Great time travel

Chapter 145, Nuclear War Apocalypse

usa, white house, oval office

President Truman, who had been here for nearly four years, has now packed his luggage and rolled back to his hometown with a sigh of relief. By the way, he has left a super mess that is close to despair to His Excellency Douglas MacArthur with a corncob pipe in his mouth. .

Really a super hopeless mess.

——Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver on the west coast were all unfortunately patronized by the Soviet Union's "Flying Bear" four-engine jet ultra-long-range strategic bomber on the same day, and they were hit by atomic bombs. As many as one million.In particular, the nuclear explosion at the San Diego Naval Port caused almost irreparable and devastating damage to the US Navy's Pacific Fleet.Only the Soviet atomic bomb that fell on San Francisco seemed to be malfunctioning and failed to detonate. However, after hitting the ground, the bomb body was damaged and nuclear materials leaked, causing serious radiation pollution. The San Francisco municipality was forced to conduct a large-scale evacuation of citizens , if you really want to calculate it carefully, the comprehensive loss does not seem to be much worse than the nuclear explosion.

Well, several small cities were bombed by conventional aerial bombs, killing hundreds of people... Compared to the mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb, this is not worth mentioning.

Of course, there must be no way to remedy the above-mentioned things that have happened. The question is what to do next?
——The Soviets apparently had more than a few atomic bombs, and the Soviets' strategic jet bombers would not only visit this once.

But the problem is, if the previous attack on a city on the west coast can be explained as being caught off guard just like the Pearl Harbor incident, how should the Soviets explain it to the people and Congress when they drop the atomic bomb next time?
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"...Aiming at the Soviets' new jet strategic bombers, haven't the aviation and air defense forces come up with an effective countermeasure yet?"

President MacArthur, who had just been in office for less than a week, took the corncob pipe out of his mouth, tapped on the table unhurriedly, and at the same time stared at General Arnold, who was in charge of the Air Force, with dissatisfied eyes, "...their next nuclear weapon The target of the explosion may be Washington!"

Facing President MacArthur's angry questioning, Admiral Arnold gave a feeble wry smile, his face full of decadence, "... this... since the disaster broke out on the west coast, we have been organizing experts to discuss countermeasures. But ...The Soviets' latest jet-type ultra-long-range strategic bomber is so powerful that it has completely surpassed the limit of our imagination! Its flying height exceeds the ceiling of any of our active fighters, and its speed has already surpassed Over the speed of sound, about twice as fast as our fastest F-86 'Saber' jet fighter!
In this way, when encountering such Soviet jet bombers, our fighter jets could neither climb to the same height to intercept them nor catch up with the speed of the enemy. Nothing can be done..."

"...General Arnold, as a soldier, I certainly know that the performance of the Soviet jet intercontinental bomber that can carry nuclear bombs across the ocean must be extraordinary, but this is not an excuse for you to give up the mission of homeland air defense! You guys Take them down no matter what!"

Hearing these prevarications, President MacArthur slapped the table angrily, "...Don't tell me, you plan to wait for engineers to develop the next more advanced new fighter jet—before that, the White House and the Pentagon They will all turn into radiation dust under the mushroom cloud!"

"...No, the situation is not that bad, Mr. President, there are still some emergency countermeasures. The first is to increase the alert level of all radar stations across the country, because the enemy is coming from the sea, and most of the targets of nuclear explosions are port cities. The early warning time of the radar station is insufficient, so the ships of the Atlantic Fleet and the Pacific Fleet have to dispatch patrols to set up a long-range early warning radar network in the sea [-] to [-] kilometers away from the coastline.

Secondly, we have dispatched a batch of B-36 "Peacemaker" bombers for emergency transformation, preparing to install large-caliber aircraft cannons and aviation rockets, and transform them into high-altitude gunships—although the speed of the B-36 is far from It can't be compared with Soviet jets, but the ceiling has a ceiling of [-] meters, reaching the stratosphere, and can climb to the same height as enemy planes. In this way, in theory, it can hit Soviet supersonic bombers.

At present, the transformation work has already started, and if everything goes well, it is expected that the transformation of the first batch of gunships will be completed in three days..."

"...Do you need to use the B-36 'Peacemaker', which is more expensive than a destroyer, to modify the gunship? This... seems a bit too wasteful, right? I remember that there was a batch of B-29' super Sky Fortress' modified sky gunship?"

President MacArthur frowned suspiciously, "...the number of B-36s currently owned by the United States does not seem to be very large!"

"...The B-29 'Super Sky Fortress' modified air gunship is used for ground bombardment, and its air combat capability is very poor."

Admiral Arnold replied, "...and the climb limit of the B-29 is only more than 1 meters, which still cannot reach the Soviet stratospheric bombers."

"...Okay, let's use the B-36 'Peacemaker' to transform it into a gunboat! Although it is a bit more expensive, it is really not the time to be frugal. If New York and Washington are hit by Soviet nuclear bombs, causing The economic loss is definitely more terrifying than the cost of 36 B-[-]s..."

Hearing such a reply, MacArthur had to shake his head helplessly, "...will this be able to drive the Soviet bombers out of our country's airspace?"

"...Uh...Maybe...Probably...At least...It can play a certain deterrent effect!" Admiral Arnold replied hesitantly.

"...What? Deterrent effect? ​​Just a deterrent effect?" MacArthur jumped up suddenly, "...Why?"

"...Your Excellency, although the B-36 'Peacemaker' modified gunboat can climb to an altitude of 36 meters, it is finally at the same altitude as the enemy, but its flying speed is still less than half of the enemy plane! Moreover, the self-defense firepower and armor of Soviet supersonic jet strategic bombers are probably not too weak. Using B-36 'Peacemaker' modified gunboats to deal with them is equivalent to letting slow battleships meet fast The cruiser, or use the heavy infantry phalanx to fight against the enemy's heavy cavalry - if the enemy hits head-on, it will naturally be able to withstand it, but if the Soviets choose to avoid the battle, then our B-[-] is still You can't stop and catch up. Just like infantry can't chase cavalry."

Admiral Arnold's face was full of bitterness, "...unless we have a fleet of B-36 gunboats covering the sky and the sun, we can build an airtight air blockade before the enemy attacks, but this is obviously impossible Yes. The B-36 'Peacemaker' is an expensive and difficult-to-manufacture high-tech product. As of now, the national production of B-36 is only 330, and after deducting various failures and combat wear and tear, As well as the loss in the nuclear explosion just now, and the most basic counterattack force that must be retained-if all of them are converted into gunboats, we will no longer be able to carry out transoceanic bombing missions against Europe. We can transform up to 250 B The -36 gunship is far from enough to guard the entire country..."

President MacArthur choked and rolled his eyes with this sudden answer, "...in that case, what's the use of this countermeasure?"

"... Well, based on our army's existing stock of B-36 'Peacemaker', after transforming it into a gunboat to the maximum extent, although it is still not enough to ensure the security of the national airspace, it can at least support a relatively A small-scale air defense line, closely guarding several key cities..."

Admiral Arnold replied, "...with our current technology and equipment, we can only do so much."

"...Then what about other cities? Let the Soviet supersonic bombers drop atomic bombs?" President MacArthur's eyes widened.

"...in order to win the war...no, in order for the war to continue, certain sacrifices are necessary..."

"...Hehe, just to keep the war going? Do you also think that this war can't be won?"

Ignoring Admiral Arnold's slightly cautious and guilty eyes, President MacArthur smiled bitterly, "...just prolonging the war, but the price is that most of the states in the United States will be killed in a very short period of time. , become a radioactive wasteland like the UK?"

"...This... I'm sorry, Mr. President." Admiral Arnold had to lower his head.

"...Forget it, I don't want to accuse you of anything." President MacArthur waved his hand. He knew very well that such wars and grand schemes are not in the hands of the Pentagon, not even the president himself.The blame can only be blamed on the Soviets for pressing too hard, refusing to leave any way of life for the Wall Street consortium, forcing them to tie up the entire United States and continue to suffer in this hopeless war, "... Pure defense will never win victory. We must not show weakness, we must carry out the strongest counterattack! General, have you made any relevant plans?"

"...I have this plan. The other side of the Pacific Ocean is too far away, but it is still possible to continue nuclear bombing in Europe. But the problem is that we don't know where the Soviets' new jet strategic bombers will take off from to bomb the east coast. I don’t even know if they have plans to bomb the east coast—maybe the Soviets have limited production of new jet strategic bombers and are only deployed on the Pacific battlefield, which is also possible.”

Admiral Arnold explained his difficulties in this way, "...under such a situation where the eyes are basically smeared, even if we send the B-36 formation to fly across the Atlantic Ocean with the atomic bomb to Europe, we can only find a few random cities. Bombing—it is likely to be an abandoned city whose residents have been relocated. It is meaningless except for revenge and venting anger. If we want to avoid this from happening, we need more intelligence support..."

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Hearing General Arnold mention the intelligence issue of the war against the Soviet Union, President MacArthur couldn't help but smile wryly again.

——Since the outbreak of the Third World War, the U.S. military has suffered enough from the lack of intelligence, but it has been helpless about this problem.

According to common sense, intelligence work is obviously very important in modern warfare.But the problem is that in most cases, if you want to transmit information, you have to go through a third country or a neutral force. It is rare for an intelligence agent to cross the line of fire directly under the hail of bullets and send letters back and forth—occasionally one or two Urgent information was fine, but if every ordinary information had to be delivered in this way, the sacrifice rate of spies would be too high, even unbearable.The entire intelligence network that spent a lot of money and time to lay down before will be destroyed in a short period of time.

However, in World War III, even "permanently neutral countries" like Switzerland were bombarded by nuclear bombs, and the whole world was completely torn into two camps, with each other's legal trade and information exchange completely cut off. There is no real neutral country that can be used as a transit point.American spies in Europe, the Soviet Union, Japan, and China, except risking their lives to smuggle across the ocean, can only use radio stations to send messages.

However, in a police state with a strict system like the Soviet Union, hiding a radio station and sending out reports frequently is simply courting death, and it won't take long to be discovered.In other European and Asian countries, the anti-intelligence measures there are a little more relaxed, and relatively stable intelligence stations can be set up.But the problem is that even if the secret information of these countries is successfully detected and sent back to the United States, it is still mostly useless to the military—the only enemy that can really threaten the life and death of the United States is the Soviet Union. It's just a country, and even the Japanese are still a notch behind.

Things like launching a nuclear strike, if you don't have intelligence channels inside the Soviet Red Army, you usually can't find anything.

Of course, with South Africa’s independence and withdrawal from the war, a neutral country finally reappeared in the Third World War, and the US intelligence agency was able to re-place its personnel through the South African embassy in the Soviet Union, and activate the previously hidden agents... However , due to the previous interruption of contact, the originally imperfect intelligence network was further fragmented, and it has not been sorted out yet. Where can I find out the exact movements of the Soviet nuclear strike force?
Therefore, since the outbreak of World War III, the U.S. military has mainly relied on listening to the wireless telegrams of the Soviets and deciphering the cipher messages of the Soviet Red Army to obtain some military intelligence.But the problem is, first of all, the codes of the Soviet army are often changed, and the speed of deciphering the codes is not ideal. The information obtained with great difficulty is often out of date after sorting out.Moreover, high-level top-secret information on the production and storage of Soviet nuclear weapons seems to be transmitted only by cable telegrams and telephones, and the radio interceptors of the US military can hardly get a glimpse of it, which makes people scratch their heads.

In this regard, Arnold, who wanted to launch a nuclear counterattack against the Soviets but was unable to start, of course could not find the target, was at a loss, and could only stand and be criticized.But President MacArthur also couldn't come up with any feasible good ideas. For a while, he could only stare at each other, looking at each other without words...

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While Arnold was discussing intelligence issues with MacArthur, a sharp air raid siren sounded suddenly in the White House.

For a moment, everyone inside and outside the White House involuntarily stopped what they were doing, and there was a moment of silence.

The next moment, the entire White House suddenly became noisy, with bang bangs, footsteps, and hysterical screams everywhere.Two strong agents directly smashed open the door of the Oval Office, and dragged President MacArthur out without hesitation...

And a car also appeared on the South Lawn of the White House like lightning, rolling out two eye-catching ruts on the neatly manicured lawn.

——If it is an ordinary air raid, the correct response must be to quickly drill into the air-raid shelter, and naturally there will be no air-raid shelter near the White House.However, the problem is that according to the current bombing method and rhythm of the Soviets against the United States, the atomic bomb must be dropped directly. Exploding underground war room.

In the same way, the North American Aerospace Defense Command's underground shelter in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado during the Cold War, the anti-nuclear explosion command center that was going to be used to fight the Soviets in a nuclear war, also did not exist at the beginning of [-]. on the soil of the United States of America.

Therefore, in the face of a nuclear bomb that may fall at any time, the only feasible self-rescue strategy is to escape from the city quickly, rush to the wilderness, hide outside the killing range of the atomic bomb, and then find a place to hide, waiting for the latest Soviet jet bomb The Japanese ultra-long-range bomber flew back after dropping the nuclear bomb...

No way, at this moment, only a few days after the attack on the west coast, the first B-36 gunboat that can climb to 9000 meters has not yet been modified. The Soviet bombers that penetrated the defense at supersonic speed, and the helpless Americans had to close their eyes and resign themselves to their fate. They could only pray to God while escaping from the city and running as far as possible, no matter whether it was a general, a dignitary or a president. .

However, when he drove out of the White House before, President MacArthur seemed to be a little stunned by shock, or he hadn't reacted for a while, but he didn't mean to resist, so he let a few agents fiddle with it.However, when the fleeing convoy from the White House left downtown Washington at top speed and drove along the Potomac River, everyone in the car had a quarrel over the next destination—the special bulletproof limousine that Mr. President was riding in. , General Arnold, Secretary of State Marshall, and the chief of staff of the cabinet who were riding in the car believed that there is no way to deal with the Soviet supersonic jet anyway. Everyone should take care of their own safety first, and just find a wilderness ridge as remote as possible. Wait until it's over.

However, President MacArthur, who was sober, had a stubborn temper and insisted on going to the Pentagon to take command and grasp the attack situation of the cities on the east coast as soon as possible. ——"...The United States chose me as president because it hopes that I will be brave in the face of any disaster, instead of letting me be a deserter in the face of crisis." He said plausibly.

Just like that, several people had a heated argument in the car and had a lot of verbal confrontation. Before the quarrel came to any conclusion, they suddenly saw a white light shining from the horizon in the direction of Baltimore in the north, like God's stick of light. Hitting the ground... Everyone, including the driver, was dazzled by the light, and even felt their skin burnt.As a result, the cars in the White House evacuation convoy became chaotic and a series of car accidents broke out.Some cars unfortunately turned over the slope and turned their wheels into the air, and more cars stopped in the middle of the road in a mess, colliding with each other and forming a pile.

Then, a huge roar comparable to thunder came from the end of the horizon, shaking everyone's eardrums.After a while, an air wave stronger than a tornado swept across the sky. Although the destructive power of the air wave had dropped a lot due to the long distance, many small trees were still uprooted and several cars were shaken violently. He even rolled up a rock and smashed the window of the car, wiping countless blood on the face and hands of the passengers.

When the explosions and air waves dissipated one after another, and everything temporarily settled down, the battered survivors of the White House motorcade helped each other climb out of the car, stood up tremblingly, and then saw a bright and huge flower The mushroom cloud is churning and rising in the north...

——The strategic nuclear strike bomber force of the Soviet Union has launched nuclear bombing operations against major cities on the east coast of the United States from this moment!

And the United States of America, which once claimed to be "the destiny is in its body", has officially embarked on the road of no return to the abyss of destruction from this moment.

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