Serenierre
Established Nation
O P E R A T I O N : G U E R R E - È C L A I R
"Like a lightening strike, we must decimate their defense infrastructure."
Gen. Henri Bettalcôure, June 5th, 1960
Gen. Henri Bettalcôure, June 5th, 1960
The Dominion of Visidame
For fifty one years, since the establishment of the Socialist Republic to the south, the realm had been considered the very front line against the scourge of Marxist ideology and had hosted the largest concentration of military forces in the entire region, maintained in absolute readiness to attack at a moments notice. For fifty one years, the operation ahead couldn't have been implemented with the threat of the northern communists looming over the heads of the top brass in Paris. But now, with de Graaf a threat long passed, the top brass had the freedom to take care of the threat that had lain malignant on the southern flank of the Kingdom.
For the previous couple of months, the media had been fed stories of test launches, exercises and drills to keep the attention away from the true intentions behind the increased presence of the military throughout the country, especially so in Visidame. With the freedom of not having to watch out for any unwanted reporters, the armed forces had prepared for the operation with quiet haste. Building up the stockpiles of medicines, weapons and fuel, for the latter it had forced the Government to sign key oil agreements with Arendaal and Sarmatia. Even the ISE and military intelligence were mounting a complex operation to confuse the enemy's spies and satellites had started to focus on mapping key areas of the Socialist Republic.
In silence the military apparatus had done its research and now knew the locations of the main airfields, the key transportation points and communication links. In silence the military had met with the politicians at 1 Rue de Royaume - the Parliament of Belmont - and had brought about a broad consensus over the issue. In silence the military had petitioned HRH The Prince Regent to approve their plans against the Socialist Republic, something which the future King did so quite willingly. The decision had been announced to the Sarmatian military man in the country, Colonel Sanok, and words of full support had arrived from Stary Hrodino.
With their groundwork complete, the Military Council - the senior officers from each branch - met with the Premier and the Foreign Minister to coordinate the plan. In the days after, the assassination attempt occurred and the generals had, for some time, become truly nervous that the plan would have to be scrapped but soon these fears turned out to be unfounded. In fact the shooting proved to provide the much needed casus belli for the operations against the Godless Republic.
*****
Across Visidame, the airbases falling under the Southern Air Force Command (SAFCOM), were brought to life much earlier than usual, hours before even the first glimpses of the golden chariot of Helios would spread out across the sky.
Support staff, technicians, and engineers zoomed from point to point undertaking their mundane yet critical duties. The fueling had begun, under the watchful eyes of the engineers, from the system within the fortified hangars. The weapons technicians carefully attaching the deadly assortment of anti-runway, anti-radiation and anti-ground munitions to the various fighters. The pilots, sat prepping themselves for the long operation in their changing rooms, having been briefed the day before. Those fully prepped and in uniform, stood in the gallery, smoking their last cigarette for the day and enjoying the crisp Visidamien air.
Far from the bases, closer to border, the dug in AA defense units were on full alert and spread out across areas close to the border zones. Radars were scoping out more of the sky and patrols ranging closer together. The airspace over Visidame completely sealed off.
*****
The minute the Foreign Ministry pulled out the Embassy from Toledo, the directive arrived at the bases and within minutes jet engines along the runways came to life. Utilizing the two runways on each base, two jets took off within thirty seconds of the other and soon 229 KMH - 16 fighter jets took to the air, 66% of all aircraft of the type under the air force's command. Carrying their weapons and their orders, the brave pilots inside the cockpits, flew straight towards the Golfe des Sirénes. The success of the operation relied on the element of surprise and to retain it, the pilots flew well below the radar detection level, at times just a few meters above the sea.
When they would enter Coronado, still flying as low as they could, evading as much of the Coronadan defense as possible, they would take out runways, radar stations and AA defense sites - those were to be the subject of the first wave. As a collective, carrying almost a 100 tons of bombs, Coronado was going to receive a shock which would tear the very fabric of its defense establishment.