Those redoubts were force multipliers for the troops behind them. It meant they could face the French charge. We need to build a Great Plains defensive line and throw every Militiaman Mr. Harold has gathered behind them. Of course, we should stiffen those Militiamen with Regular Infantry and—”
“And tanks,” McGraw said.
“No!” Stan said. “That’s where you change up the historical parallel with a German WWII idea.”
McGraw frowned, but finally nodded. “I’m listening.”
“We have to mass all our tanks and mobile artillery into one big fist,” Stan said. “That’s what the Germans did for the invasion of France in 1940. Did you know that the French and British had more tanks than the Germans did in that swift historical campaign? Some of the Allied tanks were better than the German tanks. The German advantage was concentration. Instead of spreading out their tanks everywhere, they put them altogether. It was the difference between slapping a man in a fight and punching him in the face. We have to punch the Chinese in the face with all our tanks in one spot.”
“Bah!” McGraw said.
Stan stared at him. “It’s a risk, a big risk. But I think this is the time to attempt it. We need to use the Rockies or the Mississippi against them. By massing all our extra troops onto the defensive line, and trusting those Militiamen to hold for a time, we wait with the last U.S. Tank Army. That Tank Army or Army Group has to be lavishly supplied with everything we have left. With it, we punch through a Chinese or South American weak spot and encircle a significant portion of the Chinese Army. We put them into a cauldron and annihilate their troops. That’s also the right place to use the Behemoth tanks.”
Slowly, McGraw shook his head. “It’s a bold plan. That part I like. But it puts too much trust on the Militiamen to hold the line. Too many of them have folded—they have run away in battle—for me to trust the fate of the United States on them.”
“You asked me my idea,” Stan said. “I think we have to find a spot somewhere to go on the offensive. With what we have, we have to concentrate our best troops in one key spot. Tom, you and I both know that you don’t win a war by defending. I have to believe that holding onto such massive amounts of territory must be weakening the Chinese. The American people won’t just lie down and accept occupation.”
McGraw pursed his lips, becoming thoughtful for a time. Finally he said, “That’s a lot of movement, pulling out armor all across the Great Plains and shipping it to one area. I’m not sure we’d have the time to pull it off.”
“It’s not rocket science,” Stan said, “but to do as I suggest would take a lot of confidence for any leader to attempt. The normal thing is to hold onto what you have with your strength spread out evenly, defending everything. Frederick the Great had a saying for that. ‘He who defends everything defends nothing.’ Sometimes, you have to gather your strength in one spot and take a risk.”
McGraw glanced at his latest shot glass. He let his chin droop and rest on his chest. His eyes were half-lidded. “There’s more to your idea, isn’t there?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t give me that, old son. You have this all written down somewhere. I bet you’ve come up with a thousand details.”
Stan sucked in his lips. They felt even more numb than before, almost as if a dentist had sneaked in and given him a shot of Novocain. Suddenly, Tom didn’t look so drunk anymore. The man was huge. How much alcohol could the general absorb before he became sloppy drunk and threw glasses at the wall? Had that been a show earlier?
“Speak up, Colonel. I can’t hear you.”
“I might have written a few things down,” Stan admitted.
Tom stood up. “I want to see them.”
“Now?” asked Stan.
“I can’t think of a better time.” Tom McGraw grinned, and he winked at Stan. “I figured you’d have something up your sleeve, old son. I also know that a drunken man has a harder time keeping quiet, and talking to a drunk makes it even harder. Listening to you, I realize I’ve come to the right place for a sweeping idea on how to fix our situation. Are you ready?”