08-11-2018, 05:30 PM
Coalition Forward HQ, Annatown Task Force
2 miles from Annatown International Airport
0500 Hours, August 11th
"Sir, forward forces report that the enemy rear guard is continuing to retreat," a Libertan officer said. "Our forward elements are ready to engage Gonhogian forces and cut them off before they reach Annatown." His statement was rapidly translated into the various languages of the Coalition forces present, and the assembled commanders nodded in understanding. The Coalition task force of roughly 11,000 Coalition soldiers had been deployed to besiege Gonhogian forces in Annatown. Over the past two days, they'd been advancing rapidly northward, sweeping enemy opposition away before them.
"We need to cut them off before they can escape into the city's defenses," Slokaisian General John Acura, Jr, said. "We won't be able to get at them then."
"The general is correct," a Skodenian major said. "Our reconnaissance elements tell us that the Gonhogians are dug in like a- I mean, dug in very well. Trenches, emplacements, the works."
"We'll order our forward units to attack," General Acura said. "Is that acceptable?" The ranking Libertan officer and the Skodenian commander nodded their assent.
1 mile from Annatown Airport
"We have orders to attack!" Corporal Arnold Baker Jr said. His arm was still in a sling, but he'd requested to be posted along with his men. They were part of the left pincer that had extended to surround the Gonhogian rear guard, currently perched near the crest of a large hill. The area here was actually a national park- strange, wasn't it, for there to be a national park so close to a major city- and so they'd easily crept through the cover of the underbrush to surround the beleaguered Gonhogian force. Tired, hungry, sleep-deprived, wounded...Arnold Baker had been there himself. He didn't envy them. All around him, his men readied their rifles.
A shot. Then more, as Baker could see in the distance the Gonhogians yelling and firing at the advancing Coalition soldiers. "Let's go!" Arnold yelled, and his forces started charging and firing at the Gonhogians.
0.5 miles from Annatown International Airport
0640 Hours
Sergeant Ramiro Villaverde, from the Slokais Islands, walked among the corpses on the downward slope of the hill outside Annatown. They were Gonhogians, and he noted that some of them had been shot in the back while trying to flee. He grunted dismissively. Any enemy who would rather flee than fight was no soldier at all, in his opinion.
"Sarge!" one of the younger soldiers in his squad called to him from the hilltop. "The Gonhogians have fled! The rest of 'em are inside the city!"
"I'd probably be p***ing my pants right now if I were them, eh sarge?" One of the other soldiers said. There were a few chuckles. "Won't be much longer before they're all dead and we can go back home, am I right?"
"Shut up," Villaverde said urgently. "Shut up." Everyone fell silent. They knew better than to disobey an order.
Villaverde had heard something off to his right. Something familiar. He took out his binoculars and scanned the underbrush off to the east. There. "Tank!" he yelled. "Take cover!"
About fifty yards away, a Gonhogian tank burst through the woods and into the open, turret swiveling to face Villaverde's squad. Behind it was a wave of rushing Gonhogian soldiers, yelling indistinctly as they began to spray fire towards Villaverde's men. True to their training, his men ducked for cover and returned fire, their shots cutting down the advancing Gonhogian troops.
"Radio Command!" Villaverde yelled. "We need reinforcements, tanks, bloody air support!" After he said it, he realized that there would be no air support forthcoming, but he was too focused on firing madly at the advancing Gonhogians to correct his statement. The tank's turret fired with a rush of flame, and the ground itself seemed to lift up Villaverde, punching him over and over again with the dirt raining down. He saw a bloody thing to his right, and he realized it was an arm.
"Nothing's coming!" the radio operator yelled. "We're under attack all along the line!" A moment later, a bloody hole appeared in his chest, and he fell backward, screaming. The Gonhogians were getting closer and closer, far too many of them to fight.
"Fall back!" Villaverde yelled. "Fall back!" His men broke and ran, Gonhogian fire killing some of them as they fled. Villaverde stayed, spraying fire at the Gonhogians, before a shot hit him in the arm. He stared down at it, noting the blood beginning to trickle out of it, when the next shot hit him in the chest. He fell backwards and had time to think about how strange it felt before everything went dark.
2 miles from Annatown International Airport
0500 Hours, August 11th
"Sir, forward forces report that the enemy rear guard is continuing to retreat," a Libertan officer said. "Our forward elements are ready to engage Gonhogian forces and cut them off before they reach Annatown." His statement was rapidly translated into the various languages of the Coalition forces present, and the assembled commanders nodded in understanding. The Coalition task force of roughly 11,000 Coalition soldiers had been deployed to besiege Gonhogian forces in Annatown. Over the past two days, they'd been advancing rapidly northward, sweeping enemy opposition away before them.
"We need to cut them off before they can escape into the city's defenses," Slokaisian General John Acura, Jr, said. "We won't be able to get at them then."
"The general is correct," a Skodenian major said. "Our reconnaissance elements tell us that the Gonhogians are dug in like a- I mean, dug in very well. Trenches, emplacements, the works."
"We'll order our forward units to attack," General Acura said. "Is that acceptable?" The ranking Libertan officer and the Skodenian commander nodded their assent.
1 mile from Annatown Airport
"We have orders to attack!" Corporal Arnold Baker Jr said. His arm was still in a sling, but he'd requested to be posted along with his men. They were part of the left pincer that had extended to surround the Gonhogian rear guard, currently perched near the crest of a large hill. The area here was actually a national park- strange, wasn't it, for there to be a national park so close to a major city- and so they'd easily crept through the cover of the underbrush to surround the beleaguered Gonhogian force. Tired, hungry, sleep-deprived, wounded...Arnold Baker had been there himself. He didn't envy them. All around him, his men readied their rifles.
A shot. Then more, as Baker could see in the distance the Gonhogians yelling and firing at the advancing Coalition soldiers. "Let's go!" Arnold yelled, and his forces started charging and firing at the Gonhogians.
0.5 miles from Annatown International Airport
0640 Hours
Sergeant Ramiro Villaverde, from the Slokais Islands, walked among the corpses on the downward slope of the hill outside Annatown. They were Gonhogians, and he noted that some of them had been shot in the back while trying to flee. He grunted dismissively. Any enemy who would rather flee than fight was no soldier at all, in his opinion.
"Sarge!" one of the younger soldiers in his squad called to him from the hilltop. "The Gonhogians have fled! The rest of 'em are inside the city!"
"I'd probably be p***ing my pants right now if I were them, eh sarge?" One of the other soldiers said. There were a few chuckles. "Won't be much longer before they're all dead and we can go back home, am I right?"
"Shut up," Villaverde said urgently. "Shut up." Everyone fell silent. They knew better than to disobey an order.
Villaverde had heard something off to his right. Something familiar. He took out his binoculars and scanned the underbrush off to the east. There. "Tank!" he yelled. "Take cover!"
About fifty yards away, a Gonhogian tank burst through the woods and into the open, turret swiveling to face Villaverde's squad. Behind it was a wave of rushing Gonhogian soldiers, yelling indistinctly as they began to spray fire towards Villaverde's men. True to their training, his men ducked for cover and returned fire, their shots cutting down the advancing Gonhogian troops.
"Radio Command!" Villaverde yelled. "We need reinforcements, tanks, bloody air support!" After he said it, he realized that there would be no air support forthcoming, but he was too focused on firing madly at the advancing Gonhogians to correct his statement. The tank's turret fired with a rush of flame, and the ground itself seemed to lift up Villaverde, punching him over and over again with the dirt raining down. He saw a bloody thing to his right, and he realized it was an arm.
"Nothing's coming!" the radio operator yelled. "We're under attack all along the line!" A moment later, a bloody hole appeared in his chest, and he fell backward, screaming. The Gonhogians were getting closer and closer, far too many of them to fight.
"Fall back!" Villaverde yelled. "Fall back!" His men broke and ran, Gonhogian fire killing some of them as they fled. Villaverde stayed, spraying fire at the Gonhogians, before a shot hit him in the arm. He stared down at it, noting the blood beginning to trickle out of it, when the next shot hit him in the chest. He fell backwards and had time to think about how strange it felt before everything went dark.