Harold Coyle
Sword Point
Foreword
War is the realm of chance. No other human activity gives it greater scope; no other has such incessant and varied dealings with this intruder. Chance makes everything more uncertain and interferes with the whole course of events.
This is a story about a war and the people fighting it. The time and place of the war are unimportant. What is important are the people, their roles and their experiences.
It is easy for modern man to focus on the technical aspects of war and seek solutions and resolution through science and technology. Science, after all, is logical and predictable. Technology is understandable and controllable. The Soviets, comfortable with science and technology, approach warfare and combat in a scientific manner. The ideal military system, from the Soviet viewpoint, is one that can deliver predictable results by using proper force ratios and other such definable inputs. Hence they establish norms and place high value on conformity and discipline so that actions in battle are a predictable constant, not an unknown. Doctrine in the Red Army has the same weight as regulations, and orders to subordinates are detailed and restrictive.
The United States, on the other hand, places its trust in the ability of the individual soldier and his leaders. A great deal of freedom and discretion is afforded the American small-unit leader.
Doctrine is often viewed as a guide. Initiative on the part of the commander at all levels is expected, allowing commanders to issue what are referred to as mission-type orders, orders that leave the details for the subordinate commander to figure out.
Both systems of doing business have their merits and are based on the national character of the military that uses them. More important, properly used, both systems will work in war. Many examples from past wars support this. The Soviet Union, the victor of the greatest land wear ever waged, proved time and again in 1944-45 that its system worked. The United States also can point to its campaigns in that war and subsequent wars and state (that its system works. The interesting question is, What would happen if these two systems were pitted against each other? The answer would be determined not by the weapons and not by the cause for which they were being employed. It would be the people, not the system or the weapons, that determined the outcome.
Though weapons and tactics are important, they have the same thing in common: people. It is therefore the people that this story concerns itself with.
The war discussed in this novel takes place in the Islamic Republic of Iran. An invasion of that country by the Soviets is not out of the question, since they have already 'intervened' militarily in Iran twice-once in August 1941 and once in March 1946. Today, securing its southern border, squashing the spread of Islamic fundamentalism before it overflows into the USSR, preventing any military alliance between the Gulf states, and controlling the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the
West's oil flows, are very real national objectives for the USSR, especially if it is unable to turn that region into a neutral zone-that is, one free of Western influence. At the same time, containing the Soviet
Union and keeping the Strait of Hormuz open are part of the United States's national policy. The concept of a limited confrontation in Iran is therefore far more realistic today than that of a general war in Western Europe.
This book is neither a textbook nor an attempt to predict the future.
The doctrine, tactics, plans and policies discussed do not reflect current or planned U.S. Army doctrine, tactics, plans and policy. Nor are the characters in the story based on any people, living or dead.
Any similarity between the characters in this book and real people is purely coincidental.
Many people will find fault with some of the actions and decisions of the characters. Some of the weapons effects and employment are equally open to criticism. This is, however, a novel, and the author uses his literary license, often.
Politics and strategic and operational plans and decisions are not discussed in detail except where they are important to the story and its characters. The reader should find himself in the same situation, limited to the immediate and narrow world in which the characters of Sword Point live, lacking a full understanding of the 'Big Picture.'
Times used throughout the story are local times and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT); Iranian time is three and a half hours ahead of GMT, accounting for the unusual differences between time zones reflected in this book.
All events are sequential.
All unit designations in the novel are fictitious, but their organizations and equipment allowances are, in general, in accordance with current tables of organization. All information on weapons effects and characteristics as well as information on Iran are from open source materials available to the general public. The author has never had access to contingency plans concerning operations in Southwest Asia or participated in simulations concerning Iran or the Gulf states. The scenario depicted here is pure fiction.
A Glossary of Military Terms will be found at the back of the book.
Characters in the order of their appearance
DONALD DUNCAN — Sergeant First Class Platoon Sergeant, 1st Platoon, B Company, 3rd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 12th Division
FRANCIS WEIR — Lieutenant General Commander, 10th U.S. Corps 'TACK NESBrrT-Master Sergeant Operations Sergeant, 3rd Battalion, 4th Armor, 2nd Brigade, 25th Armored Division
SCOTT DIXON — Major Operations Officer (S-3) 3rd Battalion, 4th Armor, 2nd Brigade, 25th Armored Division
EDWARD LEWIS — Major Executive Officer, 2nd Battalion, 354th Infantry, Tennessee National Guard
HAROLD R. GREEN — Lieutenant Colonel Commander, 2nd Battalion, 354th Infantry, Tennessee National Guard
AMANDA MATTHEWS — 1st Lieutenant Assistant Intelligence Officer (S-2) 2nd Brigade, 25th Armored Division
JOHN EVANS — Captain Commander, A Company, 2nd Battalion, 517th Airborne, 17th Airborne Division
ROBERT HORN — Lieutenant General Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, U.S. Army
HAROLD CERRO — 2nd Lieutenant Platoon Leader, 2nd Platoon, A Company, 2nd Battalion, 517th Airborne, 17th Airborne Division
ED MARTAIN — Major, U.S. Air Force Fighter-bomber pilot 401st Squadron, 59th Tactical Fighter Wing
RANDY CAPELL — 1st Lieutenant Scout Platoon leader, 3rd Battalion, 4th Armor, 2nd Brigade, 25th Armored Division
PERCY JONES — Major, British Army Foreign Exchange Officer/ Liaison Officer U.S. 25th Armored Division/ 10th Corps
ANATOL VORISHNOV — Major 1st Officer, 3rd Battalion, 68th Tank Regiment, 33rd Tank Division
MIKHAIL KURPOV — Senior Lieutenant Platoon Leader, 89th Reconnaissance Battalion, 89th Motorized Rifle Division
NIKOLAI ILVANICH — Junior Lieutenant Platoon Leader, 3rd Company, 2nd Battalion, 285th Guards Airborne Regiment, 95th Guards Airborne Division
