Things were going to be all right. Her adoring husband was in London. He was five hundred miles from the fighting. And she and Christopher were home. She was far away from the horrors of the war that had nearly stolen her life.
Kathy’s long ride home was over.
• • •
As she entered the hospital, she’d no idea that while she was on her way home, her husband had received a huge role in the next phase of America’s effort to overcome Russia’s aggression.
CHAPTER 54
January 31—10:00 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time)
The Oval Office, the White House
Washington, D.C.
Five hours after George O’Neill made his presentation to the EUCOM staff, the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs walked into the Oval Office. With them was the Secretary of Homeland Security. While none of them was smiling, the deathly pall each face had carried throughout the previous days was gone.
The President, however, who had refused to take the decisive action these same advisors had recommended prior to the onset of the Russian invasion of Germany, showed the immense strain of the war’s wretched hours in his every tortured thought, stilted action, and hesitant movement.
The moment the three were seated, the Secretary of Defense looked at the President and said, “Mr. President, we’re going to win this war. And we’re going to win it sooner rather than later.”
The supremely confident statement was the exact opposite of what he and General Larsen had been telling the President since the moment the war began. It took the country’s leader by utter surprise. His answer was almost disbelieving and even a bit terse.
“What? How? For the past three days, you stated with absolute certainty that we’d no chance of holding on long enough for our forces to get there in time to change things. You were quite clear there was no viable way to stop the Russians from destroying Germany.”
“We’ve been telling you that, Mr. President,” General Larsen said, “because of our inability to control the battlefield. It made no sense to do anything but fight a delaying action in Germany and not risk the loss of additional troops or equipment in a disjointed defense when we could save those forces for a counterassault. We felt the appropriate action was to buy time to get our divisions onto ships, sail them to England, and in a few weeks, when we’d assembled an overwhelming force, launch a D-day-style attack to annihilate the bastards. But we were wrong. A few hours ago, that assessment was turned upside down. With your permission, we wish to seriously consider taking a far-more-aggressive approach to the war. Our intent is to win this thing by taking bold steps rather than waiting any longer. It’s a risk, but we believe it’s a risk worth taking.”
“Why the sudden change?” the President asked.
“Because,” the Secretary of Defense replied, “we’ve identified a way to completely reestablish our command and control. At least the part of it west of the Rhine. And that opens up a wide range of avenues for us to consider.”
“With all of the damage the Russians did to our infrastructure in Europe, how in the world are you going to restore command and control?”
“Assuming you will allow us to borrow FEMA’s emergency communication vans, we can rebuild our entire command and control structure in the next two days. With a fully operational AWACS and our command and control restored, we’ve got a real chance here. You’re going to be remembered as the President who snatched a miraculous victory from what was by all appearances a hapless rout.”
The President, like so many who’d held the office before him, had an acute sense of history. He was more than willing to consider any option that would keep him from being portrayed as the first American President to lose a major war in Europe and his presidency from being labeled an abject failure.
They knew that statement would get the President’s attention.
“With the potential to control the conduct of the war,” General Larsen added, “we began looking at a number of options. But we don’t want to waste your time, Mr. President. There’s no reason to talk any further about our plan unless we know we’re going to have the FEMA vans to work with.”
“That’s why we brought the Secretary of Homeland Security with us,” the Secretary of Defense said. “FEMA, and their communication vans, belong to him.”
The three of them turned to the Secretary of Homeland Security.
“Robert,” the President said, “does Homeland Security have any objection to loaning the vans to our military?”
“Sir, with the way the war’s gone, our only concern would be that, horror upon horror, this conflict escalates even further and before anyone can stop it results in total nuclear war. Should we face such an unimaginable situation, we won’t have the vans available as we attempt to care for our surviving citizens and begin picking up the pieces.”
“And you think having a handful of communication vans will make the slightest bit of difference if the entire country’s been destroyed?”
“No, Mr. President, we don’t. That’s why, at the military’s request, I’ve already ordered the FEMA regional offices to begin preparing the vans for transport to Dover Air Base as soon as you give the order. We can have the first few onto Air Force cargo planes in a matter of hours.”
“Okay, that’s settled. Homeland Security says the FEMA vans are available. Now tell me, General Larsen, why should I direct them to hand them over to the military? I’m certainly not willing to do so until I know a great deal more than I know right now. Explain this idea of yours.”
“Mr. President, first understand that our plan has many moving pieces, and we’re still working out the exact details. We only learned of the likelihood of restoring our command and control a few hours ago. Everyone at the Pentagon, from the highest levels to the lowest private, is on this, and it’s coming together well enough for us to want to present it to you. Essentially, here’s what we have in mind. Our forces east of the Rhine will fight a delaying action for as long as they possibly can. When we can no longer hold the eastern side, we’ll blow every bridge across its wide waters. That alone will buy us valuable time while the Russians bring forward enough equipment to build bridges, cross the river, and attempt to overwhelm us. As the Russians are constructing them, we’ll use the AWACS’ capabilities to pinpoint the enemy’s actions and guide our response. It will tell us with exacting detail when and where to send our B-2 bombers and fighter aircraft to destroy each bridge before it reaches the western side. That will buy us even more time.”
“Do you have a contingency in place should Cheninko attack the AWACS ground terminals again and we lose the precise coordination you anticipate?”
“We don’t believe that’s even a concern, sir. We’ve got more than three dozen air police guarding the ground station at Mildenhall and have cordoned off the entire area around the communication center. And the 82nd Airborne has provided one of its best companies to protect Donnersberg. We doubt the Russians have any clue we’ve moved so quickly to overcome the damage they did to the ground stations. And even if they do, they’ve no idea where we’ve placed the one in Germany. It’ll likely be days before they figure out that the AWACS is fully operational. By then, it will be far too late for them to do anything about it.”
“Okay, so far, so good. Tell me more.”
“With the command and control we’ll have established, we’ll make our initial stand at the Rhine.”
“I don’t understand. Who’ll make their stand? If nearly all of our forces are fighting a delaying action in the east, there’ll be few units left to provide such a defense once the Russians find a way to cross the river.”
“That’s where our idea gets interesting, Mr. President,” General Larsen replied. “We think you’re really going to like this. Two days from now, we’re planning on having two brigades from the 1st Cavalry Division dug into strongly fortified positions at or
near the Rhine, ready to repel the enemy. Eleven thousand of our best soldiers along with more than two hundred M-1s, an equal number of Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and scores of attack helicopters will be waiting for the Russians. In those same two days, we’ll also have built up a force of over three hundred additional F-15s and F-16s that we’re going to place at Sembach, Zweibrucken, Bitburg, and Hahn. All four former air bases are still in good shape. The Germans turned each into a regional airport after we gave them back. They’re well maintained and will be more than adequate for our needs. Their runways are just waiting for us to arrive. A few of the fighter aircraft will be from active-duty wings presently on the way from the West Coast. Most we’ll get from National Guard and Reserve units. After the loss of the George Washington, we’ll desperately need the newly arriving fighters’ support.”
“The 1st Cavalry’s final brigade and the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment will join the defenders two days later,” the Secretary of Defense added. “In all, four days from when you give us the go-ahead, we’ll have twenty thousand soldiers with nearly 450 M-1s and an equal number of Bradleys waiting for the Russian advance. With arguably our strongest division in place and four additional air bases from which to mount counterattacks, we’ll have established vigorous defensive positions in the western part of Germany. We believe such a force will be strong enough to hold off the Russians for ten days, maybe more.”
“That sounds quite encouraging, Mr. Secretary, but I’ve still no idea how you think you can possibly get that many soldiers and armored vehicles to Germany in such a short time. And if you actually succeed in doing so, how in the world is one additional division going to keep the Russians at bay for that long? We’ve seen what happened to the 1st Armor and what’s presently happening to the 3rd Infantry. Why do you think the 1st Cavalry will fare any better?”
“Because, prior to sending them to the Rhine, we’re going to unleash ‘The Final Ace’ to cut the enemy down to size,” the Secretary of Defense said.
Both could see from his expression that what they’d just told the President was not something he wanted to hear.
“Mr. President,” General Larsen said, “we need to face facts. We’re out of options. And out of time. I can understand your reluctance, but whether we like it or not, we’ve no choice. The Russians have forced this upon us. We can’t win now, and won’t win in a few weeks when we attempt a full-scale invasion without it. The enemy’s just too strong. To have any chance at all, we must implement the plan as soon as we possibly can. The only alternative is to minimize our losses by withdrawing our forces and conceding total domination over Europe to Cheninko.”
“I understand, General, but there are significant political implications that need to be considered before taking such a drastic action. What if your assessments are wrong, and it doesn’t stem the tide? What if it fails to cripple the enemy? Think of what the result will be. We’ll have made things far worse, then end up losing the war anyway.”
“Mr. President, we’re not going to lose,” the Secretary of Defense said. “We have a great deal of faith in the 1st Cavalry Division. We really believe we can make this work. Let us tell you more about what we have in mind before you even consider making a decision.”
When the President didn’t respond, the Secretary of Defense continued.
“After we’ve got the 1st Cavalry in place and the air bases established, we’re going to do this all over again. While the 1st Cavalry holds the Russians, we’re going to use the same approach to bring our second-most-powerful division, the 4th Infantry, with all their tanks and Bradleys, from Colorado to western Germany. And we’ll also send over the last three hundred of our fighter aircraft. We anticipate having them all in place well before the ten days end. What remains of the enemy might be able to defeat a single division, but after what they’ll have gone through, we don’t believe the Russians will be capable of vanquishing both the 1st Cavalry and 4th Infantry. At the very worst, after using ‘The Final Ace’ and putting two of our most powerful divisions on the ground, we’ll have them stalemated. Once we have both divisions in place, we’ll further analyze the situation. If we see an opening, we might decide to attack the Russians then and there. Or we might delay such an action just a little longer. The 2nd Marine Division’s ships departed Charleston this morning. The 10th Mountain will leave Bayonne by sunrise tomorrow. And the 101st Airborne will sail from Norfolk in the next forty-eight hours. After we’ve cut the enemy down to size and the 1st Cavalry and 4th Infantry hammer them for ten days, we believe we can make a successful landing of the three arriving divisions in northern Germany. We’ll then bring the transport ships back here as quickly as we can to pick up the 1st Infantry and as many National Guard units as we can squeeze onto them. Either way, it won’t be too much longer before there’s not a single Russian soldier, alive anyway, in Germany.”
“But I still don’t see how you expect to get the 1st Cavalry and 4th Infantry over there in time to make all this happen. I thought you told me you didn’t believe we had the logistical ability to get a force that size to the battlefield in time to make a difference. Why the sudden change?”
“Well, Mr. President,” the Secretary of State said, “let’s just say we’ve gotten creative.”
“How?”
“We’re going to have FedEx and UPS deliver a number of ‘packages,’ intended for Comrade Cheninko and his friends.”
“And the major airlines are going to arrive with thousands of well-armed ‘tourists’ for us,” General Larsen added.
Wry smiles appeared on the faces of both the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
“Okay, now I’m either thoroughly confused or completely curious,” the President said. “What are you two talking about?”
“Mr. President,” General Larsen said, “once we realized how adroitly we could control such a powerful force after we got it into the field, it became a matter of figuring out how to get that many units to the war zone in the brief time we have. You’re correct in assuming our logistical abilities to move so many units so quickly weren’t there. So we began looking at alternatives to reaching our goal.”
“The biggest problem,” the Secretary of Defense said, “was figuring how to get more than two hundred seventy-two-ton M-1s to Germany that quickly. The only aircraft we have with the capability to transport such an immense payload are our C-5s and C-17s.”
“If we push each C-5 to its load limits,” General Larsen added, “and the tanks carry no shells or ammunition with them, we can transport two M-1s in each plane. Each C-17 can transport a single tank. At twenty-five tons, we can get three Bradleys to Germany in one C-17. But again, that’s only if they carry no ammunition. Counting our Reserve and National Guard air units, we have just over one hundred C-5s and a little more than double that in non-medevac C-17s.”
“It’s going to be tight, Mr. President,” the Secretary of Defense added. “But we believe if we focus all of those aircraft on this mission we can get the communication vans, all the Abrams and Bradleys, plus the larger items needed to support our forces and to run the four air bases to Germany onto the C-5s and C-17s. But that’s all we’ll be able to do with our huge cargo planes.”
“There’s a downside, of course,” General Larsen said. “If we commit all of our C-5s and C-17s to this, it will mean they’ll not be available to aid our units presently fighting in Germany. And getting just the tanks and Bradleys over there without anyone to support them and no ammunition makes no sense at all. So we realized we needed to start thinking way out of the box. We had to figure out how to get all the supporting elements in place at the same time we moved the M-1s and Bradleys.”
“Obviously, from what you’ve told me, you came up with an answer,” the President said.
“When one of my staff muttered something like, ‘How can we deliver the necessary elements to the battlefield in the short time we have?’
the answer came to all of us at once,” General Larsen said. “Who’s famous for making thousands and thousands of daily on-time deliveries?”
“So we called the CEOs of FedEx and UPS a couple of hours ago,” the Secretary of Defense said. “We told them that under the War Powers Act, we had the right to seize their planes if forced to do so. We also told them if they voluntarily provided every cargo aircraft they had capable of reaching Europe, we’d make sure Congress rewarded them handsomely once this is over.”
“How did they respond?” the President asked.
“Well, they weren’t too happy about filling their cargo planes with bombs and missiles rather than belated birthday presents for Grandma, but both complied. Each began grounding their 767s, 777s, and any other aircraft that could do the job. They’re unloading them now and getting them ready. They’re even going to send their expert loadmasters with the planes to ensure the right aircraft carries the right cargo, so we can maximize absolutely everything we send over.”
“If we use UPS and FedEx, will that be enough? Can we get the job done?”
“We’re talking about well over four hundred additional aircraft, Mr. President. Aircraft with the ability to routinely handle large items and heavy loads. Take the rotors and wheels off an Apache, and you can fit a number of them quite nicely, plus a whole lot more, into a FedEx or UPS plane. We believe that part of our plan will be more than adequate to make things work. But there was still a missing piece. We can get the tanks over there and all the equipment needed to support two brigades, but that still left us needing to get our soldiers in place. So I made a few more calls. Gave the major airlines the same War Powers speech and briefly explained their assistance could change the conduct of this war.”