Operation Lightfoot

Operation Lightfoot
Part of 2nd Great War
(Clockwise, from top right): MGen Johnathan Eddis, Commander of Arcerion's 1st Airborne Division works with staff on the DZ to coordinate H-Hour +1 movements; Members of the 1st Arco Parachute Battalion move inland during combat operations during H-Hour +5; Heavy fighting and destroyed aircraft at a Cape military airfield outside of Novasar where Arco Paras rush to cover during shelling; An NCO with the 3rd Arco Parachute Battalion looks skyward as the remainder of his company completes their insertion as part of the 2nd wave.
Date XY - YZ Month Year Location Southern Crona Result Arcerion tactical and operational victory, Strategic Stalemate
Belligerents
Arcerion	The Cape
Commanders and leaders
Johnathan Eddis Niels de Fluyer
Units involved
1st Airborne Division 2nd Infantry Division 5th Infantry Division	Cape Armed Forces

Operation Lightfoot is considered to be one of the largest and most aggressive airborne operations of the Second Great War, with over 10,000 Arcerion soldiers airdropped followed by thousands more via sea. It was fought in the Cape and surrounding territorial waters and islands from XY - YZ Month Year, between the Arcerion Army and Air Force and the Armed Forces of the Cape. In response to a rapid increase in socialist and communist sympathizers taking over prominent positions in the Cape, and slowly moving it towards a socialist state, the Arcerion Army was tasked with seizing much of the country's vital infrastructure to prevent communist control of the important Songun Straits. The result was a pitched series of battles over several months, culminating in the collapse of Cape Armed Forces' resistance and subsequent withdrawal to the East. Operation Lightfoot coincided with the Paulastra offensive OP XYZXYZ, which centered on a land-based invasion of the Cape from their shared territorial border.

Background

Planning and Coordination

Planning phases began almost a full year prior to H-Hour itself, with Arcerion Army Headquarters receiving a directive that it was responsible for a twofold approach to the issue of the Cape's rise in communism. The first was to prepare a multi-division level invasion of the Cape's Central and Eastern sovereign territory, and the latter was to send Arcer military representatives to Paulastra to coordinate for a simultaneous ground invasion by their Army as agreed upon at the ABC Conference. Initial coordination called the heads of many of Arcerion's fighting divisions, as this would require the vast majority of the small military's resources. One of the most prominent figures was Major General Johnathan Eddis, the then-commander of the Royal Arcerion Military college. A career infantryman, MGen Eddis' emphasis on modern signals equipment, decentralized leadership, and aggression made him the ideal choice for the newly formed 1st Airborne Division, the only time in Arcerion's history that a division-level airborne unit would be formed. The initial staff conference held in Kinnaird on XYZ date in the Kinnaird Garrison's headquarters planning room came with the conclusion that a surprise airborne invasion, with limited preparatory bombardment or aerial strikes would help the ground forces achieve quick successes over the Cape in the early hours of their attack.

The initial issues identified were the amount of aircraft required to transport thousands of Arcerion's servicemen to land in the Cape, as well as the issues surrounding supporting fires in the form of fixed-wing close air support and long-range artillery support from 105mm and 155mm army batteries. The former issues, later discussed as 'the Airlift Problem' would result in an extremely rare government nationalization of Arco Air, whereas the latter was solved with meticulous staff planning. To make up for the needed fire support in the initial 24-72 hours of the invasion, Arcerion parachute infantry would seize the Cape's Songun Islands, and the airfields therein, allowing a forward staging of Arcerion Air Force planes and equipment at what would become known as 'FAF 1' (Forward Airfield 1). From there, once inland airfields and airstrips had been secured, the Air Force would be able to more easily support front-line operations. Concurrent, the Navy and Merchant Marine would land troops in the town of Novasar, which would be secured no later than H-Hour +72 to allow for a port sufficient in its size to ease landing operations. From the beginning, Eddis emphasized that this campaign would be a "matter of hours, not days, and for the fighting man a battle of minutes and seconds." As such, all timings for the first 3 days of the fighting were to be referenced in planning as 'H-Hour +' to denote that they only had 72 hours in which to get soldiers onto the ground, supplied, led, and directed at the enemy. Eddis was confident that once Arco paratroopers were pointed at the Cape by their officers, "the NCOs would finish the job." It was with this in mind that the planning conference set follow-on dates and checks to ensure that regular staff coordination was maintained. The Air Force was assigned several Army liaisons and they provided their own to ensure maximum coordination between the two armed services.

Preparations

Members of the newly-formed 1st Airborne Division conduct battalion-level parachute training at the Dalfearn Garrison in preparation for Operation Lightfoot.

Dispositions of Arcerion Divisions and Division (-) strength elements at H-Hour for Operation Lightfoot.

While command of the operation was nominally under the commander of the Army, in all reality the deputy commander of the operation, Eddis, would oversee all planning and preparation of the actual conduct for the undertaking. Arcer forces began their preparation just weeks after the initial planning conference, forming up at the Dalfearn and Kinnaird garrisons and beginning company-, battalion-, and then brigade-level airborne exercises, as well as an increased emphasis placed on platoon- and company-level operations as these were the basic building blocks of the operation. In addition to this, Eddis had hundreds of Air Force members qualified in parachute operations, including as many of the actual aircrew themselves, as for a two-fold reason. The first, as he wanted the combat controllers and forward air liaisons of the invasion to be as seamlessly integrated into his forces as possible, to increase coordination at all phases of the operation, and second, to give the air crews and technicians who would be dropping his soldiers into combat a greater appreciation of the difficulties and mental fortitude required to conduct airborne, vertical-envelopment operations.

Aside from the exercises, planners also had to work feverishly to furnish the new 1st Airborne Division with the equipment that was required. From anti-personnel mines to hand grenades, socks to recoilless rifles, the Arcerion civilian industry had to step up to provide the average Arco para with what he would need to survive the battle he would hurtle towards from the sky. The result was a once-in-a-generation movement to assist, with donations and purchasing of war bonds, to recycling campaigns all dedicated towards helping the Arcerion fighting man undertake what would be the country's first expeditionary operation in its history, across a wider span than ever before. The result was that the Army's Procurement Bureau was able to get the equipment, ammunition, and resources required not only to train and equip its expeditionary forces during their maiden deployment, but also to sustain it until they could set up a consistent supply line through Paulastra. Eddis' own opinion on this was that, "the victory of Lightfoot was as much the responsibility of my own as it was the everyday Arcer family, from food rationing to the purchasing of war bonds, Lightfoot demonstrated that settler spirit so common in our national memory, that in tough times Arcers band together." By the eve of the invasion, the public had ensured that not only was the 1st Airborne Divison ready, but existing divisions wer ebrought up above paper and authorized strengths, with recruiting drives and training institutions set up across the country. While the Airborne forces trained, the remaining two forces earmarked for the invasion, the Arcerion 2nd and 5th Infantry divisions were training for their conventional role in the battle. In a smaller fashion as well, members of Arcerion's reserve and territorial troops, under the 6th Divsion would play a lesser role in providing the forces to relieve paratroopers on the Songun Islands after the parachute infantry had captured key points. The 2nd and 5th Infantry trained almost continuously, only granting leave the month before the invasion, and soldiers were uninformed as to where their deployment would be until just weeks prior to the operation. Whereas the Airborne had been sworn to secrecy and been rehearsing for months, studying map tables, memorizing aerial photographs taken by regular Arco Air flights with hidden aerial cameras, the ground forces had the distincrt advantage of operating either from Paulastra itself and having a consistent rail and road head to operate from, or landing at a port secured by the paratroopers and fighting forward from there, linking up with troops throughout their advance as paratroopers were to seize key road and rail junctions.

The Airlift Problem

Staff officers on MGen Eddis' staff conduct final planning sessions the week before H-Hour, Operation Lightfoot.

The major issue for the insertion of an entire division was the amount of aircraft required. Prior to the standing-up of the 1st Airborne Division, Arcerion only had conducted two brigade-level airborne exercises, and they each required almost they entirety of the Air Force's fixed-wing transport complement, much of which was classified as 'light' and therefore did not have the range to permit the insertion of almost 9,000 Arcer paratroopers in a single night. The government had to find a solution, and by nationalizing Arco Air, the country's civilian passenger airline, it was able to. They brought in seven different new air frames, and militarized them, under the guise of preparing their crews for pilot training for future operations. However, each civil air crew was given a choice as part of the nationalization, to continue to serve as a member of the Airline, or volunteer for an assignment that would require them to temporarily become members of the Arcerion Air Force. Upwards of 80% of the airline's pilots and aircrew volunteered, resulting in a wave of new recruits, many of whom not only flew transport aircraft for the duration of the war, but fought in subsequent engagements as fighter or bomber pilots.

The nationalization allowed Eddis and his planners to insert almost the entirety of the division in a single wave. While that initial complement would be left by themselves to fight for the first night and much of the next morning themselves, if they were able to secure runways and airfields inside the Cape, it would permit the airlift of additional reinforcements until sea-borne forces could be landed, or brought by rail from Paulastra.

Order of Battle - Airborne

Shoulder insignia of the newly-formed 1st Airborne Division.

Headquarters - Major-General Johnathan Eddis

• DZ Alpha (Red)
  • 1st Airborne Division HQ Company
  • 1st Parachute Battalion
  • 2nd Parachute Battalion
  • 1st Airborne Field Battery, Regiment of Arcer Horse Artillery
  • 1st Airborne Engineer Battalion (Independent)
• DZ Bravo (Blue)
  • 3rd Parachute Battalion
  • 4th Parachute Battalion
  • 5th Parachute Battalion
  • 10th Parachute Battalion (Reserve)
  • 3rd Airborne Field Battery, Regiment of Arcer Horse Artillery
• DZ Charlie (Yellow)
  • 6th Parachute Battalion
  • 7th Parachute Battalion
  • 8th Parachute Battalion
• DZ Delta (Green)
  • 9th Parachute Battalion
  • 11th Parachute Battalion (Reserve)
  • 12th Parachute Battalion (Reserve)

Battle

Movement to the Cape

Members of Arcerion's 1st Airborne Division pack and prepare for their insertion into the Cape on H-Hour.

As the night of the invasion approached, Eddis was concerned that weather reports would prevent the accurate landing of his forces on the designated drop zones. However, the morning of the drop, the meteorological department decided that despite high winds on the DZ, it was permissive for airborne insertion of the division. Eddis took a gamble, but ordered the last-light launch of the pathfinder units, of which six planes took off of the planned eight (due to mechanical difficulties) to prepare DZs Red, Blue, Yellow and Green. The division itself all loaded their transports at last light, officers and NCOs running back and forth ensuring that their chalks were set and all necessary equipment required for 3 days of fighting with no resupply was prepared for insertion. After the initial drop, each DZ would have a logistical and supply hub where air drops of supplies critical to the continuance of the fighting (medical supplies, ammunition, explosives, radio equipment, etc.) could be dropped to further assist in the fighting in the Cape. By midnight, hundred of military and civilian-nationalized planes took to the skies, flying over the Songun Sea towards their designated insertion points.

H-Hour

The arrival of Arco paratroopers over their 4 drop zones coincided with the previous insertion of small teams of pathfinders marking the drop zones a few short hours before the massed air drops. Overall, the insertions went relatively smoothly, with forces being able to regroup and push off to secure the initial objectives. The maritime landings of the following day were all contingent on the beachheads being softened up, or in a perfect scenario, fully secured by mid-morning, and paratroopers harassing and sowing chaos behind the Capetian main liens.

First Hours

The first landings, at DZ Delta, was sparse but Capetian resistance quickly realized they were under coordinated attacks from multiple directions and a determined assault force. However, With the 11th Parachute Battalion seizing both of the HF long-range wireless transmission stations and the 9th Parachute Battalion the telegraph, communications to the mainland were quickly cutoff. This was followed by key infrastructure such as airfields and railroad junctions being seized, and most garrison and police forces either killed, wounded, routed, or captured.

On Dropzone Alpha, Novasar airfield proved to be extremely difficult to capture, resulting in the Battle of Novasar Airfield. On Dropzone Bravo, the 4th Parachute Battalion fought determined to capture the key strategic bluffs overlooking the three bridges crossing the River Merve. Hill 334 was one of the bloodiest actions, with K Company of the 4th Parachute Battalion losing almost all of its officers and half of its NCOs by H-Hour +48. On Dropzone Charlie, skirmishes with the initial probes and counter-attacks of the Capetian Armed Forces were rebuffed and local raids organized, these small-unit actions, often at the squad- or platoon-level keep the Capetians on the back foot, and ensuring that the paras retained the initiative until armoured and mechanized troops could link up with them by H-Hour +72.

Dropzone-specific Actions

Drop Zone Alpha (Red)

Members of J Company, 4th Parachute Battalion, 1st Airborne Division observe Capetian fighting positions on Hill 334 from their DZ at H-Hour +6.

Fighting at DZ Alpha would be extremely fierce, especially the action at Novasar Airfield, where elements of not only the Divisional Headquarters, but General Eddis' staff themselves were engaged directly by Capetian forces as they attempted to secure the strategic airhead for the invasion. After the bloody but ultimately successful action at Novasar airfield, elements of the 1st and 2nd Parachute Battalions then fought their way to the coast, liberating the town of Terassipol, wherein maritime forces conducted a mostly-unopposed landing and the 2nd Infantry Division successfully began its South-Eastern drive to link up with elements of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Parachute Battalions at DZ Bravo.

Drop Zone Bravo (Blue)

Bravo's objectives were initially overran quickly by the paratroopers of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Parachute Battalions. With support from multiple infantry battalions as well as the light 75mm and 105mm airborne howitzers provided by the 3rd Airborne Field Battery, troopers secured vital road junctions and highways leading further inland. This directly contributed to the success of the 2nd Infantry Division's push off the coast as they relieved and linked up with paratroopers who had been fighting almost non-stop for three days to defend these critical points.

Drop Zone Charlie (Yellow)

Drop Zone Charlie was responsible for securing the operation's Western flank. Sizeable mechanized and motorized Capetian garrisons in the Western portions of the Cape province ensured that there was a distinct requirement for a Regimental-strength combat team (3 battalions) to protect the crucial flank while Drop Zones Alpha and Bravo secured not only critical infrastructure but the road and railheads leading inland. Drop Zone Charlie had a relatively precise drop, with the pathfinder platoon assigned ensuring that of all personnel that jumped, 85% or more reached their designated assembly areas within the first hour +/-1km. Fighting along the Western flank was not nearly as fierce as DZs Alpha and Bravo, but regardless several small, bloody actions took place, especially when elements of the 1st Armoured Brigade (the Cape), encountered the 8th Parachute Battalion at the Salons Crossroads, resulting in heavy losses on both sides but the frontage for the Arcer paratroopers remaining intact.

Drop Zone Delta (Green)

DZ Delta was aimed at securing the port town of Polskasar on the island of XYZ. Critical to providing a continuous maritime frontage, it was to be the midway point for the flow of Arcer supplies to the Cape mainland, meaning it was necessary to have secured as an interim staging and logistical area. Noticeably, over 2/3rds of soldiers that landed in Drop Zone Delta were reservists, including some senior NCOs being in their 50s. The reasoning was that regular troops were required for mainland-landing operations, whereas Eddis' assessment was that the older troopers could be coutned on to preform a vital, but secondary offensive action against Polskasar.

A machinegunner with K Company, 4th Parachute Battalion fights Cape defenders in their hasty positions atop Hill 334, Cape Province, the Cape during the morning at H-Hour +7.

Hill 334

At Dropzone Bravo, the 4th parachute Battalion quickly had to regroup and attack the Capetians, who by now had pulled almost a full infantry battalion onto the ridgelines and bluffs overlooking the River Merve. These high features could serve to assist in the coordination of artillery and air support against any Arco forces attempting to cross the rivers and push deeper inland, and as such the critical piece of terrain had to be captured early in the invasion. the 4th Parachute Battalion (Juliet, Kilo, Lima Companies) engaged in a multi-combat team attack in an attempt to seize, or at least fix, the enemy entrenched there. Despite the 1.5:1 numerical superiority held by the Cape, the ridgeline was hammered by Arco aerial strikes as well as 81mm and 120mm mortars almost constantly. The 3rd Airborne Field Battery in its After-Action Report (AAR) reported that it had used almost 50% of its first-wave dropped ammunition stores on defensive positions on or supporting Hill 334 in the first 24 hours of fighting.

By the end of the second day (H-Hour +48), the 4th Parachute Battalion held the majority of key terrain on Hill 334 and the Capetian forces ontop had either been destroyed or captured. As noted afterwards by the Commanding Officer of 4 Para, LCol Jeff Berskley, "The Capetians on [Hill] 334 fought with a tenacity that even we [4 Para] had to respect. It wasn't until afterwards we had learned they were Reservists that had only been called up for their annual service less than a week before. Despite the lives lost on both sides, even those who made it back left part of themselves in those hills." Nominal muster rolls on H-Hour +72 showed that Juliet, Kilo, and Lima companies had each fought to almost 50% strength, and amongst them Kilo Company specifically was on paper only at a total strength of 125 of 287 men, 44% total strength, of which the Officer Commanding (OC), was a junior Lieutenant, and three of its four platoons were under the command of NCOs, with only the weapons platoon still having an officer that had not been killed or wounded. After the battle, the a section commander with 4 Para, Corporal Jeffery Yule, wrote in his memoir, "I saw men shot, men blown up until their guts spilled out like a dog under a car, and men bleed to death screaming for their mothers and fathers in a home they would never see again. But time again, the Sergeants and Warrants would stalk up and down the company lines, standing proud in a withering hail of [Capetian] machine-gun fire, bringing us spirit. I remember sitting in a shell crater with LCpl Cochrane, and he produced a flask of gin. He held it to his lips, taking a sip. We had surrendered our water to the Company's Aid Station to give some comfort to the wounded men. He leaned over, the whistling of mortar rounds howling overhead in the twilight of another day fighting. I took it with thanks, and that small sip gave me some courage that the day was not yet lost. He was killed less than an hour later, shot through the face by a Capetian machinegun. An only child of a Northlea farming family."

Eddis, learning of the horrific fighting himself later concluded that he should have assigned more indirect fire assets for DZ Bravo, and in his own memoirs after the war wrote that the actions on Hill 334 were still some of his greatest regrets.

Novasar Airfield

Initial dispositions of Arcer and Cape forces at H-Hour +1 before the assault on Novasar Airfield.

The fighting at Novasar airfield was particularly fierce. Entrenched there a garrison comprised of units of the Cape's Republican Highlanders (2nd Battalion) unit and 4th Armoured Cavalry held out against Arcer forces that had assembled at DZ Alpha, and had begun their assault before the twilight hours. Despite having no modern night-fighting equipment, the use of artillery-based illumination and handheld pen/rocket flares provided enough light when required for Arco forces to maneuver onto the airfield itself. Initial intelligence estimates for the Novasar garrison was 2 understrength reserve companies of soldiers, who were put there to guard the partially-completed airfield and provide local security. In the day before Lightfoot was to commence, however, the Cape unknowingly moved 2 battalion-strength units to Novasar, drastically increasing the amount of resistance faced by Arco paratroopers.

Fighting would last almost for 2 full days, as the Cape moved local police and security force units in to try and reinforce and relieve the garrison under duress. During the attack, MGen Eddis was usually within mortar range and several times the Division's command post (CP) took near direct hits from Cape mortars as they tried to coordinate the attacks and landings at the other 3 Dropzones.

The fierce fighting also highlighted the effectiveness of the airdropped 105mm recoilless rifles, which when mounted on their man-portable tripod kits were able to effectively engage and destroy almost all of the Cape's armoured vehicles before their withdrawal at H-Hour +53, or as they saw it, on the morning of the third day of fighting. The cost was high, and the two battalions that took the brunt, the 1st and 2nd, had fought and operated understrength as they had some misdrops during the initial drop onto DZ Alpha (Red). However, after replacements and stragglers arrived at the assembly areas, the Battalions were only able to muster between 60-70% fighting strength due to the amount of killed and wounded they had sustained fighting for the key airfield.

Aftermath

Casualties

Members of the 2nd Infantry Division (Moorden) transport a wounded infantryman on a litter to the Battalion Casualty Collection Point (CCP) during the advance on Canova.