Valkyria Chronicles: Unfettered Escalation

Chapter 1: Land For the Taking

Several Months Ago

Ljugarn, Gotland, Kingdom of Sweden

March 1935 (2023)

Daylight bled through the helmet's viewing slit as the sound of the LST's doors and ramps opening pierced into the ears of Junior Lieutenant Zechs Johannes, commander of the 21st Reconnaissance Company part of the 346th Imperial Naval Infantry Corps.

The sound of metal being moved fills his ears as he held on to the landing craft's side. The creaking and squeaking sounds were ever so prevalent for only a few short minutes before it was overtaken with deafening sounds of rocket and artillery being fired from the large landing ships and the battleship SNS Kaiser Friedrich.

As he looked up with his restricted vision from his helmet, he could see the trails of smoke from the hundreds of rockets being fired arcing their way back to the ground. Large explosions followed as the rockets detonated alongside the high-explosive shells fired from the Kaiser Friedrich's main batteries just beyond the landing site.

'This feels like overkill, but I suppose it'll give those Feds an idea of what would happen if they tried opposing our landing' were Johannes' inner thoughts as turned around to face the 36 subordinates in the landing craft with him.

Seawater splashed as the landing craft rode a small wave before crashing back down, throwing salty water onto the decks, soaking the fatigues worn by these naval infantrymen.

"Alright listen up!" yelled Johannes to the best of his ability to overcome the roar of the second salvo of rockets and shells being fired beyond the landing sites. "Just remember our briefing! Our task is to rapidly push inland and establish forward defensive lines as far as we can from the landing zones until the rest of the 346th can make it ashore and get organized!"

The second wave of munitions, a combination of 132mm rockets and 280mm shells overtook Johanne's voice as they were fired and struck their targets. The junior lieutenant quickly turned around to see the explosions followed by plumes of black smoke that billowed from the town before continuing to shout back at his men. "1st and 3rd Platoons will be on our flanks, left and right respectively! So, watch your fire!"

Despite the faintly salty scent of the ocean they were on, the smell of cordite became ever more concentrated as they got closer to shore. Plumes of black smoke began forming a cloud that towered over the landing site and the sound of rocket and artillery fire began to give way to the rumblings of the ragnite engines that was propelling the landing crafts to the sandy and rocky beaches.

"10 seconds!" yelled the coxswain of the landing craft to the troops in front of him that were eager to finally hit dry land after several weeks at sea. Some of the imperial naval infantry began uttering prayers under their breaths, starting with a common phrase among them, "Oh holy Valkyrur..." followed by their own personal wants or needs. Some prayed for their own wellbeing while the more altruistic could be heard praying for the safety of their comrades or even families back home.

It didn't take long for the naval infantry to hear what they've been bracing for since leaving the landing ship.

"Clear the ramp!" yelled the coxswain as he pulled a lever, causing the metal ramp to drop onto the sandy beaches. Almost immediately, war cries could be heard as the first wave of troops, 3 landing craft carrying a total of 108 men from the 21st reconnaissance company hit the beaches in close timing to each other.

"For the empire!" yelled one particularly upbeat naval infantryman from the sister 1st platoon as junior lieutenant Johannes began leading his men from 2nd platoon as they proceeded inland with their weapons in hand. He held onto to his ZP MP 2 submachine in both hands and readied himself for any threats that may arise.