The Battle of Tallahassee (Part I) --- History of Rimskaya

Foreword:

For those who somehow may remember the previous two publications of this series, you may recall that we last left off with Rimskaya in control of only two cities: Tampa, and St. Petersburg. The plan, at the time, was for an attack to take Clearwater, and then advance southward towards Sarasota, and northeast towards Orlando.

As it would happen however, these records had been, in part incorrect. The reasons for which are still being analyzed, but the true historical documents have only recently been recovered.

There was indeed an attack on Clearwater. It was mainly fought by a combined force under Commissar Maximus, that swarmed the city with more advanced aircraft, and newly developed proper tanks designed based off the IS-4M. The city was defended by a corps of National Guardsmen from various states, mostly Florida and Texas. Fortunately for the Revolution, Mexico had decided to not take any form of action against the events unfolding in the United States. The battle was only won through sheer force and speed, which proved to be a viable tactic, and easily overwhelmed the defenders.

These victories after victories convinced the other cities of Florida that Rimskaya was the new dawn. Workers in Orlando overthrew their city government, and hoisted the crimson banner over the skyscrapers and surrounding theme parks. Sarasota was more difficult to convince, owing to a heavily conservative surrounding region, which would need the Revolutionary army to come and assist. Other cities were soon to follow, including Miami, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Gainsville, Pensacola, and others. Key West initially declared independence, and this was respected by Rimskaya until events later on.

The only city to remain under the control of the capitalist tyrants was, of course, Tallahassee. But the situation was not quite normal there, either.

Here comrades is out latest story!

The Battle of Tallahassee (Part I)

January 30th, 2021

Prelude

Tallahassee, though smaller compared to others on the peninsula, had been converted into a fortress city: defenses on every street, snipers in every building--- around every corner, more often than not, there was a gun barrel waiting for you.

The city's main artery was I-10, which had been secured by revolutionary forces. Every road and path leading into the city was blocked. It truly was a siege of the ages.

Maximus Democraticus had to conduct a battle that he had not yet gained experience in. Most notably, it would be the first major battle where he would not have the active support of a naval force. The Revolutionary Navy had proven to be an elite fighting force, capable of neutralizing littoral ships of virtually any kind, and becoming masters of submarines and diving, and their combat in St. Petersburg showed they were well trained to fight in an urban environment as well. As a result, an entire branch of the attacking forces, placed directly under the command of Democraticus, was made up of naval troops. These battle-hardened revolutionnaires would become the backbone for the Rimskayan Marines, a short-lived elitist force of the Revolutionary Army, which would dissolve and branch off into a number of other well-armed and high-experienced task forces, such as Double-Edged Sword.

As it would happen, the defenders also had air supperiority- sort of. The Revolutionary Air Force was unable to bring the bulk of its force to the front, as the defenders still had control of the city airport, which was now staffed with military aircraft. To prepare for this, the Revolutionaries had built anti-air weapons designed off the Shilka, opting not to go for later designs, as the Shilka was considered to be the most powerful and capable.

The most interesting part of the battle was located in the western part of the downtown area, and was giving Democraticus great anxiety: Florida State University.

The campus was situated right next to the center of the city, and was the scene of fighting long before the Revolutionary Army began its offensives. It served as a cell of resistance, and had been holding out since the revolution began. The students and staff defending the university had been steadily losing ground over the past month since the beginning of the conflict, and by the end of January, they were trapped in the center of the campus, and running out of supplies. Humanitarian efforts to give the students food, water and medical equipment were allowed to pass by the besieging Revolutionary Army, but were subsequently blocked entirely by the fascists.

The young Commissar was desperate to rescue the brave fighters before the fascists would have them annihilated, so he knew the operation would have to be hasty.

The plan was first to launch fake aircraft and cheap drones to lure up the defender's air force as much as possible, so they could be shot down before the ground force began their moves.

The army would move in from four directions: Two coming from I-10 via Levy Park and Betton Hills, one from the east on State Road 90, and one from the southwest to the airport. The force from the southwest was made up of skilled hunters and foregers, as the approach was covered by forest and marsh.

Democraticus would head the naval elites through Levy Park, as it was the fastest of the 4 routes to the F.S.U. campus, and would be the most direct route into downtown. Democraticus would lead the assault to free the campus from its attackers, while the Betton Hills force would make for the State Capitol. The eastern attack served more as a reinforcement role, which could assist the Betton Hills force,  or move south if such was not needed to take the suburbs.

The troop numbers for the units to be sent in were never properly recorded, though the total estimated attack force numbered around 300,000-410,000 soldiers, around 2000 tanks, and 5000 light-armored vehicles.

Map Key

Dotted lines indicated objective areas to capture per unit:

Black: Existing Frontline

Red: Democraticus and the Naval Infantry Corps

Blue: Bretton Hills/Capitol Divisions

Green: Airport Task Force

Purple: Eastern Support Offensive

January 30th, 2021, 4:00am EST

A flurry of cheaply-produced drones filled the skies south of Tallahassee. Some of these were designed to appear as attacking planes, and some were just plain old drones that could be used for surveillance before they were inevitably destroyed.

Sure enough, the roar of fighter jets could soon be heard coming from the airport: the entire local enemy air force, about 17 F-22 Raptors, took flight to defeat the decoys. After gathering some recon on enemy positions, the drones were all knocked out of the sky. After giving the jets a brief moment of laxation, the anti-air guns opened up, and the night turned to day with a flurry of bullets, as though the Earth were erupting in all directions. Around 3 jets were shot down, the rest were driven back to the airport, and would not take off again, presumably out of fear for losing them.

The ground offensive began without delay. All four units began their progressions into the city. The defenders instantly knew the general attack had begun, and made every effort possible to resist. As the light of the day slowly simmered over the horizon, all that could be heard was the sound of raging battle.

Artillery was sure to hit the center of the city, but only on the east side. On the west, the fascists made a renewed offensive to obliterate the university pocket, and made ferocious moves upon it without a shred of mercy. Attackers and defenders were slaugthered left and right, and the sound of screams from both sides echoed for miles.

Democraticus could hear this from Frenchtown, as his force drew closer to the city, and the shrill cries for help made his troops ever angrier, and anxious to move faster to aid their comrades. The naval infantry demonstrated superhuman capabilities, able to take down positions in a matter of seconds to minutes, and never once showing an ounce of fear. The army in general was always taught to not be selfish about one's own life, and hold the true strength of their force to the readiness to lay down one's life in the fight for liberation. The Revolutionary People's Army still emulates that principle to this day.

Futher south, the advance was significantly more stealthy.

5:30am

The southwest task force moved silently through the bushes and trees bordering the airport. Wading though the water and marshes always prompted the danger of alligators, snakes, and other animals, but the troops were trained to deal with anything, and had medical supplies on hand to handle any problems.

The battles to the north are still very audible, but are more of a distant, eerie echo. The task force neared the airport's outer fence, and could make out multiple defensive positions, as well as armored vehicles sent in by the U.S. Army, including Bradleys, and at least 2 Abrams tanks. Furthermore, the remaining fighter jets had been arranged into a shell-formation, guns pointed outward.

These defenses were not expected. The U.S. Armed Forces had been stretched to a breaking point across the country, cracking down on other rebellions and uprisings inspired by the great Rimskaya. But it seems they still managed to throw some stuff down into Florida, despite the speed with which the Revolutionary Army had advanced.

The task force relayed this information back to command, which now had to take into consideration that there may be more of these vehicles around the city, waiting for the Revolutionary Army to move in. Democraticus reported that he had yet to encounter any such units, however, he ordered his men to increase their vigilance and alertness. He also pulled more of the Rimskayan tanks to the front, in case they did meet some armored defenses.

8:00pm

After a long, vicious day of fighting, the city was still holding. Democraticus had managed to reach the outskirts of Florida State University, but was unable to break all the way through. Artillery was able to provide support for the resistance fighters, allowing them to survive the day.

As it would happen, there were other military vehicles defending the city: All of them surrounding the State Capitol Building, ready to defend the seat of the bourgeois government by any means necessary. This forced a complete halt in offensive operations in the city center.

The eastern offensive was directed southward, and cleared out the suburbs with relative ease, as there was nothing much to defend out there. They then turned back north and west, dividing their forces. The majority went to surround the city center, and a smaller detachment were sent to pressure the airport from its more undefended side.

Democraticus realized that a conventional attack on the city and airport would not be possible with those units there. So he resolved there was only one thing that could be done, and he drew up a new plan.

The next day, the only offensive action to occur would be to break out the university, and get all remaining resistance fighters out of there. It was estimated their numbers were now less than 700, so they would need to act fast.

After this, all Revolutionary forces would retreat back to their original positions.

Rocket and heavy artillery would pound every inch of the city and airport. Nothing would be left of any large buildings, and, ideally, not of any of those military vehicles either. And so, Democraticus waited for the sunrise, hoping he was not too late to save the young comrades in the university.

Stay Tuned for Part II!