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“The loss of the 2nd Shock Army near Damascus has certainly hurt us, but it will not deter our advance into Europe or affect our invasion of Alaska. With the fall of Romania, the EU has lost its one oil-producing member, which of course makes them completely reliant on American oil and natural gas. As we continue to capture more territory, the noose around the EU’s neck will begin to tighten.”

General Gerasimov pulled up a map on the display before he continued. “As you can see here, the 3rd Shock Army is concentrating their forces in Poland and the easern half of the Czech Republic, preparing for a summer offensive. The 1st Shock Army has consolidated in northern Italy, Croatia, Slovenia and central Austria (now that Vienna has fallen). The plan is for the 1st Shock Army to pivot the bulk of their force from Southeastern Europe and advance through northern Austria in an attempt to seize Salzburg and threaten Southern Germany, the industrial heartland of Germany and the EU.”

The General could have used graphics to demonstrate the movement of troops, but he preferred to use large sweeping motions of his hands for dramatic effect as he spoke. He continued, “The 2nd Shock Army is going to advance across two points: the first, central Germany towards Dresden and Leipzig, and the second, to the North of Berlin. They will drive to Hamburg, the deep water shipping port so critical to keeping the NATO forces supplied. The northern half of Germany is relatively flat, which plays to our advantage in terms of using our tanks. We have given this attack the codename Operation Red Anvil.”

“As we speak, General Putin has already put into motion the beginning of Operation Red Anvil. The bombardments of the frontlines are taking place now, and his armored forces will begin to advance in seventytwo hours.”

Fradkov pondered, “This will be the largest armored assault in history, won’t it?”

“Yes, Mr. President.” Minister Puchkov puffed out his chest with pride.

“Well… I guess that leaves us with the IR-our misbehaving stepsister.”

No one wanted to speak to this point. The Russians had been paid nearly $3 Trillion NAD by the IR over the last ten years to build up and train their military force. The investment had caused an economic revival in Russia; however, despite the amount of equipment sold to the IR (and the years of training and mentoring the Russian military provided), the IR had nearly destroyed their entire military within seven-months (granted, they had been in constant combat with the Israeli and American Forces).

Puchkov dared to answer. “Well, sir, the IR possesses all of the world’s most modern equipment to defeat the Israeli and American Forces; however, what they lack is an experienced officer and NCO cadre, not to mention a military ethos and warrior culture like that of the Israelis and Americans. If nothing else, we all know the Americans and Israelis to be exceptional military fighters-fearless in combat, and able to operate effectively in large and small units. For all the training that we and the Chinese have provided, the one thing that we simply cannot instill in the Arab Army is the character and attitude required by a true warrior. By and large, the IR Army operates in more of a mob mentality… this becomes disastrous when a unit or group leader is killed during a battle or engagement.”

General Gerasimov picked up from here. “Fortunately for us, the Middle East campaign is not really a primary theater of operations; rather, it was meant to tie down American Forces and prevent them from employing those resources in Europe, or having the necessary forces to prevent our Russian-Chinese joint invasion of Alaska. We continue to maintain 150,000 troops in central and northern Turkey and a blocking force in the Caucuses. Most of these armies were loosely scattered across key strategic locations in Turkey to protect the Black Sea. Our situation there is stable at this time, and we have to consider our position there to be at a standstill.”

President Fradkov was not at all upset by this response. Instead, he pulled out a bottle of vodka to share. Things were going very well for him and his comrades.

Tank Pressure Cooker

19 June 2041
Brandenburg, Germany

The 2nd Armored Division (2AD), also known as the “hell on wheels” division (they were given the nickname by General Patton himself back in World War II); it was one of many WWII divisions being reactivated to form the American 5th and 6th Armies in Europe. 2AD was one of only two divisions equipped solely with the venerable Pershing Main Battle Tanks (MBT)s in Europe. They had not seen combat as their sister division, 12AD, had at the German border. Their last battalion of tanks came in a week ago; they were finally ordered to move forward, just as the Russians began their massive bombardment of the frontlines. Anticipation hung in the air.

Within the 2AD, Colonel Mica Aaron, was the 66th armor regiment commander- the second highest ranking officer in the division, next to the commanding general. He was a career officer, and a graduate of the Army’s prestigious West Point. Colonel Aaron had been a brigade commander during the invasion of Mexico, and was in line to get his General’s Star in the near future. When the Army reactivated the 2AD, he had been selected to be the brigade commander for one of just five Pershing brigades in Europe. Being single, he was able to devote his entire life to the Army and his trade, armored warfare. When it came to tank combat strategies, he was the best in the Army.

Intelligence indicated the Russians were going to start a robust summer offensive within the next couple of days, so the 66th AR was being deployed near Brandenburg to stop a potential Russian armored thrust. Since Berlin had been turned into a ‘free city’ to avoid having it torn to pieces in a house-to-house fight, it was now just a big obstacle in the way of both sides’ armored groups as they maneuvered to attack each other without getting caught in the city. Colonel Aaron had 192 Pershings, 260 infantry fighting vehicles, and other armored support vehicles in his brigade (such as the armored ambulances, ammunition carriers, fuel tankers, etc.). His unit was facing at least two Russian armored divisions that had between 600 and 900 T14 and T38 MBTs (along with their support vehicles)… that meant nearly 4:1 odds against them.

Lieutenant Colonel George Lewis was the 66th AR’s executive officer (XO); during the invasion of Mexico he had served as a battalion commander for Colonel Aaron… now he was being groomed to take over as brigade commander as soon as his promotion to Colonel came through. As LTC Lewis walked towards the Command vehicle, he could hear the artillery in the distance start to slacken. After nearly three days of being bombarded, the brigade was starting to get antsy waiting for the eventual tank battle that was shaping up to be one of history’s most epic tank conflicts.

The IFV that was acting as the Command vehicle was crammed with computer screens, radios, and soldiers, all attentively watching events around the brigade unfold. LTC Lewis spotted Colonel Aaron and signaled for him to exit the vehicle so he could pass along the information he had just received from Division HQ.

Colonel Aaron cut straight to the chase, “LTC Lewis, anything of interest from division?”

“Sir, the drones and signals intelligence are reporting a massive troop and armor movement by the Russians. It is believed that once the artillery bombardment stops, the Russians will begin to advance,” LTC Lewis said.

Looking back into the Command vehicle, Colonel Aaron asked one of his Captains, “Are the drones showing any armored movements towards our position yet?”

Zooming out with the drone camera that the Captain was controlling, he quickly looked for signs of new enemy activity. “Sir, I am starting to see at least one brigade-sized armor element moving forward. Behind that unit are a number of others lining up. It looks as if they are getting ready to launch their offensive.” The Captain was clearly a bit nervous as he spoke, drumming his fingers faster and faster as he continued.