Islamic States of America (Soldier Up Book 2)

by Unknown

  They were making great strides until one day they found thirty men dead from no apparent wounds. This shook the rest of the men as word spread quickly, the rumor was that the US was using some sort of gas that once released it would quickly dissipate. That only made sense though if the thirty dead men near each other which wasn’t the case they were spread out through each of the Companies. Major Tohan requested his three Company Commanders quiz there men on what exactly the dead men were doing that night before they died.

  No one could really pin it down to anything specific then six hours later another twenty-five men died throughout the Companies. If it wasn’t the Americans using gas or chemical weapons then what was it, another rumor was that Allah had sent a plague down onto them. Once again another rumor dismissed if Allah had sent a plague how come it only killed those men and not everyone.

  The following morning two loud explosions were heard coming from the roads about a quarter mile away. The lead vehicle and two deuce and a half’s were on fire Major Tohan and several Soldiers hurried to the sight only to find the lead vehicle belonged to Sub Colonel Ganem but they didn’t know if he was in it or not.

  They realized there was nothing they could do to help any of the occupants of the vehicles in fact there was nothing they could do at all. To be quite honest the men and the Major being this close to the burning vehicles thought it was the warmest they had been in weeks. When the Major returned to his CP he sent a runner to the Sub Colonel’s CP to find out if he was ok, as it turned out the Sub Colonel was in the vehicle.

  As the day wore on reports were coming in that there were several more explosions along various roads leading north. Orders were sent out to stay off the roads for now until they could be cleared now who was going to do that clearing was uncertain. Major Tohan and his Company Commanders believed it to be the work of the Americans, they hadn’t figured out how yet. The closest US units near them were a half mile away last they checked.

  While the diversions were going on the US Army used the time wisely and reinforced their lines with fresh troops from Fort Irwin and others along the line where the Marines were moving into freeing up those Soldiers. In the areas north of Hart the US Army were able to bring in enough troops and artillery to equal things out if not give their positions a bit more strength.

  A quarter hour after the US troops arrived at their new positions US artillery opened up hitting AA positions accurately like they knew exactly where they were. The artillery rounds were exploding about ten feet above the trees causing not only shrapnel damage from the shells but the trees too. As the shell exploded it took all the trees around it sending thousands of wooden slivers of all sizes flying in all directions. The tree bursts were maddening to the troops that got hit with them; most of the AA Soldiers were not well trained at all in building fox holes and other types of ground bunkers to protect them. They were not equipped with entrenching tools, shovels or picks they had no way to dig except with the hands against frozen ground.

  The AA Soldiers were equipped with the helmets and load bearing equipment, the type that was used by the US military up to the early 2000’s. They had the old steel pots and LBE; the steel pots came in two pieces the helmet liner and the actual steel cover that the helmet liner inserted into. That steel pot once the liner was removed was what they were using to dig with; it worked, but didn’t work fast enough. If you weren’t wearing it when an artillery barrage hit there was a good chance you were going to get hit in the head with a piece of something, the helmet liner was made of fiber-glass and was no protection at all.

  The AA had mortars but a limited amount of rounds to go with them they had bugged out so quickly from the training area near Dearborn someone forgot to get all of the ammunition they would need. They had over run several US Army mortar positions and were able to use those rounds but it wasn’t nearly enough.

  Major Tohan who was blissfully unaware of the reinforced lines sent his men forward confident that they would be able to pick up more of everything as they continued to push US forces back. They were over confident and two AA squads from one of the platoons from Captain Nasar Company were mowed down by an M-60 carefully hidden along a tree line. Captain Nasar was the lead Company feeling that it was an honor to take more infidel lives so far his Company alone had been credited with the killing of over 200 American Soldiers.

  When the two squads were killed it never occurred to the Captain that something might have changed. He ordered the Company to move further east closer to the water they were trying to work their way around the line to get back in the rear again where they could rampage through the back area slaughtering the stupid infidels. However, as he moved east he found the American resistance got tougher and tougher like they knew exactly what he was trying to do.

  He moved is Company into a canyon so they could move through the canyon and then behind the Americans. He had sent scouts ahead through the area and they reported back it was all clear they saw US Soldiers on either side of the canyon but not in it and it looked like they were ignoring anything going on with it.

  Captain Nasar smiled and told his XO that the stupid Americans would pay for their blunder with their lives. His Company snaked their way through the canyon they were under strict orders to make no noise while on the move the Officers were concerned excess noise my give them away, they thought the US Soldiers stupid but not that stupid. They could see the exit to the canyon a hundred yards a head then they heard a loud whistling and everything around them started to explode. Machine guns directly to their front unleased a wall of bullets in their direction killing any man standing or kneeling. The last thing Captain Nasar thought before an artillery round land directly on top of him was that it was all a trap and he had led his Company directly into it, not one of his men left the canyon alive.

  Captain Wasem took his Company to the west and like his counterparts he was unaware that the Americans had reinforced their lines. He sent out several squads ahead from first platoon to probe the lines and find a way in, the squads weren’t reporting back though. He ordered more squads to be sent out as the Company continued to move west. Those squads didn’t report back either, by this time Captain Wasem was convinced something was wrong, something had changed in the demeanor of the battlefield. The Captain heard a loud crack it was the sound of a large rifle report it was the last thing he ever heard as the round hit him in the head taking it clean off. His XO and RTO were standing near him when the round tore his head off; they were covered in his blood and stood there staring. Another rifle report was heard and the XO fell dead. There were only two more Officers left in the Company and they weren’t getting up anytime some from their hiding position.

  Another rifle report was heard and another Officer went down, apparently his hiding position wasn’t all that secure. The last Officer remaining in the Company was now terrified and ordered all of the men to fall back but to fall back to where he wasn’t sure. The Officer jumped up and yelled follow me and then another rifle report was heard killing him instantly. Outside of the NCO’s the Company was now leaderless, these were some of the older Companies that hadn’t gone through the training at the Dearborn facility meaning that with all of the Officers dead the NCO’s had no idea what to do. They decided to stay where they were not really recognizing that if the sniper knew where they were there was a good chance the US Army as a whole new where they were too.

  As the men of Captain Wasem’s Company tried to build fighting positions several M-249 machine guns opened up on them while US infantrymen moved forward to engage them. Once the machine guns stopped the US infantrymen took care of the rest. Like Captain Nasar’s Company not a man was left alive.

  Captain Koury’s Company was the only one left out of the Sub Colonels Command. Major Tohan was still alive and had attached himself to the Company and had taken Command of it. Unfortunately for both men neither had the experience that they needed for this type of situation. Major Tohan had the Company halt and attempt to dig in which was
difficult at best with no picks or shovels in the frozen ground. The AA Soldiers did the best they could by digging with their steel pots at best they got a foot or so down before the shelling started again.

  The Americas were relentless the shelling didn’t let up for twenty minutes by then a quarter of the Company had been killed or wounded. Men were screaming for help but none was forthcoming as one of the casualties was their medic. Captain Koury had also been killed while moving to help one of the wounded men. Major Tohan never left the safety of his shallow fox hole and after the shelling ended a good leader would have gotten up and out to go help him men instead he began to work on his fox hole to get it deeper and then once deep enough, if there was ever such a thing, he started to cover the top of it with logs.

  They didn’t have long to wait the Americans started firing mortars landing throughout the AA lines the first one came in and made a direct hit on top of Major Tohan’s shelter all of the hard work he had put into it didn’t help. Especially since the Major was standing next the shelter when the round hit the logs sitting onto of it acted as extra shrapnel when it hit. The Major never knew what hit him he died instantly as did many of his men that morning. As the mortars let up the US Army moved into the area, the infantrymen made quick work of the AA Soldiers that were left they took no prisoners. This area of the line had been recaptured and stabilized this wasn’t the only area that had problems.

  The AA was able to push hard in the center of the line they had focused the largest concentration of their Soldiers in the center. The plan was to attack with everything they had and break through the lines; they had already broken through the lines at Hart and Standish. Once through the center they would be able to break off east and west and encircle the US Military then destroy them in place. After they had accomplished that then march on Camp Grayling and finish them once and for all. Then they would truly have their Caliphate with no interference from anyone.

  The Marines came in with a roar having an immediate impact on the line the GI’s had been fighting for a week straight with no break. They were too few and exhausted but they had finally solidified the line. The Marines were fresh and looking for some pay back they came in and started to get to work. They still have the Army artillery unit with them it had been decided that when the Marines were sent to defend the Camps rear they would more help they asked for the artillery unit that had supported them on their fight north LTG Watkins saw no problem with their request and granted it.

  The Marines had taken up positions along the furthest edge of the bulge once there they went to work. Lieutenant Colonel Waters had four Companies under his Command and the Army artillery unit. The Marine Companies moved into the US Army positions and those US Army units were reassigned to other areas, such as north of Hart to bolster the line. Once they were set Colonel Waters ordered patrols out to seek the enemy. The purpose for this was to get an overall idea of what he was up against and to find out where he needed to put his artillery rounds, essentially the patrols would act as forward observers. Once they had a target they called it in via radio to the artillery batteries, once the rounds were on the way and they adjusted for fire they would move on to the next target. They didn’t wait around to see the devastation that they brought down on the AA unit. They also didn’t want to stay to long in one position they understood that they were still outnumbered but then again they were Marines and isn’t this the way it was supposed be.

  The Marines were starting to thin the line and eliminate many of the major threats that they would encounter as they began to move forward. Then Colonel Waters issued the order it was time to move out. Within a quarter of a mile the hit the AA Soldiers but the Marines knew where they were and adjusting accordingly. The Marines pounded the AA positions ruthlessly taking them foot by foot yard by yard the fighting turned hand to hand in many places.

  The Marine Company Commander on the left flank ordered his men to fix bayonets and they charged headlong into the flank of the AA line which collapsed under the assault. AA Soldiers wondered who these men were running at them firing and stabbing away with their rifles. They couldn’t fathom anyone doing something like that. The AA Soldiers ran away terrified from these men who were screaming and yelling at them.

  The Maries kept pushing forward which in turn encouraged the exhausted US Army units to leave their positons and push forward with the Marines. It seemed the tide was turning but there was still a long way to go.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment would not be making the jump with the rest of the regiment. They were being diverted to the refineries near Chicago along with the A-Team that had done the original reconnaissance of the area.

  The other Companies Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo had jumped in successfully to the area below the ISA lines to seek and destroy the enemy’s rear echelon. The hope was that in doing so the AA would have to pull Soldiers off their lines to better protect the assets in the rear. So far the plan was working Alpha Company was the first to make contact taking out a vital supply convoy coming out of Detroit. Apparently the ISA had warehouses stored with goods they needed to conduct combat operations that were not associated with the Garrison there. The A-Team never found it and once it was realized that the AA was being supplied from some place and that some place had been traced back to Detroit the A-Team was sent back in to find the warehouses.

  Alpha Company was on the outskirts of the city waiting for something like the convoy to come along. They were able to stop and kill the drivers and Soldiers guarding the convoy while preserving what was in the trucks for themselves. They loaded up everything into the vehicles they had collected after their drop from a previous raid. They moved everything back to the Battalion area and left it all there for the REMF’s to sort out.

  Bravo Company was closer to Grand Rapids there were reports from scout aircraft that areas in and around Grand Rapids were being used by the ISA as a staging area for newly arriving troops in the western half. Bravo Company Commander, Captain Elijah Turner was an Afghanistan veteran; he had the combat experience and was a good combat leader. His men trusted him and he always led from the front, his men knew he wouldn’t ever ask them to do something he wouldn’t.

  Captain Turner lay prone on a hill side not far from I-96 and 131 interchange where the 131 took the AA Soldier north into the lines. Each Company was allocated five air strikes they could call in the reason for the limited number was because of the limited number of aircraft, the area the fighters needed to travel essentially fuel restrictions. The RTO laid next to the Captain the first order of business was to stop or slow down the vehicles heading up the 131. He called out to the RTO the coordinates and requested all five air strikes take out every section of the highway they could. Granted the AA could go around, depending on the devastation, he also asked if they could focus on the three bridges in the area. Command responded that they were stretching their five air strike requests the Captain simply responded, “Great you can tell them that you couldn’t do it when they arrive at your TOC.” The Lieutenant on the other end responded, “Roger that, I’ll see what I can do.”

  The RTO received the follow on message that the birds were in the air and they should be there I fifteen to twenty mikes. The RTO passed the message on to the Captain who was hoping it wasn’t going to be that long he had other things he had to do. His XO, First Lieutenant Gary Prowess, left first Platoon with the Captain to provide him with security. The three other platoons he took and circled south of the city to determine where the other staging areas were coming from. He also wanted to see if anything was coming up the I-196 the AA Soldiers had to be coming from some place since the Garrisons had all been destroyed, well all of the ones they knew about.

  Lieutenant Prowess left one platoon in an overlook position as he and the two other platoons moved closer to the I-196 they saw a lot of activity in and around several large buildings near the freeway and they didn’t look like civilians. As they ap
proached they started to receive light weapons fire. One of the platoons broke off and circled around where the fire was coming from and found a squad of AA Soldiers taking up positons. The platoon reacted quickly to the situation, far quicker than the AA Soldiers thought possible and they were quickly killed. However, by then other AA Soldiers realized there was seriously something wrong. There was a lot of gun fire coming from their perimeter, their Officers became increasing concerned and sent out a reinforced platoon to check on the situation. Lieutenant Prowess had the second platoon set up and L shaped ambush. This was a classic ambush technique that they had practiced often all they had to do was wait silently until they walked into the middle of it. They didn’t have to wait long the premise was that they waited until the main body of the enemy patrol or platoon in this case was in the center of the ambush then they would open fire. The enemy in response would run forward trying to escape the ambush running headlong into the others sitting there waiting for them who would then open fire.

  In this case the enemy responded like Lieutenant Prowess hoped they would and that was one less AA platoon in the field they were going to have worry about. They didn’t wait around for the enemy down near the buildings to respond. During the ambush they had their mortar platoons setting up and once the ambush kicked off they unleashed mortar round after round on the AA Soldiers in and around the buildings. The platoon that hadn’t been involved in the ambush pulled around to enter the area surrounding the buildings once the mortar fire stopped. Once it stopped they pushed into the area hoping that the mortars had driven the AA Soldiers to ground and they would be easy pickings. If only it was really that easy, as they entered the area they found the AA Soldiers fairly well dug in, they were going to have to clean them out the old fashion way, fire and maneuver.

  The paratroopers brought their SAW’s up along with two M-60 machine guns they were used to keep the AA Soldiers heads down while the other paratroopers cleared out a different section. It was slow going clearing them out of there fox hole. They leaped frogged from one end to the other, it was like playing wack-a-mole when an AA Soldier stuck his head out of the foxhole they concentrated their fire on him until he was no more, they then moved up.