General Alan tapped the table before saying, “As I’m sure you are aware, sir, there is a grave psychological effect on a soldier when he is constantly retreating. His belief in holding his position weakens each time the enemy drives him back. Our soldiers have retreated across Southern California from the border fortifications to Los Angeles. They are shocked. They are tired and now they have lost most of their heavy equipment. The Chinese have more numbers, more equipment and in most cases, better tech.”
“Are you saying we cannot win?” Sims asked.
Anna noticed the President asked that with an edge to his voice.
“No, Mr. President, I am not saying we cannot win. I am saying that we have reached the crisis point. I’m sure the Chinese have problems. Nevertheless this accelerated attack with their acceptance of sustained casualties has produced results for them, if at a very bloody cost. In the end, who pays the highest butcher’s bill doesn’t determine victory, but who wins the political contest does. The Vietnamese took vastly more losses than we did back in the 1960s and 70s, yet they won the political battle because the Communists remained in power there. We have hurt the Chinese, sir, but at this point, they are winning the battle.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Sims asked, with his voice harsh with a burr as if he’d shouted a long time.
“We are speaking frankly, sir. We are facing the grim reality of defeat. The majority of our troops in Los Angeles lack heavy equipment. We are shipping them more, but the trains need time. The trucks need time. The soldiers also need time to regain confidence in themselves.”
“They’re all out of time,” Sims said.
“Understood, sir,” Alan said. “I suggest, therefore, that we use our submarines more boldly. Of paramount importance would be the sinking of Special Infantry transports. We cannot let the Chinese practice anymore of their SI wave assaults against us.”
“Can we distinguish those transports from others while they are en route?” Sims asked.
“Director?” General Alan asked.
Dr. Levin nodded slowly. “Possibly,” he said.
“Are you referring to your spy-ring in Beijing?” Sims asked.
“Yes, Mr. President.”
“Then I agree to this bolder use of our submarines,” Sims said. “Now, what else can we do?”
“Our soldiers can start holding their ground,” Alan said. “We are now in one of the most extensive urban environments in the world. Such territory makes for excellent defensive terrain. There is little likelihood of the Chinese cutting our supply lines here, as the critical one runs through the Grapevine to Bakersfield and through Central California and then to the Sierra Nevada passes.”
“They need to hold,” Sims said, “but we need to buy our soldiers time, even if it’s only an extra day.”
“Why not rush mass reinforcements to Los Angeles?” Levin asked. “We have more troops, many more.”
“We could do that,” General Alan admitted. “But we would do so at a grave risk elsewhere, and in more critically strategic locations. That is what I mean about speaking frankly. We must look at the strategic picture. This attack into California is simply the opening assault against North America. My DIA analysts suggest that counting the naval assault, two million PAA soldiers have driven into the state. That leaves over nine million more for us to deal with. The Germans are heavily reinforcing Cuba, which indicates they are getting ready to move against us. The South American Federation and the rest of the PAA forces are, in our estimation, operationally ready to invade Texas and New Mexico with a mass assault that will make the Californian attack pale in comparison.”
General Alan glanced around the table. “Until the enemy commits himself, we must carefully weigh the reinforcements we send to Los Angeles. If we entrain too many, we could weaken ourselves elsewhere at too great a cost.”
“We cannot afford to lose California,” Sims said.
“I agree, Mr. President. But neither can we afford to save California and lose Texas, which would be a much deadlier blow to our defenses. In the worst case, we could set up new defenses in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. But to lose Texas…it would open up the underbelly of America to the aggressors.”
The silence grew as General Alan stopped talking. The importance of his words stamped themselves onto Anna.
President Sims seemed to age before them as his shoulders drooped. Finally, he cleared his throat and said in a soft voice, “Then it’s up to the soldiers in Los Angeles to hold on until new heavy equipment can beef up their formations.”
“It’s up to the soldiers on the ground to hold,” General Alan agreed. “If they can, they could turn the Chinese drive into a prohibitive siege for the enemy.”
The President stared at his hands. After a time, he said. “I admit to finding myself dumbfounded at Chinese aggressiveness and to their adroit maneuverability in the Southern Californian environment.”
“Begging your pardon, sir…” General Alan said.
“Go ahead, speak your mind,” Sims said.
“Respectfully, sir, I would hardly call what we’ve seen high maneuverability on their part. Except for the original tank drive past the Salton Sea, it has been more like endless grinding battles of attrition.”
“No,” Sims said, “I don’t see it that way. The Blue Swam missile assault nearly collapsed our entire SoCal Fortifications. Using the partial success of the EMP missiles, the Chinese have used grinding attritional battles to break through in critical areas and then they proceeded to surround our shattered Army Group. We’ve witnessed slow-motion maneuvering in an environment that usually brings month-long sieges. When you think about, it is very original in concept and execution, much like their drive across the Arctic ice seven years ago.”
General Alan shrugged and turned to whisper to the major, his aide.
“Are the Chinese historically known for such military innovation?” Sims asked.
With a start, Anna realized he addressed her. “Uh… I’m uncertain, Mr. President. In the past, my analysis concentrated on the political aspects, not the military.”
“It’s something to think about,” Sims said.
“Mr. President,” General Alan said, “if you’ll consider this…”
Anna cocked her head as she thought about what the President had just asked her. It was a chance comment perhaps, but something about it nagged at her.
I have to study this.
She took out her smart phone and turned on the recorder, telling herself to look into this first thing tomorrow morning.
Marshal Nung sat back at his desk. He rubbed his orbs until purple spots appeared before them. They were tired from reading endless reports.
He had been studying the American air commitment with a careful eye. During the first days of the campaign they had burned up a large portion of their air forces. Because of the commando attacks on the Blue Swan launching sites, it had won the Americans much. In his estimation, it had been a worthy exchange for the enemy. Still, U.S. air power had been steadily dwindling throughout the campaign.
Now he had reached the critical phase of the Battle for California. So much had gone wrong, a common problem in war. No plan survived contact with the enemy. He hadn’t expected the casualties to reach such an excessively bloody point so quickly. Yet they had. It was a fact. He couldn’t change that so there was no use worrying about it.
The key elements were easy to see. The Blue Swan missiles hadn’t worked as thoroughly as he’d hoped. Still, they had torn holes in the SoCal Fortifications. The missiles had given him his great chance. Another element had been the giant American tanks. They had thwarted him at Palm Springs. They had also freed a pocket and slowed his advanced into Los Angeles.