From: Beth Fulton <beth.fulton@m...>
Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 23:26:52 +1100
Subject: [FH] Breaking News - Operation Colossus Fails
Operation Colossus Smashed New Guardian Times, London, January 25th 2194 As we go to air tonight few would not know of the tragic failure of our last best hope to free our Martian brethren from the heavy weight of the alien menace. In tribute to the brave souls who took part in the failed Operation Colossus, we have cut together this piece, which looks at leading stories from across the globe over the last two heady weeks. January 10th 2194 - NAC High Command, London Operation Colossus has begun with a clash of arms that is building up to be the biggest battle seen in human history. What began as a successful local assault by the 37th Maine Confederation Infantry Regiment south of Sammayaka Pillars (near the base of the Arda Valles) has led to strong Krak counterattacks and further human counter offerensives. As we go to air there are reports that this clash has developed into heavy fighting on the ground and in the air. We are also advised that the fighting is spreading up the valley and has also spread west into the area north of Pikalevo. This has lead to a renewal in the intensity of fighting in the plains west of Vinogradov and, as of this hour, the entire front is gripped by steadily increasing violence. January 11th 2194 - VKFKA special communiqué, Moscow Armoured Battle in the Arda: Since the morning of January 9th, NAC, Eurasian and Japanese troops in the areas of Tsuru, Ojika Jima and along much of the length of the Arda Valles have been waging heavy offensive battles against large enemy infantry and armoured forces. The offensive has the support of abundant aircraft, originally VR-fighters, but with the loss of many repeater stations it has become increasingly necessary to resort to human crewed aircraft. Eurasian troops have had a prominent position in the action and have repelled all enemy counter-attacks, inflicting heavy losses on the alien invaders. There have been small-scale Krak incursions in a few isolated points, but none have succeeded in penetrating far into our positions. The incomplete data assembled so far indicates that on the first day of fighting we destroyed 251 light to medium Krak tanks and 93 of the large Krak main battle tanks. Heavy fighting is continuing. January 12th 2194 - Gazeta Polska, Warsaw The destruction of 736 Krak tanks, including large numbers of the heaviest Krak monster MBTs, and of 818 Kip and Kart class Krak fighters in three days are the first tangible tokens of human success in the Operation Colossus. There has been an unexpectedly violent Krak counterattack with an all-out attempt by the alien forces to capture certain important staging areas between Pikalevo and Ryótsu. The combined human forces have thrown a good deal of their available reserves of armour and aircraft into the developing large-scale battles along the Arda front. As far as intelligence sources can reveal, it appears that in response the Krak have deployed all available ground force reserves in the southeast of the occupied zone. A major conflict is ensuing and according to messages received within the last half an hour this has resulted in Krak penetration of the line of hasty human-built fortifications along the northern edge of the Arda Valles. The speed of advance is surprising given the region is now virtually carpeted with heavily armed bunkers, mines, barricades and tank traps. In addition, mortars, minethrowers and gun batteries from both sides are blanketing the area. Assessments of the battle in the Arda theatre to date indicate that the heaviest losses in men and matériel have been on the Krak side so far. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to have been any concomitant drop off in supply of alien troops as yet. The battle for Mars has a long way to go. January 13th 2194 - Diario Argentina, Plata Krak Territorial Gains Slight: The fourth day of the fighting in the Arda again sees the conflict steadily increasing in dimension, with the influx of fresh reserves on both sides. Despite the fact that Operation Colossus quickly developed into a large-scale human offensive the lines are now fairly static on the large scale, with the front line ebbing and flowing over a 20km deep area that spans the core of the Arda Valles. The Krak have repulsed all of our major advances, but thankfully the valour and grit of our troops has meant that despite the magnitude of the Krak savagery there have only been minor territorial gains by the alien forces. These creeping gains are out of all proportion to the heavy losses the Krak have sustained to make them. Moreover as momentum builds in the latest human offensive it looks as if by evening, our troops will have regained the lines they held a week ago. Notably units from the Parana Brigade have already been recommended for unit commendations in early despatches. The Paranas were part of the successes in the south around Vinogradov. A number of Eurasian units in the area had been temporarily cut off by Krak armoured breakthroughs, but they have been successfully relieved and the entire momentum has swung from human withdrawal and desperation to advance and rising morale. In the last 24 hours, Krak tank losses in this sector of the front alone come to more than 211 of which 53 were the big grav MBTs nicknamed kill-joys by the Norte Ãtlantico Anglian troops. Ground fighting has been fierce, but the aerial combat in the area has been no less savage; large formations of aircraft have been continuously engaged over the frontlines throughout the last three days - with neither side succeeding in gaining command of the air. Manitoba ground-attack aircraft have played a major role in smashing the alien armoured onslaught, as have our new military grade airships that float kilometres above the battle zone and drop armour-piercing shells with relative impunity. In other news from Mars, while there has been no notable changes in the position of the lines on the Arda Front, the Krak have succeeded in expanding on the breaches they have made around Severns... January 14th 2194 - Kreigsraumarmee High Command, Bremen Swabian forces have made major gains in the Arda theatre. In a battle between the Chelny Hills, on the western edge of Vinogradov, and the Habb al Tal corridor in the east, our troops have succeeded in encircling and destroying a large enemy force. The Swabian sector command reports the elimination of several thousand enemy fighters, as well as the disabling of 132 tanks and the seizing of a large numbers of crew served kinetic cannons and other alien weaponry. This comes on top of UN reports that yesterday, the human forces in the southern Arda destroyed a total of 223 tanks and 74 aircraft and repulsed Krak attacks west and north of Ojika Jima. Since Operation Colossus began January 9, the enemy has lost 63000 prisoners, 1800 tanks and 1600 cannon. In the north around Severns, Anglian landing troops have landed and begun reinforcing the regiments already in place. They are trying courageously, though largely in vain, to expand the strip they currently hold. Krak troops have counterattacked at various points and have halted or driven back the lead Anglian human forces. January 15th 2194 - TJD Information Bureau, Beijing Krak Attacks Waning: In the past twelve hours, Krak assault activity north of Pikalevo has slackened and the multinational human force is increasingly seizing the initiative. Overnight Krak attacks in the southeast had been fierce, pushing our units back along the length of the Arda until they were hard against the valles' edge, but this afternoon the intensity of the alien assault has decreased in force. As mentioned, our greatest hopes are around the mining camps and terraforming stations on the Pikalevo-Lethbridge corridor. Surprisingly, on this relatively open ground the alien tech advantage is not so great with defensive lasers able to bring down Krak tanks at distance. As a result, the units of "Killjoy" super grav-tanks, which the Kraks drove into the human positions in the first days of their counter-offensive, are shrivelling and the initiative is gradually passing over to our armies. General Liu, of Nagisa fame, has acted quickly on the faltering alien attack and has sent further reinforcements to the front, renewing our attacks in almost all southern sectors. January 16th 2194 - L'Astromarine High Command, Brussels The heavy fighting on the southern Margaritifer fronts is continuing despite deteriorating weather. The combined human forces have defeated another enemy force in a concentrated attack east of Ryòtsu. Krak counterattacks are strengthening though and while each has been repulsed it has been at the cost of heavy losses to both sides. East of Ryòtsu and south of Phan Tau, the enemy attacks have continued through out the day, with the support of tanks and ground-attack aircraft flying in over the increasingly stormy shores of the Xonak Daryâ. Attempts by Etat Federaux troops and supporting Indonesian units in the area to break through into the new Krak positions have failed with cripplingly heavy casualties. Our Ferrara, Pays de la Loire and Thessaloniki divisions were advancing well and were making significant inroads through the Krak fortifications. With a breakthrough insight our troops repulsed a wave of Krak power armour. Soon after this our drones indicated that the Krak defensive forces had all but melted away, with only key positions held by minimal numbers. This alerted our commanders to the potential for a nuclear strike, but with alien jamming still preventing much in the way of long range communications the order to evacuate the area was not received in time. The majority of our lead divisions were utterly destroyed and the following Ardenne and Granada divisions were heavily damaged. Before our brave forces could even begin to recover from this barbarous act, a large Krak force came sweeping in from the direction of the sea north of Phan Tau. In a nerve wracking time for naval command in Kal, these new invaders reinforced the re-emerging Krak units and washed over our surviving troops in a bloody wave. General Laterino's last wire report gives horrific details of what the aliens were doing to any bodies they come across. Tragically his report was incomplete as his command post fell with the rest of our forces as the line was overwhelmed by the sheer weight and viciousness of the alien onslaught.! For nea rly an hour following General Laterino's final words the Krak looked as if they would breach our lines approximately 15 km southwest of Phan Tau. Thankfully a spirited flanking attack by the 13th (Thiu Khao), 17th (Jawa) and 23rd (Mekong) Indonesian Commonwealth Divisions was successful and the Krak are being held 25km east of Ryòtsu. Along this sector of the immense battle sparked by Operation Colossus, in the last 24 hours units of the L'Astromarine have destroyed 349 Krak tanks and shot down 179 enemy fighters. January 17th 2194 - Camara Elimu News Bureau, Kinshasa Counterstroke near Lethbridge: The following special communiqué was published this evening in Windhoek. "Our troops have participated in an offensive against the Krak southeast of Lethbridge. Our offensive was part of a wider Swabian led action in the southwestern theatre. While divisions from Bandundu and Niassa attacked toward Lethbridge the main Swabian force moved east against the Arda-Lethbridge corridor. In the west, 22km south of Lethbridge, our troops have penetrated a 78 kilometre-wide stretch of strongly fortified Krak defensive positions and have advanced 33 kilometres in a period of 23 hours. Large numbers of the alien fortifications have been razed." January 18th 2194 - Dutch News Bureau, Rotterdam Enterprising crews of the Eurasian VK-1-111 tank have modified their vehicles after units armed with this model suffered heavy losses. These customized tanks are now equipped with layers of a titanium impregnated carbon-based matrix, commonly used to tip Martian mining drills. While these additions make the vehicles even less attractive than normal, their crews love the ugly beasts, which can now match the massive Krak MBTs in open combat. These tanks and other gems created by human ingenuity under pressure may be our best chance against this alien menace. January 19th 2194 - Al'Jornaan News Service, Sidi bel Abbès It has been two weeks since the Federation's holdings in central Margaritifer fell to Krak attacks. While we deeply mourn this horror, our commanders have now thrown our efforts into the multinational operation in the Arda and around Ojika Jima. This Operation Colossus is designed to push the Krak out of the southern end of the Tokalau Isthmus, if God wills it. Yesterday combined Anglian-Eurasian assaults in the central and southern parts of the Arda Front failed again. They suffered heavy casualties and lost 438 tanks. With our support to the west of Tsuru, the multinational force has put up stiff resistance today. The enemy halted his attacks in the Arda during this afternoon in consequence of the heavy losses we have inflicted. The Krak have continued their attempts to break through across the main Tsuru-Ojika Jima corridor, but these are stalling against our tough defenses and as a result of determined counterattacks by our troops. Federation troops smashed several waves of Krak infantry and tanks which attacked in northern Tsuru before they reached our main line. This is but one example where our troops in the Ojika Jima region have repelled or held up alien attacks mounted at various points throughout the area. In each case many have died, but not without first inflicting extremely heavy losses on the enemy. Al hamdulillah. In northern Tokalau troops from Baritaniya, Amreeka, Hisbaniya and Turkiya are continuing to put up a bitter resistance to the enemy... January 20th 2194 - Jagatprakash News Service, Jabalpur News Black-out: As alien jamming of communications makes the flow of information harder and much patcher most channels have now been commandeered for military purposes and for the first time in centuries little news is filtering into the civilian arena. Nevertheless we have endeavoured to gather news on the efforts of our countryman on Mars. Non-official reports from our sources on Angaraka tell us that the Krak army is continuing to advance along every front on the eastern half of the Tokalau Isthmus, with heavy Krak attacks continuing on the Arda front, in Severns and around Shevchenko. Apparently little remains of the gains made during the early days of Operation Colossus over a week ago. We can also tell you that the Punjabi, Rajasthani, Bengali, and Kerrala Divisions in the south of the Isthmus and the Pradeshi and Tamil Divisions in the north are in the thick of it. Reports coming through official channels indicate that they are acquitting themselves splendidly, but are suffering badly for it. The branch of Voyenno High Command in Jaipur has prohibited any further reporting on the alien invasion of Mars for the time being. January 21st 2194 - Komando Angkatan Antariksa Persemakmuran Indonesia, Medan Krak Victory in north and south: The battles around Kal in the south and Marin in the north of Tokalau are nearing an end as we go to air tonight; with the two cities expected to fall in the next couple of hours. Krak forces are curling around Kal from the northwest; while around Marin alien troops are pressing in from north and west and are now separated by a gap of only 18 kilometres... January 22nd 2194 - TJD Information Bureau, Beijing Krak gun batteries are moving up and systematically destroying Eurasian artillery positions in the Tsuru Frontier, which are also still under heavy bombardment by Krak ground-attack fighters. The unrelenting barrage is causing some breaks in the line, particularly in the most heavily targeted areas, now held by the Kazaks and Uzbeks south of the 23rd parallel. These small gaps are opening the way for alien armoured and infantry units to push through, bypassing Tsuru and heading straight down the corridor to Yokaichi. In more positive news, the Kraks have been forced to yield their main defensive positions on Ariza, in part by personnel from the Jiangxi Division and Huoxing fleet. The aliens on the island are now in full retreat and are withdrawing back across the narrow straits to the mainland. Northwest of Vinogradov our troops have also repelled a number of gigantic counter-attacks and, following up their pursuit of the defeated troops, have considerably expanded and deepened their bridgeheads on the right flank of the Arda-Lethbridge corridor. This 'battle of the bridgeheads', which is now underway on the southwestern Tokalau front, will retain its local character only until the Da Jun have extended the bridgeheads sufficiently to allow a grand offensive. The immense destruction that the Army has suffered in the last weeks, and the current lack of materials due ot the on-going seige of Sol, means the offensive may have to be held off for a short while, but when it comes it will emanate from these points, launching like a great cat when the right moment comes. January 23rd 2194 - Beromünster Radio, Switzerland The general mood in the streets is largely pessimistic. The revival of intense fighting in the Core and Inner Colonies, the almost complete loss of contact with many of the Rimworlds, and especially the rapid success of the Kraks' first invasion operation in the Sol system, has caused heightened tension and unrest. While much of our future is now even more uncertain than before Operation Colossus began a few short weeks ago, it is certain that the determining feature of the situation on the Tokalau Front is no longer the multinational offensive against the Krak camps along the Arda Valles, but the alien counteroffensive against our lines. Over the last fourteen days, the combined human forces have deployed vast quantities of tanks, infantry, mobile artillery, aircraft and naval vessels, but sadly it seems for now that our aims to remove the aliens from Sol will have to carry over for another day. We must regroup and plan carefully if we are to launch ourselves on the aliens again and regain our territory lost to the Krak in this most personal phase of the Xenowar. January 24th 2194 - The Oceania, Sydney In a moment of unbelievable pathos, the guns were largely silent as dusk fell in the Margaritifer Sector tonight. Sporadic engagements could be heard, but compared to the overwhelming barrage of noise and action of the last two weeks the sector was eerily quiet. While both sides are undoubtedly exhausted by the violence of the last fortnight the forces of humanity were forced to blink first. As hard as it is for us with even an ounce of fighting spirit to swallow we will have to accept in the short term that the Kraks will be on Mars for a little while to come. Despite the darkness of the hour we must keep our resolve however, and be sure in the conviction that there will be no deserting our kin on Mars; we will prevail; we will return renewed and eradicate the alien blight from our midst. January 25th 2194 Special Report of the UN Committee on Terran Affairs Intercepted Kra'Vak communications indicate they are calling their new holdings on Mars "Anoes Kes". One can only guess at the significance of such a bold step, given they were not quick to name specific locations on other worlds they have invaded. Turning to the human side of the conflict; present reports from all parts of the current sphere of humanity indicate that the people feel their powers of emotional resistance are being strained to the breaking-point. The reports emphasize the lack of conviction of the broad mass of the population with regard to our (humanity's) ultimate victory. Instead they see the situation approximately as follows: We are on the defensive, apparently trying to ward off overwhelming odds; we are unable to prevent local breaches even in the Core; the Rimworlds are either dead or hunkered down; and even the worlds of the Inner Colonies would rather abandon the cause and concentrate solely on their own fortunes than withdraw to protect Earth and ensure the continuation of humanity and its ancestral home; the primary worlds of most of the largest powers are under threat, and with them our supply of raw materials; and most worryingly of all the huge matériel deployment to Mars (much of which was destroyed or effectively ruined), and the seemingly inexhaustible manpower reserves of the Kraks, almost inevitably points to the likelihood of the ultimate catastrophe for humanity, direct (and potentially unstoppable) attacks on Earth.