From Sea to Shining Sea Part 1
Cisco, Texas, November 8th 1960
“And now, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the crux of the evening, after one of the closest elections in living memory. At 1:34 in the morning of November 5th, 1960, we can report that the best judgement of our counters in Chicago and our IBM 2501 computer here at NBC Election Central is that Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts has won the state of Illinois. This secures him a total of 283 Electoral College votes, taking him past the figure of 275 that he needs to win. Therefore, the Democratic candidate, 43 year old Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy, will be the 33rd President of the United States of America, defeating President Roger Thompson.”
Thompson sighed and arose from his easy chair. It was dark outside the parlour of his modest childhood home, but not so dark that he could not see the silhouettes of the Secret Service guards patrolling in the garden outside. A fleeting memory of playing cowboys out there under the old spreading hickory tree next to his mother’s pond flickered into his consciousness. Beyond it, he could see the far off flashes of light and movement of the public and the press beyond the front fence. The hub-bub of noise had been there for hours and, not for the first time, he hoped it hadn’t disturbed the children too much. They had experienced enough of that in their years in the White House.
It had been a long night; a long five years, in fact.
“Well, gentlemen, that seems to be that.”
“I believe you are right there, Mr. President. Even with California, we can’t shake it through. That’s the ball game.”
The President walked over to pour himself a glass of water before turning to face his four companions, his campaign manager William Sawyer, his chief of staff General Jack Burgundy, his wizardly advisor Dr. Cornelius Malabrancius and his long-time special assistant, Brigadier Samuel Atkinson, who looked on at him impassively.
“That aligns with all our data, William. They were right about it being darned close, though.” He drank deeply, grateful for the soothing effect of the ice-water on his overworked throat. Eighteen speeches in two days would do that to a man.
“Yes, Mr. President. You put up a mighty fight to bring it back this close.” Sawyer said earnestly, but Thompson waved him away.
“After October, I did what I could and, hopefully, God willing, my duty. That blasted offer by Stalin really messed us up. Sam, can you see about putting a call through to Senator Kennedy? I’m going up to see Rebecca to let her know we’ve got an appointment to keep at the Town Hall.”
President Thompson walked quickly out of the room into the hallway, flanked by a pair of impassive Secret Servicemen. He glanced briefly in the large mirror that they had placed beside the stairs. The man who looked back at him was a far cry from the fresh-faced fellow who went along with good old Robert Taft’s entreaties back on that cold February morning nine years earlier. The shock of golden hair was still there, but it was now lined with more than his fair share of gray and his piercing blue eyes were noticeably tired and lacklustre. His ramrod-straight posture had not faltered, nor had he abandoned the rigorous lifestyle that was responsible for an athletic build that was quite admirable in a man of fifty. A thin scar was barely visible along the side of his forehead, a vestige of a Nazi sword on D-Day, and one of the half-dozen wounds he bore from a hard war.
That was he viewed himself, but what of others? The 'Accidental President'? That moniker had rapidly disappeared just months after he took office in March 1955. On the one hand, he had achieved a series of budget surpluses, reduced the national debt by a quarter, prevented the outbreak of a world war, presided over a period of massive economic growth and doubled the American nuclear arsenal. On the other hand, the unity of the Atlantic Pact had been sorely wounded, the relative power of its foes had dramatically increased and the world pushed forward to the brink of deadly confrontation by the machinations of evil. Had he done enough?
“Ensign is moving.”
He heard one of his bodyguards whisper into his watchphone as he mounted the stairs. He allowed himself a rare smile at the nickname, a rare personal touch that he had decided upon back when it all began. That was what it was all about, really. He had spent his whole life under the flag, all the way back to when he had joined the Army in 1928, through Depression, battles, World War Two and the colder conflict that followed. It was all for what that flag stood for – the republic and the Constitution, all the people he served as his duty under God across all the United States.
As President, it had been one of his greatest honours and foremost privileges to see such a picture of America, across all its boundless plains and mighty cities. He had seen more of the land and its people than many of his countrymen, visiting every state and territory. He had stood with farmers in the cornfields of Iowa and listened to the wind. He had visited the dark coal mining towns of West Virginia and seen how the wealth of the nation was hacked out of the seams of the earth through sweat and toil. He had walked in New England forests and New Mexican deserts alike and broken bread with black sharecroppers in Mississippi and white steelworkers in Ohio alike. That, he would miss.
Maybe, once it was all over and he was a free man once more, he might go forth and see the land of America the beautiful, the land that he loved still. From sea to shining sea.
He knocked softly on the door of his wife’s bedroom. She opened it, still fully clothed.
“Darling, we’re going out for a brief speech. Then we’re coming home for good.”
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The White House, Washington D.C., December 9th, 1960
“President-Elect Kennedy. Welcome. I hope that this morning will provide some useful information for you and your people.” Thompson held out his hand in greeting. The Roosevelt Room was now filled with the principal members of the National Security Council and their key staff and the beginning of the meeting was nigh.
“President Thompson. Thank you once again. ” Kennedy took the proffered hand and shook it warmly. Despite the vigour of the campaign and its occasional heated rhetoric, he found it difficult to hold any sense of ill-will against his predecessor. Thompson was too much of a decent, personable man to dislike, not to mention being an old friend and sparring partner going back to their days in Congress. They would have to find something appropriate for him to do commensurate with his status.
Thompson sat down in his usual seat at the head of the table and indicated for Kennedy to sit at his right hand, with his three advisors behind him. The rest of the council members then took their seats and the President nodded at the council chairman, his National Security Advisor, Dr. Henry Jones, who bought the meeting to order with a polite cough and shuffling of his papers.
“Good morning gentlemen. Today we shall begin with a general summary on the global situation. Whilst we are enjoying a period of improved superpower relations, a number of developing crises threaten to impinge upon American interests or to involve us through our allies. US forces around the world are currently held at DEFCON 5, with the exception of alert strategic forces, which are at DEFCON 4. This represents a substantial reduction in tensions since the beginning of the year, which reached DEFCON 2 at the height of the crisis.
As of this morning, the Air Force has 329 Atlas, 187 Titan and 54 Minuteman ICBMs and 57 Snarks and 22 Navahos operational at twenty-three sites across the Continental United States, along with the Army’s 236 Jupiters and the Navy’s 144 Neptunes. There are also the 120 Thor MRBMs deployed in France and Italy and 216 Mace flying bombs in Germany and Korea. The Navy has fifteen ballistic missile submarines in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and six in the Pacific, of which half are out on strategic deterrence patrol, in addition to the six Regulus subs.
Our strategic forces are at a crucial stage of development in several important areas. Firstly, we have the B-70 Valkyrie programme approaching the final key stages of operational testing and production funding, with an initial 24 aircraft on order for delivery in 1963/64. Then we have the Minuteman ICBM programme, which promises to revolutionise our strategic readiness capacity, and the Skybolt ALBM, which extends the effective strike range of our B-52s by upwards of 2000 miles. Finally, the SSBN programme is in full production, but has exceeded costs by a considerable margin thus far.”
“Mr. President, I’d like to reiterate what I’ve said before – the most urgent capacity SAC requires is the Valkyrie. With them, we can effectively penetrate any air defences the Soviets can conceivably deploy until 1970, as well as reducing our reaction speed considerably. With them, we can guarantee the peace and deter enemy aggression with full confidence.” General LeMay spoke forcefully, jabbing with his cigar to emphasis his points. Many heads nodded in agreement around the room. When LeMay spoke, men listened.
“General, you are correct at every point. President-Elect Kennedy, the choices of your administration are your own, but I can only repeat to you what I said last week in our talk – the United States has to have those bombers.”
“Rest assured, Mr. President, we are going to put the highest priority on improving the strategic offensive and defensive forces of this country. You have my word.” Kennedy replied steadily, conscious that even now, defense policy was a sensitive area. The accusation that Roger Thompson and his administration had been soft on defence had been one of the most damaging tactics employed by the Kennedy campaign.
In terms of surface forces, we currently have eight carrier groups forward deployed – four in the Mediterranean, two in the Western Pacific, two in the North Atlantic and one in the Indian Ocean. SAC has B-47 squadrons on rotation at their forward operating bases in Spain, Morocco, Greenland, Iceland in the Atlantic and in Alaska, the Philippines, Thailand and Guam in the Pacific, as well as twelve B-52s on a goodwill visit to England. One Army airborne battlegroup remains in Lebanon along with the Marine special landing force. All other forces are at their peacetime stations at home and abroad. General Turgidson will now report on the status of Soviet forces.”
Turgidson, a vigorous man in Air Force blue newly raised to the position of Commander of the Joint Defense Intelligence Service, nodded several times in acknowledgement and pressed a button before him that revealed a large holographic globe floating above the centre of the conference table.
“Mr. President, Mr. President-Elect, the Soviets currently have twelve ballistic missile submarines at sea, two of which are Indias and the remainder are shorter range Hotels. We have attack submarines on seven of them, with the Royal Navy covering five. The SDA has 76 bombers deployed outside of the Soviet Union – 16 Badgers on rotation in Indonesia, 12 Badgers and 4 Bisons in North Vietnam and the remainder made up of Blinders in Poland and the GDR. All four of the carriers and battleships of the Soviet Mediterranean Fleet are currently in the Levantine Sea halfway between Rhodes and Cyprus and are due to meet with their supply ships south of Crete in six days. The Archangelsk and the Stalingrad are in the mid Atlantic bound for Recife on a scheduled visit to South America; they are being shadowed by the Independence group and the skyship aerocarrier Liberty.”
As he spoke, different red and blue images of aircraft and submarines appeared at various points on the land and ocean areas of the globe, which shifted to focus in on whichever area he discussed or indicated. Several groups of blue bombers seemed to moved almost imperceptibly, represent the airborne alert force of Strategic Air Command. Whilst the Holographic Global Display System was an ingenious piece of technology, it paled in comparison with the Big Board in the Pentagon War Room, which was directly integrated with the Atlantic Undersea Surveillance Display, one of the most notable results of Anglo-American cooperation over the last four years.
“Soviet strategic rocket, guided missile and bomber forces remain on their ordinary peacetime posture inside the USSR and are taking great pains to emphasise this. However, intelligence reports and satellite photography indicates that two new missile divisions have been activated in the last six weeks, the 41st at Aleysk and the 67th at Gladkaya, both equipped with the new SS-10 solid fuelled missile. Current estimates of the Strategic Rocket Forces arsenal are 32 SS-6, 25 SS-7 and 10 SS-8 long range ballistic missiles, 32 Burans and 110 SS-5, 150 SS-4 and 300 SS-3 medium range missiles. PVO Strany currently deploys 20 V-1000 anti-ballistic missiles around Moscow, but our sources suggest that they are not yet fully operational.”
“Almost 10:1, Jack.” Thompson smiled meaningfully at Kennedy, if with a little hint of bitterness to his tone. The spectre of a missile gap had been used extensively by the Democratic candidate in the build up to the election, before a special briefing by SAC, the Space Corps and the CIA put paid to their erroneous information and their angle of attack had shifted to a different area of security.
“The Red Army remains on a normal posture in Poland and the other Eastern European satellites.” Turgidson continued, shifting his display to show an enhanced map of Europe. “There are no signs of heightened alert in the Ukrainian and Byelorussian Tank Army Groups, nor of the Strategic Reserve in the Moscow Military District. There seems to be a greater than usual level of activity around the bases of the 98th Airborne Division in Primorsky Krai, but this now appears connected to an internal strategic deployment exercise rather than any movement to Vietnam or Indonesia as earlier thought. The first tranche of Marshal Zhukov’s new rifle divisions are currently in the final stages of general operational training near Omsk and data on their exact composition is unclear.”
“What do you estimate their role being?” Kennedy asked with his head tilted in thought.
“The consensus is that they are intended for global intervention and support of allied nations. They do not fit into any known strategic concepts for the employment of the main body of the Red Army in Europe, Asia or the Middle East in conventional operations, which are based around tank, mechanised and artillery forces. Based on increases in the numbers of airborne forces, naval infantry and independent Cossack brigades, the evidence indicates that the Soviets are building up a formidable rapid deployment capacity.”
“Which, at this time, they lack the opportunity to employ, except in a few limited areas.” Secretary of State Jefferson Smith added wryly. “They lack a direct entry point into the Middle East or Africa and the Western Hemisphere is currently sewn up tight, which only leaves South East Asia.”
“What are our contingency plans in that eventuality?” Kennedy’s chief security advisor, Dr. Clark Savage, spoke for the first time and the room quietened immediately. He had built up a formidable reputation as both as an expert on national security and as a brilliant adventurer over the last fifty years and was expected to be easily confirmed as the new Secretary of Defense.
“General Taylor would be best placed to answer that.” demurred Turgidson.
“In the case of direct Soviet or Chinese military deployment to North Vietnam, we have OPLAN 32-59, which calls for the deployment of three divisions and a Marine amphibious force to South Vietnam and one division to Thailand, accompanied by 500 tactical fighters, four medium and two heavy bomb groups and four carrier groups.” The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell Taylor, read off from a page in his leather binder. “We would also expect further assistance from the other members of the Pacific Treaty Organisation, particularly Britain and India. If the Soviets move troops into Indonesia, then we would reinforce Australia under OPLAN 36-58. The force composition in that case would only consist of two divisions of ground troops, but more tactical fighters.”
“As it stands at the moment, the Soviets haven’t made any overt moves of ground troops to either country in preference to the deployment of aircraft. Reports from HUMINT sources suggest that they intend to transfer MiG-21s to both Indonesia and North Vietnam in the next six months.”
“Has there been any indication of their new fighters reaching frontline units in Europe?” Thompson inquired.
“No, sir, neither the La-200 nor theYak-36 have reached operational service at this time. The most advanced fighters in VVS service remain the Su-19, the I-374 and MiG-21, none of which are comparable to the F-106, the F-110 or the best that the British can muster.”
“Thank you, General Turgidson.” Dr. Jones turned to an Army general on his left. “General Johnson will report on behalf of General Gavin at European Command.”
“Sir, Seventh Army currently fields four heavy divisions and two armored cavalry regiments in Germany and one armoured division in Austria-Hungary, for a total of 154,000 personnel. This represents an increase of 42,000 men since the beginning of the year, although most of our support infrastructure and supply bases remain in France and the Low Countries; these rear echelon forces can be replicated fairly quickly through bringing forth scheduled GYROSCOPE rotations. We anticipate it will take at least six more months to complete redeployment to Germany and a further nine months to a year after that to build back up to the planned level of 320,000 troops.”
Thompson gave a slight grimace. The drawdown of troops in Germany had been his decision, albeit one he had been driven to by noble intentions, the policies of his late predecessor and the will of influential elements in Congress. He had not been the first to be drawn in by the machinations of Stalin, but he still blamed himself for stumbling into the near-rupture of the Western alliance, regardless of the fact that blame lay on both sides of the Atlantic. History will be my judge; I know not whether it will be a kind verdict.
“In addition to our forces, the British and French also have four divisions each either in Germany or positioned on its borders, all committed to the interim joint command structure we’ve put in place since May. Field Marshal Rommel has thirty-two divisions, but needs at least double that for a viable defence, as the German Military Delegation set out at last month’s conference in New York.” Johnson concluded.
Secretary of Defence Thomas Gates leaned forward. “We may not be able to fill that requirement immediately, but we have come up with two interim steps in consultation with London, Mr. President. Firstly, we can increase the operational strength of USAFE in a two week period by a further 400 aircraft without majorly reducing TAC’s capability to react to another crisis. Secondly, we can make a highly visible deployment of a reinforced brigade to Berlin, to augment the defensive garrison manning the Berlin Wall; this would be matched by the British, French, Benelux and the Scandinavians. We could move them in within 72 hours.”
“That would demonstrate our resolve whilst not escalating in a manner that the Russians would deem demands a response in kind.”
“Agreed. Make it so. That will buy us some breathing space so we can move all the pieces into place for CHECKMATE.” President Thompson spoke over tented fingers. If Europe was to be the crux of his legacy, then CHECKMATE would be at its heart. It appealed to his sense of irony that it would fall to another man to take the credit for his labours if it all came off according to plan.
“Thank you, Mr. President.” Dr. Jones stood up and moved to a screen positioned in front of one of the walls. It flickered into life, revealing a large map of the world which moved to and fro and zoomed in and out at his direction. Most countries remained in soft colours, but four regions glowed an angry red.
“Moving onto the Global Threat Overview map, we can see that currently Vietnam, the Congo and the Middle East are all facing varying degrees of emerging crisis and that we appraise Afghanistan, Persia and Turkey as being the most likely states to join them. All of these have the common factor of communist backed insurgency.”
“Can’t the British handle Afghanistan? They have made a point of emphasising to all and sundry that they call the shots in the Near East.” asked Vice-President Harold Stassen.
“For the moment, yes to both your question and your comment, Mr. Vice President. India and its neighbours are firmly in their sphere. In the medium to long term, it will be an area where we can extend a helping hand without the burden of colonialism hanging over us. However, in any case, that is a matter that is down the line.”
“Middle East Command will be able to handle most contingencies in the Near East, Mr. President, at least when we secure permanent basing in our optimal locations. The Fifth Fleet gives us plenty of options.” General Taylor observed approvingly.
“In addition to such low intensity threats and the general confrontation with the Soviets, ongoing atomic proliferation could further raise the possibility of accidental superpower conflict. A secret study we commissioned from the M&M Corporation found that current projections of new nuclear states raises the chance of general war by almost 3% per nation. By 1965, we estimate that at least six states will have nuclear weapons, including Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil and Argentina.” Dr. Jones concluded soberly.
“Who’s next? Like as much, Luxembourg might have a go, then who knows, maybe Monaco?” exclaimed Smith.
“We shall try to stay serene and calm, leastways until Albania gets the bomb.” Thompson gave a half smile. “It has been one of our goals of national policy to manage the pace of the spread of nuclear weapons over the last two years, Mr. President-Elect. The micro-arsenals are just big enough to cause trouble but not large enough to count. If they must have the bomb, we want a say in how and when they use it.”
“That seems sensible enough.” Dr. Savage nodded sagely after tilting his head in contemplation. “You’ve spoken of the modernisation of our strategic nuclear forces, Dr. Jones, but what of our conventional equipment? Can we count on the same margin of qualitative superiority?”
Jones grimaced slightly. “We can, but we are approaching a very difficult time in the next four years. We’ve got to replace a large number of our warbuilt fleet, particularly the escorts and our older generation tactical aircraft are approaching block obsolescence. These could well eat into the funds for our general procurement plans for the Army’s new tanks and armoured vehicles, as well as guided missile projects for all five services.”
“I can speak to the aircraft part of that, sir.” began Secretary of Air James Douglas. “It comes down to three major interrelated issues. Firstly, we have the Aerospace Defense Command fighters: the F-108 and F-112 interceptor programmes, of which there are 108 and 65 aircraft on order respectively. They will provide a major boost to CONAD capabilities and augment the F-106Cs and Ds. Secondly, we have the TAC programmes: the F-110s and F-111s. The former aircraft is at the heart of our procurement strategy, replacing the F-100, F-101 and F-104 with a single versatile tactical fighter-bomber type. The latter is even more important, as it will replace the F-104 and the B-66 in the interdiction, tactical bomber, pathfinder and all-weather strike roles at significantly longer distances, whilst retaining significant secondary capacity as a fighter. Finally, we have the long term development programmes: the FX air superiority fighter, the Lightweight Strike Fighter, the AX close air support and ground attack fighter and the BX light/medium strike bomber, which are all at early stages.”
“At sea, we have a similar challenge ahead of us. We’ve got to replace 216 war built destroyers and 138 destroyer escorts now coming to the end of their useful service life, but cannot do so with frontline guided missile designs if we want to afford a balanced fleet.” Secretary of the Navy Rockwell W. Torrey began in his slow characteristic drawl. “The last eight Threshers and the Sturgeon class hunter-killer subs will keep us dominant in underwater operations and we should reach our target force of 100 boats by 1970. On the bright side, the 30 converted missile cruisers can be replaced by the end of the decade if we maintain current construction, but when the Essex-class carriers finally leave the fleet, we’re going to have a heck of a time replacing them in terms of sheer numbers.”
“That is why we need to expedite the ordering of the new CVNs once the next four Enterprises have all joined the fleet, sir.” Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Arleigh Burke spoke with vigour. “As for the ASW Essex-class carriers, there are a number of current studies for their replacement with new helicopter and Rotodyne carriers.”
“Meanwhile, the Army has a requirement for a further 20,000 M-60s for the active and reserve force, as well as the MACV, the AICV and thousands of the new light, medium, heavy and superheavy SPGs for the National Guard. As Dr. Jones rightly points out, we can’t afford everything that floats, drives and flies on our current level of funding.” Secretary Gates stated flatly.
“Thank you, gentlemen, I think that will be all for today.” Thompson rose to his feet, followed by the other men around the table. “Would you care for a spot of lunch, Mr. President-Elect?”
“Yes, Mr. President, that sounds like a fine idea.”
From Sea to Shining Sea
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Simon Darkshade
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Re: From Sea to Shining Sea
From Sea to Shining Sea Part 2
Roger Thompson sat back behind the Roosevelt desk in the Oval Office and took a moment to appreciate the solitude, however temporary it might be. There wouldn’t be many more of these opportunities, what with the busy requirements of his final two months in office. Here he had met with presidents, prime ministers, potentates and kings, decided the fate of nations and empires, started and ended wars and ordered coffee. Yet for all that, he had never really felt comfortable within it or as if he deserved to be ranked among his illustrious predecessors.
He had tried to put his own touch upon the esteemed room, installing strongly traditional oak furniture, royal blue drapes and a tasteful Chesterfield sofa. His choice in paintings and decorations had been in keeping with his conservative approach and tastes – portraits of Washington and Lincoln, a bust of Andrew Jackson, a simple Western landscape to remind him of home and the Charge of the Rough Riders at the Battle of San Juan; President Roosevelt had described it as ‘bully’ when he saw it on his visit last year.
His lunch with Kennedy, Dr. Savage and his putative nominee Secretary of War, Senator Henry Jackson had been cordial and informative. Thompson couldn’t say that he agreed with the proposed increase of the Army of four divisions, but there seemed to be a certain sense to some of the aircraft nomenclature reforms. Getting the Air Force to adapt two more naval aircraft would be very difficult indeed; he had barely been able to push through the Skyhawk in ’55 even in the aftermath of Korea. They would certainly like the proposed rise in strength. Expanding the Rangers and Special Forces was something close to his own heart and policies and they would be most useful in the emerging twilight battlefields of Africa, Asia and South America. Their enthusiasm for engagement with the Reds in South East Asia was vaguely disquieting for some reason, as Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam had been a thorn in his side for several years.
His telephone began to ring, but barely managed a brief trill before he answered it, a habit that his secretaries had never regarded fondly.
“The British Ambassador is here for your one o’clock meeting, Mr. President.”
“Excellent. Send him on in.”
So much for solitude.
The door opened as a tall, distinguished man in immaculate morning dress was ushered into the room. You had to hand it to the Brits – they certainly dressed up well and The Right Honourable the Earl of Beaconsfield VC, GCB, GCVO was typical of his countrymen in this regard.
“Good afternoon, Mr. President. I trust you are well?” He gave a short bow which made the sunlight glint off his monocle.
“As always, Edward. Well enough. Please, have a seat.” They were old wartime comrades, going back to the days when he had just been Colonel Roger Thompson and the man now on the other side of his desk had simply been Captain Edward Disraeli.
“Thank you, sir.”
A navy steward efficiently served the President with coffee and the Ambassador with tea before withdrawing silently.
“Are you sure you won’t try coffee, Edward? Just this once? It isn’t illegal on this side of the pond.”
The Ambassador recoiled in mock horror. “No thank you, Mr. President. Anyway, it was never illegal, merely very difficult to get hold of during the war.”
“Remember that one time when we were stuck on that Irish island when the storm forced our plane down? I had my share of tea that day.”
“How can I forget, Mr. President? That old housekeeper wouldn’t stop trying to foist one cup after another on you.”
Thompson gave a rare, wistful smile at the old memory. “Has the Prime Minister given any more thought to our proposal?”
“He has indeed. After discussion with the Cabinet and the Imperial Council, he has authorised me to pass along our provisional agreement to all five points of the draft Anglo-American Treaty.”
The President sat back in his chair and breathed out slowly. “Edward, that is truly the most welcome news I’ve heard in a while. And you’re prepared to follow through at Stockholm?”
“We are.”
Thompson nodded in quiet satisfaction. A mutual security treaty between the British Empire and the United States had been one of his long cherished ambitions and now, in the dying days of his Presidency, it had seemingly come to fruition. And it was a good deal to boot for both parties. Full basing rights in Britain and the Empire for U.S. conventional and nuclear forces, coordination of strategic forces, diplomatic, signals intelligence and technical cooperation, establishment of unified defence commands and joint staff bodies and coordination of industrial production, defence supplies and economic resources. The sticking points of the last three years had been resolved in the last few months with a mutually acceptable agreement being reached regarding operational command in the Mediterranean. Yet it was only the first step in what he hoped would be a broader tapestry encompassing the states of Europe and North America.
And it would all occur on another man’s watch.
“Do you think that Kennedy will be able to get it through Congress?”
“Yes, it should be possible. It wouldn’t be a completely guaranteed matter, what with the isolationists in my party and the Whigs out west, but it could be done.” I hope.
“The Prime Minister believes that the French will be amenable to some of the general concepts, but will require a quid-pro-quo Algeria and Vietnam before they acquiesce. We are quite sure that the Belgians and Dutch will go along with us; their support has always been firm.”
“General Gavin reports that the Germans will play ball, but they are still firm on the nuclear question.”
“I am afraid that we would find that to be too great an obstacle to overcome, let alone how De Gaulle would react.”
“Excellent. These outline our projected initial requirements and preferences in the UK itself.” He passed over a single sheet of paper to the Ambassador, who examined it carefully.
“Four SAC airbases, up to twelve tactical facilities, sites for 120 Thor missiles, provision for a strategic early warning radar facility, munitions storage, supply bases, communications headquarters, new dedicated rail lines, equipment bases for two Army divisions and a Marine brigade, two nuclear submarine bases and a homeport for the 8th Fleet. You don’t do things by halves, do you?”
“We don’t. Britain forms the key part of our plans for forces in Western Europe, after all.”
“No need for flattery, Mr. President. There shouldn’t be too many issues with some of these, even if takes HMG requisitioning vast tracts of land in Ireland and copious sheep farms sunny Wales. Maybe even that bally island.”
“Good. We want to base six F-111 wings and four F-110 fighter wings in Britain under the Third Air Force, along with the SAC B-47s and B-52s. The fighters would be integrated with RAF Fighter Command for air defence purposes.”
“That will please old Biggles. We would be able to contribute more fighters to the Continent in that case.”
“Which was exactly our aim, particularly to maximise the numbers of Harriers in the field. My successor was agreeable to the notion of their purchase, by the way, but getting it through Congress may be easier said than done.”
“That is understandable, Mr. President, however our position is unchanged – we would prefer direct export sales to licenced production.”
“The situation might be altered were you to order the F-110 in sufficient numbers, as you are currently discussing.”
The Ambassador raised his eyebrow quizzically. “As for the aircraft itself, it does have many advantages over our Spectre, but the same logic regarding you and the Harriers applies to us. Now, it would be very interesting to know how you found out about what have been very secret discussions so far…”
“We have our ways and means, Edward.”
“Indeed, as do we. It will be interesting if anything comes from your discussion of the TSR-2.”
“Touché. There are some voices arguing in support of buying a few dozen as an electronic warfare bird, but it lacks the one dimension important in this case – politics. Not made here, you see. The Canberra was a plane too far for some people.”
“Now, what about this point on basing Army forces in Britain? Seems a tad unwieldy for operations on the Continent.”
“At most, an airborne division to serve as a strategic reserve for European operations. Apart from that, it would be more a case of the equipment, stores and vehicles, not the men. If we preposition stocks for two heavy divisions in England, then we use them as spares and loss replacement in the event of a conflict. It provides a certain degree of space to counter Soviet airstrikes and interdiction and allows more optimum use of our sealift and airlift forces.”
“Curious notion. Now, moving onto other matters, our position for the Atlantic line of division of responsibilities is the 36th meridian west and we have been unable to see our way forward to any compromise on this issue.”
Thompson pursed his lips in mock consternation, while inwardly, he was quite pleased; he’d won a little bet with his National Security Advisor. You owe me a dime, Indy.
“We can accept that with three caveats. Firstly, US forces operating out of our base on the Azure Islands come under our command. Secondly, we want joint operation of the Floating Fortresses in our sector. Finally, our attack carrier groups are to fall under American operational control.”
“I will relay these to the Prime Minister, but I can’t anticipate that they would not be acceptable. I have been instructed to pass along our concerns regarding delays to the delivery schedule for Skybolt.”
“Duly noted. Yours is the second most important order behind those of SAC, but they are most definitely behind SAC in priority.”
“Naturally, Mr. President. Have you come to a decision on where your new Middle Eastern Command headquarters will be?”
“That will be a matter for President Kennedy when he takes office, but it would seem that Israel is the chief contender.”
“That would be agreeable to Her Majesty’s Government; a unified front to the Arabs will keep them settled.”
“I’ve also advised him to look favourably on the Australian request for the deployment of forces to deter any precipitous action by the Indonesians. I’ll be speaking directly to the Australians to that effect, but I believe it would send a clear signal to Djakarta if we were to ramp up the pressure in conjunction with each other.”
“That is exactly what we wanted when we suggested that the Australians speak to you. What did you have in mind?”
“We have the Midway up at Manus; you have the Gibraltar off Fiji coming back from your last test at Christmas Island. If they were to both arrive in Sydney on the same day…”
“A show of force. I shall pass along your suggestion to the Prime Minister. What do you want in return?”
“Lean on the Dutch to tone down their rhetoric regarding the Moluccas and New Guinea. And increase your commitment to CHALICE.”
“I see.” CHALICE was the top secret contingency plan formulated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the rapid deployment of mobile Allied military forces to South Vietnam in the event of a direct request to the other members of the Pacific Treaty Organisation. “That will be rather difficult, both from a political and a practical perspective, at least until the two Gurkha divisions become fully operational.”
“It will make the rest of the business move a lot smoother.”
“Be that as it may, CHALICE cuts into our forces and funding for other purposes, such as Empire basing for Blue Streak.”
Thompson nodded in thought. Unlike the Soviets and the Americans, who had vast interior zones for the spacious basing of intercontinental ballistic missile fields, the British were short of space. Their solution was one that typically played to their strengths. In addition to the home based squadrons, they planned to place missile units across Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Prydain, India, Africa, the South Pacific and their disparate island holdings, complicating the tasks facing Soviet defensive and offensive forces. One CIA estimate even suggested that London was contemplating Guiana, British Honduras and Cuba for rocket bases.
“Is that what you’re up to down in the Falklands?”
“Officially, I haven’t been made aware of what is going on down there. Unofficially, it is oil.”
“Hmm…that would explain a few things. That is why you’ve held out for a separate South Atlantic command, is it?”
“That was more of a case of the Empire having greater interests in the area through the Dominions, just as in the South Pacific. Both of us have our existing command structures, some of which are more important than others.”
“Exactly. No President is going to be able to take the defences of the West Atlantic lightly whilst the German raids on New York, Philadelphia and Washington are still within living memory.”
Thompson glanced at his clock. An enlightening chat as always, but time did fly and his next appointment would be waiting.
“Thank you for visiting, Edward. We must do this again soon.”
“Of course, Mr. President. I bid you good afternoon.”
He had been right, as just as the Ambassador departed through one door, the ringing of his telephone indicated that he had been right. Two balding, moustachioed men entered through the opposite door.
“Good afternoon Director-General Heinlein, Dr. Goddard. Please, take a seat. How was your flight, Doctor?”
“Quite straightforward, sir. The direct express between Lunar City and Earth is surprisingly pleasant compared to the old journey before the war. There are some folks who pine for the days of cavorite spheres, but not I, sir, not I!”
Thompson smiled affectionately. “So, Admiral, how goes the affairs of NASA?”
“Very well, Mr. President. We have three new rocket tests coming up before Christmas, including the first Sea Dragon launch, the Jovian project is proceeding according to schedule and we’ve finalised plans for the Orion dock on Minerva.”
“When could we begin construction if the funding was finalised?”
Heinlein paused briefly, calculating in his head. “1962. It will take just under a year to get the essential personnel and material up there; once we can rely on the resources of the moons, then we can really start moving.”
“We’d need approximately twenty superheavy rocket launches to get everything to the moons, in addition to the usual bi-weekly flights.” stated Goddard.
“I’m trying to get it through, but getting $5 billion out of Congress is easier said than done.” Particularly when they can’t know why it is so urgent.
“If you think my testimony would do anything, Mr. President, I’m ready at any stage.”
“We shall see, Dr. Goddard. President-Elect Kennedy and I are on the same page on this matter, so one of us will call upon you to help out when the right time comes. Moving on for a moment, what progress do we have on the asteroid mining mission?”
“There is a convoy of twelve large specialist mining ships working up, all on Minerva. The escort is quite heavy, taking up two of our large cruisers and five smaller vessels. That is a substantial portion of our space fleet, sir.”
“It is a gamble worth launching. All indicators point towards the Space Nazis being concentrated around Vesta. If we go for Astris and Circe, then they are going to be too far away to make a difference.”
“Well, it is not so much a matter of distance as position, launch windows and delta-v budgets, but the result is much the same.” conceded Heinlein.
“Indeed. Do we have any indications of what the Soviets are up to topside? Their launch activity from Earth and their orbital stations has been very quiet.”
“We believe that they are working on something related to the Jovian race, but they have just stuck to conventional transport. There has been a ship per week heading for Mars from the Soviet sector of L.C.”
“Maybe something about a Red Planet appeals to them.”
“Very droll, Mr. President.”
Roger Thompson sat back behind the Roosevelt desk in the Oval Office and took a moment to appreciate the solitude, however temporary it might be. There wouldn’t be many more of these opportunities, what with the busy requirements of his final two months in office. Here he had met with presidents, prime ministers, potentates and kings, decided the fate of nations and empires, started and ended wars and ordered coffee. Yet for all that, he had never really felt comfortable within it or as if he deserved to be ranked among his illustrious predecessors.
He had tried to put his own touch upon the esteemed room, installing strongly traditional oak furniture, royal blue drapes and a tasteful Chesterfield sofa. His choice in paintings and decorations had been in keeping with his conservative approach and tastes – portraits of Washington and Lincoln, a bust of Andrew Jackson, a simple Western landscape to remind him of home and the Charge of the Rough Riders at the Battle of San Juan; President Roosevelt had described it as ‘bully’ when he saw it on his visit last year.
His lunch with Kennedy, Dr. Savage and his putative nominee Secretary of War, Senator Henry Jackson had been cordial and informative. Thompson couldn’t say that he agreed with the proposed increase of the Army of four divisions, but there seemed to be a certain sense to some of the aircraft nomenclature reforms. Getting the Air Force to adapt two more naval aircraft would be very difficult indeed; he had barely been able to push through the Skyhawk in ’55 even in the aftermath of Korea. They would certainly like the proposed rise in strength. Expanding the Rangers and Special Forces was something close to his own heart and policies and they would be most useful in the emerging twilight battlefields of Africa, Asia and South America. Their enthusiasm for engagement with the Reds in South East Asia was vaguely disquieting for some reason, as Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam had been a thorn in his side for several years.
His telephone began to ring, but barely managed a brief trill before he answered it, a habit that his secretaries had never regarded fondly.
“The British Ambassador is here for your one o’clock meeting, Mr. President.”
“Excellent. Send him on in.”
So much for solitude.
The door opened as a tall, distinguished man in immaculate morning dress was ushered into the room. You had to hand it to the Brits – they certainly dressed up well and The Right Honourable the Earl of Beaconsfield VC, GCB, GCVO was typical of his countrymen in this regard.
“Good afternoon, Mr. President. I trust you are well?” He gave a short bow which made the sunlight glint off his monocle.
“As always, Edward. Well enough. Please, have a seat.” They were old wartime comrades, going back to the days when he had just been Colonel Roger Thompson and the man now on the other side of his desk had simply been Captain Edward Disraeli.
“Thank you, sir.”
A navy steward efficiently served the President with coffee and the Ambassador with tea before withdrawing silently.
“Are you sure you won’t try coffee, Edward? Just this once? It isn’t illegal on this side of the pond.”
The Ambassador recoiled in mock horror. “No thank you, Mr. President. Anyway, it was never illegal, merely very difficult to get hold of during the war.”
“Remember that one time when we were stuck on that Irish island when the storm forced our plane down? I had my share of tea that day.”
“How can I forget, Mr. President? That old housekeeper wouldn’t stop trying to foist one cup after another on you.”
Thompson gave a rare, wistful smile at the old memory. “Has the Prime Minister given any more thought to our proposal?”
“He has indeed. After discussion with the Cabinet and the Imperial Council, he has authorised me to pass along our provisional agreement to all five points of the draft Anglo-American Treaty.”
The President sat back in his chair and breathed out slowly. “Edward, that is truly the most welcome news I’ve heard in a while. And you’re prepared to follow through at Stockholm?”
“We are.”
Thompson nodded in quiet satisfaction. A mutual security treaty between the British Empire and the United States had been one of his long cherished ambitions and now, in the dying days of his Presidency, it had seemingly come to fruition. And it was a good deal to boot for both parties. Full basing rights in Britain and the Empire for U.S. conventional and nuclear forces, coordination of strategic forces, diplomatic, signals intelligence and technical cooperation, establishment of unified defence commands and joint staff bodies and coordination of industrial production, defence supplies and economic resources. The sticking points of the last three years had been resolved in the last few months with a mutually acceptable agreement being reached regarding operational command in the Mediterranean. Yet it was only the first step in what he hoped would be a broader tapestry encompassing the states of Europe and North America.
And it would all occur on another man’s watch.
“Do you think that Kennedy will be able to get it through Congress?”
“Yes, it should be possible. It wouldn’t be a completely guaranteed matter, what with the isolationists in my party and the Whigs out west, but it could be done.” I hope.
“The Prime Minister believes that the French will be amenable to some of the general concepts, but will require a quid-pro-quo Algeria and Vietnam before they acquiesce. We are quite sure that the Belgians and Dutch will go along with us; their support has always been firm.”
“General Gavin reports that the Germans will play ball, but they are still firm on the nuclear question.”
“I am afraid that we would find that to be too great an obstacle to overcome, let alone how De Gaulle would react.”
“Excellent. These outline our projected initial requirements and preferences in the UK itself.” He passed over a single sheet of paper to the Ambassador, who examined it carefully.
“Four SAC airbases, up to twelve tactical facilities, sites for 120 Thor missiles, provision for a strategic early warning radar facility, munitions storage, supply bases, communications headquarters, new dedicated rail lines, equipment bases for two Army divisions and a Marine brigade, two nuclear submarine bases and a homeport for the 8th Fleet. You don’t do things by halves, do you?”
“We don’t. Britain forms the key part of our plans for forces in Western Europe, after all.”
“No need for flattery, Mr. President. There shouldn’t be too many issues with some of these, even if takes HMG requisitioning vast tracts of land in Ireland and copious sheep farms sunny Wales. Maybe even that bally island.”
“Good. We want to base six F-111 wings and four F-110 fighter wings in Britain under the Third Air Force, along with the SAC B-47s and B-52s. The fighters would be integrated with RAF Fighter Command for air defence purposes.”
“That will please old Biggles. We would be able to contribute more fighters to the Continent in that case.”
“Which was exactly our aim, particularly to maximise the numbers of Harriers in the field. My successor was agreeable to the notion of their purchase, by the way, but getting it through Congress may be easier said than done.”
“That is understandable, Mr. President, however our position is unchanged – we would prefer direct export sales to licenced production.”
“The situation might be altered were you to order the F-110 in sufficient numbers, as you are currently discussing.”
The Ambassador raised his eyebrow quizzically. “As for the aircraft itself, it does have many advantages over our Spectre, but the same logic regarding you and the Harriers applies to us. Now, it would be very interesting to know how you found out about what have been very secret discussions so far…”
“We have our ways and means, Edward.”
“Indeed, as do we. It will be interesting if anything comes from your discussion of the TSR-2.”
“Touché. There are some voices arguing in support of buying a few dozen as an electronic warfare bird, but it lacks the one dimension important in this case – politics. Not made here, you see. The Canberra was a plane too far for some people.”
“Now, what about this point on basing Army forces in Britain? Seems a tad unwieldy for operations on the Continent.”
“At most, an airborne division to serve as a strategic reserve for European operations. Apart from that, it would be more a case of the equipment, stores and vehicles, not the men. If we preposition stocks for two heavy divisions in England, then we use them as spares and loss replacement in the event of a conflict. It provides a certain degree of space to counter Soviet airstrikes and interdiction and allows more optimum use of our sealift and airlift forces.”
“Curious notion. Now, moving onto other matters, our position for the Atlantic line of division of responsibilities is the 36th meridian west and we have been unable to see our way forward to any compromise on this issue.”
Thompson pursed his lips in mock consternation, while inwardly, he was quite pleased; he’d won a little bet with his National Security Advisor. You owe me a dime, Indy.
“We can accept that with three caveats. Firstly, US forces operating out of our base on the Azure Islands come under our command. Secondly, we want joint operation of the Floating Fortresses in our sector. Finally, our attack carrier groups are to fall under American operational control.”
“I will relay these to the Prime Minister, but I can’t anticipate that they would not be acceptable. I have been instructed to pass along our concerns regarding delays to the delivery schedule for Skybolt.”
“Duly noted. Yours is the second most important order behind those of SAC, but they are most definitely behind SAC in priority.”
“Naturally, Mr. President. Have you come to a decision on where your new Middle Eastern Command headquarters will be?”
“That will be a matter for President Kennedy when he takes office, but it would seem that Israel is the chief contender.”
“That would be agreeable to Her Majesty’s Government; a unified front to the Arabs will keep them settled.”
“I’ve also advised him to look favourably on the Australian request for the deployment of forces to deter any precipitous action by the Indonesians. I’ll be speaking directly to the Australians to that effect, but I believe it would send a clear signal to Djakarta if we were to ramp up the pressure in conjunction with each other.”
“That is exactly what we wanted when we suggested that the Australians speak to you. What did you have in mind?”
“We have the Midway up at Manus; you have the Gibraltar off Fiji coming back from your last test at Christmas Island. If they were to both arrive in Sydney on the same day…”
“A show of force. I shall pass along your suggestion to the Prime Minister. What do you want in return?”
“Lean on the Dutch to tone down their rhetoric regarding the Moluccas and New Guinea. And increase your commitment to CHALICE.”
“I see.” CHALICE was the top secret contingency plan formulated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the rapid deployment of mobile Allied military forces to South Vietnam in the event of a direct request to the other members of the Pacific Treaty Organisation. “That will be rather difficult, both from a political and a practical perspective, at least until the two Gurkha divisions become fully operational.”
“It will make the rest of the business move a lot smoother.”
“Be that as it may, CHALICE cuts into our forces and funding for other purposes, such as Empire basing for Blue Streak.”
Thompson nodded in thought. Unlike the Soviets and the Americans, who had vast interior zones for the spacious basing of intercontinental ballistic missile fields, the British were short of space. Their solution was one that typically played to their strengths. In addition to the home based squadrons, they planned to place missile units across Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Prydain, India, Africa, the South Pacific and their disparate island holdings, complicating the tasks facing Soviet defensive and offensive forces. One CIA estimate even suggested that London was contemplating Guiana, British Honduras and Cuba for rocket bases.
“Is that what you’re up to down in the Falklands?”
“Officially, I haven’t been made aware of what is going on down there. Unofficially, it is oil.”
“Hmm…that would explain a few things. That is why you’ve held out for a separate South Atlantic command, is it?”
“That was more of a case of the Empire having greater interests in the area through the Dominions, just as in the South Pacific. Both of us have our existing command structures, some of which are more important than others.”
“Exactly. No President is going to be able to take the defences of the West Atlantic lightly whilst the German raids on New York, Philadelphia and Washington are still within living memory.”
Thompson glanced at his clock. An enlightening chat as always, but time did fly and his next appointment would be waiting.
“Thank you for visiting, Edward. We must do this again soon.”
“Of course, Mr. President. I bid you good afternoon.”
He had been right, as just as the Ambassador departed through one door, the ringing of his telephone indicated that he had been right. Two balding, moustachioed men entered through the opposite door.
“Good afternoon Director-General Heinlein, Dr. Goddard. Please, take a seat. How was your flight, Doctor?”
“Quite straightforward, sir. The direct express between Lunar City and Earth is surprisingly pleasant compared to the old journey before the war. There are some folks who pine for the days of cavorite spheres, but not I, sir, not I!”
Thompson smiled affectionately. “So, Admiral, how goes the affairs of NASA?”
“Very well, Mr. President. We have three new rocket tests coming up before Christmas, including the first Sea Dragon launch, the Jovian project is proceeding according to schedule and we’ve finalised plans for the Orion dock on Minerva.”
“When could we begin construction if the funding was finalised?”
Heinlein paused briefly, calculating in his head. “1962. It will take just under a year to get the essential personnel and material up there; once we can rely on the resources of the moons, then we can really start moving.”
“We’d need approximately twenty superheavy rocket launches to get everything to the moons, in addition to the usual bi-weekly flights.” stated Goddard.
“I’m trying to get it through, but getting $5 billion out of Congress is easier said than done.” Particularly when they can’t know why it is so urgent.
“If you think my testimony would do anything, Mr. President, I’m ready at any stage.”
“We shall see, Dr. Goddard. President-Elect Kennedy and I are on the same page on this matter, so one of us will call upon you to help out when the right time comes. Moving on for a moment, what progress do we have on the asteroid mining mission?”
“There is a convoy of twelve large specialist mining ships working up, all on Minerva. The escort is quite heavy, taking up two of our large cruisers and five smaller vessels. That is a substantial portion of our space fleet, sir.”
“It is a gamble worth launching. All indicators point towards the Space Nazis being concentrated around Vesta. If we go for Astris and Circe, then they are going to be too far away to make a difference.”
“Well, it is not so much a matter of distance as position, launch windows and delta-v budgets, but the result is much the same.” conceded Heinlein.
“Indeed. Do we have any indications of what the Soviets are up to topside? Their launch activity from Earth and their orbital stations has been very quiet.”
“We believe that they are working on something related to the Jovian race, but they have just stuck to conventional transport. There has been a ship per week heading for Mars from the Soviet sector of L.C.”
“Maybe something about a Red Planet appeals to them.”
“Very droll, Mr. President.”
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1127
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: From Sea to Shining Sea
From Sea to Shining Sea - A Transatlantic Interlude
It was late at night, although the passage of the hours did not affect goings on in the secure meeting room deep beneath Whitehall. Meetings such as this one had been held in here for the last six years, first as a measure of security and then as a general matter of habit. This was no ordinary chamber, after all, as the walls were lined with layers of lead and cold iron that blocked any unconventional attempts at overhearing the weighty councils within. For it was within this room that the Committee of Imperial Defence met.
“Good evening, my Lords and gentlemen. We shall now commence. Prime Minister?” Secretary of the Committee Sir Richard Hannay looked across the table at Sir Anthony Eden.
“Thank you, Sir Richard. We find ourselves meeting here tonight at quite a fluid moment, gentlemen. Lord Beaconsfield’s communiqué from Washington indicates that our endeavours have met with initial success; the greatest part lies ahead, of course. With the Americans standing next to us, the French and the Germans also fall into place, eliminating them as potential enemies, along with the Italians and Spanish. This can substantially improve our position in a number of theatres, allowing us to refocus on the major threats that the Empire faces. We need to do so, that much is certain. In order, we face the Soviets, China, Indonesia and Turkey, along with the more ephemeral possibility of another Arab revolt or Persian uprising. We outmatch the Turks and Indonesians and have them covered with the bomb to boot. China lacks the ability to strike at us beyond Burma, Tibet and Hong Kong and we have bombers and missiles in place to counter them. The Soviets are a threat beyond all the others combined and thus, we need to position the Empire to oppose them. It comes down to a simple problem of economics. The Chancellor of the Exchequer will expand upon this.”
“Yes, Prime Minister. We are all agreed that our current levels of defence expenditure are not sustainable; by the same token, there is a minimum level that we must pay to continue to be a superpower. The challenge is to reduce our defence spending to the smallest possible level that allows us to do so. Treasury modeling suggests that this is somewhere between 9 and 10% by 1965, based on current estimates of future economic growth. This allows us to fund our current commitments and prospective procurement programmes, provided there are not any major new calls upon the defence budget or major operations.
This seems all well and good, but there is a major issue – that of the Soviet Union. At the lowest levels of their expected economic growth, they will overtake us within 2 years and be upwards of 10% larger by 1965. We are unable to determine a firm estimation of their actual defence spending due to the rather opaque character of Soviet data, but our models indicate that their budget will be at least double ours in real terms – at least £20,000 million. That is not counting the budgets of their satellite states in Eastern Europe. This now is the crux of the matter – those figures are based on their lowest levels of growth and on the presumption that our estimates of Soviet GDP are accurate. Recent economic intelligence reports and information from sources inside the Russian government suggest that neither of those factors will be in our favour.”
Macmillan put down his briefing papers and paused meaningfully. That Russia would overtake the British economy was familiar enough to the men around the table, but the implications of what he had said were manifold. At a time when weapons systems and modern defence equipment was becoming increasingly expensive, the Russians would be able to afford a lot more.
“What is required is a reappraisal of spending and commitments to match these challenges. With the cooperation of the Dominions and the resources of the Empire, we can maintain our current global position and role. Even by ourselves, we are the strongest power in Europe in military, strategic and economic terms. But the others are catching up and the Russians are ahead.”
“I say, this is essentially the substance of the White Paper under development, isn’t it?” queried Foreign Secretary Lord Wooster, fixing his monocle firmly in his eye; he was quite fond of his new affectation, despite the disapproval of his valet. “We’ve known about the economic writing on the wall for some years.”
“There is also the manpower report, Bertie.” The Prime Minister observed. He could see that Wooster was going somewhere with this; his cultivated image of foppish incompetence had become increasingly transparent over the years since the war.
“I have read that, Prime Minister. 7 million front line troops, 8 million ready reserves, 2 million Red Guards and at least 20 million more of the blighters, not to mention several million orcs to boot. The same report pointed out that they can’t arm, clothe, feed and deploy the vast majority of their reserves beyond the level of World War 2 infantry.”
“Yet. The Soviets have stockpiled a lot of materiel and are adding to it by the year.” Hannay ventured. “As they step up production of the T-62s and T-64s, those 50,000 T-54/55s are going to be handed down to the reserves. They even keep thousands of T-34s stored out east in case of trouble with the Chinese.”
“It isn’t just a matter of men, money and munitions, gentlemen, even though they lie at the heart of it. The cost of our new weapons in the 1950s was dramatically greater than the wartime ones they replaced and this new generation is an additional order of magnitude greater. The Russians will be able to afford modernization and improvement of their conventional land, sea and air forces and their current strategic missile and bomber buildup - both quantity and quality. If it turns out they are able to spend more and have a larger economy to boot, then our security position is considerably imperiled.”
Wooster nodded sagely. “I see.”
The Prime Minister turned to the Chief of the Defence Staff. “Admiral Mountbatten, perhaps you could outline the current balance of strategic forces and our relative position. Then we can judge as to what is to be done.”
“Very good, Prime Minister. Currently, we have 129 Blue Streaks, 236 Black Arrows and 187 Red Kings in operational service in Britain, an increase of at least 20% from what we had available during the…events…earlier this year. Bomber Command deploys 526 Vulcans, of which 469 are currently operational – 144 with four Blue Steels each and the remainder with megaton bombs, 287 Vengeances armed with Blue Steels and megaton bombs and 480 Valiants with Blue Danubes and Violet Suns. The remaining sixteen Valiant squadrons are currently operating in the conventional role at home, in India, the Middle East and Far East. At sea, we have eight missile submarines, six in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and two in the Pacific, as well as the Excalibur strike bombers on the supercarriers of Grand Fleet. On land, we have twenty-four strategic guns in the mountains of Scotland and Wales, loaded with megaton shells.”
“How does that compare to the Soviets?”
“We have an advantage in longer range missiles, flying bombs and heavy bombers, Prime Minister, but they have greater numbers in medium range weapons. Of those, only the SS-4s have the capacity to threaten us; they have a total of 108 in service, of which 72 are presumed to be targeted on Britain, with the others positioned to threaten the Middle East, India and Asia. Our sources suggest that the majority of their ICBM force is targeted on North America, with a maximum of eight of their first generation SS-6s assigned to this country. They have five Hotel class SSBNs operating up in the Greenland Sea, but we have atomic submarines trailing them and they were clearly tracked from Murmansk on the AUSD. The 12 Golf class SSBs of the Northern Fleet are all out of range of Britain at present, but once they cross into our engagement zone, we have them covered by submarines, aircraft, surface groups and our Nereus missile batteries. The SDA strategic bomber force of Bisons and Bears is expanding, but the primary threat remains the Bounders and Blinders; their combination of speed and altitude presents something of a more difficult proposition than the slower heavies. For the moment, we match up satisfactorily with them, although that will be a lot easier once we have Violet Friend in service.
They have extensive tactical nuclear and chemical capacity in service with their land, sea and air forces, which makes countering them an even more complex task. The Red Army has 64 divisions and 8 mechanised corps in Eastern Europe, divided into the Northern, Western, Central and Southern Fronts in the GDR, Poland and Romania. Each Front has an air army of 2500 planes attached, along with an artillery division and a pair of long range rocket brigades. The quality of the more recent Soviet fighter-bombers and strike aircraft is certainly better than four years ago and their new Sturmoviks are world beaters in their class; all are present in large quantities. The completion of the White Sea Canal presents a genuine change of the complexity of the Soviet naval threat, allowing the passage of even their largest vessels between the Baltic and Northern Fleets. Zhukov’s modernization efforts are apparently bearing fruit and their light infantry signals that they want to prepare for broader intervention; several reports from our attaches in Moscow indicate that he regards us with grudging respect, down to the point of speaking English with a rather convincing Yorkshire accent.
As to our own strategic modernization plans, they consist of several key steps and programmes. Under current projections, we plan to field a further two squadrons of Vulcans specialized for Skybolt carriage and refit the older aircraft and fund the full procurement of Blue Steel over a five year period. Bomber Command currently aims to spread the procurement of the remaining Blue Streaks and Black Arrows out to 1964. The first Avro Vindicators will enter service by 1965, followed by the Supermarine Victory hypersonic bombers in 67/68. Vickers and Armstrong-Whitworth each have two bombers currently under construction at Barrow and Newcastle, but formal orders for the remaining eight boats of the programme are yet to be issued. The first of the Army’s White Knight rockets will be entering service next year.”
“All of these amount to £12,000 million over the next four years. If we only had to procure strategic weapons to the exclusion of conventional and multi-role ones, then we could afford them without major additional effort. However, this is decidedly not the case, what with the naval construction programmes, tactical aircraft procurement, armoured vehicle construction and missile development. There is a shortfall of £3000 million per year that will need to be paid for in efficiency measures and cutting extraneous expenditure, in addition to redirection of the surplus.” The Chancellor looked momentarily pained as he finished. The battle over the use of the surplus had been a particularly vigorous one and the Treasury had been dealt a defeat.
“Quite right, Harold. Now, we are going to fund our strategic forces no matter what, as they are the ultimate deterrent of war and guarantor of peace and our status. To mangle a phrase from my predecessor, I did not become Prime Minister to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire as a superpower. In Africa, North and South America and the South Pacific, the Commonwealth Dominions provide the majority of Imperial strength. That leaves four major areas of peacetime deployment where we must play the main role. Admiral, can you expand on what we have in each?”
“Certainly, Prime Minister. They are Europe and the Atlantic, the Middle East, India and the Orient, each of which has a land and air component. On the Continent, we are currently have the B.E.F. of four divisions in two corps in the Netherlands, Westphalia and Hannover, alongside the two Canadian divisions and the 756 tactical aircraft of 1 and 2TAF. Under the proposed agreements would take up a portion of the defence of Germany. They are backed up by eight further heavy divisions in the British Isles, the first line units of the Territorial Army and Strike Command as needed. We also have separate treaty commitments to Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Although we do not have standing forces in any of those nations, the 1st Royal Marines, 6th Airborne and the 9th and 10th Infantry Divisions combine in a rapid deployment force, tentatively titled the British Mobile Force, for operations in Scandinavia or the Mediterranean.
Defence of the Atlantic is almost entirely naval role, consisting of RNAS Home and Atlantic Commands, the four Floating Fortresses, the Royal Marine Mobile Naval Base Defence Brigades on Iceland and Cuba and the peacetime standing patrol force of 4 light carriers, 32 destroyers and frigates and 16 corvettes. That force would be dramatically augmented in the event of hostilities, given that the majority of our reserve escorts and RNR air squadrons are based around Britain.
In the Middle East, we are responsible for the defence of Egypt, the Suez Canal and the Persian Gulf, along with assorted strategic air bases across the region, our Commonwealth responsibilities towards Israel and our guarantees of the Arab kingdoms and our protectorates. To carry out these missions, we have the Middle East Air Force, one Royal Marine and three Army divisions in Egypt and sixteen battalion equivalents spread out across the Near East. The Mediterranean Fleet is our strongest force in the area and provides rapidly available overwhelming firepower.
In the Subcontinent, we have a corps of three divisions and a tactical air force in India proper, the equivalent of a division in Burma and half a dozen battalions spread out across the region. Finally, in the Far East, we are committed to the defence of Malaya, Singapore, Borneo and Hong Kong. This is carried by the three divisions of Far East Land Forces and the Far East Air Force, along with a residual force in Korea as part of 1st Commonwealth Division and a Royal Marine brigade in Japan. As in the Med, our greatest asset in the region is the fleet.”
“One of those factors can be addressed immediately.” stated Field Marshal Sir Albert Smythe-Hudson, VC, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. “Prime Minister Singh has indicated that the Indian government will no longer require the peacetime deployment of forces of the British Army or Royal Air Force as of the new year. We are both strong enough in our own right and the gesture will play well domestically.”
“Freeing up those divisions opens up substantial options for the Middle East and Malaya.” Minister of War Sir Alfred Cooper observed thoughtfully. “If we were to combine those redeployments with the formation of two Gurkha divisions and the conversion of the 7th and 8th Infantry Divisions to heavy mechanized forces as we’ve previously proposed, then we can maintain the necessary strength levels for both areas and free up another corps equivalent for contingency operations.”
“That is a start, at least.” Eden’s brows were set firmly in thought. “As it stands, gentlemen, our grand strategy does not greatly alter from where it has stood since the war. Indeed, the balance of forces reminds me of 1939 in some ways – we have a rising threat on the Continent that requires us to pull in our forces from East of Suez, but we cannot afford to leave the cupboard bare.”
“The majority of our regular and reserve land strength would be shifted to a European role under this arrangement. Admiral Mountbatten, what would we have to reinforce the Middle East, for example, if it were to erupt again? What would be our new Desert Army?” asked the Home Secretary, Sir Oliver Stanley.
“That would be the role of the Imperial Strategic Reserve, based in Britain. We currently have the 3rd Royal Marine Division and 1st Airborne Division as the active component, along with the Guards and Light Divisions as Reserve formations made up of regular units. They would be followed up by the aforementioned heavy corps. They can potentially deploy to Egypt, India or Malaya in a crisis, with secondary contingency plans for Africa, Australia and Canada. If further augmentation is required, then we have a number of Territorial Army divisions available.”
“We also have our colonial force modernization programme underway.” added the Marquis of Salisbury, the Colonial Secretary. “We have three divisions in West Africa and four in East Africa, which will reach five each by 1963, giving us the equivalent of twelve divisions when we factor in the Zulus. Our six regular white Colonial Regiments are already on active deployment in East Africa and Malaya and free up Army forces in both areas.”
“They are indeed useful, but their role is that of second-line defence at the moment. If the Russians come down into Iraq and Syria, I wouldn’t want to try and stop a tank army with light infantry.” replied the Minister of War. The existence of separate colonial forces had long been a bone of contention with the War Office.
“That would be where we come in, gentlemen.” interjected Field Marshal Sir William Evered Poole, Chief of Staff of the Union Defence Force of South Africa and the current Commonwealth military representative on the Committee. “We currently have ten divisions assigned to the Middle East that can deploy there within 25 days, with some, such as our own and those of Rhodesia, taking far less time to reach operational status. My government has maintained the position that we would prefer to predominantly operate in the Middle East and Africa; it raises fewer political problems, after all.”
“Naturally, the contribution of the Commonwealth Dominions is one of the key bulwarks of our continued Imperial strength. If we are agreed upon these structural changes in principle, then we can move onto the positions of the individual forces and what capabilities can be rationalized. What of the Navy, First Lord?”
“We can bring forward the decommissioning of the remaining five Didos, all the C-class destroyers, the Type 15 frigates and the T-class boats we’ve got out in the Far East. They won’t greatly impact on any of our current or projected missions, particularly once they are replaced by new construction destroyers and frigates and the 16 Battles recommissioned from reserve, particularly the Flowers, which are long past their bloom. We can also dispose of the oldest escorts and submarines of the Reserve Fleet in turn. The trade off works in our advantage – the 24 new frigates and 16 destroyers greatly outclass the 25 frigates and 32 destroyers we would decommission and free up manpower. We would still retain the decommissioned ships in reserve for rapid activation. This gives us an at total force of 124 destroyers and 125 frigates, presuming no losses or accidents in the next two years, backed up by 42 destroyers and 125 frigates of varying degrees of utility in reserve. We face the same problem as the Americans, sir – we’ve been spoiled by our large wartime construction programmes and now need to make up numbers with new, better ships.”
“The First Lord is correct, Prime Minister. The oldest vessels are not only obsolescent but largely obsolete and lack utility for both cold and hot war missions. In the event of conflict, we need at least 100 escorts for the Grand Fleet, 50 in the Med and 30 in the Far East, in addition to 240 in the Atlantic and 40 elsewhere in the Empire; at present we are sixty vessels short. The third class escorts are useful for numbers and the local defence role, but we are going to require a good general purpose vessel in decent numbers. The proposed joint development of a light ASW frigate with the US and Commonwealth navies is the answer to that and could be extremely beneficial to our shipbuilding industries.” The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Richard Osborne, spoke with quiet authority.
“Can we afford to reduce our cruiser numbers? The Russians are building up in that department.”
“Yes, it won’t cause any great capability gap. Our missile conversions are continuing at a steady pace and we’ll have the first Leanders within 18 months, providing for two missile cruisers for each carrier group. The other twenty light cruisers remaining in service will suffice for the next five years for naval gunfire support and presence missions on the secondary stations. I wouldn’t recommend decommissioning the battlecruisers until the Counties are in the fleet and they do have a fair bit of service life left in those hulls. The biggest saving in manpower and running costs will be through the carriers, though.”
“Indeed. We can expedite the retirement of the five remaining Illustrious class vessels and the six light carriers.” Earl Jellicoe looked to have brightened considerably. “Hermes is due to commission in the new year and we have a further two atomic carriers on order that will join the fleet in ’64 and ’65 respectively if laid down next year. That will take us to 15 fleet carriers, at least until the follow on to the Ark Royals can be finalized.”
“They may not be coming for some time, George. The cost of the ballistic missile submarines is going to constrain us for several years.”
“That may be true, Prime Minister. In that case, the next part of the carrier programme is even more important – the light ASW carrier. The Floating Fortresses reduce our requirements by half, but we will still need at least ten ships for the Atlantic and the other fleets; the Commonwealth navies will also be potential operators to replace their smaller ships, as will a number of other nations. The current design is bigger and faster than the Theseus class.”
“And more costly.” The Chancellor of the Exchequer commented acerbically.
“They are. That is why we also have our plans for the helicopter escort carriers – light, cheap and able to be built in numbers. We’d keep most of them in the Standby Squadrons of the Reserve Fleet and use the active ones as station flagships.”
“I believe that we can defer any decision on the light carriers for the time being, but they do present a means of keeping our numbers up while we must economise. Are we in agreement on the proposed naval reductions?” The Prime Minister looked around the table and was greeted with a succession of nods. “Excellent. Air Minister, what can the RAF propose?”
“We have substantial capacity for reducing numbers and costs, Prime Minister.” began Sir Max Aitken with characteristic confidence. “First and foremost, there is the disestablishment of RAF India and RAF Africa. Next, we can retire the 240 Canberras of Bomber Command, the 240 Hunters of Strike Command, the 190 Fairey Deltas in the Middle East and Far East, and the 68 Avro Ashtons and 160 Britannia of Transport Command. We can shift 124 of Transport Command Rotodynes to the Army. Finally, if we move towards an Empire Training Command in cooperation with the Commonwealth, then we can reduce our sole expenditure in that regard.”
“Impressive enough numbers, but your previous briefing paper also discounted any cuts to current procurement programmes or the aircraft projects under development, save for the Saunders-Roe Scimitars.” Macmillan observed quietly.
“That is true. All of the aircraft currently under development are vital, though. The HS.681 and Armstrong-Whitworth Atlas can carry a superior cargo or passenger load longer than any other transports in their respective classes. The Vickers and Gloster variable geometry strike planes will allow us to replace the Hunters and Canberras with smaller numbers of highly capable aircraft. We need the Gloster Lion if we are going to have a presence on the Continent, as well as the Buccaneers. However, we can extend development and procurement of the strike planes and transports over eight years rather than five as now planned. I believe that the capabilities and importance of the TSR-2 go without saying.”
“There is another option that may be worth consideration, gentlemen. The Spectres of Fighter Command could be shifted to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force provided that the Lightning programme proceeds as planned.” said Air Chief Marshal Sir Dermot Boyle. “The Merlins provide sufficient strike power to our home based fighter force in any case.”
“What role would you see for the American Phantoms or Spectres or whatever they are calling themselves this week? The French also seem very interested in them.”
“Partial replacement of the Hunters for Strike Command and Imperial deployments, Prime Minister. Their capacity to fulfill both the ground-attack and air superiority fighter role is very impressive.”
“I see. Any decision on their procurement will have to wait for the next year or two at least. I believe that Max’s proposals are a fine enough start for the moment for the Royal Air Force; anything deeper would get us absolutely crucified with recent events still fresh in the popular memory. That brings us onto the Army, Duff.”
“Our major contribution will come in the stand-down of Anti-Aircraft Command’s regular forces, which will free up 20 regiments worth of manpower and allow funding of the Skyguard Programme. We also have the capacity to radically reduce our Imperial commitments in peacetime by grouping together regional garrisons into brigades that can react to trouble flexibly through aerial redeployment. This would entail brigades in Cyprus, Southern Arabia, the Persian Gulf, Kenya and Nigeria, as well as battalions in Korea, Bermuda, Iceland, Gibraltar and Malta, freeing up two dozen battalions for home service. Support troop numbers could be cut by upwards of 80,000 as we cut deployments to India and elsewhere. Expanded use of Gurkha and Sikh troops will ensure we meet our requirements whilst still saving expenditure and preserving the capacity to reinforce rapidly from home.”
“The central strategic reserve also allows us to respond swiftly to flare ups around the world and the Empire. The Commando brigades are capable of very rapid deployment, individually or together as a divisional-sized field force.” Observed Field Marshal Keightley. “In a certain sense, they are our trump card for intervention in the Far East or Africa; two skyships can carry a brigade and its equipment and supersonic transports will further increase their versatility. Our problem, as it were, is that we need two armies – a heavy one for Europe and the Middle East and a light force for the Empire and Far East.”
“Very good. Are we all in favour of the Army rationalization as tabled in the report? Good. Now, Richard, what are the remaining issues for discussion?”
“Home defence, war production and transition plans, Prime Minister. On the first issue, the major question is the level of forces are needed to protect Britain from a conventional invasion or attack.”
“Admiral Mountbatten?”
“Soviet capacity for an invasion of this country is considered extremely minimal at this time, Prime Minister, but the threat of Spetsnaz commando raids and sabotage are of a different nature that we’ve given considerable thought to since the last war. We have the home defence forces of the Territorial Army, comprising over 200 battalions, 672 guns and hundreds of armoured cars, tanks and carriers, the regular and reserve home establishment of the RAF Regiment and the Home Guard. Between them, we have almost 1.5 million men and women focused on the home defence mission, which would be augmented by the Royal Constabulary in wartime.”
“If that is the case, then what is the role or need for the second line Territorial Army divisions dedicated to home defence?”
“They have several different purposes, Prime Minister. Firstly, they play an important role in mobilisation planning to provide replacement battalions for the field army. Secondly, they can be employed in Imperial defence roles under full mobilisation. Finally, they provide for operational command and control of forces assigned to the twelve military districts in the event of general war…and its aftermath.” Field Marshal Keightley concluded quietly.
“Indeed. Broadly speaking, they allow us to maintain a residual force for if we are involved in a crisis that allows us time to fully mobilize. Their home defence mission is part funding compromise and part strategic misdirection aimed at Moscow.” ddded Mountbatten.
“Very well. It seems logical enough. Now, Richard, what is the current war production situation?”
“Generally adequate, Prime Minister. The four tank plants are putting out a combined 32 Chieftains a week, which is due to rise to 39 by midway through next year as the Royal Tank Factory in Leeds completes its expansion. Vickers and Armstrong-Whitworth have both indicated that they can restart Super Centurion production if needed, albeit at a cost of £80 million. Monthly FV-432 Saxon deliveries are steady at 280 and production of artillery systems is also rising with the overhaul of the Beardmores plant in Glasgow. RSAF Enfield and the Royal Armoury have cut battle rifle production in preference for more machine guns, but BSA, ROF Fazakerley and LSA continue to deliver SA-52 assault rifles at or above the agreed levels.
Missile deliveries have dramatically increased since we went to 24 hour production in April. We’ve built up five weeks warstocks of Skyflash man portable anti-aircraft and Vigilant anti-tank missiles and three worth of Firebolt air-to-air missiles. Hawker-Siddeley have conducted another two successful tests of the Javelin, destroying the target tank at 5 miles. Westland are due to begin licenced production of the Sea King by the end of next year and they are already talking about a specialized land based variant. Our target production rate of one Harrier a day has been comfortably reached and the new plant in Ireland will open in 9 months. The Royal Aircraft Factory reports that both of their assembly lines are ready for production of fighters once the Air Council and Ministry of Supply issues orders.”
“Quite comprehensive. Are there any questions on this issue? No? Excellent. Very well, transition to war.”
“Our current system functioned adequately in 1956, but there are a number of areas where the sub-committee has identified improvements.” began the Home Secretary. “Firstly, we can merge the necessary legislation into two bills down from three, combining the Special Powers and Readiness Bills and provide for their passage through Orders in Council should Parliament not be sitting and its recall being impractical due to the nature of the emerging crisis. Secondly, we need to incorporate new developments such as the Magic Tower network and the Communications System Protection program. Finally, we need to put in place a number of new provisions of the Defence of the Realm Act to allow for immediate imposition of controls at the early stage of transition to war and to grant additional powers to combat sedition and subversive activity during our current peacetime state.”
“The operational matters seem straightforward, but there may be a tad more opposition to blanket provisions under DORA. If the necessary changes can be put into a draft bill for the Defence Select Committee, we can discuss it with the opposition parties and come to a consensus. I believe that for such an important piece of legislation, we need full bipartisan support to avoid any unfortunate undertones.” mused the Prime Minister.
“Capital. Under the current steps outlined in the War Book, the first step would be to activate the Defence of the Realm Act through Orders in Council and issue Queen’s Order 2. This would activate the whole Civil Defence Force and Royal Observer Corps, call up all reserves, take over all civilian aircraft, put in place wartime shipping controls over the Merchant Navy and bring key industries under national government coordination, all in one fell swoop. The borders would be sealed using the powers of the Stone of Scone, as well as more conventional means. All schools, colleges and universities closed, although we would keep open the cinemas, theatres and sports grounds as long as possible to preserve civilian morale. The NHS would clear the hospitals and activate the reserve establishments, such as the new facility at St. Edward’s. The Royal Highways would be sealed off to civilian traffic and essential service routes would be guarded by the Royal Constabulary. Our 42 police forces would be issued with sufficient armament to equip their active and reserve contingents; all would call up their Special Constabulary, giving us an additional 48,000 policemen across the British Isles for a total of over 300,000. The Royal Constabulary in particular would provide an additional level of protection and mobile reinforcement with their war stocks of armoured vehicles and heavy weapons. National treasures, the Bank of England gold reserves and important artworks would be transported to their wartime storage points in Wales, or, if time permits, on the moons. The BBC would move to wartime broadcasting on the radio and television networks and operate under Ministry of Information censorship, which would also affect the Royal Mail and the press. The Ministry of Food would institute rationing from our stocks and liaise with the Ministry of Agriculture on matters of production. Finally, we would intern subversives, enemy aliens and other undesirables under the Defence of the Realm.”
Admiral Mountbatten continued, reading from his briefing papers. “The military provisions of the mobilization process in the War Book follow a similar straightforward pattern, Prime Minister. The call up of reserve manpower would fully activate the Home Guard, who would be put in place to guard key locations, essential service routes, vital infrastructure and the borders of the realm. We’d use part of the recalled manpower to establish 200 cadre battalions for battlefield replacements and reserves, in addition to the other roles of the reserve. Current plans call for a further 1.25 million men to be conscripted in addition to those who are part of the Army Reserve and Territorial Army; should a war last long enough, then they would form new field forces in the Third and Fourth Armies. 16 and 17 year old members of the Army Cadet Corps, Air Training Corps and Sea Cadet Corps would also be activated for home service. There would be a further augmentation of those certain forces covered by the Knightly Service Act.
Command staff of the twelve Military Districts would move to their wartime headquarters and coordinate with home defence forces; each district would directly controls its assigned TA infantry battalions, one or more mounted regiments, assorted support units and a composite Regional Air Squadron made up of light aircraft, helicopter and Rotodynes and reserve fighters. They would also be assigned a Regional Naval Squadron of patrol vessels detached from their local Royal Naval Reserve unit, which would be operationally coordinated with the inshore squadrons of Coastal Forces. Reserve airfields would be activated to allow for the flow of troops and materiel across the Atlantic air bridge and each of these would be assigned Home Guard or TA units for protection. The entire of the Imperial Reserve Air Fleet and the Merchant Navy Reserve Fleet would be activated, although getting some of the latter vessels ready for sea service will take a period of up to 21 days in many cases. Activation of both the Standby Squadrons and the Reserve Fleet would take up to a week, so we plan to do this at the earliest warning point of any crisis; regular naval mobilisation practice has enabled us to significantly cut down the time needed for the most modern frigates and destroyers. The twelve Folland Wasp squadrons of Training Command and the Lightnings of Central Fighter Establishment would be assigned to Fighter Command as point defence and a mobile reserve respectively.
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force is the reserve force most suited to rapid mobilisation and its role in transition to war is a vital one. Each of Fighter Command’s four operational groups will gain an additional twelve fighter squadrons and the remaining twenty-four squadrons will deploy to wartime stations in the Empire, where their older Hunters, Deltas, Javelins and Swifts will release newer aircraft to Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. The Canberra and Valiant bomber squadrons will be assigned to the home reserve or the Mediterranean, where our line of bases provides full coverage of Southern Europe and the Balkans, and their transport squadrons would be assigned to the air bridge or other commands as appropriate. Behind them, we have stocks of over 3200 frontline aircraft as either replacements or newly formed squadrons, should more pilots become available, and, according to our latest inventory, 232 Meteors, 146 Vampires, 90 Lancasters, 123 Battleaxes, 184 Tempests and 239 Spitfires in inactive underground storage in Wales and Ireland.”
Eden glanced at MacMillan. They both knew that those storage figures was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to thoroughly obsolete equipment. Just last year, fifty Mark IV tanks had been uncovered in a disused railway tunnel in Scotland and there were still three dozen Great War railway guns kept in storage. At a time of economising, a gesture needed to be made and the Chancellor was given the signal to make it. “I think we can all concur that the defence of the realm and Empire will not be greatly imperiled by the disposal of those aircraft. Have them crated and shipped off to Mars and Venus, Max. Waste not, want not.”
“Thank you, Harold. Well, gentlemen, I believe we have covered what we needed to successfully. Sir Richard will collate the full reports from each service and collate them into the draft White Paper for next year; the final conclusion of that document will await what President Kennedy can accomplish across the pond. From what we’ve seen today, we can hold the line well enough in some areas in our own right, but every Allied soldier, sailor or airman is one more man, one more step towards victory.”
A victory that would hopefully come without a shot.
It was late at night, although the passage of the hours did not affect goings on in the secure meeting room deep beneath Whitehall. Meetings such as this one had been held in here for the last six years, first as a measure of security and then as a general matter of habit. This was no ordinary chamber, after all, as the walls were lined with layers of lead and cold iron that blocked any unconventional attempts at overhearing the weighty councils within. For it was within this room that the Committee of Imperial Defence met.
“Good evening, my Lords and gentlemen. We shall now commence. Prime Minister?” Secretary of the Committee Sir Richard Hannay looked across the table at Sir Anthony Eden.
“Thank you, Sir Richard. We find ourselves meeting here tonight at quite a fluid moment, gentlemen. Lord Beaconsfield’s communiqué from Washington indicates that our endeavours have met with initial success; the greatest part lies ahead, of course. With the Americans standing next to us, the French and the Germans also fall into place, eliminating them as potential enemies, along with the Italians and Spanish. This can substantially improve our position in a number of theatres, allowing us to refocus on the major threats that the Empire faces. We need to do so, that much is certain. In order, we face the Soviets, China, Indonesia and Turkey, along with the more ephemeral possibility of another Arab revolt or Persian uprising. We outmatch the Turks and Indonesians and have them covered with the bomb to boot. China lacks the ability to strike at us beyond Burma, Tibet and Hong Kong and we have bombers and missiles in place to counter them. The Soviets are a threat beyond all the others combined and thus, we need to position the Empire to oppose them. It comes down to a simple problem of economics. The Chancellor of the Exchequer will expand upon this.”
“Yes, Prime Minister. We are all agreed that our current levels of defence expenditure are not sustainable; by the same token, there is a minimum level that we must pay to continue to be a superpower. The challenge is to reduce our defence spending to the smallest possible level that allows us to do so. Treasury modeling suggests that this is somewhere between 9 and 10% by 1965, based on current estimates of future economic growth. This allows us to fund our current commitments and prospective procurement programmes, provided there are not any major new calls upon the defence budget or major operations.
This seems all well and good, but there is a major issue – that of the Soviet Union. At the lowest levels of their expected economic growth, they will overtake us within 2 years and be upwards of 10% larger by 1965. We are unable to determine a firm estimation of their actual defence spending due to the rather opaque character of Soviet data, but our models indicate that their budget will be at least double ours in real terms – at least £20,000 million. That is not counting the budgets of their satellite states in Eastern Europe. This now is the crux of the matter – those figures are based on their lowest levels of growth and on the presumption that our estimates of Soviet GDP are accurate. Recent economic intelligence reports and information from sources inside the Russian government suggest that neither of those factors will be in our favour.”
Macmillan put down his briefing papers and paused meaningfully. That Russia would overtake the British economy was familiar enough to the men around the table, but the implications of what he had said were manifold. At a time when weapons systems and modern defence equipment was becoming increasingly expensive, the Russians would be able to afford a lot more.
“What is required is a reappraisal of spending and commitments to match these challenges. With the cooperation of the Dominions and the resources of the Empire, we can maintain our current global position and role. Even by ourselves, we are the strongest power in Europe in military, strategic and economic terms. But the others are catching up and the Russians are ahead.”
“I say, this is essentially the substance of the White Paper under development, isn’t it?” queried Foreign Secretary Lord Wooster, fixing his monocle firmly in his eye; he was quite fond of his new affectation, despite the disapproval of his valet. “We’ve known about the economic writing on the wall for some years.”
“There is also the manpower report, Bertie.” The Prime Minister observed. He could see that Wooster was going somewhere with this; his cultivated image of foppish incompetence had become increasingly transparent over the years since the war.
“I have read that, Prime Minister. 7 million front line troops, 8 million ready reserves, 2 million Red Guards and at least 20 million more of the blighters, not to mention several million orcs to boot. The same report pointed out that they can’t arm, clothe, feed and deploy the vast majority of their reserves beyond the level of World War 2 infantry.”
“Yet. The Soviets have stockpiled a lot of materiel and are adding to it by the year.” Hannay ventured. “As they step up production of the T-62s and T-64s, those 50,000 T-54/55s are going to be handed down to the reserves. They even keep thousands of T-34s stored out east in case of trouble with the Chinese.”
“It isn’t just a matter of men, money and munitions, gentlemen, even though they lie at the heart of it. The cost of our new weapons in the 1950s was dramatically greater than the wartime ones they replaced and this new generation is an additional order of magnitude greater. The Russians will be able to afford modernization and improvement of their conventional land, sea and air forces and their current strategic missile and bomber buildup - both quantity and quality. If it turns out they are able to spend more and have a larger economy to boot, then our security position is considerably imperiled.”
Wooster nodded sagely. “I see.”
The Prime Minister turned to the Chief of the Defence Staff. “Admiral Mountbatten, perhaps you could outline the current balance of strategic forces and our relative position. Then we can judge as to what is to be done.”
“Very good, Prime Minister. Currently, we have 129 Blue Streaks, 236 Black Arrows and 187 Red Kings in operational service in Britain, an increase of at least 20% from what we had available during the…events…earlier this year. Bomber Command deploys 526 Vulcans, of which 469 are currently operational – 144 with four Blue Steels each and the remainder with megaton bombs, 287 Vengeances armed with Blue Steels and megaton bombs and 480 Valiants with Blue Danubes and Violet Suns. The remaining sixteen Valiant squadrons are currently operating in the conventional role at home, in India, the Middle East and Far East. At sea, we have eight missile submarines, six in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and two in the Pacific, as well as the Excalibur strike bombers on the supercarriers of Grand Fleet. On land, we have twenty-four strategic guns in the mountains of Scotland and Wales, loaded with megaton shells.”
“How does that compare to the Soviets?”
“We have an advantage in longer range missiles, flying bombs and heavy bombers, Prime Minister, but they have greater numbers in medium range weapons. Of those, only the SS-4s have the capacity to threaten us; they have a total of 108 in service, of which 72 are presumed to be targeted on Britain, with the others positioned to threaten the Middle East, India and Asia. Our sources suggest that the majority of their ICBM force is targeted on North America, with a maximum of eight of their first generation SS-6s assigned to this country. They have five Hotel class SSBNs operating up in the Greenland Sea, but we have atomic submarines trailing them and they were clearly tracked from Murmansk on the AUSD. The 12 Golf class SSBs of the Northern Fleet are all out of range of Britain at present, but once they cross into our engagement zone, we have them covered by submarines, aircraft, surface groups and our Nereus missile batteries. The SDA strategic bomber force of Bisons and Bears is expanding, but the primary threat remains the Bounders and Blinders; their combination of speed and altitude presents something of a more difficult proposition than the slower heavies. For the moment, we match up satisfactorily with them, although that will be a lot easier once we have Violet Friend in service.
They have extensive tactical nuclear and chemical capacity in service with their land, sea and air forces, which makes countering them an even more complex task. The Red Army has 64 divisions and 8 mechanised corps in Eastern Europe, divided into the Northern, Western, Central and Southern Fronts in the GDR, Poland and Romania. Each Front has an air army of 2500 planes attached, along with an artillery division and a pair of long range rocket brigades. The quality of the more recent Soviet fighter-bombers and strike aircraft is certainly better than four years ago and their new Sturmoviks are world beaters in their class; all are present in large quantities. The completion of the White Sea Canal presents a genuine change of the complexity of the Soviet naval threat, allowing the passage of even their largest vessels between the Baltic and Northern Fleets. Zhukov’s modernization efforts are apparently bearing fruit and their light infantry signals that they want to prepare for broader intervention; several reports from our attaches in Moscow indicate that he regards us with grudging respect, down to the point of speaking English with a rather convincing Yorkshire accent.
As to our own strategic modernization plans, they consist of several key steps and programmes. Under current projections, we plan to field a further two squadrons of Vulcans specialized for Skybolt carriage and refit the older aircraft and fund the full procurement of Blue Steel over a five year period. Bomber Command currently aims to spread the procurement of the remaining Blue Streaks and Black Arrows out to 1964. The first Avro Vindicators will enter service by 1965, followed by the Supermarine Victory hypersonic bombers in 67/68. Vickers and Armstrong-Whitworth each have two bombers currently under construction at Barrow and Newcastle, but formal orders for the remaining eight boats of the programme are yet to be issued. The first of the Army’s White Knight rockets will be entering service next year.”
“All of these amount to £12,000 million over the next four years. If we only had to procure strategic weapons to the exclusion of conventional and multi-role ones, then we could afford them without major additional effort. However, this is decidedly not the case, what with the naval construction programmes, tactical aircraft procurement, armoured vehicle construction and missile development. There is a shortfall of £3000 million per year that will need to be paid for in efficiency measures and cutting extraneous expenditure, in addition to redirection of the surplus.” The Chancellor looked momentarily pained as he finished. The battle over the use of the surplus had been a particularly vigorous one and the Treasury had been dealt a defeat.
“Quite right, Harold. Now, we are going to fund our strategic forces no matter what, as they are the ultimate deterrent of war and guarantor of peace and our status. To mangle a phrase from my predecessor, I did not become Prime Minister to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire as a superpower. In Africa, North and South America and the South Pacific, the Commonwealth Dominions provide the majority of Imperial strength. That leaves four major areas of peacetime deployment where we must play the main role. Admiral, can you expand on what we have in each?”
“Certainly, Prime Minister. They are Europe and the Atlantic, the Middle East, India and the Orient, each of which has a land and air component. On the Continent, we are currently have the B.E.F. of four divisions in two corps in the Netherlands, Westphalia and Hannover, alongside the two Canadian divisions and the 756 tactical aircraft of 1 and 2TAF. Under the proposed agreements would take up a portion of the defence of Germany. They are backed up by eight further heavy divisions in the British Isles, the first line units of the Territorial Army and Strike Command as needed. We also have separate treaty commitments to Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Although we do not have standing forces in any of those nations, the 1st Royal Marines, 6th Airborne and the 9th and 10th Infantry Divisions combine in a rapid deployment force, tentatively titled the British Mobile Force, for operations in Scandinavia or the Mediterranean.
Defence of the Atlantic is almost entirely naval role, consisting of RNAS Home and Atlantic Commands, the four Floating Fortresses, the Royal Marine Mobile Naval Base Defence Brigades on Iceland and Cuba and the peacetime standing patrol force of 4 light carriers, 32 destroyers and frigates and 16 corvettes. That force would be dramatically augmented in the event of hostilities, given that the majority of our reserve escorts and RNR air squadrons are based around Britain.
In the Middle East, we are responsible for the defence of Egypt, the Suez Canal and the Persian Gulf, along with assorted strategic air bases across the region, our Commonwealth responsibilities towards Israel and our guarantees of the Arab kingdoms and our protectorates. To carry out these missions, we have the Middle East Air Force, one Royal Marine and three Army divisions in Egypt and sixteen battalion equivalents spread out across the Near East. The Mediterranean Fleet is our strongest force in the area and provides rapidly available overwhelming firepower.
In the Subcontinent, we have a corps of three divisions and a tactical air force in India proper, the equivalent of a division in Burma and half a dozen battalions spread out across the region. Finally, in the Far East, we are committed to the defence of Malaya, Singapore, Borneo and Hong Kong. This is carried by the three divisions of Far East Land Forces and the Far East Air Force, along with a residual force in Korea as part of 1st Commonwealth Division and a Royal Marine brigade in Japan. As in the Med, our greatest asset in the region is the fleet.”
“One of those factors can be addressed immediately.” stated Field Marshal Sir Albert Smythe-Hudson, VC, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. “Prime Minister Singh has indicated that the Indian government will no longer require the peacetime deployment of forces of the British Army or Royal Air Force as of the new year. We are both strong enough in our own right and the gesture will play well domestically.”
“Freeing up those divisions opens up substantial options for the Middle East and Malaya.” Minister of War Sir Alfred Cooper observed thoughtfully. “If we were to combine those redeployments with the formation of two Gurkha divisions and the conversion of the 7th and 8th Infantry Divisions to heavy mechanized forces as we’ve previously proposed, then we can maintain the necessary strength levels for both areas and free up another corps equivalent for contingency operations.”
“That is a start, at least.” Eden’s brows were set firmly in thought. “As it stands, gentlemen, our grand strategy does not greatly alter from where it has stood since the war. Indeed, the balance of forces reminds me of 1939 in some ways – we have a rising threat on the Continent that requires us to pull in our forces from East of Suez, but we cannot afford to leave the cupboard bare.”
“The majority of our regular and reserve land strength would be shifted to a European role under this arrangement. Admiral Mountbatten, what would we have to reinforce the Middle East, for example, if it were to erupt again? What would be our new Desert Army?” asked the Home Secretary, Sir Oliver Stanley.
“That would be the role of the Imperial Strategic Reserve, based in Britain. We currently have the 3rd Royal Marine Division and 1st Airborne Division as the active component, along with the Guards and Light Divisions as Reserve formations made up of regular units. They would be followed up by the aforementioned heavy corps. They can potentially deploy to Egypt, India or Malaya in a crisis, with secondary contingency plans for Africa, Australia and Canada. If further augmentation is required, then we have a number of Territorial Army divisions available.”
“We also have our colonial force modernization programme underway.” added the Marquis of Salisbury, the Colonial Secretary. “We have three divisions in West Africa and four in East Africa, which will reach five each by 1963, giving us the equivalent of twelve divisions when we factor in the Zulus. Our six regular white Colonial Regiments are already on active deployment in East Africa and Malaya and free up Army forces in both areas.”
“They are indeed useful, but their role is that of second-line defence at the moment. If the Russians come down into Iraq and Syria, I wouldn’t want to try and stop a tank army with light infantry.” replied the Minister of War. The existence of separate colonial forces had long been a bone of contention with the War Office.
“That would be where we come in, gentlemen.” interjected Field Marshal Sir William Evered Poole, Chief of Staff of the Union Defence Force of South Africa and the current Commonwealth military representative on the Committee. “We currently have ten divisions assigned to the Middle East that can deploy there within 25 days, with some, such as our own and those of Rhodesia, taking far less time to reach operational status. My government has maintained the position that we would prefer to predominantly operate in the Middle East and Africa; it raises fewer political problems, after all.”
“Naturally, the contribution of the Commonwealth Dominions is one of the key bulwarks of our continued Imperial strength. If we are agreed upon these structural changes in principle, then we can move onto the positions of the individual forces and what capabilities can be rationalized. What of the Navy, First Lord?”
“We can bring forward the decommissioning of the remaining five Didos, all the C-class destroyers, the Type 15 frigates and the T-class boats we’ve got out in the Far East. They won’t greatly impact on any of our current or projected missions, particularly once they are replaced by new construction destroyers and frigates and the 16 Battles recommissioned from reserve, particularly the Flowers, which are long past their bloom. We can also dispose of the oldest escorts and submarines of the Reserve Fleet in turn. The trade off works in our advantage – the 24 new frigates and 16 destroyers greatly outclass the 25 frigates and 32 destroyers we would decommission and free up manpower. We would still retain the decommissioned ships in reserve for rapid activation. This gives us an at total force of 124 destroyers and 125 frigates, presuming no losses or accidents in the next two years, backed up by 42 destroyers and 125 frigates of varying degrees of utility in reserve. We face the same problem as the Americans, sir – we’ve been spoiled by our large wartime construction programmes and now need to make up numbers with new, better ships.”
“The First Lord is correct, Prime Minister. The oldest vessels are not only obsolescent but largely obsolete and lack utility for both cold and hot war missions. In the event of conflict, we need at least 100 escorts for the Grand Fleet, 50 in the Med and 30 in the Far East, in addition to 240 in the Atlantic and 40 elsewhere in the Empire; at present we are sixty vessels short. The third class escorts are useful for numbers and the local defence role, but we are going to require a good general purpose vessel in decent numbers. The proposed joint development of a light ASW frigate with the US and Commonwealth navies is the answer to that and could be extremely beneficial to our shipbuilding industries.” The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Richard Osborne, spoke with quiet authority.
“Can we afford to reduce our cruiser numbers? The Russians are building up in that department.”
“Yes, it won’t cause any great capability gap. Our missile conversions are continuing at a steady pace and we’ll have the first Leanders within 18 months, providing for two missile cruisers for each carrier group. The other twenty light cruisers remaining in service will suffice for the next five years for naval gunfire support and presence missions on the secondary stations. I wouldn’t recommend decommissioning the battlecruisers until the Counties are in the fleet and they do have a fair bit of service life left in those hulls. The biggest saving in manpower and running costs will be through the carriers, though.”
“Indeed. We can expedite the retirement of the five remaining Illustrious class vessels and the six light carriers.” Earl Jellicoe looked to have brightened considerably. “Hermes is due to commission in the new year and we have a further two atomic carriers on order that will join the fleet in ’64 and ’65 respectively if laid down next year. That will take us to 15 fleet carriers, at least until the follow on to the Ark Royals can be finalized.”
“They may not be coming for some time, George. The cost of the ballistic missile submarines is going to constrain us for several years.”
“That may be true, Prime Minister. In that case, the next part of the carrier programme is even more important – the light ASW carrier. The Floating Fortresses reduce our requirements by half, but we will still need at least ten ships for the Atlantic and the other fleets; the Commonwealth navies will also be potential operators to replace their smaller ships, as will a number of other nations. The current design is bigger and faster than the Theseus class.”
“And more costly.” The Chancellor of the Exchequer commented acerbically.
“They are. That is why we also have our plans for the helicopter escort carriers – light, cheap and able to be built in numbers. We’d keep most of them in the Standby Squadrons of the Reserve Fleet and use the active ones as station flagships.”
“I believe that we can defer any decision on the light carriers for the time being, but they do present a means of keeping our numbers up while we must economise. Are we in agreement on the proposed naval reductions?” The Prime Minister looked around the table and was greeted with a succession of nods. “Excellent. Air Minister, what can the RAF propose?”
“We have substantial capacity for reducing numbers and costs, Prime Minister.” began Sir Max Aitken with characteristic confidence. “First and foremost, there is the disestablishment of RAF India and RAF Africa. Next, we can retire the 240 Canberras of Bomber Command, the 240 Hunters of Strike Command, the 190 Fairey Deltas in the Middle East and Far East, and the 68 Avro Ashtons and 160 Britannia of Transport Command. We can shift 124 of Transport Command Rotodynes to the Army. Finally, if we move towards an Empire Training Command in cooperation with the Commonwealth, then we can reduce our sole expenditure in that regard.”
“Impressive enough numbers, but your previous briefing paper also discounted any cuts to current procurement programmes or the aircraft projects under development, save for the Saunders-Roe Scimitars.” Macmillan observed quietly.
“That is true. All of the aircraft currently under development are vital, though. The HS.681 and Armstrong-Whitworth Atlas can carry a superior cargo or passenger load longer than any other transports in their respective classes. The Vickers and Gloster variable geometry strike planes will allow us to replace the Hunters and Canberras with smaller numbers of highly capable aircraft. We need the Gloster Lion if we are going to have a presence on the Continent, as well as the Buccaneers. However, we can extend development and procurement of the strike planes and transports over eight years rather than five as now planned. I believe that the capabilities and importance of the TSR-2 go without saying.”
“There is another option that may be worth consideration, gentlemen. The Spectres of Fighter Command could be shifted to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force provided that the Lightning programme proceeds as planned.” said Air Chief Marshal Sir Dermot Boyle. “The Merlins provide sufficient strike power to our home based fighter force in any case.”
“What role would you see for the American Phantoms or Spectres or whatever they are calling themselves this week? The French also seem very interested in them.”
“Partial replacement of the Hunters for Strike Command and Imperial deployments, Prime Minister. Their capacity to fulfill both the ground-attack and air superiority fighter role is very impressive.”
“I see. Any decision on their procurement will have to wait for the next year or two at least. I believe that Max’s proposals are a fine enough start for the moment for the Royal Air Force; anything deeper would get us absolutely crucified with recent events still fresh in the popular memory. That brings us onto the Army, Duff.”
“Our major contribution will come in the stand-down of Anti-Aircraft Command’s regular forces, which will free up 20 regiments worth of manpower and allow funding of the Skyguard Programme. We also have the capacity to radically reduce our Imperial commitments in peacetime by grouping together regional garrisons into brigades that can react to trouble flexibly through aerial redeployment. This would entail brigades in Cyprus, Southern Arabia, the Persian Gulf, Kenya and Nigeria, as well as battalions in Korea, Bermuda, Iceland, Gibraltar and Malta, freeing up two dozen battalions for home service. Support troop numbers could be cut by upwards of 80,000 as we cut deployments to India and elsewhere. Expanded use of Gurkha and Sikh troops will ensure we meet our requirements whilst still saving expenditure and preserving the capacity to reinforce rapidly from home.”
“The central strategic reserve also allows us to respond swiftly to flare ups around the world and the Empire. The Commando brigades are capable of very rapid deployment, individually or together as a divisional-sized field force.” Observed Field Marshal Keightley. “In a certain sense, they are our trump card for intervention in the Far East or Africa; two skyships can carry a brigade and its equipment and supersonic transports will further increase their versatility. Our problem, as it were, is that we need two armies – a heavy one for Europe and the Middle East and a light force for the Empire and Far East.”
“Very good. Are we all in favour of the Army rationalization as tabled in the report? Good. Now, Richard, what are the remaining issues for discussion?”
“Home defence, war production and transition plans, Prime Minister. On the first issue, the major question is the level of forces are needed to protect Britain from a conventional invasion or attack.”
“Admiral Mountbatten?”
“Soviet capacity for an invasion of this country is considered extremely minimal at this time, Prime Minister, but the threat of Spetsnaz commando raids and sabotage are of a different nature that we’ve given considerable thought to since the last war. We have the home defence forces of the Territorial Army, comprising over 200 battalions, 672 guns and hundreds of armoured cars, tanks and carriers, the regular and reserve home establishment of the RAF Regiment and the Home Guard. Between them, we have almost 1.5 million men and women focused on the home defence mission, which would be augmented by the Royal Constabulary in wartime.”
“If that is the case, then what is the role or need for the second line Territorial Army divisions dedicated to home defence?”
“They have several different purposes, Prime Minister. Firstly, they play an important role in mobilisation planning to provide replacement battalions for the field army. Secondly, they can be employed in Imperial defence roles under full mobilisation. Finally, they provide for operational command and control of forces assigned to the twelve military districts in the event of general war…and its aftermath.” Field Marshal Keightley concluded quietly.
“Indeed. Broadly speaking, they allow us to maintain a residual force for if we are involved in a crisis that allows us time to fully mobilize. Their home defence mission is part funding compromise and part strategic misdirection aimed at Moscow.” ddded Mountbatten.
“Very well. It seems logical enough. Now, Richard, what is the current war production situation?”
“Generally adequate, Prime Minister. The four tank plants are putting out a combined 32 Chieftains a week, which is due to rise to 39 by midway through next year as the Royal Tank Factory in Leeds completes its expansion. Vickers and Armstrong-Whitworth have both indicated that they can restart Super Centurion production if needed, albeit at a cost of £80 million. Monthly FV-432 Saxon deliveries are steady at 280 and production of artillery systems is also rising with the overhaul of the Beardmores plant in Glasgow. RSAF Enfield and the Royal Armoury have cut battle rifle production in preference for more machine guns, but BSA, ROF Fazakerley and LSA continue to deliver SA-52 assault rifles at or above the agreed levels.
Missile deliveries have dramatically increased since we went to 24 hour production in April. We’ve built up five weeks warstocks of Skyflash man portable anti-aircraft and Vigilant anti-tank missiles and three worth of Firebolt air-to-air missiles. Hawker-Siddeley have conducted another two successful tests of the Javelin, destroying the target tank at 5 miles. Westland are due to begin licenced production of the Sea King by the end of next year and they are already talking about a specialized land based variant. Our target production rate of one Harrier a day has been comfortably reached and the new plant in Ireland will open in 9 months. The Royal Aircraft Factory reports that both of their assembly lines are ready for production of fighters once the Air Council and Ministry of Supply issues orders.”
“Quite comprehensive. Are there any questions on this issue? No? Excellent. Very well, transition to war.”
“Our current system functioned adequately in 1956, but there are a number of areas where the sub-committee has identified improvements.” began the Home Secretary. “Firstly, we can merge the necessary legislation into two bills down from three, combining the Special Powers and Readiness Bills and provide for their passage through Orders in Council should Parliament not be sitting and its recall being impractical due to the nature of the emerging crisis. Secondly, we need to incorporate new developments such as the Magic Tower network and the Communications System Protection program. Finally, we need to put in place a number of new provisions of the Defence of the Realm Act to allow for immediate imposition of controls at the early stage of transition to war and to grant additional powers to combat sedition and subversive activity during our current peacetime state.”
“The operational matters seem straightforward, but there may be a tad more opposition to blanket provisions under DORA. If the necessary changes can be put into a draft bill for the Defence Select Committee, we can discuss it with the opposition parties and come to a consensus. I believe that for such an important piece of legislation, we need full bipartisan support to avoid any unfortunate undertones.” mused the Prime Minister.
“Capital. Under the current steps outlined in the War Book, the first step would be to activate the Defence of the Realm Act through Orders in Council and issue Queen’s Order 2. This would activate the whole Civil Defence Force and Royal Observer Corps, call up all reserves, take over all civilian aircraft, put in place wartime shipping controls over the Merchant Navy and bring key industries under national government coordination, all in one fell swoop. The borders would be sealed using the powers of the Stone of Scone, as well as more conventional means. All schools, colleges and universities closed, although we would keep open the cinemas, theatres and sports grounds as long as possible to preserve civilian morale. The NHS would clear the hospitals and activate the reserve establishments, such as the new facility at St. Edward’s. The Royal Highways would be sealed off to civilian traffic and essential service routes would be guarded by the Royal Constabulary. Our 42 police forces would be issued with sufficient armament to equip their active and reserve contingents; all would call up their Special Constabulary, giving us an additional 48,000 policemen across the British Isles for a total of over 300,000. The Royal Constabulary in particular would provide an additional level of protection and mobile reinforcement with their war stocks of armoured vehicles and heavy weapons. National treasures, the Bank of England gold reserves and important artworks would be transported to their wartime storage points in Wales, or, if time permits, on the moons. The BBC would move to wartime broadcasting on the radio and television networks and operate under Ministry of Information censorship, which would also affect the Royal Mail and the press. The Ministry of Food would institute rationing from our stocks and liaise with the Ministry of Agriculture on matters of production. Finally, we would intern subversives, enemy aliens and other undesirables under the Defence of the Realm.”
Admiral Mountbatten continued, reading from his briefing papers. “The military provisions of the mobilization process in the War Book follow a similar straightforward pattern, Prime Minister. The call up of reserve manpower would fully activate the Home Guard, who would be put in place to guard key locations, essential service routes, vital infrastructure and the borders of the realm. We’d use part of the recalled manpower to establish 200 cadre battalions for battlefield replacements and reserves, in addition to the other roles of the reserve. Current plans call for a further 1.25 million men to be conscripted in addition to those who are part of the Army Reserve and Territorial Army; should a war last long enough, then they would form new field forces in the Third and Fourth Armies. 16 and 17 year old members of the Army Cadet Corps, Air Training Corps and Sea Cadet Corps would also be activated for home service. There would be a further augmentation of those certain forces covered by the Knightly Service Act.
Command staff of the twelve Military Districts would move to their wartime headquarters and coordinate with home defence forces; each district would directly controls its assigned TA infantry battalions, one or more mounted regiments, assorted support units and a composite Regional Air Squadron made up of light aircraft, helicopter and Rotodynes and reserve fighters. They would also be assigned a Regional Naval Squadron of patrol vessels detached from their local Royal Naval Reserve unit, which would be operationally coordinated with the inshore squadrons of Coastal Forces. Reserve airfields would be activated to allow for the flow of troops and materiel across the Atlantic air bridge and each of these would be assigned Home Guard or TA units for protection. The entire of the Imperial Reserve Air Fleet and the Merchant Navy Reserve Fleet would be activated, although getting some of the latter vessels ready for sea service will take a period of up to 21 days in many cases. Activation of both the Standby Squadrons and the Reserve Fleet would take up to a week, so we plan to do this at the earliest warning point of any crisis; regular naval mobilisation practice has enabled us to significantly cut down the time needed for the most modern frigates and destroyers. The twelve Folland Wasp squadrons of Training Command and the Lightnings of Central Fighter Establishment would be assigned to Fighter Command as point defence and a mobile reserve respectively.
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force is the reserve force most suited to rapid mobilisation and its role in transition to war is a vital one. Each of Fighter Command’s four operational groups will gain an additional twelve fighter squadrons and the remaining twenty-four squadrons will deploy to wartime stations in the Empire, where their older Hunters, Deltas, Javelins and Swifts will release newer aircraft to Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. The Canberra and Valiant bomber squadrons will be assigned to the home reserve or the Mediterranean, where our line of bases provides full coverage of Southern Europe and the Balkans, and their transport squadrons would be assigned to the air bridge or other commands as appropriate. Behind them, we have stocks of over 3200 frontline aircraft as either replacements or newly formed squadrons, should more pilots become available, and, according to our latest inventory, 232 Meteors, 146 Vampires, 90 Lancasters, 123 Battleaxes, 184 Tempests and 239 Spitfires in inactive underground storage in Wales and Ireland.”
Eden glanced at MacMillan. They both knew that those storage figures was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to thoroughly obsolete equipment. Just last year, fifty Mark IV tanks had been uncovered in a disused railway tunnel in Scotland and there were still three dozen Great War railway guns kept in storage. At a time of economising, a gesture needed to be made and the Chancellor was given the signal to make it. “I think we can all concur that the defence of the realm and Empire will not be greatly imperiled by the disposal of those aircraft. Have them crated and shipped off to Mars and Venus, Max. Waste not, want not.”
“Thank you, Harold. Well, gentlemen, I believe we have covered what we needed to successfully. Sir Richard will collate the full reports from each service and collate them into the draft White Paper for next year; the final conclusion of that document will await what President Kennedy can accomplish across the pond. From what we’ve seen today, we can hold the line well enough in some areas in our own right, but every Allied soldier, sailor or airman is one more man, one more step towards victory.”
A victory that would hopefully come without a shot.
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1127
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: From Sea to Shining Sea
From Sea to Shining Sea Part 3
Roger Thompson blinked slightly as he awoke, then settled back in his plush bedchair and let himself awaken for the busy morn ahead. It had been a very smooth ride. Were it not for the large round window next to him that showed a lightening sky and a verdant landscape below, it would be difficult to countenance that he was onboard an airplane, let alone one cruising above the speed of sound at 42,000 feet. Air Force One was both the fastest and most luxurious transport of its kind in the world, modified from the new Boeing 717 and capable of carrying 60 passengers in sumptuous conditions across the Continental United States or the great oceans alike. The very finest in arcane engineering had gone into the design and manufacture of his plane and its three specialised stablemates, two of which now flew behind them in the five strong Presidential air convoy, carrying further staff, communications equipment and the bulk of his ubiquitous Secret Service protection detail, alongside the pair of C-137s that carried the accompanying press corps and a detachment of the US Presidential Guard Regiment. Before, behind and to either side of the group of great four-engine airliners flew their escort, a dozen F-110 Spectre fighters, more for show and spectacle than the actual necessities of defence, given the missiles and rayguns carried by his own aircraft and the layers of protective dweomers woven around them.
If he had felt like it, he could have retired back to his bedroom, which featured a full sized bed in an anti-turbulence cocoon, or through to the Presidential lounge, where he quite enjoyed the automatic sofa, as well as the more practical fittings of the holographic projection table and crystal screen that allowed him to communicate with the White House or any of the other key facilities in the country. Instead, he had stretched back in his study for a brief nap after another late night telemeeting with Indy and the Joint Chiefs back in Washington. What he wouldn’t give for a quiet twenty-four hours without crisis or disaster…
The Congo was going downhill fast, even though the Belgians refused stubbornly to let go and pull out of there, leaving almost 50,000 Belgian troops tied up in the Central African jungle; the British and the French were backing them up as well, which complicated matters. Oh, it was clear why they were doing so. They didn’t want the tide of independence to spill over into their own colonies or into Rhodesia and South Africa. They both had much more capacity to do something about it than Brussels and the Rhodesians had been getting extremely worried over the festering sore to their north. They were wrong though, in Thompson’s view and that of most of his advisors. It gave away a march to the Soviets and threatened to turn Africa Red when it did become free. The massive airbase that had been built up at Stanleyville in the early 50s in the hands of Moscow would be an absolute bodyblow. It was a wonder that the whole situation hadn’t blown up in all their faces yet.
There would be enough time for that after they landed. For now, he was winging his way towards a Seattle dawn and more domestic concerns. Sure, there was his tour of the Century Exposition 21 site, which was gearing up for its grand opening next April, but the largest part of his brief stopover on the way to California and Fleet Week in San Francisco was to go and fly the flag at the Boeing factories. As the largest and most important aerospace company in the United States, they had a heck of a lot of clout, given the range of what they produced – C-135 airlifters and tankers, the CH-47, the B-47, B-52, the XF-111 and now the Minuteman ICBM and the supersonic 2707. They had been stirring up some fuss over the VSTOL issue, the cancellation of the F6B and being knocked out of the big Air Force fighter contracts, so he found himself on his way to fly the flag and show that they were still valued.
An Air Force steward had noted that he had roused from his nap and now approached with a cup of fresh coffee straight from the presidential kitchen.
“Good morning, Mr. President. Would you care for some breakfast, sir?”
“Yes, send in the usual. And tell the Secretary of State to come in and join me if he is awake.”
He walked over to his desk and sat down, glancing through his briefing papers once again, particularly the most recent missive. Japan and China. China and Japan. Foes turned friends and friends turned foes. For all the focus on elsewhere in the world, the Orient still held both a fascination for him and was vitally important for future peace. Relations with the Empire of China had been glacial since the end of the Korean War and the tentacles of the vengeful Mandarinate had extended into every festering sore and emerging trouble-spot in all the corners of the globe. Their recent rocket tests had put a new and disturbing complexion on the strategic picture and all manner of strange reports continued to emanate from behind the Great Wall. Japan had arisen from the ashes of war quite literally, with her economic and industrial recovery being nothing short of miraculous. It had been Korea that kickstarted that explosion, just as it had thrust China onto the world stage once again. With their growth had come the rebirth of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces and that couldn’t but slightly stick in Thompson’s craw, as it did with so many others of his generation. This latest news would definitely make matters complicated for the new administration.
“Howdy there, Mr. President. Got another one of those?” Jefferson Smith stuck his head around the corner of the presidential suite.
“Jeff! Come on in, have a seat and we’ll see about that cup of joe.” As if on cue, the steward returned with a loaded tray and set it down on the Presidential desk. It held his simple, typical breakfast of biscuits and gravy, grits, sausage, scrambled eggs and ham. He poured out a steaming cup for Smith and then beat a quiet retreat. “Help yourself to some. I thought we’d run through a few of the latest tidbits in from Tokyo ahead of the PATO conference.”
“Sure thing. I thought you might want to chew over that one when I saw it myself a few minutes ago. It is strictly an unofficial, back channel approach at this stage, but if it breaks, then there will be hell to pay.”
“You’re not wrong there.” Thompson furrowed his brow as he sipped from his tumbler of fresh orange juice. “My first instinct is to tell them no way in hell and my second is not to be so polite. The very thought of the Japs with atomic bombs is just unacceptable. As you say, the Anzacs won’t countenance it whatsoever, all of the South East Asian states still have very bad memories of the war and the Koreans and Taiwan would hit the roof. We gave the Chinese an assurance that Korea wouldn’t go nuclear and this would throw that to the dogs. But Tanaka is no fool and knows this. What do you think he’s up to?”
“Shoring himself up internally, I believe, Mr. President. The nationalist elements within his government are very strong, so he had to at least ask. I’d say he is going to follow up with what he is actually after in Vancouver on Thursday. It is probably going to be first line carrier fighters, F-111s - he’s made no secret of his preference for them in the past – and nuclear submarines.”
“That would work. Give cautious approval to the atomic submarine gambit, but act surprised when it comes up and fall over yourself to offer him Phantoms, as well as Eagle missiles. That will tithe them over until their new Zeroes roll out.” Good luck to Jack, playing their games day in and day out.
“Consider it done, sir. When I was over there two months ago, he reacted positively to our proposal for forward deployment of our atomic-armed fighters and the dual-key arrangement, or at least as positively as you can expect for the man who probably invented inscrutability.”
“We can definitely sell that, although the question of nuclear subs will be something for Kennedy to tackle. What about the ship names? Seems like much of the same.” The CIA intelligence brief had included clippings from The Japan Times blaring out the purported names of the three battleships and four aircraft carriers to be laid down over the next year.
“Yes, that would be the main part, as well as sending a message to China and the Soviets that their criticisms of his defence expansion haven’t stung, not least in the way they would have wanted. Only their Communists have made any noises against it and even they are muted. Yamato is a big name for them, not just a mere ship; it is more of their heart and spirit.”
“Damn big things, by the look of the reports.”
“That is what makes them useful. Counterbalances the Chinese and the Soviets. I quite like their lyricism and the lack of naming anything after politicians, even if it was one way of getting the money for the Fifty-Four for Freedom.”
“I was thinking a bit more on the carriers. By my reckoning, they’re re-using the names of three of the five flattops they lost at Midway.”
“As far as most of the world and our friends are concerned, it is just another case of Tiger trying to show his independence from the Americans. It would be like the Germans naming one of their new battlewagons Bismarck – not of great consequence, but it would keep the talking heads occupied for a few days. I want you to try and smooth over the Aussies and New Zealanders on the Jap fleet plans, though. Tokyo’s ships will help cover North East Asia if things boil over in Vietnam or Indonesia and we have to shift our focus there, not to mention that their Kongos counterbalance the new Chinese battlecruisers nicely.”
“Consider it done. The Japanese Foreign Minister will be sounding me out again over their proposal for a full security alliance again. They want a more robust role in the Western Pacific, but their neighbours are a bit less than enthusiastic about an active Japanese military machine reaching out in the region.”
“You always had a gift for understatement, Jeff. If we get involved with them, then it will be on our terms. Japan is both very much like Britain, but also very different.” He paused to chew thoughtfully on a piece of ham. “Both island states, both big industrial players, both big on sea trade. The Brits have an empire and more of a global role, though, making them much more useful to us. Japan was never big enough nor had wide enough reach to be vital to us, but was big enough to be a rival. Anyway, I advised Jack Kennedy to go for it if he thought it warranted, but to keep them close so they can’t cause trouble.”
“They are talking to the British about cooperation more and more over the last few years.”
“Let them. London can’t spare them the same money or forces we can and we’ve got the weapons they want and need. They’re trying to play us, but we’ve got more cards. Mention the oil offer to them and dangle the F-111s in front of them. That should push them over the edge towards us. Now what about China? Are they going to test?”
“It appears that they will. They don’t have anything to lose and, from Peking’s perspective, they have a lot to gain. They see it as forcing us and Moscow to acknowledge them as sitting at the top table, as well as establishing themselves as the power in the Far East. Their point of view has always been very different from ours.”
“CIA thinks that it will be an ICBM, whereas the Brits think it will be a space shot.”
“It could be either, but they are timing it to coincide with Vancouver. My gut is that it is the former and that it is a gesture aimed both outwards at us and inland at Russia. They have been smarting over Red Sinkiang for decades, after all.”
“No chance of them making a move at Tibet?”
“They wouldn’t dare. London has been exceptionally forthright about their determination to meet any incursion there, in Burma or towards Hong Kong with the bomb. Call it their post ’56 bristling phase – they felt that all of that trouble could have been avoided with a stronger stance. Fighting the last war again.”
An Air Force lieutenant appeared at the door and knocked softly. “Excuse me, Mr President, Mr. Secretary. We’re going to be commencing our descent in ten minutes.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant. Well, Jeff, I’d best get ready. The world below awaits.”
Roger Thompson blinked slightly as he awoke, then settled back in his plush bedchair and let himself awaken for the busy morn ahead. It had been a very smooth ride. Were it not for the large round window next to him that showed a lightening sky and a verdant landscape below, it would be difficult to countenance that he was onboard an airplane, let alone one cruising above the speed of sound at 42,000 feet. Air Force One was both the fastest and most luxurious transport of its kind in the world, modified from the new Boeing 717 and capable of carrying 60 passengers in sumptuous conditions across the Continental United States or the great oceans alike. The very finest in arcane engineering had gone into the design and manufacture of his plane and its three specialised stablemates, two of which now flew behind them in the five strong Presidential air convoy, carrying further staff, communications equipment and the bulk of his ubiquitous Secret Service protection detail, alongside the pair of C-137s that carried the accompanying press corps and a detachment of the US Presidential Guard Regiment. Before, behind and to either side of the group of great four-engine airliners flew their escort, a dozen F-110 Spectre fighters, more for show and spectacle than the actual necessities of defence, given the missiles and rayguns carried by his own aircraft and the layers of protective dweomers woven around them.
If he had felt like it, he could have retired back to his bedroom, which featured a full sized bed in an anti-turbulence cocoon, or through to the Presidential lounge, where he quite enjoyed the automatic sofa, as well as the more practical fittings of the holographic projection table and crystal screen that allowed him to communicate with the White House or any of the other key facilities in the country. Instead, he had stretched back in his study for a brief nap after another late night telemeeting with Indy and the Joint Chiefs back in Washington. What he wouldn’t give for a quiet twenty-four hours without crisis or disaster…
The Congo was going downhill fast, even though the Belgians refused stubbornly to let go and pull out of there, leaving almost 50,000 Belgian troops tied up in the Central African jungle; the British and the French were backing them up as well, which complicated matters. Oh, it was clear why they were doing so. They didn’t want the tide of independence to spill over into their own colonies or into Rhodesia and South Africa. They both had much more capacity to do something about it than Brussels and the Rhodesians had been getting extremely worried over the festering sore to their north. They were wrong though, in Thompson’s view and that of most of his advisors. It gave away a march to the Soviets and threatened to turn Africa Red when it did become free. The massive airbase that had been built up at Stanleyville in the early 50s in the hands of Moscow would be an absolute bodyblow. It was a wonder that the whole situation hadn’t blown up in all their faces yet.
There would be enough time for that after they landed. For now, he was winging his way towards a Seattle dawn and more domestic concerns. Sure, there was his tour of the Century Exposition 21 site, which was gearing up for its grand opening next April, but the largest part of his brief stopover on the way to California and Fleet Week in San Francisco was to go and fly the flag at the Boeing factories. As the largest and most important aerospace company in the United States, they had a heck of a lot of clout, given the range of what they produced – C-135 airlifters and tankers, the CH-47, the B-47, B-52, the XF-111 and now the Minuteman ICBM and the supersonic 2707. They had been stirring up some fuss over the VSTOL issue, the cancellation of the F6B and being knocked out of the big Air Force fighter contracts, so he found himself on his way to fly the flag and show that they were still valued.
An Air Force steward had noted that he had roused from his nap and now approached with a cup of fresh coffee straight from the presidential kitchen.
“Good morning, Mr. President. Would you care for some breakfast, sir?”
“Yes, send in the usual. And tell the Secretary of State to come in and join me if he is awake.”
He walked over to his desk and sat down, glancing through his briefing papers once again, particularly the most recent missive. Japan and China. China and Japan. Foes turned friends and friends turned foes. For all the focus on elsewhere in the world, the Orient still held both a fascination for him and was vitally important for future peace. Relations with the Empire of China had been glacial since the end of the Korean War and the tentacles of the vengeful Mandarinate had extended into every festering sore and emerging trouble-spot in all the corners of the globe. Their recent rocket tests had put a new and disturbing complexion on the strategic picture and all manner of strange reports continued to emanate from behind the Great Wall. Japan had arisen from the ashes of war quite literally, with her economic and industrial recovery being nothing short of miraculous. It had been Korea that kickstarted that explosion, just as it had thrust China onto the world stage once again. With their growth had come the rebirth of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces and that couldn’t but slightly stick in Thompson’s craw, as it did with so many others of his generation. This latest news would definitely make matters complicated for the new administration.
“Howdy there, Mr. President. Got another one of those?” Jefferson Smith stuck his head around the corner of the presidential suite.
“Jeff! Come on in, have a seat and we’ll see about that cup of joe.” As if on cue, the steward returned with a loaded tray and set it down on the Presidential desk. It held his simple, typical breakfast of biscuits and gravy, grits, sausage, scrambled eggs and ham. He poured out a steaming cup for Smith and then beat a quiet retreat. “Help yourself to some. I thought we’d run through a few of the latest tidbits in from Tokyo ahead of the PATO conference.”
“Sure thing. I thought you might want to chew over that one when I saw it myself a few minutes ago. It is strictly an unofficial, back channel approach at this stage, but if it breaks, then there will be hell to pay.”
“You’re not wrong there.” Thompson furrowed his brow as he sipped from his tumbler of fresh orange juice. “My first instinct is to tell them no way in hell and my second is not to be so polite. The very thought of the Japs with atomic bombs is just unacceptable. As you say, the Anzacs won’t countenance it whatsoever, all of the South East Asian states still have very bad memories of the war and the Koreans and Taiwan would hit the roof. We gave the Chinese an assurance that Korea wouldn’t go nuclear and this would throw that to the dogs. But Tanaka is no fool and knows this. What do you think he’s up to?”
“Shoring himself up internally, I believe, Mr. President. The nationalist elements within his government are very strong, so he had to at least ask. I’d say he is going to follow up with what he is actually after in Vancouver on Thursday. It is probably going to be first line carrier fighters, F-111s - he’s made no secret of his preference for them in the past – and nuclear submarines.”
“That would work. Give cautious approval to the atomic submarine gambit, but act surprised when it comes up and fall over yourself to offer him Phantoms, as well as Eagle missiles. That will tithe them over until their new Zeroes roll out.” Good luck to Jack, playing their games day in and day out.
“Consider it done, sir. When I was over there two months ago, he reacted positively to our proposal for forward deployment of our atomic-armed fighters and the dual-key arrangement, or at least as positively as you can expect for the man who probably invented inscrutability.”
“We can definitely sell that, although the question of nuclear subs will be something for Kennedy to tackle. What about the ship names? Seems like much of the same.” The CIA intelligence brief had included clippings from The Japan Times blaring out the purported names of the three battleships and four aircraft carriers to be laid down over the next year.
“Yes, that would be the main part, as well as sending a message to China and the Soviets that their criticisms of his defence expansion haven’t stung, not least in the way they would have wanted. Only their Communists have made any noises against it and even they are muted. Yamato is a big name for them, not just a mere ship; it is more of their heart and spirit.”
“Damn big things, by the look of the reports.”
“That is what makes them useful. Counterbalances the Chinese and the Soviets. I quite like their lyricism and the lack of naming anything after politicians, even if it was one way of getting the money for the Fifty-Four for Freedom.”
“I was thinking a bit more on the carriers. By my reckoning, they’re re-using the names of three of the five flattops they lost at Midway.”
“As far as most of the world and our friends are concerned, it is just another case of Tiger trying to show his independence from the Americans. It would be like the Germans naming one of their new battlewagons Bismarck – not of great consequence, but it would keep the talking heads occupied for a few days. I want you to try and smooth over the Aussies and New Zealanders on the Jap fleet plans, though. Tokyo’s ships will help cover North East Asia if things boil over in Vietnam or Indonesia and we have to shift our focus there, not to mention that their Kongos counterbalance the new Chinese battlecruisers nicely.”
“Consider it done. The Japanese Foreign Minister will be sounding me out again over their proposal for a full security alliance again. They want a more robust role in the Western Pacific, but their neighbours are a bit less than enthusiastic about an active Japanese military machine reaching out in the region.”
“You always had a gift for understatement, Jeff. If we get involved with them, then it will be on our terms. Japan is both very much like Britain, but also very different.” He paused to chew thoughtfully on a piece of ham. “Both island states, both big industrial players, both big on sea trade. The Brits have an empire and more of a global role, though, making them much more useful to us. Japan was never big enough nor had wide enough reach to be vital to us, but was big enough to be a rival. Anyway, I advised Jack Kennedy to go for it if he thought it warranted, but to keep them close so they can’t cause trouble.”
“They are talking to the British about cooperation more and more over the last few years.”
“Let them. London can’t spare them the same money or forces we can and we’ve got the weapons they want and need. They’re trying to play us, but we’ve got more cards. Mention the oil offer to them and dangle the F-111s in front of them. That should push them over the edge towards us. Now what about China? Are they going to test?”
“It appears that they will. They don’t have anything to lose and, from Peking’s perspective, they have a lot to gain. They see it as forcing us and Moscow to acknowledge them as sitting at the top table, as well as establishing themselves as the power in the Far East. Their point of view has always been very different from ours.”
“CIA thinks that it will be an ICBM, whereas the Brits think it will be a space shot.”
“It could be either, but they are timing it to coincide with Vancouver. My gut is that it is the former and that it is a gesture aimed both outwards at us and inland at Russia. They have been smarting over Red Sinkiang for decades, after all.”
“No chance of them making a move at Tibet?”
“They wouldn’t dare. London has been exceptionally forthright about their determination to meet any incursion there, in Burma or towards Hong Kong with the bomb. Call it their post ’56 bristling phase – they felt that all of that trouble could have been avoided with a stronger stance. Fighting the last war again.”
An Air Force lieutenant appeared at the door and knocked softly. “Excuse me, Mr President, Mr. Secretary. We’re going to be commencing our descent in ten minutes.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant. Well, Jeff, I’d best get ready. The world below awaits.”
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1127
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: From Sea to Shining Sea
From Sea to Shining Sea Part 4
The landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was characteristically smooth and several minutes after Air Force One had come to a halt, President Roger Thompson emerged into the bright sunshine of the crisp winter morning. He waved to the crowd of reporters, dignitaries and assorted hangers before descending the air stair to meet the reception committee as a band struck up Hail to the Chief. Once he stepped off onto the red carpet at the bottom of the stair, he turned to place his hand on his heart as they played The Star Spangled Banner. There were some traditions that he was definitely not going to surrender.
Security around the runway was extremely tight, with hundreds of policemen, uniformed and black suited Secret Servicemen and Presidential Guards from the advance party of his escort surrounding the immediate area. Several helicopters circled overhead as a pair of Phantoms flew circles high above them, whilst beyond the immediate perimeter on the ground, several USPG Commando armoured cars stood ready and a shimmering blue haze indicated that Secret Service wizards had established their protective screen. His security hadn’t always been so expansive, but ever since that socialist hooligan back in ’59, no chances were being taken.
“Mr. President, welcome to Seattle. Thankfully, the weather has been kind to us.” Mayor Clinton shook President Thompson’s hand vigorously.
“It has indeed. Hopefully it stays this way for the rest of my time here, however unfortunately brief that may be.”
“Seattle has always been strong Thompson country, Mr President, and proud of it.”
“You’re too kind, Mr. Mayor. Everything seems extremely well organised today. Please pass along my appreciation to your Chief of Police.”
“Chief Quimby will be extremely gratified by your comments, sir. Now, may I introduce our exposition organizer, Mr. Edward Carlson, and the Archmage of Seattle, Professor Nicodemus Blackthorne.”
“Mr. Carlson, I hear you’ve done a marvel of a job here. I look forward to seeing it for myself. Professor Blackthorne, your reputation precedes you, sir.”
“Thank you, Mr. President. I do hope you enjoy what we’ve got to show you today.”
“Indubitably. You’ll have to send me through your work on the wizardly war, Professor. Quite a bit went on above my level and it is always interesting to look back.”
“Consider it done, sir. I’ll have one of my apprentices deliver it personally to Washington.”
“Well, you’ll have to have him do it soon; I’ll be moving house in a few weeks, you know.”
A chorus of laughs ensued, quite more than what the mild joke deserved in Thompson’s view, but he had noticed that everyone seemed to find his wit both sparkling and hilarious since he had become President. Thankfully, the gladhanding was relatively short and he was soon ushered into the quiet of his presidential limousine.
Just as his airplane was the pinnacle of protection and luxury in the air, his Cadillac armoured state limousine was unmatched on the ground. More heavily armoured in some areas than a Great War battleship and weighing over five tons, it was fitted with specially enchanted tires, bullet and rocket proof steelglass windows, a unique turbine engine and an array of defensive guns and weaponry that would put some tanks to shame. Within, there was enough communications equipment to run a war, ranging from radiotelephones to a miniature telescreen. It pulled off ponderously in the great motorcade, lead by police cars and flanked by motorcycle outriders and fast armed Corvettes. He had been quite bemused to find out that there were no less than twenty-two vehicles in ‘his’ convoy, including a rather bizarre car with gull-wing doors that his scientific advisor, Dr. Emmett Brown, had insisted upon, vaguely proclaiming that it would ‘come in handy some day.’
Thompson stretched back in his seat and looked across at Atkinson and Burgundy, who were busily sorting through his latest correspondence. The work of the Executive arm of government never really halted and even the short pause for his arrival had been exceptionally busy.
“Have we set up that little talk with the Germans after we finish at Boeing?”
“Yes, sir. Von Hartmann and the Luftwaffe Chief of Staff are both over here for an air conference and we’ve managed to have them just happen to fly up from Omaha to examine some new planes at Renton.”
“Excellent. I hope that can get a bit more unfinished business wrapped up. Anything further from the Middle East?”
“All quiet on that front at the moment, sir; still no movement by King Ra’ad regarding a new government. CIA still thinks that it will be one of the safer options. It is still very unclear what is going to happen in Ethiopia. Our last report said that the loyal Imperial troops had control of part of the capital, but everything is still very garbled.”
“Get onto the British and see what they are getting from their station in Berbera and make sure that the Emperor knows he can count on our assistance if he requires it. We’ve got an airborne battle group standing by in Lebanon that can be down there in five hours.”
“Yes, Mr. President. Things seem to have died down in Arkansas. The State Police have taken over from the locals and”
“Darn right they should have. The Ku Klux Klan thinking it can raise its head again? On my watch? Golly. Tell Director Ness that he can take the gloves off. I’m not going to have a full-blown race riot blow up out of nowhere while I’m still President.”
“Very good, sir. Another telegram from Monty Burns just arrived.”
“What does the old man want this time? The AEC already approved his latest atom plant expansion plans. Not a single brick laid yet and he still keeps expanding it.”
“He expressed an interest in one of the new NASA facilities for Orion.”
“He’ll have to try his luck with Kennedy. I can’t approve anything that big while I’m a caretaker President; it simply wouldn’t do. Write him back and tell him that, but explain that I’ll put in a few good words for him with the new administration. We owe him that much for delivering Indiana as promised.”
The car began to slow and the light on the telephone next to his seat began to pulse with a glowing red light.
“Yes?”
“We’ll be arriving in thirty seconds, Mr. President.”
“Thanks, Davison.”
After they had halted, Thompson was ushered out of the car into the grounds of the fair, which were still under ongoing construction. The monorail was almost complete and the first towers that would support the Skyride from the fabulous Gayway to the exotic International Mall, if the garish signs were anything to go by. The Grand Science Pavilion lay on up ahead along the broad American Way and the official party proceeded towards it, surrounded by a screen of guards. Soaring high above them was the towering 600ft tall Space Needle, a twisted white tower topped with a platform that bore a striking resemblance to a flying saucer; that reminded him of one of his upcoming destinations down in the Nevada desert.
“It’s come together quite well, Mr. Carlson. You think it will all be ready by April?”
“Yes, Mr. President, we’ll get there with bells on. On time and on budget.”
“Impressive. Maybe I should have had you in my Cabinet.” Thompson grinned, enjoying the slight sharpness of the air, even if it did bring back memories of the Ardennes as it always had. Carlson and the others responded with laughter, humouring him.
The Science Pavilion itself was suitably grand, winding its way through several large introductory chambers on the development of science and the wonders of the modern world and rising up through a hidden elevator to the vast Spacearium on the floor above. Here, an array of illusions and holograms played, showing imagery of a rocketship ride up into space to the Moons and beyond to the distant planets.
“We’ve still got to complete the final touches on the outer planets, based on a combination of our best current knowledge and what will play well to a general audience. Some of the images of Saturn aren’t quite coming together satisfactorily yet.” Blackthorne’s explanation was a mixture of the exuberant and apologetic.
“It still looks absolutely bully, Professor. Hopefully we’ll see what it like one day soon enough. You ever been up there?”
“Only to Lunar City, Mr. President, not to Mars. You’ve got me beat there.” he demurred. Thompson had made some mileage out of being the first President to have visited one of Earth’s neighbours, even if it had been as a youth before the war.
The remainder of the exhibition was similarly well-made and detailed, ranging from the large model of the City of Tomorrow to a walk-through exhibit of the Home of the 21st Century. The latter struck Thompson as particularly optimistic; he could believe the automatic meal delivery and huge television screen and thought the robot butler quite straightforward (although surely lacey pinafores would be out of fashion by the year 2000), but the idea of having a computing engine that could fit in a reasonable sized room seemed arrant nonsense.
At last, the tour was done and they were once more away, sweeping through the streets towards Boeing Plant 2.
“That went quite well, don’t you think, Jack?”
“Yes, sir. The architecture was a bit too Googie for my tastes, though. We got some more in from Ethiopia.”
“How is it?”
“The British haven’t heard anything official, but some of their intelligence assets on the ground report extremely heavy fighting through the middle of the capital. They’re sending a Canberra over from Aden as we speak and have been getting in Haile Selassie’s ear as well, offering a Gurkha battalion that they’ve got down in Mombasa. His response has been the same – thanks but no thanks.”
“Alright, he’s trying to sort it out himself. Good move; if he had to rely on foreign troops to retake his throne without trying first, he’d be cutting his own throat. Still wouldn’t hurt to be ready.”
Thompson picked up the telephone next to him. “Get me the Secretary of Defense. Thomas? Get that airborne battalion in the air. Aden. We still have those C-130s in Libya? Send them on down to Khartoum. Good. Thanks.” He hung up the phone and looked across at Burgundy.
“Get onto Selassie and offer him our planes to bring in loyal troops from Asmara. Emphasise that we will act in a support role only – it is his show.”
“Yes, Mr. President.” He picked up his own telephone and began issuing instructions.
Good. Nothing like a little crisis management in the morning to get the blood flowing.
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
The interior of the vast aircraft production plant was truly cavernous, reminding the President of the new underground bunkers being blasted out of the deep roots of mountains for NORAD and SAC that he had been to see this time last year. This space was filled to a far greater degree, packed with heavy machinery along each assembly line, one producing B-52s and one producing B-47s. Whilst the majority of both bombers were built elsewhere in America, the Boeing plant was their birthplace and held a special place for the history of Strategic Air Command. This was the building that had built the first B-17s that had been the backbone of the United States Air Force in the bloody campaign in the skies over Europe. It had produced the first B-29s that had blasted Germany and dealt the mortal blow to Japan, ending the long and terrible war.
He was shown along the B-52 assembly line, seeing dozens of the great Stratofortresses in varying stages of completion, including one that was due to take its first flight the next day. The sorcerous lights on the roof far above glinted off the silvery metal of the bombers’ skin, giving them a unique glint.
“How many have you got under construction in here at the moment, Bill?” Thompson asked the bespectacled, white haired executive who walked alongside him.
“Fifty-four, Mr. President. All of them -H models, the newest and best. We’re going at six a month here and another twelve in Wichita.” replied Boeing President William Allen.
“We’ll need you to keep that up over the next few years. Every one of these planes will be an important arrow in President Kennedy’s quiver as we stand firm against the Soviets.”
“We will do, Mr. President. We won’t let SAC, the Air Force or the country down.”
“I expect no less. How is the B-47 re-engining going along?” If the B-52s were the frontline bomber of the Air Force, the B-47s were its main force – all one thousand eight hundred forty two of them. Refitting them with four afterburning Pratt & Whitney J57s was one of two major ways their service life was going to be extended at least to the end of the decade, ensuring that American bomber strength would not falter or fail just as the Soviets were rising to the challenge. Thompson had expended considerable time and energy on the B-47 and the sleek Stratojet held a fond place in his heart.
“We had some initial hiccoughs, sir, but we’re turning the corner. The new plant in Utah is going great guns.”
“Capital.” The President looked up to see Sam Atkinson wiping his brow several times in a particularly ostentatious manner for midwinter.
Ah, the Germans were ready.
…………………………………………………………………………………………
After the ritual of his speech, lauding the essential and hardworking contributions of Boeing and its workers to the national defence and hailing their products as the pinnacle of American know-how and excellence, Thompson was lead off into a side building, ostensibly for refreshments and a presentation on the XF-111. He sat in the darkened boardroom for a few minutes, watching the introductory film, before being tapped on the shoulder by Atkinson and quietly leaving the room. A short walk through several offices and corridors later, they emerged into a windowless room.
Sitting across the other side of the table were an old man and a young man. The latter was easily six and a half foot tall and his heavily muscled frame seemed ill at ease in his immaculate black suit. His blond hair was clipped short in a severe style and his piercing ice-blue eyes would have unsettled Thompson if they had not belonged to an old friend, whose warm smile was followed by a quick leap to his feat and clicking of his heels. He had known Siegfried von Hartmann for fifteen years and to this day, he counted the paladin as one of the best men he knew; his dealings with the German Defence Minister had always been fair and forthright.
Beside him was a distinguished man of aristocratic bearing who appeared to be in his late sixties. He wore the splendid blue-gray dress uniform of the reborn Luftwaffe with practiced ease, but the considerable rows of medals and insignia across his chest indicated a more lengthy time in service. This impression was definitively reinforced by the blue and gold medal that he wore around his neck. The President had been introduced to him on several previous occasions at military functions on tours of Germany, but had never truly met the man until now. He rose and snapped his heels together smartly, inclining his head in a respectful bow.
“Siegfried! Baron von Richthofen! Please, sit down. We have plenty to discuss.”
The landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was characteristically smooth and several minutes after Air Force One had come to a halt, President Roger Thompson emerged into the bright sunshine of the crisp winter morning. He waved to the crowd of reporters, dignitaries and assorted hangers before descending the air stair to meet the reception committee as a band struck up Hail to the Chief. Once he stepped off onto the red carpet at the bottom of the stair, he turned to place his hand on his heart as they played The Star Spangled Banner. There were some traditions that he was definitely not going to surrender.
Security around the runway was extremely tight, with hundreds of policemen, uniformed and black suited Secret Servicemen and Presidential Guards from the advance party of his escort surrounding the immediate area. Several helicopters circled overhead as a pair of Phantoms flew circles high above them, whilst beyond the immediate perimeter on the ground, several USPG Commando armoured cars stood ready and a shimmering blue haze indicated that Secret Service wizards had established their protective screen. His security hadn’t always been so expansive, but ever since that socialist hooligan back in ’59, no chances were being taken.
“Mr. President, welcome to Seattle. Thankfully, the weather has been kind to us.” Mayor Clinton shook President Thompson’s hand vigorously.
“It has indeed. Hopefully it stays this way for the rest of my time here, however unfortunately brief that may be.”
“Seattle has always been strong Thompson country, Mr President, and proud of it.”
“You’re too kind, Mr. Mayor. Everything seems extremely well organised today. Please pass along my appreciation to your Chief of Police.”
“Chief Quimby will be extremely gratified by your comments, sir. Now, may I introduce our exposition organizer, Mr. Edward Carlson, and the Archmage of Seattle, Professor Nicodemus Blackthorne.”
“Mr. Carlson, I hear you’ve done a marvel of a job here. I look forward to seeing it for myself. Professor Blackthorne, your reputation precedes you, sir.”
“Thank you, Mr. President. I do hope you enjoy what we’ve got to show you today.”
“Indubitably. You’ll have to send me through your work on the wizardly war, Professor. Quite a bit went on above my level and it is always interesting to look back.”
“Consider it done, sir. I’ll have one of my apprentices deliver it personally to Washington.”
“Well, you’ll have to have him do it soon; I’ll be moving house in a few weeks, you know.”
A chorus of laughs ensued, quite more than what the mild joke deserved in Thompson’s view, but he had noticed that everyone seemed to find his wit both sparkling and hilarious since he had become President. Thankfully, the gladhanding was relatively short and he was soon ushered into the quiet of his presidential limousine.
Just as his airplane was the pinnacle of protection and luxury in the air, his Cadillac armoured state limousine was unmatched on the ground. More heavily armoured in some areas than a Great War battleship and weighing over five tons, it was fitted with specially enchanted tires, bullet and rocket proof steelglass windows, a unique turbine engine and an array of defensive guns and weaponry that would put some tanks to shame. Within, there was enough communications equipment to run a war, ranging from radiotelephones to a miniature telescreen. It pulled off ponderously in the great motorcade, lead by police cars and flanked by motorcycle outriders and fast armed Corvettes. He had been quite bemused to find out that there were no less than twenty-two vehicles in ‘his’ convoy, including a rather bizarre car with gull-wing doors that his scientific advisor, Dr. Emmett Brown, had insisted upon, vaguely proclaiming that it would ‘come in handy some day.’
Thompson stretched back in his seat and looked across at Atkinson and Burgundy, who were busily sorting through his latest correspondence. The work of the Executive arm of government never really halted and even the short pause for his arrival had been exceptionally busy.
“Have we set up that little talk with the Germans after we finish at Boeing?”
“Yes, sir. Von Hartmann and the Luftwaffe Chief of Staff are both over here for an air conference and we’ve managed to have them just happen to fly up from Omaha to examine some new planes at Renton.”
“Excellent. I hope that can get a bit more unfinished business wrapped up. Anything further from the Middle East?”
“All quiet on that front at the moment, sir; still no movement by King Ra’ad regarding a new government. CIA still thinks that it will be one of the safer options. It is still very unclear what is going to happen in Ethiopia. Our last report said that the loyal Imperial troops had control of part of the capital, but everything is still very garbled.”
“Get onto the British and see what they are getting from their station in Berbera and make sure that the Emperor knows he can count on our assistance if he requires it. We’ve got an airborne battle group standing by in Lebanon that can be down there in five hours.”
“Yes, Mr. President. Things seem to have died down in Arkansas. The State Police have taken over from the locals and”
“Darn right they should have. The Ku Klux Klan thinking it can raise its head again? On my watch? Golly. Tell Director Ness that he can take the gloves off. I’m not going to have a full-blown race riot blow up out of nowhere while I’m still President.”
“Very good, sir. Another telegram from Monty Burns just arrived.”
“What does the old man want this time? The AEC already approved his latest atom plant expansion plans. Not a single brick laid yet and he still keeps expanding it.”
“He expressed an interest in one of the new NASA facilities for Orion.”
“He’ll have to try his luck with Kennedy. I can’t approve anything that big while I’m a caretaker President; it simply wouldn’t do. Write him back and tell him that, but explain that I’ll put in a few good words for him with the new administration. We owe him that much for delivering Indiana as promised.”
The car began to slow and the light on the telephone next to his seat began to pulse with a glowing red light.
“Yes?”
“We’ll be arriving in thirty seconds, Mr. President.”
“Thanks, Davison.”
After they had halted, Thompson was ushered out of the car into the grounds of the fair, which were still under ongoing construction. The monorail was almost complete and the first towers that would support the Skyride from the fabulous Gayway to the exotic International Mall, if the garish signs were anything to go by. The Grand Science Pavilion lay on up ahead along the broad American Way and the official party proceeded towards it, surrounded by a screen of guards. Soaring high above them was the towering 600ft tall Space Needle, a twisted white tower topped with a platform that bore a striking resemblance to a flying saucer; that reminded him of one of his upcoming destinations down in the Nevada desert.
“It’s come together quite well, Mr. Carlson. You think it will all be ready by April?”
“Yes, Mr. President, we’ll get there with bells on. On time and on budget.”
“Impressive. Maybe I should have had you in my Cabinet.” Thompson grinned, enjoying the slight sharpness of the air, even if it did bring back memories of the Ardennes as it always had. Carlson and the others responded with laughter, humouring him.
The Science Pavilion itself was suitably grand, winding its way through several large introductory chambers on the development of science and the wonders of the modern world and rising up through a hidden elevator to the vast Spacearium on the floor above. Here, an array of illusions and holograms played, showing imagery of a rocketship ride up into space to the Moons and beyond to the distant planets.
“We’ve still got to complete the final touches on the outer planets, based on a combination of our best current knowledge and what will play well to a general audience. Some of the images of Saturn aren’t quite coming together satisfactorily yet.” Blackthorne’s explanation was a mixture of the exuberant and apologetic.
“It still looks absolutely bully, Professor. Hopefully we’ll see what it like one day soon enough. You ever been up there?”
“Only to Lunar City, Mr. President, not to Mars. You’ve got me beat there.” he demurred. Thompson had made some mileage out of being the first President to have visited one of Earth’s neighbours, even if it had been as a youth before the war.
The remainder of the exhibition was similarly well-made and detailed, ranging from the large model of the City of Tomorrow to a walk-through exhibit of the Home of the 21st Century. The latter struck Thompson as particularly optimistic; he could believe the automatic meal delivery and huge television screen and thought the robot butler quite straightforward (although surely lacey pinafores would be out of fashion by the year 2000), but the idea of having a computing engine that could fit in a reasonable sized room seemed arrant nonsense.
At last, the tour was done and they were once more away, sweeping through the streets towards Boeing Plant 2.
“That went quite well, don’t you think, Jack?”
“Yes, sir. The architecture was a bit too Googie for my tastes, though. We got some more in from Ethiopia.”
“How is it?”
“The British haven’t heard anything official, but some of their intelligence assets on the ground report extremely heavy fighting through the middle of the capital. They’re sending a Canberra over from Aden as we speak and have been getting in Haile Selassie’s ear as well, offering a Gurkha battalion that they’ve got down in Mombasa. His response has been the same – thanks but no thanks.”
“Alright, he’s trying to sort it out himself. Good move; if he had to rely on foreign troops to retake his throne without trying first, he’d be cutting his own throat. Still wouldn’t hurt to be ready.”
Thompson picked up the telephone next to him. “Get me the Secretary of Defense. Thomas? Get that airborne battalion in the air. Aden. We still have those C-130s in Libya? Send them on down to Khartoum. Good. Thanks.” He hung up the phone and looked across at Burgundy.
“Get onto Selassie and offer him our planes to bring in loyal troops from Asmara. Emphasise that we will act in a support role only – it is his show.”
“Yes, Mr. President.” He picked up his own telephone and began issuing instructions.
Good. Nothing like a little crisis management in the morning to get the blood flowing.
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
The interior of the vast aircraft production plant was truly cavernous, reminding the President of the new underground bunkers being blasted out of the deep roots of mountains for NORAD and SAC that he had been to see this time last year. This space was filled to a far greater degree, packed with heavy machinery along each assembly line, one producing B-52s and one producing B-47s. Whilst the majority of both bombers were built elsewhere in America, the Boeing plant was their birthplace and held a special place for the history of Strategic Air Command. This was the building that had built the first B-17s that had been the backbone of the United States Air Force in the bloody campaign in the skies over Europe. It had produced the first B-29s that had blasted Germany and dealt the mortal blow to Japan, ending the long and terrible war.
He was shown along the B-52 assembly line, seeing dozens of the great Stratofortresses in varying stages of completion, including one that was due to take its first flight the next day. The sorcerous lights on the roof far above glinted off the silvery metal of the bombers’ skin, giving them a unique glint.
“How many have you got under construction in here at the moment, Bill?” Thompson asked the bespectacled, white haired executive who walked alongside him.
“Fifty-four, Mr. President. All of them -H models, the newest and best. We’re going at six a month here and another twelve in Wichita.” replied Boeing President William Allen.
“We’ll need you to keep that up over the next few years. Every one of these planes will be an important arrow in President Kennedy’s quiver as we stand firm against the Soviets.”
“We will do, Mr. President. We won’t let SAC, the Air Force or the country down.”
“I expect no less. How is the B-47 re-engining going along?” If the B-52s were the frontline bomber of the Air Force, the B-47s were its main force – all one thousand eight hundred forty two of them. Refitting them with four afterburning Pratt & Whitney J57s was one of two major ways their service life was going to be extended at least to the end of the decade, ensuring that American bomber strength would not falter or fail just as the Soviets were rising to the challenge. Thompson had expended considerable time and energy on the B-47 and the sleek Stratojet held a fond place in his heart.
“We had some initial hiccoughs, sir, but we’re turning the corner. The new plant in Utah is going great guns.”
“Capital.” The President looked up to see Sam Atkinson wiping his brow several times in a particularly ostentatious manner for midwinter.
Ah, the Germans were ready.
…………………………………………………………………………………………
After the ritual of his speech, lauding the essential and hardworking contributions of Boeing and its workers to the national defence and hailing their products as the pinnacle of American know-how and excellence, Thompson was lead off into a side building, ostensibly for refreshments and a presentation on the XF-111. He sat in the darkened boardroom for a few minutes, watching the introductory film, before being tapped on the shoulder by Atkinson and quietly leaving the room. A short walk through several offices and corridors later, they emerged into a windowless room.
Sitting across the other side of the table were an old man and a young man. The latter was easily six and a half foot tall and his heavily muscled frame seemed ill at ease in his immaculate black suit. His blond hair was clipped short in a severe style and his piercing ice-blue eyes would have unsettled Thompson if they had not belonged to an old friend, whose warm smile was followed by a quick leap to his feat and clicking of his heels. He had known Siegfried von Hartmann for fifteen years and to this day, he counted the paladin as one of the best men he knew; his dealings with the German Defence Minister had always been fair and forthright.
Beside him was a distinguished man of aristocratic bearing who appeared to be in his late sixties. He wore the splendid blue-gray dress uniform of the reborn Luftwaffe with practiced ease, but the considerable rows of medals and insignia across his chest indicated a more lengthy time in service. This impression was definitively reinforced by the blue and gold medal that he wore around his neck. The President had been introduced to him on several previous occasions at military functions on tours of Germany, but had never truly met the man until now. He rose and snapped his heels together smartly, inclining his head in a respectful bow.
“Siegfried! Baron von Richthofen! Please, sit down. We have plenty to discuss.”
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1127
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: From Sea to Shining Sea
From Sea to Shining Sea Part 5
“Herr President, it is very good of you to make time for us today. There are a few matters of a certain delicacy that the Chancellor wanted to gain an American perspective on prior to the commencement of the new administration.”
“You’re most welcome, Siegfried. However, I can’t necessarily provide anything concrete or you given my ‘situation’…”
“As a tame truck, I believe, Herr President.” intoned Von Richthofen.
“A lame duck, actually, but the effect is much the same.”
“Aber naturlich. However, we would still like to potentially explore the viability of a number of areas of mutual interest prior to raising them in the new year, so that we can expedite the most correct resolution.” Von Hartmann had a slight smile on his face as he ran through the formalities of the game. “We can agree with all four of the proposals regarding the Allied force structure and the general parameters for coordination and are even prepared to concede to the position of Marshal Leclerc as commander of forces in Central Europe, provided that German general officers take their rightful places in appropriate deputy positions.”
So far, so good. But you didn’t fly across the Atlantic to tell me that, old friend.
“That is a most welcome development, Siegfried. Now, what does Chancellor von Sternberg think he would need in exchange for these considerable concessions?”
“We will require a broad agreement on military aid, specifically focussed on the problem of air defence, as well the relaxation of certain restrictions still in place after the war.”
“The latter would be a more difficult political question that involves more than just you and us, Siegfried. As for the former, I’m sure that we can deal with them when they are closer.”
“It is comparatively easy, Herr President, to regard such matters as distant from Seattle, or Washington or any of your other cities here in the United States.” Von Richthofen said sternly. “Back in Berlin, I sit down in my office in the Air Ministry every morning one hundred kilometres away from 4000 Russian planes across the Iron Wall in Poland. Their closest airfields are four minutes flight time away. They also have several hundred missiles pointed directly at us, many topped with atomic warheads. This isn’t a question of politics for us, but one of national survival.”
“We do understand your situation, even if it doesn’t seem that way on your side of the pond. You lack strategic depth, are on the front line and are concentrated in such a way that an attack could be truly devastating. We’re all in the same boat now, though. The Reds are able to hit us as well with their intercontinental capacity.”
“It is more than simply the strategic dimension, even though that is the most existential.” Von Hartmann now joined in earnestly. “In every category of conventional weaponry, the Soviets and their puppets have a pronounced advantage in numbers that can strike at our forward units and bases with little to no warning. We cannot rely on reserves or mobilisation assets to the same degree as you or the British.”
“I know. That has been part of the driving forces behind CHECKMATE. Once we reach a full agreement with you and the other European states, there will be more than enough American and allied aircraft to counter the Red Air Force on the very best terms from the first moments of any conflict.”
“A heartening possibility, but the sands of policy and political will shift far faster than weapons development and procurement. We need our own forces present in sufficient numbers as they are what we can ultimately rely upon.”
Thompson nodded. Von Hartmann had him there. The Germans were being asked to make the third major shift in their strategic positioning and force projection in five years and had a right to be wary. It would take time and surety to build up their trust, both of which would have to come from another man; the least he could do was try to repair what he could of his own mistakes.
“Very well. Suffice it to say that we won’t look at the issue of relaxation lightly and will endeavour to assuage your concerns. What is the most vital element you need for your air defences at this point, Siegfried?”
“What we need is sufficient missiles for the Luftverteidigungskraft to field a new, modern successor to the Kammhuber Line as part of an integrated system of Western European air defence, as well as the best anti-missile systems you can supply.”
“You want Plato.” And something that doesn’t break quite like the Kammhuber Line did, he added in his head.
“Exactly, Herr President.”
“That will be contentious, but it may be possible in return for certain other steps, particularly an understanding regarding Silver Arrow.”
“What type of understanding?”
“Confining its use and deployment to a civilian space launcher. Essentially, cancelling Luftwaffe deployment of the rocket, at least for the time being.”
“That would be quite out of the question! Silberner Pfeil is the very centre of our future strategic posture and is the only means we have of striking deep into the USSR. We can never give it up. Never!” Von Richthofen fairly bristled with outrage.
“Calm yourself, my dear Baron. I believe that President Thompson is trying to say too much by saying too little and, after all, we are dealing with hypothetical discussions.”
“You got it, Siegfried. For example, say that, hypothetically, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Switzerland were engaging in some very quiet, very clandestine discussions and cooperation regarding atomic weapons development, then that would be a very, very unwise course of action to take. Hypothetically speaking, of course.” Thompson finished in words of pure ice and stared pointedly at his German guests.
Von Hartmann stared at him for a long while and nodded, whilst the Baron von Richthofen clearly seemed to wish he was elsewhere. The warning had been delivered, just as it had to be.
“Naturally, Herr President. Regarding Silberner Pfeil, how long would ‘the time being’ last for?”
“At least six years.” That would allow for the French to get their moves into play, if all went to plan.
“As the General rightly observes, this would be a particularly disruptive action for German defensive planning. Even with the most welcome guarantees supplied by a grand alliance, we would require some further concrete actions to deal with our security concerns.”
“That would indeed make for some interesting hypothetical discussion, Siegfried. What types of actions would you be thinking of?”
“Removal of restrictions on the size of the Heer and Luftwaffe, an advantageous deal on the Phantoms, sales of strike bombers, removal of the ban on arms exports, provision of dragons and the deployment of American theatre weapons to Germany to counter the Russian rockets in Poland.”
“Some of those may well be possible, within reason, particularly the deployment of our missiles to Europe. However, there would be less need for Germany to carry the entire burden of its defence within an alliance framework, so increasing the size of the active element of the Heer would be difficult.” Additionally, it would violate the backchannel agreement with the Soviets, but that was something he felt better to keep away from Von Hartmann at the moment; his strict code of honour and refusal to lie would make keeping that particular aspect quiet rather difficult.
“What specific proposals do you have regarding the strength of the Luftwaffe, Baron?”
“From our allies, we will need 350 F-110s for the tactical reconnaissance fighter role, enough to outfit the four current Luftwaffendivisions, along with reserves; 350 F-104s, 200 F-105s, up to 150 F-111s or TSR-2s and 100 C-130s. We plan to increase our frontline strength by eight Jagdgeschwader by 1965, in addition to the Jagdbomber 67 contract and the replacement of our older aircraft; these would be equipped with the Henschel attack fighter and the Gruber VSTOL fighter. In all, we would field approximately 3600 combat aircraft.”
“I think that we could get that by the French; they’re the real sticking point. The bombers may well be out of the question, as that gives the British the jitters as well, almost as much as rockets. I know why you want them, but they can fly west just as well as they can fly east, and that raises all manner of issues.”
“Be that as it may, we need to have a way of striking the Soviet tank armies and rocket bases in White Russia and Ukraine.”
“You’ll have them, in the form of us, the British and the French.”
“That makes sense sitting here in Seattle, Herr President, but to Germans in Hamburg, Leipzig, Frankfurt and Dresden, it seems like just another way we aren’t seen as a fully equal state.”
“To be frank, Siegfried, you aren’t fully equal. The war and its aftermath is too fresh in our collective memories. It may not be fair and it may leave a bitter taste in your craw, but that is the way things are. Give it another generation, perhaps, and things might be different.”
“Do you think we have that long as a world?”
Thompson had to pause and choose his words wisely to avoid unintentionally revealing anything about the…other business… “Yes, yes I do. With enough goodwill, cooperation and mutual understanding, we can do anything together.”
“That at least is heartening.”
“Indeed. Please pass onto the Chancellor that I’ve continued to raise the Saar with de Gaulle, but he is proving to be intractable on the issue. He doesn’t have a lot of room to move in the first place, domestically, what with the Socialists being the only ones to favour a deal.”
“I will do that, Herr President. It is a shame that we cannot rise above what divides us, but old enmity dies hard. This new alliance, should it come to pass, will be a first step towards cooperation and, dare I say it, unity. It is perhaps ironic that our two strongest supporters are the United States and Britain.”
“The Brits are friendly, Siegfried, but they aren’t looking for friends; they’re looking out for their interests, first and foremost. But at this time, you’re moving in the same direction.”
“They are quite keen on selling us every bit of equipment they can offer.”
“A fairly transparent industrial strategy; if they can get you using their gear, then there is less chance you’ll develop corresponding weapons systems that will end up competing with their own out in the big, wide world.” With that, Thompson rose up from his seat. This had been a relatively productive meeting, or least as productive as it could be under the circumstances. “If you gentlemen will excuse me, I must slip on back before watching eyes cotton on to my absence.”
“Of course, Herr President. As always, it has been an honour.” Von Hartmann bowed his head and shook Thompson’s hand firmly.
“Siegfried, I do wish you’d dispense with all this ‘Herr President’ nonsense one of these days.”
“That is one wish I do not think I can grant you.”
“There you go again; it’s a wonder you don’t need a special collar for that stiff neck. Baron von Richthofen, truly a great pleasure to meet you finally. Will you indulge me one query before I go?”
“But of course, Herr President!”
“There are a lot of stories around regarding how you were finally shot down back in September of 1918, before you were captured. Some say it was that Canadian fellow who shot you down, others that it was ground fire from the Aussies and others yet say that it was…”
Richthofen seemed to give a slight sigh. They always asked this.
“Yes. Yes, it was the beagle.”
“Herr President, it is very good of you to make time for us today. There are a few matters of a certain delicacy that the Chancellor wanted to gain an American perspective on prior to the commencement of the new administration.”
“You’re most welcome, Siegfried. However, I can’t necessarily provide anything concrete or you given my ‘situation’…”
“As a tame truck, I believe, Herr President.” intoned Von Richthofen.
“A lame duck, actually, but the effect is much the same.”
“Aber naturlich. However, we would still like to potentially explore the viability of a number of areas of mutual interest prior to raising them in the new year, so that we can expedite the most correct resolution.” Von Hartmann had a slight smile on his face as he ran through the formalities of the game. “We can agree with all four of the proposals regarding the Allied force structure and the general parameters for coordination and are even prepared to concede to the position of Marshal Leclerc as commander of forces in Central Europe, provided that German general officers take their rightful places in appropriate deputy positions.”
So far, so good. But you didn’t fly across the Atlantic to tell me that, old friend.
“That is a most welcome development, Siegfried. Now, what does Chancellor von Sternberg think he would need in exchange for these considerable concessions?”
“We will require a broad agreement on military aid, specifically focussed on the problem of air defence, as well the relaxation of certain restrictions still in place after the war.”
“The latter would be a more difficult political question that involves more than just you and us, Siegfried. As for the former, I’m sure that we can deal with them when they are closer.”
“It is comparatively easy, Herr President, to regard such matters as distant from Seattle, or Washington or any of your other cities here in the United States.” Von Richthofen said sternly. “Back in Berlin, I sit down in my office in the Air Ministry every morning one hundred kilometres away from 4000 Russian planes across the Iron Wall in Poland. Their closest airfields are four minutes flight time away. They also have several hundred missiles pointed directly at us, many topped with atomic warheads. This isn’t a question of politics for us, but one of national survival.”
“We do understand your situation, even if it doesn’t seem that way on your side of the pond. You lack strategic depth, are on the front line and are concentrated in such a way that an attack could be truly devastating. We’re all in the same boat now, though. The Reds are able to hit us as well with their intercontinental capacity.”
“It is more than simply the strategic dimension, even though that is the most existential.” Von Hartmann now joined in earnestly. “In every category of conventional weaponry, the Soviets and their puppets have a pronounced advantage in numbers that can strike at our forward units and bases with little to no warning. We cannot rely on reserves or mobilisation assets to the same degree as you or the British.”
“I know. That has been part of the driving forces behind CHECKMATE. Once we reach a full agreement with you and the other European states, there will be more than enough American and allied aircraft to counter the Red Air Force on the very best terms from the first moments of any conflict.”
“A heartening possibility, but the sands of policy and political will shift far faster than weapons development and procurement. We need our own forces present in sufficient numbers as they are what we can ultimately rely upon.”
Thompson nodded. Von Hartmann had him there. The Germans were being asked to make the third major shift in their strategic positioning and force projection in five years and had a right to be wary. It would take time and surety to build up their trust, both of which would have to come from another man; the least he could do was try to repair what he could of his own mistakes.
“Very well. Suffice it to say that we won’t look at the issue of relaxation lightly and will endeavour to assuage your concerns. What is the most vital element you need for your air defences at this point, Siegfried?”
“What we need is sufficient missiles for the Luftverteidigungskraft to field a new, modern successor to the Kammhuber Line as part of an integrated system of Western European air defence, as well as the best anti-missile systems you can supply.”
“You want Plato.” And something that doesn’t break quite like the Kammhuber Line did, he added in his head.
“Exactly, Herr President.”
“That will be contentious, but it may be possible in return for certain other steps, particularly an understanding regarding Silver Arrow.”
“What type of understanding?”
“Confining its use and deployment to a civilian space launcher. Essentially, cancelling Luftwaffe deployment of the rocket, at least for the time being.”
“That would be quite out of the question! Silberner Pfeil is the very centre of our future strategic posture and is the only means we have of striking deep into the USSR. We can never give it up. Never!” Von Richthofen fairly bristled with outrage.
“Calm yourself, my dear Baron. I believe that President Thompson is trying to say too much by saying too little and, after all, we are dealing with hypothetical discussions.”
“You got it, Siegfried. For example, say that, hypothetically, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Switzerland were engaging in some very quiet, very clandestine discussions and cooperation regarding atomic weapons development, then that would be a very, very unwise course of action to take. Hypothetically speaking, of course.” Thompson finished in words of pure ice and stared pointedly at his German guests.
Von Hartmann stared at him for a long while and nodded, whilst the Baron von Richthofen clearly seemed to wish he was elsewhere. The warning had been delivered, just as it had to be.
“Naturally, Herr President. Regarding Silberner Pfeil, how long would ‘the time being’ last for?”
“At least six years.” That would allow for the French to get their moves into play, if all went to plan.
“As the General rightly observes, this would be a particularly disruptive action for German defensive planning. Even with the most welcome guarantees supplied by a grand alliance, we would require some further concrete actions to deal with our security concerns.”
“That would indeed make for some interesting hypothetical discussion, Siegfried. What types of actions would you be thinking of?”
“Removal of restrictions on the size of the Heer and Luftwaffe, an advantageous deal on the Phantoms, sales of strike bombers, removal of the ban on arms exports, provision of dragons and the deployment of American theatre weapons to Germany to counter the Russian rockets in Poland.”
“Some of those may well be possible, within reason, particularly the deployment of our missiles to Europe. However, there would be less need for Germany to carry the entire burden of its defence within an alliance framework, so increasing the size of the active element of the Heer would be difficult.” Additionally, it would violate the backchannel agreement with the Soviets, but that was something he felt better to keep away from Von Hartmann at the moment; his strict code of honour and refusal to lie would make keeping that particular aspect quiet rather difficult.
“What specific proposals do you have regarding the strength of the Luftwaffe, Baron?”
“From our allies, we will need 350 F-110s for the tactical reconnaissance fighter role, enough to outfit the four current Luftwaffendivisions, along with reserves; 350 F-104s, 200 F-105s, up to 150 F-111s or TSR-2s and 100 C-130s. We plan to increase our frontline strength by eight Jagdgeschwader by 1965, in addition to the Jagdbomber 67 contract and the replacement of our older aircraft; these would be equipped with the Henschel attack fighter and the Gruber VSTOL fighter. In all, we would field approximately 3600 combat aircraft.”
“I think that we could get that by the French; they’re the real sticking point. The bombers may well be out of the question, as that gives the British the jitters as well, almost as much as rockets. I know why you want them, but they can fly west just as well as they can fly east, and that raises all manner of issues.”
“Be that as it may, we need to have a way of striking the Soviet tank armies and rocket bases in White Russia and Ukraine.”
“You’ll have them, in the form of us, the British and the French.”
“That makes sense sitting here in Seattle, Herr President, but to Germans in Hamburg, Leipzig, Frankfurt and Dresden, it seems like just another way we aren’t seen as a fully equal state.”
“To be frank, Siegfried, you aren’t fully equal. The war and its aftermath is too fresh in our collective memories. It may not be fair and it may leave a bitter taste in your craw, but that is the way things are. Give it another generation, perhaps, and things might be different.”
“Do you think we have that long as a world?”
Thompson had to pause and choose his words wisely to avoid unintentionally revealing anything about the…other business… “Yes, yes I do. With enough goodwill, cooperation and mutual understanding, we can do anything together.”
“That at least is heartening.”
“Indeed. Please pass onto the Chancellor that I’ve continued to raise the Saar with de Gaulle, but he is proving to be intractable on the issue. He doesn’t have a lot of room to move in the first place, domestically, what with the Socialists being the only ones to favour a deal.”
“I will do that, Herr President. It is a shame that we cannot rise above what divides us, but old enmity dies hard. This new alliance, should it come to pass, will be a first step towards cooperation and, dare I say it, unity. It is perhaps ironic that our two strongest supporters are the United States and Britain.”
“The Brits are friendly, Siegfried, but they aren’t looking for friends; they’re looking out for their interests, first and foremost. But at this time, you’re moving in the same direction.”
“They are quite keen on selling us every bit of equipment they can offer.”
“A fairly transparent industrial strategy; if they can get you using their gear, then there is less chance you’ll develop corresponding weapons systems that will end up competing with their own out in the big, wide world.” With that, Thompson rose up from his seat. This had been a relatively productive meeting, or least as productive as it could be under the circumstances. “If you gentlemen will excuse me, I must slip on back before watching eyes cotton on to my absence.”
“Of course, Herr President. As always, it has been an honour.” Von Hartmann bowed his head and shook Thompson’s hand firmly.
“Siegfried, I do wish you’d dispense with all this ‘Herr President’ nonsense one of these days.”
“That is one wish I do not think I can grant you.”
“There you go again; it’s a wonder you don’t need a special collar for that stiff neck. Baron von Richthofen, truly a great pleasure to meet you finally. Will you indulge me one query before I go?”
“But of course, Herr President!”
“There are a lot of stories around regarding how you were finally shot down back in September of 1918, before you were captured. Some say it was that Canadian fellow who shot you down, others that it was ground fire from the Aussies and others yet say that it was…”
Richthofen seemed to give a slight sigh. They always asked this.
“Yes. Yes, it was the beagle.”
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1127
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: From Sea to Shining Sea
From Sea to Shining Sea Part 6
Coming into Los Angeles always made Roger Thompson highly aware of the vast and disparate nature of California itself in particular and the wider United States in general. First the looming mountains, fertile fields and verdant fruit groves spoke of a people and a country still from the land and of the land, even though the frontier was being pushed back, day by day and yard by yard. Then the tendrils of the outlying suburbs showed the changing face of modern America, one of sweeping highways, neat houses and thriving shops, alongside the old vestiges of California in the last century, that curious mixture of palatial Spanish ranches and stately English mansions and gardens that had arisen from the confluence of Mexico and New Avalon. This soon gave way to the city proper, with more vast stretches of concrete suburbs and factories, as befitted one of the great modern industrial hubs of the world. At its centre stood a hub of soaring skyscrapers reaching up far above the streets like a jagged paen to man’s progress set against the backdrop of the bustling business of everyday life.
It went beyond a simple matter of outward appearance, though. California’s people were a diverse lot, drawn from all over the country and the wider world beyond by its thriving industrial boom, which had been one of the marvels of the postwar age. Vast factories turning out aircraft, cars, steel, machinery and electronic goods had a voracious appetite for labour and it had come, in its millions. Where once the state had been a combination of the older Spanish and Mexican natives and the English up from New Avalon, the 49ers from out east who had poured in during the first Gold Rush – English, Irish, French, Germans, Italians, Austrians and above all, Americans – had changed that, along with the industrious Chinamen who streamed in their thousands to the fabled Gum Shan, or Gold Mountain. They had been followed by Poles and Greeks, drawn by the mines that drew forth fabulous wealth from the land, the proud Japanese who toiled in the orchards and on the fishing boats and the indefatigable Indians, coming up across the border to build the railways and dams that would propel California into the new century. After both World Wars, new waves of migrants both foreign and American had streamed out west to find a new life. Culturally, there was little of the old California left, save its architecture and place names. Only the old elaborate haciendas, ranchos and missions remained of the century long period of Spanish and Mexican rule, the epoch of Zorro and the Inquisition. The melting pot state had drawn in multitudinous influences from its waves of migrants, all of them subsumed in the greater American whole.
Change. Everywhere there was change.
Thompson looked back from the window and stretched back in his seat as Air Force One began its descent into Los Angeles International Airport. His flying morning visit to Seattle had been nominally successful, with the German meeting going as best as it could and the public exhibition of the quite impressive XF-111 prototype at least providing something for the history books in his favour. Then they had taken to the air once again for the 100 minute flight down to Los Angeles, where he would arrive just in time for lunch with a gathering of California’s Republican grandees, business tycoons and various donors. If only the rest of the world could be as ordered and dependable.
It seemed no matter how hard he tried to tie up loose ends and bequeath something of a stable international situation to his successor, something new would crop up. The C-130s were on their way to Ethiopia and both CIA and the Joint Chiefs considered that Haile Selassie’s loyalists should be able to handle the situation, hopefully without the need for the British to send in their Gurkhas, but the remainder of the morning had seen one disturbing piece of news after another emanating from Africa. It had begun with confused and unconfirmed reports of hundreds of civilian deaths from Portuguese air strikes in Angola, riots in Swedish Congo of all places and garbled interceptions indicating some sort of massacre in Spanish Mauritania, both of them shocking pieces of news if true. They had barely been received when an emergency telex came in reporting a massed attack on the palace of the Governor-General of the Belgian Congo in Leopoldville.
This had sent the American intelligence services into overdrive, with an initial interpretation that this was simply the first stage of a coordinated rising across Central Africa against the colonial powers, aided and abetted by the Soviet Union. Several of his more aggressive advisors had argued for sending in the Marines in the initial heat of the moment, but the nearest American forces were several thousand miles away on the Canary Islands and their purpose would be decidedly unclear at this early stage. Eden had counselled caution in his telex, stating that the Brits had enough in Rhodesia and Kenya to step in if Stockholm, Lisbon or Madrid requested assistance. That would be simply more fuel for the fire, though, in the President’s view.
Thompson had just finished a very tense conversation with Premier Stalin over the hotline, but his gut feeling had been that the man was telling the truth when he had denied any direct involvement or knowledge of the events. They had come to a very secret agreement back in May regarding any overt action or intervention in the other’s sphere of influence after they had been pushed so close to the brink by that madman and, whilst Africa lay beyond the scope of that deal, the Soviets simply had nothing to gain from such a precipitous yet doomed gesture. That type of game was neither effective enough nor subtle enough for their tastes and goals and didn’t affect their interests. This was either a terrible series of coincidences or Peking was dabbling in distant affairs and Thompson leaned towards the former, based on the course of the last five years.
Then there was Brazil. Always darn Brazil. If China was hard to read, then Brazil was nigh on indecipherable. There was an eccentric Emperor and his dazzling young Empress, a populist nationalist President who had dabbled in fascism at various points during his thirty-year term in office and of course Trotsky, for good measure. There were enough factions in Brazil to make the Republican Party look simple and unified, all of them playing off against one another and their neighbouring states. Both Vargas and Leopoldo had expansive visions of their state as not only the dominant power in South America, but a bona fide superpower in the making and one part of that had been direct and indirect support of various nationalist parties in Portuguese Africa and beyond. Just a little ambitious to the point of being beyond the scope of reality, but he’d always thought the Latin types had a tendency towards the grandiose and the caudillo. They were trying to get a hold of modern jet bombers and rockets and weren’t far off their own atom bomb, which would shift them from a potential problem to an actual one. All of the Big Three South American states were warming up for a new arms race, this time not only limited to the sea, and it looked like Argentina was edging towards an extremely radical nationalist regime, if the forecasts of Langley were anything to go by.
………………………………………………………………………………………
The reception with the local Republican heavyweights went characteristically well. California had always been one of his personal strongholds of political support, building on solidly consistent Republican dominance there over the last quarter of a century. Senators William Knowland and Crocker Jarmon would ensure that it would be continued for the foreseeable future, even with a Democrat in the White House. He had made a point of lauding their contribution in his speech, as well as that of former Governor Knight, who had done so much to deliver him the state back in 1956, bringing the West Coast with it. Afterwards, as he did the rounds of the room over the sadly light trays of canapés, he came across another old acquaintance.
“Mr. President! Another fine speech.”
“Colonel Reagan! How’s the family?”
“Going great, Mr. President.”
“Wonderful. Quite a surprise to see you here. I’d have thought that you’d have enough on your plate what with the television show and that little film you were telling me about back in July.”
Reagan gave a broad, sunny grin. “Just wrapped the movie last week. Are you still coming to see it?”
“Definitely. It will be quite different to see someone else playing me, even if you don’t quite bear close resemblance. Shame that I couldn’t take a leaf out of General Eisenhower’s book and appear as myself, but it ‘simply couldn’t be done’, as our British cousins are want to say.”
“Quite right, Mr. President. As it is, the production owes you enough for the use of the Navy.”
“We had the ships over there, Ron, albeit for a different reason. I look forward to seeing the fleet arrive from the view on the other side of the fence.”
“It’ll be swell, sir.”
“Well, Ron, I’ll have to make a point of coming by to see you when I’m next in town.”
Thompson was exceptionally glad to eventually make his escape after lunch, which hadn’t been all that bad; he was quite partial to Dungeness crab and being a solid meat and potatoes man, the broiled prime rib of bison was particularly agreeable. The recovery of the American bison herds to some semblance of their former glory had been one of the pleasant little features of the last few years, amid all the sound and fury of a world seemingly coming apart.
One of the more significant questions that buzzed around the room, although it had never quite been broached to him directly, given the delicate dance of protocol, was that of the 1964 Republican nomination. Now that he had made it eminently clear in no uncertain terms that he would not seek to emulate Teddy Roosevelt and seek re-election in four years, the field had been thrown wide open. Harold might have a go to see if he could break through, but he had always struggled to put together a truly national support base. Rockefeller would probably have the liberal vote squared away and the conservatives would coalesce behind Knowland or one of the other leading lights, such as Barry Goldwater, what with McCarthy being a shadow of his former self. That left open the opportunity for someone to run down the centre and win the nomination with a vigorous campaign, as Jack Kennedy had managed to do for the other side, but there were no clear options that came to mind, particularly now that he had put Dick Nixon on the Supreme Court.
Whoever it was would have an uphill battle ahead of them.
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
There were few better sights to behold on a glorious San Francisco afternoon in Roger Thompson’s view than that of the mighty ships of the United States Navy sitting in the glittering azure waters of the bay. Dozens of destroyers and cruisers stood off the shore, their silent grey profiles reassuring as they stretched off into the distance, whilst at the pier side, the atomic supercarrier Princeton and the battleship Pennsylvania were tied up for review, attracting great crowds to marvel at their sheer size. They were the true might and beating heart of the 1st Fleet, as the other CVN, USS Langley was currently cruising somewhere off Iwo Jima on a rather special mission. Both represented the largest and most modern of their kind in the world at this time, a fact which caused more than a few American breasts to swell with rightful pride at their nation’s achievements. The Soviets were yet to launch a nuclear vessel of either sort, although CIA were quite positive that the huge vessels being built undercover at Severodvinsk would change that very soon. The Brits had their Ark Royals, certainly, and they were very good vessels, but in his rather partial view, the Enterprise class had their measure.
Alongside across from the Princeton and Pennsylvania was the brand new guided missile battlecruiser USS President and Thompson could not help but look fondly at the last ship his wife had launched. The sparkling ship flew every flag it possessed and provided a very visible sign of American military might and technological prowess. Huge Talos missile launchers loomed up from their armoured domes from either end of the super structure, jutting out above the massive gun turrets. It was neither of these weapon systems that comprised the real capability of the vessel, though, as Thompson knew, nor was it the four dedicated Tartar launchers, the supersonic Regulus cruise missiles in their boxes or even the dozen Polaris strategic missiles that lay in their silos amidships; instead, the large square phased array radars and the advanced computing engines that powered them were the true ace in the hole for this particular President.
The crowd today was much larger than any of the officials had predicted and, as always, that tended to make his Secret Service detail rather edgy, but President Thompson was relaxed and in his element. With a roar of jet engines being pushed to the limit, the six F4H Phantoms of the Blue Angels hurtled overhead, ready to begin their aerial display to thrill and delight the onlookers. For the moment, he could forget all of the worries and concerns of his august office, put aside the insoluble questions of France, Germany, Africa and China, of alliances, the Bomb and the delicate egos of leaders and governments and simply enjoy the spectacle.
Coming into Los Angeles always made Roger Thompson highly aware of the vast and disparate nature of California itself in particular and the wider United States in general. First the looming mountains, fertile fields and verdant fruit groves spoke of a people and a country still from the land and of the land, even though the frontier was being pushed back, day by day and yard by yard. Then the tendrils of the outlying suburbs showed the changing face of modern America, one of sweeping highways, neat houses and thriving shops, alongside the old vestiges of California in the last century, that curious mixture of palatial Spanish ranches and stately English mansions and gardens that had arisen from the confluence of Mexico and New Avalon. This soon gave way to the city proper, with more vast stretches of concrete suburbs and factories, as befitted one of the great modern industrial hubs of the world. At its centre stood a hub of soaring skyscrapers reaching up far above the streets like a jagged paen to man’s progress set against the backdrop of the bustling business of everyday life.
It went beyond a simple matter of outward appearance, though. California’s people were a diverse lot, drawn from all over the country and the wider world beyond by its thriving industrial boom, which had been one of the marvels of the postwar age. Vast factories turning out aircraft, cars, steel, machinery and electronic goods had a voracious appetite for labour and it had come, in its millions. Where once the state had been a combination of the older Spanish and Mexican natives and the English up from New Avalon, the 49ers from out east who had poured in during the first Gold Rush – English, Irish, French, Germans, Italians, Austrians and above all, Americans – had changed that, along with the industrious Chinamen who streamed in their thousands to the fabled Gum Shan, or Gold Mountain. They had been followed by Poles and Greeks, drawn by the mines that drew forth fabulous wealth from the land, the proud Japanese who toiled in the orchards and on the fishing boats and the indefatigable Indians, coming up across the border to build the railways and dams that would propel California into the new century. After both World Wars, new waves of migrants both foreign and American had streamed out west to find a new life. Culturally, there was little of the old California left, save its architecture and place names. Only the old elaborate haciendas, ranchos and missions remained of the century long period of Spanish and Mexican rule, the epoch of Zorro and the Inquisition. The melting pot state had drawn in multitudinous influences from its waves of migrants, all of them subsumed in the greater American whole.
Change. Everywhere there was change.
Thompson looked back from the window and stretched back in his seat as Air Force One began its descent into Los Angeles International Airport. His flying morning visit to Seattle had been nominally successful, with the German meeting going as best as it could and the public exhibition of the quite impressive XF-111 prototype at least providing something for the history books in his favour. Then they had taken to the air once again for the 100 minute flight down to Los Angeles, where he would arrive just in time for lunch with a gathering of California’s Republican grandees, business tycoons and various donors. If only the rest of the world could be as ordered and dependable.
It seemed no matter how hard he tried to tie up loose ends and bequeath something of a stable international situation to his successor, something new would crop up. The C-130s were on their way to Ethiopia and both CIA and the Joint Chiefs considered that Haile Selassie’s loyalists should be able to handle the situation, hopefully without the need for the British to send in their Gurkhas, but the remainder of the morning had seen one disturbing piece of news after another emanating from Africa. It had begun with confused and unconfirmed reports of hundreds of civilian deaths from Portuguese air strikes in Angola, riots in Swedish Congo of all places and garbled interceptions indicating some sort of massacre in Spanish Mauritania, both of them shocking pieces of news if true. They had barely been received when an emergency telex came in reporting a massed attack on the palace of the Governor-General of the Belgian Congo in Leopoldville.
This had sent the American intelligence services into overdrive, with an initial interpretation that this was simply the first stage of a coordinated rising across Central Africa against the colonial powers, aided and abetted by the Soviet Union. Several of his more aggressive advisors had argued for sending in the Marines in the initial heat of the moment, but the nearest American forces were several thousand miles away on the Canary Islands and their purpose would be decidedly unclear at this early stage. Eden had counselled caution in his telex, stating that the Brits had enough in Rhodesia and Kenya to step in if Stockholm, Lisbon or Madrid requested assistance. That would be simply more fuel for the fire, though, in the President’s view.
Thompson had just finished a very tense conversation with Premier Stalin over the hotline, but his gut feeling had been that the man was telling the truth when he had denied any direct involvement or knowledge of the events. They had come to a very secret agreement back in May regarding any overt action or intervention in the other’s sphere of influence after they had been pushed so close to the brink by that madman and, whilst Africa lay beyond the scope of that deal, the Soviets simply had nothing to gain from such a precipitous yet doomed gesture. That type of game was neither effective enough nor subtle enough for their tastes and goals and didn’t affect their interests. This was either a terrible series of coincidences or Peking was dabbling in distant affairs and Thompson leaned towards the former, based on the course of the last five years.
Then there was Brazil. Always darn Brazil. If China was hard to read, then Brazil was nigh on indecipherable. There was an eccentric Emperor and his dazzling young Empress, a populist nationalist President who had dabbled in fascism at various points during his thirty-year term in office and of course Trotsky, for good measure. There were enough factions in Brazil to make the Republican Party look simple and unified, all of them playing off against one another and their neighbouring states. Both Vargas and Leopoldo had expansive visions of their state as not only the dominant power in South America, but a bona fide superpower in the making and one part of that had been direct and indirect support of various nationalist parties in Portuguese Africa and beyond. Just a little ambitious to the point of being beyond the scope of reality, but he’d always thought the Latin types had a tendency towards the grandiose and the caudillo. They were trying to get a hold of modern jet bombers and rockets and weren’t far off their own atom bomb, which would shift them from a potential problem to an actual one. All of the Big Three South American states were warming up for a new arms race, this time not only limited to the sea, and it looked like Argentina was edging towards an extremely radical nationalist regime, if the forecasts of Langley were anything to go by.
………………………………………………………………………………………
The reception with the local Republican heavyweights went characteristically well. California had always been one of his personal strongholds of political support, building on solidly consistent Republican dominance there over the last quarter of a century. Senators William Knowland and Crocker Jarmon would ensure that it would be continued for the foreseeable future, even with a Democrat in the White House. He had made a point of lauding their contribution in his speech, as well as that of former Governor Knight, who had done so much to deliver him the state back in 1956, bringing the West Coast with it. Afterwards, as he did the rounds of the room over the sadly light trays of canapés, he came across another old acquaintance.
“Mr. President! Another fine speech.”
“Colonel Reagan! How’s the family?”
“Going great, Mr. President.”
“Wonderful. Quite a surprise to see you here. I’d have thought that you’d have enough on your plate what with the television show and that little film you were telling me about back in July.”
Reagan gave a broad, sunny grin. “Just wrapped the movie last week. Are you still coming to see it?”
“Definitely. It will be quite different to see someone else playing me, even if you don’t quite bear close resemblance. Shame that I couldn’t take a leaf out of General Eisenhower’s book and appear as myself, but it ‘simply couldn’t be done’, as our British cousins are want to say.”
“Quite right, Mr. President. As it is, the production owes you enough for the use of the Navy.”
“We had the ships over there, Ron, albeit for a different reason. I look forward to seeing the fleet arrive from the view on the other side of the fence.”
“It’ll be swell, sir.”
“Well, Ron, I’ll have to make a point of coming by to see you when I’m next in town.”
Thompson was exceptionally glad to eventually make his escape after lunch, which hadn’t been all that bad; he was quite partial to Dungeness crab and being a solid meat and potatoes man, the broiled prime rib of bison was particularly agreeable. The recovery of the American bison herds to some semblance of their former glory had been one of the pleasant little features of the last few years, amid all the sound and fury of a world seemingly coming apart.
One of the more significant questions that buzzed around the room, although it had never quite been broached to him directly, given the delicate dance of protocol, was that of the 1964 Republican nomination. Now that he had made it eminently clear in no uncertain terms that he would not seek to emulate Teddy Roosevelt and seek re-election in four years, the field had been thrown wide open. Harold might have a go to see if he could break through, but he had always struggled to put together a truly national support base. Rockefeller would probably have the liberal vote squared away and the conservatives would coalesce behind Knowland or one of the other leading lights, such as Barry Goldwater, what with McCarthy being a shadow of his former self. That left open the opportunity for someone to run down the centre and win the nomination with a vigorous campaign, as Jack Kennedy had managed to do for the other side, but there were no clear options that came to mind, particularly now that he had put Dick Nixon on the Supreme Court.
Whoever it was would have an uphill battle ahead of them.
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
There were few better sights to behold on a glorious San Francisco afternoon in Roger Thompson’s view than that of the mighty ships of the United States Navy sitting in the glittering azure waters of the bay. Dozens of destroyers and cruisers stood off the shore, their silent grey profiles reassuring as they stretched off into the distance, whilst at the pier side, the atomic supercarrier Princeton and the battleship Pennsylvania were tied up for review, attracting great crowds to marvel at their sheer size. They were the true might and beating heart of the 1st Fleet, as the other CVN, USS Langley was currently cruising somewhere off Iwo Jima on a rather special mission. Both represented the largest and most modern of their kind in the world at this time, a fact which caused more than a few American breasts to swell with rightful pride at their nation’s achievements. The Soviets were yet to launch a nuclear vessel of either sort, although CIA were quite positive that the huge vessels being built undercover at Severodvinsk would change that very soon. The Brits had their Ark Royals, certainly, and they were very good vessels, but in his rather partial view, the Enterprise class had their measure.
Alongside across from the Princeton and Pennsylvania was the brand new guided missile battlecruiser USS President and Thompson could not help but look fondly at the last ship his wife had launched. The sparkling ship flew every flag it possessed and provided a very visible sign of American military might and technological prowess. Huge Talos missile launchers loomed up from their armoured domes from either end of the super structure, jutting out above the massive gun turrets. It was neither of these weapon systems that comprised the real capability of the vessel, though, as Thompson knew, nor was it the four dedicated Tartar launchers, the supersonic Regulus cruise missiles in their boxes or even the dozen Polaris strategic missiles that lay in their silos amidships; instead, the large square phased array radars and the advanced computing engines that powered them were the true ace in the hole for this particular President.
The crowd today was much larger than any of the officials had predicted and, as always, that tended to make his Secret Service detail rather edgy, but President Thompson was relaxed and in his element. With a roar of jet engines being pushed to the limit, the six F4H Phantoms of the Blue Angels hurtled overhead, ready to begin their aerial display to thrill and delight the onlookers. For the moment, he could forget all of the worries and concerns of his august office, put aside the insoluble questions of France, Germany, Africa and China, of alliances, the Bomb and the delicate egos of leaders and governments and simply enjoy the spectacle.
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1127
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: From Sea to Shining Sea
From Sea to Shining Sea Part 7
It was warm for an early winter's morn, even for the rarified sunny climes of Florida, and Roger Thompson welcomed it. The sunlight had already begun to flood over the horizon, although dawn itself was still some way off. This would prove to be a long and particularly cold season, if the beginning was anything to go by, with the days ebbing by until Kennedy's January inauguration. After then...well, after then he could begin the next stage of his journey, back home to Texas and then to a new future. There would be enough time for that when it came, though; sufficient unto the day was the evil thereof, after all. One part of him just wanted the whole business to be over and done with, but another, far greater, made him hove to his duty, as ever. This was his time and his watch and no man could ever say that Roger Thompson did not give his all.
The Little White House at Naval Station Key West had been a welcome retreat for Thompson on more than one occasion during his years in Washington. He did feel more at ease in the company of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines rather than the endless array of politicians, crawlers and influence seekers that flocked to his presence like moths to a flame and the relative ease of security arrangements at Key West met with approval from his Secret Service protection detail. Two battalions of the 20th Marine Regiment stood on guard around the base, whilst offshore, the USS Oriskany and her battle group were anchored to ward off any malign interference with his fleeting vacation. A tell-tale flicker of iridescent light on the horizon out to sea indicated the arcane barrier erected by his sorcerous guardian. All said, it was a fairly safe way to break his fast.
Thompson sipped his freshly squeezed orange juice and put down his morning briefing paper. Truth be told, there was little need for all the security, given that the Caribbean Sea had essentially returned to its old status as an American and British lake since the end of the final gasps of the war, but it never hurt to be careful. The Mexicans were staging a naval exercise in the Bay of Campeche, pointedly directed at Yucatan, but Admiral Burke had assured him that the New Jersey would be sufficient as an indication of the desire of the United States that they play nicely. Maximillian was up to his old tricks again, apparently, although to what end remained an ongoing mystery. There had been no nonsense along the southern border wall - not that the Mexicans could do much against the combined ditches, concertina wire, fences and fifty-foot high wall itself short of war - so this was probably what CIA surmised, more internal political positioning carried out on the high seas.
It seemed, for once, that it would be a quiet day...even a good one. The bloodshed and chaos in Africa that flared up just over a week ago had simmered down, at least in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. The Congo was boiling over, but not in any new or surprising fashion. He'd been putting a great deal of pressure on Brussels to make immediate concessions and lay out a roadmap towards eventual independence, as, in the end, Central Africa was little more than a quagmire that would drain Belgian strength away from Western Europe where it really mattered. They had demurred, manoeuvred and sought to put off any concrete steps until next year, thinking that the new president would prove to be more malleable, so he had been forced to disabuse them of this impression. In a cool and short meeting with the Belgian ambassador yesterday, he had laid out a number of financial options available to him, which had been received very glumly by Baron Silvercruys. He hoped that they would see sense; they had until December 31st to start playing ball.
The wider world was more settled, for once. Japan had come to the party at the Vancouver Conference, just as he hoped they would. The Chinese space rocket test launch of the 15th had the expected effect of spooking them into cooperation and Jeff had come through with a workable deal. Tanaka had agreed to quieten the issue of a Japanese bomb in return for a ten year compact on American oil supplies, a commercial treaty and the biggest arms deal of Thompson's years in the White House. 480 Phantoms and a generous licenced production agreement between McDonnell and Mitsubishi, hundreds of Super Falcon and Eagle missiles, 200 F-111s and long range ground based radars. The discussions on submarine reactors would be a tar baby for Jack Kennedy, though. He seemed to be saying that a lot, lately. The Brits were up to something with Japan as well, but both sides were keeping their cards pretty close to their chest at this stage.
Australia had been very pleased about the joint USN-RN carrier visit and signals intercepts had indicated that it had the desired affect on the Indonesian leadership. Anything that gave them and their masters in the Kremlin pause was a success. The Aussies were still going into overdrive in response to Sukarno's atomic ambitions and just in the last week, they had announced that the RAAF would acquire two dozen more Vulcans and fifty Black Arrows and expansion of their Paras, Commandos and Special Forces. Behind closed doors, they had responded positively towards US offers of Phantom sales, although Indy they were more likely to go for the Merlin as a land-based fighter due to the range issue; once again, they had been rather more interested in the F-111, which would provide them with a big rise in capability from their Canberras.
In the Middle East, the Arabs were starting to get restless again, but the nationalists were playing a much more complex game now than five years ago. They were working with the British, or at least forcing them to live up to their own policy and public rhetoric, and playing off all the great powers. The Hashemite kings were not sitting back idly, either, being extremely cognisant that they would have to ride this tiger or be devoured by it. It did come down to oil at the end of the day. As the wealth of their nations grew from the oceans black gold beneath their desert sands, so did their clout. That Arabian minister, Ismail al-Rashid, was a very canny one. His proposed plan for gradual steps of political, economic and military unification as a path towards a federal alliance of Arab states was seductively simple, promising as it did to maintain the sovereignty of individual states and their monarchs; the rotating high kingship or whatever he had termed it was a clever touch. If such an initiative could be encouraged, then the Middle East could be on the path to something like stability, balancing out the relative power position of Turkey and Persia. That was a very long term game, though.
It even seemed as if Vietnam was heading towards a quieter end to a year that had seen a gradual improvement in security. The French continued to insist that they had matters well in hand, but the storm clouds of insurgency had never really cleared since the interim peace and partition that followed the Geneva Conference back before he had been catapulted into office. The verdict of his own advisers and military experts was somewhat more circumspect, but the balance of current opinion was that the Reds were definitely on the back foot and would be facing eventual defeat just as they had in Malaya. The combination of funding, intelligence and advisors from the United States and British Commonwealth and the firepower of the French Armée d’Orient had proved an effective one thus far.
Yes, there were good reasons to look forward to the future with some hope, despite the shadow of the wider conflict that lay over the world. Back here at home, things were definitely changing and this last election was in many ways a harbinger of things to come. His own victory in 1956 had been an outlier, due in large part to the untimely death of Taft the previous year and the war; even then, the South had broken fairly solidly for Harriman and he had taken the Republican heartland of New England in a canter. This year, Kennedy had taken a large part of the North East, whilst he had won Florida and Virginia, as well as the border states. He’d come within a sliver of taking Texas and the election with it, whilst the Carolinas and Georgia were within striking distance. The old certainties of the Solid South could no longer be counted on by the Democrats, as populations and policies shifted. The parties themselves had been moving towards something of a realignment for a few decades now, with the Democrats drifting steadily towards ardent liberalism since 1932 under FDR and Truman, whilst the Republicans had very much put themselves into the corner of conservatism, both fiscal and social. This was a trend that looked only to increase, a view supported not by analysts and political wizards alike. If the more traditionalist wing of the Southern Democrats who hadn’t already broken to the Conservative Party could be rounded up, then there was a good chance that the South could turn blue. Whoever received the GOP nomination in 1964 would have an interesting opportunity, although as always, the Midwest remained the ultimate fulcrum of national electoral success.
He’ll need good ground to fight on, thought Thompson as he relished his last sip of coffee before the business of the day would begin. He’d left the economy in good shape and national defense and foreign policy were areas of strong agreement. The Depression was still within recent memory, making some of the more strident criticisms of Social Security a bit too extreme for Main Street USA. It looked like it would be healthcare, which was a battle Thompson was glad to leave to another man. It never had aroused any burning passions deep within him the way that world affairs and the existential battle of the Cold War did. As things stood, it would be a battlefield that held a decent chance of success, given Harry Truman’s failures to push through national healthcare back in the 40s.
Regardless of those questions of the future, today held something else that would only grow in importance for the United States as the 1960s went forward, whoever had the honour of being at its helm. A short half hour jet flight to Cape Canaveral and then he would see the fruits of NASA’s work. This was about more than just prestige, a quick voyage to the moons, or even the fabled notion of a round trip to Mars in under four months. There were challenges to those objectives from the USSR, Britain and China, but this was something greater. The success of this Sea Dragon test launch would push America definitively into the lead for the greatest race of all, that to Jupiter and to Saturn and the vastness of space beyond. If there had been one thing that had driven the United States over the last century, it had been the frontier, pushing forward beyond it through endeavour and a spirit of adventure. Roger Thompson arose from his table as the sun crested the horizon and walked purposefully out of the brightening breakfast room onto the well-kept lawns. His Secret Service detail peeled off seamlessly to surround him on his way to his waiting car.
Now it was time to set out once again, slipping the surly bonds of earth and questing out into space, the new frontier.
It was warm for an early winter's morn, even for the rarified sunny climes of Florida, and Roger Thompson welcomed it. The sunlight had already begun to flood over the horizon, although dawn itself was still some way off. This would prove to be a long and particularly cold season, if the beginning was anything to go by, with the days ebbing by until Kennedy's January inauguration. After then...well, after then he could begin the next stage of his journey, back home to Texas and then to a new future. There would be enough time for that when it came, though; sufficient unto the day was the evil thereof, after all. One part of him just wanted the whole business to be over and done with, but another, far greater, made him hove to his duty, as ever. This was his time and his watch and no man could ever say that Roger Thompson did not give his all.
The Little White House at Naval Station Key West had been a welcome retreat for Thompson on more than one occasion during his years in Washington. He did feel more at ease in the company of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines rather than the endless array of politicians, crawlers and influence seekers that flocked to his presence like moths to a flame and the relative ease of security arrangements at Key West met with approval from his Secret Service protection detail. Two battalions of the 20th Marine Regiment stood on guard around the base, whilst offshore, the USS Oriskany and her battle group were anchored to ward off any malign interference with his fleeting vacation. A tell-tale flicker of iridescent light on the horizon out to sea indicated the arcane barrier erected by his sorcerous guardian. All said, it was a fairly safe way to break his fast.
Thompson sipped his freshly squeezed orange juice and put down his morning briefing paper. Truth be told, there was little need for all the security, given that the Caribbean Sea had essentially returned to its old status as an American and British lake since the end of the final gasps of the war, but it never hurt to be careful. The Mexicans were staging a naval exercise in the Bay of Campeche, pointedly directed at Yucatan, but Admiral Burke had assured him that the New Jersey would be sufficient as an indication of the desire of the United States that they play nicely. Maximillian was up to his old tricks again, apparently, although to what end remained an ongoing mystery. There had been no nonsense along the southern border wall - not that the Mexicans could do much against the combined ditches, concertina wire, fences and fifty-foot high wall itself short of war - so this was probably what CIA surmised, more internal political positioning carried out on the high seas.
It seemed, for once, that it would be a quiet day...even a good one. The bloodshed and chaos in Africa that flared up just over a week ago had simmered down, at least in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. The Congo was boiling over, but not in any new or surprising fashion. He'd been putting a great deal of pressure on Brussels to make immediate concessions and lay out a roadmap towards eventual independence, as, in the end, Central Africa was little more than a quagmire that would drain Belgian strength away from Western Europe where it really mattered. They had demurred, manoeuvred and sought to put off any concrete steps until next year, thinking that the new president would prove to be more malleable, so he had been forced to disabuse them of this impression. In a cool and short meeting with the Belgian ambassador yesterday, he had laid out a number of financial options available to him, which had been received very glumly by Baron Silvercruys. He hoped that they would see sense; they had until December 31st to start playing ball.
The wider world was more settled, for once. Japan had come to the party at the Vancouver Conference, just as he hoped they would. The Chinese space rocket test launch of the 15th had the expected effect of spooking them into cooperation and Jeff had come through with a workable deal. Tanaka had agreed to quieten the issue of a Japanese bomb in return for a ten year compact on American oil supplies, a commercial treaty and the biggest arms deal of Thompson's years in the White House. 480 Phantoms and a generous licenced production agreement between McDonnell and Mitsubishi, hundreds of Super Falcon and Eagle missiles, 200 F-111s and long range ground based radars. The discussions on submarine reactors would be a tar baby for Jack Kennedy, though. He seemed to be saying that a lot, lately. The Brits were up to something with Japan as well, but both sides were keeping their cards pretty close to their chest at this stage.
Australia had been very pleased about the joint USN-RN carrier visit and signals intercepts had indicated that it had the desired affect on the Indonesian leadership. Anything that gave them and their masters in the Kremlin pause was a success. The Aussies were still going into overdrive in response to Sukarno's atomic ambitions and just in the last week, they had announced that the RAAF would acquire two dozen more Vulcans and fifty Black Arrows and expansion of their Paras, Commandos and Special Forces. Behind closed doors, they had responded positively towards US offers of Phantom sales, although Indy they were more likely to go for the Merlin as a land-based fighter due to the range issue; once again, they had been rather more interested in the F-111, which would provide them with a big rise in capability from their Canberras.
In the Middle East, the Arabs were starting to get restless again, but the nationalists were playing a much more complex game now than five years ago. They were working with the British, or at least forcing them to live up to their own policy and public rhetoric, and playing off all the great powers. The Hashemite kings were not sitting back idly, either, being extremely cognisant that they would have to ride this tiger or be devoured by it. It did come down to oil at the end of the day. As the wealth of their nations grew from the oceans black gold beneath their desert sands, so did their clout. That Arabian minister, Ismail al-Rashid, was a very canny one. His proposed plan for gradual steps of political, economic and military unification as a path towards a federal alliance of Arab states was seductively simple, promising as it did to maintain the sovereignty of individual states and their monarchs; the rotating high kingship or whatever he had termed it was a clever touch. If such an initiative could be encouraged, then the Middle East could be on the path to something like stability, balancing out the relative power position of Turkey and Persia. That was a very long term game, though.
It even seemed as if Vietnam was heading towards a quieter end to a year that had seen a gradual improvement in security. The French continued to insist that they had matters well in hand, but the storm clouds of insurgency had never really cleared since the interim peace and partition that followed the Geneva Conference back before he had been catapulted into office. The verdict of his own advisers and military experts was somewhat more circumspect, but the balance of current opinion was that the Reds were definitely on the back foot and would be facing eventual defeat just as they had in Malaya. The combination of funding, intelligence and advisors from the United States and British Commonwealth and the firepower of the French Armée d’Orient had proved an effective one thus far.
Yes, there were good reasons to look forward to the future with some hope, despite the shadow of the wider conflict that lay over the world. Back here at home, things were definitely changing and this last election was in many ways a harbinger of things to come. His own victory in 1956 had been an outlier, due in large part to the untimely death of Taft the previous year and the war; even then, the South had broken fairly solidly for Harriman and he had taken the Republican heartland of New England in a canter. This year, Kennedy had taken a large part of the North East, whilst he had won Florida and Virginia, as well as the border states. He’d come within a sliver of taking Texas and the election with it, whilst the Carolinas and Georgia were within striking distance. The old certainties of the Solid South could no longer be counted on by the Democrats, as populations and policies shifted. The parties themselves had been moving towards something of a realignment for a few decades now, with the Democrats drifting steadily towards ardent liberalism since 1932 under FDR and Truman, whilst the Republicans had very much put themselves into the corner of conservatism, both fiscal and social. This was a trend that looked only to increase, a view supported not by analysts and political wizards alike. If the more traditionalist wing of the Southern Democrats who hadn’t already broken to the Conservative Party could be rounded up, then there was a good chance that the South could turn blue. Whoever received the GOP nomination in 1964 would have an interesting opportunity, although as always, the Midwest remained the ultimate fulcrum of national electoral success.
He’ll need good ground to fight on, thought Thompson as he relished his last sip of coffee before the business of the day would begin. He’d left the economy in good shape and national defense and foreign policy were areas of strong agreement. The Depression was still within recent memory, making some of the more strident criticisms of Social Security a bit too extreme for Main Street USA. It looked like it would be healthcare, which was a battle Thompson was glad to leave to another man. It never had aroused any burning passions deep within him the way that world affairs and the existential battle of the Cold War did. As things stood, it would be a battlefield that held a decent chance of success, given Harry Truman’s failures to push through national healthcare back in the 40s.
Regardless of those questions of the future, today held something else that would only grow in importance for the United States as the 1960s went forward, whoever had the honour of being at its helm. A short half hour jet flight to Cape Canaveral and then he would see the fruits of NASA’s work. This was about more than just prestige, a quick voyage to the moons, or even the fabled notion of a round trip to Mars in under four months. There were challenges to those objectives from the USSR, Britain and China, but this was something greater. The success of this Sea Dragon test launch would push America definitively into the lead for the greatest race of all, that to Jupiter and to Saturn and the vastness of space beyond. If there had been one thing that had driven the United States over the last century, it had been the frontier, pushing forward beyond it through endeavour and a spirit of adventure. Roger Thompson arose from his table as the sun crested the horizon and walked purposefully out of the brightening breakfast room onto the well-kept lawns. His Secret Service detail peeled off seamlessly to surround him on his way to his waiting car.
Now it was time to set out once again, slipping the surly bonds of earth and questing out into space, the new frontier.
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Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1127
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Re: From Sea to Shining Sea
From Sea to Shining Sea Part 8
President Roger Thompson considered it a fairly rare occurrence that he would look forward to an impromptu meeting, particularly on the minutiae of mobilisation planning, but these were very special circumstances. The threat was real and he had to take whatever measures he could to avoid it.
“Aww, Dad, you said we were going to play Stratego!”
“Now then, David. You know that work is work and I can’t get away from it.”
“But, Dad!”
“David.” A single look of admonishment at his pleading was enough.
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s better. Now go and see if Ricky will play with you.”
“Ricky? He’s just a little kid.” David Thompson flumphed away haughtily to the other side of the room, much aggrieved at the thought that a mature and grown up nine year old should have to stoop to playing with his six and a half year old little brother. Perhaps the First Dog would indulge him, although Buddy seemed to be settled back in the armchair, glasses perched on the end of his nose as he was absorbed in his copy of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. Life was full of injustices
His father sighed, got up from his chair and wended his way over Ricky's abandoned train set and Jack's idle armies of toy soldiers, thanking his lucky stars that Karen and Sally had decided to play dolls in another room of the residence. He did not begrudge them their play, nor did he eschew the opportunity to spend time with his children, as they were growing up far too quickly. But, every man had his limits and Thompson's was seventeen games of Stratego in this case. There would be many more games to come, though, and more Yuletide seasons.
Outside the White House, a blanket of white snow covered the lawns and gardens and the sun shone wanly through a cloudy winter's day. It was strange that this would be the last Christmas he would spend here, although not in a bad way. He'd spent much of the last month caught up with the hectic demands of travel that came with the transition to a new Presidency, criss-crossing America to make his farewells and pay his political debts.
His ubiquitous escort peeled off their stations at the door of the Yellow Oval Room as he entered the hallway and by the time he reached the Cabinet Room, a small procession was with him. Inside, Sam Atkinson, Jack Burgundy, Jefferson Smith, Dr. Henry Jones, Secretary of Defense Thomas Gates and General Maxwell Taylor awaited him and rose as he entered. Their faces were grim and tight, speaking of something beyond the matter of war plans and the ongoing talks with Moscow.
"Thank you gentlemen, please take a seat. OK, Indy, what have we got today?"
" Mr. President, today we have the revisions to the general mobilisation plan in light of the planned deployments to Europe, the preliminary groundwork with the Soviets and the Arab proposal. First and foremost, though, there is the substance of the note that the French Ambassador delivered to the Secretary of State a few minutes ago."
"Let's have a look at it, Jeff."
Thompson quickly read the two short paragraphs and then looked up at the members of the National Security Council. "Well, never let it be said that the French can't get to the point, even when it is of our own petard."
In other circumstances, this may have raised a smile.
"Setting aside how they got the details of our proposed agreement with the British for the moment, they do raise a very interesting point, Mr. President." Dr. Jones's brow was furrowed as if he was ruminating on a peculiar point of archaeological discourse. "They're being asked to swallow more with regard to Germany and get less out of a general renewal of the Atlantic Alliance. From their perspective, there are very good grounds as to why they should be involved in a special arrangement along with Britain."
"Devil's advocate is all well and good, Dr. Jones, but on objective grounds of our interests and position as the leading power of the Free World, we simply cannot concede to their terms. The agreement with England is difficult enough to reconcile, let alone cutting in Paris on virtually the same terms." Gates spoke forcefully, driven in a none too small way by his own misgivings regarding the whole British deal.
"You're preaching to the choir here, Thomas. There would be no basis for Congressional support for a further arrangement with France, particularly on top of the disgruntlement with how they've handled Vietnam." Thompson sat back reflectively.
"The thing is, they know that too." said General Burgundy, his gruff brows furrowed. "There is nothing for France to gain from essentially threatening to scuttle the deal for the whole of Western Europe."
"Never underestimate a Frenchmen's sense of honour, Jack. It is highly attuned to the perception of a slight." Smith's words were tinged with disappointment, as they always tended to be when men and nations did not live up to his high ideals. "I've dealt with them for years and this doesn't come across as a ploy, but as the real deal."
There was a murmur of agreement around the table. Perhaps the biggest driving force in French policy since the war had been the pursuit of grandeur, or la gloire as the Gallic fellows tended to put it. France had been very badly damaged by the experience of Nazi occupation and her days of acting as an independent great power of global import were considered more or less doomed by Washington, Moscow and London, yet despite this, or perhaps because of it, her leadership had been almost fanatically focussed on preserving France’s role at the top table. Their dogged persistence in Indochina, their ongoing firm stance in colonial Africa and the clinging to even a minor role in the Levant – all stemmed from the indefatigable French resistance to the tides of history and power. The most striking manifestation of it came in their European policy, which had stymied any effective reconciliation with Germany over the annexation of the Saar and strangled the supranationalist dreams of the Monnetists in their cradle.
And now, when the ruptures of 1956 looked like they were on the brink of being knitted together into a renewed and powerful bond between North America and Western Europe, the French government had decided to deliver this bombshell. In characteristically flowery diplomatic language, it had stated that, notwithstanding previous undertakings, France would find it impossible to participate in an alliance structure that was fundamentally inimicable to her position as a sovereign great power and did not provided for her to be regarded as being on an equal footing with the United States and Britain.
"I am not going to bequeath a gosh-awful mess like this to Jack Kennedy, not when we're so close to a lasting pact. Failure is not an option, gentlemen. How do we get past this?"
There was a long, pronounced silence before Sam Atkinson began to speak slowly. "Obliquely. We give them what they need rather than what they want, but do it in such a way..."
"As they can characterise it as a victory for them and their main goal." Dr. Jones finished excitedly. "We don't give them parity with the Brits, but something they can pass off as such for their own consumption."
"It would need to be substantial, yet not beyond reason. We can throw in a few sweeteners on the side, such as integration in the joint command structures for relevant theatres such as South East Asia and Africa and some more appropriate roles for their generals as we've done in Germany. We just need the biggest carrot we can find to bring it all together." Thompson began to warm to the task and finally slapped the table and broke out into a grin.
"Got it. Skybolt. We offer them, say, 300 Skybolts, and agree to cover a large part of the cost under Mutual Defense Aid."
The men at the table looked around at each other and one by one began to nod. Skybolt could well work. It was a major system that would suit France's needs extremely well without being seen to be compromising the sovereignty of their atomic deterrent in the same manner that a land or sea based missile might and it was something that they could not afford to develop on their own. The French had pushed themselves near to breaking point to field the S-2 ICBM and the M-1 SLBM, even if they were only nominal capacities at this point. It would cost several hundred million dollars, but that was a price that the United States could afford to bear.
“That would involve at the very least coordinating them with the SIOP, Mr. President. It has been a complex enough task with regard to the British.” General Taylor looked thoughtful as he spoke. “We can work that primarily through our links with the French Air Force rather than their politicians, but there will still need to be something or someone to iron that out…”
“I believe I can sort that out; I know just the fellow for it. He’s visiting tomorrow.”
“He would definitely suffice, sir. It would also be rather beneficial if the French could be bought into the international contingency force structure for the Middle East; they have the forces in North Africa and the Mediterranean, after all, and it frees up more of our own forces for other eventualities.”
“Good idea, Max. We can prepare a response to the note to that effect, then, Jeff.”
“As you say, Mr. President.”
“Very well, that brings us onto mobilisation. Indy?”
“Yes, sir. Our current plans have been based around the previous paradigm and they did not work as effectively as designed when we moved to enact them last April. Loading and shipping two heavy corps across the Atlantic by sea, disembarking in the European ports and moving into their wartime stations in Germany was initiated on March 30, but only completed on April 20th. Similarly, our movement of three infantry divisions by air took longer than anticipated, being ordered on April 1st and completed by April 12th, and the deployment of 80 tactical fighter squadrons was constrained by logistical bottlenecks.
Had war broken out, we would not have been able to move the balance of our heavy forces to Europe within an appreciable timeframe. The subsequent secret study by the Rand Corporation into the performance of the entire mobilisation plan made a number of significant recommendations, chief among which is that the Korean War era shipping calculations require full revision. Even though they are less than ten years old, they are verging on obsolescence due to the large increases in the number of land and aerial vehicles operated by armoured and mechanised divisions and the subsequent dramatic rise in Class III, V, VII and IX supplies. Put simply, it takes more shipping tonnage, volume and time to shift a smaller number of divisions across the Atlantic and this needs appropriate action.
Our current requirement under the General Strategic Defensive Plan is for the following forces to be in place in Europe by 30 days after M-Day: 24 Regular Army and 12 National Guard divisions in Central Europe and 4 divisions for Scandinavia; 50 TAC and 50 Air National Guard squadrons; and two Marine Amphibious Forces on the northern and southern flanks. Our standing forces over there will amount to 8 divisions in 4 corps in Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy and 96 squadrons by the end of 1961, with an equipment set for an additional heavy division assigned to each corps. The personnel of each division would be based in the Continental United States and be airlifted over to augment the forward corps upon mobilisation, whilst keeping to the undertakings agreed upon with the Soviets regarding standing forces in Central Europe.
That initial component of 12 divisions is seen as capable of only limited defensive operations against offensive action by the Warsaw Pact. Therefore, the main need for the Army is the deployment of a minimum of 12 divisions along with further supplies from CONUS by M + 14 by air and sea. It would take a minimum of 36 hours from the receipt of Presidential authorisation for the airlift to fully begin in earnest, with the 24 hours spent in alerting units, recalling personnel and preparing for deployment. Our aim is for the personnel of the four round-out divisions for the forward corps to be airlifted into theatre within 72 hours, followed by the first elements of the heavy divisions from CONUS, with their equipment to arrive within 6 days. It is envisaged that two field army headquarters would also be deployed to control and coordinate the wartime force structure. There are a number of proposed ways this could be accomplished, but all of the variations outlined in Appendix 3 involve some further level of pre-placement of equipment.
This force would need to be supported in Europe by substantial pre-placement of supplies, vehicles, ammunition, POL and other assorted equipment in theatre, specifically in Britain, France and Italy; the continuing construction of base infrastructure to support this supply network; and the establishment of two specific groups of ports of debarkation to allow for efficient movement to the front. The proposed arrangements with Britain greatly assist this process, as the British Isles serve as a secure logistical base area. At home, the four major East Coast Ports of Embarkation in New York, Boston, Hampton Roads and Charleston will need to be modernised and the military sections of the Interstate Railway System prioritised.
The bulk of the United States Merchant Marine remains wartime construction, although there have been some useful increases in tankers, bulk carriers and the new container ships. These will need to be augmented by the new subsidised construction fast cargo ships and the ocean liners; the performance of the SS United States and the SS America earlier this year remains as one of the positive features of the process, each taking a reinforced infantry division across to France in a week, with top speeds of just over 40 knots. The new construction 25,000t Comet-type vehicle landing ships and the superheavy Fast Cargo Ship being built for Military Sea Transport Command are a welcome addition to the fleet. The specific sealift requirements are listed in Appendix Four of the briefing paper, but at a minimum, 30 Comets and 12 FCSs are required; the six nuclear powered merchant cargo ships in service or under construction would also be utilised.
Air Transport Command’s Twenty-First Air Force will replace its C-124s, C-125s and C-135s with the new C-141s by 1963/4, but the C-100s and C-133s will remain in service for the better part of the 1960s unless the development of the CX superheavy transport is expedited. They would be augmented by the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, which currently has 1239 aircraft in the international section, ranging from DC-4s to modern jets. Their 12 skyships are a strategic asset of vital importance and it has been recommended that a minimum of twelve more be built as a matter of highest priority; flying 5000 tons of cargo or 50 tanks across the Atlantic in two days allows the rest of the air bridge to function more efficiently. There is a recommendation in the report for an increase of the overall strategic air fleet from 15 to 24 wings.”
Dr. Jones put down his papers and looked across at Thompson. “That just about covers it, Mr. President. We can successfully complete the mission, but building the required ships, planes and bases will take some time, perhaps 5 or 6 years.”
“How would that leave us regarding the requirements for contingencies in the Far East and Middle East?”
“We would be able to simultaneously move troops, aircraft and equipment to the Far East and Middle East, but not at the same time as launching a full reinforcement of Europe. The shipping requirements for that type of mission would be considerably larger.”
“OK. Have an executive summary drawn up with the key recommendations set out in detail and I’ll discuss it with President-Elect Kennedy. Let us hope that the French will be satisfied with their Christmas present.”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
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December 23rd 1960
The morning air was cool and fresh, although the snow had stopped just before dawn. President Thompson stood under the North Portico entrance to the White House, his family beside him, all coated and hatted suitably for the occasion and watched as the motorcade wound its way up from the Pennsylvania Avenue gate. The Rolls-Royce Phantom V drew to a smooth halt at the marble steps and the U.S. Presidential Guard company arrayed along the path presented arms crisply as the United States Marine Band struck up ‘God Save the Queen’.
As the door opened, a huge bearded figure emerged, long snowy white hair streaming below the collar of his black frock coat as he stooped to exit the car. He held himself proudly at attention as the anthem concluded, then bounded up the steps, a large hand held out and bright blue eyes flashing with friendship
Ricky Thompson gave a short gasp. “Is…is that…Santa?” he whispered in awe.
David Thompson rolled his eyes in exasperation and leaned over to correct his little brother. “No, you dummy, that’s the Prime Minister of Canada.”
Any further education was cut short by a sharp jab in the back and shushing from Jack, who chose to forget making the same mistake back when he was five.
“Good morning, Prime Minister. Welcome to the White House.”
“Good day, Mr. President! Good day to you, Mrs Thompson! Merry Christmas to you all!” Sir William Richardson boomed in his unmistakeable voice, full of laughter and cheer. “How have you been, neighbour?”
“Very well indeed, Sir William, and all the better for your visit. Shall we come along inside?”
“Lead the way, old boy.”
Richardson, his entourage and the Thompsons made their way back into the White House, Rebecca Thompson steering the children away back towards the residence, where they would take lunch with the Prime Minister later on. The President and Prime Minister and their staff headed up to the Oval Office, where the brief formal business of the visit could be completed.
“Mr. President, I’m happy to tell you that the proposed revisions to the NORAD Agreement have been unanimously approved by the Canadian cabinet and the cabinets of all of the other British North American Dominions, including the West Indies.”
“That’s great to hear, Sir William. There was some concern that the issue of the deployment of U.S. nuclear armed missiles on Canadian territory would be an area of some difficulty.”
“Recent events lead to an alteration in some opinions on the issue, both at home and in Newfoundland.” Sir William smiled broadly, referring to the volte face of some in his own party after the formalisation of the Anglo-American accord. The opposition to anything that smacked of continentalism or any compromise on sovereignty ran deep within the Conservative Party and Richardson had had to use much of his considerable authority and persuasive power to force through even this.
“Many at the Pentagon would have viewed it as preferable if you’d given way on Alaska, but that is entirely understandable.”
General Turgidson, sitting behind the President, gave a momentary grimace. He had been one of the chief proponents of the losing argument and he did not like losing.
“That would have been a step too far, particularly when we would still provide the majority of the forces for its defence. At any rate, we have already increased our RCAF presence with an additional fighter wing at Galena, joining the others at Anchorage and Fort Alfred. The security of Alaska is well in hand.”
“Indeed. Now, there is something you can do for us…” Thompson passed over a piece of paper to Richardson. “If you could relay this request to General De Gaulle and emphasise its importance, we would be grateful.”
Sir William slipped out a pair of spectacles, quickly read the details of the missive, and looked up. “What leeway would be available?”
“Very little.” If anyone could convince the French, it would be the oldest and most respected leader in the West, a man whose word was iron.
“It shall be done.” Richardson nodded and rose. “Now, neighbour, what about that luncheon? This old white haired man from the Far North has some presents for those children of yours.”
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January 17th, 1961
At last, it had come to this.
Thompson sat up straight in his chair, fixed his eyes upon the camera and began his address.
“My fellow Americans,
Three days from now, after thirty-two years in the service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of this office as, in the solemn tradition of ceremony, the authority of the Presidency is vested in my successor.
This evening, I come to you to bid farewell and to share a few final thoughts with you, my fellow citizens.
Like every other one of my countrymen and women, I bid the new President, and all who will labour with him, Godspeed and good fortune. I pray that Almighty God will bless the coming years with peace and prosperity for all.
I have nothing but eternal gratitude for the opportunity I have been given to be of service to my country. I am thankful to the Congress for their goodwill and cooperation and am grateful for what we have been able to achieve forever.
We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has bore witness to five major wars among great nations. Four of these have involved our own country. Despite this woe and destruction, the United States of America has risen to become undoubtedly the strongest, most prosperous and indeed the greatest among the nations of the world. We can be rightly proud for what we have achieved, but should be ever mindful that our prestige and position of leadership rests not only on the power of our armies and fleets or our unmatched material progress, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and the betterment of all mankind.
America is more than a nation. It is an ideal, a light on the hill to inspire the world. We can only continue to be such an example by remaining true to our eternal principles of liberty and justice for all. We must keep the peace, foster progress in human achievement as part of mankind’s continued journey ever forward and to defend dignity and integrity amongst all of God’s children. To strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious people.
This progress towards these noble goals of freedom is threatened by the conflict which engulfs the world and commands our whole attention. We face a hostile ideology – global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in message. We do not know how long this danger may last, but must oppose it every step of the way. To meet the challenges that face us, we will require sacrifice as we bear without complaint the burdens of a prolonged and complex struggle, for the very liberty of the world is at stake. Only with eternal vigilance can we pay the price of freedom.
The United States must keep our arms mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor be tempted to risk his own destruction. We have turned our plowshares into swords and must continue to be prepared in order to keep the hard-won peace. America stands as the defender of the free world and this is our greatest duty and honour. As guardians of the peace, we must ever temper our great strength with great wisdom and strive for understanding and concord among the nations of the world. We have seen how the enemies of all mankind have sought to set us against each other in the most terrible of wars and can never permit it to happen again.
We shall continue to meet crises, be they foreign or domestic, great or small, with courage and determination. We stand at the cusp of a great moment in human history, where we can harness the powers of science and the world for the betterment of all mankind. There is a need to seek balance in our efforts between that which is essential and the comfortably desirable; balance between the public and private economy; and balance between the demands of the present and the national welfare of the future.
Above all, we must balance the question of time. As we look forward into the bright future of society, we – you and I, and our government, must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material wealth of our children and grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. If we wish democracy to survive down the ages, we can never forget our debt and duty to the future.
So, as I bid you good night as your President for the last time, I thank you for all the opportunities you have given me to serve our nation, in war and peace. My only wish has ever been to do my duty to the Constitution and the country.
My fellow citizens, we will need to keep strong our faith that all nations, under God, will strive towards the goal of peace with justice and honour. May we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle, confident but humble with power and diligent in pursuit of the goals of our great nation.
To all the peoples of the world, I extend my foremost wishes and prayers for peace. We pray that peoples of all faiths and all nations may have their great human needs satisfied; that those who suffer may be delivered; that all those who yearn for freedom may experience its true blessing; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its weighty responsibilities; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be banished from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all mankind will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by mutual respect and universal love.
May God bless you all and may he continue to bless the United States of America.”
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January 20th, 1961
It had been a glorious day in Washington D.C. The Corps of Engineers and the Army’s weather wizards had worked through the early hours of the morning, clearing away the overnight snow and the crowds had flocked to see the grand procession. No fewer than four former Presidents had gathered for the occasion – Roosevelt, Cox, Hoover and Truman, with the ebullient T.R. lapping up the adulation of the crowd on a rare public appearance.
Chief Justice Harlan administered the oath of office to Kennedy on the stroke of noon and the latter had followed with quite a marvellous inaugural address which Thompson thought would be remembered for many years to come. The subsequent military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue by over fifty thousand personnel of the United States Armed Forces put many of the May Day processions so beloved by the Soviets to shame, featuring the latest in American military might, ranging from the Minuteman missile, B-70 Valkyrie and X-20 Dyna-Soar to the M-102 flying tank, CH-47 Chinook and Kaman Rotodyne.
Then it was time for President Roger Thompson, his wife and family to depart, leaving the festivities of the capital to the new President and First Family. As the special mission C-137 soared up into the afternoon skies from Andrews Air Force Base back over the city towards his old home in Texas, he looked behind out of the window of the plane upon the sight below, from the Capitol to the Washington Monument.
After a moment, he turned back to look at his wife and children and smiled. He did not know if he had been a success or a failure as President, although he had had his share of both. He had tried to do his duty, a duty he had never asked for, but carried out nonetheless. What would the people - his people - think of him?
That was a question for history, not for him, Roger Thompson decided.
Now there would be time, time for home and then to see all of America, his America, the beautiful.
From sea to shining sea.
President Roger Thompson considered it a fairly rare occurrence that he would look forward to an impromptu meeting, particularly on the minutiae of mobilisation planning, but these were very special circumstances. The threat was real and he had to take whatever measures he could to avoid it.
“Aww, Dad, you said we were going to play Stratego!”
“Now then, David. You know that work is work and I can’t get away from it.”
“But, Dad!”
“David.” A single look of admonishment at his pleading was enough.
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s better. Now go and see if Ricky will play with you.”
“Ricky? He’s just a little kid.” David Thompson flumphed away haughtily to the other side of the room, much aggrieved at the thought that a mature and grown up nine year old should have to stoop to playing with his six and a half year old little brother. Perhaps the First Dog would indulge him, although Buddy seemed to be settled back in the armchair, glasses perched on the end of his nose as he was absorbed in his copy of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. Life was full of injustices
His father sighed, got up from his chair and wended his way over Ricky's abandoned train set and Jack's idle armies of toy soldiers, thanking his lucky stars that Karen and Sally had decided to play dolls in another room of the residence. He did not begrudge them their play, nor did he eschew the opportunity to spend time with his children, as they were growing up far too quickly. But, every man had his limits and Thompson's was seventeen games of Stratego in this case. There would be many more games to come, though, and more Yuletide seasons.
Outside the White House, a blanket of white snow covered the lawns and gardens and the sun shone wanly through a cloudy winter's day. It was strange that this would be the last Christmas he would spend here, although not in a bad way. He'd spent much of the last month caught up with the hectic demands of travel that came with the transition to a new Presidency, criss-crossing America to make his farewells and pay his political debts.
His ubiquitous escort peeled off their stations at the door of the Yellow Oval Room as he entered the hallway and by the time he reached the Cabinet Room, a small procession was with him. Inside, Sam Atkinson, Jack Burgundy, Jefferson Smith, Dr. Henry Jones, Secretary of Defense Thomas Gates and General Maxwell Taylor awaited him and rose as he entered. Their faces were grim and tight, speaking of something beyond the matter of war plans and the ongoing talks with Moscow.
"Thank you gentlemen, please take a seat. OK, Indy, what have we got today?"
" Mr. President, today we have the revisions to the general mobilisation plan in light of the planned deployments to Europe, the preliminary groundwork with the Soviets and the Arab proposal. First and foremost, though, there is the substance of the note that the French Ambassador delivered to the Secretary of State a few minutes ago."
"Let's have a look at it, Jeff."
Thompson quickly read the two short paragraphs and then looked up at the members of the National Security Council. "Well, never let it be said that the French can't get to the point, even when it is of our own petard."
In other circumstances, this may have raised a smile.
"Setting aside how they got the details of our proposed agreement with the British for the moment, they do raise a very interesting point, Mr. President." Dr. Jones's brow was furrowed as if he was ruminating on a peculiar point of archaeological discourse. "They're being asked to swallow more with regard to Germany and get less out of a general renewal of the Atlantic Alliance. From their perspective, there are very good grounds as to why they should be involved in a special arrangement along with Britain."
"Devil's advocate is all well and good, Dr. Jones, but on objective grounds of our interests and position as the leading power of the Free World, we simply cannot concede to their terms. The agreement with England is difficult enough to reconcile, let alone cutting in Paris on virtually the same terms." Gates spoke forcefully, driven in a none too small way by his own misgivings regarding the whole British deal.
"You're preaching to the choir here, Thomas. There would be no basis for Congressional support for a further arrangement with France, particularly on top of the disgruntlement with how they've handled Vietnam." Thompson sat back reflectively.
"The thing is, they know that too." said General Burgundy, his gruff brows furrowed. "There is nothing for France to gain from essentially threatening to scuttle the deal for the whole of Western Europe."
"Never underestimate a Frenchmen's sense of honour, Jack. It is highly attuned to the perception of a slight." Smith's words were tinged with disappointment, as they always tended to be when men and nations did not live up to his high ideals. "I've dealt with them for years and this doesn't come across as a ploy, but as the real deal."
There was a murmur of agreement around the table. Perhaps the biggest driving force in French policy since the war had been the pursuit of grandeur, or la gloire as the Gallic fellows tended to put it. France had been very badly damaged by the experience of Nazi occupation and her days of acting as an independent great power of global import were considered more or less doomed by Washington, Moscow and London, yet despite this, or perhaps because of it, her leadership had been almost fanatically focussed on preserving France’s role at the top table. Their dogged persistence in Indochina, their ongoing firm stance in colonial Africa and the clinging to even a minor role in the Levant – all stemmed from the indefatigable French resistance to the tides of history and power. The most striking manifestation of it came in their European policy, which had stymied any effective reconciliation with Germany over the annexation of the Saar and strangled the supranationalist dreams of the Monnetists in their cradle.
And now, when the ruptures of 1956 looked like they were on the brink of being knitted together into a renewed and powerful bond between North America and Western Europe, the French government had decided to deliver this bombshell. In characteristically flowery diplomatic language, it had stated that, notwithstanding previous undertakings, France would find it impossible to participate in an alliance structure that was fundamentally inimicable to her position as a sovereign great power and did not provided for her to be regarded as being on an equal footing with the United States and Britain.
"I am not going to bequeath a gosh-awful mess like this to Jack Kennedy, not when we're so close to a lasting pact. Failure is not an option, gentlemen. How do we get past this?"
There was a long, pronounced silence before Sam Atkinson began to speak slowly. "Obliquely. We give them what they need rather than what they want, but do it in such a way..."
"As they can characterise it as a victory for them and their main goal." Dr. Jones finished excitedly. "We don't give them parity with the Brits, but something they can pass off as such for their own consumption."
"It would need to be substantial, yet not beyond reason. We can throw in a few sweeteners on the side, such as integration in the joint command structures for relevant theatres such as South East Asia and Africa and some more appropriate roles for their generals as we've done in Germany. We just need the biggest carrot we can find to bring it all together." Thompson began to warm to the task and finally slapped the table and broke out into a grin.
"Got it. Skybolt. We offer them, say, 300 Skybolts, and agree to cover a large part of the cost under Mutual Defense Aid."
The men at the table looked around at each other and one by one began to nod. Skybolt could well work. It was a major system that would suit France's needs extremely well without being seen to be compromising the sovereignty of their atomic deterrent in the same manner that a land or sea based missile might and it was something that they could not afford to develop on their own. The French had pushed themselves near to breaking point to field the S-2 ICBM and the M-1 SLBM, even if they were only nominal capacities at this point. It would cost several hundred million dollars, but that was a price that the United States could afford to bear.
“That would involve at the very least coordinating them with the SIOP, Mr. President. It has been a complex enough task with regard to the British.” General Taylor looked thoughtful as he spoke. “We can work that primarily through our links with the French Air Force rather than their politicians, but there will still need to be something or someone to iron that out…”
“I believe I can sort that out; I know just the fellow for it. He’s visiting tomorrow.”
“He would definitely suffice, sir. It would also be rather beneficial if the French could be bought into the international contingency force structure for the Middle East; they have the forces in North Africa and the Mediterranean, after all, and it frees up more of our own forces for other eventualities.”
“Good idea, Max. We can prepare a response to the note to that effect, then, Jeff.”
“As you say, Mr. President.”
“Very well, that brings us onto mobilisation. Indy?”
“Yes, sir. Our current plans have been based around the previous paradigm and they did not work as effectively as designed when we moved to enact them last April. Loading and shipping two heavy corps across the Atlantic by sea, disembarking in the European ports and moving into their wartime stations in Germany was initiated on March 30, but only completed on April 20th. Similarly, our movement of three infantry divisions by air took longer than anticipated, being ordered on April 1st and completed by April 12th, and the deployment of 80 tactical fighter squadrons was constrained by logistical bottlenecks.
Had war broken out, we would not have been able to move the balance of our heavy forces to Europe within an appreciable timeframe. The subsequent secret study by the Rand Corporation into the performance of the entire mobilisation plan made a number of significant recommendations, chief among which is that the Korean War era shipping calculations require full revision. Even though they are less than ten years old, they are verging on obsolescence due to the large increases in the number of land and aerial vehicles operated by armoured and mechanised divisions and the subsequent dramatic rise in Class III, V, VII and IX supplies. Put simply, it takes more shipping tonnage, volume and time to shift a smaller number of divisions across the Atlantic and this needs appropriate action.
Our current requirement under the General Strategic Defensive Plan is for the following forces to be in place in Europe by 30 days after M-Day: 24 Regular Army and 12 National Guard divisions in Central Europe and 4 divisions for Scandinavia; 50 TAC and 50 Air National Guard squadrons; and two Marine Amphibious Forces on the northern and southern flanks. Our standing forces over there will amount to 8 divisions in 4 corps in Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy and 96 squadrons by the end of 1961, with an equipment set for an additional heavy division assigned to each corps. The personnel of each division would be based in the Continental United States and be airlifted over to augment the forward corps upon mobilisation, whilst keeping to the undertakings agreed upon with the Soviets regarding standing forces in Central Europe.
That initial component of 12 divisions is seen as capable of only limited defensive operations against offensive action by the Warsaw Pact. Therefore, the main need for the Army is the deployment of a minimum of 12 divisions along with further supplies from CONUS by M + 14 by air and sea. It would take a minimum of 36 hours from the receipt of Presidential authorisation for the airlift to fully begin in earnest, with the 24 hours spent in alerting units, recalling personnel and preparing for deployment. Our aim is for the personnel of the four round-out divisions for the forward corps to be airlifted into theatre within 72 hours, followed by the first elements of the heavy divisions from CONUS, with their equipment to arrive within 6 days. It is envisaged that two field army headquarters would also be deployed to control and coordinate the wartime force structure. There are a number of proposed ways this could be accomplished, but all of the variations outlined in Appendix 3 involve some further level of pre-placement of equipment.
This force would need to be supported in Europe by substantial pre-placement of supplies, vehicles, ammunition, POL and other assorted equipment in theatre, specifically in Britain, France and Italy; the continuing construction of base infrastructure to support this supply network; and the establishment of two specific groups of ports of debarkation to allow for efficient movement to the front. The proposed arrangements with Britain greatly assist this process, as the British Isles serve as a secure logistical base area. At home, the four major East Coast Ports of Embarkation in New York, Boston, Hampton Roads and Charleston will need to be modernised and the military sections of the Interstate Railway System prioritised.
The bulk of the United States Merchant Marine remains wartime construction, although there have been some useful increases in tankers, bulk carriers and the new container ships. These will need to be augmented by the new subsidised construction fast cargo ships and the ocean liners; the performance of the SS United States and the SS America earlier this year remains as one of the positive features of the process, each taking a reinforced infantry division across to France in a week, with top speeds of just over 40 knots. The new construction 25,000t Comet-type vehicle landing ships and the superheavy Fast Cargo Ship being built for Military Sea Transport Command are a welcome addition to the fleet. The specific sealift requirements are listed in Appendix Four of the briefing paper, but at a minimum, 30 Comets and 12 FCSs are required; the six nuclear powered merchant cargo ships in service or under construction would also be utilised.
Air Transport Command’s Twenty-First Air Force will replace its C-124s, C-125s and C-135s with the new C-141s by 1963/4, but the C-100s and C-133s will remain in service for the better part of the 1960s unless the development of the CX superheavy transport is expedited. They would be augmented by the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, which currently has 1239 aircraft in the international section, ranging from DC-4s to modern jets. Their 12 skyships are a strategic asset of vital importance and it has been recommended that a minimum of twelve more be built as a matter of highest priority; flying 5000 tons of cargo or 50 tanks across the Atlantic in two days allows the rest of the air bridge to function more efficiently. There is a recommendation in the report for an increase of the overall strategic air fleet from 15 to 24 wings.”
Dr. Jones put down his papers and looked across at Thompson. “That just about covers it, Mr. President. We can successfully complete the mission, but building the required ships, planes and bases will take some time, perhaps 5 or 6 years.”
“How would that leave us regarding the requirements for contingencies in the Far East and Middle East?”
“We would be able to simultaneously move troops, aircraft and equipment to the Far East and Middle East, but not at the same time as launching a full reinforcement of Europe. The shipping requirements for that type of mission would be considerably larger.”
“OK. Have an executive summary drawn up with the key recommendations set out in detail and I’ll discuss it with President-Elect Kennedy. Let us hope that the French will be satisfied with their Christmas present.”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
December 23rd 1960
The morning air was cool and fresh, although the snow had stopped just before dawn. President Thompson stood under the North Portico entrance to the White House, his family beside him, all coated and hatted suitably for the occasion and watched as the motorcade wound its way up from the Pennsylvania Avenue gate. The Rolls-Royce Phantom V drew to a smooth halt at the marble steps and the U.S. Presidential Guard company arrayed along the path presented arms crisply as the United States Marine Band struck up ‘God Save the Queen’.
As the door opened, a huge bearded figure emerged, long snowy white hair streaming below the collar of his black frock coat as he stooped to exit the car. He held himself proudly at attention as the anthem concluded, then bounded up the steps, a large hand held out and bright blue eyes flashing with friendship
Ricky Thompson gave a short gasp. “Is…is that…Santa?” he whispered in awe.
David Thompson rolled his eyes in exasperation and leaned over to correct his little brother. “No, you dummy, that’s the Prime Minister of Canada.”
Any further education was cut short by a sharp jab in the back and shushing from Jack, who chose to forget making the same mistake back when he was five.
“Good morning, Prime Minister. Welcome to the White House.”
“Good day, Mr. President! Good day to you, Mrs Thompson! Merry Christmas to you all!” Sir William Richardson boomed in his unmistakeable voice, full of laughter and cheer. “How have you been, neighbour?”
“Very well indeed, Sir William, and all the better for your visit. Shall we come along inside?”
“Lead the way, old boy.”
Richardson, his entourage and the Thompsons made their way back into the White House, Rebecca Thompson steering the children away back towards the residence, where they would take lunch with the Prime Minister later on. The President and Prime Minister and their staff headed up to the Oval Office, where the brief formal business of the visit could be completed.
“Mr. President, I’m happy to tell you that the proposed revisions to the NORAD Agreement have been unanimously approved by the Canadian cabinet and the cabinets of all of the other British North American Dominions, including the West Indies.”
“That’s great to hear, Sir William. There was some concern that the issue of the deployment of U.S. nuclear armed missiles on Canadian territory would be an area of some difficulty.”
“Recent events lead to an alteration in some opinions on the issue, both at home and in Newfoundland.” Sir William smiled broadly, referring to the volte face of some in his own party after the formalisation of the Anglo-American accord. The opposition to anything that smacked of continentalism or any compromise on sovereignty ran deep within the Conservative Party and Richardson had had to use much of his considerable authority and persuasive power to force through even this.
“Many at the Pentagon would have viewed it as preferable if you’d given way on Alaska, but that is entirely understandable.”
General Turgidson, sitting behind the President, gave a momentary grimace. He had been one of the chief proponents of the losing argument and he did not like losing.
“That would have been a step too far, particularly when we would still provide the majority of the forces for its defence. At any rate, we have already increased our RCAF presence with an additional fighter wing at Galena, joining the others at Anchorage and Fort Alfred. The security of Alaska is well in hand.”
“Indeed. Now, there is something you can do for us…” Thompson passed over a piece of paper to Richardson. “If you could relay this request to General De Gaulle and emphasise its importance, we would be grateful.”
Sir William slipped out a pair of spectacles, quickly read the details of the missive, and looked up. “What leeway would be available?”
“Very little.” If anyone could convince the French, it would be the oldest and most respected leader in the West, a man whose word was iron.
“It shall be done.” Richardson nodded and rose. “Now, neighbour, what about that luncheon? This old white haired man from the Far North has some presents for those children of yours.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………
January 17th, 1961
At last, it had come to this.
Thompson sat up straight in his chair, fixed his eyes upon the camera and began his address.
“My fellow Americans,
Three days from now, after thirty-two years in the service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of this office as, in the solemn tradition of ceremony, the authority of the Presidency is vested in my successor.
This evening, I come to you to bid farewell and to share a few final thoughts with you, my fellow citizens.
Like every other one of my countrymen and women, I bid the new President, and all who will labour with him, Godspeed and good fortune. I pray that Almighty God will bless the coming years with peace and prosperity for all.
I have nothing but eternal gratitude for the opportunity I have been given to be of service to my country. I am thankful to the Congress for their goodwill and cooperation and am grateful for what we have been able to achieve forever.
We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has bore witness to five major wars among great nations. Four of these have involved our own country. Despite this woe and destruction, the United States of America has risen to become undoubtedly the strongest, most prosperous and indeed the greatest among the nations of the world. We can be rightly proud for what we have achieved, but should be ever mindful that our prestige and position of leadership rests not only on the power of our armies and fleets or our unmatched material progress, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and the betterment of all mankind.
America is more than a nation. It is an ideal, a light on the hill to inspire the world. We can only continue to be such an example by remaining true to our eternal principles of liberty and justice for all. We must keep the peace, foster progress in human achievement as part of mankind’s continued journey ever forward and to defend dignity and integrity amongst all of God’s children. To strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious people.
This progress towards these noble goals of freedom is threatened by the conflict which engulfs the world and commands our whole attention. We face a hostile ideology – global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in message. We do not know how long this danger may last, but must oppose it every step of the way. To meet the challenges that face us, we will require sacrifice as we bear without complaint the burdens of a prolonged and complex struggle, for the very liberty of the world is at stake. Only with eternal vigilance can we pay the price of freedom.
The United States must keep our arms mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor be tempted to risk his own destruction. We have turned our plowshares into swords and must continue to be prepared in order to keep the hard-won peace. America stands as the defender of the free world and this is our greatest duty and honour. As guardians of the peace, we must ever temper our great strength with great wisdom and strive for understanding and concord among the nations of the world. We have seen how the enemies of all mankind have sought to set us against each other in the most terrible of wars and can never permit it to happen again.
We shall continue to meet crises, be they foreign or domestic, great or small, with courage and determination. We stand at the cusp of a great moment in human history, where we can harness the powers of science and the world for the betterment of all mankind. There is a need to seek balance in our efforts between that which is essential and the comfortably desirable; balance between the public and private economy; and balance between the demands of the present and the national welfare of the future.
Above all, we must balance the question of time. As we look forward into the bright future of society, we – you and I, and our government, must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material wealth of our children and grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. If we wish democracy to survive down the ages, we can never forget our debt and duty to the future.
So, as I bid you good night as your President for the last time, I thank you for all the opportunities you have given me to serve our nation, in war and peace. My only wish has ever been to do my duty to the Constitution and the country.
My fellow citizens, we will need to keep strong our faith that all nations, under God, will strive towards the goal of peace with justice and honour. May we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle, confident but humble with power and diligent in pursuit of the goals of our great nation.
To all the peoples of the world, I extend my foremost wishes and prayers for peace. We pray that peoples of all faiths and all nations may have their great human needs satisfied; that those who suffer may be delivered; that all those who yearn for freedom may experience its true blessing; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its weighty responsibilities; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be banished from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all mankind will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by mutual respect and universal love.
May God bless you all and may he continue to bless the United States of America.”
………………………………………………………………………………………….
January 20th, 1961
It had been a glorious day in Washington D.C. The Corps of Engineers and the Army’s weather wizards had worked through the early hours of the morning, clearing away the overnight snow and the crowds had flocked to see the grand procession. No fewer than four former Presidents had gathered for the occasion – Roosevelt, Cox, Hoover and Truman, with the ebullient T.R. lapping up the adulation of the crowd on a rare public appearance.
Chief Justice Harlan administered the oath of office to Kennedy on the stroke of noon and the latter had followed with quite a marvellous inaugural address which Thompson thought would be remembered for many years to come. The subsequent military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue by over fifty thousand personnel of the United States Armed Forces put many of the May Day processions so beloved by the Soviets to shame, featuring the latest in American military might, ranging from the Minuteman missile, B-70 Valkyrie and X-20 Dyna-Soar to the M-102 flying tank, CH-47 Chinook and Kaman Rotodyne.
Then it was time for President Roger Thompson, his wife and family to depart, leaving the festivities of the capital to the new President and First Family. As the special mission C-137 soared up into the afternoon skies from Andrews Air Force Base back over the city towards his old home in Texas, he looked behind out of the window of the plane upon the sight below, from the Capitol to the Washington Monument.
After a moment, he turned back to look at his wife and children and smiled. He did not know if he had been a success or a failure as President, although he had had his share of both. He had tried to do his duty, a duty he had never asked for, but carried out nonetheless. What would the people - his people - think of him?
That was a question for history, not for him, Roger Thompson decided.
Now there would be time, time for home and then to see all of America, his America, the beautiful.
From sea to shining sea.
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1127
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: From Sea to Shining Sea
Notes
Parts 1 and 2:
- USN, USAF and US Army ICBMs
- BX and LSF programmes
- A different approach to the block obsolescence of surface escorts is brewing
- Some different Soviet aircraft designs and aircraft manufacturers are about
- There was a Battle of San Juan, but in Porto Rico, not Cuba.
- USAF Skyhawks fill the niche of ground attack/light attack; the other two aircraft will be interesting choices; speculation is welcome.
- Disraeli having a son; this chap is his great-grandson.
- The proposed treaty is expansive, by the best laid schemes o'mice and men...
- Proposed joint commands consist of the Atlantic, Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Africa, India, South East Asia, Australasia/South Pacific and the North Pacific.
- The 8th Fleet is a forward element of 2nd Fleet and responsible for operations around the Atlantic waters of Western Europe.
- To add to merry confusion, the British and Americans both have a Spectre. This is one factor that will lead to some changes of nomenclature.
- The UK based equipment would not quite be a POMCUS equivalent, but be part of the same system. US air and sealift is quite expansive.
- Britain has an initial order for 600 Skybolts
- Australian reaction to a much increased Konfrontasi with Red Indonesia has been quite heavy, moving towards unprecedented peacetime rearmament.
- Two Gurkha divisions are being formed for the Middle East and Far East role
- Empire basing for Blue Streak is an interesting solution, but may not be the best option
- German air raids on the East Coast began with a surprise attack on December 7th 1941 and continued into 1942 before the small force was redirected to the Urals
- Dr. Goddard resides on Luna.
- Lunar City is an international settlement that has some very strange characteristics.
- Asteroid mining is one of the next frontiers
Transatlantic Interlude:
- This piece serves as a bit of a bridge between the earlier works and those of the 1960s, such as Never Had it So Good and Space: The New Frontier. It is a direct precursor to the 1961 Defence White Paper.
- The introductory assessment of threats to Britain explains one part of the reasoning of the postulated trans-Atlantic rapprochement. By tying in the other states of Europe, the requirements of domestic and Imperial security are eased, just as at the same time, it requires a more specific focus on Europe.
- The Soviet economic challenge is similar to what occurred to Britain in the immediate aftermath of WW2 in @, when the writing was on the wall regarding Soviet advantages and Britain's disintegrating position as one of the Big Three.
- Soviet use of orcs was referred to in 1947 and The Book of Beasts.
- The Red Guards are a subtle reference to a different power group within the USSR. They are a militia under the control of the CPSU, which is one arm of the ruling triumvirate with the KGB and Red Army; there is a fourth group developing...
- The British are exploring different basing options for Blue Streak rather than putting all their ICBM eggs in one British Isles-sized basket. Similarly, the Vulcan force is distributed to various points around the Empire, which will be even more of a powerful strategy when Skybolt, longer range versions of Blue Steel and a number of other airborne weapons are fielded.
- Strategic artillery is very much a niche role, but being able to launch 50 hydrogen bombs over Western Russia within 2 minutes is a useful capacity; it is one that has caused potential problems due to the literal hair trigger alert...
- The Soviet intermediate range missile force is viewed as a problematic threat, but one that can be countered with preemptive strikes from airlaunched missiles and solid-fuel missiles and, in due course, by anti-missile defence systems. Violet Friend is a very, very hot missile, but this performance comes at a cost of size and money; a second-tier missile capable of being deployed on land by the RAF and at sea on RN cruisers and battleships is at a slightly earlier stage of development, along with proposed railguns. Additionally, there are a number of space-based systems mooted for the Royal Space Force's orbital battle stations.
- Nereus is a land-based anti-submarine ballistic missile with a range of 250 miles, which launches a nuclear depth bomb. It is a long range counterpart to the likes of SUBROC and is deployed on the Faroes, Shetlands, Iceland and Thule (Jan Mayen).
- Details of Soviet aircraft will come along soon; they have a range of different types, including the new Sturmoviks.
- The White Sea Canal is much larger, which raises the combined flexibility of the Baltic and Northern Fleets.
- Once again, there is mention of light infantry divisions. Zhukov's Yorkshire accent is a reference to Jason Isaacs in The Death of Stalin.
- The 1st Commonwealth Division is going to withdraw from Korea within a few years; its new deployment will depend on a number of factors.
- Field Marshal Smythe-Hudson is probably one of the last British commanders of the Indian Army (shades of Glubb Pasha in @), but his presence on the Committee is on behalf of the Indian Government, not the land of his birth. He is one of a number of completely fictional high-ranking personnel I have used throughout the Dark Earthverse to provide a jarring note and contrast with the historical figures.
- Oliver Stanley and Duff Cooper live longer and Max Aitken does lose his Parliamentary seat post WW2.
- The Colonial Regiments are similar to the French Troupes Coloniales, being made up of British subjects living in Africa and Asia, direct recruits from across Britain and the Dominions, veterans from a number of European military forces, adventurers, former mercenaries, HEIC personnel and even a few hundred Americans. Total manpower of the six regiments is 20,000 men, but this will drop over the next few years; the current spike comes from the aftermath of the 1956 War, the Mau-Mau Rebellion and the Malayan Emergency.
- The Zulus serve as an African counterpart to the Gurkhas, albeit recruited from a Commonwealth Dominion rather than a protectorate.
- Navally, the British are hitting the real crunch. The warbuilt escorts are now less than useful against the emerging nuclear submarine threat and need to be replaced with new construction. The US/British/Commonwealth light ASW frigate is going to be a combination of the Australian DDL project, the Canadian General Purpose Frigate, the US Knox class DE and an enhanced version of the RN Type 21 Frigate, displacing ~4800t, carrying a single medium calibre gun, light AA guns, some sort of light AAW missile, ASW missiles, a pair of Sea King helicopters and a towed array sonar. Should it go through, it will be one of the largest naval construction programmes of the 1960s.
- The five Illustrious class carriers will be sold in the next few years, although many of the traditional South American customers for second hand ships already have their own nascent carrier fleets from earlier American and British sales. The light fleet carriers/Theseus class will likely go to the scrapyard.
- The RAF are facing an even more troublesome quandary and may have to make some difficult decisions on aircraft development in several years, particularly if they want to buy Phantoms.
- The Scimitar is the SR.187, but is something of a smaller aircraft, lying roughly between the SR.177 and SR.187 from @. It is in limited test service with the Royal Navy and the Luftwaffe are on the verge of placing a major order.
- It will be interesting to see what readers think the Skyguard Program may be.
- The Army Commandos are serving as the test force for a version of a strategic airmobile force, given the global range of skyships.
- The Army is playing a long game in trying to preserve its second-line TA divisions. They do have a role in home defence and maintaining order after a nuclear exchange, but there are many who want to see them maintain a more measured role.
- The section on Transition to War contains plenty of details to mull over; there are no plans to arm traffic wardens at this time.
Part 3
- A quite advanced Air Force One goes along with an armed escort as it is late 1960 and much has happened in that year...
- The Congo gets a lot of mention as a flashpoint
- Boeing get the F-111 contract
- Japan at this point is just starting to wriggle free of restrictions and rearm
- Mention is made of the British 'Post 1956 bristling phase' quite deliberately
Parts 4 and 5
- Notes coming soon to a thread near you! (this one)
Part 6
- California has some very different cultural development trends and lacks a border with Mexico.
- Indian migration to the USA has some interesting consequences, prior to the general tightening up of regulations from the late 19th century.
- Zorro is a historical character and may get a future appearance.
- Something very strange is going on in Africa. Thompson may be a bit too charitable towards Stalin Jr's word on the matter.
- Whatever its cause, it throws fuel on the anti colonial fire in the USA.
- Brazil is going to be an interesting place...
- Crocker Jarmon is from the 1972 film 'The Candidate'.
- Reagan is moving quite steadily to the right.
- The film he is referring to is the Dark Earth version of 'The Longest Day', a Technicolor epic featuring Reagan as the General Thompson, Eisenhower and Rommel as themselves, George C. Scott as Patton, Charlton Heston as a USN battleship captain, Gregory Peck as Omar Bradley and many more.
- Senator McCarthy is still alive, albeit a shadow of what he once was.
- Nixon on the Supreme Court; we'll hear from him in the final instalment of this tale.
- Multiple first generation CVNs.
- USS President is a Monitor class guided missile super battlecruiser; details are available and we'll hear from her sisters eventually.
Part 7
- The Mexican naval exercise is a bit of showboating aimed at impressing Yucatan and Central America.
- The wall along the Mexican border began as a result of troubles in the 1910s and has been gradually reinforced over the years, with a large part of construction occurring in 1940 and 1941 as part of considerable improvements in home defence of CONUS. In the postwar period, Mexico has taken a bit of a shift towards increasingly strident nationalism, which has chilled the border.It extends from the Gulf of Mexico to the Sea of Cortes.
- Pressuring the Belgians will result in their acquiescence by virtue of their much smaller size, but it will have some rather complex results. The Congo will be an interesting place in the 1960s, in the Chinese sense of the word.
- Japan's agreement ties them into the US security network in the Pacific, but not as close as in @.
- The IJN and IJAF are building up very capable aerial forces; the F-111s will be one of their crown jewels.
- I envisage the IJN building SSNs with US assistance by the end of the 1960s.
- Anglo-Japanese cooperation has been hinted at in the Timeline.
- Australia is very concerned by the security threat posed by Red Indonesia and anything that occurs in Western New Guinea will be viewed internationally in quite a different context.
- Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism is not dead, but is progressing in a different manner. It lacks the socialist and grandiose edge of Nasser and pointedly Egypt has not been mentioned; Egyptian nationalism has developed in a different fashion, with some definite elements of Pharaonism.
- What is looking likely in the Middle East as a first step is something like the Arab Federation writ large, with the rotating high kingship coming from Malaysia in @.
- Thompson's confidence on Vietnam may be misplaced, but it is in a very different position than in @.
- 1964 is shaping up as a very interesting election, with a number of elements that played heavily historically being absent, such as Civil Rights and a recently assassinated President Kennedy.
- Thompson is a quite honest fellow and domestic policy, particularly healthcare, never really lit a fire in his breast.
- Sea Dragon is one of a few heavy lift rockets that will get a work out in the 1960s as the race for Jupiter and Saturn kicks off.
- The final line is a hat tip to another storyline which follows on from this one.
Part 8
- The First Dog has rather refined tastes in literature.
- The Soviet and Arab proposals take place in the background to the latter days of the Thompson Administration. The Arab one is the more straightforward: the member states of the Arab League see the best means of progressing towards full independence is through the promotion of a US-lead collective security alliance in the Middle East in place of more overt British hegemony. This may not work out in the way that anyone expects.
In the aftermath of the Red Shadow Crisis of April 1960, the Soviets and Americans look towards some measures of stabilising superpower tensions and the Cold War, having been brought to the edge of catastrophe by mistrust and manipulation. As such, back channel discussions on stabilising the balance of power in Europe are initiated, reaching a broad agreement for constraining German and Austro-Hungarian militarisation (in the view of the Soviets)/setting broad force levels for both blocs in Europe (the US view).
- The French reaction is drawn from their historical issues with Anglo-American dominance of NATO, coupled with Gaullist grand strategy. Unlike the Great War, there is a big gulf between France and the two leading Western powers; to be precise, there is a huge gulf between the US and Britain and another big gap between Britain and France. Their proposal for a tripartite structure is a non-starter.
- Skybolt is a very important system politically as a result.
- The matter of mobilisation is not too complex, being a matter of timetables and bottlenecks. The first issue is procuring enough airlift and sealift assets and propositioning equipment in POMCUS sets; the second and larger issue is getting sufficient strategic warning to initiate mobilisation. REFORGER may be used as an acronym down the line...
- The 2nd MAF would go to Scandinavia and the 4th MAF would go to the Mediterranean, where it possibly would be employed in the Middle East or the Balkans.
- SS United States has a twin in the form of SS America, with both being larger and faster superliners.
- The CX will result in an aircraft rather larger than the C-5 Galaxy...
- Canadian Prime Minister Sir William Richardson is the 'grand old man' of the Western powers, having been in office since 1925.
- Fort Alfred = Fairbanks
- Thompson's farewell address is modelled fairly closely on that of Eisenhower, but has some distinct differences. Perhaps the most important is the absence of any reference to the threat of the military-industrial complex.
- The inaugural military parade is an indicator of some different equipment and a more militarised society.
Thompson Cabinet
VP: Harold Stassen
NSA: Dr. Henry 'Indiana' Jones
SecState: Jefferson Smith
SecDef: Thomas Gates
SecWar: Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
SecNavy: Rockwell Torrey
SecAir: James Douglas
DCI: Allen Dulles
SecTreas: Robert Anderson
Kennedy Cabinet
VP: George Smathers
SecState: Atticus Finch
UnderSecState: Dean Rusk
SecDef: Clark Savage
SecWar: Henry Jackson
SecNavy: Victor Henry
SecAir: Bruce Wayne
NSA: McGeorge Bundy
DCI: Frank Hardy
SecTreas: Robert McNamara
Attorney-General: Robert Kennedy
SecCommerce: Averell Harriman
SecMagic: Rick Blaine
Senator Richard Nixon was appointed to the Supreme Court in July 1960.
America in 1961
At the beginning of the year and a new administration, the USA stands well positioned. There are some key differences from @ and some common chords.
Economically, the USA has a GDP of $5.62 trillion and a GDP per capita of $19557.5. The national debt is at 40% of GDP and falling. It has recovered strongly from the recession of 1957, which saw a GDP fall of 0.83%, with growth in the subsequent years being 5.24%, 4.96% and 4.47%. This level of growth is driven by manufacturing, the backbone of the US economy, although services overtook it in 1950; the largest industries are automotive, housing, steel, defence, aviation, electronics and telecommunication, petroleum and chemicals. There are four major car manufacturers - Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and American Motors. The major US airlines are TWA, American Airlines, United Airlines, Eastern Airlines, Capital Airlines, with Pan Am and US Airways concentrating on international flight.
Politically, the Democrats hold the House (264 Democrats, 194 Republicans, 36 Liberals/Whigs, 22 Conservatives, 4 Independent) and the Senate (52 Democrat, 40 Republican, 7 Whig, 1 Conservative) as well as the Presidency. The chief areas of difference between the major parties are domestic: health, welfare and the role of government; there is general concurrence on defence and foreign policy. Civil Rights aren't the same level of issue, due to earlier gradual desegregation moves. There is still a large amount of prejudice and de facto discrimination, but it has not come to the boil, so to speak, for a number of reasons.
Demographically, the USA is a small but noticeable amount more White. Hispanic migration in the South West hasn't begun to rise to the same exent and the Black population is more centred in the South. There are more Indians on the West Coast and a larger Native American minority. White is 90.5% (1.8% Hispanic), Black is 8.2%, Asian is 0.7% and Native American is 0.6%. The postwar baby boom is gradually slowing, but is still going strong.
American society is extremely homogenous, with the melting pot philosophy of migration still prevalent. The class divide is continuing to contract with the postwar boom in affluence. This is the heyday of the nuclear family. The move towards suburbanisation has been a major factor throughout the 1950s, with car ownership rates very high. It is a very Christian society, with Protestant denominations comprising the majority and church attendance around 75%. Unionisation rates are at 25% and falling slowly. 39% of the adult population are smokers and there is still quite an influential temperance movement, with the lack of nationwide Prohibition being a factor in its survival. Television ownership rates are very high and it is becoming the dominant medium in popular culture. Rock and roll never progressed beyond a regional musical style and variations of country and pop are the most popular musical styles. Fashion is quite conventional and formal, as in @, and hats are still considered de rigeur. Films and comics are still subject to fairly strict self-regulation of content.
The 1960 US military has 5,692,495 personnel (2,457,136 Army, 1,429,356 USN, 369,524 USMC, 1,636,479 USAF) or 1.97% of the population compared to 2,476,435 (873,078 Army, 617,984 USN, 170,621 USMC, 814,752 USAF) or 1.37%. There hasn't been the 1950s post-Korean War contraction in conventional strength in favour of nuclear weapons, particularly in the US Army. Of the 2,458,793 young men who turn 18 and reach military age annually, roughly 65% are drafted, many going on to serve part of their time in the reserves.
Interservice rivalry is still strong, with all three major services fielding their own nuclear missiles and the US Army looking to expand its fixed wing aviation assets. The USAF has SAC, TAC and ADC as semi-independent air forces after a certain fashion; there is something of a move towards common air frames in relevant cases. The general posture of the armed forces is trending more towards Europe than the Pacific in the aftermath of the Korean War, with US forces in Europe set to rise significantly. Deployment to Korea is likely to wind down completely within the first Kennedy Administration, given its position as a united American ally; it has already shrunk from a 1956 level of 5 divisions to a single infantry division, with copious support brigades and units. Kennedy's defence policy is going to be noticeably different with Clark Savage as SecDef. There won't be the same move away from bombers in favour of ICBMs, for one. The US Army is likely to expand.
The Cold War is going strong without a Khruschev thaw, although there has been greater cooperation since April 1960. Without a Red China, the strategic threat does not seem as monolithic, but it represents its own challenge. The Soviet empire in Eastern Europe lacks Bulgaria, Hungary, Bohemia, Slovakia and half of Germany, but this comprises a minor reduction in their threat and capabilities. The USSR's influence is somewhat constrained by the different geopolitical position of Africa and the Middle East; the Third World or Non-Aligned Movement simply isn't around.
US foreign influence and prestige is the strongest in the world, although the British Empire and France have varying degrees of independence of action and differences of view. The recent moves towards rapprochement by the Thompson administration have shuffled general alignment closer to what we'd be familiar with, but the 1960s will see some interesting changes. The League of Nations doesn't have the same power or cachet as the United Nations at this point.
(All economic stats are in 1990 USD for ease of reference and convertability)
Parts 1 and 2:
- USN, USAF and US Army ICBMs
- BX and LSF programmes
- A different approach to the block obsolescence of surface escorts is brewing
- Some different Soviet aircraft designs and aircraft manufacturers are about
- There was a Battle of San Juan, but in Porto Rico, not Cuba.
- USAF Skyhawks fill the niche of ground attack/light attack; the other two aircraft will be interesting choices; speculation is welcome.
- Disraeli having a son; this chap is his great-grandson.
- The proposed treaty is expansive, by the best laid schemes o'mice and men...
- Proposed joint commands consist of the Atlantic, Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Africa, India, South East Asia, Australasia/South Pacific and the North Pacific.
- The 8th Fleet is a forward element of 2nd Fleet and responsible for operations around the Atlantic waters of Western Europe.
- To add to merry confusion, the British and Americans both have a Spectre. This is one factor that will lead to some changes of nomenclature.
- The UK based equipment would not quite be a POMCUS equivalent, but be part of the same system. US air and sealift is quite expansive.
- Britain has an initial order for 600 Skybolts
- Australian reaction to a much increased Konfrontasi with Red Indonesia has been quite heavy, moving towards unprecedented peacetime rearmament.
- Two Gurkha divisions are being formed for the Middle East and Far East role
- Empire basing for Blue Streak is an interesting solution, but may not be the best option
- German air raids on the East Coast began with a surprise attack on December 7th 1941 and continued into 1942 before the small force was redirected to the Urals
- Dr. Goddard resides on Luna.
- Lunar City is an international settlement that has some very strange characteristics.
- Asteroid mining is one of the next frontiers
Transatlantic Interlude:
- This piece serves as a bit of a bridge between the earlier works and those of the 1960s, such as Never Had it So Good and Space: The New Frontier. It is a direct precursor to the 1961 Defence White Paper.
- The introductory assessment of threats to Britain explains one part of the reasoning of the postulated trans-Atlantic rapprochement. By tying in the other states of Europe, the requirements of domestic and Imperial security are eased, just as at the same time, it requires a more specific focus on Europe.
- The Soviet economic challenge is similar to what occurred to Britain in the immediate aftermath of WW2 in @, when the writing was on the wall regarding Soviet advantages and Britain's disintegrating position as one of the Big Three.
- Soviet use of orcs was referred to in 1947 and The Book of Beasts.
- The Red Guards are a subtle reference to a different power group within the USSR. They are a militia under the control of the CPSU, which is one arm of the ruling triumvirate with the KGB and Red Army; there is a fourth group developing...
- The British are exploring different basing options for Blue Streak rather than putting all their ICBM eggs in one British Isles-sized basket. Similarly, the Vulcan force is distributed to various points around the Empire, which will be even more of a powerful strategy when Skybolt, longer range versions of Blue Steel and a number of other airborne weapons are fielded.
- Strategic artillery is very much a niche role, but being able to launch 50 hydrogen bombs over Western Russia within 2 minutes is a useful capacity; it is one that has caused potential problems due to the literal hair trigger alert...
- The Soviet intermediate range missile force is viewed as a problematic threat, but one that can be countered with preemptive strikes from airlaunched missiles and solid-fuel missiles and, in due course, by anti-missile defence systems. Violet Friend is a very, very hot missile, but this performance comes at a cost of size and money; a second-tier missile capable of being deployed on land by the RAF and at sea on RN cruisers and battleships is at a slightly earlier stage of development, along with proposed railguns. Additionally, there are a number of space-based systems mooted for the Royal Space Force's orbital battle stations.
- Nereus is a land-based anti-submarine ballistic missile with a range of 250 miles, which launches a nuclear depth bomb. It is a long range counterpart to the likes of SUBROC and is deployed on the Faroes, Shetlands, Iceland and Thule (Jan Mayen).
- Details of Soviet aircraft will come along soon; they have a range of different types, including the new Sturmoviks.
- The White Sea Canal is much larger, which raises the combined flexibility of the Baltic and Northern Fleets.
- Once again, there is mention of light infantry divisions. Zhukov's Yorkshire accent is a reference to Jason Isaacs in The Death of Stalin.
- The 1st Commonwealth Division is going to withdraw from Korea within a few years; its new deployment will depend on a number of factors.
- Field Marshal Smythe-Hudson is probably one of the last British commanders of the Indian Army (shades of Glubb Pasha in @), but his presence on the Committee is on behalf of the Indian Government, not the land of his birth. He is one of a number of completely fictional high-ranking personnel I have used throughout the Dark Earthverse to provide a jarring note and contrast with the historical figures.
- Oliver Stanley and Duff Cooper live longer and Max Aitken does lose his Parliamentary seat post WW2.
- The Colonial Regiments are similar to the French Troupes Coloniales, being made up of British subjects living in Africa and Asia, direct recruits from across Britain and the Dominions, veterans from a number of European military forces, adventurers, former mercenaries, HEIC personnel and even a few hundred Americans. Total manpower of the six regiments is 20,000 men, but this will drop over the next few years; the current spike comes from the aftermath of the 1956 War, the Mau-Mau Rebellion and the Malayan Emergency.
- The Zulus serve as an African counterpart to the Gurkhas, albeit recruited from a Commonwealth Dominion rather than a protectorate.
- Navally, the British are hitting the real crunch. The warbuilt escorts are now less than useful against the emerging nuclear submarine threat and need to be replaced with new construction. The US/British/Commonwealth light ASW frigate is going to be a combination of the Australian DDL project, the Canadian General Purpose Frigate, the US Knox class DE and an enhanced version of the RN Type 21 Frigate, displacing ~4800t, carrying a single medium calibre gun, light AA guns, some sort of light AAW missile, ASW missiles, a pair of Sea King helicopters and a towed array sonar. Should it go through, it will be one of the largest naval construction programmes of the 1960s.
- The five Illustrious class carriers will be sold in the next few years, although many of the traditional South American customers for second hand ships already have their own nascent carrier fleets from earlier American and British sales. The light fleet carriers/Theseus class will likely go to the scrapyard.
- The RAF are facing an even more troublesome quandary and may have to make some difficult decisions on aircraft development in several years, particularly if they want to buy Phantoms.
- The Scimitar is the SR.187, but is something of a smaller aircraft, lying roughly between the SR.177 and SR.187 from @. It is in limited test service with the Royal Navy and the Luftwaffe are on the verge of placing a major order.
- It will be interesting to see what readers think the Skyguard Program may be.
- The Army Commandos are serving as the test force for a version of a strategic airmobile force, given the global range of skyships.
- The Army is playing a long game in trying to preserve its second-line TA divisions. They do have a role in home defence and maintaining order after a nuclear exchange, but there are many who want to see them maintain a more measured role.
- The section on Transition to War contains plenty of details to mull over; there are no plans to arm traffic wardens at this time.
Part 3
- A quite advanced Air Force One goes along with an armed escort as it is late 1960 and much has happened in that year...
- The Congo gets a lot of mention as a flashpoint
- Boeing get the F-111 contract
- Japan at this point is just starting to wriggle free of restrictions and rearm
- Mention is made of the British 'Post 1956 bristling phase' quite deliberately
Parts 4 and 5
- Notes coming soon to a thread near you! (this one)
Part 6
- California has some very different cultural development trends and lacks a border with Mexico.
- Indian migration to the USA has some interesting consequences, prior to the general tightening up of regulations from the late 19th century.
- Zorro is a historical character and may get a future appearance.
- Something very strange is going on in Africa. Thompson may be a bit too charitable towards Stalin Jr's word on the matter.
- Whatever its cause, it throws fuel on the anti colonial fire in the USA.
- Brazil is going to be an interesting place...
- Crocker Jarmon is from the 1972 film 'The Candidate'.
- Reagan is moving quite steadily to the right.
- The film he is referring to is the Dark Earth version of 'The Longest Day', a Technicolor epic featuring Reagan as the General Thompson, Eisenhower and Rommel as themselves, George C. Scott as Patton, Charlton Heston as a USN battleship captain, Gregory Peck as Omar Bradley and many more.
- Senator McCarthy is still alive, albeit a shadow of what he once was.
- Nixon on the Supreme Court; we'll hear from him in the final instalment of this tale.
- Multiple first generation CVNs.
- USS President is a Monitor class guided missile super battlecruiser; details are available and we'll hear from her sisters eventually.
Part 7
- The Mexican naval exercise is a bit of showboating aimed at impressing Yucatan and Central America.
- The wall along the Mexican border began as a result of troubles in the 1910s and has been gradually reinforced over the years, with a large part of construction occurring in 1940 and 1941 as part of considerable improvements in home defence of CONUS. In the postwar period, Mexico has taken a bit of a shift towards increasingly strident nationalism, which has chilled the border.It extends from the Gulf of Mexico to the Sea of Cortes.
- Pressuring the Belgians will result in their acquiescence by virtue of their much smaller size, but it will have some rather complex results. The Congo will be an interesting place in the 1960s, in the Chinese sense of the word.
- Japan's agreement ties them into the US security network in the Pacific, but not as close as in @.
- The IJN and IJAF are building up very capable aerial forces; the F-111s will be one of their crown jewels.
- I envisage the IJN building SSNs with US assistance by the end of the 1960s.
- Anglo-Japanese cooperation has been hinted at in the Timeline.
- Australia is very concerned by the security threat posed by Red Indonesia and anything that occurs in Western New Guinea will be viewed internationally in quite a different context.
- Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism is not dead, but is progressing in a different manner. It lacks the socialist and grandiose edge of Nasser and pointedly Egypt has not been mentioned; Egyptian nationalism has developed in a different fashion, with some definite elements of Pharaonism.
- What is looking likely in the Middle East as a first step is something like the Arab Federation writ large, with the rotating high kingship coming from Malaysia in @.
- Thompson's confidence on Vietnam may be misplaced, but it is in a very different position than in @.
- 1964 is shaping up as a very interesting election, with a number of elements that played heavily historically being absent, such as Civil Rights and a recently assassinated President Kennedy.
- Thompson is a quite honest fellow and domestic policy, particularly healthcare, never really lit a fire in his breast.
- Sea Dragon is one of a few heavy lift rockets that will get a work out in the 1960s as the race for Jupiter and Saturn kicks off.
- The final line is a hat tip to another storyline which follows on from this one.
Part 8
- The First Dog has rather refined tastes in literature.
- The Soviet and Arab proposals take place in the background to the latter days of the Thompson Administration. The Arab one is the more straightforward: the member states of the Arab League see the best means of progressing towards full independence is through the promotion of a US-lead collective security alliance in the Middle East in place of more overt British hegemony. This may not work out in the way that anyone expects.
In the aftermath of the Red Shadow Crisis of April 1960, the Soviets and Americans look towards some measures of stabilising superpower tensions and the Cold War, having been brought to the edge of catastrophe by mistrust and manipulation. As such, back channel discussions on stabilising the balance of power in Europe are initiated, reaching a broad agreement for constraining German and Austro-Hungarian militarisation (in the view of the Soviets)/setting broad force levels for both blocs in Europe (the US view).
- The French reaction is drawn from their historical issues with Anglo-American dominance of NATO, coupled with Gaullist grand strategy. Unlike the Great War, there is a big gulf between France and the two leading Western powers; to be precise, there is a huge gulf between the US and Britain and another big gap between Britain and France. Their proposal for a tripartite structure is a non-starter.
- Skybolt is a very important system politically as a result.
- The matter of mobilisation is not too complex, being a matter of timetables and bottlenecks. The first issue is procuring enough airlift and sealift assets and propositioning equipment in POMCUS sets; the second and larger issue is getting sufficient strategic warning to initiate mobilisation. REFORGER may be used as an acronym down the line...
- The 2nd MAF would go to Scandinavia and the 4th MAF would go to the Mediterranean, where it possibly would be employed in the Middle East or the Balkans.
- SS United States has a twin in the form of SS America, with both being larger and faster superliners.
- The CX will result in an aircraft rather larger than the C-5 Galaxy...
- Canadian Prime Minister Sir William Richardson is the 'grand old man' of the Western powers, having been in office since 1925.
- Fort Alfred = Fairbanks
- Thompson's farewell address is modelled fairly closely on that of Eisenhower, but has some distinct differences. Perhaps the most important is the absence of any reference to the threat of the military-industrial complex.
- The inaugural military parade is an indicator of some different equipment and a more militarised society.
Thompson Cabinet
VP: Harold Stassen
NSA: Dr. Henry 'Indiana' Jones
SecState: Jefferson Smith
SecDef: Thomas Gates
SecWar: Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
SecNavy: Rockwell Torrey
SecAir: James Douglas
DCI: Allen Dulles
SecTreas: Robert Anderson
Kennedy Cabinet
VP: George Smathers
SecState: Atticus Finch
UnderSecState: Dean Rusk
SecDef: Clark Savage
SecWar: Henry Jackson
SecNavy: Victor Henry
SecAir: Bruce Wayne
NSA: McGeorge Bundy
DCI: Frank Hardy
SecTreas: Robert McNamara
Attorney-General: Robert Kennedy
SecCommerce: Averell Harriman
SecMagic: Rick Blaine
Senator Richard Nixon was appointed to the Supreme Court in July 1960.
America in 1961
At the beginning of the year and a new administration, the USA stands well positioned. There are some key differences from @ and some common chords.
Economically, the USA has a GDP of $5.62 trillion and a GDP per capita of $19557.5. The national debt is at 40% of GDP and falling. It has recovered strongly from the recession of 1957, which saw a GDP fall of 0.83%, with growth in the subsequent years being 5.24%, 4.96% and 4.47%. This level of growth is driven by manufacturing, the backbone of the US economy, although services overtook it in 1950; the largest industries are automotive, housing, steel, defence, aviation, electronics and telecommunication, petroleum and chemicals. There are four major car manufacturers - Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and American Motors. The major US airlines are TWA, American Airlines, United Airlines, Eastern Airlines, Capital Airlines, with Pan Am and US Airways concentrating on international flight.
Politically, the Democrats hold the House (264 Democrats, 194 Republicans, 36 Liberals/Whigs, 22 Conservatives, 4 Independent) and the Senate (52 Democrat, 40 Republican, 7 Whig, 1 Conservative) as well as the Presidency. The chief areas of difference between the major parties are domestic: health, welfare and the role of government; there is general concurrence on defence and foreign policy. Civil Rights aren't the same level of issue, due to earlier gradual desegregation moves. There is still a large amount of prejudice and de facto discrimination, but it has not come to the boil, so to speak, for a number of reasons.
Demographically, the USA is a small but noticeable amount more White. Hispanic migration in the South West hasn't begun to rise to the same exent and the Black population is more centred in the South. There are more Indians on the West Coast and a larger Native American minority. White is 90.5% (1.8% Hispanic), Black is 8.2%, Asian is 0.7% and Native American is 0.6%. The postwar baby boom is gradually slowing, but is still going strong.
American society is extremely homogenous, with the melting pot philosophy of migration still prevalent. The class divide is continuing to contract with the postwar boom in affluence. This is the heyday of the nuclear family. The move towards suburbanisation has been a major factor throughout the 1950s, with car ownership rates very high. It is a very Christian society, with Protestant denominations comprising the majority and church attendance around 75%. Unionisation rates are at 25% and falling slowly. 39% of the adult population are smokers and there is still quite an influential temperance movement, with the lack of nationwide Prohibition being a factor in its survival. Television ownership rates are very high and it is becoming the dominant medium in popular culture. Rock and roll never progressed beyond a regional musical style and variations of country and pop are the most popular musical styles. Fashion is quite conventional and formal, as in @, and hats are still considered de rigeur. Films and comics are still subject to fairly strict self-regulation of content.
The 1960 US military has 5,692,495 personnel (2,457,136 Army, 1,429,356 USN, 369,524 USMC, 1,636,479 USAF) or 1.97% of the population compared to 2,476,435 (873,078 Army, 617,984 USN, 170,621 USMC, 814,752 USAF) or 1.37%. There hasn't been the 1950s post-Korean War contraction in conventional strength in favour of nuclear weapons, particularly in the US Army. Of the 2,458,793 young men who turn 18 and reach military age annually, roughly 65% are drafted, many going on to serve part of their time in the reserves.
Interservice rivalry is still strong, with all three major services fielding their own nuclear missiles and the US Army looking to expand its fixed wing aviation assets. The USAF has SAC, TAC and ADC as semi-independent air forces after a certain fashion; there is something of a move towards common air frames in relevant cases. The general posture of the armed forces is trending more towards Europe than the Pacific in the aftermath of the Korean War, with US forces in Europe set to rise significantly. Deployment to Korea is likely to wind down completely within the first Kennedy Administration, given its position as a united American ally; it has already shrunk from a 1956 level of 5 divisions to a single infantry division, with copious support brigades and units. Kennedy's defence policy is going to be noticeably different with Clark Savage as SecDef. There won't be the same move away from bombers in favour of ICBMs, for one. The US Army is likely to expand.
The Cold War is going strong without a Khruschev thaw, although there has been greater cooperation since April 1960. Without a Red China, the strategic threat does not seem as monolithic, but it represents its own challenge. The Soviet empire in Eastern Europe lacks Bulgaria, Hungary, Bohemia, Slovakia and half of Germany, but this comprises a minor reduction in their threat and capabilities. The USSR's influence is somewhat constrained by the different geopolitical position of Africa and the Middle East; the Third World or Non-Aligned Movement simply isn't around.
US foreign influence and prestige is the strongest in the world, although the British Empire and France have varying degrees of independence of action and differences of view. The recent moves towards rapprochement by the Thompson administration have shuffled general alignment closer to what we'd be familiar with, but the 1960s will see some interesting changes. The League of Nations doesn't have the same power or cachet as the United Nations at this point.
(All economic stats are in 1990 USD for ease of reference and convertability)
-
jemhouston
- Posts: 4191
- Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2022 12:38 am
Re: From Sea to Shining Sea
A lot of stuff to consider. Any chance of posting only one or two chapters daily?
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Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1127
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: From Sea to Shining Sea
As these are reposts, gradually putting them up is an option. I’ve held off for the past eight months (and then for the iteration of the board before that) whilst the saga of the back up played out, but there are a few more pieces to go: Space the New Frontier, The Korean War, 1947, Never Had it So Good and The Red Shadow.
I plan to work on at least two of those over July in between shifts, so will stagger them.
I plan to work on at least two of those over July in between shifts, so will stagger them.
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Belushi TD
- Posts: 942
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Re: From Sea to Shining Sea
I very much like how this starts out as a narrative, and about halfway or 3/4 of the way through, you realize that its President Thompson's last hurrah, and a swing around the US.
And, of course, being an American, (Even if you did decide to give Alaska to Canada) I am very interested in what my country in another timeline is up to, and how it relates to the rest of the world.
Belushi TD
And, of course, being an American, (Even if you did decide to give Alaska to Canada) I am very interested in what my country in another timeline is up to, and how it relates to the rest of the world.
Belushi TD
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Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1127
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: From Sea to Shining Sea
That was exactly the intent - to seem as if it was going somewhere, but that particular somewhere is simply the final valedictory lap of a 'tame truck', as Baron von Richthofen puts it.
I'm always interested in 'fleshing out' the world in a variety of ways, so any reader response is greatly appreciated. The DE USA of 1961, as outlined in the little appendix, isn't dramatically different from the @ 1961 USA, at least on first appearances. The devil is in the detail, where the seemingly familiar turns out to be something else. In terms of the international position and perception of America, it is somewhere between the post WW2 supersized titan of @ and the 1930s in the latter respect; even as it is economically larger and stronger, it isn't yet as far in front as the @ 1961 USA, although the economic growth of the 1960s starts to really assert that aspect.
In domestic terms, the absence of rock and roll is a small thing that starts to have a larger impact as the 1960s develop. There isn't really the same perception of a generation gap or anything like that, as the 1960s continue as they started - a long 1950s. The absence of the Civil Rights disputes take a bit of heat out of social issues, whilst Vietnam doesn't turn into the same level of domestic dispute, due in part to JFK's personal political capital; to a certain extent, it is considered to be Korea Mk II.
The Thompson administration wasn't the Eisenhower one of @, although there is a lot of crossover. As a President, he didn't quite have the same cachet or personal domination as Ike, being more of a Republican Truman in a sense. Entering office as an 'accidental President', he didn't have any overt agenda, apart from trying to manage the generally more intense military situation.
I'm always interested in 'fleshing out' the world in a variety of ways, so any reader response is greatly appreciated. The DE USA of 1961, as outlined in the little appendix, isn't dramatically different from the @ 1961 USA, at least on first appearances. The devil is in the detail, where the seemingly familiar turns out to be something else. In terms of the international position and perception of America, it is somewhere between the post WW2 supersized titan of @ and the 1930s in the latter respect; even as it is economically larger and stronger, it isn't yet as far in front as the @ 1961 USA, although the economic growth of the 1960s starts to really assert that aspect.
In domestic terms, the absence of rock and roll is a small thing that starts to have a larger impact as the 1960s develop. There isn't really the same perception of a generation gap or anything like that, as the 1960s continue as they started - a long 1950s. The absence of the Civil Rights disputes take a bit of heat out of social issues, whilst Vietnam doesn't turn into the same level of domestic dispute, due in part to JFK's personal political capital; to a certain extent, it is considered to be Korea Mk II.
The Thompson administration wasn't the Eisenhower one of @, although there is a lot of crossover. As a President, he didn't quite have the same cachet or personal domination as Ike, being more of a Republican Truman in a sense. Entering office as an 'accidental President', he didn't have any overt agenda, apart from trying to manage the generally more intense military situation.