NationStates

{ CORRIERE DELLA SERA }

[Diplomacy]

The Italian Embassy in Berlin was enraged. Leaked documents from the NIS indicates that the German Kaiser was making a deal with the French government. They wanted a non-aggression pact with the French in exchange for some territorial concessions in Alsace-Lorraine. The Italian government was infuriated by this, the King himself calling it a “Betrayal to the Italian people”. Many in Italy called for Germany to end the negotiations, or all cooperation may cease. The air was so tense, you could cut it with a knife. Many are calling it a "diplomatic shit-show". Honestly, they may be right, because now the Italian government is pissed at the Germans. The Italian people also felt betrayed, as the whole reason they invaded France was for the promise of Germany invading from the north after Russia was defeated.

Meanwhile, the newly formed Persian Republic has begun their first free and fair elections. Of course, the Italian NIS expects for Reza Pahlavi to win the election. The Republican government has worked with the Italians ever since their revolution. With the Anglo-Russian Powers out of Persian affairs, Persia now has full control over their own economic and foreign policy. Persia has agreed to sell Oil and other resources to the Italians for a discount in exchange for helping to modernize the Persian Armed forces. This deal was to be a starting off point for a potential Italo-Persian Alliance in the future.



[Franco-Italian Front]

The French Offensive has officially ended. An Italian counterattack forced the French to dig in and defend their gains. It was going to be difficult to move the front, but given the right pressure, it’s possible. Various French Resistance cells were quelled, with many being executed for rebellion. It was time for the Italians to be on the defensive, and wait for the French to try and reclaim their territory. Both sides knew that the front line was going to be difficult, almost improbable, to move in either direction.

[Africa Front]

At long last, after weeks of fierce fighting, Egypt had fallen to the Italians. In Cairo, the Italian flag flew over the city, as men celebrated this momentous achievement. The Ottomans agreed to hand over the occupation of the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for NIS support in quelling the Arab Revolt. While the British managed to evacuate 400k men, 5,000 men were killed, and 45,000 had surrendered. They would be treated with respect, for they had fought with honor and bravery against overwhelming odds. They had earned the respect of the Italian High Command. Even though the Suez was damaged, experts expect it to take only a few weeks to repair, and they got to work on it immediately. In Kenya, the Italian forces crossed the Tana River. After much fighting, they managed to reach the city of Mombasa, to be greeted with a massive British defense. In Uganda, little resistance was put up, and so the Italians managed to conquer all of Uganda with little issue. Unexpectedly, the Italians realized that the Germans had fallen back and fortified the coastline, leaving the northern border to be conquered by the British. After some fighting, it was determined that they couldn’t advance any further without losing a lot more men. So, the Italians began building defensive positions adjacent to the British. They really were stalemated in Africa. Meanwhile, coastal artillery began searching for the evacuated British forces in the Red Sea, much to no avail. However, if the British did try and go through the Gulf of Aden, they would be met with a gun that can fire up to 29 miles.



[Air and Naval Front]

The Italians had single-handedly won the Mediterranean Front. It was their conquest of the Suez that sealed the gates. It was the NIS which guaranteed Spanish support, securing Gibraltar. North Africa had fallen to the Italians, and the various Mediterranean islands owned by the Entente were secured. Now, the Regia Marina began rebuilding and resupplying. One Front had ended, and another has merely just begun. In the air war, the Regia Aeronautica began to bombard French cities to counter any ability to launch an offensive.


{ NIS Operations }

The NIS took advantage of the disgruntled situation in France. They sent agent Amleto Vespa to Paris to see what the issue was. What they learned, was a potential threat to the existing French government. This was all caused by the Italians kicking the French around in the Alps. Amleto Vespa reported his findings to NIS headquarters, the rotten den of the city of Florence, crawling with NIS operatives. All they reported back was “stir up so chaos will you? I know some Syndicalists in Paris who would like to meet your acquaintance.” Now this was going to be a interesting job. Meanwhile, it was reported in Trieste that the Mi5 was present in the city. As the British are unaware, our reach extends to even the steppes of Mongolia. However, instead of the usual greeting (assassination or torture), they decided to go and investigate him. What the NIS discovered from Michael Hargrove was that the British wanted a serious audience with the Italian NIS. The NIS decided to send a telegram to the government about their findings. They said that they should agree to this meeting, saying: “If the Germans can do it, so can we.” The NIS arranged the meeting to be at Lisbon. This meeting would have the Italian NIS, escorted by Italian diplomats, and the Mi5, escorted by various British and French diplomats. An opportunity like this one only rarely presents itself.

In the wild wild east, the situation in Australia provided a unique situation for the NIS to exploit. The existing government of Australia had been in contact with the NIS throughout the war. Many of the major Australian defeats, Somalia and Praslin are two examples, were organized by the NIS and the Australian government to stir up resentment for the British. Now that plan worked, the NIS began sending their operatives to influence the Australian Civil War. In support of the Government, the Italians have sent NIS operatives to drill and train Government forces for the Civil War. In addition, Persian ships would smuggle Italian weapons and supplies to the Government. Over a hundred thousand rifles, thousands of artillery and tanks, and millions of bullets and ammunition would arrive in the first drop off. Considering it was this government who they had supported previously, it was no suprise to anyone that the Italians would continue their support for the Tyrannical Government of Australia.

Dear Admiral Hood:

Your wish has been granted. Your men will be taken care of and treated respectfully. You’ve earned not only my respect, but the respect of my superior. I’m looking forward to meeting you once this is all over.

Signed,
- Paulo Thanon di Revel

West African Front

Sebastián and his troop are in the wreckage of a small business in the outskirts of Dakar

They had just taken the city and were being bombarded by artillery

So they took refuge in the building and were waiting for the bombardment to stop

"Hey Rico" Sebastián says "you know we're suppose to get ottoman reinforcements today"

"Really" Rico says skeptically "I thought they were stuck in egypt?"

"They took it today and they preemptively sent troops to help us" Sebastián answers "should be getting 2000 men by the hour"

"Well with germany abandoning us in africa and the Mediterranean we need all the help we can get" Rico says excitedly "The ottomans took the russians on their knees
Brits shouldnt be any different"

The bombardment stops and the men move back to their camp to resupply

As they do they see the ottoman troops have already made it their

The Franco-Spanish Border

Nothing has changed except that the artillery campaigns have been ramped up and the french below are getting jittery

Galacia
After british planes were spotted above galacia the air force has been sent to the northern coast

Anti air emplacements were set up all along the coast

Forces have been diverted from the french front to cover the sea better

The Home Front

King Alonso recognizing the upcoming Revolt from Basque and Catalonia Suggested Reform in Parliament

Giving autonomy to all regions like Catalonia, Basque, Galacia, And other regions in Spain

Hopefully this will satisfy the rebellious revolutionaries

50 Km West of Gibraltar

The Admiral of the fleet Looks at the british fleet advancing towards them

Its massive twice the size of our own

He looks at the fleet and speaks towards the crew
"Today we fight for our homeland
These british want to invade out homeland and take the Mediterranean all to themselves
It is not there's
It is for the people of Espania
For our home and the homes of our allies
We will fight
Long live Espania!"

The Spanish fleet will not flee like cowards they will fight for their homeland

VICTORY!
The egyptian front was a central powers victory morale skyrocketed this war has an end after all but it was far from over now that 1.2M men are free in egypt reinforcements were sent to the spanish an extra 300k were choosen to reinforce ottoman allies in africa while the others were garrisoning the empire itself

the caucasus
The front was quiet for a long time this well be no more 200k men charged out from ukraine pushing east into the caucasus while 750k men attacked the russian lines pushing them north and the ottoman airfleet started a never ending bombing campgain of russia troops and supply lines soon they well be ensircled.

The war factories continues building up as 2 more air destroyers were ready they were sent to the egyptian fleet making him a
4 dreadnaughts
8 cruisers
8 destroyers strong fleet this fleet well now head to western africa to support the spanish there



somewhere
In a dark cell laid a man his name was ataturk
He was beaten and starved for his crimes against his country
But soon it well all end as 4 muscular men came in they picked him up took to a massive road with a big red wall at the end of it they told him to turn around face the wall with his hands up
Ataturk knew what well happen but he was hopeless
He was scared he..he didnt knew what to do it was his end
He though to himself why didnt he get a trial?
He answered his own question saying
Because they wanted him dead
The men screamed at him any last words
Ataturk thought that only faith well save him now thus his last words were

"اشهد ان لا الله الا الله و ان محمد رسول الله"

Almost right after those words were spoken waves of bullets ripped through his body in a mere second he was dead

Sydney, Australia
Sydney had been designated as the military headquarters in Australia. The Prime Minister, his eye replaced with a prosthetic, now resided in a coastal bunker overlooking the Tasman Sea. Literal stacks of information sat on his desk regarding the state of the country. Most of them confirming that the country had been pacified. Victoria and New South Wales had gone under complete military control. Western Australia nearly there. However they had been facing considerable resistance in South Australia by the locals, it was likely to be crushed soon. And in Queensland, no amount of military hardware seemed to pass very far past the borders, aerial units would soon be sent to investigate and eliminate the problem. Soon Australia would be safe, it would be a utopia unlike the world had ever seen. People would be happy, and they would be safe.

But first they would have to understand. Just how fragile they were.

Striders would be produced en masse to be distributed throughout the country. They'd serve as a sort of riot-deterrent in highly conflicted areas. While a new form of weapon would be deployed to the South, to crush the opposition forces before anything major could occur.

For the time being, all guns on the coast stayed ready for "support" from New Zealand. Airships patrolled over the waters of unguarded coastlines on constant alert for foreign naval presence that wasn't flying the flags of Persia. It seemed that by the hour more and more weapons were ferried over to ports all across the nation under the guise of human necessities.

The door to the safe room opened up, an officer in uniform stepping into the room, quickly raising a salute. "At ease, what is it?" The officer lowered his salute promptly. "Sir, Cobra ready to strike, sir." A smirk spread across the Prime Minister's face as he sat down the file in his hands. intertwining his fingers as he rested them on the desk. "Authorize it."

Innawanga Headquarters
General Chauvel sat in his base of operations, an abandoned house near the Durack River. Tents were scattered all through the woods for literal miles. Innawanga had become the foundation of the Loyalist revolution. Camps of soldiers dotted all over the region, thousands of them being ferried in after landing at the remote Tent Island.

Within hours they would be ready to march northwards. Moving onto the coastal city of Karratha. The city would never expect an army of the Loyalist's size to attack from the mainland. Any of the cities defenses would be light in the city, heavy on the coast. As soon as the army arrived the defenders had nowhere to go. Fleets of cheap-to-produce Bob Semple tanks lead the charge through the city, supported by infantry and actual tanks. The surprise attack on the city minimized losses for the Loyalists. The unprepared defenders completely crushed by the attack.

The city was taken by the end of the day. Not to surprisingly, the civilian populace did not resist the takeover. The invasion force left behind 50,000 troops to finalize sweeps through the city and begin entrenching themselves in case of siege.

The rest of the army moved northwards, onwards to the port of Dampier. Despite the defenses receiving warning beforehand, they were still no match for the Loyalists. Scores of tanks pushed through the defenders, the Port taken in just hours.

The Loyalists suffered just over 250 losses. Though, they had certainly gotten lucky. In future endeavors the cost would be higher. Though for now, Loyalists began to spread through Burrup. The rural area was noticeably undefended on land. Making it easy for the Loyalists to cease coastal batteries and secure a massive port for British support.

324 Miles from Brisbane
Twenty men and women stayed crouched in the brushes near a desolate road cutting through the outback. The main road had conveniently flooded over, making this the fastest way to continue Southwards. The convoys coming from the ports carried all sorts of supplies. Weapons, Food, Fuel, necessities to wage a war. Though, convoys could only mysteriously go missing for so long until something was done for it. The answer to the problem was armed escorts, riding with the convoys from the ports. About two or three armored cars for every convoy and guards in each and every truck. Making the peaceful method of stealing cargo, no longer an option.

Dust clouds spewed up on the horizon, the glimmer of metal shining in the sunlight. One of the riflemen lifted a pair of binoculars, eyeing up the dots on the horizon. "That's them alright...we ready?" Warragul pulled a pair of goggles over his eyes as he slapped both of his Strider's legs. "We're ready, wait for my move."

Just as the convoy was less than 30 feet away, Warragul's legs extended without warning, raising him 20 feet into the air as he bounded across the soil towards the convoy. The vehicles did not plan on stopping, the guns mounted on the armored cars turning towards him, but before they could shoot, Warragul shot first. Two incendiary arrows striking the leading armored car. Enveloping it in fire and causing it to swerve off of the road. Warragul quickly followed this by launching a fire bomb down in front of the trucks, the leading truck not stopping fast enough. As it drove over the flames and attempted to brake the gas tank exploded, sending shrapnel over the outback and stopping the rest of the vehicles, whilst the force of rebels in the brush charged the convoy. With their weapons already drawn and Warragul now aiming an arrow at the last armored car, they had no choice but to surrender or die. In under a minute they had disarmed the guards, put the drivers in the back of the trucks under watch of armed rebels, and drove the remainder of the vehicles around the flaming wreckage, continuing onwards down the road.

White's Flat, Australia.
The Ned Army had relied on unconventional weapons to fight the war against the Tyrannical Government, and had done quite successful by stirring the pot of outrage in South Australia. Hundreds of stolen cars sped through the outback towards the city of Lincoln. The car horde was lead by a truck driven by a Ned Lieutenant, Dave Nicholas Busters, wanted for car theft and multiple accounts of attempted murder. Dave glanced down at his wheel, as the truck began to vibrate. Every other vehicle in the convoy rattling as well. The convoy began to slow down as their drivers looked at the road ahead with visible looks of confusion.

None of them saw it coming.

The ground ahead exploded open, a piercing metallic scream shaking the air around them as cars began to swerve off of the road.

A shadow overcasted over the cars, many of them turning back and retreating at the sight of it.

It was a giant metal serpent, fuming with black diesel smoke and spewing fire all around it's body as it stretched high above them. Some cars fired at it to absolutely no effect.


Dave immediately turned his truck around, speeding away from the rest of the convoy as he just heard the sounds of frantic gunfire and screams behind him. He couldn't help himself but to take a look back.
The worm had fallen onto the ground, scurrying across the dirt faster than any car. The dozens upon dozens of machine guns along it's body spraying at cars and tearing them to shreds. The head of the serpent perked up, it's mouth opening wide as four artillery cannons shot off individually from it, wiping out every car that it looked at.

The cars were gone in a minute, either because they ran or they were torn apart. The serpent's mouth closed as it's head began to spin like a drill bit, it's back arching before it's head buried into the soil, tearing the ground apart as it slithered into it. The rest of it's half a mile long metal body pulled into the dirt with it, before disappearing completely.

Russian Front
Another offensive was started. This offensive targeted the Westernmost border near Lemberg. It pushed the Russians back slowly in concentrated attacks towards the West. This was planned as a way to surpass the trouble of fighting across a river. They were slowly being pushed back into the Russian land. Once across it is planned to create heavily defended trenches all across the border with Russia as to stop them from reentering Austro-Hungarian land.

Russian-Romanian Front
At the Coast of the Black Sea, a concentrated attack of 500,000 attacks the defenses there. They burst through the defenses and march towards the Ottomans lines at the other side of the Black Sea. Their orders, cut off the Russians from the Black Sea.

ensircled troops

to:general pual von hendinburg
From:the 4tg army command
We appreciate your offer of surrender
But we must sadly refuse we well continue fighting to our last breathes not for the tsar but for russia

the eastern front
The troops in poland started one massive opinion troops all along the front now well equipped and supplied attacked the german lines with thousands of artillery shells suppoting them and hundreds of iron walls they hoped to break into thr trapped forces
Meanwhile the trapped russian troops attacked the german lines in the east putting them between them and the offensive armies the forces also burned everything and destroyed bridges and roads to slow the germans in the west and on lodz

In romania the romanian troops were pushed and oddysa was retaken in austria the troops heavily dug in defended trenches
The armies of austria has made a breakthough towards ottoman lines but in that they overextended themselves
army group south crashed on the austrian lines in the black sea coast cutting it from the mainland while army group north pushes romanian troops back to the border and it along with army group center ensircles the bulk of the romanian army heavy artillery bombardment started targeting their lines

caucasus
The caucasus troops started a counter offensive pushing the iver extended ottomans back to their lines but at a heavy cost of 200k men

The Austro-Hungarian Raids
The Khan's fleet was on the move again, resupplying, refueling, and launching from Albania. The airship fleet had been weaponized on it's break. Most of the ships in the fleet now carrying anti-aircraft flak guns and cannons. The airships left Albania the same way they had before, taking flight across the Adriatic Sea and creeping through Italian skies. They slowly moved up over the Italian Alps and crossed into Austria. The fleet making it's way over remote sections of the mountains as they traveled the distance through Austria.

Though as they left the mountains the chances of getting spotted skyrocketed. The fleet took off into the clouds, every man on board required to wear a mask or follow insanely strict breathing protocols for the next several hours. By the time they began to descend, some men had passed out, completely unable to fly. But the attack would be carried out nevertheless.

They lowered down as they were halfway into Bohemia. The fleet came down onto Prague in the dead of night, the sound of planes engines filling the skies as hundreds upon hundreds of pilots left the safety of the ships, most of them immediately nose diving onto the city.

The Great Khan had decided that the element of surprise would be key, especially with spies and scouts both reporting that the skies in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were now patrolled by fleets of ships. One attack and they would be exposed and hunted, so it was best to go big or go home.

The First Hour of the Night

Spotlights flashed at the skies as fighter squadrons scattered throughout the skies, bombing the buildings of the large city underneath of them. The bombing went on for only two minutes before anti-aircraft weapons began to fire into the sky at the attacking planes. Due to the darkness in the sky, the Mongolian aces had already weakened the defenses, but it was not full proof. Several planes were clipped out of the skies by anti-aircraft. But it was significantly easier for the pilots to spy the guns on the ground than it was for the guns to spy the planes in the dark skies.

Though despite this, the guns were not the only defense in Prague. Three massive airships floated over the city, flak guns spraying at Mongolian planes in air. And planes on the ground were scrambled to counter the Mongolian force. This would be one of the most challenging battles the Steel Horde had faced, but they had an ace up their sleeve they had shown only once before to the Chinese.

The Fighter Squadrons divided amongst themselves, a portion of them focusing on downing enemy fighters, a portion focusing on the ships, and a large portion continuing to bombard the aerial defenses of the city.

The Naval defenses over Prague were 2 Destroyers and 1 Battleship. Fierce weapons certainly, but in this battle they would be useless with what the Mongols had in store.

The fighter squadrons fought to get close, many of them getting downed in the efforts, but as soon as one got close the ship was nearly gone. The planes had been mounted with mustard gas dispensers, the same of which being used in China. As soon as a single plane got close The decks were fogged with mustard gas. Forcing every sailor on board either into the hull of the ship or leaving them dead on deck. Afterwards, nothing stopped fighter squadrons from flying overhead of the airships, bombing them and the flammable gas on deck until finally they crashed down onto the city in smoldering wreckage.

The Mustard Gas was deployed below on the streets of Prague. As hundreds of thousands of civilians rushed from their homes to seek safety, Mongolian planes traced over the streets of Prague, deploying gallons upon gallons of mustard gas onto their heads. The planes focusing on the anti-air weapons flew low to keep out of their fire until they had emptied their stores of mustard gas onto the civilian populace, before rising into the air and returning to pepper the gunmen.

Planes carrying bombs in reserve flew down onto the city, dropping what they had left across the gassed sections of the city. The mustard gas ignited with the explosive contact, setting whole neighborhoods up in flame. Those who were in the skies that night claim to have heard the screams from all the way below.

3 Hours into the Night
Dogfights had broken out in the skies for hours, finally coming to a close.

The Mongolians had returned to their ships, allowing the aerial defenses onboard along with straggler planes in the air to deal with any planes that dared to follow them.

After reloading and putting any damaged planes to repair, what was left of the Aerial Cavalry left the hangars. After refreshing themselves with drink, the pilots took off from their hangars once again. Flying down into the skies of Prague to wrap up any dogfights left to be had. At that point, any defender on an anti-air gun was just wasting their time. The city had to be evacuated.

Mongolian planes patrolled the roads leading out of the city, and with fresh payloads of bombs, dropped them onto the heads of refugees below while portions of the Cavalry patrolled far off the skies for signs of incoming ships.

Bombs continued to rain on the already vanquished city. Turning great landmarks of centuries of history into nothing more than rubble mixed in with the bodies it collapsed on.

4 Hours into the Night

Scouts reported a full naval presence on the horizon. After dropping a series of bombs on parts of the city that dared to even look intact the planes returned to their ships before taking off through the skies, heading northwards.

Smoke could be seen all through Bohemia.

Broken refugees arrived from every road, nearly each and every one of them suffering from chemical burns and nerve damage. Carrying with them only horror stories and hopelessness.

Meanwhile the Mongolians endulged in Kumis to celebrate the night, folk songs of conquest and triumph filling the decks of every ship.

Mongolian Losses: 124 Aircraft, 67 Damaged

Austrian Losses: Upwards of over 300,000 Civilian and Military Dead, an undetermined amount injured.

The trapped Russian troops suffered frostbite and malnutrition. As snow crept up the walls of the badly made wooden shelters they were in the civilian population began to despise them. The ill-disciplined Russian soldiers would often rob stores for food and chop down telegraph cables for firewood. The Russians should have been fine... after all, they had the support of 2 major cities to take shelter in and countless small towns. But heavy German land and air bombardment struck at the morale of the troops and mass desertions in the thousands were recorded.

To maintain discipline the officers had ordered mass executions of their men indiscriminately. Many loyal and innocent troops were shot by their own brethren. Meanwhile, as the Russians starved so did the Poles. The 1.5 million trapped Russian men sucked up what litter winter stock the poles had. In the basements and beer halls of Warsaw, a nationalistic movement grew overnight. They had reached a general consensus that the Germans would give them a better chance at independence that the Russians.

At the very same time, German Shock troops constantly attacked the perimeter and wreaked havoc behind enemy lines. Supply depots were spotted by planes and targeted by airships. The German attacks became bolder and more aggressive as thousands of German men smashed at the Russian lines busting them open like a can opener. A massive breakthrough was achieved near Warsaw was threatened by a massive break out attempt. The lines buckled and for a day it looked like a connection of the two forces might be achieved and the troops evacuated.



A counterattack by a colonel going by the name of Adolf Hitler plugged the breakthrough attempt at extremely heavy losses. Follow up counterattacks drove the two forces away from each other. The exposed German troops suffered heavy losses but a turn of the weather allowed for the air force to leave port and strike Tsarist artillery forces.

The failed Russian breakthrough had now exhausted the trapped forces and drained of any resources they may have had left...

"You sure you want to do this."

"Don't do it. It's wrong."

"We have to do this."

"Italy threatens to seek peace with France if Russia does not fall in three months."

"We need another year to destroy them."

"If we use this against unprepared and under-equipped forces the war will end in a week."

"It's inhumane."

"It's what we need to do."

"It could be used against us by the Entente."

"We're ready to combat it. How are the stocks, Gerald?"

"We have ten million gas mask for civilians and Soldiers."

"Fine... I, Ludendorff formally authorize the use of Mustard gas on the eastern front. God save us."

German losses
--------------------------------------

-41,000 Soldiers

-1,700 Shock troops

- 78 Cars

-103 Light Panzers

-57 Medium Panzers

-12 Heavy Panzers

-1 Bismark class battle airship

-41 Fighters

-12 Gothic bombers

-7 Gotha Bombers

The Mongol Invasion of China
Although weeks had passed since the initial invasion, the Mongols had only dug themselves in rather than approach any further. Foot soldiers had arrived to secure the Dihua trenches. Already, skirmishes were being fought on the lines from Xinjiang troops. A new weapon of war, aptly named "The War Pig" It was larger than a landship and resembled a Mongolian boar, and built to rip apart whatever it saw. With over a foot of reinforced steel armor in some parts, the War Pig was nearly indestructible despite it's small size. Scatterguns mounted alongside and on the front of the War Pig absolutely shredded through Xinjiang soldiers as they approached the lines. After days of battle, and an incident involving a tank being flung, action on the trench lines would grind to a halt until the Xinjiang could spare more units to challenge the beast.

Even with the enemy in retreat the Mongols held their ground, passing up an easy chance to seize however much land they pleased.

They had no intention to fight like barbarians, this war would be fought in the shadows.

Khanate Intelligence that had been expertly deployed in China during the collapse of the Qing Dynasty finally had their moment of truth. And with the assistance of newly arrived support from the NIS, their plot was laid out from start to finish. Routine assassinations on family members of warlords with false evidence, the sabotage of food and water supplies, falsified information and troop movements to military command. Already the warlord dominated China was a confusing and chaotic place but Mongolian interference would only worsen it tenfold.

Namely the Fengtian Clique was angled against the Zhili Clique, the Fengtians under the impression that Zhili troops had massed on the border in uncomforting amounts, each report that arrived from the western border that week confirmed it, and finally a telegram from border confirming troop movement into the Liaoning territory, moving all the way along the border. Most importantly along the coast into the Suizhong region and almost certainly towards Shenyang in time. Leaving no choice but for the clique to march troops to intercept the invading force. They were met at the border by Zhili clique soldiers already defending the border in preparation for the Fengtian invasion. before either side could pause to figure out what the situation was, unmarked aircraft struck at Zhili defenses near Qinhuangdao, prompting violence to spark between the two armies.



At the same time Shanxi was alerted to the fight on the border, they were one of the smallest of the cliques, isolated only to the Shaxi province, urging them from the interior to seize unprotected land in Hebei was not a significant challenge. Only days after border wars between the Hebei Clique and the Fengtians had begun, Shanxi soldiers marched over the western Hebei border, Handan was taken in the first day, Xingtai in the week, and already they were launching a siege against the city of Shijiazhuang. Despite most of the Hebei cliques forces now gathered on the Eastern border, a good deal of their defenses were still gathered on the western border much to the Shanxi's surprise, though now they could no longer go back. The siege would be carried out and their plan would follow it's course.

Meanwhile in the Northwest, the unstable Ma Fuxiang of the Ma clique was lead to believe that the death of his nephew and two of his brothers was the responsibility of the leadership of the Xinjiang clique, though other warlords of the clique, including Ma Anliang disregarded his claims, as the Xinjiang had no possible reason to spite him or his family. Though confidential information that Fuxiang had received proved otherwise. Despite his rage, Ma Fuxiang was forbidden to strike Xinjiang without evidence to prove it. Evidence which he did not have, and did not exist.

In the far south, completely unrelated to other incidents in the month, the warlords of the Sichuan, Yunnan, and Hunan cliques were convinced, either through moral reasons, monetary reasons, or pure manipulation, into convincing them of the threat the immense force of the Kuomintang. It was mainly through the work of the NIS that in weeks, the Sichuan, Yunnan, and Hunan cliques had been more or less convinced not-so-much to work together, but rather to focus on the common enemy of the KMT before each and every one of them was assimilated by the Socialists. the NIS provided invaluable assistance. Even going as far as to create a temporary foundation of power for a sponsored warlord for guiding the unstable clique. Though the KMT was surrounded by enemies, the success of the lesser warlord cliques was less than hopeful.

With the dominoes already falling, the NIS and Khanate Intelligence had little left to do in China aside from assure tensions stayed hot and continue tweaking the odds of battle in whichever favor they pleased.

the eastern front
The attacks failed however the offensive shall not stop
As the germans used chlorine gas many perished luckily most troops already hav gas masks from the british help but the trapped firces werent lucky 100k died from the attacks thus a new plan was made
The surronded 1,2M men have split in 2 groups
Going unoticed under the dark in 2 groups each 600k each
One headed was covering the other headed east towards the german lines another charge started this time with more iron walls suddenlt the german lines west found themselves between 600k in the west and 600k in the east the eastern ones were much better equipped and supplied artillery shells now targeted german artillery and AA guns were guarding the artillery

A Dark Stormy Night In Catalonia
The Upper class Was the Base of the Catalonian Sepratist movement
The aristocracy feasted that night while the poor sat in their slums dreaming of being warm

The Government planned on doing something about the traitors and leftists lurking under their noses

With the help of the NIS spain knew all the Rich that supported the Sepratist movement

And now it was time to strike...

Thunder Boomed as The Newly formed Spanish Intelligence Bureau (SIB) raided a mansion and took the screaming inhabitants out into the muddy streets

The Aristocracy's homes were raided and their owners killed in the streets

Raid after Raid
Blood curdling scream after scream
The SIB didnt care They were traitors

Then came the young socialist movement...
A group of young adults to teenagers
The leaders were raided and killed

But the night was still young

And so are our victims

Barcelona was completely raided by the SIB and all socilaist movements were suppressed

All of spain is shocked by this development
The revolutionaries in Catalonia are gone

Is this good or bad for spain?

And the votes for the reform are comming in next week.
Will this be enough to save the nation?

The Polish Front

Again, the break out attempt failed. The exhausted trapped troops lost more to starvation and the cold than the gunfire of German troops. More and More men died to the ever-intensifying winter and many froze on the way to the front line. They attacked entrenched German positions with all their might but were massacred before they even reached the trenches. Russian artillery in the trapped forces ran out of rounds before the assault could even begin.

On the other side of the trapped troops, the winter hit both sides hard. Supply lines for the Germans were stretched and the cold Russian winter promised frostbite to those that left the warmth for only a minute. Speractic fighting happened on the front line but both forces only fired a few rounds driving each other off to find warmth. The might of the iron walls...

was stopped by the harsh weather. They got stuck in the mud and snow as their overly complex components froze. But still they had just become walking, now stationary, pillboxes. They rained fire onto the German lines but were vulnerable to German mortars smashing them open like tin cans.

Hidden snipers on both sides wreaked havoc but simply war and a break out attempt could not happen in such weather.

Telegram from German High command

Trapped Russian troops of the pocket. We offer food and decent conditions from the winter. Anyone found under arms once the operation commences WILL be considered a combatant and dealt with as such.

German Losses
--------------------------------

Exposure
----------------------
-5,000 Soldiers

-14 armored cars

-6 Light panzers

-2 Medium Panzers

Fighting
-----------------------

-213 Soldiers

-1 light Panzer

- 3 armored cars

Western Africa
In west Africa the tides had turned after the ottoman reinforcements arrived

The Spanish and ottomans now outnumbered the brits again as they currently have 400 thousand men place in the area

And the men were ready to attack

The Home Front
The Spanish population was suprised at the efficiency of the new Spanish Intelligence agency

They had completely crippled all chance of Catalonia revolt
The reforms had been voted on and the elected representatives have chosen their stance

Now we wait for the answer to be revealed

The Franco-Spanish Border
The lines were completely the same as the last time

Nothing had changed as the french seem to wait for death at the hand of the Germans

The Atlantic Coast
The Coastal batteries are comming in
Soon they wont ve able to even look at us from sea without being retaliated against

A Dark night In Valencia
A metallic creature exits the port and dives into the deep

The Kraken has been awoken...

With the victory in egypt the ottoman high command has sent reinforcements to egypt more than 200k men and half the egyptian fleet have arrived a new offensive started

western africa
In western africa artillery bombardment started targeting the british lines while the fleet bombed british troops new machines have appeared "crawlers" the size of 1 and a 1/2 london bus and a little taller in terms of height these beasts were armed with 3 gun batteries a dozen of them are in western africa after the artillery targeted AA guns the fleet bombed troops then the infantry covered by crawlers charged

Western Africa
In the south the ottoman forces charge towards the city of Freetown and we have been given orders to push towards Bamako and Sengu

During the night the Spanish Started the artillery strikes for 8 hours

Early in the morning planes flew up over the heads of the british and french colonial troops as they were hit with thousands of rounds from above

Then after the planes came back the infantry moved in
100k men charged eastward

The Home front
Socialist agitation had been growing over the past few weeks, like an infectious wave it had passed over all the major urban areas of France bringing with it a frustratingly large amount of strikes and demonstrations, putting a spanner in the great and endless works of arms production no doubt these communists were just another tool in the vast and insidious Italian NIS yet to the unknowing populace they were fighting for Liberty, Equality and fraternity. This socialist spring had also brought to attention to a great divide that had been tearing it's way through French society, those who were loyal to the Petain administration and thought that it's more morally apathetic practices were entirely justified in the light of it's recent circumstances while on the other hand you had a handful yet extremely vocal revolutionaries who said that Frence did not deserve to win this war if it lost it's Humanity in the process.

This message could not be tolerated by the ministry of public loyalty who required the public to be entirely enthralled with a continued war effort to ensure that the state would not simply fall apart if the Italians ever attempted to push further that managed to claim even more French territory or even - God forbid - they managed to take the entirety of the Southern coast and permanently cut them of from the Medeteranian and turn into a true Italian lake. This creation of loyalty was spawned through a number of techniques; The first was the most reliable and the oldest propaganda, it was spewed out by the ministry in all forms radio broadcasts, short films and even entire novels were pumped out declaring the sins of the enemies of France (It's odd to note that recently the ministry has been targeting Italy less and less and focusing more upon Spain).

The second was far more sinister, it was the removal of those who posed a significant threat to the Petain administration and their subsequent re-education, the re-education was a vital part of the ministry's strategy it wasn't enough to just kill a man they'd simply become a martyr to the revolutionary cause. No they must renounce their cause completely, this was achieved through torture, hypnosis and phycological indoctrination but still after all of this some subjects of re-education would revert back to their regular state or break entirely, for the time being these flawed methods had to be used but technology was being developed that would in some way or another interfere with the very processes of the subjects brain forcing them to abandon their treasonous ways yet this technology was still a few years away from being implemented.

The Spanish Front
The Spanish were a cautious lot that much was sure, ever since laying eyes upon the French's impressive line of fortification they hadn't dared approach them once instead like cowards they had decided to hold back and simply fire from afar. Their tactics while cowardly were starting to have an effect upon the men, they were growing jittery and nervous with the knowledge that at any point the distinct possibility that an artillery shell could be dropped upon their head at any moment. To this France had a response:
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France had in the build up and war itself foolishly disregarded aerial warfare as a passing fad that could easily be outmatched by ground based anti air weapons, yet with the mass devastation inflicted upon their nation the French had been forced to learn a painful but valuable lesson that aerial warfare was here to stay. So in the great industrial facilities of their cities the French had slowly but surely been developing a strong and capable air fleet comprised of two large airships copied from British design and a multiple of escorting gyrocopters to act as an escort and lighter and faster attack/bomber craft. This new air fleet had embarked on a new mission, if the Spanish would not abandon the mountain range then they would have to tear one through.

Meanwhile the FIB had run into a slight problem; The Spanish had finally caught onto them and had begun mass suppression across the kingdom. Fortunately for the French when a door closes a window opens, the proposed reforms had enraged an entirely new group of individuals: The Spanish nationalists, a group that had been bolstered and reinforced by the war and had now been betrayed by their government who wished to tear apart the nation. The French had now turned their attention to these nationalist groups and begun supplying weapons and support to them, a number of guns and supplies were sneaked into the nation via ship and plane and slowly but surely a second revolution was being, not t mention there were also a number of Basque groups who were seeing the support of the FIB. If the reforms passed the nationalists would rise up, if the reforms failed it would be the Basque. The French had also learnt from their failure with the Catalans, numerous leaders of these revolutionary groups were extradited to France so that Spanish intelligence couldn't get their hands upon them. It was a win-win situation.

Australian affair
The French foreign ministry had grown increasingly concerned with reports coming out of Australia, it appeared that the tyrannical government that ruled Sydney had developed some kind of mechanical serpent that could eliminate an entire army with relative ease, fortunately the French military had a solution to this issue. Burrower torpedoes were a perfect fit for the deserts of Australia, they could cut through the sands as if they were butter and hopefully immobilise whatever monstrosity had been unleashed in the Australian outback. Two airships had been sent to Australia with the intent of aiding Ned Kelly once more, while officially the French were meant to be supporting the loyalist forces it had been deemed by the foreign ministry to present the most profitable opportunities for France. Ahead of these two torpedo laden airships was a smaller gyrocopter that brought with it a message for Ned Kelly.

To: Ned Kelly
From: The French foreign ministry
We here in the French foreign ministry have become aware of a new machine that has become operational in the outback created by the tyrannical Australian government. We are willing to arm you and your organisation with a number of burrower torpedoes to take out this creature however we have one condition, that once this machine has been immobilised that it's schematics are sent to France to be studied and reverse engineered.
Yours sincerely
foreign minister Jean De Normandie

The Headquarters of the Swedish High Command

The leaders of the armed forces were in a very optimistic mood. Things had looked dire for a while, with an Anglo-Danish fleet, both aquatic and aerial, had blocked Öresund at the same time as the large Russian counter-offensive had taken off. For some time it had seemed as if Sweden would be entirely surrounded and have its supply lines to the home front cut off, and in order to prevent open uproar, the High Command had seen itself forced to declare martial law and assume near dictatorial powers. However, then the miracles had occurred.

Denmark had plunged into a bloody civil war, where vile atrocities were committed, to an extent that it horrified much of the Swedish public too, especially already pacifist movements such as the Church and the women's rights advocates. The generals, however, rejoiced. One front less to be concerned with. A request of immediate truce was sent to the faction Sweden still considering the legal government, the loyalists in Copenhagen. It was also a request for peace negotiations.

Another telegram was sent to the OHL in Berlin, stating that Sweden desired to make peace with Denmark, and that if Germany didn't hurry with its response, the Swedes would initiate the process themselves.

The question was, how hard should the peace be? Here, the generals were divided. Some wanted to take full advantage of the chaos and curbstomp the Danes into eternal submission. Others, who feared that the civil war would spread to Sweden (unrest and revolutionary activities had already become more rampant, especially in the cities of Malmö and Helsingborg), preferred softer terms. Both sides were open to the idea of making Denmark a Swedish protectorate, at least temporarily, but for different reasons, and neither side had it as a demand. But it was a possibility they kept the door open for.

However, until the Danish reply had been received, Lt. Algot Rhen and his commandos wouldn't be called home.

But the Danes weren't the only ones to worry about. The British could decide to intervene in the civil war and take control, and then the Entente would be on their asses again. Therefore, a secret telegram was sent to the British High Command, regarding the Swedish intentions in Denmark. It was a shot in the dark, but well worth a gamble. But the other Central Powers were left out. If they knew, they might've misinterpreted the letter in the worst possible way.

Finland

Before Mannerheim, the Swedish generals had been either too old and too careful, or too young and inexperienced, and it had shown. The Finnish general had gotten his baptism of fire as the Russians quickly had retaken almost all the ground they had lost and now even threatened the old border. However, he was determined to not let the Boden Fortress fall like Sveaborg had done a hundred years earlier, and had ordered for fortifications and defense lines to be constructed closer to the front, and he had also gotten the reinforcements he needed. Now, rumour had it that the Tsar was ready to surrender, thanks to the combined efforts of the Central Powers, but Mannerheim couldn't base his strategy solely on rumours. The advance would have to continue, and it would be in two main directions. Army group North would marsch on Petsamo, capture it, and then move onto Murmansk. Army group South would march down through Lapland to reconquer Rovaniemi. As the winter already had come this far up, and the forests were thick, and since the Russians were so many more, large blitzkrieg operations were something Mannerheim couldn't use. Instead, motti tactics were used, where small infantry units, such as ski jägers, snipers, etc., surrounded the enemy in small pincing maneuvers, thus cutting them off from their friends, then eliminating them, and then return to the cover of the night. It wasn't too different from guerilla warfare, or the tactics used by medieval Mongol cavalry, and it was very effective. Some of his men joked that at this rate, they would celebrate New Year's Eve in Moscow, and while that perhaps wasn't true, they were likely to reach the eastern border of the Grand Duchy by then. After all, they were halfway now...

Further south, the Swedish military achieved even better results. The Åland islands were heavily fortified now, and the base for Swedish operations in the area. Even if the Russians took everything else, Åland would remain in Swedish hands. Sure, it wasn't impossible to take the islands, but the cost, counted in the lives of soldiers, wouldn't be worth it, not even for Russia, when there were so many other, more major fronts to worry about.

Especially now, that the 1st Panzerdivision "St Erik" (recently renamed after the medieval king who led a crusade in Finland) had been parachuted down over Turku. 20,000 men, and above them, the most powerful warship Sweden posessed: Ormen Långe.


Ormen Långe

Meanwhile, in the Baltic, the Swedish submarines continued to attack Russian vessels like wolves, while the surface fleet used a tactic the seamen called hide-and-seek-and-destroy, and rather than engaging the Russians directly, they preferred a game of cat and mouse.

Petrograd had so far, due to its invaluable cultural and historical treasures, been relatively left alone by the Swedes.

East Africa

The situation had hopelessly became a stalemate. English and Italian forces had entrenched themselves along the border of Kenya and Tanzania and didn’t budge. The occasional skirmish would erupt over a town every once in a while, by not much else would occur. The situation was rather dull as not much could be done on either side. It was not all and news however. Most of the German strongholds in Tanzania had been wiped out. For now, only really the Italians were left to deal with on this front.

West Africa

The front would hopefully hold at Freetown. The reinforcements totaled the army to almost half a million there with 250k reinforcements coming by boat. The lines would olgopefully be able to hold till then.

Lisbon, Portugal

Negotiations were still going on with vigor. French diplomats had been invited to partake in this delicate dance and the discussion was tense but fruitful as both sides both concede and reassured certain points. It seemed there would soon be an end to the dealings. Meanwhile, diplomats were hard at work convincing the Portuguese to renew the Anglo-Portuguese treaty and reclaim their place in the sun. Whatever the outcome, things were about to get, interesting...

Today waa marked by many more riots this time the army rioted and it was violent thousands engaged their comrades in arms civillians started arming themselves and the tsar fled to eastern russia petro grad became a nest of socialist revolutionaries included a vladimir lenin
Petro grad and surronding areas declared the united soviet socialist republics and abolished the empire while a new faction rose in eastern europe a new man claiming to be the true emperor of russia soon the army was split between the socialist tsarist and conservaitives who promised more democracy and reforms


Meanwhile in the chaos the trapped russian forces have had their own mini civil war but after the socialist were beaten
The army officialy surrenders to the germans

western africa
More troops are being sent to africa
300k men well be sent as reinforcements and along with it the other half of the egyptian fleet which has been pumbed up to 3 dreadnaughts 7 cruisers 6 destroyers 2 air craft carriers
Along with new air craft carriers 30 plane each
Soon enough western africa well be the new battle ground

Western Australian Front

The expected challenge of revolutionaries had escalated to greater danger than anyone had expected. The Loyalist rebellion had become an army in it's own right. This was no longer a revolt, it was a full scale civil war at this rate. The Loyalist army did not exceed the Socialist Dominion of Australia's armed forces. But there was no question that the Loyalist army and their droves of New Zealander soldiers had significantly more experienced soldiers and the added benefit of their army having tanks at their disposal. To counteract the literal army now within their borders and already taking cities, focus was deterred from the rebellion in Southern Australia to the West. The Serpent tank was sent towards Western Australia to meet with a dozen different infantry regiments in West Australia.

In weeks, the Loyalists had claimed wide stretches of coastal territory from Onslow to Derby. The garrison in the major port of Dampier were caught off guard. They had heard word of the massive metal serpent that traveled under the earth and crushed opposition in the South, but had written it off as pure rumor. This, and the fact that the Serpent struck from the water left them entirely taken by surprise when it struck. Artillery shells boomed from the waves, wrecking the hulls of ships that had been unfortunate enough to be docked in the harbor. Defenses scrambled to secure the port and find the threat, but none had thought that the attack could have come from under the water until the Serpent burst forth, drilling it's way through the hull of the last intact ship in the harbor, and letting out a piercing metallic cry that rang out for miles. A literal tower of machine guns sprayed down onto the civilians and soldiers below. The bullets shredding through the walls of buildings all over the port.

The defenses put up a valiant effort against the Serpent but it was useless in the end. In under half an hour there was no longer a port, just a graveyard of ships and mangled steel. The Serpent would move onto land, patrolling through Burrup for signs of resistance. Whilst the regiments of soldiers it had met with began to push against the Loyalist territory from the East. Initial assaults ended in the military's favor. The small companies of soldiers that had been garrisoned in towns were annihilated by the titanic force. Four massive bands of soldiers liberating Western Australia had been sent out from Karratha. Two to the south, one to the west, one to the east. The Loyalist territory had pushed as far as Newman and the Nullagine River. While the Eastern force had been preparing to depart from their camps in Derby and continue Eastwards. The military force struck at the town under the expectation that there would be a few hundred soldiers garrisoned there at most. Not thousands. What was meant to be a simple raid on an insignificant coastal town to shove the rebels back became a full fledged siege.

The Loyalists inside began to dig emergency trenches while defenders battled back the oncoming waves of soldiers. Losses were high considering the flatness of the terrain, but as the defenders dug in it was assured that this battle would not be short.

Though the regiments that had not been involved attacking Derby continued pushing from the East, forcing the Loyalists to divert troops from their headquarters in Karratha to defend settlements in the eastern territory against further assault.

Queensland
The Aboriginal force in Queensland had been thread extremely thin across the province. Small bands of sometimes no more than ten men and women were responsible with carrying out a set of objectives depending on their region. The time for the aborigines to begin assaulting towns and cities was not yet arrived. For now they seeked only to strain the grip of the government's influence on the region. Over the months incidents occured all over Queensland and parts of the Northern Territory and New South Wales. Fuel depots went up in flames, vehicles were sabotaged, barracks exploded in the night. The Aborigine soldiers preferred to strike with their presence unknown, however certain bands of well-armed commandos didn't mind sudden attacks into settlements and bases. Despite military efforts, the aborigine forces were rooted deep into Queensland, and without further focus put on the region it was likely they'd stay that way.

South Australia
The army of freedom fighters under Ned Kelly, the Neds, in terms of territory size performed the best out of any other revolutionary movement in Australia. Already, they had taken nearly most of the central land in South Australia. Their army was swift and ruthless. Traveling fast with heavy weapons. The army had been built off of conscripting cars from the streets and stripping apart metal from wherever they found it. Because of their tactics, bands of heavily armored soldiers riding in hordes of heavily modified vehicles tore across the outback, crushing any military force they came across. It was decided that the threat in South Australia was not as considerable as the threat in Western Australia and that it would be best to just quarantine the region rather than face the Neds head on.

Significant military force gathered on the borders of South Australia, digging trench lines throughout the surrounding outback in preparation for any sort of attack the Neds could offer.

{ CORRIERE DELLA SERA }

Diplomacy

Negotiations in Lisbon remain fierce and competitive, yet progress has been made. Recent Italian victories and defeats influenced the decisions and agreements at Lisbon. After the French diplomats were invited, further progress was made. Weeks of negotiations and agreements would soon end, as both sides began coming to agreements. Soon, these would be organized into a formal treaty called the Treaty of Lisbon.

Meanwhile, the Situation in Australia had continued to escalate, as outside powers continued to pour in their support for one side of the conflict. Italian weapons arrived in Persian boats in support of the Tyrannical Government. NIS operatives were sent to train the Australians in a new form of warfare. With their massive serpent machine, the Italian government has agreed to help the Australians win by any means necessary.

Franco-Italian Front

The French have become weirdly quiet on the Frontlines. Remaining French Resistance cells have been completely wiped out, and FIB agents have been effectively purged from the Italian nation. No word of a potential attack coming from the French, but the Italians were prepared just in case. Across France, Socialist and Syndicalist agitation has significantly increased. With this, a significantly large amount of strikes and protests have occurred across French Society. France continues to blame the Italian NIS, yet they deny all involvement in the ordeal. However, the Italian government has stated to use these protests and strikes to their benefit.



Africa Front

The Front has stagnated, as both sides dig in for a long and hard fight. The Italian government continues to fund reopening the Suez Canal, in order to try and project naval dominance in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. In Kenya/Uganda, the city of Mombasa fell after a massive bombardment. Followed by a frontal assault, the city fell with high casualties. This forced the Italian High Command to rethink their strategy in Africa, focusing more on aerial bombardment rather than land movement.

Air and Naval Front

The Air war above France had ended, as tensions deescalated after the French Offensive. Airships have been tasked with protecting the Italian sky’s from hostile forces. Unlike the Austrians, Italy has learned form the Mongolians. The Regia Marina has continued its patrol of the Mediterranean uncontested. Black Hounds were sent out into the Atlantic Ocean to destroy Entente convoys in order to starve out the British and French.



{ NIS OPERATIONS }

In the outskirts of Shanghai, chaos erupted. With the horrifying attack from the Mongols, millions of Chinese were panicking in the streets. China was broken and collapsing the more the Mongolians attacked. Warlords began diving up China, and placing people under their protection. They wanted to be safe from the horrors of the Mongols. The Kuomintang government, located in Southern China, was the last remnants of the old government. Across China, millions tried to flee to prevent dying at the hands of the Mongols or be killed by one of the Warlords. A cloaked figure fled Shanghai in disguise. He knew that if he were caught, he would potentially get severely injured or killed due to the Mob. He entered a back ally war near the outskirts of the city. Without his awareness, 2 men in black robes approached him. He tried to run, but was cornered by the men in.

“Are you Sun Yat-sen?” -One of the men said

“What if I am? What do you gentlemen want from someone like me?” -The cloak figured fiercely responded, keeping far away from the 2 men

“We require your services, but not now. First, we need to get you out of China. Come with us sir, we’ll get you out of here.” -The other man responded in a quick tone, almost as if he wanted to leave as soon as possible

“Okay, take me where you want. Just promise to keep me under your protection” -Sun Yat-sen said in a hushed tone

The 3 men all managed to get out of Shanghai, and began sailing far away from China. They revealed to Sun Yat-sen that they were operatives from the NIS, and required his assistance. No one knows what they could be planning to do with him, but many would wonder.


Portrait of Sun Yat-sen, 1913

The Franco-Spanish Border
The french launched an aerial offensive with their air fleet
The spanish were grossly unprepared and suffered many casualties
The spanish took cover in their trenches and bunkers but the unstopping air bombardment never ceased

About 3k men were killed in the aerial campaign but no ground was made by the frenchies

The Spanish knowing the front would most likely collapse started building bunkers on the Rio Ebro and the Rio Duero

The Portugese Border
The reserves were transfered to the portugese border
They prepare for an offensive for what will ultimately be a Portuguese attack on spanish soil

West African Front
100k men were transferred from Africa to the home front to quell any uprisings from a certain region and to reinforce the many fronts about to open

100k men remain along with ottoman support to keep the front in spanish favor as other problems are dealt with

The Home Front
New conscription has requested an additional 50k men to be enlisted in the army

This has had little effect on the population as they are unbroken from the conditions of war as they know they fight for their homeland

Though for the communists they have become even more determined to bring an end to the spanish war effort

Soon something will break the Spanish machine...

West Australia

News of the destruction of the Port at Dampier had greatly dismayed reinforcements to the loyalists. However, hope was not yet lost. Five airships floated over the wreckage and delivered supplies to the forces there. The ships were military and were dead set on their objective. They were to be turned over to the Loyalists to hunt down the Serpent. Once a better port could be commandeered, a force of 50k Indians would deploy to help the Australians win back their great dominion.

Denmark and the Baltic

In Denmark, British soldiers slowly tried to advance to secure loyalist territory. While it was hard to gain much with the entire countryside being at war, the British forces had moved with the help of Danish loyalists and secured most of Sonderjylland. These advances were hopefully able to show the Danish people that the original government would still fight on for them.



Meanwhile, in the Baltic, a massive convoy steamed out of Petrograd. They carried around 200k Russian soldiers and 300 of their famous Iron Walls. These soldiers had pledged to fight on even if their own nation had made peace with the Central Powers. This convoy was escorted by much of the North Sea Fleet as well as the Home Fleet and was one of the biggest assemblies of the British fleets ever. Truly, the times were strange as the convoy stuck closer to the Swedish coast to stay out of conflict. While the Russians wre leaving their homes behind for now, they had something very important as the Sun glittered on the waves in thousands of tiny rainbows:

Hope.

Lisbon

It had been quite a ride, but the landmark treaty ha finally been signed. Lord Howard Pierce got up to shake the primary Italian and French ambassadors’ hands as a great agreement had been struck. The Peace agreement gave way to a major turn in the war. Italy would make a wonderful ally and a major step to retaking the Mediterranean.

The Treaty of Lisbon:

Article 1:
Section 1:
- France will cede the Duchy of Savoy, County of Nice, and the island of Corsica to Italy
- The United Kingdom will cede the island of Malta to Italy
- Monaco will be annexed by Italy
Section 2:
- Ethiopia will be annexed by Italy
- France will cede the colonies of Tunisia, French Somaliland, and Martinique to Italy in addition to some border territories in Algeria
- The United Kingdom will cede British Somaliland, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, the Socotra Archipelago, and Barbados to Italy
- A joint Anglo-Italian control zone will be established to administer the Suez Canal; Italian ships will be granted free access through Gibraltar

Article 2:
- Italy will officially make peace with all Entente nations and officially join the Entente, declaring war on the Central Powers as a result
- All land occupied by Italy that was not given to them in the treaty will be returned to their respective owners
- All POW’s will be returned to their respective nations
- Italy will pay $200 million to the French and $300 million to the UK in the form of reparations as compensation for damages done during the war
- Italy will aid the French in rebuilding their Navy to their pre-war numbers via any means necessary

Article 3: (Once the war is officially over)
- Italy will acquire the Balearic Islands from Spain
- Italy will acquire the remainder of South Tyrol, all of Istria and the entire Dalmatian coastline up to the city of Cavtat from Austria-Hungary
- Italy will gain the whole of Palestine, Muğla, and Antalya Provinces from the Ottoman Empire as colonial territory
- Italy will establish a protectorate over Albania
-Other territorial changes will be discussed upon the war’s end and final treaties.

Meanwhile, 200k Englishmen were transferred to Lisbon. There they were transferred near the Spanish border where the 200k Portuguese troops were ready to move out. Portugal hadn’t joined the war yet, but soon they would join as some events would happen in Spain…

Spain

Mi5 had been active in Spain for a long while, but now they had work to do. Numerous raids by the Spanish had crippled Catalonia’s movements, but other movements existed outside of Catalonia… Arms were smuggled to leftist and nationalist rebels in Galicia, Basque, Seville and even small groups in Madrid. Soon, the British would call for these groups to revolt as the French and British pushed into Spain.

East Africa

With the Treaty complete, a ceasefire was declared along the front lines. British soldiers climbed out of their trenches and walked to the Italian lines. They offered cigarettes, whiskey and other small vices in celebration of their new alliance. For all the flak the Italians got, the British respected the Italians more than most. They accepted the surrender of the Egyptan garrison peacefully and fought well. Now, they would move North to engage the Ottomans.

The Red Sea

Admiral Hood stood with relief. His childhood friend was in command of the HMAS Imperator and had prepared himself for a suicide run against the Italians to have the rest of the convoy escape safely. Now, 400k soldiers and the Mediterranean fleet steamed back to Egypt to finish what they started against the Ottomans. He was thankful for the now safety of his friend, as well as the new edge the Entente had during the war.

West Africa

Despite the fact that the treaty was signed, there was still work to be done. The soldiers had arrived in Ghana and moved towards the front which had become quite static after a while.

Arabia

Now, the game was afoot. With the Arabs amassed in full force, the Ottomans would have to fight them or get pushed out of the Mecca. Whatever the Sultan decided, the Arabs would soo be in a full blown revolution.