NationStates Jolt Archive

(This RP is semi-closed, involving parties previously entangled in the regional strife be they Korean, Chinese, or even extra-regional nations. This is mainly because there’s a lot of history that is too complicated to be explaining every five minutes.)

“The completion of the 1931 Revolutionary Struggle is upon us, comrades! It is often said that a plan can not expect to survive the enemy’s, true, but our wise Director has furnished us with a many-layered strategy for victory. We may be fortunate to find the multiplicity of our apparently formidable opposition affords it disunity in its own planning. If the enemies have no unified plan for attacking us, they can not defeat us, and we have nothing to lose. We stand to gain an end to more than seventy years of Korean struggle against the conflicting forces of jealous foreign enemies.
“For more than seventy years, almost every comrade, every relative who has died too soon has gone back into the earth because they wanted the revolution to free Koreans and to reunite our home. We are now so close, because of their sacrifices, to achieving their great dream of liberty and comradeship!”

His Banat-heavy audience keenly accepted Cheiy’s words as trusted agents watched for any wavering within the assembly’s throng, Reunification Rainbow’s cheery refrain maintaining that surreal edge that clung to every operation that could really call itself Drapoel. He went on to speak of, “A cancer that pulsates in the body of Korea”, an address that reached the thousands of comrades crewing guns and rocket launchers opposite the Quinntonian Westguaard Line. To these men and women the metaphor was quite clear.

This was a day of great activity. As comrade Cheiy’s words echoed around the Hamhung Perimeter, Paektusan rattled under familiar sirens. The re-lined Dragon’s Throat, previously engaged in launching microsatellites for the Chinese, thundered again, this time deploying orbiters again for the CPRD. Based upon Chinese and Beth Gellen technologies, some of these would sneak up on larger enemy satellites above Korea, attaching themselves and their jammers or explosives to the offending spies and communications relays.

The forty-eight metre-long Dragon’s Talons, eight of them scattered across the Choson People’s Republic, drew-up their own 340mm and 100mm bores. On this day they would shoot at still more enemy satellites, coating them with a sticky substance that would render them useless. Of course comrade Oamarii-Il was heavily involved in the delicate targeting process that would explode shells close to their targets, spraying them into blindness.

Operators were generally quite aware that their firing would reveal their huge static positions, but the task was important, and they were by no means soft targets. On the rear faces of mountains and hills, the Talons lay buried in the slope with their muzzles hinged and bases floating atop huge trolleys in underground caverns tens of metres from the surface. Targeting and firing was a huge task that could not be quickly repeated were trajectory to be altered, as the pipes that fed gas to the firing chamber were even less easily moved than the hundreds of tonnes of gun barrel and mobility trolley. If the first volley succeeded, as it should, in disabling the enemy’s satellites, it would be that much harder to confirm the location of the weapons, it was hoped. The ridges and hilltops around each gun were spotted with AAA and SAMs.

The guns were really a tertiary concern. Blinding enemy satellites was considered important generally. Even before these measures were carried out, the forward assembly areas inhabited by multiple Assault Divisions (as had been the case ever since the advance stopped in the last round of fighting) were just beginning to increase their rate of reinforcement. With satellites potentially blinded this only increased, as the ever-ready UPA began to move massive forces from reserve areas near the old DMZ up to the new border area, and from deep inside the north to mid way positions near the 38th parallel. Underground railways shunted men and supplies towards the south. They could not this time ferry thousands of commandos behind enemy lines, as work to extend the tunnels far enough had been halted so as to prevent the tunnels being detected. In fact, blast doors were being closed for quite some way down the tunnels, others had been filled in with earth (as mentioned weeks ago). At various points to their southern extent, tunnels were crammed with tonnes of high explosives. These would be detonated just before the main advance began, and though they were positioned quite arbitrarily, the hope was to create in equal measure fear and confusion, as well as perhaps some chance material damage to whatever happened to be near by.

“Comrade soldiers!” Cried General Hozaro, 100th Assault Division. “The enemies are aligned again and their strength increases by the day! We must not lose the great momentum built during the last great campaign. Now we march forward to finally put-down four generations of foreign pollution of our lands! We shall be victorious one last time, as designed by the Strongest Director, comrade Secretary Hotan! This time, the imperialist shall not dare to attack Korea with nuclear weapons, for the comrade Director assures me that to do so will this time see no quarter from his hand!”

Tens of thousands of young men and women erupted into cheers of, “For Hotan!” “Glory to/by Kuro!” and “Death to the invaders!” amongst others. Countless Drapoel had harboured concealed bitterness over the repeated acts of moderation and restraint impressed upon them by their ‘Strongest Leader’, and could not help but relate it to Wiman’s hesitation against the Japanese. It hadn’t gone far enough that anyone dared complain, of course, but Hozaro’s assurance that no quarter would be given this time to the underhanded tactics of the enemies was a great weight off many. It acted as a release for so much more confused resentment held in so many hearts and heads in the CPRD as hundreds of thousands of snarling faces looked south. They were determined to gain satisfaction for how often the outside had spat on their gestures of humility and restraint. First the Quinntonians had refused to accept the error of their unprovoked invasion and occupation of Hamhung even when Dra-pol voluntarily surrendered thousands of its people accused of war crimes, chose to release rather than slaughter captured Raysian soldiers who’d attacked Da’Khiem, and handed-over their Director Kurosian II. Then the Kileans had launched nuclear weapons at Dra-pol itself, and now the enemies continued to build-up forces against the people though Dra-pol never returned the nuclear favour to enemy lands. This time such betrayals, such ignorance of Drapoel humility and restrained would not serve the immoral invaders as a tool, but would contribute to their defeat and expulsion from Korea.

As commanders told their comrades across the CPRD, this would not be any victory of liberation- this would free Korea forever!

Just as first light peered through the hills there began a grand display. The Two Billion Struggle’s epic result revealed itself in the flash of unfathomable artillery power across the border and the Hamhung line.

--

In Japan, just hours earlier, an L2D4 transport plane had requested permission to land in the north, and an ambassador from Da’Khiem had asked to be entertained. He would delay until half past six in the morning, quite some minutes after the offensive was due to begin, before informing the government that the unification was to be finally completed. He wished to present an ancient and incredibly delicate wooden carving of the Dragon Carp, representing that supposed by folklaw to have been caught and released upon asking for mercy, and later found to be child of the oceanic ruler, the Dragon King. It was to be presented –as representing a fish revered in both nations- in good faith with the promise that the Choson People’s Republic did not mean to drag Japan into the liberation war. Its relation to the dragon lord of the oceans could perhaps be taken as a sign that Da’Khiem thought it in Japan’s best interests to accept their offer of mutual non-aggression.

Similarly, in Xiaguo, an emissary from Dra-pol requested an audience with the head of government. The striking thirty-something woman wished to inform the Chinese of the final push for re-unification and the freedom of Asia from western imperialism. The Choson People, she meant to assure her hosts, held the Chinese in nothing but the highest esteem, and there was no desire to drag them into the liberation struggle. She did not attempt to conceal the fact of long range artillery, fighter aircraft, and mechanised forces on the CPRD’s northern frontier, saying that Hotan hoped to be taken at his word, but would not meet aggression in idle defence. Certainly the forces north were nothing compared to those used offensively to the south, though they were far more than a million strong without accounting for irregular forces on high alert. This was ordinary for the Drapoel, as would be well known to Chinese intelligence services, it was assumed.
The woman brought with her a small, weather-beaten relic, reportedly a stone carving of Sanshilyong, Korean god of the mountains, meant as a reminder that the Drapoel would remain there and had no ambitions on Chinese soil. She would say that it came from Paegam’s Forbidden City, and it would be hard to prove her wrong.
It was probably nothing so astonishing as the sight of this tall woman- her skin brilliant white and long hair golden and curled. She would introduce herself as Madame Kurosian...

--

OOC: Please, you may tag, of course, but don’t post any IC reaction as yet. My next post will better detail the first actions, occurring with chronological uniformity. That is, they'll occur at the same time or within moments of what I've already described, so there'll be no respite in which to realise, hey, guess who just flung mud in our eyes-in-the-sky! I’ve already given you a fair chunk to read, and the attack is going to be one of the largest in human history, so the next post should be significant, too. I didn’t want to stick them both together, just to be easier on the eyes, really.

The last war in Korea had been a clash of biblical proportions.

Christianity was a sin in The Choson People’s Republic, and the final push for liberation and reunification would eclipse all that came before unless the enemies were wise enough to lay down their arms inside the first minutes. In the previous (second) war for unification, Seoul and many other major cities had been re-united with the rest of the nation, and this had been achieved by a vast army of perhaps six million men and women, all told, fighting and otherwise serving the cause at various times and places across South Korea. But the Choson People’s Republic of Dra-pol was a nation akin to the mythical DPRK, a land home to a population equivalent to one hundred times smaller than that of Dra-pol. These otherworldly Koreans were prepared to deploy forces less than ten times smaller than the force Dra-pol used. Yes, the Drapoel People’s Army had thrown hardly a tenth of its abilities into the first leg, and yes, reports of our impending demise have been greatly exaggerated.

After the Two Billion Struggle and the great reserve exhibited by Hotan in the last conflict, the Unified People’s Army had never been stronger. Hundreds of millions of tonnes of fuels, of munitions, and of food and other stores remained intact, though the nuclear decimation of Pyongyang had spoiled hundreds of thousands of tonnes close to and on the surface. Peanuts, in the grand scheme of things. And Hotan’s refusal to deplete Dra-pol’s ballistic missiles and nuclear materials in retaliation left the Republic with several hundred missiles nestling in their silos.
Some length had been travelled to give the impression of inability and unwillingness to strike on this year. Talk of famine had been hugely exaggerated (though chronic malnutrition remained a fact of life in large parts of the countryside, and cities were accustomed to breadlines). The refusal to allow foreigners far inside in spite of the crisis was played as if an attempt to hide the true horror of the situation- in fact it was meant to hide the opposite. Dra-pol had continued to stockpile food throughout the crisis, some of it foreign aid, but over 90% home-grown or imported in the usual fashion.

Of course, massive forces had remained on the border, and indeed continued to build-up over recent months, but this was normal Drapoel practice, and it’d taken them almost fifty years to follow-up on it, last time. Major projects on the coasts had been created with long construction schedules- it would appear that the Drapoel were trying to build-up a credible blue-water navy, which would of course take more than a matter of months, and presumably detract from other abilities. In truth, projects Mago, Oryonggeo, and Red Tide were barely moving, and never meant to be anything more than one-off tools with limited tactical purpose. They’d halted expansion of the brown-water navy, but that had already over nine thousand hulls at its disposal, and so there would be few complaints.

Hamhung

The first ray of sun broke across the top of the massive Christian fortifications and seemed to strike a nerve in the wounded beast of the Choson People’s Republic. All the fury of a nation scorned was unleashed through twenty thousand artillery tubes as 75mm shells fired from behind the surrounding hills crashed down in the Quinntonians’ rear, intended to disrupt aid efforts directed from the coast to the insultingly named Peace Line that scared Korea. On the tops and exposed faces of those same hills, 100mm, 105mm, and 115mm guns along with smaller crew-served arms launched direct fire into the opposing guns, sentries, and everything else of note that had for years faced them in uneasy silence. From the rear-faces many more guns were hauled or propelled by their own power to join the fight and replace losses. Others were moved underground and hill into the tunnels behind the HARTS, protected by blast doors and waiting to be ordered in to replace expected losses, engineering crews huddled about and prepared to remove wreckage. The carnage was sure to be great in this confined area of battle, and it could only be hoped that the Quinntonians would surrender or else agree to withdraw from Hamhung under cease-fire. In the city, there was no uprising as in previous attempts to drive-out the Quinntonians, instead two of the few surviving Banat agents in the weary infiltration force approached the governmental district. They wore full Banat parade dress, hats appearing two sizes larger than required and sandals replaced by highly polished boots that must have been in storage for years. Armed only with traditional short-swords and pistols, the two –a Lieutenant and a Captain- were the highest ranking agents left alive after several failed insurrections and the capture of numerous peace-time infiltration teams. They came professionally down the high street with the intention of accepting the city’s surrender, prepared in the event of a refusal to negotiate for a cease-fire enabling the immediate evacuation of Quinntonians and Christian Koreans. It would be pointed-out that the city itself had not yet been subject to direct artillery attack, but would be destroyed to the last if neither of the Republic’s generous offers were quickly accepted.

Andong

This border town must have been one of the strangest places on earth. The sense of foreboding buzzed in the air more tangibly than the Geiger counters at work to the north and west. Work had continued, because there existed institutions at which it was supposed to go on. It didn’t seem to make all that much sense, though. The renowned People’s Army 100th Assault Division obliterated the buzzing in a rapture of diesel engines and artillery fire while an accompanying chorus of countless artillery rockets rushed overhead. Hozaro’s spearhead contained a total of sixty thousand personnel, though this did not include the static guns and rocket launchers in the town’s northern extent, nor the anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missile batteries scattered about. Eighty crude MLRS and around two hundred guns from 75mm to 190mm assailed ROKA and LRR positions in and around the town’s southern extent as some eight hundred amphibious AVs dashed from urban cover to ford the river across a wide front under their covering fire. How many light mortars, RPGs, sniper-rifles, and machineguns opened-up was anybody’s guess. Amongst the AVs were APCs carrying a regiment of infantry more than two thousand strong and heavily representing the crack Red Bamboo commando force.
Several FROG-7B launched conventionally armed missiles from up to sixty miles from the front, targeting the defenders’ rear. Their main intention was to force advanced LRR SAMs into intercepting and revealing their current locations. 190mm guns and rocket artillery would quickly be focused on any batteries within a few dozen kilometres of the front, where they’d likely have to be to have any chance of intercepting such short range battlefield missiles as the FROGs before they impacted.

Ich’on, east of Suwon PAAF Base

Forces in the hilly terrain around Ich’on were alerted to the offensive’s beginning when rockets and shells from Yangp’yong came overhead, bound for the enemy’s front lines. Forces began at once to roll down the southward road and west towards Suwon, from where they too would turn south and storm down onto the plains fostering the enemy’s bombarded forward positions.

All across the peninsula’s width Drapoel S-200/SA-5 long-range SAMs were launched against any AWACs-type aircraft found within 250km or so of the CPRD’s borders. QW-2 MANPADs, DRAR-19 Chaparral-alikes, HQ-2Bs and AAA from 7.7mm to 100mm gave brief bursts of fire against any normally patrolling aircraft near the front. This barrage was much more furious than the one to the southeast at Andong where Drapoel agents were trying to convey a willingness to accept LRRA and ROKA surrenders with a promise to free those who did not hamper the reunification.

The vast bulk of one hundred and fifty thousand artillery tubes that had the range of the enemy’s front and immediate rear were coming to life with the new day. No counter-battery radar on earth, whether manually or electronically commanded, could hope to cope with even the first volley of fire given against the foreigners and the stubborn ROKA puppet. when the shells landed, it was hard to imagine how even a small creature hiding in the earth could survive the first minute of fire, let alone the next and the next that would come. Millions of tonnes of high explosives and submunitions terraformed the land for miles into the south on a front starting west of Ch’onan and ending north of Ch’ongju. After just three volleys -barely a minute of firing in which almost half a million rounds landed on the enemy at dawn- the fire began to walk south as the UPA barrelled into P’yongt’aek with guns blazing and voices raised in patriotic and revolutionary fervour.

It was expected that they would find chaos and ruin as an unprecedented level of force announcing six AM smashed the enemy. The barrage was a hundred times greater than the heaviest seen at any horrific battle of the Great War. The weight of fire was judged sufficient to allow the following advance to come after so few volleys and far too little time for a response to be co-ordinated even if anyone had survived, which was in itself incredibly unlikely. Dozens of D-Type 18 (T-62-alike) tanks rattled forth into the town as untold thousands of AVs moved down the road south of Ich’on.

Thus far Hotan’s tactics had been several fold in spite of the apparent crude nature of the assault. The great effort to appear unprepared came first, then the possible beginning reconciliation with some more civil parties. Now the attack began hours after the time chosen for the last attempt and co-ordination was key, with select commanders told to go at a certain time regardless of the situation. It was gambled that no unforeseen factors would scupper the beginning of the advance at any point, and that the soldiers would always follow their immediate superior even if they’d heard no previous plans to attack. The artillery barrage seemed crude, but there had been sacrifices in order to construct so many guns and to produce sufficient shells and train crews. The navy didn’t get its full scale blue water force, and perhaps more uncomfortably for the rank and file, no attempt was made to replace Dra-pol’s steel-armoured 105mm and 115mm-gun-armed staple tanks. It appeared likely that the only extended flat land likely to see combat was the area south of Suwon. Elsewhere the enemy –so Hotan hoped and told his commanders- would be denied the level ground over which their modern tank guns and missiles were designed to fight. At close range a 115mm APFSDS round will punch through modern tank armour as well as will a 120mm round, so it was proclaimed. Beyond all that, this artillery barrage was different. It put maximum faith in achieving utterly unprecedented shock and force within a few volleys, thus allowing an advance to follow in minutes and seconds rather than tens of minutes or even hours.

Suwon

It was widely assumed that the massive mobile force progressing down the road from near Ich’on would be thought vulnerable to air assault, though in truth it was covered by several thousand SAMs and tens of thousands of AAA pieces.

Inside on of the hills that surround Suwon’s airbase –once used by the Americans and now a stronghold of the People’s Army Air Force- a Drapoel commander basically like so many others stood in stony regard of the analogue clock upon the wall. His name didn’t matter, his rank merely made him responsible for pulling a switch, anyone could have done it, he thought. His face was fairly handsome and just a little weathered, quite usual really, but he was balding a little quickly for a Drapoel man, many of whom lived to ripe old ages with thick heads of jet black hair. At 0558, knowing himself alone in the chamber, the man sank to his knees and offered a prayer to Chiha Yo Changgun, General of the Underworld, whom he felt must be in full knowledge of this dank, sunken corridor. He wanted to add another for the gods and goddesses associated with the winds before sending his comrades to ride their favour, but there was not time. He rose and depressed the base intercom with one hand, flipping an alarm switch with the other.

“Comrades... to wing.... for Kuro... for Korea... mother Paektusan awaits your return... Dra-pol salutes you. Revolution!”

By the time he’d finished speaking, turbojets were already whirring. S-5 attack fighters were slipping down runways, reaching significant speeds before bursting, still grounded, from hillsides onto tiny final take-off strips cleared of camouflage just split seconds earlier. From Suwon would come six hundred of these primitive aircraft, and even if the mission went impossibly well and was 100% perfect, no more than four hundred could return. As they raced into the sky, the jets made V-form and headed south at over five hundred miles per hour, flying low and barely rising over hilltops. Their formations, likely not seen since the ill-advised early RAF operations against the Luftwaffe, had a purpose. In each trio, the two outside aircraft carried full loads of 30mm cannon rounds and unguided air-to-ground rockets, their purpose to shock and disrupt whatever lay ahead even if it meant certain destruction. The central aircraft carried nought obvious in the way of armament. They were, each of the two hundred, packed with high explosives replacing cannons, shells, rockets, parachutes, and half of their fuel load. Their purpose was to slam into the enemy’s airstrips rendering them useless. Where they arrived to runways already destroyed they were to attack hangars and other air base structures.

Air bases within a couple of miles of the front would be completely obliterated already by the weight of artillery bombardment, and the aircraft would have to attack anything just a little further south. Still, there was not much of Korea left to get through. From the time that the S-5s appeared over the last hilltop and became possibly detectable to the enemy to the time they would reach the airstrips there would be hardly a couple of minutes. How many fighters could the enemies scramble in a couple of minutes from first detection to impact on their runways?

That number may have been important, for it would face the first waves of an S-7 (Fishbed) force over three thousand strong operating from Suwon, near Seoul, Inch’on, and Ich’on. The Drapoel MiG-21s were shorter than the original format, possessing slightly reduced range and in most cases even more basic electronics. Each squadron was escorted by one with modified air intakes and a more powerful search radar, and this one was typically armed with radar-guided missiles with ranges from 45km to 90km. The rest had at best two DRAR-1 IR-guided Sidewinder-alikes and their cannons.

A southern pilot briefed on this may think of terms such as, “turkey shoot!” Then one day he wakes to the news that several hundred of the aircraft are streaming in. He has three minutes to grab his flight suit, race to his plane, taxi out, wait for the planes ahead, lift-off, make formation, arm his weapons, reach a viable combat altitude and speed, and lock-on as trained to engage the inferior jets at long range. Only they are not at long range, thundering in at Mach 2 they are visible, and they are trained to do nothing but dogfight at close range with no regard for advanced long range combat for which he is trained. Their tiny primitive jets can turn inside his modern hardware without difficulty and the (apparently) fearless Drapoel pilots hug his plane, making it impossible for either he or his comrades to acquire them or engage. 30mm cannons blaze down his neck and all of those millions of dollars seem as if they would have been better spent on a thousand Spitfires. The Drapoel girl, her thumbs white as she forces down the trigger, revels in her faith in the masses.

The same was happening across the border, as Hotan –location presently unknown- marshalled his forces, sending scores of similar raids into the south. Such attacks as described make no mention of the K-1 and K-2 jets- the actual dedicated attackers that would begin to lift-off after the S-5s attacked runways without care for their own survival and S-7s swarmed upon any scrambled fighters. The attackers –native Feda Kwong and modified SU-17- were to sweep in and attack the SAM batteries likely to open-up on the first fighter waves.

For now it was glorious and ran with all the precision and order expected of the Drapoel, but as the aircraft screamed overhead, General Hozaro’s scarred visage hid grave concerns for the coming days. How would the Republic’s limited technologies cope with the co-ordination of events after the very first attack, events that could not be absolutely planned for and that would occur after losses were taken? To him it seemed best that his ground forces over-run as much of the enemy as was revealed to him around Andong, it was all he could hope to do.

Inch’on

Aircraft continued to stream away to the south, though several advanced S-10 and S-11 interceptors were visible on airstrips, apparently waiting to defend the region against counterstrikes the enemy was thought unlikely to be capable of launching.

From an island in the distance there was a definite flash of flame observable from the mainland. It was a 130km-range QW-2 missile, the Harpoon of the CPRD, and it was making for a hostile target that might be as far south as waters west of T’aenan. Further south more missiles began to streak forth, seeking similar targets. They raked a morning sky under which the Yellow Sea Fleet was taking to the waves. Such a sight! Admiral comrade Li-Il’s force contained a total of 4,983 vessels including 132 missile boats, 360 diesel-electric submarines and mini-subs, 18 frigates, and 600 torpedo boats. Not every single hull was out, this morning, of course, but they continued to flow forth and dash for enemy warships sat about in the Yellow Sea for months. With missile boats carrying 48km and 130km range anti-shipping missiles, and SAM batteries dotted across the far-reaching islands off Inch’on, the enemy’s air bases under massive assault, and the hundreds of small targets moving at tens of knots, their force was no laughing matter. Beth Gellen-origin Hound-Class D/E hunter submarines carried eight torpedo tubes and were exceptionally quiet vessels, and as this fleet fanned-out into the sea, amphibious operations began under cover of fighters and attackers flying from as far as Haeju, and by this time the attack was tens of minutes old.

This operation was yet another wonder –or else blunder- of the CPRD, employing thousands of vessels in a constant stream due to last for hours. 1,350 Cholima hovercraft assault vehicles were prepared to put ashore almost fifty-thousand infantry on the bulge of Chungch’ong-Namdo while a hundred Inchon Class LCUs brought tanks and other AVs. Two hundred Hungnam Class LCUs brought up more men, vehicles, and supplies while six hundred Choson Class LCPs ferried some twenty thousand infantry. 720 supporting Three Day Class Assault Support Boats poured 122mm rockets forth from several miles off shore, one arriving, loosing its cargo, and retreating as the next shuffled in. It wasn’t accurate, but it was devastating to behold. The hope was to get anything up to seventy thousand marines and several hundred AVs and self-propelled SAMs ashore to the west and southwest of the enemy front lines while the frontal assault continued. This force was to thrust in behind the enemy, cutting up lines of supply to P’yongt’aek and even Ch’onan, arriving presumably minutes or more likely hours after the initial artillery barrage. Whatever the enemy may send-up from the south would be met not only by air power but by thousands of well-equipped Red Bamboo marines, many of whom had fought on this soil before, retreating under heavy air attack.

On the east coast, the marine assault was three-hundred hulls and several anti-shipping-missile batteries better-off than had been the western one. A forty-knot dash was made for Yongdok, again under cover of artillery, aircraft, and naval rocketry, while submarines, missile and torpedo boats, frigates, and ASW helicopters scoured the seas. Here, though the total force was stronger, it was spread across a longer coastline, and so it would not be initially so concentrated. Early casualties were expected to be high as boats dashed in from up the coast.

While all of this happened, and the Dragon’s Talons’ and Drapoel micro-orbiters attacked satellites, and tunnels long abandoned and packed with explosives were exploded in random places across the south, airborne insertion was also underway. 18,700 operable AN-2 Colts were listed in the PAAF inventory, each one capable of carrying a squad of commandos at a hundred knots, dipping and weaving through valleys and hills. About 12,000 of them were being employed in the advance, although again this was of course not carried out all at once. Along with ten thousand Mi-2 and Mi-8 helicopters, these aircraft would unceasingly hop across the arbitrary border carrying Red Bamboo soldiers and much needed supplies. Perhaps many would be shot-down, but it was difficult to foresee sufficient means remaining intact and unengaged by the PAAF that a majority could not survive. The ROK may have thought that infiltration was a problem in the past, but now they came in their tens of thousands, scattering in all directions and expecting once grounded to be able to kill half a dozen...ten...twenty enemies a piece, as had been the case in the past.

--

The allied governments received communications at 0710. Comrade Director Secretary Hotan was prepared to end the fight and close of the era of foreign colonialism in Korea without further bloodshed if the coalition would agree to peacefully withdraw today.

If they did not agree, an army ten times the size of that deployed in the last war would kill every single foreigner in South Korea without exception. This was fact.

If the cowardly tactics used previously against the Drapoel –namely assassination of leaders and use of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons- were again attempted, the CPRD would retaliate in kind. The communiqué made it clear that great restraint had been exercised in past dealings with the ignorant, childlike outside world, and that this period of grace had passed.

Dra-pol has this time unsheathed her blade- it is for you to decide, honoured opponent, whether you gracefully bow-out or stay to be cut asunder. Our attacks shall only intensify with each passing hour, and it is not our wish to fight total war, only to recover our homeland and lay our arms finally to rest.


(OOC: I am wondering if anybody thinks it a good idea to split this into several threads dealing with different fronts (we can discuss this further in the Korea OOC thread, but I don’t want to forget the thought when I sober-up in the morning, so I’m typing it now!) so we can go into more detail and move more slowly, hour by hour rather than sweeping action by sweeping response as last time. Of course, it is quite possible that this won’t become a lengthy war as last time, since Hotan’s offer is genuine. )

*Pohang*

Hudecian military command had received and forwarded the Drapolian message. Although the Drapolian attacks this time were on a larger scale and definately more sophisticated, this time, the allied forces were better prepared than last time too.

With over 500 000 troops, thousands of aircraft and thousands of warships in both the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea, the Hudecian armed forces were in a better position than the last time when they had no assets at all to start with.

Also, the Hudecian military had been planning for these events ever since the last war ceased.

The islands off the east and west coast had been heavily fortified and immediately opened up on the advancing Drapolian fleets. Although they would likely run out of anti-ship missiles long before Drapol ran out of ships, they would slow the advance sufficiently for the main fleet to arrive.

A primary concern of the Hudecian military command was the evacuation of the citizens of South Koryo. Preparations were made to take as many as possible away from the peninsula.

*Yeongdeok*

Despite having landed right on top of Hudecian defenses, the Drapolian units pressed onward bravely and began to overun the small coastal defenses erected by the Hudecian units.

*Ottawa*

The Prime Minister was swept from his home and sent off to the protected bunker erected outside the capital.

The Yellow Sea

Spray licked up against faces unprotected as the little Choson Class landing craft raced through the still murky dawn.

“Ah! We are entering enemy waters, why do the Three Day vessels drop-out of the fleet?”
“They must turn if they’re to fire their rockets- you saw how they were mounted aft. Do not worry, comrade, it means that they are about to attack the enemies ahead!”

Just as the worried man was expecting to see 122mm rockets rushing over head towards the coast, shouts alerted him to an incoming anti-ship missile, apparently originating from a small island visible ahead to port. A little Kae Class torpedo boat that had been moving to over-take the LCP, skipping off wave tops as it went, obscured his view of the missile. Then, as the Kae rose again, much of its modest length parting company with the water, it also began to roll on its side. There seemed a split second pause before an explosion rang-out and the on-looking Choson Class crew saw a lick of flame as the Kae landed from this skip completely the wrong way up. At least one person was seen being thrown from the boat as it rolled, and splashed flailing into the Yellow Sea at more than fifty miles per hour by the vessel’s forward momentum alone.

Several jaws were clenched as the boats sped on.

“Here come the Cholima!” Somebody cried, repeated time and again on other boats. Making around fifty knots, the hovercraft were indeed arriving, several racing between the only slightly slower conventional vessels. “More missiles! More missiles!” “Protect the hovercraft!”

14.5mm machineguns rattled by the dozen as dual-mounts swung to meet the missiles as they rushed across, through, and into the hectic assault force, a handful of QW-2 SAMs nipping out against them.

“Aiie! He got on! Comrade Choi got one!”

A missile, its fin clipped by 14.5mm fire probably by chance as much as skill, spiralled wildly into the churned sea, but others continued without check. Some boats performed breakneck turns in efforts to evade the warheads, sometimes it seemed to work, and celebration was given, but it was usually difficult to tell which boat had been targeted as missiles appearing to have missed went on to strike another hull a few hundred metres on. The sight of a hovercraft containing four dozen young men and women, racing through dim light at fifty knots, suddenly struck by kilos of high explosive was dramatic, but nothing compared to the hell being delivered to anti-Drapoel positions within range of t he UPA’s countless artillery pieces.

It was some moments before anybody noticed that the rockets were beginning to over-take the force, their dirty tails appearing almost to cast a defensive netting over the boats as 122mm claws sunk into the coastal defences.

People were dying now on both sides as governments considered Da’Khiem’s ultimatum.

[Right, in order for me to illustrate the entirety of my response, or at least the prep work for my response, it's necessary to do a bit of time traveling. Hope you guys don't mind and I'll try not to make a habit of it.]

It wasn't totally unexpected when the Dra-peol struck, even though the start of the invasion wasn't seen the blinding of the single satellite watching over the Peninsula was confirmation enough. However, the timing of the event was imperfect, at least from the perspective of the Imperium.

In the hour or two it took to realize that something was going terribly wrong the Task Force carrying the 331st Armoured was ordered to halt and take up a defensive position. The reason for this was evident, at least to anyone who had satellites watching for sharp increases in the move of Imperial forces. The 4th and 5th Imperial Fleets out of West Galicia Isle were surging, rushing to get to sea and join the 1st Assault Fleet prepping in Helsinki. Every effort was made to conceal a more sensitive surge, that of the Ballistic Missile Submarine Fleet out of Seoul, the twenty some subs and their escorts starting to move to patrol patterns in the Haven and Axackal Straits.

It was a twist of fate that allowed the rest of the Helsinki Guards Army, minus the Artillery Divisions, to begin loading almost as soon as word was given. Eight divisions began the arduous task of loading into over 60 assault ships and near three hundred WIG aircraft.

On West Galicia Isle the rapid reaction component of the Imperial Armed Forces was being prepped. Over 1,000 transport aircraft and the infantry components of twenty-eight divisions were being prepped for a massive para-borne assault on whatever target was deemed appropriate. B-30 heavy bombers and B-20 strategic bombers were being loaded with cruise missiles for strikes deep into Dra-peol territory. Again targets were unsure but then again the Imperium was not ready to strike.

When the blow came it would not be with the sharp edge of a sword but with the hard, blunt blow of Thor's Hammer.

*Ulleung-Do (island in the Sea of Japan)*

0730 hours

"FIRE!" The gunnery officer of the missile batter yelled as another missile targeting the Drapol fleet was launched.

Looking out he could clearly see explosions in the Drapol fleeet and explosions on the peninsula. Silently thanking God that he had been stationed on this island and not on the peninsula he turned to his crew and began shouting more orders.

Above him, the first Hudecian wing of aircraft was beginning to organize, their trails visible in the morning sky.

"Sir, I'm getting word from the SOJ (Sea of Japan) Fleet, they're moving ships into position and will engage within the hour. We're to keep firing but watch for them! No blue on blue!"

Across the Sea of Japan, in the People's Republic of Spyr...

The President of the People's Republic looked with concern at the reports coming in about the renewed Drapoel push for reunification.

"... I did not expect them to move so quickly... I am unsure as to where we must stand in this matter."

"Sir, the Drapoel are attempting to carry the glories of Revolution forward, and to bring their nation back to the united whole it was meant to be. Surely we must drive back the dogs of Western imperialism who seek to prevent such a noble goal from being realized!"

"We cannot act so quickly in this matter... on both sides are nations whose actions are noble. Our primary duty is to preserve the stability and prosperity of our nation, and the greater Universality, not to leap about with guns blazing just because we may agree with the general principle of a unified Drapoel Korea. Let us see what can be done to minimize the suffering this renewed conflict may bring.

Put fleet units on full alert, and deploy them into international waters off Korea to await further orders."

"Sir, North Yaman will continue its attempts to send fuel supplies to CPRD. Those who oppose unification will not look upon such actions kindly."

This had been the President's greatest concern for some time... the Yamani were Strainists, followers of the revolution he had begun so long ago, but still with the youthful idealism that he seemed to have lost. He respected them, for they took action in places where he now saw only risk and threat and the need for caution. Like the drake, they sought to fight every battle, uncaring over wether they would emerge broken and bloodied. And, like the great dragons, he slept soundly, stirring only when safe victory was assured...

The President winced. The analogy of the Dragon Warrior had been taught to him by his grandmother, a relic of an opressive tradition which he had fought to overcome. Had he fallen so far from his ideals that he now ruled through such maxims, as the Emperors of old?

"Inform the North Yamani that Spyran military units shall provide security escort for their fuel caravans to Dra-pol, from departure until they reach the Xiaguo border. After that, they must find means of their own for the last leg to their destination."

"Your Excellency? What is to be our official response?"

"Release a statement saying that we agree with the principle of a unified Korean peninsula, but we wish it could have been done through negotiation. Add that we will be officially neutral in this conflict, as we have no desire to interfere in an internal Korean matter. Also request that all sides refrain from the use of NBC warfare, as that will only contaminate the very land they are fighting for."

Rongyi nodded and raised an eyebrow. "What about our unofficial response?"

Suun grinned at him. "Unofficially, we hope that Dra-pol kicks seven shades of hell out of the allied coalition and takes the entire peninsula. We shall continue our convoys of food and medical aid to Dra-pol, under the banner of humanitarianism. We'll try to slip some goodies for them in amongst the shipments; ammunition, fuel, perhaps even some hardware if we can manage it. Wanfa, is the 1st Fleet still on exercises in the Bay of Bengal?"

The Defence Minister nodded. "Yes, Excellency. Let me guess; you'd like them to start escorting our convoys, just in case any allied ships get a little trigger-happy."

"Exactly." Suun leant forward to address the entire cabinet. "This is it, people. This will probably decide the fate of Korea once and for all, and I will be damned if we're going to let it be unified by a democratic government propped up by outside assistance. Besides, while everyone's busy fighting Dra-pol, we won't be under anyone's scrutiny."

Presidential Palace, Kinshasa

"Oh, dear. At it again, as it were.". Ndelebe sighed.. This would provide some interesting opportunities to support the CPR Dra-Pol, but it might also bring some problems for those who tried. "That is correct, mr. President." the clerk groused. Somewhere in the conversation he had turned from excited wheedling to petulant grousing, as if a potential world war in southeast Asia did not really interest him. Perhaps it didn't, considering all the strife they had all seen. "Furthermore, it would appear that older enemies of Dra-Pol are on the move, attempting to back up the republic of Korea against the Unified People's Army. What should we do?".

"We will reopen the supply lines that we discontinued after the last Korean war. Put in the 7.62 ammo we can spare and instruction manuals for all the MANPADs we shipped them last time". It was unusual for a president to give military instructions, but then again it was unusual for 5-star generals to take the presidency. "And keep me informed. I know I am not to be disturbed during the elections, but this is too important. Enter COMCON 3, but do not inform the African news network about it. If they find out, it's to guide against terrorist attacks during the elections or somesuch. If necessary, we will move in to back Dra-Pol. I just hope they can manage to win this one on their own". And he did, fervently so..

Later that day

The Secular Party publicly praises the Dra-Pol leadership for decisive action, and states that while armed conflict should be the last resort, Korea should recognize the comfort and security of being part of a unified Korea - Also, it is proclaimed that escorted convoys from the Commonwealth Navy are en route to a safe port in Korea, bringing supplies to beleaguered Korean citizens.

Imperial Palace - Tokyo

"Is this not the beginning of the Dra-Pol attempt at reunification of the Peninsula?"

Hours after the Dra-Pol attack had begun, Emperor Shokahito called an emergency convening of his Council, consisting of the Prime Marshallisimo, his Cabinet, and all sixteen Field Marshals, and all twelve Fleet Admirals.

In the traditional fashion, the Emperor stated orders in the form of a question, as he looked around at the solemn faces of the upper echelons of the Tokarev government.

"Do you not plan to mobilize with our allies to meet this threat?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Field Marshall Prince Morimasa Nashimoto, the Minister of Defense, answered. Orders have been sent to begin preparing for war. However ..."

"Do you not wish to state your reservations immediately?"

"It will take time, Your Excellency. Time we do not have. Dra-Pol already has his armies and fleets deployed, and we need to pull our forces out of peacetime budget cuts and into the front lines. We have over one hundred ships mothballed, which won't be ready for several months."

"Do you not wish to tell me what advantages, if any, we may have?"

"We have plenty of powerful allies, and from a tactical sense we are in a good position. Our guns dominate the Eastern Passage (Korea Strait) already, and at least half of our active fleet is within a day's sail from Tsushima. If we act immediately, within a week we can have our entire fleet in the area, and cut Dra-Pol's war effort. We can also deploy submarines and planes to Hokkaido and the Ryukyu Islands and prevent Dra-Pol from supplying the Peninsula. If all goes well, we can choke them."

"Is this not good? Will you not act immediately?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

"Why do you not go?"

-----------------------------------------

Kitakyushu

The great naval base at Kitakyushu was bustling with activity. Vice Admiral Ibo Takahasi had just gotten off the phone with the Chief of Maritime Staff, Fleet Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto, who had ordered every available ship into the Eastern Passage, under the big guns of Tsushima.

Ships were frantically being loaded and stocked, and Takahasi was quickly giving final orders to his staff. Nagasaki was no different, Admiral Isamu Yakuta was just as hurriedly scrambling his fleets.

-----------------------------------------

The Air Force was in slightly better shape, and by the end of the day had Combat Air Patrols flying over Kyushu and Tsushima.

Meanwhile, the great armies of Tokarev were being hurriedly thrown together and mobilized, but at a painstakingly slow pace. At the end of the day, less then 40,000 troops had been organized and successfully transported to Kitakyushu. The garrison at Tsushima, over 40,000 even in peacetime, was hurriedly getting the great guns of the island up and running, setting up machine gun and sniper nests, and moving tank traps and mines into place.

------------------------------------------

[i]OOC: Stuff moved to "Korea OOC Thread":

[b]Taipei[/i]
It looked like Taipei's 'strategic ambiguity' policy towards Dra-pol and the Korean Peninsula was finally causing some strife - out on the streets.

Two crowds of Korean protesters faced off against each other, one side urging Taiwanese intervention on behalf of South Korea, the other reminding the government of the humiliation it faced when ROK switched its allegiance to the mainland and promoting the Dra-poel cause. The two sides were becoming increasingly belligerent, and with every passing moment of war in the Korean peninsula, the crowd grew in size and volume.

--------------------------------

President Zhang's advisors were also divided like the crowd outside. General Chiang, a long-time hawk, urged military intervention, fearing a united Korea would be strong enough to threaten the ROC and it's interests on the mainland. Others advised Zhang that a united Korea would be a tempting market for Taiwanese goods when it was to open up, eventually. Whatever the outcome of the crisis meeting, it was clear that 'strategic ambiguity' would go out the window.

An old Firebird ICBM, now modified to carry a spy satellite into orbit, was erected on the launch pad at West Galicia AFB and prepared to launch. The satellite itself wasn’t one of the expensive models that was blinded while hovering over Korea, instead it was a smaller one meant to be lobbed into an unstable orbit, use its fuel to brake hard over the target area, snap pictures in a myriad of spectrums, and then download them to whatever strike force was en route to have its way with the enemy. In this case it would be launched in such a way that a wing of B-20 strategic bombers would download the satellite’s “take” halfway through their flight to Korea. The idea was that the bombers could quickly program their missiles to hit targets based on the hi-resolution digital photos, launch, and then get the hell out of Dodge.

The wing of bombers had been waiting for hours to fire the first shots of the war for the Imperium and they would get that chance. There was no great hurry in getting to the launch point, although they did use a combat takeoff, the reason for which was that they needed to give the satellite enough time to get the information it needed. The pilots knew what their target was In’chon, but was not known was just how far the Dra-peol force stationed there had advanced. Luckily for them the satellite launch went off without a hitch and the stealth bombers received their information, at which point the pilot throttled the aircraft down to a sub-Mach speed and began inputting the appropriate information. Once that was done the bombers accelerated once again, proceeded to a point 2,000 miles away from In’chon and when they reached that point they would launch their weapons, turn around, and then turn on the reserve Pulse Detonation engines and return home.


[I’ll give you a few hours to respond, but please keep in mind that despite the bomber’s rather large size the level of stealth technology it employs renders it no bigger than a soccer ball on all but the most advanced (for 2020 that is) radars.]

*Yeongdeok*

0930 hours

With thousands of Drapol troops behind the front lines here, the first priority was to push these troops back into the sea. To this extent, Hudecian military units had formed up and were pushing up the sea road from Pohang.

"This is NOT a parade!" Yelled the burly 1st Sargeant at a stalled Humvee and its crew. "Move it or I'll move it for you!"

Piling out of the vehicle, the 6 troopers inside the Humvee then pushed the vehicle off the road and almost to the beach.

Up ahead they could see the explosions from Hudecian artillery, Drapol artillery and missiles from all sides exploding.

*Ottawa*

1000 hours

"DAMN IT ALL!" The president swore vehemently. "Maramaia is taking advantage of the situation, African Commonwealth is siding with Drapol, Spyr and North Yaman are both working to undermine our efforts and the Xiannese government is taking its precious time responding (OOC: Xiaguo only comes on during the weekends)."

"Sir, the Maramaians and the AC is sending convoys to supply Drapol. The Spyran navy is forming up as well," the foreign minister reported softly. "What should we do?"

"Send for the East Islandian, Taiwanese and Sinoese ambassadors. We'll need their help to cut off the Maramaians. Also, send a communique to the Spyran embassy, kindly inform them that they naval vessels are forming near a war zone and ask their intent," The president listed off in a hurry. "Send a message to the Maramaian government, in it tell them that Hudecia will respect their neutrality but that any Maramaian vessels entering the war zone will be found in violation of said neutrality. In which case, their vessels will be boarded, and escorted back."

"What about the Xiannese?"

"Send a message to their government and ask them their intentions in this situation," President Fieldings paused for a moment. "And the LRR, send a communique to them as well and ask their opinion as to whether or not Drapol's ultimatum should be accepted or declined and their intentions in this conflict."

A message was sent to the Hudecian government after the the orders for mobilization had been given.


To: Hudecian Government
From: Emperor Shokahito

Subj: Dra-Pol

Txt: The Government of Tokarev is willing to open
our territorial waters and airspace to your forces
(and other allies). We will provide full logistical
support and, when we are finally able to organize our
forces, military support. We are also preparing to
send supplies to our allies in Myanmar, and we
request that, if you have anything to spare, you
can send supplies or forces their as well. We do not
want Marimaia getting too powerful in Indochina.


OOC: My old nation, Babu Nanu, is roleplaying Myanmar. I am waiting for it to be revived by the mods to participate.

Several kilometers behind the forward battle lines

After the initial Dra-poel advance, several companies of Raiders slip behind enemy lines by way of boat, submarine, and several secret tunnels. Equipped only with enough rations for several days, plenty of water treatment pills, field NBC gear, grenades, pistols and Heckler and Koch 32A3 assault rifles modified to fire AK rounds, they raid Dra-pol fortifications, and seek out officers to assassinate. Several men carried sniper rifles and one a light ATS rocket weapon.

Sniper teams have also deployed behind the Dra-poel battle lines, in order to take out any officers.

********
IN the meantime, the Islandian Navy submarine force's Red Group, operating int he North Pacific, sets out from Matsu Dome, its secret base area. Marauding across the Pacific, its submarines attack Dra-poel shipping and military craft.

(OOC: *shakes fist at East Islandia*)

Captain Shuiku raised his hands as Islandian personnel began asking about his cargo.

"We are merely delivering food and medical supplies to the civilians of Dra-pol; they are going to suffer in this war more than most. Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to let my nation know that we received some damage. That way, we can be properly repaired when we get home."

(OOC: Luckily for us, this was a genuine humanitarian convoy which set off before hostilities began; the convoys with more suspicious cargo are to be protected by the Marimaian 1st Fleet, in case 'allied ships attacked the wrong target', and won't set off until the 1st Fleet gets back from the Bay of Bengal. Of course, we may have a change of heart now...)

*Ottawa*

1015 hours (4:15 after the initial invasion)

"Finally! Some good news!" President Fieldings was elated at the Tokarev message. "Tell them we agree completely but that our first priority is to our allies in Korea. However, rest assured that we will not be silent about Marimaia for long."

"Scandinavian States has also joined in combat," Foreign Minister Chow added. "Their bombers attacked Inchon only minutes ago."

"Also, the Drapol amphibious landing near Yeongdeok is being counterattacked by some of our reserve divisions. We expect to destroy them off before any serious breach of the Andong front occurs."

Korean coast
Aboard attack submarine Tano, Quei Xueshan commanding

"They cannot pass," Quei growled. "THere is a war going on, and in case they didnt realize, this is a blockade."

Several hours ago, the blockading forces, mostly Red Group submarines and 2nd fleet's cruiser and attack catamarans had ran into a Marimaian convoy. Although normally, the Marimaians would be allowed to pass, orders had come down that after all, war was war, and not even allies could be allowed to pass, much less ambiguous nations such as Marimaia. Although no one knew about the unofficial Marimaian response, there was to be no shipping to Dra-pol, "humanitarian" or not.

If Marimaia didnt withdraw its ships, then East Islandia would withdraw its spidersilk specialists again-this time once and for all.

Most of the submarines had spread out over a wide radius, their torpedoes armed and ready, maskers on, and running on caterpillar drives rather than conventional engines. They had surrounded the ships in a sort of half-circle, and several kilometers back, attack catamarans had their cruise missiles and other weapons ready.

Several companies of Marines and Special Forces await the order for boarding ships in case everything gets ugly and too much out of hand.

(OOC: *shakes fist at East Islandia*)

Captain Shuiku raised his hands as Islandian personnel began asking about his cargo.

"We are merely delivering food and medical supplies to the civilians of Dra-pol; they are going to suffer in this war more than most. Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to let my nation know that we received some damage. That way, we can be properly repaired when we get home."



One of the Sea Dragons walked up to his commander and whispered a few quick words in his ear.

The senior Sea Dragon commander, a First Commander, smiled politely and shook his head.

"Sorry, sir," he said to him. "But you do realize that we are at war, and we cannot allow you to go through with your supplies, civilians or no. Now please turn back."

San Giuseppe Naval Base, North Islandia
HQ, Marina Miltare Admiralty
_________________________________

The pace was brisk and the hallway empty as Lt. Michele Brusco walked toward the large solid wood doors. The two Marines standing guard outside did not salute him as he walked by, and simply opened the doors without so much as a grunt.

Everyone seated at the large mahogany table in the center of the darkened room turned towards the source of the intrusive rays of light.

Slides of something or other were displayed on the wall, very faint as the lights began to turn on.

How a little change in the environment can stun and disorient even the highest ranking, most respected, revered and veteran soldiers thought Michele with some contempt.

"What is the meaning of this interuption, liuetent?" came the booming voice of Gramd Admiral Balducci, the leader of the Admiralty, and Commander-in-Chief of all of the country's Naval Forces.

"I apologize Sir, but we have a situation in Korea, it...doesn't look good, Admiral."

---------------------------------------

San Giovanni Air Force Base, North Islandia
HQ, Aeronautica Militare Agrigentiani (Air Force)
_________________________________

The East Asia Theatre Operations Room, or EATOR, was exploding with action, a chaotic symphony of human beings running around with a hidden symmetry.

"Major, give me a sitrep," ordered General Putino, CINC AMA. He was flanked by several others, including his only superior: Master General Luciello.

The young man took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his brow, before turning to his commanding officer. "Well sir, we are just getting intel in now. So far ground and airborne radars have picked up massive contacts, small fighters launched from North Korea, heading southward across the border. Fantasma Spyplanes have been gathering radar and infared intelligence and it seems like a full scale invasion....pretty much everything Dra-pol has got."

"Enzo, what do we have in the area?" asked Master Generel Luciello eagerly.

"Well, we still have a couple of airwings in Hokkaido, from the Bonstockian War, and a a few bomber wings here on standby."

"Deploy fighters immediately to South Korea, I want tactical control of the battlespace as soon as possible, get them in the Air, I will talk to the President in the meantime."

::Luozao Palace, Taishita::

The cabinet were gathered in Suun's office, holding an emergency meeting concerning the convoy incident; Suun stood with his back to them, gazing out of the window.

"Excellency, our forces are beginning to deploy in position to move on our objectives in Myanmar if the talks fail, which they most certainly will. I..."

"Keep deploying. My attention is focused on Islandians. Is it true? They stopped our convoy?"

Wanfa nodded, uncertain of why Suun was speaking so quietly. "Yes, Excellency."

"Rongyi, is it true that they have threatened to remove their specialists if we don't remove our convoys?"

Rongyi cleared his throat nervously. "Yes, Excellency. They apologise for it, however."

The cabinet watched as Suun walked over to the display case on the wall and calmly unsheathed Tatsuko Sayo, before spinning around and embedding the blade in his desk.

"As of now, all Islandian citizens are to be expelled from Marimaia, and our ambassadors recalled. Clear out Mingzao Air Base, send them all back where they came from. I will not be dictated to by so-called 'allies'. Since they will not treat us as allies, we shall return their behaviour."

"The convoys?"

"Keep them back for now. I'll review the situation in time."

"Jesus christ!" yells young Abraham Allen as he rolls into a trench as the whistle of artillery rounds can be heard.

Not far away, an MBT-6 explodes from a direct hit, and the other frightened tankers, infantrymen, and artillerymen taking cover in the trench with Allen duck as little shards of armor land all around.

The FROG-7s are shot down one by one by SA-20s, but the SA-21 batteries much more safe further south are able to engage the missiles at no risk to themselves. Towed MRL crews soon have their launchers ready and pour rockets into the attacking Dra-pol as Pzh-2000s begin a barrage of the front, from their positions 40km to the rear. FROGs do take out many batteries, but Smerch IIs, with their wild 100km range, begin bombarding from a very safe distance.

However, the sheer weight of Dra-pol numbers causes the 2nd Armored to rapidly abandon their positions to avoid being cut off. However, LRRA MBT-5s and -6s pick off APCs from long range with ATGMs, and infantry teams armed with Spike-ER missiles also take a heavy toll on the attackers.

But all in all, the CPRD is left in possession of the day, while the LRRA retreats to defensive positions further south. If the UPA should have learned anything from the first Unification war, it was that you could very very rarely outflank the LRRA, with its long range weapons and its tendancy to withdraw to fortified positions rather than stand and fight. While the Andong assault did overrun the furthest positions, the majority of the 2nd Armored had plenty of time to escape.

During the first attacks, LRRN naval aviation and LRRAF MiG-21 squadrons fight off the massive Dra-pol onslaught as best they can. The MiGs first pick off the attackers with long range missiles before closing in with their AA-11 MOD missiles. However many Dra-pol planes were shot down, the MiG-21s take heavy losses, especially when covering Jaguar IINs which attack assault columns ferociously and fearlessly.

As assault divisions rattle down coastal roads, the figure of Jaguar IIN attack jets would probably be identified by veteran troops. Those with very sharp eyes might even identify squadron markings present on those which fought the first invasion. The jets swoop in to attack, firing folding-fin rockets and dropping cluster munitions as wild weasel aircraft try in vain to suppress the shower of SAMs. Within an hour, the LRRN carrier group had been stripped completely of its air wing.

On the coast, LRRN frigates and destroyers speed in to attack amphibious elements, firing ASMs at the larger ships while coastal PBs head out from various coastal locations to attack the hovercrafts and landing craft. Again, the LRRN advisers and the ROKN take very heavy losses.

In Magadan, the government is taken totally by surprise as ABM defenses go on alert all across the nation. There is generally a feeling of betrayl, but it becomes clear that Dra-pol will simply chip away at the allied defenses until they are broken.

When the Hudecian ultimatum is recieved, a long-dreaded response is sent:

We currently see little hope of preventing Dra-pol from capturing the entire peninsula. If not this time around, they will just keep coming and coming. We here feel as betrayed at this sudden invasion as anyone, and are prepared to rush the entire LRRA armored corps into the breech, but we think that perhaps it would be a much further-sighted choice to withdraw while the option is still open. Dra-pol is quite capable of carrying out its threats, and outnumbers us many times over.

Once all of Korea is under one government, perhaps Dra-pol will demilitarize and carry out needed social reforms. The current state of affairs, with a wall dividing the people of what should be a single country, simply has to be changed, and you as well as we know that South Koryo is by no means in a position to rule all of Korea, politically or militarily.

~LRR foreign office

Spyran diplomatic efforts burst forth across as many of the involved nations as possible, as ambassadors, diplomats, and communiques dash about here and there, attempting to slow the rapid escalation of the Korean conflict. The Spyrans do not go so far as to suggest, to Dra-pol, that it cease its attack. Nor do they suggest to Hudecia/East Islandia that they withdraw. Rather, they concentrate on trying to get both sides to minimize damage to civilians and infrastructure, disavow use of NBC weapons, and attempt to enter negotiations.

It remains, of course, public knowledge that Spyr has always supported a unified Korea, albeit by peaceful means.

Of particular note are diplomatic actions directed towards Tokarev and Xiaguo. Spyran officials from Commerce and Diplomacy ministries attempt to communicate to their Imperial Japanese counterparts that a unified Korea under Dra-pol could form one of the key components of a trade triangle, along with Tokarev and Spyr, around the Sea of Japan... and that any policy of such a Korea which might threaten Tokarev interests would also threaten those of Spyr, and could not stand against the counter-efforts of both nations.

In Xiaguo, Spyran diplomats attempt to gauge the Xiaguo attitude towards Dra-pol, and towards the land route used by the North Yamani for fuel shipments, hoping to discover wether or not their Strainist ally will still be able to send its trucks through, or wether Spyr ought delay the more hot-blooded Yamani from trying to push through an unwilling China.

And, in _Taiwan, Spyrans attempt to convince the ROC that a united Korea holds potential for increasing economic opportunities in Asia tenfold, and that a strong Korea might help distract those forces which could conflict with _Taiwanese mainland interests.

----

In Spyr, at the docks of Gochu-shenge, an assortment of vessels rest at anchor. Several are cargo transports, loaded with medical supplies, that had been scheduled to move out for Dra-pol before the breakout of hostilities. Others are military vessels... mostly Bongun frigates and Sohee destroyers, much like those now taking up position in international waters off the northeastern coast of Korea. Having recieved word that Marimaian shipping had already been stopped, the Spyran ships were wary to set sail. Still, their mission was a humanitarian one, and it was their duty to prevent undue suffering within the greater Universality. Perhaps an opportunity would present itself once all involved had a chance to stop and think.

TAG


NATCOMM HQ: War Room (0234 Hours)

Two Sinoese generals looked at the situation closely.

General X: "Looks like the sh*t's going to hit the fan pretty soon. This is not like any other border trespass. It's going to be a full-scale war as previous."

General Y: "Without any doubt. Let's just sit back and watch this turkey shoot."

General X: "What if the fan flings sh*t on us, or our allies?"

General Y: "You know what to do- Dra-pol is always wrong."

And with the rapid and unexpected attack, many LRR engineering and medical units simply do not have time to withdraw and are stuck in the middle of the Dra-pol advance.

The crews of heavy tracked engineer's vehicles, ambulences, and other non-combat vehicles run up the white flag and watch the columns pass around them, like boulders in a flood.

Elsewhere, MANPADs and 14.5mm AAA batteries down countless An-2s and helicopters, but do not come even close to turning the tide. The choice to attack when the LRRA divisions were transferring out and the Scandanavian States divisions were transfering in was a good one, as the remaning LRR units did not expect an attack in such a short time. The terrain, however, does not offer a great advantage to the invading forces v.s. the LRRA units, at least, since they are trained to fight in much more hilly conditions.

In LRR proper, the eight armored divisions in LRR collect at ports, most out of Dra-pol reach on Kamchatka, but some in the LRR south are probably within reach of ICBMs from northern Dra-pol. The Spyr fleet, however, would seriously hamper operations by the LRRN. Son House missile boats ready to engage the Dra-pol invasion force were turned back by the powerful surface fleet.

[Hudecia, I haven't attack yet, my post was worded in such a way that it gave Dra-pol time to... I don't know, perhaps investigate a shadow contact or something.]

The bombers reached their release point and started launching cruise missiles. Thousand upon thousands of missiles began climbing until they almost reached the boundary between atmosphere and space, at which point they "coasted" along at a brisk Mach 4. When inertial guidance computer in the missiles detected that they had reached the programmed beginning of the terminal phase, the missiles tipped down at an almost-90 degree angle and accelerated to more than Mach 10 in a few seconds, diving down at the Assault Division below. Terminal LIDAR turned on and began counting down the range until the missiles' packages, multi-purpose submunitions, were to be released. When that point was reached the missiles leveled out somewhat and began dispensing their deadly payloads upon the enemy and the missiles themselves kamikazed into the Assault Division, adding extra carnage to an already no-doubt bloody attack.

Thousands of miles north the entirety of the 1st Assault Fleet and the 4th and 5th Imperial Fleet met up and became whole once again. It was a joyous occasion for the crews of the fleets and one that the Dra-peol would perhaps curse for the rest of their existence.

*Taejeon*

1930 hours

Hudecian units under attack on the western half of the peninsula had held out for 5 hours before they had to fall back into the city and engage Drapol troops in street fighting.

The Drapol amphibious landing on the west, although unsuccessful in the long term, had distrated tens of thousands of Hudecian troops badly needed on other fronts.

As well, the Red Bamboo landings in the rear were wrecking havoc with Hudecian supply lines to the front. It required the deployment of almost the entire Hudecian reserve just to keep the fight going.

All in all, despite increased international involvement, things were still looking bad on the peninsula.

*Ottawa*

The LRR response is received with a bit of dread as most expected this answer. In reply, the Hudecian government sent a telegram to LRR.

HUDECIAN TELEGRAM

Although the Hudecian government agrees on the seriousness of the threat to the peninsula and the determination of the Drapol government we do not feel that an absolute surrender of the peninsula is in any ways beneficial.

Hudecian troops will continue to stall for time to see how the situation develops. Perhaps if more nations can bring more pressure on the Drapol government they may decide to come to the negotiation table.

In the meantime, we hope that your troops will not abandon us until we have exhausted our options.

*Spyr*

A Hudecian diplomat handed the following classified message to the Spyran government.

HUDECIAN TELEGRAM TO SPYR

The Hudecian government does not feel that a nation which dishonourably attacks a nation not once, but twice, without provocation deserves the chance to be given a third opportunity.

However, should Drapol agree to attempt to find a negotiated settlement, which may include Drapol sovereignty over the peninsula, we would be willing to engage them in such negotiation.

Sadly, we do not believe the Drapol to be willing to engage us in such negotiation as they seem to feel that military force is the best option to unite the peninsula. Had they felt differently, would they not have attempted it sooner rather than handing us an ultimatum.

*Tokyo*

The Hudecian ambassador to Tokarev handed the Tokarev government a clearly different message.

TELEGRAM TO TOKAREV

Hudecian forces thank your government for the support it has given the allies in defence of the free Korea.

As we both know, a Drapol controlled Korea would be next to impossible to deal with and a success here will embolden their leadership into attempting more and more aggressive actions against its neighbours. We do not see this as a war to unite Korea but rather an attempt to by Drapol to expand its territory.

Under Drapol leadership, Korea would be virtually cut off from all nations, and the once large market would be totally obliterated. We would be left hoping that Drapol might possible someday come around to seeing things possibly in a similar fashion as other nations.

Hudecian troops will hold out for as long as possible, however, as outnumbered as we are, our hopes lay in receiving aid as soon as possible.

Korean War Zone

The SSX battle tank rolled to a grinding halt, and several infantrymen jumped off, immediately rolling camouflage netting over the vehicle.

All around the area, tanks were camouflaged, and engineers began to plant huge, fifteen thousand pound explosives in and around the surrounding area, which had all its trees and vegetation cut or trimmed to promote visibility and make an easier killing zone.

Behind the defending forces was a city, which was in the process of being evacuated by nearly the entire Islandian transport corps.

The scrambling of the fleets continues, as hundreds of ships begin to fill the Eastern Passage, and hundreds more spread out randomly in the area trying to regroup with their divisions and fleets. Combat air patrols have drastically increased to protect the ships in this vital time, and close to three thousand planes and bombers circle Kyushu and the passage, being careful not to violate Korean airspace. The Twenty-First Fleet, the most powerful fleet in the Tokarev Navy, sporting two Tokarev-class Super Dreadnoughts (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=351312) , and dozens of other capital ships, supporting by a large number of escorts and auxilaries of all types, has steamed out of Tokyo Bay, and is heading towards Tsushima to lead the thousands of ships already assembling there.

Meanwhile, the great submarine fleets of Tokarev, based at Chichijima (north and east of Iwo Jima) and Naha (Okinawa), creating a broad net patrolled by hundreds of submarines and a few dozen cruiser, destroyers, subchasers, subtenders, and other varied auxilary ships. Over one hundred land based planes in the Ryukyu Islands, Iwo Jima, and Shikoku are carrying out patrols over the water in case anything slips past the subs and surface vessels. They are taking no chances, they have orders not to let any ship through the Philippine or East China Seas.

The Straits of La Perouse (north of Hokkaido) and Tsugaru (between Honshu and Hokkaido) have been closed, and huge coastal batteries of naval guns and missiles, supplemented by freshly deployed mines, will not let any ship through. A code has been transmitted to allied nations for their ships to flash while entering these waters so they won't be fired upon.

The army remains in a state of chaos, as the high speed rails are crammed with random and unorganized bodies of troops and transported south. Already over 400,000 troops are crammed in Kitakyushu, but are in no state to fight.

Meanwhile, Tokarev has begun the first shipments of vast amounts of munitions, supplies, equipment, tanks, and aircraft to Hudecia and Sengoku Daimyo (Myanmar).

(OOC: All right, I was going to make this 8AM, but a lot of things seem to have happened since I last posted, so I’ll jump a little bit. I don’t want to make any big leaps at all, chronologically speaking, at this stage... I’m not sure people appreciate the weight of force levelled against them here. The idea of anyone even surviving for four hours, let alone hoping to push the UPA back in the end requires a serious suspension of disbelief on my part. I’ll just re-calculate the modest estimates at how many shells have been fired thus far...)

1000 hours, roughly four hours since the first shots

In Da’Khiem and other places, from Kanggye to Seoul, video screens flickered into life over city squares. Transmissions were beamed-out with sufficient power to be seen in the south, in parts of China and Japan, and possibly as far as parts of the Lyong. Comrade Director Secretary Hotan appeared, his manner calm and presentation quite plain with his shaven head and traditional peasant dress.

Hotan began to speak of the reunification, an event made necessary only by Japanese and western meddling decades earlier, and how it would be finally realised by the end of this conflict.

“The nature of this conflict depends upon the actions of our enemies.” He said, speaking through any number of relays from one of the countless underground facilities available to him.
“I appeal once again for the foreigners to agree that they shall leave Korea.
“Of course, we have expected that the imperialists shall attempt to starve us. Of course we have suspected that they will try to separate us from our friends, as they must seek to divide the greatest powers and to attack us through diplomacy- Dra-pol is not the only nation forced to be familiar with the wisdom of such men as Sun Tzu.
“In the end, this shall not matter. Despite what they may do correctly in the pursuit of victory over the Korean people, their efforts are fundamentally flawed by having made war out of such improper and unwise reasons as hate, fear, and misunderstanding of their chosen ‘victims’.
“For too long have foreign powers ridden the tiger of Korea. Afraid have they been to dismount knowing full well its hunger. Today the tiger has elected to throw its passengers and to turn upon them. You must ask yourselves, our rivals, are you not ready to walk away now upon your own two legs? We shall not carry you any longer, not one mile.”

Four hours had passed since the first volley warned of the coming storm. Over two and a half million artillery shells had fallen on the south, from the border to the southern parts of Ch’ongju on the western front, and down to just a few miles north of P’ohang in the east. What was that? A shell every few metres, if they’d been evenly spread... several on top of each other where enemy forces or bases existed. Dra-pol’s static batteries were firing at a casual sustained rate of less than two rounds per minute, with thousands of guns remaining quiet and conserving ammunition. Her self-propelled guns had yet to advance behind the curtain, but could within hours if not minutes lay a similar barrage further down the peninsula.

As for Yongdok, where the Hudecians hoped to repel the Drapoel? It’d been hit by more shells in four hours than the entire German front at the Somme received in a typical full day of the allied barrage. The Drapoel would come ashore whether any Hudecians were alive to like it or not. Anti shipping missile batteries had precious little chance, artillery counter-battery radars would be useless against the weight of fire, and their own guns lucky to return more than a couple of shots against the hundreds of thousands of 150mm and 190mm incoming rounds. That was without any consideration for rocketry from shore or ship, contributing tens of thousands further impacts.

Drapoel commanders had been highly surprised to see any serious enemy positions erected in the first twenty or thirty miles of the ROK over recent months. It seemed obvious to all on the northern side of the border that these were suicide units, something the Drapoel hadn’t credited then enemy with having the stomach for. Impressive, but futile.

Off the coasts of Dra-pol

123 anti-shipping missile batteries dug into the coasts of Dra-pol were actively enforcing an exclusion zone out to 130km, within which enemy ships would be showered with Qian Wei missiles (loosely akin to Harpoon, and of Penglai origin in design). Some fourteen hundred Mi-14 made putting submarines within helicopter range of the coast another bad idea, as depth bomb and torpedoes rained down. Anywhere that a little Drapoel boat was attacked within sight of another, radio alerts would bring multiple ASW helicopters racing to the scene. Dra-pol wasn’t holding back, this time, and millions of tonnes of fuel, food, and munitions stowed would be made available, as hungry labourers were encouraged that this last great effort of human logistics would bring them new farmland and fishing grounds to the south.

Over the whole front what must sound to many like another of those massive wars that erupt here and there from time to time appears quite different in reality. Most of the defenders have offered nothing for UPA commanders like General Hozaro to fear, in spite of his personal reservations.

The eastern front

“There! There! Tanks!”
The Mi-8 pilot was pretty sure that those weren’t tanks so much as ambulances, but backing out of an attack his comrade was so keen to make wouldn’t be well received, and so he swung the improvised gunship about and came in at barely eighty feet.
“Arm bombs! Wait! Let me pull-up or we’ll kill ourselves! Those aren’t hand grenades, they’re hundred kilogram bombs! [crack] Ahh!”
“Do-Ik! Ahh!”
The weapons system operator realised far too late that his pilot had been ripped apart by a 14.5mm bullet from a near-by LRR position, and the helicopter was doomed to crash, the seventeenth lost to LRRA groundfire in less than four hours of hunting for their forces.

Wise enough to beat a hasty but fighting retreat, the LRR contingent were the only ones really able to inflict any co-ordinated damage to UPA forces or to have a chance of escaping the full weight of some millions of shells and thousands of aircraft, tanks, and soldiers. Everyone else stubbornly standing their ground was found pathetically easy to over-run when blown limb from limb and each human fragment faced by a whole Drapoel infantryman. Long range LRR guns knocking out several of the less hardened Drapoel artillery sites caused horrific casualties and damage on the border, but was of course a drop in the ocean against tens of thousands of guns.

Still, at least this counter fire had targets, no doubt picked during months of face-off. Whether they were hitting active guns or silent ones was another matter, with counter-battery radar surely useless.

The cruise missile strikes meanwhile were thrown in at massive expense and with highly dubious intelligence. One hurried, low quality satellite launch had given the Scandavians about as much useful information as would have politely asking Hotan, and incoming missiles, detected by Citadel, no doubt cost the enemy more than it did the Drapoel. Submunitions scattered across what might have been an assault division, and a large part of it was. Thousands of civilians were ripped apart, fully justifying Drapoel artillery blankets, thought Da’Khiem, ordering the rate of barrage increased 200% with higher rates of fire and the activation of further batteries. Now everything within thirty miles of the border would die.

Submunitions scattering down on the former ROK killed more than just civilians, and an assault division more than thirty thousand strong was effectively disabled. That was a shame, but while another tried to move through, clearing wreckage and finding it tough going, still more continued to pour down out of the hills to the east, bypassing the target area entirely.

Hotan’s address included an unusual attempt at a more personal and human appeal from the usually faceless communist society. He said that Dra-pol had no ambitions outside the peninsula.

“Have we not given gifts of our ancient culture to you, the peoples of China and Japan? We Drapoel are an honourable people, and I am a proud representative of said ancient culture. I am a man of my word and my people, as I present myself to you, you know me to be a man of my land. Never in our thousands of years have we sought to expand beyond the peninsula. We have vanquished enemies from China and made them friends, from Russia, from Mongolia, from Japan, from Raysia, Quinntonia, America, and never have we sought to take advantage once our own land was secured and our people safe.
“I ask you, political and military leaders of the world, those who still will not trust me after my past restraint, my release of Raysian terrorists to their homeland, do you know anything of the people you call foe? Do you know that we are the children of Paektusan? Ask yourselves now, even if you must think me corrupt, a liar, a man with ambitions upon your own lands, would the people of Dra-pol, steeped in their ancient culture and tied to Paektusan, leave the homes they have fought so hard to protect?
“Dra-pol can not attack another’s land, for its people will not leave Korea.”

...and Thor might swing the face of his hammer a thousand times, it would not find one knock-out blow for the clouds belched forth by mother Paektusan as no small portion of the UPA’s eighty-five million marched into the South.

When Hotan’s address was over, Drapoel state news, “could reveal to the people the cause of war.” Ballistic missile launches were detected, and the shower of death that has claimed thousands in the west was what resulted, along with the UPA advance south.
Of course this was rubbish, the launches having come after the attack, but all that the occupied South Koreans knew was that the fact of countless submunitions raining down was true. That it was also killing some Drapoel soldiers was a clear hint that it came from the enemies, as the state media claimed. It was not revealed who launched the attacks, and most cursed the Kileans. In truth, the state was inclined to blame them, too, and was yet unaware of the weight of Scandavian involvement.

The advance rolled on, and the Drapoel wheel of life and progress was hoisted at countless waypoints, poles driven into charred earth and often perhaps through the remains of people impossible to distinguish from the ground. Perhaps this would provide good fertiliser for the collectives, post war!

(OOC: Again, I really don’t think that everyone reading has fully appreciated that in the past, Dra-pol committed only parts of her might -around ten percent in the last war- and that now, anyone defending the border is just dead. Dead unless they were back from the rear and they ran and did not stop when the attack began. I couldn’t say, “I attack and you’re dead” right away because I did not know for sure that you had not some amazing plan up your collective sleeves to prevent this (I still can’t imagine any way at all, I’ll admit that even Hotan couldn’t have in the same position) but seeing that what has happened has been more or less exactly what I expected, I can say that it simply isn’t enough to stop Hotan’s assault from achieving total success thus far. It’s just not. If you think otherwise, you’re thinking in terms of some other nation state besides Dra-pol, and need to just imagine standing in your garden for a minute and seeing it be hit by two or three artillery shells, and then keep that up for four hours and see if you’re still alive and prepared to resist. And if your commanding officer next door is still able to command after the same experience. Because there’s twenty guys screaming at you from across the street, coming with a tank. The most worrying thing for me is what LRR points out- when Korea is unified, I’m going to struggle to justify the militarisation for more than a few years, and Kurosite society is going to be fundamentally shaken by the realisation.
I know this is a lot of OOC talk on the same point, but people have put up posts and then responded to their own posts without waiting for me, so it is their own fault that they’re getting the ever living hell rung out of their bells. You should be glad that I’m taking a while to respond! The longer each game-time hour takes, the closer you are to the Chinese coming on-line and backing you. Eesh! I don’t know how much I can help you and still win easily!
Finally, I know my posts are a bit disorderly (you agree, I’m sure?) but I sit and try to think how I might better arrange them, and I can’t help concluding that they have to be this way. I’m posting one side alone, responding to many opponents and their actions. I hope everyone can very basically follow things, if not, just assume that this is the nature of confusion in the Drapoel actions- only the exhaustively indoctrinated and trained Drapoel have any clue at all what the hell they’re doing :)
Aw man! I’ve just come to post this and there’s four new posts since I started typing! [cries] what have I started?)

(OOC: The only reason I responded multiple times was in reply to Hudecia and Marimaia, for the record.

EDIT: As a side note, I think it is unfair for you to be saying that your artillery barrage is so massive as to completely destroy the enemy. Historically, even the most extensive artillery barrages haven't destroyed a defender.)

(OOC: Maybe this should be in the other thread, but historically the largest artillery barrages have been a hundred times less intense than this and killed tens of percent of heavily entrenched enemies, using smaller and less well chosen shells. In the Great War, for example, the British killed hundreds of thousand of entrenched Germans with 2,000% less guns loaded with the wrong ammunition. If Dra-pol had fired ten times less shells than it had, it would be a Godmod to expect any fighting force to survive. I waited until after I'd read responses to explain that hey, there's just physically no way. If I shoot you with a 190mm shell, and then with a 150mm shell I shoot the crater that 64% of your body parts are scattered about in, and then I shoot the enlarged crater... anyway, you get the idea. Since the cruise missile strikes we've stepped up the barrage to full rate, and ever square foot of soil has been hit. I have to accept that we've killed every civilian within thirty some miles of the border, too, but this is Kurosite total war for you. The choices are run until you are coughing up blood, and then run faster, or get blown apart and have your shredded remains run-over by the UPA. This in itself might not make for a fun RP clash of minds, but it gives chance for anyone who cares to RP individual reactions to the horror, and sets up an entirely new era afterwards.
Basically, you will not stop the UPA without using HUNDREDS of nuclear weapons or genetically targetted bioweapons. Of course that will mean the complete obliteration of Japan, and possibly of China, too.)

An OOC suggestion: Why don't we all RP to Dra-pol's timescale? (Allowing us to face the limitations of logistics for once - at this rate i.e 4 hours after the attack no one should have even begin preparing military strikes)

IC:

1000 hours
The crisis meeting continues with no end in sight, however a preliminary step is taken to ensure the viability of intervention if required - the repositioning of spy satellites over Drapol.

OOC> Taiwan, much agreed!

IC>>

1000 Hours, in Port Banan on the western coast

While naval convoys were hastily being dismissed due to the naval power likely massing soon near the korean peninsula; The plan from the Crusader wars was being reconsidered - The heavy lift Skycrane helicopters could easily bring supplies and escorts into China, from which it could easily get through to Kangyye.

For now, the Commonwealth did not state any of this, merely that it would aid the beleaguered Korean people(even if it was mostly the Choson), and that it would be considered an act of war to attack or otherwise illegally impede them.

OOC: Agreed, but a few hours is enough time for my fleets to get underway, albeit unorganized and in no position to fight a major battle (as I mentioned above). As for the Skycranes, what direction would they be flying into China from? East or west?

..::Encrypted Message(40,960Kb)::..
To: Ambassador Ayame Nakamura, Tokarev
From: His Imperial Majesty's Foreign Services Home Office
Subject: Basing Rights

You are hereby instructed to petition the Tokarev government for basing rights during this unfortunate conflict. Please inform them that we will need to base 2300 aircraft in Tokarev proper, mainly bombers and support aircraft.
..::End Message(End Encryption)::..

Ambassador Nakamura traveled the short distance to the Tokarev government building and relayed the request of her government, reminding them that the Dra-peol could not be trusted and despite what they had said there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be further aggression against its neighbors.

OOC
im tired of this.. if drapol wants korea that badly, he can have it. Besides, he's juss rainign shells like crazy, claiming to overwhelm at least five nations who are just as old as or older than him, and fighting harder than we are, with better reasons than we are. My leader's not such a dedicated nationalist anyway, and being a former soldier, she realizes that people are tired of watching their kids die in random foreign wars.



********
So, as of now, Islandia is withdrawing, but not before we evacuate most of South Koryo, in one of the most massive evacuation efforts in history. We call upon other nations to help us in evacuation and to assist in locating places for theese refugees to settle.

Major-General Kiyoshi Kawai, Ambassador Representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Lieutenant-General Takazo Numata, Ambassador in charge of Pacific Military Affairs, recieve Ambassador Ayame Nakamura in an empty office.

The whole Ministry is in a rush, sending messages to the Hudecians, Xiaguo, Sino, and others. Now a new crisis has emerged when East Islandia, one of their allies, suddenly decides to pull out. Hundreds of messages are relayed back and forth between Islandian field commanders, the Islandian government, and between the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense.

Numata is quiet during the meeting, fidgeting with a pen and glancing at a clock on the wall every few seconds. Kawai is impatient, but courteous, with Nakamura, wanting to get on to more pressing mattes.

"Yes, yes ... Scandavian States, so long as they are at war with Dra-Pol, can use our land, airspace, and territorial waters to full advantage. One condition is that no planes are landed on the central island of Honshu until an official declaration of war can be filed in the next day or so. Politics, you know ..."

----------------------------------------------

The debate in the Diet was brief, both the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors deciding almost unanimously, only ten votes against it as a matter of fact, to transmit the following message on all local and foreign news networks:

"Whereas the Government of Dra-pol has committed unprovoked acts of aggression against the Government and people of the Korean Peninsula, and our allies of Hudecia and Scandavian States: therefore be it resolved, that the state of war between Dra-pol and the Imperial Government of Tokarev which has thus been thrust upon Tokarev is hereby formally declared; and the Emperor is hereby authorized and directed to employ the entire naval and military forces of Tokarev and the resources of the Government to carry on war against the Government of Dra-pol; and to bring the conflict to a successful termination, all of the resources of the country are hereby pledged by the Diet of the Imperial Government of Tokarev."

Ambassador Nakamura bows, "Domo Arigato, Numata-san. The Imperium shall do as you request."

Ayame left quickly and upon reaching her embassy relayed a message that said the Tokarev government had granted permission to use its territory and that it was going to declare war itself, something the Imperium had not done up to that point and would not do, at least not formally. Instead, it would allow the Imperial Armed Force do the declaring for the Emperor.

Further north Imperial fleets were still heading south at a brisk 35-knot clip. That was close to maximum speed for some of the ship in the fleet, but the nuclear reactors afforded them the ability to do that for long distances. However, it would still be another two days at the earliest before the ships arrived in Tokarev.

Meanwhile aircraft from the 5th Air Force base in Dublin and the 6th Air Force base in Galicia began taking off. The 5th Air Force was pulling up stakes and moving its operation to Asia for the duration of the war but 6th was merely lending some of its Ranger transport aircraft. Also being transported were entire artillery divisions for the Helsinki, Galicia, and New Edinburgh Guards Armies. They would provide the backbone of the Imperial divisions fighting in the peninsula and be a counter-weight to the massive artillery superiority that had been enjoyed thus far by the Dra-peol.

Spyran ships in the Sea of Japan begin to patrol on full alert, while in naval ports across the Lyong peninsula, other vessels prepare for deployment to join their comrades. All Spyran ships continue to hold to the official stance of neutrality, and remain in moderately sized patrol groups in case vessels from either side become overzealous and target shipping in international waters.

---

Spyran diplomats in the CPRD, worried that the Drapoel advance might capture an overabundance of POWs from the Allied powers, attempt to tactfully suggest that Spyr would be glad to remove them from Korea and take responsibility for their repatriation.

*Ottawa*

1000 hours

"Our forces are fighting bravely but they are badly outnumbered," General Yang reported to the Cabinet. "They are focusing on fighting a withdrawal type combat for the last little while, taking advantage of the terrain to slow the Drapol advance wherever possible."

Perhaps the thing that saved the LRRA is its mix of basic and advanced technologies, which allows it to deal with the UPA much more effectively than the other allies.

Private Allen finds himself Corporal Allen, in charge of an engineering rocket launcher. He rides on the roof of the small jeep which hauls the launcher, fretting.

"Oh, Leon was in that tank! He was my favorite toothbrush...You really get attached to things when you have them since age three. Oh...mom's gonna be so dissappointed. I hope she doesn't tell Rabbi Bernstein, he gave the damn thing to me."

Meanwhile, at the rear of the advance, tanks and anti-tank missile teams mounted in Wiesel carriers harry the advancing Drapoel units as helicopters engage in a very strange battle overhead. LRRA towed 14.5mm dual AAA mounts fire on the Drapoel helos and An-2s, joined by MANPADs, since most of the SA-20s and SA-21s are kept much further south and aren't really built to engage such low-value air targets. The SA-22 batteries are rapidly shoved aboard ship and spirited back to LRR, lest they fall into Dra-pol hands.

"Got a target!"

Private Ezra Swerdlov fixes the crosshairs of the Hellfire II targeting system on a Dra-pol tank about 10km away, from the top of his Wiesel, a very small target and a very numerous vehicle. Swerdlov squeezes the trigger and sends the missile on its way. He then locks the other three missiles on target and sends them off. At the last launch blast, the driver lurches the carrier foreward, and Swerdlov and the loader begin handling fresh missiles into the quadruple box launcher. Other Wiesels, tasked with air defense, keep helicopters at bay with Mistral-II missiles as the anti-tank and infantry support variants continue their fighting retreat towards the fortified ports.

Overhead, a big Mi-8 stamped with the LRR roundel (http://www30.tok2.com/home/stillalive/sticker/WHO/kids.jpg), and with Hellfires and Mistrals strapped to its stub wings, bores into the flocks of similar UPA helicopters along with its squadronmates and attack helicopters. LRRA logistics pilots are actually trained to dogfight in their helicopters, and this training comes in handy about now. Within the few first hours of the invasion, the LRRA could boast several Mi-8 aces.

Even higher up, MiG-21s and a menagerie of LRRAF fighters tangle with Dra-pol planes. Mostly based out of LRR, a few MiG-29Is and Super Viggens join the fray, and where they are present are quite the dominant fighters. Thrust vectoring and look down-shoot down missile capability really helps. However, the limiting LRRAF air refueling capability means that only small numbers of the southermost-based aircraft can engage.

But every LRRMFs trooper knows that they should really leave Korea and let Dra-pol to its own devices, with perhaps some slight nudging in the socially open direction. It would be a much better idea to comply with Dra-pol terms so the government would no longer have an enemy to fight and could concentrate more on feeding its people rather than maintaining tens of millions of military personnel.

(OOC: All right, I am not having accusations of godmodding levelled against me here. If I could take you out into a field and shoot you with ten artillery shells to prove that you can't survive it I would, and if I could take you to the DPRK and count their artillery tubes and every head of their population and take you back through every step of their history I would. The world is the way it is in reality by coincidence, and the world portrayed by Dra-pol is completely feasible, and it's not my fault if you can't imagine it. The fact is that Dra-pol's anti-capitalist economy and isolated nationalism (and I won't deny that the Drapoel are racist as hell, and that I'm far from being one of them or capable of leading a life as they do) have been grossly underestimated by the outside, which is largely run by players stuck in a western capitalist rut- even those of them who're Asian seem to have fallen into the same groove. The UPA has hundreds of thousands of guns... just try to imagine this... the battle of the Somme erupts with a British barrage against the Germans- 1,490 or so heavy guns shell the enemy lines, causing absolute horror untold. The Germans have hundreds of thousands of men, and pull through it to face one of the most horrid battles in history. Now, imagine the Germans only had a battalion or a regiment to start with, because that's what is arrayed against Dra-pol relative to the number of guns being used. Would they last an hour? No, they're all dead, and the use of those cluster munitions against the Drapoel left flank has pushed the barrage up to full intensity- each minute we're firing several shells for ever military recruit in the whole of the south.
It seems to me that Hotan's plan has worked fine, and that by using only 10% of Dra-pol's military might in the first war we have lulled the enemy in to a false sense of security.
I know the DPRK is often used as an example of extreme militarisation, but in this case it is justified, no? I've said from the start that Dra-pol is like an extreme version of the DPRK in the more extreme world of NS. Now if opposition intelligence is poor, it's not my fault. You can easily look up stats on the DPRK and apply them to Dra-pol. In truth, to be sure of no godmodding, I have massively scaled down ratios. We should have twice the guns I'm basing my estimates on, ten or twenty percent more troops, and that is without even taking into account the fact that in NS the cold war is very much still on, and our Soviet Union -if in the form of Beth Gellert or others- is still alive and prospering. I could justify a greater militarisation than the DPRK has, but in the interests of fairness I have gone for less.
Last time you were outnumbered badly, this time your charred corpses are outnumbered fifty to one by our living soldiers. What may have been missed is that the war is already over. Dra-pol won it years ago by foreign misunderstanding of the situation. This is like the fall of Berlin where one might wonder why the fight is still on. Perhaps it is to evacuate people as if Germans trying to fight on until they can surrender to the west rather than to the Soviets. EI, it doesn't matter that there's five nations fighting against us- they've contributed about the equivalent to putting a regiment of US army soldiers up against the entire DPRK armed forces.
I'll come back and try to add some IC stuff once I've urinated off some of this horrid substitute vodka.)

OCC: Just to clear things up, my forces at least are keeping well ahead of the Dra-pol advance, covered not only by long-range MRLs and artillery but also by a fair number of fighter aircraft capable of beating lower-tech Dra-pol fighters quite handily at close-combat, but which are rapidly running out of missiles in such a target-rich environment and taking a few losses, which means that they have to head back out over the ocean and tank for the flight home to rearm quite frequently.

My rear guard is using the terrain and long-range ATGMs to attack the front of the Dra-pol columns from a good 10km away, (hopefully) in front of supporting artillery.

There's no way that I'm trying to match you gun-for-gun. Not only do the infantry divisions operate the majority of LRRA artillery, but the only area where the LRRA has a clear advantage over pretty much any army in the world is its long-range anti-tank weaponry.

Also, I'm only using submunitions against massed armored formations. I mean, that's what I use them for. No way would I target civilians.

[The problem is that so far you've only used your fixed artillery and that has a limited range and frankly it can't hit every soldier in the south, just those stuck on the front line. Furthermore, once my fleets arrive off your shores, they'll be fully capable of levelling every bit of infrastructure you have and do so well out of range of your shore defenses, you can't fight a war without logistics and the massive army you're committing is going to have problems if they miss even one crate of food. As a famous American once said, I have not yet begun to fight.

Now, can we take this crap to the OOC thread where it belongs?]

In the east, Drapoel helicopter crews are quite astonished to be engaged by enemy helicopters, having received absolutely no training for or even warning of the possibility of such engagements. Of course they uniformly lose most of these engagements.

Still, as the advance races on under the creeping blanket of total death provided by Drapoel artillery no small number of the nations more than half million MANPADS become available and begin to make low level engagement of UPA forces all but suicide. With the advance crawl several thousand D-ZSU-47-2 SPAAAGs, adding to the low and mid-level air cover. As yet, no UPA forces have advanced more than thirty miles and remain under cover of high-level SAMs based in previously won territory.

Hozaro's forces draw ever closer to the end of HQ-2B range, the General seriously concerned about pressing further, as if an Egyptian General driving across the Sinai towards Israel.

In the north, 4th generation fighters scramble in limited numbers against any LRR fighters trying to approach from the far north. The value of the enemy's long-range missiles actually able to be employed at long range was not lost on the PAAF, which had not really expected the LRR to deploy aircraft from home and as such was taking more losses than expected.

Da'Khiem continues to balk at the stomach or ignorance, whichever be true, of the enemies as the weight of the UPA advance surely becomes evident.

The UPA's total strength is now rated at eighty five million persons. Around sixty percent to two thirds is deployed towards the south, clearly postured to strike. The PAAF operates over ninety seven thousand aircraft, mostly fighters and attackers, and over sixty thousand have been dedicated to attacking the south. Quarter of a million APCs -mostly amphibious Type-192s- are available and of course at least two thirds are made available to the assault. A good two hundred thousand assault guns were postured south, weapons ranging from 75mm to 190mm. Over 100,000 medium and main battle tanks were made available to the advance.

The UPA was going to push thirty miles south and kill absolutely everyone along the way. Once it reached this distance on each coast -though the difficult mountains may be partially untouched in the centre- mechanised guns were to be brought up for a new and similar advance. The only weakness was the centre, and nobody could see how it could be seriously exploited given the infiltration of Red Bamboo commandos and the difficulty of the terrain.

Hotan continued to wait for word of a surrender in the south, and announced the beginning of a deal to see Hamhung evacuated over the next four years and returned to Drapoel hands. His guns there had fallen silent, indicating again that he was indeed a man of his word.


(OOC: Damn, meant to post this a bit ago, but got logged out!
I recognise that the LRR forces are about the only ones behaving sensibly, though I'm inclined to think that only fighters perhaps coming from the homeland have much chance to use long range AAMs. Drapoel fighters are going to be almost uniformly better at close in combat, being more agile than anything that can think to call itself modern. They're smaller and can turn inside anybody but the Red Barron, frankly, and can't be engaged at long range unless you take-off hundreds of KM away from Drapoel air bases -i.e. in LRR proper or maybe Japan, provided you have the fuel. Anyone taking-off in the ROK is going to take-off into a sky already filled with cannon-and-IR-guided-AAM-armed PAAF fighters. This is just the point I've wanted to make- everyone else's military tech is superior to Dra-pol's, over all, except for in Dra-pol/Korea, where ours is specifically chosen and designed to operate. Has anyone else heavily modified their aircraft and tactics over a period of decades specifically to fight Korea vs. Korea? No? Didn't think so. You'd beat the hell out of us anywhere else on earth, but here almost everyone had their tactics horribly wrong...except those who are shooting at maximum range and running like hell.)

[The problem is that so far you've only used your fixed artillery and that has a limited range and frankly it can't hit every soldier in the south, just those stuck on the front line. Furthermore, once my fleets arrive off your shores, they'll be fully capable of levelling every bit of infrastructure you have and do so well out of range of your shore defenses, you can't fight a war without logistics and the massive army you're committing is going to have problems if they miss even one crate of food. As a famous American once said, I have not yet begun to fight.

Now, can we take this crap to the OOC thread where it belongs?]

OOC: Oh, but we can hit to 130km with our shore batteries ,and we have thousands of small boats out armed with ASMs. Then there's the air force- that is hitting airbases everywhere in Korea, and outnumbering defenders ten and more to one at full strength, even if we pretend that an airbase can put up its entire strength in five minutes, which it can't. If you've not yet begun to fight that's okay, but you've already begun to lose. I think you've lost sight of the specifics of this war and what it is for and where it ends.

The sun was fully risen over Korea. The war had been hot for six, seven, eight hours? Who knew? Most Drapoel were still far apart from the unimaginable horror of the front. For every gun the allies had thrown into action on the Somme, the Unified People’s Army had put two hundred into this new offensive.

These figures were largely unknown to the average Drapoel, much as they seemed to be unappreciated to the commanders of the enemy forces. So many foreigners would accuse Dra-pol and Hotan of using Great War tactics, but they themselves were infinitely more guilty of the same, their decision makers sat in complete detachment from the realities of life on the front. Their units were being ripped apart at a rate completely unprecedented in human history and still they were sending forth orders to hold ground or even to attack.

These mistakes were unknown to the Drapoel since the Crusader War in which more than two million comrades had perished up against the Quinntonian Westguaard Line.

Today, inside the Choson People’s Republic, life went on as was usual. Public address systems had alerted comrades to the terrible slaughter inflicted by the enemies in launching yet more ballistic missiles against the People. It was horrid, but it mattered only so much. Comrades knew that victory was but hours away in a struggle that had lasted more than seventy years.

“Let the enemies launch their missiles!” Cried comrade Mao Il-Sudoh. “We shall roll-over their silos before long! Haha!”

The young man, perhaps in his late teens or early twenties, was laid back against the turret of a Type D-18 battle tank, hands folded behind his head and left foot tapping in the air, crossed over his right knee.

What must have been incredible to any foreign flies hanging about the otherwise impenetrable UPA position was the background music that underwrote Mao’s confident late-summer assertions. Led Zeppelin bounced from the company’s radio, a break required between transmissions of One Billion Human Bombs for Comrade Hotan and Reunification Rainbow. Next the box would spit-out some Rage Against The Machine, and then some internationally-focussed news media propaganda, and then back to the Drapoel pop music for a time.

The Unified People’s Army soldiers didn’t notice any of the transitions. These were ordinary men and women, and they paid only passing attention to the lyrics that came in a language they understood. Something in Reunification Rainbow about how all Koreans came forth from Paektusan, and about how they should be together, brother and sister. Ah, it didn’t matter, they knew the score.

Mao twisted a length of grass shoot between his teeth and stared into the blue sky. A squadron of S-7 fighters could be seen dashing between two mountain peaks just to the east.

“Your sister’s up there, isn’t she, Kim?” Mao ventured, directing his words towards a dismounted fellow tanker.

“Yeah. With the Working Women’s Home Brigade. They promoted her to section commander, last month.” Kim said, hardly realising that nobody really cared. He was sat atop a Jerry can, patching-up some tatty part of his winter battle-dress and rocking his head quite comically to the strains of Communication Breakdown.

“Hey, I think I can hear the war.” Said Mao, inviting his comrades to silence themselves. They did, and several minutes of quiet followed.

“Crap.” Said Corporal Choi. “I can’t hear a thing.”

“No, I heard the guns. A 190mm, I’m sure!” Said Mao. “They’re giving the invaders hell.”

“Maybe we won’t be needed.” Said Kim, hopefully.

“Nah, I think we’re going in.... sixty hours at most.” Said Mao. “I hear the 22nd Assault Division took a hammering east of P’yongt’aek. Ballistic missiles, they say. We’ll have to replace them, I reckon.”

“Mh.”

The crisis meeting was over. Mindful of offending traditional Taiwanese allies such as Sino and SS, and to satisfy the large minority of S.Koreans living in Taiwan (more or less to win their votes), a Taiwanese ultimatum was sent to Dra-pol.

[don't feel like doing a long ultimatum, so it's basically "get out of S.Korea"]

Limited mobilisation of naval and air assets was also taking place in the Pescadores and Taipei. Taiwan was preparing for war, again.

OOC: Drapol, victory is days away, not hours. Please get your timing right and check the OOC thread about your artillery barrage, you have a problem.

The Spyran government [OOC: Having noticed that Tokarev seems to have mined the straits out of the Sea of Japan north of Hokkaido] respectfully requests that the Tsugaru strait and/or La Perouse strait be left clear of ordnance and open to neutral civilian shipping, as southern exits to the Sea of Japan have become inaccessible due to the escalating conflict. To cut off Spyran shipping from any exit out of the Japan Sea has the potential to cause economic difficulties, and could be construed as an act of agression.

*Pohang*

Hudecian Korean Command fully appreciated the weight of the manpower that was being thrown at them. However, a sense of calm had came over most as they prepared to continue the fight that had begun in the last war. A running battle to be sure, but this time they were sure of reinforcements coming if they could just hold out long enough. In many ways they felt like the Texans at the Alamo or the Spartans in Greece, the Canadians at Chrysler's farm, or the Canadians at Hong Kong.

It didn't escape anyone that 3 out of 4 of these scenarios ended in the absolute destruction of the defenders.

The sheer distance that Drapol intended to cross was a major problem, both logistically and in the fact that Hudecian troops were fighting a withdrawl. Hitting and running would be a persistant problem for the aggressors.

Korean citizens are already being withdrawn to the Pusan perimeter (again) as quickly as possible, while Hudecian troops tear up roads, blow up bridges, dams, anything that is seen as being useful to the Drapol advance. Airfields and airports are obliterated in hastily arranged demolitions.

*The Korean Archipelago*

Many Hudecian fighters from the mainland were already being relocated to these islands and the Hudecian navy is deploying vessels to ensure that Drapol attempts to storm the islands would be unsuccessful.

*Spyr*

Should Spyr issue a declaration condemning the Hudecian actions against civilian infrastructure a Hudecian diplomat would be ready to respond with evidence that Drapol guns had been targeting civilian infrastructure in their initial bombardment as well.

No condemnation is forthcoming from Spyr... Hudecia doesnt seem to have much choice in the the face of such substantial Drapoel efforts.

In Dra-pol, diplomats attempt to suggest to their CPRD counterparts that it might be more efficient to begin repositioning artillery for defence against retaliatory coastal landings, rather than turning the South into a flatland of churned mud...

Back in the PRS, Spyran officials begin to ponder possible plans for dealing with the (likely high) quantities of unexploded ordnance that will remain embedded in the ground after the war, regardless of the victor.

*Galicia AFB*

Two things of note were happening at the moment, if you discounted the major transportation operation, and both of those things were related to space.

The first was that the 12 SF-28 Phoenix aerospace fighters were being mated with their booster aircraft (http://www.desertsecrets.com/iboeing.m+d.4.jpg). This was in and of itself was remarkable, the multi-billion dollar fighters and their likewise expensive booster aircraft were hardly ever taken out of their secure hangars, except for the yearly training exercise. Of course, even if the Dra-peol knew where to look to see such a thing they probably wouldn't realize what was happening, unless of course they were far less isolationist than they led others to believe.

The second instance of a strange occurrence was the prepping of three single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft (http://www.desertsecrets.com/ilockheed.x.1.jpg). Normally only one was prepped for an orbital mission, whether it be the launching of replacement satellites or having a large telescope mounted into the cargo bay to take observational photos of far off places, having three being readied for something, especially during wartime when the six orbiters were potential targets, was extraordinary. This time they were delivering satellites to watch the Dra-peol movements, although the spies in space would be placed in such a position as to make their interception a near impossibility.

As the fighting continues to rage on, all sixty submarines of the submarine force's Red Group have been mustered out and alerted, along with reinforcements from both Green and Gray Groups, totaling approximately a hundred or so submarines. With the deteriorating situation on land, the East Islandian Forces Command has announced a state of unconditional warfare in the water; any cargo ships inbound for Dra-pol will be blown out of the water, and any ships that do not match the markings of those of allied or neutral ships will be destroyed.

Needless to say, Dra-poel warships will be hunted down wherever they are. Unbeknownst to the Dra-poel, raider groups, consisting of submarines from Blue Group, are dispatched to scour the China coast for enemy warships.

Orbital interceptor squadrons have been placed on full alert, and patrol from bases in Japann, Okinawa, and PRC China to prevent any ballistic missiles from successfully reaching their targets.

In the meantime, over the skies of Korea, a massive EMP salvo is fired by batteries. Although Dra-pol's aircraft are indeed too many to destroy, the EMPs buy time by disabling vital electronics systems (especially missiles, communications, and navigation). Results of the attack are not known, but the Air Defense Corps continues a steady barrage of EMPs and sonic missiles into the skies over South Korea.

Meanwhile, Raiders behind enemy lines, although taking heavy casualties, locate artillery positions and call for airstrikes, which often result in high-speed runs by bombers with fifteen thousand pound explosives or watergel-tipped cruise missiles.

IN the meantime, civilians are evacuated at breakneck pace; nearly every available merchanteer or cargo ship has been hired out by the East Islandian transport command, and been filled to the brim with passengers. Such ships then leave for camps in Japan, PRC China, and Okinawa, before heading on to wherever the refugees choose. Several special operations air units land behind enemy lines to ex-filtrate Raiders and trapped civilians, but the success rate of such missions are very low.

Tokarev, having spent hours madly reorganizing their military forces, is finally getting ready to fight. Hundreds of minelayers deposit their materials in a thick and complicated series of lines through the Eastern Passage, while close to a thousand ships of all classes have finally organized into their respective fleets ready for battle.

Kitakyushu is still in chaos, with roughly one million Tokarev troops organized, but without food or equipment, and nearly one million more with a glut of food and equipment but no organization. It is utter anarchy.

The Twenty-First Fleet anchors and refuels in Nagasaki, preparing to depart the next day for the Eastern Passage with the two gigantic Tokarev-class Dreadnoughts. Meanwhile, Admiral Yamamoto has begun sending orders to the rest of the navy to sortie for the Sea of Japan. Luckily, most of the forces are already grouped in Hokkaido, so their movement won't create such a huge logistical blunder.

OOC: Okay, this was kind of hurried, I don't feel like anything more for now, especially since all I am doing is organizing my forces, which is kind of boring.

"Stand back...Fire!" yells the corporal in charge of an R-112SF3 towed MRL as it releases 15 112mm rockets at Dra-pol tanks about 13km away.

The launcher quickly empties itself, along with the other towed MRLs in its battery, and the crew hooks it to an artillery tractor. The boom of Pzh-2000s can be heard as they bombard the Dra-pol advance, and several kilometers north the flash of Hellfire II missiles released against the hordes of UPA tanks can be seen through the drizzle.

Radio chatter from the southernmost parts of the retreat front begin to reach prepared defensive positions in the hills northwest of Pusan, positions built in the style of Dra-pol defenses. Hopefully, the broken terrain would serve to break any Dra-pol attack, and with the sea to their backs the division could resupply and reinforce without much interference from the ho-hum Dra-pol navy.

In the distance, rockets land on top of tanks and APCs, and a good deal miss, but the Hellfire IIs, built to kill monster GT-6s and similar tanks, have no trouble finding their mark. If the UPA was facing LRRA infantry in LRR terrain, they could probably be stopped cold, but, of course, the circumstances would be radically different, the UPA facing semi-prepared positions and more likely than not unfavorable weather, the full brunt of the LRRAF, and the awkward LRR landscape.

Meanwhile, offshore, Quadrophenia class frigates attack the Dra-pol beachheads with RBS-15F missiles, which boast a 200km range. The 25 deployed Quadrophenias, joined with the 20 deployed Krivak IIs and the 15 deployed Sovremenny IIs, are probably the biggest problem on the water that invasion efforts currently face.

In the air, the small Dra-pol fighters can only be adequately countered, in short-range combat, with superior LRRAF training and short-range missiles. The AA-11 MOD allows the MiG-21 2000s based out of Jeju-do to hold their own until their missiles run out, at which point they are in big trouble, and where their advanced ejection seats come in quite handy.

The MiG-29Is and Super Viggens, classified as 'multirole air-defense fighters' as opposed to 'air-defense interceptors,' the designation held by superadvanced Zas-42s and Su-47s, are at least as fast as Dra-pol fighters, and can pull at least as tight turns, with their thrust-vectoring and force-absorbing S-3 ejection seats. They are supposed to be the main part of the LRR air defense, and there's quite a few of them, trained to attack enemy fighters and ground-attack aircraft while the interceptors tackle the most advanced enemy types.

Launching AA-12 MOD 'Blackadder' missiles, they essentially try to buzz the air-defense grid in order to take the pressure off the south.

Offshore, the Mother Teresa hospital ship and the flock of smaller hospital ships which surround it constantly take on casualties, brought by Mi-8s painted with large, obvious red crosses and no stub wings. They often dip in to take out the crews of sinking Dra-pol missile boats and landing craft, and the hospital ship fleet is soon filled with troops from every combattant.

From the LRR government, a telegram is sent to the allies:

Perhaps it is time to give Dra-pol Korea. If they had Korea, they would have no excuse for their militarism and isolationism. If we pulled out now, we could get the Peninsula back on the right foot after the war is over.

The only reason why Dra-pol can't feed their people is because they think they need a gigantic military to fight us. It is time we start thinking further into the future.

But in the here and now, we encourage all allied troops to be withdrawn from their foreward positions, and that the defensive Ulsan-Pusan-Daegu pocket be reoccupied and established as our main focus until this can be worked out in more depth diplomatically.

http://www.bulba.eu.org/mil/free/t72/t72m1(10).jpg

An LRRA MBT-5A moving into position in the 2nd Armored division's fortifications near Pusan, who's crew has not yet painted over the identification stripe painted onto the turret and hull.

*Pohang*

Hudecian Korean Command is being hastily withrawn to its backup position at Ulsan. Meanwhile, with the full strength of the deployed Hudecian forces in Korea active the military begins to make serious plans.

Firstly, half the number, about 3 Army Groups will be deployed with the LRR forces in the Ulsan, Pusan, Daegu triangle. Some forces will continue to fight north of the triangle in defence of Pohang until it can be adequately evacuated.

Secondly, the other half will continue to fight in the western corner of the peninsula, with its back the the Korean Archipelago.

To the LRR:

Although we may agree with your ultimate goal, the reunification of Korea. We do not believe it should occur by military means. Such a victory would not be beneficial in any way. Nor do we believe that we should limit our scope of defence at this time.

However, for practical reasons Pusan-Daegu-Ulsan should be our base of defence. From there we can hold out and strike back if necessary.

Telegram to Hudecia:

Alright, so if we are going to negotiate would we be willing to give Dra-pol the peninsula in return for opening up?

I think we should push for a face-to-face meeting with Hotan. We know Prime Minister Entwistle would be willing to go.

To LRR:

I'd say negotiate the rest of the peninsula away but maintain a 100 yr lease on Jeju-do and Ulleung-do.

We would push for an open Drapol, but not necessarily a capitalist one. Do you trust Drapol to send your PM there in person?

[*snorts* I just realized that my interceptors can take off from their bases in Japan, launch their long-range missiles, and then land having barely used any fuel. Although my fighters aren't quite in such an envious position, they're close.]

The fighters had arrived at Kitakyushu and Fukuoka first, after all one did not want the UAF getting any ideas about investigating the air bases there, even though all of the IAF aircraft had come to those bases with their Athena systems on, which in turn made sure that long-range UAF radars didn't detect the sizeable airlift operation going on.

What the IAF fighter pilots thought was funny about this whole thing was that the UAF pilots didn't even realize what was going on. Soon the UAF pilots would find themselves being attacked beyond sensor range by missiles they the old MiG-21s couldn't hope to jam being launched by fighters that they had as much hope detecting as a snowball had in hell. It was morbidly humorous to be sure, but still funny.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Kitakyushu*

The pilots of the various fighters and attack craft had just come out of a briefing and were calmly walking towards their aircraft. Normally they would be scrambling this close to the fighting, but the IAF regarded the UAF as such a joke that it didn't even merit the respect more formidable but less numerous foes had been afforded in the past. The F-27Es had the misfortune of drawing guard duty for the several E-14s that would be coordinating the day's attacks. Of course, the Dra-peol were unlikely to know that, at least not for another day when the Imperial Navy was schedule to arrive and really begin to put the hurt on. So, as each of the E-14s began their vertical takeoff 72 F-27Es rose up into the sky to help protect them, pairing off into groups of twelve.

Similar 72-aircraft rotations would begin soon for the real fighters whose controllers regarded the pilots of the Firehawks as confused people who couldn't decide whether they were bomber or fighter pilots. The first to take off were the F-27A Firebirds, the Kitakyusho section divided into 5 seventy-two-fighter wings that departed the airbase one by one. Next were the interceptors, eight wings in this case that would be the designated hitters, as in assassins, for this operation.

The fighters of the Kitakyushu section had P'ohang all to themselves and would share Taegu, Ulsan, Pusan, and Masao with the Fukuoka section.

*Fukuoka*
A similar scene was occurring in Fukuoka, although slightly ahead of the Kitakyushu section. The same number of IAF AWACs aircraft were escorted by the same number of F-27Es, the same number of F-27A wings took off just ahead of the 7 F-125S wings assigned to the Fukuoka section.

The only real difference beside the slightly lower number of fighters was that the Fukuoka section only had one city to itself, Yosu.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Dra-peol Air Force wasn't the only outfit of aviators with a capability for massive air operations. Indeed, the Imperial Air Force was smarter about it and was better suited to it than their misled Red brothers from North Korea. They would soon find this out the hard way when the massive operation began.

The F-125S interceptors were the first to fire, each fighter picking out ten targets and assigning each target 1 ACM-1 long-range missile. Those UAF fighters within 120 miles of either airbase were targeted directly by the interceptors and those further out and up to 200 miles away were guided by the E-14s. Either way the missiles streaked out at over Mach 7 in a ballistic course that closely resembled that of a Phoenix missile. At the appropriate time the F-27As each launched a compliment of six ACM-2 missiles, which happened to have a range of 80 miles, were scramjet powered, and had a similar role to the common AMRAAM.

The lucky UAF pilot did not see their end coming, did not see or hear their comrades die, or were just plain lucky in that whatever missiles(s) were targeted at them missed for whatever inexplicable reason. The unlucky ones had just the opposite happen to them on all three counts.

*Ottawa*

"Are the Drapol satellites still in orbit?" The President asked casually.

"Yes, err.. I think so sir." The Defence Minister stammered.

"Do we still have those excess communications satellites?"

"Yes..."

"Do you think Drapolian satellites make good crash test dummies?"

"I don't suppose so...."

"Lets find out..."

National Policy Committee meeting, People's Republic of Spyr.

"The Drapoel situation is escalating with incredible rapidity, sir..."

"From what we can tell, LRR seems to be adopting a policy of working towards the unification of Korea, rather than attempting to push back the Drapoel revolutionary forces... such a policy is to be commended and supported with all our efforts."

"But the Hudecians seem more reluctant to allow unification under Dra-pol, and soon the forces of Tokarev shall arrive to supplement their defences... the conflict could be prolonged indefinitely."

"True. But, tell me, general... if you were a Korean, Choson or otherwise, tell me how you might feel about a million Imperial Japanese troops arriving on your shores? Might it not rekindle certain less-than-pleasant historical memories?"

"But Korean opinion shall not turn the tide of the war!"

"You forget, general, the intricacies of electoral politics. Overseas Koreans in _Taiwan, Hudecia... they may not want the South ruled by Dra-pol, but I highly doubt that they will support any government that seeks the support of a Japanese empire in defeating the North. Hopefully, a shift in Allied policy will be forthcoming."

"A shift towards support of unification?"

"At the very least, a shift towards restraining Tokarev involvment. Which is, in the end, what I most hope for... I fear that we may be looking at another Bonstock."

"What shall be our policy, then, sir?"

"Put all forces on full alert and have Levy units ready to mobilize in the event of an emergency, but maintain neutrality. Issue a diplomatic warning that any nation entertaining imperialist designs on the Korean peninsula shall face the might of the People's Republic.

And, prepare a battlegroup for minesweeper duty and have them hold position off the northern coast until further orders... if Tokarev has mined La Perouse strait, then it is our responsibility to clear it to allow passage of neutral civilian shipping."

OOC: No time for a long IC post now, but just so Spyr knows, my government has mined La Perouse strait, but isn't answering any of your queries on the matter, using the excuse that they are too concerned with other matters at the moment. They also have orders to fire warning shots at any ship that enters the strait (see this thread: http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=353577, which roughly describes the guns there). I have no desire to get into a war with you, I am just RPing the general attitude of my nation at the time, if you press the government further and with more aggressive queries or threats they will respond.

Spyran ships are confronted by East Islandian catamaran cruisers, who insist that they turn back and not risk being blown up by the mines. Besides, the transports taking refugees to Japan are in need of as much aid as they can get....

*Spyr*

A Hudecian diplomat quickly prepared and handed the following proposal the the Spyran government.

BLOCKADE SETTLEMENT PROPOSAL

Perhaps an exchange can be arranged. Currently, as you know, North Yaman has taken the provacative action of supplying Drapol with fuel and oil. These supplies have been responsible for the deaths of many allied troops and the destruction of Hudecian government property among many others.

Although North Yaman's support of Drapol may be considered minimal in the 'grand scheme of things', it was a direct slap in the face to all those nations which have chosen to stand against Drapol. And Spyr's allowance of said actions can only be interpreted as tacit support of Drapol and their military ambitions.

In fact, when Hudecian diplomats protested that the oil shipments could be used in a military manner against our troops, we received the reply that North Yaman 'didn't give a shit', to paraphrase. (OOC: it was something along those lines, maybe I exaggerate a little, but hey, that happens)

However, we are similarly dismayed that Tokarev is blockading the entrance to the Sea of Japan. At the current time we understand Tokarev's desire to limit the influence that Spyr and North Yaman can have in the war with Drapol.

Perhaps if Spyr and North Yaman ceased their oil shipments to Drapol, Tokarev could be convinced that Spyr and N. Yaman are only interested in a peaceful, negotiated settlement to the conflict and in no ways support Drapol's military aggression.

In the La Perouse strait, LRRN minesweepers, escorted by Son House class corvettes, clear mine after mine. When a series of LRR fishing boats had been blown to smitherines, the LRRN knew something was up, and now Puffin class minesweeper/tugs sweep the strait to make it safe for traffic.

Being so close to LRR proper, a minefield stuck right in the middle of a major sea trade lane could not be allowed to stand. The ships rest secure in their knowledge that, not only are they being watched by some of the best littoral warfare vessels in the world, but are within range of the southern SSC-4 and SSC-5 batteries.

Meanwhile, in what could be described as nothing less than a total reversal of LRR naval policy in the past few years, two wings of 200 total Buddy Guy class Missile Boats sweep down from LRR, past Sakhalin and into the Sea Of Japan. The Buddy Guy is essentially an LRR copy of the 206MR 'Vikhir' patrol boat, and forms the backbone of the LRRN coastal defense flotilla (550 Buddy Guys, 450 Son Houses, about 160 submarines).

Their destination is the Dra-pol beachheads. Armed with RBS-15F missiles, they have a striking range which is a good 50km longer than Dra-pol ASMs. And with their hybrid drives and excellent seakeeping, they can quite easily make longish trips.

200 missile FACs from LRR are probably one of the last things the Dra-pol navy expects, but from the north, they come. In the air, MiG-29Is provide cover for the missile boats as they close with their targets, the Dra-pol beachheads...

http://warships.ru/Russia/Fighting_Ships/Missile_Boats/206mr-2.jpg

A Buddy Guy class missile boat at speed.

(A chance for you to intercept these things, Dra-pol).


A telegram is sent to the Dra-pol government:

We are wondering if you would allow a cease-fire along the front in order to conduct negotiations on the future of the Korean peninsula. We (the ROK and allies) are quite willing to give you the entirety of Korea, for just a few social concessions, i.e. being more open to the outside world.

By no means do you have to become capitalist, but our first and most important request is that Dra-pol establish free press and allow political dissent. After all, the people know what's best for them, and the government sometimes needs help in deciding policies.

We (LRR) would be very happy, should you agree to the terms set down by future negotiations, to bring in agricultural, medical, and economic aid, and transfer the plans for pebble-bed nuclear reactors, meltdown-proof alternatives to rod designes.

*Oita, Kyushu*

Over a hundred ships could be seen from the peers near Oita, every one obviously a cargo ship. However the cargo that was being unloaded was not normal in any way; troops were marching off of LPDs and boarding passenger trains, and armour and helicopters were being loaded and strapped down onto cargo pallets for the trip to Kitakyushu. The Helsinki Guards had priority and were being rushed, perhaps dangerously so, to the offloading point to Kitakyushu. At the moment it was pointless because of the enemy ships in the straight, which hampered the ability of the ferries and LCACs to transport the men and equipment to Pusan.

That particular problem, it was expected, would be solved within a day or two.

*East China Sea, South-West of Kyushu Isle*

Two Imperial Fleets, the 4th and 5th, were hooking around the south side of Japan and were preparing to engage the enemy. To say that the two fleets combined could wipe out the Dra-peol navy was probably an understatement in the extreme. The smallest ship in the fleet outweighed the largest ship in the Dra-peol navy by 15 times and could outgun it by twenty or even thirty times.

The plan was for the 5th Imperial to engage and tie up the Yellow Sea Fleet on its home turf, thus preventing reinforcement of the fleet operating in the Sea of Japan, who would be fighting with the 4th Imperial. While this was going on a large air operation would be undertaken to interfere with, and hopefully destroy, the invasion force threatening P'ohang.

*Kitakyushu*

Infantry and armour were offloading from the massive WIG transports. As of yet units were still not organized into fighting condition but what was there was forming up at pre-planned positions near the ferry point, which facilitated quicker organization.

It would still be a day before the Helsinki Guards were prepared to cross the Straight into Korea and begin the somewhat arduous journey to P'ohang to support the Imperium's new allies. However, when the battle was finally joined it was expected that no mercy and no quarter would be granted to the enemy. Men in flip-flops with pointy sticks and the occasional bayonet couldn't hope to overrun one of the Imperium's best fighting forces, at least as far as the Imperial Army was concerned.

The Tokarev fleets in the Eastern Passage have finally gotten resupplied, and are now on active duty, with full combat air patrols. This massive armada has orders to take complete control of the waters from the Sea of Japan to the Yellow Sea, which they take to with gusto.

Battleships, cruisers, aircraft carriers, destroyers, gunboats, torpedo boats, submarines, aircraft, and hundreds of other craft sweep down from Tsushima on a search and destroy mission for the Dra-pol Fleet.

Meanwhile, the second half of Tokarev has sailed through the Tsugaru Strait, avoiding the coastal minefields, into the Sea of Japan. They are to make their way south to Kanazawa where they will gather with the last portions of the fleet, mostly auxilaries and submarines, before sortieing out against Dra-Pol.

Meanwhile, the governor of Wakkanai has submitted to the clearing of mines in La Perouse Strait, but orders the coastal minefields to remain, and the big guns of the coastal fortifications watch foreign shipping carefully.

Meanwhile, the chaos in Kitakyushu is finally clearing up, and the first troops are being loaded onto the Pu-Kwan Ferries bound for Pusan, covered by a large combat air patrol and the giant fleet steaming from Tsushima towards Cheju-Do.

Spyran diplomats shower their LRR counterparts with profuse thanks for their moral and correct actions in restoring shipping lanes to regular use.

Well, there are sixteen people in danny’s apartment
Sixteen people are living in there
Remember the days of rent control
Grandpa remembers rock and roll

These days won’t last forever
These days won’t last for long
You know, somebody somewhere owes us a favor
That’s how things really get done
In this world of opportunities, it’s a land of possibilities

We wanna live in a dirty old town
Building it up, tearing us down
With our head in the clouds and our feet on the ground
We wanna live - dirty old town
Dirty old town

Now when the ladies come from kansas
They wear their traditional colors
Today the fabrics are ragged and torn
The clothes on their backs is all that they own
They say, don’t draw attention to yourself
They’ll tear you apart for a couple of bucks
Keep you head down and keep you nose clean
’cause people who’re scared do dangerous things

These days can’t last forever
These days can’t last for long
You know someday things’ll get better
Somehow things’ll get done
In this world of possibilities, it’s the land of opportunities

We wanna live in a dirty old town
Building it up, tearing us down
With our head in the clouds and our feet on the ground
We wanna live - dirty old town
Dirty old town

These days shoes are worn only on special occasions
Battles are fought for fam’ly and nations
Maybe you’ll pray, but God isn’t home
And there’s no guarantee that justice be done

We wanna live in a dirty old town
Building it up, tearing us down
With our head in the clouds and our feet on the ground
We wanna live - dirty old town
Dirty old town

Thankyou, thankyou! That was Dirty Old Town, written by David Byrne.

*Applause*

A not-so-subtle bump...

I don't really see that we can continue this... the UPA that prepared itself for the conflict was more than twice the size of the new population. I might try to salvage parts of it for re-use in a later thread.

We could now though try to decide what if anything actually happened... nothing? Just an artillery exchange? I'm thinking perhaps an artillery exchange covering some sort of infiltration attempt or something like that.

We could just draw the very basics from the thread... some guns were fired... some satellites were attacked... the CPRD tried to infiltrate commandos and agents by sea and air and have them go underground or melt into the population while everybody was sent into panic over what would have been briefly feared a new invasion that never came... maybe it didn't work too well.

OOC: I am just pretending none of the Turkmeny posts ever happened.

I don't really see that we can continue this... the UPA that prepared itself for the conflict was more than twice the size of the new population. I might try to salvage parts of it for re-use in a later thread.

We could now though try to decide what if anything actually happened... nothing? Just an artillery exchange? I'm thinking perhaps an artillery exchange covering some sort of infiltration attempt or something like that.

We could just draw the very basics from the thread... some guns were fired... some satellites were attacked... the CPRD tried to infiltrate commandos and agents by sea and air and have them go underground or melt into the population while everybody was sent into panic over what would have been briefly feared a new invasion that never came... maybe it didn't work too well.

Well, unless we come up with something, and fast, the entire system of Asian roleplay affairs is dead, with the new system and all, with regards to the war for unification.

Perhaps if we started again from scratch...

I don't really see that there's a major problem. Maybe I'm missing something. I think all that's been mucked-up is this thread, which seems a relatively minor sacrifice in the larger picture.

Alright...so...how do we get back on track? I for one was sort of enjoying this thread...