Three Kings

The new BP concern promised a much needed boon to energy reserves for the West, and a reinvigoration of the tired Old Man of the Middle East, Egypt. The initial development phase, designated Sultan-A, or Sultan Apache, proved very promising. Yet once again, the oil and gas the developed West so desperately needed, was lost in the heartland of a desolate and forbidding desert, and a land populated by resentful Arabic cultures that had been radicalized over many years of dissention and conflict. Situated half way between the Oasis ofSiwa and the smallerQara Oasis to the northwest, high atop a prominent rocky outcrop, the oil engineers of British Petroleum staked out their claim and began intensive development. Soon there was a thriving encampment in the midst of nowhere, with barracks and facilities to support several hundred oil workers, engineers and some of their families.

When Berber militias nearSiwa became a problem for Egypt, the Egyptian Army deployed a mechanized force to the area, but the tactic soon backfired. With the central government weak, and power falling to the Army, the forces sent toSiwa simply joined the rebel forces, compounding their mischief now that they had heavy AFVs and tanks. The BP oil men watched nervously from behind the miles of chain link fences surrounding the site, topped with barbed wire, but it was a thin defense.

Then, in October of 2020, the renegade force launched a daring raid on the site. It resulted in the massacre of over fifty oil workers, with many more taken as hostages, and the wanton destruction of valuable drilling rigs and other equipment. Great Britain appealed to the Egyptians to intervene with troops loyal to the government, but the on again off again ‘revolution’ in Egypt saw the current central authority collapse as it had done so many times before.

It was then that Great Britain decided to take matters into its own hands, in true American fashion, and dispatched its formidable 7th Armored Brigade to Egypt to secure the Sultan Apache oil concern and protect the lives of British citizens and property of the Crown.

No strangers to the desert, the Brigade still bore the insignia that had become world famous under the banner of the British 7th Armored Division. The unit had fought in the bitter conflicts in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan, all other operations aimed at securing the safety of oil reserves, and was well experienced in the art and trial of desert warfare. After military reforms it had lightened up considerably in its force structure, becoming largely a motorized infantry brigade when serving in Afghanistan. While there it patrolled in light armored trucks like the Mastiff, Wolfhound and Husky, but for this deployment the British Army wisely decided to return the unit to its former glory as a fully armored force.

There had been much debate and budget wrangling over how to equip a new mechanized force for the Army 2020 program. Many vehicles had been tested and considered, Germany’s Boxer, The Swiss built Piranha V, and finally the French VCBI Armored Infantry Combat Vehicle, which eventually was purchased by the British until they could come up with something better. It could serve well as an infantry AFV with a modular “DRAGAR” turret, mounting a 25mm NATO autocannon and a coaxial 7.62mm machinegun. An eight wheeled vehicle, the VCBI had decent armor for its class at 14.5mm, a speed of 100KPH and a range of 750 kilometers. It was perfect for a fast scouting role.

The British renamed it the “Dragon” after its turret design, and purchased enough to outfit a squadron of the 12th Royal Lancers as aRecce unit. Two older infantry units that had served in the 7th Brigade in the past were recalled, the 3rd Mercian Battalion and the Highlanders Battalion. They were both still using the well tried upgraded Desert Warrior IFV, a tracked vehicle that was designed to keep up with the best British tanks at 75KPH. These units had been upgraded to the new 40mm main gun, and had a little more secondary armament with two 7.62mm guns, one a chain gun, and the other a standard MG. Some were fitted with the deadly American made TOW anti-tank missile for added defense against enemy tanks.

The real power of the brigade was in the tank battalion sent to deal with the armor in the renegade Egyptian unit. The Royal Scotts Dragoon Guards were called, fielding 45 of the superb Challenger 2 main battle tanks. The unit had been slated to be gelded and down scaled to a light cavalry force in the Army 2020 plan, but this had not yet happened, and thankfully so. Britain needed some muscle now, and the Dragoons were still there to provide it.

One of the most heavily armored tanks in the world, it used 2nd generation Chobham armor, known as “Dorchester” armor in the service, with twice the strength of steel systems. The sloping armor was designed to deflect AT rounds away from vital areas, and the protection could be further enhanced by mounting Explosive Reactive Armor kits.