Goering and Von Braun/Update for NATJAB/Musings of Hirohito
Here is another update. I have to admit I am rather amazed at the level of discussion on Operation Carthage and its pros and cons. I will simply say this. The rage in the U.S. has been raised to a fever pitch by these attacks. And as a result the Americans are now taking their gloves off. I agree with many on this site that point out that in many ways this is no different from the fire bombings of Tokyo or Dresden. In war we establish rules of behavior that we hope the other side will follow. But as has often been discovered for many the only rule in war is to win. Or to paraphrase General Patton - "The idea is not for you to die for your country, but to make the enemy die for his country!" I am also a big believer in something I believe General Sherman once said, "It is well that war is so terrible, lest we become too fond of it."
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Date: November 19, 1944
Location: Germany (Karinhall)
Time: 1:00 p.m. (German time)
At Karinhall, the opulent estate of Hermann Goering Reichmarshall of the Luftwaffe, a private meeting was being conducted between Dr. Werner Von Braun, and Goering.
Dr. Von Braun most definitely could think of any number of places he would rather be then here. The opulence of the place showed the arrogance and decadence of the man before him. For the thousandth time he asked himself how he had allowed his work which was meant to take humankind into space to be subverted into weapons of war. He knew the answer of course, without the military’s big pocket book he would still be testing small rockets out in a field some where and begging pennies from the wealthy to keep up his experiments. Like it or not he needed the military for now.
Goering relaxed behind his ornate desk a glass of one of his fine wines in his hand. “Dr. Von Braun, I have requested your presence in order to learn from you personally the progress on preparing our “special,” strike against the Allies. Will everything be ready by X-day?”
Dr. Von Braun answered, “The 20 specially modified V-1s you requested will be delivered to the forward air base no later then December 3rd as you requested. Unfortunately the A4bs initial testing has not gone well. We lost another one yesterday.” Goering frowned. “The A4b is a vital part of the revised plan for Watch on the Rhine; I can tell you the Fuehrer will not be pleased if we have to cancel that particular part of the plan.” Von Braun replied, “I have my men working night and day to correct the problems Reichmarshall. However, I can make no guarantees. Funding for the A4b has been sporadic until recently. Even if we get a working model ready by the end of the month the most I can promise you is one or two at most by the beginning of mid-December.” “Two should be more then enough for what is planned,” Goering declared. “Now, one other matter, what about the dispersal mechanisms?” “There is no guarantee that they will work Reichmarshall, in any case that is not in my area of expertise,” said Von Braun. That is a polite fiction, thought Von Braun; I distanced myself from that whole area of the project because I wanted no part of what was planned. I am a scientist not a mass murderer! Of course, his conscience often posed the question of how he could justify the thousands of deaths already caused by his other creations, the V1 and the V2. At least when this is over I can truthfully say I never participated directly in the “special preparation,” of the vehicles. Of course, that might simply earn me life in a military prison rather then a hangman’s noose.
Goering continued, “I will be sending another team of Luftwaffe technicians to Nordhausen as soon as possible, Dr. Von Braun. We need those A2bs ready by no later then December 17th, the day after “Watch on the Rhine,” starts. And we need to be certain those mechanisms work. We have a chance here to deal the allies a blow…”
Dr. Von Braun interrupted him, “I’m fully aware of what we have the capability of doing Reichmarshall, “he said. The last thing I need is another pep talk from you or any of the others in this madhouse! If your plans succeed my biggest concern is that when this is all over the Allies will simply line up all of us and shoot us rather than waste time and money on trials.
Hermann Goering frowned. After Hitler had ordered these “special operations,” planned he had talked privately with Goering. What Hitler wanted was very ambitious and if successful would hit the Allies in several places at once with devastating force. But it would also raise the stakes in the war even higher, as if the survival of the Fatherland wasn’t a high enough stake! The magnitude of what was being proposed was enough to make the Reichmarshall decide on several personal decisions. He was in the process of weaning himself off of his morphine habit and had ordered his personal chefs to change the menus putting himself on a weight loss diet with the help of a Luftwaffe physician. He also now took a vigorous 5 mile walk each day on his estate to aid in losing weight. He needed to be healthy in mind and body for what was coming.
If the plan worked the Allies would be thrown into disarray in the West and the way would be opened to deal with the Russians in the East in the spring. Hitler would demand all remaining Luftwaffe forces then be diverted eastward for the already planned counteroffensive there, again using “special measures,” such as were planned in the West. If the plan failed it would destroy the remaining reserves that Germany had and there would be no question but that the Reich would fall by summer of ’45 at the latest. And there was no question the Allies would counterattack with their own “special measures,” during that time. Germany would likely cease to exist.
Hermann Goering was no coward, as an ace fighter pilot in World War I he had faced death many times in the skies over Germany and France. But he was also no fool. If this gamble failed then it spelled the end of Germany and most likely prison or death for its leadership. Neither was a fate acceptable to Goering. He had already seen to the safety of his family. Now he was preparing an escape plan that would be implemented if the Fuehrer’s plans failed. If Germany fell he was not going to go down with it.
As he considered this Goering spoke, “Dr. Von Braun, I think we can speak frankly with each other. I am fully aware of your opposition to the special plan the Fuehrer has developed. I can appreciate your feelings. You are a scientist and not a soldier. But, I urge you to remember that success in this present endeavor will mean ever more funding for you and your work after the war is over. I have read a great deal of your papers on your long-range plans such as sending a rocket into space or even to the moon. I would like to see Germany be the first to plant its flag there. These things will happen, but only if we see this through to the end!”
“Of course, Herr Reichmarshall,” said Dr. Von Braun. "I will telephone my staff at Nordhausen to expect your team first thing tomorrow morning.”
As the meeting ended Dr. Von Braun remembered a story he had read in his youth, Faust. He wondered if this was how Faust had felt after he had concluded his deal with Mephistopheles.
Date: November 20, 1944
Location: Washington, D.C. (OCD)
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Once more NATJAB gathered at the Office of Civilian Defense to analyze the numbers of the previous night.
Cities/ Number of Casualties/ Deaths/ Special
Los Angeles/ 2,349/ 252
St. Louis/ 125/ 71
New York/ 88/ 39
Seattle/ 15/ 10
Portland/ 10/ 8
Youngstown/ 13/ 8
Detroit / 35/ 10
San Bernadino/ 3/ 1/ contained
San Francisco/ 6/ 3/ contained
Chicago/ 2/ 1/ contained
Oakland/ 2/ 1/ contained
Atlanta / 1/ 1/ contained
Total Infected: 2,649 Total Deaths: 405
The news today was mixed. The number of new cases in Los Angeles was slowly declining. NATJAB officials concurred with their Los Angeles counterparts that barring any new catastrophe the worst might be over and the plague fully contained by Christmas or the end of the year. But as long as new cases were reported it was agreed that emergency measures needed to be maintained. Absenteeism from war production plants was still too high and there were still people leaving the city to escape the plague. It was hoped however that with the declining number of people infected also would come a declining chance of further infection from that city.
Less promising were the figures received from New York and St. Louis. The plague riots had exacerbated an already bad situation. As a result the numbers of infected in those cities were expected to climb. St. Louis was already using several old warehouses that had been hurriedly renovated and turned into emergency hospitals to care for victims with the disease. New York was readying bed space in its own military hospitals to receive plague victims as well. It was hoped that such drastic measures were not needed elsewhere in the country.
Another worrying problem was Detroit. Patient Zero had yet to be found. The FBI had now been called in to help in locating him. If he was not found soon, assuming he was still alive, the situation in Detroit could easily spiral out of control as it had in St. Louis and New York.
NATJAB was starting to be cautiously more and more optimistic about the outcome of all of this. They didn’t know yet about the Fu-Go balloons and the cargo they were now dropping on the plains of Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas.
Date: November 20, 1944
Place: Tokyo (The Imperial Palace)
Time: 7:00 a.m. (Tokyo Time)
Twenty four hours after the first raid of Operation Carthage the Emperor Hirohito was listening to the reports of the damage and casualties from the first raids on Osaka. “At present we estimate approximately 25,500 are dead from the raid and an additional 60,000 are wounded. The fact that the population was trained in the use of gas masks and knew how to use them seems to have prevented the numbers from being greater.” As if the numbers aren’t bad enough, thought the Emperor, Over twenty five thousand dead and this is just a preliminary estimate!” The damage to the industrial section of Osaka was severe and it was unknown how soon the factories would be back in operation. Hirohito hardly heard the rest of the report. He dismissed the aide but then called him back and asked. “How many planes did we manage to shoot down?” The aide looked down at the papers. “The army says that 7 bombers were shot down,” he said, “The fate of the crews is unknown-at least the report doesn’t say.” “Find out.” Hirohito said simply. “Sir,” the aide inquired? “Find out if any survivors of the bombers were recovered. If any were I want to know.” The aide nodded and hurried out to comply with the orders of his Emperor.
Alone Emperor Hirohito thought, It is now up to the Portuguese Ambassador and the messages I have given him. If he succeeds we may yet have a chance of averting a cataclysm. In the meantime there are steps I may be able to take to steer events here so that we avoid – what is the name that the Christians use to describe the final battle – Armageddon?
Quietly the Emperor arose to go pray at the Shinto shrine where he had prayed constantly for the past fifteen days since the start of all of this. He was becoming a very big believer in prayer; his nation would have great need of it in the months ahead.
