[chico20854]

July 2, 1998

Allied airstrikes slow the Soviet advance across the battle-scarred ground south of the DMZ (fought over 18 months prior) as ROK and American mechanized forces are quickly marshalled into place to respond.

Unofficially,

The nuclear strikes on Mexico City and key railroad bottlenecks has an immediate effect on the Mexican war effort. Central control over the actions of the three engaged armies disintegrates following the destruction of the Ministry of National Defense headquarters, and 1st Army, responsible for rear area operations in most of Mexico, is forced to shift emphasis from generating additional forces and supplies for the war to the north to maintaining order among a desperate, scared and unstable populace. The Presidential Guard Brigade is deployed to secure other government buildings (and, unofficially, neighborhoods populated by rich and powerful regime members and supporters), while the Military Police Brigade and Engineer Brigade try to provide disaster relief and maintain order.

There is little immediate effect on the armies fighting to the north, as there are still a few days of supplies already in the pipeline north of the strikes, and except for a few senior officers the fighting troops are wholly unaware of the strikes to their south, so poor is communication with the center.

The Joint Chiefs are grimly satisfied with the execution of the strikes and issue orders for the special operations teams which provided spotting and bomb damage assessment for the strikes to withdraw, remaining undetected if possible.

The fallout from the surface bursts begins to fall closer to the border, although of lower radiation intensity.

An old-fashioned naval battle rages off the California Coast as the Mexican Pacific fleet engages the American destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG-32), the newest vessel in the engagement at 40 years of age. The gun battle favors the Mexicans, whose World War Two-vintage destroyers feature a total of eight 5-inch manually fed guns facing the American's two semi-automatic 5-inch guns and a magazine depleted by days of shore bombardment in San Diego. Both opponents' fire control systems are equally dated, and the crews of about equal ability (the American crew a mix of inexperienced draftees and seasoned veterans, the Mexicans well-trained pre-war regulars). The Mexican flotilla splits into two parallel columns sailing north, one to the seaward side of John Paul Jones' track and one in between the American ship and the shore. The maneuver forces the American ship to concentrate the fire of its forward, unobstructed turret, on one enemy ship, the inshore Quezacoatl, while zig-zagging to allow the rear turret to fire at the seaward Netzahuacoyotl without presenting the a broadside opportunity. After a few minutes of back-and-forth gunfire the range drops to six nautical miles and both sides rapidly begin registering hits. Quezacoatl is the first one to fall out of battle, its bridge perforated by shrapnel and its aged steam plant offline. John Paul Jones' steam plant is the next to fail from battle damage, and as it glides to a halt the damaged Netzahuacoyotl unleashes another eight rounds, leaving the American ship ablaze. The damaged Netzahuacoyotl breaks off the engagement and turns south, heading to Ensenada for urgently needed repairs, leaving the sailors of both floundering ships to make their way ashore on their own. By sundown both destroyers have slipped below the waves, with moderate loss of life from both crews.

Some of the American sailors land in Mexican-controlled territory and begin a cat-and-mouse effort to evade patrols, while a dozen or so manage to come ashore into territory still held by the embattled marines, who once again repulse a fierce Mexican attack. LCpl Steven Barker, one of the defending recruits who has already been recognized for his coolness under fire and bravery, destroys one of 1st Mechanized Brigade's AMX-13 light tanks with a well-placed shot from his M203 grenade launcher.

Farther up the coast of California, the forward detachment of the 196th Infantry Brigade, advancing into Anaheim from the high ground south of City of Industry, catches a resupply column supporting the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment unawares, capturing the unit's supply of food, fuel and water for the day as well as crippling future resupply capability. The 2nd Brigade, 40th Infantry Division has relieved the 10th California Cadet Brigade, whose largely teenaged soldiers have been evacuated to secure the Interstate 5 corridor leading north to the vital Bakersfield refinery complex, source of 6th Army's fuel.

2nd Battalion, 56th Air Defense Artillery, which has assumed the lead of the School Brigade's column, encounters the first enemy troops in the unit's breakout drive, an isolated squad from Brigade Chihuahua in the small mountain community of Piñon, New Mexico. The Mexicans are surrounded and surrender without a fight.

In southern Arizona, Brigade Nogales, which has been sitting nearly immobile for weeks, increases its patrolling, trying to determine if the 111th Military Intelligence Brigade at Fort Huachuca and the defense force at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson are still strong forces that the isolated brigade cannot overcome.

While still struggling to deal with the capture of San Antonio, the Mexican 4th Army closes its forces on Austin. The 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment sweeps across Bergstrom Air Force Base, although too late to capture any intact aircraft or significant supplies; the defenders burned many of the buildings before evacuating. The division-sized Coastal Column is bypassing the ruins of Houston, sweeping aside penny packets of infantry dispatched in an ineffective effort by the 46th Infantry Division's command to halt the Mexican invasion while still maintaining tight control of the oilfields, ranches and farms and refugee camps of East Texas.

In southeastern Nebraska the winter wheat harvest begins. Military forces are deployed in what force can be spared to protect the tankers bringing fuel to the agricultural areas and to guard the harvest as it is brought in. Many grain depots on the rail lines double as garrisons for the troops that are dedicated to ensuring that this vital source of food for the nation is secure; the harvest continues through the month.

In the refugee camps west of Pittsburgh, a charismatic leader is making the rounds, raising an army of disaffected evacuees from Ohio to "seize the stocks of food that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is holding back from us and our suffering armies."

X German Korps and XII German Korps are heavily engaged on the front lines south of Frankfurt and the meatgrinder battle for Heidelberg. While composed of West German territorials, border guards (both former East and West German) and East German reservists, these additional trained and motivated troops stiffen the NATO defense.

Maltese authorities raise another ineffective demand for the USS John F Kennedy battle group to move on. The American admiral in charge of the flotilla refuses, citing the damage to his flagship (while ignoring the inability of any shipyard in Malta to repair it to a sufficiently seaworthy condition; the small boatyard in Marsaxlokk is sufficient solely to support the town's fishing fleet).