Chapter 188: Chapter 165: The War Cabinet

Columbia, Federal District, the United States of America
November 24th, 1833 (19 days after D-Day)

President Eliyah Peters paled as he looked at the war map of the United States. The Seventh President of the United States looked haggard and exhausted as his eyes darted around the room, which wasn't surprising considering the situation the nation was in. For the first time since the Revolutionary War, parts of the nation were occupied by foreign powers. And unlike the Revolutionary War, America's enemies were rapidly advancing into the interior, which was sparking massive panic in every state. The members of the Cabinet were in the meeting room of the West Wing of the White House. Since Columbia was not under direct threat from the fleets of the Alliance and invasion, the president decided to hold the emergency war strategy session in the brightly lit meeting room instead of the "bunker." The warm sunlight shining through the windows was contrary to the dark mood within the room.

"Fushaven had fallen, sir," Secretary of Defense Lucius Bonapart reported as he pointed towards the critical rail city in Alabama, which was shaded red to signify the Alliance occupation of the settlement, "We've received scattered telegraph reports from the area just this morning."

"How did they advance so quickly?" President Peters asked solemnly.

"Railroads, sir. Jackson was one of our biggest rail hubs in the south and after its capture, the Alliance utilized the steam locomotives located in the town to smash our defenses in Fushaven directly."

The president frowned, "Why were the tracks at Jackson left intact?"

Secretary Bonapart shifted uncomfortably, "The Alabama National Guard unit in Jackson received the order as the town fell. By the time it arrived, there was nothing the National Guardsmen could do."

A fist firmly landed on the table, startling the occupants of the room. President Peters was a quiet and reserved man, but while he spoke to the members of his Cabinet, there was an edge to his voice, "I want an order sent to every single town in the south with a railroad station: the rails are to be destroyed."

"All of them?"

"The ones in Jefferson, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia."

"But Mr. President..."

"I do not care if it slows us down when we recapture the south, I want the Alliance offensive to halt before it advances any further! Jackson is connected to Atlantia, which is connected to important cities in the east and the midwest. We can not let them capture any rail lines coming in and out of Atlantia."

"It will mean sacrificing Jefferson and Alabama, sir. Along with Florida."

"I know," The Commander in Chief's shoulders slumped as he looked directly at the secretary, "But we do not have a choice. The front is constantly expanding and even though our troops are being deployed into the region, we can only hold so much ground. If the government receives backlash for this move, then I will personally take the blame."

The Secretary of Defense hesitantly nodded, "I will send out the order. However, I recommend that we keep the lines in Atlantia and Washington intact. We have managed to reinforce the two cites with thousands of troops and the officers there have confirmed that the Alliance has not reached either one of them. Additionally, I highly recommend that we send out the "scorched earth" order to deny the advancing enemy supplies and resources. We have delayed sending the order for far too long, but we still have time to slow their advance. "

"I do not like the scorched earth tactic, but I understand it must be done. You have my full support for the orders," President Peters wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead and looked at the various pieces (representing American military units) on the map, "We have one hundred and ten thousand troops at our current disposal..."

"Ninety thousand, sir," The Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs Lieutenant General Jacob Brown stated, "Twenty thousand troops are currently in Texas, but we are unable to communicate with them. Hopefully, they will be enough to stall the Alliance's push into Texas, if there is one."

"Ninety thousand at our current disposal. Thirty thousand soldiers are in Washington, while twenty thousand troops are in Atlantia. The remaining forty thousand are holding the line in southern Georgia and eastern Florida. When will the next division be ready?"

"In a month, Mr. President. We will have an Army division and a Marine division ready for deployment. That will give us thirty-five thousand additional troops to utilize."

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"Are we able to siphon off troops from other regions?" President Peters asked.

"I would recommend against such a move, sir. We are still unsure about the exact troop strength of the Alliance in the area. It's entirely possible that they may attempt to invade elsewhere with our military focusing on the southern states. A single division, along with local National Guards, is holding the entire New England region by itself. Another division is holding the Canadien states, and thirty thousand troops are in Oregon. We have already started ramping up recruitment and we expect our military to double again in size within six months."

"That is if enlistment holds steady."

"Which is why I believe my proposal has some merit, sir. Forgive me if I'm being rude, but allowing immigrants to fight in my proposed "Foreign Legion" would free up our garrison units to fight in the southern front. Especially in Oregon, as there are a number of immigrants in California willing to fight. under the American flag"

The president waved his hand, "I will see to it. My biggest concern is our industry. Much of our industry has been moved to the west, out of the reach of the Alliance bombardments. However, this has resulted in reduced industrial output and a stall in the production of those new Pelissier Repeating Rifles. It doesn't help that Project Monitor is keeping the Canadien states preoccupied, along with the fact that our trade is nonexistent."

"We still have plenty of leftover Lee Rifles and a sufficient reserve of Clarkes Rifles and Samuel Rifles. Arming our soldiers will not be a problem. Ammunition is our biggest concern, as the breechloaders eat up an exhausting amount of bullets and gunpowder," Secretary Bonapart mentioned, "The Pelissier Repeating Rifles will only make our logistical problems worse. Our industry was more than capable of supporting the ammunition needed for one hundred thousand troops. But supporting three hundred thousand troops without any imports from other nations? That will be a difficult problem to deal with."

"Secretary Lloyd, do you agree with his assessment?"

Secretary of the Treasury James Lloyd cleared his throat, "I do. It would be better to stick with the Lee Rifles and the Samuel Rifles, along with the Clarkes Rifles for sharpshooters until our industrial situation improves. As planned, the federal government and the Federal Bank are doing their best to support the rapid industrial expansion in cities such as Detroit, Peoria, Madison, Cleveland, and Thaona. Even so, I expect the process to take at least a year or two. Especially since we have a number of projects in development under ARPA, everything from the breechloading "Springfield" siege guns to the Gatling guns."

"Project Monitor will be complete before October, Mr. President," Secretary of Research and Development David Jean said as he cut into the conversation, "We will have two Monitor class ironclads and three Bunker Hill class armored frigates ready, along with a dozen torpedo boats. We just need to hold out until then. Toronto, Thaona, and Montreal are all producing wooden frigates to support the metal warships in securing the American coastline."

President Peters leaned forward and clasped both ends of the table, "Let us hope the public does not waver until then. And General Brown, is SOCOM in position?"

For the first time during the entire meeting, someone in the room grinned. That man was the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs, "Oh, the Gurkhas have already been unleashed in Florida, and the two SOCOM battalions have been released into Alabama and Jefferson. The British and their lapdogs will not have an enjoyable experience facing them. They will also be formally assisting the civilian partisans in the area, which will only worsen the resistance in the occupied territories."

"In the meantime, Major General Napoleon has reassured us that St. Augustine will hold if there is an enemy attack and has even proposed a counterattack on the Spanish and French positions in Alligator Town. Especially since he has received additional shipments of artillery to blow a hole in their lines..."

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AN: The Pelissier Repeating Rifles are the Spencer Repeating Rifles of OTL.

Springfield Siege Guns are the Armstrong Guns of OTL.

Alligator Town is Lake City, Florida of OTL.

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