The Livonian Civil War

[Allanea]

From: Admiral Tindrik Laar
To:Livonian Minister of Defense Artur Krasiński
Subject: Necessary details

Your Excellency!

I have spoken with representatives of the Free Kingdom Ministry of Defense and they have assisted me in working out some of the details that are related to the arrival of the Free Kingdom’s troops.

Various instructors, special forces operators, and other professionals whose work does not, as such, require moving in great quantities of equipment, will be airlifted in within the coming days. Other forces will begin arriving in 2-3 weeks with the schedule to be understood in the following way:

1. Special forces, instructors, etc. – approximately 500 people arriving in small groups within a week.
2. 1 Battalion Tactical Group + 1 Mountain Infantry Battalion –arrival within 2-3 weeks.
3. Long-range artillery regiment + an additional battalion tactical group + a combat engineer battalion – arrival within 28-35 days.
4. 1 Greater Prussian Jaeger Battalion – arrival later on as the war develops.
As I understand the process of the training, there are going to be several training programs in place:

a. A program to train existing recruits to somewhat reasonably-skilled emergency infantry (a 2-3 month program).

b. A program to take people who are already fighting on the front, rotate them to a safe area to rapid master-classes (3 days to a week) to use modern weaponry such as drones, or sniper skills, etc, and then return them to the front to saturate the front line with people with advanced weapons skills.

c. A program to train up to 1,000 persons as ‘rangers’ (elite counter-guerrilla professionals) – 180 days once candidate selection is complete.

To forestall questions I must add that I am personally a navy officer and so a lot of the details on the ground forces side of this war are being handled on my behalf by experts.

Yours,
Tindrik Laar.

[Livonian Social Democratic Republic]

A city falls again.

Bitter fighting has begun as WLRF forces have begun to lay full siege to Nadbor, reports from both sides of indiscriminate fighting and "tactical detonations" to remove homes and other buildings that could be used to use as cover. Reports of the most stiff and brutal fighting is around the "Church of Christ" as both WLRF and State forces violated the supposed "neutral ground" agreement the sides made. However no one has yet claimed responsibility for violating the agreement first. Supposed reports of Livonian State Forces gunning down civilians attempting to seek safety in their holdouts have emerged. Other reports suggest that the State forces were gunning down partisans attempting to hurl rocks, IEDs, and pipes at the soldiers. Both State and Revolutionary forces begin to dig in as winter sets in to see who gives up first...

In a War there are no winners or losers: only victims. -Michel Del Castillo

[Livonian Social Democratic Republic]

Taking them to the table

Reports have arisen that WLRF forces West of Sila have been shrinked to a perimeter of less than half of territory held at the start of the encirclement. With Free Fleet forces making a quick cut off and encircling much of the remaining WLRF naval fleet in an unexpected assault, estimates say that the port will fall in the next 3-4 days should they not pull out or surrender. While this bitter fighting rages, reports of State and Free Fleet forces entering entirely abandoned cities and towns as the WLRF forces begin retreating to the coast. As well, Free Fleet forces located mass graves of dead partisans, civilians, and soldiers. No official statement on such "mass graves" has been given by the WLRF or State.

‘Only in death does duty end.’

[Allanea]

The figures were not invisible – not truly. If one knew where they were, and stood close to them, one could see the outlines of the human bodies – orange-brown among the fallen leaves, brown shadows upon the branches, their weapons wrapped in cloth. Nothing gleamed – the scopes on their weapons covered in mesh that left them transparent but did not let out a flare, their watches were covered by cloth flaps, even their skin smeared in muddy-brown makeup.

Nor did they speak. They waited. The only sound was a brief rustling in the commander’s radio – simply the sound of an observer turning their own transmitter on, off, on, and off again. Then, once more, silence. A second later, a bird’s cry. Make ready.

Soon enough, they heard the engines – three jeeps, just like their intelligence warned, full of WLRF fighters.

Still they remained calm. They were calm, still, as the vehicles came into view on the narrow forest road, as the engines drew nearer and –

Something exploded in the trees – an off-road mine, tied to one of the branches. A jeep’s engine exploded as the mine threw its payload, a pound of molten copper forged by the explosion, through the side of the vehicle.

Then, and only then, did the commandos break their silence. A machinegun sang, its shots a subdued thump, thump, thump sound, bullets cutting into the tarp covering of the convoy’s rearmost vehicle. The middle vehicle tried back up, even as riflemen opened fire on it. Its horn was like the wail of a wounded animal, the driver slumped face-down on the steering wheel.

The Revolutionary Front fighters were brave and disciplined. Those that lived yet jumped out of the wreckage of their vehicles, rifles raised, doing their best to form a perimeter.

But they were at a fatal disadvantage. They could not see their attackers, and the suppressed weapons the Allaneans used made it even harder for them to guess where the gunfire was coming from.

The gunfight ended almost as soon as it began – but the commandos’ work had only begun. Indeed, it was entering its most grisly stage.

They gave their enemies an honorable burial as best they could – in shallow graves in the woods. They photographed each of the enemy fallen, and photographed their belongings. Every weapon, every written piece of paper, every picture and every piece of jewelry was photographed and placed in a sealed bag. A lock of hair was taken from each of the dead, in the event that the Livonians were interested in carrying out a genetic test later. Later, perhaps, if there was peace, these men could be reburied in a military cemetery, if the country ever established a memorial of its terrible civil war.

For now there would only be this – half funeral, half investigation.

The Livonian intelligence services would receive the information Allaneans collected in digital form within a day, and the actual items would be delivered several days later.

Deep knowledge is to be aware of disturbance before disturbance, to be aware of danger before danger, to be aware of destruction before destruction, to be aware of calamity before calamity.

[Livonian Social Democratic Republic]

Latvia And Estonia occupy cities

Earlier this week, Latvian and Estonian military forces moved into several far south, and far north cities under the reason of "protecting ethnic Latvians and Estonians", attempts by Livonian diplomats to raise notes on the subject have proved useless. Unofficially, it's a different story, neither Latvia nor Estonia ever recognized Livona's independence from the U.S.S.R., in fact on both Latvian and Estonian maps the territory is simply marked as "Disputed". This is not the first time an incident like this has occurred, there have been many small border conflicts over the last five years.

'Take a little here and there, a defanged snake can do no harm'

[Allanea]

OOC: Element of this post have been cleared in advance with the OP.

IC:

Somewhere in Liberty-City

“Takov.”

“I’m sorry? What do you mean?”

“Takov. They’re massing troops in that area.” – the intelligence analyst slid several printouts across the desk.

“Blyad.” – his superior swore as he looked at one of the sheets. “I’m sorry, I’m upgrading this situation from blyad to yobani pizdets.”

“That’s right. I’m not sure the Livonians are prepared at all.”

“What about our training programs?”

“There’s not enough time. We’ve trained some people to operate quadcopters but not enough and not fast enough.”

“We need to warn the Livonians of this. And we need to warn Sicklbreaker.”

Somewhere in Livonia

Of all the forces that had been promised, only Battalion Tactical Group Sicklebreaker had so much as finished unloading at the airfield. Now, motors roared, officers shouted commands, and men ran to their vehicles.

[North Arkana]

Le Conseil National had previously been content to allow events unfolding in Livonia to occur with nothing more than calls for peace and negotiation in standard diplomatic fashion. News that foreign actors are now encroaching upon Livonian territory, without the cooperation of any Livonian parties, upgrades the the affair from merely an "internal conflict with outside influence", to an "active conflict between nation-states" in the eyes of the government.

The ethnonationalist justifications provided by the Estonians and Latvians are unconvincing, to say the least. As a result, the Council has enacted temporary sanctions on Estonian and Latvian financial assets, per their vested powers, pending review and vote by the National Congress. A memo requesting possible limited military options has been delivered to the High Command/Section de Commande (lit. Command Section) of the Armed Forces of the Federation (les Forces Armées de la Fédération), resulting in the 3rd Brigade d'Intervention Rapide, Chevaliers de Brezen, being issued a standby alert for possible deployment, pending developments on the ground.

The Diplomatic Corp, at request of FAF High Command, has forwarded a request to the governing bodies of Allanea and the Livonian Free Fleet for information regarding the current status of air bases under their control suitable for air lift delivery of forces, under the understanding that FAF forces would be present for purposes of peace enforcement and enforcing Livonian territorial integrity, and civil relief operations via the Civil Relief Force/Force de Secours Civile, dependent, of course, upon Livonian consent, and at minimum an understanding of non-hostility with Allanea. Intelligence sharing the internal Livonian conflict, as well as regarding Estonia and Latvian troop movements would be welcomed as well, though left unsaid is that the FAF is willing to acquire such information themselves by other means.

If the situation is deemed urgent enough, and the government chooses military intervention in cooperation with the Livonian Free Fleet and Allanea, the 3rd BIR is capable of arriving via airlift within 96 hours.

"Le Conseil national comprend que l'intégrité des frontières d'une nation et son droit d'exister ne relèvent pas uniquement de la législation de jure. Le courant en face de cette compréhension ne peut être laissé seul et doit être traité comme une menace tacite pour toutes les nations qu'il est."

"It is the understanding of the National Council, that the integrity of a nation's borders and right to exist are not solely within the realm of de jure legislation. The current afront to this understanding cannot be left alone, and must be treated as unspoken threat to all nations that it is."

[Niran]

Five gunshots shattered the tense peace in the parliament. Three of them hit Prime Minister Aurelia Juraszczyk resulting in her death. The other two killed Generals Mirosław Winkowsk and Budzisław Gałkowsk. In the ensuing chaos the gunman managed to escape. Livonian military forces tensed in preparation for a Military Invasion. Yet, it was a strike from the inside. General Dominik Libera proclaimed his party LWP or Livonian Worker's Party to be in charge. At first the then major Populist Party accepted it nervously. As time went on it was realized that Libera was going to reform the Livonian People's Republic, starting with banning the use of the internet. More chaos ensued after the banning of the Populist Party, Unionist Party, and Neutralist Party. The final straw was the Nadbor Massacre where 38 civilians were killed during a peaceful protest.

General Dominik Libera's dictatorship began to crumble around him. Not long after members of the Populist, Unionist, and Neutralist party formed the "United Livonian Front" and led Military Forces in open rebellion against the General. Although this would be considered chaotic enough. Several other regions proclaimed their independence. "The Livonian State" led by the official Interim Government and the "West Livonian Revolutionary Front" which claimed itself as a better Communist Government. Military combat quickly flared between the ULF and WLRF while the Livonian State and General Dominik Libera's horde clashed. The first major victory would be given to the WLRF after securing Nadbor in a bloody battle where Five Hundred Militia forces loyal to the ULF faced overwhelming odds of nearly six thousand.

Representatives from all sides however began to go international to locate aid and help.
Only time will tell if Livonia can be saved.

Niranian ships arrives to fight off the communists. The group of people sent were the members of task force OM, the lowest in the Niranian military.

Task force OM was composed of:

The Blue sparrow gang: A small Niranian gang that made a contract with the Niranian government to help in the military to have more influence.

East Golden shield gang: Another small Niranian gang that made a contract with the Niranian government to help in the military to have more influence.

Base Jumpers: Prisoners and POW that are strapped to bombs and forced to jump off of planes.

Light corp: One of the greatest groups ofpilots in Niran who have volunteered to help deploy base jumpers.

Base runners: Prisoners and POW's forced to fight for Niran. The have bombs strapped on their back that will go off if they disobey.

CNU graduates: Volunteer graduates from the Capital Naval University control Task force OM ships.

[Allanea]

From: Free Kingdom Ministry of Foreign Affairs
To: Le Conseil National

To clarify the Free Kingdom’s position: as long as the Free Livonian Fleet and the Livonian State aim to work together to promote a vision for Livonia which is more or less respectful of people’s rights (whether it ends up being a social democracy, a constitutional republic, or some other more bespoke arrangement) we intend to view them as the legitimate representatives of the Livonian people.

The practical upshoot of this is that we do not view ourselves as entitled to decide, on behalf of Livonia, if they should or should not accept your assistance. Should the Livonians decide that your armed forces are welcome then we will happily work with them. We will be happy to provide you with any information that you may need to operate in this theatre as soon as the approval of the Livonian authorities is granted.

* * *

Hill 506, somewhere in Livonia

While diplomatic messages were being exchanged, Sicklebreakers prepared themselves to fight. A hill was selected overlooking an area where the attacking force was expected. Trenches were dug on the hill’s slopes for men and vehicles. Six artillery guns were emplaced behind the front – on a different hill, of course, about ten miles away. Communications were established with Livonian units proximate the Allanean position.

The soldiers worked to clear the hill’s slopes from any trees and bushes, and emplaced mines – some remote-controlled, others regular, triggered by vibration, tripwires, or magnetic sensors – on the approaches. Cameras and microphones were set up on nearby wood trails. The unit’s vehicles – ten tanks and about forty IFVs – entrenched themselves, most on the primary position, a few left behind to protect the artillery guns. Drones circled overhead.

With every passing day, the trenches and other defenses grew deeper and more elaborate as the Sicklebreakers prepared for the coming fight.

[Livonian Social Democratic Republic]

Takov Offensive

Having thrown whatever they could, some 5,000-6,000 WLRF troops began an attempt to push out of Takov, capital of the WLRF. Rough estimates suggest only 3,000 State troops managed to arrive in time. Fighting is intense as whatever remains of the tank forces on both sides clash on the roads leading in. Little ground has been made from these offensives. Rather ironically, WLRF troops West of Sila have officially surrendered. Reports suggest these men are being transported to Andrzejow for trial. No official government statement has been released on the matter.

‘The soldiers too will take strike action, they'll break ranks and fight no more...’

[Allanea]

The Battle for Hill 506

“And so I put my bishop... here.” - the young soldier put the piece down with a thunk, softened only slightly by the felt pad at its bottom.

“That’s...” - Sergeant Madden paused. “I see why you won that regimental contest contest, Andrew - but my head is not empty either. Here, try this on for size. Knight takes bishop.”

“Rook takes knight.” - the younger man slid the piece across the chessboard.

“Wow, how in the frak did I not see that? I think you should go professional, you’re good. You should -”

The siren screamed, its wail rising and falling and rising again.

“Mortars!” - someone shouted. Men ran for their trenches, the big chess set abandoned as the enemy rounds whistled down.

Around them, the ground seemed to shake with the impacts. It felt as if the sergeant’s head was in a heavy drum, and someone was hitting the top with big padded drumsticks.

He forced himself to remain calm as he raised his head over the lip of the trench. Behind him, the battalion’s mortars were already hitting back, barking as they sent their rounds towards the enemy.

This was none of the sergeant’s concern - he knew of course how these things worked - there was counter-battery radar, and by now the mortar crews and even the howitzer battery knew where the WLRF mortars were - shells were already speeding towards them. If the enemy mortar men had not folded up their tubes fast enough, this would be the end of it - and in any event, this was not anything Sergeant Madden, with his carbine and hand-grenades, could do anything about.

He put on his helmet, turned on the goggles, and looked down into the woods. The hill itself had been cleared, more or less, from any trees and bushes, but the woods themselves could not be. The leaf cover seemed uniform gray before him - which in itself was suspect, where were the animals?

The sergeant waited. Next to him, his squad checked their weapons, racked the bolts, and made ready.

Far to their back, they heard the rumbling voices of Allanean howitzers - cluster shells screaming out to the origin points of the enemy mortar fire, high-explosives raining down on whatever spot where the drones had spotted approaching foes. This sound should have calmed Sergeant Madden. It did not.

“Any minute now...” - he whispered.

And then it came - a rocket flare, rising from the woods, climbing skywards in radiant white. Someone - a WRLF fighter, almost certainly - touched off a signal mine. Then, seconds later, a low thump followed by the thunderclap of a much louder explosion. Now this was a bounding mine.

“Get ready!” - he shouted, needlessly. Every man had heard the same thing as their sergeant.

In the woods, thunder rolled. More landmines. Screams in the distance. Madden grinned, a bestial, predatory grin that came with the realization that men had come to kill him in the night, and that now these men themselves were dying.

“Tangos, over there!” - someone called out.

He turned - and he saw it.

In a clearing in the woods, several hundred yards from the foot of the hill, there were several white spots in the grayness - human figures, seemingly glowing in the goggles’ thermal vision.

Both sides opened fire almost at once.

Most of the attackers held their fire- they were disciplined enough, trained enough to know the disadvantages of their weapons. But they still had other men, and other weapons. Some fired ineffectually - others found their mark.

The earth rose up from the trench lip in fountains. Madden felt clumps of soil trickle past his collar. Now when the threat was real, the sergeant was calm. He knew what to do. He propped his rifle up on the edge of the trench lip and took careful aim.

The digital scope on his rifle kicked in - he could see, now, what the scope ‘saw’ - he held the crosshairs on one of the bright human shapes below, and pulled the trigger - once, twice, thrice. The enemy soldier could not see him. He could not even see the muzzle flash of his rifle - the long, black muzzle device held the flash contained.

The figure collapsed.

Gunfire was all around. Overhead, missiles flew by - some flying out and down, aimed by the Allaneans at their foes, and some upwards and in, fired by WRLF fighters at the Allaneans.

Madden kept himself to his task - less than a dozen men in a stretch of trench line, responsible for a long strip of slope from the front edge of the trench down to the treetops below. Their job was simply to kill every enemy who ventured into their slice of green. Next to them, another squad, responsible for their own.

Below, a small force emerged from the tree line - several dozen men, scrambling up the hill. Next to him, he heard the squad’s machine gun clatter, heard empty shell casings trickle down to the trench floor. Madden fired, too, at the enemy, adding a few choice insults to the munitions he and his men were sending downhill.

“How do you like that, you commie shits? How do you like that one? Huh? Huh?!” - nothing he shouted made much sense, and, of course, none of his enemies could hear him. He could barely hear himself.

Some fell. Others dropped down, seeking cover as they crawled along the hillside. Explosions blossomed around them - red and orange to natural eyesight, white and gray in the infra-red.

A force - soft and yet ferocious, like an ocean wave - yanked Madden off his firing-step, threw him down into the trench. He felt nothing. He did not hear the explosion that threw him.

* * *

”Joe?! Joe, are you with me?” - he heard someone shouting. It was like listening to someone through a foot of what. Everything was gray for some reason. Then he realized it was because his goggles had broken. He grabbed onto them, yanked them off his helmet. Now he could see stars.

Literal stars, that is, the ones in the skies.

The man who called out to him was a soldier from his squad. Tim Millar, his name. Corporal Tim Millar. Thinking was still hard for Madden.

“What happened?” - he asked, shaking his head. It felt like it was full of sand. “What?-”

“There’s a spot of quiet. They got about halfway up the slope, then we pushed them back down.”

“Us?”

“We’re down two - one KIA, one WIA.”

“Fucknoodles.” - the sergeant said. Clarity was beginning to come in, if only too slowly. “Who?”

“Ruth broke some fingers on her hand - not sure how. Doc is wrapping her up. Roid is dead.”

‘Roid’ was the nickname of the team’s machine gunner. He was still half-seated where the bullet had dropped him, propped up against the trench wall. Blood caked his chin and throat, soaked the front of his clothes. The bullet had entered his mouth.

“At least he didn’t suffer.” - the sergeant said. He had to say something.

“He went instantly.” - Millar said. “One second, he was there, working his gun, then - just gone.”

“His gun.” - Roid’s gun was not next to him. It was, of course, Madden’s job to check what was happening with the team’s heavy weapons. “Who’s got that?”

“Gave it to Kirk. He’s the MG assistant, he’ll know what to do with it.”

“That’s right. That’s right. You’ve got the-”

And then there was a new sound, a terrible clatter. The fight was on again. And worse - Madden recognized the sound.

“Shit. Fucknoodles. Yobany pizdets, blya.” - he said.

“What- do they?”

“They have a matchbox! Get ready! It’s getting real!”

The WRLF fighters pushed up the hill again. Now there were more of them. And they had a lot more weapons. In the light of the flares overhead, Madden could see the shapes of several vehicles moving behind the men - pickup trucks with weapons on them, and, improbably, two BMPs. They were not the same type as the Allaneans used, but the shape itself was easy to recognize - the wedge-like glacis, the treads, the flat turret.

“FIRE!” - he shouted, once again this was entirely pointless. No soldier needed to be told that he had to shoot his gun at attacking enemies.

The ground shook as one of the enemy BMP’s tore itself apart - an enormous pillar of dark-red smoke and flame, the turret thrown skywards. For about a second, Sergeant Madden saw the outline of a WRLF fighter silhoetted against the flame, and pulled the trigger on his rifle unthinkingly, again and again, even as the silhouette figure folded and fell.

Overhead, missiles screamed by, engines glowing.

Then, of course, they fought. They maneuvered - which was a fancy Army word for running along their trench from one firing station to another. They lobbed grenades across the trench lip and saw them bound down the slope and detonate among the enemy lines.

The enemy fell back, and attacked again, and again fell back.

The exact flow of events could be fixed together later, from recordings in soldiers’ goggles, from personal accounts, from video in security cameras. Sergeant Joe Madden, however, would not remember a lot of it. Certainly not in the form of an orderly narrative where the events flowed in the order in which they happened.

He remembered fire and smoke, and ear-shattering noises of a dozen different kinds. He remembered seeing one of his unit’s BMPs burn, the shells popping within, a man leaping clear from the hatch, his uniform ablaze, and then falling. He remembered seeing one of the tanks come free from its trench, roaring, its long gun scanning for targets, the shot blossoming out from the muzzle at last as it found the enemy’s other ‘matchbox’. He knew, that night, why BMPs were nicknamed ‘matchboxes’ by Allanean soldiers - they were somewhat box-shaped, and they burned with ease.

He remembered a young boy only a bit older than his own nephew still running up the hill, even though he was clearly injured - and then falling, cut down with fire from five different weapons at once.

He remembered some of the events out of order. When Corporal Millar died it was already beginning to dawn, but it would take Madden an effort to remember this - in his mental story it would always happen before the second BMP exploded, even though in reality it obviously happened ‘after’. He would go over this later with the therapist, months after the fight.

The enemy came up the hill, and they were knocked down again, and they came down again. At times Millar’s squad had to throw hand-grenades again - but they never came to needing to counterattack, or to fight within their own compound.

And when the sun rose fully, the enemy were gone. They left only corpses behind, and the wreckage of two BMPs and five trucks. The Allaneans lost a BMP and a supply truck, and less men than the enemy.

None of this felt like a victory.

* * *

”I’ll be level with you,” - the Battalion Commander said, looking at the bodies of men and women under his command, stretched out on bags of black, glistening plastic. Lying next to each of the dead was a collection of their personal belongings, to be shipped back home alongside them. “I’ll be level with you,” he said to his staff - about a dozen Majors and Captains, assembled around him., “this doesn’t feel like a victory, and to be honest it isn’t one.”

One of the fallen looked painfully young - an enlisted man, smiling as he lay. If one did not know better one could imagine the soldier had simply laid down for a peaceful rest. On the smaller black bag, the one for personal items, lay a folding chess set - a pocket one, much smaller than the regular chess sets soldiers normally played - and a copy of Botvinnik’s Method for Preparing for Competition.

“He must have loved chess.” - the Battalion Commander said. “There are already full-size chess sets in every army unit, and he was carrying this tiny one to practice with.”

“That’s Andrew Stegowsky. He won the battalion chess championship a while back. You gave him the award.”

“Shit, so it is. THat explains... I’m going to have to write to his family, am I? But I’m sorry, people. This isn’t a victory. We killed more of their guys than they did ours. But that’s not what a victory is. They had us pinned down the entire night - they figured that in these hills, it wouldn’t take much. Their main force was elsewhere. All we could do for the Livonians is harass the main force with our artillery - and half the time not even that.”

“So...”

“Everyone did their duty. We fought bravely. We killed enemies. It’s not nothing, and it’s certainly good that they didn’t take the hill and come through here, or whatever it is they would have done. But they are smart. They put themselves in a situation where they were able to pin us down, and as long as their soldiers were at least somewhat brave they would accomplish their objective. Their battalion commander or whatever he’s called, he’s taken more losses than we have. But his mission? He accomplished it.”

[Erloane]

Encrypted Comms

To: Allanean Command for Livonia
From: Erloane HIGHCOM
Subject: Deployment of the 501st Expeditionary Battalion.

Sir/Madam,

Erloanean HIGHCOM understands that the battle for Hill 506 cannot be considered a victory and that reinforcements are needed. Erloanean Government has authorised the deployment of 501st Ex. Bat. for direct combat. Along with this unit a battalion of artillery, 4 pieces of 510mm guns. Note: 501st Ex. Bat. and the heavy artillery can be sea/airlifted to an assigned area for deployment.

As of now Erloanean ships are patrolling for WRLF ships and are ready to provide naval gun and missiles fire.

[Livonian Social Democratic Republic]

Le Conseil National had previously been content to allow events unfolding in Livonia to occur with nothing more than calls for peace and negotiation in standard diplomatic fashion. News that foreign actors are now encroaching upon Livonian territory, without the cooperation of any Livonian parties, upgrades the the affair from merely an "internal conflict with outside influence", to an "active conflict between nation-states" in the eyes of the government.

The ethnonationalist justifications provided by the Estonians and Latvians are unconvincing, to say the least. As a result, the Council has enacted temporary sanctions on Estonian and Latvian financial assets, per their vested powers, pending review and vote by the National Congress. A memo requesting possible limited military options has been delivered to the High Command/Section de Commande (lit. Command Section) of the Armed Forces of the Federation (les Forces Armées de la Fédération), resulting in the 3rd Brigade d'Intervention Rapide, Chevaliers de Brezen, being issued a standby alert for possible deployment, pending developments on the ground.

The Diplomatic Corp, at request of FAF High Command, has forwarded a request to the governing bodies of Allanea and the Livonian Free Fleet for information regarding the current status of air bases under their control suitable for air lift delivery of forces, under the understanding that FAF forces would be present for purposes of peace enforcement and enforcing Livonian territorial integrity, and civil relief operations via the Civil Relief Force/Force de Secours Civile, dependent, of course, upon Livonian consent, and at minimum an understanding of non-hostility with Allanea. Intelligence sharing the internal Livonian conflict, as well as regarding Estonia and Latvian troop movements would be welcomed as well, though left unsaid is that the FAF is willing to acquire such information themselves by other means.

If the situation is deemed urgent enough, and the government chooses military intervention in cooperation with the Livonian Free Fleet and Allanea, the 3rd BIR is capable of arriving via airlift within 96 hours.

"Le Conseil national comprend que l'intégrité des frontières d'une nation et son droit d'exister ne relèvent pas uniquement de la législation de jure. Le courant en face de cette compréhension ne peut être laissé seul et doit être traité comme une menace tacite pour toutes les nations qu'il est."

"It is the understanding of the National Council, that the integrity of a nation's borders and right to exist are not solely within the realm of de jure legislation. The current afront to this understanding cannot be left alone, and must be treated as unspoken threat to all nations that it is."

Diplomatic Message from the Fleet
FOR: The National Council.
FROM: Livonian Naval Elements of the Free Fleet

Under the interest of Livonia as a Nation and her peoples, we give FULL permission for North Arkanan troops to mobilize towards occupied zones. It is important to note however, some of the area, northern zones to be exact would require your forces to move through possibly hostile territories of the WLRF. Southern zones will have little or no resistance. Livonian Naval authorities can not ensure your force will arrive safely if they go by water.

[Livonian Social Democratic Republic]

Takov Bombardment

After the failed Takov Offensive, the city of Takov, capital of the WLRF has been under heavy bombardment by State forces. Large amounts of soldiers have surrendered as the bombardments destroyed what little remnants of morale have been completely destroyed. Livonian troops have begun preparing for a final push into the destroyed city of Takov to capture the government. With the WLRF about to completely collapse reports of talks of a reunification of the State and Free Fleet have emerged.

‘In the face of pain there are no heroes.’

[Bukravia]

Just another day

---

Another day, another war for Bukravia to be involved in. Johan Peroz orders a general meeting with military commanders in the Breznan Conference Room, he was ready for another war to fight against "the reds".


Breznan Conference Room

---

Johan Peroz: "So, I've read several articles, and talked to a few journalists and a few politicians regarding the ongoing civil war happening in Livonia. We've seen what communism has done to our country. We've seen what communism did to Driliand. This is a serious threat we must stop.

Peruz Sherman: "I suggest we send a volunteer force to fight on the side of the ULF. Maybe 2 light infantry brigades and 1 mechanized division? They lost a significant amount of troops in the Nadbor region, the 3 can work well with each other, based off from satellite images of their country, which consists of dense forests and plain farmlands."

Grozniak Novikov: "We're already engaged in multiple different wars, this could potentially tie up our logistics, especially since our logistics system is more efficient on the defense of Bukravia."

The 3, and the rest of the General Staff of the Defense Force continue bickering, until finally..

3 hours later

Johan Peroz: "It's been decided, we will intervene and send a volunteer force to assist the ULF. Dismissed."

A few hours later, the order to mobilize was passed down from the General Staff to the Brigadier-Generals responsible. They were to prepare for a deployment in Livonia. This volunteer force were to consist of:

45th Mechanized Infantry "Filo" Division
18th Light Infantry "Queen" Brigade
12th Light Infantry "Redfighter" Brigade

Having recently finished with combat operations in the North of Bukravia, they were fresh and experienced. Due to the anti-communist propaganda that were displayed in military school, they were motivated to fight the reds back at home and in another person's country. They were expected to arrive in Livonia within 72 hours.

Meanwhile, Johan Peroz attempts to communicate with the leadership of the ULF.

[Livonian Social Democratic Republic]

The Final Push

As Joint Livonian-Allanean-Erloane forces continue to batter the WLRF remnants, a final armored push was ordered to finally take Tekov. 3,000 Lives, 3,000 Souls entering the gates of hell, and 3,000 Men to never tell their story. Fierce fighting began as troops dismounted from their armored coffins, fighting street to street, building to building, and hand to hand. Soldiers eventually became stuck in the rubble of the lower industrial district, firing from crudely made defenses. In what was becoming a bitter stalemate, ground to never shift, something rose. From the WLRF line a young rebel stood, a bandage covering an eye of his, and he waved a flag, a flag of blood stained white. The men around him, under presumed orders began to drop their weapons and raise their arms. "Was it over? Have we won?" were the many thoughts racing through the men's minds. Revolutionary radio silenced, only the occasional crackle of static making noise. They had done it. They had broken the back of the communists. The dead were counted, bodies were carried, and men were tired of war. This does not feel like victory, yet it is. Along the roads leading into the now shattered city refugees huddled, having fled from Tekov when the bombardments first began to level their homes. Not all had been so lucky however, as engineering forces began to dig through the rubble they had counted upwards of 7,000 civilians having died.

'Only the dead have seen the end of war.'

[Bukravia]

Abandoned Livonian airstrip, Nadbor Region

---

72 hours after the conference ended, 4 of the 10 transport planes sent to aid the ULF begin touching down on the dirt runway. The planes begin taxiing before coming to a complete halt, they begin to open the cargo doors, allowing the Bukravian soldiers and APCs out the plane and into the airstrip, where they begin to fortify and organize themselves. Unlike the standard 25-man combat groups that they were supposed to do, they were expecting a conventional war against the Livonian State forces and the WLRF remnants, so they begin to organize in platoons. Each APC supported by accompanying infantry sitting atop the APC, allowing them to quickly react and dismount should there be danger.

The fortifications were very rudimentary, since the engineering units have not yet arrived, aswell as the field hospital and the field commander.
They were somewhat vulnerable to an attack, but having the majority of the combative units on the ground, they were certainly prepared for an attack.

"Recon, briefing on barracks, 10 minutes!", a ground officer yelled.

A platoon of recon soldiers immediately scrambled for their gear and head towards the unused barracks. They already knew what they were going to do; to establish communications with the remnants and the guerrillas that supported the ULF. They certainly knew the risks of attempting to do so aswell, dying on a country that wasn't even theirs was something that these men feared, but they were already here, so why not just do it?

[Allanea]

Operation Hammer Fall

The Allaneans now put into action what they thought was the last stage of their plan.

The bombers and artillery now worked in support of the Livonian soldiers, firing precise strikes on those targets that the Livonians had pointed out to them, whether in the form of an artillery shell, a precision rocket, or some bomb or missile fired from an aircraft. In this task, they relied almost utterly on the decisions of the Livonian commanders.

Meanwhile, the airwaves carried the broadcasts from the Allanean intelligence ship, designed to be received by whatever civilian or military radios remained in the WRLF-controlled areas.

Soldiers of the West Livonian Revolutionary Front! You fought bravely and tenaciously for your cause. Defeat is now imminent. Do not prolong your own suffering or that of innocent Livonians without need. Do not kill your countrymen without cause. Surrender – and you will be treated humanely and decently. All will be provided shelter, medical assistance, clothing and food. Those of you who have committed no crimes against humanity will be provided education in a civilian profession and will be able to work and prosper alongside your countrymen.

Soldiers of the West Livonian Revolutionary Front! You fought bravely and tenaciously for your cause….