by Mack Maloney
"These guys are getting a lot of heavy equipment and supplies from New Orleans," Jones continued. "They've got a major concentration at Shreveport, and it's a good guess they're going to get into Oklahoma or possibly invade Texas when the time is right."
The third and largest Circle Army group — this one containing as many as 105,000 men in seven divisions — had formed up near occupied Football City and would soon embark across Missouri, heading for central Kansas and Nebraska.
"This has been their plan all along," Jones said, moving colored indicators representing the enemy troop movements. "Link up with the Russians, use the SAMs as an umbrella and just keeping on coming until they meet some opposition. And we, gentlemen, are the only opposition that they can meet."
He pointed to the area around the Dakotas.
"We've got to rely on the Canadians to deal with this Northern Group," he said. "The idea will be to isolate them in Minnesota. Fitzie's ADF F-105s will help out there."
He shifted his attention to the southern part of the map. "The Texans and the exiled Football City troops will take charge of stopping this Southern Group.
The key here is to grease New Orleans. That port had been lousy with Russian subs for weeks now. The Texans have one hell of a bunch of F-4s down there, so that will be their job. St. Louie's F-20s will support the action near Shreveport."
Jones paused and turned his attention to the center of the map. Then he said soberly: "Gentlemen, I'd be less than honest if I didn't say we've got the toughest job facing us.
"I've got to figure that this middle group will move right through the Badlands in Kansas and southern Nebraska. They're the ones we need to worry about. They're more than three times as large as the other two groups, so they represent their major thrust. They've got the most transport — trucks, railroad, boats.
"So they're very mobile. And they're heading right for us."
He turned his attention to the markers representing the middle positions of the democratic forces. "Here are our lines," he said, indicating a long stretch that roughly coincided with the borders of Colorado and Kansas-Nebraska. "This is where we've got to meet them. We're digging in. All of our ground troops will be in this trenchline in the next two days. And, frankly, we'll be lucky if we get sixty thousand men in place."
Jones turned and addressed the group directly. "They've got us by about two-to-one as things stand now," he said earnestly. "If they break through, they'll be unstoppable."
There was a deadly silence in the room,
"So what are we going to do?" Jones asked. "Well, three things…
"First, you're all familiar with the so-called "Land-Air Battle" strategy.
Anyone who fought in Europe knows it well. This will be our plan of action.
We've got to hit their supply lines, their lines of communications and their means of transportation. Fitzie's got to do it in Minnesota. St. Louie and the Texans have to do it in Louisiana. And we've got to do it in Kansas and south Nebraska.
"We've got to break through the SAM line using the holes we've punched in it before they seal them up. We've got to take out every bridge, highway and railroad line in Missouri. We've got to isolate those troops from their reserves and their supply lines.
"Second, once we've done that, we go after the troops themselves. Bomb the shit out of them wherever they are. And we can't be timid. Napalm, antipersonnel stuff. Whatever it takes. And anyone we miss in Missouri, we catch on the roads and rivers in Kansas and south Nebraska. The harder we hit them and the longer we delay them, the better our chances in the trenches will be."
"As for strategic bombing…" Jones produced a large photo of the Soviets' castle-like main base, with the still smoking nuke station nearby. "This was taken just a couple of hours ago, right after we went over. We lost five airplanes and crews to accomplish this, but I have to say it was worth the price. You can see both targets were hit hard.
"We have to assume they're now trying to operate without electricity, which, if anything, will screw up their radio communications. Plus we're banking on some of their top people being stationed at their HQ when we hit it. Also, I wouldn't want to buy any property real soon near that bombed out nuke station.
It'll be hot there for a while."
Once again, there was a stark silence in the room.
Then Dozer spoke up: "You said we have to do three things, General."
Jones nodded. "That's right. Missions one and two — hitting their lines of communications and blasting their troop concentrations — these things we can do.
"But we have to do one more thing — and it may be the hardest mission of all."
He paused, looking several of the principals straight in the eye. "We've got to remember that Viktor — wherever he is — assembled The Circle Army the same way Hitler assembled his. By deceit, propaganda and hero-worship. First he gathered together all of the riff-raff, leftovers, anyone who could aim a gun.
Then he 'recruited' some young blood. Teenagers. Filled them with a bunch of bullshit and pointed them in the direction of the front. From what we hear from Fitzie's spies, a lot of these soldiers are really young kids, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen years old. They're heavily indoctrinated. Brainwashed.
Fanatical. They look to Viktor as their leader, their general, their god.
"So what does this mean? Well, for one thing, I think we can expect human waves once we meet them on the battlefield. We'll see suicide squads, human booby-traps, things like that. At least with these young grunts.
"But remember, Viktor's army is really made up of two kinds of soldier. These young radical kids and the old vets — the 'Aks, Family guys, whatever — that are just along for the ride. They know what's ahead of them. We have to assume these guys are very tightly-strung. Whatever Viktor has buzzing around their heads — probably drugs — they're close to the edge at any given moment. They're one step away from snapping out.
"So, the third objective I spoke about is to get to these guys. Zap them.
Demoralize them. Drive 'em crazy. Force them to go over the brink. You can be sure that Viktor and his guys are not leveling with them. Not telling them we've got more than one hundred fighters and fighter bombers and heavy bombers ready to unload on their asses. You know they haven't told them about our hitting the SAM line or flattening their HQ. But you know the army. You can be sure that rumors are flying through those camps. I'm sure Viktor's told them all it would be a cakewalk. Well, some of them have got to be questioning that right about now.
"Now most of the crazy kids will believe the Party line, no matter what. But the vets won't, if we show them different. They remember the battle for Football City and what happened to the 'Aks. I think Viktor's empire is a house of cards. And, from what Fitzie's spies tell us, we're not even sure if he's still alive. I think one or two good slaps in the face and half these veterans do a one-eighty and starting walking back east. For every guy that deserts, that's one less that we have to waste fuel and airplanes and bombs and bullets on. We've got to be economical with our firepower. It's not a bottomless pit.
"But we have to light that fuse. Get into the minds of these guys, just at the right moment. Just when they're wondering just what they hell they're doing. The question is, how do we do it? How do we spook these guys?"
Suddenly someone spoke loud and clear from the back of the room. "Leave that to me."
It was Hunter.
An hour later, Hunter was strapped inside the refueled, rearmed Stealth fighter, warming up its, engines for take-off. x Jones and Dozer watched from the flight line as the radar-proof airplane took off and disappeared into the clouds.
"I've known him for what seems like a long time now," Dozer said. "I've never seen him like this. He's like a quiet madman. That look in his eyes is terrifying. He's carrying around some emotional baggage with him. And it's so typical that he won't talk about it."
"Maybe it's his F-16," Jones said. "That was a bold move leaving it behind in New York City. There
's a good chance he'll never see it again. And he knows it's probably the only F-16 left in the world."
"Or it could be the girl," Dozer theorized. "All he told me was that he found her in New York. Rescued her. But I guess he had to leave her behind too."
Jones lit a cigar. "Or, then again, maybe it's the Russians. The Circle. Viktor. Maybe it's the whole fucking mess."
"Well, whatever it is," Dozer said. "Someone's made a big mistake messing around with him."
Jones paused for a moment. "He says he wants to operate on his own for this one," he said finally. "Wants to be the unpredictable driver. Operate independently. Be what he called 'the uncalculable equation.' I can't stop him. I wouldn't want to. But we'll miss him…"
Dozer nodded in agreement, adding: "Yes. But we don't have to worry too much.
He knows what our strategy is. He'll be on top of every move we make."
"I'm glad he's on our side."
Chapter Thirty-one
The war began in earnest the next day.
Using the narrow "holes" in the SAM shield cleared by the surgical air strikes of the previous days, PAAC fighters and fighter-bombers swept through the central Badlands just as their allies were doing in the north and south.
Bridges, roads, communications stations, fuel dumps and other targets were attacked up and down the Circle areas. More than 80 missions were flown. The strategy of hitting the enemy's rear echelon was put into full effect.
The day was not without its losses. While the heavy duty SAMs were fixed in the Badlands, many of the rear units of the Circle Army were equipped with Soviet-made SA-7 shoulder-launched SAMs. Two of Fitzgerald's Thunderchiefs met their end this way while attacking an ammo train near Mankato, Minnesota.
But the Aerodrome Thuds took back their measure of revenge. One flight, led by Mike Fitzgerald himself, caught a converted AMTRAK train moving south from Minneapolis, carrying ten cars of Circle troops. The four F-105s attacked the train just as it was going over a bridge which spanned a gorge near Springfield, Minnesota. Using rather dated, but still deadly TV-guided bombs, both the bridge and the train were completely destroyed.
In the south, St. Louie's famous F-20 Tigersharks attacked a number of Circle targets around Shreveport. Oil storage tanks and pump houses were high on the priority list. Some of the F-20s were carrying 500-pound "iron" bombs, ideal for busting the sides of oil tanks and igniting the precious fuel inside. The Tigersharks were also successful in severing two major highways leading out of Shreveport, roads on which Circle troops were already moving toward the Texas border. Using laser-guided bombs, the F-20 pilots were able to collapse overpass structures which fell and crushed hapless troops who had sought shelter underneath them. By the time the Tigersharks broke off the attack, a 15-mile span of Interstate Route 20 was rendered useless and dripping with Circle blood. Not one of the ultra-sophisticated F-20 jets was lost.
The Texas Air Force launched a bold air strike on the port of New Orleans, the major staging area for the Circle Southern Group and their Soviet allies.
Sweeping in off the Gulf of Mexico, the Texans bombed and strafed the city's docking facilities and managed to sink two Soviet subs. More oil storage tanks and volatile liquid natural gas facilities were also hit. The city was well-defended and returning pilots told of a sky filled with SAMs of every size and power. Four of the 16 F-4s were lost.
By the end of the day, Jones knew the plan to hit the enemy's rear echelon was a sound one. Even if half the reports of bombing damage were true, the first 24 hours of his counter-offensive were a success. He ordered the same strategy for the next day.
But two things bothered him. One was that despite all the air activity, not one pilot reported spotting any of the enemy Yaks. The other question was: where was Hunter?
Jones had his answer several hours later.
The pilot of a C-130 cargo ship flying over the Rockies to deliver the supplies to the Denver air station, reported seeing the Stealth fighter streaking over Idaho just at sunset. Around midnight, Jones received a coded telex message from the commander of the Free Canadian Forces stationed in the Dakotas. He said that a heavily fortified Soviet radar station located in the Black Hills was attacked and destroyed earlier that night by a single "top-secret type aircraft."
A few hours later, Jones heard from one of Fitzgerald's ADF Thunderchief pilots, via a scrambled radio message. The pilot, flying a night recon mission over Bismarck, North Dakota, was attacked by several hidden radar-controlled anti-aircraft batteries guarding a top priority target just outside the city. The pilot said the fire was so intense, his airplane was hit more than a dozen times within a half minute. With his radio and some flight controls knocked out and the enemy fire getting worse, the pilot was looking for a place to bail out when a "dark, mysterious-looking fighter" came out of nowhere and blasted the AA batteries. "Whoever it was," the pilot told Jones. "He saved my ass."
Early the next morning, before PAAC fighter bombers went into action again, pre-strike recon airplanes found that a few of the "holes" that were opened in the SAM line several days before were now closed up, by the Soviets redeploying their mobile SAM batteries. But what the recon airplanes also found was many other Soviet radar stations destroyed or burning up and down the Badlands SAM line. Without radar, the SAMs were blind. Where there were a half dozen large "holes" in the Soviet wall the day before, now there were upward of twenty, smaller ones, especially around the northwest section of Kansas. The information was flashed back to the PAAC attack craft even as they were taxiing for take-off from their bases.
"It's Hunter," Jones told Dozer as they sat in the Denver Air Station situation room sifting through the reports of the "radar-busting" the night before. "He's giving us a lot of leeway to get in and out."
Dozer shook his head in admiration. "Just as we expected. Where the hell is he fueling up? Or getting his ammo?"
Jones shrugged. "Who knows? But at this point, I don't care. He's gone after the radar stations. I wonder what's next on his list?"
Due to Hunter's night work, Western Forces' fighters and fighter-bombers were able to get in behind enemy lines quicker. Once over The Circle's rear areas, the attackers roamed free, hitting targets of opportunity everywhere except around major cities, where SAM sites still made flying very dangerous. Once again bridges, highways and railroads were the main targets. Transportation lines from The Circle's weapons factories in the east were especially hit hard.
And once again, no Yaks appeared to challenge the attacking aircraft…
Meanwhile, activity was stepped up on the Western Forces defense line near the old Colorado-Kansas border. A long and elaborate series of trenchworks had been in the works for several weeks, with soldiers and volunteers using equipment ranging from heavy machinery to picks and shovels. Mine fields were laid, anti-personnel traps were built. Gun emplacements were installed, interlocking fields of fire plotted. Artillery bases and surface-to-surface rocket platforms were activated. It was here — on the sandy hills and open range land of Eastern Colorado — that Jones and the other Western Forces leaders were gambling the final confrontation between East and West would take place. The circle Army's Central Group would move forward.
The Soviet SAM line — most of which was on wheels — would be right behind the ground troops.
It was shaping up to be a monstrous battle…
Chapter Thirty-two
The four Yaks rose one at a time from their hidden base in North Dakota and headed south. It was dusk — the only time the Soviet commanders would dare move the precious jets. With reports of a second day of numerous air strikes by the West behind the SAM line still coming in, the Soviets were banking that most of the enemy airplanes had returned to their bases by now. The last thing they wanted was for their Yaks to get in a dogfight situation with the more skillful Western Forces' pilots.
The Yaks were deploying toward the center of the SAM line. They would be needed there when the bulk of The Circle Army's Central Gr
oup finally arrived.
The Soviets' plan all along was to use the VTOL fighters in a ground attack role — thus the Soviet commanders had kept the jets out of the recent murderous air action.
They had already suffered a serious blow when their HQ and power supply near Wichita was destroyed by PAAC's big bombers. Now they knew they couldn't afford to lose a single Yak before the big ground battles began.
But even under the cover of the gathering darkness, the Yak pilots were jittery. It wasn't the free-roaming fighters that bothered them; it was this strange airplane — this secret weapon of the Western Forces — that had the Soviet pilots concerned. Word had spread quickly about the black jet fighter that was invisible to radar screens and therefore attacked without warning. It was an old U.S. Air Force Stealth, the Soviet version of scuttlebutt had it, being flown by this legendary fighter pilot named Hunter.
So the Yaks were ordered to play it cautious. Flying at 40,000 feet in single file, separated by a mile between them, the Soviet jets proceeded toward their destination, a battered yet still working airport near Dodge City, Kansas. As planned, the four pilots were maintaining strict radio silence, their only communication being the sequential clicking of their cockpit microphones every 15 minutes. Two clicks meant "Okay."
The Yaks had just passed over the Nebraska-Kansas border when the flight commander — a Russian colonel — routinely pressed his microphone button twice.
His Number Two man, flying exactly one mile behind, responded quickly with two clicks. Number Three did the same.
But when it was Number Four's turn, there was nothing…
The Soviet colonel initiated the pattern a second time. Numbers Two and Three responded immediately, but still no sign from Number Four. After a third attempt failed to raise the Yak, the Soviet flight commander began to sweat.
He slowed down, letting Numbers Two and Three to catch up to him. A wag of his wings and a flick of his landing lights was enough for them to know they were to proceed with caution. Then the Soviet colonel doubled back to look for his stray.