NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: For OOC reasons, Vontanas will have to be abandoned. Never fear, I have a replacement already set up, Vanteland. To explain the transition from 2 some billion to twenty million, I have conjured the inevitable scenario: The invasion of Vantanas by Gholgothic forces, primarily Automagfreek. This has been discussed with him in advance, so for your entertainment, here you go. I also apperantly posted it on the wrong account at first. Stupid things like that happen.

IC:

We Were Great Once
The Demise of Vantanas
by Dwaine E. Freeman

Foreword from President Random Beeblebrox

The Vante-Gholgothic War was, without a doubt, the greatest war Vantanas has ever fought in, and in its climax, people from every family in Vantanas fought. Trillions of dollars were lost, and a billion and a half lives were lost, giving this war the nickname "The War of a Billion Souls." Everyone, from babe to elder, soldier to beggar, contributed to the war effort in some way, and this great conflict is still very much a part of our lives.

True, every family has a story, and these stories are passed down proudly to our children and grandchildren, but in all the memories of heroism I've heard, all the books I've read on the war, all the stories of my late father's epic combat, none have presented such a complete, accurate, and epic presentation of the war, and it is with great pride and patriotism that you shall read this story of our nation's great struggle against the Freeks.

OOC: Is this fully closed? If not, we've got a ton of people to retcon of there, and a lot more to retcon that will be very frightened of Gholgoth destroying Vontanas. Basically, I'd need to do a fair amount of work ensuring that all of my country's dealings with yours are properly resolved around this time.

Upon your response and/or the creation of an OOC thread, this post will be deleted and replaced with an IC response or nothing.

OOC: Yes, this is fully closed. However, if anyone wants their nation to participate, I can probably get you in. Just send me a TG. From now on, I'll be the only IC poster, not even AMF will post. It's a literary story, an intro and a conclusion in one.

Feel free to post OOC posts though, just try not to clutter it.

Chapter One: Prelude to War
Excerpts from the Journal of President Zaphod Beeblebrox

12 April 104 (1 Year Before War)

There is a detectable change in the nation, and one that I will say does not make me feel pleasant. In the colonies, resources are starting to dry up, especially after more than half of our colonies were stolen in the Vante-Kroandon War. People are starting to call for the planting of the flag on new soil, but not anywhere in the world has new land been found. Furthermore, everyone we've sent to try and find land suitable for colonization has failed to find anything.
Adding on to this, Parliament has recently passed a bill increasing the funding of the military to levels never before seen, a staggering forty percent. Not even in the height of the Questo-Gholgothic War has the budget been this high. This money has encouraged thousands, tens of thousands, to join the military, and everywhere arms, naval ships, airplanes, helicopters, tanks, air ships, bombs, and worse are being developed.
Coupled with this, the Vante is getting hungry. They are angry over the defeat in the Vante-Kroandon War, and Parliament has been running more anti-Goth propaganda than usual. Everywhere, the Freekish flag is being burned, the Vantanian flag being waved, and general blind nationalism and militarism being promoted. It is like Vantanas is a drunk looking to pick a fight at the bar with a Emerald Guardsmen, and unless this is ceased soon, the result will be tragedy.

26 July 104 (9 Months to War)

Two new political fronts have recently formed, both with similar demands, a war with Gholgoth.
The first is the People's Party, or Beggar's Guild, which is demanding, besides socialization, the seizure of Gothic colonies and possessions in order to refuel the economy and save the poor from not being able to survive and find a job. They are growing steadily, as inflation steadily increases, and the prices for even basic commodities skyrockets. They have threatened to destroy Buy & Sell possessions if Parliament doesn't comply.
The second is the National Patriotic Party, a collection of the middle and upper class. These men are for the old days, the days of the Old Republic, when the Vantanians were under the control of one man, Jimothy Martini. They're fascist, Vantanian supremacist, capitalist, conservative, militaristic men with a wide base of support. They're threatening armed revolt if we don't invade!
I know Parliament, they'll send this land into the Devil's hands to keep their seats, and they will bend over backwards for these scum. I just pray we survive the ordeal.

19 April 105, Morning (Onset of War)

They've done it. After all the speeches they've had me give, all the rallies to join the military, the tax raise, the rationings, the arms productions, all of it. After everything, it is the time of war, and we have now passed the point of no return. Early this morning, Parliament declared war on the Freeks. Half an hour later, one of our new fleets, the Supremacy Fleet invaded and occupied a small Freekish colony, an island we call Forevermore. They had the element of surprise, and because of it we seized their land. All of the Goths their were brutally killed, and all resources sent back to Vantanas.
I weep for Vantanas.

19 April 105, Evening

I didn't think it would happen so soon. Like lightning, their Lord, the very God of War, declared war; like lightning, Forevermore was invaded. The defense was pitiful, and within a day the Freekish Empire has met us in this, the War to End All Vantanians. As a futile last attack, the defenders of Forevermore, even as the waves of Goths blotted out the waves of the sea, torched the island. This Scorched Earth warfare tact has ended any chance at saving the Republic, turning a bar of gold into a pile of ashes. The Goths are, understandably, outraged, and already they are mobilizing to invade. We stand not a chance of holding back the hordes, and now it is simply a matter of men and time until great, noble, free Vantanas is a living hell; only a matter of time until Vantanas is either a Freekish colony or a nuclear wasteland.

As President Beeblebrox so eloquently stated, there were many reasons for the invasion of Forevermore, which lead to the greater portion of the Vante-Gholgothic War. Primarily, the sore defeats in the Vante-Kroandon War struck a blow at national pride, and the common man desperately wanted his nation to be a victor of something. Nationalistic pride led to militarism and a resurgence in anti-Gothism, something established during the Old Republic by President Martini. Soon, as the losses sustained in the Vante-Kroandon War devastated the economy, the gap between the poor and rich increased. The poor wanted to invade the Freeks to give a resurgence in the economy, while the rich wanted to invade the Freeks to restore pride in their counrty. Either way, as Beeblebrox notes, war was inevitable.

Chapter 2: Early Days - Forevermore and the Colonies

Section One: Battle of Forevermore

By the time of the Battle of Forevermore, Vantanas was bulging at the eyes with accumulated military power and eagerness to attack Gholgoth, the ultimate evil in their eyes. Before the war, in the Halls of the National Assembly, there was a great debate as to the number of Freekish colonies to be assaulted. Indeed, with the racism, strength, and arrogance possessed by the general publis, it was a wonder that ten Freekish colonies were assaulted.

In the end however, it was decided that in order for this D-Day to be effective, they would need the element of surprise, and a colony small enough to be taken in one day. And even after all of the feelings before the war, there were still those in the Assembly who thought the war was foolish. Though in the minority, they wielded enough power to force the Assembly to use Forevermore as an example to them of Vantanian prowess. Of course, the example backfired badly, and the minority remained unimpressed, a fact that would play a role later during the Invasion of Vantanas.

For the meanwhile however, the National Patriotic Party had managed to infiltrate the Assembly, and demanded that they be the ones to seize Forevermore. The anti-NPP'ers in the Assembly gave them the chance, seeing it as a way to weaken or get rid of the NPP. The NPP immediantly set about organizing itself for the task.

The fleet they formed was provided by the richer members of the party, a mix of cruise ships and yachts fitted to fight on the high seas. Though not the greatest of forces, this fleet was deemed sufficient for a quick assault to take Forevermore. Meanwhile, the forces that were to invade Forevermore was part of the NPP's own private army, which it had been threatening to use to overthrow the government. The thought of this force fighting for Forevermore, and thus sustaining casualties, certainly calmed many in the Assembly.

The Supremacy Fleet, as soon as it was completed, carried the men in its spacious quarters, and started patrolling in the general area around Forevermore, in order to "find pirates." After the word from the Assembly, the fleet closed in on Forevermore, looking not so much like a naval fleet than a flotilla of richmen. Still, Forevermore was wary, but not with enough time to fortify against the Vantanians. This small island, used as a military complex by the Goths, had Vantanian landfall the instant the Declaration of War was sent.

On the beachfront, the Freeks met them with what they had: several hundred residing guest soldiers, military engineers, and guards. These men set themselves up in several pillboxes on the beachfront, where they preceded to fire upon the soldiers coming in. The Supremacy's cannons blared upon them, and their airfield, preventing them from getting more aircraft up.

You see, the one great weakness of the Supremacy Fleet was its lack of any real air defenses. Because of the ramshackle composition of the fleet, no airplanes could be sent out, and the only real defense they had was a variety of cannons in which to spam the air. As for this, half of the Supremacy Fleet was sunk or damaged before the handful of airplanes and helicopters were shot down.

Meanwhile, waves of Vantanians charged the pillboxes of the Goths, and eventually grenaded them, to mostly no use, as most had fled back into the main complex. In this phase of the battle, one hundred Vantanians were picked off by pillbox fire, as compared to a rough fifteen Gothic defenders.

Now, the main complex into which the Goths fled to was set into the a rim of mountains which form a cliff on the northern edge, with one main entrance on this side of the island. As charging Vantanians charged the twenty some feet to the main complex, they foolishly rushed in. Unfortunately for them, the Goths had had enough time to trap the entrance, and as they entered, mines killed twenty-two NPP'ers and sealed off the entrance.
Not dismayed, the majority of the soldiers started sifting through the rubble. Within fifteen minutes, the entrance was once again open and untrapped.

This second charge was much more successful, and the Vantanians successfully went from room to room of the complex, killing all they saw. In most, there were minor traps to stun the Vantanians, and three to five defenders with-in. To counter this, the Vantanians gathered tables, cut off the legs, and used them as simple shields when they opened the door.

As this battle ended, the complex was fully occupied by the Vantanians, and Supremacy fleet was being repaired in the harbor. Once this task was completed as fully as possible, the ships were filled with plunder and sent back to Vantanas. The remaining three thousand fighters quickly found the liquors of the soldiers and the officers, and proceeded to get drunk, almost to the point of unconsciousness.

Then, some twelve hours later, the Vantanians had not sobered up at all. Only when, only some five hundred feet away on the seas, did they see the mighty fleet of the Freeks coming at them did they come into something resembling sanity. The soldiers, far too late, tried to repel them with the complex's missilies and artillery. As President Beeblebrox stated "the waves of Goths blotted out the waves of the sea." With as much drunken resistance as possible against fully armed, armored, elite soldiers, the whole of the Vantanian defenders were massacred, with only twenty invading Freek killed in the counter-attack. And even these men did not die in battle, but instead killed by the roof collapsing as Vantanian charges levelled the complex, half an hour after the battle ended.

As for the Supremacy Fleet, it was quickly caught by the Goths, disabled by aerial bombardment, and then boarded and seized. The supplies were all taken back, and the fleet scuttled. An officer from the Gothic fleet stated quite simply in a video to the Vantanians, "The raggedy barges of the so called 'Supremacy Fleet' were too worthless even to be fishing ships."

Section Two: The Colonies

The Freeks and their Gothic Coalition may be brutally efficient, but they're also in possession of a strong set of morals. For one, even after their fury and indignation about the Battle of Forevermore and the destruction of the military port there, they did not feel it necessary to turn Vantanas into a nuclear wasteland. And, they even granted them mercy, in the beginning, as the Vantanians had no prior sins against the Goths.

In a message to the Vantanians, Vantanas was offered amnesty in return for all of its colonial possessions. The memorable quote from this message, "You attacked us looking for colonies. Now we'll do the same." has since become a popular phrase amongst Vantanians who fought in the war. Enraged, the Vantanians refused, and the Freeks went about the invasion.

The first battles were smaller colonies, such as the African colonies, the European colonies, and the American islands. These battles, as described by naval officer James Anderson, "Small, unextraordinary, nothing like the battles that came later." Indeed, most of these small colonies offered only a small naval skirmish to their name, in which time they would devastate their colony as much as possible. For example, fires soon consumed Wintermore Colony, now the Belcher Islands of Hudson's Bay, leaving nothing more than a pile of black snow. Similarily, in Avalon Colony, the former Sealand, explosives in the lower reaches of the metallic base soon had the whole construct fall into the sea.

The rampant use of Scorched Earth warfare in the small colonies enraged Damien Dreadfire, and after the week of war in which the battles were fought, he declared the handful of colonies gained to be "... an utter waste of time, useless, they shall not be annexed by the Excessively Armed Empire."

Instead, the Freeks greedily turned their eyes to the riches of Vantanas's other colonies. With less than a day's pause, naval forces reached Chinotibet. Unfortunately for the Vantanians, the poor Asians chose this time to revolt against Capitalism, and the Vantanians had not a place to fight at. Eventually, the Vantanians, after having most of their cities destroyed in the days before by the rebels, ended up fighting only two battles in Chinotibet: the Battle of Hong Kong and the Battle of Tibet.

The Battle of Hong Kong started out as merely a last ditch naval battle, but after the smaller Vantanian ships were able to outmaneuver the Goths, reinforcements rushed in. Historically, the Battle of Hong Kong was the first major battle of the war. Three Chinese Airships, one aircraft carrier and the other two arsenal ships, played a roll in the battle, and the navy and airforce made their last stand here. As the battle wore on, the waves of missiles from the arsenal ships was cut down as the Vantanians simply ran out. After this, Gothic reinforcements came in and the remaining Vantanian forces were mopped up, followed by carpet-bombing of Hong Kong. Seventy-seven Vantanian ships fell in this battle, and one hundred two aircraft; On the Gothic side, fourty ships fell and sixty aircraft.

Later, after the Goths had destroyed the Chinese rebellion, the Vantanians made another stand at the Plateau of Tibet, at a chokepoint pass up to the plateau. Here, neither side could afford major aerial bombardment, lest the pass be destroyed. Instead, the Goths hit the Vantanians were forced to wait the Vantanians out, due to the excessive trapping of the no man's land. Instead of playing their game, the Goths tried an aerial raid to insert paratroopers behind enemy lines. Though Vantanian air defences of the plateau were considerable, the Chinese Rebellion weakened them. After three different waves of fighters and bombers, the Vantanians could no longer fight off the paratroopers. After the landing, the troops attacked the Vantanians from behind. In coordination, the frontal line used a tank charge to surge forward. In thirty minutes of pitched battle, the Vantanians died. One hundred Gothic aircraft, twenty tanks, and five hundred infantry died in the battle; on the Vantanian side one thousand infantry, and two thousand defense operators died.

The rest of Asia fell similarily, with the Vantanians destroying their cities, sinking their products, poisoning their waters and soils, and burning their crops rather than letting the Goths have them. In the rest of the Asian campaign, a total of seven thousand military operatives were reported KIA/MIA, and a total of two thousand colonists were taken prisoner.

The only other large colonies for the Goths to take were California and Spire Isle, the two most important colonies in Vantanian possession before the war. As such, the battles fought over these were larger, a prelude to the Invasion of Vantanas.

The Battle of Spire Isle was the first, a battle over a mountainous island rich in coal, oil, and natural gas. The Goths realized very early how important Spire was to the Vantanian economy, and how its products fueled the military machine of the Vantanians. So, when they attacked, the force was large. What they found, to their dismay, was that Spire had its own elite naval fleet. The battle lasted five hours, in which the Vantanians on the isle lit their oil fields and natural gas on fire, used incendiaries on their coal mines, and lastly detonated their cities. By the time the battle ended, Spire's wealth was at a fraction of its former estimates. Three hundred Vantanian ships and two hundred aircraft were sunk in the long battle, and similar, though smaller by roughly a score, casualties were taken on the Gothic side. Mysteriously, the Colonial Defense Force was not present, having been on the island beforehand, and to not have been able to flee during the battle.

As for California, two major battles were fought: California Major, and California Minor. California Minor was the only naval battle of California, in which one hundred submarines defended Baja California against three thousand Gothic subs; fifty Gothic submarines were hit, twenty sunk.

Meanwhile, the Battle of California Major was much more impressive. After the whole of California had been salted, poisoned, burned, exploded, collapsed, and thoroughly subject to Scorched Earth during the Battle of Spire, the majority of defenders and all citizens fled to Vantanas. Meanwhile, the remaining CDF militia were based in the ruins of Los Angeles. When the Gothic Coalition attacked, the one thousand Vantanians lured three thousand Goths into the forest north of Los Angeles with a running battle. Once both forces were deep enough in the forest, a device was activated that triggered incendiaries all around the perimeter of the forest. To amplify this the Vantanians themselves made a last stand at a brook, using only flamethrowers. Both sides were eventually completely consumed by the wildfire.

Chapter Three: The Interbellum

In the time between battles of roughly two months, both sides prepared for the inevitable: the Invasion of Vantanas. Through this time, many forces were organized, military sizes increased, defenses were made, and in general it was the calm before the storm of Freekish invaders.

After the annexation of the few Vantanian colonies worth repairing, Damien Dreadfire gave this ultimatum to Vantanas in speech form: "And I say to you (the Vantanians) that if you do not surrender unconditionally within two months, we will take you ourselves." The real reason for the interbellum however, was the need for intelligence and the preperation of an appropriate invasion force by the Goths.

On the Gothic side, the time was wisely spent. Military advisors poured over every aspect of the Vantanian military, from their ship types to their strategems, from their guns and munitions to their armor. No detail was spared, and it took them roughly two weeks of extensive work to finish this. When they were done, the Freekish military behemoth coalesced elements from different parts of the Gothic Coalition and itself to form a military force tailored to defeat the Vantanians.

On the Vantanian side, the time was wisely spent. Over night, the Vantanians began doing everything to strengthen themselves and weaken Gholgoth. In towns and cities across the country, invasion plans and fortifications were erected. In the countryside, farms were abandoned and burnt as whole communities were drafted into the military. Rationings immediantly took place, and as a pre-emptive measure, explosives were placed in every major city. Complete economic withdrawal of all non-Buy & Sell investments from all countries save Questers and Vetalia.

Many traditional allies of Vantanas were called to aid, including Questers, Hegemonic nations, Vetalia, Logan and Ky, and the League. All denied, with exception of the League. Though it was disbanded, the League nations agreed to do a last deed for Vantanas, and that was to give the LION RRF to it to fight. The disappointing turn-out angered many Vantanians, but nationalism was high enough to let the idea that Vantanas could beat the Goths on their own prevail.

The most important factor however, was the military's efforts. Letters of marque and reprisal were granted to all pirates and sailors in Vantanas to prey on Gothic logistics. Coastal defenses, trench lines, mine fields, and other similar defenses were set up everywhere. Most importantly however, was Unspecified Services' actions to prepare, mainly terrorism and espionage. Also importantly, in a desperate bout, the military convinced the government to buy an organization known as the International Brigades, similar to the Peace Corps. However, when the government was done, it then became an international paramilitary force controlled by Vantanians. Most importantly however, was Unspecified Services' actions to prepare, mainly terrorism/propaganda and espionage.

The first, terrorism, went rather poorly off; Unspecified Services sent assassins and bounty hunters to try to kill influential Goths outside of Gholgoth for a high bounty, and ordinary Goths for a ten thousand dollar bounty. Secondly, propaganda had mixed results, for there was no possible boost in nationalism possible in Vantanas, and in foreign nations the propaganda often stirred up a minority of anti-Goths, but not enough for government action. Instead, these minorities were told to sign up in the International Brigades, and many Kyans and Sumguyans did. The third and final attempt, however, was brilliantly successful.

As one month until the deadline of the surrender came, Agent Richardson provided the military with exactly what they needed: the Goth's invasion plan. The idea was simple, destroy the Vantanian navy, make landfall in Valorim Province, blitz across to the Vantanian Peninsula, which jutted into the Medivantanian, and quickly take the capital. The resulting victory would force the government to surrender, and the majority of Vantanas would follow suit easily. (A map of Vantanas (http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/9275/vantanasjg9.png))

With this vital information, the Vantanian military began secretly working on a massive defense project, and quite rapidly. The defensive apparatus that was to be formed by this would take up an entire section of the war, and steal many Gothic lives. It was known simply as the Barrier Zone.

Chapter Four: Beginning of the End
Section One: The High Seas

It was a well-known fact of the time that there were three large passages into Vantanas, the Grayghost Route, the Drypeak Route, and the Valorian Route. There were, of course, other ways to go, but due to the rocky and choppy sea around Vantanas, these three were the only ones large enough for a military fleet to use. Of these, the Grayghost Route extended out from the barren Grayghost Moutains and were very remote, and the Drypeak Route lead to the prosperous, but ultimately remote Drypeak Valley. Coupled with the knowledge of the Gothic strategy, the Vantanians knew to defend Valorian. And that is why, on the third of May, there was a large naval battle in the Valorian Route.

It was early in the morning, the Goths having previously established a blockade of the three routes, preventing reinforcements fleets from coming in. Now, they surged in on the Valorian Route, believing that this would prevent the fleets patrolling the coasts from getting to them in time. What they didn't expect, however, was little Seafront Island, located in the Route, unleashing a full fleet to combat them. The fleet consisted entirely of submarines, to avoid detection, and was augmented by aircraft on the island.

The Gothic Fleet did not detect the submarines, for they were stealth submarines and the aircraft were attacking them, until they were right on top of them, quite literally. When the submarines finally did make their presence known, the effect was crippling. Half of the Gothic Fleet was hit, and one-tenth suffered critical damages. The immediate response, obviously, was to respond in kind; if only the submarines had let them do it, that is. Instead, with the Goths off balance, the aircraft swept in for a devastating hit. Whenever the Goths tried to get rid of one foe, the other would hit them, and the Goths simply weren't able to recover in time after the initial shock to stop them.

Thus, the Battle of the Valorian finally ended when the barricade was dismantled and sent to reinforce the forces in the Valorian. In the time it took them to get there, the entirity of the fleet was gone, with minimal Vantanian casualties. When the barricade reinforcements finally arrived, the Vantanians didn't have the element of surprise. Though doing their best to fight, the submarines and aircraft did not have enough firepower, especially many of the force were sent back to the mainland, to defeat the Goths on a fair arena, leading to the Gothic victory of the battle, at a large cost. Still, the barricade was reestablished as quickly as possible, and the Gothic forces now stood much nearer to the Vantanian homeland. By the end of the battle, two hundred ninety-two Gothic ships and one hundred aircraft destroyed, as compared to two hundred Vantanian subs and one hundred aircraft on the Vantanian side.

Still, in the time the barricade was down, the Vantanians managed to get vast supplies of reserves into the country, as well as to evacuate any foreigners or Vantanians who wanted to flee. In addition, forces for the International Brigades poured in from various countries, most notably Lord Sumguy. Perhaps most importantly, however, was the LION RRF that was deployed in its last ever operation, as after the Invasion of Vantanas, LION was disbanded.

Section Two: Landfall

Three days following, the Goths had sufficiently gathered their forces again, and the attack came. The area they had chosen to land at a small beachfront known today as Wilhem's Landing, one of the few settlements on Vantanas today. The city and beach stand now just north of where Gale used to be.

At three AM in the morning, seeing a whole in the coast patrol, the Gothic fleet pounced. However, it was completely known that the Goths would strike in the general area eventually, and waiting for them were fifteen stealth submarines. The vanguard of the assault, the destroyers, were hit by surprise by the submarines, followed by a brief struggle in which finally the submarines prevailed against twice their number, coming out with four submarines. Early in the battle, both sides raised the alarm, calling in reinforcements.

The forces that poured in, however, were lopsided; the Vantanians brought frigates and destroyers, the Goths brought submarines and aircraft carriers. Quickly, this battle ended with twenty frigates and twenty destroyers sunk, and no Gothic casualties. The enemy now destroyed, the Goths arrived en masse on the beachfront, under heavy fire. Artillery pieces, missiles, pillboxes, mines, and barbwire all hindered the advance, and the Goths had no hope but to press forward. Eventually, the missiles from the Gothic Fleet were sufficient enough to destroy the artillery, and bazooka rounds eventually forced the Vantanians in the pillboxes to retreat.

With this act done, the Goths would soon move on. But first, in the Battle of Wilhem's Landing, over five thousand Goths were killed, as compared to the two thousand Vantanians.

And what was worse, the Gothic Coalition, aggravated at the little territory gained, the work needed to produce something from the territory, and the casualties they had suffered fighting the Vantanians were too high this early in the war. Though, the bond between the Gothic nations is strong, and they managed to compromise. The Goths would protect any and all conquered territory, which at the time included the colonies, and the Freeks would protect and expand the front line territories, including only Wilhem's Landing. Additionally, no matter what, the Coalition would be the ones to uphold the Barricade, which was to be expanded to control all of the seas just outside of Vantanas. This split in the fighting force has been dubbed the Gothic Schizm of Vantanas, and would make the war much more trying on Automagfreek than before.

Section Three: Valorim Province

Once Wilhem's Landing was seized, the rest of Valorim was subject to waves of air raids, battles, and a general blitzkrieg.

First to fall to the Gothic storm was the nearest large city, Gale. With Wilhem's Landing secure, the main force set up base camp, while tanks charged south at speeds exceeding seventy-five miles per hour. Though the Vantanians had mines activated in all areas around Wilhem's Landing, they did very little to destroy the heavily armed Freekish tanks and their riders.

The Battle of Gale itself was of little notice; the tanks of the Goths seemed so heavily armored, nothing the defenders had could stop them. Eventually, the city was demolished, finally destroying ten tanks, and ten thousand civilians were captured, and immediantly sent back to Wilhem's Landing. In a similar fashion, Shayder was also seized.

Finally, at the third cities, the Vantanians had adapted to the heavy tank columns. When the Gothic tanks continued rolling north, encountering little resistance on the road other than the too weak mines, they eventually enountered Tinraya. Here, the terrain had been muddied up far too much by recent rainfall, and Godhammer nuclear artillery amplified the problems, leaving the Goths with no choice but to retreat, for the moment.

But the next day, Tinraya was overwhelmed with a different tact, paratroopers. Though an estimated thousand soldiers were picked off in the air, and the groups of soldiers were unorganized and scattered. Eventually, after three waves of paratroopers, the Godhammers and all evacuable personnel were sent away, and the city demolished with the paratroopers in it, and still coming. Tinraya may have been seized, but at the cost of five thousand soldiers to a mere seven hundred Vantanians.

Enraged, a third tactic was devised, and used unsuccessfully at two places. The tactic was a modified tank charge, with air and infantry support to it, and using a mix of heavy and light tanks. Its first testing ground, the Blackcrag Gates, was a failure for one reason: The Blackcrag Gates were a massive wall and military facility between the mountains and the sea. The Freeks would find it would take a full on assault to destroy the Gates, which would have to wait for the time being. The second place, the City of Dawn, proved a failure for a different reason: the Vantanians had armed Dawn to its teeth. Both the League forces and the International Brigades, as well as both Tinraya's and Dawn's own garrisons, were heavily entrenched in this area.

What they hit, they found, was the beginnings of the Barrier Zone, and what they would find as they moved forward would enrage them even further.

Chapter Five: The Barrier Zone
Section One: Wilhem's Gamble

Excerpts from the Journal of Freekish General Franco Wilhem:

June 29th, Year One

It is humiliating, and frustrating. We have gained half the province with little difficulty, but now they hold us with a massive military barrier. In the mountains, there is a massive aerial force, which they call the Barrier of the Winds. In a rough line from Sharimik to Lorelei to Dawn, as well as the acursed Blackcrag Gates, there are trench lines, mine fields, and generally a massive Barrier of the Stones. Finally, at Dawn and the Medivantanian Sea they have gathered their naval defenses into the Barrier of the Seas. There is no way around it; and it stands impenetrable despite our best efforts.

In addition, the Vantanians have agents behind our lines. Torturing some captured POW's has garnered this much information from them: There are three classes, the Patriot Infiltrators, the Patriot Recruits, and the Freeman Infiltrators. Apperantly, since they've been planning the war, their Unspecified Services trained locals familiar with the area to be guerilla terrorists, and gave them supply caches and hideouts. They then were to take patriotic Vantanians under their wing and teach them the skills needed to assist them. Finally, somehow, perhaps the mountains, they are smuggling more recruits and supplies in via the Freeman Infiltrators, agents of Unspecified Services.

And damn them! Whenever we get a logistics line up, they'll always find a way to ruin it. They felled an entire forest once, just to cover a highway with wood. They have special drills to insert pressure-sensitive mines into the railways, roads, and monorails. And when they can't mine, they attack directly; forcing our Gothic comrades to have armed vehicles escorting every convoy. They destroy dams, fell powerlines, and ruin any Gothic attempt to stabilize the province. To be caught supporting one of these groups is a most horrifying crime indeed, subject to death by torture.

July 4, Year One

Times are getting worse. The Goths, and my superiors in Automagfreek, are both calling me incompetent. My name is a source of mockery now, and it takes the strictest discipline to keep my soldiers from joining in. Still, every night a new piece of grafitti comes up. Always the same, 'General Disgrace' it is. Oh, but I'll show them. I'll break the Vantanian Barrier Zone, if it's the last thing I do.

July 8, Year One

It... it failed. By the gods, why!? There is nothing for it now, I gambled my career, social status, everything on it, and it failed. I would be sacked, and replaced with that scum Crowley and Leader Alwan, but I wouln't give them the pleasure. The Vantanians practice Scorched Earth to prevent their foe the satisfaction of victory, and now I shall do the same. (At this point, General Wilhem commited suicide, after the failure of the First Battle of the Barriers)

Excerpts from the Journal of President Zaphod Beeblebrox:

29 June 105

The good news just keeps pouring in. The Goths have all but abandoned their Freekish comrades, the Freekish logistical lines are constantly being disrupted, and the Freeks cannot push the front line any further, without complete destruction of their forces. Instead, they simply hold the line, engaging us in the occasional artillery barrage, but never actually trying to push forward. The only thing they could be doing worse is to actually go on a full-on assault at this point!

And that is a logistical impossibility at the moment, as they can barely keep their present levels supported. Whenever our satellites see a troop movement of notice, we inform the Freeman Infiltrators, who then inform the Patriots. The Patriots then mess up the logistics, and cause definite morale problems, supply problems, et cetera on the front. And the Gothic scum can barely control the cities, let alone the roads and countryside! This is so much better than the Vante-Kroandon War.

7 July 105

And here I thought they were too smart to do it. From what I've been able to find out, General Wilhem put it all on the line, asking for reinforcments larger than any other before. Noting this, the Freemans armed the POW's in the prison camp at Wilhem's Landing, and had the Patriots prepare an attack there. Around noon, a single POW managed to replace the Freekish flag with the Vantanian flag, a signal to attack. Around the camp, the POW's either pulled out concealed weaponry, or assaulted the weapon depots. In conjunction, the Patriots began a mortar bombardment. It was desperate, but the Vantanians outnumbered them five to one. Eventually, after losing many, the Vantanians had the Goths holed up in the command center, which was sealed up entirely.

With this victory, the Freekish reinforcments soon arrived, to meet Vantanians in Gothic uniforms. The Vantanians escorted the Freeks to the barracks, until suspicion began to arise. And so, the masquerade gone, the barracks were flooded with gas. Unfortunately, all of thirty thousand POW's were lost, but a good three thousand Freeks, and three thousand Goths, were also lost. What's more, the Patriots capitalized on the time by destroying the Wilhem's Landing logistical nerve center.

8 July 2008

A great victory for the Vantanians has been won today. At the Barrier of the Stones, the Freeks all got up in a desperate charge over no man's land to weaken the Barrier Zone. Most were mowed down by machine gun fire and mortar/artillery bombardment, but they did manage to breakthrough at one point, near Dawn. Some three thousand were lost here before the reserve lines pushed them back. Meanwhile, seven thousand Freeks were lost.

Meanwhile, the Freeks assaulted the Barrier of the Winds with two hundred aerial units, as compared to the heavy anti-aircraft entrechments, and the massive aerial force we have stationed there. Needless to say, once they saw how much we were and how little they were, they retreated like cowards. But not after we shot down a good seventy of their planes.

And at the Barrier of the Seas, the Goths assembled a fleet to try to bypass the Barrier Zone. The result, of course, was that the mines dented them up well enough. When finally they got through, they suffered another beating, and had to retreat, losing even more to the mines.

Perhaps best of all, that fool Wilhem has killed himself today. Maybe, just maybe, we'll win this after all.

Section Two: Tear Down This Wall

It was the thirtieth of August, just short of the two month anniversary of the Battle of the Barriers. In that time, Supreme General of the Vante-Gholgothic War Alwan, and his inferior, Wilhem's former rival, Crowley had undone all the damage and then some. The waves of Freeks reestablished the front line, destroyed the guerillas, captured thousands of POW's to rebuild Vantanian cities, and tortured captured operatives to reveal information to destroy the Barriers.

The information was aquired from four Freeman Infiltrators independetly, each the same, each from torture. The only one to survive was Pirik, who was sent to a prison camp and later escaped, her passionate hatred for the Goths making her a leader, even now. The first bit of information concerned the Barrier of the Seas, revealing a frequency into which the Goths could play a tone, disactivating the Vantanian mines. The second was the location of a tunnel that led to the airbase of the Barrier of the Winds. The third, and final, were the members, locations, caches, et cetera of all the guerilla groups in Valorim. With this information, the Freekish forces at the front prepared for a massive military conflict, almost as large as the First Battle of the Barriers.

At eleven o'clock at night, the Gothic Fleet advanced, guarded by Freekish aerial forces, on Dawn. Because of the radio tone, the mines were soon deactivated. Without the mines to soften the Gothic advance, the LION and Vantanian fleets had to make their last stand on short notice. Supreme Admiral White successfully rallied them in time, however the LION forces were disaffectionate foreigners. Because of this, the usually formidable LION'ers were less effective, and without full support the Vantanians had to overcompensate. Both fleets eventually were destroyed, at a damage ratio of three defenders to one Gothic ship, with fifteen hundred defenders lost.

Meanwhile, at the northern strecth of the Front Line, the Freeks let loose a massive artillery/rocket barrage. Though the Vantanians were heavily entrenched in their positions, the range of the bombardment was long enough to prevent the reserve trenches or front line from moving at all, forcing any breach in defenses to fight alone. This was happening at the same time as a diverse mix of light, medium, and heavy tanks charged on Dawn, at the same time as the Gothic Fleet unleashed its soldiers in the harbors. The International Brigades gave their full support to the Vantanian defenders, but the numbers attacking soon had them withdrawn to the central and southeast section of the city. Here, the attackers had to go from bunker to bunker, fighting in rigged battles against the Vantanians.

However, the mayor of the city had to make a desperate decision, as the Freekish tank column ripped south towards the Vantanian front line, threatening to destroy the Barrier. At 12:05, the Victory Call Sign, in which both attackers and defenders were trained to recognize as the sign that detonation was eminent. The city exploded and collapsed on itself, killing many on both sides, and slowing down the tanks advance. Soldier Darnor, who later became Pirik's leiutenant, notes in a letter to his wife:

"We were so shocked when the short thrice, then long morse code played out. We immediantly threw ourselves to the ground and covered ourselves with several nearby car tires. When the explosions were over, we emerged to see our barricade and the area around it covered in ash. It looked to us that the Freeks were dead, and we rejoiced. However, out of the ash I say emerge a black, blood-drenched gauntlet. Soon, more came out, all of them unscathed, the heavily-armed Freekish storm troopers, as we call them. We fired on them for a time, and then they advanced on us and I was told to fall back. I had been searching for some twenty minutes for another barricade or bunker to reinforce, but everywhere I went there were Freeks. I barely stayed alive. Finally, I found myself at the edge of the city, and I saw Terra Infirma. I ran to it, and finally reinforced the defenses at the Bog Gates."

As Darnor described, after the explosion the Freeks rapidly destroyed the remaining defenses, and cleared up the way for the tanks. Their path no unobstructed, the massive tank column charged down the seized up front line. Often times, the Vantanians were taken by surprise at tanks charging down their lines just as the shelling stopped, preventing them from defending meaningfully against the Gothic tanks. The tank charge ended finally at Lorelei, where a similar scene as Dawn played out. The only substantial difference was the blowing out of the bridge. Their charge south denied, the Freeks instead moved the northern front to the Bog Gates.

Meanwhile, in the Barrier of the Winds, a small force was attacking the Barrier with hit-and-run tactics, forcing the Vantanians attention skyward. With their eyes elsewhere, a small force of heavily armed Sentinels snuck into the secret passage, along with drugged POW's. The tunnel was, as expected, heavily trapped, and thus they had the POW's, with their sleep addled and drugged brains in disarray, released to their Vantanian comrades. Most recognized this as the Barrier of the Winds, and knew it led to Vantanas, and so blindly ran. The Sentinels followed, tracing the path of bodies to avoid the Vantanian mines. When they emerged into the base, they quickly seized control, keeping the majority of the aerial forces on the ground and seizing the ground defenses.

This opened the gate to the larger air strike, forcing the Vantanian defenders to return to the Barrier, where they were reinforced by a few desperate pilots who got off the ground. Despite a POW insurrection and the majority of the captured aerial forces escaping, the Vantanians were stuck between a rock and a hardplace. Soon, the legendary Vantanian airforce was sunk, though they took many Freeks with them.

The skies now being Gothic, a massive aerial bombardment and infantry charge managed to destroy the southern line. Soon, the Barrier of the Stone existed in all of three places, the Bog Gates, the Blackcrag Gates, and Sharimik. Here, due to concentration of numbers, they held out, for the moment. Meanwhile, the Barrier of the Winds was gone, and the Vantanian fleets were either in the Medivantanian Sea, or had retreated to the Ashen Isles. What was thought impossible by both sides had been proved very possible. The Barrier Zone was ripped down violently, and with it one hundred thousand Vantanians lost their lives, as compared to a mere five thousand Freeks.

Chapter Six: Vantepolis Falls
Section One: Seizure of the Peninsula

The Vantanians were in disbelief. Despite government warnings, many Vantanians on the Vantanian Peninsula and in Ermarian Province continued their business, supporting the war effort in any way possible. Five short days after the Second Battle of the Barriers, the Battle of Sharimik was waged in the airs above, leading to the carpet bombing of Sharimik, followed by the Freekish army invading.

As lightning, the majority of the army moved at a breakneck pace to Vantepolis. Meanwhile, a small detachment of soldiers, tanks, and aerial forces were sent to prevent Krizsan from aiding the metropole. The tactic they used was also used in the Second Battle of the Barriers, the noose. Artillery and rocket barrage had been pummeling Krizsan, preventing troops from leaving, whilst the air force patrolled the harbors and kept the naval forces at bay, as well as allowing carpet bombers to do their work. It stayed like this in Krizsan for three of the five days of the Battle of Vantepolis, until soldiers finally moved in and took the flaming ruins and its inhabitants, with little resistance. Krizsan did what it could, but by the end all of its defenders were dead, and the militant population barely killed any.

Meanwhile, in Vantepolis, a battle of which neither side had seen the likes of before had come to play. The battle looked like it could sway to either side for a long time coming, and at the devastating end of the battle it was made known that this would be a war to the end of Vantanas.

In the Vantanian Space Commision, the observant on shift for Satellite LVIII noted with great poetic skill:

"Greatest divisions on Earth put to shame. On Gothic side, dust, storm, fire, corpses, and fighting. Farmers of the Earth fought nobely and in vain, whilst the Sentinels consumed them without loss. Fields burned, mines exploded, and the land was salted by foe Goth. On Vantanian side, ignorance is bliss, and the land is blissful indeed. This scene was painted in great detail on the national treasure, Gates of Vantepolis by Charles Marks.

By the time the Goths had reached the gates of the towering, glorious citadel that is Vantepolis, they had left behind a manufactured Hades. No prisoners were to be taken here, and both sides thought this the battle to end the war. Vantanian forces numbered higher here than anywhere else in the war. Both fleets of the Medivantanian, all paramilitary organizations, the majestic air ship fleets of the Air Force, the Guardians of the Nation and Coast, the Emerald Guard of the Republic, and more. Meanwhile, the Gothic force was comprised of Sentinels, the elite of the elite Freekish force, rumored to be genetically engineered they were so good.

The whole of the Freekish forces, some one hundred thousand men, and over half the Vantanian military, numbering in the millions, were gathered in Vantanas to fight that day, as well as most of the war heroes on both sides. The result was the largest battle in the war, and one that was only matched in importance by the two Barrier battles, the Battle of Forevermore, and the two more epic battles to follow, the Last Stand at Execa and the Battle of the Ashen Isles.