Firestorm of the West

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

(October 1, 2023)

As the sun is beginning to rise over Eastern Europe, the front along the eastern parts of Ukraine is somewhat quiet. Not entirely, as artillery fire can be heard all along the front, and NATO aircraft are still operating over the front. But it's far less than has been the norm. And there is a reason for this.

In the last month in Ukraine, the war has continued to turn against Russia. What little territory the Russians had still held in Kharkiv Oblast had been liberated by the Polish Army. NATO forces led by the Germans had moved south through Kherson Oblast, liberating a large amount of the northern Russian-held territory, establishing a defensive line from the liberated towns of Kakhovka and Verkhnii Rohachyk. The French, accompanied by a Hungarian brigade and Ukrainian forces, had pushed almost 20 miles into Zaporizhia Oblast along the entire western half of the Zaporizhia front, with the Zaphorizhia Nuclear Power Plant being recaptured by the Ukrainians, and link up between them and the forces in Kherson Oblast expected soon.

In the east, US forces had liberated dozens of square miles around the ruined Bakhmut and had reached the border of Luhansk Oblast, with a mix of NATO and Ukrainian forces preparing to start an advance towards Sievierodonetsk. And at Donetsk city, the British and Americans had successfully captured the city. The capture of Donetsk had been a massive morale boost for Ukraine and its allies, and seriously hampered Russia's propaganda efforts. The forces there had established a defensive perimeter around Donetsk, and had held the city against multiple attempts to retake it. Despite Russian propaganda that Donetsk Oblast was fiercely pro-Russian, there was more pro-Ukrainian and pro-NATO sentiments in the city following the liberation than even the West expected.

However, after some of these major successes, NATO had convinced Ukraine to wait and hold what territory they had recaptured while their air power pounded the Russians and they waited for the bulk of foreign firepower to arrive in Ukraine. When the Allied offensive began, only a fraction of the troops eventually planned to take part in the operation were in theater, and in some cases, they were underequipped compared to what they should've been.

However, the mother of all transport operations had been taking place over the last two months. As the advance force, comprising 175,000 NATO troops, had been fighting in Ukraine, NATO, and especially the United States, was moving as much of their combat troops as they could afford to Ukraine, especially their heavier units and armor.

These forces, much like the advance forces, had built up in Poland over weeks. The US had managed to send most of the rest of the III Armored Corps to Europe, with the 1st Infantry Division having already been sent to the Baltic states at the very start of the intervention. Now, the US has managed to get the 1st Armored and 1st Cavalry Divisions across the Atlantic, along with other attached brigades. The 4th Infantry will remain in the US on standby, but in their place has come the 82nd Airborne Division. Although paratrooper operations are too dangerous, the 82nd will be committed to the battle as regular infantry. Also coming from across the Atlantic were 2 Canadian brigades, numbering 13,500 men and several dozen tanks. Between just these two countries, NATO was bringing over 80,000 more troops into the fight.

In addition, NATO countries from all across Europe were sending more troops to fight. The British have decided to send their 1st Division to join the 3rd Division already in Ukraine. The French Foreign Legion has finally been sent to join the fight. The Polish have committed another mechanised division and two airborne brigades. The Greeks have deployed a division, and the Spanish have increased the size of their forces to a full division. Other NATO countries are sending reinforcements to units already committed. In all, this wave of NATO reinforcements will number almost 160,000 troops, and a large part of NATO's heavy armor