Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeo80
So the set of circumstances following the destruction of 5ID really makes you scratch your head.
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The way I read it, 5th ID HQ was being overrun as the message was broadcast. The Commander already knew his Division was disintegrating and the perimeter penetrated in many places - there was no saving anything more than a handful of small and isolated units at that stage.
No reinforcements were available, no relief force within several hundred kilometres, no air or naval support, no chance of escape. The only real difference between the 5th ID and an overrun unit half a century earlier is the commander was able to speak to his troops and acknowledge it was all over.
With regard to knowledge of "world" events, it's a tough one really. As others have mentioned, reinforcements may have brought word from home or possibly other theatres (nothing newer than 6 months old though in my opinion due to the difficulties in transportation over long distances), some radio broadcasts may have been heard (although you can bet the enemy would have set up their own version of the Tokyo Rose to spread disinformation), and some newsletters and the like might be available, but these probably printed locally and might contain little more than rumours themselves.
For every truth there's certain to be a hundred falsehoods. Some of them will be positive ("Chicago wasn't nuked and the President has set up a new government there") or very, very bad ("radiation levels are so bad in Denver that everyone who hasn't already died has become a mutant zombie"). Some rumours, even true ones will be just too far fetched to be believed (Soviets in Texas for example).
Here's a few relevant threads.
http://forum.juhlin.com/showthread.php?t=1380
http://forum.juhlin.com/showthread.php?t=1094
http://forum.juhlin.com/showthread.php?t=3797
It might be worth reading a few post apoc stories to see how they handle the subject. Some such as "The Road" and "Wolf & Iron" are fairly vague on detail, giving the impression that the last days of civilisation were rather chaotic - both those books keep the cause of the fall unclear, the characters making a few guesses but not really knowing.