Part 52: Mission 52: Pincer Strike

With the bombing mission successfully completed, the enemy would be reeling from their losses for a bit. We took the opportunity to refit our new tank platons so they would be combat-ready. We would've given the Hulkamaniacs a Nordia autocannon, as we did with Tea Battalion, but their leader wouldn't settle for anything less than "the biggest and baddest."



But Medusa was attempting to bolster her own strength as well. Our recon units reported that a large portion of her priests and wizards were tied down carrying out the largest and most complicated ritual we'd seen to date, sharing characteristics of those used to summon a demon or dragon. Her forces were being redeployed, too, with multiple lines of defense dedicated to guarding the ritual site.



We, meanwhile, had already created our ultimate weapon.




The Destructor Superheavy Tank was now in production and available for requisition. The culmination of modern combat doctrines, human engineering, and everything we had learned about magic since its arrival on Earth, the Destructor could face the very worst the Forces of Darkness had to throw at us and emerge victorious.

In addition to its main cannon, which fired high-caliber archotral shells at high velocities, it housed an array of autocannon turrets, giving it devastating anti-personnel and anti-air firepower in every direction. Every critical system was protected by multiple layers of Andurital, its UDES-based design giving it absolute protection from every angle. An integrated maintenance room and dedicated repair crew, coupled with redundant systems, meant that even a heavily damaged Destructor could fight at almost full effectiveness and take just as much damage again after some basic field repairs.

Finally, the Destructor had the capability to anchor itself to the ground, during which it could extend retractable Andurital armor plates to protect its treads. When anchored like this, the Destructor could better stabilize its main cannon, allowing it to switch to higher-capacity shells with more firepower and range than even its normal ammunition.

The Destructor was everything we could've hoped for in the field, and soon, we'd be getting one of our own.



Soon, but not soon enough for our next mission. The enemy was still reeling from our airstrikes, and they were quickly abandoning the ground they could no longer hold, in hopes of reinforcing their next lines. With most of their air defenses knocked out, we had a unique opportunity to airlift squads behind their lines and encircle them.

General Malcolm provided a few commando teams to help our forces on the far side of the enemy groups, and he wouldn't take no for an answer. Given that we'd be putting our infantry in a risky position, cut off from tank and artillery support, the reinforcements were appreciated.

Mission 52: Pincer Strike

Attending:
Lazarus (Forlorn Hope, Flamethrowers)
T. Hinman (Ethereal Corps, Flamethrowers)
Habitually Red (Sane Max's Own, Mobile Infantry)
Gordon Frohman (Concerned Citizens, Mobile Infantry)
Solrick Skaft (Scion of Emer, Mobile Infantry)
Joe Moore (War Boys, Mobile Infantry)
"Doctor" Snark (Mage Killers, Mobile Infantry)
Emil Västerström (Trollhunters, Mobile Infantry)
Patrick Gallagher (Just In Time, Elmag 2)
Svetlana Aliyev (Rusalka, Elmag 2)
Mael Radec (Radec's Rhinos, M1 Abrams)
Erik Spanner (The Toolbox, M1 Abrams)
James "Griff" Griffin (Party Crashers, M1 Abrams)
Basil (Paladin, M1 Abrams)
Reginald P. Linux (Doom Squad, Leopard 2A5)
Grandalt Noddington (Tea Battalion, Leopard 2A5)
Hulk Hogan (The Hulkamaniacs, Leopard 2A5)
Aethereon Darkfyre (The Mary Sues, UDES)
Stephen Smith (The Counts of Monty Python, UDES)
Grand Inquisitor Solaus (Balkanian Inquisition, MLRS)
Michael de Boulogne (Chivalric Order of Saint George, MLRS)
Gregor (The Swell Swords, MLRS)
Pusher Bot (The Space Robots, MLRS)
Anil E. Hilated, Esq. (Polite Obliteration, M106)
Cholmondely Featherstonehaugh-Smythe (Sphinx Battery, Roland)
Sigrún Raske (Skysmasher Brigade, Roland)
Roger Murtaugh (Less Than Lethal, Roland)
Billy Mays (Infomercial Men, Mi-24)
Bob & Doug McKenzie (Royal Canadian Red-greens, Mi-24)
Vlasta Devínská (Paper Tigers, Universal 2R)
Mr. Spooks (Ghost Legion, Universal 2R)

Auxiliaries:

Tango (Commandos)
Romeo (Commandos)
Oscar (Commandos)
Golf (Commandos)



Mael Radec: Alright, we're ready. North team, are you in position?



Lazarus: Copy that, Radec. We're sweeping south now.



Bob McKenzie: Ready for a nice flight over the countryside, eh!



Joe Moore: Contact, Elf Masters! They must've seen us coming!



T. Hinman: Follow me, hu-mens! We must consolidate our strength!



Romeo: Nooo, Tango!
Solrick Skaft: Commando units, fall back! You don't have the gear to deal with these guys!



Oscar: To hell with that! We're here, we're fighting!



Billy Mays: AND SO ARE THE INFOMERCIAL MEN!

Meanwhile...



Aethereon Darkfyre: The enemy's here! The time has come for us to join the battle!



Stephen Smith: That... huh.
Solaus: You'd think they'd have learned not to bother with Towers by now.



Anil E. Hilated: ...The hell? Wolf Riders? When's the last time we even saw those?



Erik T. Spanner: I'm actually kind of insulted. They had to know we were coming, why did they meet us with the Bargain Bin Brigade?
Griff: I think this is probably a rearguard, slowing us down to buy time while their non-cannon fodder troops escape.
Svetlana Aliyev: I'd feel kind of sorry for the bastards if they didn't already know we were taking in enemy defectors.



Gregor: Enemy will learn, nothing can slow down Gregor!




"Doctor" Snark: Almost got 'em cleared out here in the north. How are you guys south doing?




Anil E. Hilated: Kinda getting bored here, honestly.
Patrick Gallagher: I think we can start advancing, at least. There's a hill to the northeast we can set up on.




Stephen Smith: Uh, not sure what you guys are trying to accomplish. I bet you couldn't even hurt our infantry at this point.



Gordon Frohman: ACTUALLY, THEY DEFINITELY FUCKING CAN.



"Doctor" Snark: Come on, up in the air! Those Towers can barely hit us while we're flying, and the Mammoths can't at all!



Anil E. Hilated: So, uhh, should we be doing anything besides sitting here and taking potshots at the occasional reject that wanders our way?
Mael Radec: Well, from the sounds of it, the enemy has plenty of artillery dug in on that hill and not much in the way of air defense. I'd say it's a job for the infantry.
Grandalt Noddington: Can't say I'm thrilled at the thought of staying in relative safety and letting the grunts do all the work.
Patrick Gallagher: To be fair, it's been the other way around for just about every battle before this.
Grandalt Noddington: This is my first mission, though!



Doug McKenzie: 'nother one of those big metal boxes to the south.



Gordon Frohman: Ow, shit! Taking Nekromant fire!



Joe Moore: That's not too dangerous. Just keep picking off those towers, we'll find him eventually.



Habitually Red: Wizard, we got a wizard!
Joe Moore: Okay, that is probably dangerous. Everyone, head southwest of Lazarus! The bolt came from there!



Habitually Red: Found 'em!



Lazarus: Like knocking down bowling pins.
Habitually Red: Man, I remember when all our tanks had to use concentrated fire to bring down a wizard. It's too bad the enemy's been gearing up just as much as we have.




"Doctor" Snark: Just took out the Nekromant. He left behind a few skellies, but those won't be a problem.



Billy Mays: BUT WAIT, THERE'S ELVES!
Gordon Frohman: Not even Elf Masters? Just plain-ass elves?



Gordon Frohman: Next!



Bob McKenzie: And it looks like they've got themselves another one of those Mammoths.



Joe Moore: Not that it helps them against us.



The Commando teams suffered a staggering casualty rate, with Golf being the only survivors. But the Drunken Slavs' core remained unscathed, save for the loss of a single radar truck from Mr. Spooks' unit. The enemy's forces had been hastily assembled, and while the Mammoth batteries stationed along the hill could have cost us a lot of time and inflicted heavy losses, they were not prepared for our aerial ambush from behind.



Not long after we began sweeping the area for stragglers, we found a column of thousands of orcs in the swampy jungles to the north, armed only with their usual crude axes. Our reputation preceded us, and we were able to quickly secure a surrender. Their leader explained that Medusa had ordered them to abandon their positions and retreat to a rear base, where she would arm them with modern weapons scavenged from army bases and traded for with the Bloc of Free States. Medusa surely had no shortage of other orcs who could wield these weapons, but General Malcolm had begun working out a plan to ensure they'd never have the chance.

For the Drunken Slavs' part, the easy job was over. Malcolm's forces would be tied up elsewhere, the remaining enemy territory beyond the range of radar and thus his bombers. Our job was as simple as it was daunting: push headlong into the unknown and destroy everything standing between us and the Gate.