User blog:Superflanker777/Military Essay of Anean Continental War of 2015

The Anean Continental War of 2015

  Part 1 Introduction: In this essay, I’ll go over the Emmerian-Estovakian war covered in Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation. While Ace Combat 6 is another great game in the franchise, the story inside is also another part of the game, while unseen at first, can be dissected and explained. Hence, the essay.

  Part 2 The events preceding the Anean Continental War. In 1999, the Ulysses asteroid was discovered, throwing Strangreal into a turmoil. Many countries attempt to make ready for this apocalyptic event. Stonehenge and Meglith are made on the continent of Usea. The Anean continent has no such defense measures, but Estovakia manufactures the Chandelier rail gun to combat the asteroid. When the asteroid reaches the earth, many chunks fell on Estovakia, destroying the capital city beyond repair, and leaving many crater marks.

  In Estovakia, the economy collapses and all hell breaks loose. The country fragments between different organizations, all seeking to unite the broken country of Estovakia. A civil war erupts in 2007, and lasts until 2013. It ends when the Eastern faction wins over the Lyes united front. A junta military government is installed, and the heads of the government call themselves the generals, most likely actual generals who had led the Eastern faction to victory. After the civil war, they promised the people of Estovakia that peace and prosperity were to arrive.

  But it was not to be. The generals incited the people, and especially their military, to anger against their neighbor, Emmeria. Why? Early in the civil war, Emmeria gave aid to the Lyes united front, but cut it off when they discovered is was being misused. The generals took this small shred of history and exaggerated it, most likely saying that Emmeria helped cause the civil war, for their own purposes. Nationalism took place and Estovakia marched towards full scale war. But Estovakia had to contend with many problems. It was one nation, against a wealthier and more powerful country, who would most likely call for outside aid, from Yuketobania or Osea for example. Also, after years of a bloody civil war, the country’s economy was still recovering. There was no way Estovakia could economically handle a prolonged war. The people also didn’t want to take part in another lengthy war. Estovakia would have to rely on 3 main strengths it had to win the war.

  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">The weapons of Estovakia- Aigaion, Strigon Team, a massive nationalistic military. The Aigaion was created after Belkan fighter pilot Lorenz Riedel fled to Estovakia from the Belkan War. He supplied the Eastern Front with information about heavy command cruiser technology, allowing them to build the Aigaion and its flying escorts. This weapon and its nimbus cruise missiles, most likely reverse engineered Belkan and Yuketobanian cruise and ballistic missiles, played an important part of the civil war. After the war, it was used sparsely in the Anean continental war.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Why would Estovakia not use this weapon of great destruction against their enemy in great usage? The Aigaion could do much damage against a superpower, such as Yuktobania, or Osea. It could easily steamroll Emmeria and its forces. But there was one problem. A big problem that plagued Estovakia before and during the war. A broken economy. In the words of comedian George Carlin… “They don’t have a negative cash inflow. They’re fucking broke!!!... And we can’t make anything worth a fuck, but we can bomb the shit out of your country!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Those jokes are not joke to Estovakia, as the bad economy plagued their war effort. It takes money to keep the Aigaion moving. But having to constantly replenish its fuel, weapons, everything necessary to keep it running and operation would be a good sized problem for Osea or Yuktobania. How could Estovakia manage? Truth is, they couldn’t.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Hence the next weapon, the Strigon Team. Strigon was a squadron of about 10-13 highly skilled pilots. They helped end the civil war and were a projection of Estovakian strength and power. But once again, this elite air arm was plagued by a bad economy. It takes money to keep planes flying and to keep pilots highly skilled. With the bad economy, and with the civil war destroying what remained of Estovakia, the Strigon Team had to make do with what they had on hand. Strange it seems, but the first few levels of the game confirm it. In the very first level where Strigon team helps attacks Gracemeria, after minutes of Garuda Team dogfighting with their future nemesis, Garuda 1 manages a strike on the leader of the Strigon team, despite flying an F-16, inferior to the Strigon’s Su-33. Also, when Emmerian forces take back Khesed Island on full, only two Strigon planes are sent to confront the Emmerian military. Both are quickly shot down, and one reports problems with the ejection seat, dying a brutal death.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Estovakia simply ran out of money necessary to keep their first two powerful weapons up and running. To negate this disadvantage, the Estovakians built up their military, especially their air-force, to a high degree. On paper, their air-force was much bigger than the Emmerians. In every single engagement in the war, the Estovakians always outnumbered and outgunned their Emerian counterparts. Yet they lost the majority of their battles, when it was just air-force against air-force. The economy didn’t hurt the air force branch as it did the Strigon team and Aigaion. But for the first 4 missions of the game, and even in later missions, the Estovakians are fielding obsolete F-4 phantoms, F-16s, and Mirage 2000-5s. It’s easier and cheaper to make a squadron of F-16s, then a quarter the size of F-22 Raptors. The bad economy, and civil war hampered the air-force, much like Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan faced in WW2. The Estovakian pilots simply didn’t have the training that their Emmerian counterparts did. And the civil war killed off large numbers of their pilots, so all that made up the air-force, was small yet highly skilled pilots, and large yet undertrained pilots, compared to the Emmerians.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">But they had national pride to make up for it, or so the Estovakian leaders thought.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">True, they always had more than the Emmerians. The war strategy seemed to be this: Have the Aigaion deal a crushing blow with its Nimbus missiles, and the strigon team mops up what’s left. The rest of the military would come in and occupy the territory they recently captured. For the first few weeks of the war, it worked. But the Estovakians bad economy quickly caught up with them, and they couldn’t fry Khesed island off the face of the earth, because the nimbus cruise missiels are very expensive. Why waste money and cruise missiles on a weak air-force base, holding the last remnents of your enemy? The Estovakains seemed to think that, and send in the bombers to destroy Khesed air-force base, completely ignoring what happened over Gracemeria. The Estovakians failed to use their superweapons when they had the moment to do so, and ended up costing them the war.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Emmeria is a powerhouse on the Anean continent. Yes, it was hurt by the Ulysses asteroid, but unlike Estovakia, it quickly recovered. Emmeria has many air bases, several civilian, and several military. The country is large and diverse, with many manufacturing capabilities. It’s military is a force to be reckoned with, able to stand toe to toe against numerically superior Estovakian forces. When the war started and Estovakia started to slaughter Emmerian air and ground units, The Emmerians retreated to Khesed island, for a final stand. Emmeria knew of Estovakia’s economic plight, as in the first mission, one of the pilots says “The Estovakians? Their economy has been in shambles for years.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Emmeria was most likely counting on that to slow down their opponents, long enough for them to figure something out and turn the tide of war into their favor. Which they did.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Emmerian weapons of war- skilled air-force, Garuda team. Emmeria’s air-force was a power to be reckoned with. The air-force retired their obsolete fighter craft, such as F-4s and MiG-21s. Older jets that still showed promise, such as F-16 and Mirage 2000-5, were kept in service and heavily upgraded. While the Estovakians relied on large numbers, the Emmerians relied on ‘special forces’ of fighter pilots. Each pilot was to be highly trained. And since the country didn’t suffer an economic failure and a civil war to boot, Emmeria could afford to take the time and money to train their pilots. And the training paid off. Even backed against a wall at Khesed, they were formidable enough to take back the island and launch a full scale assault on the mainland, eventually taking back their country. Even at the end of the war, the pilots were flying the same fighter jets they flew at the beginning of the war, showing their immense and deadly skill, which came to play during the final hours of the war, as the Estovakains desperately put brand new pilots inside advanced Su-47 and F-22 stealth fighters. Also, Emmeria didn’t bother with large and unwieldy weapons, such as the Aigaion and its cruise missiles. They kept all pilots at a high skilled level, unlike Estovakia, who’s only top pilots were the Strigon team, and the veterans from the civil war. Said high skilled level was a deciding factor in the war. The cruise missile attacks killed most of the air-force in the early weeks of the war, and attrition in the war prevented the air-force from gathering substantial strength, leaving few yet extremely dangerous pilots in the Emmerian air-force.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">The air-force is well lead. Their AWACS Ghost Eye, is a valuable asset to the Emmerian forces, often providing logistic support and warning them of Estovakian reinforcements coming in, and directing the air-force pilots to support beleaguered Emmerian ground and air-forces, leading them to victory. The Estovakians, while having a good military arm, doesn’t seem to possess the kind of coordination the Emmerians have. When Garuda team is taking out the Estovakians in one operation within a battle, the rest of the Estovakians don’t bother coming to their aid, despite numerical superiority. This allows the Emmerians to divide and conquer their enemies.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Garuda team was formed just at the start of the war, with Marcus Shamrock being assigned to Talisman as his second, just as the Estovakians were invading Gracemeria. The two quickly proved to be a lethal force, shooting down dozens of Estovakian fighters and bombers in the first few months of the war. With the destruction of most of the air-force thanks to the Nimbus missiles and Strigon team, Garuda team was force to take most of the slack, being the tip of the spear for the remainder of the war. The squadron was flexible and deadly, taking on their nemesis and defeating them time and time again. In the Moloch desert, when Garuda 2 disobeyed orders to retreat and went after the Strigon team, 11 planes strong, Garuda 1 went with him and the duo defeated the much larger force. Of course at this point, most of the Strigon pilots were new pilots, the majority of the veterans being killed in various engagements prior to the Moloch desert, especially in the destruction of the Aigiaon. Their fame grew among the military and the civilian population, with one air-force pilot saying that the two were ‘movie stars’. Even the Estovakians seemed to fear them, and Strigon team was ordered to assassinate the duo in combat, but they failed. Even Illya Pasternak, the lead Estovakian fighter pilot, was sent to the front lines to kill the duo.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Part 3 Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 1: Invasion of Gracemeria. The Estovakians launch an attack on the capital city of Emmeria. Right from the start, it goes slightly downhill. The undertrained Estovakian pilots are no match for their Emmerian counterparts, and they’re beaten back from the city, taking heavy losses in the process. But the Estovakians were prepared for that. If the air-force couldn’t do the job, then bring in the Nimbus missile and Strigon team. Minutes later, over half the Emmerian air-force flying over the city is utterly destroyed, and a fresh Strigon team, plus Estovakian reinforcements arrive and drive the Emmerians away from their city. It is a huge success for Estovakia, as they kicked the Emmerians out of the capital in the first battle of the war, and are in a position to take all the riches in the city for their war effort.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 2: Vitoze Ariel defense. The Estovakians were bent on destroying the remains of the Emmerian military, and they proceeded to do just that. But instead of using their nimbus missiles or an attack by the Strigon team, they sent in a squadron of bombers, escorted by obsolete F-4 phantoms. This proved to work for the Emmerians, as they had ESM stations all across the area, ready to provide support for a defense strike. The Emmerians destroyed all the bombers, and a large amount of the escort fighters. It is a good sized defeat for the Estovakians, because they don’t bother trying to launch any more raids, showing that their military has been stretched thin and is vulnerable to a counterattack.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 3: Sipil fields. And counterattack the Emmerians do. Gathering what’s left of the air and ground forces, they strike first at Sipil fields. The Emmerian ground force were outnumbered by the Estovakian’s and the burden of victory fell on the few air-force pilots available for the mission. Once again, the Emmerian pilots prove their mettle, and destroy the Estovakians, encountering little aerial resistance. The Emmerians are bolstered by this victory, showing that the Estovakians are not as strong as they thought. In fact, the Estovakians are quite weak at Khesed Island. Most of the Estovakian forces are on the mainland, trying to capture the town of Silvat against stubborn Emmerian resistance.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 4: Bartolomeo Fortress: At this point, everyone knew that the Emmerians were going to take back the island. The Estovakians gathered all war material on the island and pulled back to Bartolomeo fortress. The goal of the Estovakians was to hold out against the Emmerians. Besides, they still outnumbered the Emmerians by a good margin, and if they stopped the Emmerians at the fortress, they could retake the initiative and destroy what remains of the Emmerian military. But it was not to be. The Emmerians took the fortress, even shooting down two Strigon members late in the battle. This showed how dependent the Estovakians were on the Nimbus missiles. The Estovakian war machine, while large and impressive on paper, wasn’t as decisive as the Emmerians.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"TimesNewRoman",serif">  <span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 5: Anea landing. The Emmerians strike at Rargom beach, in an attempt to take back their country. The Estovakians are prepared for them, having dozens of bunkers, anti-tank and anti-air weapons, and a large air cover. At this point, the Emmerians are skilled enough to go head to head against their Estovakian counterparts. While they encounter heavy resistance, the Emmerians push the Estovakians off the beach, even beating back a counter strike by the Estovakians. This set up the remaining battles of the war. Outnumbered Emmerians against numerous Estovakains. But the Estovakians rely on strength in numbers, not skill strength. The Emmerians, knowing they’ll be outnumbered in the remainder of the war, beef up their training process and increase the skill threat of their soldiers, enough to stand toe-to-toe against numerous Estovakians.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 6: Siege at Silvat. A good sized army of the Estovakian military was busy at Silvat, wearing away at the defenders day by day. The Emmerian air-force moves in to relieve them. This mission was a huge victory for the Emmerians, destroying countless and irreplaceable Estovakian military units. Fighter planes, tanks, and countless soldiers, even 4 members of the Strigon team were shot down. This showed that Estovakia was not prepared for a prolonged war, nor did they have the means to fight a prolonged war. They didn’t rotate their most experienced soldiers to train other soldiers and catch up on R&R. They kept all their forces in the field, wearing them down which lead to their demise. At this point, had the Estovakians launched their nimbus missiles against the large Emmerian forces, they very well could have succeeded in turning the tide against Emmeria, but news of the disastrous defeat shocked the Estovakians, enough that they dare wouldn’t use their most expensive weapon.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 7: Selumna peaks. The Emmerians, now bolstered by the large number of forces at Silvat, proceeded to move their army closer to the capital. The briefer says they’ll be traveling through the snowy Selumna peaks. This seems to be bad move at first, why move your ground forces thru such rough terrain? But this is Emmeria. Those tankers knew the country like the back of their hand. Also, Estovakia was busy trying to reorganize after the defeat at Silvat, so they wouldn’t bother sending ground forces against Emmerian tanks. This would be a pure air to air battle. Something the Emmerians were gaining skills in.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">The mission is a strategic success for the Emmerians, destroying even more precious fighter jets and pilots, making the situation more desperate for the Estovakians. In a desperate bid for supremacy, the Estovakians unleash their nimbus missiles against the Emmerian forces. While they lost the guidance drones thanks to the skilled Emmerian fighter pilots, they did succeed in driving the Emmerians from the peaks, preventing them from moving any closer to Gracemeria. Instead, they would be forced to divert time and resources to taking out the cruise missiles.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 8: San Loma Assault. The Emmerians find out about the Aigaion, and make plans to destroy it. First, they strike at San Loma, in the goal of using its air-force base as a platform to launch strikes against the Aigaion. The Estovakians lock down the city and prepare for the Emmerian assault. Dozens of anti-air guns, tanks, armored vehicles, helicopters, and naval vessels stand ready to repel the Emmerian assault. The defense is so formidable, the Emmerians have to take the city inch by inch, and is more prolonged by the arrival of the nimbus missiles. But unlike the previous strikes, these strikes are little in damage. The Estovakians refuse to kill off their remaining soldiers along with the Emmerians by saturating the area with cruise missile attacks. Also, they need all the cruise missiles as possible. During the fight, one Estovakian asks “Where are the nimbus missiles?” another said “We can’t rely on the Aigaion. It’s an expensive toy you know.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 9: Heavy Command Cruiser. Aptly titled, as the Emmerians destroy the highly prized Estovakian Aerial fleet. The Estovakian is caught off guard, as the Emmerians launch their attack. Their position suggests that they were attempting to draw the Emmerians over the sea for the attack. Such a move would move the battle into the Estovakian’s hand. The Emmerian fighters would be forced to conserve their fuel and ammo, while having to deal with the deadly firepower from the Aigaion and its escorts, including the Strigon team. But it’s not enough. The Aigaion is large enough to hold more than one squadron of fighters. But only the Strigon team is present. Whether if it’s because of a lack of spare planes or pilots, or lack of time to transfer the necessary squadrons, the Aigaion is a sitting duck, relying on its escorts. It’s most powerful weapon, the Nimbus missiles, are useless in this battle. The Emmerians have figured out how to punch thru the weak points of the missile, shooting down its drones.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">The Emmerians arrive in force, bringing every single fighter jet capable of air-to-air combat. They catch the Aerial fleet off guard, and close in for the kill. The destruction of the Aerial fleet and its escorts, plus members of the elite Strigon team, proved to be a severe blow to the Estovakian military. Now, the Estovakians are forced to fight on the same playing field as the Emmerians, and they can’t afford such losses, while the Emmerians can afford to take losses, and their pilots and soldiers are getting better and better.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 10: Ragno Fortress. The Emmerian juggernaut continues east towards Gracemeria. Estovakia still has one more trump card, Ragno Fortress. While the Emmerians could simply bypass it and avoid fighting it, the Estovakians stations there could prove to be a major thorn in the Emmerian side, and taking out that fortress and all those stationed there would prove to be another success for Emmeria.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">The Emmerians are outnumbered and outgunned, but they prepare for a prolonged conflict. Windhover squadron takes out the supply depots on the river, and takes out the power stations, plunging the Estovakians inside the fortress into chaos, as they are unable to effectively see or hear their enemy. Garuda 1 flew inside the tunnels inside the fortress, clearing the way for special ops teams to capture the fortress from the inside. What an accomplishment. The Estovakians only lost their shit, saying “OMG!! WE GOT ENEMY FIGHTER JETS INSIDE THE FORTRESS! WTF!?” It showed just how far the Emmerian pilots have gone in skill. And the Estovakians were on the business end of it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Obviously, the Estovakians didn’t send in any fighters to stop Garuda 1. Probably because no pilot would want to try such an insane and dangerous stunt, especially in wartime conditions, where bullets and missiles are trying to kill you. The Emmerians circle the fortress and destroy the last of the resistence inside and out. Scavenging the Estovakian weapons and supplies still in working condition, they build up their forces in preparation for the inevitable showdown at Gracemeria.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 11: The Moloch desert. A most useless battle on the Estovakian side. In desperation, they put a bunch of their military hardware in the desert to stop the Emmerian juggernaut. At this battle, the Estovakain air force stationed there had a motley bunch of aircraft in the battle. F-22s were in the battle, but too few in numbers to turn the tide, and were quickly shot down. Obsolete Mirage 2000-5’s were used to hold back the Emmerian air-force, but they failed.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Hundreds of Estovakian war machine were destroyed on the ground and air, which could have been useful in defending Gracemeria. The Emmerians knew of this, for they gave orders to not let the Estovakians escape. But the Estovakians still had one last trump card. A WMD was being moved towards Gracemeria, ready to be used as a suicide bomb.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">The Emmerians quickly got word of this, and ordered their forces to retreat. The Strigon team, 11 plane strong, arrives to eliminate the Garuda squadron, low on fuel, ammo, and exhausted from a day’s worth of combat. But these pilots are not the as the elite at the beginning of the war, cobbled over from the Vampire team, and other skilled pilots that could be found. Unfortunately, they were killed by the Garuda team, despite having a 5-1 advantage.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">While the Estovakians lost more and more weapons of war, they had a brief reprise. The survivors escaped to Gracemeria to bolster the defense. The Emmerians were force to turn back to Ragno Fortress, or other nearby bases. The Garuda team was suspended for disobeying orders, depriving the Emmerians of their most battle hardened squadron.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 12: Weapons of Mass Destruction. The mission is fairly simple, head into the canyon and destroy the WMD, then bug out. While the WMD is destroyed, the Estovakians have sprung a trap. 62 fighter jets, comprised of F-15s and Typhoons ambush the Garuda team, bent on killing them.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Despite being severely outnumbered and outgunned, the Garuda team survives long enough for the rest of the air-force to ambush the Estovakian fighters, and completely destroyed the opposing force. The Emmerians survived the battle with no losses, ensuring they had the forces necessary to take back the capital city.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 13: Liberation of Gracemeria. The moment the Emmerian military was waiting for, had arrived. Every Emmerian soldier participated in this operation, and the Estovakians still had the Emmerians outnumbered and outgunned. But the Estovakians were running out of vital supplies, and with most of the air-force having been shot down during the war, were running out of planes and pilots. The leaders ordered all available units and soldiers to defend the capital city to the last man.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">The Emmerians attacked from all sides, throwing everything at the Estovakians, using any weapon they got a hold of, and since they knew the city like the back of their hands, Estovakain defeat seemed inevitable. The lead Estovakian General, Dvornik, escaped the encirclement and fled to Estovakia. The Estovakians fought hard against inevitable defeat, but the Emmerians won back their city, and when Gracemeria air-force base was captured in the opening battles, it only gave their pilots a further edge. Now, they could refuel, rearm, or fly captured Estovakian fighter jets into battle, always ensuring the Emmerians had air power in the battle. The Estovakians didn’t have that luxury.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">The Strigon team arrived too late, only 12 planes, against the entire Emmerian military, heavily bolstered by the arsenals recaptured during the fighting. Illya Pasternak, leader of Strigon Team, ordered his squadron to flee to Estovakia and not fight in a senseless slaughter. While Pasternak could have followed back to Estovakia, he decided to give the Emmerians one more fight. While the Emmerians were fighting him, his squadron fled to Estovakian territory.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Pasternak fought using the highly advanced CFA-44 Nosferatu, armed with ESM pods, ADMM missiles, and dozens of UCAVs. But it was all for nought. The fuel and ammo available to him had been what he brought with him, while the Emmerians simply refueled and rearmed when they pleased.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">With the liberation of their capital city, the war was over. Or so it seemed.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 14: Gracemeria patrol. With the war behind them, Emmerian military pilots are ordered to patrol the city as peace talks are being prepared. The pilots chatter amongst themselves, relieved that the bloodshed is over, and enjoy flying in peace, and watching a brilliant fireworks display.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">However, the Estovakians won’t accept defeat. Instead, they choose to go down swinging. They knew they can’t win the war, or retake the continent, but instead choose to destroy Gracemeria. Sort of a ‘If I’m going down, you’re coming down with me’ mentality. The Estovakians launch brand new cruise missiles, much different than the missiles used by the Aigiaon. These missiles are more powerful and destructive, by are also extremely slow and are easy prey for the defending Emmerian fighters.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">The Estovakians fire 200 cruise missiles at the city, spreading the Emmerian defenses thin, as they fight hard to defend their city. To add to the problem, Estovakian stealth fighters arrive, comprised of F-117s, F-22s, and Su-47s, 50 planes in total. But these pilots, while enthusiastic for combat, are no veterans, just recruits thrown into advanced fighter jets. They are no match for the battle-hardened Emmerian pilots, who waste no time in shooting down the Estovakian fighters first, then destroy the remaining cruise missiles.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">The fighting stops as the last missiles is destroyed, and it delays the peace talks. Now, the Emmerians make plans to attack whatever bases are in the north east. The Estovakians simply brace the incoming attack.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Mission 15: Chandelier. The Chandelier superweapon was created by the Estovakians to destroy the Ulysses asteroid, but was never completed. The cannon itself doesn’t have much in the way of elevation, so how it would have fought the asteroid is questionable, since it’s range seems to go only to Gracemeria. With the war turning against them, construction was completed, but only partially. Several of the cooling units were armored, but it was weak armor, capable of being taken out by a single sidewinder missile. Most of the cooling units were open for attack, with only one buried inside the loading trench, which was also partially concealed. Chunks of the trench were exposed, and vulnerable to strafing and bombing. The Estovakians, having used most of the metals in making the military machines, now destroyed, have little to nothing left to complete the chandelier. They gather the last of their military strength to defend the rail gun, including 7 members of the Strigon team, and 24 stealth fighters, filled with new and inexperienced pilots.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Another form of help came just before the battle. An Estovakian officer, Voychek, defected and gave blue-prints and known weaknesses of the Chandelier to Mellissa Herman, who broadcasted it to the air force pilots via radio station. Armed with this new knowledge, the Emmerians made quick work in destroying the vulnerable cooling units and bombed the trench, rendering the Stauros cruise missiles unavailable to attacking Gracemeria. With the last of the Estovakian military now destroyed, the Emmerians discovered one more cooling unit, inside the trench. Shamrock flies thru the trench and secures the data about the cooling unit, but suffers damage to his fighter. Talisman destroyed the cooling unit, and in a freak occurrence flew down the barrel of the rail gun, while the Chandelier was being loaded with one final cruise missile. He blew out the back end of the rail gun, ensuring its’ final destruction. An event which he will not speak about to this day.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Post War. Estovakia’s people performed their own coup and took over the country, ousting the generals. Many went into hiding, prison, executed, or fled the country. The Chandelier is more and more difficult to find and navigate, because of the destruction of the cooling units, which led the large Iceland to crumble and capsize what remains of the weapon. Emmeria entered a new era of peace and prosperity, and continues to keep an eye on Estovakia, providing aid to the beleaguered country, albeit with an occupation force, not wanting to become involved in another war.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">Part 4 Mistake of Estovakia. Estovakia made several mistakes before and during the war. For one thing, they failed to take into account of what could happen. What if the Emmerians had shot down the guidance drones at the beginning of the war, and prevented the cruise missile attacks? Also, they didn’t properly prepare for a prolonged war. Within the span of one year, they took a continent, and lost it, even suffering attacks into their own country. They suffered an economic break down, and a bloody civil war. Most of their pilots and soldiers were killed. The survivors were battle hardened vets, but Estovakia quickly thrust itself into the war.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">First mistake. They were forced to put brand new pilots on the front lines. Instead of taking the time to train everyone to be the best they could, and to build up the economy, they head straight into the war. And it costs them. At the first battle over Gracemeria, countless dozens of Estovakian planes and pilots are killed, with very little Emmerian losses. It wasn’t until the Nimbus cruise missile attack did the city get taken. The Estovakians had good reason to now fear the Emmerian air force, despite its small size. Also in the war, they quickly overstretched themselves, and were under constant attack by partisans and surviving Emmerian military units, in towns such as Silvat.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">2- Bad economy. After the Ulysses asteroid, the economy of Estovakia crumbled like none other. Probably most affected and torn apart than any other nation on the planet, Estovakia tore itself apart in the war, and postponed the recovery of their economy. The ‘Generals’ were just that. Military generals, who led the Eastern faction to victory. They couldn’t jump start the economy by itself, so they invaded Emmeria. In-game, Voychek says that his superiors will be disappointed because they couldn’t get the golden king, and the other riches. One reason is economic. Estovakia needs money. Gold is valuable. There is gold in Gracemeria, in the golden king. Literally. If Estovakia could obtain that gold, they could buy more time and resources to end the war on their terms. Estovakia’s war machine seems to be plagued by the terrible economy in the entirety of the conflict. Pilots report of running out of missiles in combat, and when confronting AWACS Ghost Eye and Snake Pit, the Estovakian pilots must attack close range, because they don’t have the AWACS killing missiles with the necessary range.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">3- Reliance on Aigiaon, nimbus missiles, and Strigon team. The Estovakian military by itself, is no match for the Emmerian military. If it wasn’t for the nimbus missiles and the elite strigon team, Gracemeria never would have fallen, and the war would have ended right then and there. The nimbus missiles are expensive missiles, and they couldn’t afford to fire them off like bullets. Even when the nimbus missiles are used, the Emmerians escape the onslaught, and once they get the hang of it, the missiles is rendered useless. The Aigiaon has numerous defenses, but unlike the Emmerian fighter jets, is not replaceable. And repairing battle damage is simply impossible.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">The Strigon team is too few to turn the tide of war once the Emmerians started fighting back. And 4 of them were tied down fighting in Silvat. The rest are defending the Aigiaon, not used as frontline fighters. Had they been used so, Khesed Island would have fallen. The beleaguered Emmerian air-force would simply have collapsed at Vitoze, had Strigon been escorting the bombers. And once the Aigiaon was destroyed, and also most of the skilled and veteran pilots of the squadron, the Vampire squadron was dissolved, and its members were drafted into the Strigon team. This damaged the elite statues of the team, as the Vampire team isn’t as elite as the Strigon is.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">4- Estovakia is disorganized. Sure, the blitz was successful, but once they were bogged down, and hit after counter attack after counter attack, then it fell down. Estovakia was sure of a quick lighting war, and was unprepared for a long conflict. Estovakia had advanced stealth fighters. Had they gave the Strigon team F-22s, or Su-47s, or fielded large numbers of the Nosferatu (let alone built the Nosferatu’s in large numbers), they would have stood a much greater chance against their enemy. In a major battle, such as Selumna peaks, each unit was organized, capable of carrying out their orders to the point. But the large structure wasn’t. While only sending a few fighters to attack the AWACS and ESM planes, they forget to bring their own ESM and Jammer aircraft and loose that one little battle. Over Fort Norton, 62 Estovakian fighters are shot down in a single engagement. Had those fighters been used earlier in the war to destroy the Emmerians while they were at their weakest, the war would have ended real quickly for Estovakia.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">The war is interesting when you look into it, and realize that it never should have happened. It was a tragedy, in that the leaders of Estovakia were too stubborn to rebuild their country in peaceful ways. They blamed Emmeria for the war, and launched a full sacle attack against them, hoping to beat them and get ahold of their riches. But much like other nationalistic countries, like Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and many others, they start a conflict, and loose in the end, not taking into consideration that no-one will side with them. The underestimated their enemy, and suffered for it.