by Steven Linde
General Charkin was torn between being happy that the Navy was going to bring some pain to the Mexicans, but he wished it was Marine flyers instead, inter-service rivalry was still alive and well. Once this was all said and done he had a plan to restart the Army-Navy Football games, something they could all get excited about.
General Charkin sent word down to all units to expect the Navy to be flying over and dropping ordinance within the next hour, and that everyone should take appropriate action, especially those Marines along the perimeters. They should also prepare for a Mexican counter attack against Marine forces after the Navy departs the area. The warning order from the General was taken a bit skeptically along the perimeter with one Sergeant saying, “Planes dropping ordinance? Next they’ll tell us to be on the lookout for a t-rex herd!”
It had been a year since any Marine had seen any type of aircraft in the air, and many of them saw lots of them drop out of the air, killing all those aboard on the day of the event. Now they were supposed to believe the Navy was flying over to drop ordinance on the Mexicans. Regardless, the platoon leaders and Gunny’s followed orders, no matter how ridiculous and far-fetched they seemed. Some of the Mexican bases were almost spitting-distance from some part of the perimeters, and the Mexicans did it on purpose to antagonize the Marines and hopefully draw them out.
The Mexican Soldiers that were along the perimeter did report back that there was some unusual activity by the Marines. They were all digging in, not that they weren’t already, and they were fortifying positions and digging a bit deeper with the positions they had. As far as the Mexican Senior Commanders were concerned, the Marines were very concerned about the oncoming Mexican onslaught, and they were strengthening positions. They passed back up to their units not to worry about if for now because whatever they were doing wasn’t going to help them.
It was close to 1400 when the first aircraft came in low over the beaches on Camp Pendleton and turned south heading towards Oceanside, quickly silencing the Marine naysayers regarding Navy aircraft. There was a tremendous amount of cheering and waving by the Marines on the ground. It was a great day to be in the Marines and Navy, and it was going to be a day long remembered by most, if not all of them.
The Hellcats were leading the way. They came roaring up and over the hill on a group of Mexicans fighters. The Hellcat pilots could easily make out Marine positions, and as they flew over them they unloaded their guns on the Mexican Soldiers in and around the base. To say the Mexicans were in complete surprise was an understatement. As the Hellcats attacked the Mexican Base, the Marines on the ground began lobbing mortars into it. The Hellcats pushed on and away from the base, and they were followed by the Skyraiders. The Skyraiders dropped their entire ordinance they had carried directly onto the base, scoring direct hit after direct hit, obliterating the Mexicans.
This was only a small part of the two squadrons that hit. The first Mexican base the Skyraiders broke up into three or four aircraft groups, supported by at least two hellcats running block for the attack bombers. The first hellcats that hit the first base turned and pummeled the Mexican lines all the way down to the ocean, and they were closely followed by the Skyraiders and were returning to the Hornet. The next three raids focused on the bases closest to the lines, as well as General Garcia’s HQ. As noted by SFC Minifield, the General changed HQ’s often and his report was a couple of months old. After the first three raids leveled the Mexican bases, the Sergeant said they would have no reason not to believe that the HQ was at least one of the sites, and whether the General was there or not it would send a strong message to the General that he wasn’t untouchable. The other message that was being sent was that the entire United States Military was involved in this war.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Radio nets throughout the Mexican Army came alive and runners were sent immediately to the General Staff HQ. There were reports of massive destruction by American aircraft, bombers, and fighters. All sorts of questions were being asked mostly how was it possible? After the event nothing could fly anymore, which was mostly a moot question now as it was proven that the United States had flyable aircraft.
General Garcia was at a loss, he wasn’t sure how to proceed. He had lost entire bases, hundreds of men, vehicles, and weapons. Where had the American aircraft come from and how did they do it? He had to have these questions answered in order to counter that type of attack. His senior staff told him it would take days if not a week to bring up anti-air guns from Mexico. The General still in shock from the American raid told his staff to have the guns here as quickly as possible. No one on his staff wanted to tell him that it was unlikely the guns would be here in time to do any good, and the government may not even allow them to leave the country.
“General,” said Colonel Stefan Estevez. “Prior to the air raid by the Americans, we have received word that the HLA is no longer a viable fighting force. Essentially, they have been wiped out by the American Marines”
“What Marines are you referring to Colonel?” asked General Garcia.
“Sir recent reports as of this morning several thousand Marines landed by sea in the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Along with the Marines, they also landed tanks, armored personnel carriers, light armored vehicles and support vehicles.”
“How? How is this possible?” the General screamed at the Colonel and his staff.
“That’s not all sir.” said Colonel Estevez.
“What more could there be?” asked the General, clearly confused.
“Well…sir.” said Colonel Estevez, not wanting to tell the General the bad news. “The HLA lines that were advancing into Camp Pendleton were wiped out by American B-52’s.”
The General flew into a rage. “How is that possible? Where are these aircraft coming from?”
“Sir, maybe speak frankly?” asked Colonel Estevez.
The General was waiting for the other shoe to drop, “Yes Colonel, what is it please speak.”
“Sir I would be more concerned about the Marines that landed in Los Angeles. Reports are they have made it as far south as Irvine or even San Clemente and are ready to push into Camp Pendleton to reinforce the Marines there. As I stated sir, they have tanks and other armored vehicles, which we have little protection against.”
“What are you suggesting then Colonel? Out with it…”
“Sir, I suggest we attack Camp Pendleton now before they can be reinforced.”
“What of the planes?”
“Sir, they’re gone now and in my humble opinion if they could fly at night they would have continued their attack. For now I don’t think it’s an issue and if I’m correct they will press the air attacks starting at daylight.”
“Any idea where they’re coming from?”
“Lots of ideas, sir but nothing I can prove.”
“Let’s hear one or two?”
Colonel Estevez thought about it for a moment, “They’re carrier based sir, at least the aircraft that struck this morning. The B-52’s, if they are real and I have no reason to believe they aren’t, have quite a flying range, I suspect that they came from up North, some place well past Los Angeles.”
“Carrier based, you mean like the Midway in the harbor?”
“Yes sir, it’s my belief that they are using one of the older carriers and support ships that would not have been affected by the event.”
“Can we do the same thing?”
“Yes sir, given time we certainly could but they’ve had a year to make it all work. If we have that time we might be able to do that. However, in order for us to be able to do that we would have to secure most of San Diego and right now, and we are being threatened with the Marines north of Pendleton and the air raids during the day. My other worry General is that, if they can fly, have they been able to reinforce North Island?”
The news wasn’t getting any better for the General, he knew he had to move now and he had to make the Marines pay for what they happened to his bases. This was unacceptable, t
his land belonged to Mexico. “Colonel you have my permission to execute the plan.”
“Thank you sir, I believe its best we move now it’s imperative that we re-establish imperative and attack now.”
The General was still trying to understand the staggering losses he had just experienced, as half of the men lost belonged to the Cartels and there would be hell to pay from the Cartel leaders once they learned that half their force had been annihilated by the Americans. Colonel Estevez sent out orders to begin the attack right after sunset. They believed they could wrap up the entire operation by morning and then prepare to ambush the much larger Marine force heading south. With the American air raid, many of their artillery batteries had been lost, how did the Americans know where they were? The more the Colonel thought of it the more he knew something wasn’t quite right. The Colonel didn’t think much of General Garcia, as he believed him to be an incompetent buffoon that was ruled more by emotion and his hatred of the gringos. He also hated the gringos, but looked at the military operation in a more practical and analytical manner then the General did.
What was left of the Mexican Army’s artillery would be fired throughout the line at 1900, almost six hundred pieces lambasting the Marines lines. As the shelling went on, the Mexican Army under the cover of the artillery barrage would advance. General Garcia didn’t take into account that the Marines might have of their own artillery, believing that they had destroyed what pieces they had over the past couple of months.
Unknowingly to the General Colonel Estevez had changed the plan a bit, he kept the Artillery batteries where they were not to raise the General’s suspicions. The infantry units would not advance forward as the General planned because once the artillery barrage began the units would work their way around the Marine flanks where Colonel Estevez noticed the Marines were weaker. There were other spots in the lines where his men were able to actually get through the lines and back totally unnoticed by the Marines, and some of these holes were near the center. He would exploit them.
At 1900 the Mexican guns roared to life, dropping shells throughout the Marines lines. The Marines were dug in and were expecting the attack after the air raid earlier in the day. They had also shifted positions right at sunset, and they suspected that the Mexican Army was fully aware of where they were and wanted to throw a wrench in their attack. In many cases, the Mexicans were shelling areas that the Marines were no longer in. They also knew that the Mexican infantry units would be advancing under the cover of the artillery, so they had placed mines to their front up and down the lines recently, as well as all sorts of traps and flares.
The Mexican Army had been successful at targeting Marine artillery batteries and destroying them, but not the mortar platoons which there were plenty of. The Marines had also shifted the mortar platoons and teams to different locations, feeling that the Mexicans might have them zeroed in too. As the Mexican artillery fired and fired, which seemed to go on forever, the Marine lines remained quiet. There was no return fire and no movement.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Mr. Terry Dunlap, the official representative of the United States of America, was appointed by General Watkins with the blessing of Admiral Meyer. He arrived at the home of the Municipal President Francisco Tekana. The home was more of a palace, completely suited to the position the man held, at least in his own mind. Mexicali prior to the event was the Capital of Northern Baja California, which really only covered towns and cities on the east coast of Baja running south about a few hundred miles. After the event, all of the cities and towns in Northern Baja on both coasts were essentially abandoned by the Federal Government, which was largely the same in the United States.
Francisco Tekana took the event as a sign from God and an opportunity to expand the Provincial lands of his municipality to create an entire State of Baja California. Two months after the event he met with the Municipal President of Tijuana, Jorge Orican. The meeting was meant to pave the way to join forces. Earlier, Francisco had met with the Municipal President of Tecate, Cesar de Castilla, and come to an agreement with them to create a State of Northern Baja California with the capital seat in Mexicali. It was the same with the meeting in Tijuana. Joining the two men in Tijuana was the Municipal President Gilberto de la Chica of Ensenada.
All of the men involved knew the stakes involved: they either join into one large entity or perish. The cities and towns needed each other’s trade, as the negative effects of the event hit the United States a lot harder than it did Mexico. They needed to pool all of their resources, civil and military, and for those villages and cities that refused to join would be forced either economically or militarily. The men did come to an agreement that Mexicali would be the capital, and Francisco would be the President, Jorge the Vice President, and Cesar the Foreign Minister, which would require him to relocate to Mexicali. Other cities such as San Felipe, Rosarito, and many others had also agreed to the arrangement.
In the short term, a Parliament would be created consisting of elected representatives from each town and city. They all agreed that they were still part of the greater Mexico, and this was a stop-gap measure until the Federal Government could reassert itself, which none of them believed would ever really happen. After a year, the Parliament had yet to materialize, and the three men set themselves up nicely, lording over Northern Baja like it was their own Kingdom. However, in order to do this they had to have support of the Military, Army, Navy, and Air Force. After the event the Air Force found itself with no mission as the aircraft no longer flew. The Air Force members were incorporated into the Army and re-trained as Soldiers. The Navy had some ships; most of the older Frigates still worked after the event, but these weren’t combat ships. The Navy moved to retrofit some of the ships and add 4 inch guns to them, as well as additional .50 Cal Machine Guns, but it was slow going.
The three men had floated the idea of attempting incorporate San Diego, El Centro, Calexico, and Yuma into Northern Baja. All the men knew it was a huge gamble and had no idea how the Norte Americanos would react, or how strong their Military still was. First they needed to find a senior military officer that was willing to take on such an operation, and they found that in General Garcia. The General was perfect for what they wanted to do.
He was made the Commander of the entire Mexican Military, and once that happened the General purged the Officer and NCO Corps of anyone that didn’t believe as he did. The United States Southwest was part of Mexico and it was their job to evict them. Once that was down, the General geared up the Mexican Military to go to war against what was left of the American Military. What General Garcia had done within the military was more of a coup then anything, and his civilian counterparts, El Presidente and the others were greatly concerned that they had created a monster they couldn’t control.
Ten months after the event, an emissary from Mexico City arrived at Francisco’s Presidential Palace to the shock and dismay of the three men. The emissary wasn’t surprised at what he found at all, and in fact he relayed to Francisco that many of the States had joined with others for mutual protection and trade in order to survive. Now Mexico City felt it was time to try to make its influence felt again. The emissary was Orlando Diaz, a young man of thirty-five years old and a career bureaucrat. He had been escorted north to Mexicali by a Company of Marines that were heavily armed. Orlando had brought with him two shortwave radios, one for himself so he could keep in contact with his superiors in Mexico City, and one for Francisco to do with as he choose.
Orlando told Francisco that the radios were hard to come by in Mexico, and that the government was working on establishing telegraph lines and as a means of national communications. It would have to do until power could be restored and some sort of primitive telephone system could be established. Orlando had also brought a signal platoon with him, and Mexico City believed that the old telegraph system between Mexicali and Mexico City would still work. They had inspected all of the wires and cables on their way up and did find a few minor pr
oblems, which they were able to fix. In addition, as they moved north they tested the telegraph wires along the way to ensure they worked. This was the last station they needed to test to ensure telegraph as going to work. It was all good news to Francisco. He was aware that Mexico City’s influence could only be pushed so far their reach was still limited, and in order for it to work it might take the entire Mexican Military to put humpty-dumpty back together again.
Francisco did speak with Orlando about the invasion of Southern California, more specifically San Diego. They wanted the resources that San Diego could provide them: food, labor, and potential additional Military resources they might get if they got the bases intact. Orlando didn’t make any comments regarding the invasion, but internally he was surprised at such an aggressive move against the United States. They may be down now, but his experience was that the United States was a very resourceful country. Many other nations around the world counted the US out at different times in history, only to find out the US came back furiously and would strike at anything with great success. He would take the information and contact Mexico City as soon as he could to get instructions on how to proceed.
Word that Orlando received back from Mexico City was to inform President Tekana to proceed cautiously, and they liked the idea of returning California and the Southwest to Mexico. They agreed that the resources gained would be worth the risk. Francisco took a calculated risk in telling Orlando his plan regarding San Diego, as he knew that he would run off and inform Mexico City, after all it was his job. Even if Mexico City didn’t like the plan, it’s not like they could do anything to stop him and the others from executing it. When Orlando returned, Francisco was surprised to learn that Mexico City was all for and asking what help they could provide. Admittedly he didn’t know what help he needed, he would have to ask General Garcia, which he sent for immediately. He wanted to get as much out of Mexico City as he could before they changed their minds.