THE SKIROSS GATE INCIDENT.

Arc 2 Part 5

Archedian forces gather in mass, huge numbers of tanks, Infantry, and other assorted vehicles and specialists rally at designated points all along the frontline, ammunition is abundant, the men had eaten and many tens of thousands of recruits are being shipped to the front every day. All along the frontline, Archedian Artillery positions were made, spotters in position as aircraft in their hundreds flew over the sky, their frames casting shadows over the lines as bombers followed in their wake. Soldiers cheered as more of their comrades arrived, the glory of war was all that was in their minds as they waved their caps in the air as a form of greeting, young men dreaming of the glory that they shall receive on this day.

In a command tent, Archedian generals gather and plan. Maps were placed down on tables, and mixed in with photographs taken from scout planes flying overhead. Soon, one of them, a general with five stars on his cap said.
"Right gentlemen, the grand offensive is ready to launch, General Brian, if you would please do us the honors."

Immediately another one of the Generals walked up to the table and with a walking cane tapped at the area of interest.
"This will be the focal point of our grand offensive, the objectives of this operation will be two-fold, one would be to break through the Kovenant lines with armor and Artillery, followed by waves of Infantrymen and cavalry to mop up resistance and envelope the enemy line... And two would be to secure a foothold in enemy territory."

Another general, this time with 4 stars spoke up. Looking at the others who have yet to be fully debriefed.
"This is an operation that is meant to give us a strategic advantage over the enemy, for you see, gentlemen, once all our initial objectives are complete, we can start operations to secure the roads and highways, even the railway lines that would lead deeper into enemy territory, maybe even clear a path to the defacto enemy capital... This is going to be a single and massive war-winning offensive and to do that, we planned for a massive assault all across the line."

"We have prepared an appropriate number of men and materials, we have nearly one million men organized into many, many Divisions and Armored units, ready to charge into the fray and break through the enemy line." Said the five-star General.
"By applying pressure via simultaneous and continuous assaults with a combination of Tanks, Artillery, and Infantry, we hope to find a weak point in the enemy line and punch straight through that weak spot. Additionally, it would also force the hand of our enemy on having to defend every sector, every part of the line, and every position they are currently occupying... The plan is to stretch their forces thin so that they can't respond to when a breakthrough happens."

"What about the rangers? Do they have anything at all to report?"

"They do, General Brian, you see they found that there is a part of the Kovenant line that has something of interest to our enemy..."
The five-star general then pointed at a clearing in the middle of a forest.
"This place... There is an unusual concentration of Kovenant forces in the area, reconnaissance suggests that there seems to be some kind of... Object, a hollow shell as the Rangers described it."

He looked at the others.
"We don't know what it is... But this area has been singled out for prolonged bombing attacks and 24 Divisions will be attacking this area, we estimate that the Kovenant has yet to create the same kind of fortifications they have in other sectors, only basic trenches and machine gun nests have been reported surrounding the strange object. After which, those 24 Divisions are to continue beyond the clearing and cut north."

"And what if the offensive fails?" Asked another one of the Generals.
"If this fails, what then? What if one part of the line routes and collapses? We could be dealing with a catastrophic breakup of the frontlines."

"I can assure you gentlemen that this offensive will work. We have gathered more men than the enemy and many hundreds of thousands more are held back in reserve just in case... Now, I trust that you can brief your subordinates on the plan. If so, you are all dismissed."