3.5 Saudi Arabia
by Red MacDonald
Copyright © 2013 Red MacDonald
All Rights Reserved.
The Faithful, North African and Middle Eastern Islamic nations, are plotting to seize the oil resources of the Middle East. By controlling the earth's oil and its major trade routes, they plan to bring the world to its knees. Then, when the entire world is kneeling, the Faithful of Allah will read to them from the Koran, preaching the message of Islam, the True Faith. The Faithful will stop at nothing to achieve their goal. But how far will they go? And how many lives will it cost?
3 Gambits
3.5 Saudi Arabia
3.5.1 The Alert
General Hector Luis Lopez Algarro, Commander Central Theater of Operations, tossed and turned in his sleep. His nightmares were haunted by the question, "Where are the Iraqis?" Then, tanks drove over his bed, firing long cannons. Shells screamed overhead. Explosions rent the air.
He awoke bathed in sweat. The rolling explosions of his dreams became a loud knocking on his door. "Enter," he yelled groggily.
An aide poked his head through the door. "General, we’ve found the Iraqis, and you’re not going to like it."
"Shit! Do I have to wait for it?"
"They’re on the Saudi left flank. I’ve notified General a-Fayd’s HQ, and he’s heading there right now."
"Hell, Fire and Damnation! I’ll be there in five minutes." The four-star general broke all records for getting up and out. He was still tucking his shirt in when he raced through the doors to the War Room. The Saudi chief of staff didn’t look any better than he did.
The G-2 waved them over. "Sirs, here it is." He pointed to the big display, and while they were still sitting down, he began his briefing. "Watcher Two came back with these three hours ago. It’s taken us this long to wade through all the stuff. We notified both of you the moment this came to light.
"Here they are. Three kilometers west of An-Naqirah. Looks like five divisions, with five more coming up fast. That’s two full field armies, the way they count 'em. They came out of El-Wafrah, around the marsh and onto the flank. They’ve got us by the balls, Sirs, unless we move our asses."
The two generals paled slightly. After thirty years of playing war games, they could see what was happening ... classic envelopment.
Algarro turned to a-Fayd. "General, I think its about time we got out of Dodge."
The Saudi, who was an aficionado of old cowboy films, responded, "Aye-Yup, Pardner. The guys in the black hats are a’coming." Both generals smiled at their grim humor.
Within seconds both were on their VisiPhones to their respective commanders: the Saudi with the information about the encirclement and the orders to withdraw; the American to the Ninth Division in Khubal and the Twelfth in Qatif to mount up, head north and engage the enemy. Algarro also hurriedly placed other calls to both the 82nd and 101st, placing them on alert for a "hurry-up" operation. They had to grab that crossroads before the Iraqis closed the gate.
3.5.2 Withdrawal
Lieutenant General Harram Ar-Basouf Ar-Fayd received the emergency VisiPhone still in his night-shirt. "What!" he exclaimed. "They’re on my flank in attack position, and you waited until now to inform me?"
"My dear cousin," the Chief of Staff explained, "we found out about this only moments ago. Calm yourself, and alert your commanders. You will have to withdraw as quickly as possible while under attack.
"This will be most difficult, demanding a clear mind and Allah’s help. You have trained for this time for all your life. You can save the Kingdom or lose it in the next few hours. Allah be with you, my cousin. We are trying to send help, and we will keep you informed. If help comes, they will be Americans. If they do not, it is up to you. Look for them at the crossroads to Jubayl. Out."
Comments
Real skill
It's not how good a general attacks that shows his meddle, but how well he can 'advance to the rear' under a fighting withdrawal that really requires great skill. Done wrong you get a mess that allows the allows the enemy to have a feeding feast of destruction, but done right, you make him cautious of getting his fingers burned and smacked.
Above all you have preserve your forces as a fighting unit so they can fight another day. All too often that comes with making hard choices of who will stay behind as rear guard and those who will likely die. Airborne units fighting tanks are always bad things. Those units tend to be light so they can move quickly, and lack the heavy weapons of regular infantry units. On the other hand they also get more training than normal units knowing that in an emergency they will be the first deployed.
I see the story lines are starting to converge! You have written one heck of a story here!
hugs
Grover
Retreat
Yes, indeed, retreating is extremely difficult. Consider First Manassas. McDowell was retreating in good order for a while. And, if he'd been able to maintain that, it would never have equated Bull Run with an ignominious rout. First Manassas contrasts with the textbook retreat from the fortified eggshell at St. Vith.
Of course, we will have to wait to see if it becomes a rout and a slaughter, or if they can withdraw in good order to fight another day.
Red MacDonald
Hmm
Based on you using First Manassas leads me to believe that you come from below the Mason-Dixon line. People below always seem to refer to both battles as First and Second Manassas while those of us above refer to those battles as First and Second Bull Run.
As for the situation with the Saudi's that you are putting them into. I guess we will all be waiting to see. However, based on my experience in that region, I suspect that both the Iranians and the Iraqi's are going to be highly disappointed and with bloody noses to boot :) While it has been my observation that high level Saudi's can be quite arrogant, they have a history of high military standards from their original training under the Brits and then their more modern training under the U.S.
You say Potayto, and I say Potahtoe ...
Hi,
No, I'm a real Yankee from Boston. My ancestors laid seige to Boston to drive the Brits out, and served on both sides at Bunker Hill. However, as a student of history, it is important to recognize that there are often two or more names for the same event, ie The Civil War vs Mr. Lincoln's War.
I like the comments about retreat being an important test of the general, but I must also give credit to the troops who manage to pull it off successfully. McDowell, for instance, had a good battle plan, which would have worked had it not been for a very stubborn man from VMI. The troops began retreating in good order, but the panicked flight of the civilian spectators and encouragement from the CSA cavalry spread rapidly through the ranks of the USA's soldiers. Later in the war, we can look at Shiloh, Gettysburg, Chickamauga and other bloody battles, in which orderly retreats were accomplished. I have to consider that the quality of the fighting man improved dramatically.
Red MacDonald
short and to the point
but then most "Flash" messages are...
As mentioned, it's how well one retreats and preserves that shows the real mettle of a good general.
A.
And the quailty
of the army and it's training. It takes highly disciplined and trained troops to pull off successfully. Think of it as forcing yourself to walk out while the building you're in is on fire. Behind you is the rear guard, firemen, fighting to buy you time to get out. If you lose it, panic, and run, your actions could cause others to panic too, and clog the exits trapping and hurting more people then if you had kept your cool.
Fires don't have automatic weapons or tanks, but I hope I got my point across.
Routes are always expensive in so many ways.
Grover