Reformation. Revolution.

[Natal]

Kastoria
06/04/1954
1945 hours

Thanasis Laskaris was looking outside the window of his office, overlooking the Revolution Square. He was looking at the people passing near the statue of the “Heroes of the Revolution”, a concrete statue showing three soldiers of the Red Guards that were preparing to attack, when he heard a loud knock on the door. He turned around and took a second to look at the austerely decorated office. On the desk, in front of some files and nearby a lamp stood a small bronze bust of Agapios Iordanos. The walls that were adjacent to the one with the window had two huge bookshelves, while near the door the official portrait of Laskaris was framed. A soldier wearing the service uniform of the Department of State Security, his epaulets showing that he was a captain entered the room.

“Comrade Warden, Commissar Samaras wants to see you.”

“Let him enter.”

After a few minutes, the former Premier of the Socialist Republic, Chairman of the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] International and General Commissar of the Department of State Security entered the room. As Samaras, a small, balding man, wearing the uniform of the DSS, entered the room, he saluted by the book, waiting for Laskaris to welcome him. When he saw him, Laskaris couldn’t help himself but smile, as he knew that all those formalities coming from Samaras were just sarcasm, making fun of the fact that his young protégée, Laskaris, now held the highest office in the state, while he was now just a clerk of the secret service.

“Come sit, old friend!” said Laskaris smiling. Samaras seated himself on a chair in front of the Warden’s desk and presented him with three portfolios.

“Here is a list of collaborators of the Mezhists from Estland. I have added not only collaborators of the government, but also possible… let’s say friends… of a future German Mezhist movement. In general, high class, or upper middle class persons. They must disappear… Any potential roots of the Mezhist movements must be destroyed. We need to be sure that the Commonwealth will be a bridge between us and Cantignia…a stable bridge,” said Samaras as he gave one portfolio to Laskaris.
“I see,” said Thanasis as he looked at the list of names, thoughtfully. “We need to make sure that what we do with them,” he said as he was waving the file, “will not descend into a general Dane hunt. We must be sure that it won’t even be seen as a hunt of any kind. We must work in complete secrecy.”

“I think that we may stop it from descending into a Dane hunt, but I don’t believe that we may still keep it in complete secrecy, as the Eiffellander and Asylan agents are very toady and always near Kammerschen, but also trying to bring their capitalist machinations into the new country that we try to create. For them, it would be the best if this civil war would be lengthened as much as possible. They are like vampires who live from this kind of situation. If they cannot win and create a capitalist, so called democracy in the Commonwealth, they will surely do anything to bring this state into a perpetual civil war, because they are afraid of stable socialist societies,” said Samaras darkly.

“We need to make everyone see that the Danish people, the workers, the lower class is not supporting the Christiansborg government. That they would join the fight if they would have the chance. The whole world must understand that the average Danish worker would join the revolution if he would be sure that the revolutionaries won’t harm him, simply because he is Danish. Everyone must understand that the language that you talk, or the ethnic group you are part of doesn’t matter in the long run. What matters the most is the social class you are part of. Look at the so called brain drain from Danmark to Sikandara, Samaras. Look at that so called intelligentsia. When I was younger, I always believed that education makes you emphasize more with the human suffering and I was so naïve when I believed that. Look at all those who run to Sikandara. The schooling system in the Danish Imperium was something that only the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy could afford. Do you even think that if they couldn’t have left they would have accepted to work hand in hand with the common folk? They would have been the first that would have tried to sabotage the socialist economy! Look even at the country they are fleeing towards! Of all nations that are around them, Wiese, Cantignia, Tiburtina, Eiffelland, us, countries that represent the whole political specter, they are running to Sikandara! This country is the most similar to their autocratic style. They don’t simply run because they want to save their lives. They go to Sikandara because there they will preserve their power, wealth and elite status! I will not even be surprised if I would find out that when the war will be over, the Sikandari will declare that a government in exile would be formed in Shahdara!” Only after he stopped, he observed that he was shouting. He took a deep breath and he apologized to Samaras.

“Comrade, it is clear. The old elites must be fully replaced by new, more progressive… more human ones.”

“Exactly, Samaras. I want you to send my thoughts regarding the elites and the brain drain to Sikandara to Kammerschen. What is in the other two portfolios?” he asked pointing at the other two files in Samaras’ hand.

“Copies of the same list. The first one will be sent to Antipater Lekkas, one to Leonidas Paraskevopoulos and the last one to Chrysanthos Rallis. “

“Good… Also, regarding the Danes being seen as part of the revolution… I want your department to start a propaganda campaign in Estland. I want to see flyers and posters that celebrate the unity between Germans and Danes everywhere. They must understand that they must work together. Tell Lekkas, Rallis and Paraskevopoulos that if someone would be caught of harming Danes just because of the ethnicity, they are to be executed immediately.”

“Yes, comrade,” said Samaras as he shook the hand of the Warden and left his office.

Reval District
06/04/1954
2010 hours

I told Franz that such things will happen. In such moments, hunts for what the people perceive as being the enemy, are impossible to stop. What angers me the most is the presence of the two agents, Savon and Nielsen. They are like a pain the ass. I try with all my efforts to make Franz concentrate on the military offensive, but those two immediately intervene and try to steer him away from that, starting to talk about witch hunts. They are like small little children. They don’t understand that in a war, people still die; yet, they come here preaching about a puritan revolution… it’s like they are the communist activists that say stories about how everyone joins together and fights the oppressors and their utopic revolution ends with the whole people united, with the oppressors defeated and with no blood spilled. They must be brought down to earth. There is no such thing. Even in Carentania, that is a model for socialism, you still have the original Mezhists that said that the people were so tainted by socialism that they must all be exterminated. You have the Phalangists in Tyrrhenia; you have the emperor in Yujin. There never is unity; people still have to die. THEY STILL DIE!

In the last few days, as we marched north, I saw a girl. A small child, I believe she was no more than ten years old. She was standing beside the road, near her mother’s dead body. She was shot in the stomach… I believe it was in front of the eyes of her daughter. The girl was crying. I ordered one of my men to take her and send her to one of the medics, but the girl held on to her mother’s corpse and she started screaming as Alexis was pulling her away, yelling: “But she is still alive! She has to be alive! She moved!” and crying and yelling and crying even more. I couldn’t stand it, so I started walking faster to distance myself from the scene. But I couldn’t escape it. The woman’s face and the girl’s crying were stuck in my head. I made a mistake trying to continuously recall the woman’s face. When I don’t speak to anyone else, I think of her. I try to recall her face and the girl’s crying. I know it’s bad for me, but I can’t help it. Even if my ration says that I must forget this episode as quick as possible, I simply can’t… I start to feel guilty of everything that we are doing here if I don’t think of that. If I’m not recalling the whole scene, I feel like I’m being ignorant to what is happening here. Even if I try to say to myself that it’s a small sacrifice compared to the bright future of this country, I sometimes start to ask myself if it’s necessary… or what is actually the red line, from which we can say that it’s enough? But we are in the middle of a revolution! PEOPLE STILL HAVE TO DIE!

I can’t stand it anymore. But still, I have a duty. Not only to myself. I currently feel like I’m less than nothing…. A bug still has more reasons to shadow this earth than me… but still I promised the Germans my support. I want all of this to end. I want to return to Ayios Andronikos. If I could travel back in time… to be a kid again, like that girl… I never knew my dad. He was killed in a Phalangist terrorist attack in Palekastro, but at least, I would have loved to feel that loving care from my mother a little more… but the Mezhists in Danmark killed her when she went to Christiansborg to help her sister move to Tyrrhenia. She was killed, and I remained in the care of the state… and I feel like one of the shittiest person alive after this “care” from the state and what I had to do to repay my debt to it. Horrible… But I want this to end as quickly as possible and I sank so low in shit that I start to have very polarized feelings regarding it: sometimes I feel the stress, the depression, the pressures of all those actions that take place around me, but sometimes I feel that I sank so low that it doesn’t matter. That I am like a rat for the society and I must be one of the freest persons around, as I feel that I disappointed so many people that no one puts any hopes in me. Or am I actually the one disappointed by myself? Enough of this. The revolution still takes place around me and people are dying. I cannot stop it, but nor did I start it, so I shouldn’t feel any remorse… but if I shouldn’t feel… why do it feel? What of all the children like that girl that I have brought in such despair? NO! STOP IT! SHUT UP! A whole civil war takes place around you. PEOPLE ARE DYING! You cannot stop it and that’s it. I can do only one thing: make sure that it ends as fast as possible. For that I needed Franz to be fully concentrated on the offensive. I called Alexis to me.

“Do you remember the plan regarding the foreign agents?” I asked him as he came to me. Immediately after I questioned him, he became pale.

“The kill and then run one?”

“Yes. Next time Savon or Nielsen intervenes to talk to Franz about anything regarding the Dane hunt. Do it. I will write tonight a paper for you that will let you return to Tyrrhenia unhindered. After you pull the trigger, don’t stop until you reach Dhekelia and then lay low.“

 

[Josepania]

30 Miles East of Skanderborg, Kongenbjerg District​

The Danish Empire, Germania​

***

"Major Savon's suggestion reminded me that, no matter the noble intentions of [MENTION=1673]Asylan[/MENTION], their interests were still prevalent, and my suspicions were immediately raised when he suggested his home country as a destination for the Danish refugees. Admittedly, I was paranoid considering the flood of Danes to Sikandara, talented ones too, but I had a feeling that once the Danes made it to Asylan, few would want to return. I wished for the Dane Hunts to stop, more than anything... but I also wanted the exodus of Danes to stop as well, lest we be bled dry and weakened further after the fighting was over and done with..."

***

13:15 Germanian Standard Time, 5/4/1954​

Franz sighed and removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose to fight off his now constant headache. "I must admit, Major, your suggestion gives me pause. Would their refugee status in Asylan be temporary, or do you expect this to be more of a permanent evacuation? I don't suggest that you speak for your government, but I remind you that they have their own interests, and if given the opportunity I expect many Danes here, regardless of our future intentions to integrate them into the Commonwealth as equal brothers, will want to leave and never return, promoting instead a mass exodus started by Sikandara. The Commonwealth is bleeding, Major, and I wish to stop this trickle of my country's future lifeblood before it becomes a torrent."

Franz put on the glasses once more and looked up. "I know your intentions are noble, and you wish to save these people's lives. I do too, and I worry myself sick every day I learn that more hunts have occurred. But I must think of the future as well, and I want to see a future where Danes and Kurlanders, Livlanders and Estlanders live together in peace, prosperity, and partnership. For now, I feel our best option is to set up refugee camps for those Danes who truly fear for their lives, guarded by those I trust and overseen by international observers so no corruption or betrayals occur, but even then, I hesitate to do so. To put these people into refugee camps is to make their separation from Kurlanders, Livlanders and Estlanders literal as well as metaphorical. I ultimately need to change the hearts and minds of the people I lead, their current path I fear caused by my initial speeches. My labeling the Danes and Mezhists as the enemy, rather than misguided people who need to be welcomed back into the fold once they realize the error of their ways... it was a common mistake of revolutionaries, Major, one I need to correct before it is too late..."

***

15:30 Germanian Standard Time, 5/4/1954​

Franz knew of Agent Nielsen's intentions, so when he arrived, the Overseer quickly cut to the chase. "Agent Nielsen, I'm glad you're here... I know of your concerns, I share them, and they are shared by my other advisor, Major Savon of Asylan. We were discussing the problem earlier, though I'm not certain we have reached a conclusion at this time... I need to change the hearts and minds of the Commonwealth, Agent, as the other options of evacuating the Danes or putting them in refugee camps is distasteful and, I think, harmful in the long-run. We are already being bled by the Empire of Sikandara, I will not let the bleeding continue into Asylan or Eiffelland. I wish to approach Tyrrhenia of this as well, but I feel a joint propaganda campaign by [MENTION=7]Tyrrhenia[/MENTION], Asylan and [MENTION=18]Eiffelland[/MENTION] is our best option for an effort to convince the people of the Commonwealth that the Danes are not our enemies, but our friends. Once the fighting stops, they must not be ostracized as Enemies of the Revolution, but embraced as Brothers of the Revolution, just as the people of Tyrrhenia and Eiffelland will be embraced. Do you feel as though Eiffelland can contribute to such a cause?"

Before the Agent could respond, Franz continued, pointing to northwestern Kurland, "I also am aware of the Mezhist movement in Kurland, a very troublesome development. I do not wish to make them our enemies and further complicate this civil war. Ideally I wish for them to work with a future Commonwealth government, but I have to admit I have my doubts... I find myself at a loss as to what to do with them. I know there are some in my circle who would wish them to be neutralized, but that is a last resort in my mind..."

***

9/4/1954​

"The attack on Skanderborg began on the 9th, and as hoped for, it came as a surprise to defending Danish forces. Up until that point, they felt our advance through the northern pass was little more than skirmishes, its importance nothing compared to the southern offensive led by the Tyrrhenian 3rd Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army, supported by the Commonwealth 1st and 2nd Revolutionary Armies, and protected by the Eiffellandian air force. Far beyond making noise in the southern mountain pass, the offensive broke through and quickly captured Kastrup, breaking the Danish hold over the Kroneprovins District and liberating it for the Livland revolutionaries. Plans were swiftly made for the 2nd Commonwealth Revolutionary Army to continue the westward drive towards Ravensborg, the Tyrrhenians and 1st Commonwealth Revolutionary Army splitting off northward towards Wilhelmstad in order to keep Danish focus south, away from our ultimate objective.

That said, though, with the fall of Skanderborg to the Commonwealth, we knew that time was no longer on our side. Anyone with a military brain by that point would realize the vulnerability of Christiansborg and rush everything they could to its defense. The pressure of the Tyrrhenians might buy us some time, as they were the very literally bigger threat, but it couldn't last forever. That was why after Skanderborg fell, we organized the barest minimum of a garrison while we reorganized and pushed westward as quickly as possible.

We needed to take Christiansborg, now, and cut off the head of this snake before it could defend itself, or escape, and prolong this civil war any further."

 

[Rheinbund]

5 April

“Mr. Kammerschen,” Nielsen said, “It is quite simple. If the Dane hunts don’t stop, you won’t be able to build up a stable nation, because no Dane will be willing to fight for it or contribute to it. Then the Commonwealth will be turned into a powder keg that will explode within 20 years from now. Make that very clear to your people. I will be willing to join efforts in a propaganda campaign as proposed by you.”


9 April

The Eiffellandian Air Force had to fight for air superiority above Danmark, a fight that cost about 20 planes. As soon as the air above the battle field in Southern Danmark had been freed, tactical bombers and Mysterium I planes flew in to bomb the Danish forces, which took 2 tactical bombers out of service.

 

[Natal]

2 kilometers east of Christiansborg
11/04/1954
2028 hours

I went outside the command tent of Brigadier Antipater Lekkas to take a breath of fresh air, a great change from the air filled with cigarette smoke inside. The sky over Christiansborg was reddish from the last rays of the sun that was still shining over countries and territories far away to the west. After some deep breaths, I turned around and reentered the tent. As I approached the table on which the map of Danmark was located, I heard Brigadier Lekkas:

“Check your clocks. It is half past eight. The fireworks will start any second now.”

He was right. Not even five seconds have passed after he finished the sentence, that whistling coming from falling shells could be heard, followed by clogged sounds of explosions taking place in the distance. The explosions came from mortar fires from the Tyrrhenian and Commonwealth side. To hasten the march, the heavy artillery was taken by Paraskevopoulos to his southern offensive, while the northern one barely uses mortars, because they are easier to transport.

The barrage, targeting a series of trenches and bunkers that the Mezhists have hastily built to defend the capital took nearly an hour. The sun has disappeared, but the continuous barrage of explosions continued to brighten the night.

When everything stopped, an intense and oppressive silence had fallen on the whole battlefield. Scouts were sent to see if the defenses of the Mezhists are still standing, but when they returned, they reported that they didn’t see any move, nor any sounds coming from the Mezhist lines. This made Lekkas order the solders to advance and enter Christiansborg. I was looking at them advancing towards the bumps and craters from what were before the Mezhist lines. There was a strange quietness around. For a moment I even observed that for the first time in my live, I heard no sound, nor was I aware of my pounding heart. I all ended when after a few shouts, shots started to be seen from the Danish line, taking our men by surprise. With no cover around, many were shot. I was shocked to see how many machine guns were firing from the Danish lines. I quickly returned to the command tent and desperately looked at Lekkas. He understood immediately what was happening.

“Call them back to our lines!” he quickly ordered to one of the soldiers standing at the entrance of the tent. “Time for plan B,” he said to himself. “Call Astra 2-3 and tell him to start plan B.” Lekkas told the communications officer and afterwards he ordered the mortars to fire again.

The road to Christiansborg was opened six hours later, after a flanking maneuver in which the CM-40 armored cars produced in Carentania at the beginning of the 40s attacked the defense line from the south and from the north, while the infantry units were attacking the center of the defenses, coming from behind a rolling artillery barrage. After the mortar fire and the attack of the armored cars, the infantry still had to fight hand to hand with remaining pockets of Mezhist resistance.

 

[Asylan]

13:16 Germanian Standard Time, 5/4/1954​

"I apologize, I'm not a politician and I haven't been authorized to make any sort of deal with anybody. I usually just think of the quickest less deadly way to get a job done. I assure you, Asylan isn't interested in stealing the Danish population away from you. My suggestion though... is don't label anyone the enemy. Put it into your people that this is a job that has to be done, but make them hate every second of it. It sounds like an impossible task, but if focusing hatred on one party is a current strategy, dealing with the repercussions of that in the long term could cause horrible issues, and could put you in a civil war again. I agree it needs to be reversed."

He sighed and walked around the map again, "While we may not like the idea of the camps, it may be our only way to protect them. We will make them voluntary of course. But onto military strategy. Tyrrhenia forces are close to Christiansborg now and they are laying siege as we speak. I don't believe we should enter the city yet. Assuming you want to keep the capital what it is now, I think a largely intact city would be the best victory for you. We can take the lands surrounding the city cut them off from all forms of reinforcement, but I believe preserving the infrastructure of the city is paramount. On top of this if we can get them to surrender instead of fighting a massive long battle in the streets of the city we can save a lot of lives and prevent a lot of hatred in the future. Unifying the two sides of the country can get us to the point to get the enemy to surrender, and I believe that needs to be our focus now."

 

[Josepania]

30 Miles East of Skanderborg​

The Danish Empire, Germania​

***

15:30 Germanian Standard Time, 5/4/1954​

“Excellent, Agent Nielsen…” Franz responded. “Any support you can convince the Kingdom of [MENTION=18]Eiffelland[/MENTION] to send our way will be used to its fullest extent by the Commonwealth. I will fight for a stable state to the best of my abilities, it’s good to hear you will do so as well…”

***

13:15 Germanian Standard Time, 5/4/1954​

Major Savon’s reassurances eased back Franz’s paranoia somewhat, a paranoia that had startled Franz somewhat. But then, these were stressful times, and with leeches like the Empire of Sikandara involving themselves in the affairs of his people in a detrimental manner… well, he felt he had to be at least somewhat suspicious of the affairs of foreign actors.

“Apology accepted, Major. I do agree that the focus must shift towards a more positive slant, an optimistic rallying cry, rather than one of defiance and revenge. It will be tricky, though, and will require many resources and manpower that will have to be taken away from the military front, one that requires a majority of my attention… I do plan on approaching Agent Nielsen about this to see if Eiffelland would be able to contribute to such a campaign, and I will speak with Brigader Lekkas as well, to see if [MENTION=7]Tyrrhenia[/MENTION] will assist. If you could get in touch with your government in [MENTION=1673]Asylan[/MENTION], and tell them to send everything and anything they can to contribute, I would be most appreciative. I don’t imagine they’d refuse, same with Eiffelland and Tyrrhenia, as they like you wish to see a stable government and society emerge from the ruins of this civil war… I worry, though, that such a task is titanic in its difficulty, especially considering the mistakes we have made in the past…” Franz sighed and shook his head in resignation, “No matter, we will do what we can, and in the meantime begin the implementation of voluntary refugee camps, until these damned hunts finally end, or we come up with a better solution.”

Moving back to the map with Savon, Franz studied it for a moment and continued, “In regards to Christiansborg, that would indeed be ideal… I feel though that the minute we attack Skanderborg, the Danes will realize what we are up to, and rush all forces to their capital as quickly as possible. We do not have the time to besiege them, to force them to submit. I am hoping we will be able to take the capital quickly with the few forces it possesses, before they have time to reinforce, and its fall, not simply their being cut off, will demoralize and confuse the armies of the Danes to the point that they will be unable to fight us effectively.”

He looked up to Savon, “I want this war to end as quickly as possible, as bloodlessly as possible. Sieges take time, and forces from the southeast, and the west will assault us if we do not assault and take the city now while it is vulnerable. I wish to prevent as much infrastructure damage and loss of life as possible, but I feel it will be worse for us if we do as you suggest. We are also dealing with the heart of this government, and the heart is fanatical in its beliefs. They will, I wholeheartedly believe, not surrender except by the barrel of the gun, and the longer they remain, the worse this war will get.”

Franz, by now, had a hard look on his face, one that made him appear decades older than he actually was, this war had clearly taken a toll on him, “We must, and we will, end this now.”

***

16/4/1954​

”I speak candidly and without hesitation when I tell you that the Assault on Christiansborg was my biggest mistake in the entire revolution. It was foolhardy and suicidal, with all the risks far outweighing the immense rewards. Everything you hear from the propaganda is a lie, or at minimum an exaggeration, because I was not brilliant, there was no mastermind plan that would spell certain doom to the Dansk Mezhists.

I was desperate, and so were my allies.

Because it didn’t matter that we were winning, even in Kurland where Dansk forces were withdrawn to deal with our March to the Sea. Rebel forces there had managed to capture the Mellersted and Pommern provinces, but although Jylland remained contested, even with the withdrawal of Dansk forces the remaining areas of Kurland were firmly under their control. It didn’t matter that we had enacted a massive propaganda campaign with the help of our allies to change the hearts and minds of our populace to show that the Dane was our friend, misguided though he or she may be, that we needed them just as they needed us to build a new society.

We were losing our idealism all the same.

Already, I had heard that our government was beginning to abandon post-delegationist ideals, on the somewhat justified grounds that they simply weren’t practical in our situation. That council communism, although a noble goal, must remain a goal, and that more centralized power was necessary in the initial stages. That although the liberals and the post-delegationists had ideas that must be worked with, it would be socialism and communism, possibly even vanguardist communism, that needed to take the lead. I was not there to halt the shift, and I knew the Tyrrhenians were encouraging this shift. Although I agreed with most of Iordanism, and agreed that we would likely need a transitional phase, I still, then, held desperately onto the belief that we could craft a society of brothers from all ideologies. That there was the very real possibility of a coalition between the socialists and communists, liberals and post-delegationists, united in their faith in our great people and land. Even I could deal that idealism fading, but I refused to give up even then.

That’s why I went to Christiansborg, not because I felt it was the best military strategy, but because I knew the idea we were originally fighting for was running out of time.

The initial assault seemed promising enough. After a brief show of resistance against our armed reconnaissance, we flanked them and surrounded them, overrunning their front lines and driving them back into the capital, from all reports also trapping the Mezhist leadership there. The problem was that the closer they got into the city itself, the stiffer the resistance began, and over a period of five, long, painful days we eliminated pockets of resistance. We did our best to limit infrastructure damage and civilian casualties, but the ability to tell friend from foe, already questionable on a battlefield, was made exponentially worse in Christiansborg, and innocent lives were lost.

The worst part was that, although the Mezhist government showed no remorse or pity for the loss of life, the civilians didn’t care. They rallied along with the military, and made us pay for every foot of ground we extracted from them, and I do mean this literally. The front line became a confused mess, and although we neared the lair of the beast every day, we paid for it in blood and time we could not afford.

Especially on the fifth day, because on the 16th the Dansk 2nd Army appeared from the southeast.

It was nowhere near the formidable and gaudy size it once was when it advanced to meet our March to the Sea. By most standards it was a ragged shadow of its former self. But it, combined with reinforcements from Kurland, soon swiftly surrounded our own forces, and the besiegers had suddenly become besieged. Now we were fighting not just to take Christiansborg, but also for our own very survival. Many times I was begged to flee while I still could, by everyone from random Privates in our army to Major Savon and Chrysanthos himself. But I refused.

I knew I had made a mistake, and I resolved to pay for it alongside the men and women I had dragged into it.

I would even occasionally go to the front lines, more sneak than anything, with a rifle in hand to do my part in destroying the Mezhists in the capital and beating back the reinforcements as best I could. We knew that the 1st Revolutionary Army and the 3rd Tyrrhenian Army was making as best speed as possible to come to our aid, and all we had to do was hold until relieved, but each day that passed we knew would become more desperate.

For our enemy knew they had us on the ropes, and if they defeated us here, they would prolong their political life. If they failed, they would die. In short, they were just as desperate as us to decide things here in Christiansborg.

The events that followed haunt me to this day…”

 

[Rheinbund]

17 April

“Verfluchte Scheisse,” Chancellor Matthias Graf von Seydewitz cursed when he heard the messages from the Commonwealth. He was at the Chancellery, together with Rudolph Kögler, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Philipp Neubauer, the Minister for Internal Affairs, Daniel Wolzow, the Minister for Defence, the land army generals Horst Schenke and Norbert Jahn, the air force generals Franz Schablonski and Ludz Rädermacher, and Karl-Heinz Farnbach, the Staatshauptdirektor des Staatsschutzes, Eiffelland’s secret service. Nielsen had reported back that the revolutionaries in Danmark was not forming the kind of government Kammerschen had in mind, but instead a government that resembled a Socialist one to a high extent.
“Verfluchte Scheisse,” the Chancellor cursed once more. He didn’t want to blame anyone for this. The complete government had made the same miscalculation as Franz Kammerschen seemed to have made. “To what extent could this have been foreseen?”
“Not until Kammerschen went to Christiansborg with the revolutionary troops. He had the situation in his hands. Rallis tried to influence him to a high extent, but Kammerschen also listened to Nielsen and Savon. In any case, we don’t believe that this is happening with Kammerschen’s consent,” Farnbach said.
“But who instigated this?” Von Seydewitz asked. “Rallis?”
“That would be possible, but we don’t know. It could also be that the government members took some initiative on their own while Kammerschen is absent, with Rallis’s approval, and maybe also Rallis’s stimulation. Fact is that Rallis really wanted Kammerschen to go to Christiansborg. Maybe with the idea to get him away from the government for a while,” Farnbach said.
“Verfluchte Scheisse. You really have to count your fingers after having shaken hands with those Godforgotten reds,” Von Seydewitz said. The other people looked a bit frightened to the Chancellor, who was known to be not very fond of socialist ideas but usually did not allow himself such a remark.
“In any case, the only person who can get the Commonwealth government back on track is Kammerschen, who is currently in a very dangerous position. What are we going to do with that fact? Are we going to get him out of there?” Kögler asked.
“Impossible,” Wolzow said. “The only way to do so would be by helicopter, but Kammerschen is encircled. Maybe we have air superiority in Danmark, but not to such an extent that we can prevent that a helicopter flying above a complete Danish army from being shot down.”
“Is it possible to get any troops there?” Von Seydewitz said?
“That would be possible, but they would not enter the battle field on time. Unless we drop them, but then we would have to drop all the paratroopers we have. Maybe we could make a difference, but against very severe losses. I highly prefer a different solution,” General Schenke said.
“What about bombing the Danish 2nd army?” Von Seydewitz asked.
“That is possible, both with tactical bombers and with the B47s,” Wolzow said.
“Then do so,” the Chancellor said.

A few hours later, 4 B47 bombers took off to bomb the Danish Second army. They would be escorted by fighter pleans to make shure that the B54s would not be shot out of the air.


17 April
Reval District

Nielsen was quite a young secret agent, but he had already obtained some experience. So it occurred to him that he was followed. But he knew what to do. Meanwhile, he knew the city, so he knew where to lure the follower to: To an abandoned factory. There Nielsen became the hunter. He approached the man from behind, grabbed the man by the head with his hands (which were so big that they could enclose the man’s head when Nielsen put), lifted the man a a few decimeters from the ground, shook the man a bit, and threw the man into a corner. Then Nielsen disarmed the man and asked: “So, who are you and what do you want?”

 

[Asylan]

April 24th
Twenty Two Kilometers Outside out of Christiansborg
0930 Hours

While the Tyrrhenians had begun their assault on Christiansborg, the battle lines were not so clearly drawn. Savon stood in front of the mess of a tactial map he had in front of him. Little figures all placed on a more detailed version of the area around the capital city. Units were stuck behind enemy lines, and enemy units were stuck in their own lines. Over the course of the battle some units even simply stopped responding to orders, whether it be by the death of whomever relayed communications, or by choice. He was camped out by a large radio, operating it himself when relaying orders. At the moment he was dealing with a new threat. While the majority of Vendland forces had pushed into the city itself, the had been a break in the lines. He decided to take advantage of the situation and had order the 3rd Batallion to fall back and predictably, no doubt due to a lack of surviving leadership, the Danish unit had chosen to pursue them.

"3rd Battalion from headquarters, stand your ground, 2nd Battalion, I want you to split off two of your companies and hit the Danish unit in the rear, take the rest of the battalion and push through the opening the Danes just made." He waited patiently for the radio operators of each battalion to confirm.

"3rd Battalion confirms, holding ground." then after a few seconds, "Second Battalion confirms, we are on our way."

He breathed a sigh of relief. Next to him just a few feet away, the various advisers and of course Franz himself were busy on their radios moving little figures back and forth and looking worried. He set down his handset and moved the figures that represented the units he had just spoken to to their new positions, hoping soon he could pluck the Danish one off the map. The Danes obviously had never had the troops needed for any sort of offensive, but the city was a veritable fortress, and taking it was ravaging the city. He was saddened by this, he knew the city would be a shell of its former self, hardly even worth running government from. He would no doubt have too recommend to Franz that setting the capital in Christiansborg may not be the best idea after the war, maybe perhaps building a new one.

A ragged looking soldier burst into the tent and ran over to the Major, "Major Savon, at least three divisions of Danish units have been spotted approaching to the south. They will be here only in a matter of hours."

Savon stood straight up. My god he thought to himself. The room grew quieter and everyone looked at him. On the table before him were only a small amount of units at their disposal. He quickly thought to himself of what he thought needed to be done.

"Franz, we don't have much time. If those divisions hit us in the rear in our current situation, the assault is finished. I suggest we begin to move all our forces into the shelter of the city as soon as possible. We've taken a good enough amount of territory inside the city itself to prepare for an assault. However we are going to need to crush their attack once it begins to wind down. The 1st division is farthest outside the city and is doing the least fighting right now. We need to pull them back to the southeast and keep them in reserve. We can split our remaining units to continue the attack into the city and then defend our rear. We would be defending against this counter attack with less men, but we would have the benefit of buildings covering us." He stopped for a moment thinking again to himself, "If we do this though, its going to get a fair amount of the city destroyed. There isn't going to be much left. I still believe securing the south is a more tactically viable plan for us... but it is your call."

 

[Rheinbund]

The most important concern of Eiffelland at this moment was to keep Kammerschen alive. He would give Vendland the least leftwing government possible, and he seemed reasonable. But it was obvious that keeping Kammerschen alive during a city battle would be a very difficult task. The best way to do so was to make sure that that battle would last as short as possible. The carpet bombing of the Danish 2nd army with B47s had been carried out to achieve that goal. That had helped, but apparently not enough. Reconnaissance troops on the ground reported the approach of several Danish divisions to Christiansborg.

Air force general Franz Schablonski didn’t hesitate and didn’t consult Trier. He immediately ordered 20 Mysterium II planes into the air to bomb the Danish divisions approaching Christiansborg. He chose these planes, because they served well in a fighter-bomber role, and because they were the fastest planes the Eiffellandians had. Flying at Mach 1.1, they would be on he spot within less than an hour. Several people on the ground would not like it that 20 planes crossed the soud barrier, but that was considered of secondary importance. “We’ll pay for those windows as soon as the shit is over,” Schablonski said.

The Mysterium II planes would attack in four waves of five planes each to make sure that they would not interfere with each other.

 

[Rheinbund]

Air Force Base Kaprun

The damage to the Danish divisions remained to be assessed, but seemed to be quite large. The damage to the Eiffellandian mission was already known. One plane had been downed on the spot by the Danish. It was unknown whether the pilot had survived. One plane had been damaged in such a way that it could not reach the border; it crashed in the mountains, but the pilot had used the ejection seat Now troops in the neighbourhood were trying to look for him. Four other planes had suffered from damage but reached the air force base. The remainder of the planes had survived the mission unharmed. General Schablonski considered the mission succeeded.


Near Christiansborg

About 10,000 Eiffellandian troops had been sent into Danmark. But they were not concentrated. They all operated in small cells. They weren’t very heavily armed, either. But they were excellently equipped for hit‑and‑run tactics. Many of them were already active near Christiansborg, and continuously committed hit‑and‑run actions against the Danish troops. Furthermore, they were the Eiffellandian eyes on the ground. They reported to Eiffelland what happened in and around Christiansborg. Their information were used for bombing missions. Sometimes incidental bombing missions, for instance the carpet bombing mission by the B47s and the quick bombing mission by the Mysterium II planes, but now continuous bombing missions were carried out by B32 tactical bombers while J18 propeller planes and J24 jet planes took the air defence systems under fire and J29 jet planes maintained air superiority.


Trier

Rudolph Kögler considered campaigning for the national elections and fighting a war a very challenging combination, but he had the feeling that he managed it. Thanks to coffee. But he and the Chancellor had agreed about it that Asylan and Eiffelland should coordinate their efforts in Danmark. Therefore, he invited the ambassador of Asylan to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs so that they could discuss the matter, or make clear to the Government of Asylan that the Eiffellandian Government wanted to talk about Danmark. Or better said, about the whole neighbourhood of Eiffelland.

 

[Asylan]

Trier

Ambassador Keskinen approached the doors to the office of the Minstry of Foreign Affairs of Eiffelland. He had been here so many times before, but never had been called for such a deep purpose. From what he had been told, Eiffelland wanted to discuss in essence the state of the world around them, and no doubt what Asylan's place would be in the reformation of Danmark into Vendland.

He was escorted into the building by a pair of police officers, and was led into small meeting room, where he was supposed to wait for the Eiffellandian representative to arrive.

 

[Rheinbund]

Trier

After last Sunday’s elections, Eiffelland’s government was officially demissionary, but a demissionary Minister was allowed to handle current affairs. Like the Danish civil war. Furthermore, the election results indicated that the current coalition could continue governing. Rudolph Kögler would possibly switch to a different ministry, but otherwise not much would change. And when he would indeed go to a different ministry, his successor would probably continue his policy.
In any case, he considered it best to do this meeting himself to indicate how important it was to the demissionary government. Director Michael Kohl guided Ambassador Keskinen to the office of the Minister.

“Good morning, Ambassador. Welcome. You already know Mr. Kohl. He is the director of the department currently responsible for our contacts with Danmark. He will join us in the meeting. Please be seated,” Kögler said. Then he asked if the ambassador and the director would like to have some coffee or tea.

After the coffee and tea had been served, the minister started.

“Ambassador Keskinen, we both know about the situation in Danmark. The position of Eiffelland as a neighbourcountry is as follows. When the Danish civil war started, we were not in the position to step in, because of our involvement in Solaren and because the Danish armed forces were stronger than ours at that moment, especially the Navy. Furthermore, the situation was too unclear at that moment. The appearance of Franz Kammerschen took us by surprise, as well as the Tyrrhenian intervention. Despite the fact that Kammerschen has quite a leftwing agenda, we decided to support him, so that we could gain some influence on him. That was the same as you did. Initially, that worked well, but now that Kammerschen is locked in Christiansborg, his government is steering quite a lot more leftwing than initially foreseen. This must have happened under the influence of the Tyrrhenians, and would possibly not have happened if Kammerschen would not have gone to Christiansborg. At this moment, our strategy is to end the battle of Christiansborg as soon as possible, and after then get Kammerschen back to Reval so that he can bring his government back on track. Our analysis is that it is currently impossible to install a centrist or centre-right government in Danmark. A leftleaning government in Danmark is the best we can get, but we want to prevent a leftleaning Danmark from becoming an RDTO member. I have the impression that your government has comparable intentions, but could you tell us more about that?”

 

[Asylan]

Trier

Keskinen took in the words of the minister, nodding as he spoke. After the minister finished he began to formulate his response,"We understand the situation you are in. Obviously installing Mr. Kammerschen appears to be the goal of every nation involved, and that is also the will of nations of the Triparte Agreement. However Asylan has been running point for the Triparte and we have had some of our own goals in mind throughout this crisis, which I'm sure you can respect. Asylan has never been interested in creating any sort of right wing government, as since you can tell Asylan is by far the most left leaning state in the Triparte. However becoming a communist state and member of the RDTO is something we are both in agreement about. Our adviser, Major Savon, is currently engaged in the battle for Christiansborg, and has been trying to stay the hands of the revolutionaries from committing atrocities. Unfortunately these Dane hunts threaten to expel the most right wing side of former Danmark, which could be used to balance out the population to left leaning instead of radical left. This fight will no doubt wipe out the city, something we had tried to avoid. We would ask that should the Eiffelland government come with aerial reinforcements for the battle that they avoid civilian targets. An angry population post war can only lead to a more radical government to deal with it."

 

[Rheinbund]

Trier

“I am glad to hear that the Triparte has the same intentions with Danmark as we have. We ourselves also have some men in Danmark. One of them is currently in Reval, and was in contact with Kammerschen before the battle of Christiansborg. Furthermore, we have several observers in and around Christiansborg. As far as it goes, the Eiffellandian Embassy in Christiansborg is still functioning,” Kögler said. “Regarding our aerial support, we are already active. At least above Eastern and Middle Danmark, we have air superiority, and we are gaining it above the rest of Danmark. Regarding bombing missions, our air force has strict orders to only bomb military targets. Hitting a civilian target is only permissible when it happens by accident. If our air force bombed any civilian targets, we will have it investigated. This is our policy throughout Danmark. For that reason, our air force won’t bomb anything inside Christiansborg. It did bomb military targets outside Christiansborg though. I know that the Eiffellandian air force bombed several land army units of the Mezhist Danish regime, and that it will continue to do so, but that is all with respect to bombing. We are considering to send in paratroopers in a later stage of the battle of Christiansborg. And when needed, we are prepared for securing Kammerschen. But we have to be fast. For our deployment of soldiers in Danmark, we need a twothirds majority in both chambers of parliament, and we have lost that twothirds majority in the Staatstag, after the Volksunion, a small ultranationalist party, withdrew its support. So from July onwards we will have to withdraw all conscript soldiers from abroad and can only use professional soldiers outside Eiffelland. Unless a miracle happens, that is.”

Kögler took a sip from his coffee. Then he continued.

“Before the Danish civil war, there were plans for a Dano‑Eiffellandian economic zone. We offered Kammerschen to reactivate those plans. The funds for that are still available. However, we cannot do more than that. After the Solaris War, the Germanian League built up an enormous fund for reconstructing Solaren, and by doing so, we kept Solaren relatively calm. Something like that might be needed for Danmark as well, but the Germanian League cannot build up a second enormous fund. And we cannot leave the reconstruction of Danmark solely to Tyrrhenia, because then Danmark will be ripe for the RDTO. Would it be possible for the Triparte to help us with that?”

 

[Josepania]

Nowogrod, Nowogrod District
Rzeczpospolita Ludowa Wendziema

19 / 3 / 1955​

The protests in Novogród were more frequent now. Last week they only happened twice in seven days. This week there was a protest every other day, and what was more notable was that the protests were getting bigger. More flags, their colors tending towards red and black, were being flown and the chants for a return to the ideals of the revolution were getting louder and longer-held. City police kept a close watch on the angry people, unsure of what they’d do if things got violent, but glad that their orders were simply to observe and ensure they remained peaceful. Deputies and representatives in the government were watching as well, some of the more radical ones had even joined in to add their voices to the growing mob, certainly a factor in the increasing size and intensity of the demonstrations.

In the Revolutionary Palace itself, one man in particular found himself unsure of how to respond to the people outside, the people he was called upon to represent. Franciszek Komorowski was a moderate leftist, it was what he had proclaimed at the very beginning a year ago, when the Wendowie were rising against the Dansk tyrants, and so he should be opposed, at the minimum wary of the radical protests going on outside that called the government he participated in weak, a failure, detached from the people it represented and therefore dangerous to the interests of the people.

On the other hand… they had a point. The government was indeed indecisive in the face of unyielding conflict between the moderates and the radicals that were supposed to come together in compromise. But unlike most moderates, Komorowski could not bring himself to support the other moderates in the government. For they were not just socialists like him, they were capitalists, religious conservatives, perhaps a few, as some of his advisors advocated, foreign agents planted to keep the revolutionaries powerless at home and abroad. He didn’t know that for sure, and it was unlikely they made up a majority of the moderates, but the thought occurred to him all the same.

It wasn’t as though the socialists were much better. More and more they were joining hands with the capitalists and the conservatives in their efforts to stifle government activity, for they were scared of so-called “communist warmongering” and “post-statist chaos” as the radicals apparently proposed. The problem to Komorowski was that those same warmongers and chaos-sowers were consistently supporting his ideas and initiatives, occasionally taking them a little farther than Komorowski initially intended, but their support they gave all the same, and they gave it enthusiastically.

For they were constantly praising Komorowski as a “true revolutionary”, as someone who “mastered melding practicality with idealism”, and as “an example all Wendowie, Dansk and Yamanyar* should follow”. The moderates, in stark contrast, stayed silent. He expected little love from the religious conservatives, for his church attendance had declined significantly with the rising responsibility of government, and admittedly growing disatisfaction with their teachings, and ultimately his ideas certainly did not coincide with theirs for government of the people. Neither were the capitalists going to sing his merits to the high heavens any time soon. The social programs he wanted to implement and the regulations he wished to impose were poison in their eyes. But the socialists, surely they would join with their brother and provide the practicality to be melded with the radicals’ idealism.

Alas, it was not to be. At best, their praise was hushed, behind closed doors, and even then, there was a certain insincerity in their smiles and their words. For Komorowski was also aware of other things they said. For instance, that he was a puppet of the radicals, a traitor to socialism, and that he did not have their interests at heart. That’s what his spies, gladly provided by radicals in his government, told him day after day of the closed-door meetings these representatives were enacting… meetings that were turning them into more than simple deputies of the people, moreso politicians that were unlikely to be willing to give up their power anytime soon.

It was a vague power, at that. This was, since a year ago, a government that was transitional, parliamentary only because it was the simplest government to enact while the true government was hammered out and codified in a constitution. Well, a year had passed, and where was the constitution? Where was the new government? Still in the committees being debated endlessly, or rather, held up by the moderates. They feared any government the radicals were likely to support, and seemed committed to ensuring the status quo would win out in the end, and a parliamentary, bourgeois government would become the government the Wendowie fought, bled and died for.

Not only that, but the government as it stood was unbalanced in terms of ethnicities. It was Wendowie dominated, and the prospects of the Dansk and Yamanyar getting any equal representation anytime soon was bleak. These two groups of people, though they were not Wendowie, were ready to support the revolution, and take part in a newer, better government, yet they were excluded, and they were getting angry. If recent reports were true, one of the primary reasons the Dansk Remnants still had any power was because local, disillusioned Dansk moderates were giving them support. Take away that support, and the resistance would collapse. The Yamanyar in the east, meanwhile, were beginning to openly talk about a separate government joined with their Vas brothers, but Komorowski knew that their grievances were ideological as well as nationalistic, and the latter was meant to be a threat to the government to get its act together, and threat that was being ignored.

Elections could not be counted on to sweep these moderates out of power. Not for another year at least, for when this transitional government was created it was decided that two-year terms would be good enough to provide a compromise between being able to govern without campaigning, while at the same time being held accountable. That decision was clearly incorrect, looking at the impatience growing in the Rzeczpospolita Ludowa. Komorowski could not call upon a special election, he had no such power, and waiting any longer could bring further embarrassment and disaster to his people.

Most disturbing of all was a recent report one of his spies had brought him: the moderates were beginning to see Komorowski as a danger, the more he became outspoken about their failures. If he tried anything drastic, it was entirely possible his well-being would be at risk. That was a step too far, in his eyes, but what could he do? Legally, he could not do anything.

… therefore, he had to step outside the bounds of legality, and become a revolutionary again.

It was necessary, it was needed, it was long overdue. Komorowski told himself all of this, and yet he felt numb with fear, for this was going to potentially set off something dangerous and destructive, with no guarantee of success. People were going to lose a lot, perhaps even their lives. Worse, what if he was wrong? What if it was the radicals who were truly the source of all these problems, for they were very outspoken and determined in their beliefs and consistently unwilling to at least talk with the moderates? What if they were using him?

No… of course they weren’t using him. They loved him. He brought them the revolution. He brought them together when they were divided. He brought them victory in the Battle for Christiansborg when they were convinced defeat was just around the corner. He was a hero of the revolution, he had almost lost his life in that revolution, a life he was prepared to give for his ideals that had been betrayed… betrayed! By the so-called moderates. They were the traitors, they had always been traitors. Their enthusiasm for the revolution never burned as brightly as his, or his communist and post-statist allies, true allies. They wanted power, not freedom for all like he did. They wanted revenge on the Dansk, not the dismantling of the Dansk regime. It was clear now… no, wait, it had always been clear, but he had not seen it until now.

But he was seeing now, he saw it all, and it was time to be the hero of the revolution again. It was time to make a few calls to communists, to post-statists, and to sympathetic Dansk and Yamanyar radicals, to stand alongside him and his Wendowie radical friends. He even planned to make a call to an old friend, who had supported him once, but left in disgust over a disagreement the two men had, a disagreement Komorowski realized he was wrong about. What they needed first, before anything else was to be done, was unity, and a plan. A meeting would occur, and he, Franciszek Komorowski, would head that meeting.

The reformation was over. The revolution was set to begin.

 

[Josepania]

Nowogrod, Nowogrod District
Rzeczpospolita Ludowa Wendziema

25 / 3 / 1955​

Days had passed, days filled with meetings held in dark rooms before or after the days work of government, or what passed of it, was done. The moderates seemed to have no idea what was going on, but for all Franciszek Komorowski and his comrades knew, they were doing the exact same thing as they stalled and complained and proposed increasingly unreasonable modifications and ideas for the government out in the open. But he couldn't worry about that, he had no time to. There was work to be done.

It had taken the first three days of meetings to convince the communists and the post-statists to work together, fully and enthusiastically rather than simply because of a common foe. The meetings had been ideological arguments and debates, more than anything, on what exactly they as a group were fighting for and would lead the people towards, and what seemed to be the result was a combination of three ideological beliefs they could all believe in and accept: anarcho-collectivism, anarcho-communism, and anarcho-syndicalism. They all settled in the three camps fairly evenly, a few true socialists who were sympathetic to their cause and reasonable vanguardists were also part of the group, even a smattering of anarcho-liberals, who were not happy with the collectivism but could at least appreciate the elimination of government oppression from the lives of ordinary citizens. They were Wendowie, Dansk and Yamanyar, proportionally distributed and equal in the eyes of others, they were government officials, military men, ordinary citizens and workers, and they were all slowly uniting.

Much credit had to be given, in fact, to the anarcho-syndicalists, who proposed that part of the revolution would be non-violent resistance and the setting up of self-managed workplaces distributed throughout the land, refusing to cooperate with the government and all that supported it, and instead trading only with those who shared their ideals of a better union of the people of Wendziema, Danmark and Yaman, internally and internationally. Around these workplaces a rebel organization could be formed, quickly and efficiently, and its economic legitimacy in caring for those who supported it would soon become political legitimacy, as the failure of the Rzeczpospolita to suppress or cooperate with the radicals would undermine it further in the eyes of the people, here and abroad.

Even now, before the revolution was planned to begin, a shadow government was being formed, an "Enclave" as it was being called by all who took part, for they were surrounded by their foes, but did not and would not show fear or be overwhelmed by the apparent might and legitimacy of the Rzeczpospolita. A constitution was being crafted as well, one that was making much more progress, both in its creation and in its ideals for the people and for the world itself. It would hopefully be ready by the first of April, when the revolution was expected to begin.

The question for the current meeting was on that topic, and specifically, how to begin.

It was obvious that the syndicalists would organize the creation of syndicates throughout the Rzeczpospolita, and that all those loyal to these far nobler ideals would leave the government and join in, but that wasn't dramatic enough. A signal needed to be displayed, broadcast even, a dramatic sign that would capture the attention of the people, and make the message clear to all who were listening.

To that, Komorowski had an idea, and his idea was quickly supported by all who were present. He needed a radio station created, and his speechmaking had to be put through its paces before the time was right, for there was only one week to go...

 

[Josepania]

Nowogrod, Nowogrod District
Rzeczpospolita Ludowa Wendziema

26 / 3 / 1955​

"The radio station is secured?" Franciszek Komorowski asked, chairing the most recent meeting of "the Enclave" as the men assembled had come to call themselves. It was a sufficient name, and to the more imaginative a somewhat exciting one.

"Yes, Comrade Komorowski." Karl Steinberg replied. He was a new addition to the group, a Dansk, but an anarcho-collectivist, so despite some of the initial xenophobic misgivings of the Wendowie he had been welcomed to their benefit. "My contacts have successfully reached out and negotiated a deal with a local radio station sympathetic to our ideals and willing to cooperate."

Komorowski smiled, pleased not only by Comrade Steinberg's efforts, but also his position as an Enclave Overseer of Transportation and Communication. The Enclave had been busy, setting up a shadow government of sorts, and it all currently revolved around the thirteen men sitting in this meeting just now. "Excellent work, Comrade Steinberg. Let them know that broadcasts shall begin on the first of April, and to be prepared to go underground if necessary."

"I already warned them of the latter, Comrade Komorowoski," Steinberg was quick to reply. "They are setting up alternate broadcasting locations as we speak. No matter what the reactionaries do, they will not be able to silence us."

The grimmace that entered Komorowksi's features at the word reactionaries wasn't as pronounced as it first was, for it was the new term being applied to the moderates in the Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, and it left a bad taste in his mouth. The rest of the Enclave caught on fast, though, so he was not able to do much about it. Besides, he was pleased by the initiative taken.

"Well done, Comrade Steinberg. Well done indeed... Comrade Kowaleski, what is the status of the military?"

Kryzstof Kowaleski, moonlighting as the new Enclave Overseer of Defense on top of his official duties in the Congress, replied, "Divided, Comrade Komorowski, but mostly on our side, if my contacts are correct. In regards to deployments, forces in the west are tied down suppressing a renewed resistance from the Dansk Remnants, but our agents are in the area spreading our ideals, attempting to undercut Remnant support and garner some more sympathy from the soldiers. We are expecting a return soon from the volunteers who went to Cyclopeia, and their presence will do much, no doubt, to bring more support to our side. Our plan of nonviolent resistance should do much to ward off initial military strikes, however. The military, no matter their views, will be hesitant at worst to put us down."

"Good... good. Let us take a small break, Comrades, and we shall continue in about five minutes."

Plans were progressing...