By Popular Demand: Pandora in a Bottle

[Greymatters]

Hey, hey, PC Police are gonna get attracted if you keep that up! 

 

[ironduke57]

We are waiting!

, ironduke57

 

[vonGarvin]

Apologies to one and all for my recent "writer's blocks".  You see, for some reason, a big cloud of drunkeness hits me every friday, hangovers on Saturday....(just kidding)

Actually, my mind races on this, I plan to write, and then life interferes.  So, I plan (sometime) to sit in a darkened room and flesh out more of my alternate universe. 

Thanks for your patience, but mostly thank you for your inspiration.

 

[vonGarvin]

February 1st, 1953.  Bucharest, Rumania.​

Since earlier in the previous year, many Ukrainian refugees, or "undesirables" from the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic had flowed into the capital in search of a better life.  However, just as Stalin had wished, there were many agitators within the ranks of the disenchanted who were given the simple mission to destablise Rumania and set the conditions for Revolution.  This would be the test for any future revolutions.  If Rumania could be taken from within, then the west, in spite of all of its military power, could be destroyed in a similar fashion, thus securing the Soviet Union from external threats.
On the 1st of February, a massive protest against the government started in the "Refugee Ghetto" of Bucharest.  Ukrainians in their hundreds, spurred on by the fifth columnists, took to the streets, demanding fair wages for their work.  Many had indeed been explioted by ruthless businessmen in the capital, but the living conditions were actually better than in the Ukraine.  The problem was one of relativity.  Rumanians had a much better standard of living, and the oil fields of Ploesti literally fuelled the economy of the country, feeding into the rebuilding efforts of central Europe.
For three days the protests were relatively peaceful, and many Rumanian citizens actually joined the protests until eventually a civil strike rendered the city to a stand still.  Businesses were losing money, and many powerful tycoons secretly lobbied the government for action.  They wanted the workers back in their shops to keep the economy going.  The government, however, was worried that any provocative acts on their part could stir the pot too much and the Bear to the East could put great pressure on the country, economically and militarily.
The general strike began to hurt the city, making conditions worse and actually having the negative effect of more and more people joining the ranks of the protesters.
Finally, on the 10th, the government acted.  It declared a curfew for Bucharest from dusk until dawn, but this was generally ignored.  In the early morning hours of the 12th the spark was lit that would send Rumania into a full fledged revolution. 
A fire started around 4 am in the "Refugee Ghetto".  Fearing for their own safety, the fire brigades refused at first to venture into the area to quell the flames.  It was only after dawn broke that that the full scope of the tragedy that was  unfolding came to light.  The overcrowded areas sealed the fate for many who lived there, and initial estimates suggested that upwards of twenty people had died in the fires, with many more wounded.  The fire brigade finally was ordered in, with police escort.  They arrived on the scene to a horrific site.  Row after row of sub standard housing was ablaze, and many of the residents were passing buckets to quell the flames.  Instead of welcoming the fire brigade, they instead turned their wrath on them and a massive riot broke out.  In the end, the police were able to suppress the rioters, but only after firing into the crowds that killed upwards of a dozen, including mothers who were enraged that their children had perished.  Bucharest was on fire, and it was only getting worse.
Stalin summoned Beria to the Kremlin to receive a briefing.  The head of Security for the USSR briefed that all was going well in Rumania.  The police had panicked, and the early inaction of the government had only made the situation worse.  Revolution was in full swing, and Beria suggested that Stalin's time was now to offer support to the oppressed people of Rumania.
On the evening of the 15th of February, PRAVDA reported that two soviet divisions were ready to move on Bucharest in order to assist with the situation in the Rumanian capital.  NATO was caught napping and failed to detect this move and were as surprised as any at the Soviet reaction. They were lulled into a deep slumber by the USSR's relative apparent indifference to the plight of the Rumanians.  Though NATO counter offered their support, but since with so many democratic nations there was no time to unify NATO's official stance, there was the USSR, ready and willing to assist, along with tacit support of the Lvov Pact nations.
Though no member of the Rumanian Government officially replied to the Soviet "assistance request", the Soviets moved nevertheless and by the 20th of February, Soviet troops were moving in on Bucharest.  The Rumanian Army, too worried about the situation in Bucharest, made no effort to oppose the Soviets.  Before anyone had realised it, Rumania had fallen to  the Soviets and a young Rumanian communist, Nicolae Ceausescu, barely 35 years old and relatively unheard of in Rumania, declared that he was President of Rumania, and he had support.  He was chosen early by Beria's services to be the Rumanian face of Revolution.
The incumbent government didn't have the power to resist.  Striken by his failure to stop the quick revolution, and shocked into inaction by the horrors of the Ghetto Fires, (which were still burning), King Michael abdicated his throne, but not before confirming the young Ceausescu as Premier of Rumania.
Ceausescu was able to "stop" the revolution in a matter of days.  He publicly welcomed the Ukrainian "guests" into Rumania, and declared Rumania to be a workers' republic.  Finally, in a move that stunned NATO leadership, especially in Poland, Ceausescu publicly joined the Lvov Pact on 1 March, 1953.  Economically, this was a boon for the USSR, as the oil from Ploesti would now flow East rather than North, stunting the regrowth of Poland while providing vital energy to the USSR and its satellites. 
To celebrate the newest member of the Lvov Pact, Stalin hosted a party in the Kremlin later that evening.  This was to be a fateful dinner and party for the USSR, as well as for the future of Europe itself.

 

[ironduke57]

Regards,
ironduke57

 

[vonGarvin]

Man, do I ever wish I had time for writing. I even have it on my computer, but alas.....


I promise: next opportunity, I'll do stuff up.

Thanks for the reminder

 

[Blackadder1916]

You were not the only one to look at an alternate post-war scenario.  Maybe this wll provide some ideas for your continuing saga.

FM 30-102 - Handbook on Aggressor Military Forces (31 March 1951)   pdf 6.9MB

Section II. HISTORICAL OUTLINE
3. History of Aggressor.

a.    At the close of World War II in 1945 the chaotic conditions in Western Europe, resulting from fundamental disagreements between the victorious allied nations, gave rise to a new nation, Aggressor (fig. 1).

b.    When the surrender of Germany was followed almost immediately by wholesale allied withdrawals, a small group of determined men, confirmed in their belief in the totalitarian state, established a Fascist type of organization called the Circle Trigon Party. That this action succeeded was due primarily to a disinclination on the part of any one nation to accept the responsibility for the direct physical action necessary to suppress this new group, and to the  clever use of propaganda and slogans by the Circle Trigonists who freely 'used the terms "democracy," "the people," and other similar terms. As soon as the Party had consolidated its position in Bavaria it began to infiltrate adjacent regions. It found a fertile field for its well-planned and executed propaganda in Spain, southern France, northern Italy, and the Tyrol, which joined in the formation of the Aggressor nation late in 1945. A brutal political police system soon silenced all opposition. By early 1946 a triumvirate of three men, popularly known as "the Trinity," gained absolute control of the Circle Trigon Party and of the Aggressor nation.

c.    Immediately upon its establishment, Aggressor entered upon a well-balanced and carefully controlled period of intense development and organization of all resources and phases of national life; quickly gaining the immediate goal of national unity and relative self-sufficiency. In contrast to its neighbors, Aggressor was reasonably prosperous and its people happy and contented with the new government as it started to fulfill its initial promises.  One advantage enjoyed by the new nation was that the bulk of its lands had escaped the destruction of war which had so severely impaired the national economy of other European nations.  Aggressor was in a peculiar position in the world, as her able leaders had foreseen. Initially backed in secret by both the eastern and the western powers, Aggressor was alarmed at the closer and closer friendly relations between the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and feared united action on the part of these powers. Engaged in a race against time, she must be well established before the dulled and war-weary former allies realized her true ambition and organized to put her down.  Her leaders believed that she must strike before that day and the blow must be against her most powerful opponent, the United States.

d.   Turning its attention from the devastated areas of Western Europe to the prosperous and unscathed lands of North America, Aggressor began plans in early 1946 for an invasion of the United States. Although the United States had emerged from the war as a strong military nation, its hasty and ill-advised demobilization, together with widespread internal disturbance and general war-weariness, convinced the Aggressor High Command that such a plan offered a reasonable chance of success if aided by a well-organized branch of the Circle Trigon Party within the United States; and by a skillful propaganda campaign.

e.   In late 1946, Aggressor, aided by agents and sympathizers, seized the Antilles chain of islands and the Panama Canal (fig. 3).  In November an Aggressor expedition then passed through the Canal and landed on the coast of California. As the Aggressor Navy was inadequate to protect the supply line, the Aggressor troops were defeated. Quisling groups in the United States, however, assisted in arranging a peace in which Aggressor retained bases in the Caribbean area. Aggressor's determination to conquer the North American continent next resulted in a second campaign in the fall of 1947. The Aggressor Third Army overran portions of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida in a large scale amphibious assault on the southeastern coast of the United States. After suffering a serious defeat this Aggressor force began an evacuation of troops while making a final stand in the Florida area. The Aggressor units which could not be evacuated were annihilated. However, individual soldiers, aided by Aggressor sympathizers, scattered over the entire United States and became members of and advisers to subversive groups.

f.    In the meantime, Aggressor launched a combined amphibious and airborne invasion across the North Atlantic Ocean. By the winter of 1947 Aggressor held all of New England and the St. Lawrence River area, and had driven a wedge southwest through New York State to the general line BUFFALO-SCRANTONALBANY-NEW HAVEN.

g.   As the Aggressor nation continued to build up its military strength in the Caribbean, emphasis was placed on preparation and training for airborne operations. Meanwhile, subversive organizations of Aggressor sympathizers in the United States grew in size and number. The tempo of subversive incidents increased. The climax of the subversive movement was an open attack in the Tennessee-Kentucky area by a subversive organization known as the Green Brigade. The attack began in April of 1948 as a series of raids on the supplies and arms stored at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The Green Brigade then captured the airfield and laid siege to the camp. As the United States launched an attack against these guerrilla forces, Aggressor Forces from the Caribbean executed a successful airborne landing in Tennessee.  The United States Air Force succeeded in disrupting continued Aggressor air action and blocked the follow up air lift.  The Aggressor airborne force was then annihilated and members of the Green Brigade immediately disappeared. The Circle Trigon Party again went underground. See figure 2 for Aggressor campaigns in the United States.

h.   Concerned over the stubborn Aggressor defense of New England, and over the critical United States shipping losses in the Atlantic, the United States decided upon a limited attack against Aggressor Caribbean installations in the early spring of 1949. On 2 March, joint amphibious United States forces landed on the Island of Vieques, destroyed midget submarine pens there and at San Juan, Puerto Rico, and withdrew according to plan, after the successful completion of their mission. Immediately following this attack. Aggressor propagandists made much of the limited objective and rapid withdrawal of United States forces.

i.    As if in retaliation for the assault against Puerto Rico, Aggressor Caribbean forces executed an airborne invasion of the United States early in May 1949. The initial attack, preceded by general labor unrest and industrial sabotage throughout South-eastern United States, resulted in Aggressor seizure of Pope Air Force Base and the Fort Bragg (North Carolina) area. The United States Air Force soon gained air superiority but not until Aggressor had air-landed an entire corps. United States forces attacked at once, brought up reinforcements, and by mid-June had killed or captured the entire Aggressor force with the exception of the most important commanders and one elite regiment.

j.    Late in May 1949, when the Aggressor High Command realized that the Carolina campaign was doomed to failure, part of a large convoy-ostensibly en route to the Caribbean-broke off in mid-Atlantic, rounded Cape Horn, and headed for the Hawaiian Islands.   Secrecy was maintained by a screen of submarines and carrier-based planes which destroyed approaching ships and aircraft without a trace. The small U. S. garrison and hastily-mobilized National Guard units put up stubborn resistance, chiefly on Oahu, but by 19 June Aggressor was in control of the entire archipelago.  The United States immediately organized a joint amphibious western task force. This task force assaulted Oahu on 25 October and completely recaptured the islands by mid-November.  Only a few submarines and key command personnel escaped destruction in an attempted last-minute, Aggressor evacuation.

k.   The Aggressor High Command had realized for a long time that Alaska was one of the gateways to the United States, and that, while the Hawaiian Islands were in possession of Aggressor, a route was open to invade Alaska. Hence plans were made, and appropriate supplies were stockpiled on the island of Hawaii for an amphibious operation against Alaska. No definite date had been set for the operation, but when the United States counterinvasion plans of Hawaii became known, Aggressor decided that an Alaskan invasion would serve as a counterstroke that would render the northern flank of the United States vulnerable. On 4 October 1949, Aggressor Task force "Schnee" departed from Hilo, and made an amphibious landing in the vicinity of Anchorage, Alaska. By mid-February Aggressor units had advanced beyond Northway.

1.   Taking advantage of interior lines of communications, United States forces again mounted a major raid on the island of Vieques lying just east of the Aggressor stronghold of Puerto Rico. Defensive forces were quickly overrun and the submarine base installations, which had been repaired after the raid of March 1949, were again demolished.

m.   As if in retaliation Aggressor mounted an airborne attack on the Fort Bragg, North Carolina area. United States Air Forces reacted swiftly, secured air superiority and cut in on the Aggressor aerial line of communication. A counterattack of two airborne divisions with strong aerial support quickly destroyed the invading forces which could no longer be supplied.

 

[vonGarvin]

ASSASSIN​

To celebrate the newest member of the Lvov Pact, Stalin hosted a party in the Kremlin later that evening.  This was to be a fateful dinner and party for the USSR, as well as for the future of Europe itself.
Unknown to Stalin, Beria was planning his overthrow for some time.  This evening of the 4th of March, 1953 was to be eventful indeed!  His plan was rather simple: poison Stalin and leave vacant the top spot in the most powerful nation on earth.  Beria would then be free to manoeuvre himself into a position of power.  He realised that it would take time, and he realised that many would be drawing their knives even before Stalin’s blood had turned cold in his veins.  He had already waited many years for this, so he was prepared to wait a few more if necessary.
During the dinner, Stalin drank much (as was his custom) and the party dragged on into the wee hours of the morning.  Rumania and its oil was his!  Poland would freeze and the NATO forces there would soon be viewed as invaders, resulting in a popular uprising of the people demanding protection from expansion from the West!
Due to the late hour, Stalin’s private guard was less attentive than usual.  Beria took full advantage and poured drinks for Stalin, just as Stalin had demanded.  Spilling some of the drink as though he were drunk, the fully sober Beria bent over to clean up his mess, taking the opportunity to slip the poison into Stalin’s vodka.  He just hoped that the curse of Rasputin was still not clouding over Russia, and that the poison would work!
Beria’s poisoning of the drink went unnoticed.  He stumbled up to the dictator, gave him his glass, and raised his own, as was the custom. 
“Na strovia!” Beria shouted.  To good health indeed!  For the health of the Union, though Beria!  Stalin returned his toast and downed his drink in one gulp.  “Now go get me some more,” slurred Stalin.  Nobody was going to tell him that he had too much.  Beria didn’t mind, in fact, the drunker Stalin got, the better it was!  Maybe the alcohol would kill him?
A few hours later, just as the gray streaks of dawn were appearing in the East, Stalin suddenly announced that he was going to bed.  The party was over, all would leave now!  Beria was nervous, but it didn’t go noticed.  Most around were either drunk or asleep and failed to notice his nervous pacing and sweating.  As he watched Stalin stumble from the room, Beria sighed and left on his own, feigning his own inebriation. 
At ten the next morning, Beria’s aid was banging on his door and yelling for him to come.  Beria had fallen asleep and hadn’t a clue what the time was. 
“What is it?” he asked, this time not feigning his grogginess. 
“It’s Comrade Stalin!  Come quickly!” the aide shouted back through the heavy oak door.
Beria quickly put on his cloak and rushed out of the room.  He was both excited and nervous.  Had the poison worked?  Or had Stalin proven himself to be truly “of steel” as his name suggested?  The ten minutes to Stalin’s room had seemed to take a lifetime, and upon his arrival, Beria noted the number of people at the door.  There must have been twenty!  Were there that many even awake in all of the Kremlin on this day?
Beria was called into the room from within.  Upon entering, he was actually shocked by the sight that met him.  Though he alone was responsible for this, he still felt compassion for the dying man in the bed before him.  His face pale, his eyes glazed and slowly moving about and with his ever-loving daughter at his side, Stalin was dying before him.  Beria suddenly felt guilt and anger: at himself.  Who was he to decide the fate of the world?  This was STALIN!  He saved the USSR from the Germans!  He saved the USSR from the rebellions within the USSR at the very time of its most grave hour!  He alone was challenging NATO and defending the USSR against its aggression!  Beria was but a bureaucrat within a great machine.  His acts had doomed the USSR!  And he felt it in the very depths of his soul!
As he stood there, staring at the dying Stalin, Beria failed to note those around him.  Even before Stalin took his last breath, the politburo was already scheming!  This brought Beria back to his senses, numbing his emotions.  THIS too was a man, and he almost destroyed the USSR.  If it weren’t for the USA and its atomic weapons, they would STILL be fighting the Germans, and each other!  No, I did a right thing, he thought.  Now is the time for me to wait, to see who needs me, and who will attempt to use me.
At 11:34 am on the 5th of March, 1953, Joseph Stalin was assassinated, and only one person knew about it.  That person was destined to be kingmaker for the USSR.

 

[mariomike]

Bump.
An amazing read, T-V. 
Regarding Wasserfall. Bomber Command aircrews ( at least some of them ) believed in "radio-rockets". It was actually "schrage musik". A pair of upward firing cannon mounted behind the fighter's cockpit. It fired into the blind-spot of British night-bombers below the fuselage. Into the bomb bay, or fuel tanks on the wings. It was almost invariably lethal. It was not until the end of the war that the British learned of the existence of it. In a post-war interogation, Heinz Schnaufer said that he had attacked 20 to 30 bombers at a range of 80 yards with his Schrage Musik guns and of those only about 10% saw him approaching at a distance of 150 to 200 metres and tried to evade him by "corkscrewing" before he could open fire.
Herbert Altner shot down five Lancasters in 33 minutes on the Revigny raids using it, and Major Schnaufer himself shot down seven, in just 19 minutes.
"If we had taken the evidence more seriously, we might have discovered Schräge Musik in time to respond with effective countermeasures.":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeman_Dyson#Warfare_and_weapons
He also "proposed ripping out two gun turrets from the RAF Lancaster bombers, to cut the catastrophic losses to German fighters in the Battle of Berlin. A Lancaster without turrets could fly 50 mph (80 km/h) faster and be much more maneuverable."

Night-bomber crews also believed in "Scarecrows". That German ground crews were firing pyrotechnic shells into the air to frighten them. But, there was no such thing as Scarecrows. What the crews saw was really exploding bombers. Even decades later, many Bomber Command survivors refused to accept the fact that Scarecrows did not exist.
Squadron leaders taught crews to switch their IFF transmitter on to jam the German searchlights if they were coned. Not only was this of no use over Germany, but it was a danger to aircrews that could be monitored by the enemy.