Summoning America

Chapter 122: Dawson Base

September 30, 1640
Gra-Valkan Occupied Alue, Mu

General Flats marveled at the stocked refrigerator inside a Muan mansion within the suburbs, impressed with the sophistication of the appliances at the abandoned home. He spotted several other American-made devices, from air conditioning units to pressure cookers, all hooked to an external generator outside. It came as a surprise that American influence had extended this much, this far. It wasn't just military goods that changed the landscape of the far-flung Second Civilized Region, it was consumer discretionaries as well.

"Hmph," a dissatisfied grunt came from behind him. "A shame we've damaged our relations with the Americans too badly to conduct business with them. I would have enjoyed these goods."

Recognizing the voice as General Kinley's, Flats immediately stood at attention. "Indeed, sir!"

Kinley placed his hand up, as if signaling 'there's no need for that'. "At ease, General. If anything, I should be the one in your position. I made a mistake. I rushed you, and it cost us hundreds of casualties, dozens of ruined tanks, and a drastic loss of infrastructure which we could have captured instead. I'm placing more trust in your abilities from now on, General Flats."

"Thank you, sir," Flats said, inwardly appreciating his superior's praise and modesty.

"Come, now," Kinley said, grabbing orange juice from the fridge and pouring it into a glass. "The meeting starts in 10 minutes."

"At once, sir."

—-

A dozen officers gathered in the spacious living room of a Muan mansion, which had been converted into a command post for the Gra Valkan invasion force. Among them were Generals Flats and Kinley, the respective leaders of the Fourth Armored Division and the Eighth Army. Together, they prepared their strategies for the Malmund Front.

Seeing that everyone was present, Kinley began, "Our base of operations in Alue has finally been secured thanks to your hard work. Now that we have accomplished our objective here, it is time to bring our attention to our next target: the city of Kielseki and the associated Dawson Base, which are located 125 miles to the northeast of our current position. Captain Harwisk, if you will," Kinley said, gesturing for the man to take over the presentation.

"Sir," A brown-haired man said, exuding a powerful aura of determination. He cleared his throat, then outlined crucial information about their upcoming attack. "Scouts have confirmed a large build-up of defenses at Dawson Base, including anti-tank gun and artillery emplacements. Unfortunately, a combination of camouflage netting and possible decoys have made it difficult to accurately discern the defensive capacity of Dawson Base. Although we are unsure of the enemy's composition at this time, we will act on this limited information with prudence and assume that it is likely that the defenses here are enough to inflict heavy casualties to – perhaps even completely rout – our mechanized units.

On the other hand, their air defense network is severely lacking; the airfield in Dawson Base holds a maximum of 4 fighter squadrons. Therefore, the first phase of our operation begins with the Fifteenth Air Wing's bombing run of Dawson Base, which will be followed up by a clean-up operation from the Sixteenth Air Wing. As we have learned from the Eleventh Air Wing's defeat, there is a high possibility of American mercenary aircraft intercepting our bomber fleets with long-range anti-air missiles. As such, fighters from the Fourteenth Air Wing will establish air superiority within a 50-mile radius of Kielseki. They will serve as a screen for our bombers.

In the meantime, select forward assault groups will secure any villages or outposts along the way and work with mine-clearing units to clear a path for our main forces. Routes for each of your units will be distributed once the mine-clearing operations are complete. Be sure not to deviate from these designated routes.