“I’m well aware we have the initiative,” Alan said. “But that doesn’t mean one goes hog wild. We have to practice caution so we don’t overextend as the Chinese have done in Wyoming. We can’t let them do to us as we’ve just done to them.”
McGraw banged the arm of his chair and thrust his huge torso forward. “That’s where you’re wrong, dead wrong. ‘Audacity, audacity, always audacity’.”
“Who said that?” the President asked.
“Frederick the Great of Prussia,” McGraw promptly answered.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs shook his head. “You have your facts wrong, General. That’s a misapplied quote to Frederick the II. Actually, Danton, a radical of the French Revolution, said it.”
“Either way,” McGraw said. “The quote still applies to us. Now is the time to take calculated risks.”
The President appeared thoughtful.
“Sir,” Alan said, “if we moved Army Group South to St. Louis in order to launch an attack—” He turned to McGraw. “You do mean to attack with the Army Group, right?”
“Yes!” McGraw said. “I think Army Group South should attack hard out of St. Louis. It’s our bridgehead over the Mississippi River. The objective for the attack would be to pin down the Fourth Front where it is. Let Marshal Wen, and Chairman Hong for that matter, believe we’re trying to encircle the Fourth Front. That will keep Wen from sending needed soldiers to Marshal Liang.”
“But you would not try to encircle Fourth Front?” the President asked.
“No sir,” McGraw said. “We can fake it, but we don’t have enough troops to actually do it.”
“What about the Mississippi River Line?” the President asked. “Taking Army Group South away from there opens us up to an attack across the Mississippi River into the Deep South.”
“Firstly, the Militia guards the Mississippi River in strength.” McGraw said. “They’re not going to be blown away unless the Chinese attack with overwhelming force. Secondly, as of now, you don’t have to worry about the Mississippi River because the Chinese are focused elsewhere. Sir, they’re worried about two different fronts—if we make the attack out of St. Louis that is. By the time the Chinese realize the St. Louis assault was a feint, we’ve sewn up Third Front and turned their soldiers into POWs. The idea of this is to keep needed reinforcements out of Marshal Liang’s hands.”
“I see,” the President said. “Yes, your idea has merit.”
“It also has grave risks,” Alan said.
“This is war,” McGraw said. “Great victories come to the men who are willing to take the big risks. We’ve caught the enemy off balance and out of position. As the President says, now we have to keep the Aggressors upset until we’ve destroyed Chinese Army Groups A and B: Third Front. Actually, that would be approximately two thirds of Third Front.
“Destroying that many soldiers takes time,” McGraw said. “Soon, the Chinese in the encircled area are going to be short of food and munitions. That’s when we begin chewing into them. Until that time, we have to hold on to what we’ve taken. To do that, we have to keep the pressure on. Director Harold is right about the Militia. They’re sorely needed troops, but they’re fragile if used wrongly. Wrongly means putting them out in the open. My idea puts the burden squarely on Army soldiers who are trained to attack. Hell, maybe we’ll even get lucky in St. Louis and destroy more Chinese.”
“Sir,” General Alan implored the President. “I beg you, don’t do this. It’s too risky. We need Army Group South where it is. We can’t risk any more of America to the enemy.”
“You’re wrong,” McGraw said. He raised his hand and almost scratched the burn mark. He glanced at his hand as if seeing it for the first time. He put the hand in his lap. “You can’t afford to let Army Group South sit on its butt. We have to use everything now and keep the Chinese on the defensive. The greatest risk is to let the Aggressors concentrate against us in the west. We can’t let them regain the initiate. That’s the greatest risk to us.”
The President scowled as he stared at the floor. Looking up, he asked the Director of Homeland Security. “What do you think, Max?”
Director Harold was slow in answering. “Sir, I’m with General McGraw this time. I’m sorry, Alan. I think McGraw is right. I like the quote by the way,” he told McGraw.
“Anna?” the President asked. “What’s your take on this?”