The Balkan Conflict

[Yerushalayim]

June 30, Year 2

Greek Command Base, Bulgaria White Zone

[Classified]

General Kazilieris took a swig from his canteen, while he listened to his officers inform him of the movements of the Slavs, those that the Greeks were aware of at least. He waited, patiently, until the report was finished before he leaned forward and scanned the map on the table infront of him. “So, the Slavs are fortifying? They should have cut our access to the highways. I suppose they expected to be welcomed with open arms.” He shook his head and pushed himself out of his camp chair. “We cannot allow them to expand their hold on our northern border. Are we ready to begin the operation?” With this he glanced at at one of the officers present.

“Sir, our agents are ready.”

 

“Excellent.” Kazilieris reached down to massage his leg, an unconscious gesture he adopted in times of stress. “Send the order to begin. Let us ensure the Slavs do not have such a warm welcome.”

 

***

[Public News excerpt]

Greek forces in Bulgaria have made contact with partisan resistance forces in the region. Though unable to directly support these freedom fighters, due to the Eastern Mediterranean Union's prohibition against aggression between members, the Bulgarian Task Force has established several safe zones for Bulgarian refugees.

 

The Government has issued a condemnation of Yugoslavia's aggressive actions in Bulgaria, with some officials questioning whether the Slavs waited for the signing of the Eastern Mediterranean Union treaty to cover their advance. Public sentiment has turned against Yugoslavia, and the Yugoslavian embassy is now under heightened security.

 

OOC: Greece is sending out partisan forces, armed with Legionworks weapons (intended to be untraceable), as well as agents provacateur against the Yugoslavian occupation.

[Rudolph]

Private

 

With former Bulgaria divided into three administered regions with each division headquartering themselves in a main city, West being headquartered in the former Capital city of Sofia, Central being headquartered in Stara Zagora, and East being headquartered in Shumen. Former Bulgaria was never a part of the previous incarnation of Yugoslavia but it was indeed neighbors with one another, albeit with two differing directions in some regard.Thus, there would naturally be opposition to the protection of former Bulgaria by Kingdom forces once the emergency services and governmental services were restored and back in working order.

 

The Divisions had marked out on a map the new administrative divisions for the region once all was set and done, using the old world divisions when former Bulgaria still used Oblasts and was a communist nation. The Western section of the region would have the Oblasts of Mihailovgrad (Compromising of Montana, Vidin, Vratsa), Sofia City and Sofia (Compromising of Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil, Pernik, Sofia), the Center section of the region would have the Oblasts of Lovech (Compromising of Gabrovo, Lovech, Pleven, Veliko Tarnovo), Plovdiv (Compromising of Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Smolyan), and Haskovo (Compromising of Haskovo, Kardzhali, Stara Zagora), while the Eastern section of the region would have the Oblasts of Razgrad (Compromising of Razgrad, Ruse, Silistra, Targovishte), Varna (Compromising of Dobrich, Shumen, Varna) and Burgas (Compromising of Burgas, Sliven, Yambol.)

 

With the region formally being administered in this way, the Divisions would then proceed to secure the major roads, bridges, tolls, key mountain paths, causeways, any rivers going through any city, highways and railroad tracks/stations horizontal and north to the regional capital of Center Bulgaria. The Divisions would establish outposts in the major key-points in each road, highway and railroad stations to keep them safe from bandits or outlaws, along with ensuring that each administrative capital possessed concrete and solid lines of communication and support between themselves, their outposts and to the Kingdom who kept sending supplies that their forces and citizens they were protecting would need. In each outpost, ten to fifteen soldiers would be posted, the outpost itself having ample ammunition, a radio and telephone connected to communicate or call for reinforcements or any other issue along with two IFV's and an armored car stationed in each outpost.

 

In totality, about ten thousand of each division were assigned to outposts in their respective sections of Bulgaria, leaving the cities to be defended by the remainder of the divisions, continuing to firmly entrenching themselves in the respective regional capitals and cities. Any citizens that was in possession of modern weaponry was allowed to keep them without much fanfare as long as they were properly registered at the nearest Yugoslavian Military post, to ensure ease of categorization and tracking and if they wished to enlist in the Kingdom's recently created Bulgarian Defense Force, they could do so and be trained by the very soldiers that were defending them in order to become a defender of their homeland.

 

A good majority of each city supported the move by the Kingdom, simply because they finally had protectors and local protectors defending their homes from potential buzzards from taking advantage as a trickle of citizens in each city enlisted into the Bulgarian Defense Force.

 

[hr]

 

Private

 

Yugoslavian HQ, Sofia, Bulgaria

 

All was silent in the room, soldiers standing ram rod straight as they all waited for their commander to speak, the man glaring at the crowd before with intense hatred and rage on the stage that he stood upon.

 

"Hours ago," he began as he paced on the stage, his look of hatred having seem managed yet the glare remained, his gaze upon the men and women before him, "I received a personal call from the one we call His Majesty."

 

Eyes widened.
 

"Yes, our Kralj personally called me about a matter that he was made aware of by one of his Council members, an issue regarding accusations of abuse and aggressive acts upon the local populace by our forces," he continued on, the audience silent as more eyes widened at the revelation, "Thankfully, the Kingdom itself has not received such a report and has been concluded as baseless conjecture by the Hellenic Republic but His Majesty wanted my personal assurance that such things were to never happen under his rule.""

 

He barked out, emphasizing the word 'never' as he glared at the brave men and women of the Kingdom's military.

 

"If I hear but a peep of one our boys and girls doing anything unprofessional, doing abuse or aggressive acts upon any citizen of this region, I will personally make their lives a living hell on this earth. Is that understood?"

 

"Yes, General-major Broz, Sir!"

 

A savage grin appeared on Leon Broz's face, the overall commander of the Kingdom's forces in the protection of the region, "Good, now remember that observers from Malta are due to arrive soon, so be professional at all times, dismissed."

 

OOC: Maps

Administration: http://i.imgur.com/s9WiBFb.png

Roads: http://i.imgur.com/aQBYkCD.png

Railroad tracks: http://i.imgur.com/5E6g73a.png

[Captain Enema]

Satellite Reconnaissance had picked a drop zone several miles from main lines of transport. A few small country roads wound through the region, but otherwise the incoming 1st Malta Airborne Brigade had it mostly to itself. Traditionally, a pathfinder team would go in to guide the planes in and do a brisk recon of the drop zone. This situation was highly dynamic and required the largest presence possible right from the start. Which is why the nervous faces of the Paratroopers started to cheer and sing as the speakers on the planes started to play the unit's song. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCLljMVn09M

 

With the transports flying as fast as their engines could manage, a squadron of F-22 Raptors are flying at a much higher altitude maintaining over watch. Two squadrons of Eurofighters are on hand to provide fighter support for the transports as they enter into and leave Bulgaria. A single squadron more of Eurofighters are on station armed for an ground attack role in support of the Paratroopers. At a much higher altitude are a pair of B-1 Lancer Bombers with an array of long range cruise missiles and laser guided munitions for heavier air to ground support should it prove necessary. Tankers and Search and Rescue Aircraft are on station over Italy as the route taken by the aircraft takes them up the Eastern Coast of Italy, over Northern Italy, and then down into Bulgaria. 

 

The first wave of transports carry the entire 1st Battalion of the 1st Malta Airborne. With the 1st Battalion, a detachment of Bravo-Alpha operatives and a Spartan Marine Company are along for the ride. The additional detachments are there to offer their specialized skills to the 1st Malta should they be needed and to serve as eyes and ears for their respective branches to offer first hand insights to their parent units in the event that those units be called to go into Bulgaria as well. The 4th Battalion will arrive next, followed by the 2nd, the third, and finally the Services and Support Battalion. With them will come the 7001st Malta Intelligence Battalion and a few additional detachments assigned to the 7001st for this mission.

 

Not many outside of Malta are aware, but the 7001st is the same intelligence unit thrown together in Poland to serve the needs of the Armed Malta Forces units that were deployed there. It started with a small detachment of overworked Intelligence Officers and grew into a full sized battalion force comprising of analysts, interpreters, and specialists of all types. Much of the success of Malta's mission in Poland is due to the work of the 7001st. For the Bulgarian mission, every single speaker of Bulgarian that can be ordered into the field has been assigned. A follow up deployment of additional translators is being trained in a specialized crash course for field intelligence officers. The 7001st includes its own Special Forces Team for carrying out missions against high value targets and with that team comes helicopters necessary to support it. 

 

The rules of engagement are simple, if anyone pointing a weapon at a member of the Armed Malta Forces or Maltese allies, will be shot and killed on sight. Those pointing weapons at civilians or soldiers from nations not allied to Malta will be ordered to stop firing and then detained after being disarmed. Anyone spotted planting mines would be eliminated on sight, anyone spotted with heavy weapons that include but are not limited to mortars, RPGs, and so forth will too be shot on sight.

 

The 1st Malta Airborne Brigade, once on location, will not be equipped for long range vehicular patrols. Being equipped for isn't the same as being trained for, the unit was given extensive training in the operation of Armored Personnel Carriers and High Speed Patrol Vehicles. Further, the unit has also done training in Air Assault Operations from helicopters. An additional battalion will be attached to the brigade for the duration of their deployment that consists of four composite artillery companies.The lack of vehicles, helicopters, and artillery will be rectified in second, third, and fourth phases of the the total force deployment.

 

Once the Drop Zone is properly secured, dozens of Maltese made HSPVs would be flown in and air dropped. These light, fast, four man vehicles will be the primary maneuver element of the Brigade until heavier Puma Armored Personnel Carriers are delivered in the following waves. The arrival of the companies of Puma APCs will be staggered with the arrival of Composite Artillery Companies.  From start to stop, the total time to put the entire force plus attachments is projected to be ten days. This is ten days of around the clock operations barring no major delays. 

Edited December 22, 2014 by Tidy Bowl Man

[Yerushalayim]

July 8, Year 2

Greek Command Base, Bulgaria White Zone

[Private]

“I know your feelings on the affair, but we cannot allow the Slavs to control our northern border.” General Kazilieris placed both hands, clenched into fists, on the map table. He leaned toward the Prime Minister and glowered at her.

 

Arista held up her hand to forestall further outbursts, waited a moment for the General to relax his stance, then responded, “You clearly do not know my feelings. I agree, whole heartedly, that we cannot allow our northern border, and our land routes into Europe, to be controlled entirely by Yugoslavia. Furthermore, I'm unwilling to see them annex Bulgaria, or place a puppet regime in power. I thought we'd made our feelings clear to them, but it seems not. I would rather we deal with this peacefully,” she ignored the General's snort of disdain, “but I doubt that the Kralj will see reason. The man is an ideologue. Once he's set his mind on an objective, he can see no other course of action. He thinks Bulgaria needs his protection, thinks it's his duty to unite the Slavic peoples. He won't come around. So, General, you have my clearance. Give the order. Our war begins tonight.”

 

Kazilieris considered her appraisingly, then gave a sharp nod of his head. “Perhaps you have the stomach to do what needs to be done, after all.” He turned to one of his aids, “Send out the order. The attack begins at the designated time.” He turned back to the Prime Minister, his face grim, “Our forces will be nowhere near the zones of combat. No evidence will link back to us. If all goes well, Yugoslavia will have its supply lines damaged, and we'll be able to report, truthfully, on the world stage that they're in conflict with the Bulgarian people. If we're truly lucky, they'll escalate the fight.”

 

***

[Outside Slivnitsa]

“Ready?” The voice echoed back into the van, grim and gruff. “Ready,” it was answered by the men and women who had volunteered for the assault. Their voices shook with nerves, as the prospective soldiers of the revolution stared toward their target. Their eyes found nothing but darkness, for the overpass was shrouded by the night, but all knew its location.

 

“Right, let's go,” the driver spoke again, and the van lurched into motion. The ride was rough, as the vehicle ploughed over the farmlands that spread on either side of the target, its headlights out to maintain the cover of their approach for as long as possible. It was only when the van came distance to engage the target that the side doors slid open and the soldiers spilled out. They flicked on the night vision equipment provided by the Greeks, the serial numbers filed off, and took position. The attack commenced shortly thereafter, with the loud crack of gunfire and the roar of explosives deployed against the overpass of E80, where it intersected with the local rail line.

 

[Outside Mezdra]

The night lit with the muzzle flash of Bulgarian rifles, and the explosion of RPG rounds and explosives launched at the Mezdra overpass, where the highway intersected the rail line. “Go!” The scream was barely audible over the gunfire, “the Slavs will respond quickly. Go go go!” The Bulgarians emptied their clips and piled back into the truck they'd arrived in. The engine roared as the vehicle sped away into the night, leaving little behind but shell casings and those few volunteers who placed their explosive devices where the truck had parked, and sprinted for the tree line.

 

[Kyustendil City]

“Fear not!” The loudspeaker boomed in Kyustendil, a Bulgarian woman shouting into it from her position in the bed of a pickup truck, “We will defend you! Bulgaria will be free! Fear not!” She repeated her chant, while others spread through the southern city. Partisans marched through the streets, and citizens stared through their windows as the soldiers began creating barricades and defensive positions. The rallying cry of a free Bulgaria was raised across Kyustendil, even as its roads and rail lines were closed to traffic heading into Yugoslavian controlled territory.

 

[Sofia City]

“Is it time?” The voice was faint, the breath behind it panicked. “It is. Let's go,” the answer was just as fearful. The third squad of the Sofia Front climbed from their couches and pounded up the stairs to the roof of their building. The would be soldiers pulled their equipment out and set up the mortar they had been assigned, following the instructions to sight it at the nearby Sofia airport. They'd finished preparing when the first flashes of light and sound reached them. “!@#$, others are starting. Get firing!” Nervous hands loaded the first shell and fired it, and they were overjoyed to see the explosion within the target zone that marked a successful shot. “Yes!” The cry went up, and the crew quickly loaded another shot, adjusting their aim to bring destruction to as much of the runway as they could.

 

[Iskar Dam]

“Make it count, boys.” The commander slapped the side of one of the resistance's few Katyusha launchers. “Make the !@#$%^&* pay. Get out if you can.” He patted the vehicle again, saluted his men, and jogged off toward the woods. The Katyushas became a swarm of activity as the soldiers primed the rockets, finalized their aim, and then sent the rockets shrieking into the night. Within seconds the formation of six launchers had each emptied their compliment of rockets, and the crews prepared the vehicles for their retreat from Slavic held territory.

 

[Burgas City]

The soldier checked her watch and glanced over to the rest of her squad, crammed onto the small boat. “Let's move.” She spoke to the pilot, who grunted in response. The engine came to life, and the boat skipped over the water toward Burgas harbour, along with several other speedboats. She pulled out the flare gun that had been prepared for the occasion, took aim above her target, and fired the signal. Gunfire soon erupted on the docks, and the men and women in the boats shortly joined the battle for Burgas Harbour.

 

Further north in the city, trucks and vans sped across the farmland around Burgas airport, and soldiers spilled out to attack. Mortars were prepared and fired, while men and women with RPGs targeted aircraft that could be found on the ground, and the control towers vital to the airport's operation. The crack of sniper rifles joined the crescendo of battle, as rebel marskmen targeted any officers they could discern in the response.

 

[Varna City]

“Keep your heads down, and keep firing, and you'll get through this. The Yugoslavs won't know what hit 'em. Do Bulgaria proud.” The commander ushered her men out into the night, then shouldered her own weapon. The troops under her command slunk through the sparse fields around the airport, until they were in range to attack. Three teams had remained within the tree line to prepare mortars, and the attack began with the first wave of mortar shells launched at the runway. The explosions were joined by the barking chatter of gunfire as the Liberation Troops hurled themselves forward, pushing to take the hangars, and destroy the control tower.

 

[Gorna Oryahovitsa Airport]

“We've got a soft target. Make us all proud.” The word went out, and the soldiers set up their mortars. Their positions were shielded by a line of trees, and a stream, between themselves and the target, but they'd spent time scouting its position in the days beforehand. When the time came, their mortars came to life, lobbing shells into the airport's premises. They launched several volleys before packing the mortars and fleeing into the surrounding area, fearful of a swift Yugoslavian retaliation.

 

[Outside Ruse]

Several Bulgarians were gathered a ways off the road between Ruse and its airport. They checked their weapons, gave each other brief nods, and slipped into the night. They came together again at the air strip, a small affair, but one that had been slated for attack nonetheless. The soldiers, retired special operations operatives, kept to the darkness where they could as they went about the grim business of taking control of the strip as silently as possible. Those they could take off guard would be silenced with the swipe of a knife; if luck was with them, the air strip would fall before a warning could be sounded. If not, they'd brought explosives to ensure that it was of no use to the enemy.

 

[Balkan Mountains]

“This'll do,” the Bulgarian Liberation Trooper muttered, staring around himself. “Yeah,” came the murmured reply. The soldiers of the revolution were quietly unpacking their equipment deep in the Balkan Mountains, far from the major roadways, or watching eyes, of the Yugoslavians.

 

***

[Public News Excerpt]

The military in Bulgaria has reported that fighting began last night between partisan forces and the Yugoslavian occupation. It's not clear, at this time, how many have died in the initial fighting. It appears that the partisans have a unified command structure, and an organization calling itself the Bulgarian Armed Revolutionary Front has taken credit for the offensive. The BARF has issued a statement vowing to fight the occupation at every step, and demand that Yugoslavian forces be removed from Bulgarian territory.

 

The government has called up a division of the reserves in preparation for possible deployment to the Bulgarian front, should the conflict escalate.

 

OOC: Attacks are coordinated, and launched in the dead of night. The squads are supported by snipers, whose orders are to target Yugoslav officers if possible, or regular soldiers if not. Other than the BM-21 Grad launchers at Iskar Dam, Bulgarian Liberation Troops (BLTs!) are utilizing small arms and infantry weapons only.

 

Here's a map showing rough locations of each action (except the Balkan Mountain segment, which isn't an action). Each icon indicates a battle, except for the Burgas icon, which indicates two due to the dual attacks on the harbour and airport.

[Rudolph]

Private

In the heart of Beograd, the White City of the Serbs, Beli Dvor

"How many died?" asked the Sovereign of Yugoslavia, his voice dead and flat as he stared at his Great Council sans his D, Generals and Admirals who kept silent, minutes rolling on by as the Kralj visibly became more and more enraged before General Ljubiša Diković, the Chief-of-Staff of the Kingdom's forces could take no more.

"Reports indicate that a good hundred men and women of our soldiers were killed in the attacks across the territory, your majesty," he finally revealed to his Kralj, hoping to at the least soothe the building rage that all could see but to no avail as he rose from his seat, slamming his hands on the conference table in fury as he breathe in deeply.

Dragojev Belojevic had been once an idealist, but the reality that kept surrounding him had finally broken him down, the very notion of the past decade simply drove the point home and broke what he used to believe and hold dear. The ideal of peace in Europe, stability, the territory and regions of Europe having their own proper national governments had been slowly eroded by the reality that his fellows did not care for it. In the end, everyone around him lied and looked for number one and to hell with everyone else.

"Who were they?" he managed to ask through his rage, the General hesitating for a bit before nodding, taking a folder out and started to recite the name, rank and age of all who had laid down their lives for their ungrateful fellows in Bulgaria. Each name served only to fill him with anguish, feeling the pain of a life lost, never to be recovered and he could only imagine what the loved ones would feel like once they were informed of their passing.

A flash of remembrance made him falter once the one hundred name had passed the lips from his General, "Civilian casualties? What about civilian casualties?!" he muttered at first before yelling the question. Ljubiša blinked, opening his mouth to answer before silently closing it, the Kingdom's Chief-of-Staff turned his gaze towards the table and simply stared at it, a frown on his face.

It was one thing for his soldiers to die for the Kingdom, it was an all together thing to have had civilians in the crossfire before he gritted his teeth, leaning against the table as he growled, "How many?"

"Several dozen close to a hundred and fifty were injured in total, good tidings on their overall recovery from what I've heard. There were however, fatalities, quite a good number of them, my Kralj," said Bako Lompar, rifling through various reports and documents.

Dragojev blinked, with the sheer damaged that they had inflicted, there was no way that these upstart terrorists had managed to gain their weaponry through raiding army bases. There would still be soldiers due to the regional government of the territory pitching in to ensure that outlaws didn't have access to such stores. That would mean one thing, they were being supplied and the good Sovereign of Yugoslavia had suspicions that it was their southern neighbor if the baseless accusations and slander coming from them at the onset of this situation was anything to go by.

However he had no substantial proof, no concrete evidence of this and had to treat it accordingly. In other words, start searching for clues and evidence to link his current hypothesis. If the Hellenic Republic was not the ones supplying the terrorist group, and it was someone else entirely, then he would have a whole different ball game on his hand.

Regardless, it was time to take action.

The young King rose to his full height, "We go to war," he said grimly as he glared at anyone to dare in opposing his will.

[hr]
Private

Sofia, Bulgaria

Leon Broz was a man of simple tastes, a sharp contrast to those of his grandfather but one that had served him just as well in his eyes. It did not however help any with his task of personally checking each man and woman that had been slain by the cowardly terrorists, most if not all having fled the scene before reinforcements could come in full but the damage had been done. Men and women he was supposed to protect had been killed under his watch.

Unlike his siblings, he had not married and did not see that changing anytime soon. He knew that he had a kid or two running around back in the Kingdom, he knew that much, a man had needs and so did women leading to their births. Leon Broz was not a good father, that much he also knew but informing families of their loved ones passing never made it easy.

General-major Broz was an unrepentant ass, self-admittedly, but the passing of loved ones and informing their families always never failed to put a burden on his shoulders. Guilt and self-loathing at not having done better in protecting the same brothers and sisters the Kingdom was here to protect, brave men and women that had fallen under his command.

He also knew that he would made the !@#$%^&* pay for their cowardly act, he would take his chunk of flesh and make their lives a hell before passing them forward to his Kralj, knowing very well that his Sovereign would do worse at the ones who took away lives from the Kingdom as he unrolled a map already pinned with the sites of each attack. Bulgaria was a mountainous region and the presence of the Balkan mountains would naturally aid the terrorist group if they ever dared to think of establishing themselves there, but it was clear to all that the group dared and more so once the runways were repaired, he would ensure that the Balkan mountains were free from their presence if they were there, come hell or high water.

That was a promise.

[hr]

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia declares war on the Bulgarian Liberation Front!
_{Issue 14.Y1 October 14 20XX}

The Sovereign of the Kingdom, Kralj Dragojev Belojevic, formally announced an official state of war with the terrorist group known as the Bulgarian Liberation Front for the deaths of a reported one hundred brave men and women who served in the Kingdom's military in addition to the deaths of innocent Bulgarian citizens. The Kingdom fully expects to step forward and repair the incomprehensible damage to the infrastructure that the terrorist group wrought and claimed to have done.

"It brings me no joy to send reinforcements, brave they are, to assist and help our brothers and sisters in the region of Bulgaria to curb the evil of the Bulgarian Liberation Front. This so called 'freedom force' were the ones who extinguished the lives of their own brothers and sisters, innocents in this, simply because they were using the facilities that they targeted. Many a good family will not be able to cherish the return of loved ones back home, instead they will have to grieve and deal with the loss of their pain, their loved ones raptured from them at the hands of extremists who hold no love, only hate in their bosom," the Kralj stated before answering more questions during the press conference.

[hr]
Private

Bulgaria

The military arm of the Kingdom had been ready ever since the whole tension with their ally Alvonia and other states in northern Europe, so mobilizing reinforcements in addition to supplies and vehicles had been relatively easy and in just two hours, the military convoy were enroute towards Sofia along with sufficient equipment to repair the damaged infrastructure. Once they reached Sofia, the equipment to repair the damage would be divided into three, with each piece heading to the other two administrative regional capitals of Stara Zagora and Shumen.

The military of the Kingdom had been advised that the best way to ensure that the people they were protecting felt safer was to win their hearts and minds, as it was clear to the Kingdom that the extremists in the Bulgarian Defense Force would do whatever it took to hamper the Kingdom's desire to protect the region even at the cost of their own. As such, the Kingdom would increase funding towards the region. Water, medical supplies, foodstuffs and portable generators would arrive in bigger quantities to those who needed it especially in affected areas such as the former capital of Sofia with the destruction of the Iskar Dam, leaving two-thirds of the of the entire city without water and electricity. Hospitals, police stations, pharmacies and grocery stores would be made priorities in terms of electricity and water, with hospitals receiving a heavy-duty generator if they did not possess one.

For the sake of making things easier on their brethren, the Kingdom would foot the bill completely for the fuel the generators would be essentially guzzling down, including all buildings that already had generators in place as fuel would most likely skyrocket in the region from the very threat of the terrorist group.

The previous trickle to the Bulgarian Defense Force became a powerful stream once news had reached the cities that innocents had been killed in the terrorist attacks, the already enlisted forces were three-quarters to being fully trained under the watchful eye of the Kingdom's military. It would only take a week or more so they could function as police at the very least which would relieve the work load of law and order off the soldiers, with several more weeks so they could perform at the level of a professional soldier from the Kingdom.

Taking into consideration the flat out sudden attack that the group had performed, the Kingdom's Intelligence department started going through their records and tapping only the ones who would be seen as loyal and trustworthy to the goals of a safe and prosperous Bulgaria, be it under the Kingdom's protection or within the Kingdom. To this end, nondescript agents would tap several citizens in all cities under their de-facto control, establishing make-shift independent cells that would have severe procedures and rules to prevent them from being found out. To ensure that this was successful, the Intelligence agency would target only citizens that had a glancing knowledge of each other in each cell, making casual visits and get-togethers not all out of the norm. To drive the point further, each cell knew that if they failed and were found out, more catastrophic damage done by the hands of the terrorist group would follow, aimed at them and any family members in retaliation.

In addition, the Kingdom would divert one carrier strike group, orders having it part from the others that patrolled the Adriatic and Ionian Seas for piracy. This particular carrier strike group had orders to sail towards the Black Sea. In addition to those orders, they established patrols of ORUiKM's for the overall safety of the group in general along with potential orders that if the Hellenic Republic barred them entry to the Black sea, that they were to sit tight and call the Kingdom of their denied entry.

[Captain Enema]

With the crisis in Galicia brewing up the Kingdom of Malta found itself with little choice but to pull the 1st Malta Airborne back. In its place would go a small observation team of National Policemen and Order of Hospitallars Chaplains. 

[Mogar]

A Mitsubishi C-17 Globemaster III would arrive in the nearest airport in Yugoslavia to the Bulgarian border a few hours later, carrying 40 Imperium agents and 8 Komatsu LAVs, painted solid white to denote non combatant status, with the Chrysanthemum seal painted upon the doors. The team would quickly leave Yugoslavian held territory and make their way to locations suggested to be held by the Bulgarian Freedom Front.

 

Once in the more neutral territory, conversations with the local population would begin in earnest, actively seeking out information in regards to their whereabouts, and the allegedly neutral observers would subtly display a rather supportive interest in the group, using more positive word choices to describe whom they were looking for. They were armed with only several million Nuyen but it was hoped that someone would provide more information.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Mogar

[Captain Enema]

The 99th, 100th, 102nd, 103, and 104th Air Squadrons would be tasked for patrolling the No Fly Zone in Bulgaria. The squadrons, consisting entirely of the Eurofighter, are equipped for air superiority missions. With them will be four AWACS patrol planes, tankers, and forward deployed ground support units. Those units will include the squadron air crews and the 333rd Search and Rescue Squadron. An additional squadron of Tiger HAD Gunships, a Reaper Drone detachment, a composite artillery company, the 22nd Regimental Combat Team (reserve), the 700th Intelligence Battalion, and a composite Air Defense Artillery Battalion. Logistics will be handled via air and sea with the AMF Navy Reserve Transports and and squadron of C-5B Galaxy transports escorted by the 105th Air Squadron (Eurofighters). 

 

On station for long range fire support will be a detachment of B-1 Lancers, flying out of Malta, carrying the usual assortment of long range cruise missiles and a section of four F-22 Raptors that will be attached to the 99th Air Squadron for the duration of this mission. Total time for full force deployment is expected to be ten days. 

 

 

To Greece
From Malta

Classified 

Permission to come aboard, air and land units for deployment to secure No-Fly Zone Bulgaria. Incoming Naval forces as well, attach them to your navy under Greek local command until otherwise notified.

-KG

 

 

The AMF Navy was getting a bit stretched, but the Gotland Class Submarines had not been overly deployed. Ten Gotlands, 8 Seojong Destroyers, 10 Incheon Frigates, and 2 Ticongeroga Aegis Guided Missile Cruisers set sail for a rendezvous with Greek Navy forces with orders to operate under Greek Command for the duration of this crisis. 

[Rudolph]

Private

 

Sofia, Bulgaria
 

"...Could you repeat that, your Majesty?"

 

Leon Broz had not expected this turn of events, especially not what his Kralj had personally called him about.

 

"Is that so? Then consider it done, your Majesty."

 

With that, the line was dropped and Leon put the receiver back on its cradle as he glared at the phone. Two allies lost, one of which had purposefully thrown the Kingdom under a bus in support of the damned Greeks. The Colonel-general raised a hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose, frustrated at the development which had effectively forced the Kingdom's hand in retreating since they had no support.

 

At the least, Leon Broz would make damn sure that the Kingdom never forgot who betrayed it and that their revenge on those who betrayed it be accomplished.

 

One way or another.

 

[hr]

 

The Kingdom's forces within Bulgaria to withdraw!
_{Issue 14.Y2 October 22 20XX}

 

The Kralj announced today that on top of the cancellation of one of its oldest treaties with the country of Alvonia, the order to withdraw from the region of Bulgaria has been given. The main reason given to this is primarily due to the false narrative being told about the terrorist organization known as the Bulgarian Liberation Front, a narrative supported by Greece, Malta and now Alvonia, a former ally and that without clear allied support the Kingdom would have been hindered in its efforts to protect their brethren in the region. This announcement caused an uproar across all of Yugoslavia, especially so in the provinces of Macedonia and Croatia whose population were extremely supportive of both the Hellenic Republic and Alvonia. Citizens took to the streets and staged protests outside of the Greek and Alvonian embassies, several calls for revenge against the Alvonian betrayal were raised by citizens. The Kralj himself and his government have urged for calm in the protests, to show the world that protests in the Kingdom are not violent but peaceful.

[Yerushalayim]

[Private]

“War isn't always the answer,” Arista set aside her now empty coffee cup, and folded her hands in her lap. She sat across from a small field table from General Kazilieris, at the Greek command center in Bulgaria. “The Yugoslavs are withdrawing, and not a single Greek life was lost. Your way would have entangled us in nothing but bloodshed and violence for years to come.”

 

The general chuckled softly and shook his head, “I admit it, I didn't think the Slavs would be cowed so easily, or that you had the stones do what was needed to remove their political support. You have, however, lost them as an ally.”

 

Arista shook her own head sadly, “No, if they were willing to do this, if they refused to negotiate like this, they were no allies of ours. All I've done is forced them to show their hand, and now we know where their loyalties truly lie. Withdraw our forces, General. I'll ensure that our humanitarian efforts continue through the White Cross.”

 

[Public News Excerpt]

The Ministry of Defense has announced a phased withdrawal from Bulgarian territory, proportional to the Yugoslav retreat from the region. This marks what is being hailed as the end of a potentially deadly conflict over the area that borders both Yugoslavia and Greece. The death toll from combat operations are estimated to be 236 lives lost, including Bulgarian citizens and Yugoslav service members.

 

The government has promised to continue supplying Bulgaria with food, medical supplies, and fuel until such a time as such aid is no longer required.

 

The controversial no fly zone, implemented in response to Yugoslavia's declaration of war on the Bulgarian Armed Revolutionary Front, frequently mistakenly called the Bulgarian Liberation Front in Yugoslav government addresses and media, is to remain in place until the Yugoslav withdrawal from the conflict zone has been completed.

[Captain Enema]

Private

 

"What blustering fools, put the Yugos on the short list of people to never hold a real treaty with. First they acted irresponsibly, then they postured, and then backed down faster than a battered wife," the King commented wryly. 

 

"Anything else your majesty?" asked his assistant.

 

"The men in Bulgaria, have them follow up with their investigation. They are to find out exactly what happened. Also, contact Germaine, tell him I expect my dividend check to reflect his recent upswing in business."

 

"Of course sir."

 

Bulgaria

 

The Chaplains and National Policemen would receive their orders and commence investigating and documenting the action of the Bulgarian Liberation Front.