yesterdays war

by gerald hall

  Altogether, we would be able to field a fairly substantial force. Without the Americans, the naval force won’t be as large as the entire Japanese Imperial Navy, but it could serve as a deterrent to potentially prevent the Japanese from being overly adventurous. If war does come, we can make the Japanese pay a very heavy price.

  But, let us hope that with some prior planning, that we will not have to fight at all.” Churchill concluded. He did not mention about the preparations that Harold Cavill had already been making to ensure that Australia’s military would be far more capable than any would have anticipated.

  “Agreed,MonsieurChurchill. But it is much better to be safe than caught unprepared by one’s enemies. It will take some months of preparation to accomplish this. But I believe that this would be a good move for France. Perhaps, I will even send a detachment of French Marines with this naval force just in case we will need to conduct raiding missions against any unwelcome Japanese encampments.” Darlan laughed.

  “Now, if I can convince the commander of the French Air Force to send a few squadrons of modern aircraft to support you, that would make things even better. I’m sure that you would not want to send your only aircraft carrier off to Indochina.”

  “Yes, it would be. Perhaps I will talk with them instead, Mister Churchill. I might have a little more influence with them.”

  “Very good, Sir. Well, I must go now. Thank you for your time, Admiral.” Churchill politely said before taking his leave.

  Churchill smiled as he walked out of Darlan’s office though. He was confident now that the French Admiral would follow through with his commitment to reinforce the French forces in French Indochina. Churchill would soon send a telegraph message to Harold to let the latter know of the successful agreement with Darlan.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight: Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia

  June 30, 1939

  “Mister Cavill, I have some new parcels for you. They just came in on the Cavalier flight that landed this morning.” Thomas, Harold’s long-time aborigine assistant said as he walked in the door of Harold’s office.

  “Thank you, Thomas. Just set them down on the table by the door.” Harold replied while reviewing some documents from his engine factory.

  After Thomas had left, Harold walked over and looked through the parcels until he found the one that he had been waiting on. One of the arrangements that Harold had made with the newspapers that he had purchased years earlier was that he would receive copies of all of the raw news reports from domestic and foreign news services. Harold wanted to quickly compare them to his historical files to see if there were any significant changes in the timeline.

  “Hmmm.” Harold quietly said to himself as he pondered over the news reports. They extended to events that happened over the past three months. While events in Europe like the Nazi takeover of the Czech Republic on March 15 and the end of the fighting in Spain at the end of the civil war there were covered fairly extensively, there were a few other news items that caught Harold’s eye.

  “It’s a shame that the Soviets and Japanese didn’t keep fighting along the Mongolian Border. It might have kept both of them busy enough. Those East Asian divisions wouldn’t have had a chance to move west to save Moscow from theWehrmacht.” Harold thought as he read the news report on the Japanese attack on the Soviet air base at Tamsak-Bulak.

  Harold wanted the Bolsheviks to be utterly destroyed along with their fellow Marxist-Leninists elsewhere in the world like Mao Tse-tung and Ho Chi Minh. The descendants of these communist leaders would start the war in 2040 that ultimately brings the end of humanity.

  The Soviet Union and its Bolshevik leaders had already committed mass murder even before the beginning of the Second World War. Deliberate famines and forced relocations lost the lives of tens of millions of people within the Soviet Union during the first two decades of Soviet rule. Josef Stalin had his own plans to invade Poland and then Germany. Stalin also had his own ideas on eliminating the ‘Jewish problem’ just as Hitler wanted. Stalin’s evil and that of those Communists that followed him would have to be stamped out. Then the oppressed masses in places like the Ukraine and the Baltic States could take back their land and their freedom.

  Of course, Harold never considered himself a fan of the Nazis either. They would start a war that would cost the lives of tens of millions of people. But he knew that sooner or later, Hitler himself would be his own worst enemy. He would either overextend his own military forces and be defeated by the Allies or that the generals of theWehrmachtwould eliminate Hitler themselves. The most likely case would be the latter, Harold felt.

  Without Hitler and his personality cult, the Nazi Party would quickly fall apart. Then, in all likelihood, a much more pragmatic leadership would take over Germany. At least, that is what Harold hoped would happen.

  But the Japanese will to fight was a completely different situation. Their fanaticism was souldeep. In Harold’s original timeline, it took the use of two atomic bombs and many months of Japanese cities being firebombed into ashes from the air to convince Japan’s leadership to capitulate. One of the most perplexing problems that Harold struggled to find a solution for was how to defeat the Japanese without having to resort to such drastic measures such as weapons of mass destruction. So far, he had not been able to find a solution. But Harold needed to deal with other, more immediate, issues at this point.

  The news reports that Harold continued to read still showed that the vast majority of events were still happening exactly as they had occurred in the previous timeline. Harold fully expected to hear of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact within a few months based on the trend of events that were happening. That would secure Hitler’s eastern flank so that he would soon be able to attack Western Europe with Germany’s entire military might.

  England and the Commonwealth would soon be at war with the Axis powers. Harold knew that he could do little about it now. He had hoped that perhaps the improvements in the Royal Navy would have had at least some small measure of deterrence against the resurgent Germans. But that obviously failed to change Hitler’s ambitions.

  There would just have to be war. Hopefully, Harold’s influence will have prepared England sufficiently to be able to defeat the Nazis in time, even with the loss of France and the rest of Western Europe being virtually inevitable. But history is a tricky thing to play with. It could take directions that Harold never remotely intended or wanted. That is what Harold feared most of all would happen as a result of his efforts. But this world was all that he had left now. He desperately did not want it to have the same fate as the one that he left.

  There continued to be so many things that needed to be done before the war started. Harold knew that he would have to very soon leave on another trip overseas to try to accomplish one of those very important things. This time, Harold’s destination will be America. As with his most recent journeys, Dorothy and the children will be coming with him.

  Institute for Advanced Study Princeton, New Jersey

  July 7, 1939

  Harold’s flight had landed near New York without too much fanfare. This was exactly what he wanted because of the person that he wanted to meet with on this trip. Like with the latest trip to England, Dorothy and the children also came along on the flight to America. However, Dorothy knew that Harold did not need the distraction of children underfoot for this particular meeting. So Dorothy took the children to visit Coney Island and other attractions, while Harold left for Princeton.

  It was quite easy for Harold to then hire a car and driver to take him towards Princeton. After staying overnight at a nearby hotel, Harold rode the hired vehicle onto Princeton’s campus. The university was bustling with activity with students and professors walking or riding bicycles to and from classes.

  Finally, Harold saw the building that he was looking for. He had seen an old photo of the Institute’s center from his computer’s historical database. After paying the driver and asking him to wait for
Harold’s return, Harold got out and walked into the building. A directory posted on the wall inside the main hallway showed Harold where Albert Einstein’s office was located.

  Few people notice Harold as he walked up the stairs and then to Einstein’s office. Harold was dressed in normal business attire for the period. It was not the usual comfortable work clothing that he wore most days in Derby. But Harold had also taken great pains not to appear nearly as wealthy as he actually was. He did not want his identity to be prematurely revealed while there.

  When Harold arrived at Einstein’s office, he found an older woman with a stern expression sitting at a desk in the administrative office outside the offices of several professors, including Einstein’s. She appeared to be a secretary or some sort of administrative assistant.

  “Excuse me, Ma’am. Can you tell me where I might find Professor Einstein, please?” Harold politely asked.

  “He has stepped out for a short while to meet with some other professors, Sir. May I ask your name, please?”

  “I’m Mister Cavill. I would like very much to chat with Professor Einstein. This is very important, Ma’am.”

  “Many people want to see the Professor. Every time that he publishes another paper, there is a line of people outside of the door here.” The woman explained.

  “Trust me, Ma’am. He will want to talk to me.” Harold confidently replied.

  “Well, Mister Cavill. You will just have to take a seat and wait then. But I still cannot guarantee that he will want talk with you.

  Harold sat there waiting for nearly an hour before the door opened. Albert Einstein walked into the office. He was smoking a pipe as Harold caught his eye.

  “FrauFields, who is this fellow sitting here?” Einstein asked in a still thick German accent.

  “This is Mister Cavill. He says that it is very important that he talk with you.” She explained.

  “Yes, Professor. I have travelled all the way from Australia to speak with you on a matter of the utmost importance.”

  “On what subject?” A curious Einstein asked.

  “The future of humanity and your role in it. This is something that I have a very unique perspective upon, Professor Einstein.”

  Something about the way that Harold spoke intrigued Einstein. Ever since Albert Einstein had started publishing papers on relativity and the relationship between matter, energy and light, he had been deluged with critics, frauds and people who simply wanted a piece of Einstein’s fame. But the manner in which Harold spoke and the look on his face, particularly the intensity in Harold’s eyes, told Einstein that perhaps this man was something completely different.

  “FrauFields, I think that I can spare a few minutes to talk toHerrCavill. Please tell everyone that I will be busy in my office for a short while.” Einstein suddenly told his secretary while still looking directly at Harold.

  The two men walked into Einstein’s office with the latter closing the door behind them.

  “Please take a seat, Herr Cavill. I am very curious about what was so important that you traveled halfway around the world just to talk with me. You mentioned something about my role in the future of humanity, I believe.”

  “Yes, Professor. You have such an incredible impact upon the science of the future. There are things that you theorized concerning the relationships of matter, energy and the nature of the universe that will be expanded upon and validated a hundred years from now.”

  “You talk about this, Herr Cavill, in a very curious manner. It’s almost as though you already know this future.”

  Harold squirmed in his chair for a few moments while trying to decide what to tell the great scientist and theorist. At the same time, he was feeling the lump on his left wrist concealed under his shirt sleeve that was the digital data device that he brought from home for the first time since arriving in this timeline. Harold had not dared take a chance on anyone else in this timeline seeing this glaringly obvious piece of future technology.

  “Well, Sir. I know that you have a very unique role in the future of this world. But part of that role will lead to a terrible fate for it little more than a century from now.”

  “You talk in such riddles,HerrCavill. Can you be any clearer than that? It is just you and I here at this moment.”

  “I have come from the future, Professor Einstein in the hope of changing history and possibly saving humanity from its own destruction in the year 2040.” Harold finally explained.

  For a few moments, Einstein just silently sat there with an incredulous expression on his face. Then he finally spoke.

  “You must be joking,HerrCavill. There is no such thing as time travel in spite of the fanciful writings of some of more creative authors. The physical laws of the universe simply do not permit such a thing.”

  “No, Sir. I’m afraid that I am not joking. In fact, in a few months, you will be approached by several of your fellow scientists to sign a letter that is to be given to President Roosevelt. This letter warns of the dangers of the Nazi regime in Germany developing a terrible weapon that utilizes the incredible energies of atomic fission.”

  Einstein sat up intently at the mention of the Nazis and atomic fission. Very few people in the world even knew of the recent discovery of atomic fission, much less that it theoretically could be used as a weapon.

  “Are you a foreign spy or perhaps an agent for the American Government,HerrCavill?” He cautiously asked.

  “No, Professor. I am, as I said before, someone who has come back from the future. Unfortunately, it is a future that has ended for humanity because of those damned bombs that were developed and built in the tens of thousands. Some of these weapons were as powerful as five million tons of TNT assembled together and detonated all at once.

  For nearly one hundred years after the end of the Second World War, no one used these terrible weapons in anger. Everyone was too afraid of the consequences. Everyone that was sane, that is. Unfortunately, not all nations were led by sane people.” Harold grimly said.

  “How did you come back here,HerrCavill, assuming that you are telling me the truth?” Einstein asked, leaning closer over his desk and having put down his pipe that he had been smoking.

  “To be honest, I am not entirely sure. It was an accident that involved a scientific experiment that resulted in an unexpected interaction between a pair of powerful electromagnetic fields. It opened a portal of sorts between my time in 2040 and the year 1918.”

  “What proof do you have of this incredible claim of yours,HerrCavill? Surely, I cannot accept what you have told me on the basis of your words alone.”

  “I have this.” Harold said, rolling up his left sleeve and exposing the digital data device that was strapped to his wrist. Einstein was immediately drawn to the digital time display on the device’s face.

  “As you can see, nothing like this ever existed in your lifetime. At first, these were merely electronic timepieces that were powered by an internal battery. By the year 2040, these had evolved into something much more. We had entire wireless electronic data networks that allowed people to see and talk to each other via these devices. We could also access data from massive electronic information storage sites through devices just like this one.” Harold explained.

  “What about your claims about the power of a nuclear fission bomb? I know from the mathematics that such a device would be quite powerful, but probably not as powerful as you have described.”

  “Let me show you something, Professor.” Harold replied before bringing the device up and speaking a few simple verbal commands. Before he had left for this trip, Harold had downloaded a few short video clips onto a flash memory chip that he had inserted into the device. Now, he extended his arm once again so that Einstein could see what was being displayed on the small screen. First, video footage of the Trinity nuclear test was played. Then a variety of other clips of nuclear test detonations were shown, finally ending with footage of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after these cities were hit by atomic bombs. The bri
lliant flashes and giant mushroom clouds left Einstein staring at the tiny video screen with his mouth agape in awe.

  “This is amazing and terrifying at the same time. But why come to me with this? You should be showing this to President Roosevelt instead.” The great physicist and theoretician asked.

  “Because I need your help here, Professor. We need to prevent the development and deployment of nuclear weapons. Your endorsement of the letter to FDR will prompt one of the largest scientific development projects of the Second World War. This will create the fission bombs that will destroy two cities in Japan a few years from now and lead to a massive arms race that will eventually destroy all of humanity. I know because I was there when the latter conflict happened.”

  “But I have had nothing to do with any sort of letter like this, Herr Cavill.”

  “I know. But in a few days, Leó Szilárd is going to come to you and ask you to sign a letter to FDR. This letter is a warning to the American President of possible German work in this technology and recommending that America begin its own nuclear weapons program as a counter.”

  “You want me to not be a part of this letter?” Einstein asked.

  “That is correct, Professor Einstein. Mind you, nuclear technology can be very beneficial to humanity as a whole, providing it with much of the energy needed to maintain a technological society. I was working on nuclear power technology that used both thorium and uranium in a manner that could not be used to later create weapons materials.