by A J Newman
“Joe, let’s move out to the trucks before they can advance and use them for cover. Let’s use their plan to advance towards them.”
“Good idea, Joan. Make it happen.”
Joan led Imelda and ten other soldiers to the burning hulks and used them for cover. They arrived just in time to fend off a wave of Cabras intent on using the trucks as a base to fire on the ISA troops. Again, without cover the Cabras were mowed down as they ran across the open parking lot between the buildings.
Joe saw the armored units approaching from both flanks and knew that they had to try to retreat across the open parking lot to their rear.
Joe’s radio operator yelled, “The cavalry is on its way. They are coming up behind us.”
Rockets streaked over their heads and began hitting the Humvees and armored cars. The explosions were deafening and rained hot steel down on the whole area. The snipers were not that accurate, but there were enough of them to help keep the Cabras pinned down.
Scott gave instructions, “Squad one go to the right side of the Rangers and scoot along Navigation Road until you are past the enemy positions and then flank them on the right. We'll do the same from the left. I’ll take the other squad up McCampbell Road and flank them on the left side.”
They quickly moved past their fellow Rangers and were about 50 yards away when Scott called Joe, “we are flanking the Cabras. Open up on them with all you have and try to pin them down while we advance.”
“Roger, we had them just where we wanted them, but if you want to play with them go ahead.”
Scott’s group travelled up some railroad tracks between several buildings and was able to get behind the enemy without being seen. When they came around the last building, they saw a large group of armored vehicles and several hundred men advancing towards the trapped Rangers. Scott looked at his watch and saw that they had to fight off the enemy for 15 more minutes until the Apaches arrived. He scanned his surroundings and saw the junkyard, warehouses and large storage tanks.
He radioed Jim, “Are you in position?”
“Roger, just arriving and ready to attack.”
“Do you see the storage tanks behind them and can you see what their signs say?
“Yes, the two signs on the left say some kind of oil and the other one is aviation gas. Damn, are you thinking crispy critters?”
“Yes, let’s shoot several LAWs into one of the oil tanks and the gas tank. I’ll take the oil tank; you take the gas.”
Rockets streaked out and hit the sides of the tanks. The explosions knocked holes in the sides of the tanks and started them on fire, but not the explosion and river of fire that Scott had expected.
“Fire two more LAWs into each tank.”
This time the explosions ripped the sides open and spilled a flood of burning fuel into the attacking Cabras. The armored vehicles were caught in the middle of the flaming death. Half of the Cabras were caught in the blazing inferno and the others fled north to save their lives. Just as the Cabras thought that they had escaped, the Apaches started strafing them and destroying the escaping vehicles.
The trapped Rangers had to retreat south due to the burning gas, which poured towards the junkyard. None were caught by the flames, but it forced them to move quickly to safer ground.
“Jim, secure the warehouses while I check on the Rangers. Report back when they are secure.”
Scott’s squad marched to the Rangers location and he saw that there were several Rangers being treated by corpsmen and two dead. As he walked towards Joe he saw Imelda first then Joan. He gave Imelda a pat on the back, told her that Jim was okay and gave Joan a hug. He then went to Joe and started to shake his hand.
Joe grabbed Scott and gave him a big hug while saying, “Thanks for saving our asses. We had no idea that there were this many Cabras and equipment at our target. What made you head this way?”
“After we secured our objective, we gained intelligence that there was an underground garrison at the supply depot. We thought that you would like some help.”
“We thank you for the help, but warn us next time about the fire so we could get some marshmallows and hotdogs ready for the campfire.”
“Sorry, we didn’t think the gas would flow so far. Crispy Cabras was the goal, not Re-fried Rangers.
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Chapter 15
2nd Btn. 501st Regiment. 82nd Airborne
Robstown, Texas
August, 2021
Colonel Moreland and his paratroopers were eager to earn the trust of their new country and even though many would die in the upcoming battle, they were itching to begin the fight. They had been given the toughest assignment; to fight their way from the west side of the city to the city limits where they would join the ISA and attack the city. They were supported by 25 Apaches, 10 Abrams heavy tanks and 20 Bradley fighting vehicles. The city was surrounded so no men or supplies could help re-enforce the Cabras.
***
Caesar Velez had just shot one of his captains for allowing the supply warehouses to fall into enemy hands. Everywhere he turned; there was more bad news. Thousands of his men had deserted and the others were ineffective against the infiltration and attacks by the ISA’s elite forces. He had just learned that the city was surrounded and there was no hope of defending the city when the missiles started raining down on his headquarters. He and his captains were in fortified bunkers, but many were wounded or crushed by falling debris.
“Oscar, my friend we are going to be slaughtered by these ISA bastards. My intelligence says that they have heavy armor and hundreds of Apaches to rain hell down on us. Get us some peasant clothes, food and pistols. We are going to get the fuck out of this trap. Gorge left us without enough men or firepower.”
“My brother, what about our men? We have many friends and brothers that we have fought alongside for many years.”
“When we get to a safe distance, I will tell them to surrender and save themselves. Our asses are more important to the cause.”
“There are over 5,000 men in this city. Do you think that the ISA will just let them put their hands up and walk away from the battle?
Caesar raised his pistol and shot his best friend in the back of the head. He hid the body and then called his remaining staff to a meeting in the war room.
“We have to stop these Gringos from taking Corpus Christie. Our orders are to throw them into the sea and then prepare for an attack on their home base in Mobile. Many of you will die no doubt, but the ones who live and the families of the dead will be greatly rewarded with large sections of land. You will get first choice of land in the southwest USA. Our plan is to take all of it back and populate it with our people. Use the people as human shields and if you have to, make them into suicide bombers. Anything to kill the Gringos!”
He slipped into some ragged clothes, put some dirt on his face and slipped out of the compound. He kept phoning in orders and getting updates so they would not know of his desertion.
***
“Sir, we are slowly breaching their defenses. There appears to be no leadership, but their men are fighting to the death. They have no strategy or coordination, but won’t retreat or give us an inch. If this continues, we won’t be in downtown Corpus Christie for a week.”
“Captain, how many prisoners are you taking?”
“None, sr. They all fight to the death. As you know, our troops have body armor so we aren’t taking many casualties, however I am worried about the ISA troops. Most of them only have bulletproof vests without the coverage that our men have.”
Colonel Westmoreland grabbed his SAT phone and said, “I’ll check in with Gus to see what they are encountering. Thanks for the update.”
“Gus, hello. We are encountering much more resistance than expected. No brilliant tactics, but rather ferocious fighting.”
“Mike, I’m hearing the same from my commanders. We captured a couple of wounded Cabras and they told us that they were told they would recei
ve their choice of land, women and a pile of gold after they kicked us out of the southwest.”
“No wonder they are fighting so fiercely. They will solve our dilemma about not wanting to take a bunch of prisoners. There won’t be any left alive at this rate. Thanks for confirming our suspicions.”
***
The 82nd fought through the heavy resistance and advanced to McKinsey Road by sundown. They fortified their positions and prepared to hold their ground until sun up. The fighting had been fierce all day and fortunately, their casualties were light compared to the accomplishments for the first day. The people of Corpus Christie were not so lucky. Their houses were being destroyed and they were continuously caught in the crossfire of the battle. Moreland had loud speakers telling them to hide in basements, sewers and storm drains for cover from the vicious gunfire. He even called for the Cabras to join the 82nd in a ceasefire to allow the civilians to get out of the war zone. As soon as the people started running for their lives, the Cabras gunned them down.
The paratrooper saw the boy walking towards his squad and noticed that the boy was crying as he slowly moved towards them.
“Sarge, it’s hot as hell out here and that boy has a coat on even though he is sweating. Do you think he is sick?”
The boy was only a few feet from them when he opened the coat to show them the dynamite. It was too late. The explosion killed everyone within 50 feet and the boy disappeared. There was a smoking hole in the ground and body parts falling from the sky.
“Captain, we just had a young boy with a suicide vest kill 20 of our men. The Cabras made him walk right into our position and blew the vest killing our men.”
“Copy. Do not let any civilians get close to your positions. Shoot them if you have to.”
Colonel Westmoreland was informed of the explosion and gave orders to keep all civilians at least 50 yards from their positions.
He ordered, “Men, use deadly force if necessary. I know that killing children and women are against everything that we believe in, but we can’t let the Cabras kill hundreds of our men.”
There were eight children shot that night as they approached their lines. All eight had bombs strapped to them. Several were six to nine year old girls. The kids were told to stop and remove their coats to make sure they didn’t have a bomb on them. Several soldiers broke down and had to be taken to the hospital. Nine more children and women were stopped and were finally allowed to pass. One was shot, but had no bomb. The medic that tried to save him reported that the boy was deaf.
Colonel Moreland met with his staff that night and they agreed that there would be no prisoners taken beyond the few that they wanted to interrogate.
***
The sun was just peeking above the horizon when Imelda saw the woman walking towards her with the baby in her arms and a little girl in row. Imelda alerted the team and Joe came over to assess the situation.
“Ma'am, that’s far enough. You can’t come closer.”
The lady had a jacket on and what appeared to be a baby in her arms. The girl also had a winter jacket on a summer morning. They were both sweating profusely.
“Ma'am, stop or we will shoot.”
“I can’t, they will blow the bomb up now if I stop.”
“Ma'am, slow up and give us a chance to save your daughter. We can’t let you kill us either. Open your jacket.”
She opened the jacket and Joe saw the cell phone taped to her shoulder and the wires going to the dynamite around her chest.
“Joan, shoot the cell phone. It might kill her, but we may be able to save the girl. The rest of you start shooting at anything suspicious. Keep the Cabras pinned down.”
“Yes sir.”
Joan took aim with her M4, squeezed the trigger and hit the cell phone. The mother fell to the ground and the girl fell on her crying for her mother.
Three soldiers and a medic rushed out, got the mother and girl and brought them back to safety. Imelda removed the dynamite while the medic looked at her shoulder. The bundle was a two month old boy. The mother’s shoulder would need a good surgeon and the little girl got the scare of her life, but they would survive the battle for Corpus Christie.
***
The 82nd troops advanced at an increased rate the next day with the Bradleys and Abrams leading the way. The ISA troops had been stalled just south of Highway 43 due to the suicide bombers. The men and women were working too hard to not kill the innocent people with the bombs strapped to them. Gus had to kick some ass to get them to shoot anyone who would not stop advancing towards their line. Their tender hearts were getting soldiers killed and slowed up the entire army’s advance on Corpus Christie.
Gus told his staff, “I know it makes us all sick to shoot these innocent people, but not shooting them is getting our men and women blown to pieces. This is also slowing down the liberation of the city and that is getting many more civilians killed. Shoot any Cabra that you don’t need to interrogate. Then shoot the ones you interrogated. I won’t let anyone live who uses innocent people as bombs."
The Cabra troops finally saw that the fight was futile and they began deserting in droves. Most were gunned down at the ISA checkpoints, but hundreds were able to escape. They headed north or west and only a few went back to Mexico to rejoin the Cabras. Most stayed in the ISA and became farmers. The fight for Corpus Christie ceased almost as quickly as it began. Only a few pockets of Cabras fought to the end. The Rangers and 82nd quickly rooted them out and sent them to hell.
The citizens of Corpus Christie slowly came out of hiding and the soldier’s mission changed from fighting to disaster relief. Hundreds of trucks brought in water, food and medical supplies. There were over 440,000 people in the city known as the Texas Riviera before TSHTF and now there was less than 40,000. Over 20,000 had fled when the Cabras had captured the city and another 5,000 were killed by the Cabras or during the battle. Corpus Christie would never be the same again, but it was now free of the tyranny and oppression.
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Chapter 16
The West Coast
California
October, 2021
Dick Hayden was the first president of the Pacific Coast States of America and prayed that he wouldn’t be the last. If not for the help of the ISA’s Navy, the PSA would have perished right after its birth. Escondido was the capitol of the PSA not because it was beautiful or had historical significance, it was based purely on security. With Seattle, San Francisco and LA becoming nuclear slag heaps and Sacramento being radioactive, they had to select a site that would be safe from further attacks. They tried to make San Diego their capitol, but the Navy quickly let them know that San Diego and everything within 10 miles of it were the property of the Navy and it belonged to the newly formed ISA.
Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California joined to form the new country on the west coast. The loss of millions of liberals in the nuked cities had shifted their politics to the center, but they were not conservative by any means. They didn’t like the ISA’s strict constitutional form of government.
Yes, there was resentment towards the Navy and ISA; however, the Navy provided electricity and water purification for the city. They also provided equipment and training to the PSA’s newly formed military. The ISA counted on the PSA to hold back the Cabras on the southern border and the USA when needed.
Dick called the meeting together, “Fellow citizens, we are here today to discuss how to prevent the USA from taking our northwest part of our country. Our intelligence group tells me that an attack is likely before the end of the year. They say that the Cabras will attack first, on our southeast. When we move troops there, the USA and perhaps the UN will attack Washington just below the Canadian border. I need your recommendations.”
The governor of Alaska spoke first, “Obviously we must ask the ISA for data from their NSA and CIA. They still have control of the satellites. I also suggest that we ask them for help, both in planning training and to fight alo
ngside of our troops.”
This brought a mixed bag of pros and cons from the group.
The governor of California protested, “We don’t need their help. We need to sign a treaty with the USA and end the hostilities. I think we need to send an ambassador to Harrisburg.”
“With all due respect governor, the USA would spit on that treaty and put your sorry ass in a work camp as they have with millions of their own people.”
President Hayden cleared his throat and said, “Governor, they are our enemy and they will destroy us. There won’t be a treaty for them to break. Now back to serious suggestions.”
The meeting went on for hours and they came to a consensus that they needed advice, training and assistance from the ISA. In the meantime, they would begin recruiting men and women to bulk up the strength of their armed forces.
Hayden met with his staff to discuss several other issues, with one being a proposal from a company to build factories to manufacture much of the daily supplies, hardware and tools needed to rebuild their country.
The Director of Economic Development briefed them on the CP Companies proposal.
Hayden had a question, “So you tell me that they will build the factories and stores to sell their products and all we have to do is to let them take over vacant buildings and some unused land?”
“Yes, sir. They say that they will need a thousand workers the first year and as many as 20,000 within five years. Their COO, Bo Strong, says their workers will be well paid and will be required to volunteer ten hours a month working in the communities in which they reside. They will bring a seed team of approximately 500 people to get started and then hire and promote local people.”