NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC Thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=14027358#post14027358)

Karlstadt, Nobalia
4:13 PM, Local time

Juliana Rothschild stood in front of the Parliamentary building, holding a microphone and facing a group of men, all holding cameras. Behind her, a crowd of thousands was massed at Parliament’s steps, some holding signs, others pounding their fists into the air, but all of them chanting the same message.

“Hans, I’m standing outside the Colonial Parliament building here in Karlstadt, and as you can see the situation has indeed escalated,” she started, raising her voice to be heard over the chants. She held up the microphone in the direction of the crowd to let the audience hear before bringing it back to her mouth and facing the camera again. “The crowds are obviously chanting, ‘Independence now,’ the rallying call of the Nobalian independence movement, and they appear—”

She turned her head quickly towards the crowd as small arms started popping off, and in the distance, a crowd of black-clad demonstrators pulled out rifles. Parts of the crowd starting dispersing, but far more stayed, throwing anything from rocks to Molotov cocktails at the lines of riot policemen. The line of officers backed up slowly, but upon seeing the men with hunting rifles, they pulled out their own firearms and fired on the crowd.

“Oh God, they’re killing them!” she yelled into the microphone. “Hans, I’m going to try to get a little closer to the—”

A black-masked man with a modern hunting rifle came up behind Rothschild, smashing her in the back of her head with the butt of the weapon. Another man came up behind him, grabbing the microphone and yelling, “Independence now!” before the other one raised his rifle towards the camera. With a bang, the picture went dark.

Hauptstadt, Leistung
4:15 PM, Local time

“My God Herb, is your television on?” the man stammered, speaking rapidly into the receiver. “Well turn it on, damn it!”

Chancellor Ringkampf sat behind his desk, breathing heavily. Across the nation, pictures of a reporter getting her head smashed in by a group of armed rebels were being broadcast non-stop, and Leistung’s free speech laws made it near impossible to censor private news corporations. “I know there’s been an explosion, what’s our situation in the other cities?”

He stood up from his chair, pacing around the room. His Minister of Defense stood in the corner, arms crossed. “Understood. Alright, Herb, get back to Leistung as soon as you can.” He hung up the phone and turned to the Defense Minister. “Jan, what’s our course of action?”

“We need to pull back any and all Parliamentary officials first and foremost. After that…we need to make a strong statement, do both the rebels and the rest of the world.”

The Chancellor paused for a moment. “Are you suggesting that we use the Bundeswehr against out own people?”

“I don’t see any other options at this point. Unless we act now, we risk losing hold of our other colonies, even our autonomous regions. The Kolonialpolizei is under-armed and undermanned against a dedicated insurgent force which is obviously comfortable with collateral damage,” he said, jerking his head towards the loop of the woman’s head being bashed in on the television. “Give a statement and deploy the troops—quick in and out.”

Ringkampf nodded slowly. “Alright. You have my express permission to move in to Nobalia and secure the colony. Keep collateral damage to a minimum, and let me deal with the public—someone’s bound to be on the side of the crazies.”

“They always are, sir.”



OOC: How do you get involved? Well, if your nation broadcasts Leistungi News Network (sort of like a BBC America thing), you clearly know. If not, assume that foreign reporters are all over this, what with the firing on a crowd and killing of a reporter, and so it’s really only a matter of time before you find out.

Map of Nobalia (http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/4956/nobaliaam0.png). The colony has been under Leistungi control for over 200 years, with resistance movements only flaring up in the last 50 or so. The geography is roughly like the Netherlands, with no real defining mountain ranges or forests, but rather rolling hills and open fields, with the occasional village dotting the landscape. Population is 6 million, with 2 million in Karlstadt (the capital), 3 million divided amongst the other cities, an the remaining 1 million spread out in a rural area.

If you choose to support the rebels, fully expect to have war declared on you, unless you do it covertly. If you choose to support the government, keep troop levels below 10000—it’s a rebellion, not an invasion. If no one joins...I guess this'll be a story thread.

OOC: Hmmm. Tough choice. I have been wanting a war lately. Now all I need to do is decide who to support... the rebels or the government?
EDIT: I'm gonna go with the Government. I usually side with insurgents due to the fact that I love rebel warfare, but I feel I'll make an exception this time.

======

To: Leistungi Government
From: The Falkasian Government

In light of recent events occuring in your colony of Nobalia, the People's Republic of Falkasia would like to officially offer it's support in your fight against the radical and remorseless insurgents plaguing your region. As of such, we are willing to offer whatever equipment and support you desire from the Falkasian military and our catalog at the Universal Defense Storefront (Link provided below). Currently, we will be mobilizing the 39th Strike Squadron to provide air support and air-strikes where ever it may be needed, as well as the 12th Rapid Deployment Force (Totaling 5,500 Soldiers) and 9th Counter-Insurgency Brigade (Totaling 200 Soldiers).

Sincerely and with best regards,
Prime Minister Vladimir Kazyenko

OOC: What type of government do you have Leistung? what type of Government do the rebels want?

OOC: Leistung is a Federal Republic (just check my nation page), and the rebels just want independence. I made it purposely vague.

OOC: Can we choose to seize the colony for ourselves?

OOC: Can we choose to seize the colony for ourselves?

OOC: Do whatever you want, but seizing the colony would obviously constitute an act of war and would more likely than not rally the populace.

OOC: That's okay, I am bored and could use a good fight.

And, as a fair warning, my militarisation level when combined with my manpower is scary!!!

IC:

The Ministriat House, Ariga, Capitol of the Totalitarian State of Red Tide

It was yet another cold night outside the place where the ruling oligarchy of the Totalitarian State met, but it was nice and warm inside. The ministers who ran the TSRT were reviewing the world events right after another report from the Minister of Economics. The economy of the State had improved since the opening of the SFEZ's, but the economy remained on shaky grounds. The nation was still far-too geared towards war-production...

The Head of the Intelligence-Commissariat was the one responsible for giving overviews of world events. It was a slow-day, so he had hardly gotten three items down the list when h ran into something interesting.

"And yet more turmoil in one of those weakling democracies," Head-Commissar Ivan Gennadyvich Alexandre said, "A colony belonging to the nation of Leistung is undergoing significant turmoil. Apparently, the colonies citizens are demanding independence and the government is denying it too them..."

He trailed off as he caught the look developing in National Secretary Basvorich Narmonov. The leaders of the Totalitarian State, the man had been responsible for millions of deaths and he had done it without losing a nights sleep at all.

"Geared for war production, hmm..." Narmonov said in a low-voice.

"National Secretary?" Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Gromkyo asked formally.

Suddenly Narmonov straigthened up from his slightly slumped position and stated, "Ministers, I have a proposal..."

Various Bases throughout Red Tide...

Orders had come, had been verified, in the TSRT, when given orders by a superior, one does not ask questions. So the cogs in the machine sprung to life, divisions were mobilised, ship reactors began to spin up.

Three Carrier Battlegroups left harbor about 14 hours after the Ministriat Meeting. Also slipping out to sea were half-a-dozen nuclear powered attack submarines and two cruise missile submarines. At airbases that were home to Red Tidean Naval Interdiction Regiments, anti-ship missiles were being wheeled into ready stations. Across the vast tundra, commanders of mobile anti-sattelite missile launch vehicles were told to await possible orders. Sattelite paths were altered so that there would be more Red Tidean recon and intelligence sattelites going over Nobalia.

And finally, a list of ground units was being drawn up for deployment...

All those years of armament, all those years of anticipation, all of it was coming towards a monumental clash.

The machine of war was ready. Men and material would be it's fuel, broken bodies and machines would be its produce...

OOC2: ORBAT coming soon...

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/7492/sealog1.gif

Official Communiqué
Republic of Leistung

To: Government of Falkasia
From: Ministry of Defense
Subj: Peacekeeping

We graciously accept your offer and remind you that your men should exercise the greatest possible restraint when dealing with the civilian populace. Your government will be liable for any damages caused to major civilian targets (ie, firebombing a city), but the Leistungi Defense Ministry will cover any legal expenses which may arise after the conflict due to overzealous colonists.

Once again, we thank you for your support in this difficult time and recommend that your forces stick to South Nobalia while we initiate a blitzkreig attack to the north to isolate pockets of resistance. Hopefully we can get through this with as few casualties as possible.

Sincerely,
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/2044/signaturedh9.png
Jan Tirpitz
Minister of Defense for the Republic of Leistung

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/7492/sealog1.gif

Official Communiqué
Republic of Leistung

To: Government of Falkasia
From: Ministry of Defense
Subj: Peacekeeping

We graciously accept your offer and remind you that your men should exercise the greatest possible restraint when dealing with the civilian populace. Your government will be liable for any damages caused to major civilian targets (ie, firebombing a city), but the Leistungi Defense Ministry will cover any legal expenses which may arise after the conflict due to overzealous colonists.

Once again, we thank you for your support in this difficult time and recommend that your forces stick to South Nobalia while we initiate a blitzkreig attack to the north to isolate pockets of resistance. Hopefully we can get through this with as few casualties as possible.

Sincerely,
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/2044/signaturedh9.png
Jan Tirpitz
Minister of Defense for the Republic of Leistung

We will mobilize at once.

======

As the sound of engines hummed in the distance, the sky over Nobalia slowly darkened into a single, unrelenting blackout. High above flew an armada of Falkasian C-5 Galaxy aircraft, each laiden with hundreds of troops bound for the island colony. Also onboard were rations and equipment for the local Leistungi soldiers, should the need arise for it.

As they approached their destination, the planes descended in a well choreographed wave, slowly extending their rear loading ramps as they went. Faint pin-pricks of light began to illuminate the sky. As near-endless waves of soldiers through themselves out of the planes, parachutes began to fill the air Each one seemed to compete for space as they gently drifted towards the ground. It was all very chaotic, and yet all very orderly at the same time.

With a thousand thuds, the soldiers, supplies, and vehicles impacted the ground. Most of the troops landed well within the pre-definied landing zones, although as to be expected, a few groups drifted off course. A small carrier group had been dispatched from Falkasia, but until it arrived, the task of securing the southern part of Nobalia would be solely up to the paratroopers.

Once they got organized, the first order of business would be to find and establish an HQ.

Official Communique from the Government of Oslea

To the Government of Leistung,

We have experienced the pain of rebellion and we sympathize with you. As such, if there is a friendly airbase nearby, we would like to offer you the support of a fighter wing, as well as a close air support wing.

Specifications:
5 F-22 Raptors
5 A-10 Thunderbolt IIs
10 F-18 Super Hornets
10 AH-64 Apaches
Protection detail of 200 troops


If you should accept our offer as well as have the airbase to rearm and refuel them at, we will gladly offer assistance.

Regards,
Harry Westmoreland
Department of Defense of Oslea

Scott H.W. Fisher
President of Oslea

The Sanctuary, Headquarters of SubRosa
Undisclosed Address
Undisclosed City, Catawaba

The Senschal's head was bowed, deep in thought. His fingers rested upon the page over the red and black script. A light set of knuckles rapped on his door. He looked up from the pages.

In the door way to his small, spartan office was man holding a plain manila folder. He was excited, barely reigning it in. The Senschal waved a hand towards the hard wooden chair across from him. "Sit, Peter."

Peter, which wasn't the man's name more than Senschal was other man's, nodded and closed the door. He quickly moved over to the chair and sat down. He laid the folder in front of the Senschal. "It's Psalm 91:5, sir."

The Senschal raised an eyebrow and opened the file. He started shuffling through the large photo prints. They all showed various ports. The first set had ships in slips and berths, sedate, slumbering lions. The next set showed quite a few empty berths and slips and other ships had increased activity. The Senschal looked up and across to Peter. "When were these taken?"

Peter leaned foward and pulled out the first set of photos and moved them to the side. "Most of these are older than a week, perhaps a month at the most. They show a representative period of downtime and rest for the RedTide Navy."

Peter pointed at the remaining photos, the new ones that showed disconcerting absences of vessels and other activity, mobilization. "These were taken the morning during the Tanaarans' first pass over that area. TI forwarded their intel onto us."

Pslam 91:5, You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
nor of the arrow that flies by day;

The Senschal rubbed his chin. It wasn't a complex or overly brilliant code for the RedTide government, but it did seem to fit. After the disasterous exchange off of Saint Fabian during the Tranderson Affair where over 5,000 anti-ship missiles were launched by the RedTide navy at the Tanaarans, Romandeons, and the pitifully small Catawaban flotilla, Catawaban intelligence had focused a weary eye upon their foe. "Any indication where they are going, Peter?"

The other man shook his head. "No, sir. None, just the beginning of this mobilization."

The Senschal looked down at the photographs. "Peter, have these analyzed. I want a detailed report of this thrown up the line to the Miraade and General Waverly."

Peter stood up and leaned forward across the desk as he began collecting the photographs. "Sir, do you think they'll come here?"

The Senschal looked down at his book again. "I have no idea, Peter. RedTide may be an opportunist, but they are clever. We aren't as weak as we were at Saint Fabian, and we have stronger region relations. There are plenty of easier fish than than a clownfish in an anenome." He glanced up for a moment. "We will keep a watchful eye, though. In your report, suggest to the War Counselor and the Miraade that they put real time intelligence sources over theater as soon as possible."

"It will be done." Peter gather the folder and left.

The Senschal sighed and looked down at his book. There was a time when he had more time to devote to the crimson printed words of God, the Lord in Heaven. Now he had but time for the red ball point pen numbers of Doug, Lord of Accounting. The Senschal sighed and developed into the budgetary ledger.

OOC:
I thought I retconned the part where I launched those 5,000 missiles? Ah, well.

Naval ORBAT

x3 Carrier Battlegroups consisting of:
x6 Tsunamis-Class Fleet Carriers
x9 Bluebird-Class Guided Missile Cruisers
x24 M-Class Heavy Missile Cruisers
x6 G-Class Fire Support Cruisers
x36 Tidal Wave-Class Multi-Role Destroyers
x72 Mockingbird-Class Anti-Submarine Frigates
x48 TC-2B Anti-Submarine Helicopters
x240 Su-33NRT
x120 H/K-1 Surface Attack Aircraft
x60 TC-1 Tanker Aircraft
x60 TC-3 RADAR Aircraft
x24 K-3 Cargo Aircraft
Assorted logistics ships

x6 Shredder-Class Attack Submarines
x2 StoneAger-Class Cruise Missile Submarines

IC:
As three of the twelve Carrier Battlegroups in the State Naval Forces sortied, more signs of preperations began to take place from a completely different angle. Normally, the Red Tideans only launched two or three sattelite-carrying rockets a day, usually putting up another intelligence or replacing a communications sattelite. However, over the following six hours, no less then five launches were conducted across the TSRT. Four of them were real-time, military grade, communication sattelites, the fifth.

And activity at the Naval Ports had not slackened off with the leaving of the Carrier Battlegroups, they had actually picked-up. This time, most of the activity centered around the section of the naval bases reserved for transports and amphibious assault ships. The 46th Army Corp of the Red Tidean State Guard (IE: The regular army) had apparently begun loading onto the transports... all 100,000 thousand men and equipment.

They were to be merely the first wave ashore on Nobalia.

ooc : what kind of goverment type is the goverment???

OOC:

1. As explained before, Leistung is a Federal Republic.

2. Leistung, are you an RS nation, perchance?

ooc leistung is rebelling ... and the what kind of goverment are they rebelling...

OOC: Zot109land, the guy isn't online. Give him a chance to reply.

ooc leistung is rebelling ... and the what kind of goverment are they rebelling...

OOC: No, the Nobalians are rebelling - a colony of Leistung, not Leistung as a whole. They are rebelling against the Federal Republic of Leistung (the Leistung nation), to make a government of their own and be recognised as a free and independant nation.

OOC: Barronia is right, the rebels have no real governmental policies other than to be free. Leistung is several hundred miles from Nobalia, and though it is regarded as a colony, the people have the same rights as those of Leistungi cizitens and an attack on them would quite obviously be regarded as an act of war.

Adenia/Barr: I'm sorry, RS nation?

OOC thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=14027358#post14027358)

ooc: and wich kind of goverment have/wants leistung (its own but which sort)

OOC THREAD (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=14027358#post14027358)

OOC: Just a quick little update. The peacekeepers have arrived from Leistung and are conducting operations in the rebel northern half of the country.

Karlstadt, Nobalia
1:54 AM, Local time

Citizens stood on the sidewalks of Main Street in Karlstadt, staring up and gaping at the line of armored vehicles advancing slowly through the city. Men in full army fatigues armed with assault rifles and snipers kicked in doors to the left and right, searching for any traces of resistance. So far, though, there had been no major incidents, a relief for the people of Karlstadt, many of which feared that their homes would be destroyed in the crossfire.

On the outskirts of the city though, the story was much different. Men darted from suburban house to suburban house, trading fire with masked and unmasked insurgents. No one really knew where the rebels had equipped themselves, but it was clear that they had come packing. Naval infantrymen, by far the most poorly trained in the Leistungi military, came under fire on every street corner, RPG’s and assault rifles laying down sheets of firepower and pinning most behind their IFV’s.

On the other side of the spectrum, the elite 1st Mechanized Infantry division had been flown in from Hirschau Airport the night before, and had proceeded to utterly decimate the insurgents, forcing them to revert to suicidal charges against the massed guns of Leistungi formations. The 1st’s training in urban situations served them well in the tightly packed hell of suburban Karlstadt, and though the colonists knew the landscape, the Leistungi troops knew how to kill, and knew how to do it well.

Schramberg, Nobalia
1:56 AM, Local time

The situation in Schramberg was dire, both in the city and in the suburbs. Non-supportive civilians were being targeted by the rebels with impunity, and Leistungi forces were hard pressed to find their major strongpoints. Unlike in Karlstadt, the rebels here used guerilla tactics to strike at the rear of armored columns, drifting back into the darkness when the men tried to respond.

Every fire hydrant had the possibility to be a mine, every car could be a ticking time bomb. The 42nd Mechanized Infantry division had been deployed to the city earlier that night, and they had already lost 10% of their men to IED’s and suicide bombings. The 42nd would have to be heavily reinforced soon or the city would undoubtedly be lost.

ooc in wich topic is it in this or the other

OOC in the other, but please read the post I made there concerning you.

Freising was the target of the combined 18th and 19th Division attacks. 24,000 troops would be dropped right outside the city, there they would open fire on the city, indiscriminately killing everyone they would see, rebel, government soldier, and civilian.

Private Ross Dunken remembers the speech his commander gave him, "We will kill everything that moves that doesn't have our uniform on. Why, some of you may ask? I will tell you, because I ordered you too... but I will also rationalize it for you. Everyone will attack us when we conquer this land, even the children, and that's why to defend the interests of our nation we must destroy the entire population. You will have rounds dropped off near to every day outside the city. Casualties are expected to be well over half of each of your units, but you must remember that this if for the nation, and for every soldier we lose, you must kill four of those bastard scum...

[OOC: Sorry for the shitty post, but eh. :-(]

Red Tide Mainland, 12 hours after departure of Carrier Battlegroups

The large troop transports, amphibious assault ships, and theirescorts slid silently out of the harbor. They turned and began to steam toward Nobalia. Having left two hours ahead of the convoy, twenty-one Shredder Class Attack Submarines and four more StoneAger-Class Cruise Missile Submarines were already on their way.

Battlefleet-1, 1,900 kilometers Southwest of Nobalia, Course North/Northeast, several days later...

The three Red Tidean battlegroups were now within combat range of the Leistungian colony. Ninety-Five H/K-1 Surface Attack Aircraft lifted off, every single one of them packing six HARMs (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles). While 3/4 of the aircraft were lugging the standard anti-air defense RADAR missiles, the other 1/4 of the HARMs were configured for the different radio waves sent-off by a RADAR-site for anti-ship missile batteries.

The H/K-1's stayed 'hugged' the ocean, being guided by a TC-3 Electronic Warfare RADAR Aircraft. The TC-3's active sensors were shut-down and its passive sensors was picking up many different anti-air and anti-ship RADAR signatures. None of the waves were strong enough to identify the TC-3, but the TC-3 could identify the types of RADAR's.

Another thing the TC-3 was looking for was the tell-tale sign of a airborne RADAR or a Over-The-Horizon RADAR stationed on Nobalia. If there was one, and if it was using its active-RADAR, the TC-3 mission would be more difficult.

When the H/K-1s reached the 1,000 kilometer mark from the Nobalian coast, they spread out across an area about 50 kilometers wide while maintaining a low flight-profile. Red Tide was hoping that to destroy the RADAR sites, and to do that, all the H/K's needed to do was get too within 40 kilometers from the coastline without being detected. The actual range of this model of HARM was 50 kilometers, but it never hurt to have some safeties put into the plan.

IC: Noting that there were no Leistungian RADARs along the coast but a significant number of Over-The-Horizon RADARs, five apparently air-detection and five surface-detection, the air-raid was pretty much immediatly scrubbed.

However, OTH RADAR's do not move. And thus it was with these that the StoneAgers would deal with them.

Onboard one of the two subs that had arrived with the three carrier battlegroups, this particular sub had probed ahead of the rest of the fleet and was now carring-out its new orders.

"Open tubes 1-10." The Captain aboard the SSGN-41 said, "Arm warheads... FIRE!"

The ten CM-2 Cruise Missiles were ejected out of the water, into the air, and ignited their turbojet engines. Settling into a long sub-sonic cruise, the missiles were targetted on the five air-detection OTH-RADAR's, two missiles per-RADAR. In addition, in five minutes, a Red Tidean RORSAT would pass over this section of the world, giving Red Tide an accurate picture of all of Leistung's surface-naval assets.

OOC: The subs are the SSK's operating out of Hirschau that I mentioned in the OOC thread.

2:03 PM, War Room
Undisclosed location, Leistung

“Missiles? No, the insurgents most definitely don’t have that sort of capacity.” The Defense Minister held the receiver a few inches from his ear, trying to shield himself from the other man’s booming voice. “I agree. I think our worst fears may have just been realized.” He hung up the phone and sunk back into his chair at the end of the table. Generals and Admirals paced around the room, while the Leistungi Defense Council took their seats around the table.

“Gentlemen, at 0940 this morning, satellites picked up these images of Red Tide vessels only a few hundred nautical miles from the shores of Nobalia.” The man pointed to a number of satellite photos arrayed on the board behind him. He turned his attention next to a massive map of the colony, with every city, town, and village highlighted, and ten red X’s on random points on the map. “These red X’s represent our OTH radar sites knocked out early this morning by missiles originating from an unknown source. Sonar buoys in the vicinity have picked up traces of underwater objects, assumedly submarines.” One of the Defense Councilmen stood up, indicating that he wanted to comment.

“Our forces around the Hirschau peninsula have lost contact with a number of picket ships operating in the Nobalian Sea. All the information seems to point to one thing—Red Tide is poised to invade the island,” the Councilman said, grimacing. The other men in the room whispered nervously to each other until the Defense Minister stood again.

“My esteemed colleague here is correct. Intelligence services have confirmed that Red Tide forces are indeed mobilizing to take the island, and upon conferring with our allies in LION, we have deemed them to be a threat far greater than that posed by the Nobalian Independence Movement.”

One of the Generals on the sidelines cut in. “What do you propose we do, then? Abandon the island?” The comment was met with men on both sides of the table standing, pointing fingers and shouting. The Defense Minister slammed his fist on the table, trying to restore order.

“Everyone calm down!” he yelled, the room going silent. “Now, no one’s suggesting that we leave our people to die. In fact, I’ve just gotten off the phone with Großadmiral Scherer and he’s assured me that the High Seas Fleet is ready to sail. Generalfeldmarschall Oster has readied Heersgruppe VI, our most experienced fighting force, and Generaloberst Schreiner has already started calling up our reserves. If Red Tidan forces move to attack, we’ll be ready.”

2:45 PM, Wolf Pack 02
Nobalian Sea, Leistung

The BMS Tiefsee (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13918438&postcount=35)cut through the water silently as it tracked the unknown submarine, leading five other SSK's of the same class as they followed close behind, guarding the flanks against other threats. The Tiefsee’s captain waited for the orders coming over the communications system, grabbing the thick parchment as it left the printer. He read them to himself.

Attention crew of the BMS Tiefsee [stop]

Tracked submarine confirmed hostile [stop]

Fire at will

[full stop]

His eyes closed involuntarily, and he opened them a few seconds later, taking a deep breath and tapping his first mate on the shoulder, showing him the orders as well before picking up the onboard radio system’s microphone.

“Attention fire control, flood tubes one-six and prepare to fire, target is moving north-northeast at 27 knots.” A voice came back over the comm system.

“Aye aye, sir, tubes one-six flooded, firing solution plotted.”

“Fire one,” he said, speaking directly into the microphone. The same voice came back a second time.

“Aye, sir, one fired.”

“Fire two.”

“Sir, tube two fired.”

“Fire control, continue firing until target is eliminated.”

OOC: Heersgruppe VI should be arriving in a few days, but expect a steady tide of airborne troops to be dropped to stem the tide (lol, pun that I'll be using a lot) of your invasion.

14 kilometers off SouthWest Nobalia, SSGN-41

"CAPTAIN! TOREPEDO IN THE WATER! BEARING 6-3-0! IT'S GOT US!"

The Red Tidean Captain froze, a moment of indecision gripping the never-before-been-in-combat Captain... that was a moment of decision to long.

"Emergency Blow! Release Countermeasures, load aft toreped-!"

He was cut-off as the two 533mm torpedo's slammed into the SSGN-41. The cabins flooded and the crushing depths of the ocean claimed the lives of the 130+ cremembers.

Red Tidean Fleet Carrier H-03, minutes later, 1,800 kilometers Southwest of Nobalia

"Admiral, the Heavy Missile Cruisers MC-23 and MC-24 are ready and standing by too fire..." Came the voice of one of the staff officers on Admiral Fedovric Mentrovich Ivanov's assigned Flagship.

Ivanov gave a small smile, "Good, give the orders to fire."

There were currently no less then four TC-3 airborne RADAR's in a staggered line just North of the formation. They were keeping an eye out for the Leistungian main fleet, which was sure to come from the North to NorthWest. In addition, a Combat Air Patrol of two Su-33NRT Naval Aviation Fighter Regiments were circling the ships, keeping their active sensors powered down.

From his vantage point on the bridge, Admiral Ivanov took a pair of binoculars and looked at the MC-23. He saw the two VLS Tubes pop open and...

WOOSH! Up went a CM-2 Cruise Missile, then back down it went as it activated its main drive and began to thrust itself towards its target. Then another went up, and then back down too. The MC-24 had launched two CM-2s as well, Ivanov knew. They were targeted on the two Surface-Detection Over-The-Horizon RADARs on Nobalia's West Coast. The two on the East Coast could not currently be targetted and posed little to no threat to the Red Tidean Fleet anyhow.

"Admiral, Sir!" It was the communications officer, "We finally got it..."

'It' was a Sattelite-taken RADAR-map out of the entire oceans surface around the Red Tidean Fleet and Nobalia. If there was a Leistungian fleet out there, it would garunteed to be detected on the RORSAT's scope.

5:29 PM, AEW-53
Nobalian Sea, Leistung

Lieutenant Gruber flicked a switch in front of him, watching as the radar screen blinked to life. The pilots and crew of the E-14A (http://www.forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=12804963&postcount=31) “Capricorn” Early Warning plane had been on duty for the last three hours, monitoring Red Tidean fleet movements with the help of the onboard AN/APY-21 phased radar array and the efforts of the other three “Capricorns” operating in the area.

The pilots in the cockpit were in constant contact with Bundesmarine Command in Leistung, relaying information about the hostile fleet to the 1st, 2nd, 4th Leistungi fleets inbound to the area. The Bundesmarine had recently overhauled its sensor and battlespace monitoring systems and the Admirals in Hauptstadt were eager to test the new systems in action.

The three fleets spread out across the open sea, moving in from the northwest to strike the Red Tidean vessels in the south. The outer screen was made up, as usual, of AA elements and dedicated sensor ships, the eyes and the teeth of the fleet’s anti-air wing. A few Preußisch (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13991658&postcount=178)class frigates took up positions between the outer and middle screens, engaging their powerful PrussiaIV sensors and scanning the sea surface for wayward threats, while the middle screen, the ASW elements, took up positions. In the center of each battlegroup, the dedicated AShW destroyers and frigates began firing drills in preparation for the coming battle, while at the very core of each fleet the two aircraft carriers and four battlecruisers moved into their firing positions. Altogether, each fleet was capable of taking on a myriad of threats from any direction, and the large number of CIWS’s equipped on the outer screen and center ships gave anti-missile systems overlapping fields of fire from which to engage missiles targeted at the carriers.

Besides the four Early Warning planes flying far above the clouds, Hauptstadt had also seen fit to divert a number of FA 15 Cardinal’s from mainland bases to fly air cover for the fleet, and when coupled with the FA 16 Priest’s flying from the carriers, the combined fleet would have a powerful air arm. E-2 Electronic support planes flew in formation above the clouds, and when coupled with the E-14A’s and Preußisch frigates, they painted an accurate picture of the battlespace.

5:42 PM, BMS Jäeger
Nobalian Sea, Leistung

The communications officer on the BMS Jäeger watched intently on the bridge of the Schneesturm (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13989861&postcount=171)class destroyer as the ship next to his flashed the orders given to them by Bundesmarine Command. The orders were transmitted to the other ships in the fleet via light flashes translated into Morse code by officers on each ship, in this case, conveniently, the communications officer was free. He wrote in messy handwriting what he saw, handing the orders to the captain when he was done.

Attention crew of the BMS Jäeger [stop]

Combined fleets moving into position [stop]

Fire on targets (DD-) as they become apparent [stop]

Good luck and God save the Republic

[full stop]

Captain Blau pulled out his lighter and incinerated the orders once he had finished reading them, tossing the flaming parchment into the wastebasket. The destroyer next to his ship was relaying the same orders to the inner fleet elements in the same way as they were relayed to him, mostly due to the Bundesmarine policy of absolute radio silence among vessels until the first shots were fired.

“Able Seaman Conneley,” he started, facing the fire control station on the bridge. “Are we in firing range of the Red Tidean navy?”

“Aye ,sir. The Jäeger is exactly 138.5 kilometers from the outermost hostile ship, but it definitely appears that the Red Tideans know we’re here. Radar indicates that they too are moving into firing range. Shall I begin opening salvos?” Blau hesitated for a moment. The attack was supposed to be a surprise, and this threw him off balance.

“Yes, commence firing procedures. Ready cells 1-5 for Harpoon fire and stand by to fire on targets of opportunity. The battlecruisers and cruisers will take care of the enemy’s largest targets—it’s our job to make sure that none of the destroyers make it through the confrontation,” he said. “You may fire when ready, Connely.”

OOC: I've decided to drop this war. Pretend my guys had never arrived.

The Battle!

The Red Tidean ships were not really moving to firing range. In fact, the Bundesmarine ships were already within range of Red Tidean missiles... well within range as things would turn out. The Harpoon Missiles had barely begun to ignite their engines when the Red Tideans fired back. Red Tidean doctrine was the same throughout its entire military, which could be summed up as: hitting a bug with a sledgehammer.

There were 8 M-Class Heavy Missile Cruisers in the Red Tidean Battlefleet. The name was entirely appropriate as these ships carried 900 missiles packed into VLS tubes. They were divided along equal lines. 1/3 of the missiles were anti-ship, 1/3 surface-attack, and 1/3 surface-air. The order was given to two of the M-Classes to empty their entire complement of CM-4 AShMs, for a total of 600 missiles.

In a burst of flame and exahaust, the CM-4's skyrocketed upwards, all the way up to 100,000 feet before their rocket boosters fell away. Then their RAMjets activated, accelerating the missiles to mach-3.6. Once the missile was close enough, it's RAMjet would cut-off and missile would plummet out of the sky at over mach-4. It's height made it invulnerable to CIWS-systems until it's terminal phase... and by then, there was not a CIWS-system in the world that could react that fast. Sheer kinetic energy, plus its 560 kilogram warhead, meant that a single missile could easily destroy a battleship... and there were 600 of them bearing down on the fleet.

As for the inbound Harpoon's, the Red Tidean fleet saw them the minute they left their VLS tubes and tracked them all the way in. They met their first challenge at 90 kilometers, as the Red Tidean ships opened up with MDM-4 Surface-Air Missiles. The first volley of 150 SAMs rippled out towards the two hundred missiles from the cruisers and destroyers, followed by a second wave of 150 missiles. A huge hole was cut in the oncoming Harpoon's, then a bigger hole. As the Harpoon's entered 60 kilometers, a wave of 90 MDM-6's flew out to meet them. Approximately 20 of those missiles turned out to be unnessecary, as the MDM-6's blew the last Harpoon out of the sky at a distance of 14 kilometers from it's target, so they self-destructed.

The threat to the Red Tidean Fleet had ended, now to see how well the Leistungians did.

OOC: Stats for the CM-4:
http://z4.invisionfree.com/NSDraftroom/index.php?showtopic=949&hl=

5:33 PM, BMS Bastion
Nobalian Sea, Leistung

"Sir, radar shows multiple incomings, non-sea-skimming anti-ship missiles from the Red Tidean fleet!" the radar officer yelled, fighting to be heard over the myriad of sounds on the bridge of the Verteidiger (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13916191&postcount=17)Class cruiser. The captain turned rapidly, running to the fire control station in a matter of moments.

"Non-sea-skimming? Bloody hell, we might have caught a break here...ready cells 128-256 for ESSM fire and target the missiles most likely to breach the outer and inner screens. Inform the center ships to cover each other--try to get a favorable angle of attack when the missiles come down, and fire chaff like madmen," the captain said, trying to work out how to best deal with the impending assault. "Four missiles per cell, right?"

"Yes, sir," the man responded frantically.

"512 missiles for our ship alone...factor in the amount of ships with the same system...aye, I think we may have them."

30 Seconds Later

Like darts the missiles left their tubes, firing their boosters rapidly to reach the proper altitude. The guidance systems on each were state of the art, and most found their marks without a problem, helped in part by the rather obvious radar signature of each missile. The newer destroyers and frigates fired off Stato missile decoys, basketball-sized fragments which emitted a radar signature similar to that of a ship.

When the Red Tidean missiles that hadn't been destroyed by the waves of ESSMs being fired began raining down on the fleet, the larger ships fired off canisters of rapid-bloom chaff, confusing several missile's targeting systems and causing them to pound the surface of the water with enormous flashes and booms, but cause no damage to the ships themselves. On the outskirts of the center ships, four destroyers who's captains hadn't reacted quickly enough exploded in massive fireballs, incinerating the crewmen instantly. From a distance, the men of the Bastion witnessed one of the Kleefeld cruisers obliterated by the giant payload of one of the missiles. The sight enraged them.

When the barrage had finished, ten ships in total were at the bottom of the sea--a Kleefeld Class cruiser, five Blitzschnell Class destroyers, two Stark Class frigates, and a single Reich Class frigate who's countermeasure suite had malfunctioned. The other ships, now within Sunburn and LM-2600 missile range, readied their fire control systems for a second volley (the LM-2600 was a variation of the standard Sunburn missile with a 650kg payload and a faster overall speed), while Bazalts's from the remaining Kleefeld Class cruisers were fired off in rapid succession. All-in-all, 500 Harpoons, 260 Exocents, 100 Sunburns, and 45 Bazalts let loose in a massive volley of missiles straight towards the Red Tidean fleet.

The Battle

Three things had happened in the Red Tidean Fleet after they had launched the CM-4's.

First, the moment they had finished firing the last CM-4, the Red Tidean Ships, as a unit, turned away from the oncoming Leistungian Fleet, and therefore were not inside Sunburn and LM-2600 range by the time the Leistungian Fleet had finished dealing with the CM-4's. Secondly, upon seeing the massive SAM swarm the Leistungians had put up, Admiral Ivanov knew that this first wave would not be as effective as he had hoped, so he ordered the another four heavy missile cruisers under his command to fire all their CM-4s at the Leistungian Fleet(1,200 in all). However, none of these missile were targetted at either the Leistungian pickets nor their very outerline.

The third thing that happened was Admiral Ivanov did was order 80 H/K-1 Surface Attack Aircraft, armed with CM-3B Anti-Ship Missiles, off their carriers. These went about 10 kilometers outside the Battlefleets screen and fired off their missiles before doing an about turn and returning to their carriers. The 400 CM-3B's were targetted on the Leistungian pickets and ships in the very outer line.

Of-course, by this time the Leistungian counter(or would it be counter-counter?)-attack was on its way. And, just like the Leistungians, the Red Tideans put up a wave of SAM's to intercept them. First came the MDSM-4's, as the 805 missiles dropped to 635, then 523, and then 261 as the MDSM-6's joined their longer-ranged brethren. The missile count dropped again to 189, and then approximately 106 missiles were left. The Red Tidean fleet now began to fire-off Chaff and activate their own jamming systems. In about 23 cases, it worked.

And thats when the WHIRLWIND Anti-Missile Systems opened up. Each Red Tidean Frigate had two of these, each destroyer four, each cruiser six(with the exception of the M-Class, which had two), while the carriers had up too 9. Each Whirlwind consisted of a 30mm autocannon that fired smartFLAK and a 30mm gattling gun which simply put up a wall of lead.

The sky from 9 kilometers-on approaching the Red Tidean Fleet filled with clouds of shrapnel and tracer rounds. The count dropped from 106 missiles to 83, then from 83 to 36... and then they impacted.

OOC: Watch this page, I'll be back to edit it. Please post any preliminary concerns in the OOC thread, be back inbetween 30 minutes to an hour.

For the CM-3B:
http://z4.invisionfree.com/NSDraftroom/index.php?showtopic=4043&st=0#entry3224940

OOC: Continued from the above post...

IC:
Out of approximately 150 ships, twenty-three were stuck by the Leistungian Anti-Ship Missiles. The worst casualty was the Tsunamis-Class Carrier, H-05. It took a Bazolt, which was quickly followed by two Exocets. Exploding spectacurlarly in a massive fireball, the ship would sink in five minutes, only 24 men would survive. A G-Class Fire Support Cruiser took an Exocet missile, having the thickest armor of any Red Tidean ships in the State Naval Forces allowed it too stay afloat, but the ship was significantly damaged by the experience.

Three empty M-Class Cruisers had taken hits, two of them had emptied their SAM's and anti-ship missile tubes, though their damage control teams were trying to get some pretty severe fires under control. The third M-Class was not so lucky, it's stock of CM-4's had taken a direct hit from a Harpoon and set-alight the rocket booster fuel. The ship would spend the next half-hour struggling to stay afloat, but would ultimately go-down.

The second hardest hit area were the multi-role Destroyer's. Out of 36 ships, 8 had been hit. Out of those 8, 2 had exploded outright. Another 3 were rapidly capsizing and/or sinking, with the remaining three having their damage control teams occupied with battling severe fires and flooding. The undoubtly hardest hit area were the frigates, ten ships had taken hits, the vast majority(7) were either already under the water or were unsaveable. The remaining three were barely floating and essentially useless without returning to port for major repairs.

5:39 PM, Leistungi 4th Fleet
Nobalian Sea, Leistung

Like angels from above the FA 16's of the Leistungi carriers descended from the clouds, showing their teeth (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11128548&postcount=458). Closing the distance to the enemy ships to a mere 110 km, the fourteen squadrons of ten planes each released their deadly payloads, while even higher in the atmosphere, two more squadrons hunted for the elusive Red Tidean AWACS.

On the surface of the sea, however, the battle was beginning to take a turn for the worst, despite the rather successful missile volleys. Hordes of the ultra-fast and ultra-deadly Red Tidean missiles were beginning to take their toll on the combined fleets, and though a carrier had not yet been sunk, it appeared that their luck was about to run out.

Later, military experts would debate about what exactly went wrong during the engagement, whether the carriers should have been better protected, or whether it was simply impossible to turn away the volume of missile fire that the center ship elements were recieving. For the men of the BMS Herman IV and the BMS Volksfaust, however, the reasons were irrelivant. All they knew, or cared about, was that in rapid succession no less than seven of the powerful Red Tidean missiles had impacted on both their respective decks, obliterating both fleet carriers instantly and leaving their planes still in the air without a place to land. Further down the line, more and more missiles began to whittle away at what had previously been thought an impregnable defensive line, and men could only watch in horror as battlecruisers and carriers alike were engulfed in fire.

Despite the amount of SAM's fired to intercept, and the sheer volume of lead and missiles launched to divert the incoming threats, there was simply no amount of defense in the world that would turn away almost 1,300 warheads. At the end of the volley, the numbers were tallied, and a shiver ran down the Chancellor's spine as he read the report sent to him directly from the battle. Thirty-eight ships had been either destroyed or knocked out completely, including two carriers, six battlecruisers, five cruisers, and a myriad of destroyers and smaller ships caught off-guard.

Of course, the word "surrender" was in neither fleet's vocabulary, and the battle raged on. The aircraft's missile attack was admirable, but the fact of the matter was that it didn't have much of a chance except against the already damaged ships of the Red Tidean navy. What would really hurt, or so Bundesmarine Command hoped, was yet another missile volley launched from any ship still afloat. Waves and waves of Exocet missiles, Harpoons, and even the occasional P-500 from the still functioning Kleefeld's launched from the VLS's of the fleet, while armored box launchers emptied the lasts of their payloads.

OOC: I hate giving numbers in a post (I think it throws off the flow), so I'll just do it here. I'm currently launching essentially the lasts of my missile arsenal, a total of 450 Exocets, 45 P-500's, and 200 Harpoons. After this, all I'll have left is ESSM's and my full payload of ASROC's (no subs so far) from the inner line ships.

In the Air
Since the battle had begun, the Red Tidean Airborne RADAR Platforms had withdrawn too positions directly over the Red Tidean Fleet. Inbetween the Leistungian fighters and the Red Tidean Airborne RADAR were 42 Su-33NRT Fighter Planes providing simultaneous escort and Combat Air Patrol.

The Sea Battle
Admiral Ivanov shook his head at the ingeniousness inside the orders he held in his hands, they had been sent to his fleet via-LASER-link. He hoped he would live to see them carried out, but the Leistungians would learn that the Red Tidean Navy had more tricks up their sleeves. He had ordered that the remaining CM-4's of his still full M-Class Battlecruisers to launch. They began to do so while trying to fend off the incoming missiles of the Leistungians. In the end, they only managed to get off 643 missiles before being sunk.

The Red Tidean Fleet suffered a ferocious thrashing. Despite putting up an even bigger SAM swarm then last time, it was not enough to prevent about 231 missiles from getting through. Of those, 196 made it through the jamming, decoys, and WHIRLWIND-Systems to impact. Ship after ship exploded, the M-Class Cruisers that were not destroyed were mission-killed, the six G-Class Cruisers were sunk.

Destroyers detonated into the sky, frigates capsized and were pulled under the waves, and carriers filled with munitions and jet-fuel erupted in massive fireballs that could be seen for a good several kilometers. When the dust cleared, the burning Red Tidean Fleet was reduced too 27 ships of varying condition.

Admiral Ivanov listened grimly to the news from the CiC onboard his flagship. Damage control teams were frantically putting out fires and attempting to seal floods. So he ordered a retreat and began mentally preparing to be executed later. Despite the punishment that was heading for the Leistungian fleet, he knew his naval career-and with it, his life-was over.

[b]60 kilometers-off the Leistungian Fleet
The SSGN-18 was completely loaded with CM-1 Anti-Ship Missiles. 24 of the mach-2.1 sub-launched missiles, and, to cut a long story short, it launched them at the Leistungian Fleet.

500 kilometers to the South of the Leistungian Fleet
It had been a long flight for the 600+ NIA-04 Long-Range Naval Interdiction Aircraft, each one lugging three CM-3 Anti-Ship Missiles and heading North. They were coming to take the wind out of the Leistungian Fleet.

5:49, BMS Bundesfaust
Nobalian Sea, Leistung

“Ah…sir?” the radar operator quipped, his voice quivering.

The captain turned his head towards him. “Yes, Lieutenant? Movement on the scope?”

“Yes, sir,” he responded. “AWACS reports a flight of enemy air assets approaching fast from the south. Upwards of six hundred, sir.” He paused for a moment before continuing, checking the piece of paper in front of him before lifting his head again to speak. “Our air wings combined with the other carrier’s only come to about 310 planes, sir. Orders?”

Captain Rothschild stroked his beard, contemplating his next course of action. “Lieutenant, divert all planes from other duties to interception,” he started. “Ready short and medium-range SAMs onboard any ship still afloat and inform Hirschau Air Base of the threat—tell them to scramble FA 15’s immediately.”

“Yes, sir,” the man responded, tapping the communications officer on the shoulder and informing him of the situation. The fire control panel lit up as the ship’s remaining ESSM’s and SA-N-7 missiles were prepped for firing and aerial radar reports poured in via radio, informing the formations of ships where exactly the enemy threats were.

“Sir!” the radar operator yelled again, this time much more frantic. “Surface-launched missiles incoming, and scope is picking up several from what appears to be an underwater platform approximately 60 km away!” The bridge responded immediately, relaying the message to the other vessels and beginning evasive maneuvers. The interception of the missiles would now be in the hands of the inner screen, as the center destroyers and cruisers had all but used up their stocks of SAM’s. The destroyers and frigates fired off waves of ESSM’s, desperately trying to fend off the onslaught of missiles as they began impacting once more.

6:02, BMS Laurel
Lobster Bay, Nobalia

The vessels of 62th Support Fleet cut through the dark blue waters of Lobster Bay, the elite soldiers of Heersgruppe VI in tow. Though the battle at sea was close to its climax, the island was still technically in rebellion, and troops still needed to be deployed to secure it. In addition to that, even though Bundeswehr Command had kept it quiet, no one was entirely convinced that fending off the initial Red Tidean advance would necessarily mean that they would be gone for good.

Five hundred thousand troops were to make landfall in Northeastern Nobalia, near the loyalist port of Hirschau. It was unlikely that any rebel force could stand against the combined power of these new soldiers and the old ones combined, so even if the Red Tidean troops never came back, Heersgruppe VI would still achieve the primary goal of the campaign—bringing Nobalia back under Leistungi control.

(Could I give the rebels some more advanced weaponry?)

OOC: Post in the OOC thread. And yes, though doing so would constitute and act of war and you'd have to find some way into the colony (it's only about Maine-sized)

350 kilometers South of Leistungian Fleet & Closing...

EWACS stood for Electronic Warfare & Air Control Systems, a converted 747 that fulfilled the role of both a airborne RADAR platform and a jamming aircraft. The incoming maritime strike aircraft had one EWACS for every 50 NIA-04. The EWACS operators had thought their jobs done, as they had located the Leistungian Fleet and directed the NIA-04s in.

Then they detected the inbound naval fighters. Okay, they had rehearsed for this, at a spoken order from the strike leader(positioned onboard one of the EWACS), the aircrafts powerful jammers activated. The somewhat less powerful jammers onboard the NIA-04's also powered-up, combining to create a cloud of jamming through which reliably picking ones targets would be next-to-impossible.

The anti-ship missiles the NIA-04's were lugging had a range of 270 kilometers. Red Tidean Doctrine called for a release at 250 kilometers but allowed for adjustments as needed in case of interception from enemy fighters.

Survival for the Leistungian Fleet relied on their fighters burning through the Red Tidean jamming in time.

Convoy-53, approaching Nobalia from the immediate south

Private Kerask Novicovich Kredov vomited over the side of his transport ship. He was part of an entire Red Tidean Guards Army Corp which was being transported via a good-sized convoy. They had had to detour to the East a bit in order to avoid an ongoing Naval Battle.

"Now, citizen soldier!" A sailor who Kredov did not know laughed, "Don't tell me your a little seasick?!"

Kredov scowled at the sailor, who merely laughed some more. Kredov began to sigh, but was instead forced to empty more of his stomach contents over the side. Then he glanced up towards the BlueBird-Class Guided Missile Cruiser which was at the center of the convoy. He wished he could get a view of the screen of destroyers and frigates that helped protect the convoy, but no, all he could see were the transport ships and amphibious assault ships... and the cruisers.

He heard his name being called by a familiar voice... oh, it was his Commissar, probably. Forcing down more bile, he turned and headed into the transports interior, he hoped he would be able to return home... one day.

To: All Nations Involved
From: The Grand World Order Office of Foreign Affairs

See what happens when you let your people abuse their privileges? They rebel. They want more. They want Anarchy.

This is a prime example of why Fascism is superior to Democracy. Our nation has had rebellions, but our law enforcement ((OOC: Metrocop-like gendarmes)) has put them down with limited military involvement.

Democracy makes the people go against their masters. If they were supposed to rule the nation, why aren't they? Because they wouldn't be able to. Thus, the affairs of the nation are best decided by the government in both foreign and domestic situations. It can be compared to working with electricity; don't do it if you aren't a certified technician. Don't run a country unless you can run it well. Most people wouldn't be able to run a country well; because of this majority, democracy cannot be allowed. In an ideal world where everyone was an intelligent, non-romantic thinker with the correct beliefs, Democracy could work. However, this world is far from perfect.

One day the Fascist Enlightenment will prevail, and all will see the beauty of Fascism.

5:56, Leistungi Air Regiment
Skies above Nobalia, Leistung

The FA-16's radar readouts had just gone completely dead, dozens of blips appearing on the screens of every pilot in the sky. Novice pilots panicked, desperately trying to get in touch with their flight leaders as every hostile plane in the sky suddenly turned into twenty. One of the flight leaders took charge, flipping his radio to "friendly air band."

"Pilots, we need to close to visual range with the enemy planes. Fire off "Starkillers (http://www.forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13610840&postcount=450)" now to confuse the Red Tideans, and prepare to equip "Star Blades (http://www.forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13622044&postcount=456)" once we hit visual range," he started, the radio garbling parts of his transmission. "Fire on anything with a dish on top--guns and short-range missiles only."

Waves of long-range missiles poured forth from the formations of Leistungi planes, but the majority of the plane's arsenal, the short-range "Star Blade" missiles, stayed in reserve, ready to intercept Red Tidean planes or cruise missiles fired at the Leistungi fleet. The planes engaged afterburners and bided their time, waiting for the enemy planes to come into visual range.

7:15, XVI Corps
Highway 90, Nobalia

Private Meyers wiped the sweat from his brow, poking his head out of the Lariat (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=556542)'s hatch. The XVI Corps was one of the most heavily armored in the entire Bundesheer and was often the spearhead of an advance, as it had been in this particular landing.

Though most of the army brass had expected a massive insurrection involving everyone from the bankers to the farmers, the prospect of facing 500,000 elite soldiers seemed to have driven the insurgency underground for the moment. Others speculated that most of the colony's population was pro-government or just indifferent, and the Red Tidean invasion had actually served as a rallying call to loyalists on Nobalia. The XVI Corps had passed through three tiny villages so far and in each one there was a considerable fanfare, flags waving and children thrusting bouquets of flowers into surprised soldier's hands.

Heersgruppe VI had much more pressing matters to attend to than parading around Northern Nobalia in tanks, however. Reports were coming in from loyalists in South Nobalia that Red Tide had launched an amphibious assault in the most sparsely populated and least protected region of the colony, and the armored columns now offloading in Hirschau were being deployed to meet them head-on. It was hoped that the Leistungi government could requisition further naval support to pound the Red Tideans into oblivion, the chances of the Bundesmarine sending support within the week was close to none.

OOC: God what a horrible post...