[chico20854]

July 3, 1998

Nothing in canon for the day. Unofficially,

The fighting in San Diego continues, although not to the advantage of the encircled Marines. The heroic pilots of the CH-53Es from HMT-302 return overnight, brining in additional supplies of ammunition, water and food and evacuating over 50 wounded Marines, but one of the huge helicopters is shot down by Mexican machinegun fire while taking off on the return flight, crashing on the Recruit Depot's northern perimeter, which is already behind the Mexican front line. With the squadron already displaced from its home station at MCAS Tustin by the advance of Mexican paratroops, forcing it to operate from Port Hueneme, the squadron commander prohibits further resupply flights during clear nights. In the encircled garrison, Mexican troops of Brigade Hermosillo advance into the northeastern portion of the base, reaching the wide Belleau Wood Avenue after overrunning a maze of burning supply and service buildings.

Reinforced with the infantry of Task Force Devil Dog and additional fuel supplies, 89 (my II) Corps resumes its assault in the Imperial Valley, driving Brigade Mexicali back to the cover of the shattered and abandoned city of Palm Springs. To the east, the other pincer of the corps offensive sees success, with the 108th Armored Cavalry Regiment cutting off Brigade La Paz along Interstate 8 west of Yuma, Arizona; the Mexican command begins to infiltrate its troops back across the border to avoid encirclement and elimination.

The Torres Motorized Cavalry Brigade's advance up the Interstate 25 corridor is halted south of the town of Truth or Consequences by dug-in troops who are (comparatively) well-equipped with anti-tank weapons and aggressively employed HMMWVs equipped with Mk-19 grenade launchers and machineguns. Brigade Ciudad Juarez and Brigade Torreon resume their advance, with the depleted Brigade Ciudad Juarez trailing the retreating School Brigade and Brigade Torreon headed east into the vastness of West Texas.

Confused fighting rages in Austin, Texas, with an ad-hoc American defense force (composed of armed civilians, troops from Fort Hood, stragglers from San Antonio and other battles to the south and Air Force personnel displaced from Bergstrom Air Force Base) tangling in yet more urban fighting against Mexican troops, who are growing increasingly desperate in their attempt to capture ground and supplies as word begins to trickle forward that the feeble trickle of supplies from home is going to be disrupted.

HQ, 4th Armored Division is disbanded. Each of the division's brigades become independent, reporting to their respective Corps headquarters (1st Brigade - 89 (my II) Corps in California, 2nd Brigade - VIII Corps in the Pacific Northwest and 3rd Brigade to 90 (my XIII) Corps in Texas).

In the American Midwest, the withdrawal of the first battalions of the 49th Armored Division for movement to the front has caused a wave of unrest, as local authorities are unable to provide the resources and stability the troops did and as various armed groups decide to take advantage of the rapidly developing security vacuum.

ROK mechanized troops and an American armor-heavy task force built around the 163rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (Montana National Guard) are in position to strike the flank of the Soviet force south of the DMZ. The 194th (my 67th) Motor-Rifle Division, in the lead, is depending on the 203rd (my 14th) Air Assault Brigade (reinforced with North Korean stragglers integrated into the elite paratroop force) to protect the exposed sides of the salient created by the attacking force. Morning fog provides partial protection from allied airpower.

Northwest of the fierce fighting for Heidelberg, the Soviet 62nd Tank Division (still badly depleted from its fighting in Erbach an der Donau in May and June despite an influx of T-34s and Uzbek teenagers) reaches the banks of the Neckar River on the outskirts of the ruined city of Mannheim. An aggressive young officer leads a team of dismounted motor-riflemen across the river, capturing the abutments of a partially-collapsed railroad bridge; by dusk division engineers are hastily reinforcing it to support heavy traffic.

The Hungarian 53rd Mechanized Brigade, slowly moving through eastern Siberia as it tries to make its way back home, has reached the town of Kemorovo. It has taken nearly a month to gather the fuel to move the formation a little over 300 miles, fighting occasional skirmishes against armed bands (and some local authorities that object to the Hungarians' passage).