburu rocket launch center, but it was the first to officially launch a telecommunications satellite.

“This is going to be a tremendous point in history, Mister Cavill. This represents a revolution in communication in addition to what it means for modern space technology.” A smiling von Braun said as he watched the massive rocket soaring skyward into space.

“I agree. Soon, we will be able talk and send video images from one side of the world to the other instantaneously. I already have set up receiver stations in London, Washington, Los Angeles and Canberra. They are connected to the telephone switchboards in each of those cities, allowing communications at unprecedented speeds.” Harold proudly explained.

“This is the sort of peaceful use of rocket technology that I have always dreamed of. I believe that in only a few more years, we will begin preparations for both a manned orbital space station and a manned landing on the moon.” von Braun mused.

“I will do everything that I can to help you achieve those goals too, Werner.”

The communications satellites that Harold had launched into orbit aboard Werner’s latest rockets were more advanced technologically than anyone else was even remotely aware of. During the past few years since the end of the Pacific War, Harold and his children had scoured the database from the future to gain information on electronics technology like the transistor that began to be developed in the fifties.

Using a very small team of technicians and a highly compartmentalized development process, Harold had created electronic devices that were at least a decade ahead of their time. By working in isolation, these devices were incorporated into the new communications satellites without the installing technicians even knowing the full capabilities of the equipment that they were working on. If anyone had asked, they were told that the equipment was experimental or that it performed a completely different function than its true capability.

The satellite itself was powered by solar panels that were specially manufactured and tested in isolation. Harold knew that this power source would be considerably more powerful and longer-lived than the state of the art technology for that era would have been. But once the rocket launched the satellite, there was no way for anyone else to examine them and discover just how advanced they really were.

Already, Harold was beginning to produce another half dozen of these communications satellites to create a constellation capable of sending signals around the world regardless of one’s location. All that was needed were a sending and a receiving ground station.

Harold had used his own unique status to promote the use of his satellite communications system in America, England and Australia. It would not take very long for someone to begin to use it.

Harold flew back to Derby shortly after the launch. Before going home, he stopped by his office to review some reports. Suddenly, his office assistant Mary opened the door to tell Harold that he had a telephone call from Washington.

The satellite had barely had time to get into its position in geo-synchronous orbit before people had begun using it.

Harold had the phone call transferred to the phone on his office desk. It rang twice before he picked it up.

“Hello, Sir. This is Harold Cavill. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to on this inaugural of my new satellite communications service?”

“Hello, Mister Cavill. I’m US Congressman Joseph Kennedy Junior. I have been wanting to speak with you for some time now. You have quite a reputation around here and in England. Perhaps we have some common interests that we need to discuss.”

Immediately, Harold was intrigued by this telephone call. In the previous timeline, Joseph Kennedy Junior had been the son who was being groomed for a Presidential run by his father, wealthy Joseph Kennedy. But Joseph Junior had died during the war during a special operation of an explosives-laden bomber intended to be flown by radio-control into a German target.

Obviously, in this timeline, he survived the war and was now a member of the US Congress. So, what did he want with Harold?

“Good afternoon, Congressman. I suppose that it is morning for you out in Washington though, isn’t it? How can I help you, Sir?”

“Yes, it is morning here on the East Coast. I do have some questions and concerns that I hope that you can help me with. I would like to talk with you about Germany, Mister Cavill.”

“What would you like to know about, Congressman? I suppose that you already know that I have some business connections there that I reestablished after the end of the war in Europe.”

“Yes, that is true. But I suspect that you have other sources in Germany in addition to your business connections. For example, you have several German rocket scientists working for you at this time. You have also accepted quite a few German refugees to immigrate to Australia to work for you, I learned.

That sounds like a lot more than a few business connections to me. But the point that I want to make is that you are likely to know more about what is going on in Germany than most people in the American State Department.

I need to find out what the Germans are doing. I have a strong suspicion that they are not nearly as benign as the image that they are portraying to the rest of the world.”

Harold thought silently for a few moments after hearing the young American Congressman’s question. One of the unanticipated consequences of Harold’s alterations of the timeline was Germany’s signing of a second Armistice rather than being forced to surrender unconditionally to the Allies.

Harold had seen this as being the price for the destruction of the Soviet Union, thus eliminating one of the principle factors in the final war of 2040. Even this would not have been acceptable if Hitler and the Nazi Party retained control of Germany. But Hitler had died and the vast majority of the Nazi Party’s hierarchy had either been put into prison or had been executed.

At least, that is what the new German government had told everyone.

“What is it that concerns you so much about the Germans, Congressman? They seem to have their hands full just trying to rebuild after their cities were gutted by Bomber Harris’ nighttime raids.” Harold cautiously asked.

“Oh, the Germans are certainly devoting considerable efforts in rebuilding their cities.  They are starting pretty much from scratch. From what I have already seen, German cities will be among the most modern in all of Europe. But I am afraid that Germany’s cities aren’t the only thing that will be among the most modern in all of Europe and most anywhere else. What they are doing with their military is much along the same lines.

While the German military is smaller in size than it had been prior to the war, it is perhaps more modern technologically than ever before.”

“You feel that Germany is still a threat to America, I gather?”

“I certainly think that it could be. I know that America cannot afford to sit back and rely upon the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to protect it any longer. Unfortunately, as before the war, we have too many people here who still believe a purely defensive posture is the best option for America. I need solid information to convince my fellow Congressmen to the contrary, however.”

“Well, Congressman. I don’t know if Germany is a threat to America, at least not anytime soon. Everything that I have seen indicates that the Germans are much more interested in regional hegemony than world domination. Their navy is now mostly focused on destroyers, not battleships. The Germans have been working on incorporating jet aircraft for use on their two aircraft carriers. But that is also going to mean that the Kriegsmarine will have to accept a smaller number of aircraft on each carrier. It’s a good thing then that swept wing jets don’t make good torpedo bombers, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so, but very few of Germany’s rivals have jet combat aircraft in their fleets.” Kennedy noted.

“This is true. However, German jets are fast, but still relatively short ranged. The German U-Boat fleet is also much smaller than before.

The Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht have also echoed the structural changes of the Kriegsmarine. They have all significantly reduced their sizes but have incorporated the most advanced equipment available. I would have to say that the Germans have decided to play the role of a porcupine. You don’t dare mess with it for fear of getting impaled upon its spikes.”

“That sounds rather benign. However, with the alliances that the Germans have created with its neighbors to the east and the virtual neutralization of its rivals to the West. Germany could wield a considerable amount of influence in the region.

Considering Germany’s actions over the past half-century, I am very concerned about it having so much power. We also still have tremendous gaps in our intelligence concerning Germany’s capabilities and intentions. I have personally fought the Germans before. I really don’t want to have to fight them again if I can help it.”

“I don’t think that any of us want to have to fight the Germans again. I do know that they have incorporated a lot of the previous opposition in their government including people like Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I seriously doubt that Bonhoeffer and the others like him would sit back and allow another Nazi-like regime to come power again, not after what happened before.”

“That is as long as the German High Command doesn’t keep too many secrets from moral people like him, of course.” Kennedy noted.

“I suppose that is true. However, you and I both know that nothing can be relied on as being secret if more than one person knows about it.

Now, I have a question for you, Congressman. You Americans are also going forward with the development of new jet aircraft, including new fighter aircraft, aren’t you?” Harold asked.

Congressman Kennedy smiled for a moment before answering. He had been asking most of the questions up to this point. He knew that he now had share some information of his own if he wanted to continue having Harold Cavill as a source.

“Yes, we are. I can’t give any specifics on any of the ongoing projects, of course. But several of our aviation companies have been working on a variety of jet-powered aircraft. Certainly, our airline companies would love to have a high-speed jet to fly passengers on transcontinental and transoceanic routes.

I will say that there are several jet fighters in development. One of the prototypes designed by Kelly Johnson for Lockheed appears to quite radical in its design. In fact, it is not all that different than your Dragonfly fighter-bomber in appearance. However, I just don’t know if the War Department will approve production of it.”

Harold had read an article on Lockheed’s L-133 proposal from his computer database. While the aircraft was never built, it was very advanced for its time. This piece of information from the American Congressman would now justify Harold going forward with an even more advanced fighter-bomber design.

In many ways, the new Cavill jet fighter was a derivation of the original tandem-wing Dragonfly. To the world, that is how it would be portrayed. But this aircraft with its twin axial-flow turbojets, its aft-mounted swept wing and its reduced size canard foreplanes, would be faster, more maneuverable and longer-ranged by far over the L-133. It would be easy to find eager buyers in both the RAF and RAAF as well as several other friendly air forces for this new jet fighter-bomber design.

The joint jet bomber project between the newly renamed Cavill Aerospace and Avro would easily lead to the development of other large jet aircraft. Harold had already sent a team to England to begin work on a joint project for a jet airliner, either with Avro or Vickers.

Without the pressure of the war to push aircraft development in America to the extent that had been the case in the previous timeline, someone would have to keep things on track to take the place of the Americans.

But this Congressman Joseph Kennedy Jr. still had a point. The Germans were still sinking a lot of Deutschmarks into their military in spite how much that they needed the funds for reconstruction. Harold had already been keeping an eye on what the Germans had been doing.

It would be wise for Harold to devote even more assets into learning what the Germans are doing and what they plan on doing tomorrow. It would also be wise for Harold to continue to keep in touch with this young Congressmen, in spite of the less than stellar reputation of Kennedy’s wealthy father.

“It sounds like we have a lot of common interests, Congressman Kennedy. I would like to continue to correspond with you. Perhaps we can help each other from time to time.” Harold said over the telephone.

“I think that I would like that very much, Mister Cavill.” Congressman Kennedy replied after a moment or two.

The two men said their goodbyes then and ended the phone call. Harold expected that there would be many more such conversations in the future. Of course, the Congressman would have to be very careful because of the legal ramifications of his contacts with a foreign national under American law.

Epilogue:

Cavill Experimental Electronics Laboratory

Derby, Western Australia

November 1, 1951

The secure computer room now had more equipment than ever inside. There was the main computer itself that was based on contemporary technology and was immensely large. There was a much smaller core computer that was basically salvaged from the components of the robot vehicle that Harold brought with him from the future. This small core computer, along with Harold’s laptop, actually did the bulk of the data storage and processing. There were also four video monitors based on contemporary cathode ray tube technology and displayed only in black and white.

Computer keyboards and a rough analogue to a computer mouse were developed for use with the contemporary computer mainframe system. Obviously, they did not even remotely compare to the equipment of the twenty-first century. But they allowed the user to interface directly with the computer for data requests and output.

These devices were plugged into what Harold’s children described as ‘black boxes’. These devices had been built by Cavill Industries subsidiaries without the manufacturers knowing what exactly was being built or what the purpose for them was. The companies simply were told that the devices were prototypes and given the blueprints and some subcomponents that were usually supplied by a separate division.

Finally, there were four dot matrix printers ranging in size from devices that were little larger than a typewriter to a large scale device that could literally print blueprints. All of the printers only printed in a limited resolution. There were plans to upgrade them with tri-color printer ribbons so that color images could be produced. That was going to have to wait until color monitors would also be produced with the technology of the day.

When Harold came into the room, each of his children were already sitting in front of their own monitor. It actually reminded him a little of seeing people at work in an office or a bunch of kids at a computer gaming convention.

“How are you all doing with your new ‘toys’?” Harold asked with a smile.

“It is very interesting, but I will be glad when you are able to get us some of those new color display monitors so that we can see these images in their original condition, Father.” James commented after turning around to look at his father.

“I have people already in America already making the arrangements, son. We just have to design the interfaces to mate up the color monitors with the computer’s video output.”

“That will be great, Dad.” James replied, the excitement clearly evident in his voice.

“Dad, I just found something interesting on the database. Could you come here and see it?” Sarah said as she looked at the computer screen.

“What have you found, Sweetheart?” Harold said as he walked up and looked over his daughter’s shoulder.

“There were a series of thousands of video recordings as part of your original computer database. I’m afraid that the monitor screens that we currently have are only able to show images in black and white. But this is from a scientist from your original future who specialized in a subject that you said that you were very interested in.”

“Which subject does he talk about, Sarah?”

“Actually, Dad. The scientist is a woman named Andrea McMichael. Doctor McMichael specialized in the study of quantum physics at one of the major Western universities. I just finished watching her recording. She was asked a question in an interview concerning time travel and the possibility of changing history if a person went back in time.”

Harold leaned in closer to hear and see what this expert in quantum physics had to say. She was a fairly attractive woman in her late-thirties to early forties. The date of the video recording was June 14, 2038, just a couple of years before the final war. The video had apparently been taken during a question and answer session as part of a conference on quantum physics.

One of the members of the audiences asked Dr. McMichael about what would happen if someone had travelled back in time and somehow changed history. There were a few laughs in the audience after the question was asked.

Dr. McMichael smiled with the audience’s laughter before answering the question.

“That is a very interesting question. I’m sure that we have all read science fiction stories by Robert Heinlein or saw television shows about time travel and wondered if we really could change our own history, maybe even make ourselves accidentally disappear from it altogether. However, everything that we have determined about the relationship of time and quantum physics indicates that we really don’t have a single timeline or universe. Instead, what we have is better described as an ‘omniverse’ with an infinite number of timelines, each linked to a different universe. You see, each action within a single timeline has multiple possible outcomes, each of which branch out into multiple other possible outcomes. Therefore, there are essentially an infinite number of possible histories based on the N’th degree order of consequences.

If someone were to go back in time and change even the smallest thing, it would lead to the creation of an entirely different timeline, an entirely different universe. So your hypothetical time traveler would not be able to change his or her own future that she came from. That future is already fixed for that particular timeline or universe. Instead, the time traveler would be creating an entirely new universe. So, let’s say that you went back in time to 1930 and killed Hitler, then came back home to your own timeline, your history would still say that Hitler killed himself in the bunker in 1945 and the Holocaust still happened. But, in the future of the timeline that you traveled to, things could be very different indeed. The time traveler simply cannot change his universe of origin though, at least not using a time machine.”

There was a bit more laughter from the audience on screen before the Q&A session continued with more discussions.

Harold just silently stood there looking down at the computer monitor, a look of horror on his face. Both he and Sarah immediately understood the implications of what Dr. McMichael had just told her audience.

“Dad, I’m sorry that you are not able to save all of those people.” Sarah said, looking up at her father with tears in her eyes.

“Lord, what do I do now?” Harold sadly asked himself as he looked up towards the heavens beyond the cavern.

Harold felt several hands on his shoulders. He looked up to see his children standing around him.

“Dad, we might not be able to save your friends from your old timeline. But we are absolutely going to save the rest of humanity in this one.” Sarah said with a confident smile.

Cast of Characters:

The Australians:

Harold Cavill :  Originally James Stevenson from the year 2040

Dorothy Cavill: Harold Cavill’s English-born wife

Judith Cavill: Harold and Dorothy Cavill’s oldest daughter

James Cavill: Harold and Dorothy Cavill’s son

Sarah Cavill:  Harold and Dorothy’s daughter, twin to Beatrice

Beatrice Cavill: Harold and Dorothy’s daughter, twin to Sarah

Colonel Willard Hunt: Head of Military Technology Research and Development in Canberra

Eric Poole: Cavill Ordnance chief weapons designer

Theodore Rosewood: program manager and chief engineer for Cavill Aviation

Colonel Harlan Burke: Australian Army commander of the Derby Militia

Captain Jackson Fisher: commander of the disguised raider ship Kormoron.

Lieutenant Commander William Stuart: RAN nominal commander of Kormoron

Major Colin Adams: commander, 1st Battalion, 25th Australian Infantry Regiment

Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies

Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley

Captain James Striker: RAAF transport pilot

Sally: One of Harold Cavill’s Aborigine office workers

Janice Springfield: Harold Cavill’s secretary

Tony: Local Aborigine Chief

Brigadier General Clive Hamill: Australian Army officer

Major Sam Riker: Australian Army officer

Lieutenant Scott Johannsen: Commander of the Australian torpedo boat #47 aka Hornet.

Machinist Mate Martin Cobb: Crewman from the torpedo boat Hornet.

Captain Trevor Hollingsworth: Royal Australian Navy Intelligence Officer and linguist.

General Mark Hammond: Australian Army officer

Major Efren Morrison: Commander of the Australian commando unit based in Darwin

Captain Eugene Wells: Australian Army commando

William: Australian Army Aborgine commando

Major Carl Carroll: RAAF Cassowary bomber pilot

Lieutenant Colonel Marc Anderson, Darwin Military Airfield base intelligence officer

Alexander Portman: Chief Naval Architect for Cavill Shipyards.

Adam Findler: American-born mechanical engineer for Cavill Industries

Alex Boyd: Cavill Industries’ Industrial Supply and Sales Manager

The British:

Winston Churchill: UK Wartime Prime Minister

Jonathan Sykes: assistant to the Exchequer Ministry

Air Marshall Sir Howard Simpson: Commander of the Royal Air Force.

General Alstair Shelby: Royal Air Force senior officer

Philip Archibald: UK Defense Minister

Sir William McClain: UK Foreign Minister

General Harold McAllister: Royal Army senior officer

Flying Officer Anthony Tompkins: RAF Vampire jet fighter pilot

Charles Hungerford: Chief Aeronautical Engineer and designer for the Avro-Westland-Cavill (AWC) Vindicator jet bomber.

Alfred Campbell: Personal Assistant to Winston Churchill

The Germans:

Werner Von Braun: Chief Rocket Scientist on the V-2 and later on Cavill Aerospace rocket program

Major General Dr. Hans Speidel: Architect of the new German government

Admiral Wilhelm Canaris: Commander of Germany’s military intelligence service, the Abwehr

Colonel Maximillian Arndt: German armistice negotiator

General Adolf Galland, the new commander of the Luftwaffe

Albert Speer: German Industrial Minister

Field Marshall von Rundstedt: Senior Wehrmacht Officer

Konteradmiral Josef von Spee: member of Kreigsmarine working group

Fregattenkapitan Hans Kurtman: Kriegsmarine’s technical liaison for the Blohm and Voss shipyard

Ferdinand Porsche: the founder of Porsche Automotive

Ernst Gotha: German Finance Minister

Conrad Schlichter: German Chancellor

Field Marshall Erich von Manstein: Commander of the Wehrmacht Panzer Corps

Großadmiral Karl Donitz: Commander of the Kreigsmarine.

Field Marshall Irwin Rommel: Senior Wehrmacht Officer

Manfred Ostermann: Head of Daimler-Benz armored vehicle engineering

Alaric Othmann: Head of Daimler-Benz

Helmut Bluth: German rocket engineer

The French:

Capitaine Jacques Fournier: Short Stirling heavy bomber pilot

Lieutenant Marc Leveau: Capitaine Fournier’s co-pilot

Sergent Peter St. Ives:  Capitaine Fournier’s nose turret gunner

Sergent Charles Lumet: Capitaine Fournier’s tail turret gunner

The Philippines:

Brigadier General Vicente Lim: Leader of the Philippine Resistance

Major Charles Marcos: Philippine militia officer

Captain Ferdinand Aquino: Philippine militia officer

The Japanese:

Taishō (Admiral) Isokoru Yamamoto: Commander of the Imperial Japanese Combined Fleet

Admiral Takeo Takagi: commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy battleline.

Kaigun-daisa Hiro Takashima: Imperial Japanese Navy naval architect

Chūshō Shiro Numashima: IJN officer

Kaigun-chūsa Shima Koga: Captain of the IJN submarine I-10

Kaigun-daii Yagimori: I-10’s navigator

General Tomobumi Yamashita: Japanese military governor of the Philippines

Colonel Shira Toyoda: General Yamashita’s operations officer

Lieutenant Noroshi Yaguro: IJN intelligence officer

General Arinaga Kumano: Senior Japanese Army Officer

The Chinese:

Major General Cheng Zhang: Commander of the Chinese 3rd Cavalry Division

Generalissimo Chang Kai Shek: Leader of the Chinese Nationalist Government (Kuomintang)

Madam Kai Shek aka Soong Mei-Ling: the American-educated wife of Chang Kai-Shek

Lieutenant Li Chang: Wellington bomber pilot

Captain Soo Leung: Kuomintang translator and aide to General Patton

Brigadier General Soong Liu: Kuomintang officer

Sergeant Hang Chow: Kuomintang Echidna medium tank commander

Captain Hui Dǒng: Kuomintang cavalry troop commander

Lieutenant Jin Cáo: Chinese Air Force Hurricane IID fighter-bomber pilot

Ambassador Chou Ping: Chinese Ambassador to Russia.

Captain Tsiang Chin: Chinese Nationalist Navy procurement officer

The Americans:

President Thomas E. Dewey

Secretary of State John Foster Dulles

Secretary of War William Marshall

Admiral Chester Nimitz: commander of the Guam invasion force

Captain Allen E. Smith: captain of the battleship USS South Dakota

Captain Paul ‘Pappy’ I. Gunn: Former Naval Aviator and Aircraft Maintenance Chief

Polly Gunn: Pappy Gunn’s wife

Captain John Birch: Intelligence Officer for General Claire Chennault and General George S. Patton

Lieutenant General George S. Patton: Commander of the American Tigers and military liaison to China.

Brigadier General Claire Chennault: Commander of the American Volunteer Group, aka The Flying Tigers

Captain Thomas J. Dillon: DESRON 14 commander

Private John Whitcomb: soldier participating in the invasion of Guam

Sergeant First Class George Edmonds: soldier participating in the invasion of Guam

Sergeant First Class Alan Moore: Private Whitcomb’s platoon sergeant

Donald Kingston: State Department attaché to China

Major William Clark: US Army Ranger Officer liaison officer in the Philippines

Admiral Thomas C. Hart: Commander of the United States Navy’s Asiatic Fleet

Major Wendell Fertig: Commander of the American resistance fighters in the Philippines.

Captain Paul Cook: US Army Ranger company commander

Captain Alan Hale: US Army Air Corps POW in the Philippines

Colonel Joshua King: US Army Air Corps photo analyst

Stuart Cummings: President Dewey’s chief of staff

Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Harper: American Volunteer Group logistic chief

Sergeant Fred Dockery: American Army volunteer forward air controller

Professor Albert Einstein: Theoretical Physicist

Congressman Joseph Kennedy Jr.: Congressman from Massachusetts

Joseph Kennedy Sr.: Former US Ambassador to the UK

Doctor Andrea McMichael: 21st century quantum physics theoretician

The Israelis:

Moshe Dayan: Commander of Israel infantry battalion and later Israeli Defense Force senior officer

Rabbi Eli Weiss: One of the destroyers of the al Aqsa Mosque

Colonel Aaron Teidermann: Israeli Defense Force senior procurement officer

Captain Ari Weizman: Israeli Navy officer

Brigadier General Samuel Koln: Israeli Army officer

The Russians:

President Vladimir Ivanovich Tupolev

Andre Novonnoski: Russian Defense Minister

Marshall Georgy Zhukov: Commander of Russian forces in Manchuria.

The Egyptians:

Mulazim Awwal (First Lieutenant) Bahadur Mubarak: ME-162C jet fighter pilot

Mulazin Tani (Second Lieutenant) Nadim Malouf: ME-162C jet fighter pilot

The Indians:

Hamid Singh: Surplus Arms Merchant