Operation Battle-Axe



 2nd Battle of B7R



The 2nd Battle of B7R, also known as The Battle of B7R, or Operation Battle-Axe was the largest scale air battle in modern history until the Battle of the Comona Islands in December 2004. This battle cemented Cipher, also known as Galm 1's title as "The Demon Lord of the Round Table."

Briefing
DATE: 1200/0528/1995

AREA: B7R

OPERATION: BATTLE-AXE

Orders have come in for an emergency sortie.

A major air engagement is taking place as we speak between Belka and the Allied Forces near the border, in the B7R airspace, which Belka is committed to defend at all costs. B7R, commonly known as the 'Round Table', has long been a symbol of Belka's political, military and industrial might. However, at noon today, along with its lightning-quick commencement of Operation Battle-Axe, the Allied Forces officially announced the permanent abrogation of its nonaggression treaty at the Assembly of Nations, and simultaneously attacked B7R with a massive fighter squadron. This mission may be our chance to finally end the Belkan War once and for all.

I wish you luck.

The Setup
As the war dragged on, attention was refocused on B7R. After the destruction of it's chemical laser tower, Excalibur, it was on of the few things of Belkan might that Belka was able to hold on to.

The Round Table had more tangible value as well. Underneath it's surface lay a vein of natural resources, the resources that Belka had gone to war for in the first place. In addition, whoever controlled B7R had control of a direct air route into each other's country.

With Belka on it's knees, this was an opportunity too good to pass up. Operation Battle-Axe went into the planning stages. It was to be a grand aerial battle, without equal.

Mayhem
On May 28th, in front of a special meeting of the Assembly of Nations, Osea announced it was permanently withdrawing from the non-agression treaty. With that, Osea, along with the Ustian 6th Air Division, launched a massive surprise sortie on B7R, the likes of which had never been seen before.

Although the Allies initially caught Belka off, the shock quickly wore off, and the battle seemed to turn against the Allies. These were trained Round Table fighters, not draftee's like many of the Osean pilots. The fight devolved into madness, as captains lost control of their own squadrons, and any semblance of an organized battle had been thrown to the wayside.

Then, Galm team arrived. By the time they got there, 40% of the Allied fighters in the Round table had been shot down. It was an uphill battle, but a winnable one.

As Galm team did their work, luck swung back into the Allies' favor. For every plane they downed, their odds got better. The Allied fighters became more organized, while the Belkans, on the other hand, became more and more shattered and desperate. One Belkan pilot said that "The Demon Lord had come to drag them all down to Hell."

Even with the appearance of an elite Belkan Round Table squadron, it wasn't enough for the Belkans to maintain air Superiority over B7R. Any sane Belkan pilot left alive quickly egressed from the area. The Round Table belonged to the Allies.

Results
The consequences Belka faced after losing the Round Table were crushing. Without control of B7R, Belka had given the Allies a direct path into their homeland. The consequences of this would become apparent three days later.

Another, larger, casualty of the battle was South Belka itself. Half of it had already fallen to the Allies, but the North Belkans continued to tear up and use their land as a defense line to protect the Fatherland in the North. By the end of May, South Belka had had enough. Most of it surrendered and disarmed peacefully, the lone exceptions being a few cities in the northeast South Belka, which had major North Belkan influences.

Unable to defend itself in South Belka, the Belkan army retreated farther north, to the border of the Belkas. The end of the war was fast approaching.