Power Play. [PMT/GD/Closed]

[State of Ordena]

Wanderjarian Defence Forces Command Center,
Fort Botha
People's State of Wanderjar.

The state of affairs in Wanderjar had changed drastically since the Ordenite backed military coup de tat that had disposed of the Free State government. The leadership of the Free State had effectively become hostages within there own nation as they were on house arrest following the coup. The Wanderjarian People's State Movement were now effectively in charge of the country with Constand Visser at the head. Martial law followed in the wake of the coup de tat and no clarification on when it would be lifted was given and now a curfew from 7pm to 5am was now in place across the entirety of Wanderjar. In major cities and towns increased police scrutiny was now becoming the norm including the establishment of police checkpoints in which civilians would have to present there identification and in some cases have there vehicle and belongings searched. This was especially so in areas delegated for the Afro-Dienstadi's to reside in as they were seen as a major security concern. Travel from city to city or even town to town was now required to have certain paperwork in order to do so for civilians regardless of color.

The constitution had therefore under the new regime been suspended indefinitely meaning that all persons regardless of color and or ethnicity had now effectively lost there rights and liberties previously afforded to them under the Free State. Political repression was already underway as the main opposition party the Labour party was declared to be a illegal and now banned political party. It was said that the Labour Party leadership had been arrested not long after and that now the Nationalist Party remained as the sole political party in Wanderjar. However despite what all that had happened there were already plans in place to restore the Free State government and drive out the Ordenites and regain the freedom and sovereignty many felt that they had lost.

Several Wanderjarian Defense Forces officers and generals sat around a table looking at a plethora of maps concerning Wanderjar. These officers and generals came from all branches of the WDF including the Army and the Royal Navy and others such as the Airborne and Marines and among them was also an officer representing the Imperial Guard. This assortment of military brass all had one thing in common and that was there disdain for what had now become of there proud nation. Attempts had been made early on by the Ordenites and there collaborators to arrest those within the WDF who would be opposed to the coup but most had been able to avoid capture. Little had been done in the mean time to alter or restrict the day to day activities of the WDF which was what the conspirators in the room were thankful for and allowed them to meet unmolested.

"Do we have the full support of all the Army Groups? We must have the entirety of the Army at our disposal to take back our country from the Ordenites, they don't scare easily." asked one of the men in the room. The Wanderjarian National Army was the second most important branch of the WDF with the first being the Royal Navy. While it's size was small in comparison to other regional powers, in the case of within there own nation they were a competent force that would be needed to remove the Ordenites.

General Francois J. Roux who sat as the current Chief of the Army nodded his head. "The Wanderjarian National Army is one hundred percent without a doubt at the full disposal of the Free State. All Army Groups are accounted for including the reserves and 48 hours is all that we'd need to be at full strength." While it was elements of the Army that had participated in the initial Ordenite backed coup, they did not represent the majority of the Army and the WDF who considered there actions treasonous. The officers involved were already identified and were now under surveillance by the Wanderjarian Intelligence Directorate. There fates were now sealed and it would only be a matter of time before revenge was to be enacted on them ahead of the planned operation to reestablish the former government of Wanderjar.

"I'd much rather like to avoid all out conflict with Ordena." said General Marais Vorster who was currently Chief of Staff of the Wanderjarian Defense Forces. "However if it can't be helped then it can't be helped, before we go all in a message will be sent to them giving them 48 hours to leave the country. In that amount of time assuming they most likely don't leave our Army will be at full manpower strength for what is to come." The overall plan would carry on despite the 48 hour window for the Ordenites to leave the country with the Army and Royal Navy maneuvering into place in the expectation of all out war.

[Greal]

Sasha, Greal

It was late in Sasha as usual when they met. The capital of Greal never slept. A city of hundreds of millions of people in a massive grid of endless skyscrapers and an economy that kept going. The unending concrete magnificence and grandeur. And the noise of millions of commuters every second.

Three uniformed officers met with government officials in an unassuming room in the Zharkan, a massive building dedicated to the defense of Greal. The building was so massive it had it's own army and was rumored to be armored enough to even survive nuclear strikes. The Zharkan filled with endless bureaucracy and endless factional byzantine struggles across various departments. The officers had no markings or rank on them. They were from the Greali Intelligence Agency's Wanderjar department. Events were important enough that the department head himself was one of the officers. The meeting table was huge and U shaped and seemed to center around the main attendee, Minister of Defense Jeris Dovout. Dovout glanced at the tallest of the GIA officers and quietly said, "Please proceed Colonel Ruger."

Colonel Ruger looked at the dozens of attendees around him and immediately went into analysis mode. He could see staff from MoD, Greali Air Force, Foreign Ministry, the Greali Humanitarian Agency head, and of course President Watson's top Greater Dienstadi adviser Wilkins herself. It was unreal to have the attention of so many important government officials. Everyone wanted a piece of this pie of course.

Ruger began, "As we see with the events in Wanderjar, we weren't totally caught by surprise as our media wants the public to believe. Our people and traffic analysis noticed preparations for the coup quite early, but per the President's order we didn't interfere with it. If Greal intervened in Wanderjar it would cause serious issues and a regional crisis so officially we're hands off. Of course our country is now presented with a new problem. How do we treat the new regime? Refugees? Rebels to the coup?" The Foreign Ministry official twitched at the mention of "regime".

"Anyways as Minister Dovout has already pointed out", continued Ruger "Greali forces are now on heightened alert on the border, the GIA is working hard on identifying any kind of resistance to the new regime and we have some potential groups we can aim for that bears discussion." Ruger had map presentations of Wanderjar's border with Greal, capital, identified military bases, and endless other information on the wall displays in front of the officials. Ruger continued discussing the potential impact of the coup on Greali security and another longer presentation on Wanderjarian divisions closest to Greal and their known abilities.

"Well?"

It was sometime after the meeting had been dismissed. Dovout was alone with Wilkins and Ruger in the same room. Surrounded by maps decisions had to be made. Dovout gave Ruger a hard look and asked, "What about the elephant in the room?"

Ruger barely looked up, "You noticed I didn't bring them up? Yeah I figured you'd catch that." Ruger chuckled softly then looked back at Wilkins, "What does the President want in regards with the Greali in Wanderjar?"

"Well, the number of Greali in Wanderjar amount to about three hundred million problems." Wilkins had emphasized the word problems with a purr then ruefully continued, "Well the Boss says she's concerned about Greali minority being mistreated amidst the martial law and curfew." Wilkins paced the room from one side to another then looked at Ruger.

"Colonel."

"Yes?"

"What kind of contacts do we have with them exactly? How many factions or groups are there and how armed are they?" Wilkins asked. She looked like she was running all the scenarios in her head.

Ruger glanced at a tablet, "Well depends, which group are you referring to?" Ruger used his finger to scroll through a list, "You name it we got it. Unificationists who want Greal to annex them, Rurthian Greali whackos who are fanatical about their religion, second generation Greali-Wanderjarian kids who want to drive the Ordenites into the ocean, even some good old fashion monarchists." Ruger chuckled after getting to the bottom of the list and looked at Dovout, "Sir, this has all the makings of a major clusterfuck if we don't maneuver through this carefully. Last thing we want is refugee crisis pouring over the border." Ruger pointedly explained Greal's largest land border was with Wanderjar and it was tightly patrolled, but shooting refugees would cause some interesting political issues domestically and internationally. Especially if they were Greali refugees.

Ruger continued, "The Unificationists have very few arms as far as I know. Rifles here and there." Ruger then looked sharply at Wilkins, "You're thinking of changing that element?"

"Possibly. A chance to keep Wanderjar distracted internally? We love it." Wilkins frowned at Dovout. "Right?"

Dovout sighed then said, "But if we start arming and backing factions of our choosing it may cause issues. You will never know where those arms go to. And if Wanderjarian forces tumble onto it, we could get into a war."

"Not if we play our cards right." Wilkins grinned then looked at Ruger, "What's your Mokan liaison up to today?"

Lorrow, Wanderjar

Lorrow wasn't really much to look at from satellite photos as a town near the Greali-Wanderjarian border. The town itself did control one of the key roads into Wanderjar from Greal but other than that there was zero tourism, and the economy was mainly driven by logging companies who kept the town's treasury full as well as the endless amount of trucks that did business in neighboring Greal. Often the town was filled with truckers and their goods coming in. Lorrow was also filled to the brim with immigrants and expats from Greal. It was common to remark upon in Lorrow that over half the population had two or more passports. There was even a tiny Greali Trade Office in the middle of town staffed by a few economic officials from Sasha and they had diplomat privileges.

When the word came that the coup had happened there was quiet disbelief. Many of the older generation in Lorrow however waved it off, assumed things will go back to normal and that life would go on. They were disabused of this notion very shortly.

The curfew fell upon the town and the effects were drastic. The local economy grinded to a halt and many truckers who made their living were stuck. Truckers were forced to use their meager resources to book hotel lots and occupied fields and forests and waited. Police checkpoints had popped up around the town. When Lorrow learnt they had to get permits to visit even nearby villages or towns the reaction was of shock and anger. Lorrow's mayor vanished with the town cabinet. It was rumored they were shot.

Lorrow's police force wasn't very large to begin with. Normally they handled inspecting goods that came over the border and watched for smuggling of illegal goods. Not for enforcing martial law on a wide scale while border patrolling. When the coup happened some in the police force promptly deserted the force or were disappeared. Lorrow's police chief pleaded for reinforcements from whoever was in charge. But Visser's government was preoccupied with more pressing concerns such as repressing the Labour party workers and hunting down whatever people he deemed as traitors to help his Ordenite backers. One border town could wait after all.

When one Greali trucker started protesting his conditions at a police checkpoint and getting very pushy with his objections to the curfew, one police officer took it upon himself to knock down the man with his non-lethals. The officer was then surrounded by truckers and onlookers and beaten so badly his fellow officers fired shots in the air to retrieve him and fled to a nearby restaurant to hold their position. They requested for reinforcements from the main town department.

Lorrow's police department did have an armored vehicle with water-cannons so the crowd was dispersed but only after many injuries and two died in the confusion. Some in the town said they were shot, others said they were run over by police. The town went into overdrive. The two police stations in the town lost all their windows the first night to rocks thrown by town residents. Lorrow collectively held it's breath for what happened next.

It was during this time when Harold Chance met his fellow Greali Unificationists at an abandoned post office on the outskirts of the town. He grew up in Greal and only moved to Wanderjar to help his ageing mother but he became something of an advocate for the local Greali minority in Lorrow. Much of that quiet advocacy left Harold dismayed and depressed. When the coup happened Chance saw an opportunity. The others in the meeting were a bit surprised about Harold's sudden change. He looked very animated and highly energetic after years of passive political activity.

"Those Wanderjarian police scum always had it out for us," said big Owen, "We oughta teach them a few things about manners."

Harold smiled and said a bit softly, "It does seem that way doesn't it? Events are happening."

"Events?" Sharon in the back looked a bit uneasy about Harold's mention of events. "Harold, we need to stay low for now and hopefully the Wanderjarians will sort out their own affairs with the Ordenites. And things will go back to normal. Hopefully."

"Hopefully?" Harold delivered the this word with disgust. He looked up angrily now at Sharon. There was steel in his eyes. "They'll just continue to beat down on us and never deliver any real change. We'll always be the invisible underdogs and miserable. But don't worry, at least we'll continue to truck goods for our Wanderjarian masters. For a trickle of untaxed cash." Harold looked pained.

Harold looked at everyone else in the room, "I'm tired of this shit. I'm tired of being afraid. Of being treated as second class citizens. We need Greal back." The whole room stayed deathly still then all slowly nodded. The decisions that casually changed a peaceful movement into a violent one were sometimes ones that barely were noticed by history.

Harold pointed at the flag of Greal, "That's our true home. So Lorrow will become Greal." Big Own echoed, "Lorrow IS GREAL."

"How armed are we?" asked Anthony, he was one of the Greali truckers that regularly brought in intelligence and other things for the group.

Big Owen looked glum at the mention of armed. "We have a few rifles that we made out of smuggled parts. But we need way more than that. A few rifles won't stop the Ordenite junta or the WDF if they come for us."

Harold now looked like much happier, he triumphantly said, "I happen to know somebody who can get us access to the police armory. But the rest is up to us." And so they planned.

[State of Ordena]

Oostzeestad,
Falkenhausen-Kaserne(Falkenhausen Barracks),
Wanderjar.

Falkenhausen Barracks had been one of the original Ordenite military installations existing in Wanderjar for years as both the Greater Ordenstaat and what was formerly the Free State had close diplomatic relations stemming into a mutual defense agreement. It was this installation that hosted the Ordenite Landmacht who intervened in the previous San Castello Civil War and helped drive the DIENPAC out of much of the troubled country and into the depths of the jungles bordering South Greal. Over the years as the Free State dived more and more into geopolitical and economic stagnation and as Ordenite influence in the country increased, previous restrictions on the amount of troops able to be hosted in Wanderjar were lifted. Soon after the Ordenite Landmacht were hosting an entire Army Group within the country and eventually there numbers matched those fielded by the Wanderjarian National Army. Despite concerns and protests among the WDF and politicians in Wanderjarian government circles, they were waved off and the build up was allowed to continue.

The Ordenite Luftmacht and the Marine would also see there respective numbers in country also rise as several air and naval bases would be constructed. Joint military exercises between the WDF and the Krijgsmacht were a normal occurrence and WDF and Krijgsmacht officers frequented the others schools. The beginning of the conflict in the distant region of Varathron with the invasion of Dietsland by Fortress Automailia, a client state of the Unified Authority now required an even more grander build up in the country. A build up that would require the construction and establishment of a multitude of facilities and installations for the marshalling of forces the Krijgsmacht desired. The construction would see it being sourced locally as the Visser government looked to soak up the unemployed in what was termed as a public works project. All the while Falkenhausen Barracks had been chosen as a vital command and control node for the conducting of the war effort in Varathron and would soon see many high ranking Krijgsmacht officers coming and going.

The overall commander of the Krijgsmacht in Wanderjar was Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Fürst a military careerist having led Ordenites into battle countless times over the years. As of recent he had been away on business back in Berlina taking part in several meetings with other Krijgsmacht top brass concerning the war. He had only a few hours ago landed at the airport in Oostzeestad and then driven to Falkenhausen Barracks. The barracks was one of the largest Ordenite military installations in all of Wanderjar and hosted countless soldiers and there war machines and equipment. The barracks its self contained adequate air defenses in the chance that an enemy decided to launch an attack by air or with certain munitions from which the installation's air defenses would be able to destroy.

The main entrance to the installation consisted of a high metal fence with a guard post with personnel present to check any and all visitors. Once the vehicle the Generalfeldmarschall was riding in came to the main entrance they were waved in as there time of arrival had been given to the guards on duty at the time. The vehicle then proceeded through the Barracks passing row after row of housing meant for soldiers currently on base. The vehicle would come to a brief stop at a intersection as a Panzerkampfwagen Löwe IX Main Battle Tank drove by them as Hermann's vehicle continued on eventually stopping outside of a parade ground with various buildings surrounding it. On the parade grounds standing in formation was a Landmacht band and accompanying honor guard all dressed in ceremonial uniforms and wielding ceremonial Ordenite bolt action rifles. It was a long standing tradition within the Landmacht that arriving high ranking officers such as the Generalfeldmarschall should be properly greeted in such a fashion.

The Generalfeldmarschall having his passenger door opened for him would exit his vehicle standing before the honor guard company and band. The Leutnant who presided as the commanding officer of the company with his ceremonial saber by his side took a step forward and turned towards the men before him. He would then relay a set of commands to the company in preparation for the start of the small ceremony.

"Honor company!"

"Stand still!"

"Attention! Present! Rifles!" The entire company brought there rifles up and the flag bearer also brought there flag up as they stood at attention. The Leutnant then turned and faced forward with his men. The Landmacht band then began to play the Ordenite national anthem as Fürst removed his officer's cap and saluted while the anthem played. Once the anthem had ended the Leutnant issued more commands to his men "Report!", "Eyes!" , "Left!" the company turned it's gazes to the left where Generalfeldmarschall Fürst was standing. As the leutnant begun to march with saber at his side towards him the band begun playing a marsch. Once the Leutnant was within a few feet of him the band stopped playing as the Leutnant raised his saber once with the Generalfeldmarschall giving a salute.

"Herr Generalfeldmarschall!, the Honor company of the Landmacht has come to greet you." he announced as Fürst saluted him again and held the salute as he walked by the company with the band resuming the playing of the marsch as he went by. Awaiting him by the entrance to his headquarters were several of his adjutants all looking to relay information to him about military matters concerning Wanderjar. He would soon be a very busy man as events transpiring elsewhere were to come to his attention.

Downtown Bloemfontein,
Wanderjar.

Downtown Bloemfontein one of the busiest places in the capital city with all sorts of business being conducted and people from all walks of life being present. Due to the martial law and the resulting curfew which went into effect from 7pm to 5am, it was much busier then usual as many sought to get what they needed to get done before the curfew. Across the street from a busy restaurant was a parked car with two individuals sitting inside. One of them held up a pair of binoculars as he watched the establishment while the other sat with a detonator in his lap letting out a short sigh while looking out of the window as people passed by however the windows of there car were sufficiently tinted to prevent anyone seeing inside. Both of them wore plain civilian clothing and were agents from the Wanderjarian Home Intelligence Group which handled domestic intelligence gathering but were also the nation's secret police. The WHIG despite the initial coup de tat disposing of the Free State did not completely switch sides and back the Ordenites and Constand Visser. It had been hard at work gaining intel on all who were involved in the coup and tracking them, all of which was done as part of a Black operation. The operation in question was devised to destroy the coup through systematic killings of all of the coup plotters including Constand Visser himself. Therefore opening a power vacuum in which the possibility for the Free State to return could occur.

"What's the time on your watch?" the agent in the driver seat asked putting down the binoculars. The other in the passenger seat brought his arm up and looked at his watch.

"5 pm." He responded as the agent in the drivers seat peered back through his binoculars. "He should be coming out any second now." A minute would pass before there target would be seen coming out of the restaurant and heading towards the parking lot. The target's vehicle had been previously rigged with explosives which once the agent with the detonator flipped a switch the target and his vehicle would be blown apart. The target in question was a Colonel in the Wanderjarian National Army and one of the coup plotters who collaborated with the Ordenites to overthrow the Free State, he was marked for death.

"He's going to his car now. Get ready with that detonator." The agent in the passenger put his finger on the switch which would set off the explosives and waited for the okay to do so as his fellow agent watched with binoculars. The target would make it to his car as he unlocked it with his keyless remote and entered. The agent in the driver seat put up a thumbs up for his fellow agent as he flipped the switch on the detonator and the Colonel's car burst into flames abruptly. Car alarms blared and smoke bellowed from the explosion as the agent's vehicle started and they quickly drove away.

[State of Ordena]

Wanderjarian Defence Forces Command Center,
Fort Botha
People's State of Wanderjar.

48 hours. This was the theoretical amount of time it would take to bring the Wanderjarian Army up to full combat readiness in the onset of war. Fortunately for the Wanderjarian Army there mobilization would not be paid very much attention to by the Ordenites who were dealing with their own war abroad. A message had been relayed to the Ordenites themselves that they had at the very least 48 hours to remove all Ordenite military personnel and hardware from the country of Wanderjar or hostilities were to be initiated to return the nation to a democratic government. Little if any public reaction from the Ordenite government was noticed however the Ordenite Army in Wanderjar were already stirring with the news that open hostilities with the Wanderjarian Defense Forces was coming. Of course the Wanderjarians did not simply do nothing during the 48 hour window given to the Ordenites, its Army had during this time been maneuvering its forces to pre-determined staging areas across the country. In the wake of the initial coup by the Ordenites, much of the Wanderjarian Army's supply and ammunition depots were put under the oversight of the Ordenite Army. The Military Intelligence Directorate of the Wanderjarian Defense Forces had been keeping tabs on the movements and activities of the Ordenite military since the coup had occurred. They had found that while these depots were occupied by the Ordenite Army they would not be difficult to overwhelm and one of the main objectives was to seize the supply and ammunition depots before going on a wider offensive against the Ordenites.

It was found that much of the Ordenite Army was focused at the Wanderjar-New Garrack Border and the eastern coast neighboring San Castello. Denying the Ordenites access to the rest of the country would be another main objective as they assumed that once hostilities began the Ordenites would seek to re-occupy the country. Therefore the first phase would consist of the deployment of airborne forces to seize and secure supply and ammunition depots. In the meantime maneuver elements of the Wanderjarian Army would move to occupy major cities including the capital, borders with neighboring countries and the Great Escarpment, a major terrain feature. The Royal Air force and Royal Navy would seek to deny aerial and naval supremacy to the Ordenites as their planes and warships made their presence known.

Off the Coast of Wanderjar.

It was becoming ever more apparent that the situation in Wanderjar could not be steered away from out right armed conflict. The Wanderjarian Defense Forces had now openly attacked the Ordenite Krijgsmacht with airborne troops conducting lightning raids on army supply and ammunition depots across much of the country. These depots belonging to the Wanderjarians had since the coup d'etat been under the supervision and guard of Ordenite military police. The enemy had made quick work of the Military Police and now occupied these depots allowing the Wanderjarian Army to worry less about potential supply issues when hostilities broke out. It was now being observed through satellite and other reconnaissance methods that the Wanderjarian Defense Forces were now deploying en masse and it looked as though war was now imminent. A direct order from the Krijgsmacht High Command was soon issued that all Ordenite forces in Wanderjar be brought to full combat readiness as soon as possible. Battle plans were hastily devised as the Krijgsmacht would now have to defeat the WDF and secure the entirety of the country. The Wanderjarian Royal Navy would see itself become a high priority target to the Krijgsmacht as their defeat would mean that its naval lifeline to the rest of the Greater Ordenstaat would be able to remain intact.

In the 48 hours given to them in the ultimatum to leave the country the Krijgsmacht had brought a considerable amount of it's forces present in the country to full combat readiness. Deception tactics were utilized in order to mask or deceive the Wanderjarians about their intentions which would prove to be effective as there was no further escalation. It was already being observed that the Royal Navy had been maneuvering within its own territorial waters and their movements and placements had been under observation for quite some time. Naval Group Wanderjar had made maneuvers of its own but did not look to provoke the Royal Navy. The Ordenite Marine presence in Wanderjar consists of three Fleets and due to the war in Dietsland there was planned construction to build up additional infrastructure to be able to accommodate more of the Marine.

Midnight had struck for the majority of Wanderjar with the night sky blanketing the landscape and the sea. Despite the rise in tensions between the Greater Ordenstaat and the Wanderjarian Defense Forces with both navies out at sea, the night was still relatively peaceful. However this relative peace was nothing more than a false sense of security as the Ordenite Marine in Wanderjar would soon conduct a first strike on the Royal Navy. Operation Eastern Storm was the devised Ordenite Krijgsmacht operation to secure Wanderjar and render the Wanderjarian Defense Forces unable to conduct offensive or defensive operations against Ordenite control over the country.

A multitude of electronic warfare capable aircraft had taken off from aircraft carriers and airfields heading in the direction of the Royal Navy out at sea. These included Taifun Multirole fighters equipped for electronic warfare, along with Dornier Multirole Maritime Aircraft that also were outfitted with electronic warfare pods and other avionics. Once these aircraft were within range of the Wanderjarian vessels they activated their electronic warfare pods and avionics and began detecting and jamming them. The aircraft also utilized a computer program which had now started to attack computer networks and communications belonging to the Royal Navy. This preliminary electronic attack had now rendered the Royal Navy essentially blind as a false picture was presented to them and their communications were kept relatively inoperable keeping them from properly coordinating with one another.

Several waves of Taifun Multirole fighters and Rächer bombers were now in the air and heading towards the Royal Navy, loaded up with anti-ship missiles and other munitions. Simultaneously The combined 3 Fleets of the Ordenite Marine in Wanderjar were preparing to launch a significant missile attack of their own and as the Taifun's and Rächer's came within range of the Wanderjarians and launched there payloads, the missile attack from the Ordenite Marine surface vessels and submarines began. The once relative peaceful night had now been tarnished with sounds of explosions and missile impacts. The Royal Navy had been severely blindsided as they attempted to defend themselves in the ensuing chaos as ship after ship took direct hits from anti-ship missiles and other munitions. Despite the fact that the majority of the Royal Navy was in open waters, there still remained several naval bases which housed enemy naval vessels and infrastructure for the Royal Navy and would need to be destroyed. Rächer bombers armed with air to ground munitions would seek out these naval bases and deliver their payloads onto them as explosions erupted along the coast line.

The attack persisted as the Ordenite Marine used the chaos to maneuver it's forces and continue to hit them hard. The Royal Navy was now desperately trying to rally themselves to fight back the aggressors as they were able to fire back. Several Ordenite vessels were struck by Wanderjarian return fire with said vessels either sinking violently or left a floating blaze of fire. However these losses were deemed understandable and it did not break morale, the Marine still had another ace up it's sleeve as it began deploying a vast swarm of Unmanned surface vehicles carrying explosive payloads in which would be detonated upon the USV's striking their targets head on. The USVs only previous combat deployment was during the First Krasnovan War when a similar swarm style attack severely damaged the Red Star Union's only Aircraft Carriers, leaving them vulnerable enough for destruction by Ordenite missiles. They had seen limited use in the following Krasnovan Wars having been sent back to R&D for further development. They would now make their return to combat as their swarm closed in on Wanderjarian vessels which due to their low profile and speed made them a difficult target for onboard weapons systems.

The swarm was devastating for the Wanderjarians as these combined with on-going missile attacks overwhelmed them. The attack would continue for over 2 hours before the guns and missiles fell silent and all that remained were the steel carcasses of the Royal Navy. It would not be known for some time just how many died in the attack but their were still plenty of survivors clinging to emergency rafts but were left to their own devices by the Ordenite Marine. Some Wanderjarian vessels were able to escape the carnage and limp their way into Macabean waters of the neighboring nation of San Castello. The first phase of Operation Eastern Storm had now been completed and soon the rest was set to unfold.

[State of Ordena]

Northern Wanderjar

Operation Eastern Storm had began as a first strike was being conducted on the Wanderjarian Royal Navy out at sea. Simultaneously however a coordinated ground offensive was getting under way on land in Northern Wanderjar. The border with New Garrack had for some time been under the responsibility of the Ordenite Landmacht as due to the on-going civil war occurring in Morrdh. Now due to events within the country the Ordenite forces here would partake in a ground campaign to secure the country and defeat the rebellious Wanderjarian Defense Forces who threatened to engage in hostilities if their demands were not met. So instead of meeting their demands the Ordenite Krijgsmacht opted to completely destroy them and directly occupy the country. The overall strength for the offensive was concentrated in the North with 3 of the 5 Army Groups positioned there along with the attachment of the 43rd and 70th and 62nd Shock Armies meant that nearly 5 million personnel would be involved. All the while the remaining 2 Army Groups and the attached 57th Shock Army would secure the coastal region and work their way down the border with San Castello with their overall objective being to reach the militarized border with South Greal.

The Wanderjarian Army had already mobilized and were deployed throughout the country with Army Group North positioned in the path of the main axis of advance. Much of their concentration was near and around the city of Pietersburg in which resided over 15 million people. Pietersburg also referred to by the Planol population as Polokwane which translates to "Sanctuary" was to be the first objective in the ground offensive to secure, especially it's international airport which was located due north of the city. The airport would serve as a launching platform for deeper penetration of Wanderjarian airspace by the Luchtmacht once the offensive began to push deeper into the country. It's importance was also to secure the N1 Highway which connects the border with New Garrack with most of Wanderjar's major cities and it was within the best interest of the Ordenites to utilize this major highway for its operations.

The Wanderjarians had made their front line where the N1 and R71 highways connect. The Wanderjarian 1st Army had constructed a trench system and other defensive positions in which these were occupied by their Infantry corps. Three Infantry divisions were arrayed here including their armored regiments which each division had attached while the accompanying Armored Division was positioned further back and would be utilized to push back enemy breakthroughs and counter attack. The Armored Corps of the 1st Army also was kept in the rear closer to the city and were positioned on it's flanks. If and when the enemy did breakthrough the first line of defense then the Armored Corps would be the fist of the major counter attack that would smash them and then drive deeper into the enemy and sow chaos. The two reserve infantry corps were also positioned near and around Pietersburg in fall back lines consisting of trench systems and if it became absolutely necessary then they would take positions within Pietersburg its self and look to cost the enemy in brutal urban warfare.

While the Wanderjarian Defense Force had been mobilizing and deploying they had also been gathering gun-owning citizens most of which were White Wanderjarians to form militias of their own to aid in the defense of their homeland. Due to the extent of nationalistic fevor among many Wanderjarians the WDF were able to raise many volunteers in which would be organized into battalion formations. These volunteer battalions would primarily take up positions within their own communities, cities and towns from where they lived. Due to the fact that their was a conscription law in place known as 'National Service' many of these volunteer battalions consisted of individuals who had previously in their lives had served in the Armed Forces. Which would mean that despite not having all of the necessary equipment and armament a regular army formation had, these formations would serve their purpose as light infantry and conduct asymmetric warfare.

The first explosions erupted not long after midnight as Ordenite anti-radiation missiles struck Wanderjarian RADAR and SAM sites. Not long after did wave after wave of Taifun multirole fighters and Rächer bombers begin to fly through Wanderjarian airspace towards preplanned targets. These targets included troop concentrations, defensive positions, command and control and other military targets of opportunity. Cruise missiles soon followed striking at similar targets however would be primarily targeting logistical nodes, military bases and air bases of the Wanderjarian Air Force. The Wanderjarians would react rather quickly as they began scrambling ‘Springbok’ Fighters in order to begin intercepting the Ordenite war planes. The air war had now started as Taifun's and Springbok's danced in the skies looking to shoot the other down first all the while both sides anti-air also looked to down the others aircraft. From initial reconnaissance conducted by drones and previously inserted Jagers special forces SR units their was little in the way of resistance between the border with New Garrack until they reached the section of highway in which N1 meets with R71 and thus the 3 Army Groups begun to advance.

Musina was a sizable town right on the border with New Garrack boasting a population of 50,000 people. Much of the town's residents were still asleep or at least in doors due to the curfew in place with martial law having been enacted ever since the initial coup had succeeded. The streets were practically empty as the sounds of engines and tracked vehicles could be heard fast approaching the town. Entering the town from the north came a reconnaissance platoon in Nachzehrer reconnaissance variant APCs and a single Keiler Infantry fighting vehicle. Over head the sound of helicopters could be heard as Tiger-6M attack helicopters flew over the town while additional convoys of Ordenite landmacht vehicles began to pass through the town. The war in Wanderjar was well under way as by morning citizens in the affected areas would awaken to see Ordenite military vehicles and troops in their communities.

[Greal]

Lorrow, Wanderjar

A few days later sometime in the evening Harold and his fellow Greali Unificationists were to do an attack on police armory to steal weapons.

Harold's people had scrounged up some rifles and pistols from the years of smuggling from Greal. The weapons weren't exactly in great condition but that wasn't a problem. As long as they killed the guards outside that's all the rifles needed to do. Some of the Unificationists had done conscript service in Greal so they weren't unfamiliar with the weapons.

"That's the problem." Sharon pointed. Harold and some of his people were in a building adjacent to the the armory.

Harold cursed softly, the armory now had at least eight guards, double the amount he was expecting. Was the police chief warned? Harold had to bury that thought and focus on the mission.

"Doesn't matter, we have a plan." The others stared grimly and nodded. They started moving to their positions.

"They started on the other side." said somebody behind Harold. Suddenly he could hear in the distance an explosion. That was the scheduled car bombing near the town hall that was to distract Lorrow's authorities. Then another bombing that impacted a nearby electrical station.

"That ought to distract the cops." Harold chuckled, then looked at Big Owen who had a bolt action rifle in his hand, "Will your guys come through?"

Big Own laughed grimly and said, "My boys will come through." Big Owen had convinced a bunch of truckers to block one of the roads leading to the town and to start a riot. Another distraction.

"Okay, 30 seconds." Harold double checked his little pistol.

The police officers were doing a routine guard duty at the armory. Sure the number of guards were doubled, but nothing much had happened and they were bored. Most of them looked forward to their night shift ending so they could go home and sleep.

Suddenly one of the Lorrow armory guards heard a whine in the distance, but it sounded like it was coming from the sky. He tried to make out what it was, but the light pollution and night made it hard to see. Then suddenly he saw it. It was a quadcopter drone diving at them. The officer's first thought was it was dangerous for drone users to race them around the town and picked up his radio to call it in. Then he realized to his dismay the drone wasn't stopping.

The drone hit the ground narrowly missing the guard and then exploded. The Unificationists had modified a typical racing quadcopter drone to carry explosives and the operator was to basically ram it into the guards or the ground in order for the trigger to go off. It went off spectacularly with a loud bang. The two guards at the front were down immediately. Harold didn't hesitate and immediately went to the armory's front with his crew as gunshots suddenly rang out. Big Owen and Sharon and others were shooting at the police guards. The Lorrow police guards were taken by surprise and some were taken down while others ducked for cover. Alarms were ringing all over the armory.

Harold waited behind some police cars at the front until he heard tires hitting the road fast. It made him smile. Suddenly a big red van crashed into the front of the armory destroying the entrance door which was sealed by the alarm. The 4 ton van had no trouble breaching the sealed entrance. More shots rang out. Two more police emerged from the front and fired towards Harold's direction. He heard a shocked cry of pain as one of the Unificationists were shot in the chest. More gunfire was exchanged.

More shots rang out, and Harold cheered when he saw a police officer die after peeking out from cover to shoot at the windows. Big Owen was finding his targets it seemed. Harold made a mental note to never piss off that man.

The police finally were all down and Harold led his remaining crew into the building. The layout was fairly simple and they soon found the weapons.

"Hurry." Harold said urgently. He had a fair idea how long it would take for the police to send reinforcements to the armory. The blocked roads would help buy time, but Harold had no desire to linger.

His crew broke the gun cage locks with pliers and cutting tools and started collecting weapons. It was eerily quiet besides the building alarm still going off.

Not a bad day's work.

Later...

Lorrow was in a stage of uproar. Now with events happening outside the town around Wanderjar and the Ordenite movements internet was suddenly cut off. The town was now under full on curfew, no one allowed after 6pm. Dozens were arrested.

But the attack on the police armory was a shock. Eight police officers and several civilians dead. Lorrow's police chief had a fairly good idea that it was probably the work of Greali immigrants but he was in dismay with how the attack went. No one was caught. The attackers had taken essentially a whole army company's worth of weapons and vests. He once again begged for some kind of aid from the nearest Wanderjar military unit.

Lorrow police took out their anger on a Greali trucker camp the next evening. By morning several of the truckers were dead in their tents, their bodies beaten and tased. Full on protests and riots were nonstop. More police abandoned the town. Rumors kept spreading, ranging from a full on invasion by Greal, to Ordenite forces nearby about to napalm the town, to Wanderjarian units would gun down everyone that didn't display loyalty.

A group of Wanderjarian-Greali mixed families were also protesting at a village near Lorrow. They called for the return of Wanderjar to rightfully rule the country and out with the Ordenites. The RWs they called themselves openly clashed with other ethnic minorities and further threw the region into unrest. Roads were now littered with burnt cars and signs.

Sasha, Greal

"So things in Wanderjar have gotten a bit worse?" Minister of Defense Jeris Dovout was the master of understatement.

"Yup." Colonel Ruger.

"Alright, move these army groups to the border. Have to worry about things spilling over." Dovout laid out a list of Greali units. Essentially 150 Greali army divisions would be put at war footing and high alert on the Greali-Wanderjarian border. The minister had essentially started a massive deployment that would put the border bases into overload for the next few days. "Anything for Foreign Affairs?"

A MOFA official looked grim and said, "We could try putting out peace feelers towards Wanderjar and Ordena maybe? But not sure what that'll accomplish."

"We need to try for appearance's sake." said the President's adviser, Wilkins. Dovout nodded in agreement.

The MOFA official merely sighed and replied, "We'll draft something up within the hour. We could maybe ask President Watson to call her counterparts in the GD to get further cooperation. Generic diplomacy that won't solve things." Then the official looked at Dovout, "We're not thinking of going over the border, are we?"

Dovout shrugged and said, "That's up to the Boss. Probably not though."

[Morrdh]

JHQ Athlone
Liskeard Military Area
New Garrack

Tensions between New Garrack and it's southern neigbour of Wanderjar had a long long history and provided enough ground for a sizeable military presence both sides of the border. Despite the odd skirmish, outright conflict was practically unheard of in this part of the world. Sheer paranoia kept an army dug into the dusty, arid plains and during times when tensions seemingly ran high additional units were brought in only to whittle away again when the crisis failed to boil over. Even with the ongoing troubles within the Commonwealth of Morrdh, a strong presence remained on the border especially after Ordenite forces were deployed to Wanderjar.

Now another crisis seemed to be brewing south of the border, one seemingly stemming from the very same Ordenite forces. It sparked a series of high level meetings amongst the command sat located within the main bunker in the complex known as Joint Headquarters Athlone, the main command center for the Liskeard Military Area which control the Commonwealth military presence along the border. It was a tri-service command featuring elements from the army, air force and some representation from the navy but it was directly responsible for the defence of the border region. But with the aforementioned troubles, JHQ Athlone could only draw upon so many resources and it had had to fight tooth and nail to keep hold of frontline units thus leaving few options to pursue.

The general consensus was to raise the alert state to 'Black Special', meaning a high chance of an attack but no defined threat. Additionally, surveillance efforts of the border and into Wanderjar were stepped up with an increase of SIGINT sorties flown by Iarrthóir (Seeker) R.2 electronic reconnaissance aircraft to intercept and collect electronic communications to try and build-up a picture of what was happening in conjunction with other intelligence gathering efforts. There was also aggressive border patrolling by air force and navy units, especially against possible intruders, but they stayed firmly north of the border. Where possible, more radar and SAM units were deployed as part of a stiffening up drive.

Then it was the waiting game to see what would unfold.

[State of Ordena]

Pietersburg,
North West Wanderjar.

The advance of the Ordenite ground forces had been steady since the start of Operation Eastern Storm. Considerable gains had been made from the start at the border with New Garrack following the on-going air campaign by the Luchtmacht. Resistance had been minimal up until they encountered the entrenched Wanderjarian 1st Army who were defending a highway junction just north of the city of Pietersburg. The 70th Shock Army attached to the II Army Group were slated to tackle the defenses as 15cm and 17cm towed and self propelled howitzers began opening up to soften the enemy's positions. The Wanderjarians responded in kind with their own artillery largely seeking to conduct counter battery fire as Ordenite reconnaissance drones acting in the forward observer role sought out targets for the artillery. The three Panzer Corps of the 70th Shock Army would begin their assault on the Wanderjarian defenses covered by artillery and short range air defense systems, Panzerkampfwagen Löwe IX main battle tanks accompanied by Keiler Infantry fighting vehicles carrying Ordenite Shocktroopers into battle.

The entrenched Wanderjarians would be met with overwhelming mechanized and armored forces which would force them to have to fall back. Due to the Wanderjarian Army's lack of vast tank formations meant that despite what losses the Ordenites would take from enemy ATGMs and from enemy tanks, their would be more to take their place. While Wanderjarian losses would be more critical to their formations. Thus the Wanderjarians were effectively relegated to a fighting retreat as they moved from fall back line to fall back line in order not to be encircled by the Ordenite Panzers. The single Armored Corps of the Wanderjarian 1st Army was therefore sent into battle as the front lines were ever steadily moving towards Pietersburg, a significant battle of armored forces would now take place.

Tiger-6M attack helicopters would provide aerial support for the Panzers as they launched ATGMs targeting Wanderjarian tanks and armored vehicles. Taifun multirole fighters when applicable also targeted Wanderjarian ground forces with ATGMs and guided missiles. Losses were beginning to mount for both sides as the battle continued however it was becoming ever the more likely that the Wanderjarians would have to fall back towards the city. The Wanderjarian Armored Corps were now withdrawing further back towards the city as the 1st Army's two remaining reserve infantry corps begun moving to take up defensive positions around the city's outskirts. Evacuation of civilians had been on-going since the outbreak of hostilities with millions now having safely evacuated further south, however over 7 million people were still waiting to leave the city and with the pace of the Ordenite advance it seemed they may not be able to make it out in time.

Pietersburg its self had yet to be targeted by artillery or other ordinance as the battlefield headquarters for the Wanderjarian 1st Army was based in the city. Ordenite reconnaissance drones however were ever present in the skies and had been probing the city, scouting for intelligence on Wanderjarian troop movements and defenses. The International airport was also under considerable reconnaissance which had noted that the airport was being actively defended by a infantry company who had been at work entrenching themselves in and around the airport and it's facilities. Ordenite field commanders wanted to take the airport with it's runway in tact as it would provide the Luchtmacht with the opportunity to strike at targets further in land. Ordenite artillery with forward observer support from drones would begin to open up on the defenders as an assault on the airport was now underway with a Panzergrenadier battalion and a company of Fallschirmjager conducting the assault. The Battalion would spearhead the attack under the cover of artillery and Tiger-6M attack helicopters as they sought to conduct a pincer on the airport defenders. All the while a Fallschirmjager company would be airlifted into battle escorted by attack helicopters, intense fighting would erupt as the forward defenses were nearly instantly breached by the Panzergrenadiers.

Once the runway half of the airport had been overrun by the Panzergrenadiers and a perimeter established, the Fallschirmjager would begin to arrive in medium transport helicopters who would land directly on the runway its self. Suppressive fire would be given by Keiler Infantry fighting vehicles and their 50mm autocannons which fired on enemy occupied buildings. Smoke grenades would be deployed as the Fallschirmjager moved to cover as now the occupied buildings would need to be flushed out of enemy combatants. The battalion's sole Panzer platoon consisting of 4 Panzerkampfwagen Lowe IX MBTs were moved in from the outskirts of the airport. The Panzers along with the infantry fighting vehicles began firing on the occupied buildings looking to flush the Wanderjarian defenders out of them. The defenders under immense fire began to withdraw and fall back as the Fallschirmjager advanced to secure the remainder of the airport.

It soon became evident that the battered infantry company had completely withdrew from the airport to regroup with other Wanderjarian forces further south who were taking new positions closer to the city. The international airport was now under Ordenite control and now the overall objective was the capture of Pietersburg and at least within the area of operations their was a brief lull in the fighting as both sides began to regroup and lick their wounds and prepare themselves for what would come next.

[Morrdh]

JHQ Athlone
Liskeard Military Area
New Garrack

The situation south of the border was being paid close attention to by JHQ Athlone when the first signs of trouble was noticed, especially when reports of combat were confirmed. In addition, numbers if civilian refugees attempting to cross the border into New Garrack was beginning to become problematic as it had the potential to compromise the border defences and as well as the other fallout from a humanitarian crisis. It was an issue that was going to get ever increasingly worse before it even remotely started improving and thus a decision was going to have to be made about how to respond. The age old method of burying one's head in the sand and just ignoring the problem wasn't going to work, with some reluctance the New Garrack authorities was going to have to take action.

An attempt was made at dialogue with Ordenite forces in Wanderjar via various diplomatic channels, failing that plans were drafted to broadcast a radio message over the border to try and ensure that the message got across. Commonwealth forces were to cross the border to establish an airstrip to begin evacuating civilians out via an airlift, priority was going to be for Commonwealth citizens along with those belonging to what was considered allied states followed by any Wanderjarian citizen wishing to leave. Though worded as a request for permission, it was still made clear that any Ordenite attempts to stop or interfere with the airlift efforts would result in the Commonwealth intervening in the conflict on the Wanderjarian side. But to sweeten the deal, medical personnel and supplies were offered to man a number of Odernite first aid posts and field hospitals under the condition that they would be operating under commonly accepted laws of armed conflict in they would be unarmed and treated as non-combatants.

Whilst the diplomatic wrangling was underway, preparations were still made in readiness for the planned airlift. Aircraft and their crews were selected, plus a fair number of calculations and estimates were drawn up to determine the required logistical support elements. Aside from supplies like fuel and spare parts, manpower requirements like aircraft technicians to service the aircraft and air traffic controllers to ensure safe flying were going to be needed. In turn this also meant personnel to prepare and maintain the proposed airstrip, personnel to setup and maintain communications, catering and medical personnel to cover physical needs along with force protection elements and a cadre of admin personnel to process the expected horde of civilians to be flown out. All-in-all, the proposed number of personnel involved on both sides of the border to support the operation easily topped a thousand once tallied up. Regardless, soon enough the codename 'Operation Warden' was circulating as the complicated administrative efforts needed for the operation got underway.

[State of Ordena]

Bloemfontein, Wanderjar.

Bloemfontein the national capital of Wanderjar had been secured by the Wanderjarian National Army before the current conflict had erupted with the Greater Ordenstaat. During the initial mobilization of the Wanderjarian Defense Forces which looked to confront the Ordenite Krijgsmacht present in their country due to their backing of a coup de tat, Army Group Center organized the city's securement. Their was no resistance given by what Freikorps Wagner mercenaries that had been based in the city as they withdrew immediately when the Wanderjarian National Army began entering the city. It was hoped at the time that the executive leadership of the country could be found as they had been on house arrest following the initial coup but it seemed that they had been taken away and therefore the Free State had effectively lost it's leadership. Debates in the Volksraad went back and forth on if general elections should be held despite them being in a now active state of war. Many of the coup collaborators residing in Bloemfontein had now been captured following a sweep by the Citizen Force Police although they had yet to find Constrand Visser as his whereabouts were still not known or if he was even still alive.

It was then decided that the decision to hold general elections would be decided during a morning session of the Volksraad with the House of Assembly in a vote. However when morning came the Speaker of the House of Assembly was detained in a raid on their home by Wanderjarian National Army soldiers. Soon after more members of the House of Assembly began to be detained by the National Army as the Volksraad was then occupied. A state of emergency was soon declared which introduced a new martial law order with it being in effect from 8pm to 4am instead of the previous time that had been put in effect by the previous coupers. It also banned social gatherings in public that were more than 5 people and kept the constitution suspended until the state of emergency was declared over. A press conference held at the Volksraad would see Chief of Staff of the Wanderjarian Defense Forces, General Marais Vorster announce that because of the absence of proper leadership in the Free State and in order to prevent widespread unrest that the WDF were now establishing a provisional government. It encouraged citizens of Wanderjar to obey the state of emergency and that the provisional government would hold free and fair elections when the Ordenite invasion was repelled.

A wider range of crackdowns by the Wanderjarian National Army soon followed in Bloemfontein with the detainment of most government ministers. The Nationalist Party of Wanderjar were also targeted in the crackdowns as raids were conducted on the homes of many top Nationalist Party members including it's current chairman. It would later be announced by the Chief of Staff of the WDF that the Wanderjarian Parliament was now dissolved and that the Provisional government would appoint new ministers. Wanderjarian media and press reacted fairly negative to the developments with the establishment of the Provisional government and the government crackdowns. Protests soon began to sprout up in Bloemfontein with a heavy turnout by citizens who opposed the military takeover with many advocating for the return of the Free State. The provisional government responded with the deployment of the National Army and mass arrests of protestors along with a media blackout and restrictions on access to the internet.

Soon enough protests turned violent especially in the predominately Planol section of the city where full blown riots had broken out over increasing brutality by the Army and Citizens Force Police. District 'Six' was soon aflame due to the rioters setting fires primarily at constructed road blocks using vehicle tires and other flammable debris. The riots would see a deadly climax when a group of rioters manning a roadblock who had thrown improvised Molotov cocktails were gunned down by National Army soldiers. News soon spread of the incident which only fed fuel to the fire as the protests across Bloemfontein began to see increases in participants including Citizen Force Police officers who denounced the shootings. Looking to bring a end to the protests and civil unrest the Chief of Staff issued a direct order that protestors and rioters were now classified as armed combatants and that their armed uprising should be put down with extreme prejudice. In 24 hours following the direct order over 5,000 protestors and rioters had been wounded by National Army gunfire with over 400 of them being fatal, unrest in the capital soon waned as the threat of being shot discouraged many to continue actively protesting in public.

Outrage was immediate as in the fall out of the quelling of unrest in Bloemfontein, elements of the Wanderjarian Defense Forces began denouncing the Provisional government declaring it illegal and that the Free State of Wanderjar is the only rightful government. While the capital was in the firm control of the new military junta, those who denounced them were concentrating in and around the city of Vryburg including the Imperial Guard Corps whose sole duty was to protect the King and enforce his will. A spokesperson from the Imperial Guard announced that the new capital of the Free State of Wanderjar was now in Vryburg and that Bloemfontein had fallen to traitors of the same ilk as the Ordenites. It urged those in the Wanderjarian Defense Forces who still were loyal to the Free State to resist the Provisional government, the same message was urged to all citizens in Wanderjar too. The Free State Army was soon established and would represent those in the WDF who would remain loyal to the Free State and the Monarchy. Tensions would only increase as both sides plotted on the downfall of the other all the while the war initiated by the Ordenites continued with Pietersburg in the north now under siege. Thabosi, another city in the north and in the path of the advancing Ordenites was now expected to come under the same fate as it seemed that the once proud nation of Wanderjar was on the verge of being torn apart.

---

Pietersburg, Front lines.

The situation for the defenders of Pietersburg was becoming dire as the Ordenite Army had effectively overrun the northern approaches to the city including the International Airport. The Wanderjarian 1st Army had sustained significant casualties during initial fighting with it being estimated that the 1st Army was now at less than 50% combat strength with the Armored Corps having taken the brunt of the losses which not only included men but also vehicles and materials, at least 40% of it's main battle tanks had been either destroyed or immobilized in the fighting against the Ordenite Army. The 3 Infantry divisions that had been in the most forward defensive lines had effectively been shattered and their remnants having now regrouped in Pietersburg and attached to existing units. The 1st Army's general staff thus formed new plans for the defense of Pietersburg which went into effect almost immediately as their forces were shuffled about the front lines. They now had opted to utilize a "hedgehog" defense which saw several fortified strongpoints created throughout Pietersburg with one of these strongpoints situated in a neighboring township which lie to the north west of the city proper. A entire infantry division currently manned this forward strongpoint to the north-west which had been giving the Ordenite Army trouble due to the all-around defense that despite encircling them, the defenders continued to fiercely resist and even mount localized counter attacks.

Several other strongpoints arrayed in the northern sections of Pietersburg including it's outskirts prevented the Shock troopers from making rapid advances. Due to the nature of the defenses the enemy's artillery was able to wear down and blunt Ordenite assaults at cracking these strongpoints. The most northwest strongpoint was situated in a mostly residential area which the vast majority of it was slated for the inhabitance of Planol people. A river also cut through the area effectively splitting the township from the city which had to be crossed previously during the assault on the international airport. Several bridges were present along the river to the south of the township in which it was expected by Ordenite commanders on the ground that the defenders would demolish the bridges to further delay the advance. Another township to the north was also occupied by the Wanderjarian infantry division and it too was separated by a smaller river which fed into a functioning dam. Defenses were multi layered and with several strongpoints throughout their area of operations they intended to inflict as much casualties as possible and tie up the Ordenites here for as long as possible.

I and II Panzer Corps were arrayed across the north and north-west approach to Pietersburg and the neighboring townships while the III and IV Panzer Corps arrayed themselves in the north-east and would seek to push the east flank and then hook to the south in order to envelop the city altogether. Much of the SAM and anti-air coverage for the defenders was concentrated in and around Pietersburg although some were also present in the northern townships, although shoulder fired MANPADs were in no short supply. Taifun multi role fighters and Leuchtkäfer stealth fighters made their presence known in the skies above as they engaged springbok fighters that looked to contest the airspace above Pietersburg which also were targeted by SAMs and anti-air. Ordenite artillery began to hammer the defenders in the townships and the city its self as batteries of 149mm and 172mm self propelled howitzers fired in anger towards the Wanderjarian defenders looking to soften them up for a renewed Ordenite assault. Explosions rang out throughout the battlefield as the defenders hunkered down and prepared themselves for what was to come once the artillery began to let up.

The I Panzer corps would proceed to take on the northern townships held by the sole Wanderjarian Infantry division. While the II Panzer corps looked to punch through the city's defenders from the direction of the international airport. The battle was fierce as the defenders clashed with Ordenite armor and mechanized forces who were numerically superior to them. Oberfeldwebel Klugman commanded a Panzergrenadier platoon which had now entered the township after dismounting from their Schützenpanzer Keiler IFVs which would remain with them to provide fire support as they moved deeper into the area. An entire Panzergrenadier Brigade which Klugman's platoon belonged too were now tasked with clearing the very northern township as the Division would cut off the northern approach to the area and advance south. Klugman had previously fought in Southern Hailandkill and was where he had obtained his current rank of Oberfeldwebel. He had taken part in the Battles of Jonesburg and Corregigo where he saw some of the fiercest fighting in his military career and now here he was in Wanderjar fighting a different enemy. The Wanderjarians fought hard motivated by nationalist fervor to repel the invader from their homes they combatted the Ordenites with ferocious zeal that was almost on par with the Shock Troopers that faced them in battle.

Machine gun nests and fortified buildings were what greeted the Ordenites as they moved in the Keiler IFVs became the driving force that helped the Panzergrenadiers push through as they blasted Wanderjarian positions with 50mm autocannons. Small amounts of Panzer Lowe's also provided additional support as their main cannons fired away at enemy positions while infantry advanced forward. Destruction was widespread as the battle raged on in the streets with the Wanderjarians now in a fighting retreat from the northernmost township all the while they braved harrowing Ordenite artillery fire and harrassment from FPV drones. Meanwhile the III and IV Panzer corps moved south along the eastern flank of Pietersburg looking to conduct an envelopment of the entire area.

General der Panzertruppe Gustav Krüger who commanded the II Panzer Corps stood hunched over in his forward command post surveying a map of the area. His headquarters staff worked meticulously in communicating orders and handling much of the day to day affairs of the Corps especially now as it was now involved in combat operations. The distant sounds of explosions and automatic gunfire made it clear that war was nearby but it did little to bother him or his staff. A adjutant entered the room followed by a crisp salute in which the General returned back to him.

"Herr General, we've managed to capture several prisoners of war." he said as during the fighting that was taking place their were several instances where Wanderjarian soldiers surrendered. The prisoners were then transported to the rear and to the command post of the II Panzer Corps. Gustav along with the adjutant went to see the prisoners who had been disarmed and restrained and now waited on their knees. He observed that some of them were Planol soldiers while the rest were White Wanderjarians who he noticed one of them was a non commissioned officer and pointed at him.

"Take him for questioning and get rid of the rest." he said as he went back into his command post. The Wanderjarian NCO would be spared from the fate that awaited his fellow comrades as they were marched into a open field and lined up shoulder to shoulder. A firing squad was formed and summarily executed the prisoners which was for the Storm Troopers doctrinally sound for them as in the past they had never truly taken prisoners of war alive unless they were deemed useful. News soon began to spread that a airlift organized by the Morridane military were going to be in country and evacuating civilians living in affected areas and that it had been approved by senior Ordenite Krijgsmacht officers. Overall progress in Operation Eastern Storm was going largely according to plan and it was being estimated that the war in Wanderjar could be ended in less than 3 months, however that was yet to be seen with the war still in it's early stages.

[The Macabees]

Initial Reaction: Fedoroville, Territory of Holy Panooly

When the news of the military revolt in Wanderjar arrived, His Imperial Majesty was in Holy Panooly touring the territory for the first time since its elevation to said status. As he was wont to do these days, rather than travel back to Fedala to convene with his council there, he had his council come to him. They came from their posts throughout the region and congregated at a large conference room in the Imperial Palace of Delapesca, named in honor of the city's former name. The palace was still undergoing construction, as was most of Fedoroville, but that did not detract from the opulence of the space they occupied. Nor did it imply that the room was any less secure from outside prying than any other room used for the purpose of a kríerlord summons.

Kríerlord Jaso Barenka occupied a place closer to His Imperial Majesty than usual. That was because as the imperial councilor responsible for enforcing imperial policy over southeastern Greater Díenstad, San Castello and Wanderjar fell directly within his jurisdiction. The young kríerlord was a junior member of the council but today was his day to impose seniority. No surprise, then, that his face betrayed a pleasant amusement.

Angiko Bas sat next to Barenka. Bas was not just a senior kríerlord, but he also enforced imperial policy in Holy Panooly, a country whose majority was of the same race as San Castello's. Plánol, that is. Both Bas and Barenka, as well as Fourier Vereda, would be in charge of communicating the relevant details of today's session to the Pan-Plánol Kuncil (PKK). The PKK was a supra-administrative organization that allowed for unified legislation affecting the Plánol people across the three Plánol-majority administrative units of the Golden Throne: the Territory of Holy Panooly, the Republic of Samarasta, and the Satrapy of San Castello. Samarasta was putatively independent and, strictly speaking, legally existed outside of the Golden Throne, but everyone understood its true status as a state in transition. Small wonder that Cassandra, His Imperial Majesty's second wife, and a Marshite, had made it to Fedoroville for the council as well. She, along with Vereda, controlled Jurado Mabuto, the Creoloso dictator of that country. Anyway, these countries were especially relevant to the session because, among other things, the Golden Throne's policy towards the Plánol people living in Ordenite-occupied Wanderjar would be decided there.

"Our legitimacy in San Castello is built on Plánol liberation," Barenka was saying to the council. "They will be disappointed by our decision to remain not just neutral in the expanding Wanderjarian emergency, but aloof and uninterested. It will be seen as a betrayal. Evidence of a lack of commitment to the ideology that we've united them around. And we risk an insurgency, as a result."

Others in the room readied to respond. Fedor raised his hand and they all thought twice. He asked, "What do you propose?"

"I propose, Your Imperial Majesty," replied Barenka, "that we...sacrifice some for the benefit of the many. The instability in Wanderjar will undermine the Ordenite war effort against Kraven, so we should leverage that. Plánols who seek to cause chaos in Wanderjar, especially now that San Castello is liberated, are clearly agents of Kraven—"

"Agents of the Kraven hive mind," interjected Bas. "Communists."

Barenka nodded. "Communists."

"There are many left-leaning Plánol," said Cassandra. "You risk alienating many people through that strategy."

"Yes, Your Highness, I agree," answered Barenka. "Our anti-Kravenite, anti-Communist purge should be very surgical. San Castello will still have its socialist parties and the socialists will have their outlets. But by branding them as agents of Kraven and communists, we can eliminate the Plánol leaders most likely to cause us problems as a result of our policy of strict neutrality toward the Ordenites. And we associate them with potential Plánol troublemakers in Wanderjar, therefore delegitimizing any possible Plánol insurgency in Wanderjar and allowing us to distance ourselves from that without risking our legitimacy among Plánols living in our empire. Neither does that mean that we'll do nothing for the Plánol people trapped in Wanderjar. I propose that we deploy troops along the Wanderjarian Frontier to process Plánol refugees and settle them in the empire."

After a short pause, Migalo Kor, a senior kríerlord, said, "And the Wanderjarians? We abandon them to the Ordenites? Remember, they are our allies. They have always been good to us, even when Templeton was overthrown in Holy Panooly. What will we do for them?"

It was the emperor who answered. "We will settle Wanderjarian refugees in Theohuanacu and Guffingford. And we will allow the Wanderjarian military to enter San Castello to flee the Ordenites, if it comes to that. But, they must agree to disarmament and under no conditions must they be allowed to settle in San Castello. Kríerlords Barenka and Bas, I put you in charge of coordinating the resettlement of the Wanderjarians."

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty," they both answered in unison.


Flight of the Royal Navy: Santa Vicenz, San Castello

In the far distance, the shattering noise of explosions and gunfire disturbed an otherwise peaceful night along the San Castellan coast. In Santa Vicenz giant cranes sat motionless over the great harbor-side construction sites that marked the ambition to turn the port into a major military base for the Kríermada. In a few hours, it would be all hustle and bustle again. Although there was some concern among the people of what was going on on the other side of the frontier, there was nevertheless a relative calm because under the wing of the Golden Throne the majority now felt safe. They knew that the Wanderjarian apartheid would forever remain a thing of the past and that it was just a few months ago that the country of San Castello held its first democratic elections in many years.

Tonight, though, the war would come closer than anyone thought. A naval battle was being waged off the Wanderjarian coast, as the Ordenites pummeled the Wanderjarian Royal Navy from the air in a surprise attack designed to eliminate their vassal's fleet as a variable in the evolving revolt. Surviving ships, many of them pockmarked and limping, fled south toward San Castello seeking shelter among the Golden Throne. A trail of dark black smoke, invisible in the night, followed the retreating ships, as their wounds spilled machine blood.

For the Golden Throne, the situation in Wanderjar was delicate because two seemingly contradictory duties needed balancing. The empire's liberation of San Castello was framed as one from Ordenite fascism, but for the Castellans it was always more about the Wanderjarians and their apartheid. But Wanderjar had been a strong ally of the Golden Throne prior to the Ordenite occupation of their country and to leave them to sink was to sell them out. The situation was fragile and would have to be played carefully because invariably someone would walk away unhappy.

As the fleeing Wanderjarian ships neared San Castellan waters, a small group of imperial warships left the port of Santa Vicenz and sailed out to the edge of the Castellan exclusive economic zone. They watched as the Royal Navy continued to be attacked by the Ordenites. Watched, and did not intervene. As the Wanderjarians came closer, the handful of imperial warships began sailing toward the coast just ahead of the first Wanderjarian ships, as if guiding them in. But, it wasn't until they were in sovereign Castellan waters that the Kríermada ships offered their physical protection. The Ordenites wouldn't attack in those waters anyway, given the strict neutrality pact signed between the two powers. And it was that same pact that dictated the behavior of the Kríermada. Once, and only when, the Wanderjarian ships entered Castellan sovereign waters did the Golden Throne extend its resources to help tow surviving ships into Santa Vicenza and other nearby ports. There, the crews were disarmed and brought into custody, temporarily housed in the many imperial bases across the country. And, within a matter of days, those same crews were quickly and quietly sent to Guffingford, where they were again housed in military bases until they could be processed. Eventually, those who wanted a new life, somewhere in the Golden Throne, were put in connection with expatriate Wanderjarian support groups in Theohuanacu and Guffingford. Those groups would soon have a direct line to the imperial government through Kríerlords Barenka and Bas, who'd use them to facilitate the resettlement of Wanderjarian refugees far away from the San Castellan hotbed.

As for those who wanted to leave, whether for another country, region, or to slip back into Wanderjar to continue fighting in another way, they were released without further adieu. But they would have to find their own way in this vicious world.

As for the ships, they were thoroughly investigated and studied: their electronics, missile systems, guns, and other components. They'd sit in San Castellan ports for some time. The Plánol locals would come to see them as war booty, celebrating the decline of a much hated and feared Wanderjar. Ultimately, some six ships were turned into floating museums by a like number of coastal cities, including Santa Vicenza. The rest were eventually towed far away to the southwestern Thoehuacan coast, where they would sit until a decision on their eventual fate was made.

[Morrdh]

Pietersburg,
North West Wanderjar

A low rumble, almost like the buzz of an angry swarm, rolled and echoed over the northern horizon as specks appeared in the sky over the dusty grasslands. Holding steady in both formation and at around 500ft flew a flight of eight Morridane Chinook helicopters flanked to either side by a pair of gunships. As the helicopters crossed over the border there was a terse radio exchange between the lead Morridane aircraft and the Ordenite callsign they'd been instructed to communicate with, before long a pair of Ordenite Luchtmacht Taifun multirole fighters rolled insight above the formation. A few tense minutes passed, but the Ordenite jets appeared to be content to fly lazy circuits as they flew top cover for the Morridane formation and the aircrews could focus their attention to threats from the ground.

Before long the city of Pietersburg came into sight, coloumns of smoke rising high into the sky as the sound of gunfire and explosions rolled throughout the half-ruined buildings. The airport itself was bit of a welcoming sight, though there was no forgetting that the helicopters were in an active warzone. As the formation approached the airport, the two gunships broke off and flew opposing circuits round the perimeter of the airport as the Chinooks came into land on the runway but left their rotors turning. First off the aircraft were Land Rovers of the RMAF Regiment armed with a pair of machine guns, followed by RMAF Regiment Gunners on foot and armed with rifles to take up defensive positions round the aircraft. Only half of the Chinooks carried armed vehicles whilst the other half carried comms equipment which were unloaded next before regular RMAF personnel in combat fatigues disembarked with what equipment and supplies could be carried by land. All of the RMAF personnel, conscious of the still ongoing fighting, wore helmets and carried rifles or other small arms for their own protection and could only be identified by shoulder badges and a single rank slide on their chest.

As the bulk of the Morridane busied themselves with the equipment, a small group strode over to where a small group of Ordenites were waiting. These soldiers were Fallschirmjager, the elite Ordenite airborne troops who'd captured the airport and were guarding it. The Morridanes been briefed that the Fallschirmjager battalion commander, an Oberstleutnant or so they'd been told, would be greeting them. They approached the Ordenite, halted just short and saluted before one of the Morridanes spoke. "Wing Commander Rourke, Royal Morridane Air Force."

"Whom would be the Herr Oberstleutnant in charge here?"

[State of Ordena]

International Airport, Pietersburg
Wanderjar.

"Oberstleutnant Kahl, Ordenite Army Fallschirmjager." he introduced himself to the Morridanes. The sounds of war remained present in the near distance as the Battle for Pietersburg continued. The airport was in the firm control of the Fallschirmjager as manned fighting positions could be observed around key areas as would be the presence of an artillery battery which would now be firing on Wanderjarian positions within Pietersburg. A make shift field hospital was also being established in one of the airport's many buildings as armored vehicles laden with the red cross soon begun to arrive transporting Ordenite wounded. The fighting was intense and in urban environments where the Wanderjarian defenders had fortified themselves advantageously to prevent the Ordenites from having a easy time taking the city. Despite this they knew that holding the city for too long and risking being encircled was not favorable for them and therefore the armored forces were fighting hard to prevent the Ordenite panzers from cutting off a southern route out of Pietersburg.

"Your intentions are admirable, Commander." Kahl with his face painted in a mix of black and dark green remarked. "Even if we're on different sides of history."

---

Industrial Park, Pietersburg.

Fighting in the city of Pietersburg had been fierce with constant artillery duels which led to widespread destruction of the urban enviroment. The Wanderjarians slated to defend the city had developed a multitude of strongpoints and fortified areas which they defended vigorously from Ordenite assaults. The northern townships had all but fallen into the hands of the Ordenite I and II Panzer Corps as the defenders fought a fighting withdrawl into a major strongpoint within the Industrial Park. Pietersburg was home to a considerable amount of manufacturing in which produced for larger companies that operated throughout Wanderjar. Large manufacturing plants and warehouses dominated the Industrial Park along with a railway and rail station which serves to transport finished goods to elsewhere.

It was here that the Wanderjarians developed one of their strongholds which would cover the northern approach to the city center. Not only were Wanderjarian Army regulars involved in the defense but also irregular forces largely consisting of veterans and volunteers who took up arms to fight the invaders. However it was not lost on the Wanderjarians that holding the city in a siege was essentially pointless and it was intended for much of the regular forces to withdraw from the city after delaying Ordenite advances. The irregulars however would remain and continue active resistance even when the city eventually fell into the enemy's control. I Panzer Corps would not continue the drive into the heart of the city and would instead be sent to take the eastern approaches to Pietersburg. Meaning that II Panzer Corps was now largely responsible for securing the city center and driving out the Wanderjarians.

Ordenite artillery had been utilised extensively in cooridnation with infantry assaults against Wanderjarian defenders. Looking to minimize casualties from direct assaults, probing attacks would decide if the position or area could be taken and if not then artillery would be tasked with softening it which most of the time meant the complete destruction of the enemy position. Ordenite drone coverage was a significant advantage in the fight as they took on several roles such as forward observer, reconnasaince and even attack with armaments such as rockets or dropable ordinance. Their were also the more expendable suicide drones which were cost effective and used frequently. A Panzergrenadier brigade would seek to wrestle control of the Industrial Park from the Wanderjarians as the railway and station were deemed strategically valuable for future operations in the country as the Landmacht typically moved its forces in masse by rail transport.

The Wanderjarian defenders had arrayed their defenses within the Industrial Park in a way that would blunt the typical method of attack utilized by the Ordenites which was the spearhead assault. Therefore the Ordenites resorted to a two prong assault coming from two different directions while also having artillery support which hammered the defenders before hand. The assault soon began as two different attacks came from two different directions, Ordenite infantry fighting vehicles and Kommando 4x4s stormed the area as Panzergrenadiers dismounted and took the fight to the enemy. The defenders knew that they wouldn't stand much of a chance trying to hold their ground and actually repel the Ordenites and so they fought a delaying action. Fighting among the warehouses and manufacturing plants was brutal and both sides sustained considerable casualties but in the end the Industrial Park was taken by the Ordenites.

Wanderjarian commanders of the 1st Army soon realized that Pietersburg would fall regardless of their sacrifice and that such a sacrifice would be in vain. It was inevitable that they would be encircled and so with what time they had left before their southern route of retreat collapsed, what remained of the Wanderjarian 1st Army begun to completely withdraw from the city and headed south into the neighboring nature reserve. While organized resistance in the city began to retreat, their were still plenty of Wanderjarian militiamen who would continue to resist the incoming Ordenites who would occupy them.

[Greal]

Greal-Wanderjar border

The border between the two nations wasn't exactly short. Wanderjar had the longest border with Greal of any nation, it extended for thousands of miles. After Defense Minister Dovout gave the go-ahead for increase of border security and deployment of army units, things started to move.

Millions of Greali soldiers suddenly found out they were being deployed to the border on the same night. There was lots of quiet talk about if Greal would intervene, suddenly soldiers and NCOs were discussing amongst themselves if Greal would make a move on Wanderjar itself given the recent events. Higher ranked generals knew better though. Wanderjar was already a mess and invading it would not bring any benefits to Greal. So it remained as talk as a hundred and fifty Greali army divisions started deploying towards the border.

They came by high speed rail lines and roads. Greal army units had whole dedicated trains just for deploying soldiers quickly and now it paid off as they were sent to the border area. Of course the HSR didn't run up to the border so the last station called Jorgben became a ferrying point for the soldiers. Logistics units were overwhelmed but did their best. Jorgben went from a fairly quiet high speed rail station to bustling with activity as miles and miles of camps were set up to accommodate arriving units before they were deployed along the border. Train workers looked on apprehensively and wondered if there was going to be fighting.

With tightening of border security many Greali residents along the border who made their trade with their Wanderjarian neighbors were alarmed by the turn of events. The border went from fairly easy to cross for conducting illegal trade to much more difficult. Greali army units and MPs now patrolled the border in strength. Thousands of tanks were seen moving around near one of the biggest border transit points and the buzzing of drones could be heard everywhere. Helicopters moved along the border in pairs. Publicly it was called an unexpected army exercise to increase morale but many residents were worried it was a prelude to war.

Lorrow

"Good news and bad news guys."

Harold's crew all looked up at him with worried looks. They were all in one of their designated safe houses. Wanderjarian units were looking for them and one of the crew was already found but was killed before they could capture him.

Harold gave the the briefest of grins then said, "The border is being tightened, my contacts have told me our country has moved army units along the border and there's a ton of military activity looking like an invasion."

Sharon looked jubilant than asked, "Are they going to invade and help us?"

Harold gave a quick scowl as a reply. "Nobody knows. Nothing is leaking out of Sasha at the moment about if they want to invade or not. My contacts have also told me due to tightened borders we may have trouble getting help unless certain units look the other way..."

"But you know a way don't you?" Big Owen was leaning forward with an arrested look.

Chuckling Harold gave a nod. "Yes, there's patriots everywhere. We will have our means to fight the authority here and win." Harold sounded almost entranced as he listed incoming shipments, "We have just received several rocket launchers through the main tunnel and with instructions on how to use them. The vets will use them though because they're not toys for new fighters. There's also dozens of grenades in a pallet downstairs that we just got."

Sharon gave a big whoop at this last remark. "I guess we'll need to find some use for them don't we?"

"Yes we do."

Next day

A Wanderjarian army company was now in the town. They were reservists recently summoned given the recent events and were all fairly well trained. But the company was half-strength, the other half was somewhere in the east fighting the Ordenites over some village in the mountains. The sounds of war hadn't reached Lorrow yet but the effects of the war were already prominent. Few supplies now arrived in town and the only internet available was satellite info picked up from the Greali border. Rumors constantly were spreading.

The rioting had destroyed much of the businesses in the downtown area. Burnt cars laid in heaps as groups of Wanderjarian soldiers patrolled with guns, they were issued live ammunition. Several dead bodies were not even picked up by the morgue. Greali residents living in the town were scared that they would be next. RWs who favored Wanderjar secretly helped the Wanderjarian authorities by pointing out suspected Greali Unificationists, many of them were innocent but that didn't matter. The detainees were thrown into army jeeps and never appeared again.

Harold's group had been working feverishly. Their faction of Unificationists had gained in strength but Harold kept them in separate units in case there was a RW rat in the newer recruits. Already they had thrown a suspected traitor into the basement of one of the safehouses and were torturing him for information. One of the new units was to be used for an important task.

Big Owen had been scouting and discovered a critical weakness in the Wanderjarian army compound that had been set up just outside Lorrow for the deployed company. There was a way into the base through one of the abandoned sewers without being spotted by the IFV that was guarding the entrance. Harold's plan was to destroy the IFV with the rocket launchers they were given then storm the compound and kill any of the off-shift soldiers while the rest of the Wanderjarian soldiers were in town. It would be the biggest attack yet for his group.

The first part played out beautifully. Harold and his unit entered the sewers as another new unit was to cause a distraction by attacking the town hall with grenades. Wanderjarian squads were diverted there which was exactly how it was supposed to play out.

Another car bomb went off in town near an army checkpoint just to cause further distractions and hurt though later to his dismay he learned the bomb didn't hurt the soldiers at the checkpoint.

The IFV was on alert because of the rioting and was being fairly active in moving about because of the worry about drone attacks. FPV drones with explosives were a worry for drivers of thinly armored vehicles. The driver of this IFV was competent and not lingering about but Harold's people were patient. As the IFV did their patrol and repeated going by the same road bend, Harold's two Greali vets fired their rockets from an unexpected sector. The AT launchers destroyed the vehicle causing a blow out of fire and smoke. Harold waited to see if anyone would exit the IFV but only the gunner did and he was cut down as he climbed out of the smoking mess of the vehicle. The compound went on alert.

The sounds of gunfire suddenly filled the air as The Unficiationists stormed the compound. They were eager and all had rifles but only a few of them had any kind of armor and it was riot gear and helmets stolen from the police in the earlier attack. The air was thick with the smoke of the burning vehicle wreck. The few Wanderjarian soldiers were caught off guard by the attack but did not panic. They grabbed their rifles and buttoned up in a building by the edge of the compound and started mowing down Harold's people.

Harold looked on in anger as he saw the body of Big Owen in the open, he had been killed trying to cross to different cover. He had a unwelcome flash of a thought that Big Owen looked like he was sleeping. More Unificationists were shot or maimed by the gunfire and grenades from the Wanderjarians. Fighting soldiers was not like fighting police. Harold felt despair at the casualties but didn't give up. He gestured at one of the vets carrying the remaining rocket launcher to fire it into the building. The resulting explosion severely injured some of the soldiers who were gathered in cover and gave Harold's people an opportunity.

Sharon frantically crossed the open amidst the smoke and chaos and threw the two grenades she had and yelled, "GET DOWN." Harold watched her get shot in the arm as she ran for cover. The grenades went off with a much smaller explosion than some of the newer recruits of Harold's team expected. Harold had a brief chuckle at this, grenades weren't something with big fireballs you see in movies. The shrapnel from the grenades eliminated the two Wanderjarians in the entrance of the sieged building. Harold signaled another attack.

The building was stormed. After a quick count they assessed that nine Wanderjarian soldiers were killed in the battle. Harold lost ten people, with the injured quickly evacuated by the noob Unificationists in waiting. Harold did not want the newer recruits to take part in the assault but wanted them to gain confidence from a successful raid. He quickly directed everyone else to steal all the gear, radios, rifles they could take before retreating back into the sewers. Minutes went by. He heard a faint whistle from the distance which was a signal that meant the Wanderjarian soldiers on patrol were on their way to the compound. Harold's people scrambled for the exits with as much loot as they could carry.

Later as they were in the sewer the whole tunnel suddenly shook and the sound of a thunderous sounding explosion was heard. Harold was quite annoyed. The plastic explosive they were given went off much sooner than they anticipated which destroyed some of the compound and covered the sewer entrance in rubble, but he quietly fumed. He was hoping the Wanderjarian reinforcements from Lorrow would have been caught in the blast. But this was a lesson that not everything goes to plan.

Lorrow waited for the next set of bad news.

[State of Ordena]

Northern Wanderjar,
Livombo River frontlines.

The Ordenite Army following the relative capture of Pietersburg pushed on further south chasing the back pedaling Wanderjarian Army who fought a fighting retreat. The advance south was not made easy as the Wanderjarian Air Force routinely harrassed Ordenite forces with sorties from Springbok fighters and Bushman bombers, atleast those that were able to penetrate their air defenses. When the Wanderjarians wanted to fight they did so by setting up ambushes with smaller units looking to slow the Ordenite advance and cause as much trouble that they could before they would need to continue the game of cat and mouse.

However with the front lines now reaching the Livombo river which made a semi natural border between the most northern parts of the country and the beginning of the central plateau. The Wanderjarian Army intended to have a major confrontation and set piece battle here which they looked to prevent any Ordenite crossings of the river or getting past them and advancing into a very urbanized and metropolitan region where several cities were located. The Wanderjarian 1st Army having regrouped following the fall of Pietersburg would now be deployed directly in the path of the Ordenites once again. Though they would not be alone as Army Group North pledged not only the 1st Army but also the 2nd Army to the impending battle. The rest of Army Group North was deployed either to the west or to the east.

News and rumors in Wanderjarian Army circles that further east the major city of Thabosi had suffered a similar fate and Wanderjarian defenders were retreating to new lines of defense. Indeed the Battle of Thabosi had taken place nearly at the same time as the fighting for Pietersburg. However unlike the latter, Thabosi had become a chaotic quagmire for the Wanderjarian defenders even before the Ordenites had beset them. Due to its significant Planol population and their knowledge of past Ordenite atrocities against Planol's in Holy Panooly many were attempting to flee the city as soon as possible. However they were stopped by the Army as they wanted to prioritize the evacuations of White Wanderjarians first.

This resulted in outrage among the Planol population and caused the outbreak of riots and unrest against Wanderjarian authorities. Eventually the unrest became so violent that most Planol only districts of Thabosi were absent of law enforcement. Gangs of rioters seized weapons from police stations and looked to fight against the Wanderjarians. The Army had attempted to quell the unrest by deploying MPs however due to the encroaching Ordenite Army they allowed for large portions of the city to fall into anarchy.

It was not long after that Thabosi fell to the Ordenite Army. Several organized bands of armed Planols fled into the country side with what weapons and supplies they could take with them and now went into hiding. Further east along the Wanderjarian coast the advance of the Ordenites could not be impeded and with support from offshore Krijgsmarine warships much of the coastline was also lost. Army Group East now prepared to deploy troops to aid in the defense of the country along with Army Group North.

Meanwhile in the west along the border with Greal it was noticed by both warring sides that the Greali Army was moving a large force along the border in which the Greali MoD described as military exercises. This put the Wanderjarians in a delimma as relations with Greal were colder than most, debates were had with some theorizing that the Greali Army was massing to intervene either on the side of Wanderjar or for their own ambitions.

The overall commander of Army Group West requested for additional reinforcements in the case that the Greali Army was preparing to intervene. Little could be spared due to the war but the Kaztanian Expeditionary Army Group was allocated from Army Group South to reinforce the border with Greal. The Ordenites on the other hand took notice of the build up of the Greali Army and began dedicating additional reconnasaince and surveillance craft and satellites to further monitor the Greali border and the Greali Army who was amassing there.

Over 600,000 Wanderjarian troops from the 1st and 2nd Armies arrayed themselves along the Livombo river on both sides of the embankment. Their area of operations spanned hundreds of kilometers as defensive positions were developed including several fall back lines which progressively became more and more fortified as it was intended to bleed the Ordenites heavily. The very forward positions of the defense was the reconstitued 1st Army whose purpose was to delay the enemy for a certain period of time before withdrawing across the several bridge crossings and then demolishing them. Further evacuations continued to take place as the crossings over the Livombo river were chalked full of evacuees looking to get away from the advancing Ordenite Army and the fighting overall.

[State of Ordena]

Barkly-Oos, The Drakensberg
Eastern Wanderjar.

"We have the Ordenites at least 100 kilometers from us. Although we've been giving them hell every step of the way and we're ready for them here too." said Brigadier General Igmar Petersen who led the 14th Royal Marines Expeditionary Brigade. The war had come to little surprise for the Wanderjarian Defense Forces due to the very likelihood that the Ordenites would not accept their demands. However what was a surprise came to be when the Royal Navy was ambushed in horrific fashion which kicked off a grand offensive by the Ordenite Krijgsmacht to establish control over the country themselves. The shock value had cost them a considerable amount of territory including two cities such as Pietersburg and Thabosi that hit a blow to morale among the Wanderjarians. Although once the shock and surprise had worn off and the Wanderjarians found their bearings they began to organize their defenses and plan for the war ahead and for the eventual reclamation of lost territory. Such was the case in the East near the coast as the Royal Marines which were the premier expeditionary force of the Royal Navy who had been involved in countless past conflicts against conventional militaries stood at the forefront of the defense within the area of responsibility of Army Group East.

The fighting had been harrowing and brutal as the Royal Marines and Army units attempted to fight off the spearhead of the Ordenite advance here which was the 57th Shock Army, who consisted of some of the most well trained and indoctrinated soldiers in the Ordenite Army. The fight had now entered a terrain feature known as the Drakensberg which was a section of the Great Escarpment and was known for it's mountainous terrain and valleys which made it a prime area for the Marines to employ a elastic defense. It was here where the Royal Marines began to see success as bottlenecks were exploited to conduct harrowing ambushes on Ordenite armor and mechanized columns attempting to advance through them. Royal Marines Special Forces infiltrated enemy lines conducting raids and providing targets for Marine aviation to pummel. Casualties on both sides were staggering with hundreds wounded on both sides and those killed in action were rising too.

Artillery fire and bombardment was nearly constant and it was clear that the Ordenites had them outnumbered and outgunned in that department. Despite this it meant that the Marines could easily pinpoint and deliver effective counter battery fire. The enemy's proliferation of drones was another serious concern and problem that the Defense Forces faced in the war, and it was true here too for the Royal Marines. The skies above were routinely scanned for enemy drones that could be observing them at any moment in which they were utilized as forward observers for their artillery. There were also more nefarious drones which were armed with explosives and flown and used as a weapon, those were the ones the Marines worried and feared the most. Overall their defense was working and the Ordenites in the Drakensberg were making menial gains compared to other areas along the wider frontline following the start of the war.

Zuurfontein, Livombo River
Northern Wanderjar.

The Wanderjarian National Army were now drawing a line in the sand at the Livombo River which if crossed would allow the Ordenite Army to begin to threaten major cities such as Johannesburg, Pretoria and Tshwane which all together counted for several hundred million people. Evacuations were now coming under way as the Citizens Police Force and the Wanderjarian Defense Forces began deploying in order to regulate the flow of traffic out of these cities and to further south. However their were also efforts under way due to the now National Emergency and state of war that Wanderjar finds its self in against the Ordenites, that a general mobilization had been ordered. National service in the Wanderjarian Defense Forces was mandatory for persons from the ages of 18 to 35 where they would serve two years in active duty before transitioning to the reserves where they would remain until the age of fifty five. This meant that the population of Wanderjar had a significant healthy portion of reservists in the Reserves Forces which during a state of war could be called upon to serve. From the onset of the Battles over Peitersberg and Thabosi, evacuees from the North were screened for reservists and pulled into active duty in the Defense Forces. For the time being mobilized reservists were being utilized in assisting in evacuation efforts from affected or soon to be affected population centers in the way of the Ordenite advance.

In Bloemfontein the military junta and the Free State opposition based in Vryburg held negotiations following the most recent Ordenite gains. The two sides formerly agreed to put their differences aside and unite for the betterment of the Wanderjarian people and nation and to fight the Ordenite aggressor together. The General Staff in Fort Botha strategized that due to the near crippling of the Ordenite Krijgsmarine in a previous major war with other GD powers, that they would not be as effective in bringing in the necessary reinforcements to begin overwhelming them on the battlefield. They would also not be able to intercept and challenge in the likelihood that reinforcements from the Wanderjarian Commenwealth out of region would arrive to assist in the defense of the country. Therefore it was theorized that if the Ordenite advance and momentum could be blunted and halted for long enough that when Commenwealth reinforcements did arrive then a counter offensive could be launched which would then repel the Ordenites.

Zuurfontein was a municipality nestled on the bank of the Livombo River and a likely target for the Ordenite Army. On this side of the River was where the 1st Army of Army Group North was situated following their involvement in the defense of Pietersburg from which they escaped from near encirclement. They had suffered moderate casualties with the 1st Armored Corps having taken the brunt of it and losing almost half of their main battle tanks and armored vehicles. Since then the 1st Army was able to replace their manpower losses and some of their main battle tanks and armored vehicles, however they would not be at their previous full strength for at least a few more weeks. They would also be reinforced by the independent Airborne Corps which was attached to Army Group North which transferred an entire Infantry division to the 1st Army. The municipality accounted for three bridge crossings across the Livombo River in which if the Ordenites succeeded in taking Zuurfontein then they would be able to cross the river. However both bridges were now rigged with explosives and if the situation became dire enough then both bridges would be demolished and if the bridges somehow remained in tact then Bushman bombers from the Air Force would strike them with precision munitions.

Overall their were over a dozen crossings which the Wanderjarian Army would need to watch over and prevent from falling into Ordenite hands. Along with ensuring that they could not establish their own bridgeheads across the river. The reinforcement of the frontlines with the 2nd Army was a well needed action due to the state of the 1st Army following previous battles against the Ordenites. A network of trenches and other defensive positions had been established with elastic defense in mind and so several defensive belts were made and now occupied by the Wanderjarian Army. Several reconnaissance in force missions were undertaken by elements of the 1st Army who sought to gather intelligence on the whereabouts of the Ordenite Army who was advancing their way. Small teams of the Special Air Service special forces operators were also inserted behind what was considered theoretically behind enemy lines to conduct reconnaissance on the movements of the Ordenite Army. Eventually contact was made by a SAS team who successfully ambushed a Ordenite recce vehicle that was part of a forward reconnaissance unit which was ahead of the main advance in the area. Soon enough more engagements began to occur and it became obvious that the Ordenite Army was approaching and the battle for the Livombo was beginning.

Drones soon began to appear in the skies with the majority of them being reconnaissance in nature as the Ordenites were now observing them. Then the artillery fire started as shells began to come in from Ordenite artillery which now targeted them. The 70th Shock Army who had previously fought in Pietersburg had now begun to arrive in the direction of Zuurfontein and the Livombo River. However certain elements were farther ahead then the main force such as the 273rd Panzer Division and the 354th Panzer Division who following the Battle of Pietersburg and being part of the spearhead of the 70th Army continued a lightening pace into Wanderjarian territory. So much so that the 70th Army Headquarters had communicated that they were to slow their advance and allow their parent unit which was the II Panzer Corps to catch up with them. This notion was ignored by both Generalmajor's in charge of their respective Divisions and the 273rd and the 354th Panzer Divisions were now driving into the most forward line of defense of the 1st Armored Corps of the Wanderjarian 1st Army. This forward line was nothing more than a trench network occupied by a Infantry battalion belonging to the 27th Infantry Division. Further lines of defense laid further beyond it most of it being occupied by the 27th Division which covered much of the Northern approach to Zuurfontein.

The two Panzer divisions were met with harrowing anti-tank fire from ATGMs and shoulder launched AT weapons from the entrenched Wanderjarians. The 27th's artillery also began opening up on the assaulting Ordenites however using their speed and mobility they were able to somewhat negate this. The trench network was suppressed and Ordenite Panzers and armored vehicles began to bypass them and continued forward. However as they advanced the resistance became stiffer and more challenging as the proliferation of AT weapons was evident among the positions of the 27th Infantry Division. Soon enough the 273rd and 354th Panzer Divisions realized that they could not advance further without bringing on further casualties and losses. It was here that they decided to hold their positions and await for the arrival of the main force of the II Panzer Corps.

The 1st Armored Corps realizing that they had bogged down the enemy for now looked to inflict as much casualties that they could. Army aviation consisting of helicopter gunships and attack helicopters harrassed the Ordenites looking to pick off their armor and armored vehicles. AA fire from the Divisions organic air defense units were able to down several helicopters as the Wanderjarian Royal Airforce was also called in to further pummel the enemy. Meanwhile the armored regiments of the Corps would begin a counter attack in which they sought to keep the Ordenites pinned down in order to bring about their destruction. The ensuing battle was fierce as the 273rd and 354th Panzer Divisions now in defensive positions looked to fight off the Wanderjarian counter attack.

The counter attack was a combined arms effort as with the Armored regiments on the ground their was also the Army aviation and Air Force in the skies braving AA fire to deliver close air support for their comrades. Wanderjarian artillery continued to also conduct fire missions including counter battery fire against Ordenite artillery. At this time the 70th Army Headquarters once again pleaded with the two Divisions to withdraw to the main force of II Panzer Corps. The 273rd Panzer Division's Generalmajor ordered a fighting withdraw from the battlefield as their corresponding units begun to withdraw. The 354th however once again did not obey and continued their fight against the counter attacking Wanderjarians.

The withdrawl of the 273rd only encouraged the Wanderjarians further in their counterattack as additional reinforcements from the 1st Army begun to enter the fray. It soon became noticable that the Wanderjarians were seeking to envelop the 354th which if successful could be a major upset to the Ordenites. Additional drone cover was employed in order to assist the 354th however losses were had due to Wanderjarian anti aircraft cannon fire. The Wanderjarians soon enough achieved a partial encirclement of the 354th however this was short lived as the II Panzer Corps had now arrived and with the 273rd Panzer Division went back on the offensive themselves to save their comrades. Seeing that the Ordenites were at full strength the 1st Armored Corps called off the counter attack and instructed its regiments to withdraw which they did. The first battle of the Livombo River had ended with the Ordenites having not made a decisive breakthrough to Zuulfontein. Both the 273rd and 354th Panzer Divisions suffered moderate casualties and losses of main battle tanks and armored fighting vehicles which would need to be replinished in the rear. The Wanderjarians had suffered minimal casualties and losses and little change to the wider front had been made elsewhere by the Ordenite Army.

[State of Ordena]

“Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” - Bhagavad Gita 11:32

OPERATION HARBINGER & OPERATION FREDERIK I
One month since the beginning of hostilities

Operation Northern Storm had now entered into its first month of operations against the Wanderjarian Defense Forces who despite early success with the capture of Thabosi and Pietersburg were proving to be a tougher enemy then originally expected. The Ordenite Army had so far managed to seize at least 2% of Wanderjarian territory so far and in recent weeks offensive operations had begun to stall as they encountered the newly formed Jakobus Line named after a Wanderjarian Army general. This new defensive line was made up of trench networks, anti personnel and anti tank minefields and other obstacles and the incorporation of urban strongholds. It stretched across the entire front line and from intelligence gathering efforts the Jakobus line had a operational depth of over 100km. Manning this defensive line were the North, West, East and Central Army Groups of the Wanderjarian Army. Utilizing the country's geographic terrain features the Jakobus Line was formidable despite the defenders still being in the process of constructing more fortifications and defenses. Northern Storm had run its course and new operations would need to be implemented to continue advancing through the expansive Wanderjarian nation.

Operation Harbinger was one of those operations which had been formulating since the beginning of the war. Due to the needs of the Ordenite Army to be able to breakthrough Wanderjarian defenses and forces and reach major cities. Harbinger was a major air campaign which would see the involvement of over 4,000 combat, non-combat and attack aircraft from the Ordenite Air Force , the Ordenite Marine and even the Ordenite Army its self. Its objective was to soften and or destroy major targets of opportunity on the battlefield which included the fortified Jakobus line. This operation would then allow for a equally as major ground offensive that would breakthrough Wanderjarian lines and lead to greater territorial gains. In Wanderjar alone at least 1,500 of the 4,000 aircraft involved were present here while the rest would come from airbases in Ordena and Fernostland or formerly known as Krasnova. Due to the marshalling of forces that had begun when hostilities with the Unified Authority in Varathron started, Fernostland had been one of the mobilization points for forces slated for deployment to Varathron. Now with the stagnation of the front lines in Dietsland and with the current conflict in Greater Dienstad, these forces would now be slated for deployment to Wanderjar.

To facilitate the movement of the combat aircraft which consisted of Ordenite stealth and strategic bombers, several hundred refueling aircraft would be present in the skies along the route which the majority of these aircraft would travel from Ordena to Fernostland and then to Wanderjar. Also making the journey to Wanderjar were fighter bombers, fighters and aircraft necessary for the operation. Therefore Harbinger would be a campaign taking place over time while the frontlines were till mostly stagnate. However with what was available in the Wanderjarian theater Operation Harbinger would begin as Ju-90 Stuka fighter bombers and Ju-272 Rächer Strategic Bombers began taking off from airfields behind the front. Escorts from Me-1110 Taifun Air Superiority fighters and their EW variants along with Me-1099 Leuchtkäfer stealth fighters ensured that any interceptions from the Wanderjarian Air Force would not be able to prevent what was going to occur. Their targets were manned defensive positions, troop concentrations and anti-air defenses, once additional elements begun to arrive in theater the amount of targets and their importance would increase significantly.

In the sky above the battlefield fighters and bombers zig zagged throughout as either the Taifuns and Leuchtkäfers intercepted and engaged enemy fighters or anti air defenses or the Rächer strategic bombers engaged ground targets at long range with cruise missiles and guided bombs. Extra focus was placed on the area in and around Zuurfontein thus this area received heavier punishment from Ordenite stukas and Rächer bombers as sections of the city were effected and while the city had been able to evacuate much of it's population their were still inhabitants residing within and thus took the risk of dying from the conflict going on around them. Unlike other militaries the Ordenites were known for their merciless nature in regards to combat operations and would for the sake of victory level entire cities and kill countless innocent people. A still functioning hospital would become a example of this brutality as it would be hit by a pair of Ordenite cruise missiles causing significant damage to the building rendering it inoperable for use.

This nature was not only prevalent in the sky but also on the ground. Operation Frederick I named after a medieval Ordenite emperor was a major ground offensive by the Ordenite Army that would coincide with Operation Harbinger. The Supreme Army Command had drawn up the plans for the offensive which would see a concentration of forces in Army Group Center who would be the tip of the spear that would breakthrough the Jakobus Line and defeat the Wanderjarian Army allowing them a open avenue of approach to threaten several major cities. Meanwhile Army Group East and West would act as holding forces keeping the Wanderjarians in place and unable to react to the main point of advance through the center of the front. Therefore all four of the Shock armies would be transferred into Army Group center for the offensive and would make up the very tip of the spear that would smash through Wanderjarian lines. Before that major strikes would occur consisting of various Missile brigades containing tactical and short range ballistic missiles with a mix of conventional HE and cluster munitions which would target troop concentrations, defenses and identified artillery positions along with command and control nodes. This would be followed up by a traditional artillery barrage after which the ground offensive would begin as Ordenite armored and mechanized forces once again went on the attack against the Wanderjarians.

Army Group Center which overall would boast over 3,000,000 troops with 34% of them being from the Shock armies that were the tip of the spear as they smashed into the section of the Jakobus Line that the Supreme Army Command felt was the weakest point. Their was little the Wanderjarians arrayed before them could do to stop the juggernaut as the 1st Army was quickly driven into retreat towards Zuurfontein and the Livombo River. The Wanderjarian 2nd Army soon began to rush it's forces to reinforce the 1st Army and prevent a total rout and loss of the city. Ordenite Panzer and Mechanized forces would look to encircle and pincer the defending Wanderjarians as they advanced on the city nestled on the Livombo river. Ordenite artillery and Ju-90 Stuka fighter bombers pummeled the Wanderjarians mercilessly as they fell back towards Zuulfontein as the 2nd Army began to rush forces in to stop their momentum at least for a brief respite. However little respite was to be had as due to the speed of advance of the Ordenites, the 1st Army was forced to seek refuge in the city and make their stand.

Zuurfontein, Wanderjar.

Grey and black clouds hung over the city of Zuulfontein as it had been withering Ordenite artillery and air attacks which had devestated parts of the city. From a distance or in the sky one could see the tracers of anti aircraft guns or the smoke trails of missiles and rockets and the impacts of artillery rounds or guided bombs dropped by Stukas. The noise was nearly deafening as a algamation of armored vehicles and tanks with their engines running or the sound of artillery coming in overhead and the sound of their impacts in the distance, the pitter patter of machine guns and other small arms. The roar of aircraft swooping over the battlefield to deliver their payloads on Wanderjarian targets. To a untrained civilian it would be overwhelming but for soldiers such as those in the Ordenite Army it was simply a soundtrack during a film in a theater or like a song playing in a shop or cafe. Drones of different sizes and capabilities zig zagged over the battlefield all of them were Ordenite drones. The Wanderjarians of the 1st Army had reformed their lines around the outskirts of Zuulfontein digging in as much as they could while across the Livombo their artillery batteries continued to fire on the advancing enemy. The bridges that connected the city to the river had now been blown and demolished for those that remained were tasked with holding off the Ordenites for as long as possible. In order to continue to get reinforcements and supplies to the troops defending the city, the Wanderjarians would either air lift them across the Livombo or use boats to ferry them across.

The 70th Shock Army once again was at the front of this effort as it pressed towards the city. They were tasked with seizing the city and reaching the river from there while the 57th and 62nd Shock armies pressed on the wider flanks looking to create a large envelopment of the Wanderjarian defenders. Meanwhile the 43rd Shock Army followed behind the 70th in order to ensure that they would be able to breakthrough. Ordenite armored vehicles and main battle tanks could be seen as far as the eye could see if one looked out in the distance from the city as the battle was already raging with Wanderjarian ATGMs looked to pick off as many vehicles that they could before the inevitable. Ordenite artillery was omnipresent on the battlefield as 150mm and 170mm shells rained down on the defenders, even employed were the heavier 210mm artillery guns which cause devastation wherever they impacted within the urban landscape. Ordenite drones which were able to infiltrate the city hovered overhead as autonomous forward observers feeding real time intelligence back to the artillery crews in the rear. On the outskirts of the city where Wanderjarian defenders had dug in to wither out the assault they regularly had to scan the skies for drones overhead possibly either diving down on them and exploding or dropping ordinance on top of them.

It was becoming obvious that the Wanderjarian Army here did not have the firepower or the manpower to stop the Ordenites here completely. A retreat across the Livombo was debated among commanders on the ground and with their higher ups in the rear. Then it happened the breakthrough occurred and the 70th and 43rd Shock armies pounced on the opportunity like a wild predator finally catching their prey. Ordenite shock troopers poured through and looked wreck havoc behind what had been Wanderjarian lines as the defense of Zuulfontein was coming undone right before everyone's own eyes. Panic set in as Army units that had been fighting for some time against the Ordenites begun to retreat in a scramble for the river bed looking to get away from a enemy they assumed could not be deterred. The 57th and 62nd Shock Armies soon enough clamped the metaphorical jaws of the Ordenite assault shut on the 1st Army as they reached their rear and began to flank them. Zuulfontein was lost at this point as defenders still within the city either stayed put in their positions defiantly or made a mad dash for the river with the hopes that they could be rescued and evacuated. The closer the Ordenites got in proximity of the city the more Ordenite artillery began to pummel the direction in which the Wanderjarian troops looked to fall back to in order to somehow cross the river.

Some would even go out of their way to surrender to the Shock troopers with their arms held high or waving white cloth or sheets in order to signify that they did not wish to fight anymore. In most cases if said soldiers were not NCOs they would be met with lead from machine guns and assault rifles. Once elements of the 70th Army reached the city they were met with little resistance other then the occasional small pocket of defiant defenders held up somewhere. Most of the Wanderjarians of the 1st Army were making their way south towards the river and would soon be boxed in on three sides by the Ordenite envelopment. Once the remnants of the 1st Army had reached the river south of the city, Stuka fighter bombers would begin to strafe and bomb them while Ordenite artillery now in range of the over side of the river began to shell Wanderjarian forces on the opposite side of the river while also shelling the river its self to disrupt ferrying efforts. Not only were the Wanderjarians ferrying troops and supplies to and from but were also ferrying civilians awaiting evacuation from Zuulfontein who now became caught in the crossfire of Ordenite artillery and Stukas. Eventually the Supreme Army Command would send orders to the Shock Armies that any and all Wanderjarian combatants wishing to surrender should be taken as a prisoner of war thus a sharp influx of Wanderjarian soldiers surrendering became apparent as the boxed in 1st Army against the Livombo river had little to no options. They either fought to the death, surrendered or try their luck crossing the river either by ferry or other means and for now they were still offering resistance to the advancing Ordenites who were clearing out the city.

As the city gradually fell under the control of the Ordenite Army numerous engineering units began coming forward hauling what was necessary to cross the river onto the other side. Eventually Ordenite troops began to squeeze the envelopment of the 1st Army against the Livombo River until a group of officers among them surrendered and came to terms with Ordenite commanders for the remaining Wanderjarians to also surrender and enter captivity. Over 200,000 Wanderjarians would enter captivity under the Ordenite Army as propaganda camera men captured photos and footage of long sprawling columns of Wanderjarian prisoners of war marching away from the river under armed escorts. Bridgeheads would be constructed not long after as the first Ordenite Panzers and armored vehicles began to cross the Livombo river.

[Morrdh]

International Airport, Pietersburg
Wanderjar.

"Oberstleutnant Kahl, Ordenite Army Fallschirmjager." he introduced himself to the Morridanes. The sounds of war remained present in the near distance as the Battle for Pietersburg continued. The airport was in the firm control of the Fallschirmjager as manned fighting positions could be observed around key areas as would be the presence of an artillery battery which would now be firing on Wanderjarian positions within Pietersburg. A make shift field hospital was also being established in one of the airport's many buildings as armored vehicles laden with the red cross soon begun to arrive transporting Ordenite wounded. The fighting was intense and in urban environments where the Wanderjarian defenders had fortified themselves advantageously to prevent the Ordenites from having a easy time taking the city. Despite this they knew that holding the city for too long and risking being encircled was not favorable for them and therefore the armored forces were fighting hard to prevent the Ordenite panzers from cutting off a southern route out of Pietersburg.

"Your intentions are admirable, Commander." Kahl with his face painted in a mix of black and dark green remarked. "Even if we're on different sides of history."

"I think you Herr Oberstleutant." Rourke replied, trying to keep his face and tone neutral. "Though I'm more concerned with the present."

"Those who've arrived with me are just the vanguard of a larger force and we all have alot of work ahead of us." Continued Rourke, gesturing towards the RMAF personnel busying themselves with the equipment that had been unloaded. "Our priority is comms and air traffic control before the first transport planes arrive in around twenty-four hours time."

"Liaison arrangements will be needed to be agreed upon, the amount of collaboration and of course billets for my people." Added Rourke. "Least to get some clarification on some implied assumptions."

"Regardless, I'm under no illusion that things will go smoothly....hope for the best but prepare for the worse they say."