Civil War

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

(November 4, 2026)

As the sun is rising over eastern Texas, the ordinary peaceful morning noises are overwhelmed by the sound of masses of men and vehicles moving across the state. The men are the men of the 1st Infantry Division and the 56th Stryker Brigade, and they are slowly closing in on Beaumont, Texas.

The land assault on Texas had begun on the afternoon of November 1 as units of the 101st Airborne Division crossed into Texas just south-west of Shreveport, Louisiana. More units of the 101st, as well as the 1st Infantry and the 56th Stryker Brigade, were due to cross into Texas that night. However, the Texans were ready for it and blew bridges over the Sabine River in the south and a bridge over the Toledo Ben River further north. This had slowed down the progress, with the result that the men of the 1st Infantry and 56th Stryker didn't actually enter Texas until late on the 2nd. Even then, despite taking control of the towns of Orange and Pinehurst, the men were ordered to hold just west of the towns before making their move towards Beaumont. US aircraft were still trying to weaken the defenses, but were being held off by Texan fighters and Patriot launchers. Finally, late on the 3rd, two days behind schedule, the formation was cleared to proceed to Beaumont.

As they are approaching the city, the men know what they're about to face. Reports showed that at least two brigades of the 1st Armored Division were in the city to defend it. Although the attacking US force outnumbered them, the defensive advantage that the men of the 1st Armored would enjoy would be enough to nullify the numbers advantage for the most part. If the Air Force couldn't get through to provide enough close air support, this battle would be fought on almost equal terms.

The 1st Infantry is leading the way towards Beaumont along the Interstate 10. The biggest concern for the US forces is the fact that the position of Beaumont right along the west coast of the Sabine River means that the only way into the city is to cross the river along the I-10, and the next closest crossing is at the Rainbow Bridge over 10 miles away, and intelligence has told them that the destroyer Truxtun is just off the coast not far from the bridge and could cause heavy damage to the division to the US forces as they tried to cross the bridge, and the next closest river crossing is about 20 miles to the north, which would put them more at the mercy of Texan air attacks and lengthen the time it would take to reach Houston, which is the ultimate goal of this army.

Even though its clear that the army has to cross the river along the I-10, it doesn't leave the troops with a lot of confidence. Intelligence reports has informed them that multiple tanks and dug in defensive positions are guarding the other end of the bridge in Beaumont. A number of attack helicopters and A-10s are standing by to launch air strikes against these targets as the 1st Infantry starts to cross the river.

However, the Texans have one more obstacle in their path.

Unknown to the US forces, the 3rd Cavalry Regiment had also been deployed to defend Beaumont, and much of the regiment had been dug in and hidden on the east side of the river. Strykers of the division were dug in along the highway from Rose City all the way to the Bomac site directly across the river from Beaumont itself. The M1134 ATGM Strykers were the ones dug in furthest east to try and take out tanks from the 1st Infantry as early as possible. They had also set massive numbers of land mines along the highway, and the infantry from 3rd Cav dug in with the Strykers had a lot of anti-tank weapons, ready to decimate the tanks of the 1st Infantry.

A handful of scouts deployed east of the first Stryker positions call out a progress report as the leading tanks finally get within 2 miles of their position, putting them at the extreme edge of the Strykers' TOW missiles, but still at twice the range of the guns on the M1s.

The commander of the 3rd Cav is patched into the radio frequency and hears the scouts' report. Making a quick call, he calls out over the radio, "All lead units will engage at 2 miles."

The Stryker crews make ready to engage the incoming forces. However, the one major drawback is that there aren't many of them. Only 9 M1134s are positioned along the highway, and can only do so much before they'll need to retreat and reload. But that's the plan.

The crews of the M1134s wait a few more minutes, then the first three finally break their cover as they move forward into firing positions. Raising their missile launchers, they each fire their missiles.

The US forces are instantly aware as the tanks spot the Strykers with their targeting systems. However, they're still almost a mile from range, and can do nothing in responde. The TOWs find their targets, with 3 M1s destroyed and the other three damaged. And with that, the Battle of Beaumont, the first real battle of the Second American Civil War, begins.

The 1134s quickly retreat back to reload and lessen their chances of being attacked in return. Hearing that three of his tanks have been destroyed and three more damaged, the brigade commander orders the three damaged tanks to pull back out of firing range, and the rest of the brigade to speed up to close the range.

The 1134s are able to reload their missile launchers and fire again, destroying 4 more tanks and damaging one. However, by that point, the leading tanks are now almost in firing range. The commander of the anti-tank platoon orders the three vehicles to pull back to their next position. However, as they do, the next platoon readies their missiles. The trap is now closing.

(Beaumont field HQ, two hours later)

In a field HQ set up in western Beaumont in Central Park, Major General Michael Simmering, the division commander of the 1st Armored Division and commander of the defense of Beaumont, is quickly reading over the latest reports from the front. The initial trap across the river had worked like a charm. The anti-tank platoons had caused some heavy damage, destroying a total of 19 tanks, while losing three vehicles in return. Then, Strykers and infantry had swung around behind the tanks to attack the infantry and less armored vehicles coming in behind the tanks. The attacks had caught the 1st Infantry off guard, as they were expecting more of a dug in defense from the beginning that the defenders wanted the attackers to just bash themselves against. The flanking attacks from the 3rd Cav had caused some heavy casualties, with multiple vehicles destroyed and hundreds of US soldiers dead or wounded. The 3rd Cav, however, had sustained some heavy casualties from attacks by helicopters, and had either scattered north and south or retreated back across the bridge into Beaumont. Now, the 1st Infantry was crossing the bridge across the river into Beaumont. However, their attack was already not going to plan. They'd lost over thirty tanks already, multiple other vehicles, and hundreds of troops. On top of that, the helicopters meant to attack the defensive positions around the bridge had had to be diverted to attack the 3rd Cav, and the A-10s that had supposed to carry out the attack had been devastated by F-16s and MANPADS missile, though they had managed to destroy a number of tanks and cause some casualties among the defenders.

"Alright. Give the order," Simmering orders.

Within minutes, Apache helicopters that had been keeping hidden in the city come racing in towards the bridge. Armed with Hellfire and Spike anti-armor missiles, as well as ammunition for their cannons, the Apaches target the tanks leading the way across the bridge. Despite one being shot down by a MANPADS missile, the remaining Apaches unload their weapons on the tanks. Multiple tanks are destroyed, and with the Apaches waiting to attack some of them until the right moment, the tanks almost completely block the bridge.

The Apaches retreat out of sight and send a message to the rest of the division. Immediately, more Apaches, these ones armed with a mix of Hellfires and rockets, head across the river to start attacking the infantry and lighter vehicles while M109 and M777 howitzers and HIMARS rocket launchers within the city begin firing at the division across the river. At the same time, infantry positioned amongst the buildings along the west shore of the river begin launching TOW and Javelin missiles at vehicles, both on the bridge and on the eastern shore.

The Battle of Beaumont is kicking into high gear.