[RN7]

HISTORY REDUX
Nikita put missiles in Cuba in 1962 to give us a taste of our own medicine, and things took on a life of their own. First the word of the missiles, the speech by Kennedy, all those meetings by the UN. The U-2 photos and the blockade around Cuba. Troops being sent south to Florida and reserve units activated. A very scary time. Then, on October 27, Cuba shoots down one of our U-2s. Kennedy had several days earlier made plans to retaliate with air strikes against any SAM site that fired on a US plane. However, diplomacy was working by this time and Kennedy sought to resend that retaliation order to preserve the chance for peace. A call was placed to Air Force General Curtis "bomb them back to the stone age" LeMay to ensure that his planes would not attack Cuba without a direct order from the President. But General LeMay had other ideas and his own hawkish views of America's place in the world. Over the president's wishes, he ordered his planes to attack the SAM site, along with several others. The ball started rolling. Kennedy burned the midnight oil to get a cease-fire, but it was to no avail, the invasion was on. By the next day, the Marines were storming ashore in the biggest amphibious operation since Inchon, and the units of the 82nd and 101st Airborne were dropping in and around Havana, trying to secure airfields. Bombs were being dropped on the Cuban missile sites and our blockade fleet started sinking the Soviet subs that had been shadowing the blockade line. Total victory over the Cubans was projected to take only a few days. Surprise! The Cubans put up a ferocious fight, and even had some small-scale tactical nukes on Frog missiles, which they used on our landing forces and navy support vessels, inflicting horrific casualties. Once the Frogs let go then hell came for a visit in that October. As soon as the nuclear genie was released in Cuba, our SAC began a response against selected military targets in the Soviet Union in retaliation for the Frogs. Our naval forces in the Mediterranean clashed with Soviet ships and Soviet troops marched into West Berlin. Cuba was in chaos, with no real news coming out of that burning island. Kennedy was on the air continuously, speaking to the nation and the world. He was offering an immediate armistice and stand-down, a summit meeting, trade concessions, anything and everything to stop the war, to stop the war from hitting America. But it was too late.

FULL SCALE ATTACK
Russia had decided that a massive first strike was the only way to survive the rapidly coming global war and late on October 28, Nikita pushed the button. At least a dozen of the medium range missiles in Cuba had become operational and were flying north towards America. Soviet nuclear-armed bombers took to the air and headed over the pole. Soviet submarines began firing SLBMs at coastal cities and ICBMs began blasting off from pads all over Russia. With our nation under attack, SAC engaged in a full, retaliatory response on civilian targets in the Soviet Union. Then a nuclear missile found the White House in Washington DC and the civilian government was destroyed. As acting chairman of the Military Joint Chiefs, General LeMay stepped into the power void and led the nation out of the dark. Despite the little known fact that he started the war by disobeying Kennedy, LeMay to his credit ended the war quickly by launching every bomber, ICBM and SLBM we had and utterly destroying the Soviet Union with thousands of nuclear warheads and bombs, some 30,000,000,000 tons of TNT all told. The so-called "missile gap" was a myth (see Appendix 2) and the Russian first strike was barely an eighth of the US counterattack. Nuclear weapons, and especially missile technology, of the early 1960s was a science in its infancy. Many rockets malfunctioned as soon as they were launched, others landed hundreds of miles off course, and still others failed to explode with the expected force or even were duds. But enough worked as designed to ruin our nation (see Appendix 1). The fledgling ABM systems were proven to be utterly useless in anything less than perfect laboratory conditions and the conventional air defense network relied too heavily on fragile radars and vulnerable electronics. With the first few nuclear explosions over the nation, both from Russian attacks and from US nuclear ABM and anti-aircraft weapons, the majority of the radar networks collapsed. With the Air Force virtually blind, the waves of over-the-pole Russian bombers found the going much easier than they had dreamed possible. USAF and Canadian interceptors took a heavy toll on the bombers, but on many occasions were having to hunt for their targets visually, and many Russian planes escaped. For days after the start of the exchanges, individual Mi-4 Bisons and Tu-95 Bears managed to slip into cracks in the failing radar coverage and drop their atomic bombs on targets. The Russians had a number of ballistic missile submarines, several of them even lurking off the coast of Cuba, and these were responsible for much of damage to the coastal areas of the country. In many cases, their strikes came days after the ICBM and bomber raids, as it took longer for them to get into position. As the exchanges wound down by the last day of October, General LeMay ordered the US Navy to pull the remnants of the invasion force off the beaches and brought hundreds of them home. LeMay then assumed control of the US government "until such time as a lawful civilian government could be reconvened", though he perhaps knew that such a time might not come again in his lifetime. In Europe and the Far East, WWIII was in full swing. Despite the desperate conditions here at home, numerous US military units (both regular army and National Guard) were shipped overseas to shore up the fronts in Europe and Korea. For nearly sixteen months the NATO countries in Europe waging a nasty, brutal war to liberate the former Warsaw Pact nations from the remaining Soviet forces.

THE BOTTOM LINE
The missiles and bombs came quick, but their effects last until today. The physical damage to the nuclear target sites was horrific and the initial loss of life was shocking, but it was the epidemics, famines and the social disruption that by far has claimed the most lives in the last two years. Total casualties since 1962 are 124.2 million, or 70% of the population of the United States in 1962. Again, this includes both initial fatalities and subsequent deaths from injuries, in addition to deaths from disease, starvation, and civil unrest up to the winter of 1964. Over the next thirty years, cancer and leukaemia cases in the United States will increase by over 2,500%. There will also be a dramatic increase in deformities at birth and failed pregnancies. Not a pleasant place to live. There will not be, however, any radiation-spawned mutants or forty-foot tall spiders running around. This is not science fiction, this is science fact.

LEADERSHIP IN DOUBT
With its government left powerless and its economy destroyed, America quickly slipped into chaos. In late 1962, the surviving civilian leadership attempted to regain control, the military wouldn't give it up. There has, therefore, been a schism at the federal government level, with the remains of the elected civilian government (CivGov) and the military hierarchy (MilGov) both claiming rightful authority. Roughly speaking, CivGov controls most of the Northeast and the Great Lakes states from the new capital at Mount Weather and MilGov controls the rest from their new capital at Colorado Springs. Some state governments often were left on their own and have done well, but most quickly collapsed under the burden. It can generally be said that "government" of any form in America exists only as far as a bullet will travel. Outside of that, everyone is on their own in this brave new world.

BE ALL YOU CAN BE IN THE ARMY
The only cohesive force on the entire continent anymore is the US military and it is rare that any large organized survivor community is not connected with the army somehow. The military took over after the collapse of society, as the strong and well-armed often do, though ostensibly the military was there to serve and protect the citizens. The army filled the vacuum of power and became the de facto government in most areas and this state of affairs still largely exists today. Troops established cantonments in strategic areas and regulated food production and distribution inside their cantonments but abandoned the regions outside. Even with the Cold War build-up of the early 1960s, there were still only about twenty active US Army divisions which were in full strength, spread all over the world. While many other Reserve and National Guard divisions were raised following the start of the war, these new units frequently were pitifully short of men and material from the start. Soon after the war started, LeMay ordered all National Guard units mobilized, both for homeland security and to be sent overseas to fight WWIII. Quickly seeing what a meat grinder the war in Europe was shaping up to be, many states refused to let their troops leave their states where they were needed. As well, in many areas mobilization was not even possible due to the chaos and destruction of the nuclear attacks. Rates of desertion have been high, especially amongst those National Guard and Reserve units that were organized after the war started, as soldiers drifted off to find family and loved ones. Many others, sometimes entire units, turned marauder and lived on banditry. Central control is virtually nonexistent with most units, especially those in isolated or rural areas, largely operating on their own. By the fall of 1964, most military units are practicing extensive local recruiting in an attempt to keep up to strength, and stragglers are often incorporated into units regardless of past record. Nominal titles of units (brigades, divisions, etc.), too, have little bearing on the actual size of the unit. Most large units are down to approximately 15-30% of pre-wartime strengths. Most intact divisions are still clinging to their pre-war TOE's, and are probably down to 2-3 battalions per division, and 3 companies per battalion. Usually it was at the battalion level that the units were consolidated, so that you would still have standard sized companies and platoons, but it could also likely that the battalions are under staffed. As troops settle into areas and begin farming and small-scale manufacturing to meet their supply requirements, local civilians are hired to farm and carry out many administrative functions in return for security from the increasing numbers of marauders roaming the countryside. In other areas, the security the military unit provides to its civilians is from the unit itself, a post-nuclear version of the ancient "protection" racket. Most smaller military bases have been abandoned in favor of concentrating forces in more strategically placed areas and many of these bases today are virtually Medieval castles.

SEE THE WORLD IN THE NAVY
The US Navy in 1964 is still strong, despite having taken horrifying losses during the battles in Europe and by tactical nuclear weapons at sea. While Russia's war machine took a large toll on the navy, it has been the lack of fuel and maintenance that has done in the navy. Most ships still in existence by 1964 are not at all fully operational, but most are at least afloat and capable of generating internal power. As many of the nation's naval bases were nuked, there is a critical shortage of electronics spares, missile reloads, and dry docks for repairs. The lack of necessity for a large navy is also apparent now with the Russians destroyed. Men that might otherwise be on ships are needed ashore in reconstruction and recovery efforts. In most harbors there are any number of warships and auxiliaries rusting at anchor with the barest of skeleton crews.

AIM HIGH IN THE AIRFORCE
World War III saw incredibly high attrition rates amongst US Air Force units. The Russian Frontal Aviation in Eastern Europe was qualitatively a match for Western air forces and quantitatively far more than a match. By the end of the war in April of 1963, most USAF and Air National Guard units available had been thrown into the fire in Europe. Today, though there are a lot of remaining aircraft in America that are capable of flight operations, in many cases the lack of regular maintenance has degraded radar and electronics to the point that they are dangerous to fly. For example, the F-4 Phantom II jet fighter (typical of USAF jets) is a very complex, maintenance-intensive aircraft, requiring 135 man-hours of maintenance in the shop for each hour in the air. The lack of spare parts caused by the collapsed transportation and manufacturing systems, the horrible attrition in battle, plus the general lack of adequate numbers of trained maintenance personnel make keeping sophisticated airplanes flying almost impossible. Jets can't run on alcohol fuel, so aviation fuel is a vital commodity, severely limiting flying operations. Most airbases in America have numbers of stranded jets rusting away on aprons and in hangers. In addition, the USAF is woefully short of missile reloads and guided munitions for the aircraft, another result of the war in Europe, but retains a steady supply of crude iron bombs and cannon reloads for those planes still airworthy. Over the past year, several of the Air Force ICBM missiles that were offline or damaged during the nuclear strikes have been reactivated by MilGov.

GOING HOME
The continental forces have been augmented by the withdrawal of most (though not all) US forces from Europe early in 1964. With WWIII winding down in Europe and the obvious need for troops at home for reconstruction, the choice was clear for General LeMay, despite the protests of his NATO allies. Operation Omega was conducted to bring them home, mostly landing them at Savannah, Georgia on May 20, 1964. Task Force 34 was formed of what was left of the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet, a few dozen ships at best, and thirty or forty assorted merchant ships--mostly the remnants of the West German Merchant fleet--that were scraped together and used to evacuate US military assets from Europe and given to the US in exchange for most of the units' armor and heavy weapons. Most of the forces evacuated from Europe were released from service upon arrival in the US. However, at least 30% of the returnees opted to remain in US service, many being career soldiers without any place to go. As well, most surviving US naval and air assets in Europe were withdrawn with the ground forces, helping to rearm America. As nearly all the overseas units were strongly MilGov (as the evacuation was ordered by LeMay) this influx of men and material will surely shift the balance of power firmly to Colorado Springs in the coming years. A similar, but less organized, plan has been ongoing to bring men back from Korea and other Far East and Middle East theatres.

HOW MUCH A GALLON?
One of the most crippling effects of the 1962 attack was the destruction of over 70% of the country's oil refining capacity. This, in combination with the EMP bursts, effectively eliminated electrical power generation and all but the most crude industrial facilities. Without fuel and lubrication, the modern mechanical age ground to a halt. Oil facilities not affected by the nuclear strikes or conventional military attacks were fought over by numerous rivals (former national governments, marauders, "new" national governments, and tin-pot local dictators). Those lucky enough to avoid the ravages of war suffered from the forces of nature--workers don't tend to shut things up properly when fleeing for their lives. Dirt, wind, rain, and rust are finishing the job started by plutonium and TNT. Petroleum is available in some areas due to operating oil wells, which are mostly closely guarded by the military. Refinery capability, however, is limited and transport of oil by road is subject to attack and is not often carried out. The main limiting factor for the US military currently is this lack of fuel. Many vehicles have been converted to grain alcohol and the wood-burning still has become a common sight in army enclaves as units seek to keep their armored vehicles operating. Aircraft, however, cannot run on alcohol and by 1964 they are mostly grounded or used only sparingly. The same goes for fuel oil for the navy, and while strong US Navy forces still exist, they are often unable to leave port.

FEED ME!
As the smoke from the bombs rose into the atmosphere, impairing sunlight, a limited nuclear winter affected the climate throughout the northern hemisphere to this day, although the climactic changes were not as calamitous as some scientists had feared. These problems are further increased by lingering radiation, the lack of fuel, spare parts for farm machinery, and fertilizer, all of which are required by the heavily mechanized farming practiced in North America. Those farms that were once heavily specialized, such as poultry or beef, now must produce their own feed, thus reducing their output. Those farming communities that have managed to retain enough production to support themselves face even more problems. The massive numbers of refugees from the abandoned cities demanded a share of the meagre supplies of food. These refugees tended to be armed, and they often appeared in sufficient numbers to overwhelm the farmers defending their food stocks. Some farmers have had all their crops stolen, including the seeds, and their livestock slaughtered, preventing them from rebuilding their farms. The net result is that by 1964 most farming communities are hostile to outsiders, refusing entry to even small bands of starving refugees. Some farming towns have had to accept rule by larger bands of refugees and marauders, or even the US military, paying for protection with food. The farmers may suffer under this overlordship, but at least they are relatively safe from outside attacks. Most of the nation's transportation network collapsed immediately after the bombs fell. Modern civilization requires food to be moved from areas of production to areas of consumption, and with the railroad hubs destroyed, roads and bridges rendered unusable, and ports flattened, some areas had massive stocks of food, while most went short. Roads between major cities are often kept open but travel is hazardous at best. The especially cold winters of 1962 and 63, the radiation, the famines, the marauders, the epidemics, and the invasions all reduced the number of mouths to feed to the point that by 1964 the food situation has stabilized and people are eating well again in most areas. Since you can't grow crops in urban areas that well, most of the larger cities have been abandoned to the scum and scavengers. It's all about food. The drought in the eastern half of the nation is growing worse by the day and its long term effects won't be known until next planting season.

COVER YOUR MOUTH
Disease is perhaps the biggest and most deadly problem in America today. Most of the dead were left unburied during that first winter and began to decompose when the snow melted, leading to an immediate outbreak of cholera and typhoid and even a resurgence of black plague in many areas. The breakdown of a central medical system and the loss of many public services only fuelled the fire. In some areas, especially in urban areas and in the deep south, the epidemics killed off tens of thousands each month, drastically thinning the population of the nation like nothing ever before. Most of the worst epidemics have burned themselves out by 1964, but medical supplies and personnel are extremely rare and thus valuable today.

EMP
Even in the areas not directly affected by the attack, there was severe consequences. EMP effects from high-altitude airbursts ruined electricity supplies and normal communication lines for some time, although some areas--particularly in the central and northeastern United States--largely escaped this disruption. EMP proved to be more powerful than the most conservative pre-war estimates, affecting even the supposedly shielded military and government equipment. Enough was on standby, and enough adequately shielded, to enable the Joint Chiefs of Staff to remain in touch with their scattered forces (for a time).

THE BLIGHT
Between late 1962 and the middle of 1963, close to a thousand nuclear weapons of various sizes were detonated by various warring sides in WWIII. Beyond the tangible destruction of the blasts, scientists warned of more far-reaching effects, such as the postulated "nuclear winter" or fatal damage to the ozone layer. Speaking specifically of North America, in the immediate aftermath, the "nuclear winter" turned out to be more of a "nuclear autumn", with nationwide temperature variation, but nothing like the deep-freeze conditions expected. The ozone layer has been damaged, but it is assumed that its own natural ability to reassemble with render that problem harmless in a decade or so. Until then an increased likelihood of skin cancers should be expected. And then 1964 came. Beginning in this year, noticeable discrepancies in aggregate rainfall have been noted throughout North America. These events are difficult to measure and their ramifications are difficult to predict because of a lack of data and a dearth of experts and equipment. However, it has become apparent that there has been a definite shift in rainfall patterns, and a very dry spring of 1964 was experienced in those areas. From the data that can be gathered and assimilated, several remaining meteorologists agree that the jet stream has shifted out of its normal position. This, combined with a slight increase in certain particulate atmospheric contaminants, has caused the small-scale shift in rain fall patterns in the USA. It will perhaps take up to a decade for the jet stream to drift back to its original position.