by Rosone,James
Speaking into the handset, Trellis advised, “This is Ghost 2, we have eyes on enemy tanks…count is roughly sixty…request one round high explosive (HE) at grid…”
“This is Reaper 6. We copy. One round HE…grid….” acknowledged the voice from the Fire Direction Control (FDC) vehicle, which coordinated all of the fire missions for the battalion.
“Shot out…” confirmed the FDC a minute later. This meant that the round was on its way.
“Splash,” said the FDC, thirty seconds later. The artillery round was now less than five seconds away from impact.
“Splash out,” replied Sergeant Trellis, watching the area where the round should impact.
BOOM! The round landed exactly where they wanted, a couple hundred yards in front of the enemy advance.
“Round right on target. Fire for effect. WP, three rounds out,” said Trellis, calling in the next round of artillery fire. White phosphorus (WP) rounds were designed to ignite in an airburst about a hundred feet above their intended target; they would force the enemy tank commanders to duck back inside their tanks and button them up, in order to avoid getting burned by the WP in the air. The effect of this attack would be that the enemy commanders would not be able to see and identify targets as easily.
“Reaper 6, targets hit. Adjust fire. Drop 500 meters, adjust 200 meters to the right…fire three rounds HE ground impact out,” said Trellis. This new artillery strike he was calling in was closer to the Bravo Troops’ position.
“Sergeant Trellis, we need to move. That’s three firing missions in this position,” advised PFC Ye. He quickly moved to the driver’s side door and opened it, climbing in.
“You are right. Let’s ditch this taco stand before the Russians throw a few rounds our direction,” Trellis responded as he quickly moved around to the passenger seat. Just as he was closing the door, they heard a loud whistling noise, and before either of them could react, three artillery rounds exploded near their vehicle, shredding it with shrapnel and instantly killing the two of them.
*******
LTC Lewis watched on the monitor as the Russians continued to advance. He was surprised to see them continue to rush forward despite the horrific losses they were taking. Nearly an entire tank battalion had been wiped out in the first five minutes of the engagement, and a second and then third tank battalion took their place. The Russians were trying to overwhelm the American tanks by rushing as many of their own tanks and IFVs as possible.
Suddenly, the radio in LTC Lewis’s helmet came alive, and he saw an image of Colonel Aaron. “Lewis, it looks like the Russians are about to break through Alpha Troop’s position. I’m calling in additional artillery and I’m going to see if we can’t get a few Razorbacks as well. I need you to guide Delta Troop into Alpha’s position and plug that hole,” Colonel Aaron ordered.
“Roger that Sir. We just sent a couple of drones to Alpha’s position, so it shouldn’t be a problem,” Lewis responded, signaling for one of the staff officers to send a message to Delta Troop to tell them to move forward. In the meantime, they revved up their own tank to join the fray.
Colonel Aaron had held one of his tank company’s back as a mobile reserve force in order to plug up any holes in their defensive line. Now it was time to call in an artillery strike. Colonel Aaron signaled for his FIST officer (Fire Support Team). The FIST officer’s job was to coordinate artillery missions for the Regiment from his own artillery battalion along with the Forward Observers assigned to the various Troops. After losing several forward observers, the FIST Liaison Officer (LNO) immediately called in an Arrowhead strike.
Essentially the Arrowheads were “smart” munitions, meaning they could be fired in the general vicinity of the enemy, and as the round would complete its arc heading back towards the objective, it would begin to identify specific targets. In milliseconds, the round would distinguish between a tank and an IFV, and would automatically target the tank unless it were programmed to do otherwise. It would even calculate which of the surrounding tanks had the least amount of armor and move to attack that tank first. As the round neared the target, it would detonate the first shape charge, which would hit the top of the turret or engine compartment. This first charge was meant to activate the tank’s reactive armor, leaving a hole where it once was; then the second shape charge would fire into the newly created gap in the reactive armor and punch right through the turret into the crew compartment. This entire process would happen within milliseconds, with devastating effectiveness.
As soon as the artillery battalion fired off a three-round barrage, they quickly began to move to their next firing position. Russian counter-battery fire started to land where they had just been. Knowing that the Americans may have moved quickly, the Russians began to saturate the area with artillery fire, finding one of the self-propelled artillery vehicles and destroying it and two other support vehicles. The constant counter-battery fire from the Russians was making it incredibly difficult for the American artillerymen to support the tanks and infantry who were fighting tooth and nail on the frontlines.
After eight hours of fighting near Brandenburg, the Americans had to withdraw and cross the Elbe River, where they would make their next stand. Colonel Aaron’s brigade had started the battle with 192 Pershings; so far they had lost 49. However, his brigade had destroyed 492 T14s and 590 T15 IFVs. They had effectively destroyed two entire Russian brigades while sustaining a casualty rate of 25%.
*******
The UK’s 16th Air Assault Brigade (AAB) was Britain’s rapid response unit, much like the American 82nd Airborne Division. The 16th AAB was rushed to the Elbe River once it became clear that the Americans were going to have to retreat across it. They had been held in reserve in case this situation became a reality, and now it had. Their objective was to provide maneuver and fire support to the armored and mechanized infantry units as they moved across the various bridges and pontoon bridges before the engineers dropped them.
Sergeant Michael Stonebridge was a sniper with the reconnaissance section of the Pathfinder group. His spotter, Corporal Brent Scott, had been assigned an over watch position several hundred meters behind one of the bridgeheads. Their objective was to take out enemy infantry as they approached the area, or call in what they were seeing to their higher headquarters.
They positioned themselves under their ghillie suits (special sniper suits designed to camouflage these soldiers with the grass in the surrounding area, to the point that they would be virtually invisible while still). They began to deploy their spotting scope and their L115A3 sniper rifle. The L115 fired a .338 cartridge and had an effective range of 2,000 meters. For their operation, they had a 25x scope with a suppressor to help reduce the muzzle flash of their rifle when it was fired.
As they laid prone in their fighting position, they could hear the rumble of the battle move closer and closer to their position until they spotted the first sign of the American units retreating. At first, it was a collection of ambulances carrying the wounded; then came a battalion of self-propelled artillery, who quickly fired off a barrage of rounds once they crossed the river before scurrying behind the 16th AAB’s position. Then came several battalions’ worth of light and mechanized infantry; the soldiers looked exhausted and beat up, but determined to continue fighting. They immediately took up defensive positions all along the shoreline and began to prepare for the next assault. The final group to cross the bridges were the heavy armor units. Nearly four dozen Pershing MBTs made it across the river before the remaining Pershings still on the enemy side of the bank began to return fire and engage the advancing Russian units. Slowly and steadily, they all made it across the river before the engineers blew the bridges apart just as Russian Infantry Fighting Vehicles and other armored vehicles appeared at the outskirts of the city.
Sergeant Stonebridge immediately began to search for targets; his spotter found several soldiers positioning an anti-tank missile system on the roof of a building several blocks away from the bridge. I
t was a long shot, maybe 1,900 meters. He carefully took aim, adjusted for wind, moisture and every other aspect one does when preparing to fire a shot from maximum range. Their target was not the soldiers themselves, but rather the equipment they were setting up. A soldier could be replaced if killed--a critical piece of equipment could not. Stonebridge found what he was looking for, the laser guidance box on the missile system. He closed his other eye, let out a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. In the flash of a second, he saw the bullet hit the guidance box, exploding it into pieces. The Russian soldier who had been looking through it also died immediately.
As more and more Russian vehicles and soldiers poured into the area, the snipers found themselves in a target-rich environment. They quickly fell into a routine, firing four or five shots from one position before moving to another one and then repeating the process.
Brains of the Operation
NATO Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Aaron Wade, was sitting in his office reading over battlefield reports when Major General Charles Bryant from the British Army knocked on the doorframe and then entered his office. MG Bryant was the senior British LNO to NATO, and General Wade’s right-hand man. General Wade had been the SACEUR Commander for only two days when the war with Russia started on Christmas Day of 2040. MG Bryant had been critical in helping General Wade make a successful transition to NATO, since he had previously been the CENTCOM Commander.
“Sir, we are starting to get the final numbers from the Russian offensive near Brandenburg. We are also updating the maps with enemy unit locations and strengths. I really think you should see this Sir,” MG Bryant said, indicating to General Wade that he should come with him to the main briefing and map room.
Sighing deeply, General Wade nodded and got up from his chair; he began to follow Bryant down the hall to the Operations Center (OC). This was the room where all of the major decisions for NATO were taking place. The room was large; it was shaped almost like an amphitheater, with rows of desks that descended in a semi-circle down towards the platform stage at the bottom. Along the front wall of the room were enormous screens, broken down into several feeds. The first was a massive colored map with NATO and Russian ground unit identifiers, along with their strengths and dispositions. The second was the same type of color-coded map, except this one showed NATO and Russian air units. The third screen was reserved for FLASH messages, drone feeds or briefings, and the fourth was the naval situation.
Seated in each row of the amphitheater was a Senior LNO from each of the NATO member nations that had air, ground and naval combat units actively involved in the fight. There were also other specialists such as Special Forces, Communications, Cyber, Public Affairs and Military Police. From this room, the entire war effort was being run and coordinated; General Wade could issue a command and have that nation’s military respond immediately without delay. The location had been established within the first few weeks of the war. Germany had nearly been lost during the first month of the war because of delays in France, Spain and Belgium; this situation was rectified quickly once President Stein, PM Blair and Chancellor Mueller from Germany got involved and established a clear chain of command and a location to serve as the OC.
“General Wade, as you can see from the map near Brandenburg, the Russians have pushed our forces to the Elbe River. After crossing the river and setting up our next defensive line, we blew up all of the bridges that cross the Elbe, across all of Germany. The Russians are going to capture Dresden, and they look to be pushing towards Leipzig. In the north they are pushing past Perleberg along Highway 14 heading towards Hamburg. I don’t need to tell you how big a blow losing Hamburg would be.” As General Bryant walked General Wade through the Russian advance, units and likely objectives, it was clear the Russians were trying to cut Germany up into thirds, making it significantly harder for NATO to defend against their attacks.
General Wade thought for a minute before responding, “We need to stop their advance towards Hamburg; we cannot lose that deep water port right now. Here is what I want you to do…”
General Wade began to use his laser pointer. “I want to focus our aircraft, in particular our Razorbacks, in the north. Pull aircraft from the other fronts, along with all of our Razorbacks. I want to attack the Russians with everything we have in the north. I also want as much of our artillery as we can spare to be moved north in order to engage the Russians as well.” He began to highlight a number of units, and drew a line for where he wanted each of them to be directed.
He continued, “The 12th AD has joined forces with the German divisions, and is fighting the Russians in central Germany near Leipzig. Since the Russians are not looking to move across the Elbe, I want the 2nd AD moved north to cross the Elbe at Lauanburg and advance to attack the Russians. They are going to take some losses, but I want them to hit the Russians hard in order to stop their advance. They will have nearly all of the Razorbacks in Europe (and the vast majority of our aircraft) to support them. Ensure that the artillery continues to advance with them as well,” General Wade said.
“Sir, I recommend we also send the British King’s Royal Hussars, the Royal Tank Regiment (RTR). They are near Hamburg right now; rather than leaving them there to defend the city, I’d like to have them advance with the 2nd AD,” MG Bryant advised.
Looking through the information and then back at the map, General Wade thought a minute before responding, “Yes, send them as well to support the 2nd AD. Their 620 MBTs will be greatly needed. Oh--by the way, isn’t that Britain’s most famed tank regiment?” asked General Wade.
Smiling, General Bryant replied, “Yes sir it is. It’s also the oldest tank unit in the world.”
“Excellent, then begin to issue the orders. At the rate the Russians are moving, they are going to be at the outskirts of Hamburg in the next couple of days. We need to start our counter-attack before then. Can the 2nd AD and the Royal Hussars be ready to attack in 48 hours?”
“If the Hussars lead the attack, then yes, the 2nd AD can follow right behind them and pass through their lines once their regiments are all across the Elbe.”
“Excellent, then make it happen. I also want our air forces to start pounding the tar out of them immediately. We need to try and slow them down a bit,” General Wade said as he indicated the meeting was over. “I need to get something to eat before I collapse from exhaustion. I’m heading to the mess hall--would you like to join me?”
“I’ll meet you there in a few minutes; I want to get these orders issued first,” Bryant said. He immediately began to get things moving by signaling for a number of the various LNOs to come gather around him.
“I’ll see you there then,” Wade replied as he turned and began to leave the OC to head to the mess hall. The NATO headquarters had an exceptional Dining Facility (DFAC) for the thousands of people who worked there; today the DFAC was serving skirt steak with baked potatoes. It was just the kind of “brain food” that General Wade needed.
Sky Full of Drones
20 June 2041
Lakenheath, England
Royal Air Force Base
Major Theodore Cruse (aka ‘Cruiser’) had just been promoted to Flight Commander of 2nd Flight, 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 5th Fighter Wing stationed at Lakenheath. He flew the Air Force’s F38A fighter drone aircraft, which had become the mainstay aircraft for the Air Force in the war. Cruse had joined the Air Force through the ROTC program at the University of Texas in Austin as a means of paying for his degree in aeronautical engineering. His long-term goal was to go into aircraft design and work for one of the big aircraft manufacturers. While on active duty, he had also been working towards his Master’s degree in aeronautical engineering and aircraft design as well. With school and all of the officer training and flight courses, Cruse had yet to find time to have a girlfriend, instead focusing his limited time and energies on achieving his dreams. Then the war broke out, and he sudd
enly found himself flying near constant combat missions, first in Mexico and then in Europe against the Russians. So far, he’d lost three fighter drones while having shot down twenty-three enemy fighter drones and nine manned fighters, including one MiG40. This made him one of the first Aces in his squadron (and one of the few pilots) to have shot down a new Russian MiG. For his achievements thus far, he had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bronze Star.
On this the 200th day of World War III, Major Cruse was informed that his flight had been chosen to receive the new F41 Archangel fighter drone, which would be ready for service in thirty days. The F41 Archangel fighter would be the first fighter to leverage the new EmDrive propulsion system. After receiving his initial briefing on the new drone’s capabilities, he could not wait to start training on the new platform. The pilots in his flight were pretty excited about being the first to receive the new aircraft as well.
After returning back to the squadron bay from their briefing about the F41, their Commander walked into the room and quieted everyone down so he could speak. “Listen up everyone. I know you all are excited about our new aircraft, but we have a high priority mission. The ground pounders are preparing for a massive counterattack against the Russians, starting in twelve hours. The Reds have been on a tear lately, heading towards Hamburg and central Germany. I want to draw your attention to the display.” The Colonel turned on the briefing monitor in the day room and brought up a map of Germany, showing the current Russian offensive.
“Our squadron has been assigned to fly fighter cover for the ground attack aircraft and Razorbacks. They are going to be going after the Russian armor to try to butter them up before our armored forces start their counterattack. I want you all to turn in and get some sleep; we start flying in nine hours, and it’s going to be a long couple of days. I’ll see you guys in flight operations in seven hours. Dismissed.” The Colonel signaled for everyone to stop what they were doing and get some rest. They would be getting little sleep over the next several days while the counterattack was underway.
