The commonwealth war I

[Soyabarian Empire]

The third army

The third army with all its tanks, infantery, armored vehicles and artilerry found little resistance apart from the skirmishes along the way and now took to take their positions to cut off Zeebrugge from any land route.
Ofcourse with the construction of trenches, artilery positions and camouflaging the tanks
From the sea, a couple of battleships and destroyers blockaded what was left of the port. Air reconnesance had shown positions of their defences and the navy started to precision bomb. Once every 30 minutes to pressure the occupation forces for a surrender.

The second and first armies

The advance had been a succes but been halted because of logistical issues.

[Ayzek]

The Ishnalli intervention began with wordlessly. For weeks after Ishnalli troops and aircraft began to penetrate New Zealmark's eastern airspace, the Ishnalli Empire refused to admit it had intervened at all. Nonetheless, this did not change the simple fact that, as it became more and more clear the freedom fighters were losing, Ishnalli military forces began to creep across the border. What began with scouts, drones, and fighters in the dead of night became legions of aircraft in the morning and columns of armored vehicles and trucks in the afternoon.

While the multi-role fighters that penetrated New Zealmark's airspace in the night worked to identify and neutralize any active air defenses, the aircraft that followed in the morning focused on attacking Soyabarian forces on the ground. Bombers and strike fighters flew in low through the valley and rained steel on Imperial Legion positions identified by the overnight scouts and drones, as well as leading aircraft. The Soyabarian army east of Zeebrugge would be in for a rude awakening, as the Ishnalli Air Force sought to soften them up for the advancing ground forces.

The Ishnalli Army advanced along three main routes: the coast in the west, the valley in the east, and the plains in the south. The army in the west would seek to immediately engage and overwhelm the Soyabarian invaders while the armies in the east and south would seek to seize control of eastern and southern New Zealmark.

Though the Ishnalli government was silent internationally, its troops on the ground were much more vocal. As they advanced, Ishnalli forces promised the freedom fighters support and the population liberation from the Brigidnan imperialists.

[Seperallis]

* * In Zeebrugge * *
The Disciples had been expecting the siege of Zeebrugge, even almost welcoming it from the start. Having already destroyed the bridges to the west side of the river some time ago, those who hadn't just come to the city from harrassing the invaders had prepared for the siege of the city. The coastal bombardments and air attacks had destroyed most of the heavy weapons emplacements, though after the initial attack on the fleet they weren't expected to get much use anyway; instead they'd spent their time transforming as much of the East City into a fortress deathtrap as possible, using the hard and deep cover of buildings to set up killzones and crossfire in strategic choke points, and planting various explosives elsewhere.

Despite warnings to and even helping people get out of the city before the arrival of Soyabar's armies, there were still a far too sizable number of civilians in the city - numbering in the hundreds of thousands - by the time the bombs and the shells began to fall around the city. Neither cameras nor eyes could be everywhere, nor could they penetrate so deep into buildings and basements turned into makeshift bunkers; was that a man in a hoodie running with a gun, or was it a youth darting home with a basket of bread? Not only were these imperial Soyabar scum willing to rip the nation apart, these Brigidnan imbeciles too wished to murder the population just to get a relative few scraggly fighters, for the sake of their ambitions?

Truly the freedom fighters were right: these westerners had to go.

For their part, the rebels in the city made a point of harrassing their enemy that strayed too close to the suburbs and fields around the city under withering sniper fire, forcing them stay on their toes. In the meantime, the rest stayed hunkered in deep cover, weathering the bombardment with the crying of babies and the wailing of mothers wondering why their sons had to die when they went to the market that day.

* * Inland * *
The second and first armies coming inland found their supplies both long in coming, and less than expected. Toppled trees, burnt wreckage and other obstacles were tossed onto the roads to impede convoys enough for fighters to launch their barely-surprise guerilla attacks before melting into the trees; most of these attacks of course came at night, when a mask of brush and darkness impeded both infrared and normal vision.

Of course, the two main armies weren't left unharrassed either, as nearly every night small roaming bands of men and sometimes even simply individual fighters with far too much gall would take shots at the stationary targets presented to them: a few shots coming from the east one hour, a burst of heavy guns from the south in the next, a handful of shoulder-fired rockets and small arms somewhere past the midnight hour. It was enough to make one wonder, how long could a soldier truly go without any decent night of sleep, his thoughts filled with the anxiety of wondering how many more attacks would there be this night?

* * Elsewhere * *
A claw of a finger traced the pages line by line at a typewriter's pace as sunken eyes skimmed the lettering of the page, the nature and content of which remained for his eyes only. As usual the content was not of a happy tone, yet nothing nothing of it came unexpected; actually some aspects were arguably, well, better than expected if not actually 'good' of their own right. Still...

A rapping came on the door cross the way from him. Looking at the setting sun beyond his closed blinds, he sighed with the effort of switching gears, stretching his back and his long limbs before folding away the papers and retrieving his tea in one continuous motion.
The as-yet-unnamed man gave the floor beside his chair a light rapping with the heel of his shoe, and the bolts slit out of place. "Yes, the door is open."

The same man from before gingerly pushed the door aside, checking the corners and behind himself with care before stepping fully within. The lithe man rolled his eyes; really, there could not possibly be anyone else here to look out for, and the cautions motions were entirely needless. Regardless, his visitor, satisfied, nodded his aknowledgements.

"My brother, we have received word that our guests will arrive in Drassari on the morrow. Assuming they make it through the air screen, but much like the surrounding forests our defenses in that area are very thick; I doubt the imperial dogs would risk losing so many men and material to strike it yet without their armies, which are still stalled many moons away."

A sip. The tea was almost that perfect intersection where it was almost the same temperature as the body of a man, where the only indication of drinking anything at all came from the slight warmth to one's cold lips and the gentle moistness on the tongue, like sipping upon a liquid phantom. Too bad it could not remain this way forever.

"Yes," came the reply from our tea-imbibing man, "As we agreed. Though is this for equipment only, or persons as well?"

The question couldn't be answered with any more than a simple shrug. "We don't know yet brother. Specifics were not really given."

"As is typical of them, my brother, but that is fine. I suppose it would only be polite to join the welcoming committee then, such as it is."

Another sip. It seemed bitter somehow, but maybe that was just the passage of time seeping into its waters.

[Soyabarian Empire]

The seige of Zeebrugge

The soyabarian army advanced at first. Not even realising another army was on the march at the moment. Tanks of the regular army drove into the city without a care in the world. News came in to the headquarters of the third army to beat the retreat, the naval blocade could not be maintained due tough a surprise attack. The regular units, together with the artillery and the little tanks of the IIL of the army had to retreat out from the city and position themselves in a more favourable position in preparation for a similar event happening to them.
This happened in the form at first of arial assualts. But the squads of the immortal imperial legion that remained turned themselves east ward and advanced to the border. To begin a skirmish with ground troups of the Ishnallan forces they had met unbeknowst to them they wereinvaders of new zealmark.

the first and second armies

The attacks on their advance were well recieved, not taking to many casualties in the procces but it was still unwise to advance in the proccess not only because of logistical issues. Turra-turra a town 10 kilometers north west of New heers the first army had its headquarters and exicited 50 prisoners of war as they kept fightning the guards.

Before the news of a new front and enemy even dared reaching these armies they had problems of their own. A new enemy appeared not to far from the headquarters. The IIL battleforces patrolling the area crushed this new enemy with ease due tough their elite regimental training. They immidiatly send a jeep to headquarters with the heads and uniforms of the scout party they crushed. Pointing at an ishnallan invader

In Handwerpenstad, the imperial palace!

People are running around in a panic, the emperor sat silent upon his high throne. He was just being imformed, a more dangerous enemy appeared. In the east. And it was not Svarnan That was certain. He stood up and commanded that the svarnans had to be asked for help, in the commonwealth's time of needs. As he knew Lanlania would not help in this underetaking

[STRATCOM]

Ishnalli airspace
Near the Zealmarkian border
0251 hours

A pair of cargo aircraft registered to Skathia Air, SA1550 and SA1551, made the silent trek across the width of Ishnalli territory following their long overseas flight. Soon they strayed into the border sector, one which only hours ago was swarming with Ishnalli aircraft. The fact that no entity known as Skathia Air had filed a flight plan for this region was not lost on the attentive Ishnalli air traffic controller who, upon failing to raise the craft, promptly called the defense forces. After a series of escalations, the order came down to ignore the strange planes as they wheeled toward the Zealmarkian border.

"I sure hope Humblos knows what he's doing," mumbled MT5 Bogand as he lit a cigarette in the expansive cargo area of SA1550, briefing in his lap. "Linear accelerator technology exchanged for a simple airspace crossing! Penal brigadier operations are supposed to be cheap."

3rd Penal Brigade
Drassari Airbase
0415 hours

The 'Skathia Air' planes landed smoothly at Drassari after jockeying around Soyabar and Ishnalli conflict zones for the better part of an hour.

MT5 Bogand was the first on the tarmac, greeted by a pair of haggard looking Disciples. He introduced himself to them, asked for a briefing in a few minutes, and excused himself to perform the Ritual of Redemption for his men. With a motion of his hand they came to attention, clicking heels against the tarmac in a roar of precise movement. He lit a cigarette from his breast pocket, took a long drag, and began to speak.

"Men of Vestor and Chiri, MT13s, those who have murdered through action and those who have murdered through inaction, you of the Third Penal Brigade - hear me, and well. Your crimes deserve death, but you will be given a second chance. Your victims cry out from the grave, but you will not join them just yet. We have accepted your applications for penal service, and your one-year term starts today. Survivors at the end of that year will be uptiered back to MT9 and their records sealed. Those who die will die in glory, and your next of kin will be uptiered to honor your death. Consequently, deserters will be shot and those who surrender will be left to robber-baron tortures - and your next of kin will be downtiered for your dishonor. Do not fail them. Do not fail me."

Bogand found that his cigarette was spent. He retrieved another coffin nail from his breast pocket and lit it, puffing as he spoke. The glowing ember of the cigarette wagged in emphasis as his lips moved.

"Our employer has brought us here to redeem this nation from foreign colonizers and degeneracy, but I have brought you here to redeem yourselves. You will fight men better equipped, better supplied, better reinforced - that is by design. There is no sacrifice without struggle. Where the foe will be savage, we will be swift. Where he is brutal, we will be cunning. Your only reinforcement will be your own mind, so use it well. Follow your commanders without hesitation or question, for it will save your life. I, too, will be with you. Not only advising your commanders with the same cunning of Hill 450 and Caladria, but alongside you with rifle butt and bayonet should the need arise. As you will give your lives to our people, I will give my life to you."

He paused his well-rehearsed speech for a moment, looking at the fresh faces that had committed to penal brigadier service. Many had the telltale scars and tics of Fuel Duty survivors, or the blank haggard stares of those who had endured the tortures of the processing center handlers for years to avoid MT13 service. His escapades on Caladria, he was told, had brought these dregs out from the shadows of Vestian society to be redeemed either by their deeds or by their death. He took no small amount of pride in that.

"Now, you six hundred, go and fight as true citizens would. Live or die, I will see you redeemed this day. Dismissed."

MT5 Bogand watched silently as the company commanders marshalled the brigadiers off to their assignments. He took a long final drag on his cigarette and flicked it onto the cracked runway. Finally, he turned to the Disciple representatives.

"Now," he said, "let's talk business. You have the momentum at the moment while Ishnalli forces stream in behind us, but we can only count on that support for as long as they find this enterprise amusing. Where are your most vicious stalemates occurring? We will break them."

[Seperallis]

* * Elsewhere * *

In Zeebrugge, the defenders were mildly perplexed at the sudden retreat of the Imperialist Legion and the Soyabarian army, before the battle for the city had even really begun. Much like their enemy, they were far from the events in the east, though they knew even less, having very limited communications with the outside. Eventually, though, the word of an odd, unannounced intervention reached them, and while they didn't yet know the nature of who has behind it, they were nonetheless glad that someone else recognized the holy and divine rightness of their cause.

It was enough to lift a man's spirits.

Near the middle of the country, skirmishes and attacks continued on the stationary Soyabaran armies, making sure to keep small and well hidden, in constant attempts to harass the invaders and keep them locked in place. Unfortunately, this was becoming harder to do as the Brigidnans established themselves a headquarters and began to scout afield and establish zones of control to keep their command safe, which greatly reduced the available openings for attack.

And then, strange new forces entered the ranks. it started with foreign scouts, which identified themselves as "volunteers" from abroad to serve the cause of Vamana Uldana; these men were well equipped, even more so than the Disciples and after short greetings and coordination meetings, were wholly welcomed into the ranks. Later, though, arrived the airstrikes on the headquarters of the first and second armies, the battles in the skies, and the arrive of what were very obviously armored columns from Ishnalla. More and more, a base was forming in the jungles near New Heere, and a plan was coming together: at the command of the Ishnalli forces, the new joint freedom force would strike at the bogged-down enemy when they were ready, with the Ishnalli leading the way.

* * Drassari Airbase * *

Among the group of disciples that made up the skeleton "force" keeping the base in nominal control and running order, one man stood out, shorter than the rest and in some conspicuously finer clothing that clashed far too loudly with both their jungle environment and the snubnosed rifle strapped around him. And those stupid shades...nevertheless they all wore the same weathered sun-bronze skin and shaved heads.

This man, who had introduced himself as a "Mister Huis" in their short exchange of words before the Ritual, now came forth from his companions to meet on the tarmac. "Bogand, I see, we are glad we have been sent the best, but I am not paid to flatter. Here, yes, is the situation."

Why did he have a habit of smiling while talking. Not even he knew.

The Mr. Huis pulled a rather dumb-looking smart device from his pocket, and pulled up an odd, rudimentary thing called a Battle Order and Our Baddies Simulation. Handing the device to Bogand even though he could clearly see the screen anyway, the man continued.



"Bogand, I see, You are not needing to concern with stalemates; we will let the colonizers bleed themselves for a time on these Ishnalli bullets. No, yes, there is a more important task that is suicide for my men, but very, very quite important, yes, while the colonizers cannot move well or fight. Yes, too deep in the trees, we have them stopped."

The odd little man pointed to the coast, to a point within the brown blob near Zeebrugge. "This, yes, this is the target, the harbor and facility built after the colonizers landed. All supplies, all people, everything comes through here. I think you know what must be done to it, yes? But an army stands in the way of it, and they are ready for an attack. But you will succeed, for you are Bogand, and the colonizers will starve or feast on our bullets. Yes."

[Soyabarian Empire]

General soyabarian headquarters

Word had been recieved about the ishnallan intervention word had spread, to the goverment from the goverment to potential allies around home and local allies.
Orders came and went. Defensive positions had to be taken and held for now. The east of zeebrugge, that small piece of land was no longer strategically justified to sacrefice to many soldiers about. So the third army had to retreat and advance westwards to capture more of the coastline and if possible get more villages and towns under control, so loyalist might join.

The second army was ordered to defend the supply route and pay attention to to the eastern front. While the First army was to do what it did best. Advance south to new heers and drassari an important airbase that had to be taken at all cost if we were to win this war at all. If not this would be a slaughter. The IIL is among this army and the lives of this regiment is at stake

[STRATCOM]

MT5 Bogand smiled despite himself. The domestic success of MANAOI was inspiring foreign imitators! This would be worth a chuckle at his next report to the MT1s, if he lived that long.

He got serious when he saw the location. A small harbor near Zeebrugge. A very particular civilian storage facility lay in an unassuming small town outside that city, one unlikely to be remembered by Soyabar forces. In fact, it had been chosen by covert operations teams during the Blockade Against Foreign Undecency for that very reason. The details were in a section of his briefing that he remembered solely because he had laughed at how unlikely it would be that he should get the chance to use it. And in several shipping crates in that storage facility...

"Golden Wrench," Bogand murmured.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, tempered by practicality. It would be a hell of a stunt, extremely difficult to pull off. And it would only work once, for once news got out every other site would be compromised. But if it did work, my, how it would work!

"This is no problem," Bogand said to the man, pointing to the location he had in mind. "We just need to make a little stopoff here first, well outside any Soyabar attentions. We have a little pinch of spice, shall we say, something to make matters something more interesting there."

Bogand reached into his breast pocket and withdrew a Vestian cigarette, taking a long whiff of the fine tobacco before lighting it. Vestians were true greasers: if there were two things they painstakingly cared for more than anything in the world, it was their vehicles and their tobacco.

"I assume there is transport, preferably civilian? The Soyabar will not tolerate the existence of this airfield and its military vehicles for long, but in cars and trucks they may strain to distinguish us from other civilian traffic. Penal brigadiers will always march, of course, but I fear the war would be over before we could reach Zeebrugge by foot."

[Soyabarian Empire]

General western relocation

The relocation of the soyabarian positions was quite succesfull, due a lack of opposition on that side of the front line, now soyabar regained control over the west bank of the cenghazi river connecting new handwerpenstad and new heers to the sea. Further movement was needed to capture additional port towns for the war effort.

The eastern front

Due tough the training few casualties were recorded, some men went missing when a retreat happened only to be found back a couple of days later when positions were retaken. with ishnalli and rebel forces scattered around them. Most of these cases came from squads from the IIL bot some regulars altough with less survivors had this happen asswell.

New Heers

the soyabarian troops who entered New heers were surprised that the city welcomed them which seemed suspicious to everyone and set to gaining intel on the enemy from the locals.

At the coast

Old army carriers arrived with small arcraft on them. They would bring in a couple of hundreds from the irregular badly trained volenteers from soyabar. these reinforcements were not supposed to last long, but it is something that the soyabarian goverment was willing to do because of the situation.

[Soyabarian Empire]

Elsewhere

The push to the west was succesfull, as was keeping the sudden intervention at bay, for now.
Fightning was hard but the soyabarians had been here before, many of them being veterans in the war with the Svarnans. They tought they never see war again and now they were here again. But now they had the help of loyal zealmarkians in their ranks which had been recruited in the years since the Soysva war. Soyabarians are a tough bunch, morale had taken a dive since the sudden intervention. But the avarage soldier knew why he was fightning, for the emperor, the commonwealth, for their homes and families thousands of kilometers away.
They knew they had to kill every enemy, usurpers, invaders or any other as it may be coming to haunt them later they couldn't surrender to this threat the army was allowed too without permission from the emperor if it was utterly defeated, but the ILL was a totally different case, they were allowed to tactically retreat but never surrender. In any war they fought they fought to the last man, or woman in the latest decades.
Retrieved bodies from the IIL that were defeated in battle, one person could many times be found (if they were not all killed in action) with a bulletwound in the right temple rather than surrender to the enemy. Such was their devotion to emperor and country.

Drassari

Now that New heers was captured, the next objective was to move to Drassari, an airport that as often used as the headquarters of the New Zealmarkian airforce. Even housing civilian flights, passenger and cargo. Now it laid in enemy hands and it was to vital to let it stay that way for long. An entire regiment of 5500 infantary was able to be scrambled from elsewhere, 1500 of which were from the IIL. A dozen of artillery pieces were also brought along but due tough the rough terrain (jungle space) they had to be carried by horses and donkeys levied by the army from the local population, given the circumstances they recieved immidiate compensation for it.
The commanding officer estimated that the enemy could not have advanced technology at it hands so it would be better like this. They were laying in ditches preparing for a charge