Codename: Sommergewitter

[Großlausitz]

Royal Armed Forces Training Grounds
Northern Rhönland

The Königliche Streitkräfte maintained three training grounds large enough to host manoeuvres. There was the Rhönland training grounds, the Würzburg facilities with a focus on anti-air force and anti-naval defence measures and finally the mountaineer training center in Unterbamberg. For the next few days the rural region would see an increased activity of EDF and associates troops, the civilians had been duly alerted. Not to forget the Tysker government. As a token of neighbourly understanding they had been passed a note via His Majesty’s Ambassador and invited to send a small team of observers. Generalleutnant Ritter Albert Groß, who was in charge of coordinating the war games and commanding it, was hardly elated when Defence Minister Graf Eulenburg informed him that he would have some special guests to look after. “Ensure that they only see what they’re supposed to see.”, the Minister had told him.

Alas, politicians, they had often made his job more complicated than it was supposed to do. In the days of satellites there was no way to disguise any major military movements. Throughout his career, which was about to come to an end in a few years time, Generalleutnant Groß wondered whether he had taken the right decision when he joined the military decades ago. Had there been a viable alternative for him, the fourth son of a middle-class clerk and a farmer’s daughter? No! Deep down in heart, the senior military officer kept a small beacon of the idealism, which had made turn his eyes to a career with the Royal Armed Forces. “[…] to protect King and Country. May God help me.”, he murmured parts of his pledge of allegiance. “Sir, -“, his adjutant brought back reality, “the MAD officer is here to discuss the ‘visitors’ program.” The Generalleutnant nodded to have him led in by the adjutant.

MAD was not only the name of a Franconian funny magazine but also the acronym of the Kingdom’s military intelligence agency, the Militärischer Abschirmdienst. The agency’s ensign showed a bright beacon and on top its motto ‘Pro rege et lege’ (For King and Law), which was quite fitting in Weiß’ opinion. The MAD officer and his team would subsequently be introduced to the Tyskers as their liaisons. Formally the MAD officers wore the uniform of the combat branch they originally joined.

Meanwhile, in the barracks not too far away a very excited young Royal Army Leutnant and his squad were in their final preparations for the war games. For Leutnant Johannes Veuler it was the first major event after he had concluded the officer training. He was looking forward to show how well he could live to the Royal Armed Force’s credo “For King and Country” despite his youth. Veuler thought it was a pity the Kingdom of Franken and her allies preferred to engage in diplomatic stand-offs and flaunting their naval capabilities. The Franconians weren’t that bad in territorial warfare, were they? At least he was enthusiastic enough to show off the skills of the two tanks under his command within the Royal Army’s heavy armed units towards the Wieser units in this manoeuvre. Anyway, he wondered whether he would get in touch with any Radileans. For the young officer this would be nothing short of an exotic meeting, since he had never travelled beyond Gallia or Germania.

At the manoeuvre command the other commanders were slowly arriving for a final discussion. Team Alpha would be led by Franken, chiefly supported by Radilo, whereas Team Beta would be headed by Wiese. The first objective was the conquest and/or defence of a geo-strategically important town, which was inhabited by ‘native’ civilians. One team would start as controllers, while the other one would try to capture it. Secondly civilian ‘fatalities’ were to be kept at an absolute minimum. Franken’s own civilians had a certain tolerance for dead unarmed people in a far way country, but it shouldn’t get too excessive, Generalleutnant Ritter Albert Groß mused, not certain whether he was cynical or just realistic. In the second half of the war games both teams would switch roles.​

 

[Wieserreich]

Team Beta High Command

In one of the most controversial moves ever taken by a cabinet under Graf von Baden, Wiese had dispatched armed forces belonging to the Reichswehr outside its frontiers for the first time in decades. It had not been anywhere in the major Wieser media, with a media blackout enforced by the War Ministry on the matter, and the contribution had been kept to bare minimums, but it was no actual secret either.

The official aim of these international war games was reconnaissance and counter-attacks or something. It truly didn't matter for Generalleutnant Fritz Reichsritter Schönwies von Schönowsky, the commanding officer of the Wieser mission and Team Beta of the manoeuvres. For him, this was a chance to also learn how the EDF fought as well, in case he ever had to meet them in battle.

The main wing of the Wieser units participating were reconnaissance-related; an overt example of how the Baden cabinet sought to exemplify this involvement as 'minimal' and 'low-risk.' However, the true core of Wiese's and Team Beta's troops was elite urban warfare forces, equipped with the latest technology and trained in the finest and most disciplined manners. This was a display for buyers as well, after all; hence the presence of the unusually heavy Taurus APCs, the first few of which had only just entered service.

The time for the exercises was near; in just a few hours, the official beginning of the exercises would be signalled in both camps. The target was an urban settlement, currently controlled by Team Alpha, partly due to Wiese's desire to display its urban assault corps. And, as such, the two camps were now in full preparations in light of the upcoming signal.

Generalleutnant Schönwies von Schönowsky was enjoying a cup of fine Alpine tea brew in his command bunker, surrounded by his staff. Some were foreigners, some were Imperial commanders; in general, nothing here reminded that Wiesers would go to war. Classical music playing subtly into the background, fine high society manners between aristocrat-soldiers, and in general stuff that reminded some noble's mansion. If you excluded the time, everything made sense into that description.

"Herr Sypniewsky, what time is it?" asked the Generalleutnant calmly, sipping some of his tea. His lieutenant answered with a clack of his feet.

"It is 0435, Herr General" Sypniewsky answered promptly. Like his commander and some other staff, he had notable Germanised Wendic roots.

"Very well, Herr Sypniewsky. I believe it is the right time to begin manoeuvring, shall we?" asked Schönwies calmly. Sypniewsky almost choked.

"But Herr General, the starting time is 0515! It has been agreed that the manoeuvres shall begin at first light!" protested Sypniewsky. Imperial and foreign officers were similarly surprised.

"War does not wait, Herr Sypniewsky. Signal the air recon battalion to set off and scout the town for enemy positions. Make sure you maintain the maximum degree of stealth possible" replied Schönwies pompously. "And get the troops moving. I want the first units to be on the move no later that 0500. I want to catch the enemy asleep."

"...Jawohl, Herr General" replied Sypniewsky, and clacked his boots in attention.
​

 

[Großlausitz]

Royal Armed Forces Training Grounds
Northern Rhönland

The first day of the manouevre nicknamed “Sommergewitter“, i.e. “summer thunderstorm”, had started turbulently. Renowned for their unique battle tactics the Wiesers had made Team Beta start a little earlier than actually agreed. Generalleutnant Albert Groß had hurled a couple of profanities in the Wiesers’ general direction when he was told about their untimely approach. Nonetheless, the General calmly gave his orders to his commanders and did his best to ensure the proper defence of the faux town.

Sometimes the Generalleutnant wished his government would be a little more untimely and less predictable when it came to diplomatic sabre-rattling and subsequent deployment of a military force to project power. In the past decades they were satisfied with maintaining stability in Germania, but not wasting a thought about how the weakness of Kryobajian could be exploited to expand Franken’s grip over Central Europe. At last this manouevre was a step in the right direction, Groß thought. The Tysker government had to be shown its place in Europe. Secretly the senior officer considered Franken way too silent when it came to Central Europe. Diplomacy wasn’t everything.

Domestically, Generalleutnant Groß had to admit, the ruling Christian Democrats weren’t that bad at strategy. They were very well aware about the royalist and conservative approach of the “rural”, i.e. non-metropolitan, population and knew how to foster them. Compared to the large cities, where they yielded considerable influence, the Liberal Free Democrats or the Greens, their environmentally aware twins, had little followers in the middle-sized and small towns. By its social approach and later inventing the Social Market, the Crown of Franken had virtually rendered the socialist parties into fringe movements. With the state catering to their needs, why should workers consider overthrowing the Sovereign and His Loyal Government? The General smirked when he imagined a socialist republic anywhere in Germania.

Whereas his commander-in-chief was somewhat secluded from the heat of the battle, Leutnant Johannes Veuler was amidst it. Together with another Leutnant and his two tanks as well as two artillery squads, Veuler was in charge of defending a small bridge leading right into the town against Team Beta ground forces. Their fight carried on well into the late night until the Wieser decided to withdraw for the time being. The young officer hoped his superiors would note his good performance and consider him for a promotion on the middle run.

The result of the first day of the first round was a “blood” draw, as Generalleutnant Albert Groß put it. Although he went to great lengths to motivate his subordinates, Groß’ gut feeling told him the first point would go to Team Beta. Therefore, he also reminded his commanders not to neglect keeping track of their decisions and actions for post-manoeuvre discussion.
​

 

[Radilo]

ooc: timing a bit late, sorry. ic:

Jungle warfare had been traditionally part of Radilan training. And while this skill might have been useful for warfare in Himyar, it did not prepare one for war in the “north”. So now in the relative cold of Europa proper Radilan troops would learn and share knowledge with their allies.

Lieutenant Pierre Grison was cliché—a tall and skinny black man, quick on his feet and sharp in his mind. He was to work with his Frankish counterparts in the gritty fisticuffs of simulated urban warfare. He reveled in this opportunity, as a young and skilled officer he saw everything as an opportunity for advancement.

In sharp contrast to Lt. Grison was Marshal Jean Oisu (pronounced we-sue), he was a fat mulatto fellow who seemed overly content with everything. He was here for sport more so than opportunity… Maybe that is a bit harsh on the old soldier, he knew this lesson was going to be valuable to his men (and women, yes all Radlian units are coed). Still though, he thought, it is always best to keep up a good attitude, hell even be a tad jolly when such is requisite.

Lt. Grison was to meet up with his counterpart, Lt. Veuler, before the exercise.

“Lieutenant,” he started, “c’est un pleasure to meet vous.”

 

[Großlausitz]

Before the manoeuvre

Royal Armed Forces Training Grounds
Northern Rhönland

What a tall black man, Leutnant Johannes Veuler thought a little naively when he first saw his comrade from Radilo. Johannes Veuler wasn’t an uneducated hillbilly, he had earned his A-Levels, took up engineering studies at one of the two armed forces universities – he was very well aware there were people with other skin colours. However, his family had never been able to afford intercontinental travelling, so he had never been to Himyar. Nevertheless, he quickly re-collected himself and answered his Radilean colleague’s firm handshake accordingly.

Since there was still about thirty minutes left before they would head off to their assigned positions, Leutnant Veuler decided to practice his rusty school French a little bit. “Are these your first international war games? How long has your officer training been?” Even more questions followed, while Veuler replied to Crison’s questions likewise. Yet he would have never imagined that an officer career was quite a step for black Radilean in the aftermath of the Apartheid’s abolition. The legal discrimination of Catholics had been over for more than 200 years and Veuler had actually never been interested in colonial history. Otherwise he could have related the treatment of Radilean blacks to the fate of the Vangalans under Franken’s rule.

Meanwhile, at Team Alpha’s command Generalleutnant Ritter Albert Groß wasn’t sure whether he should chuckle about Marshal Oisu’s occasional witty remarks or admonish him subtly. If Ritter Groß was honest to himself, he could understand Oisu’s not 100% serious attitude. Both the Marshal and the Generalleutnant were close to their retirement age. Why should one take war games not with a grain of salt? Why should senior officers be permanently as serious and duty-minded as Wieser officers were said to be? Thus, to the surprise of the Marshal as well as his own adjutants the Ritter (1) decided to laugh about the punchlines he could understand. With German being the manoeuvre’s communication language, Oisu’s heavy accent was a challenge for a native speaker to figure out.

OOC: The war games will move on with my next posting. I just wanted to use this as an opportunity to give Veuler a little more screen time.
(1) Ritter = he has a knighthood, just for the record​

 

[Wieserreich]

Team Beta High Command

The damn bastards had been good. Generalleutnant Fritz Reichsritter Schönwies von Schönowsky had to acknowledge a draw for the first day, but his forces' early start gave him a slight advantage as far as reconnaissance was concerned, and also time to reach their desired positions. That being said, however, there had been hardly any action, apart from some near-contacts.

The decisive point would be where access to the mock-up city could be gained, or not. It was a single bridge, a strategic emplacement. Not the only entrance to the city, but definitely the most convenient one. And as such, Schönwies von Schönowsky had several plans on how to do this.

The decisive part of the battle would come when the strategic reserve was committed. The Generalleutnant knew this. With that in mind, his forces surrounded the town overnight -once again violating exercise protocols, but who said that war would ever wait?- and, once again, were given orders to be prepared by dawn.

Wiese's military tactics were sometimes considered unconventional. For the graduates of the Imperial Army Academy, they were simply practical. The heavily mechanised infantry of Team Beta took up light defensive positions near their respective first objectives, and the heavily armoured reserve, consisting of the core of Leopard 2 tanks and Taurus heavy assault transports that Team Beta had under its control, were placed on standby.

At first light at dawn, the entire Team Beta was given orders to begin operations. Infantry, supported by some vehicles, would attempt entering the city with caution from various points for reconnaissance purposes; then, a fake attack probe would come from the northern flank of the mock-up settlement, meant to draw Team Alpha's attention. With that, the entire strategic reserve, plus any aircraft under Team Beta, would attack the small bridge with full force, aiming to break the line and open up the enemy's lines.

A risky strategy, Generalleutnant Schönwies von Schönowsky acknowledged. But this was almost role-playing for him. To him, this mock-up city was the enemy capital, and it had to be seized, even if it meant annihilating it. From the second day on, the real part of the exercises would begin, and before they switched places, Schönowsky wanted to have seized his future positions first.

As he was enjoying his morning cup of tea together with Sypniewsky, operations began.
​

ooc: Sorry for the late reply. We may now proceed at your leisure.

 

[Großlausitz]

Royal Armed Forces Training Grounds
Northern Rhönland

Team Alpha had fought bravely and cleverly, but at the end of the day they had to cede to the Wieser-led Team Beta. The Imperial Forces might have seen no actual major battle deployment since the end of the Great War, but they kept themselves in shape, Generalleutnant Ritter Albert Groß had to admit. To allow the replenishing of training ammunition and give the soldiers some time to recreate, the second round would start only at 11.00 am local time. Therefore, there would be the additional challenge of a final night fight in the last hours of the upcoming 48 hours.

Groß was determined to put the spare time to good use. Together with his senior lieutenants he would discuss their performance and their mistakes. Yet before that, he climbed one of the old 19th century towers of the barracks to have a few minutes for himself. Certainly the Wieser had a knack for ground fighting, as they didn’t have to divide their military attention three-fold, lacking a war navy. Despite the shortcomings of his political insights, the Generalleutnant was glad the Wieser were associated to his own home country by several agreements. “I’ll damned if we didn’t learn something from tonight’s defeat!”, Ritter Groß murmured. In the light of the sabre-rattling Tyskers and Sarmatians it never hurts to improve one’s army. When he climbed down the stairs of the tower, he nearly bumped into his Radilean counterpart. “Ah, there you are –“, the Marshal exclaimed in his heavy Radilean accent, “- see what I have here, my dear general.” In his right hand he held a bottle of Henessy and two glasses. “Why don’t we treat ourselves to a glass or two before we start crunching the numbers so to say?” At first Groß wanted to decline, but something told him he would perfectly stomach the fine Henessy beverage. Grinning he invited the Marshal to ascend to the top of the tower once more. Much to the surprise of the Radilean lieutenants their superior arrived timely.

Meanwhile, a few hundred metres away from the headquarters, Leutnant Veuler and Lieutnant Crison as well as their squads were jolly despite their first-round defeat. During the many hours of the mock-fighting they had come to recognize and appreciate each other’s battle skills. Furthermore, both lieutenants had come to realize their dreams and aspirations were quite similar. Therefore, it wasn’t surprising that Crison invited Veuler to visit him in Radilo. “At home we have plenty of sun, many good drinks and even more attractive girls to conquer. At least if you like ladies with some sort of a tan.”
​