Dukla Pass, Northern Slavic Empire - April 17 2050, 14:30
Michal was walking, neither slowly nor fast, going towards what was called the Dukla Pass, between the Kingdoms of CzechoSlovakia and Poland, as it had been between the Countries of Slovakia and Poland for years before, and between Czechoslovakia and Poland even before.
His arms and body were warm, inside Michal’s long black coat. His hands, covered in Michal’s gloves, were comfortable and not cold at all. That day was a pretty cold and windy one, but Michal’s body was warm, thanks to how he was dressed, and this made him comfortable, but one part of his body would have been warm anyways, just because of being where he was.
Michal’s heart.
“Ah… The Dukla Pass...” Decades before, here, the Czechoslovak First Army Corp had fought. They had fought together with the Soviets, like they had been doing for long, to win against the Germans, to free their land, to help the rebels of the Slovak National Insurgency.
But they had not succeeded. Not immediately, at least. Almost two months of vicious fighting on those hills, on that wonderful piece of land, and then nothing.
Michal was not alone that day. He had asked to be accompanied by some of his main advisors, the same who had followed him in Prague not many days ago to start and supervise preparations for the Slavic Congress.
Anastasiya Prončenko, Ján Krčmář, Rastislav Jonis, and all of his – and their – families had come with him. This was part of a tour of the country which he had been planning for a long time to bolster the Imperial Family’s popularity, and he had been planning it in each single detail, which meant strategically placed visits to certain cities in certain periods of the year, and this included a visit to Prague on the 5th of May, and one to Warsaw on August 1st.
Michal suddenly stopped and went down on his knees. Just a few later, he stood up once again, and spoke to his friends, who had stopped with him.
“You know this story, my friends, but our sons and daughters maybe do not. Here, you see, one century ago, your great-grandfathers have fought. The brother of my great-grandmother has fought here. And so have relatives of Anastasiya, Rast’o, Ján, and the all of us.
It was one of the largest battles, and especially tank battles, of the Eastern Front. More than one hundred thousand Czechoslovaks and Soviets, against one hundred thousand Hungarians and Germans. Panzers clashed against T-34’s here. More than half of the joint Soviet-Czechoslovak army was killed here, in the Valley of Death.
If we are here today, dear friends, and children, is because of those who fought and died here, as well as in many other sections of the front. It is thanks to those who died in the streets of Praha, in the streets of Warsaw: it is thanks to those who gave their lives and spilled their blood, all over the course of the Second World War over our great and wonderful land.” This he said, and then he started walking again, followed by everybody. They had decided to remain silent, and this was giving Michal a double sensation, a feeling to have done both well and wrong.
But in any case, the next stop was Techneměsto, were many had already been brought, and were some buildings had started to rise already.
Somewhere near the border with the Eastern Collective, New Jugoslav Empire - April 18 2050, 14:30
The 2nd Special Armoured Division was there finally, and Myroslava Ponomarčenkova was there. “It’s obvious!” one could say “She is their Commander!” sure, but she had been in Cairo for long before, as part of the PCE 2050 Cairo Summit (a Summit where her place had been taken by the local ambassador), and had now been replaced there because of new, important things in Europe that needed her.
One of such things was the Eastern Collective.
The Eastern Collective was a union between Bulgaria and Romania, one that had been formed very recently. Michal was not really fond of having another union in Europe, especially if such a country could have pretty easily become not a serious problem, but surely a thorn in the side for his Empire, and his project of Slavic Unity.
Thus, Michal had sent his best woman, Myroslava Ponomarčenkova, and her unit to the border with that country, in Serbia. It should have been something very… short, and brief. Just a short demonstration of power at the border, with a military drill. It also had another, very practical use: those men were likely to be going in action against the SRR very soon, if the Romans did not make peace with Slovenia, and if Slovenia accepted Michal’s offer to intervene in their help.
In the meanwhile, however, Myroslava got back to her headquarter, where she had been planning the drill for some long days, since the beginning of the month. Now, it would start.
At first, it started with an artillery barrage whose sounds could be heard to the Bulgarian and Serbian cities in the nearby area, and then the first machines started moving.
Accompanied by a symphony of mortar fire, the tanks of the 2nd SAD started rolling towards the designated areas, firing against the various targets, that were at various distances from the field were the tanks were.
A tank platoon suddenly stopped, encountering a (fake) enemy bunker armed with an anti-tank artillery piece. The tanks got into firing position, giving their thick front armour to the gun which (controlled from a position which was two kilometres away) started firing at the tanks. The first round shot by the gun was disrupted by the countermeasures of the platoon commander’s tank.
“Nine HE, salvo, centre, ready, my command!” shouted the platoon commander, Vladimir Koropov in his radio, as he shot a smoke round to mark the centre, then gave the order to load an HE round, and the auto-loader did that. It took the auto-loader just four seconds to load the HE round, and then Vladimir waited for the others to give him feedback.
Once each of the tank commanders told “Ready!” in the radio, Vladimir gave the order to shoot: ten HE rounds from the cannons of ten T-1 tanks were shot to the bunker, making it explode and burst into the air.
“Very good guys, now let’s procede” said Vladimir, and the tanks rotated and started to roll forward again, to continue the drill, which, until now, was being perfect.
Kingdom of Ukraine, Northern Slavic Empire - April 24 2050, 13:45
“You see here? Here there was a small village of just some 1000 people, before the Slavic-Ukrainian War. And take a look at it now! Here we now have a major industrial city, with some tens of thousands of citizens living in it. Not only, but this city is at the centre of the production of industrial machinery, especially for what concerns the new… projects we are working on, you know what I mean, Emperor”
“I know, obviously I know, mister Krejči. But… how much is this productive? I mean, this is a huge industrial centre, one of the very few which is completely funded and payed for by the State... so… I would actually very like to know if this satisfies our production requirements.”
“Obviously it does, dear Emperor! You see that factory over there? Well, there is where the T-1 cannons are made. This city is multifunctional, and is only one of such centres, certainly not the largest one, in the Kingdom of Ukraine. I ask you with all of my heart to provide us with additional funding. If you do not do so, the factories all over here may risk to close. We must do something about that, Emperor.”
“You may be surprised, mister Krejči, but that bill has passed yesterday. Actually, I used an Imperial Decree to force it and to avoid the Sejm’s debate over it. So, don’t worry: funding for each of these cities has increased by 75% since yesterday, and will start from the very first day of May.”
“Thank you Emperor!”
“Prosím, pánu.” Michal said. And this part of the trip was gone. Now, there were other cities on the trip program, and this thing, which was already taking a lot of Michal’s energies, would have had to last for long; for very, very long.
Praha, Northern Slavic Empire - May 5 2050, 13:45
It was 1:45 pm in Praha, Michal’s native city, and it was time for one of the main parts of Michal’s grand tour of the country.
Today was a very important day for what concerned history, not only for Prague’s but for the country as a whole’s: this day, the 105th anniversary of the Prague’s Uprising was to be commemorated, and it was going to be huge, with a military parade going down across the streets of the city.
But now, Michal had to talk. He had prepared a speech, to address the city and the country on this very important day, which he felt personally, as many of his relatives had fought, and even died, during the Uprising.
He walked up to the balcony, and stood in front of the various microphones.
“Národ. Brothers, Sisters. Today, is May 5th, which, as you all know, is a very important day in our history, a day which our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers maybe did not want to be remembered in history, but which they certainly wanted to be a very important one in our hearts and souls.
What we did, what our people did in those days, starting on May 5th 1945 and ending on May 8th, was an act of extreme bravery, one of rare courage, and of extremely valuable worth.
What our forefathers did, in spite of all odds, against a heavily armed German occupation force. It took them four days of bitter fighting, resisting to the Whermacht, closing the streets to the Panzers, and fighting the Waffen-SS. It took them four days to free the city. It took US four cities to free Praha. My family was personally involved in that, as all of my great-grandmother’s brothers have died in the battle, and one of them has perished fighting in the Radio, destroyed by the bombing of the Radio station.
Now we can consider ourselves free, independent, and strong, but it was just because of our forefathers who stood here, in Praha, or there, in Wyzna, or in Warszawa, against the German occupier. And it is because of their own forefathers, who also fought for us to have a brighter future.
May our country be strong in the future, and may the future generations honour the past, in remembrance of who fought for them, their country, and their freedoms.” Said Michal, at the microphones. He had personally written that speech, as usual, and it could be perceived that his words were sincere at the uttermost.
Praha, Northern Slavic Empire - May 7 2050, 13:45
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slavic Empire,
Praha,
Černín Palace,
Loretánské náměstí 5, 118 00
To the Government of The Eastern Collective
Greetings, dear Duke Vasile Pradon.
I write you today to reassure you that our country only wants peace and stability, and is very focused on the goal to establish a peaceful environment in the region, especially with our neighbours.
But why would we need to reassure you via an official letter of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one may ask? Well, I am sure you know by now that one of our best divisions has performed military drills in Jugoslavija, near the border with the Eastern Collective, and I am also sure this may have been looking at least intimidating to your country, and caused some concerns among the population and the General Staff.
Believe me: we want peace.
I know your country has been invited, and has responded favourably, to what we call Slovansky Sjezd v Praže, “Slavic Congress in Prague”. As you have been invited, it is very likely you will be asked to join the OCSSP, and that is the other topic of the letter: I propose you and your country to enter the COSSP (Collective Organization for the Security of the Slavic Peoples).
Answer as soon as possible.
Sincerely yours,
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slavic Empire and Princess of Martin, Adriána Kuráková
Techneměsto, Northern Slavic Empire - May 10 2050, 13:45
Michal, Jekateřína, and Wiesława were walking down the main road in the city of Techneměsto, currently an open-air cantier. Something had already been built: the main four roads and some squares had been completed fastly, but still needed decoration. The main square was to be gigantic, and it still needed a lot of work. However, all of the needed people were already there, and were helping to build the city, not to mention that they had been given access to temporary laboratories where to continue their researches.
Yes, Techneměsto was to be one of the main, if not the main, world technological and innovation centres in just a few years. And it was being built from the very beginning, just like Gdynia, now a very prosperous port on the Baltic, was built from nothing in the twenties of the previous century.
However, Michal felt undertain whether all the investments had been good or not, or to be more accurat: he was not sure about the ammount of money being spent on each single project. Sure, all those projects did require a huge ammount of money, but... wouldn't that money have been better spent in another way?
He wiped those uncertainties out of his mind: "We shall succeed!" he muttered to himself.
Prague, Northern Slavic Empire - May 24 2050, 18:00
"Now we broadcast the May 24's Imperial Address to the Nation. The Imperial Address to the Nation will be broadcasted on all national TV-channels, at home and abroad." said the recorded voice of Slavija1's announcer.
"Brothers, sisters, fellow countrymen. Dear servicemen and servicewomen, I, the Emperor of the Northern Slavic Peoples Michal Mavrímov, am here today, to talk to you with all of my heart.
In this speech, I will not talk about how heroic the defense of Warszawa was, not will I talk about how should we remember our ancestors who fought yesterday, so that today we could live in freedom and peace: in this message to you all, I will be talking about what bad situation we are seeing on the international scene, and hwat is happening at home.
First of all, fellow inhabitants of the Ukraine: Your land has always been full of resources, just waiting to be exploited. This, however, was made impossible by the corrupt governments You were forced upon by foreign powers. Now, you have finally found the possibility to exploit your richnesses and qualities, and you are most rapidly growing part of the Empire. I have a very important announcement for you: founds for Industrial centres will be raised by 75%, and none will ever try again to close such valuable pieces of our economy, nor will anybody ever try to hurt you for their personal interests.
For what concerns the Prague Slavic Congress, I know ther ehave been many people dissatisfied about what the invitation of the Second Roman Republic, but we thought it could have been a way to fix the Slovenian issue. Now, however, we do not think it anymore, but we will not call the invitation back.
Now, to the soldiers stationed in Montenegro. You have been stationed there for long time, and many of you have also seen combat, whether in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltics, or Denmark. You are veterans: you are the heroes of our Country, the hereos of our Nation.
Now, on this day, May 10 2050, the day after the Victory Day, I am here to tell you that you will be the heroes of our country once again. Not only: you will be the heroes of all the Slavs.
Our brothers in Slovenia, as you know very well, have been attacked by a country we used to consider our ally. The civilian population is being exterminated, and Italian government has given special orders to his armed forces to carry out a genocidal operation that highly, and frighteningly, resembles what the Germans had been doing during World War Two.
We have stood here, waiting for the Italians to cease such actions for too long. We never liked to go to war, but when we did, we always won. No matter how hard the struggle, no matter how strong the enemy, no matter how dire the situation: we, the Slavs, always have won the war, in spite of anything we may have faced.
Now it's the time. War will be declared. We will strike first.
Tak nam dopomóž Bóh!" Michal said. Following his speech, all TV channels broadcasted the National Anthem.
A few hours later, at Midnight, Slavic fighters reached the coasts of Apulia, and started one of the heaviest bombing campaigns ever seen, focusing on the main roads and infrastructures, so to pave the road for a very easy invasion; the main prey ofthe bombing campaign, tho, were the Navy bases in Apulia in Taranto and Brindisi, as well as the Navy airport in Grottaglie. Another base which was heavily bombed was the naval base in Ancona, even though it was not in Apulia.
During the night, a total of 50,000 men landed in Italy: 30,000 in Apulia (20,000 of which headed to Bari, while the others reached Barletta), and some 20,000 men in Pescara, Abruzzo's main coastal city.
Another 40,000 men took part in the offensive: a total of 20,000 parachuters was launched over Vienna and Trieste (20,000 men for each city), while the remaining part of the offensive force attacked Italian forces in Slovenia, after having been transported into teh country in the previous days.
The Commander in Chief of "Operáce Bělá Hora" ("Operation White Mountain") was Myroslava Ponomarčenkova.
T-2 MBT: 13,7%
New fighter: 9,2%
New ship/fighter: 12,5%
New bomber: 7%
Railguns: 6%
New gun-propellent system: 10%
New Sighting system: 8,7%
Exoskeletons: 6%
Imperial Slavic Railways: 22,7%
