Cold War Rivals in a New World

Chapter 4.2: The cavalry arrived too late

The soldiers of the American-Soviet armoured unit were packing their personal belongings into the storage bins fixed to their tanks turrets, while the joint cavalry unit made up of M2A2/M3A2 Bradleys and BMP-2s  were followed by a few dozen logistics trucks. Air superiority was to be achieved using naval fighters such as the F-14. This was to prepare for the day-long march towards the border. These preparations were accelerated when the news came in that the Lourians had breached the border and were closing in on the town of Gim. Seeing as the Lourians didn't abstain from war crimes, this was particularly worrying.
When the units were finally ready to move, they did so with great haste, since every minute they spent moving towards the border, the Lourians were moving closer to the city of Gim, and eventually the fortress city of Ejey, which would eventually be overrun by the literal horde of Lourian forces. They moved out of the city, with the trucks moving on road, while the tanks were often moving off-road, only moving onto the road when fields were directly adjacent to the road. The plan now was to move directly to Gim. A small platoon of M3A2 Bradleys was to perform reconnaissance, and a plan of action was to be decided based in that reconnaissance.
If the Lourians were outside of the city, IFVs and tanks were to engage and maneuver, bypassing the city. If they were inside the city, they were to be driven out and the city then used as a temporary defensive position.
In either cases, a forward operating base was to be established in the city sooner or later, and F-14s would be called in before the attack to give them time to arrive.
But at the moment, the convoy of MBTs, IFVs and logistics vehicles was making its way to Gim, hoping to be early enough to defend it's people. They passed through valleys, over dams that had been built to contain rivers, and occasionally encountered farming villages, whose inhabitants were distrustful, hiding in their houses, until the convoy had passed. The commander asked for the F-14s to be put on standby and equipped for air-to-air combat.
Otherwise not much happened. They were approaching the city of Ejey. This was how the tank crews would describe a fortress. High walls, on high ground, and a lot of towers.

POV of the Major of Ejey

He had been alerted to the strange convoy of vehicles that was approaching the city. He had been told by messengers that this convoy belonged to an army that was here to defend Qua Toyne. He had a small number of officials escorted by guards to talk with them. He didn't want to make the situation more dire than it was, and keep losses low in the case that the strange army was hostile.

"State your intentions, unknown soldiers!"
One of the guards shouted at the man looking out of the strange vehicle.
"I and my convoy are here to defend Qua Toyne. We want to know what happened to the city of Gim."
He responded in a loud voice.
"The city of Gim is under siege, as far as we know."
"Then we wish to proceed to there. How long is it away?"
"About 2 hours by foot. However I know that your strange vehicle can go faster, so you may arrive faster."
"We will. However, can our transport vehicles pass through the city? They have a hard time off-road."
"I have to ask."
Around 10 minutes later
"Your transport vehicles may proceed. However i ask that your combat vehicles bypass the city, in order to not frighten pur citizens."
"That can be arranged."

The convoy began to split up, with the tanks and IFVs going around the fortress, and the logistics trucks driving through the city.
There were a few shenanigans with the citizens not wanting the trucks to pass, but eventually, the convoy regrouped and continued its journey. About 30 minutes later, the city of Gim came into sight. Dragon like creatures could be seen, and as such, the commander requested the F-14s to launch. He was told they would arrive in 10 minutes. He decided that these minutes should be used to refuel any vehicle that may need it, and then charging towards the town at full speed. The fuel trucks started refueling tanks and IFVs that requested so, and eventually, the sound of jet engines could be heard. Any tank or IFV that was fueled enough moved into attack formation. Tanks or IFVs that were still refueling were to join attack formation later. The priority was for tanks and IFVs to arrive at all. Gas turbine engines were revving up and the attack force started moving.

In Gim itself
"Sir, the Lourians are about to breach the walls! We can't hold them off for much longer! Their wyverns are reducing our defenders strength at an alarming rate!"
"I know", the commander of the defending force in Gim said. "Were doomed if we don't do something about them. But we can't."
This statement set a mood of distress.
"Have the civilians fled?"
"They are still evacuating. It will take a while."

"Sir, there is a wedge shaped formation of unknown vehicles moving towards the Lourians! Multiple small flying objects have also been spotted heading here!"
"What?"
The commander was so focused on the ongoing fight for the city walls, that he didn't notice the formation of T-80Us, M1A1s, BMP-2s and M2A2/M3A2 Bradleys heading for the Leiforians.
"Look left! There they are!"
"What are those things?"
"I don't know, sir! But the flying objects have made a sharp turn upwards and have released something!"
This was too much for him to handle. He thought he was hallucinating, and watched the fight for the walls, which they were losing quickly. Suddenly, the wyverns turned away, as if they were escaping something.

The 12 AIM-9L Air-to-air missiles the F-14s had released were now heading towards the wyverns. The wyverns noticed them, and attempted evasive maneuvers, but the missiles ruthlessly followed them, and detonated when near their target. Restance truly was futile.

However, the demise of the wyverns coincided with the Lourians overrunning the walls defenders using sheer numbers alone. The hordes of Lourians poured into the city, looting houses, torturing and raping civilians, and causing lots of chaos.
The Lourians outside the city walls could not wait to enter the city to participate in the looting, pillaging and warcrime committing.
Not long after the walls were breached, all the Lourians were looting and pillaging Gim and its citizens.
To any observer from the 1950s onwards, this would look barbarian and cruel, however, in this world, it was business as usual.

Outside the walls, the maneuvering IFVs and Tanks were forming up to encircle the city, since even from the outside, one could tell that it was being pillaged.
Since the Lourians were busy looting and pillaging, they did not notice the tanks and IFVs until it was too late.
Autocannon, machine gun, 120 and 125 mm gunfire was now raining down on the Lourians, which were cut down with alarming effiency. Eventually, when civilians came into view among them, the fire became less and less indiscriminate, and  machine gun fire was used to wash away the Lourians from civilians. Where barricades were put up by the Lourians, M830 or 3BK18 HEAT-FS rounds destroyed them. Civilians hid in houses, or wherever they were safe from the Battle. Infantry squads dismounted to clear houses and other spaces where tanks and IFVs couldn't reach of Lourians and to gather civilians to be sent to Ejey, since the city was  to be used later as a defensive fortification, and because the city was reduced to rubble after the pillaging, looting and subsequent urban combat.

In the continental US

The economic situation had somewhat stabilized, after a few days of turmoil. The imports from the Soviet Union were helping calm the economy, and the possibility of accelerated production of war material was fueling a hopeful environment. For now, the conflict in Qua Toyne, as it was now called, was in standby mode.

The presidential office, 31st of January 1990

"Mr. President, the diplomatic envoys we have sent out have reported back. Envoy one seems to have found the large nation similar to WW1 Britain, while Envoy two has found the other large nation that is more similar to WW1 France."

"Very good. They should focus on establishing connections more applicable in the civil sector. They should also report any encounters with vessels of a nation calling itself the"Gra Valkas Empire."