Initiative (The Red Gambit Series Book 6) (71 page)

All you have to do is hold your first soldier who is dying in your arms, and have that terribly futile feeling that I can't do anything about it... Then you understand the horror of war.

Norman Schwarzkopf

The atmosphere in the bespoke meeting room was little short of openly hostile, the encouraging air of détente and cooperation washed away by the events in Hofbieber the previous day.

Undén called the meeting to order and, as he had agreed, despite the pleading from Minister Molotov, gave the floor to the Allied delegation.

“Thank you, Chairman Undén.”

Eyes turned away from US Secretary of State James Byrnes towards the man who unexpectedly rose in his stead.

Ernest Bevin, Foreign Secretary in Churchill’s coalition government, was to deliver the Allied response.

“Chairmen Undén, fellow delegates, it with a heavy heart, and with incredulity, that I must report a change to the war situation that has now been confirmed since we last convened.”

His West Country accent was difficult for the translators to fully understand, so he spoke slowly, and as precisely as he could.

“At roughly one pm yesterday, in and around the German villages of Hofbieber and Allmus, the armed forces of the Soviet Union employed a deadly weapon against soldiers of the Allied Armies, one employed in direct contravention of the 1925 Geneva protocol for the prohibition of the use of Asphyxiating, Poisonous, or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, which came into effect on the 8th February 1928, and to which the government of the gentleman opposite is a signatory.”

He took a sip on his water as the translators caught up.

“Chairman Undén, the Allied Alliance has entered into these discussions in good faith, accepting the generous offer of the Swedish Government to come here and meet with our enemies, to find common ground, and to attempt to establish some means of ending the conflict and returning the world to the peace it so richly deserves… and desperately needs.”

Molotov was white, not through fury, but through his embarrassment and his shock at the events being described, even though he had been told the previous evening.

The phone call, from no less than the General Secretary, had been very much one-way, and he was left in no doubt as to what he needed to do when the strangely accented Englishman had stopped prattling on.

“Chairman Undén, these proceedings will be terminated with immediate effect whilst we consider our position, a position that includes a response with any and every means available to the Allied Alliance, including the use of our Atomic weapons.”

The entire Allied negotiating team rose as one, intent on departing, but Minister Undén responded loudly.

“Gentlemen, please! Remain seated for a few moments longer, please.”

He gestured them to sit, and they did, their theatrical attempt to leave wholly staged for dramatic effect, as they were well aware that Molotov had pleaded with the Swede for first statement, and had no intention of leaving before hearing his words.

“At your request, we will stay, Chairman.”

Undén bowed his head graciously in acknowledgement.

It was all theatre, all the dance of brinkmanship and diplomacy, although it didn’t sit well with Byrnes, who was all for a ‘pistols at dawn’ approach.

“Minister Molotov has asked to make a statement on behalf of his government.”

The rumbles from the allied side of the table were unusually pronounced, and a number of choice words fell upon Molotov’s ears as he rose.

“Chairman Undén, fellow delegates, I stand before you at this grave hour, charged to deliver the most sincere and contrite apologies of the people and leadership of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, in specific regard to the highly regrettable incident outlined by Secretary Bevan.”

Surprise swept through the Allied negotiating team like an out of control brush fire.

“I can confirm the following circumstances exist regarding the unauthorised and criminal use of a German-manufactured chemical agent on the battlefield around Hofbieber yesterday.”

Johann Ludwig Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, the German Foreign Minister bristled at the deliberate negative mention of his country.

“One of our rocket artillery regiments was supplied with some experimental ammunition that had been filled with a noxious substance captured from the Nazis during our victorious advance through Czechoslovakian Silesia in February 1945.”

Some of the Allied contingent made notes, whilst others looked for signs of insincerity on the face of the Soviet Foreign Minister.

Curiously, there were none.

“It appears, from our initial investigations, that a number of Red Army officers acted without orders, in secret, and in knowing contravention of the Geneva protocols to which we were, and still are, willing signatories.”

That was a huge signal, and it wasn’t wasted on a single person present.

“Arrests have been made, from the commander of the Army within whose boundaries this appalling incident took place, down to those who perpetrated the attack. I can confirm that the NKVD officer, a colonel, who seems to have been responsible for delivering the shells to the frontline unit, is amongst those who has been executed on the personal order of the General Secretary, Comrade Stalin.”

Molotov knew the man was already dead by a different mechanism, but he had specific orders.

He produced a handkerchief and ran it quickly across his brow as the combination of an unusually warm Swedish summer and the number of bodies crammed into the meeting hall, heated the room up beyond a comfortable level.

Undén made a note to have some fans brought as soon as the meeting broke up.

“The International Red Cross have been invited to participate in our investigations and, short of revealing military information, will, with our agreement, furnish the Allied nations with a full copy of their findings. We similarly agree that the Allied nations may select two persons from a non-aligned and neutral nation to join the investigations.”

Pens scribbled noisily as Molotov’s words were faithfully transferred to paper for later examination.

“By these demonstrations of our good faith, the Soviet Union hopes to demonstrate that there were no orders… no intent… no wish to operate outside the 1925 Geneva Protocols, and that the incident of yesterday was an aberration beyond its control.”

Molotov studied his notes to make sure he got the wording absolutely as he had been directed.

“Once again, Comrade General Secretary Stalin wishes me to pass on the full and total apologies of the Soviet Union for the unprovoked use of chemical weapons by rogue elements of the Red Army, and also the wish that further use can be avoided, either by way of retaliation, or escalation... by any means available to either side.”

The meaning of that was very clear to all listening.

“We have come to these proceedings at the request of the Government of our friend, Sweden, in good faith, and with open minds, and have no intent of initiating any unusual act of war, and we hope that our sincerity in that will be appreciated by our opponents, and that further action, of a nature that expands the type of weapons employed, can be avoided.”

“Whilst we reserve the right to carry out full military activities, as already decided by all parties in this conference, the Soviet Union makes the categorical assurance that there will be no further use of any weapon cited within the 1925 Geneva Protocols.”

Molotov sought and made direct eye contact with his American counterpart.

“By these means, we hope and trust that the Allied nations will forgive this unwarranted attack, accept that it was unintended, accept that we will continue to investigate it, will ensure no repeat, and that they will all return to the negotiating table without further escalation of the conflict.”

The Soviet Foreign Minister resumed his seat, his throat dryer than he had ever known.

A full glass of water barely touched the sides, and he set the empty tumbler down.

Still, there was no reply from the other side of the table, but there was much whispering, as lowered heads came together in urgent discussion.

Östen Undén, as disbelieving as the men sat to his right, felt compelled to fill the silent void.

“Minister Molotov, thank you for making delivering that clarification of the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate events of yesterday, and also, I thank you on behalf of the Swedish Government for your candour and renewed commitment to finding a peaceful path forward.”

He ignored the looks he was getting from some of the Allied contingent.

“However, it is not Sweden that had been sorely wronged here. It is not Sweden that has been the subject of this heinous attack, in clear contravention of Geneva Protocol.”

The looks from the right softened perceptibly.

“It must be for the delegation from the Allied nations to decide, in concert with their governments, how matters will proceed from here. As representative of my country, and in the light of the Soviet statement and full and frank admission of guilt, I can only urge restraint and forbearance on the Allied nations’ part. Unless there is anything else?”

Neither side rose or made any attempt to speak further.

“Then I will adjourn this meeting until either side calls for it to be reconvened, at any time, day, or night, from this moment forward. Please, speak to your governments, relay the words that have been spoken here, and remember the spirit that brought these two sides together in the first instance. Thank you. This meeting is at an end.”

Undén cracked the gavel down with more force than usual, highlighting his own anxiousness at what might be coming.

The delegations filed out of their respective doors, leaving the Swedish contingent alone.

“Adolfsson… please get some fans installed in here for when we come back.”

“Yes, Minister.”

His aide knew him well enough to venture a further comment.

“I thought I’d melt at one time. It was hot in here, Minister.”

Undén laughed loudly, relieving some of the tension that threatened his enjoyment of lunch.

“Not as hot as it could have been, Björn… nowhere near as hot as it could have been.”

Secure communications flowed out from and back into Sweden, as the negotiating teams reported back on the morning’s exchanges, apprising the leadership of all sides, and seeking guidance on how to respond.

Soviet information was delivered, revealing that the agent used was Tabun, liberated from the Germans in 1945.

Speer received a number of telephone calls seeking very specific information, and the characteristics of Tabun were soon common knowledge amongst the Allied leaders.

The Allied political leadership assembled in Versailles, and the French, Canadian, Spanish, Polish, and German heads listened, with varying degrees of shock, to the news that the Soviets had brought matters to the table, and the full details of the attack visited upon US forces.

The leaders deferred to Truman on the matter of the contravention of the Geneva Protocol, and he ordered a military operation, a retaliation in kind, to be prepared, using stocks of nerve agents captured from the Germans in 1945, although he conceded that converting the battlefield into a chemical one was not in the best interests of anyone, if only because neither sides soldiers, nor the civilian populations, could protect themselves, or be protected.

Secretly, Truman and his staff had wondered whether the attack would change public opinion on use of the bombs on Russia, but it was too soon to tell.

Truman stressed the fact that, however regrettable, the Hofbieber attack gave the Allies an even stronger bargaining position.

Surprisingly, use of the bomb was not mentioned.

There was little debate on military action, as all understood the need to take advantage of the situation, as the bonus of applying more pressure to the clearly weakened enemy would strengthen their own position further.

Ground and air attacks would be ramped up to a high level… an unsustainable level as General Eisenhower advised… but the benefits of exhausting some of the Allied forces would be far outweighed by the pressure placed upon the Soviet Union and the opportunity to bring an early end to hostilities.

It was the terms of a negotiated peace that caused the greater discussion… and the greater disagreement.