Battle of Amtrup

The Battle of Amtrup, better known as Operation: RELENTLESS STRIKE by the UNSC High Command and Operation Amtrup Guardians by the United Liberation Front, was a United Nations Space Command led battle against the United Liberation Front, Eridanus People's Republic, and Eridanus People's Militia in the city of Amtrup. Amtrup was known as the birthplace of the Eridanus II Insurrection and dissidence against the United Earth Government. The UNSC deployed the 15th Marine Division with support to capture Amtrup and establish a UNSC presence in the area.

Background
In 2491, the Colonial Military Administration's Department of Colonial Security released a Amtrup Threat Index detailing the growth of an Secessionist and Reformist movements. The DCS noted in their Index the movements were largely peaceful but needed to be addressed before the movements grew violent. Following the Far Isles Rebellion and the nuclear response from the UNSC in 2492, Amtrup and its neighboring area began advocating for breaking away from the United Earth Government and Colonial Administration Authority to govern themselves. Notably in 2494, Amtrup stoop up the Amtrup People's Liberation Militia to defend themselves from the CMA and UNSC. They utilizied propaganda and counterintelligence as their primary defense to harden their allies against the government and their incentives to back the UEG. Between 2494 and 2496, Amtrup intelligence agents infiltrated the DCS and began reporting false flag information about the safety of Amtrup to UNSC and CMA intelligence forces.

Amtrup commissioned the 2nd People's Army as a way to confuse UNSC intelligence and built up a 10,000 strong-force focused on infantry, unconventional warfare, intelligence, and other areas of warfare. The establishment of the Amtrup Anonymous Network as a homemade network allowed for the group to communicate and coordinate without the UNSC or CMA intercepting their messages. In 2502, Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE was launched and numerous leaders of the 2nd People's Army were targeted due to their activities across Eridanus II. Betweem 2502 and 2507, few leaders were assassinated and those who were killed, were used to portray the UNSC's ruthlessness against individuals freedoms and rights. Prior to 2513, Amtrup became a well-known for training Red Dawn Brigades and preparing them for urban warfare. They ran various counterintelligence operations, developed their cyberwarfare capabilities and perfected their defense of the city for when they got invaded. In the wake of the declaration of Operation: TREBUCHET, Amtrup mobilized the 2nd People's Army in preparation for battle and ran reconnaissance missions to build an understanding of the UNSC's plans.

Following the declaration of Operation: TREBUCHET, Joint Intelligence Operations Center - Eridanus system created the Amtrup Mission Desk to conduct initial intelligence assessments about the city. Using Reconnaissance Satellites, Ummanned Aerospace Vehicles, and other technical intelligence collecting equipment, the Mission Desk labelled Amtrup as an Area of Operational Capacity for the UNSC's Operational Capacity in the Theater Area of Operations. Between 2512 and 2513, the UNSC Marine Corps and Army debated who was going to establish the foothold in Amtrup. Both military branches leveraged their experience in other theaters until UNSC High Command settled on the UNSC Marine Corps due to their experience in the theater. When the Marine Corps worked closely with the Amtrup Mission Desk, they learned about the city's layout, the population, and what threats they were going to take on. Initial reports indicated a Low Threat Model to the city given its history during Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE.

Order of Battle
The UNSC Marine Corps was charged with the assault and occupation of Amtrup and selected the 15th Marine Division as the main spearhead force. Alongside the 15th Marine Division, numerous Reconnaissance, Engineering, Artillery, Aerospace, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Shock Troops. The 15th Marine Air Wing worked alongside Aerospace Force's 194th Expeditionary Air Wing and Navy's Carrier Air Wing with aerospace dominance. The air component stood up the Combined Aerospace Component Command to serve as the primary Aerospace Operations Center and Command Control Center for all aerospace activity. Two battalions from the 105th Shock Troops Division split their operational control between the 15th Marine Division and Naval Special Warfare Joint Task Force - Eridanus System. Naval Special Warfare Unit Eridanus II added two squadrons of UNSC Navy Trident special warfare units.

The Amtrup 2nd People's Army was a UNSC Marine regiment-strength force with support from the Eridanus People's Militia at a battalion's strength. The aerospace components were severely lacking against the UNSC but proved to be powerful with an arsenal of unmmaned aerial vehicles from off-the-shelf vendors and homemade technology. The 2nd People's Army relied heavily on counter-insurgency and irregular warfare tactics to prolong the battle and deal a death-by-thousand-cuts to the UNSC. Notably, the 2nd People's Army Engineer Brigade developed the Amtrup Underground Network to help maneuver elements across the city to avoid UNSC reconnaissance platforms. The Eridanus People's Red Dawn Brigade provided counter irregular warfare tactics to deter the UNSC special warfare's capabilities. In addition to their force and capabilities, their counterintelligence forces proved to be extremely effective in hiding their true force to the UNSC and its allies.

April
"Operation: RELENTLESS STRIKE was a textbook failure of on-the-ground intelligence and an over-reliance of overhead technical intelligence. Amtrup's forces concealed their full force package from the UNSC and prepared for the invasion. UNSC intelligence enterprises conducted numerous assessments that checked the strategic importance of the city but failed to realize the scope of the forces waiting for the UNSC. How the UNSC Marine Corps adapted to Amtrup was through fearless leadership and evolving a fighting force on the fly."

- Lieutenant Colonel First Last's research paper introduction from the UNSC Naval War College - Reach, 2523.