Operation Red Dragon and the Unthinkable

Armageddon

SFC Nelson’s Company had been reinforced with forty-eight new replacements and was sent right back into the meat grinder that was the frontlines near the city of Megiddo (or, translated into English, Armageddon). The fact that one of the major battles was taking place at this historical end times location was not lost on the men and women fighting there either. The Russians were putting up heavy resistance, moving hundreds of tanks and armored infantry fighting vehicles into the area.

A flight of five Razorbacks swooped in from behind the American lines and let loose a barrage of hellfire anti-tank missiles at the incoming tanks. As the Razorbacks flew in for a second pass, a Russian anti-air laser system zapped one of the Razorbacks, cutting a hole right through it before the aircraft exploded. Within seconds, two more Razorbacks were shot down; the other two got away. Despite the loss of three critical aircraft, they had accomplished their mission of stopping the Russian armored advance by destroying more than sixty armored vehicles.

SFC Nelson looked over the battlefield, and all he could see were burning hulks of what were once fearsome Russian battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. Thousands of Russian soldiers were still intermixed with the destroyed vehicles firing at his battalion. Their objective was simple… advance across the battlefield and make direct contact with the Russian infantry. The American counter-attack was now in full swing. It was now time to tie the Russian units down while other armor units advanced around their flanks and closed off any chance of retreat.

As Jordy Nelson advanced, he could see hundreds of red and green tracers flying back and forth between the two opposing groups. Soldiers on both sides were being hit, some just dropping dead before they even knew what happened to them, while others fell to the ground languishing in pain, screaming for a medic or their mothers. The slow whistle of artillery could be heard, and he was not sure if the rounds were friendly or incoming, Nelson knelt down next to a rock and a tree stump while he took aim at the enemy and began to engage them.

The built-in HUD and targeting system with the M5 AIR was amazing. With the 5x zoom he could see targets up to 250 meters away and engage them easily. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands of Russian and IR soldiers, frantically digging fox holes and firing back at his soldiers and the rest of his battalion.

Within ten minutes, Nelson had gone through two 250 round magazines. His power pack was at 47 % — still good for at least another magazine and a half. Checking his HUD, Nelson could see his platoon had seven KIAs and thirteen WIAs. The medics were working on the wounded guys, pulling them back behind cover and then moving them back to the rear area where they could be medivacked to a hospital.

SFC Nelson switched his radio frequency from the company net to his platoon net and addressed his group, “Everyone listen up. That Russian gun emplacement has been causing us a lot of grief since we got here. It’s time we take it out. First and second squad are going to provide covering fire while third and fourth squad advance. We are going to move forward to that debris pile about 20 meters in front of our current positions. I want heavy suppressive fire when we move, understand?”

“Sergeant, how close do we need to get before we can just use our AT6s and take that position out?” asked one of the soldiers in the platoon.

“We need to advance at least 50 meters before we use them. I want us to get close so that once it goes down, the platoon is ready to advance on that trench line” SFC Nelson responded.

Captain Chantilly came over the company net and said, “Everyone, the artillery guys are about to drop a few rounds on the enemy. I want everyone to be ready to advance to the enemy trench line once the barrage ends. Battalion wants us to go on the offense for a while. Be ready to advance.”

Dropping to the 1st platoon net, Captain Chantilly spoke to the platoon and SFC Nelson, saying, “I heard your plan to engage the enemy gun position, and I agree, we need to take that thing out. I wanted to let you know that I called in the artillery to assist you guys and the rest of the company will follow your lead. Good initiative, 1st Platoon! Out.”

Smiling, Nelson was happy that someone recognized the need to take that gun position out. Finally, the Company would be going on the offensive rather than sitting still and getting shot at. “All right everyone, you heard the Captain — same plan as before. We just wait for the barrage to finish and then we advance.”

The artillery continued to whistle overhead as it flew through the air, this time impacting all around the enemy gun positions and defensive trench line. A mixture of ground and airburst rounds could be seen and heard as they hit all along the Russian positions. Nelson could only imagine how many soldiers were being killed or maimed from this barrage. As soon as the bombardment started, it ended. That was when the platoon (and then the company) advanced.

Within seconds of advancing, the remaining Russians in the defensive line began popping up from their foxholes and trenches to engage the Americans. Nelson could hear bullets zipping past his head. He quickly hit the dirt. Immediately, he brought his rifle to bear, and quickly identified a soldier in a foxhole shooting away at his platoon. He took aim and fired, hitting the soldier in the face and turning his head into a bright red mist.

Checking his HUD quickly, he saw his platoon had taken a couple of casualties but was advancing in good order. Within a couple of minutes, they had moved forward to within 30 meters of the Russian defensive positions. Soldiers on both sides began throwing grenades at one another. Then the Captain came over the radio and ordered the entire company to charge the positions immediately and overwhelm them. Everyone stood up and began to yell as loudly as they could, charging into the enemy positions. In seconds, sergeant Nelson was nearing a foxhole with two Russians in it. He fired a quick burst from his gun, killing both men. He jumped into the foxhole with their dead bodies. Bullets could be heard whistling overhead, and others were slapping the dirt around his position.

Nelson took a second before popping his head up to see where the firing was coming from. He saw three other Russians in another foxhole about 20 meters to his right. They were now focused on some of his platoon mates to their front, so Nelson grabbed one of the grenades from his vest, pulled the pin and threw it in their direction. He quickly grabbed a second grenade and threw it at them as well. The first grenade landed a little short of their position but caused them to duck, the second grenade landed near the edge of their foxhole and went off just as two of the enemy soldiers had poked their heads up to begin firing again. Nelson took aim with his rifle and took the third soldier out. In seconds, his platoon mates had made it to the position and jumped in for cover.

The Company had pushed the Russians back, forcing them to give up their defensive positions. The ground around the area was littered with dead American and Russian soldiers. The wounded began to cry out for medics and help. Medics and doctors began to move from one wounded soldier to another, triaging to see which ones they could help, and making comfortable the ones that were too far gone.

The Russians, unlike the IR, made the Israelis and Americans pay in blood for every inch they gave. The Israelis were probably the most fearsome fighters out of all the countries in the battle, and why shouldn’t they be? This was their country, and they knew that if the Arabs won, their families would be killed. The Arabs had already killed hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians during the first several days and weeks of the war. It was wholesale genocide. In response, the Israelis were taking no prisoners in this war. The Americans had been abiding by the rules of the Geneva Convention, until hundreds and then thousands of American prisoners and wounded soldiers were being crucified on crosses and the IR nuked New York and Baltimore. Then the Americans threw the rule books away, and it became a very dirty and brutal war of either life or death. Surrender was not an option for either side.