“Employees and residents of the Polar Industrial City, greetings, I am the Group President, Jerome Pierre.”
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce to you: the Polar Industrial City has been severely infiltrated by the Cult organization, and the situation has gone beyond the control of the Group.”
“We have requested aid from the Alliance Headquarters, and the Alliance has not forgotten that Polar Industries is also a member of the Alliance. They generously responded to our call for help and sent support troops.”
“However, inside the city there is a small number of heretical traitors obstructing our joint operation with the Alliance, misleading the masses of our Group, resulting in gunfire within the city.”
“All employees and residents, please be aware, in my capacity as Group President, I ask you to return to your homes, to your dormitories. When you encounter Alliance troops, do not resist and lay down your weapons; Alliance soldiers will ensure your safety.”
“All Group Security Guards, take note, lay down your weapons, return to your stations, secure your doors and windows, and do not engage in combat with Alliance soldiers under any circumstances.”
“I repeat, all Group employees, guards, and residents, stop resisting, return to your homes, and await further orders.”
“I repeat, all Group employees, guards, and residents, stop resisting, return to your homes, and await further orders.”
…
Pierre’s voice echoed again and again throughout the entire Polar Industrial City. The city’s broadcasting system faithfully transmitted his commands.
This was effective.
The guards inside the Polar Industrial City, the armed employees, and residents, were mostly unsure what to do. First, they had not been prepared for battle at all and had no idea that the military would enter the city; second, after the fighting had started, they had always lacked information from the upper echelons of the Group, without a unified command or someone to tell them what to do next.
Under these circumstances, the vast majority of them received their first unified order and information from the upper echelons of the Group, which was exactly what President Pierre had said.
The status of Pierre was high enough, and his words… although a considerable number of people didn’t quite believe it, if they could avoid risking their lives and it was the boss speaking, then why question it?
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Pack up, head home or back to the dorm, and take it easy, isn’t that wonderful?
At most, pick up the gun, lock the door. As long as no one kicks down my door, whatever happens outside is not my concern.
There were also those who were already fighting outside and couldn’t conveniently ‘go home’, for them, the Alliance Army thoughtfully provided an option: just lay down your weapons obediently, find a centralized place to stay put, and that would be fine.
Of course, there were also those who, under Pierre’s announcement, wouldn’t listen, continued to stubbornly resist, and kept up the fight against the Alliance Army.
And these guys were first of all in the minority.
Among them, there were indeed a very few confused youngsters. They might think that Pierre was under duress, or believe that the Group should not kowtow to those people from the south.
For these broken-headed guys, the soldiers of the airborne division didn’t pamper them, just eliminated them completely.
And then there were some… who were completely organized, determined, and had a united will.
These guys, the places they defended, were also quite sensitive.
But their problem wouldn’t have to be solved by the 31st Airborne Division.
…
“I understand. Just block off that area, no need to attempt another assault.”
Brigadier General Tadeusz, whose command post was set up sixty kilometers away, gave such a response after receiving the report from the commander of the 31st Airborne Division.
But the Colonel regiment commander on the other side was clearly discontent, “We can still try again! We have regrouped a new team, we only need our comrades in the Air Force to help strike again …”
“No need,” Tadeusz interrupted, “Mr. Derek, you have completed your task very well, do not complicate matters. Next, what you need to do is to take control of the situation in Polar Industrial City, enforce martial law. If there is still resistance within the city, try to quell it, but if it can’t be quelled, there’s no need to further waste the lives of our soldiers.
Just ensure that, when our main corps arrives later, we do not have to fight another battle to take the city.”
“Yes! I assure the completion of the task!”
After cutting off the communication, Tadeusz clenched his fist.
He was not one to favor particularly risky or aggressive strategies in his operations. But now that this operation was a fact, having a careful person like him in the role of overall commander was quite suitable.
After all, there were not many left in the Alliance capable of taking on this task.
Brigadier General Yan Fangxu was still in the Eastern Province with his Central Group Army, undertaking the reorganization of the local militia into the Eastern Group Army to guard the area, and could not be spared for the time being.
After Yan Fangxu returned, he would be promoted to the rank of Major General.
As veteran military commanders, the leader of the 1st Extinguishing Wind Brigade and the brigade’s political commissar, Perbov and Jordan Leroy, had already been urgently pulled from the 1st Brigade to take up the role of commanders and political commissars of the Interstellar Expeditionary Force, and had already set off into space.
Tadeusz himself was not originally a front-line military commander, but he was the prime candidate for the position of overall commander of a joint operation involving many newly established division and brigade level units, multiple armed services, and even other forces from non-Alliance Army departments.
Throughout the operation, he maintained a calm and steady demeanor.
But in reality, how could his heart not be the slightest bit tense?
After all, ever since being promoted by the Governor from an ordinary battalion political commissar to being awarded the Wind-Extinguishing Medal, his position had risen rapidly, but he had mainly been involved in military and political affairs.
Recruitment, logistics supplies for the entire army, construction of military systems, management of military ranks and titles… These were the major parts of his job in military and political affairs.
He had hardly participated in frontline combat anymore.
Now, it was his first time taking charge of frontline command, and it had to be a big operation.
The newly formed 31st Airborne Division was set for covert infiltration and airborne raids; multiple infantry divisions coordinated with an armored division to race across more than a thousand kilometers in the North Territory within days, and after the airborne troops completed their task, smoothly take over the cities that were captured.
There were too many possibilities for mishaps in this — would the airborne forces fumble? Would the main ground attacking force be delayed? Could the road conditions in the North Territory support the advance of motorized and mechanized troops?
But fortunately, none of these concerns came to pass.
The combat achievements of the 31st Airborne Division combined with the Air Force were even more pleasing than expected!
Now, there was actually no need to worry about conventional military operations anymore.
His conventional task was completed.
What was left was to be handed over to another group, those from non-military sectors.
He dialed another commander’s communication.
“Comrade Martins Salas, leader of the battle group, we can now confirm the situation, the underground space marked as Area C7 should be the place we are looking for. The rest of the task, we leave to you.”
“Okay, leave it to us.”