NationStates Jolt Archive

The hulls of dozens of ships cut thru the remarkably calm Mediterranean waters. The 3rd Expeditionary fleet was on its first war campaign since its conception. The Expeditionary fleets had been brought about to handle threats deemed to small to dispatch one of the twelve main battle fleets that provided the real muscle of the Havenite Navy. This was one of those jobs, to small for any real attention, so the small 3rd was sent, their destination…Crete. The fleet itself was actually smaller in number than the fleet Greece was able to field, a single carrier, six cruisers, eleven destroyers, four SSN’s, two SSGN’s and numerous patrol craft and support vessels. Accompanying them were two divisions, the 142nd infantry and the 48th marines, along with some extra support under the waves all codenamed Taskforce Storm.

This small force was tasked with taking most of Greece’s southernmost islands and bringing them into Havens fold. Greece itself along with most of its islands weren’t wanted in the least. This wasn’t imperialism, these islands were targeted for a reason, each had a role to play out in the empire Haven envisioned building up in the future. Hopefully Greece would see that, maybe they would accept the loss of those islands and in return Haven was willing to do much for Greece. If things were ideal Greece would even become a Havenite ally, their military upgraded to defend themselves against the encroaching imperialistic powers and their lands increased with the help of Havenite soldiers. But that was the ideal, the best possible outcome, that assumed Greece would be able to forgive the loss of lands that had been Greek since before Christ. Either way the islands would become Havenite.

All of this played thru the mind of Rear Admiral Duron Colum in the nerve center of the fleet, HNS Ramillies, the fleet’s sole carrier. It was his responsibility to get this job done though you wouldn’t be able to tell from the way he calmly stood sipping his coffee. Just a week before he had glided thru Gibraltar, which was in allied hands, and he now sat just a hundred miles south west of his main objective waiting for the final order to strike. Almost as if his thoughts had wished it an ensign burst into the room holding up a piece of paper. ”Sir this is for you”

**FLASH PRIORITY TRAFFIC**
**TOP SECRET**
TO: COMEXPFLT STORM STRIKE GROUP
FROM: CINCMEDFLT

STATUS: GREEK FORCES HOLDING AT PREVIUS STATUS, POLITICAL STATUS UNCHANGED. ORDERS AS FOLLOWS:

1. MOVE TO LOCATION FORTY MILES SOUTH OF IERAPETRA.TGT LOCATION EST:
N 34*09.362 E 24*73.671

2. HOLD SOUTH OF TARGET AND CARRY OUT OPERATION STAGE POINT. PRIORITY OF LAND TGTS IN POSSIBLE INITIAL STRIKE AS FOLLOWS:
A) CAP PATROLS
B) RADAR STATIONS
C) SAM SYSTEMS
D) AIRFIELDS SERVICING COMBAT CRAFT

ALL NAVAL THREATS TO BE NEUTRALIZED AS THEY APPEAR

3. AT 2330L INITIATE LAUNCH SEQUENCE

//signed//
E.C.ADEN, Adm
CINCMEDFLT
Republic of Safehaven2
**TOP SECRET**
**MESSAGE ENDS**

So, it was beginning. In just two hours Admiral Colum would be at the forefront of a new and deadly war. Gripping the paper in his hand he turned and started dishing out orders. “ALL ahead full bearing North by North East, maintain radio silence and increase CAP patrols. In a little over two hours we will be in the middle of a real shooting war.”



To the north in the Sea of Crete a different force was moving into place, the 6th subsurface fleet. The entire “fleet” had formed a picket line just over 150 miles long between Crete and the mainland. In the center was an Orca class SSN, the Lancur, under the command of Captain Jon Esparra. They had been sitting there for a few days now just over a kilometer down calmly hiding and waiting for word if the invasion was a go or not. It was now one of the pre-planned times for them to rise up and receive any incoming SSIXS transmissions. Going up was dangerous, any Greek ship in the area would have a chance to detect them and so it had to be one slowly and carefully. On the way up the sonar supervisor started chirping, “Conn, Sonar, possible surface contact bearing 13, only getting blade noises right now.” “Designate Master 18 for now, lets hope its just another mercheant.”

They had made contact with multiple civilian and military ships while they waited but none had come to close. The captain now went down to the sonar room joining some other officers to see exactly what was going on. “Captain, were picking up some more tonals now, looks like she’s a merchie. Blade rate is holding steady at a good 15 knots, she’s a big one but should pass right in front of us.” “Good news, continue the accent.”

A few minutes later they picked up their SSIXS transmissions and went back down. It would be war after all. The captain got up to speak over the SSN’s announcement system and repeat the news. “This is Captain Jon, I have just received word that in an hour and ten minutes we will be at war with the nation of Greece. This means we will be right in the path of most of the Greek navy if they decide to fight for Crete…

The “speech” went on for another minute but the important part was already across.

Just forty miles away lay Crete, it almost close enough to see. Up in the air the strike force forming up into formations could actually see the island. A mass of green surrounded by a sea of blue, that was all it looked like at those distances. Three dozen strike craft began head off towards Crete. Before they could make it dozens of missiles screeched below them leaving them behind in trails of smoke. The missiles struck targets all over Crete destroying three of its four radar stations and taking out electricity for much of the island.

The planes made landfall only a few minutes later. Moving out in small groups of two’s, three’s and fours they struck out for their targets. Two Kraven missiles quickly shutdown the last radar station before it realized what was happening, effectively leaving Crete’s defenses in the dark. The fighter’s darted around Crete taking out what remained of their air defense network. Without the radar stations the Sam systems had trouble detecting the fighters and most died without being able to respond but some got shots off and the first casualty on the Havenite side came as a SAM shredded a F-125 and its pilot. Another three aircraft were hit but in the end Crete’s air defense system was wrecked a tattered remnant of its former self was all that remained to defend the island.

When the planes came back they had to weave thru a second wave heading out to the island to finish the job. Of equal size the second strike force tried to finish destroying the air defense’s that remained but also struck out at the regular soldiers. They spread sub-munitions over the Greek barracks as the rocketed over. FAE bombs dotted the island, every time one landed it was a disgusting site as the bomb literally sucked the oxygen out of people. Hundreds of Greek soldiers died, many before they even knew a war was going on.

All the while the fleet inched its way closer. Finally the fleet appeared off the coast in front of the city of Ierapetra. The quiet, touristic town would be the site of the initial landings. The first landing craft began moving away from the main fleet. They stopped only a few hundred yards from the fleet and formed up into groups and formations. The whole process only took twenty minutes and when it was done they started moving forward again. Six hundred some men were a part of the first wave as it headed to the beaches around Ierapetra. People gathered on the beaches ahead to see the magnificent site unfold. A crowd had formed of people trying to figure out what was going on. In one of the lead landing craft the officer in charge of the first wave lost it when he saw the crowds of people and thinking they were armed called in fire support from the fleet while also ordering his landing craft to clear the beaches with suppression fire. What unfolded was a massacre, a crowd over a thousand strong already was full of women and children who had been attracted to the beaches by all the commotion. The landing craft opened up first there mortars and automatic guns sweeping the beaches and cutting deep into the crowd. Then the big guns from the fleet joined in sending a variety of shells from flechette rounds to high explosives. The crowd was cut to shreds, rounds knocking down people by the handful. The people tried running off the beaches back to the town to escape but that didn’t save them, it in fact did more damage. The big ships had been ordered to walk there fire up the beach and into the cities outskirts and so as the people ran towards the city instead of getting away they kept themselves in the bombardment. Then almost sealing the fate of the people two fighters swarmed overhead diving low before dropping canisters from below there wings, large FAE bombs. They came around for another pass this time hitting the outskirts of the city with sub-munitions.

The crowd was done nearly to the person, the amount of people who were able walk was a two digit number and most of them weren’t unscathed. Thru the bombardment no one could tell what they had done, as far as they knew they had just successfully cleared the beach of an enemy presence and instead of stopping the bombardment it was moved to the city outskirts with some still hitting the beach. Things were supposed to have been peaceful with the invasion being as nonviolent as possible but any hopes of that were dashed. When the first landing craft actually touched down they met a scene out of a horror movie. The twisted remains of bodies spread left and right, many not yet dead but to far along to be saved. Screams yelled out in a foreign language few knew but all understood what they were saying nonetheless. There weren’t any soldiers, they were all civilians, no weapons, no resistance. The advance almost ended there in disgust at what they had done and the commander desperately ordered the men to look for weapons which he was sure had to be there. By the time the second wave arrived the first wave was still mingling among the dead and dieing on the beach. Finally they started moving up towards the city but as they moved up they met a grisly site, the charred bodies of those who had died when the fighters had dropped the FAE’s.

Overhead helicopters carried two battalions of the 48th marine division around the city to its landward side. From up above they saw the scene unfold below them and they had a birds eye view of the chaos unfolding in the city streets as people desperately tried to get away from the city while word spread of what was happening. EMP missiles had knocked out power to the island a while ago and because of it traffic lights were down just adding to the chaos which could be seen. Speeding cars trying to flee the city slammed into each other not only causing horrible accidents but blocking those streets for others to use. As the shell fire from the fleet walked its way inward things just got worse.

The helicopters dropped off the men behind the city without any problems and they quickly moved to block off the city and any routes of escape, or reinforcement. Once they were the bombardment ended and the city was taken into Havenite hands permanently. What had been meant to be a signature invasion, a bloodless event to prove to Greece that it was peace Haven wanted was a bloody massacre that would fill headlines and prolong the war to in the end just end the lives of countless more people.