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Post by Empire of Ezria on May 12, 2012 17:37:35 GMT -5
Siege of Skraag History:Originally rebelling due to grueling working conditions that killed hundreds of thousands, a rebellious workers party emerged from the chaos declaring themselves the Graal Revolutionary Front. It wouldn't be until almost two years later that the Grand Council decided that the insurgency was proving to be more than a headache than it was worth. The GRF were growing stronger, slowly driving back the conventional forces on the planet. A massive army has been dispatched to finally quell the rebellion and bring Sorguth Prime and it's manufacturing bases strictly under Graal control. The rebels under constant attack by the regular Graal army are slowly pushed back. It is only with the help of Ayar funding (and volunteer force) that they have been able to cling onto their original foothold of Skraag, the rebellion's heartland. But now even that is under threat by an encroaching Graal force. Factions:-GRF -Graal Hegemony -RWU Volunteer Division Forces: GRF: 1 Infantry Army 7 Planetary Conscript Armies 1 Artillery Division GH: 3 Infantry Armies 1 Planetary Conscript Army 1 Armored Division 1 Artillery Division RWU: 1 Volunteer Infantry Division Posting Order:-GRF -Graal -RWU -Modmark
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Post by Empire of Ezria on May 12, 2012 17:46:47 GMT -5
The shelling had been coming for days now, inching closer. Slowly but surely pushing the GRF forces back to their stronghold of Skraag. A beacon of hope amidst the corrupted surface of Sorguth Prime for the revolutionaries. The cacophony of noise was nearly overwhelming and so was the guttural voice of Comrade Kor over the loudspeakers that had been strung up throughout the trench lines on the approaches of the city. Extolling the Workers to take up arms and fight against the overseers. What the average grunt didn't know was that the voice over the loudspeakers were recordings, while Comrade Kor now self appointed General Kor was busy overseeing the hasty defenses of the city to be erected.
The vast army was mostly consisting of conscripts up to this point. But well armed conscripts, thanks to Ayar funding. At first the Ayar had deigned to ignore his pleas but now only a year after the Revolution had started, ships carrying weapons had been arriving. Of course, the Graal Navy had been doing it's part to crush their supply lines. It was yet another thing to fret over. Flicking his gaze over to the holo vids that were strewn throughout his bunker, he began barking out orders. Skraag would be held to the last drop of blood.
Not one step back in the face of the invader!
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Post by Empire of Ezria on May 12, 2012 17:53:01 GMT -5
The scream of Earthshaker cannons sent high explosive rounds descending into the city of Skraag, the bloom of explosions never failed to bring the rush of adrenaline to Gorzdreg's heart. Howls and hoots of excitements roared from the mouths of thousands of his pups on the road towards the blighted city of corruption. Gorzdreg would scourge this city. He would cut off the heads of these traitors and send them to the Dronavi to act as warnings for those who were treacherous to their rightful masters!
And he had the means to do it. The enemy might have had the numbers but he had the superior troops. The skirmishes had been growing closer for a matter of days now. His guns inching closer, his tanks crushing over the puny outposts that had been in there way. A grin split grotesque features as he gave the order for the advance. Dust kicked up on the horizon as thousands of tanks and vehicles began their march towards the outer defenses of the city, the artillery pieces screening their advance, the tanks acting as an armored spear for which the infantry to break through. Already the high pitched whine of Graal firearms could be heard in the distance. A sound that their commander relished and knew all too well.
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Post by Revolutionary Workers' Union on May 12, 2012 19:47:20 GMT -5
Comrade-Mognosh Krylok considered his troops with great pride. All 10,000 Graal RWU citizen-members of the Krogoth Militia had volunteered for this mission, along with over 5,000 Esharkar humans and 85,000 Ayar from throughout the RWU. The volunteer army had been mostly preoccupied with an extensive defensive engineering project, building a complex tunnel system as only Ayar could -guarded by their Graal and human comrades, of course-. The tunnels covered the perimeter of the city with a hidden network of pillboxes, depots, and supply lines safe from bombardment and integrated with the sewer system within.
However, the time to move from engineering assistance to direct engagement was quickly approaching. The well-equipped GRF Solidarity Volunteer Corps had the potential to provide crucial support to the Graal revolutionaries, but only if the two forces could coordinate effectively. Hoping that Comrade Kor would prove humble enough to work in concert with another commander, Krylok entered the GRF general's compound, eyeing the GRF soldiers with hopeful confidence.
"Comrade-General Kor," the Comrade-Mognosh began, landing a solid punch on the fellow Graal's chest. "We of the GRF Solidarity Volunteer Corps have done enough to bolster the defenses of Skraal. We are prepared to due our duty as true warriors. As the enemy is yet unaware of our presence, this may present an unprecedented tactical opportunity to rob the enemy of its advantage in armor support.
"As your comrade in arms and in the Revolution of the Workers, my suggestion is to commit the entirety of your artillery to counter-battery fire, prompting the enemy to commit its armor to an engagement along the perimeter, and to stage an ambush from the hidden perimeter tunnels by my force targeted at said armor, while the enemy is engaged with your forces stationed at above-ground defenses. But, if you have an alternative suggestion, I am eager to hear it. What is crucial is that we work in solidarity, as comrades in the Revolution should."
For the moment, the SVC was scattered loosely throughout the tunnel system, minimally involved in combat but ready to converge at a moment's notice on any major point of conflict.
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Post by Empire of Ezria on May 19, 2012 15:58:29 GMT -5
Moderation Mark As the tanks approached, the resistance became more desperate. The GRU resorting to tactics such as strapping one of their comrades down with high explosives before sending him out to lay in the path of onrushing tank treads. It worked in several instances, but nothing could match the sheer firepower that the tanks could provide. Trench line's were crushed as the tanks moved forward, Graal entombed or decapitated as they rolled over them. What the Graal hadn't counted on was the tunnel rats that lurked in their midst. While the desperate conscripts were being mowed down in droves, the Ayar troops emerged from the tunnel systems to attack the supporting Hegemony infantry units. Hundreds of Graal we're caught down, and the troops were thrown into momentary confusion. The Ayar were very well led and trained, exploiting the panicked masses to begin picking off the tanks with missile launchers as they broke through the perimeter and into the dense surrounding of ruined houses and factory works. The Graal weren't caught off guard for long though. Order was restored with brutal efficiency, fleeing troops were shot on the spot by their officers, cursing and whipping the pup's we're wheeled back into the fight. Flamethrowers were brought up, bathing the tunnel openings in gouts of promethium which consumed Ayar which had been unlucky enough to be caught still emerging from the tunnel entrances. Grenades and explosive charges were used to bring tunnel entrances down to a crumbling halt. It didn't help that the Graal infantry units we're double the size of it's RWU or Esharan equivalents, they could afford to take casualties. Over the next four days, the GRF and it's allies we're pushed back as they came and came again. The Solidarity Volunteer Corp began an expert rear guard action. Laying down swathes of fire, allowing their relatively untrained Graal comrades to begin a somewhat orderly retreat to the secondary line of defenses now that the perimeter had been overwhelmed. Corpses lay in heaps everywhere, while the smoking wrecks of dozens of Graal tanks lay broken like children's toys. Thankfully, the quality of the Ayar meant that the GRF had the time to re-organize rather than being washed over in a wave of screaming metal. CASUALTIES:GRF:1 Volunteer Conscript Army (DESTROYED) GH:1 Planetary Conscript Army (40%) 1 Armored Division (65%) RWU:1 Volunteer Army (85%) NOTES:-The Ayar we're able to successfully use the tunnels to ambush the Graal troops, destroying numerous tanks, armored vehicles, and throwing Graal troops into disarray. However, the numerical advantage of professional soldiers that the Graal have ensured that they we're not panicked for long. The Graal have broken through the outer defenses and are working there way through the southern edge of Skraag. For the moment, they have been stopped by the Ayar rearguard.
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Post by Empire of Ezria on May 19, 2012 16:07:59 GMT -5
Kor watched his tattered army begin it's retreat to the inner defenses. Skraag was burning, the stench of Xenophite fumes were in the air. An artillery shell had struck one of the small Xenophite refineries that they had, the resulting explosion was choking the air black with toxic fumes. But it was just another small symptom of the Hegemony's assault. The best that Kor could hope for now was that the Ayar would be the holding point of his defense line. The messages over the line were becoming more desperate now, pleading for ammunition and reinforcements. But he knew that they had to perceiver, the fate of the Revolution was in their hands now.
Standing near Krylock in a fortified command post that looked out over the cratered landspace, Kor peered out with magnoculars. The Graal were readying for another assault.
'' Most of the units have pulled back effectively enough. We need to lure those tanks deeper into the city, where they can't maneuver and we can destroy them. '' The Graal snarled. Of course, whether the Graal would be stupid enough to push deeper or leave it to their infantry was another thing entirely. '' The deeper they come, the more vulnerable to a counterattack they'll be. '' Kor said confidently, looking over to his fellow Revolutionary for support. Kor had never been a high ranking officer, just a grunt when the war had broken out. His propaganda skills (and his brutal toughness) had ensured his rise to the leader of the GRF. But he was hardly a strategic genius nor a true professional warrior. That was why the Ayar had sent him these...volunteers after all.
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Post by Empire of Ezria on May 19, 2012 16:28:59 GMT -5
Mognosh Gorzdreg closed his fist around the map of the encircled city with a snarl.
'' Use the tanks to break through their pathetic barriers. The artillery will keep their counter batteries occupied. I have promised the Council that I will deliver Kor's head in a week's time. '' He said turning to his assembled Krasha's with a beady yellow eye. '' Skraag must be cleansed of all those who will challenge the Council's will. No mercy should be given to traitors. We have the numbers to carry the death. The Ayar remain the primary obstacle, have our troops focus on them. Once the lynch pin of their line is broken, the rest of the rotten house shall fall. '' With a wave of his head, he dismissed his officers who hurriedly went back to their divisions and regiments to carry out his orders. In the next tow hours, the Graal assault would begin. Tanks inching up to use their powerful main gun's to destroy buildings and makeshift barriers that lined the street. The infantry beginning the bloody business of house to house fighting. Skraag was burning in multiple points, but the Mognosh would not be satisfied until it was all dust.
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Post by Revolutionary Workers' Union on May 19, 2012 17:25:57 GMT -5
Krylok let out a pained grunt; a Hegemony sniper's high-caliber round had ripped out his cheek the day before, making speaking difficult. But, until they ripped out his throat in its entirety, the Comrade-Mognosh would continue.
"Yes, comrade," he managed. "This is why we must have nothing other than a decisive counter-attack waiting for the colonizing barbarians.
"The hated and pathetic enemy expects a traditional city defense. They do not know that our tunnels connect to the sewers, and even if they did, the connections have now been collapsed. So, they do not know that the city, not its soldiers, is their worst enemy.
"Several battalions of Ayar engineers from the Solidarity Corps have been setting remote mines under the city targeting shallow and weak points in roads, junctures in gas lines, and unstable buildings." Krylok handed General Kor a digital pad displaying a city map. "We must organize a hit-and-run defense that leads our enemy, packed densely in the inner city, to each of these red points. They will fall through sections of road, be crushed under falling buildings, and burn with the release of flaming gas, dying in droves not from bullets or bombs, but the city they dare to pry away from its Workers.
"For us, the city is a shield, protecting our artillery from the worst of counter-battery fire. We must use this to our advantage: targeting the advancing colonizers' infantry as they march into even greater peril.
"The dual destruction of heavy artillery and sewer mines will also give us the advantage of making the inner city effectively inaccessible to tanks or reinforcing troop transports. Once all of our mines have been spent, we will have the perfect opportunity to use our superior numbers to engage the hated colonizers in a pitched battle."
The only potential obstacle to the plan was Kor and his soldiers' attachment to the city as a symbol. He hoped for his own and the galaxy's sake that they could see past this towards the greater glory of the Revolution, which would free all cities.
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Post by Empire of Ezria on May 20, 2012 6:52:18 GMT -5
Moderation Mark Luring the Graal deeper in the city and then cutting the gas and sewer lines was a brilliant plan. But it was also a double edged sword, as the assault wore on the gas line's were cut. Fire consumed the streets as Graal, tanks exploded or caught fire, Graal soldiers we're turned to living torches. But it was the fire that became a problem, for both sides. Adding to the conflagration of a city that was already very much on fire. In mere hours, entire blocks were consumed. The city was gripped in a thick smog. The GRF weren't immune as the fire ripped past perimeter defenses, panicking conscripts and sending them running. In one instance, an entire company was asphyxiated, not a round fired from their weapons. The fire and heat generated gobbled up anything in it's path, the Hegemony forces began to retreat en mass towards the safety of the city outskirts and where the majority of the artillery were located while the fire meanwhile spread towards GRF positions. The GRF counterattack came a short time later. It was difficult for the relatively untrained troops to mobilize and function with command and control of so large a force scattered. They we're well equipped however thanks to Ayar funding. Without it, the attack probably wouldn't have taken place or if it had it would've been an absolute disaster. Instead, the GRF emerged from their smoking wreck of their city in an attempt to punch through the Graal lines in a semi-coordinated fashion. Right into the teeth of the retreating Graal tanks and well positioned artillery guns. The boom of heavy guns echoed throughout the sector, the GRF attacked. Their own heavy gun's were pre-occupied with the fire in the city to offer effective counter battery fire. A see saw battle now was taking place, the GRF we're taking horrendous casualties but they we're beginning to overwhelm Hegemony forces in pockets. NOTES:Skraag is all but destroyed thanks to massive fires and a near constant artillery bombardment from the besiegers, thousands of civilians and many of it's defenders are dead. But they are making progress against the Graal encirclement, even if it costing them much in the way of lives. CASUALTIES:GRF: 1 Artillery Division (80%) 1 Conscript Army (DESTROYED) 1 Conscript Army (50%) GH:1 Planetary Conscript Army (DESTROYED) 1 Armored Division (40%) 1 Graal Infantry Army (70%) RWU:1 Volunteer Army (70%)
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Post by Empire of Ezria on May 20, 2012 6:59:27 GMT -5
Kor watched his city and his life's work burn on the horizon. It was strange all that he had fought to save had to be sacrificed for the Revolution. Rage and anger for this debacle was beginning to fester towards his so called military advisor from the Ayar. How many Revolutionaries would have to die until their fleets arrived!? How many would have to be martyred? It was the fourth day of the counter offensive, the ground was choked with the dead and dying. The sound of gunfire and artillery was ceaseless, even days after the fires were still raging in and around Skraag
'' It is time to break out. '' Kor said after a long moment. '' If we continue this counter offensive in this fashion, the entirety of the Revolution will be crushed. Our scouts say the Graal positions are still strong but weakening, if we mass in the appropriate point I am confident that a great many of our comrades will escape. We will take to the hills, and fight on until your brethren join us for the final battle of liberation. Skraag is no longer worth defending. '' The Ayar had seen to that.
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Post by Empire of Ezria on May 20, 2012 7:08:49 GMT -5
Skraag burned. The Hegemony had accomplished it's objective but the Mognosh now pondered if he had turned Skraag into a symbol of resistance rather than one of warning against the price of rebellion. A long claw was drag over his chin as he surveyed the holo map. The enemy had battered his troops, driving them from the city along with the flames. Their artillery support was beginning to get stronger as well as they maneuvered them to the outskirts of the city and away from the bulk of the fires that ravaged the hab blocks of Skraag.
Preliminary reports suggested that it was the rebels themselves that had caused the fires in some insane trap designed to destroy his army. They had not counted on the flames turning against them as well. A rumble of laughter left his chest as he enjoyed the ferocity of his prey. But the Mognosh was determined that it would be in vain. He still had half a million professional warriors under his command. The Revolutionaries we're like ants. Throwing themselves on his guns, they might kill one of his men for every ten. Those were the hard statistics that he was prepared to accept. One more Revolutionary killed here today meant that there would be less resistance at home when the Allies landed. The Graal for their part reinforced their lines and intended to keep the rebels penned in, with the burning city to their backs.
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Post by Revolutionary Workers' Union on May 23, 2012 2:07:00 GMT -5
The Comrade-Mognosh felt viscerally Kor's pain. He remembered the days of the Ayar Revolution, the cities leveled and droves lost in "conventional" and nuclear fire.
"You are correct, comrade," Krylok acquiesced, a sigh escaping his tired lungs. "The Revolutionary Workers of the GRF have fought valiantly, and you have led them valiantly, in the defense of Skraag. For that, we of the RWU owe you our deepest admiration and solidarity.
"You will be pleased to hear that I have received news of the victory of the Allied fleet over the hated Hegemony in the Holdworlds System. The tide of the Revolutionary Workers' Union is not far off.
"However, we of the SVC owe you more than promises of reinforcements. We would like to spearhead the concentrated attack on a section of the thinned enemy perimeter. If we target where most of the enemy armor is concentrated, we will prevent the Hegemony from using it to greatest effect as a quick-response flanking force, which would cut into and slow our army before it broke out. With the help of a focused barrage from our artillery, we should have no trouble shattering the stretched-feeble line of the oligarchists."
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Post by Empire of Ezria on May 24, 2012 19:04:05 GMT -5
Moderation Mark By now however the situation was growing desperate within Skraag as it became flooded with fleeing civilians and the general confusion running through the command. The counter battery fire was not an effective enough screen to destroy the armored reserve that the Graal had but nevertheless the Graal we're more pre-occupied with fighting off GRF feints while the main force attempted to breach a relatively thin pocket of the Graal encirclement. Spearheaded by the elite GRF Red Guard Division along with the Ayar, the GRF effectively managed to break through the Graal line's. However, many more of their comrade's would be left behind to die as the Graal encirclement closed to become a vice. Soon enough, thousands of the GRF we're beginning to surrender in mass. A great many we're summarily executed until officers put a stop to it. They would be more useful as slaves after all to the system they had tried to overthrow. The Ayar and Graal continents successfully broke out, but not without sustaining casualties. In the next few weeks, they would scatter to the hills continuing their guerilla war while the Graal mopped up enemy resistance. All the while bracing for the impending invasion of the planet. CASUALTIES:GRF:1 Artillery Division (DESTROYED) 2 Conscript Armies (DESTROYED) GH:1 Graal Infantry Army (DESTROYED) 1 Armored Division (25% Strength) RWU:1 Volunteer Army (50%) Effects:The Graal have broken the back of the GRF and have taken their main bastion of resistance. The GRF have taken to the hills to continue their resistance, for the moment Sorguth Prime is back in control of the authorities. With the GRF isolated to hit and run strikes.
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