Striking the Balance

[Gherichtisch Reich]

Announcement by the admiral
0833

To all ships: your orders are to sail back to Gorno-Altai for two weeks shore leave, but be back in position by the 15th. To all troops: your orders are to position yourself near the Gorno-Altai and Freiheit border. To all army aircraft: do the same. Thank you.

 

[Sheridan]

Freistadt... What's Left

Jonathon Faust sighed. He was taking this chance to surrender. With Christoph Denever in hiding Faust could control his country again, and decided to save it from utter destruction. His own damn daughter had turned against him, and was going to sell him out to the CoN. He thought that he could defeat Sarmatia, but with the whole world now getting involved in this war he slowly began to realize how certain defeat was.

When he had made the order for surrender, many of the secret police members immedeatly commited suicide, knowing that the Council would either kill them or put them away for life. Faust had seriously considered suicide, but would rather show himself as an honorable man... ha.

He knew that many of the soldiers would feel betrayed, and would never accept this kind of surrender. But it was what was best for Freiheit. Citizens were being killed by the hundreds of thousands, and already the military was falling apart. He was going to make a speech later this week to explain to the people why surrender was neccesary. He hoped that his daughter would have a second chance, and hopefully be involved in any post-war government.

Aquitanian Border Battle

General Dieter had just gotten the order... and was extremely angry. He refused to tell his men about the order, and wanted to keep the fighting going. They wouldn't be able to recieve any new reinforcements, but he had a plan. After this border battle they would move south towards Bayonne.

The Battle of St. George's Coast

Admiral Huit decided that he wouldn't allow his soldiers to through their lives away just becuase the government was to proud to accept defeat. He ordered his men to put up the white flag, and pray for mercy from the Sarmatians.

 

[Breotonia]

Naval Communication Service
Encryption Code: Red
Classification: Restricted
Public Key: file/behold_a_pale_horse/

301300Z JULY 2010
From: NAVCOM - Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood
To: EASTFLEET command ship HMS Armageddon's Edge (CVN-80)
Subject: Operation Homogenous Clarity

It has been reported that Freiheit intends to surrender. A general communication is being sent now to alert enemy traffic of our intentions following this revelation. Proceed with the following order updates:

1. Movement orders should be issued to EASTFLEET to the effect that they close in on the coast of Freiheit and also actively pursue any enemy vessels.

2. Enemy vessels are to be confronted and requested to surrender. Vessels will be boarded and crews will be detained. The most humanitarian treatment of the prisoners is to be expected.

3. Requisitioned vessels are to be held in Breotish hands for the time being. Skeleton crews from other our own vessels should be prepared.

4. In the event that an enemy vessel refuses surrender you are still authorized to engage with extreme prejudice.

5. Continue coordination with Coalition forces as they arrive and maintain protection of commercial and neutral traffic at all costs.​

--------------------------------------------------------------------------​

Naval Communication Service
Encryption Code: NA
Classification: NA
Public Key: NA

301300Z JULY 2010
From: NAVCOM - Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood
To: ALL NAVAL FORCES OF FREIHEIT
Subject: Terms of Surrender

Following the surrender of your government and its armed forces to the Council of Nations coalition we hereby request that all naval vessels of the Freiheitian Government make there presence known to Breotish EASTFLEET so that their crews can be taken into custody. All members of the Freiheitian Armed Forces will be given treatment in accordance with international law and precedent and with all the dignity deserved by a human being.

 

[Sheridan]

Naval Communication Service
Encryption Code: NA
Classification: NA
Public Key: NA

301300Z JULY 2010
From: NAVCOM - Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood
To: ALL NAVAL FORCES OF FREIHEIT
Subject: Terms of Surrender

Following the surrender of your government and its armed forces to the Council of Nations coalition we hereby request that all naval vessels of the Freiheitian Government make there presence known to Breotish EASTFLEET so that their crews can be taken into custody. All members of the Freiheitian Armed Forces will be given treatment in accordance with international law and precedent and with all the dignity deserved by a human being.

30, July, 2010
From: Krei Island Naval Command
To: NAVCOM
Subject: In response to your message...

We comply with the demands of the Breotish navy. We will be sending you the coordinates of what is left of our navy asap.

 

[Breotonia]

Carrier Battle Group "Shadow of Intent"
Green Seas
On Approach to Freiheiter Fleet

Captain Cole was on the deck of the supercarrier Shadow of Intent viewing the the small Freiheiter fleet through binoculars. Even from a distance and even though the ships did not seem to have anything quantifiably wrong with them the fleet look ragged and exhausted. By all accounts the Freiheiter's armed forces had a hell of a time. As the Breotish group approached the collection of ships, consisting of an amphibious assault ships, four destroyers, two corvettes and an undetermined number of submarines, Cole made an order to hail the command ship. He and his battle group had been charged with the capture of these ships and the taking into custody of their crews.

Cole's battle group was one of four that made up EASTFLEET, his had been responsible for tracking ships in this sector and when the sudden news of surrender came through it had fallen on him to move towards the long tailed Freiheiter fleet and request its surrender. At sea the process was going as well as could be expected. Small groups of vessels had turned themselves over to Breotish hands with little or no incident. That being said the fanaticism of their crews was obvious even if they were resigned to their fate. The Breotish tried to treat their fellow brothers at sea respectfully but the their mood had not changed. This sudden change had broken them. They were very depressed. There had been some that preferred the cold embrace of death than the dishonor they perceived in surrender.

Immediately after the Breotish broadcast requesting the Freiheiter vessels turn themselves over the foreign naval forces had been respectably compliant, broadcasting their positions to Breotish forces and transferring their ships respectfully. Cole had doubted such a thing would happen but was happy to be shown wrong when they acted in a honorable manner the captain found consistent with seamen.

Once the group had closed its distance with the Freiheiter fleet Captain Cole sent a message to the amphibious assault ship assuming it probably had the commanding officer on board.

"Attention Freiheiter fleet. This is the HMS Shadow of Intent. I am Captain Cole with His Majesty's Royal Navy. I have been charged with bringing you into custody. Food and medical attention will be provided once your crews has been transferred over to our hospital ships. Please indicate your compliance and prepare to be boarded. Your submarines should surface and prepare for the same."

 

[Sheridan]

Admiral Heely calmly picked up his .45 caliber pistol and walked out of his office. He ordered for the white flag to be put up and for the subs to surface. He walked onto the deck and looked at the ships of teh Breotish Navy surrounding him. He and about 7 other crew members had all loaded their weapons and stood in a straight line facing the Breotish fleet.

As Admiral Heely raised the pistol to his head the other 7 did the same. He looked up at the sky, which was filled with gray clouds. A fitting atmosphere to die in.

"Death before dishonor..." Heely whispered as he pulled the trigger, blowing his brains out in the process. The 7 other officers did the same.

 

[Breotonia]

St. John Amphibious Assault Vehicle
Green Seas

Captain Cole stood with some of his officers staring at the bodies that had formerly been occupied by the souls of Freiheiter Admiral Heely and some of his men. It a quiet moment passed. Cole was genuinely sad to see this, he had knew it would be difficult for a commander to leave his ship but he had not expected this. Of course, under the same circumstances, might not he have done the same? He did not know. He did not want to think about it either. He looked up, many of the Freiheiter crew stood watching, shaken by the loss of the war and the loss of the man that had led them. Cole said, almost in a whisper, "Get these men to the Comfort. Take care of them." The HMS Comfort was the nearby hospital ship. Once on board the captured men would be fed and given medical attention if necessary.

Other ships were taking on the foreign crews as well. Skeleton Breotish crews were being placed on board the surrendered vessels, some of them especially the surfaced submarines, were in bad need of fuel and were being replenished by Breotish supply ships. Once ready they would be make way for Breotonia though some might be required to meet more refueling ships en route.

Captain Cole watched as the bodies of the admiral and his men were covered and carried on stretchers to be taken back to his flagship so that they could be turned over to the Freiheiter authorities as soon as possible so that they could receive a proper burial.

 

[Beautancus]

OCW Magnat, Książę class amphibious assault ship
Coast of Freiheit, location of the Battle of St. George's Coast
the wreck of the FNS Shveer, Admiral Huit's command ship​

The Magnat had been dispatched- along with a screen of missile destroyers and cruisers, and a few frigates- from the main body of the Implarian Task-Force to secure the remains of the FNS Shveer- her crew, and the entire perimeter of the site of the Battle of St. George's Coast. With word of the general surrender spreading like a wildfire through the Task-Force, and the disparate Imperial and Allied forces now moving out of the relative safety of Imperial Oikawan waters to secure the Sarmatian Empire's greater strategic objectives as quickly as possible.

It was a credit to the crew of the vanquished aircraft carrier that they had been able to contain the massive fires that had ravaged some of the lower decks- which were still smoldering in most cases, despite the multiple jets of water that were pounding down on the super-heated metal and vaporized fuel from several Sarmatian frigates.

Kapitan Szymon Okolski had been very carefully observing the activity on board the wreck of the Freiheiter aircraft carrier- which had started to list as more and more of the green-gray waters of the Implarian rushed in past shattered bulkheads. Long before Okolski had been comfortable approaching the vessel, he'd had Naval Infantry on the Shveer- to secure Admiral Huit in particular, as well as what remained of his senior officers. That had gone over without a hitch- and they were already being bustled back to the Despot for some rather extensive interviews with the Imperial War-Marine's Intelligence Office.

With this sight secured- and the skies over this part of Freiheit, if not the entire nation, scoured clean of native aircraft- Okolski had been able to give the all-clear, indicating that all outlined routes onto the shores north and south of St. George were secure. The main body of the Implarian Task-Force's Naval Infantry were already en route, smaller and lighter landing craft dotting the horizon in clusters of three and four.

Helicopters had never stopped flying- and had been delivering increasingly more Special Weapons and Special Air troopers to the suburbs ringing St. George throughout the morning- and now into the afternoon and evening.
Eighty miles north, along the relatively sparsely settled "Middle Implarian Region" of Freiheit, the Magnat's sister ship, the Tarnowska was conducting similar operations- recon units striking into the interior to secure previously identified military installations, armories and ammo dumps- and any pertinent coastal government structures that were viable for Imperial use.

"Carry on Piotr...and see to it that those men are well treated. They fought well, and they surrendered honorably- see to it that the wounded receive transport back to the Merciful Abbess." Okolski muttered to his XO, turning to leave the CIC for his personal quarters- to confer with Admirał Wojownik aboard the Despot. The time-table for their operations had been seriously skewed by the sudden surrender of the Freiheiters, and horribly complicated by the fact that they had simultaneously surrendered to the CoN Coalition forces...creating an entirely unsavory race for territory in the nation that the Empire of Greater Sarmatia had felled virtually single-handedly. Rumors of Rus' meddling around the area of the former capital, Freistadt- now a radioactive ruin.

South-Central St. George
Sarmatian Occupied Territory
1600​

It had been with some shock that Starszy Chorąży (Chief Warrant-Officer) Lech Kaszyce and his fellows in Alpha Flight had received the news of the unconditional surrender of the Freiheiter government- if not some of their more "die-hard" soldiers scattered throughout- and around- this ruined city. The level of destruction that Kaszyce noted throughout the city was awe-inspiring. The Imperial War-Marine, and Strategic Missile Command had been relentless in their campaign against the Niemcy- but it had seemed rather abstract, even knowing what sort of firepower had been unleashed.

Entire neighborhoods had been wiped out by fires themselves resulting from secondary explosions- gas lines and service stations struck in the various bombings. Many of the city's taller buildings had been struck as well- either strafed by passing fighter-bombers, or broken altogether with anti-structure missiles. It had been a ruthless business, and it would be a great long while before this city was worth anything- to anyone- again. The tallest structures for many, many miles now were the roiling columns of black and fiery orange that rose to the clouds, an infernal testimony to what had passed here in the days prior.

Cutting around the southern rim of the city on their borrowed civilian SUV's, Alpha Flight made all due haste to their primary objective- the main highway junction in the southern portion of the city- a stranglehold that they could dominate and use to seal any territory north of that point. The majority of that trek had been quiet, absolutely uneventful, until they'd actually come within sight of their objective. The main highway out of town was absolutely jammed with civilian vehicles- the vast majority of them abandoned, some of them burning. Kaszyce had considered this the worst-case scenario- as he'd been praying that most of the roads and interchanges further into the city would have been choked up well before this many people could have made it here- but such was not the case.

Forced to abandon their vehicles and continue on foot, Alpha Flight quickly encountered resistance, in the form of a regular Army unit that had either not received the order to surrender- or had disregarded it altogether out of despair and terror. By regular army standards, they were even decent troops- not particularly well-armed, but certainly capable and motivated...but they simply hadn't had enough firepower to resist a force so specialized as Alpha Flight. This knot of Niemcy "patriots" had yielded a surprising cache of light armored vehicles, which would have been of great use if a route off of the interstate were available.

And so- the journey had continued on foot, until they'd ascended to their desired location- high enough above the crisscrossing junctions of overpasses and underpasses and on-ramps and off-ramps that fed directly into and out of the former heart of St. George. Coordinates confirmed, and relayed back to the Despot, a flight of Kara-18's were immediately dispatched to obliterate that junction, rendering further travel into, or out of the city to the south- to Aquitania very difficult indeed.

 

[Sheridan]

President Charles Hoffman had become somewhat of a forgotten name in Freiheit. He had been the President before Faust's takeover. He was placed in prison, but was busted out by Socialist dissidents early on. Up until now he had been in hiding, but about 8 hours ago he heard of the governments surrender. His men were preparing to move him into Freistadt, were he and his small guerilla force could work with the Commandry flotilla to defend the city. He did not like the fact that his beloved country had fallen apart so very quickly.

He was being moved in a convoy of civilian vehicles, most of the black SUVs. His car was in the middle, and looked just like any other of the vehicles. He looked out the dark tinted windows at the ruined Freiheiter countryside. Suddenly the vehicles stopped moving.

"We have some armed individuals up ahead Mr. President. They are waiving for us to stop. Should we?" said a voice over Hoffman's radio.

"Of course not, keep moving. If they fire on us or get in the way open fire. We can't afford to be stopped right now." Hoffman said into his shoulder radio.

The armed men passed without any fighting or firing, but still... it was a wake up call to how fast Anarchy had already spread. He hoped that soon they would be in Freistadt working with the Commandry forces.

 

[Aquitania]

Aquitania-Freiheit Border

It was not the tactic of Maréchal Alexandre de Bouglione to stop the enemy at the border, but instead actually to allow them to advance into Aquitania where the minefields and obstacles would force the enemy to slow down to either try to get through them, or try to go around where artillery, helicopters and planes would attack them. Vehicles that did get through the obstacles didn't find it easier going once through as ATGMs and the guns from hidden armoured cars would open fire.

Even the Freiheit vaunted Havocs, trying to stay close and engage Aquitanian ground unit, especially the infantry, so as to avoid the fighters above, found that they were not so immune against those very same infantry, as missiles from shoulder or light vehicle fired SAMs or AA guns would turn the helicopter into just so-much burning scrap metal.

Still, the Aquitanians fell back rather than stand until it was obvious what was the Freiheit objective and had committed themselves to it, the southern route towards Bayonne. It would be the road to Bayonne that Bouglione will concentrate his mechanize forces, especially the amoured brigades and once the Freiheit offensive abilities are destroyed, the counter attack will begin, and with the additional forces on the way from from Guiana and Anglyn, the Freiheiters will not only be pushed back into Freiheit, but their ability to ever threaten Aquitania again will be forever destroyed.

The skies over Freiheit, Northwest of the Border

Much like the units on the ground, the bulk of the Royal Aquitanian Air Force was not attacking the frontline troops advancing into Aquitania, but instead were hitting targets behind the lines such as artillery and other support units, supplies depots and convoys, bridges and other transportation targets, etc.. anything that would deprive the enemy of what was needed to maintain any kind of attack. Flying Lorrainian built Jaguars and Montelimarian built Be.202s Mirages and flying out of a dozen airfields, Aquitanian pilots, like their fathers and grandfathers did sixty odd years ago, were determined to teach the Freiheiters the lessons they seemed to have forgotten during that time.

Bayonne

Vice-Admiral Henri Arquart, under direction from the Admiralty, had ordered his cruiser force to engage targets along the Freiheit coast. Along with their escorts and under naval air cover from Bayonne, the Vigilant and Glorieux, both veterans of the Great War, set sail to once more in the defence of the Grand Duchy, to train their 8in guns on an old enemy, and together, perhaps for one last time, the old fighting ships and the young crews serving on them will experience the glory of battle.

 

[Sheridan]

The Freiheiter Force in Aquitania had recieeved some casualties, admitadley more than expected, but still vastly outnumbered the Aquitanians.

"Tell the army to split into companies. We are going to use our guerrilla tactics now. We won't attempt a full out assualt on Bayonne yet, since our pussy governemnt has surrendered and no doubt our supplies will be running low soon." General Deiter said to the group of officers around him.

They weren't going to risk a full out assualt, and the soldiers still had no idea that the government had given up on them. Instead of moving directly south, they were also going to spread farther East praying that the 1st fleet would go through with its attack on the Aquitanian shore.

 

[Josepania]

On-board the Destroyer ITS(Imperial Tiburan Ship) Vittoria
Off the Coast of Krei Island Northwestern Freiheit - Beginning of Invasion of Freiheit
1645, Local Time

The newest rumor sweeping through the Tiburan Expeditionary Task Force was that Freiheit had just unconditionally surrendered to... well, just about everybody it was at war with, and at this stage likely to some nations it wasn't. Confirmed news of the surrender itself, however, had not reached Contrammiraglio(Rear Admiral) Dino Cipriani's ears, or the ears of any of his bridge staff for that matter. The reason was obvious, but unspoken: the Holy Tiburan Empire would only accept the surrender after the acquisition of Freiheit's northwestern islands were complete. Those islands were considered strategically paramount to the Italo-Sarmatian state, and indeed the main focus for the war against Freiheit. Let their bloodthirsty allies bathe in the fire and destruction that awaited them on the mainland...

Letting out a held breath, Contrammiraglio Cipriani leaned towards his communications officer, "Fleet-wide transmission, engage at will. Repeat, engage at will. Good hunting to you all."

For the three islands, six ships launched missiles half a minute later, aimed for the surrounding areas around the islands' major docks, and for any Freiheit ships that dared to stand and fight. With Freiheit's navy as a whole rumored to be surrendering en masse to whoever happened to be facing them at the time, it was expected that opening salvo would not be answered, and be all that was necessary.

At the same time, twelve helicopters, four for each island, lifted from the warships and flew towards the suddenly besieged docks, each packed to the brim with marines. Their job was simple: secure the docks so that the transport ships filled with the rest of the expeditionary forces could land, reinforce and advance into the rest of the island.

Resistance was expected to be light on the two smaller islands, so preparations had been made for portions of the transport ship fleets for those islands to divert if necessary to Krei Island. Intel suggested, however, that the military forces on Krei Island were primarily recruits, numbering somewhere between 3,000 and 7,000, so the hope was that the diverting of reinforcements would not be needed.

 

[Warre]

Mmmm, I love the sound of Bagpipes in the mornin'.

Incident 1;
Location; Approximately twenty klicks from Freiheit Mainland, near the most narrow point between Warreic territory and the sea.

They had been primed, and been readied. It had been days of waiting, and now the time was coming. To see retribution and subjugation of those Gearmáinis colonists, and see the oh so self-centered Freiheit dealt with. Border-disputes, massacring of indigenous people who had long time been friends of the Warreic people, they were just faint brushes on the things which had turned the Warreic people from having any sympathy for the nation of Freiheit, a break away colony of one of the old Dominican German nations.

With Freiheit having declared war on Warre, there was no need for any sort of diplomatic explanation for what would follow. A classic maneuver of war would come with all hopes, and with the information passed to the Warreic Ministry of Military intelligence, as well as sightings from civilians heading through the mountains of Warreic scouts, there were approximately 150,000 thousand Freiheiter troops heading towards those mountains. Considering the losses that the Freiheiter forces had no doubt had if any reports from fishing ships and other forms of civilian surveillance were true, then there was no doubt that the Freiheit army couldn't hold resistance two ways.

Three of the Warreic Royal Navy's

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, had been sent with the task of going around the jutting peninsula which was the northernmost point of Freiheit; and those three ships, moving at full speed, were coming closer and closer to their destination all the time. Already, members of the Warreic Royal Marines were boarding the 90

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, and they were going about their goal as quickly as possible. The sea-knights would be leaving the Amphibious Assault Ships, with the aim. To capture Gilrae [and in turn northern Freiheit], and prevent any reinforcements coming through Gilrae or towards the crossing of the border in the between the Gabhar [Grau] Mountains. Coming in at the edge of the mountains, they would move towards the ruins of the city, the sea-knight helicopters beginning to offload the 2,160 Warreic Marines who had boarded them. In the end, it was more like two thousand one hundred and fifty troops, as injuries from one of the sea-knights being shot down by an insurgent at the edge of the suburb which they hoped to take as a base for more movements. Already, Warreic

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, were pounding the countryside, in strategic places to dampen the efforts of the Freiheit forces within the Gabhar Mountains. Soon enough, after the basic artillery strikes had come forth from the Warreic defenses' they'd be dropping bombs within the mountains themselves, attempting to take out troop placements and halt any movement of that massive human wave forward.

The Warreic navy was also bringing dozens of

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to bear coastal areas nearest to Freiheit and Warre's shared borders, landing as many marines and infantry as he could as quickly as it could, into the Peninsula. The plan was to capture all of the ports, and thereby allow for an even wider troop movement come this way. If they were lucky, they'd be able to capture the ports, and lead even more troops into the peninsula, allowing for the Warreic forces to hold the Freiheiters near the border at a standstill. They had been told to show no patience with the people, and to not show any prejudice in the battle. Fire any enemy combatants on sight, less they dropped their weapons. Only accepted surrenders if the enemy were in a clear area, and stopped ten yards ahead of you, when they were surrendering.



Incident 2;
Location; Roughly thirty yards from the foot of the 'Grau Mountains' [Gabhar Mountains]; 0 yards from the farthest extent of the border between Freiheit and the Ard Riocht na Warre.

The simple, cautious, and typically peaceful border-crossing which had before separated the sovereign territory of the former 'Freestate' of Freiheit, and the High Kingdom of Warre was silent. It seemed eerie in this silence, despite the fact that this hemisphere of the world was firmly within summer, hints of mist and chill came across the area, the mountains and almost primordial forest which lay in front of them only keeping the area's temperatures more chilled than they might otherwise might be.

The lights within the crossing were off, but in the dim-light of this early morning day, that was not a surprise. It added to this almost cryptic scene, with this primordial forest laying in front of it all. If one of the Freiheiters had moved closer, or looked through binoculars, they might see blood splattered across the windows of the Freiheit side of the border-crossing. The gates which would lead to the dirt road that winded through the forest, Naomhgabhar National Forest, they were firmly closed. Simply steel which wouldn't stop heavy vehicles, but which was wrapped with other wires. If the procession by the Freiheiters was cautious, they might see hints of what lay in front of them. Wires which shouldn't be there, slight disturbed earth.

The world was silent for that moment, calm, still as a baby's sleep. An' then it's silence was ended by an eerie sound, a sound which was so distinctive that even the Freiheiters to know what it was. The notes from some bagpipes cut the air, and then it began. As Captaen Ryanuld O'Connor of the Sixth Warreic Rangers checked his watch, the appointed 'hour' came. 05:45, and then the commander signaled to Private Alexander, resulting in the private cutting his Bagpipes' notes off immediately. Only seconds after, they would see the sky light up, as the Third Artillery proceeded to bombard the mountains, attempting to at least cause as many causalities as it could, but with luck slow the Freiheiter advance entirely, so that the third, fourth, and fifth armies could arrive, and take positions in a way to make sure that the valley of meadow and forest which marked the border between Warre and Freiheit was not crossed by Freiheiter human wave there, or anywhere.

Mines had been laid, IEDs set, Rocket Propelled Grenades-traps and Grenade-traps set up throughout this valley. The Sixth Warreic Rangers had sniper positions set up, a few machine gun emplacements, and fortifications where ever they could. Captaen O'Connor dropped from the tree which he was using as a look out, the beautiful music of those artillery strikes ringing in his ears almost like a tin whistle, it was as eerie as the sound of the almost mythical Naomhgabhar, the Saint of Goats, whom this valley was named for, this forest was named for, these mountains were named for. As those steely blue eyes of his looked at his fellows, the Captaen could not help but feel they were making history. Here, at the valley of Naomhgabhar, they would channel their ancestors just as the woad marking their bodies under their uniforms and body armor mimiced their ancestors, as the markings upon their faces did. He could hear the archangels singing already, the voices of the super sonic Leonhógas [Lioncubs; literally: Lion Pups] clearly audible above.

 

[Anglyn]

Penzance

The attack on Aquitania had caught the government in Winchester completely by surprise, luckily it didn't do so to the Aquitanians. The planners in the Defence Ministry had been sure that there would be time to transport a properly equiped and supplied expeditionary force north and it, along with Guianan, Aquitanian and other Coalition forces, would be able to easily defeat the Freiheit forces and force the government to submit to Council of Nations demands. Now instead the Ministry was scrambling to see to it that this change of events doesn't turn into a disaster and to get what they could to Aquitania as fast as possible.

In Penzance, one of those assets was alread prepared to sail, a battle group commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Horrance Rawlings and organized around the aircraft carrier HMS Heracles. It is Rawling himself that gets the call straight from the First Sea Lord, Lord Edward Packingham.

"....and you need to get your ass up there as fast a possible Horrance, the Templars are quite outnumbered."

"Your Lordship, what about the announcement that the Freiters had surrendered?"

"Tell that to the Aquitanians when you get up there. It will be just you, the Argus and your escorts and whatever the RAF can send up there. The Prometheus will sail from Bombaim, but there is no other major assets in the Implarian. You are to sail immediately, under my authority, your written orders are on the way. Good luck, Horrance...and God speed."

 

[Sheridan]

Grau Mountains

The artillery strikes of the Warreic military was almost useless in this territory. The Grau Mountains had numerous caves, old coal or iron mines, and other cover from the artillery. So the artillery only served the Warreic military one purpose, it halted Freiheiter movement. The Freiheiter troops that were currently disobeying the governments surrender to all parties involved in the war were now acting like a guerrilla force. They were hiding all along the Grau Mountains, and in the ruins of Gilrae.

The rule that the Freiheiter guerilla's agreed to follow was that there would be no surrender, and that they wouldn't allow any of the Warreic forces to surrender. They would not advance on the Warreic positions, becuase they quite simply didn't have enough supplies to support a full on invasion. They would wait and see if the Warreic's would try anything.

Krei Island

The Tiburan Navy force had arrived at Krei Island, many of the ships that were once there had already sailed away, either going rogue, or sailing to a neutral party such as Tyskreich. The remaining ships at Krei Island were surrendering, and so were the Infantry Commanders at the on-island base.

The 6,500 troops on the island however were new recruits who were eager for action. They were furious that as they signed up to fight the war ended. They were going to wait for the Tiburans to get on the Island... then unleash hell on them. They were going to organize the counter-strik in three to five waves of attacks on the helicopter/ship drop points. The Tiburans were going to have to fight hard for this island.

 

[Guiana]

Archangel,
St. Michael Island

The wheels of the fighters of Combat Group 2 had barely touched down at "Archangel" Base when the alert was sounded that Freiheit Forces were attacking Aquitania. The Guianese pilots new instantly that there wasn't going to be any relaxing as the Mirages of the Aquitanian Airforce that CG 2 shared were in the air in minutes. It seem like the Templars did not fool around and had taken Freiheit seriously, those planes were fully ready and loaded for bear.

It took the squadron of CG 2 a little while longer to get in the air, as the planes were not fully armed or fueled and the ground crews had not had time to get organized, but, as the show was now on, flights of Falcons take off to cover the Phantoms and Hawks being sent in to unload on the the attacking Freiheit formations. Better late than never.

 

[Sheridan]

Freistadt

It was the late hours of night when 'President' Charles Hoffman entered Freistadt. Or what was left of Freistadt. In place of the apartment complexs and government buidlings he had known was rubble and partial remains. In his reinforced bunker in the countryside he never trully felt the massive destruction that was being spread due to the Sarmatians. He felt some remorse for not being stricter on those bastards in the Freie Krafte. Could they not realize what they were doing to this precious country?

As they entered the heart of the city the noticed large groups of refugees in a large tent complex. He guessed that the Commandry had set this up, and knew that they were getting closer to the Commandry flotilla. He had to speak with their Admiral.

As the drove by they noticed an old man fall over on one of the shattered sidewalks. After the man fell he moaned and stood up again in vain. He kept trying to stand up, but all he recieved was yet another shot of pain from falling down. Hoffman thought of this as a great symbol of what was happening in Freiheit today as he took a long drag on his cigar. Even though the masses in Freiheit smoked marijuana mostly, the politicians tended to use cigars, since most other countries frowned upon high politicians.

The seven other SUVs broke off of the convoy, leaving only Hoffman and his driver headed for the flotilla. The plan was that the other men would break off and meet with the other Socialist dissedents. Hoffman neede to gain control of the city and establish himself once again as the countries rightful ruler. After he had done so he would declare marshal law, temporarily giving himself the powers neccesary to bring Freiheit out of Anarchy. His men were armed with KRISS-SMGs and AA-12 autmoatic shotguns, but they only had enough ammo to act as a sort of symbol of Hoffman's strength. He needed to be a strong leader, and needed people to forget about the weakness that had allowed Faust to devise his wicked plot.

Finally the Commandry aid flotilla was in sight. There was a decent amount of soldiers in the surrounding area around the flotilla, and Hoffman was hoping that more would come. The car stopped and Hoffman stepped out of the back seat of his SUV. A soldiers approached him and asked for identification.

"My name is Charles Hoffman. I am here to see Admiral Vyhtor Yizhakevych, and I hope I pronounced that right."

 

[Beautancus]

OCW Despota (the Despot), Imperial Class Super-Carrier
Eastern Implarian Ocean - off the coast of Sarmatian Occupied Freiheit
2330​

The wind drifting across the deck of the Empire's flagship carrier had calmed a great deal in the past hours, with the temperature- and more importantly the humidity approaching something near bearable as well for the first time since their arrival in what once were the territorial waters of "Freiheit." The day had been absolutely full of shocks and mad dashes to fill gaps in operational structure on the mainland...but somehow, they'd pulled through the first twenty-four hours with rather admirable discipline and speed. Naval Infantry, Paratroopers, and Special Weapons Division "shock-troops" streaming towards- and largely overwhelming the remaining centers of Freiheiter activity within St. George- ad now moving into the interior in some limited numbers.

Admirał Eliasz Wojownik would be lauded for all of this back home. There was already talk of an ennoblement, and God only knew what sort of monetary prizes...His name was burned into the litany of warlords that had carried Sarmatian banners proudly over an entire globe. A satisfied sigh escape from his lips along with a curling stream of grayish smoke, his best tobacco packed into his favorite pipe tonight, to celebrate this nigh unfathomable occasion. His friend, and the Imperial Oikawan observer and attaché to the Imperial Sarmatian Implarian Task-Force, Rear Admiral Hiraku Fukushima stood upwind from him, admiring the panoply of lights that were the various support, resupply, communications and tanker ships that the main body of the Task-Force now consisted of.

The man "personally ordained" to command all Imperial ground-forces in the former "Freiheit," Generał-Brygady Moshe Tarkhandar had arrived at a forward command-post apparently a rather old, and rather well-built secondary school- somewhere in the northwestern district of St. George, and was now coordinating the further deployment of the admittedly limited number of armored units on the ground. The situation in the air was slightly better, with a number of fuel depots- both civilian and military seized and turned towards supplying the steadily rising numbers of attack helicopters, gunships, and transport helicopters that were criss-crossing the central and western portion of the former Freiheit.

This had been the first chance that the two man had been given to pause and take stock of their surroundings, and the developments on the mainland. Without any reliable sources of mass-media, and UAV's and other aerial reconnaissance going only so far, it had required their constant direction, in conjunction with half a dozen other ships in the Task-Force just to deploy the initial landings. Wojownik had every idea that he looked a bit worse for wear by this point- though the smaller Oikawan Admiral looked as unperturbed as he had at the opening of hostilities.

They'd strolled out on the flattop between landings, while a force of his best pilots were resting up and debriefing in the decks below- their Kara-18's being combed over with every fine-toothed instrument in the Imperial War-Marine, with tons of fresh ammunition- 20mm depleted uranium ammunition for the autocannons, and a variety of missiles for the various hard-points. The whine of power-drills, and the rolling, clicking thunder of great deck-trucks as they ferried ammo and fuel to the waiting craft.

"Well, I suppose we've had enough fresh air, don't you Hiraku?" Wojownik tapped his pipe empty on his forearm, the half-substantial embers dispersing on the gentle summer breeze instantly.

His mind worked over a particular issue- a possibility raised by Marszałek Rola - that it might be prudent to make contact with the Aquitanian leaders, to strike a quick deal that would achieve enough goals for both side to finish the matter here and now. Rola had left the decision to Wojownik's discretion- with the less that subtle hint that the more "peaceful" alternative was taken. A map of what the Empire was proposing as a map of post-war Freiheit was currently being drafted- with the former territories of Frieheit divided between Greater Sarmatia and her Allies, a new Otchi Free-State to be administered solely by the Templars, who could in part be counted upon to guide this fledgling nation with a steady hand...and a chunk of territory including and directly connected to the radioactive ruins of Freistadt that would be left to the discretion of the Council of Nations- or perhaps the Rus'...

Wojownik made the split second decision to make a go of it- to make the first step and to contact the Templar's leadership, with the offer- and the promise to aid in the eradication of the remainder of the Freiheiter forces insanely throwing themselves at the Templar positions along the border. Madness, all madness. These people would never be "rehabilitated." They would have to be removed- or scourged and stripped of their children, that their hatreds and prejudices not pass to a single further generation. Missionaries- blessed keepers of the Gospels would be summoned immediately to give what spiritual comfort they could to the haunted inhabitants of this broken nation.

Stalking into the CIC, and directly to the Comm-Station, Admiral Wojownik dictated a rapid-fire communiqué to the Aquitanian High-Command, outlining the proposed post-war spheres of influence- and the offer of immediate assistance in expunging the remaining filth of the Freiheiter military from the face of Europe. The helmsman rattle desperately at his keyboard, trying to keep up with the Admiral's rapid-fire plan.



Imperial War-Marine Communiqué
Encryption Code: Red
Classification: Restricted
Public Key: file/edification_and_retribution/

4946U3Q LIPIEC 2010
From: IMPLARCOM - Admirał Eliasz Wojownik, Commander-in-Chief, Imperial Sarmatian Forces Implarian Theater
To: Maréchal Alexandre de Bouglione ; Aquitanian High Command ; Aquitanian Admiralty ; Head of Government - Bordèu
Subject: Occupation, Post-War Operations and Cooperation

As empowered by His Imperial Majesty, Jozef III, called Bialy- I offer to the leadership of the Templar Order, and Grand Duchy of Aquitania a guarantee of cooperation, as well as the borders outlined in the rough "occupational zone" map that will be forwarded to all pertinent parties within the hour. Immediate close air support available for Aquitanian forces engaged with Freiheiter francs-tireurs- who by virtue of their continued resistance against the forces of Civilization and Righteousness- after the unconditional surrender of their so-called government and military leadership and have thereby forfeited their rights as legal combatants under long-standing international traditions of warfare.

We only require a positive receipt of reception for this transmission- with a list of pertinent coordinates for us to strike at, and heavy aerial operations in support of Aquitanian ground-forces will begin within minutes.

 

[Sheridan]

75 Miles North-West St. George

In a small town called Hans, north of St. George, the civilian population was beginning to move north to escape Sarmatian occupation. About 1,000 geurrillas were going to remain however. The town was directly in Sarmatia's way to Lake Moraine, were most of the other remaining soldiers were beginning to gather. They were already hard at work creating plastic explosives, and placing mines in the roads and in other strategic zones around the town. They replaced the country flag with a white one to make the Sarmatians believe that, like many other Freiheiter towns were going to do, Hans was going to surrender.

The town was covered in woods, and the guerrila's were setting up sniper's and scouts in the trees, well hidden from Sarmatian UAVs or ground forces. They needed to atleast make a chink in the Sarmatian advance. The object was to atleast assassinate some of Sarmatia's officers. The snipers had all recieved pictures of some of the officers believed to be part of the ground forces, and were prepared to sacrifice their own lives just to take out a few of them.

They had plenty of RPGs, and were going to target not the tanks but the troop transports and transport helicopters, hoping to take a few dozen soldiers out of the fight. The whole town and surrounding area was going to be covered in booby traps by the time the Sarmatians got here. And they would have to, if they wanted to get to Lake Moraine and take out the rest of the Freiheiter military. Becuase the rest of the area was to densly wooded to move vehicles.

 

[Holy Frankish Empire]

HMS Liberté
Somewhere North of Sainte Pierre

The bridge was quiet as usual. But the fleet had been receiving encoded messages all day. Admiral Nicolet looked down at the communique he just received. "What the fuck is going on? Freiheit has surrendered but it looks like the military has gone rogue. Aquitania was attacked" said the Admiral, handing the communique to his Fleet Captain.

The Captain seemed to read the long communique at least three times. "They wont last long. Not when the government is so fractured. They are going to need supplies for an offensive of this kind" said the Captain shaking his head. A Yeoman walked up and saluted briskly before handing the Captain another communique. His brow furled before he handed it to the Admiral. Nicolet began to read it but before he was done he let his head roll back to stare at the piping overhead, gently saying "What the Christ is this happy horseshit?"

The Captain nodded in agreement. He had almost as much experience as the Admiral but opted not to pursue a post as Commodore. Fleet Captains were the second highest paid position in the Royal Navy and acted as a fleet's executive officer. "Those guys at the Admiralty don't know a prostitute from a halyard" said the Captain. The Petty Officer on Watch on the bridge tried to hold it but couldnt help but laugh.

The Admiral slowly stood from his command chair to grab a battle-stations helmet from the bulkhead, holding it above his head. "SAILOR, you best wipe that smirk off your face or you're going to look really funny sucking my dick with no teeth." The Admiral was a mean son of a bitch but the men loved him.

The small fleet turned toward Bayonne.