After the Last War: Prologue

[Bernard Woolley]

D+84

*

0401 hours GMT, 15th July. The Kremlin, Moscow, RSFSR.
The General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was tired. Bone tired. The sort of physical and mental fatigue that could not be solved simply by a good night's sleep.

'He looks about ten years older than at the start of the war too.' The Chairman of the KGB thought. 'It's really getting to him. His decision making is getting sloppy and he's more paranoid than ever. Good.'

“Sorry to come and see you so early, Comrade General Secretary, but I wanted to make sure that you had the most update information before today's Defence Council meeting.”
“That is quite alright, Vladimir Vladimirovich, you are a good comrade.” The General Secretary said, stifling a yawn. “You always want to make sure that I have all the information I need.”

The Chairman took some documents out of his briefcase. He handed them across.

“I do not want to present these in full to the Defence Council due to their sensitivity. They have come from highly placed sources in both countries inner circles. I would rather that some other members of the Defence Council do not know of them.”

The General Secretary read both documents. He had to blink a few times to clear sleep from his eyes and re-read them several times.

“That Гандон really said that? After everything we have done for his regime? It's not as if his armed forces have achieved much! When your enemies are fighting around your third largest city, you are not exactly winning! That Мудак seems to want us to fight his war for him! I think he's lucky the Americans only used chemical weapons in retaliation for his attacks! He could have ended up like his boyfriend in Syria!” The General Secretary fumed. “Well, f*ck him and his sh*thole country! He'll not be laughing when American, or better Iranian tanks are driving through the streets of Baghdad! I do seem to remember you have a plan to eliminate him and his pestilent sons.”

The Chairman nodded.

“Operation BORIS. Preparations are progressing, but the problem is finding a suitable successor...!
“Ha!” The General Secretary interrupted. “That's no longer my, I mean our problem! Tell me, Vladimir Vladimirovich, without our esteemed fraternal comrade in charge, Iraq would collapse into chaos, would it not?”
“With no clear successor a civil war would be almost inevitable.”
“And the Americans and their allies would need to step in to occupy the country, or at least part of it to prevent trouble spilling over into Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.”

Again the Chairman nodded. This was easier than he had thought it would be.

“Yes, they would need to. Iran would undoubtedly be drawn in. It could very easily turn into a quagmire. Especially if we support a few of any factions that emerge.”

The General Secretary chuckled.

“We could keep the pot boiling without the need for any serious investment of resources. Good. See that BORIS is enacted as soon as possible. Now, there was another report you had for me...ah yes, from the People's Democratic Republic of Korea...oh, I see according to 'Emperor' Kim, I am Лох and a Долбоёб. Well, Блядь him too! His country is Пиздец. Calls himself a Communist, yet leadership is by dynamic succession! He's another one who wants to fight to the last Russian! Well that Сука can suck my...” The General Secretary paused. “You don't happen to have a BORIS for Democratic Korea do you?”

The Chairman shook his head.

“The Kim regime is almost impossible to infiltrate, at least for anyone who is not Korean. What I can do is to try to use our assets in the South to find out if they have any plans to eliminate the Northern leadership.”
“If you have anyone in a suitable position, perhaps they could use their influence to have any plans put into operation. In the meantime, I am sure we can find a way to cut off our aid without it being obvious. Again, drawing the Americans and their allies into an occupation and insurgency would keep them very busy.”
“I'm sure I can arrange something, Comrade General Secretary.” The Chairman replied.
“Good, good. Now, I need to have my breakfast before the meeting. I will see you there, Vladimir Vladimirovich. Again, you are a good comrade.”

The General Secretary handed back the reports, having appended his signature to confirm that he had read them.

“Make sure you keep these safe.”
“Of course.”

The reports would, in actuality, be shredded and burned, with their ashes spread out over a field, before it was ploughed. Different reports, with somewhat different information would be lodged in KGB records. They would even include accurate recreations of the General Secretary's signature.

The Defence Council meeting would also go as the Chairman hoped. He had an ally (of convenience) in the Defence Minister. Who had made sure that any military intelligence backed what the KGB was supplying. The military analysis that the Marshal supplied also suggested that as things currently stood, Iraq and North Korea were drains on Soviet resources on a cost benefit basis.

0802 hours GMT, 18th July. Khasan, RSFSR.
The freight yard at Khasan was filled to capacity as trains carrying fuel and munitions waited to cross the 'Soviet-Korean Friendship Bridge to Tumangang in North Korea. Trains were running at slow speed, with many having to wait on the mainline for the road to clear.
Allied forces had attempted to attack the bridge on several occasions, causing some damage to the railway, but not doing enough damage to the bridge itself to bring it down. However, the Soviets had imposed a speed restriction due to minor damage.

A train loaded with ammunition, including missiles was making its way slowly across the bridge. In the signalling block behind it was a train of aviation fuel, sitting at a red light. Just as the Soviet train crossed the border in the middle of the Tumen River there was an explosion amongst part of its cargo. A chain reaction spread along the train as explosives detonated. The explosions were powerful enough to cause the bridge trusses the train was on to collapse into the river. To add to the destruction, a missile cooked off and shot into the air, coming down on one of the tank cars of the fuel train. Within moments that train was on fire, explosions sending burning fuel in all directions. Burning fuel set fire to a second munitions train, which was soon adding to the destruction.

Firefighting resources at Khasan were totally inadequate to deal with the unfolding disaster, as very soon every train in the yard was on fire and the village itself was under threat, with some buildings already on fire. All the firefighters could do was to delay the advance of the flames, allowing residents to be evacuated. As Khasan was in an isolated location, it would be some time before assistance arrived to help fight the fire. By the time the fire was brought under control the entire freight yard, the trains in it and the village itself were gone. Most of the Friendship Bridge, or at least the part that crossed the river itself, was twisted wreckage.

Oddly, the subsequent MVD/KGB investigation quickly ruled out sabotage. Instead, it identified that unsafe practises that had developed at the Khasan freight yard were most like to blame. Since those responsible were dead, reduced to ash, there was no point in continuing the investigation any further. The book was closed.

The overall effect was that supplies to North Korea dried up. It would take months to repair the railways and rebuild the Friendship Bridge. The alternative sea route of Vladivostok-Wonsan was already closed, as the Americans had comprehensively mined Wonsan harbour. Moreover, due to the armistice in Europe, the Soviets were no longer placing ships in a position where they might run into American ones and risk a breach of the cease-fire. The Soviets would continue to fly some supplies in to North Korea, but it was a drop in the ocean compared to what had come before.

19th July. 'Traitor to go on trial' – Pravda.
'The trial of the notorious traitor, revisionist and war-criminal Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski will begin today in Warsaw. Jaruzelski has been held in Moscow under protective custody since he traitorously tried to surrender his country over to fascists and imperialists. To protect him against the anger of Polish patriots, he was held in the Soviet Union, while the Polish authorities gathered evidence. The trial and sentencing of the arch criminal Jaruzelski should break the back of the fascist rebellion.'

20th July. 'Welcome to East Germany' – BBC radio broadcast.
'We had spent the night just outside Helmstedt getting what sleep we could before the bus came to pick us correspondents up. Our Army liaison officer, a Major who had seen much action and was doing this job while he recovered from wounds, reminded us of our safety briefing. “Remember, do not pick up, or touch anything, unless you want to loose your hand” He said. “We haven't had time to clear all the unexploded ordnance out there, never mind the East German minefields along the border. Also, stick to the areas that have been marked as safe. Film what you want, take as many pictures as you want and talk to who you want. We will ask to see your material afterwords, but we want to give you as much freedom as we can.”
'What had once been Checkpoint Alpha, the border between West and East Germany, a chink in the “Iron Curtain”, had been destroyed in the fighting. As had the East German border post. Some Portacabins had been put in place by the army to take their place. We pulled off the autobahn to go through one final check, getting out of the way of a convoy of army lorries.'
“Good morning, ladies and gents.” A Royal Military Police Staff Sergeant I will call Edwards said on boarding the bus. “Please have your passports and accreditation passes ready.” He made his way up and down the bus, checking our documents. “Thank you, everybody. Have a nice trip and welcome to East Germany courtesy of the Royal Military Police.”
'The rest of the journey along the autobahn was remarkably quiet. I did notice a few rough patches where engineers had repaired war damage. But, otherwise, one could almost have forgotten we were technically in a war-zone. Finally, the bus reached the point where it could take us no further and we had to walk the rest of the way. I was almost immediately struck by the fact that we entered a communications trench which could have been in Flanders during the First World War. Only the modern camouflage and weapons marked this trench as being in 2005 and not 1916. Our guide introduced us to the commander of the infantry company that was going to host us for the next twenty-four hours, a Major 'Davis', not his real name, of course. He welcomed us to what he called the “closest British Army unit to Moscow”. We now split up into smaller groups as we were sent off to the various platoons which were on the front-line.'

*

“Do you see that humped shape out there? Just the other side of the river.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“It's a tank turret. An old T-55 the Ossies have dug in. If you look you'll see three more of them.”

'My guide was a young Corporal, who had taken me to a Forward Observation Post. In front of us was a forest of concrete 'dragon's teeth' and barbed wire. Even the Elbe River itself had been blocked with wire and other obstacles.'

“Do they worry you?”
“Not any more than anything else the Ossies have. Besides, we have their locations pinned down if they start anything.”
“Did you ever expect to be in a First World War type trench in the middle of East Germany?”
“Well, I'm a regular soldiers. But, no.” [laughs] “The army certainly didn't sell me on this sort of thing. It was all supposed to be water skiing in Cyprus and zooming around in armoured vehicles.” [laughs] “But, I go where I'm ordered.”
“How are you getting on with the National Servicemen?”
“Ah, they're not a bad bunch of lads and girls. Different from us regulars, or the Terries, of course, but they've made good soldiers.”
“You think you'll be here long?”
“Well, we'll be getting relieved by another Battle Group soon, but if you mean by East Germany, that depends on the politicians and diplomats in Geneva.”

*

As we boarded the bus to take us back to West Germany, I reflected on what I had seen. Gone, it seemed, was the high-tech war of tanks advancing across the plains of Europe. Trenches, concrete bunkers, tank traps and barbed wire seemed to be marking a new border. Did it also mark a return to trench-warfare, or were the armies of Europe just digging in while they waited for the results of the Geneva talks?' - Broadcast as part of the 'From Our Own Correspondent' segment on BBC Radio 4 and the World Service.

*

D+94

0701 hours. 25th July, RAF Innsworth, Gloucestershire, England.
Leading Aircraftman Peter Horner looked in the mirror with some satisfaction after straitening his blue RAF beret. The last item of clothing and his rank badges were the only things that identified him as being a member of the air force, the rest of the uniform being similar to that worn by civilian firefighters. Horner was a member of Red Company, Southern District Mobile Fire and Rescue Column. His company had been forward deployed to RAF Innsworth so that it could assist with getting 11th (Gloucestershire and Somerset) Battalion of the Mobile Emergency Fire & Rescue Service operational. [1]

*

Horner, 22, was a National Servicemen who had been working in a supermarket when his call-up papers had come through his door. Rather than report for training as ordered in the letter, he had decided to appeal to the local conscription tribunal. He was by no means a conscientious objector, but he honestly believed that he could not actually kill someone and was probably a coward. Something he had apologetically told the tribunal. Horner was convinced that he would get other people killed.

“Young man, it takes a lot of guts to admit to telling people you think you are a coward.” The Chairman had told him. “Which makes me think you probably aren't. I spent most of my time in Borneo either bored, or sh*tting myself. The soldier who isn't scared is either a liar, or crazy. However, if you genuinely believe you would be a liability, we can offer you an alternative. It won't be safe and it will be hard work. Have you heard of the Mobile Emergency Fire & Rescue Service?”

Horner had nodded.

“Yes, Sir. It's some sort of military run civil defence organisation?”
“That's right, sort of. It is administered by the RAF and the army and is being formed to provide additional fire-fighting and rescue cover. Is it something you would be interested in, as an alternative to normal military service?”
“Oh, yes, Sir! I'd would like to give it a try!” Horner had said enthusiastically.
“Well, here you go. Here are the details.” The Chairman had said, handing across some paperwork. “Need you to fill in some forms. Good luck, Mr Horner, we have faith in you.”

Working as hard as he could, so as not to let down the faith that had been shown in him, Horner had found himself selected to be given full professional firefighting training. He, and other MEFRS trainees had gone through the course at the fire college, before spending time attached to civilian fire brigades. As a rookie RAF firefighter, he had been posted to the newly formed Southern District Mobile Fire and Rescue Column. Since the company he was part of was equipped with the modern 'Standard Fire Appliance' (aka 'Red Goddess'), Horner and his colleagues felt a cut above those in White and Blue Companies. These companies were formed of personnel with only basic firefighting training (e.g. no Breathing Apparatus capability) and equipped with the old Bedford RLHZ Self Propelled Pump (aka 'Green Goddess').

*

“You ready then, Pete?” A voice from outside the bathroom asked.
“Yeah, mate, just coming.” Horner replied. “Just getting myself properly ready for my public.”
“Well, hurry up, the Corporal's waiting.”

Due to space restrictions at RAF Innsworth, most of the column's vehicles were stored at the nearby Gloucestershire Airport. That meant a short road journey of around seven minutes. As with the rest of the week ahead, a full day of training was planned. The platoon that Horner was part of was due to deploy to Morton-in-Marsh to brush up on their skills at the fire college. Following that, they would start a period of being the company's duty platoon, ready to respond to any operational tasks. That meant sleeping and eating close to their appliances, rather than staying in accommodation at Innsworth. Horner did not mind that too much, as he had been homeless for a while when he was eighteen, and any accommodation that put a roof over his head seemed like luxury.

The first order of the day was for the platoon to parade in front of their vehicles and answer to their names. After that, duties were allocated to be carried out in preparation for the deployment to the fire service college. [2] Horner found himself assigned to cleaning one of the Standard Fire Appliances (NCOs did their best to stop the acronym 'SFA' being used because of its connotations). Again, that was a duty he did not mind too much. It was a hot summer and inevitably anyone washing vehicles got wet, which helped them to cool down.
Life was good, Horner, thought. He did not pay too much heed to what was going on outside his little world. It was all way above his pay grade.


27th July. 1105 hours GMT. Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, PA.
Captain Theodore Leverett, USN, had turned down promotion at least twice to remain serving aboard Iowa class battleships. However, promotion had finally caught up with him. He had left his previous billet, Weapons Officer of USS Wisconsin six weeks ago to take up his new appointment. It was only his second ship command, his previous one having been USS Chandler. However, he knew that he had been chosen for this job because of his knowledge of large calibre naval guns and Naval Gunfire Support.
Today was something of a 'red letter day' for Captain Leverett, partly because he was now able to move aboard his command. Work on her had been going on at a low-level since early April, but had started in earnest at the beginning of May when it had been clear that the war was not going to be short. To board her, Leverett had to cross the fantail of her older sister, which was also being worked on. As there was no ensign to salute, he continued over the fantail to his ship. In contrast, an ensign was flying from the other ship's stern, the re-commissioning ceremony having taken place the day before. Leverett saluted both the ensign and the Officer Of the Day.

“Good morning, Sir.” The lieutenant said in greeting.
“Morning, Ringwald.” Leverett replied. “Big day to day. By the way, can you get someone to take the rest of my bags to my stateroom?”
“Aye, Sir.”

The OOD ordered a couple of nearby sailors to go to Leverett's car to retrieve the captain's luggage.

“The X.O is up on the bridge, Sir.” Lieutenant Ringwald informed Leverett.
“Thank you. Carry on, Lieutenant.”

As Leverett made his way to the bridge, he passed some yard workers finishing up tasks. Over the last few months they had worked day and night to return the ship to operational status. Thankfully, when she had been decommissioned the ship had been well preserved. However, a lot of her equipment and electronics had been obsolete, even if they still worked. A lot of the yard workers' job had been to remove weapons that were no longer needed, such as all of the ship's twelve twin 3”/50 calibre guns and all twelve single 20mm Oerlikon cannons. Four Phalanx CIWS and a few Mark 38 25mm MGS had been fitted to replace them.

Leverett took a moment to appreciate the work that had been done to return USS Salem (CA-139) to operational status. A number of studies had been done in the 1980s had been done regarding reactivating Salem and her older sister, USS Des Moines (CA-134) to service, as either an alternative to, or in addition to the Iowa class battleships. Those had been much more extensive, and ultimately unsuccessful, than what was currently being done to get the two cruisers operational. The US Navy had realised that the four Iowas could not be everywhere and that it needed a couple of additional 'big-gun' ships for Naval Gunfire Support. The reactivation process was an austere one, no major work was being done, other than to get the ships seaworthy, the exception being the installation of modern communications and replacing some of the electronics fit. Where possible, if something was no longer needed (like the tertiary gun armament), it was simply removed to reduce crewing requirements. [3]

*

“Captain on the bridge!”
“As you were.” Leverett responded. “Good morning, X.O. We ready for the big day?”
“Absolutely, Sir.” Commander Nathan Imbruglia replied. “All four boilers are lit and we're just waiting for the yardies to finish up a couple of jobs.”
“Excellent. Are the tugs on standby?”
“Aye, Sir.”
“Good.” Leverett. “I'm going to go to my stateroom; I have a hell of a lot of stuff to unpack its seems. Give me a call when we're ready to sail.”
“Aye, Sir, will do.”

*

Two hours later, two tugs eased Salem away from her berth and out into the Delaware River. They stayed with her until the heavy cruiser passed Cap May and headed out into the Atlantic.

“All ahead one third.” Leverett ordered. “We'll take it easy at first. It's been a while since the Old Girl has been at sea.”

Salem dutifully accelerated until she reached just under fifteen knots, holding the speed well. Leverett was satisfied to leave the cruiser at that speed for an hour as she began her voyage to Naval Station Norfolk to ammunition and take on the final members of her crew.

“She's doing well, Sir.” The cruiser's navigator observed.
“Indeed. Let's see if she how she does with a bit more power. All ahead one half.”

Again, the cruiser began to accelerate. Leverett again let her settle before ordering an increase in speed to all ahead two-thirds. Repeating the process before ordering flank speed. Salem accelerated up to her full speed, touching 34 knots briefly, before settling on 33. The ship seemed to be enjoying herself after the decades of inaction. Leverett smiled, as he felt the good mood spread amongst the crew.

“I think we have pushed the Old Lady enough for today. Ahead one third. Nice work, everybody.”

*

More tugs met Salem off Virginia Beach and escorted her into Chesapeake Bay. They took her under tow and brought the cruiser safely into the naval base itself. Salem was safely tied up and her crew got to work taking on ammunition and other supplies. Leverett was called ashore for a media interview about the return of the heavy cruiser to service, not something he particularly relished.

30th July. 'Peace talks continue in Geneva' – The Times.
'NATO negotiators are said to be confident of reaching a peace agreement with the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies, as talks are due to resume at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland after a short break. While the armistice, which has been in place since mid-June has held, no progress to put an end to the Third World War has been made, since formal talks began in July. Continued sticking points are said to include NATO demands that the USSR withdraws from all territory it has occupied. The Soviets only offering to withdraw from territory from countries which were members of NATO pre-war. Meaning that it would continue to hold onto parts of Finland, Austria and the former Yugoslavia. NATO negotiators are believed to have suggested that both sides withdraw to their pre-war borders as a pre-requisite of further negotiation.
'While NATO negotiators have put on an optimistic public face, inside sources have stated that they do not believe that any significant progress will be made. “Just as we seem to have come to an agreement on one issue, they [the Soviets] come up with some procedural objection, or demand a concession that we could not possibly meet. I just don't think they are really serious” one anonymous source told The Times. Other commentators have suggested that the Soviets are just playing for time while they re-build their military capabilities and crush the rebellion in Poland.'

***

[1] Information on the MEFRS can be found here.

[2] TOE of the platoon was as follows:

- Platoon H.Q: 1x Command Car (Land Rover Defender FFR), 1x Recce Car (Land Rover Defender FFR), 2x motorcycles
- A Section: 3x Standard Fire Appliances
- B Section: 1x hose layer, 1x GP lorry, 1x hose carrier

[3] Some information on the reactivation proposals can be found here.

[Bernard Woolley]

Accompanying Pictures

[Eaglenine2]

So the lines are in East Germany?

[Bernard Woolley]

Some of them, yes.

[James1978]

Good chapter!

So general recap if I follow correctly:
* Armistice in Europe
* Soviet and Cuban support withdrawn from southern Africa
* Stalemate / quasi-ceasefire in Korea
* Stalemate in Iraq

Any chance of a map showing the Armistice Line in Europe & Anatolia? Or a general description in the alternative?
I'm curious if Southwestern TVD made it to the Aegean.


Nice to see something came out our conversations about Des Moines and Salem. But damn, they are going to be austere given the electrical needs identified in @.
As an aside, I'd love to know where the 203mm shells were stored all those years in @.

Minor nitpick. Since the NISMF was basically a part of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, which wouldn't have closed in TLWverse, having the scene at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard might work a little better.

Re. the DPRK bit in the Kremlin, did you mean "dynastic succession" instead of "dynamic succession"?

I'm surprised that that the US and ROK weren't able to drop the Soviet-Korean Friendship Bridge in all that time.
North Korea does have other, smaller, ports on the Sea of Japan.

Keep up the good work!

[Matt Wiser]

I'll agree with James' analysis.

The Soviets are more limited in their support for Iraq as they can only fly in what they can via the air corridor over Eastern Turkey.

There may not be a single successor to Saddam when BORIS is executed, but there may be two or three who might be willing to form a government that would be more...receptive to Soviet advice. (the Battles of Al Khidir and An Nasiriya have yet to be told, where Soviet forces fight alongside the Iraqis... Stay tuned)

Jaruzelski will be shot. No ifs, ands, or buts.

One thing about bringing back Salem: they will need the "Fem Mods" for female crew.

[Johnnie Lyle]

Was SALEM pulled from her museum berth in this timeline, or did the distortion of the spacetime continuum mean that she was never donated?

Did they ever look at other museum ships, or are even the most modern still too old to be worth reactivating?

Obviously the situation is not sufficiently desperate we need to commit CONSTITUTION and CONSTELLATION.

[Johnnie Lyle]

Jaruzelski will be shot. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Neither the first nor last martyr for Polish independence. Mor are the Russians smart enough to comprehend that the situation is already beyond their control, especially when the Poles can shoot Russians and (East) Germans at the same time.

[Lordroel]

Another good update as always.

[James1978]

Was SALEM pulled from her museum berth in this timeline, or did the distortion of the spacetime continuum mean that she was never donated?

Did they ever look at other museum ships, or are even the most modern still too old to be worth reactivating?

In TLWverse, Des Moines and Salem never left reserve. They've just been sitting in Philadelphia as mobilization assets.
Newport News was stricken in 1978, but was never scrapped in TLWverse. She's also been sitting in Philadelphia.

When I said these two ships were going to be austere, I'm talking really austere. Remember, they looked at bringing them back during the 1980s.
They'd been laid up near their displacement limits, and over their center of gravity limits. Now a lot of circa 2005 equipment will be smaller and lighter than circa early 1980s equipment, to say nothing of 1940s equipment. But they also needed more electricity. And they had less electrical generation capacity than a 1980s destroyer. Replacing the existing generators would have required opening up the armor deck. In @, the solution was to add a fifth generator - which they were only going to be able to add because they'd have dropped it in via the planned to be vacant aft 8" barbette, because they had to remove the aft 8" turret to have the weight allowance and deck space for the Harpoons and Tomahawks. That . . . didn't happen here.

In the midst of WW3, with battle damaged ships to repair at the same time, there is only so much you can do in about three months to ships that have been in reserve since 1961 and 1959 respectively. For comparison - in @, the Iowas took about 18 months from getting towed out of mothballs to recommissioning. Yea, bigger ships with a much more comprehensive modernization, but you get the idea. And even with "fem mods", habitability standards will be closer to the 1950s navy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm stoked to see them. But they'll have some big limitations.

[James1978]

There may not be a single successor to Saddam when BORIS is executed, but there may be two or three who might be willing to form a government that would be more...receptive to Soviet advice. (the Battles of Al Khidir and An Nasiriya have yet to be told, where Soviet forces fight alongside the Iraqis... Stay tuned)

I'd be a little surprised if at least the KGB and MAAG in Baghdad hadn't given the matter some thought. You'd think they have some idea who the competent managers/technocrats are amongst at the ministerial level.

Edit to add
Something else to consider - while their influence in Pyongyang is open to debate, I doubt the PRC wants to see a unified Korea under Seoul's leadership. I'm not saying they'll save Kim Jong-il or the family dynasty, but they probably have some ideas of their own and their own contacts.

[Matt Wiser]

They do have some ideas, There's a few people in the RCC, who, despite being sycophants and yes-men at RCC meetings, are good at what they do. One who could play a role is Tariq Aziz: the former Foreign Minister and TTL, Deputy Prime Minister. He's well educated, speaks English fluently, and is well known internationally. Those are his good points. The bad: He's a Christian in a stronghold of both Sunni and Shia Muslims. He'd have a bulls-eye on him from the minute he takes office if he becomes President.

The Defense Minister wants no part of any "Turnover in Government." He's busy trying to run the war, though he does a deep suspicion that his Chief of Staff is an informer for someone. He won't commit to supporting anyone who hasn't consolidated political power.

One very probable wild card is that Saddam is killed, but Qusay escapes. The wicked (though not as public in his depravity as Uday) son takes power and quickly consolidates his position. There's a purge, and Qusay runs the show. Qusay is willing to listen to the advice of others before coming to a decision, and is also more flexible in dealing with the Generals. IF Qusay does succeed his father, the military will rally around him.

[Matt Wiser]

There may not be a single successor to Saddam when BORIS is executed, but there may be two or three who might be willing to form a government that would be more...receptive to Soviet advice. (the Battles of Al Khidir and An Nasiriya have yet to be told, where Soviet forces fight alongside the Iraqis... Stay tuned)

I'd be a little surprised if at least the KGB and MAAG in Baghdad hadn't given the matter some thought. You'd think they have some idea who the competent managers/technocrats are amongst at the ministerial level.

Edit to add
Something else to consider - while their influence in Pyongyang is open to debate, I doubt the PRC wants to see a unified Korea under Seoul's leadership. I'm not saying they'll save Kim Jong-il or the family dynasty, but they probably have some ideas of their own and their own contacts.

That is the last thing the PRC wants: an American ally on their border. A regime in Pyongyang more...cooperative with Beijing would suit their needs admirably.

[Johnnie Lyle]

Was SALEM pulled from her museum berth in this timeline, or did the distortion of the spacetime continuum mean that she was never donated?

Did they ever look at other museum ships, or are even the most modern still too old to be worth reactivating?

In TLWverse, Des Moines and Salem never left reserve. They've just been sitting in Philadelphia as mobilization assets.
Newport News was stricken in 1978, but was never scrapped in TLWverse. She's also been sitting in Philadelphia.

When I said these two ships were going to be austere, I'm talking really austere. Remember, they looked at bringing them back during the 1980s.
They'd been laid up near their displacement limits, and over their center of gravity limits. Now a lot of circa 2005 equipment will be smaller and lighter than circa early 1980s equipment, to say nothing of 1940s equipment. But they also needed more electricity. And they had less electrical generation capacity than a 1980s destroyer. Replacing the existing generators would have required opening up the armor deck. In @, the solution was to add a fifth generator - which they were only going to be able to add because they'd have dropped it in via the planned to be vacant aft 8" barbette, because they had to remove the aft 8" turret to have the weight allowance and deck space for the Harpoons and Tomahawks. That . . . didn't happen here.

In the midst of WW3, with battle damaged ships to repair at the same time, there is only so much you can do in about three months to ships that have been in reserve since 1961 and 1959 respectively. For comparison - in @, the Iowas took about 18 months from getting towed out of mothballs to recommissioning. Yea, bigger ships with a much more comprehensive modernization, but you get the idea. And even with "fem mods", habitability standards will be closer to the 1950s navy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm stoked to see them. But they'll have some big limitations.

Oh, no question. Though it’s also twenty years further beyond the original reactivation plans, and said twenty years also saw a lot of changes in electrical generation capacity - with attendant miniaturization. While we in @2028 probably look back at tech from 2005 as crude, it’s still light years ahead of 1940s or 1980s tech. So they can probably do a lot more to generate onboard electrical power in 2005 from the old steam turbines than they could in 1981.

Which does raise a question - did they look at the more modern museum ships for reactivation? LITTLE ROCK, TURNER JOY and BIDDLE come to mind. The limiting factor for reactivation is probably the black gang, though the 2005 USN had orders of magnitude more personnel familiar with steam plants than we do in 2026. But if you’re worried about electric power for modern electronics and weapons, less heavily armored ships from the 1950s/1960s should have more options to generate power for modern weapons and sensors.

[drmarkbailey]

Reactivating the CA really does have some massive constraints. One of the major problems is as pointed out, electrical power. There is no real way to significantly increase the supply. To do so means major rewiring and all-new switchboards. All that can really be done is to add independent local supplies to power local systems and that's a really terrible solution. About the best that can be done is to add an additional diesel generator or two not so much to improve ship total power capability but to improve redundancy and reliability. Oh, and replace her existing diesel generators with modern ones.

Her main electrical supply will still be the original steam turbine generators. Upgrading them is a bespoke task and not an easy one, I do not think it can be done even in six months.

Also, remember that these ships are incredibly noisy, a modern SSK or SSN will track them from hundreds of miles away. They are also built very differently and of what is by today's standards rather brittle, not-very-ductile steels. Strong hull girders but one single torpedo will break them in half. If they were new-built hulls of the same displacement, one torpedo might not do that.

So very useful ships indeed, but very limited without a major 12-18 month reconstruction.

Cheers: Mark

[Bernard Woolley]

* Armistice in Europe
* Soviet and Cuban support withdrawn from southern Africa

Yes. Both sides have withdrawn from southern Africa, bar the British military sales and training teams.

* Stalemate / quasi-ceasefire in Korea
* Stalemate in Iraq

Both Korea and Iraq are active theatres. There is still fighting going on in both places. US forces that were in southern Africa are probably now in the Middle East.

Any chance of a map showing the Armistice Line in Europe & Anatolia? Or a general description in the alternative?
I'm curious if Southwestern TVD made it to the Aegean.

I'll see what I can do.

Minor nitpick. Since the NISMF was basically a part of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, which wouldn't have closed in TLWverse, having the scene at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard might work a little better.

I have changed that, thanks.

Re. the DPRK bit in the Kremlin, did you mean "dynastic succession" instead of "dynamic succession"?

It is a misspeak by the character, reflecting that he is beyond exhausted.

I'm surprised that that the US and ROK weren't able to drop the Soviet-Korean Friendship Bridge in all that time.
North Korea does have other, smaller, ports on the Sea of Japan.

They have gone after it a great deal. However, the Soviets and DPRK made it a priority. Allied air forces took losses when attacking it and were not able to knock it out before the 'accident'.


On Des Moines and Salem.

Going to try and answer a few points on the CA, rather than go over each comment individually. This is the most austere of austere reactivations. The USN plan is to use both vessels for NGFS, that's it. All they really need to do reliably is get where they are needed, communicate and be able to use their main and secondary armament reliably and accurately. The Phalanx mounts and Mark 38 25mm MGS are the only modern weapons added. Salem will have a lot of empty gun tubs were the twin 3”/50 and 20mm Oerlikons used to be. Most of her electronics fit is going to be what she went into reserve with. Both ships are very limited in their capabilities, but that doesn't really matter for what the USN plans to use them for. Need heavy NGFS somewhere you really don't want to risk an Iowa? Well, send a Des Moines instead. Perhaps it would be better to think of both ships as being link the monitors of WW1 and 2, just a lot faster.

Putting both ships through a 12-18 month reconstruction would rather defeat the purpose of bringing them back. Which is getting a relatively basic NGFS capability now, rather than a more advanced one in 18 months time.

[Lordroel]

Would StanFlex not work, just think of it, sorry if it sounds crazy.

[Bernard Woolley]

For the Des Moines class? No, because holes would need to be cut through the deck to make slots. It's not a crazy idea, though.