Unity is Inscribed on my Banner

[Natal]

The Protective Raven I
DAY I; 5:50 am
Marka

The town of Marka was exactly as a typical small town in Zamosk, a central street, on both sides of it having some blocks and all of this surrounded by houses. The border between the Parthian Union and the parasite state called Kingdom of Zamosk is passing exactly through the center of the town.

Major Emilianenko entered the living room of an apartment at the fourth floor of an apartment building on the Parthian side of town. The sun was slowly ascending, beginning to show itself from the east, while the buildings kept the town shadowed and thus the streets were still dark.

“Do you see something?” he asked Sergent Veisi who was sitting at distance from the window looking outside.

“No, tovarase Maior, there were some sounds like a truck engine, which our informers in the city said that they are armored cars, but I didn’t see anything.”

“Hm… The “special” hour is approaching, let’s go!”

“Understood, tovarase Maior.”

The two got out of the building and went south through a parallel street of the main one and in a few minutes they got out of town and met with forces from the 14[SUP]th[/SUP] Motorized Infantry Division, from the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Corps of the 5[SUP]th[/SUP] Army. There was a convoy specially created for the mission of supporting the infantry in capturing the town, made of five Carentanian CM-40 Armored Cars and two IMD-3 medium tanks. A soldier came to the major:

“Tovarase Maior! We have received orders that twenty four has passed and the planes have already left the airbases. We are to proceed when the planes pass over us.”

“Good, I understood. Everyone in the cars!” Emilianenko yelled as he took his position as commander of the second CM-40 car, behind the two tanks and another armored car that leads the convoy. Three infantry platoons were to move alongside the vehicles as they went to capture the town hall, as on the other side of the street is the police headquarters, the headquarters of the Salvation Army.

It wasn’t long before the distinctive sound of the IAA-15 jet fighters could be heard going north.

“All units, this is Emilianenko, advance, I repeat, advance.” Said the major on the radio as the convoy started to move. After a few seconds, they took a turn to the left and entered the main street of the town, going northwards.

The border was represented in the city by a simple barrier that was put on the middle of the street. It was easy for the armored car to topple it. The convoy advanced up to the point where the town hall could be seen when immediately a blast was heard and the first armored car, who was leading the convoy was hit by a shell and it perforated its armor. Recovering from the surprise quickly, the crew from the tank immediately led their vehicle in front of the side street from where the car was blasted. They quickly fired and hit a Talemantine light tank before the crew inside it had the time to reload. The explosions triggered the ambush of the Salvationist Army, as they were waiting for the Parthian forces. The convoy continued on its route towards the town hall providing covering fire for the infantry.

As the convoy stopped, the infantry stormed the administrative building and the surrounding blocks from where the Salvationists were shooting. As the main gunners remained in the cars, the other crew members got our and began shooting at the Salvationists. In time, the shootings began to decrease in intensity as some and more Salvationist nests were overrun by Parthian soldiers. In the end, the town hall was taken.

“Tovarase Maior! We are taking casualties at the post office; we need help as there is a machine gun nest that pins us down!”

“Understood, let me contact the command.” He changed the frequencies for the radio from the armored car. “Command, this is Emilianenko, we need to move the convoy to the post office to help our soldiers there. Do we have green light?”

“Major, the bulk of the division is just a kilometer south of the town, set up a perimeter around the town hall and go with the convoy at the post station. Over.” He heard the hoarse voice or Hetman Sinitsyn approving. Emilianenko got out of the car and shouted:

“Men, set up a perimeter here. The bulk of the division will soon come, but I don’t think that there will be an attack now; the convoy will go to the post office. Take care!”

The post office was a quarter or kilometer to the north and at an intersection, take the turn to the left and after a hundred meters you were in front of it. The convoy followed the route. The more they were approaching the post office, the more shootings were heard more and more loudly than the engines of the cars and tanks. At the intersection, the first tank took the turn left, immediately firing on the machine gun nest in front of the post office, the other followed, but when the armored car of the major was preparing to turn, a small group appeared from between the buildings and shot with an RPG-2. The main gunner managed to kill them but they launched the rocket.

“Stop the CAR! STOP! STOP!” The car stopped. As the rocket was approaching, the major closed his eyes waiting for the impact. Immediately, a short scratching-like noise was heard followed by an explosion. Emilianenko slowly opened his eyes. He looked around. Everything seemed intact. When he looked outside, he saw on the sidewalk on his left a crater. The rocket missed them. Until the crewmembers have recovered from the shock, they saw that in front of them, the infantry was already storming the post office. They got out of the cars and when he went in front of it, Emilianenko saw that the rocket hit the car, but with its small wings.

By now the soldiers were showing the tricolor of Parthia on the post office. The city was liberated. And it was just the first day.

 

[Natal]

The Wasp's Nest

DAY I; 13:40 pm
Altaisk;

The conference room of the House of the Army, the headquarters of the General Commissariat of Defense was the place where the general staff of the army has gathered to discuss the recent events in Zamosk and the plan to continue the liberation.

Hetman Tomaszewski was standing in front of the seated members of the general staff. Behind him was a map of Parthia and near it a portrait of Hetman Iwan Sidorenko. The atmosphere was muggy, as it was a hot day and in rained a little in the morning. By noon all the water already evaporated creating a hot, humid atmosphere.

“Zamosk… It is essential in this conflict. We know and are expecting the Talemantines to try to relieve their forces in Zamosk by invading the Riff, or the desert regions of the Altaisk DPR. We have four armies defending the Riff, while in the south we have only the Patriotic Guards. It is true, there are only irregular militias there, but there is the desert. And our militias are trained specially for the purpose of fighting a guerrilla war on desert terrain.

If they are to invade the south, they will try to target the border towns of Ulma and Sadova and then go for Konop, trying to get their forces across the mountains to take Altaisk from behind. But this will be nearly impossible for them. There is an entire sea of dunes between the towns, high temperatures, combined with our guerrillas and the fortifications each town has, culminating with the bunkers and trenches at both sides of the Transaltaica Pass. They need cisterns to carry fuel for the vehicles and water for the soldiers and in that terrain and with the circumstances created by the presence of our guerrillas, it will be impossible for them to defend those. To be sure that everything is secure there, I will send order for the Patriotic Guards which are situated in Sakibstan to move to the Altaisk DPR.

On the other side of the mountains, our soldiers have occupied the fortifications built by the Hetmanate a decade ago, along the Talemantine border. Since May, when the order of mobilization was given, the commissariat worked to build a series of fortifications around the villages near the border in the Vidra county, thus the problems we had last year, by simply retreating from the county and leaving its defense to a militia won’t happen again. We have situated a Danish division near Socodor, so it can help defend Altaisk and another in Siddi el Hani, as from there they can help defend the heart of the Riff.

In Zamosk, The 5[SUP]th[/SUP] army has already started its advance. In Marka the tricolor with the red stripe is already flowing above the town hall, while the rest of the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Corps is securing the villages from nearby the town. The 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Corps advancing in the center, with the town of Corbeanca being their target, while the third corps are advancing from Dara on the coast with the town of Malin being their target.” Tomaszewski stopped, as premier Alen Sidorenko raised from his chair.

“We must make sure that Zamosk is taken before Talemantines have the chance to start fighting in the Riff. It has to be done in a matter of days! Zamosk is actually the prize of this war. If we take it before the Talemantines’ attention moves to the Riff, we can say that we won this war, as we left them without a foothold. The negotiations will go smooth if we have Zamosk and the Talemantines have to foothold in Parthia.” As the premier ended the sentence, the others in the room nodded agreeing. General Tomaszewski continued:

“The first corps will advance on the western coast and will attack the city of Asau. Our intelligence has witnessed that the Talemantines are already fortifying the city, so we are expecting heavy resistance, fighting against at least 2 Talemantine infantry divisions. The second corpse, after it will liberate Corbeanca, will advance to the north-west meeting with the first corps. The third one will remain in Malin until Asau has been liberated. When the first and seconds corps are ready, they attack on Rovograd will commence, with the first corps coming from the west, the second corps coming from the south-west and the third one from the east.

The air force… There will be no bombing campaign. We are fighting in a region where are people is held hostage. A region in which bases are built so close to the cities that it would be impossible if we bomb them without hitting a civilian building. When the battle for Asau will commence, I want only the airports of Asau and Rovograd bombed. But only the hangars where we believe they keep some planes. I don’t want the runways damaged.”

“There is also the problem of the Talemantine ethnics near the border in Riff. They would normally try to help their imperial army. We must stop them from even thinking of that.” Said Hetman Sinistyn as he entered the talk. “I find only one thing actually succeeding in keeping them away from the fight. We will deport them. There are around 500 to 600 families in small villages near the Riff border. It shouldn’t be so hard to move them.”

“Where?” asked Sidorenko.

“I was thinking of Sakibstan. We will move them in camps near the construction site of the future Gruiu-Faridan railway. We will load them on trucks, send them to Dialgorod, Siddi el Hani and Vidra and from there, we will load them in trains which will be headed for Gruiu. Not only that all this workforce will speed up the building of the railway, but the Apa plain isn’t really worked, and it wouldn’t be hard to set up some collective farms there. Also, with this move, we can be sure that no one will welcome the Talemantines with open arms if they manage to cross the border in the Riff.” Silence fell in the Hetman finished his sentence. Even if at first some seemed to be confused, while other were thinking of “what other solutions to find”, Sinitsyn knew that in the end, his plan will be approved. And maybe this move will make the Sakibstani turn their hate to the new “invaders” instead of the sex of the Party Secretary Ava El-Hashem, who is actually the de facto leader of the Sakibstan DPR.

 

[Natal]

The Party Crasher I

Cala; Cala Island; Riff Democratic Popular Republic;

Maksym Lysenko was overlooking the preparations of the Patriotic Guards in the small Cala Military Base. He was eager to start sooner, so all this would end sooner. He came a few days ago with the ferry from Surdoiu, at the orders of the general staff of the Military ProNat, to lead the Patriotic Guards and help the citizens unite the island of Cala. The island was divided when the Talemaniki treaty was signed. The two small Christian churches in the northern side of the island have made the Talemantines see the north as a thriving Christian community. The two villages which had the churches needed to be captured. The northern part of the island was full of small villages, hamlets which didn’t even had a house designated as headquarters for the rural police, but between the twenty to forty houses, there was also a bar to be found. The force of the Patriotic Guards was made of thirty CM-40 armored cars and five platoons of infantry and they were expecting to meet light resistance, no more than two platoons, as the informers in the villages said that the Salvationists were there only to act as a police force.

Two hours later, half of the force arrived in the village of Crizbav and were surprised to see the police station empty. Lysenko entered the station after his soldiers secured it. In the building there was just some furniture and a map was hanged on a wall, representing Parthava and having a section detailing the Cala Island. The soldiers searched the drawers. Everything was empty.

Lysenko felt how a heat wave passed through him and how his cheeks blushing, and starting to become angry. He got out of the building and went to the first armored car. Using the radio, he called the other unit that was sent to capture the other village in which the Salvationists occupied a police station:

“Bou unit, this is Astra unit, respond. Over.”

After some interference, the he could hear the voice of another man. “This is Bou unit. Over.”

“What is your situation? We have arrived in the village and found out that the Salvationists have fled their position.”

“Roger that. Comrade Colonel, the same is here. We are trying to find out where they run, but we are in a dead end right now. Commander Vorobenko is talking with some of the villagers. Over.”

“Good, keep me posted. Over and out.” He got out of the armored car as he heard one of his soldiers calling him. He went to them.

The soldiers were all around a small old lady who was talking in the Zamoskan dialect, which was even harder to understand as her speech was full of regional words. Around 2 out of five words was some perverted Sarmatian word which was modified a little to sound Parthian, other two were Tiburan and around one word out of five was a word from literary Parthian.

“What is she saying? “Asked Lysenko as he pushed some of the soldiers to make way for him.

“She says that… her grandson is a Salvationist…” at nearly every ten words, the soldier was telling the woman to calm down as she was talking too fast for him to understand. “He was part of the Salvationists that were acting as a police force here… they… they ran to the hill to the west… so they can hide in the forests.”

“Either that or they went there to meet a Talemantine ship which can either save them from this cage or give them some reinforcements.” Lysenko thought… “Call the Headquarters. Tell them to send some soldiers to secure the other villages that have a Christian Church inside first. Then tell them about the potential Talemantine ships and tell them that we would feel safer if we had air support and if the waters around the island would be patrolled.” As he sent a soldier to deliver the messages, Lysenko went to the first armored car again. As he entered the car, he heard that a soldier was trying to contact the other unit.

“What happened?” asked the colonel.

“I lost contact with them, comrade. I am trying to reestablish the connection since you left.”

“We were outplayed by them…” said Lysenko as he thought loudly. “We must go there and be sure that they are okay. Try to contact the headquarters and ask them for permission.”

After a few minutes, he heard the reply:

“Astra Unit, you have green light! Over and out.” Now it was a matter of time.

 

[Natal]

The Protective Raven II​

South of Asau

The soldier was crying. Sergent Veisi looked around. The soldiers were standing at attention. On his left the woman was still sobbing. She had a swollen eye, and some bruises could be seen on her shoulders and on her left hand. She fought… she resisted, so he beaten her into submission. From the account of the woman, he was strong. He came, beaten her and then raped her. Now, he was crying. It was interesting how life can break so easily. One moment, you see the liberators, then one of them goes rogue… and you pay for it. The man was over two meters high, tanned skin, black hair. Veisi couldn’t see his eyes, but he was sure they were also black. In the background, the Ksyusha rockets were bombing Talemantine lines. This was going on for two days. Trucks loaded with ammunition and supplies were continuously centering and leaving the Parthian position. Each bombardment lasted for two hours, and then they paused for an hour and then started all over again. After a time one would get accustomed to such noises, but two days wasn’t enough. After two hours of continuous salvos, the quiet hour felt eerie, it was too quiet. Some soldiers were playing cards, but the majority was waiting… waiting for Sinitsyn’s order to attack. But the attack will not commence until Corbeanca would be liberated. Until then, to keep the Talemantines occupied, Sinitsyn was giving them rockets.

He was crying and Veisi even hear him pleading for mercy. But there was no mercy. Veisi looked at Major Emilianenko. He had glacial features and hate could be read on his face. The salvo stopped. Veisi looked at the clock. It was half past ten in the morning. From now the woman’s sobbing and the man’s pleads and cries could be heard better.

“No. You would have received mercy, if you would have shown mercy. We are not the Talemantines! We are Parthians, we are socialists and we are Diagists. For us, it shouldn’t matter if the people was Christian, Muslim or Diagist. It shouldn’t matter if they speak Uroduan, Parthian in the Altaisk dialect, Dara dialect or the Zamoskan dialect. We are here in Zamosk to liberate a people. Our people, our brothers. It is unthinkable that some of us really have nothing better to do than to commit war crimes against their brethren. And because of that, I will respect the law when my soldiers do such things and I will condemn all to the fullest extent of the law if they do such a thing. On your knees!”

The man didn’t move. He was paralyzed with fear. A soldier came and hit him behind the knees. The soldier fell on his knees, dust coming out from the beige uniform.

“The court martial condemns the accused to death by execution.”

The soldier who hit him in the legs unsheathed a pistol and shot him in the back of his head. The angle wasn’t good and the bullet got out through his face, transforming it in a bloody mash. Veisi went with the medic, to see if he was dead. It was unnecessary, but still procedure needed to be respected. The medic looked at him. The bullet entered the back of his head, went near the right eye, as it nearly pushed the eye out of the socket and got out through the right cheek, smashing the cheekbone. Veisi looked at the major. He was talking with the victim of the rape. He looked again at the medic who started to work on the documents. He went to help him. By the time they were finished, the salvo started again, but this time, when Veisi looked at the main road, beside the trucks, he saw the tanks of the “Ier Cossacks” Military ProNat division, the only armor division of the Military ProNat, as it took its position along the frontlines. It means that the offensive will start soon.

The Martyr
​

Southern outskirts of Corbeanca


Vlad Gorbenko was sitting behind the sand sack wall that formed one of the many fortifications of Corbeanca. He was only 18. He just went to classes the day the Salvationists came to conscript soldiers for the so called Zamoskan Army. They received a superficial training in Rovograd and when they heard that the People’s Liberation Army entered Zamosk, many of them celebrated, but they also knew that they will be sent south. He returned back home in Corbeanca three days ago, but now for staying home, but for fortifying it and preparing for the Parthian assault. They heard about how Parthians conquered Marka, the biggest town in the south, how they swept through all the villages there and how they are now the second line of defense. Marka being the first, Asau and Malin the third and Rovograd the last one. They heard how the Salvationists pleaded the Talemantines for reinforcements, how they presented the Parthians as heathen demons and so on. He was sick of it. He was now on the front lines. At first, all of them were scared of a possible frontal assault from the Parthians. They knew they stood no chance. The only ones who would really fight them were the Salvationist officers, but the bulk of the division saw the Salvationists as more alienated to the Zamoskan cause than the People’s Liberation Army. But now they saw that the Parthians wanted them to join the liberation forces, rather than killing them all.

“Hey! Did you hear? Twenty left last night. People are talking. And are even talking about going to the Parthians openly.” Said another soldier next to him. Gorbenko didn’t remember his name. It was a complicated Sarmatian name from Ira, which he couldn’t even pronounce correctly.
“I heard that. Interesting, as the Salv officers didn’t say, yelled or alarmed anyone about it.”

“They found an officer dead, in the foxholes. The officers say that it was a Parthian sniper, but some soldiers say that the soldiers killed him.”
“We must go to the Parthians… it’s not normal to stay here with those who sold us to the Talemantines.” Said Vlad whispering.

“I don’t know… It’s still too risky. We don’t know what they would do to us. We are in the army of their enemy. They will surely kill us. All that you hear about forgiving is propaganda!”

As he heard more and more form the other soldier, anger in Vlad grew. He raised the tone, nervously.

“We must go! They are the real Parthians. Not the Salvationists. The Zamoskan as a people and an ethnicity is an artificial abomination! We are all Parthians, unity is written on our banner! Zamosk always supported Altaisk and Dara, the three of the created Parthava! We are being invaded, true, but the invasion isn’t coming from the south, but its situated in Rovograd and Asau and Malin are their occupied cities. The Salvationists aren’t the great liberators, but the men who want to sell us to the Talemantines! If you want to stay with them, fine! But I will go to my brothers!” As he finished the sentence he got up and looked outside the sand sacks. He could see the Parthian lines at the edge of the forest to the south. “Follow me!” said Vlad as he took the hand of the other soldier and tried to pull him out from the foxhole. He fought and let his hand free, remaining there. Vlad didn’t return to him. He held his hands up. And slowly walked towards the forest.

“PARTHAVA UNITA! ZAMOSKUL LIBER! JOS CU IMPERIALISMUL ORTODOX SI TALEMANTIN!” he started screaming and running towards the forest. After a while, he heard a shot and felt an excruciating pain on his back and then he fell.

In the trenches, the soldier whose name Vlad forgot was looking shocked how the Salvationist officer was still looking at the forest targeting with the PSM after he fired a shot.

“Traitors will be killed!” he barked as he turned to the other soldiers in the foxhole. “Why did you let him go? Now he will be seen as a martyr by the godless communists! You idiots!” right when he wanted to punch him, the soldier pushed the trigger of his pistol, shooting the Salvationist in the head.

 

[Potenza]

Talemantine high command had believed that any attack against Zamosk would be met well by the forces stationed there. Of the Talemantine forces, there were two motorized divisions accompanied by an armored division. From regional forces, there were four infantry battalions of Salvationist armies, loyal to the Talemantine-organized government, as well as three divisions of local Zamosk infantry divisions. The latter had been drafted by the Zamosk government, and had received only adequate training when it came to combat. They were of mixed loyalty, some serving the Rovograd government with the utmost of trust, some serving with hatred for the Talemantine invaders, and some accepting the draft because, in the post-war world, they needed some form of income to serve their families.

The Talemantine government held confidence that any possibility of an attack from the Parthian Union would be thwarted by two factors: first, the alliance and trust that the Empire had formed with other nations; secondly, by the imperial military and her legions, which had high morale given the recent invasion of Zamosk. Over time, however, the alliance and mutual ties had eroded, and the difficulties seen in conquering and maintaining a foreign region had caused some difficulty in the ability to maintain a defensive task force. Still, when the Parthian Union threatened war, this was assumed to be a bluff. As it turned out, it was far from a bluff, as over nine divisions of the Parthian military were now bearing down on the peninsula.

The attack by the Parthian air force caused significant damage to front line troops, and it was rumored that some Zamosk units were deserting their posts and fleeing north. At times these rumors were largely exaggerated, but Talemantine advisers on the front lines found they were not without merit. Attacking Parthian ground forces found themselves meeting the staunch defense of the Fourth Salvationist Battalion in Marka, but because of the sheer size of Parthian forces and the suddenness of the attack, the city was taken in one day. On the right flank, members of the Third Salvationist Battalion were falling back from the onslaught, heading towards a defensive line that was being hastily set up to the east of the city of Corbeanca.

On the island of Cala, things were far worse. There was little there except what amounted to a "police force," and most of them had fled northward, believing their Talemantine supporters would help them escape from what they assumed would be the ethnic cleansing that awaited them. Instead, they found that they had been abandoned. The rumors of a Talemantine ship approaching had proven false, as the imperial navy was still deciding the appropriate course of action in light of this attack. Indeed, there were already rumors of the possibility of retreating from the peninsula, though these were from more fantastic and squeamish voices. For now, however, the Salvationist forces resolved among one another that they would engage in guerrilla warfare, retreating into the forests to the island's east and the hills to the island's west, determined to hold out until help - be it from the sea or air - came to assist them.

The Parthian forces moved northward, and by now it was clear that this was a three-pronged attack: a westward force heading towards Asau, a central force moving quickly to Corbeanca, and an eastward force moving to Malin. It was in the defenses south of Corbeanca that the first true problems of the Zamosk army began to be seen, as many turned against their Salvationist officers and some even openly deserted towards Parthian lines.

The state of affairs was, to say the least, making the government in Rovograd nervous. Prince Florian, of the Talemantine House de Vesci, had great concern over the fate of his Talemantine-instituted government. It was known among all in the Zamosk government that the very reason Zamosk existed at all was because of the invasion by Talemantine forces, and they prayed that the Empire would not fail them during this dire hour. The news from the front of non-Christian Zamosk units deserting or betraying their Salvationist forces told the politicians in Rovograd that it would most likely be the Talemantine military that saved them again.

In the meantime, the Senate passed the Emergency Military Act, which called for all "loyal Zamoskan citizens" to meet the call to arms to meet the sudden Parthian aggression. Davizzo Vitti, the Archbishop of Rovopolis (and assigned by the Talemantine Ecumenical Patriarch), went on the radio and declared this a holy war and grand crusade, and called on all faithful Christian men to rise up and answer the call to stop the heathen invaders. Many Christian Zamoskans did answer the call, and would be formed into the First Salvationist Division - however, the training and armament would take some time, and it would most likely be a good while before they would see battle.

Talemantine forces in Zamosk were under the command of Lieutenant General Emedio Gamossi, who had commanded the 2nd Corps in their attack against Dialgorod in the last war and had been transferred to oversee Talemantine forces stationed in Zamosk. He was a man known for loving war, and had been privately praying the Parthians would attack. When news of the initial air attacks came in, he gave a hoot and a hollar and said now the glory of the Empire would be seen. The condition at the front did not seem to concern him, and he assured Prince Florian would send the Parthians back down the peninsula within a month. First, however, he had to deal with the reports of betrayals from the Zamosk divisions. Gamossi traveled to Glodeni, where the First Zamosk Division was stationed, and chose several soldiers who had been arrested on accounts of going AWOL with suspicions of betrayal. Before elements of the entire division, Gamossi had all of them shot personally by himself, and warned them that such actions would be seen against all those who attempted to assist the enemy. He ordered the news to be spread throughout the other Zamosk divisions. This seemed like a good start, he believed.

To many, the situation seemed bleaker than Gamossi would admit. At the moment, Parthian forces were still pushing towards Asau, and Corbeanca was in danger of falling.

The defense of Asau fell upon the Fourth Salvationist Battalion, which had suffered heavily in the fight for Marka, as well as the unpredictable Second and Third Zamosk Divisions. Gamossi gave the order for the Fourth and Second to retreat across the river directly south from Asau, using the waterway as a natural defense. The First Armored Division, made up of professional soldiers from the Empire, would be positioned at Asau, and would serve to launch a counterattack against any Parthian units that made a bridgehead across the river. Gamossi gave the order: "Destroy anything crossing the water." In order to supply the troops in Asau (as the airport had been bombed by the Parthian air force), Gamossi had several civilian trucks and vehicles commandeered and sent them, full of weaponry, ammunition and medical supplies provided graciously by his emperor, towards the city.

With the situation to the south and east, Gamossi gave the order for a withdrawal of the Third Salvationist Battalion towards the hills and mountains to the north, directly east of the river, before the waterway turned north. The First Talemantine Motorized Division would begin the creation of trenches and other defenses south and west of Malin. The Second Talemantine Motorized Division would be rushed south to support the Third Salvationist Battalion.

In addition to this, the First and Second Salvationist Battalions would move to the rivers southwest and southeast of Rovograd, where they would proceed to construct a second line of defense in case the Parthians broke through the initial line Gamossi was organizing. The Talemantine general was determined not to let the peninsula fall. Either the Parthians died trying to take it, or he died trying to defend it. Before the Zamosk Senate, he spilt blood from his palm with his own bayonet and declared a blood pact to not fail in his mission.

Back in Taleminiki, countermeasures were finally being drawn up. The skirmish with the Danes had proven an embarrassment, and a direct attack into the Parthian Union, as had happened in the last war, would have to be scrapped. This meant that all efforts would have to be made in supplying and reinforcing the peninsula. Most important was the taking of Cala Island, in order to launch further attacks and reinforcements into Zamosk. Indeed, Cala would most likely be the most important section of the war. Naval superiority would have to be secured, and so Admiral Tancredo Ulleri, another veteran of the previous war with the Parthian Union, was given command of this endeavor. On his flagship of the carrier TIS Horace I, and surrounded by four destroyers and two cruisers, Ulleri headed eastward towards Cala Island with the goal of supporting the Salvationist troops with air attacks and eliminating Parthian naval units in the area. A Talemantine division was already being readied to reinforce the island once the latter concern was resolved.

 

[Natal]

The Protective Raven III

The night was lighted by the continuous fire and explosions caused by the Ksyusha rocket launchers. Sergent Veisi sighed as he was waked up by a louder explosion in the background. He looked around. Soldat Darzi and Zaman were still sleeping in the back seats of the armoured car while Locotenent Andrushenko was outside taking a shit. Veisi looked towards the other armoured cars. He could only see the outline of the nearest two or three cars and some soldiers standing near a door of the nearest one. After he had another look around him, he closed his eyes trying to sleep again, but he couldn’t as immediately the voice of their commander could be heard from the radio:

“Astra 2-1, this is Astra 1, come in. Over.”

Veisi responded:

“This is Astra 2-1. Over.”

“Send Andrushenko to me for the briefing. Over.”

“Roger. Over and out.”

Veisi looked around and after some seconds he saw the Locotenent coming towards the armoured car.

“Lieutenant, the major asks you to join the briefing,” he said, looking at the continuous explosions on the other side of the river.

“Okay, I’ll be going. Come with me…” The two went to the third armoured car in the convoy, which was the car of Major Emilianenko. As he saw them, the major nodded a little, as the other lieutenants let them enter in their circle around the map the major was lighting.

“We got orders from the division commanders and even from Hetman Sinytsin. Our armoured cars are to go along the river until we enter the valley of the Lisa in the Zagora Mountains. We are then to pass the river, as it is already shallow here but think how it will be in the mountains… We have reports from the anti-Talemantine guerrillas in the mountains that the Talemantines didn’t enter the mountain valley itself when they secured the river. Once there, we will cross the river and get out of the valley on the northern banks of the river. We will attack the Zamoskan division west of us and will try to lure the Talemantine tanks out of the city to attack us. From that moment, our tanks will cross the river and attack them from the south, while the infantry will reinforce the tanks and take Asau.”

“So, we’ll make the tanks attack us and then hope that our tanks will destroy them before they get us all?” said Andrushenko while frowning.
Emilianenko made a grimace.

“That’s the army for you… We need to lure them out of the town and from there try to get to the north following the routing Zamoskan division. If the Talemantine tanks are coming after us, we are fucked, but they will too be fucked. If not, their tanks won’t stand a chance against the loonies in the Ier Cossacks division and the IMD-5 tanks. They will be destroyed, the infantry will take the city from the south and the tanks will follow us in the north and then set a defensive perimeter there while we enter the town from the north. Questions?”

“Only a comment… There are many ifs there, comrade major…”

“True, but this shit happens when you have a river on the battlefield.” As the soldiers were returning to their vehicles, Emilianenko muttered: “There is always a fucking river…”

While Veisi and Andrushenko were returning to their vehicles, the intensity of explosions on the other side of the river was rising. As they entered the armoured car, Darzi and Zaman were already woken. When Darzi started the engine of the car, Zaman said:

“You know… I observed that this war is all about the lack of getting laid. I mean, look how great this continent was before Christianity and Islam appeared. Everyone had beautiful and long lives. But then came those religions with ideas like sex is bad and now we are in this shit. At least we have some hope with the Frescanian revolution around 200 years ago, but then again we lacked hope until socialism came and freed up from the shackles of thinking only about god and salvation. If the Salvationists would have got laid more, the Talemantines as well, we wouldn’t have those problems here now.”

“Did you have a wet dream and now you want to start a conversation which will end in jerking off material when you think that we aren’t paying attention? Take the turn right here,” said Andrushenko to the driver, trying to change the subject. The armoured cars entered the small valley of the Lisa River and after five kilometres they crossed the river, making their return on the northern bank.

“Command, this is Astra 1. We are in position. I repeat we are in position. Over.” Said Andrushenko as they were now heading west.
“Roger, Astra, begin your attack, we will join soon. Everyone holding a weapon is declared hostile. Out.”

The explosions were more intense as ever from the rockets launched from the Ksyushas. The armoured cars were attacking the Zamoskan infantry division lines. The tanks of the Ier Cossacks Military ProNat division were preparing to cross the river, knowing they are covered by the bombing barrage which will advance in front of them. The infantry division was preparing to cross the “Friendship” bridge south of the town when the Talemantine tanks will roll out to reinforce their lines.

 

[Natal]

Zamosk

The retreat of the Zamoskan Division in Corbeanca was met with joy by many people, many of those even being members of the above named division. Some members of the division and their Salvationist officers ran towards the north-east. They sneaked along the mountain being undetected by the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] Corps, had a small skirmish with pro-Parthian guerrillas in the Zagora Mountains and managed to get to the Talemantine lines in Malin. The rest of the division joined the People’s Liberation Army’s 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Corps and entered the town again, but this time as true liberations.

Hetman Sinytsin ordered the soldiers to stay attentive, as he didn’t accept the civilians pillaging Christian neighbourhoods and churches because of their religion being the same as the Talemantine’s. By his orders, the PLA already executed four privates and a sergeant for attempting to burn the town’s church and also arrested more than fifty people because they were pillaging through the aforementioned neighbourhood.
The arrival of Hetman Tomaszewski from the Riff after the Dano-Talemantine skirmish also meant for Sinytsin that he had to quicken things up. In no more than two hours since he arrived in Corbeanca, the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] corps ceased to exist, as from the 3 infantry divisions, 2 will go in Malin and join the 3rd Corps which will be renamed to 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Corps while the other one will go to Asau and join the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Corps.

In Malin, the Talemantines have built fortifications around the town. It was the third day the artillery division started the bombing, but from the orders the command got from Tomaszewski, they won’t we delayed so much as Asau. As soon as the two divisions from Corbeanca will arrive, the city will be stormed. The General staff know that there will be many casualties but they hoped that the prolonged barrage of bombardment will weaken the Talemantine infantry division to the point of only having to clear the fields and the city of their remaining survivors. But Tomaszewski knew that it won’t be so easy. He ordered the artillery to create a rolling barrage in front of the infantry when they attack. But that will happen only when the two divisions will arrive.

Hetman of the Air Stepan Dabrowski ordered the People’s Air Force to bombard the Talemantine fortifications in Malin, the Talemantine forces north of Asau and the port and military bases in Rovograd.

Sindh Sea

The whistling was more and more powerful. The explosion that followed after it made the soldiers woke up as it shook the earth. The propeller engines could be heard in the air, while two PT boats were burning near a pier. The soldiers went out to see what’s happening, when they heard the engines of a planes flying at a very low altitude.

“DOWN!” Captain Tomenko shouted to him soldiers as he felt the plane was right above him. As they fell down on the asphalt, the explosion destroyed the office buildings of the port of Cala. In the city, AA weapons started shooting, while large lanterns were illuminating the sky to try to find the planes. Everywhere around them they would hear their engines, but because of the clouds and the late night, they couldn’t see anything.

“We must contact the general staff!” he shouted to one of his subordinates while showing a jeep. Another explosion was heard in the background and a few seconds later, another explosion hit a tanker in the port, fortunately it was empty. As Tomenko was running with the soldier towards the jeep which was near a PT boat repair hangar. Another plane passed above them, some seconds later, the bomb hit the hangar. Tomenko fell. Something hit him in the leg. He couldn’t move. In the background, he saw another PT boat being destroyed by a bomb.

In the morning, the General Staff in Cala sent a patrol mission around the Cala Island, which returned with casualties. It meant just one thing… The Talemantine fleet was here. Now, their real baptism of fire of the new air and marine officers will start.

 

[Potenza]

OOC: Just FYI, Ovi isn't god-moding with the Taley attack on Cala - we spoke and agreed on that, as well as how it would go, to speed things along a little bit.

The Battle of Malin

Before the Parthians had arrived, the Talemantine First Motorized Division had been busily beginning to dig trenches and gun ditches on the outskirts of the city. When the Third Salvationist Battalion arrived, the exhausted force was ordered to begin digging in through the mountains and forests west of the city. The Talemantine Second Motorized Division was due to arrive soon, and would strengthen them with further ground support.

Then came the katyushas.

The frontal units took a beating. Several dozen Talemantine vehicles were knocked out or in need of serious repairs. Hundreds of casualties, both dead and wounded, were being reported. Gamossi ordered that two brigades me moved into the city itself, for protection as well as to force any Parthian artillery attacks to endanger civilians. He would use this as a tool against them. He also intended to organize street defenses and traps in the buildings, so that any Parthian soldier who entered would find himself in a hell. He hoped that, at the very least, the defense of the city would tie up Parthian units until reinforcements from the empire came. Gamossi ordered his soldiers down there to "surrender not one inch to the heathens."

The first brigade of the Talemantine division would remain below the city, in the trenches which they were continuing to build. The trenches did offer some defense from the bombardment, but the psychological effect - especially at night - took its toll. When a trench was hit, however, the explosion and the effects of the aftermath were deadly. Very deadly.

The Battle of Asau

The northern banks of the rivers, along with the land behind them, lit up as the kayusha rockets landed, many of the hits fatal for those who lay under them. The Zamoskan Second and Third Infantry Divisions had been stationed all along the river, with the Fourth Salvationist Battalion scattered about them in an effort to keep the loyalty and defenses ensured. Salvationist troops had orders to shoot any native Zamoskans who appeared to be surrendering or retreating. Even more shocking was an order that had been sent from Gamossi himself: a platoon of Salvationist soldiers was busy laying random mines behind the Salvationist positions, and this served two purposes: 1) to delay the Parthian attack, should it overrun the river defenses; 2) as punishment for any Zamoskan soldiers who retreated from battle.

At some point in the night, Zamoskan and Salvationist forces reported that Parthian armored cars were attempting to cross the river. There were some guns on the bank, and they took aim and began to open fire. Some of the mortars were brought up and took aim as well, dropping shells toward the Parthian forces. Machine gun fire was soon seen flying across the river as the tracers lit up the night, attempting to hit anything they could see. It was suddenly clear that the crossing was not going to be an easy one (though not impossible).

Words of this attack reached Asau, where the Talemantine general was with his armored division. Unfortunately, the frightened Salvationist and Zamoskan forces misreported the attack, claiming that it was an attack in force, some even confusing the armored cars for tanks. The Talemantine believed this to be the main attack, with the bombardment along the south to be a diversion. He was not yet ready to commit his full forces, but he ordered two of his armored brigades - about 120 tanks - east to prepare to meet the Parthians, should they break through.

The Battle of the Sindh Sea

Admiral Tancredo Ulleri had feared the possibility of the Danes launching a provoking movement against his forces, and so he swung his fleet southward, along the southwest coast of the Island of Cala. At about midnight, he ordered his planes to take off from the carrier and launch an attack against the town of Cala itself in support of the Salvationist forces there. Their orders were to hit the port and the municiple targets. Thanks to the Talemantine support of the Salvationist forces, they had good knowledge of where things were.

The attack planes swung over the island, moving down the valley between the forests and the hills, and then came out and attacked the city. There were about 100 aircraft altogether, and individual squadrons had been assigned attack targets. Several would target the port alone, hitting the boats there and knocking out the buildings nearby. Many more went into the city, dropping their shells upon the police station, the city hall, and what were formerly barracks for the Salvationist forces. The sky had been somewhat overcast, which had proved to assist the planes as they turned up after their attacks and high, away from the antiaircraft guns and the searchlights. No casualties were reported from the Talemantine forces. The air commander radioed back that it had been a complete success, and they were now returning to the TIS Horace I.

Ulleri believed things were going well, and that he was carrying out the mission he had set out to do - however, the matter remained what would happen once the Parthian navy decided to show up. That's when he received word that some of the destroyers had spotted unidentified flying objects flying near them. The cruisers and destroyers opened up with their antiaircraft guns, scoring a few hits. As the lights of the burning planes crashed into the endless sea, it was believed that these had been scout planes, and their destruction ensured the fleet position's secrecy. Still, Ulleri wanted to play it safe, and ordered the ships to move south, around the southwesternmost tip of the island, heading towards Cala. There the cruisers would launch a bombardment of the city, and the planes would launch another attack. Little did Ulleri realize that the planes shot down were only a fraction of the sortie that had been sent to identify the Talemantine navy. The rest of the planes returned, having identified the location of the enemy vessels.

In the meantime, the Salvationist forces watched as the planes attacked Cala, and cheered as they watched the fires light up. A call was made throughout the island for the Salvationist forces to regroup - a new offensive would be made. They were certain that this was a sign that the Talemantine were not abandoning them, and that help would come soon. They decided that, in the morning, an attack would be made against Cala and the Talemantine forces made there. The goal would be nothing less than the recapture of the city.

 

[Natal]

The Protective Raven IV

“This is shit!” Shouted Veisi as an armoured car that was going alongside them was hit by a mortar shell.

“Shut up, open fire!” shouted Lieutenant Andrushenko as he was driving the armoured car at maximum speed. The Zamoskan unit was taken by surprise and the division was advancing westwards towards the city of Asau. Zaman was firing the main gun of the armoured car while Darzi was trying to contact the rest of the division.

“Sir, by now we should change our direction to the north-west by now, or we would be caught in the barrage of the Ksyushas.”
“Contact the division!”

Darzi took the radio. “Bou Company, Cot Company, this is Astra 1-1. Respond. Over.”

“This is Bou 1-1, come in Astra 1-1.Over.”

“This is Cot 1-1, come in Astra 1-1. Over.”

“We are approaching the range of the barrage of the Ksyushas. We are to turn to the north-west. Over and out.”

The cars turned to the north-west continuing to fire on the Zamoskan troops. The Talemantine tanks were coming from the town, as the barrage from the Ksyushas was starting and it was slowly advancing north, the tanks of the Ier Cossacks Military ProNat division were crossing the river attacking the tanks that survived the barrage. In the meantime, the infantry division was fighting through the Talemantine resistance taking the bridge to the south of the town and continue fighting even for every room in the town if necessary.

In the meantime, in Malin the artillery division continued to bomb the Talemantine division’s fortifications while the Motorised Divisions were preparing to enter the town.

Talemantine front

After the air patrols found the Talemantine fleet, the Surdoiu Flotilla was sent to intercept it. The 50 PT boats left the port in the early morning and were now approaching the Talemantine fleet. To defend the boats from the Talemantine planes, in tandem with the water raid, the airplanes which were based in Cala and in the Surdoiu airbases were sent to provide aerial superiority, thus more than fifty IAA-15 jet fighters were also preparing to attack the fleet.

As the flotilla was approaching, the PT boats spread as the Talemantine escort ships of the carrier stared firing towards them. As they approached, when the planes dropt their first bombs, the PT boats also fired their first torpedoes, targeting the escorts, the final target being the carrier.

In the Riff, the whole Army of the Air was on move. After the Dano-Talemantine skirmish, the alert level of the forces in the Riff was on the highest level. But this time, Hetman-of-the-Air Stepan Dabrowski knew that the mistakes from the last war mustn’t be repeated. Following this thought, he ordered air fleets situated in the Riff to attack the Talemantine airbases near the border with the Parthian Union. As he was looking at the runway of the Dialgorod airport from his office, the Avro heavy bombers, the IAA-10 propeller fighters as escorts were leaving the airports preparing for the biggest aerial operation in Parthian military history. Scenes like this were happening all over the airports in the Riff.

 

[Clarenthia]

Operation First Encounter
Union Central Command
Tetri Tsqaro, Akhaltsikhe
6:30 am

Mushir Muhammad Husayn Haykal was standing in the Combat Center looking over the situation. At 4:00 am, Union aircraft crossed into Talemantine airspace with the intention of eliminating or weakening Talemantine air power in the area. Airports, military installations, hangers, all were targets of the air assault. An hour later, the land invasion began as the 1[SUP]st[/SUP], 3[SUP]rd[/SUP], 4[SUP]th[/SUP], 5[SUP]th[/SUP], and 6[SUP]th[/SUP] armies rushed the Talemantine border and crossed heading for population centers and military installations.

It was an all-out attack, designed to cause as much chaos on the Western Front as physically possible. Central Command was convinced the element of surprise was strong and that the Union would be able to make nice gains against the Empire in the early stages of the war. Mushir Haykal was less convinced, he was sure that the Empire would have kept the border defended all along; he was convinced that there’d be a difficult fight. The difference in his mind was he believed reinforcements would be slow in Talemantros due to Talemantine Troops heading towards Zamosk and the East.

Union Commanders were told to move with as much speed as possible and cover as much ground as possible. The goal was to cause as much shock and chaos as the Union could, armies moved on course to major population centers. Haykal had no patience for “kindness” and said that collateral damage was not a concern of the Union and that civilian casualties were for Sharjah to answer for, not the troops.

(OOC: Please note this post is incredibly vague and the reason for that is due to a great lack of knowledge of anything along Taley’s border with him. This post is only for pointing out the actions taken by me.)

 

[Rheinbund]

Kanzleramt
Trier, Eiffelland

It was Saturday afternoon. The Chancellor had asked all ministers to come to the Chancellery from their home adresses for an urgent meeting.

“Thank you that you all could come, gentlemen,” the Chancellor said. “Yesterday evening I got a telephone call from the King. It is about Talemantros.”
“Why is the King interested in Talemantros? He knows our stance in it. The annexation of Zamosk was an illegal move anyway,” one of the Ministers said.
“Indeed. And I don’t have a problem with it if Zamosk goes back to Parthava,” the Chancellor said. “I also think that that is the King’s stance. But there are two complicating factors. The first one I’ll show you at the map. I attached it to that wall.”

The Chancellor rose from his chair and walked to the wall where he had attached a map of Northern Hymiar. All Ministers looked at it. Parthava could be seen, east of Talemantros. The Jurzan could be seen, west of Talemantros. Carentania could be seen, west of the Jurzan. The Chancellor walked to the map, took a red crayon and drew some red ships near the Talemantine coast. He went to the left side of the map, drew a red man there, and wrote “Karentanien” behind it. Above that, he wrote “Legende” with a black crayon. He took a purple crayon, drew a man, wrote “Dänemark” behind it, walked back to “Talemantros” on the map, and drew some purple ships there. He took a green crayon, and drew some arrows from the Jurzan into Talemantros. He walked back to the legend, drew a green man, and wrote “Jursan” behind it. He took an orange crayon, drew a man, and wrote “Parthawa” behind it. Then he walked back to “Talemantros”, and drew some orange arrows from Parthava into Zamosk and Talemantros. Then he took a long pointerstick and stepped aside of the map.

“Like I said, I don’t have a problem with it if Zamosk is taken back by Parthava. That war was the stupidest move the Talemantines could make anyway. I can understand their hatred of Socialism given 1943, but this was totally uncalled for,” the Chancellor said, referring to Il Rosso Pasqua, like it was known in Talemantros. The failed Socialist revolution that took the life of Emperor Florian III. Apparently the events were so impressive that the Talemantines forgot their own grammar, the son of the Chancellor had commented once.
“On the other hand,” the Chancellor continued, “we cannot look the other way when Post‑War Talemantros is shaped. Look here,” the Chancellor ticked at the red ships he had drawn on the map, “at these ships. The Carentanians. We have been dealing with them for over a year in Solaren, so meanwhile we know them. Especially how important their ideology is to them. They sacrifice everything, even the people’s well‑being, to implement their ideology. But testing it out before implementing it, or modifying what goes wrong? Forget it. And so they overlook how much harm their ideology does, despite the good intentions behind it.”

The Chancellor paused for a moment. Then he continued. “If this war ends the wrong way, the only thing it will do is sow the seeds of the next war. Like it continuously happened in the past. We have to try to break this cycle. Apart from the fact that the war that is about to be fought will only know loosers, no winners. The opponents will destroy each other and that’s it.”

The Chancellor took a sip of his water. Then he continued. “The possible shape of post-war Talemantros is the first complicating factor. The second one is the family ties between our Royal Family and the Talemantine Imperial Family. Technically speaking, it is an aunt of the King that currently reigns Talemantros, although they have the same age and could be twins,” the Chancellor said. “The relations between the King and his aunt used to be good. That’s why the Talemantine Prince Stefano came to Eiffelland to absolve his secundary education here.”
The Chancellor had met Prince Stefano several times. An extremely intelligent boy, so intelligent that he was allowed to skip a class when he entered the Königliches Gymnasium in Trier. And so he obtained his Abitur in the same year as Prince Ludwig, although the latter was one year older. And of course, those two Princes were romanticly involved with each other, something the Eiffellandian yellow press had paid enormously much attention to but was kept out of the press in Talemantros.
But later on, the relations between the King and his aunt became more difficult. “What has happened to my aunt?” the King had asked himself desparately several times, after the war against the Jurzan in 1950, but especially after the war for Zamosk end of 1951. He also had forbidden his son Ludwig to visit Stefano in Talemaniki. He expected the worst about what his aunt could do to the male lover of her son, given the fact that the woman had become increasingly unpredictable and sometimes even cruel, and because of the country’s hysterical stance towards homosexuality. Ludwig and Stefano always met in Danzig. Or in the naval seaports of Eiffelland. Or in Solaren, when Ludwig’s ship had moored there. And that was what the Chancellor explained to the Ministers as well.

“Nevertheless, the King cannot let her aunt fall. We will remain neutral, but we must strive for a diplomatic solution in which the Talemantine Empire will continue to exist, although Zamosk will go back to Parthava. And if the De Vesci family is dethroned, we will have to provide them asylum,” the Chancellor said.

 

[Socialist Commonwealth]

Rijeka
Carentania

It was quite early in the morning, a thin mist not yet dispersed by the rays of sunshine that slowly crept over the rooftops of Carentanias capital city. In its center lay the "Black Square", covered in dark marble and its construction ordered by a Carentanian King in the 18th century, it remained a famous landmark of the city. On its northern end had always stood the royal palace, ever since Rijeka had been made capital of the Carentanian Kingdom. That building was now a museum, but right on the opposite end of the "Black Square" now laid a monumental structure, initially slightly reminiscent of a stadium and clearly built to house ten-thousands of people. Most of the year, it stood largely empty, the massive sessions of the All-Workers Congress convened only twice each year. However, there were smaller offices and meeting rooms, used throughout the year, by the Commissars Assembly and their many affiliated beuraus, offices and commissions.

Headed directly for one of these smaller meeting rooms was a small group of elderly men and women, dressed in elegant suits. Even from afar, they were unmistakably politicians, and from up closer, most Carentanians would have been able to recognize them as Commissar Sitar, responsible for foreign affairs, and Commissar Dracar, responsible for Defence, alongside their small groups of personal assistants. The two men had gotten accustomed to each other, as was unsurprising, considering how closely intertwined their respective responsibilities had been at times, especially compared to other fields such as healthcare or education. It wasn't unusual for them to walk together to work each morning after collecting their assistants along the way - as with most Commissars in the history of the Workers' Republic, it was kind of expected of them to use public transport instead of their staff cars as long as there was no concrete threat against them. They were workers of the state, not rulers.

"I understand our responsibilities to the Parthavans and I'm the last person you need to lecture about the benefits of removing the Talemantine Empire from Himyar, but..." most of the times the two used their walks to the congress building to discuss political issues. Today the war between Parthava and the Talemantines had once again been amongst the most pressing and Commissar Dracar was sceptical about the Workers' Republics ability to play a greater role in this conflict: "We're already tied down in Solaren. If we involve ourselves in an occupation of Talemantros as well, we may face a two fronts war if the situation in Solaren explodes and Eiffelland, Potenza, maybe even Danmark force a war in the north upon us. I just don't think it's a wise thing to do."

"I'm usually the last person to argue in favour of war, Matija, and I hope you know that. But Talemantros will fall, with or without us. If we don't participate in this, we may soon have a Danish puppet state in spitting distance from Učka. An escalation in Solaren may then end up threatening our mainland and all we had gained in Solaren, the entire extension of our defensive cordon across the Long Sea, will be undone."

"The best solution really would be, if we could just avoid any trouble in Solaren. We have already gained all we aimed for up north with the bases on Capraria and near Mazara. They allow us to keep the Long Sea clear. And more, with Iscla, we have a leverage against Danmark, deterring them from aggression against us. But will the SNC and the Labor Movement play along?"

Commissar Sitar looked worried now, his forehead in wrinkles: "Maybe we can restrain them on the short term, but in the long run they will not sacrifice their social revolution for Carentanias strategic interests - and, quite frankly, we shouldn't demand that of them. If things were reversed, we wouldn't want to do it either."

"Look, I will prepare everything for operations against the Talemantines: have reconaissance flights across the east to locate the positions of their fleets, staff up the intelligence operations in the Talemantine Empire and prepare a full combat readiness report and targetting maps and I will prepare an intervention force and keep them at high alert levels - but I will not vote in favour of any assault as long as Solaren may draw us into a war against Eiffelland or Potenza."

"I understand, Matija. We'll do our best."

 

[Potenza]

The Battle of Asau

The Zamoskan and Salvationist troops were falling back from the apparent main attack of the Parthian line. Nervous radio calls screamed where the Talemantine tanks were. As the Parthians turned northwest, the remaining Salvationist and Zamosk troops attempted to launch harassing attacks against their lines, shooting from the flanks as they continued on. Finally, the Talemantine tanks appeared. The second artillery barrage had taken them by surprise, though their commanders managed to respond as they saw the artillery getting closer. The tanks attempted to disperse as quickly as possible, but casualties were taken, and by the end only 80 or so tanks were operational. The officers radioed for vehicles to come and pick up the tanks that could be salvaged, then continued on, preparing to flank the Parthians on their western side.

Meanwhile, to the south, the Zamoskans were falling back to the new Parthian attacks across the river. Their retreats north proved fatal - the mines the Salvationists had placed proved brutal, and hundreds were lost as mines placed behind their lines claimed lives. Many more mines would find any who followed them.

The Battle of the Sindh Sea

Admiral Tancredo Ulleri received news that enemy aircraft were approaching. Their large number were a surprise to the Talemantine officers, and they immediately ordered all ships to go into evasive maneuvers. At this time, all the aircraft that had attacked Cala were still refueling, and so sending out sorties was, at this time, impossible. The morning sky was lit up as the antiaircraft guns opened fire at the Parthian planes flying overhead.

Worse yet was the PT boats that appeared about the same time. Torpedoes were seen in the water by the crew, and the ships targeted by the Parthian navy quickly veered left and right, as much as possible. Returning fire proved difficult, as the PT boats proved too quick to hit. Suddenly, one of the Talemantine destroyers was struck by a torpedo on the port side, and reported taking on water. One of the cruisers was hit on the rear, and their propeller was damaged, forcing them to turn in a constant circle.

But the worst was yet to come.

Up until now, the TIS Horace I had been successfully dodging the bombs dropped by the attacking Parthian planes, and the antiaircraft crews, experienced from the last war, had done an excellent job keeping the role of the dive bombers from being easy. That's when, suddenly, a single Parthian bomb landed right on the deck of the planes - right as they were refueling. All at once, the deck was lit aflame. The fire spread across the deck, exploding several of the other planes. Ulleri ordered the fire crew to the deck at once. In a blink of an eye, operating aircraft had become an impossibility. The fire crews were up and trying to fight the growing blazes, while the antiaircraft crews - close to the fire and feeling their clothes getting singed - continued to defend the aircraft carrier with courage.

 

[Natal]

The Protective Raven V

Opening fire, the armoured cars were chasing the retreating Zamoskan and Salvationist troops, until they observed that suddenly the routing enemies were literally blowing themselves up. At first, they believed that the Parthian artillery was hitting them. But it was impossible. The Ksyusha Rocket Launchers would have rolled their artillery fire from the river northwards and they would have seen that. No, it wasn’t the Parthians. Then, they believed that the Talemantine artillery was the one firing. But it was a queer idea again. The intelligence said nothing about Talemantine artillery around Asau. For this, major Emilianenko stopped the armoured cars until the explosions stopped.

A few minutes later, the explosions lowered in intensity, but the armoured cars had to retreat as they entered in the range of the approaching Talemantine tanks and already, some of the armoured cars were hit. While the Ksyusha rocket launchers’ artillery barrage hit many tanks, the armoured cars were still vulnerable, so they were ordered to retreat to the north-east. In the meantime, from the south, the IMD-5 heavy tanks of the Ier Cossacks Military ProNat Division crossed the river and attacked the Talemantine tanks from the south, staying behind the rolling artillery barrage. Their order was to destroy the Talemantine Tanks and open to way for the armoured cars and the infantry into Asau.

Sindh Sea

Immediately after he saw the explosion on the air carrier, colonel Fedorov, the commander of the Parthian forces in the current battle, turned his IAA-15 Jet Fighter into the direction of the cruiser hit in the propeller. He then ordered all the planes to attack the escorting cruisers, while the PT boats will concentrate their fire on the aircraft carrier. Immediately after he finished giving the order, his plane was hit by an AA-gun from one of the ships and started to go down.

He took a second in which he thought of his wife and this three children and then of his lost comrades in the current and the last war with the Talemantines, he remembered what a good friend of his has done when his plane was hit: he crashed it into a Talemantine ship, in Dialgorod in 1951. When he tried to eject himself from the plane but it seemed that the system was blocked. He then saw the ship was approaching, so he made the decision. He launched the remaining bomb and two rockets towards the cruiser and then maximised the power in the engines. The wing, as it was hit made controlling the plane tough, but he wanted to took other’s with him, so he targeted the bridge of the cruiser.

 

[Potenza]

The Battle of Asau

The Talemantine tanks were in pursuit of the armored cars, some of whom were burning on the field, and appeared to be in retreat towards the northeast. A suicidal move, in their eyes, as it would mean retreating towards other hostile troops. They began to pursue as quickly as possible. That was when movement was reported to the south. Parthian tanks had appeared, having crossed the river to the south, and were now engaging the Talemantine armor. This took them by surprise, as the Parthian tanks were more than a match in contrast to the armored cars. Several Talemantine tanks were hit, and the commanding officers ordered all tanks to turn and meet the advancing enemies.

Radio messages sent back to the city alerted the high command of the Parthian troops, and suddenly it became clear that the attack to the east had been a diversion. The remaining Talemantine tanks were mobilized and ordered southeast as soon as possible to assist the armor out in the field. The hopes was that they would arrive in time before too much damage was done to the two brigades who had been sent out before - though the combination of the katyusha attacks and the Parthian armor had already done severe damage to their numbers.

The Battle of the Sindh Sea

The captain of the "wounded" cruiser was radioing for assistance, and attempting to coordinate the repairs to the rudders. That was when he received word that a Parthian plane was coming close. In fact, it appeared to be coming right for the bridge.

"What?!" he shouted. "Intensify the antiaircraft batteries! I don't want anything to get through!"

The tracers shooting up into morning sky now turned on the lone IAA-15 jet fighter, although it was moving too quickly and was too close to achieve any accurate aim. One managed to hit the jet on the wing, but the pilot managed to quickly reorganize and direct himself towards the bridge.

"Shoot him down!" the captain shouted.

"Too late!" came a cry. It was the last sound heard before the jet smashed right into the bridge. Flame engulfed the entire room, incinerating all the men inside. A fireball shot up from the cruiser, acting as a kind of signal for the PT boats. Several more torpedoes hit the cruiser. With the bridge gone, there was confusion about what was going on. Reports came in that the boat was taking on water. Eventually an inferior officer gave the order for evacuation. The cruiser was sinking.

Many of the destroyers were hit, two reported taking on water. The TIS Horace I was still struggling with the fire on the deck, which caused the Parthian attacking wings to target it like a pack of wolves on wounded prey. Several hits proved fatal. The reports from across the ship continued to turn the situation dark. Finally, Admiral Ulleri decided to give the unthinkable order...the most unthinkable order he had in mind when he set out to meet the Parthians in combat...he gave the order to abandon ship.

By now, the remaining cruiser was attempting to direct the destroys around the aircraft carrier, signaling to the other ships to expect to take on evacuating personnel. The PT boats proved to be too much for the force, and the empire's high command had not expected this quick of a reaction from the union's fleet.

The Battle of Cala

As the morning rose over the island, the smoke from last night's attack could still be seen from the ruined buildings around the small town. The Salvationists were worried about the absence of the Talemantine fleet, but were still certain that the Parthians had been harmed enough to warrant a counterattack. The militia forces readied themselves, getting as close as possible to the town, and then...

"FOR CHRIST AND COUNTRY!"

A cry came out from the woods and hills around Cala, and soon swarms upon swarms of Salvationist militia and police forces were charging forward, firing at anything they saw and attempting to swarm into the city. Their goal was nothing less than the retaking of the city, the securing of the island, and the complete annihilation of any Parthian personnel that had invaded.

 

[Natal]

Battle of Asau

When the Talemantine tank reinforcements got out of the town, the Parthian soldiers were taken by surprise. The General Staff ordered the tanks to retreat towards the river. To cover the falling back of the tanks, the Ksyusha Rocket Launchers were ordered to attack the approaching tanks.

As the Parthian heavy tanks were mimicking the retreat, the soldiers from the armoured cars were preparing their anti-tank weapons, as some of them were equipped with RPG-2s. When the Talemantine tanks would follow the Parthian ones, the Military ProNat division would counterattack under the cover of the Ksyusha Rocket Launchers, while soldiers from the armoured cars with RPGs would flank the Talemantines.
The Infantry divisions were now preparing to cross the river to the west, right south of the city and attack it while the tanks were fighting out of the city.

Other battles

In the Sindh Sea, after the sacrifice of the colonel and then the beginning of the sinking of the aircraft carrier, victory was declared and the PT boats and planes were to return back to their bases. The sinking of the carrier was a great tactical victory and an even greater propagandistic victory.

In Malin, the reinforcements from Corbeanca have arrived at a moment in which the southern suburbs of the town were liberated but still much of the town was held by Talemantines and Salvationists. The Hetman’s orders were clear. After three weeks of bombardment, the infantry divisions, with the reinforcements, now numbering 5 divisions, were to storm the town, fight for every room in every apartment in every block. The town had to be taken for the final march towards Rovograd.

Cala

“They…attacked…everyone…port…” the radio had many disruptions. It was hard to understand what the man said and even harder to put some logic into his words. Lysenko knew that something bad happened. When they left Cala for the villages to the north, they found them void of any Salvationist presence. The villagers told them that the Salvationists ran to the west. The other commander, Vorobenko even had a skirmish with them, but it was to the south west. He was angry that he didn’t thought first that they would plan to attack the city. The Talemantine bombing already reduced the port defenceless, so taking it was like a walk on the boulevard.

As he turned, he ordered the men to enter the armoured cars. It was time for the confrontation; the cat and mouse game was over. They started moving with all speed towards Cala and were to approach the town from the north-west, while captain Vorobenko and his forces would approach the town from the south-west, catching the Salvationists like in a pincer.

 

[Potenza]

Battle of the Sindh Sea

As the remains of the Horace I began to slowly sink into the sea, and the ships that remained began to scrunch up in a last minute defense against the attackers, the Parthian ships began to depart. Admira Ulleri, having been picked up by the remaining cruiser along with several other survivors from the carrier, dubbed the vessel his new flagship, and ordered a withdrawal back to Talemantine. The casualties amounted to the carrier, a cruiser, and three destroyers. The ships spread out and picked up what men remained swimming in the water, and then began to head home. The Battle of the Sindh Sea was a defeat, and the news of the sinking of the carrier would prove to be a moral blow to the one side, and a moral boost to the other.

Battle of Cala

The initial attack took ground, getting closer and closer to the port. The Parthians appeared to be taken completely off guard. Those who were killed were mutilated by random Salvationists who carved crosses on their cheeks with their bayonets and blades.

Things, however, turned sour quickly. On the eve of what seemed to be a great victory, the Parthians rounded up what armored vehicles they had and began an attack against the Salvationist forces. The police paramilitary force was entirely unprepared for this, and their goal of running over the Parthians before any real counterattack could be launched. Several Salvationists were killed, and these attacks were from either side in a pincer movement. Casualties mounted as some Salvationists found out all too late that there was no room to hide. Casualties mounted, and they mounted quickly.

Finally, what survivors that were left dropped their guns and literally fled full speed into the hills and forests. Some were gunned down before they made it, but a handful managed to escape. The attack was an utter failure, and ended any effective defense of the island against the Parthians.

Battle of Asau

The Katyushas began to rain down on the Talemantine tank positions. The armor commanders saw their coming and ordered the tanks to disperse and move as quickly as possible. Soon the battlefield was a nightmare for the Talemantine, as they dodged both missiles and Parthian shells. Many were hit - it was a case of life or death now. The armored commanders shouted through the radios to engage the Parthians head on. Within a minute, several Talemantine tanks were smashing into the Parthians, firing at point blank and using their anti-personnel guns when possible.

Things changed when the infantry showed up. By now, with the Zamoskans and Salvationists falling back, the tanks were in danger of being flanked and overrun. Orders were given to withdraw back to the city - it would have to become a house-to-house battle now.