Battle of the Corfu Pocket (GRAAL)

[Empire of Ezria]

Battle of the Corfu Pocket

Belligerents: Republic of Eshara vs Graal Hegemony

With the near simultaneous landings of Esharan and Union troops on the planet of Sorguth Prime, the Graal planetary garrison has begun a desperate resistance to repel the invaders. Hundreds of thousands of Graal conscripts are on the move, seeking to overwhelm the Esharan's as they disembark in what has become known as the Corfu Pocket (named for General Corfu who was shot as he stepped off a drop pod). The landing zone is nearly encircled on three sides, but cutting edge Esharan drop pods means that the Republican Guard we're ready to deploy relatively rapidly. Facing stiff resistance, the Esharan's have turned their attention to breaking out of the thin encirclement and pushing towards their allies, the RWU that are 20 miles to the West with their armor spearheading the breakout.

Forces:
Republic of Eshara
--4 Esharan Republican Guard Divisions (400,000 men) (100,000 Men/4 GDP)
--2 Esharan Grenadier Divisions (100,000 men) (50,000 Men/6 GDP)
--2 Evocatii Divisions (60,000 men / 6,000 tanks) (5,000 Mechs/6 GDP)
--1 F-76 Skorpion Fighter Squadron (1,000 aircraft/4 GDP) *will only be avalible for small sorties during the landings.

Forces:
-- 3 Graal Conscripts (600,000 Men) (200,000 Men/5 GDP)
-- 1 SNOG Armor Division (80%) (26,000 Men/4,000 Tanks) (30,000 Men/5 GDP)
-- TOTAL = 626,000 Men/4,000 Tanks

Post Order:
Eshara
Graal
Moderation Mark

[Empire of Ezria]

Landing Zone Lima:
For the first time in a hundred years, the blood of Arius Barbatus sang. He was excited, his artificial heart was beating so hard that it felt it might crack his ribs. His advanced sensors drank in the surroundings of the desert world, the pock marked and shattered earth, the occasional crack of gunfire as the Republican troops fanned out from their drop craft. For the moment, all was eerie calm. That was until the first shell landed 150 meters off to his left side, showering the mech with debris and grime.

'' C> CONTACT! CONTACT! '' The radio came alive with chatter and a grin split his face. At long last, it was time for Barbatus to come to grips with the enemy. He hadn't experienced such a thrill since he had been little more than a runt in the First Great Solar War. Now, he was a veteran with decades of battlefield experience.

'' C> Clear the comm's. This is Princeps Arirus Barbatus of Legio Invicta. '' The chatter in the immediate vicinity of panicked voices went silent. '' Get out of these kill box's. We will break out of this landing zones and link up with Allied forces. Regimental commanders signal me if understood. '' A series of indicator lights flickered in the cockpit from the various commanders. '' Now. Battle Group Sword. Attack. '' With their infantry loping beside them, the Evocatii began their push towards the Graal line's. Like an elephant squashing a bug, the Princeps idly armed several 'Shriek' missiles. With a scream, the missiles leapt from the launcher aboard his massive hydraulic shoulder. Spinning towards a Graal machine gun nest that had a platoon pinned down and turning the position into little more than rubble of broken rock and crushed corpses. The only thing that Barbatus couldn't experience was the stench of death and blood, the air of the cockpit (filtered from the outside for contaminants) was kept artificially stale. What a pity.

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Landing Zone Alpha:
'' GET THE HELL OFF MY DROP SHIP YOU SON'S OF BITCH'S! GO GO GO GO GO! '' Sergeant Tyrek screamed at his platoon, thankfully (at least for the moment), the soldiers we're more terrified of the Sergeant than they we're by the prospect of being eviscerated by enemy fire. Cursing, kicking, and running the soldiers charged out of the drop ship's ramps. Private Calum glanced up to the sky to see a flight of Skorpion's drop over head, making a low pass. The bloom of explosions in the distance did little to comfort him.

They'd only gone a few feet before they began taking their first casualties. A line of dead, dying, and wounded guardsman lay strewn on the ground as the troopers began pressing forward. The Graal had dug themselves into a network of foxhole's. Thankfully, they weren't dedicated fortifications or the landing would've been as ten time's as bloody. Idly thumbing the safety of his assault rifle off, Calum fired his first shot in anger for the first time in his young life. The return fire from the Guardsman was ragged at first, but picked up as their comrade's joined them from the dropship's that lay scattered about the sand as if a child had thrown them. Foot by bloody foot, they pushed on.

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Strategy and Tactics:
The Esharan Legion's have landed, and are beginning their break out attempt. The two armored divisions are spearheading the attacks to breathrough makeshift Graal defenses and destroy any enemy armor in the area. Once free of the encirclement, the troops will push west to link up with the Ayar.

[Theopolis]

Graal Home Army

Sorguth Prime, Primerus Settlement.

The whir and whiz of the half dozen Anti-Aircraft batteries constantly loping after the Esharan Skorpion fighters as they flew overhead was a constant reminder of the Graal's own lack of aircraft in the area. Lost in subsequent skirmishes over High Hroth and Fundin'Garn, the MZ-72 Firemoth was found to lack parity with the much faster Skorpion fighter in atmospheric warfare anyway. Armed more for frontal assault and close air support, the Firemoth didn't possess the maneuverability to keep up with the agile air-to-air Esharan fighter. Graal High Command scuttled the remaining odd 732 aircraft during it's retreat from the Dronavi System and that was the last Kurg had heard of it. Regardless, Kurg felt the decision was a bad one ; slow, sluggish and overly armed, the Firemoth was still a fierce beast that could tear enemy armor to shreds with it's complement of high explosive warheads and armor piercing gatling cannons.

" Mognosh, news from the front! " A voice shouted, and Kurg turned toward the doorway of the room to see the Graal conscript step in with several flimsi in his hand.

Battle of Sorguth Prime

The reports were mixed.

• The 177th Dronavi Smashers Infantry Division was reporting minimal losses and were having little trouble holding the Esharans back where they had landed due to natural advantages in the geography. The isolated Esharan's were regrouping and avoiding larger skirmishes with the entrenched Graal further to the south.
  
• The 299th Kilrog's Krushers Infantry Division was reporting 29% casualties along the western edge where the alleged Corfu Pocket had formed. The reason was because two contingents of Esharan Armor had landed in this area all together, and these Evocatii-class Mech Walkers were to be feared. Trial and error on Dronavi had learned that the 120mm Longbone Cannon of the SNOG MBT was incapable of penetrating the walker's armor from less than 300 meters, which meant the SNOGs had to move in closer to take out enemy walkers.

" Order the 13th, 15th and 21st SNOG Regiments to reinforce the Corfu Pocket. I want them squeezed in. If the Corfu Pocket can be eliminated, the majority of the Home Army will be free to reinforce the Graal 6th Army to the west! "

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Primeran Road, 15th SNOG Armor Regiment

SNOG Main Battle Tank Designation: 00//46.5: Black-Eyed Pup

[/i]

" .. zzt .. to reinforce the Corfu Pocket. Primary objective is the elimination of Evocatii-class Mech Walkers and infantry support .. zzt .. No air support is available .. "

" You gotta be kiddin' me! Those Evocatii are a real mess, you gotta be touchin' 'em to penetrate 'der armor! " Loader Juth shouted from the lower reaches of the tank.

Chief Yorggg didn't like the idea, but orders were orders. He pulled the thick goggles from across his eyes, the strap pulling them tight against his sweating, fat forehead and he sank back down into the tank, closing the cupola behind him and shutting out the ravaging heat and wind of the desert geography. SNOG tanks were huge, but the inefficiency of Graal scientists was apparent. An air conditioner that malfunctioned frequently, an underpowered engine, an overpowered main gun and faulty hydraulics meant that the Graal Armor Corps were just as much fighters as they were mechanics. For all it's drawbacks it was still a competent machine, but it lacked parity with the Evocatii-class Mechs that Esharan factories produced. Luckily, Yorggg thought, they were fighting for their home, and home was a barren wasteland of heat and sand. The Graal Chief gave thought to whether those Evocatii had been equipped with the proper equipment to deal with the sand and dirt of Sorguth Prime, but the thought evaporated as quick as it had come.

" Full ahead. Load Armor Piercing shell. Fall in behind Dragonmaw Leader. "

" Aye aye Chief! Came the yell of Driver Parg, who pressed his eyes to the view port while simultaneously shifting the tank into gear. The SNOG coughed briefly, spewing smoke from it's rear exhaust before lumbering forward with 450 other tanks of 15th Regiment. Half a mile to their left another 450 SNOG's of 13th and to their right 450 SNOG's of 19th were doing the same. While a few hundred SNOG Main Battle Tank's were undoubtedly involved in the general fighting in the Corfu Pocket, the 1,350 SNOG's that composed 15th, 17th and 19th Regiment were about 25% of the reactionary force that had been in Primerus, waiting for the frontal assault. Neither Ayar or Eshara performed such an action and for the first thirty minutes of combat the tanks sat in quiet despair as their brethren fought on hard around them.

Elsewhere, 20th and 21st Regiments were ordered westward to aid various other Graal divisions who met other Esharan drop pods across the barren wasteland of Sorguth Prime.

- - - - - - - - - -
-- 1,350 SNOG Main Battle Tanks move in to reinforce the Corfu Pocket.
-- SNOG Armor Divisions (5,000 Tanks/5 GDP) are of less quality than Evocatii Mechs (5,000 Mechs/6 GDP) but not by much. The Graal hope their numerical infantry superiority will help win the day.
-- Other SNOG Main Battle Tanks move west to help other Graal infantry who have encountered other Esharan drop pods.
[/blockquote]

[Federation of Varium]

Mod Mark

The Graal armored charge was met by a veritable rain of missiles and cannon fire from the Esharans. Chief Yorggg watched a dozen tanks go up in minutes. "Keep going, for victory!" Dragonmaw leader cried. Yorggg and the other commanders took up the cry. Then Dragonmaw leader's tank took multiple missiles and became a cloud of shrapnel that eviscerated the Graal infantry loping in around it.

"Who's in command?" Yorggg asked. The formation was beginning to fall apart. If they broke, the Evocatii walkers would massacre them from a distance.

"You are" Juth said. In the moment it took Yorggg to recover from his disbelief another eight tanks went up. Some Graal were firing, their rounds bouncing off the walker's armor. A wave of Esharan aircraft dropped bombs, thinning their ranks further.

"All tanks, don't stop, lets make some Esharan roadkill" Yorggg said into the radio. They closed. Then the small rangefinder in his command chair registered three-hundred yards. "Fire!" Yorggg barked. With a jubilant cry across all radio channels the surviving SNOGs let loose. Evocatil mechs were pulverized; hit by three or four shells and split open. The Evocatil held fast as the two sides pounded each other. Yorggg took aim at the nearest mech as they closed. The two sides collided. Yorggg's and several dozen other tanks plowed into mechs and crushed them under their treads. Juth let out a bloodthirsty shout as he loaded each shot. He killed four mechs in quick succession, and Yorggg rammed another. A platoon of pups scampered past, firing at exposed Esharan infantry. An Evocatil blew half of them to red gibblets. "Target that mech, give our infantry cover" Yorggg ordered. "All tanks, keep the mechs busy so the pups can swarm them." The mech died and pups swarmed through, crushing the outnumbered Esharrans. The Evocatil were beginning to retreat and the Graal had no intention of letting them get away.
..........................................................................

"Fall back, get some distance. They can't hurt us beyond point blank!" Princeps Arirus ordered. His Evocatil began to retreat, covering other mechs with its remaining missiles and its heavy cannons. A graal tank tried to ram him and was turned into a flaming hulk for its troubles. "Legio Invicta, steady retreat, get yourselves some firing room" he ordered. They hadn't killed the SNOGs fast enough and now the blasted barely-functional boltbuckets were in their element. A second tank crushed one of the mechs in his personal platoon, blasted a second, and came for him. Without blinking he swivelled around and put a shell through its turret point blank. it screeched to a halt and began to burn. Many other SNGs were burning. Arirus was just beginning to think they could win this.

Then mechs started taking shells in the back. The Graal regiments had crushed the corfu pockets between two iron fists and the Esharans were beginning to fall back. "Steady retreat towards the dropzone, lets get out of this killbox!" Arirus ordered. Around him Esharans were dying from armor and from the Graal infantry swarming through their ranks unchecked. His beloved legion-and the greater Corfu pocket-were beginning to collapse.
.................................................................................

On the left flank Private Calum lay halfway up a hill, firing down on the Graal retreating into his regiment's crosshairs. They were being driven back by a grenadier regiment that had landed on the other side of them and pounded them with heavy munitions. It was becoming a massacre as the lumbering Graal were unable to react fast enough to the rapid Esharan advance. Calum took down another Graal, and another. "Victory may be ours!" he called. Other young Esharans cheered. the cheers died down as a third Esharan regiment moving to support them was pinned down by machine gun nests from the hill top they were under. Hundreds died. The heavier siegeworks were holding, blocking their breakout attempt.

"Well we're not waiting for the mechs anymore, lets take that hill!" the regimnt commander ordered. Calum and the other soldiers let out a battle cry as they rose and charged upwards at the Graal emplacements.

Two hours later he and the survivors stood battered and bloody atop the captured position, watching the firestorms where several other such strongpoints were laying down fire on their comrades attempting to assault them. "Lets move, the battle's waiting" the commander ordered.

"One down" Calum sighed, then they began to run back down the hill towards the next position.

Strength:

Esharan:
-2 Republicn Guard divisions-95%
-2 Republican Guard Divisions-65%(withdrawing)
-1 Esharan grenadier Division-85%
-1 Esharan grenadier Division-100%
-1 Evocatil Division-75%(Withdrawing)
-1Evocatil Division-65%(Routing)
-1F-76 Scorpion Fighter Wing-90%

Graal:
1 Graal conscripts-55%
1 Graal conscripts-65%
1 Graal Conscripts-90%
1 SNOG Armored Division (60%)

Field Status: The Esharans are ready to break free on the left but are having trouble getting through the heaviest Graal fortifications. It will require more troops from either side to shift the balance of the battle.

On the Right the Graal are driving back the Esharans on all fronts. It will take a desperate move b the Esharans to break free. the Graal can completely cut off and destroy the Esharan armor with just a bit more application of manpower-which might take away from the left flank.

[Empire of Ezria]

Corfu Pocket:
'' C> Invicta, cover the retreat of our brethren. Hold them back. '' Arius Barbatus intoned, arming a hunter killer missile and blasting a SNOG tank to little more than a burning wreck. The pocket that they had landed in was turning into a fiasco, the Graal had swarmed the landing site with thousands. Despite their ferocity and better technology, the Esharan's had been overwhelmed because they had been engaged piecemeal. Legion Gallica had been thrown into disarray, Princeps Visarian had been killed in the early stages of the battle when a line of suicidal SNOG tanks had made their run. Supported by swarming hordes of infantry. A tank had rammed his mech, Barbatus himself had witnessed a Graal grenade being tossed into the cockpit. His brothers had peppered the suit with cannon fire, killing the Graal but the damage had been done.

Now it was up for Invicta and the remaining Guard divisions to begin a retreat south, which was their only path open to them. To do that, they would need cover from the air, his external cockpit came and friendly unit indicators had several Esharan squadrons in range that were conducting air support mission.

'' C> I say again, this is Battle Group Sword. BROKEN ARROW. Battle Group Sword is about to be overrun and in dire need of CAS (close air support). CHARLIE-ALPHA-SIERRA on coordinates 6-NINER-....'' His transmission was cut short when his pilot screamed a warning. '' INCOMING THREE O'CLOCK! '' His moderatti (pilot) shouted, snapping his attention to the viewfinder as a SNOG tank came barreling towards them like a bat out of hell from the dust cloud and swirling smoke.

He didn't have time to loose another fusillade of missiles, so instead in an acrobatic move for a mech managed to sidestep the bullrush like a ballet dancer. As the tank tried to re-align to find it's target, Barbatus lowered the Warrior class mech's shoulder and smashed in it's flank. Once, twice, the SNOG tank shook before it was flipped over onto it's side. Armored fingers slid over the skin of the vehicle, ripping, tearing, and crushing the armor to expose the crew. The chain cannon whirred to life, gunning them down as they struggled to escape their doomed tank. It was Barbatus who was retreating now, their were simply to many. But not before he was barking coordinates for the Skorpion fighter bombers. It would be up to the Angels to save them now.

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25,000 feet above Sorguth Prime / Talon Squadron:

The Skorpion fighter bomber shook, thick black puffs of smoke and orange tracer flier following Talon squadron in it's run. From 25,000 feet up, he could still see the battle thanks to his enhanced magoculars. Ant sized figures became larger, the ground cratered by high explosive artillery shells, with the burning hulks of vehicles becoming makeshift funeral pyres. The Esharan Air Corp was a small and growing force within the Republican Guard. As of yet however, they had yet to actually take off from Sorguth Prime. Their transport hadn't landed but instead was floating high above the atmosphere, having only several squadrons to launch sorties as the transport itself wasn't made to function as a premier carrier. In short, the landings only had limited air cover and their job was to make the best use of that cover as possible.

'' C> This is Mama Wombat, follow me in. '' The silky smooth of voice of the squadron commander came over the comm's, and Optio (Lieutenant) Gracchi felt a pang of fear. Mama Wombat otherwise known as Tribune Drusella ' the iron bitch ' was known as one of the best pilots in the air corp, prone to taking wild risks but she had balls. Figuratively speaking at least. His stomach clenched as the knot of Esharan fighter bombers descended like the wrath of Mar's down on the Graal formation below as they chased the retreating Esharan armored columns.

'' Payload away. '' 20,000 pound's of bomb's dropped from hardpoint's onto the Graal SNOG column's below. And that was just from Skorpion fighter. There were 24 in the squadron, that came in two split waves of 12. The ground resembled a moonscape as Talon squadron turned to make a quick strafing run with her gatling gun's on the Graal ground troops before they were up and away. Already a second squadron was coming in for another run, jinking and weaving. Gracchi mumbled a prayer to the God's for the souls of the Esharan fallen.


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361 Grenadier Division / Fifth Regiment / First Cohort
Left Flank
The wet slap of a blade hitting flesh came over and over, the First Cohort had just survived a fourth wave of Graal conscripts. The bodies of the dead lay everywhere, but it was that stabbing sound that drew Thrax's attention as he applied a fresh tourniquet to one of his men and went to investigate.

'' DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! '' It was an animal sound, a grunting that Thrax associated with the Graal more than one his brothers. It was hard to recognize the man who was soaked in thick, dark, Graal blood. But once he saw his blood soaked face, drenched in black ichor he knew that it was Sergeant Arim. The man was straddling a Graal corpse and was stabbing his Gladius (bayonet) into a mushy mess that was formerly a Graal warriors chest. Thrax arrested the man's hand before it could fall again.

'' Arim. '' He didn't seem to hear him as the combat medic pulled the trooper to his feet. Graal dead mixed in with several Grenadiers filled the area, he realized that Arim was one of the few survivors of his squad left.

'' You don't understand. '' Arim said pulling away. '' They don't stay dead! They come back! '' He said, pointing to one of his former comrade's that had a gaping hole in his chest. '' Look what they did to Rufus. He shot one of them in the head point blank range. You shouldn't be able to survive that..it went down but it got back, it got back up and ripped his belly open with it's hand. '' He said repeating as if in a trance. '' We have to burn them, make sure their dead. Understand? '' The blow that Thrax landed across his face sent Arim stumbling.

'' Control yourself. Collect your weapon and report to the rear. You are an Esharan Grenadier, the pride of the Guard. Act like a soldier. '' Arim seemed to regain some of his composure, coughing as he picked up an PL-93 assault rifle from one his dead comrades and began staggering back to the rear. Thrax surveyed the scene for a moment, barking orders for a fresh squad to come up on the perimeter. He paused however, seeing one of the supposed Graal dead twitching. He didn't like that. Pulling out his side arm, Thrax pumped three round's into the creatures skull. Making sure that it's brainpan had exploded completely before he was satisfied.

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Strategic Analysis:
The survivors of the Corfu pocket will head south (since it is an open line of retreat that the Graal haven't managed to cut yet), to link up with the intact Grenadier division which has been moving north and reform, establish a new defensive line to hold the Graal on the right flank. The Skorpion fighter bombers will COVER their retreat. A Grenadier Division that landed behind the Graal line's to the northwest will launch an attack from behind the Graal line's on the left flank (which is about to collapse), and try to breakthrough and reach the Republican Guard forces on the left which are beginning a fighting retreat back towards the coast.

Notes:
The Esharan Army is disengaging, a fresh round of pods has been called in to begin evacuating wounded troops. A defensive perimeter will be established until the evacuation is complete.

Diplomacy:
Esharan commanders have sent out an all clear signal on the line to request an hour cease fire to discuss terms for an armistice after the Esharan Legion's have DISENGAGED.

[Theopolis]

GRAAL HOME ARMY

STRATEGIC OVERVIEW // Battle of Corfu Pocket

The cacophony of heavy munitions, the roar of Skorpion thrusters overhead, the rumble of SNOG treads and the final throes of life by Esharan and Graal alike made for a symphony unheard of since the Great Solar War. Although less renowned for strategic competence than their Esharan and Ayar contemporaries, the Graal commanders even down to the regimental level delighted in the deliberate chess game that war offered. Each move, each command brought with in the enigmatic, elusive hope of victory. The Battle of Corfu Pocket and the subsequent Skirmish of Primerus, the latter being any battle with Esharan forces that hadn't been involved in the Corfu Pocket were elaborate dances of clashing steel and flesh. The desert sands had been dashed with crimson and sapphire. Smoldering tanks and ruined mechs provided cover to foreign and native soldiers alike, in many cases the original, dead pilots of those vehicles still present in their respective cockpits.

The Battle of Corfu Pocket had been deemed a Graal victory, with Mognosh Kurg's decision to utilize elements from the Primerus Garrison to squeeze in around the pocket and ensure the strongest divisions of the Esharan Army -- specifically the Evocatii Mechwalkers -- were isolated and subsequently disallowed to rejoin the other scattered element's of the invasion force. Although 3,500 SNOG Main Battle Tanks had been destroyed in the fighting, the Esharans were not so much deliberately defeated in battle as they had been pushed back to the South and East. The greatest difficulty offered by the battle was it's lack of fluidity. While in many cases Graal units destroyed deploying Esharan platoons en masse, they would immediately be met with resistance from another unit that had landed just a half mile away, or be ambushed while moving to regroup with neighboring units. Radio traffic was equally bad as units continually asked where the front line was, but no answer could be given. The tactical upper hand of the Esharan had both been witnessed, utilized and lost within the span of time their pocket collapsed, but they had also destroyed the standard Graal strategy of Vaduum Baa'to, or Decisive Battle, since the meeting of Graal and Esharan forces become a slew of miniature battles; division against division, platoon against platoon.

The Graal Home Army[/color] had it's organizational capacity reduced as a whole fighting force, and Mognosh Kurg wished to restore it. With regards to the unofficial Esharan Front -- everything east of the Graal 6th Army[/color] currently entrenched and preparing for a direct clash with landing Revolutionary Workers' Union forces -- everything was hectic as the Esharan force moved to consolidate it's hold south of the original Corfu Pocket. Radio operators at Primerus were tied down with relaying orders to the scattered Graal units to return to certain positions around Primerus.

TACTICAL OVERVIEW // Primerus

• Head North from the Corfu Pocket

[/color]
The continuing Battle of Corfu Pocket[/color] has collapsed, with the surviving units moving south. The surviving SNOG Main Battle Tank 15th, 17th and 19th Regiments as well as available Infantry will return north to Primerus for repairs, first aid and supplies. They will establish defensive positions in and around the city, continuing to fortify themselves and keep in contact with Graal Military Command on Gruul He'a, the Graal Fleet in the Prometheus Asteroid Belt and the Graal 6th Army 72 miles to the west. Damaged vehicles were swamped by mechanics, wounded soldiers were taken to First Aid Stations around the Primerus' settlement.
Intended Order of Battle // Sorguth Prime
-- 15th, 17th, 19th, 20th, 21st SNOG Regiments (2,000 SNOG MBT's) (Minus a Brigade of the 20th SNOG Regiment)
-- Elements of Graal XXI Corps, XXIV Corps, XXVII Corps (210,000 Graal Infantry)

[/li][li]Left Flank Disengages to Head West and Establish Defensive Line[/color]
The Esharan Guardsmen and Grenadiers were to be commended, they were highly trained and their technologically advanced equipment ; thermal rangefinders, fine tuned ballistics assault weapons and accurate man based heavy weapons (grenades, rocket launchers and heavy machine guns) had caused high Graal casualties along the western edges of the battlefield along the Mining Road. Mil-Mognosh Suthos ordered a General Retreat to the west after small elements of an Esharan Grenadier Division was identified to the north, across the Mining Road and to establish quickly built foxholes, assemble some miniature enfilades with sandbags and ammunition boxes and prepare for combined elements of the Esharan Army who intended to meet up with the landing Revolutionary Workers' Union forces in the west.
Intended Order of Battle // Mining Road Defensive Line
-- Reformed Graal Army Elements (130,000 Graal)
-- 3rd SNOG Armor Brigade (250 SNOG MBT's)[/li][/ul][/blockquote]

[Empire of Ezria]

Moderation Mark

'' A bar room brawl with the all light's shot out'' , Legate Septimus of the Esharan 361st Grenadier remarked about the Battle of Corfu and the hodgepodge of battle's that took place over four day's of vicious fighting in his later memoirs. Indeed, confusion, heroism, and insanity characterized much of the Battle which spread across a wide front where there was no clear line. The Esharan units we're scattered and pounced on immediately by Graal troops, the resulting Battle of Corfu Pocket and Skirmishes and Primerus have seen enormous casualties inflicted on both sides. Rather than attempting to finish off the bloodied Esharan armored legions as they withdrew, the Graal have withdrawn back to Primerus to re-arm and deployed troops to the west to focus on the second battle that was already ongoing between Graal units and Revolutionary Workers Union Forces.

Likewise, rather than exploit a potential breakthrough on the left flank, the Esharan units disengaged, linking up with scattered divisions and regiments that had been fighting on and off with their Graal enemies and withdrew south for badly needed repairs and casualty evacuation. The Esharan's have set up a defensive corridor straddling the coast, readying themselves for a new offensive on Primerus if the RWU manages to break through the Graal fortified line. For the moment, both sides are in no condition for a new clash. The Graal took nearly 200,000 casualties and the Esharan's are demoralized by what should have been a clear cut victory over the barbarian and 90,000 dead or wounded Guardsman.

Outcome: Graal Victory

Remarks: The Graal have won an important victory, if the Esharan's had been victorious at Corfu then Primerus would have fallen. Now the Esharan's have been pushed back, but not destroyed. The outcome of the Battle of Gravax will truly determine if Corfu was decisive or merely delayed the inevitable.