Lost Sight - NATO-Russia Conflict 2018

Prologue - Kiwi

Table of Events

April 2nd 2018 - The US declared war on Iran, and deployed US Air Force personnel and equipment to assist the fight against the Iranians in Afghanistan. By the constitution of NATO, all NATO countries, are obliged to declare war to a country which a member state has declared on. Officially, NATO now sided with Afghanistan and sent active air support from Kuwait. The first encounter between NATO and Iranian air forces took place on 21st May 2018, when a patrol from the United States 72nd Tactical Fighter Squadron encountered a couple of Iranian F4 strike bombers. The encounter eliminated the F4 strike force, with the 72nd Squadron receiving minimum damage.

August 4th 2018 – Russia sent an ultimatum to NATO: if NATO did not stop giving assistance to the Afghan government, then the Russian military would attack NATO on multiple fronts.NATO did not back down.

September

September 1st 2018 – Russia launched an offensive codenamed OPERATION LOCUST that had an objective of attacking Georgia, Ukraine, and Poland and taking them from NATO.

September 15th, 2018 – Warsaw and Kiev fellbto Russian troops.

October

October 14th, 2018 – the Ukrainian government was utterly defeated at the Battle of Odessa, where US, Ukrainian, and NATO troops were routed by Army Group Crimea of the Russian and pro-Russian Ukrainian Army, although with heavy casualties.

October 18th, 2018 – Romania sent its first combat troops to Moldova to assist the retreating NATO troops in moving into their territory, where a major defensive line had been erected.

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KIWI

October 20th, 2018

Miles from the Moldovan-Romanian border

Pvt. Mircea ‘Kiwi’ Ormenisan

Romanian Mountain Hunters

It was a nice September day. The meadows in the Moldova-Romania Border were nicely tipped by the modest sun that came in the early parts of fall. Birds were flying in formation, flowers were being blown slightly by the wind, and the wind – oh, the wind – was perfect. A barn sat quietly on the west, though unoccupied. It would’ve been a very beautiful place.

Suddenly, the harrowing sounds came from the south. To some, they were relief, but for others… they were pretty much the sign of death. A group of Romanian Mi-8 troop carrying helicopters and Mi-24 air support helicopters flew in a tight and disciplined formation not more than 75 meters from the now-reddening leaves of the meadows below them. They were going fast, noses down, heading north.

Inside, they carried those that were known as… the Mountain Hunters.

Just days ago Romania’s NATO allies were utterly defeated at Odessa in Ukraine. The Russians, strong in numbers, massed upon the mostly small-but-professional NATO army – a combination of French, British, American, and Ukrainian troops, the latter forming the largest portion of the force. Russia massed nearly a hundred thousand men and its complementing armor to conquer Odessa, and NATO, with its already defeated and retreating force, mounted its final defense to maintain Ukrainian sovereignty. When the battle started on the 20th of September, the Ukrainian troops there were already in tatters; having experienced quick defeats to the Russians in Donetsk and Kiev, which fell on the 15th. The NATO Expeditionary Force, consisting of about 50,000 British, French, and American troops, arrived on the 16th. Shortly after, the Expeditionary Force command and Ukrainian High Command decided to amass their forces at Odessa, and maintain a strong defensive line to the Moldovan Border.

On the 20th, the victorious Russian Army Group Crimea besieged the city of Odessa. The battle went on for thirteen blood days, with heavy tolls taken by both sides. On the 8th of October, a combined NATO Naval Task Force, dubbed Task Force 20, began evacuating NATO and Ukrainian troops from Odessa. On the 11th, however, the Russian Black Sea Navy joined the fray, forcing Task Force 121 to back off from evacuating personnel.

Knowing that Odessa’s fall was inevitable, US Army General John Rickshaw, the leader of the NATO Expeditionary Force – Ukraine (NEF-U), upon the result of a meeting with the rest of the NATO and Ukrainian commanders, decided to retreat westward – to Moldova and Romania.

The retreating NEF-U was why Mircea ‘Kiwi’ Ormenisan was here with his fellow soldiers, on this chopper, on Moldovan land. People had been speculating when this would happen.

Kiwi didn’t need any speculating. When shit hits the fan in Ukraine, Romania’s Mountain Hunters were there to make sure that the shit didn’t get as far as Romania.

He sat at the nylon benches that was attached to both sides. 30 men – a whole platoon, armed with a variety of weapons depending on their roles – sat in the Mi-8, silent. For some, like Kiwi himself, it was their first combat mission. For all, it was their first conventional combat mission. The NCOs – the sergeants, the corporals – had all served in Afghanistan or Iraq. Newly-volunteered privates like Kiwi had mostly not been shot at before in their lives. But for Kiwi, it didn’t need a bullet for him to be introduced to violence; for he had been born and raised in violence. Growing up in the slums and scum of Targu Mures, Kiwi was raised a hard man. He was often beat by his father if he made a mistake, and the only thing he had was his friends. And when he grew up, he knew what he was going to be. He was going to be a soldier… and a very good one.

His lieutenant, a clean faced man with a curved nose and high cheekbones, stood up and shouted over the engines. “Listen up, men! We have reached the Red Zone! We will land in two minutes! Get ready! It is time to get our revenge from Russia for how they have treated us like pigs and brainless pieces of meat seventy years ago! It is OUR chance to shine! It is OUR chance, to prove our worth!”

Slowly the rear ramp of the helicopter opened. Wind burst in like water into a tub, giving the Mountain Hunters a fresh breeze of air. The lieutenant stood, wind flapping his loose uniform and the leaves on his helmet. His weapon, a Model 1986 (A copy of the Russian AK-74M), stood firm on his stomach, one hand on the grip. His other hand was on the handle above him.

“Stand up!” he yelled in Romanian. The thirty-or-so soldiers stood up from their nylon seats and gripped the handle above them. Their eyes, all being slapped by the cool wind, slanted. Kiwi put his goggles on, solving the problem. Like the lieutenant, he held the Model 1986 Assault Rifle. The grip was folded, just like the rest of the riflemen there.

After receiving a message from the pilot, the young lieutenant yelled again: “Sixty seconds!”

From Kiwi’s eyes, now he could see the advancing jeeps of the NATO army, followed by a great deal of cargo trucks and tracks. Soon after, they saw the NATO armor. Squadrons of Abrams, T-90s, and Challengers, among others – they were in a halt, forming a solid line to counter the pursuing Russian force. The helicopter shifted right, drastically tilting. All the Hunters in the helicopter hung on tight to the handles, so they wouldn’t fall, which would be something embarrassing. As the helicopter nearly turned around, they saw a small town not far behind the lines of tanks. In-parallel with the town were a set of mobile artillery units. The ones in the distance were firing rounds, but the ones close to the Romanian Mi-8s had been ordered to ceasefire in order that the Romanian Mountain Hunter battalion could land safely and without incident – not on the first day the Romanians came.

Slowly, the Romanian helicopters set down. Once the ground was felt under them with a significant bump, the Romanian soldiers inside Kiwi’s Mi-8 stepped on, weapons leading their steps as they poured out of the chopper. In a disciplined landing formation, the Mountain Hunters secured the area around them. It was then when they realized that they were facing north, towards Russian-controlled territory. The empty grassland ahead of them, not yet riddled by bodies or holes caused by artillery shells, signified how early and fast they came to the aid of their allies.

Kiwi looked at the infinite green horizon, mountains on the far side and blue sky bordering the picture. He wondered how war looked like.

And among all men, he was very eager to meet it.

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