NationStates Jolt Archive

Terrence McMullen stared at the map laid down on the desk. It was late at night and the mood was sombre, given the latest changes in the country. First the renaming of the capital, then of the nation…total sacrilege. He couldn’t just stand around and watch the great homeland being butchered by the Central Committee. However, he planned not to wait much longer…

The map was of the Eastern territories of Russia, in red being the Andrehervian territory, in blue the Squornshelan area. He cursed.

Witzenberg will never accept that such great an area should be Andrehervian, never, never!” he thought, sweeping his hand across the blue area. His plan would be the last chance Andrehervia would ever have of greatness.

Those anti-expansionist fools will never find out…

**********
It was a quiet night on the Squornshelan border. The soldiers of Unit 393452 posted at Checkpoint 7330 had nearly finished their two hours of rest before retiring to their bunks. The group bided their time, playing poker, watching TV and generally cutting the boredom of the usual workday.

Outside, the team of eight converged, moving silently and quickly, positioning themselves near the windows and entrances of the compound. Armed with submachine guns, shotguns and grenade launchers and clad in black Squornshelan uniforms, the team waited until the stroke of half past ten before doing much else. Ten came. The Unit of fifteen soldiers began to pack up. Lights were switched off, cards and games packed away and armament secured before heading to their bunks.

The team leader stared through the windows of the cabin as the Unit climbed into their bunks and bedded down, their commanding officer cutting the lights and retiring himself.

“Ten minutes,” the leader whispered into his radio “and the attack begins.”

The minutes slowly inched past as the commandos stared at the building, not moving their sight. This stillness was finally cut as the captain nodded to the major next to him. Without responding, the soldier raised his grenade launcher and fired, the shot ringing out a sign to others to begin firing.

The grey, metal canisters crashed through the windows of the bunk room, rest area and commanding officer’s room. The junior lieutenant and commander of the Unit stumbled out of bed and tried to move to the door, despite the tear gas making sight and breathing impossible. A burst of gunfire ended his journey as he fell to the floor and two soldiers jumped through the window, donned with gas masks and body armour. The other fourteen soldiers in the bunk room fled in no direction, helpless, attempting to find an exit amongst the inky blackness and unbearable pair brought by the gas as fragmentation grenades are thrown in, whatever survivors left finished off by automatic fire.

The Unit Commander surveyed his work, proud of the achievements. The commander turned and nodded to his underlings, they too admiring the carnage. He then turned to the security camera fitted to the upper corner of the room and gave a thumbs-up, flashing as much of his national identification as possible, along with his weapons. The other soldiers did the same, taking pictures and video film of the moment as one of his sergeants came up to him and informed him the cameras had shot everything. Satisfied, he ordered his men to evacuate and they swiftly and, unlike their entrance, quietly left the building.

*********************
“Animals!” McMullen yelled at his superior, “Barbarian animals! How dare they do this to us, after everything we’ve done for them!”
“Calm, Terrence!” Donald Witzenberg yelled back. “I’m tired of your continual whining about this!”

“Oh, come on, you’ve seen the tapes, you know the Squornshelans are behind this and I demand retribution for this criminal act!”

“For pity’s sake!” Gordon Miocevic yelled, tired too of McMullen’s assertiveness, “We should not be jumping to conclusions. We don’t even know the full details. We don’t even know if they was state-sanctioned. Start being logical and the-“

“Logical? Logical?! You want ‘logical’ while those bandits slaughter our citizens? You want to dally around while they continue to plan murders of our soldiers? They’ll be moving onto children next!”

Donald Witzenberg finally had enough. He rose from his chair. “SILENCE!” he bellowed, staring at Miocevic and McMullen. McMullen slowly lowered himself back into his seat and Miocevic, already seated, rested his head in his hands as he mulled over the situation.

“Now, I don’t know anything about the situation. I don’t know who precisely did it, who ordered it or,” his voice rising as McMullen interrupted him at every point, “the events that happened. So, before I sit down and hear more delightful, reasoned arguments, I’m going to pick up this phone, call the Squornshelans and find out just what the hell is going on!”

McMullen tried fiercely to contain his delight, manifesting as false anger, from both Miocevic and Witzenberg as the latter picked up the telephone handset and activated the speed dial, selecting Squornshelous and waiting to be put through to the President for answers.

tag

OOC: Hey, you did your homework. Perfect accuracy of Squornshelan uniforms and equipment. Nice job.

IC:
The Great Prophet Zarquon, chief executive of Squornshelous glanced up from the mounds of paperwork on his desk at the sound of a phone ringing. He took a moment to find the blinking red light that would tell him which one it was, and picked up the Andrehervian hotline.
"Hello Mr. Witzenburg, what can I do for you today."
"Attacked? By who?"
"That's copmletely impossible, I assure you, whoever attacked your checkpoint was not in any way connected with the Squornshelan government."
"Yes, we will conduct an investigation into the military units in the area. I'm quite sure that we'll discover the identity of the attackers."
"Yes, please send a copy of your surveilance tapes, I will contact the military authorities in the area and contact you as soon as possible."
Zarquon pressed a button on his desk and a secretary popped into the room. "Get my military representative in here, now!"
He then lifted another phone on his desk. This one ran to the Commander in Chief of Squornshelan army forces in Russia. "I want you to investigate every checkpoint along the Andrehervian border. One of their checkpoints was attacked yesterday by men in Squornshelan uniforms and I want to know who it was."

- - - - -

The investigation proceeded quickly, reviewing duty rosters and security cameras, they were able to account for almost every soldier stationed along the border. As the Andrehervian footage was reviewed, the uniforms and equipment were identifiedas being those of the Squornshelan Marines.

- - - - -

Later that day, Zarquon made a call back to Donald Witzenburg.
"We've gotten some information back from our preliminary investigation, and have determined that the men in your tapes are either Squornshelan Marines, or imitating them. We have also accounted for all but a small handfull of soldiers along the border. It is currently believed that those soldiers were on leave, visiting families and such, but that will be double checked in the next few days."

OOC: Is this open or does the world not know yet?

OOC: It's open in the fact it looks like Squornshelous did it rather than hardline Eppessenians, but you can respond in condemnation of who did it etc.

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, by the way. I've been very ill since Thursday.

OOC: What can I say, Squorn? I'm a sucker for detail!

IC: McMullen smiled. His plan had gone off without a hitch; the Central Committee was blaming the Squornshelans, the Squornshelans didn’t have a clue what was going on and no one suspected any of his plans.

He smirked. It was time for the second stage of his plans…

***************
The convoy rumbled down Highway 24 covering the Eppessenian/Squornshelan border. Consisting of four jeeps and three trucks loaded with food supplies, ammunition and other necessities, the inhabitants of the seven vehicles were nonetheless worried about the incident at Checkpoint 7330 that occurred not far from their position despite the firepower and training they held.

Captain Hague stared through his binoculars towards the convoy, speeding at them at a hundred miles an hour. Intelligence from McMullen told them they’d be driving in a jeep-truck-jeep formation and that they would be armed with light machine guns, grenade launchers, assault rifles and pistols. Team 1, consisting of Captain Hague, Major Tolley, Captain Exley and Captain Levie were positioned on the left hand side of the road facing the trucks as they struck. Team 2, led by Major Povey and consisting of Captain Radcliffe, Captain Jansen and Senior Lieutenant Carter were situated a mile and a half down the road on the right hand side where they would attack the back end of the line.

Hague lowered his binoculars and smiled ”This challenge’ll be more to my liking.” he thought, considering the nature of the opposition and the further orders of what he was to do.

He analysed the speed and the distance between themselves and vehicles and said into his radio, “Three minutes to attack. Remember, leave two survivors. This group will leave two as well.” After looking over to the other group to receive confirmation, he clicked the safety off his S3 assault rifle and laid down, waiting.

Five large explosions heralded the attack as Hague detonated the explosives laid on and at the side of the road, destroying a jeep and a truck and damaging the rest. Two anti-tank rockets completely wrecked the jeep at the front and the troops inside. In a total panic, the two drivers of the remaining truck, both female, bailed out and fled, only meeting the bullets of Team 1 as they fell to the ground wounded, but not dead. The soldiers of Jeep Charlie, the only one to have survived the onslaught, bailed out and took position, the troops in the left of the car attacking Team 2 and that of the right Team 1.

Team 1 made light work of the soldiers on their side out of the confusion n terror brought on by the sudden swift attack of the group. Team 2, however, were brought to great difficulty by the sheer stubbornness of the soldier’s stubbornness, but were brought to a surrender when faced on both sides by a more trained and armed team. Dragging the two captured and wounded drivers toward the exhausted soldiers, Hague laughed at the second, sadistic stage of the plan were to be executed.
***********************
McMullen threw open the door to Witzenberg’s office, clutching several pieces of paper and holding an angry expression in his face. Witzenberg looked up from his work and apathetically returned to it.

“Yes, Mr. McMullen, what will it be now?” Witzenberg asked the still pacing McMullen, expecting the usual complaining and rhetoric. Stopping at his desk, McMullen slammed the papers on his desk furiously.

“This, Sir. The latest report from MILINT regarding the supply Convoy on Highway 24, Sir.” McMullen retorted, trying to restrain the anger in his verbal confrontation. Slowly, Witzenberg reached over, grabbed the papers and slowly began to read them. The expression on his face turned from disinterest to confusion to shock as he read the details of the attack – how men in Squornshelan uniforms attacked the convoy, how the soldiers were brutally killed, how the male survivors were tortured and left to die and how the females raped and assaulted with the most brutal of force. McMullen stood straight, a sense of satisfaction on how he was right now slowly creeping onto his face.

“So tell me, Mr. Witzenberg, how we are to respond to this particular annoyance, hmm?”

Witzenberg was shocked. He was sure that the previous attack was just by a rogue group considering the lack of clear evidence, but this time…this attack was far from the previous.

“I…I…just don’t know what to say…” Witzenberg stammered.

“May I suggest,” McMullen said obnoxiously and confidently, “a total revision of our policy and attitude towards the Squornshelans and a plan for the remand and justice of these murderers.”

Witzenberg gathered his thoughts and removed the shocked, gormless expression on his face. “Yes, yes, you are right. Um, you…twist some arms at the Squornshelan embassy to find out what happened. I…I…I’ll organise a, ur, emergency meeting and…prepare a public statement about this…event.”

McMullen merely smiled, nodded and strode out of his office leaving Witzenberg on his own to flounder in his own indecision and incompetence.

OOC: I did not steal this from you, I'd already suspected you're framing Squornshelous.

IC: Emperor Consantinius I laughed when he heard the report. "Obviously, Squornshelous has been framed by either the Epessenians or terrorists in their pay. Condemn the nation of Epessenia, and send word to the government of Squornshelous of my suspicisons. Also, alert the rest of the NPTO. This could become very serious very quickly.

As the reports of the second incident began to flow in, the level of alarm shot up in Squornshelan government facilities both inside and outside of Eppessenia. A total lack of information led to a frantic, almost panicked investigation. Large amounts of Squornshelan federal and military police conducted interrogations and set up checkpoints along the border. Every person living within 100 kilometers of Eppessenia was questioned, but to no avail. The more Squornshelan authorities searched, the more mysterious the incidents became. At a press conference, the Great Porphet Zarquon's Lieutenant, the Propher Bokonon, responded as best he could to questions from the journalists:

Q: Does the government have any information about who might be behind these attacks?

A: No. We suspect a previously unknown terrorist cell may be responsible.

Q: What is the state of relations between Eppessenia and Squornshelous at this time?

A: While there is quite a bit of tension right now, our two great nations are long standing allies and I am confident we can work together to resolve this issue. I will take one more question.

Q: What do you think is the explanation of all this?

A: Busy, busy, busy.

A reporter went on to explain that "Busy, busy, busy" is what Bokononists say when they belive there is a great deal of secrecy and trickery going on. Sornshelan forces have been moved from Alert Level 4 up to Alert Level 3, to try to pinpoint the perpetrators of these acts.

hmmmm Zeeeland is most disturbed by the turn of events in the region Involving Eppesenia and Sqourshelous and will watch with careful vigilence at how furthur events unfold....


Zeeeland provisional government

Windhoek

7.31pm

Secret Bunker, Governmental Complex

A week had passed since the strike on the military convoy. News of the attack had sent a collective chill down the spine of every Eppessenian citizen – that soldiers of the FTA had been brutally tortured and killed, that female logistics drivers had been raped and left for dead by men in Squornshelan uniforms and with Squornshelan weapons. Garrisons and checkpoints on the Eppessenian/Squornshelan border were on high alert and weapons of self-defence had been bought on massed by panicked citizens living on that strip of land.

It was midnight and most Eppessenians slept soundly and securely. However, in a secret bunker under the Governmental Complex, the Central Committee were locked in a battle of words and after three no one had given way.

“Here are the hard facts as we know them.” Donald Witzenberg repeated, staring sternly at the members of the Committee who themselves had annoyed and weary looks on their faces. “The Squornshelans don’t know who did it but they believe it to be a terrorist cell and their investigations continue. Meanwhile, their forces are at Alert Level 3 to aid in the capture of those who did it.”

A sarcastic grunt came from McMullen, who had heard it all before. “You do know it’s just a ploy, don’t you? You do know it’s only a matter of time before it’s at Level 1 and Squornshelan tanks burst through our border?”

The Committee was deadlocked into two factions – those who wanted defence conditions boosted from Code Blue to Code Green, made up of the Deputy Premier, the Minister of State Security, the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Home Affairs, and those who wanted the condition kept as it is, composed of the Minister of Information and Media, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Police.

“We’ve given the Squornshelan a week to find these criminals and they’ve found nothing. What are you doing to do, wait until they invade then lift it?” McMullen called out once again.

“We have to give them a chance!” The voice of the Minister of Home Affairs piped up. “It does take longer than seven days to find murderers, particularly well-trained rogue agents of Squornshelous.”

Collective groans emanated from the Code Green faction and Donald Witzenberg, tired and fatigued by the deadlocked discussion sighed and called out at a level audible above the petty arguing. “Look, we’ve been here long enough. No one’s producing any new arguments and we’ll be stuck here until the early hours, so I am going to make my decision.” Witzenberg cleared his throat and the rest pulled themselves up from their slump and listened attentively to what was about to happen.

“I have decided to increase the Defence Alert from Code Green to Code Blue. Stuart, prepare a press release announcing this. Terrence, get me War Plan 34 and begin secretly mobilising forces. Stuart, begin the process of the emergency evacuation of populations near the border. Meeting dismissed.”

Witzenberg slowly got up and apathetically picked up his papers and placed them in his briefcase with the rest of the Committee doing the same shortly afterwards. As the other ministers bickered amongst themselves about the night’s proceedings, Witzenberg quietly slipped out to contemplate the next action.

*********************************************************
8.11pm

Outskirts of Dallentyne, north-eastern Andrehervia

This was to be the team’s final order.

Dallantyne was a small township on the Eppessenian/Squornshelan border of two hundred people. It was also a very politically active town and the residents were great supporters of Donald Witzenberg and his government. Dallentyne contains every usual amenity any town would have and the main gathering point of the settlement is the historic town hall, standing since 1898 when the place were first established, and inside this building was the entire population attending an meeting on internal political matters within Eppessenia.
Today was the day when the weeks and months of planning would finally pay off and when the repossession of Andrehervian land robbed from them centuries ago would be taken back.

The operation had been planned with meticulous detail. The power would be cut for maximum confusion among the victims, there would be at least six survivors of the attack and their supposed nationality would be known to them.

8.32pm

Dallentyne Town Hall

“Whilst the attacks on Checkpoint 7330 and the Convoy were, indeed, callous and disturbing events,” the governor of the small township reiterated his point to that restless crowd wanting to know if war broke out, “I firmly believe that there will be no war between Eppessenia and Squornshelous.”

The anxious, angry and disaffected murmurings of the crowd grew louder into an orchestra and the governor could only sigh as the crowd asked questions amongst themselves and yelled at the authorities on the stage demanding real action.

The furious queries and vitriolic fury turned to quiet confusion and mystery which then turned to screams of pain and fear as the mundane drone of submachine guns began and brief flashes of light showing men, women and children being cut down, running in terror, cowering for some form of feeble protection. No one was safe from the onslaught of terror brought from the masked men at the doors of the room where only their silhouette was on show for the terrified victims. No one was spared, whether it be the newborn or the eldest, the lowliest farm worker to the most powerful politician.

As done twice before, Captain Logan surveyed the destruction with his torch. A pool of blood replaced the wooden tiles that covered the floor, not a sound could be heard in the room, bar the whispering the soldiers and their breathing and footsteps and the only light was the flashing bursts of light as the soldiers projected their torches onto the devastation. Deciding that the CCTV would’ve picked enough up and that the survivors had heard enough, he smiled and clicked his fingers. He slowly made his way to the exit with the seven men under his command following.

After in depth interrogations of nearly every citizen and soldier living near the Eppessenian border, the Squornshelan investigators still had no leads. No one had reported seeing anything remotely suspicious before either of the two attacks. Of course, no one in Squornshelous yet knew of the third strike that had been made. The director of the investigation submitted his report to The Great Prophet Zarquon the night prior to the third attack.

"My Lord, we have found nothing, no one has seen anything at all."

"That is impossible, if these men struck from within Squornshelous, someone must have seen them. In a nation as densly populated as ours it is impossible to have no witnesses."

"They could have killed them."

"Then we would have missing person reports."

"There are just no leads here, the attackers must be based inside Eppessenia."

"I will not call up the leader of one of our closest allies and tell him that his own countrymen have done this, you must find some piece of information I can give them."

"Yes my Lord, I will not fail you."

********OFFICIAL NEWSCAST**********
********DATE: 19/07/2005**********
********UTMOST IMPORTANCE**********

Reports of attack on Eppessenian border town...mass fatalities, possibly in the hundereds...RUSNOREAS Military Command and local police currently investigating the scene...20 mile cordon quickly set up around area...do not contact RUSNOREAS or Central Government about this situation, further information to be released at a later time.

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

Terrence McMullen watch the television monitor on the other wall of his desk. A newsflash was playing of the 'unknown attack', the tip nicely given to them by his contact within the Information Ministry. He smiled and sat back in his chair. In a day, Andrehervian military forces will be at Code Yellow and mobilised on the border. Within a week, the forces would smash through and seize the peninsula. In a fortnight, McMullen would be sipping cognac in the Squornshelan capital. He laughed heartily, absolutely sure of success and blissfully unaware of the treat the Sqournshelan government has for him.

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

24 hours later

Official Eppessenian Government Statement

Time of Release: 9.31am, 20/07/05

Last night at around half past eight, the town of Dallentyne was surrounded and massacred by an as yet unknown number of soldiers wearing Squornshelan uniforms. Around 194 civilians have perished in the attack and the six survivors have reported a swift, brutal attack but a group of well-armed and well-planned soldiers. At the moment, it is said that around 20-30 soldiers may have been involved based on information from the survivors, but the real number has yet to be verified.

This is the third attack to have taken place by a group of men in Squornshelan uniforms and the slow progress of their investigation is both worrying and infuriating. We implore Squornshelous to commit more to the apprehension of these murderers and to bring them to justice. While we realise these affairs take time, we are steadily losing patience in the apparent apathetic attitude to those who have committed these crimes, those who appear to be Squornshelans themselves!

We are committed to ensuring that the men behind these atrocities are caught and tried. Whether or not Squornshelous is as prepared to bring justice to the two hundred murdered victims is entirely up to them and their government."

Secret IC:

The RUSNOREAS District will in full movement as vehicles were checked, weapons were cleaned and last minute preparations were made for the military exercise, Operation Golden Eagle, to test the cohesiveness and effectiveness of Eppessenian air and ground forces and their capabilities in working together as part of an invasion force. Up to 100,000 men are to be deployed, planned with the utmost precision by the Military High Command, ROSNOREAS Military Command and the Central Government.

In reality, Operation Golden Eagle was to be the execution of War Plan 34 - the invasion of Sqournshelous. If the situation was not resolved by Friday the 22nd, forces would begin to deploy as secretly as possible to the Squornshelan border and on Saturday the 23rd would invade. Apprehension, excitement and fear flowed through the veins of Eppessenia's finest, waiting as the machine of politics slowly lurged towards conquest...

The day following the Eppessenian press release, The Great Prophet Zarquon himself appeared at a press conference. "This has gotten out of hand," he told his advisors," something must be done, and now." While the concerns of the Eppessenian government were one thing that could be dealt with, the satellite photos of forces mobilizing near the Squornshelan border were very concerning.

"People of the world," he began, "I am addressing you now on a matter of utmost importance. I would not be fr from the truth in saying that this is the most important press conference I have ever held." He paused for a moment. "In our intensive investigation of these horrific attacks on Eppessenia, we have found no evidence whatsoever of the attackers passing through Squornshelous, or even any trace of their existence." He took a deep breath before continuing, "It is my opinion, and that of my advisors and the leaders of the investigation, that these renegades must be operating entirely from within Eppessenia. There is no other explanation for it, there would have been some trace, some piece of evidence left if they had entered Squornshelous. But there isn't." He looked down and shuffled through some papers. "On an even more disturbing note, our military intelligence system has detected the mobilization of Eppessenian troops, obviously a move toward war. War is something that neither of our great countries can hope to benefit from in the least. It would leave only suffering and death in its wake," he paused, and then added, "on both sides."
"The leaders of Eppessenia know that I must mobilize Squornshelan troops in response to this, but I assure you. This is a defensive measure only. I will not take any aggressive move, and I ask my counterparts in Eppessenia to do the same. And please," he continued, "I implore you to consider the possibility, the likelihood that these men are not from Squornshelous at all, and I ask you to conduct a thorough investigation of your own to determine their whereabouts. We must work together, as partners, not as mistrusting adversaries, if we are to find out the truth."

Following Zarquon's speech, all Squornshelan troops in Russia including the Arctic Fleet went to high alert. SAM and AAA batteries were manned round the clock and air superiority fighters idled on the tarmac, ready to lift off at a moments notice. The only thing absent from the military buildup was strategic forces. Squornshelan bombers stayed on low alert and missile submarines returned to their bases. This show of good faith, it was hoped, would convince Eppessenia of Squornshelan sincerity.

Secret IC:

Deep in the Ministry of Defence, Terrence McMullen roared with laughter. The Squornshelans were mobilising their own military and preparing for war - Witzenberg would never be able to back down now for fear of looking foolish.

Nothing was left to do. In 12 hours - Friday the 21st July at 7.50am, all forces would go to Code Orange and sometime in the night on Saturday the 22nd, all forces would break through and take back what's rightfully theirs.

What afterwards, of course? McMullen thought happily to himself. Perhaps I could get rid of that fool Witzenberg, perhaps I could expand westwards, perhaps I could make Andrehervia great once more...

At the same time, he was also greatly worried. Andrehervian military forces were heavily numbered and armed but despite this their organisation was in an archaic state - uneven organisation number with half being in a four-tier organisation and the other in a three-tier and the ground forces in three seperate branches, it would be difficult to manouvre. He just hoped the training and equipment he pumped billions into would go to good use.

OOC: Forces involved to be posted later.

The day after his speech, The Great Prophet Zarquon spoke with his military advisors. The tactical situation was a mixed basket of good and bad. On the one hand, most of Squornshelous' Army and Air Forces stationed in Russia and Alaska were present. The bad news was that the Squornshelan navy, the heart and soul of the armed forces, was largely taken up elswhere. The bulk of the North Atlantic Fleet was supporting the ongoing conquest of Mauritania, and the fastest and most powerful ships of the Pacific Fleet was off Equador fighting Yelm. The South Atlantic Fleet was an idea for the future being pieced together in the shipyards of Murmansk. That left only the Arctic Fleet, Squornshelous' smallest naval group to have the "fleet" designation, to protect the homeland in the event of an attack. This Eppessenian crisis couldn't have come at a worse time. The prospect of fighting three wars at once was not a happy one. However, despite their naval deficiency, the Squornshelan territory was far from defenseless. Hundreds of recently constructed missile bases, equipped with everything from ballistic missiles to anit-aircraft SAM's and long range cruise missiles.

bump

(will edit later into ground troops posting)

Sunday 31st July 2005, 1.02am, Eppessenian-Squornshelan border.

After days of heavy manoevering, planning and preparation, it was finally complete. 555,000 men had been assembles on the Squornshelan border which had taken a week longer than expected. 37 divisions built up on the border, the public lead to believe they were on a simple exercise, but the men of the Eppessenian Ground Forces knew what was really going on.

The invasion was due to began at daybreak - five hours. The soldiers relaxed, sleeping, playing card games, talking and eating. They knew they wouldn't be able to do those things again for a long time.

Secret IC:

Operation Golden Eagle: Forces Breakdown

Army Group One (North Squornshelous)
Main Objective: To crush Squornshelan forces in the north and secure the rest as Groups Two and Three push into the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Forces:

Elite Units - General Defence Force:

10th Artillery Division
23rd and 24th Infantry Division


General Defence Force:

37th and 38th Infantry Division
96th Armoured Division
115th and 116th Mechanised Infantry Division
349th Artillery Division
84th Tactical Rocket Division
14th Paratroop Division


Total soldiers: 165,000

Army Group Two (Central Squornshelous)
Main Objective: To sweep to the Eastern side of Squornshelous, blocking off the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Forces:

Elite Units - General Defence Force:

1st Armoured Division
9th Armoured Division
6th Mechanised Infantry Division
14th Tactical Rocket Division
16th and 19th Infantry Divisions


General Defence Force:

93rd Armoured Division
114th Mechanised Infantry Division
12th Paratroop Division
81st Tactical Rocket Division
347th Artillery Division
30th and 21st Infantry Division


Total soldiers: 165,000

Army Group Three (Southern Squornshelous)
Main Objective: To crush Squornshelan forces in the south of the country and link up with Army Group Two for the thrust down the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Forces:

Elite Units - General Defence Force:

3rd Armoured Division
5th Mechanised Infantry Division
8th Artillery Division
11th Tactical Rocket Division
21st Infantry Division


General Defence Force:

29th and 40th Infantry Divisions
95th Artillery Division
113th Mechanised Infantry Division
346th Artillery Division
13th Paratroop Division
412th and 413th Artillery


Total soldiers: 195,000

Overall total: 555,000 men

Supporting Air Force Units*


40 EA-160C’s of the 40th Fighter Squadron
50 EA-135C’s of the 37th Fighter Squadron
40 F/A-16D Fighting Falcons’ of the 24th Fighter Squadron
100 Eurofighter Typhoons of the 26th Fighter Squadron
40 F/A-41A’s of the 29th Fighter Squadron
100 Mirage 2000D’s of the 27th Fighter Squadron
80 F/A-22 Raptors of the 30th Fighter Squadron
60 TSA-21A’s of the 99th Fighter Squadron
10 B52 Stratofortresses of the 42nd Bomber Squadron
2 B2 Stealth Bombers of the 46th Bomber Squadron
160 A10 attack aircraft of the 54th - 61st Attack Squadron


*Excluding support aircraft e.g. tankers, transport etc.

Supporting Rotary Wing Force Units


200 EA-24C’s of the 462nd and 463rd Transport Squadrons
80 Mi-26UE’s, part of the 451st Transport Squadron
110 Mi-27’s of the 441st and part of the 442nd Transport Squadron
85 DA-237’s, part of the 411th Attack Squadron
120 EA-22C’s of the 455th and part of the 458th Transport Squadron
120 EA-26A’s of the 416th and part of the 417th Attack Squadrons


Supporting Naval Force Units


6th Submarine Division – Okhotsk Fleet
8th Command Division – Okhotsk Fleet
7th Medical Division – Okhotsk Fleet
48th Helicopter Carrier Division – Okhotsk Fleet
58th Frigate Division – Okhotsk Fleet
64th Destroyer Division – Okhotsk Fleet


The East Sea Fleet is also on heightened alert for deployment

OOC: Squornshelous, where is your capital?

OOC: Squornshelous, where is your capital?

Anchorage, Alaska.

Ah, I'm gonna need some more Fleets.

4.31am, Military Command HQ, Epping City

Ten storeys underneath the Presidential Complex, the Military Command HQ buzzed with activity with the symphony of typing from the keyboards and the gentle hum of the computer and television screens displaying reams of information on the positions of divisions on the border as well as climatic and terrain conditions, all the data necessary for a successful military strike.

Amid all the typing and movement was a portion of the room that was deeper than the rest of the room with staircases on the left and right sides for access. In the centre of this portion is a desk with a holographic projector in the middle and monitors lining up the wall. At the moment, it was empty bar the Commander of Ground Forces in Operation Golden Eagle General Harry Talman and the Premier himself, Donald Witzenberg.

"First we shall commence an air strike of primary military targets on the border - anti-aircraft units, military equipment, command and control centres et cetera - and then have our paratroopers launch and seize areas of important strategic interest, infrastructure, smaller towns, airports and finally commence our ground assault simultaneuously with the Amphibious Assault Divisions of the GDF. Hopefully this is all we need to take. If Squornshelous intends to keep fighting after we seize this, we'll have to activate more units."

The Premier nodded, intensely interested in the plan of action. "How long before we eventually control the peninsula?" he asked.

"That all depends on the circumstances and resistance of the Squornshelan forces. If all goes well, we should be successful in a month. It could six months or perhaps a year." the General replied.

"Gentlemen!"

The two men looked up quickly at the smiling man wearing a dark suit and coat descending the stairs towards the desk.

"McMullen." Donald said matter-of-factly. Terrence pulled a face of sadness and asked "Aw, you don't look pleased to see me."

Donald sighed. "It's not that. I'm just tired, I haven't got much sleep these past few weeks."

Terrence looked over the holographic projection of the battlefield. Not long now.

"When will you order the attack?" Terrence asked.

"Not long now." said Donald. "Our forces will be waiting now for the orders. It must be horribly cold on the border..."

"You sould like you're having second thoughts." Terrence said.

"I am not!" Donald snapped back, like a small child. "Since when it has it been so terrible so as to care for your own soldiers?"

Terrence grunted. "No, you're right. I'm sorry. I'm...apprehensive too."

Donald could merely stare at Terrence, unsure of the man. "I'm going to prepare the speech launching the attack."

Terrence laughed. "Making sure they have the best footage for the morning news?"

Donald didn't reply to this. "I'm leaving you in charge here. General Talman will enlighten you as to what will happen.

Terrence merely smiled and did not look back as Donald made his way up the stairs and out of the room.

Terrence turned to look at the General. "So, my friend, let's look at these plans, shall we?" He said, chirpily.

4.59am, Military Command HQ, Epping City

All was quiet on the Eastern Front. The Army Groups had watched and listened for nearly as hour as the squadrons of fighters roared past equipped with the latest Eppessenia had to offer and dropped their payload over Squornshelous, destroying whatever targets had prime military opportunity for the Squornshelans - 'softening' it was called. It was hoped that this ordnance managed to find its target. Nevertheless, everyone had faith in the air forces. No one spoke as the fighters smashed though the air overhead. With only a minute ago, it was only the Premier's authorisation that was needed to move.

The constant noise of the jets had finally died. It would not be long before it was all green. No sooner than thirty seconds before 5am had the final barrier been broken. Radios across the line crackled into life and uttered three fateful words: "Commence the operation". The silence of the Siberian land was hacked to put with the simultaneous crash of thousands of engines kicking into operation and moving forward towards the coast.

The first bomber wave, while sudden, was no surprise to Squornshelan troops on the ground, and they met the Eppesenian planes with a staggerinly huge salvo of missiles from over 300 missile bases, as well as anti-aircraft at other military installations. The end result was tens of thousands of SAM's homing in on the bombers. In Magadan, the Pacific fleet had just recieved a shipment of 100 new Bravo class Destroyers, fresh from the Leafanistani shipyards. They had originally been intended to be refitted with better SAM defenses, but there was no time. They were grouped with the 30 Arleigh Burke class DDG's remaining to the Pacific fleet, as the rest were fighting Yelm in the South. The destroyer group was the first line of defense thrust out into the Sea of Okhotsk. They would patrol the sea there along with 10 Invisible class destroyers, 15 Oliver Hazard Perry frigates, 5 Ticonderoga class CG's and a single aircraft carrier, the Petropavlovsk and improved Nimitz class carrying 24 F-14E Super Tomcats, 48 F/A-18E Super Hornets, 6 AV-8B Harriers and 6 H-1N Firestorms. The would be Squornshelous' line of defense in the sea of Okhotsk until force could be diverted from the Arctic fleet, stationed off the Northern coast.
The surface ships were not alone however, while they patrolled the waves, over 100 submarines prowled beneath them. These included 15 each of the highly advanced Zarquon and Vogsphere class vessels and also 10 Lurker's, and even the agin submarines. 35 Sturgeon class submarines, which the world had become so familiar with when one of them sank during an excercise, or so they thought, joined their newer comrades. Even 11 Xaxis class diesel subs went out into the fray. (think a Russian Kilo class, but with modern sonar).
As the Eppessenians began to advance, no less than 8 satellites, with tools ranging from cameras that could read a newspaper from space to infrared and ultraviolet ones. There were also two sea search spysats watching the arctic and the Sea of Okhotsk. The satellites constantly sent information back to their controllers, who converted it into targeting data for missile sites.
In the office of the regional commander, an important descision had to be made. How far would Squornshelous go to push back their former friends? It was immediately resolved that Squornshelous would use only conventional weapons for now, and not attack units still on Eppessenian soil.
With these orders determined, a second missile strike, this one consisting of a mixture of Tomahawk and RADUGA cruise missiles. They were targeted at any large bodies of troops or vehicles seen entering Squornshelous

The sun began to rise over the land as fierce fighting continued into Squornshelous. Ten miles into Squornshelous, Infantry and armoured divisions began to seige border cities as they garrisoned and reinforced siezed villages and towns. Fighters continued to pick off whatever remaining targets still of importance to the Squornshelans as reports of hundreds of casualties and around forty aircraft had already been lost to anti-aircraft fire and many more had been damaged and had to brought back to base. Dogfights between Eppessenian and Squornshelan aircraft continued over the skies as Tomahawk cruise missiles rorared overhead, slamming into armoured, mechanised and infantry divisions of Army Groups two and Three. Limbs and shards of metal flew into the aid landed just as quickly and the screams of pain on the battlefield began to grow louder.

Meanwhile, the Okhotsk Fleet were ordered to stand down from active fighting unless the Squornshelans fired on them and the Fleet kept its distance, no more than ten miles from their base. Their orders had just come in to begin supporting forces on the front and the ship's crew began loading their missile launchers with cruise missiles, the entire fleet on increased security in case the Squornshlans began attacking. Meanwhile, Eppesenian intelligence noted an increase in military traffic from the Arctic Fleet and, with the decision to aid the land forces made, the East Sea Fleet was finally fully deployed and began to set sail for the Othotsk Fleet for support.

Current known losses:
651 soldiers
56 tanks
147 APCs
130 IFV's
47 fighter jets

As the smoke of the missile barrage cleared and distressing reports of Squornshelan towns being captured began to come in, the Squornshelan ground troops moved into action. Protected fromt the worst of the air raids preceding the attack by underground bunkers, the troops rolled out and moved forward in a complex attack designed to outflank and cut off the Andrehervian troops.

First, a large force with a disproportionate amount of tanks moved south to strike Army Group 3 and stop them short of the city of Magadan. Once artillery, infantry and some tank forces were in place in and around Magadan, the main body of troops, consisting largely of tanks and mechanized infantry moving very quickly in a blitzkrieg style, would strike Army Group 3 from the North and drive a wedge into their forces, cutting off the spearhead from their supply lines.

Troops to defend Magadan:
~250,000 total

Forces to attack from the North:
1000 tanks (500 Black Eagle, 250 Abrams, 250 T-90)
3,800 various LAV's AFV's and APC's (A-3 Bullfrog, BMP-3, Centauro Tank Destroyer, BTR-50, M3 Bradley)
1,500 various Rocket and Shell Artillery Systems (Rascal Light SPH, HIMARS system, M-109 Paladin SPH)
5,000 highly mobile AAA systems (ZSU's HMMWV's, Bradley Linebacker's)
90,000 mechanized infantry

Total Soldiers: ~359,900

Second, a large attack will be made on the Army Group 2, in an effort to stop them before they penetrate too far, to allow additional troops to be called up from the Kamchatka Peninsula and to allow the 2,000,000 National Guard who have just been called up some time to assemble in the East. They will meet the Eppessenian force on its southern flank and attempt to push them up and away from their forces in the South.

Total Soldiers ~245,000


Linkage to my forces page, various weapons and vehicles used found there.
http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=8672932&postcount=17

11.23am, Military Central Command HQ, Epping City

The sun gleamed overhead, but nothing than artificial lights flooded the corridors of the Central Command. The Supreme Premier had since left and moved to his bunker underground the Presidential Building. It was left to Terrence McMullen to jurisdict the operation. That portion of the room where the Supreme Premier was earlier was now occupied by several Generals and the Minister of Defence, himself overseeing a live feed of the battle, shown in three dimensions of the carnage.

"As you can see, Gentlemen," Terrence bellowed, "The operation has been a complete success. We are now around twenty miles into the Squornshelan territory and our forces in Army Group Three and Two are poised to seize Magadan respectively within the day. Losses have been lower than expected, with around 900 soldier deaths and the loss of 90 tanks, 164 APCs, 141 APC's and 54 fighter jets. Most of the fighters have been pulled from the theatre and replaced with naval support from the Okhotsk Fleet."

Terrence pushed a button on a small remote and the holographic image changed to that of the city of Magadan.

"Magadan is our next major objective. The city has a seaport from where supplies can be recieved and a major airport where our air force can operate. It is near the gold-mining region on the upper Kolyma River and would be a major psychological blow to the Squornshelan forces."

Terrence cleared his throat. "That said, this will not be easy. Intelligence has stated that around a thousand tanks and 400,000 soldiers have been sent to defend the city. Therefore, 30,000 troops are to be rediverted from Army Group Two to aid in the efforts to take the city. An indentical number of personnel will also be diverted from Army Group One to Two to help further push into the Far East."

Terrence did not take his eyes off the group of men, them transfixed at the information given.

"More information on the assault will be given at a later date. In the mean time, prepare your forces."

The transfixed silence changed to silent talking as the Generals began to talk amongst themselves - all except a lone General, five year in his position, who approached Terrence whom had his back turned, hunched over a table studying troop movements.

"Sir," the General said quietly to the man. He turned around and smiled. "Ah, General Nathan Galvin, a pleasure to meet you," Terrence offered his hand out in welcoming and the General accepted it, shaking it. "I heard your men in Group Three have been amazing accomplishments in this operations. Congratulations."

The General smiled and shrugged modestly. "Well, Sir, I can't take credit for all of that. The men under my command should be given the congratulations, along with yourself for the training programmes that you moulded."

Terrence laughed happily at this comment.

"But, Sir, I must ask for planning's sake - after the Far East is taken, what then for Russia?"

The smile partially evaporated and he licked his lips. Quietly, he said: "Let's just say your men won't be left unoccupied for quite some time."

Both men chuckled at this comment and the General left, looking at the other men still talking before hurriedly removing himself from the room to return to his office and inform the Supreme Premier on this subtle, yet disturbing, clue.

The pressure was on for the government. Having been kicked out of the NPTO only a few days earlier and excruciatingly slow progress in the war, parts of the press and the population were raging against ‘government incompetence’ and ‘corruption’. A day ago, reports were beginning to leak of government responsibility of the murders at Checkpoint 7330 and Dallentyne and the opposition to Witzenberg’s government thrived and that Eppessenian losses were higher than reported, citing poor training and organisation. It didn’t matter to Terrence McMullen. All he wanted was the East and the rest would be history. Before this, however, he needed to root out whoever was leaking the information and lull Witzenberg into a false sense of security before he struck.

---

On the other side of the country, a bunker on the coast, Donald Witzenberg studied the reports with concern. Could a member of his own Central Committee really have planned the massacres and had them performed with Eppessenian soldiers? The fighting had almost reached a stalemate on the front. Civilian and, even more worryingly, military institutions were grumbling about the situation.

"I'll have to do something," Donald thought to himself, "If a quick victory is not acheived, I'm finished...".

He lowered his eyes and stared at his desk, before moving to the telephone at his desk. He sighed, took a deep breath, picked up the reciever and dialled a number. A serious voice on the other end responded and asked who he wanted.

"I need to speak to Great Prophet Zarquon..."

OOC: Sorry I haven't replied, I've been realy busy IRL.

IC:
The Great Prophet Zarquon sat in his office in Vogsphere (Anchorage), feeling as if the world were collapsing around him. Squornshelous had been stabbed in the back by one of their closest allies, and Squornshelan land was being invaded for the second time ever. Never before had his job been so hard. During the Yelmish Invsion, it had been easy to order troops in to attack, and the recent pounding of the Yelmish fleet attacking Equador had sent his approval rating sky high, especially with the lack of significant casualties in that engagement. This was something totally different. Squornshelans were dying by the minute and although the Eppessenian advance had been stalled short of any major city, the refugees pouring into Kamchatka were extremely upsetting. In the middle of his thoughts, a door cracked open and an aide leaned in to say "Donald Witzenburg on the hotline for you sir."
The phone immediately rang, and Zarquon picked it up on the first ring. "What is it Mr. Witzenburg?" His voice was low and even, no more friendly greeting of "Donald", Zarquon was all business now.

Donald took a great sigh of pain and humiliation. His pride had already been dented by the failed military operations into Squornshelous and the tens of thousands believed dead, now having to surrender to those who had murdered his citizens and had then invaded would hurt his credibility to the point of the disintegration of his government. If the rumours, too, were true, the military and the public would have his head. He took a great gulp and said slowly and methodically, as if drafted and prepared ten times before:

“Great Prophet Zarquon, I would like to declare a ceasefire between both our forces as soon as possible, to make way for a full end to conflict. As we were the agressors, we will give you the choice of location and for priority for your terms of the ceasefire.”

Donald closed his eyes and lowered his head, dejected and depressed as he awaited Zarquon’s response.

Bump
What's happening?

Zarquon almost didn't believe what he was hearing. I knew they would realize this war was pointless, but I never expected them to cave in this quickly He quickly composed himself and replied. "I agree to your offer of a ceasefire, this was never a war that Squornshelous wanted." He paused for a moment to think. "While holding the conference in a neutral city would be ideal, I feel that this is something that must be dealt with as soon as possible, and finding somewhere else to hold the peace talks could take time. I suggest that they be held in the city of Magadan, for convenience of location to both our nations. I understand that most of the city has escaped damage from this conflict." I suggest we meet personally in order to make sure that the agreement is in the best interests of both our nations.

4.01pm, Presidential Office, Epping City

“Yes, I think that would be best. I’ll order the army to call off their strikes and allow safe passage for Squornshelan officials into Magadan. Goodbye.”

Donald reached over to the phone and pressed the reset button and dialled a 6-digit number. Donald’s wait was not long. “I need to speak to the commander.”

-----------

6.43pm, Expressway 27, nineteen miles from Epping City

“Ceasefire?!” Terrence bellowed into his mobile phone. “Ceasefire!” The man on the other end paused momentarily in fear and said “Yes sir, he ordered it two hours ago. Right now he’s meeting with his Generals to discuss this and reports on the front are that it’s been the most quiet for days.”

Terrence ended the call abruptly. Fuming with rage, he pressed down slowly on the accelerator. He had to get to Donald quickly, for he had one last card: leak small amounts of info on what really happened to the media and wait for the national uproar. Only then could he be in a position to finally realise his dreams.

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

8.27pm, Maximilian Air Force Base, four miles outside Epping City

The small military jet sat on the runway, prepared to leave for Magadan. In the distance, Donald Witzenberg swiftly left the hangar, surrounded by eighteen bodyguards and carrying with him a small briefcase containing the documentation necessary for the ceasefire. He climbed into the army truck which sped towards the waiting craft and he quickly climbed aboard the jet. He sat down quietly, contemplating uncertain times ahead and hoping for calmness when he gets back.

The following happened between 5:00pm and 7:00pm Pacific Time:

All along the front lines, Squornshelan units stood down and withdrew to defensive positions. All troops disengaged from the battle, and retreated to their bunkers. Aircraft sat out on the tarmac, artillery and missile batteries sat silent. An eerie calm settled over the battlefield, especially in the empty space between the two armies.

In Magadan, preparations were being made for the meeting. A room in the regional capital there was quickly being soundproofed, bulletproofed and bugged with a myriad of cameras and listening devices. The only thing that wasn't being altered was security in the city, as is was already on lockdown and crawling with Squornshelan military. The Great Prophet Zarquon boarded his personal jet in Vogsphere accompanied by a few aides and other negotiators, two dozen bodyguards. The plane was escorted by a full squadron of 12 F-22A Raptors, 1 E-3 Viking ECM aircraft and an AWACS aircraft. No one was taking any chances with his safety. They landed in Magadan and Zarquon was quickly ushered to the Capital, where he would stay until the arrival of the Eppessenians. At the Magadan airport, several trucks and military cars waited for their arrival, and another squadron of F-22A's flew on a holding pattern at the edge of Squornshelan controlled airspace to escort Witzenburg's plane in to the city. Their orders were to protect him at any cost.

9.15pm, Above the Central Russian Sector

Donald Witzenberg merely stared out of window into the infinite blackness as the rest of his delegation stayed busy, making calls to both Squornshelous, the Presidential Building and the Central Command Head Quarters. With him were the Deputy Premier, Minister of Defence and Minister of Foreign Affairs to help oversee and co-ordinate the ceasefire, they too hastily sorting out paperwork and calling their contacts. Donald slowly looked over to the group apathetically and slowly returned to his previous gazing into nothingness.

9.27pm, Epping City

Terrence McMullen picked up the reciever of the telephone in the small, murky phone box located in a side street of Epping City Centre. The box stank of mould and old cigarette smoke and Terrence held his breath as he dialed the number on the small scrap of paper in his hand.

"Good evening, Eppessenian Herald, newsroom, how may I help you?" a chirpy female voice on the phone said. "Ah yes, hello there." said Terrence, putting on a deep, gravelly accent. "I have information, regarding the war - or more specifically the causes." There was a pause on the other end and the woman responded, the cheeriness gone. "What is it?" she asked. "The attacks on Checkpoint #7330, the convoy and Dallentyne was in fact orchestrated by a military unit under the command of a Captain Logan Hague of Unit 393452 and several high-ranking military and government officials of both Eppessenia and Squornshelous*. You'll get their names soon. Their reasons for these attacks was to create a situation where Eppessenia could attack Squornshelous and the former could increase their territorial amount and the latter to gain access to mineral resources in the north and central of Siberia. You shall get more information in an hour." Terrence put the phone down without waiting for a response for the other hand and quickly left into the car to proceed with the second part of his plan.

9.36pm, Magadan Airport

The landing had gone smoothly. Surrounded by armed Squornshelan soldiers, the first people to get off where the initial members of the delegation. After they had been searched, the Deputy Premier, the Defence Minister, the Foreign Minister and finally left the Premier got off the plane. Like the rest of the delegation, they were fully searched. The mood was sombre and suspicious as the group were given the all clear and ushered towards the military trucks that would take them towards the end of the war.

*OOC: A complete fabrication of Squornshelan involvement, done so McMullen could take advantage of the situation.

*OOC: A complete fabrication of Squornshelan involvement, done so McMullen could take advantage of the situation.

OOC: Of course, I would have done the same thing myself. No time now, but I'll rp later tonight.