Hoi 4 Chapter 16

Chapter 16 - Apr 1945: The Beginning of the End

The US has 7 nuclear reactors throughout the country, working to build a deployable atomic bomb. It is estimated to take another 52 days to get the first one out.

Castille's last province in Iberia is taken in May, and the conquering armies, General BPM's 12th army, 8th Army, and 18th Army, are ordered to prepare for the invasion of Eretna. They will get a respite while the invasion is planned and prepared, then they will be thrust back into combat.

Before Eretna is to be invaded, Castillian and Hungarian North Africa must fall. The invasion is set to begin on the 13th of May, and 19 Marine divisions will capture ports along the coast.

North Africa is mysteriously unguarded, and the Marines make good progress in capturing coastline. Construction of new airbases begins in Libya, and the entirety of Stali North Africa is taken within weeks.

The air war turns sour for the Anglo Alliance. Hundreds of planes are shot down and, while the Stali Pact loses 2 planes for every 1 Anglo plane, their supply seems endless. The fighter reserves are down to 2.5 thousand as of June 15th.

Even as thousands of Anglo troops die, tens of thousands of Stali troops are slain. 8 months into the war there have been 9 million deaths (2 million Anglo and 7 million Stali), an average of 37 thousand deaths a day.

President Eternien receives word that the first of the atomic bombs is complete on June 18th. Nicknamed "Chubby Chuck", the bomb is equivalent to 15 kilotons of TNT and weighs 4 tons. The bomb is loaded onto an aircraft carrier and carried across the Atlantic. At the moment, Moscow is the top target. It is politically and militarily significant, as the Russian government has been operating out of it since the fall of Stara Ladoga and the siege of Leningrad, and the top Russian military school and countless bases reside in the area. A nuclear blast there would deal a great blow to Russia. Population wise, 8 million civilians live in Moscow and the surrounding area, but scientists estimate that at least 200 thousand live in the blast radius of Chubby Chuck.

The other targets considered include the significantly smaller city of Orel, which is fairly close to the front line with the UBP. Striking here would demonstrate the destructive powers of the nuclear bomb without killing hundreds of thousands.

But it will be another couple of weeks before the bomb is transported in range of any of the targets.

Then, on July 2nd at 1:24 PM, just as the bomb reaches the Baltic Sea, the US loses communication with Allenstein, where the plane carrying the bomb is meant to be launched from. It takes another hour before the report comes in. By a device unknown, the entire city of Allenstein has been destroyed, flattened to its foundations. Prime Minister Dillano's whereabouts are also unknown, and it appears that the entire government of the UBP was taken out in the explosion. Conservative estimates say around 150 thousand dead, twice that wounded. Towns as far as 150 miles away saw the light that lit up the sky.

President Eternien and those who are aware of the Boston Project know that only a nuclear weapon could deal such devastation. It is clear now that Russia has beaten the US in the nuclear race. The time to retaliate is now.

A man named Brunis Pumpurs is made temporary Prime Minister of UBP in this state of emergency, and he is made aware of the existence of the bomb. He wholeheartedly agrees with the deployment of Chubby Chuck, and the plane will now be launched from Konigsberg.

As the rescue and rebuilding efforts begin in Allenstein, Chubby Chuck is loaded onto the "Dillano", a Super Fortress named after the killed PM of the UBP. It takes off early, as the flight will be about 4 hours to Moscow. Also on the plane is a cameraman who will capture video and photographs of the event.

The bomb drops at 10 AM, and it falls for several miles. 500 feet above the city, it detonates. The ancient and historical city of Moscow is blasted apart by the shock wave and fireball that follow, and even those well out of the blast radius feel the burn of radiation that will scar them for life.

The repercussions from this single week will be bigger than almost any other week in the history of mankind. This War of the World is now a nuclear war.