The Long Way Down [OOC]

[Nova Sylva]

In character can be found here : viewtopic.php?f=5&t=334017

With the amount of people taking intrest, I think this having an OOC v. an IRC is a good idea.

[Mozria]

Tagged.

[Nova Sylva]

need feedback

COSAF-AF 111 Special Air Squadron
Forward Edge of the Battle Area, Sidonia
0030 hours

If there was a definite interval between flying low and flying stupid, COSAF-AF Colonel Nathaniel Wasdin and the men of the 111st Special Air Squadron hadn’t found it. His F-19A Ghostrider attack fighter skimmed dangerously close to the ground, close enough that he could have read the numerical designations on the enemy tanks that lay hidden in the dense chaparral shrubbery that was iconic to this part of the world. Behind him, arrayed in a random formation were the other twenty-four prototype stealth fighters, and though the pilots themselves were some of Sylva’s finest, the F19A was still a virgin to the battlefield.

Wasdin relished in his mission. They were skimming over the angular terrain of Allied Nations territory, never more than two hundred feet off the ground. He thanked God that this part of the world wasn’t famous for bustling forests – rather, it was dry, dusty grasslands arrayed over rolling and often rocky hillsides.

The manufacturing firm, 3S, called her the Ghostrider; though Wasdin and his men knew the aircraft as the Frisbee, the F-19A, the secretly developed stealth attack fighter – a weapon no country in the region had in their arsenals as of yet. The aircraft had no corners, no boxy shapes to allow radar to bounce off it. High-bypass turbofans were installed so the plane’s emission signal was a blur of infrared at most, and only to a trained eye at that. From above, the wings of the aircraft looked like a cathedral bell, and from the front, they curved oddly towards the ground, earning the plane the nickname of the “Frisbee.” Though a masterpiece of technology inside, the Frisbees had their active systems – all the planes radios and radars, anything that might emit electronic noise, was on passive or just off, playing on the Frisbee’s central idea that it was nearly invisible to any electronic monitoring system.

Far above over the border, the fighter aircraft of the Allied Nations and the defending Sidonian/Sylvan air forces played a deadly game of bluff, racing towards the border then turning away, both sides trying to lure the other into firing the first shots and committing to battle. Each side also had airborne radar aircraft with which to control such a battle and so gain an advantage in a war which the Allies were oblivious to the fact had already begun – not with their invasion of Sidonia, but with the 111 Special Air Squadron crossing the border, just minutes ago.

Wasdin stiffened up as he approached his target, moving the joystick slightly left. He was instantly reminded of the aircraft’s horrible handling – a consequence of its stealthy profile. But he didn’t care – in his book, being invisible was far better than being agile. Though he wasn’t sure what he was going to do if the plane’s stealth signature didn’t actually work.

“Target is sixty miles out,” his copilot said. “No radars locked on to us just yet, all on board systems look good.”

Their mission was an Allied Nations E3 AWACS Sentry, flying high over Allied Nations territory. So far, everything was good – but the closer they got to the Sentry, the more it’s radar would ping on the incoming Frisbees, and the harder the mission would become. All stealth technology did, after all, was make it harder to detect; it didn’t make it impossible. That’s what worried Wasdin – just how hidden were they?

There were five AN Sentries on duty, all situated about a hundred kilometers from the battlefront. A safe, secure distance by every previous account – though Wasdin hoped, after today, that would change.

“Twenty miles,” copilot advised. “Lots of radio chatter, but all west of us. We’re in the clear, boss.”

Wasdin reached down and pressed a button, priming four of his AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles hanging under the Frisbee’s wings – it’s only offensive weapons. The confirmation blinked back a friendly green light in the cockpit.

“Sixteen miles,” the copilot said, reading the numbers off a NAVSTAR satellite navigation system.

It was too late for the Sentry, Wasdin realized, and relaxed. The Frisbee didn’t have to climb until it was directly under the radar aircraft. Fourteen miles. Twelve. Ten. Eight. Six…

“Sentry is taking evasive,” the copilot warned. “Yeah, he’s found us. Too bad he couldn’t have done that five minutes ago.”

“Roger, let’s go,” he said. “SAS 111, this is Wasdin. Engage, engage!”

Wasdin took the aircraft nearly straight up at full power, and locked on to the enemy Sentry. He was vulnerable, now – flying high, the plane now emitted a clear heat signature that any enemy pilot within twenty miles could see. Regardless, Wasdin centered his gunsight and let loose his missiles, just as his comrades did to the other five enemy airborne radars.

One of the Sidewinders went wide as the aircraft threw up chaffs and tried to dive down for cover – but the other three found their mark. The Sidewinders didn’t hit the plane directly – instead, their proximity fuses detonated within thirty meters of the converted passenger jet, ripping it apart with flaming shrapnel. The Sentry quickly disintegrated into a ball of fire, vaporized even before it’s wreckage hit the ground.

***

Aboard an identical E3 Sentry, just with Sylvan markings and crew, the brigadier general in charge of Operation : Flashpoint noted with satisfaction the disappearance of all the AN airborne radars in under two minutes. It had worked, the F19s had really done it. Getting them home would be a different story – the AN knew where the stealth planes were now, and would no doubt try and get them as a consolation prize for being caught so badly with their pants down.

He leaned forward in his command chair and toggled his microphone. “All units, this is TRUMPETER. Operation : Flashpoint is a go, repeat, Flashpoint is a go. Make it count, people.”

Now, the second and more decisive half of the Sylvan/Sidonian first strike began. Across the border, Sylvan F-18s and Sidonian F1 Tornadoes swept down on the Allied armies, planes heavy with extra fuel tanks and smart bombs. Their targets were any preselected bridges, oil and ammunition dumps, and motor pools. They would mainly be trying to hamper the AN’s logistics, and grind down their war machine by preventing it’s consumption of bullets and fuel.

The Allied F35s, now without airborne radar cover, switched on their active radars and swept down on the Coalition strike force. But in turning on their radars, they were now much more vulnerable to being found themselves – and five squadrons of Sylvan F16s on interceptor duty took care of that, slicing through the newer, more expensive Allied F35s. A third group of aircraft, Aleckandorian ground-attack fighters, came in low like the Frisbees, determined to find and destroy the Allied ground radars that would undoubtedly attempt to pick up the slack that the destruction of their AWACS had created.

The F16s and the F35s met for the first time in open air combat, and the results further ruined an already bad day for the Allied Nations. The F35 was a multirole fighter, designed to complete a variety of different tasks – as a result, it did none of them as well as a specialized aircraft. Allied High Command would be extremely disappointed in the plane’s performance in dogfights such as this one. The aircraft also proved extremely unreliable, and too costly to fly – one flight hour equalling nearly thirty thousand dollars in costs, compared to the F16s’ fifteen thousand. The resulting air battle resulted in a numerically AN victory, damaging or destroying eighty-four Sylvan and Sidonian aircraft to a loss of sixty-nine of their F35 fighters. The problem was, the F16s used by the Sylvans were much cheaper to produce, and to operate – at the current rate of attrition, the AN could not sustain it’s losses – the Sylvan, Sidonian, and Aleckandorian air forces could.

But the Sylvans were also surprised, by a different factor. The Allied Integrated Air Defense System, made up mainly of Patriot-II missile batteries, responded to the crises with extremely punishing results for the Sylvan aircraft, which had not expected as much resistance on their initial runs. As such, a number of strategic targets deep inside the Allied lines, most importantly the majority of the Allied fuel dumps, were left unscathed by Operation : Flashpoint.

Sylvan 24. Armored Cavalry Regiment
Cherbourg, Republic of Sidonia
“We’re pretty exposed here,” Master Sergeant Hawthorne observed.

Hawthorne’s M1 Abrams main battle tank was dug into the reverse slope of a hill, overlooking a dusty plain flanked by wooded foothills. Small shrubbery grew in the sandy grass, which gradually became a small rocky ridge. The valley, if you could really call it that, belonged to a well-to-do farmer who had planted a tomato crop in it just a few weeks before. Behind that hill lay the AN 5th Armored Division, eleven and a half thousand strong.

Behind the 24. ACR was the village of Cherbourg, an important crossroads that led to Highway 10, which cut Sidonia bilaterally. Highway 10 was also a crucial supply route for the defenders, and allowed them to shuffle reinforcements wherever they were needed, and as such a primary objective for the AN invaders. They would undoubtedly attempt to hit it from the air, but the defenders had placed a number of SAMs and AHEAD SPAAGS to prevent, or atleast neglect the effects, of that.

"Now's really not the time to be doubting our position,” the driver, Staff Srgt. Lopez, replied. “But if you really want to move, we have an alternate back a ways.”

A Troop, 1 Squadron, 24th Armored Cavalry Regiment was fifteen Abrams tanks strong. They had been reinforced by a platoon of Aleckandorian Paragrenadiers, which had brought along a couple ATGM launchers. After watching the latter preform in SYMBATSYL, having the PGs on his side let him rest easy.

“Do we have any air support?” The gunner, Sergeant Oswald, asked, scanning the ridgeline for any movement.

“A couple A-10s,” Hawthorne replied. “Maybe some of those Aleckandorian helos, if we’re lucky.”

There was a tense silence as the men prepared mentally for the inevitable. They had been in Sidonia for weeks, getting ready to face the AN – but Hawthorne could feel himself shaking nonetheless. A full Allied Armored Division was going to come rolling into them – how could you possibly prepare for that?

***

Lt. General xxx looked over the interactive map as the command vehicle bumped along the road. It wasn’t really a road, it was a fire-break area between a forest, and as such a rather bumpy ride. It was also the perfect place for an ambush. The command vehicle pulled to a stop as the divisions’ tanks took up there positions. Self propelled artillery and MLRS vehicles sat further back, awaiting the order to open fire as the rest of the division’s mechanized infantry arrived.

“Initial reconnaissance was inconclusive on who’s defending the area,” an aid said. “But we know that the Sylvan 24th ACR is somewhere between here and Cherbourg.”

Damn intelligence, xxx thought. The Air Force had taken a pounding after the Sylvan first strike, and had cut down on reconnaissance runs to keep the skies clear of COSAF-AF ground attack fighters. Even in this capacity, they hadn’t been successful – at least three airstrikes had been preformed on the 5th Armored as of yet, at a cost of nearly twenty of his tanks. He just hoped the Air Force could keep the Sylvans off their backs long enough for his division to achieve a breakthrough.

“Alright, well if they have any forces, they’d be here,” the General pointed to a small ridge across a small valley. “Probably dug into the reverse slopes.”

“We can saturate it with artillery,” the aid suggested.

“Let’s do it. Three salvos, then send a brigade forwards. We don’t want to waste our artillery shells on targets that may or may not be there.”

“Very good, sir.”

***

It only lasted ninety seconds, but it was the scariest minute and a half of Hawthorne’s life. Artillery blasted all around them, destroying the pre-fabricated defenses the Sidonians, Sylvans, and PGs had prepared. He had no idea how many must have died in the barrage, but he was grateful that the AN seemed to saturating the entire ridge, not focusing on just the defending forces. So they don’t know exactly where we are.

As soon as the barrage stooped, smoked began hissing from canisters shot into the field and covering the landscape, to cover the AN’s advance. The smoke wouldn’t make a difference, though – all the tanks had thermal imagery. He flicked it on, and nearly shit his pants.

Atleast a hundred Allied Nations armored vehicles were assembling on the ridge, preparing to overwhelm his position. IFVs, SPAAGs, APCs, MBTs – vehicles of every class, which were now moving towards his position.

“Load SABOT!” he yelled. His gunner replied a second later. “Gun ready!”

“Target the lead tanks,” he ordered, “and fucking send it!” The turret rotated, and set its sights on a lead tank with a large antenna sticking out of it. Chances were it was the command tank – maybe a company, or even a battalion commander – or it was, before the SABOT round blasted through it’s armor and killed whoever was inside.

“New target,” he said, setting his sights on another tank. He bounced a laser off of it and got a reading – 1300 meters away. His tank automatically calculated the trajectory, speed, and elevation of the main gun, and adjusted to conform. Lopez, the gunner, pulled the trigger, and they watched as the forty-foot muzzle blast temporarily blinded their vision, annihilating the shrubbery around them. The cannon jerked back in recoil, ejecting the spent round. The SABOT, for it’s part, fell free of the casing and the 40 mm uranium/tungsten dart sliced through the enemy tank at speeds over a mile per second.

The Sylvans’ accurate fire was taking it’s toll, as were the PG’s ATGM missiles. But the AN tanks were also falling victim to the minefield in the valley, which were more effective than Hawthorne could have ever hoped for.

But the two successive muzzle flashes from Hawthorne’s tank told the AN tankers exactly where they were. An enemy HEAT round streaked overhead, narrowly missing them. “Lopez,” Hawthorne ordered. “Kill that bastard!”

He loaded another SABOT and fired, this time hitting the tank’s sloped frontal armor. Unfortunately for Hawthorne’s crew, it failed to penetrate the Diplomat’s heavy armor. “Fucking hell,” he cursed. “Fire two!”

The Diplomat got to fire first – it sent another HEAT round at his tank, which hit the ground just in front of the Sylvan tank. The explosion sent dirt and grass flying fifty feet in the air, but their reverse-slope entrenchment had saved them. He thanked God for the engineers – and the Sidonian farmers – who had dug the fortification for his tank.

“Time to go,” he ordered. “Head for the alternate position, move!”

The tank was thrown into reverse as another round streaked into where it had been a moment before. The tank spun to the right and drove fifty yards, before entering another prepared position and continuing the battle.

***

“Damn it!” xxx cursed. “They must have a full regiment on that ridge!” His first brigade had already taken heavy casualties. The Sylvans had the annoying tendency to target his commanders’ tanks, to the point where companies were now commanded by sergeants.

“We must break them,” he ordered, to no one in particular. “Throw in the auxiliary brigade. I need a breakthrough!”

He walked out of the command vehicle and waved down an advancing IFV. “Take me to the front,” he ordered.

“Sir, I cannot allow a general –“

“Are you questioning my orders, corporal?! Take me to the front, I must see what is going on!”

Reluctantly the corporal made room, ejecting the squad of the AN infantrymen that had previously inhabited the vehicle. They drove up to the ridge that the Sylvans had just vacated, near a obliterated defensive position and a burning Aleckandorian ATGM humvee. A rocket landed just meters away, narrowly missing an advancing AN tank from the auxiliary brigade.

“My God,” he said. “We’ve lost twenty tanks here!”

“Get down, sir!” he was thrown into a foxhole by the corporal. A sweep from a Sylvan ground attack fighter obliterated the vehicle he had been in a moment before, and the tank that had been lucky missing the missile wasn’t so lucky with the enemy plane – 11 inch armor-piercing depleted uranium rounds blew apart the tank.

***

Hawthorne had arrived at his alternate position in less than a minute, but as he re-engaged he noticed with trepidation how far the enemy had advanced. “We need to fall back,” he said. “And where are those A-10s I was promised?”

Hawthorne ordered his driver to get on the move again. The defenders were retreating now, to the second line of prepared positions. Two tanks provided a skillful rear guard action, as they entered another set of reverse slope positions. The AN had crossed the first ridge now – if they broke through the second line of defense, Cherbourg would belong to the Allied Nations.

“Where the fuck is my air support?” He said again.

The flash of an A-10’s gatling gun answered that for him. The twin-engine ground attack fighter swooped in low, strafing the advancing AN, and destroying a tank that an Aleckandorian ATGM had missed just a moment before. The nose of the aircraft disappeared in a mass of fire as the pilot fired his antitank cannon. Another four tanks exploded before his eyes. The A-10 appeared to stagger before heading back north, a missile chasing after him, which was dispatched with a batch of chaff flares.

Hawthorne watched as a pair of antitank missiles swooped into the AN lines, one miss, one kill. More smoke came from both sides as the defending forces retreated once again another five hundred yards. The village they were defending, Cherbourg, was now in sight. A reserve company of Sidonian infantrymen rushed up to help, but without anti-tank weapons all they could do was try and pick off the stray AN infantry forces advancing alongside the tanks.

The AN had apparently staked their entire division into this battle, as another fifty enemy tanks crossed the ridge. The A-10 made a second pass, releasing all of its rockets and flashing it’s cannon, but was soon destroyed by an enemy SPAAG. In a last act of defiance the pilot intentionally crashed his doomed aircraft into a tank, both going up in flames.

“This has to be the enemy schwerpunkt,” Hawthrone observed. “Relay back to regimental command, and tell them we need everything they have at Cherbourg, now!”

***

The other two squadrons of the Sylvan 24th Armored Cavalry Regiment were heading south. The regimental commander, Colonel William Smith, had thought it best that they travel in a column in order to reach the position faster rather than in the standard echelon formation.

He was about to regret that.

Ten Allied Nations Ambassador gunships, which were almost identical to the Sylvan Apache attack helicopters, had been diverted from the 10th Mountain Division’s advance to assist in what could be the decisive breakthrough. The lead chopper’s commander spotted a mile-long column of vehicles heading south. Knowing immediately they were not friendly, he ordered his flight squadron to engage. He emptied one of his missile tubes and let loose both of his HE rockets, and destroyed the lead vehicle and the three behind it. The Sylvans, he now realized, tried to break formation and scatter, but it was too little to late. The ten gunships had laid waste to nearly half of the 24. ACR’s tanks before the radar contact of incoming COSAF-AF fighters forced them to turn back.

***

“We’re going to break through,” xxx noted with satisfaction. He had just received word that what could only be a Sylvan Armored Cavalry Regiment was obliterated by his attack helicopters. Without reinforcements, there was no way that the defenders could hold Cherbourg.

The Sylvans were throwing the full weight of their air power against his division, but it wasn’t going to be enough. He made a quick adjustment to the location of his third and final brigade and ordered them to advance directly on Cherbourg.

“4th Battalion reports a breakthrough, sir,” xxx had returned to his command vehicle, which had moved forwards as his forces did. “So does C company of 7th Battalion.”

“Exploit it!” he ordered. “Send the rest of the second brigade through the gap. Let’s take that damn town.”

The night sky flashed bright as a Sylvan aircraft released a massive load of napalm on his forces. It wouldn’t hurt his tanks very much, but any infantry in the open were effectively dead. His artillery was relentlessly pounding the village now, trying to dislodge any defenders that intended to fight house-to-house.

The AN advanced on the town in two prongs, which faced even more tenacious resistance from inside Cherbourg. The Sylvan tanks, expended of ammunition, were now using their vehicles as roadblocks and machine-gun platforms. xxx ordered his infantry to dismount from their IFVs and storm the city. The Aleckandorian PGs cut them down from windows and alleyways, fighting viciously for every inch of soil. The body count continued to rise, as did the time wasted in the assault on the town. With minimal results from the infantry, he ordered the town leveled by artillery. Finally, three hours after the start of hostilities, the AN declared Cherbourg secure.

“Sir,” an aid reported. “2nd Battalion reports the town is secure. We are victorious!”

xxx looked at the destruction before him, as the sun began to rise over the landscape and the smoke cleared. He had lost nearly a thousand soldiers killed and another three thousand wounded, in addition to nearly a third of his division’s tanks, and to a force roughly a fourth in size to his own. We had won, but at what cost?

This, he thought grimly. This is victory?

[Mozria]

Many things wrong with this post. Will try to squeeze in some kind of deconstruction during/after tonight's work.

[Aleckandor REDUX]

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=24132122#p24132122

Here's my ORBAT. I don't know if I should cut anything out or add anything to it. Thoughts?

[Nova Sylva]

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=24132122#p24132122

Here's my ORBAT. I don't know if I should cut anything out or add anything to it. Thoughts?

That's one hell of a force you've got there. I love it.

But assembling and transporting such a force will take time, too much time. I think you should deploy some airborne forces to Sidonia before the rest of this massive force arrives.

[Mozria]

The post was horridly off-base and refute with grammatical and realism errors. I shall attempt to go over most of it here.

...grasslands arrayed over rolling and often rocky hillsides.

If your objective was to have your uber-stealth fighters penetrate into enemy airspace to take out distant CNC assets, you certainly would not fly them over entirely flat grassland. The way to remain hidden would be to fly through the lowest, high-sided areas possible with the most ground clutter present in order to avoid notice by enemy airborne and ground-based radar. Remember that the tops and bottoms of aircraft have the greatest RCS and therefore one must compensate more greatly for their increased signature when flying above or below radar transmitters.

...stealth attack fighter – a weapon no country in the region had in their arsenals as of yet.

I would highly doubt that out of all of the modern countries in Casaterra and Yervhenn (which are no strangers to war, certainly), none of them have produced a stealth aircraft by the year 2015. Such a statement is nonsensical.

High-bypass turbofans were installed so the plane’s emission signal was a blur of infrared at most, and only to a trained eye at that.

High-bypass jet engines do not reduce thermal signature, nor are they even typically mounted on military aircraft other than transports. High-bypass engines simply have more fan thrust than jet thrust, and the closest they can get to being "stealthy" is through lowering the amount of sound output by the aircraft versus low-bypass or pure jet engines.

...four of his AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles hanging under the Frisbee’s wings – it’s only offensive weapons.

Having underbelly ordnance mounts is counterintuitive to a stealthy aircraft design, as missiles and the like hanging off of the aircraft will bounce radar waves in a much more effective manner than could possibly be compensated for. Thusly, stealth fighter designs such as the F-22, F-35, PAK-FA and J-20 all store their missiles in internal bays.

Additionally, all of the aforementioned aircraft are gun-armed. The lesson for not arming fighter craft with guns was learned harshly with the F-110 in Vietnam.

He was vulnerable, now – flying high, the plane now emitted a clear heat signature that any enemy pilot within twenty miles could see.

What happened to the "a blur of infrared at most" statement?

One of the Sidewinders went wide as the aircraft threw up chaffs and tried to dive down for cover – but the other three found their mark. The Sidewinders didn’t hit the plane directly – instead, their proximity fuses detonated within thirty meters of the converted passenger jet, ripping it apart with flaming shrapnel. The Sentry quickly disintegrated into a ball of fire, vaporized even before it’s wreckage hit the ground.

Chaff would not thwart an AIM-9M. Even though those missiles are old, the reality still stands that they have thermal seekers and not millimetric wave scanners. Flares would be the usable alternative, and would quite possibly fool several missiles if they are of the right modulation and are being used alongside jammers. This doubly applies if the jammers/flares are modern and your missiles are not (which appears to be the case).

Another issue that I have with this little section is your description of the destruction of the AWACS plane. Anti-air missiles carry annular blast fragmentation warheads, which function by forcing a welded bunch of metal rods into an expanding, continuous blade to cut through and damage flight surfaces and other components. The effect of this type of warhead on the plane would likely be severe damage to the fuselage and/or wings, and might be enough to compromise the integrity of such components and cause the aircraft to break up. However, it is unlikely that the plane would be consumed in a fireball to such a degree that you described (also worthy of note is that the "shrapnel" itself would not be on fire either).

One more quip is that you need to figure out your possessives.

Aboard an identical E3 Sentry, just with Sylvan markings and crew, the brigadier general

I am confused as to why you would have such high-ranking personnel on an airplane only a hundred or so kilometers away from the front. It would both be more practical C3I-wise and safer for the military command structure.

...Sylvan F-18s and Sidonian F1 Tornadoes swept down on the Allied armies, planes heavy with extra fuel tanks and smart bombs. Their targets were any preselected bridges, oil and ammunition dumps, and motor pools.

...ground-attack fighters, came in low like the Frisbees, determined to find and destroy the Allied ground radars that would undoubtedly attempt to pick up the slack that the destruction of their AWACS had created

Why not just hit everything with long-range guided missile artillery and/or cruise missiles rather than potentially wasting your planes and the lives of your airmen? It would be expensive, sure, but assuredly you could have the same effect at a much lower human cost or probability of failure. UAVs could certainly be used to evaluate targets, although high-altitude and satellite reconnaissance likely would suffice.

Hawthorne’s M1 Abrams main battle tank...

Wow, that's very original. At least Clint calls it something else.

Why are you using the same tank as him, anyway?

...fire-break area between a forest

I'm not normally so anal about grammar, but this annoys me. "Between a forest" and what? Within a forest? Without? I cannot tell from this sentence, and it obviously was not proofread (which seems to be the case for the entire post, to be honest).

“Let’s do it. Three salvos, then send a brigade forwards. We don’t want to waste our artillery shells on targets that may or may not be there.”

I know that you are writing from Clint's troops' perspective (which is debatably godmod), but this isn't World War One. Even such a tactically inept military as his would likely think to send a UAV or a scout helicopter (or many of them) to assess the enemy. Reconnaissance is not something that you can simply cut out of the picture.

The smoke wouldn’t make a difference, though – all the tanks had thermal imagery. He flicked it on...

Why weren't your tankers already using FLIR cameras? They would have been able to see and engage the AN forces if they had, and the opposite would also be true if the AN tanks were using thermals as well.

Atleast a hundred Allied Nations armored vehicles were assembling on the ridge, preparing to overwhelm his position. IFVs, SPAAGs, APCs, MBTs – vehicles of every class, which were now moving towards his position.

Again, why didn't anyone notice this happening beforehand?

...set its sights on a lead tank with a large antenna sticking out of it.

At range, it is highly unlikely that they could notice this.

The cannon jerked back in recoil, ejecting the spent round. The SABOT, for it’s part, fell free of the casing and the 40 mm uranium/tungsten dart sliced through the enemy tank at speeds over a mile per second.

Modern tank guns do not eject spent casings. This is because the cartridge cases are flammable and burn up when the gun is fired. The only remainder is a case stub, which is typically ejected through the turret roof on the designs that I have seen (not sure about NATO tanks, as they are hand-loaded).

The word "sabot" is not an acronym. It is the part of the cartridge that suspends the projectile within the bore so that it can be accelerated by the deflagrating propellant as the gun is fired.

The M829A1 projectile is twenty-seven millimeters in diameter. This is the same for all subsequent variants, although the length, muzzle velocity and other factors vary. However, all of them are solid depleted uranium. Additionally, kinetic energy penetrators do not "slice through" AFVs- If they did, they would be incredibly inefficient and quite possibly ineffective. Rather, they pierce through armor and then emerge on the inside in a spray of very hot (burning, in the case of depleted uranium) high-velocity fragments to kill and wound the crew, as well as damaging internal systems and, as a whole, compromising the vehicle's ability to fight.

The one thing that you did get right here was your ballpark estimate of the projectile's velocity, which at the muzzle is roughly 1,750 meters/second (~1.09 miles/second).

An enemy HEAT round streaked overhead, narrowly missing them.

The Abrams' very first electronic fire control system gave a hit probability of around ninety percent out to two thousand meters, even while the tank was moving. I highly doubt that AN tankers would miss at such a range, regardless of how stupid they might be.

Also, why would they be lobbing HEAT against other tanks?

He loaded another SABOT and fired, this time hitting the tank’s sloped frontal armor. Unfortunately for Hawthorne’s crew, it failed to penetrate the Diplomat’s heavy armor.

If you are meaning that the projectile struck the hull, it would undeniably penetrate. If it hit the turret (which on the Abrams is hardly sloped at all), kill is unlikely even if you are using latest-generation ammunition. However, there is the possibility that AN tanks don't have the current Abrams' DU insert package. If so, penetration would be much easier.

The Sylvans had the annoying tendency to target his commanders’ tanks...

Again, I find it unlikely that commanders' tanks could be singled out so easily at range.

He walked out of the command vehicle and waved down an advancing IFV. “Take me to the front,” he ordered.

This is an incredibly stupid decision, and a general of all people would not be making it.

...enemy plane – 11 inch armor-piercing depleted uranium rounds blew apart the tank.

Why in the world do you think a plane would or could have an eleven-inch cannon on it? That's two-hundred and eighty freakin' millimeters of bore diameter! What ground-attack plane could carry that!? Provided, even if it could be carried, it certainly could not be fired. Also, you are implying that the plane fired multiple times- I would love to see you try to come up with a feeding mechanism for a 280mm cannon.

The flash of an A-10’s gatling gun answered that for him. The twin-engine ground attack fighter swooped in low, strafing the advancing AN, and destroying a tank that an Aleckandorian ATGM had missed just a moment before. The nose of the aircraft disappeared in a mass of fire as the pilot fired his antitank cannon. Another four tanks exploded before his eyes. The A-10 appeared to stagger before heading back north, a missile chasing after him, which was dispatched with a batch of chaff flares.

This part is plain ridiculous.

A-10s and other CAS planes attack from ranges measured in kilometers. For no reason would one "swoop in low," especially so close to the enemy. For one, this makes the enemy troops harder to hit by reducing their cross-sections and increasing the rate by which they are able to move within the pilot's field of view. Also, it increases the amount of potential cover between the aircraft and its targets
and is simply very dangerous due to the possibility of hurtling into the ground and/or getting shot up by enemy troops. The A-10 is a tough bird, but autocannons are tougher.

One thing that I neglected to mention is that the A-10's gun does not have enough penetration to pierce and damage/destroy many AFVs from the front. Thusly, the GAU-8 is always used to engage tanks and the like from the top at an approach angle of about sixty degrees or less. This would require either being far away or much too close to survive.

Again, you mention this "anti-tank cannon." I presume that you are still pretending that a 280mm gun is okay, and therefore this is totally unrealistic. Also unrealistic is its displayed effect, in which it can apparently destroy four tanks, all at once. I assure you that this is unachievable with anything short of a bomb weighing several thousand pounds. Detonating a large explosive next to a tank would (typically) mobility-kill it at most while perhaps rattling the crew. Adding fragmentation into this would not necessarily help, as it takes a very dense, very hard projectile of the right shape and velocity in order to penetrate armor-even on the side and rear of a tank. You almost certainly could not do this with a 280mm shell, especially not to the point that you describe.
Even if you do strike a tank directly with the projectile, penetrating it would be another matter. A HEAT warhead, possibly tandem or triple-tandem, would do the job. However, this still leaves you without the ability to destroy three other tanks. How unfortunate.

Finally, what are these supposed "chaff-flares" that you are talking about? Chaff is made up of radar-reflective strips that send false or obscuring feedback to fool radar tracking. Flares are meant to disrupt infrared seekers by creating heat signatures similar to that of the defender. How would you fuse these two into one countermeasure? Chaff clouds and burning flares aren't exactly similar.

The A-10 made a second pass, releasing all of its rockets and flashing it’s cannon, but was soon destroyed by an enemy SPAAG. In a last act of defiance the pilot intentionally crashed his doomed aircraft into a tank, both going up in flames.

First, why is an SPAAG so close to the line that it is able to shoot up your bum-rushing A-10? Also, why and how in the world would the pilot be able to fly his aircraft (which apparently is already damaged enough so that it is crashing) into a tank that is hundreds of meters away while he is but a few dozen or less meters off the ground by your imagery? That's some Rambo III-type stuff.

...had thought it best that they travel in a column in order to reach the position faster rather than in the standard echelon formation.

How is it faster to drive in a column rather than an echelon, provided that this is not on a road (which would preclude the echelon anyway)?

...released a massive load of napalm on his forces. It wouldn’t hurt his tanks very much...

This is not necessarily the case. It would roast thin-walled APCs and IFVs, as well as disabling engines, popping rubber tires and fouling electronics and sights. Also, it would annihilate the crews of any vehicles that were not completely enclosed within their vehicles. Any open hatch would spell death to a tank's occupants.

...Sylvan tanks, expended of ammunition...

The M1 Abrams can carry over forty rounds of 120mm ammunition. Your tank crews would have to be hilariously ineffective to have wasted all of their ammunition allotment with minimal results in the manner of destroyed AN tanks. That's not to mention that the battle would have to be incredibly long, with almost constant fighting, for the tanks to shoot up all of their stores.

...ordered his infantry to dismount from their IFVs and storm the city. The Aleckandorian PGs cut them down from windows and alleyways...

Of course the infantry would be cut down, because rushing in without IFV cover or other armor support is suicidal. I would like to believe that not even Clint would do this of his own volition.

---

There. That's all I've got. There is a bit more left, almost all of it relating to grammar, but I'm tired of critiquing your post.

BTW, Sheldon, I would suggest spoilering your post.

[Erquin]

Daaamn...
Forty rounds of ammunition seems like a kinda small store of rounds to me, but what do I know? Its probably like how modern warfare basically warrants and permits the use of smaller, more tactically efficient forces to complete large tasks, like a basic fireteam with all sorts of stuff, but probably packing only 5 to 8 men, 12 at best.

Now, I wonder how my troops would perform in such a situation? Probably utilize a plan of having some OC-2012's back in a tree line, with loads of ATGM missiles loaded in their barrels, to act as long-distance anti tank support, while a small pair would move up and harass or lure the enemy over to the killzone, I dont really know.

[Mozria]

Daaamn...
Forty rounds of ammunition seems like a kinda small store of rounds to me, but what do I know? Its probably like how modern warfare basically warrants and permits the use of smaller, more tactically efficient forces to complete large tasks, like a basic fireteam with all sorts of stuff, but probably packing only 5 to 8 men, 12 at best.

Now, I wonder how my troops would perform in such a situation? Probably utilize a plan of having some OC-2012's back in a tree line, with loads of ATGM missiles loaded in their barrels, to act as long-distance anti tank support, while a small pair would move up and harass or lure the enemy over to the killzone, I dont really know.

Forty rounds is actually quite generous. You typically will not be missing your targets while in a tank, and most hits versus AFVs will be kills. Other expenditure will be versus fortifications and buildings, while RWSes and other machine guns will take care of soft targets. In general forty rounds of various types will be more than enough to supply the main gun for any engagement.

BTW, a fireteam is a subunit of a squad that numbers between three and five in most cases.

[Meinkraft]

I'M SORRY! IT APPEARS WE'VE HAD A WAR I WASN'T AWARE OF!

Hawthorne’s M1 Abrams main battle tank...

Wow, that's very original. At least Clint calls it something else.

Why are you using the same tank as him, anyway?

Yeah. And Abrams didn't exist here, because America doesn't exist.

...fire-break area between a forest

I'm not normally so anal about grammar,

Perks of actually reading!

[Mozria]

It is strange to me that you were not aware of the tension over Sidonia.

Anyway, it is supposed to play out as a Sylvan/Alecko first strike. I honestly find it likely that there would have been a fight regardless. This way, however, Mozria gets to condemn the actions of its neighbors and then reluctantly side with them anyway.

[Meinkraft]

It is strange to me that you were not aware of the tension over Sidonia.

Anyway, it is supposed to play out as a Sylvan/Alecko first strike. I honestly find it likely that there would have been a fight regardless. This way, however, Mozria gets to condemn the actions of its neighbors and then reluctantly side with them anyway.

Oh yeah...



Nah, m8. You're siding with me. I have things you want....

[Mozria]

Like what? It'd take a whole freaking lot for Mozria to turn against its historical allies and neighbors in general. It would be a very bad strategic decision.

[Meinkraft]

Like what? It'd take a whole freaking lot for Mozria to turn against its historical allies and neighbors in general. It would be a very bad strategic decision.

We're giving you the EPD back in exchange for being allied.


Of course, you'll receive the land after the war, but by then it'll be too late to enforce treaties...

[Mozria]

I am striking the events at the EPD from canon. The entire premise of that thread was dumb in retrospect.

[Meinkraft]

I am striking the events at the EPD from canon. The entire premise of that thread was dumb in retrospect.

So we'll give you the EPD. No "back" there.

[Mozria]

How would that be worth betraying and quite possibly being invaded by my neighbor states?

[Meinkraft]

How would that be worth betraying and quite possibly being invaded by my neighbor states?

Mozria's strong. We'll also provide monetary consumption. (In theory)

[Aleckandor REDUX]

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=24132122#p24132122

Here's my ORBAT. I don't know if I should cut anything out or add anything to it. Thoughts?

That's one hell of a force you've got there. I love it.

But assembling and transporting such a force will take time, too much time. I think you should deploy some airborne forces to Sidonia before the rest of this massive force arrives.

Alright, so I guess by the time the Allies invades Sidonia, perhaps all of SCU: MELKOR is already on the ground (their specialty is rapid deployment of advanced troops, after all) with elements from the Regular 112. Cav, the PGs' 36. Airmobile, and the 8. Levy from the Táhnkeon Oil Brigade shoring up the rear. The Marine Order could have some dudes on the ground but they are limited due to the breakneck logistical constraints, currently trying to fix their positions and fan out from Capernaum.

The Air Division probably has a good third of its air superiority and CAS squadrons already ready to go with some of their AWACS planes, but no bombers yet so far. Lastly, the fleet I'm sending to attack Meinkraft Proper would probably not arrive until much later, and there's also the possibility of them having to engage AN naval response forces from both the air, land, and sea.

Oh, and for intrigue's sake, I'm gonna start working on a post declaring my government's position, as well as a subplot concerning intelligence operatives of mine being activated for black ops and subversion within Meinkraft itself (if you're okay with that, Clint).

Another thing, me and Sylva should begin to ICly address the Wanko-Aemen Conflict once it officially hits the headlines and is open for participation. Of course, we'll have to focus mainly on Sidonia while that's happening, but we should steadily come into it as we begin to feel less stretched from the other issue.

[Erquin]

If Mozria turns of Erquin...

Erquin = FOR HONOR AND GLORY!

Mozria = Shit, I have fleas on me D:

[Murovanka]

Alright, so I guess by the time the Allies invades Sidonia, perhaps all of SCU: MELKOR is already on the ground (their specialty is rapid deployment of advanced troops, after all) with elements from the Regular 112. Cav, the PGs' 36. Airmobile, and the 8. Levy from the Táhnkeon Oil Brigade shoring up the rear. The Marine Order could have some dudes on the ground but they are limited due to the breakneck logistical constraints, currently trying to fix their positions and fan out from Capernaum.

The Air Division probably has a good third of its air superiority and CAS squadrons already ready to go with some of their AWACS planes, but no bombers yet so far. Lastly, the fleet I'm sending to attack Meinkraft Proper would probably not arrive until much later, and there's also the possibility of them having to engage AN naval response forces from both the air, land, and sea.

Oh, and for intrigue's sake, I'm gonna start working on a post declaring my government's position, as well as a subplot concerning intelligence operatives of mine being activated for black ops and subversion within Meinkraft itself (if you're okay with that, Clint).

Another thing, me and Sylva should begin to ICly address the Wanko-Aemen Conflict once it officially hits the headlines and is open for participation. Of course, we'll have to focus mainly on Sidonia while that's happening, but we should steadily come into it as we begin to feel less stretched from the other issue.

It'll get a little messy if you guys get involved in our side-show; besides, I don't think it's that significant. Just wondering, is Aemen going to partipate in Sidonia too?

Oh also, Aemen, I hope you don't mind if I shoot down your drone. Sorry for delay, have been reorganizing my military. Post will be up soon.

[United World Order]

Hello. Il be joining this RP this evening. My fellow germanic brethren shall not stand alone in their needs.

[Nova Sylva]

Hello. Il be joining this RP this evening. My fellow germanic brethren shall not stand alone in their needs.

Oh fuck. We're all screwed...

[Erquin]

Do not worry.

Erquin will save us! Somehow...

[Nova Sylva]

Do not worry.

Erquin will save us! Somehow...

UWO, please show him the error of his ways (and show benevolent mercy to Sylva )