Battle of Washington

The **Battle of Washington**, also known as the Siege of Washington, was an attempt to capture the American capital by Mexican and Mexican-allied forces during the Third Mexican-American War. It is the only time since the War of 1812 that a foreign power has attempted to capture and occupy Washington D.C.

On August 11th, 2136, Halvidar nationalized the Planetary Guards of the colonies and called them to defend the Homeland in what would become Operation Stardust. Mexico detected the fleet on August 24th, and on August 27th the colonial forces would reach Earth. Every simulation assured Mexico's leadership that the colonial fleet's forces would overwhelm them in short order, leaving Mexican war planners to prepare for the worst. Hoping to end the war before the first wave of the fleet arrived, Mexico launched a daring attack of its own on the US capitol of Washington D.C., detonating a nuclear flare above the city and invading in force on August 26th.

President Halvidar, while in the White House bunker, ordered all available US forces and armed personnel to defend the city, and took the field in to directly oversee the defense of the nation’s capital, the first President to do so since James Madison. The siege lasted for just over thirty-one hours, between August 26th to August 28th.

## Background

Part of a series on the

## Battle

### Battle Above the City

The first strike on the Capital Defense Platforms came in the afternoon of August 26th, 2136. Mexico’s advance had been stalled for the better part of a year, and they’d never attempted an attack so close to the American Capital before. Since the Third World War, conflicts tended to ignore civilian centers, the threat of mutually assured destruction and the interdependence of the global economy made the such slaughter too great, too unreasonable for the 22nd Century. It seemed someone forgot to tell Mexico. The fight in orbit didn't last long. By nightfall on the East Coast the Mexicans had broken through the American defense platforms and were preparing to make planetfall. On the ground, the city looked abandoned, but below the surface, the population had been evacuated to the labyrinth of shelters that had been built up of the centuries, the largest of which were retrofitted flood control channels left behind after the waters had receded in the Refreeze. The members of the government were deeper below ground in hardened bunkers built just prior to the Third World War. A great silence fell over the streets of Washington DC, interrupted only by faint screams of the drones overhead and the methodical scans of those on the ground. The nuclear flare detonated just a few hundred feet above the National Mall at 9:05 pm EST, clearing the skies for invasion, and leaving the heart of the city in ruins.

### Fall of the Monuments

Beneath the molten slag of the Washington Monument, the first wave of Mexican Orbital Shock Commandos landed in the American Capital. Falling like snow with the unfiltered fallout, 20,000 Mexican orbital commandos make planetfall in Mexico’s greatest gambit of the war. Every simulation assured Mexico's leadership that the colonial fleet's forces would overwhelm them in short order, and with little more than a day from arrival, Mexican war planners hoped to leave their enemy leaderless, and the Colonials to salvage what remained of their Homeland, while Mexico consolidated their gains. President Halvidar, and most of the US Congress survived the attack, as Mexico knew they would, safe beneath the surface of the Capital with much of the civilian population that hadn’t already left the city during the fight in orbit. The 4th Orbital Shock Corps were the first to arrive, and were greeted by a hail of micro-artillery from the few drones that had survived the nuclear flare on the outskirts of the city. The Americans quickly established strong points at the White House and on Capitol Hill, sending scouts to deploy razor fields and smart-mines between the Reflecting Pool and the White House, shielding the Theodore Roosevelt and Arlington Bridges for reinforcements. Dress Marines, Capital Police, and what few National Guard and Space Forces that had entered the city before the nuclear flare, now made up the bulk of the comparatively meager American defense. President Halvidar had sent out orders to any units in the area to come and defend the Capital when the first missile hit the Capital Defense Platforms 9 hours ago, but with most of their Atlantic forces tied up in the Gulf, the fight for DC was set to be the most desperate of the war.

The 4th Shock Corps were joined 3 hours later by the 7th and 1st Commando Divisions, after sending the 11th division south to hold the Case and Price memorial bridges against the US 5th Army which was preparing to cross into DC from Virginia. Armored soldiers and drones engaged in scuffles above Jefferson Island in the heaviest fighting of the Battle for DC, while National Guard Forces crossed the Arlington Bridge to meet the 7th Commando division. US Forces established positions at the ruins of the Temple of the Union, taking the high ground against the Mexican forces near the ruins of the Korean War memorial. The forces at the Lincoln Memorial had brought with them micro-artillery and laser defense batteries, providing the city with much needed relief from Mexican missile barrages. The batteries grounded most of Mexico’s flyers above the reflecting pool and gave the White House a reprieve from the 4th Shock Corps attempts to take the building. As the sun rose on August 27th, Mexico had now established the battle-lines in the West of the City, while forces from Maryland and Virginia rushed to save the Nations’ Capital.

### Siege of Capitol Hill

While US reinforcements from Virginia had kept the heaviest fighting to the west of the city, reinforcements from the North were only just filtering in by 10 am. Spreading out from the secondary landing zone just north of the Smithsonian, the 1st Commando Division faced only a small smart-mine trench and a force of 500 American militia and regular Army soldiers defending Capitol Hill. Supported by only a few dozen crowd suppression drones, and one hastily reactivated mortar launcher from the last war, the Americans tried to buy as much time as possible to evacuate the Congress or receive help from National Guard units from Maryland. With the Capitol dome crumbling from a combination of age and the heat that split the sky, the US forces made a desperate stand against the Mexican commandos. Reinforcements from Maryland finally arrived at Union Station by 5pm on the 27th. Barely assembled and with only the old stone building to shield them from the barrage of laser fire and impactor rounds from the 111th Commando regiment, the National Guard forces held the line, but were unable to move from their makeshift castle and come to the relief of the Hill. Despite their best efforts, the 81st and 9th Commando regiments took the Capitol Building by midnight August 28th, running up the Mexican flag atop the Statue of Freedom, and taking the few members of the government unfortunate enough to have missed the tram out of the city as POWs. This included 22 members of Congress.

### White House Siege

The loss of Capitol Hill seemed to spell the end for the Americans. Mexico had finally crossed over to hold the bridges on Jefferson Island while the 90th Commando regiment formed a secondary defensive line against the 5th Army in Jacobi Row. What was left of the White House was all that stood in the way of a Mexican Victory. With most US forces on the continent fighting in the Southwest and the Gulf, those that had rushed to defend DC barely numbered 5,000. President Halvidar and the Mexican commandos prepared for the final skirmish of the Battle of Washington. What forces could, rallied at the White House, the few who make it, quickly realize just how dire the situation is; with Mexico holding Capitol Hill, and the bulk of the reinforcements from Virginia stalled at Lincoln circle and Jefferson Island, and no clear battlefield command, defeat appeared to be imminent. In that moment, President Halvidar emerged from the bunker of the White House; surrounded by marines, and armored in old CVA-7 Armor, not used since the Guardiola Incident. No President had taken the field since the Burning of Washington three centuries ago; standing there among the few who remained, mind interfaced with the Battlefield Command Net, this President made it clear that should this city fall, he intended to fall with the men and women defending it. Seeing their President standing with them, directly coordinating the battle from the ruins of the White House, the American forces prepared to make one final stand to hold the city.

At 1:14 am, the first wave of the Colonial Fleet entered Earth Orbit. After redlining their ship’s reactors to arrive just a few hours early upon hearing of the invasion of DC, the colonials entered into combat with the Mexican Orbitals. Half the fleet remained to combat the Díaz Orbital forces at the Moon, while the other half made their way to Earth. The battle in orbit continued for another 3 hours, with Mexico sending everything they had to stop the Colonials from reaching DC. Mexican Vacuum Commandos and US Space Marines engaged in heavy fighting just 200 km above DC. From below it looked like a meteor shower coming from all directions. Meanwhile, the Mexicans had finally entered the White House Grounds, shooting down the last few drones in the sky and detonating the smart mine field with laser support from the bombardment ships that originally destroyed the Capital Defense Platforms. With the Battlefield Command Net now largely disabled, President Halvidar began directly commanding troops, as Mexico’s commanding General, Heriberto Bautista, joined his own men to take the White House.

### Arrival of Reinforcements

As the fighting began to enter the third and final morning, the soldiers on the ground looked to the sky on August 28th at 4:21 am EST. Above the ruins of DC, the sky lit up with trails of fire. Tens of thousands of Marines from the colonies had broken through the Mexican orbitals, and were now screaming toward the surface. Landing across the city, and supported by swarms of drones and a hail of micro-artillery, the colonial reinforcements finally joined the fight for DC. The bulk of these forces landed just behind the Mexican 4th Shock Corps, outnumbering them 2 to 1, fresh from battle in orbit. General Bautista knew what the arrival of the colonials now meant. With the American President still in command, and the colonial forces on the ground and in space, it was only a matter of time. The fighting continued for another 5 hours, and with support fire from the Colonial fleet, the way was cleared for the 5th Army and the National Guard to take back the city from the Mexicans. Bautista held his ground longer than anyone thought possible, but finally surrendered at 10:02 am on August 28th, 2136. President Halvidar greeted the Colonial General who led the counterattack and hailed this the turning point of the war. He never took off his armor during the speech and as the Marines, cops, and weekend warriors all celebrated this victory, the President made his way to the Medical tent near Constitution Gardens. The old man greeted those he saw on the way, and gave orders to treat Bautista and his men with dignity to those who were eager to get revenge for the destruction of the city, but all the while advanced to the row of white tents. He had been linked to the Battlefield Command Net for over 10 hours, and at 145 years of age, despite being in a relatively new body, the battle had taken its toll on his mind. He sits down on the stretcher and is greeted by a medic who happily asks if the President, in his comparatively undamaged armor, is in any pain after the fight. He says nothing, but instead calmly removes his helmet to reveal the blood flowing from his ears, eyes, and nose. His capillaries are all burst, his eyes blood red, and he promptly collapses on the stretcher.