WW79 Scenario Vignette: Red Dawn

The Politburo doubted that our strategy could have worked against suspicious human vigilance--or, for that matter, against up-and-running SDI defences. But with American research and defense coordinated by AI, we knew we had a window of opportunity before laser research started. The North American alliance had to be subjugated at one fell swoop--no place should be left for the government to hide, or to lead partisans. Seoul had fallen to us in a prior incident--thus effort could be concentrated to our transoceanic strike forces of the Atlantic and Pacific fleets, escorting transport-borne armies of paratroopers, howitzers, tanks, military intelligence (Razvedka), and mechanized infantry.

Thus it was that I, Premier Nikita Khrushchev (of Imperial standing), in the unexpected triumph of my old age, approved my advisors' seven-point strategy for take-over of the American capitalist regimes in a single turn of maneuvre. One: first nuclear strikes on Honolulu, Washington and San Francisco. Two: off-loading a single mechanical infantry brigade in each stricken city, after prior offloading of some anti-partisan support nearby the continental beachhead cities. Three: bringing transports in for a landing in the beachhead cities, activating fresh troops contained therein. Four: inland Razvedka missions to assess city defense strength and escort conventional troops along railroads to striking distance of the weaker cities. Five: full-scale conventional attacks--begun by cruise missile strikes from aircraft carriers and proceeding through howitzers down to tanks. Six: back-up nuclear strikes on the remaining defended cities. And finally, seven: paratroopers dropped in closer to and marching into all these and other cities left not yet occupied by other troops.

It was a rousing success. Last-minute diplomatic contacts, following upon many months of goodwill built up through foreign aid, were crucial in dropping the American guard as our (rather too lightly guarded!) transports approached their shores. We unnecessarily lost international standing in taking Washington instead of New York first and breaking the UN-mandated peace treaty, but otherwise we could not have hoped for better. Most of their cities could be taken by conventional means. In the end, backup nuclear strikes were needed only on Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and the resistance capital at Chicago. Reinforcing spent troops through plunder of conquered cities was crucial in giving conventional forces the necessary prior logistic reach. Crucial was also the heroic final espionage mission to destroy SAM missile defences at Houston to weaken their resistance to our cruise missiles. The names of the Razvedka agents who sacrificed their lives for this goal will live in perpetuity in the hearts of the Soviet peoples.

Now decontamination proceeds apace--we brought in ten engineer brigades for the purpose on the last transports, so that global warming may be averted. Limited martial law, expanded entertainment and temple reconstruction is keeping the former American cities quiet. Reconstruction of infrastructure is soon to be followed by capitalization (one nation, many systems, as the Soviet Governor General put it in his speech). And American-Soviet friendship societies blossom across the prairies. We are still fighting the Americans' pathetic Neutral allies who declared war for the falling regime, but they will themselves fall soon enough. What next for our dreams of Red Empire? The nasty Islamic fundamentalists? The upstart and snotty Chinese? The ideologically weak, centrist pinkos of Western Europe (guarded by their lasers as they may be)? In the end, when we no longer have use of them, we must of course also volunteer to manage our snivelling, servile allies in India. Time will tell in what order all of this shall come to pass. In the meantime we can only say--working peoples of all nations, unite! (As long as it's under OUR flag, that is.)

By Eero Carroll