ADVENT: History

Operation Sherman

"We should have probably seen this coming."

- Zar'Chon'ravarian'vitiary

One element of the now-famous Operation Sherman was the usage of the "Battle Trains", and indeed was perhaps the one addition that allowed ADVENT to acquire such a major initial advantage in the early days of Operation Sherman. The trains allowed ADVENT to exploit a previously ignored weakness the aliens had not bothered to correct: the train tracks.

The rail system in America is far larger and interconnected than most people realize, and we can only speculate on why such a major means of transportation was ignored by the aliens, but perhaps the simplest is that they simply consider such a means of transportation archaic, and something ADVENT would never bother to use.

They have unequivocally paid for that mistake.

There had been reports of ADVENT renovating a good number of trains on the East Coast of America and Mexico, but at the time no one really knew what ADVENT was planning, and since it wasn't near alien territory, drawing the connection between the trains and an impending operation were tenuous at best.

When the trains made their debut, there were two major types. The first were what I can guess were closest to suicide trains. They were outfitted with high-yield bombs (MOABs, to be specific), but those were sent to small towns that did not have much, if any, strategic value to ADVENT.

The aliens stationed there had no warning before the trains arrived and promptly exploded, leveling the city completely and leaving scorched wastelands that ADVENT now controls. By the time the aliens knew what was happening, the trains had already arrived and blown much of their supporting bases to pieces. The coordination is a feat worthy of recognition, as the attack was nearly in perfect synchrony, with all attacks taking place simultaneously.

The main attacks had the true Battle Trains, which were primarily used for carrying legions of soldiers, vehicles, and equipment. These were trains that had been armored and prepared for war, all of them had additional turret defenses, and were long and large enough to not only carry the soldiers, but also sustain them for a reasonable period of conflict.

What may surprise some people is that this is, in fact, not the first time the Battle Train has been used. In World War I such trains were used for much the same purpose; armored and covered in guns and artillery, as well as used for transporting soldiers and equipment. It was a crude usage of such a technique though, and very few were actually utilized, and they were not generally used in subsequent wars.

The takeaway from this is that ADVENT is quite clearly taking inspiration from our vast history of conflict, and updated ancient tactics for modern times. The aliens do not appear to have made this connection, and given how vast our history of warfare is, there is much Humanity could draw from to use against the aliens that they would be hard-pressed to predict.

- David Harvard, in an article titled "Aftermath of Sherman and Lessons Learned"

ADVENT Military After-Action Report 1776

Operation: Sherman

Author: Commander Laura Christiaens

Recipients: Chancellor Saudia Vyandar, Chief of Lancer Operations Helion Weekes, Chief of ADVENT Engineering and Development Feng Mercado, Chief Diplomat Firdaus Hassan, Director of ADVENT Intelligence Elizabeth Falka, XCOM Central Officer Ariel Jackson

Overall we can likely place this operation in the success category, as we did succeed in the majority of our objectives and were only forced to fall back at the attacks of Ethereals and orbital bombardment. I can safely say that had we delayed this operation even weeks, it would likely have not been as successful, even with the limited time we had to put this together.

While there were certainly loses, such as that of the late President Treduant, she was an instrumental figure in this operation and one we owe the survival of DC to. Her death has also served as a rallying point for America, and a punctuation in the knowledge that there is nowhere truly safe on Earth.

ADVENT HAS RECLAIMED A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TERRITORY: Despite not being able to achieve the primary goal of Sherman, which was to reclaim the entirety of America from alien control, we have pushed the aliens back to the western half of California, and have almost fully reclaimed Oregon and Washington, with Nevada completely secure.

ADVENT is already beginning to fortify towns and cities that we have captured, and immediately erecting defenses in the event of an unpredicted attack. With proper psionic support, I believe that this can be done. Portland continues to hold, and the ever-improving defenses will likely ensure that the city will not be taken in the near-future.

ALASKA AND WESTERN CANADA ARE UNDER ATTACK: For territory we have gained, in other areas we have certainly lost. Alaska is rapidly falling under the attack of the Second Guardian, and it is looking like the Collective is continuing to advance and take over our lesser defenses. They appear to have a more coordinated plan, and the terrain is not suitable for mass moving of soldiers in a timely manner.

As a result, I am implementing Operation: Long Dark, effective immediately, under the command of Marshal Neil Harrison. His goal will be to wage a smaller-scale guerilla war on Collective positions, similar to the operations that are taking place in Seattle at this moment.

INCREASED DEPLOYMENT OF BATTLE TRAINS: The Battle Trains have proven to be useful in rapid unpredictable strikes, and I have approved their use for ADVENT operations across the world. Korea has an extensive rail network, and the more Europe is brought into the fold, Battle Trains will be an excellent fit for their extensive rail networks.

There are ways we can improve the trains, of course, and I have been assured ADVENT Engineering is already determining ways to build on this innovative concept. Results should be available within weeks.

MORE ETHEREALS ARE ACTIVE: If nothing else, we can assume that we are having an impact due to the increased number of Ethereals that are being used against us. Discounting the Overmind providing telepathic support to the Collective, the usage of the First and Second Guardians are new and dangerous threats we now must face.

The Guardians appear to be just as, if not more powerful than the Battlemaster himself, with high skill in telepathy and weapons that can cut through soldiers with unnatural ease. One Battlemaster-level threat is bad, and with two more, the situation might threaten to get out of hand. However, the good news is that if there are enough psions, they might be able to be held off. One concern is that the Guardians even then were holding back, and could quite possibly be more dangerous than they have shown so far.

However, I want to draw attention to an Ethereal that made a brief appearance, but a literally terrifying one nonetheless: Isomnum.

If not for the Battlemaster's own interesting code, the situation in DC could have been significantly worse. This Ethereal held nothing back, and has put thousands in mental wards, and appears to be unsettling enough that even the Warlock was reduced to a stuttering wreck. From the dossier XCOM has provided, this is a threat far more serious than the Battlemaster is now, because he appears to be one not to hold back.

Now that Aegis is in play, I fear what he will do in retaliation.

PRIORITIZE DEFENSE AGAINST ORBITAL BOMBARDMENT: In the end, we were not forced to retreat by Ethereals, but by orbital bombardment. While this has always been a harsh reality when fighting the spacefaring Collective, it has not become a relevant one until now. We have reached the stage of the war where this is likely to be a frequently used tactic moving forward.

There needs to be an immediate prioritization of defenses against orbital bombardment. Psionics might be possible, but we need a technological and practical solution to this; alternatively, we need to build a space fleet of our own or otherwise find a way to remove any kind of orbital craft, be it through turret emplacements or missile launches.

We cannot rely on nuclear weapons to solve every problem.

HAWAII IS UNDER OUR CONTROL: One piece of news, and in a related operation, was our ability to fully reclaim Hawaii for ourselves. It appears that at the moment, the Collective does not have any desire to reclaim the islands. There are certainly some advantages to holding these territories, and it gives us a direct line to the West Coast should we wish to launch additional attacks in the future.

In the meantime, fully reinforcing and renovating the bases there and fortifying the islands against future attacks will give us some much-needed territory in the ocean. It is possible the Collective will attempt to take this land again in the future, but this time we should be more prepared than we were the first time.

To the Battlemaster, Quisilia, and Sana'Ligna

The attack which has been publicly called Operation: Sherman, has laid forth many of the flaws of the current Collective military and exposed our inadequate strategy. Our response, while partially successful, was not nearly as such in causing equivalent damage. ADVENT surprised us – and in this scenario – beat us. We must accept that fact and move forward. If we, at every turn, only emerge victorious through an Ethereal or orbital bombardment, then it does not speak highly of our ability to work without them.

1. Lack of Intelligence Capabilities: I will be perfectly honest – We have very little idea of what ADVENT or XCOM is actually doing.

This, if you cannot guess, is a problem.

Lack of intel led to not anticipating the initial strike in Operation Sherman. Lack of intel led to the surprise alliance between ADVENT and China. Lack of intel has led to us not knowing what ADVENT is planning after this. We can monitor the Internet all we wish, but we do not have the technical skills or knowledge to effectively breach ADVENT or XCOM systems.

While we have certainly been hindered by the policies of ADVENT and XCOM which curb infiltration, it should not have forced our stagnation to this degree. We have also been highly negligent in not focusing on the rest of the world and only focusing on ADVENT. Europe, Africa, and China are still relatively untapped sources of intelligence in comparison to ADVENT, and I have already authorized operations in those countries.

In the same vein, the Zararch has been intentionally held back in more aggressive utilizations of our skills. Our assassins and spies have been passive for too long, and we have foregone many opportunities to cause severe damage to ADVENT. With psions now operating, such actions are going to be much more difficult to perform.

If necessary, I will reform the Zararch to fix these issues, but we cannot be bound in our actions like we have been.

2. Inability to Defend Against Psionics: This is a persistent problem that was highlighted some time ago, and has only grown thanks to the PRIEST Division of ADVENT. Ignoring this further is no longer questionable – it is outright dangerous. Our answers to psionics are inadequate at best and nonexistent at worst.

Yes, we have Ethereals. Your kind are powerful. However, ADVENT has more than you. They can be in more places than you. And most importantly – our soldiers are not psions.

The Overmind, for all his power, was undermined by at least two psions – hardly something to be highly praised. The fact is also that the Sectoid Vanguards are useless against even a moderately powerful/skilled psion, and to pretend otherwise is laughable. They are not even close to an answer for Priests.

If we must chip and condition all our soldiers to prevent someone like Trask from killing all of them with her mind, then that is something that should be seriously considered. It is hard enough fighting ADVENT and XCOM on their own, but psionics turns a potential fight into a slaughter, and that is not acceptable.

Spectres and Replicas are good steps forward, but more needs to be done.

3. Inability to Successfully Adapt: ADVENT, and Humanity as a whole, has continuously grown, developed, and advanced. They have grown more skilled and adapted to our tactics, soldiers, and abilities.

Ask yourself what we have done?

Not enough, that is abundantly clear.

The Collective is stagnant, and against a more numerous enemy I suspect we would be in a far worse place than we are right now. Fortunately, there is a chance to change this situation over time. The problem is that we are being continuously surprised by Humans because we have not made a good enough effort to understand how they think; what they would do; and also importantly, how we can improve.

We have fallen into the trap of assuming since we have arrived with such a major advantage, that we cannot be bothered to improve ourselves. The idea that a group of aliens stuck on their own homeworld could effectively fight us is an understandable blow to our pride.

But that is just too bad. ADVENT is outpacing us, and it is no longer excusable that we do not respond in kind. Our soldiers are not intelligent or too untrained to be effective; our vehicles are ineffective at best, and our tactics are completely reactive to ADVENT's own, or are so basic even a Muton soldier could design them.

We have the capability to utterly outmatch the Humans. I suggest we begin to exercise it now.

4. Failure to Leverage Collective Resources Effectively: This ties into the above point – We have billions of resources, hundreds of planets, both colonies and mining planets, and a diverse collection of species. Ethereal ally or no, the Humans should not be able to match us in any capacity.

We are treating the Humans with a baffling delicacy, which has proven to be the wrong approach if that is not abundantly clear. And yet, it isn't quite a question of numbers, but the fact that, quite honestly, our own soldiers are inferior to Humans in terms of skill, experience, and intellect.

This is something that must be rectified. Numbers are not a reliable means of ensuring victory. It is the quality that is important. We have an army of Mutons that numbers in the billions, and at this point I would consider it to be the largest waste of resources I have ever seen. The entire program should be revisited and revamped if you actually wish to use them.

To be clear: Cheap, disposable soldiers do not work.

And considering we are in a war, there is zero reason that Fectorian's more experimental projects be denied. For that matter, the Ethereals need to stop running dozens of small projects and actually assist in Collective work. I imagine the quality would improve significantly.

5. Failure of Mexico Operation: I include this to punctuate how utterly ineffective the Collective is right now. As it turns out, having an infantry-focused army is not useful against an entrenched enemy that has a fondness for artillery, mines, and vehicles. It results in the needless deaths of soldiers because they cannot figure out a better idea than to either charge forward or try and establish cover in an open area – where they get shot at constantly.

I will admit that this was an unplanned operation, but ADVENT was and has been preparing for attacks. They know our weaknesses, and they know we are ill-equipped for any kind of trench warfare (This I cover more in the Korea report), and it is probably why they felt confident enough to risk launching Sherman In the first place.

Needless to say that the operation largely failed to accomplish anything major. It just served as a field test for ADVENT defenses.

While I am pleased that the Ethereals are finally taking steps to correct this, there is much work to be done.

- Zar'Chon'ravarian'vitiary