The PeoplesFreedom
26-12-2008, 07:48
Southwestern Region
It has now been over twenty five years since the civil war in the South Western states had ended. The war had cost a lot for the Prussians, over sixty thousand of their countrymen had been killed in the conflict, and a president had been forced to resign for the handling of the war. It had also paved the way for the military to increase their grasp on the nation, and had left a bitter and lasting taste in the collective country's mouths. For the last twenty or so years, the region had ruled itself semi-autonomously, and while their was still a bitter taste, relations had returned to normal between the regions' one billion Muslims and the Christian majority. Overall, the region had also been rebuilt very quickly and had become rather prosperous as compared to its pre-war state. It was unfortunate then that President Norris' first major challenge in office would be the region flaring up in conflict once again.
Over two thousand people had died in the aftermath of the first attacks in the Southwest. General Abul Azair's rebel group, the Islamic Movement for the Restoration of an Islamic State, more commonly known as IMIS, had struck hard and fast in the resort town of Mathis. Around one hundred specially trained soldiers had destroyed much of the town and slaughtered its small police force, as well as a convoy from the provincial headquarters. The attack launches Azair's movement to restore a state run on strict Islamic values, rather than the current government which was completely secular. The attack on the resort town was even worse- most of the people killed had been tourists from TPF proper, and many had been executed in extremely brutal ways, and taped doing so. Following the initial attacks, the IMIS had followed with heavy assaults on several major government centers, Governor Edris had been killed along with most of his staff with a attack on the regional capital, and the capital city of Nuport had been thrown into chaos. Open fighting between police and loyal military forces had erupted, and several days later there was no end in sight. The government for the states had practically collapsed as millions clogged the highways, railways, and airports in a desperate attempt to flee the chaos. Supplies were also running short as supermarkets were looted and ransacked, the region had esstionally shut down as the death toll mounted by the hour.
As the Prussian government was organizing a military intervention into the region, General Azair and his rebels tightened their grip on the area. Total forces for the IMIS were unknown, but he had at least sixty thousand troops under his direct command and he had indirect control over hundreds of militia units which had formed. The militia units were not always motivated by the idea of an Islamic state, many were poor and from the slums, which had taken up arms under the promise they would be paid under the new government. This actually formed the bulk of the militias, as most of the Muslims in the area were either pro-secular or indifferent to the Prussian government. In the meantime loyal military and police forces struggled to combat Azair's forces, but their efforts were complicated more by the need to provide for the refugees which was proving to be an impossible task. A third faction had also come into play. Local religious leaders or leaders of the communities had formed militias in order to provide safety and supplies to their families. Mostly, these militias had control over the residential areas of the cities and tended to avoid conflict wherever possible.
A deployment of military forces by the TPF government was even more complicated by the fact that they had no clear entry to the embattled region. General Azair had been quick in the early hours of his rebellion to secure the major entrance points. All major international airports had been secured, along with the smaller airfields. Interstate 69, the major eight lane highway leading into the region, had also been secured and fortified by the rebels. Azair also had an air defense network. It was not very large or capable, but it still prevented any major air assault landing until it was taken care of.
As the conflict entered its fourth day, the General Staff had come to the conclusion that nothing short of a full scale assault on the IMIS would be satisfactory. President Norris had wanted no major military actions at all in his presidency, but in the first month of his term he would have one. The plan called for a combined Lyran-Prussian attack. Lyran soldiers had been permanently stationed in TPF as part of the Fedala Accords, and more could be deployed in a very short amount of time. The Lyrans were masters at massive and fast deployments, but still Norris hoped to achieve victory with a minimal amount of soldiers. The main force involved with the assault would be XX Corps, commanded by General Harris, a decorated general from his combat in the invasion of Greal and a well known military supporter of Norris. His Corps was reinforced, consisting of around four divisions and several detached battalions and brigades from other units. It was perhaps on of the largest corps formed, near the size of an entire army. Two armored divisions, the 21st 'Lightning' division, and the 9th 'Guards' division, would be the primary striking elements of the force. Two mechanized infantry divisions, the 77th, and the 23th, would accompany the armored units into combat. Notable other unit groupings included two Marine Corps battalions, one air assault brigade, an and armored calvary brigade, and several special forces groups of company level. The corps was further reinforced by the 2nd Air Force, which would bring well over one thousand planes of varying types on the offensive.
Operation: Blue Case was the code-name for the offensive, and was set to kick off in the early morning of the sixth day of the uprising. It would take a full day for the advanced scout units of the corps to reach the enemy lines along Interstate 69. While these units would travel the air force would begin bombarding enemy positions along the highway and military bases and air defense sites around the cities. Special forces groups would be deployed via helicopter to make contact with surviving police and loyalist military forces in an attempt to coordinate them for an assault on several key positions. Primarily, Harris wanted several airports captured so that the air assault brigade could be deployed in a forward position and cut the supply lines of the hostile units on the highway. While XX Corps outnumbered the 60,000 or so troops Azair directly commanded, they were outnumbered by the possible hundreds of thousands of militiamen. Most worrisome to Norris and the General Staff would be the militiamen beginning a insurgency war, which could stretch out years and cost many thousands of lives. A swift victory over the regular units, vicious strikes on militia units, and the capture or killing of Azair would be critical objectives in avoiding a wider guerrilla war. A primary objective for the special forces units would be identifying and killing militia leaders and destroying militia strong points. Many fully-stocked armories also remained under militia control and these would either need to be re-captured by loyalist forces or eliminated via air strike. The stakes were high as the first advanced units set out under a cold winters' air.
“ Pre-flight check, complete. All systems green and nominal. Blue-Two prepared for take-off, over.”
“ Roger, Blue-Two, this is Zebra, you are clear for take-off.”
With engines roaring, the squadron of Warhawk Tactical Bombers accelerated off the runways and towards the clouded and dark sky. Two waves had already gone ahead of them, full of wild-weasel and electronic warfare aircraft supported by the highly-advanced ASF-70 air superiority fighters who would annihilate enemy resitence in the skies and on the ground. Breaching the IMIS air defense network had been easy and had been completed in less than two hours with only one plane downed. For an air force designed to go toe-to-toe with the best military forces on the planet, this had been as easy as an training exercise. Now the waves of strategic and tactical bombers would descend on the enemy positions and deliver blasts from the heavens. Blue squadron soon got their first targets sent to them, the coordinates would take them to a small town on the outskirts of the capital city. Their powerful jet turbines sent them fast over the ground, as citizens started in awe at the massive planes. The enemy positions consisted of roughly five hundred men and around a dozen vehicles, they would need to be destroyed so a Marine recon attachment could land. Carried under the fuselages of the Warhawks were MB-22 bombs, a gravity bomb variant of the famed Hellion cruise missile. The Warhawks released the bombs from an altitude of 3,000 meters, delivering a deadly mixed payload of HEDP cluster munitions and Prussian-modified WAGAV's carrying multiply lined explosively formed penetrators. The WAGAV's soon identified the enemy vehicles using infrared and decimated the enemy aeriel defense vehicles and APC's. Body parts and blood littered the field where the enemy battalion had been stationed, eliminated easily by a squadron of the best tactical strike aircraft on the planet. Similar strikes were carried out throughout the front,and forward elements of the rebels were decimated.
The path was now clear for Prussian special forces and their allies to insert in.
It has now been over twenty five years since the civil war in the South Western states had ended. The war had cost a lot for the Prussians, over sixty thousand of their countrymen had been killed in the conflict, and a president had been forced to resign for the handling of the war. It had also paved the way for the military to increase their grasp on the nation, and had left a bitter and lasting taste in the collective country's mouths. For the last twenty or so years, the region had ruled itself semi-autonomously, and while their was still a bitter taste, relations had returned to normal between the regions' one billion Muslims and the Christian majority. Overall, the region had also been rebuilt very quickly and had become rather prosperous as compared to its pre-war state. It was unfortunate then that President Norris' first major challenge in office would be the region flaring up in conflict once again.
Over two thousand people had died in the aftermath of the first attacks in the Southwest. General Abul Azair's rebel group, the Islamic Movement for the Restoration of an Islamic State, more commonly known as IMIS, had struck hard and fast in the resort town of Mathis. Around one hundred specially trained soldiers had destroyed much of the town and slaughtered its small police force, as well as a convoy from the provincial headquarters. The attack launches Azair's movement to restore a state run on strict Islamic values, rather than the current government which was completely secular. The attack on the resort town was even worse- most of the people killed had been tourists from TPF proper, and many had been executed in extremely brutal ways, and taped doing so. Following the initial attacks, the IMIS had followed with heavy assaults on several major government centers, Governor Edris had been killed along with most of his staff with a attack on the regional capital, and the capital city of Nuport had been thrown into chaos. Open fighting between police and loyal military forces had erupted, and several days later there was no end in sight. The government for the states had practically collapsed as millions clogged the highways, railways, and airports in a desperate attempt to flee the chaos. Supplies were also running short as supermarkets were looted and ransacked, the region had esstionally shut down as the death toll mounted by the hour.
As the Prussian government was organizing a military intervention into the region, General Azair and his rebels tightened their grip on the area. Total forces for the IMIS were unknown, but he had at least sixty thousand troops under his direct command and he had indirect control over hundreds of militia units which had formed. The militia units were not always motivated by the idea of an Islamic state, many were poor and from the slums, which had taken up arms under the promise they would be paid under the new government. This actually formed the bulk of the militias, as most of the Muslims in the area were either pro-secular or indifferent to the Prussian government. In the meantime loyal military and police forces struggled to combat Azair's forces, but their efforts were complicated more by the need to provide for the refugees which was proving to be an impossible task. A third faction had also come into play. Local religious leaders or leaders of the communities had formed militias in order to provide safety and supplies to their families. Mostly, these militias had control over the residential areas of the cities and tended to avoid conflict wherever possible.
A deployment of military forces by the TPF government was even more complicated by the fact that they had no clear entry to the embattled region. General Azair had been quick in the early hours of his rebellion to secure the major entrance points. All major international airports had been secured, along with the smaller airfields. Interstate 69, the major eight lane highway leading into the region, had also been secured and fortified by the rebels. Azair also had an air defense network. It was not very large or capable, but it still prevented any major air assault landing until it was taken care of.
As the conflict entered its fourth day, the General Staff had come to the conclusion that nothing short of a full scale assault on the IMIS would be satisfactory. President Norris had wanted no major military actions at all in his presidency, but in the first month of his term he would have one. The plan called for a combined Lyran-Prussian attack. Lyran soldiers had been permanently stationed in TPF as part of the Fedala Accords, and more could be deployed in a very short amount of time. The Lyrans were masters at massive and fast deployments, but still Norris hoped to achieve victory with a minimal amount of soldiers. The main force involved with the assault would be XX Corps, commanded by General Harris, a decorated general from his combat in the invasion of Greal and a well known military supporter of Norris. His Corps was reinforced, consisting of around four divisions and several detached battalions and brigades from other units. It was perhaps on of the largest corps formed, near the size of an entire army. Two armored divisions, the 21st 'Lightning' division, and the 9th 'Guards' division, would be the primary striking elements of the force. Two mechanized infantry divisions, the 77th, and the 23th, would accompany the armored units into combat. Notable other unit groupings included two Marine Corps battalions, one air assault brigade, an and armored calvary brigade, and several special forces groups of company level. The corps was further reinforced by the 2nd Air Force, which would bring well over one thousand planes of varying types on the offensive.
Operation: Blue Case was the code-name for the offensive, and was set to kick off in the early morning of the sixth day of the uprising. It would take a full day for the advanced scout units of the corps to reach the enemy lines along Interstate 69. While these units would travel the air force would begin bombarding enemy positions along the highway and military bases and air defense sites around the cities. Special forces groups would be deployed via helicopter to make contact with surviving police and loyalist military forces in an attempt to coordinate them for an assault on several key positions. Primarily, Harris wanted several airports captured so that the air assault brigade could be deployed in a forward position and cut the supply lines of the hostile units on the highway. While XX Corps outnumbered the 60,000 or so troops Azair directly commanded, they were outnumbered by the possible hundreds of thousands of militiamen. Most worrisome to Norris and the General Staff would be the militiamen beginning a insurgency war, which could stretch out years and cost many thousands of lives. A swift victory over the regular units, vicious strikes on militia units, and the capture or killing of Azair would be critical objectives in avoiding a wider guerrilla war. A primary objective for the special forces units would be identifying and killing militia leaders and destroying militia strong points. Many fully-stocked armories also remained under militia control and these would either need to be re-captured by loyalist forces or eliminated via air strike. The stakes were high as the first advanced units set out under a cold winters' air.
“ Pre-flight check, complete. All systems green and nominal. Blue-Two prepared for take-off, over.”
“ Roger, Blue-Two, this is Zebra, you are clear for take-off.”
With engines roaring, the squadron of Warhawk Tactical Bombers accelerated off the runways and towards the clouded and dark sky. Two waves had already gone ahead of them, full of wild-weasel and electronic warfare aircraft supported by the highly-advanced ASF-70 air superiority fighters who would annihilate enemy resitence in the skies and on the ground. Breaching the IMIS air defense network had been easy and had been completed in less than two hours with only one plane downed. For an air force designed to go toe-to-toe with the best military forces on the planet, this had been as easy as an training exercise. Now the waves of strategic and tactical bombers would descend on the enemy positions and deliver blasts from the heavens. Blue squadron soon got their first targets sent to them, the coordinates would take them to a small town on the outskirts of the capital city. Their powerful jet turbines sent them fast over the ground, as citizens started in awe at the massive planes. The enemy positions consisted of roughly five hundred men and around a dozen vehicles, they would need to be destroyed so a Marine recon attachment could land. Carried under the fuselages of the Warhawks were MB-22 bombs, a gravity bomb variant of the famed Hellion cruise missile. The Warhawks released the bombs from an altitude of 3,000 meters, delivering a deadly mixed payload of HEDP cluster munitions and Prussian-modified WAGAV's carrying multiply lined explosively formed penetrators. The WAGAV's soon identified the enemy vehicles using infrared and decimated the enemy aeriel defense vehicles and APC's. Body parts and blood littered the field where the enemy battalion had been stationed, eliminated easily by a squadron of the best tactical strike aircraft on the planet. Similar strikes were carried out throughout the front,and forward elements of the rebels were decimated.
The path was now clear for Prussian special forces and their allies to insert in.