by Rosone,James
President Fradkov walked through a series of doors, hallways and checkpoints until he finally arrived in the bowels of the NCDC where the war was being run. As he arrived, his generals and their staff jumped to attention like a bunch of school children who have been caught misbehaving by a strict librarian. He signaled for them to resume their duties and to take their seats. Fradkov sat at the center of the table and said, “Generals, we have a lot to discuss; let’s begin. Where do our operations in Alaska stand?”
General Gerasimov, the head of the Russian military, began the briefing, “Mr. President, Operation Red Dawn has been a resounding success for our forces. Our initial landings at Nome and all along the western coast of Alaska have gone according to plan. Our insertion of dozens of Spetsnaz units in central Alaska have yielded significant results as well. One of our teams conducted a daring raid against Eielson Air Force base in Fairbanks, resulting in the destruction of six squadrons of drone pilots. They effectively eliminated nearly 70% of all American air force operations in Alaska for nearly 24 hours. This enabled the Chinese and our forces to quickly secure our initial objectives.” As he spoke, General Gerasimov showed a number of aerial images of the damage done to the air base.
Sergei Puchkov, the Minister of Defense, interjected, “We should have Prudhoe Bay and the rest of the Alaskan oil fields secured within the next four weeks. General Gerasimov’s forces have moved quickly, securing the majority of Red Dawn’s primary and secondary objectives.” Puchkov nodded towards the general in acknowledgement. “We have landed 190,000 soldiers, and are currently expanding several of the airfields that have been secured. We are now in the process of establishing several new ones. The majority of our helicopters have arrived, increasing our air assault capabilities significantly. I do not believe we are going to need to use our reserve force any time soon.”
General Gerasimov inserted, “As you are already aware, the goal of the forces in Alaska is merely to support the Chinese invasion by securing the central and artic territories of Alaska, and the new Canadian States. They are not going to invade further south or support the Chinese beyond this limited scope. Once the initial objectives have been secured, we will leave a residual force of 80,000 soldiers and then move the remainder of our forces back to the Western Campaign.”
Fradkov was elated to hear that things were starting to go their way in Alaska. The first three days of Operation Red Dawn were a bit dicey. The Americans had inflicted significantly more casualties at the various landing zones than they had anticipated. The Russian forces were facing the American Marines in central and northern Alaska; they were well dug-in and had prepared a multi-layer defense.
“Well then, let’s move on to talk about Europe. How are things shaping up?” asked Fradkov.
“The loss of the 2nd Shock Army near Damascus has certainly hurt us, but it will not deter our advance into Europe or affect our invasion of Alaska. With the fall of Romania, the EU has lost its one oil-producing member, which of course makes them completely reliant on American oil and natural gas. As we continue to capture more territory, the noose around the EU’s neck will begin to tighten.”
General Gerasimov pulled up a map on the display before he continued. “As you can see here, the 3rd Shock Army is concentrating their forces in Poland and the easern half of the Czech Republic, preparing for a summer offensive. The 1st Shock Army has consolidated in northern Italy, Croatia, Slovenia and central Austria (now that Vienna has fallen). The plan is for the 1st Shock Army to pivot the bulk of their force from Southeastern Europe and advance through northern Austria in an attempt to seize Salzburg and threaten Southern Germany, the industrial heartland of Germany and the EU.”
The General could have used graphics to demonstrate the movement of troops, but he preferred to use large sweeping motions of his hands for dramatic effect as he spoke. He continued, “The 2nd Shock Army is going to advance across two points: the first, central Germany towards Dresden and Leipzig, and the second, to the North of Berlin. They will drive to Hamburg, the deep water shipping port so critical to keeping the NATO forces supplied. The northern half of Germany is relatively flat, which plays to our advantage in terms of using our tanks. We have given this attack the codename Operation Red Anvil.”
“As we speak, General Putin has already put into motion the beginning of Operation Red Anvil. The bombardments of the frontlines are taking place now, and his armored forces will begin to advance in seventytwo hours.”
Fradkov pondered, “This will be the largest armored assault in history, won’t it?”
“Yes, Mr. President.” Minister Puchkov puffed out his chest with pride.
“Well…I guess that leaves us with the IR--our misbehaving stepsister.”
No one wanted to speak to this point. The Russians had been paid nearly $3 Trillion NAD by the IR over the last ten years to build up and train their military force. The investment had caused an economic revival in Russia; however, despite the amount of equipment sold to the IR (and the years of training and mentoring the Russian military provided), the IR had nearly destroyed their entire military within seven-months (granted, they had been in constant combat with the Israeli and American Forces).
Puchkov dared to answer. “Well, sir, the IR possesses all of the world’s most modern equipment to defeat the Israeli and American Forces; however, what they lack is an experienced officer and NCO cadre, not to mention a military ethos and warrior culture like that of the Israelis and Americans. If nothing else, we all know the Americans and Israelis to be exceptional military fighters--fearless in combat, and able to operate effectively in large and small units. For all the training that we and the Chinese have provided, the one thing that we simply cannot instill in the Arab Army is the character and attitude required by a true warrior. By and large, the IR Army operates in more of a mob mentality…this becomes disastrous when a unit or group leader is killed during a battle or engagement.”
General Gerasimov picked up from here. “Fortunately for us, the Middle East campaign is not really a primary theater of operations; rather, it was meant to tie down American Forces and prevent them from employing those resources in Europe, or having the necessary forces to prevent our Russian-Chinese joint invasion of Alaska. We continue to maintain 150,000 troops in central and northern Turkey and a blocking force in the Caucuses. Most of these armies were loosely scattered across key strategic locations in Turkey to protect the Black Sea. Our situation there is stable at this time, and we have to consider our position there to be at a standstill.”
President Fradkov was not at all upset by this response. Instead, he pulled out a bottle of vodka to share. Things were going very well for him and his comrades.
Tank Pressure Cooker
19 June 2041
Brandenburg, Germany
The 2nd Armored Division (2AD), also known as the “hell on wheels” division (they were given the nickname by General Patton himself back in World War II); it was one of many WWII divisions being reactivated to form the American 5th and 6th Armies in Europe. 2AD was one of only two divisions equipped solely with the venerable Pershing Main Battle Tanks (MBT)s in Europe. They had not seen combat as their sister division, 12AD, had at the German border. Their last battalion of tanks came in a week ago; they were finally ordered to move forward, just as the Russians began their massive bombardment of the frontlines. Anticipation hung in the air.
Within the 2AD, Colonel Mica Aaron, was the 66th armor regiment commander-- the second highest ranking officer in the division, next to the commanding general. He was a career officer, and a graduate of the Army’s prestigious West Point. Colonel Aaron had been a brigade commander during the invasion of Mexico, and was in line to get his General’s Star in the near future. When the Army reactivated the 2AD, he had been selected to be the brigade commander for one of just five Pershing brigades in Europe. Being single, he was able to devote his entire life to the Army and his trade, armored warfare. When it came to tank combat strategies, he was t
he best in the Army.
Intelligence indicated the Russians were going to start a robust summer offensive within the next couple of days, so the 66th AR was being deployed near Brandenburg to stop a potential Russian armored thrust. Since Berlin had been turned into a ‘free city’ to avoid having it torn to pieces in a house-to-house fight, it was now just a big obstacle in the way of both sides’ armored groups as they maneuvered to attack each other without getting caught in the city. Colonel Aaron had 192 Pershings, 260 infantry fighting vehicles, and other armored support vehicles in his brigade (such as the armored ambulances, ammunition carriers, fuel tankers, etc.). His unit was facing at least two Russian armored divisions that had between 600 and 900 T14 and T38 MBTs (along with their support vehicles)…that meant nearly 4:1 odds against them.
Lieutenant Colonel George Lewis was the 66th AR’s executive officer (XO); during the invasion of Mexico he had served as a battalion commander for Colonel Aaron…now he was being groomed to take over as brigade commander as soon as his promotion to Colonel came through. As LTC Lewis walked towards the Command vehicle, he could hear the artillery in the distance start to slacken. After nearly three days of being bombarded, the brigade was starting to get antsy waiting for the eventual tank battle that was shaping up to be one of history’s most epic tank conflicts.
The IFV that was acting as the Command vehicle was crammed with computer screens, radios, and soldiers, all attentively watching events around the brigade unfold. LTC Lewis spotted Colonel Aaron and signaled for him to exit the vehicle so he could pass along the information he had just received from Division HQ.
Colonel Aaron cut straight to the chase, “LTC Lewis, anything of interest from division?”
“Sir, the drones and signals intelligence are reporting a massive troop and armor movement by the Russians. It is believed that once the artillery bombardment stops, the Russians will begin to advance,” LTC Lewis said.
Looking back into the Command vehicle, Colonel Aaron asked one of his Captains, “Are the drones showing any armored movements towards our position yet?”
Zooming out with the drone camera that the Captain was controlling, he quickly looked for signs of new enemy activity. “Sir, I am starting to see at least one brigade-sized armor element moving forward. Behind that unit are a number of others lining up. It looks as if they are getting ready to launch their offensive.” The Captain was clearly a bit nervous as he spoke, drumming his fingers faster and faster as he continued.
Colonel Aaron wasted no time. “Looks like division was right, order the tanks into their fighting positions now!”
Turning back to LTC Lewis, he directed, “I want you to get to the alternate Command Post and be ready to take over in case my CP is taken out, OK?”
“Yes Sir! We’ll be ready, and I’ll continue to monitor the armor units moving towards us. If we spot anything unusual, we’ll let you know.” Then LTC Lewis turned and began to run towards the vehicle that would take him to the alternate CP. The brigade ran two active CPs--in case one was destroyed, the other could pick things up and continue the fight without a loss in leadership continuity. This was something that had worked extremely well in Israel, where CPs and military leadership were constantly being killed. The casualty rate among officers and senior NCOs had been horrific, resulting in a lot of battlefield promotions, much like had occurred during World War II. This strategic decision to have an alternate means of running operations had proven to be a key factor in defeating the IR, so all throughout Europe, all the major battle headquarters were enacting this approach.
*******
Staff Sergeant Marshal was the tank commander (TC) for Alpha Twelve, one of four Pershing tanks in second platoon, Alpha Company. SSG Marshal had just received word to move forward to their firing positions and be ready to engage the Russian MBTs that should be to their front. As they moved their tanks into the berm, PFC Tanner (who was manning the tanks’ targeting computer) said in an excited voice, “Enemy tanks identified! Four-miles to our front.”
Typically, when a tank unit establishes a defensive position, engineers will carve an embankment out of the terrain for the tanks to pull in to. This type of position keeps the majority of the tank protected, and only exposes the turret. This way, a tank can fire between two to four shots at one location and then back out of that spot and move to the next berm, repeating the process for as long as the battle lasts. This keeps the tank from becoming a stationary target and turning into a bullseye for artillery and air strikes.
SSG Marshal began to issue orders to the rest of his crew. “Prepare to engage!” he directed
Within seconds, the platoon commander (PC) called in on the coms, “Engage the enemy tanks now!”
At this point, the Russian tanks were advancing quickly across the countryside, trying to close the distance between their lines and the American positions in order to get within range of their own guns. The Pershings, with their railgun, had an enormous reach advantage over their Russian counter-parts. In flat and open terrain, the Pershing could hit targets as far away as twenty miles.
“Target identified! Russian T14 MBT,” yelled PFC Turner.
“Fire!” shouted SSG Marshal.
A low winding sound could be heard as the railgun charged and then--BOOM! The projectile was launched from the barrel at Mach 10, creating an immediate sonic boom. Soon, dozens of sonic booms could be heard as the rest of the platoon began to engage the Russians.
“Target identified. T15 IFV,” said PFC Turner. His voice sounded calmer now that they had engaged and destroyed half a dozen tanks.
“Fire!” Marshal ordered. “Gunner, fire at will. I’m going topside to get the machine gun ready to support our infantry.
The Russians fired dozens of their new artillery smoke rounds at the American lines. These projectiles had a special chemical in them that greatly reduced thermal images within the smoke. The Russians and Americans had recently developed similar weapons as a means of defeating each other’s thermal scopes. Alpha Company had destroyed nearly 67 T14s before the Russians started to plaster the American tank lines with smoke canisters. The smoke was starting to have a serious effect on the Pershings…their rate of fire began to drop significantly. Russian T15 IFVs rushed forward with the tanks to get their infantry units as close to the American lines as possible; they were hoping to engage the Pershings with their anti-tank missiles. As the battle moved away from a long-distance shooting match between the tanks and anti-tank missiles, the Russians began to get close enough for their IFVs to start engaging the American infantrymen a hundred yards or so in front of the Pershings.
As the smoke finally started to clear, SSG Marshal saw several T15 IFVs heading directly towards the infantrymen positioned in front of his tank. He quickly sent a message to Tanner to have him focus on the closer IFVs and then go after the tanks once the immediate threat was taken care of. Just as Marshal finished sending his message, he saw an anti-tank missile leave its launcher, heading right for him. He quickly ducked into the turret, just as the projectile hit their armor. The missile didn’t penetrate the armor, but the impact shook everyone up inside the tank. Turner recovered quickly, and destroyed all three IFVs before their tank was hit by another enemy tank round. This time, the projectile bounced off the armor.
“Driver, back us out of here and go to the next fighting position now!” yelled Marshal. He did not want to become a sitting duck. Just as their tank pulled out of its position, several artillery rounds hit the berm. Had they stayed there even ten seconds longer, they would have been utterly destroyed.
They continued on in their fight, firing several times and then weaving along to their next location. As they pulled into their fourth firing position of the day, a T14 fired a Sabot round, hitting their left track. The impact destroyed the track wheel and crushed the track itself. They were now stuck, half in and half out of their new firing position.
“Guys, we’re trapped! Turner, keep firing and take out those IFVs; we ne
ed to support the infantry. Driver, I want you out of the vehicle to get on the machine gun turret, so we can start providing cover to the infantry,” Marshal said as he lifted the commander’s hatch to start using the M2 .50 mounted on the turret. With the vehicle out of commission, there was no reason to have the driver sit in the tank with nothing to do.
SSG Marshal saw dozens of Russian infantry moving closer to the American lines. They were firing feverishly at the Americans, trying to keep their heads down while others advanced. Marshal turned the M2 towards the largest group of soldiers he saw, which were about 300 yards away, and immediately began to engage them, sending two to five second bursts from the M2. The .50 caliber slugs punched right through the trees and other objects the Russian infantry were using for cover. Just as Marshal turned to say something to his driver (who had crawled up to join him using the machine gun located above the gunner’s hatch), his head exploded and his body went limp, falling back into the tank. He had been hit by a Russian sniper.
*******
Sergeant Trellis and Private First Class Ye were forward observers for a self-propelled artillery battalion that was assigned to support the 66th AR. They were operating in Alpha Troop area, where they could provide artillery support to both Alpha and Bravo Troop.
“Here they come,” said PFC Ye as he spat a stream of tobacco on the ground near his boot. He never took his eyes off the enemy tanks heading towards them.
“I see them. Let’s call in the first set of rounds and get those tankers to button up. No need to make their life any easier,” Sergeant Trellis responded as he reached over to grab the radio handset.
