Chief of Defence, General Sven Christensen held a press conference at the Department of Defence where he announced the Joint
Forces Command's largest offensive since the beginning of the conflict. He explained: "Recognising that a simple frontal assault
against the defensive line as established by the Junta forces would be a serious military miscalculation, the Joint Forces
Command came to a decision that a major airborne offensive would have to be launched to impose additional pressure on the Yong-Ho
line." He stated that having convened a meeting with Chief of the Army, General Arnfinn Sommerfeldt, who is responsible for
airborne operations alongside his primary objective of organising the major ground offensive along with General Christensen,
training for an airborne offensive begun months prior on the island of Arenheim. In recognising that 2 airborne divisions are
already in use in Strike Forces operations, 2 additional division (4th and 5th Airborne Division) have been rotated into the
general order of battle. According to General Sommerfeldt, many preparations were made ahead of the initial assault which took
place in the early hours of this morning. Sommerfeldt offered a detailed layout of the airborne assault, coined Operation Dragon
Fly:
A coup-de-main force of the 2nd Battalion (5th Airborne Division) was the first to plan behind the Yong-Ho defensive line at the
town of Sassagnoa. Once on the ground, the troops emerged and assaulted the Junta positions. At a bridge to the eastern edge of
the town, troops assaulted Junta trench positions, attacked sentries, and threw grenades into a concrete bunker believed to hold
the triggering equipment for the bridge demolition charges. At the Abagbiji River bridge, a machine-gun nest was suppressed with
mortar fire but no other defenders were found, and the two platoons captured the bridge before radioing to other forces and
informing them of their success. Both bridges had been secured within fifteen minutes, at the cost of only a small number of
casualties. It was also discovered that the bridges had not been rigged with explosives as believed from intelligence sources.
The coup-de-main force had been followed closely by the Jaegers of the 2nd Parachute Battalion, tasked with marking out the
drop-zones and landing-zones to be used by the rest of the division. However, due to a combination of heavy cloud cover, only one
pathfinder team were dropped correctly. The aircraft carrying the remainder had to make between two and three runs over their
respective drop-zones before their teams jumped. Jaegers assigned to the northern portion of the town were dropped wide and did
not manage to get to the drop-zone for thirty minutes. One of the teams assigned to the southern side accidentally dropped onto
the western side without realising their error and set up radio beacons and markers that caused a number of airborne troops to
drop in the wrong area, hence sending the landings into slight confusion. A pathfinder team belonging to 3rd Battalion, assigned
to mark out the drop-zone area for the unit tasked with destroying an artillery battery inside of the town, was all but wiped out
when a surface to air missile battery unknown to the airborne forces shred through the aeroplane they were set to drop from.
According to General Sommerfeldt, the town of Sassagnoa was chosen due to the fact that the town was easily defendable and it
provided flat land for a makeshift runway to be constructed. Sommerfeldt noted that the aim was for the 20,000 airborne force to
launch hit-and-run raids against the eastern flank of the Yong-Ho line, using the town as a base of operations. The paratroopers
would be reinforced through airdrops by the Royal Kazulian Air Force. However, he noted that there is an additional complication.
In recognising that an airborne unit was brought down by an unknown SAM, General Sommerfeldt stated that it possesses a potential
risk to the ability for the airborne forces to remain supplied. Although the HSK and MSK accompanied the 20,000 airborne force,
Sommerfeldt noted that they too would have to be resupplied. Director of the Defence Intelligence and Security Organisation, Rear
Admiral Roland Malmgren spoke to his agency's response to the presence of unknown surface to air batteries. He said: "The Defence
Intelligence and Security Organisation has been actively monitoring the situations in North Dovani as they unfold. It is our
responsibility to analyse intelligence as it comes from the ground and work alongside the Joint Forces Command to adjust battle
plans and military operations as the intelligence dictates. We have positioned our Geospatial intelligence satellites above North
Dovani to collect image samples for analysis. From the said analysis, we have gathered that Junta forces have taken up advanced
mobile anti-air systems and are now positioning them to combat our complete air superiority. In recognising the importance of
airlift to the forces in Sassagnoa, we are bringing more electronic warfare aircraft online; concurrently, there is only one
however in recognising the clear and present threat posed by mobile anti-air systems, it is our intention to bring that number
from 1 to 6." Rear Admiral Malmgren stated that it was his intentions to use special operations teams to find the mobile anti-air
systems. General Asmus Jacobsen, Chief of the Air Force stated that having discussed the sentiment with the Joint Forces Command,
the air-force intends on reducing sorties by the HF-16s and Gripens, which do not possess stealth technology; with ZHF-35K
sorties set to increase tenfold.
On the western frontline, leading off from Phase 1 and Phase 2; The first assault against the established Yong-Ho Line was made.
The central thrust by the combined strength of the I and IV Corps, under the command of Major General Gustav Espeseth, commenced
three hours after sunset following artillery and close air support barrages resulting in negligible damage. After the barrage,
the 2nd Infantry Division was ordered to cross a river which separated the two forces, which began at 19:00. Two battalions of
the 2nd Infantry Division successfully crossed the river, but Junta return fire forced some of the forces to withdraw from their
advance across the river, and their foothold was abandoned. According to reports from the front, the defensive positions on the
central thrust had been erected on a hill, meaning that once troops had crossed the river they would have to climb over
artificial walls made of soil. On the next day, both regiments were ordered to perform another attack at 16:00. Although this
assault met with more success, the Kazulian foothold was unsustainable, as withering fire from entrenched tanks and anti-tank
guns prevented the movement of armoured vehicles across the river and also prevented bridges from being constructed by engineers.
It is important to note that Kazulian Forces possess lightly armoured vehicles such as mobile tank destroyers and infantry
fighting vehicles like the CV90 which can be easily knocked out by entrenched tanks and anti-tank guns. Without the bridges,
armour could not assist in the attack, and the infantry was left to fight on their own, resulting in devastating casualties.
After more than 20 hours of fruitless combat, both were ordered to withdraw. According to Major General Espeseth, it is very
clear that he will have to rethink his strategy before moving again. There are reports of Leopard 2a6KZ tanks being loaded onto
the trains and cargo aircraft with the intention of flying them into North Dovani. Espeseth stated that once "his order" had
arrived, he intends on launching a fresh offensive.
