Part XVIII: The Second Great War, 2005
As
the year 2005 began, the news from the frontlines of the Second Great War was
not good if you were living and working in the Allied capitals of Berlin,
London, Washington, Vladivostok, or Tokyo. China had defeated Japan in Korea.
The Russians had pushed the Europeans into Poland. Moral among the troops and
civilians was starting to drop. It was in this climate that German Chancellor
Lehmann agreed to meet with President Doughty in Washington in February of that
year.
The
Washington Conference, which was also atteneded by the Foreign Ministers of the
United Kingdom, East Russia, and Japan, would ultimately change the outcome of
the war. At this meeting, those present were told about Germany and America’s
“secret weapon,” the atomic super-bombs. Both countries now proposed to use
these weapons to force Russia and China to end the war. The debates were
heated. There was serious concearn of contamination if too many of the bombs
were used. In the end, the Conference decided that there would be three bombs used.
One on the Chinese city of Harbin, one on Volvograd, and one on Archangel. Some
had pushed for using the bombs on larger cities or national capitals, but this
idea was dropped. Chancellor Lehmann successfully argued that such an action
would likely cause major problems after the war as these countries attempted to
rebuild.
- Franks, Dr. Hugo, The
Atomic War, Berlin: Humboldt University Press, 2019.
2004
had been a year of setbacks for the American forces in Siberia. Initially, the
Americans had been able to push the Imperials back to Lake Baikal, and were
bombing Irkutsk in anticipation for a planned invasion later that year. However, with the Chinese occupation of
Khabarovsk, all plans for Irkutsk were scrapped. Khabarovsk was placed under
siege, which would last into 2005. The city would finally fall back into Allied
hands on January 29, 2005. The cost was heavy. An estimated 150,000 American lives
were lost in the Siege of Khavarovsk.
With
the supply line resecured, attention once again fell on the city of Irkutsk.
Planning was slow and cautious. The Chinese were still harassing the
Trans-Siberian Railway, and bombing Vladivostok. The War Department decided
that the invasion of Irkutsk would begin on July 1. The commanders on the
ground were worried about pulling so many troops from the boarder with China,
fearing that the Chinese might be able to come in and cut the supply lines
again. However, the War Department mysteriously assured them that that would
not be a problem, with no further explanation.
All
was revealed, however, on the morning of June 26th. An American
rocket was launched from a submarine in the Pacific, and at 4:22 a.m. local
time, the first atomic super-bomb ever to be used slammed into downtown Harbin,
in the square infront of the main trainstation. The central part of the city
was utterly obliterated. Of the urban population of approximately 4 million, it
is believed that nearly 1 million died within the first hour after the attack.
-Newton, Dr. Kyle. Drive
to the West: The Western Front of the 2nd Great War. Los
Angeles: UCLA Press, 2021.
China Issues Cease Fire!
Tokyo, June 27-
In the wake of the atomic attack on the city of Harbin, the Chinese government
has announced a cease fire with the Allied Forces. Chinese authorities are
reporting that nearly 2 million people have been killed in the Harbin area, and
some think that this count could continue to climb. The Chinese Army has been
pulled back from the front lines since the cease fire was issued in order to
assist the survivors in Harbin. There are calls for the Chinese President to
resign.
In
Korea, the Chinese are on the retreat, announcing they were pulling out of the
peninsula. About two hours after the Chinese left Busan, Japanese forces landed
and occupied the city. The Japanese Royal Armed Forces announced that they hope
to liberate the whole of Korea within a mater of weeks.
-“China Issues Cease Fire!” The New York Times, June 27th.
At
the beginning of 2005, with added troops from Italy and France, the Russians
were finaly pushed out of Polish territory. British and Polish troops liberated
Vilinus on January 27th, and the Germans began to heavily bomb Minsk
on February 7th. Slowly but surely, the Russians were giving up
ground to the Allies. Minsk would finally fall on May 17th, at the
cost of nearly 300,000 German lives. By the beginning of June, the British
front was in Estonia, and the War Ministry was hopeful that that country would
be liberated by the end of July, and that, with any luck, the war could be over
by early 2006.
Then
the big game changer came. The Night of the Atoms. At about the same time that
the American rocket launched from the Pacific, two German rockets flew across
the skies of Eastern Europe. At 10:29 p.m. local time, the first German atomic
super bomb hit the city of Volvograd. The second bomb hit Archangel minutes
later, at 10:33. Between the two bombs there was nearly 5 million people dead
within the first day.
The
Russians were shocked. In the chaos following the bombs, the Allied forces
surged forward. The German/Polish force was now surrounding Smolensk, and the
British/Polish force had crossed out of Estonia and were headed towards
Petrograd. Russian Prime Minister Yalinkov vowed to avenge the destruction of
Volvograd and Archangel. Despite this, the Russians continued to loose ground.
In the Pacific, theater, the Americans took Irkutsk on July 7th.
Smolensk fell on July 23rd. Moscow and Petrograd were being bombed
daily.
Yulinkov’s
vow would prove to be shortlived. A British bomb slammed into the Russian
Executive Offices in Petrograd on August 6th, 2005. The Russian
Prime Minister and two senior cabinet members were killed, including the head
of the Prime Minister’s secret police. Czar Vladimir II called for a cease fire
with the Allies on August 8th, which was accepted on August 9th.
-Rutherford, Dr. Thomas. Our
War in Russia. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2022.
The War is Over!
Washington, August 11-
The Second Great War has finally come to an end. With the death of the Russian
Prime Minister 5 days ago, the Imperial Government’s resolve to continue the
war quickly unravled. The War came to an end in Europe on the 9th,
and the Imperial Government asked for a cease fire with the United States,
Eastern Russia, and Japan yesterday, which was approved over night by the
governments of those countries.
With
the guns falling silent, the spotlight will now shift towards the diplomats.
Already, people are discussing what the new boarders of Russia will be, how
much reparations they will be forced to pay, and if some of Russia’s leaders
would be forced to stand trial for their part in the war. Some want the
Russians to stand trial for the estimated half a million American troops that
are dead, along with nearly one million European troops.
But
all that will come later. For now, people across the country are jubilant, glad
that what many are calling the worst war in history is now over. Families are
now waiting eagerly for their loved ones in uniform to return home.
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