Show of Force (MT, Semi-closed)

[Aquitayne]

Poltsa, Aquitayne

Their fortifications had been completed. Hill 552, the one on the western edges of Poltsa was secure. On the hill grew tall grass, raising about 14 inches high. Hidden in that tall grass was a web of barbed wire. Not only on the ground, but at midsection level and piano wire at neck level. Anyone who tried to climb the hill would be met with steel. Behind the barbed wire were trenchlines with mortars and machine guns, accompanied by the infamous 5th Marine Division. Some of the most battle hardened men in all of Aquitayne. The other areas around Poltsa were also fortified. Trenchlines encompassed the town, with fallback positions should the enemy break through. Anti-tank and anti-personnel mines were placed in the open fields to reduce their numbers before they could reach the lines.

The town was also being evacuated, with helicopters ushering out citizens to keep them from the fighting. This was going to get very bloody very quickly.

[FnFail]

Poltsa airspace As the defences where put up in poltsa the fleet of helicopters came in to
Land with the distinctive red cross on them. As they landed all the individual special forces men gathered up there equipment amongst all the resscue teams and marched off to tye the commanding officer of poltsa. When they arrived they offered there services to him

[Fizbar]

Mordam

Captain Richard rapped hard against the door. It was answered by a man in his 30s. His wife and young (6-8 year old) son watched nervously from behind him. "We're here to confiscate any guns, explosives, or ammunition in your house. Do you have any?" The man said softly, "No. We don't have anything." Richard and his soldiers barged past the man and began searching the area for a gun. Then the dog started barking, and led them into the child's room, to a box of toys. Richard extracted a gun and ammunition cartridges hidden at the bottom of the box. He was angry. Who did these people think they were? They wanted to keep guns with them to kill Fizbarians? He ran to the kid. "So you wanted to fight us did you?" The mother said, "Leave him alone. He didn't do this. Please forgive us." Richard yelled, "Then why was the gun in his bedroom? If he wasn't involved, you shouldn't have kept it there!" And with that, he pulled out his service pistol and shot the kid several times. "Come on," he said to his stunned soldiers, "let's go look for more scum."

Poltsa

By now, the Fizbar forces had built enough makeshift bases to transfer 12 squadrons to Aquitayne. While several of these were ordered to perform combat air patrol sorties to defend Fizbar held airspace, others began performing strike sorties against Poltsa's defenses. Artillery, anti-aircraft batteries, and government buildings where the primary targets. The general attack pattern was to use cruise missiles and anti-radiation missiles to overwhelm the air defenses, and to fly in fighters right behind the cruise missiles to use guided bombs against enemy targets.

The 197th Armored Division raced past the Poltsa defenses meanwhile, avoiding the heavily fortified Hill 552. As they did so, they used heavy mortar and multiple launch rocket systems to supplement airstrikes and bombard the air defenses. The 199th Mechanized Division completed its flanking maneuver from the East. Both divisions met up to the North of Poltsa, completing their double envelopment maneuver. They had cut off the city from logistics. They continued bombarding the enemy positions around the city, while aircraft carried out strikes in and around the city.

Fizbar Command

To: Aquitayne
From: Fizbar Armed Forces
Subject: Evacuation of civilians

Our intelligence appears to indicate that your evacuation helicopters have transported soldiers and/or supplies into the city. Thus, we have been forced to cancel our allowance of evacuation efforts. Any aircraft or helicopters that we see will be shot down, effective one hour from the sending of this message.

[Aquitayne]

The House
Telora

"What the fuck are they talking about?" The President had read over the latest message from Frizbarian high command and was baffled at what they were saying. "I ordered that those helicopters ONLY be used for extracting civilians!" No one had any answers, but then the Radar Command Officer stepped forward. "Sir, a helicopter from FnFail landed in Poltsa - we assume that it was carrying soldiers and or equipment." The President shook his head. He knew that the Frizbarians wouldn't care to listen, but he had to try anyway.

To: Frizbar Armed Forces
From: President Thomas Riech

Our Radar Officer claims that the helicopter in which your speaking of was from FnFail, not from Aquitayne. If you are hellbent on not allowing the extraction of civilians, we demand that you treat them with the utmost respect. They didn't call for this war.

Regards,

President Riech

General Wilhelm stood up to address the President. "Sir, I suggest we station more troops in the Aesirs. If anything, we can hold them up there. Now that winter is coming closer, it will be a lot colder for the Frizbians, and their armor will most likely freeze. The sub-zero temperatures will give us an advantage over them, and we know the mountains a lot better than we do. I suggest we station troops here, here, and here. Ganda Ridge will give us superior artillery capabilities for when they try to move through. It's the only place where we can really stop their advancement." The President nodded his head in approval. The 4th, 6th, and 8th Mountain Regiments would be placed there, along with the 7th, 9th, and 10th Artillery Brigades. Tanks could not be used in the rough terrain, so it would be up to foot soldiers to get the job done.

Hill 552
Poltsa

The Marines were underground in caves dug into the hill. The Marines could feel it shaking from rockets and missiles pounding into the defenses, but it wouldn't make any difference. If anything, they were only tangling the barbed wire even more and creating a surface unclimbable for their soldiers. They could wait for weeks for the enemy to come, they were more than ready. They knew that the enemy had to come for the hill, because it had strategic advantage over Poltsa, and gave radar advantage. It was only a matter of time.

Their intelligence officers relayed information back to Headquarters regarding the Frizbarian troops headed towards Poltsa. As the data was collected, it was relayed to the troops stationed in Poltsa, to give them an idea about what they were facing. The mortars on the hill were well within range, especially given their height advantage, to bombard the enemy troops when they started engaging.

[Fizbar]

Fizbar Army Command

"Wait so they really did bring those soldiers in by helicopter, but apparently it was FnFail's work? Okay then."

From: Fizbar Army Command
To: President Thomas Riech
Subject: Civilians

This incident might have been due to FnFail, but it has become far too difficult for us to look for visual identification before shooting down helicopters. For that reason, the no-fly-zone stands. However, as always, we will take every precaution to avoid excess civilian casualties.

Poltsa

They didn't need the hill yet, and could wait to deplete the supplies of those inside. For the time being, the Fizbarian soldiers were ordered to hold their positions around the city. First, they were to wait for aircraft to destroy all enemy artillery and tanks inside Poltsa.

As for Hill 552, the 197th Armored Division was ordered to aim dozens of their artillery at the various cave entrances on Hill 552. Additionally, there was always an aircraft flying overhead. If anybody tried to come out of Hill 552, they would fall under heavy fire.

[Fizbar]

Fizbar Army Command

From: Fizbar Army Command
To: Aquitaynian Army
Subject: Surrender of Poltsa Forces

We have surrounded your forces in Poltsa. They are currently under heavy bombardment, and we are ready to move on the city. We will inevitably win this fight. However, to minimize casualties on both sides, and most importantly to minimize destruction of Poltsa and hardship for the civilians inside, we ask that you order your forces in Poltsa to surrender.

196th Heavy Armored Divison

The 196th Heavy Armored Division began moving North-Northwest from Mordam, staying parallel to the coastline. Airstrikes were sent in to clear out any enemy standing in their way. Meanwhile, the 189th division which was being transported in took over in Mordam and Fenra, continuing the search for weapons.

194th Mechanized Division

The 194th Mechanized Division advanced Northwards between Poltsa and Threk, to clear out any enemy forces in the area. They were ordered to advance as far as they could, but to stay out of the range of any artillery in the mountain range to the North.

[Libertarian Governance]

Delete

[Aquitayne]

Hill 552

As night was falling on the town of Poltsa, this proved to be the right time to strike against the Frizbarian artillery batteries and AWAC command centers. Under the cover of darkness, SAM sites were deployed. They had been off to prevent detection from enemy RADAR, but now they were pre-loaded. As the Marines turned them on, they knew they had little time before they engaged the sites. Trained and well prepared, the marines launched a salvo of over 160 anti-radiation missiles at the enemy artillery. Knowing this would overwhelm their defenses, they hoped for the best.

Once the missiles had been fired, the Marines left the SAM sites where they were and dashed back into the safety of their caves.

[Fizbar]

Fizbar Air Force in Aquitayne

As usual, the AWACS didn't see anything except friendly aircraft. This was getting boring. The radar operators observed the airstrike sorties disinterestedly. One of the operators noticed a blip appear on the radar screen very close to the AWACS. It took him several seconds to realize what it was before yelling "incoming missile!!!!" He was too late. Before the pilot could take evasive action, the plane took a direct hit. As ground control and fighter jets were in frantic communication, the other AWACS plane in the air saw an incoming missile. This one responded faster, turning of its radar and taking rapid evasive action. The incoming missile detonated away from the aircraft, causing some damage, but the aircraft was able to return to base for repairs.

The Fizbar Air Command was shocked by what had just happened. They ordered that from now on, AWACS use radar blinking coupled with random flight path changes to neutralize the threat of anti-radiation missiles.

Fizbar forces around Poltsa

They'ed seen a flashes on the hill, and fired massive artillery salvos on the hill. Several aircraft carried out air-to-ground strikes against any metal object on the hill.

In the morning, several tank columns escorted by soldiers began moving along highways towards Poltsa. Helicopters and aircraft provided air-cover, as scouts went ahead to watch for any RPG attacks or mines along the highways. Aircraft also launched airstrikes against any enemy soldiers spotted in and around Poltsa.

Fizbar Home Air Bases

The Fizbar Air Force had begun receiving additional transport aircraft and had stepped up their transportation of mechanized infantry divisions to Aquitayne. Now, the 189th Division had been fully shipped, and the 184th was beginning to enter Aquitayne.

[Aquitayne]

Hill 552

Minimum damage had been done to the regiment. Only 4 Marines were dead, as most of them had made it into the caves quickly. The SAM sites were down, but they knew and expected that. They felt the hill shake and rumble as the artillery batteries pounded the side of the hill. Truth be told, they were just making their job a lot harder. They were tangling up the barbed wire even more, and creating a relatively unstable landscape for their soldiers. Intelligence officers watched as a major assault was thrown at Poltsa. He monitored and recorded enemy movements, radioing enemy positions to ground troops inside Poltsa. The mortars couldn't go out yet, as the enemy artillery was still firing at them, but they would soon.

Poltsa

As the enemy made their advances, helicopters and aircraft began bombing their equipment and defenses. The troops held their ground and waited for the enemy tanks to get within range of their anti-tank missiles. Once they did, over 50 of them were launched directly at the tanks. The specialized Aquitaynian weapon, the T2-A1 Anti Tank Rocket Launcher, (or the ATRL) was used to do so. The weapon utilized a tanks venerability at the top, and as such once the rocket was launched, it flew itself into an arch, and then crashed down onto the top of the enemy vehicle. (OOC: Very much like the Javelin)

Other ATRLs were aimed at enemy helicopters, trying to reduce the air superiority around Poltsa. When Poltsa Radio Command relayed that the enemy had made their advancements on Poltsa, over 75 Tomcat fighter planes were launched from bases in Saxaphones of Mexico and its People. They were armed with anti-radiation air to air missiles, and would use them to combat the Frizbarian troops. Along with the Tomcats, about 50 Banshee Strike Fighters were launched to eliminate enemy artillery and tanks that would threaten Aquitaynian defenses. They would arrive around the same time as the Tomcats, hopefully overwhelming the Frizbarian aircraft.

As the infantry and tanks rumbled across the highways and fields, mines detonated all around them. Anti tank mines and anti personnel mines alike. Hopefully this would cause them enough casualties that the Aquitaynian defenses would not be facing such a large force. Only time would tell.

[Emporer Pudu]

OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE
TEMPLUM CLEMENTIAE

To: Open Letter to government and people of the Armed Republic of Aquitayne
From: Pater Familias Apollinarius I of the Templum Clementiae
Re: Humanitarian crisis unfolding inside Aquitayne

Greetings,

1. To my Brothers and Sisters the people of Aquitayne, it is with great concern that I write to you as pater familias of the Templum Clementiae. I am aware of the vast military and political threat facing your nation, and like yourselves, I have been deeply disturbed by the brutal and pointless war of aggression being waged against you by the government of Fizbar. I share in the sense of dismay that so many of you must feel on learning the fate of your southern reaches, and of hearing of the offenses perpetrated there against your countrymen.

You may not know of the organization that I represent. The Templum Clementiae is an international organization funded by member governments of the Brotherhood of the Anukai, and administered by the Fraternal Cooperative and the Holy Catholic Church of the Sons of Anu. Our duty to our holy church is humanitarian, and motivated by a strong communion with the vast and disparate peoples of this earth. Together with senior officials of my temple, I have listened to and discussed events the that have transpired these in these past days and we have identified a number of programs and protocols that we can provide in cooperation with the Aquitayne government to alleviate the suffering that is the inevitable cause of war. I am confident that we can offer invaluable assistance and that as a result of our involvement in the crisis, a great many lives can be saved.

2. I am prepared to offer the services of my temple and it's servants to the people of Aquitayne, but I must first identify the steps necessary to ensure the success of our mission. Firstly and most importantly, the government of Aquitayne should identify a permanent and inviolable neutral zone inside which no military activity will be pursued by the republic of Aquitayne or any allied parties, and must make this zone known to the Fizbarian forces. If there is any decency and compassion left in war, then this space will remain neutral and conflict-free. For my part, I would suggest an island, which would provide simple demarkation and security from the tragedy of misinformation and misidentification, which is all too common on the battlefield. It is this proposal on which depends the success or failure of my mission in Aquitayne.

What follows is all built upon the principle of the neutral zone, and is represented in public and open to the world with all goodwill possible: From the neutral zone the temple is prepared to offer evacuation services from the mainland for refugees, by whatever means possible not limited to ships, planes, and helicopters from any reasonably accessible point in Aquitayne. This is the cornerstone of our strategy, and I believe an evacuation of the metropolitan areas of Aquitayne is presently underway, if my sources are correct on the matter. I have the resources to provide fresh food, clean water, and talented medical personnel to meet the needs of millions.

I ask and I pray that the government and people of Aquitayne would consider the offer I have made to them, and that this great and noble undertaking be allowed to continue.

From the Templum Clementiae, 4 August 2011, on the Solemnity of the Sons of Anu

[Comrade Commisar]

C.C.S. Imperial, The People's First Liberation Fleet

Admiral Feng smelled the fresh salty air. It smelled as fresh as Comrade Commisar's air.
He was sailing for Poltsa, Aquitayne, preparing on using the Elite Red Guard to aide their once enemy, now ally. As he sailed within the visual range of Poltsa, Commander Shin step forward beside him in thought.

"So this is Aquitayne," He stated, "This is where we were suppose to conquer. Now we're supposed to aide."
"Indeed Shin," Feng replied, "I thought I'd have pleasure seeing it burn... but now..."
"Now the tables have turned," Interrupted Feng, "Get my men there safely. That is all I ask."

Nodding, Admiral Feng took a slow, yet stealthy course towards their Aquitayne Allies.

"It'll be interesting to observe the beast who cornered us, cowaring." Stated Shin thoughtfully.

[Fizbar]

Poltsa

The columns of tanks were advancing slowly, as they found hundreds of mines along the highways and it took time to defuse them.

As they moved forward, they were ambushed by anti-tank crews. This was why infantry were escorting the tanks. Snipers began firing at the enemy anti-tank soldiers, but most managed to launch their missiles before the snipers could take them out. Theoretically, the Goliath active protection system should have protected the tanks from these missiles. Real life was a different matter, however. About 14 tanks were disabled, with another 12 damaged. A couple dozen soldiers were killed. Fizbarian helicopters strafed the anti-tank gunmen to ensure they payed dearly for this attack.

Hill 552

Several specially outfitted aircraft had flown to Hill 552. They dropped their laser-guided thermobaric bombs at the cave entrances. These thermobaric bombs created massive explosions that filled up the caves and tunnels. Anyone inside that didn't get burned to death would die of asphyxiation. OOC: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ... AFw1s4.htm

Fizbar Air Control

AWACS and early warning ground control detected masses of incoming aircraft from the Southeast, at 300 mile range. There were already 25 aircraft patrolling in the area. Scrambling from four different runways at two fighters per minute, over 80 additional aircraft got into the air by the time the enemy fighters had arrived. Many of these fighters were ordered to fly at beam aspect, to avoid detection by the enemy aircraft's radars. This would bait them into flying in for a decisive dogfight showdown, where the high maneuverability of the Fizbar fighters would win the day. Surface to air defenses were ordered to hold fire, to ensure there were no friendly fire incidents. AWACS and ground control were ordered to only turn on their radars periodically, to ensure that they would not be hit by anti-radiation missiles.

[Shazbotdom]

Deleted

[Automagfreek]

Mogrim, Aquitayne
0300 hours

The AF-6 'Intruder' high altitude aircraft had finally arrived over Aquitayne airspace, and as they passed overhead the 1st Elites that they carried promptly exited the aircraft and began rocketing down to earth, oxygen tanks and special altitude suits aiding them as they fell from the heavens and began the decent to the ground. Once alerted by their altimeters, they pulled the rip cords on their parachutes and drifted down gently until their boots hit the dew covered grass, at which time they removed their jump gear and began rallying around their designated LZ. Satellite intelligence confirmed no enemy presence in this particular sector either in the air or on the ground, and as such they would not be tasked with eliminating enemy anti-air systems. So far, so good.

The bulk of the fighting was still taking place in the south, and enemy anti-air defenses had not yet been moved as far north as Mogrim. Upon assessing the situation, the pilots of the larger transport aircraft were given the green light to begin mass airdrops of both infantry and light vehicle, and within the next half hour the faint hum of engines could be heard in the distance, and soon the sky was dotted with the black parachutes of the Sentinel Stalkers, elite shock infantry which would help secure the area around Mogrim and protect the Sentinel landings which were only a hours away.

AWACS from the approaching Freekish fleet gave a picture of the airspace for several hundred miles around Mogrim, and this information was also supplemented by Aquitayne radar systems which were still online and functioning. The 'Stratosfighter II-E's' which had continued their relentless electronic assault had begun to enter the theater as well, their advanced avionics constantly scanning the enemy networks to gather data, and it had been discovered that Fizbar command had begun outsourcing their signals to other satellites. This was obviously of no concern to the Freekish forces, who indiscriminately targeted any satellite platform which they detected were beaming communications and data to their foes, diplomatic consequences be damned.

The signals were promptly intercepted and routed to the appropriate source, and increased jamming was then commenced. They also began employing a wide spectrum ECM attack, hammering anything not operating on Freekish or Aquitaynean frequencies while analyzing the frequency hopping characteristics of the ground communications senders and receivers. The AI driven 'Cryocom' avionics began crunching the data at over fifty gigaflops in order to determine which frequencies would likely be hopped to next, and the jamming systems continued proactively striking and denying communications and data networks as best as possible until the more power sea based systems came into the theater.


Seas off the coast of Mogrim, Aquitayne
0600 hours

With the arrival of the small Freekish naval detachment, the friendly seaborne forces were now significantly bolstered in terms of technological capability and area denial. Landings of heavy armor, artillery, mobile anti-air systems, and amphibious infantry were commenced en masse, with a FOB being established inside Mogrim itself. AWACS, OTH, and ground based doppler systems had now given a full picture of exactly what the Freeks were facing, and due to the rapid advancement of Fizbar forces, it was determined that two battalions would be sent out to Threk and Tigara respectively to hold those areas.

A third battalion would move through Tigara and down into Poltsa where fighting had now commenced, backed by FAF-1 'Vassago' stealth attack helicopters, 'Sea Scorpion' multi-role fighters for close ground support, and the formidable AM-25 'Stratosfighter' II's for gaining air superiority. The final battalion would remain in Mogrim and would be General Vandenberg's reserves, and from there he would coordinate not only the movement of his forces in the field alongside the Aquitaynean military, but also logistics.

The two defensive battalions would consist of heavy armor, artillery, and anti-air assets which would give the Fizbar military a considerable roadblock in consolidating Aquitayne. Sentinel Marines would form the bulk of the infantry garrison, while the lighter 1st Elites and Sentinel Stalkers would go on the offensive and attempt to stop the enemy at Poltsa and force a decisive turn in the events on the ground. Word was also received from friendly Shazbotdom command which had offered its services, and General Vandenberg requested that their naval forces cut off the Fizbar navy from supply and retreat in the southwest, and after blocking them against the coast, annihilate them.

He also requested that a second deployment be sent to Fizbar directly, to force a conclusion of the affair in Aquitayne as quickly as possible. Allied Brimstone command was also contacted and the word was put out that any friendly reinforcements would be greatly appreciated, as Automagfreek had much larger issues to deal with and could not be bothered with Fizbar, a nation Lord Dreadfire no doubt considered insignificant.

[Comrade Commisar]

1st Red Guard Division, Marching Up The Aesir Mountains

After their landing in Helm, the Red Guard split up in order to complete their objectives. The 2nd Red Guard division stayed in Helm in order to set up a Command Center while the 1st Red Guard Division tried to stealthily make their way up the mountains. Commander Shin, leading the 1st Red Guard had to deal with the terrain penalty and move the Emperor Tanks slowly up the Mountain.

[Aquitayne]

1st Red Guard Division, Marching Up The Aesir Mountains

After their landing in Helm, the Red Guard split up in order to complete their objectives. The 2nd Red Guard division stayed in Helm in order to set up a Command Center while the 1st Red Guard Division tried to stealthily make their way up the mountains. Commander Shin, leading the 1st Red Guard had to deal with the terrain penalty and move the Emperor Tanks slowly up the Mountain.

"I can't believe this. We're being held down by the damn mountain itself!" He yelled in frustration. However, before he could insert another line of swearing, the sound of explosions and artillery fire sounded over the mountain. Commander Shin ordered mortars to be set up.

"Keep moving! When we have a visual I'll let you know if you should open fire!" He ordered as he ordered the Infantry and Mechanized Troops to advance.

"This is going to get bloody!" He warned.

OOC: Frizbar is not as north as the mountains yet.

[Comrade Commisar]

OOC: Frizbar is not as north as the mountains yet.

OOC: Stupid, stupid, stupid!

[Fizbar]

Fizbar Navy

The Fizbar navy had detected VLF signals. This could only mean one thing: submarines. Helicopters and Frigates began a frantic search using active and passive sonar buoys. Any submarines in the region would hopefully be found shortly. Additionally, the decision was made to have aircraft fly in sensors to create a sound surveillance system grid in the Fizbar naval battlespace.

Poltsa

From: Fizbar Army
To: President Riech
Subject: Poltsa civilians

We have begun moving on Poltsa, but are worried about civilian casualties. Thus, we wish to open up a humanitarian gap in Southern Poltsa for civilians to exit the city. However, we must have your guarantee that Poltsa troops will not hide amongst these civilians as an escape route, unless they are surrendering.

[The Ruivan Empire]

Message to Fizbar:

We will not follow this no zone order from your government. we have already stated our intentions and furthermore we are conducting an investigation. remove your order of a no fly zone immediately or the Ruivan Empire will consider it a declaration of war. you have 3 hours to comply.

Message to Aquitayne

In response to the possible hostilities between the Empire and Fizbar we ask that you allow us to form an alliance and allow us to land troops and supplies in your nation to help fend off your attackers.

[Aquitayne]

Poltsa

For some reason, the enemy fighters and planes hadn't targeted the high rise apartments in the center of town. Being a 20 story structure, snipers had an amazing view of the battlefield. They were picking off soldier after soldier running next to tanks. It was actually rather fun. However, it wasn't so great for the guys down there. It looked like they were sustaining heavy casualties from enemy aircraft.

Airspace above Poltsa

As the Tomcats and Banshee fighters neared Poltsa, they were greeted with incoming enemy planes. Both the Aquitayne fighters and Frizbian fighters were flying low, the Aquitaynian fighters to stay off radar as long as possible, and the Frizbian fighters most likely to stay off their radars. Unfortunately it wouldn't work. As the enemies closed in on each other, the Tomcats loosed a volley of anti-radiation air to air missiles at the oncoming enemies.

They were still about 25 miles apart, but they felt like a dogfight was inevitable.

To: Frizbarian High Command
From: President Thomas Riech
Subject: Civilian Extraction

It seems to us, via satellite footage, that the battle is well under way. There is little to no insurance that our civilians will get out of the warzone alive. We cannot accept your offer for fear of our people getting stuck in the crossfire.

Regards,

President Riech

[El Bondel]

Bondel Ground Forces
North Sector
40,000 Troops, 3,000 Tanks, 900 Artillery Units

"All units,All units we have reports of enemies coming towards our sectors. Hold them with your lives!" The Commander said over the radio

[Fizbar]

Poltsa

"What the hell? It's like he wants his own civilians to get killed. Well, we can't have that. Keep shelling the city defenses at the Northern edge, but don't hit the Southern edge of the city. Have our forces pull away from the South of the city. Once that clusterfuck air battle is over, I want our aircraft dropping leaflets into the city telling people to exit along these two highways. In the meantime, try broadcasting over Aquitayne radio frequencies for them to get their civilians the hell out. Unfortunately, we can't make any radio broadcasts, cause those damn Freeks are jamming everything. It doesn't affect our frequency hopping spread spectrum communications much, especially since we also have static LOS communications. But it sure lowers communication with civilians."

Air Forces over Poltsa

"Remember, we've got huge advantages in maneuverability and off boresight weapons capability over Tomcats and Hornets. Their Banshees are just as capable as our aircraft, but we'll nevertheless have a large fuel weight and persistence advantage (due to not having to fly all the way home at the end of combat) over all of them. From what AWACS tells us, we'll soon also have a numerical advantage."

And thus, the aircraft entered combat. The Tomcats fired anti-radiation missiles at them, but nearly all of these missed, as the Sparrowhawks were making aggressive maneuvers and few of them had their radars on (they were using their infrared search and track far more). The Sparrowhawk's were ordered to fight defensively, trying to minimize the air to air exchanges, to stretch out the battle as long as possible, thus allowing more friendly aircraft to be scrambled and join the battle. Additionally, this would drain the low fuel reserves that the enemy aircraft would have, forcing them to retreat. The only time they were to go offensive was if an aircraft tried to break through and bomb friendly troops around Poltsa.

Fizbar Command

To: The Ruivan Empire
From: Fizbar
Subject: No-Fly-Zone and No-Ship-Zone

We do not understand your complaint about our zones. You already agreed to stay out of our No-Ship-Zone. You may have also noticed that we are in the middle of a massive air war. This air war is not being fought in international airspace, and thus it is perfectly reasonable that we ask non-combatants to steer clear of this zone to prevent any unfortunate accidents.

[Comrade Commisar]

Command Center T, Helm

By the time the other Red Guard units set up a Command Center in Helm, reports of the Battle of Poltsa were coming in. Comrade Commisar's Units, well out of the range of assistance, could only set up an emergency radio broadcast.

The Voice of Liberation

Fellow Comrades of Poltsa! The enemy has resorted to using fighters and long-range bombardment! A sign of their cowardice! Be strong! Aquitayne Forces and her allies are battling these scum and pushing the enemy back to the sea! Your fellow citizens have also made pushes along the enemies frontline!

Comrade Commisar and Aquitayne will attempt to supply you with weapons, goods and medical equipment! Already we're hearing rumors of a counter-attack on the enemy! Stay strong, Comrades! Nationalism will bring you victory!

Meanwhile, the Guerillas and Mechanized units were arming civilian and vehicles to a Combat-Ready condition. Engineering Regiments attempted to fortify and mine the city in the case of invasion. Guerilla warfare was strongly encouraged through multiple loudspeakers in the city. If the enemy were to invade Helm, the casualties would be devestating.

[Aquitayne]

Air Forces Over Poltsa

As the first volley of anti-radiation missiles were launched, no confirmed kills were made. Fortunately, other Tomcat fighters were armed with heat seeking missiles - and there was no chance for friendly fire. Knowing that, 7 Tomcat fighters loosed about 20 missiles towards the enemy. The Banshee fighters stayed low, avoiding enemy contact for as long as possible. About five minutes after the strike fighters were launched, 10 strategic bombers were launched to penetrate enemy airspace and bomb invading troops moving into Poltsa. They flew without radar on to avoid SAM or radar detection, and their quiet engines kept them virtually undetectable. In ten minutes, most, if not all of Frizbar's 196th Heavy Armored Division would be reduced to dust.