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By Root 1404 0

German Schlieffen Plan prior to World War I, their reaction had been, So much the better for us! That assault had barely ground to a halt outside Paris. In 1940, the same high command had greeted initial news of another German attack with smiles-and that attack had ended at the Spanish border. The problem was that people tended to wed their ideas more faithfully than their spouses, and the tendency was universal. It was well after midnight, therefore, when the Saudis realized that the main force of their army was in the wrong place, and that their western covering force had been steamrollered by an enemy who was either too smart or too dumb to do what they'd expected him to do. To counter that, they had to fight a battle of maneuver, which they were unprepared for. The UIR sure as hell was driving first to KKMC. There would be a battle for that point on the map, after which the enemy would have the option of turning east toward the Persian Gulf-and the oil-thus trapping allied forces; or continuing south to Riyadh to deliver a political knockout and win the war. All in all, Diggs thought, it wasn't a terribly bad plan. If they could execute it. Their problem was the same as the Saudis', though. They had a plan. They thought it was pretty good, and they, too, thought that their enemy would connive at his own destruction. Sooner or later, everyone did, and the key to being on the winning side was knowing what you could do and what you couldn't. This enemy didn't know the couldn't part yet. There was no sense in teaching them that too soon.

IN THE SITUATION Room, Ryan was on the phone with his friend in Riyadh.

I have the picture, Ali, the President assured him.

This is serious.

The sun will be up soon, and you have space to trade for time. It's worked before, Your Highness.

And what will your forces do?

They can't exactly drive home from there, can they?

You are that confident?

You know what those bastards did to us, Your Highness.

Why, yes, but-

So do our troops, my friend. And then Ryan had a request.

THIS WAR HAS started badly for allied forces, Tom Donner was saying live on NBC Nightly News. That's what we're hearing, anyway. The combined armies of Iraq and Iran have smashed through Saudi lines west of Kuwait and are driving south. I'm here with the troopers of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the Blackhorse. This is Sergeant Bryan Hutchinson of Syracuse, New York. Sergeant, what do you think of this?

I guess we're just going to have to see, sir. What I can tell you, B-Troop is ready for anything they got. I wonder if they're ready for us, sir. You come along and watch. And that was all he had to say on the subject.

As you see, despite the bad news from the battlefield, these soldiers are ready-even eager-for contact.

THE SENIOR SAUDI commander hung up the phone, having just talked with his sovereign. Then he turned to Diggs. What do you recommend?

For starters, I think we should move the 5th and 2nd Brigades southwest.

That leaves Riyadh uncovered.

No, sir, actually it doesn't.

We should counterattack at once!

General, we don't have to yet, Diggs told him, staring down at the map. The 10th sure was in an interesting position He looked up. Sir, have you ever heard the story about the old bull and the young bull? Diggs proceeded to tell one of his favorite jokes, and one which, after a few seconds, had the senior Saudi officers nodding.

YOU SEE, EVEN the American television says that we are succeeding, the intelligence chief told his boss.

The general commanding the UIR air force was less sanguine. In the past day, he'd lost thirty fighters, for perhaps two Saudi aircraft in return. His plan to bore in and kill the AWACS aircraft which so tilted the odds in the air had failed, and cost him a gaggle of his best-trained pilots in the process. The good news, for him, was that his enemies lacked the aircraft needed to invade his country and do serious damage. Now more ground forces were moving down from Iran to advance on Kuwait from the north, and with luck all he would have to do would be to cover the