The Great War (Closed)

by **Ulthran Imperia Admin** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 7:10 am

OOC: The Great War is written ten years after the end of hostilities.

Extract From:
David Harper's "The Great War: A History of the Ulthranian-Quendi Conflict

Pg.3 Introduction

It goes by many different names, the dark years, the crisis, the time of troubles. But now has gone by more hip names, the Ulthranian crusade and the First Quendi War. The latter I do not entirely agree with as it implies that there will be a Second
Quendi War. But to me I would like to refer to it, as many more people do now-a-days, as The Great War. It was the war that nearly brought the entirety of the Quendisphere to it's knees. No other war had there been such a loss of life in conventional conflict, it was almost the greatest Ulthranian victory in their history, not only facing an entire coalition of nations, but doing so with another ally on their own. Outnumbered, outgunned and outmanuvered, the Commonwealth forces fought glamourous victories. With that said though, this book will not highlight Ulthranian and colonial forces and their success', it will bring to light all aspects of the war into light. The civilian losses, the historical morale loss of the Coalition forces and arguably the greatest counter-offensive in recorded history against the Commonwealth forces.

As I wrote the first few paragraphs whilst having lunch with an old friend under a statue of now deceased General Deitrich Volkenhelm, the commander of the Lucian Iron Legion, a martyr figure across the commonwealth and now a boogyman figure across Quendi and in other Coalition nations, I figured out what direction I would like to take this. I will not try to cloud the book with the interrviews that shedded a light of humanity and that said, i will not simply stuff it with figures and dates. This story is about all those who lost their lives in the war and if any human aspect should be removed, it should be mine.

Pg. 11 Chapter One "A Coming Storm"
(Interviewed: Imperial Commander Avitus Aurelius. Retired)
"....What you have to understand is that we were preparing for a war against the Quendi, we knew that the Quendisphere was trouble, but that was a different time, before the Commonweatlh was formed and we were still the Ulthranian Empire. We had been planning, right up till our orders changed, to prepare for the Emperor's approval for the invasion of Ryou. People think we intentionally started hostilities but that is complete fallacy. the colonial commanders sharpened their swords and wanted to taste Quendi blood for the death of Consul Lucitarus and the fifty other Ulthranians and I wouldn't tell the Emperor of Ulthrani and the Emperor of Renthor that we should enact peace instead of hostilites. I think Quendi knew what was coming, after we told them our ultimatum...

Camp Divine Liberty, Hyterixa
Hyter'yxia Island Chain, Neptunus Ocean
February 23rd, 2011 (Ulthranian Military Calender).
Present Day

"My league with all due respect, we are not prepared yet and beside the point, the world will see us as the antagionist if we prematurely attack them without declaring offical hostilites." Imperial Commander Aurelius pondered to the one of many screens in his command centre that had the image of Emperor Coriolanus via live satalitte feed.
"Avitus, if we declare war without any form of threat on their shores, we are basically letting the fools prepare and turning out combat into a living hell" Coriolanus pondered, next to him was the Renthorian Emperor Heindrich von Kessel, whom had dedicated a task force for future deployment if needed. "Commander we hit them where it hurts when they least expect it, I assume Operation 45 is prepared at the right moment, yes?"
The Imperial Commander wiped the sweat from his brow and told him without hesistation stated "Yes" with that the Emperors signed off and was given the offical date for the assault...February 28th.

In the meanwhile however, the Ulthranian Embassy in Armenelos began to pack up and were preparing to leave, however, the leading diplomat to the Quendi leadership sent a message that was short and sweet, it simply stated:

Code: Select all: To: The Quendian Government Your vile act of murder will not be tolerated by the Ulthranian and Colonial governments of our Commonwealth. You will receive and offical response from the leadership in the coming days.

(OOC: This is just to start us off, the proper IC parts will be longer as the posts progress from pre-war to the actual war)

by **Bladia Imperia** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 8:09 am

page 21

I managed after a few requests to manage to get an audience wit the commander of the Bladian forces that served during the war, here is an extract from my interview with Commander Jarenion Elervir of the Bladian Armed Forces

Interview with Commander Jarenion Elervir of Bladia
-We never expected a thing such as this, the Ulthranians were our allies and showed no major military hostilities towards the Quendians after the acciedent at the royal ball where a Quendian supposedly murdered the Ulthranian consul we had expected a few angry words between the two nations but never this, of course when the hostilities started flaring up between the two with the Ulthranians building up a great military force out of nowhere after many rather hostile telegrams full of insults between the two nations we sent the 9th fleet into Quendian waters to attempt to deter any military action, we both know the outcome of that-

by **Bladia Imperia** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 8:11 am

I also managed to get in touch with Private Maewë Birviel who had served with the 8th Legion and was one of the three hundred survivors of the 8th's 4,200 soldiers

Interview with Private Maewë Birviel of Bladia
-I was actually at home when the call for the 8th to mobilise came up, I had just proposed to my girlfriend and was ready to spend my life with her, when I got the call it was hard to tell her, she broke down in tears and hugged me before running to her bedroom, I was left there to call my parents and tell them the news, I was going to war and I'm engaged, not easy to pull off in a phone call, then I said goodbye to my girlfriend...I mean fiancee and grabbed my fatigues and drove to Fort Oros where my Legion was ordered to, from there we boarded C-130's straight towards a Quendian coastal town that was only a few miles from the fighting, I still can't remember the name of that town-

by **Of the Quendi** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 2:25 pm

Extract from:
Lady Ildera Miolandras "Liber Quendisium Magna" volume eleven "Bellum Ulthranium et Novus Ordnum Imperium Alcedinnes"

Chapter nine

The world we live in today is fundamentally shaped by the events of the Ulthranian War, or the War of Endless Tears as our court skalds so poetically named it. Not only did the war mark the first time in recorded history that a foreign nation succesfully landed on our sacred shores defiling the land of Varda Elentári, no the war was also the final event in a long chain leading back to the Spring Monarchy that would eventually lead to the rise of the new order. As I have previously explained in this the eleventh tome of my contribution to our people's culture the relations between La Serenissima and the ulthranians had actually been quite good. After the downfall of La Serenissima and the rise of La Imperium Populi we of course expected scepticism. It has never been a secret that there are a number of nations around the globe who have enjoyed the rule of the Imperial Regency Council and who have no doubt cursed the tetrarchy to hell we never found any reasons to distrust the Ulthranians.

The death of this obscure consul Lucitarus, evidently at the hands of quendi terrorists, was never considered more then a minor issue among the tetrarchs. I remember my husband joking about the whole thing on several occassions. Personally I always thought the whole affair was shady to say the least. While I doubt that there is truth to conspiracy theorists claiming that the whole thing, the murder, the war, its outcome, was orchestraed by Arabella Alcedina with the help of the ulthranian government to restore La Serenissima I remain sceptic of the explanations provided by the Imperial Inquisition. I shall however not try to use this, my great work, as a tool of defamation against our leaders. After all even I, with all my connections, my wealth and the honor of my name cannot openly critize the government without fear of the consequences.

The war began on the last day of the year 1498 or the first of 1499 depending on who you ask. Our people was so filled with joy and happiness at the time. Decades of civil war had ended and we prepared to celebrate newyear. No one expected an attack. That day the navy sleept. That day darkness ruled and once again our nation was engulfed in war.

The senate, Armenelos, Arandor, La Imperium Populi

Supreme High Chancellor Rillian Raa Xanthi stretched his muscles sighing in relief. He should have listened to his officers when they told him that politics was alot harder than war. It had seemed ridicoulus at the time but the chancellor now knew that it was true. In the army there wasn't a hundred old men and women who constantly demanded to be briefed about even the most insignificant details. There was a week to the newyear, a week to wintersend when Vána and Arāmē would restore life to the land. It was supposed to be a time of joyful anticipation and then those damned senators insisted on questioning him for thirteen hours without a break. They where crazy people.

Looking around the nearly empty senate chamber the chancellor smiled to his supporters in the provisional government. He ignored both senator Mysetis and senator Nysore. Both of them had been among the ones who had questioned him. Apparently some people could not be satisfied with a post in the government. A shame that they where to influential to fire. "So what are you going to do about the ulthranian issue Xanthi?" Senator Mysetis said waving with the absurd message from the ulthranians. Xanthi sighed, was that woman unstoppable? "Nothing senator. The ulthranians can make whatever ridiculous accusations they wish the only ones they embarras are themselves. Aleera, send a reply." The young princess jumped to salutation stance as the chancellor spoke. The chancellor liked the young girl even though he knew she disliked him for having fired her.

Aleera, who had made the journey from Aquilinia to Armenelos to celebrate newyear with the rest of the provisional government, curtseyed politely. "It shall be done my lord chancellor. The ulthranians will regret their cowardly attempt to stain the honor of the people and senate of the Quendi." She pompously announced. The chancellor smiled. So what if the young princess was going to write a arrogant reply to the ulthranians? They did deserve it and it would hardly damage relations between the two nations on long terms. The chancellor stood up from his chair begining to walk towards the gilded doors leading out on the forum. "Well if thats done lets take a break. Its newyear in a week people." He said with a winning smile. He gave Prince-Regent Athal a pad on the shoulder. "I hear you are going to play Arāmēs part this year? Aren't you a bit to old for such antics Prince-Regent?" The Prince-Regent smiled. He liked the jovial attitude of the chancellor. Laughing and chatting informally the provisional government left the senate hall without worries or fears. Even they couldn't help but feel the optimism that had hit the nation. This newyear would mark a new begining for the nation.

Princess-Regent Arabella Alcedina remained behind with Aleera for a moment. But even the most cunning and wise of Prince-Regents, the great great granddaughter of the emperor, was happy. Despite having suffered massive set backs the Great Plan was moving ahead. Getting up from her seat the Princess-Regent stroke her granddaughters hair before leaving the young woman to do what she did best, insult people.

And so the princess did.

Code: Select all: To: The barbarious state and nation of Ulthrania Greetings, Allow me to make two thing very clear for you. First of all the dead of consul Lucitaurus or whatever his name is, has nothing to do with La Imperium Populi or the people of the Quendi. I can assure you that killing leaders who has briliated with their annonymity in the International Community is not a concern of the current administration of La Imperium. Secondly, and let me stress this so it go clearly through your western minds, this outrageous accusation against our government is an afront to the impeccable honor of the people of the Quendi and as such I hereby insist that the government of Ulthrania if it is to retain but a shred of legitimacy and grace immediately issue and unconditional apology or La Imperium Populi will seize all trade and diplomatic contact with Ulthrania. Sincerely yours Aleera, Princess and Councilor of the Quendi

by **Ulthran Imperia Admin** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 9:22 am

Extract from
"The Great War"

Pg.32 Chapter Two "Lighting the Fire"

February 27th, a day that will go down in the halls of history. I stand by a small coastal town known as Porognas, which also had a sizeable naval base which was destroyed, itself not far from Pristina, one of the co-capitals of Quendi that fell during the blitzkrieg within two days. Standing by the shoreline was Roderick Guerrero, a Peinivian soldier who fought during the war. With six scars on his face alone that he suffered during the Siege of Armenelos, he retired when the war was over and decided to make a new life here in Quendi. He explained the chaos that happened on what is now referred to in his community...as 'The Angry Night'

You could smell the gasoline, you could smell the sweat on the brow of the other tropas. I was assigned to 4th Battalion of the 2nd Peinivian Air Assault Brigade, we were primarily to attack objectives via our modified UH-1 Hueys and Mi-8 Hips. unlike those ulthranos, whom had those fancy new and advanced tech, we dealt with those Que with whatever our inventory had to offer. I remember how compact we were in that cargo ship, as it approached the Pristina port authority. it was the pitch black in our helicopters. I heard one of the tropas saying that it was darker than the pits of hell and he prayed to the virgin mary a little too much. The city lights and the fireworks nearly had our cover blown, we ducked everytime one of those fiery explosives flew into the night sky and the sound that made all of us chill, the sound of people screaming in excitement...people. I am a soldado, my duty is to my tropas and my land. But if we were to feel good about attacking a heavily populated city whilst there was festivites occuring, heh, no senor, not one bit. But Captain Chavez got the call from the commander, who got his order from the ulthranos. The rotor blade spun around in thudding succession, we gave our prayers to the lord above and we prayed that we all survived the coming battle against an enemy we had only heard off days earlier. I loaded my weapon and checked the firing mechanism, the AK-103 is a very simple weapon to operate, it would not jam on you and it was arguably the most reliable weapon on that fateful night. But what I faced was nothing compared what those Que's had to face at Romenea Naval Base, against our onslaught....

Romenea Naval Base, Quendi
February 27/28, 2011 (Ulthranian Military Calender)

The skys were dark, unlike the cities and towns upon the coast of Quendi, Romenea was silent and the navy was sleeping, expecting a silent night. Upon the dark waters came various freighters, who were obviously violating territorial waters entering combat space, behind them was the Cyinican 8th Battle Group, the 11th Colonial Combat Group and the 2nd Rextan Carrier Group. To the skies came a wave of Renthorian F-35Cs, who were prepared to launch Ul-95 "Neptune" missiles (RL version of the Kh-35) upon the base below.

"This is Imperial Commander Aurelius, Commander of all Commonwealth Forces" Aurelius spoke in a tone of importance and brutish regard "Admiral Harka, are you ready to launch the assault upon the unrighteous". For a moment there was a earshattering silence that came through the comes, which was quickly disrupted by the husky, battle hardened voice of Admiral Scholar Harka, the commander of Battle Fleet Celestial Destruction
"This is Harka, we read you loud and clear. My fleet is ready to commence the attack and deliver an almighty victory in the name of this vast commenwealth and her emperors guide us indeed." He said before disconnecting the satcom. the Imperial Commander looked over the Combat Situation Board (CSB). Which was a touch-screen, interactive combat assessment device that allowed Aurelius to moniter the battle and issue orders on the fly.

Meanwhile, Renthorian Flight "Von Kessel's Dagger" and "Black Archer" were above the amassing fleet. They were three hundred kilometres away from the base in it's entirity.
"All flight elements, this is Black Archer lead, all flights sit in current formation and prepare to assault the target on my mark." A similar call was stated by the Von Kessel's Dagger lead. The pilots prioritized the targets, which were being lit by crewmembers onboard a freighter. The freighter crew, whom were in reality Quin troops, had fallen under the radar of the Romenea defenders, had they all fallen asleep? Was the Quendi navy and her most vital assets really that open? The time was hesitation was not nigh, the time had come for decisive action, the time had come for swift and motivated decision making that would alter the course of the invasion forever.

"All flights, we are about to make history, we will be the unit in the entire commenwealth to fire the first shots, make those shots louder than the pistols of God himself. Synchronize watches and times and on my mark, you will launch. 3...2...1..MARK!" Within a moment, an irritating beep was drowned by the harlling hiss of the Ul-95s screaming towards their targets. Within a matter of minutes, and it is unclear if the Ul-95 hit Quendi docked naval shipping at 11:59PM February 27th or 12:01PM on the 28th of February, but between those two minutes, the Ul-95s, without active, static defenses online to counter the barrage, the missiles smacked into their targets. Soon, the entire sky lit up with other Commonweatlh aircraft doing sorties and bombing runs upon the Naval Base. It was good reason the first day of invasion was given the title "The Angry Night", Romenea was ablaze. By the time active air defence was able to regroup, it was able to knock out eighteen fighter craft and whatever survived the bombardment from the incoming naval vessels were able to knock out a cruiser and eight other smaller ships. But the damage had been done and without question, Romenea Naval Base, the most important naval facility to the defence of Quendi had fallen. The fighting between surviving Quendi and Commonwealth troops had yet to begin, but it would as they began retreating...this was but the beginning.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pristina, Quendi
February 28th 2011 (Ulthranian Military Calender)

The amassed helicopter forces began to descend upon the city, the Peinivians had been given the task, with reinforcing Lucian troops to capture Pristina, which had been the co-capital of Quendi since foundation. The soldiers knew that a decisive victory was needed to even see the possibilties of accomplishing more victories down the line. Sergeant Gurrero looked out the side of his Huey helicopter, modified with rocket pods and a pod mounted 7.62mm machine gun, it would bring forth the wrath required to accomplish the mission. The masses of people realized that the hundreds of helicopters were not for show, as joining them were other ships firing short ranged missiles onto military nerve centers across the city. Above them were Mig-29Ps from Peinivian aircraft carriers providing as much air support as possible. The Huey hit the ground and his fellow comrades jumped out of the helicopter and ran to regroup with Captain Chavez. With all this hell passing along and various Commonwealth units meeting every single objective and on the verge of completing them...The war had begun.

by **Reformed Britannia** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 10:52 am

Excerpt from The Broken and the Dead: A History of the Great Quendisphere War

Chapter One:The Guns of February

Oh, Death was never enemy of ours!
We laughed at him, we leagued with him, old chum.
No soldier's paid to kick against His powers.
We laughed, -knowing that better men would come,
And greater wars: when each proud fighter brags
He wars on Death, for lives; not men, for flags.

Britannia has fought many wars; indeed, it could be said that war was a prt of the national psyche at one point. However, that period of almost constant conflict was ended with the establishment of the Imperial Federation, and the subsequent stabilisation of Britannia's foreign relations. This peace, however, was shattered by the emergence of three simultaneous wars-the Western Cuban War, the Second Ryouese War, and the Great Quendian War. These three conflicts all happened at roughly the same time, however, it was the last one which would have the most profound impact on Britannia.

An accurate picture of the Britannian view of the war just as it broke out can be provided by interviewing someone who was there; more specifically, ex-Corporal Robert Swanson, a former Corsaire, who I spoke to recently about the war as a whole.

"The day the war broke out, we almost immediately sent assistance to the Quendi. It was expected to be a short war; we didn't send much at first, only around 40,000 troops I believe. Of course, we compensated by sending some of the most prestigious regiments in the whole B.E.F. along with it; although that didn't account for much. The reason being that the heart of the Britannian army had always been its strong officer and NCO corps, and the fact that its soldiers were battle-tested individuals who had seen combat all over the empire. Thanks to the long period of peace, many of our more famous regiments had lost all their actual combat experienced personnel and were being set up with academy-educated officers who'd never even seen the field of battle before.

To say we were unprepared...would have been an understatement."

"Will somebody please tell me what the bloody hell is going on?"
The commanding voice of Prime Minister Powers-Carne cut like an icy dagger through the babble of confused shouting, accusations, and general bedlam which had overtaken his office as high-ranking military reps spilled into the room, doing their best to inform him what was happening globally at the moment. Not long ago, the Ryouese had launched 80 nuclear missiles at Britannia, all of which were destroyed, however the result had been complete and utter chaos as the entire empire's economy was mobilised for total war against the Ryouese.

"Sir," a young communications officer said, being the first to break the silence that resulted from Powers-Carne's outburst, "it would appear that the Quendian naval base at Romenea has been attacked."
"By who?"
"By the Ulthranians, sir."
Powers-Carne fell silent again, his blood boiling as he let the information sink in. He would have to send troops to defend the Quendi; in the process, weakening his own home defences and lessening the amount of troops that could be sent to combat either the Western Cubans or the Ryouese.

"Christ...well, we're going to have to send a force to La Imperium Populi in order to help defend them. We can't spare many troops, though...and I need Field Marshal Cunningham fighting the Ryouese." Falling silent again, the prime minister drummed his fingers on his desk. The assembled military personnel waited for him to speak again, knowing better than to interject.

"Very well. Send 48,000 soldiers to the Quendi, alongside equipment and a small defence fleet. Make sure that they're top-of-the line units, in order to compensate for their small numbers."
At this point, an army commander stepped forward and spoke. His voice was rushed, and he appeared a little bit nervous.
"Sir, with all due respect, the army as a whole is facing a major shortage on combat-experienced officers, NCOs, and even regular soldiers-"
The prime minister shot the man a glance which immediately silenced him. Keeping his eyes pinned on the man, he spoke again to the group as a whole.

"General Keller will be in command of this force. And it will be dispatched to the Quendi. Now."
The officials slowly began to leave the room, falling utterly silent as they did so. Most of them believed that the forces of the Quendians themselves would be enough to resist the Ulthranian attack, and very few thought it would run into difficulties.
Almost nobody believed it could end in disaster.

by **Aquilinia** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 12:49 pm

Excerpt from: Jonathan Miles, History of the Aquiline Guard

Chapter 5: The Great Ulthrani-Quendi War

But all those operations were soon to be dwarfed by the Ulthrani-Quendi War. When the Empire of Ulthran declared war on the People's Empire of the Quendi in 6IR, the United Empire remained true to its allies and entered the war as well.

Fort Aquilaine, Imperial Residence, 6IR

Grand Empress Felicia sat at her desk, going through some paperwork, when somebody knocked at her door. "Enter!" The door opened, and a man in the black uniform of the Aquiline Guard entered the room and saluted. "Mylady, urgent message from your sister." The Empress nodded. "Put it down on the desk, sergeant." The Guard put the document on the desk, saluted again, and left the room. Felicia took the sheet of paper and read through it. Then, she called for her most trusted commander - Grand Admiral Violet Helinniel Moonfire. When Moonfire entered the room, she immediately knew that something was wrong. She saluted. "You called, mylady?" Felicia pointed to a chair in front of her desk. "Sit down, Vi. We have much to discuss, for the Empire once again finds itself at war."

Six hours later, a force had been assembled to reinforce the Quendi. Moonfire stood on the bridge of her new flagship, IAS Blade's Edge, looking over her fleet. When everything was ready, the ships left Port Lawrence for the Quendi motherland.

by **Bladia Imperia** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 10:39 am

OOC:Going to jump to a Bladian version of the book here Ulthrani

Extract from : The Brave Few, The Quendi-Ulthrani Hell

"The news came to me from a trusted adviser, he looked at me and simply said "It's happened, Pristina, new years", I immediately understood what he meant and placed my head down in annoyance, I ordered the 8th legion gear up for battle, There were times before when Bladia would of sent 20 legions to help the Quendians but I wasn't going to risk so many men of Bladia for a nation that cut off all ties with the outside world including Bladia and we hadn't had contact with in a while but I deemed it necessary to show Bladia was still there, along with the 8th legion I also ordered the 9th Fleet into the waters around Pristina to attempt to scare off the Ulthranians, if only that worked" -King Caranthir Amandil

by **Bladia Imperia** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 10:40 am

The fleet entered Quendian waters, the fleet had only been not far away from Quendian waters because of certain secret orders, the admiral Faeron Aeraethlal barely knew what was going on, he had been ordered into battle formation and was to proceed to Pristina, Quendia ad fight off the Ulthrani invaders, the news had shocked him

"Ulthranian invaders, what the hell is going on" he said out loud

"I don't know sir" was the response he got from the XO

"We have no functioning Longsword radar, , several of the cruisers have minimal ammo and several of the frigates are barely running, oh the joy of the 9th" the admiral said out loud as they neared Pristina and came into veiw of the Quendian homland, they didn't even see the Ulthranian attack coming...

OOC:Ulthrani this is your part to RP into ^^

The 8th Legion was preparing to move, they loaded their gear and prepared themselves for the hell that would be coming, they entered their transports and sat in their seats few really happy for the incoming battles, the transports slowly took off and towards the Quendian Homeland

by **Of the Quendi** » Sun Jan 09, 2011 2:33 am

Extract from:
Lady Ildera Miolandras "Liber Quendisium Magna" volume eleven "Bellum Ulthranium et Novus Ordnum Imperium Alcedinnes"

Chapter nine

It has never been clarified how the ulthrani fleet managed to get so close to our shores while avoiding detection. While certainly the vastness of Mare Nostrum makes it impossible, even today, to scout all of it the fact that the ulthranians managed to get close enough to attack Romenea almost make one religious. The ulthranian commander must have been the luckiest man in the world.

When people nowadays ask how the ulthranian campaign where initially so succesful we tell them about the chaos following the surprise attacks on Romenea and Pristina, the demobilized military, the absence of the First Fleet, the decision by the government not to take the attack seriously, the state our lands was in after the civil war, the amazing luck of the ulthranians and the general demoralization among our people. If just one or two of these factors had not applied it is probarbly unlikely that the ulthranians would ever have even reached our shores.

But they did, and while we fought back like savages we where unprepared to face them. The celebration of newyear had left our defenses with almost no manpower. That newyear was the saddest since 1240. It was of course cancelled. The ritual never took place so technically we now write the year 1508 not 1509. I only recall one other occassion when the ritual didn't took place. That year the bride and groom was both to busy preparing for war to complete the ritual, both of them would serve their country with honor before the war ended.

Romenea, Arandor, La Imperium Populi

Disaster. It was the only way to describe the surprise attack. The recently promoted arch navarch Althanas Alcedina was shocked at the damage his fourth fleet had taken. Just two weeks prior the Fourth Fleet had replaced the First Fleet in the harbor of Romenea. With the civil war over the First had reassumed its role as the primary means of force projection towards the more rebellious colonies. As a result the far smaller and less powerful fourth fleet had taken over guard duties at Romenea. Now dozens of smaller ships where sinking in the bay. "Call the Supreme High Chancellor immediately." Althanas sneered at one of his officers while putting on his uniform. He had been sleeping when the attack occured. So had many of his officers while the soldiers where spending time in the city already celebrating the newyear a day before it would occur.

"Whats the status of the fleet?" Althanas asked looking around at the sleepy officers most of whom where still shocked at the sudden arrival of the enemy. A young praefectus who had difficulties keeping his emotions under control saluted the arch navarch, "Most of our frigates, corvettes and destroyers are sinking. A few cruisers have also taken damage but most of them, our battlecruisers and the MIS Mingtang are afloat though damaged." Althanas nodded "And the carriers?" He asked fearing the response. The young praefectus hesitated for a moment causing Althanas to sigh knowing the reply. "One of the super carriers and two of the escort carriers survived, the rest are finished." The praefectus said. Three super carriers and five escort carriers lost. It was truely a disaster.

Finaly getting his uniform on Althanas hurried out of his room towards the control room with his officers following him. "I want whoever did this to pay for it." He sneered. "They can't be far away, search the entire bay and once you find them have the MIS Mingtang give them a lesson. Our navy may be doomed but we are going to take what we can with us." The officer nodded in agreement, as quendi soldiers they where not ones to show emotion but the anger and hatred was clear in their movements.

About twenty minuttes after the attack had occured a half dozen SM-10 Daimyo Maritime Search & Destroy Aircraft went into air from two different airfields east of the bay. With a radar range of more then 500 kilometers the planes where the most sophisticated search aircrafts in the Quendi Navy. If anyone could trace the enemy it would be those planes.
The planes was supplemented by the four [url]Seadragon class submarines[/url] and twelve seawolf class submarines that had avoided being hit.

Pristina, Shanti-Aglarond, La Imperium Populi

It had been a dull day in Pristina. With the Shazbodor Palace lying empty while the Prince-Regents prepared to celebrate Newyear in Armenelos the city had allowed peace and tranquility to settle. The sudden unexpected arrival of enemy helicopters was a shock to both the civilian populace and the military leaders. Located far to the south on the continent Pristina had never been prepared for war in the way the northern and western parts of the nation had. With enemy forces in the city arch strategos Anyouleme ordered those of his troops who had not fallen in the attack on the military centers to prepare to fight back. With his troops scathered around the city he was however well aware that he could only hope to delay the inevitable. For the first time in history a major quendi city was under attack from a foreign invader. While fighting the enemy infantry would prove difficult Anyouleme however had and advantage. During the Quendisphere Crisis several Skyguard batteries had been stationed to defend the Shazbodor Palace from a nuclear strike. Now they would serve to shoot down the enemy helicopters. A couple of minuttes after the attack commenced the Skyguard batteries opened fire. More then four hundred of their long range SAM's flew towards the enemy helicopters while and additional 300 SALY28 surface to air missiles was fired by LY7/222 King Shepherd Anti-Aircraft Systems. If there was one area where Pristina's defences was perfect it was in its ability to counter air attacks. Much less optimistic was arch navarch Anyouleme when it came to his infantry. With most of them being around the city and even outside the city pre celebrating and performing rituals of their own he only had about 3,000 mobilized infantry. The only good thing was that six hundred praetorians from Shazbodor Palace was in town. They at least was ready for battle. With the 3,600 soldiers running down towards the harbor firing against all groups of enemy soldiers they came about the arch strategos began preparing an actual defense.

by **Aquilinia** » Sun Jan 09, 2011 3:24 am

Excerpt from: Jonathan Miles, History of the Aquiline Guard

When the fleet arrived in the Quendi mainland, they found a picture of carnage. The Ulthranian troops were right now overrunning the Quendi, and there was no spot in sight where the First Legion could land.

Bridge, IAS Blade's Edge

"Admiral!" The voice of the radar officer sounded across the bridge. "We have an enemy fleet on our radars, which means that they will be able to see us very soon." Moonfire nodded. "Right. Can you determine the fleet's composition yet?" The officer shook his head. "Negatory, ma'am. There's another fleet nearby, no clue who those are, though. Should we send a few drones out for recon?" "Yes, do that, lieutenant." While the radar officer went to work, Violet went over to her 2i/c. "Commander! Signal the fleet, all ships battle stations, enemy on radar! Ready the missile batteries, and have the carriers set a squadron each on immediate stand-by. As soon as we know what we're dealing with, I want those aircraft up in the air ready to strike. Also, have a few of the smaller ships form a perimeter around the transports, if we lose one of them, we'll have a problem." The Commander saluted, and went on the radio to transmit the orders.

The Grand Admiral looked out over her fleet. Most of the ships were Lyran designs, as were half of the aircraft, and all armour used by the ground troops. As far as she knew, the Quendi also used Lyran Arms, as well as the Bladians, so it would be easily possible to help each other out. The only thing she was concerned about was the combat capabilities of her own flagship. Once known as ANS Lord Protector, it had been the pride of the Aquilinian navy during the Cold War era, when battleships were still used. It had been in refit for almost ten years, and now the only thing that reminded of the ship's origins was its hull shape, which still was that of an ancient Japanese Yamato-class. Everything else had been replaced, though. The ship was now armed with almost the same missile batteries used on a Longsword Supercapital - albeit in far lower numbers - and the most recent defence and radar systems available. It had even been planned to install a Longsword radar system, but the Engineers at the Port Lawrence dockyard had given up on that, using the long-range radar of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier instead. It was a fine ship, but Moonfire would still have preferred a dedicated design. Designing and building a new ship, however, takes quite some time, and the Blade's Edge had been ready shortly after her promotion to Grand Admiral. And now the ship would finally get an opportunity to prove its worth.

OOC: The two fleets detected are the Bladian fleet and whatever Ulthranian fleet attacks them. It would be nice if you could give ORBATs, so I know what I will be facing.

by **Reformed Britannia** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 7:43 pm

The Britannian transport fleet finally arrived in the Quendi, and using their limited knowledge of the front, hastily set about finding a suitable position to land. They settled for an area just behind Pristina, as it was deemed that city held great cultural signifigance to the Quendi people, and its loss would probably prove devastating to their morale. Regardless, the B.E.F. soldiers weren't expecting a heavy fight; they believed that the armed forces of the Quendi would prove more than adequate to drive back the invaders.

The first wave of soldiers came ashore in EVTs, to make sure that there was no hostile resistance; the rest of the force soon followed, and soon, the transport ships crept towards the shore. General Keller, the commander of this force, went ashore quite some time after the last troops had disembarked; this was a bad sign. Britannian military leaders usually prided themselves on the fact that they did not shy away from the front; indeed, in the Gibetan War, Field Marshal Cunningham himself had refused to evacuate his headquarters when Gibetan Fallschirmjaegers were on the brink of overrunning it. The battle in question wound up being the most decisive Britannian victory of the war-the battle of Munich.

More unsettling to the troops-and certainly more visible-was the lack of experience their NCOs and officers had. Even if they'd had experienced officers, a proverb in the army went 'an officer is only as good as his NCOs' and back in the day, the B.E.F. had some of the best of both. Nowadays, peace had 'slackened' the strength of the B.E.F.'s officer & NCO corps-many had no combat experience and hadn't developed leadership skills. In fact, on the whole, the NCOs probably had more combat experience man for man than the officer corps.

All this was overlooked, however, by General Keller, who placed supreme faith in the Britannian infantryman's abilities in a sit-down drag-out firefight. Wielding lethal R2 weapons, Britannian infantrymen were drilled endlessly on firing with speed and precision-in fact, substantial cash prizes were awarded to whoever could hit the largest number of targets at the firing range to encourage high marksmanship skills. To Keller, the infantryman still dominated the battlefield, with things such as armour and air support playing a minor background role.

As soon as the army began to come ashore, however, Keller began demonstrating his one true strength-logistics organisation. Immediately, he began examining the best areas to set up fuel and ammo depots, as well as the most efficient routes to run supplies from said depots to the front line in the event of a battle. The force had brought an ample amount of LRRVs and other utility vehicles with them, so keeping them supplied would be crucial to the army's organic recon capacity.

For now, Keller posted two regiments in advance of the B.E.F. to act as 'scouts'; the King's Own Kensington Rifles, famous for its numerous exploits throughout history and especially during the Saladin War, the Gibetan War and the First Ryouese War, and the Royal Hibernian Regiment, a regiment which was equally famed for the fighting spirit of its Hibernian soldiers, and its fearsome warcry of 'faugh a ballagh', which meant 'clear the way' in Hibernian.

The Rifles were posted in advance of the Royal Hibernians, acting as the 'advance' portion of the frontal deployment. The Royal Hibernians were merely there to cover the Rifles if they needed to pull back, or if Keller decided to relieve the Rifles of their duty for the night.

by **Ulthran Imperia Admin** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:31 pm

OOC: Edited due to common sense

Somewhere off the Coast
Quendi
February 28th 2011 (Ulthranian Military Calender)

Havoc.
Mayhem.
Dismay.
Those were the words that would easily describe the situation developing infront of the eyes of Fleet-Master Aulus Callisunus, the commander of the battle-cluster that was infront of the Divine Armada. Missile barrages from flying Renthorian F-35Cs hit the Longsword, of which four had penetrated the missile bays, causing a rocketting explosion. The battle-groups had made a field day of the Bladian fleet, which was like a wounded dog to a pack of wolves. The cruisers were low on munitions, which gave the much heavier armed vessels target practice. Missile upon missile impacted the vessels. The butchering was too much for Admiral Callisunus, to whom he called to all his forces

"Hold your fire, this is not battle, this is a lamb to the slaughter, collect the enemy survivors and destroy any survivors attempting to flee" the Fleet-Master said through his intercom, however, AWACs had spotted additional enemy forces coming down on the murdering ships. Admiral Callisunus wanted to claim a glorious victory by defeating the Longsword and the resisting Bladians proved too much to simply let down. He called upon one of the battle group's commander onto the Intercom
"Commodore McNamera, come in over" the Admiral called once, getting a quick reply back, the Admiral continued to speak "I'd recommend you keep a frontal defensive position, perhaps they'll wise up and not even attack.
"Heh heh, I'll get right on it sir, out" the Commodore ordered his ships to get into staggered line outside the killzone. They were going to provide frontal support and hope nothing would come of it.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Pristina, Quendi
February 28th 2011 (Ulthranian Military Calender)

The swarm of missiles, so close to the harbour, were able to be intercepted by some of the freighter’s installed CIWS, but the reality was that they could not stop all four hundred missiles and subsequently, nearly eighty helicopters were destroyed by the barrage of missiles, almost an entire battalion-worth of helicopters and infantry were killed or wounded/damaged. Roderick could see the havoc from the ground, but he could not do anything about it now. They pressed forward, it’s all they could do, was move forward.

“Serpent 1-5, this is Serpent Leader” Captain Chavez said through his intercom, pausing for a brief second “We cannot progress if those King Shepherds are still active, I need you to find a point of access and target those installations, we need those helicopters to advance till the Cyinican 9th Army arrives, Pristina will fall by dinner time tropas, let’s get the job done, out” Roderick and his men drank from their canteen, checked their AK-103s and began to advance. Moving up the street, they found a platoon of fellow Peinivians securing a crash-site and holding Quendians down the road. A corporal holding the position screamed to them, trying to get his voice over the shouting and gunfire.

“We heard the radio, you guys need to get to that clock tower, it has a prime position to some of the Que AAA” the corporal takes a bullet to his thigh and falls to the ground as Roderick and his squad run through the alleyway to the Clock tower, which has a nice blown out hole from one of the Skyguard batteries firing upwards and attempted to track a Huey but smacked into the clock tower. Before long Roderick and his squad were climbing the stairs, bullets were flying at them as they took cover here and there but inevitably got to the top. From there, they found what appeared to be a King Shepherd group, seven of the vehicles that was more than likely an air defence company. Using the target designator within the squad, they were able to pinpoint the King Shepherds in time before one of the them aimed their cannons up at the clock tower and fired, destroying the tower. Within a matter of seconds, artillery shells rained upon the enemy like a firestorm.

By that time, the forward elements of the Cyinican 9th Army began to land, with more vessels and support on the way, and Quendi troops outnumbered 16 to 1, Pristina would fall within a matter of hours.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Romenea Naval Base, Quendi

If there ever was a hell, Romenea would have been the perfect fit. By the time the Quendian ships were operational for combat, the Commonwealth fleet had entered the bay. Within moments, the vessels, only within a few hundred metres of each other, fired broadside on one another. But the madness had yet to begin, in the morass of sunken and sinking ships, anarchy soon sparked, when a Cyinican Cruiser slammed into the side of a Hood-Class Battlecruiser. The sky above was filled to the brink of with combatting aircraft, dogfighting their way into the gates of hell. The battle then turned from a sea battle into a full-fledge naval infantry combat.

John Issac, a sergeant apart of the CCMC (Cyinican Colonial Marine Corps) prepped his men to storm the Battlecruiser and then storm the base itself. Firefights were occuring on the transfused vessels between Commonwealth and Quendi crew. The madness had just begun.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Command Centre, UINV "Retribution"
Divine Armada, Quendi Territorial Waters
(950km from the coast)
February 28th, 2011

"My league, the Quendi within Pristina are on the run, within three hours, my forces will overwhelm them." Cyinican General Samuel Armstrong told his commanders on the flagship of a 1000 fleet vessel heading for Quendi. Most of the vessels were transport vessels, taking supplies and troops to the continent. A solid two hundred and fifty of the vessels in this bigger fleet were military vessels. Some called it a navy, as the military protection contingent was about the size of an entire navy.
"Excellent work Armstrong, remain vigilant, they may be weak, but they have some form of will left in them, otherwise they wouldn't resist" Aurelius told him before he signed off, and as he did so he stood up and began talking to the higher commanders.
"From what advisors tell me, all objectives from all twenty breach points have been accomplished. Romenea Naval Base, such a vital position for the Quendi, has been annhiliated. Pristina, as you all heard, will fall by sunrise. And funnily enough, our greatest point is Landing Zone Bravo Sixteen, which is where the Ulthranian 3rd "True-Blood" Division landed, they have suffered ten casualties" The other commanders scoffed at the idea that it was that successful, then some laughed with amazement.
"Ten casualties, that is Iron Legion worthy" General Volkenhelm, in his full military dress and gas-mask replied. "What did they face?" The Imperial Commander nearly laughed when he told them

"Well, they faced two divisions, the enemy either fought back pitifully or just surrendered" Aurelius was amazed at how low casualties across the board were. He had expected no less than 19,000 casualties, but the reality was that it had hit so fast, without warning, that casualties stand at no more than 5,000. Quin Commander Lee Cheung stood up and stated.
"Brother, we have word that the Britannians have sent their prestigious units to the outskirts of Pristina and you have ordered my conscripts to a coastal town, I fear they will not match the acceptal requirements I, nor any of you will tolerate" Cheung sat down, and Aurelius told him clearly the following:

"The Britannians are not to be worried about my brother, I hear that Volkenhelm has dispatched a Iron Legion to march and destroy the Britannian blockade. As for your lovely and, let's not lie, expendable conscripts, they are to face a very light resistance. So be calm my friend, all will be well" He concluded the meeting by saying "Gentlemen, your orders are set and your missions primed. All roads lead to Armenelos brothers and sisters, I want to be in that city by the last day of March."

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Porognas, Quendi

Park-Li Sun, an experienced officer in his own right, jumped from the boat and onto the sandy bank as hundreds of other men and women joined his advanced. He screamed for them to form up in their dialect, and with fearful precision, they did as they were told. Within half an hour the Quin conscripts prepared to advance, before that though, Park Li ordered
"Fix bayonets!"

by **Siberian_Peoples** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:30 am

Extract from the Diary of Sgt. Sergei Vilipofovich Hizky,
2nd Siberian Support Contingent Division, 1/4 Regiment, Omsk Oblast,
Siberian Support Army.

Life is good with the Ulthrians. Well trained troops, excellent Commanders, ours look like shit compared to theirs. One man, a friend, Vasili, he seems to have lost all hope - war does this to a man. What he said to me earlier was... harrowing. He committed himself to his inevitable end, despite the fact life is good here.

"For life, I do not care. All hope is gone, drained from my body, every ounce of being within me has flown like a river. The Ulthrians took it from me, with an relentless greed. Their volleys and bombs strike down friend upon friend upon friend. I have seen families die, I have seen horses and dogs by the roadside - dead. Chilling. I have never seen so much chaos or death before, but all of a sudden, it seems to strike me like a brick wall. It fills the air, and it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. I care not for life, I wish it only to end."

He then proceeded to raise his head above the makeshift parapet, only for a bullet to strike him instantly in the forehead. The poetic words still resonate through my head. He had willingly committed suicide, and with no regard for the rest of the world, committed himself to the doom which encroached upon his soul - his fate.

Troops in the countrysides and smaller villages of Quendi often saw such horrors and travesties, the willingness, and readiness, to die was immense. Some troops, troops like Vasili Reznya and Sergei, entrenched themselves to avoid the hail of bullets upon them. These makeshift shelters became like safe havens for the troops, and soon became their homes. Siberian troops were often referred to as troglodytes. It was only Siberian troops that entrenched themselves, these tactics were taught to them in outdated military handbooks, which could well have been the source of the failure of them. These troops were often not actual Siberian army divisions, rather contingents within Quendist and Ulthranian divisions and regiments. Since the Quendi-Ulthranian war, the military has been reformed.

There were few cases where they did so in the cities, one case is the case of Vasili and Reznya.

Letter to the family of Capitan Egor Efimavich Kirill,
8th Siberian Support Contingent Division, 1/2 Regiment, Jewish Autonomous Oblast,
Siberian Support Army.

This is a travesty. I can't believe that some of the other Siberians have been split and sent to the Quendi armies. We have been split off from them, brothers pitted against each other, this is an outrage, and I can't believe it. Alas, life goes on - barely. Life here with the Ulthranians is good, food is plentiful, water seems endless, the troops kind and well trained. They are nice people, and excellent soldiers.

Just the other day I saw an Ulthrian enter a village, alone as he was ahead of the rest of his squad, and single handedly cleared the village of Quendi troops. It was a magnificent feat of valour and courage - I had grown to respect him. That is of course until he was hit by an artillery shell. He disappeared from the face of the earth altogether. Gone, he simply vaporised. A sad day.

Despite all of this, I still enjoy life here. Meeting new people, learning new things. I wonder how it is in the capital, or how life is for the Quendi troops.

Sincerely,
Your loving son Egor.

Egor died later that day, struck by a bullet in the shoulder. The wound became infected and gangrenous, he died from his wounds on the operating table. Such sorrow stuck the lives of many in the Great War. In retrospect, such a war should never have been started in the first place.

0900 Hours,
Armenelos Outskirts,
Quendi.

The Siberian Contingent had arrived the day before, sent there by high command, they had been tasked with helping the Ulthranian troops in their attacks. The troops had done so in a compliant fashion, and continued on with their orders. The attacks, however, were unscheduled, or at least to the knowledge of Siberian Generals, so when the attacks happened, the Siberian troops were somewhat surprised.

"Sir!" The voice quiet, and barely uttered. Panting, the private ran into the tent, inside which stood the General. "The Ulthranians are moving again, towards the capital. What shall we do?"

"Do as they do." The General stood. His eyes grey, looking at those of the Private. The General used to be full of life and happiness - before the Great War. "Follow them, obey their Generals. I have to wait here and continue with my work."

"Yes sir." The Private ran from the tent, back towards the small group of Siberian men. The contingent was small here, most of the forces sent from Siberia had been killed in the prior attacks. The men tended to stick together - Siberians didn't much socialise with the Ulthranians because most didn't speak the language. These troops became brothers in arms, they began to care for each other, look out for each other. The men had their Generals, but they were barely used. The Generals usually just sat in their tents, tending to the paperwork that never materialised.

This caused bitterness to the Generals, the Ulthranians were different however. Kind, always with the troops, it would seem.

"Look, we're moving." The troops around them had began to stand and walk, some of them sauntered and were slow starting, but most were quick paced and tried to keep at the front, not wishing to miss out on the action.

"Siberians, halt!" The shout came back from the tents, it was the General. "Come back here troops!"

"What the hell are they doing? This war is poorly commanded, they're all over the place..." One of the men commented, criticising the actions of his leader. The men made their way to the tent, and upon arriving were somewhat excited.

"Ok, you're probably wondering why I've asked you back, but you're going to appreciate this, I assure you."

"I doubt it..."

"Quiet Private. Ok, I know you've seen a lot of action, and you probably want a respite, well, unfortunately I cannot give you one y-" The General was interrupted before he could finish before an outcry of disapproval.

"What are you doing, you idiot!? You call us here, you get our hopes up only to dash them once again. I can't believe it, so many have died and yet you can't even let us have a little break!? You bastard!" The man lunged before being restrained and pulled back.

"I could have you Court Marshalled for this!" The General shouted. "Now let me finish... We will let you man the artillery guns. You can stay back here, we'll feed you co-ordinates and you'll be bombarding the city."

The men cheered, this was not as good as good as leave, but it was as close as they would get.

"Now go to the guns, here are your first set of co-ordinates." The General passed the men co-ordinates. The men left the tent and upon arriving at the unmanned guns, began to load and fire them.

by **Aquilinia** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 10:27 am

"Admiral!" The radar officer sounded very concerned indeed. "Look at these images." He pointed to his screen, showing what the recon drones' cameras saw: a fleet of Ulthranian warships, and the smoking, burning hull of what once was a Longsword. "By the Six..." Violet couldn't believe her eyes. "Commander! New orders!" The 2i/c, who had just finished transmitting the first set of orders to the fleet, turned around. "Yes, Grand Admiral?" "All ships, battle stations, defensive formation. The carriers are to scramble a squadron each, to fly close air support over the fleet, replace squadrons every 45 minutes. The enemy has enough firepower to knock out a Longsword. Nobody is to attack unless attacked first. Defend the transports at all costs!" The commander saluted, and went back to the radio. The Grand Admiral, meanwhile, went over to the navigational officer. "Lieutenant, set a course that takes us away from those Ulthranians. And then, get us...there." She pointed to a location on the Quendian coast, six hundred miles away from all fighting. "We need to get our forces on land, quickly."

Excerpt from: My Life on the Ocean Waves by Grand Admiral (retd.) Lady Violet Helinniel Moonfire

After all that time, I still wonder if I could have changed the course of the war by attacking the Ulthranian fleet that day. Sure, maybe we would have been able to severely weaken the Ulthranian fleet, but at what cost? Some people accused me of cowardice back then, but looking back, I am even more convinced that I made the right choice. If the Aquilinian force had been lost that day - I dare not imagine the consequences.

Six hours later, 600 miles from Pristina, Quendi

Brigadier Webb had joined the Grand Admiral on the Bridge of IAS Blade's Edge. Two hours ago, the landing operation had commenced, and it had gone well up to this point. Most of the LY9 Tanks were already on land, as were half the Guardsmen, all Skyguard batteries, 100 Ironhearts, the command vehicles, 10 of the Manticores, and all helicopters. The landing was expected to be complete in two more hours, and then the war would begin properly. Twelve F-22 Raptors in three groups of four were flying combat patrols over the landing area, and all units were ready for battle at any time. The Grand Admiral had decided to land on a shallow beach, since the enemy seemed to focus on destroying the Quendian ports. Now, they only needed to know where to go. So, the Grand Admiral sent a message to the Quendi high command.

Code: Select all: TO THE QUENDI HIGH COMMAND. HIGHEST ENCRYPTION, CODE 77-A2 Esteemed Allies, I am glad to inform you that our forces have now landed at the following coordinates <xxx/yyy>. We request guidance on where to move our forces. Signed, GrAdm Moonfire

by **Bladia Imperia** » Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:21 am

Porognas, Quendi

The men looked through the darkness from their cover, they watched the enemy get close, the 8th waited until they were in the killzone, the area where the enemy wouldn't have room to react quick enough, the men got up out of their cover, their black armour and camouflage made them unseeable at 03:00, they started jogging towards the enemy making barely a sound as they silently charge their enemies, when they were within 30 meters the enemy spotted them and prepared to defend themselves but they were caught off guard as around 10 meters infront of them from the ground figures appeared climbing up and charging the soldiers with bayonets, soon reinforced by the rest of the 8th legion, they engaged in battle

Private Maewë Birviel was one of the first into the fray, he bayoneted one enemy in the chest causing him to fall to his death, then he used his bayonet to slash another enemies throat who clutched his throat and bled to death, he them charged someone who appeared to be some sort of NCO and went straight for the neck...

by **Of the Quendi** » Sat Jan 15, 2011 8:29 am

OOC: The very rationale of this RP is very likely quite unrealistic. The idea of a force getting close enough to Romenea, or any part of the continent for that matter, to launch a strike with anything but intercontinental ballistic missiles is unlikely to say the least. But despite the fact that the RP is based around a very unrealistic event lets try to keep it real. Armenelos, the city of kings, is located probarbly 2,500 kilometers from Romenea, which is the closest coastline (with the southern ocean as a possible, albeit unlikely, exception) to the city. Therefore you can't have you troops there Siberian_Peoples you have to land them somewhere first. As for getting ships so far into the bay that they can fire shells and board my ships I will let it slide in order to end the naval part of the war quickly.

Furthermore what the hell is Porognas and how did it come to lie in my nation? :blink:

Extract from:
Lady Ildera Miolandras "Liber Quendisium Magna" volume eleven "Bellum Ulthranium et Novus Ordnum Imperium Alcedinnes"

Chapter ten

Two weeks ago I attended a lecture by professor William McNamara of Darche University about the political climate of La Imperium Populi at the time of the onset of the war. Normally I don't have the time to listen to every foreign guest at Darche but this particular professor has earned quite a repute in the anglo-american world for his work and since our own political scientist lacks the courage to disect the decissions made by the administration in the first period of the war I found that I needed some foreign perspective. While McNamara was definately a barbarian he proved himself a man of great manners and even greater knowledge. Furthermore he did what not one of the hundreds of professors in Darche dared. He defied the Phoenix Throne.

McNamara theorized that it was not as much the attack itself but the reaction of the government that lead to the ulthranian victories at Romenea and Pristina. While I do not dispute the fact that Pristina was lost the moment it was invaded, after all the enemy forces where far superior in numbers, I think the analysis has a certain credibility. Our soldiers, and more importantly our citizens, was willing to fight, and willing to fight to the end. The counterattack of the MIS [i]Empire IV caused tremendous damage to the enemy, had the government authorized it we could have won at Romenea. Our casualties would have been disastrous but we could have won.

But in the end the government dared not to oppose the ulthranians at this early stage in the war. Why did the government not act earlier and with greater strength instead of drawing the war out. So one feel tempted to ask why as professor McNamara did. But since McNamara for all I know is dead people tend not to ask the question. Yet if this is my sole contribution to our shared cultural heritage I shall not fear to ask the question. So to quote Cicero, cui bono?[/i]

MIS Empire IV, Romenea, Arandor, La Imperium Populi

"The enemy has boarded one of our battlecruisers. They are already inside the bay." Sub navarch Haniel Killenddarea shouted as he ran towards the bridge of the massive arsenal ship while pulling his uniform on. "It is as we feared, we have lost all tactical advantages to the enemy and communication is bad." He added saluting his colleague the young dark skinned vice navarch Vraedel Aleanz'ea. The vice navarch sneered. Unlike the rest of the officers aboard the newly constructed first of the Empire IV class ship the vice navarch was considered overly zealous and even vindictive by his peers. Not the best child of the Goddess. But Killenddarea had to admit to himself that there where few men better to fight under in a time of crisis. Which was of course why Aleanz'ea despite his youth and avari blood had been given such a high rank.

As Vraedel Aleanz'ea observed the screens giving him information about the battle the rest of the officers remained silent. No one tried to contact arch navarch Alcedina to get orders from a "real" quendi. No one interrupted the chain of thoughts from the vice navarch. At another time Aleanz'ea would have been moved but at this moment there was no room in either his heart or mind to anything but hate. "The battlecruiser will have to fend for itself." He said immediately gaining the full attention of the officer corps "There is plenty of soldiers on it and we can't spare any of our own. If this is the end of the fourth fleet then we shall make sure that it will also be the end of at least a few enemy ships as well. Fire all our P-900 missiles against the enemy. We will send the bastardly barbarians to Melkor or die trying." The officers nodded and smiled while the manners and civilization fell away from them revealling their true nature.

Moments later the huge vessel, conveniently located near the docks away from the battle fired its 512 VLS cells quad packed with missiles. The 2048 cruise missiles flew towards the larger enemy vessels while ignoring allied ships, small enemy ships and enemy ships such as the cyinican cruiser due to its proximity to a quendi ship.

Aboard the MIS Kirin, the Hood class battlecruiser engaged with the cyinican cruiser the situation was desperate. As on most of the quendi vessels there was only a minimum of crew men aboard due to the festivities that was taken place in the city itself. With only 300 men aboard the rational part of praefectus aquaticus Kaemar Undomiel-Maerimos told him to surrender. But the presence of a half avari was not neccesary to drive the officer into a rage against the invaders. Without hesitation he ordered a P-185 missile fired against the cruiser completely ignoring the fact that his own ship was bound to take some damage itself. Just as the missile was fired the praefectus stroke back against the enemy. From aboard the bridge of the ship the praefectus and his officers threw a couple dozen of handgrenades down on the enemy forces after which the quendi soldiers, lead by forty marines opened fire against the enemy.

It was at that point that Althanas, observing the chaotic battle from the base, received the order from the Tetrarchy to fall back to the city itself. For the first and only time in his twenty six year long life the young arch navarch seriously considered disobeying a direct order. But seeing the seal of not just the Supreme High Chancellor but also Princess-Regent Arabella Alcedina, to whom he was oath sworn, and High Justitaria Alesia Alcedina, whom he greatly admired the young officer chose to obey. Quickly ordering those ships who was not already engaged to block the entrance deeper into the bay he ordered his forces to move around the mountain to reinforce the city from the north. Aboard the MIS Kirin and several other ships the order was initially ignored as the time was not to disengage and praefectus Undomiel-Maerimos continued fighting. Aboard the MIS Empire IV the order was however followed by a disappointed Aleanz'ea.

Pristina, Shanti-Aglarond, La Imperium Populi

A similar order to retreat was given to the forces in Pristina. The Quendi had many capitals and none of them where irreplaceable. The odds did not favor the forces in Pristina and arch strategos Zaekiael Anyouleme knew it. In order to just get his troops organized and ready to put up a real resistance he would need a couple of hours. Hours he didn't have. For a moment the thought of taking the path of honor crossed his mind but then he reread the order. The tetrarchs where clear. Suicide among the soldiers was now considered a crime on the same niveau as treason, mutiny and desertion.

The arch strategos klinged to the order as he ordered his troops to leave a capital of the Quendi to the enemy troops while his forces hurried to the city of Taniel thrity kilometers east north east of Pristina. The arch strategos told himself that at Taniel he would be able to reorganize his troops and launch a counter attack. It was not a real retreat it was just a tactical manouver.

The Great War (Closed)

The Great War (Closed)

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