Chapter 79

1215 hours, local time,
Wednesday, 9 July, 2014
The War Room, City Hall,
Roanoke, Virginia

“So, of course, coalition forces are moving very cautiously into the area, not wishing to fall into some kind of trap or outrun their supply lines by any means. At Petersburg, the ASF attempted to ambush the Marines, but they simply pushed them back, clear out of Dinwiddie County for good, now threatening Colonial Heights. That was our most spectacular success at the moment, but there were smaller, yet consequential gains.

“For starters, as noted, Dinwiddie County is now Nazi-free, though it’s admittedly all but people-free as well. It’s one of many ‘ghost counties,’ as some folks call them nowadays. Heavily depopulated, in severe need of colonization or something to that effect. Ditto for Prince George County, which really puts the ASF in Colonial Heights in a bind. There, too, the place seems to be empty of people, another ‘ghost county.’ The United Aryan Southland, it seems, barely exists outside of its military and government,” Munson gave us the most recent brief on the war situation now.

“It’s like Old Prussia, an army with a state,” Lassard commented, “or not even that.”

“Very much so. It’s an armed camp and an open-air prison. Except in Richmond, Salem, and a few other pockets where they have enough civilians to populate the area. They killed so many civilians in other places and drove off others who became refugees that the consequences are scarcely a surprise. The ASF has pulled back to where it only controls Henrico, Powhatan, Cumberland, Amelia, and Chesterfield counties, plus Colonial Heights, Hopewell, and Richmond. Not counting Adolfsville/Salem, which is now isolated from the rest of the state,” Lavelle informed us, having done some recon that was easier for an angel.

“Well, when you don’t have the population base, civilian-wise, to maintain and supply your forces in such broad areas, you find that it works better on paper than in reality. Killing off and scaring away civilians is gonna cost ya ... economically, and yes, militarily. Therefore, politically, too. The trap has closed for the neo-Nazis, overwhelmingly male, who have come in from around the world. They are caught in a box, neatly enclosed as the territory shrinks on them,” Ariel added for his part.

“So, there are basically two zones controlled by the ASF. The one much closer to us ... is here. Salem ... aka Adolfsville. The rest of them are based in Richmond. Eckart has inadvertently caused his own faction to be separated from itself. ‘Stand or die’ didn’t last long, did it?” I laughed at the reality of how events turned against the once seemingly invincible Nazis.

“Yes, but now he is much more desperate and the coalition is getting closer to areas more populated by civilians. Which is why it is time to change policies, I believe. ‘No quarter’ made perfect sense when you faced strictly military enemies who were also all war criminals. They had no innocents there at all. That is about to change. There have been women impregnated, and in some of the longer held areas, some have even given birth. There are also children already there, due to their mothers bringing them into those sectors.

“Many of the women are committed Nazis or Confederate revanchists, but there are more than a few local women who have been ‘pressed into service.’ You know what I mean, of course,” Evie briefed me as well, having been able to mingle with the foe in their own turf as a shape-shifting succubus.

“Raped and forced into marriage with the damned Nazis ... a fate still nicer than what women of color or Jewesses would endure,” I stipulated, well aware that the ASF took “ethnic cleansing” to extremes that would make Milosevic blush.

“Sadly quite true. I think that Evie is right. We can’t kill everyone anymore, but we have to be careful whom we spare. Both sides are probably going to pause to catch their breath, resupply, regroup, replenish their front ranks, etc. Except out here, of course, where Saturday will see that attack. We’ll have to see what we’re made of then, naturally. Without the other Prophet in residence, that is,” Austin sighed, not looking forward to my departure.

“So, in a nutshell, there is the attack on Saturday, but otherwise, the front is going to cool off a bit while everyone recovers from such heavy fighting and weighs their options. Spencer is clearly desperate to dislodge us if he’s going that damn far, isn’t he? Seems to me like we might have an opening here. I propose that we send a force to attack Adolfsville from the rear. A surprise attack, if you will. The soft underbelly, if you will. Plenty of civilians who might be eager to surrender ... and thus demoralize the foe,” Lassard developed his newest strategy in front of us.

“You might not want to wait for their attack before you do that,” I thought aloud.

“Well, not to divert the troops, no, but for the actual attack, yes. I want them to go ahead and attack us, you see, and they won’t do that if they know there is a danger to the homefront. Only once they actually commit themselves will they learn of their mistake. In the meantime, the forces that I assign to this attack will be very quiet and stealthy, avoiding their recon patrols as much as possible, killing any that we find. We’ll detach an infantry brigade, an armored battalion, and two batteries for this purpose. Maximum air strikes to coordinate with this assault,” Lassard elaborated more on his plans for this attack.