Civil War

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

(December 6, 2029)

The sun is not even up yet in San Antonio, but that is not stopping the government and military command structure of Texas from functioning. In the city hall, President Abbott is conversing with several military officers, including Generals Brown, Mingus, and Poppas.

"We have confirmation now that the 3rd Division has reached blockading positions around Florida and Alabama, and units from the 34th Division have reached Mississippi. It seems our intelligence was correct after all about the government wanting to assault Louisiana and then us while blockading Alabama and Florida," General Brown says.

Abbott nods before he says, "Are our units ready to move?"

"Yes. The 1st Cav will remain in position to defend our borders with Oklahoma and our National Guard units have moved to take up positions along our western borders, but the 1st Armored, 3rd Cav, and 2nd Infantry Regiment are ready to move," General Poppas says. The 2nd Infantry Regiment was the first new Army unit to be raised by the Republic of Texas, and was composed entirely of defectors from the United States. Thousands more new recruits were already undergoing training or soon to begin training, with enough numbers to staff more than 2 divisions, but no new recruits had yet finished their training.

"Good. I have spoken with Governor Landry, and he has confirmed friendship between our countries and given full permission for our units to enter their territory," Abbott responds.

"Yes, sir. I will issue the orders, and our units will be moving within the hour," General Poppas responds.

"Any word on the Brazilian ships coming for the Kennedy?" Abbott asks.

"We're expecting they should be arriving on the 12th," General Brown responds.

"Good. Keep the Truxtun and Toledo in position to protect their approach and stop Davidson from trying to destroy the Kennedy, but move the rest of our fleet into position off Mississippi," Abbott orders. Abbott knows this upcoming battle may be a little difficult, as it will involve coordinating military forces of two independent states, potentially 4 if Alabama and Florida choose to get involved. Abbott can only hope that their initiative in attacking before the US forces are ready will prove to be the key to victory.

(Eastern Texas)

At a position just east of Beaumont, the 1st Armored Division and 3rd Cavalry Regiment have moved to a new position to be ready to move into Louisiana as soon as they received orders from the command structure in San Antonio. Mere minutes ago, they had finally received an order to move out and move into Louisiana, where they would head towards the town of Tallulah, where they would rendezvous with units of the new Louisiana Army.

The men of the 1st Armored and 3rd Cavalry have been roused, despite the fact the sun isn't even up yet, and are now hurrying to gather their belongings and weapons and pack up their tents to be ready to move. Their commander, Major General Simmering, has ordered them to be ready to move within 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, General Simmering and the commanders of the various brigades and the 3rd Cav are having a short meeting to confirm their plans and their orders. Their orders were to be in place in Louisiana to make their attack into Mississippi on the 8th. Thankfully, the highways along their path have so far been untouched by air strikes, and if they can maintain speed, they should be able to get there in more than enough time for the attack to take place on the 8th.

"Our orders have also informed us that Louisiana will have almost two brigades worth of troops at Tallulah. However, it will be almost all light infantry, with some artillery. However, we will have the B-52s from the 2nd Bomb Wing now available to us," Simmering says.

"The Eisenhower group is going to be in position to lend support, aren't they?" one of the colonels asks.

"Yes, they will," Simmering orders. This gives further reassurance to the men to know they have an entire carrier battle group on standby to support them in addition to both their Air Force and the Louisiana Air Force.

"Alright, you're all dismissed. Get your commands ready to move out. I want all troops moving in 28 minutes," Simmering orders.

The meeting disperses so the officers can attend to their duties. Thankfully, the units are ready even faster than asked, and about 25 minutes after the meeting ends, the first troops of the 3rd Cav begin moving. Within 20 minutes, the entirety of the 3rd Cav and 1st Armored are moving.

Further to the north, the 2nd Infantry Regiment is also on the move. They had been stationed near the town of Marshall, due west of Shreveport, Louisiana. Now, they begin moving east, where they will rendezvous at Shreveport with some of the troops Louisiana is committing to the attack before proceeding east to Tallulah.

The troops are on the move, and ready for war.

(December 8, 2026)

It's still the dead of night in eastern Louisiana, not long after midnight, but on land just east of the town of Tallulah, it's a hive of activity. The units of the Texas Army, along with the 256th and 3rd Infantry Brigades of the Louisiana Army, are assembled in travelling formations east of Tallulah, ready to advance into Mississippi in a pre-emptive strike on the US units stationed in the state.

The units, commanded jointly by Major General Simmering and Brigadier General Jonathan Lloyd of the Louisiana Army, are waiting for the aircraft meant to start airstrikes into Mississippi to fly over their heads before they start ready. Thankfully, because both sides are wanting to use it to attack the other, the major Vicksburg Bridge over the Mississippi River is still intact. Once they get the signal, the units have orders to cross the bridge, seize the small city of Vicksburg, and then make their way towards the city of Jackson. Troops of the 1st Infantry Division are currently stationed in and around Jackson while they wait for reinforcements, making the city the first major target of this offensive. The 1st Armored Division will handle the capture of the city while the 3rd Cavalry Regiment and the Louisianan units will head further north to attack the 101st Airborne Division at its camps further north in the state.

As the soldiers of the various units are engaging in quiet chatter, all of it surrounding the war and the fact they're fighting former countrymen, they begin to hear the sound of aircraft engines. They look up at the sky, and within seconds, they can see the lights and outlines of fighters flying overhead as they head into Mississippi. They also see several B-52s flying overhead. Smiles cross the faces of many of these soldiers, knowing that the airstrikes should be able to soften up the US defenses a little bit before they have to go into action. Within minutes, the orders come over the radios for all units to begin heading east.

The airstrikes begin hitting their targets before the troops have even begun hitting the bridge. The B-52s bomb the airport in Jackson, completely wrecking the airport's runways and facilities, completely shutting it down as a means of either resupply or escape for the forces in and around the city. Meanwhile, fighters focus on hitting troop positions and armored vehicles while also keeping an eye out for any incoming US fighters. The airstrikes have almost wrapped up before the first US fighters arrive on the scene, resulting in the destruction of 4 US fighters and 3 rebel fighters. Another rebel F-16 is shot down by a SAM fired by men of the 1st Infantry just outside Jackson.

Even as the aircraft are retreating back across the border into Louisiana, some of them to re-arm for another sortie, the troops are beginning to cross the Vicksburg bridge. The leading troops, which are from the 3rd Cavalry, move into the city of Vicksburg completely unopposed. The people of the town are mostly very happy to see troops of Texas in their town and welcome them as liberators from the regime in Washington.

By 3 AM, the first troops and tanks of the 1st Armored Division have reached Jackson, and the first fighting has broken out between the 1st Armored and 1st Infantry. Still trying to recover from the air attacks that have already hit their positions, the 1st Infantry is not fully ready for the attacks launched against them, and begin to pull back to shore up their defenses against the Texans.

At last, the Mississippi campaign has begun.