Cyber Strike
A cyber strike will paralyze a countries response for several weeks. Opposing forces countries communications and infrastructure will suffer from shut downs in banking, cellular, and telecom networks. With disruptions to water and powerplants combined with attacks against satellite communications networks we will cripple the enemies ability to respond to our actions in the first 72 hours. This will allow for our forces to have a element of surprise, however cyber attacks have little kinetic damage so recovery from this attack will be faster and will vary dependent on the enemies ability to remove our malware from their networks.
Drone
A drone strike will decapitate the leadership of both military and civilian governments using a coordinated swarm of unmanned kamikaze drones to attack critical infrastructure and senior leadership centers. This will disrupt the enemies ability to respond to our missions. The drone swarms are highly effective during the initial attack wave as they are disposable and effective at targeting anything on the battlefield, however there large logistic footprint make them only effective in the first 24 hours by then the enemy will have deployed large scale counter swarm systems which will render them ineffective.
Missile
A missile strike can be launched with little or no warning; This will cripple the target countries response to our attack and will inflict casualties to military and civilian centers. Both tactical and strategic non-nuclear ballistic missiles are used to target critical infrastructure, powerplants, air & seaports, energy terminals, and datacenters. Static military targets include deep harden bunkers, enemy staging areas, integrated air defense systems, radar stations, and satellite ground stations rendering them inoperable. Missile strikes can trigger counterstrikes by enemy factions almost immediately, the enemy will target our own staging areas, ammo depots, and fuel storage. This will reduce our logistics reserves and complicate campaigns with more then 10 missions, any enemy missiles not targeted in the initial attack will be used to strike our forces again.
Air Strike
Air strikes can be launched by a combination of long range bombers, carrier based aircraft, or from friendly airbases near the border; Air strikes produce a shock and awe response from the target country. This will delay the enemies response for several days, if not weeks. An extended air campaign is capable of destroying enemy air defenses and ground targets the prior to any attack and it will reduce the threat the enemy will pose in later missions. However the air strike will require sending manned and unmanned aircraft into danger and will frequently result in the loss of aircraft and include the capture of pilots, the high losses will reduce morale and aircraft availability for later for sorties.
Chemical Strike
A chemical strike can be carried out with some preparations, during this time the enemy might observe these via satellite and warn the target of our attack; or might attack our forces outright with their own air and missile strikes. Use of chemical weapons is outlawed by treaty and Crosses a line that invites intervention from rival factions triggering economic sanctions and a loss of cultural standing in the world. Chemical strikes can produce mass casualties clearing large urban areas of civilians and military bases using chemical agents. For any territory gained mass casualties sites will requiring costly cleaning and decontamination posing long term health hazards; making administrating capture provinces incredibly costly for years to come.
Nuclear Strike
A nuclear strike will completely destroy the target countries major cities and collapse their economic and A nuclear strike will completely destroy the target countries major cities and collapse their economic and political state. Tactical nuclear weapons will destroy large enemy troop concentrations on the border and eliminate enemy staging sites, ballistic missiles silos, aircraft and airfields. A nuclear exchange is highly likely as well if the enemy suffers existential damage to there own government or military forces as a result of our attack. Nuclear fallout will prevent the deployment of large conventional forces and force the enemy to intervene with there own specialized forces. They will target our cities, military and industrial centers. Use of guerilla tactics to take advantage of urban rubble and scavenged resources will make clearing cities incredibly costly for both sides, civilians in all cities will suffer mass casualties from radiation. Most of the world economy will grind to a halt as it will take years if not decades to recover from the nuclear aftermath. However our military forces will likely survive to press on with the campaign.