Part 6 Battlestar Galactica: Back To The Colonies,: War On The Mountain

Chapter 10

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Within a week, General Grayson and his staff had revised their operational plan to attack The Kingdom. Former Governor Bonds' recital about Operation Quicksilver in the Second World War got the General, Kara and many others thinking about how to emulate that. Kara spent most of the time on the surface with Grayson, the two CAG's, and other Generals like Otter and Trevor to map out their attack.

When they informed Lee and Governor Kwok that they had a revised plan, the Governor summoned them to her quarters on the William Adama.

The Governor called the meeting to order and turned it over to General Grayson. "Thank you, Madam Governor. As the brief that is in front of you mentions, we got a serious surprise on the northern approaches of the mountain range. They hit us a lot harder than we thought they could, and I take full responsibility for that, sirs." No one was going to give Grayson any grief over this. They had all signed off on it.

"As you can see, in our revised battle plan, and thanks in large part to a history lesson from Governor Bond, we think we have the makings of something that will be more successful." That remark made Kara smile. Governor Kwok caught it and winked at her, making Kara blush a little.

"What we want to do is make a whole helluva lot of noise on the westernmost approaches, which is more strongly fortified. We are planning on making large-scale demonstrations in that area. It isn't that we won't fight, and we do want to take some real estate, but we simply want to make it look as if our resources are to the west. The real show will be in the south.

"As you know, the southern approaches are a lot further away from their main encampment-some seventeen miles away, while the northern end is only about twelve miles away, so yes, it's a longer slug across to their main enclave. Sometimes the longest route is the best route."

He laid out the details of the plan to them: about sixty-percent of the available forces, not counting reserves, would make the demonstrations: charges up the hill, heavy Raptor and Falcon fire above. They still wanted to hurt them in the northwest. The other forty percent would go in only after the demonstration was well underway. A rapid deployment force consisting of Raptors, Smaller personnel spacecraft and larger cargo ships would fly into the break in the forest where so much had taken place two years earlier. It was to be a rapid roll-out of forces that would land, meet up with their supplies, and head north. One of the weapons they would use was a small artillery piece euphemistically called the "Musket". Its ordinance was nicknamed "Buckshot": a shell that would open and spray smaller, round explosives up to a forty-five-degree angle to the front. They could rip through the trees, let along human flesh. It was a brutal, barbaric weapon.

"Operation Patton, the northwestern feint, will start at 0200 local." There were approximately twenty-nine hours in a Caprican day, so the math wasn't hard to do. "We don't plan to launch the actual attack, Operation Ike until four hours later at 0600."

The Governor raised her hand at that time. "General, explain for me the amount of time between the start of Patton and the start of Ike?"

"Governor, we're hoping that the absence of any activity to the south-not even ground pickets on our part-will draw the majority of their armed combatants north. From what Admiral Adama and Admiral Tyrol have both told me", he nodded to both, who were present at the meeting, "this guy running the show may be a nut, but he isn't stupid. He'll make sure some forces are still there when we arrive. But we hope that they'll be thinned out by that time so we can advance. Our goal is for Ike to advance at least two miles on the first day."

After going over some more details, the Governor brought the meeting back to her. "Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you so much for all your hard work on this. And, please, give my regards to your troops. The mission is approved."