[Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
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[Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
Overview:At 14:55 local time Wolfpack Hawke, operating in the hitherto remarkably tranquil waters of Carama Bay received its first set of target coordinates. What was unexpected was that these were not located in Jingdaoese territory.
Simultaneously on five Poltroon class submarines, distributed at varying depths in positions parallel to the littoral waters of the Florian Republic, decryption and authentication protocols were followed, and the short burst of electrical flash traffic was reformatted into a simple cogent order. On those same vessels, glances that conveyed a world's worth of quiet exasperation passed briefly between the u-boat commanders and their first officers. No further comment was required. The cabal of fools who had sought Shireroth's protection only to promptly spurn its aid were about to get their due.
On each Poltroon a silo was flooded and the Banshee cruise missile contained within was armed. In the operations centre on board U-044, the sub's tactical officer joined the first officer in going through the motions of a dual key launch authentication procedure before turning about and rendering their salaams to the captain, who had the satisfaction of pressing a shiny red button on his own console, which had been specially polished for the occasion. In the launch tube an explosive charge flash-vaporised a tank of water into steam. As the pressure of the expanding steam drove the missile out of its launch tube, providing the brutal momentum required for the weapon to punch clear of the ocean's surface.
Catapulted into the sky by the force of it's expulsion from the belly of the submerged leviathan, the Banshee screamed to life as it's first stage booster rocket ignited and the cruise missile, somewhat inelegantly, assumed the horizontal position and began its zig-zag course towards the Florian naval facilities south of Blyth. It was joined by four more launched by U-044's compatriots in the wolfpack.
The target of the first salvo was the Florian Navy's flagship, the USSO Common Market procured, Passio-Corum quality assured, aircraft carrier.
Things will fall as they may but we'll be damned if we let the USSO get those ships back, was the prevailing Shirerithian attitude.
Following the successful launches, the submarine forces deployed in the capacious waters of the bay, not merely those engaged in the targeted operation, shifted their locations in accordance with a pre-arranged protocol. The Poltroons employed a sprint and drift tactic whereby they would periodically idle in order to get more accurate readings from their passive sonar arrays in order to ascertain whether they were detected or pursued by any enemy force active in the region.
Meanwhile, far to the north-west, the Shirerithian led and organised formations of the 5th Army began to draw their strength away from the frontlines, leaving a light screen of infantry and anti-tank teams to serve as a rear-guard. Returning to their original assembly areas they began to form up into individual regimental sized armoured convoys. Their destination was unknown but their vehicles were variously pointed to the south and east. Personnel delegated to the task of acting as military police were already busy on the roads towards Dragonmoor; forcing civilians off the roads whilst helping themselves to any appreciable objects of value that happened to catch their fancy, wrist watches were especially popular. However all things considered, it was an orderly affair - the Shirerithian troops conducted themselves with admirable professionalism. There had only been four instances of grievous bodily harm, two of which had been against foolhardy Florian traffic cops who had tried to countermand the commandeering of a road, and a instance of lethal force where self-defence was justified after a Horjin APC was obliged to crush an obstructive hatchback and its driver in order to gain access to a main road. The dozen or so rapes that were notified to authorities had scarcely been any different to the incidence of offences that had occurred whilst they were still notionally allies.
OOC: I'm making this up on the fly now, so apologies for the lameness.
All this has happened before, and all this will happen again.
Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
Referee ruling on carrier attack: In the absence of a prior deployment narrative, the Florian aircraft carrier - along with all other Florian naval assets - is considered to be in port, not at action stations, unserved by a radar picket and with its weapons unmanned. Attack is successful - upper superstructure destroyed and hull damaged beyond repair. Remaining hulk of ship will stay out of service for the duration of hostilities, although salvage of parts is permitted.
Carry on.
Carry on.
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Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
Overview: Following the murder of its preferred candidate for the presidency, the Shirerithians set about suborning the officer corps to the cause of defending the treaty, inciting some with exhortations to resist the Jing, reminding others of their oaths of obedience and their country's commitments to the unified chain of command. For some however more persuasive measures were required.
Narrative: Two uniformed officers of the Imperial Army sat facing a Florian general sat opposite them across desk in a plush office located in the Florian defence ministry building somewhere in Northcliff. Spilt coffee cups and an ash tray flush with smouldering stubbed out cigarettes bore witness to a meeting that had been fraught and had overrun.
“So you see General, it is your duty to implement Imperial Decree 987, especially now that your so-called President has clearly abandoned all pretence of adhering to the rule of law and is executing prisoners purely to please the mob.”
The oleaginous Shirerithian tribune paused so as to observe the effects that his words were having on the Florian, a certain John Lambert, commander of the 6th Army of the 1st Army Group, whose world presently was unravelling. The Florian government had fallen into chaos and was now openly in revolt. Betraying it's allies and – with the fecklessness of congenital imbeciles – seeking a treasonable peace with Jingdao. The General was in a precarious position; he had no especial love for the Shirerithians, whose arrogance and presumption had grated upon him, yet the 'President' was a dangerous fool who sought to buy peace with the Jing through territorial concessions and an unaffordable indemnity. Now that Jessica had taken the plunge and sanctioned the hanging of Shireroth's designated heir to the Presidency he could see that the rule of law was at an end and that, with the rabble in the streets for the moment on her side, the wretched woman would see the country once more reduced to the status of a vassal of the USSO. Of course the treaty with Shireroth had been stupid – it was almost as though the Farrar government hadn't even read what it was being asked to sign – but the Shirerithians had the benefit of being distant and uninterested overlords. The Jing, on the other hand, were right next door.
What he said however was:
“Show me the Kalgarrand again.”
The tribune duly obliged and passed the specimen piece across. The man sat beside the tribune, an older gentleman with a receding hairline and lank, distinctly un-martial hair, smiled knowingly.
“There would be ten more like those.” The Magister Militium nodded towards the hefty gold coin held in Lambert's hands.
“If I betray my country.” He replied.
A flicker of impatience, hurriedly suppressed, passed across the younger tribune's face. It was the magister who spoke next however.
“Hardly. You would be saving your country. With your renegade President left in charge the whole world will know that the word of a Florian is still as worthless as that blandly drawn harpy. If you act as we advise, swiftly, you will still be able to salvage some measure of honour for your shamed nation. The coins would merely be an expression of gratitude on behalf of the Imperial Republic to a man who was brave enough to honour the solemn word that his nation gave to our Kaiser. And once the war ends you would have peace with honour, instead of this rushed and shameful capitulation.”
Lambert didn't really believe the words. Irrespective of how crass the Florian Government had been in violating the Treaty of Friendship and Association with Shireroth, it remained the prerogative of any sovereign nation to repudiate a treaty once it was deemed onerous or contrary to its interests. That the Florian Government seemed unusually dissolute and inept and incapable of adhering even to the stipulated mechanisms for withdrawal from the Treaty was entirely incidental. If he took the plunge, he would be vilified as a traitor by a significant portion of his fellow countrymen, if not an overwhelming majority.
'Well. Fuck them.' He thought. After all, they kept voting these morons into office, so really the people are as much to blame as the President and Parliament.
“Okay. But on one condition. I want my wife and daughter taken to the airport, and an aircraft fuelled and on standby to get them out of the country if this goes wrong. Rogers is a dolt who'll do whatever I say, but the other corps commanders hate you guys more than the Jing, and who knows how the junior officers and lower ranks will react.”
“Already done.” The tribune chirped in happily.
“What?” A note of alarm crept into Lambert's voice.
“Your wife was collected from her coffee morning and your daughter was picked up by our defence attaché from the High Commission after school.” The man seemed pleased with himself.
“What is this?” Lambert snarled, the alarm giving way to anger.
“We thought it prudent to make arrangements for certain eventualities.” The magister answered, somewhat ambiguously.
“Eventualities such as if I'd said no?” A sense of icy dread crept over him.
“Shall we say, rather, that if you had surprised us by not being a patriot willing to step in and save his country from irresponsible democrats, we considered it prudent to have alternative lines of approach through which to appeal to your higher sense of duty.”
“Hostages.” Lambert answered sourly.
“Leverage.” The tribune corrected him unnecessarily, earning a momentary glance of irritation from the magister.
“Rest assured.” The magister continued. “That your family is quite safe. Indeed they will be joining me on my flight out of here this afternoon. We have taken the same precautions with the immediate families of most of the higher ranking officers. They will be the honoured guests of our young Kaiser out at his manor in Monty Crisco. I gather that he is rather looking forward to having genuine Apollonians to play with.”
“Doesn't this rather suppose that my fellow officers will accept this 'mass kidnapping' as calmly as I am? For the sake of argument let's say that I've taken this news exceptionally well, rather than ordered your arrest, for instance.”
“As my wayward nephew Ludovic would say 'gold is a great consoler' – and frankly he should know.”
With that the meeting was concluded and events set in motion.
Summary: To keep the Florian rebels off balance, and to punish them for seeking an independent peace with Jingdao, the Imperial Forces exploit their contacts in the hastily assembled Florian armies to build up an opposition to the civilian government.
Last edited by Continuator on Sun Nov 19, 2017 5:17 am, edited 3 times in total.
All this has happened before, and all this will happen again.
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Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
Overview: A whiff of grapeshot does wonders to concentrate the minds of those who thought that they could lightly shrug off their obligations.
Narrative:
-1-
Northcliff had a population of approximately ten million. It's sprawling conurbation was partially enclosed by a feroconcrete security wall that had been hurriedly installed over the space of two months during the Xhusor War where, arguably, the whole sorry mess that world presently found itself in had begun. It's modernist urban architecture belied the existence of awful pockets of abject poverty which blighted the city's landscape. Neglected apartment blocks, burnt out chapels, shuttered and graffiti covered shop fronts, all spoke of a country that had endured 40% unemployment rates even before the present succession of war and crises had begun.
Northcliff was where a mob could be found anywhere, and at almost anytime, to espouse just about any cause. For five Florian Pounds an hour (0.5 erb) men and women could be found to stand, wave placards and to chant. For ten Florian Pounds an hour they would do so with conviction. Optional extras like picking fights with the police, harassing foreigners or setting fire to buildings, naturally cost more, and relied upon the negotiating skills of the various touts to establish an acceptable rate. The long and the short of it however was that if you had the money you could fill the streets, and at the present moment the ones paying out the most were the Pro-Jingdaoese business groups and the Florian Liberal Party.
As you might expect, the object of ire for the protesters - both the rented and true-believers alike - was the Shirerithian High Commission, which had been effectively under siege since the promulgation of Imperial Decree 987.
These then were the first force then that the "Loyalist" officers, a collection of anti-Jing and Shirerithian-bribed Florian generals, would have to contend.
On paper the generals had immediately available in Northcliff the entirety of XVII Corps, which had been held in reserve to protect the capital in the event of a Jing breakthrough, backed by 93 tanks and a formidable artillery arm comprised of 380 field guns. To top it all 32,400 stormtroopers, trained to a higher standard than regular infantry, comprised the Corps manpower. However, to their chagrin, General John Lambert and the Corps commander, Lieutenant-General Peter Rogers, had swiftly realised that the actual force available to them within the capital was far smaller, a mere five regiments or approximately 6,000 men, and scattered between their barracks and the various checkpoints and watchtowers of the outer security wall. What was worse, the vaunted artillery was nonexistent. The nearest - 40 field guns - was 10 kilometres away on the northwest outskirts of the city.
Undeterred, Lambert called upon the commander of the nearest motorised force, happily a young tribune of the Imperial Army by the name of Joachim Gruber who had been seconded to the Florians. Gruber, who took great pride in his 'little tanks', had charge of the 29th Armoured Regiment and the 28 "Empire Class" light tanks purchased from Passio-Corum in happier days. At 21 tons the light tanks carried a 155mm cannon of a type more commonly associated with heavy field howitzers, an incongruous detail that had seen the empires suffer unduly from the effects of recoil whenever the guns were fired. Fortuitously the baby tanks had been ordered into the capital for inspection by ESB technical specialists before the most recent crisis in Sxiro-Florian relations had unfolded. Lambert had his guns, and, although Gruber piteously complained about the effects on their firing upon the torsion bars of his beloved vehicles, they would be able to drive themselves into position.
Lambert and Rogers next set themselves to gathering the Corps scattered regiments into a single striking force. Unsure of the loyalty of their men they spoke vaguely of enforcing the recently passed law against foreign subversion (tacitly passing over mention of its subsequent veto) and of orders to curb the recent disorders. Nonetheless, in the tumult and amidst the various daily revolutions in the positions of the government and parliament, the morale of the Florian forces had already began to ebb. A roll-call taken before dawn had revealed that 1,456 stormtroopers were unaccounted for, presumably having deserted and in the worst case scenario having joined the protesters. The Shirerithian preemptive against the Florian Navy had left many of those officers and men integrated into the 6th Army feeling bitterly angry and deeply conflicted in their loyalties.
At 6am a grey dawn rose above Northcliff, and a light drizzle was whipped by the wind against the grey facade of the parliament building. The cobbles of the historic part of the city groaned under the rumbling treads of a dozen armoured vehicles. At their head, as they defiled into the parliament's courtyard, was the less than swashbuckling Tribune Gruber, peacock proud and standing in the command cupola of the turret of his baby tank. A parliamentary clerk, alerted by the startled Florian police, had hurried out into the courtyard to enquire as to the meaning of the unwarranted martial intrusion and received the less than reassuring reply that the Florian Parliament now enjoyed the protection of the Imperial Republic.
The remaining 16 tankettes accompanied General Lambert and a regiment of stormtroopers towards the Presidential Palace where they were emplaced to watch all approaches to and from "the lair of that woman" as Lambert disparagingly termed it. The general and his party were joined by a select number of officials and functionaries from the High Commission, equipped with Model 1610 semi-automatic carbines that had been brought into the country via the ever reliable device of the "diplomatic bag".
Elsewhere in the city, approximately 3,000 die-hard supporters of the late Jeremy Spencer, the leader of the Florian Independence Party and victim of an extra-judicial killing ordered by President Smith, contacted and encouraged with funds, weapons, and the opportunity of revenge, bestirred themselves and began to make their way towards the city's media offices, broadcasting centres and telephone exchanges.
[Work in progress]
(OOC: There are a lot of moves that I want to put markers down for before ISummary:
- 'Loyalist' (Pro-Treaty) forces have been rallied to assault the Presidential Palace, Parliament building and pro-Jingdaoese protesters in Northcliff.
- Airports in Northcliff, Dragonmoor and Srbograd have been occupied by the Shirerithian forces originally assigned to their defence. In Srbograd the purpose is solely to evacuate personnel and to destroy whatever materials and infrastructure cannot be ripped out. More long term objectives are in play at the other two locations.
- In the south of the country, around Dragonmoor especially, reprisals against treacherous Florian conscripts and the civilian population are continuing. Regiments are taking it in turns to break off from the armoured columns to rape and plunder in settlements along the line of march. Orders from Shirekeep insist that, owing to a strict interpretation of ancient gender equality laws, men and women amongst the rebellious populace must be raped and pillaged without differentiation on the grounds of sex. This has led to some disquiet amongst the less imaginative.
- The 2nd Marine Division, attached to the Eastern Armada's Task Force 90, has staged an airborne and amphibious landing to continue the work of capturing or destroying the Florian Navy which operates from a port south of Blyth. Carrier borne aviation attached to the 2nd Marine Division has begun a routine of aggressive combat air patrolling over Blyth, Dragonmoor and Carama Bay.
- Unknown persons have conducted the targeted killing of Florian border guards and police officers along its southern border with the Natopian enclave of Saint Andre.
- An airborne assault has begun on the city of Blyth, an estimated 77+ rotorcraft of various configurations and types have been involved in landing commandos and strafing various military and civilian facilities.
- Further cruise missile strikes against Jingdaoese and Florian air bases have taken place.
All this has happened before, and all this will happen again.
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Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
Summary: Almost driven mad by the incompetence of the Lieut-General of the XVIIIth, Yao orders a full frontal assault in the streets of Northcliff by the XVIIIth, backed by the Jingdaoese Second Field Army.
Temporary HQ, Havenbarrow (near Northcliff).
It was no surprise to Yao, commanding and highest officer at the Florian Front, when he received the letter which described the chaos the capital city of Northcliff was in. He frowned to the officer who had just brought the brief description of the situation.
"So, what you're saying to me, Lieut-General..." Yao hesitated for a moment, still not familiar with the strange name of the Florian officer, "Michael Russell... is that not even five seconds after your government accepted our benevolent peace proposal, a part of your army has chosen to rebel and side with the Shirerithians?"
Michael Russel, the officer in charge of the XVIIIth Corps, stood there, frozen like a statue. The man, who had barely any real fighting experience, had been in a dilemma for the past few days. When the Shirerithians had left, they had taken quite a lot of ammunition and other equipment with them. He was certain that if the peace had returned sooner, he would already have been court marshalled for his incompetence. It was almost a blessing from heaven that the government was under siege in the capital, and unable to make such decisions. He still had a chance. At least, if the Jingdaoese Field Marshall in front him didn't execute him first.
"Hmm," the Jingdaoese commander seemed unimpressed. "A man of no words, huh? Not really leadership materiel, if you ask me."
Then, Yao took out the map and pointed to Northcliff. "Well, Lieut-General, while your troops were running around like chickens without a head, and some even 'by accident' started firing on our men, AFTER an agreement was reached, my Third Field Army has surrounded the capital. Your colleague, Cameron Fox of the XVIth Corps, seemed to have a bit more success in keeping his troops in line."
"I can hardly believe that Cameron would do any bette..." protested Russel, but he was rudely interrupted by the senior officer in front of him.
"Lieut-General Cameron Fox successfully prevented that the Shirerithians took away every last bit of weaponry from the arsenals. That same Lieut-General Cameron Fox also pushed back the Shirerithian troops until our 15th and 16th Corps arrived. And THAT Lieut-General Cameron Fox at least could prevent that his men were shooting on the WRONG army." responded Yao, now angered by the foolish display of the Florian in front of him. If the army resembled only a small fraction of the stupidity of the man in front of him, Yao could not believe that there was still a Shirerithian alive. Looking at the man gave the Field Marshall the urge to commit a honourable suicide, as executing the man would at this moment endanger the fragile alliance.
"We attack today, Lieut-General. You and your troops shall charge the enemy and there defensive positions in the capital with bayonets and light artillery. You shall be aided by the Jingdaoese Second Field Army. Our main priority is getting your political leaders out of that presidential palace."
The Florian saluted clumsily and marched out of the room. At that moment, Yao wished he never had stopped drinking.
Honoured Servant of the Jingdaoese Heavenly Light and the Kaiseress of Shireroth
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Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
(OOC: my sleep pattern is all over the place, so apologies for the lack of reply, but I'll try and write up a reply later on)
All this has happened before, and all this will happen again.
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Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
(OOC: Justification for taking Presidential Palace, a period greater than 24 hours has elapsed without any counteraction to the coup within the city. Balanced by allowing for the escape/disappearance of the President and her ministers, and off-set by a Pro-Shirerithian corps being trapped by the Florio-Jing combined forces under Jonas' control outside the city.)1st Battle of Northcliff
Duration: 2.X – 11.XII.1654 (73 Days)
Outcome: Stalemate:
Overview:Timeline & Narrative:
- Pro-Treaty Forces storm Presidential Palace. President Smith not amongst the dead, wounded or captured. Her whereabouts is therefore unknown;
- Anti-Shirerithian protests and popular risings suppressed, resistance merges into Jing efforts to besiege the city;
- XVII Corps fails to prevent encirclement of city by Third Field Army
- Road to Northcliff Airport recaptured by Pro-Treaty Forces
- Pro-Smith Florian human-wave attacks supported by Jingdaoese artillery result in immense destruction and loss of life. Fails to reach city centre.
- Breakout attempt by Pro-Treaty Forces results in largest armoured battle of the war to date.
2.X.1654 - Coup in Northcliff, occupation of the Florian Parliament, storming of Presidential Palace
- Heavy fighting in the city between Pro-Treaty Forces and Pro-Government rioters.
3.X.1654 - Collapse of 6th Army into Shirerithian and Jing factions
5.X.1654 - XVIIIth Corps loses most of its artillery and AFVs to pro-shirerithian loyalists
" " " - XVIth Corps manage to disarm or expel Shirerithian advisers and sympathisers14.X.1654 - Third Field Army moves to envelop the capitalSpoiler!
23.X.1654 - Northcliff Airport placed under siege
10.XI.1654 - XVIIIth Corps ordered to mount a frontal assault on XVII Corps
1.XII.1654 - XVII Corps re-establishes corridor to airport
11.XII.1654 - Coordinated artillery strikes on Jing and Florian command posts identified by signals intelligence (RDF). Mostly targeting XVIII Corps as a perceived "weak link"
- Fosvalos Offensive (Southern Sector) begins (part I of tomorrow's post)
- Breakout attempt begins, leading to tank battle (part II of tomorrow's post)
All this has happened before, and all this will happen again.
Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
Still puzzled how imprisoned facists can ovetake a government.
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Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
I'd say, in no particular order, that the Independence Party members were only a small contributing part compared to the forces under the command of the subverted officers, and that their being at liberty could be attributed to either the failings of the Florian state or to the interference of the institutions established by the Shirerithian government, perhaps even both - they are probably not mutually exclusive at this point.
All this has happened before, and all this will happen again.
Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
Referee Comment: plenty of people quiet enough in their sympathies for Mr. Spencer to avoid the attention of the authorities would have finally been inspired to take a stand due to his martyrdom; any previous claim to have imprisoned an entire political faction, even if true, would be invalidated by both the escalation in political conflict and the general breakdown in civil governance in the Northcliff area.
At any rate, the fall of Northcliff doesn't entail the fall of the whole Florian government - Jessica Smith remains free, presumably escaped from the city with a gaggle of ministers/advisors and still able to govern the central part of the Florian Republic - so the Pro-Treaty 'takeover' in the capital is very limited in scope and only applies to areas where Shirerithian forces (who will be leaving eventually) temporarily predominate (i.e. downtown Northcliff and the southern 30% of the country).
The right of Floria's occupiers to bring their presence to a narratively plausible end (as opposed to "bored now, war is cancelled, you were never here") is one I will be upholding, given the considerable effort which was put into the prelude phase by multiple individuals. The wilful, almost spiteful avoidance of recognising or appreciating this effort is sorely testing my impartiality - the sooner this business is wrapped up and shifted to a non-Florian operational theatre, the better - but it must be done in a manner which allows for the dignified closure of so many plot lines. Arguing over the smaller details will only prolong the process to the detriment of all parties. So carry on, I say.
At any rate, the fall of Northcliff doesn't entail the fall of the whole Florian government - Jessica Smith remains free, presumably escaped from the city with a gaggle of ministers/advisors and still able to govern the central part of the Florian Republic - so the Pro-Treaty 'takeover' in the capital is very limited in scope and only applies to areas where Shirerithian forces (who will be leaving eventually) temporarily predominate (i.e. downtown Northcliff and the southern 30% of the country).
The right of Floria's occupiers to bring their presence to a narratively plausible end (as opposed to "bored now, war is cancelled, you were never here") is one I will be upholding, given the considerable effort which was put into the prelude phase by multiple individuals. The wilful, almost spiteful avoidance of recognising or appreciating this effort is sorely testing my impartiality - the sooner this business is wrapped up and shifted to a non-Florian operational theatre, the better - but it must be done in a manner which allows for the dignified closure of so many plot lines. Arguing over the smaller details will only prolong the process to the detriment of all parties. So carry on, I say.
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Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
OOC: I assume I better wait for part I and part II before posting a reaction.
A minor addition:
The 1st Air Support Corps:
A minor addition:
Losses had been severe. Some Jingdaoese officers called it "the largest defeat in history" and "most inhumane moment ever". Why? The last few hours, servants in the headquarters had been frantically been throwing away good bottles of booze. On instruction of Field Marshall Yao, those beautiful and expensive bottles had to get rid of before he - or any other officer - would succumb to the urge to drink.
The annoyance of Yao with his Florian officers had reached a bowling point. Not only had they failed to protect the presidential palace, but they also had allowed the pro-Shirerithian XVIIth Corps to strengthen their positions.
"Let the Florians handle the street fights. We keep out of that mess for now." he said in a hurry to one of his junior officers, while sipping from his tea. The last few days had brought him to the brink of collapse and his hands were shaking heavily. Luckily his common sense hadn't left him. A series of orders were given. "Place the 1st Air Support Corps on standby to intervene in case of an outbreak and push to the south. Ready our tanks if the enemy decides to attack and let the Second Field Army which is marching south be extra aware of counterattacks coming from the southern flank. I don't want my troops being encircled."
The man saluted and left the room. When leaving, he noticed another servant passing him by. In his hands there were only empty bottles. The real victims of this bloody war.
The 1st Air Support Corps:
Headquarters (250)
5 Kuki Squadrons (5 x 15): fighter squadrons
1 Bakugeki-ki Squadrons (10): bomber squadrons
4 Yuso Squadrons (4 x 15): transport squadrons
Medical Unit (900)
Transport regiment (1,000)
Honoured Servant of the Jingdaoese Heavenly Light and the Kaiseress of Shireroth
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Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
Summary: Holding their own, in spite of being trapped in the occupied capital, the Pro-Treaty Forces, as well as the remaining Shirerithians, began to take stock of their predicament.
Narrative: The fighting, generally, would ease off at night. The defenders, who had subsided for most of the day on a diet of caffeine tablets, tobacco, amphetamines and rum, would take their cue from the waning of Atos and the slackening of gunfire to retire back into their basement dugouts to prepare meals, compose messages to loved ones, catch some well deserved rest, and to torture the latest batch of prisoners. Relations between the Pro-Treaty soldiers and their old comrades who now fought under the command of the Jing had turned poisonous. Quarter was seldom sought, and even more seldom given. The fate of those who fell into the hands of their fellow countrymen had become too widely known. Caught in the midst of a world war, the Florians found themselves slipping into an internecine conflict of their own and – in so doing – discovered that there was no war quite so bestial as a civil war.
The attackers, whether from XVI or XVIII Corps, or indeed, as was increasingly the case, chaotically jumbled together, had, once again, pushed from the south and west into the shattered hellscape of the suburbs of Northcliff. Once again their advance, unsupported by their Jingdaoese masters, had once again faltered before the shell-scarred and pockmarked separation barrier. This concrete wall, pounded to rubble in places, was dominated by guard towers and machine gun nests which had originally been set in place to fend off incursions by Xhusovan terrorists – now they were being used to mow down Florians in their hundreds.
The Jingdaoese Second Field Army, which had supported the doomed attempt to relieve the siege of the Presidential Palace, had moved away to the south, attempting to fill the void left by the retreating 5th Army. The Third Field Army meanwhile held the noose firmly around Northcliff whilst the collaborating Florians, with small arms and light artillery only, The result had been a massacre. Yet, under a continuous artillery barrage and cut off from their Shirerithian allies in the south, the defenders of Northcliff were suffering as well. The daily battles to defend the ruined edges of the city had exhausted the infantry, dulling their senses and sapping their morale.
On the supply side, food wasn't a problem – requisitioning (looting covered by a promissory note) from stores and warehouses had made good the shortfall whilst the siphoning of petrol and diesel fuel from abandoned forecourts and civilian vehicles had kept the tanks and armoured personnel carriers mobile.
Ammunition on the other hand, munitions of all varieties in fact, were dwindling away to nothing. Without resupply the garrison would be obliged to either muster for another attempt at a breakout or accept the inevitability of a capitulation or local armistice.
All this has happened before, and all this will happen again.
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Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
The appointment of Hai Yong, a Hondonese Florian who had always lived near the capital of Northcliff and had refused to leave even during the Xhusor War, as Minister of Domestic Affairs, had improved the relations between the Jingdaoese and Florian soldiers quite a bit. Yong, even for being only in his forties, had shown himself to be a very charismatic person. His lack of real experience didn't matter for those young people who had witnessed both the pro- and anti-Treaty parties make deals and fail tremendously in honouring those deals. The Harmonious Florian-Jing Association of Yong brought a sense of hope, at least for those who didn't despise the Jingdaoese as much as they despised the Shirerithians.
After long negotiations, Yong had finally reached an agreement with Field Marshall Yao to have the Third Field Army launch a full-out assault on Northcliff. Yao had finally given in, both charmedby the Florian Minister of Domestics and pressured by the higher ups to round up the war in Floria, as a new northern front threatened to be opened up with the entrance of Natopia into the war.
That's why, early in the morning, orders were given for a new assault on the city. Preceded by those movements, the general staff had already taken certain measures to weaken the defences of the Pro-Treaty Forces which, at this moment, occupied some strategical locations of importance. Even while the Jingdaoese had gladly had watched their Florian 'allies' run up to the road blocks of the enemy, they had never doubted that the day would have to finish the job. The past week the water supply to the city had been poisoned with the poison Doku A569, a poison which was not meant to kill, but make them seriously ill and - hopefully - incapable to fight. That hundreds of thousands citizens who lived in the city would share the same fate as the enemy soldiers was of no concern to Field Marshall Yao, despite of firm protests of Minister Yong.
According to the latest numbers, the city which had held a population of 10 million, had seen already lost 980,000 civilians by the continuous fighting, hunger and ilnesses which were spreading like wildfire.
The foremost defence of the city had been in a meagre state, the so-called 'gigantic' wall which had been used as a defensive structure for machine nests and as shelter for the Treaty Troops had now been reduced to little more than rubble. While the supplies and munition of the enemy dwindled, the Jingdaoese artillery was able to answer any suspicious movement with a full artillery barrage.
The physiological impact on the defenders was even worse: food, and now water, shortages, being plagued by continuous attacks of their former brethren and a nightly attack of artillery further weakened the moral.
But that would soon be over now. The final order was finally given. Florians, side by side with the Jingdaoese Third Field Army started their final assault on the city. Over a hundred thousand men started their enthusiastic charge on what was left of Shirerithian influence in northern Floria.
Enthusiasm was quickly replaced by adrenaline, battle cries and eventually - in many cases - eternal silence. The Jingdaoese, who were better equipped and trained than the Florians, were still confronted by an enemy that believed that they were fighting for their homeland. Fights continued for 21 days. Every house, every street was a blood bath.
Only on the 15th day, when the assault teams confirmed the destruction of most anti-air units in the city, the airforce started bombing the last strategic positions in the city. The presidential palace, now the headquarters of the Treaty Troops, were surrounded and only after heavy fighting, the Jingdaoerse entered as first the ruins of the building that was a vague shadow of the democracy it symbolised.
The surviving soldiers shouted out their relief and raised the Jingdaoese flag over the remnants of the palace (their Florian compatriots threw less happy glares into their direction). The situation was quickly diffused when the men treated themselves with a few of the last bottles good whisky which they had found in one of the backrooms. The Florians, for once, could join in (even if was just to test if the whisky was poisoned by the former inhabitants).
Only a few places remained under enemy occupation and would soon fall into their hands. The last resistance at the national airport would fall within an hour. Victory was certain, but the costs had been high.
Calculated losses
Civilian losses before the final assault: 980,000
Civilian losses during the assault: 370,000
Jingdaoese losses
- 18,080 out of 91,150 personnel (Imperial Armed Forces)
- 32,057 out of 35,492 infantry(XVIII Corps(Florian))
- 308,987 out of 506,871 militiamen
Apollonia Command losses
- 17,962 out of 32,405 stormtroopers (14,443 POW)
- 268,098 militiamen out of 712,007 militiamen (443,909 POW)
Honoured Servant of the Jingdaoese Heavenly Light and the Kaiseress of Shireroth
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Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
Summary: The MB9's missile capacities are used to destroy (or at least severely damage) the runways, infrastructure and planes which were on the ground during the attack at Dragonmoor Airport. The attack is followed upon with carpet bombing by the 1st and 2nd Air Support Corps on the positions of the enemy near Dragonmoor. The Second Field Army concentrates its attack on Dragonmoor, aided by the Third Field Army. The 19th up to 22nd Armoured Corps (Third Field Army) are readied for battle against the XVth Corps.
The Fifth Field Army started small attacks on the trenches to keep the enemy busy and limit its own casualties.
Campaign to the South
The past couple of days had been relatively quiet on the frontline. The recent 'liberation' of Northcliff was used by the Jingdaoese troops as a glorious propaganda victory. In practice it was mostly a symbolic victory: the destruction of an army that had been trapped in the rubble of a city that was doomed to fall.
What was left were a lot of impoverished citizens and a large amount of prisoners of war who were hastily sent of to the western interment and labour camps in Jingdao. Some would enjoy the so-called better life as a labourer in the Hondonese Empire, others would most likely work themselves to death in the camps in Jingxingdong District.
Only the 17th Heavenly Corps was left behind to keep the peace, as the rest of the Third Field Army had been ordered southwards. Next goal: Dragonmoor. In the south, the Third would join forces with the Second Field Army and attempt a push southwards. Rumours about a potential enemy attack on Fosavlos had been floating around and the soldiers - excited by the recent string of victories - seemed to hope that they could reach the Jingdaoese enclave in time to avoid the destruction of the 32nd Heavenly Corps.
The 10th December the men were finally ready to launch their offensive. According to the plan, Field Marshal Yao ordered the launch of a series of missiles from MB9 with the goal to destroy the airplanes and infrastructure of No. 25 Group in Dragonmoor. Its recent use in the naval battle of Carama Bay had shown that the installations had been worth every dime. Yao now hoped that it could also show some use in the destruction of the remaining airforce.
Kurassha Ku-205's bomb positions near Dragonmoor.
Both the Second, Third and Fifth started launching and attacking on the Shirerithian positions. The Fifth, which encountered the trenches on the border kept its actions limited to small skirmishes until the Second had attacked those position from the flanks. The Third and Second simultaneously moved southwards. The prospect of an all-out tank battle with the Shirerithian XVth Corps in the plains between Wellborough and Oldhaven was anticipated, so the majority of the Third Field Army was focused on this part of the battlefield.
While moving southwards, the 1st and 2nd Air Support Corps started carpet bombing the positions around Dragonmoor and Fayhall with mixed results.
Spoiler!
Honoured Servant of the Jingdaoese Heavenly Light and the Kaiseress of Shireroth
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Re: [Florian Campaign] Operation Retribution
Narrative: Attempting to intercept ballistic missiles in-flight has sometimes been aptly compared to trying to shoot down a bullet, with another bullet, with about the same prospects of success. The calculations and timings have to be exact or your might as well not bother. The launches from MB9 were first detected by air defence radars sited around Port Saint Andre. At the midpoint of the first salvo's trajectory, a AN/TPY-2 active electronically scanned array radar stationed at Blyth plotted their course, permitting No. 27 Group, recently evacuated from Srbograd Airport to flash a warning to 5th Army Headquarters at Dragonmoor. Unfortunately the precipitous haste of that evacuation had meant that 27 Group's Ikol interceptor batteries had not yet been reassembled.
The anti-ballistic missile capabilities of the Ikol are finally tested, but the saturation bombardment puts Dragonmoor International Airport temporarily out of commission as a forward base, destroying a number of blimps, transport aircraft and shuttles in the process. Four modified Moraquine launch vehicles and No. 25 Group's high altitude radar array are put out of commission. Five further Ikols were launched against the incoming wave of strike aircraft whilst the Combat Air Patrol and Quick Reaction Flights mounted by the 16th Frontal Aviation Brigade operating out of Port Saint Andre are vectored to intercept and whatever aviation assets survived the carnage of Carama Bay are fuelled and armed.
The approaches to Dragonmoor from the north and the west are screened by the XIII Corps, whose northern line of defence hinges upon Fayhall. With only 33 Horjins available to them, the defenders have resorted to making a so-called hedgehog defence, batteries of emplaced 80mm field guns in direct fire mode buttressed by fortified "nests" of infantry anti-tank weapons. (Think Hezbollah vs the IDF in Lebanon in 2006 if it helps).
The Third Field Army's drive toward the gap between Wellborough and Oldhaven effectively means that it is being canalised between the open right flank of XIII Corps and the front of XIV Corps, which, again burdened by a lack of armoured vehicles, is relying once again upon civilian vehicles - particularly pick-up trucks - to carry anti-tank teams from the Johntown Division forward to attack the advancing armoured columns of Dolstiers in the flank across open country (a gambit akin to that of the Toyota War between Libya and Chad in the 1980s).
Between static defences and flanking attacks, the 5th Army hopes to slow the advance of the Second and Third Field Armies long enough to permit the 6th Army, built around XV Corps, to crush once and for all Fosvalos, where a quiet background siege has now given way to a full combined arms assault along three axis of advance (north, east, and west) each with its own armoured spearhead, supported by artillery and by attack helicopters and airmobile assault troops provided by the 67th Commando Brigade.
In Dragonmoor meanwhile an orgy of violence and looting has broken out as Pro-Treaty Loyalists and collaborators take out their fury on suspected liberals, a number of whom were dragged away to the RB Dragonmoor stadium for an ignominious execution, whilst making prudent preparations for a hasty departure to the south.
Amid the destruction wrought at Dragonmoor International Airport sensitive electronic equipment, including a disassembled Panopticon Node, is hurriedly loaded onto trucks and dispatched with all due haste on the road to the south. Their exact destination remaining a closely guarded secret. A number of locally hired Florian technicians were executed before the convoy departed. With the Ikols expended and the Horus Blimp amongst the twisted wreckage on the runway, the remaining personnel of No. 25 Group now find themselves acting as light infantry, escorting the convoy and the remaining Moraquine launchers.
Spoiler!
(OOC: I've had a bit of a reorganisation following the "collapse/defection/ineffectual wibble noise" of the Florians. I'll carry on updating it tomorrow as far as tables of equipment etc, but just yell at me in the meantime if it's made any information hard to find )
All this has happened before, and all this will happen again.