I understand everyone here wants to get in the fight. I know there is a lot of pressure being placed on you all by your elected officials right now, and they are the ones holding up the release of the requested forces. President Gates and Ambassador Wilkins, our new Ambassador to NATO, are currently working that issue with your leaders right now. What I need from all of you is a plan that will be ready to execute as we get more forces released. We need anti-SAM missions drawn up, we need air superiority missions drawn up, we need our supply lines to start flowing, and men and material moved to the battlefield as quickly as possible. There is a tremendous amount of work that needs to happen while we let the politicians sort things out,” General Cotton explained, trying to light a fire under everyone. NATO had vast war supplies across the various member states; it was time to start getting them opened and on the move to the frontlines.
Just then, a Turkish officer walked in and whispered something to General Mehmet Yamut and handed him a note. General Yamut was the Turkish military representative, responsible for coordinating Turkey’s efforts in the war against Russia. He turned his head slightly and then did a double take at the officer that just brought him the note. He whispered something back and the officer only nodded, then quickly left the room.
At first, no one responded. Then all eyes turned to General Cotton and then to General Yamut, who raised his hand to signal that he needed to address the group. Cotton nodded for him to go ahead. “Colleagues, I want you to know that I do not agree with this decision,” Yamut began. “Most of the general officers within the military will be unhappy as well, but our president has directed that no Turkish military forces will participate in this war against Russia. Our nation conducts a large percentage of our international trade with Russia, and our President does not wish to upset that relationship — even if it means not honoring our agreement with NATO,” he explained as he squirmed in his chair. He was clearly not comfortable with providing this statement in front of the other NATO member states
General Cotton already knew the Turkish government was not going to support NATO in the current war with Russia. He also knew what he had to do, as uncomfortable as it might be.
“I understand your position, General. I also understand that this is a political decision being made by your government and not something the military agrees with. However, if Turkey is not going to honor its military commitment when the organization was clearly attacked, then Turkey can no longer be a part of the planning of the war or take part in any of the war updates. My understanding is that Ambassador Wilkins, at the direction of our President, will move to have Turkey removed from the alliance for its failure to live up to its obligation.”
A collective gasp filled the room.
General Cotton continued, “While this is a political decision, as the SACEUR responsible for the defense of Europe and the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, I cannot allow you to remain privy to the war plans being developed or implemented by NATO.” He took a deep breath before he dropped the final hammer. “I kindly ask that you excuse yourself from the room while we continue to discuss the war.”
Many of the generals in the room had their mouths wide open in surprise. No one had ever asked another member state to leave before, and no one had ever told a member state they could no longer participate in any further military discussions, planning, or updates either.
General Yamut nodded. He was upset to be asked to leave, but he also understood. He gathered his things and walked out of the room, while everyone watched in silence.
With the uncomfortable tension still hanging in the air, General Cotton addressed the rest of the representatives at the table. “Before we continue with the war update, are there any other member states who are not going to honor their military agreements?”
Silence filled the room as everyone stared down all of their counterparts. Then, to everyone’s shock and horror, first the Hungarian general and then the Spanish general both stood up and walked out.
“What in the world is going on?!” thought General Cotton. However, there was no time to dwell on it. There was only time to move forward.
Before You Leave
Sergeant Childers counted to two, then leaned slightly out the window and dropped the grenade he had been holding into the gaggle of soldiers stacking up against the wall of the ground floor below him. The Russians immediately dove for cover as the grenade went off, killing and injuring many in the group that had been piling up to breach their building. As Childers quickly ducked his head and arm back inside the building, the window sill began to explode into splinters and shards; the soldiers below him and outside the building began to open up on where he had just been. Lying on his belly, he crawled quickly out of the room and into the hallway before getting up and running quickly to the back of the building and into the next room. One of his soldiers was waiting for him as he arrived and waved him through the hole they had cut out in the wall that allowed them to pass from one building to another.
“You sure stirred up a hornet’s nest out there, Sergeant,” the private said with a wicked grin.
“You could say that,” Luke responded, snickering. Then his facial expression quickly went serious. “Hey, they are going to breach the first floor shortly. Get the charge set, and let’s get out of here. We need to get to the next building before they arrive.”
Childers stopped a minute to catch his breath as the other soldier finished tying the tripwire to the claymore mine. When the Russians saw the hole between the two buildings, they would rush through it in hopes of following the Americans. If they did, then they would hit the tripwire, causing the claymore to go off. Hopefully, it would take several more of them out.
The Russians had finally punched through the NATO lines at the outskirts of the city ten hours ago, and it had been a mad melee of house-to-house fighting ever since. The German brigade was supposed to fall back in an orderly manner and allow time for the new lines to form, but the Russians had gotten to them before they reorganized, and the brigade collapsed. A group of Su-25s dove on the Germans and took out a good chunk of their tanks. The Russians saw a weak spot and fully exploited it, resulting in the breakdown of part of the city’s defenses. Once they had a hole in the lines, they rammed as many units as possible through it, crumpling much of the NATO lines.
Nemesis Troop was forced to take cover in a block of buildings not far from Patona Bridge. British engineers had dropped the Darnyts'kyi Bridge when the breach in the lines occurred, but were unable to successfully destroy the Patona bridge before it was captured. A company of American tanks tried to recapture the bridge with support from a British infantry unit, but was summarily beaten back by waves of precision guided anti-tank missiles. At first, no one knew where the missiles were coming from, since there were no Su-25s in the area. Then a British soldier spotted them off in the distance — drones. The Russians had brought forward nearly a dozen of their newest anti-tank infantry support drones for this battle, the now-infamous Zhukovs.
Each one of the drones carried six anti-tank missiles, which quickly wiped out the American tanks attempting to re-secure the bridge (or at least get in position to destroy it). It was a blessing and a curse when those drones finally left — a blessing because they had run out of missiles, a curse because everyone knew they would be back and wreak further havoc.