The city has fallen. Targalia was now under the Hectagon Army. Out of 200,000 soldiers deployed in the region, 120,000 were from the western coastline, 17,000 from the eastern coast, and the remaining 50,000 had fallen back. But the number of soldiers from the city wasn't 50,000. They were 40,000. 10,000 of our soldiers were massacred inside Targalia. And we had lost 13,000 soldiers from the western coastline.
"The city is so big. There was no reason to empty it." I said as we walked towards the central building.
"That's what's confusing me. 16 million people can easily live inside it. And they fled just because a mere 50 TTC broke in? It is unbelievable." Colonel Felmer added.
"Who was commanding them?" Major Werner asked.
"Lieutenant General Ertin," Major Argin answered.
We went inside the building and headed towards the operations room.
"Alfred, are you alright?" I asked him.
"Yeah, I am fine, just a bullet in my right arm." He answered.
"Go and get it checked. Tend to our injured soldiers as well. Give them water and rations. Be ready for further orders." I ordered him.
"Got it." Alfred nodded and left.
We went inside the operations room. All the generals and unit commanders were here. We were now facing a major problem. And there was no time to rest.
"Major Martin, your decision to counter was good. But don't do it again. We have only 6 of those tanks and only one Martin." General Yarna said as soon as he saw me.
"Yes, sir," I replied.
Now, rather than one major general, all the generals were looking at me with weird expressions. If I were just a major, I would have been court-martialled. But I was the right-hand man of the supreme commander as well. And I think they don't know this.
"They have control over the western coast and Targalia. We still have the East Coast. They are trying to take it as well. But Brigadier Hensfer is holding his position and giving them great damage. We have to use this chance and retake the West Coast immediately. If we have it, the city will be isolated." General Yarna informed us. He looked at us and then searched through some papers.
"The 206th battle division under Colonel Felmer and the 18th attack unit under Major General Roflin. You will lead 60,000 troops each and retake the West Coast." He took a pause and began to look at me. "Major Martin, you will command your own troops."
The generals first looked at General Yarna, then at me. They were a bit unsatisfied. But they weren't going to question the decision. Now, I am sure that they don't know my governmental rank is above them all.
"Once the operation begins, I will send the command to the Arkin-165 squads to bombard the inside of the city. As the city has no civilians, we would have no problem. This will prevent them from sending reinforcements. The window will be small, so be fast."
"Yes, sir." The three of us replied.
"This is all. Give your all. We must take back our land, no matter what. Now go."
"Yes, sir!" We said, saluted and left.
We walked out of the building and joined our troops. Major General Roflin ordered a lieutenant to bring a map.
"My forces will take the east." He said
"I will take mid." Colonel Felmer replied.
"I will attack the heavy armour and deal with the navy through the artillery," I added. "I will take the command post first."
"Okay, fine. It's decided. Do your job and don't die." The major general said.
The colonel and I nodded, and we headed to our troops. I walked to Tergis and Alfred. We had lost Lieutenant Ilfir. But we had the lieutenant of the Special Forces now. The same one who fought with me a year ago. Gorgis was his name.
"How many of our troops are remaining?" I asked Alfred.
"We have 333. 17 were killed." He informed me.
"Gather them. We are moving out. Time for the counterattack."
On my orders, they got up and gathered all 333 of my soldiers. In ten minutes, we were ready.
"This is Major Martin. We are ready; we will advance first. You take your time."
"Got it. We will join you in approximately 15 minutes."
We began to move. The Irgis-12 were in front and the rest behind. Just as the command post came in view, Felker's tank, on my orders, fired. And destroyed the command post. Two TTCs came into view. But our tanks took them out. We were no longer scared of the TTCs. Once we reached the ruins of the command post, I got out of my jeep and climbed the same tower again. When I climbed, the Hectagon Army came into view. There were nearly 500,000 troops and tons of armoured vehicles in front of us. And far behind, I could see the navy.
I stood there for a time until the colonel and the major general arrived. Behind this tower were the 333 soldiers under my direct command. Far to the left stood the 60,000 forces of Major General Roflin. And far to the right were the 60,000 troops of Colonel Felmer.
It was a showdown between 120,333 forces of Arkania and the 500,000 forces of the Hectagon Alliance. And this was the Battle of the West Coast.
I took a deep breath. And I ordered.
"All units, ADVANCE!!!"
"LET'S GOOO!!!!" Alfred's voice screamed through the radio.
The six Irgis-12 went on full throttle, followed by our vehicle and soldiers rushing at the enemy. The TTCs fired at our tanks. And there was a big cloud of dust. But from that dust emerged our Irgis-12, all safe and sound. The shells of the TTCs failed to defeat our tanks. The armour of the Irgis-12 was far thicker than they imagined. In that moment, our tanks fired. Taking out multiple TTC and ground vehicles.
The forces of the colonel and the major general took the right and the left sides, respectively. For the initial moments, we followed the book moves. But I ordered my forces to break formation and fire at will. This confused the enemy.
"The Navy is taking firing position." Major Werner informed me from the defence HQ.
"Gorgis, now!!" I ordered him.
"Yes, sir," He responded.
On my command, the artillery cannons at the back opened fire. This time, they were using hypervelocity armour-piercing shells. So the whole ship was a weak spot for them. Those shells streaked through the air and took down two destroyers.
The breaking of the formation proved to be fruitful. The enemy forces scattered and became easy targets. The major general and the colonel were doing better as well. The area was completely plain. There were no uphills or downhills. So it was do or die.
The moment our attack began, the Arkin-165 began bombarding the city. So there was no chance of reinforcements. The bombardment won't just stop the chances of reinforcements, but also eliminate the forces inside the city.
Their big numbers were no advantage. Rather, they were easy targets for our artillery. We were losing soldiers, but not as compared as they.
The Colonel's troops from the west and the advance of our Irgis-12s were making them retreat. As the Colonel's forces advanced, multiple shells came from the south and killed many of our soldiers. The navy was attacking again. Gorgis's squad noticed and began targeting the destroyers and frigates. They damaged them, and they began to retreat.
Four hours had passed since the war began. Both sides had lost thousands of soldiers. As their sheer numbers made them easy targets for our artillery, they were taking heavy losses. Major General's forces were moving from the east. But as they got near the city walls, the cannons mounted on the walls began to attack them. They moved further west, though they lost a great number of soldiers.
The constant bombardment of our artillery caused them great damage. Suddenly, they slowly began to retreat south. I was about to order my forces to follow them. But something clicked in me, and I thought it might be a trap. So, I ordered my forces to stop advancing and to fire from their current positions. The fake retreat trick was the oldest in the book. And I was not falling for it.
Soon, due to our artillery, the navy retreated as well. And now the artillery again focused on the ground troops. Due to the overwhelming force of the Irgis-12, the TTCs fell back as well. Now they were vulnerable to our heavy guns. So, they had to run.
Now, they began to run, and we didn't follow them. We did long-range attacks. And then their retreat turned into a rout. They left their injured and dead and began to run south and then into the city through the south gate.
Their best weapons, the TTC, failed against our Irgis-12s. And only six of them were enough to overwhelm them. Just like the TTC scared us for three years. Now our Irgis-12 scared them.
The enemy ran, and on the orders of the major general, the colonel and I, our forces stopped. Our banners were raised and we had won. We stood there and watched the coast. We had lost it 6 hours ago, but now we had retaken it.
After the sacrifice of 23,000 before, and another 28,000 now. We had retaken the West Coast.