General Gardner was aware of the protocols and the bombs in play; he had argued for time and patience with the Israeli government to not use such weapons. Entreating them, he pleaded, “The Americans are here in force and are not going to leave; we have time… we could grind the Russians and IR down. The US has already nuked the IR hard, so there is no reason to destroy the Holy Land with nuclear bombs as well.”
Ultimately, the IDF commanders heard what Gardner had to say, and he had won the argument, at least for the moment.
General Gardner called this new meeting of his division commanders to hear some ideas from them on how they could push the Russians back. “Generals, as you know, I have called you together to hear some of your thoughts for how we can dislodge the Russian positions. I am handing the floor to you, so please, let’s begin,” the General directed.
Major General Kennedy, the 3rd Infantry Division commander, was the first to speak. “General, I appreciate the opportunity to share some ideas. As you know, the Russians have dug in pretty good at this point. They made their lunges as far as they could, and then settled in while they consolidated for the next attack. I believe we need to find a way to get in their rear area and threaten their supply lines. Once their forces are drawn away to deal with their tail, we can launch our own counter-offensive across the entirety of Israel. We would hit the IR near Amman, the Chinese in the south and the Russians in the north. Then we could throw the entire Axis off balance with an airborne assault.” Kennedy had prepared a holographic map of his strategy, and displayed it for the room to view as he spoke.
After twenty minutes of discussing the idea, General Gardner said, “I like the thought, but I am not sure we have enough airpower right now to support that. Plus, the MiG40s are still causing a lot of problems for us. The JF35s are just now starting to take them on with the new radars. I’m concerned that if we sent airborne troops in to attack their supply lines, we might lose a number of transports before they even get over their drop zones. Do you have any ideas on how we make this work without losing a lot of aircraft to the MiGs?”
Kennedy thought for a moment before responding. “Sir, historically, during the invasion of Normandy and other airborne operations, we lost aircraft and men. Despite those casualties, we still managed to land a large enough force that we were able to cause significant problems. Perhaps if we used the Razorbacks to do the insertion (instead of cargo transports) we might be able to reduce our losses, at least in the higher risk areas. If we swarm the skies with drones and then the Marines joined in to conduct an amphibious assault, we could bring enough force to make a difference.”
Major General Lance Peeler, the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force commander, liked the idea. He put in his own two cents, “Sir, my Marines could make a landing north and south of Beirut, and capture the city and the highway leading to Chtaura inside Lebanon. This would place a 60,000 man blocking force in their rear area. If the 101st Airborne is able to land all around the Beirut area, that would cause enough of a distraction that my Marines might be able to capture the area with minimal casualties. Once 82nd Airborne captures Chtaura, then we have them cut off. That places 100,000 troops at their rear that are equipped with armor support.”
Before agreeing to move forward with this plan, General Gardner clarified, “Essentially, we’d be launching our own version of MacArthur’s Battle of Inchon, where he landed forces behind the Chinese and North Koreans to recapture Seoul and cut them off from their supply lines. Does everyone like this plan, or does someone else have another they would like us to consider?” He looked around the room for any dissent.
Major General Twitty, the 1st Armored Division Commander, spoke up; “I like the plan. If the Russians feel they are going to be cut off from their supply lines and encircled, they will pull back and perhaps we could even get them to fall back to Damascus. My only concern is that if we do this, we need to see it through to the end no matter how many casualties we take, and we may take a lot. This would be our one big chance to crush the Russians in the Middle East and knock the others out of the war as well.” He slammed his fist on the table for emphasis.
“Very well then. We will move forward with this plan and staff it through the chain of command. I will consult with the IDF and ensure they shift forces around to fill in the gaps as we advance. We will go for broke gentlemen. Make sure your commanders know that this is it; there will be no second chances. We are either going to win and finish them off, or this war is going to drag on a lot longer. We may even lose Israel if we take too many casualties and are defeated. I want you all to hit them hard and win. Dismissed!”
With that said, the group broke up and the various generals went back to their divisional commands to begin preparations. The invasion and offensive operations would take place in six days, which was not a lot of time considering all of the moving parts. Fortunately, the Navy had complete control of the waters in this area and had the amphibious assault ships needed already in port. The vessels were only moving about 55 miles up the coast to drop off the Marines, so it was not a long jaunt by any means. It was fortunate in this case that Israel was a small country geographically; it meant that shifting forces and aircraft around would not be nearly as big of a challenge if they were carrying out the same type of attack in Europe or Asia.
Major Lee looked at his company commanders as they stood in a circle under the helicopter flight deck of one of the many Marine assault ships off the coast of Lebanon. Sensing a momentous occasion on the horizon, he began to address them about the battalion’s assignment for the invasion. “Lieutenant Thornton, Alpha and Bravo Company are going to air assault in and secure the Beirut International Airport. You are the OIC for the airport operation. I want your Company to take the terminal, tower and the main section of the airport. Bravo Company is going to secure the southern end of the airport, which is where the Russians are encamped. Charley and Delta Companies are going to air assault in to the Golf Club of Lebanon, just north of your position, and secure it for a medical battalion that will arrive in the seaborne invasion group. The Brigade is going to set up their headquarters at your location once you have the airport secured.”
“I’m going to establish our battalion headquarters initially with Charley Company and will then transition to the airport once Brigade arrives. Because our two locations are less than a mile apart, Delta Company will be your Quick Reaction Force (QRF) if you need additional reinforcements. Charley Company will continue to hold the golf course and provide security for the medical battalion. Once you have established control of the airport, a few dozen air transports are going to land and offload a company of light drone tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. An aviation battalion will also arrive and get the airport ready to receive and launch a few squadrons of Razorbacks.”
“It’s imperative that you secure the airport as quickly as possible; those follow-on forces will arrive ninety minutes after you land,” Major Lee said, looking Thornton directly in the eyes. “This entire operation is a major risk; we have to secure the city, airport and seaport for the armored forces, or we are going to find ourselves in a world of hurt when the Russians turn their attention towards us. Remember, there are nearly 50,000 Russian soldiers in and around this area and another 150,000 in Damascus, not that far from our objectives.”