Quote:
Originally Posted by Legbreaker
The main problem is transporting them there. TF34 as far as we know had little more than fumes in the tank upon landing on the east coast, and the engines certainly aren't in a good way after burning unrefined crude. As much as the US might have wanted more oil from the Germans, I just can't see them parting with a drop more than they absolutely had to. So, with sea transport effectively out of the question, overland is the only way to go.
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Sail, my friend. Sail. The East Coast may not have an abundance of clipper ships in 1997, but there are hundreds of thousands of single mast sailing vessels in operation from Bar Harbor to Brownsville at the end of 1997. The majority of them aren’t going to be available anymore at the end of 2000. However, 200 of them each carrying 5 troops in addition to the normal crew could move 1,000 soldiers to the mouth of the Atchafalaya River during the winter of 2000-2001.
Once the nukes start popping in Europe and Asia in mid-1997, the US Navy is going to take a very keen interest in the nation’s fleet of sailing vessels. We could talk all day about the variety of possible arrangements for making them available after the TDM. That would make an interesting thread. At any rate, moving 1,000 soldiers from Norfolk to Louisiana using small sailing vessels would take some planning and some organizing, to be sure. Fortunately, the Operation Omega orders are issued well in advance of the TF Omega departure date.
Getting the troops up the river to Oklahoma will take some fuel for the barges. But the barges are going to have to go upriver anyway, since the petroleum is in Oklahoma and southern Illinois. The sailing vessels can move upriver to wherever Milgov is offloading its barges with oil. There the troops disembark, then re-embark aboard barges returning to Tulsa, OK and Cairo, IL for more petroleum. Getting everything to fit is a potential challenge, but one that a small staff of logistics types and boatswain’s mates should be able to handle.
Of course, there are limits. The available fleet of single mast ships is doing something to earn their keep in late 2000. At the very least, they can bring in fish and haul (very) light cargo. Sending large numbers of these ships to Louisiana means foregoing whatever activities they were performing before the arrival of the troops from Europe until they return to Norfolk. This will hurt. So it may not be practical to send 10,000 troops up the Mississippi, even were Milgov so inclined. Right now, though, I have no idea where practical limits on sail transport might be set between 1,000 and 10,000 troops.