NOVEL WEB
Chapter 19: 19. 4F
Hector handed the monthly agenda to Truman while giving the hidden agenda to Roosevelt. Moony had to stay in the White House and keep an eye on what went on.
After that, he got on a ship to North Africa with Logan alongside him. The man was excited to finally have some action. 50 Helicopters had been manufactured. Congress was still deciding on their effectiveness, however, so Hector decided to take 10 of them to Africa for free. Though he was worried if they will endure the heat, thankfully, Einstein and his friends designed a cooling mechanism that needed a special liquid coolant. With this, they could fly over the pyramids easily.
Their journey took a week to reach the place. The ground forces were majorly participating from the United States, United Kingdom, mainly British Raj and Free France.
Operation Torch was sanctioned by the American and British governments, Hector had signed on the plan himself so he knew everything about it. Their plan was to land in three places. Casablanca, Oran and Algiers. Out of these, Casablanca will have only American forces of 30,000. Oran will have only British forces, while Algiers will have American and British combined.
Their major enemy was not the Germans and the Italians right now. Axis forces were currently in Easter Africa. Meanwhile, the entire Northern Africa was under the occupation of Vichy France, the French State headed by Marshal Philippe Petain. The regime was authoritarian, xenophobic, antisemitic and traditionalist in nature. Officially independent, it adopted a policy of collaboration with Nazi Germany. So, it was a puppet state of Germany.
France was in trouble, most of it was under German occupation. It was Free France that sided with the Allies and Vichy France that sided with Axis.
Hence, according to what he knew about history, wanted to capture the commander of the Vichy forces. It was a fact that the man, Francois Darlan, was an opportunist, that was why Hitler never trusted him.
So, Hector gathered the allied commanders on the British Carrier for briefing. He was the only person there without a military rank yet he outranked everyone in the room. He was the Commander-in-Chief after all.
"Mr President, it's a great honour to be alongside a great general like you." Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force of the North African Theatre of Operations (NATOUSA), greeted him.
Hector, from his memories, knew that Eisenhower had worked under him a long time ago. There was another man who had done the same.
"But this is going to be a dangerous place for you to be, General... I mean, President Washington." Lt. General George S. Patton said.
Hector patted the man's shoulder, "Don't worry about me, my friend. I hope you can keep your temper in check in this war. We don't want any controversial words reaching back home. Be compassionate as much as you can."
Hector's words had deep meaning. The slapping incident was famously known in the previous life. Patton had slapped two privates in a field hospital in front of doctors for showing battle fatigue and forced them to head to the front line. That even caught a lot of bad press and eventually, Patton lost his commands and was sidelined.
"I have brought some gifts. The new flying machines are called Helicopters. They can take off from anywhere and land anywhere. They will help you folks transport heavy artillery to the fields. You will need them to siege the castles." He advised them.
"Mr President, we won't need them. We expect no resistance from the french." Eisenhower said.
Hector sighed, this was exactly what caused the loss of lives originally. He shook his head, "You may be right, but also wrong. Understand this, the Vichy forces are spread around. They have no way of communicating fast. Do you think every single soldier among them knows whatever deal you have made?
"They will not crazily attack but they might try to defend to their best. So, I advise you to hold on to the attack until I have settled things from my side. If everything goes well, we will have won without even fighting."
All of the commanders looked at him with either confusion or disregard. But could they say no to his orders? Nope.
So, the plan was just slightly changed. Out of the 10 helicopters, Hector gave them 9 and took one with himself with extra fuel. His destination was Algiers. Free France had their resistance already capture the city in expectation of the allied invasion. They had also caught Francois Darlan.
...
Hector piloted his helicopter himself and arrived at the Fort in Algiers. Nobody was expecting an air raid or invasion, and Hector flew close to the ground from locations where nothing but desert existed.
"What's the plan?" Logan asked.
"Get Francois Darlan to sign a deal with us and make him surrender his forces and then help us fight the Axis." He explained.
When they landed their helicopter in the fort, they were surrounded by French resistance soldiers, guns aimed at their heads. Their leader quickly came forward, seeing there were just two people, they didn't feel threatened. How wrong they were.
Hector spoke in fluent french and told them who he was and why he was there, it shocked them that the American President was here, but they didn't really care at the moment when they were being sieged by enemies. Soon enough, he was taken to Francois Darlan, kept inside a prison. The man had been fed well as he was the only way for a bloodless war here.
"Wait outside, I will negotiate with him," Hector told everyone and entered the prison cell.
Logan followed up to see how he would negotiate with him. But, he nearly spat blood, *BAM*
Hector punched the man so hard he lost half of his teeth. "You fascist evil scum, do you know who you are facing?"
The man weakly nodded, "Fuck off, I will never make my forces surrender now. You bloody allies, I will see you all die one after another."
*BAM*
"Then I will skin you alive, scum." Hector took out a knife from his pocket and seriously started to skin his body. First, he skinned his arms, then cut his ear. Hector then started to use the satanic powers to make the man speak up, "Do you want to say something? Something that you desire... always wanting to have but never quite got there? Tell me your deepest darkest desire..."
Francois Darlan's eyes had a strange shine all of a sudden and sense of ecstasy appeared on his face, "I... I want to become the Emperor of France. Become the richest man in the world, defeat Germany and conquer them. Kill Hitler and claim myself the ruler Fuhrer."
Hector chuckled, "Haha, why are you all the same? Europe is a mess because of folks like you. But don't worry, we've got all that in the video now. We just need to send it to Germany. Once Hitler sees it, he will send men to kill you."
Logan waved at Francois Darlan while smoking a cigar and turning off a big video camera. "You're dead meat, bub."
Hector nodded and laid down the terms for his continuous survival, "Yes, You are dead meat. Of course, if you decide to side with me now and do as I say, not only will I announce you as High Commissioner of France in Africa but also the President of France. President for life. Of course, first, you must help us push back the Axis powers out of Africa."
Of course, he was not going to do all that he suggested.
...
1 Week Later,
0 Deaths. The first campaign in North Africa was madly successful. Hector got the credit for this huge victory. Behind such fast-spreading words was the SSR. Phillips knew that for the smooth running of the United States and the continued dominance of Hector in decision making, it was necessary.
The news was heavily publicised in the United States, most didn't even know that their president was in Africa, but now, they were excited and cheering for him. The depressing mood that the war brought was now overshadowed by the pride and hope of Americans.
Hector didn't stop, first, he made Francois Darlan tell the Vichy forces to attack the Axis powers. Germany and Italy were mostly in North-east Africa. They were now regretting waging war with the USSR, as they felt their ranks and power were thinned out.
However, Erwin Rommel, aka Desert Fox, a well known German General, was holding the command. He was greatly experienced and respected by even Allied Generals, Hector included.
Germany didn't want to lose Africa, so they sent their best guns, the new Panzer Tiger 1 Armoured Division was deployed. Hector felt the need for Chinook helicopters greatly with this. Still, they were able to bring some tanks and aircraft, but they numbered much less than Germans, who had been camping here for so long.
However, Hector didn't stop. He gathered all the forces and called for them to start a sweeping operation across Libya. he was going to finish the Africa Campaign before the end of 1942. By now, his command was already recognised by the Allied countries, even the United Kingdom didn't send any high ranking generals now to take the command, as there were enough from the previous operation to follow Hector's words.
Thankfully, with 10 helicopters, they were able to provide quick air support and also carry light artillery everywhere they went.
At the same time, they were ordered to inform Hector whenever they would come face to face with the German armoured division. Meanwhile, he had sent Logan to go crazy, killing as many high-ranking officers as possible.
*BOOM*
"What are we going to do now, General? You said we should inform you if we see them. They have the latest Tiger I tanks, our artillery and tanks can't pierce their armour easily." General Patton asked him, having gotten too comfortable with calling Hector a General. He had already decided to put all the responsibility on Hector so he don't get blamed later.
Hector looked at the desert field with dozens of panzers moving around, creating a cloud of dust around them. All Allied forces on this front were hiding behind a ridge for now.
His own clothes had gotten dirty by now, he was wearing normal solder's attire with no rank insignia. His white hair was now slightly dirty. He sighed, "We have a motorbike, right? Gather as many grenades as you can for me."
"You can't be suggesting... that's a suicide," Patton exclaimed in shock. This was a mad plan.
Hector seriously ordered him, "This is a command, general. I have done much crazier things than this."
His command was followed word to word. They gathered 50 grenades and brought him a military bike. He quickly put on a helmet, "The moment the last tank is blown up, you are to charge ahead."
"Yes, sir." The commanders saluted as they saw him go.
...
Hector drove through the hard desert land fast, much faster than tanks. He went as close as possible to each tank without getting shot by their gunners. He then precisely threw the grenades at the weakest points of the tanks, as well as the see-through window for the gunners.
His grenades would either leave the tank unmovable or all the operators dead inside. He did it for 4 hours straight, multiple times saving himself by an inch from a shell.
"Hahaha... it's your bad luck that I exist here, fools. This war is my playground." He laughed while throwing grenades crazily. His helmet had already been blown away and now his hair spectacularly fluttered in the air.
*BOOM*
The last tank blew up. With that, they charged ahead. Light tanks and vehicles moved quickly. They continued sweeping the lands. Soon, Germans were on the back foot and had to trek all the way from Libya to Egypt.
But, in Egypt, a harsher war was awaiting them, as British forces with a large number of troops from their colonies had launched an attack through Tunesia.
Germans were cornered. Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, knew that this battle was lost. He was swiftly called back to Germany and someone else took his place. But, it was the worst time to do a staff change. Hector did not give them time to breathe.
But, their last battle was to take place in a large number of trenches that the Germans had dug. By now, both sides had lost nearly most of their air and tank support. Even Hector's helicopters were lost, only 2 were functional now.
Hector gathered the commanders in his tent in the camp. "Francois Darlan, you're under arrest for crimes against humanity. You will be sent to the United States and wait for trial."
"NO! YOU PROMISED ME... You will make me the President of France." He cried as soldiers put him in cuffs.
Hector sighed, "You've got to be the stupidest man alive if you think I have that power."
"MY FORCES WILL NOT FOLLOW YOU IF YOU DO THIS!" He barked.
Patton scoffed and spoke, "All of the Vichy forces are dead, we had put them in the front of the front lines. They were our first line of defence."
Darlan realised that he was played by Hector like a fool. He silently limped down and was dragged by the MPs.
Once that was done, he congratulated the men, "My friends, we are in the final stretch of this dangerous campaign. As long as we cross the trench field and take over that fort, we will win. They will have no choice but to surrender. Now, I want to make this as less bloody as possible."
"How?" They asked.
"Well... I will start blasting." He said with a chuckle and left the tent. He went to the edge of the camp and called Logan. "You brought them?"
"There you go," Logan put down a crate beside Hector. Immediately, Hector picked one mortar shell and threw it swiftly. It made a whistling sound for a while, then a loud explosion came in distance. *BOOM*
All of a sudden, the enemy camp had movement, and alarms went on. Sadly for them, they were much further from the normal mortar range. Hence, Hector was the only person who could throw them.
Slowly, a big crowd gathered around Hector, the top general stood behind him, then other officers and soldiers. Many had drinks with them and some were smoking while laughing.
"Umm... General, ten degrees to the left." A lieutenant used binoculars to help Hector aim.
*BOOM*
This time a bigger explosion appeared, it was most likely the enemy armoury. "Haha, good eyesight, Kennedy, my boy." He praised.
This young man was John F. Kennedy. Originally, he was to serve in the Navy, but since Hector appeared, he inspired many young men to follow in his footsteps.
Slowly, the enemy side started to look like a hell camp. People were seen trying to stop fires from spreading in the trenches. After 4 hours of bombardment, a white flag was seen on the trenches and the fort behind it.
The Allied troops cheered, jumped in excitement, with no care about the fatigue. The war in Africa had come to an end, and Hector had saved more lives than he could count.
The Germans and Italians surrendered, with their total prisoners of war exceeding 500,000. While 12,000 British were killed, 200,000 had been injured. On the American side, 1,087 were killed, 2000 were wounded and 3000 were missing. The loss had been reduced by a huge margin compared to what it would have been. Battles were many times won by Hector's clever plans or himself carrying the entire army on his back of steel.
He was seen as a beloved old man on top of being their President and Commander-in-chief. The soldiers loved to talk to him as he was approachable. He even heard about many problems soldiers described that their families face in many parts of the United States. All of them were noted down in a register and then the register was transported to the White House for a special committee to oversee that they get solved.
His popularity was off the roof. Since most of the Army was made up of newly conscripted soldiers who were young, they came up with a nickname for Hector, though they never called him this face to face. Among themselves, they used the word "Old Father".
...
The African campaign was a huge success. Unlike in the original world, where the campaign lasted more than a year, here it ended in months. Just one month after Hector's involvement. His decisions, such as introducing a new camouflage dress, saved many lives.
With this, the campaign for the Italian campaign was open. But, Hector had to return to his country to do his job as the president. And it was also the time he solved the Civil Rights laws.
...
Brooklin,
"Steven Grant Rogers," a military doctor called the name.
Steve put down the newspaper and walked to the doctor and showed his file. But the moment it read, "4F Rejected"
Philadelphia,
"4F Rejected"
Cleveland,
"4F Rejected"
"Please, give me a chance to prove myself." he requested.
"No, next come forward." f reewe bnovel
Steve Rogers, with a tired and frustrated face, sat in the park. On his side was a newspaper with a big photo of President Washington in military attire, posing with other generals and troops as the American flag waved behind them. The headline read, "Walks The Talk. The President Fights For Nation."
Steve had tried to get into the army from 4 different places, each time he was rejected for being too weak and sick. He begged to be allowed, even if he's to do menial jobs, he would. But, there was no place for weaklings in the army.
Defeated, he alone sat there. His best friend, Bucky, had already been inducted into the Army and was getting trained.
He looked at the image of Hector in the papers, "Mr President, I don't know how to serve the nation anymore."
Sighing, he headed back to Brooklin, his home. ~I guess... being a weakling good for nothing is all that's written in my fate.~
[A/N: This was a long chapter related to war. I used it to establish to the world that Hector is an amazing General. One who can lead by himself and also carry the army on his own. After this, things will be faster, but we will be entering the First Avenger arc. Steve and Hector will be meeting soon.]