Battle of Primerus (ALLIES)

[Theopolis]

Battle of Primerus

Battle Type: Decisive Battle
-- Retreat belies the possibility of being destroyed by enemy forces.
-- Surrender or Defeat of Graal Hegemony

[/color] forces will end in the loss of Sorguth Prime.
-- Surrender or Defeat of Allied Coalition forces will end in the eviction of Allied forces on Sorguth Prime.

The Battle of Primerus was the first genuine Allied operation of the war. While fleeting attempts at cooperation were first seen on High Hroth; the hesitancy of the Dronavi to leave native space, the ambitions of the RWU to garner increased support of the Graal Revolutionary Front, and the Esharans simple goal of peace meant that the Allied Coalition's troubles were more than just the Graal. Moreover, a wild card had introduced itself -- Varium. A small contingent of humans in the Lonos System, they had been politically bullied into joining the Graal Hegemony's war, even though their own military prowess was less than the fleets of the Allied Coalition. It was a move of desperation. The Varian Defense Fleet sent it's two vessels, the VDF Pioneer and the VDF Indomitable to lead the assault in a hot insertion onto the planet to reinforce the beleaguered Graal defenders.

The Battle over Sorguth Prime was so minor that historians of future generations would not acknowledge it was as a major battle. The three transport ships of the Varian Defense Fleet split up, turned, pitched and scratched their way across the orbital blockade. The VDF Invincible, carrying 5,000 armor pieces of the New European First Men of Iron was blasted to smithereens after being lethally pursued by the fightercraft of the RWU's carrier Greater Cooperative. Heavily damaged but suffering only minor personnel casualties, the VDF Valiant carrying the elite Varian infantry entered the atmosphere over a completely different continent and would not land at Primerus' for another fifteen hours. Only the VDF Justice managed to successfully steam past the blockade and land at Primerus, unload it's cargo and began setting up it's artillery without hinderance.

For the Varians, the VDF Indomitable would most likely warrant a statue in the annals of history, for she went down with fighting spirit. It would forever be unknown whether the crew knew they wouldn't return home -- but they fought as if they did. While fightercraft swarmed them and a RWU Dreadnought approached, the Indomitable, displaying a technological superiority that had the Esharans surprised and a fighting tenacity that the Graal themselves seemed to instill, mauled the Free Peasant RWU Frigate and gave the Etna a thrashing that put it out of patrol operations until after the end of the Battle of Primerus before a single broadside from the People's Sickle RWU Dreadnought ended any future ambitions of the VDF Indomitable.

The VDF Pioneer saw similar success but it's dreams were ended equally as soon. Matched on two sides by a RWU Frigate and an Esharan Frigate, the tacit fire control crew of the VDF Pioneer kept their guns firing for four hours until a well placed rail shot destroyed the bridge and the VDF Pioneer was left dead in the water. Her crew ejected it's lifepods, of which only 44 of 122 made it to the surface of the planet intact.

The battle on the ground had not yet commenced. The city of Primerus housed some one billion in it's center and several hundred million in the outlying, more rural based cities that surrounded it, often connected via winding roads entrenched in the sand of the planet. Surrounded on three sides by the Allied Coalition. The continued and ragged artillery fire of the Allies was intense and kept most Graal's heads down, but it was ineffective in a city so large ; 94% of casualties incurred by such artillery fire were civilian in nature and caused more trepidation than death.

Moderator's Notes
-- VARIUM: Please overlook the available Graal and Varian forces you have. PM your battle strategies, doctrines, et cetera.
-- ALLIES: Please overlook the available forces you have. PM your battle strategies, doctrines, et cetera.
-- There will be three phases. Engagement, Battle and Conclusion. Have fun!
-- Remember, the more detail, the better I can figure out what you're doing.

Casualties
-- Free Peasant[/color]: Destroyed.
-- Etna[/color]: 13% combat effectiveness. Engines inoperable. 81% crew casualty rate.
-- VDF Pioneer[/color]: Destroyed.
-- VDF Indomitable[/color]: Destroyed.
-- New European First Men of Iron[/color]: Destroyed.
[/blockquote]

[Federation of Varium]

Mognosh Kurg: Listen up you pups. This feeble alliance of pinkies, grovelling Dronavi, and communists space-rats has landed on our world with the intent of wiping our species out of existence. We will not let that happen, for we are the Graal, and we know only victory. Show no mercy, and by the end of the day we shall bathe in the blood of our enemies and be celebrated as the greatest heroes of all time. For the Graal, and for the Black Confederation!

General Engell: To the forces of Varium. For one thousand years our people cowered on Third Earth in fear of what laid in the depths of space. Now, we have finally strode forth to confront them and we are fortunate to not be doing it alone. This will be Varium's first victory in a millennia, this will be the day our people rise to greatness against the communists and the cowards and the vindictive bastards who dare call themselves human most of all. Today we make our families, our people, and Elkin Ross proud, today we are unstoppable! For Varium, and for the Black Confederation!

[Theopolis]

Battle of Primerus

[/u][/center]

1,200,000 soldiers of the Allied Coalition were now poised to brave the onslaught of Primerus. They faced 500,000 battle hardened troops of the Graal Hegemony and 100,000 Elite specialists of Varium. The Allied Coalition waited until dawn of the fourth day following the Varians run of the blockade and in a unified forward assault that acted in tandem with a heavy artillery strike and close air support from Esharan and RWU aircraft which was only answered via sporadic anti-aircraft from various Graal AA sites established within the city.

Battle of Primerus ; (Days 1-4)

[/u]

While initially Mognosh Kurg ordered an intricate defensive line, layered thrice with bunkers, mines and iron hedgerows, he arbitrarily heeded the advice of several of the more practiced minds of the Varian Infantry and pulled his troops back to the city proper, leaving the smaller suburbs to fend for themselves. This plan meant less territory to defend, smaller chokepoints into the city, and a greater defense in depth. For this reason, Dronav, Esharan and RWU infantry all advanced on empty bunkers, a fact that startled all three factions. Morale was high within the Esharan and Dronav ranks, and some rumor spread among the lowliest of pirates that the ships that ran the blockade were evacuation ships. The battle had already been over!

The commissars of the RWU knew better and kept their Revolutionary Guards' and People's Militia's in battle formation as they edged in toward the city proper. The first four days were marked by the endless desert turning into the large sandsteel buildings of Primerus. Tanks and mechs were slowed by the huge debris dropped across the road and infantry had to remove them. By the night of the third day, Ayar morale was also rising, they hadn't even fired their rifles and the only thunder came from Allied artillery barrages.

Battle of Primerus (Days 4-109)

The first official casualty of the battle was Private Killian Tartus of the Esharan Victrix legion. His patrol wasn't the vanguard, but seven hundred meters shy of it. His squad, along with three others was sweeping 197th street when the shot rang out. The shot came from a B01 Bolt-Action Pulse Industries rifle, and judging by the distance -- with a 12x or 16x magnification scope. He was dead before his corpse hit the ground. His squad and the other three dropped behind debris and took cover. The battle had started.

The Republic of Eshara[/color] received the worst and most concentrated artillery barrages. While they advanced they faced intricate bunker systems, machine gun nests and portable close line mortars that made Close Air Support difficult. The Varian artillery, ostensibly the most well trained of any of the participating armies specifically targeted the Esharan front from the South. Esharan observers often noted purple and silver attired humans with Graal forces, initially assumed to be long-time Esharan defectors, intel finally reached the lower levels of Esharan commands that they were Varians. Another interesting note, whenever a Graal position become unstable -- whether an Esharan warhound approached and began to lay down large amount of fire, or an Esharan fireteam found an alley and began a flank, many times the Graal simply abandoned the position instead of fighting to death, a fact that concerned many sergeants who were used to having to deal with the Graal banzai charges when their position became indefensible.

Notable Engagements (Southern Front -- Republic of Eshara)

• Battle for Kulik Square: Kulik Square had been the assumed location of twelve Anti-Aircraft batteries that were giving Esharan aircraft real trouble. The Square's civilian purpose had been an entertainment market, but now was home to a battery of AA guns that had been targeted for capture or destruction. Kulik Square involved some 34,000 Esharans and 2,000 Warhound Mechs. The Graal mustered some 20,000 regulars in the defense of their all important AA guns and the fighting was literally house to house. In a notable point, Captain Huvesius of the 7th Brigade (reported to 48% fighting strength by Day 79), Sabina legion had captured the guns and held them for three hours before a counterattack by 12 SNOG tanks and 4,000 Graal Regulars retook them. They are currently held by the Graal and at least 230 Esharan fightercraft have been claimed by them. Allied artillery is too ineffective fifty miles into the city without risking friendly casualties, but a concentrated effort could take the square once and for all, or a concentrated defense could cut off further attempts at taking it.
  
• Latillian's Alley: Lieutenant Latillian of the Scholae Palatinae's Air Division made the most of his misdrop by taking a west-east running street within Graal lines. While cut off from supplies, surrounded by Graal and without adequate anti-tank weapons, within five hours of fighting Latillian's platoon had claimed seven SNOG's and over three dozen Graal infantry. They have since been surrounded and Latillian's last COM; " To the last man .. zzt .. For Eshara " was mourned by Esharan commanders. The line is on the far eastern edge of the battle, and while troops can be converted to their aid, they would detract from the main front.
  
• Main Front: The Esharans have been held to a stop, the only ones stopped actually and this is primarily due to the allocation of heavy Anti-Aircraft resources and the concentration of Varian artillery on their position. The simple architecture of Graal buildings and streets meant most straight paths were killzones with Graal Heavy Machine Guns and entrenched SNOG's often slaughtering approaching squads who were unaware of the impending threat. The Graal maintain a unified threat, but reports from the airdrops are initially successful, the Graal simply fell back to more tenable positions within the vast city and for that -- most of the paratroopers often reunited with Esharan ground troops before any real damage could be achieved. The Esharans are facing the battle hardened Graal 281st Infantry, all veterans of the Graal-Dronavi War. They are the only Hegemony soldiers at Primerus who are both regular soldiers and veterans of a previous campaign -- and they have made the Esharans pay for every inch of Graal soil they take via heavy machine gun fire, intricate tactical retreats and sporadic mortar barrages.

The Revolutionary Workers' Union[/color] front was a mixed bag in itself. Sixty-four days into the battle, more casualties had been recorded due to heat exhaustion than actual combat, as their natural anatomy was not suited to the extreme climate that Sorguth Prime offered. They were ordered on however to ensure unity with the Dronavi and Esharan advances, and later just the Dronavi advances when the Esharan advanced became bogged down. The Ayar units had it easiest -- not because of the enemy disposition but rather because their close air support was the most effective in slowing Graal retreats to the city proper, but as later statisticians would note -- the Ayar maintained the lowest kill ratio of the three armies, as the Esharans were locked in a slugfest with the Graal 281st Regulars and the Dronavi specialists were advancing in a swath that had been unseen in Dronav history, the RWU advanced meticulously, often slowed by the need to wait for another CAS attack or a sixth rest break for water.

Notable Engagements (Western Front -- RWU)

• Hrugg Bridge

[/color]: The third largest bridge in Primerus, it served as the focal point for SNOG and mechanized movement along the axis of attack on the entire western front. Aerial observation indicated it was the reason that the Graal could hastily reinforce nearly any juncture on the western front with relative ease. The bridge itself was too big to be felled by conventional RWU airborne weaponry ; (eighteen lanes across, sandsteel reinforced and covered at several points with AA batteries), but with a concentrated assault could be captured and by which several large portions of Graal units would be cut off and the Graal would be pushed back even further. Such a push would weaken the edge of the advancing RWU line, however.
[/li][li]Tandarian Pocket: Near the established front, elements of the 103rd People's Militia managed to surround a column of nearly 800 SNOG Main Battle Tanks that had been ordered on a full out assault near where the Dronav and RWU lines were to intersect and meet up. The attack was initially successful until the rather wily tactics of a human RWU Colonel named Johann Tandarian completed an encirclement and became a fighting effort with his equipped AT brigades to destroy the pocket. The Graal units turned south and the fighting became house to house, street to street and the heavily fatigued Tandarian Pocket is threatening to break. Reinforcing the pocket could help collapse it and destroy a large portion of enemy armor that has become the bane of the 1st and 2nd Sickle Division.
[/li][li]15th Artillery "Mawblind" Counterattack [/color]: Along with a platoon of SNOG Main Battle Tanks, the Mawblind Mechanized Division, attached to the 15th Blacklight Artillery Army of halftracks and armored buggies has sallied forth along the very edge of the RWU western front, nearly where the Esharan and RWU units have converged. Along with support from Graal military police and militia, they have broken through the RWU line, primarily due to the fact that while the RWU has employed large amounts of Anti-Tank and Tank Destroyer companies, their true lack of a main battle tank in the area has let the quicker APC's and armored buggies do as they please in the wide streets of Primerus. Under Varian command, these units assembled and struck westward in a lightning blitz and on Day 102 were reported within 7.4 miles of RWU High Command Outpost established on the city outskirts. While the higher training of the RWU units has bogged them down, they have failed to cut off their supply line and captured Graal officers have admitted that the Mawblind is preparing another offensive to break through the RWU lines completely and capture or kill leading units of the RWU High Command that have been identified by Varian specialists in the area.
[/li][li]Main Front: The RWU have advanced the farthest -- 51 miles -- into the city proper, but have sustained the largest casualties, but this is due to the high amount of counterattacks geared toward their front, as well as the extreme climate in which the Ayar are fighting. Non-Ayar units have received less casualties but are also reporting that the civilian population is becoming increasingly unfriendly and 171 incidents of Graal "civilians" picking up the weapons of fallen RWU and Hegemony soldiers and opening fire on passing units have been reported. The 2nd Harvester Airwing has scored an unconfirmed 291 SNOG's, 171 IFV's, 81 Field Guns and untold infantry, but logistics is becoming an issue as distance from the homeworlds and technology that is not suited to the harsh climate of Sorguth Prime has caused at least 71 friendly RWU aircraft to go down as VTOL thrusters were clogged with sand or malfunctioning sensors caused an airborne collision by Unit 321 "Peacefinder" and Unit 181 "People's Protector" at RWU Airstrip 007.
[/li][/ul]

The Dronavi[/color] front was a race to the finish. The 8th and 12th Göngbrotsjór units were cutting a wide swath across the northern, least defended front. The 162nd Graal Infantry Army was reporting huge casualties and often times was being ordered to fall back before even settling into position a second time. The blitzkrieg died out by the fiftieth day as the Göngbrotsjór units outreached their supply and had to slow, with no outstanding orders to continue at all costs and also with only engineers as a divisional assistance, they could not keep up with the Graal retreat and had to slow themselves or run a risk of being stretched too thin. By the seventieth day, the Dronavi offensive was back in full swing but slowed to a more realistic level.

Notable Engagements (Northern Front -- Dronav Holdworlds[/color])

• Astrok's Holdout

[/color]: A rather brutal Graal named Astrok has rallied the local population to his cause and on Dronavi map's a place named Astrok's Holdout has been identified within Dronavi lines. A small industrial warehouse sector, he commands 2,000 Graal Conscripts and an estimated 5,000 - 12,000 recruited militia who operate out of this small sector and perform hit and run attacks on Dronavi supply trucks and units that are moving to the front. A dedicated assault force could uproot Astrok, but this would slow the froward Dronavi force even further.
[/li][li]Graal High Command[/color]: The Graal High Command has been identified, 27 miles south of the current Dronavi line in a heavily fortified surface bunker system. It is the mind of the Graal Home Army and ensures the Battle of Primerus remains pitched. The Göngbrotsjór forces could strike out toward it to capture or kill the Graal leaders, but unknown enemy compositions means they would be thinning their own lines and moving to attack an enemy position that may be stronger or weaker than initially anticipated, but it could end the Battle of Primerus if successful.[/li][/ul][/blockquote]

[Empire of Ezria]

Second Legio ''Victrix''; Main Front:

Callum couldn't remember the last time he hadn't heard gunfire or the sounds of screaming whether it be Graal or his own comrades. '' Get ready. '' The words felt hollow as they leapt from the lips of their platoon Sergeant Rykers, a tough and hardened veteran of thirty years. Since their Lieutenant had been cut to pieces by a Graal mine a month ago, he had been acting as the platoon's de-facto commander. So many officers had been killed or wounded as of late, Callum knew that many field promotions were being hastily given.

The platoon, now reduced to less than half it's original strength had been pinned down by an enemy Graal bunker up ahead. Like a buzz saw, the rounds cut a swathe above their head. Someone was screaming behind them, but Callum didn't dare look back as he hugged the dirt. It was only when they heard the 'hiss' of an overheating barrel that Callum gave a wordless cry and sprang into action. He knew from deadly experience that a well trained Graal crew could have a Grog heavy machine back in action in less than forty five seconds when they switched barrels. They wouldn't get the chance. Callum's charge carried him less than twenty five feet, but it was enough to get the bunker and it's occupants in range of his flame thrower. His finger squeezed the trigger, a long gout of burning promethium erupting from the muzzle. The bunker was swathed in a tsunami of flame, Callum could make out three figures dancing and screaming as it enveloped the bunker. Until like puppets that had their strings cut, they collapsed. The stench of charred bone and flesh struck him full in the face, the loud pop of ammunition cooking off sent a shiver down his spine.

'' Kilo street has been secured. '' He heard his sergeant mumble into the radio.

'' Roger. Move up and secure the Eagle's Nest with First and Second Platoons. '' Command replied, Callum's eyes were drawn to a massive building several hundred yards away. It might as well have been several hundred miles. Callum wept then, but even his tears weren't enough to make a mark on his soot stained visage that resembled more the demon he had become than the man he had been at Corfu. What was left of Third Platoon, Eighth Century moved out.

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Legio Sabina; Battle of Kulik Square:

It had taken over two hours of fighting to uproot the small squad of Graal troopers from the building. Sixteen of Dracanus' men had died taking it. The Graal we're brave and skilled fighters but it was their human advisors alongside them that were marked men. Only three of the Varium had been taken alive but they would never leave the planet as prisoners. Dracanus cocked back the hammer of his revolver. The bullet blew away the Varium troopers skull, showering the Centurion Dracanus with bits of brain and blood before he moved on to the next two kneeling men and shot them as well. The crack of gunfire was just one of many before the Centurion holstered his pistol, letting his troops drag the corpses into a nearby pile of Graal dead. The Varium had been tortured for information first, when they had nothing left to say the Centurion had shot them dead execution style. Prisoners had been ordered to be well treated but field commanders had often disregarded those orders simply because they were impractical. They had no holding areas for prisoners and a fight this bloody had grown personal.

Atrocities were beginning to become common place on both sides, the Esharan's had discovered many of their captured brethren skinned and flayed. While in turn, any Graal they came across (civilian or otherwise) was generally gunned down without mercy. There had been too many incidents of 'civilians' picking up the guns of their dead menfolk to fight on. The methodical destruction of Graal homes was beginning to resemble ethnic cleansing more than a war. Particular hatred had been given to the Varium fighters, humans who had betrayed their own kind and sided with vicious aliens that had long since warred on their brethren. It was a hatred that often boiled over, as was the case here. Dracanus knew his men could expect little mercy and he was determined to repay the favor in kind. No quarter for the enemy.
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168th Mechanized Century (company) / Eighth Legio 'Scythia':

'' We have an Esharan platoon trapped out there. '' His voice was hoarse from screaming and shouting orders, Centurion Flavius Claudius said as he looked at his weary troops. More than one was sporting a bloodied bandage across a scalp that had been opened by a Graal bayonet, or a shoulder that had been peppered with shrapnel. The troops gave grim nods as Flavius spoke.

'' I said we have an Esharan platoon trapped out there! '' A soot stained finger was pointed in the direction of Latillian's Alley. The Century would have to run a gauntlet of Graal defenses to reach the embattled platoon, and Flavius knew that he was asking much of these men. The second verbal nudge from their commander made the collection of troops give a shout, no a roar as if they were a group of Graal pups readying for a charge.

'' Mount up! '' Flavius barked, exhausted troops moved towards their infantry fighting vehicle's and armored personnel carriers. Several ''Warrior'' mech's of Legio Scythia had been chosen to support the mechanized company as they made their push to reach the cut off men. At first, the steady thumps against the IFV's armor sounded like hail. Flavius knew in reality they were small arms fire. The heavier 'booms' was what one had to worry about. But the rescue company wasn't going to be deterred. Speed was their weapon, and he knew Latillian's men we're running out of time.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Scholae Palantine / Third Century 'Tunnel Rats':

It had taken weeks for the Esharan's to find the sewer line. Many Esharan commanders thought that the Graal we're too stupid to even have sewers, but to prevent a major epidemic of disease Tribune Rixus of the elite Scholae Palantine knew that the enemy had to have something. Sewers we're like streets, except they smelled of shit and we're filled with rats (or whatever the Graal equivalent was). But Command was desperate to break the deadlock of the Battle of Kulik's square. Several companies of the Scholae Palantine had been tasked with insertion into the webway of passages and to find a route that would lead them just below the square. The plan was that they would emerge and surprise the enemy, hopefully the Graal would be killed by the mere stench of the men. To navigate the twisting webway of tunnels, they had been given surveillance drones to scout the way ahead and provide real time mapping data.

A glance was tossed towards his HUD chip on his glove, no signs of movement. But Rixus had heard stories, stories of creatures that lurked in the dark. He had ordered his men to be careful, First Platoon was slowly making it's way forward. Now if they could just find an exit near the square, they would emerge like the rats that they were.

[Federation of Varium]

A shot of the Varium Elite holding the line

[Dronav Holdworlds]

Primerus City// Dronavi Transport Column// 5:30am

Private Densk of 8th Platoon, 6th Company, FHA 43rd Tunnel Guard had been asleep for most of the ride from the staging zone to the front lines. They whole outfit was in high spirits with the Graal on the run and casualties having been low according to high command. The platoon was sitting in back of a Grinder Mrk II 1 ton transport, the swaying of the vehicle had a steady rhythm and some of the boys from third squad had started up a song. It was a shanty of some kind from one of the human civilizations. Shanties had become popular for the their ability to keep a work crew focused and in unison, so a lot of trooper had learned them to keep time on a march or as just something to do to pass the time when noise discipline wasn't in affect.

"Oh the smartest clipper that you can find
Ah-hey, Ah-ho, are you most done
Is the old wildcat of the Swallow Tail Line
Clear away the track and let the bullgine run"

Densk joined in with the rest of the platoon. They clapped their hands onto their knees to keep the rhythm. Even Sgt. Criel had joined in. He wasn't smiling like the rest, no one had seen him smile since the Curgasos had been lost. But his voice was strong, designed to cut through a barracks or a battlefield with equal ease.

"To my hey rig a-jig in low-backed car
Ah-hey, Ah-ho, are you most done
With Liza Lee all on my knee
Clear away the track and let the bullgine run

Oh! the Marg'ret Evans of the Blue Star Line
Ah-hey, Ah-ho, are you most done
She's never a day behind her time
Clear away the track an-"

Krack-BOOM, there was a sudden series of explosions and the whole platoon was tossed from the wreaked transport. Densk's ears were ringing and his vision was swimming. There were a bunch of Graal in ragged uniforms firing RPG's and a mixture of small arms. Karl and Hans were crumpled in unnatural positions. Sgt. Criel was up and fighting along with a couple of the other men. The convoy was in tatters.

Densk struggled to his feet. His hands scrabbled to get a hold of any weapon that he could find. A rifle was in his hand before he knew what was happening. He was up and firing, moving towards the other survivors. It was all over in couple of minutes, what was left of the company had seen off their attackers. Sgt. Ciel was shouting orders and setting up a perimiter while they waited for support.

[Revolutionary Workers' Union]

RWU High Command Outpost, 101st Sledgehammer Division

Lieutenant Iyanof looked out onto the battlefield from the open hatch of his Sledgehammer M11. Thousands of lasers streamed into the sky, hitting clouds of sparkling mirrors at various angles. From the clouds, pillars of red light swept long lines of death along the burning horizon below.

Iyanoff scratched at his collar to let in a bit more air, but he felt no relief. Sorguth Prime was already an unbearable hellhole: All the destruction in the nearby city only made it worse. He could feel a thick layer of sweat in-between his fur and his body armor.

Suddenly, an Ayar head appeared to his right, nearly causing him to jump out of his hatch. The heat and sandy air, as well as his own sweat, had made it difficult to catch the newcomer's scent before she was right beside him.

"General Vilodor!" he gasped when he finally recognized the other Ayar's smell. She must have climbed onto the self-propelled gun while he was watching the horizon But why?

"Save the antics, comrade," the general replied in a soft but determined tone as she pulled the rest of her body onto the turret. "The Graal mean to send a mechanized attack force against our position here, and I mean to send one right back at them. And your division is just the one capable of taking on the job."

Iyanof noticed that Vilodor had traded her usual officer's greatcoat and helmet for a Revolutionary Guard's sheath of body-armor, and that a pulse-laser rifle was hanging at her back on a strap. "Of course," the lieutenant stuttered, "but there's no need for you…"

"I said save the antics, comrade," Andrasa Vilodor repeated, this time more firmly. The dark brown-coated skin above her eyes furrowed: There was no arguing with the general. "I fought through the Revolution Wars, I know the risks. I faced them every day. I also know how to lead a division: I started out fighting in one.

"Know your Revolutionary Values, comrade. Social Cooperation. If I die, the Revolution will have its millionth martyr. If all of High Command dies, the Revolution will have its first defeat.

"Now, join your comrade soldiers below and inform them of the situation. I will take your place at the hatch to keep the situation in my sight. We move out in ten minutes."

___

Tandarian Pocket, 103rd People's Militia Division

Rows upon rows of houses had been leveled, turning what was once part of a cityscape into a nearly-flat landscape of pulverized rubble. And still, the fighting went on, anti-tank beam-minicannon lasers shooting out from every direction and high-velocity shells crashing in reply. Aiming was becoming hard for everyone as the air filled with sand and smoke.

Captain-Comissar Ama Nemanya crouched in her foxhole alongside three People's Militia privates, one manning a minicannon while the other two covered her with their rifles. Nemanya watched the rear: That way she could spot any flanking maneuvers or, more likely, any attempts at retreat by the soldiers of the 103rd. The figure that appeared in the haze was neither.

Some Graal was climbing out from underneath a fallen sheet of sandsteel. Unarmed, not uniformed, clearly not in fighting shape. However, that didn't mean it wouldn't try to fight anyways, picking up a dead soldier's gun like countless "civilians" before it. Practically without thinking, the commissar raised her pistol and shot. The laser pulse landed neatly on the Graal's forehead, cutting a suddenly-expanding hole that pushed out a few still-burning, crumpled chunks of brain. Below the forehead, the Graal face contorted itself almost surreally as skin tightened suddenly and eyes bulged. Their heads always did that.

Nemanya heard a series of cracks close-by and ducked, turning to check on her privates: Two were well beyond dead, their bodies riddle with bullets and forming a grotesque pool of blood underneath. A Graal machinegunner had gotten the best of them. The last was unharmed physically, but curled up on the ground, crying and screaming. The soldier was useless, even a liability, but there were more important matters to attend to than shooting her: The shape of a SNOG was growing more massive and more clear out of the mist of sand, charging headlong for the foxhole.

Without flinching, the Captain-Commissar grabbed the beam-minicannon from the heap of bleeding Ayar bodies and took aim. The machinegunner saw her move, but was only halfway through his swivel to face her when laser cut through hull to meet fuel. The explosion incinerated the gunner along with his fellow crewmen, and threw Nemanya back just in time for another SNOG to emerge from behind the wreck of the first.

"DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT…" the private's screams were cut off by a burst of automatic fire from atop the hulking mass of the Graal tank. Hm, the Graal have done my work for me, Nemanya mused, though she knew she was next. She had trained for this: The capsule was in her mouth and broken in seconds. However, her last sights before her vision faded were not machinegun fire into her body, or even Graal coming to capture her -the official reason for equipping officers with the pill-.

The last fifteen seconds of life seemed to go on for hours. Nemanya saw the side of the enormous tank slice open wider and wider as if a knife was slowly making its way through a wheel of cheese. First the cut, as blinding red met rugged grey. Then the slice, as the red moved down the metal plate. Finally, the opening, as the glowing-orange edges of the divide gave in to the heat and curled up, allowing the laser to turn the inside to carnage. The tank did not explode: it simply stopped, and the commissar thought she could just make out the burning, burst-open bodies that the peacefully dead shell hid.

Ama Nemanya turned to look at the soldiers and tanks rushing into the scene. Compact, fast-moving Sickle tank hunters and valorous People's Militia bearing the insigna of the 102nd were felling the SNOG monsters. With her dying thoughts, the commissar wondered if revolutionary martyrdom had ever been so laughable.

[Theopolis]

Battle of Primerus

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The official surrender of Black Confederation Armed Forces High Command (BCAFHC) came two hundred eighty-one days into the campaign. The city was tarnished, civilian casualties estimated near 200,000,000 and military casualties were high as well. Fighting often degraded into disturbingly barbaric hand-to-hand combat as Allied and Confederate squads hunkered down only feet away from each other under the same roof. The battle started in early spring, continued through a modest summer and ended with the coming of fall -- although only temperature seemed to indicate any genuine change in the season. The Revolutionary Workers' Union, sustaining the highest casualties and largest commitment to the front, were the ones who eventually took BCAFHC and ordered the official surrender of remaining Confederate Forces. Esharan forces arrived three days later and the Dronav proverbially joined the party twenty-eight days later as they had to forcefully finish off three well entrenched Varian Brigades who committed themselves to fighting to the death.

The Graal surrendered after Mognosh Kurg gave the official order, but Varian units fought on as an Independent Command and only some 1,500 Varian advisers and aides surrendered with Confederate Armed Forces High Command, the rest were summarily killed during the battle.

The summation of the various Notable Engagements went like this:

• Battle of Kulik Square: Between Day 104 and Day 281, Kulik Square changed hands six more times. The Esharan Scholae Palantine moved in and surprised the entrenched Graal defenders, taking control of the AA battery before, at around dusk ; 10,000 Varian Specialists, supported by 100 SNOG Main Battle Tanks counterattacked and overran the Palantine troopers before they could properly entrench. The Palatine Brigade's were obliterated with a 98.9% casualty rate and the Medal of Kulik Square was issued to over 35,000 troopers who participated in the battle. From both Esharan, Graal and Varian perspectives, Kulik Square was the nastiest fighting of Primerus. Even the high quality Scholae Palantine could not defeat the Varian Specialists and Graal numbers, but were told to hold the line while the Legio Sabine moved to reinforce them. The Legio Sabine and Confederate Forces traded Kulik Square five more times with Esharan infantry Anti-Tank flanking attacks and SNOG counterattacks a huge recurring theme. When the last Varians finally pulled back, the Esharans sat entrenched for three days before moving in for fear of another heavy counterattack. Kulik Square had been taken.
  
  The first combat appearance of the Varian infantry -- similarly bulky to the Graal in their silver and purple striped powered armor and heavy assault machine guns reminded the Esharans that this would not easy.
  
  The Anti-Aircraft Batteries were destroyed. The beleaguered Legio Sabine rotated what troops it could while the obliterated Scholae Palantine existed only on paper and it's remaining 2,217 soldiers were folded into another legion as an auxiliary specialist force.
  
  
• Latillian's Alley: The attempt to relieve Latillian's Alley with such a meager force not only spent precious Esharan resources while the Confederate's committed a similarly larger force to ensure Latillian's forces were obliterated. The fighting lasted eighteen days and Latillian's Alley -- in reality a simple west-east running street that if held could've linked the RWU and Esharan front -- became a graveyard for the Esharan Scythia's 17th Mechanized Company. The Graal 891st Militia (raised during the battle), supported by the Graal Conscripts, were reinforced by 5,000 Varian specialists and 28 SNOG Main Battle Tanks.
  
  While Latillian's forces and the Esharan 17th Mechanized Company were eradicated, Tank Destroyer 471 distinguished itself by destroying 9 SNOG Main Battle Tanks before being taken out by Varian RPG units.
  
  
• Hrugg Bridge: Whether through inability to destroy Hrugg Bridge, or a tactical decision, the RWU later utilized Hrugg Bridge after it's capture (Thanks to 147th Company of the 103rd People's Militia who raised the RWU standard over said bridge) for troop movement into Primerus Interious (The inner city). By the 240th day, which was when Hrugg had bee captured, Graal armor strength was nearly non-existent and they retreated after only two days of light skirmishing.
  
  
• Mawblind Counterattack: The true story of the Mawblind Counterattack are still hazy to this day. While footage is plentiful, stories conflict. RWU units comment that the Mawblind Mechanized Division was reinforced by 200 SNOG Main Battle Tanks and an entire Varian army, while Graal and Varian soldiers who were present at the battle comment that by the time the Mawblind rendezvoused with the Varian and Graal militia's that were to help with the attack they were already operating at less than 50% strength and had only 22 operational SNOG's with them. Regardless, there was a bloodletting in the twenty-eight days that the Mawblind struck out, briefly connected the Tandarian Pocket to the Graal supply lines, struck southwest and came within 200 meters of RWU Forward Command before the RWU finally managed to slow it's advance with heavy AT and light armor fire and push them back into the standardized line of battle. The Mawblind Counterattack was to the Ayar what Kulik Square had become to the Esharans. A meatgrinder that did little to settle any matter of the battle but add more casualties to it.
  
  
• Astrok's Holdout: Astrok held out as long as he could, inflicting heavy casualties on Dronav troops and alleviating pressure on the northern front by sometimes striking out and capturing Dronav field guns that had been ordered too close to his small industrial sector. The Dronav shelled the sector for a whole week, incurring friendly casualties as it was a heavy traffic zone for supply and troops headed to the front before sending in 25,000 troops to pacify Astrok once and for all. The heavy fighting ended only twenty days before the official end of the battle and Astrok himself wasn't located until well after the battle with Graal High Command.
  
  
• Graal High Command: While Varian advisers briefly recommended relocating the Graal High Command due to enemy proximity from the north ; further analysis concluded it was unnecessary as the advance had been slowed and the Dronav seemingly had no interest in capturing Graal High Command.

ALLIED CASUALTIES
Esharans: 110,900 Esharans / 2,950 Heavy Armor / 1,200 Light Armor / 789 Aircraft
RWU: 281,200 RWU / 8,250 Light Armor / 4,200 Field Guns / 451 Aircraft
Dronavi: 141,000 Dronavi / 850 Field Guns

CONFEDERATE CASUALTIES
Graal: 654,000 Graal / 5,000 Heavy Armor / 9,850 Field Guns
Varians 96,500 Varians / 10,000 Field Guns.