Brazilian vessels and other vessels of the Lisbon Pact are not included.
Capto Iugulum: 1940 - 1959
- Thread starter EQandcivfanatic
- Start date
Brazilian vessels and other vessels of the Lisbon Pact are not included.
EXTRA: Bulletins from the Front!
From our desk in London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
September 1, 1940
As every person on this planet is intimately familiar with, the Second Great War is in full swing as the League of the Three Emperors has struck out at its enemies. New theaters and areas of conflict have opened up in the past few months, creating a truly world war, perhaps more than the First Great War could claim. Heavy casualties have been sustained from all involved nations, as it appears that these are only the opening salvos of a truly massive conflict. Today, we bring you a total summary of the happenings of the past few months since our last broadcast from the heroic city of Berlin.
In Germany, the Russian army has definitively smashed through the German defensive lines and has poured its way across the Great Northern European Plain. On June 8, Russian forces completed an encirclement of the key German economic and industrial center of Berlin, trapping over a dozen German divisions in a tight perimeter. The main Russian armies continued their advance to the west, leaving Berlin isolated behind the lines and cut off from all supply. The King of Brandenburg refused to evacuate the city personally, and has taken command of the defense, proclaiming, “Here we will draw a line, let our example be a symbol to all those who stand against Russian tyranny!” German forces continue to remain under siege in the city to this date, as the Russians have continued their advance. Germany and the Netherlands have declared total mobilization and have begun to bring reserves and standing forces to bear. Combined with the newly formed British Expeditionary Force, the Dutch and Germans have managed to slow the Russian advance east of Hamburg, though a larger Czech, Hungarian, and Russian force has continued to drive towards Cologne and Munich. Allied commanders have expressed concerns about the viability of the defense of the two cities, calling upon all German citizens to immediately report to local barracks for recruitment and work details. The fall of Nurnberg after several months of heavy fighting suggest an increasing dire situation for the Allied front in the south, despite the victories near Hamburg.
To the southeast, after the fall of Zagreb to the Hungarian army on June 25, The Croatians have been steadily pushed back to the coast by combined Hungarian, Serbian, and Bosnian forces. Reports indicate that King Jovan Hrvatinić has ordered his forces to pull back to shorter lines outside of Split, and sources close to the monarch indicate that a capitulation to Hungarian forces may be imminent. Hungarian military forces have already joined Italian ones in opening up an offensive on the southern border, leading to the fall of Trieste on August 1. German reserve units have managed to successfully halt the League’s armies in the Alps, smashing the Italian and Hungarian offensive, and holding the line without heavy losses on the Allied side.
In more encouraging reports for the Allies, the Russian invasion of Dumyat collapsed on June 2, as a British armored offensive smashed the beachhead, resulting in several thousand Russian prisoners. The Russian naval and land forces withdrew from the region, with a welcoming first victory for the Allies. The Suez Canal continues to remain closed, as the Egyptian declaration of war threatens shipping, and ample debris remain to be cleared by construction crews. The Egyptians have begun mobilizing their forces for an attack, and the British have prepared their own defenses, but as yet, only minor skirmishes have been reported along the border. Sudan has also declared war upon Britain, pledging support for their Egyptian allies in the effort to attack Dumyat. On the other side of the Red Sea, the Hashemite Sultanate has pledged their support for the British Empire, and offered full arms and aid to British forces in the Arabian Peninsula.
Shortly after the defeat on the ground in Dumyat, Italian forces began attacking along the border against the Germans in the Holy Land. The Germans possess highly outdated aircraft and weaponry, and have found themselves woefully outmatched by the attacking forces. Despite shortages in modern equipment and supplies, the Germans have acquitted themselves well in battle, and continue to hold Beirut and Damascus against Italian assault. Hashemite reinforcements have arrived and further have bolstered the lines against the Italian armies as the fighting in the Holy Land appears to reach a stalemate. Further north, a Roman and Russian army sought to relieve the Italians in Arabia by launching an offensive through Turkey in an effort to strike at Allied holdings in the Middle East. These armies have been thoroughly smashed and halted by dogged defense by the Turkish army, despite lacking any modern armor or planes. The Turks have continued to hold back the League’s armies, helping to defend the northern Allied flank in Arabia. Heavy fighting continues, amid reports of further armor and reinforcements being sent to support the predominantly Roman invasion.
Within twenty-four hours of Iran’s declaration of war upon Russia, the Russian army wiped out essentially all border fortifications and began an advance south. The Russians were prepositioned and prepared for this eventuality, and have had substantial support from Kazakhstan, which has provided scouts and reinforcements for the attack. The Kazakhs have helped lead the Russian army though little known passes, and provided intimate knowledge of the terrain, as well as local partisan support against Iran. The Iranians have suffered heavy casualties, and the Russians have reportedly advanced deep across the border into Iran. Latest information throughout August has indicated that the Iranians have managed to slow the advance, but that the Russians continue to inflict heavy losses and advance against what resistance has been offered.
The most recent events include the capture of British Central Africa by the army and navy of Kongo. The Imperial Scandinavian government in Haraldsholm has offered their full support for the League of the Three Emperors and has vowed that this war shall help them reclaim their homeland from the proletarists. Naval forces have been deployed, and the British garrison was quickly overwhelmed by the much larger Scandinavian forces arrayed against them. Since the capture of Central Africa, the Scandinavian fleet has begun to disperse, attacking British trade throughout the eastern parts of the South Atlantic. This has come with the opening of economic war in the Indian Ocean, as Tadjouran submarines have attacked British shipping along the Arabian Peninsula. Merchants from nations of the Allies are recommended to avoid areas of operation of these raiders, lest they lose their cargos and lives to the League’s warships.
After a couple of weeks of mustering their power, the Russians unleashed a full attack upon the Worker’s Commonwealth of Scandinavia, consisting of almost as many soldiers that had been sent against Germany. Deploying new and advanced weapons such as the fearsome landcruiser, the Russians have utterly annihilated the Mannerheim Line. The vaunted fortifications have been breached at numerous points, as the heavy guns of the forts proved insufficient in duels against the Russian landcruisers and heavy artillery. Waves of Russian infantry have since swarmed across the Line, as Scandinavian tanks have proven insufficient to hold back the forces against them. Helsinki fell to the Russian armies on July 21, while Murmansk fell on July 30. Scandinavian forces in Finland have been utterly overrun and overwhelmed, and it seems that the proletarist armies are in full retreat. As of today, limited reports have the Russian armies capturing the small town of Boden in what was known as Sweden. Journalists from Stockholm have reported that the War Ministry seems to be in utter disarray, and plans are being prepared for the city’s evacuation.
In Other News
President Harris publically defends maintaining UPRA bureaucracy in Reconstruction speech in Charleston.
General Ironhewer states that claims of military disaster against Florida on the Mississippi River are “grossly exaggerated.”
Skirmish reported between Zulu and Mutapan military forces, as border dispute continues to escalate.
Luckymoose
The World is Mine
TO: Kongo
FROM: Brazil
Your naval forces will maintain distance from Brazilian shores no closer than 1000 nautical miles. No raiding of commerce will be tolerated without our territorial waters, or around our community on St. Helena island. Should one merchant flying a flag of our allies, protectorates, or of Brazil be fired upon, boarded, or sunk by your military we will immediately dispatch the Atlantic Fleet to dispose of you. Is this warning clear?
FROM: Brazil
Your naval forces will maintain distance from Brazilian shores no closer than 1000 nautical miles. No raiding of commerce will be tolerated without our territorial waters, or around our community on St. Helena island. Should one merchant flying a flag of our allies, protectorates, or of Brazil be fired upon, boarded, or sunk by your military we will immediately dispatch the Atlantic Fleet to dispose of you. Is this warning clear?
No, I'll hold onto it. It's quite good fun fighting a war where I can't reasonably be assigned all that much of the blame if I lose.
Luckymoose
The World is Mine
TO: Europeans
FROM: Brazil
Our waters are safe for your trade and we highly recommend our ports over those in the east for the duration of this naval war in the South Atlantic. Brazil can provide all the resources Europe needs at fair prices. Scandinavian steel will be in short supply with the Russian invasion and as such Brazil will begin reopening closed iron mines to meet world demand.
Orders for EQ:
FROM: Brazil
Our waters are safe for your trade and we highly recommend our ports over those in the east for the duration of this naval war in the South Atlantic. Brazil can provide all the resources Europe needs at fair prices. Scandinavian steel will be in short supply with the Russian invasion and as such Brazil will begin reopening closed iron mines to meet world demand.
Orders for EQ:
Spoiler :
Spoiler Brazilian Corporations :
J.K. Stockholme
Right Opposition
OOC: Neutral in terms of the war, silly.
IC:
The Confederation protests the closing of the straight to just the Lisbon Pact, and requests that Spain makes an exception to Confederate military vessels, which we couldn't even move between our own ports if the straight is closed.
Lord of Elves
Suede-Denim Secret Police
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2009
- Messages
- 6,976
I'm incredibly disappointed with the ease and casualness all regular and standard plans for defense in this situation have been discarded in favor of Scandinavian soldiers breaking and retreating for no explained reason.
@LoE: The lines fell apart too quickly for regrouping and the Russians have moved quickly enough that they've managed to enter the Scandinavian decision making cycle. As such, they're typically in a new position by the time the Scandinavian leadership can figure out what to do. The breakthrough itself of the Mannerheim Line can be attributed to specially designed weapons, tactics, and equipment which shattered the line.
TheLastJacobite
No Commies
OOC: I would point to the fall of the Maginot Line in France in World War 2 and resulting chaos and confusion for the French military, which was one of the best in Europe at the time. Like the French, you placed your primary defense in a single series of fortifications. This allowed me to custom design weapons (land cruisers and adapting RMH Artillery) for the specific purpose of destroying said "impregnable" line. This meant that once the Mannerheim line fell, not only did you lose your main defense against me, but psychologically it scarred your soldiers since their invincible defense was simply swept aside. Also, being outnumbered 10-1 is not conducive to high moral. 30 years in NES time equating to 2 years in RL time worth of planning also helps...
Lord of Elves
Suede-Denim Secret Police
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2009
- Messages
- 6,976
All of these points are supremely moot. The Mannerheim Line was patently not the Maginot Line and plans were set in stone quite a while ago for the defense of Finland once the Mannerheim Line had fallen. No point of psychological importance or morale was placed on the Mannerheim Line's impregnability, because no one believed it was impregnable, and Scandinavian troops were well-drilled in what would happen once the Mannerheim Line inevitably fell.
I can only conclude that EQ either willfully ignored the plans I asked him to hold onto several months ago, or decided that they could not apply in this situation unless I explicitly stated them to him.
EDIT: I want to stress that no one in the Fatherland Proletarian Army ever imagined the Mannerheim Line could be used to stop a Russian invasion, only delay it so that Finland could be evacuated in a timely and orderly manner. This is the exact opposite of what happened.
I can only conclude that EQ either willfully ignored the plans I asked him to hold onto several months ago, or decided that they could not apply in this situation unless I explicitly stated them to him.
EDIT: I want to stress that no one in the Fatherland Proletarian Army ever imagined the Mannerheim Line could be used to stop a Russian invasion, only delay it so that Finland could be evacuated in a timely and orderly manner. This is the exact opposite of what happened.
Grandkhan
Telvanni Master Wizard
Rail mounted artillery being the catalyst for the destruction of the Mannerheim line? I'll be expecting my royalty checks in the mail, Russia. 
Also, there is no way that Landcruisers are anything but completely ridiculous. They would literally sink into the ground if they're on anything other than specially prepared roads. We saw this with stuff like the Ratte.
Also, there is no way that Landcruisers are anything but completely ridiculous. They would literally sink into the ground if they're on anything other than specially prepared roads. We saw this with stuff like the Ratte.
Crezth
i knew you were a real man of the left
I'm incredibly disappointed the Scandies couldn't develop a defensive line that could withstand artillery fire.
Luckymoose
The World is Mine
Crezth
i knew you were a real man of the left
Some people just can't be helped. 
Quisani
Gaming Person
TO: Nations east of the Suez Canal
FROM: Japan
In times of conflict, trade suffers with the disruption of supply lines. At this time, your ports fill with numerous raw goods that sit idling. Your food threatens to spoil and your minerals begin to oxidize. This would mean a loss of income on your parts. However, in this time, Japan would step forward to ensure not all trade is lost and that some of your raw materials continue to move towards nations which can fashion the goods that can no longer be imported from Europe.
Bring us your trade, your raw, unspoiled materials, that which is yearning to become useful products. The glorious bounties of your teeming ports. Send these, the unfashioned, tempest tossed to Japan, and we shall together open the golden doors of economic progress.
For EQ:
FROM: Japan
In times of conflict, trade suffers with the disruption of supply lines. At this time, your ports fill with numerous raw goods that sit idling. Your food threatens to spoil and your minerals begin to oxidize. This would mean a loss of income on your parts. However, in this time, Japan would step forward to ensure not all trade is lost and that some of your raw materials continue to move towards nations which can fashion the goods that can no longer be imported from Europe.
Bring us your trade, your raw, unspoiled materials, that which is yearning to become useful products. The glorious bounties of your teeming ports. Send these, the unfashioned, tempest tossed to Japan, and we shall together open the golden doors of economic progress.
For EQ:
Spoiler :
Luckymoose
The World is Mine
TO: Japan
FROM: Brazil
We reaffirm our stance to uphold the trade treaty signed with your government this decade and to see that trade in the Pacific flows as normal.
Spoiler :
Circuit
Writing Letters
OOC: This isn't half as fun to type without Circuit being the recipient
I just read this and have no idea what to think about it. I'll just laugh.
@spry: I don't think my reign was THAT catastrophic, but whatever. You'll probably do just as well as I would (if not better), so best of luck to you. I'll be enjoying the popcorn.
TheLastJacobite
No Commies
General Arseniy Yakovlev scanned the complex of Proletarist structures ahead of his Averin Titanovi Ataka Tankova (or ATAT for short) through his binoculars. His massive landcruiser Iron Fist was working better than its designers had initially hoped. Though extremely slow, it was able to deliver massive amounts of firepower thanks to its twin 280mm cannons, far more accurately than their naval equivalents, since the ATATs crew was generally in visual range of their target, making its attacks much more concentrated. The huge armored beasts had been proposed and produced for just this purpose: breaking the famed Mannerheim line and allowing The League of the Three Emperors to reclaim Scandinavia for their comrades in Kongo. Now, Yakovlev would see how well it worked.
Overhead, the usual freight train-like roar of the Russian artillery corps was augmented by the rumbling boom of a Rail Mounted Heavy Artillery round. The huge guns had added their voices to the first general assault and were now being used to target specific hard targets, namely, the cluster of concrete pill boxes, anti-tank and anti-aircraft forts that blocked Yakovlev and the rest of the First Army from entering Finland. The artillery barrage had been nigh constant, but the standard rounds were nearly useless against the massive complex of forts ahead, doing little more than chipping off parts of the outer layer. The RMHA rounds on the other hand were proving very useful. As Yakovlev watched, the huge round thundered in, slamming into one of the outlying structures (an anti-tank emplacement if he guess correctly), and turning it into a burning cloud of fire and dust. When the smoke cleared, nothing but charred concrete remained, but the other structures remained. The General sighed. Though devastating, the RMHAs were not very accurate.
Lieutenant Popov, send word to the artillery to cease fire.
Yes, General!
The young Lieutenant scurried to the Communications section of the bridge and quickly sent out the necessary message. A few minutes later, the barrage tapered off, not before another RMHA round blew apart another structure. Yakovlev peered through the periscope-style range finder mounted in the center of the bridge, scanning for a primary target. There, in the center. A large fort, bristling with anti-aircraft guns and cannons. It would have to be destroyed before the assault could begin. He gauged the distance and began to call out ranges and angles for his crew to adjust their weapons to. Suddenly, a voice cried out on the bridge Incoming aircraft! Port side low!
Yakovlev quickly panned the periscope over, spotting the would-be attackers. Four old Proletarist F.K. 21 fighters flew towards the ATAT at about treetop level. They were probably the only aircraft left in the area after the beating the Russian jets and bombers had inflicted upon the Proles in the first hours of the war. Old, slow, and hideously outgunned by the ATAT, they attacked anyway. Before Yakovlev could even give the order, the forward anti-air guns opened fire. One of the planes was destroyed almost instantaneously, a round igniting the fuel tank on the starboard wing, turning it into a fireball. A second was hit mere seconds later, tumbling out of the sky and slamming into the ground before exploding. The remaining two pressed onwards and began their attack. Bullets harmlessly rattled off the port side of the landcruiser, barely noticeable to the bridge crew over the sound of the engines. As they cut across the front of the massive tank, the rear plane was peppered by AA and spiraled out of Yakovlevs field of vision. The vehicles guns prevented him from seeing the fate of the last would be attacker, but Lt. Popov reported that one of the secondary guns had turned it into a flaming wreck after shooting off the planes tail. The distraction dealt with, Yakovlev once more called out attack information.
Gunnery, make your angle 45 degrees. Range-10 miles. Fire for effect
The twin guns boomed, one after another. Yakovlev peered through the periscope and watched as the two rounds sailed out. Seconds later, twin columns of dirt and debris erupted from just behind the target. Calling corrections, he watched as two more rounds were sent on their way. There erupted in front of the fort, causing Yakovlevs lips to spread into a predatory grin. Making a final correction, he watched the next rounds slam directly into the front of the fort. He spoke without taking his gaze from the scope.
Contact the artillery. Our target, all available units, Level One priority. All guns, target and destroy. Maximum firepower!
The twin 280s began booming in unison, sending huge shells hurtling towards the hapless Prole fort. Those secondary guns on the ATAT that could reach added their own metal. A few minutes later, artillery and RMHA shells began landing too, quickly turning the once massive complex into slag. Yakovlev stowed the periscope and turned back to Lt. Popov.
All units, cease fire. Inform General Kaminski that he may begin his assault.
As the guns died down, Yakovlev watched the now burning fort, no longer a threat to the Imperial forces in the area. As the ATAT trundled forward, moving ever deeper into Scandinavia, Struyas began flying overhead, followed by bombers and finally, General Kaminskis paratroopers in their transport planes. Yakovlev smiled. Operation Reclamation was proceeding as planned.
The Screaming Eagles
Sergeant Stanislav Mihaylov sat on the hard seat attached to the side of the Pegasus transport, trying to keep the steady drone of the engines from sending him to sleep. Despite being nervous about shortly entering combat (as he always was), there was something about the slow rhythmic motion of the large plane and the constant hum from its two big engines that lulled him to sleep. He slapped himself hard on the cheek to keep himself awake. Sleeping before a jump was ok back when he was just a private, but now that he was a sergeant, he had to set an example. He glanced around at the other men on the plane, smiling to himself. Just a few years ago, they had all been raw recruits, joining the Paratroopers for the prestige, the higher pay, the impressive equipment and various other reasons. Stanislav had joined to do something different. His family had been farmers outside of Moscow for centuries, but he had had no intention of staring at a horses backside for the rest of his life and had joined the Army. Hed been an average soldier, but like farming, the Army had become boring and hed looked for a new challenge. The thought of jumping out of an aircraft seemed crazy to most people, so Stanislav decided to give it a shot. Hed been young and naïve, like most of his comrades. America had changed that.
The First Parachutist Brigade had been a part of the surge of troops added to the Russian Expeditionary Force. They had gone over there expecting to quickly wrap up the fighting with the UPRA and had found themselves embroiled in a war they werent fully prepared for. The Russian troops had been forced to operate autonomously, due to the language barrier with the Americans on the lower levels of operation. The higher up officers may have been able to communicate with their American counterparts, but for ground (or air) troops like Stanislav, their allies might as well have been speaking Martian. So, the Russians fought in their regions and the Americans fought in theirs. When theyd first worked together at Charleston, it had nearly lead to disaster. The Russians had launched an air assault in preparation of their push south against the Proles, but had failed to tell their American counterparts. American anti-aircraft gunners, hearing unknown planes flying in the clouds overhead, had opened fire and shot down several of the transports before word reached them of the assault. After that, the higher ups had worked much more closely to prevent similar incidents.
The fighting in Charleston had been tough, as had the campaign in the Appalachians, but it had mostly been a ground slog and outside that abortive assault, the First had seen little action. Then, they had been pulled back from the front and began preparing for what was promised as a historic attack. They hadnt believed it at the time. When they were told their target, the initial reaction had been shock. Actually jumping from his plane to land on top of a mountain outside of Chattanooga had been just as shocking. But it had worked. The First had seized Lookout Mountain with their American allies and set up artillery and begun bombarding the UPRA capital. It had been the beginning of the end for the Proles. The fighting on the mountain had been fierce, as had the continued Prole assaults to retake it. The stubborn Russian resistance, with their yells of defiance at the advancing attackers, had lead the Americans to nickname them the Screaming Eagles. Upon their return to Russia, the story had spread, leading to the Brigade changing its unit patch from a plain parachute, to a black eagle, its mouth open in a fierce cry, diving down with a lightening bolt grasped in its claws. It was universally agreed to be a large improvement.
Stanislavs musings were cut short by a booming voice declaring Weapons check! 10 minutes out! He worked the bolt of his short 1936 Musin submachine gun (that the Americans had dubbed the Chatty Gun, due to both the noise it made and the battle that had made it famous), ensuring a round was chambered. He then patted himself down, going through a mental checklist as he did. Combat knife, ten magazines of ammunition, Tokarov sidearm with three clips, canned rations. He then checked his boots and straps, ensuring all were tied and tight. Many a man had broken an ankle because of a lose boot.
Capt. Fyodrovs voice carried through the planes body as he stalked through his troops. For thirty years, Russia has waited and planned. We have endured slights and attacks from all fronts and now we strike back! Now, we fight to end the Anglo-Teutonic threat to our families and assert that OURS is the greatest nation in the world and woe to those who would trifle with us! The Emperor has given us, his Imperial Eagles, the privilege of being the first Russians to set foot in Scandinavia in almost three decades! He has ordered us to reclaim that once great nation for our allies in Kongo, prying it from the Proletarists cold, dead fingers if need be! The troops let out feral shout at the last statement. There was no love for the hated Proles here. The warning light by the jump door at the back of the plane came on, bathing the interior in red light and warning the paratroopers that their destination was five minutes away. Booms from anti-aircraft guns began to shake the transport, though they were random and sporadic. The grunts on the ground had done a good job of clearing the way for the assault.
Returning to the door, Fyodrov shouted Stand! and the men complied. That was shortly followed by a shouted command to Connect! and each paratrooper connected his clipped string from his parachute to the long cable running down the center of the aircraft. They then checked the man in front of them, making sure his equipment was good. The Warrant Officer in the rear of the plane threw the door open, letting in light and noise from outside. Sgt. Mihaylov, being near the front, was able to look, seeing other planes flying in formation above increasingly green lands in Scandinavia proper. His platoons target was a crossroads to the northwest of the Mannerheim line, an important junction needed for the avalanche-like flow of troops into the Proletarist nation. He almost imagined he could see it as the light by the door turned green and the Screaming Eagles once more began their plummet into hostile territory.
Overhead, the usual freight train-like roar of the Russian artillery corps was augmented by the rumbling boom of a Rail Mounted Heavy Artillery round. The huge guns had added their voices to the first general assault and were now being used to target specific hard targets, namely, the cluster of concrete pill boxes, anti-tank and anti-aircraft forts that blocked Yakovlev and the rest of the First Army from entering Finland. The artillery barrage had been nigh constant, but the standard rounds were nearly useless against the massive complex of forts ahead, doing little more than chipping off parts of the outer layer. The RMHA rounds on the other hand were proving very useful. As Yakovlev watched, the huge round thundered in, slamming into one of the outlying structures (an anti-tank emplacement if he guess correctly), and turning it into a burning cloud of fire and dust. When the smoke cleared, nothing but charred concrete remained, but the other structures remained. The General sighed. Though devastating, the RMHAs were not very accurate.
Lieutenant Popov, send word to the artillery to cease fire.
Yes, General!
The young Lieutenant scurried to the Communications section of the bridge and quickly sent out the necessary message. A few minutes later, the barrage tapered off, not before another RMHA round blew apart another structure. Yakovlev peered through the periscope-style range finder mounted in the center of the bridge, scanning for a primary target. There, in the center. A large fort, bristling with anti-aircraft guns and cannons. It would have to be destroyed before the assault could begin. He gauged the distance and began to call out ranges and angles for his crew to adjust their weapons to. Suddenly, a voice cried out on the bridge Incoming aircraft! Port side low!
Yakovlev quickly panned the periscope over, spotting the would-be attackers. Four old Proletarist F.K. 21 fighters flew towards the ATAT at about treetop level. They were probably the only aircraft left in the area after the beating the Russian jets and bombers had inflicted upon the Proles in the first hours of the war. Old, slow, and hideously outgunned by the ATAT, they attacked anyway. Before Yakovlev could even give the order, the forward anti-air guns opened fire. One of the planes was destroyed almost instantaneously, a round igniting the fuel tank on the starboard wing, turning it into a fireball. A second was hit mere seconds later, tumbling out of the sky and slamming into the ground before exploding. The remaining two pressed onwards and began their attack. Bullets harmlessly rattled off the port side of the landcruiser, barely noticeable to the bridge crew over the sound of the engines. As they cut across the front of the massive tank, the rear plane was peppered by AA and spiraled out of Yakovlevs field of vision. The vehicles guns prevented him from seeing the fate of the last would be attacker, but Lt. Popov reported that one of the secondary guns had turned it into a flaming wreck after shooting off the planes tail. The distraction dealt with, Yakovlev once more called out attack information.
Gunnery, make your angle 45 degrees. Range-10 miles. Fire for effect
The twin guns boomed, one after another. Yakovlev peered through the periscope and watched as the two rounds sailed out. Seconds later, twin columns of dirt and debris erupted from just behind the target. Calling corrections, he watched as two more rounds were sent on their way. There erupted in front of the fort, causing Yakovlevs lips to spread into a predatory grin. Making a final correction, he watched the next rounds slam directly into the front of the fort. He spoke without taking his gaze from the scope.
Contact the artillery. Our target, all available units, Level One priority. All guns, target and destroy. Maximum firepower!
The twin 280s began booming in unison, sending huge shells hurtling towards the hapless Prole fort. Those secondary guns on the ATAT that could reach added their own metal. A few minutes later, artillery and RMHA shells began landing too, quickly turning the once massive complex into slag. Yakovlev stowed the periscope and turned back to Lt. Popov.
All units, cease fire. Inform General Kaminski that he may begin his assault.
As the guns died down, Yakovlev watched the now burning fort, no longer a threat to the Imperial forces in the area. As the ATAT trundled forward, moving ever deeper into Scandinavia, Struyas began flying overhead, followed by bombers and finally, General Kaminskis paratroopers in their transport planes. Yakovlev smiled. Operation Reclamation was proceeding as planned.
*****
The Screaming Eagles
Sergeant Stanislav Mihaylov sat on the hard seat attached to the side of the Pegasus transport, trying to keep the steady drone of the engines from sending him to sleep. Despite being nervous about shortly entering combat (as he always was), there was something about the slow rhythmic motion of the large plane and the constant hum from its two big engines that lulled him to sleep. He slapped himself hard on the cheek to keep himself awake. Sleeping before a jump was ok back when he was just a private, but now that he was a sergeant, he had to set an example. He glanced around at the other men on the plane, smiling to himself. Just a few years ago, they had all been raw recruits, joining the Paratroopers for the prestige, the higher pay, the impressive equipment and various other reasons. Stanislav had joined to do something different. His family had been farmers outside of Moscow for centuries, but he had had no intention of staring at a horses backside for the rest of his life and had joined the Army. Hed been an average soldier, but like farming, the Army had become boring and hed looked for a new challenge. The thought of jumping out of an aircraft seemed crazy to most people, so Stanislav decided to give it a shot. Hed been young and naïve, like most of his comrades. America had changed that.
The First Parachutist Brigade had been a part of the surge of troops added to the Russian Expeditionary Force. They had gone over there expecting to quickly wrap up the fighting with the UPRA and had found themselves embroiled in a war they werent fully prepared for. The Russian troops had been forced to operate autonomously, due to the language barrier with the Americans on the lower levels of operation. The higher up officers may have been able to communicate with their American counterparts, but for ground (or air) troops like Stanislav, their allies might as well have been speaking Martian. So, the Russians fought in their regions and the Americans fought in theirs. When theyd first worked together at Charleston, it had nearly lead to disaster. The Russians had launched an air assault in preparation of their push south against the Proles, but had failed to tell their American counterparts. American anti-aircraft gunners, hearing unknown planes flying in the clouds overhead, had opened fire and shot down several of the transports before word reached them of the assault. After that, the higher ups had worked much more closely to prevent similar incidents.
The fighting in Charleston had been tough, as had the campaign in the Appalachians, but it had mostly been a ground slog and outside that abortive assault, the First had seen little action. Then, they had been pulled back from the front and began preparing for what was promised as a historic attack. They hadnt believed it at the time. When they were told their target, the initial reaction had been shock. Actually jumping from his plane to land on top of a mountain outside of Chattanooga had been just as shocking. But it had worked. The First had seized Lookout Mountain with their American allies and set up artillery and begun bombarding the UPRA capital. It had been the beginning of the end for the Proles. The fighting on the mountain had been fierce, as had the continued Prole assaults to retake it. The stubborn Russian resistance, with their yells of defiance at the advancing attackers, had lead the Americans to nickname them the Screaming Eagles. Upon their return to Russia, the story had spread, leading to the Brigade changing its unit patch from a plain parachute, to a black eagle, its mouth open in a fierce cry, diving down with a lightening bolt grasped in its claws. It was universally agreed to be a large improvement.
Stanislavs musings were cut short by a booming voice declaring Weapons check! 10 minutes out! He worked the bolt of his short 1936 Musin submachine gun (that the Americans had dubbed the Chatty Gun, due to both the noise it made and the battle that had made it famous), ensuring a round was chambered. He then patted himself down, going through a mental checklist as he did. Combat knife, ten magazines of ammunition, Tokarov sidearm with three clips, canned rations. He then checked his boots and straps, ensuring all were tied and tight. Many a man had broken an ankle because of a lose boot.
Capt. Fyodrovs voice carried through the planes body as he stalked through his troops. For thirty years, Russia has waited and planned. We have endured slights and attacks from all fronts and now we strike back! Now, we fight to end the Anglo-Teutonic threat to our families and assert that OURS is the greatest nation in the world and woe to those who would trifle with us! The Emperor has given us, his Imperial Eagles, the privilege of being the first Russians to set foot in Scandinavia in almost three decades! He has ordered us to reclaim that once great nation for our allies in Kongo, prying it from the Proletarists cold, dead fingers if need be! The troops let out feral shout at the last statement. There was no love for the hated Proles here. The warning light by the jump door at the back of the plane came on, bathing the interior in red light and warning the paratroopers that their destination was five minutes away. Booms from anti-aircraft guns began to shake the transport, though they were random and sporadic. The grunts on the ground had done a good job of clearing the way for the assault.
Returning to the door, Fyodrov shouted Stand! and the men complied. That was shortly followed by a shouted command to Connect! and each paratrooper connected his clipped string from his parachute to the long cable running down the center of the aircraft. They then checked the man in front of them, making sure his equipment was good. The Warrant Officer in the rear of the plane threw the door open, letting in light and noise from outside. Sgt. Mihaylov, being near the front, was able to look, seeing other planes flying in formation above increasingly green lands in Scandinavia proper. His platoons target was a crossroads to the northwest of the Mannerheim line, an important junction needed for the avalanche-like flow of troops into the Proletarist nation. He almost imagined he could see it as the light by the door turned green and the Screaming Eagles once more began their plummet into hostile territory.
Quisani
Gaming Person
TO: Brazil
FROM: Japan
We are more than willing to reciprocate reaffirmation of the treaty we signed. It is in the best interest of the world.
Spoiler :
