Fatherland. (PMT/GD/ATTN Mokastana)

[Wanderjar]

Qadesh, South Panooly


Captain Kirk van Wyl had somewhat resented being sent to South Panooly.

The deployment of his air defense company was a given, considering that the regiment as a whole was being deployed and this included, obviously, all support arms. However, as the insurgency did not exactly possess air power of any kind, an air defense company was less than useful. As a result, he, his men, and their LY7/222 King Shepards would spend the best part of a year confined to the Qadesh International Airport, which had long since been converted into a gargantuan military installation for the Wanderjarians and the Ordernite Wehrmacht forces.

That is, until the declaration of war by the Fourth Reich on Mokastana and the reaction of Greater Dienstad as a whole by promptly declaring war in kind.

Now, Captain van Wyl sat in commander’s station, attempting desperately to push the Lyran seat cooler to the maximum degree of chill as a counter to the oppressive heat and humidity he had faced since he arrived. Wanderjar was certainly not a cool place to live, but Panooly rivalled the southern jungles. The gunner and radar operator scanned the skies, as they had done for nearly two days since the commencement of hostilities, searching for Mokastanan or Morridane aircraft which had thus far not materialized.

Kirk would have been perfectly happy with this continuing, since the radar/anti-air defense teams were usually among the first units destroyed during any sound military campaign. They enabled passive scanning, searching for brief periods of time before shutting off the radar again to reduce the likelihood of detection by enemy HARM missiles. While technically Wanderjar was not at war with Mokastana or Morrdh, and had officially stayed out of the fight despite a brief mobilization, it was unlikely that any forces attacking the Ordernites or their Panooly hosts would distinguish the Wanderjarians from the rest.

His company consisted of sixteen King Shepards, spread out across a ten mile radius and covering an area of nearly 100 miles of sky. A platoon leader, Lieutenant Damian Nienke, got on the comms network at that moment and shattered Kirk’s hope for a peaceful deployment.

‘Sir, we have contact incoming.’

‘Identify,’ Kirk replied, stomach immediately sinking.

‘Targets painted on the ARIES sir,’ the lieutenant replied. Kirk pulled his eye visor to view the target in real time on a map of their area. He detected several large aircraft flying into Panooly air space. Sighing, the Captain got on the battalion frequency.

‘We have contact,’ he said. ‘Targets are painted. How proceed?’ There was a pause which lasted several critical minutes.

Finally, as the bombers closed within range of the air defense company, the net came to life as his regimental commander personally said, ‘Cleared hot. Take them out.’

‘Yes sir.’

With that, each bomber was targeted by several SALY28 Surface to Air Missiles. While they were unaware of the foe being Stevidian, it was clear that these bombers would be knocked out of the sky. At that same instant, van Wyl’s regimental commander made the theater commander aware of the threat who immediately authorized the 122nd Fighter Interceptor Group to take to the sky for roving combat air patrols. Wanderjar did not want this fight, but they were not going to allow themselves to be attacked.


(OOC: I see that there are Lyran bombers involved in this attack, but I'm going to more or less argue that we couldn't have attacked them. The ARIES II BMS is ICly stated as being integrated with his Cromwell II, meaning that he sees what I see and vice versa. So in a future post I'll have us stand down to the Lyrans. We just ICly couldn't know this attack was happening and have said we'd react to such an event)

[The Macabees]

Western North Panooly Airspace

A silent Lu-45 cut through grey skies, its mirrored canopy wet with humid condensation. Her sleek form blended in well, translucently coming in and out of sight. Dark clouds were forming all around, their granulated, weave-like tendrils growing and enlarging for the rainstorm to come. The lust forest to the east seemed to anticipate the coming storm, swaying in the gathering winds as if yearning and calling for it. These coming weeks would bring rain, but not all of it made of water.

From behind a cloud, far back and further to the east, a second Hawk appears. It trailed its wingman at a short distance.

Two hundred kilometers to the west flew a formation of Stevidian bombers and their escort. The Hawks maintained their distance as to not reveal themselves to any possible trackers of their own — the Golden Throne and the Reich had been playing their cat-and-mouse games for many months now. Yet, they were close enough to engage in that infinitely unlikely eventuality.

The two aircraft maintained radio silence, as did the many other pairs scrambled that night. They tracked, as did these two, the positions of the Stevidian bomber flights making their way south. Macabean activity within the continent's airspace had of course increased dramatically in recent weeks, what with the imposition of the 'soft blockade' on South Panooly. But, still, this was something very different. Something was afoot, and the Macabeans were investigating. With formal relations still ambiguous, having just ended a war only a decade earlier, the considerable allocation and movement of attacking assets was due to raise a few eyebrows.

One may wonder why an Lu-45 is needed when there are three kriergrups worth of ships beneath or near the Stevidian flight path. But why would the Golden Throne care, given its guarantee of safe passage to the Stevidians through the 'soft blockade.' Certainly, the Reich was no friend of the Imperial Government's. Not anymore, at least. But, then again, the Stevidians had free passage to South Panooly. One may come to his or her own conclusions. The jets were, in any case, well within of darting inside the envelop and out.

They witnessed the coming attack, and the response as well. Missiles struck their targets deep within South Panooly territory, but many others exploded in rages of orange and red when hit by counter-ordnance. The skies lit up in agony, as the Wanderjarians and Ordenites launched their missiles in a rapidly organized defense. The distant horizon responded in kind, manifesting as hellish flashes of all-consuming light, as the Stevidians continued to bombard their targets.

The Lu-45s kept their distance, making sure to stay out of the battle — IFF codes were sent to Ordenite and Wanderjarian assets in the skies and on the ground, and only late in the battle to the Stevidians. The Golden Throne would not help them in South Panooly, unless they were certain of the Holy Empire's intentions.

...along the Panooly Frontier, stretching from one sea to the other across the southernmost border of the northern two-thirds of Holy Panooly, the Golden Throne's military stirred. Men were woken, engines were started and warmed, and all of those manning the string of fortifications and outposts that guarded the Frontier were intent and alert. North Panooly was thinly manned, though, with much of the Golden Throne's strength involved in security operations throughout the satrapy. But, they were what was at hand and they would have to be enough. The Stevidians had triggered a second degree alert for Kodig 'Skranjer–Bekmen', an emergency and impromptu invasion of South Panooly.

Even there, though, as the Macabean air patrol was intensified, all aircraft broadcasted IFF codes to the Ordenites and Wanderjarians. Perhaps a ruse.

Indeed, beneath the cover of darkness, off the western coastline and beneath the unfolding chaos high above, three groups of four small stealth helicopters of strange geometric shape skimmed just over water as they darted towards the South Panooly coastline, separated by a fifteen minute gap. Well before the pilots could even sight her tropical beaches, they released their cargo into the sea's mighty currents, they too warming up for what was to come.

In fifteen minute spaces, three groups of twenty-four 'Grup Koda' — an elite-of-the-elite kriermada special combat unit — washed up on shore, with four landing locations per group. There they blended into the foliage, thick and lush, and spread into the interior.

And so the Panooly Frontier became merely tinder ready for a spark. The Michcuatls remained intriguingly silent.

[Stevid]

“Any excuse will serve a tyrant”

Western Theatre Joint Headquarters (WJHQ)
Chilcompton, West Stevid

Chilcompton was quite idyllic Stevidia. It was a small town nestled into the rolling countryside, a far cry from the heavily industrialised mechanicums on the south coast or the heavy mining industry a few hundred miles north in the Wastelands. The town was quite odd in that the locals hated anything too commercial or mainstream invading their little plot of tranquillity. They liked tradition and they liked the close knit community that made the town what it was. Located a few miles beyond the outskirts of the town was the reason the town had this togetherness – Western Theatre Joint Headquarters of the Stevidian military tri-service and one of the largest (and most important) military establishments in the entire region. An outsider to Chilcompton might find it a strange place but the fact it was effectively a military town explained away the uniqueness. The togetherness was borne out of the fact families both lived and worked together to a grander purpose of servicing the nation and empire; it even had its own bylaws allowing Ministry of Defence Police and Military Police agencies jurisdiction within confines of the town and camp. The town was very proud of its military history and more proud of the overall importance the area was to the Empire.

WJHQ was home to 1 and 13 Army Group, Stevidian Army; it was also part of a network of smaller headquarters dotted around southern Stevid as part of the Stevidian High Command – the joint chef heads of staff for the Army, Navy and Air Force located in Stevid Capita and report directly to the Prime Minster. These individuals, including the PM, were often seen within WJHQ Chilcompton. For the most part it was rare for service personal above the rank of Brigadier or Lt General to be seen sulking about the place but rarer yet to see a junior officer or junior NCO – this place was important. It may have been the official home of two entire Army HQs but it was also the hub of command for the entire Stevidian Western Theatre of Greater Dienstad: an area of command responsibility that included Stevid herself, Guffingford, the Golden Throne, Tir, Dersconi, Liberated America, United World Order and Mordent. Subsidiary command elements dealing with the Astratii Continent, known as Central Theatre Command, were advised directly from WJHQ.

With all this being the case WJHQ was extremely busy, busier than usual. Security had been beefed up considerably too. Two drones patrolled around the entire town, the Military Provost Guard Service patrols were now performing active patrols in full deployable gear, including helmets and osprey. Military Police were a very overt presence within the camp and the town and were now patrolling armed. Within the HQ buildings officers of all ranks scurried between meetings and stressed at their desks as paperwork mounted and NCOs were late with their coffees. It was made worse by a stirring Golden Throne in recent days. This was neither unexpected or a complication… much. The recent military movements made by the Holy Empire, especially around the Astratii continent would of course be a concern to the Golden Throne – least of all the huge amphibious assault force now rolling into Anchorhead naval base in northern Adaptus Astrates.

A formal request for information from Golden Throne’s Fuermak (the High Command) had been received by WJHQ reference the Stevidian intent in South Panooly. A nation state didn’t need an adept intelligence agency to figure that Stevidian interests regarding a conflict with the Fourth Reich would heavily involve South Panooly as well as Kashubia. Both were very much within the Holy Empire’s grander sphere of influence and the history between Holy Panooly and Stevid was very long indeed. Relations with the Golden Throne had been revived and friendly of late and despite a want to keep military intent as secret as possible there was a general feeling within Stevidian Command that being open and honest with their neighbours would do more good than harm.

A small document was published secretly for transmission to the Fuermak in lieu of their request for Stevidian intent around Holy Panooly. It was a heavily abridged version of the overall grand strategy Stevidian commanders were putting together for Holy Panooly, but it covered all the bases. However the Fuermak was informed that there would be a substantial delay of around half a week before they would receive the document. WJHQ wasn’t in the habit of just sending wartime plans and strategies across data links, no matter how well encrypted; this coupled with the fact the regional situation with satellites was very ‘difficult’ at the moment. The document would be published in secret and carried by hand by a Stevidian Diplomat to a government jet, flown to Fedala and delivered to the Imperial Embassy there. The Stevidian Ambassador plus aides would then deliver it by hand to the Golden Throne at their next official meeting. The Fuermak were also informed that the Holy Empire would not be making any major moves against South Panooly beyond air strikes and naval engagements until they had received the document.

Said document outlined the basic plan of action the Stevidian military set out to achieve. Primarily it was a united Panooly under the control of democratically elected government. It stressed that the Empire hoped the Golden Throne didn’t become too involved in the internal affairs beyond stabilising the country during a transition from the separation it experiences at the moment. The Holy Empire would therefore concentrate heavily on government buildings and regional military headquarters via a sustained and heavy bombing campaign. This would be achieved through gaining air superiority with combined Stevidian-Astratii-Coalition air strikes on air fields and military HQ and control elements.

There would also be a protracted propaganda campaign against the ruling government playing on the swathes of sympathies the local population had towards a unified Panooly government and the friendships it had or has with the Golden Throne. This would involve leaflet drops, social media campaigns, deliberate anti-government radio transmissions combined with attacks against civilian infrastructures that support state-sponsored media outlets – though these would be limited to attacks against transmitters and satellites links.

Should the initial strikes fail to break the resolve of the government then the air attacks would be widened to include attacks on power plants, water treatment facilities and civilian telecommunication facilities whilst propaganda would play on the fact that North Panooly is developing well and infrastructure is in place to support the south – but it is not possible due to regime of the Fourth Reich.

Finally the document drew attention to question the Golden Throne was really asking. They were assured that the amphibious assault fleet was there to act as a rapid reaction strike force against the United World Order in both Kashubia and South Holy Panooly. It did have battle plans that included an invasion of South Panooly. However, given how this could ruffle features in the Macabees, the assault force would not invade unless there was a direct threat to North Panooly from the south, or that Adaptus Astrates was under direct threat of invasion from UWO units based in South Panooly and a pre-emptive strike would deter such a threat, or not without the explicit support (if not approval) of the Golden Throne and only then with further guarantees from the Holy Empire.

Stevidian intent in Kashubia and Fourth Reich forces region and world wide was omitted from the document.

As planned the document was published SECRET and transported by hand to the Ministry of Defence. A group of individuals left that day from the Ministry with a diplomatic pouch bag and made for Capita Gateway Airport for a government flight to Fedala. Within 48 hours the package was in a locked safe within a safe room in the Stevidian Imperial Embassy ready for its next leg of the journey into the hands of their hosting nation’s government.

10 Miles Inside Panooly Demarcation Zone
Western South Panooly
0340hrs

It had been many, many long years since Stevidian Special forces were on the ground in Holy Panooly, especially in a combat and observation role. Four teams in total belonging to the SSBS (Stevidian Special Boat Service) crossed via parachute several hours previous under the cover of night at high altitude and landed several miles inside South Panooly. The jump was made in the north and the free fall took them over the border. The RAFs Intelligence Cells and the Army’s Intelligence Corps had already begun sifting through the reams of data collected on South Panooly in the run up to the war. Even now JSTAR and AWACs aircraft together with the RAFs new Phantom Series drones that specialised in eavesdropping and live intelligence flew in North Panooly on the veiled permission from the North’s de facto controller the Macabees. The four man teams irregularly received small burst transmissions of up-to-date information and on known United World Order command and control facilities and believed locations of other and as the night progressed they either confirmed or disproved these reports, updating their commanders as appropriate.
So far they hadn’t been discovered and only two areas with high concentrations of communications equipment had been identified. Other locations had been AA Shepherd sites that were equally important for Stevidian battle space analysts. Potential massed air strikes across the border would inevitably encounter enemy AA defences that were entrenched well and in depth. SBS units were to report back on the ones with high concentrations of fire power; those were stand alone or lightly supported were to be attacked and destroyed with the same aggression and destructiveness that made Stevidian Special Forces respected if not feared. These units were seldom found – by 0200hrs the SBS had only destroyed three AA Shepherds and incurred casualties too – eating up more time as equipment and clothing was destroyed, ammunition pilfered and corpses hastily buried away from the killing zone.

Despite these setbacks, as there always was in war, the ground mission was somewhat successful. Four FOBs had been identified and two areas of highly concentrated troops and armour had been discovered. The FOBs were the most important; these forward bases close to a hot border were big, easy to spot and almost always had command and control centres, radar and communications equipment. These were primary targets and had to be removed. But not by the SBS…

50nm NW South Panooly Coast
0412hrs

The night-time seas off western Holy Panooly were not as tranquil as those of southern Kashubia. It was rough, choppy and some would call it excellent conditions. In fact Navy commanders in Stevid preferred conditions like this these days. In this modern world where even rudimentary OTH radars are fitted to super dreadnoughts, the environment can be your best friend. Radar, even if military stuff is usually more robust, is still exceptionally sensitive equipment and hates bad weather. Ships passing through here would go unmolested unless enemy ships were actively looking for something and out in force to do so.

The Fourth Reich of the United World Order certainly had the assets to conduct such missions. Around 3,400 ships made up the full contingent of the UWOs commitment to their newest territorial gain. However this amount, together with the total amount of aircraft, was nothing compared to what an Imperial force of Stevidian and Astratii armadas could field. Holy Panooly was for all intents and purposes a failed state. It relied heavily on foreign support, investment and defence. Decades of war, rampant piracy, government corruption and even a nuclear strike had reduced what was once a major regional player to a 2nd World state. Theohunacu wasn’t too dissimilar but was much more stable than her Panoolian neighbour. Adaptus Astrates on the other hand was a major technologically advanced 1st World nation and a dominion within the Holy Empire. She wasn’t a major regional power – most of her foreign policy was made by Stevid – but she was economically and militarily powerful using all the military equipment Stevid and the rest of the Empire did. Furthermore she was the only stable country on the continent and was rich in natural resources to the point where Stevid exported common metals, oil and gas from the country at heavily discounted rates. Adaptus Astrates could, effectively, fight the Fourth Reich in Holy Panooly by herself. Help from the Empire was a bonus.

To that end it was Astratii submarines, not Stevidian, which lurked beneath these waves off South Panooly. There were ten in total, mixed classes but the majority were Astute SSKs and Lamonian produced Xiphos class SSNs – gifts during the last war. Their home ports and missions secret, there positions unknown only those in the most secretive and trustworthy circles of government and the military and all armed with the latest addition to the Empire’s munitions armoury: Titan II cruise missiles.

Designed primarily by LAIX arms with design input and heavy industrialised support from the Holy Empire, the Titan II (Known as Contrado in Lamoni) was a more affordable variant to the Hellion 2 with increased range and a smarter on-board computer but with an overall lower terminal velocity. It would be of no consequence in this regard. The submarines launched a total of 155 Titan II missiles at the determined locations of the forward operating bases near the border of North and South Panooly. Heavy hits across South Panooly would not begin yet as coalition states and third parties still had designs on South Panooly. For now, the Holy Empire was reminding the Fourth Reich it had a tough war to fight in Panooly and this ‘knock on door’ was just the beginning.

Immediately after launch the submarines scattered into the depths and made for the safe ports of Adaptus Astrates as best and silently as they could.

[The Grand World Order]

Color Sergeant David Hatfield
Platoon Sergeant
2nd Platoon, Fox Company, Signals Reconnaissance Battalion, Combat Support Group, 1st Special Infantry Division, Federal Army of Our Fascist Federation
Northern Bay, 5mi from Mokan-Val Verde positions

An IVECO Lince with black construction paper taped to the inside windows, and a string of trash bags bisecting the inside of the cabin to provide a secure environment for the analysis stations in the back sat idling in the woods, accompanied by another Lince with a highback setup to carry the less sensitive equipment. A lone Wiesel AWC from the Federal Guard was with them, outfitted with a 20mm chain gun; it wasn't an outrageous amount of firepower, but would be easily be able to shred a helicopter that came too close, or hold off an infantry attack long enough for the SIGINT team to pack up and escape- or destroy the classified materials they were carrying.

The GWO's presence in this section of the country was miniscule; for the most part, the GWO had stayed out of the border crisis in Kashubia, instead focusing on the interior of the country, conducting COIN missions to help the UWO maintain order. Indeed, the GWO historically had stayed out of the "power regions" with the exception of Tyrrhenia; Grand Commander Athena Griffith, for all her critics liked to criticize her for "lacking the backbone" that her predecessor had, changed this. Under her hand, intelligence collection efforts had been ramped up against absolutely everyone, even GWO allies such as Ralkovia and the UWO; the "old powers," as they were, were no exception. Regardless of this policy shift, it was unprecedented for a somewhat large force of rank-and-file Orderian troops to be conducting actual combat missions in an established, stable region such as Greater Dienstad, even if they were there primarily for support operations. Within the UWO proper, it was a different story; both the GWO and UWO had permanent, major bases within the other country's borders, a sign of the close friendship between the two.

Color Sergeant Hatfield was a 12-year veteran of the Federal Army, and personally had served alongside Athena when she was still an Army officer. He was a veteran of the GWO-Ryou wars, the Invasion of Sperland, and had supported dozens of hush-hush missions with the Reconnaissance and Intelligence Directorate. He was certain he could "go all the way" and apply to join the Advanced Paratrooper Service, but he preferred his current place in the 1st SID, which wasn't as "sexy" (as some people described it), but in his eyes, did more important things for the Federation. He was still a middle-aged man in a profession where many men died young- and regardless of popular opinion, the 1st SID was one of the most feared implements of Orderian policy around the globe.

Today, he was accompanying a collection team of six soldiers, now seven discounting the Carabinieri escorting them. They were the forward-most GWO unit to the aggressing Mokans and Val Verdans, and he wanted to see with his own eyes the environment they'd be watching. While their vehicle was blacked out and equipped with rather expensive signals analysis tools, the prime equipment of today's mission was an RF spectrum analyzer, which in this case was essentially a glorified scanner on steroids, and a receiver array sitting atop a mast just barely breaking over the forest canopy in order to avoid the eye of low-flying aircraft or artillery observers. The nature of an amphibious landing of this scale would necessitate communication of some sort; if it was electronic and strong enough to reach the receivers, it would appear on the analyzer, though the team didn't possess the capability of breaking anything but the most basic of encryption.

They would then forward this information via their directional antenna to the rear, where more analysts would scrub their intercepted frequencies against the UWO comm plan, in order to identify what was "ours," and what was likely "theirs." More importantly, this information was being used to develop an electronic fires plan for the incoming EA-6Cs.

Not much was said between the men on the team. Three of them were busy watching the analyzer, two were tactically placed to tear down the RF-absorbing camouflage netting around the Linces in the case that it became necessary to flee, and the sixth was actively patrolling the site; CoSgt Hatfield was posted in the turret of the main Lince, with a Gunner Shield Kit around him and a mounted M-MG42 in front of him. Even though they were all intelligence personnel, each was a Special Infantryman, a recognized member of the Orderian Special Operations community, and veteran operator. They were all armed with MI-8A2s configured as 6.5mm assault rifles and well-versed on how to use them, but their standing orders were to immediately tear down the site and flee if they encountered any hostility.

[Mokastana]

Notes from Personnel Journal
Captain Dimitri Orlav
9th Army Recon Specialist


The Mokans have a respect for murderers, I'll give them that.

I was 17 when I first joined the army, though joined might be too nice, I was forced under gunpoint into conscription. Belmotin was a far different place back then. It was far more like the backward hellscape of Zvezda than a functioning country. Only we did not have a regional power backing us. We still survived on our own, raiding our neighbouring nations for supplies. Shiistan, Val Verde, they didn't have the border security and we needed what they couldn't defend. I am not proud of what I did in those days, but I was good at what I did. Thought I was tough, we all did. We weren't. We were just sharpshooters that killed peasants for trying to resist our robberies. We were only bullies with guns, and one day, we found out what happens when you bully the wrong people.

I never did fight the Mokans personally, some General and his loyalists staged a coup and surrendered before my unit was even ready for combat. We were soon annexed, and the Army disbanded. I was without a job and returned to the pitiful farm my uncle owned, working for whatever scraps he earned that day. Until one day we got a letter from the new ‘Federal’ Army forming in Belmotin, my war record was considered, “promising" and I was to be made a Platoon Corporal if I joined back up. It turns out the Mokans have a respect for murderers, if you're good at it.

I helped to train many young men to be sharpshooters in the “20th Army," and was promoted to Sergeant for my efforts. So many boys that had been too young to fight when the Mokans came, and now the new Army had promised them the world to get them to sign up. It was the same old lies, just with new leaders, and newer weapons.

My next taste of combat was in South Greal. The virus released by Imbrinium in Malgrave made it's way to Belmotin. Hundreds died. The new government did all but give us the keys to the armory when we volunteered to fight for the Holy Empire of Stevid. They knew what they were doing. Those of us that returned were made heroes, given memberships in the Mokan’s Warrior Societies, combat bonuses, officer commissions to join the “External Army.” The new Mokan government was just like the old one: hide behind deniability while showering those who killed with all the gifts they could.

I've seen combat in five countries. I've fought peasants, drug dealers, imperial soldiers and fascists. Now I find myself hunting a different breed of fascists in the muddy landscapes of Zvezda. I wear the claws given to me by the crazy warlords of Mokastana, and pretend to be proud of my achievements. I could have been like my father, I could have been a carpenter, living a quiet existence on the family farm, but life never gives you what you want.

At least, the Mokans have a strong respect for murderers.


Border of Zvezda/Kashubia
Eastern Command/Front
0400 hours( Initial Assault +6 hrs)

On the ground as the SS began their push into the Eastern front, the Ordernite Fallschirmjager flew overhead, straight into the Federal Air Defenses. Four of the six Skyguard Divisions tasks with the protection of Zvezda were in range of the front, most were dedicated to evening the odds between the Allied and Ordernite Air Forces. The Federation had better planes and munitions, but the Ordernites had the numbers. Unfortunately for the Fallschirmjager, air defense was something the Federal Army had learned the hard way many wars ago. Each division on the front had a Standardised LY471 Battery, with strong radar and missiles able to hit targets up to 1100 km away. On top of that, most fielded at least 25 King Shepherd LY7 Anti Air platforms, each with 16 SALY28 AA missiles and quad 25mm guns. This would be nearly 200 mobile AA platforms from the Federal Army alone. This did not include Zvezdan 2K22 Tunguskas or Tor Missile Systems scattered among the Zvezdan forces, nor their S-300 Battteries.

All in all, Transport helicopters and planes made for big targets not known for their agility, and were targeted mercilessly. The alliance’s AA fired missiles and bullets if they were low, or LY4031s were launched if they flew higher. The allied air defense was decentralised in set up, with a few locations acting as command points. Barely a tenth of available radar was active, and many more missiles were in reserve, so every time enemy CAS or special operations knocked something out, it would only be a few moments before another came online to replace it. In response, any AWACs or sensor heavy aircraft south of the border were targeted by LY4030s, long range(1100km) missiles designed just for this moment. Enemy command and Control would have to go down.

On the ground, the enemy counter attack pushed into 4th Corps of 9th Army, backed by three functioning Corps of the Zvezdan 21st Army. The Eastern front was the weakest of the three commands of the main line, for the 21st Army Group was only 600,000 strong, compared to the 800,000+ strength of the other two army groups on the front. Even with the 200,000 Federal Troops backing them, the East was only 800,000 strong, thus their push forward was halted by the enemy counter attack. 22nd Army Command in the center front was transferring half a Corp to aide the Eastern Front, but their biggest support would be the Federal Navy off the coast. Fire support from the 31st Assault Fleet kept a steady stream of missiles heading south, and Warhawk fighter bombers did their best to support the allied forces now on the defensive. For now, the Eastern flank was under orders to fall back to defensive positions and hold.

It was here that Captain Dimitri Orlav waited in the burned out remains of what might have once been a farmhouse. He watched the road remotely, with a small portable camera sticking out of a window that fed into his helmet. Just because there was a battle raging didn’t mean he didn’t want to prep some breakfast before the next skirmish. At least the WetTek 24-Hour Ration packs were better than the MRIs he had as a young man.




Border of Zvezda/Kashubia
Western Command/Front
0400 hours( Initial Assault +6 hrs)

While the Eastern Front held the line, and the Center continued to show no progress, the western line pushed deeper. Despite having less armor than the other two Flanks, they had enough infantry forces to continue to pour through the cracks in the Ordernite lines. The Zvedan Armored and Motor Rifle Divisions held the main line while their Mokan Allies worked to break the front. Their focus was on enemy Air defenses, for the Mokans had two Air Calvary Divisions on Standby ready to launch an attack when enemy AA had been beaten down enough. Unlike the Fallschirmjager attack that happened during the suppression of air defenses, the Mokans focused on suppression first. Luckily, the Air Calvary had a large supply of artillery. 100 LY300 Multiple Rocket Systems per division, each outfitted to 14 launch cruise missiles each, for a grand total 2,800 missiles in ready to launch status. Of these another 1,200 was thrown at the Ordernite fleet in the bay. While the rest were used to target enemy Air defenses, aiming for active radar sites, and known missile launch locations.

Not to say the rest of the attack was lacking in missile and artillery. While the Mokans maintained Artillery units within their divisions, the Zvezdans had entire divisions focus on rockets and artillery. Of course a Zvedan division was typically half or third of the size of a Federal Division, but they got the job done. Each Zvedan Corps had four Rocket Divisions with their own cruise missiles, heavy guns and rockets. It was these units that kept the pressure on the Ordernite front and supplied the landing Marines with all the fire support they needed.


Marine Landing
15 km behind the front line
Western Command/Front
0400 hours( Initial Assault +6 hrs)

The explosions of artillery forced the entire Company watching the beach to drop to the ground. Captain Gomez laughed as he looked over towards his counterparts from Val Verde.

“Looks like they finally found their balls! Hahaha!”

The sniper attacks got a few good hits before they were noticed. Luckily, the disorganized behavior and mixing of officer and enlisted men in the External Armed Forces made it difficult for even a trained Mokan spotter to tell officer from soldier. It was even worse with the Marines where everyone either had Rank, Claws, or something to prove. Factor in that all communication was done by helmet radio, that meant most groups of soldiers exposed would be diving to the ground in the artillery fire, and screaming into their helmet mics. It would be impossible to tell which were requesting orders and which were giving them once the shells began to fall.

Captain Gomez was safe on the ground, for his MAC-31 was on the side of him and his squad facing inland. Between explosions he yelled into his helmet’s microphone orders to various groups

“Drone control, where is the Arty coming from?”

“Getting coordinates now.”

“Pass it to Hurricane control for counter battery fire on these bastard ASAP!”

Quickly he switched channels:

“Actual this is 3rd Battalion, beach is hot, redirect north of us. LZ Delta is being shelled, go to Bravo and Charlie.”

Another channel switch:

“All units, clear the beach!”

While the Marines began to clear the beach, the enemy shells were tracked by radar and sensitive microphones picking up the sounds of distant artillery. The drones flying overhead gave a visual of the approximate location, and the bright flashes of the firing in the dark morning hours confirmed the location. At Sea, the Battleaxe support ships fired cruise missiles inland and aimed their own 155mm guns on target. They would only get off a few volleys before the cruise missiles with smart sub munitions made contact, but every second counted when fighting against artillery.

Over the helmet radio, someone screamed about sniper fire between explosions. The Marines already had their own snipers deployed in a perimeter around the LZ, but somehow these had gotten through. Counter sniper fire would begin shortly, but more importantly, the marines had armor on their side. Most of the armor and infantry deployed were already inland moving to observation and rally points, but the company units guarding the beachhead had their own as well. They couldn't do much about the artillery, but the sniper attack could be met with force. IR signatures from the tree line would be moving away if they were animals, but the signatures staying still were clearly more intelligent creatures. A lucky artillery hit blew open the side of an IFV while the one next to it opened fire on the tree line with high explosive shells from its chain gun. The marines’ own snipers used the distraction of IFV fire to begin looking for human shaped IR signatures that attempted to move or go for cover.

With the enemy snipers being suppressed, many units made it to vehicles to drive off the beach and away from the artillery strikes. Either picked up by the IFVs and MAC-31s that originally dropped them off. They could come back and restore the LZ once enemy artillery and infantry were suppressed. Meanwhile it would be further inland where the KDF division began to make contact with the lead elements of the Marine Divisions. It started with small ambushed by the advanced scouts, but then as entire company size units made landfall and pushed inland, small scale battles began, with liberal application of missiles and the 155mm guns from the Battleaxes at Sea. For tonight, every marine vehicle and soldier that hit the coast was combat ready as an offensive unit. Tomorrow the artillery and supply vehicles would be unloaded, but for now, four divisions worth of armor and infantry engaged the single KDF division sent to slow them down.


Northern Bay,
Western Command/Front
0400 hours( Initial Assault +6 hrs)

The enemy subs still had a bit of distance to cross, for the fleets were hundreds of Kilometers apart. Even worse for the attack subs, the shear amount of noise in the water from the amphibious assault craft and active sonar buoys pinging away was both distracting and showing off everyone in the sea for everyone to see. To attack the Mokan fleet would be like trying to fight an enemy shining a spotlight on you, an enemy that has more guns and friends. Most combat vessels in the fleet had some sort of ASW capabilities, usually torpedo launchers and passive sonar. Where as a submarine’s biggest strength was its ability to hide, the Ordernite submarines gave up that bonus to get in close. Ships fired torpedoes at their locations while helicopters stuck close to their mother vessels. Enough helicopters were struck by enemy AA, but a few continued their death from above campaign on the subs, rushing out to drop buoys or bombs, then back to countermeasures of the fleet.

Across the 800 kilometer width of Zvezda, the Assault Flotillas had fired away nearly 2,000 additional cruise missiles of anti ship variety to crush the enemy fleet in the Bay once and for all. It would take the missiles a few hours to reach their targets, but once they crossed Zvezda they would be commanded by the Marine vessels. The Marine Transports needed to survive. Everything else was secondary to the ability to deploy military assets by sea.


Arrival of Reinforcements
Fort Gran Pantera
9th Army Theatre HQ
0400 hours( Initial Assault +6 hrs)

Under heavy air protection, the first flights of reinforcements began to arrive. Escorted by aircraft stationed in Lyras and New Garrick, the massive transport planes were working around the clock to get the additional troops in theatre. Two Corps from the Mejican 6th Army and three from Belmotin’s 20th Army, each Corp being approximately 200,000 men. It was much needed supply of a troops. Even with planes landing and taking off every twenty minutes, it would be days before they were organized and ready for the front. As they waited for their comrades to arrive, the soldiers tested and cleaned their vehicles, equipment, and supplies. A few Skyguard batteries set up to assist the Fort in case of enemy Air attack, but with the PUF Navy off the coast and most of Zvezda between them and the front, they were not under “immediate” threat.

Back at home, Army Groups 2nd, 11th and 12th Army from Mokastana, 13th and 14th from Wellovia, the 19th Army from Aqua Anu continued with their mobilization. For the first time in years, conscripts serving the “easy two” years were being activated. For the PUF, conscription was a requirement to become a citizen of the Federation, with all associated benefits. Such as free higher education, easy to afford healthcare, and government assistance programs. Because of that, most served for four years, two Active Duty and two in the Ready Reserves. Unlike traditional conscripts, the Federation did all it could to ensure each was the best they could be. Six months of training, from Basic to Military Occupation School, followed by a year and a half of active service. They received all the best gear, guns and armor the government could provide. It cost nearly $60,000 to outfit each soldier in the Federation, and most of that was the cost of armor. If the Elite troops had it, so did the Conscripts.

The “easy two” were the years right after where you trained once a month, with an annual two week refreshment course. Despite having a civilian job, you were “on call” in case of war. It had happened a few times with the wars against Castille, but not since the dawn of the Federation was it on this scale. The first generation of Mokans who grew up in a stable country would finally come face to face with the horrors of war.

[United World Order]

Mokan-Val Verde- Morridane landing zones,
Western Front, 0400 HRS.

In high altitude and fast approaching the Northern coast where it had been realized that amphibious landings were taking place were two wings of Ordenite Luftwaffe bombers who had been dispatched to saturate the beaches with heavy munitions. Under decent fighter escort they cut through the sky like a knife as they were approaching the sandy beaches where Mokan, Val Verde and even Morridane marines had begun landing and setting up beach heads of their own to most likely draw out as many Ordenite and or KDF forces as possible while flanking the main area of fighting. Due to having the advantage of aerial superiority which has yet to have truly been challenged by the enemy forces currently fighting against Reich and Kashubian forces which meant that the Ordenite Luftwaffe would have near impunity to hunt down both air and ground targets which were many now due to the heavy fighting occurring. Luftwaffe aircraft were taking off, heading to battlefields for support of ground forces, re-fueling and re-arming before starting the process all over again. The bombers soon enough begun to creep over the horizon and now had full viewing pleasure of the beaches ahead and the Northern Bay it's self.

Going off of ground reconnaissance and intelligence gathering by Ordenite scouts and even their Orderian recon elements that were sparse on the ground. The bombers would then arm their air launched cruise missiles that had been outfitted for this moment and then apply the ground intelligence acquired to properly detail targets for them. Eventually with the bombers getting ever closer, they begun firing the cruise missiles in which every bomber would be able to launch 24 respectively as the rest of their load were GPS guided bombs that would be fired after the cruise missiles were already approaching their targets which would be concentrations of marines, command and control, anti-aircraft and any heavy vehicles like tanks and armored vehicles. The GPS guided bombs would be for overall saturation of the beaches in which the two wings of Luftwaffe bombers would have their attack spanning the entire coast where Mokan, Val Verde and Morridane marines were landing at. Assuming all went well the amphibious beach landings would come to a screeching halt but it wasn't over.

Heavy Artillery Battalion 654 had already begun packing up and moving locations once their position was fully exposed to the enemy. The KDF division's own artillery which was a mix of towed howitzers and MLRS would take over for them while the division maintained a elastic defense and would continue harassing the advancing Mokan and Val Verde marines. However for the Morridanes they would be facing a entirely different enemy as the last remaining Fallschirmjager regiment had been flown in and organized a few kilometers away from where the Morridanes were landing and they would be allowed to land with little resistance besides naval wise to their landing. 5,000 Ordenite paratroopers would now by 0400 hours have begun advancing forward to set up advanced positions for eventual combat with Morridane marines. In the mean time the paratroopers would work hard and fast on developing a organized defense including firing positions for fighting off the Morridane marines.

To the relief of the paratroopers and KDF now currently fighting to prevent further incursions by enemy marines was the arrival of Ordenite reinforcements by railway that had arrived outside the city of Tuktar. 600,000 in total which nearly numbered two Army groups would have now arrived and be organized for deployment orders against the Amphibious assaults and further strengthening the western frontlines. Kashubian infrastructure had yet to be targeted by enemy forces and therefore another advantage was given to the Ordenites and Kashubians fighting currently as they would continue to receive fast reinforcements and or supplies. What breakthroughs were made on the western front by enemy infantry would be quickly countered by Ordenite armor formations which were numerous as they were would begin to create pockets where they had with their speed being in war machines cut off and surrounded pockets of enemy infantry. Artillery would also help in suppressing further breakthroughs as the Ordenites on the western line looked to re-establish control.

Northern Bay, 0400 HRS.

It was inevitable that the Kriegsmarine flotilla in Northern bay was destined for defeat. Much of it's submarines had been lost to torpedos and or depth charges while it's surface ships were hardly holding on to life. The last batch of orders from the flotilla's commander was to fight till the end and waste whatever munitions were still available to saturate the enemy naval force before the flotilla could be completely destroyed. The remnants of the flotilla would begin to fire whatever munitions it had left while sailors in the ships that were still above water prepared emergency evacuation craft for getting off their respective surface vessels and heading towards land before the flotilla was completely destroyed by enemy naval forces. Along the coast facing the northern bay, what coastal defenses and AA defenses still remained continued to harass and prevent aerial superiority and naval superiority to the enemy. Luftwaffe Lu-45s and additional interceptor aircraft and ground attack aircraft continued to show aerial dominance over the skies along the Northern bay coast, hitting enemy aircraft and what ground targets below them were ripe for attack by air to ground munitions. It would be some time before the enemy could truly claim dominance over the Northern Bay and it would be through tooth and nail.

Eastern frontlines, 0400 HRS.

The Fallschirmjager insertion behind enemy lines did not go as planned at all. Underestimation of enemy air defenses was a key flaw in the failure of the Fallschirmjager deployment behind the enemies eastern flank that was folding under the pressure of the Ordenite Army group that was advancing against them in order to push Mokan and Zvezdian forces back across their respective border. Despite harassment from the Federal Navy, the counter attack on the eastern frontlines was a major success and breakthrough in the already day spanning battle. Once the Army group was able to re-establish the eastern flank under Ordenite control did they begin to re-establish defensive positions and re-man what they could in order to be prepared for the inevitable resumption of an enemy assault. Engineer units however would move forward into what was determined as 'no man's land' and begin setting down anti-personnel and anti-tank mines that were in the beginning hours of the battle occurring were detonated by enemy munitions. Ordenite logistics had been seemingly unmolested and unhampered by the furious fighting raging on the front lines as they still were able to deliver supplies and equipment without much difficulty besides the occasional artillery shell going off. Ordenite logistics along much of the frontlines were continuing operations without much of a hitch due to the furious fighting currently going on allowing the embattling Ordenite Army forces to receive well needed supplies such as ammunition, munitions for heavy equipment, food and medicine.

The Fallschrmjager regiment that had been previously flown in behind enemy lines was a shell of it's former self now. Due to underestimated aerial defenses manned by the enemy, much of the regiment had been lost before even hitting the ground. A disorganized circus would be a term to describe the remnants of the Fallschirmjager that had landed safely behind enemy lines. Few in number they were they would soon re-group and establish teams being no more than 20 and set out to cover as much ground as possible. The fallschirmjager would set up ambushes, sabotage infrastructure and communications in the enemy's rear along with harassing the enemy front line from behind as well. Relief from further Ordenite Army forces was a hope that many were hanging on to despite all the odds they now faced after a band landing. In the meantime the Fallschirmjager still prowling behind the enemy's rear would depend on their survival training and take out targets of opportunity as they trekked through hostile land.

Holy Panooly Theatre, South Panooly,
0400 HRS.

South Panooly un-like it's Kashubia counterpart was mostly away from the majority of the hard fighting. However with actions done by Stevid that statement may be up for change as Stevidian bombers and other assets had landed some strikes in what was beginning to look like a bombing campaign against South Panooly and Reich forces. Of course the response would be the same anywhere else, Luftwaffe aircraft were scrambled and AA defenses consisting of 76mm FlaK 50 SPAAG's and their smaller 40mm FlakPanzer siblings along with what static SAM sites were also present in South Panooly opened up as did their Wanderjarian counter parts when the bombers had first begun flying into South Panooly airspace. Immediately following the first sign of hostilities beginning with the Holy Empire of Stevid, South Panooly would be put on a war footing as the Luftwaffe was scrambled into the air for continuous flights over the country for aerial supremacy operations. The Kriegsmarine in Holy Panooly would also be put on a considerable level of alert knowing that Stevidian assets were also allowed through the soft blockade and the Kriegsmarine were already preparing for inevitable confrontation with the Stevidian navy.

What was also being done was the deployment of expeditionary troops that were mostly stationed on the southern coast close to their Kriegsmarine counter parts in case they were needed. A single Ordenite field army made up this expeditionary force and once they were organized and ready, they would begin advancing towards the border with North Panooly. The two Waffen SS divisions already near the border due to COIN operations along with Fallschirmjager units would begin covertly re-positioning themselves near the border with North Panooly, this officially was translated to their Maccabean counter parts as re-deployment to ensure control over the South Panooly side of the frontier. However their was a more sinister motive behind the sudden but slowly growing build up in Holy Panooly, due to the current setting of the war and how things were faring in Kashubia and what position militarily that South Panooly was now in with a now hostile Stevid entering the war and further hostile intentions from Morrdh, it had been decided by the Oberkommando des Wehrmacht and the Reich leadership that a invasion of the north would relieve pressure on Reich forces on the continent.

Fellow Reich Fuhrer Oswald Grossmann was more than ready to commit Ordenite forces in the Panooly theatre for a sudden assault across the border into the north. However Richtofen had at first been against it stating the help the Reich still received from the Golden Throne in the RSU and also speaking out about the possibility of The Golden Throne also declaring war on the Reich. However after further conversation between Richtofen, Grossmann and fellow generals they had come to a unanimous decision for the invasion of North Panooly. Nearly a year of reconnaissance and intelligence on the North would soon come to see it's worth in the coming conflict in Holy Panooly.

[The Macabees]

Fuermak Statón 'Joro-Visag', Panooly [City], North Panooly
[OOC: This is assumed to take place two or three days after the events of UWO's last post.]

Lasagos Geeros Boro — Fuermak theater commander — sat reclined against his chair, pensive eyes fixed on the floor. He sat around a large and circular table which projected a three-dimensional map. Around the table stood Vicstrategos Henric Farsán — commander of all theater Ejermacht forces —, Admiránt Gerd Korg — overseer of the newly ordained Kríermak 'Surdíenstad,' composed of the three kriergrups responsible for the 'soft blockade' on South Panooly —, and Vicstrategos Kensé Jíamánt — commander of theater Laerihan forces. The Big Four, as they were called around these parts. At a door towards the back, on the right, stood a guard in an at-ease position who looked only straight ahead, into what was a rather bland wall. He wore the insignia of a soldat prim, but his rigidity hinted at something more than the rank suggested. None of them spoke, and except for the guard they all had an introspective look about them, as if hard in thought. They were interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

The guard came to the position of attention with his back to the door, completed an about face, and then turned the handle to open it. In walked Leutstrategos Hans Vitol, commander the 7th Mosso — a brigade-sized unit of Koro Kirim [ed. Ejermacht Special Forces] —, long, muscular legs allowing him a menacingly elegant stride.

"It took you long enough," barked Boro.

Vitol nodded his head and said, "My apologies for running late. There were a few last minute decisions." He sat down in one of the open chairs.

The Lasagos arched an eyebrow and gave Vitol a good, hard look. "Operatón Nas'Terac" — named after the great ancient Kolomi assassin — "must succeed," he said, with a grave voice. Vitolo nodded, but withheld his response. Boro turned his attention to the projected three-dimensional graph suspended above the glass table, where organized by neat unit markers were arrayed the forces of the Golden Throne and known Ordenite deployments throughout Holy Panooly. He placed a small device in his ear, and suddenly the map was dynamic, with Ordenite units shown to be moving northward. His tone the same as it had been with Vitol, he said, "They are on the move. I assume you all read the document I sent you."

They all nodded, except for for Admiránt Korg, who looked more as if he was trying to avoid the Lasagos' judging gaze. Boro's face betrayed nothing but contempt for direlection, as all men under his command were aware — even the highest ranked —, but he turned to Vitol nonetheless. "Explain to them what you know."

The Leutstrategos rose and walked over to the map. "Here, here, and here," he said, pointing to different locations just south of the Panooly Frontier, "are our major areas of operation for the Koro Kirim. There are maybe twenty in each. We've had to keep our operations small, out of the concern for the safety of our men. In any case, over the past months they have also been training some groups of colored locals. Our original intentions were to cultivate a more organized resistance, but geopolitical events have arrested those efforts and those plans have been largely abandoned. Instead, the Koro Kirim in South Panooly have been tasked with using the small bands of men they've trained to establish an intelligence network, this coupled with connections with some of the more deeply-rooted white families who returned to live in the South. These are friends we have had for many decades, since at least the rise of Templeton." A pause. "As impressive as that sounds, that only gives us so much to work with. There are a few things that we know."

He reached over the table to point at one of the Ordenite units moving northwards. "That is a Waffen SS unit. We have strong reasons to believe that it is at least division-sized. There are other Waffen SS units moving north, although we can only estimate their strength." Turning to Boro, "Sir, if you will."

The Lasagos removed the units and replaced them with an overlay with icons showing recent satellite photography. The Imbriniumian kessler still made much of the planet's orbit inaccessible, but over time they had collected a variety of photographs detailing the make-up and strength of Ordenite units in the South. Vitol pointed to one and Boro selected it, an image of what looked like a tank park now extended vertically over the table. "That is a Waffen SS tank depot one week ago." The image changed. "That is the same tank depot yesterday. Empty as a whore house at noon. Two of my men hid from an armored column that was passing their village, headed northwards. This is a serious re-arrangement of their forces. Two Waffen SS divisions — at least — is a big commitment."

"Maybe they are withdrawing under Stevidian bombardment," ventured Jíamánt.

Farán shook his head. Standing up, he asked the Lasagos to return to the unit map, and then pointed at the western beaches of South Panooly. "If there is a Stevidian invasion, it would most likely occur there. We have some belief that the Stevidians are not planning an invasion. Be that as it may, the Ordenites do not have the same information we do. They operate under the belief that South Panooly could be invaded at any moment." He turned to look at the other general officers, and then said, "Look, if you think you're about to get invaded from the west, why would you move your most important reserve units towards the Frontier?"

"It only makes sense in two situations," interjected Boro. "Either they seriously believe that we are going to invade the South. Or, they are calling our bluff and preparing a preemptive attack. If it's the latter, the question is when will they attack. But, how sure can we be that they are so daring as to invade a satrapy of the Golden Throne?"

"Two divisions is still relatively light," said the Vicadmiránt, who had remained silent until now. Arms crossed, he nodded to Vitol. "Two divisions, is that it?"

"I remind you, Korg, that we can only estimate their strength." Vitol again asked Boro to change the projection to a photograph, this one taken from what seemed like a ground position. "A Koro Kirim team had tracked a bandag- [ed. company-] sized unit of fallschirmjager moving towards the Frontier. This is the extent of our knowledge on that matter, but it may be that they are moving more than just those Waffen SS units."

"But, we have what?" asked Korg, rhetorically. "If the Lasagos' document is correct, we have two mechanized divisions postured along the Frontier and an airborne division in reserve, with the recent arrival of three armored brigades. Those are regulares. A third division has just started to come in, so depending on the time frame here we can add them to the list. That is not a weak force. The Ordenites must know that, even if they do not know the full extent of our full troop movements — but, let's not fool ourselves gentlemen, they probably know quite a bit."

"Not to mention the auxiliaries," added Jíamánt. "And Michcuatl."

"The former are inland and will have to be redeployed after the invasion. Their current duties are vital to the security of North Panooly and so cannot be distracted with additional defensive duties. The Ordenites know this. Consider too that these new Ordenite units are in addition to what has already been at the Frontier. And, I doubt the Ordenites will leave it at this."

Korg, the vicadmiránt, seemed to agree, "Indeed, they are not precluded from reinforcing the South. They have free passage through our blockade."

Vitol snorted, "A mistake, that. I grow tired of this game of edge-walking and neutrality. The Ordenites have only ever turned their backs to us, and yet we show them mercy. Fedor is growing weak." He said that last part with a sneer.

"Silence," commanded Boro, his booming voice subduing the leutstrategos. "You will call His Imperial Majesty by His proper title, or you shall remain silent. He commands us as He wills. Kashubia is a strategic resource, and our diminished support for the Ordenites there remains only because it is a bulwark against eastern attention. Besides, it would dishonor us to abandon a regime that we have helped to support since its inception."

At that, the other man fell silent, his head down and cheeks rosy. It was a comfortable experience to be dressed down by Lasagos Geeros Boro, a man known for executing a soldier who once snickered during a speech that the then leutstrategos was giving prior to their deployment to the Ishme-Dagan area [ed. the largest tank battle of the War of Golden Succession]. Boro continued, "And I bring up a good point. We are the only power in the region who still support the Reich, and their tyranny, and their genocide. Unfortunate as that is, it is still of great value to them. Do you think the Ordenites would sacrifice that?" He meant the last question sincerely.

"No," said Jíamánt, resoundingly. "None of us believe an Ordenite invasion would have much chance of success. They could surprise us, perhaps. Eventually, though, Theohuanacu and Indras come into play. They are in our yard; they can jump in without us noticing, but they'll still be in deep shit. Excuse my language."

Vitol and Farás looked at each other. They were not convinced this was a defensive movement on the Ordenite's part. The theater Ejermacht commander shook his head, then said, "We are at the weakest we shall ever be in North Panooly." Referencing the auxiliary surge that would see North Panooly properly garrisoned — a process well underway, accounting for the three additional armored brigades at the theater's direct disposal. Farás continued, "Their deployments are nonsensical given who their enemies are and with the intensifying aerial bombardment. Maybe they do not mean to invade now, but one day it will come."

Boro stuck his hands in the pockets of his dress slacks and gritted his teeth while moving his head in reserved agreement. "Jíamánt, segment the aerial patrols along the Frontier. Only three-fifths of your aerial patrols along the Frontier will emit IFF codes; the remainder shall remain in the dark. Best to not publicize all of our defenses, even if they do not plan to invade. Farás, I cannot promise you all of the incoming reinforcements, as some are needed in the north as you acutely observed earlier, but I assure you that we will continue to strengthen the Frontier. I hope that allays your fear somewhat." The vicstrategos did not look satisfied. Boro moved on anyways, "Korg, intensify tracking on Ordenite naval assets. You've been cleared for access to all intelligence on their movements around and south of their homeland, Kashubia, and that which you already have access to in the case of South Panooly. That reminds me, what of the insertion?"

"All seventy-two soldiers are accounted for," replied the vicadmiránt.

"Good, Vitol," Boro said, turning his attention to the leutstrategos. "Vitol, those men are now under your direct command. Korg, you will relay those orders to your men on the ground there. Our special forces must work together. There are few of them, and they need to be coordinated with absolute efficiency. I feel that is better achieved by temporarily attaching Grup Koda IV to the 7th Mosso. Vitol, you are to use those men to extend your intelligence network further southwest. I want to know the full extent of the Ordenite deployment in South Panooly. I also want information on their anti-aircraft capabilities and their artillery strength. However, that being said, we have other responsibilities in North Panooly that we must not ignore. We must still crush the last remnants of the resistance in the southeast corner of the satrapy. They are a small group and no longer a threat, but they must not be allowed to fester and grow again. Not with as much as we've gained so far. The Black Jackals are another threat that must be guarded against. And the northern Jumanotan Frontier must be reinforced as well, bare as it currently is. The Reich must not distract us, as we have have no reason to put undue weight on a hypothetical invasion."

Jíamant offered a light bow of the head and said, "A fair compromise, Lasagos."

"Indeed," said Farás, albeit with a touch of resentment.

Vitol only nodded, and the vicadmiránt had seemed to lose interest in the discussion after learning that he would lose command over the Grup Koda unit. It was enough to satisfy Boro, and he added, "These meetings will occur on a every-three-days basis. I want new intelligence, new information on Ordenite movements."

As the others started to funnel out the door, Boro pulled Jíanmánt aside. "Allocate a few more of your resources to the Jumanotan Sektor. We need more eyes on what's moving in and out of southern Adaptus Astrates [ed. this is before the Holy Empire's report on their intentions had arrived to the Golden Throne], lest they surprise us too."

"Yes, Lasagos," said Jíanmánt, who then gave a another shallow bow and then left as well.

Boro looked back at the map, which was again showing the known order of battle in Holy Panooly. He sighed. Why did things have to get interesting now, when so many resources were being consumed by this ill-advised invasion of the Scandinvan Empire? How could they embark on such an intensive operation knowing the mounting instability near to home? It baffled him. And the lasagos reflected, looking at the map, on just how attractive [ed. relatively speaking] the odds were for the Ordenites at that moment.

[Stevid]

Panoolian Theatre
Several mi inside S. Panooly Demarcation

The opening shots and rounds had been fired in holy Panooly. Stevidian and coalition bombers were now crossing N. Panooly with impunity and support – as in with agreement with the Golden Throne that they were permitted through this soft blockade. Cruise missile strikes and bombers had infiltrated S. Panooly and begun what would be the beginning of a very large bombing campaign. Probably not the largest the Empire had undertaken but it supposed to bring most of S. Panooly to its knees. In the skies above S. Panooly were a mix of Stevidian aircraft, B2 Spirits, A6 Armburst and all five of the ZM-7L Dreadnought bombers purchased from Yohannes for developmental testing in the Royal Air Force. This was their first combat outing. They weren’t alone; sorties were of course escorted from very local bases in Adaptus Astrates or from carriers dotted east and west of territory.

Sqn Ldr Berwick was flying a very early sortie today. He relaxed into the seat of his XF-24 Scorpion strike aircraft and looked east as the deep of night was slowly ebbing away and a faint light blue haze of dawn was taking its place. Night time fighting and flight procedures were still in effect but in truth his current role in this air campaign didn’t really require visual targeting anyway.

“Call signs prepare for engagement in five minutes… mark.” He said glancing at his watch. Timing was synchronised with a flight of A6 Armburst bombers surging somewhat deeper than usual into enemy territory now with recent reports of large enemy ground forces deploying north to the border. Targets were soft – known field commands, bridges roads and key chokepoints – all were to be bombed to prevent and disrupt the flow of supplies north supporting these Waffen SS divisions moving north.

Audible clicks came over Berwick’s comms has the over four aircraft in his flight, all Scorpions, confirming his order. In just a few minutes they would surge at full speed towards the bombers in support of their operation. It was then that the forward bomber formation told them what they needed to hear.

“Bomber flight 661 to support flight 661, encountering heavy AA barrage. Missiles and cannon fire from ten plus units. Repeat…” As the flight leader from the bomber force repeated his report Berwick ordered his own flight onwards. He flicked some switches and armed his payload of anti-radiation missiles. The enemy were likely passively scanning to avoid the heavy use of such weapons but they had to be using their equipment just to engage the friendly bombers.

“Call signs, contacts confirmed at 5 o’clock low. Ensure targeting computers are synched and engage at will. Watch for enemy flights. Out.”

The display screens in his aircraft identified the targets, a smattering of SPAAGs and SAMs. The tracer fire from the cannons was easy enough to spot even at this long distance as too was the infrequent pop of light in the air where a missile or burst of rounds found a target. One bomber had been lost with three heavily damaged but continuing on. Berwick and the rest of his flight fired their missiles at the SPAAG and SAM sites. Distant explosions betrayed the successful hits on the enemy air defence.

“Splash. Confirmed kills, break attack and continue escort.” Berwick instructed; he thumbed a panel in his cockpit switching channels to another squadron in support nearby. “Support flight 661 to Fencer 251 – pushing south in close support of Bomber flight 661. Request reserve protection from enemy flights…”

A momentary pause. Berwick and the flight continued south over the smouldering remains of the enemy AA units, clearly Fencer 251 was ensuring it was able to fly in support – the air space was busy and close air support was at a premium. “Fencer 251, roger Support 661. Support authorised en route to you now. Out.”

Berwick relaxed a little more. Though the Scorpion was technically multirole it truly excelled in ground support operations. Its anti-air abilities, however, didn’t leave much to be desired. Each of his aircraft had four short range missiles and a pair of Sky Cepter medium range AAMs, but the over air combat effectiveness of the Scorpion was generally poor. As such, Berwick requested additional support. Locally was Fencer 251, a much sought after call sign as they flew the brand new XF-26 Assassin air-superiority aircraft. They were now flying full speed in support having escorted five ZM-7L bombers on a massed Titan II missile strike against enemy airfields. It was long before Berwick was justified in asking for help.

The Armbursts had dropped their payloads. One field HQ, damage unknown but what was was the bomber as it tumbled out of the sky under heavy SPAAG fire and with an enemy fighter squadron in pursuit of the others. The other bombers had attacked a local bridge and the main roads around this forward position and were now harried by the enemy fighters. The A6 bombers with deep infiltrators much like the B1 Lancer. They dived fast and low to escape the counter attack whilst Berwick’s flight moved to intercept.

“Enemy contacts! Ten, repeat ten, enemy contacts!” Came over the comms as the bombers panicked under fire.

“Hello Fencer 251, Support 661. ETA?” Rushed down the comm as he and his flight broke loose formation and engaged the enemy flight in almost pitch blackness. The enemy flight scattered too but one or two persisted after the bombers. There was no answer from Fencer 251 and his BATTLEnet computer uplink flicked and then displayed a dreaded error message. “All call signs, battle picture is down. Continue to engage.” He said.

Following the last regional war, huge anti-satellite strikes from Imbrinium had caused a Kesslor Syndrome effect in orbit above Greater Dienstad. The amount of destruction had seriously weakened regional satellite coverage and so Stevidian battle space management systems and communications regularly suffered temporary brownouts. It now meant that Berwick had only local comms with friendly units and no BATTLEnet sensor updates on the type of aircraft he was fighting or its supposed weapon load out. It was a fair shout they were enemy air-superiority aircraft as his radar picture told him two of his flight had been downed by enemy fire as had another bomber.

His own instruments flashed warnings as his aircraft detected a radar spike. He veered left and banked a corkscrew down towards the earth as the missile threat indicator flashed then disappeared as the missile streaked past him. “Flight Leader; he’s on me and close! Support!” He said down the comm, quite calmly all things considered. There was a clattering on his starboard wing as enemy cannon fire whizzed past the fuselage and peppered the wing with large holes. This time he slammed on the airbrakes and turned sharply right and the manoeuvre worked as he saw his pursuer zip past him on his radar – a quick glance out of his canopy and his saw the tracer fire from the enemy craft. A second too late and he would have been down and out.

He now tried to swing around and face his opponent but the enemy had already done the same in his nippier aircraft. This time there would be no contest between the two; the enemy had the advantage and would certainly take it. He armed his Sky Cepter missiles and began a lock on but by the time he had the enemy craft had already spiked him. But in flash it was over, popping explosion in the distance and the light silhouetted obvious signs of aircraft debris. A glance at his radar showed friendly aircraft in the neighbourhood. Fencer 251 arrived, if not promptly.

“Hello Support 661 this is Fencer 251… you rang?” Came a light hearted chortle over the net. Berwick forced a smile but in truth he was a wreck, three bombers down two of his flight destroyed and his own dance with death – in truth a devastatingly poor sortie despite the overall mission success.

“Support 661, roger Fencer 251 I did. Thanks for your help. Flight is exfilling now, request further escort out of the killing zone?”

“Fencer 251, roger 661. We’ll get you home. Out.”

The Assassin aircraft far surpassed most aircraft that nations in the region could field in terms of air-superiority aircraft. Fencer 251 flight bagged one more enemy kill before the enemy withdrew from the fight. Both sides retreated to their respective safe areas and both Stevidian flights and her bombers flew back north towards Adaptus Astrates. But the true force of the early morning didn’t hit Sqn Ldr Berwick until mid-afternoon that day when an official after action report was completed. BATTLEnet was back up again and with it came live satellite data and battle pictures. The S. Panoolian bridges were hit and destroyed and the roads had been hit also; but the key target had been the forward field HQ. Satellite imagery, communications analyses and Special Forces reports stated that the HQ had gotten off with minor damage and few casualties – overall operational effective was deemed undisrupted by the night attack. It was then that Berwick knew that this would be a long war.

Current Strategic Picture

Given that the Holy Empire had been on the war footing for nearly four years, military resources around Kashubia, Dersconi, Liberated America, Stevidian South Greal, Indras and Adaptus Astrates had been quickly reallocated to necessary areas.

Liberated America, for the first time since the bloody and brutal civil war that saw Stevid purge all former signs of previous ownership in a similarly brutal invasion, saw a marked increase in military assets and deployments. The 2nd Fleet of the Royal Navy, which had been so badly hit during the last regional war, was still only at three-quarter strength. Nonetheless it and its respective splinter fleets and task forces were put firmly back on the war footing and deployed to northern Liberated America to ensure its safety in the face of possible UWO naval and air incursions southwards. The 1st Fleet, now at full strength was deployed in full towards Mordent with the 8th Fleet. The 1st Fleet was to spilt into its two splinter fleets and then disperse into pre-assigned task forces and patrol the seas between Stevid/Liberated America and Mordent. This, coupled with frequent RAF armed bomber flights between Stevid and Mordent, was to ensure the Royal Navy could track, intercept and destroy Fourth Reich military convoys transporting goods and supplies to either Holy Panooly or Kashubia.

Dersconi was also reinforced with a further two battalions of Royal Fonualeian Marines and four AA/ASW naval echelons and a squadron of RAF Scorpion, Assassin and PHANTOM drone aircraft.

Stevidian South Greal saw the biggest change. The former eastern front against Imbrinium had almost completely gone, defensive positions, in light of the Imbrinium withdrawal, were now manned by the PMC troops contracted in to man rear echelon positions. The national forces of the Empire were now moved directly north to the border of Wanderjar as a deliberate and very overt show of force. The west coast too was beefed up considerably with naval elements and ground units. An entire Army Group of one armoured and mechanised division plus support elements was rushed over from Adaptus Astrates to reinforce the west coast from an invasion. This was now unlikely due to the Mokan invasion of Kashubia and it now allowed a very unorganised Army Group time to get itself together for action should it be called upon.

In Indras the peace keeping brigades of INDFOR I and II were put on a heighted state of alert. The partition between Indras and Lamonian Omega was still tense but now the general security of the whole island was at risk from large mobilisations north and south of the demarcation line. INDFOR formations were very overt in their patrols along the wire and in the air. Stevidian rhetoric to both Lamoni and Golden Throne representative governments in Indras was forceful and borderline threatening to discourage either side making a move against the other in lieu of the conflict in Holy Panooly. However the peacekeeping force did not receive any additional reinforcement.

In and around Adaptus Astrates and Holy Panooly was the main effort of the Holy Empire. Two Astratii armies (3.4 million troops plus light/heavy armour, equipment and support regiments) were mobilising in Astrates proper for a potential move into North Panooly should the Fourth Reich invade. The Holy Empire would immediately assist the Golden Throne in Holy Panooly should this occur and Astratii troops would be at the forefront of the fighting. The Holy Empire now had approximately 2,000 bombers on active duty in southern Adaptus Astrates flying near continuous sorties into S. Holy Panooly. The missions were a mix of infrastructure attacks and direct bombings on enemy field units. This involved dumb and guided munitions and cruise missiles against supply depots, command and control/field HQs, roads, bridges, power lines and substations. A further 2,000 bombers were prepping for combat sorties over the next month so the crews and aircraft could be rotated out.
Effects of the bombing campaign were too early to clear but losses were mounting and the air war was now in full swing as the Empire battled the Reich for dominance over Holy Panooly. The proximity of Adaptus Astrates plus its industrial power to the frontline gave the Empire the edge in the long run – but for now the war in the air was inconclusive.

At sea it was more straightforward. The newly reformed 3rd Fleet deployed as two splinter fleets. One remained as a whole splinter fleet in Anchorhead ready for a pitched battle if required. The other splinter fleet deployed in large task forces and began a systematic harassment of enemy shipping and submarine hunting off both the east and west coasts of S. Panooly. The task force carriers, if aircraft were available to spare, attacked S. Panooly port and harbour facilities directly or supported the RAF bombing campaign. This equated to about 1,000 ships in harbour and 1,200 ships in various task forces of the 3rd Fleet’s 2nd Splinter fleet performing this interdiction role. The amphibious force, also at Anchorhead moved the troops and equipment into Adaptus Astrates and laid up outside port with the 3rd Fleet’s 1st Splinter fleet providing protection. They were on constant readiness to quickly land troops and equipment to either S or N. Panooly or Kashubia whenever needed.

[Holy Marsh]

9th Army 1st Corps Command
Forward Operating Base 03
Codename: “Zorya Utrennyaya”
30 kilometres outside of Susol,
Union of Eastern Star Soviets

Generalissimo Felix Salazar reviewed the map of Red Star Union in front of him. It was a relatively older method of battle control, with paper and tokens, looking more like a game then the computer monitors he had grown accustomed to these past decades. It really took him back to the wars of his youth as a young aspiring officer in External Armed Forces. Back before everything was digitized and in real time. The tokens in front of him were labeled, and those labels matched various record systems giving more details about the units. His army corps, easily tracked by the Federal Battle Net, their info was fed to his command center in real time. The Zvezdan army corps, there own computer systems tracked their updates. While some unit info was still in binders, they did manage by having clerks update them with the most current info. Then there was the known enemy units of various strength. The enemy had far more pieces on the table than he did, but his troops were on the offensive. Plus, friendlies were inbound.

Marshite Rapid Reaction forces, or whatever term they went by. It had been a fun conversation with Juventud Island when Primary Admiral Jesus Consuelo contacted him via a secure line. He was given an update to the reinforcements coming from home. Including a sizeable fleet. They should be making it out within the next few days. Any logistics assets not on Castillian detail was sent to help move forces west.

Even the Federal units stationed in Holy Marsh were being redeployed to Zvezda. Felix protested, instead suggesting they work with the Marshite Fleet to attack the Ordernite mainland, distract them at home, destroy airfields and docks that supply Kashubia. The suggestion was passed onto Marshite Military command, but knowing them, they would relish in the chance to go on the offensive.

Not to say that was their only move, for from the North aircraft brought in the Marshite soldiers ready to reinforce the assault. The question was, where to deploy them.

”Salazar, we have open communication with the Marshites.”

“Good, patch them through.”

Generalissimo Major Felix Salazar turned towards the view screen brought in by his own command center team. It would allow him to converse with their more advanced allies in real time. Complete with facial expressions and gestures. At least he was smart enough to angle it so that nothing behind him revealed mission critical info.

“Hail! This is the Lord-Commander of the 44th Mokastanan Crusade! Generalissimo, how does this war find you?”

“Greetings Lord-Commander, I'm glad you could join us for our splendid little war. The troops will be grateful to see your warriors on the battlefield. Everything is going according to plan at the moment. Tell me, how soon before I can expect your aide on the front?”

“My aid? Within the hour. We will be landing soon. The First Element of the Crusade will land soon at Point Designate Tango. It will consist of seven Marine divisions. Once in theater, we will follow your directives. The 44th will follow up over the coming hours and days with a total of twenty-nine additional divisions. The 45th and 46th will follow within the week. The 47th through 59th will follow elsewhere.”

“Perfect, we are attempting a breakthrough and the enemy forces so far have been minimal. The enemy navy has proven more difficult than normal, but we have alternative options. Bring your forces in. I look forward to seeing the Marshites in combat.”

“Well heard! Relevant combat data being transferred. Kill well with it.”


Marine Landing
15 km behind the front line
Western Front

The Marshites would be the fourth nation to deploy troops on the northern coast of Kashubia. Already the Mokans had sent in four Marine Divisions, Val Verde a regiment, and the Morridanes a regiment of paratroopers. The battle was becoming fierce as the Mokans amphibious weapons engaged a KDF division meant to slow them down. The Marshites were given access to the marines’ Batttle Net to ensure easy cooperation between the forces. Between bouts of static the occasional message would pop up.

“Actual this is 3rd Battalion, beach is hot, redirect north of us. LZ Delta is being shelled, go to Bravo and Charlie.”

“Actual this is 7th Battalion, we have engaged enemy armor in village 26, requesting fly by. Say again, fly by at village 26.”

“Actual this is Recon four, enemy mechanized infantry entering Kill Zone, light ‘em up”

“This is Salamander Actual to all Divisions Actual, The Marshites have arrived. Enjoy the fireworks.”

As the combat data flowed into SACHERI, targeting solutions for the Warbeaches and Tigersharks were being made even before they were given clearance to fire. Even inside the belly of many of the ships and ekranoplanes where Lion Self Propelled Guns lay in wait, the targeting information was being fed so that when they landed they would immediately turn and fire. Down to the infantry level, targeting and battlespace information flowed. Silently. Stalking. The only sound started as a low hum and would end in a roar: A prayer sung in four languages, ten dialects, and heard by billions before death. It ended just before communications opened up from the Marshites. “For the Holy Marsh! Death to the Order!”

“Mokan Marines, this is Colonel-Sister Samantha Acasia! We have targeting solutions on targets in and around your battlespace! We will fire in FIVE. FOUR. THREE. TWO. ONE. MISSILES HOT! DEATH TO THE ORDER!”

From the Hellions and Tigersharks came a brutal array of missiles. Some fired Hellions, but with the warzone close by the Hellions were joined by Contrados and streams of non-cruise missile fire. SACHERI had time to go over relevant target data thousands of time, parsing out what could and could not be hit, what could and could not withstand the hits, and what would and would not disrupt the enemy the most. When they fired, they fired utilizing the most effective and optimal firing solutions possible, and the enemy would pay the price in blood. The Order’s air forces were targeted by thick streams of SALY28 anti-air missiles, while MAF-50S Stealth Pegasus’ from the carriers and amphibious assault carriers of the rapid reaction force entered the air.

The Marines then hit the beach, quickly forming up to start to move to the warzone. Behind them, from the bellies of the Tigersharks and Warbeaches, formed up artillery and missile fire support. Their job was first to knock out their equals in the field. Enemy artillery and missile fire so far had proven effective, but the information superiority of the Marshites would see to many a fascist death. The Lion’s high rate of fire and undeniable accuracy was paired with the sheer weight of fire that the MRLA Dragon- capable of firing six times as many missiles as the Manticore- offered was paired up with SACHERI. On the move, their accuracy and sheer firepower output was otherworldly. Rockets from the sizes of 110mm to 930mm and 155mm artillery shells rained down accurately and without mercy on the indirect fire support elements of the enemy. This included railway and other transportation centers within range, hoping to slow down the large number of forces moving towards their allies. They didn’t stay still.

Between the initial barrage from the landing crafts and the artillery fire, the Marshites hoped to relieve their allies and turn their enemies inside out. Marshite Marines formed up and moved out under this fire as quickly as possible, many of them mounted immediately in their MAV-30s, utilizing the battlespace information provided to pinpoint enemy positions long before they got there in conjunction with their DAMOCLES aid. Moving swiftly yet cautiously in hopes of engaging both these forces while utilizing their speed to prevent being turned about by the superior enemy numbers.

Marshite forces slammed into their enemy, cut around, them, snuck through, or did whatever else was necessary to reach their allies and silence their enemies. Utilizing a bevy of advanced weapons and wearing the most uniquely designed armor on the field, supported by some of the finest armor and infantry support vehicles in the world if not simply the best bar none, the fascists were getting introduced to an enemy who had combined their ruthless efficiency with advanced technology. Machine gun positions were hit by squad based automatic grenade launchers while the Marshites own light and heavy machine guns tore into and through cover and buildings. BALCOTH-aided SACHERI supplied targeting solutions could make poor shooters into marksman- and it turned marksman into otherworldly shooters whose unerring accuracy could shatter units in a matter of moments. There was a weapon for every situation on tap, and SACHERI allowed for the entire force to move with unreal precision and awareness of themselves and the enemy.

The LY24M fired a deadlier round than the LY21 AHLAR and while it had less ammunition, the advanced targeting capabilities and deadliness of the round made it a superior option. The MA-300 Berdun LMG fired the powerful 8.5 MCAP, blowing through what cover could be found- but the true power was in its modularity, allowing it to use the enemy’s own ammunition as it was scooped up from the dead and depots. The MA-340 Reil tore through thick cover and light armor, the 15.5x115mm MCAP round blowing men’s torsos in half in a thick line of viscera at indecent range. Dropper Mortars, M-20 DMRs, MATW-9EBs and a whole host of other firearms were at the disposal of the Marshites, who utilized their technological superiority and precise application of outrageously lethal firearms to make up for that damned numbers game.

The HAT-3/LY8 Sparky III Doberman made its debut, and it was most glorious. Featuring the most advanced gun design and armor scheme in the planet, yet lighter and faster than its forebearers, with a new fire control system that provided even superior capabilities, it could tear apart earlier Lyran and Marshite tanks as easily as those had torn apart their foes. It was the King, and its subjects had gotten quite uppity. It laid into the enemy with a fury and a determination matched only by its brothers around it. The MAV-30 IFV series moved with the Marines, dislodging and aiding them and providing great fire support and mobility. These high mobility vehicles quickly proved vexing for any enemy as they appeared to have little to no terrain boundary. But when infantry really needed vehicular help they called upon the MFSV-13 Hammerhead. The dual 50mm cannons laid waste to whole buildings in a blink of an eye or lit a forest on fire with the sheer power of is thermobaric munitions, to say nothing of the heavy firepower that its automatic grenade launchers and machineguns offered.

The enemy would fight viciously, as was the style of the time. One major avenue of casualty causation, however, was reduced by many multitudes. While the Arachne IV Dauntless Modification did not provide the same level of protection as DAUNTLESS, it did provide coverage over the whole body and was especially effective against fragmentation. Since almost eighty percent of all casualties in a modern war are due to fragmentation, this increased the survivability of Marshite forces tremendously. Even when the 7mm Mauser found home, Arachne IV was rated to stop it.

This wasn’t to say that Marshites weren’t getting killed or wounded, but more than one frustrated enemy formation has seen heavy weight of fire produce very little against such ‘lightly armored’ troops. Not that this would matter much to Private Torryn Reijas, who took an armor piercing bullet to the back of the neck. By luck the armor had stopped it, but the impact had shattered her spine. She fell dead instantly.

Marshites pushed on though, and it wouldn’t be long before the Mokans had some swell drinking buds to share war stories with as the sky filled with the Marshite Marine Air Force, while more Marshite forces were inbound. The enemy had numerical superiority, but the Marshites struck like lightning and with great force and precision. And as time went on, that numerical advantage was destined to change as long as the allies held.

On the beach, Captain Gomez motioned for his staff and guests to climb into the MAC-31 he rode down on. Between explosions they rushed in and closed the hatch. A quick “Vamanos!” and the amphibious assault roared to life, kicking up sand as it pushed inland. Inside he screamed for his Command Vehicle to maintain contact with his new location, but he got no response.

“Damn, they must have been hit…. Hurricane, this is third battalion, my command vehicle is out of operation, what's with the enemy artillery?”

“Third Battalion, counter battery fire engaging, additional enemy artillery on you. Coordinating with the Marshites to take them out.”

“Marshites? Hell it's about time! Huzzah! Looking forward to their arrival hurricane!”

As units from 3rd Battalion fled the beaches to their rally points those that could saw the glory of the Marshite military deploy. Their aircraft soaring overhead to contest the air space, their marines’ vehicles landing and racing inland to support the Allied offensive. Seven additional divisions would more than secure the New front. The Mokan MAC-31s, a vehicle designed in the RMU, maintained their external vigilance bit inside crews cheered at the arrival of the Calvary that would help them push inland.

F Company of the 986th Marine Regiment, 440th Marine Division, 44th Crusade first saw the MAV-31’s of their 3rd Battalion brothers and sisters in arms from over the raised hill on fire, the remains of an enemy vehicular force lighting the area pleasantly for future lunch. One of their MAV-30s punched forward, taking advantage of the brief lull in fighting to meet up with their allies. The back opened, and a dozen Marshites came out. Their armor gave them a sleeker, smaller look, as did the events of the Shift, but the blood on the knives that hung from their belts and their hymns of victory being sung as they approached told a very bloody story. The leader, a ‘tall’ man at 5’8, hailed the MAV-31, and bid them exit ever briefly.

The Mokan amphibious assault craft stopped and once the IFF confirmed their status as allies, Captain Rutillio Gomez climbed out with his squad. Unlike their compatriots from Val Verde, age was the only significant way to tell the importance of the soldiers a apart. It had been a long night, but the Captain and his men looked like he was still ready to continue the party.

“Welcome to Kashubia!” one of the crew said to the Marshites before offering a hug to the religious zealot. “3rd Battalion, 3rd Division.”

The Marshite took the hug in stride, giving it back as much as he could. “986th Regiment, 440th Division, They Who Tear The Throat.. It has been most pleasant! Here, a gift,” the ‘man’ said, reaching into his rucksack and pulling out a multitude of patches torn from the uniforms of dead Ordenites thus encountered. Different units and different ranks- almost a full set. “Now we should depart. There is plenty of killing left to be done.”

“Of course,” an older gentleman in the squad responded. “Let's return to the killing.” The soldier accepted the ‘gift’ and wished them well.

[Mokastana]

Air Patrol above Marine Landing
15 km behind the front line
Western Front

Air Dominance was a tricky thing. For at the moment, the Ordernites had a superior number of craft in the skies, but that didn't mean complete control. Though the skies were contested, the Ordernites saw an opening, and decided to go for it. A great tactic against most enemies, one that could easily break most amphibious landings. If the enemy hadn't already expected such a move. In committing an attack against what looked like an exposed weakness, the Ordernites made two fatal assumptions. For one, they assumed that being able to fly unmolested meant aerial superiority, and two, that the Marines were not one of the highest priorities when it came to Air Defense. The beachheads had 500+ Aircraft dedicated to their defense. Not all were airborne at the moment, as rotating out aircraft was important for pilot and plane health, and many had been lost in combat. Yet when Skyguard batteries picked up a wave of bombers inbound, that information was passed on to the fleet.

Though wounded, with just under 20 odd ships needing to limp back to a Port, and another 33+ sinking, the fleet still had combat strength. Multiple squadrons of FA-60 Outlaws soared above the battlefield, above enemy fighter ceilings monitoring the battle with their own AESA radar. Yes, the Zvezdans had their own command and control aircraft in the air behind allied lines, but an extra pair of eyes was never a bad thing.

“Owl Seventeen, this is Hurricane, enemy bombers expected on approach, please confirm.”

“Copy that Hurricane, we are on route.”

Owl seventeen was not the only recon squad this high in the air, but they were the closest. Scanning the bombers from a distance they began to pick up additional signals not picked up by the OTH Radar north of the border. One group of New signals were fast moving lower than the bombers, while the other group was even with and keeping pace with the bombers.

“Hurricane, we have vampires away and escorts, say again, vampires and escorts, transmitting known locations.”

Vampires, code name for enemy cruise missiles inbound. Escorts, self explanatory. Elsewhere in the battlespace, fighter squads in the air were given interception orders by command to defend the Marines.

“Hawk Juliet to Hurricane, Gloves off.”

“Hawk Colorado to Hurricane Gloves off.”

Various squads launched their AIM-220 "Velvet Glove" long range missiles into the bombers painted by Owl Seventeen above them. The Hawk squads kept their Radar passive, listening for event escorts to hunt them down. Once the Hawk squads released their payloads, they fled back to the coast to rally.

But initial counter strikes were not all, for the fleet’s missile boats had radar that could track targets up to 350km away, meaning that the bombers coming in for a carpet bombing of the beaches would have a bad time. Approximately 200 kilometers before they hit the coast they would run into a wall of RIM-174 missiles, combined with additional AIM-220 Velvet Gloves and AIM-120s from additional fighter squads teaming up with Radar from the fleet. Many of the F/A-60 Fighters kept their Radar in passive mode, giving the enemy less opportunities to track them, and the squads remained scattered above and around their targets, offering no easy ‘swarm’ for the escorts to push towards. At least, until the Marshite air force joined the fight. Together the two air forces, combined with anti aircraft missiles and fire control from the fleet, would ensure any craft approaching the beaches had 200 kilometers of hell to cross before they got there.

The Marshite Air Force indeed joined, with Marine Air from the carriers and Katchatans providing a useful blanket. The MAF-50 Pegasus and MAF-50s Stealth Pegasus were potent aircraft, superb air superiority light craft while being capable of ground attack- especially the Stealth Pegasus. Flown in formation they covered one another exceptionally well and provided a potent counterbalance to the advanced aircraft they faced, being a match and then more. Marshites flew boldly within the Mokan plan, not willing to throw themselves away yet eager to join the fray, defending the landing zones with exceptional skill and killer experience. Advanced Marshite forces that had linked up with the Mokan Marines suffered from the bombing and it took time for some of the more punch-drunk units to respond, but the war wouldn’t wait for you and those that weren’t destroyed moved to accomplish their objectives.

[United World Order]

30KM from Mokan-Val Verde- Marshite LZ,
Western Front.

The single KDF division stood no chance with the combined effort of the Mokans and now arriving Marshite marines who were an enemy yet to be seen or fought against In combat up until then. When the Marshite marines smashed into the Kashubians who were mere regulars compared to the advanced training and expertise showcased by the Marshite marines. The Marshite air force so far was revealing much about themselves to the Luftwaffe who was struggling to keep the Marshite planes at bay, AA efforts including the 40mm FlaK SPAAG and it's bigger 76mm FlaK SPAAG sibling along side various ranged SAM sites would also do their part in the battle over the skies against the Marshite menace that had come to the aid of the Mokans and their allies. The Kashubians within the next hour or so of fighting against the Marshites, they would be in a full scale retreat with what artillery assets that still were operational kept up a steady barrage of 155mm shells and 200mm rockets to hold back the sudden Marshite reinforcements surge that was swallowing up former KDF positions in the wake of the other landings going on. Suddenly however the advancing Marshites would come to witness a furious barrage of Ordenite artillery in the form of thousands of Elephant Self Propelled 155mm Howitzer, Panzerwerfer II MLRS and the dreaded 600mm 'Thor' Self propelled heavy mortars that would be deployed for the first time since the 1st war for RSU had really gotten under way.

At least 12 Artillery Battalions would be opening a furious barrage against the advancing Marshite marines and other allied marines. Two Ordenite field armies had already begun advancing before it was shown through forward reconnaissance units that Marshite marines and other allied forces were approaching rapidly in pursuit of a fleeing KDF division. That would then be the moment for when the mass firepower that was the Ordenite artillery being fielded by the greatly numbered Ordenite soldiers, would be unleashed on the enemy to hopefully stop them in their tracks. Just as suddenly did Ordenite Luftwaffe fighter aircraft and interceptors begin to fill the skies above the impressive battlefield below them as they duked it out with Marshite aircraft in the midst of heavy anti-aircraft cannon and missile fire also targeting enemy aircraft above the battlefield. In the wake of the surge of Ordenite aircraft was the appearance of the Tornado ECR which was a electronic warfare aircraft that would work to detect enemy radar frequencies and strike at targets of opportunity which mostly were Marshite and Mokan anti-aircraft capabilities and whatever radar equipment could be detected by the Tornados which would be targeted by anti-radiation missiles, otherwise they were passed along to friendly air units in the area.

The artillery barrage would have lasted for 5 minutes for which after the twelve battalions begun moving to secondary positions to rearm and resume firing on the enemy. In the mean-while swarms of Ordenite armored units met head on with the Marshite marines and other allied forces pushing with them. Unlike the heavy striking artillery that the marines would have faced only minutes ago, would be replaced by accurate and in numbers to keep up heavy suppression against advancing enemy forces, mortars in 82mm, 105mm , 200mm and even the 600mm heavy siege mortar that were also incorporated in the Ordenite arsenal. The Ordenite ground forces were near saints in regards to their importance and obsession with heavy overwhelming firepower to truly break an enemy on the offensive or defensive. Ordenite infantry would engage in large firefights with the newly arriving Marshite marines that were often backed up by armored vehicles, for in response to the heavy use of mechanized units the Panzerfaust 300 anti tank man portable recoilless gun would be a god send for Ordenite mechanized units facing increasingly numerous Marshite armored vehicles and other armor. The Panzerfaust 300 would be capable to launch in the 149mm and 200mm calibers and would serve the infantry as, well capable hard hitting anti-tank weaponry against the Marshite mechanized threat.

Sturmtiger II and Sturmpanzer II Heavy Tank Destroyers were positioned in well defendable places for easy targeting and firing on advancing Marshite armor and mechanized forces which did come. The Sturmtiger II was capable in firing a monster like 380mm shell while the Sturmpanzer II was firing the lesser heavy 200mm in which with their being decent in numbers were able to set up kill zones for advancing armor coming from the coastal beaches being the Northern Bay. Variants of TPz 255 modular armored vehicle would come into play as well with small units of TPz 255 MLRS platform which was basically a TPz 255 armored vehicle in which on both sides were rocket pods able of carrying a 3 rockets on either side capable of firing 280 or 300 millimeter rockets at concentrations of enemy marines and armor coming from the coast. Additional TPz 255 APCs would deliver Ordenite Army infantry into areas they were needed while also capable of delivering support in the form of their 7mm mauser round clambered machine guns and or 40mm grenade launchers. Much of the mortar support was in the form of TPz 255 81mm or 122mm mortar carrier variants that were on the move constantly, assisting infantry and dodging counter battery fire.

The most capable war machines regarded the most dangerous to the enemy in the Ordenite Wehrmacht arsenal were their main battle tanks. The Panther II main battle tank and it's Tiger II heavy main battle tank asserted dominance over the battlefield exactly once they hit the battlefield against Marshite and other enemy marines advanced against them. The Panther II was similarly regarded and capable as many of the currently fielded exported Lyran main battle tanks and other armored vehicles while the Tiger II heavy main battle tank was considered to be the next generation of tanks fielding a 144mm ETC cannon which is also seen on the Panther II and several Lyran tanks. Puma 234 AFVs would be the pinnacle of Ordenite infantry support with it's feared and impressive 50mm auto cannon which could tear through light armor and level small buildings and whatever other hard cover could be used by the enemy. These infantry fighting vehicles would typically accompany infantry units into fierce combat with their Marshite foes as the Ordenite armor seemed to be a slight match for newly fielded Marshite armor.

"Enemy sighted, two hundred meters!"


"Hurry up with those fucking shells, gott verdammt!"

The roaring engine of the Tiger II was something only similar to a majestic lion or a impressive mechanized beast. The auto breacher loaded another 144mm round into the ETC capable frontal cannon of the Tiger II.

"Round loaded, send it!" The weapons officer shouted as his comrade let loose with the frontal cannon which sent a 144mm shell straight through a Marshite armored vehicle which caused a glorious explosion.

"Good hit, looking for another one!"

The earth before the Tiger II suddenly shot up into them as a shell had exploded just feet before hitting the tank's frontal armor. The Tiger II's frontal cannon scanned the battlefield for it's next victim as it had sighted a opposing tank who had it's side facing front, making it's self fully exposed. Another shell was loaded and then fired as the 144mm shell tore into Marshite armor and most likely what counter measures it had before exploding completely. The enemy tank shot back and although it seemed that it scored a hit on the Tiger II's frontal armor, the round had skimmed it by inches leaving a very nasty scratch, before long the Tiger II responded with a final killing blow with a second 144mm round completely destroying the opposing Marshite tank. In the midst of all the heavy fighting with the landing Marshite marines were the construction of firing positions and places of shelter for a possibly long battle with a very determined foe. Trenches and fox holes were one of the first things that started being dug out in the ground as the battle raged. Further positions for additional armored vehicles joining the fray against the surging enemy forces were also being dug out along with the organizing of kill zones in which several machine gun nests and mortars along with supporting infantry small arms could hold down a swathe of area and inflict heavy casualties on a frontal advancing force, in which was what the Ordenite Army units were using to their advantage.

Ordenite Army forces fighting currently against the Marshites and even the Mokans and other allied forces would be looking to inflict heavy casualties in the battles that would occur within the first month of fighting in Kashubia. What Marshite and or other marines advanced too far would be ensured to be cut off from their comrades and become encircled by Ordenite armor and mechanized infantry forces and then destroyed, heavy anti tank and other capable killing machines would be used to turn the enemy assault back towards the coast in shambles. As the battle ensued it would be seen that additional Ordenite ground formations would begin to arrive on the frontlines of the fighting. The presence of increasingly massing Ordenite forces would come like a wall in which would hope to stop the Marshite and allied advance and start to wear it down and grind it to a stop in casualties and material losses overall, the war seemed to be teetering towards a devastating war of attrition that has yet to be seen on such a massive scale.

[Lamoni]

Military bases throughout the Free Republic

One might have been forgiven for thinking that the Free Republic intended on doing nothing about the war against the UWO and their allies, given the seeming lack of reaction that Lamonian military units had shown thus far. Unless that is, one were to see the massive movement patterns in the Lamonian mainland itself. Ground forces were being moved en-mass toward military airfields and naval bases, where the long process of loading the units began. Lighter units, such as all of Lamoni's twenty-six Raider Divisions completed their loading first, and were being flown toward Mokastana, where their aircraft would refuel, and from there head to the Red Star Union alongside other Lamonian forces to put a halt to Ordernite operations there.

The second wave of Lamonian forces were scheduled to head toward Stevid, where they would be assisting the Stevidians in their fight against Ordernite forces, as well as being a possible staging ground for any joint invasion attempts against the Ordernite homeland. Some of these units might even see action in Holy Panooly, if requested. Lamoni had quietly supported Stevid against both Wanderjar and Imbrinium during the South Greal war, though Lamonian forces had not been involved in any of that war's fighting. This had lead to a deepening of diplomatic ties between the Free Republic and the Holy Empire, and those ties had given the Lamonians some strategic advantages in this war. Not only was Stevid close to the Ordernite homeland (and thus perfect to stage an invasion of UWO territory from), but it also meant that there was likely to be no diplomatic squabbling from Imbrinium, such that basing such forces in Morrdent (the other reasonable choice) might cause. There was also little concern over interference from the Golden Throne against the troop, aircraft, and ship movements, given that the forces routing would attempt to avoid any Macabeean blockaded areas as much as was practically possible. While it was seen as unlikely that the Golden Throne would actually fire upon Lamonian forces in international waters and airspace, such things were taken into consideration.

Further, the Ordernite War (as this was being called in the Free Republic) would see the first public and combat uses of multiple new Lamonian warships classes. New SSNs, SSKs, SSBNs/SSGNs, Frigates, Destroyers, and Cruisers had been designed and built, and now seemed the best opportunity to show off what these new naval units could do. Further designs like a gun/missile NSFS cruiser, as well as both light and fleet aircraft carriers were also in the pipeline, but their designs were not yet ready to be thrown into the tumult of open war, so their currently used counterparts would have to be used instead. Being natively designed, the new ships were a formidable statement of Lamonian naval power, whose crews had readily taken to the new systems and weapons under their command. The only other nation to possess even of these new ship classes was the Holy Empire of Stevid itself, which was known only by the two nations to use the new Xiphos class SSN. Other than that, the naval shipbuilding campaign had been kept as secretive as possible, so that few prying eyes could see what was going on, thus maintaining Lamonian naval advantages.

Normally, it would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible to conceal such a large scale movement as it left Lamonian shores, but one could "thank" the Kingdom of Imbrinium for their insanely massive ASAT attack, which still made many uses of satellites (from recon to communications) difficult at best. The satellite communications difficulties had become so much of a burden on civilian telecommunications that the government of the Free Republic had had to work out agreements with nearby nations not already connected to it with a land border, to lay additional undersea fiber-optic cables so that international and inter-regional communications could continue. The longest such cables stretched between the Free Republic and AHSCA, as well as the cable between the Free Republic and Pennsylvanian Bendira. As for the military, their communications solutions were rather more classified, in addition to taking over those satellites which had somehow survived the ASAT attack. Either way, it was hoped that the Lamonian forces would only be noticed by the time that they came near Pennsylvanian Bendira, and Emissions Control measures were being practiced until such time, though the ships' low probability of intercept navigation radars were still allowed to operate, this being seen as an excellent chance to test their effectiveness.

[The Grand World Order]

Major Sarah "Ivan" Tkachenko / SHOCK 1-ACTUAL
EA-6C Super Prowler Pilot, 680th Naval Tactical Electronics Warfare "Nuke-a-cats" Squadron, Federal Air Force of Our Fascist Federation
10,000ft ASL; nearing Northern Bay

"Pill popped, thank you CRIME BOSS 6, pleasure doing business with you. Out," reported the Captain in the Super Prowler's ECMO-1 seat, confirming the successful download of the new frequency targeting list and updated restricted frequencies list. CRIME BOSS was the nickname of the command element for the 1st SID recon element supporting the Ordenite* forces near North Bay; 6 was the designation for their communications section. Given the scenario, the aircrew had already loaded the Lyran-Pattern Signals section of their library into the aircraft's waveform recognition program, which interfaced with the "football" sitting on the tail end of the plane. While it included the parametric data for things like the Moat, Keep, and Bastion RADARs, those were mainly for recognition purposes, rather than targeting. Instead, the EA-6Cs loaded up the Cromwell II datalink frequencies to their jamming "quicklist," alongside the non-Fascist communications frequency ranges that the teams on the ground, such as CoSgt Hatfield's, had managed to collect. Jamming the Cromwell II data signals would throw a wrench in the gears of a Lyran Arms anti-air killchain; if successful, the several different RADAR systems used to engage targets wouldn't be able to talk to each other, eliminating automatic missile queuing completely and forcing all data to be delivered by hand. The enemy's purported IFF frequencies were also added- while the GWO didn't have the intelligence necessary to emulate them to make themselves look like Mokan aircraft, they could interfere with their ability to identify their own planes, making fratricide a very real risk.

For now, the Prowlers would only be targeting early warning RADARs and communications sets: the Cromwell II datalinks running virtually everything Lyran-made, and the comm frequency ranges. It was understood that the enemy most likely had frequency-hopping radios, but even if not every channel was jammed, the quality of any communications would be greatly degraded to the point of not being understandable.

The two planes dropped to 8,000 feet and began to assume their holding pattern, playing off of each other to make pinpointing the source of the jamming all the more difficult, before Major Tkachenko gave the command: "Lights out." With that, the several pods aboard the two jets began blasting RF energy at the selected frequencies, managed by the three ECMOs in back of each jet, or six overall. There weren't any clever audio files or annoying noises to hit them with- if successful, the enemy radios would simply be silent. Once the effect of the jamming plan was established, the E-8 STARS waiting far to the south would either approach the area to provide battlefield surveillance or continue holding at its location near Graznaya, protected by a three-ship formation of ASF-14s and the GWO's own anti-air assets.


Specialist Dan Hammerfeld
MDI-A4 Divine Tiger Tank Crewman, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 105th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 89th Heavy Combat Brigade, 20th Division
En route to Northern Bay

The Federal Army and Guard had begun moving regular forces to reinforce the Ordenites against the quad-nation amphibious invasion. The 105th Armored Cavalry was equipped with roughly 180 tanks, and on the ground with it were two Mechanized Infantry Regiments, a Mobile Artillery Battalion, and a Federal Guard Battalion, along with smaller support assets and a pair of APS teams. Two Aviation battalions had been slated to begin operations in and around Northern Bay, but at the moment, they were being held off since the enemy AA network was deemed too dense for helicopter support, even with the EA-6Cs in the air. Like with the E-8, the Federation was waiting to see the effects of the electronic attack before sending in its much less maneuverable air assets.

There was a significant number of vehicles en route for the front lines. As such, it was necessary that they spread far enough apart to hinder the enemy's efforts to number them, as well as to limit the effectiveness of a carpet bombing or rolling artillery barrage. Hammerfeld's platoon was the forward-most armored element moving up, almost alone on a highway heading north. The burnt-out cars and skeletal remains of tanks from the invasion still lined the shoulders of the road, pushed aside by bulldozers, but in some areas, even that hadn't been done. Specialist Hammerfeld could have sworn he saw a car filled with charred bodies as his tank passed, but he didn't think about it for very long. It would be quite some time before they were able to contribute to the fight.


Grand Commander Athena Agatha Griffith
Head of State of Our Fascist Federation of the Grand World Order
The Spire, the Heroic City of Magna Polis

At 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the preceding day had been the hottest of the year for the GWO's capital. Regardless, the rain still beat against every building and street as it normally did; such was the weather in the City of Liquid Skies. A dense fog shrouded the entire Political and Memorial Districts and part of the Economic District, pierced by the Spire and the skyscrapers of the nation's most successful businesses. Beyond that, there was no pattern to the fog's coverage. At the top levels of the Spire, one could look out and see it across the cityscape, which expanded past the horizon, even when observing from the top of the building. To say Magna Polis was huge would be an understatement. It was a country in its own right, with trillions of dollars flowing in and out of it daily, nearly three hundred million citizens, and a police force larger than some militaries. Three times, Magna Polis was attacked by foreigners- and three times, they were destroyed before ever setting foot on [figuratively] dry land. There was talk that the city should be converted into a State, and divided into several separate, distinct Provinces, but there were no signs of this actually being planned. Beyond the city, the Federal Navy maintained the largest concentration of Orderian naval power in the world, from several Armadas to hundreds of surveillance and defense outposts on islands, both natural and artificial.

The recent explosion of hostilities in Greater Dienstad involving a very close ally was something that necessitated that Grand Commander Athena be woken in the middle of the night. She was already awake, staring blankly at the ceiling from her bed, an hour-long audio file of distant gunfire and explosions dimly popping through the otherwise totally silent room. After the decades of constant fighting under Griffith Victor, not many people in the Orderian government were getting much sleep. One would be hard-pressed to find somebody who'd been around for a while who -hadn't- seen some Ryouese soldier trying to pull a grenade pin as he lay dying, or a Zinairean with his head caved in, or an Orderian Liberty Confederation terrorist realizing the folly of his ideals while bleeding out. For Athena, her demons mostly came not from who she had lost or what she had done, but what she hadn't- she barely flinched at the fact that she helped supply Leistungi Fascists with biological and chemical weapons and ran several terrorist training camps throughout her time in the Army. She wasn't bothered as much by the fact that she had killed quite a number of people. She only felt marginally guilty about the one time she raped a fellow Army officer. No, her utter disgust with herself came from watching the last remnants of the Ryouese race left locked in a concentration camp, abandoned as lava and ash rolled in from the Home Islands' volcanic activity, while she watched from the back of a truck as the fire consumed them. That is what convinced her that she was a piece of shit. She had seen the absolute worst of mankind from simple greed and abuse to infanticide, all in vivid detail, and behind her cheerful public facade, she truly hated the world as it was. She served as the Grand Commander because she thought that, bit by bit, surely one of the most powerful offices in the world could make things better- and she knew that was a naive notion, too, but it was all she had.

The one thing she had hoped to avoid was now inevitable. The Federation was going to be embroiled in its largest conflict since GWO-ANTIFA. She felt herself partially to blame; did her inaction cause this? Would Victor's foreign policy have created an environment where this wouldn't happen? Regardless, it was her job to lead the Federation through the surely trying times ahead. It wasn't an invasion of the GWO, but she knew that many Orderian lives were going to be lost. Literally a million Orderians were stationed in the UWO- and she knew the High Command would propose another million. She would accept it, and possibly more.

She didn't bother getting formally dressed, electing to attend the brief in her flanel pajamas. Her hair looked horrible. She didn't bother tying the GWO flag around her eyes like she did in public, as she knew everyone at the briefing was going to be in her inner circle of trust, and through the almost totally black halls, her pair of electronic eyes gave a faint red glow. The whole world thought she was blind, but in reality, she could see better than any non-modified person. Nobody said a word when she showed up, and the brief commenced, opening with a narrative of GD relations over the past year, then moving on to the killing of Captain Arquez, then the current situation of Orderian forces in combat, and finally, projections and plans to be considered.

Her answer, for now, was simple. A letter condemning Morrdh for killing Captain Arquez was to be given first thing in the morning, along with an official announcement of Orderian support for its Ordenite brothers.



*I seriously thought your demonym was Ordernite all these years, UWO. Holy shit.

[Morrdh]

Northern Bay
Western Sector - Erid Border Zone
Near Port of Serlov

The Morridane landings were a tri-Service effort with soldiers taking part from the Morridane Army and RMAF Regiment in addition to the Corps of Royal Morridane Marines who were spearheading the amphibious assault. Once the initial beachheads had been established RMAF Regiment and Royal Morridane Artillery AA batteries, mostly consisting of Rapier SAM units, were landed to provide the beachheads with anti-aircraft cover. Naval Phantom fighters provided the bulk of the Morridanes' air cover, least until numerous Anti-Air batteries had been setup along the beaches amongst the sea grass crested sand dunes. Next came a mixture of Army infantry and armoured divisions, with Challenger MBTs forming the backbone of the latter, to help secure the beachheads and push south from the landing beaches located to either side of the port town of Serlov.

To the south of the town the 7th Parachute Brigade had been dropped, the burning wreckage of countless C-130 Hercules transport planes scattered over a wide area attested to the intense AA fire the air armada was subjected to. At least a third of the brigade's strength was lost when some of its planes were shot out of the sky, those onboard doomed to go down with their Herc aside from a lucky few who somehow made it. Once on the ground the surviving paratroopers regrouped best they could and proceeded towards their objectives, located to the south of the town where they were expected to dig in and hold ground. The forces landing on the beaches to either side of Serlov where to proceed south to link up with and relieve the paratroopers, effectively encircling the town before efforts where made to capture it. Once the port fell to Morridane forces it would serve as a major logistical base for the Morridanes to bring in supplies and fresh troops.

[Morrdh]

Zvezdan-Kashubian Border
Mokan-UWO Frontlines
Western Sector

Some distance north of the frontlines a number of Morridane armoured divisions, equipped primarily with Challenger I MBTs and FV432 APCs, started rolling south. The divisions also included FV433 Abbot SPGs for artillery support, plus a mixture of Challenger Marksman SPAAGs and Tracked Rapier units for air defence. There was also CVR(T)s in the form of the FV101 Scorpion and FV107 Scimitar for reconnaissance when the Morridanes had fought their way through Ordenite lines, plus FV102 Strikers and FV438 Swingfires for anti-tank support. Employed in a more static role was batteries of L118 light guns, of the Royal Morridane Artillery, presently laying down a smokescreen before switching over to a creeping barrage prior to the Morridane armoured assault. It was hoped that the Morridanes would be able to punch their way through and then strike west to link up with the marine landings along the coast, primarily to help ease logistics and the passage of reinforcements.

In the skies above the battlefield roamed a number of six plane formation of Blackburn Buccaneers of the RMAF operating in an overland strike role, each was equipped with a AN/ALQ-101(V)-10 ECM pod in addition to a AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile and a pair of Martel Anti-Radar missiles. It could correctly be guessed that these Buccaneers were engaged in anti-radar work, the aim was to knock out as much of the Ordenite air defences as was possible. The Sidewinder was primarily for self defence in case enemy fighters tried to disrupt the Buccs going about their work at round 100ft, the planes also carried four 1,000lb bombs for self defence* and for targets of opportunities.

*Yes, REALLY!

---

Commonwealth Air Efforts

New Garrack would prove to be a major air hub in the conflict, not just for the Commonwealth but for its Mokan allies as well. The C-10 Minotaurs of both the RMAF and RNGAF, some eighteen aircraft in total, would be heavily engaged moving men and supplies. Six few between Morrdh and New Garrack, another six on a Mokastana-New Garrack route and the final six flying a New Garrack-Zvezda route thus forming the backbone of the Commonwealth's logistical efforts. The bulk of the RNGAF's fighter strength would remain in New Garrack to help defend it, though a squadron of RMAF LY909 Sparrowhawks would be deployed to support the RNGAF fighters. Bombers from the RNGAF, such as the Avro Vulcan and some Buccaneers, would be sent to Zvezda along the RMAF versions of these same aircraft. Though the Vulcans of both air forces would see little action until a bombing campaign was worked out and agreed upon by the Mokans.

A combined fleet of Morridane and New Garrack Victor tanker aircraft would be based in New Garrack, they would be used to refuel Morridane and Mokan aircraft transiting to Zvezda. Though other Morridane aircraft which lacked air-to-air refuelling like the Hawker Hunter would have to be shipped to New Garrack where they would be able to fly the rest of their journey fitted with drop tanks. Whilst aircraft such as the Rolls-Royce Spey engined Phantom could in theory fly non-stop with aerial fuelling along the way, the same could be said of the LY908 Warhawks in RMAF service.

[Stevid]

Bomber Flight ‘Pounder 882’
Zvezdan-Kashubian Border
Above Mokan-UWO Frontlines
Western Sector

The Holy Empire had yet to provide much in the way of physical support in Kashubia yet, though XVIII Corps as part of the rapid reaction amphibious force currently sitting in Adaptus Astrates was poised to strike when required. Nevertheless, almost all the fighting in Kashubia was being done by Morrdh, the PUF and Val Verde inter mixed with a few other coalition national forces. Stevid’s, or the Empire’s by extension, were not involved. Due in part to commitments to facing off a threat from UWO in Holy Panooly and Wanderjar in South Greal, but also due to that more troops on the ground, coalition or not, with different SOPs and standards of fighting, different equipment, values and even languages, made for a chaotic front. The presence of a large Stevidian armed force in Kashubia would probably do the offensive more harm than good.

This, however, did not mean that the Holy Empire was neglecting her duties or commitments to her allies in the only real hotspot in this war. This was soon to be epitomised by a force of B6-a Armburst Stevidian bombers. These high-speed infiltrators were based out of western Stevidian South Greal and made the short hop across the sea towards northern Kashubia for supporting missions against the Fourth Reich of the United World Order. Call sign ‘Pounder 882’ was one such flight of three bombers that had left an airbase in South Greal in the dead of night for an early dawn attack on enemy positions. It was a close air support mission requested by Morridane forces that were now putting pressure on the enemy’s east flank in order to link up with Marshite marines. Heavy artillery had dislodged light resistance and as night set in the enemy had regrouped and likely brought in heavier equipment to prevent further Morridane incursions. Forward positions had already been marked by friendly ground forces and so Stevidian bombers of Pounder 882 were tasked to ignite today’s hostilities with a heavy precision strike on enemy frontline positions.

As the coastline appeared the sun was starting to peep above the horizon towards Greal. Pounder 882 flight lead signalled to ground controllers they were inbound over Kashubia for the first hits of the day on the eastern side of the country in support of Morridane war efforts. They dropped altitude from super cruise and increased their speed in excess of Mach 1; their escorts fell away several kilometres ready to pounce on enemy air counter attacks but assurances from Morrdh air controllers were that they could provide enough aerial support to dissuade enemy attacks – that and recent Buccaneer attacks on forward Reich anti-air positions had left the frontlines vulnerable.

On the ground coalition troops that were behind the lines were probably still asleep only to be awakened by the roar of the three bombers screeching towards their targets, forward positions were likely awake already. Inside the bombers of Pounder 882 it was quiet with only faint ambient jet noise as the pilots snaked low over the plains and wetlands towards their dug in positions. At two miles to target they increased altitude and armed their guided munitions, all sixty of the 2,000lb guided bombs and twelve heavy precision missiles. The GPS locations of the targets were received from Morridane ground forces five minutes before the strike so intelligence was good. To the crews it was dark and invisible force below, but assuming the locations provided were correct, the bombs would pulverise a good deal of concentrated enemy positions.

It was a rude awakening. The bombs were dropped in bulk over three areas with confirmed enemy positions. The explosions rocked the ground, brilliant flashes were then replaced by licking flames and thunderous booms and with that the air force dealt the first heavy punches of the day’s fighting. Following up were JDAM strikes against deeper targets, roads, checkpoints and tracks that had been observed by coalition drones or ground Special Forces ensuring that if Reich forces did decide to withdraw the route out would be difficult; assuming they stayed their ground supplies would find it difficult coming in. Almost as soon as the first explosions tore into the Reich lines the deafening roars of the Armbursts betrayed to the troops what had happened. The bombers arced away fleeing towards the safety of their fighter escort. Surviving enemy AA guns lit the sky up with trailing tracer fire but ground forces honed their advantage. Morridane ground commanders extended their thanks as dawn fighting started on Reich forward positions.

Oceanus Libertas
N. of Liberated America

Oceanus Libertas, as it was known in the Holy Empire, was the body of water the crossed east to west north of Liberated America from as far as The Macabees Proper to Imbrinium and New Empire. Literally meaning Ocean of Liberty, it took its name, within the Holy Empire at least, after Liberated America – the vassal state northwest of Stevid Proper taken by force in the wake of the chaos following the Second War of Golden Succession. The ocean had a growing reputation in the region, not least because of the huge fleet engagements and massive air battles that took place on, below and above it during the recent Great Dienstadii War – but now also because of the United World Order and its recent belligerence. The ocean and surrounding seas were strategic, critical even, to both sides in the conflict and the outcome of the war. The Holy Empire was best placed and equipped to take advantage of this importance, due in no small part to the fact she had the largest naval force in this part of the region and had the vassal state of Liberated America actually in the ocean itself.

The United World Order sat beyond the horizon to the north on the other side. To someone standing on the coasts of Liberated America it seemed peaceful and innocent enough of a body of water, not having to worry about what could only be described as an extreme totalitarian fascist state. Now it was more obvious. Not only was the coast becoming more overtly fortified but the waters themselves were saturated with military shipping. The Fourth Reich required the ocean for its war effort far more than the Empire did. True, Mordent was to the north but the Empire already had a sizeable fleet presence there to dissuade an invasion against the territory. But Stevidian supplies did not require the ocean passages and convoy routes like the Fourth Reich did. Anything entering or leaving the United World Order had to transit through the Oceanus Libertas – and that was their problem.

Supporting Kashubia required travelling east around Independent Hitmen and past Lyran waters. An alternative route would be quicker but incomprehensively more dangerous by having to slip past almost every single vassal, dominion and colony belonging to the Holy Empire including Stevid itself! To support Holy Panooly would require either that aforementioned route or the longer trek around the Golden Throne and past the now little known territory recently annexed by the Empire on the far western continent a month ago anticipating this very war and the fact UWO would require the western sea lanes. In short, the United World Order was in a situation where it desperately needed open shipping lanes in area where their local neighbour was their enemy in the war and the principle naval power in this part of the region.

To that end, The Royal Navy had put to sea in Oceanus Libertas in force. The fleets, three in total numbering thousands of warships had been dispersed into smaller task forces and echelons; they would be rotating through their patrol duties constantly using home ports in Liberated America and Stevid when required. The Navy wasn’t looking for a decisive engagement; the Fourth Reich would likely be but not the Empire. The Royal Navy populated Oceanus Libertas with hundreds of submarines – SSNs and SSKs with orders to begin ‘near’ unrestricted warfare against Reich shipping. Unprotected convoys required effective intelligence in order to engage but forces heading out of the region (unless they were actual warships) were not to be engaged. These were likely the newly coined ‘Black Ships’ – a term used recently by Members of Parliament to describe ships transporting Jews out of the Reich to Ralkovia. Lone transports or groups less than four required naval intelligence in order to engage unless said ships were headed south and were positioned to the south, southeast or southwest of the ocean.

Despite the last regional war it was the largest single deployment of combat vessels by the Royal Navy since the Second War of Golden Succession with the Golden Throne over a decade ago. Submarines would scour the seas searching for enemy ships or transports, then engage if applicable or send the contact report to the Fleet Intelligence who would then have the Admiralty dispatch surface ships to intercept or the Fleet Air Arm or attached RAF aircraft to engage instead if surface assets were too far away. In total almost two thousand combat ships littered the ocean between Liberated America and UWO at any one time and patrol as far West Macabees and Imbrinium. A single large Splinter Fleet of the 7th Fleet remained at full strength close to Stevid ready to deploy should a large fleet action be required (the 2nd Fleet was also based in Stevid entirely and, while significantly under strength, could still deploy if necessary) – but the proximity to the Empire, Mordent and fellow coalition member Imbrinium meant Stevidian aircraft could handle large contacts with long range Titan II missiles.

It was likely the Fourth Reich would have to commit a lot of naval assets just to convoy supplies but they’d have to contend with marauding Stevidian submarine, surface naval echelons and task forces.

Since the outbreak of war the Navy had begun anti shipping operations in the ocean and the rewards were being reaped as the Fourth Reich would have to continue running the gauntlets.

[Mokastana]

As the first day of fighting wore on, both the allies and their Ordernite enemies fought well. The Allies gaining kilometers of ground while Ordernites made them pay for every meter in blood.

Many weeks after that first blood, military strategists and statistics would determine in the first day of combat alone, the Ordernites suffered 63,300 casualties, with an estimated 11,500 of those killed in action. The rest were considered Wounded or Missing in Action, or captured by the enemy. The Allies did not fare better.

The Zvezdans, with their new equipment and body armor, charged headfirst into a well defended enemy position. They were outnumbered, but they had the anger of a people with nothing to lose, and in their fury they push the enemy back into their own reserves. By the end of day, 89,700 Zvezdan soldiers were wounded, missing or dead. It was eventually determined that 14,900 Zvezdans gave their lives in that first day to free their country. No doubt many more would do so before this war was over.

The People's Unified Federation, for all their glory, made mistakes that cost men their lives. Despite their success cracking open the western flank, they did not walk away unscathed. Across the front, 20,000 Federal Soldiers became casualties of war that day, with over 6,800 of those killed in action. Nearly a fourth of the killed were from the marines, many of which were still on their transports that went down or were struck in the Northern Bay.

In the other cases, however, many of the Federal wounded would be able to return to combat in a few weeks thanks to their Dauntless Armor, as enemy shrapnel and 7mm rounds were often stopped by the vests and armor, but most wounds had only been leg and arm strikes. Lessons would be learned from studying Marshite combat armor and new innovations would be coming in the future to minimize these kind of casualties.

With such losses, and nearly 24 hours of constant fighting, the Allies dug in at the end of day one to secure their holdings. The marines finally began to unload their own artillery and supply vehicles, but with missile and 155mm gun support from the fleet, it was just icing on the cake. In the days and weeks that followed, the marines would push north, connecting their northern flank with 9th Army and the Zvezdan forces. By forcing the western defenders to fight two fronts the Allies squeezed a supply route in from the North to the International Forces making their way Westward into Kashubia.

In the center the Allies held onto their advanced positions, supporting and occasionally assaulting the flank of the enemy forces that threatened the supply lines. However the Allied line has fallen back hard in the east, back to their original defenses and even to mountain positions as the Ordernites spent the weeks slowly pushing forward. The threat to Susol was being felt, but the Allies had been preparing for such an attack, whenever it may come.

Behind Allied Lines, the PUF had mobilized additional forces. 400,000 additional men from the Mejican 6th Army and 600,000 from Belmotin’s 20th Army. Both Army groups had been mobilized weeks ago for the war with Castille, but were now relocating to the newer front. The Federal 9th Army had rallied around the hole they made in the western flank, pushing two entire Corps down to aide the marines and their international allies, with a third on the way. The Mejican and Belmotin divisions were being deployed to Susol to hold the opening and serve as reserve forces. Allied reinforcements from Lamoni, Morrdh, and The Holy Marsh were arriving as well to even up the odds.

The stage was being set for the next grand offensive. Morridane and Lamonian troops on the western coast by Erid Lo, and Mokan and Marshite forces to the East. Together they would strike at the biggest obstacle between them and the central plains of Kashubia.

Their target, was Tuktar, the last stronghold of the wetlands. With it, the allies could strike Yukar, the central oil fields, or the supply lines into New Impen. They needed this city to continue the invasion, and the Ordernites knew this. They had been working hard to turn the recovering city into a fortress. The next major battle, was going to be for Tuktar.

Letters home:
From Platoon Corporal Ivan Casillas
7th Army stationed in Castleclose
LOCATION OMITTED

To Joanna Tanga
Adam J. Hicks Naval Hospital
California, Mejico, PUF

My Dearest Joanna,

I hope you are recovering well. The last pictures you sent looked great! I am glad to see you are starting to walk again. Soon you’ll be back at the bars charming your way into skirts I can only dream of. I still have no idea how you always find the hottest lass in a city and convince her to try women for a night. Now that you can call yourself a war vet, every girl from California to Wellovia is going to be chasing after you. Meanwhile the rest of us are stuck here writing letters home in the mud waiting for the rain to pass. The Platoon misses you a lot. You definitely kept up our spirits during the beginning of this war. I’m just glad we had the helicopters there to get out when things went south. I would say things have gotten better, but it seems like things may never do that out here.

You remember liberating the camps? The way those people celebrated with us? They were finally free from the fascist fucks that tried to re-educate them, to them it was the best day of their lives, but not everyone feels that way in this country. So many villages and towns greet us with sneers and verbal hostility. They want to know what took us so long, why we waited just down the road while their families fought and died against the occupiers. Why we care about Soviets halfway around the Region when the Fascists in our own backyard were allowed to fester so long. I don’t have an answer for them, I can only tell those that will listen, that the nightmare is over. Not many believe us.

My Father once told me when I was young that their was no revolution any more. I didn’t believe him then, but I see the way these people look at us. The way they want us out of here, the fascists out of here. To them we are just another occupying force, they think we want to annex them, and they want their country back. Returning their independence is the least we can do for them after sitting on the sidelines so long, letting the Castilians pillage their lands while we spoke of revolution without action.

I am sorry to be so depressing in this letter, but this war has so few good times anymore. I did finally get my third kill, so I’ll be getting a set of claws soon. Might even get a chance to rotate back Federal Side for a chance at Jaguar Training. Maybe chase some naive skirts while I am home.

I would say don’t push yourself too hard, but I know you better than that. If I go back for the next Jaguar School rotation, I’ll come by during off week. You better be ready to party by then.

Your friend,
The Platoon Corporal now,
Ivan Casillas

Zvezdan military camp
100 kilometers from Tuktar
0630 local time

Dimitri Ivanov was shoved into position, hands tied behind him, standing shoulder to shoulder with at least a dozen of his comrades. In front of them another dozen formed a firing line. The tall mound of dirt behind them doubled as a bullet stop and as the soil to fill the mass grave behind it. There was no mistaking what was about to happen to him and his comrades.

Their week of being prisoners of war had turned their KDF military uniforms into a mix of rags and dried blood. Anything warm or nice was stolen from them as either trophies by the foreigners, or simply to ensure they stayed cold at night. In front of them, a much older man who wore the almost spotless uniform of a Political Commissar paced up and down passed Dimitri and his fellow prisoners. Each word the Commissar spoke was filled with venom and disgust, but he made sure to carefully enunciate every insult he threw.

“You ungrateful cowards!

You have been charged with the crime of Treason against the Rodina, conspiring with foreign powers, and counter revolutionary actions with the intent of destroying the Union. Those are your crimes against the State.

Not even God can forgive your crimes against the People.”

The Political Commissar stopped and sneered at one particular young kid, no older than 18.

“Does your mother know you sold her out to the enemies of the People? How can you call yourself a man when you roll over like a dog? Begging for scraps from a master who beats your family. You disgraceful Suka! My morning shit was more of a man than you!”

He spat on the boy and walked back to the firing line. Dimitri looked up for the first time since the Political Officer started his rant, and looked into the eyes of his executors. Kids no older than he was, armed with foreign gear like he was.... no, had been. Some even had looks in their eyes of regret, some looked worried. Some, their eyes said nothing at all. Around them the camp continued on as if this was nothing to care about. Of course, to them, this was just another round of executions, every morning another group of KDF prisoners were killed after a mock trial. Not twenty meters away, two young men in UESS army cloaks laughed and shared a pack of cigarettes, a joy Dimitri would not know again.

The Commissar spoke again:

“For your crimes against the Motherland, you are sentenced to death by firing squad. Corporal, carry out the execution.”

Dimitri didn't focus on the Corporal shouting orders or the boys getting into position. He looked at the next group of prisoners, and the next group of executioners. Other than the uniforms, there was nothing different between the two groups. In another life, could this boy across from him been a friend? It didn't matter. The sharp cracks of a dozen rifles ended his life and those around him. Dimitri’s body fell into the soft autumn mud before the Commissar ordered his executioners to drag the bodies to the pit. Behind them, another group of Zvezdan conscripts got their first chance to kill a man as they lined up their own prisoners.

According to the Commissar, a traitor deserves a traitor's death, but bullets were quicker than rope, and time before the next offensive was running out.

[United World Order]

Village of Krasnyy, 15km from Tuktar,
0700 local time.

Carlos McCullen had run out of ammunition in his LY20 assault rifle when he suddenly found himself and much of his platoon was surrounded by Ordenite soldiers who had delivered heavy casualties on his men. Carlos and what was left of his platoon which was then 5 men along with twelve others who were seriously wounded and needed medical attention. Although during his capture he witnessed those twelve wounded men In which one of them was his platoon commander, shot dead on the spot by his captors. Carlos and the five remaining men and women were restrained and then blind folded and led back to the Ordenite frontlines with what he could hear him and his comrades were not alone and that others had been captured by the Ordenites. That however was four weeks ago and in that time span he had been forced marched at least thirty kilometers without being given breaks that lasted more than five minutes, along the way he and the other prisoners of war were clubbed with assault rifles on their journey and those who their captors deemed couldn't go on were shot on the spot. Something that really did make Carlos question humanity was when his fellow comrade and female counterpart, Kimberly was sexually assaulted by multiple Ordenite soldiers on the way to the village of Krasnyy, he couldn't see as he was blind folded most of the time but he could hear her screams as the fascist monsters took their way with her on numerous occasions.

When Carlos and his men along with what he didn't know were two hundred Zvezdian prisoners of war arrived in the village of Krasnyy, the Ordenites had already arranged the process for accepting these prisoners of war and what would happen to them. The already in country Einatzgruppen or known better by the populaces that encounter them, Ordenite SS death squads. Carlos was put in line with the other prisoners as they waited to reach a make shift table which on one side sat several SS personnel who would record the prisoner's name and occupation along with his rank before sending them on to be stripped of clothing and left naked. From there the Ordenites would direct them through the village and to a shallow ditch that was dug with civilian help where they would wait for execution.

"Name, occupation and rank?" An SS staff person asked a Zvezdian male who was in a tattered uniform. A translator who was Kashubian sat next to him and translated what he said. The Zvezdian responded and the SS person wrote it down and directed him to the right where he'd be led with others to their future grave. Carlos stood in line waiting for what felt like a eternity, he could hardly stand and was very weak after the abuse he suffered during the journey to Krasnyy. It wouldn't be for another hour before Carlos would be the next in line and would face one of the SS men who looked at him puzzled slightly, he then called over who Carlos assumed was some sort of officer. They had a short conversation and Carlos would be led to the left along with his comrades that survived from his platoon. The other Zvezdians would look on at them in sorrow and others anger as it seemed even with the Ordenites, Zvezdians would be led to the slaughter while their Mokan counter parts would get a chance at life once more.

"Name?"

"Carlos McCullen."

"Occupation?"

"9th Army Zvezda, 4th Division, 2nd Platoon."

"Rank?"

"Platoon Corporal, eagle infantry." Carlos finished the small questionnaire as he was interrogated by a member of the SS. He was then moved to a small house where inside a empty room alongside the other four persons left from his platoon were stripped of their clothing and before then searched, the set of claws he had worked so hard for during the year before this war were taken from him by one of the Ordenite soldiers. One of the members of the SS was wielding a camera and started snapping pictures of the Mokan prisoners of war, they were taken almost like mug shots and then once again they were moved out of the house nearly completely naked. Passing villagers from Krasnyy spit and threw rocks at him and his comrades, it was obvious to notice that the population in the village did not like his kind, curses and other profanity and insults were spewed at him from village onlookers. Suddenly he started hearing gunshots, although he would know where they resonated from as the Ordenites had begun executing the Zvezdian prisoners. He was made to watch while put on his knees, a line of Zvezdians would be put in front of the ditch and then a organized firing squad would stand several feet away from then and when ordered, shot them down. Their bodies would fall and tumble lifelessly down into the ditch with other Zvezdians previously shot.

Suddenly a SS Officer appeared on the scene and approached the five Mokans who were their rightful prisoners of war. He examined them as he walked around them, he didn't speak a word as his steel toed boots hit the ground with every step he took. He wore the common uniform of an Ordenite officer only that at the collar and on his officer cap would be the ensign of his Ordenite SS rank and division. The infamous double lightening bolts would be proudly on display by the officer in front of Carlos's eyes.

"You have already had been given the privilege of engaging in combat with those of the Wehrmacht, and now here you stand in front of me." The officer addressed the five who were mere hollow shells of their former selves when they were still part of their 9th Army outfit. Gun shots rung out every few minutes as the mass execution of two hundred Zvezdian Army prisoners of war was still on-going, the SS officer raised his voice over the gunshots as he gave a small speech.

"I hope that you all understand that this is a war you cannot win and that you won't win." The officer said and continued, pacing around the five as he talked. "Already we have slaughtered your comrades by the thousands in battle, your men are dying on these very grounds by the hundreds to the thousands, every day." The officer stopped at one of the five, he was probably the youngest out of the rest and the most shaken by the events he had witnessed in the past few weeks, he physically shook uncontrollably as the officer stood towering over him.

"How long do you think you have to live, hm?" The SS officer asked the young Mokan who didn't respond and only mumbled incoherent speech that made the Officer snicker. Around the five naked Mokans were numerous Ordenite soldiers, some barely arriving from fierce fighting in the west or further south. Others were part of the SS unit that were stationed in Krasnyy, they looked on at the five and smoked Prussian cigarettes and spoke amongst themselves in Ordenite. Behind the SS officer were a small convoy of Ordenite TPz 255 armored vehicles that were moving out of the village, most likely to the front lines.

"Get him up to his feet." The officer ordered referring to the shaking young Mokan as two SS soldiers got the man to his feet, he could barely stand and wobbled in front of the officer who chuckled. Then with what looked like an act of kindness, the officer took out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to the Mokan. The boy looked at him and then at the cigarettes in his hand that he held out, the Officer stared at him as the boy moved his hand to take a cigarette. The SS Officer then sinisterly and with seemingly lightening speed drew his semi-automatic pistol and put it to the boy's head before pulling the trigger without any hesitation. The body hit the dirt with a loud thud as blood seeped out of the hole in his skull. Carlos kept his head down and refused to look up at what was happening, he closed his eyes and prayed to himself to his own beliefs. The SS Officer then stood in front of McCullen and laughed at him, "Are you praying to your gods, do you think your god is going to help you?!"

The SS Officer stuck his boot into McCullen's face and knocked him onto his back. Laughing occurred from other Ordenite soldiers who were watching the scene unfold, they spoke in Ordenite and threw insults at Carlos while he was down. The SS officer then drew a cigarette and lit it for himself as he smoked for a moment, he blew a trail of smoke before speaking again. "Kill them all."

The surrounding SS soldiers immediately got the remaining four Mokans back to their feet. The SS Officer was then approached by one of his men, "What about the lady?" The SS Officer looked at Kimberly who was deprived of any emotion as she was stood to her feet by fellow SS soldiers.

"Do what you please, put her to work in the local brothel if you wish." The SS grunt nodded and saluted his commanding officer before he left and took Kimberly away from the remaining three male Mokans. The Ordenites since the beginning of the occupation of the former RSU had established a string of brothels that were open only for Ordenite soldiers, women and teenage girls were taken from their villages and or even concentration camps and instead of death or hard labor would instead be put to serve the occupying Ordenite soldiers and now returning Ordenite soldiers from fierce combat in pleasing their sexual appetites. Kimberly a Mokan soldier of the 9th Army Zvezda would now see and suffer the same fate as other countless Kashubian women who by some chance were made to work in these brothels. Carlos and the other two were led further out from the village it's self and into a shallow ravine that still had water running through it.

Carlos was forced to stand with his two other platoon comrades backs to a five man firing squad. He squeezed his eyes together and his entire life seemingly begun to flash before him in his subconscious. He could hear the birds chirping near by and the sound of planes and the typical activity of the near by village of Krasnyy, then the last thing he and his remaining Mokans would hear was the firing squad shooting them in the back and his body falling forward into the ravine in front of them. Three additional shots would rang out afterwards as one of the firing squad members took out his pistol and shot the three Mokans in the back of the head to ensure their death.

Narrative on the following weeks since the first day of battle between Reich and PUF coalition forces,
Ordenite Werhmacht assessment.

The first day of official fighting between the Ordenite Wehrmacht and the PUF and their Zvezdian allies had proven costly for them. Despite the fact that the initial offensive into the Demarcation line was surely a shock to many in the upper echelons of the Wehrmacht, after the first day of battle the Oberkommando des Wehrmacht were confident that the Wehrmacht in Kashubia could repel the invaders and give the Peoples Unified Federation a costly blow in the beginning strokes of the war. The sudden growth of the PUF regional coalition that was now fighting against the Werhmacht in Kashubia and across Western Dienstad was something that the OKW had also expected to be the general reaction of a declaration of war by the Reich against Mokastana. After the first week of fighting in Kashubia and already the regional coalition had secured beach heads along the Northern Bay coastline while the Ordenite Army along the demarcation line was able to hold the Mokan-Zvezdian offensive back and even gain ground with a sudden counter attack on the eastern flank.

Once it was realized that the Mokans and other regional forces were beginning to settle down and begin working on keeping their gains on Kashubian soil did the Wehrmacht in Kashubia begin to re-group and begin several moves to start what was in the works being a major counter-offensive. Tuktar was now becoming to be in danger as the enemy was able to create a hole through the Ordenite's western flank in order to funnel reinforcements to push the Ordenite's back and further exploit the opening. However in the coming weeks with Ordenite Army reserves that had still yet to see combat but were being moved into positions on either side of the opening begun to clamp down on this breakthrough. The Ordenite Luftwaffe began a campaign of striking at this gap in the western flank with all they had, looking to disrupt what logistics were running through it and hopefully being able to destroy or delay further reinforcements.

The Ordenite Army in the general area of this gap made by the Mokans was then exploited and through the use of numerous armored and mechanized units began to squeeze the life out of it. The general plan was to make this into a pocket and hopefully trap a large score of Mokan and other allied forces in this pocket before the Ordenites would crush it with overwhelming firepower and numbers that they already had. For the most part however the majority of Ordenite forces along the new frontlines were also digging in and strengthening their defenses and preparing for future combat with the enemy. Reconnaissance efforts would be used to test and observe enemy movement, defenses and logistic routes along with accurate coordinates and information being relayed back to other Army forces and the Luftwaffe themselves for future targeting. What was a relief for many in Kashubia would come from the west where the expected Ordenite reinforcement wave had begun arriving at Dathel Port and Sterlya, this had started after the first week of official combat and currently a total of 5,000,000 Ordenite reinforcements were expected to soon enough make their way west wards and help better garrison the western half of the country along with reinforcing the frontlines.

New to the war torn country of Kashubia were 7 newly formed Waffen SS divisions that were made up of Macabeean volunteers who had been previously trained and made part of the Foreign Vanguard of Reaction, however due to the war and it's on-going events they were outfitted and formed into Waffen SS divisions and outfitted with equipment, weaponry and training of a typical Waffen SS unit. The rest were of course numerous Ordenite Army and additional Waffen SS formations that once arriving in Dathel Port or Sterlya would organize into their proper outfits and would soon enough be on the move westward if they weren't already headed west. Ordenite Army and Waffen SS logistical chains from the west and towards the east would be strengthened with additional anti-aircraft assets that the reinforcement wave would bring along with a steady stream of needed supplies that would be headed to the front lines. In the mean time however, the KDF were beginning to be bolstered in numbers due to a sudden mass conscription order placed and approved by Premier Kendrov himself and his Ordenite counter parts.

Many new KDF training camps and facilities would be constructed and filled with thousands upon thousands of conscripted Kashubians who would begin under-going training for future deployment against the PUF allied coalition armies that were attempting to march westwards. The Kashubian manufacturing apparatus would be geared and dedicated to full time war production with nation wide rationing being put into effect. The oil production that was going on in the country would also begin to take a war footing as newly barreled petroleum would be sent to refineries to be turned into fuel and shipped off to the frontlines to keep the vast mechanized and armored forces of the Ordenite Army and Waffen SS moving and fighting functionally. The Kashubian oil fields in the weeks of fighting would have it's defenses bolstered as well, with a intricate anti-aircraft system being implicated to ward off possible attacks on the precious oil fields along with a bigger garrison of troops to safe guard it. The city of Tuktar had already been turned into a fortress as the civilian populace was enlisted to help the garrison forces prepare defenses and other positions necessary for the possible battle for the city against enemy coalition forces. Conscripted Kashubians living in Tuktar would have already been receiving training from their Ordenite counter parts and filling in defensive positions around the city while having certain days or hours for drills and further training in expectation of combat. A significant show down between the two warring parties was surely coming and the battlefield they would face off in would surely be Tuktar.

High Seas of Western Dienstad,
Narrative on the Kriegsmarine's war on the high seas.

The increasing odds facing the Ordenite Kriegsmarine was not the Mokan Federal Navy but the Stevidian Royal Navy who was clamping down hard on the Kriegsmarine and their freedom of movement in Western Dienstad. Stevidian surface ships and submarines had declared open season on Reich shipping and the Kriegsmarine, numerous sea battles ranging in size were happening daily on the high seas. In some, the Kriegsmarine overcame their Stevidian foes and in others the Stevidian Navy was able to flex it's naval poweress in battle. Despite the mounting losses the Kriegsmarine were suffering and the losses the Reich's trade and merchant fleet were also suffering at the brute might of the Stevidian Royal Navy, the Oberkommando des Marine which was the supreme command for the Kriegsmarine in the armed forces were already formulating and putting a variety of strategies into practice to deceive and undermine the vast Stevidian threat. A massive sea mining operation was already under way with efforts from Kriegsmarine mine laying vessels and aircraft capable of deploying sea mines were used to deploy hundreds to even thousands of sea mines along regularly used sea routes that the Kriegsmarine and it's merchant fleet passed through to reach overseas territories such as Holy Panooly and Kashubia. The mine laying was also used against what routes the Stevidian Royal Navy's ships took coming from their bases and ports in hopes of area denial and at least stalling the Stevidian threat.

The merchant fleet of the Reich was also incorporated in Kriegsmarine strategy as future merchant fleet activity would incorporate empty cargo ships that would have surface to surface missile batteries on them to fend off against Stevidian naval vessels while other cargo ships containing actual supplies and goods would use the distraction of their decoys to move on towards their intended destinations. Of course the Kriegsmarine was already deploying armed escorts with much of the merchant fleet that was still able to operate in dienstadi waters. More importantly would be the further rapid deployment of much of the Kriegsmarine's submarine arm in order to fan out amongst the high seas of Western Dienstad and begin targeting Stevid vessels of opportunity weather they were civilian, merchant and or military orientated. These "packs" of Ordenite submarines would maneuver below the surface and organize kill zones for Stevidian Navy vessels coming from their home ports and bases, before they would be hunted by these submarines and hopefully severely damaged or out right destroyed.

The most apparent move made by the Kriegsmarine was to openly engage Stevidian surface vessels in battle and tie up as much of the Stevidian Royal Navy in the sea as possible to allow a relief of pressure on the Ordenite merchant fleet passing through hostile waters. IFF and other signatures would be passed along to the Macabeeans in order for them to be aware of where the safe sea routes were as so they could avoid running into a assortment of sea mines being laid and or already laid in the seas of Western Dienstad. It was hoped that the Ordenite Kriegsmarine could turn the tide into their favor against the Stevidian Royal Navy and the Holy Empire it's self.

[Mokastana]

FPV Delacosta
Virginia Class Attack Submarine
Montana Security Vessel on patrol
Oceanus Libertas


The Virginia Class Attack Submarine crept along, just above the thermal layer, ready to dive to stay hidden from most ships in the area. Her current duty was simply too observe and report. Already much of the Montana Inc shipping in the area flew under The Golden Throne’s flag, but with an open declaration by the Ordernite government many contracts soon opened. Macabeean shipping companies relished in the influx of revenue, for not only was Montana Inc shipping highly valuable medical supplies, but they were paying for the security of a flag the United World Order would think twice about firing on. These were vessels registered to the Golden Throne, by companies in the Golden Throne, the only thing was that now many of their shipping containers had the famous ‘M’ logo on the side.

However, protecting shipping was only one reason the Delacosta was out here today. The Stevidian Navy had been punching hard against the Ordernites, and attacking their shipping meaning that the Ordernite Navy was distracted, but on high alert. Attacks against them would be avoided, there were enough navies out doing their part, but intelligence was always valuable. It wouldn't be the first time they sold intelligence to warring governments, but they knew the Mokans and Stevidians would benefit from it, so they would pay for it. The Delacosta followed the minelayer, listening for the repetitive sounds of mines breaking the surface and the all too familiar of the screws of the ship. The mines locations would be marked on the map, then they would dodge them and keep up a distant yet vigilant pursuit. The rest of the wolf pack was out on a similar mission. Observe and report, and leave the fighting to the governments.


25th and 42nd Assault Flotilla
Deployed from Holy Marsh
Attack on the Ordenite Mainland
1000 Km from the coast The Macabees

The Admiral watched his command screen in the war room of the Anubis Class Warship as they approached the launch site. He had 150 ships from the Federation under his command, and was working closely with his equal from the Romani Marshite Union to ensure mission success. The Golden Throne was just south of him, and his targets were North East. He had spent the last few weeks working with his command and control teams to figure out a way to make this operation work, without risking his fleet. Enough heads were rolling back east after the loss of transports in the Northern Bay in RSU, and he knew he needed to win back the prestige of the Federal Navy. He'd been dodging Ordernite patrols so far and gotten lucky. Of course l, Stevidian interceptions certainly helped. The flight plan for the missile attack was intended to be misleading if the Ordernites didn't have strong OTH Radar, but the Admiral knew better then to assume that. Not to mention they had The Golden Throne to their backs, whose loyalty was questionable at best. Given the missiles' flight path, the ruse would be wasted. The plan was for the missiles to hug the Macabeean coastline( by 800 kilometers) for about 1500 kilometers to their target. Then they would turn straight north, striking ports and cities around the small peninsula on the South East side of the Ordernite continent.

The People's Federal Navy would be contributing 12,000 missiles to this operation. Nearly a third were assigned to known Anti Air weapon systems, such as missile sites and Radar domes, with the hope of suppressing enough enemy AA to allow the main strike to hit hard. The main strike was against the Ordernite coast, military and civilian ports, as well as enemy coastal cities directly. The official objective was to hamper enemy logistics and supply from the mainland to Kashubia by water. Of course, that would include sinking cargo ships in port, knocking down cranes, destroying offices, transformers, storage areas, communication centers, and of course, docks. That was the official objective. Underneath, the plan was to bring the war straight into the homes of Ordernite civilians. Highways, downtown shopping/business districts, apartment buildings, power stations, water treatment plants, and even residential neighborhoods had been marked as targets as well. Every civilian target marked was within ten kilometers of the coast, giving minimal chance of interception. The only missiles going further inland would be to destroy enemy AA.

The Marshites contributed mightily as well, with several Longswords and dozens of Lacto-class Cruisers, Lamia-class destroyers, Hatchet class Frigates, several pickets of submarines, and several dozen Anubis class Arsenal Ships. FAC-36 Crocodiles in various configurations roamed around the sensor edges of the main fleet, extending the protective layer significantly. This upgraded the firepower of the Mokan attack significantly. Marshite missiles were focused primarily on transportation and military targets, attempting to destroy as much of the port facilities as possible, as much of the transportation network as possible, and as much of the power grid as possible, while still striking tens of thousands of military targets in and around coastal regions.

From here, the Federal vessels would make contact with the Stevidian Navy and join in the hunt for Ordernite Shipping.



Beginning of PROJECT ADONIS
Prisoner of War Camp 06
Zvezdan Mountains
Medical Wing

The Ordernite Prisoner began to wake up, the last thing he remembered was… the flight… Fallschirmjager special operation… the plane got hit…. Sirens… then...

“Ah, good to see you're finally awake.”

A doctor of surprisingly white decent stood over him, smiling as he spoke. If the soldier looked hard enough, he would see the badge on this man simply read “Dr. Ishii” with a Ring of Seven Red Stars above the name.

“Did you sleep well Jonas? We had to remove a little shrapnel from your side, patch you up, and donate some blood to replace what you lost, but you'll recover soon. Your jaw took a decent blow, so it's wired shut so it can heal, sorry about that. Glad to see you're recovering nicely. Many of the doctors are even willing to… never mind, you're safe now.”

The Ordernite prisoner, Jonas Schimmel, looked around, it looked like he was in a field hospital. The tent he was in though was less of a tent and more of a temporary building complete with heating, and he shared it with quite a few others. Many still wore parts of their Wehrmacht or SS uniforms, if the doctors hadn't had the need to remove them, or if they hadn't been treated yet. Saline and blood bags hung from metal hooks by their patients, pumping many Ordernites full of needed fluids to stay alive. It seemed they were being treated with near hospital levels of medical care. Despite the fact the Ordernite soldiers were secured to their beds in some form or fashion, and most of the hospital staff walking around had a pistol on their side, it seemed like their captures were doing their best to ensure the wellbeing of their patients/prisoners. Only the Federal guards stationed by the entrance seemed to be disturbed by the work being done here.

“I do have good news for you. As you can probably tell, we aren't going to kill you. The Unionist have a particular way of handling traitors, but you're not KDF, you are just our enemy, a very respectable enemy even. Because of that, you get the VIP treatment."

The doctor smiled as he pointed to the saline bag hanging over them as the VIP treatment, and responded to the seemingly confused reaction of the Paratrooper.

“As a great enemy, we feel it's best to send you home. Doesn't that sound exciting? Going home? But you're probably wondering, why would we want to send you home? Strange isn't it?

Well, the truth is if you're home, your not fighting us. We would much rather have you back in Krautland. We want you to be with your family again, see your parents, we want you to go shopping and see the last of the summer flicks and enjoy whatever sauerkraut barbeques you plan on having before Autumn comes. We want you to enjoy being at home. We really do.I cannot stress that enough.”

The doctor paused for a moment, composing himself before sitting on the soldier's bed next to him, touching his hand.

“But you're a proud people, are you not? You would recover from your wounds and rejoin the war effort. It is your ‘sacred duty’ as a proud National Socialist, is it not? You made an oath to serve the Fatherland, you couldn’t go back home and spend your days fucking your wife when your country needs you. No, you would be honor bound to come back to us and try to kill us again. We wouldn't like that, and we can't let that happen”

The Doctor extended his thumb and aimed two fingers pointing at the Ordernite’s temple, chuckling lightly and continued to speak:

“We could put a bullet in your head, but why make you a martyr?”

Another pause as the smiled faded from the doctor’s face, and a more serious tone began to manifest.

“So here is our offer: It gets you out of the war and home to your family. You will be sent home on a ship, with your fellow Prisoners of War, and entrusted to stay out of the war from now on. But the price of your ticket home is... not cheap. You will pay with your right hand, or one foot, your choice. We’ll cut just above the elbow or knee, sterilise the wound and stabilize you. Then you and your comrades will have just enough food and water to make it home, and even some medical care. Capturing your medics wasn't easy, and they will probably be overworked since we couldn't catch them all, but they will be given enough medical supplies to keep at least, some, of you alive. You don't have to decide right now what limb to lose, my staff will be by in a hour to make the final cuts. If you haven’t made a decision by the time they arrive, we will just take both. We are not particularly picky. Of course, we will also have to carve a five pointed star into your forehead, but that is just so we can keep track of who has paid. After all, your friend over there is missing both his legs, would it be fair to let him get by without paying for his ticket when you had to? With this many patients it's just the easiest way to track who's paid.”

The doctor rested his hand on Jonas' shoulder, then began stroking the bandages across his face. He spoke again, less firm, more comforting. As one would reassure a child who scraped their knee.

“Like I said, we want you to go home. We want you to see your family. Your wife. Your kids. Your parents. We want everyone back home to see what happens to their ‘ubermesch’ when they fight us. We want you crippled and relying on others, most importantly relying on the state. No decent government would let their own veterans suffer, would they? Now, you'll get to go home, and be a walking reminder of our mercy.

Yes, our mercy. We could've cut off all your limbs, we could've make you a vegetable, take your eyes and nose with surgical precision or quick strokes, disfigure you terribly, castrate you or burn you, but we don’t want that… yet. We just want you unfit for military service. Modern medicine can give you back most of your life, but with every discomfort you experience from now on, it will remind you we could have been so… so much worse. We were merciful at first. Remember that.

Think about your decision, Feldwebel(Sergeant), we’ll be back in an hour.”

The Doctor got up and began to walk away, before spinning around with a wry grin.

“Oh I almost forgot, your down payment. The localised aesthetic should be working now. Your index fingers, I need to take them with me. Can't have you operating a gun in the future can we?”

[Holy Marsh]

The GWO attack on battlespace management was inventive and effective, at least to the degree that it targeted Cromwell II instead of other, similar battlespace networks. The Marshite military used SACHERI which was less widely distributed and known, and whose angle of attack and capabilities were less understood. Still, SACHERI had some commonalities with Cromwell II, and thus portions of it started to go down after the attack was launched. Targeting and information sharing stayed up, but many of the advanced reconnaisance and intelligence capabilities of the network went down.

M-SAD Battle Management Directorate responded quickly, trying to get elements of the network back online. They met with some success- and failure. They would manage to get certain elements back online but completely lose others. As the three weeks dragged on, Marshite forces slowly but surely got their full system back online, while the BMD analyzed the attack and strengthened the system against others like it. Nothing was foolproof however, and valuable intelligence about the earliest fighting had been at best scrambled compared to what M-SAD was used to.

The Ordenites, as expected, responded with heavy firepower. Their artillery and missile support was dangerous, and Allied vehicles turned to slush in their passing. It was valuable contact data that was sent back to Marshite High Command, who was all too happy to transfer it to M-SAD for analysis and input into SACHERI Battlespace. DAMOCLES would help inform the battlespace which would help track the enemy which would, in turn, allow for Marshite forces to have better awareness of when and where enemy attacks were coming. Casualties now would save lives later.

In the moment however, a war was being waged and the Marines fought back viciously. Counter-battery firepower from the quick Marshite artillery and rocket support met the numbers of the enemy. Marshite artillery such as the Lion-Self Propelled Gun aided by its high rate of fire and accuracy, outgunning and ranging their counterparts while moving at a decent clip. The MRLA Dragon was capable of firing up to 42 Hellion missiles- or 360 110mm rockets, among dozens of other configurations. Ordernite numbers on the ground provided weight of fire in that way, but Marshite firepower was increasingly astronomical. As more Marshites landed, more fire was given.

Order forces attempted to create a trench-line with gun nests in support. This provided a target rich environment for Marshite forces. SAGL-25 grenade launchers were made to strike those who believed themselves safe. Above trenchlines came streams of airbursting 25mm grenades, including thermobaric munitions, which spelled death for those inside. Gun nests were targeted by the M-20 DMR as well as the longer range machine guns of the Marshites, including the MA-300 and MA-340, as well as direct fire recoilless rifles and rocket launchers like the LY65 in certain setups and the MATW-9EB. The Dropper Mortar System proved incalculably valuable, laying down swift and devastating fire on foxholes and opposing mortar and heavy weapon systems.

Marshites used cover as well, of course, digging their own trenches and foxholes, but it was all for simple tactical purposes. No one believed they’d be manning them and indeed none did- they were made, manned when needed, and abandoned quickly. While the Order forces had the right idea, they were incorrect in assuming they could do so without crushing losses. The trenches and MG3 nests were killing fields. Marshite forces, once the line in front was suppressed, would use armored support to launch rapid raids. Marshites would kill any Orderite soldier who survived in the trenches through a barrage of hand grenades- including Hellsbreath- and close in fighting.

The mechanized element, having developed intelligence regarding Ordernite weapons and tactics, would eliminate threats to the armor while pushing forward. The speed of the attack meant they got into the rear of the immediate line and were able to cause considerable damage. Ordernite forces would respond quickly and in force, and Marshites would pull back. The area they were at was turned into a killzone as they fell back by artillery, devastating pursuing Ordernite forces. The Marshites would fall back into a safe zone while fresher forces took their place as the Ordernites arrived at their old positions- and were immediately engaged, despite being ragged from the bombardment.

Sometimes something perhaps less significant tactically or strategically, yet far more legendary, would happen. Under thick cover and after the gun nests were suppressed a large stream of smoke would be released from a large number of grenades. Then, oddly enough, came a series of light blue shaded grenades that evaporated quickly, yet had a most unusual smell. It would be smart to think it was a chemical attack, and to try and put on your gear. Amidst this chaos, however, was something worse.

Charging through the smoke at almost thirty miles an hour were the Sparky War Tiger Packs, covered from head to base of tail- around 110 inches on average, as well as 50 inches tall- in DAUNTLESS armor. Each Sparky was bred and trained for war and their packs moved with the uncanny intelligence and ferocity that was their birthright. By the time the enemy could grasp their situation amidst the chaos, it was too late. The Sparkies barreled into the trenches.

A swipe of their paws had enough power to decapitate a man. Their claws were capable of reaching deep into a man and tearing out everything that kept him alive in a vicious motion. Even armor didn’t help much, as their crushing strength allows Sparkies to break a man in half. They swiped and bit and clawed, their powerful leaps and heavy protection marking them as true horrors. Their jaws shut with enough strength to crush heads and pop the brain and tear away limbs. Sparky packs hit trenches and within moments the screams, the roars, the wild gunshots- accompanied by the viscera, the blood, the doomed attempts to flee- overwhelmed all within sight.

Minutes after the attack, another new colored smoke would appear in the area. Purple. The Sparkies sniffed the air and started making their way back to the Marshites, trailing their prizes. Limbs. Bodies. Heads. Once they were back in a safe space, the blood-soaked warcats would nuzzle their trainers, show off their trophies, and get congratulations. The next Ordernite force that took cover in those trenches would be knee deep in the viscera of their comrades

Sometimes it would devolve into some more basic hand to hand combat between the two forces. Ordernites were bigger and stronger thanks to The Shift, but Marshite Marines at the spearpoint of the Crusade had done little other than fight and train since the Ordernites were in diapers. One had the strength, the other had greasy speed and skill.

But there was war beyond the infantry and mechanized and in increasing numbers there was a fantastic tank duel. The Tiger II was proving its worth as a fantastic main battle tank but as Marshites saw how the machines stacked, they changed their tactics. They were matched in terms of gun firepower and armor, but Marshites had superior mobility, fire control systems, and active protection. The five-minute Tank Ace, Staff Sargeant Emil Corsicia. The HAT-III had been able to get close and make a dash in between the turrets of Tiger II tanks. It was able to turn one, destroy it, use its body for cover, and hit the other. The Active Protection destroyed an incoming missile and then a shell, and Emil’s tank caused the Ordernite order to break a bit. Her entire company had done the same and even though they had paid for it, enough had gotten through and were now utilizing and the speed and agility to make the Tiger IIs pay. Another shot and another shot, tanks working in concert to try and take out enemy tanks trying to fire back. Two shots would ping off of the front and the APS would be activated six more times. The chaos benefitted the Marshites, who utilized the strength of their information warfare to pick apart the Ordernites in such a situation.

Their enemy was skilled and his equipment was still solid, and the tank battles that waged in increasing intensity were costly indeed. Supporting both sides were infantry forces prepped to engage armor and supporting vehicles. The LY65 proved invaluable, while the GLAC-21s modularity made it a constant nasty surprise for the Ordernites. The MATW-9EB made the secondary vehicles of the Ordernite army know fear, while the MAV-30 and MAV-30 ATGM were wildly useful, as was the

The weight of war was being leveraged both ways with unequal payments. The Ordernites clear numerical advantage gave them the superior way early on in the fighting, but that advantage was eroded. The 44th Crusade and all thirty-six of her divisions landed along a broad front and moved to engage the enemy, hour by hour adding more and more weight of fire to the Allied cause. The 45th and 46th Crusades, twenty four and twenty divisions respectively, followed suit, and the numerical advantage that the Ordernites had was being quickly erased and then reversed. Marshites went about attacking and moving and attacking and withdrawing and attacking and constantly changing up what and where, attacking and eliminating what they could before moving to another spot and doing the same, withdrawing and drawing their fierce foes into the Marshites’ own waiting counter-attack forces.

With all three Crusades landed, 1.6 million Marshite soldiers had made their way to the immediate warzone. They started to attack with enormous weight of fire, aided now by the deployment en masse of the Holy Marsh Air Force (HMAF). While the MAF-50 and MAF-50S could hold their own in the air against almost every plane in the air, and out and out defeat most others, it was both a numbers game and a logistical game. While enemy air forces were being bloodied up significantly, the Marshite Marine and Naval Air arms were being whittled down. In the safe zone, the HMAF started deploying thousands of aircraft to allied Airfields, taking over available air spaces as well as replacing lost native air. The LY910 Shadowhawk Air Superiority Fighter made its entrance, an equal to superior match for any plane thus employed. Behind it came waves of MAF-50 Pegasi, MAF-50S, and MAF-50D, and a bevy of bombers- from the cheap MIHD-11D Hammer and the MIHD-16 Talon Bane to the MIHB-17 Mailed Fist Superheavy Bomber and the MISB-03 Stalker Heavy Stealth bomber, while LY912 Dragonhawks dropped their ordnance far off the coast in an endless series of sorties.

More than 1.2 million Marshites in the 47th, 48th, and, 49th Crusades landed further back in the safe zone from the frontline of the Marshites who had taken inch by bloody inch from the enemy. They were still in range thanks to their Hellion and Contrado Missiles, and featured a higher than average deployment of Artillery Divisions. Far from harm they rained down their fire, while shoring up a rear echelon area and a supply route that was increasingly well defended.

All of these forces prepared themselves for what was to come: the push into Tuktar, and the fierce battle that was doubtlessly going to develop.

The 50-52nd Crusades landed on the opposite end of the Allied zone, on the east coast, putting 1.54 million Marshites where they could help out the central-eastern war efforts, or prevent an enemy counterattack from breaking through to Susol.

The 53rd through 55th Crusades were the largest Crusades of all and yet it had not landed, nor had the 56th, 57th, 58th, nor 59th. Back in the Union, the results of the current conflict were being studied and examined over the three weeks, as were the declarations of other pro-Ordernite powers. It was decided that preparations for waves two through twenty were to be made, with M-SAD plans Octo-Octo-Semp-Orange 3-2 through OOSO3-67 to be implemented in the coming months.


---------------------


Khaska, Holy Marsh
D+5

Tajin Reijas was a very happy man. A veteran of the Long War he had seen his children get embroiled in that most honorable of conflicts and emerge stronger. He had worried about his grandchildren, however. The Cult was gone. It was dead as a target. What would the next generation have? Thankfully there were still plenty of slavers to kill and wars against evil to wage. There was no peace in this world as long as there was evil, and he was pleased to have his family involved.

Tajin was a very happy man. His youngest granddaughter had become an officer and was serving in the 899th Pushanian Mechanized Marines, a venerable division with a long record of glorious battle. She had recently been deployed to Zvezda to help combat the filth of slavery. Many fond memories of her playing Inquisitor in her youth, bayoneting pigs marked as Cult or Slaver in the community’s shared Kid Space.

Tajin was a happy man. It was like any other day for him- he was technically retired, and spent his free time helping haul supplies for the local Militia. New ammunition depots always went up for their use which was good, because more ammunition was always needed. He then drank some, and wished his son- a teacher- a great day during the night shift. He fell asleep with a full day’s rations and a prayer on his lips.

Tajin was a happy man. He was awoken from his capsule room with a furious set of excited knocking. The lights turned on slowly as he pushed aside the curtain- his son, holding a letter, looking excited. Could it be…?

Tajin opened the door to the room and made his way out, slowly allowing his head to de-fog. He pulled a blanket out with him, trying to cover himself as his son waved the letter.

“It happened! A fantastic, glorious day!” His son said, opening the letter in full.

“What are you waiting for? Read it!”

His son cleared his throat.

“In action against the Ordenite Slavers and their allied miscreants, your daughter’s honorable duty to the Holy Marsh was chosen to continue in the afterlife. May your family find this news cause for celebration, a reminder of the gift of martyrdom.”

A pregnant pause.

A hug.

“Great! Great news. What did the after action report say?”

“I haven’t read it in full. A sniper, they think.”

“Ha! They had to target your daughter! Truly a force to be reckoned with.”

“Very true, father.”

A few passerbies- Tajin’s neighbors in the capsule complex- wandered by and heard.

“She’s a martyr? Congratulations!”

“Good for you, man! I hope my son is martyred!”

“My husband was just martyred too. Can we combine the parties?”

“I don’t see why not. Oh, maybe we can see who else has a martyr’s celebration coming up- combine them for the whole floor?”

“Great idea! I’ll get some members of the Shrine to collect information, see what we can do.”

“I wish I had been martyred during the Long War…”

“Aww, enough with that long face Tamiska!”

A few days later there would be a celebration of the martyrs lost by everyone in the whole complex. It was a wonderful celebration with great joy, and memories of the deceased flowing alongside great excitement at what awaited them next. The grandfather was excited. His youngest granddaughter had been martyred, and now her service was eternal.

Tajin was a happy man.

Other people expected more unpleasant means of death. Gas? It had been done. Nuclear weapons? Been done. The Flesh That Hates? Been done. Torture? Been done. Cannibalism? Been done. There was no death that could instill fear, no fury of battle that could distract from the joy of martyrdom. They had fought a war longer than the joined histories of multiple nations- there was nothing that could be done to harm the Marshite psychology.

They were, after all, a very happy people.

[United World Order]

Across Germania and URSMC facilities,
Western Dienstad.

It wasn't very hard to notice that something was brewing and that something was coming. The Unified Reich Strategic Missile Command handles the vast majority of the WMD arsenal that could be found in Germania, the Ordenite homeland. It also constituted and made up for the over all defense of Germania from threats such as nuclear missiles and other military strikes. Their existed numerous OTH radar sites that covered in range the majority of the mainland and it's territorial waters and so it was not caught completely off guard when these OTH radar sites began finding incoming missiles that numbered in the thousands. This was what they were training for and preparing for since the URSMC was created no later than the 1980s when the Reich was heavily focused militarily on widening it's missile tests and projects for defense and offense. Once it was confirmed that missiles were inbound on Germania, a general state of awareness and organized alert of such a attempt of a attack was made known very quickly to the Ordenite public, across cities and nearly anywhere their were people, alarms and sirens warning of imminent attack began blaring loudly. These early warning systems and constant drills would have the populations that would be affected by the imminent strike heading to modern bomb shelters and other places near their homes and businesses where they can wait out the attack.

Meanwhile the URSMC would dissect and shut down the incoming missiles with equaling firepower and other tricks it had up it's sleeve. Once the majority of the missiles were detected within 300km of the Germania coastline, a array of electronic warfare and other similar suites would begin activation and start jamming the missiles themselves along with deploying a multitude of decoys and other measures to outsmart the missiles. Otherwise the majority of the defense would be the launch of near thousands of missiles dedicated to taking out such swarms of hostile missiles that would be launched in such a scenario. Due to the Reich's participation in the Imperial Fascist Alliance and it's cooperation with the alliance's strategic air defense system it would mean that the air defense already maintained by the Ordenites would be bolstered by those of other participants such as the GWO with other means of aerial defense against WMDS and varieties of missiles.

The Kriegsmarine assets still within the waters of Germania would also be able to contribute to the defense of the mainland with their own arsenals of anti-missile defense capabilities. For the most part, whatever missiles were able to get past the defenses would be few and minimal destruction would occur as emergency services would be dispatched immediately for damage control along with a heightened mobilization across Germania in the wake of the attack.

Ol'khovka(City), Market Square,
Western Kashubia.

A seemingly endless line of people waited for their fate at the hands of their future executioners. Before them was a platform which from there had several tied nooses hanging from the top of the platform which was where countless others had met their fate. This was one of the Einatzgruppen's infamous 'actions' that they carried out on the population whenever they desired to. The Ordenite SS and with help from the Kashubian Auxiliary Police had been rounding up people over the last week and hanging them in the main market district. The casus beli for this was determined to be that their was a large cell of Mokan spies consisting of communists were attempting to garner information on the Ordenite presence and defenses of the city. Of course these claims were nothing more than fabrication In order to justify their killings to the rest of the population as countless dozens were put to the gallows and killed. Yet there were many more that still remained and were kept in a single file line guarded by Police units that were waiting for a similar fate.

However more of these 'actions' were taking place and had been taking place since the official fall of the Red Star Union and it's communist government. So far the Einatzgruppen currently now numbered nearly a million in Kashubia and were comprised of Ordenite SS, police and Kashubian volunteers who were mostly far right nationalists that had risen due to the fall of the former communist regime. The Einatzgruppen in Kashubia were spanning their activities throughout the country and with their efficient yet brutal and cruel methods of extermination had murdered over 1,000,000 persons so far and were continuing despite the war. It had been rumored that many of the detention camps in the east would need to be emptied of their prisoners and shut down in the wake of a coalition invasion of the country. The Einatzgruppen in the wake of the war would now put their focus on the western half of the country which was still considerably safe despite the war as a influx of Ordenite forces had begun arriving. This would mean more manpower that was needed for the Einatzgruppen would be available for them, besides the Einatzgruppen, orders from the Ordenite SS would come to newly arriving Waffen SS formations such as the 3rd and 7th Maccabean SS Divisions that they would be deployed to Chernaya to assist in garrison duties.

Although their would be a more sinister plan coming for the city of Chernaya that would see the horrors of the Einatzgruppen personified in a more devastating scale.

[The Macabees]

[OOC: The events of this post occur 16 hours after the reception of the Mokan letter to the Macabean embassy.]

Mokastana City, Mokastana

They called him El Lobo. A fitting name, given his station, but he actually had earned it well before being posted to the Golden Throne's embassy in Mokastana City. It had been during his tenure as jogornos to Safehaven that he had earned that sobriquet. For a decade he helped to foster a remarkable relationship between the two neighbors, only for it all to go to waste after the Havenic offensive of 2016–17. They paid dearly for that infringement of trust, though. El Lobo saw to it. Three years later, after Macabean armies had swept into the northern Havenic plains, it was he who oversaw the peace negotiations and it was he who pushed so hard for their recognition of the loss of their northern territories. And to think that some considered re-establishing pre-war borders for the sake of peace. It was Díeg Hahk-Lorán, El Lobo, who ushered in this new age of conquest and growth for the Golden Throne.

His career looked promising, and some wondered if they would one day have to answer to Krierlord Hahk-Lorán. But, His Imperial Majesty's call never came. Some speculated that the jogornos was handicapped by his 'racial impurity' — taboo, yes, but still very relevant —, his great grandparents on his mothers' side having been Zarbian immigrants and his father being a mere Ruskan lower lord. Not that were no non-Díenstadis on the Krierlord Kunsil, but they had all surmounted great obstacles to earn the title and position. But life had different plans for Hahk-Lorán.

Safehaven collapsed between 2020–22, its unpopular democratic government overthrown in a military coup after the country's post-war decay. The loss of its northern territories had come at a significant cost to trade, industry, and population. Despite the enforced exodus, the Fuermak's auxiliaries loophole allowed many Havenic inhabitants to preserve their homes and lands, along with presenting them with a route to citizenship. Safehaven would suffer a double tragedy, though, for it was Havenic — and Guffingfordi — blood that spilled the most during the Theohuanacu Wars of 2022—25. An entire generation of male Havenic youth had been utterly decimated, and with its society in disarray the Havenic government simply ceased to be. The military, itself fractured, imploded and the state broke apart into a perpetually at-conflict group of want-to-be kingdoms and republics. A messy situation; one that they would have to solve on their own, for the Golden Throne had moved on.

The Macabean embassy to their southern neighbor was recalled in 2020 and Jorgonos Hahk-Lorán was sent to Hailandkill, a rather uneventful post. It was there that his career withered. For five years, he rotted on the vine.

And then, in 2025, he was revived. Thanks to the unfortunate death-by-stroke of the head of the ambassadorial program to Mokastana, Hahk-Lorán was issued orders to pack up his bags and transfer posts. It turned out to be quite the successful career move. A year later Mokastana joined GATA, and it was thereafter that the two country's friendship gradually grew into an alliance. And so that is how El Lobo rose and fell, only to rise again as the head of the mission to one of the fastest rising powers in the region. And they were allies to boot. The man had hit the jackpot. And that was where he found himself during the spring of '27.

Hair now decorated with streaks of light grey, Hahk-Lorán was no longer young. Sixty-three to be concrete. His bones hurt, he no longer enjoyed the brisk walks down the hall day-in, day-out, hustling to meetings here, to negotiations there. The jogornos was ready to retire. Unfortunately, it seemed that world events disagreed with him.

The ongoing conflict in the former Red Star Union shouldn't have been his jurisdiction. But because the Ordenites were stubborn fools, and there was no official mission in Kashubia any longer, the brunt of communication with the war parties went through him. Undoubtedly, if there were Macabean representatives at the peace negotiations, it'd be him who would have to go. It was bad enough when the Ordenites and Mokans had simply decided to split ownership of the island. But that was an agreement destined to be broken, and now the two countries were in all-out conflict, with the fate of the island on the line.

On his desk sat an open letter from Mokastana's foreign minister, signed Elizabeth Franshaw. It was short, with four points. Across the table from Hahk-Lorán sat the man who had brought it to him, Adjogornos Gregor Nacleod — Guffingfordi by birth. He had even fought during The War, serving in the navy that lost their glory to the Holy Empire's Royal Navy in that fateful summer of 2016. He survived, but as a territorial his success in the Empire's diplomatic corp was stunted. Indeed, he had been posted with Hahk-Lorán in Hailandkill. It was that relationship with El Lobo — man he considered an inspiration — that brought him to Mokastana, this time as Hahk-Lorán's assistant. Only forty-five, perhaps he would make full-blown jogornos yet. Hahk-Lorán would see to it that the Guffingfordi at least be considered as his successor in Mokastana.

"They are very demanding," said the adjogornos.

El Lobo shrugged. "The landscape has shifted. Two months ago, it seemed the Ordenite position was unassailable and that it would be the Mokans who'd eventually be expelled. Maybe then I could have walked a finer edge, but even the little support that we have for the Ordenite position there is no longer tenable. It's a lost cause."

"Indeed," replied Nacleod.

"I suppose I will get to answering." The jogornos took a pen and hand-wrote the official Macabean response to the Mokan inquiry,

Dear Mrs. Franshaw,

This war is an unfortunate turn of events, but an event that we nonetheless side with Mokastana in. With our current war effort in Gholgoth, it is indeed that we cannot answer your call to arms. Nevertheless, our support exists morally, spiritually, and materially. In us you will find an ally who will help to our fullest extent.

It's with that in mind that I can happily inform you that relations between the Golden Throne and the Fourth Reich have broken down. There is no sharing of intelligence of any kind, and so one-fourth of your asks are already met. The same is true of our material and financial aid to Kashubia, with the exception of gifts of capital that are sent with the intention to support the basic infrastructure that the people of Kashubia rely on. Those are minor enough to be inconsequential to the Ordenite war effort. Finally, I will facilitate the sharing of export data on all war equipment sent to Kashubia since the inception of the Kendrov regime.

However, I cannot even give you hope on your request that we remove the soft blockade on South Panooly. Those lands have already seen too much conflict and it is time for them to be left at peace. If more blood is to be spilled there, it shall be by our hands only. I do not foresee Fedor changing his mind on this matter.

I would be more than happy to schedule a meeting between us to discuss these issues further.

Kind regards,

Jogornos Díeg Hahk-Lorán

[The Grand World Order]

Narrative of Orderian Experiences in Kashubia

Orderian involvement in front-line combat had been rather minimal outside the aspect of aerial combat. The 105th Armored Cavalry had seen the most frontline combat, covering the Ordenite withdrawal, and as a result, been more badly beaten than any other Orderian unit, with around 50 of their original 180 Divine Tigers being either destroyed, mission-killed, or mobility-killed fighting against the allies. One APS team had gone completely dark behind enemy lines. Of all the countries involved, however, the GWO enjoyed having the least amount of casualties, if only because they had one of the smallest presences to begin with, and hardly had actually taken part in the frontline fighting, choosing instead to mostly support the UWO through reconnaissance, air support, and "holding the fort" through the Federal Guard presence away from the conflict zone. In some areas, many Kashubians were now having to adjust to the slightly softer approach of the Federal Guard Carabinieri, as opposed to the Ordenite SS.

The GWO had used the fighting as an opportunity to collect more intelligence on the enemy, most specifically, their electronic patterns of life and signals fingerprints. Efforts were being made at the Reconnaissance and Intelligence Directorate's Office of Cryptologic Development to study the various encryption methods used by the allies, with captured samples of element cycles from Kashubia being used in this endeavor.

Tuktar was going to be where the GWO truly came into play. Another Legion and a half of the Federal Army, 75,000 in all, had arrived, along with several Air Force squadrons, making use of the GWO's MB-31 Superheavy Airlifters. The 20,000-strong 47th Marine Expeditionary Detachment, on regular forward deployment, had arrived in southern Kashubia. The Spire had ordered three entire Armadas to mobilize for deployment to Greater Dienstad, staggering and spacing out along trade routes on the way in order to maintain a low profile. However, this approach, combined with the serious distance to be traveled before the Armadas could even be in the Greater Dienstad region, meant that isolated units such as the 47th MED and its Reinforced Carrier Battlegroup were stuck playing cat and mouse with the GD powers that no longer would tolerate their presence, particularly after Grand Commander Athena declared solidarity with the UWO. For the most part, the CB(R) was patrolling the waters around UWO-held Kashubia, spread out to maintain a low profile while also monitoring for enemy forces and providing protection for the last leg of reinforcements and supplies arriving to Kashubia.

Many of the newly arrived Federal Army units were still unpacking, assembling, or moving to their assigned defensive positions. Many of the original GWO Army forces had moved to the region around Tuktar, linking up with the Ordenite forces there for what literally everyone watching the war knew: Tuktar was going to be flattened in an absolutely massive showdown between the UWO, 50,000 Orderian troops, and the allies. The 47th MED was positioning itself to the mountains east of Tuktar to protect the flank and act as a reserve element if it became necessary.


((OOC: Drunk, and a bit rushed. Sorry.))

[Stevid]

Naval Intelligence, Admiralty House
Portland, Stevidia

Vice-Admiral Lucius Scipio walked briskly up the marble stairs into the grand 17th century building that was Admiralty House in Portland, one of Stevid’s largest military ports. Admiralty House, like its larger more contemporary counterpart in Stevid Capita was a key building of naval power and leadership, but principally naval intelligence. Scipio was late for his meeting with numerous department heads within naval intelligence, some included representatives from the government and the foreign intelligence service. It was formal occasion and so he was dressed for said occasion. Beyond the rank of Commander Stevidian officers were given official mess dress that closely resembled British naval officer attire of the 1800’s, a look that was very much in keeping with Admiralty House’s exterior and interior. Scipio nodded to the armed police officers manning the front of the building and rushed into the entrance hall that looked like an overly decorated airport security terminal. The baggage x-ray machines, foreign object detector tubes and armed police detracted the ornateness of what was a fabulous room. Scipio had seen the paintings and chandeliers enough times to ignore them day to day now and quickly rushed himself through security as best he could before heading to a briefing room some ten minute walk away.

He barged into the briefing room somewhat unceremoniously to the fright of his colleagues.

“Apologies my Lord’s, I was caught up at HMS Waldrose. Anyhow, to business.” He gestured to the seven men gathered in front of him to move to a large table at one end of the room. The edges were littered with reports and notes regarding operations in Oceanus Libertas and in the centre of it was a huge naval chart of the ocean itself displaying the primary areas of operation between the United World Order and the Holy Empire.

“Gentlemen, this is the Empire’s war." Scipio started and beckoned to the naval chart. "I make no apologies for the lack of technology inherent with this chart. Some things require no tech at all and there’s nothing this can’t accomplish what a screen can. Now, Rear Admiral Faux, can I get a SITREP from Force Intelligence Libertas?”

The Rear Admiral, equally dressed in 18th Century period looking officer attire, nodded and gestured over the chart from northern Liberated America to UWO. “The Seventh Fleet’s second splinter fleet is deployed with elements of the Ninth and Tenth. The Second Fleet mostly remains in port but the Seventh first splinter is deployed en mass to challenge large Ordenite formations should they come. In short, my Lord, operations are going very well. There have only been a handle full of sizeable engagements between our two navies whilst the rest have been heavy convoy raids against the Fourth Reich. In response the Fourth Reich has deployed more surface escort vessels and laying mines via submarine and aircraft. Unfortunately this is beginning to affect our operations.”

“Rear Admiral Kessler?” Scipio enquired to a fellow officer in charge of the intelligence security of Stevidian home territorial waters. “Enemy submarine activity in our territorial waters around Liberated America has tripled in the past two weeks. Comparisons with confirmed mine strikes in our own waters shows a distinct correlation between the two, especially when a lot of the strikes occur a few tens of miles outside many of our harbours. It’s a clear attempt to slow and damage the rotation of our vessels patrolling Oceanus Libertas. Further out are reports of enemy aircraft being involved in the dropping of mines. It’s not random either, the mines are dropped in areas where there are no official shipping corridors but are the logical courses set to patrol areas out of our harbours.”

“So they have effective intelligence out at sea then?” Scipio mused.

“Indeed.” Another admiral chimed in. “There is very little surface or air activity from the enemy in regions close to the harbours, which means they are flooding the waters just outside our territorial zones with submarines. However, we could still free up shipping resources for use in Oceanus Libertas. The Eighth fleet is deployed solely for the protection of Mordent. The Commonwealth and the Free Republic of Lamoni are all contributing larger surface forces to the area. The PUF have also started limited submarine activity in the area and are passing information on to us. With these added ships the Eighth could be split and the second splinter could be deployed to anti shipping in Oceanus Libertas whilst the second Splinter of the Seventh could be withdrawn to conduct close ASW and anti-mine operations around our coasts frequented patrol routes.”

There was a knock that echoed around the room and a lone butler stepped through the entrance to this large briefing room. He bowed, “My Lords, refreshments are ready should you wish?”

“Of course Bernard! Bring them in!” Chirped Scipio delightfully and gestured the other admirals gathered to follow him from the naval chart table. “Portland Admiralty House sources some of the finest claret in the region from south eastern Stevidia. Should you prefer tea or coffee Bernard will provide.”

The butler and another porter wheeled a fine tea and coffee set with a few small bottle of red and white wine with accompanying glassware and crockery. Breakfast today included croissants, scones with jam and cream, salmon bagels and toast. This was a regular thing at admiralty house and with the naval officer ranks generally – especially at these dizzying ranks. Considering how many tea breaks Stevidian naval officers took it was a miracle anything got done. Or more likely, decisions were made with dutiful and meticulous reasoning, but the actual paperwork and orders behind the decision making were done by the other ranks and lackeys of the admirals.

“I agree wholeheartedly, Lord Quintus.” Scipio continued having poured himself a glass of red and smeared a gluttonous amount of jam and clotted cream over a scone – it was miracle he stayed so thin. “Support from the Morridane carrier groups crossed my desk the other day; together with the like of PUF of Free Republic naval reinforcement the Mordent coasts are unlikely to see an invasion. The Fourth Reich has too much work to do in Holy Panooly and Kashubia than open another front.
“Nevertheless, I’m reluctant to split our forces too much. Leave three quarters of the Eighth at Mordent and redeploy a quarter of the Seventh’s second splinter to ASW and anti-mine duties in waters you outlined. Reduced Stevidian numbers in the ocean will be matched by increased numbers by the coalition.”

There was a general murmur of agreement.

“Now, to some more pressing matters: High Command at Admiralty House in Stevid Capita has said that because of the increased allied participation in Oceanus Libertas our submarines working out of the Eighth Fleet could and should be attached to Task Forces 897 and 890 of the same fleet. Their role is a new one being rolled out by the Capita – they are tracking these so called ‘Black Ships’ taking unwanted Jews out of the United World Order and to Ralkovia. The government has deemed this practice unacceptable and that they are likely to face more persecution or indoctrination under the Ralks than in the Fourth Reich. We are to prevent these ships from arriving at Ralkovia.”

“We can’t sink them.” Faux stated. “You must mean boarding or stopping them at the source.”

“I am.” Scipio retorted as he nibbled his scone. “We can’t really operate just yet; we need to gather some effective intelligence about their shipping routes but it won’t be hard to accomplish given the journey time between Greater Dienstad and Gholgoth. In time the submarines and task forces will use replenishment tankers out of Mordent and Outer Haven so they can operate in that ‘Great Expanse’ of water between the regions and pick off enemy escorts when they’re furthest away from support. But it’s early days yet.”

Scipio turned round and looked back at the naval chart of Oceanus Libertas. “For now we have to focus on choking the very life out of the Fourth Reich’s overseas territories – and it starts in that ocean.”

[The Macabees]

Oceans 130km South of Kashubia
Operation WHIPLASH

Moonlight rippled across the cold water like a mosaic sparkling in the night. In the distance, where sea touched sky, a small flotilla crossed the horizon.

Four ships sailed at peace in tumultuous waters. The horizons glowed orange as battles raged elsewhere and dead ships drifted emblazoned by fire. As commercial ships, they flew small Macabean flags on their sterns, but on their tallest towers proudly flapped the corporate flag of Orange-Stoner — perhaps one of the most notorious private military contractors in Tarn — in the strong night winds. They may have been registered commercially, but all four of them were warships in the purest sense. Indeed, one of them was the Qiro'Paj, a Díenstad-class strategic protection vessel of no less than 68,000 tonnes. Named after an ancient battle, she was Orange-Stoner's illustrious flagship; few other companies could claim a weapon of her size and kind. And it showed, for she was escorted by no less than three Morsky-Orol light cruisers. The flotilla sailed at a snail's pace, facing north-northeast.

A GLI-76 screamed off the Qiro'Paj's deck and a minute later a second one zipped into the air. This continued until a flight of eighteen were circling overhead, having joined an AEW&C aircraft that had already been patrolling a tight perimeter around the tiny naval force. After a few minutes of final preparations, the fighter aircraft split into three groups of six and screamed off towards southern Kashubia.

As they approached the coastline, some of the grey-blue fighter jets started to lower their altitude, dramatically, until two groups of them were flying just above the surface of the water. The third group of six turned sharply, altering their trajectory to north-northwest, towards the city of Sterlya. Their afterburners flared just between seas and the heavens, and they picked up speed quickly. That third section of GLI-76s remained perched up high, and soon entered within the Ordenite radar envelope, if they weren't already. The other twelve aircraft flew in the other direction, hiding themselves as well as they could.

For about twenty minutes, nothing happened. The eighteen aircraft continued inbound towards their targets, and as the third section started to get dangerously close to the coastline it started to peel westwards. Something was supposed to happen sooner. You could tell that they were expecting some kind of reaction sooner. The six Falcons at high altitude teetered on an awkward path, halfway between withdrawing and maintaining course.

And then what they expected finally came. On their HUDs they could see twelve red dots pop into view. The Ordenites had sent their response to the incursion. They must have picked up on the fact that this was a neutral war party, thus the lack of a more violent reception (such as a barrage of surface-to-air missiles, for instance). But, they brought enough firepower to win, just in case things turned ugly. The Falcons corrected course slightly northwards, as if towards Sterlya again, and allowed the Ordenite fighters to close the distance between them. They were flying Lu-45 Hawks, a well-known Macabean air superiority fighter. The GLI-76 could not compete with those, small and under-armed as they were. But, small and agile, the Falcons could at least take their hunters on a fun ride. And so, suddenly, that group of six Orange-Stoner fighters started to make a slow, broad turn as to make a parabola that would eventually put them on course back to the Qiro'Paj.

In the meantime, the Ordenite Hawks followed, eyeing that strange procession of contractor jets. None of the Tarn military corporations had found contracts in Kashubia yet, so their appearance would be strange in a threatening sense.

Mercenaries had been heavily used during the initial conflict on the island, hired by the Mokans to help combat the Reich's invasion. While Mokan efforts were relatively successful, namely by managing to stop the Ordenite advance just south of Susol, thirty thousand contractors had been captured in the process. It had become a point of contention, and it still was, as those soldiers were still being held in a large labor camp outside of Pezlevko. And, Ordenite labor camps were not exactly known for their timidity; it had probably been several months of suffering for those prisoners. And so the arrival of six for-hire jet fighters, and whatever assets they came from, would raise a few questions no doubt.

While the third section of Falcons was still carrying out its slow maneuver — they were taking their time —, the other two sections continued to race along the southern coastline of Kashubia. They still flew low, difficult to see (they hoped!), as they rounded the southern border of a small mountain range, and then sharply turned inland with a final bearing towards Kamenka.

All this time, the Qiro'Paj was not waiting idly. From her deck she had already launched a group of eleven helicopters, with an additional four operating from the three light cruisers, which had reduced their fleet of light multi-purpose helicopters to two. These were characterized by their harsh angles and radar-absorbing-material-covered surfaces, amongst other stealth features — they were relics of the time when relations between the Tarn private military contractors and the Golden Throne were better. That was prior to that unfortunate assassination of then Panooly dictator Dominic Templeton, and the subsequent — and unprecedented — raid by Macabean police and military forces in the city. In any case, the transports were laden with troops: ten each, to be exact. These choppers and their one hundred and fifty personnel were on a bearing that headed directly to Pezlevko.

Over the seas south of Sterlya, the six Falcons leading on the Ordenites had already rounded the parabola and had started their flight back to the Qiro'Paj.

The other twelve Falcons skimmed the top of the southeast Kashubian forestland. Before they traveled too far inland, the two groups split apart, with one sticking to a path along the coast and the other at an angle that cut across the southeastern peninsula. There somewhere, behind the thick canopy, were an assortment of Ordenite targets that had been chosen beforehand and which were at that very same moment being pinpointed by a small Orange-Stoner satellite decaying in high-earth orbit.

About one hundred and fifty kilometers from their target, after penetrating Kashubian airspace for maybe twenty-five kilometers, the two sections — which had split earlier — suddenly popped up and increased their altitude. And then each jet fighter fired two AGM-129 cruise missiles each. A Layartebian design, these AGM-129 had most likely been bought aftermarket. Regardless, once they had released their payload, the two sections turned again. The six jets flying along the coast shifted their course to return directly to the Qiro'Paj; the six farther inland would have a trickier escape. These sunk back to their previous altitude, and started to fly a zig-zagging pattern towards the southern coastline.

A ruse in the west and an actual missile strike in the east. Had Orange-Stoner been hired to strike those positions? Some of the targets included surface-to-air missile batteries that may have been discovered via satellite, or shown to them by whomever had hired the contractor's services. Whatever the reason for their intervention, were they going to attack again? The Ordenites would have many questions...

...And while the Nazis thought hard about what had just happened and the fighting around the Kamenka area erupted, fifteen helicopter transports, carrying one hundred and fifty elite mercenaries, continued elusive on their path towards Pezlevko. Their blades cut through the air lightly and they flew so low that the men inside could see the detail of the leaves on the taller trees with considerable clarity. And, then, in the distance, came into view Stalag 487B — the labor camp.

Surprise, surprise, Orange-Stoner was up to something.

In the seas south of the Kamenka region, the six Falcons which had made their quick escape made a parabolic turn of their own. This time it was shallower and faster, and it put them on a bearing to Pezlevko. The other six were still maneuvering over southeast Kashubia, knowing that they made good targets to Ordenite SAM batteries and whatever aerial assets they could scramble in time.

Eleven of the transport helicopters stopped about a kilometer away from the POW camp, hovering as the soldiers inside them slid down long ropes to hit the ground. The other four continued onto Stalag 487B, clearly with the intention of putting men inside the actual camp. They were in for a surprise, because even their stealth features couldn't stopped that barrage of two short-range surface-to-air missiles a hidden Ordenite battery had fired. They both impacted the same transport nearly simultaneously, and the helicopter disappeared in a cloud of fire and smoke, along with the men inside it. All that was left after the dust settled was the falling debris of whatever remained. A loose limb fell into the camp courtyard below. The prisoners standing inside looked at it, not sure whether to feel excited that somebody had come to help them or worried that things had already gotten off to a rocky start.

To be sure, the SAM emplacement was unexpected. Intelligence reports suggested that the camp was lightly defended, given that most of the heavy fighting was still taking place towards the east. To Orange-Stoner, that meant there were no heavy anti-aircraft assets in the area. At least, allied intelligence hadn't reported anything to the effect. Well, now they knew that the intelligence was wrong. The SAM would most certainly throw a wrench in the operation, because the question of providing air support to a relatively small number of soldiers was now much, much more difficult than before.

A firefight erupted within the prisoner camp grounds. Alert guards in towers and along the walls started to open fire, but the manned medium 6.64mm machine guns on the helicopters kept them pinned where they could easily hide behind cover. Using that to their advantage, the forty operatives successfully dropped into the courtyard began to spread out in teams of two, which sometimes coalesced into larger fireteams of four, depending on their immediate objectives. Most of these revolved around neutralizing the guard towers and opening the main entrance into Stalag 487B. The latter had to be done before the hundred or so mercenaries, which had been dropped short of the camp earlier, arrived. The result of all this was a quick, chaotic, and remarkably intense battle that was actually a mixture of separate gunfights between small units of contractors and defending guardsmen throughout the labor camp.

The contractors stormed into the administrative buildings and barracks, while others used flamethrowers to flush out some of the outer guard towers. And despite the fact that they had caught the camp guards by surprised, outnumbered them, and had more experience than them, the mercenaries were ultimately human and died just as easy as any other when it came right down to it. They fell here and there, another bullet through the already cracked chest plate or a lucky round in the face, but they fought hard for the liberation of their kind.

Leaning against a wall, a prisoner caught in the crossfire screamed in agony. He outstretched his arm, as if toward something better somewhere in the distance, perhaps Elysium herself. And then he arm crumpled along with his body, and his head bobbled and he lolled.

There were a lot of them left. Prisoners of war. Too many. Even the courtyard lay dense with them, now all of them laying on the ground with their hands interlinked over the back of their heads, as if in some kind of lock-down. It made them sitting ducks, just waiting for a stray bullet to hit them at random. Some of the Orange-Stoner men had turned to get the prisoners to help storm the barracks. But, then again, every prisoner who died was one the soldiers wouldn't have to worry about. A morbid thought that. However so, there probably were not enough rifles in the armories to arm even those in the courtyard alone. And, apart from that "small problem," a big piece of the puzzle had suddenly gone missing.

Indeed, the original plan had called for sorties to transport surviving contractor POWs via helicopter back to the Qiro'Paj. But, with a missile battery — that they knew of —, the game had changed. One by one, those transports were fall, and with them one less chance of success in the mission. Interesting how the success of big events hinge on the small details.

To purchase a bit of time for the soldiers below, and the second planned sortie of helicopters, that section of GLI-76s that had turned back around struck again. This time they targeted Ordenite military positions closest to the camp, to delay their deployment.

They came in low, just like the first time, and then popped up again to release another cruise missile apiece. Six missiles was not a large strike, all considered about wars these days, but they were placed tactically, to hit where it would wreak the most havoc on the Ordenite response. They were aimed at major arteries, namely the roads that led to the stalag, because even the minutest delay could make the difference between life and death for the contractors and the prisoners on the ground. The Falcons released another round, their very last and with only a single air-to-air missile to spare. These final AGM-129s were aimed at essentially the same targets, except one that was loosed upon the SAM battery that had revealed itself before, which had claimed prized technology and the lives of fourteen men. But, in so doing all of this, the GLI-76s had of course exposed themselves to the undoubtedly superior Ordenite defenses. Alas, let that be a lesson for sacrifice.

But, just maybe it would work.

Things had gone awry, the boots on the ground needed a new plan. There were countless POWs to rescue. Thousands, tens of thousands maybe. Many more than what were expected, based on what was known about their treatment in the stalag. The trek back to safety would have to be done on foot. There was a backup plan, of course — it was on its way. But, the backup plan had never accounted for this kind of volume. So Orange-Stoner would have to improvise, and they decided to trust the country that had so helped to foster the budding contractor industry in Tarn: the Golden Throne. There was, of course, a Macabean base just south of Pezlevko. A large base in fact, which housed Kríerflot 'Kashubia' and the three hundred thousand Macabean peacekeepers that had withdrawn from the Kashubian demilitarized zone. Orange-Stoner hoped that the country it paid taxes to would grant then asylum. Why wouldn't they? What did they owe the Ordenites?

They took whatever they could from the camp, including all work vehicles. On those, they loaded the prisoners in worst condition, so that they could at least keep peace with the healthier prisoners and their rescuers. Perhaps a couple hundred of those prisoners were armed, most with rifles, but some with only hand guns and shotguns. They exited the camp moving south along the main highway that would take them to the coast.

As they started their journey towards their hoped haven, a second sortie of helicopters swooped in low. They rushed in, flying the most direct trajectory, stealth be damned. The battle was already well underway, and the moving column of a handful of soldiers and a ragtag assortment of half-starved, fully-beaten, and bone-skinny prisoner of war camp survivors desperately needed whatever help it could get. They carried with them another fifty operatives, and four lightly armored vehicles that could carry more of the weaker survivors. Before leaving, they took on as many of the liberated prisoners as they could and attempted a dash back to the Qiro'Paj. But that was only one hundred and eighty at most, and that wasn't even counting the damage Ordenite defenses would wreak on them. Their air support had depleted its stock, that was it.

This was supposed to be an aerial extraction of a couple thousand prisoners. Not tens of thousands.

And thus the battle transitioned into a race for the coast, as the slow moving Orange-Stoner column slowly traveled down the main highway towards a Macabean base that they hoped would open its gate. Along the way, they took the vehicles they could find, using them to slowly pick up their pace by mechanizing their column. Even the small two-door hatchbacks could hold four healthy men, and there was no use for the unarmed other than their life. And so in a ridiculous array of armored cars, civilian trucks and vans, and even small brightly colored hatchbacks that seemed too small for the amount of men the Orange-Stoner ops had managed to stuff into them, they traveled south precariously.

The armed soldiers themselves had taken whatever pick-up trucks they could find, using them to quickly move themselves up and down the ever lengthening column as differences in speeds began to take a toll. This was the 'mobile defense' that they hoped could stave off any Ordenite attacks until they reached the allied base at Pezlevko.

[Periodically edited for typos.]