Foreign Minister asked.
No! The lie rolled off his lips. "If you are certain that you can prevent retaliation, of course I support it. I caution you, however, that my reading of NATO's response might be very different from what we might otherwise expect. I would expect retaliation to fall some hours later than we think, and against strategic rather than tactical targets. They are more likely to hit road and rail junctions, airfields, and supply facilities. These do not move. Our tanks do." Think on what I just said, Comrades: things will quickly go out of control. Make peace, you fools!
"So you think we could use tactical weapons with impunity if we simultaneously threaten strategic targets of our own?" the General Secretary asked hopefully.
"That is essentially the NATO pre-war doctrine. It overlooks the fact that the use of nuclear weapons over friendly territory is not something undertaken lightly. Comrades, I warn you that the prevention of a NATO response will not be an easy exercise."
"You worry about the battlefield, Comrade General," the Defense Minister suggested lightly. "We will worry about the political questions."
There was only one more thing he could say to discourage them. "Very well. In that case I will need direct control of the weapons."
"Why?" the General Secretary demanded.
So they won't be fired, you fucking idiot! "We have here a question of practicality. Targets will appear and disappear on a minute-to-minute basis. If you want me to blast a hole in NATO lines with atomic arms, I will not have the time to get your approval."
Alekseyev was horrified to see that even this did not dissuade them.
"How many would you need?" the Defense Minister wanted to know.
"That is a question contingent upon the time and place of the breakthrough operation, and we would use small weapons against discrete point targets--not population centers. I would say a maximum of thirty weapons in the five- to ten-kiloton range. We would launch them with free-flight artillery rockets."
"How soon will you be ready for your attack?" Marshal Bukharin asked.
"That depends on how quickly I can get veteran troops into the new divisions. If these reservists are to survive on the battlefield, we must get experienced men to firm up their ranks."
"A good idea, Comrade General," the Defense Minister approved. "We will not detain you further. In two days, I want to see detailed plans for your breakthrough."
The five members of the Defense Council watched Alekseyev salute, pivot on his heels, and depart. Kosov looked up at Marshal Bukharin.
"And you wanted to replace this man?"
The General Secretary agreed. "That's the first real fighting soldier I've seen in years."
Alekseyev waved for Major Sergetov to follow him. Only he felt the cold lead weight in his belly. Only he knew how weak his knees were as they trod down the marble steps. Alekseyev didn't believe in God, but he knew that he had just seen the door to hell cracked open.
"Major," he said casually as they entered the staff car, "since we're in Moscow, perhaps you would like to visit your father the Minister before we return to the front?"
"That is very kind of you, Comrade General."
"You have earned it, Comrade Major. Besides, I want figures on our oil supply."
The driver would report what he'd heard, of course.
"They want me to use nuclear weapons at the front!" Alekseyev whispered as soon as the Minister's door was closed.
"Yes, I was afraid of that."
"They must be stopped! There is no predicting what catastrophe this could bring about."
"The Defense Minister says that a tactical nuclear environment could easily be controlled."
"He's talking like one of those NATO idiots! There is no wall between a tactical and a strategic nuclear exchange, just a fuzzy line in the imagination of the amateurs and academics who advise their political leaders. The only thing that would then stand between us and a nuclear holocaust--our survival would be at the mercy of whichever NATO leader is the least stable."
"What did you tell them?" the Minister asked. Had Alekseyev retained his wits enough to say the right thing?
"I must be alive to stop them--I told them it's a wonderful idea!" The General sat down. "I also told them that I must have tactical control of the weapons. I think they will agree to that. I'll make sure those weapons are never used. I have just the man on my staff to do that, too."
"You agree then that the Defense Council must be stopped?"
"Yes." The General looked down at the floor, then back up. "Otherwise--I don't