NationStates Jolt Archive

The Coming Fury

Political unrest, public outcry, civil war! These are words you might here from a third world country or a land where the government has lost control of its people; who sit by idly as the nation implodes upon itself leaving only the dead untouched. You would not expect this for a nation of such promise and youth, so wealth and freedom would you? You would expect this from a nation such as Vietnam, a nation not to unfamiliar with death and unrest…not from a nation like New Zealand or the Philippines. You cannot underestimate the infectious zeal of a group of people or how one event can change the course of history. If history has taught us just one thing it is surely this, the world has been shaped not by men, weapons, bloodshed, ignorance, or heroism, but ideas. Ideas are the root of every action and reaction. What would begin as your typical chaotic collapse would trigger a catastrophic series of events that would change the scope of the Pacific for ever.

It would all start in the remote jungles of Vietnam, a place so unforgiving it would be only natural for this sort of story to being there.

[Postponed until things slow down in the America’s thread. Also note that this will take place after that situation is over with]

Somewhere in Ban Me Thuot, Vietnam
The jungles of Vietnam were alive with activity. Jeeps, wagons, cars, tanks, people, and even animals ferried equipment and supplies here and there, to and fro. Within the deep traversing jungle paths weapons, ammo, and other supplies began to pile up. Boxes of munitions began to mount; grenades and rockets littered the ground. Rebels dashed about the rain soaked tangle of vines shouting commands and profanities. The occasional joke lightened the mood but it proved only a temporary relief. Jeeps and wagons frequently got caught in the knee high mud only to be bulldozed out of the way by a vehicle of heavier proportions. It was organized chaos at its best.

The occasional Federal aircraft would whiz by prompting a quick dash into the thickets of the jungle and away from any clearings. Camouflaged nets were hastily thrown up in time to avoid aerial recon. The Loyalist forces knew something was afoot but had no idea the depth of the threat at which they facing. That is, if they even thought them a threat. The government as of late had been neglect, dishonest, and slowly collapsing. Although the situation wasn’t dire it was not to uncommon in this high unstable world for a nation to collapse. The people were picking with their governments and when one didn’t do its job as it should the people let them know. Sometimes it was by friendlier terms but the people here liked action, it’s what they knew. If the government was holding up their end of the bargain the people would make them bleed, and that’s what they were going to do.

OCC: Tagged for future response. Note: Some of those countries are within the range of certain countries in the Republic's influence. Sri Lanka being one, also I have a RP on hold about Bangladesh.

Also, I'll have that thread up about the conference I told you about up soon.

OOC: Ok, let me know what your thinking so i can add it.

Dragon’s Den [Ban Me Thuot Jungle] Vietnam
The team moved silently through the thick overgrowth of the jungle floor. Their boots crunched the soft ground underneath their heavy sole leaving a trail of disturbed vegetation. The metal clank of weapons and ammo were muffled by the sounds of the jungle. They moved up a small bluff spread out and trigger happy. They slowed as they neared the crest of the bluff and shouldered their weapons slowly removing the safety and cocking back their bolt if they hadn’t done so already. The lead soldier crouched low and made his way to the crest using his hand to slowly sweep away the foliage blocking his view. He took a deep breathe and swiped his forehead to remove any sweat now building up from the intense humidity.

Below him the camp was alive with soldiers scurrying about the jungle floor. They were completely unaware of the threat just yards away from them. It was all in plain view for the team leader, weapons, ammunition boxes, hand held missiles, and other equipment piling up for him to see. He reached into his pocket and removed a camera. He replaced his AN-74 with the camera and began snapping away at what he saw. It would be used later as evidence and briefings. He then switched back to his rifle and slid down the hill some placing him beneath the crest but in front of his men. With a motion of his hand a soldier was quickly upon him. Kneeling down he spoke softly to the soldier next to him, “Mark this location on the grid.” The soldier removed a map from a small bag to his side and began marking down their location. The leader looked up and gave the signal, they would be returning home now to report what they had scene.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the team, they were being hunted. Blending almost perfectly with the terrain, a group of rebels were hiding not more then ten feet around the team. They had been tracking since they were inserted into the jungle via helicopter about two hours ago. A tunnel led directly underneath the route they had taken as if they knew about it…but they didn’t. Now the team was ten feet away from their deaths with well plenty of rifles to match theirs. The rebels look down their sights impatiently waiting for the shot that would ignite their own to life, but it never came. The team retreated without knowing how close they had been to death. When the team was clear the rebels emerged from their hideouts, clearly annoyed by the lack of blood before them. The rebel leader look onward muttering to anyone in listening space “Let them come.”

A large tropical storm had developed over Vietnam and it was growing more ferocious by the minute. Intense winds ripped through the dense jungle with little remorse. Lightning danced across the sky and thunder shook the silent ground. The skies were filled with the most sinister looking clouds every amassed. Blacks and grays intermingled leaving not a trace of light for the ground to absorb. It was the middle of the day yet dark as the middle of the night. The lightning hit the ground with such energy and fury it lit the sky with unparalleled beauty. The rain came in practically sideways tearing through the soft leaves and vines of the jungle. The ground swelled with the growing flow of water creating small streams and ponds which the rain pattered upon with endless rhythm. It was a harmony of passion and an ominous omen.

The final preparations had been made and the plans finalized. It started in Vietnam and spread throughout the South East into Laos and Cambodia. It was a menacing and evil future, a sleeping dragon rising from his hidden den. It would be a wrath unlike any other, its thirst only to be quenched with blood. It was a virus that had for too long gone untreated and unnoticed. It was a vengeance born from itself. The rebels, they wait, soaked to the bone by the torrential rains, their eyes igniting with every flash and crackle of the storm. Their hearts beat in rhythm with the wind.

The Federals begin to move, they launch a foolhardy operation, one, as destiny would have it, destined to fail. What other choice do they have? If they let this virus grow then they will have a far lesser chance then they already do. For them it is hopeless, a dying fight of glory and ignorance. Consumed by arrogance they will come, they will fight, they will die. Yet they will come and they have come ready to die.

OCC: The conference I promised on South America has now started. Link (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=509913)

IC: As the situation unfolded in Vietnam, it looked like another unpopular war was coming to South East Asia not seen since the heyday of communism. Should Sri Lanka lend it's support to the operation in Vietnam or condemn it. What would their ally in India do, if they did indeed support this. What about China?

For now, President Mahinda Rajapaksa decided to sit back and watch it unfold. If, he played his cards right he could help bring peace back to South East Asia without entangling his country in a costly ground war against a people who had fought off many foreign armies. Could the Philippines finally be the nation able to conquer Vietnam or would it to fall against the Bamboo pole that was Vietnam. The actions of the Philippines army, government and people would answer President's Rajapaksa question in duel time.

In the mean time work began on drafting a message to the Philippines Government informing them of what role Sri Lanka would play, if it indeed play one at all. Even if it didn't, Mahinda was darn sure his countries concern were going to be held. He was also sure, word from the other countries would come soon enough and he expected it not to be as flattering as his.

[ooc: id wait on this one because i dont get involved for quite some time and it isnt how you think. However once things get crazy im sure youll want to join but for now just watch it play out.
also this takes place during the Operation in America but will end, regardless of how long the american operation is, after the fact.]

Ban Me Thuot, Vietnam
The storm had never been more intense. It was the perfect setting for a truly orchestrated massacre. The first attack of the war would only give a glimpse of the destruction to come. The Federals came, right down the same path they took before. However this time there was more, about a regiment worth of troops or rather 1000 soldiers give or take. Due to the thickness of the jungle they came with only a limited number of vehicles and heavy weapons. Aircraft were more or less pointless with the dense canopy of the Vietnamese jungle. Two attack helicopters took the lead of the advancing unit. The wind and rain and lightning limited even the helicopters as the decision to bring them along would prove more fateful then anything else.

Leading elements of the regiment made contact around midnight. The resistance was light and casualties were low. Small arms fire lit the jungle in every direction. With the only light coming from the quick flashes of lightning, hand to hand combat ensued. The Federals pushed hard nonetheless and the rebel bodies began to mount. After an hour of hard fighting there was a lull in the battle. It was 1am and the storm began to clear. The first part of the fighting was over with minimum casualties on both sides. The stalemate that ensued gave enough cover for more federal troops to move in from the North Eastern sector of the town. As of 1 they had encountered no enemy resistance and were making good ground using the roads, although muddy.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/FoxWally/BanMeThuot.jpg
The Battle of Ban Me Thuot by 0100

The calm didn’t last however. The troops moving into the town soon realized why they had encountered no resistance. By 1:30 am the town had seemingly come to life. Every window, doorway, alleyway, storefront, everything came to life with rifle fire. The town was a hotbed for rebel activity. Outgunned, outmanned, and utterly trapped it was like shooting fish in a barrel. Federal casualties began to rise at an alarming rate. Things were heading south very fast. The first helicopter to respond made quick time to the town and began raining down hot lead into the rag tag houses below. Just as soon as it arrived however its SAM detection button lit up. Almost directly over top of the SAM, the helicopter was in a hopeless situation. A quick streak rose from the ground and the copter went up in a ball of flames. The fireball could be seen two miles away where the main line of the Federal advance now sprang to life. In an attempt to save their stricken comrades the Federals began to dive deep within enemy territory. Their first thrust made good ground but halted there.

By two am the Federal chance of survival in the town was slim to none with only a handful of soldiers left. It was a complete slaughter. The second helicopter dared not venture over to provide cover lest it meet the same fate as its fallen brethren. Nevertheless by 2am the Federal’s had quarantined off a pocket of rebel resistance while another faction began to probe the main objective, the airfield.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/FoxWally/BanMeThuot2am.jpg
Battle of Ban Me Thuot by 0200

The fighting was grim and by dawn things began to look horribly clear for both sides. The Federals came into the fight under the assumption it would be a quick victory over a far less superior enemy, but, as history has shown us on many a different occasion that this is usually not the case. The rebels on the other hand thought that they could surprise the Federals and make them pay in blood for their ignorance. The only thing that was actually predicted was the bloodlust that would ensue. By 6:00 am after about 5 hours of hard, bloody fighting the battle was finally becoming seen. The jungle was ablaze with fire and smoke. Dead were strewn about crawling and moaning and gasping for life. The wounds themselves horrific, knives, swords, bullets, explosions, fists, bite marks blunt objects. Anything that would kill was used and used to the ut-most perfection.

Dawn also gave proof that through the night the Federal’s flag wasn’t still there. Every single soldier that entered the town had been killed or captured. The city was a mess with debris and body fluids. Dogs and other vermin took to the streets once the noise quieted down, mauling on the dead and dying with little remorse. The soldier’s bodies were stripped and anything of value was stolen. Nevertheless the quiet wasn’t for long. The Federals main line of attack was pushing and pushing hard. By 7:00 am the Federals had eliminated the remaining pockets of resistance and were now concentrated on the airfield. With the town lost they had no reason to peruse a rescue mission that would inevitably lead to their demise.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/FoxWally/banmethout7am.jpg
Battle of Ban Me Thout by 0700

The rebels greatly outnumbered at the airfield needed reinforcements and they needed them quick. A message was sent via runners through the jungle and into the town. However, a Special Forces unit was using the jungle to their advantage. They made their way into the back of the town after a rebel unit order to guard the rear entrance to the airfield was repositioned into the main line of resistance. They then took up position, as luck would have it, in the direct path of the runners. One by one they would try and deliver the message and they would each be killed accordingly. The SF team then, in order to counter the inevitable running of a different trail, fanned out to cover a wider area. The lack of help from the rebels in the town was making for hell at the airfield. The most intense fighting of the day was seen there. Both units, wet, exhausted, and their morale deeply shaken were in a slugfest. There was no coordination or grace to the fighting. The sheer cover of the surrounding jungle ensured close quarters action. It was a brutal prolonged hand to hand engagement. By now a mobile SAM had been uncovered and was taking aim at the remaining Federal helicopter that was by now in the midst of the fighting and causing havoc. The copter didn’t last long and another fireball was plummeting to Earth. That was all the rebels in the town could take, they took it upon themselves to make a move for the airfield. Along the way they would run into the SF team which now found itself gravely outnumbered.

Meanwhile the rebels at the airfield were holding their own, but barely. They had been pushed back to their second line of defense. The fighting had now cleared the jungle and for once it was clear terrain, albeit small. The fighting soon became furious. With no cover rifles began to burst to life and the echo of gunfire began to grow. Soldiers on both sides began to drop at an alarming rate. At 8:30 am there was a momentary lull.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/FoxWally/bamethout830am.jpg
Battle of Ban Me Thout by 0830

That lull didn’t last long however. Outnumbered and out of ammo the SF team was overrun. They held out far longer then expected but lost every single man. It was valiant but in vain. The rest of the force quickly joined the fighting and a devastating stalemate set in. The body count was terrific and it wasn’t even noon yet. Nevertheless the rebels had an ace up their sleeve.

A sound began to pick up over the airfield. The sound blades slicing through the air gave way to a thunderous volley of fire as the fighting began again in earnest. The airfield was now a torrent of explosions and human extremities. The fighting was gritty and savage, often hand to hand. The rebels were putting up a fierce resistance and it shown in body count. The Federals, despite their complete and total shock at the ferocity, were relying heavily on their training and too much success. By now two lines had formed indefinitely and the deadly stalemate of fighting continued. However, despite the obvious noise, the rebels had lifted into the air their own helicopter. The Federals had only anti-infantry and anti-armor rounds at their disposal meaning they were in for a rough time. The helicopter rose out of reach of conventional small arms.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/FoxWally/jungle3.jpg

The crew looked on as the jungle beneath them was engulfed in flames and smoke. They moved south bypassing the Federal line of advance. Out of harms way they circled around and dropped into small arms range. This round about trip took only a few minutes but with so much confusion below it more then enough time for the soldiers to forget about its appearance. It came in swift and deadly, the mounted M60 firing at such a rate that the barrel was near red. The hot shell casings fell fiendishly downward creating a literal rain of hot lead. It was too late by then. The Federals were overrunning the rebels at every point of the line. Slowly the rebel line began to falter and crack. Sensing blood the Federals made one final push throw the dense jungle. The helicopter was quickly running out of ammo and with the airfield no longer secured it just as quickly made a get away over the dense overhang of the Vietnam Jungle. The fading rotor of chopper gave way to the terrible hell unraveling in the forest.

By 1500 the rebels had been routed. They fled towards the town and disappeared, some melting back into the town while others continued to trudge deeper into the countryside. The Federals had claimed the first victory of what they thought was a simple crack-down operation. It was actually the first battle of a new kind of war. The death toll had been terrifying for both sides. The rebels had left behind 401 of their comrades while the Federals lost 330. The numbers for the wounded were much higher, 600 on the rebel side and 598 on the Federal’s side. The town and airfield were completely useless, burnt to the ground and riddled with the dead and dying. Within the next couple of hours all of Indochina would be hit with similar battles. The results, however, would be very different.

Indochina
It didn’t just take place in Vietnam. True, that was the epicenter for the rebellion, the home ground, but it wasn’t the only place taking fire. Laos and Cambodia also saw their share of rebel firefights. It began as a few minor paramilitary units coming under fire by an international crack down operation by the governments. All three countries had dove into something much deeper. It was, in fact, a deep seeded rebellion and a well organized one at that. The planning, mobilization, recruitment, and training had been going on for years. The omnipresent corrupt former government doing little to stop this threat. The crack down operation only jump started what was to be a civil war. No single place in Indochina would be safe for long. Thailand had felt on the reverberations of the attacks, nothing serious and no sign of anything of the nature taking place there. Myanmar, due to its location was unscathed. Nevertheless both nations were now on full alert and intervention would soon be needed or else Indochina in its entirety would soon be engulfed in war.

The rebellion had now taken the form of a bloody civil war…three separate ones to be exact but all for the same goal. It was a confusing and bitter situation. The fighting was often brutal and savage taking place for the most part only inches away. The think south eastern jungles made the fighting primitive and desperate. Air cover was limited as was armor. It was, more or less, a slug fest and they didn’t usually end well. The Federals held out but it was short lived. The rebels, now gaining strength, were grinding the blood soaked Federal defenders down. Ban Me Thout was the first battle of what was now known as the Indochina Civil War by outsiders but it sure wasn’t the last. The second major battle took place in Northern Vietnam. Hai Phong was the third largest city in Vietnam. Rebels moved to secure the town which controlled the river and bay. The town itself because of its location on the river was a Federal stronghold backed by a small contingent of gun boats. Four days of heavy fighting left the city in ruins and nearly 1/3 of the civilian population dead. The death toll was outstanding and the river, the scene of some of the most destructing fighting was red. Outnumbered and battered the Federals were able to withdraw over half the troops stationed there by boat however 9,000 soldiers including wounded were left behind to surrender. It was the largest surrender by either side at that time. The however was only the first city to fall.

The rebels in Cambodia were taking heavy losses and had yet to win a decisive battle. It looked as if the rebellion there would fail. However the rebels launched the largest operation of war aimed at capturing or destroying the capital Phnom Penh. The city was one of the largest in Indochina and being a capital it was heavily fortified. With no front lines and dense jungle surrounding it was almost impossible to detect the assault. They struck from the north and west, some believing that rebels from Vietnam were part of the operation. After two weeks of fighting they had yet to crack the inner Federal defenses. The northern section of the city resembled a WWII German city late in the war, nothing but ruins. Again the casualties mounted. After another three bloody weeks the rebels finally had captured the city. The death toll including civilians was a staggering 2.6 million. This single battle sent shock waves through all of Indochina and Asia. The tide however was long from turning.

The Rebels had now revealed themselves, officially declaring this a ‘peoples’ revolution’. The rebels from these three nations had been working in unison for one goal; unite South Eastern Asia into a communist nation. They called themselves Sons of Vietnam in reference to the Communist takeover of Vietnam in the early 70’s. The SV was headed by a native Vietnamese soldier who was a young boy during the Vietnam War.

General Duc Vien was 57 and it showed in the deep lines etched in his tan forehead. His eyes were set deep and were mistaken by some to be completely black when in actuality they were simply dark brown. His hair was thin but had remained black; he was not slender but certainly not obese. He carried himself with dignity and was fiendishly clever. So far he was conducting a very effective war. The former semi communist state that was in place before was simply not strong enough and its leader ineffective. The goal of the SV was to establish a strong fully communist state. That, however, didn’t mean that the former rules would go down without a fight. On the contrary they banded together forming the H-Town Alliance. The Sons of Vietnam had, by now, massed an army, of nearly two hundred thousand and it was growing by the minute. Despite his mass, they were rather spread out having large forces in each of the three countries. The Alliance could throw at it a larger four hundred thousand, double their enemy. Indochina was quickly falling into total war.

Two months into the fighting a deadly stalemate somehow took action. The dense jungle and lack of formal training was leaving each army battered and bruised. Frustration was now focused, horrifyingly, upon civilians. Stories of atrocities from both sides cause widespread fear and, ironically, retaliation. The 1st Vietnamese Army of the SV, numbering near 70,000 thousand was laying siege to Southern Vietnam. The objective was the Federal Stronghold of Ho Chi Minh. During the Ten Day’s Battle the surrounding cities had fallen one by one: Phu Cuong, Bein Hoa, and Tan An yet they could not break the cities defenses. The assault teetered and finally stalled. Duc was stunned; he had not expected the forces there to conduct such a strong defense. The city was assigned to prominent young General Tu Van. Van was a staunch Loyalist and a rising star within the Federal Army. After the failed assault Van launched his own counter attack and retook Southern Vietnam pushing the fight back into Northern Territory which was now predominantly SV loyal.

This was the only bright side for the Federals at this point. Cambodia was almost under complete rebel control while Laos fought for its life. With most of the land covered in vast expanses of Jungle it seemed as if the fighting would never end, there was no way to kill an army. Yet the stalemate continued, nobody could deliver the final blow. By now, after 4 months of heavy fighting and 120,000 deaths later little had changed. Yet two countries within Indochina sat outwards looking in. Duc realized it, and so too did the battered Federals…the key was within these unharmed nations. They controlled the ability to swing the battle.

[ooc: looks like you need some outside interaction that complicates the matter :D]

[ooc: looks like you need some outside interaction that complicates the matter :D]

OCC: And I'll be happy to provide that in due time. :D

I already posted an IC reply many months ago. Right, now I'm just sitting on the side lines.