Corporal Anderson wiped his tired eyes. He checked his cheap digital watch and was met with the glaring pale green numbers. 02:45. It was pitch black and he was hugging the railing on the deck of the Owney, a requisitioned P&O ferry that had been pushed into temporary military service. There were more men close around him, the chill wind forcing them to huddle together. No two men had the same combat gear, the only consistent thing amongst them their camouflaged field jackets and trousers. He gripped his own assault rifle tightly, the icy metallic cold painful to his raw fingers.
They were headed for Kilnamanagh, a large coastal town on the mainland. Whilst chosen primarily because it had little to no DYSFOR presence, a bonus was the necessary dock facilities it maintained. Anderson’s company, along with the rest of 9th battalion, were the first National Army unit from Aemilius to touch base with the mainland. The objectives, from what he understood, were to firstly assist the National Militia operational within the area in invading the town, and secondly to then recruit the numerous inactive registered members of the National Militia in the county. It was expected that the Kilnamanagh Police Constabulary would ally with the National Army and control of the town would be taken without trouble.
Hearing the shuffle of dozens of boots and the gruff shouts of Sergeant Burke, Anderson fell in with B Company, catching one last glance at the dazzling lights of Kilnamanagh before moving below decks, soon to disembark.
The 9th Infantry Battalion of the Aemilian Army consists five Companies numbering 675 personnel. They are traveling with four Mowag Piranha IIIH 8 x 8 APCs.
The Waterford County Militia is operating with 1,200 active men. However only 400 of these (Kilnamanagh locals) will be involved.
The docks of Kilnamanagh were bustling with life as Aemilian soldiers marched about and vehicles and supplies were directed into the town itself. Crates of military supplies, including uniforms, weapons and ammunition were sitting idly in the warehouses as they were distributed throughout the county to militia units. After several days Kilnamanagh had become a hive of activity as the Aemilian Army organized itself in its new foothold on the mainland. Offices were requisitioned for administrative duties and several camps sprung up in the surrounding area.
In the following few days since the 9th Battalion landed and assumed official control of the town with elements of the Waterford County Militia - with no opposition from the local police force - the rest of the brigade had been quickly dispatched by the Provisional Government. It was now up to 4 Brigade to advance on the city of Waterford and wrestle it from DYSFOR control. The commanders of the Aemilian forces were hoping the neutral DYSFOR forces stationed there would be evacuated to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
The 4 Brigade of the Aemilian Army includes five battalions/regiments with a strength of 4,000 personnel. X1 infantry battalion, X2 motorized infantry battalion, X1 armored regiment and X1 mechanized artillery regiment. All the vehicles are ex-Federal Army.
OOC: I need someone who contributed troops to DYSFOR to role play their forces at Waterford. If not I'll assume they were evacuated. If at all possible I want to avoid hostilities with DYSFOR.