 First edition | |
| Authors | Jake Saunders Howard Waldrop |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Dean Ellis |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction, War |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books |
Publication date | 1974 |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 209 pp |
| ISBN | 0-345-27736-8 |
The Texas-Israeli War: 1999 is a 1974 science-fiction war novel by Jake Saunders and Howard Waldrop. [1] [2] Several early chapters appeared in Galaxy in 1973 under the title A Voice and Bitter Weeping.
In 1983, the nations of the world signed the Oslo Disarmament Treaty, severely limiting the size of nuclear arsenals. However, this led to a proliferation of biological and chemical weapons.
By the early 1990s, a fanatical Irish nationalist government had declared war on the UK, conquered Northern Ireland, and expelled the Protestants from that region. In August 1992, Irish commandos introduced LSD into the water supply of much of the UK. Under the influence of the drug, the Prime Minister and Parliament ordered the use of nuclear weapons against Ireland and her allies, South Africa and China. The Commonwealth backed the UK in the emerging World War III, and the United States joined the British side after Chinese missiles, targeting the Canadian Great Plains, struck inside the US. By this time, widespread biological warfare was in effect, with missile-borne pathogens doing extensive damage to both agriculture and human populations. One week after the beginning of the war, China invaded the Soviet Union. Israel remained the only major neutral great power. By the end of 1992, half of the world's population was dead; 90% had perished from plague and famine by 1994.
Later, Texas declared independence from the United States as the Second Republic of Texas; due to Texas' large oil reserves and refineries, the U.S. saw its recovery as an important strategic objective. During negotiations in Oklahoma City, U.S. President Clairewood was kidnapped by Texas Rangers and held captive in Texas, while the United States languished under the heavy-handed but ineffective leadership of Vice President William Mallow. The war between the two nations continued; a Texan offensive into Louisiana in May 1999 was repulsed, but only after war crimes were committed by Texan forces operating under the command of the Sons of the Alamo, a radical paramilitary group.
Sol Inglestein is the commander of a tank squadron of Israeli mercenaries fighting for the United States government, promised land for their efforts. Their Centurion tanks, which Sol had radically redesigned, are powered by nuclear reactors and armed with Gatling-style laser cannons. His squadron is ordered across the Red River into Texas to take part in an assault on the Dalworthington metro area; his mercenaries dance the horah as they wait to cross the river. Encountering only light resistance, they push towards Dallas. Sol leads the column in his tank, the Wrath of Jehovah.
Master Sergeant William Brown, a Vietnam veteran commanding an armored car, is part of General Wilson's Union army simultaneously advancing on Dallas from Texarkana. Separated from his column's heavy armor when the Texans dynamite the dam holding back Lake Ray Hubbard, his contingent comes under heavy artillery fire as they near Dallas. With only his car remaining, Brown sights the source of the fire: a Texan heavy cruiser, the Judge Roy Bean, brought up a canal to Dallas.
Meanwhile, Sol's tank squadron, alerted by Brown, ambushes and sinks the ship. Sol is then given a new assignment: he will lead a push into the heart of Texas to rescue President Clairewood. Guided by Major Mistra, a Texas National Guard officer who defected to the Union, Sol will lead a column masquerading as Texan mercenary armor. Sol's girlfriend, Myra Kalan, also a tank commander, will separately lead the remaining Centurions south. Splevins, the CIA agent conducting the briefing, warns them that President Mallow's agents may try to sabotage the mission. Shortly thereafter, a squad of soldiers attempts to assassinate Sol and Myra.
Sol's brigade, along with Brown, departs for Fort Deaf Smith, a former prison near Crystal City where Clairewood is being held. En route they encounter a band of Indians with the Volkswagen logo painted on their chests. Mistra convinces the Texan units guarding Crystal City that they are Israeli mercenaries fighting on the Texan side, and they are ushered into the Fort to refuel and await new assignment.
Myra's tanks follow a parallel route to Sol's. They are nearly struck by a tornado and are attacked by a Texan infantry patrol, who are dispatched by one of the tanks. They arrive in position in the hills above Fort Deaf Smith, but Myra is captured while scouting. Despite playing the innocent she is tortured by the Sons of the Alamo chief at the fort, Kiburn, but is rescued from this mistreatment by the Texan commanding officer, General Fowler.
Meanwhile, General Wilson's Union forces have been advancing south towards Houston to draw the Texans away from Crystal City. Increased pressure from Cuban amphibious landings at Galveston and on Padre Island cause the Texan armored brigades to begin hurried preparations to leave Fort Deaf Smith.
At this point, Sol's forces strike. Faking a chemical weapons alert, they destroy the few remaining planes of the Texan Air Force and break into the prison where Clairewood and Myra are being held. Kiburn is killed, and as they escape Fowler destroys one of their tanks but he is also killed. Mistra is shot during the escape. As they leave, the mercenaries destroy much of the remaining Texan armor.
The column evades further Texan forces and makes its way to Albuquerque, from where Clairewood returns to Pittsburgh, the American capital, unannounced until Mallow encounters him in the President's office. Clairewood celebrates with Sol, Myra, and Brown over bottles of Coca-Cola, no longer manufactured in the United States but now imported from Israel.
A 2011 review in the Texas-based Jewish Herald-Voice claims the novel provides "an intriguing counterpoint to many of the assumptions that prevail in the historical study of Texas Jewry" and so this "profoundly unhistorical book thus serves a useful historical purpose". [3] A 2013 review in Foreign Policy described the novel as "solid Grade B sci-fi: punchy, page-turning prose with lots of action and a fair bit of sex" while calling it "one of the most bizarre SF books ever written". [2]
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. The majority of combat between the two sides took place in the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights—both of which were occupied by Israel in 1967—with some fighting in African Egypt and northern Israel. Egypt's initial objective in the war was to seize a foothold on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal and subsequently leverage these gains to negotiate the return of the rest of the Israeli-occupied Sinai Peninsula.
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945. From the late 1950s, the T-54 eventually became the main tank for armoured units of the Soviet Army, armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, and many others. T-54s and T-55s have been involved in many of the world's armed conflicts since their introduction in the second half of the 20th century.
The 4th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army that earned distinction while spearheading General Patton's Third Army in the European theater of World War II.
The M22 Locust, officially Light Tank (Airborne), M22, was an American-designed airborne light tank which was produced during World War II. The Locust began development in 1941 after the British War Office requested that the American government design a purpose-built airborne light tank which could be transported by glider into battle to support British airborne forces. The War Office had originally selected the Light Tank Mark VII Tetrarch light tank for use by the airborne forces, but it had not been designed with that exact purpose in mind so the War Office believed that a purpose-built tank would be required to replace it. The United States Army Ordnance Department was asked to produce this replacement, which in turn selected Marmon-Herrington to design and build a prototype airborne tank in May 1941. The prototype was designated the Light Tank T9 (Airborne), and was designed so that it could be transported underneath a Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport aircraft, although its dimensions also allowed it to fit inside a General Aircraft Hamilcar glider.
The 49th Armored Division —nicknamed the "Lone Star"— was an armored division of the Texas Army National Guard during the Cold War.
The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-War tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing combat into the 1980s. The chassis was adapted for several other roles, and these variants have remained in service. It was a very popular tank with good armour, manoeuvrability, and armament.
The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a multi-component heavy brigade combat team. The regiment has served in the Philippine–American War, the Pancho Villa Expedition, World War II, the Vietnam War, Gulf War and Iraq War. The 11th ACR serves as the opposing force (OPFOR) for the Army and Marine task forces, and foreign military forces that train at Fort Irwin.
The 3rd Cavalry Regiment, formerly 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army currently stationed at Fort Hood, Texas.
The 1st Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army regiment that has its antecedents in the early 19th century in the formation of the United States Regiment of Dragoons. To this day, the unit's special designation is "First Regiment of Dragoons". While they were the First Regiment of Dragoons another unit designated the 1st Cavalry Regiment was formed in 1855 and in 1861 was re-designated as the 4th Cavalry Regiment. The First Dragoons became the 1st Cavalry Regiment since they were the oldest mounted regiment.
The 12th Cavalry is a cavalry regiment of the United States Army.
Tank development both evolved considerably from World War II and played a key role during the Cold War (1945–1990). The period pitted the nations of the Eastern Bloc and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO against each other.
The 4th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage is traced back to the mid-19th century. It was one of the most effective units of the Army against American Indians on the Texas frontier. Today, the regiment exists as separate squadrons within the U.S. Army. The 1st Squadron of the 4th Cavalry's official nickname is "Quarterhorse", which alludes to its 1/4 Cav designation. The 3rd Squadron of the 4th Cavalry's official nickname is "Raiders". Today, the "1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry", "2nd Squadron, 4th Cavalry", "4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry", and "6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry" are parts of the 1st Infantry Division, while the "3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry" serves as part of the 25th Infantry Division. On 23 September 2009, the "4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry" officially stood up at Fort Riley, Kansas as part of the 1st "Devil" Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. On 28 March 2008, the "5th Squadron, 4th Cavalry" officially stood up at Fort Riley, Kansas as part of the 2nd "Dagger" Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. The 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry served as part of the recently inactivated 1st Infantry Division, 3rd "Duke" Brigade, at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The 1st and 5th Squadrons are assigned to their respective Brigade Combat Teams in the 1st Infantry Division. The 4th Squadron was inactivated in October 2015. The 3rd Squadron is assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team in the 25th Infantry Division.
The Battle of Abu-Ageila was a military confrontation between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army in the Six-Day War of June 1967. The decisive defeat of the Egyptians was critical to the eventual loss of the entire Sinai Peninsula to Israel. Leading Israeli forces was Major General Ariel Sharon, later a prominent politician and prime minister of Israel.
Sho't is the Israeli designation of the 105 mm L7 armed Centurion tank, which entered Israeli service in the late 1960s.
The Valley of Tears is the name given to an area in the Golan Heights after it became the site of a major battle in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, known as the Valley of Tears Battle, which was fought from 6 October to 9 October. Although massively outnumbered, the Israeli forces managed to hold their positions and on the fourth day of the battle the Syrians withdrew, just as the Israeli defenses were almost at the point of collapse.
Yad La-Shiryon is Israel's official memorial site for fallen soldiers from the armored corps, as well as one of the most diverse tank museums in the world. The cornerstone for Yad La-Shiryon was laid on December 14, 1982.
The 13th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. The 2nd Squadron is currently stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, as part of the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division.
Israel–Netherlands relations are foreign relations between Israel and the Netherlands.
This article deals with the history and development of tanks of the Israeli Army, from their first use after World War II in the establishment of the State of Israel after the end of the British Mandate, and into the Cold War and what today is considered the modern era.
The 124th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, represented in the Texas Army National Guard by 1st Squadron, 124th Cavalry, part of the 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team at Waco.