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Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM |
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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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Stalin Dies in 1945 This work is
inspired by the work “Cold War Rosy”
by Scott Palter, who deserves all the credit for the basis of this story, I just
put my own spin on the idea. The
Soviets pursue an enlightened policy in their occupied territories after the
Second World War when Stalin dies a premature death in 1945. His death leads to
a brief power struggle and Nikita Khrushchev emerges victorious, and begins a
liberalization of the Soviet Union following the Potsdam Conference, notably in
the NKVD and the execution of Beria, and major Stalinists in the government.
Khrushchev created an alliance in the Eastern European nations occupied
following the war; forcing favorable trade conditions w/ the Soviet Union and a
defense pact allowing the Soviets transit rights at the exclusion of others as
well as a defensive alliance, this is a deliberate move on his behalf to lessen
the immense expense and drain direct occupation would create on the USSR. This
impresses the West, and helps avert a major breakdown of Soviet-Western
relations. The United States, without a major opponent to provide the motivation
for nuclear weapons development, works within the United Nations to create the
International Atomic Regulatory Commission in 1949, to control and regulate all
aspects of nuclear power and weapons. Following the formation of the IARC the
USSR and USA worked together to form the International Aerospace Agency within
the United Nations, to allow peaceful exploration of space equally amongst all
members. With the rise
of the International Aerospace Agency numerous smaller national programs arose
to provide for the needs of their own nations, and corporate entities. As time
went on commercial and industrial competition gave rise to private space
programs for the exploitation of space for profit. Such programs built their own
launch sites, the most famous of these being the Kitty Hawk Space Center in
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, under the Wright/Goddard Foundation, a group of
corporations and other investors who are dedicated to private exploration and
utilization of space. The
International Aerospace Agency, in an attempt to maintain “internationality”
constructed numerous launching sites across the globe; In Germany, at Peenemunde
to exploit existing structures, the Soviet Union at Baikonur, in Japan, India,
China, Brazil, and across Africa, and in the United States at Cape Canaveral in
Florida. This international cooperation led to a rapid advance in space technologies, with the launch of an artificial satellite, Unity 1, in 1954. In 1959, UN Astronaut (the term was finally decided upon after great controversy between members of the IAA) Yuri Gagarin was the first man to fly in space. Gagarin was selected randomly from a group of qualified astronauts from all across the world. The next two years saw all of the members of the original Qualified Astronautics Team participate in s series of flights and experiments in space and the upper-atmosphere. In 1960s a series of semi-permanent orbiting stations are launched and constructed above the earth with the intent of gaining significant data on life in space and construction of a permanent orbital habitat. In 1966 and International Team successfully lands on the surface of the moon, coordinated from the fledgling International Station One, Serenity, as it was informally known. Serenity continued to expand during the late 1960s and 70s, providing a base of operations for the expanding lunar colonies and laboratories. By 1978, nearly 300 self-supporting habitats spanned the lunar surface. At this same time, the IAA launched the Mars Colony Program, a series of expeditions to the Red Planet with the intention of laying the framework for the terraforming and colonization of Mars. The first vessels to reach Mars are not manned, but instead are computer guided vessels carrying supplies or provided the basis for colonies and habitats. The first manned expeditions around Mars instead land on the Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos. These moons soon serve as staging grounds for manned expeditions and colonization of the Martian surface. These two moons become the essential way stations to and from Mars as the structures and habitats on each. In 1979, after nearly 100 preparatory unmanned landings on Mars at the initial base site the first manned vessel lands on Mars after a long trip through space. In the next three years four major colonies and terraforming bases are established at the ice covered poles, manned in shifts to speed the recreation of the Martian surface into one that will readily support human habitation without spacesuits or oxygen masks. This process continues through the eighties and nineties as more and more terraforming stations are created, increasing the ever growing rate of water vapor and oxygen release into the atmosphere, as more and more colonies and habitats are added across the surface. In 1999 there were over 200 terraforming stations across Mars, and at least 2 million colonists and various IAA personnel on site to maintain the facilities and expand them. Anther half-million people serve on Deimos and Phobos to coordinate colonization and transit between Earth and Mars. Plans are in the works for the colonization of Venus following the completion of terraforming of Mars, and the rest of the Solar System after that in steady controlled stages. As colonization increases on Mars, so does a growing sentiment among Martian colonists and local IAA personnel for Martian independence. This attitude has been building among the colonists and local IAA personnel for years, as edicts and orders from Earth dictate how expansion by the locals is to proceed, even when local advice or knowledge on the issue is superior or ignored in favor of an “expert” on Earth. Another source of friction between the Earth and Martians is the Martian flag, the initial colonists on Mars designed their own flag, but upon submission of the flag to the IAA on Earth, another flag, designed by an Earther, was chosen instead without any consultation on behalf of the Martians.
The Martians are in a unique position; they are the first
extraterrestrial colony with the capacity to become truly self-sufficient, and
there is no current way that the Earth authorities could reinforce or retake the
colony if independence. The sentiment was that there had been no real conflict
since the last world war, as United Nations mediation had resolved the possible
conflicts in China, Korea, and Vietnam, and had worked strongly during the
60’s and 70’s to prevent authoritarian regimes, and lessen ethnic conflicts
in India, the Balkans, and the Middle East. As such there was no substantial
standing army anywhere in the world, and no capacity existed to transit and land
them upon the Martian surface should the need arise. With this in consideration,
the Martian colonists, and local IAA personnel, chose in 2005 to declare their
independence from Earth, taking Phobos and Deimos with them. This was a largely
peaceful move, but rumors escaped Mars of harsh reprisals and riots against
loyalists and loyalist establishments.
The question was raised at the United Nations Security Council on whether
or not to allow the Martians their independence. Basic observations showed the
situation strongly against them, all of Mars belonged to the “rebels”, as
well as Phobos and Deimos, which served in the place of large-scale orbital
space stations. Mars also had several operational industrial sites, and were
completely space capable. On the other hand, Mars was the key to the expansion
into the rest of the solar system and beyond; without their vital position as a
staging point for further exploration, costs would expand astronomically
(appreciate the irony). The issue was finally decided when word reached the
Security Council about the death of loyalists on Mars following their harassment
at the hands of the rebel militants. A plan was laid for the creation of an
International Expeditionary Force to be sent to Mars. The first stage of the
plan called for nearly a million soldiers to be called up and trained from all
across the world, as well as nearly twice as many support personnel. The second
stage called for the creation of new and reliable small arms, armored vehicles,
and aerospace strike craft. The third stage called for the creation of a fleet
of spacecraft, (mostly from American, Soviet, and British vessels already in
existence) to carry the Expeditionary Force to Mars, eliminate any Martian Space
forces, and provide support for the invasion of Phobos, Deimos, and finally
Mars.
The completion of the buildup to levels required by the plan to retake
Mars took nearly two years for the manpower to located, and then trained and
certified on all new equipment being produced for this express purpose. Once the
manpower was properly mobilized, and equipped they could not yet enter battle.
The Martians had used their two year reprieve to build up an extensive fleet of
space based vessels and immense defenses layered on Phobos and Deimos. It was
widely known that any invasion of Mars would require the control of its two
moons for Command and Control as well as supply and support. The Martian Navy
numbered nearly 300 vessels, smaller than their Earth cousins because they did
not have to be able to travel between the planets. The Navy was commanded by
Admiral Nathan George, a former British Royal Navy commander in their space
forces, though he never achieved above the rank of Commodore he was generally
considered to be the naval equivalent of Robert E. Lee. His flagship, the
Martian Battlecarrier Ares was perhaps the finest vessel yet constructed by humanity.
George had resigned from the Royal Navy’s Space Forces to settle on Mars with
his family. The overall defense of Mars however, fell to General Irina Arkensky,
who had served as the head of Martian Security Forces while under the
administration of Earth.
In opposition was UN Expeditionary Force commander, American Marine Corps
General Thomas Graves, who had served as a Marine Corps aerospace aviator for
many years prior to command. Vice-Admiral Karen Ishimoto of the Japanese
Aerospace Defense Forces, who had selected to serve as second-in-command,
Ishimoto’s involvement, as well as that of her countrymen, in the Martian
Crisis was allowed for because Article 9 of the Japanese constitution prohibited
Japanese armed forces and belligerence, an accepted exception to the rule was
for their people to serve in United Nations peacekeeping and interventional
forces. The opening move of the Martian Crisis was a raid by elements of the United Nations Expeditionary Navy to determine the strength and constitution of Martian defenses around Mars and her moons. A small handful of Coalition vessels engaged in a brief fly-by of Phobos and Deimos and engage in a short skirmish with Martian Naval Elements. The Coalition lost two ships to the Martian defenses, while claiming a single Martian vessel in return, but the losses were judged to be acceptable in the face of the data gathered by the Coalition: the raid revealed the location of the majority of the Martian Navy, and the extremely dense defenses constructed on Mars’ moons. General Graves and Vice-Admiral Ishimoto formulated a plan intended to destroy the Martian Navy in a single engagement with overwhelming force.
The Combined Earth Navy moves to engage the Martian Navy over Mars,
Admiral George in much the same position as Admiral Yamamoto was during the
Second World War intends to avoid a confrontation not on his terms, and instead
of preparing to face the CE Navy head on launches a surprise attack on Earth
assets once the CE Navy was underway and not available to defend them. The
attack is devastating, as the portion of the Martian Navy capable of making the
trip attack space stations orbitting the Earth and moon, as well as habitats on
the moon, and even raids on several major cities across the Earth itself. The
effect is immediate: the CE Navy withdraws to near-Earth orbit to protect
against further attacks by the Martians, the invasion of Mars and its assets is
delayed indefinitely for the time being, as the vessels and stations that were
intended to serve as supply stations for the supply train for the Combined Earth
Navy, and the invasion of Mars. Now the supply train is torn to shreds, and can
barely keep the moon colonies supplied.
At this time the Martian government makes peace overtures to the United
Nations, offering equal trade and passage rights, as well as bringing to justice
the militants who were responsible for the deaths of loyalists on Mars. This is
seen as a rather fair deal, despite the violence visited upon them by the
Martian Fleet, there is significant public support for peace as a new war is
seen as a negative event, and a new free and democratic world is seen as a
positive notion.
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