Chapter 9

It was 'the straw that broke the camel's back'. The neighboring territories petitioned for entry in the new union. By the time all the negotiations were done, you could draw a line from what Will once knew as the eastern edge of North Dakota, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Everything west of that line was now the Free Republic of Westphalia. The three districts were Coreal, Farnham, and Killian.

Vespucci wasted no time in declaring war on the fledgling nation, but it would be months before its forces could do much more than be a nuisance. The generals had made use of the experienced scouts at their disposal. The disposition of the Vespucci forces was well documented. The only places with manned forts, were those deemed to be in 'potentially hostile areas'. By this, they meant those areas with significant 'native' populations.

As it turned out, the Miwok had friends in those same areas. The Miwok were peaceable, for the most part, and did quite a bit of trading with the more 'warlike' tribes. Information was traded, as well. The Comanche, Apache, and others, could see the handwriting on the wall. They knew that if it came to a fight, they would lose to the better armed easterners.

None of them were very trusting when it came to the whiteyes. The People had been given promises before, but none had been kept long enough for the ink to dry on the treaties they had agreed to. The recent experience of the Miwok concerning The people of Westphalia, had been quite different. The tribes decided to take another chance, and negotiated with the fledgling nation.

Once the new allies were armed with revolvers and repeating rifles, they were anxious to contribute. They were also madder than hell. Many of their men had been taken to work in the mines of Vespucci. They wanted those men back. Not only were they given permission, they were informed that any land they took, would be theirs to keep. Logistics was completely up to them.

The plan was beneficial to both parties. The combined tribes would keep the northern half of the line occupied, while the Westphalian forces handled the southern. Will and the others had been shocked to learn that the tribes here could actually work together without too much fighting between them. This was especially true when faced with a common enemy.

They weren't given automatic weapons, tanks, or any other more modern weapon to use. Will thought it was odd that they didn't even ask for any.

Moonie explained it for him. "They are much too afraid of these things, Will. The revolvers and rifles they can understand, but tanks and RPG's are beyond their comprehension. It seems like magic to them."

When Carrie expressed her fear that it wouldn't be enough, Moonie laughed. "It will be more than enough", she assured Carrie, "The People will be quickly freed, and the only soldiers who are alive three moons from now, will be the ones who do not leave the forts."

The generals reached the same conclusions. Because of that, they had not only enough tanks for their portion of the line, but for many of the places along the ocean where attempts to land forces might be made. Westphalia had no navy to speak of. There hadn't been time even to attempt to build one. With the 75mm howitzers on the tanks, they didn't need one yet. Cannon didn't have nearly the range of the tanks. The only additional precaution was the addition of phosphorous rounds. One hit on a wooden ship would be devastating.

If the war were to last more than six months, there would be a surprise that would keep the Vespucci navy from being any threat. Will had all the knowledge he needed to design a midget submarine. It was more like stealing one, though. Being a history nut paid off, again. He took the design of the Japanese midget subs of World War II, and made a few improvements. They were over one third larger, and carried four torpedoes. Range was an issue, but they would be more than capable of protecting the coastal waters. It had taken him a month to design a working battery array. Even then, he could only manage to increase the submerged time to six hours. He thought that would be plenty.

Vicky came up with another strategic idea. Since they had no air force, she suggested tethered balloons, such as the ones used in the First World War. Once Will was assured that they would be stationed in places that were out of the range of the enemy, he happily agreed.

The people crossing the line to their side had been a valuable source of information. Most of it was good news. The Vespucian army was in disarray. Desertion was taking its toll on them, and with the beginning attacks in the north by the natives, there was much argument on how to proceed. One of those desertions was very fortunate.

He introduced himself as 'former general' Martin, and gave this briefing;

"I waited as long as I dared, before coming here", he explained, "But I feared waiting any longer. People were beginning to suspect where my loyalties lay."

He asked to see a map, and pointed to two locations. As near as Will could determine, they appeared to be the areas of Coffeyville, Kansas and Galveston, Texas.

"They intend to attack across the border here," General Martin explained, "on the twenty-third. Thirty days from then, they are planning on landing forces here (Galveston). They believe the land attack will draw your forces away from the planned beachhead, and allow them to deploy over a thousand troops behind your lines. The intent is to trap your forces between their two armies, and they intend to kill them to the last man. From their intelligence, they think this will then give them overwhelming numerical superiority, and cause the immediate surrender of your remaining forces."

When the laughter subsided to chuckles, Will explained. "We kinda figured they'd try to land there. They're in for quite a surprise. We fortified the island, and have enough artillery there to cause them a bit of discomfort. How many do they have for the land attack?"

General Martin sighed "Three thousand. Complete with cannon, infantry, and cavalry. Do you think you can stand them off?"

"Oh, I think so" Will replied laconically. "Would you like to observe the battle? With more than three weeks to prepare, I think we have enough time to arrange a welcome party for them. I won't promise that you'll have fun watching, but I think you'll find it educational."

Will made sure the new arrival had an escort at all times, just to be on the safe side, but several men had vouched for him. Will and the others weren't too worried he was a spy, but they did want to gauge his reaction when he was given a tour of their training and manufacturing facilities.