"William W Johnstone - Ashes 22 - Chaos in the Ashes (txt)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Johnstone William W)

kicked his butt and Georgi decided the best thing to do, if he wanted to
stay alive, was to join with the Rebels. West, a former mercenary, was
engaged to Tina; they would marry someday. West commanded 4 Batt. Pat
O'Shea, a wild Irishman, commanded 10 Batt. Rebet was CO of 6 Batt. Raul
Gomez headed 13 Batt. Buck Taylor was commanding officer of 15 Batt.
Greenwalt was the CO of 11 Batt, and Jim Peters the commander of 14 Batt.

Batts 16, 17, and 21, commanded by Post, Harrison, and Stafford, had
been left behind in Europe. But Ben was seriously thinking of pulling
them back Stateside. He was waiting for a report from Mike Richards
before he made that decision.

Rebel battalions were much larger than conventional military battalions,
and tfiey were self-sustaining, carrying with them artillery, armor, and
fully equipped MASH units. When a Rebel battalion pulled out on the
highway, their vehicles stretched for miles. It was an awesome sight to
witness, from the HumVees to the massive sixty-ton main battle tanks.

Ben looked at Danjou and Jackie. "I don't want the other battalions to
know what we're doing until we're in place. I don't want to have to
listen to a lot of bitching

49

about it. OK, let's roll. Danjou, give us a bump when you're in place.
Let's do it, people."

Scouts reported trouble as soon as they crossed the state line. The
sniper fire was heavy and it forced the column to a halt.

"MBTs buttoned up and roll," Ben ordered. "Take them out."

The sixty-three-ton M1/M1A1 MBTs surged forward. With a top speed of 45
mph, it did not take them long to get into position. The Rebel armorers
had reworked the guns on the tanks and the MBTs bristled with firepower.
The MBTs could run on diesel, gasoline, or aviation fuel. The armor was
state-of-die-art, far superior to the ceramic and reaction-type armor
used on the older models.

"Those houses to your left," a Scout told a tank commander. "Ten o'clock."

The MBTs swiveled their turrets, lowered their cannons, and the 120mm
main guns began to roar, hurling out HE rounds. The houses began
exploding as if made of matches.
"All Scouts on our three fronts reporting heavy sniper fire," Corrie
told Ben. "Tanks are rolling."

"Any anti-tank missiles fired?"

"Negative."