Getting Ahead of Ourselves: A B-29 TL
- Thread starter Parmenion
- Start date
No US troops really fought there, it was just engineering and support people. They've all since filtered out.
Part 62- Defiance
Warsaw, April 27th, 1945 0830
Beria fumed as his staff car weaved through the streets of Warsaw. That Budyonny is a fucking disgrace he thought. It was supposed to be simple, quick and easy. The presidential palace would be siezed first, the Poles would stand down, and that would be that. Instead all of Beria's best NKVD soldiers were dead, the palace had taken four hours to be siezed, and no ceasefire order had been given. The entire city was one giant shootout.
As the car finally arrived outside the palace, he saw Marshal Budyonny waiting for him. "You useless fuck!" Beria roared at him. "What the fuck happened?!" Budyonny shurgged "They had soldiers and guards posted all around the palace, they lit your men up as soon as they got close." "And that explains why half the city is shooting at us!? I thought there was only one division in Warsaw!" "And apparently another half the city was either plainclothes military, or just milita who held on to their guns, what's done is done."
"Fine." Beria rasped "What's the situation inside." "Sikorski and the president are both dead." Budyonny said casually "Oh, who did that?" "This young man" He gestured to a corporal "Well shoot him, orders were to take them alive" A few of his comrades quickly complied, and seconds later a gunshot rang out from around the corner "He shot them because they had SMGs you tool!" Budyonny shouted exasperated "Well you should have told me that sooner, too late now."
As they entered the main room of the palace, the signs of a massacre were plain to see. Bullet holes riddled the walls, the smell of blood and sulphur hung in the air, tinged with excrement. Bodies in uniform and civilian attire were strewn about. Finally they came to their "guest of honor" Beria smirked "Ah! Comrade Komorowski. Glad to see you made it. Now let me tell you what you're going to do. You going to get on the radio, and tell every Polish soldier to stand down, and stay where they are. Then you're going to sign a few documents, and we'll let you get on with you're well earned retirement."
General Bór Komorowski, battered bruised and bloody, gave his reply "Eat a dick, Moskal!". Beria put his foot through his mouty, shattering his teeth. "Take him to the basement and have fun, he'll come around by tomorrow. He turned and began to exit the palace. Turning to Budyonny, he said "I'm gonna catch a plane back to Moscow, Stalin will be pissed, but that's unavoidable. For your sake you better clean this up fast." Budyonna nodded.
Minutes later, Berias car was already out of the center of town, heading for the airport. On the sidewalk, a few people were milling this way and that, quite hurried by the looks of things. Beria idly gazed out at a Polish girl, no older than 14. Not bad he thought Maybe I'll have to stay a- wait is that a pistol? All hell broke loose as his driver and guards heads exploded, tires popping as bullets riddled the car. Moments later a half dozen men and women had pulled him from the wreck, some dragging him, others laying blow after blow into his stomach.
My only complaint was that it was WAY too lenient. He needed to suffer.
Part 63- Weathering the Storm
Something that many depictions of Japan during the late stage of war incorrectly portray, is how quickly the homefront deteriorated. Most of Japan in the Spring of 1945 would've looked similar to Germany two years earlier. While the air raids were continuing to increase in both frequency and magnitude, their destructiveness was limited by Japans air defense measures. The Japanese Army and Naval air services may have been decimated by this point, but were aided by the fact that their only purpose was to defend the skies of Japan.
In April of 1945, a total of 12 large scale (defined as having 50 or more bombers) were launched on the Japanese Home Islands. The average loss rate for said raids was 8.6%, dangerously near the 10% ratio that General LeMay had estimated as the limit of sustainability. The Soviet fuel aid had been a huge boon for the fighter wings, which were given top priority in terms of who got the fuel. Sortie rates had begun to skyrocket at the tail end of the month, as aircraft could actually afford to fly daily. Even the training situation had begun to improve, as fuel was now available for more dedicated flying hours, though the lack of pilots still meant that most new recruits were dangerously green.
Overall, life for the civilians of Japan wasn't dramatically different from the homefront in America. Sure, by now 20,000 Japanese civilians had been killed, and nearly 200,000 rendered homeless, but life went on. Resteraunts and cinemas continued to function. Rationing, though beginning to tighten as the fishing fleets were decimated, was not oppressively strict. For the most part the Japanese people were eager to continue the fight, and morale was high.
One of the first signs of trouble however, began on the 28th of April. Prime Minister Yonai ordered the creation of the Volunteer Fighting Corps. This was essentially a barrel-scraping paramilitary force, consisting of all able-bodied men and women yet to be mobilized. Within a month nearly a million would be armed and mobilized, given rifle that were often older than those wielding them. These were given to the most able men of the corps, mostly men aged 17-35 who'd avoided conscription by virtue of working in wartime industries. These were designated "A Class" militia.
Many millions more were called up (Despite its name the corps was not voluntary) But there were not neaely enough weapons for them. Many so call "B Class" militia were instead organized to civil defense positions, such as mechanics, medics, and construction duties. Many more "C Class" militia remained in the lurch, many were elderly or juvenile, and not suited to combat anyway. Nonetheless they were instructed to make do with whatever was available. Bamboo spears, homemade bows, and kitchen utensils, were now common sights among these people. The government even went as far as providing instructions on how to make homemade muzzle-loading guns, essentially muskets, which were cobbled together in makeshift workshops.
In Kyushu and Southern Honshu, the air forces faced another obstacle. P-51s, as well as B-25s had begun operating from central Okinawa, and sought to disrupt operations in Southern Japan. In April alone they managed to destroy 200 Japanese planes in the air and 400 on the ground, for the loss of 150 of their own. This did result in the Southern half of Kyushu being more or less abandoned by the Japanese air services, but the cities there were still defended at a distance.
Other signs were soon to come of trouble. The Kamikaze program had been rejected by Yonai, who considered it wasteful. However other projects had been quietly developed. The MXY-7 Ohka, was essentially a manned rocket bomb. It was designed to be dropped from a medium bomber, then plunged into an enemy ship. At Okinawa they'd seen their first action, though with little success as their motherships were often detected and shot down. They had more luck on the shipping routs between Ultithi, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, where American supply ships had begun to move unescorted. One destroyed an ammunition ship full of Napalm, while another damaged and nearly sank the USS West Point, which was packed with thousands of GIs.
Other projects were in the works as well, such as manned torpedoes, suicide boats, and suicide divers. As one American historian would later say "The Japanese people as a whole seemed content to die, so long as they had the honor of helping to kill at least one enemy."
In April of 1945, a total of 12 large scale (defined as having 50 or more bombers) were launched on the Japanese Home Islands. The average loss rate for said raids was 8.6%, dangerously near the 10% ratio that General LeMay had estimated as the limit of sustainability. The Soviet fuel aid had been a huge boon for the fighter wings, which were given top priority in terms of who got the fuel. Sortie rates had begun to skyrocket at the tail end of the month, as aircraft could actually afford to fly daily. Even the training situation had begun to improve, as fuel was now available for more dedicated flying hours, though the lack of pilots still meant that most new recruits were dangerously green.
Overall, life for the civilians of Japan wasn't dramatically different from the homefront in America. Sure, by now 20,000 Japanese civilians had been killed, and nearly 200,000 rendered homeless, but life went on. Resteraunts and cinemas continued to function. Rationing, though beginning to tighten as the fishing fleets were decimated, was not oppressively strict. For the most part the Japanese people were eager to continue the fight, and morale was high.
One of the first signs of trouble however, began on the 28th of April. Prime Minister Yonai ordered the creation of the Volunteer Fighting Corps. This was essentially a barrel-scraping paramilitary force, consisting of all able-bodied men and women yet to be mobilized. Within a month nearly a million would be armed and mobilized, given rifle that were often older than those wielding them. These were given to the most able men of the corps, mostly men aged 17-35 who'd avoided conscription by virtue of working in wartime industries. These were designated "A Class" militia.
Many millions more were called up (Despite its name the corps was not voluntary) But there were not neaely enough weapons for them. Many so call "B Class" militia were instead organized to civil defense positions, such as mechanics, medics, and construction duties. Many more "C Class" militia remained in the lurch, many were elderly or juvenile, and not suited to combat anyway. Nonetheless they were instructed to make do with whatever was available. Bamboo spears, homemade bows, and kitchen utensils, were now common sights among these people. The government even went as far as providing instructions on how to make homemade muzzle-loading guns, essentially muskets, which were cobbled together in makeshift workshops.
In Kyushu and Southern Honshu, the air forces faced another obstacle. P-51s, as well as B-25s had begun operating from central Okinawa, and sought to disrupt operations in Southern Japan. In April alone they managed to destroy 200 Japanese planes in the air and 400 on the ground, for the loss of 150 of their own. This did result in the Southern half of Kyushu being more or less abandoned by the Japanese air services, but the cities there were still defended at a distance.
Other signs were soon to come of trouble. The Kamikaze program had been rejected by Yonai, who considered it wasteful. However other projects had been quietly developed. The MXY-7 Ohka, was essentially a manned rocket bomb. It was designed to be dropped from a medium bomber, then plunged into an enemy ship. At Okinawa they'd seen their first action, though with little success as their motherships were often detected and shot down. They had more luck on the shipping routs between Ultithi, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, where American supply ships had begun to move unescorted. One destroyed an ammunition ship full of Napalm, while another damaged and nearly sank the USS West Point, which was packed with thousands of GIs.
Other projects were in the works as well, such as manned torpedoes, suicide boats, and suicide divers. As one American historian would later say "The Japanese people as a whole seemed content to die, so long as they had the honor of helping to kill at least one enemy."
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Oh boy it was so satisfying seeing Beria get yeeted! I'm guessing Budyonny wasn't paying close attention to Warsaw if he was that caught off guard by half the city being armed. Still, great move there!
A Japan that has plenty of oil this late in the war is certainly a unique scenario. Question is, how long can they keep making new planes? Or is Stalin supplying resources for that too? Also "This did result in the Southern half of Kyushu being more or less abandoned by the Japanese air services, but the cities their were still defended at a distance" should be "the cities there were still defended".
A Japan that has plenty of oil this late in the war is certainly a unique scenario. Question is, how long can they keep making new planes? Or is Stalin supplying resources for that too? Also "This did result in the Southern half of Kyushu being more or less abandoned by the Japanese air services, but the cities their were still defended at a distance" should be "the cities there were still defended".
All hell broke loose as his driver and guards heads exploded, tires popping as bullets riddled the car. Moments later a half dozen men and women had pulled him from the wreck, some dragging him, others laying blow after blow into his stomach.
Did I miss something? They are beating the shit out of him but didn't see he was dead YET! Still time for plenty of mayhem.
Part 64- Dropping the Facade
The White House, April 28th, 1945
"So you're sure that there hasn't been any exchange of fire." President Morganthau asked anxiously. "Yes sir" General Marshall replied "Ike had every division on the front check in just to be sure, the only ones shooting at us are the krauts." "Well that's one good thing at least, exactly how many men are we talking here?" "By the sound of things, they had 13 divisions on the front, and all of them made it through, though some of them had to leave the heavy equipment behind. That, plus about 100 planes that flew over when this started up, so about 150,000 men and women, give or take."
"I see, what should we do with them in the meantime?" Marshall shrugged "Ike just had them move behind the line for safety's sake, but isn't disarming them or anything like that. I supposed in the short term we can use them for whatever we need, long term maybe we can split them between us, Britain and France." "And that's another issue, if things don't blow up, how long can we keep the troops in the field like this?" "Logistically? Probably forever, but morale will start to suffer soon. It's not like back in the day, the average GI reads the papers and knows what's happening. They won't like being kept away from their lives for what they see as political manuvering."
Morganthau leaned back in his chair as he pondered that thought. "Well not much we can do to sort this out until the Germans tap out, any word about Hitler? Marshall shook his head "He's probably dead, but we've had no confirmation yet. Still I expect whoever ends up replacing him to call it quits in the next week of so." "Hmm, any sign of Mussolini?" "No dice there either. I expect if the partisans had him we'd have hear by now, so either he's in Spain or dangling from a celing fan somewhere."
Morganthau was frustrated, and frankly tired of these games. He didn't like having to plan one war while finishing up the last one. "Let me ask you something, if need be, can we invade Japan at the same time we're fighting in Europe?" "We can" Marshall replied "But we shouldn't. We'll need millions of men to take Japan, and those would better be spent as a reserve. Unless we expand the army again, we'll be entirely committed to this."
The president suddenly remembered something "By the way, I want you and Stimson to start coordinating something with whoever Ike decides to put on his end. I want to see if we can keep some of the military industry in Germany intact." "Why?" Marshall asked, confused "Most of that stuff isn't magic, it's not like we need it that badly." "Not for us, but for mainland Europe." retorted Morganthau "The entire continent has had its military complex cannibalized by the nazis. I think it's better if they rely on German weapons, distasteful as that may be, instead of us having to arm them."
"That won't go over well with them" "Well we're gonna need all the help we can get, desperate times and all that."
(Authors note: Sorry this is such a bland update, I just needed to get some info across and wasn't really feeling it today.)
No worries. Sometimes it is about the decision-making process of the big players rather than the edge-of-the-seat stuff. It is all shaping up nicely and I look forward to seeing you take events forward.
Anti-nomenklatura commo here: The problem is that the Polish nationalist militia are going to torture Beria for being Soviet…not for being Beria. Nobody keeping him alive for as long as possible is even going to know about his personal life at first. At first.
This is more an example of pleasant happenstance than deservéd contrition.
This is more an example of pleasant happenstance than deservéd contrition.
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