NationStates Jolt Archive

"Engineers! Engineers to the front!" The tanker could hardly be heard above the turning-over of the Soviet-trademark ridiculously-huge-diesel engine within his MT-4 Hathi, and Jharkhand's stubborn attempt to empty a seemingly inexhaustible monsoon sky. Radio silence had been maintained since the Corps of Militia Experts Commonwealth Army left Highway 31. The unusually small Geletian, seemingly shrunken in the heavenly wash, looked back over his shoulder and waved wildly to bring the engineers on, though it was doubtfull if they could see any better than hear through the cascade. Crewmates joked to the elected tank commander that he ought to button-up when crossing a river, since they were all drowning in here.

"What in damnation are they doing moving to the front?" Complained a Bengali militiaman as he peered through the viewing port in the rear door of the Infantry Combat Vehicle ahead of the giant Hathi.

The truth was that engineers were tied up back down the line, having stopped to help locals deal with a minor flood disaster. The column proceeded anyway, having seen a flight of NT1C Springer pass over, heading north, and, not for the first time, the dirt road had collapsed ahead of them, washed away by the rains. The CICV-3 was stuck, having taken a serious nose-dive into the resulting gulf, but the troops had climbed back on board after tiring of waiting outside during a monsoon.

The engineers came, in time, and things were moving again before too long, but only because allowances had been made for such set-backs when the Soviet Commune decided to strike still before the end of the rains. Commonwealth Army was under-way in Jharkhand even as Victory Army approached the West African theatre. The Soviets had decided that not only could they fight multiple enemies on the far side of another continent, but that they and their comrades also could at the same time fight a sort of civil war on the offensive during the least favourable conditions.

A Hathi MBT on Highway 31 before the start of the rains, and the advance. (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/Chivtv/NS1/hathimove.jpg)

And so, with the fast-moving, high-flying, and still largely mysterious NT-7X Kan-gel, outperforming even the similar MiG-31, and the more agile NT4X Hobgoblin both performing ECM missions against what was believed to be a handfull of dated, poorly maintained, inexpertly crewed, and unsuspecting SAM batteries, the Patna dash began with a thunderclap, donated by the Soviets to the cause of a good rainstorm.

The hardy Springers that had passed over the muddy column, battling through near impossible conditions thanks to well practiced pilots and twice-upgraded avionics, sounded the first human reports of the stormy assault, loosing Apti Parliament-C anti-radiation missiles within thirty kilometres of known or suspected SAM radar sites, allowing the missiles to seek and, with their 200lb warheads, destroy, while their Barbarian turbofans pushed the attackers on towards Bihar's three significant airports, first Gaya, then Bhagalpur and Patna. Their sortie was entirely one of anti-radiation work, and no more direct attempt would be made to strike PLAAF-B or PLA-B targets during this particular downpour.

A few Evolved Pinaka loosed volleys of 214mm rockets at targets chosen and laid-on before the operation, after observation by Marathon and Morrigan flying inside the Commonwealth, and satellite observation of military facilities within a few miles of the border that until not so long ago was so many miles inside a larger Bihari state. No significant recconnaissance was carried out immediately before launching these limited strikes.

Few but strong, rocket attacks add to the chaos. (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/Chivtv/NS1/0359.jpg)

Commonwealth Army, with two hundred thousand personnel at full strength and less than that currently moving towards Gaya, expected to be outnumbered by worse than two to one against the full extent of the Bihari PLA, but the operation had Auxiliary support, at least on the first day. Elected Masters-at-Arms in the new phalansteries the length of the recently created border, over the course of an hour, called emergency meetings of their confused peers and requested volunteers, before breaking-open the armaments lockers and handing-out AKM-BG and INSAS-2 (stamped receiver, burst not-full-auto) assault rifles, along with RPGs, Ishapore SMLEs, Sterlings and Hindustani Stens, Vickers-Berthiers, and D-33A Tokalert pistols, not to mention Wootz sabres, Geletian 'agricultural swords', Molotov cocktails, and assorted IEDs.

Auxiliary battalions and companies began to appear right across the frontier, some launching rockets or firing improvised mortars at or near PLA-B border posts, others suddenly rushing them, coming out of the rain with blades drawn and bullets flying to the sky. Masters-at-Arms typically became officers leading the operations, and, as per their earlier briefing with the local Soviets, encouraged their comrades to strike-up song -variously the Red Flag, the Internationale, Indian-nationalist tunes, and sometimes inspirational folk epics- and ordered the bringing-out of drums and trumpets, keenly making use of any Geletians, bards in particular, who may have arrived, particularly since Jharkhand's accession to Commonwealth. It had been decided, apparently, that Bihari rank-and-file would potentially be the sort of soldiers with little enough discipline to break in the face of good old-fashioned Geletian intimidation tactics, and that was far preferable to a bloody fight, especially when Auxiliaries were involved. Of course, the Biharis were thought to have some experience within the last fifteen years, at least, so there was always a worry about some battle-hardened officers remaining to pull the younger recruits together, but a war is a war, and you can't have it all your way.

The Auxiliaries were supposed to frighten and confuse the PLA-B by appearing across the entire length of border while the Expert Corps moving up from Chatra cut across country, over Highway 2, and towards Gaya. Off road and in heavy rains, this could take some of the sting out of the Soviets' mechanised advantage, and so pressures elsewhere from the Auxiliaries, along with SEAD operations and the appaling conditions of record monsoon devastation, perhaps causing the defenders to expect more flanking operations and see the thrust, if they could even detect it and relay the information, as a ploy or even simply the coincidentally most advanced part of a frontier-wide offensive, with a more likely target being perhaps Highway 31 just to the east and leading up towards Patna itself.

It was well that the Auxiliaries weren't expected to do much more than this, for a good many of them, though excited by the sudden nature of events and the show put on by preparing for battle in the Geletian style, weren't desperately keen to fight Biharis. In fact, any border posts that failed to put up much of a fight may well go without casualties save perhaps prisoners, and the rocket and mortar attacks were, often as not, directed to frighten rather than destroy. Many liked the idea of liberating and joining the Biharis, few had much enthusiasm for killing them, and it was as yet hard to say what the Auxiliaries would do if faced with stiff opposition on the border. Commonwealth Army was, noticeably, comprised overwhelmingly of Geletians backed by Tamils and some Kannada speakers, with just a few Bengalis and others in the mix.

Already a few casualty reports were appearing on the Commonwealth intranet as bad conditions and inexperience apparently contributed to a couple of friendly-fire incidents during hectic and far-reaching Auxiliary operations.

Graeme Igo would inform the INU of Commonwealth Army's operations during the intermission at the State Senate in Kolkata, swearing to bring Bihar back into the legitimate fold of the Indian democracies, as had been done in Rajasthan, and as must be done elsewhere. The object, to clarify his long-winded address and make it that much harder to disagree with the big red machine.

A small, dark, leather-bottomed finger rose up, crashed down, retreated, and then swept down again for another strike. The dust mites didn't have a chance.

Hotan was anxious. Of course, this could be taken differently. Perhaps it was even welcome. The Wisest Director was, in truth, diverse only in being both a good-time guy and a war leader. He didn't care for famine, economics, and -though he was at least trying- treaties. His reputation was built on victories in the field, victories in single combat, and victories in industrialisation... when resources were abundant.

Within the day, Consul Pak Seung-Il was in Beijing, flown aboard a Navy Mi-14 helicopter, for the more usual Mi-2s were by now something boarded by one prepared to take his life into his hands. Other diplomats remained in Spyr and in Armand.

Hotan wanted to send troops into Bihar, but they would have to go to China, through Xīzàng Zìzhìqū, into Armandian Uttranchal, and on to Bihar through Uttar Pradesh.

In his mind, Hotan saw his suggestion appealing to the Chinese as a way to limit Soviet expansion, and the Chinese dealing with Armand, bringing them further together. The eastern half of Armand, after all, where most of its people lived, must be seriously under-developed compared to the west, blocked-off by the Soviets and the Unionists who, until recently, claimed the region as their own... dealing with China was a good way to reintroduce the eastern half of the nation to the world at large and save it from the same fate as Bihar... after all, once the Soviets vanquished Patna, they'd surely move on the Armandians, who would be unable to send help from the west for the INU would not allow it.

Hotan's ambassadors in Constance were keen to impress -with past dealings with the Soviets under their belt- their opinion that Armand would not only lose a war with the Soviets, but lose it so massively that the Soviets would aggressively plan for it, and might actually try it, reducing Armand like Dra-pol herself had been reduced.

But, if Armand, China, and Dra-pol fought a proxy war in Bihar, perhaps this could all be totally reversed? Defeating Commonwealth Army would surely derail whatever was the Soviets' grand plan...

"Bloody rain!" shouts trooper Raja Gavai to no-one in particular, as streams of rainwater dribble in from holes in the thatched roof of his watchtower. The roar of the monsoon is loud enough to hide the approach of his comrade, another young member of the State Police like himself, who climbs into the wooden structure with a waterproof sheet and several clips of 8x57mm ammunition for their Elian-made Hakim rifles. On a good day, they would be in visual contact with other border towers, the nearest about two kilometers distant, but between the low cloud and rain, they can hardly see out to the border with Jharkhand. All that separates Bedgellen Jharkhand from Bihar proper is a two-meter chainlink fence, topped with barbed wire. As the monsoon rains explode onto the new border with a vengance, occupying the State Policemen with keeping dry more than observing the frontier, nobody notices as a group of Commonwealth Auxiliaries cuts several holes in the fence and proceeds into the PDRB.

Raja and his friend do, however, notice the infiltration once their tower starts to take fire, and are very quick to surrender, two State Policemen being somewhat over their heads in such a situation.

Auxiliaries will find the two-person border patrols, present along the whole length of the frontier, very easy pickings, and more often than not their thoroughly indefensible posts are surrendered after barely a shot is fired. Many of the watchtowers, though, are equipped with radios, and enough reports of Bedgellen infiltrators reach Patna to reveal that an invasion is indeed underway. Still, close to the border, Auxiliaries face little to no resistance, the border guards and militiamen deployed to protect the area either accepting defeat or openly welcoming their supposed liberators. But regular army units are very much elsewhere. Even though the timing of the Bedgellen assault takes Patna by surprise, Rajasthan's example demonstrated that invasions can come very quickly, and that regular strength is best conserved by keeping it well away from border areas.

Gaya

Gaya, home to Bihar's only airfield capable of handling international flights, is protected by the lion's share of Bihar's functioning SA-2/S-75 batteries, but, with the town's P-37 early warning radar inoperable since the late 1990s, Bihar SAM operators only detect the low-flying Springers seconds before they launch their missiles. Air defense personnel don't take long to evacuate their posts and shelter in slit trenches, even though they've become closer to canals. But Gaya does respond to the sudden Bedgellen onslaught, with a flight of six J-20 Kragujs. The flight takes-off using a taxiway, fearing Bedgellen airstrikes against the main runway, and steers towards the border at low altitude as Parliament anti-radar missiles explode Bihar's best SAM equipment.

Despite its important airport infrastructure, Gaya is left almost undefended as both regular army and State Police units evacuate north. Possibly four thousand militiamen, meanwhile, disperse into the countryside, although the threat posed by these men, many of them armed with spears and machetes, is likely not great. The exception to the general retreat is the movement of one battalion of Revolutionary Guard commandos, traveling in commandeered civilian trucks, south to set-up an ambush just north of Bodh Gaya.

Patna

Looking at it today, one would be hard-pressed to tell that dirty, crime-ridden, poverty-stricken Patna was once Pataliputra, seat of the mighty Maurya empire that lorded over territory from the Bay of Bengal to the Vale of Kashmir, to the Arabian Sea in the south. The whole province had taken something of a nose-dive, a situation not helped by the failed economic policies of General Secretary Gopalkrishna Patel and the BPP.

The capital loses much of its ground-based air defense capability to the Springer attack, as fire control radars for 100mm KS-30s and 57mm S-60s are blown-up, often along with portions of their batteries placed far too close together. Unlike Gaya, though, Patna sends-up interceptors to chase the Springers away. Three MiG-21MFs are readied quickly enough and rocket off the runway, climbing to an uncertain fate while their RP-22 radars search for targets in the clouds. The rest of the BPLAAF's interceptor fleet, including perhaps the world's oldest mach-2 fighters, is readied for action as quickly as the weather will permit, while COIN-capable trainers are towed into hardened shelters in preparation for a more concentrated Bedgellen air raid.

Gopalkrishna Patel, meanwhile, spends his last day in the capital finalizing plans for the national defense. For all his mistakes, the General Secretary is not too much of an idiot, and he knows the futility of attempting a defense of southern Bihar in the face of a full-blown Bedgellen offensive, especially when he isn't sure of his allies. Most of the PLA-B, nearly 500,000 strong, is deployed safely north of the mighty Ganga, Bihar's most formidable natural barrier, wide enough in monsoon to prevent an easy crossing. Behind the Ganga, Patel's Democratic Republic might just buy itself enough time for Drapoel, or perhaps Combine, mabye even Chinese, support to come through.

Unfortunately for Patel and his cabinet, Patna is on the wrong side of the river. A long motorcade, protected as usual by Revolutionary Guard commandos in armor-plated trucks, is soon making its way north towards Muzaffarpur along one of Bihar's few paved highways. Aboard are lower-level government functionaries, important documents, electric typewriters and office furniture deemed important enough to be brought along. Patel and the cabinet travel aboard an Il-14, something of a risk given the weather conditions. The accomodations there might not be as comfortable as in Patna, but no government official expects mercy from the Bedgellens, and indeed from the Biharis themselves, once Commonwealth tanks show up.

(OCC: Sorry for the confusing and belated nature of that post. I'll hopefully have a better picture of things tomorrow.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=471053

You might have already seen it, but that is my factbook entry for Bihar. Second page as military information.)

Southern Bihar

Though the Auxiliaries are the best Commonwealthers by whom one could be captured, the experience still has potential to frighten. Even in the downpour and with the consideration that the militamen -and women- generally hold no particular malice towards the Bihari population, the victors are jubilant to say the least. More shooting goes on after surrenders as Sovietists spray hours of their time in the munitions workshop back up at the clouds, possibly enough to be accused of causing the latest rainfall, and, as public buildings are over-run, music and singing only becomes more widespread.

Auxiliary fighters with the shooting skill to secure issue to their person of an INSAS rifle are often keen to show it off, telling PLA-B prisoners that they can get one of these when they join the Soviets, not to mention wine if they drink ("and drugs if you don't!"), and rent-free beds for their families. Then there's this newfangled electricity that the kids are raving about. Lots of that going on.

There are differences everywhere along the border. Most Auxiliaries operate with a small measure of formality when handling surrenders, designating a room for P.O.W.s and herding them in, but then celebrating in the next room with a light guard rota arranged and a elected officer coming in and out, asking a few questions as a prisoner of war may expect to face, then going back to the next room to receive three cheers and a swig of wine. In a few places, Bihari's get a pat on the back, maybe a hug, and the offer of a drink for themselves, and may well be ribbed until they join in singing and the like. In fewer cases still, prisoners are bound and face a bit of jostling as they are processed... a minority in Jharkhand harbours especially bad memories of past encounters with Bihari authorities, and there are natural pockets of resentment, or at least suspicion. Still, it beats being captured by the French.

Ordered only to take the border posts, CMA units dedicate a minority of their strength to establishing defences in the form of machinegun nests, sniper positions, RPG teams, mortar pits -well, perhaps not pits, in these conditions-, a few MANPADS, and the like, while officers and former Expert Corpsmen give consideration to local terrain, and light patrols are organised. These patrols tend to take the form of a couple of point infantry and a following tractor or other capable off-road or agricultural vehicle pulling a trailer with a machinegun braced upon it and a few Auxiliaries clinging on, and were just supposed to make sure that counter-attacks weren't coming, and possibly give something of the impression that the CMA didn't intend to stop so soon.

Casualties have been very light, but that any have been suffered at all is down to the awful weather conditions and the over-excitement of irregular forces with varying levels of experience and practice. Any careful investigation in days to come will likely conclude that the massive Commonwealth Militia Auxiliary, famously said to be larger than Russia, would be a disaster if ever employed in a major offensive, or even if it tried to function as a unified army-type force... but there can be no doubting its spirit, and the operation proves that Soviet propaganda is quite correct in positive assessment of the will to fight in the Commonwealth population and of the wide distribution of working armaments accessible in double-quick mobilisation time.

Approaching Gaya

Four Ja-36 Yellowbat gunships, wearing infrared signature surpessers on their exhausts, came in the wake of the first SEAD attacks, escorting a veritable swarm of HAL Dhruv, fully twelve of them, carrying one hundred Militia Experts with a number of GSIC operatives disguised amongst them. The Ja-36 were armed with a mix of rockets, Totem ATGMs, and Sumpit missiles, along with the nose-mounted RMG-G7 17mm rotary cannon that is capable of firing fifty rounds per second, and tasked with destroying any opposition.

The helicopter force was to insert troops directly into the airport and see it under the red flag before more forces were flown in to discourage major resistance between Gaya and the border, across which Commonwealth Army was now moving.

Patna

Six Commonwealth Air Guard Auxiliary Golkonda fighters, turned to capable all-weather fighters by the Naubat Pahad radar, launched from bases in Jharkhand some time after the Springers, self-conscious of limited range and loiter time. The small aircraft folded back their wings and sprinted at Mach 2.25 before descending, making Mach 1.4 at low level until slowing to alter their wing angle for combat. They were supposed to meet the enemy's single known interceptor force as the Springers returned from Patna with MiGs in pursuit and, at low level, it was hoped that the speed difference between MiG interceptor and Springer attacker would be minimal. The Golkonda were armed only with guns, DRAB ASRAAM, and Lovitar-A AMRAAM, the latter of which had an official range of thirty-two kilometres, but with superior avionics it was thought that the Soviet planes would detect MiGs first, while they were still looking for Springers, and get into the best possible firing position with help from their impressive speed and agility enhanced by small size and repositioned wings. Once away, relatively short-range Loviatar missiles were extremely fast and had high-agility gas-dynamic control and microprocessor intelligent module technology involved in guiding a big 27kg warhead to the mark.

Over Bihar, Soviet Morrigan UAVs were beginning to appear, some AEW versions and others flying with guided air-to-surface weapons, including more anti-radiation missiles, looking for surviving threats to Soviet air superiority, while NT4C Hobgoblin fighters prepared to sortie after some unexplained delay.

West Bengal

North of the Ganga, Bengali Soviets faced much less substantial rivers, and, from the right point on thier border, could cross some of them before leaving the Commonwealth. The monsoon conditions still would make it more difficult than it might have been, but, one hoped, it was also hampering the Biharis in their evacuations and redeployments.

Based relatively close to the border in this thin strip of nation, Bengali units were not long between mobilising and forcing the border. SPG-3 guns, being light 105mm units with amphibious capability, would make up a significant part of the eastern assault, firing a few warning shots to anyone looking likely to resist and offering them half a chance to give up or flee before walking fire on to their positions. With them went CAPC-1 Tendwa personnel carriers and CICV-4 Poolee combat vehicles, and older CICV-3 Wombat, which in essence were just Indian-built BMP-2s with new turrets... still capable of taking-out a T-62 from over a kilometre with their 30mm auto cannons, let alone their Totem ATGWs. Many specialised hulls were amongst the several score-strong vanguard, including command, repair/recovery, bridging, mine-clearing, counter-battery and ground-surveillance radar, and other versions of the Wombat family. A few Baarish-II self-propelled anti-aircraft gun/missile systems were attached, but there was every chance that they'd see more use in the ground-fire role, in which their twin 37mm cannon would be incredibly dangerous.

That the Bengalis would allow opposing forces every chance to retreat was part of a hope to see the Patel government brought down under the pressure of war before the large PLA-B was even fully engaged. The well cultivated but seemingly natural enthusiasm and party-spirit of the Auxiliaries and their abiltiy to apply border-long pressure, the early disabling of air defences, the gaul of an attack in monsoon season, the attempt to put troops at the nation's main airport almost before fighting had begun, and the movement of Bengali forces already north of the formidable Ganges were all supposed to help, but the Soviet Commune certainly wanted Biharis to see their forces in retreat. First, they're hiding behind the Ganga, abandoning everyone south of it, and now, even so, the Soviets are coming from the northeast, and the sacrifice of the south may seem to have been in vain.

But, Portmeirion knew that this conflict could go in very different ways. There may be mass surrenders or even revolution or coup at least, but then again there may be resistance from several hundred thousand armed men in a water-logged country full of people against whom the Soviet forces didn't have a vendetta of the sort that enabled them to return from the Coral Sea with French heads tied to their vehicles.

Somewhere in the world, a young intelligence officer was lamenting the certain stalling of his career as he realised that it was too late to re-word his report on why the Soviets won't attack Bihar. In the Commonwealth, the greater wisdom held that it was the right thing to do, and seemed little interested in whether or not there was even such a thing as the right time.

(OOC: Sorry that's all a bit crap, I've been up all night waiting for somethin that hasn't happened. Now may be dying. I just spelled size with two Zs.)

(OCC: Very sorry for the massive delay. Between the heat and early working hours, I've been a bit lethargic for the past few days and not willing to give AMW that much effort.)

Southern Bihar

As the Commonwealthers advance north towards Gaya, they do face some resistance from remaining State Police units and the few Militia formations that turn out to fight, many of them caught by quicker-moving CMEC troops in the process of carrying out Patna's orders to retreat. These engagements often last only minutes before the Bihari side surrenders, their small arms completely unable to make an impression on the mechanized Commonwealth Army. Across the southern portion of the country, Bihari units prove thoroughly unready and unwilling to fight for Patel's side, looking quite ready to lose. Civillians, many of them wronged by the State Police or regular army personnel, often aid the Commonwealthers by warning them of ambushes ahead of time, or aiding engineers in the repair of monsoon-damaged roads.

Commonwealthers might note, during their push north, the relatively low state to which agriculture has been developed in Bihar, with its wealth of watercourses and arable land. Most Biharis, while they aren't at it during the monsoon rains, rely on subsistance farming for survival and go about it the same as their ancestors did centuries ago, facts that become apparent as interactions between Commonwealthers and Bihari civillians happen on a more regular basis. Few feel any particular love for Gopalkrishna Patel and his government, who lived in relative luxury while the population at large suffered from poor access to medical care, poverty, and malnutrition. Patel is, they add, no worse than any of Bihar's other governments since Llewellyn's invasion, and this fact alone, say the Biharis, has allowed him to stay in power as long as he did.

Some of the first State Police and Militiamen to surrender do take-up arms with the Bengali Auxiliaries, some very much attracted to their nonchalance and others eager to get their hands on opium without having to go through cartel pushers. Many of the Biharis who fall into the latter category are quick to suggest operations against the cartels, and readily give the names and residences of no few dealers and soldiers not far away.

The BPLAAF also makes a showing over southern Bihar, although not much of one. CMEC members might be surprised by the approach of six little Kragujs, their fixed landing gear and single Lycoming engine finishing-off a profile that doesn't exactly fix to frighten the heavily-armed Commonwealthers. None the less, the Kragujs make an attack run against the primary Soviet column from extremely low level, exploiting their relatively low visual and noise signatures to the full. Those aircraft that get close enough will try to fire a quartet of 76mm rockets and several thousand rounds of ammunition from their four machine guns into light vehicles and troops, before flying away with all possible speed and at as low an altitude as possible.

Gaya

Commonwealth helicopters arrive over Gaya at about the same as the 58th Battalion of Bihar's Revolutionary Guard crosses the city's northern extent, heading south. Monitoring radio traffic coming out of the airport, still defended by a company of State Policemen with ZU-23s, alerts the 600-odd Guardsmen to the airport's imminent capture, and the column, including several Sagger-armed Simba APCs, makes its way towards the State Police positions. It will be perhaps the only time in the conflict that the Commonwealthers are obliged to face a comparably-trained Bihari formation in superior numbers, and the Revolutionary Guard is determined to make the most of it. Ideally, ground clutter will conceal the line of trucks and APCs until it is in a position to attack the landing Dhruvs and loitering Yellowbats, whose attention will likely be occupied by State Police light AAA.

With helicopters nearly on top of them, another two Kragujs attempt to take-off, again from a taxiway, and fight-off the helicopter assault. Another ten of the Yugoslav-built light attackers are put out of action by Police machine gun and RPG fire, both to deny their use to the Bedgellens and to distract gunship pilots as gun crews struggle to reposition their ZU-23s.

Near Patna

Aboard the trio of MiG-21MFs, RWRs begin to wail as they detect the Golkondas' Naubat Pahad sets. The pilots, somewhat aware of the NT-6-II's abilities through information recieved from Dra-pol and North Sienna, don't take long to recognize the unfavorable situation they have been placed in and call Patna's GCI center for reinforcements. Although the center itself is just minutes away from being destroyed, following its early-warning radar, it does manage to scramble a further three MiG-21MFs along with all five PF variants. The three aircraft already in the air, though, press on with their attack, incorrectly judging the Soviet fighters to be on a ground attack sortie. Unless, somehow, they manage to avoid the high-performance Loviatar-As, the Bihari interceptors with their small R-60s, good to about eight kilometers, they shouldn't be of much concern.

The other aircraft, eight fighters in all, and armed in a manner similar to that of the first three, accelerate on full afterburner to join the first three in their fight against the Golkondas. Pursuit of the Springers that attacked Patna is abandoned as the BPLAAF throws nearly the whole of its interceptor fleet against the six Soviet fighters, possibly a suicidal move but one that, if successful, could considerably boost Bihari morale. And there still are another six ex-Finnish MiG-21F-13s and nine MiG-17Fs on the flightline at Patna, although probably not for much longer.

(OCC: Not exactly complete, but it will give you something to respond to. I will finish by tomorrow afternoon.)

(OOC: Don't worry about it. It's not even as if it's your 'main' nation.)

Southern Bihar

Looking like a shaggy dog bounding from an unwanted bath, CMEC comrade Orgetoron ap Rheyhiwri approached the foremost part of the Soviet ground advance from the rear, his soaked, long-haired head stooped as he lolloped along, sword clattering on his hip and INSAS-1(S) clutched by the receiver in his big right paw. "Over there, the old girl says she's seen two, maybe three, and a machinegun" he reported, gesturing as the Bihari woman had done to indicate a heavy machinegun rattling off a few rounds, after he'd pointed a few hundred yards down a gently curving and half washed-out roadway. "Trust her?" asked the elected officer commanding the Poolee section vehicle. "Eh, she hung the flag over her door after I gave her the stuff, seemed happy." Orgetoron replied, wiping a bit of make-up from the side of his face. "All right, we'll go over." Said the officer, banging on the front slope of the CICV-4, where could be seen a scorch mark and some roughness to the armour indicating the only notable attempt to stop it's progress so far delivered by anyone besides Mother Nature. "Move 'er out!"

With the three crewmembers buttoned-up, the combat vehicle moved on, slowly, continuous rubber band tracks and electric transmission contributing to the stealthy creep of the Tamil tiger, while its second-generation image intensification systems, along with digital fire-control and crew periscopes eyed the soft cover ahead. Though suspecting a machinegun position, nobody knew whether it might contain something like an RPD, or a different kettle of fish such as the DShK. Either way, though, the Poolee was -officially- rated to resist 14.5mm armour-piercing rounds in its barest form, and this, being a section vehicle in the vanguard of the largest Soviet operation in twenty years, was furnished with modular armour supposed to ably sustain hits from 30mm APFSDS.

A Bihari PLA machinegun crew was believed to be lying in wait around the bend, and the commander had some concerns about the possibility of a mine, which, though the vehicle should withstand even a ten kilo anti-tank charge, was not the sort of thing he actually wanted to drive over, especially on a road surface already looking a little suspect. The ICV moved slowly, looking for signs of trouble, while the officer, Orgetoron, and two of their comrades cut a few yards across country, missing out the curve in the road and climbing some way above it. With them went the Totem-3T dismounted from their vehicle.

Before long, 6.5mm machinegun fire from the combat vehicle struck the road at several points, confirming that no mine appeared to be operational where half-suspected, and creating something of a distraction for the Biharis expecting traffic to come around the bend. During the burst firing, Orgetoron had positioned the Totem firing post with a clear line of sight, covered by comrades with INSAS rifles, and it was not long before the vehicle came around the corner, inviting fire that did indeed confirm the figures -spotted by the thermal imaging of of Totem system- as legitimate targets. Still unsure about the wider tactical situation, the vehicle now pulled back as infra-red guidance lead the Totem missile on to its target, where a thermobaric warhead was detonated to full effect. If anyone else had been around, they certainly didn't offer any further resistance in the immediate area after seeing that.

(OOC: Really must get going, just had a bit of time to post something of no major consequence. Gaya, Patna, the Bengali thrust et cetera next time.)

(OCC: No problems. Here is one part I left out).

IC:

Patna

With the General Secretary and his cabinet out of the city, and essential personnel and documents already across the Ganga in a well-defended convoy, there are relatively few PLA and BRG troops left in the capital. Even the State Police, usually present in some quantity in every corner of Bihar, are increasingly rare outside the airport. The drug cartels, usually discreet and secretive, take advantage of the reduced police presence to make preparations for what is increasingly seen as an inevitable takeover by the Commonwealthers. Supplies of opium and heroin are either sold-off to Patna's wealth of addicts at inticingly low prices or evacuated towards the Nepali border, while bosses and their book-keepers flee to the countryside. A handful of the more powerful dealers erect barricades in their slums, garrisoned by their well-armed private armies, and await Commonwealth Army and its troops while at the same time clashing with remaining State Police.

Patna's million citizens, though, are hardly passive as their government departs, along with the army, across the Ganga. Drug dealers aren't the only ones building barricades in many slums, with a wide range of banned or repressed political movements turning out in the streets with their own militias, often to do battle with rivals or to capture firearms. Others, though, with larger designs, begin to plot attacks on the relatively lightly-guarded government palace.

At the airport, there continues to be a relatively large PLA and State Police presence, for the most part concerned with protecting the BPLAAF's remaining interceptors. They also man KS-30 and S-60 batteries, firing with perhaps surprising accuracy at any Morrigans that come into view, and quickly repositioning them afterwords in an attempt to survive the second round of airstrikes likely to strike Patna airport. Trainers and counter-insurgency aircraft, the likes of which don't require Patna's maintainance facilities, are flown out to Muzaffarpur as well, along with the last transports, many of those carrying lucky ground crews and GCI operators.

Muzaffarpur

With the government largely reolcated to Muzaffarpur and now housed in the emptied city library, Gopalkrishna Patel begins the task of gathering support for his threatened government. Isolated as Bihar is, Patel does think he can count on some measure or Drapoel support, and to this end he writes Hotan personally. The General Secretary invokes the role played by Bihari volunteers in the removal of the Neo-Suloists in his communique, although he fails to mention that none of those have yet returned from Mumbai. UPA advisors, he says, would improve morale and allow the PLA-B to exploit its numerical advantage. Bedgellen expansion, he writes, must of course be stopped before the entire Indian Subcontinent belongs to the Soviets and Unioners. Humiliation in Bihar could put paid to the Third Commonwealth's strategic ambitions; namely, the marginalization of those nations deemed not politically desirable by the Senate in Raipur. With most of India at its disposal, the Third Commonwealth could even attempt a confrontation with China. Asia's sensible heads of state simply cannot let the Gelatian rabble run rampant across Asia. Bihar is, right now, the best place to kill their prospects.

Communiques with similar messages are hammered-out by General Secretary Patel over the course of the night on one of the rescued electric typewriters, and sent via motorcycle courier to the border with North Sienna. Patel himself plans to cross the border in a few day's time, with much of his cabinet, and Hotan is asked to try and convince the Armandians of Bihar's value. He certainly would not like to turn-up at a border crossing, Commonwealth helicopters on his tail, and be refused entry by unsympathetic Combiners. North Sienna is, furthermore, in an ideal position to support Patel's war effort. Modern assault rifles and advisors would greatly improve the PLA-B's combat effectiveness, to say nothing of anti-tank rockets, mortars, and radios.

Border Areas, Eastern Bihar

General Ramachandra Bose is taken by surprise as his 29th Armored Division comes under attack by the Commonwealthers. He certainly didn't expect them to operate north of the Ganga this time of year, especially not with armored vehicles. Lacking much in the way of an amphibious capability, the 29th Division's armor, including twenty of Bihar's perhaps fifty working T-72Bs, is soon facing annihilation at the hands of the much more mobile self-propelled howitzers and APCs. General Bose, therefore, does not wait long before ordering a general retreat from border defenses before they are outflanked and destroyed. But, as should be expected from a Guards formation like the 29th Division and personnel, experienced in battle from engagements with rebellious Jharkhand's militia, the retreat is orderly. Good roadways are obstructed with tree trunks, pulled-down by AT-T tractors, and where bridges exist they are often fatally weakened when Bihari troops fire mortar bombs onto them.

With 20,000 men at his immediate disposal, the General hopes to finally halt the northern thrust at a second line of semi-prepared defenses, perhaps with the assistance of surviving BPLAAF armed trainers.

[OOC: Feck, jolt devoured my long post. Just assume for now that the Combine has agreed to secretly support the Biharis, and is talking to Patel about reforming to fit a more suitable mold.]

A Chinese diplomatic convoy headed by Bauer makes a dash to Portmerion after Beijing makes noises about diplomatic resolutions and other miscellaneous waffle. More to the point, there was the issue about China's non-aggression pact.

The invasion caught Beijing by surprise - the PLA was prepared to intervene in Afghanistan, not Bihar, and it would be at least a week before any military intervention - or any intervention for that matter, would be possible.

The administration was absolutely undecided in what to do, or whether to do anything at all.

The Soviets had, as so often, taken even themselves by surprise when the issue of war in Bihar unexpectedly passed to Commonwealth level and a vote in closed session of the Final Senate. Preparations for war in the north had little time, and, though casualties so far remained light, the advances were already starting to bog-down in poor weather conditions.

But this was a passionate ideological war for the Commonwealth. The Combine's increased activity and its increasing interest in revolutionary affairs in Afghanistan presented a challenge to the Soviet model as never before. Now it was impossible to tollerate Armandian homogeny, ignore Strainism, and allow powerful men to dictate the future manifestation of the revolutionary energies surging through the global masses. Apparently, judging at least from the surprise Bihari-issue vote, Commonwealthers felt that a struggle between right and left socialism was now impossible to avoid, and, in the Geletian manner, should be confronted head-on.

Further worried by Anarchan introspection and GSIC rumblings about a possible decomposition, before very long, of the United African Republics, the Soviets are desperate to cast their net over as much as possible of what remains in the world before a period of consolidation and likely siege is entered into during the course of the twenty-first century. Only after the demise of the Holy League did the Commonwealthers imagine that they should face challenges and rivals worthy of the old times, of the sack of Delphi, the Roman wars, the Geletian crossing through pre-Armandian Parthia and the clashes with the Guptas, the Armandian wars, and the desperate fight for independence and the culture's very survival.

Thus -and in expression of sentiment rising since the late days of the Second Commonwealth and epitomised by the journey of Adiatorix and Commonwealth of Jharkhand and West Bengal- the call Jai Hind! -Victory to India- erupts from the Soviet-built Indo-Geletian pressure cooker.

Southern Bihar

The situation here was much as on the eastern front, if perhaps a little easier while still south of the Ganga. Sovietists -especially those arriving from the south- were dismayed by the subsistance of the Bihari people, who did not seem to be thriving at all. This was a culture asleep, they concluded.

Promises were made, by shouting, by posters, by outposts established along the way and left behind the advance to dispense information. This war may bring a brief increase to hardship, but massive aid was being assembled in the Commonwealth. Rice from Tamil Nadu, India's second largest producer would be first to arrive, followed in coming weeks by jute from nearby West Bengal (which was said to account for 1/3rd of the world's fibre intake!).

This focus on food aid was important. The Sovietists were beginning to dismount in large numbers, APCs and ICVs drawing-up in large numbers as travel became harder, unloading their infantry, and the degree of mechanisation in Commonwealth Army decreased with each passing kilometre. In the south and the east, Sovietists were moving on foot, hauling supplies and equipment on their backs and the backs of their animals. Cows, mules, horses, and there were dogs, too, giant kan-gels (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/Chivtv/NS1/kangel1.jpg), a manner of Geletian dog that appeared to have arisen from the unlikely union of bear and tiger, which stood alert in the oppressive rain and discouraged thoughts of troublemaking in prisoners.

Soviet armies began to supplement their now slightly reduced supplies and difficult logistical support by living off the land. Farmers would be required to hand-over a portion of their produce as forces passed through. Officers were assigned to make sure that something was left to sustain locals until aid could be brought up, but the aid programme could be a little less immediate than a logistical effort to support a moving army. Some of the more cynical officers wondered if Patel might be tempted to enact a scorched-earth policy in light of the old-fashioned Soviet approach, which, though it might make life even more difficult for the advance, could potentially further hurt his popularity and credibility.

A lot of posters started to appear with photographs of life in the Commonwealth, hoping to show what life would be like once Patel was overthrown.

Warhorns and drums continued to sound, along with hearty song, but now the front was of Sovietists slashing their way through vegetation with wootz sabres, dogs gnashing their huge jaws and bayonets thrusting from the ranks. Artillery was increasingly in the form of rifle-grenades and infantry mortars, and Fossa anti-tank rockets and multi-role Sumpit systems were carried to tackle vehicles and static positions.

Aircraft were becoming more important, helicoptering in some supplies and air-dropping others with the aid of GPS navigation enabled by the Commonwealth's newly-orbited system. Comrade General Prasutagus was pushing his belief that the whole affair could be supplied by air, even in poor weather, thanks to modern technology. Marathons and locator beacons were quite different to charts and Iron Annies, he contended.

The Soviets pressed on, slowly, many trying to leave some form of compensation for the food they were taking, others taking names and keeping records of what they'd requisitioned, even if it was just a handfull of rice. Many could leave a bit of cash, which perhaps was only of limited use in this context, but which they hoped would evidence their good intentions.

The drugs cartels, meanwhile, were targetted with surprising ferocity. Bihari volunteers are often given AKMs or (7.62x54mm) Ishapore Enfields, while the Soviets are prepared to use automatic weapons, grenades, and sometimes even mortars and missiles when quashing barons considered to be amongst the worst sort of capitalist. Uncomfortably, someone has to be subject to the Soviets' demonstration of another-good-reason-for-speedy-surrender/revolt, and such criminal elements left behind after the PLA-B's northward retreat are the obvious target. Helicopters are not infrequently called in to spray thousands of rounds per minute into the cartels' identified strongholds and, where the conditions allow, Hathi, Peripatus, and Cobra battle tanks are deployed in the operations.

In a vanguard element ahead of the bulk of Commonwealth Army, mounted troops -their land cruisers long sent back- are the first to identify the approaching Yugoslavian light aircraft. An attempt is made to intercept, launching a Sumpit high-velocity missile against the last P-2, but, infuriatingly, low visibility chances to obscure the aircraft a split second after firing, and a hurried correction to the optically-guided missile's trajectory is based on best-guess work. A probably unwitting evasion results from a coincidental course correction, and the aircraft escapes untouched, the Sovietists not even sure whether their attack was spotted.

Still, a warning from the forward patrol gives the column some chance to brace, but in such a large force it is hard to say exactly where the attack might fall, and equally difficult to spread the word and respond properly throughout the mass of men, animals, and equipment. Crews sweep the sky through iron sights aboard 6.5mm INSAS-derivative GPMGs, and both Sumpit and Terrier MANPADS are broken out in the seconds before the strike, but the Kragujs were spotted only as they began their final approach, and the conditions make it difficult to locate them with these systems.

Only seven seconds before the first rockets are launched does a Baarish-II gun/missile system locate the low-flying threat with its Tyullan short-range radar and swing its twin-mount 37mm guns into action, aided by digitised fire control. The blasting of these cannon soon directs optical gunners in the right direction, and they begin to give forth a deep wall of fire. Surprisingly, few infantry scatter even as the first rockets rush by, some trying only to dodge at the last moment, if at all. As a result, one or two are quickly blown down.

(OOC: Been an odd few days, so I apologise for still having failed to address some of the issues. I will continue through the week. I think maybe the east still needs another round from me, at least, plus diplomacy with other nations.)

"It has been a long time, my Bedgellen friends. A very, very long time. But now the Combine and the Commonwealth shall dance again..." murmured the Energy Minister, as technicians in Da'khiem flitted about, setting up the equipment necessary for the videolink. With a Combine delegation in Beijing, the Energy Minister, Hotan, and Spyrian diplomats in Da'khiem, one simple video conference was necessary to bring forth a plan that would, if all went according to plan, shake the very foundations of the Asian balance of powers. The Minister quickly brushed aside the few specks of dust in her neatly groomed black hair, and stared down the assembled delegates, with a television in the place of China.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as you all are surely aware, the Commonwealth of Beth Gellert has launched an illegal invasion of the People's Republic of Bihar. This invasion was unprovoked and without any sort of warning or demands; it is a blatant power grab by the Igovians, of the most dangerous sort. It places Soviet forces along a much longer span of China's border, further encloses the Combine's precarious eastern portion, enslaves Dra-Pol's loyal ally, and furthers the spread of the anarchism that is considered a dirty word in Lyong. Beth Gellert must be stopped now, before they devour Bihar and emerge even hungrier. The sane nations of the world must take a stand against the forces of chaos in Bihar; we must draw the line in the sand."

Her voice was sharp and crisp, with the perfect balance of passion and professionalism. The Minister paused for a moment, and her shining dark eyes bore into her audience, full of an icy determination. She cut a bold figure in the bare room that was Hotan's private chamber, with her shapely feminine body outlined by an elegant yet revealing skirt and blouse combination. Yet although at first glance she wouldn't have looked out place in a Parisian modeling show, a second look would reveal a woman completely in her element, whose very presence carried the might of 300 million, oil rich Combiners behind her. It was with this strength that she pressed on.

"The Choson and the Strainists will cross through China's borders, and flow into Armand's eastern enclave, where they will be joined by an elite corps of Armandian commandos. Armandian and Chinese factories will guarantee a flow of arms to these allied forces and their Bihari comrades, and Strainist and Armandian currencies shall back the effort. This joint effort will turn Bihar into a graveyard for the Commonwealth, and bloody the once mighty anarchist giant. Together we can end the dark age of Soviet domination, and bring a forth a new one dictated on the terms of order and peace."

Wen Jin bao interrupts the video conference with a comment of his own. China did not want war in the region, let alone intervene militarily in Bihar, a state with little economic value.

"The comments made today do not undermine the fact that Beijing has signed a non-aggression pact with the Indian Commonwealth, which we wish tol continue to recognise. We wish to see a diplomatic resolution to what is largely an ideological conflict between the Combine and the Commonwealth. That said however, if Combine soil is ever threatened, directly or indirectly, Beijing will defend it with her own blood.

The ball now lies in the commonwealth's court, and as a gesture of goodwill, we ask that military operations be halted until a serious attempt at diplomacy has been made."

He placed a special emphasis on the word "Combine soil", suggest Beijing was not too keen to intervene militarily in Bihar, but was worried enough to consider the invasion of Bihar as a possible threat to the Combine and China.

In the background of the video conference, keen observers would notice the energy minister recieve a mobile phone call. (AC, check TGs)

Now there was the wait for a reply from the Commonwealth.

(OOC: Warning, this post comes with no sleep; a large glass of dangerously cheap vodka in hand; and some cursing at the television, for they have voted-out the Welsh girl and the batteries in my remote control have gone dead.)

Bihar

Commonwealth Army halted, in the east and the south.

In almost any other nation one may have imagined that the leadership was afraid of Beijing's might. In the Soviet Commonwealth this seemed an unlikely explanation, even ignoring the fact that the leadership was four hundred and twelve million strong.

It almost looked as if Soviet India had some kind of respect for its treaties with the Chinese, which was itself almost as unprecedented as the idea of a fearful Geletian.

Most Soviet forces were still south of the mighty Ganga -the famous Ganges, to most of the world- and only a few miles across the Bengali border in the eastern theatre, and they didn't seem to mind. It would allow the Biharis to reorganise, and limit the value of the surprise offensive, but it would also allow the Soviets to move-up their artillery and armour, and to work on the aid and propaganda elements behind their own lines. To some degree, they didn't mind the idea of allowing Biharis to take stock. The hope was that they should see half of their country as good as lost, and their more technologically advanced enemy also willing to dismount and fix bayonets north of their greatest natural barrier.

Of course, the delay might also allow foreigners to react and deploy to Bihar... but, again, the Soviets did not exactly mind. The more reactionaries, Bolshevists, revisionists, thieves that could be stopped -killed-, the better. In Portmeirion's estimation, if the Armandians or the Strainists or anybody else sent aid to Patel, the Sovietists would kill them, or, better yet, capture them, and it would be a minor victory or a propaganda coup.

It was best to stop, now, when, in light of progress so far, nobody in the world could think that it was for military reasons. That way, if pauses were later necessitated by the arrival of foreign aid to the PLA-B, it could be presented as far more normal, something that had happened before, and that was not the result of military incapacity.

It was a precedent. If we stop now when we don't need to, nobody will bat an eyelash when we stop later because we do need to.

And if the Armandians took exception, we may bait them into war, and their isolated eastern enclave will be crushed, much to the benefit of human liberty. Meanwhile, it was best to stop when the Chinese suggested it, indicating the want of need for war between they and we.

Portmeirion waited and listened, and her soldiers celebrated and partied with willing Biharis. Certainly the PLA-B had a chance to counter-attack while the Geletians drank and made merry, but the Soviets had committed but a small part of their strength, and were prepared to swoop on such a commitment by the enemy and knock him out for so brash a move.

[OOC: Cocky, aren't we? The Commonwealth is already facing forces in Africa; does it really have the capacity to take on the Combine and China as well?

And I'll give Dra-Pol and Spyr some time to respond before I make any moves.]

(OOC: Oh, no, we couldn't take-on the full force of the HL, Bihar, Armand, and China at once, and win anywhere except in the south of India (where we're still pretty sure that the entire world could fight us as one without winning). But we're trying not to get into a fight with China, and only intend to fight the Armandians if they come at us, and only in northern India, where most of their population is concentrated and has long been relatively isolated from the prosperity of the western Combine. Certainly nobody's thinking about fighting in 'Iran', and we're not planning to attack the eastern enclave unless they commit to battle first. I don't want to turn Asia into Europe, where France and Spain made a potential cold/proxy conflict into a world-war by attacking Gibraltar for no clear reason.)

OOC: Yay, another long winded 'oppression, wtf' speech! I'm getting good at these. Also, Armand: Assume that this happens shortly after the conference in Constance.

IC:
Raleigh, Australasia

Strathairn looked surprisingly photogenic in the morning sunlight. His increasingly haggard look had been replaced with that of a newly hopeful man. He was in a clean, unrumpled suit and his hair was actually well combed. The more sarcastic of the political commentaries were noting that how well he looked seemed to vary directly with how close the Foreign Minister was to Raleigh.

"Some months ago when war against France was declared, it was hoped that the coalition formed against the Holy League threat would at long last bring about peace in our time. Obviously, we have a long way to go. Our military is fighting valiantly abroad beside our British, African, Chinese and Hindustani allies.

"The hope was that the coalition, so formed, would replace militarism with law, imperialism with internationalism and oppression with freedom. For the most part, we have met with success. However, some days ago the Soviets launched an illegal and unprovoked invasion of the People's Democratic Republic of Bihar. Their armoured columns have reached the Ganges river, their armed forces occupy the homes of the people.

"It is uncommon for the Free Colony to denounce its allies, particularly during wartime. However, the illegal and barbaric actions of the Soviet Commonwealth have given us cause to do so, their present contribution to the war effort notwithstanding.

"Ergo, I issue a call to the entire Commonwealth that all of voting age take serious consideration of what they have done. They have impinged upon the sovereign rights of another nation. They have decided with no input from those invaded that they were entitled to the land and to the governmental authority therein. They were mistaken. Whatever the status of the government of Bihar it was a lawful one, and it remains the only government so recognized. Soviet authority over the People's Democratic Republic is not.

"The Commonwealth has, by dint of its military power, been allowed to take great and summary lisence in the Subcontinent. That stops today. Unless the Commonwealth votes to remove its armed forces from the People's Republic of Bihar, it will forfeit recognition as a legitimate government not only over the occupied territory of Bihar, but also over its own territory. All trade with the Commonwealth will be ceased, all Commonwealth vessels in Australasian ports will be immediately impounded. Commonwealth military units will be viewed as unlawful militias or pirate vessels, and be subject to the laws so prescribed.

"We do not wish for any of this to happen. In fact, we hope to see continued co-operation between ourselves and the Commonwealth for the good of the planet; for I believe that such co-operation will yield such good. However, none of that can come to pass until the Commonwealth withdraws in full from the People's Republic of Bihar."

The South Atlantic

Lüderitz held far less people than the Soviet fleet held fighting men and women, and so it was not hard to over-run. Almost within the hour, following the Australasian murmer, this port city was under Soviet occupation.

The joint Indian fleet moving up towards West Africa went with all the confidence of the other powers: the Holy League was going to lose no matter what. If others want to start the next fight before the final victory, why not meet them at it?

Sovietists landed in force, compelled to pre-empt the imperialist in his own world.

The South-West African People's Organisation was suddenly in receipt of substantial funds.

It was a demonstration.

Provoke the Soviets and we shall steal part of the world from you entirely. Embrace democracy and you shall join us. Go against us and you are exposed as capitalist imperialists, opinionated but not in any measure democratic.

The Indian fleet ambled north, reinforcements trickling into Namibia day by day. Nobody was fussed about taking on the Holy League. We'll kill it, they'll kill it, either way the thing is dead. But we'll shut-down the world if you like to fight democracy.

For every four or five yearly vote in Australasia there stood twenty spontaneous votes in the Commonwealth.

(OCC: Well, AC, its really only the Indian navies that are present in force off West Africa. I'd be surprised if we had ten thousand infantrymen embarked altogether. We're rather depending on likely better Indian and African soldiery, added to the ECOWAS standing and guerilla armies, to fight the French on land, although it seems as though we can expect to demolish them at sea.)

IC:

Muzaffarpur

Gopalkrishna Patel, so recently ready to flee the nation, is convinced by recent news to remain in the second capital. He is taken quite by surprise at the Soviets' descision to halt their advance, especially given its nearly unopposed character in the south and PLA-B retreat in the east. Understandably lacking faith in all but a small fraction of the PLA-B and rightly fearing the Revolutionary Guard, loyal to Ramvirkish Devi, commissar for Internal Affairs, he wouldn't have been any more surprised than his Commonwealth enemies at the speed and relative ease of his government's collapse. The reprieve, in immediate terms, allows Patel to continue his furious process of replacing officers in the PLA-B's ranks while the troops themselves sure-up their positions and become acquainted with new, often quite capable and amicable, commanding officers. Commissions leave the new Ministry of Defense, located in the basement of the city telephone exchange, at a very fast rate while the commissars for defense review maps and dispatches and plan for the expected attempt on the Ganga.

Patel is also delighted at Armandian support, something that he didn't entirely expect. He writes a long dispatch to Constance, thanking the Combiners for, among other things, "services to the cause of world revolution," and invites the Combine to establish a consulate in Muzaffarpur. Detachments of particularly loyal PLA-B men are sent to the border crossings to protect the expected influx of Armandian supplies, while the Combiners are asked to supply SAM teams to guard supply routes, extremely vulnerable to Soviet air attacks. Bihar's own SAMs had either been destroyed or are rather too obsolete to be of very much use.

It is, though, China's statement in support of the Armandians that gives Patel the most satisfaction. Certainly the Soviets would not want to risk war with China over Bihar, or at least the part that they haven't already occupied, and if they are about to embark on such a course of action, Patel can't picture the outcome being at all beneficial for the Soviets. He therefore considers it a safe bet that the Soviets won't try to cross the Ganga, or to press from the east, for some time, until they are sure of China's intentions.

Kind words from Australasia are of course much appreciated, and taken by Patel as a sign that the West, too, is not as willing to accept the Soviets in Bihar as it was the Unioners in Rajasthan. The General Secretary also considers how to best exploit historical animosity between the west and the Soviet Commonwealth so that it turns into support for the Bihari People's Republic. The more complicated the issue becomes for the little-loved Sovietists, the better.

Southern Bihar

Not surprisingly, the Commonwealthers will often find the richer drug cartels' private armies better-armed than the PLA-B. Tanks and helicopters attempting to shut-down these larger operations are often fired-upon by AT-4 ATGWs and SA-18 MANPADs, the likes of which the national government would be hard-pressed to afford. Cartel soldiers are also a cut above the PLA-B infantrymen, although not present in nearly significant numbers and rarely deployed properly. Sufficient numbers are usually enough either to surround and destroy the cartel leaders and their bodyguards or to convince them to surrender, and the assistance of Bihari civilians leads no doubt to the apprehension of many prominent dealers in surprise raids and ambushes. They are, after all, businessmen, and most make poor generals when faced with Soviet coordination and tenacity. And Commonwealth Army's halt, greatly helpful to Patel's government, can only mean that more resources will be used to fight southern Bihar's opium syndicates.

Gaya's contribution to the air war over Bihar doesn't fare all too well over the target. The Kraguj, for all its merit against guerilla forces without the benefit of armor protection or heavy AAA, is no match for a modern, mechanized army, as the Soviets no doubt have realized. Four of the six aircraft are torn apart by the high volume of automatic fire directed towards them, while the other two, their light airframes and small engine not at all capable of absorbing much damage, limp away at a reduced airspeed.

Raleigh, Australasia

"The Soviets just invaded Lüderitz," Christina said, sipping her mug of coffee and poking away at her laptop. Strathairn looked up from his own work, nothing particularly important. A budget proposal, as it happened, dealing with welfare for the people of Buenos Aires recently made unemployed by the attacks.

"Did they," he asked. "Whatever for?" The foreign minister shrugged, and put her laptop down on the table in front of her. Nominally, it was a cabinet meeting. But since most of the cabinet ministers were off doing their own stuff, it became a brainstorm session for the Prime Minister and his most trusted aide. There was a large, foldout map of India on the table in front of them, and some pencil marks were scrawled in the oceans reading things like 'call lawyer, deal with that thing', or 'wise to insult allies during war?'. There was even a game of hangman, long concluded and with unplesant results for the condemned stick-figure. The word had been 'zzxjoanw', a type of Maori drum.

"You know," she said. "It might have been better to let the whole thing go. It hardly concerns us, and it won't help to irritate the Soviets right before we fight side-by-side with them." Strathairn grimaced and set his pad down on the desk.

"Any alliance we have is just a convenience. Once this whole war's over, we'll be back to squabbling over this and that with them like we always were." He sighed and ambled over to the window, where he watched the traffic go by. "Anyway, it's time someone told the Soviets to sit down and shut up."

OOC: Random filler post. I like writing characters.

Bihar

In the south, Commonwealth army was sending home new casualties. The Kraguj attack had killed two Sovietists, one a nineteen-year veteran of the Commonwealth's military, which had changed much over the course of his career, the other only born just before the end of the First Commonwealth, a year after his elder comrade joined the then-Soviet Army.

Elected to serve as Captain during the early part of this campaign and wearing three stars on his lapel as a result, this old warrior was the highest ranked Commonwealther to die so far, replacing a Lieutenant whose Land Cruiser was hit by an anti-tank missile on the first day.

The two would be buried on -or in- lakes back in the Commonwealth, a vague memory of the spiritual past of the Geletians, who still felt a strange respect for waters inland, even if they had only recently sought to become a power on the high seas.

A larger number of wounded personnel also returned, being too badly hurt to fight on as many others chose to in spite of minor injuries. A SEB Acha 6x6 truck had caught fire during the rocket attack, wounding personnel attempting to move it from the road at the time. The downing of four light aircraft was sufficient compensation for those who felt a sense of loss, and trophies were quickly made of the wreckage.

Elsewhere, Soviet artillery and rocketry continued low-rate firing as they settled-in close to the now static front, seeking only to keep the enemy from resting too completely and to strike targets of opportunity.

The level of armament possessed by the cartels did come as a slight surprise to many Sovietists who simply hadn't listened when GSIC tried to tell them about modern armaments in use, dismissing the drugs gangs as mercenary thugs. The first SA-18 attacks especially were a shock, one Ja-36 coming under fire twice in one day, struck the second time in spite of its great agility and advanced countermeasures, and the skill of the highly trained crew. It survived only because of the less usual lay-out of the Soviet helicopter with its stacked contra-rotating main blades, but was delt a mission kill when it had to return for extensive repairs, likely to miss the rest of the campaign.

A few heavy operations continued as Sovietists blew off steam, but, increasingly, the Gelert Sentinels were leading counter-drugs operations. A gang was now more likely to go untouched for days as GSIC gathered intelligence and deployed a sniper with an 11mm rifle to take-out the head man from the better part of a mile away if at all possible.

Africa

The Lüderitz assault put Soviet troops unexpectedly ashore via shallow-draught landing craft, establishing contact with left-wing elements in Namibia and declaring the Commonwealth's intention to restore the nation's revolutionary progress.

This was apparently in response to growing tension between the Soviets and the west, and Portmeirion's disgust with the direction of socialist movement in the rest of the nominally left-wing world.

Australasia's level of belligerence, in contrast with the capitalist world's relations with the Combine, convinced most in the Commonwealth that the world had decided to promote the Armandians and the revisionist Strainist bloc as the legitimate opposition to capitalism as one with which it could live. The Soviets had no intention of allowing the world's powerful men to undermine the world revolution and maintain their ridiculous status quo.

Someone had to act, and so the Commonwealth began to drop anchor in every available port, as it were. Speaking of... the Soviet fleet progressed on to Wavis Bay, intending to secure the deep-water harbour and ship in more resources.

The Soviets began to offer university places to young SWAPO members, especially studying politics and economics, and declared that they were here thanks to the help of President Hifikepunye Pohamba in fighting the imperialist assault on West Africa, since his offer to enable Wavis's use as a waystation.

Of course this wasn't strictly true, but Pohamba would be wise to play along, as the Commonwealth's consuls met to discuss the matter with he and the SWAPO Party, and a Soviet force several hundred percent larger than all of Namibia's military sailed up the coast.

Across the Soviet and potentially-Soviet world, the Commonwealth made use of its ample human resources. Material was stretched by operations in Bihar and the deployment in Africa en route to combat with the French and possibly the Russians, but lots of people remained to establish communist missions to Namibia as in Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, and the Philippines, and the raising of so many troops left lots of places in the Commonwealth for foreign students and other visitors from such nations as these. More aid workers and diplomats were also dispatched to the three nations of the UAR, where Portmeirion continued to fear an eventual break-up and was desperate to make sure that socialism remained strong in each potential independent state.

(OOC: I can't remember/find it, but was there some reference to the INU's official position on the Bihar matter? Did they not recognise the legitimacy of the invasion/illegitimacy of the PRB?)

OOC: Nitpick, but shouldn't the random African invasion go in the 'Dark Continent' thread for all African happenings? I mean, Namibia's a long way from Bihar.
Dark Continent[AMW] (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=490304).

Or, you know. Not. It's up to you.

The Minister remained standing, her eyes still aflame with passion for her cause. She listened patiently to the Chinese diplomat, and then replied quickly and decisively.

"That might very well have been the right option to pursue, Mr. Jianbao. But the Soviets have just flown their true colors; they have invaded Namibia. The Holy League is merely an excuse for the Beddgellens, an excuse to spread their vile ideology across the globe. They sponsor rebels in the Philippines, invade Bihar, seize control of neutral African nations, indoctrinate the peoples of Laos and Cambodia, all without regard for the will of the people or international law. A diplomatic solution would only whet the Soviet appetite; we must teach them a bloodier lesson."

She paused for a moment to drink a glass of wine, and the more keen eyed amongst the assembled delegates might notice a slight tremor in her hand. She was clearly nervous, and the reason was quite obvious to anyone who knew anything about the Combine's customs. Her fellow Armandian diplomats bore down upon with steely gazes; they were none too pleased with her bold, individualistic gambit. She was effective, yes, and hadn't altered the Combine's foreign policy intentions, but this sort of individualistic speech making simply wasn't the Combine way.

For this she would be punished, but she pressed on nevertheless.

"We will, of course, keep both the involvement of China and the Combine itself as clandestine as possible. The Soviets will likely discover our intentions, but we find it doubtful they could ever discover yours, and even more doubtful that they would be willing to wage a full scale war over this. They still have the Holy League to tackle, after all. Therefore, I propose---"

The Armandian diplomats gasped noticeably at her useage of the foulest word in the Armandian language.

The sweat began to drip more profusely down her forehead, and she corrected herself, "---err, I mean, we propose that the Soviets be issued an declaration: withdraw from Bihar and allow an international peacekeeping force to observe free and fair elections in Bihar. If they do not comply, then we'll secretly begin sending an unrestricted flow of arms, along with men from Lyong, Dra-Pol, Australasia, China, and the Combine into Bihar. Hopefully we can also enlist the Seven Sisters of the North, who are surely fearful of this renewed Soviet expansionist drive. Combined with the strength of the Bihari people themselves, who will surely rally to the cause of their nation once they realize that we have given Patel no choice but to implement the economic and democratic policies that have made our nation so prosperous, we shall halt the anarchist tide once and for all."

(OCC: Well, it doesn't entirely sit well with me for one that we should group all "African Happenings" into a single thread, titled, of all things, the Dark Continent. There's certainly more going on there than in many places. As for Mumbai's position on the Bihar issue, I'm not sure that I did spend that much time addressing it, but a more concrete statement is coming.)

IC:

Mumbai

Parliamentarians do not take at all kindly to Australasia's statement of support for Gopalkrishna Patel's government. After decrying Strathairn as a "two-faced snake," the Parliamentarians compose a communique to Raleigh that, they hope, will make Bihar's status more clear to the government there. Bihar, they say, is, by rights, one of the Indian National Union's provinces per the terms of Lord Louis Mountbatten's partition of India circa 1947. It should not even be an independent nation, and the fact that it is under the less than able direction of Gopalkrishna Patel is further cause for displeasure. Patel is, they say, a man concerned with the accumulation of personal power and prestige, and has therefore shown apathy towards the plight of Bihar's population at large. It is not difficult to deduce from sattelite imagery, furthermore, that the Patel government has put next to no money into irrigation and other public services, that might take some of the strain off Bihar's hard-pressed subsistance farmers.

The communique goes on to say that Soviet actions in Bihar are the same in spirit as Union involvement in Rajasthan. Both instances represent efforts on the part of the Indian democracies to oust autocratic elements and replace them with governments of the people, and Australasia would do well to encourage such actions. Perhaps, the Unioners say, Raleigh has indeed cast its lot with the Combiners, and therefore has even less authority to speak on affairs of the Indians, North Sienna being, as it is, within the Indian National Union's legal territory as definded by the 1947 partition. Strathairn insults the people of Bihar, says the Unioners, by claiming that the Patel government at all represents their interests. The issue of soveriegn rights, furthermore, can only turn out to democratic India's favor in light of Mumbai's continued refusal to recognize the PDRB as an independent nation.

Mumbai's communique concludes with a warning not to escalate the situation, the Soviets being fully justified in their actions given the state of the PDRB. Should Australasia find itself in an unfavorable position as a result of its troublemaking on the Subcontinent, Parliament will not be terribly inclined to help.

Most Unioners are indeed full of indignation over Australasia's attempt to strong-arm the Third Commonwealth and dictate what is widely seen as an internal affair, but do not doubt the Soviets' ability to enforce their policy in the face of Raleigh's decidedly provokative language.

Soviet intervention in Namibia also elicits more subdued Union approval. Few doubt that the Soviets will bring benefits to Namibia, but their method of doing it is considered rather on the brutish side and the commitment of amphibious troops anywhere besides West Africa is held by many as counterproductive. Still, it is hoped that South Africa's suspected territorial designs will be held in check by the presence of a Soviet-backed SWAPO government in historically rebellious Namibia.

OOC: Is that actually offensive? At the time, I'd just finished reading Heart of Darkness, and it was sort of a play on words related to that. You know, imperialists bringing darkness to an otherwise unspoiled contient. Sorry about any insult taken, because none was meant.

IC:


Although it may be an internal affair, the Third Commonwealth has historically demonstrated a lack of self-control, a willingness to allow military action to take the place of diplomacy and a distinctly uncaring attitude towards the general feeling of the world's population, whom they claim to support, aid and free.

If we are to see progress, it must come about without the death of innocents. If we are to see freedom, it must come from the people and not from the tip of the invader's sword. The Third Commonwealth, although large and prosperous, must not be through that given lisence to attack other nations. Mere strength is not enough, intelligent and peaceful governance must needs come first.

The Free Colony is grateful for Commonwealth support against the Holy League, but said support is not lisence to export its own agenda. The aim of operations in Africa are to free the people there, not deliver them from one oppressive power to another.

If, as Parliament warns, we are made a target of the Soviet war machine, it will only go to prove why it is that the Third Commonwealth must be opposed. If our mere dissent from Soviet aims is seen as a cause for war, then clearly the Third Commonwealth is unable to function as befits a nation of half a billion people-- with responsibility.

Although the words were, as usual for the government of the Free Colony, ones of unmitigated confidence and no small arrogance, the actual feeling amongst the people and the Parliament was mixed. Opinion polls showed that a good forty-two percent of the population was in favour of ignoring Soviet attacks, and that some twenty percent felt that they should be encouraged.

Parliament's debate had raged for a day and a half, one in which the Prime Minister had mostly sat and watched old, bewigged men and women yell at each other across the aisle and from over their tea cake and buttered bread. In the end, they had screamed themselves to a general conclusion, which culminated in the communique sent in response. But it was hardly an auspicious beginning, and likely another instance of the Colonials' words far outweighing their committment.

Kolkata, the Indian Soviet Commonwealth

While an equally red-nosed and generally red-faced Graeme Igo explained to Commonwealth and Union delegates on hand that, yes, the Final Soviet had ordered the Luderitz operation at almost six in the morning that followed-on from a night of debate and drinking, well explaining why a shallow harbour with a hard bottom had been siezed as a base for future maritime operations for which it was utterly useless, reports indicated that Soviet forces in Bihar had ground to a halt, at least on the front, though reinforcements and supplies continued to move up behind them.

"...yes, erm, when it came time to vote on the Namibian operation, the total responding to the chair's request for, all opposed did rouuughly correspond to the number of recovering alcoholics and other T-totalers in the Soviet Commune, but I'm not sure how much we can read into that... after all, as fourteen percent of all people know, you can use statistics to prove anything!.." Said Igo, in a really convincing tone...

Still, the surprise landings in Namibia were described as important and strategic. Top Soviet and other Commonwealth strategists felt that the fight was on, and that it was only a matter of everybody realising it before things became worse. With so much of the world rising against capitalism and Christendom, the backlash was due, and if the true socialists of the world didn't prepare for it, they'd be isolated and condemned to a siege from which their would be no relief. Thinking, for a moment, like nations, the upstanding peoples had to take advantage of unhappy global conditions in order to survive, and for liberty and equality to survive. There wasn't time for them to be allowed to foster change organically, nor did they have the means to indirectly remove autocrats and subverters of popular will and socialist progress. Leaders in so many minor nations were cronies of the masters of the global market, and nobody in the Commonwealth could see any reason for tollerating this, nor for playing by their rules.

The level of Australasian confrontationalism was further evidence from a nation where a large chunk of the population was unmoved by the Soviets' ambition. Clearly, the Australasian government was as much tied-up in the capitalist elite as Soviet propaganda claimed of most nations. For now, the only things keeping the Soviets from dispatching scores of stealth submarines to strangle Australia were Australasia's significant part in fighting the Holy League, and its relations with the British and, in turn, their relations with the INU. It wasn't that the Soviets were scared of confrontation with the British in a material sense, merely that they did not relish the expenditure of political credit that would be required to convince Mumbai to side with Portmeirion against London, and so, for now, the Soviet Commune held-off on retaliating against Britain's foremost ally, some voters also noting that any Australasian ships of war and trade may contain men and women privately holding pro-Soviet sentiment, or at least having friends and relatives with such ideas, and so it wouldn't be a good move from a propagandist's point of view to sink them.

Meanwhile, Igo and the elected consuls finally brought the Commonwealth to address the issue of remaining Indian states, Sikkim, Kashmir, North Pakistan, Assam, Meghalaya, Tirpura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunchal Pradesh, and Bangladesh. The Soviets had long been trying to deal with the People's Republic of Bangladesh, but were frequently frustrated by an administration once rated the world's most corrupt and barely improved today, but nobody could imagine military operations against this land of rivers and floods. As it happened, a lot of Commonwealthers seemed willing to let Sikkim more or less get on with it, suggesting a range of measures revolving around the sending of good advice and the odd bit of military pressure (the Soviets didn't care for economic pressure on a nation when military pressure on an administration might suffice) in order to make sure of good government in the little enclave. There, and in the so-called Seven Sisters, Commonwealthers wondered whether Unioners might not be interested in heading-up diplomatic efforts towards integration with either of the democracies.

Portmeirion waits for something significant from the outside world, seeing thus far few good reasons for maintaining its pause in the Bihari assault.

[OOC: BG, in my little speech thing I issued a plan. Basically, the Armandians are proposing that a multinational force oversee free and democratic elections in Bihar.

LRR, can you tell me how the other Indian states, including Sikkim, Bangladesh, and the Seven Sisters are responding to Armandian overtures?]

Mumbai

Parliament, more annoyed with Australasia now than it has been with a western power in some time, draws-up, in its traditional meandering style, a very angry communique in response.

"The Indian National Union cannot bring itself to entertain the possibility that Australasia's opinions on the issue of the liberation of Bihar have anything whatsoever to do with concern over the rights of noncombatants or with a desire to see social progress on the Subcontinent. This is evidenced by a willingness to risk civilian lives in order to impose a democratic order upon feudalist France. Australasia simply desires to see the Soviet Commonwealth in an unfavorable position, a result of historical animosity and ideological differences. It, furthermore, does not seem to be the Soviet Commonwealth which first threatened aggression, as evidenced by Prime Minister Strathairn's initial ultimatum, the likes of which Australasia can surely recall. The Indian National Union would also advise Australasia to refrain from lectures on the nature of good governance, especially with regards to the administration of Gopalkrishna Patel. If Australasia intends to play proxy on the Indian Subcontinent, and continues to support a man who murders his people, it will do so at the expense of the Indian National Union's good graces."

It is hoped that Raleigh will come to realize that the benefits of opposition to Soviet efforts in Bihar are fare outweighed by the risks.

(OCC:

I don't think Sikkim cares all that much for international politics in general, given its status, so Gangtok probably won't respond. Bangladesh, being much closer geographically to the Commonwealth, has very much to lose by aligning itself with the Combine so I cannot see Dhaka being altogether interested either.

The Seven Sisters are another matter entirely, with their largely unsavory governments threatened by Soviet intolerance for that sort of thing. What they could contribute to a wider anti-Soviet effort, though, is next to nothing, especially without an iron-clad guarantee that China will protect them should the Commonwealthers end up invading.)

(OOC: Sorry for not replying, I've been busy lately. Will catch up in two days.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/Futureworldruler/Black_flag.jpg

"The Unified Combine of Armand would again like to call for free and fair elections to determine the future of Bihar. While many Biharis are dissatisfied with the current government, that does not give the Soviet Commonwealth authority to absorb and annex that nation. Instead, we propose that a multinational peacekeeping force be deployed into the nation of Bihar in order to supervise the establishment of a free and fair democracy. Additionally, the Combine would like to reiterate that no matter how distasteful it may find Patel to be, he is still the only current, legitimate authority in the nation of Bihar, and that with our encouragement he has begun to adopt a critical series of reforms for his nation. Thus, we would urge the Soviets to halt their military operations and allow foreign forces to join with them and the Bihari military in order to supervise a peaceful transition to democracy. That is all."

The reply is not especially graceful, and when it is delivered to the transmission room it is in a short, angry hand somewhat recognizeable as the Prime Minister's.


Although the Indian National Union may not have heard, the Third Commonwealth has launched invasions of sovereign nations in Africa for the sole and expressed purpose of spreading their ideology. These nations committed no crime other than to exist without following the Soviet line dogmatically, and although they may not be model states it does not invalidate their right to exist. If we allow the Third Commonwealth to continue in such a fashion, it may mean the end of the rule of law over the governance of nations.

The Free Colony does not support the administration of Patel as such, it supports the right of nations to exist as independant entities excepting in situations in which said nation engages in unprovoked military operations against another. France is just such a case, as the lives of untold Accrans and over seven thousand Australasians can attest. The Free Colony encourages the INU to refrain from lecturing the Colony on the subject of the liberation of Portugal, Gibraltar and Africa, a subject on which Australasia has spent many lives, rather than words.

The Free Colony harbours no animosity towards Mumbai, nor to the INU as a whole. On the other hand, it cannot support the Third Commonwealth in its actions. This need not be the end of co-operation between our nations, but it may mark a divergence of viewpoint on the subject of the Third Commonwealth. It is my personal hope that such a divergence would not unduly jeopardize relations with the Indian National Union.

In a separtate and much more public statement, the Free Colony pledges its support to portions of the Combine's suggestion, but suggests that Gopalkrishna Patel's name not be put forth in such an election. It is hoped that this might mark a compromise between those who wish to see Patel's removal, and those who wish to see a democratic solution to the Bihar issue.

It is never officially stated, but the suggestions put forth by the government reflect a marked softening on the subject, as well as a willingness to negotiate. Despite continued Soviet presence in Bihar, no Soviet ships have been impounded, but they are being turned away from Australasian ports except in cases of emergency. No Soviet military vessels have been attacked, although this may owe in part to the fact that there are few Australasian ships in the area.

Additionally, the lines of communication with Portmerion remain formally open, although no traffic has passed between them since the issuing of Strathairn's ultimatum. On the other hand, the government still opposes direct Soviet control of Bihar, and issues a storm of paper daily on the subject of Soviet involvment in Namibia.

Whatever the motives of opposing the attack on Bihar, the concerns about Namibian intervention are both honest and, in the eyes of most in Parliament, justified.

OOC: Let's not start anything absurd over this, shall we?

The Minister remained standing, her eyes still aflame with passion for her cause. She listened patiently to the Chinese diplomat, and then replied quickly and decisively.

"That might very well have been the right option to pursue, Mr. Jianbao. But the Soviets have just flown their true colors; they have invaded Namibia. The Holy League is merely an excuse for the Beddgellens, an excuse to spread their vile ideology across the globe. They sponsor rebels in the Philippines, invade Bihar, seize control of neutral African nations, indoctrinate the peoples of Laos and Cambodia, all without regard for the will of the people or international law. A diplomatic solution would only whet the Soviet appetite; we must teach them a bloodier lesson."

She paused for a moment to drink a glass of wine, and the more keen eyed amongst the assembled delegates might notice a slight tremor in her hand. She was clearly nervous, and the reason was quite obvious to anyone who knew anything about the Combine's customs. Her fellow Armandian diplomats bore down upon with steely gazes; they were none too pleased with her bold, individualistic gambit. She was effective, yes, and hadn't altered the Combine's foreign policy intentions, but this sort of individualistic speech making simply wasn't the Combine way.

For this she would be punished, but she pressed on nevertheless.

"We will, of course, keep both the involvement of China and the Combine itself as clandestine as possible. The Soviets will likely discover our intentions, but we find it doubtful they could ever discover yours, and even more doubtful that they would be willing to wage a full scale war over this. They still have the Holy League to tackle, after all. Therefore, I propose---"

The Armandian diplomats gasped noticeably at her useage of the foulest word in the Armandian language.

The sweat began to drip more profusely down her forehead, and she corrected herself, "---err, I mean, we propose that the Soviets be issued an declaration: withdraw from Bihar and allow an international peacekeeping force to observe free and fair elections in Bihar. If they do not comply, then we'll secretly begin sending an unrestricted flow of arms, along with men from Lyong, Dra-Pol, Australasia, China, and the Combine into Bihar. Hopefully we can also enlist the Seven Sisters of the North, who are surely fearful of this renewed Soviet expansionist drive. Combined with the strength of the Bihari people themselves, who will surely rally to the cause of their nation once they realize that we have given Patel no choice but to implement the economic and democratic policies that have made our nation so prosperous, we shall halt the anarchist tide once and for all."

Wen Jinbao pauses and gives a momentary look of shock as the energy minister mentions "clandestine actions". He turns to his secretary who is dictating the entire conference.

"Ms Wong, please remove that last comment from the script, and take the all recording devices out of the room when you leave. I want to speak my mind freely here."

As Ms Wong closes the door, Wen Jinbao leans towards the energy minister, his voice almost a whisper.

"We will support anything that ensures that the people of central Asia get a fair deal for their countries, but only if you are absolutely sure that Portmeirion intends to expand further their domain towards the other Indian states militarily and politically.

Beijing is ill-equipped to deal with a war in central asia, especially given the volatile mix of elements in central Asia. To the north we have the Russians and the Islamic Depkazians, ready to take advantage any unrest they see. We also have Shareef and potentially the Taliban and Elias to deal with. The whole situation could become a repeat of the Balkans and take years or even decades to deal with. As it stands, Hindustan may also oppose any actions we take.

Furthermore, it would absolutely destroy all Chinese credibility and leave the Treaty of Tibet in tatters if we were to engage to secret operations after we have asked Portmerion to stop operations as a gesture of goodwill."

Mr Wen asks Ms Wong to re-enter the room.

"Beijing will fully support the Combine proposal to hold fair and democratic elections in Bihar."

Mumbai

Raleigh's opinions continue to disappoint Unioners, but displeasure with the Strathairn government has lately been outweighed by displeasure over Parliament's crude and undignified communique. Serving, of course, to further illustrate the Unioners' tendancy towards indecisiveness in the finer matters of foreign policy, Parliamentarians, most of them, unsurprisingly, new ones, are quick to draft an apology for the previous correspondance's "brash and inappropriate character." While Mumbai will continue to support its Soviet allies, at least on the issue of Bihar it will do so with perhaps less anger. Australasia is, after all, an important ally in the war with France, and without Raleigh's full support operations on the west coast of Africa would be near impossible. Parliament also discusses sending a delegation to the Australasian capital with the aim of trying to convince Strathairn in a setting more comfortable to him.

That said, Parliament also begins the work of giving to the ever-helpful and supportive Soviets aid of a more tangible nature. Development work on the new SPH type proposed some time ago by the Commonwealth is given higher priority, as is INSAS integration. Food aid from the Union's fairly well-off agriculture industry is also gathered in northern Madhya Pradesh, along with a group of advisors, and offered to the Commonwealth effort. Provision is also made in Union factories for the production of extra agricultural equipment, for when Bihar's internal situation is stable enough to permit the improvement of sorely-neglected farms and irrigation works.

Of course, in response to the Combine's statement, Parliament announces with absolute authority that the Union, at least, has every right to annex a territory that is, after all, its own. Whether it is the Union or it is the Soviets who do it, the fact is, according to Mumbai, that Bihar was guaranteed to the Indian democracies upon independence from Britain. The weapons embargo on North Sienna is, of course, as tight as ever.

Muzaffarpur

All these recent developments make Gopalkrishna Patel, safe and sound (relatively) in the new capital, quite happy. With the tide of world opinion steadily turning against the Soviets, who don't seem all too eager to finish what they started, he fully expects to come out of the crisis in a better capacity than he had anticipated. Perhaps, thinks Patel, he could even build himself a worthwhile military with Chinese and Combine, and perhaps Australasian or Quinntonian, support. One that would make a second try a bloody mistake for the warlike Soviets, at least. The issue of reforms is not so amenable to the General Secretary, though, especially not this talk of not being able to stand in elections. Why, after all, should he be obliged to stand for election at all? As far as Patel is concerned, he had already won the government by succeeding Devagiri Kamchand, the BPP's last General Secretary.

Even if Patel does decide to reform his rotten administration, it is doubtful that the Biharis, with salvation at Soviet hands very close, would flock to the BPP once again, as they did when Kamchand evicted Llewellyn's governor. They've been exposed, at least in Soviet-occupied areas, to the notion that a government might very well come from the people themselves, and not just happen to represent popular interest now and again, between spells of expolitation and subversion.

Raleigh, Australasia

When he woke up, Christina was laughing. Strathairn blinked, rubbed his eyes, and realized that he'd fallen asleep at his desk, a report in one hand and a cold mug of coffee in the other. And his Foreign Minister was standing on the other side of his desk, laughing as she read a communique from Mumbai.

"I love Mumbai," she said. "They're wonderful! They get all fired up about something, and then they hold an election and the whole tone of the government changes!"

It was a nice change, Strathairn reflected, from Christina's other recent attitude. That had consisted of mostly reproachful looks, saying 'I told you so', and the like. He'd ignored it with difficulty, resisting the urge to either fire her or tell her to shut up with a great deal of what was to his mind, grace under pressure.

"Mind if I read that?" He took the paper from her, and saw that a number of Parliamentarians whose names he didn't recognize had signed a very contrite letter to him, personally. Good people, the Unioners, if schitzophrenic about some things. His pen came out in response.

The letter was fairly long, and essentially expressed relief and pleasure that the two governments were able to reach a timely resolution. It talked a bit about hopes for continued co-operation and little else. When dealing with the Unioners, Strathairn had realized, rhetoric could be a very bad idea. So he confined his note ruthlessly to the truth, and did not directly reference Bihar at all.

In the government statement later that day, Deputy Prime Minister Cobar Jangala was the man of the hour.

"And in closing," he said, "I would like to take the time to encourage Secretary Patel to submit himself to the democratic process. I would like to remind him that the just society is governed not by a single man, but by the general will. And I would like to remind him that Bihar is only as great as the poorest of her poor and the weakest of her citizens. If he does wish to see Bihar prosper, and I do not suggest that he does not, then he must accept that he alone cannot rule. He must accept that the people are posessed of the inalienable right to self-determination, and if he cannot lead them there then there exist people who can."

For the time being, the Soviets had more or less let Australasian provocations go. Time was, such a declaration as Raleigh's first would have seen COG crews independently voting to ambush Australasian shipping and do the targetted crew a swap of their vessel and its cargo for a couple of liferafts and a bottle of fresh water. But, today, the political wind blew not in that direction, and the apparent softening of Raleigh's stance even made a few in the large minority that had voted for such action hold up their hands and admit that, this time, the boring restraint had probably been the correct course of action -or inaction- in the end.

That said, Portmeirion didn't make any overt contact, and it may take observers specialising in Commonwealth affairs to appreciate that silence and inaction was less a snub than a favourable gesture of restraint that must have some reasoning behind it.

On the other hand, the lack of response to Combine efforts was silence with a different meaning. Much as Commonwealthers -Geletians especially- liked to talk, they could apparently communicate even more than one idea without moving a muscle or making a sound.

In truth, a lot of Sovietists view Armand -North Sienna in particular- through eyes still seeing after-images of the 1st Commonwealth. These visions may be less horrible than any painted by a thoroughbred capitalist or a feudalist, but they seemed in a way all the more insidious for it. Some similarities often caused pockets of ideological support for association with the Combine to spring-up in the Commonwealth and its areas of interest around the globe, but, ultimately, Sovietists were taught, in most phalansteries and all major universities, that forces such as those of the Combine were the strongest tools of anti-communism ever to exist.

They were, in the words of Graeme Igo, spoken in a guest spot at Caltech -Calcutta Institute of Technology- many months previous to current events, "Tyranny's vaccine against the mutagenic aspect of a revolutionary infection that, without such treatments as Marxist-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and the Combine Ideology, would by now have transformed the wracked body of humanity to a new and free form."

In short, Portmeirion was desperate to maintain tensions with the Armandians, to force them to press in the world every bit as hard as the Soviets did, and, in doing so, to make sure that North Sienna remained isolated and controlled as the part of a menacing society that did not contain economically vital petrochemical reserves. To get-along with the Combine would be not only to green-light their alternative route to liberation but to further rehabilitate a potential political and economic pariah on a world stage still dominated for the most part by capitalists.

Northern Bihar

Though Soviet ground forces are not moving, the Commune does become nervous about the uncertainty of the future and of for how long this limbo period may last. CAG strike fighters are, therefore, sortied occassionally, reacting to any tip-offs about possible fixes on top government and military figures as well as launching the odd Parliament missile against military positions near the Ganga. Certainly any loyal PLA-B elements south of the river are likely to encounter the infamous Springer in considerable force whenever they expose themselves.

Elsewhere, comrade General Prasutagus took a moment to confirm that, after initial operations, Soviet fatalities were in the double figures while over-all casualties had certainly passed one hundred, with causes ranging from enemy action to vehicular accidents and other incidents attributable to natural conditions and the failings of Bihari infrastructure.

Southern Bihar

Soviet ground forces were still largely static at the front. Operations against armed criminal elements continued, not without the odd casualty on the Commonwealth side, but most work was related to resupply of halted forces, and to bringing-up heavy equipment left behind by infantry who'd marched often cross country and along roads dangerous enough to have caused several further casualties in this dastardly monsoon environment.

There was a perceived danger to moral at this point, as Sovietists were not generally inclined to stop an advance while hostile forces remained in possession of their heads, and the rains, though some were basically accustomed to them, were not easy to enjoy after several days in the field, exposed to their full force. As part of an effort to prevent a further decline, alcohol was being brought forwards almost before rice, but most of the good feelings to be found were generated by the barest beginning of a regeneration effort in southern Bihar. After all, most troops were here for the revolution and for India, and were happy to see the first taking root and the second growing strong. It was enough to create some feeling of victory even as the enemy waited beyond the Ganga.

Union aid was enthusiastically accepted and escorted as quickly as possible across the region's lackluster highways and byways. The Commonwealth continued to fly in some initial compensation to farms and citizens relieved of goods during the advance of Commonwealth Army and resupply to the troops, being keen to have the Biharis actually see Unioners bringing their aid rather than having it drop from a faceless sky as with much of the Soviet help. Portmeirion very much wants these people to feel that they are, by staying in the south and daring to greet the Soviet advance, embracing an Indian community that stretches from Galle to the Ganga and from Quetta to Kolkata. A sharp contrast from Bihari isolation.

With this getting under way, and Commonwealth Militia Expert Corps of Engineers fighting to shore-up infrastructure against rain and neglect, Soviet political commissars begin an effort to gauge public opinion more exactly than was possible while fighting went on and troops passed through day by day.

The thought of calling elections in Bihar doesn't exactly appeal, given the cynical foreign understanding of electoral norms, but if a Soviet/integrationalist faction could sweep the board anyway, it might give the Commonwealth a free hand with which to build better structures. Of course, without knowing exactly what's going on in the north, any nation-wide elections could be a gamble, and the Soviet Commune considers knocking-out remaining power generation facilities in the north so as to worsen life under the dictator... but since it would take time to restore any loss of power south of the Ganga, and nobody can be sure exactly how the populace would react anyway, the idea rather goes away while engineers work on linking what there is of a power grid in southern Bihar to the Commonwealth's own, for what little good it may do in the short term.

For now, Sovietists in Bihar tried to maintain the party spirit, and the political officers began to post what looked a lot like electoral campaign propaganda without an election having been announced. The most common slogan by far, again, in this Hindi heartland invited back to the subcontinental community, Jai Hind!

Northeast Bihar

Ramachandra Bose's 29th Guards Division takes the opportunity presented by the Soviet halt to reinforce its scattered positions and to further tear-up roads and bridges in the area west of the border. Even though the division isn't being pressed presently, the arrival of the feared and hated Springer, long an enemy of the BPP's men-at-arms, prohibits a major retreat. Many armored vehicles are simply camoflauged and dug-in where they sit while crews build their own shelters a safe distance away, and infantrymen are sure to dig their slit trenches deep in spite of the rain. Some MANPADs are brought in at night, usually on foot, and are sent to protect the 29th Division's surviving T-72s, which might be of some use against the amphibious Soviet armor. But operators are cautioned to use discretion when engaging targets, as the supply of missiles is very limited and their launch signature fairly obvious to an overflying wing of Springers or another Soviet attack type.

Hidden under thick branches and in deep trenches and bunkers, the Bihari infantrymen bear the wet and miserable conditions, aware of the extreme danger inherent in advertising their presence. They are very keen to remain unseen and out of the way, at least for the time being.

Infantry formations, moving at night and on foot, begin to fill the space behind the first-class 29th division in an effort to plug the gaps in its line. With their SKS carbines and AKMs, they are very literally light infantry and therefore next to no use against armored vehicles of any kind, but if things go as planned, General Bose will certainly have enough troops under his command to cause the Soviets trouble when offensive operations are again mounted, or to secure government supremacy in the area once peace negotiations are concluded.

Southern Bihar

Feeding the many million Biharis south of the Ganga to anywhere close to a developed-world standard is doubtless a daunting task even from the Soviet point of view, but those who do recieve aid from the rest of the Subcontinent are thoroughly happy for it. Most cannot remember the last time they recieved any foreign aid; it certainly wasn't since the late-1980s, when government attempts at industrialization triggered a famine. And even then, much of it came through black market hands.

A handful of State Police and People's Militia bands, still loyal to Patel and Patna, try to mount hit-and-run attacks on Soviet columns, although when many of them are armed with century-old Martini-Henrys and also quite old Nagant revolvers, there is not a whole lot to worry about from such raids. Loyalist bands also target civilians seen as accomodating towards the Soviet occupiers with extreme brutality, but again much of this is offset by pro-Soviet militia activity. Even with Soviet control fairly well-established, violent clashes between the armed People's Militias are common and brutal, often conducted with spears and machetes when rifles are found in short supply. Such was the nature of Patel's Militia that whole Militia departments were issued only sharpened stakes and large knives for weapons, others those and the occasional oddball bolt-action rifle.

Darwin, Australia, Australasia

Four transports filled with food and other basic supplies left Darwin in the rather early morning. They found themselves availed of an escort of four corvettes and an attack destroyer, as well as another, much smaller transport ship carrying a company of Australasian Marines. Their destination was Hindustan, and cargo was intended for the Bihari people.

News of the shipment's coming was sent to Mumbai, as well as an ETA of five days. There was a request contained in the message, that the ships be informed of the closest Hindustani port to Bihar capable of offloading tonnes of supplies, and that A Company of the 3rd Marines be permitted to accompany the supplies into Bihar to prevent looting. The real reason, of course, was to combat the idea no doubt being spread by Commonwealth Army that it was only the Communists to whom the Biharis may look for assistance.

Captain Nicholas Buckley was the commander of A Company, and he was one of the rare and unfortunate marines who suffered acutely from seasickness. While the marines of most nations were for the most part a highly mobile ground force, The AMC remained a primarily shipborne assault force, and their purpose was to launch attacks from the sea without the need of an LHD or similar vessel.

And so Nick Buckley spent a fair bit of time curled pathetically over the rail of some ship or other, and the light transport Jenolan was no exception. His mission was to spread general goodwill, something that the usually smiling and cheerful captain was good at. Right now, though, he wished that it had been to kill Soviets. He always found that shooting things or people alleviated nausea.

But his pack was full of pamphlets and squirtguns and small dolls, the pamphlets for Bihari adults and the toys for the children. After an unfortunate incident with mass food poisoning in Vietnam, the AMC had stopped giving out candy.

The pamphlets were headed with the words 'Welcome to the ranks of the Free', and they talked (in fairly elegant Hindi*) about the chance that they now had to decide what their government would look like. The pamphlets detailed the Armandian proposal for elections in the region, the fact that Australasia supported 'the Bihari people's right to choose their future' and that 'approval was pending' from the Third Commonwealth.

*It IS Hindi, right? If not, pretend that it says whatever the lingua franca of Bihar is.

-Mumbai, Indian National Union-

The National Symposium follows what seems to be the current diplomatic craze in this part of the world, and zips off a letter to the Hindustani Parliament.

"With all due respect, the over half a century old Treaty that you refer to is utterly illegitimate; it was an artificial construct made by imperialist powers who had no respect for the will of the peoples that inhabit these lands. The British would have placed the peoples of the INU and the Combine under one government, which both of us surely recognize as an absolute fallacy. Additionally, if you were to truly believe in the treaty's enforcement, then your first priority should be a full scale invasion of Beth Gellert; clearly, this is an absurd notion, and thus the idea that the Treaty has any relevance is even more so."

"The Unified Combine requests that the Indian National Union no longer refer to the Treaty as legitimate, and that it respect the will of all peoples to determine their own futures. The continued use of the Treaty as justification for war represents a blank check for future aggression, and a perpetual threat to the Combine's very existance."

-Da'khiem, Beijing-

Before Ms. Wong returned, the Minister replied to Jinbao's concerns.

"Firstly, I promise you that Chinese involvement will be absolutely confidential, and will only be recquired if the Bedgellens reject the perfectly reasonable peace deal."

She paused for a moment, her reassurance serving as the calm before the rhetorical storm. Her body seemed to gather strength in this time span, as if the flames of the Combine itself had ignited within her soul, and then she unleashed it with the intensity and might that would make even God himself take pause.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/Futureworldruler/EnergyMinister.png
The Energy Minister, As Drawn By Gurgunguvnit

"Unfortunately, we have no clear evidence that the Soviets wish to expand further. However, I would urge you not to fall into the same trap as Europe's politicians did in 1939. Chamberlain first surrendered Austria to Hitler; we let the Bedgellens quietly absorb West Bengal and Jharkland. Then came the Sudetenland; for us, it was Bihar. Then the cruel Nazi armies marched into Poland, and only then did the free peoples of the world realize that they had to stand up and let the voice of freedom be heard, or otherwise be drowned in the seas of tyranny. Yet although they managed to topple the villanious Third Reich, the free nations of the world paid a terrible price for their previous appeasement. They had waited too long, and let their foe lay in wait as he gathered strength; let us not make the same mistake. Today it is Bihar, Mr. Jinbao, tomorrow it is North Sienna and China. We have no proof of future war plans, but we do have a Soviet track record that is as long and menacing as that of the Nazis, and an ideology that is hellbent on expansion."

"It is for this reason that..."

She smiled, her lips moist with anticipation. This was her moment, this was the single point in time she had worked towards during this entire conference, this was the time of reckoning.

"...the Unified Combine of Armand is at war with the People's Republic of Bihar."

-Muzaffarpur-

The Combine's unified nature tended to make it seem as if the nation itself had its own unique personality, and a key element of this personality was the Combine's sharp and biting sense of humor. So when the news of Patel's improved mood and optimistic outlook filtered through the border, the Armandians could not help but snicker. A country where everyone thought alike meant that all knew of what was to come, even if it had not been publicly disclosed...

Patel had made the key mistake of overestimating the Combine's goodwill; they had never given him more than tacit approval, and even then it was under the condition that he approve several key reforms. The distasteful nature of his regime, and the unwillingness of others to respond quickly to the peacekeeping proposal convinced Armand's military and civilian leadership (both composed of duly elected, conformist mouthpieces of the people) to approve Operation: Bihari Freedom...

____________________________________________________________

The night air was thick and humid, fraught with the moisture of the monsoon season and the fear of a nation at war, the life giving energy of nature’s rain and the death dealing thoughts of man. The city was caught between peace and war, life and death, hanging precariously in the balance of those two almighty forces. An eerie calm that was neither peace nor war had descended upon Muzaffarpur after the Soviets halted their march, and held Patel’s remaining domain, from the ramshackle huts of the proletariat to the glorious palace of the Secretary General, in a fragile bubble, just barely safe from the torrential storms that raged around it.

The quiet ping of a silenced sniper shot pricked the bubble, and the rains of revolution flooded into Muzaffarpur with an avenging fury.

The shot had come from the hands of a Combine sniper, who viewed the corpse of one of Patel’s guards through his sniper lens. An Armandian sniper team had silently dispatched the guards patrolling the outer part of the Secretary General’s compound while another commando team had cut the power lines, disabling Patel’s alarm and security systems. With all visible outer layers of security dispatched, the black clad men rappelled across the Secretary’s thick walls, landing within the well groomed gardens. They glided across the grassy fields like phantoms, and quietly dispatched the few guards their snipers had missed.

The disabling of the power grid, along with the murder of the outer palace guards had triggered a massive alert, and streams of guards had begun pouring out of the main gate. These elite guards ran smack dab in front of two automated heavy machine gun turrets, however, and were torn to bloody shreds as they rushed out. The mob flew into a panic, quickly jamming the entrance and turning what was a minor ambush into a full blown bloodbath. One of the more intelligent guards finally managed to shatter the turrets with a few well timed grenades, but the damage was done. The red of Communist regalia and human blood caked the front entrance, and a stack of bodies lay as a bitter testament to Armandian technological know how.

The remaining guards began to call upon reinforcements, only to hear a horrific, crackling silence. The reason for this silence was explained by its exact opposite: the thick, deafening crack of gunfire. Much to their horror, the Bihari guards found their entire compound surrounded by the tanks, APCs, and footsoldiers of the People’s Liberation Army of Bihar. The Combine commandos, who consisted of the 200 or so “diplomats” Patel had invited to set up in Muzaffarpur, had bribed and recruited as many officers in Patel’s army as they could, and then armed them, and themselves, with the arms shipments Patel had himself requested. The Bihari forces outside made sure that no one could escape, while the Armandian commandos smashed through the remaining forces guarding the main entrance and raced into the grand manor itself. They waged an intense firefight within its vast expanses, racing through hallways and chambers with cold blooded efficiency. They pushed back the few remaining defenders, until a team of ten burst through into the chamber directly in front of the Chairman’s personal quarters. The room was, unlike the more lavishly decorated ones that abounded in much of the manor, unadorned, and instead focused entirely on the purpose of defense. A thick steel door barred the entrance into Patel’s room, two automated sentry guns hung from the roof, and several men carrying heavy guns, both in muscle and mechanical form, ducked behind thick metal barricades. While Patel could have just flooded the room with poison gas and killed the initial commando force, it would have been quickly swept away, buying him only a few precious minutes. When preparing for such a nightmare scenario, he had realized his only hope would be to buy as much time as possible for his reinforcements to arrive, and thus had opted for this elaborate defensive set up. Thus the Armandian commandos had walked directly into a nightmarish trap, and the two who walked in first were summarily torn apart by a hail of gunfire. The others quickly pulled back out of the door, barely escaping with their lives.

A choice lay before the long since grenade-less Armandians: wait for their comrades, who had not yet spent their grenades, to arrive, thus making the assault easier but giving Patel more time, perhaps enough to gather reinforcements or escape, or attempt an almost suicidal strike immediately?

The Armandians looked at each other, nodded, and mouthed silently, For the Combine!

A hail of smoke grenades descended into the fortress like room, exploding simultaneously and engulfing it in thick plumes of smoke. The soldiers, and more importantly, the operators of the remote controlled turrets, were stunned, which gave two Combine soldiers the precious seconds they needed to rush into the room. The Biharis quickly recovered and began to fire wildly into the brown mass, but they failed to do more than graze the two Armandians as they leapt into the air. The two commandos whipped out small, electrically charged blades in perfect unison, and jammed them into circuitry of the turrets, pouring electric currents through the devices and rendering them useless. The loud crack and snap of the turret wires drew the Bihari gunfire towards the ceiling, just as the Armandian commandos swiftly descended to the ground. Before their feet even touched the ground, their comrades swarmed into the room, guns blazing. Their thermal vision goggles were certainly useful in spotting the blinded Bihari guards and knocking them off efficiently, although even this technical wizardry could not prevent the bloody death of three more of the Combine’s fanatical soldiers. Even the cold hearted soldiers of the Combine felt a tug on their heartstrings as they saw their brothers in arms crumble to their deaths, the last sparks of life twinkling in their eyes for a few brief moments before being forever extinguished. This only galvanized the Armandian resolve, and the black clad warriors unleashed a renewed fury upon their foes. Bullets, blood, and smoke all intermingled in the chaotic mess that was that room, and somehow throughout the madness the forces of the Combine managed to maintain a perfect synchronicity, their movements resembling a well choreographed dance as much as a gunfight. Three Biharis remained, clearly diminished but still a formidable foe, as the Armandian in the center whipped out his pistol. With exactly three shots, he blasted open the skulls of the three remaining enemy soldiers, one by one, executioner style.

The smoke cleared, and the five Armandians sighed with a mix of relief and exhaustion. Turret scrap sizzled, wounded men moaned, blood trickled, and bullet shells lay upon the ground, all a testament to the savage fury of the battle that had just raged within those four walls. The sudden peace and calm that ensued seemed to be as if in tribute to those who had spent their blood, sweat, and souls in fierce combat mere moments before. But the feeling passed as quickly as it came, and the world tumbled back into the fires of war as the Armandians unleashed their own flames upon the steel door that protected Patel. After what seemed like hours but was really minutes, the massive door gave way and tumbled outwards, smashing into the floor with a tremendous thud. Inside, the Secretary General cowered, shakily holding a pistol as the blood stained and weary Combine forces marched into the room, weapons aimed.

“You are hereby under arrest in the name of the Unified Combine of Armandian Cheese and the People’s Republic of Bihar for the crimes against humanity.”

[OOC: I’ll post a full invasion along with this tomorrow, but now it’s time to call it a night.]

Remote from the petrochemical riches of the west, under long-term military embargo by the Indian powers and with all commerce through the Soviet sector always tightly controlled, North Sienna was considered by the Soviet Commune to be the larger but weaker part of the distrusted Combine. Soviet propaganda so far in Bihar, which presented even Australasian aid as international and part of the new world of relations opening-up to Bihar through the possibility of Commonwealth, used the Armandians more as a contrast than further proof, lumping the conformist blob in with the vision of the powerful elite in Bihar.

Evidently, the possibility of Combine intervention was not one that Portmeirion relished, and might even be related to the Soviets' halt as induced by Chinese diplomacy. While the Soviets worked to build upon what they'd gained, a resumption of hostilities by the neighbouring Combine would be in contrast to Commonwealth reason and co-operation. That said, territory south of the Ganga was considered to be in Soviet control, and an attack there, coming up against Soviet forces, would probably mean the end of North Sienna, and was thought a remote possibility at best... or worst. To the north, well, there was a good reason why tact had been required, and why the Soviets hadn't just flown through Bihar without stopping. North of the Ganga in monsoon season, one better be certain that he isn't going to face any significant opposition if he is keen to avoid a future in which his nation's war movies look back on a heroic blunder.

Still, disturbances in the makeshift capital drew substantial Soviet interest as MaL Morrigan UAVs loitered far overhead -if some way below the increasingly world-class PCC's satellites- and reported interesting findings to the Commune. Prasutagus ordered Springer strike planes and an array of helicopter and transport-planes on alert, uncertain whether an uprising was already happening and potentially in need of support, or something more sinister requiring a swift air strike of substantial scale... other intelligence assets were deeply interested in peering across the Sienna-Bihar frontier for signs of movement or preparation.

The Soviet intranet posted findings for Sovietists to regard, enabling them to lodge protests or strategic referenda if desired, and kept them up to date on the actions of the general-elect.

The main frustration, for all of its merits, continued to be the weather's part in making reconnaissance more than usually difficult, and GSIC teams -without reference on the intranet- ranged about in ridiculously high-risk attempts to gain human intelligence north of the mighty river and even in Muzaffarpur itself.


(OOC: How do you like that? I'm on my way out the door, not to return until the middle of the weekend, and it lets me log-in with my original screen-name, at last! Must dash, sorry for the rushed post.)

[OOC: Alright, quick post before I'm off to meet my beloved. North Sienna is not underdeveloped in any way, shape, or form. I don't see how you came to this conclusion.

1. We follow a system that is essentially the same as the Bedgellens, albeit more coordinated for purposes of efficiency.

2. We're largely self reliant, and what we can't get in our own nation we trade from the Chinese.

3. We only have an arms embargo between us and the INU, so normal trade has flowed throughout India without that much of a hurdle.

4. The petrochemical reserves are an added benefit, and not the source of our economic prosperity. They push the east from US levels of GDP per capita to, say, Norway levels.

Is this why we fight?
New photographs cast doubt on Bihar conflict

Headlines in no less than eighty-seven media outlets in the Commonwealth -from nation-wide television to major news-bloggs and local newspapers- referenced horrific scenes coming out of occupied Bihar.

A nationalist militia had attacked a pro-Soviet village a few miles northeast of Aurangabad in an operation that coincided with the visit of a small detachment of Soviet political commissars. Armed with spears, machettes, and apparently two archaic black-powder rifles, the, "Patelist militia" attacked two villagers by a small local river, mortally wounding one and hospitalising the other, before advancing on the village.

Believed to number between eight and twelve fighters, the militia left five of its number dead after the intevention of three Sovietists, all of whom forsook their 9.3mm DAG automatic pistols for bladed weapons and, apparently, laid the militia to ruin.

The reproduced pictures show five headless bodies, and villagers -including children- looking on as the Commonwealthers make trophies of the heads, one photo, to become infamous, showing a Sovietists kicking a disembodied head towards the outstretched arms of his comrade.

Of course, to the typical Commonwealther, this is shocking on a much less drastic scale than to many an outsider, as heads have been taken in victory for thousands of years as the Geletians progressed from Central Europe to Southern India, but some still worry about the direction of a liberation effort in which it is necessary, or about the failure of propaganda and aid efforts that have made it necessary.

Southern Bihar

Comrade Graeme Igo appeared in the state, this week. He announced that a referendum was to be held.

People would turn-up to voting stations, now being established, with their pre-war papers, and make their mark. The referenda was single issue: Do you wish Bihar to remain under the Patel administration, or to join the Commonwealth at State level? It was a tick-one affair, Patel vs. Commonwealth, and polling stations were opening already, everywhere that the Soviet armies halted. INU volunteers were hurridly prodded into service as observers, and Mumbai was petitioned for more volunteers to help in vote-counting. Bangladeshi officials and citizens-group representatives, too, were brought in to over-see the affair, and even a couple of Combine volunteers would be accepted, if the Armandians even knew how to volunteer as individuals.


(OOC: Sorry about that, but I thought, we're all the same species... and I'd recently read about US soldiers playing football with the severed heads of murdered Iraqis, as witnessed by a fellow soldier, and thought I'd present a Soviet take on atrocity.

As to North Sienna, well, it borders the INU, ISC, and PRC, really, in terms of nations with access to the outside world. The INU and ISC embargo arms, and the PRC is hesitant even to let Depkazia have back its own weapons, so I can't imagine that, until verrry recently, it was keen to see the communist Armandians armed. And government's don't embargo those they like, so economic life for North Sienna has generally been made difficult by its neighbours. Re US/Norway levels of wealth... gosh... without exploiting anybody? I wish that the Commonwealth knew how to do that! We'd have twenty fleet-carriers instead of one, then!)

Mumbai

Complaints coming out of the Combine over Parliament's interpretation of Mountbatten's partition treaty don't initially bother many Unioners, who "won't have the sectionalists dictate how the Union is to be run." They do, after all, still consider much of the Indian Subcontinent rightfully theirs, even if Mumbai hasn't exerted authority in the places in question in almost sixty years. As has been the case more and more often, though, a majority of Unioners are unwilling to press the issue when the validity of their argument is in fact questionable. So Parliament writes an apologetic communique to Constance, promising to take greater care in the interpretation of the treaty's provisions and reaffirming Mumbai's acceptance of North Sienna's independent status.

At the same time, Unioners in Parliament begin to debate the sudden and unexpected Armandian declaration of war against Gopalkrishna Patel's government. Such action cannot be held in entirely a bad light, since even the Combiners would do a better job than the BPP, but at the same time it is not mistaken as anything besides an attempt to undermine the much more agreeable Soviet efforts. And despite the recent establishment of diplomatic relations, most Unioners still don't trust the Combine's motives and doubt Constance's ability to act in good faith. The Combiners had said they wanted to work with, and not against the Soviets, but Constance's first priority in India seems to be the accumulation of influence amongst states that might feel threatened by the ISC and the INU.

But, as is the case with the partition treaty, Unioners are unwilling to cause all that much trouble over the Combine's efforts to play proxy in Bihar. There is, after all, a rather major war on, and for a nation with limited means like the Indian National Union, even a relatively small and distant contribution requires much attention. Shipments of civilian goods bound for North Sienna are checked more thoroughly for weaponry, and irregulars can be seen repairing some of the worst border fencing, but beyond that things continue much as they have for the past decade on the Union-Combine border.

Muzaffarpur

The Armandian Commandos find Gopalkrishna Patel at his electric typewriter, in fact at that moment in the process of writing another letter to the authorities in North Sienna. Like usual, he is wearing the same Nagant M1895 revolver that saw him through the worst of the guerilla war against Llewellyn, but does not take it out. He knows better than to provoke itchy trigger fingers. With his hands up, the secretary general rises and waits to be hauled out of the room. Patel is indeed surprised, although not necessarily shocked or frightened. For whatever low esteem the Armandians might hold him in, Patel is no bureaucrat, and years spent in the forests as a guerilla had no doubt left their mark. There would be no wimpering, no begging for mercy, no want of dignity that a propaganda apparatus could exploit.

Outside the city library, the reserve seat of government, Bihari bodies litter the ground. Revolutionary Guardsmen, who would perhaps have been able to fight the commandos on more equal terms, had long since abandoned Patel for the defense minister, presently holed-up in the city telephone exchange. With such a terrible gap in equipment and training, the result isn't a surprise to anybody, and the remaining Bihari troops nearby, those who were loyal to Patel, waste no time in surrendering to the Combiners and their BPLA allies.

Immediately after the operation, the Bihari troops that the commandos had recruited begin to express doubts about their future. Perhaps as many as ten thousand Bihari regulars had come over to the Combine side when their commanders accepted bribes many times the size of their salaries, and those ten thousand can largely boast better equipment than the whole of the remaining BPLA. But that does not change the fact that around Muzaffarpur alone there are some 50,000 regulars whose officers haven't been bought-off yet, plus the 700-some Revolutionary Guardsmen protecting the defense minister. There is much concern amongst those ten thousand who cooperated in Patel's capture, and who now find themselves effectively surrounded by a potentially hostile force five times their number locally. In order to keep their loyalty, the commandos are called-upon to increase salaries and to bring reinforcements as soon as possible.

At the telephone exchange is perhaps the most immediate threat to the Armandian operation. The defense minister and Patel never quite got along, that much is sure, but, with the general secretary's removal, and the capture of most of his cabinet, Prakash Jawal is now the de facto head of state of Bihar. Almost seven hundred Revolutionary Guardsmen, loyal to the defense commisariat rather than the General Secretary's office, are in position outside the exchange itself and in surrounding buildings, and cover the approaches with a wide variety of weapons and equipment including 84mm Carl Gustav recoilless rifles and GKM Simba APCs. Certainly not an insurmountable obstacle to the Armandians, but an obstacle none the less.

Upheaval in Muzaffarpur certainly falls on the attention of GSIC, but, for now, there is still a little disagreement over exactly what is happening, and certainly important detail holes.

Clearly, there is some manner of leadership struggle, says the staff of General Prasutagus, and we should be bombing somebody.

On the south bank of the Ganga, near Patna, during a lull in the rains, one vanguard unit of Commonwealth Army actually brought up a loud hailer and, in a somewhat bizarre scene, a little Bengali man stepped out from a crowd of huge Celts and began to shout in heavily accented Magahi and marginally more clear Hindi. "Hello, on the north bank! Hello, Biharis! ...What's going on?" He cried. "What's all this business in Muzaffarpur?"

Probably not a good way to gain reliable intelligence, but that didn't stop him trying. Perhaps somebody agreeable would even want help and ask for it. Perhaps.

In the south, progress continued towards referenda, with the Soviets -having occupied most of the state, after all- hoping ultimately to secure Bihar by state-wide democratic means.

The Australasian government makes uncertain noises about the whole affair, and sends some more leaflets north. Said leaflets pretty much suggest that the people 'enjoy their newfound freedom', 'commit to democracy' and otherwise have a nice life. They also mark the end of major government actions in the area, leaving the rest to the company of marines sent to Bihar.

[OOC: Sorry to not have replied earlier... events here were hovering at the back of my mind, but somehow I never managed to remember to post :(
Events have progressed past the point of Spyran speeches at the teleconference, but they wouldn't have revealed much other than Spyr's displeasure at invasion of Bihar, and unwillingness to send in troops against the Geletians while the possibility of a northern war still looms].

Sithin remained relatively silent as the Commonwealth, and then the Combine, moved into Bihar... what could be said, in truth, that would make a difference. Three nations at war with each other, all three filled with revolutionary spirit, while crowns still stood unbroken. It was foolish, it was nonsense, but one had to admit that they could not help themselves. They were, after all, peoples from a humid land on the peripheries of civilization. Still, could they not have at least waited until the proper time?

For all their criticisms of inter-revolutionary conflict, however, the Strainists seem as willing as any to exploit it. Quietly, diplomats and advisors meet with Maoist officials in Kanendru (Nepal), NPA officers in the Philippines, hardliners amongst the communist Viet... they are reminded of their own revolutionary ideals, for which they fought and continue to fight, and asked "Today, Bihar... but how soon before the Commonwealth deems the principles for which you sacrificed so much to count for naught, before Geletians come with axe and sword to play a game of football with YOUR head, replacing that for which you stand with their own ways?" Caution is urged, with warnings against reliance upon the fickle Commonwealth ("look to the Drapoel, abandoned to the wolves on the eve of Korean re-unification!").

For some reminders are made of the difference in scale between aid from the subcontinent and from the Strainists ("Yes, comrade, we are pleased that our recent campaign has put a rifle in the hands of every revolutionary fighter... a neccessity that has been too long in coming..."), for others Sithin's generosity is made more personal ("An official of your stature must appreciate the great utility of a digital assistant, Tuong... you have not? Well, then, you MUST allow me to present you with this one...")

[OOC: Spyr, it'd be much preferred if such propaganda spoke of the Sphere's ideology rather than Strainism. We need to provide a unified front, after all.

LRR, this post isn't complete, I still need to deal with the capital, which I will do shortly. Additionally, I take a few liberties in my post, so if you think anything is out of line, please tell me so and I will change it.]

IC:

The sun rose slowly over the monsoon streaked plains of Bihar, dribbling out bits and pieces of orange light. The muddy slopes of Bihar’s north were illuminated by the dawn’s early light, and revealed the craters, bodies, and scrap that had long marked the troubled Stalinist state. These scars were fresh, however; they were the first signs of the Armandian invasion that had torn across the border the night before.

In the largest single deployment of Armandian troops since the Elian war, over 100,000 Armandian troops cut through Bihar’s borders in the middle of the night. The war had started with the coup in the capital, and was immediately followed up by an assault on Bihar’s anti-air forces. Spyrian-Combine cooperation on upgrading the Su-27 resulted in the deployment of over 100 CS-1“Revolution” fighters, who rained precision strikes upon all known Bihari military airfields and anti-air deployments. The Combine had long kept an eye on its belligerent neighbor, and the corrupt state of Bihar was a natural breeding ground for intelligence agents. These, combined with satellite imagery and reconnaissance flights, had resulted in quite an accurate picture of Bihar’s military outlays, and its anti-air installations in particular. This allowed the Combine to execute its attacks with extreme precision, which would hopefully minimize civilian casualties. Additionally, the Combine had placed many of Bihar’s generals on its payroll before the war had even broken out, and now hoped for them to deliver on its investment.

Those generals that surrendered were treated generously; those who did not…well, it’s really too bad that as Communists they had no faith in an afterlife. Those generals who were too foolish to pick the right side faced an overwhelming barrage of airpower upon their command headquarters, followed by artillery bombardment, and then a final armored thrust. Bihari forces that resisted would soon face the wrath of the cutting edge of mechanized forces; the gleaming AC-1 Lucy Tank, which was perhaps the most modern tank in the world, received its first battle test as it rolled across the fields of Bihar alongside the equally modern CYU APCs and BI 4x4 vehicles. Close air support from Louie Assault Helicopters and Revolution fighters would ensure that this first true battle test of so many of the Combine’s armored vehicles would be a successful one. Yet these deadly measures were used as sparingly as possible.

The Combine realized that it had to tread very carefully in Bihar, lest they push the nation straight into Commonwealth hands. Thus its hearts-and-minds efforts were not limited to mere safeguards against civilian casualties; a massive propaganda effort was undertaken as well. Taking a page from the Soviet playbook, they too adopted a bit of a festive atmosphere in their assault, although it was far different than the rambunctious, drunken parties of the Bedgellens. Armandian forces would were eager to induce enemy forces to simply surrender, promising them freedom, democracy, and an independent Bihar. Behind Armandian lines were hundreds of small festivals, heralding back to the very early days of the Combine ideology. These festivals revealed a rather unknown aspect of Armandian culture, one that was not often seen behind the cold steel of skyscrapers and modern gleam of oil rigs. Dense clouds of hallucinogenic smoke wafted up into the air, mingling with the tremendous roar of revolutionary songs (sung in unison of course, but more in the style of a rowdy choir than an automatic droning). Alcohol was dragged in tremendous barrels, and soon caused the largest conga line in world history to form. The Armandians certainly knew how to party, although their style relied less on the individual antics of a Bedgellen block party and more on the communal sentiments of an ancient ritual mixed in with a warm campfire. The focus was mainly on convincing the Biharis that the Armandians meant no harm, but perhaps the festivals could begin to suck them into the Combine mindset as well…

For those Biharis unimpressed with these festivities, the Combine had more concrete measures in tow. The much beleaguered irrigation system would finally be overhauled, once it could be secured, and agriculture would be reorganized along efficient Combine lines. Armandian police officers* are trucked in to overhaul the Bihari police force, energy officials to repair the power grid, construction workers to repair infrastructure, and an overall effort is made to fix up a state the Combine had for long, to its great regret, ignored.

(*Armand proper has little need for police officers, but they are heavily desired in Armandian dependencies like Afghanistan)

The last step in the propaganda war was more aggressive; airplanes parachuted commando units into various state media outlets, who would then attempt to seize the building. After the successful seizure, aircraft would patrol the airspace around the city, defending the hubs while more and more troops were airlifted in. Along with the troops, Armandian journalists would also be shipped in, and Bihari state media soon became “Bihari Freedom Television”. While the bias was clearly in favor of the liberating force, the outlet wasn’t a mere propaganda outlet, and reported an honest account of the facts.

It’s first report described the Combine effort as “the spearhead of an international peacekeeping force, in absolute cooperation with the Commonwealth”. The Combine had essentially stuck the Igovians in a tricky position by forcing themselves in as allies, rather than the enemies the Bedgellens had expected, and, most likely, desired. The Armandians had, surprisingly, not issued any complaints against the blatantly unfair Bedgellen election ballots, and instead has quietly sent feelers to Portmeiron about possible negotiations.

Northwest Bihar

Due to Gopalkrishna Patel's mistaken perception of the Combiners as his allies, the Combine army faces negligible resistance in its drive north of the Ganga. State Police border patrols, as was the case with the Soviets, offer limited opposition, firing one or two rounds at forces crossing the border fences before surrendering themselves. The national defense militias, theoretically enrolling as many as two hundred thousand along the Combine border alone, prove once again totally unwilling to fight for Patel's survival, and weapons are surrendered by communities en masse to the advancing forces. Troops from North Sienna will find suitable souveniers from the campaign easy to come by, as cartloads of rare weapons are handed-over, from Elian-made Hakim semi-automatic rifles to barely-operable Martini-Henrys. Perhaps to the surprise of the Combiners, would-be militiamen also surrender spears and machetes, weapons which had been used in southern Bihar by BPP loyalists. A few militia and State Police units set-up ambushes and attempt to shoot dead some Combiners, although the outcome of most of these is predictable. As predictable, at least, as any battle between poorly-trained policemen with bolt-action rifles and an armored, mechanized opponent.

The Combine fighters will find their job pleasantly easy. Soviet airstrikes had knocked-out most operable S-75 batteries to begin with, leaving a handful of isolated launchers and decoys intact. Those are long abandoned by their would-be operators, confident in their inability to seriously challenge modern combat aircraft with their outdated and poorly-maintained equipment. All the BPLAAF's flightworthy interceptors had been expended in a futile engagement of six CAG Golkondas, and the sizable fleet of COIN aircraft don't leave the ground, their pilots unwilling to sacrifice themselves in the face of such overwhelming odds. In fact, 20 of the Combine's Su-27 derivatives would probably have done just as good a job as a hundred of them.

With most of the BPLA's 400,000 or so regular soldiers deployed against the Soviet's advance in the eastern part of Northern Bihar, Combiners won't encounter any major opposition until they approach Muzaffarpur. Even there, where the Biharis count amongst their forces a few batteries of M-30 field guns and several tank units, there are no commanders that can't be bribed or threatened into cooperation with the Armandians, especially now that Patel has clearly been deposed. Defense Minister Jawal, after all, commands nobody's loyalty besides the Revolutionary Guard, who are paid and housed out of his pocket. If the Combiners press their attack roughly past 86 degrees east longitude, they will doubtless encounter stiffer resistance, conducted by troops loyal to the capable and charismatic Ramachandra Bose. Again, though, if Bose himself is convinced that his position is untenable, he could be brought under Constance's sway as well.

Those brought in to survey the plight of Bihar's civillian population might be surprised by the place's condition. Public utilities had once existed, and exploration of the government archives in Patna will reveal some rather impressive agricultural plans. All of that was, though, abandoned as soon as foreign aid money dried up, and most of Bihar remains without electricity, running water, and telephone access and has been so since the early 1990s. Efforts at taking Bihar's very few media centers are therefore somewhat redundant, most people being without a television, and many illiterate to boot. Combiners would have to be careful with their distribution of alcohol, it being anathema to many Biharis, but otherwise any merrymaking is sure to attract Biharis, who haven't had much enjoyment since the 1980s.

Begusarai, on the Ganga

Soviet calls for information are, in fact, answered. A deeply confused Bihari major, the man in command of the town of Begusarai, flashes a message back across the river in morse code, telling the Soviets that he has no idea what is going on, besides that Patel has been deposed and the Combiners have crossed the western border. He goes on, most surprisingly, to invite the Soviets to cross. A small ferry soon comes puttering across the river under a white flag, with a BPLA captain aboard. The Major, no fan of Patel, and now fearing his state's assimilation into the Armandian Combine, would have Soviet troops cross at Begusarai and secure as much of the country as possible, hopefully picking-up agreeable BPLA commanders and their forces on the way.

Soviet forces are quick to cross the mighty barrier, and the Major responsible for the peace in which this happens -Prasutagus was about ready to launch a full-scale assault, most of his men, being Celts from the far south, totally unafraid of death- is embraced by a Soviet Colonel on the first boat across. The Colonel turns out to be a small Sinhalese man who, none the less, puts his arms around the Major and lifts him a few inches off his feet, for a moment.

Other Sovietists crossing over are similarly friendly, sharing-out rations they've built-up while waiting on the south bank, paused since more or less China suggested it.

Before long, CICV-4 and CAPC-1 vehicles are crossing, viewing the river as no serious barrier so long as they have somewhere to land on the other side. The Sovietists aren't unhappy about showing-off technology more advanced than Armandian equivalents. These vehicles, and the horses that the Soviets also bring, less worried about failing roads and carrying nose-bags and saddle-packs, advance immediately...north, towards Darbhanga. Having already secured the south of the country, Soviet forces are keen to draw a line across Armandian advance, even if it may mean surrendering Muzaffarpur. Before long, the Soviet intranet is urging the eastern force to advance, and Bihari units in Araria, Madhepura, Supaul, et cetera are to be cut-off in the west and pressed in the east. Hopefully.

In the south, polling stations are by now being identified and prepared for duty.

Movement is slow, but if resistance remains fractured and unwilling, it won't much matter... will it?

The carnyx blast and visual and audial displays of the Geletians take on extra importance as the Soviets seek to induce quicker surrender than those given to the Combine. Pictures of Combine actions in Afghanistan are also allowed to seep into the populace, but are not aggressively pushed by the Commonwealth.

Bihar

"Comrades, consider, as the plebescites approach, the realities of your situation and that of proud Bihar!"

Graeme Igo addresses a vast crowd in Patna and many more crowds across the country, urged to assemble before recently erected public video screens.

"The autocrats are gone. The greedy employers are gone. All that remains in all of Soviet-occupied Bihar is the peasantry and the workers, equal in voice, equal in prestiege, equal in wealth.

"You vote, then, essentially not upon self-interest and in pursuit of what you individually desire but upon the majority view, in which, given this equality, we can observe the general will, for you all stand in the same shoes with the same needs. It is a rare thing indeed, and a sort of ideal situation in which Soviet philosophers and political theorists have great professional interest!

"For the first time in modern history a population wholly desires the same things, the vote merely tells society and the government that you choose to build exactly what those things are.

"I hardly can wait to see you, comrades, fill the temporary senates to declare an individual and societal will either to follow Patel or empower you own Soviets! Jai Hind!"

Prasutagus continues to advance wherever possible, waving his Bihari Major around like a standard to be followed whenever PLA forces are encountered. Resistance always leads to airstrikes and swift Geletian charges under the red flag and the carnyx blast, of course, scaring the opposition into surrender or alliance being the main thrust of operations. Large Bihari forces in the northeast are supposed to be cut-off rather than engaged by the Soviets coming across the Ganga, and are in theory occupied by the secondary Soviet advance from the east with much less haste and brute-force than with the Prasutagus advance.

Raipur wants to not only block the advance of Combine forces much east of Muzaffarpur but essentially to protect the Bihari PLA against the Armandian offensive. The Soviets want to embrace Biharis as comrade Indians, integrate them and their forces with the Commonwealth, and, in fact, reconcile with Constance (which will be much harder if the Biharis have just suffered a beating by the Combine).

In much of the nation, the Soviets already are establishing temporary facilities in which Soviets may be organised, and treating the whole country like the struggle is already over, even if it means some activists risking capture.

Raipur

Sure that Biharis will vote for Commonwealth status rather than the Patelist alternative offered in the Soviet-staged ballot promised for, 'soon', and that many will turn-out due to novelty, curiosity, passion, a lack of anything else to do since the government fled north, Raipur hopes to convince Constance to reach an agreement.

The ballot is being established by the Bihari Temporary Soviet Council, which acts with the authority of everyone it can reach, officially, though at this time its final chamber is clearly influenced by the Commonwealth's supervision. The vote, then, is officially state-wide, inclusive of the northwestern fraction under Armandian occupation and the other northern areas that have not even surrendered as yet, and Commonwealthers and pro-Soviet Biharis will attempt to establish voting stations in those corners of the nation. Importantly, the vote, if it tacitly approves Commonwealth accession by choosing Soviets over the old ruling party, is to make all Bihar officially a Soviet State regardless of Combine ambition, making any Armandian presence an occupation of the Indian Soviet Commonwealth.

Portmeirion wants Armand to withdraw from the minority part of Bihar that its forces occupy... and to do so with full Soviet recognition as contributors to the Bihari liberation and as such true members of the Indian community of nations. That is to say, for the price of northwestern Bihar the Combine may buy the removal of major Soviet forces from its North Siennan borders and open Commonwealth ports, roads, railways, and airspace to commercial traffic to and from the large but isolated enclave, and that it may expect Commonwealth custom for its national produce and Soviet backing in confrontations with the rising Caliphate, which is itself now looking to secure League support against communism, possibly in Afghanistan.

Comrade Chivo, visiting the Combine, appeals for the Armandians to see the Igovian vision -it isn't really one he's been enthused about himself but it fits the mass line at this time- of a world properly divided into Soviet-individualist, Hindustani-liberal, Combine-conformist, Chinese-moderate, Strainist, and Anarchist spheres, and a world in which all opposition to the revolution will be as flies on an elephant. Chivo is empowered to ask if more agreements could be made in relation to Bihar being left to the Commonwealth, and notes that reconcilliation with the Soviets will also make life easier in relating with the INU and other nations, since Raipur will no longer try to influence their governments against Constance.

A fist added to the star, comrade Chivo was now twice Hero of the Revolution, once for landslide election to the now-defunct post of Commonwealth Chief Consul, and now for ending the ancient cold-war between the Beddgelens and the Armandians.

Yes, North Sienna's borders with the Commonwealth were opening and Guardsmen and women were crossing over with their INSAS rifles slung over their shoulders and their hands outstretched. Welcome, comrades! Long live the world revolution! Jai Hind! Welcome to India!

Chivo returned home aboard a diplomatic Preston aircraft and, before the news cameras, poured a can of refined Armandian fuel into the tank of an MT-4 Hathi of the 4th Garhwa Regiment of Tank, which promptly turned its engine over and then turned on its axis and began to roll away from the Combine border, red flag flying.

"There is more where that came from!" Said the two-time hero now restored to grace.

In Bihar, Soviet airborne forces begin to enter Muzaffarpur to take control from their new allies, and fresh calls are made for the honourable surrender of the People's Liberation Army. Vote for Commonwealth! The cry goes out.

Northern Bihar

Patel's PLA-B never much relied on central command-and-control, or motorization for that matter, being always short on money and with strong guerrilla roots. Soviets might be surprised at what little they have in the way of high-value targets to bombard, or by the seeming apathy of the PLA with regards to its loss of Bihar's only armored formations. Certainly if Bihar's 350,000 or so regular soldiers remaining in the field choose to, they might expect to frustrate Soviet efforts in the nation for some years, just as they did with the forces of the Principality. Most Bihari soldiers are, however, quite content not to do anything at the moment. Despite the lack of reliance on central control there is still much confusion in the wake of Constance's seizure of Patel and his entire cabinet in Muzaffarpur. No orders, no broad strategic instructions, are forthcoming from the besieged office of the Defense Commissar, while increasing numbers of battalion and regimental commanders switch sides with the bulk of their units. Indeed, the option of joining forces with the Soviets and Armandians is looking ever more attractive as the much-anticipated referendum on independence comes closer, and the confused, indecisive divisional commanders do nothing to stop the wave of defections. Thousands of BPLA men emerge from their forest positions waving red banners, more ready to join forces with the Soviets than be killed by them.

In some sectors fighting breaks out between militia groups formed of one-time BPLA units, the breakdown in central authority giving rise to dreams of local independence on the part of governors and colonels. Patel-influenced Maoists and old-guard Bihari veterans largely remain in the forests and the rural areas too, sniping and ambushing and generally preparing for a prolonged underground struggle against the imposition of the Soviet system on Bihar. Hindu nationalists make a showing as well, and try their best to instill fear into populations that seem ready to embrace Sovietism. Machete-wielding raiders often descend upon villages and political activists in the middle of the night, intent on doing their worst.

Low-level street fighting continues in Patna, abandoned by the government early on, between a hodgepodge of left communist groups and a strange militia calling for the restoration of the Maurya Empire. At barricades a bearded mystic can often be seen, and when pressed for information he will readily announce his supposed descent from Ashoka himself. State Policemen, equipped with their ubiquitous Rasheed carbines, do their best to keep order while the Soviets and any BPLA allies they pick up move into the capital.

Bihari civilians, easily some of the worst-off on the whole subcontinent, are widely supportive of accession to the ISC. It is not, after all, due so much to culture that Bihar is independent as it is due to political arrangement. Bihar is no Afghanistan. Soviet promises of agricultural development attract much enthusiasm themselves, never mind local democracy and self-governance. Though the current generation is largely illiterate and utterly uneducated, given Bihar's uninterrupted poverty from 1950 until the present, living Biharis remember the Congress Party, and retain very old pan-Indian sympathies. Most people brought up knowing only Llewellyn's repression and Patel's corruption are extremely ready for Soviet democracy. Of course, there exists a significant minority that is not at all interested, as much a symptom of Bihar's poverty as anything else. Hindu nationalism gained a following in light of what many perceived as a failure of communism under Patel, and now significant numbers of BJP-influenced militants stand violently opposed to any kind of secular, communist society. Like the Rajputs in Rajasthan, they seek the return of native kings and dynasties.