Operation Lightfoot: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m (→Preparations) |
mNo edit summary |
||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
|casualties2 = | |casualties2 = | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Operation Lightfoot''' is considered to be one of the largest and most aggressive airborne operations of the [[Great War]], with over | '''Operation Lightfoot''' is considered to be one of the largest and most aggressive airborne operations of the [[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== | ==Background== | ||
=== Planning and Coordination === | === Planning and Coordination === | ||
| Line 31: | Line 31: | ||
[[File:Operation Lightfoot dispositions.png|thumb|Dispositions of Arcerion Divisions and Division (-) strength elements at H-Hour for ''Operation Lightfoot''. ]] | [[File:Operation Lightfoot dispositions.png|thumb|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. | 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. | 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. | 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 === | === The Airlift Problem === | ||