This blog is to introduce, Project Echo, a science fiction novel. The theme has been on my mind for a long time but it took me awhile to research all the invented or legendary devices in existence at the setting of the novel.
The plot: a cabal of former German officers send, one of the most wicked men in history, Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eichmann, back to change the outcome of World War II. His mission is to go to Japan, meet with Admiral Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Naval Fleet, to provide information to alter his naval strategy at the Battle of Midway. In early 1942, neither the United States nor the Japanese knew the importance of that battle, it was literally, the fulcrum point for both sides.
Let me anticipate the question in your mind; why would the Germans care about a Japanese battle and not their own?
The answer: Prolong the war, so that Germany can complete its development of the Atomic Bomb before the United States.
How would the outcome of the Battle of Midway accomplish prolonging the war?
Once the Strike South faction of the Japanese Military convinced Hirohito that this was the best course of action, their war strategy from the early 1930’s was to control the Pacific.
What if, Japan had won The Battle of Midway?
The Japanese Navy would strategically be one step closer to controlling the Pacific Ocean. Their next target would have been Hawaii, followed by putting pressure on the west coast of the United States. The United States would have to pull assets out of Europe and send them to the Pacific in order to defend them.
This made for a very intriguing plot for a novel.
The evil Eichmann knew that because Japan would lose most of its carrier fleet and its best Naval pilots at that battle, it changed their strategy from offense to defense allowing the U.S. to continue to focus their war effort against Germany.
If you want to know how evil Eichmann was, check out my previous blog, wherein I lay out my thesis for selecting Eichmann as my antagonist, due to his role in the German Nazi’s attempt to eliminate the Jewish population in Europe. In 1949, Eichmann was a fugitive from the Mossad and the U.S. authorities, his plan for 1942 was much more sinister than just changing the outcome of the Battle of Midway.
Enter my protagonist, Army G-2 Captain Jarrett Webber, who agrees to enter a different but untested Die Glocke previously retrieved from Germany. Jarrett is sent to act alone and bring back Eichmann from 1942 to 1949, alive. He can’t divulge his mission to anyone in 1942. Plus, he cannot kill anyone he encounters, out of fear of altering the actual timeline.
As Jarrett arrives in time to begin his pursuit of the evil Eichmann, the odds began to mount up against him. Soon not only is the German army after him but so to are elements with the Allied forces trying to capture or kill him.
Can Jarrett prevent Eichmann from meeting with Admiral Yamamoto?