by Jenos Ridan on Wed May 14, 2008 12:33 am
The West has a geography suited to a defensive guerrilla war: the mountain passes in Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Colorado and such can he easily sealed with minefields, alpine patrols and, if the CINC chooses and chemical industries premit, high-persistance nerve agents such as VX can be air-deployed like the above minefields. In the Southwest, the climate is harsh and generally not worth occupiding, perfect for basing gurellia forces. Perhaps the only drawback is the shortage of deep-water harbors like the Puget Sound and San Francisco Bay. Unlike the Northeast, the West is lightly populated, but this opens other doors tactically. However, the West does have military installations like Bangor Naval Base and the company Boeing, headquartered in Seattle, can bring other boons to the military.
The Midwest has the bulk of food production and had a number of the major manufacturing centers such as Detriot. However, she is landlocked and has to fight to reach the sea lanes. While not as heavilly populated as the Northeast, the agricultural and industrial might alone translate into an immense starting position.
The Northeast has a number of good harbors, rivaled only by the South. In addition to numerous good harbors, she also has the highest population and has a fair number of industrail sites to exploit, second only to the Midwest.
The South is not very well populated, and never had been. Until the last century, it has been a rural backwater with minimal industries. Ill-equiped in the last civil war, she remains ill-equiped to fight the next. Perhaps the only saving grace is the location of military centers like Hampton Roads, Fort Benning, Annapolis and King's Bay.
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The West goes into isolation, the Midwest and the Northest duke it out over the South in order to attain the Gulf oil reserves before diverting attention to the West. In the early stages, arms are being stockpiled, militias are being trained and the Air National Guard is taking over the formerly Federal Air Force Bases.
The South, in a repeat of the last civil war, knowing that it cannot fight a defensive war, instead takes the example of the Confederate Army under Robert E. Lee and takes the fight to the Northeast and the Midwest, hoping to win by demoralization.
The Northeast attempts to blockade the South while maintaining the North Atlantic Sea Trade. "Yankee" merchants begin buying arms and industrial goods in Europe, bolstering the local industries for the coming push West.
The Midwest, without need or desire to immediately construct a navy, turns it's industries to artillery and armored fighting vehicals. Many factory towns, slumbering for years and even decades, roar to life, producing the tools of war.
Who will win is anyone's guess.
"There is only one road to peace, and that is to conquer"-Hunter Clark
"Give a man a fire and he will be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life"- Something Hunter would say