The Invasion of Anchorage

The Invasion of Anchorage, as led by the 2nd Soviet Marines

## Quote

"The Soviet brigades seem very enthusiastic to invade the United States, for understandable reasons." - Svaski Kunetsov, 2052

## Context

After war was declared by the Coalition of Nations in January 1st, 2052, the Russians had already developed an elaborate plan to secure victory, whereas most other nations simply had mobilized. Part of this plan rested on the crux that American landing in Europe could be delayed by a strong defensive force threatening their homeland, tying up massive amounts of resources and manpower. The Invasion of Alaska had the sole objective to take land up to the border of the United States, through British Columbia, and build a series of highly defensible areas to stall any American or Canadian advance, using the Rocky Mountains to their advantage. Meanwhile, the combined forces of the Democratic Coalition would quickly secure victories elsewhere in Europe, to eventually prevent any possibility of even an American landing, effectively rendering their armies pointless. The Alaskan Invasion was to be managed by Six Armies of the Russian Armed Forces, led by Field Marshall Ivan Kopnitz, all specialized in Cold Weather Defensive formations, numbering approximately five hundred thousand in manpower.

## Composition of Armies

The Invasion of Anchorage was to be relatively small, with two thousand troops, two hundred airplanes, and five battleships to retain relative secrecy, but with the ultimate goal of establishing a beachhead for the rest of the army. The following waves of infantry would number ten thousand over the course of the day, composing of the 14th, 15th, and 17th Soviet Battalion. Of the two thousand marines, this was entirely composed of the Russian Marine Corps, who were all Soviet Brigades, who displayed a higher morale in general due to their hatred of America. Battleships and airplanes would simply provide support and cover with very little pre-bombardment, to ensure a sudden a rapid advance. On the American side there were no coastal defenses whatsoever, as there was no anticipation for an invasion of America to begin with, and only two hundred local militia were present at the time of the invasion, who did not even establish themselves on the beach. A nearby American airbase consisting of twenty fighters likewise was not prepared for the invasion, and only five managed to participate in the battle, only engaging in recon missions. One was shot down, early on, regarded as the first casualty of the Third Great War.

## Battle Positioning

The two thousand marines landed some fifteen miles east of Anchorage, shadowed by battleships and airplanes. They advanced towards Anchorage in a general assault, columns of infantry following close by. The two hundred militia were alerted of the invasion five minutes after it started, but were only able to put up a brief defense at the city center, forming rudimentary barricades and barriers. They were distributed into four groups each defending a side of the center. The Russians, despite having Swiss Particles, did not use them as their Marines were armed with bulletproof gear, and did not anticipate a professional American force.

## Course of the Battle

The invasion actually launched a day before the declaration of war was issued, slowly making their way towards the Alaskan coast from bases in Kamchatka. Dozens of fighters appeared near the coast of Alaska around 530am, and battleships near the coast at approximately 535am. The first landing craft were sent out around 545am, and the beach landing was unopposed at 6am, so the Russian Marines quickly advanced towards the interior, allowing space for the beachhead to be formed by the 14th Battalion who were gradually appearing in the coast. At this time the American Militia were alerted, consisting of the Alaskan Territorial Defense, who quickly armed themselves within an hour, and then were deployed in the city center to anticipate a defense, beginning to construct barricades. At the same time the Fighters of the 1st Alaskan Fighter Group were mobilized, but only five managed to take off, rushing towards the invasion point to survey for intelligence. After nearing the coast the fighters encountered a large group of fifteen fighters of the Russian Air Force, and in their retreat Private Yosef Waisman was shot down and presumably was killed, becoming the first casualty of the Third Great War. by 715am the Russian Marines had reached the outskirts of Anchorage, and began encircling the city, while encountering groups of civilian fighters who resisted. Five civilians were reportedly killed during these skirmishes, and another sixteen wounded. It was said that the Soviet Brigades were especially bloodthirsty, showing very little mercy to resisting civilians, and possessed somewhat of a fanatical zeal.

Eventually elements of the 14th Battalion began to arrive in force by 9am, numbering now three thousand, and urban warfare began, mostly consisting of more civilian forces. Another seventy civilians were killed here, a few hundred wounded, and the Russians suffered approximately twenty casualties. Civilians were not armed with the traditional Russian Laser rifles, and consequently found themselves unable to inflict many casualties despite having a lot of firepower. Eventually by 1pm a large battalion of the 15th Army had been mobilized near the outskirts of Anchorage, numbering another 5,000, which allowed them to make a final push towards Anchorage. At the same time bombardment began by fighters and battleships, who now lingered near the city and continuously disorganized American forces. An American task force consisting of two battleships and five destroyers were instructed to intercept the fleet at this time, but they had only just left harbor at roughly 2pm.

By 5pm, after hours of Urban fighting and capturing of key points, the center of Anchorage was surrounded, and the Alaskan Militia attempted to fight off the Russian advance, only to be overwhelmed quickly by combined armor and air attacks, easily destroying their makeshift barricades. An effort was made by the militia to collapse surrounding buildings to bury the Russian forces and also make a large area of impassable debris, but only one of the bombs went off and the plan was effectively a failure, despite causing great distress initially amongst the Russian ranks. The militia surrendered at 530pm, and for the rest of the evening Anchorage was secured by the 14th, 15th, and 17th armies, numbering in about 12,000 now. The nearby airbase was captured by Russian Forces at 635pm, and prisoners from the countryside were steadily being brought into Anchorage. The beachhead was eventually relocated to Anchorage itself, and further Russian Reinforcements began to pour in, bolstering their numbers with more battleships, airplanes, and manpower. The Invasion of Anchorage was relatively quick and effective, and by the next day 20,000 soldiers of the Russian 25th Army prepared to advance down British Columbia.

## Aftermath

Anchorage would effectively be a supply depot and base of operations for the Canadian Campaign, acting as the main supply point for the Russian armies in Canada. The American Task Force Fleet sent from Seattle ultimately retreated due to the overwhelming number of Russian ships, and the American Army began to mobilize extremely quickly in response to the threat of Anchorage. Americans for another time, stood united in this common threat, and propaganda and attitudes became extremely polarized the Russians. The Canadian armies would also also respond in a similar way, already constructing armies in Quebec and Vancouver, intending to drive the invaders away. As for the Russians, empowered by this victory, they immediately began sweeping southwards and constructing fortifications along the way, remembering their ultimate goal of stalling out the Americans. Ivan Kopnitz ordered two armies of the Russian Army to immediately focus on sweeping south, and another two to simply manage defenses. To the perspective of the Russians, who already caught wind of American tunnel visioning towards this invasion as opposed to Europe, they saw the Invasion of Anchorage as a massive success. The Invasion of Anchorage simply was the foothold to begin the Russian Campaign in Canada.