Red October

[Miroslavl]

The Miroslavan-Swieczieman Border
1st October 1952

It would be dramatic to say the only warning had come in the sound of artillery firing in the distance.

It would also be incorrect.

The first sign the Mezhist forces received was in the form of the handful of Miroslavan villages and towns that had dared to grow in proximity to what was undoubtedly the most heavily fortified border in the world suddenly and swiftly being evacuated of all life. This was doubly true in the southwestern-most part of the border, where woodcutting operations near the mile-long strip of cleared forest and no man's land along the demilitarized zone suddenly and inexplicably ceased. Wary Swieczieman guards would have been able to see, if briefly and at a distance, obvious signs of civilian movement, men, women and children fleeing inland with a handful of their most prized possessions in hand or carried on their backs. A few richer communities in the north fled by train or horse-drawn cart, but the majority struck out on foot, avoiding the major roads. The process took no more than two or three hours.

The second sign was somewhat more obvious, coming as it did in the form of military troop movements all along the border. This was especially true in the steppe of eastern Miroslavl, where great plumes of dust from many hundreds of thousands of vehicles rose up into the sky as the Miroslavan People's Revolutionary Army rushed with near-glee to take positions for the long-awaited offensive towards the north. A buzzing drone filled the sky as well as the Miroslavan People's Air Force began to deploy it's forward fighter and ground attack assets. At this point the signs were unmistakeable to all but the basest of fools.

And even they couldn't ignore the sound of a hundred thousand field guns opening fire in unison.

-----

Miroslavan People's Revolutionary Army 1st Shock Army Group
North of Bogodar, the Soviet Republic of Miroslavl
Central Offensive

The three hundred thousand men and two thousand tanks of the 1st Shock Army Group charged across the border into Upper Swiecziema five minutes into the bombardment, their masses of medium and light tanks advancing across a wide front, each tank ridden by five infantrymen and followed closely by swarms of armored cars, personnel carriers, and trucks. The People's Air Force also roared overhead, propeller-driven aircraft taking the fore while the less numerous and more valuable jet aircraft hung back to await more equal prey.

The 1st Shock Army Group's assault was indiscriminate. If it moved, was not Miroslavan, or was not in the process of surrendering, it was fired upon. Thousands of field guns fired endlessly for as long as they had potential targets in range, and close air support aircraft dove on anything that looked even vaguely threatening. Despite this, the soldiers and officers of the Miroslavan People's Revolutionary Army made sure to gracefully accept the surrender of any Swieczieman troops - or civilians - that offered it. On only one occasion did this fail to happen, and after the offending soldiers were swiftly thrown under the treads of their comrades' tanks it did not happen again.

Charging northwest like a raging bull, the 1st Shock Army Group eagerly sought to lock horns with the Prime Enemy.

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Miroslavan People's Revolutionary Army 2nd Shock Army Group
North of Tayshevsk, the Soviet Republic of Khitai
Eastern Offensive

The elite 2nd Shock Army Group proved far more precise than it's counterpart to the west. Targetting only known and suspected Mezhist military positions, the Second's artillery had only just begun to fire when the bulk of it's forces began sweeping north with a collective cry of "Za rodinu!" The light tanks and armored cars of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Division thrust forward in search of the enemy, followed closely by the rest of the 2nd Shock Army Group's armored and infantry forces. Civilians and their population centers were bypassed or left alone when possible and treated with utmost respect when encountered otherwise. Even the occasional armed partisan was ignored unless perceived an actual threat, and disarmed when possible.

In the skies above, the People's Air Force kept a close eye out for Mezhist bombers. It's own ground attack fighters held back, awaiting better targets than wild animals or particularly suspicious trees.

The 2nd Shock Army Group was not a bull.

It was a tiger, swift, collected and precise, and it hungered for a worthy foe.

-----

Miroslavan People's Revolutionary Army 3rd Shock Army Group
West of Volodymr, the Soviet Republic of Miroslavl
Western Offensive

If the First was a bull, and the Second a tiger, then the 3rd Shock Army Group could only be described as a herd of murderous demonic elephants. The Third did not charge into the fray. It did not hoot or holler or yell as it advanced. It's tanks did not bear grinning young Kozak men eager for war and glory atop their hulls.

The Third ground forward. Slowly. Inexorably. And leaving nothing in it's wake.

Forty thousand guns beat an endless tempo, a creeping barrage advancing slowly across the border into Upper Swiecziema. Heavy bombers of the People's Air Force flew high overhead, flanked by squadrons of fighters and dropping loads of bombs and incendiaries on the forest below. Masses of heavy tanks treaded onward, lines of gas masked infantry following behind. First contact with the Mezhist forces meant first deployment of Miroslavl's stores of nerve gas.

No surrender was accepted, because time to consider surrender was never offered. And the line between civilian and soldier blurred when one intended to leave only ash in their wake.

The 3rd Shock Army Group's death march continued to advance to the west.

 

[Josepania]

THE WAR ROOM, THE HEGEMON’S PALACE
WISLICA, LOWER SWIECZIEMAN CONFEDERATIVE MEZHIST REPUBLIC
10/1/1952, 7:01 AM

The map of the Sarmatian region dominated the room, even dwarfing the gigantic table that also occupied it, covered in tiny flags representing various military formations of all sizes, including all three branches of the Union Armed Forces. They also included the forces of the Hated Enemy, the Soviet Republic of Miroslavl… or at least their speculated positions and strengths. Only around the border, now the frontlines, was the situation clear enough to make reasonable, educated estimates.

And the best guesses were that Miroslavl was throwing a colossal chunk of its ground forces, in three separate thrusts, into the Mezhist Union. It was an all-out offensive, the military leaders speculated, designed to quickly and decisively defeat the Mezhist Union before it could bring its full force to bear and, more importantly, before winter set in completely. Already the air was getting colder and the winds more violent, which would have made even the most fanatical in the Union take pause.

It was bold, almost suicidal… but it would be met by the Union.

The Mezhist Union had initially been taken aback by the sudden aggressiveness of the Soviet Republic in regards to Boliatur, but after almost three decades of tense relations they had known better than to just regard it as unusually blustering rhetoric and saber-rattling. Especially when it was reported, and the Soviets confirmed later that they were instituting a full mobilization of its armed forces, which was swiftly met by the Union.

And just an hour ago, reports began flooding in of the general offensive as the invaders overran border guards and began meeting the entrenched positions along the border. Those positions would not hold forever, but they weren’t meant to. Their primary purpose was to delay invasion for as long as possible while the rest of the army could position itself for a better defense and eventual counter-attack. And while Wislica was closely in touch with Giecz over coordination of the defense of the Union on a strategic level, tactically each half of the Union was on its own, at least for now.

In Lower Swiecziema, there were three armies that had been rushed to the southern border to meet the Soviet buildup there. The Seventh Army was the professional army, the western flank of the hastily created Army Group Zarmaj, named after the Zarmaj Autonomous Mezhist Republic it was committed to defend. Two conscript-filled armies, assigned for support of the Seventh, joined it: the Twenty-Second and Twenty-Third Armies. All told, about half a million men and some women stood ready to face the might of the Soviet invasion… but only a third were truly on par to the skill of the Soviets. It was, therefore, not expected that the Twenty-Second or Twenty-Third Armies would hold for very long, which would result in the southern and eastern fronts opening up, a possibility that greatly disturbed the military big shots.

The Fifth and Sixth Armies, of the same martial caliber as the Seventh, were already on the way south, though their starting positions in Miciodow and Oswiecim respectively meant it would take some time to reinforce the Twenty-Second and Twenty-Third, not helped by the rest of the conscript armies that were also being mobilized and redeployed all over Lower Swiecziema. It was a bureaucratic mess, and the generals were seriously considering rushing the Fifth and Sixth Armies south, damn the disorganization, and forcing the Twenty-Second and Twenty-Third to stand their ground, damn the casualties.

That was, until Hegemon Jozef Grudzinski and his little clique of inexperienced, ambitious comrades stepped in and suggested something far more dangerous: keep the deployment going at normal speed, and allow the Twenty-Second and Twenty-Third Armies to begin an orderly fighting withdrawal northeast, while the Fifth continued to dig in and hold as best as it could, retreating only if absolutely necessary. In the meantime, Army Group Wislica, composed of the First Zbrojny STS Army and reinforced by the Sixteenth and Seventeenth conscript armies, would redeploy south to reinforce the Fifth Army.

Leaving aside the danger of giving any ground whatsoever to the Soviets, no matter how inevitable it is, the generals were not happy with the idea of the Zbrojny STS, the armed wing of the Swieczieman Secret Service, getting involved. Although their military prowess was undeniable, their claims to being the “elite” of the Union Armed Forces was quite irritating to the big shots, as well as their loyalty towards the Hegemon and the General Executive of the State, Kazimierz Nowak, not the military.

But then again… if the Hegemon was allowed to go through with his plan, and failed… that was opportunity for the generals to take more power that rightfully belongs to them anyway. After all, they were the ones who helped this young lad into power, why shouldn’t he respect their power, their will? As such, they made a show of reluctantly accepting the Hegemon’s plan, but insisted on establishing some defensive lines for when this half-baked plan inevitably failed, though they didn’t mention that last bit.

And so a strategy was agreed upon and enacted, the orders being sent out to all Armies and its components involved. The Twenty-Second and Twenty-Third Armies would begin a fighting withdrawal to the northeast, the Twenty-Second ordered to give a bit more resistance than the Twenty-Third, while the Seventh Army would stand its ground and fight. The Fifth and Sixth Armies would continue their march to reinforce the Twenty-Second and Twenty-Third Armies at a steady pace, and Army Group Wislica would be deployed south to reinforce the Seventh Army and make sure the gap between the Seventh and Twenty-Second Armies wasn’t exploited by the Soviets. In the meantime, defensive lines would be drawn as far back as the generals would allow, incase the plan failed and a breakout had to be prevented.

The Union Navy, meanwhile, was to be diverted from its efforts in Boliatur to face the suicidal Soviet navy and sink it. No trouble was expected from that front, as recons and intel indicated the Soviet navy was absolutely pathetic, even by negative propaganda standards. The air force would also begin its counter-sorties against the Soviet planes, and in accordance with the Hegemon’s wishes, the vanguard would be the prized Ma 262* fighter-bombers, supplemented by other jets and prop planes. In this case, at least, the Union would not hold back, and would wrest control of the skies from the Soviets one way or another. Air superiority was vital whether or not the Hegemon’s plan succeeded, that all parties, young or old, could agree upon.

With the orders sent out, they sent a copy of the orders to Giecz to keep them in the loop, and eagerly awaited a reply status report from them as well.

OOC: *'tis the Nazi Me 262, FYI.

EDIT: Made minor alterations, 22nd Army isn't retreating as quickly as the 23rd Army, and it's now the First Zbrojny STS Army, rather than Second.

 

[Ashkelon]

THE SITUATION ROOM, BOGUMIERZ PALACE
GIECZ, UPPER SWIECZIEMAN FEDERATIVE MEZHIST REPUBLIC
10-1-1952 0705

The situation was tense, as tense as things usually got during such a time as this. But the brass did not bother to comment on the fact. Stating the obvious was not part of their agenda today. The people most important and relevant to the present engagement were gathered around a large table covered by a glass-encased map of Sarmatia lit by lamps underneath. On top of this smooth glass representation of the battlefield stood a veritable array of flags, formations and model soldiers. Each were delicately slid across the surface by an aide with a long stick, as each reconnaissance update was wired in from various units and radar stations surrounding the state. At the moment, things did not look entirely all too well.

The border guards to the southeast had been decidedly overrun by the lumbering destruction that was the Slavic contingent of the Hated Enemy's army. Equipped with heavy tanks, according to the latest intelligence, they were now plowing through the forest with the assumed goal of cutting into the oil fields. After all, oil was the lifeblood of the Swieczieman War Machine. To destroy it was an inevitable target. But three decades of silent, seething conflict with the Soviets had done well to make the powers of Upper Swiecziema aware of this fact, and indeed take measures to counter it. Most of the oil reservoirs to the east were fakes, dummies that contained nothing but thin air, at the same time nested with the strongest air defences in the region. They were excellent bait.

But it was the Mezhist Air Force's job to make sure that the enemy did not get that far. Since the birth of the airplane, the Imperium, and then the Union, had always taken the initiative to ensure that the plane's military potential was exploited in full. As a testament to Sarmatian engineering prowess, the Mezhist Union was one of the first to deploy a fully operational jet fighter, the now mature Ma 262, which already comprised over a third of the Mezhist Air Force's fighter forces. It didn't take a genius to see that the propeller was on the way out and the jet, as seen by the developments of the great powers, was well on its way to becoming the standard of aviation, military and otherwise.

An aide slid several models of jets and propeller planes from Nowy Tomysi in the direction of the southern border. The jets would move in after the initial engagement with enemy propellers. Below them would fight the Fourth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Armies, which would head up to reinforce the Southern Gretsky Box.

The Gretsky Box was the brainchild of Feldmarszalek Rafal Gretsky, a proponent of the advancement of artillery. One could not deny the effectiveness of shells from afar, after all. It was an intriguing little idea, which involved bait and switching, to to speak, with the bait being the retreating Thirteenth Army, which, stationed on the Southern Border, would pull back from the forest, until it reached the steppe, where waited a veritable wall of the strongest available formations to hold the line, behind which was a lot of rail artillery. X and XI Corps of the Fourth Army would then flank the invaders via the mountains and stradling the Barzaic border. Once air supremacy was achieved, IX Corps would rain hundreds of tankettes into the rearguard to sow confusion and, with some heavy air support, bisect the Miroslavan invasion force. With the enemy boxed in, all manner of hell would be unleashed, but mostly bombs and artillery shells. Lots of bombs and artillery shells.

The same strategy applied to the north, but was a lot easier to pull, one might say. The woods served as a channel of fortification around which the prospective invaders would be forced to circumvent, leading into a veritable wall where the mountains ended. Again, this could only work with full air supremacy, and served as little more than a strategic gambit to pull off. As a member of the Enclave, Gretsky was a highly influential commander, such that he managed to get enough leaders, even the Federation Marshal himself, to agree with his strategy. But he did have his large share of detractors and naysayers. It had been fifteen months since the implementation of the Gretsky Box preparations, and now, he was to be tested with fire. The First and Twelfth Armies were already in place at the North Gretsky Line, while the Second Army waited quietly in the forests flanking said line, keeping the Miroslavans to the steppes as the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Armies strategically retreated deeper and deeper into the Upper Swieczieman Heartland. The anticipation was simply delicious.

It was, conveniently, very aligned with the Wislican strategy, which was to, at the moment, bait the Miroslavans deeper into their territory in something of a "bulge", and then unleashing hell's fury of shells and the Union's vaunted G-2 rockets. Gretsky was now running the show, one might say, and the only reason the others had allowed him to do so was to embarrass him for when his plan "invariably" failed. As a supporter of the many reforms the Benedykt Stukow (or perhaps one should say Mieczslawa Stukowa?) intended to initiate, he had his fair share of enemies, and much debate had been had within the highest echelons of the Upper Swieczieman Military, until he finally prevailed upon receiving the Federation Marshal's blessing, much to the chagrin of his opponents.

To those who opposed Rafal Gretsky, that smug smirk that crept stealthily across his face was by no means stealthy at all. But they would have their cake and eat it too. They would allow Gretsky to play out his little shenanigans. And then they would be the ones smiling smugly after his plan fell in on its face... at least, that was what they were thinking. Gretsky himself, along with the other discreet members of the Enclave, understood that the successful implementation of the Gretsky Box was only half of the plan. Gretsky very well knew and understood his orders, and that sacrificing a little pride in exchange for complete vindication later on was for the best.

So far, things were looking quite well.

 

[Miroslavl]

Alexandrovsk, the Soviet Republic of Miroslavl

The primary port and headquarters of the Miroslavan People's Navy was in a state of total chaos, even almost two days after the Miroslavan invasion of Swiecziema. Caught completely unprepared for the outbreak of war, the People's Navy was left scrambling to prepare their ships for combat. Much time was wasted as Grand Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Republic Daniil Golyubev and his chief subordinate, Admiral of the Grand Fleet Yegor Solovynov, made utterly pointless demands upon their already anemic supply lines. Years of corruption and mismanagement had left the Grand Fleet improperly supplied with such basic necessities as ammunition, and while quartermasters rushed to remedy this as soon as possible they often found themselves sidetracked by calls for new uniforms or fresh coats of paint for the 'prides of the fleet'. Left to their own devices, the People's Navy would undoubtedly have stayed in port for the entire war.

The arrival of military commissars from the Third Directorate of the People's Commissariat for State Security in Alexandrovsk put a quick end to such foolishness. An hour and five firing squads later and the submarine and light vessel elements of the Grand Fleet were already setting sail for the south, their most urgent preparations already completed. The mine-laying ships and destroyers followed four hours and another execution afterwards. The four cruisers of the Grand Fleet still could not be ready for deployment until the following evening, however. A debacle that ultimately cost Admiral Solovynov his career, his genitals, and his life, in that order.

By the time the last of the Grand Fleet left port in Alexandrovsk, the submarines, guard ships and destroyers had already reached the southern straits into the White Sea. Immediately they set about the task of mining the straights in preparation for the Danish arrival.

-----

Polyarnoye, Special Miroslavan Administered Region, the Soviet Republic of Khitai

At the northernmost tip of what was once known as Kush lay a small, isolated bay, stretching some two dozen miles into the peninsula that jutted out into the Snieg Ocean. The bay had long been considered a prime location for a port, and indeed many traders, smugglers, and pirates had made it their home over the centuries. That had ended when the Kushan Horde passed through the region in the late 1170s, quietly exterminating all the peninsula's inhabitants before driving west into the Slavic steppe.

For centuries the bay had been left forgotten under Kushan rule, only scattered fishing villages having grown along it's shores by the time Kush was brought into the Miroslavan sphere of influence as the 'Soviet Republic of Khitai', named for the Kushan tribe that had broken away from the Horde and forged the beginnings of the modern Kozaks. One of the new government's first acts in 1918 was the formation of the 'Special Miroslavan Administered Region', encompassing the northernmost tip of it's territory and including the long-forgotten bay on the Snieg Ocean. The local Kushan villagers were swiftly displaced or drafted into construction of a series of fortifications and military facilities to serve the Soviet Republic of Miroslavl's interests in the north. This had including a naval base for the newly-formed Northern Fleet of the Miroslavan People's Navy, a port ideally located at the deepest part of the bay. In time, this port - and the small closed city that serviced it - became known as Polyarnoye.

The city was, for the natives, a haven of debauchery and horror, visited upon them by their hated occupiers. Kushan girls from as far away as Armanin were routinely abducted or purchased from their families and homes to serve as prostitutes for the men - and occasionally women - of the Miroslavan People's Armed Forces, and Kushan men were regularly pressed into unpaid service as laborers and porters at gunpoint. Aside from a strict age limit for Kushan girls 'hired' to work in the city and directives that criminalized the killing of Kushans out of hand, the Soviet Republic of Miroslavl had largely ignored the goings-on in it's virtual colony in the northeast.

The outbreak of war between Miroslavl and it's Prime Enemy threw Polyarnoye into disarray. A handful of Kushan youths both in and outside of the city attempted insurgent attacks upon their Miroslavan occupiers as they rushed to prepare for the conflict. Only one attack in five succeeded in so much as scratching a Miroslavan soldier. Three of the twelve Kushan teenagers responsible could not be positively identified by the Miroslavan People's Revolutionary Army garrison which oversaw law enforcement in the Special Administered Region. As a consequence, all forty teenage Kushan boys in the district were summarily executed by firing squad. The three missing attackers were later positively identified among the bodies.

Far from the heart of their political leadership and under constant, wary watch from the Miroslavan People's Revolutionary Army, the officers and sailors of the Northern Fleet of the Miroslavan People's Navy had never found time or opportunity to fall into laxity and the comfortable corruption enjoyed by their commanders in the south. The submariners of the Northern Fleet in particular had kept their vessels in perfect, battle-ready condition, occasionally with their own sweat and blood. Thus when the order came to sortie against the Mezhists the men of the Northern Fleet only allowed themselves the ten hours necessary for final preparations for the fleet to depart to enjoy the young girls of Polyarnoye one last time before they went to their deaths.

The Northern Fleet set sail for Boliatur two days before the Grand Fleet ever left harbour.

 

[Josepania]

OUM* Dawid Grudzinski Premier class Battleship Bridge, Battle Fleet Oswiecim
Snieg Ocean, Course Southwest

The choppy, steel grey seas smashed into the bow of the battleship repeatedly, the latter valiantly weathering the assault and cutting through those waters with observed ease. The hull of this mighty warship was designed for such rough seas, though at times the crew wondered if that were truly the case, considering the pitching they experienced as each wave was rode and passed. Even the valiant and stalwart Admiral Jerzy Czernicki, reputed by many superstitious sailors to be an incarnation of the sea's essence, felt his stomach protest weakly against the movement of the ship.

He could not show weakness, however, as his fleet and indeed the rest of the Mezhist Union could not show weakness, be it to each other, their Hated Enemy, or the world. The navy of the Union was the smallest of the armed forces, but also one of the proudest, as it had been amongst the first to embrace the Steel Revolution, the army following soon afterward, but not soon enough to escape the jeers from the sailors to soldiers that they "arrived late to the party". Lower Swiecziema had also, despite the merciless Snieg Sea, possessed a strong maritime tradition that made it the perfect choice for basing the majority of the navy, helped also by the simple fact that they had more coastline to defend. While Upper Swiecziema got the prancing, flamboyant "Knights of the Air", as those ridiculous flyboys called themselves, Lower Swiecziema kept the stalwart navy alive and going.

For good reason too. Although the Hated Enemy's navy was still stuck in the 1920s, at best, there could be no slacking off in terms of funding or competence, for the Mezhist Union had other foes on the high seas that needed countering, such as the post-delegationists in Touzen and their puppets in Jurchen. Although it was rumored, despite the propaganda, that the post-delegationist fleet could still out-class the Union navy, the sailors and officers dismissed such talk as nonsense, probably originating from the jealous ground-pounders in the army. One thing was for sure: the Union Navy could sweep aside the Soviet Navy, even if that money trap of an aircraft carrier they had been working on was ever built.

Yet despite the clear disadvantage, the Soviet Navy's Northern Fleet was now charging northeast valiantly and gloriously, perhaps bolstered by the fact that they, unlike their southern brothers in the Grand Fleet, actually took care of their ships and kept them in a decent state of repairs. Perhaps they were hoping to catch the Union Navy by surprise, a hope that was in vain. The various battle fleets of the navy had been preparing to escort intervening forces to Boliatur, in an effort to break the hold the Jurchen Republic had over that cesspool of a country.

Now, though, with the Soviet declaration of war and invasion, priorities rapidly changed, and the ships of the Battle Fleets Oswieczim and Pilzno, along with the 1st, 5th and 6th Submarine Wolfpacks providing support, left port, gathered under the banner of Admiral Czernicki, who christened the group the "Snieg Fleet", and set sail for the southwest to meet the incoming Soviet Northern Fleet head-on. The Snieg Fleet outnumbered the Northern Fleet not just in numbers, where they enjoyed a two-to-one advantage, but also in terms of simple capabilities. According to intel, the best the Northern Fleet had to offer was a cruiser, which was no match in terms of armor or firepower with that of a Premier class battleship, let alone two, let alone the carrier and three cruisers the Union had to counter the Soviets.

Still, though, if they wanted to die so badly, Admiral Czernicki would oblige. He arranged his fleet in a classic formation: carrier in the middle, escorted by his battleship and the battlecruiser, who were escorted by the cruisers, then the destroyers, screened by the nine submarines that would provide a more stealthy recon than the destroyers, as well as making doubly sure no Soviet submarines got any bright ideas. They, not the surface ships, were considered the biggest threat despite their age, and the Union navy would not be embarrassed. That was simply not an option.

Besides, they might get some action in the future if the army's plan worked...

OOC: *Okręt Unia Miecz, or Ship of the Mezhist (technically sword, hush up) Union

EDIT: Changed one battleship to a battlecruiser, Scharnhorst class. It's actual class name is currently unavailable 'cuz I'ma lazy bitch. Just FYI.

 

[Miroslavl]

Skies over the Miroslavl-Swiecziema Border
October 1st, 1952

Hundreds of Miroslavan People's Air Force aircraft filled the skies over the raging battlefields below, the drone of their propeller engines sounding for all the world like hives full of angry hornets buzzing about in search of something to sting. In this case, the 'stings' were aimed squarely at the military forces of the Mezhist Union. Miroslavan ground attack fighters - such as the venerable Iva-40 and Iva-45 'flying tanks' - flew low, their heavily armored frames all but impervious to small arms fire as they unloaded cannon fire and rockets into Swieczieman units withdrawing away from the border, attempting to pin them down in front of the approaching Shock Armies. Above, hundreds of air superiority fighters patrolled for the inevitable Swieczieman counterattack. Predominantly these were propeller-type aircraft, but waiting in the wings for the arrival of the Swieczieman jets were the MaV-49 fighters, arranged into small squadrons of the People's Air Force's most elite and well trained fighter pilots.

But the best MPAF fighters by far were not flying the MaV-49. Waiting patiently behind the great air fleet escorting the 1st Shock Army on the ground for it's chance to shine were the Twenty best and most experienced pilots of the Miroslavan People's Air Force. They alone were equipped with the newest, greatest, and most advanced fighter aircraft currently in service with the Miroslavan military.

It was called the

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.

-----

Soviet Republic of Raigestan
October 3rd, 1952

News of the Danish Imperium's decision to invade the Soviet Republic of Raigestan despite it's stance of neutrality in the greater Miroslavl-Danmark conflict was met with a brief period of dismay by the northern half of the island's inhabitants, followed swiftly by a cold resolution. Military reserves and the national militia were called up, swelling the ranks of the Raigestani Red Army. Volunteers rushed into the hills and forests, beginning to set up hidden encampments for the resistance. Civilians - save for a handful of political dissidents and the clergy of the Miroslav Orthodox Church - fled their homes in the coastal towns and fled inland. The capital city was completely evacuated within forty-eight hours.

The handful of coastal defense ships in the Raigestani Red Army's employ were hidden away in secluded coves or caves on the northern coast, the air force's handful of fighter planes evacuated to isolated landing strips away from the coastline. The Raigestani Red Army would not contest the beaches and coast in the face of a Danish invasion. The disparity in personnel and firepower was too great. For the people of the Soviet Republic of Raigestan, resistance and guerilla warfare were the only hope for continued survival and independence.

And if the people of Raigestan could not be independent of Danish control, then they had little desire to survive.

 

[Serenierre]

Southern Air Command
29. January. 1953

For five days following the Imperial edict to invade Raigestan, the Imperial Air Force had mounted small sorties on the island state, targeting civilian and military areas, scoping out the defences of the island. But it was nothing to what Imperial High Command had planned for the island. The fighters had begun engaging Raigestani planes, clearing the way for the eventual wholesale carpet bombing of Raigestan. A number of fine men had lost their lives at the hands of the communist air force and flak cannons. But, regardless, the main attacks would continue.

For a long time after the outbreak of hostilities in Raigestan, Sikandara had maintained a neutral posture in the happenings on its southern flank but the military was prepared for action, though it had been primarily aimed at preventing any over-ambitious communist stooge from attacking the Imperial State's territory, but the first few days of the Sikandari involvement had been the worst for the Imperial Air Force, in fact they had lost 30 planes in the first two days, alone, due to the suddenness of the attacks. Had the renegade Raigestani terrorists not attacked Akbariyeh, Sikandara really had no motive to get embroiled in the conflict. And so while casualties still continued, the regimented pace now had given the pilots an idea how to proceed into the dangerous skies of the island nation of Raigestan.

With their engines reverberating in the empty skies, at night, incendiary bombs would be dropped on the urban areas, followed by the fighters zooming in close to the buildings, strafing everything with their heavy cannons, and the raid would conclude with the bombers, dropping their payloads on the Raigestani citizenry below. It would be indescribably brutal, the carnage being inflicted on the island by the Imperial Military's aircraft. At times, leaving a bitter taste for the pilots, who had to make sure their hearts remained hardened in this most dreadful hour of war.

Preparations for the ground assault which would essentially end the Raigestani theatre of conflict had begun in earnest following the declaration of war by Sikandara but the generals in Shahdara were still hesitating about whether to mount a full out amphibious assault, which was bound to be bloody and long drawn out, given the communist government's indoctrination of the populace. So while the trains brought six divisions to the southern coast, a few miles east of the city of Akbariyeh, slowly massing the Sikandari Expeditionary Force, the generals remained undecided about the final details. Already, it had been discussed with the Danes that it would be Sikandara's job to mount the ground offensive, with Danish troops joining in at a later date, due to the geographical issues involved from their end.

Inner Seas Fleet HQ

The naval fleet in charge of monitoring the Inner Seas and the vital Straits were abuzz with anxiety, with capital ships on full alert for a Miroslavian assault, and the submarines already dispatched to intercept the Miroslavian naval units, were they to deploy against Sikandara. Further to the south, the Inner Seas Straits could easily be blocked by the laying of mines and sinking of some of the old ships lying around unused, thus blocking the Miroslavian navy, were it to somehow defeat the Inner Seas Fleet. If Miroslav could reach the Inner Seas Straits, and through some miracle even contend with the blockade and mines, it would still have to face the wrath of the Outer Seas Fleet and the Danish Navy, which had been roped in by Shahdara to assist it in such a scenario.

And while the admirals at Naval Command were ready to swing into action, the Council for Diplomatic Affairs had issued a communique to its counterpart in Miroslav, informing them of the fact that Sikandara was not going to attack Miroslav, and was only engaging Raigestan due to that country's sponsoring of terrorist acts in Sikandara. All perfectly reasonable from Shahdara's perspective.

 

[Miroslavl]

Soviet Republic of Raigestan
January 24th, 1953

The Danish bombardment of the small island nation of Raigestan months prior had sent the populace into flight, all major population centers and military facilities being evacuated within a day as their inhabitants took as many supplies as they could carry and retreated into the hills. A small fraction of the population - criminals, subversives, and those weak-willed enough to be convinced to go with them - took to the sea by stealing some of the island's many fishing boats and fleeing east. Ultimately their short-sighted attempts to seek refuge in Sikandara had only worsened their homeland's plight, as the Sikandaran government, sensing blood in the water, began preparations for an invasion immediately after the Danes had delayed their own plans. The rest of the Raigestani population - the ninety percent of the eighty-four thousand people living within the tiny Soviet Republic who had not fled into self-imposed exile - wearily remained in their isolated camps, a handful of scavengers grabbing what they could from their ruined homes and cities before the Sikandaran bombardment began before returning to the hills.

Militarily, the Raigestani Red Army could do little to stop the Sikandaran bombardment any more than it could have stopped the Danish one. The island's limited arsenal of anti-aircraft weaponry had been either destroyed during the Danish strikes or had run out of ammunition, and the Red Army Air Corps' two squadrons of fighter aircraft had been destroyed on the ground after their hidden landing strip had been discovered by the Danes a month into their bombardment. By the time the Sikandaran planes arrived overhead, Raigestan could offer little but scattered small arms fire to dissuade them from attacking.

In the time of hardship that had come upon the island, only the Miroslav Orthodox Church retained the power to do what help they could. The island's priests had long since withdrawn to the Monastery of St. Nikola, a sprawling complex ignored by the Danes for it's lack of military usage roughly an hour's walk from the Raigestani capital a century prior when Raigestan had first fallen under Miroslavan control. Rather than bring the Raigestani population to heel with military force, the then-Kingdom of Miroslavl had instead dispatched the clergy, who had peacefully brought an end to Raigestani resistance through charity and missionary work. The Monastery of St. Nikola had proven vital in this effort, just as it now proved vital to the well-being of the Raigestani population. Pregnant women and infants had been moved to the monastery to shelter them, and the priests and monks did what they could to provide food and medical attention to the hill militias closest to them. Even then, hunger and sickness began to take it's toll upon the civilian population.

As the Sikandaran army readied itself for an amphibious assault, the Soviet Republic of Raigestan was left nearly powerless to defend itself. Their only hope now rested with their ally and chief protector to the north - Miroslavl.

-----

Volodymr, the Soviet Republic of Miroslavl
January 29th, 1953

The sudden Sikandaran declaration of war had caught the Miroslavan government largely by surprise. With all attention focused on the grueling war against the Prime Enemy, the only thought spared for Raigestan had been the abandonment of the People's Navy's plan to mine the White Sea straights. The naval officers who had attempted to move forward regardless had been arrested and shot. As news of the Sikandaran declaration of war reached the Soviet Republic, the Grand Fleet of the People's Navy had been hurriedly withdrawn back to shore, albeit not at the normal Grand Fleet base in Alexandrovsk. Rather, the fleet now found harbour near the capital, Volodymr, and settled in as the new Main Command began a thorough purge of the Grand Fleet's bloated and corrupt officer corps.

Militarily, with it's borders pressed by the Swieczieman military forces, the Soviet Republic could initially offer little assistance to Raigestan as the Sikandarans prepared their invasion. The new Premier had outlined a plan, however - a plan that the Miroslavan Soviet Armed Forces was expected to follow. Quietly, they made preparations to do so.

Said preparations took five days. The MPRA 3rd Shock Army Group, battered but unbroken from it's failed offensive into Upper Swiecziema nearly five months prior, had already been completing it's reorganization on the western outskirts of Volodymr in preparation for reassignment to the northern front. Now, it instead turned south.

In the early hours of dawn, on January 29th, with the skies burning red, thirty-five thousand guns of the Miroslavan People's Revolutionary Army and Miroslavan Red Guard opened fire in unison, beginning an all-out bombardment of Sikandaran military positions across the narrow Miroslavl-Sikandara border. As the creeping barrage rolled south, the 3rd Shock Army Group, reinforced by MPRA elements of the Volodymr defense forces, followed in it's wake.

Their advance was far different, now. No more was this the death march the 3rd had conducted last year. The 3rd Shock Army Group no longer carried it's own supply of chemical weapons for indiscriminate use, nor did they target civilian settlements and infrastructure without cause. The new Premier would not tolerate such actions. Instead, the 3rd slammed into the Sikandaran military like a runaway freight train with a fervour born of grim determination and religious piety.

The Patriarch of Miroslavl himself had called upon the Soviet Republic to defend the brothers of the faith in Raigestan. And if Miroslavl could not reach Raigestan to assist it directly, then they could distract the Sikandaran invaders away through an invasion of Sikandara itself.

 

[Serenierre]

The Burjzam Campaign

Burjzam Province – The day of the invasion
29. January. 1953

Sikandari military planners had long understood that the plains in the immediate vicinity of the Miroslavian border were – quite frankly – indefensible. So, the Imperial Command had used higher grounds, the hilly and undulating lands further to the south, under the imposing presence of the northern mountain range of Katti Pahari, to establish the line of defence. Utilizing the natural advantages of the land, such as the enviable vantage point of the plains below and plenty of slopes and ditches to use as cover in the face of any invasion from the northern frontier.

Yet, at the same time, Imperial Command did not simply yield thousands of square kilometres to an enemy force, much of the plains, up to the northern limit of Torkhan, were crammed with many types of anti-tank and personnel barriers and ditches, along with large minefields, all with the goal of delaying the enemy's advance. To create bottlenecks, that was the goal, which could essentially make the incoming forces easier targets for the aircraft of the Imperial Air-Force. Many of their men and tanks would be damaged under the brutal onslaught of those mines and of the aircraft.

So when at dawn that day the Miroslavian howitzers opened fire and their units entered Sikandari territory, the first response from the Imperial Military was to immediately dispatch interceptors and fighter planes to engage the Miroslavian air forces. With the sun behind them, giving the Sikandari forces cover, the Tenth & Seventh Air-Force's fighters attacked the Miroslavian ones, engaging them in vicious dogfights. It was clear that the IAF enjoyed the advantage as far as numerical superiority was concerned. More than the skill of the pilots, on either side, the direction of the sun would prove to be decisive. The IAF had seven hours, before the noon, for the sun to still be an ally. In that time, they had to engage as many of the enemy's aircraft as possible.

To continue with the next phase of the aerial component, the IAF needed aerial superiority. In the meantime, the Miroslavian land forces would be busy contending with the clearing of the minefields and crossing the AT and AP ditches and barriers. The very nature of the defences assured a period of time where the land units' mobility would be hindered considerably as they cleared pathways through the dense layers of defensive measures.

As far as land forces were concerned, Imperial High Command had chosen to engage the enemy along the banks of the Panjzam River, where the terrain favoured the defenders, the river provided a natural barrier to the enemy, if the imperial forces had to withdraw for strategic purposes. With howitzers and tanks primed to the ready, the infantry units had burrowed themselves into trenches and prepared themselves for a long fight, as the supply lines from behind piled in hundreds of thousands of containers of bullets, grenades, bombs, shells, mortars, among other supplies.

The Battle of Panjzam, whenever the Miroslavian forces would roll down the plains towards the river, would be a battle which decided the fate of the course of the campaign. For whoever controlled Panjzam, controlled the highways to Tabuzam, and whosoever controlled Tabuzam, controlled all of the Burjzam province. For in this rugged, unforgiving terrain control of the highways was the paramount concern. Without them, it would be next to impossible for troops to be moved around the Province, given the roughness of the countryside. It was here, on this river that destiny would unfold.

Shahdara – Imperial High Command

The Imperial War Council, upon receiving word of the commencement of the invasion, had been convened at the Imperial Military headquarters. The Emperor, the top military commanders, the Chancellor and Grand Councillor for Defence sat at the conference table, overlooking a detailed map of the Burjzam province manned by crisply uniformed men on the lower level. From here, they would be contact with the commanding officers of the Army Group West and its subsidiary units, keeping an eye on the proceedings with the help of the massive map, with units displayed.

When the Emperor had taken the decision to invade Raigestan, no one in Shahdara could say that Miroslavl would not react, after-all it was an open secret who pulled the island nation's strings. But the question in Shahdara for those unbearable days of ambiguity, was not if Miroslavl would react, but how would they respond. In Shahdara, two schools of thought emerged to answer that question. Miroslavl had two options, they said, with one group insisting that a ground offensive through Burjzam was likely, and the other claiming that a naval battle would unfold, as Volodymr would attempt to push its way through the Straits of Sikandara to reach Raigestan.

As both theories were sound in their reasoning, orders were despatched to, Admiral Brohi and Field Marshal Bakhtiar, the commanders of the Inner Seas Fleet and Army Group West, respectively, informing them of the possibilities following the Sikandari assault on Raigestan and to commence preparations to handle the situation. Those orders had been issued two weeks ago, giving the two forces plenty of time to mobilise, following months of high alert, and be prepared by the time the Miroslavian onslaught on Sikandara began.

From the secure connection, Field Marshal Bakhtiar said, "Your Majesty, our ground defences will hold them at bay for a considerable time, while our aircraft have already begun engaging the enemy air force contingents. The Panjzam defensive line is also fully garrisoned and ready for the incoming assault."

"Yes, Marshal Bakhtiar," the Emperor nodded, looking down at the map, "Given the enemy numbers, is there any chance they will try to mount Katti Pahari and the other hills? Especially around Bundel?"

"Sir," the field marshal said, "it is highly improbable that Volodymr would devote manpower and hours to a futile endeavour such as climbing those peaks, which are impassable at this time of year, even to us, as avalanches and mudslides are common in the Bundel area. And the other mountains, north of the Panjzam Line, are manned by the mountain units of 616 Corps, who are well fortified and can effectively defend the peaks. But again, given what our intelligence says, it is an all out armoured assault, in classic Miroslavian strategy, it would make little sense for them to throw tanks up into the mountains and hills... it would make no sense at all, whatsoever... we ourselves have trouble with anything larger than 4x4 trucks on those mountains where we haven't created the highways, and we know the way around the terrain. So I doubt that as well."

"And so, Panjzam, Your Majesty," the Chief of Army Staff, added, "is the only logical choice. They know the importance of Panjzam and Tabuzam, so that is the most probable, logical and sound direction, for the Miroslavians, to move in."

"Hmm," the Emperor nodded.

Inner Seas Fleet – En route to Panjzam

The fleet would be in Panjzam fairly soon and then begin its patrol of the waters in that region. The redeployment also was aimed at reducing the distance between the Miroslavian Grand Fleet and the Inner Seas Fleet of Sikandara, for whenever the two fleets came head to head during conflict. Coded messages from the Danish fleet had arrived to the Inner Seas Fleet that it would be joining its campaign and had begun to withdraw from the waters around Raigestan, transferring responsibility to the Southern Flotilla of the Imperial Navy.

The Straits of Sikandara, a few days previously, had been completely closed off to commercial traffic, with only Sikandari and Danish military vessels allowed through the strategic waterway. Admiral Brohi, commander of the fleet, had been inspecting the main battery of the battleship INS Rahbar when he was informed of the Miroslavian offensive's beginning. Without delay, he ordered the fleet to increase its speed and to hasten its way to Panjzam.

The submarines, having embarked operations earlier, had reported little hostile activity in the region but had remained on the highest alert. Now with the beginning of war, the admiral sent ahead the anti-submarine boats to detect and destroy possible enemy vessels.

The Raigestan Campaign

Southern Air Command – Raigestan
29. January. 1953 – Nightfall

The aerial bombardment began as soon as darkness covered the land. The small island was besieged by scores of bombers, dropping thousands of pounds of explosives onto its soil. The fire from incendiary bombs and napalm consumed what little was left of the island's settlements and continued to spread, as far as the pilot's vantage points were concerned. The bombing campaign continued through the night as wave after wave would go deeper and deeper into the island, aiming to destroy more and more. In a week, on the tentative date of 5th February, the true campaign would begin. When the paratroopers would be deployed and the amphibious landings would begin. Till then, the island and its populace was to be subjected to near constant attacks from the air and from the sea.