Flood Gates Open; Ch.2

Kursk, Russia Feb. 14

General Vladimir Bakin: "Colonel!"
4th Armored Division Commander: "Sir!"
Gen Bakin: "The ground is hard, the air still, and the men are ready, yes?"
4th ADC: "Sir, at your command our equipment will roar to life!"
Gen Bakin: "Thursday, February fourteenth, 2019, will be remembered as the day Russia's territory was restored! Begin the invasion leave nothing alive! Leave nothing standing!"
4th ADC: "Very well, battalion commanders, You know what to do!"

With those orders in minutes the full power of the revitalized Russian Army thundered to life. The first ground shots of the ground war could be heard for miles as the 152mm artillery shells flew over the boarder into Ukraine.

Kharkiv, Ukraine Feb.14

AA tank crewman: "Nothing has happened in almost a week...I'm getting sick of sitting around waiting here and freezing my ass of in this tank!"
AA tank commander: "Calm down and look at it this way. All we do is sit here, no drilling! We don't have to do anything but sit here and watch this radar and even with that the Air Force has got it covered anyway! In fact I don't think we'll hear another bomb hit a building the rest of our lives!"
Just then the store right next to the tank collapsed. The shock wave threw the crewmen and five other people across the street.
AA tank crewman: "No more bombs huh?"
AA tank commander: "Shut up, get in the tank, and start shooting!"
The tank rolled down the street away from the crowd that was gathering and emptied hundreds of shells into the air. Soon other tanks followed trying to send up a wall of lead. They were knowledgeable of the Russian stealthy T-50's and didn't want to take any chances. Another building exploded and explosions could be heard all over the city.
AA tank commander: "Shit! It's artillery! Get out of here! Drive out of the city!"
AA tank crewman: "What about the people?!"
AA tank commander: "Screw them! They should have joined the Army! Now, worry about our asses!"
AA tank crewman: "Yes, sir!"
The tank whipped around hard and jumped as each gear changed and it screamed through the streets, covered in debris. more shells rained down and fires lit the gray sky. The tank stopped hard as a shell hit in front of it cratering the street. Water sprayed upward out of the crater. They turned left, to the south, and there were two blasts. A shell slammed into a street intersection and split a gas line which resulted in an even larger explosion. They turned around grinding the pavement with their treads. They headed north onto the highway that leads into Russia, but in the excitement didn't realize the consequences.

North of Kharkiv, Ukraine Feb. 14

As they moved north on the highway they noticed BMP-2s and BTR-4s speeding past them. They didn't realize the APCs were heading straight for the front. A few miles north the war had its first true ground to ground engagements. A Ukrainian Su-25 flew out of the fire lit gray sky over their tank and toward the front. Heading South, a military truck containing several screaming wounded sped past with its roof missing and drivers among the wounded. They came upon a bridge and stopped. The tank commander looked out and saw an Mi-17 helicopter trying to recover the passengers from a hospital truck that dove into the crater. When the gas tank exploded the helicopter reluctantly turned and flew back to base. The thunderous front could now be heard the reflection of the explosions could be seen in the overcast sky and the snow on the ground was a mix of orange reflected from the sky and black from debris.

Meanwhile the newsman from the station in Kharkiv was stuffed in an APC with a camera waiting to unload with the troops on front. The men inside were quiet, some praying, and some holding back tears holding pictures of loved ones. He would have interviewed them, if he wasn't scared himself. The APC came to sudden halt, jerking him forward out of the life pondering trance. The driver yelled something, which he couldn't make out with the mix of squealing tracks, powerful diesel engines, and thunderous explosions. The doors flung open in the back and all hell broke loose. There were wrecked vehicles everywhere and smoke filled the air. Another APC drove up and opened its doors, while it fired round after round and an anti-tank missile hopped off the top of the turret. He watched as the men unloaded from behind the APC and ducked with every explosion that fell around them. One man finished off his clip, got behind the APC dropped the clip, loaded a new one, prayed, and was about to turn when he suddenly burst into flame! The APC's turret flew into the air and the gas lit, setting the entire squad on fire. The newsman blasted back as his APC met the same fate. He saw men sling there weapons over their shoulders and run run as half of them were gunned down. He decided to do the same and jumped from wreck to wreck trying to stay in cover. A plane flew over and a deafening roar followed as Russian vehicles buckled from the detonation. He got up and ran faster than he had ever in his life, he had to get the tape back so his country could show it to the UN, NATO, or even the US.

The Russian tanks finally arrived to join the fight with the APCs that were already causing trouble. The Black Eagles fired their 152mm guns and blew the APCs away one by one. The AA crewmen heard a sonic boom and saw the flash from their position as they finally crossed the bottle necked bridge. A moment after the explosion they saw the same plane as earlier flying quickly in the opposite direction. Tracers followed in the air and a missile that lit up the sky as it maneuvered through the clouds smacked into the plane like a free bird flying up and out only to get smacked by a pellet from a shot gun. They moved closer now. More vehicles were driving past them along with men and a man with a camera.
AA tank crewman: "Even the reporters are bugging out, maybe we should too!"
AA tank commander: "Nonsense we have an obligation to defend our nation!"
AA tank crewman: "Ok , whatever. Oh shit! Helicopters coming in!"
The guns swung in the direction of the formation and fired hundreds of rounds at the choppers. Two were shot down, smacking into the pavement and men below. The rest spread out in panic. One, a KA-52, came around and fired an anti-tank round at the AA tank. The threat warning screamed and the crew jumped out and ran as their tank jumped from the explosion and erupted in an inferno. The crew was scratched up from shrapnel and helped each other get to cover.
AA tank crewman: "You alright sir?!"
AA tank commander: "I've had better days. You know the ones where ya don't have a foot long piece of shrapnel in ya! Give me some ammo for my pistol and get the hell out of here!"
AA tank crewman: "But...yes, sir...it was a pleasure serving with you. I'll remember you sir!"
AA tank commander: "Yeah yeah, Dmitry, quit the bullshit and get out of here, so you can get back in the fight!"
AA tank crewman: " Yes, sir"
It was starting to snow as night fell and fires lit the highway. Ash and smoke mixed in with the snow and gray sky. Artillery was still going off in Kharkiv to the south. To him it was silent and tranquil with the snow softly falling. A gas tank from a destroy APC blew off and he was snapped out of his trance. Dmitry turned and ran as his commander unloaded his pistol and screamed insults. Freeway E 40, into Kharkiv was taken and fight would move to ruthless urban warfare in what was left of Kharkiv.