The Fall of Night

Chapter Nineteen: A Day That Will Live In Infamy, Take Two

Polish-Belarus Border, Poland

General Aleksandr Borisovich Shalenko crossed over to Polish territory with a theatrical flourish worthy of George Patton or Douglas Macarthur. The president had understood that his old friend yearned to command the largest military operation in the history of the world, and if he was denied a direct combat command, he would have the pleasure and duty of coordinating the offensive. Around him, thousands of tanks drove onwards into Polish territory, while above him, the streaks of MLRS-launched missiles and jet aircraft lit up the sky.

A group of Polish prisoners sat in one corner, guarded by a bored-looking soldier. Their faces were masks of horror and grief; they had been caught, almost literally, asleep at the switch. A handful of Spetsnaz, wearing Polish uniforms, had entered the customs post and subdued the border guards, almost without firing a shot. The prisoners now stared at the advancing Russian force, their hands firmly secured behind their backs, broken by what they were seeing in front of them. Shalenko ignored them magnificently; their fate had already been decided.

A massive line of infantry-carrying lorries rumbled past him, carrying Russian soldiers who still seemed a little bemused at going to war. They had been drilled relentlessly for months, but they had never been told why, not until the hurried last-minute briefings that had explained what they were going to do. Some of them had deserted under the sudden news; Shalenko had heard that Russian border guards had shot two men trying to make a break for Poland. If another had managed to make it into Poland, he hadn’t been able to alert the Poles in time to make a difference; there had only been four Polish aircraft in the air when the missiles started to land. They had been swiftly bounced and destroyed by MIG-41 aircraft.

“General,” Captain Anna Ossipavo said. She was his aide, lover and bodyguard, all rolled into one. No one would take her seriously — sexism was still alive and well in most levels of the Russian hierarchy — until it was too late; even the Black Widow herself hadn’t convinced Russians that sexism was a dangerous weakness. Shalenko suspected that most of her detractors thought she was a lesbian. “I have the first reports from the observation and assault teams.”

Shalenko turned and smiled. They stood together in the middle of organised chaos. He knew what it all meant; none of the Poles, or even most of his own people, would have a real inking of the truth. Four massive Russian forces were invading Poland, crashing into the Polish borders and their unprepared defences; behind the lines, Russian commandos were ripping apart the Polish command and control centres, hacking the proud Polish Army into a screaming mob of tiny units. Some would break under the pressure, some would fight to the death… it hardly mattered. Isolated, they couldn’t pose a threat, or a problem.

“Good,” he said. The Battlespace Management System would warn him if anything went seriously wrong, but he still needed the details. “What’s the bad news?”

“We scored around a seventy percent success rate,” Anna said, seriously. “In several places, the Polish guards were alert and killed most of the assault terms before they could detonate their bombs or launch the attack; those teams either retreated or were wiped out to the last man. A handful of Polish aircraft were launched into the air before the missiles destroyed their airbases; they may pose a threat to our advance. The attack on Warsaw airport more or less succeeded, but an airliner was destroyed on the runway and is now blocking activities.”

Shalenko shrugged. He hadn’t expected that part of the plan to work. “Remind the team leader…”

“His deputy, sir,” Anna said. “The team leader was killed in the assault.”

“Remind the new team leader that if the Poles do manage to mount a counterattack, he is to destroy as much as he can and run,” Shalenko said. There was little point in trying to hold the airport; the Poles had always had an infantry force nearby, and the missiles might not have destroyed or scattered it. If there was a counterattack, the Russians would lose. “And the rest of the news?”

“We have destroyed or crippled around seventy percent of the deployed Polish armed forces, as well as hitting all of their barracks and bases with missiles,” Anna said. “The strike team that attacked the EUROFOR camp near Warsaw reported complete success, but they had to mortar the barracks; a mixed force of soldiers was holding out and imperilling the success of the operation. Other strike forces have more or less completed their missions; bridges, dams and command centres are in our hands and the Poles are crippled.”

Shalenko nodded. Tanks were far more powerful than they had been in the days of Stalin, but the price tag was high… and not just in money. The Poles would have ample opportunity to slow his forces if they managed to scrape together the coordination to mount counterattacks; a single destroyed bridge could stalemate the invasion for hours. The lighter tanks, using armour developed by the Americans and stolen from them by the FSB, might find it easier to advance, but they were more vulnerable to heavy weapons. The Americans had thought about the problem of engaging insurgents, not another armoured force.

He smiled. “And further in?”

“The assault units that hit Germany and France have reported success as well, although some of them have been lost or at the very least haven’t reported back yet,” Anna said. “The jamming stations have been emplaced and are being used; that’s actually impeding our own operations in some locations, although we still have direct laser links to orbiting communications satellites. The monitors back at Moscow are claiming that ninety percent of the missiles launched at European targets have found their targets, but they’re requesting that we prioritise the surviving targets for attention as soon as possible.”

“The devil is always in the details,” Shalenko said, as a hail of gunfire echoed out over the horizon. There were countless Polish civilians in the area and he felt a little sympathy for the hell that they were about to go through. They were caught in the path of an invading army and that was hell for civilians, particularly young female civilians. He had made it clear to his men that atrocities would not be tolerated — and the penal units had an endless thirst for men — but the FSB units were only marginally under his command. “What about the radio signal?”

“It was transmitted on the general bands, all civilian,” Anna said. The message had been pre-recorded by a traitor, the greatest success story that the FSB had had in Poland since the end of the Cold War, a success story so unbelievable that Shalenko had wondered if it was a sting operation. It was amazing what people would do under the threat of having their night time activities revealed to the world. “The message is repeated every ten minutes, in between the jamming; we took out the official radio and other media centres in the opening moments of the offensive. Even if the President has survived our attempt to kill him, he won’t be able to get his message out… and really, what can he say that disagrees with our message?”

“True,” Shalenko said.

They watched in silence as assault helicopters flashed overhead, heading for targets within Poland, harrying the remains of the Polish Army and EUROFOR to the point where they would disintegrate. Other armoured thrusts were moving to relieve commandos who had seized targets; a handful of FSB units had already been given the task of securing prisoners before they could be sent back into the wastelands of Siberia. Shalenko didn’t like that solution, but there was little choice; it was that, or else kill them all. The FSB had argued in favour of just that solution, but Shalenko had put his foot down; besides, they might need something to bargain with.

A young officer came running up to them. “General Shalenko, sir,” he gasped. Captain Vladimir Ivanov was in the best of health; he had had to have run all the way from the helicopter landing pad away from the guard battalion protecting the makeshift base. “We have all of Unit One in position.”

“Excellent,” Shalenko said. Ivanov was young for his role and seriously under-ranked, not something unusual in Russia, but Ivanov’s role had been critically important. Unit One was not charged with fighting a war, but preventing one… or at least preventing the war that Russia had started from getting out of control. The entire episode had to be handled very carefully. “Come on, Anna; we’re going for a helicopter flight.”

Anna had protested, of course, but Shalenko have overruled her. It was true that renegade Polish units might be scattered around, and they might have the SAM missiles needed to take down a helicopter, but there was little need to actually panic. Russia controlled the air over Poland, the Russian Air Force was reaching out towards Denmark, Germany and even Norway… what possible threat could there be to one helicopter with two attack helicopters escorting it?

Poland was burning. They flew low, but he could still see the fires, the remains of Polish forces that had been caught by surprise by the Russians, or European forces that had been lulled into a false sense of security. Jet aircraft criss-crossed the sky, hunting for the armoured units that the Europeans had dispatched in a desperate attempt to look as if they were Doing Something; when they found a tank, or even a military vehicle, they would take it out with extreme prejudice. The pilot took them even lower as they approached their target, the forces attached to Unit One spaced out around the area, ready and waiting.

“There are no signs that Polish forces have attempted to seek refuge here,” Ivanov said softly. The sight of the American base was awe-inspiring, even to Shalenko himself, who knew what it all meant. The base was studded with antennas, radar domes, aerials and all manner of systems, some of them capable of tracking aircraft far into Russia. “The only Polish force nearby has been soundly attacked and dispersed into the countryside.”

Shalenko nodded as the helicopter came to the ground; he scrambled out and pulled his cap on as Anna followed him, one hand on the rifle she had on her back. He kept his head low as he accepted some salutes, before walking up the road towards the American base. Speed was of the essence… despite himself, he was going to enjoy himself. This was payback time.

The American guard lifted a weapon as Shalenko approached. “I would like to speak with your commanding officer,” Shalenko said, as calmly as he could. His lines had been preset; ironically, they had been preset by the Americans. His English was perfect. “I would… appreciate his presence at once.”

The Guard showed no hint of nervousness. “The CO doesn’t see anyone who comes with an invading army,” he said, making his sympathies clear. “This is…”

Shalenko spoke over him. “This is a base in a war zone aiding and abetting the enemies of my people,” he said, speaking the lines from heart. “You will inform you commanding officer that I will speak to him within the next five minutes or the base will be reduced to burning scrap metal. Your choice.”

The guard pulled down a microphone from his helmet and subvocalised into it. “One moment,” he said, grudgingly. “The CO will be out here within a minute.”

Shalenko had studied the file on Major Alan Fletcher with care. American — obviously — and regarded as a safe pair of hands for a base in friendly territory. The Americans were more or less prisoners on their own base; the European Parliament had insisted on gaining control and jurisdiction over Americans in Europe who left the base and the Americans had balked. Fletcher looked… harmless; his career had been a solid one, rather than exciting. A paper-pusher, Shalenko decided; Fletcher certainly didn’t have the attitude of a Grant or even a Sherman.

“Major,” Shalenko said. He made his voice as present as he could. “I must request that you crease all activities and prepare your men for reparation back to the United States.”

Fletcher’s eyes glittered. “This is an American base…”

Shalenko cut him off. “As your Marine Colonel Vandergrift said to the commander of a Russian research base in Iran, this base is providing aid and support to the enemy,” he said. “You have the choice between shutting the base down — on the same terms as you offered us during the Iran War — or having the base destroyed. I need an answer now.”

Fletcher seemed to stand a little straighter. “That would be an act of war,” he protested. “I certainly have no orders regarding the… incursion on Polish territory.”

“And, as your Colonel refused, I also refuse to give you time to consult with Washington,” Shalenko said. He leaned forward. “I have four batteries of heavy guns back there, Major; I will pour fire onto the base until it is wrecked and incapable of resistance, and then my infantry will secure the site. You have no means of countering my attack and no means of escape; all you can do is die.”

Fletcher seemed to wilt. “This is an act of war…”

“This is exactly what you did to us,” Shalenko reminded him. “If you agree to surrender, we will provide free transport back to Washington as soon as the situation permits it, or we can just send you all to the American Embassy in Moscow. You will not be harmed or held hostage; we won’t even interrogate you as the CIA interrogated some of our people. After the war is over, we will even transfer everything from the base back to American soil; we won’t damage it if you hand it over.”

“After you’ve studied everything,” Fletcher snapped.

“Quite,” Shalenko agreed. “Also… exactly what you did to us.”

There was a long pause. The sound of aircraft could be heard in the distance.

“Choose,” Shalenko hissed. “I have no more time. Your radar feed could mean life or death for hundreds of Russian pilots, and I am not going to allow their lives to be risked by your… insistence on rights that are used to threaten Russia. You set the precedent; live with it. What do you want to do; die here futilely, along with all your people, or go back home to Washington?”

He watched Fletcher’s mind turning over. “I am prepared to surrender on the condition you allow us to wipe the files first,” Fletcher said finally. The self-hate in his tone was remarkable. “If not…”

“You refused to allow us to wipe any files,” Shalenko said dryly. That, too, had happened in Iran, although plenty of files had been burned by the Russians before the base was surrendered. “You set the precedent…”

“Washington will not allow this to pass unpunished,” Fletcher snapped. They both knew that it was an empty threat. Washington had its hands full with Korea and the Middle East, where thousands of little groups had taken the Second Korean War as a chance to hit the Americans and hurt them. “Very well; I will issue the orders.”

“Thank you,” Shalenko said. “You have my word that you and your people will remain unharmed.”

He tapped his radio; the men of Unit One moved in. The Americans came out of the base in small groups, many of them angry and frustrated, even those who had known that the position was completely helpless. Unit One had been trained carefully; the Americans would not be searched, nor would they be cuffed; they would be interned rather than treated as prisoners of war. They would be the lucky ones; the Turks would agree to take them out and send them to American bases in the Middle East. As for the files…

Shalenko knew that the Americans had made great progress in some areas… and the President knew it as well. The chance to examine the base was beyond price, even though it was possible that the American inventions might be impossible to duplicate, at least for a few years. Anything that came out of the base wouldn’t be useful for the present war, but as for the future… well, who knew what could happen? Russia still lagged behind America and Japan in the high-tech areas and anything that could shorten the space was worth having.

He watched as the Americans were taken away on trucks, heading back into Belarus. “General, I just had a signal from 2^nd Shock Army,” Anna said. He heard the note in her voice and smiled; he knew that it was good news. “They have pocketed and destroyed the main Polish force between us and Warsaw.”

“Good,” Shalenko said. He glanced at his watch; it was almost exactly on time. The remains of the Polish army would either be scattered or prisoners of war; in any case, they would be in no position to dispute with the Russians for a while. It was time to move ahead with the second stage of the plan, before the Poles and EUROFOR gathered themselves into a serious threat. “Is 2^nd Shock still operative?”

Anna nodded. “The Poles were completely disorganised,” she said. She held up the terminal for him to see; the Poles had been battered enough to shatter them as a coherent force. “They only lost thirty tanks.”

Shalenko smiled. “Then give the order,” he said. He had waited a long time for this moment. “The advance forces are to continue the offensive… and the secondary forces are to move on Warsaw.”