Inevitable Triumph: The United States at War, 1939-1947

[Prufrock451]

March 20, 1941

Corporal Giovanni Benedetto sighted down his M1 and fired. The Japanese officer tumbled off the sandbags, his sword tumbling from his hand. Benedetto pulled the lever and fired again. A spurt of sand shot out of a sandbag next to a soldier in tattered khaki scrambling over the top, screaming at the top of his lungs. Benedetto pulled the lever and fired. A bloom of red appeared in the soldier's gut and he fell over, an awful look on his face. Benedetto stared at the soldier for what seemed like forever. He slowly pulled the lever back and fired again. The bullet went in the soldier's left shoulder. It buried itself somewhere in the soldier's lung, and he started coughing up blood.

"Jesus," he muttered. "Jesus." He pulled the lever and fired again. He was shaking now, and the bullet went wide. The Japanese were coming over the top now and getting closer. Benedetto couldn't take his eyes off the man he'd wounded. The soldier was fumbling for his rifle. Blood was everywhere.

"Jesus." Lever. Fire. The bullet hit the sandbags. Lever. Fire. The bullet hit the soldier in his leg. He fell over, just staring at the sky and whispering something, blood coming out of him all over. Benedetto shrunk down behind his sandbags. He fumbled out a clip. Bayonets, someone was saying. I can't believe that guy. He won't die. I can't kill him. I have to. Screaming, close.

Benedetto put his last clip into his rifle and pulled the lever. He popped up over the top. A Japanese soldier right there, his rifle pulled back and a bayonet right in his face. Benedetto whipped up the rifle and shot, too low. The Japanese soldier fell backwards, clutching at where his groin used to be. Benedetto groaned. He pulled the lever. He fired into a platoon of Japanese over to his left. Too many to miss. He hit one. He fired again. He hit another. Neither man died. They fell, screaming and moaning.

Benedetto pulled the lever. He pulled it again. He pulled it a few more times. Bullets popped out of his M1, still in their casings. Benedetto threw down the rifle. He pulled out a cigarette.

A Japanese soldier slid over the top. He had a pistol. Colt .45. He must have took it off an American. Benedetto stared at him wearily and nodded. The Japanese soldier nodded too. The two men shared a quiet moment, there in hell. The pistol raised up, pressed against his forehead. It burned.

The pistol fell away and Benedetto opened his eyes. There was Angle. Dear Angelo. He was doing something with a rifle butt to the Japanese man's head. He was saying something. Benedetto fumbled for his matches. Angle's shaking his head. What?

The Japanese soldier moved a little. A flash of light. Angle's falling over. Angle's falling over.

Benedetto lurched forward, falling onto the Japanese soldier. His head was a bloody mess. Benedetto butted him in the nose with his forehead. He reached over for Angle's rifle. He finished the job.

He crawled over to Angle. Angle was grinning.

"Oh, Johnny. I knew you had it in you." He died.

Benedetto picked up his rifle. He grabbed Angle's ammunition. He loaded up and looked over the top. The Japanese were falling back, and over in the east the Americans were in no man's land, tanks rolling forward to smash open a breach. He found the Japanese soldiers he'd wounded. They were all dead now. He climbed over the top and trotted forward. A head popped up in the Japanese sandbags. He shot it to pieces.

He walked forward. He killed. He lived.

 

[Prufrock451]

April 20th, 1941

Field Marshal George Patton paced angrily.

"That sonofabitch. That weaselly no-good sonofabitch."

Field Marshal Douglas MacArthur nodded ruefully.

"I have to agree."

"Takes out one goddamn division in Formosa and he thinks he's goddamn Napoleon."

MacArthur lit his pipe. "Stilwell has the press eating out of his hand. You drove to Kyushu, I drove to Hokkaido, Stilwell stayed in Tokyo-"

"-And he's the hero who conquered Japan."

"Field Marshal Stilwell."

"Field Marshal. Pah!"

The two men stared at each other. A rumble of artillery in the distance, a few diehards in the hills outside Seoul. A Korean woman came forward, with another heaping tray of food. She left it, bowing and trembling. Patton and MacArthur had both made damn sure everyone in Seoul knew the two geniuses who had freed Korea were in this hotel. They were the kind of men to appreciate the attention that brought.

Patton stomped over. He sat and took a deep breath before setting his napkin on his lap. MacArthur noted bemusedly that for a bloodthirsty warrior, Patton's eating habits were downright dainty.

Patton winced. "I love this beef. But I can't touch this spicy salad crap." He rubbed his chin. "Stilwell's going to push us both out when this is over. He's got enough pull to take over the whole theater and a whole gaggle of ass-kissers. And Eisenhower's got Europe sewn up now. Too bad there isn't a war over there or he'd be a marshal now too."

MacArthur drummed his fingers on the table. "Stilwell's got political ambitions."

Patton took a sip of the French wine he'd brought with him across the world. "You mean, push for him to take some cushy post. And leave us the military command out here."

MacArthur chuckled and pulled on his pipe. "I'm not sharing my half of the world with you."

"Eisenhower's best pals with Marshall."

"Kick him upstairs too. Make him governor of Germany or something."

Patton scratched his chin. "Maybe. Maybe." He smiled. "Doug, you're downright pleasant from time to time."

MacArthur held up his wine glass. "I'm looking at getting you out of my hair for years, George. I'm on top of the world."

 

[unmerged(47162)]

excellent update! a moment where both opponents submit to exhaustion but there is never a time to rest, for we are not exempt from battle. huh...i cant believe i said(typed) that....great update! and another great update!

 

[unmerged(15337)]

Prufrock, I have to wonder how you could write with a straight face (you probably didn't) about two egomaniacs like Patton and MacArthur complaining about Stilwell, who in comparison was far more selfless. It made for enjoyable reading, though. And thanks for the update from the frontlines, showing that for the average GI it wasn't just a quick, easy push this way or that.

 

[Prufrock451]

And that's exactly why they hate Stilwell.

April 22, 1941

Secretary of War George Marshall took off his glasses and rubbed his nose wearily.

"So that's where we are. Patton should be in Pyongyang any day now- the Japanese are pulling way back. MacArthur's not finding any troop concentrations along the east coast of Korea, but the terrain's slowing him down. Within a month or so, we should be in occupation of the major cities of Manchukuo, enough to force the so-called Emperor to surrender. Still no sign of Hirohito or the Japanese High Command. They've gotten wise in a big way- virtually no radio commands at all. Everything's being done by couriers on horseback."

President Roosevelt nodded. He shuffled his papers absently.

"Have you made a decision about the Chinese demands yet, Mr. President?"

"I haven't, George. I don't like the changes our friend the Generalissimo has been making. Roundups, military tribunals, his Blackshirts, the whole lot. With this latest move to the right, he's practically a Fascist now." He tapped at the map. "He's already moving his troops south, I see."

Marshall nodded, a sour look on his face. "So much for the United Front. The second we finish the Japanese for him, he's cleaning house."

Roosevelt sighed. "Military administration for Manchuria. Return nothing to the Chinese."

"They won't like it."

"They'll like it whether they like it or not."

"The Russians won't like it either."

Roosevelt lit a cigarette. "I'm working on that." He rubbed his eyes. "Let's not count any more chickens right now, George." He turned to Bill Donovan. "Any news from the other front, Bill?"

Donovan chuckled. "You mean the one in Eastern Europe or the one at Downing Street?"

Roosevelt snorted. "Take your pick."

Donovan shrugged. "No news from our Red friends. They're playing everything close to the chest, which is at least in character. The Brits are still up to random acts of skullduggery, but nothing I can add up to anything yet."

Roosevelt turned back to Marshall. "What all have the Europeans contributed in the Pacific?"

"The bare minimum. A few destroyer squadrons, some air patrols. Frankly, the Dutch have done as much fighting in Japan as the Brits or the French have. There's a Dutch fighter squadron based out of Hiroshima and another in Tokyo."

Roosevelt leaned forward. "Perhaps it's time to shake things up. Bring more countries into the United Nations."

Marshall raised an eyebrow. "The Brits and French won't like that a bit."

"It's not diluting their power. It's diluting ours. Not our fault if we send out the invitations and our friends in Latin America are the ones who answer the call."

"And the Russians won't like that either."

Roosevelt grinned. "Oh, I think I have a solution there."

 

[Vann the Red]

Better the bastard I understand, eh. Good updates, Pru!

Vann

 

[unmerged(15337)]

And that's exactly why they hate Stilwell.

Ah, so there you have it. Point taken.

Roosevelt seemed remarkably calm in replying to all the objections that the Russians wouldn't like this or that. I wonder what he has in mind...

 

[unmerged(4934)]

The outcome here is so inevitable...I wonder why i even bother coming back to read the updates...

 

[Cloudyvortex]

It's about style, not kill count.

 

[unmerged(41995)]

The outcome here is so inevitable...I wonder why i even bother coming back to read the updates...

If it is so disappointing why do you bother?

Personally - I think Prufrock is a brilliant writaar and if you read his first few posts you will discoverthat these little wars - Europe and the Pacific are just the prelude to the big war with mother Russia.

 

[El Pip]

The outcome here is so inevitable...I wonder why i even bother coming back to read the updates...

Cough *Read the title* cough.

It takes serious, jaw dropping talent to lose as the US. I mean shocking millitary ineptitude of the type rarely since the the days of the Viking warlord 'Olaf the incompetent'. And if you're that bad are you really going to write about it and expose yourself as fool to the world?

Complaining about a US victorious AAR is like whining about a German player re-occupying the Rhineland, it's not a great surprise and what did you really expect?

 

[unmerged(4934)]

:rofl: you guys are funny...

i suppose it's like watching NASCAR...most of the time it's pretty boring...even if the commentators are first class...the real excitement comes when there's a wreck...

 

[unmerged(28944)]

Nice work since I've been out, Pru. I really liked you battle description with Benedetto, it truly brought home the feel of the battlefield.



OT - stephanbathory, clearly my lad, you have no sense of style or taste, hence your infantile comments. Rather than clutter up Pru's work with your brain farts, why don't you just keep 'em to yourself and do us all a favor, eh?

 

[Culise]

Am I the only one who read Bathory's word choice in the light of the AAR's name as pure sarcasm? Granted, it loses a lot of points for complete irrelevance (I mean, seriously, any good wordplay must fit somehow into the present discussion to present the semblance of off-the-cuff comments), but still...

And I'm very glad to see Korea to America. I'm a bit more unsure on Manchuria, but I suppose it's better off under America than under the kleptocracy of Nanking. I wonder how it'll turn out, though.

 

[Cloudyvortex]

Am I the only one who read Bathory's word choice in the light of the AAR's name as pure sarcasm? Granted, it loses a lot of points for complete irrelevance (I mean, seriously, any good wordplay must fit somehow into the present discussion to present the semblance of off-the-cuff comments), but still...

And I'm very glad to see Korea to America. I'm a bit more unsure on Manchuria, but I suppose it's better off under America than under the kleptocracy of Nanking. I wonder how it'll turn out, though.

Here, here. It takes Mao to get me to like the GMD. But that doesn't mean whoever is left in charge of Manchuria would be better. But it has a chance.

 

[unmerged(10416)]

I suppose in the aftermath of the war, the Americans will eventually lose interest in Manchuria... they'll have their hands full with occupation and reconstruction duties elsewhere, and eventually they'll tire of supporting some random puppet state. The ChiComs eventually make themselves more than just a nuisance, and the US troops find themselves unwilling to chase guerillas all over the backwoods regions.

China is just too big a place to control from the outside... but it'll be fun watching the manipulative Americans trying to keep things under control... I could see MacArthur as the proconsul in Harbin, playing personal empire building (including hiring Chinese warlords to do the dirty work) until FDR gets jealous and pulls the plug.

 

[Cloudyvortex]

Why would Roosevelt be jealous. In the absence of MacArthur doing something stupid, Manchuria would be the place to stick him. He knows how to build stuff (or look like he's building stuff), and no one hears about what happens there unless a major war stops by for a chat. In which case, hopefully he gets shot.

 

[Culise]

Why would Roosevelt be jealous. In the absence of MacArthur doing something stupid, Manchuria would be the place to stick him. He knows how to build stuff (or look like he's building stuff), and no one hears about what happens there unless a major war stops by for a chat. In which case, hopefully he gets shot.

Plus, from the reader's perspective, you have the irony of a person who advocated turning the region into glass OTL put in charge of building it up ATL.

 

[unmerged(33383)]

Pardon my poor jargon......OTL = Original Time Line? and ATL = Alternative Time Line? Yes?

 

[unmerged(10416)]

Pardon my poor jargon......OTL = Original Time Line? and ATL = Alternative Time Line? Yes?

yes