Metal on Metal [WW1 Steam/Diesel Punk] IC(OPEN)

[Zexania]

On all fronts the situation was bad russia is being overwhelmed

THE CAUCASUS
The russian army attacks the ottomans that are seging astrakhan after several days they are pushed back
A counter offensive was launched its goals were to take sochi grozny and retake volgagrad

the eastern front
The russians armies continued seiging krakow scouts came back with news of austrian troops movements however the 4th army was near and general petro decided he well keep the seige and engage the autrians in battle while in galicia the russian army advances and captures pzermysl
And digs in to face the austrians

In germany the armies in poland continue assaulting the german lined and driving them away from lodz and warsaw
However it came with heavy casualties the russian artillery kept shelling german positions and infatrh charged in protected by iron walls

In romania army group B heads to face the romanian north
Army group C heads for the center while army group A heads for odessa in several days the romanian armies are engaged
The russian generals were determined to push them back.

[Clarcia]

The skydocks, Gibraltar
Admiral of the air William Norfax of the Royal Navy stood overlooking the damaged defenses of Gibraltar. The vital fortress province had been hit pretty hard by Italian forces, but hey held out and the skydock wasn’t very hurt. William just wished that high command would give him his orders. His airfleet was taken from him to fight in El-Alamein and he had been assigned command of a ‘Victoria Class” airship. He’d been told that only three existed and that the ship was extremely confidential to the point where he would only see it once it was deployed. He was concerned that this might be some kind of joke or a suicide mission.

Suddenly, a massive cloud seemed to rise in the distance to the untrained eye. William however was an air admiral and recognized the form as a massive airship. He staggered back as the absolute size of the thing was unveiled. It must have easily been the largest airship he’d ever seen. Only the Germans could have had something close. That’s must’ve been why the other two were reportedly in Scotland, waiting to be deployed. Only a few seconds later, an ensign tapped him on the shoulder and handed him his orders from Downing Street. They were to inmediatley depart in the HMAS Imperator and meet up with the Mediterranean fleet in Cairo and finish off the Central Powers’ Navy once and for all.



El-Alamein



The 5 Nelson-class shielded Airships Georgetown, Lewis, Mary, Sojourner and Cromwell arrived as the German airships began to lay waste to British positions. Their massive deck guns fired at the German air squadrons as the British soldiers put up a heroic defense.



Sudan and Kenya

The British colonial garrison began to establish a solid defense to hold off the Italians until reinforcements and airship support could arrive.

South Africa

The Boer revolt severely delayed the South African pushes into German Namibia and German Tanzania. The Boers were dug in deep and the South Africans were fighting fiercely to push the Boers back to their holes in the North of the South African dominion. They did receive a lot of help from the African volounteers whom were offered the abolition of discriminatory laws if they would fight for the crown.

The Denmark Straits

As the so-called ‘Red Baroness’ made her raid, 5 Royal airships in Copenhagen began to engage the airships firing their deadly shells at close distance above the city. Meanwhile, further inland in Jutland, a task force of 50,000 conscripts from abroad prepared for a naval landing in Gotland. The fleet would then move back to protect Denmark with the other airships.

Messae to Italian Naval Command

Greetings Chaps!

My name is Admiral Horace Hood of the British Mediterranean fleet. I respect your naval prowess from your decimation of the French Navy and the invasion of French North Africa. Because of this I offer a battle of sorts. The entire Italian Mediterranean navy versus the beautiful British fleet. We shall meet 500 miles due east of Malta. If you want to end the war in North Afirca, we offer you a way to do it! What do you say? We can both bring five airships to support as well.



We await your response with vigor,

Grand Admiral Horace Hood

[Retalia]

*President Woodrow Wilson can't make a decision to join the war or not*

[Valtrona]

< STATUS UPDATE ON THE GREAT WAR >

Franco-Italian Front
With the Africa campaign stagnated, the Italian High Command decided to launch another offensive into France. It would be easy, as the French Generals are in such disarray and confusion. A central thrust towards the Rhône River succeeded in seizing various cities. The Italian forces succeeded in occupying the city of Valence, as well as Orange, Carpentras, and Salon. Everything south of the Isère River was under the control of the Italian Military Administration of the Rhône River.

Mediterranean Front
Reports indicate that the Royal Navy is heading towards Egypt in an attempt to engage our naval forces, which aren’t even there... However, a telegram was received by the British Admiralty. They wanted to engage the Regia Marina in an all out battle for naval dominance. Now, after the laughing stopped, the Italian Admiralty agreed to write back. The Regia Marina continued its venture in the Mediterranean, attacking small convoys of British ships.

Sky Front
The Messina-class Heavy Aerocruiser and the Taranto-class Aerodreadnought were officially constructed in Northern Italy. These new classes of ships would be the death of the Entente in the sky war. Newly developed ships and ship classes are being put into production. The skies of Italy are free of Entente airships or bombers, while France is being continuously hampered by the Aeronautica.

Messina-class Heavy Aerocruiser:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/ ... rmat=1000w
Taranto-class Aerodreadnought:
https://bobandsuewilliams.com/images/st ... ship-5.jpg

Africa Front
With French North Africa effectively under Italian Occupation, they set their sights to Egypt. Planned air bombings of Gibraltar were enacted from their new airbases in Algeria and Morocco. Newly conquered ports along the North African coastline secured Italian naval supremacy in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. In Egypt, El Alamein continued to be a stalemate. However, a significant British Air presence forced the Italo-German air fleets to engage the British in the skies. The battle would be long and hard, but Italy did have a superior training program to that of the British (due to the embarrassment of the Italo-Ethiopian War). In East Africa, Italian focus dug in around Tokar and Kassala. Meanwhile, Italian forces in Somalia fall back and prepare defensive positions for the time being. It was deemed a necessary move, in order to preserve Italian soldiers in East Africa. Meanwhile, Italian Marines landed in Socotra island, after securing all neighboring islands. They managed to overwhelm most of the garrison, and with an effective aerial bombardment, Socotra fell within the week.

Response to the British Admiralty:

Greetings! My name is Paolo Thaon di Revel, and I am here to represent the entire Italian Admiralty in our response. We respect your honor and bravery in wanting to fight the Regia Marina in an all out battle for dominance of the Mediterranean. However, we regret to inform you, that we will be respectfully declining you offer.

For you see, we know this’ll be a trap. British honor is just as about certain in war as Romania staying on one side of the war (no offense). The British weren’t honorable when they ambushed a greatly smaller task force with all their might. We would not like to put all our eggs in one basket if I may put it. We’d be glad to continue our skirmishes and smaller battles in the Mediterranean Sea. We’ll see you on the battlefield!

Signed,
- Paolo Thaon di Revel

[1000 Stars]

Spanish Mobilization occurs as 500 thousand troops assemble
(early troops)

The King Has very good relations with The Germans and wishes to join the war on their side

[Retalia]

*The USS Milwaukee goes to Europe to go check what is going on*

[Atheris]

Danske Straits / Østersøen, Danmark, 1915
Danish Straights / Baltic Sea, Denmark, 1914


"Fire on the deck, fire on the deck!"

"God damnit, we're taking water!"

"Please! Help me! I can't die like this!"

"No, no! Don't leave me!"

Admiral A. F. Mazanti Evers looked on from his ship in shock. He was out of range from the bombs, of course, but even through binoculars what was happening was... astonishing.

Men were jumping overboard to escape the flames, only to be gunned down by Swedish aircraft. Men were running onto the decks of the Emperor of Denmark on fire, screaming. The flotilla attached to her was meters under the ocean. The Danish pennant was tattered, looking less like the glorious flag of the Danish realm and more like a blood-stained banner.

...And this was his fault. The damn king. Just a couple of months before, he ordered a massacre in Berlin. The Swedes... this was their response. The seas around the Emperor began to turn red and black, a mix of oil and blood. Flaming parts fell off of the top of the ruined masterpiece, all while he watched. Doing nothing.

And then, it happened.



The Emperor of Denmark went up in her final blaze of glory; an orange glow illuminated the sea around her as she finally gave up.

The pride of the Danish navy was no more.

---

København, Danmarks hovedstad, 1914
Copenhagen, Capital City of Denmark, 1914

"Good news, Iceland has gathered enough troops and they've arrived to man the Swedish front. Of course, you know what this means."

"I've seen it with my own eyes."

"...Yes, we have."

"They have violated our trust..."

The King... he was unusually tense. He did the same thing to Berlin, but even the Kaiser wasn't as tense as him; veins were forming in his hand and head.

And then, he exploded.

"THOSE DAMN TREACHERY-FILLED MISTAKES OF A NORTHERN COUNTRY! I KNEW WE COULDN'T TRUST THEM! THEY LIED TO OUR FACES, AND THEN WHEN WE LEAST EXPECTED IT, TOOK A KNIFE AND DUG IT STRAIGHT INTO OUR BACKS! WE... we were BROTHERS! BRETHREN OF THE NORTH! But they... they... they have deceived us time and time again. 1448. 1523. And eleven times, 1521 to 1814. But no longer. Now, they will know fire and fury. FIRE AND FURY LIKE IT HAS NEVER BEEN UNLEASHED ON THEIR COUNTRY!"

"Y-Your Highness! You aren't suggesting!"

"...Send the Guds Hånd. To the brim, bombs. Planes. Destroy their fleet, their capital, their country. Leave nothing left. And when I mean nothing...

...make Berlin look like child's play."

"... I can't do that, Your Highness."

"...Why not?"

"Because... unlike Berlin, this would be deliberate. Our allies would abandon us."

"...Fine! Just... strike industry. Infrastructure. But there is one target that I want to make sure you hit..."

And he pulled out a picture of Stockholm Palace.

"Don't target the building directly. Just bombs, here and there. Make sure they get the message; next time we won't be so... hesitant."

The head stood dumbfounded, then cleared his throat.

"Yes, Your Highness."

[Retalia]

*The USS Milwaukee reaches the coast of france*

[Valtrona]

< HOLY SEE >

Pope Julius IV looks outside of his mansion’s balcony. His advisors wouldn’t allow him to leave Rome, let alone Italy. They were very fearful about the life of Pope Julius IV, and didn’t want him to end up dying. He had just finished a meeting with King Victor Emmanuel III, in order to finally end the Roman Question. The two eventually agreed to make a compromise, referred to as the Lateran Treaty.

The Kingdom of Italy would recognize Vatican City as an independent state, with the Italian government agreeing to give the Roman Catholic Church financial compensation for the loss of the Papal States. A concordat regulating relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Italy. In exchange, the Holy See would recognize Italian sovereignty over the formal lands of the Papal States. The Holy See limited its request for indemnity for the loss of the Papal States and of ecclesiastical property confiscated by the Italian State to much less than would have been due to it under the Law of Guarantees. Pope Julius IV would also allow all Catholics to vote in any elections.

This was the first step to actual reform within the Roman Catholic Church, as the new Pope would be willing to make compromises and reform the Church to the changing times. Pope Julius IV called a council to address various issues that plagued the Church. The meeting was to be held in the Vatican, and all available Cardinals were to meet and discuss matters of the Church. What Pope Julius IV hoped to do, was to convince the Cardinals and Bishops that reform was necessary, and needed to be enacted. It would be a challenge, but with the backing of the Italian government, they were surely going to enact reform to the Roman Catholic Church.

[The neo glactic empire]

arabia
The ottoman army advances into oman and captures the city of muscat while a small naval invasion lands in bahrain and captures the rather tiny island after minor skirmishes with local garrisons

the caucasus
Grozny and sochi came under heavy bombardment and the seige of astrakhan was stopped the offensive was at risk
Thus a major push started the city of volgagrad fell and a detachment was sent to flank the russian armies in astakhan while the armt that was seiging it well stop the retreat and push north and ensircle all russian forces in astrakhan meanwhile ottoman armies battle russian troops inside the cities of volgodonsk and roston on donsk
While in crimea the front is stagnat and hasnt changed

africa
In africa a new offensive started the artillery starts shelling british positions and the airships raid and bomb the british supply lines ports such as port said suffer heavy bombardment and british red sea ports are devestated by air ship raids.

[Retalia]

arabia
The ottoman army advances into oman and captures the city of muscat while a small naval invasion lands in bahrain and captures the rather tiny island after minor skirmishes with local garrisons

the caucasus
Grozny and sochi came under heavy bombardment and the seige of astrakhan was stopped the offensive was at risk
Thus a major push started the city of volgagrad fell and a detachment was sent to flank the russian armies in astakhan while the armt that was seiging it well stop the retreat and push north and ensircle all russian forces in astrakhan meanwhile ottoman armies battle russian troops inside the cities of volgodonsk and roston on donsk
While in crimea the front is stagnat and hasnt changed

africa
In africa a new offensive started the artillery starts shelling british positions and the airships raid and bomb the british supply lines ports such as port said suffer heavy bombardment and british red sea ports are devestated by air ship raids.

MURICA
*President Woodrow Wilson sits in his chair he thinks of a idea to visit the Sultan to talk and get some deals*
*a telegram is sent to the Sultan from President Woodrow Wilson*

[Zexania]

THE CAUCASUS
A general retreat to avoid ensirclment was orderer the russian armies well withdraw from the front and dig in ukraine to stop any ottoman push there.

THE EASTERN FRONT
The reinforcements arrived at krakow now 350k men assault the city supported by 400k men at their flanks artillery shells bomb the city garrison and industry and a charge lead by several hundred iron walls break into the city after firce fighting the sotuhern side of it was captured while in galicia
The armies advance north and flank austrian positions in the north and russian armies attack northern galicia 750k men attack the austrian troops in northern galicia from all sides.

In germany the offensive was called of after some succes but the casualties were to high for now it well stop
And instead the generals focused on eastern prussia an offensive there well secure the safety of st petersburg thus preperations were made.

In romania the russian armies clash with the romanians pushing them away and closer to the romanian border
Army group C pushes the romanian center further away and isolates it from its nearby armies then heads south to attempt an ensirclement against the romanian south supported by army group A




FINLAND
The russian armies at finalnd re group into 3 armies
A1 with 400k men
B1 300k men
C1 300k men
The russian armies attack the swedes at northern finalnd
Iron walls tear through swedish infantry while also bombarding their positions.


In st.petersburg resentment towards the tsar grows
Many men were lost families torn apart and food shortages started how long well this war last?
How long well russia last without its allies?

[Valtrona]

< UPDATE ON THE GREAT WAR >

Franco-Italian Front
The offensive in France continued. A fierce assault on the city of Avignon managed to take the city. Then, Italian forces advanced to the cities of Tarascon and Arles, while advancing towards the city of Voiron. Minor gains were also made across the frontlines, however fierce French counterattacks forced the offensive to be halted. The Italian High Command ordered new trenches and defensive bunkers to be constructed to hold occupied territories.

Cadorna MK2 Diesel Tank:
https://daniel.lawrence.lu/design/tank/tank1.jpg

Air and Naval Front
With the threat of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, it has become apparent within the Italian Admiralty to close secure the straits. The naval bases in North Africa allow for the Regia Marina to patrol the Eastern Mediterranean and secure the Central Mediterranean from Entente naval ships. The French coastline has been effectively blockaded, as all remaining French naval ships have been destroyed or captured by the Regia Marina. The air bases in North Africa allow for a continued bombardment of Gibraltar by the Aeronautica, which will hamper British access to Gibraltar. In Egypt, a planned Ottoman offensive is planned to take the Suez Canal. This will be critical to the Entente war effort, and will result in the British losing the Mediterranean Campaign. The Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea have all be highly contested, delaying British reinforcements to Egypt.



Africa Front
Italian airships begin a prolonged bombardment of Gibraltar, to hamper British ships entering the Mediterranean. Remaining resistance in French Algeria and Morocco have been effectively crushed, with hundreds of thousands captured and sent to POW camps in North Africa. The offensive against the French was regarded as a major strategic victory, and would make it difficult for further British operations within North Africa. Italian Marauders reached the Egyptian front, but are unable to launch any offensives as of now. El Alamein continues to be stagnant, and the lines around Egypt have barely moved at all. The Italians dug in fierce some trenches along the East African Frontlines. Since they were unable to launch any further offensives without reinforcements, they opted for holding the lines until Egypt was conquered. With Socotra under Italian hands, British Access to the Suez is hampered by Italian air raids in the Gulf of Aden.

[Valtrona]

< OPERATION WASSMUSS >

The sun sets on the imperial palace in the city of Tehran, capital of the Qajar Dynasty of Persia. From one of the most feared Empires on Earth, to being at the mercy of the Russians and British. Their people humiliated, their resources exploited by foreign powers, their government forced to appease the Entente at the threat of war. The people were sick of the ruling monarch, Ahmad Shah Qajar, and sick of being pushed around by foreign powers. With unofficial support from the Italians, Iranian revolutionary forces stormed the Shah’s Palace. Under the command of Reza Pahlavi, the Shah and his family were arrested. The ruling Shah was forced to abdicate the throne, and him and the entire Qajar family was slaughtered in the imperial palace.

The Persian Coup d'état of 1915 succeeded in overthrowing the Shah and the Monarchy in its entirety. In its place, a new government was established, based on the U.S. and French governments. Their constitution would be written and officially approved within the coming weeks.They decided to elect Reza Pahlavi as Persia’s first President, and elections for the Parliament would be held in 1916. The new government immediately renewed its neutrality in the Great War,
however, began sending an ultimatum to the Russian and British governments.

Telegram to the Entente:

The people of Persia have been abused and oppressed by the likes of foreign powers for too long. Now, the people have decided to allow this no longer. The Shah is dead, and a new government has been declared in its place. We solemnly promised to protect the interests of our citizens above all else. For this, we declare total independence from foreign powers, and the right to decide our own foreign and economic policy. In addition, we demand for the Occupation of our lands to end. All Anglo-Russian forces will evacuate from Persia within 2 months. If this has not been achieved, then we will be forced to attack and capture these divisions, as they are no different then an invading army to us. We hope that the empires of Great Britain and Russia will make the right decision, especially since they have a war on their hands.

Signed,
- Reza Pahlavi

The news in Persia shocked the nations of the Entente, for in such a short time, Persia has drastically changed. The Italian foreign minister however, was more than pleased. He had just receive a telegram of his own, opening trade between the new Persian Republic and the Kingdom of Italy. Specifically allowing for the sale of Oil and other resources for a slight discount than other nations, even those in the Central Powers. However, the Entente knew that if they intervened, they would open another front. One in which they may not be able to win, especially with the Russians losing ground.

[1000 Stars]

Spanish troops Line up at Gibraltar and The French Border

A total of 700,000 troops are deployed across the Country

King Alfonso XIII Says that The Entente are increasingly Contemptuous towards Spain

[Deutschess Kaiserreich]

Gerald let himself get a brief nights rest. The radio station he worked at had received no noise from their instruments except for the noise of rain smashing against their congregated roof. Outside, the darkness of the night was combatted only by a single candlelight on Gerald's desk. As he closed his eyelids they were awakened by a loud beep-beep-beep coming from the many boxes on his desks. He grabbed a pencil and paper next to him and began writing down the message while he translated it in his head. After many beeps, the radio went silent and Gerald read the note.

"The tide has turned. We march on as freemen of Germania. Begin Operation Bragation.", He read aloud. He knew what it meant and pushed the chair he sat on to the ground and snatched his coat from a hook on the wall. He raced out of the door into the cold and rain waving the paper above his head.

"Operation Bragation has begun!"

Sergei sat in the darkness with the only feeling that he could get from his cold numb body was just the rain and just more cold. The rain sept into every exposed crevice of his jacket. The stupid Tsarist Commanders couldn’t even provide their troops with rain jackets just because, and Sergei was quoting here, “It would soften the troops and make them weak”. Truth is they embezzled the funds for their whores and Vodka. Speaking of Vodka… Sergei wished he had one right now to numb the cold or at the very least bring some warmth to his feet which were now lying in pools of mud in his boots.

Sergei hated his assignment. Why couldn’t he be on the Turkish front? Why sit in a mud-soaked trench freezing his ass off when he fights in the warm fields of Baku and enjoy the sandy beach killing the stupid fez wearing Turks. God… he hated Fez’s and couldn’t explain why. Could it be the stupid bobble thing that hung from the top of the hat or the fact that everyone wearing it was a snobbish idiot?

But honestly, he would prefer a fez-wearing Turk snob, who happened to occupy the rightful Christian hub of Constantinople, over his commanders. They all exploited their positions for their own gain rather than for the gain of the motherland. They did not care about his men and spent their tours of the front in the Barrack’s drinking their stupid expensive Vodka. When they weren’t on the front they would be camped hundreds of miles away in some mansion they earned by selling weapons that could be used by the army to the black market.

He also hated his comrades as well. They were now laughing around a hearty fire drinking far beyond their alcohol rations and playing a game of poker in which the officer had rigged. God h...

He never finished that thought as a piece of lead smashed through his skull and destroyed the thought he had formed. His corpse slumped over the tarp he sat on as the mud and rain slowly buried him. He never saw or felt his death but as he was dying he could still hear. Hear the sounds of more bullets. Hear the sounds of doors being kicked down. Hear the sound of chairs drawing back and lastly before the darkness of death finally submerged him in the pitch black pool he stood over... the sounds of his friends and fellow comrades dying.

Shock troops assult Russian forward positions

Unknown to Sergei he was the first to die in the biggest operation to ever happen. He never knew that he was the first of many to fall in the dark and rain. The German shock troops were the first to enter the outpost. Kill everyone taking shelter and cut the communications to HQ. Some positions held but they were bypassed as the Shock troops made it deeper and deeper into their foes lines. They attacked convoys in the night and killed unprepared reserved troops. Panzers (German for mechs) smashed into the hardpoints. The Russian high command never knew until dawn broke and the carnage unveiled to the commanders. The front collapsed to fast for them to maintain order.



The 7th Army broke through the lines smashing through the retreating Russian forces causing them massive casualties. But last minute organized rearguard actions prevented total destruction at the cost of the read divisions. Despite the heroic actions of the rear guards, the remnants of the defenses collapsed too quickly. The Russians failed to cross the river with most of their heavy equipment and conscripts. Mass desertions were reported at many of the bridgeheads and a total breakdown of discipline. By the time German Panzers were on the horizon, many troops had not crossed and panic swept over them as many dove into the freezing water to escape. Many made a last stand or just surrendered to the endless onslaught.

What was left of the army rushed to Lodz to make a defense but only a few thousand made it to the city with many forces disorganized in small towns or in the countryside. When the might of 7th army smashed at the gate of Lodz they struck down the outer defenses through at a heavy cost.

The 5th army enters Lodz after heavy bombardment

The Germans flooded into the city destroying all remaining defenders and driving the regional high command out into the wastes of Western Poland.

Meanwhile, the 7th shock army smashed through the brittle defenses and encircled multiple unorganized fleeing divisions. The 7th shock army raced to the river Bug fighting off Russian counter attacks that blunted many attacks. At this time it's sister division, the 8th shock army, smashed themselves onto the Russain defenses but due to heavy intrenchment of the forces took huge losses but broke through nonetheless. The 8th army was forced to rest for the first day while their Austrian counterparts raced through the gap they had created wreaking havoc on many small retreating Russain divisions.

The next day with their soldiers regaining their strength the 8th shock army continued but their brief rest gave many Russain officers the chance to try to call up reserves. However poor coordination between the commanders led to the slow movement of damaged Reserves. The competition and rivalry between many commanders did not help the situation with many refusing to help the other despite the oncoming German forces.

Field Marshall Erwin Rommel

Counterattacks did not stop the joint German-Austrian forces from moving largely unopposed until they reached the banks of the River Bug. With server logistical problems and a stiffing resistance, the 8th and 7th Shock army were forced to consolidate their positions. But most the Russian army was currently trapped in Poland with the 5th army slowly closing the walls.

An attempted counterattack by Aleksei Brusilov and his forces were stopped by a counterattack by German armor and heavy air support destroyed most of the attacking forces and drove Brusilov back into Belorussia. His failure would mean that over three million men could now be trapped in Poland.

To secure and divert Russian forces from reinforcing the Polish forces the 7th panzer division under Field Marshall Rommel began to prepare an offensive along the Baltic coast to St. Petersburg, the Russian capital. But in their way was an entire Russian Army. The Germans felt sorry for the Russians.

Losses so far:
------------------------------------------------------
-23,000 German Soldiers

-9,000 Elite shock troops

-231 Light Panzers

-37 Medium Panzers

-9 Heavy Panzers

-2 Bismark Class Airships

-34 Fighter Planes

-11 Gotha Bombers

Map after Operation Bragation

[The neo glactic empire]

the war factories are buisy 2 more cruisers have been built and are on there way to the suez 1 battleship starts construction it is expected to be done by late 1915
while in arabia the armies capture all of british lands there the UK lost arabia

[Retalia]

America gives supplies to the United Kingdom
mainly guns

[Regnum Trinitatem]

The destructive power of the Mongol Empire had not been seen for centuries. And yet, a mongol horde had destroyed a city in their first day of the war. Civilians were dead under tons of rubble, any form of standing military presence in the city of Graz was nonexistent. In the first hour of the aerial strike any hope of survival for the city was immediately a foregone chance. Despite Mongolian attempts to root out all Aerial defense weapons in the first arm of the attack, they had not been entirely successful. 16 of the attacking planes were shot out of the sky by soldiers putting up a brave defense against the skies. 7 needing immediate repairs. However as the aerial defenses were located, they were just as soon to be destroyed.

As the last gun emplacement combusted with a firey shroud, all the hope of the city went with it. The majority of the attacking force returned to the fleet, but squadrons of patrolling planes flew overhead like vultures over a corpse. For 2 hours more, any shell-shocked survivors they spotted roaming the streets were subsequently executed by aerial machine guns. Crowds of surviving inhabitants had no choice but to stay underneath the rubble with the bodies of their neighbors until the droning sound of engines above them finally drifted off from Graz.

After the planes were safely stowed and maintenance was underway the airships ferrying them headed Southwards where a similar attack was carried out against the city of Leibnitz, Maribor and Varazdin. The Aerial Navy seemed content to only strike cities, completely passing by towns without incident. Much like the first attack in Graz, the attacks seemed simply focused on leveling the cities, rather than trying to gain territory. Much like the first attack, the losses were low, at least for the first two cities in the path of destruction. With attack this deep in the Austro-Hungarian territory it was unlikely to find heavy defenses prepared for an attack of this magnitude.

After cutting through two cities, the Aerial Calvary had only faced 24 losses. Until finally the assault on Varazdin. At that point mobile aerial defenses had been moved into the city beforehand. The calvary, unexpecting a prepared defense, took 38 downed planes in the battle over the city. But ultimately, they were successful in once again demolishing another city along the Alps. Leaving a landscape of fire and stone where a city had once stood.



The Mongol Fleet sailed through the clouds, moving towards their next target to the South. Onwards, to Zagreb. With the city backing to the mountains it's likely their fleet would be seen coming, but unfortunately enough the city was too large of a target to simply leave standing.

Pilots constantly maintained their planes on course towards Zagreb, aligning propellers, checking ammunitions, and preparing themselves for what could be a battle with greater losses even than those taken over the roofs of Varazdin.

[Valtrona]

< STATUS UPDATE ON THE WAR >

Diplomacy
The votes were tallied in the small Republic of San Marino. A referendum was called in late 1914 to decide whether or not they wished to join Italy, or remain an independent nation. After the votes were counted, 52% of the people wished to unify with Italy. San Marino and Italy immediately made preparations for the annexation. San Marino would gain a higher amount of autonomy, and the government officials would be compensated. Today was the day, as San Marino and its citizens became part of the Kingdom of Italy.

Air and Naval Front
Bombardment of France continues on, as the Blockade of the Gulf of Lion continues to completely prevent the French from accessing the Mediterranean Sea. However, it wasn’t the French the Italian High Command was worried about. That award would go to the British, who still pose the biggest threat to Italian dominance in the Mediterranean. 8 more Caracciolo-class dreadnoughts had already begun their construction, and would be completed by the end of the year. Air raids over Gibraltar continued, hampering naval reinforcements from accessing the Mediterranean. A new artillery battery, consisting of 3 Meucci Heavy guns, and 10 Beretta guns, finished construction and were shipped to North Africa via the Airship Fleet.



Africa Front
They were ready, after weeks of preparation, the Italian High Command gave the order of attack. The Italian elite Africa divisions, The Marauders, launched a lighting assault into the Libyan Desert. They completely bypassed the defenses at El Alamein, and reached the Nile River at Wadi Halfa. They completely decimated the British garrison, and raced towards the Red Sea. They managed to link up with the Italian troops in East Africa at the town of Berber, which they overran. Soon, Port Sudan would fall, yet a large force of British forces managed to evacuate before their position was overrun. Italian forces in the South halted around the city of Khartoum. In the north, a large contingent of British forces were encircled around Cairo and the Suez. Italian Marauders began their advance to their position, knowing this battle will be a bloody one. Operation Oasis would be the largest, coordinated assault through hostile terrain in history, completely surpassing its predecessor in French North Africa. Italian forces in Somalia were told to hold their position and wait for Operation Oasis to be completed. With the Italian offensive in Egypt being a complete success, many wonder if the Italians will give up their hard-fought land in Egypt to the Ottomans after the war.



Italian Espionage
Italian operatives were very busy throughout the war. They created a web of intelligence and intrigue that no man would every dream of creating. It was founded upon promises and back hand deals, many of which were betrayed for more profitable agreements. The Italian National Information Service (NIS) was the most feared intelligence and espionage service in the entire world. Their reach spread all across the globe, to even the most remote and secluded areas. Their information web has a near-uncrackable code book, that only continues to be more encrypted the higher up the rank is. Only the most skilled and elite code breakers could manage to break the code, and even then would be unable to access the vast secrets of the service.

[Barapam]

Aerial battle over Copenhagen

The Denmark Straits

As the so-called ‘Red Baroness’ made her raid, 5 Royal airships in Copenhagen began to engage the airships firing their deadly shells at close distance above the city. Meanwhile, further inland in Jutland, a task force of 50,000 conscripts from abroad prepared for a naval landing in Gotland. The fleet would then move back to protect Denmark with the other airships.

Having successfully destroyed the "Emperor of Denmark", "The Red Baroness" flew westwards to join the assault on Copenhagen, only to find the Swedish force, among it her "Flying Circus", engaged in a dogfight with British airships. Neither she nor the others had foreseen this, and thus the British defense was effective, and kept the Danish capital from being bombed the way the Swedes had intended too, even though some shells hit, but in this chaos, it was near impossible to tell what actual damage they caused.

The Swedes valiantly fought the British with airships and airplanes, but eventually they had to retreat, as the losses otherwise soon would be unacceptable. The planes returned to their aircarrier (of similar model as the British), and they left for the safety of Swedish airfields.

The British had won this round.

The Royal Palace, Stockholm

"There is something rotten in the state of Denmark..." the king began to mutter to his queen as they walked arm in arm outside the castle. Four royal guards accompanied them of course, two behind and one on each side of the couple. It was dangerous times, and for their own safety they couldn't move quite as freely as before, but the guards still kept a small respectful distance, so they wouldn't hear too much of what was being said.

Suddenly, the air-raid siren sounded.

"Your majesties! We must head back inside, now!" one of the guards shouted, and Gustaf, Victoria and all the guards turned around and began to run back to the palace. The sky darkened as Guds Hånd came in sight, and began to drop bombs. One exploded right behind the group, and the next a bit further back. The third one, however, hit them point-blank.

Eventually the Swedish airforce managed to chase the Danish super-airship away, but it was already too late. Gustaf V and his wife, along with four of their guards, were already dead.

The Russian front

FINLAND
The russian armies at finalnd re group into 3 armies
A1 with 400k men
B1 300k men
C1 300k men
The russian armies attack the swedes at northern finalnd
Iron walls tear through swedish infantry while also bombarding their positions.

In st.petersburg resentment towards the tsar grows
Many men were lost families torn apart and food shortages started how long well this war last?
How long well russia last without its allies?

The Russian counter-attack was not been expected to happen yet, and as a result, the losses were heavy. The order to capture Rovaniemi still stands however, but the morale is decreasing with the hard battles, and it doesn't make it better that the northeastern flank is quite weak and unprotected, and in need of reinforcements. Add to that rumours regarding the king's death already at full swing.

The only two upsides are that the word has reached the men that Mannerheim soon will come, and that Åland now has been liberated. Once everything is in place there, dominance in the Baltic Sea and the ability to strike against Helsinki will be only a question of time.

In the Baltic Sea and the Finnish Bay near St Petersburg, the navy continues to harass Russian ships. Especially Swedish submarines, with the use of wolfpack tactics. This is also used against Danish ships.

Iran

< OPERATION WASSMUSS >

The sun sets on the imperial palace in the city of Tehran, capital of the Qajar Dynasty of Persia. From one of the most feared Empires on Earth, to being at the mercy of the Russians and British. Their people humiliated, their resources exploited by foreign powers, their government forced to appease the Entente at the threat of war. The people were sick of the ruling monarch, Ahmad Shah Qajar, and sick of being pushed around by foreign powers. With unofficial support from the Italians, Iranian revolutionary forces stormed the Shah’s Palace. Under the command of Reza Pahlavi, the Shah and his family were arrested. The ruling Shah was forced to abdicate the throne, and him and the entire Qajar family was slaughtered in the imperial palace.

The Persian Coup d'état of 1915 succeeded in overthrowing the Shah and the Monarchy in its entirety. In its place, a new government was established, based on the U.S. and French governments. Their constitution would be written and officially approved within the coming weeks.They decided to elect Reza Pahlavi as Persia’s first President, and elections for the Parliament would be held in 1916. The new government immediately renewed its neutrality in the Great War,
however, began sending an ultimatum to the Russian and British governments.

Telegram to the Entente:

The people of Persia have been abused and oppressed by the likes of foreign powers for too long. Now, the people have decided to allow this no longer. The Shah is dead, and a new government has been declared in its place. We solemnly promised to protect the interests of our citizens above all else. For this, we declare total independence from foreign powers, and the right to decide our own foreign and economic policy. In addition, we demand for the Occupation of our lands to end. All Anglo-Russian forces will evacuate from Persia within 2 months. If this has not been achieved, then we will be forced to attack and capture these divisions, as they are no different then an invading army to us. We hope that the empires of Great Britain and Russia will make the right decision, especially since they have a war on their hands.

Signed,
- Reza Pahlavi

The news in Persia shocked the nations of the Entente, for in such a short time, Persia has drastically changed. The Italian foreign minister however, was more than pleased. He had just receive a telegram of his own, opening trade between the new Persian Republic and the Kingdom of Italy. Specifically allowing for the sale of Oil and other resources for a slight discount than other nations, even those in the Central Powers. However, the Entente knew that if they intervened, they would open another front. One in which they may not be able to win, especially with the Russians losing ground.

General Harald Hjalmarsson, leader of the Iranian Gendarmerie, was pretty pleased with the result of the coup. He had in fact participated himself, although to a minor part, with his paramilitary police force, loyal to the constitutionalists. While it was regrettable, the way the Qajar family had met their end, it was all in all a good outcome, he reasoned. And if the armed forces led by British and Russian officers refused to leave, then he and the other Swedish officers would make sure that they did...

The Headquarters of the Swedish High Command


King Gustaf VI Adolf


General Gustaf Mannerheim

Two new, recently promoted, members, were present this time. They shared the same first name, but would have different responsibilities, and also different reasons for doing what they would do. Mannerheim was a true officer and gentleman, who even had written a letter to Emperor Nikolai, whom he considered a friend, and apologized for, and explained, his reasons to defect to the enemy. However, as a Finnish patriot, he felt that he had very little choice. Nevertheless, he would try to make the war against Russia as fair and lawful as was practically feasible. And since he had proven his military competence many times in the past, such as in the Russo-Japanese war, not even the most slavophobic officers could argue with that.

It was another matter entirely with the war against Denmark. The new king was not the only one who was upset, but having lost both his parents because of king Christian, he was of course the one who mourned the most. It was not hard to rally behind the idea to crush the Danes, the bastards pretty much did the job for them, with their heinous crimes. All the propaganda artists had to do was compare the current king Christian with Christian II "the Tyrant", the king Gustav Vasa had led the Swedes against in the Liberation war nearly 400 years ago. And speaking of history, the conflict with Denmark would likely be the bloodiest since the Scanian war 1675-1679. As the king himself had put it in private, it was time to get medieval on their asses.

The pan-Scandinavian dream was dead and gone.

But with the British, it was so far more business than personal. They were already allied to their enemies, and most of the other Central Powers had already declared war on them. Now that the Swedes too had engaged them in battle, and their spies reported that some sort of strike was being prepared against a target somewhere in Southern Sweden, it was just as well high time to call off the charade. Admiral Reidar Dahlén proposed using unrestricted submarine warfare against British ships, but since that would mean a risk of dragging America into the war, it was decided against for the time being. However, a Swedish declaration of war against the United Kingdom was issued.

Military Academy Karlberg, Karlberg Palace, Solna

There were nine soldiers assembled. Eight who stood armed and at attention, and an officer who walked in front of them. The officer stopped, and spoke.

"My name is Lt. Algot Rhen and I'm putting together a special team, and I need me eight soldiers. Eight Swedish soldiers. Now, y'all might've heard rumors about the armada happening soon. Well, we'll be leaving a little earlier. We're gonna be dropped into Denmark, dressed as civilians. And once we're in enemy territory, as a bushwhackin' guerrilla army, we're gonna be doin' one thing and one thing only... killin' Danes. Now, I don't know about y'all, but I sure as hell didn't come down from the goddamn fells, cross a thousand miles of forest, foght my way through half of Lapland and jump out of a fuckin' air-o-plane to teach the Danes lessons in humanity. Danes ain't got no humanity. They're the foot soldiers of a Swede-hatin', mass murderin' maniac and they need to be dee-stroyed. That's why any and every son of a bitch we find wearin' a Danish uniform, they're gonna die.

Now, our battle plan will be that of an Apache resistance. We will be cruel to the Danes, and through our cruelty they will know who we are. And they will find the evidence of our cruelty in the disemboweled, dismembered, and disfigured bodies of their brothers we leave behind us. And the Danes won't not be able to help themselves but to imagine the cruelty their brothers endured at our hands, and our boot heels, and the edges of our knives. And the Danes will be sickened by us, and the Danes will talk about us, and the Danes will fear us. And when the Danes close their eyes at night and they're tortured by their subconscious for the evil they have done, it will be with thoughts of us they are tortured with...

SOUND GOOD?"

"YES, SIR!" the eight chosen men replied in unison.

Satisfied with their answer, Lt. Algot Rhen continued.

"That's what I like to hear. But I got a word of warning for all you would-be warriors. When you join my command, you take on debit. A debit you owe me personally. Each and every man under my command owes me one hundred Danish scalps. And I want my scalps. And all y'all will get me one hundred Danish scalps, taken from the heads of one hundred dead Danes. Or you will die tryin'."

[Regnum Trinitatem]

The drums of war were in full symphony. Just across Russia on the front line, the fate of the Russian army looked dire. A slaughter would soon occur, for one side or the other. The same fate was true far off to the sands of Egypt. The British were surrounded, and recovery from the master stroke seemed hopeless.

The war would could come to an end in a year at this rate, the Entente destroyed and the hopes of a reborn Mongol Empire dashed. With their army the size it was, the Mongols could do little to impact the war at this rate. Things would need to change soon or Mongolian lives and efforts would be lost. The Theocratic ruling began to push propaganda all through the nation as fast as they could manage. Posters dotted walls, grand murals lined the sides of buildings painting the Khan clearly as more than just a religious leader, but nearly as a prophet. Nationalistic campaigns were launched. Many of them featuring interpretations of Great Khans of old. Urging those of Mongol heritage to reclaim their rightful land, reclaim the former glory the nation once held.



State propaganda pandering towards religion were the most common to be found among the paraphernalia easily accessible to the Buddhist, people of Mongolia. Speaking often to the people of the Bogd Khan's wisdom, the suffering the Central Powers wrought, the good that the church sought to spread across the world. Religious teachings provided by the church often carried with it themes of the wartime, in under a month the flood of information relating to the war effort would be in the minds of nearly every man woman and child. Recruitment would rise or else conscription would be the only other option.

The Bogd Khan's aspirations required manpower to reach their potential, manpower the Horde did not possess just yet, though with the war going the way it was, waiting was no longer a valid option.

Northwest China

400 Mongol pilots of the Aerial Calvary lead the charge over the Tavai Bogd mountains and into the borders of the North Western corner of China. Following the initial aerial charge was a roar of engines across the mountains as a regiment of somewhere over 1500 men of Motorized Calvary sped down the steppes, breaking apart into war parties of nearly around 100 each while they tore across the land. Fighter squadrons of aerial calvary patrolled through the skies, spotting targets in the desert countryside to mark for the swift assault of the Motorized Calvary. Chinese defenses throughout the region put up a fight, but overall were simply taken off guard by the abrupt strike onto neutral territory. 41 Riders were killed in the raids by the defenses. Towns were raided and conquered, roadways mapped out and scouted as the war parties began to converge through barren desert, away from the nearer city of Karamay and instead towards their rendezvous point. The city of Dihua, otherwise known as Urumqi.

Dihua had been a cultural capital, it's name literally meaning "To enlighten the uncivilized" had been looming over the Mongols from afar through the years of the dynasty, like a castle on a hill. While those native in Mongolia suffered starvation, religious persecution, and blatant hatred. All the while Dihua housed the wealthy and grew fat with a profitable infrastructure, turning a blind eye to the oppression to the north.

They were the perfect target. From a practical and patriotic standpoint. Seizing control of their factories and whatever wealth was in the city would be a message to Mongolia, the Chinese, and the world. The Mongols would be pushed no longer, the horde of old had arisen once again.

The off-road bikes of the Motorized Calvary scoured up the hills, leading towards the city while Aerial Calvary pushed ahead onwards the city. The off-branching squadrons converged together into a cohesive unit, linking up into a formation of death.

This would be a message the Chinese would hear.

Low flying biplanes were struck down by the anti-aircraft defenses the city possessed, 34 of the planes being shot from the anti-air defenses of the city before they came close.



When they came close, the city was doomed.

Mustard Gas sprayed from under the planes as the formation broke apart once again, spreading out over the city. Dispensers mounted underneath of the planes dispersed the yellow clouds over the rooftops and down onto the streets on the heads of fleeing bystanders. Whilst the Motorized Calvary converged onto the city. To ensure the message was clear with swift assurance of their success.

[The Bananic]

Serbia
Gabor was tired of trudging through Serbia. For months he had campaigned through Serbia. He was at the Battle of Belgrade, of Smederevka, and of Nis. After that, he had battled through Pristina and Skopje. Now he was somewhere north of Veles.
Oh, how he longed to see his home again. He hoped to see the end of this campaign when his friend, Bence, came up. Bence seemed very excited for some reason, thought Gabor. "Gabor, you will not believe it!" said Bence.
"What is it my friend," said Gabor, a little amused.
Excitedly, Bence said, "It is over. Serbia has admitted defeat and has capitulated to us."
Gabor was dumbfounded; he had not expected to win against Serbia so quickly. He might just see his family again soon.
Just then they were called up by an officer. He told them of the plan now that Serbia was not a threat. Around 700,000 troops would go support the Romanians against the Russians. 300,000 would remain in Serbia as to stop any additional uprisings from the people. The two, Gabor and Bence would be stationed at Belgrade for the foreseeable future.
Gabor thought, I hope Belgrade is nice this time of year.

Serbia Falls To Austria-Hungary

[Labstoska]

the Home front
An atmosphere of fear and trepidation permeated Paris, it could be seen on the faces of every man, woman and child as they shuffled nervously through the streets keeping one eye focused on the sky. News of Avignon's capture by Italian forces had shocked the populace, the government's business as usual approach to the civilian economy now did very little to keep the nation placated, the news that the colonies had all but fell was just the icing on the cake. The epicentre of this whirlwind of fear was president Francis Dupont, a man who had entered French politics promising that France would become the centre of the second industrial revolution that was spreading across the world like a wild fire. Instead his administration had seen nothing but the complete collapse of French forces on the Italian border and the loss of the French North African territories, not even Charlemagne's political career could survive such a disaster.

It was for this reason that field marshal Philippe Pétain was currently sitting across from prime minister Hugo De Vries, presenting him with battle plans to seize Paris. The prime minister looked up at Petain after thoroughly studying his plans with lethargic expression, " you do know that you're risking civil war on this little hunch of yours, despite the fact that every man who isn't booking a ticket to America is currently protesting I think you underestimated the French people's loyalty to democracy".

Petain smiled before a small chuckle escaped his lips, Petain responded with an element of joy in his voice " And I think you underestimate the fact that the Italians have practically forced out of Southern France and have eradicated our navy entirely! This country has no hope of even seeing Marsalie again if that buffoon Dupont remains, we have the support, we have the means and we have the will to resurrect the war effort, all I need is your support".

The lethargic look somewhat drained from the Prime minister face " and I presume you have the support of your fellow officers?"

Petain simply nodded " those who haven't yet pledged their support will no doubt switch their allegiance once the takeover takes place, you'd have to be pretty damn stupid to align with Dupont so even if someone did elect to remain loyal to the president I doubt that they would be much of a threat.

The Prime minister leaned back in his chair as a sad smile crossed his face "You know Petain it scares me a bit how well you've planned this all out... guess that doesn't particularly matter now, yes you do have my support to take control of the government however if you don't restore the democratic process by the time this war is over Petain, then both I shall do everything in my power to ensure you go down in history as a reviled dictator" The prime minister practically spat these words.

Petain simply laughed "My dear Prime minister you worry far too much, I love democracy."

The calm before the storm
Out of the great industrial armouries of France came the moving fortresses. Five juggernauts practically capable of holding an entire line by themselves that had been in development seen 1901, these machines were the pinnacle of French engineering yet had been put on the backburn for most of the early twentieth century due to the French government putting a far greater emphasis on developing the civilian economy with only a slight bit of effort put towards fortifying the German border but now with war being declared and the entire region of Provence lost to dammed Italians these great machines were taken off the backburner and were immediately rushed into production. The great vessels are named as follows: Le republique, the Charlemagne, the Ozymandias, The Immanent capitulation and the Radiance each one of these behemoths were assigned to one of the five armies on the Italian front and expected to aid in the conflict soon.

This was not the last of the military innovations coming out of the French armouries, coming fresh out Indochina were the tripods, machines originally used to hunt down various insurgent groups in the region their design was now being constructed throughout France en masse, the French military had been quick to realise that these things had a number of practical applications on the battlefield, their high speed and ability to traverse practically any terrain made them the perfect recon unit for the French and were fast becoming a common sight in military camps. The final new mechanised unit to be deployed were the bunker crabs, a machine that would be integral in the military high command's flexible defence strategy. The bunker crabs had been a machine first devised in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war yet it only existed as a theoretical design, the first design was implemented into the French military during the mechanical reformation of the French army during 1906 yet hadn't seen any true conflict, the coming storm on the Italian front was the perfect opportunity for these vehicles to prove themselves.

Vive la resistance
Across the Italian front burrower torpedoes were fired targeted to go deep beneath the Italian trenches and to travel for a long distance before running out of fuel and remaining there until the French resistance cells in Provence come to dig them up. The Torpedoes themselves were had had the explosives gutted out of them to be replaced with supplies, explosives and armaments in preparation for the planned counter offensive, not all resistance cells however managed to get their cheches of weapons the Italian intelligence service was not something to be laughed at and many French agents who were on their way to inform resistance cells of where the supply torpedoes would be headed were arrested and tortured for information, fortunately enough have managed to get through to the French resistance that they could pose some manner of threat to the Italian occupiers.

Across the region of Provence roads, factories and practically anything that the Italians could consider useful to their cause were attacked relentlessly. Many of these attacks ended fruitlessly, the patrols and garrisons put in place by the Italian military often proved too much for the partisan forces but in the cases where the resistance managed to succeed the installations they were attacking were rendered inoperable slowing down the Italian war effort even further. Infrastructure was not the only Italian possession under attack, Italian divisions would be continuously harassed as they made their way through Provence. In an ironic turn of events the French found themselves taking on the same tactics as the tribesmen that they had long oppressed.

[1000 Stars]

Italian Generals visit Spain along with their king
Discussion has begun on spains status in this "Great War"