02-28-2020, 08:26 AM
Battle of Werrina
While the forces of their Coalition partners focused on M.L.F. operations around the city, the Xiomeran forces aiding in the assault decided to take the matter head-on, and aim right at the center of the city.
The Xiomeran forces that launched the assault were a mix of the prepared and the optimistic. The 1st Expeditionary Brigade, made up of a combined force of Jaguar and Eagle Warriors, were the spearhead. Xiomeran special forces were the most experienced and battle-hardened, by far, of the Imperial military. Their experience may have been gained by keeping a boot firmly on the necks of anyone in Xiomera thinking of trying to overthrow the Imperial regime, but counter-insurgency experience was experience no matter how it was gained.
The Jaguar and Eagle Warriors had a reputation of being among the best soldiers anywhere in the IDU, and the M.L.F. would soon discover that this wasn't just a legend. As the 1st Expeditionary Brigade moved into the center of the city, they overwhelmed enemy positions through a combination of skill, technology, and sheer force of will. Through a coordinated assault with drones, artillery, armor and mechanized infantry, the 1st quickly blasted apart enemy positions with relatively minimal casualties. The M.L.F. forces soon learned to recognize the Xiomeran elite soldiers - and to run for their lives, or surrender quickly, when they saw them coming. While doing their utmost to avoid civilian casualties, and accepting surrenders as required under international law, the Jaguar and Eagle Warriors mowed down any M.L.F. fighters who continued to resist their implacable advance with the efficiency of a well-oiled machine - and with a machine's lack of compassion for the terrorists foolish enough to try to stand against them.
The other Xiomeran forces taking part in the assault, on the flanks of the Fighting First, were not quite as overwhelming, at least initially. The 17th Imperial Army Brigade and the newly-created International Legion had been tapped to support the 1st EB in its operation. The Imperial Army was as well-trained and equipped as any peacetime army could be, to the typically exacting Xiomeran standards demanding perfection and punishing failure. But a peacetime army, that hasn't seen combat in decades, is much like an untested blade. The fight in Werrina would decide whether the 17th Brigade would remain whole for the long fight to come, or would shatter.
The International Legion was an even more untested quality. Composed of a collection of soldiers from around the IDU who had sworn to serve the Empire in exchange for Xiomeran citizenship and the high pay and benefits that Xiomeran soldiers were accustomed to, the Legion had no tradition to fall back on, and no experience to draw from. What it did have was training, and leadership, from the same Jaguar and Eagle Warriors who were taking the fight to the terrorists in the center of the Xiomeran assault.
As the Xiomerans advanced towards the center of Werrina, the 17th and the International Legion would take much harder hits - and far higher casualties - than the 1st, mainly from lack of experience. But Xiomerans are quick learners, and at the end of the day, the 17th and the Legion would not let the Four Star Flag, or the Empire it represented, down. They absorbed the best hits the M.L.F. could dish out, and then began to rebound and deliver punishing blows of their own. The Xiomerans advanced, like a slow but unstoppable wave, into the center of Werrina.
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Compound near Godenia
While the main operation was taking place in Werrina, the Xiomerans would allow that to distract the M.L.F. from their plans in another location: the compound they had discovered in the raid to eliminate Dire Sulsi.
Intelligence had indicated that the Xiomerans could expect a much tougher fight than the one during the Sulsi raid. The compound being used by the M.L.F. to stockpile explosives and make bombs was much larger than Sulsi's compound. It was also much better defended. The Xiomerans were expecting up to 50 armed M.L.F. terrorists defending the site, along with two anti-air defense systems capable of launching up to eight surface-to-air missiles. There were also believed to be up to 40 workers at the compound who were not armed combatants; the Xiomerans would need to take them into account and try to avoid casualties.
This had led to no small debate at the Xiomeran headquarters at FOB Moyolehuani. Some of the Xiomeran commanders had argued that they should just go into the compound and eliminate everyone, armed or not. Someone making bombs for terrorists to kill innocent people was as bad as a terrorist with a gun, they reasoned. Both were responsible for killing innocent people; some of the Xiomeran commanders even referred to the bomb-makers as "so-called noncombatants".
Brigadier General Tlanexchel had put a stop to such discussions with a blunt reminder: the Xiomerans were acting as part of an international coalition, and were bound by international law. If someone wasn't actively shooting at you, you couldn't just put a hole in their head. Admiral Techilō, who was in charge of the Xiomeran operation in Vulkaria as a whole, had backed the General up with her own blunt statement: any Xiomeran soldier who violated international law, or rules of combat, during the Vulkaria operation would be court-martialed and imprisoned - or executed, if their crime was severe enough.
With that warning from the Admiral fresh in their minds, the 150 soldiers of Xicu Company of the 1st EB mobilized and prepared for action. The battle plan was simple in strategy, but challenging in execution. Two squads of 15 men apiece would be assigned the critical task of eliminating the anti-air defenses of the compound without being detected, so that Zamastanian air support could be engaged as the attack commenced. After that was done, the remaining 120 Jaguar and Eagle Warriors of the company would move in, with air support as cover, to enter the base. Their orders were to capture any combatants who surrendered, eliminate any who resisted, secure the non-combatant workers with minimal casualties, and destroy the stockpile of explosives and any bombs on site.
As the fighting in Werrina raged, the Xiomerans advanced towards the site near Godenia. Stopping just before a rise near the compound, remaining hidden from view, the commander of the company, Captain Lelhuit, ordered the two squads assigned to take out the air defenses to move in. Stealthy drones provided critical visual surveillance as the squads advanced on foot, using the landscape to remain hidden until they were within striking range of the anti-air sites. When the Captain gave the code word to attack, the two squads moved in. At the first anti-air site, the surprise was total, and the Xiomerans silently dispatched the M.L.F. fighters with their daggers as soon as the enemy raised their rifles. At the second anti-air site, the surprise was not as total. A M.L.F. fighter saw the Xiomerans advancing at the last moment, raising his rifle and firing in an undisciplined manner at the Jaguar Warriors. One of them was hit in the stomach, but shrugged off the wound, taking a black dagger out of his belt and downing the M.L.F. fighter with a well-placed throw aimed at the man's throat. As the terrorist fell, silenced, the other Xiomerans made short work of the other M.L.F. fighters; with surprise no longer needed, they switched from daggers to their XM-11D Tlihuatl assault rifles with effortless ease.
"Sites secured, sir. You can begin the advance," the squad leader radioed back to Captain Lelhuit. The Captain smiled, his face turning quite menacing. This was what the Jaguar Warriors lived for.
The Atlpan infantry fighting vehicles that had been waiting just below the rise began moving forward, quickly closing the ground to the compound. The standard Xiomeran personnel carrier, the Atlpan could be armed with a variety of weapons: heavy machine guns, autocannons, chain guns, automatic grenade launchers, or guided missiles. The APCs of Xicu Company had a mix of all of those, and began utilizing them to great effect as they blasted through the gates of the compound and stormed inside. Under the covering fire of the IFVs, the Jaguar Warriors began exiting their transports and advancing through the compound. M.L.F. terrorists began opening fire as they advanced, and were eliminated almost as quickly as they rose, in a gruesome game of whack-a-mole. Overhead, Zamastanian air support soon arrived, landing timely missile strikes with precision on troublesome targets, guided by Xiomeran spotters on the ground.
While the M.L.F. terrorists would put up a surprisingly tough fight, in the end, it was a futile effort on their part. In the final count, 42 of the 50 M.L.F. fighters were eliminated, with eight choosing to surrender to the Xiomerans. 38 of the 40 non-combatant workers were also captured, with two falling victim to unintentional fire. One Jaguar Warrior - the one who was shot at the anti-air site during the initial attack - fell in combat, with five of his comrades wounded, two seriously enough to require evacuation back to FOB Moyolehuani and the field hospital there. Overall, the Xiomerans felt they had done well.
As the captured terrorists and workers were placed onto trucks to be hauled back to the Xiomeran camp for detention, Captain Lelhuit decided to make one last grand gesture. Xiomeran demolitions specialists, after making sure no one was left in the compound, and no one nearby could be harmed, took all the explosives and bombs in the compound and set them up to blow.
As the Xiomerans and their prisoners watched from a safe distance, the compound went up in a series of rumbling explosions, smoke and fire leveling the terrorist site. If the M.L.F. hadn't yet realized the Xiomerans had arrived to take them on, the earth-shaking destruction of their main bomb-making compound would ensure they got the message.
While the forces of their Coalition partners focused on M.L.F. operations around the city, the Xiomeran forces aiding in the assault decided to take the matter head-on, and aim right at the center of the city.
The Xiomeran forces that launched the assault were a mix of the prepared and the optimistic. The 1st Expeditionary Brigade, made up of a combined force of Jaguar and Eagle Warriors, were the spearhead. Xiomeran special forces were the most experienced and battle-hardened, by far, of the Imperial military. Their experience may have been gained by keeping a boot firmly on the necks of anyone in Xiomera thinking of trying to overthrow the Imperial regime, but counter-insurgency experience was experience no matter how it was gained.
The Jaguar and Eagle Warriors had a reputation of being among the best soldiers anywhere in the IDU, and the M.L.F. would soon discover that this wasn't just a legend. As the 1st Expeditionary Brigade moved into the center of the city, they overwhelmed enemy positions through a combination of skill, technology, and sheer force of will. Through a coordinated assault with drones, artillery, armor and mechanized infantry, the 1st quickly blasted apart enemy positions with relatively minimal casualties. The M.L.F. forces soon learned to recognize the Xiomeran elite soldiers - and to run for their lives, or surrender quickly, when they saw them coming. While doing their utmost to avoid civilian casualties, and accepting surrenders as required under international law, the Jaguar and Eagle Warriors mowed down any M.L.F. fighters who continued to resist their implacable advance with the efficiency of a well-oiled machine - and with a machine's lack of compassion for the terrorists foolish enough to try to stand against them.
The other Xiomeran forces taking part in the assault, on the flanks of the Fighting First, were not quite as overwhelming, at least initially. The 17th Imperial Army Brigade and the newly-created International Legion had been tapped to support the 1st EB in its operation. The Imperial Army was as well-trained and equipped as any peacetime army could be, to the typically exacting Xiomeran standards demanding perfection and punishing failure. But a peacetime army, that hasn't seen combat in decades, is much like an untested blade. The fight in Werrina would decide whether the 17th Brigade would remain whole for the long fight to come, or would shatter.
The International Legion was an even more untested quality. Composed of a collection of soldiers from around the IDU who had sworn to serve the Empire in exchange for Xiomeran citizenship and the high pay and benefits that Xiomeran soldiers were accustomed to, the Legion had no tradition to fall back on, and no experience to draw from. What it did have was training, and leadership, from the same Jaguar and Eagle Warriors who were taking the fight to the terrorists in the center of the Xiomeran assault.
As the Xiomerans advanced towards the center of Werrina, the 17th and the International Legion would take much harder hits - and far higher casualties - than the 1st, mainly from lack of experience. But Xiomerans are quick learners, and at the end of the day, the 17th and the Legion would not let the Four Star Flag, or the Empire it represented, down. They absorbed the best hits the M.L.F. could dish out, and then began to rebound and deliver punishing blows of their own. The Xiomerans advanced, like a slow but unstoppable wave, into the center of Werrina.
---
Compound near Godenia
While the main operation was taking place in Werrina, the Xiomerans would allow that to distract the M.L.F. from their plans in another location: the compound they had discovered in the raid to eliminate Dire Sulsi.
Intelligence had indicated that the Xiomerans could expect a much tougher fight than the one during the Sulsi raid. The compound being used by the M.L.F. to stockpile explosives and make bombs was much larger than Sulsi's compound. It was also much better defended. The Xiomerans were expecting up to 50 armed M.L.F. terrorists defending the site, along with two anti-air defense systems capable of launching up to eight surface-to-air missiles. There were also believed to be up to 40 workers at the compound who were not armed combatants; the Xiomerans would need to take them into account and try to avoid casualties.
This had led to no small debate at the Xiomeran headquarters at FOB Moyolehuani. Some of the Xiomeran commanders had argued that they should just go into the compound and eliminate everyone, armed or not. Someone making bombs for terrorists to kill innocent people was as bad as a terrorist with a gun, they reasoned. Both were responsible for killing innocent people; some of the Xiomeran commanders even referred to the bomb-makers as "so-called noncombatants".
Brigadier General Tlanexchel had put a stop to such discussions with a blunt reminder: the Xiomerans were acting as part of an international coalition, and were bound by international law. If someone wasn't actively shooting at you, you couldn't just put a hole in their head. Admiral Techilō, who was in charge of the Xiomeran operation in Vulkaria as a whole, had backed the General up with her own blunt statement: any Xiomeran soldier who violated international law, or rules of combat, during the Vulkaria operation would be court-martialed and imprisoned - or executed, if their crime was severe enough.
With that warning from the Admiral fresh in their minds, the 150 soldiers of Xicu Company of the 1st EB mobilized and prepared for action. The battle plan was simple in strategy, but challenging in execution. Two squads of 15 men apiece would be assigned the critical task of eliminating the anti-air defenses of the compound without being detected, so that Zamastanian air support could be engaged as the attack commenced. After that was done, the remaining 120 Jaguar and Eagle Warriors of the company would move in, with air support as cover, to enter the base. Their orders were to capture any combatants who surrendered, eliminate any who resisted, secure the non-combatant workers with minimal casualties, and destroy the stockpile of explosives and any bombs on site.
As the fighting in Werrina raged, the Xiomerans advanced towards the site near Godenia. Stopping just before a rise near the compound, remaining hidden from view, the commander of the company, Captain Lelhuit, ordered the two squads assigned to take out the air defenses to move in. Stealthy drones provided critical visual surveillance as the squads advanced on foot, using the landscape to remain hidden until they were within striking range of the anti-air sites. When the Captain gave the code word to attack, the two squads moved in. At the first anti-air site, the surprise was total, and the Xiomerans silently dispatched the M.L.F. fighters with their daggers as soon as the enemy raised their rifles. At the second anti-air site, the surprise was not as total. A M.L.F. fighter saw the Xiomerans advancing at the last moment, raising his rifle and firing in an undisciplined manner at the Jaguar Warriors. One of them was hit in the stomach, but shrugged off the wound, taking a black dagger out of his belt and downing the M.L.F. fighter with a well-placed throw aimed at the man's throat. As the terrorist fell, silenced, the other Xiomerans made short work of the other M.L.F. fighters; with surprise no longer needed, they switched from daggers to their XM-11D Tlihuatl assault rifles with effortless ease.
"Sites secured, sir. You can begin the advance," the squad leader radioed back to Captain Lelhuit. The Captain smiled, his face turning quite menacing. This was what the Jaguar Warriors lived for.
The Atlpan infantry fighting vehicles that had been waiting just below the rise began moving forward, quickly closing the ground to the compound. The standard Xiomeran personnel carrier, the Atlpan could be armed with a variety of weapons: heavy machine guns, autocannons, chain guns, automatic grenade launchers, or guided missiles. The APCs of Xicu Company had a mix of all of those, and began utilizing them to great effect as they blasted through the gates of the compound and stormed inside. Under the covering fire of the IFVs, the Jaguar Warriors began exiting their transports and advancing through the compound. M.L.F. terrorists began opening fire as they advanced, and were eliminated almost as quickly as they rose, in a gruesome game of whack-a-mole. Overhead, Zamastanian air support soon arrived, landing timely missile strikes with precision on troublesome targets, guided by Xiomeran spotters on the ground.
While the M.L.F. terrorists would put up a surprisingly tough fight, in the end, it was a futile effort on their part. In the final count, 42 of the 50 M.L.F. fighters were eliminated, with eight choosing to surrender to the Xiomerans. 38 of the 40 non-combatant workers were also captured, with two falling victim to unintentional fire. One Jaguar Warrior - the one who was shot at the anti-air site during the initial attack - fell in combat, with five of his comrades wounded, two seriously enough to require evacuation back to FOB Moyolehuani and the field hospital there. Overall, the Xiomerans felt they had done well.
As the captured terrorists and workers were placed onto trucks to be hauled back to the Xiomeran camp for detention, Captain Lelhuit decided to make one last grand gesture. Xiomeran demolitions specialists, after making sure no one was left in the compound, and no one nearby could be harmed, took all the explosives and bombs in the compound and set them up to blow.
As the Xiomerans and their prisoners watched from a safe distance, the compound went up in a series of rumbling explosions, smoke and fire leveling the terrorist site. If the M.L.F. hadn't yet realized the Xiomerans had arrived to take them on, the earth-shaking destruction of their main bomb-making compound would ensure they got the message.
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