Somewhere in the sea
100 km from the city of Alcor
Gra Valkas, 42nd Fleet.
5.45 am.
The Gra Valkas 42nd Fleet was a temporary fleet that was a group of Gra Valkas ships ordered to head to Ragna in order to attack Laifor. The fleet consisted of 3 Pegasus-class heavy carriers, 1 Orion-class battleship, and 8 destroyers. They had already received news of Gavalka's 33rd Fleet's defeat. Therefore, they made their way south as quickly as possible in order to ambush the Mu Empire ships. Since they learned of the 33rd Fleet's attack, they immediately prepared their planes for a counterattack. But it took time to prepare the planes from a state of absolutely no preparation for battle. For almost an hour, they were busy checking, arming, and refueling all the aircraft on the three aircraft carriers. Since the location of the enemy ships was unknown, they would fly reconnaissance aircraft first, followed by all the attack aircraft they had.
Currently, the fighter planes used as scouts are on deck for final preparations before departure. In another 15 minutes, they would depart, and only then would the attack aircraft be brought onto the carrier deck for final preparations.
Commodore Aburgail commanded the Orion-class battleship 'Phnol', the flagship of the Gra Valkas 42nd Fleet. He was currently waiting impatiently for the aircraft of the carriers under his command to fly. He wanted to strike immediately before the enemy could attack his fleet.
"How long until those scout aircraft can be flown?" asked Commodore Aburgail impatiently.
"About 30 minutes, commodore," said the captain of the 'Phnol'.
"Too long. After that, prioritize flying the fighter used as CAP before we fly our attack aircraft." Commodore Aburgail ordered.
"But we have already positioned our attack planes to fly ahead of the other planes." The XO of 'Phnol' said.
"Change the departure schedule immediately, I have a bad feeling that the enemy will attack us soon." Commodore Aburgail said.
"We need 20 minutes to reposition our planes, commodore." The XO said it again.
"That's okay, those reconnaissance planes still need relatively the same amount of time to fly anyway." Commodore Aburgail said.
"Alright, commodore." The XO said this while giving orders to the communications staff to relay the order to the three carriers in the fleet.
But less than 10 minutes later, a voice from another part of 'Phnol' emerged suddenly from the speaking tube.
"This is radar, we detected an aircraft at the end of radar detection capability, about 60 km out. Altitude 1000 meters, bearing 009, speed and number unknown." The radar officer said this over the speaking tube.
"Report immediately when the speed and number of aircraft are known!" ordered the captain of the 'Phnol' through the speaking tube connected to the radar room.
"Yes, sir." The radar officer replied.
"Order those scout planes to take off immediately, use them as CAPs." Commodore Aburgail ordered. "All hands go to battlestation!"
"Yes, commodore," the XO said.
The battlestation alarm sounded throughout the Gra Valkas ships.
"Also order our destroyers to be in front of the battleships and carriers!" Commodore Aburgail ordered again.
"Yes, sir." The XO replied once again while giving orders to the other crew members.
With great efficiency, all of Commodore Aburgail's orders were carried out. The fighter planes that were going to be used as scouts immediately started their engines, and the pilots were called from the pilot's ready room to board the planes immediately. Despite the expeditious start, the planes took about 10 minutes to take off.
Similarly, all the destroyers moved to the front of the formation to efficiently use their AA cannons before the planes could reach the carriers and battleships. They all moved in the direction of the Mu Empire's aircraft arrival.
But before any of that could happen, there was the fact that the Mu Empire's aircraft could fly faster than expected.
"Commodore, the radar is currently showing 16 enemy aircraft. They are approaching at a relative speed of over 800 km per hour!" The radar officer reported this information over the speaking tube.
"What? How can that be? They will reach our ships before our planes can fly! Destroyer, accelerate to reach the front of the formation!" commodore Abergail ordered.
"Yes, commodore." The XO replied.
"Radar here, the enemy aircraft is less than 35 kilometers away. They will be here in less than 3 minutes!" said the radar officer over the speaking tube.
"Order the AA cannon crew to be ready. Hurry!" Commodore Aburgail ordered.
"Yes, commodore.
"Radar here. Enemy aircraft have reached below 25 km! Wait, they're reversing course!" said the radar officer over the speaking tube.
"What are they doing? Is it just their scout plane?" asked the XO, who was confused by the radar report.
"I don't know. But I have a bad feeling about this. Stay sharp, everybody!" ordered Commodore Aburgail.
Commodore Aburgail's feeling was spot-on. Just a few moments ago, every Mu Empire B-1 launched four AS-1 missiles, and these 64 missiles were rapidly approaching the Gra Valkas ships at a speed of 1,000 km/h.
It only took 2 minutes for the missiles to reach the Gra Valkas ships.
.
.
.
Gra Valkas, 42nd Fleet.
Battleship 'Phnol'
"Sir, a number of unidentified objects are approaching the fleet! Bearing 001." A lookout shouted through the speaking tube.
"What?" said Commodore Aburgail while looking through his binoculars.
Everyone on the bridge with binoculars looked in the direction indicated by the lookout. The binoculars revealed a large number of faint balls of light against the backdrop of an already bright sky.
"What is that thing?" asked the captain of the 'Phnol'.
"Order all AA cannons to fire! Keep those things away!" shouted Commodore Aburgail, who realized that those things might harm his ships.
Within seconds, all the AA cannons of the 42nd Fleet fired at the AS-1 missile. However, the AA cannons' aiming systems, calibrated for much lower speeds, made it extremely difficult to target the missiles. Moreover, the size of the AS-1 missiles is quite small. Out of 64 missiles heading toward their fleet, only two could be shot down.
As the 42nd Fleet was moving towards the missiles, the radar profile of the ships become very small. Therefore, the primitive radar on AS-1 had difficulty detecting the ships, especially the destroyer, which was quite small. Only carriers and battleships have a large enough radar return for the radar on the AS-1 missile to easy lock-on. The result, of course, was that nearly all the missiles moved towards the four ships. There were only six missiles that managed to lock on to two destroyers.
Because they were located in front of the formation, the six missiles that locked on to the two destroyers were the first to reach their targets. One destroyer was hit by 4 missiles, and the result was that the destroyer sank immediately because all the missiles hit the bow of the destroyer and the destroyer was moving at high speed, as a result water entered quickly through the hole caused by the missile explosion and caused the bow of the ship to become very heavy and full of water, and the ship's bow became pointed into the water. Simultaneously, the engines of the destroyer continued to operate at maximum speed, causing the ship to plunge into the water like a submarine. The water that filled the hull caused the ship to sink rapidly.
The other destroyer was very lucky; only two missiles hit it, and one missile malfunctioned. Other than the visible destruction of the destroyer's bow, no other damage occurred. The ship remained seaworthy, and the destroyer quickly reduced its speed to a standstill to prevent seawater from entering through the hole in the bow. It took more than a day of emergency repairs to get the ship sailing again.
All three carriers met the same fate. A large number of missiles destroyed the bow, and subsequent missiles exploded inside the ship and blew up the ammunition that was still lying around as the arming process was still underway. Explosion after explosion was followed by more powerful secondary explosions until finally all three carriers were split, one even into four pieces.
More than 15 missiles also hit the battleship 'Phnol', but due to its armor, the damage was not as severe even though the missiles penetrated the hull. Although seawater entered through the holes in the hull, the amount was smaller than that of the destroyer. As a result, the battleship 'Phnol' was able to survive for almost a day before capsizing. Thus, many of its crew members were able to save themselves. But unfortunately, there were three missiles that hit the superstructure of the ship, one hit the bridge of the ship, which caused the entire ship's and 42nd fleet's leadership to die.
The remaining ships tried to help evacuate the crew members who escaped by jumping into the sea.
---oOo---
Gra Valkas, Ragna
Palace Bunker, Situation Room
0700 hours
"What else can go wrong?" said Xand Pascal in despair.
Xand Pascal's despair was also reflected on the faces of everyone in the room. Just then, there was a muffled sound of explosions due to the thick walls of the bunker. The shelter bunker shook, and pieces of cement fell from its walls and roof.
The Mu Empire is currently bombing the palace!" General Kurn said as he looked at the roof and walls of the bunker, as if confirming its strength.
"Confirm the conditions on the surface! Report the progress of the attack from the Mu Empire to Ragna!" ordered Emperor Gralux, who snapped everyone there into reality.
A number of staff members immediately carried out Emperor Gralux's orders.
Meanwhile, a staff member handed another paper report to General Kurn.
"Our second fleet heading for Ragna is currently under attack! We lost contact with them. I'm afraid that they are annihilated." General Kurn said.
No one commented on the news that had just been given because of the bad news that was coming. Everyone simply sighed upon hearing the news.
Meanwhile, the tremors in the bunker did not decrease, but rather increased.
"It seems that the attack is intensifying," said a staff member.
"We lose the entire Ragna if this continues." A colonel on General Kurn's staff made this statement.
Everyone, including Emperor Gralux, stared at the colonel, causing him to become silent.
A few minutes later, two staff members came and handed a stack of papers to General Kurn.
"What we feared has happened. The fire destroyed the entire harbor and its ships, both military and civilian. The entire shipyard was also destroyed, and the ships of the monthball fleet were also attacked, some have already sunk. Attackers also targeted the Ragna Industrial Sector, where severe fires are currently raging across all industries," said General Kurn. "Oh, yes. The enemy began to attack Ragna City itself, including the Palace. Observations reveal the complete destruction of the Palace."
The report caused the already gloomy atmosphere to become even gloomier.
"We will lose 15% of our industrial output if Ragna's industrial sector is destroyed! This is particularly significant because the Ragna Industrial sector is home to the largest ball bearing factory, as well as the Molybdenum and Chromium smelters. We will find it difficult to produce military goods." Xand Pascal said.
"Are they that important?" asked Emperor Gralux.
"Without them, we cannot produce anything, your Majesty. Ball bearings are needed to make machinery, while molybdenum and chrome are used to make special metals used to make machinery. The ball bearing industry in Ragna makes 70% of the ball bearings in all of Gra Valkas. Likewise, the molybdenum and chrome smelting industries add up to produce 100% of our needs." Xand Pascal said.
"Can't the other factories produce those two materials?" asked Emperor Gralux, who was starting to feel as if he was sinking to the ground in panic.
"They can, Your Majesty, but it will take a while. I think the remaining ball bearing industries can also still increase their output, but we cannot make ball bearings, chrome, and molybdenum in sufficient quantities for a long period of time." Xand Pascal said.
That explanation caused despair to cover everyone there.
"Then, can our military rise up and fight the Mu Empire?" asked Emperor Gralux.
"We cannot enlarge our military quickly, and we are very dependent on existing spare parts and ammunition. Therefore, we cannot prolong this war. We must, at all costs, make the war short." Xand Pascal said.
"But with the existing military conditions, it is difficult to defeat the Mu Empire?" cut in Emperor Gralux.
"That's right, your highness." Xand Pascal said stammeringly.
"Than, we cannot use conventional warfare. We must do something beyond ordinary warfare to win this war." Emperor Gralux said this. "Immediately consider and plan everything!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" said Xand Pascal.
"Meanwhile, we must continue to prepare for conventional warfare, but in the end, we must combine conventional warfare with unconventional warfare." Emperor Gralux said this.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Are we given the freedom to do anything to win the war? Even if it violates humanity and the ethics of war?" asked Xand Pascal.
"Do whatever needs to be done." Emperor Gralux said.
"We accept your orders." Xand Pascal said.
With that, Gra Valkas began preparing for total war by using all means that could win this war.
---oOo---
Above Ragna
Sometime before that,
6.40 a.m.
Mu Empire's air fleet, which had been attacking Ragna's military infrastructure since morning, has now returned to attack Ragna itself. Most of the B-1 bombers carried incendiary bombs meant to set the city of Ragna on fire. The rest carried regular bombs for possible military or strategic targets in the city of Ragna. All of them carried 1 or 2 FFAR tubes with 11 rockets. There were nearly 300 planes that would attack the city of Ragna.
The sound of planes filled the capital of Gra Valkas, Ragna, as the Mu Empire air fleet approached the city. The sky was already bright enough for the people of Ragna to see the approaching Mu Empire planes. The people of Ragna had started evacuating since the morning of the first Mu Empire attack, but because Ragna was a large city, the people evacuating caused traffic jams everywhere. This resulted in a limited number of individuals being able to leave Ragna.
The city of Ragna actually had enough bomb shelters, but because Gra Valkas itself had never been touched by war, there was not enough training on evacuation during an air raid. Also, the panic caused most people to forget about the bomb shelters. However, some residents, especially high-ranking officials and businessmen, remembered the bomb shelter because they were regularly informed about it and had evacuated there. The police and various parties tried to direct the panicked residents to enter the bomb shelter immediately, but most did not heed.
As Mu Empire's planes appeared in the distance, panicked residents finally followed the orders of police and other officials to enter the bomb shelter. They left their vehicles and ran to enter the bomb shelter. However, there was not enough time to evacuate all the people on the street into the bomb shelter.
Fortunately, Mu Empire planes targeted the first bombs at still-empty offices and shops. But that was calculated by the Mu Empire. The explosion of the incindiary bombs caused fires in office buildings and shops. Many shops were filled with flammable materials, causing the fire to spread. Because the buildings were empty and the surrounding area was deserted, no one tried to put out the flames. As a result, the fire grew bigger and began to spread to other buildings.
The next targets were the gas station, electricity distribution station, communications center, and water storage tower in Ragna. As a result of the FFAR attack on the gas station, the flames from the FFAR attack on the gas station began to spread to other buildings. The loss of electricity meant that the fire pumps inside the buildings could not run, so the automatic fire extinguishers did not work. Similarly, the destruction of the water storage tower, which supplied water to the entire city, resulted in no water supply for firefighting.
Likewise, a number of Mu Empire aircraft attacked the royal palace complex. The Mu Empire bombed every building without exception. The Mu Empire even employed incendiary bombs to incinerate the remnants of the palace complex. Because there was a lot of wood in the Royal Palace, the fire from the incendiary bombs grew bigger, destroying the rest of the palace and the surrounding buildings. Government offices were also affected. The fire destroyed nearly all of the crucial documents. It would make it difficult for Gra Valkas' government to function.
The fire spread throughout the city of Ragna.
.
.
.
The streets of Ragna
There was panic among the residents of Ragna. They saw bombs falling around them. However, no bombs have been dropped on the residential sector.
"Get inside the bomb shelter!" said a number of policemen repeatedly while directing the crowd of panicked residents towards the bomb shelter's door.
"Don't jostle, keep calm and queue in an orderly fashion. Everyone will be able to get inside!" said another policeman repeatedly, urging the panicked residents to remain calm.
The crowd of people trying to get into the bomb shelter jostled each other, causing a new commotion. Some people who fell down were trampled by other residents trying to get in. Small children were all crying because of the conditions, and many were separated from their parents.
Some thoughtful individuals make their way into the subway stations. This is, of course, the right decision because subway stations are also part of the city's defense system and can be used as bomb shelters. Moreover, the door to the subway station is much larger than the dedicated bomb shelter, so those people are more easily able to enter. But it seems that, for some reason, the policeman did not direct the residents towards the subway station. But some people took the initiative to direct others to the subway station.
"Guys, let's go to the subway station! It's safe there too because it's deep underground." Some residents said this to the people around them.
The shouting alerted some of the people, and they turned around, rushing towards the subway station. This caused the crowd of people who had filled the doors of the bomb shelter to thin out, and the panic to diminish.
But it wasn't long before the people panicked again as Mu Empire planes flew by at low altitude, attacking the nearby gas stations. The population again screamed in panic to get into the bomb shelters and subway stations. However, the panicked crowd jostled them, causing victims to fall due to trampling.
As the refueling pumps exploded and flames began to soar in the distance, this once again added to the panic-induced chaos of the population on the streets.
All over Ragna, there was panic among the citizens, as well as panic among the military leaders inside the military bunkers.
---oOo---
Ocean, 70 km from Ragna
Operation 'Firecracker' flagship, Battleship 'La Orion'
Main Bridge
"Admiral, we have now finished attacking all the targets in the city of Ragna. There is still one more wave currently attacking the city of Ragna itself. But the assault on strategic targets has been completed," said the XO of 'La Orion'.
"Good, what about the results? Has there been any report from our reconnaissance units?" asked Admiral Drieker.
"Only partial, admiral. But the reports are very positive. We managed to destroy all the enemy ships in Ragna's harbor. We even managed to sink all the inactive ships that were apparently part of Gra Valkas' monthball fleet. It took us two strikes to destroy that monthball fleet," said the XO.
"What about other military targets? Airfields and other military bases?" asked Admiral Drieker.
"We don't have a full report yet, but we already know from the debrifing reports of the attacking pilots that they completely destroyed their targets. We just need to confirm, hopefully all targets have been destroyed." said the XO.
"Hopefully nothing needs to be repeated, because it's getting late. We need to get out of here. What about casualties on our side?" asked Admiral Drieker.
Surprisingly, combat with the enemy did not result in the loss of any aircraft. However, we lost two aircraft due to malfunctions, and four more were lost due to failure to land while it was still dark. For the time being, there are no casualties," said the XO.
"It's a good thing that the enemy couldn't provide any resistance to our attack, so we could attack them without casualties," said Admiral Drieker.
"It's strange, Gra Valkas is a highly militaristic nation with a lot of war experience. Yet they seem to be acting recklessly, not preparing enough defenses in their country," said the XO.
"True, I think they are very overconfident because of their war experience, and the average country here has very antiquated military equipment. We are very lucky that we have allies who can help us, namely the Myto Empire. But our traditional allies are not so reliable. Until now, for example, the HME has provided very little assistance and has not engaged in combat at all," said Admiral Drieker.
"That's right, they are acting very conservatively, not wanting to lose their strength. They are still afraid of the Gra Valkas from their last battle." The XO spoke.
"That's right. Oh, yes. Has all this information been given to Otenheit?" asked Admiral Drieker.
"We have, admiral." said the XO.
"We'd better start the second phase of this assault. Order all ships to begin moving at 12 knots towards point K. We will continue to attack Ragna and its surroundings as we move to point K," said Admiral Drieker.
"Yes, admiral," said the XO. "Navigator, calculate our course and inform the rest of the commands."
"Yes, sir," replied the navigation officer.
Slowly, all the ships of the 'Firecracker' operation moved southward, following Task Force A, which had already moved southward.
---oOo---
Alcor City
0700 hours
Similar to Ragna. Alcor City was heavily attacked by the Mu Empire's aircraft from Task Force A. Currently, the bombers of Task Force A have begun to attack military targets other than the harbor in Alcor City itself. Task Force A attacked the various makeshift military bases in the city of Alcor without much resistance. The soldiers in the bases had not been able to evacuate in accordance with Ragna's orders, and as a result, many soldiers in the makeshift military bases became casualties.
The attack from Task Force A of the Mu Empire did not happen in just one attack; until 7 o'clock, there had been four attacks, which were less than 25 minutes apart. As a result, there was not enough time for the soldiers to escape, and they became casualties. They also attacked many other strategic targets in the city of Alcor.
The Mu Empire attacked not only with ordinary bombs but also with incindiary bombs, causing the city of Alcor to start burning. The Mu Empire's indiscriminate attack did not allow emergency services, especially the fire department, to do their job properly.
Within an hour, the entire city of Alcor was like a sea of fire. Numerous civilians and military personnel, who had gathered there, became victims.