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Post by EmperorMyric on Mar 22, 2021 16:44:08 GMT
Shattered Empire IRS-UWA Joint Operations Arc Part 1: Supply Run -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Right...what the hell kind of name is "Soot", eh? How'd a muppet like you pass selection?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Captain Soot brushed her frizzy chestnut hair to her right side as she watched with her bloodshot grey eyes the way her ship, the Constable, and the rest of her very small group of warships, were going through space and time to meet with the AGA nations that were nearby. The UWA felt that they were going together against the enemy and for the refugees in the former empire of the Auraxii and in this case, Captain Soot was selected to meet the AGA, hoping to meet any one of them that seemed friendly enough to welcome them. Who knows, maybe she could meet the IRS peeps for the first time herself. She heard all about them from the comms and from personal accounts and from stories posted by various peoples on the Ancerious Network. And she was taken by them. Today, Captain Soot felt, would be a good day. Hopefully. At the same time that the UWA sent her, they also had transmitted a message to the AGA nations, most especially the IRS, hopefully to receive supplies and other things they needed to speed construction and security up on Telnarian. Fleet Captain Yulsya sat in her command terminal, quietly sipping a cup of instant tea with the glorious view of space as the backdrop. Data reports trickled in from periodic scans of the system. So far nothing; the AGA-held system she was assigned to was at peace. For a small area of only 3 systems there was a huge concentration of forces being pooled in to deter APP raiders and protect the supply convoys delivering aid to the war torn Auxarii planets. An envelop icon with a red exclaimation mark appeared at the top of her screen - it was a new incoming message from the UWA. With a tap of a finger she opened the email and read its contents. "About time," Yulsya muttered as she closed the message. It was a request for assistance with supplies and additional security. She knew about it, she had been briefed just recently by her commanders that the Autarch himself had brokered new agreements with them authorising the use of IRS materiel and facilities for their humanitarian efforts. And just only a few hours ago, the supply fleet reserved for the UWA had arrived. The only thing that she had not forseen was that the UWA set up shop all the way on the other side of the former Auxarii space in Abester and Gropolis. The shortest route there was to cut straight through the Auxarii space and it would only take a matter of hours with a few FTL jumps but it was certainly risky with Auxarii rebels and APP raiding elements lurking about. Yulsya pondered further, the safest way was to travel through the Accord-held area and reach the RSC-occupied Juzilla, a suitable midpoint. It would take two days. Yulsya convened with the other AGA commanders in system and requested them to takeover the patrols while her fleet escort the supply convoy to the UWA systems. She generally had their approval, though they reminded her to return as soon as possible so as to not leave the AGA systems less defended. Soon her fleet assembled - an Instrumental-class carrier, 4 Hammer II cruisers, 8 frigates and 10 supply ships carrying massive amounts of food, water, fuel, construction materials and tools. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Captain Soot took the liberty of giving a rather unconventional order to her second in command "Commander Spot, can you get the CD player and crank up the volume? Play Running Through The Jungle." Spot nodded immediately and rushed to fetch the black CD player from the cabinet nearby. She plugged it into a wall socket and then inserted the appropriate CD from a small container of CDs nearby in the same cabinet. After a while, it began to play. ( )
It made Soot relax as she then gave another order "All right boys and girls, this is your Captain. Let's try to go faster. All ships, increase engine power immediately."
And one by one, reports came in from her ships, informing her that all was good and that they were doing as ordered. Soot then watched the readouts coming from her own command terminal, telling her that her ship was increasing engine power.
It was good that Juzilla had been the agreed rendeavous point, no point trying to risk her ships and her people with attacks by either APP raiders or Auraxii pirates and rebels while travelling through 'unchartered' Auraxii systems whose status have not been confirmed after the Collapse. The United Fleets have already begun sending more warships into the former empire, towards Telnarian, also in order to secure the lanes used by UWA civvie ships bringing in and out supplies.
While they waited, Soot also tried to send a message out to any nearby IRS ships, informing them that her fleet is ready and waiting to link up with IRS ships so they can guide them into Telnarian.
"Status on the FTL drives?" Yulsya inquired as she slowly munched a spoonful of her 'breakfast' - combat rations consisting of minced meat, mashed potatoes and curry sauce.
"Current at 50% ma'am. Enough for a trip to the UWA areas though that depends on where exactly is this 'Telnarian'," the nav officer replied.
"Prep the fleet for possible FTL. I'll go check in with our UWA friends," Yulsya opened up a comms channel with the UWA ships. "UWA fleet, I am Fleet Captain Yulsya and I command this supply convoy. We require nav coordinates of Telnarian so we can see if we have enough energy to warp there."
"This is the UWA fleet. I am Captain Soot. Forgive me for having this sort of name but anyway, the point is, yes, I will provide you the coordinates to Telnarian. I may also assist you in replenishing your drives should you wish." Said the Captain. She also added "On the other hand, welcome to the UWA controlled areas of the former Auraxii Empire. It is really good to meet the IRS."
"Thank you, Captain Soot and that won't be necessary. We have enough charge to FTL there," Yulsya responded. "We will make a move to Telnarian first then. We can discuss further matters there."
The IRS ships soon opened up wormholes into a sea of crackling red that was the Cosmic Superluminal Plan and promptly disappeared in bright flashes as they entered the FTL dimension. The wormholes closed in their wake, restoring the void to how it was as an ocean of black nothingness.
Soot was relieved. They finally made contact with them and they will be helping them to help the UWA! She had such a great smile as she got to work on their own FTL, the UWA ships opening up their own great wormhole. Soon enough, they entered it one by one until the last one entered and then the hole closed behind them.
They soon appeared out of another wormhole that their FTL drives formed near the planet of Telnarian.
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The IRS supply convoy lumbered above Telnarian's orbit. Yulsya cracked her knuckles - time to get to work.
"Charge up the weapons and put half of our starfighter and ground troop complements on standby. Tell the supply ships to ready the first batches of aid."
Yulsya opened a comms channel to Captain Soot when her ships warped into the system. "Captain Soot, I readied a portion of my forces and supplies for deployment. Please brief me on the situation below and what you need us to do next."
Soot nodded to the message sent by the IRS officer and said "Affirmative. Situation below is quiet for now. I advise you send your supplies to the city of Bzura, we have a few landing pads there for you to drop them. As for your forces, we could really use your help as we're getting ready for a big assault on the city of Argamus. A rogue Auraxii general just won't give a damn to give up and let us help him out. He mistrusts us and he's already started firing on us so his fault. Unless you wanna try negotiations, here's the fighting chances for you."
"That can be arranged," Yulsya replied. "A brigade of 5000 troops and 500 aircraft will be deployed to the staging areas now. Additional reinforcements will be made ready when necessary."
A Pezokh-class Baseship detached from the Instrumental-class carrier carrying in it all the 5000 troops and the tanks, troop transports, artillery and logistic vehicles that they need and headed to the planet surface accompanied by an air wing of 200 Paladin III Strikefighters, 100 Shorya Interceptor-Bombers, 100 CAS gunships and 100 dropships of various sizes to facilitate airmobile infantry insertions. Following them are also the supply ships as well. Bzura will get all the supplies they need.
Shattered Empire IRS-UWA Joint Operations Arc Part 2: Planning
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Bzura was changed for the good of everyone. Even to the eyes of the IRS, they probably can see that the UWA has done a hell of a job.
The city itself was being rebuilt. Government construction workers and relief workers as well as Auraxii volunteers were repairing the damages or replacing ruined buildings with new ones, the rubble almost gone from the streets and outskirts. Meanwhile, a great wall was being built to separate the city from the outside world, the wall extending its protection to the nearby base of operations of General Cascade.
The wall was both tall and long. It was probably going to be the largest wall ever built on Telnarian, to protect the base and the city and the roads leading to and from the city itself. A railway for the base was also being established just as landing pads used by the base were always busy with either landing ships / aircraft carrying essential personnel or supplies. There were detachments of troops of the UWA training or getting ready for their next missions as Auraxii volunteers to the UWA army were being drilled and made ready for combat by their UWA instructors.
Soot also followed her IRS counterparts down to the surface of Telnarian, landing and then leaving her ship once it was all okay. It took a while but Soot was able to wait for her IRS counterpart to leave her own ship so she can really show her how things are really going in Bzura.
To the joy of both Auraxii and UWA, IRS supplies and reinforcements were just what they needed, workers rushing to get the supplies and transfer them to the depots and to the distribution centers.
While the supply ships unloaded at Bzura's many landing pads, IRS troops poured from the ramps of the Pezokh-class Baseship with scores of APCs, tanks, self-propelled howitzers and more assembling into their respective companies. Trucks and heavy duty transports followed suit, ready to serve their companies' immediate logistical needs in battle while SPAA and THAAD units were readied for wide area defence against Auraxii air strikes.
A group of Paladin IIIs soared overhead as Lance Captain Hashem and Fleet Captain Yulsya walked through the Auraxii streets escorted by a handful of ZEAL troopers and a YB-1AM APC that rumbled closely behind. Arriving at the UWA command center, she stood at attention as her foreign counterparts turned around to greet the newcomers.
"Fleet Captain Yulsya, at your service," she said.
"This is Lance Captain Hashem and he will serve as the overall in charge of the ground operations," she gestured to the tall and well built brown-skinned man beside her.
Captain Soot was happy to salute them as did the General Cascade and Admiral Searing. They were all there at the commander center in Bzura. The Admiral herself approached the two IRS officers and reached out to shake their hands as she said
"Very pleased to see you both on Telnarian. I hope you don't mind the heavy construction and rebuilding. We're doing our best here as much as our home worlds allow us to. We'll be expecting more ground forces and ships to come our way from home."
She then let General Cascade speak to them.
"For starters, let's try addressing one another by first name basis, shall we? Anyway, Yulsya and Hashem, I'd like to brief you on our upcoming assault on the Generals city. If he doesn't surrender then that will proceed."
She then smiled as she gestured to them to come with her. Yulsya and Hashem nodded and followed General Cascade.
"From here on out, its your show now Lance Captain," Yulsya turned to Hashem. "They are the experts on the ground, you'll defer to their high command though of course within reasonable limits."
"Yes Ma'am," Hashem replied as he gathered together with the UWA and Cascade's command team to hear the briefing.
In the Command and Control room, which was one of the largest in the command center, being at least 15 x 20, General Cascade introduced both IRS officers to Cascades command terminal which was displaying a large map showing off the units stationed all over Telnarian. Apparently, with many different divisions getting involved, other generals and admirals were now in the game. For now, Cascade wished to focus on the coming battle.
She zoomed in on the map that contained Bzura, Moord, Argamus, Pelemin and other cities that Cascade and Searing wanted to capture. Searing got in just in time as Cascade started to brief the IRS officers
"All right. Hashem, here's where we are. Bzura is to the far south and Argamus is closer to Pelemin and Moord. We've taken Vrorn which is a neighbor to Argamus. From Vrorn and Pelemin and Moord, we planned to assault the city from these directions. We'll be using mostly ground forces and limited helicopter support as we did not want to use artillery or air strikes against the city for fear of civilian casualties. We're still trying to negotiate with the General again. Apparently, if we could get him to stand down then some lives lost would not have been for nothing. If he refuses, he goes down and the city has to be taken by force.
We also have the assistance of Warlord Vunt, who was chosen to help us get Telnarian under proper control.
Now to the units we have: The Brown Stallions, Searings Naval Infantry, the Alondran Centurions and Queens Division. That's 4 divisions involved. Queens are in reserve while the rest are going to be in play.
Meanwhile, according to Vunt, the General controls at least two under strength divisions and a small militia, probably 500 civvies at arms. But all the galaxy knows that I don't want to get this assault happening unless he chooses to be so stupid to force it to happen. While we wait for our negotiators to report back, what do you say, Hashem?"
"I've already spoken to most of my officers but as a newcomer to this, I'm going to ask you for your inputs. Apparently, I'm expecting you to have the experience that comes with being in the IRS."
"I have no objections to the plan, ma'am," Hashem nodded. "Though I have to ask, how well-equipped are the enemy forces in Argamus? My time in Vesta Prime has shown that a fully-equipped Auxarii regular can make things quite difficult with their power armor, coilguns and suit-integrated anti-tank rockets."
"For the most part, before Argamus, we have only encountered various Auraxii factions, ranging from common criminals to actual insurgent groups, that used a variety of only small arms and anti aircraft weapons for the infantry. We've met gunfire, energy based firearms, auto cannons, machine guns, etc. We've also had difficulty with their tanks. Our Contestars lose to Auraxii Kursks and Avengers. Our Contestars were fast and long ranged in terms of main weapons and travelling but our armor was easily penetrated by the Avengers. Kursks were more common. We often had to use heavy power artillery and air power to help our tanks.
On the other hand, there has been an absence of power armor infantry. According to reports, the Auraxii General has some power armor. Unfortunately, he has a lot of anti tank rocket suits and coilguns. And seeing his defensive positions around the city, I realize that this will be a difficult assault if shit hits the fan."
"Then perhaps brute force and numbers will be needed here. The IRS works well in large numbers when it comes to technologically superior foes. The bulk of my brigade can park outside the city in one particular location, forcing the defenders to divert their forces from other sides and concentrate them towards us while the negotiations are ongoing. When the assault starts, the IRS will contest them there and buy time for your divisions to strike at the less defended portions of the city. The UWA can then attack their main forces from the rear and together, we can destroy their forces in a pincer movement. Our units can then sweep through the city to assault their AA and defensive emplacements and once that is done, we can withdraw to refit our troops while the airborne takes over internal policing and counter-insurgency ops."
The General gave him a few moments of pause. Other UWA officers present in this discussion all seemed to agree. Then came the Generals words "Good thinking. If this goes well, I'll promise you that the UWA will recommend to your high command for a promotion. Argamus is the key to other northern cities. If we can take Argamus, we can take this continent."
She then clapped her hands and the UWA officers stood at attention towards her. Searing stood by her side as Cascade said "All right. Let's get this going. We don't have much time until the negotiations are over so...Mount your vehicles and get ready! Let's go!" And out she went, being the tenacious general she was. The rest of the officers also went out. Unlike the general, who simply marched out, the officers had to rush to their units. Searing, on the other hand, simply chuckled as she told the IRS officers
"Forgive me for not properly introducing us to you. I am Admiral Searing and Cascade is the General in charge of this campaign. We called this continent Cascade's Landing while the Auraxii called it Surgi. But we all believed it suited her. Anyway, I hope you are all right with meeting and coordinating with us so far. It is really an honor to have you here. And most of all, thank you for sending us the supplies and reinforcements we need for now.
The United Worlds owe you a great deal for the sake of this campaign."
"And it is an honor for a mere Lance Captain like me to work with so many higher ups, Admiral," Hashem promptly saluted. "The Republic also has alot to be thankful for to the UWA. Your operations here would quicken our plans to reform the Auraxii to be more friendly to the AGA and weaken the APP's influence here."
The Admiral chuckled again, seemingly happy and playful with a subordinate from another country. She stopped, faced him and saluted him before telling him "At ease now, Hashem. You're our guest. Do relax. On the other hand, yes, this will quicken your plans to reform them. However, we have our own interests here too. We're trying to act to protect our country from the APP, as the Ancerious Network has allowed us to identify them as slavers. And in the UWA, slavery is the greatest evil to all of mankind and the life of the galaxy."
She then nodded to him and said "Carry on, Lance Captain, you are needed out there. I will have my ships and Naval Infantry support you and the rest of the friendly forces involved as soon as I am able."
Shattered Empire IRS-UWA Joint Operations Arc Part 3: Attack on Argamus
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Whatever news the UWA forces on Cascades Landing were expecting, it was the bad news first, the good news last.
And today, the bad news came. The negotiating team reported a failure to communicate with the General. It was also made worse when the UWA realized that half of the team returned while the other half was killed when the team was on their way back.
Now was a good time for a fight. And Lieutenant Colonel Andrea was happy that a fighting chance is around!
But nevertheless, she was only a Lt. Col and only she was another instrument in the gears of war. For now, the general had to take care of this.
In response to the Auraxii Generals actions, Cascade ordered the 4 divisions in her command to get ready for the assault. The 4 divisions have already positioned themselves around the city at a good distance that allowed the UWA to stay safe from possible enemy artillery. As they started to get ready, Cascade ordered several armored brigades to be the first to lead the UWA attacks on the city. In addition, more Naval Infantry and other infantry from the other forces present in the UWA areas were called to the game.
When the alarms sounded, the IRS forces that had been camping just north outside the city scrambled into action as infantry rushed to board their transports while crewmen hopped into their tanks and turned on their engines. Thunder II SPHs raised their guns in anticipation while mortar carrier APCs loaded up the last of their muntions and moved to join the mechanised assault on the city.
Recon planes streaked overhead, relaying real time video feed to the Lance Captain Hashem and his staff back in Bzura where they sat in the Pezokh's war room. Augmented Reality turned the video feed into a holographic map where IRS units were highlighted as blue, UWA and other allied forces as green and Auraxii hostiles as red. Auraxii infantry and tank movements in the open were marked and those in the open, especially the armor, far from built civilian areas were painted for the air-to-ground anti-tank missiles launched from Shockwave CAS jets that followed behind the recon planes. The rest would have to be dealt by the ground forces.
The assault commenced. The IRS forces came from three fronts, split into two flanks of 2000 troops and a smaller blocking force of 500 specialised anti-tank and elite shock troop units to cordon off the northwestern road passage from insurgents attempting to ambush the frontal attack. Mortars and MRLS launched a barrage of flashbang and tear gas into portions of the northern city visually confirmed with high concentrations of defending troops in order to disorientate their defences. The first wave came as APCs, tanks and ATGM IFVs rushed forward as far as possible to clear as many frontal defences and armored units as possible. The second wave followed closely behind, either to replace the first wave's losses or to secure the rear from Auraxii troops manuvering through the alleys and urban buildings. A third force was nearly comprised of only mechanised infantry and their APCs unloaded them at the outskirts where the infantry then began a meticulous work of clearing the buildings one by one. By the time the Auraxii forces could recover, they would already find themselves enveloped and surrounded at multiple points.
Just as the IRS made their moves, so did the combined UWA-Telnarian forces.
First, the UWA combat units began to move closer, towards the center of the city, but carefully and using the cover provided by the moving armor. It also helped that the defenders were concentrated first on the IRS rather than the UWA. And the UWA artillery also helped by sending smoke rounds into the city, confusing many of the defenders as they were effectively blind. UWA electronic warfare planes and helicopters also began to approach the city, using their very own "magic" to ruin hostile Auraxii radar and communications systems but it had to be limited so that the IRS forces would not be affected by what the EW planes and helos were doing too.
That was the first step conducted by the combined forces. The next step was to send the multi-role and close air support aircraft into the game. From the west, six CAS and three multi-role planes strafed Auraxii defenses and to destroy Auraxii enemy personnel and vehicles as well as strongholds using either fire and forget bunker busting missiles or laser guided bombs that were light enough to cause damage only to the target building.
These planes did their jobs without any interference from enemy AA and even when the enemy tried to shoot them down with MANPADs or guns, the planes made their run for their respective air corridors and got out without too many scratches.
Now came the time for the third step: A combined push by infantry and armor assisted by mortars and medium ranged grenade launchers plus special forces. The first wave was carried out by strictly armor and infantry teams protecting the armor. The second wave served to carry most of the infantry into the battle using APCs while IFVs destroyed any opposition from afar while special forces joined the infantry in cleaning up the enemy presence. The third wave was then carried out by combat engineer teams that made use of the secured buildings so that weapons teams can deploy insidethem or on the roofs.
The fourth and final step was to get the Telnarian Auraxii on their side to fight too. As the UWA pushed deep, the Telnarians of Lord Vunt charged the city with the help of UWA armored platoons. They did so with some casualties but not as much as the earlier UWA forces who conducted the first three steps. Now that they were close to the city walls and gates, the UWA forces linked up with the Telnarian Auraxii and started to breach the walls and gates so that the combined forces can help out the IRS.In addition to the final step for now, attack helicopters began giving the allied forces significant fire support from the air while more infantry entered the battle via helicopter landings or from simply roping down from the helicopters as they hovered. Once all the infantry the helicopters carried were out, the helicopters went back to get some more infantry or to refuel and convert themselves into use for fire support.
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Things may seem easy but nothing truly was.
The IRS's push may have caught the Auraxii offguard for a while but once they recovered they made the situation exponentially difficult. The first wave of mechanised elements was soon bashed in from the heavy frontal defences surrounding the city center and from the rear where surviving insurgents ambushed the tanks and infantry squads with rocket launchers and heavy automatic coilgun fire. IRS riflemen were increasingly helpless as they were impaled by 8mm hypersonic spikes from all sides their cheap composite armor doing little to stop Auraxii shots. Every attempt to hunt down Auraxii ambush parties were almost futile; their muscular reptile builds giving them unparalled agility to fire at IRS convoys and then vanish into the alleyways with such great speed that the IRS soldiers could not hope to chase on foot. Urban combat was brutal and extremely lethal. It took at least 5 riflemen to defeat an Auraxii regular with the volume of fire needed to pierce through their tough power exoskeletons and melee combat in the tight confines of corridors and rooms were heavily skewed in favour of the naturally stronger Auraxii.
But the IRS was tenacious. Fuelled by desperation and death-seeking patriotism, they began devoting themselves to the slaughter as they pressed the attack on Auraxii lines with grenades and suicidal charges. The proportion of firepower was also increased dramatically; any insurgent spotted in a building was met with thermobaric and napalm rockets. With overwhelming numbers the surrounded pockets of Auraxii was crushed but lurking insurgents and the heavy emplacements at the front remained as a concern. Taking heavy casualties, the first wave pulled back, rendeavous with the second wave and called for air and artillery support. CAS gunships flew overhead, peppering Auraxii troops moving in the hidden veins of the city with minigun and grenades while those equipped with ATGMs targeted the dug-in Avenger tanks at the city center. Plasma-sheathed missiles melted through their composite and the tandem charges detonated, blowing off ERA and other remaining composites before the primary charge did its work and sprayed the interior of the tanks with molten jets of metal causing fatal secondary explosions as ammunition cooked off. But with the limited ammunition of the gunships it was not enough to weaken the defences.
Forward troops, hiding in the cover of rubble and ruined buildings, began radioing coordinates to air control and artillery firebases as they observed the enemy defensive lines and lased targets with their tactical binoculars. Shockwave CAS jets returned to the fray and launched ATGMs and guided bunker busting bombs at the heavily fortified positions, pummeling Auraxii tanks and static turrets. Enemy THAAD and MANPAD systems hidden in the built up streets began targeting the Shockwaves and fired AAMs. Some managed to escape in time, others found themselves too close just when they were about to climb altitude and exfiltrate and exploded into flaming wreckage.
Major Hashem immediately requested for EWACCS and Paladin IIIs equipped with anti-radar missiles for SEAD missions against Auraxii air defences. In a matter of minutes the SEAD squadrons arrived in earnest and as the Auraxii anti-air systems attempted to lock on the EWACCS craft pin-pointed their locations and the Paladin IIIs immediately fired away their anti-radar missiles before buggering off and dispersing chaff to shake off the lock on. One by one, the Auraxii anti-air network was losing coverage and Hashem slowly re-intensified CAS and Strikefighter flyovers in zones clear of anti-air defences against Auraxii ground units.
The UWA were more experienced in terms of fighting rebellions, be they classified as either low intensity conflicts or downright guerilla warfare.
And in urban terrain, they thrived like there was no tomorrow and no yesterday. This called to Lt. Colonel Andrea who led valiant and effective door-to-door operations, killing any hostile Auraxii they found with the combination of incendiary grenades, fragmentation grenades, more incendiaries and several rounds to the center mass and limbs to prevent the enemy from getting a chance at engaging the UWA. Still though, the UWA were not immune to moderately heavy losses or even ambushes.
Sometimes though, the UWA were able to outsmart the damned Auraxii and ambush them instead, using 10mm pistols and sub machine guns as well as 5.56×45mm carbines and 12 gauge shot guns combined with original UWA energy SMGs and 7.62×51mm shortened battle rifles. If they could, they used the autocannons of their IFVs and tanks to really clean any hostiles out. Afterwards, the use of incendiaries and explosives was liberal.
UWA troops were calm and if not calm, they were spirited but all the same, they had to be professional. Teams did the work of cleaning small buildings, squads worked the larger ones and streets and alleys were either cleaned out by platoons or simply by a team that used a lot of incendiaries to force hiding Auraxii to leave and get shot with several rounds until they were all down.
The UWA troops also showed their stuff when they brutalized any hostile Auraxii that came too close with powered knives or machetes, bags of grenades or even shotguns. Everywhere, the shotgun led the way with the carbines, LMGs, SMGs and battle rifles following.
Wisely though, tanks kept their distance while only IFVs and APCs doing the job of serving as effective fire support in the rubble of Argamus. But still despite all the warfare on the ground, men and women were being killed. And in this day and age, the use of air power was not ignored.
Cue the liberal use also of helicopters, who mowed down any hostile Auraxii they spotted or were told to mow down via radio transmission or laser guidance with their 0.8 cm mini guns accompanied by autocannons of various calibers and / or by rocket spam.
Also in use were close air support planes who did the job of bringing down the roofs of buildings on the heads of stubborn and troublesome Auraxii foot mobiles or by strafing them with 30 mm rounds designed to destroy any kind of solid armor they could possibly find and to also explode once they are inside the target.
As fighting raged on in the north, in the northwest things were relatively calmer. The IRS's diversion had worked, the illusion of sheer numbers had prompted cautious Auraxii commanders to concentrate most of their forces to meet the IRS assault and as a result, other sides of the city was left undermanned.
The smaller blocking force of 500 troops raced through the paved roads in wheeled IFVs most of which are armed to the teeth with autocannons, ATGM pods and 40mm grenade launchers alongside Warmaster light tanks and Type 40 armored cars. The sleek frame of VTOL gunships advanced forward, peppering the sentry posts with 20mm bullets and rockets. The IFVs smashed through the roadblocks and entered the northwestern part of the outer city. With great haste they reached their destination and set up an arced defensive perimeter of tripod-mounted ATGM teams and crewed HMG positions. Elite Sentinel shock troops and commandos cleared the streets and buildings of Auraxii stragglers with lasers and automatic railguns.
In the next moments, Auraxii tanks, APCs and man patrols crossed into their killzone. With the northern front heavily concentrated with thousands of IRS troops the Auraxii had planned to go around and ambush them. What they did not expect was to be met with the blocking force and they were caught off guard. VTOL gunships sprayed fire into the passing column, the destroyed wreckage causing a congestion in the road and preventing the rest of the convoy to manuvere and retreat. Sentinel troopers engaged panicked Auraxii patrols with precise laser shots and brought up their most powerful weapons; the plasma railguns. Supersonic streams of hypersonic plasma melted cleanly through the Avengers and Kursks' armor plates, the plasma reaching all the way into the ammunition storage and cooked them off causing the tanks to explode into bits. Auraxii regulars made a desperate counter attack to break through but they were promptly repelled by the sheer volume of 12.7mm heavy machine gun fire and 5.56mm armor piercing rounds fired from the HASO troopers' rail-LMGs. The Auraxii ambush was foiled with minimal casualties and surviving enemy forces withdrew. The VTOL gunships made their exit to refuel and rearm at ad-hoc airfields set up outside the city.
The northern front meanwhile was reaching higher levels of violence as IRS urban-clearing troops continued their bloody assaults against entrenched Auraxii garrisons. A booby-trapped skyscraper easily added nearly a hundred riflemen to the KIA count when it collapsed from multiple bombs planted at its structural weak points. The outskirts littered with small explosions and dirt clouds as both sides lobbed grenades at each other. There was already lingering suspicions of civilian casualties from the collateral damage but the IRS had no time to care. They cannot back down and decrease the intensity of their attack, not when they were facing tough resilient opponents.
The first and second wave regrouped and infantry hopped back into their transports. With the resumed airstrikes against the city center fortifications, there was strong possibility that their defensive capabilities had been heavily softened up. Engineers patched up whatever they can and medics did their best to treat the wounded. Forward observers watched the Auraxii lines intently. Infantry still remained strong and very much alive, moving from cover to cover of destroyed vehicles, rubble and road barriers and garrisoning new buildings at any signs of airstrikes and after IRS aircraft made their runs, reappeared and resumed firing. Clutching their radioes again, the forward recon began sending in a new set of fire orders. Mortar carriers began bombarding the Auraxii positions with tear gas and flashbang rounds.
"All units storm the city defences when they are still disorientated!" the order came from the command center. Upon this order, the IRS forces began a new push of mechanised infantry riding in APCs and tanks into the Auraxii positions with guns blazing. A force of just more than 1000 troops rapidly closed ground and blitzed the Auraxii positions in close quarters combat. It was going to be a tough fight and now was a good time for the UWA elements to execute the pincer movement on the city center.
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UWA elements got the hit. Together with their Auraxii allies, who started to take the lead as they knew how to fight their own kind more than the rest of the UWA, they began to come together on the left and right flanks. Later on, just in the nick of time, came the armored bulldozers and other military vehicles that could help them clear their paths.
The first step taken by both left and right flanks and also by the main force of the UWA that was coming from the south towards the north was to use these vehicles to clear the way. Protected from behind by infantry and secured from top attacks by the helicopters and fast moving aircraft and with long range cover from tanks and sniper teams, these bulldozers and combat engineering vehicles worked their way through the ruined streets and pathways rather quickly, facing only little to moderate resistance.
Once the ground forces thought that they were good to go, they stopped using them and started to rush hostile positions, over-running them with heavy shotgun and machinegun fire accompanied by autocannon fire, rockets and missiles flying and most of all, vehicle mounted railguns and coilguns. Any Auraxii forces that tried to face the bloodied but unceasing UWA forces either fought to their deaths or fled into the center.
And that was what the UWA wanted. Together, with the help of artillery showering the Auraxii with either smoke or flashbang before following that up with airburst rounds and non lethal chemical rounds such as vomiting agents, tear agents and malodorants, the ground forces pushed on. There was also the use of some incendiary rounds. But despite this liberal use of a variety of artillery rounds, the UWA ground forces were protected by their armor and their NBC equipment.
Fortunately for the Telnarian Auraxii allied to the UWA, they also were given NBC equipment while the enemy was either exposed or had their own but were rendered useless thanks to combat or the air burst rounds.
Moving on, the UWA also exercised the heavy, heavy use of mortars did the job of eliminating more Auraxii hostiles while the howitzers took care of forcing the Auraxii to hide or to flee again to the center.
More and more, the UWA pushed the enemy towards the center, the UWA hoping to accomplish their pincer on the enemy. And soon enough, they did. And once they did, they wanted to finish the enemy off with their next card on the game: Strike-CAS.
That meant that all available UWA aircraft that could conduct airstrikes were directed towards the city center, releasing everything they had on the targets they spotted in the city center. Then when they were done came the CAS who gave it all their cannons, their machine guns, their rockets, their missiles and their bombs. It was an understatement to say that it was devastating.
And while that was going on, UWA shock infantry and commandos themselves went into the city, deeper and deeper, cleaning out the Auraxii, shooting any hostile until they were dead. For now civilian casualties did not matter. It was the fault of the Auraxii commanders. And when the infantry got close enough, they made sure the ones in the city center were dead or dying, attacking without mercy.
At the same time, interdiction missions were carried out by faster moving fixed wing aircraft and helicopters who showed no mercy to any attempts by the Auraxii of the city to leave. Any vehicle was a target and any Auraxii that attempted to shoot the planes or helicopters down was met with ruthless cannon fire and rockets. It did not help the ones on the ground too that the UWA aircraft loved to turn around and finish them off for good.
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The ground trembled at the sheer amount of firepower the UWA launched into the city center. The IRS troops cheered at the uplifting sight as Auraxii positions explode into fireballs and became more determined to push through. The remaining Auraxii at the northern defences turned tail and retreated deeper into the city center to bolster its defences. They had just realised just how engrossed they had been repelling the IRS attack that they have allowed the UWA to cut through to their rear and inflict great amount of losses. They must regroup and establish the last lines of defence around the command center.
The IRS troops regrouped, counted their losses and then moved once more deeper towards the heart of the city. The streets were eeriely empty, only corpses and burning buildings greeted the convoy. Troops on the APCs scanned the rooftops and windows and soon the spirit of jubiliation and victory gave way to lingering horror and nervousness as they looked on the horrible scenes of burnt civilians with their ashen faces agape in frozen agony.
"Command are you getting this? There's a whole lot of dead civvies here."
"Shit. Do you think it was the UWA airstrike?"
"Nah man. I mean, they're the democracy guys right? Freedom and rights, that kind of shit. I say its Auraxii infighting."
"Cut the chatter Zima Two Three. Command, interrogative - what is the enemy's current strength over?"
"Only a handful left Zima Actual. Just stragglers and survivors scattered across the city center. Prioritise capture of the Auxarii command center."
"Zima Actual copies all. Out."
The IRS convoy made haste for the city center where the command center would likely be and confronted the last of their proper forces holed up in a spire-like skyscraper. All of them were clearly some sort of honour guard or elite special forces, they donned what seemed to be thicker and bulkier versions of the already tough standard infantry suits and held heavier variants of their coilguns and laser cannons. A sea of gunfire washed over the ground below, impaling riflemen out in the open while anti-tank soldiers launched heavy ATGMs at the Archer tanks, punching through the top armor, one of the thinnest parts of the tanks, and destroyed them utterly. APCs fired their autocannons and machine guns at the enemy positions in the skyscraper, shattering numerous windows and sending down a rain of glass, debris and gore.
CAS gunships attempted to provide fire support but one was hit squarely in the engines by a MANPAD, another was peppered with heavy coilgun rounds and another was cut into half by a laser. Mortars and portable missile racks fired upon the IRS forces below, inflicting heavy casualties and breaking up their formations.
"Zima Actual to command, we're under heavy fire from the spire! Requesting an immediate bunker buster!"
"Command to Zima Actual, affirmative we are sending a bomber to your AO. Clear the area."
The IRS forces backed up, still firing at the forces in the spire but now attempting to put some distance. The Auraxii forces thought they were retreating and cheered, thinking that despite all odds they have repelled the enemy. But alas with a brief scream of a jet engine overhead and the faint sound of concrete cracking, the Auraxii troops inside only saw a blurry glimmer of a large, grey oval-shaped projectile dropping from the top. Before they realised what it was, the massive bomb detonated at the bottom, causing a great explosion that effectively cut off anything above the first level. The 100 storey building crumbled and slammed onto the ground crushing houses, smaller flats and anyone unlucky enough to be close enough. Once the smoke and dust settled, only a mountain of rubble, glass and twisted metal remained. The IRS forces moved in, searching for survivors to mop up.
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Soon enough, General Cascade ordered all UWA ground forces in the city to finish up. Mopping operations began as efforts to find and evacuate the civilians also started. It was controlled chaos so far as helicopters gave eyes and ears essential to the ground forces below while armored vehicles made sure that the movement of civilians and the wounded and the dead went without issues. Infantry did everything else, being the poor mean bastards on the ground anyway.
In the city center, a lot of troops of the UWA were starting to feel horrified at whatever happened here. Besides the ruined skyscraper thingy and the obvious ending of almost all enemy forces, the fate of the civvies is what struck the UWA troops the most, causing many to either vomit or freeze or to try to get out of the area so they could try to forget whatever they saw and smelt out there. But many also chose to remain silent and move on. Only very few were reported by their fellow troops or by their commanding officers to have enjoyed what happened.
Joining the IRS forces were the Telnarian Auraxii and their UWA allies. The commanders of the Telnarian Auraxii requested permission from their UWA allies to mourn their dead and that was granted on the condition that some UWA troops go with them to help them out. They agreed. On the other hand, most UWA troops went to their IRS comrades and congratulated them. They even praised them for their hard fighting and many nick named the IRS troops "The Human Dragons".
Near the mountain of what remained of the skyscraper, Admiral Searing saluted the fallen Auraxii and then the fallen IRS and UWA and Telnarian Auraxii troops and then she spoke quietly as she bowed respectfully to the center of the city. Then she straightened herself and then spoke to all using her own communications device that connected her to the public announcement systems that some UWA vehicles on the ground and in the air carried
"This is Admiral Searing speaking. The United Worlds of Alondra and their Auraxii allies as well as the honorable Interstellar Republic of Singapore have fought the armed forces of the general who controlled your city, the one you call Argamus, and have beaten him.
I am now speaking to all of you, to those who still live, to the citizens of the former Auraxii Empire... I advise you to accept that this city is now under UWA and Telnarian Auraxii control together with the IRS. I apologize for all that my forces have done to bring down the general and his armed forces. But I cannot apologize for what I am going to do now. I am going to order the occupation and the continuation of the occupation of your city. You are now citizens of the UWA by virtue of this.
But most important of all, you are now under the care of the UWA and their allies together with the IRS. You will not be executed or exiled. You will be given food and water, shelter and comforts. You will be protected and you will not be enslaved. No, you are what you are now: Citizens.
Remain where you are if you are able. If you wish to move to another area, please make sure that you make contact with my men or the men of the IRS. If you are unable, remain where you are and attempt contact with my men. Make noise or do what you can to attract them to you. We will help you.
The forces of the UWA and the IRS along with the forces of your lord Vunt are not your enemy. If you come quietly then we will treat you as best as we can. This is Admiral Searing."
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