A few weeks later...
In the sky, a fleet of helicopters of different types, from transport to attack, flew in formation. As they landed in a designated spot away from the war camp, the maintenance crew rode on trucks, driving along with supplies of ammunition, food, and water. Over 50 fuel trucks were also driven, and as they arrived and grouped up, Axe met with the commander of the brigade. Only 5,000 soldiers were allocated since only 10 divisions were active.
As Alex introduced this new type of doctrine to the army, they scrambled to gather the fitting soldiers and form new divisions, creating the Combat Air Corps. Some soldiers were transferred to the Air Force, acting as the ground army for it.
The soldiers were trained by the Forbidden Cavalry, but instead of riding horses, they rode small birds previously used by the special forces. Now, they could use them for the final test: being sent into hostile zones to take an objective and leave.
The 10 divisions were spread out in the world, with the majority placed on the Tyrell continent.
After a day's rest, the commander was briefed. After giving the information to the lower officers over two days, they prepped for battle. Within this timeframe, Muscovy soldiers and 4th Legion infantrymen were sent to look for routes in the city. After 2.5 days, they found the routes and named them Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie.
Those platoons were already waiting. The air cavalry infantrymen would land and secure the perimeter. After that, the platoon squads with demolition TNT would dismantle the traps and explode the walls. The tanks and infantry would be waiting for the signal to surge.
Five days later...
After finalizing the plan, Axe decided to take part in this, and Weiss would command the army and lead the final phase of the attack.
"I will lead the attack on the first phase. I will draw much attention to me, and you guys will have to capture the three points. In the last phase, Weiss will lead the final attack. When you destroy the traps, fire a red flare to signal the last offensive," Axe dictated. The commanders, along with Weiss, nodded in understanding.
Outside the tents and the area where the helicopters were parked, pilots began to start up their engines. The cavalrymen checked their weapons, filled up their ammunition, and began to load up.
"Come on, pick up the pace! The operation starts in 30 minutes!" one of the officers shouted at a group of soldiers who were moving their equipment to the helicopters.
In 10 minutes, artillery lit up the sky, destroying and clearing buildings, giving more space for tanks that were soon to enter.
As the helicopters began to hover in the sky, snow fell. Ironically, this was the name of the operation. The attack helicopters took a spearhead formation, and the transport helicopters formed a diamond formation.
As they headed towards the city, they saw the destruction caused by the artillery. The burning ashes were visible. Upon arrival at the inner city, the transport helicopters broke off and headed towards their locations. On the remaining houses' rooftops, enemy archers threw projectiles at the helicopters.
"Soldiers, prepare to rappel down," said one of the officers in the helicopter. They prepared the rope. As they arrived at Point Bravo, the soldiers heard a large explosion. They saw Axe flying with wings made of lightning, dropping thunderbolts and throwing ice shards at the enemy archers on the rooftops.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A second later, an attack helicopter fired its minigun, killing the enemy on the walls. Turning to another target, the helicopter pilot saw a large group of Titan soldiers moving towards the rappelling soldiers. He immediately fired four of his manually guided missiles, causing their entire pack to disappear.
Back on the transport helicopters, soldiers wearing winter clothing with white camo began rappelling. Those who arrived first began securing the position.
Axe, watching from above, saw the soldiers gathering and defending their position, waiting for the Muscovy soldiers.
"Damn piece of shit, I stepped on a dead rat," said a Muscovy soldier who grunted.
"Stop being a crybaby and let's move along. Can you hear it? The battle is already raging on while we're under here crying like children," said a Draconian officer. The Muscovy officer nodded and scolded some of his men, but not harshly.
This platoon of soldiers arrived at a manhole. One of them opened it and saw the brigade soldiers reaching their hands out. As they joined and regrouped, they began pushing forward. They saw a Cobra attack helicopter step down and open fire on a battalion-sized group, tearing them to shreds with the minigun. As the Draconian and Muscovy troops arrived at the gate, they found the charges and dismantled them. They added different charges while the soldiers moved the barrels of gunpowder.
"Charles, hit it!" shouted the officer. The rest found cover, and the Muscovy troops raised their shields.
BOOM!
"This is Point Alpha; you are clear to enter the gate," said the leading officer through the radio. They created a perimeter while firing at enemy troops trying to take advantage of their numbers and isolate the soldiers.
Axe, who stood over the battlements, heard the success of the remaining points. One of the soldiers fired the flare, and Weiss led the charge with a war cry. The vanguard, led by the Forbidden Cavalry, tore through the remaining Chronos troops.
The battle died down. Soldiers patrolled the city, some forming small camps. One soldier asked, "What to do with him?" pointing his rifle at an injured body. Another soldier pushed him aside, aimed a flamethrower, and released a long stream of flames. The flames muffled the screams of agony from the people trapped beneath.
(Gotta remind you, there's no Geneva Convention in this world. Only the law of nobles being ransomed exists, along with some holy laws of religions. You can just use your fantasy brain, but remember there are no rules of war. Some are followed by an ancient treaty, but Alex ignored them and created bioweapons, using them rarely and only with his authorization. Back to the story.)
As soldiers continued to flood the city, 80% of it was captured. The last remaining resistance point was the governor's palace, which was also a central fortress. They decided to starve out the enemy. After three weeks, the original 15,000 defenders were reduced to 4,000, who surrendered for the promise of better treatment.
This siege cost 50 Draconian lives and 1,000 Muscovy soldiers. The capture of the remaining cities left the battered 4th Legion licking its wounds from losses, which accumulated to 20,000 dead, with one division recorded missing.
4th Legion 13th Infantry Division POV:
The division, cut off from the rest of their army, was now located in a captured port 80 km away from the frontlines. No fleet was able to get them out as they were blockaded by sea monsters. Their only chance was to defend until they were no more.
"Sir, the first line is being overwhelmed," his staff sergeant spoke.
"I see. Have them fall back and have the mortars and artillery zero the area," Major General Adam said as he exhaled smoke after inhaling his cigar. He observed the battle from the walls. Behind him, soldiers of his division moved around, some placing sandbags, others handing out food. He had expelled the citizens to reduce the number of mouths to feed. A Titan army of over 100,000 began attacking their location. Luckily, they had soldiers sneaking out to steal food from the countryside.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
On the battlements, soldiers fired their heavy mortars, landing on the first line of defense. The Titan soldiers that just arrived were immediately blown apart. After the initial bombardment, the soldiers from the second line joined the survivors from the first line in a counterattack.
An hour later...
After the battle, Adam came down from the battlements and saw the soldiers being treated. He felt a slight pain as they had lost 10 brothers today. What drove them to fight at this point was hope and their motto, "Stand and fight." As Adam walked around the streets, escorted by his platoon guard, he continued to hear gunfire beyond the walls. He observed the rows of tents in the demolished buildings, reused as barricades and places for the final stand. In the worst-case scenario, he planned for some soldiers to hold off the enemy while others escaped through a tunnel that had been dug over the past two months.
"Sir, currently we lost 100 soldiers today," said his chief of staff, handing him a report on today's battle. Normally, losses could be replaced, but they were cut off from any reinforcements and supplies. They did manage to contact command, but it was a short four-minute talk, promising supplies in the third month. Now, it had been two months.
"I see. Have their tags recorded and bury their bodies. Have the ashes stored," he said, not wanting to risk disease spreading, although they had experienced it once during boot camp.
"Yes, Major General," said the chief of staff as he left Adam's side. Adam continued to walk towards the small fort in the port city. Entering the command room, he saw the makeshift map of the city with drawn defense lines. The only reason they weren't overwhelmed by the enemy's numbers was his maneuver tactics, sending platoons to attack the enemy's rear or their camp at night with a battalion specializing in harassing attacks.
Currently, his numbers were 9,000, with the rest raiding in the countryside, sending back food and anything that could be medical. They only had five months' worth of ammunition if used wisely.
He created different tactics, like using captured enemy soldiers as meat shields or taking their weapons and fighting in close combat, using undestroyed arrows and bows, and sticking landmines to dead bodies.
"Sir, a new batch of supplies has arrived," reported one of the soldiers.
"I see. Have them stored. What's the progress on those ships?" he asked. He had not expelled all the citizens, keeping shipwrights to build transport ships that could traverse the ocean. He selected a battalion to assist and be trained, leaving only 8,000 soldiers available for combat.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The table shook as cannonballs fell. The enemy brought a new weapon of war, a smoothbore cannon given to them by the Tiamat Empire. The enemy fired upon them.
"Find cover, soldiers!" shouts outside the fort were heard. The Draconian soldiers were already used to the weekly bombardment, lasting for hours and preventing them from sleeping well. The next day would always bring a full invasion.
"An entire battalion wiped out my division," Adam muttered as he received a report of 1,000 soldiers being captured or killed during a guerrilla warfare mission.
He tried to keep himself together, moving pieces on the table until he formed a kill zone. Once the enemy began an offensive again, they would let them flood one point, cut off their retreat, and kill them all in close combat to save bullets. After that battle, he would have only two lines of defense. In the next few weeks, he would fall back to the walls and defend them.
"Major General, sir-"
To be continued...