Operation Adroit tanks

Operation Adroit was not truly a full scaled amphibious operation, substantially on account of the limited resources available to the small but rapidly growing GRCKN. While 3,000 men were put ashore on the first day of the operation, only a total of twelve vehicles--eight Medea light tanks and four Achilles armored personnel carriers--were involved in initial landings. This was due in fact to the limited vehicle capacity the GRCKN wielded via their Snake class assualt corvettes, which themselves were not well suited to prolonged deep-water operation. While these corvettes could carry up to six Medeas and a hundred men a piece, Medeas were more or less pointless in a non-combat situation, and the Rough Rider vehicle was not brought along as no road systems of note existed on the islands at that point; the Achilles, in spite of its aging design and lumbering characteristics, was the only vehicle of useful characteristics given the scope of these manuevers, and was too large to fit more than one aboard given limitations of deck space. Ultimately, each Snake carried a single Achilles and two Medeas.

However, Operation Adroit proved invaluable to the GRCKN simply in terms of experience alone. While the mechanized units were exceedingly limited in scope--the majority of personnel being brought ashore as far as the water allowed aboard Type 1 landing boats and wading the remaining distance, or otherwise coming ashore in lifeboats or inflateables--their use even in limited form quickly identified charecteristics of value for future amphibious vehicles. Noteably during training exercises in March of that year, an accident in which an Achilles had sank in moderately choppy seas resulted in the doubling up of pontoons for Operation Adroit--this made them all the more unwieldy on land, but truly trustworthy at sea.

For propaganda purposes, film crews were sent ashore at Maktak prior to the full scale landings being carried out, and accordingly the vehicles involved at Maktak were festooned appropriately with Confederated Kingdoms markings. Pictured at top is one of the four Achilles APCs involved, with a large Confederated Kingdoms flag painted onto the outer pontoons; grafitti suggests that this vehicle is presented sometime after the Maktak landings of 4 April and prior to their transfer to Pongatar where they assisted with the construction of airfields there. Attached to its cargo rack is a waterproofed radio unit.

Below is a Medea light amphibious tank with its sea-wall erected, further increasing the design's nautical prowess. The only substantial modification made to the Medeas for Operation Adroit was the addition of a flag pole to the railing, so as to be exceedingly patriotic on this occassion. For scale next to it is a GRCKN naval infantry.

(tips hat to EmperorMyric, whose repaint of the Medea proved to be the backbone of the Operation Adroit paintschemes)