Sherman Doctrine

The growing tension downtown had us consolidate forces with very little leaving for any reason. This led to even more fortification and cleanup of The Square which ended up turning into quite the lively yet dead and sad place it would be. We called this little period of cleanup and construction "The big cleanup."

It wasn't more than a few days into the big cleanup that the administrative area on the third floor of the main barracks was all set up. When we weren't on patrol or watch, our platoon was helping to set up computer terminals, clear more rubble, and lay wire on the third story past the officer's quarters. Once our own S-1 was set up, I was called into the admin offices for something that completely skipped my mind my whole service time.

I sat in front of a corporal dirtied from the Montreal air, but with a saddened admin face. He was likely called up from the reserves and thrown into a hostile city to do paperwork. Anyway, he had me set up my bank account info right there and showed me what I earned. At approximately $3,700.00 a paycheck over almost 3 months, and no expenses, I had a good amount ready to be sent back home.

I sent a letter back home to Mom asking for her account details, and a week or two later got a response. After the emotional letter, I got the account information and set up my deposits to go straight home. There was almost no need for money where I was, and I knew that every dollar I sent back home was going towards helping my mom and even Savannah.

Every letter I got from Mom or Savannah sent me back to the past, and waves of nostalgia hit me hard each time. Life outside of the letters was not as rose colored though. My days were dark grey, and every day I had to stare at the crumbling hollow skyscrapers and listen to the crackle of gunfire carried in the wind. Even though I missed home, I was looking at the world every day through the lenses of a cracked gas mask, carrying the weight of armored plates, and a mind full of bloodshed.

A few days later, the cleanup was over, lockdown was lifted, and patrols were dispatched within the local vicinity to tame the surrounding neighborhoods. A couple days into that, I was sent on patrol around the block. That was the first time I went outside the square in almost two weeks, so the change of scenery was nice despite how scary the tension in the air was.

The main street outside The Square was usually dead even during the unrest. As we marched through the side streets there was more civilian activity. There, another squad joined up with us for the patrol and we talked amongst ourselves while the civilians ran to their houses.

One of the guys said, "Thank God we found you boys. Patrolling the streets really freaks me out… You know, strength in numbers, right?"

I told him plainly, more focused on the hostile streets and ruins around us, "Yeah man, but let's keep quiet." I felt safer with another squad, but the toxic atmosphere of downtown Montreal and the sight of those not in a US uniform gave me shivers.

Our combined gaggle turned a street corner and suddenly, a fire bottle hit near us. The quiet streets were instantly interrupted by a crowd of thirty or forty Canadians down the road. Andrews asks directly, trying to quell a shake in his voice, "Guys? What do we do?"

The crowd approached us with makeshift weapons, and some hurled bricks in our direction. They were chanting Anti-American phrases and glared at us with burning intensity, even the children had dirtied faces with the look of hate. Our squad approached them cautiously. As a squad leader, I had the responsibility to talk to them if I could. So, I held up my hands with my R91 slung across my chest, turned up the voice emitter on my mask, and spoke to the crowd as diplomatically as my voice would let me. Patrol orders were to clear the streets along the designated routes and "Pacify" any resistance.

I didn't understand what "Pacify" meant in the minds of US Annexation terms at the time. No real experience before this.

So, I yelled at the crowd, "Hold Up! Hold Up! What yall doing!? You're gonna to have to go back your homes; this street needs to be cleared!"

One of the guys in the crowd shouted, "Fuck You American!" followed by cheers from the crowd and nervousness in my men.

I shouted at them, "Back Up! NOW!" There were men, women and children stirring restlessly in the crowd, and the numbers seemed to grow as more Canadians left the nearby buildings to join the mob.

I looked behind at my squad. They all stood there in line formation with their guns up and ready. I saw the other squad leader who was talking on the radio and I turned to the crowd again. I said to them, "Listen Up! I'm not asking you all to clear the street! I'M TELLING YOU TO!"

A different one shouted back, "OR WHAT!? We lost our homes and many loved ones by your hands!"

I heard the distant whir of a Vertibird and glanced back at my squad for a single second. Right there, a kid snatched my reserve gas mask off my belt and ran away with it, I yelled, "Give It Back!-"

When I looked back at the crowd, I was instantly struck across the face by a sharp object. My men opened fire on the crowd as I laid there in the ash. A Vertibird made its presence known and flew overhead letting loose a spray of minigun fire on the mob. The crowd began to scatter, and my men stared at the scene in confusion. From my place on the ground, I was looking up at the aircraft only able to hear the loud propellers and see the ash storm it kicked up. Five power armored soldiers then fell out of the aircraft with flamethrowers and assault rifles, and I watched each one touch down, unhooking themselves from the four inch rope. As the power armored soldiers left my field of vision, the Vertibird turned itself around and flew away, taking the noise with it.

Savaren ran over to help me up while I collected myself, and I saw the remnants of the crowd fleeing. Taking off my helmet and mask, I lifted my hand to my face where the blow was struck, and felt blood start to pour down my face. When I felt the wound, I traced it all along my left temple down to my mouth. I fell to the ground again to collect myself, feeling the wound that hurt so badly and studying the mask that was punctured beyond repair by whatever they used to strike me. Then, I noticed the power armor soldiers started to pile up the dead bodies, and the crowd was gone.

The other squad leader took a knee next to me then said, "Man, you can't reason with Canadians. I saw this sort of thing in QC a month ago. You're lucky I called in that Vertibird or those locals would have swarmed us. I prefer swinging in a dance hall, not from a lamp post…"

While he spoke, I watched the power armor soldiers tossing bodies onto the growing pile. I asked the second squad leader, "What are they doing?"

He looked up at the pile of dead people, "Just watch." The five armored soldiers stood there with their flamethrowers and after one poured a steel gas can all over it, each one torched the pile.

Though I had seen that sort of thing after the battle and with the bodies of Canadian soldiers, the fact those armored troops were doing that in the middle of the street astonished me. I asked him, "Why are they doing this out in the open!? All of Canada can see this!?"

The squad leader gave me a look of surprise and said, "You haven't heard? The Total War Doctrine was put into effect last month. It basically says that all US Military personnel have permission from High Command to do whatever needs to be done in order to fulfill objectives and pacify large populations. This includes the execution of civilians, military, and political personnel for the purpose of subduing a populous. In QC they burn or hang the dead out on display to set an example. The commanders here in Canada are calling it the 'Sherman Doctrine.'"

Sherman's March to the Sea. Maybe some have heard of that historical event. During the American Civil War between the northern states and southern states, a northern army under General William Tecumseh Sherman broke through its theater of war and marched on Savannah Georgia (Ironic, I know). During the march through Georgia, Sherman implemented an order of his army living off the lands and resources of the hostile territory and burning as they move forward. General Sherman had the belief that destroying every possible resource the enemy could use and eliminating the psychological will to fight of the southern people was the key to victory for the north. All that said, the commanders took that philosophy and cranked it up to 11 with the annexation plan for Canada. The scorched earth campaign of Sherman ended with the surrender of Savannah Georgia at the coast, but nobody knew where the Annexation Force's Savannah was... I knew where mine was, but US Annexation Forces were stuck in place, and the fires were just starting to grow around us.

We mopped up the area by torching the already torched or crumbling houses and then left back for the square where I was issued a new gas mask. Before we left that street, the other squad leader gave me a pamphlet, and told me to talk to my PSG about the Sherman Doctrine if I wanted any specifics on how the army would be working in the post-assault insurrections. So, we arrived back at the barracks and were granted liberty. I sat on my bedroll in the middle of the bustling barracks and felt the pamphlet in my pocket and decided to read the thing.

The pamphlet was titled "Canadian Military, 2050-Present" I saw the author and couldn't believe my eyes, Bill McNamara was the author. Seeing that name, I thought back to my best friend Brandon and his father. I wondered what they were doing at that time as I read through the thing that described our former closest neighbor. I'll explain more about how I first learned what Canada was later, but I learned everything I already knew or saw in the assault on Montreal. Here's what I learned;

Canadians between 2050 and the current day:
1- They love chemical warfare in their cities and wildernesses.
2- They spent countless years despising the rest of the world and watchful of us.
3- They overhauled their military and installed a fanatical militia program in which every citizen between 14 and 40 had to be members
4- Their government ran the papers and enforced national pride through focus on socialist civic policies, and autonomy from the western hemisphere as well as ties to their big brother in the EUCOM
5- They would rather die than be anything other than Canadian.

There's more to learn about them, and more in that pamphlet. Some of those things were obvious when you look at the city, and the people who were in that mob, but others you wouldn't know unless you learned about it from a broad view. In the day to day, you'd see that mob, and you wouldn't think about what was instilled in their minds. All you'd think about is, "Those people want me dead. How do I save myself?" and how did the Sherman Doctrine come into this picture?

At the time, and when I took that squad leader's advice by asking more about the Sherman Doctrine, I thought the policy was horrific yet understandable. If the commanders who led the fall of Canadian cities and saw the aftermath referenced that with official statements like the pamphlet by Bill McNamara, certain aspects of the doctrine made sense. How do you annex a population that was force-fed uber nationalism and just watched their homes get destroyed or their families killed in a months long siege? There would be no reason with people who lost everything and fell to a foreign army, so the commanders of the Canadian Front determined that viciousness would be met with viciousness. The rules set by the Sherman Doctrine can be summed up as "Peace is impossible until the last corpses are burned."

I believed a policy such as that would lead to a quick settling of things if enough force is applied, until I learned what the occupation was truly about... More on that later.

Anyway.

I hadn't responded to Savannah since Savaren came to me with that letter, so on free time in the barracks of our crumbling rubble heap of a new home, I found the time to write a letter back to Savannah. Mind still on edge from that incident in the street, I wrote simply;

Dear Savannah

It is so good to hear from you. I am so proud of you for getting into medical school! You must be so excited to go. I still miss you every day and think about you all the time. I won't go into details about what we have done, but victory was achieved in the assault. Just know that I am fine and safe. Love You!

Love, David Levin

During that free time or liberty between patrols, watches, cleaning, assisting in this or that, etc. I would usually sit somewhere in the lively barracks with a group of my pals or strangers, and drink… a lot. At this point, the army was dropping off shipments of various alcohols for the soldiers across all fronts, regardless of age. It was as if the army didn't even care anymore. Maybe they figured that we were all going to die eventually, or see shit like that outside from a hostile population. "Might as well let them have fun the night before." As the alcohol worked its way through me and my mind became foggy with new incidents of shit, I found myself wondering if I was the sort of gallant hero everyone expected to return home with a shiny uniform and prideful heart. I'd learn just how much bullshit those thoughts were pretty quick, and waking up for watch, I saw that shiny uniform was replaced with a dust covered and blood splattered mess of a rag. No inspection, Senior Monte Boyz don't give a shit Ha!

4 Months Later- Age 18- 2067

On December 16th, 2067, life in The Square had gotten pretty routine by that point. Although, outside The Square things had gotten much more hectic. Lt. Royce was proven more right each day since we committed that war crime with the RAD bombs Ha! The "Provocateurs" spread their propaganda and hid in the general population while the "Partisans" or insurgents hit US forces all throughout the city whenever was convenient for them.

Nearly four months since we took Montréal and the people still completely hated us, and for good reason too. Even months after the battle was over, things were steadily becoming worse. The troublemakers immediately after the battle grew into frequent crowds like the one I encountered that ambushed patrols, usually leaving before support could show. Four months later, huge riots were held in the middle of major streets where they publicly killed captive US soldiers. No signs of things settling at any time in the near future, and even a piece of good news was turned into bad news during a notable event the previous month.

... Before the big special December date, SHH. Be patient. I'll explain everything in the next chapter about Shit City. Now you'll want to read about why I'm me, when even the silly teen days were becoming even shittier. The world was on fire! Far too hot! OUCH! Too hot for me. I like Mexican food, but I think sometimes it can be too hot. "Spicy" hot usually, but "Hot" hot too sometimes. I haven't had that in ages.

Ignore the above paragraph.