Betrayers of Fortune [IC | GD]

[The Macabees]

[TG or reach out to me on Discord for OOC.]






DEMAIO, FEDERAL DISTRICT
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Two years prior to current events: the Killian government is weakening as the country becomes more-and-more dependent
on the generosity of its faithful ally, the Golden Throne. Its own resources stretched thin as they already are, the Golden Throne turns
to private military contractors to fill Hailandkill's defense needs.


"You must understand, commander," said President Arthur Belschamp, "the Killian people do not take the subordination of their national defense to the Golden Throne, and much less the empire's private contractors, lightly. This is a difficult decision that I make out of necessity, but do not mistake it for willingness. When the country has been restored to its former prosperity, this little agreement of ours will be reversed and the people of Hailandkill will take back what is theirs. And what is theirs is a right to self-determination, liberty, and the responsibility of self-defense."

Imperial commander, Vicstrategos Arn ver Darg, nodded politely. He had more patience than the typical Macabéan, perhaps due to the fact that he hailed from Beda Fromm, a city distance from the cultural centers of the Golden Throne — Macabea and Fedala. He replied, "To be sure, Mr. President, when your government feels strong enough to reduce the number of contractors in the country, it will count on the full support of His Imperial Majesty."

Belschamp snorted. "Do not mistake me for a fool, General Ver Darg. This is not the 'good old days,' as we style them. President Revello, your stalwart ally, is no longer with us, God bless his soul, and the Golden Throne he rescued from the depths of catastrophe is no longer the same empire. Your emperor has outgrown his early days, when he was just a babe taking his first stumbling steps. Now, he stumbles no longer and he has embroiled himself in a quagmire being fought more than forty thousand kilometers away, while the rest of his army is tied down fighting wars against the very people he claims to have liberated from tyranny and poverty. The threads of the world are no longer woven in the same pattern as they were when Fedor was young and Revello our president. I see that and am prepared for the change that is to come."

"Well," replied Ver Darg, avoiding controversy, "until then, the independence and sovereignty of Hailandkill is guaranteed by the graciousness of His Imperial Majesty."

"Guaranteed?" asked Belschamp, who chuckled lightly. "I envy your resolution, commander. You truly believe that you control Valo'Kap. You think they follow your orders out of a sense of loyalty and duty to empire. You forget Ver Darg, the soldiers you've invited into my country are mercenaries. They are loyal to no one but the mighty ríokmark."

Ver Darg traced an invisible line on the arm of the leather chair he sat in, thinking about what the Killian president's words. There was a truth to them that he could not ignore. A mission that had started out at six hundred thousand contractors, all deployed to the border with the ever-dangerous Ordenite Reich, had doubled to over one million. These numbers were only expected to grow, as Ver Darg's request for additional imperial military personnel deployed to Hailandkill was denied by a high command which had fewer and fewer troops to risk on overseas expeditions.

But, Vicstrategos Ver Darg would not show his concern publicly. Still smiling, he answered, "Valo'Kap knows its place. Their loyalty against the Ordenites is unquestionable."

"Against the Ordenites," repeated the Killian president. He sighed, then said, "We are all loyal against the murderous Fourth Reich. But, what if their war isn't only with the Ordenites?"



REGINALD RANCH, STATE OF LINCOLN
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One year prior to current events: The Belschamp administration, its leverage undermined by an increasingly hollow public army,
succumbs to pressure and resigns. The Killian army, under the leadership of Field Marshal Garrett M. Lunsford, launches an abortive coup
which is destined to change the country of Hailandkill forever.


Field Marshal Garret M. Lunsford's massive body looked too small for the room. Bleak and minimalist, the walls were barren and undecorated, with only a few maps hanging here and there. There were a large desk and some chairs but, otherwise, the field marshal's study looked unimportant and as if it were rarely used. It was just as he liked it.

Lunsford was a man of the field and that was the impression he had always wanted to give, ever since his days as a cadet at the academy. He was in the mud with the men, at the front with the fighters, and always in the thick of the action. His rise to command had come courtesy of his actions during the War of Golden Succession. He had commanded a battalion at the battles of Mons Dei, taking part in the Killian offensive that marked the second engagement. By the end of the war, he was commanding a division and had fought in Ruska and northern Safehaven, taking part in the famed tank battle of Isme-Dagan. His bravery, intelligence, and leadership were rewarded with command of a mechanized infantry corps back home and after the war. Overall command of the Killian army was in his destiny and he had fulfilled it.

What irked the field marshal the most was that the pinnacle of his personal success came at the nadir of Killian power, and the state of the army he had inherited from his predecessor could be described as nothing short of disastrous. While armed with the best weaponry the Golden Throne had on the market, the army had shrunk in size from a wartime strength of fourteen million soldiers to a low of one million two hundred thousand ten years later. To supplement this decline, the government brought in contractors. Why hire mercenaries, when the Killian army could be restored to its former glory? This situation could not be tolerated for long.

Thus, Lunsford's Coup. That was how it was to be forever named in the history books.

Reginald Ranch, a small city in the northern part of the state of Lincoln, served as the headquarters of the Killian armed forces for a number of reasons. First, it sat close to the national capital of DeMaio. Second, it was close enough to the Ordenite border to give it direct access to the battlefield in case of a war with the Reich, but far enough to not be immediately at risk of being overrun in case the Killian frontline could not withstand the initial blitzkrieg. Third, it sat on the major highway that connected DeMaio to the major port city, and commercial hub, of Julian. Julian mattered to the extent it was a major center of commerce, but also because of the presence of the largest Macabéan military complex in the country, comprised of Kríerstatón Ger'Jenel and Barbakán Hunek. There were just over one million imperial personnel stationed in Hunek and Ger'Jenel, and through the city of Julian ran the major artery of imperial resupply. It was natural for the Killian armed forces, for so long attached to and dependent of their Macabéan allies, to organize their domestic bases along this route.

It was from this headquarters that an armored column sped north to DeMaio one early morning late autumn day. Detected far too late for anyone to react, let alone be warned, the column under Lunsford's personal command enter the capital less than three hours after departure. There was no resistance. Storming the congress building and the presidential palace, President Arthur Belschamp was first arrested and then silently executed. His death was reported that very evening.

Happening so quickly, neither the Golden Throne, no Valo'Kap, nor the Ordenites had time enough to respond to it.

A military man to his core, Lunsford ruled now from Reginald Ranch. Smugly, he looked at himself in the mirror. There was another man in the room with him, Major General Arnold Yeoman. General Yeomen had served with Field Marshal Lunsford for the past seven years of his career, riding the commander's coattails to the very top. The most trusted man in his inner circle, Yeoman was privy to all of Lunsford's plans, thoughts, and desires.

It came to a surprise to all that it was Major General Yeoman who took the wire between his two fists, raised his arms over the field marshal's head, and then came down to hold the dictator's head against his chest. Pressing the wire tightly against Lunsford's neck, Yeoman did not let go until the field marshal let out his very last breath and then, suddenly, went limp.

The short reign of Generalissimo Garret Lunsford ended barely eight days after it had begun.



DEMAIO, FEDERAL DISTRICT
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Eleven months prior to current events: A new administration is organized under the auspices of President Jackson Hamilton,
who is accused of being little more than a puppet to the interests of Valo'Kap Consortium. The mercenary cartel acts increasingly independently,
persuading Hamilton to push and ultimately sign a bill that limits the presence of Macabéan soldiers on Killian soil.

"Congratulations on your win, Mr. Hamilton," said Gregor Kol, a gentleman dressed in a fine black suit, black tie, and white button-up shirt. "Your presidency will surely mark a return to normalcy in the Republic."

The newly elected Killian president eyed Kol warily, but otherwise answered respectfully, "With the aid and support of Valo'Kap Consortium, I am sure it will."

"Indeed," nodded Kol. "Speaking of which, now that you are president it is time to talk business. There are a couple of matters that I am especially interested in finalizing today if you would so indulge me. As you are well aware, the first concerns the direct interests of Valo'Kap. The second regards the presence of imperial soldiers in your country."

"Sir," replied the Killian, "you know that the Golden Throne is the most valued ally the Republic has."

"You would agree that the Golden Throne of the present is not the Golden Throne of the past, would you not?" asked the Macabéan. "Furthermore, would it be too forward of me to say that your present fortunes rely more on the opinion of Valo'Kap and its shareholders than on the empire and its emperor? It is the truth, is it not?"

Hamilton laughed, but it was not a laugh of merriment. "The irony of our days is that the truth is, in fact, too forward, Mr. Kol. And I say that with all due respect and in complete awareness of my dependence on your good gracious. We Killians have fallen upon sad days, with our country is at the mercy of a gang of mercenaries and its president a puppet of the very forces he was put in charge of protecting against. But, what am I to do but accept the options I am given and choose the one that is in the best interest of people, even if it is hardly in their interests at all."

"So?" inquired the Macabéan. "What will you do these coming days?"

"I will do what we've already discussed," answered the Killian president. "The bill is already with key senators and, with Lunsford's thorough sacking of the previous congress, it is guaranteed to pass. I will sign it into law and that very day the Golden Throne will receive our request to reduce their military commitment to Hailandkill by half. Simultaneously, the Senate will pass a bill authorizing a tripling of the military budget allocated toward Valo'Kap's services, requesting the deployment of another two million contractors and reorganizing the country's armed forces under the authority of Valo'Kap's Chief Command. I will have signed away the sovereignty of the Killian people to a cartel of private military contractors and chased away the only allies who have committed themselves entirely to our independence. Tell me, Mr. Kol, do you think I will be remembered as a good president?"

A grin grew across the Macabéan's face. "You will be remembered as whatever Valo'Kap wishes you to be remembered as, Mr. President. Remember that."



MOGINOE, STATE OF SOUTH LOMEC
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Present day: Valo'Kap, empowered and bolstered by additional troops, begins to deploy in strength to the Killian border
with the Ordenite Reich. With the core of the Killian Home Army, as it is now called, little more than six hundred thousand men total, deployed
to the north along the Cochlean border, there are over two million contractors in the south.

Gregor Kol was pleased with himself and the shareholders were pleased with him. Hamilton's presidency was proving to be stable enough. The threat of the Killian army had been removed with its subordination to Valo'Kap and the Golden Throne had taken the order to reduce its garrison in the country by half with grace. The contractor cartel, which had moved its headquarters from Tarn to DeMaio, turning the former into a satellite location, now held all the power in Hailandkill. There was not a single organization and institution capable of wrestling this control away from it, not without a fight. And Valo'Kap had positioned itself well for a coming war.

War was surely coming. All knew it.

The Imbrinumians had declared the intention to station millions of its soldiers in the minute imperial satrapy of Pezlevko-Rubino, faraway on the island with Krasnova. The Ordenites were no fools and saw it for what it was, a military build-up that intended to jettison the Reich from the soil for which it had fought three bloody wars.

Hailandkill, a long time ally of the Golden Throne, was not the same self it had been a year ago, but the history that tied it to the Golden Throne was too strong for the Ordenites to ignore. The southern border was surely going to turn into a warzone in the coming months. This time, the Ejermacht would not be well-positioned to counter this new thrust. The war in Hailandkill would not go the way of that in Holy Panooly, because this was the continent of Hugen and on the continent of Hugen it was the Ordenite Reich which sat as the dominant power.

Kol's task over the past ten months was to organize the army groups under his commander, composed entirely of Valo'Kap troops coming from the combined strength of the five companies which made the substance of the consortium. Over two million and four hundred thousand combat troops were organized into eight army groups with a nominal strength of around three hundred thousand each.

He set his personal headquarters in Moginoe, a city just north of the Ordenite border. Here, the front was held by Army Group XX, which extended from just west of Moginoe to the Sea of Crowns in the east. Directly to the south of the city there was a salient that was surrounded by Ordenite territory on three sides. Almost right in the middle sat the town of Dresnech of ancient origins. It had been conquered and re-conquered by sides immemorial throughout its history, but now it was held by the Killians and it was occupied by two full-strength divisions or a total of thirty-six thousand men.

Kol liked Moginoe because it was a major logistics hub, a city of significant national importance and because the drive to the border was neither long nor arduous. In fact, he traveled to it almost every day. He enjoyed observing the Ordenite build-up on the other side of the frontier. It was ominous, the mobilization on both sides and the tension throughout the region that was threatening to boil and spill over into total war, but it was also exciting.

Gregor Kol had joined Valo'Kap because he believed he had a destiny. Denied, for years, of promotion within the ranks of the Ejermacht, he found his path to success with Valo'Kap. He had known for years that his calling was to lead armies and conquer nations. He had an army now. And there was a nation to the south hated by most in Greater Díenstad and ripe for conquest.

[United World Order]

Grunwald Defensive Line,
Northern Ordena-Hailandkill Border
2 Weeks before Unternehmen Taifun

The Grunwald line was likely one of the most impressive strings of defensive fortifications in the entirety of Greater Dienstad. Stretching the entirety of the 1,000km from the western edge neighboring the Hugen strait to the east with the sea of Crowns. Originally it had been the last defensive line the Ordean Empire held in the war against Hailandkill almost over a hundred years ago which would then become the early 20th century border with the Imperial Republic. Once the Ordenite National Socialists came to power in Ordena the northern border was gradually defended even more however with the internal conflict coming soon after their rise to power the military focus was not to the north at the time. It wouldn't be until the mid 1960s that the northern border with Hailandkill would become ever more fortified as the regime in Berlina looked to solidify their military stability on the continent and the possibility of another war with their Killian neighbors was never left off the table of the Reichsfuhrer and the Wehrmacht. The fortifications themselves were meant to be completely temporary which would allow the defenders if needed to withdraw and reform again in-land. Most of the fortifications consisted of steel reinforced concrete pill boxes and quasi-like bunkers which made up the absolute closest point with the Killian side of the border. These were dotted about the entirety of the 1,000km defensive line which were inhabited and manned by an almost skeleton force of half a million men from the Ordenite Army in which their overall mission in the case of an invasion from the north was to slow down the enemy advance for as long as possible. This was meant to buy the Ordenites time to muster a capable force to immediately counter attack the enemy and drive them out of Ordenite soil, the strategy was molded around mobile warfare which was a specialty of the Ordenite Wehrmacht.

Despite the surprising lack of numbers on the line the defenders were well equipped and situated for holding out against enemy advances and attacks. Anti-personnel and anti-tank mines were prevalent in areas that were made into kill zones from which it was planned to circumvent the enemy through in which sufficient firepower from the ground and the air could decimate them. If and when the enemy did manage to deliver a decisive breakthrough, the next 100km would see them have to punch through several more defensive lines that gradually became even tougher than the last. It was then that the Wehrmacht would begin to use it's manpower that was available to them to force the enemy into highly pitched battles and consequently defeat them. However to many in the Supreme High Command it was for seen that any worthwhile offensive against the Grunwald line would be repulsed shortly after and that a general counter stroke could then be launched into Hailandkill proper.

To many this was likely to become a reality soon with recent events occurring in Reichsgau Krasnova which looked to be once again another battlefield for the Triumvirate to fight with the Imbrimium Crown and the Arcaenians foreshadowing what was soon to come. The involvement of the Golden Throne and it's satrapy was also a factor and with it the northern border with Hailandkill became a likely battlefield once again. However unlike the previous wars in Krasnova and even Holy Panooly a war on the Hugen continent would be far different as it was undeniable that the Reich held all the power. Plans that had been kept by the Oberkommando des Wehrmacht on a subsequent invasion of it's northern neighbor had been made and gradually brushed on for several decades were now on the table again. The build up on the Kilian side of the border was concerning as their ranks were mostly filled and made up of mercenaries from a major Tarn based consortium. A shake up in the Republic's government which occurred with a sudden coup and the death of the former president followed by the appointment of another who Ordenite intelligence services believed was planted by the consortium themselves.

While the build up was going on across the border a build up was also going on behind the Grunwald line as well. A slight campaign of deception was being done in order to shadow the true scale of the build up being done behind the border. While a build up was occurring in the eyes of the Valo'kap mercenaries stationed on the border that were certainly keeping watch on movements occurring directly across the border with the Grunwald line. Further in land and away from the border was where the major build up was occurring and had already been organized for quite some time before recent events. An entire theater command was designated for much of the northern section of the country which included the border with Hailandkill which gave a pool of over 13 million combat personnel that could be brought to bear. Currently the border was manned by three Army Groups which was the equivalent of over 1.3 million which all together made up the first line of defense in a theoretical invasion from the north. As the Killian build up had begun the sole Army Group that originally manned the border was then further reinforced by an additional two Army Groups that were moved in to deceive that their would be a similar gradual build up.

In reality a more greater build up was already taking place in which an additional 7 Army Groups were being mobilized and situated further in land but evenly spread and adjacent to the border. This combined force was to be what would surge across the border and thrust into Hailandkill to then be followed up by additional forces to come as ground was made. Separate from the already forming military plans concerning Krasnova a overall plan concerning the likely invasion was termed, Operation Northern Storm.

[The Macabees]

JULIAN, STATE OF LINCOLN
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Four months prior: Macabéan forces, ordered to reduce their strength in Hailandkill by half, drag their feet in pulling their forces
out of the country. Taking advantage of a loophole, high command prepares to deploy a large force of naval infantry
to the island State of New Hemett, on the eastern side of Hailandkill.

Vicstrategos Arn ver Darg surveyed the forces arrayed before him, organized just outside of Barbakán Hunek, the headquarters of Imperial Forces in Hailandkill. He had ordered the commanders of the armored forces stationed at Hunek and the surrounding bases to present themselves for a rally and inspection. Ver Darg hoped that by doing so he could showcase the strength of the Macabéan forces in the State of Lincoln, one of two states in which the Golden Throne had any sort of military presence. Never did the empire have much personnel deployed to Hailandkill but, following Lunsford's Coup and the rise of Valo'kap-favored President Jackson Hamilton, the 'Macabéan garrison' — as Hamilton's propagandists called it — looked smaller than ever beneath the shadow of Valo'kap's rise.

Some six hundred tanks, all of them the Lince model, were organized thirty to each of the twenty rows. This represented just over a quarter of the empire's total armored strength in Hailandkill. That there was not a single Nakíl in the formation pointed to the combat philosophy of the forces. High-paced maneuvered warfare was expected, not the infantry patrol's war of the pacifications.

Truth be told, Macabéan forces in Hailandkill were by no means insignificant. Perhaps they were but a mere decimal point of the billion-man army that was fighting in Gholgoth,* but there were still seven hundred thousand soldiers and just over two thousand tanks in the country. When ordered to reduce the size of their deployment, Ver Darg responded by dragging his feet. In Fedala, High Command was more than pleased to play along, citing all sorts of reasons why they couldn't extract their personnel at a faster pace. Every excuse in the book was thrown at the Hamilton government.

Furthermore, the Killian government's order applied strictly to the size of the Ejermacht deployment, as both the naval and aerial contingents in the country were negligible. The Fuermak took advantage of the loopholes to grow their garrison in Kríerstatón Ger'Jenel by deploying one hundred thousand naval infantry. Kríerstatón Kilu'Ra, on the island of New Hemett, was preparing to receive another two hundred thousand naval infantry. This combined force would make up for the Ejermacht's losses to date. Even if it was a matter of time before the Killian congress amended their bill to include the Kríermada and Laerihans, the intention was to show that the Golden Throne would not abandon their ally to the machinations of Valo'kap Consortium.

Still, ver Darg grimaced. Not so long ago, this army was destined to fight the Ordenite Reich in the defense of the Killian Republic. Now, the Killian Republic was dead and a cartel of military contractors was threatening to turn the geopolitical situation in Hailandkill on its head. He hoped that these fractures wouldn't prove the undoing of one of the Golden Throne's greatest allies.

*OOC: The Gothic War ends months prior to the beginning of hostilities in Krasnova. The beginning of the war in Hailandkill, which this post is the final build-up to, coincides with the beginning of the war in Krasnova.



OSKIMOE, STATE OF WEST TENET
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Two months prior: Valo'kap preparations continue, as Army Group VI masses along the Ordenite border, with the city of Oskimoe
as its forward base of command. Army Group VI contains the pride of Valo'kap's armored forces, including the consortium's elite
mechanized infantry corps. These have been tasked with annihilating the Ordenite left wing.

Chief Operating Officer Mannes Kemper looked pleased with himself as he reviewed the disposition of his forces, Army Group VI, along the border with the United World Order. He had been given one of the most prestigious commands within Valo'Kap and, so far, he had not disappointed. Just over three hundred thousand men and eight hundred tanks were under his command, and they represented the cream-of-the-cream of Valo'Kap's mechanized ground forces. This was a prestigious distinction given that all of Valo'Kap's ranks were filled with veterans of past wars. There was not a sour apple in all of Valo'Kap, but Army Group VI was the ripest batch of them all.

"Do you think the plan will work, sir?" asked Kemper's aide, Vice Director Roger Nolan.

Nolan's voice sliced through Kemper's concentrated, whose gaze rose to meet the other man's. For a moment, it seemed as if he was about to admonish the vice directory, but then his face softened. Kemper replied, "In a protracted war against the brunt of the Wehrmacht? No. Against a Wehrmacht facing a two-theater war, that is here and in Krasnova, we will cause quite a stir."

"A stir, sir?" asked Nolan, who had proven himself to be quite the contrarian. The man had even been foolish enough to voice his opposition to war with the Reich to Valo'Kap Headquarters in Tarn. He was lucky to still have his job. Of course, Kemper had had to do pull quite a few strings in the process. "Don't we aim for conquest?"

"Conquest? Perhaps that's what that fool Kol intends," laughed the Army Group's COO. "We know that any conflict to dismember the entire Wehrmacht and occupy the Reich would be long and almost impossible to win. They have more men and more resources than us. Our war will need to be quick if there is any chance of success.

Kemper paused for a moment to take a sip of coffee from a porcelain mug on the map table, then said, "You see, we don't need to take Ordena to win the war. We don't need to destroy the entire Wehrmacht. No, we will crush the Reich's defenses along the border, maul their left-wing, and roll up the rest of their forces positioned along our border. When we've spilled enough of their blood, they will sue for peace out of fear of an imperial invasion of their mainland, an event that is all the likelier the more men the Wehrmacht loses fighting us. The integrity of their homeland is more important than the status of Hailandkill, wouldn't you think?"

Nolan nodded. "Of course, sir. But, what will such a victory earn us?"

"Respect," replied Kemper.



JONESBURG, STATE OF WEST TENET
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Present day: Valo'kap ties the final bow on its grand strategy of war, hoping to take the Ordenites off guard by taking advantage
of the coming war in Krasnova. War in Krasnova is expected to come in a matter of weeks. The Reich has begun to build-up
along the Krasnovan Frontier, in response to the surge of Imbrinumian military forces in Pezlevko-Rubino.

All of Valo'Kap's top brass had come to Jonesburg, the headquarters of Front Sector West, for a final reunion before the expected commencement of hostilities with United World Order.

The Greater Díenstadi world was holding its breath, although not for reasons to do with Hailandkill, but rather for events unfolding in Krasnova. In response to the stationing of Imbrinumian ground forces in Pezlevko-Rubino, putatively for the temporary purpose of military exercises prior to their deployment to Gholgoth, the Ordenites had bulked up their forces along the so-called Krasnovan Frontier. In truth, the Imbrinumian and Macabéan excuse had been flimsy, at best. The Golden Throne and the Scandinvans had signed a peace agreement only a couple of months prior. Why were more Imbrinumian men needed for Gholgoth?

It looked as if the Reich had called their bluff and Triumvirate forces in Pezlevko-Rubino were still drastically outnumbered. War was coming sooner than most had expected, and the Reich looked ready to grasp the initiative away from its enemies. Of course, war in Krasnova meant war on the continent of Hugen.

That, after all, was why Valo'Kap's commanders had convened to Jonesburg.

They sat inside a giant hall of the most mundane construction, 'Lyran'* in aesthetic and function. Chief Project Overseer Gregor Kol, who had flown in from Moginoe in South Lomec was pacing up and down the stage, speaking into a microphone headset. "Our day of glory is nearing, gentlemen and gentlewomen. Company intelligence suggests that war in Krasnova is coming in a matter of weeks. That gives us not much more time to make any and all final preparations prior to Operation SUMMER THUNDERSTORM. In the coming days, your fuel, ammunition, and supply stocks will be replenished, with a high and sustained rate of re-supply thereafter. You are responsible for handling this increased volume in each of your sectors, and I expect no increase in the rate of delay or any such issues. Our victory is conditioned by our perfection. For that, Valo'Kap has put together an army of the most veteran fighters in Greater Díenstad and the world. All of us, from the highest commanders to the lowest soldier has seen war before and plenty of it. The defeat and conquest of the Fourth Reich is our destiny and I know no better group of people who could possibly be organized for its fulfillment. Ordena will be ours in a matter of months."

A deafening cheer rose up among the Valo'Kap officers in the room.

*OOC: 'Lyran' is the IC word used by many Macabéan's and others for the real world word 'Spartan.'



DEMAIO, FEDERAL DISTRICT
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Present day: Final preparations are made and the Valo'kap Aerial Forces (VAF) is readied for the opening of offensive operations
against the Fourth Ordenite Reich, which are expected to begin in fourteen days.

While Canus Security, Jeh'Ti, and Koman Services were responsible for the ground war, the air war was the property of Huron Authority and Finkirk. The former had already tested its mettle in New Garrack, where it had flown some ground support missions in favor of the local insurgents. But, that was nothing like the war against the Luftwaffe would be.

To wage war against one of the most veteran air forces in all of Greater Díenstad, Valo'Kap had assimilated the Killian Air Force (KAF) into the Valo'kap Aerial Forces (VAF). In total, they counted on a total of six thousand frontline fighter aircraft, which came in the form of Macabéan Lu-45 Hawks. There was a medley of other aircraft, including AWACS, command and control, transport, utility, and trainers, but the bulk of the VAF was composed of its strike aircraft core. All bombers and low-altitude ground-attack aircraft had been decommissioned and sold, the saved and earned money funneled into paying for aftermarket Lu-45 Hawks and their crews.

The Luftwaffe was known to be far vaster but, in theory, it would be pitted against the Laerihans in a bloody battle over the channel that divided the two powers. This, coupled with a strategy that allocated the fighters towards missions where it would be predominately covered by mechanized air defense forces on the ground, gave the VAF some hope for success.

Most of these assets were located in airfields spread out throughout the center of Hailandkill, radiating out from the capital city of DeMaio. These bases were far enough from both the Reich and Cochlea to afford some protection from bombardment, but close enough to fight over both borders. As the front moved south with the invasion, so would these airfields. But, the VAF was a highly valued resource and it would be allocated with care.

With the start of fighting in Krasnova in sight, crews were on twenty-four-seven high alert, their aircraft armed and loaded with fuel as a matter of discipline and preparedness.

In the mess halls and bars, the men anxiously gossiped about the latest rumors emanating from Krasnova. But, the war would come more suddenly than they thought.

[United World Order]

Berlina, Groß-Berlina,
Maybach-II.
Present day: A final meeting of the Wehrmacht chief of staff is held concerning the launch of Operation Typhoon and Operation Northern Storm simultaneously.

Beneath the vibrant but quiet town of Wünsdorf and not far away from the metropolis that was Berlina, the entire Wehrmacht chief of staff came together in a well lit room for what was to be the beginning of several major military operations. The region was at the brink of what had been building up to be the outbreak of a major war that was to once again occur over the island of Krasnova which was held by the Ordenite Reich. The gradual surge of imbrinumian forces into the Pezlevko-Rubino satrapy despite the war in Gholgoth having ended several months prior had opened the eyes of the Reich and the Wehrmacht to what was going on across the frontier. A subsequent build up of Ordenite and Krasnovan armies came swiftly and would be the basis for the launch of Operation Typhoon that would see a short but effective incursion into the Macabean satrapy. This would obviously make much of the region focus their attention on the hot spot in the region, being as several wars prior had occurred over the very same island for the past decade now.

"Gentleman, the time has come to do what must be done to protect what is ours." Fieldmarschall Felzmann exclaimed to the room. "The Golden Throne and the Imbrinumians have been preparing to strike at us through the Pezlevko-Rubino satrapy on the island of Krasnova. As do the Macabean hired mercenaries to our northern border with Hailandkill, it is obvious that the Golden Throne is intending to deliver us a major blow on two fronts. However we are always one step ahead of them." A map was projected in front of everyone in which Felzmann stepped to the side as to allow everyone to see the map that showed the entirety of Central Greater Dienstad with emphasis on the Hugen continent and the island of Krasnova.

"Herr Generaloberst, would you be so kind as to explain our plan of action again?" Felzmann gestured to Generaloberst Bornhof who was Chief of Central Operations for the Wehrmacht chief of staff. He stood up from his seat and approached the front of the room standing to the side of the projected map with a laser pointer in hand.

"Thank you, Herr Fieldmarschall." Bornhof said before continuing. " Our plan of action is as followed. Operation Typhoon will be the opening phase of our military operation in Krasnova and in the sea against the Triumvirate who are poised to strike at us. Ground forces will begin an incursion into the Pezlevko-Rubino satrapy with the objective being to create a buffer zone between our forces and theirs who are still building up their forces in the area and will certainly not expect us so soon. At sea the Kriegsmarine will see to challenge the Krierarmada in the strait that divides our two continents and in the Sea of Crowns as in previous conflicts these channels are swiftly denied to us. With the full strength of the Kriegsmarine we will push the enemy aside and secure control of these channels to keep logistics lines open to the island." Bornhof used the laser pointer as he spoke to show the areas he was speaking about and eventually pointed to the Hugen continent after a brief pause.

"Operation Northern Storm." Bornhof pointed at the highlighted area which was the modern day border between the Ordena and Hailandkill. "Simultaneously with the launching of our operation in Krasnova. Theater Command Delta which has mobilized the necessary forces needed will proceed to invade Hailandkill. We hold the intelligence advantage as much of the region including the Triumvirate believe that hostilities will begin two weeks from now. Unlike our situation to come in Krasnova, we hold superiority on the continent and will be able to sustain a prolonged offensive until we reach the capital of DeMaio. Other objectives will be to effectively decapitate what is left of the Erjmacht in country while also shattering the offensive capacity of their Valo'Kap mercenaries. All branches of the Wehrmacht are at above optimal readiness for this undertaking and it is expected concerning our operation with Hailandkill that it will take three months to completely subjugate the country." Bornhof finished and went back to his seat as Felzmann returned to the front of the room.

"Our Fuhrer leads, and we follow! Hail Grossmann!" Felzmann exclaimed as the rest of the men in the room followed suit with a firm right arm salute.

Gau Nordmark, Ordena.
Present day: Operation Northern Storm is launched simultaneously with Operation Typhoon.

In the early hours before even the sun had risen over the Hugen continent the roar of jet engines cut through the air like a knife. Operation Northern Storm had been given the final approval to be launched by the Reichsfuhrer and the Wehrmacht chief of staff. Messerschmitt 'Typhoon' multi-role fighters had already begun their approach towards the border with Hailandkill from their air bases further in-land and were armed with air launched cruise missiles that were intended to be fired at ground targets across the border. Abwehr intelligence had already identified an array of targets for the opening attack by the veteran Luftwaffe who's foray were to open up whole offensives for the Army in this way. The first wave would consist of multiple groupings of ME 'Typhoon' fighter jets that upon reaching an agreed distance from the border would launch their cruise missiles simultaneously before turning back for rearmament. These groupings would be apparent throughout the stretch of the 1,000km border with the Killian Republic as they targeted the Valo'Kap mercenary formations that had amassed along the border with the Ordenite Reich, this first wave would then start to repeat their attack plan once they were rearmed and would then fire at new targets yet to be struck. While this was going on another wave would take off from similar air bases further in-land consisting of Heinkel He 211 'Griffin' bombers which upon approach towards the border would begin launching their pay loads of stand-off munitions at Valo'Kap mercenary targets such as motor pools, command and control facilities, and known air defense systems. These two separate instances occurring throughout the border would rinse and repeat for the foreseeable future as the Abwehr updated their intelligence on new ground targets.

In the hours before the commencement of Operation Northern Storm the 7 Army Groups that had been mobilized further in land to eventually strike at the Killian Republic had quietly arrived to their staging areas in the dead of night. Before them across the border was the state of West Tenet and South Lomec in which historically these two Killian states had once been occupied by Imperial Ordena before the war with Hailandkill in which these two former provinces were lost in heavy fighting. This also meant that countless millions of Ordenites were left to their new lives as citizens of the Killian Republic and would evidently co-exist in society as over the years leading up to now had grown exponentially. The Abwehr and Ordenite foreign intelligence operatives over the years were able to create and grow an expansive network of spies and sleeper cells which in the coming hours before the invasion was conducted were covertly contacted by their Ordenite handlers to begin operations of their own behind enemy lines. These sleeper cells would with legally and or illegally purchased weaponry that was available to them on the Killian market began to search for intended targets for assassination which included state and federal officials, police officials and even Valo'Kap personnel themselves. Recruitment among these sleeper cells would be encouraged by their Ordenite handlers as cities and towns such as Dresnesch, Monginoe, Labell, Oskimoe and even Jonesburg would become hot spots for these cells. Rampant sabotage would also come to play as utilities and communications were targeted and as the hours ticked down the Ordenite Army would soon be at their door step.

The Ordenite Army had arrayed it's forces in a way that both states were to be attacked by three Army Groups each with a additional one in reserve which in reality would be increased to three with two having been already amassed along the border were given notice to expect immediate combat deployment. As the Luftwaffe had begun it's offensive against the Valo'Kap mercenaries the Ordenite Army would begin their own as from the ever so numerous static artillery positions arrayed along the entire border began to open up with 149mm towed howitzers. Whatever defenses were manned by the mercenaries across the border would be bombarded by the immense amount of Ordenite artillery being utilized against them. The vast array of Ordenite mechanized and armored forces swiftly began their advance across the border with engagements occurring at the border its self as Valo'Kap forces that hadn't fell back following the artillery barrage were further bombarded by Self propelled artillery and MLRS units. Over 9,000 tanks with 4,000 of them being Panzerkampfwagen Königslöwe IX heavy tanks and the rest being the normal main battle tanks, Panzerkampfwagen Löwe IX surged forth throughout the length of the border supported by Sd.Kfz 270 Nashorn IFVs and Sd.Kfz 270 Jaguar 4 Raketenjagdpanzer's. The Ordenite Panzergrenadiers being rode into the battle in Sd.Kfz 270 Luchs APCs with further artillery support being provided by Sd.Kfz 271 Marder sPH's and coverage from enemy air attacks coming from the various Flakpanzer IX Wespe's who would cover the advances of the mechanized forces in battle.

While the Luftwaffe's mainline combat aircraft engaged the enemy in stand-off engagements against ground targets, further attacks were being done through the immense drone fleet maintained by the Luftwaffe and the Ordenite Army. Hammer and Wiking UCAVs would soon enough make their appearance on the developing battlefield providing not only real time feedback of the situation on the ground but also immediate fire support with air to ground missiles and even ATGMs as they looked to pick off Valo'kap armored forces engaging the enroaching Ordenite Army. Further air support also came from squadrons of Tiger-6M Attack Helicopters that when necessary would further engage armored and soft targets as the ground battles raged on. The Ordenite Reich had subsequently took the entire region of Greater Dienstad off guard in it's two swift launching of offensives in two different theaters of war, only time would tell whether this would favor the Reich in the long game.

[Cambrian Albany]

3 'Dormarch' Troop, W Squadron, Commando Reconnaissance Regiment
21 Airborne Brigade, 7th (Cyhyraeth) Airmobile Division
Exercise Chariot Strike
***Nantcairn Training Area, Principality of Selgovia, Albany -The Holy Cambrian Empire***

---

A lone fallow deer stag munched at the cud of the rugged valley moorland, its mottled tawny pelt blending in fairly well in the surrounding terrain: the odd lone spruce amongst pockets of gorse, thistle and the odd rocky outcrop. A few small woodblocks, largely artificial were dotted about the valley and on its slopes and the deer was on the limits of one such block, not wishing to stray too far. Suddenly its ears pricked and it shot glances left and right, to see, a few yards into the woodblock a section of earth rise from the forest floor; a lid almost upon which had been heaped turf, moss, ferns and purple heather. A pair of binoculars, well wrapped in dulled sniper tape, emerged and a face with them -the face smeared with brown, black and dark green paint, the lower part of the face being concealed anyway by a green neck scarf and on the head was an MTP pattern bush hat. The stag took one look at this peculiar creature emerging from its subterranean lair and bolted, its limbs springing to action as it darted away, splashing through a nearby burn and on towards the cover of a large gorse bush. That peculiar creature was in fact Captain Geraint ap Llew an attached Forward Observation Officer to the Commando Reconnaissance Regiment which formed the pathfinder group for 21 Airborne Brigade. He slowly lowered himself back into the sub-surface observation post, closing the lid behind him and switching on his personal red head torch began annotating his map. 3 Troop, bearing the epithet of 'Dormarch'; a hunting dog of Albian mythology, had inserted into the area some 8 hours before via HAHO insertion and had been conducting various recce tasks and duties for the brigade ahead of their landings into the area, and indeed the wider Squadron was operating in the area ready to mark up dropzones for the parachute infantry and combat support elements of the brigade all of which would perform a tactical parachute insertion. Indeed, for many it would be their first exercise jump since they passed out of the parachute training course at Ffriddbach. For 3 Troop however their chief concern was to mark up potential targets for the two 105mm batteries of the 2nd Royal Horse Artillery Regiment otherwise known as the 'Parachute Gunners' which would be providing fire support of HE and smoke for the parachute infantry battalions when their own mortars weren't enough. Captain Geraint turned to Colour Sergeant Mordred ap Beli who was sat next to him with the radio kit, gently having a swig at his water.
"Right, I've got eyes on an enemy position, see if Myrddin and his lot can investigate further." He said quietly. Mordred picked up the receiver on the radio.
"OP5 this is SSOP 2, enemy position sighted at November Oscar 553027 that is 553027, your ref points are the single pine, down to the right on the small mound.. got it? Good. Right as much info as you can, I've got the coordinates to send back to the batteries but obviously the Colonel will want wider info on numbers, weapons, morale et cetera. See what you can glean."

Several hundred yards forward of Geraint's SSOP was a fairly unassuming gorse bush, large but still. But inside it had been hollowed and occupied, and covered internally in chicken wire and hessian cloth to avoid thermal detection. Here Lieutenant Myrddin ap Pwyll had his forward observation post with two other operators from the CRR. From here they had a pretty good view of the enemy position: a hastily dug trench with a machine gun position about a fireteam strength and they seemed in a fairly casual mood. The OPFOR was of course other soldiers in the Imperial Army, specifically here the 3rd Battalion, New Loegrian Rifles from the Holy Cambrian Empire's tropical territory New Loegria. And so the surveillance began.

As darkness rolled into the valley there was a few hours of still, the odd creature crying out into the night. Suddenly green light flares shot into sky, illuminating the valley and in they sky hundreds upon hundreds of parachutes cascaded down from cargo planes which slowly passed overhead- not like the pairs of attack helicopters which flew low to the ground, sweeping into the valley and occasionally letting off loud bursts of blank rounds. Operation Chariot Strike had begun in earnest and all ready platoons of paratroopers from the 1st Battalion 2nd (Empress' Own) Parachute Regiment were tactically patrolling the area in spaced out files and some in loose wedge formations: prepared to advance into contact. Some way behind them the heavy thudding of chinooks landing could be heard, swiftly followed by the thunderous roar of the 105mm guns opening up firing blank ammunition, though intended to be aimed at enemy targets already marked up. Gun fights began to erupt throughout the valley as platoons encountered pockets of enemy: all of them performing swift platoon echelon attacks on the positions, many zealous platoon commanders finally ordering their assaulting sections to lob in some fake grenades, switch to fully automatic fire and fix bayonets. Controlled but nonetheless savage aggression was the benchmark for the imperial army's infantry and certainly for its paratroopers. As the the training area crackled with gunfire, all sorts of other soldiers began setting about their tasks, getting signal comms properly secured, parachute pioneers were already delivering more ammunition to the initial assault companies whilst company level medical posts were hastily being set up too. There was a rumbling as several lightly armoured patrol vehicles from the Ducal Cornovian Lancers having been dropped out the back of Albatros-90 cargo aircraft to provide deep battle recce and some heavier fire support for the infantry.

Consulate of the Holy Cambrian Empire, DeMaio, Republic of Hailandkill

---

Gwydion Chadnolladwr yawned in abject boredom and knocked back yet another dram of whisky, a fine malt from the Caledonian west coast: a twenty year old Dùn Craoibh, very peaty and rich, stored in oak barrels in the great turf-roofed store houses of the distillery there. Gwydion's boredom however was unfounded as this he'd just been informed that a medical team from Albany: mostly nuns and monks from Penrhynmerthyr Abbey had decided to fly in in a few days to Hailandkill on a humanitarian mission. The past few years of Gwydion's posting had been anything but the quiet convalescence that he'd hoped for and the region was in turmoil with the outbreak of hostilities. He stared grimly at the details of the medical mission on his computer screen and poured himself another drink before taking a cigarette from his personalised engraved case and lighting it in his mouth.
"Fucks sake.." He muttered in disdain at such a prospect, a bunch of geopolitically ignorant monastics bumbling about, for which he'd likely be responsible for. The situation was not helped mostly however by what he knew was the Albian Government's stance on the matter: that the Ordenite's wish to regain territory occupied by its former citizens, kith and kin, was wholly valid. Though, no such overtures had yet been made. Yet. Gwydion had rowed several times with Lord Arwel ap Maredudd Baron of Ogoffawr, the Ambassador in Berlina over that matter. Not that Gwydion really cared, he just could no longer really be arsed with the consequences of being a diplomat in a hostile country. He'd watched with growing despair as Belschamp and Lunsford had been killed and the power fluxed with many a sleepless night as Caer Rhuddcwm (capital of Cambria and the Holy Empire) demanded to know what was going on and who was involved. He'd overseen the toing and froing of Albian agents doing piecemeal surveillance and the like, often having to bail them out when people got nosey. He could only thank the Lord that his three children were safely back in boarding schools in Albany.
"Angharad my lovely?!" He called out, down the corridor. A few seconds later a girl, barely into her twenties with a tight black skirt, white blouse and grey woollen cardigan appeared. With her smooth skin, enticing eyes and red lips, her blonde hair well tied up, she was a sight for sore eyes. Angharad made the job slightly more bearable for Gwydion, and she knew as such herself. Despite Gwydion having a wife.
"Can you send Abbot Tudur a reply, namely with the bookings we made for their accommodation and the transport details for when they arrive here at the airport? I'll go and meet them when they arrive too I suppose." He asked, tapping the ash from his cigarette into his bowl.
"Certainly sir. Would you like another coffee?" She hastily replied with a delicious smile.

Llandrefor Monastery, Penrhynmerthyr Abbey, Kingdom of Loegria -The Holy Cambrian Empire

---

Thick and fragrant incense billowed down the isle of of St. Rhisiart's Chapel as the daily service of Vespers and Benediction concluded and the procession of Priests, sacristans and choristers made their way out of the chapel, the organ blaring away and the great Marian Hymn Alma Redemptoris Mater, heartfully sang by all present echoed throughout the ancient monastery chapel:
Ave, Regina caelorum,
Ave, Domina Angelorum:
Salve, radix, salve, porta
Ex qua mundo lux est orta:

Gaude, Virgo gloriosa,
Super omnes speciosa,
Vale, o valde decora,
Et pro nobis Christum exora.
Once the robed procession had left the chapel, the many monks and nuns and visitors present in the chapel resumed their seats, some kneeling to pray and some remained seated to quietly reflect or listen to the organist who struck up with a well accented version of Widor's Toccata. Friar Pedr ap Aneirin got up from his pew and after genuflecting before the highly ornate altar of the chapel he walked down the isle towards the door. He dipped his fingers in the holy water and made the sign of the cross. Suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder and he turned to see Prior Iago ap Hywel stood behind him: essentially his boss in the Monastery, overseeing his welfare and discipline along with tasking him.
"Brother Pedr, I have a man to see you with me." Prior Iago said, introducing a sharply suited gentleman with a brown moustache and slightly balding brown hair. "This is Blethyn ap Garwyn, he said he knows you from your army days?" Introduced the Prior, smiling before drifting away. Pedr gave the man a confused look.
"I'm terribly sorry sir but.. I do not recognise you?" Pedr said, blushing and fiddling nervously with his rosary which hung from his waist. Blethyn chuckled heartily and offered his hand in greeting.
"You haven't met me before but I would like to have a chat, regarding your humanitarian mission to Hailandkill." Blethyn said, guiding Pedr out of the chapel and into the evening air.

Llandrefor Monastery was part of the huge Penrhynmerthyr Abbey estate, the great Gothic abbey itself dominated the highland region for miles around. The estate included a state of the art hospital run by the monks and nuns, hundreds of acres of farmland both crop and bucolic: some tended by monks others by tenant farmers, there was the abbey itself and the highly prestigious school that came with it: Penrhynmerthyr College along with Penrhynmerthyr University and of course over the centuries a town and several interlinked villages had sprung up. This was the Bishophric of Llandrefor Pentre, in its day one of the most powerful entities in all of Albany before being subsumed by the Kingdom of Loegria before that too was in turn made a client state of the Kingdom of Cambria to form the Holy Cambrian Empire in 1458. Llandrefor was considered one of the Empire's religious souls and a heartland of the Albian Catholic Church.
"So, Brother Pedr what made you decide to leave the Royal Loegrian Rifles for this... tranquil and beautiful as it is here?" Inquired Blethyn as the pair strolled through the walled vegetable garden with its well raked gravel paths. Pedr furrowed his brows, perplexed as to how this man knew of his former regiment.
"Well I suppose I just felt that this was my vocation instead. I enjoyed the army and my father was in the army too, same regiment as was his father but.. I just felt that it was a corrupt way of life. Less the combat side of things, more the drinking and the women. I enjoyed a good party whether it was a night out on the town or a lock in on barracks but some of the antics my unit got up to were just depraved and I felt far from God." Replied Pedr, staring at the ground. Blethyn nodded.
"I suppose you should know who I am, I am Commander Blethyn ap Garwyn from the GWADIGU (Gwasanaeth Diogelwch a Gwybodaeth Uchelrhiaidd/Imperial Security and Information Service)." He said curtly, showing Pedr his ID card. Pedr paled and stopped, startled. Commander Blethyn chuckled. "No no, you've done nothing wrong at all, we just need your help."
Pedr's fearful reaction was not unwarranted however: the GWADIGU were the HCE's secret police, intelligence services and domestic security forces all rolled into one and had a very wide brief. Almost everything about them was classified, no one even knew where their headquarters was and the answered only to the inner circles of government. They were given a fairly wide berth too as to what they could do to guarantee the safety of the HCE both at home and abroad; this included heaps of allegations of torture, assassinations and raids by their highly trained but often heavy handed operatives. The GWADIGU kept huge databases of dissidents and problematic people and even knew for example who in a village was regularly missing Sunday Mass. Commader Blethyn continued.
"When you head out to Hailandkill, I'd like some eyes on the ground. You'll be doing God's work out there of course but I your Fatherland, your Nation needs your services too. I want you to send back detailed reports of fighting from the injured people you treat, I want the morale, everything. You know what to do, you were a Corporal in a recce platoon. You'll receive the exact details and the who-how in due course. I would strongly recommend you agree here and now..Brother Pedr." Explained the Commander, offering his hand. Pedr exhaled deeply before accepting the hand.

[The Macabees]

JONESBURG, STATE OF WEST TENET
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The thunderous noise of war along the border is treacherously deafened in the city by a campaign
of violence undertaken by Ordenite irregulars operating behind the front lines.

The city rattled with the sound of gunfire despite it being 100–150 kilometers from the frontlines on the first day of the war. In the early hours of the day, Jonesburg's mayor was dead, her blood splattered against the outside wall of her residence. A gunman had mercilessly shot her down as she was going to work. The police commander suffered a very similar fate, as did various other high-ranking police officers.

Between the ground attacks within the city and the Ordenite's preemptive attack in the air and along the front, there was enough to send internal security forces in the states of West Tenet and South Lomec in disarray. Jonesburg was not an exception, although being farther away from the ground fighting to the south it was perhaps in a better position to handle the Ordenite "insurrection" within the city and its suburbs than many of the other targets. Police forces, aided by rear-echelon Valo'Kap forces in the area, reacted quickly to intensify patrols in the order of a couple of magnitudes and the establishment of checkpoints and other controls. Ordenite irregulars were hunted down through a combination of intelligence sources and, more often than not, killed rather than arrested.

Rumors were already circulating about the fate of the cities closer to the Ordenite border, however. Indeed, according to some stories, Oskimoe was lawless. The city's police had apparently found it imprudent to waste their time securing the city, as most expected it to fall within the first two or three days of the war. Rather than risk their lives, they hunkered down in their garrison buildings and waited for the arrival of the Werhmacht. Valo'Kap forces were too concerned with containing the Ordenite offensive to deal with insubordinate municipal security authorities.

Even in Jonesburg, a gloomy mood prevailed. Whether the city could be held by Valo'Kap was an open-ended question and much depended on how its forces reacted to the invasion. No matter how you sliced the problem, however, the number of those who doubted Jonesburg's successful defense grew by the hour. And the rate accelerated with every inch of territory lost to the Ordenite advance to the south.



LABELL, STATE OF WEST TENET
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The preemptive Ordenite invasion takes Valo'Kap by surprise along the center of the front
and their forces begin holding actions as units which aren't overrun begin to slowly withdraw northwards.

Although the Ordenite buildup across the border had been tracked for quite some time, the Reich's offensive into Hailandkill was without a doubt a tremendous surprise. Forward positions were quickly overrun. Sometimes the defenders died at their posts, other times they were withdrawn north. The choice between options often came down to strategy and tactical value, as it did to personal bravery. All of these soldiers were veterans of war, lack of bravery and quality would not be Valo'Kap's problem. The Werhmacht was fighting a premier army, but it had caught this army with its pants down.

The initial rounds of the war were inevitably lost by Valo'Kap. Its forces along the center of the front preformed holding actions, making tactical withdrawals where necessary and holding their ground where advantageous. Valo'Kap's forces along the center of the front were predominately infantry and light mechanization, and they certainly did not have the same armor support as units like Army Group V did. In fact, as it concerned the armored forces around Labell, their primary mission these opening days was to withdraw northwards later in the evening and regroup on the road to Jonesburg. Thus, it was the infantry and artillery on which most of the fighting fell on. Infantry units equipped with anti-tank weapons, and well-supported by rocket artillery and howitzers, did their best to act as sacrificial speedbumps.

All of this was done beneath the shade of the air war. The Luftwaffe's offensive was brutal. The Reich's attack and bomber aircraft rained guided missiles down on Valo'Kap's ground forces, with special attention placed on targets of high value — radars, motor and supply depots, command posts, and air defense installations. These, of course, fought back, such that a cloudless sky that should have been clear and sunny was instead a smeared palette of war's colors.

With time purchased with blood, Valo'Kap could reorganize its forces, develop a defensive strategy to contain the invasion, and perhaps even turn the tables on their enemy. The Reich may have grasped the initiative, but Valo'Kap would not fold its arms and give up its hold over Hailandkill. Neither was it about to abandon its long-run objective of humiliating the Ordenites into recognizing Valo'Kap as a legitimate power on Hugen. After all, the war had only begun.



JONESBURG, STATE OF WEST TENET
----------------------------------------------------------------------
As Ordenite jets and their missiles scream through the clouds towards their targets, and
the war drums beat loudly to the south, Valo'Kap officers in Jonesburg devise their defense strategy.

The Ordenite offensive had come as such a surprise that Kol didn't have even have enough time to fly back to Moginoe in South Lomec, where his headquarters was located. He'd have to reorganize his forces from Jonesburg.

"Here," he said, pointing to a spot on the map broadly corresponding to the area around Jonesburg. "If all else fails, we'll make a stand around Jonesburg and Holandale. We'll wear them down in the coming days and throw them off balance, and we're ready to dig in they'll run into a brick wall. If we can't halt their advance permanently, it'll give us enough time to set up a new defensive line running across the southern border of Lincoln and the middle of North Lomec. By then, we should be able to bring the Killian Home Army down from the north. We'll be able to count on the Macabéans, as well. To push back the Ordenites and come in as saviors of Killian liberty? That is an opportunity they would never let pass."

The officer nodded, following Kol's finger with his eyes as it moved from location to location. He said, "Any word from them, sir?"

Kol let out a long breath. "Not much. But, what I've heard is that they have almost immediately started to secure their position in central Lincoln. No doubt they'll deploy to defend the state, their base, and very likely the capital city. Once the Ordenites arrive at the neck, I doubt they'll want to hold tight on defense. They may not like us, but right now it's just our armies and there's here. We both need each other if we're going to survive."

"Earlier, sir," started the other officer, "when referring to our defense of Jonesburg and Holdandale, you said 'if all else fails.' As if needing to defend Jonesburg and Holandale weren't foregone conclusions. As if we had options to stop the Wehrmacht's offensive along the border. Do we have that kind of chance?"

The Chief Project Overseer smiled when he replied, "Anything is possible if Kemper can do his job."



OSKIMOE, STATE OF WEST TENET
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Valo'Kap's Army Group VI's advanced units are initially overrun when surprised by the Ordenites.
However, containing the best units in the entire army, they leverage their muscle in a counterattack.

Kemper had the best forces Valo'Kap to offer, but Army Group VI had been caught by surprise, just like the rest of the army. Thus, the war they were supposed to start in the vanguard they began on the defensive, performing holding actions and temporary defenses while slowly withdrawing northwards. Regardless, Kemper — and his superiors — couldn't let one setback spoil the strength that Army Group VI represented.

The second day of the invasion, Army Group VI launched Operation SUDDEN TEMPEST.

It followed a general aerial counterattack that had been particularly severe in the area of Oskimoe, on the western wing of the front. The Luftwaffe had resolved to stand-off strikes, delivering guided missiles over long-ranges to better avoid defending aerial defenses. The VAF had scrambled to meet the opening attack as best as they could, but by the time they were within range to engage enemy aircraft the attack had already unfolded for some time. This time, they were better prepared. The first wave of Lu-45 formations flying to meet the Luftwaffe's bombings attacked at beyond visual range, but behind them came the second wave of formations that used the noise of the multitude of air-to-air missiles to close the gap between them and the enemy. From a closer distance, they gave the enemy less time to respond.

As pressure was applied to the Luftwaffe, Army Group VI launched its counterattack. Kemper's armored divisions focused their strength along specific points of the Ordenite western flank to breakthrough into the Wehrmacht's rear and begin a flanking maneuver to unbalance the rest of the Ordenite front. Eight hundred Nakíl tanks, purchased second-hand but outfitted with the more powerful 140mm gun and additional appliqué armor, focused their strength to overwhelm the opposition. The Wehrmacht may have had more tanks, but they were distributed along the entire frontline. Kemper sought local superiority. The army group's infantry strength focused on pinning their enemy down.

Unlike Kol, Kemper was not as optimistic about halting the Ordenite offensive so close to the border. But, if he could give the Wehrmacht a wallop to the nose perhaps it would be enough to slow their advance and allow Valo'Kap forces to better prepare for the defenses of Jonesburg and Holandale.



MOGINOE, STATE OF SOUTH LOMEC
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Valo'Kap's Army Group XX meets the invasion with a rugged defense, using their heavier
weaponry to hold the army's eastern wing as long as possible and allow an orderly withdrawal north.

On the eastern flank, the two divisions of infantry holding Dresnech were the most vulnerable. Ordenite irregulars had opened the conflict in the morning, followed by the bombings, but it was the main Ordenite offensive that was the most threatening to the position. The town would be surrounded within the opening day, as it was in a salient surrounded on three sides by the Reich. Parts of the two divisions therefore invested in holding actions while the bulk of the thirty-six thousand combat personnel force attempted to withdraw north toward Moginoe.

Army Group XX's advanced positions suffered from similar fates as the rest of the front, with these being overrun rather quickly. Nevertheless, the force had a specific role to play in the coming defense: it had to buy the bulk of Valo'Kap's forces enough time to regroup around Jonesburg and Holandale. Army Group XX, therefore, dug in and defended.

It had been outfitted with heavier weaponry designed for a defensive function. In the original war plan for Operation SUMMER THUNDERSTORM, Army Group XX was to act as a solid and unmoving anchor against which to roll up and smash the Ordenite front line. Perhaps it would still perform this function if Kemper's Army Group VI achieved spectacular success but, in lieu of that eventuality, XX's simple function was to hold the flank while the center of Valo'Kap's line pulled back in good order.

The bulky Ordenite offensive was met with heavy howitzer and rocket artillery fire. If the Wehrmacht tried to attack enmasse it was met by concentrated fire. As elsewhere, XX also performed counterbattery fire to place pressure on the enemy's artillery forces and air support struck the advancing foe with its own stand-off guided-missile weaponry. If Valo'Kap's eastern wing had to give territory, it was at a significantly higher cost to the Ordenites than anywhere else. XX would eventually withdraw north, but not before making the Reich earn its passage at a heavy cost of life.

[The Macabees]

JULIAN, STATE OF LINCOLN
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Imperial ground ouside of Julian take control of the city and strike northeast to seize Reginald Ranch,
intending to continue on to the Killian capital of DeMaio. Macabéan forces begin a de facto military administration
of the Killian state of Lincoln, preparing to defend the state's southern border along the "neck" of Hugen.

Julian's city police headquarters was much roomier than the command rooms back at base. It's why Vicstrategos Arn ver Darg had chosen to move his headquarters to the city after it had fallen to his army earlier in the day. The bloodless coup and imposition of imperial military control over Julian gave ver Darg a much more secure base of operations in the war against the Ordenite Reich.

Valo'Kap would lose if they fought the war on their own. There was no question in ver Darg's mind that the contractor conglomerate, for as much firepower as they had brought here, could not win the conflict. Although they ruled the country through a puppet president, who was born and raised among his own people, the Killians had no loyalty to Valo'Kap. Perhaps most could be swayed to loyalty toward a government imposed by the Golden Throne, but even Hailandkill's closest ally had lost much currency among the Killians, who had felt progressively abandoned in a quickly evolving world. Ver Darg, at least, had no intention of abandoning the country.

The same morning that Julian was occupied, on the second day of the war, an armored battalion silently trekked north in several small columns. They traveled on radio silence, all emitters disabled. They were followed by armored infantry being flown in on tilt-rotors with silenced blades and the harsh curves of stealth. With the bulk of the mercenaries' forces deployed in the south, Valo'Kap did not have much in the area to immediately resist with, anyway. Still, it was best not to alert anyone until the last possible moment. For these forces were moving on Reginald Ranch and the Killian Home Army's headquarters just outside the city, two objectives that were secured with minimal bloodshed. Even had the Killian Home Army wanted to defend the base, most of its substance had been deployed on the northern border by Valo'Kap.

A far greater mass of men and machinery of war simultaneously moved south. These advanced to Lincoln's southern state borders, where they began preparing their defense against the inevitable Ordenite offensive into southern Lincoln. If Valo'Kap cooperated, their forces and the Golden Throne's could combine to present a formidable defense. If Valo'Kap did not cooperate, Arn ver Darg's strategy would fall back to a defense in depth while the Macabéan garrison in Hailandkill grew in size — something that was immediately impossible since the first priority was to simply maintain the existing supply routes to Nicaro and Hailandkill.

One way or another, Arn ver Darg planned to make Lincoln a fortress and, if necessary, the heart of a Killian Free State that would continue to resist the Ordenite conquest of the continent.



DEMAIO, FEDERAL DISTRICT
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Valo'Kap's central administration in Hailandkill summons Vicstrategos Arn ver Darg to discuss terms of cooperation
in the war against the United World Order. The Golden Throne, unwilling to negotiate with Valo'Kap, demands a meeting
with President Jackson Hamilton and without mercenary representation. Valo'Kap temporarily ends communication.

Arn ver Darg knew that Valo'Kap would be livid. They had summoned him to DeMaio to discuss cooperation in the war against the Fourth Reich and, presumably, the post-war governance of Hailandkill. But, the Golden Throne did not negotiate politics with private companies and it would never recognize Valo'Kap as legitimate administrators over Hailandkill. That would be to condemn their allies to a mercenary dictatorship and it would signal the final death knell of Killian democracy. Ver Darg had told them that he would only speak to President Jackson Hamilton, the country's president.

What he did not expect the mercenaries to do was to end all communication with him. Ver Darg simply could not understand what would drive them to do that. The Reich had called their bluff along the border and Valo'Kap's forces were clearly not going to repulse the invasion at its genesis. Perhaps they still believed otherwise, but any sane commander could see the writing on the wall. Were they really that blind?

If Valo'Kap would not cooperate it would convert the Hailandkill conflict into a three-way war that would benefit the Ordenites, as they would face two opponents fighting independently of each other. It would also make the defense of Lincoln that much more difficult.

Sighing to himself, ver Darg placed his finger on the map to mark his next move: the occupation of DeMaio, the Killian capital and heart of the country.



LEOPOLDTON, STATE OF NEW HEMETT
----------------------------------------------------------------------
While the Golden Throne and Valo'Kap lock heads in Lincoln, the Golden Throne's Kríermada begins
its military administration over the state of New Hemett, an archipelago off the eastern coast of Hailandkill. The small
flotilla stationed on the island, together with air forces stationed on the islands, begin harassing the Ordenite eastern flank.

Although New Hemett was the location of the Kríermada's primary naval base of operations in Hailandkill, the flotilla stationed there was comparatively small. In fact, it was almost negligible compared to the much larger fleets that operated elsewhere and especially compared to the Kriegsmarine. The largest naval element on the island was actually the garrison of naval infantry, which had grown to over three hundred thousand in the past four months. These constituted the core of the imperial defense of the offshore archipelago.

Its initial contribution limited due to the maneuvering of Triumvirate and Ordenite naval forces in the Sea of Crowns, aerial forces stationed in New Hemmett resigned themselves to harassment of the Ordenite eastern flank and naval forces stationed on the Ordenite east coast. These were relatively limited in scope and focused mostly on interdicting Ordenite mechanized columns attacking Valo'Kap forces around Moginoe. This city was on the verge of falling, in fact it would likely be taken by the Ordenites that day, and it was imperative that their advance toward Holandale be delayed for as long as possible. The longer their advance took, the more time the Golden Throne and Valo'Kap had to prepare their defense of the 'neck.' Of course, the Golden Throne also hoped to buy time to reinforce their armies both in New Hemett and Lincoln.

There was a secondary operation being prepared for, as well. Opposite of New Hemett lay the State of Rincon, which ended at the edge of the eastern side of the 'neck.' Rincon would undoubtedly soon become involved in the war and the faster the Golden Throne could secure it, the lesser the chance of it falling into Ordenite hands. The operation would be contingent on the arrival of reinforcements, something which did not look likely in the short-term, but it was assumed that the Kriegsmarine would be scattered relatively early in the war and, if that turned out to be true, it would open the possibility of enlarging the combat forces operating out of New Hemett.

[United World Order]

South of Labell,
State of West Tenet,
Republic of Hailandkill.
Army Group III managing to advance 10km past the Killian border continue despite stubborn Valo'Kap resistance / Labell Ordenite Fifth Columnist actions.

The beginning strokes of the invasion had gone to plan as most of the forward Valo'Kap positions had been overran with ease. The Luftwaffe had done well in suppressing vital enemy infrastructure which allowed the Ordenite armies to roll over the Valo'Kap forward troops and advance deeper into Hailandkill its self. Army Group III had arranged it's field armies in a way that as they approached the city of Labell they would be able to completely encircle the city leading up to it's capture. The center of the Valo'Kap defense were gradually withdrawing in the face of the advancing Ordenite Army however they were not making it easy for Army Group III and IV to achieve a more broader victory against them. Well positioned infantry with anti-tank weapons and light armored support made for a rocky advance deeper into the Killian countryside in which Army Group III would rely on the Luftwaffe and it's own fleet of armed drones to track down and destroy what Valo'Kap resistance their still was. Hammer and Wiking UCAVs would be employed to the front lines with Army Group III as while also providing live intelligence they also utilized their air to ground missiles to target Valo'Kap positions and light armor. Roaming Tiger-6M attack helicopters who mostly only committed to operations that were mostly safe from enemy air defenses harassed withdrawing mercenary units and others that were still fighting against the advancing Ordenite Army.

The enemy artillery were certainly also not doing any favors for the advancing Army Group III which also moved with the infantry and light armor. Despite this the mechanized and armored formations of Army Group III continued to advance with the overall objective to encircle the city of Labell. In and around Labell various armed Ordenite Fifth Columnists went about securing strategic infrastructure such as power and water plants, city government buildings, transportation hubs and the various news stations across the city. The municipal police did little to impede what the Ordenite partisans were doing with some even joining their cause while others remained in their garrison buildings awaiting the inevitable arrival of proper Ordenite Army units. In the first few hours when the Ordenite sleeper cells originally carried out their attacks in coordination with the beginning of the invasion, the local populace being largely Ordenite began rallying to their cause. The fate of the Mayor and other municipal officials loyal to the Killian Republic and therefore largely assumed to be loyal to Valo'Kap were essentially witch hunted by Ordenite mobs who rounded them up and handed them over to the Fifth Columnists themselves where swift executions followed.

As the municipal authorities did not largely intervene to stop them, the fifth columnists having taken over the news stations in the city announced that Labell was in the hands of the Ordenite Reich. Natural born citizens of the Killian Republic who disliked what was going on in their city and of how close the war was coming to them, began to leave with whatever they could take with them. Thousands now left Labell as refugees heading into the northern half of the State of West Tenet eager to get to safety. The city of Labell seemed ready and with open arms to embrace the soon to be what they termed 'liberation' of their city from the mercenaries and Killian Republic.

South of Oskimoe,
State of West Tenet,
Republic of Hailandkill.
Army Group I and Army Group II react to the sudden 2nd day counter offensive by the Valo'Kap Army Group VI.

The push towards Oskimoe had been well earned in the opening strokes of the war with much of the forward border defenses the mercenaries held having been overrun swiftly. Kemper's Army Group VI were stubborn in their defense as they withdrew meticulously northbound fighting running battles with Army Group I and Army Group II who sought not only to advance on Oskimoe but also Jonesburg to the north as well. In the first day alone they had managed to cover almost 20 kilometers and as the sun rose again on the second day of the war the Valo'Kap mercenaries withdraw suddenly turned into an advance right back at the encroaching Ordenite armies. The entirety of Kemper's Army Group VI suddenly shifted into a counter offensive focusing all it's armored strength onto several points along the western flank of the entire Ordenite advance. The counter attack had done what it was looking to accomplish as Kemper's Army Group VI broke through Army Group I and proceeded to commit to flanking maneuvers to throw off the whole western flank. Army Group I obliged initially with the momentum that Kemper's forces had built up and allowed them to advance through and into the rear for almost 5 kilometers. However once effectively in the Ordenite rear it would soon become obvious that they had fallen into a trap as forward Ordenite units of Army Group I began flanking the rear elements of Kemper's forces and went on the attack.

Two Panzer Corps from Army Group II were shifted towards Army Group I and would act as a hard right hook into Army Group VI's rear area. The veteran mercenary armored formation had managed to punch 5 kilometers inland with a width of only 3 kilometers wide and had now effectively become trapped in a typical Ordenite encirclement. What elements of Kemper's forces had not been encircled were now effectively cut off from the rest of Army Group VI and were pressed back by Ordenite mechanized and armored forces that were striking at Kemper's rear. The encircled elements of Army Group VI would now be subjected to gradual attacks from all sides along with being bombarded by self propelled guns, mortars and MLRS, The Luftwaffe who at the beginning were dealing with a counter attack by the VAF in the overall airspace over Oskimoe had simply brushed the VAF away as their numerical superiority came into play as the Typhoon multi role fighters began dog fighting with mercenary fighter aircraft. A separate squadron of Typhoons now approaching the site of the encirclement and armed with anti-tank and anti-ground munitions began pummeling Army Group VI with even more firepower as the Wehrmacht in the strategic picture looked to crush Kemper's Army Group VI. Which was seen as the greatest element of resistance that Valo'Kap offered militarily. Once it had been deemed that the encirclement would hold despite what the encircled may do the general advance of Army Group I continued as it looked to make up for lost time that had to be spent on dealing with a sudden counter attack.

Further back near the former Killian border and with the invasion now being in day two, the Army Command staff had deemed it necessary to begin moving in reinforcements. Now moving into West Tenet and looking to catch up with Army Group I and Army Group II was Army Group VIII which had originally been in a state of readiness since the beginning of the invasion and had now been given the green light to advance in the rear of the western flank. This would also be true for the eastern flank in South Lomec as Army Group IX would now advance in the rear of Army Group IV and Army Group V as the combined overall force now invading Hailandkill was over 4 million in strength.

South of Moginoe,
State of South Lomec,
Republic of Hailandkill.
Army Group IV, V, VI encounter tougher resistance as they advance along the eastern flank.

The initial start of the invasion had gone according to plan as the majority of Valo'Kap forces amassed along the border were taken by surprise. Dresnech would be the scene of fierce fighting between mercenary infantry holding the town, Ordenite fifth columnists and the encroaching Ordenite Army who already were advancing on three sides. Army Group VI were already dedicating elements of it's forces to envelop the town before the majority of Valo'Kap infantry could escape north towards Moginoe. Valo'Kap artillery on the eastern flank was harsher as the Ordenite Army also focused on counter battery fire with it's MLRS units returning fire with heavy rockets. While Dresnech was in the process of being enveloped, resistance was still marginal within the town its self as Ordenite fifth columnists engaged the enemy mostly to harass them and hold them up within the town. Dresnech would soon enough be in the rear of the Ordenite Army while what resistance remained still being dealt with the majority of the Ordenite advance in that area pushed on towards Moginoe. As the first twenty four hours came to pass and the beginning of day two of the invasion came to be, Valo'Kap resistance was becoming more stubborn and tougher to break. While they had forced the mercenaries to tactically withdraw northwards they began to hunker down once again in the face of the Ordenite Army. Fierce engagements would begin to play out throughout the Killian country side on the road towards Moginoe as the Valo'Kap defenders were making the Ordenites fight hard for every step they took forward. What may have not been relatively known to Valo'Kap and what intelligence they had on the Ordenite side of the border was of the existence of several specialized artillery units that were maintained deeper in the Ordenite country side.

Super Heavy Artillery Unit 703 was one of several specialized artillery units comprising of well maintained and modernized railway artillery that in Ordenite doctrine were relatively kept for defensive measures, however this would change. Unit 703 consisted of one Schwerer Gustav railway artillery gun which maintained a 800mm caliber cannon mounted on a large railway platform carriage that could be moved through much of the imperial gauge way in which segments of it were dedicated to moving these railway artillery units around. Unit 703 had been mobilized and deployed where it's fire was well in range of the distant Killian city of Moginoe and the majority of the front lines. Valo'Kap forces on the eastern flank were becoming harder to dislodge and sweep away as other segments of the front and so under orders from Generalfeldmarschall Günther Schörner who oversaw combat operations of Army Group's IV, V and VI delegated the use of Unit 703 in the suppression of Valo'Kap forces. The loading process had been over time made easier due to some automation being included overall as the massive shells were moved with a on-site crane which would place the shell on a rail that would work similarly to a conveyor belt. This would push the shell into the cannon its self making loading completely automated while the only functions of the railway gun that needed human intervention was in aiming the cannon. The ammunition for the gun its self had seen a its usual HE and AP shells now include GPS and even rocket assisted capabilities that would give the railway gun more accuracy and range.

The targets that Unit 703 was being given were Valo'Kap troop concentrations on the front lines and further to the north towards Moginoe which included artillery positions and other military worthy targets. The Schwerer Gustav would begin firing as it's massive cannon roared and it's 800mm shells began closing the distance on it's target. The railway gun's rate of fire in modernity was at least 20 to 25 minutes per shell fired and in a full day of operation could fire over 25 shells in total.

[The Macabees]

TARN, LIKUTAT OF THE GOLDEN THRONE
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In a bid to subdue Valo'Kap and force it to succumb to imperial pressure, the Golden Throne raids
Valo'Kap's offices in the city of Tarn. What began as an attempt to co-opt mercenary forces
in the Killian Republic under Fuermak command ends as an upheaval of unstable
politics of the empire's sole Likutat, or free city.


Ruud Vergonsel shivered as the steel wagon he rode bounced along the unpaved road. He looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but the other men were too preoccupied with their own anxieties. There were six of them total, too few in Vergonsel's opinion. Four years ago, he had been on a similar road, then headed toward the gates of Tarn Defense Solutions. But, those times had been different. Tarn Defense Solutions had been an easy mission, but something told Ruud that Valo'Kap's submission would not come so easily. Of course, Valo'Kap had pre-empted this very day and had moved their headquarters do DeMaio. But, the consortium's member constituents still held their independent headquarters in the city. It was toward Jeh'Ti's gates that Ruud was headed now, to do the very same thing he had done to Tarn Defense Solution's corporate leadership four years prior — he was going to arrest them.

It was impressive to think of how Tarn had changed since 2026, indeed how much the world had changed. Jumanota was now firmly in the hand of Navitek. The empire's taxmen did not frequent the people of Jumanota, rather the Imperial Bureaucracy's share of the unofficial country's gross product was paid for as a corporate tax on the corporation itself. Little by little, Navitek became better at hiding its income and consolidating it toward its own corporate purposes, and the line between corporation and state became thinner and thinner. Holy Panooly, of course, was a Satrap of the Golden Throne, facing internal tensions and violence that precluded its involvement in Jumanotan and Tarnish matters.

As a likutat, or "special administrative district" of the Golden Throne, it was a full member of the imperial federation but was free of many of the political constraints that such membership typically implied. For instance, the plentitude of private military contractors within the city's limits was a case in point. This culminated in the Golden Throne's treaty obligation to respect economic legislation passed by Tarn's assembly. Even if that economic legislation protected the ability of these firms to forge their own foreign policies as it suited their commercial interests.

Hundreds of contractors soon found a home in Tarn. There were dozens of large mercenary firms, many of them under foreign ownership. Even the Fourth Reich boasted of a mercenary company in Tarn, Freikorps Germania. The Mokans had Eastern Military Deployments, among others, and the Morridanes Wildcat Aviation. So many contractors, who faced a glut for their services, brought tens of millions of veterans to Tarn and then some more. And with them came surplus military hardware companies, manufacturers, and other distributors. Within the decade, Tarn had developed as astonishingly advanced infrastructure that extended from the customer-facing private military companies to the entire supply chain down to weapons manufacturing and the production of their individual components. It was a magnificently gigantic and complicated economy that made Tarn enormously wealthy.

But, at the end of the day, the empire would not allow itself to be outplayed. It would find a way of setting the order it wanted, as it had when Tarn Defense Solutions had decided to take the liberty to assassinate David Templeton, then-dictator of a still fully independent Holy Panooly.

Through the small, rear window of the MRAP, Vergonsel looked as Tarn's coastal skyline disappeared within the dense early morning fog that was just starting to roll over the city in from the sea. Even the tall, multi-colored skyscrapers could not fight the inevitability of being enshrouded by the low-level clouds. Jeh'Ti was a relative newcomer to the contractor scene, explaining why its headquarters was so far from the urban center. There was no land left undeveloped there, and so new companies found themselves setting up camp nearer to the outskirts — boundaries that it continued to expand as the assembly purchased surrounding land from Navitek.

Two more vehicles followed in the convoy, both MRAP varieties as well. The Gardí Gen'vil, or the civil guard, had been outfitted well in the preceding years, although it was still a far cry of the garrison the Golden Throne should have deployed to Tarn. Rather than an army, the empire counted on a civil security force with just about two hundred thousand officers. It was a large force, until you considered that the contractors outnumbered it by at least a magnitude or more. Indeed, some firms employed more soldiers on their own than did the entire Gardí Gen'vil. It was this reality that made missions like these dangerous.

It was sometime longer before the convoy finally lurched to a stop. Ruud stepped out, followed by two security officers from his same vehicle. None of the other officers dismounted. There was a large concrete and steel gate blocking the path, with a comparatively comedically small concrete pillbox manned by three Jeh'Ti guards. "Halt," one cried out.

Ruud did not stop until he was within conversation range with the guards. By then, the Jeh'Ti personnel had their rifles trained on their imperial counterparts.

"I said halt," said again the same guard. "Through this gate you will not pass."

Ruud's expression remained unchanged and serious. "I am Koronel Ruud Vergonsel. I represent His Imperial Majesty's Will and am under strict orders to detain key Jeh'Ti personnel under investigation for treason against the state, which I remind you is illegal even in this legal cesspool of a city."

"Regardless," said the guard, soberly and through gritted teeth, "through this gate you shall not pass."

Ruud clenched his fist and his eyes narrowed, but as he opened his mouth to yell, something else occurred to him. "The emperor rewards those who are loyal to Him. You look like a veteran of the Fuermak. Let me guess, Ejermacht. I can pass the good word and ensure that you are prized for your assistance in bringing the traitors to justice. What do you say?"

The guard laughed. "Even if such an offer were enticing to a man like me, as a veteran of the naval infantry, neither of the two other men with me served His Imperial Majesty nor do they find the prospect of His reward more lucrative than the benefits they are already bestowed as employees of Jeh'Ti Korporat. Besides, we don't control the gates. We only choose whether to relay someone's arrival to those who do. And, as I've already implied, inside you are not welcomed and, as a result, through these gates you will not pass. If you gave me all the gold in the world it would not change this simple reality, Officer Vergonsel."

Overhead, the engines of a number of jet aircraft screamed. Ruud looked up to see the markings of the Kríermada on their wings. GLI-76s. Pointing up, Ruud said, "That says otherwise. Now, I advise you to either open this gate, step aside, or otherwise face certain extinction."

The guard only smiled back, refusing to budge.

Ruud was about to turn away and return to his vehicle if not the piercing shriek of more aircraft. Looking up, he saw two more fighters pop in behind the first, although these did not bear the same insignia. Rather, they wore the dress of Finkirk, one of the premier private military aviation contractors in the city. The four jets chased after each other in pairs, quickly disappearing to somewhere else in the sky.

To Ruud's back, the guard said, "It looks like my extinction is not so certain."

Through his command radio, Ruud said, "Activate Code Blue, I repeat, Active Code Blue."

There was a muffled "copy" before the rear hatches of all three MRAPs opened and out poured fifteen officers of the Gardí Gen'vil. Deploying across a scattered line, finding cover where they could, they took position and pointed their rifles towards the green, grey, and blue of the vine-covered compound gatehouse. The Jeh'Ti guards retreated into their pillbox as Ruud and the other two scurried back to their own lines.

Suddenly, the steel gate door slid into the recess within the concrete and from behind it was revealed a group of men standing outside three sedans. They were suits, most had fully grey hair, and all looked beyond the years of your standard mercenary. Of course, these men and women were not mercenaries. They were businesspeople. They were the corporate leadership of Jeh'Ti.

"Cease this madness," cried out one, as they walked toward Ruud. "Hold your men back, Officer Vergonsel. There is no reason to spill blood. I suppose you're here to bring us in for questioning? Very well. Let's get on with it. Take us."

Standing, Ruud sighed and, then, nodded. "Good," he said, "His Imperial Majesty would not have liked to hear that his Will was resisted."

Chuckling, the same person who had spoken before, a woman with short, bunched-up hair, replied, "The emperor's Will is no longer so strong in Tarn, officer. But, for now, we will cooperate. We have nothing to hide or to fear. Now, take us before I change my mind and we march our way back to our offices."

Ruud bit his tongue, but motioned them to get into the vehicles. "You two, in the second one. You two, in the third. You" — he pointed at the woman — "will ride with me."

"My name is Maggie ver Heresko," she said back to him.

"Quiet," he lashed. "You'll have plenty of time to speak later."

He climbed in behind her, followed by his men, who closed the hatches. As soon as their targets were secure, they turned around and headed back to the center of the city, to the headquarters of the Gardí Gen'vil. It was a return trip in silence, as Ruud warily peered at her from the corner of his eye. He wondered why it had been so easy to take her in and how Jeh'Ti would react. Nothing so easy was ever good, it only forewarned of coming challenges.

[The Macabees]

JONESBURG, STATE OF WEST TENET
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Labell and Oskimoe very nearly overrun, Valo'Kap forces in the west concentrate on the defense
of Jonesburg. Far to the rear, contractor forces organize for a coming counterattack. Ground-based
air defense systems, in conjunction with the VAF, contest the skies.

"Damn him," muttered Gregor Kol, as with his fingers he traced the line of Army Group VI's counterattack to the southeast. "He's not advancing fast enough."

Another officer, one of the army group commanders, nodded and added, "Fighting reached Hagersdor this morning, which is more than twenty kilometers north of Labell. We expect our forward lines of defense to be in contact with the Wehrmacht no later than tomorrow morning. In other words, the battle for Jonesburg will commence in a matter of hours."

Shaking his head, a third officer — the army group commander's chief of staff — joined in, saying, "Sir, we should order Kemper's Army Group VI to withdraw while there is still an open corridor for his men. The Werhmacht is threatening to cut them off and very well will within a few days unless Kemper is significantly reinforced."

"Kemper is lost," said yet another officer.

This caused them all to fall into a heated debate over whether Army Group VI ought to be sacrificed for the greater good of Valo'Kap or if the cost of an entire army group was simply too high. Voices were raised and tempers flared, and there was no consensus to be had. Gregor Kol, who was in deep thought, remained silent.

It was true that the Wehrmacht was attacking in Army Group VI's rear, but Kemper had reserves and the enemy's maneuvers would make them vulnerable to flanking attacks by the forces of the neighboring army group. Nevertheless, unless victory around Jonesburg was assured and for certain, maintaining Kemper's forces on the offensive would put them at risk of annihilation. At this point, a withdrawal would be messy, but perhaps the bulk of Army Group VI's personnel and equipment could be salvaged for the coming defensive battles around Jonesburg. Kol pondered his options while the others continued to argue and shout.

Finally, he slammed his fist on the table and captured the attention of all persons in the room. He said, "Order Kemper to begin withdrawing his forces back north. His men and tanks will be needed in the coming battles. Tell him his counterattack must be ended prematurely and that if he delays in acting in accordance to my orders he puts his life and those of his men at imminent risk."

To the army group officer and his chief of staff, Kol ordered, "Your Army Group II will assist Kemper in his withdrawal. Mechanized Corps Richards will counterattack along a southeastern vector with the objective of blocking Ordenite armored forces attempting to cut off Army Group VI. If all goes according to plan, your men will withdraw northward with Kemper's army group's strength added to yours when it comes time to join the defense of Jonesburg."

"Godspeed," he finished, and they all saluted before leaving to carry out the tasks he had given them.



BEHIND ENEMY LINES, UNITED WORLD ORDER
----------------------------------------------------------------------
COO Mannes Kemper's counterattack on the western flank of the Ordenite front pushes forward.
The Wehrmacht has begun an encircling maneuver, but COO Kemper's Army Group VI
is stronger than its enemies give it credit for.

Army Group VI was not a small formation, accounting for more than three hundred thousand combat personnel. The breakthrough it had established by the end of the first day of the counterattack had penetrated only five kilometers into the Ordenite rear along a front about three kilometers wide, which all considered was a small amount of space. A typical mechanized division was responsible for holding a front between 10 and 20 kilometers wide. Thus, when the Wehrmacht counterattacked with two panzer corps only a fraction of Army Group VI's forces had managed to breakthrough and the bulk of Kemper's army group was still in contact with Army Group II, which held its eastern flank.

Heavy air defense coverage provided a protective umbrella over Valo'Kap's ground forces. Ground-based laser systems and mobile SAMs protected against enemy munitions and close air support, while heavier SAMs were used to engage the Luftwaffe at long-ranges. The VAF remained at a distance, firing air-to-air munitions at beyond-visual-range to harass the enemy.

UAVs were used by Valo'Kap for forward observation, some carrying RADARs and others different sensor suites, all designed to give Valo'Kap's air defense systems advanced warning. Some districts were under intense jamming and others under strict protocols of EW silence, and all benefited from remote sensor systems. Other UAVs were used to support ground forces, including providing forward observation for mobile artillery performing fire suppression duties and counterbattery fire. And then there were UAVs that hunted enemy UAVs, with the rate of attrition undoubtedly high on both sides.

Beneath this air defense umbrella, Kemper's forces met the two repositioned panzer corps with their teeth bared. They were met by parts of Mechanized Corps Lombard and Mechanized Corps Dumitrescu, named — as all Valo'Kap units below army group level were — after their commanding officer. Nakíl tanks working with combined arms formations composed of lighter IFVs and anti-tank vehicles, as well as their infantry complements which also had anti-tank capabilities, counter-attacked against the approaching enemy tanks.

The battlefield flared to life as teams of mechanized infantry and heavy armor pounced upon the panzers of the Reich. All around them artillery rained down from above. Mobile howitzers and rocket artillery pummeled the advancing Wehrmacht without respite. Valo'Kap had been preparing for a major offensive, they were well stocked up. But the enemy had artillery too, and both sides conducted merciless counterbattery fire.

All the while, Army Group VI's spearhead continued its operations to advance further south behind the Ordenite eastern wing. The first day's gains had been shallow, and if they could not achieve a more significant breakthrough on this second day the counter-offensive would lose steam. Kemper, sensing that the overall momentum of the front was not in his favor, shifted his objective to the destruction of the two panzer corps that had maneuvered to attack his rear. While a third of his forces anchored the two panzer corps with their counter-attack, his spearheading units continued pushing south, increasingly penning the panzer corps into a kill-zone zeroed-in on by Valo'Kap's artillery.

Kemper had kept the same HQ overnight since the previous day's breakthrough had been so limited. Neither he nor his staff had slept much, as the counteroffensive slipped into what looked like the first major tank battle of the war. He was being briefed on the situation along a particular sector of the fight with the two panzer corps when he received the call from HQ in Jonesburg.

"What the hell do you mean they want us to withdraw?" shouted Kemper. "The fight has only started and we've got them right in our sights."

"Direct orders from the CPO," replied the voice over the phone.

The discussion continued for some time. Finally, Kemper put the phone down and then rubbed his head as he digested his new instructions. Shaking his head, he stood and waited until the room's eyes were on him. "We have less than twenty-four hours to maul the panzer units in our grips and subsequently withdraw toward Jonesburg. The CPO deems our forces crucial for the defense of the city."

"Withdraw? Now?" asked one of the other commanders. "We have the opportunity of flanking and annihilating two panzer corps."

"The CPO has decided to reinforce us with Mechanized Corps Richards from Army Group II. It will strike the two panzer corps from the opposite direction," said Kemper. "We just need to keep it in place for a few more hours while the artillery goes to work. We have SAMs behind their lines. We will sacrifice them to buy the time needed to devastate the area occupied by those two enemy armored corps with absolute impunity. And we will be gone by the fall of night. We will have given the enemy a taste of the capabilities of the army they are fighting and at Jonesburg we will treat them to an even more spectacular battle."



HOLANDALE, STATE OF SOUTH LOMEC
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In the east, a vigorous Valo'Kap defense slows the Ordenite offensive. Still, Moginoe will be lost
in the coming days and Valo'Kap forces withdraw to prepare for an intense battle around the city of Holandale.

Like the rest of the front, the area south of Holandale was lit up by the colors of war. Anti-air missiles and lasers filled the skies, sharing them with artillery shells and rocket munitions that went this way and that. The fighting north of Moginoe was particularly vicious as this was where Valo'Kap's line was the least flexible.

Artillery tubes shuddered as they fired against advancing enemy armor and infantry. Hidden behind berms, these inexpensive traditional artillery pieces had now EW or major heat signature, making them much harder to find and see before it was too late. They were also more difficult to salvage once a particular line had been flanked or dislodged and therefore had to be abandoned, but they would make the Wehrmacht's advance slow and expensive. They were supported by mobile howitzers and rocket artillery which saturated whichever areas where the Wehrmacht was advancing in numbers, then scooted to change positions and avoid counterbattery fire.

As elsewhere, Ordenite artillery was subject to counterbattery fire. The larger pieces — especially the "mega" 800mm rail pieces — were especially susceptible. Slower and more difficult to move, they were the perfect targets for the long-range shells used by Valo'Kap's 155mm and 203mm howitzer artillery.

Here, electromagnetic jamming was particularly consistent, persistent, and widespread. Reich soldiers in their APCs or tanks would find their cellphones and radios inoperable. In some sectors, RADARs were unreliable and deliberately misled, both through traditional jamming, the use of deceptive emitters and beacons — false positives to draw enemy munitions and attention —, and through cybersecurity operations to feed more false information. Oftentimes, data would suggest the presence of defensive assets that weren't actually there. Sometimes, sensors and battlefield intelligence equipment would discover Valo'Kap forces in the process of withdrawal, only to find them well-entrenched and fully expecting the assault. The objective was to draw enemy forces into kill zones or out of position and make them vulnerable to artillery barrage or small-scale counterattacks designed to eliminate as much of the enemy as possible to wear him down.

While Valo'Kap's defense was as wily as it was tenacious, Moginoe was cut off and effectively lost within a few days. An initial trickle of refugees that had started in the thousands was now widening into a river that numbered in the tens of thousands each day. At first, Killians looking to escape the combat zone moved north via open highways took their vehicles, but these and much of their material possessions were soon left behind as traffic jams piled up and the only way to continue was on foot or motorcycle. They came into Holandale which was amidst siege preparations and soon the river became a flood, as hundreds of thousands of Killians migrated north toward the "neck."

To help alleviate the refugee situation, Valo'Kap assigned state and municipal police forces to guide people fleeing the warzone toward refugee centers that were quickly being set up around DeMaio and the central cities of the republic. Most were not only escaping the war, but also the possibility of life under the tyranny of the Reich.

[The Macabees]

DEMAIO, FEDERAL DISTRICT
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Macabéan forces approach the Killian capital, forcing Valo'Kap's hand and allowing President Jackson Hamilton
to visit imperial commander Arn ver Darg. Via President Hamilton's arbitration, the three parties come to
an agreement that will determine the future of the republic.

Between the situation along the Ordenite border and Vicstrategos ver Darg's encirclement of DeMaio, Valo'Kap finally resigned itself to consenting to imperial demands and allowing President Hamilton to attend discussions with the Golden Throne without direct Valo'Kap representation and oversight. They even allowed Hamilton to fly out to Reginald Ranch via helicopter, where ver Darg was waiting for him.

They shook hands once Hamilton touched down and the vicstrategos greeted him first, "Welcome, Mr. President."

"Weird," said Hamilton.

"What is?" asked ver Darg, confused.

"To step on one's own soil and still feel as if it were foreign occupation," answered President Hamilton. "Anyways, take me to where we'll speak, general. Let's get this nonsense between you and Valo'Kap over with and focus on the real enemy, the goddamn Nazis on our southern border."

Ver Darg guided him to the light utility vehicle waiting for them. When they were both seated, he said, "I don't understand your loyalty to a band of mercenaries, but it doesn't matter. Your army is at the edge of defection. It's going to happen. You might as well pretend that you're still in control and place them under imperial command for the duration of the war. Your people will not fight for foreign mercenaries, but they will fight for a president who above all is in favor of the strength and independence of the Killian Republic. That president could be you, that you must decide quickly because the train is leaving the station."

Looking at him plainly, Hamilton replied, "You didn't invite me all the way out here to save me from the embarrassment of the revolt of my own army, did you? How humanitarian of you. You must now think that I owe you one, is it? There has to be more. Tell me, what is it that you really want, general?"

"I want you to remember what's best for your people and give them the promise of a stable government during the most dangerous moment in its history. If my intention were to bring glory to my empire by orchestrating the annexation of the Killian government into the federal bureaucracy then I would let your people consume themselves while we partitioned you with the Reich under the standard of anti-fascism and liberty. But, that's not what I am doing, is it?" Ver Darg sighed. "To my people, the Republic is considered sacrosanct. Your people helped ours during our direst hour of need. My career was formed steeped in that credo and I am here to serve the Republic because I believe that that is my duty as an imperial military officer. I am offering you the opportunity to become a leader that future generations of Killians will revere rather than one that they will hate."

They were approaching the building where the talks were being hosted. Turning to the Macabéan commander, President Hamilton nodded and said, "You're going to have to see it from Valo'Kap's angle too, you understand? You may not like them, but they are far the biggest army in the Republic that's aligned with all of ours' goal of turning back the Reich's tide."

Both ended the conversation there before proceeding inside, where the formal talks was held. But, the important discussion had happened in that vehicle. President Hamilton officially signed over command of the Home Killian Army to the Ejermacht for the duration of the conflict against the Reich. He also gave preliminary agreement to the lifting of all restrictions on the size of imperial forces in Hailandkill, as well as a significantly enlarged postwar garrison with scope for further growth. Both items would have to be passed by the Killian Congress. They would be attached to a bill accepting over one hundred billion ríokmarks in initial aid from the Golden Throne in the form of capital, but also medical supplies, military weapons, and items like food and clothing for the mounting refugee crisis. The Golden Throne also recognized the legitimacy of the Killian Republic's outstanding security contracts with Valo'Kap and guaranteed the sovereignty of Valo'Kap's command. The two armies would be fighting the same war, but separately.

Once the meeting was concluded and the Killian president had left, ver Darg began urging commanders to advance to Lincoln's southern state line with West Tenet. He had to concentrate his strength along that stretch of border as quickly as possible, while Valo'Kap would be responsible for the defense of the stretch of the "neck" within North Lomec.

To the surprise of most, he also ordered two mechanized corps to redeploy to the State of Convington, to bolster a much reduced Killian army. Ver Darg was certain that the empire would find a way of reinforcing his position. The Republic was simply too valuable of an asset to entirely condemn to the Reich. But, for the time being, he did his best to allocate his forces to address the multiple priorities of Hailandkill's defense. And one of those was certainly the northern border. Ver Darg did not trust the Cochleans and did not take for granted what they'd do if the situation on the southern front worsened further. The prospect of a grab for land was always an appealing one.

The bill would take another day to pass and was then immediately signed into law by the president. By then, Fedala had already decided to reinforce their position in Hailandkill as soon as possible, although the manpower commitment remained ambiguous. By the time the first of these reinforcements arrived, the battle for the "neck" would undoubtedly be already beginning.



PHILLIPON, STATE OF CONVINGTON
----------------------------------------------------------------------
After the Killian Home Army defects to the Golden Throne's command, imperial officers are flown out
to Phillipon, the headquarters of Convington Front Forces command. Preparations are made to bolster
Killian forces by funding the recruitment and training processes, and providing the equipment.

The day after the meeting between ver Darg and President Hamilton, the vicstrategos sent the first group of officers to Phillipon to begin the integration process under imperial command. Phillipon was the capital city of Convington, which sat along the northwestern border of Cochlea. It held the headquarters of Convington Front Forces, or the group of Killian Home Army forces responsible for the defense of the state's frontier.

The Killian army was in desperate need of enlargement. It had been sapped of its strength by Valo'Kap. The company didn't want its client state to have a military capable of threatening their own. What if Congress decided that they didn't need their business anymore? Valo'Kap wasn't willing to allow that to happen, especially if they were significantly weakened in their war with the Reich. But, Valo'Kap's grasp had been removed with the transfer of the KHA to the Ejermacht. Plans were immediately put in motion to begin recruiting new soldiers. An ambitious program to increase the KHA six-fold within the next six months was put in place.

With some imperial funding, but an even greater sum of borrowed money, these new recruits would be paid and trained by the Killian state. Some of their instructors would be Macabéan, but mostly to accustom them to the new chain of command for the duration of the war. Otherwise, the Killian Home Army would remain Killian-made, Killian-paid, and Killian-loyal. New training camps began construction around the imperial bases outside of Julian, Reginald Ranch, and Leopoldton, and the old training center outside of DeMaio was reopened and began expansion.

Persuading the masses to volunteer for service would take a mixture of the stick, the carrot, and the propaganda. Prisoners of a certain age, and excepting certain crimes, were given the opportunity to have their sentences commuted in return for service during the war. They would be among the first to go to the front, organized into common units. But, also, the salaries were good in this kind of economic climate, new hire officer positions were reserved for those of higher education — promotion from within remaining open —, and there remained a sufficient feeling of patriotism to compel many to sign up. That patriotism was amplified by multi-channel propaganda that touched the emotions of all. On website display advertisements, one was flooded with photography depicting the military glories of our common man soldiers in recent wars, the faces of fears those fleeing from the approaching Reich, and scenes from areas once liberated from the Reich, including Krasnova and South Panooly. Televisions exchanged ad space for the state's propaganda, as did radios. Podcasts were harder to control, but prominent political leaders made themselves available for interviews and their message was unequivocally aligned between them. Every channel of information consumption was exploited to drive the anti-Reich Killian patriotism that would feed millions into the army.

In towns and cities across the Republic, recruiters were deployed out in droves. They did not always look like recruiters. They talked of the atrocities of the Reich, the threat of enemies on all borders, and the need for patriotism during Hailandkill's darkest hour. These recruiters promised visions of a golden future, like the one they were on the cusp of little more than ten years ago.

This exercise in emotion was lifted by the fact that with the mobilization and the war in general, work was becoming more and more available. The Republic had gone through hard economic times since the civil war and even before, but now factories were hiring and the military was once again accepting millions of men and women into their ranks. Even the old Nakíl factories were reopening. This first step in economic revival and the first sign of the re-emergence of a sense of Killian community were powerful forces acting in concert to drive millions to action. Even if not all became soldiers, they could work building munitions, in the distribution of propaganda, and the hundreds of other roles needed for a war-focused polity.

But, time was of the essence. Training would be short. And soldiers would find themselves on the front within weeks of enlistment. A war was being fought and the Republic needed manpower, and most of it was to be deployed north in accordance to the agreement the government had already made with Valo'Kap Consortium.



DORISVILLE, STATE OF RINCON
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The port of Dorisville is occupied very quickly by the Kríermada, which reinforces the city
with a lightning deployment of thirty thousand naval infantry from New Hemmett. Dorisville
is put under martial law enforceable by the imperial military, by decree of President Jackson.

Dorisville was the principal resupply port on the east coast of Hailandkill. Once the Killian Home Army had defected, it became an immediate imperial priority to occupy the city and it did so by means of a lightning deployment of two naval infantry divisions. Brought in by several waves of transport aircraft, the two divisions were brought in within a matter of hours. They were supported by the flotilla based in Leopoldton, which left their port quietly to enter Dorisville that same day, with the intention of requisitioning what was left of the Killian Navy. They would be returned, but only after the Navy's loyalty was ensured.

From Dorisville, it was a direct highway to Clement, the border city hosting the advanced component of Rincon Front Forces. Clement was a dusty, squat city with a little over one million residents. A lot of local commerce passed through it and it was one of the major entry points for tourists or immigrants traveling in either direction. Nothing was particularly appealing about it and most people passed straight through it without paying much attention.

But, to the Golden Throne, Clement was the crucial hub for frontline forces deployed along the Cochlean border with the state of Rincon. Although the Reich was considered the most significant threat to the independence of Hailandkill, there was some concern about the northern border as well. Cochlea had remained silent about the war and their intentions were already suspect since their interception of an imperial merchant ship. Furthermore, there was indication that their government was aggressive and seeking an opportunity to exercise its muscle. With the weakness the Republic found itself mired in, at the moment, Hailandkill seemed like an attractive opportunity for the Cochlean government to do just that. Thus, the Golden Throne's suspicions about their intentions and the speed at which the Fuermak began integrating the Home Killian Army into its command structure.

To better facilitate the transition of command, President Hamilton put Dorisville under imperial law, with the understanding that Killian law would still be respected and applied in most cases. This was an extraordinary decision that was accomplished by means of executive powers, but it gave the Golden Throne's military forces almost full range in Dorisville. Thus, Dorisville became the main eastern land and naval base on the mainland, connecting the bases in New Hemett with those in Lincoln. A direct land route passed through DeMaio, Reginald Ranch, and through to Julian, the empire's principal western mainland port.

While ground and air commanders worried about the defense of northern Hailandkill, the Kríermada flotilla now working from two ports — Leopoldton and Dorisville — busied itself with making the waters all around New Hemett inaccessible to shipping, except for a narrow corridor close to shore that led out north and to connected these two ports. Outside of this corridor, a dense concentration of naval mines of various types were laid out. These were disguised as rocks, seaweed, or other features of the seas to make identifying them more difficult. The fact of the mining was publicized to discourage neutral ships from sailing in the area and friendly military shipping would need to use IFF codes or be guided by an imperial warship.

While sheer distance made reinforcing the Laerihans difficult without indisputable access to the sea, an audacious plan was set forth to build up the strength of imperial air forces in New Hemett. By the second day of the war, the Golden Throne had already begun to transfer at least a hundred aircraft each day by flying them from New Empire to Imbrinium, refueled once along the way and refueled again in Imbrinium. From there, they proceeded to Mordent, being refueled in the air, and then to New Hemett. The arc-shaped trajectory would place the inbound aircraft on a southward vector, far from the Reich. They would also be shielded by the defense air defense system on the offshore archipelago. Once at their destination, they would be fully armed and prepared for the air campaign against the Reich's invading forces.

Thus was the road paved to the surge of imperial troops, material, and influence in Hailandkill, along with the general mobilization of resources in a concerted effort to defend the Republic.

[United World Order]

Labell,
State of West Tenet,
Army Group VIII Rear Area.
While Labell is firmly behind Ordenite lines, Valo'Kap forces still held up within the city force a siege.

Labell had been one of the first urban centers in Hailandkill to swiftly fall into Ordenite hands following the opening strokes of the invasion. While much of what could of been a bulkier garrison to defend the city from the Ordenite invasion instead withdrew to the north but not without leaving behind a small contingent to further contest the inner city limits and draw manpower away from the advancing front lines. Initially this Valo'Kap contingent fared far better than what was opposing them which were the bands of Fifth Columnists who had originally begun attacks within cities across the two border states hours prior to the invasion. A battalion sized 'garrison' remained among the urban sprawl having concentrated their numbers and firepower to more advantageous segments of the city. Many of their strong points had formerly been held by the Fifth Columnists who in a span of 36 hours had been forced out of their positions across much of the city by the mercenaries. By day two of the invasion as a whole the situation within Labell was made apparent to Ordenite Heer commanders and the remaining mercenaries would need to be swept out from the city before it could be officially declared secured. Army Group VIII who had originally been on high alert on the former border with Hailandkill had begun to deploy northwards as it would further reinforce already advancing Heer forces on the front lines. It would now as it advanced to catch up on the western flank would segment a small force to begin clearing out Labell of what remained of Valo'Kap.

This force would consist of a Panzer Grenadier Corps which would stay behind and fully surround the city establishing blockades with armored vehicles and hesco barriers topped with concertina wire. A squadron from the Luftwaffe which would also include UAVs for both reconnaissance and aerial attacks would be tasked with providing aerial cover for ground operations concerning clearing Labell. Refugees most being native Killians were still amassing to leave the city preferring to head north likely to Killian territory, most were allowed to leave after being briefly questioned and searched as to not allow enemy combatants to covertly escape. The 310th Panzer Grenadier division would be tasked with primarily conducting the sweep of the city and would combat the mercenaries holed up directly. Both regiments would begin to enter the city before splitting into their respective battalions and beginning to sweep through Labell. The first bouts of fighting began when encountering some of the mercenary strong points covering certain avenues with machine guns and anti-tank weapons began opening up on the Panzergrenadiers. Building clearing was of the utmost priority as the Panzer Grenadiers could not fight the defenders in the open without taking casualties and so as the battles began across Labell, buildings were to be cleared. While some buildings were simply empty of anyone including combatants, booby traps and or improvised explosives were left behind which caused the first casualties of the fighting.

The division's pioneer battalion would need to be brought up to support the building clearing as the defenders had laid booby traps. Rocket propelled grenades from the Panzer Grenadiers panzerfausts would be utilized to silence pesky MG positions in certain buildings. Automatic grenade launchers and under barrel grenade launchers would also be heavily used in suppressing enemy positions among the urban sprawl. Once buildings near the enemy were fully cleared small groups of Panzer Grenadiers would make their way to the roof tops for better vantage points and firing angles on the defenders. Below on the streets Nashorn IFV and Leopard armored cars mostly armed with 30mm auto cannons held down certain streets leading towards enemy positions only advancing if sufficiently backed up by Panzer Grenadiers. An absence of tanks for the 310th were mostly due to not wanting to risk suffering losses due to urban fighting with a foe well on par with the Ordenite Heer. Instead the division's armored vehicle contingent were to be the backbone of the sweep to force out the remaining Valo'Kap defenders. The first day of the impromptu siege would see a gradual amount of Labell being cleared by the 310th, however with the resistance that Valo'Kap was still applying here casualties and material losses were apparent but not to the point where the division could not operate.

[The Macabees]

JONESBURG, STATE OF WEST TENET
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Valo'Kap forces counterattack south of Jonesburg, initiating one of the largest battles
of the war so far. Jonesburg represents the last major line of defense before the defenders
are forced to fall back to "the neck."

Jonesburg had been an important Hailian city for most of its long two thousand year history, although it and the land around it had interchanged hands between the Killian and Ordenite states throughtout history. Now, the Ordenites were advancing toward it once again, but instead of Killians standing in Jonesburg's defense it was an army of Valo'Kap mercenaries.

The rolling fire of both sides' artillery sounded like thunder against the hills of southern Hailandkill. The front lines were not far from the city now, perhaps 20–30 kilometers to the south and getting closer. One could hear the gun- and cannonfire in the near distance. Most civilians had evacuated long ago with the help of Valo'Kap, migrating north in droves as war refugees, and Jonesburg was left a ghost town. Tanks and armored vehicles dotted the streets and plazas, and you could see the bobbing helmets of soldiers on the move, but otherwise the city was lifeless.

There existed an uncomfortable lull as Jonesburg's defenders waited for the Ordenites to punch through the forward positions and engage the meat of the city's defense. Despite the noise of war coming from the not-so-afar, there was a certain tranquility, a calm before the storm, that most men would be taking respite in known far too well the struggle that was coming.

But, this peculiar quiet was suddenly interrupted by the ferocious roar of a Valo'Kap counter-attack which erupted in the early morning hours across concentrated points along the front. With the intention of throwing the Ordenites off-balance before the commencement of the major battle for Jonesburg, armored and mechanized forces struck in tight coordination to blunt the Wehrmacht's offensive. Behind them, SAM batteries patrolled the skies for enemy missiles and planes, while mobile artillery batteries shot, scooted, shot, scooted, and continued as if with the intention to do so perpetually. What was already a dire day was turning into a hellish landscape as the battle for Jonesburg now raged in full force and the two armies locked horns in an epic battle for survival.

Far to their north, Valo'Kap was evacuating the border between West Tenet and Lincoln, which was now under the defensive jurisdiction of the Ejermacht. A significant imperial force that was now being reinforced and resupplied by sea, precedent from Kríergrup 'Macabea' which occupied the watery space between the Satrapy of Nicaro and the Provinces of Weigar, Arras, and Díenstad. Whether or not they would dirty themselves to join in the defense of Jonesburg was an unknown, but Chief Project Overseer Gregor Kol was not about to put his chances on it. He knew that Valo'Kap would have to win or lose at Jonesburg on their own terms, and so he concentrated his energy and focus on coordinating the counterattacks and on further entrenching the defense to put up a stiff resistance against the fascist invader.



BEHIND ENEMY LINES, UNITED WORLD ORDER
----------------------------------------------------------------------
COO Mannes Kemper's soldiers attack north to link back up with defenders
around Jonesburg, with the intention of joining the fight. Continued counterattacks
from Jonesburg's direction help Kemper's men stave off the pressure.

As the war raged across the front, it went on in the rear as well. Kemper's Army Group VI had taken a beating while it formed the anvil against which the hammers of the counter-attacks south of Jonesburg struck blow after repeated blow against the two panzer korps that had originally attempted to counter-attack Kemper's forces. Artillery and SAM batteries added to the cacophony, but after a day of battle it became time to finish the withdrawal north and reunite with the defenders now holding a line running south of, and perpendicular to, Jonesburg.

The "withdrawal" was more of a battle than an orderly retreat. Kemper and his forces would have to carve a path through an Ordenite rear-guard that was following a frontline which was, in turn, moving north at a relatively quick pace. Thus, allowing his remaining SAM batteries to cover his rear against the Luftwaffe, the Chief Operating Officer advanced his Army Group VI against the Ordenite units between them and safety like a rush of water through the insatiably rough rapids of the River Taguso of Díenstad. With force, Army Group VI concentrated its strength and struck with the intention of breaking through back into Valo'Kap held Killian territory.

If Valo'Kap forces along the front had helped Kemper in the previous days alleviate some of the pressure off the Ordenite counter-attacks, they were helping again as the battle for Jonesburg came alight behind the fast-moving counterstrokes of Gregor Kol's defending forces. Kemper used these distractions to his advantage, telling his own forces to move where the Ordenites were weakest and under the most strain — not to assist in the fight against them, but to use their momentary weakness to allow his men to bleed their way back to friendly lines.

However, losses had been significant, in both dead and wounded. Medical evacuations were nearly impossible given the nature of the mission, and so most of the wounded had to travel at the same pace as the rest of the army group. It made for a deteriorating situation in the context of attending to those with battlefield injuries, and men who'd normally be saved and perhaps even be elligible to return to the field were instead dying. The material losses were mounting, as well. Most of the mobile SAM batteries would be lost by the end of the excursion, as their sacrifice was needed to deny the Luftwaffe the airspace overhead. The enemy had destroyed tanks, armored personnel carriers, and hundreds of other vehicles, which hulls now littered the plains that straddled the border between the Reich and the Republic. It was as if Kemper's Army Group VI was leaving part of its soul behind in the Reich.

As the Wehrmacht moved to contain Kemper and attempt Army Group VI's destruction, the Luftwaffe would find trouble beyond the mobile SAMs. Valo'Kap's capabilities in electronic warfare were at full display here, as both sides' sensors were confused by jamming and decoys. Programmers had been deployed with Kemper's force's as well and their function was to locate and break into Ordenite radars and other sensor equipment, either to shut them down or feed them false data. Even if they were firing their munitions at a distance, precision would be challenging and Army Group VI was equipped with not only SAMs, but a variety of other short-range anti-air weapons including mobile ground-based lasers that could engage with enemy missiles at short-range.

Under this ground-based umbrella, Kemper made his way back north while leaving behind a trail of mutual destruction.



HOLANDALE, STATE OF SOUTH LOMEC
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Much like at Jonesburg, defenders at Holandale prepare for a major engagement
around and for the city. Valo'Kap seeks to gain time before the impromptu fortifications
and emplacements along "the neck" are ready.

The combat around Holandale was moving at a relatively slower pace than in the west. Here, Valo'Kap forces had been chosen specifically for defensive duties. They were designed to pin the Ordenites down and slow their attacks. Thus, as the Ordenites advanced they found themselves traversing dense minefields or otherwise attacking down prepared gauntlets. Valo'Kap artillery rained down upon them and the anti-air umbrella was just as strong here as in the west, or perhaps even stronger. While the Wehrmacht was on the advance and held the initiative, the situation was by no means dire for the mercenary conglomerate. Still, they were being pushed back and it was coming time to prepare for the final battle around Holandale before withdrawing north to fall back on "the neck."

Cluster munitions made mass movements hazardous and all approaches were made treacherous by a complex system of defenses. Heavy guns were fortified and hidden so that when the Ordenites approached they could open fire on their tanks and heavier armor. Trench lines criss-crossed the landscape, as well, typically forming part of the perimeter around small firebases that were like nodes in a network. Mines were spread out everywhere, with narrow passages left open but zeroed-in on. These lands were heavily farmed and each plot was often delineated by thick bushes that could severely hamper visibility on the ground.

Adding to these defenses was the core of Valo'Kap's forces, which were similar to their counterparts in the west but with less heavy armor. Instead, they were equipped for mobile and fluid area denial and were poised to counter-attack locally to dull the Ordenite blade. Ultimately, the strategy for the defense of Holandale was very much one of attrition.

Lengthening the resistance around Holandale as long as possible was necessary not just to buy more time for the fortification of "the neck," but also for the refugees still streaming north in broad and long-winding columns which followed the major highways and rural routes. Most had abandoned their cars by now, as the roads were either shut down by traffic jams or blockaded by the burned out chassis of collateral damage. But, regardless of the challenge, hundreds of millions — if not billions — of people found a way to continue their miserable trek to the free lands up north. Small elements of Killian Free Army had been redeployed to the south to bring food, water, and supplies to the refugees, and also to organize more camps around DeMaio and Reginald Ranch. Unfortunately, there were simply too many to help at once. Many refugees would find themselves homeless in the months, and even years, to come, and some would die of starvation, disease, or some other misery improper of a person born in the developed world. C'est la guerre.

To add to the anguish, dark clouds rolled over much of southern Hailandkill as a storm swept in from the sea. High winds made travel exceedingly precarious, although the billions of war refugees braved them out of necessity, and the rain was coming down hard. Lightning struck down upon the land from the angry sky and behind it clashed the baritone drums of ruinous thunder.

Beneath this carpet of rain and the branchlike electricity of lightning, the twin battles of Holandale and Jonesburg unfolded.

[Hanshire]

Hello, we imagine there are many who have been displaced from this war. We will take them in if you find them undesirable or wish them to have a better life.

[United World Order]

South of Jonesburg, State of West Tenet
The Battle of Jonesburg begins as the Ordenite left flank looks to commit to a broad envelopment of Jonesburg.

The war in Hailandkill had gone so far with nominal success as the Ordenite armies in a matter of almost 2 to 3 weeks had advanced nearly through the entirety of both West Tenet and South Lomec. Casualties and wounded had steadily risen throughout much of the campaign and were expected to rise further with the initiation of the coming battles for Jonesburg and Holandale. Replenishment for the losses already suffered and for what was to come would have gradually taken place and would continue to happen over time as the campaign continued. The arrival of Army Group VII from the south was more than welcomed as now fresh forces now took up combat duties on the front lines engaging against the Valo'Kap mercenary forces. This would become ever more true with the sudden counter offensive from Jonesburg into the Ordenite front line as Valo'Kap forces pushed south from the soon to be embattled city initiating one of the first large scale battles to date in the campaign. This battle also involved Valo'Kap's Army Group VI which had earlier temporarily successfully broken through into the Ordenite rear and was currently fighting their way out of the encirclement. The combined two Panzer Korps that had originally positioned themselves in Kemper's rear were now maneuvering out of the way of Army Group VI who were still drastically superior in numbers to their own and were tactically withdrawing to the north towards Jonesburg. However pressure would still be placed on the withdrawing enemy as from the furthest south the enemy had reached into the Ordenite rear, additional mechanized and panzer formations continued to harass them.

The overall strategy that the Ordenite Heer were now going to implement in the coming battles for Jonesburg and Holandale was to break the outer defenses and envelop the cities whole. However the envelopment would not lead to fighting within the city and instead the defenders inside would be cut off from resupply and reinforcements and left to starve. Intelligence from reconnaissance satellites posted above Hailandkill would reveal the build up of enemy forces at the 'neck' of the country. This revelation would have the Heer operational planners readjust the original strategy to envelop the cities and leave them surrounded and cut off so that the full strength of the forces arrayed against Valo'Kap could meet the coming defenses. The wide scale use of drones during the campaign on behalf of the Luftwaffe and the Heer and the satellites also revealed several logistical hubs that were being used by Valo'Kap forces. The Ordenites knew that if they were to envelop Jonesburg and Holandale and cut off the defenders within they would need to also decapitate Valo'Kap's logistical chain in the area. The Luftwaffe would begin the deployment of capable combat aircraft to attack these facilities as Typhoon multi-role fighter aircraft and their variants alongside Heinkel He 211 bombers began to tackle their objectives all the while the air war continued.

South of Holandale, State of South Lomec.
While the Western flank moves fast the Eastern flank grinds to a temporary halt near Holandale.

Unlike the fast pace of the Western flank in the Eastern half south of Holandale the Ordenite Heer there began to encounter tougher and more entrenched positions that initially repelled reconnaissance troops probing the defenses. High flying drones and satellite imagery would show a better picture at what the Ordenites were now dealing with on the road to Holandale as the mercenaries had dug in very well into the outskirts of the city with crossing trench lines and other manned fortifications and the like. It was clear that the defenders of Holandale wanted to take the fight to an attrition war and the Ordenite Heer would very much for the most part give them the fight they were looking for. However a different approach to breaking down the defenses was hashed by the Heer which would bring a somewhat rare arsenal to bare on the Holandale defenders, from the Artillery formations of the Ordenite Army Groups that made up the Eastern flank of the overall invasion were several battalion strength tactical ballistic missile TEL launchers which would assemble at designated areas to fire their V-92M TBMs at identified and targeted fortifications of these targets were primarily the 'nodes' of the Valo'Kap defenses which to Ordenite intelligence seemed to be like hardened focal points to strike at. Additionally a more broader barrage of Ordenite artillery and stand-off weaponry from the Luftwaffe would also take place mostly to tie up air defenses as best they could to allow the conventional HE and submunitions ballistic missiles have a better chance at hitting their marks.

While the artillery began to surgically rain down on the defenders the Ordenite Army Groups would begin a slow and methodical advance against the mercenaries. Agreed upon routes for the advance to begin to grind through were thought out and put into motion by Ordenite Heer commanders before hand as forward units consisted not only of the Panzergrenadiers and Panzers but also engineering vehicles most being mine clearers which would begin to be more utilized for the final advance on Holandale. Typhoon Multi Role fighters and He-111 bombers would also join the advance striking at ground targets of all nature with stand off munitions and even at times dropping sub munitions ahead of the advancing Ordenite Heer to help clear potential minefields. The coming battles through the dense defenses of the mercenaries was to be fought primarily by the Panzergrenadiers utilizing their Nashorn Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Luchs Armored Personnel Carriers along with certain variants while the Panzer formations covered the outer flanks of the enemy and their advancing brethren.

[The Macabees]

JULIAN, STATE OF LINCOLN
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Preperations are made for the first large wave of reinforcements, as the first fresh
troops are offloaded along with their equipment at the imperial naval base in Julian. The naval
resupply and reinforcement operation is led by Kríergrup 'Macabea.'

Events in the Killian Republic were of course related to those in Krasnova, and one of the most important developments was that the naval war was shifting east. The Kriegsmarine was attempting to break the two imperial fleet groups defending the waters leading to the Satrapy of Pezlevko-Rubino. This was significant because the bulk of the Kríermada in Greater Díenstad was deployed in the west at the outbreak of hostilities, believing that the Reich would attempt to widen the conflict to the Satrapy of Nicaro to the west. Now that the bulk of the Ordenite fleet was moving east and another large part of it was destroyed in an initial naval offensive mounted by Arcaenia, it gave Kríermak 'Macabea' an opening to blockade the western Ordenite coastline and begin reinforcing imperial armies in the Killian Republic in bulk.

The massive logistical undertaking called for the movement of over two million soldiers into the country by the end of the month, at a rate of two hundred thousand every three days. More than five thousand warships were involved in the operation, whether patrolling the Sea of Ordena, blockading the western Ordenite coast, or protecting the transports and cargo ships carrying the men and their equipment.

It wasn't just infantry, tanks, and other ground forces going to the Republic. Fighter aircraft, pilots, UAVs, missiles, ammunition, air defense systems, electronic warfare equipment, specialists, and technicians, and all the countless other elements that made up a modern combined arms forces built to meet enemy threats across all dimensions of the battlefield.

Likewise, already flowing into the state of Lincoln were the thousands of allowed press, carefully screened by imperial bureaucrats and their movement on the battlefield controlled, restricted, and choreographed. All immediate battlefield news was to paint a narrative of imperial victory and Ordenite woes, and the world was to know of the humanitarian crisis and the Golden Throne's commitment to the freedom and prosperity of the Killian people. The Imperial Bureaucracy could not control the freedom of access to information, but it could control the initial conversation around that information.



REGINALD RANCH, STATE OF LINCOLN
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Millions of Killians flee north as the Reich's armies advance behind them. Struggling to
provide basic humanitarian essentials to all refugees, Killian and Imperial military authorities
begin to see their hastily built camps quickly overfill.

Millions of refugees were streaming northwards ahead of the Wehrmacht's advance. They swept up through the states of Lincoln and North Lomec, headed wherever they could find food and some security — even if only temporarily. In anticipation of their arrival, the Killian government, in conjunction with the Ejermacht in the west and Valo'Kap in the east, continuously established new refugee camps outside of the major cities of the two states. More permanent facilities were being prepared north of De Maio, farther away from the front lines, but these would not be ready for some time and they were already proving deficient in number.

Indeed, even the temporary camps were filling up faster than they could be built. Government and military trucks brought in food, water, medical supplies, and other necessities, but more and more refugees fleeing the prospect of Nazi rule began to quickly overwhelm even the considerable humanitarian effort mounted thus far. A plea was extended by President Jackson Hamilton to all foreign issues seeking to assist with the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Republic to deploy volunteers, resources, and money to assist in the construction and supplying of camps throughout the country. The largest amount of outside aid to date is precedent from the Golden Throne, which has pledged one hundred million ríokmarks in money and supplies. Already, talks over a second aid package have begun within the Imperial Bureaucracy, according to sources from within the empire's federal government. This one is likely to be larger than the first and there remain doubts that it will be enough, with total costs of aid to the Republic over the course of the war perhaps eventually surpassing a trillion ríokmarks.

All the while, camps became densely packed with bodies. Food became scarcer and people first began hunting the rats, then their own dogs and cats. Now some, especially children, don't even eat. The dead are oftentimes left stranded on unpaved muddy streets and there is a fear that disease will become rampant, although government trucks make habitual pick ups, taking corpses to government-run crematoriums.

Where there weren't enough homes, multiple families began packing into the same units, perhaps ten people to a room. Those not even that fortunate would have to build homes out of whatever rubbish they could find. The rest would die.




CORREGIGO, STATE OF LINCOLN
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The imperial defensive line along the southern border of Lincoln is quickly reinforced
with both soldiers and other defensive equipment and emplacements. The beginning of combat
operations against the Reich are expected to begin in the coming days.

Ground defenses along the southern border of Lincoln were headquartered at Corregigo, pronounced cor-re-gee-go, although there were other satellite headquarters and plenty of dummies as well (even inside the same base). Corregigo was a small city just north of the border, far enough behind the front line to be out of immediate direct fire range but still close enough to direct the action.

Some four hundred thousand soldiers composed the core of the Ejermacht's defenses along the southern border of the state, including more than two thousand Nakíl tanks. They were protected by a network of long-, medium-, and short-range air defense systems, supported by electronic warfare and cyberwarfare components. UAVs not only carried out constant reconnaissance, some using active sensors and other passive, but also acted as decoys to confuse the Luftwaffe on the exact composition and organization of imperial aerial and anti-air defenses. Others looked for their enemy counterparts, using shorter-range radars to find hard-to-detect Ordenite UAVs. Mobile artillery forces prepared themselves for the coming battle, too. And supporting these ground forces were Kríermak 'Macabea' and Laerihan forces in the Republic.

As the pace of reinforcement and resupply accelerated, the total available manpower was expected to double by the end of the week. By then, the battle with the Reich would undoubtedly already be underway. Those fresh soldiers would come as welcome reinforcements in what would most likely be a ferocious engagement that would require the utmost concentration, strength, and bravery of the Golden Throne's soldiers, pilots, and sailors. But, the Killians had come to help the Golden Throne in her time of need and now the Fuermak had come to the Republic to repay the favor.



LEOPOLDTON, STATE OF NEW HEMETT
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A large reserve force is organized deep behind imperial lines to guard against the possible
the eventuality of a collapse in Valo'Kap's defensive line along "the neck." This imperial reserve would
advance south to stabilize the front against the advancing Wehrmacht.

To the east, imperial naval forces in New Hemett had completed their defensive mining operations around the archipelago. The small flotilla of ships sailed back under the protection of the island air defense and onshore anti-ship systems. The hundred thousand strong contingent of naval infantry were partly there for defensive operations, but they were also preparing for something possibly much bigger.

Valo'Kap was taking a beating along the front and it was questionable in what condition they'd arrive in when falling back on "the neck." Materially they would, perhaps, be in fair enough condition to carry on the fight. Indeed, the bulk of the army was still intact and the withdrawal thus far had been extremely tactical and well organized. The question was for how long the morale of the consortium's mercenary-based army would remain intact. If those mercenaries no longer considered the money worth the risk of capture or death, the former most likely being equal to the latter, then the Valo'Kap defense of North Lomec would collapse and large swaths of the state would fall into Ordenite hands.

Operation 'AIR BRIDGE TO THE REPUBLIC' would involve seventy thousand of the naval infantry stationed at New Hemett and consist of a rapid reaction force to shore up a collapsing Valo'Kap line, using aircraft to fly the infantry units into the northern end of the state. Although a small force considering the size of the Wehrmacht on the continent, they would be necessarily reinforced with Ejermacht forces in Lincoln. The initial objective would be to slow the Ordenite offensive until enough manpower could be deployed to arrest the initiative away from the Reich's ground forces.

An initial offer to deploy the tercios immediately to coordinate with Valo'Kap forces building along "the neck" was rejected by the consortium. Fools.



JONESBURG, STATE OF WEST TENET
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Reich's mobile forces bypass Valo'Kap's defenses around the city and Valo'Kap's defenders
continue to counterattack in attempts to slow the Wehrmacht's envelopment. Kemper's army group,
or its remnants rather, links up with Jonesburg's defenses.

While the Ordenites maintained due pressure all along the front, it was on the flanks on either side of the city that suffered the most heat. The enemy's panzer units were sharpening their path of advance to encircle Jonesburg and trap the bulk of Valo'Kap's defenses inside a pocket focused around the state capital. The mercenaries committed their own armor, supported by heavy artillery and tactical air support provided by UAVs, some with missiles, others with rockets or guns, and some with sensor equipment and others with decoy systems. The battlefield pulsated to the beat of war as the opposing armies began swinging at each other in a relentless series of attacks, desperate defenses, and ferocious counterstrokes.

Valo'Kap counterattacked when possible, but always only tactically and with the objective of blunting the daily Ordenite advances or reversing small territorial losses. In the aggregate, the initiative was still against the PMCs, although the battle was slowing down and intensifying without question. The battle of Jonesburg represented the last stand in West Tenet and if the consortium was forced to attempt a further withdrawal of forces north then the entire state would be abandoned to the Reich. And at the current rate the loss could very well be irreversible. But, perhaps they could bleed the Ordenite attack just enough to prepare a stronger defense at "the neck," where the Wehrmacht's advance could be decisively stopped. And so the mercenary forces struck back at times, keeping the Ordenite mechanized spearheads off-balance and slowly chipping away at their momentum.


Kemper's army group, once the pride of Valo'Kap's army in the Republic, struggled to finally link up with defending forces around Jonesburg. It had lost essentially all of its air defenses and the bulk of the army group's armor had been knocked out, whether totally or just as far as being able to keep up with the pace. In fact, Kemper's forces were essentially worthless and more of a liability, so the survivors were ordered to continue moving northwards and join the amassing defenders along "the neck." There, they'd have to be refitted and, hopefully, reinforced with fresh troops from Tarn. Valo'Kap had pledged to double its deployment to the Republic, although only one hundred thousand recruits have volunteered so far.


HOLANDALE, STATE OF SOUTH LOMEC
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The meat grinder toward Holandale continues, but events in the west dictate the pace
along the entire front. Thus, preparations are made for the eventual withdrawal of forces to "the neck,"
where an even more stubborn defensive operation will be mounted.

All the while, the defenders making their own last stand around Holandale nervously eye events to their west. The fate of Jonesburg will seal the fate of Holandale, and the only question for Valo'Kap was when it should call the general withdrawal north. Too early, and it would collapse Jonesburg's eastern wing and throw their own withdrawal into total disarray. Too late, and hundreds of thousands of Valo'Kap's men would find themselves in a race to avoid being trapped in a large pocket.

Ideally, like their brethren to the west, Valo'Kap forces in South Lomec would eventually begin an orderly withdrawal north toward "the neck," where another major defensive effort would take place.

Though war rarely prizes the ideal.

[United World Order]

Jonesburg, State of West Tenet.
The Ordenite Heer wanting to force a decisive victory over West Tenet and South Lomec
maintain maximum pressure to collapse Valo'Kap's ailing western flank.

The battle of Jonesburg was reaching it's climax as the broad envelopment strategy for defeating the Valo'Kap mercenary forces in West Tenet was surely coming to fruition despite fierce resistance from the defenders of Jonesburg themselves who launched tactically planned and executed counter attacks when an opening presented its self. However these counter attacks accomplished little but minuscule gains that would be lost in mere hours or days later though it was clear that the defenders were simply trying to deny their inevitable encirclement and defeat by the combined might of both Army Group I and II which were looking to close the envelopment completely cutting off the state capital of Jonesburg. The next phase of the envelopment was already being put into action as the outer defenses of Jonesburg which had been giving the most resistance since the envelopment began would need to be smashed and the defenders forced back into the city. Much of the eastern, southern and western approaches and neighboring areas outside of the outer defensive lines of the Jonesburg defenders had come under the envelopment of the Ordenite Panzer and PanzerGrenadier forces and with it would come a ferocious artillery bombardment on the entirety of these defenses mostly comprising of Sd.Kfz 260 LARS MLRS batteries which would begin to blanket the defenders in tens of thousands of sub-munitions released from the hundreds of rockets being fired,these sub-munitions carried anti-tank and anti-personnel penetrators that were intended to wreck havoc among Valo'Kap defensive lines outside of Jonesburg. All the while Luftwaffe UCAVs scoured the battlefield and particularly near Valo'Kap lines to seek out and destroy what Anti-Air defenses and emplacements could be found with a combination of regular air to ground missiles and anti-radiation missiles, as it intended to weaken the city's air defenses to allow the Luftwaffe to send in more waves of it's bombers and multi-role fighters to bring down the defenses of Jonesburg even more.

Since the swift advance and fall of both Oskimoe and Labell in the south of West Tenet, the Ordenite Wehrmacht had begun the swift construction of new airfields and facilities to support operations of the Luftwaffe closer to the frontlines. These airfields while mostly dug out and paved by the Reich Labour Service also were built by thousands of forced laborers from the sprawling labor camps within Ordena as the same would be done on the eastern flank in the south by Monginoe. The southern most cities would also see the repairing of their individual airports and their runways if they had sustained significant damages at all so they could quickly be used by the Luftwaffe to bring it's fighter and bomber assets closer to the ever advancing Killian battlefield. Which would surely be needed for the coming battles along the 'neck' and against the Erjmacht and it's ever amassing of forces to attempt to halt the Ordenite initiative from swallowing up more of Hailandkill.

Meanwhile further to the east of Jonesburg, Army Group III and VIII had recently advanced to a point where they were nearly aligned with the on-going battle and envelopment of Jonesburg by Army Group I and II. The distant booms and the roars of Ordenite fighter and bomber planes still could be heard even where they were kilometers away. Since the opening battles around Labell the two Army Groups had been advancing nearly at the pace of the retreating Valo'Kap forces who were tactically withdrawing from the border. Time and time again the retreating forces before them would pause only to launch swift but minor counter attacks or to simply hold the Ordenites to bide for time as they were ordered to. However both Army Groups as the Ordenites did as a whole still held the initiative and reversed any small gains that the mercenaries were able to take as they continued to withdraw towards the 'neck'. The Ordenite Heer wanted the western flank to fall completely and had commanded Army Group III and VIII to advance to the north-east of Jonesburg to put the final nail into the coffin concerning West Tenet. While doing so they would also be able to guard their flank facing towards the 'neck' and the growing defenses of the Macabeans in case of a counter-offensive to even attempt to save the Valo'Kap mercenaries defending Jonesburg.

Holandale, State of South Lomec.
Ordenite Heer operations to take Holandale from the Valo'Kap mercenaries begin to climax
as Heer commanders push it's forces to maintain constant contact with the defenders.

While the defenses of Holandale were formidable and a harsh grind to break and advance through the Ordenites moved methodically forward in the face of brutal resistance. Like in Jonesburg the defenders in Holandale were also being slowly enveloped in the steel jaws of the Ordenite Panzer and mechanized beast. Ordenite ballistic missile TEL launchers continued surgical strikes on formidable positions of the Holandale defenses that were hampering the Ordenite advance. All the while the Luftwaffe's UCAVs also scoured the battlefield from high above picking off the defender's AA emplacements and radar systems that it could find so that the Luftwaffe's own war planes could operate with more impunity to crush the defenders. The envelopment its self was progressing with each passing day as the combined might of almost 3 Army Group's pledging their own Panzer forces steamrolled around the flanks of Holandale like a stampede. Heer commanders on the eastern flank looked to keep it's forces in constant contact with the enemy defenders in order to prevent an orderly withdraw from the mercenaries without risking sustained casualties. Flanking Panzer forces committing to sealing the envelopment around Holandale launched tactically orchestrated raids into the defenders lines where they would make contact for a short period of time before breaking off again. This tactic saw to keep the defenders in near constant combat with the Ordenites as to not allow them the chance to withdraw to the ever impregnable 'neck' of the country. Gradually as the envelopment was closer to being completed the Ordenite armies arrayed against Holandale would begin to close in the distance with the city and it's defenders under the cover of artillery and Luftwaffe airstrikes. For now the battles for Jonesburg and Holandale continued however it was only a matter of time before the Ordenites would secure total victory.

[The Macabees]

JONESBURG, STATE OF WEST TENET
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Valo'Kap launches Operation SOUTHERN WHIP, an all-out counterattack along the front south
and around Jonesburg. This is done without Army Group VI, belonging to COO Mannes Kemper.

Thick clouds of smoke clung to the rotting battlefield in patches, like a disease, a curse, or both. A streaky gray, its thin tendrils spreading apart only to come together and split again, the perpetual smoke was interrupted by flashes of red and orange with the accompanying crashing sound of artillery and rocket fire. Missiles screamed overhead, some falling on to targets on the ground and many others seeking out enemy aircraft in the sky. There was no melody reaching the ears except that of war.

A tank dressed in netting led a pack of three other comrades, all Nakíl tanks, through the tall, waving grass. Others like them were about, but the strength of the battalion was well displaced given the propensity of submunition artillery on the battlefield. The Nakíl was a good tank to buy second hand because they were cheap — having been manufactured by many states in the tens of millions for hundreds, if not thousands, of customers — and they were built for this sort of battlefield. Upgrade packages to the 1A3 came directly from factories in the Golden Throne and so these sported a third-generation improved turret and more thermal-efficient gas turbine engines to reduce detectability and signature. These Nakíls snaked their way south, part of a larger operation.

If these tanks were wary of overheard artillery bursts, so were the panzers of the Fourth Reich. The movement of dense formations could prove prohibitively expensive if caught in the open, and these days most of them were. But the two forces grappling with each other were both of considerable size, the Reich's total manpower potential mindboggling, and large formations seemed to be the order of the day. Normal then for these armies to be concentrated to the rear, where the aerial threat was highly mitigated by combined-arms air defenses at various formational levels, and more dispersed at the front. On the ground, along a front that stretched from coast to coast, millions of warriors and tens of millions of machines dueled in grueling combat to the death.

Operation SOUTHERN WHIP would surely go down in history as one of the most controversial. For many commanding officers within the mercenary army expected to withdraw northeastward before they could be boxed in between the Heer and the Ejermacht. Politics made a withdrawal through imperial lines very risky knowing what had happened in Krasnova during the second war. Better to surrender all responsibility for West Tenet to the Golden Throne, who seemed inclined to take on responsibility for the entire war effort. What better "gift" than the occupation of a Killian state by the Reich? All knew that such an outcome would be considered tremendously horrendous given the nature of the alliance's public image as one of absolute and unconditional loyalty if under the threat of invasion. But, it was not just the Golden Throne's ability to defend its allies that was put to the test, it was also the image of Valo'Kap and the consortium's member companies that were being judged for their handling of the defense of Jonesburg. The consortium's executive board were determined that they were committed to their clients, and to the defense of the Killian Republic in its entirety in particular, and so ordered an immediate front-wide counterattack. In the west, where there were some 800,000 soldiers after discounting the near-total loss of Army Group VI and another 100,000 casualties, and their counterattacks were organized under SOUTHERN WHIP. It was the final attempt to revert the momentum of the war in West Tenet and salvage some control of the state.

Previous counterattacks had been tactical and, in some sense, isolated, meant to pin down elements of the Ordenite Vanguard and slow down their penetration into the state. As soon as the battle seemed to require a commitment of reinforcements the Valo'Kap defenders withdrew and regrouped for another defensive battle to the north. Those were designed to wear their enemy down and arrest their momentum, and they culminated in a major counteroffensive. In this case, the Heer's initiative did not fade and so the consortium settled for a counterattack.

As the two armies swung at each other in a thrilling struggle, soldiers passed the smoldering ruins of artillery and rocket systems knocked out by counterbattery fire or aerial attack. Carcasses of tanks and APCs, from both sides, littered the countryside. The mercenary forces struck back with a particular intensity, beginning the general attack at night and throwing their weight into it in an attempt to force the momentum to their side. For some time, a week or two perhaps, it worked, but the Ordenites were amassing a tremendous amount of manpower to back their invasion of their northern neighbor. No less, Ordenite Army Groups III and VIII, proved no less willing to fight to continue their advance and they soon shattered the defending line by then buckling east of Jonesburg.

The battle of Jonesburg had just become the encirclement of Jonesburg, except for the stretch of front held by forces of the Golden Throne along the southern border of Lincoln. Would they allow Valo'Kap forces to melt through their lines so that they could escape the meat grinder? Or, would they close their lines, like they did in Krasnova? For now, those were not the immediate questions. First, Valo'Kap began to organize an attempt at a breakout.



HOLANDALE, STATE OF SOUTH LOMEC
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The counterattack along the Jonesburg sector of the front is joined by one around Holandale,
as Valo'Kap ground forces launch Operation DAGGER.

DAGGER was to the combined Valo'Kap forces in South Lomec as SOUTHERN WHIP was to those in West Tenet. Here, though, the consortium hadn't lost an entire army group to an errant preemptive counteroffensive. There were more than 1.1 million soldiers still in fighting condition along the eastern half of the front and their withdrawal in front of the enemy had been even more orderly than their western counterparts. It was for that purpose — to hold the long eastern flank —, that they had been equipped in the first place.

Besides, the situation was different around Holandale because the defense along "the neck" was held by Valo'Kap forces and so the mercenaries operated with greater security of their rear. That made the battle for Holandale slower and more meticulous because the consortium was not running out of room to withdraw to. The front lines were sagging in the middle, around the city itself. On either side, the Heer was pushing slow at a steady pace. Natural then for the Valo'Kap counterattack in the east to focus on these two paths of Ordenite advance, attacking not just from the front but from within the Holandale salient from where they threatened to penetrate into the Ordenite vanguard's rear. The immediate objective was to flatten the front somewhere south of Holandale, with the intention to continue pushing south pending the arrival of reinforcements from Tarn.

That reinforcements from Tarn were beginning to look increasingly unlikely was an unkept secret that the consortium preferred to ignore while there was still even a small chance of turning the tide in Hailandkill. Of course, the consortium itself had closed its Tarn headquarters in response to imperial warrants issued for the arrest of all members of Valo'Kap's executive border. Member companies claimed legal protection due to immunity from liability in accordance with imperial consortium laws. However, the prohibition of further material and personnel contributions to contracts issued through Valo'Kap Consortium had placed a severe constraint on the ability to deploy more manpower. And it was clear that ungodly legal pressure was being placed on the constituent companies to sever their relationship with Valo'Kap and the war.

Regardless, Valo'Kap was issuing orders on the assumption that it would all work out. If reinforcements didn't come, the consortium would be out of the war one way or another anyway.

Thus, in conjunction with western forces, the four army groups operating around Holandale struck against the Heer with all of their might. The Reich's flanking armored and mechanized forces were hit first to reverse the gains they had made during the previous weeks. This included more limited counterattacks to continue blunting their advance and to pin them down, but more importantly more aggressive counterattacks at the base of their pincers to destabilize their rear and threaten their line of resupply.

Perhaps the strategy may have worked, but the mercenaries in the east had a wrench thrown into their plans in the shape of the collapse of Valo'Kap's western force's eastern flank. As a result, the eastern forces repositioned part of their strength to shore up their western flank, now no longer protected by the adjoining army group that had been smashed east of Jonesburg. This force also saw itself suddenly involved in impromptu discussions around a breakout operation to extract the now-quasi-encircled forces around Jonesburg. After all, their loss represented a third of Valo'Kap's frontline strength and there was zero trust in the Golden Throne, and thus all feared that latter would simply allow the Ordenites to eliminate the mercenary forces caught in and around Jonesburg.

A few weeks after it had begun, the counterattack began to lose intensity as priorities shifted and an imminent withdrawal out of South Lomec — pending the extraction of forces from West Tenet — loomed ahead.



KRÍERMAK 'MACABEA', OFF THE WESTERN COAST
----------------------------------------------------------------------
With considerable naval strength settling in for a prolonged blockade of the Fourth Reich's western
coast, Kríermak 'Macabea' begins routine bombardment of Ordenite assets.

While the ground war developed, the Kríermada continued to settle in off the western coasts of Ordena and the Republic. The blockade of Ordena was tightening, but it was not just a blockade that the Reich had to deal with.

Carrier-based attack aircraft and, below them, ships firing guided missiles made 'round-the-clock sorties and attacks on Ordenite forces along the front and in the rear. These efforts were particularly concentrated around the battle of Jonesburg, where the situation was dire and any respite for the defenders critical to their survival. Because of enemy air defenses, most of these attacks were at stand-off ranges, but SEAD strikers were often made from closer range using low-flying UAVs and their stealth to penetrate the Reich's air defenses. A common tactic was to use one UAV to locate the air defense batteries, another to knock them out.*

Other targets included Luftwaffe air bases, although these posed a particular challenge. In the first days of the war, Ordenite missile attacks on the imperial mainland had resulted in the use of tactical anti-air nuclear weapons. The Reich was likely to respond in kind if the Golden Throne attempted to do the same. To make this outcome less likely, Luftwaffe bases were attacked in different ways depending on their location. Those closer to the front were targeted more heavily and more often. By comparison, those located deeper south in the Reich were attacked less often and in a much more limited fashion. If stealth aircraft, manned and unmanned alike, were used to penetrate enemy air space, they did so in extremely small groups and quantities. Likewise, for stand-off munitions used, since the primary reason for the empire's use of tactical air defense weapons had been to more effectively deal with the massed nature of the opening Ordenite bombardment, strikes were small and composed of a limited number of missiles. This approach required more precision, greater stealth, and better intelligence.

Satellite imagery was, of course, the traditional source of intelligence, but satellite imagery had its weaknesses. First of all, it was predictable. Even if the satellite's orbit and timing weren't, its use was and these days deception tactics in this space were ubiquitous and sophisticated. Satellite imagery could be supplemented with aerial reconnaissance missions launched with stealthy reconnaissance unmanned aircraft, but these were liable to suffer from the same or similar deception tactics, with the added difficulty of having to penetrate evolving enemy air defenses. Too, strategic penetration of Ordenite air space did not benefit from the revolving jamming and electromagnetic countermeasures being employed over the frontlines. To guide their munitions more accurately, the Kríermada needed eyes on the ground.

In one of the riskiest and most audacious operations in the war yet, the Kríermada deployed 320 Grup Koda into northwestern Ordena. These were inserted via small submersibles carrying squads of eight, ten in all conducting four sorties each over a period of four days. Once on dry land, these squads divided into four teams of two. They were not to come together again unless under extreme tactical duress due to unknown factors. Instead, they were expected to make their way through the Ordenite countryside with only their partner. Inserting 320 men into the Reich, even if in small groups of two, was by no means a small task because the Reich was one of the most secure states in the world, on a level perhaps only outdone by Kraven — if the reports sent by Jogornos Rikjaard Johansen, who had seen Fortress Norska with his own eyes, were to be believed. Citizens were almost constantly trapped via CCTV, satellites, drones, and frequent checkpoints in urban and rural settings alike. All known citizens existed in a database, thus anyone outside of said database was sure to raise suspicions at any checkpoint. And those within the system had their movements constantly analyzed by an algorithmic program that fed abnormal and threatening patterns to the authorities. The Grup Koda would find their mission challenging, to say the least.

Each soldier was given a fake identity with a history of data points meant to match known average data sets of citizens of the infiltrated areas. They were issued identification cards and paperwork. In the background, cyberwarfare personnel were responsible for attempting to hack the Ordenite database and insert the identities into it. Of course, the Ordenite database was extraordinarily well protected by robust cybersecurity measures. Whether an identity could be successfully inserted was not guaranteed. Each identity was tried independently and the database was routinely scanned to confirm the insertion, a re-insertion attempted if failed. But, scanning the database could not happen often, perhaps twice a day. Too many attempts and Ordenite cybersecurity would find it easy to discover the hacking and connect it to a common operation. Each Grup Koda ran the risk of bad identification.

They were told to minimize exposure to the Ordenite authorities, but to not act suspiciously when possible. This meant going through checkpoints unless completely inadvisable, lest circumventing them drew the suspicion of drones and other surveillance footage. Grup Koda given bad identities were issued a protocol for communicating this via a signal and receiving a new identity, all done remotely and electronically. But, this option would only be available to those who successfully escaped from a checkpoint after being found. Better for the identity to work the first time around.

Neither were they supposed to cover a large area. Rural Ordenites most likely did not travel very much at all, aside from drives to the nearby city or between small towns. Grup Koda had to match these patterns as much as possible, although their identities gave them some rationale for travel, such as having an employment background as a traveling salesman or at-home doctor. Using satellite intelligence provided prior to the mission, each group of two was tasked with visiting a number of sites and pinpointing the "true" airbase. Then they didn't need to move much at all after that, instead staying put outside the base grounds and using their laptop and a tiny laser to hone-in guided missiles launched from aircraft or ships far, far away.

If the laser guidance never came through for a particular area, the mission could be judged a failure and the operatives judged dead or captured. Additional Grup Koda could be inserted if need be.


* A variation of these tactics were used by the Israelis during the 1982–85 Lebanon War.

[United World Order]

Southern Hailandkill Theater.
The Ordenite Heer react and respond to the sudden Valo'Kap front wide counter attack
and then launch a fresh new offensive to secure the now enveloped Jonesburg.

A single flare shot up into the night sky above the raging battlefield outside of Jonesburg illuminating the immediate area in a red light as the flare slowly descended back to the ground. This flare was followed by more of their kind across the current front lines that cut through the landscape. A moment of silence seemed to have washed over the front before a rising crescendo of machine engines and explosions took over. A Ordenite UAV hovering high above was able to catch the moment the Valo'kap counter attack began across the entire front, it's lenses zooming in with night vision enabled to see through the darkness. Tanks and armored vehicles surged forward from Jonesburg its self and the outer defenses still held on by the defenders in masse they advanced under the cover of a fierce artillery bombardment. The Ordenite Heer had not expected the sudden and ferocious counter attack the defenders launched and in such the manner they did it in. This forced the Ordenites to begin tactically backing off as it seemed that the mercenaries were going for a last ditch effort to break the overwhelming initiative the Heer maintained. This ferocity from the now on the offensive defenders lasted for almost two weeks and saw minor recaptures of previously lost territory, however the Heer had amassed significant forces along the front and in the direct rear. This meant that the counter-attacking Valo'Kap forces soon slammed into a wall of Ordenite Panzers and guns that looked to grind their offensive to a bloody halt.

Ordenite artillery and Luftwaffe forces responded in kind with intense bombardment of these forces along with counter-battery fire against enemy artillery. The immense horde of Ordenite Panzers and accompanying armored vehicles when the opportunity presented its self out maneuvered advancing Valo'Kap forces looking to capture more of them in their steel jaws. However what really sealed the fate of the soon to be failed counter attack against the Heer outside of Jonesburg was the breaking of the defenders North-Eastern flank by Army Groups III and VIII shattering the defense line there and thus closing the last point of escape for the defenders of Jonesburg. The Oberkommando des Heeres saw the opportunity to finally break the defenders of Jonesburg and see to it's capture and so ordered a fresh hard hitting offensive to end the battle once and for all. Thus as the counter attack winded down the Ordenite Heer encircling Jonesburg struck back looking to squeeze the life out of the city and it's defenders.

Meanwhile to the East outside of Holandale the Ordenites reacted similarly as they did in the West. The brazen counter attack was allowed to make minor gains as the Ordenites tactically withdrew. While also utilizing their artillery and Luftwaffe coverage to wear down the enemy. Once the overall counter attack began to slow and lose momentum, the Ordenites struck back with a fresh offensive of their own in an attempt to finally secure Holandale.

Northwestern Ordena,
Central Dienstad.

The wars in Hailandkill and Krasnova had changed little for ordinary citizens across much of Ordena who went about their day assured by state propaganda that no trouble was brewing. This being despite the fact that the Ordenite Kriegsmarine had been utterly defeated by the combined Triumvirate navies. This leading to a full on blockade of Western Ordena by the Krierarmada who did so at a distance from Ordean territorial waters. However life went on for citizens who largely lived in rural communities dotted across much of Northern Ordena, these localities were primarily concentrated near farmland. The extensive Reichsautobahn was what connected these localities to neighboring cities and large towns such as Saarburg in Northwestern Ordena. Law enforcement for these localities consisted of the Orpo or Order Police in which the Gendarmerie also known as the 'State Rural Police' and the Traffic Police or 'Verkehrspolizei' the latter were responsible for enforcing traffic laws across the Autobahn and responding to major accidents. Extensive mass surveillance existed even in the more rural localities in Ordena along with basic checkpoints manned by Gendarmerie who were responsible for running identification through a state database to confirm the identities of traveling citizens. The infiltrating Grupa Koda possessing generated identities that were being put into the database due to a breach would have little trouble at first.

Once the operatives began to go through checkpoints was when it be known if the identities would pass the database's check. Many would pass and thus allow said operatives to nearly freely travel to the locations they needed to visit. Although those whose identities did not pass were pressed by Gendarmerie for answers and when the operative decided to flee, their vehicle having been already caught on some sort of camera would be passed through the same database and sent to other nearby authorities. This began a series of shootouts between these blown cover operatives and Police forces who would see to hunting them down. Those that were evidently captured either after fleeing or having been apprehended at the checkpoint were searched and detained until a Gestapo agent could arrive to assess what had happened. It had long been realized that these people were related to the Triumvirate and the raging battles going on in Hailandkill therefore most that ended up apprehended were summarily executed on the spot.

[The Macabees]

HOLANDALE, STATE OF SOUTH LOMEC
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Counterattack is ordered to halt as the sister offensive south of Jonesburg, to the west, sputters
to a halt. Defensive operations continue, except for a small offensive in northwest South Lomec.

In the west, the counterattack had failed sooner than around Holandale. The forces there were somewhat weaker, especially after the loss of Army Group VI, and the Ordenites were intent on maintaining initiative. Thus, Valo'Kap forces around Holandale ended their counterattack early and reserved itself to continued defensive operations to slow the enemy's advance toward "the neck." Only a small fraction of Valo'Kap forces remained on the offensive, and these only scrambling to protect their western flank and the connection to Valo'Kap forces in the west.

Half of an army group's strength was allocated to an operation designed to reestablish the link with allied forces around Jonesburg, under the assumption that these would attempt an eastward breakout. Whether their brothers and sisters in the west could do successfully was not in their control, but some 150,000 men — with the rest of the army group in reserve — did all they could to push back the Ordenite vanguard units which had severed the eastern half of Valo'Kap forces from its western counterpart. The reserve forces would pour into combat as needed and as casualties mounted, giving the offensive a total of 300,000 combat personnel. They were accompanied by heavy artillery fire support and a primarily ground-based combined arms air defense screen.

What little remained of Valo'Kap's air forces helped as they could. Most of the resistance against Luftwaffe dominance was now in the hands of the ground-based air defenses, as well as increasingly in the hands of the Laerihans. Huron Authority, recently joining the Lourens Consortium, seemed less and less interested in is Killian investment. It was not replenishing losses in accord to the imperial decree against it. Few did not expect Huron Authority to pull out of Valo'Kap entirely in the coming weeks, if not days. That would leave the mercenaries without an entity responsible for the air war and, therefore despite the little they could count on now, without air support at all. Grave circumstances were brewing, but what remained of VAF did what it could to support breakout operations between Jonesburg and Holandale.

None of this, however, distracted from the fact that Jonesburg was as good as abandoned. The encircled forces hung on like they could, defending with their nails and teeth, but collapse and a rout were coming. The only thing in question was whether they would succeed in an organized rout or whether the consortium's eastern forces would even be priviliged with that little dignity.



JONESBURG, STATE OF WEST TENET
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Valo'Kap forces around Jonesburg are encircled between the eastern pincer of the Ordenite offensive
and the Macabéan frontline now firmly arrayed on the southern border of Lincoln state.

Somehow the men found the spirit to sing while they rested before a final offensive attempted against the enemy forces closing around them.

Little room for merriment existed, truth to be told. Jonesburg was surrounded. In theory, the north was still allied country, but the Fuermark had not been ambiguous about the conditions for a Valo'Kap withdrawal through their lines in Lincoln. Any Valo'Kap soldier or unit seeking safe haven in Lincoln had to surrender to imperial authority with two options thereafter. The first, to disarm and be transported to Tarn. The second, to join the Ejermacht as impromptu regulíes and fight under the banner of the Golden Throne. In more desperate conditions perhaps the bulk of Valo'Kap's eastern forces would have taken the latter option. So far, most of these forces remained in place, defending Jonesburg from all sides. It was the prospect of the breakout operation to South Lomec that gave them hope.

Forces around Jonesburg were some 700,000 strong after the losses sustained in the counterattack. Some 200,000 of these were directly redeployed to the northeast of West Tenet while the rest remained on the defensive, hoping to maintain the perimeter of the encirclement as breakout operations ensued. Thus, some 350–500,000 soldiers were directly involved in the two-sided attack against the Ordenite pincer severing the consortium's two principal fighting bodies.

Once, and if, the linkup was complete, the rest of Valo'Kap's western forces would quickly withdraw through the corridor. Some 50–75,000 men would have to be left behind, even under the best of circumstances. They were a sacrifice for the greater good of their comrades, who otherwise had to choose between destruction or surrender. Even after suffering half-a-million casualties, the complete loss of the consortium's western forces would be a colossal catastrophe which would be impossible to recover from.

But, any breakout would need to be fast because the defense of Jonesburg was collapsing. Air defenses were rapidly depleting and the only alleviation of Luftwaffe pressure was thanks to the fact that Valo'Kap forces were being pushed up against imperial lines on the border of Lincoln. The Ejermacht had intact air defenses and Laerihans support, and the benefits of this umbrella extended for several hundred kilometers south of their lines, including space occupied by Valo'Kap's three remaining western army groups. Regardless, these army groups would not be able to hold out indefinitely, cut off from resupply and reinforcement. In fact, whether the breakout attempted succeeded or failed, the end of the Battle of Jonesburg was fast nearing. The city would fall into Ordenite hands without a doubt as the Fuermak did not seem as if it was going to do anything to stop that from happening, and Valo'Kap's strength was draining away like blood from a gaping wound.



KRÍERGRUP 'PAQUAT' AND FRIENDS, OFF THE EASTERN COAST OF ORDENA
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Victorious in the Battle of Crowns' Sea against the Kriegsmarine, Kríergrup 'Paquat' settles in to blockade
the eastern coast of Ordena. Offshore fire support to help blunt the Ordenite spearheads arrives in volume.

Fresh from the naval victory in the Sea of Crowns, 'Paquat' — which had joined the battle late — had shifted its direction westward. It settled off the eastern coast of Ordena, spreading its strength across the open sea as both a defensive precaution and a blockading maneuver. 'Paquat' linked up with Kríermak 'Macabea Est,' which had left the area around the old capital of Macabea to break out into the open sea (detailed in this post). There were now four kríergrups blocking the Reich's access to the eastern seas, completing the blockade of Ordena along with Kríermak 'Macabea Oest' in the west. And like their counterparts to the west, 'Paquat' and the other three kríergroups with it began bombarding the Ordenite advance in South Lomec using long-range cruise missiles.

It wasn't just the advancing enemy forces that found themselves within the Kríerarmada's crosshairs. Luftwaffe air bases, air defenses, and port infrastructure in the east were targeted as well. While the Luftwaffe could not be grounded, as the bulk of its air fields remained deep within the Reich's air defense network, it was hoped that bombarding their bases in the east and west would at least limit the direction from which the Luftwaffe could fly north, from its more central bases. This would make them easier to predict and defend against in the coming battle along "the neck."

It was the coming battle along "the neck" that the Fuermak was now preoccupied with and, aside from bombarding the Reich's ground forces and strategic assets, 'Paquat' was also helping to screen the space between Ordena and the archipelago state of New Hemett. New Hemett was where the Kríerarmada had a small flotilla stationed, along with now close to half-a-million naval infantry as a garrison. It was time for this garrison to enter the war and 'Paquat' was positioned to defend it from Ordenite harrassment.



AIRBRIDGE TO RINCON, STATE OF NEW HEMETT
----------------------------------------------------------------------
As Valo'Kap forces in the Republic begin to waver, the Fuermak launches Operation AIR BRIDGE TO THE REPUBLIC.
70,000 naval infantry are moved into Rincon, in conjunction with a larger force precedent from Lincoln.

Few doubted that Valo'Kap defenses would collapse sooner or later. Its forces around Jonesburg were bound to be destroyed within the coming weeks and although their eatern contingent was still sizeable, it would not count on reinforcements and it would continue to dwindle in size with respect to its opponent. The Golden Throne could not wait for Valo'Kap to cease existing as an effective fighting force before preparing its own defense of North Lomec. It could not allow another Killian state to fall into the Reich's hands out of the incompetency of the mercenary consortium.

Operation AIR BRIDGE TO THE REPUBLIC was greenlit the moment it was known that the Heer had severed Valo'Kap lines between Jonesburg and Holandale.

In the early morning, as a thick blanket of fog obscured the coasts and waters between New Hemett and Rincon, hundreds of cargo aircraft and their escorts lifted off to transport 70,000 infantrymen into Rincon in waves. The rapid deployment was finished within hours and the approximately four infantry divisions composing the reaction force quickly moved south toward North Lomec. They were joined to their west by a much larger contingent of Imperial ground forces, some 300,000 combat personnel with orders to seal Rincon state's southern border. The original deployment of 70,000 out of New Hemett would grow by an equal size the following day, to be followed by two more lightning deployments, until a total of 280,000 naval infantry were in Rincon — with reinforcements from the west, as well, the ambition was to have one million men in Rincon by the end of the week. Whether these would subsequently move into North Lomec to reinforce Valo'Kap's defense of "the neck" was still an incognito that would likely be left unresolved until the very moment the decision to advance south was made.

The movement of imperial personnel into Rincon was another nail in Valo'Kap's coffin, if not militarily then politically. Its hold on the Killian Republic, once almost absolute in nature, was broken. Valo'Kap now controlled a territory consisting of North Lomec and the remnants of South Lomec and West Tenet that were still held by its troops. Even these holdings were rapidly eroding and the sun set on a mercenary consortium that just months ago seemed poised to dominate the continent of Hugen.

[United World Order]

North of Jonesburg,
State of West Tenet.
A final breakout operation is launched by Valo'Kap to the North
of Jonesburg to relink the western and eastern forces however
the Ordenite Heer look to ensure total victory over Jonesburg.

Army Group III and VIII had been occupying the space that connected Valo'Kap forces in the West to those in the East. Due to the detriorating situation for the mercenaries now enveloped in Jonesburg they were beginning to muster what they could to try and break out. From the Northeast a considerable formation now steamed its way towards the two Ordenite Army Groups while to the Northwest the same could be seen there too. Luftwaffe air superiority had become ever so omnipotent as the fighting went on and Valo'Kap being unable to replenish all of its losses in an effective manner. Ordenite UCAVs prowling high in the skies over the raging battlefield took notice of this sudden development feeding information directly back to those on the ground. Once it became apparant of what was happening the two Ordenite Army Groups sprung into action with Army Group III covering the Western approach while Army Group VIII concentrated its self towards the East.

Artillery duels soon enough began to break out as these forces met head on in a heated battle that would decide the fate of the hundreds of thousands of mercenaries trapped in Jonesburg. The Panzers and Panzergrenadiers taking positions on either side were determined to not allow any sort of break out to Fuermark lines occur. The Luftwaffe would be the brunt of the response to the attempted break out as its bombers from nearby bases albiet under fire from the Krierarmada's flanking both Ordean coasts launched multiple runs dropping guided cluster munitions and other guided missiles alike.

Seeing an opportunity to entrap and destroy more Valo'Kap forces on the battlefield. The Heer Command issued orders to Army Group IV arrayed in the West to swing north into the breakout's rear area. This double envelopment would begin to materialize in the coming days of the breakout operation as Army Group V in the east would be ordered to do the same. The idea was to envelop these forces now outside of the cities of Jonesburg and Holandale and destoy them whole.

Meanwhile the overall offensive to secure both cities continued with the initiative still well in the grasps of the Ordenite Heer. Reinforcements had been amassing in Ordena proper for several weeks now and were now beginning to move into the rear areas of the frontlines with 4 additional Army Groups, one being comprised entirely of Waffen-SS now on the move. It seemed that Valo'Kaps dreams of being the dominant power on the Hugen continent at the expense of the Ordenite Reich were now to be turned to dust under the treads and jackboots of the Ordenite war machine.

[The Macabees]

JONESBURG, STATE OF WEST TENET
----------------------------------------------------------------------
As the breakout attempt to the east fails, Valo'Kap forces around Jonesburg are forced to surrender,
either to the Reich or to the Golden Throne. Or, they must fight to the death. The wounded are simply
left behind to fend for themselves.

The sun had barely risen into the sky when mercenary forces, a fifth-of-a-million in all, began their desparate breakout operation toward the east. From the other direction came another 150,000 allied troops, with as many more in reserve. Between them was the Heer's vanguard, being rapidly reinforced with additional personnel. Given enough time, the Heer would undoubtedly collect overwhelming forces in the area, but perhaps if the breakout came soon enough they would catch the enemy off balance.

Although the battle for Jonesburg had consumed much of the mercenary forces' munitions, the limited offensive was anticipated by a general bombardment of the Ordenite army in the path of advance. Thousands of artillery guns fired high explosive, anti-personnel and anti-vehicle cluster munitions, and other rounds, raining steel upon their foe. It lasted for little more than an hour, not wanting to give the enemy too much time to collect and steady themselves. Unmanned aircraft were already aplenty, on both sides, but the attack was led by UAVs scouting the terrain and the landscape. In lieu of heavier air support, it was these UAVs that would have to substitute and so these provided limited tactical air support with rocket munitions and rotary-cannon-fire. Behind them followed the mechanized and armored columns stampeding in a northeastern direction to link up with friendly forces approaching from the opposite direction.

It was all for naught, however. The Heer quickly moved reserves into the salient and withstood the violent attacks from both sides. By the end of the first day, little progress was made. Even less was made the second day.

Soon becoming apparent that the two axes of attack would not link up, the breakout operation was called off only days after it had begun. It had utterly, devastatingly failed. In the east, the survivors of the westward attack withdrew north of Holandale to join other Valo'Kap forces that were on their backfoot, themselves withdrawing in a northward direction to the neck. In the west, there were still some 600–650,000 mercenary personnel and their equipment actively in the battle, but caught by the Reich on two sides, the ocean on another, and the Golden Throne to their back.

The time had come for a difficult decision to be made. Would Valo'Kap forces defend Jonesburg to the death? Would they surrender to the Reich? Of course, surrender to the Reich promised certain death. Or, would the officers succumb to the demands of the Golden Throne and switch their loyalties to the Ejermacht? As the enemy's jaws closed on them ever more tightly and time ran out, it was the last option that seemed the most sensible to the majority of the survivors. Leaving a force of some 20,000 men in Jonesburg, along with all of the wounded who could not march or fit on a vehicle — most of them needed to carry material or tow equipment —, the remaining 630,000 remaining combat personnel and their support staff began sifting through the imperial defensive line that ran the length of Lincoln's southern border. As they did that, they ceased being assets of Valo'Kap and came into the employ of the Golden Throne, which agreed to take on their wage bill for the duration of their service in the Killian Republic. The empire, in turn, sagely deployed them further to the north and stripped them of their armor and mechanization, handing it to the new Killian Home Army brigades being recruited into service. There they'd remain until transported to Tarn, where their service period would end and they could go back into the employ of their original company or another.

Like this, the resistance around Jonesburg melted away over a short period of time, and all that was left was a small contingent to slow the enemy's advance while the rest carried out their humiliating rout.

The wounded left behind, mind you, numbered a little under 200,000. Another 200,000 corpses, at least, littered the ground.



HOLANDALE, STATE OF SOUTH LOMEC
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Valo'Kap forces in the east decide to withdraw northwards to the more defensible "neck," leaving
Holandale with a small detachment of troops to continue the resistance. Regardless, South Lomec
is condemned to the advancing enemy forces and the war begins to move towards North Lomec.

The failure of the breakout attempt signaled the beginning of the end in the east, as well. Their western flank exposed, the forces defending Holandale had nothing to do other than abandon the city to its fate. Unlike their brethren around Jonesburg, these — which still had at least 900,000 combat personnel — withdrew in an orderly fashion. Thus ended the Battle of Holandale, a resounding defeat for Valo'Kap, albeit one less disastrous than that of Jonesburg.

Behind them, Valo'Kap left at least 75,000 dead. Most of the wounded, 180,000 in all, they took with them. 45,000 men were captured, woe to them.

Like West Tenet, South Lomec was left a ruin. Fields burned by night and sizzled by day, their crops black, their soil now more ash than dirt. They suffered the brutality of a scorched earth defense which left little of immediate value to the advancing enemy, depriving them of any food they hoped to collect this harvest to feed their armies. Forests had been lit ablaze to slow the enemy's movements, towns decorated with mines and traps. Often enough these treats simply damaged what had already been destroyed, as both Ordenite and Valo'Kap artillery had showered these places with devastation. Many of these communities were no longer livable and were, indeed, devoid of all life. Southern Hailandkill had been turned into a wasteland, a no man's land now increasingly under the iron fist of the Ordenite Fourth Reich.

Much of the two states' population had fled over the course of the previous long weeks. Hundreds of millions had migrated north, escaping the war and its destruction. They flowed into the overcrowded refugee camps built around DeMaio and the other major cities, where sometimes there wasn't enough food for all, so they ate their pets and, lastly, the rats. Many were realizing that perhaps they would never return to their homes. Victims of a war that was not their fault, they would have to find a new life in a new place.

A deep wound struck the Republic.

The humiliation was used by the Fuermak and imperial intelligence services to fuel and inspire a sense of patriotism and opportunity for redemption. Young men and women were recruited in droves into the Killian Home Army. Even so, they were insufficient in number to scale the Killian army to the size required to defend themselves against the Reich. Thus, the losses of South Lomec and West Tenet inspired the passing of a conscription law by Congress and the Killian Republic was put on a war footing.



DANBURY, STATE OF NORTH LOMEC
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Located in the deep southern pocket of North Lomec, the area is now threatened to become a salient
as the Heer progresses north toward Lincoln and North Lomec. Valo'Kap forces begin withdrawing north,
leaving this portion of North Lomec open to enemy occupation.

In Danbury, Valo'Kap forces headquarters had been fretting over the abandonment of Holandale. The main defensive line was further north, where the contours of the coast dictated the smallest width of the front. Their western flank was already compromised as a result of the collapse of Jonesburg's defense and they'd likely be flanked on the east, as well. The withdrawal in the east was far more orderly, but the withdrawal would be accomplished at some point and the men at Danbury would find themselves at the base of a salient stretching into Ordenite lines.

With the fighting happening well south of the city, mercenary forces in North Lomec had been more of the support type. But there were also military security types deployed to overseeing the mass exodus of civilians to the north. The refugee migration had started long before, but now it had reached a climax as it became more and more obvious that the Wehrmacht was fast-approaching state lines. Hundreds of millions had packed up whatever belongings they could take with them, clothes, valuables, books, and countless other items. But for each thing the refugees took with them, they left hundreds more behind. Their homes, land, jobs, almost everything they had let go of forever to live in the rapidly ghettoizing refugee camps in the north.

When the withdrawing forces from the south reached them, the abandonment of the southern almost-half of North Lomec took place. Whatever civilians hadn't made their journey north yet would have to attempt it on their own or brave life under Ordenite occupation. Few would choose the latter fate. Soon the fields in these parts would be devoid of defenders, Danbury held by a token battalion-strong force of base security personnel.



MORRISVILLE, STATE OF NORTH LOMEC
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Valo'Kap forces at the neck are headquartered here, at Morrisville. The fighting to date has been fierce, but
mercenary forces have been bested in the war so far. They are determined to change the script here, along the neck.

Morrisville was the new main headquarters of Valo'Kap, situated a few dozen kilometers north of the defensive line known as "the neck." The western flank of this line was secured by the Golden Throne, which now had two million combat personnel in Lincoln, just over half of which was deployed in depth along their frontlines. Valo'Kap's line would be manned by the forces withdrawing from the south, some 940,000 total after accounting for those picked up from southern North Lomec. They met another force of 350,000 soldiers, about 100,000 of which had been brought to the Republic under contract as base security. These were the extent of the reinforces and reserves available to the consortium's army. All in all, they numbered a little more than 1.3 million.

Given the experience at Jonesburg and Holandale, a million men and change would not be enough to stop the Ordenite offensive. They needed two or three times as much, minimum. More if they were to have any hopes of reversing the initiative. But, the consortium would not be afforded more men, no more reinforcements were coming. Outside of the Republic, the Valo'Kap Consortium was basically dead. Inside, it was dying.

If the casualties suffered in the war so far had not been crippling as it was, the defection of 630,000 soldiers to the Golden Throne was as costly. The option existed to surrender command to the Ejermacht and dissolve Valo'Kap high command. But, if it was the option the western forces had taken out of utter necessity, it was not one that the eastern forces were ready to accept yet. Instead, the consortium lobbied the man who they had put into power: President Jackson Hamilton.

After much arguing with representatives of the Golden Throne, including a kríerlord who had tried to intervene personally, President Hamilton ordered the deployment of 300,000 combat personnel of the Killian Home Army to deploy to the neck, in North Lomec, and shore up the consortium's defensive line. This increased defending forces to just over 1.6 million soldiers, including additional Nakíl 1A1HK tanks, artillery, and air defense batteries and equipment. The order was controversial and went against the interests of the empire that was touted as the Republic's greatest ally, but Hamilton owed his power to Valo'Kap and so he extended them this one last mercy. Perhaps with the reinforcements, they could finally halt the enemy advance along the eastern axis.

President Hamilton would come to regret his decision.



HATFIELD, STATE OF RINCON
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Imperial forces continue to gather in Rincon and a temporary headquarters is established at Hatfield. There
is little intention to remain, however. As numbers mount, the Ejermacht moves south toward North Lomec and prepares
to occupy much of the state in anticipation of Valo'Kap's collapse.

Valo'Kap would collapse. Sooner or later, it would collapse. When it did, either the Fuermak would be well situated to pick up the pieces or they would not. If the Fuermak abided by the wants of President Hamilton and his cabinet, they would not be prepared. Therefore, it wasn't a surprise to know that the Fuermak had well ignored the wishes of the man who was supposedly the person most in charge in this country. Ricon was being filled with imperial soldiers, coming from both Lincoln and New Hemett, and these were quickly getting ready to move south into North Lomec.

Hatfield was a temporary headquarters and it would soon move south into the other state. For now, though, the highest command in Rincon operated out of this small town of 4,000 people. Well, it had been 4,000 people. Since the beginning of the war it had swelled to over 500,000, some say closer to a million. All of the new people were refugees and they lived not in the town, but in camps just outside and down the rural roads that had been hastily paved by the military in anticipation. Not many came into Hatfield now that the imperial military was here, but once the headquarters was moved one wondered what would become of Hatfield. The original townsfolk were outnumbered. How long 'til the starved refugees plundered their grocery stores and butcher shops? The local police force had been bolstered but, still, it was truly insufficient for the mounting task of securing the overfilled refugee camps.

There were not 280,000 naval infantry and 700,000 Ejermacht combat personnel in Rincon. Another 600,000 Ejermacht soldiers were incoming over the next two weeks. By the time they arrived, the Ejermacht would already be occupying the towns of northern North Lomec, steadily moving down toward the front at the neck until the consortium's hold over the state had been fully lifted. Then, the Golden Throne would join the fight at the eastern half of the neck whether Valo'Kap liked it or not.

In fact, chances were that Valo'Kap would not like it at all. Because when that time came, those mercenary forces would be enticed to defect.

[United World Order]

Southern Hailand, Hugen Continent.
With West Tenet and South Lomec under the control of the Wehrmacht preparations begin for phase two of Operation Northern Storm.

The collapse and rout of Valo'Kap forces once holding Jonesburg and Holandale had been a major propaganda and morale boosting victory for the Wehrmacht and the Reich. What were considered historically Ordean lands were now back in the hands of the now Greater Ordenite Reich. What remained of Valo'Kap in both cities consisted of mostly the wounded and the dead along with token forces left behind to stall the Heer. However in the coming week the Heer was able to negotiate with various mercenary commanders from different units still holding out in the two cities. One of the first breakthroughs into gaining their trust was the allowing of their wounded who numbered in all to almost 300,000, to leave into Ordenite lines and to awaiting field hospitals situated to the south.

After more negotiations the remaining resistance in Jonesburg and Holandale formerly surrendered to the Heer. They would be disarmed and join their other comrades in POW camps being built further south. It was likely that due to their mercenary employment that a deal could be struck for them to become employed in service to the Reich. Reinforcements had been steadily arriving into the theater for over a month at a considerably swift pace due to the ease of transportation over a land border unlike Krasnova. Over 13,000,000 Heer and Waffen-SS personnel were now in Southern Hailand and would soon see themselves involved in phase two of Operation Northern Storm.

Phase two would see another general offensive seeking to breakthrough the "neck" of Hailandkill now held by the Fuermark who were building strength to contend future Ordenite attempts to advance further north. As the Ordenites now firmly held numerical superiority over the Fuermark and maintained stable and swift logistics, this meant that better equipment and more of it could now be brought to the frontlines. This included more advanced air defense systems and platforms on the tactical and medium ranges. Multiple units of TEL Launchers capable of fielding Ordenite ballistic missiles were now also entering the fray.

The arrival of considerable Waffen-SS forces also told the determination that the Oberkommando des Wehrmacht had in wanting to drive its way through Fuermark forces and to the capital of De'Maio. Of course the scope of Operation Northern Storm concerning Hailandkill had now expanded to the want to secure the entirety of the country out of the grasp of the Golden Throne. In the almost week and a half the Heer had collected its own dead and wounded and with the surge of reinforcements also came replacements for losses suffered by the Army Groups primarily involved in the first phase of the campaign.

North Lomec was already being scoped out by high flying UCAVs along with forward reconnasaince troops from recently arrived Waffen-SS who would be arrayed here for the coming resumption of offensive operations. Once it became apparant that much of the Southern portion of the state had been left relatively open and undefended a Waffen-SS Army Group was given orders to advance and occupy the area. Forward elements consisting of a SS Panzer Corps reached the outskirts of Dansbury within hours overpowering the miniscule battalion of private security left to hold it.

The remainder of the Southern portions of North Lomec not directly at the "neck" where Macabean and Valo'Kap forces stood was swiftly occupied by the Waffen-SS. The stage was now set for the second phase of the campaign to push the Golden Throne out of Hailandkill and preferably the continent of Hugen overall. Arrayed across from Macabean and Valo'Kap lines were six Ordenite Army Groups with 4 being of the Heer and the remaining two being comprised of the more elite Waffen-SS. The two Waffen-SS Army Groups took their starting positions on the Eastern flank in North Lomec while the 4 remaining Heer Army Groups covered the rest.

A decent picture of the soon to be battlefield had been pieced together over the last week and a half by Ordenite Abwehr assets. This included major positions and concentrations of enemy forces along the 'neck' and further in-land. Phase two would begin in the dead of night as small formations of Ordenite bombers and fighters from bases further South made their approach towards the frontlines. The bombers would then launch their payloads of mostly stand off cruise missles and other guided munitions at predetermined targets before returning for re-arming, a process that would now become the norm.

Ordenite fighters would now begin to contest the airspace as they actively sought out enemy fighters. Efforts to suppress enemy air defenses would also come into play through either the use of anti-radiation missiles or from electronic warfare now being employed which sought to mislead enemy RADAR about the exact whereabouts of Luftwaffe fighters and bombers. This usage of EW would also come into effect on the ground as attempts were made to jam and or mislead enemy communications and other electronic equipment.

The ground offensive its self would begin in true Ordenite fashion as significant mobile artillery ranging from self propelled howitzers, MLRS and now tactical ballistic missiles would open up in a ferocious barrage on known enemy positions. The former would be the majority of the bombardment which would last for over 45 minutes while the TBMs were fired conservatively and only at high value targets such as headquarters, logistics infastructure and even air bases.

Six Army Groups began to advance forward now as they did so in smaller formations being at the Corps level. These forces along the entire front would look to smash through the 'neck' and breakout into the more open Northern portion of the country. Significant pressure would be concentrated in the East in North Lomec as the two Waffen-SS Army Groups looked to smash through the once routed Valo'Kap forces that had now regrouped. These six Army Groups consisted of only the first of five waves that would advance against the Fuermark and Valo'Kap forces arrayed against them.

[The Macabees]

CORREGIGO, STATE OF LINCOLN
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.3 million Macabéan combat personnel, growing by the day, defend the state of Lincoln
from the Ordenite onslaught. They are supported by heavy offshore fire support from Kríermak Macabea Oest.

Between the end of the Jonesburg offensive and the beginning of the Reich's assault on the defensive line along the Killian "neck," there was very little time for rest. The next stage of the northward Ordenite advance began quickly and with great force, as they may good on their numerical superiority. Of course, the "neck" was chosen as the main defensive line precisely as a result of the Wehrmacht's numerical superiority. This was the shortest stretch of front, limiting the number of men that could effectively be deployed in active combat.

To stop the Ordenite offensive, the Fuermak deployed its 1.3 million combat personnel within southern Lincoln and directed it toward the stretch of the "neck" allocated to it. Its eastern flank was held by Valo'Kap forces and their KHA reinforcements. Macabéan forces would have been more numerous had not some 700,000 soldiers been necessarily diverted to Rincón, from where they were undergoing the occupation of North Lomec and trapping Valo'Kap forces between them and the Ordenite frontline. Their intention was not to destroy these Valo'Kap forces, rather merely to force their subordination under imperial command and unite the command chain on both halves of the "neck." Regardless, for the time being, 1.3 million soldiers were what was available to the western defenses.

Now that the seas on either side of Ordena were relatively safe and open, under the firm control of the Kríermada and its allies, reinforcements were flowing into the Republic at a frighteningly quickening pace. Still, most of these were allocated to the eastern half of the country, to reinforce the army groupings encroaching on Valo'Kap-held territory. Altogether, 600,000 additional personnel were making their way in that direction. Another 300–400,000 would reinforce imperial forces in Lincoln, to completion in the coming days. With Ordena blockaded on all sides, now resupply and reinforcement was flowing from two different directions: through Julian in the west and Dorisville, which had been occupied by the Kríermada very early on, in the east. Millions of additional personnel were to enter the Republic over the coming weeks and months, as the three rival armies fought each other to the death and without quarter given. Even now, in their country's direst hour, some saw the unfolding reality of a permanent, and colossal, imperial garrison in Hailandkill — a perpetual facet of their new lives. But, as the Fourth Reich threatened to swallow her whole, not a whimper could the Killian Republic raise in protest of its occupation by the Golden Throne.

The reality of the day was certainly the Ordenite offensive. The enemy outnumbered the defenders perhaps by 5-to-1 when including reserves, but the Fuermak was counting on two major factors. First, the shortened length of the front along the "neck." Second, the unmistakable presence of Kríermak Macabea Oest, which had been raining hell on the Heer and Luftwaffe alike during the past weeks.

Kríermak Macabea Oest intensified its bombardment as the Ordenite assault along the "neck" commenced. Between a combination of submarine-launched, ship-launched, and aircraft-launched guided ground attack munitions, the enemy was faced by a near-constant bombardment. The battle along the "neck" was considered by most as the most decisive of the war in the Republic, because the width of the front would increase thereafter. If the Golden Throne did not bring in sufficient reinforcements by then — or halt the Ordenite offensive altogether —, the Reich would be able to rampage its way up to the northern border. Natural, then, that the Fuermak was putting every ounce of energy it had in the area to make the Wehrmacht's offensive enormously costly and, as was the intention, unsuccessful.

The offshore fire was joined by mobile artillery and rocket-based fire support from the rear. 160mm pieces fired dual-purpose rocket-assisted rounds carrying anti-personnel and anti-tank munitions. Against Ordenite panzer formations, they used more specialized anti-tank submunitions fitted with millimeter-wave radar and a suite of infrared sensors. There were whispers behind closed doors in general staff meetings of the deployment of a number of nuclear 160mm munitions, but there was not as much as a stray word on the matter publicly. Rocket artillery operated offensively, rather than defensively. As would characterize the battle, imperial forces counterattacked with large, healthy forces to close any gaps or breaches created along the front by the enemy. Macabéan forces counterattacked more generally at times, attempting to reverse the initiative by gradually chipping away at the Ordenite Heer. Rocket artillery was used amply in support of these small, limited offensives. They fired a similar array of munitions as their 155mm artillery cousins, but generally-speaking only in single salvos, seeking to bombard intensely for a short period of time — in anticipation of a counterattack — and leave the task of sustained fire support to the howitzers and the Kríermada.

Battle was an unsympathetic maiden and the front was best described as a killing field. Two similarly equipped armies, with similar levels of training and both seasoned by past wars, along a stretch of the front that helped to nullify the advantage of numbers, could perhaps expect nothing less when fighting each other. But, as one man fell, another filled his place. Unlike at Jonesburg and Holandale, the defenders were not looking to conserve space. The fate of the Killian Republic would be decided here.

One curiosity that unfolded during the early days of the battle was the downing of a Messerschmitt Me 524 Ordenite Typhoon fighter jet over imperial lines, both pilots managing to eject before their aircraft was impacted by the explosion of an air-to-air missile. Both landed outside the town of Rundren, some thirty-five kilometers north of the front. One hit the ground within a field that was once covered by barley grain but was now merely the blackened, smoking remnants of what it once was. He was "welcomed" by town locals, Killian men of working age who had grabbed whatever rifle they could to form a town defense militia to protect the remaining inhabitants, maintain security in the rear, and help direct the now dry northern flow of refugees. Initially intending to arrest and imprison the pilot, he was beaten nearly to death on the spot, executed at gunpoint in the town, then attached to the back of a pickup truck and dragged through Rundren's gravel streets. The latter was recorded by countless civilian phones and uploaded to social media, including Accelafeed. His copilot escaped a similar fate only because Macabéan soldiers had seen the decent and had rushed to find the man, discovering him before the local militia had. The Macabéans threatened to open fire on the militia in an attempt to wrestle control of the prisoner away, and the copilot was immediately taken to the nearby base. From there, he would join his captured comrades in the POW camps being set up in the north.



MORRISVILLE, STATE OF NORTH LOMEC
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.25 million Valo'Kap personnel, reinforced by 300,000 Killian Home Army soldiers, defend
the northern two-thirds of North Lomec. Behind them swoop in almost one million imperial soldiers.

The battle in the eastern half of the "neck" went much like the one in the west. The 1.3 million Valo'Kap men were not just fighting for the defense of North Lomec. They were probably no longer fighting for North Lomec, or the Killian Republic, at all. Instead, they fought for their lives. Here, in the state of North Lomec, Valo'Kap would make its final stand. Each man fought with the ferocity of a man who could only win or die. They were reinforced by 300,000 KHA combat personnel, mostly mechanized infantrymen, who did indeed fight for their homeland. And like in the west, the east profited from ample offshore fire support. Kríermak Macabea Est, joined by Kríergrup Paquat, left to no square inch upheaved in an impressive display of firepower.

However, the ongoing rift between Valo'Kap and Fuermak commands created a unique situation in North Lomec where a combination of 700,000 Ejermacht combat soldiers and 280,000 Kríermada Terkos found themselves occupying what was already effectively friendly territory. The combined imperial force came into North Lomec from the neighboring states of Lincoln and Rincon, and usurped what was left of Valo'Kap controlled supply lines to the "neck." All supplies would come in by the grace of the Golden Throne now, another bargaining chip at the negotiating table.

Negotiations seemed like a perpetual endeavor now. But, signs of cracking within Valo'Kap were appearing ever more rapidly these days. Already, Huron Authority had announced its retirement from the conflict. Other constituents were in the process of abandoning the consortium. Furthermore, the Golden Throne was offering a sweet deal, given the circumstances. All corporate and upper field-level management would be granted amnesty from criminal prosecution, in return for the surrendering of command to the Fuermak. Although the offer was publicly nothing more than a rumor and there was no hint at what the Valo'Kap response would be, there was a general feeling that if there was ever to be a breakthrough in the talks it would have to come now or never. All the while, the Fuermak tightened the noose and prepared to take over the defense of North Lomec, whether in cooperation with Valo'Kap or among the smoking ruins of the inevitable Valo'Kap collapse.

All who favored a victorious defense against the Reich sought for prompt resolution of the continued command divisions between the two putatively allied armies. With another 600,000 soldiers in process of reinforcing Fuermak forces in Rincon and North Lomec, bringing the total to almost 1.6 million troops, there were sufficient men to fill in the vacuum in the event of a Valo'Kap collapse. Yet, 1.6 million would be 1.3 million stronger if the two armies learned to cooperate. Together, they were outnumbered by a little more than 2-to-1.

Some wondered whether the Golden Throne's stunt in the west, during the waning days of Jonesburg's defense, was harming talks now. Then, the Golden Throne had offered Valo'Kap's remaining army around Jonesburg to withdraw through imperial lines. In return, Valo'Kap forces agreed to defect to Fuermak command. They did so and the result was their almost complete disarmament, their weapons given to freshly recruited Killian divisions, and the mercenaries themselves deployed to the northern border until they could be sent back to Tarn. But, this was hardly the same situation. Disarming Valo'Kap was not possible when these forces were actively fighting the enemy and their numbers were attractive. No, at the "neck," if the unification of command was agreed to, Valo'Kap's army — becoming, as a result, mercenary auxiliary forces under the Fuermak's oversight — would continue to fight.

The clock for a reasonable conclusion to the Valo'Kap-Fuermak standoff was counting down, however. After all, the Reich's bloodthirsty hounds were on the attack.

[United World Order]

Leipstadt, Graue Brandenburg.
The Oberkommando des Luftwaffe launch a major aerial operation in hopes of relieving ground forces of bombardment
by Krierarmada's Macabea Oest and Paquat.

While phase two of Operation Northern Storm proceeded the Oberkommando des Luftwaffe had formulated and put into motion a operation that would look to relieve ground forces in Hailandkill of the bombardment carried out by the Krierarmada. While certain Luftwaffe assets closer to the current front lines were under harassment by the Krierarmada, other assets elsewhere had been mobilized for immediate deployment. This consisted of Luftflotte 20, Luftflotte 26 and Luftflotte 30 which would pledge it's Air Corps formations in beginning stand off engagements with the various Fleets of the Krierarmada, in which some elements of these fleets were no less than 500km away from either coastline. Several Kampfgeschwader comprising of several hundred He-211 Griffin bombers and Ju-29M Strategic Maritime Patrol aircraft that were multi-purposed and would be utilized in a offensive capacity. These aircraft would begin offensive operations in squadron sized formations of twelve bombers taking off towards either coastline in which utilizing intelligence gathered on the composition and positioning of the Krierarmada's would launch stand-off attacks. These bombers would be escorted by Typhoon multi-role fighters taking off from airbases and airfields closer to either coast and would remain with the bombers to ward off potential enemy aircraft attempting to intervene. Once the bombers were within stand-off strike range of their targets in which mostly was within 800km, their payloads consisting primarily of supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles would be unleashed utilizing sea-skimming trajectories to avoid RADAR detection. These attacks would now become the norm as the overall hope was that due to the commitment of the Luftwaffe to actually engage and harass the blockading Krierarmada's, that pressure could be relieved from the ground forces in Hailandkill.

Although this operation was also timed to shadow a more covert operation being launched that would debut the Ho-335 Low Observable Strategic Bomber which had officially been deemed as still being in it's 'trials phase' however this was a deception tactic used by the Ordenites. As the overall conflict between the Reich and the Triumvirate had gone on, the Luftwaffe had begun silently deploying several squadrons of Ho-335's to airbases in Ordenite Scythia. Since the beginning of the Battle for the Sea of Crowns, Wehrmacht planners had been developing a plan to launch surgical strikes against Krierarmada port facilities along the Macabean coastline across the strait. Now with the obvious loss of said battle and the likelihood that reinforcements and logistics for Erjemacht operations would begin to pick up in tempo the Wehrmacht wanted to prevent it as much as possible. The Ho-335 is a stealth strategic bomber comprised of new and modern Ordenite stealth avionics technology, some of said technology having been replicated from other nation's through espionage. From air bases in Scythia which would shorten the distance needed to reach their targets, Ho-335 bombers flying in pairs would utilize their stealth profile and avionics to infiltrate Macabean territorial waters and airspace before launching surgical stand-off strikes on Krierarmada port infrastructure. Despite much of the focus being on Port infrastructure on the Macabean mainland, focus would also be put towards similar targets in the island of New Hemett now occupied by the Fuermark and Krierarmada and being used to flood in reinforcements.

After necessary briefings and aircraft checks the first pairs of Ho-335 bombers began taxi'ing on the runways in the dead of night. Once the greenlight was given the stealth bombers would take off and begin their approach towards the Macabean mainland and or New Hemett to deliver their payloads of mostly subsonic cruise missiles at their designated targets.

The Killian Front.

The initial advance was slow which was expected when facing the Fuermark who intended to hold the 'neck' for as long as possible against the new Ordenite offensive. No withdraw of the sort was to be expected from them either unless forced to do so by the Ordenite war machine. Despite being under withering bombardment from land, sea and air the advance would continue with it's AA assets being put to full use suppressing attacking aircraft or attempting to shoot down incoming missiles and rockets. Ordenite counter-battery fire would be unforgiving as Ordenite Nebelwerfers fired back with 220mm HE and cluster filled rockets targeting enemy artillery sitting farther back behind Fuermark lines while the more traditional Ordenite mobile howitzers responded to enemy artillery closer to the front lines. The two armies now going head on rammed into each other all along the front as the Fuermark routinely counter attacked when the opportunity arise and if the Heer had been able to gain some ground. A substational Luftwaffe operation was in full swing and would look to relieve the offensive of as much of the off-shore bombardment it had been receiving from the two Krierarmadas as it could. Though the Wehrmacht hoped that the strong right flank consisting of Waffen-SS would be able to smash through the regrouped Valo'Kap mercenaries that withdrew from Holandale and then hook to the left. This strategy would be applied throughout the campaign as the other waves moved into the front lines, thought for now the second wave had not been called to advance just yet as Heer commanders waited to see how the current fighting would go and if additional ground if any would be taken firmly.