Hey, everybody. Finally back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 5- Air Assault
(X+3 days)
As the sun rises over Numenor, in the city of Eldalonde, its citizens are rising for the day. But today is not an easy day, and the inhabitants wake and begin their day with worry.
It's been 3 days since the American invasion of Numenor had begun. By now, news had reached all of Numenor that they were under invasion, and that the invaders appeared to be Men, on a level of advancement even beyond Numenor. Most of Numenor's armies still on the island were pivoting to face the invaders on the north-eastern part of the island. However, that did little to ease the nervousness that permeated the hearts of the citizens of Eldalonde.
As citizens of the city begin to emerge from their homes, they hear a rumbling in the sky above them. Looking up, their hearts fall as they see the sky is full of American aircraft. Eldalonde had been attacked already by American aircraft twice since the invasion began, and the people had begun to realize that the appearance of these strange flying things mean that destruction is imminent.
Above the city, American B-29s, which had taken off from an airbase that had been hastily put together in Valinor, begin dropping their bombs. The bombers, numbering just about a hundred planes, are targeting defenses and major obstacles near the port. Wanting to make sure they didn't cause too many civilian casualties, the B-29s are flying at just 5,000 feet.
In the cockpit of the lead bomber, the bombardier calls up to the pilot, "We're over the target!"
"Bombs away!" the pilot orders, both to the bombardier and over the radio. The bombardier flips the switch to release the bomber's payload. Ten 1,000 pound bombs fall from the bomb bay before the bomber begins a slow turn to head back towards Valinor. In the following minute, more and more bombers begin releasing their payloads before turning away towards Valinor. Within minutes, the bombs begin hitting their targets, blasting through various structures. Some inhabitants of the city begin to scream and cry in fear as the bombs are exploding, but with the city having suffered two bombing raids already since the invasion began.
As the bombs are exploding, several flights of F6F Hellcats from an aircraft carrier not far off the coast from Eldalonde swarm in low over the city, scanning for any signs of Numenorean soldiers or fortifications. Any target of opportunity is either quickly hit by .50 caliber machine gun fire or 5 inch rockets.
It's not long before the Hellcats begin to pull out and head north to search for more targets, while the B-29s have all turned back towards Valinor. However, the people of Eldalonde see there are still more aircraft in the air, above the city, flying at a higher altitude than the B-29s. The planes continue over the city, but soon begin to turn around.
The people of Eldalonde are about to ignore the obviously retreating planes when they notice something. Hundreds, even thousands, of what look like massive white flowers to them falling towards the ground. Most of the civilians move to start taking shelter, believing this to be some new kind of fiery weapon being dropped on them. They couldn't be more wrong.
In the sky above Eldalonde, 7,200 American paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division are descending towards Eldalonde. The planes the Numenoreans had seen at the higher altitude were hundreds of C-47s and C-54s that had been airlifting the paratroopers.
This is the second phase of the American invasion. The first landings on the north-east coast had been intended to draw Numenor's attention in that direction and away from Eldalonde. With Eldalonde being one of the biggest ports on the island, the US wanted it as soon as possible to be able to resupply their forces on the island.
The capture of Eldalonde was to begin with this air drop of men from the 82nd Airborne. The goal was for the men of the 82nd to eliminate most of Eldalonde's defenders, which were believed to be highly depleted right now due to most being sent north-east to resist the northern landings, and to secure the port facilities. Once that was done, a fleet of transports off the coast would come into port to unload the rest of the I and X Corps, which included the rest of the 82nd, the 20th Armored Division, 4 infantry divisions, the 442nd Infantry Regiment, and the 2nd Cavalry Regiment.
As they descend towards the city, many of the paratroopers are feeling very nervous. During the war, they wanted to avoid exactly the kind of drop they are now carrying out, dropping right into the city. Even though they know most of the reasons they avoided this kind of drop in Europe don't apply here, the nervousness is not so easy to shed.
One of the paratroopers, a young 24 year old from Ohio named Fred Clinger, watches as Eldalonde gets bigger and bigger as he slowly drifts down towards the city. He is trying to gather his thoughts and ready himself for battle, but he's feeling very nervous. He had combat experience with drops from his service in the European theater, and is worried about this operation since he and the other men of the 82nd really don't know much about the enemy they'll be facing.
Finally, Clinger forces himself to push all those thoughts out of his mind as he realizes he's getting within a thousand feet of the ground. He readies himself to retrieve his weapon and cut himself loose from his parachute once he reaches the ground. Thankfully, he sees nobody in the immediate vicinity of the spot he's going to land.
All through the city, the citizens of Eldalonde are watching the paratroopers descend. Unable to discern the men, all they are able to make out for most of the descent is the parachutes, and assume it's some new kind of bomb. It's not until the paratroopers are within a thousand feet or so of the ground that the Numenoreans realize that there are men attached to the "large falling flowers". Panic begins to spread through the city, not just because they are under attack by enemy soldiers, but also because their enemy has the ability to drop soldiers in from the sky. This is far beyond the ability they thought any race in Middle-Earth possessed.
Within minutes, the first paratroopers hit the ground. Thankfully, most of the buildings in Eldalonde either have flat roofs or are relatively short, removing the danger of being hung up on the roof of tall buildings. A few Numenorean soldiers are in the streets where the first paratroopers are landing, and so the fighting begins as they rush to engage their enemy as they try to get out of their parachutes, only to be gunned down by some of the paratroopers with quicker reflexes.
Nearer to the docks, Corporal Clinger finally hits the ground, landing gently outside a home untouched by the bombing earlier. He hurries to try and free himself from his parachute. As he is cutting it away, he hears a faint crying. He glances up, and sees family looking through the window of the home at him, the young girl crying while her mother and brother stare at him in fear. He puts a finger over his mouth to suggest they stay quiet about it before he finishes cutting himself loose. He frees his M1 rifle, then looks back at the family and gives an awkward smile to try and seem less scary before he hurries off.
Already, the crack of rifle fire can be heard near the port as the paratroopers are engaging the few defenders left in the city. A few paratroopers head for the home of the main member of the Faithful in Eldalonde that they know of to recruit him and let him know who they are so they can get his help in communicating with the rest of the city.
As this is happening, Clinger heads for the docks. He's part of the group that is assigned to secure the docks so that the transports can begin bringing in the rest of the troops as soon as possible. As he makes his way towards the dock, he sees two Numenoreans armed with bows frantically looking around for the enemy. Clinger raises his rifle and screams at them, "Get on the ground! Drop your bows!" He knows they can't understand him, but figures the screaming and the weapon pointed at them will get the message across.
The two archers see him immediately. One raises his bow and draws it back. Clinger immediately fires three shots from his rifle, hitting him once in the shoulder and once between the eyes, killing him instantly as the second shot hits him. Clinger then aims his rifle at the second archer, but this one realizes he's at a disadvantage. He drops his bow and raises his hands, getting on his knees.
Clinger advances on the man, keeping his rifle aimed at him. Once he reaches the man, he quickly takes out some rope he has on him that was handed out to each paratrooper for just this situation and quickly ties the man's hands. He then puts his rifle on his back and draws his pistol before hauling the man to his feet and pushing him towards the docks.
It doesn't take long for Clinger to reach the nearest area of the docks. He finds about 30 of his buddies from his regiment already there and establishing a defensive perimeter. He sees they've also captured several prisoners.
"Hey, fellas! Got another one!" he calls out as he walks out into view. Two of his buddies wave to him, and another rushes forward to help him with his prisoner. The two push the man over to where the other prisoners are being kept and push him down to his knees, then hurry to join the defensive perimeter being set up.
By this time, the battle is already almost over. Even though it's only been going on for about 15 minutes, most of the defenders are either dead or in custody. Many of the defenders, frightened by the idea of an enemy that can just drop soldiers out of the sky, have surrendered without a fight, knowing they don't stand a chance against the thousands of paratroopers. The few zealots still remaining have retreated to the outer parts of the city and are attempting to fortify the one remaining fort in the city.
Seeing the battle is almost over, one of the few colonels that jumped with the paratroopers moves to set up his radio and is able to contact the ships. Reporting that defenses are down and the defenders all but taken care of, he gives the clearance for the ships to start making port.
First to arrive are the transports carrying the 20th Armored Division. As they reach the docks, their loading ramps lower and the M4 Sherman tanks of the division begin rolling out of the ships and onto the docks. As the tanks begin advancing away from the docks, many Numenoreans cower in fear in their homes, terrified of the large machines.
Within half an hour, dozens of American ships have docked, and men and vehicles of three different divisions are coming ashore. As the logistics of the landing are being coordinated, tanks of the 20th Armored begin advancing through the streets of Eldalonde in the direction of the fort where the few holdouts have holed themselves up. The citizens of Eldalonde are more than happy to stay in their homes as they see the tanks rolling up the streets.
It doesn't take long for two dozen tanks to reach the fort, where about a company's worth of paratroopers have surrounded the fort. There's been no sign of the Numenorean warriors inside, and the paratroopers are not yet willing to risk a direct assault.
As the tanks begin surrounding the fort, several paratroopers arrive with the man of the Faithful they had gone to retrieve. He was a well respected merchant in the town, and even though he was well known as a member of the Faithful, he was still well liked by those who identified with the King's Men due to his generosity and being so fair in his business practices.
The soldiers bring him forward to speak to the men in the fort. Giving him a megaphone so he can be heard, the soldiers step back a bit to let him speak. He raises the megaphone to his mouth and begins to call out to the men, "Brothers! Warriors within this fort! Please, I beg of you, come out and surrender! These men do not want to kill you. They want to help us and restore Numenor to its former glory. Come out. You will be treated well and fair. Do not throw away your lives for nothing!"
This is answered almost immediately by several shouts from the warriors within, followed by a volley of arrows flying out from the fort. One of the soldiers close to him grabs the merchant and pulls him behind a nearby tank for safety. The other soldiers also take cover, and the arrows fall into the dirt or rattle uselessly against the armor of the M4s.
"That's it. Open fire!" the commander of the tank battalion orders, and his tank immediately fires its 75 mm gun. The other tanks of the battalion immediately follow suit, firing their own guns into the fort. A total of 23 75mm shells pound the fort, breaking down its outer walls and destroying the roof. Then, the last tank of the battalion fires its weapon. But this was not a normal tank. Given the 20th had been one of the armored divisions scheduled to take part in Operation Downfall during WWII, it had begun to be equipped with some flamethrower tanks. When it was ordered to Middle-Earth, it brought the flamethrower tanks it still had. Now, one of those tanks fires its flamethrower. A stream of flames flows into the fort through windows and gaps blown out by the other tanks. Men within the fort begin to scream as they are burned alive as the flames spread quickly through the fort. The merchant looks on in horror, stunned at the weapons that the Americans possess.
It doesn't take long for a few stragglers to come out of the fort. Most of them have suffered burns, and are crying out for help. The Americans move quickly to take them into custody, while medics come forward to begin treating those with burns. The Numenoreans are surprised at the Americans being so willing to help them when not long ago they were trying to kill them.
As the fort is destroyed and the few survivors are taken into custody, the commander of the X Corps, Lieutenant General Franklin Sibert, finally comes ashore. He is quickly greeted by men from the 82nd still positioned at the docks. As he looks over the city, he smiles. The Americans have taken Eldalonde with no dead and only a few wounded, and with only about 80 casualties among the Numenoreans. He knows it will almost certainly be the most bloodless victory in this war, but he'll still take the time to enjoy the fact it came with so little violence.
And, I'll end the chapter there. Hope this was a good one.
Alright. So, the territory lines haven't really changed much since the last one. The northern forces pretty much hold the same territory, but now the US also holds Eldalonde. Next chapter will show them starting to advance across Numenor.
Also, please stop leave reviews on my other stories to ask me to update this one. I will update this one when I feel like it and when I have the inspiration to write, so just be patient.
Alright. Next chapter will be up in a little while. Until it's up, please leave a review, and stay tuned!
