Mission Breaking Point
Mission Breaking Point was the second and final counteroperation carried out by the Heimdallr Task Forces against the Neocon Task Forces during Operation Downfall. Following the success of Mission Hale, Field Marshal Kiriya Kitagawa immediately ordered a search for the King's whereabouts, as the 3rd Phase of Operation Downfall called for the Neocon's planting a mind-controlling device to the King in order to use the legendary Dath'Remarian artifact known as the Greathammer against the Heimdallr forces.
After elements of the Gneisenau Partisans reporting a large device being constructed in the Almaty Plains, Gneisenau scouts surveyed the area and found that HM the King is being kept prisoner in one of the makeshift buildings. The device was seen to attempt to control the mind of the person, as was tested on the local East Europan populace. Seeing the danger, they immediately reported it Kitagawa, who ordered his eldest son, Col. Yamato Kitagawa to assemble a token force to rescue the King and the Greathammer. As some of the Heimdallr Task Force personnel had been sent to secure other holdings, Yamato's manpower was down by 40%. Aware that General Chang Gwan-mook and Task Force Nicator had more men, and would try to use Seleucid artifacts against them, the former decided to enlist the help of Col. Vladimir Peniakoff and Vodka Regiment, who accepted the call for help. As a result, Yamato managed to bolster his number for the upcoming showdown at the Almaty Plains. In 14 April, final preparations were taken with Yamato successfully being able to recall the LRRG, a subgroup of TF 141. His manpower rose that by the following day, his men almost amounted to nearly 500 men, just short of TF Nicator's 550 strong personnel.
On the day of the battle, Yamato and TF 141 came upon a heavily reinforced TF Nicator supported by 4 Seleucid descendants wielding the Seleucid artifacts while defending the device. Although Yamato knew that he was outnumbered, he rallied his men and engaged in a bitter gunfight against TF Nicator. The gunfight lasted for nearly 6 hours. At 3pm, the Neocons successfully managed to control the King's mind and unleashed the power of the Greathammer against Yamato and his forces. Casualties were beginning to steeply climb as the situation for TF 141 was turning grim, being they were dangerously close to being routed.
As TF 141 braced, Yamato and Kasimira attempted one final attempt to save the Heimdallr cause. Yamato and Kasimira ignored all gunfire and charged on the device that was controlling the mind of the King. As Yamato distracted the 3 Seleucid descendants and Kasimira knocking one out, she managed to lunge her spear on the device, setting the King free from the device's control. A few moments later, the Greathammer began to brighten with voices being heard coming out. A stream of energy flew and infused itself with the King. Both sides would see that the King had been possessed with the spirit of Dath'Remar. Although Alice Janggok tried to slay him with her blade, Dath'Remar activated a force field which sent her flying back. The 3 other descendants tried to lunge their weapons but met the same fate as Janggok. Afterwards, a storm of lighting rained down on TF Nicator's positions, causing casualties within Nicator to rise.
Dath'Remar, while possessing the King's body, rallied TF 141, whom he referred to as The Sons of Europa and ordered Yamato to lead his army to victory. As TF 141 charged in on TF Nicator's position, the fright of the Dead King's soul possessing HM the King frightened them that they were forced to run and retreat from the plains. Following the rout of TF Nicator, Dath'Remar would address TF 141 before his essence returned to the Greathammer and HM the King finally regaining control of his body.
Following this event, the Neocons would never again be able to obtain any advantage over Heimdallr, despite the Katabatic Event taking place, which only further accelerated its collapse and defeat.
Order of Battle
Heimdallr Task Forces
- Overall Commander: Col. Yamato Kitagawa
- Second-in-Command: Maj. Naoto Kitagawa
- Task Force 141
- Detachment K - Col. Yamato Kitagawa
- Baker Company - Col. Richard Philip Todd
- Easy Company - Col. Darzana Magbaredge
- Long Range Reconnaisance Group - Col. Yukio Kushineda V
- Love Company - Maj. Henry Keith
- Jade Company - Cpt. Lee Xiaoming
- Task Force 141
- Task Force 219
- Tiger Company - Maj. Phó Thị Yến Anh
- Tulip Company - Cpt. Zsigmond Fábián
- Task Force 219
- Task Force 853
- Lambda Company - Maj. Charles Kendrick
- Kappa Company - Cpt. Lazlo Pongrác
- Task Force 853
- Vodka Regiment - Col. Vladimir Peniakoff
Neocon Task Forces
- Overall Commander: General Chang Gwan-mook
- Second-in-Command: General Darius Tillman
The Operation
Prelude and Preparations
Right from the start, Col. Yamato Kitagawa knew that he and his men stood no chance against Task Force Nicator, being armed with a load of weapons and arsenals, including flying blades. In addition, Kitagawa was fueled with the knowledge that they would also be supported by 4 Seleucid descendants; specifically by Janggok Chi-hun, Zarmouhi Astvadzadourian, Arzelig le Bal, and Alice Janggok. But at the same time, he realised that if the Neocons ambitions of defeating Heimdallr were to be stopped, it would be at the Almaty Plains, and thus, destroying all that General Chang Gwan-mook had ambitioned and forcing him to be disgraced.
In addition, the young Kitagawa wanted to make TF Nicator to pay for what they had done during the supposed raid on Fort Daidoji Kitagawa under the pretense of assassinating his father, Field Marshal Kiriya Kitagawa. Although his father had survived thanks to a body double, Kitagawa allowed his son to plan out the counteroperation against General Chang and TF Nicator. As Task Force 219 and Task Force 853 were deployed elsewhere, along with a handful of elements of Task Force 141, Kitagawa was forced to make due with what left of the men by the base. He had at most 200 men and 4 helicopters at his disposal by the start of April. Kitagawa wanted to deploy his force at least before the 15th in hopes of catching the Neocons still not fully taking control of the King's mind.
Kitagawa reached out to East Europan Minister of War, Brigadegeneral Philipp Claus von Stauffenberg for support, requesting Col. Vladimir Peniakoff and his Vodka Regiment to aid him with the mission. Stauffenberg accepted his request of aide and placed Peniakoff and his regiment on standby. As a result, Yamato's force grew to at least 440 men. A day prior to Kitagawa's deployment in 12 April, a news came that that Col. Yukio Kushineda V and the Long Range Reconnaisance Group was returning to base from an operation in order to aid the upcoming operation in East Europa. The Young Kitagawa felt relieved, as he managed to get a hold of the LRRG's fast attack vehicles and raiding abilities, which would prove valuable in the upcoming operation. With the LRRG's support, his number grew to 470 men. Although it still came up short, Kitagawa was ready for the showdown by the following day. The group departed for East Europa by the following morning.
On the night of 13 April, Kitagawa and his men arrived just 30kms away from the Almaty Plains, where the King was being held and Task Force Nicator guarding the device. Kitagawa plotted out that the helicopters would only be able to carry out one rocket strike before allowing the men to dismount and engage TF Nicator in the ground. Kitagawa then ordered Kushienda that he and the LRRG would spring into action just 30 minutes following the men landing. At about the same time, Peniakoff and Vodka Regiment would charge in from Kitagawa's left in order to aid him and would try to get as close as possible to Nicator's position. Although being aware that the 4 Seleucid descendants would be present in the battle, Kitagawa ruled out that every man must give all that they have to halt the Neocon's ambitions at the plains. With some hints of worry, Kitagawa give a short speech that somehow raised the morale of his men. They moved out by the morning of 14 April. Prior to this, Kitagawa had ordered his men to arm themselves with the Nanotek Bands that provided them protection from a Seleucid descendant's strike such that the band itself would absorb the damage of the strike. But it could only provide them with a limited number of strikes before they can take damage.
The Gunfight
At about 10am, Kitagawa and the rest of TF 141 boarded their helicopters and flew into the Plains. At that time, the UH-20Y Lionheart that Kitagawa had bought in the field were installed with a turbo system that provided a boost to its speed to prevent TF Nicator from firing back. Once the helicopters had fired the only rocket strikes, Kitagawa and his men dismounted and approached the area. As he had expected, Nicator deployed the 4 Seleucid descendants, along with their personnel armed with flying knives. Immediately, the LRRG raced throughout the plains in their attack vehicles and conducted strafing runs on Nicator's positions while Peniakoff and Vodka Regiment arrived on the scene of the battle in mass formations, aided by local partisan resistance in the area.
As a result, Kitagawa had showed General Chang and the rest of Nicator that his men were already neck and neck. However, the use of the Seleucid descendants still made Chang gain the advantage. Slowly, Kitagawa's forces were taking casualties. But the resolve that Kitagawa and his men were strong that not a single man wanted to back out. The gunfight continued throughout as time passed when at 1pm, the Neocons had successfully taken control of the King's mind and finally used the powers of the Greathammer against Kitagawa and his men. Seeing this, casualties within Kitagawa's men steeply climbed with the wounded immediately being helped out of the battlefield. TF 141 was now in danger of collapsing and routed. Immediately, TF Nicator and the 4 Seleucid descendants, along with the now mind-controlled King gave chase to the collapsing elements of TF 141. General Chang was now assured of victory, until Kitagawa struck a last hope to turn the tide.
Last Hope
As TF 141 began to fought a retreating battle, Kitagawa would notice that the Neocons had not totally realised the full potential of the Greathammer, being that the mind-controlled Noctis was only ordering 1 strike after another. As a result, he devised a short plan with his younger brother, Maj. Naoto Kitagawa. He realised that the Neocons, although now having taken control of the King, was still not able to harness the true potential of the Greathammer, such that there was still parts of the King's mind that was battling the influence of the Neocon device.
Yamato ordered his younger brother to retreat behind the small depression. He told his men to affix their bayonets. When TF Nicator and the 4 descendants came close, Kitagawa's entire force charged throughout the plains in the similar fashion to Dath'Remar's knights, while elements of the LRRG joined in the fight and affixed their bayonets. This gave Yamato and Kasimira the right time to go to the device and destroy it. Yamato warned Kasimira that the 4 descendants would go after them to prevent the destruction of the device, that one of them would try to put Kasimira off while he would have to contend with the other 2. Kasimira showed a hint of worry for her friend. But Yamato assured her that with the nanotek band and his sparring sessions with Kasimira would somehow shock the 2 other descendants.
And as Yamato correctly predicted, the 4 descendants spotted the two running for the device. Yamato contested with Janggok Chi-hun and Zarmouhi Astvadzadourian while Kasimira engaged in a bitter swordfight against Alice Janggok and Arzelig le Bal. Kitagawa's ability to take hits from the 2 descendants stunned the latter while he continued to tackle and slowly inflict wounds. As this took place, Kasimira and Alice engaged in a swordfight that saw Alice nearly wound Kasimira. But because of her sparring sessions with Yamato, she had grown to be more adept at engaging Alice more than ever. Yamato would not last long, as Zarmouhi would mortally wound Kitagawa. As Kasimira saw this, feelings of anger drew Kasimira into a bloodlust that caused her to deliver a blow to Alice and throw Arzelig at a far distance. Kasimira ran towards the device and with much strength, lunged her spear at the device, destroying it, and freeing the King from Neocon control.
As the device was destroyed, clouds began to form and sky became dark. Voices began to echo throughout the plains, in which the voices spoke in Latin, the ancient language of Europa. Both sides stopped fighting and turned their attention to the voices around the plains until they suddenly saw the Greathammer glowing brightly, and a stream of energy flowing from the hammer to Noctis. Noctis would get up on his feet with his eyes beginning to glow and a flow of energy emanating from him. Both sides had seen that this was no longer HM the King, but it was none other than Dath'Remar's spirit possessing Noctis.
Dath'Remar rallies the Sons of Europa
Dath'Remar (using Noctis' body) called forth the powers of the Greathammer and unleashed a storm of lighting towards the Neocons, vaporising or wounding men, which caused the casualties within the Neocons to rise sharply. The 3 descendants, frightened, stood back from Yamato's position as Dath'Remar walked towards the wounded Yamato. However, Alice would try to lunge her blade towards Dath'Remar, only for him to summon a force field, which bounced Alice back. The 3 other descendants tried a simultaneous strike as an attempt of a combined strength but were met with the same fate. As a result, the 4 descendants, including some of TF Nicator started to stay back out of fear.
When Dath'Remar come close to Yamato, a stream of energy flew towards him, which saw latter regain consciousness and being healed from his wounds. Not only that, Yamato would feel the urge to fight the Neocons again, even after as he was revived. Kasimira was frightened but as Dath'Remar walked closer, Kasimira would realise that the King was possessed by the man that she had seen in her dreams. Dath'Remar spoke to Kasimira and Yamato, with the King declaring the former as The Defender of Europa, while the latter being mentioned as The Descendant of Frode and the Commander of Europa's Army. He later rallied TF 141, whom he referred to as The Sons of Europa to move forwards and charge on Europa's enemies as Dath'Remar unleashed the full power of the Greathammer against the Neocons.
With fright now emanating from TF Nicator's personnel, including the 4 descendants; Dath'Remar and TF 141 charged on TF Nicator's positions. Seeing this, General Chang immediately ordered all his men to retreat. In just 10 minutes, all of TF Nicator were routed leaving behind their 30 personnel who were captured after the battle.
Aftermath
Shortly after the battle, Dath'Remar gathered TF 141 before him. He had foreseen this event in his lifetime as the greatest threat to Europa in the future. But with their fortitude, courage, and strength; he has seen that the Europa he had created was resilient even after he had passed, thanks to the brotherhood and camaraderie of the descendants of the soldiers and familes of the Europa he had once ruled. He also expressed that he was proud of the modern Sons of Europa for carrying out their traditions. He turned to Kasimira and told her that he had foreseen her role in the future of Europa. Despite her Seleucid blood, Dath'Remar mentioned that being a Son of Europa is regardless of his/her origin, so long as she belonged to Europa alone. He then turned to Yamato, whom he had expressed delight, as his ancestor, General Frode was his most trusted general, being the wisest and strongest among men. Although he had seen his sin in the past, he nonetheless foresaw that Yamato would later redeem himself and be a leader of all of Europa, and that General Frode is proud of him and of his father.
Dath'Remar continued to answer their inquiries for a few more minutes before finally sending well-wishes towards the Sons of Europa as his spirit returned to the Greathammer. Before he returned, he proclaimed that if his sons ever needed him again, he would always be there, looking out for them.
Immediately, King Noctis Lucis Caelum regained his consciousness after a few minutes. Seeing as how TF 141 was successful in rescuing him and preventing the Greathammer from falling into the hands of the Neocons, he immediately invited them for a gala back in the UK to celebrate their grand victory over the Neocons. The Greathammer was once again kept in a safe place away from the public eye.
Mission Breaking Point was seen by many analysts as the closest the Heimdallr Council got to defeat, with the Neocons being able to utilise the power of the Greathammer to their own benefit. However, thanks in part of TF 141's resilience, the Neocon threat to Europa had finally ended. In addition, the Neocons failure of Operation Downfall only served to further accelerate their loss and collapse, as defections began to take place after hearing of what happened during the operation, with the threat to many lives, including that of unleashing a powerful artifact that would be dangerous should it fall into the wrong hands.
For his actions, Col. Yamato Kitagawa was promoted to General by his father and in a month, Yamato inherited Task Force 141's command, along with the LCAE from his father, fulfilling Dath'Remar's prophesy of him. But his father still remained as overall commander of the Heimdallr Task Forces in an advisory and counsel role. Kasimira became Yamato's confidant and took over command of Detachment K, in which Yamato ordered the name to be kept, as K now stood for Detachment Kasimira. In addition, All Task Force 141, 219, 853, and Vodka Regiment personnel who participated in the battle were awarded with the Freedom Cross, as well as being granted East Europan citizenship by Emperor Louis Ferdinand I and Prime Minister Friedrich Albricht.
On the Neocon's side, General Chang Gwan-mook faced a negative reception upon his return to Joyonghea as anti-war settlement within the Neocon countries. In addition, the Neocons began to lose much influence within their countries as anti-Neocon settlement started to rapidly grow. Calls for the resignations of the respective leaders were common. But as with the Neocons, all anti-government activities were censored. But despite this, the anti-government protests would reach beyond its borders, which fueled anti-Neocon settlement within puppet states as well. The Neocons would never again be able to any advantage over the Heimdallr forces.