Operation Featherlite: Difference between revisions
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Engineers and signals personnel quickly set up command posts and cleared minefields laid by the Kelekonans, and two battalions of the Royal Easthampton Borderers moved Northwest inland to engage in a running battle with the battered elements of the 712th Motor Rifle Regiment which were retreating to the smaller port town of Golworth on the island's North shore. 1 Rifle Brigade continued to mop up around Swindon as small pockets of Kelekonan regular troops were in the surrounding foothills and harassed the town with mortar fire. Overhead, the Arcer Air Force had prevented the Kelekonan People's Air Force from engaging forces as they were vulnerable during landing, and a naval detachment (TF 86.1) had landed a company of the Royal Regiment of Arcerion Engineers (RRAE) to repair the damaged runway at Farnsworth, which would be operational by October 12th. | Engineers and signals personnel quickly set up command posts and cleared minefields laid by the Kelekonans, and two battalions of the Royal Easthampton Borderers moved Northwest inland to engage in a running battle with the battered elements of the 712th Motor Rifle Regiment which were retreating to the smaller port town of Golworth on the island's North shore. 1 Rifle Brigade continued to mop up around Swindon as small pockets of Kelekonan regular troops were in the surrounding foothills and harassed the town with mortar fire. Overhead, the Arcer Air Force had prevented the Kelekonan People's Air Force from engaging forces as they were vulnerable during landing, and a naval detachment (TF 86.1) had landed a company of the Royal Regiment of Arcerion Engineers (RRAE) to repair the damaged runway at Farnsworth, which would be operational by October 12th. | ||
=== Gramsby === | |||
Kelekonan High Command had reacted poorly to losing Swindon, and managed to use civilian boats and fishing trawlers illegally taken from the local Arcer populace to ferry their troops under the cover of darkness from Swindon to Gramsby, to the East. The 71st, now at half strength, began digging in and preparing for a more deliberate defensive battle as Arcerion no longer had the element of surprise. Van der Berg and Thistle worked with the Arcer General Staff to establish what conditions would allow for a quick movement to Gramsby. A date for the next island hop was set for October 16th, and van der Berg tasked the Royal Easthampton Borderers to conduct a daring night air assault against the island's southern shore. Engineers had constructed a hasty air landing strip on Swindon, and in the early morning 1st Battalion, REB loaded onto medium helicopters to be inserted under the cover of darkness. Elements of both the Arcerion Parachute Regiment's Pathfinder Company, as well as the Arcerion Commando Regiment had conducted over-the-beach infiltration of the island and assisted with siting and marking landing zones. It also represented the confirmation of night vision capabilities, as the entire operation was undertaken under the cover of darkness. | |||
At daybreak, 1st Battalion had already marched inland, liberating a number of small villages and having engaged numerous Kelekonan rear-area units. Kelekonan forces dug in on the beach were flanked and fixed against the Malentine Sea by the 2nd Battalion, REB supported by mortars from the Royal Moorden Regiment. Mass surrenders occurred, as most of these troops were conscripts and had limited resupply due to interdiction by Arcer ships and aircraft. The remainder of 7 Rifle Brigade was landed along with 11 Parachute Brigade, and the pair in tandem conducted an advance to contact until they reached Gramsby, placing two thousand Kelekonan troops into a cauldron, with the bluffs around the town's outskirts occupied by Arco forces and the Kelekonans unable to evacuate due to marauding Arcer fighter bombers. Reports that the Kelekonans were attempting to destroy the port facilities quickly forced action and General van der Berg ordered the Arcerion Parachute Regiment to fight into the town to secure the port facilities. By 19 October, the town was secured and the remaining Kelekonan troops had surrendered. | |||
Kelekonan high command, now having lost two islands and struggling to maintain their grip on the Gibson Gap began plans to conduct an offensive on Dunborough. Concurrently, the Arcer General Staff prepard plans for Larton, the largest of the occupied islands, and garrisoned by high quality troops of the 98th Naval Infantry Brigade. | |||
=== Long March at Larton === | === Long March at Larton === | ||
=== Surrender of Sharnwick === | === Surrender of Sharnwick === | ||