General Infantry
High casualties are something to be expected in an intergalactic war. The Navy crews are usually safe while their ships are up to date, but once they are obsolete they make good cannon fodder and nothing else. They can expect 60% casualties. The Marines get the hardest missions in the first wave of crash down pods. They can expect 40%-80% casualties. Armored divisions are tough until someone gets a rocket launcher. They can expect 40% casualties. Aircraft are the cream of the crop. They are unlikely to be shot down. They can expect 20% casualties. Aquatic/Amphibious vehicles are also easy rides. They can expect 20% casualties. General Infantry outnumbers all other troops 5 to one. For the ones that actually do land it is a big bloodbath. As a total they can expect 30% total casualties. The casualties for the ones that land: classified.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
I haven’t been able to write for some time now. This is mainly due to the fact that the ship had been dodging bullets for the past few days. Our transport has one Singularity Driver MK III and two hardened hull points. This means that it can probably stand up to a light fighter, but it usually has to rely on the escort. The escort consists of two Shining Knight Class Cruisers. The Shining Knights each have 3 Singularity Driver MK IIIs, 2 Hardened Hull Points, an Advanced Fire Control, and 2 Chaffs. They can really pack a punch. Apparently right after we got back on board the news came out that the Torian Confederation entered a civil war. An admiral Alck Nekaz had attempted a coup but failed at assassinating the old leader who was now sheltering himself in Alliance space. We held true to our alliance and declared war with the help of some Torian Resistance fighters.
So suddenly about three minutes after we declared war the Torians launched a huge assault on Terran Alliance space and we had 8 Talz Hizak Class Light Fighters on top of us. 8 light fighters against two Cruisers and a Transport? Poor them.
The Torians have always gone for quantity over quality. Each fighter is only armed with a single MK IV Stinger Missile. I’m no expert at space warfare, but with our defenses adapted to their weaponry it was a slaughter with one of our Cruisers taking 15 hp of damage. However we discovered three more fleets like that one heading our way and so we had to withdraw. We are right now holding position at Rally Point Hope next to Epsilon Eriandri III. We are right on top of a military Starbase that is relatively puny and lame except for that it had a pub. The bad news is that with over 4 billion guys there is quite a waiting list. We are trying to cram in as much training as possible while we are here. We are simulating urban warfare in the ship’s corridors. My platoon drills in about a minute, so I had better go.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
We just left for Torian space. The TAS Hammerhead and its escort have been assigned to conquer a Torian border world. The commanders are saying that the Terran Alliance is winning the war due o the fact that we’ve got half the Torian Navy on our side. This was the one positive side of the lecture. We are dropping on the world Wardell III. It is a PQ 3 planet, so the terrain will be very harsh, and it has a ton of farming, so there will be lots of Torians and we don’t want to harm the planet, so we will instead spend billions on arming local troops who remain faithful to the exiled regime. The final story is that we are landing on a hostile world with 28 billion Torian troops, and as many as 8-12 billion resistance troops. I’m not liking those odds. This means I only have two weeks to contract a non fatal disease.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
The Marines just drooped. I’m in a landing transport waiting for them to secure the beach head. Hope to see you again.
PS. If my brother ever wonders about the cat barf…
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S**T.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
Well the drop was relatively straight forward. The only problem was that I had only trained in mountains, and we were landing in a swampy slum. Most Torian worlds are made up of shantytowns and slums. That’s how you house 20 billion troops and 120 billion civilians on a PQ 3 world. The Marines had secured the central square when we landed. There was a big loudspeaker that was saying something in Torian and my universal translator said that it was saying “civilians don’t leave your homes. Please stay down while there is live fire.” There actually were a couple of civilians crutching down behind the line of Marines looking scared. That was the first time I had ever seen an alien. Weird.
The commander then gave the order to split up and take the slum. That’s easier said than done. My squad was assigned advancing up a shallow swamp/river that separated two parts of the slum. We were all armed with Ion Rifles (a tech the Drengin gave us in exchange for a peace treaty), except for one guy with a stationary Singularity Rifle. We all had pistol side arms, and 3 grenades each. The problem is that they still all use powder to fire, so if they get wet then they’re useless. Also the mud was so deep that is made walking extremely hard.
We had advanced about 100 meters and were approaching an area where it pooled out and led to a street when a rocket hit right among us. No one was killed, but two of us were badly wounded. We all trudged to the side of the stream as fast as our muddy legs could carry us. Laser beams started hitting everywhere. Someone had the good sense to chuck a grenade over the reeds that were protecting us. The lasers stopped for a moment and we glanced up. There were about 50 Torian troops there armed with antique laser rifles. One of those combined with a pistol gives a soldier the fire power of a pistol. We started shooting with our Ion Rifles. One hit one kill. The battle seemed to be going great until another missile hit nearby. The first missile was just shot from a Bazooka. It was your regular small missile. The one that hit the second time was anything but small. Apparently the Torian government had decided that the Terrans were advancing too quickly and hey chose to just bombard the area with SSMs in the hopes that they would take out our tanks. The bad news is that there is no guidance system on them, so they will hit anywhere. The bombardment lasted for 3 straight minutes and by the time it was over we had lost 3 men and 2 more were badly injured. The Torians on the dry side of the pool didn’t fare any better. Their numbers were down to 20 by the end of the bombardment. We mopped them up relatively easily. Once we had crossed the pool and got on to the street the area had been secured by the armored division, and we hitched a ride back to the droop zone on a damaged tank. The two injured troops were put into the makeshift medical facility and the remaining six of us were recruited to help with the construction of the garrison. “Garrison” isn’t a good word for it, because it was really just a bunk house and a chopper pad surrounded by a small wall. Construction just finished, and I am taking a rest before me and my squad goes back to the front lines.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
My platoon has been assigned to take control of a granary in a nearby town. It doesn’t sound like the most exiting mission, but after several weeks of no rations, the Torian troops might just quit, and we need more food to feed all the civilians coming over to our side.
We are all loaded in a few choppers right now heading to that village. They have told us that they will be dropping us down in the zink’it paddy next to the village. Zink’it it a very efficient source of food, except that it is tasteless, and almost nutrient free. Did I mention that it’s not edible to humans and it is the food source of the hik’tar parasite that can also infect humans?
This just keeps getting better and better. They just told us that two Torian hover-fighters were heading our way.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
Like all Torian technology hover-fighters are extremely basic. They are just a hover pad on a sort of mini plane with two laser cannons and a missile launcher. We dispatched with the first one with a laser guided missile, and the second one we hit with our Depleted Uranium Machine Guns as it came around. We were just celebrating our easy victory when the sky was suddenly filled with bullets (bullets?!?) that came from the Torian anti-aircraft artillery.
These things might be considered outdated in World War II! However despite how low tech they were they did the job, and we were forced to circle that village and add an hour on to the trip. Looking out we could see lots of live fire on the ground. The Torian Resistance fighters were putting up a good fight, but there were so many Torian troops, and their weapons were also so basic, that they were being pushed back through the Zink’it paddies extremely quickly.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
When we landed there was a fight going on right next to us. About fifty Torian Resistance troops were crouched in the Zink’it paddy next to the road, and were shooting at the light vehicles that the fins were bringing down the road. By the way “fins” is the new nickname for Torians. We piled out of the choppers and started shooting. We did a lot of damage. But the mounted lasers on the vehicle took their toll. The mounted lasers are much more powerful that infantry weapons. They can literally chop through a unit. It was all over quickly. We lost 18 men and they lost 38 men and 5 vehicles.
We hooked up with the resistance troops and headed for the village. We just arrived on a hill outside of the village. We saw two things immediately. First there were fins defenses all over the town, and second we saw why they wanted to take this granary so badly.
That thing is literally the size of a small mountain. It uses Yor design, so it must have been contracted by Yor construction drones. That thing could hold 50 tons of Zink’it easily.
Hills are the only dry area on this planet, so that is where we set up our 10 Singularity Cannons. They just started the bombardment. It should last until 300 hours. Then we will charge.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
The bombardment is picking up. It’s been three days and the Torians keep bringing up new guns. We are running low on ammo and even airstrikes aren’t working.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
We just got a resupply of Singularity Gun ammo. But that isn’t going to stop them from bringing in more guns.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
The bombardment isn’t working. We are going to throw everything we’ve got at them and then me and my squad will charge along with three others. Then we’ll crouch under their field of fire and chuck up our grenades. Hope to see you soon.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
S**t. I’m alive. S**t s**t…
Oh S**t…
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
I would like to apologize for that last entry. One uses swear words when being shot at with laser turrets. There are now only three men left in my squad, so we were folded into another more intact one.
Right now we are holding a line about 20 meters in to the town. Out of the original 300 men in my platoon there are now only 184 left. We have called for reinforcements and there are two more platoons inbound. We are still bombing the heck out of their gun positions. I’ve got to go.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
They charged. I can’t believe that the fins charged. They fired all their guns at us doing almost no damage and then they just charged. To our credit they had to charge 18 times before they took out positions, but it was crazy. Each time they lost almost 1000 troops, but they just kept reforming again and again.
After they overwhelmed our defenses there were a couple hours of urban warfare until we pulled back to the edge of town and threw everything we had at them. I’m now down to 3 canisters (10 rounds each), plus the 8 rounds in my gun, then 5 canisters (five rounds in each) for my pistol + 4 in the gun. I’m out of grenades. This seems like a lot, but it goes really quickly. I just hope that the reinforcements get here soon. We’re down to 72 men, and lost 9 out of our 10 Singularity Cannons.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
They charged again. We beat them back, but now I’m down to 12 rounds for the ion rifle, and 8 for the pistol. We have 43 men left.
We have retreated back to three buildings which are grouped up on the west side of the town. Each one is about three stories tall with lots of windows. These used to be a housing area, but the civilians all fled when we started the bombardment. It is just a narrow alleyway between the buildings we are in and the ones on the other side of the road. We think that the Torians are going to lay out “bridges” over the alleyway and attack us in side of the buildings. I’m in the left building on the second floor.
The fin’s commander is really stupid. Even I can see that we are outnumbered almost 100 to 1. The smartest thing to do is to circle around our back and surround us. We can’t let this happen because the only reason why we are still here is to hold a “beachhead” for reinforcements to arrive. We would have to commit troops to keeping them from surrounding us, and once we have become too overextended they will attack. This is so obvious that the commander spent ages planning how we would counter it to no avail. That was when we realized that they would be charging across the alley.
Whish me luck.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
Our lifelines are being cut. We did a lot of damage, but we were still pushed back to a single building where we are now digging in. Luckily the one we retreated into was mine. Commander Harding was killed, but Lieutenant Chan has taken over. The events of the past hour have been a blur, but I will try to recount it as best I can.
I had just finished writing in my diary when we were told that the fins were attacking. Me and three others ran to one of the large windows and started shooting. The fins were shooting back to little avail and it seemed like we would win the fight when all of a sudden we realized that we were on our last couple cartridges. We ceased fire and called for more ammo and non came. We had one grenade left between the four of us and we threw it into the other window. The tactic worked and it destroyed their bridge. One guy stayed and kept watch and the rest of us moved to the next window. As we were turning the corner there was an explosion and lots of shooting and yelling. This lasted for about 20 seconds and when it cooled down there were 8 corpses on the ground and only two other men left standing. We thought that the explosion was a missile hitting, though we weren’t sure. The fins were putting up their bridge and shooting at us like crazy, so one of us lay flat and grabbed the ammo from the dead guys and tossed it to us. We then retreated around the corner and waited. We waited for several minutes and no one came. When we used a small mirror to look around the corner we didn’t see a ladder but we did see a few fins aiming their weapons at us from the other side of the alley. We found out later that a marine in another building had shot one of the fins who were putting the bridge out over the alley, and it fell down on top on the fins at the bottom. We picked off the fins in the window and started shooting down. The fins were so thick in the alleyway that you didn’t even have to aim. After we each got down to ten rounds we started throwing things down instead. We mainly threw bricks that we had “borrowed” from the buildings foundation. We designed it so that if a building was taken we would wait until it was full of fins ready to move on to the next one and we would collapse it. This continued for ages until our troops abandoned the other two buildings and started digging in here. We have 22 men left.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
The plan worked. We now have complete firing range over the area of the destroyed buildings. This seemed great until the fins started installing artillery batteries in the ruins, and we didn’t have enough ammo to stop them. The bombardment started and then ceased after about 15 minutes. Their commander obviously has no patience. We ran to the windows and started firing. We were almost out of ammo. We held them off well, but without much ammo we were forces to pull back though the building. Lieutenant Can called a retreat to a small hut next to the building we were in. If we were reinforced we could still retake the town with relative ease. I was heaping carry the Singularity Cannon when Lieutenant Chan was shot. By the time we got to the hut we had 14 men left. The only officer still alive was Sergeant Banks. We kept digging in around the hut. The fins have been doing their best to level it for the past hour. I’m in a 3 feet deep “trench” waiting for the assault. I have 8 rounds left. We have received a communication from HQ that reinforcements will arrive within a few hours. I intend to see them arrive.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
3 rounds left, 8 men alive, Banks dead, got to go.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
I’m lucky. I was on my last round. We still had bayonets so I fixed mine and started fighting hand to hand. Then suddenly two attack choppers emerged overhead and started shooting the heck out of the fins. We used up out last few rounds and had just decided that we were saved when one of the choppers was shot down by ant-aircraft. We had just resigned ourselves to the fact that we would die when a tank rolled over a nearby hill. Two choppers landed and deployed four squads of marines around the building. We hopped in the chopper and looking down saw what looked like an entire corps below us heading towards the town. It was actually more like two divisions, but one doesn’t see ten thousand men running at full tilt towards a little town every day. Out of the original 300 troops in out platoon only 4 of us are left. I think we deserve a long break. That pub at rally point hope is less crowded. I could really use a drink.
Diary of Josh Hemert, 29th Squad, 14th Platoon, 3rd Division, 15th GI Corps, 4th Army, 3rd Combat Force, Invasion Force Hammerhead.
I’m sitting in the pub now drinking a beer. There is an angry lieutenant outside who was put on hold so that we veterans could get a drink. To wrap things up we just received word that Wardell III has finally been taken. Several billion fins surrendered when they were surrounded by the 2nd Combat Force near the capitol. All four of us laughed when we heard the anchor man say “apparently one major reason that they surrendered was their lack of rations”. We have all got tickets home if we want them and I’m using mine. Mom, Dad…
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