Ask and ye shall receive. Since today there were no updates during the day, I bring you an uberupdate. I hope the Interlude intrigues you. At least it gives a twist to what would otherwise be a rather predictable TL:
WAR ON THE STRAITS, DAY 1: JULY 17TH 2002
1PM: In Cairo, Algiers, Damascus and other muslim cities, the first mobs concentrate in front of Spanish embassies.
In the Canary Islands hundreds of tourists try to take a plane to flee the islands, only to find out that the airspace is closed. In the following days, restrictions will be gradually lifted, although the Spanish airspace around the Straits will remain closed for the entire war. At the Gando airbase, the alert is lifted as a Moroccan attack becomes more unlikely.
1.30 PM: first news of the new government’s composition are filtered to several newspapers. The new PM will address the nation at 3 pm
At Madrid’s ministry of defense, Spanish officials offer the first war report to the international press. They confirm that Perejil has been taken, that several plazas are under attack, targets as south as Ksar el Kebir have been attacked and that the frigate Numancia was put out of combat and suffered the loss of many crewmen.
In America, the Eastern Seaboard wakes up with the most unexpected news of a war between two countries. Many people thinks that the War on Terror has reached a new stage until they notice the Spanish and Moroccan flags. The few images available (Spanish f-18 and Moroccan mirages dogfighting over the sea, the numancia burning, panic scenes at Tarifa, Las Palmas and Casablanca, Spanish commandos in Perejil, both Kings speaking to their nations…) are repeated again and again while analysts and commentators theorize.
At Sarajevo, the SFOR command decides to disarm and canton both the Spanish and Moroccan contingents to prevent any incident. Spanish contingents in Kosovo and Afghanistan are also closed in their bases in the event of attacks.
At the Strait Air Command Bases, planes are readied for a second attack on Moroccan airfields. Unknown to them, many Moroccan planes are already flying towards more secure locations in central and southern morocco.
At Ceuta and Melilla, civilians are being evacuated by the hundreds in ferries and military transports, but everybody is aware that the Moroccan attack will start before too long.
2PM: first contacts between the new foreign affairs minister and European counterparts.
In the first combat action of Spanish submarines since the civil war, 4 subs sink the Moroccan fleet at Al-Hoceima base.
2.30: The Moroccan assault team has managed to get a foothold on Velez despite losing an helicopter.
In Madrid, the police keeps receiving reports of isolated racist attacks. These incidents will soon spread to Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla and Granada. In morocco many westerners unfortunate enough to not be near an embassy or consulate are harassed or beaten by angry mobs.
At San Javier, Armilla, Talavera and Morón, the third wave of Spanish airplanes takes off. At that moment more than half of the available Spanish airforce is in the air, some 70 planes including F-18, Mirage F-1 and even old F-5 fighter bombers. More planes from the airbases at Getafe, Zaragoza, Son Sant Joan, Santiago and Valladolid are on their way south for a 4th wave that will hopefully destroy the Moroccan airforce.
3pm: Visibly altered, Mariano Rajoy makes his first speech as Prime Minister surrounded by the other members of his cabinet. Spaniards are surprised to see so many antagonizing politicians put together.
The planes of the 3rd wave fly over Andalucia and the Western Mediterranean. People abandoning the shores is stunned at seeing so many warplanes flying at very low height. Footage of the planes heading south is soon being broadcasted around the world.
In northern morocco, troops are moving towards Ceuta and Melilla. The troops facing Ceuta have to deploy between the wreckage of the first Spanish strike. The Spanish commanders at the plazas are ready for the imminent attack.
In Cartagena, the rest of the Mediterranean fleet is being mobilized towards the combat zone to support the defenders of the plazas with naval fire.
3.45: The last defenders of Velez surrender to the Moroccan assaulters. Images of the Moroccan flag flying over Velez will soon be the next icon of the war.
4.00: the Spanish planes arrive to their objectives: Air bases nr 1, 2 and 3 of the Royal Moroccan Air Force at Kenitra, Rabat and Meknes. Resistance is weak and in a few minutes the 3 airbases have suffered extensive damage.
4.30: the Spanish fighters withdraw north after what they think it is a major blow to the Moroccan airforce.
In the Gulf of Cadiz, the Principe de Asturias battlegroup is ordered to move south to cover a bigger part of Moroccan territory.
5.00: A Spanish cultural centre in Damascus is attacked by Molotov cocktails. Racist incidents (spurred by both Moroccans and whites) are already being reported by the hundreds all over Spain.
The main land clashes start when Moroccan artillery starts bombing Spanish positions at the outskirts of both Ceuta and Melilla. Few minutes later, Moroccan infantry starts to advance supported by T-72 tanks and APC.
5.15: the last wave of Spanish fighters takes off from their airbases; while at the same time the Moroccan airforce drives north to engage them in a desperate last stand.
An emergency meeting of the UN security council calls for an immediate ceasefire. No one seems to care.
6.00: In Ceuta, the Moroccan attack bogs down at the city gates due to naval support and few organization. In Melilla, though, the Moroccans are lucky to advance towards the airport and bypass some Spanish’ defensive positions.
12 hours after the first helicopters arrived to Perejil, both nations are into total war footing, fighting in land and air over the control of the Strait.
Moroccan artillery based off Al-hoceima starts shelling the Spanish outpost at alhucemas, in preparation of an airborne assault mirroring that of Perejil. Unlike the Spaniards, the Moroccans must assault the rock as soon as possible before the Spaniards can gather enough air and naval support around the lesser plazas.
6.30: Air battle over Northern morocco as the surviving Moroccan airforce attacks the last wave of Spanish planes. The move surprises the Spaniards; in the following dogfight they manage to repeal the Moroccan attack but losing several planes to both air and ground fire. This will turn out to be the war’s greatest air battle.
7.00 Moroccan marines cross the strait between the Moroccan coast and the Chafarinas islands in light boats hoping to surprise the garrison there.
The surviving Spanish planes withdraw north after damaging what is left of Moroccan airbases.
Incidents in Spanish embassies and cultural centers are widespread all over the world.
7.30: the Moroccan command lands and occupies Isabel II island and prepares for a landing at the only inhabited island in the archipel: Congress Island.
In Ceuta and Melilla Moroccan forces progress slowly despite the stubborn Legion resistance and the Spanish air and naval support.
8.00: Moroccan transport helicopters supported by attack helicopters assault Alhucemas. The garrison will surrender after a brief fight.
9.00: Moroccan marines land at Congress island only to find out that the Spanish garrison is waiting for them. It is interesting to note that most of the Chafarinas garrison was made up of Moroccan-born soldiers enlisted in the Spanish army; despite this they fight bravely. The battle of Congress Island will last the entire night.
Around 10 PM the sun is setting above the fighting area. In both Spain and Morocco, people goes to bed with a mixture of fear, anger and pride. The old saying about Spaniards constantly bickering with one another but uniting when faced a common enemy will prove to be true in the following days., when the usually marginal Spanish patriotism experiences an unprecedented rise. Many tourists trying to leave both countries, though, have a hard night sleeping in improvised mats at consulates, embassies or airports.
Night brings a small lull to the combat operations, except in Melilla and the Chafarinas.
INTERLUDE
Madrid, at the presidential bunker under the Moncloa Palace; 22.30 PM
-It was built in the 1980’s just in case the Soviets went bonkers – Mariano Rajoy says while he leads the other members of the emergency government through the dark corridors to the War Room- It is supposed to be able to resist a direct nuclear hit, although we have never tested that properly.
Nobody laughs at the joke attempt. One by one, the members of the government, alongside with several generals and King Juan Carlos enter the War Room in the deepest level of the bunker.
Once everybody is seated, General Sanz is the first to speak:
-Well, ladies and gentlemen, what you have read in these hours is what we call Plan Blue. Plan Blue is the standard contingency plan to repel a Moroccan aggression on the plazas. We have been working on it, refining and adapting it to every changing circumstance ever since we gave the Protectorate back to the moors in ’56. Since this was the most obvious scenario for any foreign aggression to Spanish soil, me and my predecessors have been testing and refining this plan in an almost obsessive way. You can believe me when I tell you almost every possible circumstances are covered by Plan Blue. After these first confuse hours, from now on the war will be more or less going on autopilot. The Moroccans can still have some little surprise for us, just like that smart gamble withdrawing their most modern planes to improvised airbases out of our reach, but now that we have air superiority over the straits, things will go smoother.
-Which leaves out the question of Melilla –Rodriguez Zapatero still feels a little bit uncomfortable as Vicepresident, and much more uncomfortable in this dark, crowded room.
-The situation in Melilla is stable at the moment. The first strike has been repealed, albeit many more Moroccan troops are on their way. So far, there have been no issues with the civilian population; besides the fact that there is a civilian population.
Everybody grins, thinking for a moment at the political and international implications of the Battle of Melilla becoming a massacre.
-But we can talk about that later- King Juan Carlos’s voice sounds even more nervous than has been in the last hours- As you may have guessed, we are not meeting in this room 40 meters under the street level to speak about matters we have already been arguing in another, more comfortable room up there in the Palace. What we are to discuss here is another, more serious, more secret matter.
-¿And that is…? – President Rajoy inquires after a few seconds of intrigued silence.
-The matter is, Mariano, that Spain is screwed –Everybody stares for a moment surprised to see the King cursing and giving such a blunt statement-. Not in the military terrain, where we have managed to get a big advantage, but in what’s going to happen later. No matter that we win or lose, we’re going to have a big, angry, unstable neighbour right under us, with a good deal of our population having been born in that big, angry neighbour. When the guns stop, our troubles will have only begun. See how since past September the world seems to have gone crazy. It will go crazier, whether we want it or not. When Admiral Moreno (and God knows he was just executing the best available option) ordered the attack on the Moroccan artillery, he also opened a big can of worms. And now we will have to deal with it for years, maybe decades. Think about terror attacks, military occupation of parts of Morocco… whatever.
After a brief silence, General Sanz speaks.
-Which is why Plan Indigo was outlined.
-Exactly.
-Plan Indigo, my fellow ministers, is based on this very scenario. We have won the war, but in such a way that the arab world and our southern enemies fucking hate us. Plan Indigo outlines a war strategy to achieve this aim: “Hey, we’re screwed anyway. Why at least not getting some profit? And I mean political and economical profit.”.
Everybody, especially the socialist members, look at him, horrified and intrigued at the same time.
-It sounds easier than it seems. Sergeant, if you want…
The general’s aide appears, carrying a box full of folders and papers. He gives one to each member of the meeting.
-This- explains General Sanz- is the last, updated version of Plan Indigo. It involves three subplans in chronological order: Blue, Pink and Black. You can skip the Blue part if you wish, since it is more or less the same Plan Blue you already know. Now, about the other parts…
Everybody starts reading. When they finish, a few minutes later, Vicepresident Zapatero is the first to talk.
-It is a very….risky gamble, to say the least. Although the gains, if these reports are accurate, could be immense.
-Enough to have paid for the war in 4-5 years, according to the most optimistic calculations.
-However, it relies on a very risky operation that will severely strain our transport and logistics capabilities. This looks like the Perejil operation but 100 times bigger. If something goes wrong, it could be the worst disaster for our armies since… since the Armada?
-Your analysis is accurate, Vicepresident.
-So what are we doing here, ladies and gentlemen- King Juan Carlos interrupts- is to decide whether we implement Plan Indigo or not. The decision must be made as soon as possible, since several preliminary preparations must be started right now. If you have read everything carefully, the rest of the world must think that we were forced by circumstance to adopt this strategy, not that this was something we were aiming at. That means that every preparations must be carefully timed and that foreign involvement, besides the one outlined in the Pink and Black sections, must be kept to the minimum. Which is why we are reunited in this bunker, where we can be sure that no microphones, not even American ones, are hearing us.
-Which directs us to another issue. Minister Durán?
The new Foreign Affairs minister , Josep Duran I Lleida, speaks:
-General?
-yours, Josep, is the most difficult role in this little charade. As someone said, “the last thing we need now is some idiot proposing a mediation plan”- Only a few of the government members get the reference and chukle-. You have managed to get EU support about weapon supplying and satellite vigilance. In some moment, someone will come up with a mediation plan or, god forbid, military help. Your task if Indigo is adopted, Josep, is to abort those movements while at the same time not revealing our true intentions. Will you be able to do so?
-It will be difficult, General Sanz, but, if it is necessary, I will do it.
-Excellent. So now, members of the cabinet, after reading the plan and discussing it, do we, as the government of Spain, approve adopting Indigo or should we stick to Blue?
At 1130 PM, the aide of General Sanz sends an encrypted message from the Bunker to the Ministry of Defense. The code means that all operational and strategic plans must be switched to Indigo condition.
