Serenierre
Established Nation
OPERATION ZEPHYR
Southern Gallia
Southern Gallia
The order from Premier Martinique had been signed. Coordination with the Rurikgard Pact had been finalised. Zero Hour had arrived. At the appointed hour, to kick-start Operation: Zephyr, the following would occur in sequential stages in the commencement of hostilities:
Phase One: The Strategic Overview
Along four selected zones in Occidentia deemed to be of strategic value, 250 cruise missiles would be fired at key military targets, focusing on military targets and civilian infrastructure, the goal being to incapacitate the ability of the Occidentian land forces to be supplied and to be organised. Targets would include the cities of Hospidiz, Marsilia, and Viasinde, key roads and railway lines over the Aceni and Galaos River, air defense systems, military bases, ammunition dumps, fuel depots, organisational headquarters of the Occidentian military, airports & airfields, and power plants supplying the northern cities. Around 60 anti-radiation cruise missiles would then in quick succession be launched targeting the more mobile elements of the Occitanian air defence infrastructure and other such radar facilities, all along the northern half of the country.
Phase Two: The Aerial Strike
Soon after, as the last of the missiles would complete their operations, a massive air raid would commence involving the southern air command, which would see 48 MiG-29, 30 Su-27, and 60 MiG-21 fighters, 10 Su-24 fast attack aircraft, and 5 Tu-22 strategic bombers take to the skies of the enemy in a bid to clear the skies and strike the remaining traces of the enemy’s defensive infrastructure scattered through the northern and central regions. The Southern Air Command had been ordered to keep the skies clear and to ensure that superiority was established.
Phase Three: The Ground Offensive
The forward units of the IV Corps, a unit within the southern command of the Serenien Military, totaling 65,000 personnel in all, would see the elite component of the 3 Mechanised Infantry brigades with their contingent of T-90 tanks and BTR 80 armored fighting vehicles, and various variants therof, strike at the forward positions in weak points along the frontline. They would be supported by the remainder of the IV Corps, some 45 to 50 thousand personnel and 14,000 personnel from the Revolutionary Guards – the armed wing of the Communist Party – spread over seven regiments, they would be charged with the specialised commando operations that were best suited for firebrand ideologues, who had the high training to get the job done. They were, in the words of one Defence Commissar, “tough sons of bitches”. The Ground offensive would be further supported by close air support aircraft such as 20 Su-25 and 35 Kh-5o and 45 Mil-Mi-24 attack helicopters
The initial goal appointed to the ground offensive was to break through enemy lines and advance towards Hospidiz and the Aceni River.
Phase Four: The Aerial Infantry
As the ground offensive was ongoing and had met certain targets, members of the elite 333 Aerial Infantry brigade would be air dropped behind enemy lines to take down the enemy’s infrastructure and to launch rear attacks and to further weaken the enemy and ensure critical breakthroughs. They would be supported by 12 attack helicopters of various types attached to the brigade.
The Home Front & The Retalian Sea
The air defence systems and anti-ballistic missile defense systems were on full wartime footing. The entire air force in fact was, keeping a check on the skies for whatever came their way. The Reserve Corps had called up 15,000 personnel to the Peninsular coastline to man the anti-amphibious assault infrastructure. The Navy, too, had sent out 12 of its submarines to the Retalian Sea and 16 fast attack and missile boats were on war footing, ready to launch fast attacks on enemy vessels approaching in the distance. Although neither Retalia nor Serenierre could effectively mount an amphibious invasion of the other, as both countries were well defended on that front, it was believed by conventional military theory, but the threat from missiles and aircraft was greater here. But it was believed that the real war would be fought in Occitania, where the ground offensive was expected to include Occitanian, Retalian and Eiffellander units.
The Burgundian Frontier
The Northern Military command remained on full defensive footing and was monitoring activity in the north, lest Chagny join the fray. But they had not made any moves to alarm them, nor did they want to worry them. The war in the south was a whole world away.