What's new

The Council of the North

Elben

Established Nation
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
1,450
Location
Iowa, USA
Nick
Malat
General Steiner had been sent back to Gunnland to assist the count. Given his experience having negotiated the treaty of the North, the general staff and foreign ministry was confident he would be an excellent military advisor to Mellenthin.

Actually, Steiner didn't like long postings abroad and he already had feelers out as friends and colleagues sought a permanent replacement. Maybe I'll learn to like Gunnland? In any case, the general now sat next to Mellenthin, a man he vaguely knew from past service in the army and of whom he had no real opinion. No doubt that would change.

Once the Gunnish presentation concluded, the general rose to begin his own. "As has been previously decided, the naval forces of Elben will participate. We have a small flotilla of littoral vessels that will make their way through international waters past Kadiki territory and then cross into Gunnish waters to travel to the exercise site." At this, the count passed out folders containing Elben's naval dispositions and what would be allotted for participation. Once everyone had one, Steiner went on, "Commodore Strobl will command the exercise force from his flagship the gunboat Prinz Eugen. We invite the forces of Geotri to make use of them as they wish. They are most suitable for coastal patrol and escort."
 

Gunnland

FTR
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
2,035
Location
Virginia, USA
Capital
Windhaven, Gunnland
As the three delegations sat down for another day of KS4 briefings, Beata was a little nervous. There was an empty seat next to her where Colonel Wilson had been sitting the day before. Lieutenant-Colonel Fylgiset was supposed to come down from Calidia so that his "ass could keep the chair warm for a few days" (this was how some Army officers referred to attaché duty), but things had happened very suddenly. There was two rumors. One was that Leader Blackthorn, fed up with the domestic scandal, had decided it couldn't hurt to mess around in a foreign war. The other was that Queen Julian had seen the terrible images of Crotobaltislavonian refugee children on the nightly news, and made an impulsive decision. Maybe both rumors are true. Maybe neither are. When she looked at Commander Gallagher as the meeting opened, he shrugged expressively, eyes wide open, as if to say, I don't know what the hell to say!

"Gunnish military intelligence reports that Crotobaltislavonian troops have abandoned the western regions of the country, offering only token resistance to the Burgundian advance. It is estimated there are up to 5-10 million Crotobaltislavonian displaced persons. Late last night, Queen Julian and Leader Blackthorn authorized the Army Council to send military forces across the border. Their mission will be to disarm and demilitarize a roughly triangle-shaped region formed by the Gunnish border in the west, these Visislavic towns of Ruritania..."

Standing, Beata used a laser pointer to show the other councilors on the map inlaid into the great round wooden table.

"...Lake Elbe in the east, and Banja Luka in the south. The mission will involve roughly 30,000 Gunnish troops of the Third Division, though we expect that number may rise as we call up reservists. Colonel Wilson left early this morning to command the mission."

Beata paused.

"The strategic purpose of the mission is to push any Burgundian-Slavonian conflict to the south, and to earn a seat at the negotiating table about the postwar settlement of Crotobaltislavonia. At this time, we would like our Elbener allies to standby and prepare to assist this mission if necessary. For the moment, because of the Victoria variable, Elbener intervention might make the Slavonians less likely to cooperate. We would invite the two Geotrian Combined Arms Brigades that trained with the Third Division in this region this past May to assist the humanitarian mission, if there is the political will to do so in Racow."
 

Tyonic Confederacy

Establishing Nation
Joined
Sep 25, 2016
Messages
463
Location
USA!USA!USA!USA!
Capital
Roxana
Nick
Geotri
Rossman wasn't so much as surprised as he was intrigued, we have yet to think about a peacekeeping force and now as any would be a good time to do so. "At this time I believe I will be able to get it proposed to the Unterhaus but it may take time, I wouldn't hold my breath but I'm sure after some time and debate they would consider using the Combined Arms Brigades that trained with the 3rd Division to assist in the essential demilitarization of the region in Crotobaltislavonia." He then wrote a note to himself to remember to talk to some friends in the government to get things in motion. "I'm sure by the end of the week we will have the answer if we will join you or not."
 

Elben

Established Nation
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
1,450
Location
Iowa, USA
Nick
Malat
Steiner leaned over to the count and whispered in his ear and then Mellenthin whispered back as Gunnland laid out its plan and Geotri replied. Steiner nodded slightly and then whispered back in reply. His answer seemed to agree with Mellenthin who smiled and then shuffled his papers as Rossmann finished speaking.

Taking the floor, Mellenthin looked at his counterparts, "We will of course assist as needed. The Hospitallers have great experience in Crotobaltislavonia and will I'm sure offer all the advice and assistance they can to aid Gunnish efforts. If they would be allowed to operate in the Gunnish zone once it is established, I'm sure they would appreciate it. Their strategies after the Christmas Crisis did much to get the refugees back home." He cleared his throat and added, "The former queen is not much of a variable, though we will keep our heads down even so."
 

Gunnland

FTR
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
2,035
Location
Virginia, USA
Capital
Windhaven, Gunnland
The evening previous, Beata heard the full story from Colonel Fylgiset, who finally arrived on the evening train from the Calidian border. Disgruntled with the task of booking refugees and supervising camps, someone on the Army Council suggested an invasion. In the version she heard, Colonel MacGarry himself had said, "Shit, if they're so eager to become Gunnish subjects..." The offhand hawkish comment, a joke really, was then seriously discussed: the colonels reasoned neither the Burgundians nor the communists would be eager for more enemies and could be presented with a faît accomplit. A telephone call to the Foreign Office, an amateurish and adventuresome group truth be told, was enough to convince the colonels they could pull off calling it "humanitarian," and perhaps even get Fyodorov to issue an invitation. But they had to act fast. Her Majesty was convinced there was a humanitarian emergency. Both the queen and Leader Blackthorn were easily convinced that a foreign military adventure would distract the nation from the succession crisis in Clan MacLeish, averting the near-constant and wearisome threat of civil war in Gunnland. Beata pulled up her chair for the morning council meeting.

"Hochgeboren, General Steiner, Mr. Rossman. Good morning. As we speak, the Gunnish Army is initiating Operation Bartholomew's Day. At the invitation of President Fyodorov, our peacekeeping forces shall establish a cordon in northern Crotobaltislavonia. We have indicated to Ivar that an armor column will punch south post haste, placing Gunnish forces between the Burgundian vanguard and the Banja Luka defense lines, in order to delay the Burgundian advance."

The allies were not obviously pleased to hear that Gunnland was strategically coordinating to assist Kadikistan against Bourgogne, and they made their displeasure known. Next to her, Fylgiset looked like a professional soldier with the sides of his hair close-shorn and his square jaw clean shaven. It was his job to handle the backlash.

"Calm down, please. I have spent the last six months looking at Calidia through binoculars. Our entente to maintain the northern status quo is very recent. I will be the first to tell you, gentlemen, that I admire Her Majesty's diplomacy. I am pleased not to see Xinhaise faces when I look through my binoculars. We have a militarized border, smaller than Elben's [he nods at General Steiner respectfully], but one that requires plain dealing with Ivar. Kadikistan has a deserved reputation for playing an open hand. Such is the luxury of a great power."

Fylgiset smiled, and his stiff carriage relaxed. Suddenly he looked like a man capable of laughter.

"Military operations are complex. Unexpected things happen. The Burgundians have a vanguard that is three times the size of ours, and they have a head start. We may not beat them to the Banja Luka defense lines. We may fail to stop them from advancing towards Trivodnia. We may have other strategic interests that are more important, and after all, Ivar cannot blame us for trying."

Beata interjected that the queen had committed, in writing to Sergei Moravcsik himself, to supporting the status quo of an independent, communist-ruled Crotobaltislavonia after the war. Fylgiset held up a hand that signaled he did not want to be interrupted.

"We don't know how this war will end. If the communists win Trivodnia and loses Crotobaltislavonia, are we suddenly going to stand alone against Bourgogne and the Trier Concordat, so that the gangsters in Banja Luka march under a red star instead of a crown? [He looked at the Elbeners significantly when he said 'crown.'] No, we're not. Who could expect us to. We shall act quickly to steal a slice of the pie. Yes, promising all the while to give it back. But it's too soon to say; we shall only know the penalty for pie-stealing when the war is over."

Fylgiset decided to breach diplomatic protocol, sharing the "secret" contents of Fyorodov's letter with the allies. It was not like a secret communiqué with a real power. Nobody expected Fyorodov to last long. Not now.

"On behalf of the Army Council, I implore the Geotri to join us and make this a multinational peacekeeping mission. Your well-trained and technologically advanced force would be a great boon to us. President Fyodorov's letter indicates that his internal enemies will oppose the peacekeeping mission. He has given Colonel Wilson carte blanche, as we see it, to shoot Crotobaltislavonian resisters. It would be easy to reassure the Burgundians that we are helping them. After all, less Crotobaltislavonian territory that they will have to secure. Perhaps it will be worth any operational delays they are now faced with. We can focus our diplomatic efforts on Ivar, while Racow can deal with Chagny."

Now he addressed the Elbeners.

"With your agreement, the Army Council wishes to bring the two regiments in southeastern Elben into the new theater. We would ask for logistical support to bring these units them around the northern perimeter of Lake Elbe, and to send them across the Elben-Crotobaltislavonia border so that there is a second column involved in our push towards Banja Luka."
 

Tyonic Confederacy

Establishing Nation
Joined
Sep 25, 2016
Messages
463
Location
USA!USA!USA!USA!
Capital
Roxana
Nick
Geotri
"The Oberhaus finally decided to commit to the peacekeeping mission late last night, they should be ready within a few days to a week to begin the push. Armor takes time and space when transporting so it will take some time to get all the necessary troops and equipment into Gunnland and into Crotobaltislavonia. Dealing with Chagny will be tricky but we will try and make progress."
 

Elben

Established Nation
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
1,450
Location
Iowa, USA
Nick
Malat
"Clean Room" -- Embassy of the Kingdom of Elben, Windhaven

After agreeing on Elben's behalf to do all to facilitate the movement of Gunnland's forces, the meeting of the council had adjourned. Mellenthin and Steiner rode back to the embassy in silence, each man lost in thought. Had Gunnland's move had been some kind of fait accompli, proposed one day and put in action the next. Invasions (rather humanitarian expeditions) simply didn't come off without significant planning that took time and effort.

Now both men sat in the Clean Room at the embassy, a room within a room constructed with methods and materials with the express purpose of defeating all known methods of electronic surveillance. Once the door was closed, the only link to the outside world besides the air filtration system was a terminal protected by the best ICE available from the hackers of the Royal Institute that connected to an opposite terminal in the foreign ministry in Eschenbach back home.

"What do you think"

"I don't know, what about you?"

"I can't put my finger on it, but I sense something unusual."

Both men suddenly grinned, realizing they had instinctively recited lines from the movie 2000: Space Odyssey One. Steiner knew then he was going to like Mellenthin as he went on seriously, "Really, do we think Gunnland has been putting us on, or are they on the level? You're the foreign ministry man."

Mellenthin rose from his chair to strip off his suit's jacket and pace the room for a few moments. Looking back at the general, "The queen's young, young people are idealistic, even if they are born and bred to face the realities of leadership. And your guess is as good as mine as to what's going on with the clans behind the scenes. Did G2 tell you anything before you came?"

Steiner shook his head. "If the foreign ministry is in the dark as much as the general staff is, that doesn't bode well. Bourgogne on one side, Kadikistan barrelling in on the other, and now Gunnland wants to get in between. Humanitarian mission or not..." The general shook his head. "Fog."

Even though Mellenthin hadn't been in the army for decades, his training was always with him and as a foreign ministry officer, the word was often used as well, shorthand for the fog of war. "Things could get messy fast."

--------------------
CONNECTING TO FMESCH PLEASE STAND BY... CONNECTION SECURED ENCRYPTION SYNCED PLEASE BEGIN NOW

EMGUN: GUNNLAND GOING FORWARD WITH PUSH INTO CBS STOP DETAILS FROM MEETING WILL BE FORWARDED THROUGH SECURE EMAIL STOP ARMY AND I BOTH AGREE GUNNLAND MAY BE STEPPING INTO BEAR TRAP STOP

FMESCH: AGREED STOP WILL ADVISE HM AND COORDINATE WITH GS REGARDING POSSIBLE ALERT LEVEL INCREASE UNDER COVER OF GEOTRI WAR GAME STOP CONTINUE PREP WITH COUNCIL FOR WARGAME AND CBS OP END
 

Gunnland

FTR
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
2,035
Location
Virginia, USA
Capital
Windhaven, Gunnland
The Black Keep
Windhaven, Gunnland

Things had settled down since Beata had presented the North with the hurried Gunnish decision to intervene in Crotobaltislavonia. The Elbener misgivings were the furthest thing from her mind. The Geotrian decision to send forces, and reports they were en route, was enough to convince the Army Council that Bourgogne would prefer to reroute their push towards Trivodnia along a more southerly route. Julian thought of it as a humanitarian mission, paying no attention to the strategic importance; besides, she had domestic enemies to deal with. And Leader Blackthorn was mostly worried about surviving one scandal after another: first the MacLeish scandal, now this MacGinley-Cameron scandal about the Engellexic High Commission.

"The Foreign Office has asked me to sound out a strategy here first for how we shall proceed at the Midweis Conference. What are our wildest dreams for Crotobaltislavonia? What are our realistic aspirations and goals for the conference? It has long been Windhaven's goal to see a rejuvenated Christian Europe, to be partners in building a new powerful holy empire in Gallo-Germania, but now some say we must be realistic and opportunistic."

Beata paused.

"In Foreign Secretary Larkin's geostrategic view, Crotobaltislavonia is the gateway between the North and Gallo-germania. If we bring the Crotobaltislavonians into our sphere of influence, we can deal with Bergenheim, Trivodnia, Ruthenia-Gallicia. We could forge a pact of non-alligned nations that act as a buffer between Trier and Rurikgrad, coordinating the way we smaller nations interact with the superpowers of the south and east, refusing to be bullied by them, dealing squarely with them on trade and security. Therefore we are assigning the prospect of putting a friendly government in control of Banja Luka, and creating a north-south economic development corridor through that country, the highest priority."
 

Elben

Established Nation
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
1,450
Location
Iowa, USA
Nick
Malat
Mellenthin listened to this, nodding at the vision of Secretary Larkin as laid out by Beata. When his turn came around, he thanked his Gunnish counterpart.

"Elben would above all things like to see a strong Christian state to its south. Even seeing the return of a regime that is free of the Rurikgrad Pact would be an improvement, a regime with whom we could negotiate without worrying about Kadikistan looking over its shoulder. Everything else Secretary Larkin would like to see," here the count nodded at Beata, "would naturally proceed from such a situation I am sure.

"As far as strategy, I believe our best course of action would be to ensure that regardless of the outcome of the conference, Crotobaltislavonia sees us as fair and with its own interests in mind, not our idea of its interests, but its idea of its interests. The old adage comes to mind that the best diplomats are the ones who are able to get the other party to do what they want while making them think it was their idea. How we do that will be the key."
 

Gunnland

FTR
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
2,035
Location
Virginia, USA
Capital
Windhaven, Gunnland
The Black Keep
Windhaven,


The council had been quiet lately. Since the Geotrians had landed their troops at last, the testiest topic on the agenda was Beata MacBenach asking for more Hospitallers for the new Crotobaltislavonian refugee camps. But now a strange man with beady eyes, a pointed nose, and a shirt-collar too big for his skinny neck was sitting next to her. He seemed to make Colonel MacGarry nervous. He introduced himself as Thomas MacDougall Tyler, "acting director" of the Inter-Service Office "15AR", bearing a "special message" from Leader Blackthorn. The tension around the round table was palpable.

"If Bourgogne cannot defend Trivodnia, then Bourgogne cannot defend Elben. And if they believe Trivodnian propaganda, which they might, Chagny might believe that the Northern Alliance has worked against them by blocking their passage through Crotobaltislavonia. Now Virumaa moves closer to Rurikgrad Pact membership. We are surrounded, and a most powerful friend in the west now appears entirely impotent, if not biased against us."

There was fear in the air.

"In our view, the time for decisive action is now. 15AR and the Staatsschutz will collaborate with the Bergenheimer army to overthrow the government of Bergenheim. The same night, Eiffellandian tanks will speed north into Crotobaltislavonia, attacking Banja Luka from the southeast. The Gunnish Army will attack from the northwest, taking the Kadikistani and Slavonian defenders of the 'ring of steel' by surprise in a pincer movement. The communists may take Trivodnia, but we shall liberate Crotobaltislavonia together."

MacGarry stood up violently.

"The Army Council has not approved this! Kadikistan has always kept their promises! And it would take a..."

The baby-faced colonel fell silent at a hand from Acting Director Tyler.

"Plain dealing is the privilege of the lion! We must be the fox! You, colonel, will commence a full-scale invasion of Calidia at the same time, with aerial and missile bombardment. Or the Leader will have your rank. But this plan will require total commitment from our allies. Gunnish troops will have to move into Elben to push back the inevitable Kadikistani counterattack. Geotrian troops will have to reinforce our Crotobaltislavonian positions in much greater numbers. What do you say, gentlemen, do you have the nerves for war?"
 

Tyonic Confederacy

Establishing Nation
Joined
Sep 25, 2016
Messages
463
Location
USA!USA!USA!USA!
Capital
Roxana
Nick
Geotri
"Assisting in a peacekeeping mission was easy to push through but this... this may prove difficult to convince HRM but with the current situation. He may see the need to stop the Wave of Communism, but it will take some time. Give me about a week and I will see what I can do."

The time was upon the North to stop the Red Wave from enveloping Gallo-Germania, hopefully it is not too late. Things have taken the turn he was anticipating, but would hope never happen. He has serious work to do after this meeting if he hopes to accomplish what was needed for the good of the Alliance.
 

Gunnland

FTR
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
2,035
Location
Virginia, USA
Capital
Windhaven, Gunnland
The Black Keep
Windhaven, Gunnland

"A week? You might have two days! The Staatsschutz is broaching the subject with the generals, politicians, and bankers we need to pull of this coup d'etat as we speak." Strictly speaking the thin-necked man didn't know this, since it wasn't clear Eiffelland was on board yet. But Thomas knew he needed to move things along quickly. "Now is the time to move tanks across the straits into Gunnland just in case."

Colonel MacGarry stood up and walked out without looking at Beata or the new beady-eyed spymaster. He needed to call Robert Gunn back to Gunnland, so that cooler heads in the 15AR might prevail. And Queen Julian needed to know that Blackthorn and the war party had a head-start making moves. Would Blackthorn risk his whole career on a graphe paranomon in the Thing for declaring a war without a royal signature? Also, he needed to call the Army Council together...
 

Tyonic Confederacy

Establishing Nation
Joined
Sep 25, 2016
Messages
463
Location
USA!USA!USA!USA!
Capital
Roxana
Nick
Geotri
"Only HRM can officially give the orders to move the troops needed for this, I will contact him after this meeting and discuss at length the situation at hand. If I push to much he may refuse to do anything at all, fire me, or even attempt to pull out of the one thing giving our nation a strong voice. So give me some time, HRM is no hawk but he has been anxious about what to do. There is no guarantee that he will do as we ask of him, but it must be done for the sake of Gallo-Germania. Hopefully he understands. "

After the Meeting
He sat at his desk nervously, he knew that if things didn't go the way he wanted this alliance would begin to crumble. He picked up the hotline to König Wächtler IV, only to be used in dire situations, and waited for him to answer the phone.

"Greetings your royal highness, I come bearing news from the meeting of the Council. As you understand there have been talks of war, and now it seems the plans are laid out and it is time to act. Gunnish diplomats have somehow convinced the Eiffelandians to even consider a coup d'etat in Bergenheim to force them to join as well as a joint invasion into Crotobaltislavonia. I must.... no We must know if Geotri will take the bold stand with our Allies and send our forces into combat."

There was a long pause, König Wächtler had expected this phone call for weeks and has been anxious ever since war plagued the world. "This has been something that I have dreaded for weeks now... it has plagued my mind as to what I would do when the question arose. Countless restless nights pondering whether it would be the right thing to do, for my people for the world. It hurts my heart to say this, but to respond to the threat from the East shall only be with blood and steel. I will see to it to announce when ready, the Generals to begin preparations to move troops and equipment as soon as possible. God speed."

Wächtler hung up the phone, and called for his secretary to begin the arrangements for war. The generals will arrive at Black Keep to be briefed on the plan, and begin preparations for war.
 

Elben

Established Nation
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
1,450
Location
Iowa, USA
Nick
Malat
During their time together in Gunnland so far, their friendship had grown as both men enjoyed walking the streets and exploring the history of the city while discussing foreign cinema. A camaraderie had grown between Mellenthin and Steiner and it showed as they exchanged looks.

Steiner cleared his throat. "Let me first speak to the purely military considerations before we explore politics. Can you offer any objective assessment of the chance of success for this operation? Our general staff has spent countless man-hours gaming out a Kadikistani invasion. Even with full mobilization, a successful defense against the Union along prewar borders is calculated to be less than one in four. With Kadikistan now in control of our border with Trivodnia as well as having its access from CBS, the chance of successfully defending no doubt falls precipitously, even with Gunnish tanks and soldiers. You'll move those tanks and troops in to possibly push back the inevitable counterattack; of course it must be convenient for your plan and Gunnland that Elben happens to be a nice buffer."
 
Last edited:

Gunnland

FTR
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
2,035
Location
Virginia, USA
Capital
Windhaven, Gunnland
It was a question for Colonel MacGarry, but the chairman of the Army Council was out in the hallway, frantically calling the peace factions and sending road crews south. He had read Colonel Wilson's reports closely; a lot of potholes needed to be filled in western Crotobaltislavonia if tanks were going to "race" to Banja Luka. Director Tyler started to answer, but Beata put up her hand to silence him. This morning's diplomatic shitstorm had taken her by surprise, but Councilor MacBenach knew the Elbeners deserved an objective and more or less trustworthy answer, not reassurances from a hawkish spymaster moving along a bold plan to change the course of the present war.

"I am not a military woman, General Steiner. The Army Council's preferred war plan is to use the element of surprise to strike Calidia and Rurikgrad simultaneously. If the 15AR plan is to move forward, and this would require the approval of Her Majesty..." Her eyes narrowed, though she did not look at Director Tyler. There was a way that the Leader could launch a war without royal approval, but surely... "Kadikistan would be faced with a war against five countries: Bergenheim, Eiffelland, Elben, Geotri, and Gunnland. Perhaps some Trivodnian partisans have not yet laid down their arms. This war would rage in Crotobaltislavonia and Trivodnia in addition to Elben."

"Nobody knows how Ivar blackmailed Chagny into turning tail. Here is a secret: Bourgogne failed to return our diplomatic cables promising that we would not obstruct their passage through Crotobaltislavonia. If we cannot count on the Burgundians to fight, even when the Rurikgrad Pact threatens to build a land bridge to its border... this may be our last chance. The question, General Steiner, is whether this is our last good chance to stop the spread of communism in Gallo-Germania. Yes, we can continue to pursue a good-neighbor policy with the Union, which will be there after this war is over. But our position will be much weaker than it was before this war. Even now Ivar thumbs our noses by preparing to bring Virumaa into the Rurikgrad Pact. Are you prepared to negotiate a new status quo that is much more in their favor? Or is this the decisive hour?"
 

Elben

Established Nation
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
1,450
Location
Iowa, USA
Nick
Malat
Mellenthin scoffed and asked directly, "Why is Queen Julian or Leader Blackthorn not making a direct telephone call to King Friedrich to enlist his support? Trivodnia just got stomped into the ground and you want to lead the alliance into war, but you don't even have the courtesy to do anything but spring this on us in a regular council session. General Steiner hasn't been answered and I see no reason to advise His Majesty to join in what I would characterize as folly."
 
Last edited:

Gunnland

FTR
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
2,035
Location
Virginia, USA
Capital
Windhaven, Gunnland
This is why I am not a diplomat. Director Tyler shuffled in his chair and looked embarrassed at the dressing down from Count Mellenthin. It occurred to him that he had overplayed his hand shouting at Colonel MacGarry. Worse, MacGarry was walking back into the Council chambers. The colonel had heard everything.

"Leader Blackthorn has given me the green light to approach the Staatsschutz, but has not given the final go-head on the operation. He wanted to solicit the feeling among our allies for war, which is why I'm here. If --"

Walking by his chair, MacGarry leaned over and switched off the director's microphone, reducing him to embarrassed silence. Robert Gunn leaves for Himyar for two weeks, and not only does the international balance of power shift radically, but Blackthorn and the spy ring decide to go rogue. He sat down in his customary seat, self-conscious that his olive jacket was fitting loosely. MacGarry had been secretly watching Engellexian workout videos to lose weight.

"Queen Julian has not telephoned King Friedrich Maria because she has just found out about this plan a minute and a half ago. The Foreign Office wants to clarify Ivar's intentions in Virumaa. 15ARand the Staatsschutz..." MacGarry shot the thin spy an irritated look. "...have yet to identify the exact Bergenheimer politicians that might support the coup upon which the whole plan depends. And I want to know if Eiffelland is prepared for a real two-front war without the Pelasgians and the Burgundians. So whatever you have heard from the acting director of the 15AR, the Kingdom is not providing our allies with a fait accompli. These are options on the table, though whatever we do, it is wise to shift our force posture westward to be ready for war at a moment's notice."

The baby-faced colonel scratched his head and gave a little nervous laugh.

"Although, we could just secretly overthrow the government of Bergenheim and not help the Eiffellandians when they get bogged down in eastern Crotobaltislavonia. That's always an option."
 

Tyonic Confederacy

Establishing Nation
Joined
Sep 25, 2016
Messages
463
Location
USA!USA!USA!USA!
Capital
Roxana
Nick
Geotri
The following day Rossman decided to bring up something more accessible to the Council of the North, the situation in Virumaa and the recent Kerdia Pronouncement. They were too late in Crotobaltislavonia, he won't make the same mistake twice.

"I hope we have all been briefed on the recent events unfolding in Virumaa, so lets just cut to the chase. We weren't completely successful in Crotobaltislavonia and we have hopefully sparked peaceful relations between each other, but Virumaa can be the thing we need to establish this alliance as a true power to be reckoned with. We have received a Call to Arms, they deserve an answer."
 

Gunnland

FTR
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
2,035
Location
Virginia, USA
Capital
Windhaven, Gunnland
The next day there was an empty chair next to Councilor MacBenach and Colonel MacGarry. It was obvious what that meant.

In fact, at the Sword and Ship or the Militia Club, embittered Gunnish spies and the remaining Integrity Party hardliners would tell known Elbener and Geotrian operatives: "The Eiffellandians turned yellow"; "We were ready to strike the commies a blow such as they have never felt"; "So close to restoring the imperium." Such men would then throw back a few shots of whisky. They were dangerous men who loved honor more than their lives. Peace made them miserable, and their appetite for war had long made Gunnland miserable.

Colonel MacGarry spoke.

"From our perspective, any aid to Virumaa must be clandestine, not open. I fear that country will be a quagmire. Strategically it is no great added threat. Why anger Kadikistan now, when we are about to sit down with Petar Kujundzic to negotiate the postwar settlement in Gallo-Germania? The opportunity for war has passed. We had a chance to step on the head of the snake, to combine the forces of the North and South against our enemy in a time of great confusion. Now we have to live with diminished expectations."
 

Elben

Established Nation
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
1,450
Location
Iowa, USA
Nick
Malat
Mellenthin nodded and spoke in agreement. "Clandestine support certainly. If the royalists establish themselves, then we can move on to more formal, public recognition. If we do wish to make any public pronouncements before then, we could always approach His Holiness. The Church making broad statements in support would certainly not draw undue attention, not any more so than normal."
 
Top