"Renewed Putschist offensive on all fronts! Royalist forces of Her Majesty have been stalwartly defending all points of contact for five days since the start of the Putschist General Offensive in late August. With frontlines already solidified by trench warfare reminiscent of the Great War, men on both sides are paying the heaviest toll in this nationwide military campaign before winter arrives in December. What is sure, however, is that our valiant troops shall hold the front regardless of the conditions against the radical tide. All these speak volumes about men's undying loyalty to those who believe in liberty, equality, and democracy. As General Victor Albrecht said - 'Let them come. We shall crush all extremists - on both sides'."

- Liberty One Radio

+++

Halia

Queen's Bunker

November 1, 2024

"Your Majesty…I assure you, I am doing everything I can." The Chief Air Marshal, Lewis Zimmerman, said over the phone line. Amelie merely breathed out heavily in response.

"It's been months already, Chief Air Marshal. The capital's defense forces are withering as I speak. You know how hard it is to fight a war with limited air superiority." Amelie replied, looking down at the dreadful reports about the constant Putschist air strikes they failed to stop. "I can't stand losing more good young men to this."

"Your care truly shows even through the phone line…"

"That's not…look, Chief Air Marshal. This isn't just about preventing more casualties. We need you, and your planes. To fight back."

"And we are trying."

"When will your tries materialize as a positive development in the front? When will I see our planes winning back the skies?"

"Operation Swift Dagger is already being prepared. Goddess willing, we'll scatter their squadrons off the capital within days."

"How sure are you?"

"Wars are fraught with uncertainties, Your Majesty. That is merely the grim truth. But I am optimistic."

"Please tell me…why are you optimistic? What are the chances?"

"Currently, we are attempting to wrestle control of the Grand Duchy's airspace with a mere five hundred air assets. We estimate that the enemy has at least fifteen hundred air assets operating in the Grand Duchy."

"And what is Operation Swift Dagger's plan to counter that?"

"The Orlish High Command already permitted moving an additional four hundred air assets to the airfields of Southern Orland. We are scrambling for an overwhelming offensive to target Putschist airbases, airstrips, and fuel depots. After that, we will establish air supremacy."

"That seems…ambitious."

"Who dares wins, Your Majesty. There is no other feasible way of reducing their numbers in the sky to make the battle more even."

"...Do they have an idea about our plans?"

"We are communicating in a highly secured line. Moreso, all pilots and personnel involved in this operation only know their tasks and targets, with every piece of information locked on a need-to-know basis. Even the OHC has limited knowledge of this operation."

"So do they know it or not?"

"They may have an idea. They aren't stupid, Your Majesty. They would have noticed the rebasing and preparations of our air assets. They may even have received intel from infiltrators. But the scale and timeframe of this Operation are masked hard. They know we may strike, but not how, when, where, and how many."

Amelie sighed. It wasn't perfect, as with all things. But at this point, even she was praying for the Goddess that this operation succeeded. There was no other way. They had to succeed.

Her forces had been fighting for what must be an eternity already. All of them are tired, understrength, unmotivated, and demoralized. She needed the Air Force to sweep in and relieve her troops on the ground. And if this was her best chance…

"When will you launch this Operation?"

"Do you approve of it first, Your Majesty?"

Much of William's planning for the Defense of Halia hinged already on the success of this operation, Amelie thought. Of course, she would approve of it. But still, there was doubt behind her mind.

This was a massive chunk of the Air Force she was assigning for one task. Aircraft and their pilots were a limited, expensive, and extremely valuable resource. Losses would not be recouped easily.

But I have no other choice.

"Yes, Chief Air Marshal. You have my approval for this Operation."

"...I see. Then I shall forward the specific details to you once they are available. May you stay safe over there, Your Majesty. We will relieve you all."

"Thank you, Chief Air Marshal. I expect that."

"I have disappointed you more than enough, Your Majesty. I won't let it happen again."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

Amelie placed the phone line down. She really hoped that the Chief Air Marshal and the Air Force would succeed.

Stolen novel; please report.

Either that, or I'll be besieged fully.

And she absolutely didn't want that.

+++

Heiflitz

H-0 Tower

General Holl placed down his binoculars. Another distant building went down after a Putschist air strike, which, as far as the current positioning of his forces suggested, was garrisoned by at least twenty men.

Not that I expected them to last well.

"175th Tank Battalion requesting retreat from Sector Bravo-One. Defensive lines compromised. Hostile mechs gained terrain advantage!" One of the techs announced, and General Holl frowned. Those damned LSS Mechs were gaining extreme superiority on the battlefield.

If only we had better AT capabilities. But at the moment, his tanks were his best AT capability. Soon the bastards will be chewing on my soft infantry.

"Give them permission." The General said as he continued to look at the ruined city before him. "But I want an organized retreat to Sector Bravo-Two. Contact the 9th Combined Arms Brigade, and tell them the 175th needs one armored element to cover their retreat."

"On it, sir!"

He picked up his coffee as a plume from a SAM AA missile rose up to the skies. Just as he took a sip, a detonation occurred - and a fiery trail of what probably was a Putschist Zapper fell from the clouds.

We really need the Air Force to deal with those flies. He took another sip. They've been crapping at us for too long.

"General Holl!" He heard a familiar voice call from behind after some doors were haphazardly opened. "We have a problem."

The General didn't turn back to face him.

"I know, Lieutenant Colonel Prul. They sent another division of LSS Mechs?"

"Indeed, sir. My recon units saw it. Multiple columns west of this city. Entering by road." General Holl nodded. The enemy sure was getting cocky. Must be the result of their air cover? Surely, that was why.

General Holl would never drive his armored formations in columns without adequate air cover, after all.

"It was already reported to me." General Holl replied.

"Indeed. But my recon units have coordinates." The Lieutenant Colonel said. "Can we get some of our field artillery up above their asses? Disrupt them at least."

"Our SPG formations aren't exactly in the best shape, Lieutenant Colonel."

"What about Halia's?" He suggested, and the General looked back. "Surely, Major Porter wouldn't be so stingy to not offer artillery support right now."

"Halia is engaged against another Putschist assault, Lieutenant Colonel." He paused and looked at the skyline of Halia on the other side of the Ludendorf River, north of them. The once proud city of modernity, of towering pristine skyscrapers, now looked nothing of its former self. A shame indeed. "The earlier artillery barrage from the north was them. It was JTF-Ludendorf's response."

"But…General, this opportunity is slipping from our hands."

General Holl weighed his options. Calling for artillery support from Halia was attractive to him, as he was in charge of this sector, and it would benefit him. But if the earlier assault on Halia wasn't repelled…

Surely, they have more artillery than they need.

This wasn't true, given the logistical difficulties even before the battle started.

Screw it.

He took the phone line straight to the Major himself.

+++

William had been less than amused by the strings of developments ever since this morning. The Queen's Bunker Command Staff had been hard at work since morning, as they coordinated each and every unit in the frontline, down to the Company level.

It was micromanagement down to the lowest sort. JTF-Ludendorf was supposed to, at the very lowest, deal with brigade-level management, but due to the earlier air strikes on frontline HQs that managed individual divisions, they were forced to take up the slack.

Coordinated assaults. William thought to himself as he looked at the maps. Another Combined Arms Brigade sent an alert ping - indicating hostile contact. And there were alert pings all over the frontline. Distracting us from Heiflitz, perhaps?

At this point, he really wondered why he, a mere Major, was supposed to be dealing with this. But, this was what the Queen wanted. He supposed after this battle, he would get a shiny "General" rank.

Though, since I'm technically out of the Army and I'm in the Royal Guard…how would I…

He shook those intrusive thoughts in his head. The question of promotion did not matter anyway. His position as the Head of JTF-Ludendorf meant he outranked everyone in the Grand Duchy anyway for the time being.

Though, of course, William deeply hoped that he'd get some nice tangible position after this battle.

Or retirement. Would retirement sound good?

Silly him, he reminded himself. Of course not. Amelie relied on him. He could not retire until this war ended. And so, he supposed he would be stuck with this dreadful job again and again.

Focus William. Alright, assault from that position. Three brigades are available to respond. But then they might flank those trench lines if I commit. But that brigade needs some support to retreat in order. Set-piece battles really suck…

"Colonel Kleist." He said to his partner, who stood beside him. "Any ideas?"

"Definitely don't commit our armor till nightfall." He replied, and William turned his head to him

"Why?" William asked, and the Colonel crossed his arms.

"Night counter-attack? I doubt the bastards have it in them. Not after this costly assault. We'd catch them with their pants down."

"Unless they reinforce. No competent commander would send his vanguards without reserves to back them up."

"I doubt they're pushing us to gain ground. That's merely secondary based on how we react, I believe."

"You do have a point," William said as he looked back at the map, nodding thoughtfully. "Perhaps they just want to divert our attention from Heiflitz."

"They're attacking both fronts simultaneously."

"Thus making us choose what to prioritize. Naturally…we'll choose Halia." William looked down at his available artillery units, mostly stationed behind the frontlines. "But one of their attacks must be a ruse."

"That's what I said. If they commit their reserves only in their assault on Heiflitz, then that means their attack on Halia is just a diversion. I seriously doubt that they can attack both."

"Do AFI or RIU intel support this hypothesis?" William asked.

"The intel support is weak. But we can assume that based on their behavior. Not to mention, AFI themselves are giving unverified hints pointing to this motive. We just can't be sure."

"Do we gamble then?" William asked, and Colonel Kleist's response was quick.

"Let's gamble."

"Well, get me on the line to our artillery command. And to General Holl. Let's divert artillery support to their actual axis of attack."

Before Colonel Kleist could arrange it, one of the Comm Officers called out to both of them. General Holl was requesting artillery fire on "observed threats of interest".

William looked back at Kleist.

"Looks like we're right on the money."