by gerald hall
“Our friends from the Arab Brotherhood reported much the same thing happened before the fall of the United Kingdom and Ireland. A heavily armed convoy of ships evacuated hundreds of thousands of infidel refugees from Portsmouth and other western ports in the days just before the United Kingdom fell.”
“This is truly unfortunate. If those people could have been captured, they could have been neutralized as a future threat to the global Islamic community, just as the escapees from Australia will continue to be a threat.”
“The English and Scottish had resisted for far too long and had to be broken for the Arab Brotherhood to complete their conquest of Europe. It was necessary to use a small number of nuclear weapons to accomplish that. But now, the most resistant infidels from Europe will all be in one place, North America, specifically their Eastern Alliance. We can destroy them all in one fell swoop now, Your Excellency.”
“Yes, but only with we all work together. It will also require from cooperation from our enemies, the infidels. We will require for at least some of them to act very selfishly and foolishly first. Then we can take advantage of their poor judgment. Fortunately, we already know of one group of infidels in North America who has demonstrated the qualities that we require.”
“Their so-called ‘Western Republic’?”
“Yes. Of course, they have been acting very foolishly concerning the security of their borders and their people since well before they decided to separate themselves from the more conservative infidel brothers in the east. They forgot that in unity, there is strength. Now, they fight against the Eastern Alliance of States, sapping away the strength from both parts of the formerly United States of America.
In due time, we will act directly against their Western Republic and use as a stepping stone to crush the last of the infidels in North America.”
“Of course, Your Excellency. Our united followers of Allah through his prophet Mohammed have the strength now to make this entire world ‘Dar Es Salaam’. Then we can truly have peace and justice just as Allah has ordained it to be. The infidels will all be put into their proper place of submission, once and for all time.”
“Of course. Now tell me. How are our efforts proceeding in the preparation of the former US Navy ships that we captured here at the naval base? They will be very important in the campaign against the Western Republic.”
“I am sorry to say that the submarines and large surface warships have been very difficult for our sailors to master. The infidel destroyers and cruisers can be sailed adequately using sailors who had worked on civilian ships in the past, but their weapons systems have proven to be impossible for our people to master without being trained for a much longer period of time. None of the infidels who do have expert knowledge in the Aegis radar system are either available or willing to train our sailors.
The submarines are an even more difficult situation. We have very few people with any kind of experience operating a submarine. The American nuclear-powered vessels are proving to be impossible for us to operate at all.
The good news is that the four large amphibious warfare ships are much easier to operate. We might even be able to utilize their close-range defensive weapons in an automatic mode. With the large flight decks and vast interior spaces that these ships possess, they will be able to move many of our warriors from here to their next objective. We even have in our possession one of those large three-hulled transports that the infidels call a HALSS. The flight deck on one of those ships is so large that large transport aircraft like the AN-12 and even the C-130 Hercules aircraft that we captured from the Australians can operate from it.
The other large amphibious warfare ships can carry many helicopters. But, they will primarily be able to carry armored vehicles to support our warriors.”
“That is indeed very good news. I already have considered where we would send these warships to their greatest effect. But we will not use them immediately. We will continue sending personnel to Mexico and Central America via commercial transport ships, both to conquer any remaining resistance there, but also for our warriors to continue the process of infiltrating into the Western Republic.
They will be quite a surprise for the infidels in the near future.” The Emir of the Pacific Caliphate said with an air of complete confidence.
“The leader of the Arab Brotherhood has already been bragging about how many blonde sex slaves that his warriors have taken since their conquest of Europe.”
“Let them focus on sex slaves.” The Emir snorted before continuing. “We will focus on the wealth and military power that we will possess through our conquests. The time will come when the ultimate decision of who will lead the Islamic peoples of this world will be made. It will be the men who follow Allah and use true wisdom who will overcome those who think only with their manhood.”
“The Arabs are certainly thinking with their manhood in their fight against the Persians and Israelis. Rather than simply stepping back and using a pair of nuclear weapons to finish the Israelis and Persians off, the Arabs want to close in and kill their ancient enemies in a much more personal manner.”
“I know. It will cost them many warriors in the end as a result. I understand their desire to keep the land intact. But we know the real reason for the Arabs’ decision, don’t we? Pure and simple revenge for the defeats that the Arabs have suffered at the hands of the Jews and Persians. But eventually, this will cost the Arab Brotherhood control of this world.” The Emir of the Pacific Caliphate said with a predatory smile.
Chapter Five:
Near the Temple Mount
Jerusalem, Israel
January 21, 2041
Japan had been hit with defoliants to kill off their food crops as well. The Japanese did not last long after that.
The Israeli defensive lines had been drawn in to within five kilometers of the old fortress walls of Jerusalem. The ability of the vaunted IDF to use its armored forces to rapidly move to counter enemy attacks was practically non-existent now. There was just no room to maneuver heavy armored units left to the Israeli Defense Force. The few remaining Merkava main battle tanks were now mostly fighting from prepared defensive positions, relying upon excavated berms to help protect the tanks from incoming direct fire.
The Israelis had exacted a terrible toll upon their attackers. But the price that the defenders paid to preserve even this small area was crippling. All of the remaining Arrow, Iron Dome and David’s Sling anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems were also crowded within the perimeter. But they had few missiles left to fire now. Most of those were protecting Israel’s strategic weapons, which had yet to be used against those assaulting the Jewish state.
Many of the best and brightest young Israelis who were willing to leave to go to Mars and who had the necessarily qualifications, had already escaped the Jewish State’s last stand at Jerusalem. All that were left inside Israel were the ones actively fighting the jihadist attackers and those who simply waited to die. The Israeli defenders learned long ago that the jihadists attacking Israel were not taking any prisoners at all.
Colonel Ari Shamir now commanded less than three hundred Israeli troops. This included the last of the older reservists to be called up. Practically every surviving Israeli man, woman and child who could carry a gun was now involved in the defense of Jerusalem. All of those Israelis who had resisted joining the IDF for religious reasons had died when the first of the jihadist chemical attacks hit Israel. The religious fundamentalists were simply not prepared for such a devastating attack on civilian and military targets by the Arab Brotherhood.
The al Aqsa mosque had long ago collapsed into ruins as a result of jihadist artillery fire. Along with it, over three-quarters of the buildings in Jerusalem were now little more than rubble as a result of heavy artillery bombardment and the occasional jihadist air strike. The latter had become increasingly rare as a result of heavy losses inflicted by the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli air defense network. But now, heavy attrition in the air, repea
ted ballistic missile strikes on Israeli air bases and finally enemy ground attacks on those same air bases had also eliminated the vaunted IAF as well. The remnants of the IDF knew that this was soon going to be their last battle.
“Are we going to implement the Masada protocol, Colonel?” Major Mordechi Sharon asked. The younger reserve officer at one point had commanded an entire combined armed battalion. The bloody, dirt-covered and utterly exhausted Israeli armor officer was now in command of little more than a company of troops protecting the northeastern perimeter.
“No, I don’t think so. We have saved as many of our people as possible with the help of the colony on Mars. The Jewish people will live on even as our Promised Land is stolen from us once again. I do not want our legacy here on Earth to be the deaths of another billion innocent people as a result of launching our nuclear weapons and creating another ice age for all of humanity. It would not be what our God would want us to do.”
“Thank you, Sir. I have been praying about this too over the past few days, myself. I do not want any part of mass murder, no matter what these people have done to us. What will we do about our nuclear weapons ourselves, Sir?”
“I want you to order the setting of demolition charges to destroy all of the warheads. Make sure that they are rendered utterly unusable by the Arabs. Our morality may not permit us to use these weapons to kill mass numbers of people, even if they are our enemies. But the Arabs and those who follow their religion may not be as compassionate towards humanity as a whole.
They held out for another three days before the last jihadist push overwhelmed Colonel Shamir’s defenders. The sickening slaughter of innocents that followed within Jerusalem’s walls continued for another week afterwards.
In the surviving part of the Republic of Persia at the same time, Brigadier General Dalir Rahimi was personally commanding one of the last Persian operational battle tanks protecting the western defensive line. The Persian defensive lines had shrunk considerably over the past few months. The Caliphate’s attacks had cost the Persian Republic many thousands of military and civilian casualties, especially with the increasing use of chemical weapons.
Now the jihadist forces from the Caliphate were almost within artillery range of Tehran itself. The battles were equally bitter with the use of chemical weapons, suicide assaults and continual bombardments of the part of the Arab Brotherhood’s attackers.
Jihadist troops continued to push toward’s Dalir’s position. The T-90’s, Leopards and other first-line tanks that the enemy forces had used during the early months of the war had been long ago destroyed during the fighting. But now that worldwide production of modern weapons had ground to a standstill, the high-tech weapons that had dominated the battlefield and the skies above it had virtually all been replaced by tools of previous generations like the T-54 and other vehicles of its ilk.
But these antiques still outnumbered Dalir’s tanks by at least twenty to one as did the fanatical mujahidin soldiers who followed their armored units on foot. It was within this melee that Dalir’s tank lethally prowled.
Dalir’s T-72P1 tank wore the battle scars of over a hundred battles on her armor. But she was still as deadly as ever. A patchwork of new and old reactive armor panels covered much of her armored hull and turret. She still had her basic T-72B1 hull. But the tank had her original turret replaced by a Persian-made turret with a large, overhanging rear bustle that contained an automatic loader for her license-built Rheinmetall 12cm smoothbore cannon. The main gun fired a variety of NATO-standard munitions as well as an Israeli-designed guided anti-tank missile that was also fired through the gun tube. This missile was also deadly against low-flying aircraft like helicopters. Like the American M-1, Dalir’s ammunition storage was separated from the tank’s fighting compartment by a sliding armored door and fitted with blow-out panels to prevent a catastrophic ammunition explosion.
An Israeli-designed anti-missile system on the turret had been activated several times to intercept incoming antitank missiles and RPG warheads during the past week already. All of this made Dalir’s tank one of the most capable tanks in service and certainly the most powerful T-72 derivative ever produced. But there were very few of these deadly vehicles left out of the over one-thousand T-72P1’s that the Persian Republic had built. Even the additional three hundred tanks that had been salvaged from Indian Army depots and refitted to the P1 standard had almost all been destroyed in combat now. Their Indian crews had extracted a very steep price from the jihadist attackers along the way, however.
Dalir scanned the battlefield through the electro-optic sights of the remote weapon system that rested on top of the turret bustle. He had his own set of thermal and infrared sensors that were slaved to a 14.5mm KPV heavy machine gun in the RWS mount. The power of the long-barreled KPV was responsible for several burning enemy light armored vehicles this day already, saving the main gun’s basic ammunition load for much bigger game.
It was early in the morning when Dalir’s tank returned to the forward support depot for refueling, replenishing ammunition and a hot meal for his crew. Dalir, like the other two men of his crew, was hot, dirty and sweaty when they climbed out of their tank.
Waiting on General Rahimi was a senior representative of the Persian Government. Minister Darius Khadem, the head of the nation’s health and social services, looked up at the Persian general as Dalir’s tank pulled up to a stop and its crew began to exit.
“General, I need a few moments of your time if you can spare them.” Darius called up.
“Of course, Minister. Please let me get down from my vehicle first. I’m sure that we can find a place to talk that is not quite so noisy or public. Dalir replied as he climbed down to the ground and took off his helmet.
The two men walked over to a nearby small tent surrounded by sandbags while a small, weary army of support troops swarmed over Dalir’s tank to prepare it for the next battle.
“General, the ruling council, what is left of us, want to know what the real situation is on the ground. The council needs to make some hard decisions. So we must know the truth.”
“It is only a matter of time before we are overrun, Minister. We simply do not have the resources or the manpower to hold off the Caliphate for much longer. We are killing their mujahedeen soldiers in large numbers. But the Caliphate is replacing their losses with even more cannon fodder that they have brought in from all over its possessions. We are running critically short of equipment. I don’t even know how much longer our ammunition supplies will last.”
“Then the situation is as dire as I feared that it would be. Still, we must protect the airport near Tehran if we are going to be able to get out any more of our people with the help of the Martians. They will not land their shuttle if there is a risk of it being hit by enemy fire.”
“We have already massed the Republic’s remaining surface-to-air missile batteries around the capital to prevent enemy warplanes from interfering, Minister. I don’t know of anything else that we can do now.”
“I understand, General. You also realize that we have already sent hundreds of our finest people to Mars to escape the Caliphate and the horrors that it perpetrates upon its victims. Every additional Persian that we can get out of here helps protect the future of the Persian people. We both know that the Arabs mean to exterminate us just as surely as they wish to exterminate the remaining Jews.” The Persian minister explained, barely able to keep his emotions in check over what was already happening to his people.
“I will do all that I can. But it may not be enough. We just learned through our military intelligence channels that Jerusalem was overrun two days ago. The Caliphate is slaughtering everyone there, regardless of their faith.
The Caliphate’s leadership has pronounced that they wish to cleanse the entire land that was once controlled by the Jews, but with blood who lived there. It will only be a matter of days, at most a couple of weeks, before they focus all of their forces towards us. I’m afraid that they may try to d
o the same here once they overrun us.”
“Then, if we must perish here. Let’s make sure that most of the blood that is shed on our land belongs to the jihadists. We must not disappear without making them pay dearly for taking our freedom and our lives. The Persian people will continue to live on Mars and hopefully in the future elsewhere in the universe, thanks to the Martians. The sacrifice that we make here will not be in vain.”
“We will do that, I promise.” Dalir grimly nodded before walking away to get a quick meal before going into battle once more with his tank crew.
Persian Republic Military Headquarters
3 Kilometers Southeast of Tehran, Persian Republic
May 8, 2041
“The Indians have lost the last of their tank companies, Sir. Their crews and supporting infantry all died to the very last man, I’m afraid.” Colonel Dariush Aghaei reported.
I’m sure that those very brave men sold themselves dearly. The end is coming soon for now, especially after last week when the Arab Brotherhood overran Jerusalem and ‘cleansed’ it of everyone who had lived there. Now, their focus is on us.” General Rahimi noted.
“It is unfortunate that the Israelis did not launch their nuclear missiles before they were overrun, Sir. It would have been poetic justice if all of the Muslim holy places had been scorched clean in addition to every other place of importance to the Islamists.”
“I know, but in the face of creating another nuclear autumn and killing another billion innocent human beings, the Jews probably showed more of a sense of God’s will than anyone would have imagined in holding back their wrath. It is a pity that we see so little selflessness in this world anymore.”
“You are right as usual, Sir. I wish that I could be as righteous as the Jews have demonstrated.”
“But here, we will stand and fight. You and I both know that we will die here soon. But we buy time for the rest of the free people of this world with our lives. Just another day will perhaps allow a few hundred more children and young people to escape to spend their lives free on Mars or even on the Moon. Another day will perhaps set the stage for a miracle where these evil jihadist monsters are defeated once and for all. I will proudly fight and die for these things, my friend.”
