NationStates Jolt Archive

Premier Bokonon looked up from his prepared speech as a member of his staff counted down the seconds until he would go on the air before the people of Squornshelous, and any others in the world beyond who may have tuned in to watch. He brushed some imaginary bits of dust off the shoulders of his elegant suit, and, as the countdown reached zero, he looked earnestly into the camera lense.

"People of Squornshelous, and of the global community," he began, "it is with a very anxious gaze that the government of Squornshelous has watched the collapse of our ally, The United Republics of Eastern Siberia. With the abscence of coordinated government, infrastructure such as roads and electricity will soon become unavailable. There is also a frightenin possibility for lawlessness in the unadministrated area left by the government collapse." Bokonon paused and glanced down at his papers, picking his next words carefully. "Squornshelous has always been a strong ally of Eastern Siberia, and even of the Republic Eppessenia that came before. The extremely brief conflict between our nation and that previous administration was sorted out as the product of one man's ambition, and we repaired our relations every bit as strong as they were before. With these facts taken into consideration, it is clear that Squornshelous not only has the opportunity to help ensure stability in Eastern Siberia, but that we have the obligation to do so." He shuffled his papers on the desk and prepared to close his speech. "Therefore, in the next few hours, Squornshelan forces will be moving across the border into former Eastern Siberian Territories. These territories will be administered by the Squornshelan govenment and the people living therein will all be offered Squornshelan citizenship, or given passage to the nation of their choice. The forces moving into Eastern Siberia will not be acting as a conquering or invading force, i must emphasize this. We are simply moving in for the benefit of the region's inhabitants. Thank you, and good night."

Approximately 1.5 hours following Premier Bokonon's Speech:

Squornshelan military columns crossed the western borders at about 3 pm, moving quickly toward major centers of population. It was essential to the Squornshelan plan that areas of high population density be controlled, to prevent rioting and other disruptions of order in the abscence of authority. Most of the Squornshelan force was composed of mechanized infantry. Little was expected in the way of resistance as the Squornshelan and Andrehervian people had been friendly to each other, and it was predicted that most Andreherivans would welcome the Squornshelans. The descision was made that using mostly infantry in HMMWV's and jeeps, as opposed to tanks and other armored vehicles would be less alarming to the population. There would be some armor included in the force, but little of it would find its way into the cities, and the vast majority of the heavy equipment was being held in reserve, against the possibility of insurgent groups.
There were three main advances. To the North, a Squornshelan column made its way along the coastline, securing cities and villages as they went, heading toward the city of Sokol, at the mouth of the Lena river. The second column advanced straight into the heart of the Sakha Republic. Their target was the city of Yakutsk. In the South, a column left from Magadan, secured the sity of Okhotsk and continued south toward Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk. No resistence of any kind had yet been found, in fact, in several towns, the troops had been greeted by cheering crowds waving flags and throwing flowers.

After about a week, Squornshelan troops had secured all of the major cities with little resistance, none of it organized. The process of restoring government and infrastructure began. Such vital pieces of infrastructure as power plants and police and fire stations were staffed with Squornshelan troops, until they could be set up as government owned businesses. For the time being, the entire area siezed was under martial law.

With the area safe for civilians to enter, Government members who had been selected by the still fledgling Squornshelan congress were moved to the cities to serve as a provisional government. Their purpose would be to administrate Khabarovsk Krai and The Sakha Republic until an election could be organized to place local citizens in their place, and to send representatives to the Squornshelan Congress in Anchorage.

However, there was still one little bump to smooth over in the takeover. An area to the south and west of Khabarovsk Krai, near the small city of Blagovescensk seemed to house an organized group who were attempting to set themselves up as an independent state. This was the cue that the Squornshelan reserves had been waiting for. Several platoons of Black Eagle MBT's accompanied by BMP-3 and BTR-90 APC's holding a division of Squornshelan Marines moved from backwoods bases where they had been waiting to the area in question. After carefully setting up in ideal positions, they would move in quickly and take it by storm.

As the tanks and troops waited in locations at the ede of the rebels' sphere of influence, intelligence was being gathered on the loation of rebel strongholds and supply sources. Using a combination of military satellites and unmanned reconaissance aircraft, military leaders were able to build up a fairly complete picture of the resistance. The main base had been set up at an old Andrehervian airfield just outside the city of Blagovescensk. There were no planes remaining there, as it had been one of many bases that were discontinued altogether during military cutbacks by the Eastern Siberian government following the Squornshelan-Eppessenian War. There was very little organized resistance aside from the one base, with a few small outposts further out from the city that presumably served as lookout posts. During the next night, the tanks and troops moved to within striking distance of the main base, with tank treads padded for quieter movement.

The next morning at sunrise, several rebel troops strolled out from the main barracks building to relieve the guards still on duty from the night before. As they stood, exchanging a few words, probably complaining about the unseasonably cold weather, 20 Black Eagle MBT's broke from cover in a line of trees little more than 150 meters away. Behind the tanks APC's and trucks full of troops advanced behind the protective column of steel monsters. The tanks fired their main cannons and the guard posts along the fence ringing the base, quickly destroying the ones closest to the point of attack. Without even slowing down for a moment, the lead tank shredded through the ten-foot, razor wire-topped fence as if it were made of paper. While the tanks circle around the main complex of buildings, looking to stay on the wide open runways where they could maneuvre and take out the remaining guards. The troop carriers sped in toward the main building and stopped, disgorging a full company of Squornshelan Marines. The Marines quickly moved inside, splitting into groups to take the control tower and main barracks complex. A second, smaller group of transports moved off to check the outlying hangars for enemy activity.
The control tower, which was being used as a second lookout, fell fairly easily, despite the warning the troops inside had. The locked door to the top room was blown open with C2, and two grenades were tossed in. The few rebels left alive were in no condition to resist. The barracks proved a slightly larger problem. While most of the rebels were in the cafeteria eating breakfast, nearly all of them had weapons of some sort on their person. Thinking quickly, they barricaded themselves in and prepared to defend the position. After clearing the rest of the building. The Marine commander first set about making sure no one would be able to escape. Two squads of 12 men each, including two machine gun crews, were set up at the loading dock outside at the back of the cafeteria. Another squad and machine gun set up a little ways down the hall from the cafeteria door. When all was ready, the doors to the cafeteria were rigged with C2 and blown open. Then, several Marines just outside the doors used their grenade launchers to fill the cafeteria with teargas, before backing off to the position down the hall. Many rebels who tried to escape the suffocating atmosphere were gunned down as they ran, either out back or at the main entrance. After the flow of runners had stopped. Two more squads moved in. One entered by the front door and one by the back. They moved quickly to clear the space and soon, resistance at the airfield was ended.

Later that day, an announcement was made on national television and also over the radio to anyone who cared to listen, saying that an organized rebellion in southern Khabarovsk had been put down by the Squornshelan Marines. The television broadcast also included a few clips taken by cameramen following the marines in, the most striking of which showed the initial attack from one of the trucks. It was hoped that this attack, though somewhat brutal, would convince the remainder of the rebel force to give up peacefully, and disourage future rebellion in this new territory.