over the front as the Western Forces prepared to jump off in their
127
1
invasion of Football City.
The efforts at deceiving the Circle with the phony recon photos were now paying off. The Westerners simply launched their attack from points where The Circle had thought they'd been the weakest, ignoring the Circle's front-line concentrations that had been established across from where they had thought the Westerners were the
strongest.
It was a total diversion. From the Free Canadians in the north, down through the combined Pacific American-Football City Army in the middle to the anxious Texans in the south, the democratic troops rolled through the areas obliterated by the cluster bombs, got behind the Circle-sponsored trench troops and began a series of wide encircling pincer movement.
Once the enemy's sides were "rolled up," the Westerners' air corps went to work. Attack airplanes of all types-from PAAC A-7s and F-5s to Texan Phantoms and Free Canadian Skyhawks-bombarded the trapped enemy with barrages of anti-personnel bombs and napalm. There was no antiaircraft opposition to speak of, and many of the trench troops-hired hands with little loyalty to The Circle-simply hid or fled after the initial
air attacks.
From his mobile headquarters which was now following a column of Football City tanks into the outskirts of the city itself, General Jones was on the radio constantly, directing the overall battle. Beside him were Ben Wa and Toomey, who were overseeing the air operations, and "Bull" Dozer, who was coordinating the ground attack.
Within two hours they had breached the Circle lines in a half dozen places, and Western Forces
128
troops were pouring through the gaps and heading for the heart of the city.
Yet Jones and the others were far from complacent. Despite the initial successes, they knew the Circle trenches had been manned by the unreliable mercenaries and that was the reason the attack had started so well. Still ahead they knew they faced tough fighting against battle-hardened regulars of the Circle Army.
They had no idea what was happening within the city itself . . .
The Circle demolition squad arrived outside the POW compound and started flailing away at the large wooden door.
Confusion now reigned in the city-they could hear the booming of guns to their west and every man now knew the long-awaited attack on Football City had begun. Overhead, enemy jets streaked unimpeded, and it seemed like explosions were going off all over the city.
In the panic, the demolition team commander realized that no one had brought a key to unlock the massive wooden door. Now, as the troops took axes to the chains and padlock, the commander checked his watch. His orders-like those to the other demo teams now fanning out in the city-were crystal clear: kill all the POWs inside the chamber by detonating a half dozen concussion bombs just inside the entrance. Circle Army engineers had determined that the POWs deep inside the Holes would either die quickly from the concussion itself or from the cave-in which would surely follow. Either way, the commander knew he had to blow this cave and another one two miles away before he could join his main unit, which
129
was already pulling out of the city.
It took five long minutes before his troopers had hacked and weakened the chains enough to finally break them with a fusillade of an AK-47.
"Quickly!" he yelled to his troops, as they pulled back the enormous doors.
"First team, set the charges. Second team, go below and make sure none of those prisoners move a muscle . . ."
He watched a pair of F-5s roar overhead, their silhouettes taking on a ghostly glow in the near-dawn darkness. Where the hell were the Circle airplanes? Or the SAM battalions?
Another huge explosion went off just a block away, showering him and his team with pieces of hot rock and metal.
"Jesus Christ! Hurry!" he called out to his men who were setting up the concussion bombs as quickly as they could
127
1
invasion of Football City.
The efforts at deceiving the Circle with the phony recon photos were now paying off. The Westerners simply launched their attack from points where The Circle had thought they'd been the weakest, ignoring the Circle's front-line concentrations that had been established across from where they had thought the Westerners were the
strongest.
It was a total diversion. From the Free Canadians in the north, down through the combined Pacific American-Football City Army in the middle to the anxious Texans in the south, the democratic troops rolled through the areas obliterated by the cluster bombs, got behind the Circle-sponsored trench troops and began a series of wide encircling pincer movement.
Once the enemy's sides were "rolled up," the Westerners' air corps went to work. Attack airplanes of all types-from PAAC A-7s and F-5s to Texan Phantoms and Free Canadian Skyhawks-bombarded the trapped enemy with barrages of anti-personnel bombs and napalm. There was no antiaircraft opposition to speak of, and many of the trench troops-hired hands with little loyalty to The Circle-simply hid or fled after the initial
air attacks.
From his mobile headquarters which was now following a column of Football City tanks into the outskirts of the city itself, General Jones was on the radio constantly, directing the overall battle. Beside him were Ben Wa and Toomey, who were overseeing the air operations, and "Bull" Dozer, who was coordinating the ground attack.
Within two hours they had breached the Circle lines in a half dozen places, and Western Forces
128
troops were pouring through the gaps and heading for the heart of the city.
Yet Jones and the others were far from complacent. Despite the initial successes, they knew the Circle trenches had been manned by the unreliable mercenaries and that was the reason the attack had started so well. Still ahead they knew they faced tough fighting against battle-hardened regulars of the Circle Army.
They had no idea what was happening within the city itself . . .
The Circle demolition squad arrived outside the POW compound and started flailing away at the large wooden door.
Confusion now reigned in the city-they could hear the booming of guns to their west and every man now knew the long-awaited attack on Football City had begun. Overhead, enemy jets streaked unimpeded, and it seemed like explosions were going off all over the city.
In the panic, the demolition team commander realized that no one had brought a key to unlock the massive wooden door. Now, as the troops took axes to the chains and padlock, the commander checked his watch. His orders-like those to the other demo teams now fanning out in the city-were crystal clear: kill all the POWs inside the chamber by detonating a half dozen concussion bombs just inside the entrance. Circle Army engineers had determined that the POWs deep inside the Holes would either die quickly from the concussion itself or from the cave-in which would surely follow. Either way, the commander knew he had to blow this cave and another one two miles away before he could join his main unit, which
129
was already pulling out of the city.
It took five long minutes before his troopers had hacked and weakened the chains enough to finally break them with a fusillade of an AK-47.
"Quickly!" he yelled to his troops, as they pulled back the enormous doors.
"First team, set the charges. Second team, go below and make sure none of those prisoners move a muscle . . ."
He watched a pair of F-5s roar overhead, their silhouettes taking on a ghostly glow in the near-dawn darkness. Where the hell were the Circle airplanes? Or the SAM battalions?
Another huge explosion went off just a block away, showering him and his team with pieces of hot rock and metal.
"Jesus Christ! Hurry!" he called out to his men who were setting up the concussion bombs as quickly as they could
Similar Books
Space Station Crisis: Star Challengers Book 2
Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, June Scobee Rodgers
