Overheard at Second Mexican Army Headquarters [Thunder Empire]

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“…which brings us back to Arizona.”

“I don’t want to talk about [expletive deleted] Arizona anymore.”

“I don’t either, Enrique Maria, but we can’t just let it go.”

“It’s not worth the effort…!”

“Only if winning the goddamned war isn’t worth the effort!”

“Gentlemen, it’s clear this is a discussion you’ve had before. It’s also clear you haven’t been able to devise policy on your own. That’s why I’m here. General De Luz, Colonel Hernandez, I want both of you to tell me whether we should divert resources from current operations to finish this business in Arizona or not and why. Imagine I know almost nothing and that I don’t give a damn about the details. Imagine I’m a politician. De Luz, you go first. You have five minutes.”

“We have to reinforce Sonora Army and capture Fort Huachuca. We have several reasons for doing so. First, if we leave things as they are, the Americans win in Arizona. We can’t afford to give them victories. War is about morale, General—as you well know. Right now, morale among the Americans is up; our morale is down. It’s not just in Arizona. The Americans in California know we’ve been beaten in Arizona. It makes them fight harder. We want them to believe they can’t possibly win. We want our troops to believe victory is inevitable, even if the Americans win a fight here and there. We want the Mexican people to believe victory is inevitable. If we let a reversal in Arizona stand, the Zapatistas and every gang of thugs in the country are going to start to think they might stand a chance.”

“Fine. Morale matters. Continue.”

“Thomason, the American commander at Huachuca, has already started rebuilding 111th Brigade. Their manpower is only going to increase. We need to hit them now before they can rebuild. Also, they are improving their fixed defenses throughout the area. Attacking them in three months will be more costly.”

“Why aren’t they going to starve if we just leave them?”

“General, do we really have to—“

“Indulge me, De Luz.”

“The answer goes to my next point: Fort Huachuca is a prize. Prior to the main nuclear exchange, Fort Huachuca was made into a sort of emergency depot for Arizona. I believe the logic was that food was to be set aside for Tucson and Phoenix in the event of an exchange, but it would be foolish to actually put the food in Phoenix or Tucson. The Americans constructed a huge amount of new warehouse space at Fort Huachuca and filled it with food, machine tools, ammunition, and everything you could want for after the bombs fell. We’ve had people inside, and we’ve had informants. When the bombs fell on the US, there was enough stored food in the warehouses to feed Tucson and Phoenix for nine months. Think about it, General: rations for three million for nine months. They stopped shipping to Phoenix when the war started. That means rations for three million for three months feeding maybe a half-million. We can use that food.

“We can use the machine tools, the spare parts, the ammunition, the medicine. We need it all. It was supposed to keep most of Arizona going for nine months, only now there isn’t an Arizona to keep going. It’s a real prize.”

“It does seem like a prize. Why else?”

“The American position threatens our flanks in California and New Mexico. We saw that at Yuma. As long as 111th Brigade is at Fort Huachuca, the enemy has a sally point. For now, the Americans are on the defensive. If they bring up fresh forces and use Fort Huachuca as a staging point, they can strike anywhere in Sonora. They could cut the supply line to California. They could attack Second Army from behind. We can’t leave them there.”

“Hernandez, it’s your turn.”

“General De Luz is right about morale, but it’s a secondary concern. We can’t expect a perfect record. We can’t change our plans every time something goes wrong on the battlefield. If we start doing that, the Americans will use it against us and force us to commit resources on the periphery. Arizona isn’t a primary objective, General. It was always intended to be subsidiary. California is the prize.

“As for stocks of food at Fort Huachuca, how far will they go once we start distributing it here? The Americans have eaten most it by now. They’ll eat the rest in a few months. General De Luz is giving you the most optimistic estimate of what the Americans actually have at Fort Huachuca. Anyway, once they eat what they have left, Fort Huachuca will dry up and blow away.”

“Why won’t they grow more?”

“Arizona isn’t suited for agriculture. You can irrigate from the Colorado or the Gila, but everywhere else you have to pump ground water. Electricity is out almost everywhere. It’s true that Fort Huachuca and Tucson have some power, but they have to ration it. Once they run out fuel for their generators, they won’t be able to pump ground water. After that, Tucson will go the way of Phoenix. All we have to do is sit back and wait.

“California and Texas are where we need to concentrate our efforts. We can’t win the war by occupying Arizona. We can win the war by occupying the Central Valley. We need the food. The Americans need it even more. Whatever we might use against the Americans in Arizona would be much better used against the American Sixth Army.

“By the way, the Americans aren’t going to reinforce Fort Huachuca. Thomason has been relieved of command, but he’s refused to step down.”

“That’s a ruse, sir. Thomason announced his relief in public. It’s clearly meant to show us that his troops still support him. It’s also meant to make us think that there’s a division in the chain of command so that we won’t place priority on eliminating the threat to our flank. Then, when they’re ready to strike…”

“Colonel Hernandez, what do you advise we do with Sonora Army?”

“Nothing, sir. Right now, they’re continuing to conduct patrols along the border. That should be enough to keep the Americans engaged. Everything else needs to go to California.”

“As it happens, the General Staff almost agrees with you, Colonel. I came here to see if you had anything new to offer. It seems everything has been considered already. Most of what is available is going to go to Second Army in California. However, Nogales Brigade is going to receive several companies of new volunteers as soon as we can get them there. As soon as they are done mobilizing, we’re sending the Los Mochis and Guaymas regiments to Sonora Army, too. They are to keep the pressure on. We have something big in mind for next year, if it proves necessary. Until then, Sonora Army is to continue to gather intelligence and keep stirring things up in Arizona without committing to a major battle. Thomason is to be made to think we’re going to finish the job there any day now.”

“Very well, sir.”

“Oh, and tell General Pizarro not to be shy about burning a few fields and slitting a few throats in Arizona. He’s got a big name to live up to.”

The above transcription is from a recording of a conference between Brigadier General Jorge de Luz, Colonel Enrique Maria Hernandez, both of the Second Mexican Army operations section, and Major General Guillermo Martinez of the Mexican General Staff. The transcript was provided to representatives from Fort Huachuca in 2001, along with a quantity of other records. The meeting is anomalous. Questions exist as to why a representative of the General Staff was speaking with staff officers of Second Mexican Army on such important matters without the commanding officer the army present. Some have suggested that the entire record is a fake. The answers still evade examiners. However, it seems certain that if Pizarro, who was the new commander of Sonora Army following the American victory in the Battle of Southern Arizona, did receive Martinez’ advice to burn fields and slit throats in Arizona during the latter part of 1998, the new commander of Sonora Army took the advice to heart.


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