SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Master_Baerne · Post by **Master_Baerne** » 2009-12-11 05:26pm

1er Armee Navale
Dutch Territorial Waters
First Day of the War

As the clock struck 12:00, Admiral Lavoisier turned to his radio operator and, with a wolfish smile, ordered the fleet to take blockade positions around the Dutch naval bases. A submarine squadron took up station just off the coast, and the aeroplane carrier Epee d'Or ran a continous air patrol. No Dutch ship would escape - Or rather, no Dutch ship would survive the attempt.

Army Headquarters
Paris, France

Etienne de la Conde, the Minister for War, stood before a gigantic map in a room deep underneath the Ministry of War building on the Champs-Elysees. Even as he watched, General Staff corporals shifted the markers showing French and Dutch positions to reflect changing intelligence, and de la Conde smiled thinly as he saw his plan taking shape.

In its elements, the plan was simple, but likely to be effective. Three main thrusts into Dutch territory, each consisting of four motor rifle brigades and nine infantry divisions, spearheaded by an armored brigade, would smash through the border defenses and drive for Charleroi, Dinant, and Kortrijk. Three motor rifle brigades supported by four infantry divisions would attempt to take Mons, but it was a secondary objective. Meanwhile, ten more infantry divisions would serve as a reserve force, remaining on the border in order to responde quickly to changing battlefeild conditions.

In the air, fifty bombers would conduct strikes on any rail yards, barracks, or other areas showing unusual levels of military activity. As their escort, eighty of the new NiD-24 monoplanes would keep any Dutch planes from damaging the bomber force too badly. If practical, some of the Navy planes might assist, but de la Conde thought it unlikely that such coordination could be accomplished between the services. Looking at the map, the War Minister saw that the initial attacks had been largely successful - the Mons force had been stalled at the second line of border forts, but units from the reserve were on their way and the main attacks had broken through the cordon with the aid of their armored accompanying units.

Turning, de la Conde glanced towards the map of Northern Africa. There, French operations had gotten off to a somewhat slower start - Indeed, would likely remain at a somewhat low tempo - with ten French divisions remaining in their Algerian fortresses to defend against a possible Dutch counterattack while ten more boarded the ships in Algiers harbor and sailed South to attempt an amphibious assault. The plan was for the Navy battle division and cruiser squadron to attempt to open a port for the infantry, and if that failed to land as many troops as possible and attempt to capture one the traditional way. De la Conde didn't really expect the Navy to be able to open a port, but a few shells wouldn't be missed and it wasn't as if the attempt could hurt. In any case, the four smaller transports were quite capable of offloading troops without a harbor, and could certainly do so if need be.
Yes, thought de la Conde, a most excellent war.

EDIT: Numbers fixed, I think - Should be no more than 15 motor rifle brigades, and the African part of the war just got a bit less stupid.

CmdrWilkens · Post by **CmdrWilkens** » 2009-12-11 06:40pm

Colon, Panama

The demonstration was brief, it didn't need to be all that large to achieve its prupose. The organizers guessed that a hasty march with modest numbers either woudl stir the local police either to nto act at all (which would aid their legitimacy) or over-react due to the speed of formation (and make martyrs out of the various paid members of the march). All told a small infusion of cash and the promise of Mexican support had been sufficient, especially as the liason had pleged before God and the Virgin Mother that Mexico had no designs upon ruling over Panama...thus the march.

All told it was a little over 1,500 persons that gathered before the provincial government house in Colon protesting the "unlawful Colombian rule over Panama" and demanding "Panama for panamanians" as well as other such slogans. The police were almost amused as it turned out, the march was tiny for the size of the city and despite some clearly attentive press they hardly represented mroe than the personal working servants of the old anti-imperialists who were simply recanvassing their dispute abotu rule from Bogota..

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs on Behalf of His Augus Majesty Maximillian II Emperor of New Spain, King of Mexico, Baja, Yucatan, Belieze, El Salvador and Nicaragua, Archduke of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Honduras, Lord Protector of Antigua, Captain-General of Guatemala, Barbuda and Yost Van Dyke, Duke of St Thomas, St Criox, St John, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and Anegada, Count of Isla de Culebra and Isla de Vieques, and Viceroy of New Granada.

The Government of Gran Colombia:

Having failed to respond to the Empire's demand for answers that affront her sovereignty
Having failed to surpress the violent extremism of communist ideology which has spilled in to violence within the borders of Mexico and her allies
Having failed to properly provide proper governance for the peoples of the Department of the Isthmus entrusted upon her by the departure of the Viceroyalty
Having surrendered her claim to the rightful titles of the Virreinato de la Nueva Granada

You are hereby notified that within 24 hours you must:

- Offer an unconditional surrender of forces to the Mexican Empire
- Arrange for the local administration of the Department of the Isthmus to provide guaranteed passage to members of the Panamanian Liberation Front and the Mexican Ambassador to discuss the separation of the Depatment of the Isthmus from Colombia
- Agree in principal to the independence of Panama subject to the Suzerainty of Mexico

Elsewise a State of WAR shall exist between our peoples.

God Save The King
Heitor Jiminez Guaranta de Rioja
Secretario de Relaciones Exteriores

------
MOBILIZATION

The date of mobilization is hereby set as 24 hours from noon upon the date of receipt at this office. Notice will be imemdiately posted by public bulletin andexpedited federal mail to all persons. Cadre officers are hereby authorized to begin distribution of stores in accordance with Standing Order 24-PlanB.

/OOC Surrender Panama or suffer war

Evincer · Post by **Evincer** » 2009-12-11 09:41pm

Diplomatic Note to Cascadia

Dear President Garrett,

Today, I received word via the telegram of the wounding of you and your cherished daughter. I wish to convey both my outrage and my sympathy at this turn of events. It is sad to see that, as the world becomes increasingly unstable, some individuals have taken the cause of violence to heart. In my speech to the nation tomorrow, I will remind all Bolivarians that terrorism is never the answer. Please accept my best regards and my wishes for the full recovery of you and your daughter. I regret that my foreign minister, Jose Bustamente, was never able to catch you on your trips abroad, but perhaps one day we will be able to meet in the future.

Sincerely,

President Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre

Post by **Coyote** » 2009-12-11 11:05pm

The Dockyards of Ashkelon
Next Day

Yonatan was ready for just about anything. Anything except for what he saw.

On his way to the docks, he waded through a crowd of people that got progressively thicker as he got closer and closer to the waterfront. They were a mixture of young and old, male and female, Arabs and people of European descent who could be Yishuv Jews or just Europeans that got caught up in the excitement. The ones that were leaving had their warm clothes and meager possessions slung over their shoulders in packs or haversacks, some few had weapons that they owned. Most of the one with their own firearms had pistols, revolvers in particular, which Yonatan knew were not going to be worth a damn on a war front; he could only hope --for their sake-- that they'd either be kept back from the front lines, or issued combat weapons worthy of the names at least.

A number of the women seemed to be organizing into an ersatz Nurse Corps, and he could spot a few military veterans of various nationalities meeting, greeting, and organizing. Banners were flown all over, mostly red, but with national flags alongside so that people could find their own language groups. Yonatan noticed, however, a number of "International Brigades" forming up, although most were "Brigades" by dint of title-- the largest group he saw was, ironically, not Arab or Russian but a large Hungarian-Czechoslovakian "International" brigade that was probably about 100 soldiers, all men.

Many of the military-trained veterans were trying to organize civilian friends into their ranks, with hasty training being given. Some were handing out rifles --where they came from, Yonatan had no idea, but hoped to find out. Some of the rifles appeared new, but most of them were old, and many were obviously civilian models. He passed by an odd knot of what appeared to be Americans, dressed almost like cowboys but with red neckerchiefs, and Henry .44 lever-action rifles. One of them had a Colt .45 automatic pistol. An odd looking group, for Communists, he thought to himself, suppressing a smile.

The crowd was clamoring to get aboard three decrepit tramp steamers in the harbor, which appeared to be full to overflowing already. Red banners festooned the superstructures, and revolutionary songs were sung by the people on the various decks and across the waters towards each other. A camera flashbulb went off, and a woman's sweet laughter rolled across the crowd. Yonatan turned to look, and that was where he got the surprise of his life.

"Na'ama!" he shouted, shoving his way towards the small woman on the dockside.
"Yoni!" she called out, waving, her face both happy and apprehensive at the same time. Next to her, an older woman smiled, looking Yonatan up and down in a predatory manner, and another woman, blond and younger, simply looked at him neutrally. She was the one with the camera he'd seen. "Yoni, I can't believe you're here!"

"Na'ama, what are you doing here!" he demanded. "You're not going with them, are you? To Russia?"
"No, silly," she said, "I'm getting the story about them going," she said, "I'm helping Yulia get a job with the newspaper," she said with a nod towards her friend. The young blond woman smiled and held out her hand.

"Yulia Montefiore," she said.
"Montefiore?" he asked, "Of--"
"The same," she said, slightly exasperated.

"What's going on here?" he asked, looking at them.
"You gonna introduce me?" the older woman asked of Na'ama. "How can I steal him away if you don't at least give me a name?"
"He's my brother," Na'ama said. "This is Margherita Sarfatti, of the University in Rome."
"Former Professor," she said, "Looking for a job here, now. Thought I'd come see the excitement. So you're Yoni Shaham, eh? Her description didn't do you justice."

Yonatan was flustered at Margherita's forward manner, but recovered. "Look, this is no place to play games. These people are serious. They're going to go fight in a war."
"All the more reason to get their stories," Madame Sarfatti said. "Some of these people may never come back, so maybe what we record here is all the tombstone they get, eh?"
"Margher-it-a!" Na'am said, elbowing her, "Don't talk like that!"
"First rule of journalism," Margherita said, "Find the truth, and then make it stick out so no one can ignore it. The enormity of it! These people! The passion! Can you feel it?"

"Hey, she's the journalist, not me," Na'ama said, pointing towards Yulia, who was snapping more pictures. Revolutionary comrades wer elining up to take pictures with their friends, and give their names and where they were going, where they were from, and what they hoped to accomplish for the International Brother and Sisterhood of workers. Yonatan looked at the faces, eyes twinkling with pride, arms around friends and in some cases lovers, and wondered who would come back jaded, bitter and haunted, and who would not come back at all.

"There is nothing romantic about where they are going," he said. "The road to glory is a goat path of mud, death, and blood."
"But in their minds," Margherita said, with a dramatic sweep towards the crowd, "It is a path of gold and diamonds. And I want to know why they see it as such. Hence, the job of the reporter," she said, this time indicating Yulia.

"Hm," Yonatan said, "So, then, your father knows you're here?"
"Not yet," Yulia said, her eyes flashing with indignant anger. "I suspect the whole world will know once these photos and my story hit the newspaper."
"How presumptuous," Yonatan said. "And you, young lady, didn't even let us know you were back. How was Uni, by the way? What were you studying?"
"Archaeology," she said, her jaw set for another argument with her brother.

"Ahh, yes, Archaeology," he said, "A lot of that going on here. Why don't you come home?" he said, "There's nothing going on for you here," he said.
"I can be the judge of that," Na'ama said defiantly.
"What, are you a Communist now?" he asked, laughing.
"What if I decided to become one?" she asked.
"Don't be silly," Yonatan said.

"Watch it sweetie," Margherita said, lighting up a cigarette, "You look like you're smart enough not to twirl a loaded pistol."

The boats behind them gave a series of horn blasts, and the last of the Communists boarded. The last one on was the revolutionary herself, Natasha Solomonova Levitina, the Commissar for the Histadrut labor federation in Ashkelon. Now, she was kissing her known associate, Yaakov Andreyvitch Rubenstein, himself the chairman of the Industrial Workers' Collective of Ashkelon. He was visibly crying as he tried to persuade her not to go, but she grasped him in a bear hug and let him go, kissed him again, and ran to the gangway as the engines begin churning a mass of seafoam behind the stern of the ship. Another blast of the horns and a great cheer went up, and well-wishers, friends and relatives called to their Revolutionary loved ones as the ships heeled away from the docks. Someone organized a rousing version of "the Internationale", and soon the throb of the massive engines and the calls of the loved ones were drowned out as the chorus boomed across the harbor, fading only as the ships themselves slipped away in the morning mist towards the north-- the Black Sea, and Sevastopol.

The Revolutionaries were coming.

Results:
About 3,000 eager volunteers surge to the Crimea to board trains and head east, to glory, graves and Revolution.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Ha'Kirya Military HQ
Tel-Aviv
Today

War was everywhere. In rapid succession, the Far East War --for such was the name it was known by in the Yishuv, at least-- had expanded as neighboring countries got involved, all for their own reasons. The Germans had suffered an unexpected coup attempt by "the quaint little nutcase" that had been surprisingly well-orchestrated, but failed. They had then proceeded to declare ultimatums to the Dutch, who ignored them, and the mighty war juggernaut of the Kaiser rolled across the fields of the Netherlands.

Communist revolutionaries had taken a shot at President Garrett, and apparently wounded his little daughter; and then there were words that another massive war was brewing in South America.

The Yishuv was on alert. What little intelligence there was to share with the Sultanate was shared; long-range aerial reconnaissance had been carried out as much as possible over the deserts and seas. The Prime Minister worried about the second German Battlecruiser being delivered or if it would be "held up", for the war with the Dutch, but he felt that there was little reason to worry-- good or bad, the Dutch Navy was not proving to be much of a problem for the Kaiserliche Marine.

Also good or bad, depending on how one looked at these things, was the transit of the hastily-assembled Communist Convoy from Ashkelon to the north, to Sevastopol, where they'd docked safely. The INS Mount Megiddo had escorted them there, cautious and worried constantly that the Communists would attract trouble-- but none came. It was on the way back, that the war with the Germans and the Dutch had started, and a report had come from the captain of the Mount Megiddo that they had encountered a Dutch freighter transiting the Mediterranean in a thick nighttime fog, and that the freighter had --upon seeing the massive, ominous grey terror of the Moltke-class Battlecruiser and no doubt assuming her to be a German ship-- had fled at a speed thought unimaginable in such an old ship.

The story was amusing, but it did bring up the notion of an accidental engagement at sea, where the entirely German-built Yishuv Navy might be mistaken for a German surface force. Notes were made, and orders distributed, to make sure that Yishuv and Sultanate flags alike were displayed prominently.

The Mount Megiddo and the much smaller vessel, the Dresden-class Light Cruiser INS Herzl, were to report to the German naval port at Triest to escort a small convoy of freighters headed south, full of brand-new small arms and machineguns for the Yishuv. It would not do for the army weapons to be lost in transit, either to an accidental attack or a deliberate one.

The Yishuv was entering a period of worry and caution, and things were going to change, the leaders could feel it... but how it would change, they could not yet know.

Results:
Yishuv tries to stay out of any wars, but are on alert in case war is thrust upon them.

***

Siege · Post by **Siege** » 2009-12-11 11:18pm

Union Army High Command
Utrecht, Central Netherlands

"Vervloekte communisten!" Not for the first time Lieutenant-General Hendrik Seyffardt cursed the criminally inept Red government in The Hague. Political considerations had prevented him, for six long years, from deploying the army as was strategically optimal, and now the Union of the Low Countries was paying the bloody price. The perfidious French and the bloody Hun had gone for his throat, and they had damned well seized the moment in all the wrong ways. His command was in shambles. The last communique from The Hague had come eight hours before. As far as he knew the government may already have fled for the African colonies. Hell, as far as he knew the African colonies might already have been seized!

"Die verdomde klotenleiers in Den Haag hebben ons mooi laten zakken", agreed Colonel Jan Joseph Godfried van Voorst tot Voorst, the general's aide-de-camp and effectively the second-in-command of the defensive effort. "Wat zijn onze orders, generaal?"

Seyffardt scratched his chin. His forces were terribly misplaced, no thanks to the utter idiots on the Centrale Komitee in The Hague. The Army of Luxembourgh was a write-off; the last telegram that had managed to get through was a communique by the general in charge warning him of a massively overwhelming German offensive. General Therioux had promised to attempt a counter-offensive from the Buldge, but Seyffardt had little confidence he'd manage to hold out for any appreciable amount of time against a joint German-French offensive.

Then there was the Army of Flanders, which faced an overwhelming French thrust. He had ordered the Flemish commanders to retreat to the Antwerpen - Brugge - Oostende line in the hope that the French supply lines would slow the opposing forces down. But it still effectively meant giving up all Walloon territory and half of Flanders, a crushing defeat.

And then there was the Netherlands. Seyffardt cursed the utter idiot who had wanted to concentrate the Army of the Netherlands at Zwolle - Zwolle, of all places! - which meant that he was now faced with the reality that the bulk of his forces had to retreat 60 kilometers to the Grebbelinie, the first line of defense against the German onslaught that actually stood a chance of working. Luckily the terrain near Zwolle did not favor the Germans: the city was in the way of the assault itself, and the army could retreat across the IJssel bridge, which it was now in the process of doing. Every train available in the central Netherlands was being used to evacuate troops from Zwolle back to Amersfoort and the defensive Grebbelinie. The city was being shelled, but the artillery available to the massive garrisons surrounding the city was so far keeping the Germans at bay... Although they were still having far more trouble than they reasonably ought to have. Chalk that up to the refusal by the government to mobilize in a timely manner. "Verdomde communisten" murmured the general again, and probably not for the last time today. He had never been a sympathizer with the Red cause, and the ideology sure as hell hadn't grown on him in the past days.

Still, the general thanked God the Germans had decided to focus their assault on Nijmegen first, so that his troops had the chance to man the Peel-Raam Positie in Brabant. Quick and decisive action by the Regiment Genietroepen had managed to activate the line which, like most Union defensive lines, made use of a combination of tactical flooding of pre-determined tracts of land and a number of strategically placed forts. Running from Grave through Deurne and Weert it effectively cut Brabant off from further attack until it had been taken. Although it was inevitable that the Germans would break through sooner or later, the line gave the people behind it a chance to evacuate and, more importantly, mobilize.

The water. General Seyffardt considered that it had for centuries been the Union's most vital defense against an enemy. It had saved the Seven Republics from the Spanish armies during the Eighties Years War and, with a little luck, it would save him today -- or at least long enough to get some kind of a diplomatic solution going. Because the general damned well realized there was very little chance of holding out indefinitely against the combined forces of the French and German empires. They would bloccade the coast, keeping any further aid or resources from arriving from the Union's colonial empire... If there indeed still was a colonial empire; as far as the general knew that may very well have been annexed by the remaining Great Powers already...

Hendrik Seyffardt looked at the great map on the wall, and tried not to pay attention to the desperate glances his staff threw at him. The Germans and French were coming in from all sides. He had already lost roughly half of the territory of his nation. But Fortress Holland still held, the Waterlinie was being activated as he stood there, likewise with the Grebbelinie and the Denderlinie. The Army of Flanders and the Army of the Netherlands were retreating as quick as they could to those lines of fortifications, and once they arrived there, hopefully they could begin a proper mobilization and defence of the realm of the Union...

Result:
Quick summary:

General Seyffardt is in charge of the defence of the Union.
Lots of territory lost to Germans and French
Army of Flanders retreats to the fortified Denderlinie (Antwerpen - Gent - Brugge - Oostende)
Army of the Netherlands retreats to the Grebbelinie and the Waterlinie behind it
Colonies are written off; so is Luxembourg and the entirety of the Army stationed there
Crash mobilization starts today!
Basically, the Union focuses on defending Fortress Holland, and tries to bleed the French and Germans white on that whilst trying to secure a diplomatic solution that'll allow it to save a modicum of face.

Ryan Thunder · Post by **Ryan Thunder** » 2009-12-12 12:56am

CmdrWilkens wrote:Colon, Panama

The demonstration was brief, it didn't need to be all that large to achieve its prupose. The organizers guessed that a hasty march with modest numbers either woudl stir the local police either to nto act at all (which would aid their legitimacy) or over-react due to the speed of formation (and make martyrs out of the various paid members of the march). All told a small infusion of cash and the promise of Mexican support had been sufficient, especially as the liason had pleged before God and the Virgin Mother that Mexico had no designs upon ruling over Panama...thus the march.

All told it was a little over 1,500 persons that gathered before the provincial government house in Colon protesting the "unlawful Colombian rule over Panama" and demanding "Panama for panamanians" as well as other such slogans. The police were almost amused as it turned out, the march was tiny for the size of the city and despite some clearly attentive press they hardly represented mroe than the personal working servants of the old anti-imperialists who were simply recanvassing their dispute abotu rule from Caracas.

The police gently herded the protestors away from the important parts of the city in an attempt to minimize property damage, but otherwise appeared to do nothing. Later, however, bodies of several of the louder protestors were found in the streets, most of them evidently electrocuted to death. Officially, it was concluded that the murders were carried out by vengeful shop-owners who'd lost significant business that day due to the protests, though no formal charges were ever laid.

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs on Behalf of His Augus Majesty Maximillian II Emperor of New Spain, King of Mexico, Baja, Yucatan, Belieze, El Salvador and Nicaragua, Archduke of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Honduras, Lord Protector of Antigua, Captain-General of Guatemala, Barbuda and Yost Van Dyke, Duke of St Thomas, St Criox, St John, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and Anegada, Count of Isla de Culebra and Isla de Vieques, and Viceroy of New Granada.

The Government of Gran Colombia:

Having failed to respond to the Empire's demand for answers that affront her sovereignty
Having failed to surpress the violent extremism of communist ideology which has spilled in to violence within the borders of Mexico and her allies
Having failed to properly provide proper governance for the peoples of the Department of the Isthmus entrusted upon her by the departure of the Viceroyalty
Having surrendered her claim to the rightful titles of the Virreinato de la Nueva Granada

You are hereby notified that within 24 hours you must:

- Offer an unconditional surrender of forces to the Mexican Empire
- Arrange for the local administration of the Department of the Isthmus to provide guaranteed passage to members of the Panamanian Liberation Front and the Mexican Ambassador to discuss the separation of the Depatment of the Isthmus from Colombia
- Agree in principal to the independence of Panama subject to the Suzerainty of Mexico

Elsewise a State of WAR shall exist between our peoples.

God Save The King
Heitor Jiminez Guaranta de Rioja
Secretario de Relaciones Exteriores

Telegram to the office of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Mexico:

Code: Select all

    Gran Colombia will not relinquish control of sovereign territory to self-aggrandizing monarchs who lord over their people in luxury not by merit but by incestuous blood, nor surrender our armies to his pissant military.

    Department Executive Officer Álvaro Estévez, Department of Foreign Relations, on behalf of Supreme Commander Arturo Ramos

To the Grand Army of Colombia:

Code: Select all

ALERT - ALERT - MEXICAN INVASION IMMINENT - ALL ABLE CITIZENS TO REPORT TO NEAREST ENLISTMENT CENTRE

To the 19th Army

Code: Select all

ALERT - ALERT - MEXICAN INVASION IMMINENT - RESIST AND AWAIT REINFORCEMENT

To the Navy:

Code: Select all

ALERT - ALERT - MEXICAN INVASION IMMINENT - RESIST AND PREPARE FOR COUNTER ATTACK

Norseman · Post by **Norseman** » 2009-12-12 03:30am

Caracas
Republic of Gran Colombia

Unreal Time, but probably prior to Mexican Ultimatum

OOC: And we just haven't had time to post this before now.

It was a fairly quiet meeting, without much of the pomp and pageantry that would normally mark such a portentous occasion. Still, the names and titles of the men around the table would tend to lend weight to whatever treaty they were signing. Right towards the end a photographer appeared to ask, "Comrades, a photograph?"

"No, no," one of the men muttered and rose from his chair, "My government don't want any publicity." He moved aside towards a corner of the room.

"The deterrent would be greater if the membership was known in full," said João Maria Patricio e Taffarel the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, "But have it your way..."

A few other foreign ministers huddled together to be in the single photograph of the event.

RESULTS
- Treaty of Mutual Defence and Non-Aggression between Gran Columbia, Brazil, and... other states not yet named.

Lascaris · Post by **Lascaris** » 2009-12-12 09:37am

Minister of Pigeonry wrote: Semi-Autonomous Overseas Province of Spanish Uruguay
CDCU
Early Morning

Word had just come in from Central Command back in the homeland; the Overseas Province was to set Readiness Condition Orange-Full. The Northern Defensive Line was to be set at a Stage Three Alert; all seven Reserve Fortress Brigades and three whole Reserve Armies, the 123rd, the 128th and the 135th, were to be called to alert and prepped for rapid activation while the 13th, 14th and 17th Infantry Divisions of the Fifth Army were to be moved up to reinforce the Primary and Secondary Northern Lines. Three Artillery Batteries usually associated with the aforementioned Divisions were positioned in the Primary Line’s second tier reserved for support personnel and prepared artillery emplacements. The Second Railway Division was ordered to their positions as well, the two massive 355.6mm/50 Cal railway guns were ordered to move up into their protective cement revetments along the Primary Line’s secondary tier amongst the other mobile artillery.

While the Army prepared, the Naval Infantry did the same along the eastern and southern coastlines of the Overseas Province as the Costal Defense Commands were called up to Stage Three Alert. The Reserve Costal Defense units were also to be called to a standby state for potential rapid activation.

Preparing as well, were the various airfields throughout the Province, prepping their aircraft for flight, though none besides the usual patrol craft were sent aloft.

Florianopolis, Presidential office

President Sneider was sitting at his office as his secretary ushered the Spanish ambassador in.

"Ah mr ambassador. So kind of you to come to my office at such a short notice." said Sneider. It was rather more a summons with the ambassador told to present itself immediately but that was a different matter.

"So to the matter of inviting yourself here. It has come to the attention of my government that your government has moved no less than 4 additional infantry divisions to our border, in addition to the move of several heavy artillery pieces including 14in railroad guns. Further to that widespread military preparations are taking place all over Uruguay. Since I'm inclined to believe I would know if our armed forces had taken any action beyond their ordinary training activity I would be most interested to hear an explanation of your offensive activity."

Siege · Post by **Siege** » 2009-12-12 02:16pm

Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie

The order had come through mere hours after the French and Germans had begun their assault, a testament to the quickness with which Lieutenant-General Hendrik Seyffardt had taken control of the situation. Under close supervision of the Waterschappen, the local councils which maintained the extensive floodworks that littered the Dutch landscape, army engineers had cut the dykes, flooding large parts of the Utrecht, South Holland and Brabant provinces.

Twenty kilometers east of that main defensive line a similar process was taking place on the Grebbelinie, a line of fortifications stretching from the IJsselmeer down to the Nederrijn river.

The flooding was bound to significantly slow down the German thrust toward Utrecht and Vianen, and the forts, casemates and other line defences were even now filling up with hastily assembled Class A reservists. Hopefully that would buy the Union enough time so that the troops at Zwolle could retreat behind the Grebbelinie. Luckily for the Union fully half the troops at Zwolle had been quartered at a modest line of defences between Hattem and Deventer on the south bank of the IJssel river, cutting down significantly on the number of troops that actually needed to cross the river. From the troops quartered on the north bank, large numbers had crossed the bridges overnight, and even more had exited the city to the west, marching 12 kilometers to the bridges at Kampen in order to cross over there. At the break of dawn on day two only a relative handful of troops remained in Zwolle itself, preparing for the inevitable German thrust at the city itself. Their task was to hold off the advance as long as possible, and then to retreat and blow the river bridges, offering the troops on the south bank a chance to make it to the relative safety of the water lines.

Trains would carry many, but for a large number of soldiers it would be a day or two of forced marches before the majority of the troops reached the Grebbelinie, and they would be facing possible flanking attacks by German forces trying to cross the IJssel at Zutphen. A harrowing ordeal, but General Seyffardt was reasonably certain his troops could make it more or less intact, at least as long as the bulk of the German army remained on the other side of the river. Once his troops were behind the Grebbelinie, and the mobilization began in earnest, he could begin to run the defence of the Netherlands he'd always wanted to run, but which the inept 'kameraden' of the Centrale Komitee had prevented him from doing for fear of a military coup. Well, they had a coup now: Seyffardt hadn't yet had the do much of anything about the government in The Hague, but the authoritarian general was of half a mind to have them all arrested for high treason. In his command bunker near Utrecht the general scratched his chin. Perhaps he could use them as a bargaining chips during future negotiations... But that something to be contemplated later. First he had to force the attackers to actually negotiate.

Flanders

In Flanders, the Union retreat was more orderly. The Army of Flanders had fanned out from its positions at Brussels, meeting the French assault head-on and halting its advance in a series of skirmishes. Whilst the French waited for their logistics trains to catch up the Union troops had then disengaged under cover of artillery fire and begun an orderly retreat, aiming to put Brussels between themselves and the French. A large part of the Army of Flanders had detached to secure the strategically important cities of Gent and Antwerpen, homes to respectively the Gent-Terneuzen canal and the Schelde harbors. The officers of the army had mixed feelings about the decision by High Command to abandon Brussel and, by extension, most of the southlands: they knew their best chance of survival was to link up with the Fortress Holland fortifications, but the predominantly Flemish and Walloon officers still were soured by the fact that the High Command had effectively chosen to hand over the Belgian provinces without so much as even trying to defend them.

Siege · Post by **Siege** » 2009-12-13 08:42am

Fortress Zion
Yerushalayim

The fortress sprawled across Mount Zion, the highest point in the city of Jerusalem, covering the mountain's summit and the western slope of the ridge just to the east of the Tyropean Valley and the Lower City. Built originally in the 13th century as a Muslim fortress as an expression of the Sultanate's dominion over the holy city of Jerusalem, successive rulers had added wings, walls and towers to it until the fortress covered about fifteen acres at the very top of the hill. It had been the Byzantines who, during their control of the city between the late 17th and 19th centuries, had transformed Fortress Zion from a purely defensive structure into a magnificent palace, and the Sultanate had kept it as such when the city had once again returned into Muslim hands after the signing of the Treaty of Antioch in 1887.

Today, the elegant structure boasted no less than six immense wings, each one built in a distinct architectural style that could be traced to a defining period in the city's history. Together they could accommodate thousands of guests. The Fortress was the Sultan's main palace in the Yishuv, was used for official functions of state when His Exalted Majesty was not there – which was most often - and it featured huge porches and banquet halls, ballrooms, grand halls, baths, and accommodation for guests. It was surrounded with gardens, groves of trees, canals, and ponds studded with bronze fountains. Its beauty rivaled that of another architectural masterpiece in the city.

Adjacent to the palace was a stout triangular fortress, the citadel. Three stocky towers formed the corners of the triangle, each of them named after one of the three towers of the ancient Palace of Herod. It was here that the guards would be stationed whenever the palace hosted high dignitaries. Today, the citadel was crawling with guards, for not one but three heads of state were about to arrive. Thousands of soldiers of the al-Fursan al-Hammur, the Red Knights, the utterly loyal elite guard of the Sultan, had taken up residence here and along the roads leading up to the palace. Further out gendarmes, both of the Sultanate and the Yishuv kept a watchful eye out for any potential troublemakers – all had been briefed about the communist rallies, and although those took place in remote Ashkelon no-one was willing to take any chances.

Two great cigar-shaped shadows fell over the citadel. An airship carrier, its four biplanes detached and buzzing the Mount, remained on high station as the Ishmael, the Sultan's personal airship, gracefully approached its docking tower at the highest top of the fortress.

Mooring cables were thrown and fed into mechanical winches which pulled the airship to the mast. An honor guard of soldiers hand-picked from the Arab Legion lined up as the stairs descended from the zeppelin, coming to a gentle rest on the ancient flagstones covering the tip of the tower. Courtiers and scribes descended, scholars and sheiks, and high representatives of all the major institutions in the Sultanate: the traveling court of the Sultan himself. Then more guards, in the spectacular dress uniforms of the Red Knights, gold-braided tunics worn with britches over immaculate white thobe, scimitars at their sides and ghutras atop their heads. Then two of the Sultan's daughters, each escorted by their own veiled courtesans, many of whom doubled as bodyguards and would carry poisoned daggers under their flowing robes.

And then, finally after all others, descended a single man dressed in flowing black robes with a golden trim and a black-and-grey ghutra. Tall, dark and well-groomed, he waited on the lowest step of the stairs, letting a hawkish gaze flit across the assembled guards and the city far below. Then, without speaking a word, he stepped onto the smooth flagstone surface of the mooring tower and disappeared into the fortress, the soldiers of the guard seamlessly forming up in parade formation behind him.

The Sultan of Sultans, the victorious emperor, the king, strong to aid, the commander of the faithful and sultan of the warriors of the faith, Abu Khalid Musa'ed Hashim al-Din bin Abdulmuin, the sultan of Egypt and Arabia, had arrived in the Holy City of Jerusalem for a summit that would chance the dynamic of power around the eastern Mediterranean.

Fingolfin_Noldor · Post by **Fingolfin_Noldor** » 2009-12-13 10:25am

Imperial Chronicles

The Armored train arrived at the Jerusalem train depot, carrying the colors of the Byzantine Emperors. With the Emperor Alexios IV Komnenos came a company of Varangian Guards, as well as a battalion of troops from Legio I Konstantinopolis. Security was tight, as the Emperor and his entourage alighted from the train with the Empress. His son, Konstantin Komnenos, was appointed Regent of the Empire in the absence of the Emperor, while holding the position of High Strategos, Commanding General of the Imperial Guard Scholae Palatinae, which consisted of Legio I Konstantinopolis, Legio II Thessaloniki, and Legio III Antioch. He thus remained in Konstantinopolis.

The Emperor arrived with his Foreign Exarch Ignatius Korolev, and Military Exarch John Doukas, together with his Empress. With an honor guard of Varangians, they walked towards the waiting cars, where he would be taken to the place to meet his counterparts from the Balkan Confederacy and the Sultanate.

===============

From Imperium Romanum to the German Empire
To Reichskanzler Johannes Sänger,
To His Imperial Majesty Wilhelm II., von Gottes Gnaden Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen, Reichsverweser von Österrreich und Ungarn etc.

The Emperor Alexios IV Komnenos, views these terms favourably, and is willing to sign the said treaty. The Imperial Ambassador to the German Empire will be authorized to sign the said treaty, at the Kaiser's earliest convenience.

Signed,
Exarch Ignatius Korolev,
Foreign Minister for Roman Emperor Alexios IV Komnenos

CmdrWilkens · Post by **CmdrWilkens** » 2009-12-13 12:55pm

Invasion of Colombia

Results are still sketchy and reports from the front lines are unreliable but it is now widely reported that 4 armies of the Mexican Army have entered the Department of the Isthmus and engaged Colombian Forces there.

/OOC Further items to wait mod determination of the results

Blockade of Colombia Announced

The Armada de la Imperio Mexicana today announced that fleet elements are now in place to enforce a blockade of Colombia and to interdict all materials heading to that nation. While notice has been sent to mariners when hostilities appeared imminent four days ago the Secretariat of the Navy indicated that care would be taken to establish fair detention procedures. The blockade has been given strict instructions to observe proper prize rules however with the charged international climate surrounding the Panama Canal naval authorities have taken the additional step of securing foreign observers to be attached to the fleet. Members of the French and German Consulates and the Naval attaches to the embassies have been granted full privileges aboard all Battleships and Battlecruisers to observe the blockade.

Furthermore the secretary announced that ships sailing for Colombian ports who were at sea when the blockade was announced will not have their cargo seized if they immediately sail for a Mexican or Neutral port to offload. All provisions of the 1907 Hague Convention shall otherwise be observed.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2009-12-13 02:43pm

Telegram to Shepistani Government

TELEGRAM
REPEAT BACK
Urgent matter stop Receiving reports of troop mobilization along Afghani-Shepistani border stop Please explain immediately stop signed Defence Sub-Minister Fahad stop

Shepistani Reply

TELEGRAM
REPEAT BACK
The Shepistani government finds your support of the communists in Russia very disconcerting. STOP. Especially the recent despatch of several units of troops to the Sino-Soviet border to assist the Communists. STOP. We also have grave concerns over the true nature of the Afghan Regime due to the use of 'People's Republic' in title. STOP. Signed Johann von Shapp. STOP

loomer · Post by **loomer** » 2009-12-13 10:56pm

TELEGRAM

REPEAT BACK
The Shepistani government finds your support of the communists in Russia very disconcerting. STOP. Especially the recent despatch of several units of troops to the Sino-Soviet border to assist the Communists. STOP. We also have grave concerns over the true nature of the Afghan Regime due to the use of 'People's Republic' in title. STOP. Signed Johann von Shapp. STOP

Afghani Reply to Shepistani Telegram

TELEGRAM
REPEAT BACK
Afghani Troops in Russia only for internal security purposes stop Not for combat with Sino-Manchurian forces stop Would extend same offer to Shepistani government in time of major conflict stop Name will remain People's Republic until next referendum stop Referendum of 1919 confirmed public desire to maintain name stop Does not indicate Communist influence on top tier of government stop Strongly request mutual demobilization along Afghani-Shepistani border stop Signed Sub-Minister Fahad stop

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2009-12-13 11:19pm

TELEGRAM
REPEAT BACK
Afghani Troops in Russia only for internal security purposes stop Not for combat with Sino-Manchurian forces stop Would extend same offer to Shepistani government in time of major conflict stop Name will remain People's Republic until next referendum stop Referendum of 1919 confirmed public desire to maintain name stop Does not indicate Communist influence on top tier of government stop Strongly request mutual demobilization along Afghani-Shepistani border stop Signed Sub-Minister Fahad stop

Shepistani Army House

"This is bullshit."

"I Agree."

"Issue orders for the attack to begin at once."

Norade · Post by **Norade** » 2009-12-13 11:22pm

Portuguese Fleet Movements

Note: This is partly in unreal time, because of when Wilkens attack was supposed to have started.

Portuguese fleets from both Guiana and Nigeria are arriving in Puerto Limon after the beginning of hostilities between Mexico and Gran Colombia. The following ships are moved from the listed ports:

Dégrad des Cannes
PSS Funcha
PSS Setúba
PSS Passata-sotto
Two Dash-class Cruisers

Port Harcourt
PSS Adamastor
PSS Lisbon
PSS Porto
Two Dash-class Cruisers

Also submarine movements are made as well with some likely ending up in region.

To go along with the movements the following is sent to both Mexico and Gran Columbia:

To the nations of Mexico and Gran Columbia:

Portugal wants no part in your war, however to protect our interests in the region we are dispatching a fleet to our shared base in Costa Rica. They will not fire unless fired upon as they pass through. Please also be alerted that their may be Portuguese submarines on patrol in the region, they are to observe only and will not fire unless fired upon.

Sincerely,
Inganto Miera, Head of Portuguese Military Relations

Fingolfin_Noldor · Post by **Fingolfin_Noldor** » 2009-12-14 12:00am

Imperial Chronicles

Mobilization Order

By Order of Konstantin Komnenos, Regent of the Empire, with the approval of the Emperor Alexios IV Komnenos,

All troops should be held at maximum readiness, ready for immediate deployment and on high alert. Legio III Antioch will mount all equipment on train and detrain at the city of Tehranopolis, and to prepare for possible deployment at the city of Yazd. All Legions and Air Force units and Naval units throughout Persia, including those trained for mountain warfare, and along the defensive line of fortifications along the Shepistani border are to be on alert for immediate deployment. This is in light of the reports of Shepistani mobilization along the Afghan border, for which the Roman Empire has peaceful relations with. Repeat, all units to be at maximum readiness, and to be ready for immediate deployment, and alert for any attack.

In addition, notices have been issued to all reservists to make ready for possible activation and mobilization. All reserve Legions will be mobilized on short notice if so required for deployment in the East.

By Order,
Konstantin Komnenos,
High Strategos of the Scholae Palatinae
Regent of the Imperium Romanum

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2009-12-14 12:10am

Morales lauds "The Anti Communist Crusade."

The prime Minister wholeheartedly endorsed Germany's and Mexico's attacks on Communist nations today calling their actions, "justified self defense in the face of the communist menace." Besides the rhetoric Morales did not urge war on Columbia or the Dutch, as some firebrands had suggested. Instead he counseled a wait and see approach saying, "the time and circumstances are not right for Chilitina to take action. Besides i have every confidence that the heroic Mexican, German and French Armies will be victorious in short order."

CmdrWilkens · Post by **CmdrWilkens** » 2009-12-14 01:12am

"Smashing" Advance captures Santiago and threatens Cuidad and Colon

We are now learning that the advance of the Imperial Army has crushed the 102nd Colombian Army driving them to seek refuge in Cuidad while advance elements of the 19th Army believed to be its 1st Corps have been surrounded in Colon. The 2nd Army has landed to the north of that city preventing escape to the East or Reinforcement by sea. At the same time short amphibious "hooks" by the Army of Nicaragua and the 14th Army have encircled Santiago, which was taken by elements of the 5th Army, and are now poised to attack Cuidad where the shattered remnants of the Colombian forces have retreated.

The only sobering news was the early failure of the 21st Army to get ashore properly at Casas Viejas where what is though to be a brigade sized force devastated the landing parties and caused huge casualties before being overwhelmed by sheer numbers and outflanked by the landward advance of the 9th Army which cut the only supply route on the 3rd day of operations.

----

Casas Viejas

Landing Boat D-5:

The nearby cliffs were unexpected and out of place...in fact all of the landmarks seemed to be wrong. The plan called for the transports to anchor bay and then launch the small lighters just after dawn while the supporting Battlecruisers laid down an initial barrage. Well apparently someone forgot to tell the warships when they were moving in because it was 0613 and not a shot had been fired. All this went through Captain Joseph Garcia Gomez's mind as his boat prepared to touch down.

*tat, tat, tat*
*zip, zip, zip*

The sounds suddenly filled the air as what could only be a heavy machine gun began whizzing bullets that tore through the crew of the launch. In an instant a dozen were dead and a dozen more injured. Blood was starting to pool at the base of the lighter when Gomez began to yell.

"Over the sides, get ashore and out of the boat"

All along the shore even more machine guns opened up, the unexpected hills and the dense foliage meant that it was impossible to locate where the enemy was save that they appeared to be everywhere. Gomez himself struggled in to the water, dropping pack and supplies carrying only his Mondragon rifle and some spare ammunition. A ripping sensation cut across his chest as a small caliber round ripped a patch off his shoulder but otherwise left him with nothing but a grazing wound. Around him men were still dying as the merchant steamers converted for this attack began disgourging troops down makeshift planks that were turning in to little more than conveyor belts of death.

Struggling ashore he found fewer than ten men left unwounded from a company that had numbered just over a hundred. Taking little time to assess he organized a small fighting position and began piling the bodies to provide some cover. Behind him a few other officers had made it ashore though most were lieutenants and captains, not a single ranking officer to lead the attack. In the midst of this the battleships finally opened up...on the beach...

Norade · Post by **Norade** » 2009-12-14 01:20am

Secret Diplomatic Note Sent

A secret note is sent to Germany and Spain.

Minister of Pigeonry · Post by **Minister of Pigeonry** » 2009-12-14 01:32am

((NOTE: This post should have been up LAST Monday and most of the events take place immediately after the German/French Ultimatum was issued so assume Semi-Unreal Time, I suppose. As it is, the Five Submarine Flotillas should be on station with the Gran Canaria and La Palma, two Köln-class Light Cruisers, the Santa Cruz, Las Palmas and San Sebastian - three Churruca-class Destroyers and the Odisea, a Dédalo-class Seaplane Tender, making up the surface blockade fleet working in coordination with the thirty subs

-- Will get a reply back to Lascaris with an Uruguayn Ambassador in unreal time as soon as I get final word on the situation of Brazil/Cisplatina in regards to Norse potentially leaving))

Spain
Palacio Real de Madrid

Shortly after the German-French Ultimatum went public, Queen Marian Alfonso Francisca made a statement of her own broadcast across the empire via radio.

“In light of the German-French ultimatum to the Union of the Low Countries, Spain has chosen the following course; we shall remain Neutral but friendly towards our German and French friends and refrain from direct involvement in any potential conflict in Europe. However, to maintain secure passage for merchant traffic through the Caribbean Sea, Spain has deployed several flotillas of warships to the region to prevent the spread of potential conflict to that region. This shall stand as a warning to all Dutch warships in the Caribbean, any attempt to confront or breach the “Peaceful Seas Enforcement Fleet” will be regarded as a hostile act and our commanders may be forced to respond accordingly.

Other Caribbean nations, please take note, Spanish vessels shall make every effort to avoid your territorial waters, we wish you no harm and no inconvenience and fully respect all peaceful Caribbean powers.

I and the Ministry Council hold hope that these disputes can be resolved quickly and without conflict and urge the Union to accept the German-French terms. Let it be know, though, if forced, Spain will commit itself to any course necessary to ensure the security of the seas and a quick resolution to any conflict we may find ourselves pressed into.”

Though the decision had been quickly made to move ahead, some weeks before, it had been no less unpleasant for Her Majesty. Her statement had been less that truthful in more ways than one, but she had had little choice but to approve Pelícano, the nation could not sit idly by while the Germans and French made their move, Spain owed the former too much and the empire stood to gain greatly from the current happenings. Potential good aside, Queen Marian could not shake the feelings of anguish and even shame for what she had asked of her nation as she returned to the Royal Palace CCC to order the Battelfleet to sea…

Spain
Naval Stations Ferrol and Cadiz
Noon

Not for an instant had preparations for the Battlefleet deployment ceased, the two ports remained in a frenzied mode, the crews at work only redoubling their efforts when the Go order came through from Madrid. Though it had taken another three hours before the first ships were ready to sail the results were no less impressive. Surging forth from Ferrol a long line of warships and supply vessels stretched out to sea headed southwest. The ships were lead by the Baden-Class Battleship Guadalajara, under the command of Grand Admiral Raul Bernardo, and quickly followed by the her sister ship the Austurias. Soon enough, the fleet would meet with further elements from Cadiz to form the Battlefleet before making the ten day journey across the Atlantic to the Caribbean.
Spoiler

Though not a part of the Battlefleet, two Flotillas of C2 Type Subs were slowly being prepared to set sail for Uruguay. The twelve submarines from SACDeF that had been sent north as part of Operation Pelicano had to be replaced.

Spain
Palacio Real de Madrid
Just after Noon

Shortly after the Battlefleet began its departure, Her Majesty made another statement, an address to the nation and all citizens of the empire.

“Children of Spain, less than one hour ago the Great Battlefleet set sail for the Caribbean under the command of Grand Admiral Raul Bernardo with orders to enforce our ultimatum to the Dutch regarding their Naval Forces in that region. I cannot easily express the anguish and unease I feel at sending our brave sailors, soldiers and flyers across the seas into what may become a conflict zone. I ask you, citizens of the empire, to pray for them and all of the men who went ahead of the Battlefleet. As I speak to you now, two Flotillas of submarines are taking up positions in the Caribbean, in three to five days they will be reinforced by additional Submarine forces and elements from a fleet sent earlier to the area. When the Battlefleet arrives they shall form the “Peaceful Seas Enforcement Fleet” some eighty-four warships strong in total.

We can only hope the Dutch set aside their arms and accept the terms set forth by our German allies and French friends. Unfortunately, the outcome remains to be seen and I ask you now, loyal citizens of Spain - from Madrid to Barcelona, from Costa Rica to Uruguay - prepare and take heart, we may be force in the coming weeks to commit ourselves to open war.”

And with that ominous statement, the Queen was quickly ushered away, back into the CCC.

The Statement had revealed much, though, certainly not all and now, as the nation was left to ponder the words of Her Majesty, three Divisions from the Home army Group were headed north by rail trough France to offer second line support to the German and French troops moving in on the Union. Along the Spanish/French border too, supply dumps were hastily being prepared for transport to the German and French lines. Though is was unlikely a Spanish soldier would fire a shot in the conflict, support in other forms had been quietly offered.

RESULTS:

-Battlefleet set off to Blockade Suriname/Dutch Antilles.

-Thirty Submarines, two Light Cruisers, three DDs, a Seaplane Tender, two Sub tenders and an Oiler are already on Station off of Suriname/Dutch Antilles, the Assault Fleet has reached Puerto Limon, Costa Rica and are standing by, security elevated in light of the Mexican/Colombian conflict.

-The Battlefleet is, on the current date, five days voyage from Blockade positions.

-Spanish Troops are quietly moved up to provide support for the French/Germans by rail.

-Spanish supplies "Leased" to the French and Germans begin to move north.

Siege · Post by **Siege** » 2009-12-14 06:07am

Willemstad
Union Antilles

After the reception of an encrypted telegram through one of the few cables between the Union and its overseas colony that had not yet been cut, the Curacao Squadron of the Union Navy steamed out of port in the depth of night, all running lights on the vessels extinguished. All ten destroyers and two battleships left port, their destination unknown even to most sailors aboard. The only ships to remain in harbor were five 'pantserschepen', pre-dreadnoughts of the Steden-class.

Mombassa
Union Kenya

A similar thing happened in Kenya when night fell there a few hours later: three battleships and fifteen destroyers left the harbor making a minimal fuss, leaving behind only a handful of small patrol boats.

Post by **Steve** » 2009-12-14 03:03pm

Portland, Federal District
18 July 1925

The days following the assassination had sent a wave of discontent and horror through the nation. City after city learned of the attack through newspaper reports, early radio messages, and word of mouth, and rage was the response; rage at the entire radical Left. In San Francisco a small mob broke windows of the Socialist Party Headquarters; in Vallejo the National Shipyard Machinists and Builders Association voted to expel a worker who had been distributing Marxist literature, exposing him to being fired by his employer. The Soviet consulate in Oakland had windows broken by hurled stones fromo the street while the Dutch military attache to Ambassador Palmkoek was harrassed in the street of Portland and denied service wherever he sought it.

The situation was soon spread by telegraph wire to Australia, where one Lance Sharkey would learn of it from a telephone call from his family in Cascadian Austalia; it would prompt the smashing of windows at the Australian Communist Party's headquarters in Melbourne and the near-lynching of radical Communist Carl Turner in Adelaide, who ended up in policy custody under spurious charges of "fomenting a riot". The news itself became a source of sad relief: the President had been wounded, not severely, at least, but his four year old daughter Sophie's prognosis was critical and "not favorable". It was said that the doctors were uncertain if she would survive the surgery to remove the bullet, even with the aid of the finest surgeons in the nation and further verbal assistance via telephone line from America, Germany, and Britain.

This was the scene when, a few days after the shooting, the Cascadian Congress held a special joint session on a Saturday, summoned by Vice President Andrew Cadbury of Victoria. President Garrett was not in attendance, still at the hospital watching over his stricken child alongside his family, but members of his Cabinet and his Chief of Staff Reginald Etps did sit in attendance at Cadbury's request.

"The Communist movement has long been a blight upon the world," Cadbury proclaimed from the podium, "misleading innocent workers into acts of grotesque violence in the name of an equality that the movement itself has always failed to achieve. Wherever a Communist nation stands I can show you a nation dominated by an unelected elite, self-perpetuating, their people held in terrible bondage. And this is the system they wish to spread across the globe in the name of the average worker. Now our President has been struck at by these fanatics, an innocent child brought down by a Communist assassin's bullet. Already our nation has endured the scorn of the Communist movement. We have endured the prolonged theft of our national property. We have endured the threats of the Dutch government and the insults of the Brazilian one. Are we to still tolerate this after our President has taken a bullet from their assassins? After his daughter, an innocent child who has never given them any harm, has been left stricken upon a hospital bed upon the verge of death?"

"If we are to remain an honorable nation, then the answer is clearly NO. The time has come to deal with this viper in our midst. That is why we are here today, to follow the example set by other nations, and to forbid the Communist Parties any participation in an electoral process they plainly seek to destroy. We shall make them an illegal party, unfit to sit upon even the councils of our smallest towns!"

A roar erupted from the Congress, Conservatives, Whigs, and Liberals commonly voicing agreement in their latent rage at what had happened. Only the handful of Socialists in the seats of the House did not join in the common roar. Nervous looks were exchanged, as this was the Cascadian Socialists' worst nightmare; that the violent, truly radical branch of the Socialist-Communist movement would do something grotesque and bring the wrath of the majority down upon all of them.

The vote was held and, by a wide veto-proof majority, the Anti-Communist Act was passed, forbidding Communist Party members from participating in elections or holding public office and authorizing the National Investigative Service to look into suspected links between the Communist Parties and overseas sponsers.

The next act was a simple resolution in response to issues about the Top End: the Subsidary Union government there would be offered annexation, but only if the Communist authorities relinquished their posts, their secret police shut down operations, and their files were provided to Cascadian authorities so that political dissidents could be freed from local jails or forced work farms. A third act, the more aggressive one, announced the formal annexation of the ports of Banda Aceh and Bakahueni into the Cascadian Republic's domains as parts of the Sumatra Territory on the grounds that the Dutch had not maintained a proper garrison and that the security of the Sumatra Territory demanded Cascadia take formal possession of them in light of this Dutch oversight.

Later that day

As successful as Cadbury had been in utilizing the national rage in bringing about his proposals, he was having less success with the Cabinet.

"This was a travesty!"

Rachel MacKenzie's proclamation was answered by grim nods from the Secretaries of War and the Navy. She was also being plainly defiant about the transmission of the annexations and the Darwin annexation proposal to the Dutch government proper, though Cadbury was assured by the Army that the proposal, more of a demand, would be sent to the Darwin leadership.

"The President was committed to a diplomatic solution," she continued, glaring at Cadbury as he did at her. "Now you are to destroy that? And do you honestly think this law of your's will pass the Supreme Court once the Communists challenge it legally? You have wasted the time and effort of the government with that unconstitutional farce!"

"You call it a farce, but many would call it the only logical solution to a faction that wants their election to office to be the last election," Cadbury retorted. "And we had to get ahead of this, we had to, because our own countrymen are enraged and horrified at what has happened. We did not force the Communists to take shots at the President, Madame Secretary, they did so on their own! And they must pay the consequence! If the Supreme Court wishes to overturn the Act then let them, but for the time being it assauges the anger and fear of the populace."

"And this... ultimatum you are sending to the authorities in Darwin? You are going to cause the war the President sought to avoid," MacKenzie pointed out.

"He had already approved military action, Ma'am," General Samuels pointed out. "For the coming month."

"Which was to give us time for the diplomatic solution he was seeking," MacKenzie answered. "And given their situation the Dutch authorities would have had to agree."

"Assuming they simply did not behave as standard Communist fanatics and use the extra time to start preparing defenses, defenses that would cost Cascadian blood to overtake," Samuels spat.

Before MacKenzie could further argue the door opened. Reginald Etps was there first, and quickly stood out of the way to admit President Garrett. The Chief Executive looked very haggard to the assembled and they all immediately spoke up, offering him verbal condolence and reassurance. "How is she?", SecWar Dale asked tentatively.

"She survived the surgery," Stephen answered very hoarsely. "The doctors say the next week will be critical. I'll be returning to St. Matthews as soon as this meeting is over. So, from the shouting I heard through the door..."

"The Congress approved a resolution to insist upon re-annexation of the Top End and the dismantling of the Communist authority there," Cadbury stated. "I was preparing the appropriate dispatches but Secretary MacKenzie was being... forceful in her disapproval." The fact that he didn't use "insubordinate" was a hard choice, but to Cadbury necessary to prevent the President from thinking he'd lost control of the Cabinet.

"That's what I pay her for," Stephen's coarse reply was. "Rachel, I'm sorry. We tried to do this the right way and now we probably can't. Go ahead and send those dispatches, God help us all."

MacKenzie glowered and gave a stiff nod.

Seeing his cue, Samuels spoke up. "The 13th and 14th Divisions have joined 1st and 2nd Australian Guards in the Top End, and by Monday the 14th's detachments should have fully relieved those of the 2nd Guards in the Bush observation posts. All posts have been reinforced and ordered to maximum defensive alert. Our attack plan is the same; 1st Guards division will attack in a hook around the east of Darwin to sever all roads to nearby towns and to trap the bulk of the Dutch forces in the city while 2nd Guards attack into the city proper and tie down the enemy force. The 13th Division will act as operational reserve. Once the city is our's we can begin utilizing launches to take coastal towns under cover of naval gunfire."

"And the Dutch fleet at Darwin?"

"Australia Fleet leaves Harbor tomorrow," was the reply. "They should be on station in time should the Dutch refuse the initial offer and an ultimatum needs to be delivered."

Nodding grimly, Stephen breathed a sigh. "Very well. Continue on then. You can all go." He motioned to Cadbury to remain seated and the Vice President did, everyone waiting for the Cabinet to file out.

"I had to do something, Stephen," he protested, knowing the President's disapproval was imminent. "Have you read the reports, we've nearly had riots in the streets against Communists and even the Socialists..."

"So to appease the immediate rage of the population we must violate our own Constitution?"

"These people want to destroy us..."

"So we'll beat them to the punch and do the job first?", Stephen responded sarcastically. "Yes, I'm sure the Congress was as mad as the nation, but you're the one who summoned them and put them in session without giving time for heads to cool. This is what you wanted, Andrew, admit it."

"I won't deny that I think the Communists have no place in the national political sphere since their entire purpose is to make their victory in a free election the last such election."

"So you used the rage over what happened to me, what happened to Sophie, to accomplish that," Stephen remarked in accusation. "You're a real bastard, Andrew."

"Understood, Mister President."

"You may go now, I need to get back to the hospital."

Summary:
Communist Parties in Cascadia are now unable to participate in elections. Communists are barred from holding public office.
Cascadia formally annexes the ports of Bakahueni and Banda Aceh on Sumatra from Dutch control.
A "re-annexation" proposal is sent to the authorities in Darwin and CCed to the Hague; Cascadia will give citizenship to local populations and will permit their armed forces to remain armed as local militia as a reserve division, but the Communist Party of the Top End must relinquish political control and the secret police will be disbanded, their files made public so that "political criminals" can be released.
There are now 4 Cascadian divisions in the Top End facing 1 division worth of local troops on the Dutch side; Cascadian forces include 2 elite divisions with motorized transport (one also has an armored brigade).
Cascadian naval units in Australia to sail within two days, bound for stations off Darwin.

Norade · Post by **Norade** » 2009-12-14 03:16pm

Submarine Fleets Portugal and Africa

As the fleet of the Netherlands steams out and down Portuguese experts decide not to risk a full engagement however they do activate their submarine holdings in Africa expecting that without proper tenders elements of the fleet may become exposed. Thus the Cruiser-class submarines sets out, at a cruising speed of 10 knots, ahead of the slower Minelayer-class submarines which are pushing at 7.5 knots, faster than a cruise, because their is a Portuguese base nestled near their target which will allow them to refuel.

In this way the Cruiser-class submarines will arrive well before the enemy fleet and will be based out a a fleet refueling station in Cape Verde, the Minelayer-class subs are working on a tighter time line and have a more critical mission. They are to mine the ports and refueling stations near Dakar and Banjul to deny the Dutch fuel and supplies they should manage this just a day or so before the enemy arrives and be forced to refuel in Bissau before moving submerged as far as they can toward Cape Verde. Meanwhile, if the enemy fleet hasn't any submarines or destroyers the Cruiser-class subs will attack the heaviest enemy vessels and do to a short refueling/rearming run should make many attacks and be loose with torpedoes.
Spoiler

Siege · Post by **Siege** » 2009-12-14 03:39pm

Note: since things are moving rather fast right now and Stas offered the use of one of his warships to more or less this end earlier in the OOC thread I'm posting this – if he changed his mind in the meantime, or somebody else turns out to be running the Soviets, then obviously that changes things, so the following is posted on sort of a conditional basis.

12:35 Local Time
Binnenhof, The Hague

There were sandbags, machineguns and anti-aircraft cannons on the square in front of the Binnenhof, the seat of the communist government of the Union -- or what was left of it. They were meant to defend the Centrale Komitee against the Germans and French as much as against a possible popular uprising - the communists were far from popular with the people right now - but perhaps most of all against the Army of the Union, which had usurped control of the day-to-day running of the Union of the Low Countries and had effectively placed the government under house arrest.

So far General Seyffardt had not yet made further moves against the Central Committee, but the fact that the barricades on the Binnenhof were manned by the men and women of the Volkswacht, the paramilitary police force under direct command of the internal ministry said enough about the faith the members of the committee had in Seyffardt's ultimate loyalty. The Binnenhof was brimming with rumors: the army was planning a coup d'etat, the Kaiser had bought Seyffardt with the promise of The Netherlands as a personal duchy, the French were about to land on the shores of The Hague, the provincial councils had already been rounded up and shot -- in the absence of any reliable ties to the outside world, the Binnenhof had turned into a fast-cooker of rumors and conspiracy theories.

Het Torentje, or the Little Tower, on the edge of the Binnenhof was traditionally the office of the secretary-general of the Union. Right now that man was Rogier van Rapalje, a gaunt, hunched-over man who looked like he had not slept in several days which was, in fact, also the case. He looked at the other person in his office, a blocky man with the build of a farmer. Kolonel-Kommissaris Johannes Hendriksen was a boor and a brute, exactly the sort of person who made it far in the Volkswacht, which was exactly what he had done.

"Still no word from our barracks in Leiden and Dordrecht" reported Hendriksen. "I fear they've either been locked down just like us... Or worse. And the army continues to march columns past the Binnenhof every hour or so."

"I know" the secretary-general nodded warily. "They come marching down right past my window. Some of them throw rotten fruit at my windows. None of it gets across the moat, but stil..." Van Rapalje massaged his temples and fell silent.

"Some of the guards at the gate to the Ridderhof swore they heard the rattling of tank threads an hour ago" the commissar continued. "They're making a point. My people are loyal, but there's not enough of them, and they have nothing to take out a tank. Mister secretary, I'm afraid they can take us anytime they want."

The secretary-general looked at the commissar, his eyes tired behind his silver-rimmed glasses. "There's no way we're getting out of this, is there?"

Hendriksen shook his head and patted the revolver on his belt. "Not without one hell of a fight."

Van Rapalje sighed. "Now I know what Marie Antoinette must have felt like when they paraded the head of madame de Lamballe underneath her window. I wish-" He was interrupted by a quick knock on the door. The secretary-general cringed involuntarily, but no soldiers burst through the door to summarily execute him. Instead, a Volkswacht aide burst in, a hurriedly scribbled message in his hands.

"They're coming" the aide mouthed, clearly out of breath, but with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Mister secretary, they're coming!"

12:49 Local Time
Nationaal Hoofdcommando, Utrecht

The telegraph operator burst into the command bunker deep underneath the castle, interrupting a high-level meeting of several key generals trying to find the optimal method for the retreating Army of the Netherlands to withdraw behind the Grebbelinie without disrupting the line's ability to withstand a possible German assault. So enthusiastic was the operator in fact that he was very nearly gunned down by the twitchy guards at the other side of the thick oaken door.

"Urgent message for the general" the operator breathed, making sure to freeze in the face of four barrels attached to the compact submachineguns the guards were carrying. At a great table displaying all the defences along the Grebbelinie, lieutenant-general Seyffardt looked up, an annoyed expression on his face.

"This had better be bloody important" he said and marched over to the telegraph operator, to snatch a piece of ticker-tape from the man's outstretched hand. His eyes narrowed as he read the message, then snapped his head toward Colonel Jan Joseph Godfried van Voorst tot Voorst, his aide-de-camp. "Take the Binnenhof. Take it now!"

14:15 Local Time
Port of Rotterdam

The SNS Slava battered into the rough waters of the river Rhine, water spraying across her bow and soot spewing out of her funnels. The ensign of the Red Banner Fleet and the flag of the USSR flew proudly from her masts and her guns were defiantly trained backwards at the North Sea from whence she came, as if daring the German warships she had passed earlier to fire at her. Then she turned her prow toward the Lek harbor and began to diminish speed as she pulled alongside one of the quays. Soviet naval infantrymen jumped onto the concrete, ignoring the gawking dockworkers in order to quickly secure the quay.

13:01 Local Time
Central Train Station, The Hague

A convoy of six heavy trucks came roaring up the main platform of the Central Station, the Volkswacht paramilitaries taking the platform masters by complete surprise as they poured out of the trucks, waving rifles and submachineguns under the noses of all those present, and butting several in the head if they did not move quickly enough. Then another three trucks followed, two belonging to a bakery, the other to a grocer's. Rogier van Rapalje coughed and stumbled as the two Volkswachters assigned to him as bodyguards dragged him out of the truck. He was partially covered with flour and he could barely see, but the most important thing was that they had made it out of the Binnenhof in one piece!

The ruse had worked: several guards had made a ruckus, careening two cars out of the main gate at the Ridderhof even as he and several other key members of government sneaked out the back. His elation faded somewhat as he thought of those brave men, who had surely died in a hail of bullets at the army checkpoint down the street. Then he shrugged it off. Sacrifices had to be made for the greater good, and these were desperate times. He was hustled onto the platform and then into the nearest waiting train. Barely did he sit down that sirens approached in the distance. He looked outside at commissar Hendriksen, who was hurrying past his cabin. "What is going on?"

"The army is here" grumbled the taciturn colonel. "They stormed the Binnenhof minutes after we left. We have to hold them off until we can get your train out of here. Stay away from the windows."

Then he was gone. No sooner had the secretary-general edged away from the thin glass of the carriage's windows that the vaulted main hall of the station was suddenly filled with gunfire. From parades and the few executions he had witnessed Van Rapalje recognized the low cracks of bolt-action rifles and the faster rat-tat-tat of automatic weaponry. He suddenly felt very lonely, very vulnerable, and very scared.

A shiver passed through the train, and the secretary felt a jolt of hope course through his veins. Then, all of a sudden, a man in the green uniform of the Union Army hurried past his window, a stocky carbine in his hands. Van Rapalje locked eyes with the soldier, saw how the man recognized him by the way his eyes widened. The secretary tried to scramble back as the man turned to bring his rifle to bear but his limbs seemed to have frozen. At this distance the mouth of the barrel looked large enough to swallow the train whole.

Then the world seemed to explode just beside his head, the window shattered and the soldier was blown backward in a wave of lead and blood. Van Rapalje felt a hand on his shoulder that dragged him down onto the floor, saw in a flash one of the Volkswacht bodyguards, a smoking submachinegun in his other hand. The train began to move in earnest, rolling out of the station and accelerating as it went, leaving the chaos and the gunfire behind.

Back on the platform, kolonel-kommissaris Johannus Hendriksen and a dozen of his surviving Volkswacht paramilitaries died seconds later in a hail of bullets as the army soldiers brought up two machineguns and took the platform, gunning down everyone who showed any sign of resistance. But by then the train had already left, billowing black clouds into the air as it raced out of Central Station on its way south.

13:45 Local Time
Lek Harbor, Rotterdam

The harbor was a chaotic mess as the few hundred meters between the quay where the Slava was already building up steam and the train station devolved into an urban firefight between Volkswachters, army soldiers and Soviet naval infantry. In the midst of the chaos the secretary-general and several other key members of the Dutch communist government hurried through the street, their guards trading shots with the soldiers who had by now brought up armored cars and were rapidly gaining ground on the defenders.

Rogier van Rapalje could already see the ship, saw the Red soldiers fanned out along defensive positions on the quay and for a moment believed that despite everything he was going to make it when he felt as if someone slapped his shoulder hard enough to throw him to the ground. For a second he lay coughing on the cobblestones before his bodyguard dragged him up again. He felt a searing pain burn through his shoulder and something wet trickling down his three-piece suit. I've been shot he thought. Good lord, they shot me.

He was barely cognizant enough to stumble up the ramp and onto the Soviet ship before collapsing onto the deck. Through dimming eyes he noticed how more people followed behind. Bullets whizzed through the air as the Soviet infantrymen retreated to the ship, trading potshots with the onrushing soldiers in the hopes of delaying them. Then, with a thundercrack and a lick of flame, one of the Slava's guns joined the melee, tearing through one of the warehouses on the quay in a magnificent display of Soviet firepower, and partially collapsing its wall on top of one of the armored cars. Another shot thumped out and the vehicle went up in a ball of flame, sending shrapnel tearing into nearby soldiers, the ship shuddered beneath him, and then Van Rapalje passed out and saw no more.

Result:
* After being placed under virtual house arrest by the army, key members of the communist government of the Union of the Low Countries make a dash for Rotterdam and the Soviet warship Slava that had arrived there to take them away.
* This triggers a full-fledged coup d'etat by the army under lieutenant-general Seyffardt, who storms the seat of Union government in an attempt to prevent the commies from escaping. * The army fails, mainly due to the actions of the fanatically loyal Volkswacht; the secretary-general and his cabinet escape on a fast train to Rotterdam.
* They are awaited at the station by more army personnel, but the train stops before it actually reaches the station and the government dismounts and runs for the harbours. They are protected by members of the Rotterdam commissariat and those Volkswacht members who rode the train down from The Hague.
* A gun battle ensues, despite an unknown number of casualties the secretary-general manages to reach the Slava, which defends itself from the attacking army soldiers through the use of at least one of its lesser guns.
* The Slava then makes a getaway down the Rhine and into the North Sea, bound for destinations unknown; the condition of secretary-general Rogier van Rapalje is unknown at this time.

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I

Re: SDN World 3 Story Thread I