Happy and Glorious
continued
February 9th 1947
London
Bevin did his best not to smirk. He knew that whatever the King's private politics may be he wasn't going to send for Eden.[/FONT]
Poor Anthony Eden. Guy should have stayed off the sauce. Then again, history OTL has shown he wasn't a wartime leader.
Germany
The mini collapse gathered momentum among the Anglo-American troops as they fell back from the Rhine toward the French frontier. Some of the troops were openly disobedient while others pretended to sleep as their officers barked frantic orders. The Russian troops were a mixture of demoralized and hungry men looking for a way to desert and others who were fanatical and out for revenge against the Allies.
What. A. Mess. At least geography and weather favor the defense for the Allies. Not to mention that a fragmenting defense will still always have the advantage over a fragmenting offense. The defender only has to hold together, defend itself while it withdraws, and above all, avoid capture at the hands of a very bloodthirsty foe (think fighting the SS or the Imperial Japanese). The
attacker, with a half-demoralized force, has a lot more things to worry about.
Netherlands
Soviet Marshal Vatutin left Amsterdam with a group of Dutch politicians and as prisoners. As they made their way along the road they were met in the opposite direction with trucks carrying a deadly cargo.
TBC
Dutch politicians? He took them alive!?
"A deadly cargo"? Hmm. They don't have nuclear weapons. They don't have air superiority, or pretty much even air parity at this point, and the weather is still atrocious. So delivering any WMDs by air (in any significant fashion) is out. But they'll still have plenty of artillery. Using chemicals is about all they have available in terms of serious capacity. Though this seems more like a political action than military, as gas is a mostly defensive/loser's trick in 1947 in terms of viability for aiding offensive action. Mustard gas is a logistical nightmare (and how many Soviet troops still have their gas masks?). If the Soviets are using nerve gas, what kind of agents can be effectively employed (in a winter environment!) that won't require full-on protective gear that the average Ivan simply won't have?
And however its employed, this also means (weather or no) that Britain unleashes its anthrax. Curious. A good measure of Stalin's desperation, as he knows all about Britain's awesome germ arsenal.
What is the viability of bacteriologicals in a winter environment?
Nice to see this back
EDIT: Went back to the Soviet usage of gas earlier ITTL and the discussion that followed (Posts 2400s-2420s). It seems that strategic surprise has been lost regarding chemicals and that they DON'T work well in winter.