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Sceoji, Capitol, Merriston, May/18/1871
Military Parade, Festival of Labor
President Marcus Vivance stood on the balcony of the National Government Office of Administration's headquarters, watching as rank upon rank of parade-uniformed Sceojian's marched in orderly columns through the streets. The raucious cheers of the crowd on either side nearly altogether drowned out the perfectly timed, drilled step of the marching soldiers, their flashing bayonets and crisp clean uniforms a display of color and discipline.
The air, alive not only with the boisterous noise of drilled step and cheers from the crowd, but the scent of freshly cooking food. Street vendors touted their delicious wares on every corner, offering delicious traditional Sceojian food to anyone with an extra penny to spare.
Marcus was more than proud to claim the mantle of leadership over such a vibrant, beautiful land, content to reach for his nearby pipe, strike a match, and pull a few satisfying lungs of earthy, rich smoke as he oversaw the proceedings.
He was jerked from his contented smoking by a sudden rise in the cheers and applause of his people, as the infantry completed their pass, and now followed the cavalry.
They were absolutely marvellous in their Parade dress, gold trim upon most of their clothing, helmets clad with bright purple feathers and golden chains that hung down to their golden shoulder straps. They rode at a perfectly rehearsed canter, sabers raised high and glinting like liquid silver, atop dashing stallions with their names and dress perfectly tailored to the occasion.
The surprise came when Marcus's overly showy dragoons stopped mid Parade, each unit stopping in perfectly drilled unison. They raised what appeared to be old musketoons, far less advanced than their newer rifles into the air, and gave a volley.
The dull pops were evidence of a low powder load, and the explosions launched out streams of colorful confetti, which now drifted to and fro through the air in a beautiful display like snow. Without another hang-up, they began their canter once again to a near rioting crowd shouting their approval.
Puffing sagely on his pipe, Marcus couldn't suppress his chuckle and slight shake of the head; of course they'd be reprimanded, but by god those dragoons had a certain flare to them he couldn't help but respect.
Sceoji, Merriston, Inside The Capitol Building
Whilst outside the festivities were proceeding as planned, the internal chambers were alive with hard-working politicians and the generals staff.
"Alright so, how soon do you think our forces could be prepared to March?" A rather typical looking, pot-bellied politician with thinning grey hair asked. Anthony Jackson, the battle toughened salt of a head general, takes a draw off of his stubby cigar and blows smoke at the politician.
Then he focuses his cold, piercing stare on the softer fellow and says "Three weeks. I'll not order the men to move forward until we have supply and ammunition reserves ready to move along with them."
The politician pipes up to protest, but in a flash, Anthony's gaunt, 6'2 figure is imposing over from him, mouth twisted in a snarl "Say a bloody word and i'll jam this stogie up your fat, pampered arse."
The politician, sufficiently scared, backs off and Anthony returns to his seat upon a desk, a forlorn look crossing his face "Three weeks is the best I'll give you; you've never been without before...that's a serious blow to a soldiers morale, and it's an easily prevented catastrophe. Plus, these boys will be sacrificing enough without going hungry."
Anthony had had his doubts about the coming war ever since the plans had come down the pipe...he had voiced these concerns to President Marcus, a normally reasonable fellow. But Marcus had stood firm on this issue, and Anthony out of respect for his friend, voiced no more objections.
THE STRATEGY: FINESSE OVER FORCE
The Sceojian tacticans had plotted for many a month as to how they would approach the invasion of neighbouring Atlantis; so little was known about their capabilities and the size of their force.
Therefore, they had finally settled upon the old Sceojian stand by, the tactic that had eroded and brought down their former Monarchy; Hit and run style warfare.
They planned to launch the full might of the Sceojian army, and then quickly divide it's forces after crushing any border defenses via the element of surprise; afterwards, each individual military-group would see to it that they wrought the maximum amount of havoc.
The Rannorians would likely attempt to use contemporary tactics in response, putting them at a disadvantage as they could not predict what the Sceojian's would do.
By using this divided force tactic, Sceoji meant to harass and weaken the enemy over time: razing fields, striking at his supply lines with cavalry, using their world renowned accuracy to pick off the enemy in short skirmishes, and then retracting before any real force could be brought to bear.
Then, they would finish them after systemically weakening their military and supplies, by recombining the army groups and engaging in a favorable battle, using superior tactics and the enemies rage to draw him into a so called "One-sided battle".
The strategians patted one another's soldiers and toasted; this was brilliant, and would lead to a serious shift in the balance of power in the region.
(OOC: This is a COMPLETE SNEAK ATTACK. If anyone somehow manages to find out about an impending war before my troops even start to move...well, it won't be good.)
