Worldwar: In the Balance
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LC Class PS3570.U76 W67 1994 | | |
Followed by | Worldwar: Tilting the Balance |
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Worldwar: In the Balance is a 1994
Plot summary
This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (August 2023) |
After arriving in the Earth's solar system, the Conquest Fleet's essential personnel are awakened from cold sleep after a 20-year journey originating from
The Conquest Fleet reaches Earth orbit in December 1941 and begins surveying the planet. It is shocked to find that in the course of only 800 years, the inhabitants have moved from a primitive agricultural society to an industrial civilization. The Race's technology has hardly changed in more than 50,000 years, and other known intelligent species are similarly slow to evolve.
After six months of reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, Atvar consults in May 1942 with the Shiplords of the Conquest Fleet. The troops have been awakened from cold sleep and are prepared to commence with military operations. However, Atvar can, technically, cancel the invasion. Unwilling to call off the attack and face the Emperor back on Home, Atvar orders the assault to begin. (It can be assumed that we are living in an alternate timeline in which Atvar called off the attack and the Conquest Fleet departed and so no one on Earth is aware that it was there.)
Soon, the Race detonates several atomic bombs above the Earth's atmosphere in an attempt to disrupt human communications, and the attack begins.
On the night of May 30, only hours after detonating the nuclear bombs, the Race's forces attack human aircraft and ground vehicles in and around designated landing zones. Once the sites are secured, troop ships begin landing and disgorging ground forces. The Race simultaneously establishes bases on every continent except Antarctica.
. Everywhere, humankind falls back in the face of a seemingly-unstoppable nemesis.Hostilities between the Axis and Allied powers end almost immediately, simply because there is no other viable option. With the Race's forces battering the human armies into submission, no resources can be expended on human rivalries. The unsettling reality of the new balance of power is emphasized by the fact that in the early days of the fighting, only Germany is able to battle the aliens with any measure of success. That is only natural since Germany has been at war longer than the other major powers and has an economy specifically geared toward war. However, Americans are nauseated by the idea of fighting on the same side as Hitler, and the Soviets, having already been betrayed and attacked by the Germans, are at best reluctant to be working alongside them.
After the initial assault, the Race's troops come to a virtual standstill. It is not so much human resistance that keeps them from advancing as much as its tendency to deliberate their options before acting. Mankind takes advantage of the respite provided to wage localized counterattacks, nearly all of which are unsuccessful. In the process, it finds that the Race lacks tactical combat initiative and can be easily lured into traps, but their advanced tech makes exploiting these weaknesses almost impossible. The Race also discovers that its orbital atomic detonations had little or no effect on the human militaries. It had thought that the resulting
Hitler takes advantage of the brief lull in the fighting in an artillery unit in Ukraine to attack an alien base using railroad guns. The German battery manages to destroy two of the Race's ships (the 67th Emperor Sohrheb and the 56th Emperor Jossano), including the one that carries the bulk of the Conquest Fleet's atomic stockpile. The resulting explosion sends chunks of plutonium flying across several acres. Soviet partisans take notice of the care with which the Race goes about collecting the strange metal.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Major Heinrich Jäger manages to destroy one of the Race's landcruisers and a troop carrier, and another panzer unit and infantry destroy a second landcruiser but at the cost of his entire
The ad hoc band of Soviet partisans and displaced German soldiers that is charged with the assignment manages to hijack a shipment of plutonium. In accordance with negotiated arrangements, the load is divided into two, and they go their separate ways. Jäger is given a horse and is forced to ride across the Ukrainian steppe and enemy-occupied Poland to reach Germany with the precious metal. Somewhere between the towns of
Upon his arrival in Germany, Jäger is promoted to the rank of colonel and awarded the
In an attempt to reduce human resistance, Atvar orders the use of atomic weapons on
Meanwhile, in the United States, Jens Larssen is forced to travel to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, where the US government has set up a temporary capital after the bombing of Washington, DC. Larssen warns the Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, that the US Army must defend Chicago at all costs since the metallurgical laboratory stationed at the University of Chicago is working feverishly to develop atomic power, which might be the only chance of humanity to defeat the Race. Marshall assures Larssen that holding Chicago is a key component of the army's strategy. Satisfied, Larssen makes his way back to the university.
On his way back, Larssen finds that the Race has captured most of Ohio and Indiana. He carefully makes his way through and around enemy lines. In the process, he spends several weeks in one of the Race's prison camps but manages to convince it that he is no threat to them. Found by US troops, Larssen explains that he is a physicist on important government business. After several interrogations, Larssen is granted an audience with General George S. Patton, who explains that a major military operation is currently being planned to keep the Race out of Chicago. Since he is so valuable to the war effort and because of the dangers involved, Patton refuses to allow Larssen to proceed to Chicago until the Americans have secured the city.
As the winter of 1942 begins, the Race's attacks begin to lose momentum. On their home planet, snow is extraordinarily rare outside the laboratory, and much of the land is sandy desert, leaving Race forces totally unprepared for the harsh winters often found on Earth. As soon as the first blizzard hits Illinois, a handful of American fighters and bombers, hoarded for the last desperate strike, move against the Race's positions in western Indiana and southern
Fleetlord Atvar and the Conquest Fleet's Shiplords begin to grow worried about the war's progress, having lost control of all of northern Illinois. When the invasion began, they were confident that their technological superiority would guarantee a rapid victory, even in the face of expansive human industrial power. While it has managed to subdue South America, Africa, and Australia, the Race still faces stiff resistance in North America, Europe, and Asia six months after the attack started, and faces the prospect of losing ground in all three theatres.
Having expected a quick and easy victory, the Conquest Fleet finds itself living a logistical nightmare as the humans continue to fight: the Race's more advanced weaponry, such as guided missiles, anti-armor rockets, landcruisers, killercraft, and helicopters, are being destroyed in ever greater numbers, and munitions are rapidly being spent. While simple weapons, such as
As 1942 nears its end, Patton and Bradley march their forces into Bloomington, and Jens Larssen arrives in Chicago to find the city in ruins. He makes his way through the rubble, encounters a civilian populace in severe disarray, and heads for the University of Chicago. There, Larssen is informed by a custodian that the metallurgical laboratory has evacuated the campus and is relocating to Denver. Like the war, Larssen's journey has a long way to go.
Characters
See also
Release details
- 1994, USA, Del Rey ISBN 0-345-38241-2, Pub date 3 January 1994, Hardback
- 1995, USA, Del Rey ISBN 0-345-38852-6, Pub date February 1995, Paperback
Translations
- Italian: "Invasione: anno zero" ("Invasion: year zero"), 1995; Editrice Nord (Narrativa Nord #57)
- Russian: "Флот вторжения" ("Invasion Fleet"), 2003
References
- ^ "Uchronia: Worldwar & Colonization". www.uchronia.net.
External links
- Worldwar: In the Balance title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database