Settling Accounts: In at the Death
Settling Accounts: In at the Death is the last novel of the Settling Accounts tetralogy that presents an alternate history of World War II known as the Second Great War that was released July 27, 2007. It brings to a conclusion the multi-series compilation by author Harry Turtledove, a series sometimes referred to as Southern Victory. It covers the time period from 1943 to 1945. Plot introduction This alternative history began with the Confederate States of America winning the American Civil War, here called the War of Secession, in 1862, followed by the Second Mexican War between the United States and Confederate States of America in the 1880s which is also won by the South. Thirty-five years later the North, allied with the Central Powers, wins an alternative World War I, known as the Great War, over the South and its allies, the Triple Entente. As in our actual timeline, another World War follows two decades later, and the North and its primary ally, Germany, win the Second Great War against the Confederates and their allies, including primarily the United Kingdom and France. Plot The United States' campaigns mirror Sherman's march to the sea as U.S. armies drive through the center of the Confederacy, while a second U.S. force drives into Virginia to capture Richmond. The horrific nature of war taints the main characters of the series, formerly wholly sympathetic, as virtually all of the beloved heroes of previous books resort to brutal war crime tactics nearly as horrifying as the other side's, but get away without punishment simply because their side is winning. The Confederacy (with some quiet help from the United Kingdom) manages to produce a fission bomb. The bomb is smuggled via truck into the de facto U.S. capital of Philadelphia, and detonated; however, the bomb explodes only on the city's outskirts west of the Schuylkill River. While causing horrific casualties, the bombing didn't damage any government buildings. In retaliation, the United States drops two nuclear bombs on Newport News, Virginia, and Charleston, South Carolina. The Newport News bomb narrowly misses Confederate President Jake Featherston. Texas declares independence from the Confederacy and signs a separate peace with the United States. Jake Featherston attempts to escape to the Deep South but his plane is shot down. He survives the crash landing, only to be sighted and killed by a black guerrilla fighter named Cassius. The fourth and presumably final war between the United States and Confederate States ends officially on July 14, 1944, at 6:01 p.m after an unconditional surrender is signed between General Irving Morrell and the new (and outgoing) Confederate President Don Partridge. The United States commences a full occupation of the former Confederate States and Canada, though Texas apparently remains independent but still hosts American soldiers in its territory. For the first time in 83 years, the Stars and Stripes flies over the whole of the pre-1861 United States territory, and Americans express their determination never to let go of the former Confederate territories, after