28-04-2025, 06:47 PM
Operation Albatrossi, April 5637
The crossing of the Jildrath Strait was always going to be a difficult one. The Legion had their defense wall after all, not to mention they were making Keita look like a meat grinder for a little bit... well, a meat grinder for the Legion, but nonetheless a meat grinder. But the fight for Keita was a tough one, so this move towards the Jildrath Strait towards the "Teal Beach" as was called by higher command was to help divert the Legion away from the God forsaken city.
Despite what was asked for, some Kalistani troops had been included in the initial crossing. Should they survive, they would immediately try to sneak up north to cause as much disruption as they could possibly do. They were trained for that, but initially they would require a beachhead just in case. They were joined by tens of thousands more of Etxeans. On the other side, tens of thousands of soldiers of the Legion ready to fight, some to the death, many against the so-called traitors about to land.
The first boats arrived. Immediately, they were fired upon by guns from the wall. Anti-ship mines and objects had also halted a couple more ships. Some ships began to sink, some of them tried to hit the beach, though some did make it through. Yet everyone on every side was firing upon each other.
While this was happening, planes from Etxea had begun to arrive. A few of them were attacked by AA and a couple more were attacked by Legionary planes. Some of them were shot down, some heavily damaged, yet the Coalition put up a very good fight in the air and, after a few hours, the Legionary planes were either mostly shot down, pushed back, or moved to other areas which were under attack as well. The coalition planes began to attack the defensive positions of the Legion on land, causing helpful damage and moving further deep, though at that point they were forced out into a retreat back to Etxea, running out of ammo or having sustained too much damage.
The air attack did help smooth things out for the initial landing and more ships continued to land. However, beyond the beach the fight was fierce. In several locations, the Legion used their tanks or armored vehicles to keep their areas secure. In several other locations, Legionary artillery kept back numerous Etxean and Kalistani troops. Yet the ships kept coming.
All throughout the rest of the day, the ships kept coming. More planes were also coming as well which kept the air war going. The fierce fighting in the air continued throughout the day. Slowly but steadily the Legionary air force was pushed back deeper and deeper into the mainland, just enough to cause more damage behind the defense wall.
Despite all of this, the Legion kept sending units to Teal. The Etxeans kept sending units to Teal as well. Slowly and steadily, as another day arrived, the beach began to be liberated.
This was, however, before the beach was hit numerous times. Smoke began to pour. People began to run or struggle away, coughing, vomiting, suffering from something serious. The Legion had delivered the entrée, a chemical weapons soup. This was Kaliburg all over again, though this time in the middle of a battle. The remaining Kalistanis, once they saw the conditions, began to put on their special chemical weapons gear and gas masks. Several Etxeans also donned their special gear and gas masks, rushing towards the clouds. The Legion attempted an offensive past the smoke which initially succeeded, however eventually as the gas masks were donned on both sides it became another part of the battle.
And the ships kept coming.
Yet the battle was turning. By the night of the second day, it was clear the Coalition was winning the battle. The Etxeans kept coming, though the remaining Kalistanis back in Etxea were forbidden from going onto the landing ships. By the end of the second day, the beach was almost secure. The wall was also damaged from air attacks and continued pressure on the ground... by the third day the wall was secure.
But there was a burning smell. There was a weird stench in the air... then came the smoke.
Not the smoke consistent with a chemical weapon, no... it was a burning smell.
When the first Etxeans and Kalistanis arrived past the wall, they saw what was the cause of the smell and smoke. At every turn, cows and animals were slaughtered, houses and farms were burning en masse, some booby traps were set up, the trees were burning... it was a clear scortched earth situation. Yet the Legionaries were not around.
More and more Etxeans and Kalistanis began pushing past the wall, seeing similar situations. The battle was won at the cost of thousands, maybe tens of thousands, and possibly a good chunk of land and more. These reports came back to the head of the southern front Kommandatea Tiberius Claudius Nero. And he had to tell his colleagues in Keita and the north the same thing - that the Legion was burning the earth behind them.
Etxeans were set up as guards during the night of the third day. A few Legionaries had done some small scale attacks on those guards, these were beaten back quickly, and it was a long needed quiet night at the beach. Ships kept coming, now with Kalistanis as the area was secure, and more beaches from east of Keita to west of Teal Beach were secured over the next few days. A land bridge was established and, from there, hundreds of thousands of troops from the Coalition moved towards the beaches and towards Keita.
A command came in as well. Several units of the Kalistani Expeditionary Forces were ordered to assist with Hutorian operations in Keita. The 4th and 11th Infantry Divisions from Hutori's III Corps alongside the 3rd Armored and 6th Infantry Divisions of II Corps Hutori had also begun to arrive as Keita began to be secured. From there, the combined units began to push towards the north of Jildrath, having the Kalistanis move to secure various villages throughout the state with various Etxean units as the main Etxean and the Hutori units pushed towards the two cities of Urdaitz and Erregelekua on the west and east of Jildrath respectively.
These two large cities were important, after all for Erregelekua it led towards the Endralon border and securing the city would help massively in securing the east of the state. Most of the effort, however, would be trying to secure Urdaitz as it was on the path to the capital Kasaema (Legionaria). Securing Urdaitz would also mean securing a good chunk of Jildrath state. Urdaitz was also, for these reasons, a major logistical hub. The Legion will most likely be spending more resources there.
For now, however, most of the south that fought from Teal had to rest. Teal was secure, Keita was about to be secure, and while scenes of scortched earth was common throughout Jildrath work was underway to ensure supply lines from Etxea could make it past the strait. When this was done, when they were finished with the rest, they would bring their all towards the two big cities of Jildrath. Some Etxean units guarded the southern forces from Teal to prevent the Legion from doing a major counterattack.
And the Legion was about to cause a lot of problems.
The crossing of the Jildrath Strait was always going to be a difficult one. The Legion had their defense wall after all, not to mention they were making Keita look like a meat grinder for a little bit... well, a meat grinder for the Legion, but nonetheless a meat grinder. But the fight for Keita was a tough one, so this move towards the Jildrath Strait towards the "Teal Beach" as was called by higher command was to help divert the Legion away from the God forsaken city.
Despite what was asked for, some Kalistani troops had been included in the initial crossing. Should they survive, they would immediately try to sneak up north to cause as much disruption as they could possibly do. They were trained for that, but initially they would require a beachhead just in case. They were joined by tens of thousands more of Etxeans. On the other side, tens of thousands of soldiers of the Legion ready to fight, some to the death, many against the so-called traitors about to land.
The first boats arrived. Immediately, they were fired upon by guns from the wall. Anti-ship mines and objects had also halted a couple more ships. Some ships began to sink, some of them tried to hit the beach, though some did make it through. Yet everyone on every side was firing upon each other.
While this was happening, planes from Etxea had begun to arrive. A few of them were attacked by AA and a couple more were attacked by Legionary planes. Some of them were shot down, some heavily damaged, yet the Coalition put up a very good fight in the air and, after a few hours, the Legionary planes were either mostly shot down, pushed back, or moved to other areas which were under attack as well. The coalition planes began to attack the defensive positions of the Legion on land, causing helpful damage and moving further deep, though at that point they were forced out into a retreat back to Etxea, running out of ammo or having sustained too much damage.
The air attack did help smooth things out for the initial landing and more ships continued to land. However, beyond the beach the fight was fierce. In several locations, the Legion used their tanks or armored vehicles to keep their areas secure. In several other locations, Legionary artillery kept back numerous Etxean and Kalistani troops. Yet the ships kept coming.
All throughout the rest of the day, the ships kept coming. More planes were also coming as well which kept the air war going. The fierce fighting in the air continued throughout the day. Slowly but steadily the Legionary air force was pushed back deeper and deeper into the mainland, just enough to cause more damage behind the defense wall.
Despite all of this, the Legion kept sending units to Teal. The Etxeans kept sending units to Teal as well. Slowly and steadily, as another day arrived, the beach began to be liberated.
This was, however, before the beach was hit numerous times. Smoke began to pour. People began to run or struggle away, coughing, vomiting, suffering from something serious. The Legion had delivered the entrée, a chemical weapons soup. This was Kaliburg all over again, though this time in the middle of a battle. The remaining Kalistanis, once they saw the conditions, began to put on their special chemical weapons gear and gas masks. Several Etxeans also donned their special gear and gas masks, rushing towards the clouds. The Legion attempted an offensive past the smoke which initially succeeded, however eventually as the gas masks were donned on both sides it became another part of the battle.
And the ships kept coming.
Yet the battle was turning. By the night of the second day, it was clear the Coalition was winning the battle. The Etxeans kept coming, though the remaining Kalistanis back in Etxea were forbidden from going onto the landing ships. By the end of the second day, the beach was almost secure. The wall was also damaged from air attacks and continued pressure on the ground... by the third day the wall was secure.
But there was a burning smell. There was a weird stench in the air... then came the smoke.
Not the smoke consistent with a chemical weapon, no... it was a burning smell.
When the first Etxeans and Kalistanis arrived past the wall, they saw what was the cause of the smell and smoke. At every turn, cows and animals were slaughtered, houses and farms were burning en masse, some booby traps were set up, the trees were burning... it was a clear scortched earth situation. Yet the Legionaries were not around.
More and more Etxeans and Kalistanis began pushing past the wall, seeing similar situations. The battle was won at the cost of thousands, maybe tens of thousands, and possibly a good chunk of land and more. These reports came back to the head of the southern front Kommandatea Tiberius Claudius Nero. And he had to tell his colleagues in Keita and the north the same thing - that the Legion was burning the earth behind them.
Etxeans were set up as guards during the night of the third day. A few Legionaries had done some small scale attacks on those guards, these were beaten back quickly, and it was a long needed quiet night at the beach. Ships kept coming, now with Kalistanis as the area was secure, and more beaches from east of Keita to west of Teal Beach were secured over the next few days. A land bridge was established and, from there, hundreds of thousands of troops from the Coalition moved towards the beaches and towards Keita.
A command came in as well. Several units of the Kalistani Expeditionary Forces were ordered to assist with Hutorian operations in Keita. The 4th and 11th Infantry Divisions from Hutori's III Corps alongside the 3rd Armored and 6th Infantry Divisions of II Corps Hutori had also begun to arrive as Keita began to be secured. From there, the combined units began to push towards the north of Jildrath, having the Kalistanis move to secure various villages throughout the state with various Etxean units as the main Etxean and the Hutori units pushed towards the two cities of Urdaitz and Erregelekua on the west and east of Jildrath respectively.
These two large cities were important, after all for Erregelekua it led towards the Endralon border and securing the city would help massively in securing the east of the state. Most of the effort, however, would be trying to secure Urdaitz as it was on the path to the capital Kasaema (Legionaria). Securing Urdaitz would also mean securing a good chunk of Jildrath state. Urdaitz was also, for these reasons, a major logistical hub. The Legion will most likely be spending more resources there.
For now, however, most of the south that fought from Teal had to rest. Teal was secure, Keita was about to be secure, and while scenes of scortched earth was common throughout Jildrath work was underway to ensure supply lines from Etxea could make it past the strait. When this was done, when they were finished with the rest, they would bring their all towards the two big cities of Jildrath. Some Etxean units guarded the southern forces from Teal to prevent the Legion from doing a major counterattack.
And the Legion was about to cause a lot of problems.
![[Image: gm9WKO6.png]](https://i.imgur.com/gm9WKO6.png)