"...and she had a Heart of Iron"

[Triyun]

"By using those buildings as your cover, you are the one who makes those buildings a legitimate military target, regardless of their original zoning. You then choose to make a huge swath of territory which should be considered civilian, military use, when you have another defendable position. Thus you are responsible solely for whatever loss of life is caused in your illegal rebellion. These are simple facts, you don't get to use something as a shield and then feign ignorance and invoke politicide (which is the proper term by the way). The rules of Just War don't work like that. You put civilians in danger by irresponsible positioning, it becomes you who is solely responsible."

[Lynneth]

[quote name='Triyun' timestamp='1281038501' post='2401948']
"By using those buildings as your cover, you are the one who makes those buildings a legitimate military target, regardless of their original zoning. You then choose to make a huge swath of territory which should be considered civilian, military use, when you have another defendable position. Thus you are responsible solely for whatever loss of life is caused in your illegal rebellion. These are simple facts, you don't get to use something as a shield and then feign ignorance and invoke politicide (which is the proper term by the way). The rules of Just War don't work like that. You put civilians in danger by irresponsible positioning, it becomes you who is solely responsible."
[/quote]
"You speak as if we were those the Slavs are fighting against.
We're not. Those guys don't talk to their enemies."

[Owned-You]

President Edward Moshum having returned from his absence quickly assembled an emergency board meeting to address the conflict. Whereupon he spoke the following, "The New Palma Republic has remained neutral for the entirety of the conflict up to this point, however in the interests of assisting our allies in the VDL in putting down these rebels and restoring order. We must intervene and assist in hunting down these rebel scum upon the Mediterranean as well as blockade points of exit from it. The Mediterranean must not become a safe-haven for these elements of chaos, and we must assist the allied effort to prevent it from becoming so." The board stood up in agreement, as many had been itching to see the navy in wartime. Edward then issued orders to the Republican fleet Admiral Stefan Salimaro. "Your orders are as followed Admiral, assist in hunting down the rebels and prevent them from escaping these waters. Let the Mediterranean become the tomb of rebellion. Furthermore, you'll be in charge of all future naval engagements in the theatre, I leave you with command freedom from hereon." Admiral Stefan replied "Yes sir, I'll get it done; I thank you for the honor of leading the naval front." Edward nodded his head and promptly left the meeting, as the board began an open discussion of events.

Coded messages were sent to there Allied counterparts already partaking in blocking the rebel escape.

[code]To: Allied Naval Command
From: Admiral Stefan Salimaro, Supreme Commander of the
Encryption:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Greetings Admirals, we have sat this conflict out for long enough and we hereby offer to assist in the blockade and destruction of rebel elements fleeing the Mediterranean.
Our navy has been to ordered to leave harbor and await just outside our home islands to prevent any potential rebel elements from passing the area.
Furthermore, we'll be capable of assisting and sending vessels wherever needed.
[/code]

The New Palma Republic would also simultaneously begin mobilizing it's entire military forces should it be needed to defend NPR possessions or escalate there involvement in the conflict.The Republican military would be on high alert from that point onwards. Border security would be placed on high alert, nobody would be permitted entry into the country and those leaving it would be closely watched. The NPR did not want these 'rebellions' spilling anywhere onto there holdings

[Triyun]

[code]Highest level encryption:

To: Admiral Stefano Salimaro, Supreme Commander of the New Palma Republic Navy
From: Field Marshall Ding, Commander of China Expeditionary Force Europe
Subject: Naval Engagements

Body: We've trapped the rebel fleet in the Mediterranean. The Athenians have blockaded Gibraltar preventing their escape from the West and Rebel Army's forces are blocking the Bosporus and the Suez. Our naval bombers are flying sorties against them. We shall provide you with the coordinates of their ships and access to our own naval ocean surveillance systems, orbital synthetic apeture radars, and electro optical satellites.[/code]

Edited August 5, 2010 by Triyun

[Lynneth]

With most of the fleet already destroyed, the mediterranean remnants got into the lifeboats they had left and simply scuttled the ships. No need limping away if they could just as well make it to Spain within some hours and from there...Elsewhere.
There wasn't much to prevent from fleeing the Med now.
Similarly, the "Rebels' didn't have much in planes left on the mainland, and the planes stationed on the Island Madeira had been destroyed to prevent them from falling into potentially hostile hands.

The few naval forces left in Madeira flew the Corporate flag, white with the Sostra-logo on it. Spreading over a rather large area, the ships went into what amounted 'stealth' mode, simply to make sure that they wouldn't be attacked despite theit loyality to the corporates, who had actually helped the VDL.
These ships were making their was into the west, towards the open Atlantic.

Edited August 5, 2010 by Lynneth

[Biohazard]

The occupation of Eastern Switzerland had been completed, with far less casualties, thus far. All in all, it costed West Switzerland, now just Switzerland, 400 some deaths, and almost double that in injuries and wounded. The 1st and 2nd Armies, having completed their objectives, began to break apart to garrison the towns. The national DEFCON level was raised from 1 to 3.

The first order of business that the government had decided upon, was distributing humanitarian aid to the citizens of Eastern Switzerland. While they may not welcome the West Swiss as liberators, to the West, they were brothers, and were under the protection of the nation now. Simple things such as food, and water, would be the primary concerns, along with setting up field hospitals in the cities, to assist anyone who was grievously injured, and to take the burden off of the city hospitals.

Next on the agenda, was to ensure that the citizens of Eastern Switzerland had electricity. When the communists and corporates from the GDR fled the region, they had destroyed or incapacitated all the power plants that supplied Eastern Switzerland with power. Thus, it was a major concern to the government in Bern to reestablish power in the cantons, and to get the railroads back up and running so that more advanced humanitarian aid could be sent, faster.

Any citizen in Eastern Switzerland who had any knowledge in construction was quickly recruited to assist in rebuilding the infrastructure, namely the railroads and power plants, within the region. On the Central plains that ran through the northern part of Eastern Switzerland, factories were being built in order to get the Eastern half up to par with the West's industrial capacity. Anyone unemployed would be directed to the factories and the power plants, to assist them in getting back on their feet. The intellectuals of Western Switzerland would be shipped out to Bern, assuming they wanted the jobs, and then dispersed amongst the country, as needed.

[The FSM]

[b]SNBS- YOUR NEWS, YOUR WORLD, YOUR WAY[/b]

[size="6"][b]SLAVS OPERATE NETWORK OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS[/size]
[size="4"]CIVILIANS TAKEN FROM STREETS AND HOMES[/b][/size]

SNBS has received a number of reports that the Slavic military has established a series of concentration camps throughout the occupied GDR and is in the process of rounding up and detaining large numbers of German civilians. In what adds up to a massive violation of human rights, the Slavic military has stated that any civilians found outside after 8 pm, for any reason, will be subject to immediate arrest and detention at one of the concentration facilities that have been constructed.

Messina based Human Freedom Network, a NGO, has described the situation as "one in which families in this already ravaged area are torn apart, with absolutely no regard given to why these people were out after curfew. People are basically having black bags thrown over their heads as they walk home from trying to find food for their starving families. This is just a continuation of the chain of atrocities committed by the Slavic military in their attempts to beat the German populace into quiet obedience to their whims."

This latest revelation comes on the heels of information relayed to SNBS via online social networks from underground German reporters that ongoing Slavic Counter Insurgency operations have lead to the direct killings of upwards of 640 German civilians, with hundreds, if not thousands more perishing as a result of famine and disease brought about by the destruction of sewage, transit and electrical networks by invading Slavic forces.

News of these atrocities has already sparked mass protests in a number of Sicilian cities as citizens are condemning the continuation of the Slavic-Sicilian Alliance. We are going live to the Directorate of Foreign Affairs where Director Al-Hussein is giving a press conference on the matter:

Al-Hussein:
"I would like to thank everyone for coming here, I have a few brief announcements. At 10 am this morning, my office, at the Steward's direction, sent official letters of protest to the governments of the Slavic Federation and the United States of China over the treatment of civilians in occupied territories and plans for further combat in civilian locales, respectively. It is the opinion of this government that both the USC and the Slavic Federation are showing a disturbing lack of regard for the sanctity of human life in their respective theaters of combat. This Government maintains its adherence to a strong Human Rights based foreign policy and we will not allow such disregard for the safety of non-combatants to happen without taking diplomatic action. The letters sent by me to the USC and the Slavic Federation this morning indicate our opposition to the actions being taken by the respective governments and informs them that unless a significant effort is made to protect the safety of non-combatants and end blatant violations of their human rights, we will be forced to take further action."


Letter to the USC:

To whom it may concern,

On behalf of the Citizens and Government of the Sicilian League I lodge a formal diplomatic protest to the actions of your Government and military in Germany. Statements by your officials show to us a disturbing lack of regard for the safety of non-combatants in cities and towns where your military is operating, namely in Vienna. The onus of protecting the lives and livelihood of non-combatants in a war zone always lies with the party taking offensive action. Harm to civilians must be avoided as much as is possible, and tactics must be altered to protect the lives of civilians as much as is possible. I feel that this has not been done. Further failure to protect the lives of German civilians will force this government to take further action.

Signed on behalf of the Sicilian League

Hossein Al-Hussein
Director of Foreign Affairs

Letter to the Slavic Federation:

To whom it may concern,

On behalf of the Citizens and Government of the Sicilian League I lodge a formal diplomatic protest with your Government due to the actions of your Government and military in the portions of the former GDR occupied by the Slavic armed forces. Operations by your military have resulted in staggeringly high numbers of casualties to non-combatants. This, coupled with the practice of seizing and detaining German civilians in a number of camps for indefinite periods of time and with no regard to the impact such indefinite detentions have upon the livelihoods of the detained's families has caused great alarm and outrage in the Sicilian League. While we understand that some casualties to civilians will be unavoidable, it is our feeling that little is being done to minimize civilian casualties and that little effort is being made to alleviate the hardship being felt by German civilians due to the destruction of local power, transit and sewage networks during the initial Slavic invasion. The failure of your government to take action is leading to the deaths of hundreds of civilians due to starvation, disease and other various avoidable causes and is triggering a what could become a large humanitarian crisis.

This government has long respected the sanctity of the Sicilian-Slavic Alliance. However, continuing disregard for the safety and human rights of the German populace will force this government to reevaluate our relations with your government vis-vis the Sicilian-Slavic Alliance.

Signed on behalf of the Sicilian League,

Hossein Al-Hussein
Director of Foreign Affairs

[HHAYD]

"Since when did world leaders care about civilians?" President Mays of GLP thought to himself as he read the newspaper.

[Triyun]

"Your objection is noted but ill informed as there are and have not been [b]any[/b] operations undertaken by the Chinese military which has occurred in Vienna or any surrounding areas save for precision air strikes on military targets except against enemy air defenses. We recognize this is an inconvenient fact for the narrative you wish to paint, but frankly, thats too bad. Furthermore I would remind you that we are defending sovereign VDL territory from rebels, we are the defenders not the aggressor unless of course you do not recognize the VDL, in which case you must say so."

-Foreign Affiars Minister Zhou, Public Response to the Sicilian League's Accusation

Edited August 5, 2010 by Triyun

[The FSM]

[quote name='Triyun' timestamp='1281049384' post='2402093']
"Your objection is noted but ill informed as there are and have not been [b]any[/b] operations undertaken by the Chinese military which has occurred in Vienna or any surrounding areas save for precision air strikes on military targets except against enemy air defenses. We recognize this is an inconvenient fact for the narrative you wish to paint, but frankly, thats too bad. Furthermore I would remind you that we are defending sovereign VDL territory from rebels, we are the defenders not the aggressor unless of course you do not recognize the VDL, in which case you must say so."

-Foreign Affiars Minister Zhou, Public Response to the Sicilian League's Accusation
[/quote]


I wish to direct your attention back to the letter which was sent to you, in which it said "Statements by Government officials" were our cause for our concern, not the fact that you had engaged in any military actions (as you clearly have not). Namely that you place the onus of protecting civilian life on the South German rebels, even though this onus must reside with the forces conducting the combat operations, not just the defenders. Simply because rebels are hiding in a dense urban area does not absolve your forces from the responsibility of conducting their operations in a way that minimizes civilian casualties as much as possible. From statements made by your government officials, we feel you do not take the same stance and is why we sent you that letter.

Further, though you may be assisting the VDL in fighting rebels, you would be attacking rebel positions in Vienna, not defending your own positions in Vienna from rebel assault (as you have no such positions in Vienna as far as we can tell). Since you would be attacking Vienna, you would be the party taking offensive action in Vienna regardless of the fact you are assisting the VDL in defending against the rebels. The letter to you said nothing of you being aggressors, only about offensive operations. We apologize that this distinction confused you.

-Hossein Al-Hussein
Director of Foreign Affairs.

[Triyun]

"First, I wish to direct you to your exact language:

[quote]Statements by your officials show to us a disturbing lack of regard for the safety of non-combatants in cities and towns where [b]your[/b] military is operating, namely in Vienna.[/quote]

A sovereign government retaking occupied territory is by definition defensive in our minds. Vienna was purposefully occupied by a rebel force, knowing that Vienna had a huge civilian population. It is using buildings which house civilians as firing positions. We flat out refuse to recognize your argument which establishes an international precedent where rebels can occupy a piece of territory, and by [i]purposefully[/i] involving civilians forces a government to choose between defending its sovereignty, engaging in battle which nullifies the asymmetry of force upon which the foundation of state legitimacy wrests, or creating human rights abuse. We find this a choice which will have a much more adverse effect on law and order and thus human life in the long term. Your government may have positive intentions but you are trying to codify a policy which leads to longer more bloody wars or the devolution of states which means an increase in warlordism and anarchy. Warlordism and anarchy in countries tend to lead to higher mortality rate both due to disruption of service and warfare. This simply cannot be taken seriously or allowed to stand.

Rebels who choose to use civilians, are alone guilty of the civilian deaths that occur when coercive force is used by the state or in this case forces affiliated with the state to stop the rebellion. If the Slavic Federation was involved in capturing and taking territory which belonged to a sovereign nation which the Slavic Federation had invaded you may have a point. But this is simply not the point when squashing rebels and criminals, in fact in our view any Slavic action is the rescue of German citizens from non-lawful combatants. The rebels have no right to be there, civilians are no excuse to allow them to remain there.

Foreign Minister Zhou"

Edited August 6, 2010 by Triyun

[The FSM]

[quote name='Triyun' timestamp='1281051355' post='2402121']
"First, I wish to direct you to your exact language:



A sovereign government retaking occupied territory is by definition defensive in our minds. Vienna was purposefully occupied by a rebel force, knowing that Vienna had a huge civilian population. It is using buildings which house civilians as firing positions. We flat out refuse to recognize your argument which establishes an international precedent where rebels can occupy a piece of territory, and by [i]purposefully[/i] involving civilians forces a government to choose between defending its sovereignty, engaging in battle which nullifies the asymmetry of force upon which the foundation of state legitimacy wrests, or creating human rights abuse. We find this a choice which will have a much more adverse effect on law and order and thus human life in the long term. Your government may have positive intentions but you are trying to codify a policy which leads to longer more bloody wars or the devolution of states which means an increase in warlordism and anarchy. Warlordism and anarchy in countries tend to lead to higher mortality rate both due to disruption of service and warfare. This simply cannot be taken seriously or allowed to stand.

Rebels who choose to use civilians, are alone guilty of the civilian deaths that occur when coercive force is used by the state or in this case forces affiliated with the state to stop the rebellion. If the Slavic Federation was involved in capturing and taking territory which belonged to a sovereign nation which the Slavic Federation had invaded you may have a point. But this is simply not the point when squashing rebels and criminals, in fact in our view any Slavic action is the rescue of German citizens from non-lawful combatants. The rebels have no right to be there, civilians are no excuse to allow them to remain there.

Foreign Minister Zhou"
[/quote]


It is quite apparent that the USC and Sicilian League share fundamentally different views, and you are entitled to maintain a different opinion. We believe that the use of force can be altered in such a way to minimize civilian casualties. At the same time we also realize that when your opponent chooses to fight in highly populated areas (not a tactic we endorse) there will be civilian casualties, our point is that efforts can be made to fight the rebels while minimizing civilian casualties. However, we stand by our previous statements and our letter of protest. If USC forces attempt to minimize civilian casualties, then you will hear no further complaint from us.

-Director Al-Hussein

[Kaiser Martens]

In the Bunker, a meeting of the General Staff and the different Generals and Fieldmarshalls that were assigned to the front is held. They were around ten officers plus representatives of different Government Branches as well as Ratsherr Martens himself.

"Very well. So what is the situation in this war? Who will begin?" - Starts the Ratsherr.

Tambarskjelve speaks, bringing up a general notice of the situation.

"Alright. On the South, things are doing well. The Chinese and the Slavs are working against the Rebels. We need not concern about this, for it is only a matter of time until they are all killed or otherwise flee. However, we are concerned that they are gunning for the ones who have fled through the Mediterranean. They will too be dealt with. So far the majority of the deaths are people who were in fact implied with acts of terrorism. The majority of the civilians simply fled the area knowing what would happen. Thusly we have set up many refugeed camps in the North for many Southern Germans who didn't wish to be a part of the bloodbath. In fact, we have recovered control of over thirty divisions composed partially by volunteers from the South which wish to help fight against France. While truthful that the rebellion exists, there's also many loyalists. But we decided to send them to fight France, as fighting other Germans may affect their morale. Even if they're reds and capitalists."

Martens the Elder speaks up for the West,

"He is right, a large amount of our troops are Southerner Loyalists. Right now we are assembling for our offensive operations while slightly over schedule, and we are likely to be ready sooner than we anticipated. We already have one third of our troops in position and the rest will be arriving shortly. We will have a million men, a hundred squadrons, and almost one hundred tank divisions plus their attachments ready. This will be the greatest German Offensive since the invasion of Russia. We believe that conditions are such that the enemy will simply be unable to stop us. Supplies are also being accumulated in such a way that even if one of the Kampfgruppen would be cut from supplies, they would still have enough to last from fifteen to twenty days more. Our Officers have already been briefed properly, but not yet our soldiers for matters of Opsec. The aims of the operation will be twofold, to free Elsass-Lothringen but also to inflict casualties enough on the French and their Allies that they may come to see their victory as what it is: Unreachable. If we pull this off right, this will be even a bigger success than the South. If we don't do it right, we'll at the very least free our region. Failure is not an option."

Then, von Glücksburg of Intelligence speaks,

"We have detected no substantial news in the Western front. We are going to use a number of our spies to aid the upcoming offensive however. The aim of our spies will be to raise dissent through the use of propaganda, as a part of our strategy of ultimately bringing the Empress - not France - down. Secondary operations may be used to severe their HQ from their Field Armies for the first hours of the operation. We have also determined that Swiss interference is unlikely, unless if we would try to in fact Annex France which we know we won't. The North is likely to remain still so we may dispatch them once this war is complete, and I hear that some Sicilians are stirring up trouble. But we have countermeasures for that. We always have countermeasures."

Bergman of FA goes on,

"This is correct. It is likely that if they were to join the war, we would be able to get further assistance. They are nothing to worry about. Everything is clear over in the FA front and functioning even better than expected. But we are trying to get the Slavic Federation to at last do that plebiscite in former Slavic Southern Germany in order to quell the population's rage as well as to please our Slavorussian allies."

von Danzig of the Airforce chimes in,

"Our initial operations in Strassburg have gone well, but we are quickly withdrawing a large amount of our aircraft from there as they begin to focus their AD on us. We have suffered casualties, but we also overwhelmed the defenders for the first few hours of the battle enough to cause them trouble too. Our aircraft will rebase at a distance from the border in order to be deployed again when needed. I have heard that our Bombers have done a good job, as there are enough enemies that every bomb causes reasonable harm. Additionally, the French answered to our large missile barrage with one of their own. We have decided to abstain from using further large-scale missile attacks save in the case of an emergency, which is very unlikely. We still have many, but we must think worst case scenario and assume things will drag on."

Andersen of the Navy also adds,

"We have fielded new ships and so far their test runs have issued few problems. In two days, the new Naval Groups of the Kriegsmarine will be ready to act. Although we have decided to remain defensive, for facing the French at the Sea has nothing to gain us even in the best of battles. We will continue to defend our Coasts and standby for any aggression to Iceland, however unlikely. For this, we are coordinated directly with Himmelstoss."

General Himmelstoss speaks from Iceland,

"Our defences are perfect although we doubt we'll be facing anyone. There's already few beaches in Iceland, but the few that do exist are littered with czech hedgehogs, mines, automatic guns, dragonteeth and much more. This Island is our Fortress, and our skies are being watched with obsession. We have enough population to field defensive armies if needed be."

General Heimdalsson says something similar from Nordheim,

"Indeed. We too are in a similar position of expected invulnerability yet have taken precautions. We also have large amounts of transports ready to be loaded with materiel and men if they should be ready, but we are fine. Nothing new up here."

Colonel Nørgaard of the Economy Ministry nods and adds important information,

"Right now, the industrial capacity of our nation surpasses that of France, therefore we believe that this combined with our manpower must inevitably lead to a German victory. We have done our best to incorporate Southern Factories into our fold with greater success than expected, and we constantly receive shippings from Iceland and Nordheim in order to make it easier on the Mainland business. Our few and supply situation is truly optimal although we had to use part of our depots to be more quickly ready for the offensive. Our production efforts are as follows in order of importance: Tanks, Artillery, Army-related vehicles, aircraft, and lastly missiles. The majority of the tanks we are building are our Leopard 3s, while the artillery is divided among 210mm Heavy Artillery Pieces, Panzerhaubitze 2000s with 210mm Guns, and a very large amount of Nebelwerfer Rocket Launchers many of which are installed on civilian vehicles, as if Katyushas. Our vehicles are for the most part Armored Cars, AA vehicles like the Wiesel and the rest of the "support cast" such as IFV and transport trucks. Aircraft and missiles are much less of a priority but we're still producing them at a reasonable, smaller rate. If the war drags on for six more months, we will begin production of Supplies in a slope-like manner so as not to ever incurr in near-shortage situations."

Doctor Schröder for Research mentions something important,

"We are working on a new model of tank for our troops. We currently have probably the best tank in the world, but if war progresses, we may need a tank which while competitive should be much easier to produce, so as to be able to more quickly replace losses. The usual Tiger versus T-34 dilemma. We're trying to come up with a T-34 analogue. We are also modifying Jagdpanzer Perkunos to see if we can make its production easier by removing the Lift Mechanism. We want to create armored vehicles which while good, we can spam the enemy with."

Ratsherr Martens then receives several statistics informs,

"And it seems that the morale in our people is fine, although some dissent has raised due to our leniency policy towards France. Public opinion wants us to destroy their country altogether, forever. I guess that it is good that they want this, even if it will not happen. I have newer propaganda ready which we will dispatch to France via Cargo Missiles when the offensive takes place. This war is likely to last less than a year, but we are preparing for it as if it would last ten. Because of this, I am confident that victory is unavoidable. The French have blunted their daggers trying to hit at our Iron Chest. Now we will use our Hammers to break their spirits and win the war. The best of all is that Germany will get the chance of appearing Merciful by not destroying them like our forerunners - He then glances at Martens the Elder - used to do. Same kind of mercy we've offered to the ungrateful Slovenes and Croats. We're not in this to expand. We're in this to last. We already have the room we need. When the French Army is broken, the world will know that the Ravens are to be always on our side. Hail."

Yet it was no common meeting, but also a Symbel ceremony. Each of the participants had drank down a massive horn of beer, mjod or other alcohol after speaking, and others that haven't spoken yet will too do the same after their turns. the Ratsherr does alike, and once that they have all agreed, they go back to their posts. And waits.

The German Armies move, and although there's only a handful of German Guerilla-style fighters in Strassburg, the skies are an even fight.

"Of course. One million is the total figure. We have over 500k in our direct control. I believe that the new Ratsherr is arriving shortly to specify what's up with his half."

Edited August 6, 2010 by Kaiser Martens

[Bacharth]

Ratsherr von Lübeck and General Meschkat, followed by his two Generals, Admiral Weisemann, and Head of the Southern Airforce, General Hans Sperl entered the planning room.

"Gentlemen, I apologize first of all for our lateness. I had to deal with the police forces in Austria and Bavaria. It seems the communists continue to be revolting, as I am sure you are all well aware. But, my generals inform me that our armies have been mobilized and sent to points Isa till Odal. Meschkat can provide you with a more information." He turned to the blonde haired man in the uniform right next to him, "You have the floor."

"Alright, we have around 650 thousand men assembled at the points, along with 5,800 tanks. We have quite a bit of mobile artillery, anti-air and IFVs are common, and infantry transports are spotty, but they are there. We have two battlegroups, let by Generals Ten Hulsen and von Amend. I'll let you take this from here, Ten Hulsen."

"Well, my battlegroup, Südschild, includes around half the number Meschkat just gave. Our battlegroup has most of the transports and IFVs, and half of the mobile artillery. My troops are a little combat weary, but they're still itching to throw every last frog soldier out of Germany."

"von Amend," the Ratsherr motioned to him.

"Like Südschild, Flinkhammer has half the troops, tanks, and artillery, while taking all of the anti-air and anti-tank capabilities we have."

"Admiral?"

A very raspy, but strong voice came from a man in a highly decorated naval uniform, "We have reorganized our navy, and we have around 58 ships sitting in our ports in the Adriatic sea awaiting orders."

Tyr looked at General Sperl.

"We took some losses in the revolt, but we have 66 fighter squadrons and 9 bomber squadrons ready for action."

The Ratsherr spoke again, "If it is needed to keep the tigers in the foreign presses at bay, I can issue a public statement to the people of the south to attempt to prevent peaceful rebel sympathizers from becoming violent ones. It would prevent the press from thinking we're doing an ideological cleansing, which I'm very sure they're trying to do."

[The FSM]

June 17th, 5am
National Consultative Asssembly Building, Syracuse, Sicilian League

"By a vote of 18 in favor and 7 against the motion to adopt the special question as amended is accepted. The clerk will read the Act:

[quote]The War Authorization Act of 2071

By the power invested in this body by the League Charter, the National Consultative Assembly here assembled invests the Steward with the authority to execute war on behalf of the citizens of the League as follows;

Article 1.

The Sicilian League hereby withdraws its bid to join the European Cooperation Organization to be resubmitted at the conclusion of the Franco-German War.

Article 2.

Under the provisions of the Mediterranean Economic and Military Union, and by virtue of the historic Sicilian-French friendship, a STATE OF WAR is hereby recognized with the Empire of Slavorussia and the Republic of Finland, as well as any other nations that may declare war on the French Empire after the passage of this Act.

Article 3.

Sicilian Territorial Waters and Airspace are hereby closed to all parties not assisting the French Empire in the present conflict. Given the location of Switzerland, this Article does not apply to non-military transit by Swiss vehicles. Allies of the League may request an exemption from this Article after consultation with the Foreign Affairs Directorate.

Article 4.

The Steward and GHQ are given full discretion to prosecute this War as they feel would best bring about a favorable resolution. However attacks against the Finnish and Slavorussian homeland are prohibited unless attacks upon the territories of the League are made by forces from either of those nations.

Article 5.

The Steward and GHQ will take steps to minimize civilian casualties resulting from any military actions undertaken as much as possible.[/quote]

Classified:

Aosta and Steward Divisions of the MedCorps (20,000 men) deployed by air to Beauvais and from there by road transport to Lille as per previous agreement with the French High Command under command of Generals Chanson and Saloix respectively.

Sicilian Fleet deployed to Straits of Bonifacio, CAP to be in effect around the clock.

All airbases to maintain combat alert status and be prepared to scramble intercepts.

(OOC: Late, more interesting military stuff to come tomorrow)

Edited August 6, 2010 by The Flying Scotsman

[Malatose]

[quote]Letter to the Slavic Federation:

To whom it may concern,

On behalf of the Citizens and Government of the Sicilian League I lodge a formal diplomatic protest with your Government due to the actions of your Government and military in the portions of the former GDR occupied by the Slavic armed forces. Operations by your military have resulted in staggeringly high numbers of casualties to non-combatants. This, coupled with the practice of seizing and detaining German civilians in a number of camps for indefinite periods of time and with no regard to the impact such indefinite detentions have upon the livelihoods of the detained's families has caused great alarm and outrage in the Sicilian League. While we understand that some casualties to civilians will be unavoidable, it is our feeling that little is being done to minimize civilian casualties and that little effort is being made to alleviate the hardship being felt by German civilians due to the destruction of local power, transit and sewage networks during the initial Slavic invasion. The failure of your government to take action is leading to the deaths of hundreds of civilians due to starvation, disease and other various avoidable causes and is triggering a what could become a large humanitarian crisis.

This government has long respected the sanctity of the Sicilian-Slavic Alliance. However, continuing disregard for the safety and human rights of the German populace will force this government to reevaluate our relations with your government vis-vis the Sicilian-Slavic Alliance.[/quote]

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slavic Federation responded with the following note:

[quote]The situation in Slovenia and Croatia is a very delicate one. However, we can assure you that citizens of both states are being treated with the utmost respect. This show of respect can be traced back to when we first entered both states. Our first task as an entering power was the [url="http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?showtopic=89364&view=findpost&p=2399296"]reconstruction[/url] of damaged hospitals, roads, bridges and other entitites needed for daily life in Slovenia and Croatia. I am proud to say that over 70% of these structures have been repaired by military engineers, while construction in other areas have constantly been halted by terrorist attacks.

It is quite obvious that these terrorist do not care for the Slovenian/Croatian way of life. If they did, would they attack the very infrastructure needed for daily life? Would they drop IEDs onto the streets for children or innocent bystanders to drive over? I think not. However, even then Slavic forces have exercised tremendous restraint. Slavic Forces have not resorted to the use of weapons with massive destructive power, such as artillery and air strikes. The Slavic Army have resorted to basic tactics, such as raids and cordon and search activities. UAVs have also been used to strike directly at enemy bases.

Precison tactics that minimize civilian casualties. These operations have resulted in low civilian casualties, which is in contrast to your uninformed reports, which state "staggeringly high numbers of casualties to non-combatants". While the 8pm curfew might be seen as too strict, it has decreased terrorist attacks by twenty percent.

Sixty perfect of those arrested after the curfew have been confirmed to be terrorist, and I assure you, conditions individuals in these internment camps are treated as military P.O.Ws. So it is quite ignorant to call these facilities "concetration" camps.[/quote]

Edited August 6, 2010 by Malatose

[iamthey]

"The word concentration camp in it of itself unoffensive. It just refers to a centralized point in which populations are concentrated. Moreover, it is a camp for prisoners of war. I do not see anything to be alarmed about here." - Michael Atrevier, Crown Prince of Greater Pacifica

[king of cochin]

The 206km from Bruck an der Leitha to St. Florian, south of Linz was conducted in a high speed dash by the Cochin Horse. The request for status report made to Slavic Federation was ignored, perhaps due to the tensions of war, however this unseemly delay could not be permitted to slow down CEFG.

With the First Brigade in point the Regiment moved cautiously to the next objective. The first important tactical threat was bypassing of Vienna. The regiment would turn South at Schwechat and once again cross Vienna city limits between Vosendorf and Hunterbruhl. Two Metac Aerial Artillery Platform aircrafts from the RM01 Squadron is also at hand to provide Close Air Support. The Regiment would blast through any opposition facing them by a combined arms tactic, the T150s conducting close engagement supported by the BMP3 IFVs while the SPGs would pound the enemy areas using S-RECO targeting information. MRLS would not be used here due to its area destruction capabilities. The operationa philosophy would be simple, if it shoots kill it, if it obstructs destroy it. Express orders have been ordered to avoid civilian casualties, but if unavoidable, attack on civilians have been permitted but only under Company level Command decision. Apart from the three S-RECOs in orbit, the Bell 212 reconnaissance scout helicopters and Piranha gunships are also at point to determine any enemy concentration. Until the first fire drawn the Regiment would maintain caution without decelerating the pace of advance.

Due to the possibilities of the roads and bridges being booby trapped, the regiment would mostly be moving through the agrarian countryside which is excellent terrain for armored movement. Wherever possible, logistics officers of the Regiment would issue checks as compensation for the farmed land trampled by the massive armored behemoths rolling through those fields.

As soon as Vienna is crossed safely, the Regiment would speed up to reach St. Florian, south of Linz. The combination of this fast moving armor and Close Air and Artillery Support would mean that no significant delay is likely to be suffered.

[The FSM]

[quote name='Malatose' timestamp='1281074134' post='2402473']
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slavic Federation responded with the following note:
[/quote]

Letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Slavic Federation,

I am happy to see that our concern for the civilians of the region is shared by your government. Press sensationalism in this country may be inflating the situation in the region to drive of viewership, we will make an effort to tamp down on this sort of thing. If you need assistance with security and rebuilding operations, we are always prepared to assist. Though our involvement in the current conflict will require the focus of our efforts, we will be happy to assist you as much as we can.
-Hossein Al-Hussein
Director of Foreign Affairs for the Sicilian League

[Kaiser Martens]

"Ratsherr. It appears that the Sicilians have decided to assist France."

-"Hmm. Keep an eye out on their deployments."

"We did. We cannot find any ground deployments. All that our satellites are able to see are a large number of aircraft, but we cannot determine if these are transports, bombers, or fighters. They are quite a bit of a number though."

-"Do you think we could intercept them?"

"The french lack the [i]wonder[/i]ful AA of ours, so there might be a chance."

-"Get me von Danzig. Have him send eight squadrons, four of which are fighters and the rest Stealth bombers. If they are transport planes, the stealth bombers should have no trouble gunning them down either way. If this should fail...keep watching them. When you detect that they lower their altitude and get ready to land, we may be able to launch a couple of missiles in time enough to screw them up."

"Ferdhu!" (With speed)

-"And before striking make sure you get visual confirmation to make sure it's not some red cross !@#$%^&*. We know it's not civilian, but that could be an option."

[Malatose]

Austrian Lifeline:

Despite the fact that the fourty eight hour deadline was over, Slavic authorities decided to extend it for people unable to leave the city, immediately. In addition, the Slavic Airforce began to fly emergency evacuation missions in and out of Vienna. Citizens were notified of these evacuations through the use of loudspeakers and air-dropped leaflets. At a pre-designated spot, Slavic helicopters would swoop in and evacuate citizens wishing to leave the city. In addition, the Slavic Airforce would fly in a couple of the massive Antonov An-225 [i]Mriyas[/i] to evacuation citizens. These modified planes are capable of carrying four hundred civilians. For those unable to evacuate, Slavic forces would begin coordinated sweeps of the city. These rapid deployment troops, using heavily armoured IFVs would evacuate them to safetey. These operations would continue for another fourty eight hours

[Lynneth]

Seeing as the Slavic Federation apparently wouldn't rescind their warning, roughly 12 hours before the ultimatum ended, the first people began to go into the streets.
Soon, more and more of Vienna's citizens poured into the streets. With loudspeakers calling for evacuation of the city as soon as possible, a certain primal instinct slowly began to take over, affecting one after another like a virus, like the black death.
Thousands of vehicles drove through the streets towards the suburbs and outskirts of the city, but the sheer mass of vehicles moving all at once, together with accidents because no traffic lights worked began to clog up the streets.
Within the first thirty minutes, 41 people had died in traffic accidents. A majority of streets, and even the highways were completely blocked by civilian vehicles. The only ones even having a chance to get away in these conditions were those with the "Moller 400" flying cars, and even those had to reach take-off speed first. A nigh impossible feat on these streets.
[url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/Lynneth_del_Serpentas/AE/Thing289.png"][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/Lynneth_del_Serpentas/AE/th_Thing289.png[/img][/url]
(Click; Author's note: Grey is skyscrapers, high-rises and usually other tall buildings. Blue is suburbs and high-rises. Exceptions apply near the airport, where the buildings are somewhat less tall for the planes. Non-coloured areas within the coloured ones are either parks or not coloured because I was lazy.)

Millions lived in Vienna, and these millions had cars.
Two million cars or more, all at once. Streets weren't streets anymore, but cars. Cars, everywhere.

_____________________

"I'm not going to leave this flat."
"But Amanda, you [i]have[/i] to. They'll start bombarding in a few hours!"
"I don't care. I've lived here for the majority of my adult life and I'm not going to let those freaks come and take it from me!"
"Amanda, please! Come with us, I beg you!"
"No, no and no. This is final, I'm not going to move."
"But...Please..!" The woman trying to talk her mother out of staying was on the verge of tears. Twelve hours were left of the ultimatum, twelve hellish hours.

_____________________

[quote name='Malatose' timestamp='1281120080' post='2402901']
Austrian Lifeline:

Despite the fact that the fourty eight hour deadline was over, Slavic authorities decided to extend it for people unable to leave the city, immediately. In addition, the Slavic Airforce began to fly emergency evacuation missions in and out of Vienna. Citizens were notified of these evacuations through the use of loudspeakers and air-dropped leaflets. At a pre-designated spot, Slavic helicopters would swoop in and evacuate citizens wishing to leave the city. In addition, the Slavic Airforce would fly in a couple of the massive Antonov An-225 [i]Mriyas[/i] to evacuation citizens. These modified planes are capable of carrying four hundred civilians. For those unable to evacuate, Slavic forces would begin coordinated sweeps of the city. These rapid deployment troops, using heavily armoured IFVs would evacuate them to safetey. These operations would continue for another fourty eight hours
[/quote]
By the time the Slavs began to take action, the streets were already hopelessly clogged.
The AN-225 planes wouldn't be able to land. Not only was the airport of Vienna not built to take gigantic transport planes like this - the buildings were too tall as well - the runways were simply blocked by passenger airplanes that had been left standing. During the conflict, some had been destroyed, and a number of craters made landing impossible, anyways.
Evacuation would be nearly impossible under these circumstances.

_____________________

"Mommy..? Mommy!"
A little boy was standing on top of a car, looking around for his parents. They had lost him in the chaos, and he simply stood there as countless people streamed past him. Some tripped and were killed within seconds by boots breaking bones and cracking heads.
Even the animals - cats and dogs at least, other pets too, most likely - were fleeing with their owners, the smell of panic getting to them, as well. Vienna officially had 5.5 million inhabitants at the time.
It also had at least six million unofficial ones: Pets and other animals.

_____________________

"The people of Vienna are fleeing! And how they are fleeing, in panic, trying to get out of the city whatever the cost!
Already, hundreds of people must've died in the panic as streets are being clogged by car-owners trying to leave. If you trip, you're good as dead. If you're not in a car, you're in for heavy injuries.
It will take days, if not weeks for all these people to leave! Some streets have become impossible to use after several cars crashed into each other and piled up to form a wall of bodies and metal! This is insane, and happening only because of the Federation's impossible demands!"

Edited August 6, 2010 by Lynneth

[loannes]

**Private**
"They're going crazy," Donegan commented quietly.
"Idiots," James said in disgust. "We offer them a way out and they just start slamming their cars into one another. Fifteen years of incompetent leadership must have affected the average IQ of the south Germans."
"Agreed," Donegan replied. "It's like Independence Day, the movie, except without aliens and no one's smart enough to get off their @#$%, leave the La-Z-Boy behind, and walk to the nearest EZ."

[Triyun]

"For being a space age utopian society with ultra high levels of education, they sure devolved quickly." Jia's private comments when he read the report.

[Malatose]

The influx of people evacuating the city caught Slavic Forces, somewhat, off guard. However, it was quite obvious that this was caused by communist agitators, who wanted nothing but to rub the name of the Slavic Federation in the mud. Despite this, Slavic Forces would assist where they could during this massive flood of civilians. Troops created corridors, where civilians could easily flood through. Crashed vehicles were pushed to the side by armoured vehicles.

[i]"The sooner these civilians leave this place the better. I want to kill the commies and leave this wretched place."[/i] one soldier commented to himself. [i]"Atleast the Greater Nordic Reich fought like real men and didn't resort to wimpy communist tactics."[/i]