Chapter 12
The three men who comprised the board of directors for the protectorate were stunned. They digested the field commander's report. It had been nothing but a disaster from the start. After the commander had given his report, he had been dismissed. Over 100 men and a Bradly lost.
"This can't be happening. No one has stood in our way since the beginning." Alexander Haskins said.
"Unfortunately, it would seem we were well and truly handed our asses. I suggest we look at the tape that was given to us by our commander. Perhaps that will shed light on what happened." Phillip Stone stated.
"I concur. Lets go over the material supplied and then we can make an informed decision based on facts." Finished the last member of the board, Charles Mason.
The tape was quickly placed into a VCR and played. The scene opened showing a man in military uniform sitting behind a desk.
"To the director or directors of the Free Zone Protectorate. My name is General Greg Baron. I have supplied a copy of my appointment papers along with this video. Let me be perfectly clear. By the time you view this tape You will have learned that we are serious in our position. Your demands for supplies are denied. As the Federally appointed District Commander for this area, you will cease and desist your expansion activities. You will contact us as soon as possible to turn over all military weapons and vehicles to the legitimate authorities. I am the only convening authority that can assume or appoint during this crisis in this district."
Here the tape was paused. The three looked at each other.
"This is even worse. He is a Federal appointed official, and we were trying to rob him basically. The question is, what happened to that pompous ass, Litchfield? Him we could have rolled right over." Mason said.
"Obviously a change has taken place. Last I heard, Myron Litchfield was in charge up there. I think we need to send a few people out to find out what's going on up there." Alexander Haskins said. "I suggest we listen to the rest of the tape and look over everything before we make any decisions."
With that, he resumed the tape and everyone watched avidly.
"The federal Government is supporting my position here. I have Air support, and satellite photo recon available to me as I need it. Please observe."
Here the tape switched views from the General, to an outdoor scene. There was a muffled oath as they recognized their town as seen from the air. Several Places were zoomed in and one of those was the detention camps that the directors had set up.
"As you can see, I have a very good idea of what you people are up too. I am ordering you to release the persons being held in this and the other camps we have identified. You may keep up law enforcement but you will no longer maintain a standing army. I will expect a small convoy of the following vehicles to be sent north no later than one week after this video has been received by you. I will know when your man in the field will have gotten it. I hope we can come to a quick accommodation. Anything else would be disastrous... for you."
The tape ended there. The three directors were silent. Finally, Phillip got up and went to the coffee machine.
"So, what do we do? Do we have any information on this General Greg Baron? I don't recall any military installations around here except the National Guard Armory, and we control that." Phillip said, taking a sip of coffee.
"We have over 600 men that are trained for combat. Litchfield didn't have more than what? 100?!40? Also, how many men does this general have? I strongly suggest we stall, and find out as much as we can before we make any commitments." Charles suggested.
"I concur. We don't want to rush into anything. We have a good area here, and we are very strong in it. If worse comes to worse, we can pull back, and defend this position from direct attack. The only thing that worries me is this air support they have. And the recon photos from the satellites. There will be no way to hide what we do." Alex finished.
As the directors were trying to decide what to do, Greg looked over his newest acquisition. The Bradly had been recovered and fixed. Greg now boasted an armored fighting vehicle.
It was parked at Litchfield's ranch. A few hours in the machine shop had remedied the problems caused it by the .50 cal rounds that had hit it. Lt. Preston had gotten a satellite hook up with the space station and to Cheyenne Mountain established.
Several days later, a truck pulled up to the ranch headquarters gate. In the cab of the truck was a man wanting to trade or sell Several hundred pounds of hog meat for beef, milk eggs, butter, gas.
When Greg heard about the bacon, pork chops, pork steaks, pork roast this guy had, he salivated. He authorized the trade, giving more than he got, but wanting the pork badly. He told the ranch to see if the guy wanted to make a regular trade at specific times. He also wanted to know where the guy lived, so the gas could be delivered.
At least that is what he told the guy. What he really wanted, was to know if the guy was legit or a plant. He would not be the first person that had been found giving information on the activities of the ranch. Just two days prior, a man had been discovered video taping the training exercises that Sgt. Ballerton had the men running.
The three directors of the protectorate were meeting again to finalize their decision. First though, each had read the contents of a red folder marked urgent, and that was the topic of conversation.
"So what we have here, is a week end warrior who is actually an author of fiction." Phillip stated.
"He might be all of that, but he is also a General in the remaining Federal Government, and has the support of said Government." Charles replied.
"We know from the reports coming in that he can't have more than 125 men and woman in his command. We have a little over what, 600 men in our mobile force that we can use in the offense? That still leaves us about 125 men for our local guards and police force. I think that's more than enough, considering you don't want to commit the entire force to the attack. As it is, with the force we will send, we will have a 3 to 1 numerical advantage." Alex gloated.
So they wrangled out details. The commanders of the protectorate army we called in and they were instructed to implement plan, 'Clean Sweep'. The directors did not want any opposition to their expansion to the north, and the commanders were ordered to destroy everyone who stood in their way.
So it was that the commander of the protectorate forces started his men north, but in a round about way. They were split up over several days, traveling in smaller groups, and told to rally at two points that were safe spots for the protectorate forces in the north.
The first was an abandoned warehouse in an industrial park long since unused. The second was at a previously prestigious private school which had been slowly taken over by the protectorate as an advance base in the Superior area. Both were just a few miles from the Litchfield ranch and were secure locations.
The way that the protectorate had split up it's forces had in fact fooled the satellites. They saw cars and trucks of all sorts leaving the main area of the protectorate, but always in the wrong direction. Only a few went northerly, and then they stopped after a time at houses along the north route. Greg's people were well and truly fooled.
Cheyenne Command could not afford to dedicate a satellite to just one area for constant monitoring. So that was how it came to pass that a little over 340 people were able to infiltrate to the north in numbers that gave the protectorate a fighting force at Greg's front door, so to speak.
Secondary roads were used to avoid the patrols and check points Greg had mounted and positioned. Several of the people that were seen moving were local and known to the guards, so they thought nothing of their movements. That too was to come back and haunt several people. More people were actively working for the protectorate that was known.
At 4:00 A.M. on a Thursday morning, both sections started out on foot towards the ranch. At 4:43 A.M the first check point that Greg had continually manned was taken. Both guards were killed and a man was left to monitor the radio that was located with the guard post.
AT 5:21A.M. the left flank of the warehouse group married up with the right flank of the school group. Now the force was once again intact, and only a little over 5 miles from the ranch house.
It was purely an accident that the satellite spotted the oncoming men. Steve had sent up a request to the team in charge of one of the satellites and they repositioned it and found large heat signatures moving. If the heat imaging had not been activated, they would have missed them totally. Only ineptness and unfamiliarity of the satellites function control revealed the men marching on the ranch. Signals flew, and Greg and his men were awaken to the fact that they were about to be attacked in large numbers within the hour, all thanks to an inept operator of a satellite.
No movement was detected by the advance scouts that Commander, Richard Ellis, of the Protectorate army sent forward. His orders were clear. Over run and kill everyone on the ranch. Recapture the Bradly, and take everything else as intact as possible.
Once again the force was split. 100 men were sent to the right flank of the ranch. 100 men sent to the left flank. The remaining men were going up the middle. It was thought that any response would be given to the center group, particularly if the left and right flanks did not fire until they could envelope the ranch buildings. That was why the attack was scheduled for day break. They wanted to be able to visually identify the enemy.
It was a good plan, well thought out. Had the surprise been total, it would have worked magnificently. However, with the warning that Greg and his men had, they were up and already in position. They watched as the two elements split off.
It was after the third rooster crowed, that the firing started. Sgt. Ballerton had sent out people to seem to work as usual to lull the attacking force. It worked. The protectorate men were slowly moving into place when the first land mine went off. As it did, the men concealed around the ranch opened fire as per instruction.
The M60 machine gun opened up with raking fire along the center group which had stopped, stunned by the explosion. They quickly dropped to the ground, but not before 16 men were cut down, and another 8 wounded. Attacking men from the right flank ran and jumped into a ditch just as the M60 opened up in their direction.
Most made it to the ditch. 9 men were killed or wounded. The .50 cal still had not opened up. Commander Ellis was worried about that. His surprise attack had not been a surprise. All forces were still hundreds of feet from the ranch building. His center force had dropped to the ground where it was, afraid to move. No one had known about the mines.
The firing was fast and furious. The attackers were now finding defenders and inflicting death and wounds. Already 27 men from the ranch were either killed or wounded. If the ranch had had just a little more warning, the results would have been different. As it was, with the warning they got, the ranch was giving more than it got.
10 minutes into the fight, over 63 men from the attack force were dead, and another 52 wounded. Over one third of the attacking force was taken out. Unseen by either party, Greg arrived with his men from the lodge, and the .50 cal machine gun. It's arrival was announced by the THUMP... THUMP... THUMP from the left flanks rear!
The .50 raked the men who thought they were safe from the ranch. They were too, but were not safe from an attack on their rear. When they discovered they were being attacked from the rear, the left attacking flank did the only thing it could. It charged the ranch proper. More of that group were killed.
However, with it's suicidal attack, it revealed men to the central groups fire as they exposed themselves by shifting positions. Men died or were wounded in the defenders positions. Sgt. Ballerton kept giving out orders and calling fields of fire to his men.
Greg moved his .50 up and started to rake the central attacker's position, as they could no longer fire at the left flankers without fear of hitting their own men. As the 50.cal opened up and walked rounds over the ground that was being used for cover by the attacking force. It was about this time that the M203's started to fire. (M203 is a grenade launcher that is attached to an M16. Fires a 40MM grenade. Can be Illumination round, incendiary, high explosive, gas, or shot gun.)
Round after round was fired and exploded in the central attacker's position. The left flank of the attackers was now almost dead to a man. The right attacking flank, seeing what they thought was an opening, came out of the ditch and ran forward. The firing had slowed from that side, and the man commanding that group ordered a charge. It was his last order ever.
As he and his men were closing on the machine shed, a group of claymore mines were manually set off. Defenders opened a withering fire into the smoke. Of the almost 100 men from that group that started the attack, only 12 made it back to the ditch.
The men firing the 40mm grenades switched to tear gas, and the rout began. Coughing and gasping, men leaped to their feet and fled. As soon as the men were a little over 500 meters away, Greg ordered a cease fire. The left flank had been totally killed by the defenders, or wounded. None remained standing.
The remaining 12 men from the attacking right flank withdrew in a more orderly fashion and soon joined up with the central body. Of the 340 men that had been involved in the attack, 67 were able to get away. Some of those were walking wounded.
"Alright. I need everyone who is able to go and check on wounded and the bodies. Bring our wounded to the first bunkhouse. Priority is for our wounded, then enemy wounded. Don't waste time with people who are seriously wounded. We don't have the supplies or expertise to do anything for them. If they are our men, comfort them as much as possible, but move on to those who can be saved. I don't mean to sound callus here, but we don't have a doctor, and our medical supplies are not that good. So I reiterate, our people get help first and foremost.
"I want a team to go out and collect weapons and equipment. Leave nothing behind. I also want to know why the Bradly did not get operational during the attack. Sgt. Ballerton, send a harassing force after our recent visitors. I want them moving constantly. I don't want them to relax until they are 20 miles south of here.
"Lt. Preston, get on the phone and ask for satellite recon of the invaders, and I want it yesterday! I also need a head count of who is living and who is dead among our people." Greg ordered briskly.
Cheyenne Mountain was already observing and had observed the battle. The commanding officer ordered up a medical team to fly in via Sikorsky modified helicopter. It was actually two craft that would go. One module would be an operating theater of up to 4 tables. The other was for wounded before and after operations.
Steve and Jessica would hitch a ride with the medical team. The commanding general was pleased with the response of Greg and his men. He complimented them via phone, and told him medical help and certain supplies were on the way. As were his brother and daughter.
Within two hours, the first of the giant helicopters arrived and settled itself on the ground a couple hundred feet away from the ranch buildings on a fairly flat piece of ground. The pod was detached, the portable generator run out and set up, and it was soon operational.
The second copter delivered the operating pod and two special passengers. The reunion of Steve, Greg, and Jessica was a happy thing, despite the grim surroundings.
A third helicopter, a modified extended range Apache, delivered the remaining medical staff. Although each pod had been loaded with supplies, still another cargo copter came in, and offloaded several pallets of ammunition as a refill for the men of Greg's command.
Curiously enough, about an hour after the medical copters had came and went, a somewhat elderly man showed up at the gate, and said he was a doctor, and asked if he could be of service. Greg was excited to see this man. He recognized him. The doctor recognized Greg and told him he had basically ridden out the bad months at his cabin in the woods. It had been a long cold winter so far, but he had had the foresight to lay in a hug amount of supplies and basically lived simply.
Also, he had been tending to the rangers at the remount station. Most everyone was in good shape. Several cases of frost bite, but nothing to serious. The rangers had laid in a huge supply of food and were in good shape.
Greg was curious about the rangers and their remount station. The doctor, Arther Benson, said that they had 36 people and 70 head of horses. Although they had gotten more and more feed grain in for them, it was not enough to last out the months of rain and the inability to get more food for them. So the rangers had had to kill off almost half the mounts. The remaining horses were in good shape, and now that the storms had stopped, the rangers were actively looking for supplies for themselves and their mounts.
"They basically knew what was going on down here, but kept their head low. They could offer nothing in a conflict, and they wanted to be a viable force for afterwards." Arther said.
Greg thought, but a force for whom? However he kept this thought to himself.
"Doc, I am sure that the military doctors can use you, if only to triage the wounded. A man of your experience is invaluable to us. I am glad you showed up!" Greg said enthusiastically.
Greg was seated in the office of the ranch, when the assigned driver for the Bradly came in.
"Sir. The Bradly failed to operate due to sabotage. Someone engaged the emergency cutoff and then disabled it. It's fixed now, and the Bradly works fine, but we have a traitor." Reported Private Carol Rattly.
Greg stared at her for a minute, And then nodded. "Thank you Private. Carry on, and good work."
Damn, this was another problem that he had not considered as well as he should have. He added it to his ever growing list of problems to be fixed as soon as possible.
While Greg and his men and woman sorted out their problems, and the doctors worked to save lives, the remaining men of the Protectorate Army were entering the town that was their home and base of operations.
Commander Richard Ellis reported to the directors the disaster that had been the attack. Everyone listened quietly and grimly as he reported. Several questions were asked, and they were thoughtful at the replies.
After the commander left, the three discussed their options. Almost half of their army had been destroyed by a force that while smaller, had superior fire power and support. Plus, they had declared themselves to be enemies of the United States Government with this attack.
"If we had succeeded, the Government would have had to deal with us as a legitimate authority. We would have presented a fait accompli. At this point, we are now an outlaw group that has to be dealt with." Charles said with a sigh.
"Gentleman, we are well and truly screwed. Our only hope at this point is to dig in, and make taking us so expensive and prohibitive, that they will elect to leave us alone." Alexander responded.
The three discussed more options, and made tentative plans to
counter any move that General Baron might make on their positions. It
was a long and hotly disputed discussion over what should be done.