Designated Targets (novel)
| Author | John Birmingham |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Series | Axis of Time |
| Genre | Alternate history, Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books |
|
Publication date
|
2005 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 384 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 60671858 |
| 813/.6 22 | |
| LC Class | PR9619.3.B5136 D47 2005 |
| Preceded by | Weapons of Choice |
| Followed by | Final Impact |
Designated Targets is the second volume of John Birmingham's Axis of Time trilogy.
It is September 1942, four months after the Transition. A cease-fire has been signed between Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, and the dictators have re-established their June 1941 borders. Both nations are 'cooperating' in various areas of research (particularly rocketry) at the newly built Demidenko research facility in Ukraine. Thanks to the foreknowledge granted by the Transition, Hitler and Stalin have purged their military and party ranks of traitors (real and imagined) that have been revealed from our history. Though not without problems: the arrest of Field Marshal Rommel sparks off a mutiny amongst the Afrika Korps that throws the entire North African front into chaos.
Most of the German war machine shifts to "Operation Sea Dragon": the invasion of Britain. Meanwhile, in the Pacific, the Japanese have conquered New Guinea and the nearby island chains, and are battling Allied forces (reinforced with troops from the Multinational Force) along the Brisbane Line in Australia.
In the United States a "Special Administrative Zone" has been carved out within the San Fernando Valley of California. Within "the Zone", the laws of the United States as of January 15, 2021 apply and it becomes an enclave for the 21st Century personnel. Many of the Multinational Force's members work in various technological areas and thousands of contemporary females and non-whites are clamoring to join their ranks.
Over the next month the Japanese position in northern Australia unravels after a massive blitzkrieg of 21st Century armor is unleashed. Japanese soldiers massacre entire towns, prompting both outrage and a reluctance to divert 21st forces anywhere else. Under interrogation, General Homma reveals that Australia was nothing more than a diversion to make the Multinational Forces expend as much of their limited weaponry as possible. Japanese survivors are executed under Multinational Force Sanction Four.
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