Operation Red Dawn and the Siege of Europe

F41 Flight

Lieutenant Paul Allen and his platoon had completed their training in the new Raptor combat suit several weeks ago and had redeployed back to Alaska. The Raptor was really unique; it leveraged a newer armor technology that was both lightweight and flexible. It was also a fully closed environmental suit, which meant it could operate in a host of different environments. The soldiers trained for weeks in the new combat suits, trying to become familiar with how to operate them while using their M5 AIRs and other equipment. Now they were prepared, and had been sent back to the fight at Susitna Mountain Range.

The Susitna defensive line was a massive fortified position carved into the low-ranging mountains of the area and was one of the last major obstacles the Chinese needed to capture in order to secure Anchorage. The Americans knew this, and had built a multi-layered defensive network of trenches, tank ditches, traps, and other obstacles meant to funnel enemy armor into pre-determined kill zones. General Black knew the importance of this position and had placed nearly 185,000 troops in this one defensive position alone. Another 60,000 troops were held in reserve, and a mobile QRF of 45,000 troops was nearby as well. General Black also had 900 Pershing MBTs and 2,200 of the older M1A4 MBTs in the area as well. To the left and right flank of the mountain range was relatively flat terrain, which made it great tank country when not covered by the deep snow that usually falls in this particular area of Alaska five out of twelve months of the year.

Once the 12^th Infantry Division (12^th ID) had completed their initial training on the Raptor, they had been redeployed to the Susitna gap along with the new Wolverine Infantry Fighting Vehicle. The Wolverine was the newest IFV in the American arsenal, and was built specifically to augment the Pershing MBT. The Wolverine had the same chassis as the Pershing (and the same armor system), making it a very tough nut to crack. It had a 20mm anti-armor railgun turret and two twin barrel automated .25mm railguns; one mounted in the front of the vehicle just below the 20mm turret, and the second mounted in the rear above the troop carrier compartment. All three railgun systems could be used in either air or ground mode, enabling the vehicle to operate as not just an anti-armor/personnel killer, but also as an air defense platform. The IFV provided not just exceptionally armored protection to the twelve infantrymen it carried, but was an extremely lethal offensive and defensive weapons package.

The 12^th ID was primed for combat when the word finally came down about the counter-offensive. The Chinese had been hitting the American lines relentlessly for the past five days. Now it was time for the Americans to introduce the Raptor and the Wolverine to the battlefield.

Captain Shilling came over the battle net saying, “Lieutenant Allen, the battalion is going to move forward in five minutes. Have your vehicles ready to move and stay frosty. They may be expecting us to attack soon.” With that, he abruptly dropped off the net.

Allen thought to himself, “Great. Nothing better than attacking an enemy who knows your about to attack him. This is already a cluster mess, and we haven’t even started this offensive. ”

“Listen up everyone,” Allen said over the platoon battle net, his voice managing to carry well over the low hum of the vehicles’ electric engines. “We are moving out in five minutes. I want Sergeant Liner and Sergeant Lipton’s vehicles to stay in air-attack mode through most of this attack. Your vehicles are responsible for engaging any and all incoming artillery, mortars, missiles and rockets heading towards the platoon and company’s vehicles and positions. The rest of you, continue to look for armored vehicles and infantry and take them out. Those of you manning the twin machine guns, stay alert on those guns and engage any missile teams you see. If we have to dismount and engage the enemy, then remember your training and kill ‘em all.”

Outside the vehicle was a buzz of activity, as hundreds of Wolverines and Pershings began to spin up their engines and prepare to start what was going to the largest tank battle ever on American soil. Over 3,000 M1A4 Abram MBTs would be joining the fray as General Black made the first big attempt to push the Chinese back from the Susitna line.

Major Theodore Cruse’s “Cruiser” flight had completed their training on the new F41 Archangels and had been flying combat operations over Alaska now for nearly two weeks. In that timeframe, they had shot down more enemy aircraft and drones than the Allies had in the previous six months. The F41 was about the size of an F18 Super Hornet, though it was shaped a lot more like an elongated diamond. Because the aircraft leveraged the new EmDrive propulsion, it could take off vertically or from a runway. It would also accelerate from zero to near Mach 10 in seconds, and stop in almost the same time. The aircraft could turn on a dime and had a ceiling of low earth orbit. It also leveraged a refractive armor casing that could deflect laser hits, giving the aircraft the ability to operate in nearly all environments. Where the aircraft was vulnerable was against conventional missiles and shrapnel. The aircraft was incredibly technical, complex and fragile, so if an explosion managed to detonate near it, debris could easily destroy the aircraft. It’s speed and maneuverability were what kept it alive.

“Cruiser, are we going after that Chinese carrier yet or what?” asked Flapjack, one of the other F41 pilots in Captain Cruse’s flight. Lieutenant Jordan Mina (aka “Flapjack”) got his name because he ate twelve pancakes in one sitting during flight school at the local IHOP. The name had stuck ever since.

“Not yet. Our objective today is to clear the skies as best we can for the ground pounders. We have F38Bs and A10s providing ground support and about 90 F38As for air support with us. Stay on your toes guys; this offensive is important,” Cruse replied.

“Angel Flight, Angel Flight, this is Overlord,” called out the flight commander for the AWACS aircraft that were flying over Seattle. Her group had been coordinating part of the air battle over Alaska.

“Go ahead Overlord,” replied Cruse, waiting for their orders.

“Angel Flight, we are tracking 250 bandits heading to Susitna towards our ground units. There is a separate air group forming up over the Chinese carriers that is heading towards our ground attack aircraft as well. We are vectoring you in to attack the enemy fighter aircraft heading towards our ground units. You are weapons free to engage.”

“Copy that Overlord. We are receiving the data and coordinates now. Angels are moving to engage,” said Cruse. He was eager to get his flight of five F41s into the action.

“Ok everyone, you heard the woman. Let’s move to engage those enemy fighters quickly; I want them destroyed at range, and for you to cycle through targets as fast as you can. The pilot with the most kills today wins $1,000 NAD from me,” he said to cheers. Everyone began to line their aircraft up for their attack runs.

The F41s were about 400 miles away from their targets at a remote airbase; they were going to accelerate to Mach 10 for a short period of time and then slow down to a near stop once they were within range of their lasers. They would fire a handful of shots, and then move about 70 miles in a different direction to another attack point and reengage the enemy. This maneuver would be played out over and over again to ensure no enemy planes or missiles were able to get within range of their aircraft.

Air Force Captain Dana Archer (Overlord) watched the radar screen at her console, tracking the five Archangels as they began to engage the enemy aircraft climbing to attack the Americans. Her AWACS aircraft was responsible for running the air-combat operation for the American offensive. This strike was going to be the largest attack of the war and as such, there were several AWACS on duty this morning to assist in handling the enormous air traffic that was starting to fill the air.

Captain Archer was an air battle manager, she was responsible for identifying targets for the manned and drone fighters and then directing them to their targets. Fighters and drones on all sides usually run passive radars rather than active radars when flying combat operations. This is done for several reasons: first, an active radar lights your aircraft up like a Christmas tree for enemy surface-to-air-missiles or SAMs and enemy aircraft running in passive mode. Second, passive mode allows your aircraft to fly through undetected unless someone turns on an active radar. Once the radar is active, it can then detect enemy aircraft in the area. All sides make heavy use of AWACS type aircraft to identify and then guide their sides fighters or drones to the enemy. This enables your aircraft to sneak up on the enemy before they know you are there.

Back on the ground, Lieutenant Allen’s platoon was fighting its way to the Chinese positions while trying to stay close with the tanks. They had taken out dozens of Chinese anti-tank missile teams as they got closer to the Chinese lines. As their vehicles approached the enemy ranks, the Chinese soldiers began to retreat and scatter. The Wolverines cut the enemy soldiers down as they tried to run. As the Reds retreated, the MBTs and Wolverines quickly moved in behind them to both secure the Chinese positions and to chase down the retreating soldiers.

Captain Shiller received a message from Battalion that his Company was to stop, dismount and secure the Chinese defensive position for the follow-on forces. Shiller contacted his officers. “Lieutenant Allen, the Company is stopping here. We just received orders to secure the area,” he said over the HUD.

“Roger that Sir. Stopping now, and securing the area. Any other orders, Sir?”

“Negative, and good luck Lieutenant.”

Turning to look at the guys in the vehicle with him, Allen quickly found SFC Jenkins, his platoon sergeant. “Jenkins, new orders. We are stopping here with the platoon. The Captain wants us to secure the trench and bunker complex that we just drove over for the follow-on forces,” Lieutenant Allen announced. He was not too thrilled with having to leave the safety of the Wolverine, despite the protection the Raptor suit offered.

SFC Jenkins just nodded and began to bark at the privates around him to exit the vehicle and begin to set up a perimeter. Lieutenant Allen radioed his other squads and made sure they knew the new orders and began to secure the enemy positions. The vehicles would continue to stay in the area; half of them would switch over to anti-aircraft mode, while the others continued to stay in ground mode to protect the infantry.

The vehicles stopped just past the bunker and trench lines, which were still smoldering from the recent assault. Dead Chinese soldiers, equipment and charred vehicles could be seen strewn in every direction; these were the remnants of a fierce and deadly battle. Aircraft, drones and hundreds of helicopters could be heard flying overhead, engaged in their own aerial dance of death.

As Allen exited the Wolverine, he could see a battalion’s worth of tanks moving across the trench line his unit had just cleared. In an instant, two Chinese soldiers emerged from one of the smoldering bunkers and fired an anti-tank rocket at one of the tanks, disabling it. “Sergeant Jenkins, get some soldiers to that bunker immediately!” Allen yelled. “Have the troops start to clear the rest of them out. We can’t lose anymore tanks!”

Five additional Chinese soldiers popped up from the ruins of a smoldering bunker and began to engage the soldiers near Lieutenant Allen as they dove for cover and began to return fire. Allen quickly raised his own rifle and fired a couple of well-placed shots, taking one of the Chinese soldiers out while his compatriots ducked back into the bunker. In an instant, a dozen of his soldiers in their new Raptor suits moved rapidly to secure the bunkers and trench lines. Within seconds, one of the machine guns in the partially destroyed bunker began to open fire on his men causing them to dive behind cover again. Fortunately, the gunner in the Wolverine nearby was paying attention, and she turned the turret towards the bunker. She fired a single round from the anti-armor railgun, obliterating the bunker. The other soldiers quickly moved forward and threw a couple of grenades in for good measure.

Slowly, the platoon cleared the rest of the bunkers with grenades. Several enemy soldiers surrendered, but they were few and far between. Most soldiers either retreated or fought to the death rather than be captured.

As the battle continued to rage on around them, the sounds of the tanks and artillery fire continued to move further and further away from their position. It sounded like the 4^th of July fireworks display from back home, only these weren’t fireworks. Bombs, rockets and mortars were exploding, killing and maiming people by the thousands an hour. Two hours after they secured the area, they spotted a large column of friendly light infantry moving towards their position. Within a few minutes, an officer identified himself to Allen’s men and asked who was in charge. He was quickly directed to Lieutenant Allen’s position.

The Major began to walk quickly toward Lieutenant Allen and the Wolverine he was standing next to with his platoon sergeant. “Lieutenant Allen I presume?” he inquired.

“Yes Sir. Are you my relief, Sir?” asked Allen in a hopeful tone. He wanted to get his men back into the main fight with their Raptor suits.

“That I am; I’m the battalion commander of the 3/5 light infantry,” the Major responded. Curiosity took hold and he asked, “So are these the new Raptor suits we’ve been hearing about? How do you like them?”

Realizing that his small platoon was the only ones wearing the Raptor suits, Paul suddenly felt out of place among the hundreds of regular infantry moving towards them in their standard body armor.

“They are actually pretty great. Several of my men were shot while securing the area but the suit protected them. We took no injuries at all, which was amazing,” Allen said feeling good about the accomplishment of his platoon.

“That is remarkable. Not sure when my battalion is going to get them, but I hope soon. So-back to business. Is there anything we should know about before your platoon leaves the area?” asked the Major, trying to get a better picture of what was going on.

“We captured a few prisoners; I have them over there near that blown-out bunker. They really put up a fight in those bunkers, so we had to level quite a few of them. Right now, our battalion is still moving with the tanks. They are about five miles in that direction. I’d work on getting this position ready to defend against another Chinese assault, in case we have to fall back. I don’t expect that to happen, but my vehicles have been engaging a lot of air targets lately, so I’d be prepared for anything.” Allen did his best to give a good run-down of the situation and what to possibly expect.

Nodding as he made a couple of notes, the Major spoke on his mic to several of his officers, giving them instructions to relieve Allen’s men and take possession of the prisoners. He also ordered his men to begin clearing the trenches of the dead bodies and to start to prepare a new defensive line. “Thank you Lieutenant for the information and your assessment. My men and I appreciate it. We’ll have this place ready to meet the Chinese if they try and come back around,” he said confidently. Then he turned around and began to walk towards the rest of his men, barking orders.

“Sergeant, get the platoon back into the vehicles; it’s time for us to go catch up to the rest of our comrades,” Allen said.

In the air, the F41s were having a huge impact as they continued to clear the skies of enemy drones and manned fighters. The F38B fighter bombers and Razorbacks continued to hammer the Chinese armor units, despite taking some heavy losses from Chinese surface to air missile (SAM) sites. In spite of the valiant effort by the Air Force, the ground war did not go nearly as well.

There were several moments where it looked like the Americans were going to break through and drive the Chinese back to the beaches; then additional reinforcements would show up and plug the holes in their lines. The fighting between the infantry and the armed forces was incredibly intense, with thousands of soldiers on both sides dying each hour as the fighting raged on.

The tank battle between the American and Chinese armored forces continued for nearly two days before the Americans were forced to withdraw when the Chinese reinforcements started a massive counterattack. The Americans had dealt a serious blow to the Chinese (who up to this point had thought that they would be able to drive the Americans out of Alaska by the end of summer), but in the end, they were just outnumbered by the sheer volume of tanks and drones the Chinese were able to throw at them. It did not take long before the Chinese were able to push the Americans back to the Susitna defensive line, right where the Americans had initially begun their summer offensive.