Stuck in the South

[Markus Wilding]

"Alright, gentlemen," Wesley Marchegiano said as he entered the staff room. "We have some very important foreign dignitaries on their way, and I for one do not want our fellow communists to see that we are not in control of all of our constituent Republics. General Harrison, how has the campaign in Florida been going?"

"The 1st Infantry Corps, as you know gentlemen, has engaged dissidents who declare themselves to be part of the 'American Resistance.' Most are armed with surplus Springfield rifles seized from Marine Corps armories, with a few equally outdated machine guns. With our modern weaponry, we should be able to crush them should they continue to resist."

"Excellent," Marchegiano said, shuffling some papers around. "Alright, uh, next up...these fellows in the mountains. What do they call themselves again?"

"Uh, Mountaineers, sir."

"Right, thank you, John. Uh, General Kauffmann, any word on that?"

"Well, we may need to diver troops from Operation Tar Heel if we want to suppress them, and in my opinion we absolutely should before engaging in that campaign. As it stands, these Mountaineers have the ability to disrupt our supply lines, and if they figure out we're going to war, they might take that opportunity to try and take South Carolina. I don't need to remind any of you that we need to hold on to that Republic, especially with Florida's ports so heavily damaged."

"Alright, General, consider the 3rd Army under your command to clear those rebels out. I don't want any neo-Confederates causing trouble anymore, not when we have the Soviets here. Understood?"

"Crystal clear, sir."

"Great. Let's get to work, gentlemen."

[Markus Wilding]

Having command of the 3rd Army was definitely a nice boon to his career, especially considering Kauffmann's demotion to a mere 3-stars, down from his previous four during the Pacification Campaigns. Dillan suspected his demotion came about only because his traditional rival, Arnold Harrison, had plenty of friends in the Department of Defense and an excellent friend in President Abraham Wood. Come to think of it, Wood's victory as President was only because Harrison had campaigned so heavily in his favor, swaying the military votes to his side.

But, all of that was in 1949. This was a new year, a new era, 1951, and in front of him were thousands of neo-Confederate fascists that needed to be eliminated. Dillan had done the preparatory work beforehand, having requisitioned enough ammunition, fuel, spare parts, and food to sustain the 3rd Army through its campaign in destroying these so-called "Mountaineers." Army Intelligence informed him and his staff that Spartanburg had recently been seized by these rogue elements, coming down from their mountain hideouts to try and enforce their distasteful at best beliefs on the local populace, sensing weakness in the area. Their leaders weren't exactly wrong in thinking so, either - there were no major Army bases in the area that could aid in relieving the area, and with communications lacking at best, the town was easy pickings.

Well, if the Mountaineers wanted to hold the people of Spartanburg hostage, they could do so. His scouts had come back with information claiming the town's garrison now composed at least a full division of troops, armed partially with civilian rifles, and some arms that were likely stolen from former American armories. Further reports indicated the civilians in Spartanburg were not actively resisting. If anything, the reports said, they welcomed the neo-Confederates. A shame. Dillan would have to ensure the divisional MPs rooted these corrupted souls out.

The 26th Infantry Division had been set up, with the 3rd Armored supporting it. There was almost no way these rag-tag neo-Confederate trash had anti-tank weapons at their disposal.

[Markus Wilding]

Spartanburg was proving to be a difficult nut to crack.

Unexpectedly, the neo-Confederates were not heading out to fight him. They were staying in the town, imposing their own demented version of law and order, stealing food and supplies from good, hardworking Americans. He had no choice but to attack, to meet them in a close-range fight.

Kauffmann abhorred the idea of shelling the city, especially when there could still be civilians in the area. He had raised these concerns with General Jared Daniels, the supreme general of the Socialist Republics Army, in a short missive detailing his problem and asking for advice on how to overcome it. The response was less than promising.

Code: Select all

No quarter is to be shown to the Fascists. Those who remain in the occupied city of Spartanburg are either collaborators with the Fascists,
or are awaiting your forces to rise up in a brave counter-resistance.

Eliminate the Fascists by any means necessary. Prosecute this target as you would any other military task.

- General Daniels

That settled it. The artillery had already planned a fire mission to destroy positions confirmed to be used by the neo-Confederates - as well as a few they weren't using - and all they needed was the go-ahead. Kauffmann decided they would attack at dawn, under cover of a two-hour artillery barrage.