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

[Maelstrom Vortex]

In preparation for potential conflict escalation, the People's Republic of China Army Reserves deploys the following forces to the given sectors.

4 Tu-160S Squadrons to J Andre's forces in Bermuda.
3 ALI-133 Squadrons in J Andre's Eastern Seaboard.
5 F/A 47s squadrons to escort each of these bomber groups.

The Battleship Qin, another of the Chinese Xia class, fresh from commission out of the Shanghai dockyards is put on notice that it may see its first active deployment and is given orders to move to a staging area in the middle Indian Ocean along with its escorting surface fleet in the event it is needed.

Edited August 12, 2010 by Maelstrom Vortex

[king of cochin]

The Cochin Expeditionary Force Germany and Air Combat Force Germany had fully reinforced the sectors assigned to it from the city of Freiburg. The border regions have been reinforced by the 2nd and 3rd Mechanized Divisions with the 1st Armored Cavalry Regiment and 2nd Shock Army Division waiting to take on any force that would dare invade territories defended by CEFG. The Air Combat Force Germany is now based out of air bases in and around Freiburg, Stuttgart, Ulm and Augsburg for rapid support to the VDL alliances. The RS01 ASPER Squadron is based out of Budapest itself and is now conducting Air Defense Sorties along the borders.

The massed ground forces of CEFG are fully poised with a couple of land mobile JWAL CIWS systems being provided for additional defense by the Strategic Command.

The 150,000 soldiers and 1500 tanks of CEFG will make sure that no invasion would occur along the Franco-German borders from Saint Louis to Offenburg. Special concentration of forces have been prepared at Lahr and Mulheim.

[IMG]http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/ww110/gokulvarmank/02-1.gif[/IMG]

Edited August 12, 2010 by king of cochin

[Triyun]

The Stealth bombers which had been engaged by the Chinese air force were now all lost to the relentless fighter attacks. They along with the hard drives they housed were now smoldering wrecks in the Alps.

The remaining fighters were redeployed to the Sarnungian Kingdom as the final preparations for the Battle of the Atlantic were now underway. Forces were now positioned on the West side of Gibraltor.

The Chinese Army had redeployed back to home bases successfully.

Edited August 12, 2010 by Triyun

[king of cochin]

[IMG]http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/ww110/gokulvarmank/First-1.jpg[/IMG]

The Liberation of Alsace Lorraine begins now.

The Cochin Expeditionary Force Germany started fulfilling its obligations to defend Vereinigte Deutsche Lander with the movement of the I and II Corps of CEFG into the Alsace Province captured by France.

The I Corps comprised of 2nd Shock Army Division, 1st Mechanized Division and 3rd Mechanized Division crossed the Rhein north of Breisach am Rhein and after assisting the II Corps in the capture of Colmar would head North to Selestat and hence to Entzheim and Strasbourg where they expected to assist the Slavorussians.

The 2nd Shock Army Division, thus a formation of 950 Main Battle Tanks and 54,000 soldiers would be the pivotal force in the liberation of Alsace and Lorraine.
Theater Commander of CEFG, Lt. Gen. Laxman Sethi would seek to contact the Slavorussians to organize the attack on Strasbourg.

The II Corps composed of 1st Armored Cavalry Regiment, 7th Mechanized Division and 8th Infantry Regiment would be the principal formation that would liberate Colmar. The II Corps would henceforth capture the mountain routes of Wintzenheim - La Bresse, Schwerwiller - Lubine and Kayserberg - Fraize. These mountain routes would be cleared by the 8th Infantry Regiment and the infantry brigades of 7th Mechanized Division. These operations would receive Close Air Support from the RM01 Metac Aerial Artillery Squadron and RF03/RF02 Regiments of ACBF-G

The III Corps composed of 2nd Mechanized Division and 7th Infantry Regiment are currently maintaining the defenses of German lines against any French counter attack. The III Corps have reinforced the border defenses along these regions with the numerous artillery pieces they have brought.

While the ground combat would take place preparations for air warfare has also been readied. Sectors have assigned per regiment to operate. The object would be Air Defense Suppression, Air Neutralization, Air Superiority and Air Support to Ground operations.

RF01, RF02, RF03 and RF07 are the frontline regiments in this assault and their 16 squadrons of Jadayu Mark 2 fighter bombers are in the air to win the air superiority. The remaining regiments of the Air Combat Battle Force - Germany would be kept in reserve for either supporting the forward squadrons or to defend against a counter attack.

The air assaults would be led by the Electronic Warfare Squads of the regiments which would fly low and fast in terrain hugging mode towards the radar stations identified by the ELINT Merats over the past several weeks. Additional Merats are also in the air within the German airspace to help the 3 HALOB AWACS proving Airborne Warning and Control to the Air Combat Battle Force Germany. The RS01 squadron also has 3 ASPERs in the air in case the French or their allies decided to conduct any massive attack on Germany and Cochin controlled air space. A secure Air Defense Grid has been established which has also been linked to the batteries of GG10 SRBMs armed with Strategic Offensive Program payloads, ie, CAV payloads armed with air to air missiles and other munitions.

The strike missions against the radar and air defense assets brought into the region would be followed by surgical strikes on power and communication systems in the region. Wherever possible only the generation station and not the cachement source itself would be destroyed so that power can be restored very soon after the termination of combat operations.

Since the fighting prowess and tactical soundness of French military is as of yet unknown, the Cochin Expeditionary Force Germany is advancing with reasonable caution. A total of 100 kilometers of ground lay ahead of the I Corps and it would take a superb defense doctrine to beat back the Cochin offensive.

[Lynneth]

[quote name='Triyun' timestamp='1281633310' post='2412861']
The Stealth bombers which had been engaged by the Chinese air force were now all lost to the relentless fighter attacks. They along with the hard drives they housed were now smoldering wrecks in the Alps.

The remaining fighters were redeployed to the Sarnungian Kingdom as the final preparations for the Battle of the Atlantic were now underway. Forces were now positioned on the West side of Gibraltor.

The Chinese Army had redeployed back to home bases successfully.
[/quote]
Unfortunately for the Chinese, the stealth planes which had carried the hard drives had launched mere hours after the Slavs invaded, while the air-battle was still on-going.
By now - days later - those (formerly) important planes were in hangars on Madeira, their precious cargoon ships with civilian refugees, the few who wished to leave Madeira.
As no sovereign nation had claimed the island, these people were not stopped and went to the same place as most, if not all other ships with civilian refugees from the GDR: To Sri Lanka.
Thus, the knowledge on those databases was conserved and on the way to Sri Lanka.
On this journey, it joined a group of other civilian ships, some originating from Estuaire, others having chosen to go the long way and not through Suez.
Considering these were just some of the hundreds and hundreds of ships having left the VDL, it was practically impossible to single this one ship out from the others as 'suspicious'.

[Centurius]

[b]June 24th
1:00 PM
Imperial Pentagon[/b]

Uptil this day it had looked like the Air Force and Navy would be taking a limited position in the war, for the Navy it would mostly stay that away however something more was planned for the Hellenic Air Force. By now the Chinese aircraft had integrated quite well into the structure. The First Air Army was the first to maintain a mix of the F-1, Chinese fighters and bombers. Stationed throughout Greece but with the headquarters in Athens it was obvious orders would be relayed at the Imperial Pentagon to the Commander. Air Commander de Vries, having fought in the Communist campaign was quite a decorated officer, Order of Ares, Iron Cross First Class from the Germans. In the formal Air Force uniform she arrived at the Officer of the General of the Air Force, an aging man. Probably in his 60’s. She quickly saluted as the General walked into the office.

“Commander de Vries, welcome to the Pentagon. I assume you have a good guess on why you are here”

“I assume you want my Army deployed looking at the situation, France”

“Correct, Imperial Command and the Empress believe there is enough evidence French Airspace might be in danger soon in addition the force of Commander Picard need air support in their operations. We can’t miss too many forces from the mainland with the Slavorussian risk therefore we are sending one Army, yours.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Good, here are your orders in writing, as signed by the Empress herself. Good luck Commander, dismissed”

Anna walked out of the room, she didn’t agree with the war but well orders were orders, as she left the Imperial Pentagon she took a look at the orders.

[quote]Hellenic Air Force Official Decree
To: The Commander of the First Air Army; Air Commander Anna de Vries
From: General of the Hellenic Air Force; General Andreas Heros

By order of Her Imperial Highness the Empress of the Athenian Federation the First Air Army is hereby ordered to prepare for rapid deployment to French territories as defined by French Command and the Field Commander of the First Division.

This order affects the entire Air Army including;

The 1st through 8th Squadrons F-1
The 9th through 14th Squadrons F-65
The 14th through 17th Squadrons F/A-47
The 18th through 20th Squadrons F/B-23
The 21st Squadron Tu-160S[/quote]

With a sigh she returned to her base and started preparation for the deployment the next day.

[b]June 26th
2:00 PM
Joint Athenian Command, France[/b]

The forces of de Vries had arrived by now, I didn’t pay too much attention to it as I already had enough reports to handle. If they didn’t send you to fight Imperial Command would find a way to keep you busy anyway. I looked up as I saw a woman in front of my desk in the Command tent, by the rank on her collar I could see it was de Vries.

“Air Commander, how can I help you?”

“We need to talk about deployments, I know you are the leader is this little Joint Operation but I’d prefer if you actually crossed Air Force deployments with me before ordering them”

I sighed, I knew this was going to be a difficult cooperation, the HAF and the HA just didn’t mix that well.

“If I remember correctly you were too busy in your own little base while me and Admiral Mitro were actually discussing this war. Anyway I have ordered the redeployments because we are going to aim for protection of the French northern border. Our forces will be deployed throughout the road from Belgium with smaller concentrations to Paris where the bulk of our forces will be stationed. Alsace-Lorraine is no longer our priority.”

Anna mumbled a bit but I didn’t really care, I knew she was from the North of the Netherlands, a quite pro-German area. It amazed me people emigrated from that area at all however it didn’t matter now. She served the Empress and she had better follow the orders from Athens. Federal Intelligence had transmitted reports of the German preparations, especially the movements of Slavorussian and Cochinese forces.

As I had explained to Anna the new deployments were being issued at this time, Athens would be protecting French soil at all costs. Perhaps even at the price of an ally or allies.
[b]
July 3rd
4:00 AM
Imperial War Cabinet[/b]

The German offensive had caused great alarm at the IWC, the Empress was informed as soon as the reports came in, calling for an immediate meeting the Empress and the rest of her Cabinet now were around the table that started to show signs of the extensive use in recent weeks.

“The German counter-attack is impressive to say the least, Intelligence knew something was coming but they didn’t expect these numbers” General Heros said as he showed the map. “They seem to be winning on the ground while Air is relatively equal, as they probably planned the French are forced to redirect forces to the new Northern front. It is also a violation of the limited war we have seen until now. Empress we may need to reconsider where we stand and fully dedicate our forces to the side we think deserve it the most.”

Nikita didn’t like the prospect of that idea.

“We will contact Berlin first before defending, at the same time the Hellenic Army will set up barriers and the Air Force will patrol open areas in France.”

As she said that she walked back to her office and took pen and paper again. The same pen that had signed so many treaties, the declaration of independence and even laws ending conflicts. With a sigh she wrote what might well cause war.

[quote]To whomever it concerns,

As Empress of the Athenian Federation and mutual ally of both Germany and France I must file a complaint against the escalation of this conflict into French proper. Something which we all disagreed to a while ago. Therefore I would like to officially request the withdrawal of all German forces back to their own soil. Athens does not desire this conflict to become any more bloody and this escalation puts us in a difficult spot. Therefore I beg you to reconsider the path you have taken for it is a dangerous one.

Yours sincerely,
Nikita Akhatova[/quote]

Upon completion the letter was sealed and would arrive at Berlin through the personnel at Foreign Affairs.

[b]July 3rd
3:30 AM
Joint Athenian Command, France[/b]

The first night in weeks I slept well and something had to happen. Reluctantly I opened my eyes as the sound of the General Alert pierced my ears, it was a slightly softer and lower version of the common air raid alert system. Knowing something serious must have happened for them to sound it at this time I only put on my normal uniform and not my combat armor. I quickly walked to the Command tent where both the Admiral and Air Commander were too.

“Report”

“Scouts report the Germans have launched a massive offensive at the Northern French border, they are advancing quickly. They are expected to reach the first line of defense we set up tomorrow, at the same time Athens has not responded on our request for permission to engage hostile German forces”

I sighed, I hated the bureaucracy involved in this war, we were here to defend France but we were not allowed to engage forces planning to take France when we signed a paper with them. I looked around and called Castor to me.

“Relay orders to every Corps, Division, Platoon even commanders of simple Fireteams they are to engage in stalling tactics, make sure the German war machine will be slowed down. However reaffirm they are not to engage German forces until ordered to do so and they must ensure the French civilian population is not directly harmed by any stalling tactics.”

As the 3 Commanders looked over all the information that came in hours quickly passed, at 5 AM they finally got some news from Athens. The orders were to engage in the stalling tactics as I had ordered before however the difference was the Air Force was also cleared to fly low and if permission of the French was obtained take down structures that could ease the German offensive.I rubbed my temples as the orders were relayed. The Army would start to set up roadblocks, dragon’s teeth, Czech hedgehogs and whatever else of non-aggressive block they could find, in addition the Squadrons in the air would assist in having a realtime idea of the battlefield.

[Kaiser Martens]

[quote]To whomever it concerns,

As Empress of the Athenian Federation and mutual ally of both Germany and France I must file a complaint against the escalation of this conflict into French proper. Something which we all disagreed to a while ago. Therefore I would like to officially request the withdrawal of all German forces back to their own soil. Athens does not desire this conflict to become any more bloody and this escalation puts us in a difficult spot. Therefore I beg you to reconsider the path you have taken for it is a dangerous one.

Yours sincerely,
Nikita Akhatova[/quote]

"No,

What we agreed was that Germany's allies would not fight in France proper. I had been operating under the belief that Germany however was able to operate in France freely. This is the best tactical option. If we had fought and sent our offensive through Elsass-Lothringen, we would have met the French army head on, and they would have stood a chance. Now we have caught them off guard. Now they must deflect a part of their power to stop us on the North, which means that our allies are free to retake Elsass-Lothringen, which is as far as they will indeed advance. Germany does not want to take France over. If we did, our tanks would have gone straight to Paris. When the French army is defeated, France will have no choice but to opt, at the very least, for a white peace plus Empress removal which is our goal. I am still in favor of peace. I have requested that France meet to negotiate peace several times, even offered them part of the territory. They have said no. I would not be surprised if they had literally failed to guard the North in order to manipulate your nation into helping France. The fight will go on until our objectives are met, and when they are, our Forces will return home. So far we have fought this war on France's terms. Now France must fight on our terms.

If you want France to be alright, I ask you not to get involved in this but to ask France to reconsider their position. If France has not your support, they will easily waver. Later, when they finally agree to peace negotiations, I would like to invite you to be there so that you may verify that no abuse on our part is taken for the advantages that this situation may give us.

We are merely giving France what they gave us. They have been able to make this war end since the minute it started. But it takes two to make peace. If you get involved, this will be worse for myself, for France, and for everyone involved. I do apologize if the agreement was not understood well on both sides. If you wish, send a military observer to verify that our plans are indeed to crush the French army and liberate the zone in conflict. We are only passing *by* the rest of France to catch them off guard, and want to be gone as soon as possible.

Maybe you can persuade the Empress of the French to at last shoot herself and save everyone the miseries or combat.

Be well,

Martens"
---------
It was an interesting situation. If the Athenians indeed would try to help France, maybe after all Germany would need to indeed drive to Paris to kill the Empress with their own hands if they had to in order to stop the war before their Reinforcements could arrive. Hopefully this would not be needed. German General Staff sincerely hopes to avoid such a change of plans for a myriad of reasons. The operation was supposed to "abort" the warfare from becoming full-fledged by crushing the French early on by freeing Elsass-Lothringen, not become at all a war on France as opposed to the current war only against the French invasion forces.

A message is sent to the Armtha SS, Slavorussia and Finland that their attack should move in, that Elsass-Lothringen can be now liberated. They can follow Cochin's lead, head for Strassburg, or head for Metz to the battle.

[Uberstein]

Classified:
"Gentlemen of the Republican Guard. It has been my honor to command you, and I hope that you understand the task before us. Not far from here are the French devils. The French think this will be a walk in the park. The French think that Europe will kneel in front of them and suck their dick while they smoke their cigarettes and drink their wine! Gentlemen, let's show them what a man raised on Finnish Vodka can do! Let us show these sissies that their fancy equipment and rich officers are nothing compared to the Sisu of the Finnish soldier!"
General Samsa Veitonen's speech is interrupted by the cheering of the soldiers in the assembly area, the men raising their rifles and mostly yelling insults about the French.
"Those we go to fight today are the new Nordlandics! They want to make your wife and child speak French and drink their swill! To HELL with that I say! Make them die for their !@#$%* queen, let them die for their Monarchy that they love so much! They want a war!? $%&@ the French! We will bring them a war!" He grins as the troops yell back, hardly in unison but quite loudly, "$%&@ THE FRENCH!" and "TO HELL WITH THE FRENCH !@#$%*!"

The 3 assembly groups moved out, covered by 25 squadrons of F-22 fighters, tanks organized in flying regiments designed to protect the front and flanks. Their target, Metz. Their artillery stopped outside the city, and with the help of reconnaissance flights, would fire large salvos at any French positions while the tanks and mechanized forces entered the city first.

[The FSM]

[b]Seclin, France
Sicilian Expeditionary Force (SEF) Headquarters
Shortly after the German offensive[/b]


General Chanson and General Saloix sat at a small table with the rest of their senior officers. The SEF had only just finished deploying to its positions around Lille and Beauvais and now it appeared that the whole force may be overrun by the sheer numbers of the advancing Germans. An attempted German air attack on the landing zone at Beauvais a few days earlier had succeeded in disrupting deployment for a day, but had caused few casualties on either side as the French airforce was able to chase off the intruding Germans fairly quickly. nevertheless, the German sortie may have been enough to jeopardize the whole 20,000 man force deployed in the area. The delays caused by the German sortie had led to delays in setting up defensive positions and delays in integrating with the French garrison at Lille.

In the blink of an eye it appeared that 20,000 of the Sicilian League's finest soldiers would be cast to the winds, crushed by the oncoming German wave. The room was sombre, but they were all in agreement with what must be done.

Chanson: "Inform General Al-Malak that the Germans are launching a sizable offensive in our direction. It is likely that we will be overrun in a few days if help is not sent. Also tell him that I am relocating SEF HQ into the city of Lille. If my soldiers have been sent to their deaths in Lille, then so shall I."
---------------------------
General Said Al-Malak
Hotel De Ville
30 minutes later


I opened the small laptop, my fingers flew over the keys, there was little time to spare. I logged in and clicked one of the shortcuts....

SEARCHING.... SEARCHING.....

CONNECTION ESTABLISHED...

The logo of the AI Corporation filled the screen, I pressed a few keys and I was in.

WELCOME TO AI SATELLITE RELAY NETWORK! ESTABLISHING CONNECTIONS

Within a few seconds a secure and encrypted videoconferencing link would be established between myself, Jean and Calomar at his office in the GHQ building. All of this was thanks to the special relationship shared by the Sicilian Government and the AI Corporation, AI had agreed to allow their communications satellites to be used in exceptional circumstances by members of the Sicilian military and government, this was just one of those situations.

Within a few seconds, both their faces popped up in little video windows on my screen.

"I just spoke to General Chanson, she tells me that the Germans have launched a sizeable invasion, hundreds of thousands of men, and that the SEF positions in Lille are likely going to be surrounded and cut-off. All told I believe there are about 60,000 soldiers in Lille if you combine the SEF with the Lille garrison. They should be able to hold out, but without any way of resupplying them I wouldnt expect them to hold out more than a week and a half."

Jean nodded. "The fact that our own troops are now in harms way because of the Germans really leaves me with no choice but to escalate our involvement in this. What are our options Calomar?"

"Well, the location of the SEF puts them out of range of missile strikes by the Navy, and the distance is too great for our fighters to reach without refueling or re-basing and still be combat combat capable on arrival. Of course we can speak to the French about setting up in-air refueling for our fighters, but on a large scale that could be difficult. The air battle over A/L is well within our fighter's combat range, it would make more sense to send our fighters there to relieve pressure and allow the French to shift their attention to the air war over Northern France."

"But that wont change the situation for the SEF, Calomar," I chimed in. "There must be something more that we can do?"

Calomar paused for a second, thinking. "The Armata del Nord is still holding North of Milan near the Swiss-French border and could be moved to Northern France relatively quickly, within two or three days given that the force has been waiting to deploy for combat for some weeks now. Another option could be to speak to the Swiss about sending the AdN through Switzerland and open a new front in Southern Germany. It would force the Germans to redirect forces to deal with defense and could blunt their invasion."

Jean waved his hand dismisively. "The Germans have escalated the conflict by invading France, and in so doing have put our soldiers lives at stake and that will be our primary focus. Tell the AdL to begin moving to Lille to meet the advancing German force. I also want the remainder of the 2nd and 3rd Armored Groups to be transported to the Northern French front near Lille, they will meet up with the AdL when they arrive. I want the troops to take a route that avoids the A/L incase there is a sudden breakout by enemy forces, have our troops rally at Amiens for now. Send orders through to the Fleet to begin air operations against enemy positions in A/L, the priority is air superiority first. Said, I want you to work with French High Command to secure refueling bases for our aircraft so that they can help in Northern France as well."
--------------

I slipped the following note to General St. Croix at the Hotel De Ville:

[quote]Sicilian troops (80,000 infantry, 1200 armor) are moving en route to Amiens to rescue Sicilian and French troops in Lille. Carrier based aircraft are moving to assist in air superiority operations in A/L so French assets can be moved to meet oncoming German advance. We request use of French airfields for refueling operations so that more of our air assets can be deployed to assist in N. France.

-Gen. Al-Malak[/quote]
----------------------

[quote]Classified message to Cochin High Command

From: Admiral Calomar Acbari, Commander- Sicilian GHQ

It is my knowledge that the Kingdom currently has both air and land assets deployed to Germany near A/L and I wish to inform you that Sicilian aircraft will be launching sorties to defend A/L airspace from German, Finnish and Slavorussian incursions. As we wish to abide by our non-aggression arrangements as much as possible, our pilots have been given strict orders not to fire on Cochin aircraft and our IFFs have been set accordingly. We would like to see similar efforts taken by Cochin pilots involved in that area of operations.

Sincerely,
Admiral Calomar Acbari,
Commander- Sicilian General Headquarters[/quote]

Deployments summary (classified)

[b]Sicilian Expeditionary Force/Chanson[/b] --> Currently deployed in Lille, France
MedCorps- Aosta Divison/Chanson (10K mechanized infantry)
MedCorps- Steward Division/Saloix (10K mechanized infantry)


[b]Armata Del Nord/Giannoulas[/b] -->Currently deployed in Northwest Italy; Deploying to Amiens via Turin, Lyon, Paris. ETA 1 day for lead elements, 3 days full deployment.

Commander of Infantry- Luc Sommeil
Rapid Reaction Corps/Giustianni (20K mechanized infantry)
1st Corps AN/Bastienne (30K mechanized infantry)
3rd Corps AN/Vergenne (30K mechanized infantry)

Commander of Armor- Abdur Bouteflika
4th Armored Corps, 2nd Armored Group/Ettienne (100 armor)
6th Armored Corps, 2nd Armored Group/Abdel Rahman (100 armor)
1st Armored Corps, 3rd Armored Group/Hasan (100 armor)

[b]2nd Armored Group/Abdelaziz[/b]--> Currently on Sicily and Malta; Deploying to Amiens, ETA 1 week
1st Armored Corps/Rahim (100 armor)
2nd Armored Corps/Soltere (100 armor)
3rd Armored Corps/ Bazziani (100 armor)
5th Armored Corps/Czek (100 armor)

[b]3rd Armored Group/Petoir[/b] --> Currently in Corsica; Deploying to Amiens, ETA 1 week
2nd Armored Corps/Zidane (110 armor)
3rd Armored Corps/Zhukov (100 armor)
4th Armored Corps/Roskov (100 armor)
5th Armored Corps/Petrich (100 armor)
6th Armored Corps/Saintogne (100 armor)


[b]Carrier Air Group Aosta[/b]--> Deployed to combat (air superiority) operations in A/L area
Squadrons 1-7 (7 squadrons total)

[b]Carrier Air Group Admiral Abruzzi[/b]--> Deployed to combat (air superiority) operations in A/L area

Edited August 15, 2010 by The Flying Scotsman

[king of cochin]

[quote][b]Classified to Sicilian General Headquarters[/b]

From: Lt. Gen. Laxman Sethi,
Theater Commander,
Cochin Expeditionary Force Germany

In view of the Non Aggression Pact between the Kingdom and Sicilian League, and in light of the extraordinary tactical policy adopted by Sicilian League to prevent conflict between our two nations' forces, the Kingdom of Cochin shall reciprocate in like measure. Sicilian Air Forces' IFF codes as received has been given to the AWACS units in the frontlines with express order not to engage any aircraft flying Sicilian IFF codes.

War is however a chancy thing, with no sureties due to the encompassing haziness of the fog of war. If at all accidents do occur, we hope that they would be considered merely as aberrations and would not be permitted to mar our mutual relations?

Yours Sincerely,

Lt. Gen. Laxman Sethi,
Theater Commander,
Cochin Expeditionary Force Germany[/quote]

[quote][b]Classified Message to Vereinigte Deutsche Lander , Slavorussia , Republic of Finland[/b]

From: Cochin Expeditionary Force Germany

Due to the Non Aggression Pact in existence between the Kingdom of Cochin and the Sicilian League, we are currently unable to engage with the air units of Sicilian League. They are unlikely to cause a deterrence to the advance of CEFG and achievement of its tactical objectives due to the mutual non aggression, however their interception and engagement should be taken over by Slavorussian and Finnish forces.

Yours Sincerely,

Lt. Gen. Laxman Sethi,
Theater Commander,
Cochin Expeditionary Force Germany[/quote]

[Voodoo Nova]

With the war over in the USR, Shakir ordered forces in Europe to return to Novak and ordered forces in Southern China to return back to base.

[Sarah Tintagyl]

I think 'dire' would be an overstatement of the Empire's current position against the Cochinese and German advances, however no one felt exactly good of what we had to currently deal with. The problems that the German forces and their allies would meet, which I don't believe was anticipated, was the sheer number of allies our own army had, that alone meant we had the combined numbers to hold our positions secure in the north. Starting at Lille, the situation was not promising, the city had been encircled, worse was that the civilians in the city had not been evacuated, so unlike at Strasbourg where the only soldiers in that maddening city were German Regulars and their allies. Every single missile, cannon shell, stray bullet, had the opportunity to find the heart, back, or head of a innocent man, woman, or child, shivering and scared in their homes and apartments throughout the city. The propaganda would say this was our fault, but unlike in Alsace and Lorraine where there was a mixture of German and French, in Lille the population was all French and these people would hate the German nation and their allies until the end of their lives, or until the end of time, if they could last that long.

It wasn't a matter of just pummeling positions with artillery and then moving in with clean-up operations. Such a tactic may have worked for a less determined enemy, but the French soldiers had bunkered down as best as they could and along with a large number of Sicilian and Athenian Allies, they were prepared to hold out for as long as possible. Even if it meant reducing Lille to a sister of Strasbourg. Our artillery was just as relentless as Germany's was. They would return just as the German barrages were taking place and while since our artillery was much more concentrated in the city, having to move from our southern positions at the beginning of the battle, all signs pointed to giving the German attackers a run for their money. Though it was assumed, our casualties from their bombardment would be higher, just from the fact of being condensed. When the Germans would eventually push into Lille itself, if any German had served his (or her) time in Strasbourg, the environment would be delightfully similar. Of course without the rotting corpses and the general barbarism to a city. With forces well over sixty thousand, combining both French and allied soldiers, nearly every block would be a small battle in itself, all the while Artillery at the middle of the city continued to pummel the outskirts of Lille where the battles were taking place. As well the German artillery installations outside of the city.

In the air above Lille, the situation was much more promising. The French and German air forces were equally pitted against one another but as the battle above the city continued, squadrons taking off and others landing for fuel and to resupply their munitions, reinforcements began to arrive from Iberian Air Squadrons to give the extra push against the German attackers. If the French could gain the advantage in the air over Lille then the artillery on the outskirts of the city would slowly begin to be attacked not only by the French artillery barrage, but air missile barrages as well.

The Eastern forces, those holding Alsace and Lorraine had a much larger problem. German infiltration from out of Luxembourg had done a great deal to harm the flow of supplies coming from the central regions of the Empire to the occupied territory. However, the sheer number of soldiers holding Alsace and Lorraine, over two-hundred thousand soldiers, and over two thousand tanks would be able to give the invaders a long fight. For the Cochin attack route, Colmar, only being defended by ten thousand men would have been a cake-walk. Though even those ten thousand men would fight for as long as they possibly could to keep the advance pinned back across the Rhine. They would eventually begin to retreat out into the Alsace countryside after suffering heavy losses, but not after contributing to Cochin's own loses in pushing towards Strasbourg. Commanders in the region then thought it best if the region itself was divided. With one-hundred thousand soldiers in Strasbourg, those troops would hold their positions, dig in, and hold back German and Allied advances, with French and French-Allied air and troop support. The other seventy thousand scattered through the country side, would begin to make their way towards Metz and points west, to counter the German attack on Lorraine. Metz by this point was already under siege and it was necessary to break that siege if Strasbourg had any hopes of surviving.

It was clear that Paris was not the goal for the Germans, at least not at the moment, and so the Iberian reinforcements moving up through Southern France by now would be re-routed specifically for Metz and Rheims. Soldiers, armor, artillery, and planes would all be used after the soldiers arrived within striking distance and the siege would be broken from sheer force of numbers. For Therese, it was her plan, with morale beginning to slip, to lead this attack herself. Metz had always been the goal, the great prize. How fitting it would be then, for the Empress herself to break this terrible siege.

[The FSM]

[quote]
Classified
TO: Lt. Gen. Laxman Sethi,
Theater Commander,
Cochin Expeditionary Force Germany

FROM: Admiral Calomar Acbari
Commander, Sicilian GHQ

I thank you for reciprocating our efforts, and my government understands that in the heat and confusion of battle, accidents may happen. We recognize that any loss of life on our side due to your forces is accidental and will be treated as such by my government. While we hope it does not happen, I would like to take this letter to apologize in advance for any accidental casualties caused to Cochin expeditionary forces as a result of our aerial operations in the A/L theater.

Regards,

Adm. Calomar Acbari
Commander, Sicilian General Headquarters[/quote]

[Justinian the Mighty]

July 1
10:00 PM
Berlin

Tonight Slavorussian military commanders converged at the Slavorussian Embassy in Berlin for the first time since the war began. The building was typical of the old soviet era buildings, plain concrete and stone on the outside, but grand and magnificent inside. After the meeting Colonel Gulyas stands on the balcony overlooking the courtyard below.

The colonel’s gaze fixes on the moon as he thought about having to return to Strasbourg. All he could think about were the charred remains of his fallen comrades as the Slavorussian army was forced to retreat. He recalled those final hours, watching his own soldiers running at him while engulfed in flames and the feeling he felt as they screamed from the pain.

“Something wrong, colonel?” Generals Denikin’s voice appears from behind him.

“I’ve seen all these things before, war and death, but it never gets any easier for me. General Menshikov talked about ‘acceptable losses‘--what the hell is that supposed to mean? How does someone get to be a cold !@#$%^& like that?”

“General Menshikov has seen a lot of war and a lot of death. He fought in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Lithuania and St. Petersburg. He‘s seen things which no doubt have amply desensitized to all the violence.”

Gulyas leans over the rail and rests his elbows on the cold cement. “But what purpose do we have in Strasbourg now? It‘s like he‘s sending us on a suicide mission. You even said we should attack a more valuable target.”

Denikin shrugs, he doesn’t understand it much himself, but as a subordinate of General Menshikov’s he doesn’t feel he has the right to question him. “Strasbourg is in ruin, but there‘s still thousands of French there. It‘s somehow important to them and the general wants to know what. If you’re worried about failing, don’t. You do what you can and that’s all anyone can ask of you.” the general sets a bottle of German beer on the ledge for Colonel Gulyas. “I hear German beer taste better when you drink it in Germany. Save it for victory day. Do svidaniya Colonel.”

“Auf wiedersehen, General.”

July 3
4:00 AM
Strasbourg

It would begin soon, the counter invasion to liberate French occupied parts of Germany had been in the works for weeks. Everything was in place 250,000 of the Tsar’s soldiers were present in Germany supported by 20 squadrons of the Imperial Air Force at German air bases. This was undoubtedly the calm before the storm.

Slavorussian batteries east of Kehl were on high alert. They were waiting for a call from General Menshikov that they had expected to come in hours ago. They were under strict orders not to begin firing until they received confirmation. Failure to comply could put lives at risk and jeopardize the operation. Finally just as the clock was striking 4:00 the phones began to ring. The artillery commanders receive the confirmation they were waiting for. The commanders ordered all men to their positions. It had begun.

Within moments the 2S19 MSTA’s guns in the batteries closest to Strasbourg are raised into the air at the what remained of the ruined city. A loud boom signals the first shot as a single round shoots out of the one of the cannons. The first blast heralds a wave of others from the same battery that are joined by others from other artillery batteries in other positions. The Generals watch as high explosive, incendiary and cluster shells slam into enemy positions. At the moment it seemed a justifiable act of revenge against armies that had shown reckless disregard for anyone in the very same theatre just weeks earlier.

As the first shells were hitting their targets in Strasbourg and it’s suburbs Slavorussian strike fighters are already well on their way to deliver a barrage of bunker buster and tank destroying missiles to slaughter the bloated force occupying the shattered city. They used extreme precaution to protect themselves from anti-aircraft fire. They had learned a lesson since the last time they engaged over the region, less is more. Two squadrons went after targets in the city that the enemy could use to harm ground troops, while three additional squadrons exclusively target the enemy’s artillery and anti-aircraft sites. Finally an additional 10 squadrons waited on standby and could deploy in minutes.

Ground forces would take their positions near the border, but they would wait until after several hours of constant bombardment had weakened their enemy. They had gone through great lengths to disguise the invasion force. Vehicles were disguised as rocks, trees or hidden under heavy brush. Crates of supplies and ammunition were stockpiled in nearby forests. They had their orders, but for now they would wait.

[king of cochin]

[center][u][b]Battle for Colmar[/b][/u][/center]

The 1ACR's advance to Colmar as the forefront of the II Corps was followed by the 7th Mechanized Division. While the armored battle expected for the crossing of Rhine never came, trouble soon showed up as the leading companies of the 1ACR started venturing into Colmar.

A few light armor units and scout vehicles were easily disposed of by the T150s, but the fusillade of Artillery and Anti Tank Guided Missiles coming from the occupied buildings and the ensuing closure of several streets meant that the pacification of Colmar is hardly a job for the Cochin Horse. Under covering fire from the Regiment's own Self Propelled Guns, the leading companies of 1ACR withdrew on a northward axis to be followed by the 3rd Brigade, Naykar Regiment. The Mechanized Infantry Brigade soon embarked upon a systematic clearing of the streets and buildings of Colmar. Wherever possible isolated enemy locations were targeted by the Piranha LCHs of the Regiment and the artillery, but the urban combat ensured that heavier weapons could not be used. The propensity of civilians in the combat zone also ensured that a more infantry operation had to be resorted to.

It took fully three days with reinforcement from the 2nd Brigade for the roughly ten thousand man garrison of Colmar to be defeated and the flag of Naykar Regiment to be flown from the Hotel Amiral in the center of the town where a particularly brutal battle was fought against an entrenched garrison of nearly 250 French soldiers. A superb ambush laid by the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Brigade , 1st Armored Cavalry Regiment West of the town of Houssen, north of Colmar ensured that the beleaguered garrison of Colmar were prevented from escaping to join the defenses at Straasbourg.

Around 4,138 soldiers of the II Corps were killed in the heavy fighting for Colmar, including 2,451 soldiers of 3/7MD, 1584 soldiers of 2/7MD and 103 soldiers and two T150s of 2/3/1ACR, most of whom were killed during a French artillery attack on the bridgehead north of Andolsheim. Elements of a platoon were caught during the attack atop the bridge and fell into the canal as the bridge got destroyed. The two tanks had unfortunately suffered direct hits on the turret hatch thus killing the entire crew and detonating the ammunition within. The rest of the casualty took place during the initial attacks met during the approach to Colmar. Two BRDM scout cars along with a company of infantry part of the 2/3/1ACR were killed by the artillery and ATGM attacks and further casualties were suffered in the form of two fuel trucks belonging to the 1ACR which were caught my a heavy mortar fired from the city.

At the end of the combat operations for Colmar the airstrip at Houssen were also captured which now served as a base for further extensive aerial operations. The Colmar operation led the way for the surging forward of the II Corps and I Corps assaults further on. One brigade each of the 8th Infantry Regiment were assigned to the Wintzenheim - La Bresse, Schwerwiller - Lubine and Kayserberg - Fraize sectors. Working with close support from the heavy units of Naykar Regiment and Cochin Horse, the Kumaon Rifles bore their way past the surprisingly light defenses on these sectors. The third day after the fall of Colmar the Kumaon Rifles had secured absolute control over these mountain passes and the II Corps had crossed Alsace into Lorraine, poised to strike straight towards Metz. At the same time the I Corps which had raced through the Alsatian countryside routing the French forces fleeing into Straasbourg and had reached Lipsheim for the conquest of Straasbourg. The Air Combat Battle Force Germany now had absolute air superiority over south Alsace and were virtually unopposed in their superiority.

As the next phase of War for Alsace-Lorraine would unfold the Garhwal Regiment (7IR) of the III Corps started moving away from the III Corps defensive lines west of Freiburg to incorporate newly liberated lines in Colmar and Alsace mountains.

Edited August 17, 2010 by king of cochin

[Kaiser Martens]

[i]Die wacht am Rhein[/i]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zikcHnimsxk

At Martens' Field HQ,

"Very well. It appears that French numbers - and allies - at Lille are higher than we anticipated, at 70k, 7 divisions by our standards. Our satellites can, however, tell that they are trying to in fact send more Forces there. We have our Twentysix divisions and outnumber the Lille garrisons badly. It is adviced that we should reduce Lille as soon as possible, before they get there." - Spoke General Riedelmann of KG Garm.

"Very well" Answers Martens and nods "I do agree that you should do that. If the town is taken by the time reinforcements arrive, we will easily repel them. I will order a number of Cruise Missile strikes to hit roads, railways, bridges towards Lille, and will also in the same manner strike air fields within range in the next few hours. Overwhelm them while we can do so."

"Jawohl."

Then Martens turns his attention to Langkjaer of KG Nordenstern, who now speaks:

"We are enveloping Metz successfully. It is going to turn into a siege battle into the next hours. French troops are pouring in, but in all likelihood they will be insuficcient. We will soon surround it. Artillery is firing away. We fear that Paris will try to break this siege open like in Lille, so we, too, must hurry."

Martens nods, "Yes. But. Do not be quite as reckless. There's our allies nearby, you're not alone like Riedelmann, no need to hurry up quite that much. Besides, if more French troops get into this siege then, well, the less troops that can retreat. We have numeric superiority...locally, for now."

"Very well. I will ask von Danzig to damage some of the roads leading to France as well, with his bombers."

"Good. Now. Sokolovnikov, what do you have new for me?"

"Nothing new in the Western Front, mein...Kaiser." - Although he was the Kaiser no more.
"I have managed to cut off supply lines, but this task is highly irrelevant soon as all our targets so far are about to be sieged. I expected to find more French resistance, but apparently, we were too fast. The French have placed blocks on the roads leading to Paris, fearing that to be our target." He smirks. "Maybe it should have been."

Martens shakes his head. "No, that is alright. Keep blocking the supply route to Strassburg. They have a lot of people there, who do have a small chance at breaking out. You will try to block reinforcements from arriving to either targets, and if any of our other KGs or Allies get into trouble, you'll be the firemen...destroy any roads and movement infrastructure you find, too..."

Very good...

The Bomber Squadrons, escorted by 15 Fighter Squadrons would move to help at Lille when the battle in A-L was becoming more promising. Along the way they would hit several roads, but what they truly wanted to do was helping bomb the Lille Forces.

The German Pincers began to close themselves around Metz, although at a slower pace than one may expect, allowing more Soldiers to enter the city. Armtha SS was called to assist on either an eventual strike on Metz or otherwise to assist at Lille. It was expected that in the next hours, Metz would be closed, enveloped. This envelopment was done purposefully slowly and carefully, so that they could fire upon the troops trying to enter Metz while risking only small casualties.

Lille would go on being both bombarded and bombed. When the Germans decided that it had had enough, and many hours before the reinforcements would arrive, the 260 would fight the 70k within. The very few Heavy Tanks and one Superheavy Tank fielded by the German Army had by then arrive - They were only Six Heavies plus one Superheavy, but it was enough to do the trick. The regular troops and the few tanks would take the brunt of the fire at first, and when the battle already raged on then the Einherjar and Valkyrie Fire Brigades would join in. If they played their cards right, the majority - or all - of the 70k would be dead already before the French Reinforcements arrived. And even then, it wasn't really about taking the city. There were already withdrawal plans, if the enemy forces could be damaged sufficiently, their offensive capacity would be broken, then Riedelmann's KG could withdraw and simply hold the line. This means that they were not "desperate" to win and thusly more likely, theoretically at least, to receive casualties.

Sokolovnikov's tanks remained positioned between Paris and Elsass-Lothringen, interrupting supplies, but otherwise engaging no Forces.

German Morale was very, very high, but the Commanders were careful not to be overconfident. They felt that as soon as they had set foot on France - No, as soon as France's sword blunt its edge on Strassburg, victory was theirs.

Trained civilians were mobilized in the North in order to cover up for the casualties which would come soon. They were no combatants yet, but they would be.

The Kriegsmarine starts to move southwest. Maybe it would be able to shoot its own Shells and Missiles upon Lille...civilian ships were sent in first however, so to as protect the Kriegsmarine from hidden mines. These ships were disguised as Destroyers and other fighting ships, and were operated with a minimum crew. This gave the impression that the previous intel on Germany had not been false, that it really did have a huge fleet. It had a medium fleet with lots of Meat Shields only.

[i]A call roars like thunderbolt,
like clashing swords and splashing waves:
To the Rhine, the Rhine, to the German Rhine,
who guards tonight my stream divine?[/i]

Edited August 17, 2010 by Kaiser Martens

[Uberstein]

The Republican Guard collapsed, men ran with whatever they could and tried to get onto any plane or ship back to Finland, anywhere. Artillery, trucks, armored cars, tanks, and more were left behind. They carried their rifles, rations, ammo, anything that was easy to carry was taken. The Generals were powerless to stop it, and most were thinking along the same lines, of their families.

OOC: See 'Madmen in Parliament'

[Kankou]

The army in Dalian arrived back in Chosun, ready to fight the rebels.


OOC: Everyone away?

[Kaiser Martens]

OOC: I'm here, just waiting for Sarah's next reply. She's been busy as of lately, but we'll finish this of course.

[Kaiser Martens]

OOC: Sarah and I will end the war with the RP ongoing on this thread:

http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?showtopic=91108

It means that, basically, the war is over and that everyone can go home. We're just wrapping it up now.

It was a nice war. : )

[king of cochin]

The I Corps had been about to launch its finishing offensive on Straasbourg when the news of the end of war reached the front lines. As the order for ceasefire trickled down the communications network the I Corps ground to a halt. It had by now surrounded Straasbourg waiting to take out the city's defenders as the anvil upon which the hammer of Air Combat Battle Force would have ground them against.

But now with the news of peace the soldiers of Royal Cochin Army stood up from the hatches and breathed the first breeze of peace in this land so utterly ravaged by war and destruction. The destruction of Straasbourg is a reminder of the horrors of warfare. The leading brigades of the Wodeyar Tuskers who had been contemplating the further destruction they would have had to lend to this ancient town, now would convey the lessons of pointlessness of a war.

The II Corps which had by now been approaching the city of Metz halted in its tracks and retraced its journey to Colmar and further back home. The sounds of jubilation of a war won rent the defense lines held by III Corps at Colmar and Freiburg, but dampening that exhilaration was the fact of their fellow brothers dead and wounded in this war. Around 5000 valiant soldiers of Royal Cochin Army had laid down their lives in defense of Vereinigte Deutsche Lander, thus upholding a promise made.

As the Cochin Expeditionary Force Germany started withdrawing to the logistics jump points at Freiburg and Budapest for the eventual return journey via United Slavic Republic to the Kingdom, the bulk of the Air Combat Battle Force returned to the Kingdom immediately as around two regiments stayed to provide air cover. Another three weeks and the Cochin Expeditionary Force Germany would be disbanded, its objective achieved in resounding success.

As the CEFG Headquarters in Budapest were winding down their operations, the Theater Commander of CEFG, Lt. Gen. Laxman Sethi drove down to Colmar, now once again part of VDL Alsace to revisit the graves of those thousands of valiant soldiers of the Naykar Regiment, the 7th Mechanized Division who had laid down their lives to capture Colmar. Though the full might of Royal Cochin Army was not exhibited, the Battle of Colmar shall remain a testament to the prowess and capability of the Royal Cochin Army even in as foreign a battlefield as Germany.

Arriving at the war torn town of Colmar Lt. Gen. Laxman Sethi would try to make an attempt at amends for the destruction they have brought to bear on the city even though it had been to help them. On meeting with the civic leaders of Colmar he would make a request on behalf of the Kingdom of Cochin to be permitted to assist in the rebuilding of this city in the form of rebuilding aid as well as a hope that to heal the wounds old and new left Colmar would consent to become a sister city of a similar city in the Kingdom of Cochin, perhaps New Delhi?

As the Theater Commander of Cochin Expeditionary Force Germany paid tribute to the city of Colmar, the Commander of Royal Cochin Defense Forces, Gen. Mahesh Varma would seek an audience with the new government of France to make other amends.

The Kingdom of Cochin would also request to the Vereinigte Deutsche Lander that they be permitted to establish a monument to commemorate the valor and sacrifices of the Cochin and French soldiers who died in the Battle of Colmar.

With the war over, the wounds have to be healed, and what better palliative than a genuine attempt at amity and reconciliation?

[Kaiser Martens]

Eventually, when the Slavorussians, Armtha SS and the Cochin troops would move out back to their territories, they would be greeted at each German town and city as heroes while passing by, saluting, food and drink being offered, and more. The German General Staff also issued its allies some more Iron Crosses for their achievements. The Germans would truly make them feel like they had done something good for the world. The Land was saved.

[Justinian the Mighty]

Now that Germany and France were at peace, the government of Slavorussia saw no reason to continue fighting either. Diplomatic dispatches soon arrive at the capitals of French and their allies offering peace treaties between them and Slavorussia. Within days the mass exodus of Slavorussian soldiers from Germany had begun. The vast majority would return to the east, but those few troops that had been used for clandestine operations would find themselves in Switzerland as Slavorussia planned to covertly support the Swiss in repelling their own invaders.

[SpacingOutMan]

With the events folding up in Europe rather quickly (and promptly), the UMS forces were let go from being on high alert and returned to a cozy DEFCON 5.

[The FSM]

The battered remains of the Sicilian Expeditionary Force that had been trapped in Lille did not quite know what to think when the German's stopped fighting. They had survived, held on just long enough, but for what? many of their comrades in arms had been killed and wounded for little other than their own self preservation on a battlefield far from home, in a war that brought about much suffering and ended in something that was not quite victory, not quite defeat. Regardless, they had survived, they had brought honor to their namesake. The Aosta and Steward Divisions of the MedCorps had proven themselves as some of the best fighters in the Sicilian Army, and that was cause for riotous celebration as the Germans pulled back across the border.

The SEF and the Armata del Nord would begin the journey back to the League, and they would move as quickly as possible. The barbarians were threatening the Alps, one frontier was now quiet, but the situation on the other was deteriorating by the day. There would be no rest for these men.