Lieutenant General Samuel Kim, the former president of the United States and one of the richest men in the world (despite the monopoly laws breaking up some of his companies), watched as the units under his command moved into position to face off against the Alliance forces. Despite the beating the Alliance received just weeks ago, it managed to gather its forces in Village Creek and rally a significant number of men to hold the city. Samuel had 55,000 men under his command, with some units being rotated out after the Seige of Washington and others being reinforced with fresh recruits. While he was getting used to commanding such a large army (during his Revolutionary War days, the biggest army he commanded was just over 20,000 men), he still had trouble managing such a large number of troops. Thankfully, the "Independent Combat Doctrine" allowed his officers to work with much leeway and thus, he was able to heavily rely on his officers to manage the troops directly under their command.

Despite the fact that his army group was much smaller than before, he still outnumbered the Alliance forces. The Alliance was only gaining ground in Jefferson (and the surrounding states). On all the other fronts, the American military was counterattacking the invaders in order to expel them from the continent. Unfortunately, that didn't mean that it would be an easy fight to kick the invaders out of the American mainland. The officers leading the Alliance forces realized that bashing their troops against the American lines wasn't working and adopted a much more defensive policy (except Jefferson, where the Alliance forces were purposely expanding the front against the overextended American forces). The British Commander in Chief, Field Marshal Hugh Gough, survived the Siege of Washington and was now leading the defense of Village Creek from the American counterattack. During the American counterattack into central Alabama, the invaders fought a fighting retreat and delayed a rapid American advance. It also helped that much of the infrastructure in the region was torn up (by both sides) and thus, the American military was forced to push slowly (clearing the settlements and the countryside of any enemy soldiers). As the American troops moved in to liberate their homeland, they quickly came face to face with the realities of the war. Starving American citizens were found everywhere, especially as the winter without any food and supplies took its toll. Settlements and villages that were once thriving before the war were now ghost towns. This only slowed the advance even further, as the American soldiers treated and fed the ailing people to the best of their abilities. More than ten thousand bodies had been uncovered by the local soldiers, with many of the bodies showing signs of starvation and disease.

Unfortunately, that built up time for the Alliance to consolidate and retreat. Field Marshal Gough had 45,000 men under his command after his disastrous siege on the northern Alabaman city. As a result, he had built up the small town of Village Creek into a formidable fortress with layers of trenches, bunkers (which he copied off from General Kim), and a small fort overlooking the city. In order to seize the settlement, the American troops needed to cross the river, dislodge the Alliance forces from their fortifications, and clear the town completely.

It was going to be another bloody battle.

"An underground attack won't work," General Kim muttered as he lined up his finger with the blue line marking the river, "They're also on the other side of the river, which will make such a feat impossible. The enemy has additional Indian troops coming in as reinforcements from the east and west, which means that crossing the river from elsewhere and flanking will alert them immediately. They have defenses set up to prevent such flanking maneuvers. The river is shallow enough to cross without any pontoon bridges, but our forces will be exposed for some time before we reach their lines and they'll have Indian troops as their meat shields to cut down our numbers..."

"Why not utilize the calvary, sir?" Major General Winfield Scott inquired as he made a fist under his chin, "They should be able to cross the river speedily and break the first defensive lines."

The Korean-American officer shook his head, "There's too much open ground between the river and the Alliance lines. Our cavalry would be massacred before they could make a breakthrough. And we can't afford a prolonged fight. Especially since Fushaven is home to... one of those camps."

Both men grimaced uncomfortably. Ever since the shocking revelation that the invaders were using "concentration camps" to detain and enslave American citizens, it had caused an uproar in the public and the military. Starving and dying Americans were already bad enough, but the fact that the Alliance was now tossing any "resisting" citizens into shoddy camps for them to slave away and die sparked a sudden wave of nationalism and unity. The number of men enlisting was climbing rapidly and the American flag was being waved in every street. On top of the news of the concentration camps was the revelation that a former NIS agent revealed national secrets which allowed the invasion to happen. Congress was grilling the NIS director and the high command of the agency and the public was further outraged about the agency's performance during the war. There was some backlash against the Quebecois as well, especially since the traitor was from Quebec. However, the Quebecois governor was quick to swear off any involvement in the matter and pledged the state's "undying loyalty" to the Union. It wasn't surprising that thousands of Canadiens were enlisting to prove that they weren't traitors.

"I can personally lead several regiments of cavalry and infantry to breach the defenses in the east and making threatening moves towards Jackson. That would make the field marshal believe that we are aiming to liberate Jackson instead of Fushaven. It would draw some defenders away from Village Creek as well," General Scott stated after pondering for a moment.

"Are you absolutely sure? You will be cut off from supplies and surrounded by hostile forces."

"No, I will be surrounded by thousands of Americans that are sick of the Alliance occupation and help us move through the occupied territories. Regardless, I am not aiming to hit Jackson. I am planning to swing my troops around and cut off supplies flowing into Village Creek from the south. The 707th Special Forces Battalion is also operating in Alabama, so I can ask for their assistance in this matter."

General Kim watched as his fellow officer draw his proposed attack path, taking in the account for the local topography. After an hour of planning, the two came to an agreement. General Scott would take charge of two cavalry regiments and an infantry regiment and prepare for his plan of attack (after receiving a response from the SOCOM personnel in Alabama). Once everything was put into place, the general would cross the river in the dead of night, overrun a part of the eastern Alliance defenses (since it was lightly defended compared to the defenses around the settlement of Village Creek itself), and make a mad dash towards Jackson. Once he reached the approximate halfway point, he would swing back around and hit the southern rail lines coming into Village Creek and the surrounding areas, destroying the defenders' supply lanes and forcing them to commit to a battle or retreat.

It would take several days to execute but if it worked... Samuel would freely admit that General Scott was still talented even in this world.

+++++

AN: Village Creek is literally next to Village Creek and it is Birmingham in OTL.