My thoughts on Operation Nemesis Options

[Svea Rike]

I like to contribut my thoughts on Operation 'Nemesis', in the style of my previous fan-fic; My thoughts on the GWOT. I have extrapolated this from some of my own thoughts and what little information we have about it alread, and some of it is derived from the alread sub-par article I wrote on the wiki. I hope this detailing is sufficient enough, but we can discuss how it could be improved/altered.

OPERATION NEMESIS
AN INSIGHT INTO THE CONFLICT

Etymology
‘Operation Nemesis’ is the European codename for their operation and is most widely used to refer to the conflict. Other names include the North Africa War, the Sahara War, the War of European Vengeance, and any derivatives thereof. The Global Liberation Army themselves usually refer to it as ‘The Great Purge’, as it saw many of their leaders and allies killed in a swift manner. Other nations have referred to the conflict as the ECA-GLA War, and even the War of European Aggression.

Background
The European insurrection
In the summer of 2028 the Global Liberation Army made landfall in Hamburg and destroyed Germany’s economy and infrastructure, and with it, the European Union. What had already been building up for the past few years culminated in a war for survival, as the last heads of state of Europe were deposed by their own populations. The GLA’s leader, Mohmar Deathstrike, had singlehandedly tipped the scale and ushered in the greatest political shift since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Because of this, the geopolitical entity known as ‘the West’ effectively ceased to exist as Germany was ruined and the United States retreated and with it, the European Union. The more nationalist-minded governments of the new Europe sought to create a better, more stable alliance in order to meet their goal of independence and relevance in the global stage. With help from the Eurasian Unity League and the People’s Republic of China, the nations of Europe got back on their feet and rebuilt as the fledging Global Liberation Army disappeared from the spotlight. Plans for a new alliance started as early as 2029, less than a year since the European Union collapsed.

Founding of the ECA
In 2034, the governments of Europe signed the Treaty of Prague, which laid the foundation for the European Continental Alliance. Importing expensive natural gas and resources from the Russian Federation, the ruined Europe turned into a technological superpower as their extensive scientific liberties constituted to a more advanced society that replaced the decadent, totalitarian one of the past. With this, their relatively small military and combined task force could match in power with the likes of Russia and China, and the European Continental Armed Forces (ECAF) planned to enact revenge on the GLA.

The GLA Empire stretched from Libya to Morocco, as North Africa had fallen under their banner since 2027. The Middle East was embroiled in a nuclear war and China consolidated around their own borders, leaving the terrorist organization to reign supreme. But, the ECA planned to secure their own borders without mercy, and plans for Operation ‘Nemesis’ were drawn out in late 2036. Several months later, the operation launched.

Course of the War
Initial strikes
At 7:25 AM, GMT on May 21, 2037 European strike aircraft took off from airbases in Iberia, southern France, Italy and various aircraft carriers. The plan was to cut GLA supply lines as quickly as possible, isolating their divisions and cutting them down one by one. Strike craft included Eurofighter Typhoons refitted for air-to-ground purposes, Dassault Rafael attack craft and retrofitted Harrier jump jets. In less than 40 minutes, the airstrikes had inflicted major casualties on the enemy. The airstrikes continued until 13:45 PM, GMT, when invasion forces began amassing off the coast.

Meantime, several thousand paratroopers of the French Foreign Legion were dropped in the Sahara desert, tasked with locating and capturing heads of state of non-North African countries, such as Mali and Nigeria, which were under GLA control. It took the experienced paratroopers less than a week to kill/capture the heads of state, who surrendered their armed forces instead of facing justice. The North African countries, who were under direct GLA leadership, did not falter however.

Late may
The brunt of the invasion took place between May 21 and June 1. Only ten days saw the highest casualty reports through the entire operation, due to the initial airstrikes and heavy combat operations on the day of invasion. The European invasion force was composed of six battle groups: La Corona, constituting Spain with support from Portugal, De Gaulle, constituting France with support from Belgium, Lionheart, constituting the United Kingdom with support from Ireland, Bismarck, constituting Germany with support from Poland, Grieg, constituting Norway with support from Sweden, and Roma, constituting Italy with support from Austria. La Corona, De Gaulle and Roma landed in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya with land forces, including mechanized and armored divisions. Lionheart, Bismarck and Grieg landed in Mauritania, Senegal and the Gold Coast with more infantry-focused combat units due to the more forested regions to the south.

The battle strategy for the European Continental Army was a tried and true grand strategy: Shock and awe. Using combined infantry, armored and aerial arms the European forces cut through the GLA defenders, surrounding them and cutting them off one by one. It was a costly one, but worthwhile, as more and more pro-GLA surrendered daily and even more retreated backwards. In the south, the air forces used controversial gas weapons to drive the enemy out of the thick rainforests. This caused a PR storm, as hundreds of protests against the use of such weapons occurred daily in European cities, but the air forces remained resolute. ECA propaganda reported few numbers of civilians and animals were harmed, but actual numbers have not been disclosed by the European Continental Intelligence.

Resistance from the GLA was brutal. In Algeria alone De Gaulle suffered over 200 casualties in the first week, and another 500 the following. But it was dwarfed compared to the casualties inflicted on the GLA; estimates run high at up to 4,000 warfighters killed in the first week. The second week, over 5,000 had been killed or captured. The ECA hoped to cut off the head of the snake at first possible opportunity, scattering the remaining forces into the desert where they would be hunted down for weeks to come. Indeed, for it only took three weeks for the ECA to capture the capitals of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast. The following month all capitals in North Africa had been captured, and all remained was to drive the GLA out of the desert and into extinction.

June
The ECA had expected the GLA to put up more resistance; European Continental Intelligence estimated the conflict to last for the rest of the year if not more. They were understandably surprised to see the GLA fall back so quickly, most likely due to lack of superior leadership. Nonetheless, the plans changed: After May, the battle groups’ strategy was reorganized from shock-and-awe to relentless hunting. The GLA were driven back from the coast and into the desert, driven into the Atlas Mountains and Sahara.

In week one, the ECA continued combat operations along the coasts, rooting out remaining GLA partisans. On 3 June, the largest battle of the conflict was fought, the Battle of Marrakech. A large contingent of European mechanized and armored divisions converged on the city, still controlled by Moroccan forces. The battle lasted for three days and saw over 600 European soldiers killed, and more than 1,500 Moroccan soldiers killed/captured. The ECA used this victory as propaganda, convincing several enemy divisions to surrender in Morocco and West Sahara.

In week two, De Gaulle and Roma began combat operations in the Atlas Mountains. New ‘Mole’ minelaying siege vehicles burrowed into the GLA caves and created small holes for specially trained attack dogs to crawl through. The GLA forces were caught by surprise by this, and were unable to relay information about them before the attack dogs cut them down. Air forces also utilized new cluster munitions to carpet bomb valleys and ravines, reporting over 200 enemy casualties over a period of four weeks.

In week three and four, the ECA began sending scout drones into the Sahara, confirming locations of several GLA camps in the desert. The plan was to confirm coordinates and send strike missiles to take them out, as sending out military forces into the desert could be costly. However, the drones discovered an extensive tunnel network in the Mali desert, which the strike missiles couldn’t touch. Mole minelayers were sent out to root out the enemy, and were relatively successful although many of them fell peril to the dreaded ‘demo traps’ hidden in the sand.

July
July progressed relatively calmly. The coast countries from Libya to Nigeria had been successfully captured by ECA forces, and pro-European governments were in the process of being installed. Lionheart, Bismarck and Grieg were tasked with security in the occupied territories, while the remaining battle groups relentlessly pursued the GLA in the desert countries. No major battles occurred during this month, although the GLA were planning for a counterattack. According to disclosed ECI intelligence files, GLA leaders met as far east as Chad to plan for a decisive blow against the Europeans, but also plan to retreat south into Central Africa and establish ‘The Zone’.

One relatively large battle occurred in Gambia on July 18, when a group of GLA sympathizers gathered in Banjul and took control of downtown. They threatened to destroy the entire district with controlled demolition if European forces remained in both Gambia and Senegal. The ECA leadership did not comply, and instead sent in professional French Foreign Legion operators to disable the explosives. The operation was successful, and without a leverage the terrorists surrendered – except for three, who managed to kill three operators and one civilian a few seconds before they were eliminated.

August
The ECA tightened control in the Sahara, before the GLA planned their decisive blow. The second largest battle in the conflict took place on August 3 in Casablanca, where ECA and North African officials met to discuss the proposed Maghreb Union. A dozen elite GLA insurgents infiltrated the heavily secured city, and initiated attacks against ECA divisions as a diversionary tactic. Security was pooled around the embassy building where negotiations took place, which the GLA had planned for: They used a car bomb to disperse the security detail, and marched into the embassy. The GLA warfighters managed to defeat the security to minimum losses, and took the officials as hostage. Threatening to kill a new official every hour, they demanded ECA forces to surrender.

ECI speculates that the GLA knew the ECA wouldn’t comply, like they did, and simply committed the attack as a defiant last stand. To this day they speculate how the GLA managed to pull this off successfully, and deemed only one of the big minds of the organization could have planned it. What further evades their minds is how the GLA knew the negotiations would go down in Casablanca – they were strictly confidential. Speculation points to a defector.

While the GLA held the officials hostage, they spread propaganda messages to the people of Casablanca, warning the citizens that they would suffer under European occupation. But, the citizens were actually on the ECA’s side, as they had already improved on the living conditions in North Africa during the few months they’ve been there.

After several hours, the ECA leadership grew restless and ordered forces to attack the embassy. The GLA executed several more officials, a total number of 22, before the ECA cut down their forces. While it only lasted one afternoon, the battle was the most costly for the ECA; several officials from North African countries were killed, and even some from European countries. This delayed negotiations until late October, when the foundation for the Maghreb Union was finally laid down.

The last GLA remnants were driven out on August 9, officially ending the conflict for the Europeans. They declared it a great victory, and international opinion about this was mostly positive – as was anything directed against the GLA. This operation sparked the so-called African Resource Rush, which is a conflict for another day.

Aftermath
Maghreb Union
The Maghreb Union was laid down in late October 2037, and constituted Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco – who now held complete authority over West Sahara – and Mauritania. The Union was a common trade agreement, unified education and security system and a client organization of the European Continental Alliance. The remaining nations of West Africa were granted more autonomy due to the lower GLA presence, but held a large military presence because of The Zone. The United States took control of Liberia through their powerful corporations however. What started as a military occupation soon evolved into a political entity that launched the nations of North Africa into first-world nation territory, advancing them technologically, socially and politically thanks to free trade and travel between them and Europe. One of the most ambitious projects between the Maghreb Union and ECA was the Gibraltar-Ceuta Connection, a massive six-lane bridge that connected the two continents at last.

Rest of Africa
The rest of Africa held a rather negative opinion on Operation ‘Nemesis’ and the Maghreb Union because of the African Resource Rush. The ECA had started a neo-colonialism race for Africa to claim their last remaining resources, and while Maghreb and Southern Africa progressed relatively unscathed, the same could not be said for the rest of the continent. The People’s Liberation Army landed in Somalia and established a military protectorate, Central Africa became the terrorist nation-state of the GLA and Egypt and Sudan fell under the authority of the Russian Federation. In the east, the East African Federation was created under an oligarchic government. Citizens of Africa experienced lower living conditions than Maghreb, which contributed to a massive flux of immigrants to the region.

The GLA
The Global Liberation Army lost control of North Africa and retreated into Central Africa, where they established the Zone, a nation without laws. The Zone was chalked off as a no-man’s-land, unfit for governance and only there to remind us of the atrocities of the largest terrorist organization in history. What the GLA thinks of this themselves, however, remains unknown, but former GLA fighters say that opinions are very, very mixed about the whole African debacle.

*****
So that's what I think of Operation Nemesis. What do you think of Operation Nemesis?

This post has been edited by Svea Rike: 11 Mar 2015, 12:13

[piratep2r]

Hi Svea,

I think your writing quality is very good indeed; this was fun to read and you clearly did a ton of proofreading. I am no lore expert, so I can not pick out ROTR-inconsistant information, but I have added a few critiques below. Please consider these "nit-picking" and feel free to disregard them all.

several hundred thousand paratroopers of the French Foreign Legion were dropped in the Sahara desert

Soooooo - per wikipedia, the french foreign legion currently has 7700 members. Total. The US army - the entire army - by comparison, is ~500,000 people (again, per wikipedia, I am no expert). Finally, the largest airborn invasion in history, operation varsity, dropped 16,000 people total (thank you again, wikipedia). So I think it highly unlikely that the french foreign legion would airdrop 300,000 + soldiers (a force equivalent to most of the US army) in an event that would dwarf the largest airdrop in the history of the world by a factor of 20(ish). Given your casualty numbers, perhaps 10,000 would be more realistic? That is still a titanic force to drop out of airplanes, and, I note, is still larger than the entire current legion!

The battle strategy for the European Continental Army was an often overlooked grand strategy: Blitzkrieg. Using combined infantry, armored and aerial arms the European forces cut through the GLA defenders, surrounding them and cutting them off one by one.

I (again, no expert) do not think combined arms or blitzkrieg is "an often overlooked grand strategy." I am under the impression that high mobility warfare is common now - see the article on US use of shock and awe in Iraq. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_and_awe . The article specifically mentions blitzkrieg. Maybe just change "often overlooked" to "tried and true?"

In week one, the ECA continued combat operations along the coasts, rooting out remaining GLA sympathizers.

Maybe you mean "combatants" or "partisans" here? A sympathizer is like a civilian supporter, I believe. Were the Europeans executing civilians or something?

One relatively large battle occurred in Gambia on July 18, when several GLA sympathizers gathered in Banjul and took control of downtown. ... [deleted by piratep2r] ... – except for three, who managed to kill three operators and one civilian a few seconds before they were eliminated.

Nitpick nitpick. several means "3 or more" as I understand it (online dictionary). So if "several" attacked, and the good guys killed some, and there were still 3 left, you probably need to start with more than "several." Unless you are playing RA2, in which case the cloning center has you covered. Probably you could change the first "several" to "a handful" or "a dozen," if you want to keep the numbers small.

[end of nitpicking]
thanks again for writing; an interesting read!
-P

This post has been edited by piratep2r: 10 Mar 2015, 22:42

[Svea Rike]

Very good thoughts! Indeed, I was a bit over my head when I wrote those things down as it went by rather quickly but I will edit it immediately! These things are meant for editing!

[MARS]

Looks pretty good, nice work, Svea. This is a much more comprehensive take on Operation Nemesis, more straightforward and informative. Feel free to work it into the Wiki. The only change I suggest is to the 'Casablanca embassy siege' where you mention 'several thousands' of GLA fighters entering the city. This seems like a fair bit too much. Instead, I suggest making it a smaller terrorist commando focussed specifically on the embassy, with, maybe, three dozen elite fighters, tops. The rest looks good, even the part where the ECA drops chemical weapons on GLA positions in the rainforest. In official lore so far, those were only used after Operation Pandora, but in this context, it adds to the ECA's behaviour as a neo-colonial invader since some European militaries called for the use of chemical weapons in Africa after WW1.

[Svea Rike]

Why thank you, MARS! I'll make that slight edit and add it to the wiki then.