In its long history the Sameban nation had perhaps never faced such a stark military situation as it did after just over a month of the most recent Endemian War, where it wasn't clear how big the gap was between stunning victory and total collapse. The initial onslaught had been massive and impressive, achieving as much surprise as could have been expected and causing total panic in Eura. The southern foe had already lost upwards of half a million civilians and tens of thousands of troops in combat, a figure that had now probably risen well into six figures. Aircraft carriers and oil rigs had been sunk at sea, with the Euran fleet forced into a time consuming regrouping action. Cities had been bombed with some success, albeit only ones near the border. Most crucially, two Sameban Army corps had broken through the Euran Army central positions on the border, prompting a massive, co-ordinated retreat by the enemy deep into their own territory. It was not a perfect situation to be in though, as the dictator Gartanzo realised while staring down at the strategic map laid out in front of him. He had tuned out the discussion happening around the tabled as he took in the problems that now faced his armies. It transpired that the wooded valleys of northernmost Eura, which had been key battlegrounds in the last war, were proving an unreasonably significant obstacle given that the Eurans were making no clear attempt to hold on to them. Vital bridges and telecommunications links had been blown up during the retreat, and Euran special forces had used concealed positions to call in targeted airstrikes on dozens of chokepoints. Serious casualties were being inflicted even as the advance continued, prompting a serious debate about whether or not to halt the advance and consolidate, or to press on.
A series of nuclear counterstrikes had totally changed the mood the day before. In a display of defiant force, the Eurans had displayed a willingness to go all the way quite ruthlessly. Though it was mostly symbolic, the use of strategic nuclear weapons to destroy the remote Makrose Islands base was quite a shock to the system. It was an important but nevertheless small long range radar facility on an island with a minuscule garrison, in the middle of nowhere, yet the Eurans decided to incinerate it with a hydrogen bomb via an SLBM fired from a sub. It was a message. The other two strikes were using tactical, air launched weapons and much more practical in nature. Pareda Base had been hit in the northeast of Sameba, a crucial focal point for Sameban forces in maintaining control over rebellious regions, wiping out a whole battalion and several key officers. Despite the scale of these attacks they paled in comparison to the importance of the third, a decisive attempt by the Eurans to destroy Sameba's underground nuclear facility in the southwestern mountains of the country, near the border. They didn't have comprehensive information yet, but it appeared that this had been successful. For now at least, Sameba's nuclear ambitions had been cut short. Gartanzo would now only have conventional options, and even if he did have access to more nukes he couldn't use them if the Eurans would respond with their large arsenal. 'There's been enough talk, gentlemen. We need agreement. What would be the ideal course of action? We have the Eurans on the run down the centre, but you keep telling me this may not be a blessing. Convince me.' His most loyal servant, Colonel Beran, looked on aghast. The last month had been a torment for him after he had been deceived into thinking Gartanzo didn't want to pursue a war.
The meeting quickly descended again into a farce of inter service bickering. The air force were desperate to convince Gartanzo that pursuing such an aggressive ground strategy was dangerous, as did the civil service who were concerned about the effect on the already stressed war economy. Their chosen spokesperson bravely stepped forward. 'General sir, we have well over a million men advancing down the centre and they require literally tens of thousands of support vehicles, and hundreds of thousands of support personnel, to move with them if we are to consolidate. I know its difficult to sacrifice momentum but for the sake of our armed forces operating capability, and for the rest of the economy, we must apply the brakes while we have this advantage. We can't catch the Euran advance anyway, and if we do we have a serious risk of being flanked to the west and east simultaneously.' The army spokesperson objected vociferously as expected. His plea was short and simple. 'General, the navy have failed us on strategic terms so far. The air force are clearly too afraid to lose any precious airframes, even in a war. The bureaucrats don't want extra work. But the army? We have delivered you one of the greatest triumphs in Sameban history. Let us finish the job.' A roughly even break in war junta opinion meant that Gartanzo's opinion would be even more decisive than usual. 'You both make fine points, but the latter argument convinces me more. Are we sure that the Eurans haven't got a flanking maneuver in place?' The intelligence chiefs shook their head. 'Nothing to suggest that is the case, General, though it will have occurred to them. As long as we keep reserves in place we can continue an advance.'
'Then it is decided. Make no mistake, our warplan has not changed. We must triumph in the land battle decisively enough to bring the Eurans to terms, before they turn things around. We have a gargantuan army diving deep into them, and they seem paralysed in response. Our target is obvious.' He slammed his hand down on the word "Oakstone" on the map. 'One of their great megacities. The heart of what they call the "Real North". If we can bring this city to its knees, no matter what the cost to our soldiers, then Eura's government may consider terms. Its too late to back down now. Work out how to make it work and get us moving onwards right away.' A call had been made much more rapidly than most had expected. The division was now over at least, because if the last few years had shown anything, it was that Gartanzo's power was insurmountable. When he made the call, everyone else got in line, whether they thought it was right or wrong.
