The pressure was relieved on the B-52 bombers, if only slightly. The balls of superheated light changed direction and raced towards the attacking MiG-17’s.
The Soviet pilots continued to attack as they dodged plasma fire from the ground. One MiG got too close and was struck by a bolt of lightning head on. The front of the plane caught fire and it tumbled to the ground.
As the massive balls of plasma tracked their targets the MiG’s had to use all their turning advantage to keep out of harm’s way. A junior wingman was not quite skilled enough and was struck through the center of the fuselage; the whole fighter disappeared in a blinding flash.
The B-52’s now had the chance they were waiting for; they banked left and started a bombing run on the Kugelblitz. Many of the lead planes were instantly destroyed but the bombers continued to attack.
They dropped their huge pay lows and the ground shook from the impact. A whole division of Kugelblitz was destroyed in the onslaught.
Retribution was immediate and relentless; out of nowhere a swarm of Me 262’s entered the battle. The agile fighters swiftly maneuvered themselves onto the tail of the MiG’s who turned desperately trying to shake off their attackers.
The MiG’s did not have the engine power to pull away from the 262’s who locked on and fired. The plasma rounds tracked their prey and the MiG’s were dispatched easily.
Cannon fire reached out towards the Me 262s as the Phantoms had rejoined the fight but none of the American pilots had actually encountered a 262 before and had underestimated their capabilities.
The Flight leader had missile lock and he squeezed the trigger, the AIM-9 Sidewinder cork screwed forward and streaked towards the 262. To the disbelief of the American’s the Aryan fighter rolled hard right at the last minute and the Sidewinder missed.
The Phantom pilot did not have long to dwell on it though as he was struck by a plasma missile from the rear, the superheated orb washed over the top of the cockpit; killing pilot and radar operator instantly.
The air battle raging overhead seemed to act as the catalyst for the Aryan forces to begin their all-out assault. Armor broke out in all directions and fired on the British forces commanded by Speering.
Speering ordered his men to spread out further and take a defensive position on the highway.
“We have to hold them here until we can get support.” He shouted, struggling to be heard over the sound of the main battle tanks 105mm cannon.
Plasma fire rained in from the hilly area to the North, the round splashed over the area, knocking out a Chinese Type 62 light tank. Speering realized to his horror that they themselves had been flanked.
Commander Speering was about to order his heavy tanks to attack when a cry came over the battlenet radio.
“Yeah.” The shout went and from the rear of the 4th Army, out of nowhere a formation of M48 Pattons, Sherman’s and a few Chieftains advanced across the field towards the base of the hills.
The tanks fired as they went, Speering caught movement in the distance and realized that Huey transport helicopters were approaching the hills as well. ‘Were they going to drop troops off behind the enemy?’ He thought.
The question was soon answered as the Huey’s dipped low into the hills and under heavy fire they dropped off a mixture of Russian and British infantry.
An explosion detonated a few feet from Speering’s position and snapped him out of his thoughts. The Vickers tank next to his had suffered a direct hit from an antitank gun and had gone up in flames; the heat forced the commander to close the cupola on his turret and shelter inside.
Things were going even worse for the 5th Army who had been forced back deep into Baltimore after the British infantry holding the flank had been overrun and destroyed half an hour earlier; the tanks that were supporting them had also been taken out.
Commander Paul and his men were now engaged in ferocious street to street fighting. Many of the individual houses became fortresses and often one house was occupied by the allies while the neighboring ones were held by the Aryan forces.
Brutal house to house combat inflicted heavy losses on both sides but gradually the Aryans were whittling down the allied forces.
Commander Paul’s tanks were clustered in pairs, holding key strategic streets while anti-tank guns were hastily brought forward to provide them with much-needed support.
“Command, this is Commander Paul of the 5th Armor, we are suffering heavy losses, been pushed back deep into Baltimore itself. Need air support otherwise I can’t guarantee how long we can hold this position.”
“Acknowledged Commander, we will see what we can do but currently all air support is tied up with enemy fighters. Do your best son. Admiral Moorer out.”
Sleek fighters raced out over Norfolk and then Virginia Beach, the first rounds poured out and struck the destroyer, USS Duncan, the plasma orbs impacted along the front decks and several hit the control tower.
The alarm went out just after 09.00, “Fleet under attack, all antiaircraft personal to their battle stations.
The Atlantic fleet was coming under heavy fire from Me 262 fighters; the sky was full of them and the ships were in a very vulnerable position.
The only aircraft the allies had not thrown into the battle were the British made Harrier jump jets; these vertical takeoff aircraft were perfectly suited to naval defensive duties. The Harrier’s jumped into the battle but they were outnumbered at least four to one.
The air around the ships turned into chaos very quickly as flak and machine gun rounds from the ships themselves filed the air.
Explosions rocked the area around the HMS Kent who was taking heavy strafing rounds. The rear missile launchers were put out of action quickly.
A Harrier tumbled after a diving 262 who was firing on the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle the Harrier fired all of its missiles but did manage to damage the Aryan aircraft. The Me 262 tried to crash into the aircraft carrier but the controls were critically damaged and it splashed down into the Atlantic.
The Antiaircraft guns were hopelessly ineffective against the caliber of fighters they were facing and the actually caused more damage to the slower Harriers; cases of friendly fire increased dramatically.
Inoculation
The five Phantoms were coming to end of their fuel supply as they approached the point of no return they jettisoned their external fuel tanks. Brooklyn radioed through with one last message.
“WC114 preparing for inoculation.”
As anticipated there was no response.
Brooklyn Jnr’s aircraft was so close to the ground it spewed up plumes of dust. Moose in the radar operator’s seat just behind Brooklyn looked around in despair; he did not recognize the area. It was devoid of all greenery and deep scars seemed to have been cut into the bare earth.
The Phantoms raced passed a long line of armored vehicles traveling Westward, they feared for a moment that they had been spotted but no attack was forthcoming. They were only thirty miles from their target now.
Sweat formed along the top of Brooklyn’s forehead, he took in a deep breath and then exhaled slowly to calm his nerves; he had to do this for his dad. Brooklyn took one last look at the family pictures in front of him, brushed his fingertips over the picture of Pam and then pushed all feelings from his mind.
The radar in the control tower beeped incessantly, and the technician had to give it a double take to confirm it was not a glitch in the system.
“Commander, we have incoming, thirty miles to the Northwest heading at speed.”