Godzilla: Operation Final Strike.

[Andrew Nguyen]

Operation Final Strike:

Attempt to flesh out the battle at the beginning of Godzilla: Final Wars.

Disclaimer: Godzilla and related material are owned by TohoStudios.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1: Genesis.

Tokyo.
The city of Tokyo was one of the grand metropolises of the world. It represented the pinnacle of modern technology in a nation second only to that of the United States. It suffered many catastrophes such as war, earthquakes and monsters and yet managed to stand tall and proud. Unfortunately though, the war against the monsters took its toll and in a vicious battle waged against one of these monsters, the city almost vanished from the face of the Earth. Almost the entire city was flattened and the landscape resembled that of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The sight of the devastated city shocked Lieutenant General Arigama, commander of the First Airborne Division as he observed the ruins of the city from a helicopter. With him was his 2nd in command Colonel Hakauyate along with the rest of his core staff.

As he looked at the ruins of the capital, Arigama closed his eyes and took a deep breath before saying, “I wonder what made the monster attack so savagely that he didâ€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 2: Foundations of an international force.

1st division headquarters, Nerima Japan.
The headquarters of 1st Airborne Division, the unit traditionally charged to protect the now devastated capital of Tokyo, swarmed with military personnel with some of them in the uniforms of the other nations of the globe. When Arigama, the 1st’s Airborne’s CO, assumed command for the UN expeditionary force to destroy Godzilla, the base also became the command center for the growing force and already commanders of the nations planning to participate had just arrived and met with their Japanese counterparts.

General Arigama sat in his quarters looking over recon pictures of Antarctica. He looked around for any way to negotiate the harsh terrain but even with the best of satellite guidance equipment, command and control would be difficult at best. Beside it, were stacks of papers dealing with the status of his old command and the schedule of delivery of new maser weapons.

Just then someone knocked on the door and when he announced that the door was unlocked, his visitor entered into the room. Arigama sat up from his chair and shook the man’s hand and offered him a drink, “It’s been a long time Reynoldsâ€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 3: A test run.

Tsukaba City.
The city of Tsukaba was usually deserted early in the morning but this time, cars filled the streets and technicians swarmed around the large airfields as they struggled to ready the huge flying warships for the inspection tour by the command staff for the operation.

Most of the focus of the preparation centered on getting the engines up since the airships formed an integral part of the plan. Despite the experience gained from the Mysterian crisis with the Alpha class Aerial Battleship, the engineers labored all night to activate the engines and ensure that they could stay active for a long time in harsh conditions. It was only last night that the scientists managed to get the engines online for any appreciable period of time. Now the crews were making desperate final checks to ensure that everything worked at peak efficiency.

Nakano watched grimly as the crews of the three airships worked themselves to exhaustion in last minute checks. He wished that he could have had more time but as he learned during the war, higher level commanders didn’t have to heed the advice of subordinates if they felt that it would get in the way of the job. That aroused another groan of anger as he observed the time on his pocket-watch wondering when the command staff would arrive.

Suddenly, Udea interrupted his thoughts by stating, “Sir, the generals have arrived and a waiting in the control towerâ€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 4: Briefings and departure.

Nerima, Japan:
For the past few weeks, the commanders of the international force had been busy drawing up plans for the operation and it had not been easy due to many reasons: the political sensibilities involved the nature of the landscape, and most importantly, the nature of the threat. Time and time again, the arguments had devolved into verbal slugging matches. Finally however, the commanders managed to draw up a workable plan. Now it was time to convince the politicians and that would prove to be just as harsh as the arguments they all endured in the past few days.

Arigama took a huge gulp of his drink as he waited in his quarters for the inevitable news that guests would arrive and the meeting could begin. He had dealt with these types of meetings before and knew what to expect. What he did not expect though was the Emperor of Japan himself would attend the meeting. That sent shivers down his spine for he remembered the few times that he met the Emperor face to face and every time he did, he wished that he would be allowed to go back to the battlefield for he would rather deal with death on the outside than dishonor in front of the eyes of the emperor.

The opening of the door interrupted when Reynolds entered the room with a straight face, “General, the delegates have arrived and are waiting for usâ€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 5: The transit.

Philippine Sea, near the island of Palau:
The international strike force continued its transit throughout the length of the enormous Philippine Sea to avoid traffic. Fighters conducted standard patrol while the replenishment ships refitted the task force. The three huge Gontengo class warships were also in the water so as to recharge their engines and to allow the flyers to rest.

Admiral Shuichi Sakai watched the view from the bridge with a grim look on his face as the fleet transited through the area. He remembered the last time he ventured here, which was during 1944 when the Imperial Japanese Navy Mobile Fleet attempted to smash the American invasion of Saipan. He closed his eyes as the events of the battle flashed across his mind: American submarine attacks claiming two of Japan’s finest carriers while American aircraft claimed another carrier the following day.

The Japanese admiral turned to see several of the older crewmen having the same thoughts and also thinking about the irony of the situation of which they were now working with the very country that destroyed a lifetime of service to their home. It had taken a while for many of them to adjust to the new realities in Japan during and after the occupation.

Suddenly, the communications net started to activate with a communications link arriving in from the USS Constellation. Taking a deep breath to shake his thoughts, Sakai activated the ship’s communications console and asked, “Yes Admiral Maxwell, what is it?â€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 6: Bridgehead firefight.

Landing Beach Omega:
When a battle begins, it always degenerates into chaos of the worst order as everything that could go wrong does go wrong. The question each soldier asks is that how badly a killing zone can really get.

In this case, for the veterans of the Korean War at Omega, it was rising to the level of the defense of Pusan. With moderately sized forces in a small bridge head without any air support, the forces battling Godzilla suffered heavy losses and the monster had already advanced through the first three defense lines. Though the troops on the ground had plenty of courage, they did not have infinite number of troops and ammunition and lack of room to maneuver.

As Godzilla continued to march towards the sea, he left behind a burning trail of wreckage and death and the few survivors that managed to escape from their burning vehicles froze to death in the harsh winter climate. The monster continued to randomly fire his atomic ray along the ground, killing some, inflicting damage on the environmental landscape and chilling those in the rear who saw the blue energy on the horizon.

After the commander observed Godzilla slaughtering more of his forces, the ground commander in the area turned to one of the communications officers and yelled out, “Any chance on reinforcements from the other landing zonesâ€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 7: Consolidation and patrols.

Landing Beach Omega:
As Captain Nakano and Udea walked off the gangplank and towards the beach, both felt the stinging cold. Though Udea had spent some time in the northwestern part of Hokkaido, he felt that he would rather be back in Northern Hokkaido observing the Russians instead of here working with them. Despite that he followed his superior officer to one of the large prefabricated buildings set up to function as a command center.

Inside, the generals waited anxiously while attempting to keep warm. The generators providing the heat for the complex barely compensated for the extreme cold. They kept busy with reading the recent reports of the battlefield and though they were pleased with the situation mostly, the first news of the casualties sobered them to the task of the situation at hand. Although General Brezarin had been through battles where the Red Army suffered horrendous casualties on the first day alone, the butcher’s bill affected him as well though he carefully hid his thoughts as he observed the others. Reynolds took a deep breath as he read the casualty list for a moment before turning to Kitagawa but the Japanese general was busy with his own thoughts.

The silence ended when one of the doors opened and the captain of the Gotengo and his XO walked in. Kitagawa stood up and exchanged salutes with the two men before returning back to his seat, “First I want to thank you and your crews on behalf for everyone here for the courage you all have shown thus farâ€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 8: Let’s Go:

USS Constellation, somewhere off Landing beach Omega:
Many troops on the ground hoped that the makeshift shelters would provide some protection from the harsh cold but they proved less effective than everyone hoped and after reading reports of frostbites among the units on the icy continent, the commanders decided to rotate a select number back to the ships for treatment and to limit their exposure to the Antarctic weather. They also relocated back to one of the US carriers, to the anger of some of the troops, who felt that the commanders had no idea the hell they endured on this forsaken continent with each delay.

Yet it proved to be the right decision for while the common private had to endure the horror of battle up close, the generals had to make the hard decision of sending millions of these common privates off to die in at best dubious causes. Often making that decision required a general to be at his best of health both mentally and physically and that proved to be the case for Kitagawa right now as he and the other generals awaited the latest weather report. Plus an aircraft carrier contained more room and more advanced systems to keep track of large amounts of information.

All sat in one of the large conference rooms on the Constellation with Kitagawa brooding in thought with Reynolds sitting on the right side of him with a book in his hand. To the left sat Kawaguchi as he took a sip of his drink, his eyes drawn in as he observed the occupants in the room. Across from the room sat Brezarin along with the commanders of the British and French contingent. The only thing breaking the silence was the ticking of the clock and the sounds of classical Japanese music.

When the commanders heard a knock at the door, they all jumped in sudden surprise as they heard it and Kawaguchi immediately opened the door to find several officers, their faces in a tight grim mood. Before anyone can ask, the lead officer, a Japanese colonel said, “Sir, we believe that an acceptable weather front is moving inâ€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 9: Hammer and Anvil:

M113 Armored Personnel Carrier, Part of Landing Beach Omega group:
Despite the fact that the United States was the most advanced nation in the world when it came to developing automobiles and other vehicles, they had not discovered a way to make traveling in their military vehicles any more comfortable. True, they did have shock absorbers but these provided a temporary expedient. After going through the motions usually associated with traveling over rough ground, Kitagawa wished that he had asked either one of the Gotengo class warships to serve as his command center. He turned to Reynolds who seemed to be handling it much better than he did despite the conditions. Feeling a little dizzy, the Japanese general asked his American counterpart, “How the hell you Americans can stand riding in these thingsâ€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 9: Hammer and Anvil:

M113 Armored Personnel Carrier, Part of Landing Beach Omega group:
Despite the fact that the United States was the most advanced nation in the world when it came to developing automobiles and other vehicles, they had not discovered a way to make traveling in their military vehicles any more comfortable. True, they did have shock absorbers but these provided a temporary expedient. After going through the motions usually associated with traveling over rough ground, Kitagawa wished that he had asked either one of the Gotengo class warships to serve as his command center. He turned to Reynolds who seemed to be handling it much better than he did despite the conditions. Feeling a little dizzy, the Japanese general asked his American counterpart, “How the hell you Americans can stand riding in these thingsâ€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Just so to let the counter know that I''ve updated this.

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 10: Fighting for every inch of ice.

Off the shore of Antarctica:
To the crews of the warships in the area, the mission of blockading Antarctica started to bore them due to the inactivity. Being constantly at general quarters started to wear the crews out as they watched the mists of the icy continent, trying to spot any traces of the battle or that of Godzilla. In theory, if Godzilla had penetrated towards the coast, the fleet was to engage him with heavy gunfire support. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how one looked at it, that particular situation never came up thus far to the relief of the captains and admirals. Still they continued to run drills in case if Godzilla did truly break through and head towards the sea.

Only the carriers in the task force were continually in action during the whole operation. Operating in very deadly freezing weather, the flight deck crews of the huge warships struggled to keep their planes in operation despite the strain they were under. Meanwhile, pilots resorting to eating hot meals, drinking lots of healthy fluids and checking into the infirmaries to ensure their collective health as they rested in their quarters after flying another air support mission.

Admiral Sakai observed all of this from his flagship despite the ship’s windows nearly fogged up. Whistling in respect at the speed at which the carriers operated, Sakai turned to his subordinates and asked, “Any word from the ground forcesâ€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 11: Sheer Slaughter:

Interior of Antarctica:
As far as the human eye could see, battle between man and monster devastated the continent. Explosions rocked the landscape inceasslesly as the fighting continued to rage and above the howling winds and detonation of munitions, everyone heard the unmistakable chilling roar of the king of monsters as the battle wore on.

Godzilla roared in anger as the forces of humanity cornered him and pounded away at him. In such a constricted area, the tanks and other AFVs prevented Godzilla from again bringing his main weapon to bear while exposing the ground forces to close quarter combat. Miniature avalanches constantly occurred as the explosions and the constant tremors shook and shattered the huge glaciers. Many units simply disappeared in the enormous white mists the avalanches created all around them, burying many of the vehicles and their crews in the rubble.

In the gray sky, the air forces of the world used the remaining Gotengo as a rallying point to gather their strength as they observed the battle zone. With the density of the smokescreen and the intensity of the fire at an all time high, the air forces could not dive back into the killing zone without risking heavy losses. So many planes headed back to their bases while the rest landed back on the remaining Gotengo, while the huge airship continued to bombard the general area around the kaiju.

From the view of their APC, Generals Kitagawa and Reynolds watched as the tanks attempted to pin Godzilla in place (and hopefully overwhelm his cell defense system), while the artillery pounded the mountainsides. But Godzilla still fought savagely and although he could barely advance, every attempt to push him back cost even more lives.

As more explosions lit up the sky, Reynolds turned to Kitagawa and said, “With the firepower we have at our disposal, we can’t seem to be doing something as simple as burying him in an avalanche of iceâ€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 11: Sheer Slaughter:

Interior of Antarctica:
As far as the human eye could see, battle between man and monster devastated the continent. Explosions rocked the landscape inceasslesly as the fighting continued to rage and above the howling winds and detonation of munitions, everyone heard the unmistakable chilling roar of the king of monsters as the battle wore on.

Godzilla roared in anger as the forces of humanity cornered him and pounded away at him. In such a constricted area, the tanks and other AFVs prevented Godzilla from again bringing his main weapon to bear while exposing the ground forces to close quarter combat. Miniature avalanches constantly occurred as the explosions and the constant tremors shook and shattered the huge glaciers. Many units simply disappeared in the enormous white mists the avalanches created all around them, burying many of the vehicles and their crews in the rubble.

In the gray sky, the air forces of the world used the remaining Gotengo as a rallying point to gather their strength as they observed the battle zone. With the density of the smokescreen and the intensity of the fire at an all time high, the air forces could not dive back into the killing zone without risking heavy losses. So many planes headed back to their bases while the rest landed back on the remaining Gotengo, while the huge airship continued to bombard the general area around the kaiju.

From the view of their APC, Generals Kitagawa and Reynolds watched as the tanks attempted to pin Godzilla in place (and hopefully overwhelm his cell defense system), while the artillery pounded the mountainsides. But Godzilla still fought savagely and although he could barely advance, every attempt to push him back cost even more lives.

As more explosions lit up the sky, Reynolds turned to Kitagawa and said, “With the firepower we have at our disposal, we can’t seem to be doing something as simple as burying him in an avalanche of iceâ€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 12: Victory at last.

Interior of Antarctica
Though despite being a set-piece battle, the attempt to contain and bury Godzilla in an artificial avalanche transformed it partially into a running firefight with vehicles swarming all around the kaiju while avoiding death from all quarters. Tanks and APCs traversed the terrain while their gunners kept Godzilla in their sights. Maser tanks and artillery hung back while blasting the landscape around Godzilla. The monster in turn, continued to fire random shots of his atomic breath while smashing the landscape in front of his foes with his feet and tail.

Airplanes roared in from all directions while attempting to use cover to engage Godzilla before he retaliated. It proved exceedingly difficult for the constant explosions in the area generated an enormous smokescreen and the air fleet encountered difficulties in engaging the target while trying to stay alive. Flying in the thick smoke provided many ways for pilots to die ugly deaths for they flew in virtually blind at high speed.

Godzilla roared as another wave of explosions slammed all over his body. Though his eyes could penetrate the smoke screens, he could only ascertain a general location and therefore the military forces managed to reduce somewhat the casualties caused by Godzilla’s atomic breath. However the casualties still continued to mount with nearly all units at thirty percent of their former strength when they first arrived on the continent.

As the commanders listened in to the reports over the command net, they had long ugly looks on their faces. The constant fighting had transformed the ring of steel into a flimsy “metalâ€

[Andrew Nguyen]

Chapter 13: Preparing for the future.

International Fleet, northern part of Philippine Sea:
As they sailed back from Antarctica, there were a wide range of emotions. First of course was the relief among the survivors that they would be coming back from it very much alive. For many, they all thought that the operation would be one of the most disastrous in all military history. In fact, orders had been prepared to sail back and abandon the forces on Antarctica should Godzilla have triumphed over them while back home, the government had prepared press releases for such an eventuality. Fortunately though, that would not be the case, in fact, when Admiral Sakai returned to his quarters after the fleet departed for home, he opened a small cabinet and took out a small stack of papers. Looking at it for a moment, the admiral crushed the papers and threw them away.

The second emotion was that of anger among the various services for even though Final Strike was a success, it had come within an inch of being a disaster. Most of it came on the underestimation of the awesome power of the monster but all recognized that human errors also played a significant part. The ground forces complained about the lack of the performance of the air units while the air forces (including naval air units) retaliated by arguing about the complex length of time the troops needed.

As far as General Kitagawa was concerned, such arguments needed to wait until they returned home. He attempted to soothe the bruised egos via giving a speech to the commanders praising all three services for their participation in the battle. Unfortunately it did little for he heard about vicious arguments that nearly broke into fistfights between the ground forces and the air pilots still with the fleet.

That was while he was in his quarters along with the rest of the commanders as they observed the after-action reports from all elements. Many were bone tired and they wanted to rest and some nearly decided not to attend at all. Kitagawa himself was bone tired and exhausted from the combat, in fact he ate some of the food that he usually avoided eating.

He turned to observe the reactions of his colleagues as they read over the same reports. Reynolds was about to break and the two European generals had already broken from the strain and had taken repeated gulps of their drinks in order to steady themselves. Brezarin had a stone cold look on his face as he read the casualty lists for his own contingent and Kitagawa wondered if Russians were actually human after all when it came to the matters of war. He turned back to look at the number for his own country and though stunned, comforted himself with the fact that at least Japan would no longer have to suffer at the hands of the kaiju, at least for the foreseeable future.

From the reports, it seemed that the Japanese contingent suffered the most in terms of total casualties. Kitagawa mused to himself that it wasn’t surprising since the Japanese assumed the heaviest burden due to their experience battling the monster. Next to follow were the Americans since they usually worked with the Japanese units, which exposed them to the fury of the kaiju. The Russians followed next and then the miscellaneous units came in last. In terms of the rate of the casualties, the Americans and Russians came in last while the Europeans and Japanese lead the list, due to their smaller size.

After observing the faces of the others, Kitagawa then said to all, “I think we have an idea of what to put in the general reportâ€