Chapter 71

1640 hours
Monday, 7 July, 2014
War Room, City Hall
Roanoke, Virginia

“So, the latest reports indicate that our mobilization has progressed rather well today, which is a good thing, especially when you consider that recon suggests that the enemy is mustering for a direct assault upon Roanoke. The ASF seems desperate to tilt the balance and the momentum back in its favor. It is well aware that the Stonewall Jackson Line has collapsed, while the George Thomas Line has had to be abandoned in favor of a new defensive perimeter. What we are calling this one? What is Eckart calling his?” I recounted the latest brief on the war situation.

“The Hermann Goering Line, I believe. Our new perimeter, to the extent that we’re using one, is the Francis Pierpont Line. Named after yet another Virginia Unionist, of course, the head of the Reorganized Government of Virginia. Eckart is becoming reckless, I see, less worried about placating the neo-Confederates in his camp, or perhaps he’s alternating back and forth between Southern and Nazi revanchism. Not that it matters. He’s in pretty bad straits overall. The strategic situation is good for us, not so much for them,” Munson stipulated, laying it out on the map for any who might doubt him.

Essex and King and Queen Counties had been overrun, King William County was now fiercely contested, James City County had already been liberated, and Charles and New Kent Counties were the frontlines in the southeast. Virginia Naval Defense Force marines by now penetrated much deeper than expected inland, so much so that they worried about outrunning their supply lines. The Hermann Goering Line, a real irony in that name, given that Goering and Hitler fell out toward the end of the Third Reich, was already wavering like its namesake.

“Any reinforcements that the Nazis might send this way still have to march through several counties to reach Roanoke, of course. Any that they dispatch mean that the Hermann Goering Line is depleted further, weakening it while they face genuine threats. Meanwhile, Greene County Militia have pushed into Ablemarle County and helped reinforce the defense of Charlottesville, making it much tougher for the Nazis to seize that sector. The enemy is no doubt feeling stretched a bit thin these days, having to keep reinforcing so many units in the field,” Lassard added, “Twin Lakes is sending forces to bolster Charlottesville as well.”

“Lancaster County Militia now have control of Caroline County, King and Queen County, Middlesex County, and a huge chunk of King William County. To be fair, that’s not difficult when you consider the major hits to ASF morale that they’ve suffered. The much vaunted ‘United Aryan Southland’ is shrinking by the day, and it turns out that their active occupation of many areas is minimal other than various troop movements. They have no civilians in large swathes, let alone infrastructure and administration. There’s a lot of ‘no man’s land’ out there that will require repopulation in time, once the war is over,” Austin recalled now.

“In other words, in large parts of its nominal territory, the UAS barely exists. It’s not so much a state as it is a faction and an army. Which is why we haven’t encountered resistance in major thrusts deep inside their borders. We just have to be careful not to spread ourselves too thin. We’re out to destroy the enemy and we can worry about occupying that turf at our leisure after that,” I observed, “well, of course, I won’t be there for a lot of that, but you get the idea.”

“Unfortunately, it does appear that the forces in Adolfsville are massing for an attack, probably out of sheer desperation to get rid of us and impatience with Eckart. There is, after all, considerable doubt that any support will even arrive. After all, Eckart has to make hard choices and decide how to react to multiple threats on multiple fronts at once. And we’re relatively far away from the Nazi interior, the nerve center and heart of their rather skeletal state. He might have to cancel any initiatives to destroy us in a bid to save himself. His own skin matters most to him of all things,” Lane broke his silence now.

“In any case, be ready, just to be safe,” Lassard insisted, “we will gladly strafe their forces en route, of course. Air power is very handy for that purpose. We can deprive them of badly needed supplies and manpower, bleed them before they even arrive. In any case, a couple of air strikes against the forces in Adolfsville should make them a bit jumpy, too.”

“At any rate, we’re definitely making them sweat, just as we should, you know. On a different note, that resolution has been enacted. Both Adam and Austin are now officially married to every man and woman, every boy and girl fourteen years old and upwards in Roanoke. The folks in Charlottesville passed a similar resolution about you ... and Sarah.