NationStates Jolt Archive

First Two Posts on Operation Thunderstrike.
http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11705089&postcount=13
http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11708713&postcount=24

IC:
UCNN: United Caucasus National News
Operation Thunderstrike: Week 4

UCR Forces have finally captured Tabriz today after a two week seige of the city. The Seige which cost lives the 300 UCR soldiers has finally ended after elements of the First Armored Division linked up with Units to the south of the city. Also among the losses were 25 T-66 Tanks. These tanks had been in the Army's service for more then a decade and were in disrepair. Officials are calling the Victory at Tabriz a rousing victory that will uplift the spirits of our soldiers. After the victory extra ration packets were distributed to the men. There was much celebrating tempered with a little sadness at lost comrades and friends.

Elsewhere in Operation Thunderstrike, The Lake Urmia forces have surrounded the lake with an area of control. The area has been host to very little resistance if any, thanks to the high Azeri population. Casualties have been low around 200 total with only 33 dead. Engineering Brigades have even been moved into the region to begin work on damaged roards, bridges and housing.

The Coastal push to Rasht has caught a snag today. Twenty miles northwest of the city the Soldiers met heavy resistance in the form of a Former Sistani Brigade. The brigade saw fit to try and keep whats left of Sistan together. They are holding onto a small ridge west of the main coast road. Currently the forces in conflict with them are keeping their distance. Aif-Force officials say that bombing runs will commence within the day and hopefully they will be able to dislodge that brigade off the Ridge. Total Casualties on the coast are 2,345 with 256 dead.

OOC: No Map today Because it was getting confusing for me.

The Emirate is glad to see progress being made - we hope that your progress remains as clear and constructive as the current, if not better than as it stands.

UCNN: United Caucasus National News
Operation Thunderstrike: Week 6

This week was host to many rapid adavances by UCR troops over former Sistani territory. Much of the Resistance was lost during the Seige and subsequent clearing of Tabriz. Squad leaders are reporting overall high spirits among their troops even in the face of danger.

Today, the Tabriz assault force and the Lake Urmia forces linked up at the city of Mahabad. Movement towards the city was slowed due to very bad roads. The roads were repaired by Engineering Units sent down from Lake Urmia. It took them a little over 1 week to clear and fix the roads. Once that was done, the armies converged and took the city without much resistance. The City will now be used as the Command Headquarters for the Lake Urmia and Tabriz Assault Forces. After 4 days of rest, the Tabriz Assault Force, the larger of two and has been renamed the Zanjan Assault Force, will move out to capture Zanjan. Zanjan is the supposedly the final objective fo the UCR and it's endeavors to Assimilate Northwest Iran. After another 2 days of rest and reinforcements the Lake Urmia forces shall head south and capture Sanadaj. This city is important because it will allow the UCR to trade overland with it's RSA Allies once Vineyardian forces capture Iraq and the surrounding territories.

Out on the Coast, it is a different story entirely. The former Sistan Brigade stills holds onto the Ridge even though it's suffering heavy casualties from shelling and Aerial Bombardment. Faced with a predicament that would leave a gaping hole in the UCR line, the Commander of the Coastal Forces sent an Advance Force to Engage Rasht. That force took control of Rasht in 8 days. It has spent the last 6 clearing the City of resistance. From here the Coastal forces are stopped. They aren't scheduled to make any more advances into Iran.

Reference for the Cities.
http://www.iranologie.com/iran/iran-map.gif

UCNN: United Caucasus National News
Operation Thunderstrike: Week 9

The Zanjan Assault Force has been seiging Zanjan for about 2 weeks now, with almost no end in sight. After leaving Mahabad and marching east, the force encounter increasinly strong resistance. It was a long and slow dredge to clear out those areas. Casualty figures are somewhere in the 5000 range with no definate answer known. After arriving on the outskirts of Zanjan the force saw an almost fanatical defense force prepared to defend the city against them. The Assault force pulled back and engage the defending Resistance only in small skirmishes. Using their time and man-power effective the Zanjan Assault force cut off Zanjan from the rest of Iran. No supplies get in and no-one gets out. It's been like that for two weeks now and periodical Artillery Shellings and bombing runs have occured on the city.

The Lake Urmia forces have captured Sanandaj after slogging their way through some of the worst terrain this side of Baghdad. Rockslides, mud-piles, and destroyed bridges were many of their worries. Surprisingly enemy forces were not on that list. The region is almost devoid of any kind of Enemy force apart from a token force at Sanandaj itself. The city was taken after a mild skirmish that ended with two UCR soldiers getting killed and 43 wounded. Many of soldiers surrendered after that. Total POW count now runs around 40,000 Soldiers with most of them coming from Tabriz Seige and the Battle of the Rasht Ridge.

Just yesterday the Battle of the Rasht Ridge ended when the Former Sistani Commander surrendered his meager force after 5 weeks of constant Aerial and Artillery bombardment. His thirteen-thousand men were immediately inducted into a POW camp near Astara, Azerbaijan. Many of the men in the Brigade were wounded with injuries ranging from Shrapnel to broken limbs. With this finished the Coastal forces are being told to hunker down and show the locals that we aren't evil conquerers but Humble Liberators.

Refer to the Map in the previous post for the Cities.

UCNN: United Caucasus National News
Operation Thunderstrike Over after 10 and 1/2 weeks!

Three days after out last report the Zanjan Assault force finally broke through the cities defenses and began to move into the city. Fighting was fierce throughout the city with casualties being taken on both sides in large numbers. The Former Sistani forces lead a Fanatical Defense of the City by forcing the UCR forces to fight in bad terrain. UCR Troops slogged their way through the city clearing Apartment Complexes, Hospitals, Office Buildings, and Stores. After a week of doing this, the Sistani forces in Zanjan started to surrender in numbers ranging from 10 to 500. After 4 more days of fighting the Sistani commander formally surrendered the remaining forces, numbering around 11,000 Men. Most of them Injured.

In the End Casualty Estimates for Operation Thunderstrike are:
Sistani:
Dead: 7,800
Wounded: 43,000
Captured: 51,000
UCR:
Dead: 4,000
Wounded: 22,000
Captured or MIA: 200