Mountainview [Tankiverse Fanfic]

[Hippin_in_Hawaii 639]

Mountainview

Fanfic in the Tankiverse by Hippin_in_Hawaii

 
Fred scowled at the map. “That is going to be a tough nut to crack.”
 
The nut in question was called Mountainview. It had been a sleepy little town nestled in a pass between two mountain ranges. Normally it was a quaint, historic town that thrived on tourism; the enemy had changed that. The roads along the narrow approach had been mined and barricaded. Troops were entrenched, with anti-aircraft and artillery pieces hidden all over the valley slopes beyond.
 
“Can anyone say Hot Gates?” he wondered out loud.
 
With him stood Al and Liza. He wanted to spend some time musing on this before calling for input from his commanders. This is the sort of problem the three of them used to enjoy contemplating during training. He found himself missing those days when such exercises were only exercises. Here, there were lives on the line. Whatever plan he chose would shed blood. How much, and whose, were the only variables he could hope to influence.
 
“At Thermopylae, enemy troops managed to get behind the defenders by means of a secret path,” said Al. “A local named Ephialtes showed them the way.”
 
“That’s a good plan, if we can find the secret road that lets tanks pass.”
 
“Well, at Troy, the defenders were tricked into actually bringing enemy forces into the city.”
 
“A Trojan tank?” laughed Liza.
 
Fred allowed himself a chuckle. “We’ll put Trojan tank on the top of the C list.” He resumed frowning. “I don’t know that the Greeks are the answer to everything.”
 
“Hannibal used vinegar to dissolve boulders so he could bring his elephants over the Alps.”
 
Fred allowed a few moments to pass. “Any more observations?”
 
Liza shook her head. “Only the obvious. A frontal assault is going to be ugly. The corpses of our own tanks are going to pile up and be more of an impediment than those barriers they’ve built. We’ll get slaughtered. And with the anti-aircraft on those mountainsides, any bombing runs will have to be from very high altitude, and won’t be terribly efficient.”
 
Fred nodded. “Ok, let’s grab a bite and reconvene in an hour. I’ll call in the other commanders.”
 
=====
 
The command tent was terribly crowded. In addition to Fred’s crew, the commanders from his dozen platoons were there, plus Georgie and Phil, plus her squad commanders.  Fred had kept mostly silent, letting Al and Liza guide the conversation past the already-trodden ground of what wouldn’t work. As the voices became fewer, and the puzzled silence stepped up to be the dominant characteristic in the room, Fred cleared his throat. Instantly, he was the center of attention.
 
“We are taking this town. We have a week to open that pass, or the entire western flank of the Northern Campaign will halt. We simply can’t supply Chip’s advance by going around those mountains; we need this road. We are going through Mountainview, and we are doing it on schedule. Go and talk to your soldiers. Have them talk to their friends. Find me another way. If you get a lead, contact me at once. At. Once. Otherwise, reconvene here at oh six hundred, and we’ll lay plans for operation ‘pound the **** out of each other.’ Dismissed.”
 
=====
 
At the touch of a hand on his shoulder, Fred instantly transitioned him from sleep to wakefulness. “Sorry, Colonel,” came a whisper he almost recognized, “but you did say ‘at once.’”
 
Fred sat upright, bare feet touching the clammy canvas of the tent floor. “Of course, Sergeant Ridden. Dan. What do you have for me?”
 
The sergeant gestured over his shoulder at a young rifleman. “This is Private Tina Mulligan. She used to vacation in the area, sir.”
 
Fred pulled on his boots. “Tina, Dan, let’s head over to the mess hall and see if we can’t find some hot coffee.”
 
=====
 
“A ski resort.”
 
“Yes, sir. It’s about three hundred kilometers north, situated just this side of the ridge. The slopes are gentler on this side, you see, but the road approaches from inside the valley.”
 
“So no road from our side?”
 
“No, sir, no road from our side.”
 
Fred sipped his coffee. It was scalding hot, terribly bitter, and very strong. Probably it had been sitting on the burner for seven or eight hours. Just what he needed. “Please continue.”
 
“We mostly went there for skiing in the winters, but the resort was open all year long. During the summer, people go there to camp and hike, and the resort does have a few summertime activities, like horse rides and zip lines. We went a couple of times, before I turned into a surly teen and couldn’t be bothered with family or fun.”
 
Fred and Dan shared her self-deprecating chuckle. “Oh, I wish I was as smart now as I thought I was then,” sighed Dan.
 
Fred looked at Tina. “I assume you didn’t bring me half a plan. I can see how getting down the road from the ski resort is a good idea, but you’ve kind of started in the middle.”
 
Tina shook her head enthusiastically. “Oh, no sir! See, they have a very extensive training area and bunny slope. The hill is so gentle that, during the summer, they use it as a car park for people with trailers or RVs. It’s easily half a kilometer long and a hundred meters wide.”
 
Fred’s grin threatened to split his face in two. “Let’s start waking people up!”
 
=====
 
Tina traced a route on the map with her finger. “The road up is narrow and twisting. It is a mountain road, after all. But it’s large enough that the largest RVs can manage it, if only just. There are a couple of tunnels that a big camper will virtually scrape both sides. Our smallest tanks ought to fit.”
 
Fred nodded. “And what about people at the lodge, guests and staff?”
 
Tina shrugged. “I was young when we went during the summer, but the crowd was nothing compared to during ski season. Plus, there’s a war on.”
 
“I wouldn’t leave a hole like that unguarded,” floated a voice.
 
“Neither would I,” agreed Fred. “But I wouldn’t put much of a force up there, either. So our first priority is to insert a surgical strike team to secure that facility and make sure no reports get out. Georgie?”
 
She nodded. “We’ll do a low-level airdrop early in the morning, before the fog breaks, maybe twenty kilometers away. The plane will have to stay below the ridgeline, which should obscure it from radar inside the valley. The team should be able to deploy countermeasures to interfere with radio and cell phone activity then secure the area without any word getting out.”
 
Fred nodded. “Then we’ll airdrop our tanks on the bunny slope, followed by all of the infantry we can spare. Lou?”
 
A short man in an Air Corp uniform leaned over the map table. “You’re asking for some tricky flying from a giant cargo plane. Mountain downdrafts, limited visibility, dropping on an ascending slope, flying NOE to avoid detection. These aren’t fighter planes or reconnaissance scouts.” He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “The infantry is no problem. But the tanks, well, that kind of weight really restricts maneuverability. With one light tank, I think a seasoned pilot could do it.”
 
“How many seasoned pilots do we have access to?” asked Fred.
 
“Pilots aren’t the bottleneck; giant planes are. We’ve only got six in this theater.”
 
“Six. Fine. How many passes can we make?”
 
“Those birds are in big demand. I can spare them for two runs without seriously compromising other supply chains.”
 
“Ok, Lou. Twelve tanks it is. That’s nearly all of our Wasps, anyway. And the infantry?”
 
“Infantry is no issue. We’ve got lots of smaller planes that can deliver troops.”
 
Fred looked back at Georgina. “Well?”
 
“I’m thinking we drop twenty for the initial strike, keep it to one small transport plane to minimize the risk of being spotted. Then follow the tanks with an even hundred.”
 
Fred whistled. “That leaves us very few for the front door. And we will have to go through that front door.”
 
“That’s true, but if we don’t hit them from behind hard enough, that front door is going to stay closed.”
 
Fred nodded grimly. “The tanks are pretty much restricted to approaching by the road. If you could get some infantry into the hills, maybe take over those artillery positions and use them to our advantage…” He trailed off, catching Georgina’s look. “Sorry, Georgie! Didn’t mean to tell you your business.”
 
He looked around at the rest of the people present. “Those of us remaining will assemble for a frontal assault, just at the edge of our maximum range. We want those defenders at Mountainview to be looking our way. When we get word that our forces are almost down the mountain, we’ll open fire with our longest range guns, try to make them keep their heads down. If we can get them to return fire with their artillery, it’ll make the strike force’s job easier.
 
“Sarah,” he continued, singling out a middle-aged lieutenant. “Your combat engineers need to be near the front, maybe part of the third wave. We’re going to lose tanks on the approach, and we’ll need the paths cleared as quickly as possible. And it goes without saying we’ll need mine flails on as many of the leading vehicles as we can manage.”
 
“We’re going to want to send engineers with the strike force, Colonel,” she reminded him. “You don’t want to be bringing tanks down a civilian road without some of us to evaluate bridges, retaining walls, and the like.”
 
“Of course. Make sure they take plenty of vinegar.”
 
“Colonel,” she said dryly, “if I had a dollar for every time someone made that joke, you would be handing me my first dollar.”
 
“Really?”
 
“Seriously! I’ve been waiting almost twenty years for someone to make a Hannibal crack!”
 
=====
 
The mountain force, code-named Team Ephialtes, pulled off Operation Hannibal flawlessly. By the time Fred’s armor rumbled forward, all of the artillery pieces on the east side of the valley had been silently taken over by Georgie’s infantry. They opened fire on the emplacements across the valley as the dozen light tanks blasted through the city’s virtually unprotected rear. There were, of course, losses to the Federated States, but those were few compared to the devastation wreaked on the defenders. The road was opened; supply wains headed north, and the Northern Campaign swept forward under Chip’s command.


 

Mahalo (thank you) for reading; I hope you enjoyed! This story is part of a series. Information on the series, and links to the other stories, can be found here.

[KillerGnat 3,135]

Edits:

• code named to code-named (just 'cause if I don't make at least one edit I can't look like a good reporter  :ph34r:)

Approved!

 

More pls. ty

[Cpt.JackHammer 1,473]

Edits:

• code named to code-named (just 'cause if I don't make at least one edit I can't look like a good reporter  :ph34r:)

Approved!

 

More pls. ty

Corruption! 

Edited May 27, 2018 by KillerGnat
shhhhhhh

[shafter9 156]

"The nut in question was called Mountainview“

Lazy naming exhibit A. :P 

 

"Hannibal used vinegar to dissolve boulders so he could bring his elephants over the Alps.” Is this intentionally false? The version I heard was he heated up rocks so they cracked, but whatever.

[thethiefofvictory 339]

Nice one as always! 

 

Soo... War or Liberation? :p

[GrandExecutioner 1,403]

Nice one as always! 

 

Soo... War or Liberation? :P

I may be wrong but I think it's War.

[Cpt.JackHammer 1,473]

 Troops were entrenched, with anti-aircraft guns/vehicles and artilleries hidden all over the valley slopes beyond.

 

Shame on you Gnat, Shame on you.

Edited May 27, 2018 by Cpt.JackHammer

[Cpt.JackHammer 1,473]

Fred pulled on his boots. “Tina, Dan, let’s head over to the mess hall and see if we can find some hot coffee.”

SHAME ON YOU GNAT, DOUBLE SHAME!

Edited May 28, 2018 by KillerGnat
wawww so offensive!1!

[Cpt.JackHammer 1,473]

To tell the truth, i didn't even read the whole article, so if you find any mistakes and be like "Haaa, you left this mistake, you're just like gnat too" pardon me :P
+ I was joking around, don't take it seriously okey.

[GrandExecutioner 1,403]

SHAME ON YOU GNAT, DOUBLE SHAME!

I think that's MEANT to say "can't". Modern dialogue. :)

[Hippin_in_Hawaii 639]

"The nut in question was called Mountainview“

Lazy naming exhibit A. :P 

 

"Hannibal used vinegar to dissolve boulders so he could bring his elephants over the Alps.” Is this intentionally false? The version I heard was he heated up rocks so they cracked, but whatever.

In point of fact, he heated them, then poured sour wine over them. The vinegar in the wine penetrated the fissures caused by the heating and formed an acidic gas that expanded and permeated the pourus limestone, rendering it softer.

 Troops were entrenched, with anti-aircraft guns/vehicles and artilleries hidden all over the valley slopes beyond

Dude... what you changed it to is not remotely what I wrote. Sorry, but you can't call it an error of Gnat's part of you're reading it incorrectly!  ;)

[Hippin_in_Hawaii 639]

Fred pulled on his boots. “Tina, Dan, let’s head over to the mess hall and see if we can find some hot coffee.”

Can't is correct here. For whatever reason, the people in the Federated States speak American English. Using "can't" implies that it's a quest, and there's no guarantee coffee will be found. Using "can" would mean that finding coffee is a given.

[Hippin_in_Hawaii 639]

"The nut in question was called Mountainview“

Lazy naming exhibit A. :P 

Guilty as charged!

[Cpt.JackHammer 1,473]

Can't is correct here. For whatever reason, the people in the Federated States speak American English. Using "can't" implies that it's a quest, and there's no guarantee coffee will be found. Using "can" would mean that finding coffee is a given.

I see

[Cpt.JackHammer 1,473]

In point of fact, he heated them, then poured sour wine over them. The vinegar in the wine penetrated the fissures caused by the heating and formed an acidic gas that expanded and permeated the pourus limestone, rendering it softer.

Dude... what you changed it to is not remotely what I wrote. Sorry, but you can't call it an error of Gnat's part of you're reading it incorrectly!  ;)

Aw darn it, i was really looking after to troll Gnat, maybe better luck next time 

[gokuMI6 1,290]

So Gnat=Kant ?