Prelude to World War III: The Rise of the Islamic Republic and the Rebirth of America

by James Rosone

  What concerned Admiral Todd the most was the fight underway with the 5th Fleet. It looked as if they were being completely overwhelmed by the IR, and then 100 ballistic missiles showed up on the threat board. Within a minute, it was clear to see that they were being targeted at the 5th Fleet and not Israel. Her heart sank several minutes later as the screen monitoring the missiles and the fleet whited out and then slowly returned; she instantly realized one or more nuclear devices had gone off over the 5th Fleet. For all intents and purposes, the 5th Fleet ceased to exist, which was a devastating loss for the US Navy.

  *******

  Lieutenant General Garry Gardner’s Third Corps was just about ready for full combat operations; they were still waiting on a few thousand troops to arrive and for additional munitions that were being flown in from the States. He had the 1st Armored Division, also known as “Old Ironside,” moving to marshalling position in the northeast of Israel near the Golan Heights, where intelligence reported the largest concentration of IR armored units. Ironside had recently received the new M36 Pershing MBTs. This was the newest tank in the Army, replacing the venerable M1A4 Abrams MBT that had been in service for nearly 60 years.

  The Pershing was made of a new secret type of alloy that was five times stronger than the armor used in the Abrams; the tank was also the first in the world to field a magnetic railgun, giving it an incredible range and punch. The railgun and fire control system could also switch from ground attack mode to air attack, making the vehicle extremely versatile. When in ground attack mode, the Pershing could hit targets as far away as fifteen miles and could fire one round every twenty seconds for a sustained ten minutes before it had to drop its rate of fire to one round per minute to recharge its battery bank. The US had roughly 400 Pershings in service, until the manufacturing sector got up to speed. The DOD had ordered roughly 2,800 units for the Army and Marines.

  The 1st Infantry Division, also known as ‘The Big Red One,’ was being moved towards the Jordan Valley to reinforce what would certainly be a bloody battle for Jerusalem. The 3rd Infantry Division was marshalling around the Tel Aviv area and was going to be used as a floating reserve to plug any holes in the line or exploit any breakouts. General Gardner was in a planning meeting with his IDF counterparts, despite it being nearly midnight, discussing the coming operation and what the contingency plans were should the IR launch their attack before the US officially declared war.

  Suddenly, the “enemy incoming” rocket/aircraft alarms began to wail and an IDF captain came into the room announcing that the IR had just launched a massive missile and artillery attack all across Israel. The IDF commanders immediately ordered all aircraft that could get airborne to do so immediately. As the staff was moving to the Joint Command and Control Bunker, where the war was going to be run from, a naval officer approached General Gardner, whispering in his ear that the US 5th and 6th Fleets were both under attack as well.

  As General Gardner walked into the Joint Command and Control Bunker, an Air Force Colonel said they were scrambling all available aircraft and that the aircraft currently on patrol were engaging IR fighters, though they were outnumbered 15:1.

  “General Williams, get word back to US Central Command (CENTCOM) and US European Command (EUCOM) that we are under attack by IR forces and we are engaging them. Tell them we will need all the available resources they can provide, and get the CG on the horn. I need to talk with him. Also, make sure the Pentagon is kept in the loop.”

  “We are already on it, sir. General Wade said he would like to talk with you as soon as you are available,” said Brigadier General Peter Williams, LTG Gardner’s Chief of Staff.

  “Sir, we are tracking over 300 missiles heading towards our position; there are also 600 rockets heading towards the airport and the 1st ID’s marshalling points,” said an Air Force Major, who was tracking inbound threats with four other NCOs.

  “Make sure General Twitty knows he has incoming and to disperse his force. What is the status on our air defense systems? Are they engaging yet?”

  “Yes Sir. The mobile laser batteries and anti-air railgun systems are engaging the incoming artillery, missiles and enemy aircraft penetrating our fighter cover,” said an Army Lieutenant Colonel (LTC), who, along with six other soldiers, was controlling and coordinating the Army’s air defense efforts. The mixed use of lasers and railguns provided an incredible layered defensive system. The railguns had a range of 15 to 20 miles and had a quick rate of fire, while the laser systems could hit targets as far away as several thousand miles in the case of a ballistic missile, or several hundred miles in the case of an aircraft. The primary difference, and the reason why they worked as an integrated defensive system, was that the lasers could only fire once every twenty to thirty seconds while the railguns could fire one round every three seconds.

  “If our MLRSs have not started to attack the IR artillery, make sure they are on it. We have to cut the volume of fire down or they are going to cut us to pieces,” directed General Gardner.

  Sergeant Jordy Nelson and his squad were putting the finishing touches on their machine gun bunker as part of the Jordan Valley defensive line. The Big Red One was assigned a five-mile area of the valley that, if taken, would give the enemy a clear path to Jerusalem. The Americans were given this patch of ground to defend because this was also the most direct route for American forces to invade the IR from and move towards Amman. Hundreds of machine gun and anti-tank missile and railgun bunkers had been constructed over the past several days as the 1st ID began to settle into their positions until the invasion order was given.

  “Private Miller, how much ammo did you guys bring back with you?” asked Sgt. Nelson as he walked towards several of the younger soldiers.

  “We brought ten thousand rounds for the M240, ten thousand rounds for the M5 AIR.”

  “Excellent work guys. I want the ammunition and power packs split between the two bunkers so – EVERYONE get down! Incoming!”

  The Sgt.’s team immediately jumped into the trench between the two bunkers and ran for shelter as the artillery rounds began to land all across the Jordan Valley and endanger their positions.

  “What in the name of all things holy is going on? What are we supposed to do now?” Sgt. Nelson thought. Looking at the scared soldiers in his team, he began to collect himself and told everyone in the bunkers, “Be ready for anything, and if you see something, report it to me. If it fires at you, then light it up.”

  As the artillery barrage continued, IR Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs), Light Drone Tanks (LDTs) and MBT’s began to advance towards the Israeli and American positions. As they neared, they began pouring their own direct fire into gun positions and vehicles that the artillery had not destroyed.

  “Sgt. Nelson, we have enemy tanks and IFVs advancing towards our lines,” said one of the privates. Nelson grabbed his binoculars and began to scan the field in front of their position. Just twenty minutes earlier, it had been a lush green valley; now it looked like an alien planet or the moon as artillery and missiles continued to impact all around their positions. Despite the heavy artillery barrage, American soldiers began to fire their Anti-Tank (AT) missiles at the light-drone tanks and main battle tanks, leaving the heavier railgun positions to attack the IFVs. Thousands of tracers were zipping back and forth across the battlefield as both armies were locked in a desperate fight to destroy one another.

  The IFVs began to take heavy fire from the railguns, with more than half of them being destroyed. The remaining vehicles began to disgorge their infantry, who attacked the American missile and gun positions. Tanks and IFVs can provide great direct fire, but they are vulnerable to AT equipped infantry and the larger caliber AT railguns, which is why they travel with their own supporting infantry.

  “Everyone--begin firing at those infantry!” shouted Sgt. Nelson as he raised his own rifle and took aim at the several dozen infantry about 800 meters in front of his position. As Sgt. Nelson was engaging one enemy soldier after another,
an artillery round landed in the center of a small cluster of enemy soldiers, throwing their torn bodies into the air and across the ground like rag dolls. The smell of smoke, cordite and burnt flesh was starting to permeate the entire valley.

  Within an hour of continuous firing across the American lines, it was becoming apparent they were going to have to fall back to their secondary positions. The IR was attacking with massive human wave assaults and continuous direct fire from the hundreds of MBTs and IFVs supporting the infantry. The second and third waves began to arrive. The casualties and damage caused by the twenty-minute barrage had weakened numerous positions along the American and Israeli positions, creating multiple gaps that the IR were starting to exploit.

  Despite the carnage and numerically superior Islamic army, the training and equipment used by the American and Israeli forces showed why they were the most formidable soldiers in the world.

  *******

  29 November 2040

  Washington, DC

  Presidential Emergency Operation Center (PEOC)

  Eric Clarke, the SecDef, and General Branson, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, were still being fed data by their aides about the attack underway in Israel, trying to ascertain the status of US Forces, when Mike Williams, the National Security Director, and his two aides walked into the room. They quickly took their assigned seats and began to assimilate the same information the SecDef and General were looking at.

  The situation was starting to look grim particularly with the 5th Fleet in the Gulf of Aiden near the Horn of Africa. Jim Wise, the Secretary of State, walked in with Monty and appeared to be in a heated discussion. “Those dirty, heartless swine! They really attacked our Embassy and executed the entire staff, including the Ambassador?” asked Monty in a rather loud voice.

  All conversations stopped, and everyone looked at Jim Wise for clarification. Just then the President walked in; he surveyed the room and walked to his seat at the head of the table. An aide quickly placed a half frozen 20 oz. Red Bull on the table for the President. A can that large usually meant the President had a stressed-induced headache, which he liked to pacify with excessive amounts of caffeine. Not being a coffee drinker, his choice of poison had been Red Bulls--always had been throughout his life.

  “Jim and Monty, sit down and tell us first what happened to our Embassy. Then we will get right into the rest of the information.” The President sighed deeply, thinking to himself, “Perhaps we should have acted sooner and prevented this; we lost the advantage and now we are paying for it.”

  “Mr. President, our Embassy in Riyadh has been taken over and burned to the ground. Just as the attacks were getting underway, the Embassy said they were coming under heavy attack by several armored vehicles and a tank. The walls were quickly destroyed and soldiers stormed the building.”

  “The Marines put up a heck of a fight and managed to destroy all the classified data and the servers before they were killed. One of our diplomats was on his way to the Embassy when he saw the attack begin, and he moved away to a point where he could observe the situation and relay it back to us. Shortly after the IR forces had secured the Embassy, they walked everyone out of the building that had surrendered,” Jim Wise said as he continued.

  “The Ambassador was among the nineteen people captured. They were lined up against a wall as news crews began to film, and an officer walked up to each person and shot them in the head. They killed everyone at the Embassy. Our diplomat filmed it with his video phone and managed to send the video and a short message before he too was apprehended. We have not heard anything from him since,” said Secretary Wise, sounding tired but seething with anger.

  The President sat back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling for a second before turning back to face everyone at the table. “First things first, I want everyone at their Embassy arrested and detained. We’ll figure out what we are going to do with them later.”

  “I know the situation is bad from the looks on your faces, and from what I can see on the screens. Of course, it does not help that the media is giving the world a front row seat as well. General Branson, start from the beginning and bring us up to speed on the situation on the ground and how we are faring.”

  “Around midnight Israeli local time, the Islamic Republic launched an all-out attack against Israeli and American Forces, starting with a massive rocket and artillery barrage.”

  “Intelligence was alerted minutes before the attack, allowing the air and rocket defenses a couple of minutes warning, but not much more. The majority of the IDF airbases (and the two airbases we are operating out of) have been temporarily taken out of commission until the runways can be fixed. The IR also conducted a massive cyber-attack against the Israeli energy grid, causing further problems with our Command Control and Communications (C3),” explained General Branson as he continued his update.

  “Vice Admiral Todd from the 6th Fleet thought something was odd with the behavior of the IR forces in Egypt and brought her fleet to battle stations, ordering her Air Wings to get airborne. Shortly after that, the IR fleet and land-based systems began to launch a massive barrage of cruise missiles at the fleet. Over 300 IR aircraft also vectored in to attack the fleet.”

  “Because she had brought her fleet to battle stations and had her Air Wings already above the fleet, they were able to interdict over 95% of the incoming missiles. They destroyed over 50 IR ships and shot down 247 IR aircraft. The rest fled the area back to their home bases--”

  “--I sure hope she was able to hit them back,” interjected the President.

  “She was. The fleet attacked every airfield in Egypt and destroyed the naval ports. She also ordered the Marines to secure the Suez Canal Zone and attack the IR forces attacking the IDF in the Sinai.”

  “This is great news, General. Tell her to keep beating the tar out of them,” said the President, showing a bit of excitement at the thought of really hurting the IR.

  “Mr. President, I need to interject something. Sorry, General Branson, but I need to talk to the President about the 5th Fleet. I just received a FLASH message from Admiral Todd,” said Admiral Lewis Juliano with a look of sheer horror on his face.

  “What is it Admiral?” asked the President.

  “Sir, I just received word from Admiral Todd. The 5th Fleet has been destroyed; they were hit with multiple nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. We’ve lost the supercarriers George H. W. Bush and the Enterprise, along their entire support fleet. 13,370 Sailors and Marines are gone,” said the CNO as he sunk into his chair.

  The room fell silent for a minute as everyone began to digest what they were just told. The loss of two supercarriers and more than 13,000 Sailors and Marines was a lot to take in.

  “Admiral, before we discuss how we are going to respond to that particular attack, we need to assess the rest of the situation. General Branson, tell us about the situation on the ground.”

  “The 3rd ID has taken the brunt of the IR attack in the Jordan Valley. The barrage did a considerable amount of damage to their vehicles, and they have been getting hit with multiple wave attacks of both infantry and light drone tanks. They are putting up a brave fight, but they are starting to fall back to their secondary positions.”

  “Two brigade combat teams from the 1st ID are moving up to reinforce them as we speak in order to plug up the holes in the lines. The IDF was hit hard in their southern border, and just as it looked like they were going to have to fall back with the 6th Fleet, they hammered the IR with their cruise missiles. When the Marines began to land along the Gaza strip, the SCZ the IR force withdrew back towards the southern section of the SCZ to block the Marines from cornering them. Admiral Todd’s Air Wing and the Marine Air Wing should finish them off soon.”

  “The IDF is holding the line along the Lebanon border and the 1st Armored Division completely blunted the IR armored assault. Those new Pershing tanks are performing far better than anyone expected. They absolutely pulverized those front line Chinese and Russian tanks th
at the IR is using,” said General Branson with a hint of a smile.

  “LTG Gardner is requesting the XVIII Airborne Corps to reinforce him immediately. Third Corps and the IDF have taken a beating. General Gardner says they have already sustained 5,340 KIAs and about the same number of WIAs.”

  “Mr. President, these are some heavy losses. This is close to 20,000 men and women killed and at least another 10,000 wounded in the first hour of the war. I recommend we surge troops to Israel and we hit the IR with some tactical nuclear weapons of our own,” Eric said as he looked at Admiral Juliano.

  “I agree, Mr. President. The IR just hit us with nuclear weapons; we need to respond in kind or they are going to use them again,” said Admiral Julian as he highlighted a submarine that could be used on the holographic display. “We have a sub in the Arabian Gulf and another one not far from where the 5th Fleet was.”

  “General Scott, Director Rubio, what are your thoughts on a proportional response to the IR’s use of tactical nuclear weapons?” asked the President, searching for more consensus on the use of nukes.

  “The US has had a long-standing policy of proportional retaliation. The IR detonated three tactical nuclear weapons over the 5th Fleet; these weapons ranged in the 1 kiloton to 5 kiloton range. If we were to respond with tactical weapons in the 10 kiloton range, I believe that would be a proportional response. The next question is--what type of targets do we want to hit?” asked General Scott as he nodded towards Director Rubio.

  “Not only has the IR conducted a nuclear attack against our forces, they have carried out sustained terrorist attacks against our country for the last two and a half months. More than 20,000 civilians have died from these attacks; they have also conducted continuous cyber-attacks against every facet of our economy. They have attacked our very way of life, and they are not done attacking us at home. Now that they have taken the gloves off, it’s time we do the same and hit them with that proverbial big stick we still have,” Rubio said, anger burning in his eyes.