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<fs x-large>**Solar War Vignettes - Two Weeks to Mallahia**</fs>
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Date: 0123 R.C. \\
Author: kojima
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With the fronts stabilizing in [[wiki:eurysia|Eurysia]] and [[wiki:esmaria|Esmaria,]] the [[Coalition]] sees an opportunity to strike a decisive blow against the [[wiki:unionstate|Union State.]] Aiming to reduce pressure on troops in Eurysia and to sever vital supply lines, the [[wiki:orubian_federation|Orubian Federation]] and West Asteria as whole is chosen as the target of the Coalition’s next major offensive codenamed [[wiki:Operation Crosscounter|Operation: Crosscounter.]] Hawks in the Coalition Command Authority and allied [[wiki:mestraim|Mestraim]] call for a blitz through the desert to [[wiki:bacca|Bacca.]] Such terrain favors Coalition heavy armor and fencers while bypassing any Union State strongpoints. Crosscounter’s planners, however, entertain no such illusions. Orubia’s fortifications are numerous and their defenders well-drilled and disciplined; any attack that does not destroy or tie down the Union State’s forces is doomed to fail.

The first phase of Crosscounter will be to degrade these defenses in preparation, a task that falls to the commandos of [[wiki:trident|‘Tri-mission Demolitions, Intelligence, Tactics’.]] The TRIDENT unit, codenamed PLISSKEN, duel with their Osdel counterparts, ultimately successful in destroying radar sites and key coastal artillery positions in the Sayf Al-Gharb Rig Cluster. Supplementing this, the Coalition engages in extensive deception against the Union State; erecting dummy ships and broadcasting radio transmissions to conceal their true intentions. The Union State was led to believe that the main Coalition landing would be at Mallahia rather than Argel, resulting in many battle hardened units being rotated to the mainland. 

The full force of the CFA’s VII Marine Expeditionary Force, supported by naval gunfire from destroyers of the Royal Mestraic Navy, fell upon Argel Island. Union State troops were caught entirely on the backfoot, what resistance was fierce but disorganized; with some [[wiki:oprichnik_corps|Oprichnik]] units fighting to the death. Within three days of intense fighting, Argel Island had come under total Coalition control and was rapidly turned into a springboard to strike Orubia from. 

Left reeling by the Coalition’s first strike, the Union State scrambles reinforcements to the coastal defense lines. The southern’s beaches were formidable, even following preparatory bombardments and combat diver raids on Union State defenses. The Union State’s bunker complexes had hosted fighting positions for everything from machine guns to cruise missiles. Orubian garrison commander, Podpolkovnik Saqr Al-Hassi knew that his position was a forlorn hope; delays in mobilization and distance from allied lines meant any reinforcement would only arrive in time to find the Coalition’s guns pointed at them. They batten down the hatches, hoping to stall the Coalition onslaught long enough to allow the Union State to stabilize the situation. 

The battle reaped a heavy toll on both sides, the sheer intensity of fire coming from the defenders had prevented rapid movement up the primary beach, dubbed ‘Thessia’. Swathes of Thessia Beach were pre-zeroed for artillery and missile strikes, devastating the first armored and mechanized waves of Coalition marines. It was only through fencer supremacy on Thessia Beach that the Union State defense was breached. 

The sacrifice of Podpolkovnik Al-Hassi was not in vain, the delays and losses inflicted on the marines allowed for the 72nd Guards Tank Division to intercept Coalition forces, meeting at the village of Hazmiyah. Here [[wiki:T-22|T-22B]] and [[wiki:M-77 Chimera|M-77]] crews engage in lethal gunnery duels from sunup to sundown, using the ambient heat of sand dunes to baffle thermal imagers and ducking into sandstorms to defeat laser rangefinders. 

Time is of the essence; if the Coalition can reach Mallahia’s flank, Orubia will be left wide open.
{{tag>vignettes solar_war}}