Chapter 9

Mike and Kelly had been in England for three weeks when a call came for Mike from Colonel Hawkins. He told Mike there was a special briefing at SACEUR — Supreme Allied Command-Europe — which was now located in London. Because there were elements of the briefing involving activities behind enemy lines, Mike and Kelly were both requested to attend.

Beginning at Quantico and at an intensive level for the three weeks they had been in England, Kelly had been reading military history focusing particularly on the Red Army. After driving over to SACEUR, they were directed to the briefing room. Although both were in uniform, they had been instructed to omit decorations. The meeting was called for two o’clock.

As they entered the room, Kelly checked her watch and found it was 1355. They were right on time. They found a four-star general with his aide and several of his staff officers in the room along with some members of SACEUR’s senior staff. As a major, Kelly was the lowest-ranking person in the room.

The general looked up when they walked in. “Aren’t you in the wrong place, colonel?” he asked brusquely.

“Is this the briefing with General Adams, sir?” Mike asked.

“It is. What are you two doing here? And this isn’t a sewing circle. Would you kindly leave the broad outside?” he demanded.

At that moment, General Samuel Adams, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, entered along with Colonel Hawkins. “I don’t think she’s broad at all, Ned. In fact, I would judge Kelly has a lovely figure. You are Kelly Jackson, aren’t you?” he asked.

Kelly stiffened to attention as Adams initiated a salute which she returned smartly. He stuck out his hand and Kelly took it in a firm grip. General Edward Carlson, commander of all ground forces in Europe, allowed his jaw to drop. “Sam, did I see you salute this girl?” he asked.

Adams looked at him and said casually, “It’s customary, isn’t it, Ned, to initiate the salute to a Medal of Honor winner? I’m sorry, I guess you haven’t met. Kelly, it’s my pleasure to introduce Ned Carlson, commander of ground forces. Ned, this is Kelly Jackson.”

Carlson still wasn’t mollified. “And what is a Kelly Jackson? I gather, Major, you hold the Medal of Honor.”

Adams smiled and said, “Ned, weren’t you the guy who said that the collapse of the Weser bridge turned the tide? Something about gaining time and breaking the back of the Soviet attack? Allowing time for naval convoys with troops, supplies, and equipment to reach you? Ned, Kelly got the medal for engineering its collapse.”

Carlson’s jaw dropped. “Sam, are you telling me that bridge was blown? It didn’t just collapse?”

“It collapsed, Ned. Helped by about 120 pounds of powerful explosives, very well placed.” Adams turned to Kelly and said, “Major Jackson, I’ve been asked by my chief engineer to ask you a question. Have you had any art training?”

“Yes, sir. I have. It was about the only course I could pass in school.”

Kelly was stunned by Adams’ reaction. As soon as she replied, he muttered, “Oh, shit!” Then he smiled and said, “Major, you don’t get on the good side of commanding officers by making them look bad. You just cost me $20. My chief engineer bet me $20 you had had art training.

“Ned, you’ll appreciate this, I think. After all, it was your ass Kelly saved. At any rate, my engineers have been studying the photographs of the blown bridge along with a stack of pictures we had of the thing when it was standing. Their professional opinion was that to do the job you did with a limited quantity of explosives required a feeling for the structure — a sense for where the forces in the bridge were concentrated. At any rate, they don’t think the people who designed the bridge could have done it as well.”

He grinned at Kelly and said, “It’s one of the reasons I wanted to meet you. The other reason is a rumor floating around that you are the most beautiful girl in England and I wanted to check it out myself. Looking at you, I think it is absolutely accurate. Welcome.”

He turned to the staff, nodded, and took his seat at the head of the long table. Mike and Kelly, the most junior officers, took seats at the far end. The point of the meeting was quickly obvious. The delay at the Weser had cost the Soviets their offensive momentum and now the pendulum was swinging toward the Allies. The Soviet advance had been stopped and the Allies had regrouped and positioned their forces to go on the offensive.

The problem was how? It emerged that the Russians were in a defensive posture. Their strength was not in the front lines but in a tactical reserve of guns and armor that could be positioned quickly to support the Soviet positions, launch an attack on the Allies flank following an attack, or both. Hawkins was present because he coordinated Allied intelligence from behind the Soviet lines as well as running penetration teams such as Mike’s.

Kelly listened to the discussion for two hours until it slowly wound down. No one had any good ideas. The Soviet tactical reserve was a major — and apparently insoluble — problem. Finally, General Adams said, “I guess we’ve heard from all the experts. Does anyone here have an idea?”

At this point Kelly spoke up. “General, I have a question. Have the Soviets lost a major armored battle since Marshall Solov’s book on armored tactics was published?”

Adams looked surprised at the question. He turned to his chief of intelligence who shook his head. Adams said, “Kelly, I guess the answer is no. And would you please tell me who the hell Solov is and what he has to do with anything?”

Kelly blushed but stood up and went to the board. “General, Solov is Field Marshall Vasilly Solov, commander of Russian tanks in World War II. He is the man who wrote the book they’re still reading from.

“Sir, the Russians are a very interesting people. They are very authoritarian and very conservative. I believe the two elements are closely linked. Clearly, when all orders flow from the top, one’s tactics need to be fairly simple. Otherwise the necessary orders have to be very complex ... and the possibility of major misunderstanding increases dramatically. The Russians stick with what works. If they haven’t lost a major armored battle since the book was published, they’re probably still following it.”

Adams was interested but skeptical. “Major, why is it I’ve never seen or heard of this book you’re talking about if it’s so important?”

“General, as far as I know, it has never been translated into English. For some reason most major Russian military books are not printed in English. Therefore, sir, unless you read Russian you couldn’t have read it. And because there aren’t many officers who do, you may not have heard of it, either.”

Adams wheeled in his chair towards his intelligence chief. “John, what about it?”

“The major is absolutely right, General. We don’t have many officers who read Russian.”

Adams faced Kelly, “And Major, I gather from your question and comments that you do read Russian and you have read Solov’s book?”

“Yes, sir. I finished it last week. General Carlson, how would you react if I told you I could prevent the Soviet reserves from moving? In the very best case you would break through and hit the reserve force while it’s still immobilized. Would that simplify the problem? Because I think it can be done. Moreover, General, it could be done so you don’t fully commit until you know the reserves are locked up. In other words, you won’t have to attack blind. What then?”

Carlson looked at her with a disdainful expression on his face. “In that case, Major, we win. But there is a saying, ‘If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.’ Jackson, those aren’t even wishes, they’re dreams. It can’t be done!”

Mike watched proudly as Kelly stood her ground. “It can be done, General, and Mike and I plus one other team can do it for you.”

Adams interrupted at this point. “Let me remind you, Ned, this is the girl who stopped the Russians for you ... by herself. Normally, I would be skeptical. However, you should know that Major Jackson commanded a training company at Quantico that set every record the place keeps. In the process — as a by-product, mind you — she set every personal record they have. When this young lady says something can be done, I can’t dismiss it lightly. Kelly, how can it be done?”

“General, it relates to Solov and the Russian top-down mentality. Several facts are well known. For example, only lead tanks have radio transmitters. The other tanks only have receivers. They can only take orders. They can’t even initiate a communication. Even their maps are classified and restricted with respect to who has them and who can see them. I think it’s a fair bet that the average Russian soldier has only a vague idea where he is. And so it goes, right to the top.

“General, I’ll bet only the Army commander or his deputy has the authority to order the reserve units into action. We’re concerned about two things, I think: armor and massed artillery. Mike and I will take out the armor. A second team I have in mind will knock off the artillery.”

Adams said, “But how, Kelly? Do you intend to assassinate the Army commander?”

“Yes, sir. Although we’re happier with euphemisms, that’s about right. Specifically, I intend to wipe out the command post with the army commander inside and then pick off the deputy when he comes to assume command. Then we take out any ambitious-looking senior officer who looks like he’s interested in taking up the slack.”

Carlson jumped to his feet. “That’s unconscionable! It’s murder! It could be done to us.”

Kelly remained cool and poised. “General, I understand that OSHA is about to issue a ruling that warfare must carry a warning label. It can be hazardous to one’s health. General, do you bomb or shell enemy headquarters positions?”

“That’s a dumb question, Major! Of course, we do.”

“And the purpose of this, General, is to cut down some trees? Plow up fields with artillery shells? That can get you in real trouble with the environmentalists, sir.”

“Don’t be fresh, young lady. Of course not. It’s to put the headquarters out of action.”

“Taking great care, General, to ensure no one is hurt, I trust?”

Carlson was about to make an angry retort when he caught himself. He thought for a moment and slowly a grim smile appeared on his face. “What you’re saying Kelly is we both try to take out enemy commanders. You’re just more efficient at it than we are. And I guess you’re probably neater and don’t make such a mess. That appeals to women, I guess.” He grinned with the last remark.

Kelly grinned back. “Now you have it: Women are inherently neater. Maybe we would run neater, less messy wars. But we certainly are more bloodthirsty. With respect to your comment about it being done to us, it could, but it wouldn’t be worth it. Our forté is communications. Hell, everyone’s wired. We don’t have a single pyramid with only a few at the top who can issue orders. Well, what about it?”

“Kelly it would work, I think. General St. Clair, as chief of intelligence, what do you think?” Carlson asked.

“General, the major is very accurate. That is the way the Soviet Army is organized and operated. If you knock off the top two or three guys, the entire unit under them — however large it may be — is immobilized. It will work. The question is, can it be done?”

He smiled at Kelly and continued, “Major, I was late arriving, and didn’t have the pleasure. I’m John St. Clair and I run intelligence. Who, may I ask, are you?”

Tom Hawkins responded. “John, this is Kelly Jackson, the girl who blew the Weser bridge.”

St. Clair let out an almost-inaudible whistle and smiled. He turned to his boss, General Adams, and said, “Sam, my opinion is that if the commanding officers of those units can be knocked off, we will immobilize their units. Further, if she and Mike Callahan can’t do it, it can’t be done. I think we should try.

“However, there is one problem ... a big one: We don’t know with any accuracy where the units are. Reconnaissance hasn’t found them and we haven’t picked them up on satellites. We’re in the dark. I don’t think it would be too helpful for Mike and Kelly to just wander around Germany looking for a corps or so of armor.”

Kelly studied a large-scale map of Germany while the discussion continued. After about forty-five minutes of talking, they were still no closer to a solution to their dilemma. The reserve units had not been located.

Finally, Kelly spoke up again. “I think I can help you find it, General. I suspect it’s right here.” She pointed to an area on the map that showed wooded terrain. There were roads leading both north-south and east-west. “General, is this area heavily defended with antiaircraft missiles?”

St. Clair smacked himself on the forehead. “Kelly, would you like a new job? Mine is now available. My God, how could we be so dumb! Why in hell would they have tiered antiaircraft defenses defending a woods?”

Kelly interjected with a grin, “I understand the Greens have become pretty important politically in Germany. They would be all for defending the trees.”

Her face became serious, again. “It’s perfect, sir. It has to be here. There are north-south roads to use to reposition against any threatened sector and an east-west road to bring up supplies. The woods screen from satellites and the missiles keep our high-tech recon stuff out of the way.” She went back to her chair and sat down.

General Adams got out of his chair and began to pace the floor. Then he turned to Carlson and asked, “What do you think, Ned?”

“It makes all kinds of sense to me. Major, how long will it take to mount your operation?”

Kelly replied, “We could go out tonight, but we won’t. You’re the question: When will your troops be ready to move? We will hit the headquarters about an hour or so after you attack. It will take at least that long for them to decide that your attack is the real thing, not a feint. We’ll hit just before they decide to move. Remember, a replacement commander can take over in a matter of hours. We strike when they don’t have the hours available.”

Adams turned to Tom Hawkins. “Tom, with your approval, I would like to promote Kelly to lieutenant colonel, effective immediately. I am also putting her in for the Legion of Merit. My God! I ask the girl to join us because I just wanted to meet her. I thought she would get a big thrill out of seeing us high-paid brass make important decisions. Well, I guess she’s seen us make them ... after she tells us which ones to make.”

He looked up and smiled at Kelly. “Kelly, is my information correct? You are only nineteen years old?”

“Yes, sir, that’s correct,” she replied.

“Well, Kelly, I think you’re now the youngest lieutenant colonel in the history of the U.S. Army. Congratulations.” Again he smiled and continued, “Kelly, I believe Tom told me you didn’t finish high school?” Kelly nodded. “And yet you’re reading books on Russian military doctrine and tactics ... in Russian. By any chance have you read Clausewitz’s On War ... in German?”