Reich Marshal of the Belkan Reich

RM Vol 4: War – Chapter 59: Case Yellow (Day 16 – Operation Market Garden)

TIME:

• 01:00 Hours.

LOCATION:

• Western Polania, Greater Polanian region.

OPERATION MARKET GARDEN:

• Operation Summary: The aim is to create three salients into Polanian territory, centering around the Greater Polanian region and creating a Belkan invasion route into Western Polania. This is to be achieved by two sub-operations: seizing West, Northwest, and Southwest Greater Polania with multiple Airborne Divisions ("Market") followed by Belkan Army and Marines forces swiftly attacking through the cities of Szczecin, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Zielona Góra, and Gdańsk ("Garden").

• Mission Summary: Utilize the element of surprise, Witches, and Pathfinders of the 501st, 261st, and 263rd Airborne Divisions are to seize lightly defended airstrips and suitable clearings in the Greater Polanian region. After reinforcement has been airlifted in, airbornes of the three Divisions will dig in and link up with one another. Witches and Pathfinders are to immediately carry on harassment operations against Polanian infrastructure and force deployments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon touching down, Pathfinders of the 501st 'All-Belkan' Airborne Division act on trained instincts. They first unhooked themselves from their parachutes before immediately standing ready, with eyes scanning the terrains cautiously through their GPNVGs. The first moments after landing are always the most dangerous for any airborne operation. Unexpected surprises like a roaming zombie or an unplanned patrol can spell doom for a Pathfinder stick. Fortunately, for the Pathfinders on the ground, operational intelligence has provided perfect drop zones. They're clear, quiet, and off the beaten paths. More than that, the Para Witches, a nickname chosen by Witches serving in the Airborne Divisions, are acting as the necessary overwatch in the sky, directing the Pathfinders down below on where and what to look out for. When the Pathfinders are reconvening, it's the Para Witches that help guide them to find one another if necessary.

"Captain, all of 3rd Platoon is here." A Pathfinder whispers looking around to see the rest of their 32-man Platoon.

3rd Pathfinder Platoon, 1st Battalion, 305th Infantry Regiment, an elite unit of the 501st Airbornes. Numerous, and well-armed, they have been the first to set foot on Sardegna, and now, they're among the first to land in Polania. As a Pathfinder stick, it's their job to ensure the boys and girls that are to follow after them land in a safe location. To achieve this, and speedily at that, 3rd Pathfinder Platoon will work with the Para Witches to secure a nearby rudimentary airfield. The veteran Captain of 3rd Platoon nodded at his direct subordinate before saying.

"Call it in. 3rd Platoon is on the ground safely and is mobile."

"Roger that, sir."

"2nd Squad, take point." The Captain orders. "We'll use the wood as cover."

At once, the Pathfinders shift their formation. Of the three Squads in the Platoon, the 2nd and 3rd Squads form a loose circle around the 1st Squad, which is also the Command Squad. Covered by the Para Witches flying unseen in the night sky, the Pathfinder stick creeps closer to their assigned target. Midway, they encounter a minor obstruction.

"3rd Platoon, halt." Comes an alarmed tone from one of the Para Witches.

At the warning, the Captain and Sergeants of 3rd Platoon raise their fists, signaling the rest of the Pathfinders to stop and take cover. "Overwatch, what do you see?"

"Reaper 1-1, I see movements due East of your location. 250 meters away. Behind dense foilage."

At the new information, a few Pathfinders of 1st Squad train their guns in that direction. Even with their night vision devices, the Pathfinders are having a hard time getting a read on the called-out target.

"Nothing appears on thermal." One of the Pathfinders reports.

The Para Witch that gave the stop warning adds. "I can see it on OWL vision just fine up here. By the look of it, it's just a lone zombie. No other contact to report in a kilometer radius."

"I think I can barely see it, but I don't have a clear shot." Another Pathfinder interjects. "Is that thing squirming about?"

The Captain chimes in before they can waste more time stopping in the middle of nowhere. "Overwatch, do you have a good shot on that zombie?"

"Affirmative, Captain."

"Overwatch, you're clear to engage that zombie. Clear the way forward for us." The Captain instructs.

"Command received. Stand by."

More often than not, Witches are the best snipers in the Belkan military. Whether it's daytime or nighttime, Witches can be entrusted to safely, swiftly, and silently eliminate any obstruction from afar. Rather than risking his Platoon to engage the distraction which is the zombie, the Captain has chosen to play it safe. Not failing the Captain's trust, a bullet soon strikes the head of the claws-wielding zombie, bursting open the zombified lady's head mercilessly. That bullet, by the way, was shot in windy conditions with slight visual interference from the rolling treetops. As the body plops to the ground with a soft thud, the Para Witch reports.

"Target eliminated. You're clear to proceed."

"Understood. Thank you, Overwatch. Reaper 1, out."

After that small distraction, 3rd Platoon once more pushes forward under the watchful eyes of the Para Witches. The remaining trek to their target is fortunately uneventful, not once have they come across a Polanian patrol. According to ONI, the Polanian Army has invested most of its manpower in its planned invasion of Belka, stationing most of its forces in the border areas. Understandably, with such an emphasis on external conflicts, Polania is now caught lacking an internal security force. Thus, other than a singular zombie straggler, the 3rd Pathfinder Platoon finds themselves approaching a Polanian military installation unimpeded. It's not just them that have such a smooth sailing experience. Other Pathfinder sticks in the Greater Polania have reported the same thing.

The Polanian Army is severely lackadaisical in its security measures.

Taking their position on a forestry hill, 3rd Platoon scans the airstrip in front of them. The Polanian military airfield is small, with walls that are made to hold against only a minor Demonic incursion. Against the Pathfinders and Witches, however, those walls may as well not exist. There are only four wooden watchtowers, two of which aren't even manned, they are situated right behind the low-hanging walls. In the center of the military airfield are a couple of short dirt runways, a few hangars, a singular air traffic control tower that is halfway rusted to collapse, and some utility buildings. From a cursory glance alone, this military installation can barely field the PZL P.11 fighter craft of the Polanian Air Force, much less large planes like the F-1 Phantom or the A-400 Atlas. So why are the Pathfinders and Witches ordered to silently take over small, rundown airstrips like this one?

It's quite elementary, really. Godforsaken installations like the one in front of 3rd Platoon are perfect drop zones for the rest of the Airborne Divisions. Rudimentary as they may be, these dirt airfields offer relatively flat ground for Ospreys to rapidly come and go for force deployment. Although an A-400 Atlas can't land at any of these dirt runways, it can still jettison its cargo onto a runway flying close to the ground. The dirt runway offers a better alternative over bumpy grasslands for heavy vehicles and artillery. After a short while, Combat Engineers can expand upon these small airfields to fit the requirements of the A-400 Atlas transport. Thus allowing for even more supply to be flown into the three Belkan Airborne Divisions in Greater Polanian region.

Best of all, these forgotten airfields are manned only by skeleton crews. Due to shifting priorities, the Polanian military has chosen to increase the protection of their larger airbases by pulling security units from these smaller installations. The Polanians fear that their major bases will be the targets of raiding operations. However, it's precisely this fear of theirs that the Belkan Airbornes latch on and utilize. Since these small airfields are ripe for the taking, the Belkans will have their veteran units commandeer them for the greater good.

"This is Reaper 1-1," The Captain says. "3rd Platoon is in position. Standing by for the signal. Over."

"This is Overwatch, we're clearing the path for you. Hang tight." Having said that, some of the Para Witches that accompany 3rd Platoon dive down.

Swift and silently, shadowy figures drop from above and behind the unknowing Polanians, their hands brandishing matte black blades and knives. The Para Witches flourish their blades, heads roll and hearts are stabbed in the dimly lit outer perimeter of the small airfield. The mass-assasination takes place so fast that you can miss it if you blink. Afterward, the bodies are dragged away, leaving behind dark trails of blood on the ground. Only a couple of Polanian sentries in the watchtowers are spared the fate of being rat's food. Their deceased forms are made to stand guard, keeping up the ruse that things are as they should be for unalerted spectators.

"Reaper 1-1, perimeter walls are secured, moving on to turn off the base's power station now. Over."

"Overwatch, this is Reaper 1. Copy, we'll start the approach on the walls. Over."

While the Para Witches are hunting for the circuit breaker to shut down the lights, the Pathfinders take their place beneath the stubby and short protection walls. When the airfield's lighting is down, members of 3rd Platoon scale the walls cautiously in small numbers. Those who haven't climbed yet stand protectively over their comrades. Those who have successfully ascended over the wall similarly stand guard for the rest of their element to come over. While the Para Witches say that it's clear, one can't be too careful, especially when reinforcement and MEDEVAC are potentially far away. By the time 3rd Platoon has made it all across the walls, a few Polanians have woken up to see why the lights and fans are out. As a testament to Polania's current subpar training, none of the people, who wake up and come outside, is carrying a rifle.

Before 3rd Platoon can start crossing the dirt runway, however, the clouds above have blocked away the moonlight. Understandably, this limited the visibility of their green-phosphorous night vision. However, things like their thermal vision and OWL vision are still working perfectly. Nonetheless, the Para Witches still deploy an IR grenade. Launched from an under-barrel grenade launcher, the IR grenade deploys its parachute and slowly falls to the ground, all the while bombarding what's below it with adjustable-intensity infrared light. This allows the Pathfinders below and the Para Witches above to see what their IR laser beams are pointing at with their night vision devices. Very helpful when they want to synchronize their shots. Lo and behold, there's a group of three sleepy Polanians swaggering to the power station that can be made into an example. Walking in full view of the Pathfinders and a bit away from the buildings of the airfield, these Polanians don't know that they have multiple IR lasers trained on their bodies.

"Permission to engage, sir?" The Sergeant of the 1st Squad requests, knowing that there's minimal risk of being detected when taking out these three targets.

They can ignore them, of course, but that does run the risk of the airfield's power being turned back on again. Or worse, the Polanians somehow stumble on the headless corpses of their friends.

"Granted. Make it clean." The Captain gives the green light.

Momentarily, after a count of one to three, precise shots are taken. Rather than trying to aim for the heads of the moving targets, multiple Pathfinders of the 1st Squad turn the torsos of the three unfortunate Polanians into minced meat. Those three died without as much as a whimper with their lungs, hearts, and spines obliterated by multiple subsonic 8 mm Mauser bullets. It's quite an overkill, but it gets the job done splendidly without none the wiser.

Now that the roamers are taken care of, 3rd Platoon starts their crossing of the dirt runways. Under the watchful gazes of the Para Witches, the three Squads of 3rd Platoon disperse to clean house. There exists only a minimal Polanian presence in this small airfield, with half of the security personnel of this installation already killed. What remains are some sleeping day shift soldiers, commanding staff, technicians, logistic members, and a few pilots. Not enough to stage any semblance of resistance, that's for sure.

As expected, the Pathfinders have no trouble slowly opening the doors and eliminating the remainder of the airfield's garrison. That said, not all the Polanians here are dead. A fraction of them survive because they are lucky enough to be both non-threatening and the Pathfinders need to take a few prisoners as demanded by ONI. After canvasing the airfield to confirm that it's truly in Belkan's hand, the Captain gives the all-clear report and the words are swiftly passed up the chain of command.

Turning to his second-in-command, the Captain adds.

"Now that we're in the clear, it's time we call in our ride. Leave this installation for whoever comes next."

"Roger that, sir."

Afterward, the power to the airfield is restored and the green light is given for a flight of Ospreys to swoop in and deliver their cargo and reinforcement. Some of the Ospreys, instead of going for a proper landing, fly fast and low to the ground with their rear ramps deployed. From the back of these Ospreys, VECTOR (Versatile Expeditionary Commando Tactical Off-Road) vehicles, which are basically commando jeeps are driven out of the aircraft, off the ramps, and landing on the dirt runways at speed. Despite the rough nature of their touchdown, these VECTOR jeeps tank through it with ease due to their robust suspensions and wheels. Having deployed the jeeps, these Ospreys then close the ramps and regain altitude, while the commando jeeps drive and come to a stop at the Pathfinders of 3rd Platoon.

"Your chariot awaits, Captain!" A VECTOR driver says while saluting.

Returning the salute, the driver comes to set one foot onto the back of a VECTOR before turning around.

"Mount up, people! The day is not yet done for us!"

Spirited as they may be, the "Oorah!" battle cry of 3rd Platoon is drowned out by the arrival of more Ospreys, vehicles, and 501st paratroopers.

Operation Market Garden is yet to truly begin.