kalos72
01-31-2010, 03:07 PM
Ok folks this is my first real attempt at a storyline of this size so be gentle. :)
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
“Blackhorse”
Commander: Colonel John “the Revelator” Starks
Location: Governor’s Island – Manhattan, New York
The 11th ACR was a regular prewar Army regiment stationed in Germany under the command of the 5th US Army Corps. The regiment has participated in every major offensive of the war in Germany and Poland and was the first US unit to cross into Germany and engage Soviet forces. Once the OPORD OMEGA orders went out, the 11th ACR proceeded to Bremerhaven Germany to oversee troop embarkation as directed.
Once the evacuation details were received, Colonel Starks decided that leaving his entire unit with no vehicles or heavy equipment left him at an extreme disadvantage once they were back on the ground in the States. Assuming he would then be redeployed, he feared neither MILGOV nor CIVGOV command could refit his unit properly.
Starks was stationed in Fulda Germany for almost 20 years, developing some very good connections through out the German military. Those connections introduced him to his future wife, the daughter of one of Germanys most decorated Generals, Helmut Korell. He regularly spoke with commanding officers of various German units and worked side by side with them from the start of the war. Both he and his unit earned a lot of respect from the German High Command, and that feeling was mutual.
Korrell completely understood Starks position from a command point of view and was torn about the game he was asked to play over the following several days. General Korrell convinced the German High Command to allow the 11th ACR to keep any vehicles or equipment it needed to completely refit the unit to a pre-war state. In return, Starks supplied the location of an almost fully functional nuclear power plant located in Kahl-am-Main that he had been working on with personnel from the US 44th Armored Division for several months.
While in Bremerhaven trying to secure the deal he was working out with the German High Command, Starks had made contact with an independent merchant ship the Sao Sebastiao. He arranged for the 4th Recon Platoon to work security in exchange for training and room and board. The platoon was given one of the units last Sat-com radios and given directive to gather as much useful information about the regions the ship trades in and any potential allies or hostiles that need to be addressed. In addition to that, the Captain had contact with 2 freighters that were capable of making the run to the States with the units new supplies. And from there, the 11th ACR was off to the United States along with over 40000 other U.S. servicemen and women.
By the time the 11th ACR landed in Norfolk, CINCEUR had informed Starks that the unit would be reorganized to a more effective military unit focused around a brigade level organization. Norfolk didn’t know about the deal with the Germans, and Starks wasn’t about to tell them knowing the bureaucrats would just try and reallocate all the equipment as they saw fit, again leaving the 11th ACR under geared.
While the unit was being reorganized, and CINCEUR was devising “the next great battle strategy to win the war” as his 2nd in command often said sarcastically, several members of Starks command staff, as well as him personally, were asked to assist in multiple “special operations” assignments. Being as loyal as they are, each assignment had to be cleared and approved by Starks before any of the staff accepted the assignment, which continually infuriated CINCEUR command staff. But Starks needed to know everything that his men were doing, this way he could coordinate them and start to put together the ground work for their next move.
While in cantonment, the 4th Recon Platoon contacted the Colonel regarding a possible working Gulf Coast oil platform and that the contacts were made to refit the rig and begin to produce oil again. Starks hadn’t even dared to think about the operation yielding such valuable assets but took full advantage of the opportunity. He dispatched Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd BCT, via the Sao Sebastiao, to the area to assist in securing the production facilities as well as to setup a FOB there to explore the area and the possibility of other rigs surviving. This situation, he realized immediately, would need to be a priority.
As Alpha Company left Norfolk, another situation developed in front of him. The mission was to locate and secure an NYC gold bullion reserve that the US 78th Infantry Division lost during a poorly executed withdrawal from the island of Manhattan. After the 1st Recon Platoon landed and was able to determine the situation, they advised that retrieving the gold would require a sizable military force considering it was controlled by the largest hostile force on the island, the Mayor. Starks dispatched Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st BCT to secure a FOB there and proceed with the operation as directed.
As the New Year began, the operations in Texas as well as Manhattan were moving along quietly as both teams were making progress and neither was experiencing any measurable setbacks. CINCEUR was losing itself in a mass of red tape and infighting while trying to reorganize and then move the newly formed corps. Then Starks heard a tale of falling satellites and Soviets cruisers. He was advised that the information from that satellite would help secure the survival of the first country to find her, and the race was on. 3rd Recon Platoon is sent to Baha Mexico to locate the DP-201 Russian Weather Satellite.
Once the weather information was retrieved, the 3rd Recon Platoon reported back to CINCEUR with the collected data. The most pertinent information for the Colonel was regarding the North East of the United States. The data advised that it would be the least effected by the reduction in rainfall overall, although the area didn’t have very much land that could be easily utilized for crop production in the first place. This meant that with some solid planning and extensive irrigation systems, food production should be much more effective then in other parts of the country.
With a source of oil secured, a strategic reserve of gold bullion at his finger tips and signs of a potentially productive growing season ahead, the next move became all that much clearer. Considering the fact that MILGOV was never going to be able send the unit to Texas to clear the Mexicans, much less Alaska to continue the fight against the Soviets with the support needed to accomplish either task effectively and without a tremendous loss of life or that neither government could front any true military resistance nor in most cases, can it even feed itself, the true condition of both parts of the former United States government was becoming a sadly apparent skeleton of the once great powerhouse. Colonel Starks could not allow this to continue…he had to do something to restore the nation.
Once the Manhattan FOB was completed by Bravo Company, CINCEUR made the decision to “relieve” the Mayor of the gold reserve and to secure it for MILGOV command. Since Starks already had units on the ground and was already up to speed with the local situation, CINCEUR ordered Colonel Starks to prepare the 11th ACR for naval transport to the NYC area to resolve the situation as well as gain a foothold in the area for further expansion by MILGOV forces at a later date. CINCEUR gave Starks full military support, to the extent that they were able to from Norfolk at least.
As soon as Colonel Starks received the orders to move out to Manhattan, he began to review the dossier his MI staff had been working on of the other unit commanders in Norfolk. He knew which ones were dissatisfied with MILGOV command. He knew which units would be most likely to have a conversation about declaring independence even. Starks had a fair amount of influence with CINCEUR and got key players moved into positions to assist the 11th ACR once they moved out to Manhattan. Ship commanders, air wing colonels, even contacts within CIA/DIA were being utilized to set the stage for the separation of the 11th ACR from MILGOV command with as many supporters as possible.
Colonel Starks prepared the 11th ACR for a long road. MILGOV would be gunning for him as the plan he devised would most likely cost CINCEUR command a fair portion of its supplies and assets. Some loyal MILGOV personnel may even consider this plan to be an act of treason and look to bring the Colonel in to be tried. No course of action of this importance goes without its consequences. Colonel Starks knows this, his staff knows it and his men know it. But something must be done if the United States is every to recover from the devestation of the Twilight War.
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
“Blackhorse”
Commander: Colonel John “the Revelator” Starks
Location: Governor’s Island – Manhattan, New York
The 11th ACR was a regular prewar Army regiment stationed in Germany under the command of the 5th US Army Corps. The regiment has participated in every major offensive of the war in Germany and Poland and was the first US unit to cross into Germany and engage Soviet forces. Once the OPORD OMEGA orders went out, the 11th ACR proceeded to Bremerhaven Germany to oversee troop embarkation as directed.
Once the evacuation details were received, Colonel Starks decided that leaving his entire unit with no vehicles or heavy equipment left him at an extreme disadvantage once they were back on the ground in the States. Assuming he would then be redeployed, he feared neither MILGOV nor CIVGOV command could refit his unit properly.
Starks was stationed in Fulda Germany for almost 20 years, developing some very good connections through out the German military. Those connections introduced him to his future wife, the daughter of one of Germanys most decorated Generals, Helmut Korell. He regularly spoke with commanding officers of various German units and worked side by side with them from the start of the war. Both he and his unit earned a lot of respect from the German High Command, and that feeling was mutual.
Korrell completely understood Starks position from a command point of view and was torn about the game he was asked to play over the following several days. General Korrell convinced the German High Command to allow the 11th ACR to keep any vehicles or equipment it needed to completely refit the unit to a pre-war state. In return, Starks supplied the location of an almost fully functional nuclear power plant located in Kahl-am-Main that he had been working on with personnel from the US 44th Armored Division for several months.
While in Bremerhaven trying to secure the deal he was working out with the German High Command, Starks had made contact with an independent merchant ship the Sao Sebastiao. He arranged for the 4th Recon Platoon to work security in exchange for training and room and board. The platoon was given one of the units last Sat-com radios and given directive to gather as much useful information about the regions the ship trades in and any potential allies or hostiles that need to be addressed. In addition to that, the Captain had contact with 2 freighters that were capable of making the run to the States with the units new supplies. And from there, the 11th ACR was off to the United States along with over 40000 other U.S. servicemen and women.
By the time the 11th ACR landed in Norfolk, CINCEUR had informed Starks that the unit would be reorganized to a more effective military unit focused around a brigade level organization. Norfolk didn’t know about the deal with the Germans, and Starks wasn’t about to tell them knowing the bureaucrats would just try and reallocate all the equipment as they saw fit, again leaving the 11th ACR under geared.
While the unit was being reorganized, and CINCEUR was devising “the next great battle strategy to win the war” as his 2nd in command often said sarcastically, several members of Starks command staff, as well as him personally, were asked to assist in multiple “special operations” assignments. Being as loyal as they are, each assignment had to be cleared and approved by Starks before any of the staff accepted the assignment, which continually infuriated CINCEUR command staff. But Starks needed to know everything that his men were doing, this way he could coordinate them and start to put together the ground work for their next move.
While in cantonment, the 4th Recon Platoon contacted the Colonel regarding a possible working Gulf Coast oil platform and that the contacts were made to refit the rig and begin to produce oil again. Starks hadn’t even dared to think about the operation yielding such valuable assets but took full advantage of the opportunity. He dispatched Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd BCT, via the Sao Sebastiao, to the area to assist in securing the production facilities as well as to setup a FOB there to explore the area and the possibility of other rigs surviving. This situation, he realized immediately, would need to be a priority.
As Alpha Company left Norfolk, another situation developed in front of him. The mission was to locate and secure an NYC gold bullion reserve that the US 78th Infantry Division lost during a poorly executed withdrawal from the island of Manhattan. After the 1st Recon Platoon landed and was able to determine the situation, they advised that retrieving the gold would require a sizable military force considering it was controlled by the largest hostile force on the island, the Mayor. Starks dispatched Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st BCT to secure a FOB there and proceed with the operation as directed.
As the New Year began, the operations in Texas as well as Manhattan were moving along quietly as both teams were making progress and neither was experiencing any measurable setbacks. CINCEUR was losing itself in a mass of red tape and infighting while trying to reorganize and then move the newly formed corps. Then Starks heard a tale of falling satellites and Soviets cruisers. He was advised that the information from that satellite would help secure the survival of the first country to find her, and the race was on. 3rd Recon Platoon is sent to Baha Mexico to locate the DP-201 Russian Weather Satellite.
Once the weather information was retrieved, the 3rd Recon Platoon reported back to CINCEUR with the collected data. The most pertinent information for the Colonel was regarding the North East of the United States. The data advised that it would be the least effected by the reduction in rainfall overall, although the area didn’t have very much land that could be easily utilized for crop production in the first place. This meant that with some solid planning and extensive irrigation systems, food production should be much more effective then in other parts of the country.
With a source of oil secured, a strategic reserve of gold bullion at his finger tips and signs of a potentially productive growing season ahead, the next move became all that much clearer. Considering the fact that MILGOV was never going to be able send the unit to Texas to clear the Mexicans, much less Alaska to continue the fight against the Soviets with the support needed to accomplish either task effectively and without a tremendous loss of life or that neither government could front any true military resistance nor in most cases, can it even feed itself, the true condition of both parts of the former United States government was becoming a sadly apparent skeleton of the once great powerhouse. Colonel Starks could not allow this to continue…he had to do something to restore the nation.
Once the Manhattan FOB was completed by Bravo Company, CINCEUR made the decision to “relieve” the Mayor of the gold reserve and to secure it for MILGOV command. Since Starks already had units on the ground and was already up to speed with the local situation, CINCEUR ordered Colonel Starks to prepare the 11th ACR for naval transport to the NYC area to resolve the situation as well as gain a foothold in the area for further expansion by MILGOV forces at a later date. CINCEUR gave Starks full military support, to the extent that they were able to from Norfolk at least.
As soon as Colonel Starks received the orders to move out to Manhattan, he began to review the dossier his MI staff had been working on of the other unit commanders in Norfolk. He knew which ones were dissatisfied with MILGOV command. He knew which units would be most likely to have a conversation about declaring independence even. Starks had a fair amount of influence with CINCEUR and got key players moved into positions to assist the 11th ACR once they moved out to Manhattan. Ship commanders, air wing colonels, even contacts within CIA/DIA were being utilized to set the stage for the separation of the 11th ACR from MILGOV command with as many supporters as possible.
Colonel Starks prepared the 11th ACR for a long road. MILGOV would be gunning for him as the plan he devised would most likely cost CINCEUR command a fair portion of its supplies and assets. Some loyal MILGOV personnel may even consider this plan to be an act of treason and look to bring the Colonel in to be tried. No course of action of this importance goes without its consequences. Colonel Starks knows this, his staff knows it and his men know it. But something must be done if the United States is every to recover from the devestation of the Twilight War.