The 120mm on the Osorio spoke again, and again. Autocannon shots from the BTR's and BMP's slammed against the tank's armour, ricocheting off. One smashed the mount for the M2 at the commanders' hatch, another sheared off the right-side headlights, and another from the same burst damaged the smoke mortars on that side too, before the Osorio put the vehicle out of commission, fire erupting out of the blown-out rear hatch, as the turret blew off in a pillar of flame. T-Rex and the Mighty Jalopy rolled up the retreated lighter armour, while Belladonna pulled the heavy lifting.
The T-55's had been routed; all of them were destroyed or otherwise incapable, and as the three MBT's moved forward as a wide-spaced wedge, their overlapping fire had shattered the enemy formation even as it retreated.
The infantry and light vehicles falling back were caught without the heavier vehicles' firepower to cover them, leaving them and the relatively unprotected artillery all that remained in the open ground between the Shattered Steel force's position and the outskirts of the small town.
And then the artillery barrage co-ordinated by Ironhide was unleashed, and it took care of the rest.
The creeping curtain of fire eviscerated the landscape, obliterating what scrubby plantlife there was, and the meagre cover. Vehicles were bodily tossed into the air and people were just
gone as the pummeling barrage annihilated everything.
The few artillery pieces that had been emplaced by the ISL forces were shattered and crippled, and anything left was a ripe target for the attack and gunship helos as they made another run.
As much of a crescendo of firepower and assault on the senses as it was - Maddy and her team could even feel and hear it, buttoned up as they were inside the Osorio, and it sounded and felt like it was raining freight trains - it was over in mere moments, and an eerie stillness persisted afterwards for a few moments, as if the world was catching its' breath.
Maddy's ears stopped ringing, and the spots disappeared from her eyes enough that she could finally talk coherently. She got her wits back and spoke on the radio as she peered out through her commanders' periscopes, cursing as the view was blocked by the M2, twisted in its' broken mount. She popped her hatch after grabbing her rifle and emerged into view.
"All units, hostile forces are-" she paused as she looked over the view before her; nothing but smouldering stubs of scrub and twisted scrap, among scattered debris lay before them.
"-
gone. All units; regroup on this position before we advance into Naserabad".
Maddy took the moment to do a quick clean-up and check-over of her vehicle. The browning M2 was trashed; the 23mm round had mangled the mount and the body of the heavy machine-gun itself. It'd need a replacement, and that bothered her, as they were about to roll into an urban area; albeit a light one, and the heavy MG would be invaluable. Never mind; they'd make do. And there'd be enough places to get a replacement. They were pretty ubiquitous weapons, after all. At least the ammo was still intact, and they had plenty of that. And the 7.62mm on Leaky's hatch was still in one piece, as was the coax.
As she worked on removing the broken gun, Magpie coming up to help, she reflected back on their mission briefing.
The unit had been briefed aboard the Amphibious Assault Ship, helicoptered over from the Tank Landing Ship while they lurked just out of ISL waters in the Persian Gulf. The flotilla of ships all stood ready, and there were men and women engaged in activity everywhere; the buzz of anticipation in the air, of a battle about to break out.
The briefing had been simple: The operation would officially commence at 04:00, when the jets aboard the assault ship would target and destroy the shore-based anti-ship missiles and observation posts. Then the flotilla would swing toward the coast, with the landing ships pulling out in front.
The ships would launch a barrage of missiles and gunfire to strike the emplaced defences, and to cover the landing ships. Meanwhile, attack helicopters would strike key targets blocking the landing, along with artillery positions. Light transports and gunships covering them would move further inland, dropping in small strike teams to seize key positions, while the armour and the main bulk of the infantry would roll up the beach.
Naserabad had been chosen as the landing point due to its' position in the bay, its' relatively undefended state, and its' small size. It was also a launchpad for their next main objective: the capture of Konark International Airport. Once that was under their control, they could start ferrying in supplies and reinforcements, and have a base to expand out from to seize more of the area and get it under control.
But capturing the command post in Naserabad, set up in the commandeered secondary school, was their first objective.
The fifty-cal gave way, and between them, Maddy and Magpie cast it off the top of the Osorio's turret, letting it thump to the dusty ground. Magpie climbed back into his position behind the M240, and she settled back into her own, casting a glance about her to check on the status of the others. She was relieved to see that the Achtung Trottel, Dino's Puma, had joined them at last; the IFV must have fallen behind or got caught up in the fighting, and fallen behind.
"All units," she spoke into the radio, looking across at the other vehicles and giving a wave of her hand above her head. "Report your status, and get ready to advance on the town. Shotgun Shine, Achtung Trottel; you're going to be our pointy end of the spear this time. You're better in close quarters than us heavies. Ironside; we'll be sending co-ordinates to you for suppressive fire on any entrenched or fortified positions. Belladonna, T-Rex, we're going to split and head up the roads with the infantry in support".
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