The race to the bottom

[HHAYD]

In the loyalist government's makeshift HQ in Lansing:


Mercenaries General Naory: "Well !@#$, the foreigners came from Sri Lanka's military."

President George: "Last time I checked, dropping hostile military forces onto another country uninvited is an act of war."

MRA General Arnod: "What should we do?"

President George: "Declare war."

MRA General Arnod: "You do realize that you're asking us, who is still trying to beat down the rebels, to take on a !@#$@#$ technological and economic powerhouse that also has defense treaties with other countries?"

Mercenaries General Naory: "And we have no means of actually attacking them considering the fact that they're about halfway across the globe."

President George: "Any other plans?"

MRA General Arnod: "Contact our neighbors. Originally we didn't want other folks mess with our civil war. Looks like we're going to have to balance it out."

President George: "And if they refuse to help?"

MRA General Arnod: "You do the diplomatic stunt."

[Lynneth]

[quote name='HHAYD' timestamp='1305405806' post='2711842']
Vanguard would receive a reply from the Department of Defense located in Chicago, the rebel's HQ, that they were glad to accept Vanguard's two satellites.

What Vanguard didn't know was that the HQ was overrun about three weeks ago and its staff was replaced with loyalist operators. The loyalist MRA was glad to sabotage some unlucky rebels over the span of three weeks.

Nor would Vanguard know which part of the country was rebel or loyalist held except for areas they passed through.[/quote]
A request for En/Decryption algorithms and some other things would be sent, all important to ensure full function for whoever got the satellites.
Of course, if even one bit was missing, the deal would not happen, and in the chaos of taking over a hostile HQ, information could be lost quite easily.

Meanwhile, Vanguard consolidated its forces up in the north, soon enough a full Division of forces available.

Scouts would be sent out to contact rebel forces in the area to try and get them to link up with Vanguard's network to heighten overall efficiency in coordinating efforts to remove the loyalists from the center of the country.
15 tanks, 3 mobile howitzers and 450 of Vanguard's operatives were diverted towards Houghton to liberate the city.

The rest began moving south, east and southeast towards major cities while the fighter planes conducted air superiority- and scout missions. Naturally, satellites were attempting to track all movements, as possible.
Vanguard wanted to be as prepared as it could.

[HHAYD]

[quote name='Lynneth' timestamp='1305597249' post='2713362']
A request for En/Decryption algorithms and some other things would be sent, all important to ensure full function for whoever got the satellites.
Of course, if even one bit was missing, the deal would not happen, and in the chaos of taking over a hostile HQ, information could be lost quite easily.

Meanwhile, Vanguard consolidated its forces up in the north, soon enough a full Division of forces available.

Scouts would be sent out to contact rebel forces in the area to try and get them to link up with Vanguard's network to heighten overall efficiency in coordinating efforts to remove the loyalists from the center of the country.
15 tanks, 3 mobile howitzers and 450 of Vanguard's operatives were diverted towards Houghton to liberate the city.

The rest began moving south, east and southeast towards major cities while the fighter planes conducted air superiority- and scout missions. Naturally, satellites were attempting to track all movements, as possible.
Vanguard wanted to be as prepared as it could.
[/quote]
The loyalist operators turned around and connected unwary rebels to the communication satellites. They would also request for Vanguard's plan, citing that they need to coordinate movement and informed them that they plan on attacking the northern part of Indiana and that the targeted area was lightly defended, but the they would need assistance.

Vanguard wouldn't realize that there were very few rebels close to the area and that the bulk of the loyalists were moving toward the northern part of Indiana. However, in Wisconsin, they wouldn't meet any loyalists until they reach the southeastern part of Wisconsin or enter Illinois or Michigan.
---------------------------
In Houghton:

The loyalists decided to stay put and camp inside the buildings. They gambled that the enemy doesn't have enough shells to flatten the city and would eventually be forced into close combat. Most importantly, that reinforcements would arrive.

Edited May 17, 2011 by HHAYD

[HHAYD]

1:00 AM, in the loyalist government's makeshift HQ in Lansing::

"Mr. President? Sorry for disturbing you, but I have three important news."

"Yes? There better be a good reason why you woke me up..."

"General Arnod and Naory were assassinated..."

"With what?"

"Spoons, lots of them."

"WHAT?!"

"The investigators barely managed to identify Arnod and Naory. They don't know who assassinated them. Sir Lanka's forces are hitting Houghton very hard. Our forces up in Michigan were already bled dry from their previous assault on the Airlention Military Base and lack the resources to respond back hard.

Our anti-air radar defenses have also reported that there might be additional aircraft flying toward us. They couldn't identify what aircraft and preciously where they were, but they know they are not commercial aircraft due to the extreme difficulty in detecting them."

"$%&@TY! $%&@! $%&@! $%&@! FOR $%&@ SAKES!"

Edited May 20, 2011 by HHAYD

[Triyun]

A flight of six stealth EF-50 Banshees took off from bases in the CAS flying along the international border and then straddling the border of the Midwest Republic using their electronic warfare suites to probe the vulnerabilities in the Midwest Republic's radar defense network.

[HHAYD]

[quote name='Triyun' timestamp='1305861749' post='2715313']
A flight of six stealth EF-50 Banshees took off from bases in the CAS flying along the international border and then straddling the border of the Midwest Republic using their electronic warfare suites to probe the vulnerabilities in the Midwest Republic's radar defense network.
[/quote]
OOC: Midwest Republic is landlocked, you would have to fly through someone's airspace in order to reach mine.

[Triyun]

Ooc: Yes clearly i am violating Missouri's airspace, it's not like they could do anything about it

[HHAYD]

[quote name='Triyun' timestamp='1305944203' post='2715835']
Ooc: Yes clearly i am violating Missouri's airspace, it's not like they could do anything about it
[/quote]
OOC: Missouri is also landlocked. Assuming your aircraft flew through Missouri, they might have flown through a combination of other countries' airspaces ranging from one to two: Pravus Ingruo's protectorates, Confederation of American States, Holy Empire of Ursalia, HEU's protectorage, Cascadia and/or Holy American Empire.

Edited May 21, 2011 by HHAYD

[Zoot Zoot]

[quote name='HHAYD' timestamp='1305945633' post='2715848']
OOC: Missouri is also landlocked. Assuming your aircraft flew through Missouri, they might have flown through a combination of other countries' airspaces ranging from one to two: Pravus Ingruo's protectorates, Confederation of American States, Holy Empire of Ursalia, HEU's protectorage, Cascadia and/or Holy American Empire.
[/quote]

OOC
He DID specify he came through the CAS.

Confederated American States.

Derp.

[HHAYD]

[quote name='Zoot Zoot' timestamp='1305945766' post='2715849']
Derp.
[/quote]
OOC: Oh.

----------------------
IC:

EF-50 Banshees would find some active AA installations, the gaps between them were great enough that bypassing them would be easy. The operators would notice occasional random blips on their screens, but they weren't sure if they were aircraft. Nor did they know what direction the blips were flying from.

Edited May 21, 2011 by HHAYD

[Lynneth]

[quote]The loyalist operators turned around and connected unwary rebels to the communication satellites. They would also request for Vanguard's plan, citing that they need to coordinate movement and informed them that they plan on attacking the northern part of Indiana and that the targeted area was lightly defended, but the they would need assistance.

Vanguard wouldn't realize that there were very few rebels close to the area and that the bulk of the loyalists were moving toward the northern part of Indiana. However, in Wisconsin, they wouldn't meet any loyalists until they reach the southeastern part of Wisconsin or enter Illinois or Michigan.[/quote]
With all the necessary encryption and decryption codes given, the satellites were partially turned over to the operators for the duration of the conflict - though Vanguard would continue to monitor transmissions going through them.
Vanguard would, however, deny the request for their battleplan, because it was subject to sudden and unexpected changes on the fly. With communications disrupted as they were, they explained that it would be almost impossible to coordinate until a proper base of operations had been established.
They did tell the operators that most of Vanguard's forces were busy in the northern half of Wisconsin, linking up and coordinating their actions with rebel groups as they are encountered.

_____________________
Meanwhile, the forces near Houghton dug in a little south of the city. They didn't have enough artillery to level all buildings, but they most certainly had enough to level those which harboured loyalists.
Thus, scouts began to infiltrate the outskirts, several teams of five to ten moving very carefully and using the reactive camouflage - scanning the environment and taking a similar colour as the background, like a chameleon's skin - to keep themselves hidden from enemy sight.
In turn, they would report loyalist positions, engage small outposts and let artillery take down anything with more than ten men in it while staying in a nearby building overlooking the entrance (or entrances) to ensure that nobody would flee and survive a collapsing building - as long as the person wore a loyalist uniform.

If any rebels were encountered, they would be sent to the main group of the battalion.

_____________________
Vanguard stealth planes began scouting missions throughout the Midwest Republic, the primary aim to locate all AA and radar locations, secondary being loyalist troop movements. Tertiary was locating munitions and food supplies of the loyalist forces.
At the time, nothing would be bombed, aside from the very occasional target of opportunity - such as a lonely AA emplacement somewhere in the wilderness.

[HHAYD]

[quote name='Lynneth' timestamp='1306034999' post='2716397']
With all the necessary encryption and decryption codes given, the satellites were partially turned over to the operators for the duration of the conflict - though Vanguard would continue to monitor transmissions going through them.
Vanguard would, however, deny the request for their battleplan, because it was subject to sudden and unexpected changes on the fly. With communications disrupted as they were, they explained that it would be almost impossible to coordinate until a proper base of operations had been established.
They did tell the operators that most of Vanguard's forces were busy in the northern half of Wisconsin, linking up and coordinating their actions with rebel groups as they are encountered.

_____________________
Meanwhile, the forces near Houghton dug in a little south of the city. They didn't have enough artillery to level all buildings, but they most certainly had enough to level those which harboured loyalists.
Thus, scouts began to infiltrate the outskirts, several teams of five to ten moving very carefully and using the reactive camouflage - scanning the environment and taking a similar colour as the background, like a chameleon's skin - to keep themselves hidden from enemy sight.
In turn, they would report loyalist positions, engage small outposts and let artillery take down anything with more than ten men in it while staying in a nearby building overlooking the entrance (or entrances) to ensure that nobody would flee and survive a collapsing building - as long as the person wore a loyalist uniform.

If any rebels were encountered, they would be sent to the main group of the battalion.

_____________________
Vanguard stealth planes began scouting missions throughout the Midwest Republic, the primary aim to locate all AA and radar locations, secondary being loyalist troop movements. Tertiary was locating munitions and food supplies of the loyalist forces.
At the time, nothing would be bombed, aside from the very occasional target of opportunity - such as a lonely AA emplacement somewhere in the wilderness.
[/quote]
The loyalist operators acknowledged Vanguard's information. They wouldn't need to fake communication as some rebel units began to use the satellites within an hour.

------------------------------
In Houghton:

Vanguard's soldiers might come across a building here or there that wouldn't need to be entered, but many others would have to be checked by entering as they appeared to not harbor anyone. Every building had a few loyalist or Mercenaries soldiers and they attempted to avoid attention as much as possible. They wanted to spread all of the eggs in as many baskets as possible.

------------------------------
Vanguard's stealth aircraft would go undetected. The loyalists couldn't do much about them either even if they were detected due to critical shortage of jet fuel.

There were very few radar and AA installations that Vanguard would come across. Vanguard would have to exercise caution when it comes to bombing troop movements as the loyalists and rebels use the same type and look of vehicles. Not to mention their uniforms are exactly same except the rebels often added other material to their uniforms, but the modifications would be hard to spot from above.

--------------------------------
In northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana:

The loyalist and Mercenaries forces dropped off some numbers to help out their buddies in crushing Chicago before moving on north. Behind them was another large corps, except they were tied up trying to crush the rebels in South Bend, Indiana.

Edited May 22, 2011 by HHAYD

[Lynneth]

[quote name='HHAYD' timestamp='1306064020' post='2716526']
The loyalist operators acknowledged Vanguard's information. They wouldn't need to fake communication as some rebel units began to use the satellites within an hour.

------------------------------
In Houghton:

Vanguard's soldiers might come across a building here or there that wouldn't need to be entered, but many others would have to be checked by entering as they appeared to not harbor anyone. Every building had a few loyalist or Mercenaries soldiers and they attempted to avoid attention as much as possible. They wanted to spread all of the eggs in as many baskets as possible.

------------------------------
Vanguard's stealth aircraft would go undetected. The loyalists couldn't do much about them either even if they were detected due to critical shortage of jet fuel.

There were very few radar and AA installations that Vanguard would come across. Vanguard would have to exercise caution when it comes to bombing troop movements as the loyalists and rebels use the same type and look of vehicles. Not to mention their uniforms are exactly same except the rebels often added other material to their uniforms, but the modifications would be hard to spot from above.

--------------------------------
In northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana:

The loyalist and Mercenaries forces dropped off some numbers to help out their buddies in crushing Chicago before moving on north. Behind them was another large corps, except they were tied up trying to crush the rebels in South Bend, Indiana.
[/quote]
[b]Houghton[/b]

With more and more reports coming in that the loyalists had occupied dozens, perhaps hundreds of buildings, the tanks were ordered to take up position at major roads leading into the city, and coming from the south. If the loyalists wanted to escape, they would have to go north and risk being driven into Lake Superior.
The 450 operatives were split up into teams of ten, beginning to move through every last building and checking as many rooms as they possibly could, of course always careful to try and suprise the potential loyalists within. If there ever was too heavy resistance, coordinated would be given to the three artillery guns, which would then proceed to annihilate the construction.
While slow, this would ensure that the enemy wouldn't be able to mount a suprise attack from the back.

_____________________
[b]Stealth Ops[/b]

With distinguishing between friend and foe being almost impossible from the cockpit of an airplane, the planes were restricted to scouting and air-superiority operations. Any movements would be marked in the battlenet, and soon enough, almost all of Wisconsin, Michigan and northern Illinois would receive little markers for troops movements and -locations.
Such intelligence was vital, and would enable Vanguard to choose where to meet troops to try and see whether they were rebels and had to be helped, or loyalist and had to be battled.

[HHAYD]

In southern part of Wisconsin:

The first group of the loyalist and Mercenaries forces advanced toward Milwaukee. They planned on crushing the rebels holed up in the city to free up more units for combat and split up, a few of them will advance toward Sturgeon Bay while the rest will advance toward Shawano and Marinette.

[HHAYD]

Fast forward two weeks:

Milwaukee and Sturgeon Bay fell, at a staggering loss for the loyalists and Mercenaries. They started out with over 200,000 soldiers and 1,800 tanks; now they only had about 110,000 battle-capable soldiers and 1,000 tanks. The rebels in total had about 30,000 soldiers when the loyalist and Mercenaries reinforcements showed up. However, the loyalists and Mercenaries continued to advance north into the Vanguard-dominated section of Wisconsin.

In Houghton, the loyalist and Mercenaries soldiers' morale broke. Many of them, against their officers' orders, walked out of their hideouts unarmed while waving white cloth indicating that they surrendered. The few others continued to sit in their hideouts in hopes of rescue.

Edited May 22, 2011 by HHAYD

[Lynneth]

[quote name='HHAYD' timestamp='1306092731' post='2716678']
Fast forward two weeks:

Milwaukee and Sturgeon Bay fell, at a staggering loss for the loyalists and Mercenaries. They started out with over 200,000 soldiers and 1,800 tanks; now they only had about 110,000 battle-capable soldiers and 1,000 tanks. The rebels in total had about 30,000 soldiers when the loyalist and Mercenaries reinforcements showed up. However, the loyalists and Mercenaries continued to advance north into the Vanguard-dominated section of Wisconsin.

In Houghton, the loyalist and Mercenaries soldiers' morale broke. Many of them, against their officers' orders, walked out of their hideouts unarmed while waving white cloth indicating that they surrendered. The few others continued to sit in their hideouts in hopes of rescue.
[/quote]
By now, Vangaurd forces had begun laying siege to Green Bay and Appleton, having around 15,000 total operatives, 300 tanks and around 500 assorted other vehicles such as artillery or AFVs at their disposal.
Outnumbered but with absolute air-superiority, their planes had watched the battles for Milwaukee and Sturgeon bay. They were positive that these were now loyalist positions.

Thus, Anti air emplacements in the region were the first targets. Annihilating them wasn't expected to be a difficult task, after which bombing runs would be made on loyalist and mercenary vehicle depots. Reducing the amount of tanks the enemy had was vital for successful battles in the future, as infantry-carried AT-weapons were far less effective in the long run.
It would likely be at Green Bay where the loyalist forces met those of Vanguard, who were not only laying siege, but had also dug in quite well, with several key positions east and northeast of the city.


In Houghton, all those who surrendered were treated humanely, as PoWs. All weaponry, comms equipment and armour would be confiscated and they would be escorted to a nearby tent camp where they'd spend the rest of the conflict. This camp had been set up by TriOptimum, interestingly.
Vanguard operatives continued advancing, though they had taken a few losses. Inevitable, in an urban environment.

[HHAYD]

[quote name='Lynneth' timestamp='1306098049' post='2716711']
By now, Vangaurd forces had begun laying siege to Green Bay and Appleton, having around 15,000 total operatives, 300 tanks and around 500 assorted other vehicles such as artillery or AFVs at their disposal.
Outnumbered but with absolute air-superiority, their planes had watched the battles for Milwaukee and Sturgeon bay. They were positive that these were now loyalist positions.

Thus, Anti air emplacements in the region were the first targets. Annihilating them wasn't expected to be a difficult task, after which bombing runs would be made on loyalist and mercenary vehicle depots. Reducing the amount of tanks the enemy had was vital for successful battles in the future, as infantry-carried AT-weapons were far less effective in the long run.
It would likely be at Green Bay where the loyalist forces met those of Vanguard, who were not only laying siege, but had also dug in quite well, with several key positions east and northeast of the city.
[/quote]
The loyalists and Mercenaries had no effective AA measures, only infantry AA weapons, which weren't very exciting to Vanguard's aircraft, especially since the loyalists and Mercenaries had no means of detecting Vanguard's aircraft.

Although there were no vehicle depots in Milwaukee and Sturgeon Bay, the bombing runs launched against the loyalists and Mercenaries that were out in the open were ugly. They lost nearly 4,000 soldiers, 300 tanks and other vehicles to Vanguard's aircraft before coming within a few miles away from Green Bay and Appleton. Vanguard's ground forces would easily notice the mob of hostile infantry and a handful of vehicles attempting to circle around them.

OOC: How much aircraft do you have up in the air Lynneth?

Edited May 22, 2011 by HHAYD

[Lynneth]

[quote name='HHAYD' timestamp='1306098465' post='2716713']
The loyalists and Mercenaries had no effective AA measures, only infantry AA weapons, which weren't very exciting to Vanguard's aircraft, especially since the loyalists and Mercenaries had no means of detecting Vanguard's aircraft.

Although there were no vehicle depots in Milwaukee and Sturgeon Bay, the bombing runs launched against the loyalists and Mercenaries that were out in the open were ugly. They lost nearly 4,000 soldiers, 300 tanks and other vehicles to Vanguard's aircraft before coming within a few miles away from Green Bay and Appleton. Vanguard's ground forces would easily notice the mob of hostile infantry and a handful of vehicles attempting to circle around them.

OOC: How much aircraft do you have up in the air Lynneth?
[/quote]
OOC: I've a total of 62 planes. Not a whole lot, but with their stealth and targeting capabilities, they should be able to take out several hostiles, especially if working together.

IC: Bombing runs would continue, still targetting mainly vehicles.
Mobile forces, such as Stingray light tanks would work to try and make it seem that Vanguard had far more troops available than they actually had, the high speed of the vehicles giving them an advantage over the tanks the loyalists were using.
Mobility and maneuvering capability over sheer power was the doctrine, with heavy air- and artillery support.
Circling around Vanguard's emplacement would by no means be simple - and they could just give the emplacements up, even if that did negate something of a defensive advantage.

[HHAYD]

The loyalist and Mercenaries commanders decided to ignore Green Bay and Appleton and advance onto Shawano, Marinette and Wausau.

However, shoulder-fired AA missiles were incredibly ineffective against stealth aircraft. It didn't take long for the soldiers to figure that they had no answer to the bombing runs and morale shattered. Even from up in the air, Vanguard's aircraft's pilots would notice mobs of infantry and occasionally vehicles scattering in random directions if they looked close enough. Vanguard just routed a far larger enemy force.

Up in the air, two loyalist F-15s were scrambled to counter the enemy's bombing runs. Not only they were too late, unable to engage a long dog-fight due to flying on fumes, and couldn't spot the stealthy enemy aircraft without visual; the pilots were oblivious to Vanguard's aerial capability and would stand little chance of making it back in one not-burning piece.

Edited May 22, 2011 by HHAYD

[Lynneth]

[quote name='HHAYD' timestamp='1306104578' post='2716762']
The loyalist and Mercenaries commanders decided to ignore Green Bay and Appleton and advance onto Shawano, Marinette and Wausau.

However, shoulder-fired AA missiles were incredibly ineffective against stealth aircraft. It didn't take long for the soldiers to figure that they had no answer to the bombing runs and morale shattered. Even from up in the air, Vanguard's aircraft's pilots would notice mobs of infantry and occasionally vehicles scattering in random directions if they looked close enough. Vanguard just routed a far larger enemy force.

Up in the air, two loyalist F-15s were scrambled to counter the enemy's bombing runs. Not only they were too late, unable to engage a long dog-fight due to flying on fumes, and couldn't spot the stealthy enemy aircraft without visual; the pilots were oblivious to Vanguard's aerial capability and would stand little chance of making it back in one not-burning piece.
[/quote]
By ignoring Vanguard's emplacement, the loyalists and mercs opened themselves to a dangerous move - a pincer attack from behind, potentially creating a pocket and eventually being entirely encircled by hostile forces.
It would be devastating. Exactly why Vanguard's forces allowed the loyalists to pass through relatively unopposed, but then moved like lightning to try and encircle the enemy.

The F-15s were detected soon enough and, being a 4th gen plane against 5.5 generation planes, probably stood little to no chance.
Of the 5 squadrons deployed by Vanguard, two were AC-77A Kovas multirole stealth, easily capable of performing air-superiority missions. The other three squadrons were made up of dedicated ground attack planes, SF-6 Wraith.
A Kovas was able to track up to 40 targets over a distance of 280 kilometers (assuming around 1 m² of radar cross section). Its armament usually consisted of 8 internal missiles, varying for the mission it was sent to.
In the very moment one AC-77A picked up the two loyalist planes, 23 others knew about the hostiles, as well. Two missiles would be fired at each target for the time being, from a distance of over 30 kilometers.
If they survived, another two per enemy plane could be spared.

[HHAYD]

[quote name='Lynneth' timestamp='1306189092' post='2717119']
By ignoring Vanguard's emplacement, the loyalists and mercs opened themselves to a dangerous move - a pincer attack from behind, potentially creating a pocket and eventually being entirely encircled by hostile forces.
It would be devastating. Exactly why Vanguard's forces allowed the loyalists to pass through relatively unopposed, but then moved like lightning to try and encircle the enemy.

The F-15s were detected soon enough and, being a 4th gen plane against 5.5 generation planes, probably stood little to no chance.
Of the 5 squadrons deployed by Vanguard, two were AC-77A Kovas multirole stealth, easily capable of performing air-superiority missions. The other three squadrons were made up of dedicated ground attack planes, SF-6 Wraith.
A Kovas was able to track up to 40 targets over a distance of 280 kilometers (assuming around 1 m² of radar cross section). Its armament usually consisted of 8 internal missiles, varying for the mission it was sent to.
In the very moment one AC-77A picked up the two loyalist planes, 23 others knew about the hostiles, as well. Two missiles would be fired at each target for the time being, from a distance of over 30 kilometers.
If they survived, another two per enemy plane could be spared.
[/quote]
On the ground:

The loyalist and Mercenaries commanders wanted Vanguard's units to be caught without their encampments, failing to realize that they would've been better off flooding Vanguard's positions with sheer numbers and forcing them out of Green Bay and Appleton. Nevertheless, their plan was implemented at a rather poor timing.

Almost all of the loyalist soldiers and vehicle operators continued to attempt to flee. The ones that were initially not morale broken, especially the Mercenaries, decided to also flee as they knew that the only way they could defeat their enemy was through sheer numbers and firepower and without it, they're screwed. A handful of die-hard divisions turned around and charged toward Vanguard's units attacking from the rear as an attempt to stall Vanguard's advance as long as possible.

--------------------------
In the air:

One of the F-15s turned into a fireball before the pilot even knew what hit him, the other one deployed flares and chaff before making a hard U-turn and flying away as fast as possible.

Edited May 23, 2011 by HHAYD

[Lynneth]

[quote name='HHAYD' timestamp='1306191255' post='2717130']
On the ground:

The loyalist and Mercenaries commanders wanted Vanguard's units to be caught without their encampments, failing to realize that they would've been better off flooding Vanguard's positions with sheer numbers and forcing them out of Green Bay and Appleton. Nevertheless, their plan was implemented at a rather poor timing.

Almost all of the loyalist soldiers and vehicle operators continued to attempt to flee. The ones that were initially not morale broken, especially the Mercenaries, decided to also flee as they knew that the only way they could defeat their enemy was through sheer numbers and firepower and without it, they're screwed. A handful of die-hard divisions turned around and charged toward Vanguard's units attacking from the rear as an attempt to stall Vanguard's advance as long as possible.

--------------------------
In the air:

One of the F-15s turned into a fireball before the pilot even knew what hit him, the other one deployed flares and chaff before making a hard U-turn and flying away as fast as possible.
[/quote]
Vanguards units began to spread out a little, attempting to form roughly a half-circle behind the loyalist advance, the first step to a full encirclement.
Plane-attacks were coordinated to aid with 'guiding' fleeing troops into the cauldron. This would happen regardless of the attacks from the die-hards, who would come under bombardment from artillery at a range of 50 kilometers and more, tanks opening fire at ten kilometers and oftentimes hitting their target.
The crowning moment was when a small group of Vanguard operatives began deploying their experimental [url="http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?showtopic=90657&view=findpost&p=2700274"]DB-350 [i]Flashlight[/i][/url] Battle Laser. One hundred of these weapons were currently available to Vanguard, and they intended to put them to good, even excellent use.
What could the enemy do against an enemy whose attacks they didn't even hear or see coming? A normal rifle still had a rifle flash, after all. The DB-350 was nigh invisible to the naked eye. Only its effects could be seen - burning dust, or the splattered blood of the hit target.

In the air two AC-77A followed the F-15 at a distance, simply to see where it had been deployed from.
Once this was done, and the airbase found, the bolder of the two pilots would try and strafe the F15 with his 20mm vulcan cannon.
Considering that the AC-77A's standard cruise speed was considerably higher than that of the F-15, he expected this to be a relatively simple, if impressive maneuver.

[HHAYD]

[quote name='Lynneth' timestamp='1306193053' post='2717140']
Vanguards units began to spread out a little, attempting to form roughly a half-circle behind the loyalist advance, the first step to a full encirclement.
Plane-attacks were coordinated to aid with 'guiding' fleeing troops into the cauldron. This would happen regardless of the attacks from the die-hards, who would come under bombardment from artillery at a range of 50 kilometers and more, tanks opening fire at ten kilometers and oftentimes hitting their target.
The crowning moment was when a small group of Vanguard operatives began deploying their experimental [url="http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?showtopic=90657&view=findpost&p=2700274"]DB-350 [i]Flashlight[/i][/url] Battle Laser. One hundred of these weapons were currently available to Vanguard, and they intended to put them to good, even excellent use.
What could the enemy do against an enemy whose attacks they didn't even hear or see coming? A normal rifle still had a rifle flash, after all. The DB-350 was nigh invisible to the naked eye. Only its effects could be seen - burning dust, or the splattered blood of the hit target.

In the air two AC-77A followed the F-15 at a distance, simply to see where it had been deployed from.
Once this was done, and the airbase found, the bolder of the two pilots would try and strafe the F15 with his 20mm vulcan cannon.
Considering that the AC-77A's standard cruise speed was considerably higher than that of the F-15, he expected this to be a relatively simple, if impressive maneuver.
[/quote]
On the ground:

Even more panic ensued. Significant amount of soldiers dropped their weapons and other equipments and sprinted to where they thought was to safety. A unit here and there even went as far as waving scraps of white cloth with their hands up while walking toward Vanguard's soldiers. Some of the die-hard units also begin to falter and eventually scatter, especially when some of their buddies begin to scream in pain from being roasted by invisible laser. Not very encouraging.

----------------------------------------
In the air:

The F-15 pilot was unaware of Vanguard's AC-77As following him. As he neared Chicago, the aircraft lowered in altitude. A few minutes later, he deployed the landing gears to make a landing on O'Hare International Airport's landing strip, only to get hit in right wing by a well-placed 40mm rifle grenade from a sneaky/lucky rebel soldier. The F-15 tilted and nose-dived as the pilot struggled to regain control. Another 40mm rifle grenade hit the same section of the wing, blowing it off. The aircraft veered off-course uncontrollably before smashing into nearby grass at about 30 degree angle and at high speed, resulting in a fireball.

If Vanguard's pilots looked close enough, they would see explosions, fire, smoke and gunfire throughout the city. They would also overhear scant radio chatter between the civilian rebels if they tuned into the correct radio frequency.

Edited May 24, 2011 by HHAYD

[Lynneth]

[quote name='HHAYD' timestamp='1306200413' post='2717192']
On the ground:

Even more panic ensued. Significant amount of soldiers dropped their weapons and other equipments and sprinted to where they thought was to safety. A unit here and there even went as far as waving scraps of white cloth with their hands up while walking toward Vanguard's soldiers. Some of the die-hard units also begin to falter and eventually scatter, especially when some of their buddies begin to scream in pain from being roasted by invisible laser. Not very encouraging.

----------------------------------------
In the air:

The F-15 pilot was unaware of Vanguard's AC-77As following him. As he neared Chicago, the aircraft lowered in altitude. A few minutes later, he deployed the landing gears to make a landing on O'Hare International Airport's landing strip, only to get hit in right wing by a well-placed 40mm rifle grenade from a sneaky/lucky rebel soldier. The F-15 tilted and nose-dived as the pilot struggled to regain control. Another 40mm rifle grenade hit the same section of the wing, blowing it off. The aircraft veered off-course uncontrollably before smashing into nearby grass at about 30 degree angle and at high speed, resulting in a fireball.

If Vanguard's pilots looked close enough, they would see explosions, fire, smoke and gunfire throughout the city. They would also overhear scant radio chatter between the civilian rebels if they tuned into the correct radio frequency.
[/quote]
Ground:
Due to the sheer amounts of loyalist forces surrendering, Vanguard would move them near the closest major city and set up a PoW camp, patrolled by around 500 men or so. Of course, all PoWs would be disarmed and searched, as was possible in the circumstances.
Any that didn't surrender would still be subject to relentless attacks from all sides, artillery and tanks pounding their most likely hastily set up defensive positions in the cauldron.

Any captured officers would be interrogated as to locations, numbers, et cetera of Loyalist and merc forces.


In the air, the two pilots had slowed as much as they could, which was still hundreds of km/h, but enough for the on-board cameras to reliably pick up the hair on the face of the lucky rebel. It would theoretically make them a little more vulnerable to missiles, but unless they could suddenly lock on better than previously, the danger was still negligible.
The two decided to 'scout' a little and look for hotspots of battle, as well as investigate important locations, such as the ministry of defence. One of them tuned into the rebel channels to listen.

[HHAYD]

[quote name='Lynneth' timestamp='1306495350' post='2718938']
Ground:
Due to the sheer amounts of loyalist forces surrendering, Vanguard would move them near the closest major city and set up a PoW camp, patrolled by around 500 men or so. Of course, all PoWs would be disarmed and searched, as was possible in the circumstances.
Any that didn't surrender would still be subject to relentless attacks from all sides, artillery and tanks pounding their most likely hastily set up defensive positions in the cauldron.

Any captured officers would be interrogated as to locations, numbers, et cetera of Loyalist and merc forces.


In the air, the two pilots had slowed as much as they could, which was still hundreds of km/h, but enough for the on-board cameras to reliably pick up the hair on the face of the lucky rebel. It would theoretically make them a little more vulnerable to missiles, but unless they could suddenly lock on better than previously, the danger was still negligible.
The two decided to 'scout' a little and look for hotspots of battle, as well as investigate important locations, such as the ministry of defence. One of them tuned into the rebel channels to listen.
[/quote]
Within two hours, the entire loyalist force surrendered. The few remainders that refused to raise the white flag were annihilated.

Some of the loyalist commanders broke down in less than a minute, spilling out almost everything they knew. The location of their temporary HQ (Lansing, Michigan), Michigan was completely loyalist dominated, they had captured the Department of Defense and used it against the rebels for more than a month, the second field army that is currently making its way through Chicago and was suppose to meet up with the first field army (the one that surrendered en-mass), the size of the secondary field army and what it had (about 48 AH-64 Apache helicopters, 50 various types of tanks varying from M60A3s, M1A1s, M1A3s and T-90s), 20,000 infantry, 500 M113 APCs and a little over hundred various artillery guns), Ohio is dominated by rebels and that the third field army responsible for capturing Ohio is taking serious heat.

A few loyalist commanders even stated that they were willing to spill information, for a price.

----------------------------
In Chicago, radio channel:

[i]"Uh, can we get any guys on the Department of Defense?"

"I doubt it. Everyone either went silent or are tied up. What's the problem?"

"The loyalists are trying to impersonate us. I'm pretty sure they duped a lot of our commanders across the country by now."

"How do you know?"

"That's not your concern. At least get some !@#$@#$ radio jammers on it and cut the cables. And for the love of god, don't raze it to the ground unless if necessary, we're going to need it real badly."

"Has anyone dealt with the loyalist aircraft?"

"Took it down with a rifle nade."

"N00b-tuber..."

"!@#$@#$ Call of Duty fans and your addiction to it."

"Keep the comms clear, mkay?"

"!@#$! The loyalists had stepped up their attacks in the southern part of Chicago! They even brought in four dozens of choppers! We need assistance now!"

"24 of our guys are heading down. Tell me where they're needed."

"Anywhere. It'll be hard to find a position that [b]doesn't[/b] need assistance..."[/i]

-------------------
In Chicago:

The most noticeable hotspots were mostly clustered in the downtown area, Grant Park, the Supreme Court, Legislative building, the harbor, around Grand Central Station, and just outside of O'Hare International Airport. Meanwhile in the southern part of Chicago, large groups of vehicles and soldiers were moving north from Gary. It would be hard to not notice them, especially with the helicopters flying around with their weapons blazing and when the intensified fighting (more explosions, gunfire, smoke, fire, radio chatter, troop/vehicle movement, etc) begin to spread north.

The second field army was responsible for hauling the artillery guns needed by the first field army and assist some of the first field army's divisions in crushing the rebels in Chicago before it links up with the rest of the first field army.

When it received news that the first field army was defeated, it now had a new goal. Crush the rebels in Chicago before the enemies arrive, take positions in the cities surrounding Chicago and dig in.

Although the second field army was severely damaged from its numerous fighting in Detroit, other cities in Michigan, and South Bend (Indiana), and has yet to be reorganized to account for the much smaller amount of soldiers and vehicles it had, it was still battle-capable.

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OOC: Lynneth, you're going to need a lot more than 500 men to patrol about 90,000 POWs.

Edited May 28, 2011 by HHAYD