Operation Red Dragon and the Unthinkable

Blood Bath at Megiddo

The Russian offensive was going better than they had anticipated. The arrival of two additional squadrons of MiG40s had made a tremendous difference. They continued to loiter high above the battlefield, and as laser or railgun defensive systems were identified by Spetsnaz units or scouts, the MiGs would engage them with guided munitions, exterminating them. Soon after they were destroyed, attack drones or helicopters would move into the area and attack the Allied armor and infantry positions. It was a somewhat slow process, but it was proving to be very effective.

The Russians had advanced into Israel, and were fighting for control of Acre on the Mediterranean and Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. Their goal was to capture the critical port facility of Haifa, and then the critical road junction at Nazareth. This would put them in a good position to drive down deeper into Israel and potentially capture Tel Aviv.

The Chinese, by contrast, had not broken through the Allied defensive line in the south at all, though they were tying down a lot of Allied Forces, which otherwise would have been thrown against the Russians. It was for this reason General Lodz was not furious with his Chinese counterparts for not proving to be better fighters. As long as they continued to hold dozens of Israeli and American divisions in place, then they couldn’t be used against his own forces.

“Where do we stand with the battle right now?” asked General Lodz of the senior IR general on his staff.

“We are close to a break through right now. The problem is, we are grinding through your Russian armor units. I believe it is time to throw in my IR troops and save your reserve forces to follow in behind them,” the IR generals replied, eager to get the Muslim army involved again.

“Hmm… go ahead and send in eight divisions from your force to hit Acre. I want that city captured and our forces in Haifa by the end of tomorrow. I also want your forces to secure Megiddo as well. It’s a critical road junction that we need to control. Is that understood?”

“Yes, General. It will be done,” replied the general, immediately turning to issue orders to the officers near him.

In the following days, 160,000 additional IR infantry joined the 260,000 Russians attacking Acre, and broke through the Allied positions. The Allies quickly fell back again, this time close to Hadera to establish their next defensive line. Additional Israeli troops and militia units moved into the area to help the American Army and Marines try and stop the 420,000 troops bearing down on Tel Aviv. The battle around Megiddo and Haifa were turning into a real bloodbath on all sides as more and more troops, tanks, artillery and air support were being poured into the battles.

Casualties once again began to rise with each new offensive; in nearly four days of heavy fighting, the Americans had suffered 13,458 soldiers killed and three times that number wounded. Israel was once again turning into a meat grinder as the number of Americans killed since the start of the war in Israel now exceeded 100,000 KIAs with five times that many wounded.