The Texas-Israeli War: 1999
Encyclopedia
The Texas-Israeli War: 1999 is a 1974 science-fiction novel by Jake Saunders
and Howard Waldrop
. Several early chapters appeared in Galaxy
in 1973 under the title A Voice and Bitter Weeping.
arsenals. However, this led to a proliferation of biological
and chemical
weapons.
By the early 1990s a fanatical Irish
government had declared war on Britain
, conquered Northern Ireland
, and expelled the Protestants from that region. In August 1992, Irish commandos introduced LSD into the water supplies of much of Britain. 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 Britain 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-born pathogens targeting both agriculture and human populations. One week after the beginning of the war, China invaded Russia
. Israel
remained the only major neutral nation. 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 its recovery was an important strategic objective. During negotiations in Oklahoma City
, President Clairewood of the US was kidnapped by Texas Rangers and held captive in Texas, while the US languished under the heavy-handed but ineffective leadership of Vice President William Mallow. 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.
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 planes remaining to 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.
Jake Saunders (writer)
Jake "Buddy" Saunders is an American author and businessman.He co-authored A Voice and Bitter Weeping with Howard Waldrop, later expanded into the 1974 novel The Texas-Israeli War: 1999, as well as Time and Variance, with Waldrop and Steven Utley...
and Howard Waldrop
Howard Waldrop
Howard Waldrop is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction.Waldrop's stories combine elements such as alternate history, American popular culture, the American South, old movies , classical mythology, and rock 'n' roll music. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical...
. Several early chapters appeared in Galaxy
Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L...
in 1973 under the title A Voice and Bitter Weeping.
Backstory
In 1983, the nations of the world agreed to the Oslo Disarmament, severely limiting the size of nuclearNuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
arsenals. However, this led to a proliferation of biological
Biological warfare
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...
and chemical
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
weapons.
By the early 1990s a fanatical Irish
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
government had declared war on Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, conquered Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, and expelled the Protestants from that region. In August 1992, Irish commandos introduced LSD into the water supplies of much of Britain. Under the influence of the drug, the Prime Minister and Parliament ordered the use of nuclear weapons against Ireland and her allies, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. The Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
backed Britain in the emerging World War III, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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-born pathogens targeting both agriculture and human populations. One week after the beginning of the war, China invaded Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
remained the only major neutral nation. By the end of 1992, half of the world's population was dead; 90% had perished from plague and famine by 1994.
Later, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
declared independence from the United States as the Second Republic of Texas; due to Texas' large oil reserves and refineries its recovery was an important strategic objective. During negotiations in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
, President Clairewood of the US was kidnapped by Texas Rangers and held captive in Texas, while the US languished under the heavy-handed but ineffective leadership of Vice President William Mallow. War between the two nations continued; a Texan offensive into Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
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.
Plot summary
Sol Inglestein is the commander of a tank squadron of Israeli mercenaries fighting for the United States government, promised land for their efforts. Their tanks, Centurions, which Sol designed, are powered by nuclear reactors and armed with Gatling lasers. 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
Texarkana, Texas
Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It effectively functions as one half of a city which crosses a state line — the other half, the city of Texarkana, Arkansas, lies on the other side of State Line Avenue...
. Separated from his column's heavy armor when the Texans dynamite the dam holding back Lake Ray Hubbard
Lake Ray Hubbard
Lake Ray Hubbard, formerly Forney Lake, is a reservoir located in Dallas, Texas in the counties of Dallas, Kaufman, Collin, and Rockwall County, Texas, just north of Forney, Texas, built on the East Fork Trinity River and impounded by the Rockwall-Forney Dam.It measures 22,745 acres in size with...
, 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
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
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
Crystal City, Texas
Crystal City is a city in and the county seat of Zavala County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,190 at the 2000 census. The mascot of Crystal City High School is the Javelina....
where Clairewood is being held. En route they encounter a band of Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
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 planes remaining to 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
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, 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
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, no longer manufactured in the United States but now imported from Israel.