the Midwest, turning the mud and miles-long shallow lakes into a tundra-like landscape, the PAA and the South American Federation renewed their stalled offensives.
Army Group A of Third Front gained several miles in the initial Greater Denver assault. After a week of battle, and with constant American reinforcements, the U.S. positions stiffened. After several attempts, the Chinese cut the key I-70 supply route, completing Greater Denver’s isolation.
Elsewhere in the West, Chinese and Brazilian armies fought their way to the South Platte and Platte River Defenses. In the East, the Chinese Fourth Front broke through the Missouri River Defenses. American High Command decided on a fighting withdrawal as workers feverishly constructed the Des Moines Line in Iowa four hundred kilometers to the north.
The differences from the earlier summer and autumn battles were distinct. This time there was no vast haul of American prisoners. The PAA Third Front grained bitterly-contested ground, while far to the east, the PAA Fourth Front matched some of its earlier tank drives, but the Americans retreated in good order.
The South American offensive showed the greatest difference. They stalled sharply against the Platte River Line.
2039, November 18-December 2. Battle of Denver. Over the course of a month, increasing Chinese reinforcements entered the grinding siege battle. Urged on by Hong, Liang unleashed the Grand Assault against the city’s 28-mile perimeter. In a tremendous battle of attrition, the Americans defenders resisted stubbornly from house to house as the Chinese gradually closed in. Grueling winter weather now descended upon attacker and defender alike.
Army Group B of Third Front neared Cheyenne, Wyoming and the North Platte Defense Line. Stubborn American resistance and a constant drain of Chinese units sent south and fed into the Denver meat grinder made sweeping PAA advances here impossible. SAF assaults against the Platte River Defense decreased over the course of a month until the Brazilian generals were content with daily artillery duels. Their soldiers hated the bitter North American winter and morale sank accordingly. In the East, Fourth Front’s advances slowed as they neared the Des Moines Line.
By now, Chinese and Brazilian commanders were all too aware that the Americans had changed since the summer and autumn battles. The U.S. Army was stronger in a quantitative sense and was more robust in quality. The majority of the soldiers exhibited high morale, characterized by a desire for revenge.
The U.S. strengthening came from three sources of new soldiers: The Canadians had arrived, along with the East Coast regulars and the new Militia battalions. In Iowa, the Americans often employed cunning tank tactics. The favored ploy was feigned flight, as the Americans lured overeager Chinese attackers into TOW ambushes.
Chairman Hong decreed that one more push would shatter the built-up American defenses. His rage at German perfidy caused him to demand a brutal end to the campaign, before the Americans could take advantage of the German Dominion removal of their formerly Cuban-based amphibious army.
On the American sides, commanders worked feverishly to integrate their forces and unleash their long-awaited strategic surprise.
From Tank Wars, by B.K. Laumer III:
It is interesting to note that both the U.S. and the Chinese armies used an abundance of cheap and expendable weapon systems on the American battleground. To field such an amazing number of soldiers with more expensive equipment, the various economies would have beggared themselves into penury. Even so, the more elite formations of each side used the most sophisticated weapon systems possible.
The Behemoth tank represented a giant leap forward in battlefield armored vehicle technology, but it wasn’t the last word on the subject. The Behemoth had trumped the tri-turreted T-66 tank. Now the Chinese would attempt to trump the Americans with a newer marvel.
Yet with all deadly weapons of war, one needed enough of them to gain victory. Eighteen Behemoth tanks would face the challenge of an era. In contrast, the T-66 tanks roamed the American landscape in their thousands. The Chinese secret weapon—the MC ABM—few knew existed, and even fewer knew how to exploit properly.
The Battle of Denver saw the MC ABMs first unleashed as a ground-combat unit, reminiscent of the WWII Germans’ field-expedient employment of the 88mm anti-aircraft gun. Rommel in particular in the North African deserts had used them as superior anti-tank guns. Liang’s Chinese learned to use the MC ABMs in a similar manner. It therefore became a contest of king dinosaurs—the Behemoth tank and the MC ABM fought among the scrambling lesser creatures.
This bitter and interesting contest is the next topic in the panorama of our study of modern tank