PARADOX - Chapter 79

Chapter 79

May 22, 2012 – New Berlin Base– Antarctica



“The morale of the men is low sir.” General Freiedrich von Weichs had been appointed to his command position by the Fuhrer himself and felt somewhat uncomfortable calling Hans sir. He was by far the senior staff officer and there were other officers who also held military seniority over Hans. The fact that Hans was Hitler’s chosen successor should anything happen to him, did not little to lessen his chagrin.

No one suspected that the Fuhrer’s granddaughter would turn out to be a traitor and assassin. Freiedrich had dined with her and the Fuhrer on several occasions and still found it difficult to believe such a charming and delicate person could murder her grandfather in cold blood. He still had his reservations but, in the interest of personal survival, kept them to himself.

Hans grinned displaying his most disarming and friendly smile. “But of course general. We just destroyed an unarmed civilian research base, where is the glory in that? They must have patience. Have the Fliegenkämpfer been marked with the new emblems which will identify them as American and NATO aircraft?”

“As instructed, sir.”

Hans suddenly looked angry. “Please call me by my title, General.”

“Yes, my Fuhrer.”

“Much better. Now, where were we? Yes, please have Major Keitel brought in”

General von Weichs removed a cell phone from his pocket and pressed several buttons. Seconds later the door opened and two Nazi SS soldiers entered with a young officer walking between them. They took half a dozen steps, halted, came to attention, and saluted Hans and von Weichs with a sharp Nazi salute. “Heil Hitler!”

“Please be seated,” Major.” Hans pointed to several comfortable leather covered chairs arranged around a circular coffee table. Both tea and coffee had already been placed for convenience. Major Keitel waited for Hans and General von Weichs to seat themselves before he eased down into a facing seat.

“Your full name is Major Ludwig Keitel?” Hans politely asked. “Ludwig Dieter Keitel, my Fuhrer.”

“You see, he has no difficulty with my title, Freiedrich.” Hans grinned at General von Weichs. “It is my understanding that you have been an agent in the United States for the past ten years, Major, and that your English, the American version that is, is perfect?

“Yes, my Fuhrer.”

Hans could tell the young officer was extremely nervous. He sat ramrod straight, almost at the position of attention, his eyes never leaving Hans’ forehead. “You must relax,” Hans stated, in a commanding tone of voice. He pointed to the tea and coffee and nodded his head. Hans gave the officer time to prepare his tea and assume a relaxed position.

“We are launching three expeditions as soon as they are ready,” Hans casually stated. “You have been selected to command one of the expeditions colonel, the most important one.”

“Thank you my Fuhrer,” Keitel acknowledged. It suddenly dawned on him that he had also just been promoted to colonel.

“The other two commanders have already been briefed on their missions by General von Weichs,” Hans continued, pleased with the gleam of pride in the young officer’s eyes. “I wanted to brief you myself because there are questions I need answered before I send you out with the first Nazi strike force in over sixty-five years, and your role in the mission is of critical importance.”

Three hours later Keitel was approaching his first target. As Wing Commander he commanded three full squadrons of 32 fighters each, for a total of 96 aircraft. He named his Wing, or Geschwader, the Jagdgeschwader Richthofen in honor of Manfred von Richthofen of WWI fame. Keitel chose to send one squadron to each of the three chosen targets. Due to the capabilities of his fighters, he had the ability to jump from target to target within minutes.

As they assembled over the first target, Keitel commanded each squadron to break into the finger four formation, wherein four aircraft were flown in support of each other providing maximum visibility. This formation was perfected during World War II. Although Keitel did not expect to loose any of his fighters, there was always the chance of a lucky strike by the enemy.

The aircraft did not have defensive shields, which would require more energy than the plane could carry, but relied on the warp drive and computer systems that worked together in a microsecond. Should a foreign object, be it flack from artillery, shrapnel from a missile, or a missile itself, come within a micrometer of the aircraft, the computer system would automatically activate the warp system which would move the aircraft a hundred meters from the invading particle. The danger lied in too many particles coming in from different angles, which could overwhelm the computer long enough for a damaging strike on the aircraft.

Keitel did not expect hard resistance at this first target, or at the second, but the third target might prove to be much more difficult. This first target would not only be caught off guard and by surprise, but there was insufficient antiaircraft Capabilities to do much damage.

Moments later they were over the target coming in from all four directions. The first target was Fort Hood, Texas, a large US Army Base which housed the 1st Cavalry Division, First Army Division West, III Corps Headquarters, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, the 31st Air Defense Brigade and other units, with nearly 65,000 soldiers and their families. The object of this strike was to inflict as much damage on the Armor capabilities as possible. There were enough tanks and armored vehicles still at the base to demonstrate the damaging power of the fighters.

For half an hour the Fliegenkämpfer attacked the base with lasers only. They destroyed hundreds of tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery batteries, air defense batteries, and attack helicopters. They then concentrated on the transport aircraft and support facilities including fuel tanks, ammunition dumps, and storage facilities. Anything that looked offensive in nature, or could support offensive military operations was destroyed. Keitel drew the line on destroying the hospital and housing areas, he was a warrior, not a butcher.

Keitel signaled for the squadron commander to assume command of the target area and conduct mopping up operations by destroying communications and other vital infrastructure. As far as he could see, Fort Hood was burning. The loss of life was staggering, even among non-combat personnel. He ordered his pilot to take him to target number two.

Target number two was Whitman AFB, a small United States Air Force Base near the town of Knob Noster, Missouri. The base is the home of the 509th Bomb Wing, which operates the B-2 Spirit stealth bombers. Although alerted by the attack on Fort Hood, Texas, the aircraft at Whitman were unable to scramble because of the squadron that Keitel had staged over the base. As soon as Keitel arrived in the area, only seconds after leaving the Fort Hood area, Whitman was attacked. Not one single bomber was spared. When Keitel’s squadron departed after only ten minutes of strafing runs, the base was a blazing inferno and even some of the outlying areas were catching fire from the intense heat from the burning jet fuel tank farms.

Keitel ordered all three squadrons to rendezvous’ over target number three. He expected the third target to put up a serious fight. Not only would they have advanced warning of the attacks on Fort Hood and Whitman, AFB, but also they had fighter aircraft that may inflict potential damage to his Wing. Keitel wanted to attack target number three first with the hopes of catching them unawares, but Hans had other reasons.

“We need to boost the morale of the men,” Hans stated. “Destroying targets of opportunity when they are not prepared for us is like a shooting gallery, fun but no challenge. Our fighter pilots need the experience of mixing it up with other fighter pilots so they can feel what it is like to share danger as well as victory. When they return home after placing their lives in jeopardy and with a few kills under their belts, their morale will soar.”

Keitel agreed with the Fuhrer, however, they were still his men and he knew their training was no match for that of the American pilots. The American pilots they were going up against were the best trained in the world because target number three was an American supercarrier, the USS John C. Stennis, which had just left Bremerton, Washington and was cruising off the West Coast of the United States in route to the Middle East.

Keitel was correct, the Stennis was warned and prepared for his attack. As soon as his fighters appeared in the skies less than a hundred miles from the carrier, they were ambushed.

Dozens of the Navy F/A-18 Hornets and EA-6B Prowlers launched their missiles at point blank range. Within seconds eleven Fliegenkämpfer crashed into the ocean. The Hornets and Prowlers then pealed away so quickly and in all directions, his fighters could not readjust their weapons to counter them. Before the shock of the ambush wore off, scores of Sea Sparrows, Rolling Air Missiles and surface-to-air missiles from the Carrier Battle Group sliced into their formation, sending another nine Fliegenkämpfer into the ocean. This was followed by another assault from the Navy fighter planes, downing three more Fliegenkämpfer.

Keitel ordered the wing to disengage and regroup five hundred miles away. The Nazis were shocked. Twenty-three fighters shot down in less than two minutes of combat. They had ran into a meat grinder and paid the price. Their lasers were excellent weapons but the targeting systems, which controlled them, were useless. The laser had a range of five hundred meters, but beyond that they became less effective as the distance increased.

Keitel knew that if he dared to get within 500 meters of the Carrier Battle Group, he would loose the remainder of his Fliegenkämpfer before they could inflict serious damage on the Americans. They might be lucky enough to take out a few of the fighters, and possibly one or more of the surface vessels, but the cost would not be worth the damage.

Keitel ordered his second in command to return to New Berlin Base. He then ordered his pilot of take him down so he could complete the most important part of his mission. The pilot dove into the ocean and surfaced near some floating wreckage of one of the Fliegenkämpfer. Keitel took the time to change into a different uniform, the uniform of a United States Air Force fighter pilot, then slipped into the warm ocean waves.

He did not have long to wait before a US Navy rescue helicopter spotted him and sea rescue divers pulled him from the rolling ocean. Keitel was transported to the deck of the USS Stennis and escorted by two U.S. Marines to the wardroom of the ship’s Captain.

The Captain of the Stennis took one look at Keitel’s U.S. Airforce uniform and could not speak.

“My complements from General W.W. Jones,” Keitel smiled, enjoying the shock on the faces around him. “We have declared war against the rest of the United States Military, and with the help of our Arianni allies, we will overthrow the government.”