Chapter 21 - Jul 1946: The War's End
"I speak to all Americans. The coming weeks will prescribe the future of our country. We, distracted by the War, allowed a despot to seize the reigns of liberty and determine our destiny. I say now: this cannot stand. I implore the states to join together against the evil that sits in the Oval Office, that holds on to the power it so selfishly abuses, and to restore the freedom this nation was founded upon. It is not the death and destruction of the loyal states that is sought, but the reuniting of the country under justice and liberty for all."
-Governor Sancronis
Sancronis and Forster (who departed Florida to aid in Sancronis' efforts) know that Deseret does not stand a chance against the real might of the US military, but they hope that the prospect of war will be enough to sway Eternien to give up his presidency. As the rebels prepare for possible annihilation, Eternien's administration is flooded with telegrams from allied nations, urging the president to peacefully give up his power. The Teutons, Great Britain, and many of the small (non-puppet) nations threaten to withdraw from the war if Eternien is to remain president after the election scandal. The UBP even offers him sanctuary if he relinquishes the office.
On July 25th, the House of Representatives (of the remaining states) vote nearly unanimously to impeach the President, and the citizens of America rejoice at the news. It is the most unity ever shown in the US. But Eternien has no desire to leave the Oval Office. He denies the validity of the vote. However, he put too much trust into the loyalty of his Secret Service to him rather than to their country. He is put under arrest and taken to a holding cell in the Dover police station to await his trial.
The National Guards units stand down and the seceding states rejoin the Union. After months of riots and a week long standoff in the west, Eternien is no longer in power. His vice president, a slightly more reasonable man named William Howard Kaft, is made interim-president for the duration of the trial and the revote. He states he is willing to remain in the position if voted in by the people, and the redo election is held on July 29th.
The candidates are much the same, with Sancronis (now with 40% estimated support), Forster (46%), and Kaft (10%) being the only viable candidates. On July 30th, Maximus Forster is named the victor, and it is the end of the Eternien Administration. He immediately puts his policies in place: maximum effort will be shown to the war to get it ended as quickly as possible; and he approaches Kornilov and China with a joint decree that will stop the use of nukes for the remainder of the War.
To get his first policy going, an invasion of East China from the Philippines is planned by General Zen. The country's capital of Manila is still in ruins from the nuclear attack, so, in Operation Rising Sun, the invading forces (made up of the marines who secured East Indochina, and reinforced by troops from Terres du Nord, Canada, and Haiti) will set sail from the Port of Vigan to the north. China originally kept the east coast fairly well guarded, but, with the advances made by the US to the south and west, the troops there have been redeployed. A landing on the east coast will ease up defense in the south as China struggles to fight a two 3 front war. The invasion date is set to August 10th. Several scientists warn Forster and Zen that landing near Fujian so soon after a nuclear strike could have unknown effects on the troops, but the weakened region will be an easy target, so the plans are kept.
As for the second, Kornilov declines to sign any joint agreement with the US, and a theory forms that he and China are holding onto their nukes to use as a last stand weapon if defeat is imminent.
Russia begins showing fierce resistance once more, and Operation Hangman is planned. Russia will be allowed to push the US and UBP lines back in Central Russia, making them think they have the Anglos on the run. When they have successfully overextended themselves, UBP troops from the north will push east as US troops from the east will push north, cutting off the advancing Russian troops. When the plans are finished, it is put into effects. While this was happening, Russian Western Asia is fully occupied, capturing tens of thousands of Stali troops.
The first of the troops make land on the 10th and meet light resistance. The beaches are quickly captured. The Marines are split into two; one, led by General Anguish, will move down the coast to take ports and break China's supply lines, while the other, led by General Jabby, will go north towards China's capital of Hangzhou.
The noose begins to close for real on the 15th of August. Russian troops pursue the 'fleeing' American and Baltic troops hundreds of miles before Russia realizes the play. The pincers nearly close, but several thousand Russians fight bravely to keep the road into the pocket open by holding onto the town of Troitsko-Pechorsk. They allow tens of thousands to escape capture.
The trial of Eternien begins on the 17th, and crowds and press surround the courthouse, eager to get a look at the disgraced former president. A few anti-war protesters show up, but what with the madhouse that the streets of Dover are in wake of the trial, their message is not heard. The trial comes to a close a few days later, and Eternien is found guilty of manipulation of votes during an election. He's given only 10 years of house arrest, which enrages some. Nevertheless, the mess that was the Eternien Administration is history now, and all that must be done before the rebuilding of the world is the defeat of the Stali Pact.
Air raids over Russia increase, as new jet reconnaissance planes reveal that Russia still has an estimated 4 nuclear bombs. Their new capital of Magdagachi is hit, as are many of their other industrial cities. With the capture of airfields in Eastern China, a bombing campaign of eastern and northern China begins.
As September begins, the push to China's capital proves easy, and the small Chinese garrisons are tossed aside in wake of the Anglo forces. In the south, heavy resistance is met as Hong Kong is captured. The defensive Chinese troops in Indochina appear to have moved with much haste to stop the US advance in the east.
The town of Troitsko-Pechorsk is surrounded on the 3rd, and the rope is pulled around the surrounded troops in the pockets. What will become known as Troitsko's Final Stand comes to an end on the 6th after holding out against 10:1 odds for several weeks. Inside the pocket is the main Russian Army of Rodina, a good 500 thousand men.
Several attempts to break through are defeated, and all 500 thousand enemy troops surrender. It's the largest troop surrender of modern history, and it does a lot to boost morale stateside. The loss of half a million men cripples the Russian ground forces, and the Anglo troops flood into Eastern Russia uncontested.
October brings with it word that General Jabby has reached the Chinese capital. An extremely loyal unit of special forces soldiers hold it, willing to all die rather than surrender, and the he finds they cannot take the city without huge loss of life. For now, he holds. Meanwhile, 25 fresh divisions led by General Idhrendur land near Fujian and push into the heart of China. General Anguish has been slowed down significantly in his march south, but progress is still slowly made.
In the last days of the Russian Empire, priority is given to preventing any more nuclear strikes. Air superiority is paramount, and there are constantly planes in the skies across Asia and Europe. The air strikes against Russia are estimated to have destroyed at least 2 of their nukes, while the number of Chinese nukes is still unknown.
On October 8th, US troops see Lake Issyk Kul in Russian Central Asia. It's a beautiful place with sand beaches and snow-capped mountains in the distance. The locals are somewhat cold towards them, but there is no lack of supplies in the US army. They stop for the night along the southern coast and make camp. The 687th Infantry Division's 2nd battalion sets up a baseball diamond with makeshift bases and homemade wooden bats, and a friendly game is begun between two of the companies. It's a chilly night, but the game keeps the men warm.
Lake Issyk Kul
A jeep with 5 men skids into the clearing, completely interrupting the game, and the angry players shout and spit at the newcomers from 1st bat. "It's over!" one of the first bat men shouts, jumping out of the jeep.
"The game's not over, wait your goddamn turns! We haven't been playing even 5 minutes yet," said the batter Johnson, walking up and holding the bat back threateningly. They have not stopped on flat grounds perfect for baseball in quite a while, and the men love baseball.
"No, no, to hell with the baseball. Kornilov's dead! Russia's had enough, they're done!" Johnson drops the bat and it hits the dirt.
As the US troops raced toward the capital, they found the enemy simply fleeing, rather than fighting. The morning of the 8th is when a telegram from the Russian government-- not Kornilov --arrived, surrendering unconditionally to the Anglo Alliance. No one is quite sure what happened to Kornilov, but rumors circulate among the troops that he killed himself when a spy of his told him his own party was planning on ousting him and handing him over to the Americans.
China is now surrounded on all sides like a cornered lion. Their only ally left, Korea, surrenders on the 10th instead of continuing to fight a lost cause. Now China is left alone against the world, their capital under siege and a seemingly endless supply of enemies pushing through their lands from all directions.
The last member of the great Stali Pact surrenders on the 14th of October. The War of the World is over.
So, I don't think there would be much, if any, defections in the military. It would be highly unlikely for the senior officer and enlisted, who have spent many years in their nation's service.
