Operation Guillotine

*This article is about an in-universe event. For the in-game mission, see Cold War.*

## Details

### Date/Time

pre-13:05+, April 17, AC 432 (local time)

### Outcomes

**Decisive CIF victory*** Federation air supremacy decimated across northern Cascadia

Combatants| Cascadian Independence Force |  Pacific Federation* Magadan
* Ulaanbaatar
* Oceania
* Deep Federation States

Strength| **Cascadian Independence Force*** Cascadian Air Force
	+ Stardust
	+ Kuiper Team
	+ Triton Team
	+ Orion
	+ 2x F/C-15
	+ 4x MG-29
	+ 10x F/E-18
	+ All other idle air units
* Cascadian Coast Guard
	+ *Eminent Domain*

 **Mercenaries*** Sicario
	+ Hitman Team
	+ Assassin Team
* Coal
* Master Goose Squadron
* 2x MG-31
* 2x Sk.37 Decimator-B
	+ All other idle air units
* Magadan's Federation Aviation Regiment
	+ Almost 200 pilots
* 2x Accipiter †
* 2x F/E-4 †
* 2x Sk.30 †
* 4x MG-21 †
* 10x F/C-15
* 6x F/C-16 †
* 6x MG-29
* 6x MG-31 †
* 18x F/E-18 †
* Federation Peacekeepers
	+ Crimson Team

Casualties| Unknown, including Orion Team leader and all other AWACS except Zaitsev | All transportsOver 200 fighters* Five Crimson Team members

*"We cannot let the Federation have any more of their forces escape and regroup, even if it means the largest furball in history."*
― CIF unit Briefer
**Operation Guillotine** was a decisive air operation carried out in northern Cascadia by the Cascadian Independence Force with support from various mercenary forces over the Bering Strait against a large contingent of aircraft belonging to various Pacific Federation states. The result of the battle was a decimation of the Federation's air power in the Cascadian theater and the exchange of air superiority over Cascadia to the CIF.

It was during this battle that Sicario's Hitman Team and the Federation's Crimson Team engaged for the first time proper after the former's retreat during Operation Flash Hazard, and where Hitman leader Monarch grew in fame and infamy as the "Crowned Mercenary". The battle was also recorded as the greatest air battle in the war and the After Calamity Era as a whole.

## Prelude and escalation

*"We have any more reinforcements?!"
"Negative, almost every combat-capable fighter this side of the world is inbound."*
― A Federation pilot and Regional HQ
In an attempt to deal with losses in the Cascadian Conflict never before seen in decades, Federation HQ had permitted the evacuation of various disorganized and underpowered units out of Cascadia, using an arctic storm over the Bering Strait as cover.

On April 17, AC 432, a rebel patrol detected the transport unit, and proceeded to intercept. Soon, both sides called in reinforcements, wherein a snowball effect would take place, with the already deployed reinforcements calling for more planes to be sent in, culminating in the furball that took place. The *Eminent Domain*, the CIF's flagship, was sent in to rescue any allied pilots who were downed in the engagement.

## Battle

*"Who the hell thought this was a good idea?!"*
― Peter Kennedy
By the time Sicario and Stardust flight arrived at the airspace, there were already hundreds of aircraft shooting down one another and crowding the area, messing up IFF data by overcrowding. Missile trails were everywhere at once, greatly reducing visibility for both sides, and high-profile units were engaged as well, partly because practically the "entire" Cascadian Air Force and "half" the Federation Air Force was sent in.

Despite this, however, the rebel air force was on the backfoot, with the above reinforcements arriving relatively late. In addition, Dominic Zaitsev, to his surprise, found that he was the sole remaining allied AWACS left; the others were either shot down or left the combat zone, and he was forced to assume command of remaining allied fighters. Fortunately for him, with the Solana Communications Array out of action, he was able to monitor the situation beyond the present AO, evident by later detecting IFF tags all over the Federation - Magadan, Oceania, Federation Core States including Ulaanbaatar, and even Deep Federation States. His first order of business for allies was to secure air supremacy.

The Federation transports, with the furball widening, were unable to perform evasive maneuvers, afraid of colliding with their escorts in the blizzard. The long and grueling engagement would see many pilots pushed to their limits and earning the position of ace, and with the aid of mercenary pilots, eventually see the Independence Force gain the upper hand. Hitman Team notably stood out as "the only [Sicario] team worth a damn", and Federation pilots began to falter with their presence, prompting them to summon Federation Peacekeepers predisposed in other theaters. The turning of the tide gave the rebels time to combine some depleted squadrons, and drove the Federation into focusing all their efforts on Monarch, the one responsible for most of their losses.

## Peacekeeper reinforcements

*"That Crowned Mercenary just shot down a Peacekeeper?!"
"Who was that?! Who shot him down?!"
"We might win this war yet, keep fighting!"*
― A CIF pilot and a Crimson Team member
The rebel forces' rest was short-lived, however, as yet more reinforcements from the Federation arrived, this time in the form of Crimson Team and a flight of escorting aircraft from bearing 230. This resulted in yet another furball, with the Federation survivors rallying around their top aces in an attempt to survive and win the dogfight. Crimson 1 ordered his wingmen to target the mercenaries, especially Hitman Team, as they were the rebels' main driving force; he himself went after Monarch.

The Sicario ace, however, managed to shoot down a number of Crimson Team aircraft and then some more, eventually resulting in Federation HQ/Crystal Kingdom's decision to pull the crippled Peacekeepers and other survivors out of the airspace despite their best efforts to salvage the fight. Despite the loss of the majority of his squadmates, Crimson 1 objected, insisting that HQ send in more reinforcements with the vain hope of winning the battle. Unfortunately for him, reinforcements were depleted and all of their transports were shot down by then, and Crimson 1 agreed to pull out, bitter at his failure to shoot down the Crowned Mercenary that day.

## Aftermath

*"Hitman Team, Monarch, we’ve gotta thank you. If you didn’t tie up those Peacekeepers...well, I don’t know what would’ve happened."*
― J. Griffiths
The rebels celebrated their surprise victory, with Monarch's immense kill tally being noted for securing it. Sicario's AWACS popped a bottle of champagne over his operational console, elated by the win. The returning pilots were granted a bonus reward, perhaps shore leave.

The Federation's aerial projection capabilities were massively reduced in the war, forcing them to give up frontlines and retreat their forces while they restocked their lost pilots. Their only remaining winning hand was Task Force 1, which the IF began planning to deal with over the following weeks. In particular, only a dozen pilots of Magadan's Federation Aviation Regiment - a scant remnant of the 200+-strong division - returned from the disastrous battle.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sector D2 Limited. (TBA). *Project Wingman* *Artbook*. p. N/A