ISLAND REGIONS WASH OVER IN VIOLENCE
Island regions circa Day 20.
Image courtesy of FoxholeStats.com
WAR 108, DAYS 1-20, ISLAND REGIONS - The start of the war saw the island regions of the west (Oarbreaker Isles, Fisherman’s Row, Steam Landing) and the east (Godcrofts, Tempest Island, and The Fingers) divided among the warring nations in a way that all but guaranteed hectic, fast-paced conflict.
The beginning of any war is almost always a fluid situation due to the lack of heavy ordinance or advanced defenses. The island regions of the Veli-Caoiva conflict take this to a literal extreme, with the extra obstacle of water navigation spurring intense use of early watercraft in increasingly precarious ways. Motorboat teams sped around coastlines to scout and harass the dispersed islands. Barges became mobile firing platforms for rifle teams, as the increased armor of the watercraft from wars past allowed squads to perform drive-bys for local garrisons. Frag grenades became the counter to this because of the explosive’s blast radius covering most of the barge’s deck. It was not entirely foreign to come across artificial islands of disabled barges battling it out in ship-to-ship small arms combat.
Operations to secure the island regions began immediately upon the first day. Legionary forces found themselves with their backs against the wall at Arcadia in Fisherman’s Row, after the Wardens captured Dankana Post followed by Eidolo.
Conversely, the Wardens in Tempest Island found themselves in a slow retreat from the Iris, eventually losing the primary landmass in the region on Day 6 with the loss of Reef relic base.
Oarbreaker Isles turned into a large infantry battle when Warden forces captured Dirk relic base, followed by the town of Integrum on Day 9. This leaves Silver relic base in the center of the region as the last Collie holdout, but with the all-important observation tower nearby.
Warden operations in Godcrofts appeared primarily led and supplied by the [SPUD] regiment and its leader MoiDawg. The goal was Axehead, the strongest Colonial position in the region, but one still behind the blue line on the mainland. This could make it a lost cause in the opening stages of the war should they be lost.
The Wardens chose to first surround the town before attempting to attack it. Staging from the Isawa industrial town with several barges and motorboats, a small coastal outpost was established around the Colonial Exile relic base in a fast firefight with HE grenades.
[SPUD] MoiDawg assaulting Axehead in human wave attacks. Day 3-4.
A half hour later, approximately 25+ Caoivish troops repeated the tactic on Protos, but with increased urgency due to that relic base’s land connection to Axehead. Grenadier attacks were intense and casualty-laden but organized and efficient. After capturing the position and establishing a bunker base of their own, the Wardens initiated infantry firefights towards the prize down south.
I Saw a Bear was spotted aiding efforts in an NCO role, as trench fights and ad hoc building pushed towards Axehead.
“I joined after I'd seen on the map that [SPUD] had taken the northern base and the mass of barges lining the beaches. Moi himself was acting as ferryman and ferried me over,” Bear said. “Fighting for the mid section was tough as the island regions seemed, on average, to have less access to hard fortification resources. So less tier 2 and even tier 1 bunkers pop up.”
Three hours of rifle and grenade action among the hastily-made pillboxes and foxholes followed, culminating in a series of brutal but effective human wave attacks with grenadiers.
“It was Mammon rushes against pillboxes ‘till we got to the edge of town. Then, it was strategically rushing individual houses until we broke into certain sections of town like the hospital and then the seaport,” Bear continued. “Collies did manage a few supply runs getting a Speartip MG truck in, but by the time the seaport fell, it was a matter of attriting them. Town base only fell once they stopped spawning.”
With the distanced and dangerous nature of any Colonial logistics route to get to Axehead, the town base fell on Day 4.
Caoivish forces in the region aimed to lockdown the region like their counterparts in Fisherman’s Row had after ejecting the Colonials from Arcadia. The last green position in Godcrofts lay in Lipsia in the region’s southwest. Blue-controlled barges have attempted multiple landings and raids, but as of Day 20 the base is still standing, turning a desperate Colonial last stand into a thorn in the Wardens’ side.
CaptainShack of the [ARMCO] regiment and TheXPGamers YouTube channel reports on success in the PressCorps’ Twitch chat. Circa Day 6.
As blue swept through Godcrofts, Oarbreaker, and Fisherman’s, Colonial forces in The Fingers found more success there. The three-pronged region lay in a unique situation among the six island regions, being it’s the only one with a land connection to its adjacent coastal region, albeit one that still needs some watercraft to get to.
The Chinese-based [CGC] of the MSA coalition of regiments established a bunker base to the southwest of Headman’s Villa. Linking up with them was angry eck of the [ARMCO] regiment and their broadcaster, CaptainShack TheXPGamers YouTube channel. Together, a force numbering 25+ initiated an attack on the town.
Firefights initially broke out along the short rock cliffs overlooking the Warden-held hospital. Eventually, Legionary forces pushed the Wardens out of the structure and established a line along the single road that encircles the town. Soon after, Colonial troops began flanking in both directions in an attempt to widen the width of the line.
“It’s Day 1, and the Mammons are already out, which is a great sign!” Said CaptainShack on his broadcast, as motorized troops raced to continue the fight and apply pressure.
Earlier on Day 1, fast-moving Collies in The Fingers captured Fort Barley by way of amphibious landing, opening an angle to the Warden-held Plankhouse. Those Colonials eventually captured that relic base by Day 3. More importantly, the nearby observation tower was also taken, providing recon for the rear of Headman’s Villa.
[ARMCO] and [CGC] from the rocks and Wardens in the hospital begin the fight for Headman's Villa in the opening stages of the war. Day 1-2.
Fighting along trench and bunker lines continued for about two to three hours. Despite dogged defense from the Warden garrison, the Legionary forces in the surrounding land and waterways overwhelmed the town, with the Headman’s Villa town base falling on Day 4.
Written by: [PRESS] Geoffrey Jennings
Published on: 10/26/2023