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The Battle of San Francisco was a pivotal battle fought in 2027 between the Korean People's Army and the United States Armed Forces. The battle was the turning point in the Korean-American War that signals the end of the KPA Occupation and the collapse of the New Korean Federation of Occupied America that had been in existence for two years.

Background[]

Despite GKR successes across the Western United States, by early 2027 it found itself losing the initiative in the war against the United States. What had previously been a scattered insurgency across the occupied territories was coalescing into a massive, mutually-supported Resistance, militias armed with abandoned U.S. military equipment and captured KPA hardware. Some areas of the occupied territory, particularly in Utah, were not even safe for KPA forces to traverse in broad daylight. This was still true despite the Dresden-style bombing of Salt Lake City. On February 20, 2027, U.S. military and local militias defeated and forced the surviving KPA forces in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to surrender. The KPA, therefore, was growing apprehensive. Numerous victories had not ended the war, and time worked against them.

The U.S. military prepared to launch a coordinated assault on San Francisco, the political and economic heart of the GKR occupation.

Korean Defenses[]

Around San Francisco proper, the KPA was dug in with no less than six divisions, including the heavy 5th Armored Division (dug in the San Bruno State Mountain Park to take advantage of long engagement distances). The elite 718 Division was dispersed amidst several fronts, but a large contingent was assigned to defend the Golden Gate Bridge from infiltration or attack.

Golden Gate Bridge

KPA AA-guns on the Golden Bridge.

In fact, the KPA had properly identified the Golden Gate Bridge as the lynchpin of their defenses. Without it, they could not transfer forces easily between the southern and northern halves of the littoral. Therefore, it was heavily fortified at the north end with Type 99 tanks, LAVs, and entrenched infantry, with formidable support from Z-10 attack helicopters and fighter aircraft. The centerpiece of this fortification was a radar-directed large caliber antiaircraft battery which commanded the skies over the western half of the Bay Area, which would ensure low-level air superiority for KPA aviation. A series of gates were erected and damaged civilian vehicles piled up to create a series of defensive lines along the length of the Bridge. Two Sentry guns were placed at these barricades to protect them from a frontal assault.

To assist in protecting the Bridge and the Bay Area from naval or air attack, KPA forces were also dug in on Alcatraz and Angel Islands. This created a series of mutually-supporting redoubts along the Bay, which (in conjunction with their naval forces) prevented U.S. Navy warships from entering the Bay.

Prelude[]

The Battle of San Francisco was conceived as a multiservice, joint operation between the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. The size and shape of the Bay Area demanded that any successful assault first requires gaining air and naval superiority over the defending ground forces, before launching attacks at will.

On the ground, special forces and smaller units were designated to take key islands and bridges in the San Francisco littoral. SEAL Team One was tasked with taking Alcatraz. Another force, call sign Romeo, was tasked with taking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, while a helicopter-borne task force from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, call signs Raptor and Stalker, seized Sausalito at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge and then, in conjunction with an armored column from the 185th Armor Regiment, drive south into the city proper, destroying KPA air defenses along the way.[1]

The Battle[]

The timely arrival of a captured convoy of high-grade aviation fuel from the Montrose Resistance cell proved to be a crucial factor in the battle. AH-700 and AH-64 helicopters from the 160th were able to be refueled and deploy in support of the ground battle for the Bridge. Raptor and Stalker landed infantry units around the Lime Point Lighthouse and proceeded to overrun dug-in KPA infantry and armored forces.[2] Racing up the maintenance scaffolding of the Bridge, they linked up with the 185th’s leading elements on the bridge deck, and break through several successive defensive lines, including Type 99 tanks, Z-10 attack helicopters, Sentry Towers, unmanned Goliath vehicles, and the ever-present threat of Korean fighter jets.

American forces were able to capture the KPA’s heavy antiaircraft batteries and repelling a Korean quick-response force while they reprogram the AA guns to target KPA aircraft, thus allowing U.S. Air Force jets to attain air superiority over the Bay.[3] The combined 185th-160th force suffered major casualties, including multiple helicopters, vehicles, and personnel. Nevertheless, the task force successfully seized the bridge, opening it for a stream of 40th Infantry Division vehicles driving south to join the main battle in San Francisco, behind the KPA’s main defensive lines.

During this time, Seal Team One successfully captured Alcatraz Island, and artillery fire missions suppressed KPA outposts on other Bay islands.[4] Task Force Romeo was engaged in heavy fighting at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, where they suffered major casualties.[5] Five U.S. Navy destroyers broke through the Korean blockade in San Diego and allowing the USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53) and USS Milius (DDG-69) to travel to and secure the Bay Area.[6]

Ultimately U.S. forces liberated San Francisco, achieving the first major American victory in the two-year war. The Korean Occupation suffered a startling blow as the E.U. Defense Council prepared an emergency session to declare war on the GKR and supporting their American allies.

Reference[]

  1. Warpath: "We've got a forward operating base set upon Sausalito."
  2. Warpath: "Raptor, your new LZ is the Lime Point Lighthouse. You need to secure that area before we roll in the heavy guns."
  3. Connor: "We've captured the battery! The guns are ours! Get those jets airborne!"
    Warpath: "Copy that. Scrambling fighters now."
  4. SEAL Team Leader: "SEAL Team One popping victory smoke. Alcatraz has been secured. I repeat: we have taken the rock."
  5. Romeo 4: "Warpath, this is Romeo 4-4. Our position's been overrun. The LT is KIA. Multiple wounded. We need casevac immediately. We cannot hold the Bay Bridge."
  6. Warpath: "Five Navy destroyers have broken through the San Diego blockade. The USS John Paul Jones and Milius are en route to help secure the Bay."
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