THE 2nd Cataclysm 1920. IC-CLOSED per Sign Up.

by **Australien** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 1:46 am

Bridge,
ANS Melbourne
5 MAR 1920, 06:51 hours
"Sir, it looks like the torpedo that hit the Krat was a dud." Jells said.
"Christ, you're joking. No, don't answer that." The Admiral said as Jells' mouth began to open. "What about the other ship?"
"No word yet si.." He was cut off by a large explosion at the Nahcsnahdu, followed almost directly by a shell slamming into the Morseby, causing the ship to rock violently, with large fires engulfing the ship.
"For god's sake! Tell me that the Moresby isn't lost!" The admiral shouted.
"No response from her, sir. I can't see through the smoke, but I'd be surprised if the bridge survived that hit."
Another shell slammed into the stricken vessel, sealing its fate.
"I want to know how badly that Wochick battlecruiser has been hit!" The admiral said, turning away from the sinking vessel.
"Not clear as of yet, sir. The two torpedoes that were causing problems are now in the water and heading for the Krat" Jells replied.
"Good, tell all guns to fire, focus on the operational ship."

by **Lowell Leber** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:00 pm

Lowell Leber wrote:Bridge
LLS Enterprise
5 March 1920
0617 Hours

"They are attempting to flee the battle it appears sir, and radio reports from our allies indicate a near full Wochik withdrawl!" exclaimed the young ensign to the Admiral.

"Order all ships to press the attack, and send the destroyer Laura to pick up any survivors from the McGuire! Flank speed and close the distance, fire at will!" replied the Admiral.
With that, the remaing ships of the fleet charged the Wochik's retreating vessels....

LLSEnterprise
5 March 1920
0652 Hours

So far no hits of significant damage had been sighted, but the Admiral had no doubt that some had been scored. The distance was closing, and this meant that the higher trajectory of the shells being fired by the ships of his battlegroup would be og a plunging nature, thus more likely to penetrate the appearently thick armor of the Wochik vessels.
"Ensign, order everyone back to full speed, and see if we can get our Australien allies on the wireless!"

by **Lowell Leber** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 12:15 pm

June 1, 1920 The Leberites had not been able to get ahold of the Austaliens on the wireless, and so the minor naval battle finished with no decisive outcome. And neither had the battles on land, as the spring rains had limited the great armies around Kustrin, Easton, and Bremenchester to little more than lobbing shells at each while all the men suffered from the wet and the cold. On a higher level, both the Kievis and the Leberites along with their respective allies planned on just how the war could be won over the summer campaigning season. Whatever the plan, victory would not come cheap for either side. The Armies of Lowell Leber had suffered over 200,000 dead resisting the Kievi onslaught, while intel suggested that the Kievis had lost at least 500,000 dead and many more non fatal casualties. That the butcher's bill would only grow over the summer worried the Imperial High Command, knowing that the Kievis had more manpower to feed into the grinder when you counted their barbarian soldiers.

by **Wonderchicken** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:02 am

Control Room
WDKD Guznahfar 2
50 miles north-northwest of the Crayfish Islands
1 JUN 1920, 13:20 hours

It had been an uneasy time for the men and women of the Vushicskah Fa. Following the loss of the Nahcsnahdu and three other vessels in the Battle of Bremenchester (and the near loss of seven others), the Kah Ahnto'nee Nahcs had been beyond furious, and every Wochik sailor was feeling that wrath. The launch of the Guznahfar 2 had been planned as a gala affair, but in the wake of Bremenchester it was felt too important simply to get underway. G2's Vushvahkh, Bahb Rahcs, was somewhat saddened by the change. He had felt that some pomp might have served to improve his countrymen's morale.

It was all irrelevant now, however...

(More to come)

by **Lowell Leber** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 4:31 pm

June 15, 1920
Rock Island, L.L.

Troop trains by the dozens headed north towards the Kustrin Front as the rainy spring season came to an end. By and large, mobilization efforts were going well. Morale among the reservists and the recently conscripted troops was high. Rumor of the upcoming counteroffensive had everyone believing that the war could be won by Christmas. "Home for Christmas" became the motto for the Leberite Army's rank and file.

However, the mood of the Imperial High Command back in San Leberdino was less optimistic. The high casualties, as well as the success of the Kievistani horde in driving through the defenders of Easton right up to The Great Eastern Pass was cause for concern. If the Kievis could force the pass and threaten the province of LeCroix, then a massive new front would have to be defended and a resource rich area would be threatened. If that was to occur, then no matter what the outcome of the battles on the plains outside of Kustrin, a humiliating peace would have to be sought.

OOC-Easton and the Great Eastern Pass are located on the extreme southern limit of my eastern borders. ATTN: NULLARNI-if I lost this area then all plans of giving you the area for the canal would be off.

by **Wonderchicken** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 4:42 pm

Control Room
WDKD Guznahfar 2
50 miles north-northwest of the Crayfish Islands
1 JUN 1920, 13:20 hours

With the bulk of the Wochik surface fleet either defending the Mother Land in the Ivoah Sea, escorting the interminably long supply lines, or in Kievi dry dock, the only ships Rahcs had on which he could count were other sinkers. And while he had every confidence in his fellow sinkers, it would have been nice to be able to call on the children of Zhehtoknahvah. Still, wishful thinking would do him no good, and he was not without teeth. Along with his own boat, Rahcs had been joined by eight new G2 class sinkers, as well as a number of Hacs-Tolahkh and Darshek class boats to assist the Hacs-Tolakh and Aihah Kornee, both of which had barely survived the HT's egress from the Edmar. Vushvahkh Leehai's good fortune had been extraordinary, and it was his daring order to surface that had allowed Aihah Kornee and Hacs-Tolakh to escape, but Leehai's luck had run out at the mouth of the Laruvi, and Aihah Yojahn was lost.

Whatever other effects Bremenchester had had on the Vushicskah Fa, it had certainly galvanized the Wochik shipyards and given KAN¹ Akhpunobacs the excuse he needed to devote an increasing Wochik contingent to the Kievis' support. As Vv² Rahcs contemplated this, his reverie was interrupted by his comm officer, Dt³ Ahkhpunahmahn.

"<Just received a coded message bearing ID from Yujik, sir>"

Vv Rahcs took the missive and retreated to his cabin, where he decoded a report detailing the sighting of a convoy of supply vessels. He checked the Yujik's reported position, compared it to the report, and returned to the G2's control room.

"<Mr. Turteh,>" he said as he stepped past the bulkhead, "<Yujik has sighted a group evidently headed for our position. Are we still tracking that contact from an hour ago?>"

"<We are.>" Turteh responded. "<That many screws are hard to miss, and Dv⁴ Moz estimates they will be passing within 1500 meters of us before another hour ends.>"

"<Bring us to periscope depth, then, Mr. Turteh. This may just be too juicy to ignore.>"

1 - Kah Ahnto'nee Nahcs; The highest ranking office in the Vushicskah Fa
2 - Hey, it's easier than typing out "Vushvahkh"
3 - Dehvahkh-Thokh, akin to a Lieutenant Commander
4 - Devahkh, similar to Lieutenant

by **Australien** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:50 am

1st Division HQ,
Crayfish Hotel,
Bremenchester
General Steiner, having gained a promotion for his defence of the city, was charged with the defence of the city and its surroundings. The city was a ghost of its former self; near-constant shelling, sporadic air raids and 4 large assaults on the city had destroyed the majority of the buildings. It was nothing short of a miracle that their Head Quarters in the Crayfish Hotel had remained relatively untouched. Disease had spread through the trenches as cynicism started to creep into the minds of the soldiers. For each Kievi they killed, two more rose to attack the next day. They buried the fallen en masse, they did not have the time or resources to give each man a grave.

Steiner had some 40,000 men under his command, of which around half were Australien troops. He had many artillery pieces and mortars, large and small and there were machine-guns covering most of the line. However, he very much doubted he could hold another attack. The Kievi's outnumbered his men three-to-one, their artillery was numerous, their snipers elusive. Holding the city was no easy task, but he would try.

OOC- I guess I'll wait for the Kievi's to attack, unless there's anything else I need to attend to?

by **Lowell Leber** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:53 am

70 miles south-southwest of the Crayfish Islands
1 JUN 1920, 13:40 hours

While a large unescorted convoy was indeed to the north and east of the Crayfish Islands, the ships of the Imperial Navy were nowhere in the area as they had withdrawn to Bremenchester and other points to the southwest. Of the the three destroyers sent to Bremenchester, only one was to remain along with some older obsolete light cruisers to support the AEF and Leberite forces with naval gunfire. The other two, along with the rest of the naval units in the region, were to withdrawl farther southwest to regroup and resupply.

OOC- Wochik, I wish to turn more to the battle on land at this time. Do what you wish with the "unescorted convoy" your submarines have found.

by **Lowell Leber** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:00 am

Bremenchester

Luckily for General Steiner and the mostly Australien defenders of Bremenchester help was on the way. The newly reformed VIII Corps of 60,000 men in three divisions were to be dispatched to the Bremenchester Front. These units were to combine with the VI Corps of the Army of Bremenchester to hold the line in front of and southeast of the city. Under this reorganization, the AEF units would be concentrated in front of the northern part of the line with their left flank on the sea. This would also mean the AEF would be under its own commanding general who would report to General Steiner himself.

This reshuffling of forces would be in place by June 7. At any rate, a relative lull had occured in front of Bremenchester as the focus of the fighting shifted to the the Kustrin Front well to the southeast.

by **Lowell Leber** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:15 am

OOC-

Just to update how I see things right now.

On our NWP map, Bremenchester is just south of the Crayfish Islands on the north coast of my mainland. Kustrin is the middle red dot at the center of my border with Kievistan. Easton (ATTN: Nullarni) is the extreme southeastern region of my country. Now, for the current land ORBAT of Leberite and allied forces:

Bremenchester Front: (From north to south) AEF, VI Corps, VIII Corps (Arriving now)

Kustrin Front: 5th Army, 2nd Army, 6th Army, 10th Army, 8th Army

Easton Front: 9th Army, various small units.

Crayfish Islands: 100,000 colonial units not engaged as of yet.

The battle for Kustrin, which is the primary target of the Kievi offensive is still in full pitch, as the enemy attempts to envelop it from the northwest. That is why so much of my army is there. Bremenchester will become more important in the next phase of the war (think of it as the dash for the channel in WW1). In Easton, the Leberites face a near collapse due to the commitment of so much of their available force to defend Kustrin. If only someone could send more troops?

by **Wonderchicken** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:55 pm

Lowell Leber wrote:OOC- Wochik, I wish to turn more to the battle on land at this time. Do what you wish with the "unescorted convoy" your submarines have found.

OOC: Okay. That pretty much wipes out whatever I was prepared to write about. We'll assume that G2 sank a boat or two before Vv Rahcs realized the boats were unescorted, at which point he called for reinforcements and surfaced. Upon surfacing, he gave the merchants a somewhat exaggerated idea of how many torpedoes he still had, then offered to cease fire long enough for all hands to abandon their ships. We can say that one or two merchant vessels decided to call the bluff, and were promptly dispatched. Once all the merchant ships were empty, Rahcs waited for Yujik (G2 class) and Chaybuh Re-tum (Hacs-Tolahkh class) to arrive before sinking anything else, then submerged and sailed off. After traveling some distance, he sent an unencrypted message in Basic, giving the coordinates where the life boats might be expected to be found.

I'll try to post some ground action later.

by **Lowell Leber** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 11:43 pm

July 1, 1920
Southwest of Kustrin, Galicia, LL.

The weather had cleared about a week prior, and the ground had dried out enough for battle. The Leberite forces in this sector had erected strong field fortifications, for it was in this sector where the next Kievite push was expected to come. At least that is what the Leberite High Command was anticipating. If this section of the front could withstand the expected assualt, then the Kievi's western flank would be exposed to counter-attack...

by **Wonderchicken** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:47 pm

July 1, 1920
07:30 hours
Approaching Kustrin

The engine sputtered, and Amahn Vaykush bit his lip to keep from cursing. Though his Ayahnku biplane was in no real danger of stalling--he had learned some time ago that it only needed its throttle jockeyed to get it back into rhythm--he couldn't help dreading the possibility of the same thing happening in combat. He knew the mechanics were doing their level best to keep their diminished numbers airborne. With a supply line that stretched some 7000 miles around the Zeraxian Peninsula, and with the Pahtu Icskah Fa still reeling from their losses in the Kievi Gulf, the 100 fighter aircraft that had first arrived in the country had dwindled to some 30 airworthy craft. Finding parts to maintain those craft had, as often as not, become a matter of cannibalizing the more-damaged machines. Amahn looked around at the others in his flight and reminded himself that this mechanical hiccup was really nothing more than a nuisance. He adjusted his goggles, flexed and stretched the muscles in his sore leg, and returned to the task of double checking his camera before arriving over the target zone. Although he had resumed flying as soon as he was physically able, until now he had only been given rearward assignments. Today's flight was his first sortie into the combat zone since his injury, and he could feel a few flutters in his stomach. At least he could look forward to going dancing with Hehthr Zucs upon his return.

The news coming from the Vushicskah Fa was not all bad, either. Despite the appalling losses of Wochik capital vessels, and the fact that what surface vessels remained were now almost entirely relegated to escorting the interminable supply lines, Wochik sinkers¹ had found a measure of success in disrupting Leberite shipping. The new Guznahfar 2 class sinkers in particular, with their newly perfected² upward-firing torpedoes, were a source of morale-boosting talk around the air field. Word was that the Shehkucsah Hac-Akhet³ had sunk fully three Leberite dreadnaughts in single combat. Of course, Amahn chuckled at that. The way people talked, it was more likely that the Shehkucsah Hac-Akhet had encountered Leberite ships and lived to tell the tale. Perhaps she had even damaged or sunk a destroyer. Had not the Aihah Yojahn done just that in the Laynu Strait, shortly after the onset of hostilities? Of course, the Aihah Yojahn had gone and gotten herself blown to ore the very next day...

1 - The Wochik word for a submarine translates as "sinker," for those who are new to the thread.
2 - Not really. I'd say maybe 75% of the time, they work more or less the way they are supposed to (which, yeah, is pretty darn well). Doesn't mean they hit anything 75% of the time, just that they function as intended about that often.
3 - WDKD 32 Shehkucsah Hac-Akhet (meaning "Obey God"), captained by Vushvahkh Yeech Csaylu.

by **Lowell Leber** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:20 pm

July 3, 1920
80 miles soutwest of Kustrin, Galicia, LL

The troop trains, trucks, autos, and even horse drawn carriages had been busy for the last three days transporting the 1st Army to the front. The 1st Army, last of the mobilized and battle ready armies on the mainland, was to attack at Kievi horde east of the 5th Army and attempt to smash the enemy flank. In addition to the 1st Army, the Guards' Provisional Cavalry Corps and 1st and 2nd Guards Highland Divisions were to be present as well to spearhead the assualt. And despite the skepticism of some of the older officers and NCOs, A few (100 to be exact) of the new fangled tanks were to deployed in the vanguard.

All in all 200,000 infantryman and over 30,000 cavalryman were to be hurled against the enemy. And to support this assualt would be over 500 artillery pieces of all calibres. This was Field Marshal Thomas' plan, now about to be put to the test early with the sucessful stabilization of the Bremenchester front. The attack was slated to begin on July 5,and was codenamed "Strutter".

by **Kievistan** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:04 pm

July 3, 1920-
East of Kustrin

The Kievi Armies to the east of Kustrin had begun digging in so as to be able to hold their gains in this sector. Gains that had came at an extremely high price. But with the work done here, the reserves from this sector were being transferred to the battle near Kustrin proper. It was the hope of the Kievi high command that this would strain the Leberite 6th Army, and force the enemy to reinforce the defenses of Kustrin. If this happened, then the powerful forces to the southwest of the city could smash their way through and encircle the prized city and its defenders. If so than perhaps furthur gains could come from the peace table, which no doubt the Leberite scum would come crawling to after such a defeat.

-Southwest of Kustrin

The powerful divisions of elite shock troops were being moving ever so closer to the front. The Kievi and Wochik airforces had done a near perfect job of screening these powerful formations from aerial observation, and so surpise seem to lay with the attackers yet again. The plan set forth by High Command was for the axis of attack to be towards the southeast, smashing the Leberite 2nd Army. The attack was set to begin on July 4, and would be know to history years later as the most smashing victory ever to turn into a defeat.

by **Wonderchicken** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 8:35 pm

3 JUL 1920
17:00 hours
South of Kustrin

Khobrics-Thokh Cserah Haygehn dabbed the corners of her mouth with the worn handkerchief her father had given her years ago on Jeecseek Tikizahn, and felt a fleeting pang of longing for the rough, paper serviettes that the mess hall back in Dehzhma Wahnahkar always made available. A smile crossed her lips as she chuckled at the thought of missing such a thing. Gathering her mess kit, she made for "the sink"--a rock pile down hill from the camp's primary water supply--cleaned out her plate, and reassembled her kit. En route to stow the kit with her bunk, she fished her watch from a pocket in her trousers, and redoubled her speed. She was expected for duty in short order and had already made it clear to the soldiers under her command that tardiness would not be tolerated. At her bunk, she paused only long enough to toss the mess kit unceremoniously into a duffel and grab an overshirt before speed-stepping out to where her groundsmen waited. She hated having to wear the overshirt during warm-weather assignment, and usually doffed it when off duty since she felt her undershirt was sufficiently modest--especially since she had never filled a shirt in the way the men seemed to like--and the overshirt was less well suited to the temperatures. She dutifully made certain to wear it while on duty. It was, after all, part of the uniform, and a Wochik groundsman out of uniform was no Wochik. But off-duty, no one could tell her she couldn't let her shoulders see sunshine¹.

She was fastening the last of her overshirt's buttons as she approached the groundsmen under her command. Makan Tahtahn, her second hat, saw her before any of the others and rousted them from their joking. She saw him check his time piece and let out a low whistle, shooting her a playfully chastising eye. She dug out her own watch and saw that she was arriving with literally seconds to spare. No matter. She was on time, and called her groundsmen to attention. Tahtahn sobered his face, if not his eyes, as he saluted, and the others followed suit.

"<So, then. Back to the front with us, then, KT?>" Khobrics Nehtilo Ahpunehf had still been on his family's farm near Garnahcskhet a month or so ago, and still hadn't even acclimated to the military. Never mind a war zone. His overly-familiar shortening of her rank was technically out of line, but Haygehn understood his nervousness and said nothing about it.

"<Nothing so dull, Khobrics,>" she said. "<We will instead be making our way into an area we hope to be unpopulated for some forward scouting and, possibly, the preparation of fortification--depending on how much Leberite attention we draw.>"

"<Khobrics-Thokh,>" Tahtahn began, with perhaps a little too much emphasis on the use of unabbreviated rank for Ahpunehf's sake, "<Does this mean they're planning an offensive soon?>"

"<How would I know?>" she replied. She pulled a map from her overshirt pocket and unfolded it before the squad. "<All they tell me is 'Take your groundsmen here and see if you can dig a concealable position, then report back.' So we're going to go there, see what we see, and do some digging.>"

"<It won't be easy getting there without being spotted,>" muttered Khobrics Fimi Dul. Dul was adept with explosives, and some even said she had trinitrotoluene in her veins. But assignments like this always darkened her demeanor.

"<Why do you think you had so much of the day off? We'll follow the south side of this ridge about to here,>" Haygehn continued, hoping her confident tone would take some of the edge off of her soldiers' unease. "<It's a fair march, but we should lose sunlight before we have to worry about Leberite spotters. The real trick will be getting from this point-->" she pointed on the map "<--to this in time to dig the holes we'll need for concealment before the sun returns.>"

Tahtahn glanced up at the sun, just beginning its descent in earnest, then to each of his sober comrades before clapping his hands loudly together and exclaiming, "<Well, what are we waiting for? Day light is draining!>"

1 - Wochik cultural point: shoulders were a non-sexual body part and not a matter of modesty to Wochiktum at this time. Now, a stomach, on the other hand...

THE 2nd Cataclysm 1920. IC-CLOSED per Sign Up.

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