The 7th Army, Texas: Operation: Don Juan

[kalos72]

Background : 7th Army returns from Europe in force to free Texas and use it as base to pacify the rest if the nation.

Operation: Don Juan: First Draft


One of Starks highest priority missions was to get a line open to the West coast as soon as possible. With that line, he could provide support to the troops on the West Coast and clear out the last few areas infested with the foreign invaders. Plus, he needed to get a port on the Pacific up if he was going to bring home the 8th Army from Korea or provide support to the 9th Army in the Pacific Northwest.

Luckily, there were already 2 rather direct paths to the West coast from Texas. One being rail and other major highways from I20 to I10 and then I8 to the coast. But he would still have to address large Mexican Army groups outside of El Paso, Tucson, Yuma, LA and finally San Diego.

These troops appeared to be a little bit better equipped and moral seemed to be much higher than with the Texas units. California at least was a lot easier location to eke out a life in even if you did have more US troops close by. Starks didn’t expect as much “cooperation” from those units as he had received from the others he had met so far.

Of course he would try, but he wasn’t expecting a lot so he had to make sure that the force he sent was large enough to quickly remove the threat while not getting bogged down and slowing the advance to the Pacific.

He selected the 1st Armored, 2nd Armored and the 1st Cavalry while the 6th Infantry was sent to pacify counties/towns along the way and setup a logistical supply line from Fort Hood to the Pacific. Come May 1st the 4 brigades were in Sweetwater Texas, the first depot of the supply line out of Fort Hood, and running.

They stopped in the Odessa / Midland area, again to pacify the two counties there but also to try and absorb what was left of the 42nd Hidalgo del Parral Brigade, roughly 100 men but they had almost 10 various DN type vehicles sitting in a grocery store, all with no fuel. With 12000 men advancing, it was an easy sell getting them to join with General Rivera in the lead.

From there, the 6th Infantry broke north, getting reports of 3 additional Mexican units held up just outside of Hobbs NM and near the Lubbock area, while the other three brigades kept moving down I20, and then I10 towards El Paso. Two of the three Mexican units surrendered without even getting the terms while the third had at least a little more fight left in them.

As the 6th came into Hobbs, they found the roughly 300 men of the 2nd Mexican Armored Cavalry Brigade held up in a large retail store and ready for a fight. The 6th lobbed a dozen 120mm mortar rounds into the store and then followed with CS gas and the 278 survivors came running out choking and throwing their weapons to the ground in surrender.

The 6th pacified Lubbock county and then sent the Mexican POW’s, and any salvageable equipment or vehicles, back to Fort Hood while they continued with the pacification efforts back along I20 to the West.

As the main force of the Operation, the 1st. 2nd and 1st Cavalry moved into El Paso, they stopped to scout out Fort Bliss and Biggs Airfield. There with the combined numbers of 3 brigades, they were able to secure the perimeter of the airfield and establish an FOB there in just 72 hours, leaving control and the continuation of the county pacification efforts to the 6th as it brought up the rear.

Since the 6th Infantry was working with the 1st Military Railway Services Brigade, the railway line to El Paso was cleared and rail service between Fort Hood and El Paso was open. This allowed the Operation to get resupplied and most importantly additional fuel for the 2nd half of the run to San Diego.

The area between El Paso and Tucson was lightly populated so any towns were small and many of them deserted at this point but it was also the area that had two major areas of concern for the Operation. One, Davis-Monthan AFB and two, almost 3000 Mexican army personnel.

The capture and control of Davis-Monthan would be a huge win for the 7th Army but with almost 3000 Mexican’s sitting right outside of the city limits, they needed to be handled first. So the commander of the 1st Cav sent a recon squad to Fort Huachuca to see if they could get some intel, or maybe even some help.

The Fort Huachuca troops had been steadily harassing the self-proclaimed “Sonoran Army” for months now, finally gaining the advantage in numbers and starting to inflict some damage with guerrilla tactics and nights raids.
These raids would however make it very difficult to slip quietly into position at night without the Mexicans knowing about it, they were alert and expecting trouble. So the 7th Army forces needed to be slick about it and work a little finesse into their approach.

As the 1st and 2nd AD get into position coming from the East along I10 from Benson, the 6th IB worked up from Green Valley along I19. These would be the two offensive forces used to move up into Tucson with.

The trick was, the 1st Cavalry trying to slip around the city and move from the west along I86 from the small town of Three Points. This forced them to take a significant detour and move south into Mexico so they could work around Tucson and come from the west in ambush.

The assumption here was that once the Sonoran Army realized the extent of the fight they were facing, some if not most, of the force would try to retreat down I86 rather than try to work through Tucson and every growing number of rebels causing them issues from inside Tucson. And Phoenix beyond that was even worse still.

But as they turned to retreat down I86, they would find the 1st Cav ready and waiting creating another morale check for the Mexicans. From there, the Mexicans would have to make a choice, either face attackers from 3 different directions OR move through Tuscon and then further through Phoenix and risk attack from the gangs that have taken over that city as well.

As the 1st, 2nd and 6th opened up with artillery fire that morning, it caught the Sonoran Army totally off guard. They hadn’t had to deal with artillery in months and they had no idea who could possibly be hitting them with artillery much less 155mm Howitzer rounds from out of view. The barrage lasted about 2hrs before the tanks started moving forward and into sight.

At that point, morale of the Mexican started to falter. Reports were coming back to the Sonoran Army command that “at least a dozen American armored divisions were attacking with hundreds of tanks”. Their command staff was completely baffled, “where did they come from?” And then reports came in of the frontline desertions…

Hundreds of Mexican Army troops broke north, too scared to face the Americans and not confident enough in their commander’s ability to lead them to victory. By 9AM that morning, most of the Sonoran Army was on the run North, through Tuscon and almost into Phoenix. There, they met a determined force of gang members waiting their arrival, prepositioned and ready. For some reason, they were under the assumption it was a move by the Mexican’s to claim Phoenix and clear it of the gang members.

Fort Huachuca scouts were seen leaving the outskirts of Phoenix that morning before the attack…

By the end of the day, Tuscon was cleared of Mexican hold outs and the 7th forces had captured the motor pool as well as what was left of the armory, providing the 7th a nice unexpected bump in working vehicles and heavy weapons.

Also, they captured most of the command staff of the Sonoran Army, in particular one talkative General de División Emanuel Huerta and one other rather large surprise, a KGB Captain Yuri Chernenko who was sent back to Fort Hood under heavy security.

Captured Mexican soldiers were given the same option as the other Mexican units from Texas, denounce Mexican citizenship, accept US citizenship and you could continue military service within the 7th Army. Otherwise, you would be removed from the US back to Mexico.

About half accepted the offer after sitting with General Rivera to discuss how he felt about what the 7th Army was doing and the political ramifications for Mexican nationals as well as Mexico itself long term. A lot of the Mexican soldiers were starting to become pretty resentful of the Mexican government at this point, seeing how the Americans were treating them and wondering if their own government would treat them as well. To many, it was like the government was intending to just ignore them once they left the country.

Resentment with their old government was growing, and Starks acknowledged the concerns and met with Rivera often to discuss his long term options.

For the remainder of the Sonora Army that made it out of Tuscon, most didn’t make it past the Phoenix ambush from the gang members. For those that did, they were picked up a few at a time trying to make it back to the West Coast and the remainder of the Mexican forces in the US.

Some hostages were traded for with the Phoenix gangs in exchange for food or fuel. These trades opened a dialogue between the 7th Army and the gangs that would be reinforced when able, with Starks looking for an amicable resolution to the problem that would be Phoenix.

As soon as Tuscon was secure, the 6th took over pacification operations and the other 3 brigades continued West along I8 to Yuma.

[kalos72]

Well, I guess this is bad aye? 66 views and not a comment?

Maybe I should put it in a project plan and leave the creative writing to the experts.

[.45cultist]

It's a good read, still mulling it over. Perhaps a DIA plan to use Mexican Americans to exploit the rift can be another story or a campaign hook.

[kalos72]

The thought there is, to either back a Mexican puppet regime for a take over the Mexican government OR offer membership into the US for each individual Mexican state, again riding the disconnect between the Mexican government and its population.

My group feels strongly that now is the time for American expansionism even as the US is struggling to keep its own head above water.

[.45cultist]

A lot of potential WWII style behind the lines action. I guess one could stat the "Airlords" style airships for supply drops and the like.

[kalos72]

Originally Posted by .45cultist

A lot of potential WWII style behind the lines action. I guess one could stat the "Airlords" style airships for supply drops and the like.

Well, in our campaign air power isnt as rare but the airships will be a large part of the storyline. With Amarillo and the National Helium Reserve in control at least...

What do you mean WWII action?

[.45cultist]

Take Mexican Americans, drop them in to assist locals like Jedburgs and OSS/SOE teams.

[kalos72]

Rgr that...good point.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Originally Posted by kalos72

The thought there is, to either back a Mexican puppet regime for a take over the Mexican government OR offer membership into the US for each individual Mexican state, again riding the disconnect between the Mexican government and its population.

My group feels strongly that now is the time for American expansionism even as the US is struggling to keep its own head above water.

IDGI. There's a lot of hostile territory filled with literally infinite unknowns, so moving "pioneers" (read: invaders) into absorbed Mexican territories is suicide. Whatever the US's industrial base is like after TDM, Mexico's is still likely far worse, so resource wise you're gaining nothing. Telling 50+ million (or more) Mexican citizens that they're now US citizens after decades of the US looking down their collective noses at them will at best bring howls of derision. Even if it doesn't, now what do you do with millions of more mouths to feed? How do you convince them that words, on an incinerated piece of paper, thousands of miles away, mean a single thing to them. Oh yay now you have all these rights and freedoms granted to you by the Constitution...! Whee, tell that to the guy whose sole source of family support, his son the Engineer, was cremated when a Soviet ICBM hit Mexico City. If you've decided to absorb Mexican states, and if you have to do it by force, how are you going to have anything like a mechanized army to do it with, post TDM? Your supply lines are going to be a thousand or more miles long depending on which states you're going to absorb, and they're ALL going to be on the ground. Remember the problems Rommel had? What was it, five gallons of water and fuel to deliver a single gallon of water or fuel? Plus there's a massive language barrier, and don't pretend there isn't: here, in the South, where we have a higher population of hispanics from both Mexico and the Caribbean, I know far fewer people who do not speak spanish than do.

There's no realistic way for a post-nuke US to "absorb" Mexico, unless the US just says "Hey, you guys wanna be part of us" and out of sheer apathy the Mexicans go "Yeah, sure." and that's it, that's all that happens.

[.45cultist]

Disruption and infighting between the factions was my intent. A real coup would be to offer the Division Cuba a couple of transports from Task Force 34, and keep their heavy stuff.

[kalos72]

Well, we have talked it out and approach it a different way.

At this point in time 2000/2001, most people are having problems surviving, finding food, fuel, shelter and security. No matter what country your in or what nationality you declare.

In our campaign, we promote the idea among Mexican nationals, civilian or military, that the Mexican government has done nothing to support its population. It started a war with the US, sent its men and women out to die and then left them there. "When was the last time you saw resupply or even just communication from your government?"

The surviving leaders in Mexico City are just worrying about themselves, they dont care about their civilians or even their soldiers. After 3 years, the people know this.

While the 7th Army, who has cleared Texas and is now moving east and west from Fort Hood are helping Americans get back on their feet. Food, water, shelter, security concerns are all being addressed. "Just look at Texas!"

"We can help you as well, if you want us too. Denounce Mexican citizenship, accept US citizenship and the 7th Army will be able to legally assist you. Otherwise, we can let you continue down the path you are on and see if the Mexican government in Mexico City will help."

Remember, in our campaign we dont follow HW and dont believe in the massive vehicle/aircraft/shipping losses like typical canon supports. Statistically it isn't feasible in our minds. Survival in the US is more about leadership and organization then anything else, and the 7th Army - Operation Omega troops - are bringing that back county by county, state by state.

When Mexican troops, in Texas are faced with 50-60000 American soldiers landing in Galveston and are given the chance to join a winning side, they more often then not go for it.

People have lost the ties to nationality if its obvious the nation has "forsaken" them or at very least isn't helping. Bring the people food, water, security and loyalty will follow.

Since most governments are DOA, if another organization steps in to fill governments role, the population will follow.

[kalos72]

One thing we hadn't decided yet is if we support a pro American politician and let him take over. Later asking for admission to the USA...

Or

The state by state approach, securing the major population centers, organizing food/water production while we provide security. Using a 60-85% population reduction, the numbers don't seem so daunting.

[swaghauler]

I don't follow much cannon. In my game, Mexico and her ally Guatemala are both Russian-backed "Narco-Puppet" states. She was nuked by THE US (to deny Russia Mexican oil) after the US took control of all remaining oil platforms in The Gulf. This, US backing of Anti-Cartel Rebels in Mexico and Guatemala, and US Repression of "drug mules" on the border is what started The US-Mexican War in my timeline.

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

I don't follow much cannon. In my game, Mexico and her ally Guatemala are both Russian-backed "Narco-Puppet" states. She was nuked by THE US (to deny Russia Mexican oil) after the US took control of all remaining oil platforms in The Gulf. This, US backing of Anti-Cartel Rebels in Mexico and Guatemala, and US Repression of "drug mules" on the border is what started The US-Mexican War in my timeline.

Interesting.

[kalos72]

Nice Swag!

Do you have anything to share on the state of Guatamala and the other Central American counties perhaps?

One notion was that we would go along the coast south and secure ports as we went to support commerce and to help stage the "colonization" of those countries through a puppet regime or "the food and water program".

There is talk of a United States of the Americas.

[unkated]

The things I don't see are:

The sudden massive burden of supporting the populations of eastern texas
The cost of the effort to rebuild the even enough infrastructure to supply the campaign
And these suddenly new American citizens - I'd like to see a counter-demand to bring their families from the chaos of Mexico.

Shepherding missions could be fun.

I notice that you don't include anything about the civil war in mexico - or are you not including it?

(IMHO, The Mex civil war would be a reason to have pulled the loyal troops uselessly in the US out to support the Federale gov't anyway)

[kalos72]

Originally Posted by unkated

The things I don't see are:

The sudden massive burden of supporting the populations of eastern texas
The cost of the effort to rebuild the even enough infrastructure to supply the campaign
And these suddenly new American citizens - I'd like to see a counter-demand to bring their families from the chaos of Mexico.

Shepherding missions could be fun.

I notice that you don't include anything about the civil war in mexico - or are you not including it?

(IMHO, The Mex civil war would be a reason to have pulled the loyal troops uselessly in the US out to support the Federale gov't anyway)

Thanks for posting your thoughts, I was hoping for me feedback either way actually.

So in my campaign, a much larger Operation Omega force lands in Texas and starts the systematic pacification of each county of East Texas starting around Jan12001. This section of the state has alot of resources to use for the rebuilding efforts elsewhere.

What I have done is taken all the pre-war populations and used a custom spreadsheet similar to the one floating around with "US Populations" from Chico I think. 60% base mortality with 15-25% more for war torn areas but I used the increased 2014 numbers to simulate the Mexican refugee situation.

Using a 3 person to one acre ratio and only utilizing 1% of the total available land in each county determined how many people I could feed, providing a surplus.

I also did the same thing with oil production from each county, only using 1% pre-war output to determine that I can refine almost 20000 gallons of diesel per day. There are at LEAST 3 non nuked refineries in the eastern part of the state.

So thats a quick rundown on the infrastructure from a very high limited level.

We would count on that demand to "help my family in Chihuahua" drive the surge of American states in Mexico. Skills/mineral resources/salvage potential are all things you gain from accepting a Mexican state into the "Union".

As for the Civil War in Mexico, we have included it but haven't worked it out too far. Although the idea of the Mexican government pulling loyal units back to Mexico City is a good thought we haven't looked it. Thanks!

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by kalos72

Nice Swag!

Do you have anything to share on the state of Guatamala and the other Central American counties perhaps?

One notion was that we would go along the coast south and secure ports as we went to support commerce and to help stage the "colonization" of those countries through a puppet regime or "the food and water program".

There is talk of a United States of the Americas.

The rise of the Mexican "Narco-puppet" state was implemented by Cartel del Golfo, run by Garcia Abrego (who was arrested in 1996 in reality) after he formed Los Zetas (a group of professional mercenaries with a great deal of experience). This is the same cartel that was caught IN THE REAL WORLD (ie OUR REALITY) by a joint US-Russian Taskforce trying to buy a FULLY ARMED RUSSIAN SUB to transport drugs from the Russian Mafia. They are also the ones who smuggled drugs into the US on INS buses after bribing the INS agents. They also had "a deal" with a Texas National Guard unit who would transport drugs from the border to Houston TX. This audacity had the Cartel transporting ALL of the Columbian, Bolivian, and Honduran Cartels' drugs. This allowed the Cartel del Golfo to net 10 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR through the 1990's (that's more than WALMART folks). They use this influence to "topple" the US-backed government and install their own regime. The US does everything they can to overthrow the puppet regime so Mexico begins to "invest" in weapons tech. Russia (who is "sanctioned by the UN") is looking for hard cash and the Russian Mafia hooked up the Russian Arms industry with the Cartels.
Mexico helped Pro-Cartel rebels in Guatemala win their country (with Russian military assistance) as well as "up-armor" the Cartels in Bolivia, Columbia, and Honduras with state-of-the-art weaponry. In exchange, the Russians got port access and much-needed hard currency.

The "Narco-Puppets" were up-armored with T-55m Tanks consisting of kontact-1 explosive armor, laser rangefinder, laser guided tank rounds and passive night vision (due to weight limits imposed by South American infrastructure), Helicopters, Jet Fighters, Towed Artillery, and TENS OF THOUSANDS OF RPG-7s (placed DIRECTLY into US based Cartel member's hands). These were being met in the US by M60A1 Tanks, older Hueys and commandeered Cadilac Gauge Stingrays. These were all the US had available after sending every first line fighter and M1 Abrams to other theaters as replacements. This is part of the reason for Mexican success in the southern US.

[kalos72]

Yuma was pretty quiet considering they were flanked by Mexican Army units but they had developed a very strong local militia and kept to only securing Yuma so the Mexicans didn’t want to bother them much. But continued to make periodic patrols through the city to try and “impose” their power, even though they had no real control or influence on the day to day affairs of the city itself. The city worked a very delicate balance with the Mexican forces surrounding them.

The reason for the strength of the local militia was that Yuma had a significant number of Marines from the Marine Air Station nearby and Special Forces from the Yuma Proving Grounds. Both groups consolidated personnel and equipment at the Marine Air Station late in 1998 and worked with local leaders to help secure the city and the civilian population.

Once contact with the leaders of Yuma was established and safe passage of the 7th Army forces was confirmed, the 6th started the typical pacification process keeping in mind the cities obvious success before the 7th Army arrived.

Yuma had not received any word about the absorption of the Mexican units around Tuscon, so Starks assumed that no survivors had either come this way or at least none had made it this far and that was Starks preference. He updated Yuma leadership to the current status to the East but asked that the leaders keep the information quiet until the 7th could secure San Diego and deal with the last of the Mexican Army.

From Yuma, the 7th Army only had one more known hostile to deal with before San Diego, Brigada Hermosillo outside of El Centro.

Unlike most other units so far, these Mexican Army soldiers were not scared of meeting the 7th Army forces and proved to be very capable. Parley was attempted but the command of the brigade would not even talk about their surrender and the 7th Army options. In fact, he wouldn’t even give his name or rank but thanks for the ever helpful General Huerta, who surrendered earlier that week near Tuscon, he was identified as Colonel Juan Robertos.

Colonel Robertos was very confident about his chances going against 3 American armored brigades, even to the point of boisterous threats and insults during the parley. Right up until he met with General Huerta and General Rivera and realized all the Mexican forces to the East were gone, or had surrendered entirely to the 7th Army, and they would not be coming to his aid.

At that point, talks were immediately ended and he sent our negotiators back under threat of immediate attack while he sent orders to his field officers to prepare for immediate attack and before the negotiators even made it back to camp, the Brigada Hermosillo forces were advancing.

Even though the Mexicans numbers were only around 700 men, they had a large number of mortars and heavy machine guns mounted on armored trucks and assorted civilian vehicles giving them a reasonable amount of mobility considering the almost complete lack of fuel they had gotten from Mexico.

Initially, the 700 men caught the 1st Armored by surprise and Colonel Lewis, commander of the 1stArmored Brigade, had to really work to gain the advantage back even though he had far superior numbers and hardware but by the second hour of fighting, it was obvious to the Mexican’s their time was up.

Mexican soldiers were throwing themselves at the Americans, completely giving their last to keep the Americans from taking any ground but given that the 7th Army was in Europe for the last 3 years fighting top tier opponents, it was purely an afterthought.

After 5hrs, the 7th Army claimed the field and had won the “Battle of El Centro”, losing over 75 soldiers themselves with twice that wounded. But the Mexican Brigada Hermosillo was dead to the man. The battle was probably the heaviest fighting the 7th Army had seen since coming back to the States, delaying their advance to San Diego for 3 more days as they dealt with the dead and wounded before continuing.

At Yuma, after taking care of their wounded, they moved on down I8 towards El Cajon. There was some debate about taking the southerly route and clearing the railway through Tijuana, the most direct route, but they didn’t want to get delayed trying to clear Tijuana before having secured Coronado.

Once they hit the 125 near La Mesa, 7th Army sent scouts to connect with the 63rd Corps, Marine General Mack and Colonel Braxton out of Coronado to notify them of their presence and their plans.

The two Mexican units that were in the vicinity where hold up at the Imperial Beach Naval Air Field just south of San Diego. Here they had a clear secure route back to Mexico through Tijuana. They had setup a defensive perimeter around the airfield and created an earth berm wall to close off most of the area.

Within that area, sat almost 1000 Mexican soldiers, 7 M51 Super Sherman (only 1 operational), 9 fully functional AMX-13’s and almost a full dozen of the various DN type armored vehicles, all being controlled by one man, Colonel Juan Lopez.

Juan Lopez was the son of an influential Los Zetas leader who was given a commission in the Mexican Army just before the invasion started that was only supposed to be “ceremonial”, he was never expected nor trained to command anything more than 3 men in the Mess Hall. But by 2000 he was the highest ranking officer in Brigade Nogales and he took command of the unit.

Colonel Lopez had developed quiet the reputation by the time the 7th Army made to the West coast. He was as hated by his own men, and the Mexican nationals, as he was by the Americans. He had no training or military experience so he resorted to the only thing he knew, life as a Los Zetas. Murder, rape and kidnapping were all common place in the area controlled by the Mexicans, and it made no difference what race, color or nationality you were. If you not one of his own, you were cattle to be used however he saw fit.

As the 7th Army started to recon the area, locals started to come out and help provide information to the soldiers. Mexicans and Americans alike, both were hopeful when the word made its way around that the Americans were there to clear him and his men out.

Information was received that the Mexicans would expect daily deliveries of food from the locals and that they knew if those deliveries weren’t made, someone’s family was going to die, or worse. Lopez made it clear what was expected and became very lazy in even checking the convoy of carts brought into the compound every day. Security grew to know who was coming and let them in, treating them more as slaves then as people who would betray the Mexicans.

Colonel Lewis of the 1st Armored sent several of his men, escorted by some of the expected locals to infiltrate the compound. Lewis, nor Starks, had any qualms about using chemical warfare at this point in the game if he was sure civilians wouldn’t get hurt in the process.

His scout force setup almost 2 dozen IED’s in barracks and command facilities, focusing on doing as much damage as possible before the 7th Army even engaged them. The scout force and the locals left the compound and the IED’s went off as scheduled just past midnight that night.

The next morning, reports came back that over half his command was dead and the rest of his men were either too sick to fight or had fled all together once word got out that Colonel Lopez was killed in the explosions. That’s when the message from the 7th Army was received, “Surrender now or die”.

By the time the message was received, the 7th Army had moved into position and had surrounded the Mexicans on 3 sides, leaving them just south to retreat into Tijuana. For those that tried, they met an angry and emboldened Mexican civilian force ready put an end to their suffering at the hands of the Mexican Army.

The rest, surrendered and received medical care and treatment as they were secured. Only 300 men made it through that night, the rest either killed by the IED’s and their effects or during the retreat into Tijuana at the hands of the disgruntled Mexican population.

On Sunday May 21st, the 1st Cavalry moved onto Coronado Island to secure the base and firmly establish command of the region and establishing a supply chain from Fort Hood Texas to San Diego.

[RN7]

Kalos I have to ask what is the timescale for your article?

American forces in Europe returned to America in November 2000 on Task Force 34, but its no longer the America that they left a few years before. The country is in turmoil from nuclear attack, civil war and foreign invasion and all that came with it. MilGov barely controls the environs of the port of Norfolk, and if we follow GDW's canon then there is hardly enough industry or fuel to support US forces already in the US before Task Force 34 returns. Since you are obviously not following canon by proposing a US campaign that sees a refitted and well equipped US Army liberating Texas and California, I have to ask again what would be your timescale for this.

The fact that the Mexicans were able to pull off an invasion of the Southwest and hold it, yet alone defeat US forces sent against them is one of the great escape from realities of T2K. The Mexican military although quite large in manpower by T2K standards, also has questionable training standards and is far to lightly and poorly equipped to go up against frontline US Army units even in T2K. In reality the Canadians would be far more professional and better equipped opponent. Also the Mexicans have splintered into rival political factions and many Mexican units have become nothing more than organised criminals.

Then we have the Mexican and Mexican-American gang element!! Useless brain dead thugs who would not stand a snowball chance in hell in defeating a US Army unit. If we have veteran US troops returning from Europe going up against them then we are going to have a lop sided massacre of all gang members. US troops wont be interested in offering human garbage like this who have run riot across parts of occupied America citizenship for their help in defeating regular Mexican troops, they will just line them up against the nearest wall and exterminate them. In fact most of the gangs will probably just run for the nearest Mexican lines and then keep on running.

But the fact is in T2K the US was decimated by Soviet nuclear attack. The Mexicans are in control of the Southwest, and the US is destabilised and splintered into MilGov, CivGov, New America and other forces. In your version how long did it take for MilGov to eliminate or reconcile with CivGov, to eliminate New America and other unlawful groups, to retool and fuel their Army to take on the Mexicans, and to build up a logistics train to support such a wide ranging operation across a number of territorially large US states such as Texas, California, Arizona and New Mexico?

[kalos72]

Thanks for the questions RN7.

We have the entire Op Omega in Texas in December 2000, reorganizing into strong battalions and moving to secure the entire Eastern part of Texas as a base by April 2001 and then sending 3 "spearheads" to continue to pacify the rest of the county.

Also, we have talks about getting the 8th Army back to the West Coast to clear the Soviets.

But thats as far as we have gotten really.

We do believe oil production from Texas, at 1% of its previous output, 5700 bpd, or 171k gallons diesel and almost 30k gallons of jet fuel DAILY will assist in the efforts dramatically.