The border between the Jedorian province of Sumphink and the Republic of Vozgarnor hadn't seen much fighting during the last war. It wasn't hard to see why; the Jedorian side was covered with pine forests, which sprawled out over a vast and mountainous landscape. There were plenty of roads here, but nearly all of them were small, single dirt roads meant for back country trucks and jeeps, not armored vehicles or heavy trucks. Most of them just connected homesteads to outhouses and lake side picnic spots. There also wasn't much for the Vozgarni to target; Sumphink might've been one of the largest provinces in the Confederation, but it was the least populated; even little Peregrino had more people than Sumphink.
In some ways though that was good. The entire province was a contrast to the largely flat grasslands of the rest of Jedoria. Here, surrounded by trees, with little distraction from cars, traffic or pollution, and even people, it was enjoyable. Quiet. Serene. Sumphink's population liked it here, and as Sergeant Alecsandri peered through his binoculars over the green expanse of treetops, he could help but find a little solitude among the tree branches. It sure was nice here, colder than the rest of the country, and more quiet. Jedoria was heavily urbanized with most of it's population concentrated in small cities, but you wouldn't guess that from overlooking Sumphink. The only major city here (And home to nearly half the province's population) was Zurobara, farther west. Wasn't a bad place at all, not as fancy as some of the other provincial capitals, but they had their own football team, the Snow Ravens, who were actually doing pretty good recently, and he had heard the city had everything one would need.
Alecsandri privately wished to one day take a tour of the province, get one of those bus tour tickets, go to all the major attractions, stay in nice and comfy motels, then hit the city for a little night life before heading back home. As he breathed in the crisp and cool air through his nose, he wished he could stay here for a while. But that wasn't his job.
The sound of wood cracking and creaking, boots thudding and hands grappling, along with human grunts and exertions singled that the Sergeant would soon no longer be alone on his vantage point, a tree branch thirty five feet off the ground. He looked down to see Sergeant Marcu easily lift himself between branches, getting his footing before lurching upward once more, until he was on the same level as Alesandri. Both men were dressed in simple civilian clothes, light jackets, dark jeans and hiking boots. They looked like regular joes just out enjoying the wilderness, two small specks of humans lost amid a sea of green conifers.
Marcu plopped down on one branch near Alecsandri, pulling out a canteen that he took a swig from, before stopping to survey the view from up high.
“Pretty nice, eh?” He said.
“Gotta come back some day.” Alecsandri agreed, watching a bird fly over the forest. The two men sat in silence for a moment, taking in the wonders of Gaia's greatest creation. It was subtly awe inspiring.
“Goga and Oprea found a clearing to the south. There's a road there, pretty small, but the brush around is limited and sparese. It can easily be expanded to support a Myrmidon, or a Padilla.”
Alecsandri nodded, raising one arm to point at a cluster of hills to the north. “Those hills over there, the south and east slopes are steep, but the farthest one has a smooth northern front; with a little digging you can move an entire column up it, and the top flattens out all around it.”
Marcu nodded, eyeing the hills in the distance. “Any luck on that path we found this morning?”
“Neg.” Alecsandri said with a shake of his head. “Leads no where, and the closest point to the main pass is too thick. Probably more luck if we head towards the center more so.”
Marcu nodded again. “Those plateaus towards the north lead right into a small valley; if we can widen the gap a bit near the entrance, you can funnel a two lane road through their. Engineers should be able to clear away the rocks well enough so the treads don't detrack.”
“I found a few clearings back east near the lake.” Alecsandri reported as well. “Easily fit a chopper and a company, maybe use it as a FARP? The foliage will obscure straight line of sight observation, and we can use camo-netting to conceal the whole thing.”
“Sounds good.” Marcu said. The two men waited in silence for a few more moments. “Shall we rejoin the others?”
“In a bit.” Alecsandri said quietly. He was still taking in the sweet scent of pine needles, the faint traces of rain that had fallen not too long ago. Yeah, he could see himself coming back.
Over the course of their operational history, the Confederate Armed Forces had cooperated, or acted against, various armed forces across the region. They had fought the Vozgarni and the Edomites, conducted peacekeeping operations with the Adirans, and allied with the Othamni, Ashabi, and Chacoans. Each time they did so, whether the means were hostile or cooperative, Central Command studied the events to determine and guage the structure, organization, and standard operation procedure of the foreign forces.
Certain characteristics were clear after a comprehensive study. The Edomites greatly valued their regiments and honorifics, the Adirans their technology and regulations. The Noviterans preferred their airpower and mobile forces, he Vozgarni fought ferociously, their forces flexible and adaptable. But not all of the experience was good.
The Othmani were rather disappointing. Though they often had good intentions, they failed frequently at implementation, even with seemingly straightforward tasks. They were at least apt listeners, but when push came to shove, they mostly seemed to just fall over. Maybe it wasn't all their fault; years of fascists dictators telling everyone exactly what to do had probably eroded personnel initiative a fair bit. After a while though, when it became clear that the only way things would get done right was to have their Jedorian allies hold their hands during the whole thing, which got old, fast.
The Ashabi weren't much better. While they could accomplish tasks on their own, they only seemed motivated by either greed or religious fervor. Neither of those qualities were a particularly good basis from which to form motivation for your armed forces. Another problem was that it wasn't universal, nor did it guarantee good quality of troops. In Ashab, a single Jedorian brigade had defeated an entire infantry division. The coalition offensive had won on all fronts despite the enemy being in strength and having prepared defensive positions. Even the fanatical Eternal Crusade had only occasionally achieved victory through their ambushes and rads, more often than not falling to pieces in the face of superior Jedorian firepower. Only the Republican Guards had done anything impressive, other than that there was little to learn from the Ashabis.
The Chacoans were a completely different story. From the start of their cooperation with the Jedorians, they had impressed their Confederate counterparts. The Chacoans were in a position few other nations were in. They were not the richest country, limiting their economic output and defense budget. While they did not have any direct enemies they also lacked allies, allies who would help build up and develop weapon systems. They had to make do with dated equipment and limited supplies, yet they clearly demonstrated a very strong, professional and flexible force in their military. In Ashab they had been the main force behind the coalition offensive, sweeping aside Council units and Eternal Crusade militants with ease.
How well the Chacoans managed themselves despite their limitations is what impressed the Jedorians the most. How they manged to keep seemingly outdated equipment operational and useful, how they cannibalized broken bits to use somewhere else, how they maintained their rugged equipment despite the heat and humidity. Despite their technological limitations, the Chacoans had proven themselves a more than capable fighting force, and a worthy ally to the Confederation.
Making the alliance more interesting was the differences between the methods of war of the two states. The Chacoans army was built around light infantry; marines, airborne and heliborne forces dominated their formations. They could fight in thick jungle, in urban environments, or in the desert, behind their fleet of improvised and refurbished tanks, all supported by a variety of close air support aircraft. The Chacoans seemed to have a very tactical view of air power, and while some might argue that was a limitation, when taken into consideration with other aspects of Chacoan doctrine, it made them a very powerful and flexible fighting force. The Jedorians by comparison were heavily mechanized with only limited light infantry capabilities. They fielded fleets of tanks and armored vehicles, backed up by thousands of artillery batteries. Jedorian doctrine emphasized speed and shock, using firepower and swiftness to overwhelm and destroy opposing forces.
It was a tad bit humbling for the first Jedorians who cross-trained with the Chacoans, thinking their drones, self-propelled howitzers and advanced missile technology would awe the Chacoans. Instead the roles were reversed, with the Confederation learning much from the Chacoans; how to stockpile resources, how to fight dismounted, how to make your equipment run for as long as possible, how to better coordinate air and ground forces. In return the Jedorians sold the Chacoans the weapon systems and munitions the apartheid state had difficulty in acquiring. It was a a mutually beneficial relationship, especially as the Jedorians inquired about Chacoan procedures for maneuvering and transporting equipment through thick vegetation.
