R. Michael Gordon’s: The Aftermath of the War of the Worlds (Part-70)

[PART 70]

DAY THIRTEEN: 14 September 1938

At several locations around the world small stay-behind units were still making good on their efforts to attack local occupation forces as well as their lightly guarded supply depots. They had also attacked several Martian concentration camps in Australia, South America, Southern Africa, the Soviet Union and central China. Thousands of people rescued in occupied areas were now attempting to hide as best they could from Martian Bs and “Martian humans” now on the hunt for any people they could find. Small “brush wars” were breaking out in several Martian controlled areas as our stay-behind and Tango forces became better organized. Several areas were reporting successes in hit-and-run raids on small groups of Martians.

One of the cities in Southern Africa

Evacuations from the west coast of Africa at Santo Antonia do Zaire and Ambriy had begun. The area still in the hands of national forces was the only ‘safe’ area along the coast. Hundreds of thousands had fled to the area attempting to board one of hundreds of ships of all sizes which had sailed to the rescue. After picking up survivors the ships were making their way to the small island of St. Helena nearly 1200 miles to the west in the mid-Atlantic. St. Helena is best remembered as the last prison refuge for Napoleon who died there in 1821. Now it would serve as a refuge for thousands fleeing Africa from the bloody Martians. With a population a little over 4000 they had a big job ahead of them.

When the Committee learned of the evacuation several warships including two aircraft carriers were sent to aid in the evacuation. We also shut down our radar station on St. Helena so as to limit any attention the Martians may pay to the island in the future.

Overnight it was reported that several special-forces underwater teams deployed from submarines had set explosive devices on 26 small Martian water craft used to patrol the Red Sea. The Martians had constructed a small docking facility at Port Sudan making it an inviting target for our underwater teams. This close in work sank 25 of the boats. Just before leaving the area the three submarines involved in the operation surfaced and rocketed the facility setting much of it on fire. It would be a while before the Martians would be able to use the small facility again. Humans still held the high ground on the oceans.

THE MARTIANS CALL FOR EARTH’S SURRENDER

Proof that our attacks on Martian Command Centers had greatly disrupted Martian combat activities came when what was thought to be the new Martian A Prime commanding the invasion

(taking over after the first had been killed during the opening attack on the planet) issued a call for Earth’s surrender. The Martian A Prime had recently landed at Giza after our polar and Giza attacks taking direct command of Martian invasion operations. (Our radars were able to spot several Martian machines leaving orbit to land at Giza.) This was proof of a fundamental Martian weakness. If we could somehow remove Martian high level commanders the single minded Martians could be greatly disrupted. We have understood for some time most Martians were not thinkers they were followers. Command and control was in the ‘hands’ of very few top Martians.

Just before the radio message was sent all radio jamming world-wide stopped. The surrender demand came in over several frequencies and was clear as could be. It was issued in English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin Chinese and Russian.

There were many national leaders who responded including my friend Winston and not one of them considered surrendering. To say the least many of their replies were quite colorful. The Committee sent one of our own.

For a few precious minutes while the Martians awaited our response the radio waves cleared. Taking advantage of the clear airwaves numerous military units and cities which had been cut off were able to send and receive messages. Once again the Martians had proved themselves to be fallible and thus could be defeated.

THE GROUND WAR PRESSES ON

The Martians had not halted their advances along most fronts even though they continued to slow at several points. More cities were being bypassed as attacking them had proved too costly. Martian Bs, hybrids and ‘Martian humans’ were being deployed around bypassed cities along warring fronts as Martian A forces supplied with all sizes of Walkers and armored vehicles raced to capture vast stretches of land. Martian Flying Machines were still being deployed but mostly with combined forces for front line units and not against cities. With much of our air forces now being redeployed to defend numerous cities it was felt most would be able to hold on as we battled Martians in open ground. For the most part national combat aircraft and Committee Thunder Jets would guard the cities and other populated areas while a majority of the more powerful ground based Phoenix IIs would stay on the hunt for Martian Flying Machines as well as in support of our ground forces.

Committee naval forces shifted much of their resources now focusing on over-site protection of ships involved in rescue operations of which there were many as evacuations increased. The fleets were still supporting coastal combat operations wherever possible but were now additionally tasked with sending out strong combat patrols to aggressively hunt down and destroy any Martian water craft they could locate. This threat had recently been reported in several areas including sizable deployments in the Mediterranean and Red Seas. With general control of the air we were prepared to take and hold full control of many of Earth’s water ways.

Even as Martian troop and equipment losses grew they continued to press forward. Martian front line units simply did not pause to preserve rear forces which had fallen to our attacks. As ever the Martians seemed to be of one mind set – attack and continue to attack as long as they had the ground forces and equipment to keep on the offensive no matter what the cost. Certainly they did not care for their dead and wounded as humans cared for our own. In some locations, notably in South Asia and the Amazon Jungle, stay-behind forces were focusing on killing wounded Martians abandoned by their front line units. As far as they were concerned any dead Martian was one less Martian to deal with.

THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

By this thirteenth day of the Second Martian War most of the continental land masses in the southern hemisphere were under Martian control. Much of Australia was under Martian occupation with the exception of south east Lower-Sydney, a section of the Great Divide Range where a large guerrilla army had formed and a small coastal patch centered around Burketown north on the Gulf of Carpentar. It was at Burketown where Australian Army Groups were finally able to hold the line and halt the bloody Martian advances. The Australian fighters were being supplied by ships of the Australian and Committee Navies and being supported by an almost continues barrage of fire by battleships and destroyers firing along the full line of defense as well as strong air attacks.

During this fighting evacuation women and children were put on ships to sail around the north of Australia under surface and air cover to the northern island of New Zealand. New Zealand’s northern island was still under our control and at this point was nearly completely surrounded by hundreds of combat ships of all kinds. It had become the most heavily defended piece of ground on Earth by naval forces. The Martians had yet to attack the area with ground forces even though air attacks had occurred earlier in the war. It would be from this group of warplanes that a major counter attack on Martian coastal formations would sail.

The Martians had also landed on several South Pacific islands. In these invasions it would be the swamps and jungles which would greatly slow any Martian advances. Tanks, medium and small Walkers simply could not maneuver in these difficult areas causing many of these islands to be bypassed as unimportant.

Gibson Desert, Australia:

Much of South America was now under Martian control except a rather vast section of the center of the continent around the Amazon Basin. Although much of the forest/jungle had been damaged by Martian Heat-Rays, Red Weed and massive thunderstorms the Martians had not yet advanced deeply into its interior. Millions of people had fled populated centers into the Amazon’s protective cover in areas not yet destroyed but it was only a matter of time before the Martians made their move on its vast interior.

All of Madagascar and Africa were under Martian control except a small pocket on the west coast of Africa centered around Santo Antonio do Zaire where evacuations were continuing at a fever pace. It would not be long, despite the massive naval presence off the coast, before this area would fall to the Martians.

With this much southern territory under Martian control it is not surprising to note that despite limited resources Martian air patrols were starting to increase over vast areas of the South Pacific, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. At this point they did not need as many flying machines to support ground combat operations in the southern hemisphere which allowed them greater access to the wide ocean expanses. Even though the enemy had fewer air resources they were still able to make hit and run attacks on our ships and they could launch aircraft from any number of locations. Many small islands could expect attacks from the air at any time.

Despite the fact we still had formidable naval and air forces in the south including our powerful submarine fleets and were still fighting in many areas, effectively speaking we had lost effective control of the southern half of the planet!

THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE

With a much larger landmass in the northern hemisphere when compared to the south it was not unexpected that Martian forces would require much greater resources and a greater expenditure of time and effort to conquer the area. Nevertheless, their efforts by this thirteenth day of war had brought great success to their war efforts in this half of our world. At this point they were winning and pushing hard on most fronts with only a few lines of battle halted by some very determined Earth armies. Over all however most of their objectives were being met and one may expect – well on schedule.

In North America Martians had crossed the Gulf of Mexico and landed in southern Florida (now much flooded) pushing north to Jacksonville. On the southern United States border they had fought north with heavy losses to a line from north of Los Angeles to Mt. Whitney east to Amarillo, Texas, Fort Worth, Waco and on to Beaumont. Fort Worth and Houston along with several other cities along the line were now behind Martian front lines and cut off, but had not been captured. Cable and burst messages were still getting through as heavy bombers supported by Phoenix II fighters and Thunder Jets continued to hit Martian forces at nearly every line of Martian advance.

On the northern U.S. border Martian forces had fought along a line from Portland Oregon on the west coast to Billings, Montana to just north of St. Paul, Minnesota and were being held just north of Green Bay. Enemy forces had overrun Detroit but had by-passed Cleveland and Buffalo deciding to surround them and continue fighting south. In Canada, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal had all ended fighting and contact with the Canadian government still operating out of a special train on the move was becoming spotty at best.

Montreal, Canada

In the European theater of war the Martians were in heavy contact with Committee and British forces positioned just north, east and west of central London. In close hand-to-hand combat London defenders had halted Martian advances at least for now. London’s deep defenses had proven to be quite strong and were not folding. Half of Ireland was under Martian control as Irish, Scottish and Committee bombers flying out of Cork pounded Martian front line units on a twenty-four hour basis. Air losses had been heavy but the Martians had greatly slowed their advances both north and south.

On the continent the Martians had fought to a line from the Bay of Biscay on the west, south of Bonn, north of the outskirts of Warsaw to Kharkov and Stalingrad. It would be out of Stalingrad that Stalin unleashed his Siberians, arguably the toughest combat forces he had. At the cities’ northern gates the Martians had been stopped cold by a tremendous combined Siberian armor and artillery barrage which would last for two full days. No living Martian would enter Stalingrad at least not for long.

Much of Portugal and Spain and more than half of Italy now lay behind Martian lines with the eternal city of Rome surrounded on three sides. The Vatican was under evacuation as they explosively sealed the catacombs. Earlier the Pope had sent out an envoy to “speak to the Martians”. The five man group were eviscerated upon contact with the Martians.

In the east all of Mongolia and much of China was occupied except for a section of southern China centered around the exiled government which had fled to Changsha. All of Japan was also Martian controlled except for a tough pocket of resistance centered around the port city of Yohohama. The Japanese government was in the final stages of evacuating their headquarters to Okinawa. Two Japanese task forces had formed off the coast of Yohohama including the carriers Zuikaka and Shokaku to aid in the evacuation. The old Japanese sea plane carrier Wakamiya formed the core of a task force waiting off of Okinawa. The American carrier USS Saratoga and the Japanese heavy cruiser Myoko formed a battle group hitting targets both north and south of Yohohama. For the time being the Martians were being held, but just barely and with great loss of life. It was estimated the area could be held for no longer than 48 hours.

NEW MARTIAN COMMAND CENTERS

It did not take long for the Martians to reestablish new command centers to replace the loss of their polar bases. Their new northern base was established in Greenland, inland from Skaer Fjorden just west of King Frederik VIII Land. Radar intelligence, now greatly limited in the far north, showed an increase of activity in the area but confirmation came only when Icelandic Special Forces made their way to the site. And considering the weather that was no easy task. The new Martian base was once again three sided but much smaller than the old one. It was no more than one mile on each side with a small tower in the center and few defensive Heat-Ray facilities. It appeared to be guarded by no more than two dozen flying machines on patrol and very little in the way of Walkers or ground combat vehicles. There were no visible human pens, at least not yet, and the facility had the look of being only temporary. At least the Martians had learned to constantly have Martian Flying Machines over flying their command centers.

In the south strong forces had been spotted landing on South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic. Submarine reconnaissance soon reported this was in fact the new Southern Martian Command Base. As in Greenland this new center was a greatly reduced version of the old southern base, no greater than one mile on each of its three sides. Why they would establish a command center on a relatively small island rather than Tasmania, the tip of South America or southern Africa all of which were firmly under their control we could not understand. One theory put forward at the time was that the command group on Mars was always separated and perhaps this tradition had been continued on Earth. This area is well isolated.

Considering how far away these new centers were from a majority of our available combat forces especially in the south it was going to be difficult but not impossible to attack them in strength. We began to plan these attacks immediately.

Martian primary attacks and occupied territories – 14 September 1938

DAY FOURTEEN: 15 September 1938

In the early hours of this cold September morning a phone call came into our Committee command center in Lower-London on one of the few operational lines from one of the many civilian reporters tasked with covering and describing the greatest war on Earth for his future readers – if any. Before the line went dead he reported on what he was seeing. He was reporting events near London but what he saw could have been seen at any number of places on Earth – the report would have been much the same.

“And this thing I saw! How can I describe it? A monstrous tripod, higher than many houses, striding over the young pine trees, and smashing them aside in it career; a walking engine of glittering metal, striding now across the heather; articulate (jointed) ropes of steel dangling from it, and the clattering tumult of its passage mingling with the riot of the thunder. A flash and it came out vividly, heeling over one way with two feet in the air, to vanish and reappear almost instantly as it seemed, with the next flash, a hundred yards nearer. Can you imagine a milking stool tilted and bowled violently along the ground? That was the impression those instant flashes gave. But instead of a milking stool imagine it a great body of machinery on a tripod stand. It was…”

ZEUS FLASH: TO ALL COMMANDS: MARTIANS NOW COMMAND THE ENGLISH CHANNEL AND NORTH SEA EAST OF ENGLAND. MEDITERRANEAN SEA COMPLETELY SURROWNDED BY MARTIAN GROUND FORCES. WESTERN EUROPE GROUND COMMAND NOW AT DELTA 64.

THE NORTH

As the Martians continued their efforts to take ground and bypass well defended cities Committee and National military forces continued to take advantage of limited Martian air operations. For the most part we controlled the air over much of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. We also controlled much of the ocean’s surface. We were able to move well enough in the air over most northern land masses, despite the clogged atmosphere, even though much of the area had been overrun by Martians. Using this capability Committee and national air forces began dropping much needed supplies to groups of stay-behind forces now linking up with remnants of cut-off regular combat units in substantial behind the lines guerrilla operations. For the most part communication with these groups would prove spotty and usually by flash message only. As time went on these units became better organized into full combat teams and would prove to be some of the most effective fighting forces in the War.

These rear area operations were most effective in occupied Russia, the United States and north-west Europe. Many of these behind the lines efforts focused on destroying supply depots and rescuing humans from Martian concentration camps of which there were many. Killing any Martian was naturally high on the target list as small well-trained sniper teams were beginning to have some effect. If they could locate Martian As which appeared to be in leadership positions that would be their primary target of opportunity with any Martian A next on the target list. Tango sniper teams would prove to be quite good at this particular work – and they were keeping score!

Due to the success of these unconventional military operations it was not long before the Martians were forced to withdraw units of Martian As normally deployed in front line positions to rear area security and seek-and-destroy missions. Once again the Martians had been forced to change their tactics. These actions showed they were ill prepared to deal with such determined rear area military attacks. It was clear to our leadership we needed to keep up this pressure and the only way to sustain this effort was to maintain a constant supply of food, medical supplies and ammunition to these small units by air. We would soon be dropping additional combat troops as well as much needed supplies to re-enforce these groups as well as into populated areas that had been cut off but were still fighting.

Even with Committee and National Air Forces controlling much of the darkened skies over Europe and Asia several Martian Flying Machines did come up at times to engage our fighters in dog-fights as well as attacking our bombers and cargo aircraft. The Martians were running out of air resources as our air losses were matching theirs. Several wings of Phoenix IIs off of carriers were now exclusively on the hunt for Martian Flying Machines in an effort to clear the skies of enemy fighters.

The Martians were not the only ones having problems keeping combat aircraft in the skies. As they were running out of operational flying machines we were running out of usable replacement engines. The massive amounts of debris still being pumped into the atmosphere, including vast amounts of volcanic glass, was playing hell on our jet engines. Dozens of aircraft were falling out of the sky each day as their engines seized up and failed. Aircraft which were able to make it back to their bases were as often as not needing their engines replaced. There were simply not enough ground crews to keep up with the work even though we had recruited hundreds of civilians who had worked on jet engines for commercial airlines before the war. We were still able to produce enough engines to replace much of our losses and we had stockpiled thousands of them before the war but getting them into the aircraft was becoming a race for time and we had little of that commodity remaining.

Berlin, Germany:

Burst report by German government to Committee Headquarters London: MARTIANS HAVE ENDED ATTEMPTS TO ENTER AND CAPTURE CITY. COMPLETELY CUT OFF. LIGHT AIR ATTACKS CONTINUE WITH BLACK SMOKE AND HEAT RAYS. IN GREAT NEED OF RESUPPLY.

Massed bomber attacks out of air bases across the United States were once again pounding Martian front line forces across a wide front on both northern and southern lines of advance. Literally thousands of heavy bombers supported by several wings of Phoenix IIs, Thunder Jets and other combat aircraft were keeping up the pressure causing many sections along the Martian front to halt. More often than not the bombers did not come under air attack even though ground based Heat-Rays continued to take their toll. Most of the time the casualties among air crews during these attacks were light to moderate. At several areas along the front lines the Martians had been halted but had not yet been turned back.

During the First Martian War very few Martian combat units were able to fight their way to the vast grasslands of North America, Russia and China – they had simply run out of time. This time however, with stronger forces and no bacteria to prematurely end their efforts vast grasslands of Russia and China were now under Martian occupation as well as vast areas of Canada. The most productive food producing areas of the United States had yet to be taken but the enemy was doing its best to alleviate that problem.

OPTIMISTICHEKAYA CAVE UKRAINE

Upon discovering the 89 mile long Optimistichekaya Cave system in Ukraine it was quickly decided to work this massive natural underground system into a usable military command and control center as well as an underground refuge for a large civilian population in time of war. For nearly two weeks of relentless Martian attacks across our planet this facility was unknown to the Martians. On the 14^th day it was discovered. It was the first large natural underground cave system being used to house and protect humans to be discovered and it was soon under determined Martian attack.

The cave had been divided into twenty segments averaging four miles each. At each ‘divide’ massive concrete and steel barriers had been constructed into the cave closing off one section from the others. The system had 40 new man-made entrance points which had been tunneled out and completely camouflaged. When the Martians attacked two of these entrances they had no idea how vast this cave ‘city’ was nor did they suspect how heavily defended it would be.

They had used standard ground Heat-Rays to blast their way into the cave entrances and small Walkers backed by ground troops to attack the interior and were immediately counter-attacked by rockets and machine-gun fire held in the hands of some very determined Ukrainian fighters. The fighting would be nearly constant hand-to-hand in tight quarters for several days along miles of this complex. This underground fight would become one of the bloodiest continuous battles of the war. In the end, despite great loss of life, the Martians were never able to take the entire cave end-to-end.

Although numerous smaller underground cave facilities were eventually discovered and attacked mostly by rear area Martian patrols no other large natural cave was ever found by the Martians. At least to some degree the Committee had succeeded in keeping our promise of hiding large groups of people from the bloody Martians. Millions would be saved in these natural underground caves which when one thinks about it had been provided by the Earth itself!

THE MARTIAN SOUTH

Despite the loss of most southern land masses, Committee and national air and naval operations continued. These forces had to hold out as long as they could. At several points where Martian forces were concentrated air attacks were undertaken most notably in and around Sydney where Committee forces continued to hold on to ¼ of the underground facility, and around Burketown where evacuations of civilians continued. Despite heavy attacks by Martian ground forces the combined Committee and Australian armies could not be dislodged and were holding on supported by naval bombardments and massed bomber attacks being flown out of Auckland, New Zealand and off nearby carriers.

Auckland was now receiving thousands of refugees and military personnel from several occupied nations who had escaped from their overrun countries. It had become a southern military staging area. Plans were underway to land on the southern island of New Zealand for a major counter attack to retake the island using many of these new forces along with established Committee and New Zealand combat units.

At the same time privately owned cargo ships which had been caught in the open ocean were being directed to sail to northern New Zealand if possible. Many of these ships were transporting desperately needed supplies which could be used to support the suddenly increased population. The Fiji and Gilbert Islands were also becoming destinations for many of these ships which had been stranded in the South Pacific at the start of the war. With 10,000 Pacific islands there were plenty of hiding places. Committee warships were on the way to both areas in order to re-direct these ships with military escorts to locations where these supplies were most needed.

As the African evacuations continued from Santo Antonio do Zaire refugees who had somehow made it to the coast were reporting massive death tolls they had witnessed due to Martian attacks, many from deadly Black Smoke and Heat-Rays. From destroyed cities and villages survivors spoke of Martian Heat-Rays sweeping avenues and charring thousands of people at a time trying to flee certain death. People were being crushed under their fast moving machines with a few survivors being taken for food as they continued to march. This was well organized murder on a vast scale. Those not taken for food or trapped in concentration camps for later ‘feeds’ were simply massacred on the spot by the hundreds of thousands. Africa was being de-populated at an alarming rate! As with other areas around the planet concentration camps had been set up throughout occupied Africa guarded by Martian Bs and ‘Martian humans’. Several of these camps had been over flown by Psyop forces which had dropped leaflets calling on the ‘Martian humans’ to “turn on your brutal Martian masters and return to humanity by releasing your captures and fighting against the Martian invaders.” In a very few cases the guards did indeed turn on the Martians but much more often they remained loyal to the Martians. Perhaps not unexpectedly, considering their experiences their conversion had been total. They were Martian!

It would be the concentration camp near Walvis Bay, South West Africa where Tango forces and Committee Marines landed on this day in a rescue operation which liberated over 3000 human captives. During this operation, supported by five battleships firing salvo after salvo and heavy air cover, our forces engaged and killed well over 2000 Martians, mostly Bs, many hybrids and at least 100 ‘Martian humans’. Twenty-four ‘Martian humans’ were taken alive and brought out with those who had been rescued. Massive piles of burnt bodies numbered in the thousands. The operation, conducted under terrible weather conditions, was very successful as the Martians did not appear to be prepared for any type of military defense of the camp. In addition the raid ‘bagged’ two Martian As who were also transported. All those rescued were soon on their way by escorted surface ships to St. Helena. The prisoners were on their way by submarine to our Sea Cave Facility B6 at Sierra Leone which had thus far escaped notice by our Martian enemies who controlled the area entire around the facility.

COUNTER ATTACKS

In several areas across the Martian South including Australia, South America, Asia and Africa military units from overrun countries were pulling together what they had to counter-attack enemy forces whenever the opportunity presented itself. Many of these attacks took advantage of our superior forces in the air and at sea. But none of these counter attacks were as strong or as well organized as the four point attack on the southern New Zealand Island quickly formulated and conducted by combined New Zealand, Australian and Committee forces. For the first time in the war we were able to take back lost territory.

American supplied Committee forces counter attack

Sailing out of Wellington, Hawke Bay and Manukau Harbour at Auckland late in the day, hundreds of landing craft and well over 300 combat ships including four full aircraft carrier task forces began landing over 40,000 troops on the southern island of New Zealand at Christchurch, Clarence River, Cloudy Bay and Tasman Bay. At the point of the operation transport ships simply sailed directly onto the beaches establishing a very fast landing force. In addition every available civilian coastal ship of any size (some 600 of them) was pressed into service as part of the invasion forces. Supported by massed air to ground assaults and sustained heavy bomber attacks the light Martian forces were pushed back from the beachheads within six hours with only moderate losses. Enemy counter attacks were soon destroyed. Combined air power matched by intense fire from off shore batteries devastated Martian forces which were simply unprepared to deal with such a massed assault. It was clear they had dismissed any possibility of this type of attack. Within 48 hours all four of these landing bridgeheads were linked up, re-enforced and moving west and south.

As these operations were being conducted a second strong landing force made their way to the Gulf of Carpentary and Burketown to re-enforce that still hotly contested area and begin to push back strong Martian forces which had been held at bay at Burketown by several reformed Committee and Australian armies. Once again strong off shore batteries and strong air forces pounded the Martians forcing them to pull back from their front line positions.

Out of South America scattered radio and Ham reports indicated that several national combat units severely disrupted due to intense fighting had re-formed into Martian hunter teams. Survivors of several mostly destroyed Committee infantry and armor units had also combined with these new teams. These teams had begun operating out of the Amazon jungle attacking Martian units along the Negro and Amazon Rivers. Their only operational plans were to live off the jungle and kill as many Martians as they could find. Taking and holding territory was not an objective. For the rest of the war only spotty reports from those units would be heard. For the most part they had “gone off the radio grid” and were on their own. Some would end up so deep in the jungle it would be years before they could be contacted.

It would be in the Amazon Jungle where our forces would make contact with individual Martian Hunter As using the cover of the jungle as their private human hunting ground for sport. Tango teams would soon be on the hunt for these Martians and these teams, trained in that jungle, would prove to be more than a match for these Martian Hunter As. Their work would cause most Martians to fear the jungle.

At the same time strong Committee forces began landing on the east coast of South America near Cayenne in French Guiana to strengthen local military units and aid in re-organizing local combat units still capable of combat operations. As in other areas these re-enforcements were strongly supported by air and off shore combat forces. Naval guns opened up on enemy positions near the shore with ferocity. And again these landings had been successful in pushing Martian forces back. These were not by any means decisive operations in the grand scheme of things, but they were critical in demonstrating we could still defeat Martians as long as we continued to fight no matter what the cost may be. As usual the costs were high.

RADAR

After two weeks of war our deep tracking radar capabilities had become spotty at best. Most operational combat units still had local radar systems mounted on trucks and were still able to combine them with other units but many of our large powerful out-looking radars we had counted on to keep us informed of Martian orbital capabilities had been knocked out by Martian air attacks. Nevertheless, those few operational stations were indicating there were possibly fewer than thirty Martian craft in orbit around the Earth – all in polar orbits. If this was true it meant most of the Martian combat forces designated to invade the Earth were already deployed with few remaining forces available to re-enforce those units presently engaging Earth forces.

With this information we finally had a reasonable understanding of the total Martian combat capabilities and force structure. As much as we could understand by their continued slowing ground operations the Martians were spread thin about as far as they could be and still engage in offensive operations. They could however, no longer advance on all fronts. They would need to pick their attack avenues with care. We would need to pick ours with great care and hit them as hard as we could at their most vulnerable points even though we would still lose a great deal in the process. This had become a war of attrition.

The Earth still had greater numbers by far despite the loss of hundreds of millions of people but the very destructive weapons of war brought to Earth by the Martians were still able to exact a terrible toll on our people. We had the numbers but they held the more powerful weapons, as well as effective control over more than half the planet including vast areas of land. The full measure of this war had not yet been taken. There was much more to lose even if victory should be ours, and that was by no means a certainty. In point of fact we were still losing on most fronts and that was likely to continue for some time.

In all the confusion one report came in which seemed odd even considering the situation we found ourselves in battling the Martians all across the planet. Over the past several days military and civilian spotters in several areas had reported unidentified flying objects not of Martian origin over flying active front lines. Our limited radars had also tracked several of these rather large craft in Earth orbit. These unidentified craft seemed to be doing nothing more than observing the war. These ‘others’ seemed to be interested in having a front row seat. They had not hindered Martian war efforts nor had they aided the Martians in any way – they were just there! All we could do was track them as best we could with our degraded radars and file sighting reports as they came in. What their true objective was – if any – was still a mystery.

Martian primary attacks and occupied territories – 15 September 1938

EARTH’S LAST ATOMIC BOMB

In Lower-New York City the third and final atomic bomb had been assembled and was now ready to be loaded on a specially modified Phoenix IIA identical to the aircraft which had delivered the atomic weapon to the Martian base at Antarctica. Members of the original Tunguska West team had made their way to our headquarters and the weapon they had developed was now ready to use. Once again a Martian Command Center would be the target. We had bombed the facility on several occasions but only once before on a massive scale. Now for the second time Giza would be bombed with the intention of destroying the entire facility. This time the attack must succeed. Three Phoenix IIAs were designated to carry and escort the weapon to the Bermuda Islands where the aircraft would re-fuel for the flight across the Atlantic. The only real cover they would enjoy was the terrible weather blanketing the ocean and the anti-radar coatings on their craft.

[END PART 70]

Copyright © R. Michael Gordon, 2020

[NEXT WEEK: PART 71: THE GROUND WAR CONTINUES AS A NEW MARTIAN FLEET EMERGES.]