NationStates Jolt Archive

The news came to Suez quickly. Andrehervia, a long-time ally of the Realm and the Kingdom before it had fallen into a state of disarray. It was decided to sieze the chance and return Southern Egypt to peace and prosperity. It just so happened that the Cottish 4th Fleet was stationed in the Sinai, with an AABG stationed in Sharm El Sheik, just a few nautical miles from Southern Egypt. Orders were sent immediately, and the substantial force was sent the few nautical miles it was to land in two different locations: Al Qusayr to the northern part of the territory and Baranis in the southern end of the territory. In addition, two Para Regiments would be airlifted into Southern Egypt along with recce elements of Infantry Brigade 57, which could be landed in a few days. Fighters provided cover for the forces, while a C-37 Gulfstream with diplomats was sent to Luxor, where the leaders were said to be located.

The C-37 landed near Luxor and found a welcoming party consisting of civilians looking weary and stressed, as well as combat-ready soldiers keeping their S3 assault rifles ready to open fire if threatened. In the background, continuous gunshots and explosions could be heard. The Cottish diplomats were taken to a bunker in the outskirts of the city where negotiations started immediately. It was short and sweet. The Cottish military would land and eradicate the rebels before taking overall control of the territory, while the territory would be autonomous. It was a win-win situation. Pleased, the diplomats returned to their Gulfstream and flew back to Sinai. Flying over the Red Sea, they flew past a vast air armada of transport planes, carrying two Para Regiments who were to land at Aswan and Luxor. The Marines would be in position to land in three and five hours too.

The massive air fleet of C-17A Globemaster IIIs and C-130J Hercules' transports flew low over the fields outside Luxor, ramps in the back and doors in the sides open. The paratroopers were pouring out from them, each one ready for action the moment he hit the ground.

http://photos1.blogger.com/img/158/2388/640/C17%20Drop.jpg

http://www.stayxs.com/egypt/images/luxor-map.jpg

Also being airdropped was the equipment and vehicles of the paratroopers. Paratroopers quickly secured the area they had been dropped into. Thanks to their equipment and technology, the troops and the vehicles they were assigned to didn't land far from each other, and the whole Regiment was up and running within the hour.

Moving towards Luxor, the Cottish soldiers came across a few civilians carrying military-grade weapons. A squad moved towards the civilians, trying to talk to them but the relatively friendly gesture was met with gunshots and one wounded Cot. The soldiers immediately returned fire and shot all armed civilians dead with lethal accuracy and even more lethal rounds. It was clear that they were going to see some resistance, and that message was passed along to the rest of the unit. No soldier was to go anywhere without at least one vehicle watching his back. Fortunately, the Cots had plenty of vehicles. Both air-dropped APCs, IFVs and LBTs were available, as well as the ever faithful M2008A1 Dingo APV, armed with a lethal heavy weapon, it be the MG15A1 HMG which fired the massive 15.5x115mm round; the MG26A1 HMG which fired the 12.7x99mm round; the Mk.19 Mod 5 40mm automatic grenade gun; or the MG3A2 GPMG which fired the 7.62x51mm round. They provided good covering fire for the paratroopers. Luxor was the first place they would have to sort things and restore order in.

Entering Luxor, the troops quickly became engaged in close-quarters combat. Fortunately, the paratroopers were well equipped and trained for this sort of battle, and used their vehicles and the weapons there to the most, shooting up the cinderblock walls of insurgent houses and killing instantly anyone trying to attack the Cots. It didn't come without a price though. In the first two hours of the battle for Luxor, a place the Cots had once held as its own, nine Cots were killed. However, the Cots estimated that in the same period of time, some 500 enemy combatants had been killed and another 1,000 captured. Similar numbers were reported in Aswan, the second place where the Cots deployed paratroopers. It was going to be a lengthy campaign.

ORDER OF BATTLE - PHASE 1

Para Regiment 17 - Luxor [airdropped by C-17A/C-130J]
Officers: 647
Soldiers: 3,489
Support: 1,364

M6A3 Gramstad MRTR: 24
M17A2 Olden IFV: 96
M18A1 Nelson APC: 104
M18A4 Nelson ADU: 54
M18A5 Nelson RSV: 156
M18A6 Nelson AT: 48
M142A2 HIMARS: 9
M777A1 LW155: 54
M2008A1 Dingo APV: 136
M2029A1 Namturu LBT: 48
Various Trucks: 390

Para Regiment 21 - Aswan [airdropped by C-17A/C-130J]
Officers: 647
Soldiers: 3,489
Support: 1,364

M6A3 Gramstad MRTR: 24
M17A2 Olden IFV: 96
M18A1 Nelson APC: 104
M18A4 Nelson ADU: 54
M18A5 Nelson RSV: 156
M18A6 Nelson AT: 48
M142A2 HIMARS: 9
M777A1 LW155: 54
M2008A1 Dingo APV: 136
M2029A1 Namturu LBT: 48
Various Trucks: 390

Marine Expeditionary Unit 3 - Al Qusayr [landed by AABG 3]
Officers: 1,584
Marines: 15,000
Support: 2,392

M6A7 Gramstad ADU: 48
M8A1 Targa SPH: 32
M14A1 Gepard ADU: 24
M39A1 Mekhev II NGBT: 116
M142A2 HIMARS: 32
M2008A1 Dingo APV: 388
M2010A1 Bushmaster IMV: 286
M2012A1 Marauder APC: 450
M2012A3 Marauder TD: 72
M2012A4 Marauder C3: 18
M2012A5 Marauder MRTR: 64
M2012A6 Marauder EW: 72
M2012A7 Marauder AT: 64
M2017A1 Frog APC: 180
M2018A1 Wolf LBT: 96
Five Ton Truck: 320
Fuel Truck: 160

Marine Expeditionary Unit 23 - Baranis [landed by AABG 23]
Officers: 1,584
Marines: 15,000
Support: 2,392

M6A7 Gramstad ADU: 48
M8A1 Targa SPH: 32
M14A1 Gepard ADU: 24
M39A1 Mekhev II NGBT: 116
M142A2 HIMARS: 32
M2008A1 Dingo APV: 388
M2010A1 Bushmaster IMV: 286
M2012A1 Marauder APC: 450
M2012A3 Marauder TD: 72
M2012A4 Marauder C3: 18
M2012A5 Marauder MRTR: 64
M2012A6 Marauder EW: 72
M2012A7 Marauder AT: 64
M2017A1 Frog APC: 180
M2018A1 Wolf LBT: 96
Five Ton Truck: 320
Fuel Truck: 160

AABG 3
Odin [Flight II] class CVAEN: 2
Winters class LPD: 4
Anaconda class LPD: 6
Viper class LSD: 6
Canaan class LSV: 2
Elestee class LST: 8
Liberty II class AKR: 4
Wilson class AKRN: 4
HLCAC: 24
LCAC: 22
LCM-8: 48
Moengen class AO: 2
Wirgley class AE: 2
Ynoga class CVLN: 2
Tiger class BCN: 2
Tordenskiold class CGN: 2
October class DLGN: 2
Indefatigable class DDGN: 8
Infernal class DDKN: 4
Ruge class FFGN: 4
Mjelde class FF: 8
Hades class SSN: 2
AAW 3
AH-92B Stalker: 16
CH-53N Super Stallion II: 54
F-35B Rapier: 32
MC-11B Dagger: 4
CV-87A Coba: 8
SH-86A Merlin: 80
SH-97A Serpent: 8
UH-95A Huey II: 24

AABG 23
Odin [Flight II] class CVAEN: 2
Winters class LPD: 4
Anaconda class LPD: 6
Viper class LSD: 6
Canaan class LSV: 2
Elestee class LST: 8
Liberty II class AKR: 4
Wilson class AKRN: 4
HLCAC: 24
LCAC: 22
LCM-8: 48
Moengen class AO: 2
Wirgley class AE: 2
Ynoga class CVLN: 2
Tiger class BCN: 2
Tordenskiold class CGN: 2
October class DLGN: 2
Indefatigable class DDGN: 8
Infernal class DDKN: 4
Ruge class FFGN: 4
Mjelde class FF: 8
Hades class SSN: 2
AAW 23
AH-92B Stalker: 16
CH-53N Super Stallion II: 54
F-35B Rapier: 32
MC-11B Dagger: 4
CV-87A Coba: 8
SH-86A Merlin: 80
SH-97A Serpent: 8
UH-95A Huey II: 24

Air Force Elements - Based in Sinai [some will be deployed to captured airfields in Egypt as the campaign progresses]
A-14A Buzzard: 4
A-89C Hammer: 28
C-17A Globemaster III: 48
C-130J Hercules: 96
E-8D J/STARS: 2
E-11A Ørneøye: 2
EC-98A Blåmandag*: 3
EF-111M Raven: 3
F-22B Raptor: 54
F-37C Razor*: 18
F-63K Tengriy: 36
FB-177A Barusk: 18
KC-10C Extender: 4
OA-89C Hammer: 4
RQ-15A Mack*: 8
MQ-15B Mack*: 4

The Empire can only hope that this campaign solves the enigma of the Red Sea and allows merchant vessels to pass through the Suez Canal safely and without problems on their way to either the Med or the Indian Ocean.

Day 1, H + 3 hours
The Nile River was the major point of concern to the Cots. At Luxor, only a few ferries crossed the river, but they were out of commission. It was now they needed the engineers, but they wouldn't arrive for a few days yet. Things were going bad, and they were about to become worse.

The enemy had managed to get a hold of a few main battle tanks and IFVs, vehicles which were quite a match to the relatively light vehicles the paratroopers had. The Cots were currently holding fast at three different locations.

At Deir El Bahari in the hills on the western bank, an infantry company equipped with a few APCs and lighter vehicles had dug in along with the regimental artillery. Lightweight M777A2 light-weight 155mm howitzers. At Luxor airport, a battalion with APCs and IFVs had taken control and dug themselves in. A number of AT units were here as well. In downtown Luxor, the rest of the regiment held fast. The 48 LBTs of the Regiment were scattered all over the place, but some 19 of them were at the airport, helping to guard the airport.

Opposing the 5,500 men of the regiment was some 5,500 infantrymen, supported by 20 Challenger 2E main battle tanks, 90 Warrior IFVs and a number of smaller vehicles. It seemed to be regular Andrehervian soldiers, armed with normal weapons for a regular unit. The regimental commander, a oberst who was on the ground in downtown Luxor along with the bulk of his troops thought that they hadn't gotten the message to expect the Cots yet, so he decided to go out and inform them himself.

He stepped out into broad daylight, ignoring the shouts and cries from his men to get the fuck into cover. He nodded his head and walked towards the approaching Andrehervian infantrymen, still having his P33A1 sidearm secured in its holster. Then, out of nowhere the Andrehervians shot the oberst, who fell lifeless to the ground. This in turn sparked the Cottish soldiers taking cover to start shooting at the Andrehervians. The MG49A1 SAWs fired intensely at the Andrehervians, who threw themselves to the ground and returned fire. Rifles, LMGs and submachine guns fired at will while hand grenades were exchanged, resulting in explosions which deafened the sustained gunfire. Still, the Cots maintained their fire, changing magazines and holding their positions.

The Andrehervians had to have called up support, because soon after, Challenger 2E MBTs and Warrior IFVs arrived and started opening up on the Cots. Within minutes, 35 Cots were dead with a lot fewer Andrehervian casualties. However, the Cots were equipped for fighting tanks. The fact that they were fighting in a built-up area further increased their chances. AP84A1 Recoilless Rifles were loaded and brought up to the positions the Cots occupied. The 120mm main gun on the Challengers destroyed buildings quickly. As did the 30mm RARDEN guns on the Warrior IFVs, and the Andrehervian dismounts. The Cots however took advantage of the rubble which made even better defensive positions and employed them for what it was worth, all in accordance with the Cottish doctrine for fighting a defensive war in a built-up area. More Cots were drawn from the line and quickly built defensive structures while a small force kept up the appearance that all the Cottish soldiers were at the line.

The AP84s were brought up and aimed at the enemy tanks, which were moving into a narrow street. It was ideal for an ambush. The Cots waited untill the lead tank was nearly out of the street before they let loose their weaponry. Four infantrymen jumped up from their hideouts along the street with AP72A2 LAWs ready at their shoulder and fired at the tracks and rear of the front tank. The 66mm rockets flew out of the disposable launchers at 700 meters per second and slammed into the tracks and rear of the tank. Destroying the tracks wasn't hard, but getting through the Chobam armor proved to be more difficult. The AP72 rocket could penetrate some 560 millimeters of rolled homogenous steel, but the Chobam armor was more powerful. Still, the rear was the least armored part of the tank, and two 66mm rockets managed to penetrate enough to put the ammunition ablaze. The tank exploded and effectively created a 60+ ton roadblock.

The other enemy vehicles saw this and tried to back out of the street, but AP84s were in position and took out the Warrior which made up the rear guard. Two 84mm HEAT rockets flew from the AP84s and crossed the 18 meter gap quickly and penetrated the armor of the Warrior. The 84mm HEAT rocket was able to penetrate not only 580 millimeters of rolled homogenous steel, but also any potential ERA blocks the target might be sporting. The Warrior was destroyed, and created another roadblock in the other end, closing the trap. Now, the Cots released their fury upon the two remaining Challengers, four Warriors and three LandRovers, firing rifles, machine guns, G34A2 underslung grenade launchers, AP72s, AP84s and hand grenades at the vehicles and collumns. Andrehervians attempting to escape were caught in a deadly cross-fire, and although they put up a heroic fight, killing six Cots and wounding twenty, they were all slaughtered.

Still, the incident which would later be known as the battle of Temple Road weren't the only action taking place in Luxor. At the airport, the dug-in infantry fought against constant Andrehervian attacks along with the 19 LBTs, which used their 105mm ETC cannons with great effect and determination. Still, they too were taking casualties. It was time to call in some help.

At the hills of Deir El Bahari, the 54 M777s of the artillery battalion had set up and were waiting for orders. Those came rapidly now, as both the guys in downtown Luxor and the guys at the airport needed covering fire. 18 guns were assigned the airport while the remaining 36 were assigned the downtown area. The 155mm shells were loaded, targets plotted on the GPS and everything prepared. When it was, the gun commander pressed the button and released the 155mm HE projectile with great accuracy at plotted targets. A barrage of 108 shells were released at various targets in the first minute alone, with more being fired constantly. A steel rain was released on the Andrehervians. A steel rain which took out some 800 infantry and most of the armored vehicles. It was followed up with a rain of 120mm mortar rounds from the 24 M6A3 Gramstad mortar carriers, who provided the Cots with rapid and accurate fire from positions close by. The sustained fire from the Cots, who by now had lost some 590 men and another 900 wounded caused the Andrehervians to pull out of the city for the moment, giving the Cots a chance to breathe, collect the dead, rearm and regroup. The oberst was dead, so command was automatically passed to the oberstløytnant in charge of one of the infantry battalions. He got on the radio to Suez.

"Gåsemor, dette er Hauk fem, over." [Mother Goose, this is Hawk five, over.]

"Hauk fem, Gåsemor. Jeg hører deg fem ganger fem. Over." [Hawk five, Mother Goose. I read you five by five, over.]

"Mottatt. Hauk seks er død, jeg gjentar, Hauk seks er død. Jeg har overtatt kommandoen av regimentet, og ber om umiddelbar assistanse. Over." [Copy. Hawk six is KIA, I repeat, Hawk six is KIA. I have assumed command of the regiment, and is requesting immediate assistance. Over.]

Pause.

"Mottatt anmodning om assistanse Hauk fem. Kan ikke sette inn tropper på nåværende tidspunkt. Dere må klare dere selv i minst et døgn til. Over." [Copy request for assistance. We can't deploy troops at present time. You'll have to manage for at least another twenty-four hours. Over.]

"Det er umulig! Jeg har seks hundre døde soldater og minst tusen fler skadde. De trenger umiddelbar assistanse og min enhet trenger umiddelbar støtte. Hvis jeg ikke får det er det ikke sikkert at det er noe igjen av Regiment sytten om tolv timer! Over!" [That's impossible! I've got six hundred dead troopers and at least another thousand wounded. They need immediate assistance and my unit needs immediate support. If I can't have it, there's no saying if there's anything left of Regiment seventeen in twelve hours! Over!]

Another pause.

"Mottatt. Det kommer en sveit Hammere om en halvtime sammen med noen jagere og Hercules transportfly med ammunisjon, vann og medisiner. Kallesignal Golf tre-to. Bekreft." [Copy. There's gonna be a flight of Hammers inbound in half an hour along with a few fighters and Hercules transports carrying ammunition, water and medicines. Callsign Golf three-two. Confirm.]

"Forstår jagere, Hammere og Herker med ammo, vann og medisiner om tre null minutter. Over." [Understand fighters, Hammers and Hercs with ammo, water and medicines in three zero minutes. Over.]

"Utmerket. Dere får ha lykke til der nede. Gåsemor ut." [Excellent. Well, good luck down there. Mother Goose out.]

The oberstløytnant threw the radio back to the operator and shook his head. Hercules' in thirty, but no where to securely land the supplies or any safe route to get them there. He made a quick decision and gathered what remained of officers.

"OK, her er situasjonen. Vi er fanget her inne, men luftforsvaret kommer med noen fly om en halvtime. Herker med ammo, vann og medisiner. Problemet et at vi ikke har noen passende steder å lande dem eller få de delt ut til troppene. Derfor vil jeg at vi skal gjøre det følgende. Einar, du skal ta bataljonen din, eller hva som er igjen av den, og angripe fiendens posisjoner her," he pointed on a position on the map near the riverbank. "Mens resten her inne skal bryte ut her," he pointed at a position to the northeast near El Karnak, "Og komme oss til flyplassen. Vi har allerede en bataljon der, og de har sikret flyplassen. En del av stridsvognene våre er der óg. Det er det desidert beste stedet å lande forsyninger på, og flyplassen har en del steder der vi kan sette opp gode forsvarsposisjoner. Vi må klare alt dette på den neste halvtimen, og det er en halv mil til flyplassen herfra. Er vi klare?" [OK, here's the situation. We're trapped in here, but the Air Force is coming with some planes in half an hour. Hercs with ammo, water and medicines. The problem is that we don't have any suitable location to land the supplies or distribute them to the troops. That's why I want us to do the following. Einar, you'll take your battalion, or what's left of it, and attack the enemy positions here, while the rest of us break out here, and make it to the airport. We've already got a battalion there who's secured the airport. We've got quite a few tanks there too. It's the best place under the circumstances to land the supplies on, and its got a lot of places where we can set up good defensive positions. We've got to make all this in the next half hour, and its five kilometers to the airport. Are we ready?]

The officers nodded. No one had questions, knowing perfectly well what the oberstløytnant wanted done. They would break out within ten minutes.

At RACC, a Lt. gave the info to Lt. Gen. Rober Lewis, The Commander of The RACC. He called a meeting with the Malian and Ivoirian Commonwealth commanders.

"What should be done about this, we could help the Cots or stay out. What should be done." Lewis asked his African comrades.

They decided on sending small force, to aid the Cots.

To: Cottish Commander of Operations in Africa
From: Republic African Commonwealth Command

We asked if a task force of airborne and armored units could be send to help keep the peace in the region.

The Brydogian message was recieved in Suez, and although the military planners admitted to having seriously underestimated the resistance of Southern Egypt, the commanding General, an arrogant pompous arsehole didn't want any Brydogians to come and nab southern Egypt from them. Besides, the Brydogs were a long way away, on the other side of Africa. Cotland had an armored brigade and three infantry brigades on the way who would enter Southern Egypt in less than twelve hours via ship. A message was drafted.

***************************************

To: Brydog
From: Cotland
Subject: RE: Assistance

"While we are grateful for the offer of assistance, we are doing excellently in our current operations and don't require any assistance. Thank you for your offer, but no thank you. Have a nice day."

Ten minutes later, the relative peace was broken by a barrage of artillery being released upon the Andrehervian positions at the riverbank and the northeastern blockade, followed by mortar shells and anti-tank missiles. Then, at the riverbank, 380 paratroopers stormed forward towards the enemy positions, supported by M18A6 Nelson anti-tank vehicles who fired BGM-219A TRIGAT-LR missiles at the remaining IFVs and MBTs. This CSJ-made missile had a powerful tandem HEAT warhead, and a range of up to eight kilometers. Several of these missiles flew for the Challenger 2s, and used the top-attack feature to finish the enemy tanks off. At that moment, more than two thousand nine hundred men hauled arse out of the beleaugered and devestated downtown district, leaving their dead behind. They simply couldn't bring them along. They moved out of a gap made by the artillery and the ATGMs driving quickly past the enemy infantry, relatively safely in the armored vehicles. Still, some 30 Dingos and Marauders were destroyed by enemy fire along with almost 280 soldiers. Things weren't going so well, and one kilometer from the airport, the collum had to change paces to fight the Andrehervians sieging the airport. The heavy machine guns on top of the lighter vehicles were running out of ammo, having fired constantly for almost three hours. The soldiers were running out of ammo soon too, being down to the last three magazines for the most part. It was back to one shot, one kill, but it still wouldn't be enough.

One oversersjant left in charge of what remained of "G" Company, Battalion "4" after all the officers had been killed was quickly running out of ammo for his AG11, but he still had his trusty thirty-three centimeter long bayonet available. Deciding there was no other option, he yelled out an order.

"Bayonetter på!" [Fix bayonets!

The men with rifles and carbines fixed the bayonets while the machinegunners who had run out of ammo drew their P33A2 USP .40 sidearms and SEAL-2000 knives. Three seconds later, the oversersjant got on his feet and cried out, "Angrip!!!" [Charge!!! while he ran like crazy towards the enemy, rifle and bayonet ready in front of the lumbering mass clad in chocolate chip desert camo which was the oversersjant. Behind him, the rest of his company, 53 men, did the same. The events which followed are too gruesome to describe in detail and most likely against the terms of usage of these boards, but suffice to say that many many people on both sides died when the 54 Cottish paratroopers did a bayonet charge against 500+ Andrehervians. Hand to hand fighting had been initiated by the remnants of one company, but it quickly escalated to the rest of the Regiments dismounts fighting hand to hand against the Andrehervians. The fields just outside Luxor Airport were colored red that afternoon.

Twenty minutes into the hand to hand fighting, the regiment had been reduced in size to ~ 2,600 soldiers still fighting, including the oberstløytnant who shot people here and there with his P33A2 sidearm, using single shots to the head. The .40 hollow-point round did the rest of the work, killing the enemy. He was wondering where the hell his troops were, where the hell the air support was and if he was to survive to meet his wife again. As he fired the last round of his last clip, he turned and found a bloody Andrehervian standing four meters away with a raised assault rifle towards the head of the oberstløytnant, grinning. The Cot fell to his knees, exhausted, and stared at the enemy, defiantly.

"Come on! Get it over with!" he shouted to the Andrehervian. The next thing he knew, the upper torso of the enemy disappeared. He looked at the remains which fell to the ground. Then a shadow briefly fell over him, causing him to look up at one of the most beautiful sights of his life. An A-89C Hammer close air support aircraft painted in desert camo and fitted with the markings of the Royal Cottish Air Force streaked overhead, firing its powerful 32mm cannon at the enemies it could see. All around him, the oberstløytnant could see surviving Cottish soldiers cheering and surviving Andrehervians in the open be killed. The oberstløytnant got on his feet and started running towards the airport which was only 300 meters away while shouting at the top of his lungs, "KOM IGJEN KARER! LØP TIL FLYPLASSEN! LØP TIL REDNINGEN!" [Come on chaps! Run to the airport! Run to the rescue!]

The soldiers stopped stabbing Andrehervians and ran across the wet, red field which was littered with bodies. They ran all they could, with the A-89s and the M2029A1 Namtaru LBTs at the airport providing suppressive fire along with the battalion embedded in the airport, who were restocking their ammo and able to provide a lot of covering fire for the running soldiers. Eventually, they all made it to the relative safety of the airport and got into the various buildings of the airport. Hangars and the terminal building had all been turned into makeshift blockhouses where the Cots dug in and prepared for the worst. The many supply canisters the Hercules' had dropped contained a lot of ammo and thousands of litres of water, but not enough medicine. By now, the entire regiment save those in the relative safety of the hills had been wounded, and the few medics the Regiment had available were insufficient to treat the many men. Something needed to be done, but for now, they would have to make due with what they had. The medics triaged the wounded and were helped by those soldiers able to. It was mandatory for soldiers in the Cottish Army to take combat first aid courses, where they learned the basics of first aid in a combat situation with combat wounds. It helped a bit, but they were running dangerously short on morphine already.

Meanwhile, the oberstløytnant was taken to the control tower where a spotter position had been established. It was easy to tell which soldiers had been in the carnage at the suburb of Nag El Amar. They were all red, drenched in blood. A thousand Cots still lay on the field along with over a thousand Andrehervians. It was a terrible sight, the oberstløytnant thought as he looked down on the field from the tower along with the two sniper pairs who operated up there.

"Og slaget er ikke engang halvveis ferdig..." [And the battle isn't even halfway through...]

OOC: It's Brydog, not Brydogian

OOC: It's Brydog, not Brydogian
OOC: Whatever... I'll edit.

Elsewhere in Egypt, things were going pretty well. In Aswan, the people welcomed the Cottish paratroopers, who secured various important locations and started handing out food and water to civilians, and started helping those who needed medical attention. Things were going pretty well, as the people remembered when the Cots had been in control of Egypt in the past. It had been a peaceful and safe place, and they wanted it to become just that once again. The feelings were the same in Al Qusayr and Baranis where the Marines landed. Heavy brigades from the Army also landed and started speeding up to come to the aid of the beleagured paratroopers in Luxor. It seemed that a rouge general had refused to accept Cottish assistance and instead ordered his troops to inihilate the Cots.

In Luxor, the situation was becoming critical. The ~2,100 survivors of the Regiment held fast, although the enemy were shelling them constantly. The 54 M777s tried to help, but had been the subject of extensive attacks themselves. As of now, only five of the original fifty-four cannons were still firing, the rest having been destroyed or the crews killed. In the airport, the men had entrenched themselves and kept firing, shooting as many enemies as they could. In the basement of the airports terminal building, the wounded were stocking up while the medics tried their best to treat the wounded. Those dead were taken up to the cafeteria. It was already decided that the whole airport would have to be leveled and a new one built in its place, as the stench of death would be impossible to remove.

The oberstløytnant now considered the situation as hopeless, but he maintained the orders from the generalløytnant in Suez: Fight 'til the last man! Easy for that pompous arse to say, but the regiment commander followed the orders. He was a soldier, and a soldier obeyed the orders given, even if they seemed like suicide. He also had another form of pressure hanging over him. Never in the past had a Cottish paratrooper unit surrendered, and the oberstløytnant wasn't about to break that tradition. His men were elite troopers, and as such, they would fight on until the last. Considering that they had lost more than half their strength, fighting to the last man seemed like a likely outcome.

The next morning, the first army units reached Luxor. It was a group of 18 M39A1 Mekhev II next-generation battle tanks from Armored Brigade 9, followed by 11 M11A3 Viking CFVs. The group targetted the enemy vehicles they could see and opened fire, easily destroying the enemy armored vehicles and tanks with their 120mm ETC cannons. They maintained a high rate of accurate fire, attacking vehicles with their main guns and infantry with the 30mm chainguns in the secondary turrets. Meanwhile, the Vikings fired their 30mm chainguns at the enemy infantry as they moved forward to the airport. The paratroopers saw this and cheered, knowing that liberation had arrived. And true enough, soon after the rest of the brigade arrived. The 324 M39A1 Mekhev IIs and 420 M11A3 Vikings cleared up the city relatively quickly while trucks and Dingos came with medics and supplies for the survivors of Para Regiment 17, which now consisted of roughly 900 survivors. The oberstløytnant had been killed half an hour prior to the arrival of the tanks after an artillery shell struck the defensive position he helped man. The survivors came out, all of them wounded in one way or another with distant gazes.

The men of Brigade 9 looked at the field outside the airport and saw the thousands of bodies, burned by the sun, lying on the blood-stenched field. The stench was unbearable, and more than one soldier said hello to his breakfast after seeing the field. Bodies, some with bayonets still embedded in their bodies, were everywhere. Later counts would tell the Cots that 1,400 Cottish paratroopers and 4,700 Andrehervians, most of them shot during the night, had lost their lives in the fields outside the airport. In addition, 2,000 paratroopers were found inside the various buildings of the airport. The rest of the dead were in various places in downtown Luxor and in the hills overlooking Luxor. The city was dubbed the City of the Dead by the Cottish soldiers and the local inhabitants, of which some 6,000 had lost their lives in the battle which had raged. It would cost a lot of money to rebuild Luxor.

In Suez, an officer in the Military Police recieved a phone call from Oslo, causing there to be a lot of flurry in the compound. Soon thereafter, four M2008A1 Dingos and two M2010A1 Bushmasters drove from the compound, heading for the military headquarters...

The Cots now moved to Asyut, the capital of southern Egypt. The five divisions and four brigades which had entered Egypt in response to the failed landing at Luxor escorted a large supply collumn made up of roughly 1,000 trucks filled with thousands of tons of humanitarian supplies. A few local warlords had popped up, but they were quickly and efficiently beaten down by the Cottish Army and Air Force as they appeared. The show of force by the Cottish VII Corps was sufficient to let the fighting will out of the Andrehervians who wanted to fight the advancing Cots. Eventually, the 120,000 strong Corps took over control of Asyut and asserted its power while the last of the insurgents were hunted down and killed in the deserts of Egypt. The bodies of the enemy were left in the sun for the vultures and other carnivornes to eat them, and showed once and for all that the Cottish Army wasn't a force you wanted to mess with. The once-proud Challenger 2 tanks and Warrior IFVs the enemy used were left in the desert to rust and once in a while to serve as a target for the various Cottish weapons of war. Power was being secured, insurgents were being rooted out and the populace was being helped with what they needed. An initial economic rebuilding package of roughly Kr730 billion [~$1.2 trillion] was being granted by the government to help rebuild and modernize southern Egypt. The Cots were going to pay for the mess they had created.

OOC: One or two more finishing posts, and this RP will be concluded. Thank you for reading.

Three months after the initial takeover, things were returning to normal. The economy was improving every day, the rebuilding had started for full, and the population were all employed in the rebuilding process. Construction firms were experiencing a boom, and all kinds of modern commodities were being installed. The government promised full internet broadband coverage within eighteen months, and a lot of new businesses to southern Egypt. Military bases were being constructed, although most were modular and quickly redeployable, and the Air Force were taking over the bases already existing. All that was needed was a little bit of refitting.

Luxor was completely demolished, save the ancient temples and the Valley of the Kings, so the Cots cleared the rubble and built a new settlement. The remains of the airport was also completely leveled and replaced with a new terminal building, and the field where the thousands of troops had died was made into a park of rememberance. The dead were brought to a nice location near the hills and buried there at the new War Cemetary. Cottish soldiers were buried on one side, Andrehervian on the other. An eternal flame was lit, and the flags of Cotland and Andrehervia were flown at half staff. The reburial process took roughly a week, after which a ceremony was held to honor the brave men of Para Regiment 17. All in all, Luxor was to be known as the city of the dead, and few people wanted to continue to reside there.

Power had finally been consolidated, and Southern Egypt would fall under the administrative reign of Sinai and Israel, which was autonomous. New elections were due in 9 months, and it was expected that the voters in S. Egypt would be very important to the elections and get a great say in things.

The military presence would consist of roughly 10 Armored Divisions, 9 Mechanized Infantry Divisions and a number of smaller units on Brigade and Regiment level. All in all, two Corps' would be stationed in S.Egypt, and should be able to provide quite a deterrent from a potential Carthaginian invasion.