Chapter 8: Operation Sandstorm

1 day prior to the start of Operation Sandstorm, Atlas Academy Ironwood's Office

"Well, the Atlesian Airfleet of 3 air-frigates and the contingent of 1000 soldiers and 2000 droids are en-route," General Ironwood informed Winter and Jaune, who had been spending the time between they learned of Sandstorm until now finishing Jaune's base and getting the first batch of Jaune's soldiers under training. They had watched from the sideline as the approaching disaster that was Sandstorm grew.

Jaune was the most pissed with how the buildup of Sandstorm was going. Amongst this was the blatant disregard of information withhold that General Dwight was displaying. He openly boasted how large the operation would be, where it would strike, and had even when the attack would occur. Seriously, it was like Dwight was being paid by the VNA to give them all the details.

Next was that Jaune realized how badly prepared Vale's army was. He had thought Atlas was unprepared, but Vale was practically jumping up and down on a rotting foundation. Their men were given no personal protection, their arms were semi-auto rifles that should've been replaced, and they had practically little to no training. They were men given a patch, a gun, and told to march to their deaths.

But the biggest problem was the Hunters. They refused to take any equipment to radio for help should they need it, they refused to have a couple of medics tag along, and they were arrogant about their capabilities. One man in particular, a Henry Winchester, bragged he would take the head of the VNA's leader and mount it on a plaque in his living room. Jaune had to restrain the urge to strangle the dummkopf; Qahira had gone toe-to-toe with a squad of Israeli Mossad single handily, using only a pistol and a handful of grenades, and came out on top.

"Tell me you managed to convince the commander in charge to use extreme caution, right?" Jaune asked.

"I had spoken with Captain Raeder, and he acknowledges your advice. Sadly, the council and Dwight might force him to proceed without caution," Ironwood stated. "Although he is competent, knowing when to retreat from a losing battle. He isn't going to sacrifice his men just because of some politicians' demands for glory."

"That's good, but what are the other commanders that are leading the offensive like; besides that incompetent twat Dwight," Jaune inquired.

"Well, the one leading the huntsmen is Leonidas Nikos, who can rally those around him regardless of the situation. Tough as stones and extremely skilled when it comes to fighting the Grimm, he mostly worked around Mistral taking care of any Grimm threats near his home, so he has practically no combat experience against people," Ironwood began. "Next, we have Dwight's second in command, Major Zero. He is adept with strategy, but he mostly worked with intelligence groups and serves as Vale's eyes and ears. I've met him a few times, and he is generally quiet and reserve in his actions. Finally, there is the one that is leading the contingent of Atlas's forces on the ground, General Eisenbrecher. The man is too aggressive in his actions, to the point it's suicidal. I fear that if the drones were replaced with men, the media would scream for an immediate end to our efforts due to losses."

"Well shit," Jaune muttered. "Besides Major Zero, who might actually be of considerable help in getting intel on the VNA's efforts and plans, the rest are useless or inexperienced."

"Well, if it makes you feel better Jaune, I got word that the first shipment of weapons and munitions from Stahl has begun to arrive," Winter spoke up. "Apparently the engineers at Stahl are liking the new weapons as they are easier to build and the ammo is less likely to explode. And I spoke with a couple of the sergeants who are going to be a part of your force praise the accuracy and rate of fire of the assault rifle. They have their doubts about the PDWs and the 'Panzerfaust', as they are unused to such weapons, but if they work they will be glad to have them."

"I don't doubt the soldiers will like the firepower that they are about to receive," Jaune commented. "The MP-57 was well liked by ECA tank crews, engineers, and REMFs for its lightweight frame and high-capacity armor piercing rounds, while the Panzerfaust, well the AT corps hated them due to their weight but other than that they worked wonders."

"REMFs?" Winter asked, not recognizing the term. However, instead of Jaune answering, Ironwood did.

"Rear Echelon Mother Fuckers," Ironwood answered. "It's used due to front-liners hating those in the rear being comparatively safe while they are forced to face the brunt of the enemy's assault."

"I see," Winter said. "Also, from all the reports I gathered from the various factories, the first vehicles off the line will be the Lynx APCs and the Pandur IFVs. The Leopards and Gepard tanks will take longer due to the track suspension and armor, but-"

"So long as my forces have the Lynx and Pandurs, we will be fine," Jaune replied. "While they are thinly armored, they can go almost anywhere; both are amphibious, and the Lynx also can go up incredibly steep inclines, even on soft ground. I think the VNA won't be expecting us to come through the ever-shifting deserts, and instead go through the harder, and therefore predictable, roads."

"But won't the heavy armor be better?" Ironwood asked. Jaune shook his head.

"As far as I can tell, the deserts in Vacuo are not suitable for main battle tanks, as they will dig themselves into the dirt due to their heavy weight. However, for retaking the capital and other major cities, where there is solid ground, then they will more than make up for their absence. But really, we need to get the artillery out onto the battlefield; I really don't want to be outgunned by the VNA because they have artillery and we don't," Jaune said.

"Hmm, if we manage to secure air superiority, then perhaps we can hunt down the VNA's artillery," Winter said. Jaune sighed.

"If we had stealth aircraft, then perhaps, but we don't. We don't even have fast movers or counter measures against their very likely surface to air missiles or their quad cannons," Jaune pointed out. "Your aircraft will be gunned down if they are not careful, which I suspect will be the case for most of the early stage of the war. You've never really had to engage forces that could directly counter your air forces before. The GLA had years to perfect the art of taking down enemy air forces, using man portable Stinger missiles, half-tracks with quad cannons, and during their fight against Russia they even managed to convert their mobile Stinger sites to carry deadly SA-3 surface to air missiles."

"So essentially, our main advantage is going to be easily countered?" Ironwood asked. "Then how are we to neutralize artillery if it's going to be a deciding factor?"

"Honestly, until we have artillery of our own or can come up with counter measures for the VNA's anti-air defenses, the only option is to keep our units small and dispersed, to render the strength of artillery null and void by the cost to deploy them and use them," Jaune said. "However, most of Atlas's army is on large scale battle formations and not tactical platoon or squad level engagements."

"I see," Ironwood said before sighing. "This war is going to be a bloody affair isn't?"

"Yes, yes it will be," Jaune said solemnly.

0:00 hours, Operation Sandstorm Phase 1, Landing Site Alpha, Pvt. Sanders of the Valean Army

Inside the LVT-1 that rocked as it traveled through the rough seas to the landing beaches, Private Azure Sanders gripped his VMR-45 in his hand, quietly wondering why the hell he thought being in the army was a good idea. He never thought for a moment he would be walking into the opening acts of a war, as all international conflict had practically ceased since the Great War. He wanted a secure job to support his wife and their soon to be born daughter, and the army seemed the best fit.

Boy was he regretting that so much right now. When the VNA came out of nowhere and took over Vacuo in a matter of weeks, it took everyone by surprise and no one knew what to think. Listening to the television, most would think the war would be a done deal in favor of Vale and Atlas. But he had heard rumors from the career soldiers, and it seemed that if Vacuo could fall so quickly then this VNA was going to be very dangerous.

He could faintly hear the splashes of shells impacting the water from the LVT-1's interior, which scared him; if the enemy was already shooting at them, then on the beaches it would be total hell.

"Everyone, we are three minutes from landing; check your gear and ammo! I don't want you grunts dying on me because you had to reload your rifle on the beaches!" shouted his sergeant. Sanders quickly checked his rifle, pulling on the receiver slightly to make sure a round was chambered. Putting the receiver back in place when he was certain it was loaded, he took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.

Unfortunately for the young private, a shell impacted just shy of the landing craft, throwing everyone around. Sanders himself had hit the side of the craft's interior wall, which caused his head to ring and drop his rifle. Getting up slowly, Sanders bent down to pick up his rifle, which he would later declare to be a fucking miracle.

For when he knelt down to pick his rifle up, several 12.7mm anti-material rounds began to perforate the landing craft's paper-thin armor, killing so many of Sander's squad before they got to the beach proper. Sanders threw himself as he was showered with the blood and flesh of his comrades, his ears echoing his comrades' dying scream. He felt like he wanted to puke, but he kept it together; there was the mission at hand.

When the craft landed, instead of a full platoon of men rushing out to secure the landing site, Sanders and two others were crawling over their comrades' bodies.

"Son of a bitch, what the hell are we up against?!" cried a fellow private to Sander's left.

"'Light resistance' my ass!" shouted the one to his right. "Sanders, what are we going to do?!" Sander looked up at the beach and swore under his breath.

Instead of a lightly defended beachhead with a couple small caliber machine gun nest at most, he instead saw several dug-in machine gun nest with heavy machine guns nestled on the cliff, a couple of pits that he saw missiles fly out from, striking down what little air support the Vale Air Force had. He then saw small track vehicles firing from their cannons high explosive hell, taking out clumped group of soldiers in a single blast. Finally, he could hear the roar of jet engines as the enemy sent their bombers in, raining death upon the incoming LVTs. At this point, Sanders could only come up with one idea.

"GET UP THE BEACH, DON'T GIVE THEM THE CHANCE TO LEVEL THEIR GUNS ON US!"

He got up and sprinted, not waiting to see who would follow him. He snarled as he quickly realized he got the attention of one of the machine gunners, forcing him to duck into a crater. He waited as rounds pelted around him, before the sand kicked up stopped hitting his face. Knowing he had only a quick chance to get up the beach, Sanders got up once more and sprinted.

His legs felt on fire, he swore he could taste copper in his lung, and his arms ached from stiffly holding his rifle in his hands, but he noticed the closer he got to the cliff face, the less fire he came under. He was a scant ten meters from the cliff face when he heard a series of whooshes coming from above him. Hitting the deck, Sanders looked up, only to see a series of smoke trails as rockets flew out from their launch vehicle, towards the incoming second wave of LVTs.

Sanders could only watch in horror as the rockets began impacting around and on the second wave, as water plumes and fire balls erupted like an orchestra from hell. He didn't want to think about how many men were in those LVTs, as it could only be in the hundreds.

"Private, get up!" Sanders turned and saw a Sergeant pointing at him. "We are regrouping two hundred meters south along the cliff walls, we need to push hard to get off the beach and to take out the defenders!"

"Yes sir!" Sanders shouted, quickly following the Sergeant to the rendezvous point. Sanders wouldn't realize how much this operation would change his life, and more importantly Remnant's.

"Kehahah! These landing ships are ripe for the picking!" muttered Abraham Dust, a former miner in the dreaded silver mines of Northern Vacuo.

What most of Remnant chose to ignore was that, despite using digital currency, their economy was based on the value of rare metals, in this case gold and silver. But since Vacuo was the only kingdom to have a large deposit of either, it was decided to run those mines at maximum efficiency, with no care for the conditions of the workers inside. Mortality figures were easily 30%, but their deaths were covered up by the Council as the result of mining into a Grimm dwelling, not as the result of a cave-in where no one bothered to rescue them, leading them to starve.

Thus, when the miners at the silver mine that Abraham worked at were approached by GLA recruiters, most signed up instantly, and Abraham was responsible for convincing the more stubborn to join. Because of this, he found himself being forwarded to their glorious leader Qahira Zaima himself and being put in charge of one of the GLA's tank squadron.

After witnessing the futility of the Hunter's trying to hack away at the armor of a Marauder tank firsthand in the siege of Shade Academy, Abraham began utilizing the tanks under his command in very aggressive attacks, using his own Maraduer to soak up the hits while the lighter and faster Scorpions flanked around and bombarded the enemy shells and missiles before relocating to the next firefight.

So here he was, inside his Marauder tank with a 130mm cannon and a set of rocket pods that his got to jury-rig for added firepower, watching as Vale's landing forces continued trying to establish a foot hold. So far, the Dushka nests, BM-21 Grads, and rocket buggies inflicted the most losses, but Abraham was waiting for the go order to 'unleash the GLA's trump card'.

Suddenly the radio inside his tank crackled to life.

"This is Insurrection leader, orders from HQ have greenlit our attack, commence assault." Abraham smirked; there it was.

"Alright Dust Riders, move out and engage the enemy!" Abraham ordered to his squadron, quickly getting affirmatives.

"For the GLA!"

"Let's grind them to dust!"

"Death to the foreign invaders!"

Abraham felt a lurch as the marauder drove forward, and he quickly began spotting targets for his gunner. First up was a LVT-1 that was almost on shore.

"Gunner, LVT spotted, target five hundred yards, 2 o'clock," Abraham stated. "Loader, load APHE."

Abraham heard as his gunner rammed a shell into the breach of the 130mm cannon before quickly sealing the breach.

"APHE loaded, ready to fire!" the loader shouted.

"Gunner, fire at will!" Abraham shouted. His gunner had taken careful aim, and with a light squeeze on trigger, the tank rocked as the shell flew out of the barrel. However, despite the gunner's careful aim, the shot landed short, kicking up sand. Abraham recalculated the distance and reissued his orders.

"Driver, stop. Gunner, last round short, adjust elevation. Loader, load APHE." The sound of a shell being rammed was heard once more and the Marauder came to a halt.

"Loaded!"

"Shell on the way!" This time the shell flies true and impacts the LVT-1, penetrating the thin armor and hitting what Abraham presumed to be the dust compartment, causing the vehicle to brew up. The infantry inside came out of the transport on fire, desperately trying to douse the fire. Abraham felt nothing but disgust at the foreigners as he gave the next set of orders.

"Loader, load HE. Gunner, switch to the rocket pod. Engage infantry, 500 yards."

"Loaded!"

"Switching to rockets, aiming…rockets on the way!" Abraham heard the shrieks of the 57mm S-5 rockets as they roared out of the pod and towards the target. As the rockets flew towards the burning infantry, Abraham ordered the gunner to fire with cannon, to which the gunner followed through and quickly switched to the cannon and fire, only briefly pausing to re-aim the cannon.

The infantry who managed to douse the fire weren't given any quarter as a volley of rockets and an HE shell erupted their world, tearing apart the infantry in a macabre fashion.

"Good fire crew," Abraham complimented his crew before switching the radio to the squadron setting. "Dust Rider Squadron, this is DR-lead, report."

"DR-lead, this is DR-1, we engaged a squad of Vale infantry, ten killed."

"This is DR-2, engaged and neutralized a squad that had taken cover and were sniping the Dushka nests."

"This is DR-3, we sustained track damage, no injuries onboard, managed to scuttle a LVT-1."

"Very good, DR-2, support DR-3 as they repair their vehicle, DR-1, follow me-" Abraham was interrupted by HQ coming on the horn.

"Be advised, Vale Bullheads spotted near your sector. We are routing three Quad-Cannons to your position, over."

"Affirmative Insurrection leader," Abraham said. "Dust Riders, scatter until the Bullheads are neutralize!"

Unspoken was the fact that while their tanks were more heavily armored than anything people were expecting, the Scorpion tanks still had thin armor on the top, which for the bullhead's twin 20mm autocannons provided no resistance. The Maraduer's armor fared better, but still, better to be safe than sorry.

Abraham popped open his hatch to see if he could spot the Bullheads, and he quickly spotted them; they were coming from the Vale Navy's transport ship, heading straight towards them. He ducked back into the turret and closed the hatch, annoyed he was having to wait to kill the invaders, but as the Bullheads began to line up for their gun runs, the sound of a dozen 20mm cannons opening fire and the light show provided by APIT rounds made Abraham smiled; the quad cannons had arrived.

He continues to watch as the bullhead pilots, so unused to having to evade groundfire, fail to avoid the incoming fire and fall prey to the 20mm shells of the Quad-Cannons. One of the Bullhead's wings was sawed off, while another had a torrent of shells impact the cockpit, killing the pilot and copilot instantly. The third tried to disengage, but it was brought down when the shells impacted its engine, causing it to crash into the ocean, most likely killing its passengers instantly.

"Skies are cleared, you good to continue mopping up these bastards!" the commander of the Quad Cannon squadron said to Abraham over the radio.

"Roger that, remind me to buy you guys a round after the mission!" Abraham said. He then turned his attention back to his crew.

"C'mon men, let's finish burying these bastards in their steel coffins."

Standing on the VNS Vale, Lisa Lavender felt sick as she was hopelessly watching the Vale army get ripped apart by the VNA. She was suddenly very glad she listened to Jaune when he warned her not to report from the front like she had been intending. She didn't doubt that, as her cameramen continued to catch footage of the devastating landing, had she gone ahead with her previous plan, she would've been killed in the first minutes of the fighting.

She turned away from the fighting, her mind awash as she tried to comprehend where the landings went wrong. She was no military strategist or genius, but even she could see it would be better to call off the attack, rescue the men they could, and regroup before they suffer too many losses.

"Disgusting isn't?" Lisa jumped, only to be startled to see a tall man with white hair and a scar across his left eye. "All those young men and women dying, all for Gen. Dwight's glory. Personally, I see what Gen. Ironwood's…advisor Jaune Maximillian meant that the VNA would be a nightmare to fight."

"Yes it is umm?" Lisa grasped, looking for a name. The man apparently understood what she was looking for.

"I'm Major David Oh, though to most I'm Major Zero," Maj. Zero said. "I would say it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, but meeting like this in a time of war tends to ruin the mood."

"Yes it does," Lisa said. "So, what did Jaune tell you about the VNA?" Lisa had been curious as to where the animosity that Jaune had for the VNA came from, while she could guess that its leader Qahira Zaima inflicted personal wounds on Jaune.

"He told me the VNA would turn the beaches into a slaughter house, as he points out the warships of Vale can't get any closer due to the risk of coming under rocket attack to provide fire support with, and I quote, 'abysmal cannons that should've been retired ages ago' end quote. He also stated that they wouldn't hold back, choosing to dump all of their attacks on the beaches before most likely retreating, inflicting as much damage with as little casualties as possible."

"Jaune also warned me that the VNA's air force would-fuck, it's like he's a prophet!" Lisa turned to where Maj. Zero was looking and felt all the air rush out of her lungs.

A squadron of fixed wing aircraft that seemed to consist of swept back wings and a centerline engine that the cockpit sat atop of came roaring down the beach, intermediately dropping bombs that exploded violently, destroying LVT-1s and the infantry around them quickly. Then another squadron followed up from behind, firing cannons and rockets on those not hit in the first wave.

Lisa closed her eyes and turned away, as she could swear she could hear the screams of the poor souls as they cried out due to the airstrikes snuffing out their lives. She heard the major beside her sigh.

"Damn it, I seriously wish Ironwood's man wasn't correct, but at the same time it's fortunate for us, because now we can plan around the VNA's tactics," Maj. Zero said before sighing once more. "I think it might be best for you and your crew to head inside; the citizens of the kingdoms probably don't want to see-"

"No, we are staying out here," Lisa interrupted, turning to face the Major once more. "The people of the Kingdom need to wake up; our army is getting slaughtered by what the Council called an 'angry mob' and until the people see this that's all they will think of the VNA as." She was expecting the major to scold her, but instead he gave a bitter laugh.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see what kind of shit this will cause, but I agree with your point. Just, if it gets too much, no one will blame you for stepping back." Lisa watched as the Major walk away.

She sighed; whatever Jaune was working on better come quickly. She turned to her cameramen.

"Jake, Erich, make sure the viewers see the incompetence of Gen. Dwight; I rather our soldiers stop getting killed for someone's pride."

She saw her men nod, and she began mulling over the previous discussions with Jaune, wondering how to use this footage to help his efforts out.

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First Dossier Entry- Command Truck

Description: When the GLA became more mobile, they realized they needed a better Command Center, capable of providing radar and necessary equipment to call-in support strikes. The solution was to refit old and nearly unused prison vans to mobile command posts. This later evolved into the Command Truck, where the GLA commander sits firmly and instructs his armies. The truck also came with a built-in radar dish, effectively rendering the Radar Van obsolete.

Second Dossier Entry- Observation Van

Description: Purchased from an Arms Dealer, the Radar Van provided a mobile source of radar for any GLA commander back in the Global War on Terrorism. The Radar Van could have been upgraded with the Radar Scan technology, which allowed it to periodically reveal areas of the battlefield otherwise not visible, and also reveal enemy stealth units.

The introduction of the Mobile Command Truck left the GLA with a surplus of obsolete Radar Vans. However, Warlord General Sulaymaan, ever resourceful, repurposed the old vans as scout units.

Third Dossier Entry- Technical

Description: The Technical is the most basic combat unit that had been ever devised in modern warfare. In reality, it is nothing more than a souped-up pickup truck with a gun at the back. But the Technical was and is a force to be reckoned with, especially at the early stages of the Global Liberation War, where this vehicle sent terror to the hearts and minds of the people under GLA rule. Even though very anachronistic in comparison with today's modern technology, technicals are not forces to be easily trifled with.

Forth Dossier Entry-Combat Cycle

Description: Among all of the vehicles available in the world, perhaps the fastest, most rugged, most useful and most nimble of them all is a motorcycle. Due to its rather diminutive nature and low cost of maintenance (and production; some rumors say that in Africa, you could trade a cow for a motorcycle) it has been favoured by the GLA, then and now. Even after nearly four decades of use, the GLA doesn't cease to amaze any commander, seeing his base being attacked from a surprising angle and being shredded to pieces by soldiers on fragile motorcycles.

Fifth Dossier Entry- Scorpion Tank

Description: When Anwar Sulaymaan came into power in the GLA he experimented with some different doctrine and design changes to the main army of the organization. He salvaged some old, obsolete Centurion tanks from the Cold War and attempted to modify them to fit GLA standards. Alas, for he was unsuccessful with fitting in the Centurion to GLA's arsenal, and instead opted for more makeshift designs in their iconic 'Scorpion' line of armored vehicles, ranging from simple armored cars to actual tanks with makeshift modifications. The most common one remains an old tracked farm tractor with souped-up armor and a small-caliber gun, that allows the Scorpion tanks to move and fire at a rapid pace. U.S. tank commanders mockingly nicknamed them 'armored rats' during the bushfire wars in the South African savannahs. Scorpion tanks remain even today a common sight in any area with GLA presence but, in their stock form, they are unsuitable for direct tank-to-tank combat. This was amply demonstrated in Iraq when, during a well publicized engagement, a division of American Crusader Tanks took on an equally-sized division of Scorpions, and destroyed all the GLA tanks without suffering any losses.

Sixth Dossier Entry- Quad Cannon

Description: The Quad Cannon has been the GLA's light anti-air unit for over 30 years, and has well proved its effectiveness. It is capable of dealing with enemy aircraft and infantry with surprising efficiency. This halftrack is heavily armed with four 20mm autocannons, that can be upgraded to increase its damage, and, like many other GLA vehicles, can salvage parts to increase its rate of fire and damage.

Seventh Dossier Entry- Recycler

Description: The Recycler Truck is a rugged, heavy duty engineering vehicle that is typically used by GLA salvage parties, informally known as 'scrap vultures' in the African territories, who scour the battlefield at night after the fighting has moved on in search for anything valuable that might be extracted from vehicle wreckage such as armour plates, weapons, munitions or machine parts. The GLA is known to inspect these components with great curiosity and reconfigure them for their own use against their previous owners.

Eighth Dossier Entry- Marauder Tank

Description: Despite their work being the stuff of legends among GLA sympathizers around the world, the names of the original creators of the Marauder self-propelled assault gun will most likely remain a historical mystery. All that is known is that a group of five Middle Eastern revolutionaries released a viral video on the internet in the late 2010s in which they provided a literal step-by-step 'tutorial' on how to build a crude armored fighting vehicle using off-the-shelf tools, metal scraps and a truck engine. Most preposterously, the guide suggested that an externally mounted camera connected to a consumer-grade television and a re-wired video game pad could be used to monitor the vehicle's surroundings and help control its movement. This raw ingenuity did not go unnoticed by the Global Liberation Army, whose followers in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa soon followed their example and proceeded to build their own 'tanks' to engage Chinese and American forces head-on, with faith, courage and craftiness making up for a lack of modern machinery.

Indeed, the life of a GLA tanker has been a dangerous one ever since the start of the Global War on Terror but those who managed to survive throughout the decades have become hardened veterans and their heavily customized Marauder tanks are a testament of this experience. Armed with a powerful 130mm gun howitzer and protected by a variety of armor scraps cobbled together from foreign tanks of various ages and nationalities, the Marauder remains the most lethal ground combat vehicle in the arsenal of Warlord Anwar Sulaymaan and should never be underestimated. By the early 2040s, many Marauder crews had figured out how to equip their vehicles with fully rotating turrets without diminishing their engine power during a forward charge, thus finally turning their Marauders into actual tanks at long last.

Ninth Dossier Entry- Toxin Tractor

Description: The toxin tractor is the fear of all infantry opposing the GLA, it is made out off a simple farm tractor that is most of the time stolen from a simple farmer. The GLA's ingenuity was quickly able to craft simple tools into weapons of chemical warfare. It's top mounted sprinkler delivers it's "medicine" called anthrax to the infidels to give them a painful death. The shower of anthrax melts the skin of the poor infantry bones and is capable of corroding metal, since the mixture also contains acid. The operator of this machines also suffer from serious problems. They already were mentally ill before they started operating these machines of toxic terror or they became by seeing their victims die horrible deaths at their hands.

Tenth Dossier Entry- Demo Truck

Description: The history of the GLA's technical achievements has always been one of trial and error: The lack of advanced technology and an actual industrial basis called for a greater emphasis on improvisation, as evidenced by the organization's arsenal of combat vehicles, some of which such as the Marauder tank were literally designed and manufactured from scratch using construction vehicles as the basic platform for heavy weapon carriers and a jury-rigged combination of television screens, consumer-grade cameras and game pads as fire control systems for guns that were often little more than metal pipes. Despite being one of the personal creations of White Falcon Cell's leader Abdul bin Yusuuf, the Demo Track trap-laying vehicle proved to be less successful due to its lack of agility and reliance on heavy machinery which was often hard to come by. As a result, the vehicle eventually disappeared from service in favor of the Demo Truck, which was essentially just a civilian pickup truck that was not converted into a Technical for once, but a bomb carrier. The Demo Truck sacrifices the mine clearing plows of its heavier predecessor for a greater level of mobility while its function remains the same: Assembling high-explosive barrel bombs while on the move and quickly deploying them wherever an enemy patrol might be expected to pass through.

Twelfth Dossier Entry- Rocket Buggy

Description: Not much is known about the history of this deadly vehicle, except that most likely, this project is one of the so many civilian-to-military refits that GLA has done in the past, which explained why it has lived through generations and generation's worth of warfare. Its previous load of rockets has been retrofitted with a medium mortar to engage targets with far more damage, but less accuracy and frequency.

Thirteenth Dossier Entry- Scrambler Track

Description: With the betrayal and subsequent execution of Prince Kassad, the GLA lost its go-to expert in the field of stealth techniques. Thankfully for GLA commanders, what little knowledge and technology was recovered from the remains of Cobra Cell was studied and successfully recreated, and one of the results is the new Scrambler Track. With the sophisticated GPS Scramblers in place, the Track creates a field of radar interferences around itself, turning all friendly vehicles within the radius invisible.

Fourteenth Dossier Entry- Battle Bus

Description: One of the different tactics the GLA used during their days of warmongering in the 21st century was the use of heavy anti-Western and anti-capitalist propaganda in major population centers. The poor, the workers, the homeless and the local dissidents picked up arms for the GLA's cause and fought for them all over Central Asia. The most prominent fighting were the infamous "Astana Riots", where the city was practically reduced to rubble thanks to the fanatical Abdul bin Yusuuf's propaganda. One of the ways the angry rioters were so successful was because they hijacked local transportation and used them as makeshift infantry fighting vehicles, with rugged armor plating and reinforced windows attached.

One of the interesting things discovered during the later years of the war was that these so-called 'battle buses' didn't just serve as great transportation but also as a very good makeshift defense. When a Battle Bus's wheels were destroyed, they were simply immobilized and turned into bunkers. The GLA raiders inside kept on fighting even though their transportation was dead. Later the next decade, when Anwar Sulaymaan came to power in the GLA, he believed the Battle Buses were hawkish and rubbish at best. But, Yusuuf was still positive as it was a much more economical and a better answer to Sulaymaan's proposition to purchase real IFVs.

Fifteenth Dossier Entry- Bomb Truck

Description: 'Wreck, recycle, revenge' is a common motto within the GLA ranks. It means that whatever scrap they can find, they can reuse it and kill the person who destroyed it. One such mechanical construct is the so-called Bomb Truck. Literally just a truck with tons of explosives packed in the rear, these rides to hell are driven by some of the most fanatical and willing people in the GLA, whose visions of a better future has been programmed into their minds by the charismatic leader of the Brotherhood of the White Falcon, Abdul bin Yusuuf. While still under command of Warlord Mohmar, Yusuuf had much control over his followers. He guided them to their targets, disguised as civilian transport trucks, and when the time comes, they would push the detonator and send whatever poor building they ran into flying in thousands of different directions.

The illusive chemist Dr. Thrax and fanatical bombmaker Rodall Juhziz managed to create 'improvements' for the Bomb Truck. A mixture of different biological weapons packed underneath a secured tarp - nicknamed 'tents of doom' by American soldiers - could release a giant cloud of deadly neurotoxins into an area. Gasoline canisters and oil barrels were used by Juhziz to create an even more powerful fireball, one that could even send a Paladin Tank flying. When the two weapon makers worked together they were capable of mixing these two deadly upgrades and create Bomb Trucks that would create immensely powerful chemical blasts. However, when Anwar Sulaymaan came into power, his new chemist Tahar Ibrahiim and aforementioned Yusuuf had a shortage of chemical weapons and high explosives. Sulaymaan decided that a mixture between the two weapons is useless, and as such, Bomb Trucks can no longer release both chemical and HE blasts. When the GLA rose again in the early 2040s, Ibrahiim refused to use these weapons, so Sulaymaan gave Yusuuf all rights to do so, and today he is the only common user of the trucks.

Sixteenth Dossier Entry- Grad

Description: General Sulaymaan, the Warlord General is easily called the most resourceful general of the GLA faction. Once Deathstrike's Lieutenant during the first GLA conflict 14 years ago he has moved upward in the ranks of the GLA command structure, From this he is given access to many scrapyards and weapons seen in the last few conflicts alongside some of his own contraptions. The BM-21 is such weapons. Able to fire successive shots at a large radius pelting it with High Explosive missiles and then move along to another location within seconds. Just like any other GLA unit, this unit will pack a bang for its buck - which happens to be on sale these days.

Seventeenth Dossier Entry- Ural Truck

Description: What looks like an unsuspecting supply truck from the outside can turn into a stealthy anti-air weapon once deployed.

The Stinger troopers that emerge from the back of the vehicle are veterans of countless conflicts and their proficiency with their launchers even rivals the effectiveness of more sophisticated heavy AA systems.

Dossiers Closed.

Searching for 'Operation Sandstorm'

Found 1 Report, opening report.

Overview: Operation Sandstorm was a Joint Vale, Atlas, and Vacuo operation made to remove the VNA from power, root out traitors and sympathizers, and punish its leadership. Its goal was to secure as much land as possible along Vacuo's eastern shores and push westward towards the capital Babylon.

To this end, Gen. Dwight proposed a three-pronged assault; Atlas's air-fleet would attack the north and head South, Vale's army would land on the Eastern Beaches and proceed methodically towards Babylon, while hunters and huntresses would infiltrate the country, get into Babylon, and begin efforts liberating the capital.

However, as soon as the Operation began, the VNA proved to be more than 'an angry mob'. The unexpected abilities of the VNA's vehicles and their dug in and camouflaged defensive positions proved to make the early attacks disastrous. Atlas is faring the best, suffering so far only 30% casualties, most of them being unmanned units, but the loss of a light air cruiser has caused the Atlesian officers to rethink their original battleplans and they are not progressing as quickly as Operation Sandstorm demands.

Vale's beach assault however is an unmitigated bloodbath; while the exact size of the VNA's force is unclear, Vale so far has suffered 55% casualties, however the few units on the beach that survived the initial onslaught are beginning to regroup, and pockets are forming on the beaches.

Alas, the threat of VNA airstrikes and artillery bombardment jeopardizes the operation, as they could be used to destroy what pockets the Vale Army has managed to create.

No reports on the hunters' progress, but that was expected, due to the distance and terrain they must cross to reach the capital. However, if the results on the other two fronts are to be considered, it may be wise to pull the hunters back before they fall into a trap.

Recommendations: It is my recommendation that we shorten our battle lines, find a way to netrualize the VNA's air and artillery advantage, and begin deploying operatives through Vacuo to set up resistance cells and gather mission-critical intel for our forces. The method of slamming a hammer on our enemy is backfiring; we need to surgically strike at the VNA's forces, determine where their weaknesses are, and exploit them.

~Written by Major Zero

Author's Note: Ho boy, I'm back! Seriously, it took me a while to write this up, not because of not knowing what to write, but how to write it and how much I should cover. I decided to show both sides of the main fighting site (the beach landings), as well as reaction from Lisa Lavender. Plus I added the lore bits of the GLA vehicles (thank the good folks from SWR for writing good lore bits). But before I address some points in this chapter, I want to take a moment to respond to your reviews;

-Dead Randy Walkin: Thank you for your praise, and trust me, expect to see me dive more into the Generals/ROTR lore as we progress. So hopefully this battle scene wets your appetite.

-White 1498: For the War against the VNA, or the factions of ROTR? In either case, I will probably do it at some point, but not right now.

-NakedFury: Hey, if you hate the dossiers, just skip them; I add them so people can get more immersion into the story. Also the A/N I add so I can address my readers, so nope.

-Shadow: Thanks for the praise.

-Guest: Thanks mate for the praise.

-Cloneguy: Thanks once more for the praise. And yes it's a Killzone Reference, I liked the franchise and it was a quiet place to pay homage to the series.

Now with the reviews out of the way, onto some points that might need addressing;

-Why is there no naval bombardment: in almost any amphibious landing operations, it is often under naval bombardment. But back in Chapter 3 or 4, I mentioned the biggest gun Remnant made was a 100mm cannon that was on a train, and it was deemed a failure. So the most logical naval guns Remnant would've made would be short range 76mm gun to kill large sea Grimm; where you want rate of fire and a shell just big enough to kill the Grimm. No need for overkill if you have resource issues.

But a 76mm naval gun wouldn't be able to outrange the BM-21 grad's rockets, causing the warships to sit outside of range of providing naval bombardment. In addition, Gen. Dwight is an arrogant twat, and thinks that the VNA wouldn't be able to hold their ground once the Vale army began to land. Too bad the VNA can kill the LVT-1 before they even land.

-Marauder tank scene: I liked this scene, but I may not have done it right. If any of your served in a tank, please give me advice on how to do it better, like how orders would be issues between the crew, between a squadron, and between higher command.

-Acronyms and military short hand: Also, for those outside of military jargon, here is list of acronyms I threw around, along with short hand or easy speak that the military uses;

-IFV: Infantry Fighting Vehicle, things like the US M2 Bradley or the Russian BMP-1.

-VMR-45: Stands for Vale Marksmen Rifle-.45 caliber. Semi-automatic with a ten round detachable magazine.

-LVT-1: Stands for Landing Vehicle Transport model 1. Similar to the Higgins boat, only fully enclosed.

-Dushka: short hand for DSHK 12.7, which is a Russian built heavy machine gun.

-APHE: Armor Piercing High Explosive

-HE: High Explosive

-APIT: Armor Piercing Incendiary Tracer

-VNS: Vale Navy Ship

That is it for now, until next time (where we'll see some of Jaune's past on Earth, build up Lisa's character, see the build up of Jaune's unit, and the continue fighting of Operation Sandstorm), please read, review, follow, and favorite the story, and I'll catch you guys next time.