better our chances.'
Interrupting, Lewis held his hand up. 'There's one thing that puzzled both the CIA chief in Berlin and me. How, exactly, General, did you manage to get the Poles involved in your deception plan?'
This brought a big smile to Big Al's face. 'Long story. You see, my grandfather was a Polish immigrant by the name of Malinoski, Stanislaw Malinoski. When he came to America at the turn of the century, he quickly discovered that in order to get ahead in America you needed to be a citizen and have an Anglicized name. He figured that if he joined the Army, which was then looking for a few good men to fight in the Philippines, using the name Stanley Malin, he could get both. Well, he did, as well as a career. When he came back, he was a sergeant, earning a comfortable living and having prestige that his fellow Polish immigrants didn't have. So he stayed in the Army, married, raised two sons, and started a military tradition. One son, my father, went to West Point and graduated in time for World War II. Between World War II and Korea, he had me, who followed his footsteps.'
Lost, Lewis just nodded.
'When the American embassy held its New Year's Day reception, I met the Polish ambassador. After telling him this story, he embraced me like a long lost brother and invited me to the Polish embassy to join him for lunch whenever it was convenient. Knowing that German intelligence would be watching me like a hawk, I decided to take the ambassador up on his offer the other day. It appears that the Germans followed. But'?holding up a finger and with a smile on his face, Big Al added?'just in case they missed that, I invited the Polish military liaison officer out here to join me for dinner that night and to tour my headquarters.'
Settling back into his chair, Lewis shook his head in disbelief. 'And you moved some units to Liberec, near the Polish border, just to make sure the Germans drew the right conclusions.'
Big Al chuckled. 'It worked, didn't it? Thinking that there was the possibility of an end run through Poland, the Germans were obliged to deploy three of their divisions on the Polish border, in part to block a threat that isn't there and in part to threaten the Poles if they allowed us to do so. This threat has caused the Poles to increase their state of readiness and send several of their divisions to the border. Now, even if the Germans find out they've been duped, they cannot pull those divisions away from the border so long as the Polish divisions are deployed.'
'So,' Lewis summarized, 'you've eliminated several German divisions before you've even crossed the border.'
'I hope so, Congressman. With three divisions on the Polish border, three divisions facing my fake deployment areas in the northern Czech Republic, one tied up with the French-German multinational corps, and one in northern Germany watching for the Marine Corps to come storming ashore, that leaves only one heavy division in reserve around Berlin and their airborne division free for immediate redeployment. The mountain division facing us to the west is more concerned with keeping an eye on the logistical units in Grafenwohr and Hohenfels than watching the Czech border. With any luck, by the time they realize that we're going west through Bavaria and not interested in slipping the units in Germany east, it will be too late for them to establish effective blocking positions in Bavaria.'
There was a pause as each man began to consider the next step. Those thoughts washed away the enthusiasm that they felt over the success of their maneuvers and manipulations to date. Finally Big Al spoke. 'Will the President stay the course?'
'She is, General, committed. Like you and me, she understands what is at stake here and is willing to sacrifice her career, come what may.'
That statement caused Big Al to grunt. 'That's awfully big of her, considering that I've asked the people under my command to risk their lives in an enterprise that none of them understand and that I can't fully explain to them. I just hope that we can keep them together when the going gets tough. I have already ordered commanders to leave behind anyone whom they suspect won't be able to make it, physically or mentally. Besides some three hundred plus pregnant soldiers, I have over a thousand single parents and a couple thousand non-essential personnel staying in the Czech Republic. They'll be flown out via Austria and Italy once we get started. Still, a lot of good soldiers who start the march aren't going to make it to Bremerhaven.'
'Will they follow you, I mean once they find out that you've been labeled a renegade and are, at least as far as the general public is concerned, acting on your own and against the announced wishes of the President?'
'I can safely say,' Big Al said with an air of confidence, 'that I have more confidence in the reliability of my soldiers than Chancellor Ruff has in his. To hedge my bets, I will maintain for as long as possible the Armed Forces Radio Network in order to feed my soldiers the information I want them to hear as well as to give the Germans public service announcements. The German public will no doubt use AFN to check the line their own government is handing them. I am, in fact, counting on it.' There was a pause. Then he added almost as an afterthought, 'Besides, once the shooting starts, it won't matter what anyone believes. By that time, we'll be deep in the heart of Germany and every man and woman in this command who's still with us will realize that their own road to salvation will be to stay with their unit and follow orders.'
Lewis thought about that for a moment. 'That, General, is rather cynical and manipulative, isn't it?'
'War, Congressman, always has been and always will be cynical and manipulative in the extreme. Cynical old men, too old and frail to wield the sword or pull the trigger themselves, have for centuries labored to manipulate the strong, young, and brave to do it for them, using some damned excuse or another. In that regard, I'm no better than Herr Chancellor Ruff. He has something against the United States and he's using his Army and his people to get back at us. I just hope that when Herr Ruff and I meet our maker, he, and not I, gets to join Hitler for eternity.'
Lewis suddenly became quite solemn. 'Have you ever thought, General Malin, that perhaps Herr Ruff is hoping for the same thing?'
Part Three
MALIN'S MARCH TO THE SEA
CHAPTER 10
For over three hours, ever since the last of the mess trucks packed up and left, the company commanders of 3rd of the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Battalion had remained gathered about their battalion commander's humvee waiting. Except for them, the small train station bathed in a sickly dull blue light was abandoned. On the track beside them a train that disappeared in the darkness to the southwest, loaded with their combat vehicles, also sat waiting. Inside each of those vehicles strapped down on the train's numerous flatcars were the crews, who, like their commanders, sat huddled together in silence as they tried to protect themselves from the cold and boredom of waiting. All good topics of conversation had been exhausted well before their last hot meal for many days was over, leaving the assembled groups of combat leaders with nothing of value to discuss. All the orders for the forthcoming operation had been issued. Rehearsals at every level, from battalion down to platoon, had been completed. Concerns had been aired and addressed. Pre-combat checks and inspections had been completed. Pep talks and the few final cheering words that the leaders could manage had been said. Now there was only waiting. Each commander, lost in his or her own thoughts, stood ready like a great jack-in-the-box ready to spring into action as soon as one word, like the latch on the lid, was released.
Standing next to a wooden lamppost at the railroad crossing where her commander's humvee sat, its silent radio waiting to blare out their final order to move, Captain Nancy Kozak pulled out the copy of the message that their corps commander had ordered all commanders, down to company, to read before their assembled units. As befitted Lieutenant General Malin, the corps commander, the message was to the point. In the faint light, Kozak reread the message dated January 14th.
Circumstances have placed this command in a difficult position. As you know, a nation that we had until
