DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING OR ANYONE IN THE SPYRO UNIVERSE. ONLY MY OCS.
Chapter 31: Blitzkrieg
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(0600, Launces)
The first thing Bertram was aware of was an alarm blaring across the base. Acting on pure instinct, he jumped from his bed and ran outside the barracks towards the HQ. On the way, he was intercepted by Ayatane, and Jake who, despite everything, managed to keep calm. Once inside the HQ, they were stopped by the base commander for the IJ sector defence. They walked to a map of Syllia and Northumbria with the eastern part of Tellanos and Schildhaven.
"Gentlemen, we've just been attacked. Roughly one hour ago, we recieved a distress signal from Headbashedin using the old Morse line up there. Elements of the Rotarian Army have simultaniously invaded through Three Points Pass and across the river at Union City. In Northumbria, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Mountaineering Corps are holding firm along with elements of the 12th Army, 7th Armored Corps, as well as units from the Tellanian Federal Army that escaped before Tellanos was occupied. Down here, the enemy has advanced as far as Callen's Hill and so far the 12th Armored Corps, along with the 18th, 21st, and 34th Infantry Regiments are holding them there but what concerns me is further south." Bertram looked and saw a marker with a Rotarian emblem sitting square in the middle of Schildhaven.
"Sir, has Schildhaven...?" The Commander nodded.
"Schildhaven was invaded at the same time as we were but because they are neutral, they were not expecting an invasion, the enemy pushed all the way to the capital. The nation surrendered within the hour and now the Rotarian forces are pushing east towards Laevatain and south towards Peninsula City and Sanijo. The YZ squadrons from the Blue Isles are already in the air in case of a further attack south and all other air force units are to take off immediately. All IJ sector squadrons are to support the front line along Callen's Hill alongside elements of EF sector's squadrons. I'm afraid there aren't as many of them as I'd like to say because Callen's Hill was the primary military base there and when it was occupied, barely 25 percent of their forces managed to get airborne and escape to establish a defensive perimeter."
The Commander nodded to a young soldier who then moved three pins from the surrounding districts to the Callen's Hill area.
"We believe that the Northumbrian and Schildhaven forces are just diversions, and the force at Callen's Hill is the main one. The Rotarians are copying their campaign from the Federation's old playbook. We fell for that same ploy during the Federation War but this time we're not taking the bait and sending every single one of our veteran units to chase goose eggs. The enemy based their plans off of old tactics we learned lessons from and that is their undoing. Now then, get to your planes and get going. As per the situation, your planes are equipped with a multirole support armament. That means you not only have your machineguns and cannons but also small bombs and armor-piercing rockets. You will also have elements of the 33rd Gunship Flotilla and the 120th Bomber Group on standby should you require carpet bombing or see an infantry or tank unit getting its ass kicked out there."
Bertram and the others took that as a dismissal and turned to leave but then the commander placed a hand on Bertram's shoulder.
"Bertram. I need not tell you that the enemy is at our gates. I will not dare insult you by asking you to stay behind due to the fact that you are now royalty. All I ask is that you take care. If anything happens to a member of the royal family, the whole nation would suffer." Bertram noddec but otherwise said nothing as he went to the airfield where his ground crew was busy getting the wing's planes ready for takeoff.
As the engine on Bertram's plane started, the radio came to life.
"Attention IJ-01, this is Launces Aerial Command. Redesignating your force as 'Wolf Squadron'. Link up with Warhound, Cerberus, and Jackal Squadrons as soon as you are airborne. Reports from the front indicate the enemy is relentless in their attack. The 12th AC has suffered heavy casualties and has been forced to withdraw to support positions. The infantry is all alone out there and the Iron Legion is too far out to reach them in time. Also be advised, Captain George de Launces has deployed against medical recommendation. He is in command of Group 11 and is headed for the frontlines."
Bertram inwardly cursed and then waved to the ground crew and started the engine. The five-bladed propellor started with a low hum and wound to a high pitch whine as the engine geared up. He instinctively went over his gauges in a pre-flight check before the engagement.
(Engine temperature, good. Oil pressure, good. Hydraulic pressure, good. Fuel, good. Ammunition, check.) Bertram looked over to the chief and nodded to him. The nod was returned and the canopy was shut and Bertram locked it. He never said this to anyone but every time he locked that canopy he felt like he was shutting the lid on his own coffin. Now that it was his homeland under threat, he felt even more uneasy.
The radio shook him from his thoughts and he pushed the engine forward and the P-32A4 rolled onto the runway and idled as the rest of the wing fell in behind him. He keyed the radio and steadied himself.
"Attention Flight, we have our orders. As per the direct orders of Operation Citidel, IJ-01 is redesignated as Wolf Squadron. Once we are in the air we are the rendevous with Warhound, Cerberus, and Jackel Squadrons and proceed to Callen's Hill to reinforce the forces there. We are also going to provide air support for the Iron Legion as they try to stabilize the lines. Today, we begin a battle that none of us wanted to happen. The Rotarian forces have invaded our homeland much as the Tellanians did in the times of our fathers and our father's fathers. Just as our fathers fought the last battle of the last Tellanian War at the fortress on Callen's Hill, so shall we now be the first line of defence at the fortress." At that moment, Dieter spoke up.
"Major, do we have any intel as to what unit is attacking Callen's Hill?"
"Not much. All I gathered from the markers is that a radio report said one of the soldiers had a '19' on his uniform. Ring any bells?" There was a moment and then.
"Yeah, that rings a bell. The only unit I know of with a '19' on their uniforms is the 19th Heavy Combat Corps. These guys are hardcore, gung-ho, and tough as nails. The rumors about the Heavy Combat Corps or HCC is that to be accepted you must undergo a form of training similar to what your Royal Marines call 'Hell Week'. The only thing is that the training is ten times more extreme and that it even includes a full week of nothing but pain tolerance training and torture and interrogation resistance. They do everything from water torture, to breaking and setting bones, even outright beatings, shock torture, and those are the weakest forms of torture and training. Once you pass the training, you are issused a uniform, tattooed with an ID number, issued a grenadier belt, a machinegun or shotgun, and assigned to a platoon." Bertram grimaced and then keyed the mike.
"I suddenly feel concerned for the troops on the ground."
"Indeed. But wait, it gets worse, the HCC is usually supported by a Heavy Armored Support Squad or HASS. The HCC and HASS go together like man and wife and the HASS supporting the 19th is often enough the 123rd. A unit that is one of the Emperor's Own." Ayatane came on with that, curious.
"Emperor's Own? What is that, some sort of title?"
"Yeah. If a unit achieves a certain kill ratio or perform 'heroic' deeds, they are given a medal and a patch that identifies them as the Emperor's Own. The title is similar to the Praetorian Imperial Fusileer's, or Syllia's King's Own." Bertram checked his armaments and nodded.
"Well, we've got rockets. We've got bombs. Let's get out there and see how well the 'Emperor's Own' handles being attacked from above."
"I second that."
"Alright, all units, full power! We're flying for Callen's Hill!"
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(Route 15, Near Callen's Hill, 10 miles from the Front)
George felt the rough suspension of the HT-29 jar him yet again as the formation trundled along the road. As Group Leader, his tank was first and he had seven tanks behind him and every one had a full squad of infantry from the 14th Rifle Corps riding on the back. He had his turret hatch open, as did his loader and they both had their machineguns loaded and armed. Behind him, the squad was singing the chorus from the old marching song 'Unto the Breech' and despite the situation, George found himself humming along to it.
'Unto the breech, aye lads! Unto the breech!
Ready your rifle and prepare for the fight!
For the leaders in charge have called us to the fight!
We march to the breech and prepare for the fight!
The rifles are loaded and the cannons are manned,
Prepare to show the foe the error of their ways!
Make ready for the fight, Yes!
Make ready for the fight!
Unto the breach we go and into the fight!'
"Alright men, enough with the singin'! Are you men of the Rifles' Corps or a bunch of jack tars with the Navy?! We're almost at the line so check your rifles and if any of you have to take a piss, do so now!" George chuckled at the Sergeant who said this and then took on a mockingly anger tone.
"Hold it. If you need to piss, do so, but if one drop lands on this tank I'm gonna castrate the man responsible!"
That got a thankful laugh from the troops. Then George turned around and suddenly saw a sight that made him freeze. Coming towards him was a light armor vehicle with a blue flag with two white stars on it. George turned, all joking gone.
"General vehicle incoming!"
The vehicle slowed down and the general inside was waving his officer's crop, obviously an old horse cavalryman, wildy.
"Captain! What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Orders from Launces Command, sir! We're with the 412 and the 14 RC. We're ready to fight the enemy." The general sighed and pointed behind him.
"Well, you're in luck. The damn front line shattered and you're about to be up to your ass in Rotarian tanks and infantry. I lost my comms officer so I've going back to Launces to request reinforcements."
Before George could say anything the General's aide started the vehicle and zoomed off. George raised his binoculars and gazed in the direction of Callen's Hill and swore.
"Sergeant! Get your men off the tank now!" He then keyed the mike for the tank radio.
"All tanks, get in formation! We have enemy armor incoming along with infantry support. They look like heavies so never mind the pea shooter, lock and load the big gun."
HT-29 tanks had two cannons, a large-bore 75mm cannon housed in the hull and a small caliber 37mm cannon in the turret. The only disadvantage was that the 75 could only fire straight ahead.
(What I wouldn't give for some heavy artillery right about now. Well, wish in one hand, spit in the other, and see which one fills up faster as the old saying goes.)
The other tanks in the group rolled forward, had their troops dismount ad formed a firing line alongside George's tank. He keyed his own radio.
"Ready on the 75. First target, enemy tank dead center, looks like it's got a dent in the turret where the coaxial gun is supposed to be. Range: seven-hundred yards. Load AP rounds!" From inside, he heard his gunner yell that he was ready.
"Fire!"
The tank shook as the 75mm fired. The recoil rocking the tank backwards. Through the binoculars, George could see the shell arc across the field and impact the enemy tank in the gap between the turret and the hull. The round detonated the magazine in the turret causing it to rip free from the hull, sail backwards, and impact the ground.
Six more 75mm cannons fired but their calculations were off. Three went wide and struck the ground to either side of their target, one dealt a glancing blow off the top of the turret that likely set the enemy crew's ears ringing, one impacted the ground in front of a group of infantry, killing some, wounding others, and scaring the crap out of the rest. The last round actually impacted the enemy turret and George watched in amazement as the barrel of the main gun buckled and fell, forcing the tank to stop. He then grabbed the mike again.
"All tanks, reload AP rounds in the main gun, also load HE rounds into the 37. Use the 37 on the ground in front of the enemy infantry and use the 75 on the tanks." He then changed the radio channel to the Syllian forces and began transmitting.
"Attention, any forces in the area, this is Captain George de Launces of the 412 Armored Corps. The front line has been breached and my unit and a group of the 14th Rifle Corps are all that's still holding along Route 15. Any available allied units please reinforce."
...
...
...
Silence.
The tank recoiled again as the 75 and the 37 fired. This time the 75 struck the right tread of a tank, gaining what was known as a 'mobility kill' as the tank tread broke apart and rattled to the ground. The 37 flew onward and George watched as the shell actually took an enemy tank commander's head clean off. By this time, the enemy infantry had gotten over their surprise of the sudden attack and were now charging towards them, guns blazing.
"Man the coaxials! Light 'em up!"
The riflemen fired their rifles, and the machineguns on the tanks strarted firing into the enemy as they charged forward. Those with sense enough to take cover did so by diving behind rocks, embankments along the road, or other obstructions wherever possible. George looked and saw an enemy with what looked like a bazooka behind some rocks and called it out.
"Rotate turret left five degrees, bazooka behind those rocks. Fire a shredder round from the 37!"
Shredder rounds were special cannon rounds that turned the cannon into a large shotgun. They were useful for attacking enemy infantry but were also effective for pinning down the enemy behind cover and preventing them for shooting at the tank or the infantry support. Needless to say when the 37mm cannon fired the shredder round point-blank, the rock, along with the bazooka and the soldier holding it, vanished.
George suddenly heard something in his headset and tapped it. The static was replaced by a sharp ringing noise that made him cringe. A second later, his loader tapped his shoulder, a look of concern on his face.
"Captain? Are you alright?" George nodded although he inwardly cursed himself. Still, he straightened his headset and looked back to the gunner.
"Did you catch that?" The gunner nodded.
"Yes, sir. That was E Company of the 412. We have a group coming as well as the 16th Mechanized Infantry. They're also bringing in a few Gemini tanks as well as three Marmotas." George whistled at that.
Gemini and Marmota tanks were usually deployed in defensive roles because they were so few in number but if they were being redeployed to the frontlines, the Iron Legion meant buisness. George tapped his headset again, sighing inwardly at the ringing still in his ears.
"My headset's on the fritz. Someone try and raise our air support on the radio. We need heavy support and we need it NOW!" The gunner nodded and then changed the tank radio to the frequency used by the airforce.
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"Attention, any Syllian planes inbound on Route 15 to Callen's Hill, this is Group 11, requesting immediate air support. Multiple tanks and infantry inbound on the position. We just met with the General in charge of the defences and he said the Hill has fallen. I repeat, the Hill has fallen."
Bertram cursed as he heard this but then had a worried thought and keyed the radio.
"Group 11, this is Wolf 1, my brother is commanding that group, is he alright?"
"Affermative. He has a short in his radio though so he had me make the transmission. What's your ETA?"
"ETA is five minutes. We've got the engines wide open. Do you have smoke rounds?"
"Wait one...yeah. Yeah we got 'em for the 37."
"Use smoke rounds to mark high priority targets. Tanks or groups of infantry giving you a hard time, threatening to break through, things like that."
"Copy that. We'll hold them off as long as we-"
The transmission was interrupted by a loud BOOM and a blue streak of swear words that would have made a sailor blush. A moment later, the radio was broadcasting again.
"Wolf 1, you best hurry. Bastards have moved their artillery into position and they just rang our bell. Judging from the sound they make when they arc we're dealing with either 105s or 110s."
"Wolf Squadron copies. We are inbound. Cerberus, Warhound, fall in on the left and right, Jackel, take up the rear. Launces Command this is Wolf Squadron, Group 11 just radioed in saying the frontline has collapsed and has moved to Route 15. Requesting support from our standby units."
"Command copies. As per our orders, we are also starting to evacuate civilians."
"How's that going?"
"Not as well as we'd like. I think the scars from the Federal occupation are still present. The whole city is up in arms, we already have seven different militia groups formed, and we're performing spot checks of the sewer systems to check for people wanting to start Resistance movements. Worse are the fools who think they need to burn the city to keep it out of enemy hands. The alarms at the fire departments are ringing nonstop. It's utter chaos down here."
Bertram inwardly sighed. He'd heard the stories from his Father about the occupation. Each and every one a nightmare in and of itself. Given that the people who had been young men and women who survived those terrible days were now fathers and mothers themselves and that their children were now the same age that they were when the occupation happened, it wasn't surprising that there were so many diverse reactions.
"Well, keep the firebugs under control and with a little luck, we can stop the enemy here and start pushing them back."
"We'll try. Okay, recieved confirmation. Gunships and heavy bombers are airborne and headed towards Group 11. Be advised also, receiving word from Schildhaven military forces that they have disobeyed orders from the government and engaged Rotarian forces along the border and have breached the southern border in several areas. They're trying to hold them off but they are sorely lacking armor, weapons, and aircraft. So far they are fighting a withdrawing battle."
Bertram gazed around and then spotted a flash to his left and saw a line of Syllian tanks firing rapidly at the line of Rotarian tanks closing on their positions.
"Attention, all planes, I have visual on the enemy. Safeties off, all planes are cleared to engage all hostiles. Let's give them a warm welcome."
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The first sign that the reinforcements had arrived was when George looked up and saw a barrage of rockets, bombs, and cannon rounds fall from the clouds and crater several enemy tanks and kill multiple Rotarian soldiers. He still couldn't hear properly out of his headset but he did hear the main radio come on with something that gave him hope that they actually could hold the enemy back.
"Attention Group 11. This is the 32nd Fast Attack Company. We've also got the 43rd Mobile Artillery Company with us and they are itching for a fight." George keyed his radio.
"Attention 43rd Artillery, we have enemies in sectors 3A, 3B, 3C, and 4B. Medium and Light tanks supporting heavy infantry. We don't have many people near that side so a little fire from above would be helpful." The acknowledgement wasn't long in coming.
"Group 11, this is the 43rd. Rounds are away, sit back and watch the show."
A loud whistling noise was all the warning George had before the rounds sailed overhead and impacted the spots he had identified to the artilllery corps. Seconds later, he heard engines approaching and he turned to see several Leopold varients coming to assist.
The Leopold was the Syllian military's answer to the Praetorian 'All Terrain Troop Carrier' and Rotiart's Hammerraeg Halftrack Transport. It was a complete track vehicle that was modified for various purposes. The 1L and 1R varients were troop transport and support vehicles. The AT2 was fitted with a cannon and designated a 'tank-killer'. Then there was the ART3, a Leopold fitted with a 105mm howitzer and redesignated 'self-propelled artillery'. Lastly was the M4, the Medevac.
George didn't see any Medevacs with the group, all he saw were the 1Ls and 1Rs and several AT2s. The 32nd had come and they didn't intend to hold back. The Rotarians had started strong but were quickly getting bogged down. George was confident they would be able to hold until an emergency flash came over the radio that, once again, he couldn't hear. He gazed around and saw looks of disbelief among his crew and heard angry shouts from the men around his tank.
"Did anyone catch that? The gunner nodded.
"Command has issued a general retreat order." George looked absolutely thunderstruck and turned red in the face.
"Retreat, hell! We just got here!" The gunner sighed and nodded.
"No choice sir. Word is the Schildhaven forces failed to contain the Rotarians. They are in full retreat and the Rotarians are sweeping upwards to Launces in an attempt to cut us off and surround us. It seems that the enemy wants to knock out Launces before they move anywhere else." George swore and then turned the radio on the speak to both the airforce above and the other tanks with him.
"Attention, all forces. We have been issued a General retreat order. Launces is in danger of being attacked and we are in danger of being surrounded and annihilated. All units, retreat."
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To Be Continued...