NationStates Jolt Archive

10:00 AM, December 4, 2017
"Colonel Patrick Marks reporting for duty, sir," Colonel Marks, commander of the first armored battalion of the first armored regiment of the first armored brigade of the First Armored Division of The Beltway, said, saluting. He was slightly nervous, but that was to be expected.

"Good, Colonel. Good to have you here. As you know, you command the first battalion to receive our newest equipment. You have been selected for the first exercise of our new equipment; you will be facing a Kraven force of unknown size. You will be assigned thirty-six F-22s; they're flown by reservists, so you're getting some of our best pilots. Good luck; here are your orders," Major General Kenneth Engelhorn, Chief of Staff of The Beltway's army, replied after returning the salute. He then handed Marks a manila folder containing a few brief notes on the exercise, and orders for the first day.

To: Col. Marks, 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1/1st Armored
From: MajGen. Engelhorn, CoS of the Army of The Beltway
Text:
1 - You are to conduct a defence in depth of the area marked as "Battle 1."
2 - You are to hold your position against expected Kraven attack for as long as possible.
3 - Reinforcements, in the form of the remainder of the First Regiment, will arrive in twelve hours.

The terrain surrounding Battle 1 is fairly rural; there are a few rolling hills, a few small, abandoned farms, and lots of trees. Battle 1 itself is an abandoned village on the reverse slope of Hill 108 (a hill 108 yards high). Hostile forces are presumed to be on the other side of a stream about ten miles from Hill 108.

[OOC] The First Battalion consists of the following:
Four tank companies: each has 13 Nakíl 1US (aka M3 Wesley Clark) MBTs and one M130 Command and Control Vehicle (C2V)
One heavy tank company: 13 M2 Andrew Lim HBTs, one M130 C2V
One cavalry company: 4 M127 Benjamin Grierson LBTs, eighteen M121 Nelson Miles CFVs (in three platoons; each platoon has three squads (each squad having two M121s)), 108 cavalrymen (in three platoons; each platoon has three squads (each squad having 12 men)), one M130 C2V
One engineer company: 6 combat bulldozers, three M128 CEVs, three M129 flamethrower vehicles, six armored recovery vehicles, one M130 C2V
One air defence company: 6 M124 Cornerback ADVs (in three batteries of two vehicles each), one M130 C2V
One medical company: 15 M122 armored medevac vehicles
Three fighter squadrons, each with 12 F-22s, are assigned to First Battalion.
For specs, see General Dynamics (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=476668) and Mac's Nakíl thread, specifically his variants post (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10811420&postcount=5).

11:30 AM
The drive out to Battle 1 had been fairly routine. Over one hundred vehicles - everything from heavy battle tanks to combat bulldozers - had made the 45-mile drive to the village. Colonel Marks, who had been planning on the way in, quickly radioed each company with orders.
To: Capt. Hicks, Sixth Cavalry Company
From: Col. Marks
Orders:
1 - Split into individual platoons.
2 - Keep the light tanks in reserve in the village.
3 - Deploy each of the other platoons two miles into the forests surrounding Hill 108; the three platoons should form a loose triangle, with the point behind the reverse slope of Hill 108. Each point is designated Cyan 1, Cyan 2, and Cyan 3.
4 - Cavalrymen are to dismount and dig in.
5 - Note that minefields are in the following locations: Magenta 1, Magenta 2, and Magenta 3.
6 - Remain alert.
7 - The command vehicle is to be deployed to the village.
Rules of Engagement:
1 - Cavalrymen are free to engage enemy scout vehicles or enemy infantry acting as scouts.
2 - Cavalrymen are to engage enemy infantry or enemy light tanks only if said forces spot cavalrymen.
3 - Cavalrymen are to conduct a fighting retreat to the village in the event of an attack by enemy MBTs or enemy heavy tanks. Cavalrymen are authorized to call in airstrikes in the event that they need to retreat.
4 - Light tanks are free to engage enemy forces approaching the village.
To: Capt. Green, Seventh Engineer Company
From: Col. Marks
Orders:
1 - Combat bulldozers are to set up hull-down positions on Hill 108, starting with positions for the HBTs, moving on the the MBTs, and finishing with the AD vehicles. Coordinate with Capt. Antonov of the Fifth Tank Company, Capt. Rawls of the First Tank Company, Capt. Stein of the Second Tank Company, Capt. Alvarez of the Third Tank Company, and Capt. Peters of the Eighth Air Dfence Company.
2 - Flamethrower vehicles and recovery vehicles are to remain in the village.
3 - Combat engineer vehicles are to deploy one mile into the forest (each vehicle in a separate direction, with the point at a 30-degree angle to the reverse slope of Hill 108) to lay AT and AP mines.
4 - On completion of the minefields, engineer vehicles are to return to the village and set up barbed wire.
5 - The command vehicle is to be deployed to the village.
Rules of Engagement:
1 - In the event of enemy forces approaching the CEVs, engineers are to return to the village.
2 - In the event that enemy forces approach the village, flamethrowers are authorized to engage at will.
To: Capt. Rawls, First Tank Company; Capt. Stein, Second Tank Company; Capt. Alvarez, Third Tank Company; Capt. Antonov, Fifth Tank Company
From: Col. Marks
Orders:
1 - Set up your tanks on the hillside; coordinate with Sergeant Wilks of the Second Platoon of the Seventh Engineer Company to deploy them to defilade positions.
2 - Remain alert.
3 - Be advised that minefields are located at Magenta 1, Magenta 2, and Magenta 3.
4 - In the event that you are pushed back, retreat to the village.
5 - Command vehicles are to be deployed to the village.
Rules of Engagement:
1 - Tanks are authorized to engage enemy forces at will.
2 - You are authorized to call in airstrikes on enemy forces; it is advised that you do so in the event that you need to retreat.
3 - Heavy tanks are authorized to engage all airborne targets below 5,000 feet.
To: Capt. Ellis, Fourth Tank Company
From: Col. Marks
Orders:
1 - Set up your tanks in reserve in the village.
2 - Remain alert.
3 - Be advised that minefields are located at Magenta 1, Magenta 2, and Magenta 3.
Rules of Engagement:
1 - You are authorized to engage enemy forces at will.
2 - You are authorized to call in airstrikes on enemy forces.
To: Capt. Peters, Eighth Air Defence Company
From: Col. Marks
Orders:
1 - First battery is to be deployed to Hill 108; coordinate with coordinate with Sergeant Wilks of the Second Platoon of the Seventh Engineer Company to deploy the battery to defilade positions.
2 - Second and Third batteries are to remain in the village.
3 - Remain alert.
4 - Command vehicle is to be deployed in the village.
Rules of Engagement:
1 - You may engage all airborne targets below 5,000 feet.
2 - You may engage enemy ground targets at will.
To: Capt. Anderson, First Fighter Squadron; Capt. Romero, Second Fighter Squadron; Capt. Uribe, Third Fighter Squadron
From: Col. Marks
Orders:
1 - Remain alert.
2 - One squadron, starting with the First Fighter Squadron, is to be airborne at all times; squadrons shall switch every two hours. The airborne squadron is to be designated Apple 1.
3 - Apple 1 is to respond to requests for help from ground troops, but shall not descend below 5,000 feet.
4 - Other squadrons are to respond to requests for help from Apple 1, but shall not descend below 5,000 feet.
Rules of Engagement:
1 - Do not descend below 5,000 feet; that zone is for air defence only.
2 - All fighters are to engage enemy fighters and ground attack aircraft first, unless an airstrike is called in, but may then engage any targets they can from above 5,000 feet.

The Kraven 185th Battalion, Forward Assault Group G

The Forward units had been moving towards the stream for several days now, their Heavy armour leading the column with the Infantry units and armoured personel carriers behind...

The General formation of this forward unit was designed for a Blitzkrieg, with no less than five Imperator class Leman Russ battle tanks, eighteen Emperor Classes as well as around sixty Leman Russ battle tanks...

The Formation was bolstered by Numerous ZSU 633's as well as the omnious Basilisk Long Range Artillery...

The Basilisks positioned themselves near to the stream, protected by ZSU's and various formations of Capitol Police...

Within a few minutes the crews of the various Basilisks began loading shells and preparing for a perliminary bombardement, the various barrels of these immense 210mm Cannons rising into the air, as spotter crews for the artillery worked out the co-ordinates of the planned bombardment...

There were several dull thumps as multiple shells were lobbed high into the air, their sickening screams as they traveled, the wind rushing through specialy adapted fins designed soley to create this noise...

as the spotters watched the hill, sighting the brown and red plumes of fire that rose into the air, kicking up both dirt and flame....

the Basilisk Crews prepared to fire again, another salvo being readied as the breaches were opened and the spent cartridge ejected, the second round slammed home as the breach door was shut, and the cannon raised into the air once again...

The Spotter crews waited to get a confirmation of Kills before giving the co-ordiantes of the next salvo....

12:20 PM
Hill 108
The shells went screaming through the air towards the hill, into which six heavy battle tanks were now dug in. Some shells fell short or overshot the hill, either through shifting winds or through the slight, unnoticeable mistakes in aim that crop up. Nearly all, however, hit the hill.

One hit an M124 AD vehicle, breaking through the light top armor and ruining the vehicle. The driver escaped the burning hulk; he, Corporal William Brown, began running down the hill to the village. A few hit near the bottom of the hill, creating holes in the treeline and cratering the ground below but doing little effect to the force.

Others hit among the tanks, fragments killing a few unlucky tank commanders. Roof-mounted reactive armor on the M3s took out several shells, but still, one M3 was knocked out, and its crew began to head down towards the village. One crewmember was wounded; an armored ambulance rushed up and brought him down. Worst, however, was the hit to one of the combat bulldozers; with it destroyed (along with its driver, felled in the explosion), the process of setting up defilades for the force was slowed down significantly.

The village
"Sir, we're under an artillery barrage. So far, we've suffered only a few casualties: one bulldozer, one Cornerback, and one M3," one of the majors serving on Colonel Patrick Marks's staff said.

"Okay, do we have locations for enemy artillery?" the Colonel asked in reply. "Even general ones work; at least I'll have a good idea of where they're coming from."

"Sir, Cyan 2 reported the shells as coming from east of our position," the major answered.

"Good. Shift Cyan 2 and Magenta 2 to east of our position; have Cyan 3 and Magenta 3 set up to the southeast, and Cyan 1 and Magenta 1 to the northeast," Marks replied. "Oh, and tell Cyan 2 to start jamming all radio frequencies other than those we set up earlier after they get into position. I want to see if we can throw off the enemy spotters."

12:20 PM
Hill 108
The shells went screaming through the air towards the hill, into which six heavy battle tanks were now dug in. Some shells fell short or overshot the hill, either through shifting winds or through the slight, unnoticeable mistakes in aim that crop up. Nearly all, however, hit the hill.

One hit an M124 AD vehicle, breaking through the light top armor and ruining the vehicle. The driver escaped the burning hulk; he, Corporal William Brown, began running down the hill to the village. A few hit near the bottom of the hill, creating holes in the treeline and cratering the ground below but doing little effect to the force.

Others hit among the tanks, fragments killing a few unlucky tank commanders. Roof-mounted reactive armor on the M3s took out several shells, but still, one M3 was knocked out, and its crew began to head down towards the village. One crewmember was wounded; an armored ambulance rushed up and brought him down. Worst, however, was the hit to one of the combat bulldozers; with it destroyed (along with its driver, felled in the explosion), the process of setting up defilades for the force was slowed down significantly.

The village
"Sir, we're under an artillery barrage. So far, we've suffered only a few casualties: one bulldozer, one Cornerback, and one M3," one of the majors serving on Colonel Patrick Marks's staff said.

"Okay, do we have locations for enemy artillery?" the Colonel asked in reply. "Even general ones work; at least I'll have a good idea of where they're coming from."

"Sir, Cyan 2 reported the shells as coming from east of our position," the major answered.

"Good. Shift Cyan 2 and Magenta 2 to east of our position; have Cyan 3 and Magenta 3 set up to the southeast, and Cyan 1 and Magenta 1 to the northeast," Marks replied. "Oh, and tell Cyan 2 to start jamming all radio frequencies other than those we set up earlier after they get into position. I want to see if we can throw off the enemy spotters."


The Kraven forces began to co-ordinate their artillery barrage, because as the first barrage was commencing, the other portion of the Artillery detachment was moving to the west of the Hills, setting up on the western edge of the stream that cut through the valley...

this detachment was similar to the first detachment, in comprising of 25 Basilisks numerous ZSU AA systems and infantry support...

The Artillery fired its second barrage, now made more effective by the mistakes made, as everyone knows, one learns from ones mistakes, and so the barrage was able to correct its mistakes and bring the barrage home more accuratly agains the dug in forces...

12:22 PM
Hill 108
The second barrage was more effective than the first. Many of the blocks of roof-mounted reactive armor had fired; further, no shells fell short, though one went long and hit the church steeple of the village.

Four M3s were hit; two were only damaged, could still fire their main guns, and thus headed down to the village, while the other two were mission kills, as their main guns (or their power sources) were knocked out. The crews from those tanks bailed out and headed down.

Also hit was one of the M2s, waiting to be dug in. The top armor was good enough to avoid a mission kill, but the radar system was knocked out, the electronics officer was wounded, and the tank's top armor was (of course) holed. Still, the tank would live; it began slowly driving down to the village.

The five surviving bulldozers continued working; they were seven minutes into a forty-five minute operation, and there were still seven HBTs left to dig in. A shell narrowly missed one bulldozer, cratering the ground nearby; several others tore up the earth lower down. Accidentally or intentionally, those shells would ease the task of the enemy infantry when it approached, since it would have craters to duck into if necessary.

Apple 1
Bleep! A radar warning receiver beeped for a second in one of the F-22s that had strayed to the east, flying high over the valley. It wasn't serious; one of the Kraven ZSUs' radars brushed over the fighter for an instant. It probably wouldn't even get noticed; further, it was only a fleeting glimpse. However, the noise startled the pilot, who had been watching the rather pretty woods below as he streaked through the skies, 10,000 feet above the ground, into pulling back.

First Cavalry Platoon (moving towards the new Cyan 1)
"Hey, Sarge! Something's on the radar, a good six miles to the west. Probably vehicles; certainly not ours," the electronics operator on one of the two M121s of the platoon shouted.

"Hey, driver, stop the vehicle; we're setting up here. I'll radio the Colonel first, then our friend in the platoon," Sergeant Mike Yao yelled back. "Oh, and start jamming all frequencies but ours."

12:25 PM
The village
"Sir, Cyan 1 requests to remain in their current position; apparently, they found a contact to the west. They're in a decent position to spot what's going on, and they're probably in position to jam the enemy," a staffer said.

"Sure, let them. Have Apple 1 patrol over to the northeast for a bit; maybe we'll spot something on radar," Marks replied.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Base
"What do you think of Marks so far, sir?" a major on Major General Engelhorn's staff asked.

"Well, he seems somewhat impulsive. He's reacted fairly passively to the bombardment; I'd have sent in my fighters right away. Still, his choice, not mine," Engelhorn replied, watching the computer showing the locations of both sides' vehicles and men. "Let's see how his choice works out..."

--poke--

--poke--

(--- Ow --- )


The Kraven force of Basilisks had moved around to the western side and now the Crewmen began loading in shells, the large caliber rounds were loaded in and the barrels raised to the correct heights to get a prefect line up on the hills and the defenders, these Basilisks were armed with data from the first two Salvos, and so would be able to accureatly place a shell inside a small family car if it was so needed...

The Radio jamming was causing Kraven some problems, but cycling the Command Relay through several different frequencies soon corrected these problems...

but to co-ordinate during the first hour or so of confusion and lack of co-ordination, the Capitol Police used Semaphore and communicated with flags...

The KSSF had been scrambled at the same time, their target data was collected from the spotters in the opening stages of the salvos, and so were armed well, these sleek stealthy craft would target any heavy armour with "Godstrike" anti tank missiles, while others would run random sorties striking targets of opportunities, however they were still several miles out and would take a short while to reach the combat zone...

Meanwhile, the Basilisks stepped up their salvos, firing in quick sucession, as soon as one shell had been fired, the barrel was lowered and another shell loaded...

the hill was alive with explosions as a total of fifty basilisks went to work, the HE shells pounded the hill, as the bombardment had reach a defeaning level, the Crewmen were inhuman capitol police and both were working to their limits and that of the machine, keeping up the bombardment, going through shell after shell...

The Logistic teams kept the basilisks well stocked with shells as the sheer amount of ordinance being fired sapped the basilisks stocks of shells....

Kraven was stepping the war up a gear...

1:30 PM
The engineering vehicles had finished laying their mines, and began pulling back to the hill. The cavalry were in position, waiting for scouts to approach. Twelve tanks - all but one HBTs - were in defilade positions; one of the bulldozers used a crater to expedite the process of setting up the position. The F-22s of Apple 1 - now the Second Squadron - were just beginning to spot distant contacts on their radars; they armed their long-range AMRAAMs and waited for the contacts to approach within range. The jamming had apparently had some effect; some of the shellfire was uncoordinated, and, occasionally, brief pauses - apparently caused by delays in delivering the additional shells - were noticed.

Nonetheless, the artillery fire had its effect. Despite an attempt to shoot down incoming shells spotted by the radars on the M2s, which did manage to take out a few shells, but not enough to really make a difference, the HE shells blasted into the hill, stripping it of practically all remaining vegetation, causing six mission kills among the M3s and destroying a second bulldozer. One M2 was damaged, along with eight M3s; these vehicles headed down the hill. Also hit was an M122 combat ambulance, heading up to rescue wounded crew; the vehicle, with a damaged engine, was towed back down by an M88.

To Colonel Marks, there was no need to do anything but wait. The enemy artillery would eventually stop firing, and, even if it didn't, the enemy had to begin an advance at some point, or (once the rest of the regiment arrived) it would lose its numerical advantage.