NationStates Jolt Archive

[OOC: International responses are welcome, however, we have this all planned out and do not want any other nations intervening. This is a continuation from here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=512723), if you would like background, feel free to mull through that.]

And so War had been decided on.

Officially, the Halladi government cited Shessara as the aggressor. Officially, Shessarans had attacked Halladis who were on a peaceful mission in Shessara. The Halladis expected any international responses to be behind them, after all the miracle of record keeping held them in the right. There were records, documents, and signatures to say the Halladi had only ever sent engineers into Shessara. The Shessarans had, what, the word of tyrant and the Butcher of Buraydah?

General Husseini was in charge of the North-East Military District, known as the Shessaran Defense Zone, and he had already made responses to the Shessarans attack. A division of Republican Guard were deployed some six kilometers into Shessara and Shessaran border forces in the region were annihilated – the light skirmishers had hardly expected the best of the Halladi army to make a well-coordinated attack into their area, after all. When the Declaration of War came, Husseini prepared his greater strategy for victory and had a tele-conference with the Premier and Commissar of War to discuss strategy. He was to push into Laeryn’s territory and he was to keep in constant contact Buraydah. There was also the issue of Heddwyn who had promised the Halladis intervention and support, they considered the possibility of using his territory to open another front the Laeryn. In the North-East Military District, the entire military was on high alert. Army units were quickly preparing for battle and all two divisions of reserves were being called up for duty.

On the Front, the Republican Guard units first deployed were ordered to be the alarm clock for the Laeryn army. The area of Caer Heddiw was clear now – the fog that had deterred satellites from getting good readings the day before was gone, and though radar jammers were active in the area, Hallad’s long-range artillery didn’t require it. Reading from spy satellites over head were linked directly to the Halladi division and once visual confirmation was made; the artillery was adjusted to make the best of their shots. The division had some one hundred twenty artillery units, a mix of mostly towed and self-propelled pieces. Those that had the range, nearly half, were prepared for duty and as the sun crept over the horizon they sang out and rained down shells.

The Air Force was aware it needed to eliminate the radar jamming technology that Laeryn had placed in the area, and so they also launched a number of missions. Some sixteen fighter planes were launched, with a further escort of twenty four fighters, with anti-radiation missiles which would home in on the source of the radar in Shessaran territory. Until then, the technique of radar hoping was used by the Halladi’s. In the air, they let their missiles fly and seek out the source of their frustration, because even if it did not destroy them, they would help to give away their positions of the army.

Hallad was a nation prepared for war, its people were supportive of it -- after all they believed themsleves attacked. The Halladi government was confident in its ability to destroy Laeyrn's military capabilities, and this time they even had Shessaran allies (further showing the world Shessara's failure as a state!).

Prince Heddwyn Cleddyf regarded the Halladi ambassador with furious, burning eyes. "Your government wants my help? They failed to kill Braedd Laeryn, and they still want my help?!"

"Failed?" Said the Halladi Ambassador to Cleddyf, Adid Yaman, as though offended. "Failed? A group of -- what? -- two thousand patriots stand up to an army that is rumoured to have several hundred thousand soldiers, and you think it was the plan of the Halladi government to defeat him? Those men fought well, no doubt, but they aren't that good. Taken off-guard as they were, I believe they did quite well for a group of engineers." He grunted. "And besides, according to my government, we've been advancing into Laeryn's territory. You help us, you get your cut and he goes down quicker."

"I already helped you," Heddwyn hissed. "I prevented the entire Shessaran state from going to war. And the terms were that I got Braedd Laeryn's head. You have not fulfilled your end of our bargain!"

"You seem to think this was an assassination attempt, this is not," he sneered. "And, need I remind you, you gave your word to support Hallad militarily -- and in return you wanted Laeryn's head, and so you will have it. We never agreed upon a time-table."

The prince fought his rage back under control. "All that is immaterial now. My men moved as we agreed, and already a number of conflicts are occurring on the southern border between his vassals and mine. The war has already begun. There's just one new factor that needs to be dealt with..." He let his voice trail off there.

"And that would be?" Asked the Halladi. He sighed. "What is it that you want now?"

"It's not what I want," Heddwyn growled. "It's what you want. You want to have an easy time destroying Laeryn while the rest of the realm is occupied, but you let Adyn ddim-Laeryn into the battle at the Caer. Do you understand nothing about Shessaran culture? Adyn ddim-Laeryn is the child of a family that once almost united all of Shessara, and one that still commands enormous respect, despite being exiled. His family are also... well, they have historic ties to mine, something a Halladi wouldn't understand. You have to be careful, sir... or you'll find the Laeryn suddenly allied with Cyridd Pendefigion against both of us, and I do not relish being in that position."

"So, then, you want security?" Asked Adid, he sighed again. "Soldiers can be put here for your protection. More than enough. We are more than willing to bolster your realm, so long as you open this second front against the Laeryn. We can agree to the terms now, if you'd like..."

"I want you to open your own second front. I then want several battalions of Halladi troops, divided equally among my own forces so there is no one concentration, to be posted on the borderline between my own realm and Laeryn's. And I want more divisions mobilized toward the other borders of my realm."

The Halladi raised an eyebrow. "Considering Hallad shares only one common border with the Laeryn clan, it would be rather difficult to open a second front. That is, unless you would like that second front to be using your territory."

"Yes, that is precisely what I mean. When the Pendefigion come, I want your men to take the brunt of it, not mine. After all, this is your war."

"I'm sure something can be arranged," said the Halladi.

So Adid Yaman spoke to his government, and they agreed to send soldiers in. Twenty thousand were being sent to guard the borders of Heddwyn Cleddyf's domain that were not with the Laeryn -- of the two divisions, one was regular Red Army and the other was made of reserves. And for the Laeryn borer, the Halladis began to move thirty thousand soldiers, including one division of Republican Guard. The other two were that of the Red Army, so that the strongest front would be presented at Laeryn's flank. For the interior of the nation, however, the Halladis reserved another division of Republican Guard to preserve Halladi interests in the area and maintain law and order where needed.

It would take several weeks for these forces to all be moved into Cleddyf's territory, especially with the backwards infrastructure. Engineers were the first sent in, in order to build basic land strips and the like, making air travel into the nation much easier. Thus, the supply lines were quicker and more efficient. It was hoped that was time went on, more permenant paved runways and roads could be built to allow the effective flow of soldiers. Of course, it was ultimately up to Cleddyf -- for now.

Braedd Laeryn watched from his vantage point at the Genwydd Tower as the Halladi soldiers came up the hillside again, dodging from cover to cover, firing up to keep the Shessarans' heads down. The Shessarans, behind rock outcroppings, in holes, behind trees, returned fire with a vengeance. One Halladi fell, and the rest stopped, communicating silently, and then went back as they had come, obviously recalculating.
Braedd sighed and turned to the silent suboordinate at his shoulder. "I want Cunobelyn arglwydd and his vassals to reinforce this pass. The Halladis will be back in force." He strode down the hill to where seven horses waited, followed by a Shessaran MULE APC. He could choose to ride with his battle armor in the APC, but he preferred to ride his lands like the lords of old, on the back of a Laeryn-bred stallion.
Once the Halladis had come in force, the Laeryn forces on the westward side of the mountains had fallen back slowly into the mountains, where from the castles of the mountain lords or from caverns beneath they fought tenaciously, neither taking nor giving ground, stalling the Halladi advance. During the day the Halladis bombed the mountains, during the night the Shessarans launched sneak attacks against Halladi patrols and Halladi encampments, to varying degrees of success. Both sides were hopelessly bogged down.

Halladi troops rolled into Shessara for the first time in her history. They passed through ancient, untouched forests and through small villages, where the populace battened all of their doors and gazed out through their windows with fear. They had awkward going of it, delayed many times by the simply inadequate roads, barely wide enough to allow even their smallest APCs and vehicles to pass, but slowly but surely the Halladis neared Caer Ucheldiroedd, where Heddwyn Cleddyf waited, and neared the borders of the other Shessaran provinces.

A message was sent to the Halladi government:

FROM: PRINCE CYRIDD PENDEFIGION
TO: HALLADI DIPLOMATIC OFFICES

PLEASE EXPLAIN THE PRESENCE OF HALLADI MILITARY FORCES ON SHESSARAN SOIL.


It was characteristically short.

When the offices of the Commissariat of Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs had recieved word from the supreme ruler of, the Prince Pendefigion, they had prepared a response. However, Premier Muhammad had caught wind of the message and insisted he send back a message personally.

TO: Prince Cyridd Pendefigion
FROM: Hasan Muhammad, Premier of the Halladi Arab Worker's Republic
SUBJ: Re: Halladi forces in Shessara

Comrade,

As you may have noticed, the Laeryn clan has infringed on Hallad's sovereignty. They have attacked and killed Halladis working peacefully in Shessaran to improve infrastructure in order to better facility the trade of goods. Laeryn, acting in typical brashness, surprise-attacked our engineers in Shessara (who had been lawfully contracted to perform the said duties). For that the Laeryn will pay -- they have chosen to needlessly start war and so they shall recieve the full might of the Halladi military until the forces of tyranny are whiped out from the Laeryn realm. We urge you not to intervene -- this is a matter not between Hallad and Shessara, but between Hallad and Laeryn, who has overstepped his bounds now one too many times.

Sincerely,

Hasan Muhammad
Premier of the Halladi Arab Worker's Republic

A response was swift.
FROM: Prince Cyridd Pendefigion
TO: HASAN MUHAMMAD
SUBJ: NO SUBJECT

Esteemed lord,

The Halladi regulars- for we have possession of several documents that identify them as such- were in violation of Shessara's closed-border policy. They broke Shessaran law. Please explain how this justifies a full-scale invasion of not just Laeryn's territory, but Cleddyf's? Braedd Laeryn is the Marshal of Shessara's armies; any action he takes must be reinforced by myself as his overlord. Shessara therefore must take the sad step of giving you three days to retreat from her borders, or will feel that no other option remains but a formal declaration of war.

Cyridd Pendefigion,
High Prince of Shessara

Muhammad drew up a response. Sick of dealing with the foolish Shessaran government, he gave them a warning to discourage them. If they backed off, a job well done, and if there was war, all the better. He would turn this into a crusade to dismantle the Shessaran state.

TO: Prince Cyridd Pendefigion
FROM: Hasan Muhammad, Premier of the Halladi Arab Worker's Republic
SUBJ: Re: Re: Halladi forces in Shessara

Comrade,

Halladi forces are in the domain of Cleddyf by request of Cleddyf himself, who felt an attack by Laeryn was iminent.

If you are as you claim, the overlord of Laeryn, and approve all his military actions before hand, are you suggesting to me that you approved his unlawful attack on Halladi soldiers? If so, Pendefigion, then it is truly in your best interest to quiet yourself. I have no intention of ordering soldiers into your territory, but if you intervene here, and if I find out you gave Laeryn approval to kill Halladi Patriots, then I warn you: you will be Prince for only a short time longer.

I think you know that this time your forces cannot hold out against the Halladi military. Come harvest time, what will happen to your peasant army? Will they go home? My nations Patriots will not, and then who will defend you? Or perhaps make them stay and fight? Then who will tend the crops that are the foundation of your nations backwards system. Are you willing to chance starvation for victory?

A true leader looks out for the well-being of his people. Think this through before you act rashly.

Sincerely,

Hasan Muhammad
Premier of the Halladi Arab Worker's Republic

Cyridd's response was swift.
TO: Hasan Muhammad
FROM: Prince Cyridd Pendefigion
SUBJ: Re: Re: Re: Halladi forces in Shessara

Braedd Laeryn attacked Halladi soldiers who crossed the border into Shessara, armed forces present on our soil without our permission. Engineers likewise would be equally illegal; but we have confirmation of troops on the ground and air support originating from within Hallad herself, actions that can only be those of an aggressive, invading power.

Fighting a war of aggression does not make a Halladi a patriot; a true patriot would prevent a pointless war to prevent untold agony and countless deaths needlessly. In fact, I am surprised that your people believe you when you tell them otherwise; I never believed the Halladi people to be sheep, but you have shown yourself to be quite the shepherd.

Unlike your Halladis, my friend, the Shessarans are true patriots. For their lords they will fight a few months out of the year; they will give up and go home at the end of that. But for their country they will never cease to fight, and I promise you that no occupying force could ever place their boot on Shessaran soil without paying a price in blood and tears for every inch of Shessara.

Consider this carefully.

Cyridd Pendefigion

Across Hallad, breaking news was put onto the air from the public news, HNN, part of the campaign by the government to motivate the people. In military commercials, already, there had been references to Shessara and its backwards ideas.

That night in his home, Yazid saw the latest announcement with his wife.

"... of Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs has released evidence from Prince Cyridd Pendefigion that he gave authorization and blessing to Braedd Laeryn, who attempted to slaughter Halladi aid workers and engineers -- Patriots all. Premier Muhammad has pledged that the unlawful attack on Halladi soldiers and the incursion into Halladi sovereignty will be met in full."

He turned the television off, hoping that the children hadn't heard it. He didn't want to worry them anymore. He went over to his wife and embraced her tightly.

"You're not going off to war, Yaz, don't worry," said told him, trying to calm him down.

"I know, I know," he said, not letting go. "But if the Shessarans ever get to here..."

She moved away slightly. "Then you and Sayyid and every one else in the militia will defend us. I know you will."

"Yes, we will, but..."

"You won't be alone, Yaz. The police, the army, the Republican Guard."

"I know," he said, the he sighed. "What am I worried about, honestly? Have you seen the Shessarans? They fight with sticks!"

They both chuckled. But at the same time, they worried that the very chance that their family and friends could be harmed.


Hasan Muhammad had no intention of letting that happen, though, and he wanted to show Pendefigion that he meant business. In the past weeks, movement had eased with the building of airstrips in Shessara, and so he authorized another division of Republican Guard into Cleddyf's territory, this time with the man who would command Halladi forces in his territory -- the much-honoured General Saddam Qudiz al Misr.

The General arrived in Cleddyf's capital in the early morning with his advance guard. They immediately began setting up a central supply depot for Halladi forces, and the General marched, surrounded by aides, toward Cleddyf's court. Qudiz was different from many others in the military, he had no formal education outside of the military. He had no family, he was even an orphan as a child. His only love, his passion and drive, was to Hallad. Everything he loved was embodied in his nation. He was devoted to Hallad, everything about it, and so he refused to speak English, though he knew it fluently, because it was the language of the foreigners.

He was impressively tall, with a thick beard like that of an Imam and a dark, olive complexion. With him he carried several books at all time. A Qu'ran was the most important to him, then a book that had several essays by Halladi revolutionaries from the 1952 Revolution, and finally his copy of the Green Book, the ultimate book of Islamic Socialism by Gadaffi.

Lord Cleddyf himself was to be found atop the highest point of Caer Cleddyf, a modernized castle, covered in hammered, plated steel like a bunker and reinforced with AA guns, machinegun points and other defenses strictly against Halladi customs. He had spent the morning supervising the groundbreaking for a new Cleddyf cathedral; a new testament to the presence of God where the other Shessarans were still stubbornly pagan.

Qudiz entered the highest point of Caer Cleddyf and was lead to the Lord of the Keep. He was annonced at the throne room and then entered the ellaborately decorated room. He and his cadre of followers walked until they were only about eight feet from Cleddyf himself.

"As-Salaamu alaykum," said the General in a deep and commanding voice.

"You're the new head Halladi, are you?" Cleddyf looked unimpressed.

Qudiz could understand what the Shessaran was saying, though he chosen to speak through a translator. In his own way, it was an insult to the Shessara, and a show that the man considered Arabic to be the language of culture and formality.

"I am General Saddam Qudiz al Misr, of the Republican Guard, and commander of Halladi forces in your Domain. I require an report on the condition of your forces as soon as possible and a complete inventory of your weaponry, so I know how to best use your soldiers," said the Halladi. It was translated into English.

It was, however, implied that Qudiz had little regard for Shessaran life. If Cleddyf spoke Arabic fluently, he may well have been able to tell that, as well, but Qudiz seemed unphased and totally committed to his mission.

Saddam added, "It is necessary we draft a plan immediately, as the class-enemy Cyridd Pendefigion will likely strike soon."

Cleddyf smiled thinly. "I have the six hundred Knights of my personal guard here in the capital, and from my own domains I can raise four thousand feudal levies. My loyal vassals can raise thirty thousand quickly, a hundred thousand if I press, and my disloyal vassals another hundred and fifty, in addition to the personal guards of all above."

"I suggest you begin programs within your leadership to crack down on dissent. Some of your disloyal vassals may well turn to the enemy, and we cannot have that. I will deploy soldiers to these areas if necessary," said the General. "Do you have any sort of general battle plan, or is it the usual human-wave battle you're planning to carry out?"

"The usual human-wave battle," the prince said, his voice pained. "That is a tactic we have learned to face dishonorable Halladi weapons. The Laeryn use it, but I have no wish to. In a standing battle against my kin the Cleddyf will be victorious.
"As for my disloyal subjects, that is something you do not understand. Shessaran society is based on interweaving clan ties. I rule this land because my family, through marriages, alliances, and otherwise has been recognized as the paramount of these families.
"If I take actions directly against the clans I believe to be disloyal, I risk triggering alliances far older than you or I, and causing my realm to fall into open civil war. They are 'disloyal' not because of any personal distrust, but because they have alliances with clans with differing overlords. The Shessaran system is far more complicated than the Halladis believe it to be.
"I believe that the Halladi government is far better equipped to deal with such threats than I am."

Though Saddam did not understand why the Shessaran would not take, what were in his opinion "proper disciplinary measures," he didn't really care to question it. "As I said, I will deploy soldiers to disloyal areas if it becomes necessary." He paused. "Now, would you join me in my command centre? I feel this place is much too public, and we have important issues to discuss."