Earth 2150 (trilogy) Part #108

Part 108: Dam, Part 1

From the Diary of General Fedorov - Commander of the Mobile Commandos posted:

September 22nd 2150,

I cannot believe it. The General Command intends to leave the planet without us. Worse, most of them are already in orbit, laughing as we struggle to survive on this dying rock. Thank whatever god is out there that General Ivanov has survived. He and I have been pouring over all the documents we can find, trying to figure out a way to get off this planet. And I think we've found a way. Like every war ever fought, the key to victory comes down to supplies and logistics. We will choke off the General Command and while they wither and starve we will be able to strike!

Briefing Video: video link

rest of the briefing posted:

General Ivanov: The General Command has its fields near a dam. We would only need to destroy it...

General Fedorov: I like that! Let's start with the preparations. I think two loads of TNT, one on each side of the dam, no?

General Ivanov: Yes, but I think you should have more than just the bare minimum, in case of loss through an attack by the General Command.

Whoa. When Ivanov and Fedorov get pissed off they don't mess around. We're headed for a dam that's located upriver of a large set of farms that will provide the General Command enough food to last them through the trip to Mars. Our goal is to destroy that dam and ensure they will not be able to leave. The defenses should be rather light, I doubt the General Command has invested too much into protecting their soft supply lines.

Our starting situation is actually pretty good for once. We have a massive mining operation going and we have the high ground. There's a lack of defenses, but I can solve that rather quickly. The first order of business though is getting some mobile units on the field.

We're exposed here in the northwestern part of the base, but with tree cover and our mobile units we won't be needing defensive installations like we've used in the past.

We'll have to hit both sides of the dam. I think our side makes the most sense for a first strike, so I'm having our scouts map out the area.

There's no way. That's not possible. The AI can't be as clever as me!

The General Command has finally deployed mobile artillery. We are so, so screwed.

I send in my Thors to try and knock them out before they get in range. Too bad the GC is smarter than I give them credit for and sent along some anti-air escorts.

This means I'm going to need to bring the whole army to bear. These artillery units are almost in range of the base!

The fighting is brutal, with shells falling everywhere. Thankfully, our superior numbers have ensured our victor-

-Oh you have got to be kidding me. As if Khrushchevs weren't bad enough, now they're sending URALS after me. URALS! With an artillery cannon on one side and heavy lasers on the other. How come I never thought of that!?

One Thor is not gonna be able to stop them. The rest of the army is already in range of the enemy's artillery. I only hope we can get some units close enough to fire.

A HAN ATTACK TOO!?

This is absurd.

Let it be known, for the first time in basically this entire LP I am completely getting my ass kicked right now.

We've managed to take out the Urals but those Hans are still going to town on the base.

Our static defenses are a smouldering ruin and our mining base is under direct assault. Our only hope is that the Hans stay in range of the rockets on all the mines.

Whew. We lost basically our entire ground army but we've finally pushed back the GC...

You motherfuckers

And there are even more coming. I better get my LZ rebuilt real quick or this is going to be a very short update.

This solitary tank is all that stands between us and utter bombardment. Maybe he'll be able to avert it?

Pictured: utter bombardment with a side helping of ineffectual air support.

I've got around 8 or so Thors. They are the only thing that can prevent the failure of this mission.

And now there's another Han attack too

Holy crap, we, we might actually pull through. We're taking losses but they haven't shut down the mines yet and the LZ is functional. Get your ass over here Ukraine!

But just like that, the GC sends a bunch of Ion Cannon tanks over the bridge at the north and they start disabling everything.

Stop stealing all my best moves!

Just as the Ion Cannons are about to open fire on the VPCs and the heart of the base the Ukraine finally shows up. Tanks spill out and we're able to beat back the attackers.

The rest we can mop up with the air force and static defenses.

Holy shit. I have never, ever seen anything like that. That was some really fierce fighting. My forces are crippled and I don't think we can withstand another attack, especially not if we have to defend in two directions at once.

That's why I'm cutting off our access to the western bank of the reservoir. It'll make getting the TNT in place a pain but without doing this the TNT itself might not survive.

More GC artillery and tanks have attacked from the south. We're still taking losses but at least we're not losing ground anymore.

And our beleaguered towers are able to take care of any units that slip past us. Of course the reason they were able to slip past is because the bridges weren't all destroyed, which is why you can see 5 Thors shooting rockets at an off-screen bridge.

The constant attacks from the south have removed all the tree cover. With the trees gone, this cliff seems the perfect place to put a line of towers. If I do it right I can neutralize the Hans before they gain the altitude necessary to attack.

There we go! Now we can ignore the Han attacks (hopefully).

With the airspace sort of cleared up I'm able to sneak a scout down to the dam itself. What a fool I am! The western bank looks like it's fairly vulnerable. With the bridges cut we'll have to fight our way through whatever is on the eastern bank. Damn!

At least the dam itself is free from defenses.

I'd say the combination of a reinforced army and those towers has the Hans taken care of. We've gone from a small flotilla buzzing about our base to a single copter actually making it near the army. Now I think is the time to try and move forward.

We run into more artillery and oh god damn it another Minelayer. That would explain why my tanks keep randomly self-destructing.

Now we have to sit here and wait for the Minelayer to defuse everything. And the GC has mined the whole damn path to the base. This is going to be slow going.

GC: 1, Minelayers: 0. This is why we don't have our minelayers run to far ahead of the main army. But at least we were able to get a look at their defensive lineup. Seems like it's as vulnerable to artillery fire as it usually is.

The shoreline towers we built are doing an admirable job. I've yet to see a Han even make it near the base, much less do any substantial damage.

More exciting mine clearing action coming at ya!

With the mines almost clear the GC makes a move I do not understand in any way. Why the hell would they send a single Siberia L at us? Especially when they've been sending wave after wave of terrifying artillery tanks.

Hooray! All the mines are gone, I'm sure we'll never have to clear another minefield again in this mission!

A frontal assault would be suicide, right? Eh, the men are bored let's see what happens.

Oh shit they still have artillery.

Welp. Nothing good happened. Unless "losing 2/3rds of your army" is good these days. We didn't even dent the defenses.

Right then, I'm sick of this. Time for a taste of their own medicine. Their own artillery-flavored medicine.

Yeah this is working way better.

Not that the GC doesn't try to fight back...

But with their own artillery finally silenced there's nothing they can do to stop the barrage of shells.

I didn't even realize we had the high ground until I swung the camera around to point the other way. No wonder we're hitting everything.

With all but two of the factories gone I don't think we have to worry about the artillery any more this mission.

The GC attempts a Han counter-attack in the morning fog but it's easily repelled.

Another minelayer? Aw shit. That means more mines.

The GC finally attempt a counter-attack on the ground but it's far too little.

I hate
hate
hate
hate
hate
hate
hate
hate
HATE
mines!

I also really hate when I'm a dumbass and put my minelayer in range of enemy defenses.

Let's try that again.

With the mines cleared we can begin our final push to the dam.

Yeah, not so tough now when your mines and artillery and other bullshit is gone now are ya!

The target zones for the TNT are secure but we'll need to take out the second GC base if we're going to be able to successfully detonate the explosives.

Fortunately this base is even more exposed to artillery fire.

Yep, we're just gonna hang out and lob shells at you all day when you can't fight back.

In the mean time, there's no reason we can't move up the TNT.

Yep, don't mind us just doing some house cleaning.

With lasers.

Haha! Now you guys show up. The base is gone you idiots! Why were you just hanging out on this side of the map while your comrades burned? See, this is why we're so much smarter than the General Command: we callously sacrifice our soldiers before the battle is hopeless.

Your sacrifice means absolutely nothing and you should honestly be a bit embarrassed that you carried out your orders.

Once these mines are destroyed we'll be clear to plant the explosives.

Move all three units into position. What do you mean there's only two units now? Mines? I THOUGHT WE GOT THEM ALL!

MINESSSSSSSSSSSS

Thankfully two TNT trucks are enough to beat the mission. And because I actually like most of my units I have my Gruz rebuild one of the bridges, allowing them all to make it back here once the dam is blown.