The Battle of New York City, also known as Operation: Liberty Lost, was an American operation to retake and defend New York City from a Soviet incursion during World War III.
Prelude[]
Approximately four months after the outbreak of World War III in 1989, a NATO task force conducted a raid on the Soviet naval yard at Severomorsk in an attempt to prevent a Soviet submarine attack on the East Coast of the United States of America. While the assault was largely successful in crippling the submarine fleet and caused enormous infrastructural damage to the Soviet Union, the surviving submarines escaped and sailed towards the Atlantic Ocean. Upon arriving at the East Coast, the Soviets attacked the American naval yards at the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek in Hampton Roads in the U.S. state of Virginia. Fortunately, the American coastal defenses were warned of the impending attack early. As such, they were successful in driving off the assault before the Soviets could inflict even a minor damage.
Unfortunately, this attack also served as a cover for the Soviets' second attack against the East Coast. Three companies of Spetsnaz commandos infiltrated the American defense perimeter and assaulted Allied positions around New York City, New York, where they quickly captured Liberty, Ellis, and Governor's Island. In the midst of doing so, they overwhelmed the light defenses on the three islands and stole an arsenal of American vehicles and weapons, granting them complete control of the islands. All hostages and VIPs were transferred to Ellis Island, where they were held hostage.
During the siege, the Soviets secreted a large shipment of chemical and biological weapons onto Liberty Island, where they were deployed inside the Statue of Liberty. Their hope was to blackmail the United States into withdrawing all of its forces from Europe. If the U.S. did not comply, the Soviet Union would exterminate the population of New York City. The U.S. government reacted quickly to the situation, and commissioned all nearby forces to retake New York City by any means necessary.
The Initial Assault[]
Captain Vance of the U.S. Army Rangers was given command of the operation to liberate New York, and committed a large force of his Rangers to assault the islands. Using a force of UH-60 Black Hawks and CH-53E Super Stallions, the U.S. Rangers assaulted Soviet positions on Governor's Island, the most heavily fortified of the three islands. However, the assault ended in failure when Soviet anti-aircraft fire destroyed most of the Rangers' helicopters, killings many U.S. soldiers. The assault was called off and the Americans were forced to rethink their means of assault.
Fortunately for Vance, help arrived when his old comrade, Colonel Jeremiah Sawyer, who had just returned home from action in Russia, arrived to assist in the operation. Committing his own forces to the assault, Sawyer ordered Lieutenant Parker to assist Vance in the second assault. Captain Mark Bannon would provide support while remaining on the sidelines. With these reinforcements, the U.S. Army Rangers renewed their assault on New York Harbor.
The Second Assault[]
American helicopters heading for Ellis Island.
Vance and Sawyer initiated the second assault on the islands, this time committing to an amphibious attack. Lieutenant Parker was to provide fire support with a force of AH-64A Apaches and AH-1 SuperCobras. The Americans chose to assault Ellis Island first in order to free the hostages held there and to establish a base of operations. While Parker held off the Soviet naval and ground forces stationed around the island, Vance's men assaulted the island, taking only modest casualties thanks to Parker's intervention. The Americans then freed the hostages and established firm control over the island. Captain Bannon set up a repair base on the island, where he would oversee vehicle repairs. The Americans then assaulted Governor's Island, ignoring Liberty Island for the time being. After establishing a beachhead, Parkers' forces held off several repeated attempts by the Soviets to drive Vance's men off the island, enabling the Captain to set up a defensive perimeter on the island's south side. Bannon then transferred some of his forces to Governors' Island so that his allies would have immediate access to repairs.
Vance advanced to the island center while Parker destroyed the Harpoon launchers stationed across the island in order to ensure that they caused no harm to the city. Vance found himself overwhelmed by the sheer number of Soviet-controlled U.S. vehicles on the island, and was only able to hold them off with Parker's assistance. Parker was successful in destroying most of the Harpoon launchers when new orders came in from Colonel Sawyer.
Sawyer had been previously informed of the Soviets' plan to launch chemical weapons from Liberty Island, so the destruction or capture of the island became the Rangers' top priority. Sawyer ordered an airstrike on Liberty Island, and then contacted Parker. He ordered Parker to refocus his offensive efforts on Liberty Island and to free the island at all costs before the airstrike arrived. The U.S. Army was not willing to destroy the Statue of Liberty, but if the island was not cleared prior to the airstrike, they would have no other option. Parker assaulted the island with his helicopter task force, destroying numerous Soviet defenses and fortifications while averting fire from Soviet-controlled Apaches. With only moments to spare, Parker captured Liberty Island and signaled the Colonel. Sawyer then aborted the airstrike mere seconds before the Statue would have been obliterated.
Assault on Fort Jay[]
With Liberty and Ellis Islands secured and the Soviets on the defensive on Governor's Island, Parker and Vance rallied their forces for one final assault on Fort Jay, on the northern head of the island. They were to destroy all enemy fortifications and then secure the fort itself. While Vance threw everything he had at the Soviet defense perimeter, Parker's force of helicopters, which had just returned from Liberty Island, bombarded the enemy forces below. The Americans' efforts were impeded by constant Soviet mortar attacks and repeated assaults from their own commandeered vehicles. The U.S. suffered heavily for the assault, but were eventually successful in capturing Fort Jay, and immediately set up defenses around the fort.
However, the Soviets were nowhere to surrendering. In one last-ditch effort, they threw all of their surviving forces against the Americans in a desperate counterattack. Surprised that they could even attempt such a brazen move, the Americans rallied for the defense. Ultimately, the last Spetsnaz survivors were finally silenced thanks to Parker's concentrated airborne assault, finally securing Governor's Island and saving New York City.
After the dust settled, Captain Vance reestablished control over the three islands and likely called for replacement forces. Parker and several men from his unit were then granted shore leave by Colonel Sawyer in Seattle, Washington. Captain Bannon would be transferred to the 5th U.S. Battalion, where he and Sawyer would supposedly never meet again.
Aftermath[]
The success of the battle means that the American East Coast is safe once again for the time being, and the Soviet attempt to blackmail the Allied Powers in Western Europe failed, ensuring continued American cooperation on the European front. The battle was the first major attempt by the Soviets to invade American soil, which thankfully ended in failure.
Unfortunately, such failure did not discourage the Soviets from invading America. Determined to undermine American intervention in Western Europe, the Soviet Union launched a massive invasion of the American West Coast a mere week after the battle in New York, initiating the American front in World War III.
See also[]
| Battles and engagements of World War III | |
| European Theatre | |
|---|---|
| American Theatre | |