Dying New Galasia

[Aerandariel]

1 DOSA, 1584

War is coming... with all its horror... and all its glory...

Only a month prior, the Angirisian Empire set the wheels in motion for the Imperial military intervention in the New Galasian Civil War. The official declaration targeted the Alsace Regime's forces in the western province of Drazen, while leaving the eastern province of Eastmarch largely alone. It was clearly a stark difference from where Angirisian intentions seemed to lean towards if - and when - war actually begun. Now that it has begun, it is clear the Empire wants the Regime gone.

Months of planning had now to be executed, and the Imperial administration's strength now rested on the strength of its military. Put in charge of the entire operation was General Philipi Belisarius, who commanded Imperial forces in the Octitanian Civil War several years earlier. General Belisarius knew immediately what he had to do. First, he deployed Admiral Sarius Farragut's 2nd and 9th Battle Fleets - both fourteen to sixteen ships each - to the western coast of Drazen to bottle up the Galasian Navy and cut off much of their shipping supplies from Brigidna, Skathia and southern Ostara. Once established, the Fleets were to begin shelling coastal fortifications and cutting off communications. Farragut expected a massive naval engagement, and the first reports coming from intelligence sources suggested that the Galasian fleet - while seeming to lack in numbers and facing long odds - had enough firepower to put up a short fight in the Angirisian Gulf. But, Farragut reported to Belisarius, it was incredibly likely the engagement would not last very long and it would take a week to a week and a half to establish a blockade.

Second, Belisarius ordered a massive air presence over the skies of Drazen to institute a no-fly zone over the entire province in an effort to cripple the Regime by air. The plan called for a massive aerial bombardment campaign from both airfields in southern Angiris and from Imperial ships in the Angirisian Gulf. The cities of Alsace and Rhine themselves were now a major target, but more important targets laid all across the western coast of Drazen and the northern and eastern borderlands of Drazen and Angiris. With the no-fly zone in place, all the Empire had to do was smash the Regime's armies. That, Belisarius believed, would arguably be the toughest part of the war.

The Empire was prepared to commit over three hundred thousand troops to the ground war if they had to. They anticipated a long battle, especially for the cities. But Imperial generals were ready...

4 DOSA, 1584

On the 4th, the first shots of the Second Angirisian-Galasian War were fired by Regime missile silos hoping to inflict significant damage in the southern reaches of the Angirisian Empire. A barrage of cruise missiles were detected flying through Aranoch in the early morning. The Angirisian anti-air batteries through the deserts of southern Aranoch began to open fire. Many of the missiles were shot out of the air, but some hit. Two struck an Angirisian base eighty miles south of Lut Gholein, wiping out three anti-air batteries, killed six Imperial soldiers and destroyed an Imperial tank. They were the first Imperial casualties of the war. Another missile landed perilously close to the ruins of the Arcane Sanctuary in central Aranoch, knocking down pillars outside the entrance of the Sanctuary. Then came news to Admiral Farragut that the Regime fleet might try and break out and move for the islands of Xiansai off the southern coast of Pythos. The news was sent directly to Cathedrium, where Chancellor Apotecarius ordered the islands locked down and all military assets there to be on high alert with their radar sensors on twenty-four hours a day. Though the threat was likely to be minimal, the Southern Fleet could not take any chances.

6 DOSA, 1584
Xiansai City, Xiansai

Xiansai came under fire on the 6th, as Regime planes began blasting away at the Imperial Southern Fleet anchored at bay in Xiansai City. The Southern Fleet, after some two days of warning, was prepared. As the Regime's planes flew overheard dropping their tonnage, the ships on the waters below began firing back. Anti-air fire filled the air while alarms blared on every ship and air raid sirens sounded in Xiansai City, forcing the nearly one hundred thousand citizens of the city into a stunned panic.

Much of the Regime's attack did little damage, but the planes did get enough of the Imperial fleet to disable two ships, the Traveller and the Poikhoron. The Bucephalus took three direct hits from Regime missiles and sank in the shallow waters of Xiansai Harbor, taking 215 of its 450 sailors with it. The fleet shot down several Regime planes; the official count was ten, but it may have been fluctuated one or two.

Where the Regime's planes could not destroy the Southern Fleet they turned their attention to Xiansai City itself. At least five pilots, maybe more, circled back around the Harbor and proceeded to fire away at the city itself. The anti-air batteries within the city intensified their fire. Infantry forces began shooting upwards towards the planes in an attempt to knock them down. Some people armed with rocket launchers began firing projectiles at the planes as they came around. One rocket completely destroyed a plane in mid-air as it was firing down upon an a small group of soldiers on 18th Street on the west end of town. The ruins of the plane crashed down in a grassy area on the opposite end of Pilos Street on the northwest side of the city. Another Regime plane was shot down by anti-aircraft fire just above the city's industrial district, its flaming engine sent spiraling toward a factory and exploding. It sent thick black smoke billowing into the air, and city fire crews, backed up by National Guard forces, braving the gunfire to rush to put the flames out.

When all was said and done, the Regime did little damage to the Southern Fleet but caused havoc in Xiansai City. Twenty-eight Imperial soldiers and fifteen civilians were killed, along with 400 sailors. The Regime had lost about the half the planes it sent towards the Southern Fleet. Nobody knew of the fate of the ships that were supposed to have sailed close enough to Xiansai, but they could be assumed to have begun to fled north back towards Drazen, likely to square off with the two battle fleets beginning to take form off the western coast of Drazen.

The war, in earnest, had truly begun.

[Aerandariel]

9 DOSA, 1584

Three days after the Battle of Xiansai ended in an Angirisian victory, the Empire made its move.

From three bases in southern Aranoch, the Imperial Legion began its approach towards the Galasian border. 150,000 men, spread out across six divisions and commanded by General Belisarius, moved right up to the Angirisian-Drazen border ready to move on the northern city of Rhine once Belisarius gave the order. They expected stiff resistance, but figured the city would likely fall once a significant show of force was made prevalent. To soften the Regime defenses at Rhine, the Imperial Air Force launched five separate air strikes targeting military installations and fortifications all across the city and surrounding areas. The northernmost divisions of the Imperial Navy's blockade force fired cruise missiles at the same time, enabling a one-two punch.

At dawn, the Empire attacked. Bombs rained down on the still-sleeping city, sending much of the city into an awakened panic. Though the attack was anticipated, the Regime forces did not seem to be fully aware of what was happening until about an hour after the attack began. The primary targets were much of the Regime's anti-air defenses and airfields outside Rhine to prevent the Regime from initiating bombing runs on Aranoch, Xiansai or Westmarch. Also targeted were arsenals, shipyards and manufacturing centers; all in an effort to cripple the Regime's war efforts out of Rhine.

With Rhine still reeling and almost no Regime reply as of yet, the initial attack was largely successful. Three factories, two arsenals and a shipyard were destroyed. Two more factories and another shipyard were heavily damaged. Six anti-air batteries were wiped out, along with at least 600 Regime troops. About an hour and a half in, the Regime counter-attacked. Anti-air fire littered the morning sky, as Regime forces tried desperately to halt the offensive. The airfields the Imperials were trying to hit had not been hit yet, and several Regime fighters took to the sky to begin a daring dogfight over the city. At least fifty planes were now in the air, with the Regime outnumbering the Empire almost two to one. Belisarius ordered more planes into the air to establish superiority. The Imperial bombers, nearly helpless against jet fighters, began to scramble and try to unload their payloads before being shot down. Meanwhile, the Imperial Navy ships in the Angirisian Gulf saw the danger, and immediately began focusing their cruise missile attacks on the airfields outside of Rhine to stop the Regime Air Force from sending up any more fighters.

Forty-five minutes elapsed before the first Imperial fighters arrived on the scene. Already, Regime pilots had taken down eight Imperial bombers and were closing on two more. Those two were saved by the timely arrival of two Imperial Air Assault units coming from the Seven Tombs Base. Now, the fight began in earnest. For two and a quarter hours, the two Air Forces clashed. 19 Regime planes were shot out of the air, 15 Imperial planes went with them. It was essentially a draw. Air superiority had not been established, but it didn't matter. Much of the anti-air defenses in and around Rhine were shattered, but the airfields largely remained intact. Even though the Regime could still put up planes, they had no support from the ground.

With the skies still contested, Belisarius could not afford to send in ground troops to attack the city just yet. He stayed his hand, content to allowing the Air Force and Navy to do further damage it could to the Regime's Air Force. He figured one more push should break the Regime's defenses and allow Legion troops to move in and capture the city.

[Aerandariel]

10 DOSA, 1584
Battle of Rhine
Second Day

The Regime survived the first day of the Battle of Rhine with control of the city and many of its airfields, though the Angirisian Empire's Air Force and Navy shattered much of the city's most potent defenses. All that stood between the 150,000 Imperial Legion troops still on the other side of the Angirisian border and the city of Rhine was the many Regime planes still capable of being in the air and what Regime troops stood within the city.

The second day's fighting started at around seven in the morning. The Regime, hoping to catch the Angirisians off guard and to relieve some pressure off of Rhine, launched two surprise attacks. The first was an attempt at an air raid on the Imperial base at the Arcane Sanctuary, located in far southern Aranoch in the strip of territory cutting Drazen off from Eastmarch. Taking off from bases in eastern Drazen, the Regime Air Force slammed the Imperial base with everything it had. Much like the Angirisian attack on Rhine the previous morning, the Regime attack on the Sanctuary Base stunned the Angirisians and for a few minutes completely confused the Imperial forces in the area before regrouping and opening anti-air batteries. No Angirisian planes were nearby to launch, so the ground forces had to rely on the batteries to hold out. The base's commander called for reinforcements, afraid that Regime ground troops were incoming. There were no such troops following up the air raid, at least not immediately. The attack lasted two hours and while the Empire held the base, the damage was significant enough that it prevented Imperial troops from using the base as a potential staging area for a second front in the eventual ground war.

The second attack came against the impending ground invasion forces still on the Angirisian side of the border. Hoping to do enough damage to keep the massive army away from Rhine for another day or two to allow Regime reinforcements to arrive, the Regime sent the planes it still had near Rhine against the invasion army. Aware of the attack on the Sanctuary Base, Belisarius saw this one coming. He ordered Angirisian planes into the air to stave off much of the attack, but ordered much of the infantry into hastily-constructed bunkers to limit casualties. The Regime bombers found themselves without sufficient targets, and fell easy prey to Imperial stealth fighters that swarmed them in mere minutes.

With the surprise attacks over, the Empire launched a counterattack. Another onslaught of bombers and cruise missiles fell upon Rhine and this time upon the airfields outside of the city. Specifically targeted were the majority of the remaining planes still on the ground. With those out of the way, the Legion had free reign across much of northern Drazen. But the Angirisians ran into a problem. The Regime hid some of their planes south of Rhine, and they caught the Angirisians completely by surprise. Four Imperial planes were blasted out of the air, and two more had to try and land on one of the aircraft carriers out at sea.

By now, Belisarius has had enough. He sent word to Admiral Farragut, asking him to send his battle planes east towards Rhine to keep them off of the bombers. Sixteen planes taking off from the Barrister sped east. They were heavily armed, but just light enough to be among the Empire's fastest fighters in its arsenal. They reached the battle zone within forty-five minutes and took two Regime planes down within seconds. A second dogfight erupted, with the Empire getting the upper hand despite their bombers going down. With too few bombers in the air, Belisarius diverted the primary attack plan from bombing raids to using the battle planes to directly attack the Regime's standing forces in Rhine. But that part of the plan required the battle planes land back in Angiris to refuel. After all, they were short-range fighters and couldn't go long distances so quickly. That would take several more hours.

10 DOSA, 1584
Columbiana, Southhaven

With the primary invasion army setting up north of Rhine, a second smaller force comprised of two divisions plus a regiment of Elite Imperial Guard troops commanded by none other than Emperor Tyrael himself had arrived in Columbiana preparing for his part of the battle. As of this point, the Emperor was now the most superior Angirisian officer in the field; not even General Belisarius could order the Emperor's forces into anything.

The Emperor's battle plan consisted of moving his army west to attack Drazen from the east. Despite the setback of Sanctuary Base's fall, Tyrael had the resources available to rebuild the base and build a new Command Center there and to link up with the two brigades scattered between Drazen and Eastmarch in far southern Aranoch. With that link-up, Tyrael's army would make for the Arcane Sanctuary by mid-month and hopefully by the end of the month be approaching Drazen's eastern frontiers.

By the time Tyrael reached Columbiana, word had reached Belisarius near Rhine that the Emperor's army was on the move. Belisarius formed a new plan and pitched it to Tyrael: the Emperor's army would sweep the eastern and southern areas of Drazen while Belisarius would move through the north. Once the frontiers were clamped down and Rhine had fallen, both the Emperor and Belisarius would make for an all-out attack on the capital at Alsace, and end the Regime once and for all.

[Aerandariel]

11 DOSA, 1584
Battle of Rhine, Third Day
General Belisarius's Command

The third day of the Battle of Rhine moved quietly. Little activity was heard of; Regime commanders could no longer risk more planes on Rhine when an even larger battle was still to come further south. What few ships they had they evacuated to bases in and around Alsace, in an effort to better defend the capital.

In the late morning, General Belisarius ordered his army of 150,000 across the Drazen-Angiris border with a course set for the city of Rhine, finally initiating the ground invasion of Drazen. It took three hours for the Imperial troops to cross the border, reaching the city limits of Rhine by five in the evening. At the same time, 65,000 Regime troops marched into the city itself and some advance units began moving into attack position against Belisarius's center III Corps. Some gunfire was exchanged, but there were no known casualties. Much of the day was spend moving troops into position for what was sure to be the real battle the next day.

11 DOSA, 1584
Southern Aranoch
Emperor Tyrael's Command

With Belisarius preparing to move on Rhine, Emperor Tyrael's force of 60,000 departed Columbiana with its sights set on eastern and southern Drazen. Along the way, the Emperor would survey the damage at the Arcane Sanctuary Base and see if his forces could help rebuild. With that, another 40,000 were on their way to spread themselves between eastern Drazen and western Eastmarch. 15,000 of those troops would join Tyrael's army, while the remaining 25,000 would serve as the guard force.

Mid-afternoon on the 11th, Tyrael's army reached the frontiers of Aranoch with another day or two's worth of movement ahead of them to reach Drazen.

[Aerandariel]

12 DOSA, 1584
Battle of Rhine, Fourth Day
General Belisarius's Command

The fourth day of battle at Rhine began fast and furious. The Regime defenders at Rhine knew they had to throw the Imperial attackers off-balance, and so opened a barrage of artillery fire designed to soften up the Angirisian lines for a massive frontal assault. General Belisarius ordered the bulk of his infantry to hunker down while sending two divisions of his Armored Cavalry Corps to engage the artillery units in front of the Imperial line. The Regime had used some of the outlying terrain to their advantage, depositing a large portion of their artillery brigades on hills guarding by a regiment or two of infantry. Belisarius couldn't afford to risk many planes, so he tasked Cavalry Commander Polaris Ursilis with clearing out the artillery units.

For four hours, the Angirisian tanks and Galasian batteries traded fire, each doing little damage to one another. At one point, the tanks got out of the range of the batteries, and so the Galasians began shelling the fortified Angirisian positions at Belisarius's center line. Finally, at around 10 in the morning, Belisarius dispatched three regiments to begin taking out the artillery positions via a ground attack. Despite the risk, Belisarius had to eliminate the artillery barrages to clear the open ground so that either a) he could use planes or b) fight the Regime army on open ground.

The first Angirisian troops attacked a hill, what Galasians called Moor's Hill, overlooking the Imperial left flank. There, the Regime forces began firing down on the Angirisians from the summit of the hill. Several Angirisians were cut down, but the majority of them evaded fire. The Angirisians would return fire, and killed at least six or seven Regime troops. The two forces met near the summit of Moor's Hill and a bloody fistfight broke out. Fists, rifle butts, knifes and pistols were engaged, and dozens of troops on either side were put down. In the midst of the fight, two Angirisian soldiers got around the Regime line and set charges at the artillery batteries, exploding and disabling them. This lapse infuriated the Galasians, who responded with a furious charge at the Angirisians. However, the Imperials used the Galasians' own momentum against them, outflanking them and drove the Galasians down the side of the hill. The Angirisians claimed Moor's Hill after a bloody struggle, and there were three more engagements just like it on three other hills. The Angirisians claimed two more positions, but the Galasians held one, a critical position in which the artillery fire from there could still rain down on the Angirisian troops advancing towards the city. Belisarius knew it was trouble, but couldn't risk any more regiments.

After a short break in the fighting around mid-day, it erupted again at 1:45 in the afternoon. The meat of the battle had begun. 40,000 Regime infantrymen began advancing, with at least 73,000 Angirisians preparing to meet them in the middle. Despite outnumbering the Galasians nearly two to one, the Angirisians had difficulty moving into position, enabling the Galasians to go on offense. Two divisions slammed into Belisarius' left and center flanks with the goal of getting behind the Angirisians and attack from the rear. This attack was complicated with two artillery positions having been lost in the morning and those positions now being used to reinforce the Angirisian infantry. Despite the advantage, the Angirisians lost 2,200 men in the first forty-five minutes of the ground battle. The Galasians lost only 900 men, but they were not able to secure their gains.

The Angirisians counter-attacked at 3:00 pm. Belisarius reinforced his damaged left flank and ordered them to drill right into the heart of the Galasian left. He then pushed his artillery commanders to begin firing down, in hopes of softening the Regime lines before they made contact with Imperial soldiers. It somewhat worked. The Angirisian artillery fire did little to soften the Regime forces up, but it did slow them down to a crawl. This allowed the Angirisians to charge into the Galasian line and drive them almost two miles backward, virtually erasing all the gains the Galasians had just made almost an hour prior. The Galasians panicked, held their ground, counterattacked, then fell back again closer to the city of Rhine. At that point Belisarius had ordered a massive frontal assault, utilizing nearly the full force of his army. 110,000 troops slammed into 52,000 Regime soldiers head-on, forcing all Galasian positions to retreat into the city. That assault cost the Angirisians another 3,500 men while the Galasians lost 5,000. By evening, the Galasian army was now holed up in the downtown district of Rhine, while the Angirisians essentially held the northern and eastern districts of the city. Galasian civilians who were still in the city either fought back against the Angirisians or fled. Those who fled were allowed to go to safety in eastern Drazen or they fled southward toward Alsace. Those who fought back were captured and detained, their arms confiscated.

The Angirisians had won day four, but they did not take the city. It would either take a protracted siege or an all-out attack to break the Galasians. Belisarius knew even if he won, it would be a Pyrrhic victory if the city was heavily damaged. If the Angirisians had any hope of occupying Drazen post-war, they needed to keep the cities intact as much as possible.

12 DOSA, 1584
Angirisian-Galasian Border
Emperor Tyrael's Command

With combat exploding in the North, Emperor Tyrael's army of now 75,000 moved inexorably closer toward the border between southwestern Aranoch and eastern Drazen. That area of the country was largely rural, but Tyrael was informed in advance that at least 25,000 Regime troops, spread across three small armies, stood in his way of linking up with Belisarius. Tyrael's army spent much of the 10th and the early part of the 11th moving to the border.

Once at the border, gunfire erupted. A Galasian scout unit, made up of maybe only a couple hundred men, tried an ambush on an advance unit of Tyrael's army. 30 Angirisians were gunned down before they even knew what was happening, taking Tyrael completely by surprise. The Emperor ordered the unit captured. Quickly, 1,000 Angirisian troops surrounded the Regime's 220 men and forced the unit's surrender. The commander of the unit divulged intelligence which confirmed Tyrael's own information: three Regime units were in eastern Drazen, but they had been reinforcing those positions for the last two days. Their numbers were now easily 50,000 combined between the three armies and those numbers would be growing. The Emperor knew he had a problem brewing. He made two orders: 1) his army needed to move faster across the border and eliminate the three armies before they became too strong and 2) call in 20,000 additional troops to join his army. The second order bewildered Imperial command, considering Tyrael had a very well equipped and very strong army already. But the Emperor did not want to take any chances. Even if there was a 1% chance of failure, Tyrael explained, then the Empire had to take it as an absolute certainty.

With the first of many obstacles to come cleared, Tyrael moved over the Angirisian border into Drazen by late evening on 11th, and set up camp there.

[Hadash]

Late Dosa, 1584

As soon as the conflict started, Prime Minister Perceval Oberonus was sidelined and the military leadership was assumed by the Council of National Unity. While Foreign Minister Safirus Urenius was considered an influential member of the government given his loyalty and personal friendship with Lieutenant-general Tristan Morganus, he found his role in the government reduced to confirm official statements and television messages for the state-owned television channel. For its most part, the role of the government was reduced to civilian administration, without much control on the police and armed forces.

Lieutenenant-general Galahad Trojanus, Minister of Defense since 1581, had rebuild the armed forces -renamed as Galasian Armed Forces- as the own image and likeness of the new authorities. Most of the most committed monarchist military officers were purged, and hundreds of official -willing to serve the new regime with sudden loyalty- were promoted. Trojanus also implemented important administrative reforms in the armed forces. As the only person who was both a member of the national government and the military Council of National Unity, Trojanus could be considered one of the most powerful members of the recently proclaimed Galasian republic. So far, however, Trojanus seemed content to act as the right-hand of Lieutenant-general Tristan Morganus.

Trojanus knew well that the Galasian government was not prepared for the war, and that there were not realistic options to win a war against Angiris. This was obvious, and it was accepted by all members of the Council of National Unity. He was well aware that although the military leadership was loyal to the new regime, many military officers -including a few members of the Council of National Unity- believed that a total war against the Angirisian empire was pointless, and they would serve the nation better if the war effort was aimed toward a "honourable defeat": force the enemy to be willing to accept a Galasian surrender which was able to keep the main national interests of the nation, which they considered the basic principles of their military revolution - the acceptance of Galasia independence and sovereignty in the post-war order including the guarantee of the nation's territorial integrity.

Trojanus considered that this was unrealistic and unlikely. Everything was lost, he thought, but there is no option that to continue with the current plan. Morganus agreed, but he was willing to go a step beyond. Our only option, Lieutenant-general Tristan Morganus argued, is to cause so much pain, casualties, and costs to the Angirisian government that their military strategy collapse, or at least produce internal division in their public opinion. To achieve that, all military means were needed to be used, including the attack to the closest Angirisian cities -even those without clear military interests, and the use of all weaponry, including the decade-old chemical weapons acquired from the Adwestene government. Morganus plan's included the launching of such weaponry just before the Galasian defenses were able to collapse in Rhein, in order to cause confusion in the enemy, and in the eastern front with a more controlled and effective attack once the winds were favourable to the highest number of casualties in the enemy. Trojanus felt that such plan was close to madness, but he was not willing to oppose Morganus, who was the unopposed supreme leader of the new region.

---

General Leon Elyanus looked the image of his own face on the mirror without easiness. He was wearing his old military uniform, which he had only worn for a few days during the last years. A retired general, he had been one the highest officers of the armed forces, in charge of the New Galasian Legion until 1579. That year, although he was not officially blamed, he was demoted after the terrorist attack who killed Viceroy Arcturus Neretus, the heir to the throne. That event, that he survived by only a few metres, still caused him shrivers and nightmares. He was forced to retire from the armed forces as soon as Duke Ambrosius was appointed Regent.

Although he still considered himself a monarchist, Elyanus decided to call for the acceptance of the new regime and expressed his loyalty to the Council of National Unity. He believed that the country was in a deep crisis, and the unity of the nation should be the unalienable and basic aim in such circumstances. Elyanus had met Morganus when the latter was only a young officer, and while he did not agree with his political views and was aware of his tough and controversial character, he felt he may be the strong leader that the nation may need - at least until the end of the war and the defeat of the revolution in the east. He was given back his old military ranks, and the Council of National Unity appointed him as Governor of Aestan, one of the southeastern provinces. In 1582, he resigned and finally resigned.

Six days ago, Elyanus was called back to the army, and ordered to join the northeastern front, where a massive Angirisian offensive was expected, and the Council of National Unity was afraid that the current officers in charge of that district were not experienced enough. He was willing to serve the nation and the army, even it was not anymore the old army he had given the best years of his life. However, a personal order by General Gaius Pendragon cooled his own blood.

He had never disobeyed an order, but he hadn't enought strength to ever consider it. Guilty thoughts had constantly dominated and hurted his mind during the last years, while he saw, day after day, how his wife was overpowered by an unexpected impulsive joy that looked close to madness. Anyway, that was probably better than thinking about it, Elyanus thought. But he could not accepted it now. It is immoral to murder a girl who was not even ten years old yet. This could not be accepted.

"My brother has arrived", his wife said, interrupting Elyanus' thoughts. "His car is on the garage".

"Fine", Elyanus replied. "It is better you leave now. I will leave in two hours, and even if they said they will come back tomorrow morning, it is better to hurry up. As you know, I left the folder with all the documents on the kitchen".

"How do you know that they don't know that?", she replied. "They may know it already...".

"We have no other option but to trust that won't be the case", Elyanus said. "Remember to cut the phone as soon as you arrive to the estate. Don't do anything stupid, just wait. You may be only gaining time, but pray that is enough".

"This is madness", she said, crying. "What kind of life are we living?".

"Don't think about that", Elyanus replied. "Leave now".

---

Meanwhile, the destruction of Alsace was seen in the east with a combination of euphoria, hope, and mistrust. However, the fate was already decided, for good or for bad, and the Rojadavi leadership was not willing consider other result that the dreamy final victory.

The offensive had been carefully designed, aimed to disband and isolate the Akhadist militias from Nova Tairal. Once again, Helîm Bozarslan was put in charge of the Rojadavi Army, now generously supplied by the Angirisians, Zargistan, and A'Sir, and no mistakes could be allowed.

[Aerandariel]

14 DOSA, 1584
Battle of Rhine, Sixth Day
General Belisarius' Command

With two days inside of the city of Rhine, both the Imperial and Regime forces blasted each other in hopes of dislodging each other's armies.

With pressure building from the Imperial Capital for more decisive action from the front, Belisarius ordered his VI and IX Corps to move into forward battle positions at least a half of a mile outside of the center of Rhine. The Imperial Air Force began bombing significant military and government targets within the city to soften up the city's defenses. Cruise missiles, fired from the Angirisian Navy batteries off the coast, began falling onto the remaining air fields and then began to target naval shipyards near Rhine. This continued for approximately ten hours. Facing dwindling supplies and little hope for any victory, Regime troops tried to hold their ground as long as they possible could, peppering the Angirisians with near-endless gunfire and trying to inflict as many casualties as possible. Belisarius's central armies, the II and IV Corps, moved down into the eastern side of Rhine, dislodged a motley force of 2,400 Galasians and forced their surrender. Later that day, another Angirisian regiment moved into downtown Rhine, captured the City Hall and Courthouse and ran up the Imperial flag. What few defenders remained had either fled south toward Alsace or surrendered.

After six days of fighting, the Angirisians had lost a total of 4,700 troops, the Galasians lost 7,500. The city of Rhine was now in Angirisian hands, and the Regime had been handed a significant defeat in the northern part of Drazen.

15 DOSA, 1584
Emperor Tyrael's Command
Eastern Drazen

Buoyed by the major victory in Rhine and the succession of smaller victories in the North and in the East, Emperor Tyrael's large army of nearly 100,000 moved into the east-central portion of Drazen with the intention of clearing the heart of the territory of Regime power and denying resupply to Alsace from the east and south. Tyrael was to move through the deserts of Eastern Alsace and then south toward the Ustyaran border. If the Angirisians could push through these areas with little issue, then the entire territory could be brought under Angirisian control and Tyrael could link up with Belisarius in preparation for the all-out attack on Alsace.

Tyrael moved into eastern Drazen and immediately ran into Regime opposition. Two small armies gathered to combat the Imperials in the deserts, but were combined to only make up less than half of Tyrael's total army. Both Regime armies attacked the Angirisians in the early morning of the 15th, hoping to either a) defeat the Emperor or b) weaken the Emperor's forces. One of the armies attacked Tyrael's northern flank while the other army hit Tyrael in the center. The Emperor dug in his XX and II Corps, absorbing the double-blow from the Regime troops. But the action took place in Tyrael's right and center, leaving his left flank on the south end completely unaffected. The Emperor then utilized a textbook maneuver, moving his left flank into forming a right angle from his center. He moved them to trap the Regime armies and pound away at them to force surrender.

The Emperor pounded the two armies for hours. One of the Regime armies attempted a breakout by moving around the southern flank of Tyrael's army but was bogged down by Angirisian artillery fire. After another two hours of fighting, the majority of the Regime troops broke and then fled. The Angirisians lost approximately 1,000 troops while the Galasians lost 3,000. But the two armies converged, regrouped and moved into a position where they could attack Tyrael a second time. But Tyrael saw the attack coming and moved his army into defensive position.

---

LATE DOSA, 1584
Cathedrium, capital of the Angirisian Empire

The Second Angirisian-Galasian War had been raging for nearly a full month, and in that time the northern, eastern and southern frontiers of Drazen had either been occupied or were being attacked by well over 320,000 Angirisian soldiers divided between two armies. The Imperial Navy was completely successful in bottling up the Drazen coast, and the Air Force was in total control of the skies. After the capture of East Drazen, the Empire instituted a no-fly zone over nearly all of the country.

An attempt to urge the surrender of the Alsace government by the administration of Chancellor Aerandariel Apotecarius was firmly rebuffed, with the now military-controlled government of the territory determined to fight until the bitter end. They knew the battle was hopeless, but it appeared as if the Regime was resigned to inflicting as much damage as it could upon the Imperial armies to force the Angirisians into a position where they would have to accept Regime rule at the end of the war and very likely leave the Rojadavi-controlled Eastmarch vulnerable...