Occupation of Seattle (Atlantic Resolve)

The Occupation of Seattle was the 2015 invasion and occupation of the U.S. seaport city of Seattle by Russian military forces during the Third World War.

Invasion of Seattle
On July 4th, 2015, Russian military forces began their attack on the U.S. seaport city of Seattle. Initially Spetsnaz GRU troops wearing plain clothes and speaking English seized control over Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac Airport) and King County International Airport (Boeing Field). The armed takeovers were initially thought to be an acts of domestic terrorism or other criminal activity; an ATF task force was dispatched to the Port of Seattle and a command center was established at the seaport. The situation changed drastically when Russian Naval Infantry (Marines) unloaded from container ships and assaulted the seaport. After a brief shootout, the Russians overpowered the ATF task force. Russian long-range bombers repurposed for troop transport began landing at the Spetsnaz-held Sea-Tac Airport and Boeing Field, unloading additional Russian soldiers by the thousands. Russian forces quickly seized control of the National Guard Armories located in Seattle and SeaTac. The entire Seattle seaport had fallen not even an hour after the invasion had begun and the Russian beachhead was secured.

National Reaction
Fourth of July celebrations were put on hold as news of the Russian invasion was being reported on all channels, stations, and websites. President Obama and his family were flown from the White House to Andrews where they boarded Air Force One; the President made a speech from his plane vowing that the invasion would not go unpunished and urged everyone to remain calm. However due to rising fears that an escalation towards nuclear conflict was inevitable, a considerable number of people had already begun leaving major cities across the nation. For the first time in history, the entire U.S. military had gone to DEFCON 1. The President ordered all available forces in the Pacific Northwest to use any means necessary, with the exception of tactical nuclear weapons, to drive the invaders from U.S. soil.

Battle of Seattle
Seattle was rapidly transformed into a war zone as thousands of Russian Marines and troops invaded the city. Soldiers of the Washington Army National Guard and the Washington State Guard are the first U.S. military personnel to engage the invading Russian forces. Seattle police officers and King County Sheriff's deputies helped the guardsmen in fighting the enemy as well as evacuating as much of the civilian population as possible. Using vehicles taken from the National Guard and SWAT armories, the Russians were able to move through the city rapidly. By the end of the first day of the invasion, over 10,000 Russian Marines, Airborne Troops, and Spetsnaz had arrived in Seattle.

The fighting continued overnight with Russian forces gradually gaining control over the city. A number of buildings had caught fire during the fighting and smoke filled the air. There was no electricity in Seattle due to the destruction of numerous power lines. The National Guard had been ordered to make a tactical withdrawal from the city center as it became clear that the Russians had the upper hand in the battle. Even while in retreat, the guardsmen continued to engage the enemy every opportunity they got. A Black Hawk helicopter was shot down by a shoulder-launched anti-air missile. A U.S. Army Ranger squad was ordered to make their way back into the city center to determine if there were any survivors and evacuate them. Unfortunately as soon as the squad reached the crash site, they were ambushed by Spetsnaz. One Ranger was killed and another wounded by the time they were able to return fire. Despite being under fire, the Rangers were able to examine the downed Black Hawk; the co-pilot was dead and the pilot was wounded. The Ranger squad was able to extract the surviving pilot, set demo charges to destroy the damaged helicopter, and withdraw from the area.

By the following morning, the Russians had taken control over most of Seattle and were even sending probing attacks into the surrounding suburbs. A number of National Guard units remained in the city, unable to effectively pullout without being fired upon by Russian forces. The guardsmen continued to carry out hit-and-run attacks however the enemy forces were trained specifically to deal with this sort of combat. Most guardsmen were forced to lie low and wait for backup; until then Seattle was all but in the hands of the Russian military.

Initial Occupation
While the Russians lacked the manpower to enforce total occupation of the entirety of Seattle, they were able to achieve de facto control over the city by established control points at key locations including the Space Needle, the Galleria, City Hall, the news stations, etc. The Russian flag could be seen flying atop the Space Needle. Captured Humvees and police vehicles were used for random patrols around the city as well as transportation between control points. While much of the civilian population had fled the city by this point, some were unwilling to abandon their homes and choose to remain behind. The Russians pretty much left the locals alone as long as they stayed away from the control points and refrained from attacking patrols. Of course the safety of the residents was obviously not guaranteed. Sometimes Russian troops would harass civilians; usually this was to confiscate vehicles, food, and other supplies. However there were unfortunately some incidents where assault, rape, and/or murder were committed despite the Russian invasion force commander prohibiting such activities.

Homeland Defense
There were a number of disturbing rumors that the Russians were preparing for additional reinforcements to arrive and that the entire Pacific Northwest region was marked for conquest. Orders intercepted by U.S. military intelligence seemed to confirm this; the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces had instructed the forces currently occupying Seattle to secure the surrounding area and make way for heavy reinforcements.

The President and Joint Chiefs see only two possibilities and therefore two different choices. One possibility is that the orders are a ruse meant to delay reinforcement of Europe in order to give Russia additional time to conquer another NATO country such as Poland. However there is also the possibility that the orders are genuine and that continuing all overseas deployments as scheduled would place the entire Pacific Northwest region at risk for further invasion.

The U.S. Army III Corps was ordered to postpone deployment to Poland temporarily and was placed on standby. Should there be no follow-up to the Seattle incursion, then the unit would deploy to Eastern Europe as originally planned. However if it is confirmed that Russia had indeed committed to a full-scale invasion of the continental United States, then the III Corps would be deployed to the Pacific Northwest. Additional National Guard and Reserve units from Oregon and Idaho were ordered to deploy to the Seattle metropolitan area for combat duty.

Seattle Metropolitan Area Offensives
Once the Russians had consolidated their foothold on U.S. soil, they began a series of offensives throughout the Seattle metropolitan area. The primary attack was towards the east with thousands of Russian Marines and troops crossing Lake Washington into Bellevue, the largest Seattle suburb. While the National Guard did have a bit more time to prepare, it was still not enough as they were unable to offer sufficient resistance to halt the Russian onslaught.

A secondary group broke off from the primary group fighting in Bellevue and moved on Redmond in order to secure their flank. During the fighting, Spetsnaz GRU seizes control over the Microsoft Redmond Campus. Once SVR operatives uploaded a number of crippling viruses and maleware, the Spetsnaz GRU set fire to the Microsoft corporate headquarters and burned it to the ground.

A small Russian strike force moved beyond the Seattle metropolitan area and seized control of the Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Plant just north of the city of Snoqualmie. Less then an hour later, the Russians set of a series of demolition charges which destroyed the generators and caused a massive collapse of the underground Plant 1. Russian forces temporarily used Plant 2 as a command center until they were ready to pull back to the west at which point the structure was destroyed as well.