by Chris James
Kartal was far from alone. By early April multitudes of able-bodied people swarmed north into France, Austria, Germany and Poland, while millions more elderly, infirm and obese individuals found themselves obliged to await the Caliphate’s pleasure. Switzerland resisted calls to open its borders until the last week of March. Although when the Swiss federal government announced its decision, it claimed it did so in the name of European unity, English government papers recently released tell a different story. According to a top-secret memo circulated in Whitehall on 29 March, which detailed a Brussels summit the previous day, Swiss Federal Chancellor Leandro Frick had to be disabused of the practicality of his country’s intended neutrality in the strongest terms: ‘… abruptly [French President] Charpentier lost his temper with Frick. He pointed out in no uncertain terms that Switzerland should expect to suffer the same fate as every other country, city, town and village in Europe. The Alps were no defence against the Caliphate’s ACAs; the rifles with which the Swiss population were armed would not even dent the invader; and all the gold in Zurich’s vaults would not persuade the approaching warriors to desist - rather, the prospect of such booty would more than likely make Switzerland their primary target. In any case, the Swiss would be able to do little but hide inside their crumbling nuclear fallout shelters (which in the event many of them did). The Federal Chancellor did not take the lecture well, but the time for delicate diplomacy had passed.’
In any case, the Swiss decision allowed the passage of numerous refugees in one direction while facilitating the transport of NATO soldiers and equipment in the other. As Caliphate forces advanced into northern Spain, Italy, and progressed through the Balkans, SHAPE headquarters wrestled with where to position NATO’s limited defences. The political imperative was to protect major cities against aerial attack, while the military wished to have all means available to hold territory when the enemy advanced. After the war, many military scientists speculated whether different deployments could have altered the course of events. However, it is unlikely that the outcome would have been any different irrespective of how NATO’s sparse resources had been divided up. As a political expediency, London, Paris, Berlin, Warsaw and other population centres had to enjoy a level of ACA and Pulsar laser protection. As always in every theatre of each war in history, the generals and armies would have to manage with the equipment their political masters deemed sufficient.
Nevertheless, despite the likelihood of total defeat, NATO was far from idle during March. In north England and Scotland, units of the Royal Air Force began experimenting with SkyWatcher ACAs equipped with fully-armed Pulsar training laser cannons. The Pulsar training cannon was smaller and lighter than its fully powered battlefield counterpart, and credit for upgrading its ability went to a young captain of the RAF, Jack Evans. During an interview after receiving a Victoria Cross for his part in the defence of London that June, Evans explained: ‘It was no big deal. All I did was upgrade some of the junctures to take the extra wattage, and that brung [sic] the output up to about 97% of the battlefield version. Of course, I had to play around with the junctures a bit, but what we really needed was a way to knock out a poxy Blackswan before it could launch its Spiders.’ Despite Evans’s modesty, his idea constituted a simple yet important tactical advancement when the Battle for Europe was finally joined in earnest. In another example of NATO’s innovation, scientists at the Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment came up with a novel ‘coherence inducer’, to expand the coherence length in Pulsar laser cannons. After only a week of tests, the inducer went into mass production and was fitted to all Pulsar battlefield cannons then under construction.
Elsewhere, the Electronic Warfare Establishment in London used the assistance of super AI to produce a range of options to neutralise the Caliphate’s jamming ability. Although all possibilities were investigated, it quickly became clear that an SHF-burner beam of an especially high range stood the best chance of creating ‘corridors’ through the Caliphate’s incessant electronic noise, via which EM communications could travel. Within two weeks thorough tests were conducted, final designs approved, and schematics for the device transmitted for replication to all forward units.
IV. THE RANKS SWELL
Recruitment to the armies in the north European countries gathered pace with the Caliphate’s approach. Despite the initial social discord in the democracies when the violence erupted in Turkey and Israel, the arrival of Caliphate warriors on the European mainland focused the minds not only of militaries and governments, but also ordinary citizens. Alex Wright, a twenty-three-year-old graduate in London, wrote in his diary: ‘I think I should join the army. I want to, although I don’t know what they might do with me. Art says anyone who signs up is an idiot, due to be nothing more than cannon-fodder, but his cynicism rings hollow to me. Looking around, everyone cares most about saving their own skin, as though they existed completely outside society. I think it’s wrong to see it like that. If, as so many say, we’re dead anyway, isn’t it better to die fighting, rather than laying down supine like a coward? I think it’s important not to be a coward.’
Thus did numerous young people of the time abruptly find themselves obliged to confront their innermost fears. From a life of relative ease, security and safety, many citizens realised that their entire societies were under threat as never before. Protests and calls for a unilateral peace continued, but support for pacifism waned. Demonstrations in London, Paris and Berlin which in February drew millions onto the streets calling for a resolution at any price, by April could muster only a few hundreds of disaffected people and conscientious objectors.
The British Army commenced basic and specialised training with thousands of new recruits. Once these young men and women joined up, they found their lives changed drastically. For many, the focus resolved on potential deployment to the continent. One new recruit later recalled an exchange between a fellow soldier and their training sergeant. Private Thomas Green and his platoon had discussed among themselves why they should be posted to Europe to fight when the priority should be to defend the British Isles. Then, one evening in the mess: ‘Bazza decided he wanted to know. We’d all been wondering about it, but only Bazza had the balls to ask the Sarge. He went up to the Sarge and said: “Will we be getting posted to Europe to fight the ragheads? Shouldn’t we be waiting till they get here?” The Sarge stood up slowly and the mess went quiet. He took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his voice: “You want to know why we don’t wait till the ragheads get here?! I’ll tell you why, you stupid afterbirth. Because if we did, it would mean they’d already won, and besides, we’d hardly be able to fight because our green and pleasant island would be full of millions of Frogs and Krauts - that’s why!” Bazza just smiled and thanked the Sarge, cool as you like.’ In the event, the Caliphate would arrive on British shores far sooner than Green or his comrades could have foreseen.
V. REACTIONS
Most governments enacted emergency legislation to curb sales of alcohol and legalised drugs, and the reaction of Europe’s media ranged from the stolidly defensive to the highly emotional. For example, on 3 April The Guardian media outlet in Britain editorialised: ‘Europe faces its greatest threat of destruction in over a century. Today, unlike in ages past, this includes the entire British Isles. The English Channel may as well be a stream for all the protection it offers these islands against the Caliphate’s armaments.’ The Handelsblatt outlet in Germany declared: ‘For the first time in generations, the German must once again rise up in anger and defiance. He must show the enemy that he will defend his land, his home, and his family. The German must now face the future with the utmost determination and resilience.’ Meanwhile in France, Le Nouvel Observateur questioned its readers laconically: ‘Is the day now at hand when we may bid farewell to our cherished culture, our liberty, equality, and fraternity? Can each of us find the spirit of our great country within ourselves to face the barbaric invader who stands at the gates? How can the Republic survive?’
/> While increasing military recruitment figures alone bear witness to the changing tide of opinion, beyond the headlines and editorials similar fears existed as experienced by all populations who stand on the threshold of catastrophe. Megan Jackson, a fifty-five-year-old retired vision mixer and mother of two young men who lived in Newbury, wrote to her friend: ‘Both Oliver and Alfie [her sons] came home last night and told me they’d signed up, Oliver for the Signals and Alfie for the Royal Engineers. Of course I supported them, but they’ll go and start basic training in a few days, and I have to face the fact that I may never see them again. It’s awful, truly. Last night I went up in the loft and dug out the pictures they painted for me at playschool, and found a little clay cat Oliver made for me ten years ago. How can those sweet, innocent little boys be ready to be killed? They still have their whole lives in front of them.’
Although many young men and women hurried to join up, the sense of civic responsibility was by no means uniform. A few miles away in Swindon, a middle-aged father of three complained to his parents about his eldest son: ‘Anytime Dylan gets out of his bloody gaming world, which is only to eat and shit, I ask him what he’s going to do with himself, when he’s going to join up. He usually flares up and breaks something. The army would be good for him, maybe it could make him lose some of that blubber before he gets diabetes and arthritis… I threatened to switch off the power to the house to stop him gaming, and he threatened to kill himself if I did. Really, I give up with that lad.’
As mentioned above, the health of the democracies’ youth left much to be desired. The author of one English government assessment at the time, which considered the necessity of forced conscription, noted wryly: ‘If conscription should be introduced among the general population, we can expect a high rejection rate. It is ironic: at the start of the First World War in 1914 some 32% of recruits were rejected due to malnutrition and its related illnesses. Today, we would face a similar rejection rate due to obesity and its related illnesses.’
Nevertheless, the war had been and would remain for the foreseeable future primarily a battle of machinery over flesh and blood. Until Operation Repulse began, far more civilians would perish than either NATO soldiers or Caliphate warriors. On 3 April the first supply convoy from the US reached the British Isles - the only one to do so without Caliphate interference until the following winter. Some fifty ships of the US Merchant Marine delivered over half a million tonnes of military supplies, including more than a thousand PeaceMaker and other ACAs as well as two hundred Pulsar battlefield support vehicles. Other ships continued to French ports to deliver similar loads to the European mainland.
Since the war there has been much speculation as to why the Caliphate allowed this first aid shipment to arrive unmolested. In the final analysis, and especially when the records of interrogation of warrior prisoners later in the war are considered at full depth, the reason is conclusively that the Caliphate decided to adhere to its long-term strategy. Certainly, had Blackswans caused the destruction they wrought on later convoys, then Europe would have been even more exposed. As it was, Caliphate forces followed the battle plan set down by their super AI for the most effective domination over the European landmass, a not inconsiderable area. Part of this involved the thorough build-up of attack as well as support forces before the invasion could continue. While the successful arrival of the first convoy represented a missed opportunity at the tactical level, strategically it did little to hinder the Caliphate’s plans and likely saved no more than a few thousand European lives.
VI. THE ‘TENSE SPRING’
April 2062 saw the beginning of what would become known as the ‘Tense Spring’. Spain, Italy, Greece and the Balkans suffered grievously under Caliphate domination, but for several weeks the invaders would be occupied enjoying the spoils of war and building up their forces. Few southern European politicians and other dignitaries escaped before their countries were overrun, but the Italian Defence Minister, attending a summit in Brussels, became the de-facto leader of his country’s government-in-exile, and made a heartfelt plea for European unity in France’s National Assembly on 5 April.
As the month wore on, frantic diplomatic efforts continued amid fraught tension. The Polish Foreign Minister, Maciej Zientara, won few friends when he publicly attacked Moscow for the Russian military build-up on Poland’s western border with Belorussia. Zientara called Russia a vulture, ‘waiting to pick over the corpse of Europe once the Caliphate has put it to the sword.’ Although Zientara’s complaint may have contained a kernel of truth, throughout the war callous indifference would be the hallmark of Russia’s approach to Europe’s woes.
Most western diplomats rightly concentrated on China’s pivotal role in global affairs, but little assistance would be forthcoming. As G. K. Morrow stated in The Great European Disaster: ‘Numerous members of many Western governments failed to realise the range of issues which weakened their position internationally. Firstly, the total value of Chinese business and real estate interests in mainland Europe represented less than 2% of its GDP. Compared to its concerns in the rest of Asia, South America and Africa, even the wholesale destruction of Europe would not cause the Chinese economy any notable stress, apart from a few ruined businessmen. Secondly, China itself boasted a population of some two-and-a-half-billion people: to manage its infrastructure, economy and overseas interests required a civil service millions strong which dealt on a daily basis with innumerable problems. As an example, while Caliphate forces starved half the population of Italy, an explosion at a dysprosium refining facility in southern China caused far more concern. Dysprosium was a vital component in facilitating super-AI conduction, and the anxiety the resulting five hundred deaths engendered far outweighed what was happening in distant Europe. Finally, most Europeans failed to understand the Chinese concept of “face”. The Caliphate was in the main Beijing’s creation, which for twenty years existed and expanded on a platform of peace and Arab inclusion. While the Chinese could not have foreseen the violence unleashed by the Third Caliph, once he had secured power and used Chinese imports of raw materials and technology to create his army, the Chinese government could hardly admit its mistake to itself, let alone to the rest of the world.’
Attempts at subterfuge continued, with moderate success. The young British diplomat who obtained the copy of Zayan’s data-pod before the war began continued a slow-drip feed of moderately useful information, until he was uncovered and imprisoned in January 2064. The diplomat, whose name has still not been released and whose ultimate fate remains secret, passed data which showed that out of the public eye, Beijing was less than happy with Tehran’s slaughter in Europe. However, one exchange of communiqués demonstrated the limits of China’s actual ability to influence the Caliphate. On 6 April Beijing threatened to stop exports of a number of materials, including heavy elements and replacement parts for weapons. The following day, Tehran responded that it had amassed sufficient stockpiles of the former to subdue Europe, and that its replicators could ensure plentiful supplies of the latter. The genie was very much out of the bottle.
With such a vast population, feelings among the general Chinese population are difficult to gauge accurately without aggregating vast volumes of data. However, a typical conversation of the time took place between Fai T’ang, a fifty-year-old successful businessman, and Lan, his twenty-three-year-old socialite daughter. When he complained to her that: ‘… the company will have to bear substantial write-downs on our property in London and Paris if this madness is not resolved peacefully, and soon,’ his daughter replied: ‘Please don’t fret, daddy, it doesn’t affect the Middle Kingdom at all. Besides, we have lots and lots of property in Brazil, and the people there are so much friendlier…’
On Monday 10 April, Tehran issued the first of a series of statements calling on NATO to surrender to avoid further bloodshed. These had little impact in the democracies, but served as useful propaganda in swaying powerful but broadly disinterested states around the world.
Throughout April and May, the Caliphate kept up a steady barrage in the world’s media, including selective use of historical facts, to justify its actions. In contrast, NATO mainly utilised the weakened UN. Although the UN adopted many condemnatory resolutions during the Tense Spring, most members stopped at voting for those which censured the loss of life, but either abstained or voted against any insistence that Caliphate forces should withdraw to pre-war positions. Despite the democracies’ best intentions, these debates and votes can be seen, with the benefit of hindsight, merely to presage the UN’s eventual dissolution at the end of the war.