The Battle of Hell's Bells was the largest tank battle to be fought since the end of the Third World War, and was one of the decisive battles of the Ionian Mutiny. The Mutineers had managed to win many early battles due to surprise, but over the course of 2125, the Loyalists began to gather strength as reinforcements began to arrive from off-world. The Mutineers had hoped to score an early victory to avoid this but they failed to land a knock out punch. The battle was fought during the Drive to Omaha campaign, with Omaha being a center of Mutineer activity in the area. Mutineer armored divisions under Mulkishar Black and Tizqar Abraham had been moving north from Omaha towards Little Creek in an attempt to nip a Loyalist drive in the bud, but the Loyalists had learned of their intentions early on--Mutineer codes and encryption had been broken. The bulk of the Loyalist forces moved south to meet the Mutineers, catching them completely off guard. The resulting battle has often been referred to as "apocalyptic" or as "hell on Earth". It was fought in the middle of the desert--it name derives from the sound of tank shells rebounding off armor--where temperatures could exceed 110° F (43° C) during the day but plummet as low as 25° F (-4° C) at night. Both sides made extensive use of chemical and biological weapons, forcing soldiers to fight in full NBC gear even in the full heat of the day (there have been rumored though unconfirmed and outright denied use of tactical nuclear warheads during the battle). Despite being outnumbered on the ground, the Loyalists made use of superior tactics, leadership and air superiority to inflict massive losses on the Mutineers, giving them a decisive and overwhelming victory. The Mutineers lost a significant portion of their armored forces and their airpower during the battle, while the Loyalists seized the momentum and continued moving south.
