Gallian Sea...

The Coasties had given the Marines PT Boats. The Navy?

The Navy gave them AMTRACS.

The rugged and lightly-armored Amphibious vehicles of the 6th Marines, 'The Saipan Suicide Battalion', sat aboard their amphibious armored vehicles that had launched from over the last remaining bit of Gallian shore toward a target island next to the port city of Anthold, in anticipation for Operation:Hammer, the US's and Gallia's joint attempt in retaking the port. It would open up the US's ability to deploy Naval Forces... Estimates showed it'd take a couple of weeks. Saipan was worse...

Marines of the 6th readied rifles and watched the isle ahead of them emerge... It was a large, mountainous isle, chock-full of forestry and with some structures in-between. Above them, P47s flew in, unloading their rocket payload into the beaches... An Am-Tank fired its 75 and Machine Guns echoed. The messy Gallian Sea became a target for Imperial Pillboxes and AT Guns situated within the lush forests... This may just be Saipan.

One of the first PT Boats on the front right of the formation detonated in a golden blaze, its crew, manning guns and torpedo launchers, carbonized the moment the AT shell struck the fuel tank. MG Fire finally came in and was returned promptly by the fast-moving PT Boats in the form of 40mm Bofors Auto-Cannons. The shells exploded on and near the beach as the Marines lurched forward, their AMTRACS and AMTANKs trying to pick up speed. One of the snub-nosed cannons of the tanks had time to fire before a flurry of 12,7mm rounds punched through its slanted front. Crew inside were cut to ribbons.

The first AMTRACs made it to the beach and began unloading Marines. Garands pinged and MGs went off the moment the Marines managed to disembark as the AMTRACS pulled back and the AMTANKS stayed on the beach, providing fire support... An AT Gun on a raised hillside fired and a shell just narrowly missed a Marine's head. Their objectives were clear as they advanced. The Isle of Myne was a militarized fortress island with a small civilian population still trapped within its hillside... This was Saipan.

Marines poured out of the vehicles, rifles roaring, Thompsons crackling and AMTANKs firing main guns. Rocket screamed off a P47 into the thicket. White Phosphorus burned trees and whatever infantry and tanks lay beneath. M1 Carbines in hand, a platoon of Marines surged to a small ditch ahead of the main beach. An AMTANK exploded behind them, its armored hull surprisingly not resistant to Imperial AT Guns. Short 75s vs Short 75. Whoever got the shot off first won.

A Marine dropped, belly-first, into the ditch, then said "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?"

"Imps got the fucking drop on us!" Another Marine spouted, firing his Thompson blindly over into the shrubs and trees of the island... It was Saipan but European. A stick grenade flew into the ditch and one of the Marines swore, while their commanding officer picked it up and hurled it over their cover while MG bullets screamed overhead. More Marines disembarked from the AMTRACS and joined up near the ditch as Mortar shells began to fall on the beach. One AMTRAC's troop tray detonated with the 24 men still inside. It burst aflame...

"WHAT ARE WE EVEN FIGHTING, SARGE!?" A younger Marine asked, holding onto his helmet as the heavier shells began to fall unto the beach, causing more and more casualties for the Marines. He yelled again "THESE DON'T SEEM LIKE IMP PUSHOVERS!" as the crackling of tracks against dirt sounded off... They looked over the lip of the trench and saw it... An Imperial Light Tank appeared. Rotating its snub-nosed 75, the tank aimed for one of their own...

But it burst aflame as a Bazooka punched through its forward hull. 50s thundered and a pair of AMTRACS moved in with another AMTANK. The roads here were wide enough for two vehicles to traverse, but nobody would risk advancing inland... So the Marines took positions with the AMTANKs. Aircraft flew in, bombs dropped and guns roared... Forests burst ablaze with white fire as the Air Corps cleared them a path... But the Marines awaited for a similar situation to Saipan.

As combat on the beaches died down, the Marines took position, aiming rifles and preparing for the worst to come. Finally, the Army Air Corps, not engaged in any gun-runs but rather in scouting, had time to take in their surroundings. A tall castle resided on the far hill of the place, manned by dozens of guns and hundreds of men. Meanwhile, forestry covered most of the rest of the place, with small hills and depressions taking form all around. Few Pillboxes, if any, could be spotted, but at crossroads there were enemy positions and some of the cleared areas were easy to spot as encampments for the Imps...

As night began to fall and the Marines set up their own camps, soldiers kept their eyes open. Their twitchy behavior was a relic from Saipan and all the sleepless nights there... The Marines of the 2nd and 6th hoped that hell wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass here, but knowing their luck... At least here it was a tolerable temperature. As one Marine walked to his foxhole, Thompson in hand, a crackle was heard in the bushes. He turned about and brought his Thompson to bear, finger on the trigger...

... The first shot of the evening rung. The Marine collapsed, Thompson clattering to the floor as an Imperial soldier, clad in a black armor, thicker and more padded than the others, emerged with a Bayonet affixed to their gun. She took off her helmet, to reveal short, blonde hair and holding an SMG peered over the stunned Americans. Her gun barrel still smoking as her comrades emerged from the lines, she yelled "FOR THE EMPIRE! FOR THE EMPEROR!" raising her SMG, she cried out again "CHARGE, MEN OF THE EMPIRE! CHARGE!"

And out of the shrubs, as if by the hand of god, hundreds of Black Ghosts emerged, rifles and SMGs in hand. The Americans had composed themselves just in time as, from their foxholes, MGs, Rifles and mortars began to engage. Explosions lit up the night sky and the battlefield was enlightened by 3, sun-bright flares fired from Grenade Launchers. Marines saw what to shoot as the Imperials surged forth, their guns thundering, SMGs roaring...

The Imperial attack broke over the first line of the 6th... AMTRAC M2 Brownings roared and Marines hit up their on .30 cals, firing with impunity into the wall of black armor. Imperial soldiers collapsed, bloodied and Marines woke up with Bayonets to their hips or hearts. The woman leading the assault was in her mid-20s and moved like an athlete. Bashing a Marine's head in with the butt of her SMG, she raised it and fired a burst into an American position with an MG, killing the operator, before the ammo feeder died to two shots from rifles.

She waved her men forward, urging them on...

The woman's name was Captain Valeria 'The Iron-Blooded Orphan' Heckler... Commander of the Hundred-Ninety-Third Imperial Assault Regiment. A veteran of the Empire's military and a deeply-religious Yggdist, she had said her prayer to the Valkyrur before tonight's charge. Firing her SMG as she advanced, the woman ran a man through with her bayonet, pinning him to the floor in a foxhole... She looked up to see an American's gun barrel. And the fact she was staring down it...

The blonde rolled out of the way and drew her pistol, before shooting the American in the face and standing up. Her bayonet bloody, she looked for another target... Ahead of her, she saw her troopers falling to headshots and looked forward to see a man with two sidearms and a cigarette in his mouth firing away at them. Behind him was a line of American Marines with rifles in tow, sapping away at her men's numbers...

She was ordered to charge in by the General commanding the Isle. If need be, to die... She stood up from a crouch and charged toward the officer with the pistol. She dodged his first shot and got close enough to send a burst toward the man herself, which he somehow didn't get hit by. She raised her bayonet and aimed it for his throat, taking a stab, 'fore the man crossed his pistols in front of his face, deflecting the strike. He pistol-whipped the woman in the jaw, sending blood and teeth to the floor. She recovered and doubled over, aiming her SMG toward the man. As she emptied her SMG into him, he too emptied his own pistols into her... He had the rank pinions of a Sergeant.

She saw him stand his ground... And she did too. Both fired away as they moved toward each other, until each gun clicked empty. She dropped her weapon to the floor and, despite the multiple, bleeding wounds in her abdomen, drew her shoulder-mounted knife and charged forward with a shrill, piercing battle cry... "AVE IMPERIUM!" and with those two words, the woman, bleeding from six .45 ACP wounds and from her mouth, stabbed into the American officer's gut... And he returned the favor with a knife right to the chest...

As the two fell to their knees, face-to-face, the Sergeant was grinning... He spoke with a New Yorker Italian accent "For a broad... You've got some fucking aim..."

"... Not so bad yourself, Gallian..." She gave him a toothy grin in response as gunfire continued to echo around them. "May the Valkyria have you in their watch...

"I'm not Gallian... I've got my own God, thank you very much... And may He be kind to you..." He chuckled, before he slumped onto the dirt and sand... The woman closed her eyes too, letting herself fall where she may. She noticed the flag and the cross draped around the man's neck now... The flag was red, white and blue with Stars and Stripes... And the Cross had a man on it.

The Captain and her Colt-toting opponent, Sergeant Mack Ricci, resided on the beachside of the Isle of Myne, their corpses bleeding their last drops in the sands one fought to defend, the other, capture. The Imperial Regiment, seeing one of their commanders felled and probably hundreds of their own men slew in front of them, began to retreat as day broke... Early in the morning, American troops were left to count the dead and wounded...

"Jesus H. Christ..." murmured John Reaver, Marine Commander and currently acting chief of the Myne invasion group... At least a sixth of their effective was wiped out, with dozens more missing under the artillery barrage. Sat in his foxhole, the man read the numbers by lamplight as the sun had just barely begun to lazily rise from its covers. The Imps had probed them last night... He knew a bigger attack would come... He looked to his XO and said "Start mobilizing the men and telling them to prep for another counterattack tonight..." And he got a nod, before the kid rushed off. He then turned to his radioman and asked "What's the status on those Shermans we asked for?"

"Engaged somewhere else, sir... We'll have to make do with Bazookas and the AMTANKs' guns for now." The Radioman said. Reaver gave a sigh, then nodded and looked out toward the treeline. They could damn well use those Shermans to clear a path. AMTANKs can't really cut through fucking trees, can they? Standing up, he walked toward the map of the island as aircraft flew their second turn above... For scout duty, of course.

"No news on other aircraft?" Reaver sighed.

"Not for now, sir, no... We're gonna go in without air or armored support, but thankfully not that blind." His Radioman noted. The man shook his head, then nodded. Up next came a big push:Taking the small Piers within the fishing town of Halla. It was a couple klicks west of them, so the trip was gonna be short. If they survived tonight's attack, it'd probably be just their luck.

Imperial HQ, Myne

"Captain Heckler's assault failed!?" One of the Imperial officers spoke up in both shock and anger. "They hit the landing zone with enough forces to easily drive off anything the Gallians could throw at us!"

The Imperials didn't expect the Gallians to be foolish enough to launch an amphibious landing on the island with how many defensive positions they had set up prior to their arrival. They had made the island into a fortress, able to take assaults from the Gallians and their remaining naval forces and turn the shoreline red with blood. The defenses would be enough to hold against any advance they could attempt and Captain Heckler would be able to finish off any remaining enemy forces and sweep them back into the sea.

However, they didn't expect that the Gallians would have been able to hold against the assault.

"No matter, they just got lucky tonight." Another Imperial officer spoke up. "We still have plenty of men left and we can hit them with another counterattack later. We must have at least taken taken a quarter or more of their forces from the offensive so we just prepare another assault soon enough. These backwards Gallians and their incompetent Nobles are nothing more then pushovers compared to our forces. Besides, we still have over 7,000 soldiers and 350 tanks here on the island. We can assembled a much larger assault force and eventually we will push them into the sea."

"Well, it seems quite like the Gallians are actually under a competent leader this time around." Another officer spoke up. "What I'm more interested in is how the hell do they have advanced fighter aircraft in their position? They shouldn't have been able to since they only have a few factories under their control in southern Gallia and none have produced planes such as what has been attacking us from above."

While the other officers were debating as to what was going on, 35 year old Colonel Zan Orlov looked over both the battlemap for Myne and for the whole of Gallia as he looked over what news from the front he had received. Unlike his more arrogant and prideful countrymen, he was an effective officer who kept a level head and didn't care much for the matters of state. The blonde haired, browned eyed Imperial couldn't help but wonder about how things had begun turning against their forces along with what seemed like strange reports from the defeated forces that fought in Vasel.

According to said sources, the Gallians had been supported by a completely male force of soldiers which had a few firearms and even tanks that resembled the kind used by the Atlantic Federation, those that they had received from the United States of Vinland, the country across the sea whose industrial might was the only one in the world that could match or even surpass the Empire's. However, the Vinlanders, from what he knew of them weren't at war yet with the Empire (he certainly would have heard something along those lines from Imperial High Command from Schwartzgrad) and had mainly been sending convoys of war material and supplies and military advisers to assist the Federation in improving their military forces as they've launched Operation Northern Cross, the offensive to take Schwartzgrad and end the fighting quickly.

However, the same aircraft and small boats that both the unknowns in Vasel and these soldiers used weren't like anything that Vinland had made and proved effective in bloodying the Imperials in Vasel during both phases of the battle. Plus, while the second officer was probably correct in that his forces may outnumber the attackers, most were conscripts, ones that weren't as well equipped as the regulars which guarded the fort he was in. If the battle got too intense or they suffered too many casualties, they would fall apart. In contrast, these soldiers were experienced, appeared to be battle hardened, and were better equipped then Gallian units (especially their Marine Corps since Nobles like Damon saw them as pointless and gave them gear that dated back to EW1).

"What if these aren't Gallians?" Zan said aloud to his officers. "They're far more disciplined and seem to be more experienced in battle then most Gallian forces. The fact that they fought so fiercely during the assault and were able to beat it back could give the impression they have fought against similar attacks before."

"If these people aren't the Gallians, Colonel," One of the officers spoke up, "then just who are we fighting?" The officers were unnerved since they were aware of the Allies Gallia had alongside it due to the alliances they had made. Any serious force that could assist the Gallians could make the Empire suffer heavy losses and make them fight a two front war which would help to wear down their forces. Even worse, if Gallia's allies joined, they would be fighting double the production value of the Gallian Military, which was not good. Gallians could bring more reinforcements...

"I'm not sure." Orlov said. "At first I was thinking it was Vinland, who may have finally sent their armies to fight, but it wouldn't make sense for them since they haven't declared war on us yet. The tanks these unknowns have are similar to the Minuteman Tank that the Feds have been using on mass against our armored forces but they have some better armor and longer barreled cannons, which would easily knock out the Fatherland Medium Tanks and even the Light and Heavy tanks with ease... If reports are to be believed. Plus, from what I have been told from reports, they seem to have anti tank weapons that are full on rockets which Vinland has only been testing out but are not like the Lances any military force uses here in Europa."

"Are you saying we are dealing with people that are similar to Vinland but may have more advanced technology and weapons sir?" The first officer that spoke up said.

"That maybe the case," Zan said with a frown.

"Blast it all!" One of the officers said aloud. "Just what has Prince Maximilian gotten us into!? This was supposed to be an easy conquest due to how under prepared Gallia was and the many mistakes Georg Von Damon has made and allowed us to exploit. Now we'll have to send more manpower to deal with the Gallians and these unknowns and that could affect the our forces on the Federation Front."

Some of the other Officers silently agreed. While they supported the invasion outright, they knew that this could turn into a repeat of the Imperial invasion of Gallia during the First European War which ended up turning into a stalemate due in large part to the efforts of men like Belgen Gunther. If that was the case, then it could mean that the Federation could exploit this for their own offensive and cause the Empire to expend more resources to counter. While many saw the vast amounts of Ragnite that Gallia had as a prize worth taking, some questioned why Maximilian was so fixated on doing so.

"Prepare our forces for a second counterattack within a few days. I want a much larger infantry force with a full armored force to be ready to make a massive push against these unknowns." Zan ordered. "We must hold this island for long as possible as this could turn into a staging ground for these unknowns to use. We need to use our armored forces as best as possible to support the Conscripts and make them bleed."

The room was then filled with replies of "Yes sir," and "Understood Colonel," as they dispersed. Zan looked down at the map in front of him and prepared himself to fight against an enemy that could spell disaster for the Empire if they didn't take the threat seriously. All the while wondering if Maximilian in particular would see the urgency of this situation.

That same night

Fort Aramanthine

Following the victory at Vasel, the Regulars and Militia forces that stayed in the city began to set up defenses and prepare for any future offensive operation from the city along with the Americans. The Militia soldiers, seeing first hand just how skilled the Americans were in battle along with the type of firepower they could bring to the battlefield, knew that with strong defenses that Imps would be hard pressed to retake the city or take the initiative back form their defeat. USAAF aircraft were flying above and far out from the city to keep an eye on Imperial movement and were equipped to deal with any attack and weaken it before they were able to get close. As more and more US soldiers, tanks, planes, and small ships kept coming through the gate, this meant that any casualties that they had would be replaced eventually.

"Wait, they seriously made an assault on Myne?" Faldio Laanzat, the leader of Squad 1 said to Welkin, Isara, Matt and his friends, Alicia and even Largo and Rosie who were all in the same room.

"Trust me Faldio, I had similar thoughts, when my dad told me that." Matt said simply. The young heir to the Siegfried household was a bit confused himself at the idea that the Americans would assault Myne, which had been taken by the Imperials during their offensive after overpowering the small garrison there. Since the Americans had more soldiers coming into the fray, it did make sense in Matt's mind to send more soldiers elsewhere, since they couldn't stay on one front the whole time. Of course, he knew full well that some Gallian nobles would hate working with foreigners due to some being very isolationist (much like how Baldren Gassenarl was in that he believed Gallia didn't need any help and was heavily against the Alliances Gallia had made over the years due to the work of Noble Houses like the Siegfrieds) or racist to the point where they think that any help is utterly pointless and think they can't do anything and are useless (much like how Damon could see them).

Of course, he wondered for a bit as to why the US would focus on taking Myne when he could see them attacking Imperial forces along the coastline and outflanking them.

"I don't get it, why would they focus on taking Myne when the Imperials could be massing for a counterattack?" Rosie said. "Wouldn't sending away soldiers to deal with an unimportant location just seem idiotic?"

"My guess?" Matt said. "They could be using it as a future staging ground for their naval forces."

"How in the flying hell are they supposed to bring in ships?" Rosie said with disbelief on her face. "Sure they have weird as hell gate that allows them to bring in reinforcements but I can't see them bring in huge ships from that thing. Those small attack boats work just fine, but destroyers, or even battleships? That's definitely not happening unless the thing can get bigger, somehow."

"I don't know," Largo said, "maybe they don't want the Imps to have a base they could launch a rear attack on us from."

"Well you're not wrong on that Sergeant."

The Gallians heard the gruff voice behind them. And they turned to see none other then General Chesty Puller himself behind them. They all quickly saluted the man out of respect for his rank as he returned the gesture. "At ease." He said to the Gallians.

"So, General, sir?" Kai said, "did you have to send your Marines to take Myne because you think it is better to get something out of the way and not have to deal with it later?"

"Of course, if these Imps have even half a brain, they can definitely use that island to start building up their forces. Hell, they could form a Naval Base there in a short bout of time, considering their size and resources."

"No offense, sir," Faldio said with a bit skepticism in his tone, "but why send so many in the first place? Wouldn't the Central Imperial forces be a more pressing concern?"

"I understand what you are saying there, Lieutenant Landzaat, but, where you see that Myne isn't a big deal to attack, I see something that could be a thorn in our side." Chesty said.

"It's to give your navy and coast guard a place they can operate out of?" Ragna said. "Matt guessed as such before you showed up."

"Bullseye." Chesty said. "We have our scientists looking at the Gate we found and seeing if we can't get some of our larger ships here. Besides, from what I hear, your own Navy is barely hanging on and only fighting in hit and run attack due to some of the more idiotic Nobles in command sending them out to get killed. We figured that our ships would be able to take care of things while your people try to bring your navy back up."

Rosie, listening to what Chesty had said, soon realized their plan was in fact what she thought was impossible, was stunned upon what he had just said.

"So I'm guessing you sent your boys to Myne so you can show the Imps how they can take an island?" Axel said with a smirk.

"That's right." Chesty said with a smirk. "While according to what we now the Imps might outnumber the force I sent to take the Island, they mostly are conscripts. Against my marines they'll soon find themselves in one hell of a fight."

"Are they really that skilled General?" Isara said while tilting her head.

"Let's just say we already fought our own war where we are from and most of our men have experience that the Imps wouldn't even come close to dealing with." Chesty said with a smirk.

"My people know how to make our forces spread out and operate effectively." He continued. "Sure it makes since to have us focus on punching further into your country and push back the Imperial forces we have been fighting even more. However, it works better for us to focus on lying the ground work for future offensives with the support of naval and aerial forces. Taking Myne for us wouldn't just be getting a naval base, but the island also works since we could make an airfield for our bombers to operate out of to give heavier air support for our forces and to deal blows to the Imperial Navy if they try and launch an attack along the coastline and attempt their own amphibious landing. Plus I already spoke with MacAuliffe and Patton and we figure our boys could help out on the other fronts."

"Sure that the Regulars and Militia there would certainly appreciate the help." Largo said while crossing his arms. "However, I wouldn't put it past most of the Nobles in charge being against such help in the first place."

"Especially with families like the Gassenarls, freaking prideful as hell bigots." David said with disgust in his voice.

"Well if they have any complaints, they can either take up with us or shove it up their asses." Chesty stated as bluntly as a Marine generally would. "We couldn't give less of a damn what those prideful imbeciles think about foreigners helping them, since we have a reason to be here. If any of those morons, especially Damon try to stop us or do something stupid, they will regret it and lose what power they have since we do not tolerate BS of any kind."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't expect Damon to try anything, since you and the other two Generals could actually kick his ass without a problem." Ragna said with a smirk.

Chesty smirked at the Darcsen's comment. "You're sure as hell correct on the front Corporal."

'Plus there's also the fact that we have begun to make up new tactics for our forces in the field to better deal with these Imps, as well to acquire certain supplies for the men.' The Marine General thought. Based on reports from Vasel, the heavy armor of Imperial Lancers proved an issue for US riflemen to deal with at certain ranges as well as the lucky shots that took out US tanks (which he guessed must have been earlier models that didn't have the wet storage to prevent them from going up in flames). Therefore, getting the rounds that would allow them to punch through said Lancer's armor and the getting the tanks that had the necessary protection to prevent the past events from occurring again.

Back on Myne... In the early morning...

MG Fire scattered an Imperial Platoon attempting to raid the Marines' encampment. Snipers focused fire and killed as many bastards as they could to thin out the numbers. The Marines had been receiving offshore supplies from C47s and from the few AMTRACs they could load with supplies back at base. PT Boats with torpedo mounts worked to keep enemy Naval reinforcements at bay... As reports'd come, one of the ships had sunk an enemy freighter hauling supplies earlier that evening.

A bird flew in low and dropped two cans of Napalm. The US Air Corps was testing out these items since the early dawn of World War 2... Well, sticky fire had quite the effect, clearing much of the foliage ahead and allowing the Marines to slowly creep up from the beach into the thick forests. AMTANKs led the way as the Platoons of soldiers crept up the beach, under constant harassment from mountainside artillery...

A Marine's M1 Garand barked and an Imp fell over, dead. Conscripts and mixed units of enemy Regulars...

The tanks moved in a diamond formation, with the Marines advancing behind them and inside the diamond itself. Two soldiers in each Platoon had been equipped with Flame Throwers for shrub clearing and the Pillboxes that needed to be burned inside out. Bazookas in tow, soldiers aimed to take out Imperial Light Tanks and whatever Mediums they could disable...

The rare anti-tank gun hidden in the bushes made a kill every so often from one of the AMTANKs, but the other vehicles and troops were quick to sweep it away... They wouldn't wait for any counterattack. They'd fuck them over now if they could. Taking a knee behind one of the AMTANKs, a Marine Corporal named Higgins held his M1 Carbine close, eyes down the sight and firing at anything he saw move while wearing steel plate armor.

"Yo, Higgs." His fellow Marine, one with a BAR and going by the nickname 'Jo', patted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, Jo?" The Marine asked as two shots rang out and pinged on the armor of the AMTANK they hid behind. Higgins and Jo were quick to return fire, gunning down a Sniper that had done the mistake of standing up from his concealed position. Fuckin' dipshit Conscripts.

"Ya ever notice how many women seem to fight for Gallia?" Jo asked, gunning down another duet of Imps with a Machine Gun.

"... Yeah? What about it?" Higgins asked. "I mean, I get your point... Broads and all fighting on the Front Line, but we gotta account for two things here, Jo:They're a small kingdom facing these fuckers with their sheer horde mentality and they're in the Militia... I think few, if any female commanders exist in the Regular Gallian Army... Still, doesn't mean it ain't a tad weird."

"Are you two done making political commentary!?" Their Sergeant asked as he fired his Thompson.

"Yessir!" They answered.

"Then square up and let's fucking move! We gotta get deeper inland before the Imps come back with a vengeance!" He barked.

"Yessir!" The soldiers marched up to the line and swept the area ahead with their guns... Artillery detonated, planes flew, strafing runs were had and grenades blew. This was Saipan in all its bloody glory, just in the form of Europe. Two P47s swept in overhead, their combined 16 Fifty Cals cut swaths through the trees with extreme prejudice. Tonight would see the Americans under another assault... But for now, they were slowly making the push into Myne, every bullet fired wearing the name of an Imp.

Flamethrowers belched death as the US Assault reached a line of Pillboxes and grenades flew within the slits where the MGs fired from. Guns barked and bellowed and planes continued to fly overhead. The same ones as before... A few Imperials tried firing up at them with mounted MGs and even actually hit fuselage, but the rounds punched clean through or the armor stopped them, with no damage.

An American of Serb descent, a Serb flag wrapped around his shoulder, advanced beside his squad, holding an M1897 Trench Gun close and firing upon an advancing squad of Imps. He pummeled one in the mouth with the butt of the rifle, breaking his teeth, then stabbed him in the gut with the bayonet attached to the gun. Yanking the gun up, he pumped the pump and shouldered the shotgun, before letting it roar again.

A bomb punched clean through one of the blocks of concrete serving as a barricade toward a small village just at the bottom of the mountains and exploded, sending shards of concrete, wood and metal flying around the place in a brilliant detonation. A Marine's BAR roared and .30-06 punched through Imp Armor with disregard. Frag Grenades flew into whatever corner they could land into, blasting apart Imperial Troops. It was a slaughter.

Though the Imps, as Conscripted and fucked as they were, did put up one hell of a fight. Mounted MGs and Gatling Guns hit the American Lines from the ridges of the mountain and several Marines were felled by the gunshots. Snipers aimed to kill officers and engaged in duels with the American Counter-Snipers. 50 cals returned fire, but some of the gunners found themselves having to focus on multiple targets.

The echoing crescendo of Combat got closer to the Imperial-held Fort on the island... Close enough that the artillery inside of it could range in American Targets. In a terrible crossfire, Imperial artillery from atop the mountain, which was now under assault, fired in unison with the Fort artillery. The Americans had to scatter as fast as they could to avoid the artillery.

Swearing and contradicting orders soon faded for a more neatly arranged(and fucking angry) American counterattack up the mountain. Taking the paths and ladders oh-so-thoughtfully-built by the Imps, soldiers with Trench Guns, Grease Guns and Tommy Guns burst through their defenses and engaged them in close quarters. Artillery Hill, as it would come to be nicknamed... Would fall within hours, due to overwhelming American firepower at close range.

The Americans set up defenses for the night, readying rifles and grenades and anything that the PT Boats and AMTRACs could transport over for the upcoming charge... One prospect was the fight would last a good few weeks again. The Marines expected it to, but... They were gaining ground too fast for the Imps to stop them. Digging in, the Marines once again set up foxholes and Machine Guns... One more night of Hell.

AN:Many thanks to Blazblade for helping me with writing out the Commander of the Imperial base as well as the interactions between the Sevens and general Puller. You da man.