The leadership crisis has grown to absurd heights. As long as Rudenko still claims an emergency government, the Soviet Union's legitimately recognized body, the Supreme Soviet, cannot pass laws due to the Soviet Constitution. Furthermore, rumors have been spread that Rudenko has hired at least a thousand mercenaries - many of them from Chechnya - to defend the Kremlin; in return, he granted several million dollars to the independent region. The previous day saw Rudenko's guards shoot and kill 21 Soviet citizens among a crowd of thousands who tried, unsuccessfully, to breach through the Kremlin.
The Red Army had enough. The entirety of the 1st Russian Front, in defiance of Rudenko, has been sent towards Moscow. Columns of T-99s, T-85s, and others lined up in Moscow's streets, openly defying the midnight curfew. Troops followed several steps behind. Together, the entire front inched towards the Kremlin, ready to put an end to Rudenko and his antics. In the streets, The March of the Defenders of Moscow played from the lead tank, a symbol of the unrelenting Soviet charge that is coming up. Crowds of people, now openly defying the poorly enforced curfew, came out of their house to cheer on the Soviet soldiers who came to relieve the city.
Even the "emergency" government started to openly defy Rudenko - prompting him to kill all of his staff members. Only by some stroke of luck did Vitaly Rostislav, the People's Commissar, found out about the plan and led a group of 27 influential and high-class Soviet leaders out of the Kremlin in secret - Vladimir Zhapovalov and Feofan Korzhakov included.
It was time to act - and restore order to the Union. As the tanks rolled towards the Kremlin, all that could be heard was the distant sounds of drums and shouting -
"Мы не дрогнем в бою за столицу свою, Нам родная Москва дорогa! Нерушимой стеной, обороной стальной Разгромим, уничтожим врага! Нерушимой стеной, обороной стальной Разгромим, уничтожим врага...!"
"Chetvert-7, reporting! Have sight on Kremlin! All weapon bays are online, visual contact has still been kept. Firing missiles."
Immediately, the T-14 overhead fired a flurry of missiles from its arsenal - 14 anti-ground missiles - into the most concentrated fortifications within the Kremlin. Through the infrared cameras, huge stacks of mercenaries are eviscerated outright, the explosions all but blowing them into pieces.
"Attack run completed!"
"Ok! All forces of the 1st Russian Front, as well as anyone who opposes the traitor that rests in the Kremlin, shall advance! The enemy's cowardice knows no bounds - their forces shall shake as our tanks approach!"
The voice was from Vladimir Zhapovalov - the acting commander of the 1st Russian Front. The previous commander of the army group was one of the more unfortunate generals to have been "purged" by Mikhail Rudenko's command.
Unknown to the Soviet army, the missile attack barely did any damage to the hired mercenaries and only did superficial damage to the enemy force. As the Russian Front converged on the Kremlin, they almost immediately start encountering machinegun fire from the Kremlin's many towers - cutting down anyone unfortunate enough to get out of the way. The 46th Rifle Division, who originally led the Southern assault, took several hundred casualties and had to withdraw, camping on the opposite side of the Mockba River. For the rest of the first phase, both sides would sporadically skirmish the other with DMR fire - occasionally firing a heavier DsHK to flush out infantrymen who were unfortunate enough to be spotted.
It was the 1st Russian Army's turn to attack the Kremlin. Tanks roared across the river, and at least 33 of them got through...before the enemy detonated the bridge, making it nigh-unusable to the enemy forces. However, the armored vehicles that didn't make it across were able to form a line of fire facing one of the Kremlin's walls. As the engineer corps are frantically trying to get enough material to create another bridge the sudden torment of Soviet firepower - dozens of batteries of 7K31 Groza' - rocked the city of Mockba. This happened exactly as several dozen SU-152-85's and SU-130-65's fired at the wall, annihilating anyone unlucky enough to stand in its path.
From the North, the 47th and 48th Rifle Divisions, rushed towards the Red Square, taking heavy casualties as entire squads were cut down by still concentrated Mercenary forces. They ultimately made it into the square, but not before the catastrophically damaging charge left at least two hundred Soviet soldiers lying dead on the streets. That was only part of their worries. The Red Square was almost completely devoid of cover, so in order to reach the Kremlin, more casualties would be taken by the attacking force. They attempted it anyways and made it across the withering amount of firepower facing them. It was certainly not without loss - the expectancy of a Soviet attack near the Red Square prompted enemy DsHKs to be stationed at a vantage point.
Then, under the order of Zhapovalov, both forces poured into the Kremlin - and hellish, close-quarters combat happens within the walls of the red complex...
Grand Kremlin Palace
The doors to the massive complex suddenly blow open, the blast of a 152mm shell more or less vaporizing the entry point of the facility. Several infantry squadrons follow through - hoping to capture Rudenko.
All they found were scattered papers, overturned desks, and boarded doors. Rudenko was nowhere to be seen.
Before they can further investigate where he went, they were stopped by Zhapovalov's orders: most of the mercenaries have been routed, and the Soviet Union has managed to capture at least 100 enemy mercenaries. Immediately, the captured mercenaries were turned over to the VK, who quickly sentenced all of them as guilty of high crimes against the state. They were all lined up on the wall, and before anyone can object, Soviet soldiers mowed down the prisoners with their assault rifles - as if they were cutting grass with a lawnmower. The carnage was vast.
The VK was officially called to investigate the Grand Kremlin Palace. After a three hour search, they have managed to gather enough intel to figure out what happened to Rudenko.
"Comrade Khapovalov, we managed to find multiple clues on Rudenko's whereabouts. He is not in the Kremlin - the cowardly traitor escaped 12 hours ago. The mercenaries that he hired only acted as a delaying force."
"Where is Rudenko, then?"
"He escaped from the Moscow underground, and his escape route indicates that he is traveling towards Chechnya."
"...Commissar, report your findings to the 2nd Russian Front immediately. We shall crush two birds with one stone."
Ultimately, Soviet casualties that day reached nearly 700 soldiers. It was clear that an inside job compromised the attack plan, which allowed the mercenaries to redeploy their heavier assets to more strategic locations. Nearly 300 Soviet soldiers who died that day were given a state burial shortly after the raid.
The Kremlin was heavily damaged in the assault, and multiple walls has sustained massive breaches. It would take at least a month to repair and restore it to working order. In the meantime, the Supreme Soviet will reside within Kiev.
Due to the escape of Rudenko, the Supreme Soviet is now the definitive governing body of the Soviet Union. For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Soviet Constitution will be rewritten to prevent another Rudenko incident from happening again.
The 2nd Russian Front has been notified. The 59th Rifle Division will lead the assault on Chechnya.
