The paper empire strikes (Shiysil frannerre tafatu)

[Greywall]

Casualties

Shiysil: 3,500 standard infantry, 1,000 light infantry, 50 field guns, 10 bi planes
Frannerre: 1,450 standard infantry, 930 heavy infantry, 5 bi plane fighters, 30 field guns
Ashinara: 500 heavy infantry

[aimway921]

As General Lishenko compiled the action reports of his troops scattered across the forests of South Franerre, he found out that they have, besides denying numerous supplies to the frontline Shiyisil troops, have managed to capture significant numbers of enemy small arms and even several tanks. Unrelated to that, the enemy convoy guards were starting to adapting to the Ashinaran attacks, making every next convoy raid less effective and more costly.

It was due to that Lishenko decided it was time to up the ante. Several small units - up to 10 troops - would search the sources of these convoys: local Siyisil supply depots. They would be ordered to avoid contact with the enemy at all costs - even if it meant letting an easy target go by - they would be intercepted by the standard convoy raiders. The goal was to find the enemy supply depots without them finding out that the Ashinarans have found them. Once they are found, they'd be observed for several days and nights to study their defenses as much as possible - the strength of the troops defending the depots, their patrol patterns both day and night, everything that will assist a smooth infiltration. Everything would be written down, mapped, recorded, and the reports sent to Lishenko's hidden HQ.

[callmedelta]

"Damnit!" General Ranulf growled, pouring over his reports and the latest messages from Zelgius in the east. The plan had failed. He wasn't able to knock out Shysil in time enough to swing the troops around to Galra, and Zelgius needed more men to hold the Marse. For the time being, Ranulf would have to play defensive. Do nothing more than stave off the slow, inevitable end that was coming if nothing changed.

All offensive actions against Shysil were to cease for the time being. 20,000 Standard Infantry and 10,000 Heavy Infantry were to be drawn from the eastern Shysil front once the current attacks against them had been repelled, along with 20,000 Standard Infantry, 30,000 Heavy Infantry, and 1195 Field Artillery would be drawn from the western Shysil front to assist in the defense of the Marse.

The Franerri troops still on the Shysil front were instructed to dig their trenches deeper, as well as constructing fallback defensive lines in case the forwardmost lines couldn't be held with the now-lessened manpower. With the threat of Shysil's airpower hopefully destroyed, as well as having their own capabilities severely diminished, the Franerri Air Force set to hunting down Shysil's own artillery. With the threat of Shysil armor nonexistent for the time being, Shysil artillery was the only major threat to Franerri defenses.

[aimway921]

Snap. The sound of a breaking twig echoed through the forest, seeming even louder than it actually was in the twilight of the setting sun. The Sargent quickly stopped, throwing up a fist, signaling his squad to also stop. The all did, while also readying their rifles. Patrolling deep behind enemy lines, they knew any moment they could run into a unit of Shiyisil soldiers, and thus were prepared to enter a firefight at a moment's notice. 

They found themselves at the edge of a clearing. Scanning the opposite edge for any movement, where they suspected the possible enemy squad to be they were ready to shoot at anything. It wasn't long before one eagle-eyed Private spotted the distinctively gray Grinvelian helmet through a bush. Without giving it a second thought, he pulled the trigger. 

The cracks of rifles has quickly ensued, the squad of scouts shooting at their barely visible adversaries - who in turn fired back. It was not before a new weapon on the enemy's side joined the fight that the Sargent realized that something is wrong. The distinct tack-tack-tack of the lend-leased Gaelic Light Machine Gun used only by the Ashinaran Royal Army in this part of Touli. 

"Cease fire and take cover!" he shouted to his squad mates - one of whom was already laying on the ground bleeding out. The soldiers, already all in either kneeling or prone positions, rolled themselves towards the trees, putting the trunks between themselves and whoever they were just shooting at. About 15 seconds later, the opposing party has also ceased firing. A deafening silence descended on the clearing, blotting out even the ringing in the ears from the gunfire that just occurred. 

After what seemed like an eternity, the Sargent called out in Ashinaran - "3rd Royal Infantry?!"

"9th Company!" a reply came from across the clearing, also in Ashinaran.

"Spirits be damned," the Sargent said, as he holstered his pistol and began standing up. "Friendlies!" he shouted and came out from behind the tree. A second later, an Ashinaran officer came rose from behind a bush on the other side, and several soldiers after him - half of them wearing helmets and holding rifles captured from one of the raided Shiyisil convoys. 

It took about a day for runners to be dispatched from either squad's camp with the report of the incident, eventually trickling up to General Lishenko. It took another day for an order to be distributed to all Ashinaran troops in the area:

To all units: in order to prevent friendly fire incidents, cold weather clothing are the only articles of captured enemy uniform that is allowed to be worn, and only with sufficient identifiers worn on top of it. Wearing of captured enemy helmets is absolutely forbidden.




Casualties:

3 Heavy Infantry dead and 2 Heavy Infantry wounded as a result of friendly fire.

[Greywall]

Vokni finally got what he wanted, a break in the Frannerri assault, his forces were in hell. Spread across Southern frannerre hunting down Ashinarians in his vanguard and now the intense fighting had bludgeoned his forces. It had successfully forced the Shiysil to abandon their invasion progress into Tafatu, a task left now to the more or less better equipped Galran military. Even with this break, he knew he needed to apply pressure now.

"I want those foxes skinned and on my floor by the end of the season." He ordered 6,000 troops to break off the front and begin a mass search for the Ashinarians. This meant vanguards searching from the South and front line troops from the North meeting in the middle.

As for the Frannerre, he would order the bulk of his forces to assault the Frannerri lines North. A large round of artillery fire would sound off slamming the Frannerri lines before large waves of Shiysil infantry surged to break the enemy lines and finally deliver to their dictator the city of Pareau.

[callmedelta]

The newly-weakened Franerri frontline was tested. The Shysil assault was ferocious, but it did do one thing -- expose their artillery to the undefended skies. Franerri planes ran as many sorties as they could manage to bomb as many Shysil artillery positions as they could manage. But there were so few planes, and a lot of frontline. The line was beginning to crack in some places. But, Franerre had prepared fallback defensive lines, outside of current Shysil artillery range. It was decided that retreat in good order now would be better than risking a complete route later. Retreats to the secondary defensive lines were called, and soldiers were to retreat in good order under their own artillery and air cover.

Inside the Franerri HQ, meanwhile, a strange letter appeared on Ranulf's desk. It was from the mayor of Setange, apparently from an Ashinaran military pilot requesting if the Franerri Army had any spare parts for his plane. That raised a number of questions, namely; how did an Ashinaran pilot and plane get into Franerre, and how was he just now learning about them? He replied, asking to meet this man in person, asking if he'd be willing to lend his services to the active war going on in the South.

[aimway921]

The pilot, Horunzhni (Lieutenant) Lev Kavhevi, was surprised to learn that a Franerri General wanted to meet him. He pushed the request up his chain of command to the commander of the Battalion station in Setange, Sotnyk (Major) Fedot Aleksenko, who in turn telegrammed Ranulf asking for the time and place for the meeting.

[callmedelta]

The staff office Kavhevi and Aleksenko would be invited to was an interesting thing. The core of it was a commandeered estate house, stately and well built. Close enough to the front that messages could be delivered quickly, but far enough to be out of danger. The buildings that had sprung up around it were cheaper constructions, made with the expectations that they may need to be abandoned should the frontlines rapidly shift again. The Ashinarans were lead to a rather unassuming room, though the quick peek inside they got gave him a glimpse of its true importance. What had once been a simply trophy room was now dominated by stacks of reports and maps of troop movements, the whole nexus of the Franerri command of the Shysil front. The officer who had been escorting the pair instructed them to wait outside, and soon enough a bedraggled looking man came out. His uniform was finely made, adorned with the rank of General, though it had clearly been worn for too long by this point. The man wearing it was worn too -- bags under his eyes, a few days of stubble just on the verge of becoming a beard. "General Ranulf, at your service," the man said. "I had intended to meet you at the gate, and hopefully be in a bit of a better state, but war often has a way of foiling one's plans. I recall hearing your names once, but seeing as I've been up for..." Ranulf trailed off, "...too many hours by now, you'll have to forgive me that I've forgotten it."

[aimway921]

"Major Aleksenko, sir, commander of 3rd Infantry Battalion of 5th Division of the Royal Ashinaran Army. I was a Captain back then, but I remember fighting side-by-side with your troops back in '31, down in Tafatu." the first fox replied in perfect Franerri, albeit with a thick Ashinaran accent, as he clicked his heels and brought his hand up to his brow in a salute. "And my subordinate, First Lieutenant Kavhevi, the pilot you were interested in." As the senior officer introduced the Lieutenant, he too clicked his heels and saluted the Franerri General, but so far remained silent.

The two foxes were dressed in the latest pattern of Ashinaran uniforms, with canvas puttees and belts instead of leather garters and belts, a more washed out tint of the light purple cotton uniforms that no longer had their regimental number patches, and simplified leather holsters for their revolvers. Their ranks were displayed on their collars on blue patches, with a golden line and a single star for the First Lieutenant, and the same line and three stars for the Major.

"So, General," Aleksenko said, after the salutes were exchanged, "how can we be of assistance? My battalion has been hunkered down as garrison in Setange, with little to no intel on the progress of the war reaching my office, and, honestly, my boys are itching for a fight."

[callmedelta]

General Ranulf rubbed at his face, trying to wake himself up for the conversation. A whole damn battalion? How did no one in Setange think to tell him they existed? "We could get your men sent down to the front for combat, Major, though the exact details will depend on how many men you have. Shysil launched a large assault on our northern frontline a few days ago, after we had to strip troops to send east against Galra. Last night, we began trying to coordinate a retreat to secondary defensive lines, rather than risk the main line breaking somewhere and Shysil exploiting the gap. Given our current intel, we believe we can hold them there, but you can never have too many men in the field. Especially fresh, foreign fighters. Franerre has been fighting this fight alone, with the whole Galran blockade. Hearing we've got friends here will be a big boost to moral, even if there aren't too many of you."

"As for you, Lieutenant," Ranulf continued, "If you'd be so willing, I'd like you to run scouting and bombing missions. So far, our air force has been focused on degrading Shysil's air capabilities, which we've done a very good job at thus far, if reports are anything to go by. Right now, we have them trying to bomb out Shysil's artillery in the north to blunt their assault, but one they're done I want to think bigger. I want to begin degrading their supply lines -- it's hard for soldiers to fight when they don't have any bullets, or when they haven't eaten in a week. Once the supplies at the frontlines are degraded by bombings, one well planned and coordinated offensive could roll back their entire line out of Franerre and back into Shysil. But I need accurate information on where to bomb, and our planes are indisposed. Your efforts could speed up the course of this war by months, if we're lucky."

[aimway921]

Aleksenko's eyes widened at what he was hearing. Did Ranulf not know? Was the breakdown in communications this bad due to the sudden invasion? "We um... The 5th Division... Has been here since day one almost in full. My Battalion stayed in Setange, another Battalion proceeded with our original mission, the reason we deployed to Franerre in the first place - to assist the Niaorinian Samurai in their rebellion against the pro-Galran forces that took over Eleria. The rest of the Division, commanded by General Lishenko - once they saw the Shiyisil force make a beeline to the North, largely ignoring their flanks, Division moved immediately to cut their supply lines. Granted, since then we had 0 communication with them, but I was told to expect that - Lishenko briefed me that they will be operating a guerilla warfare in the enemy backlines. There was... Approximately 5,000 troops that went in, plus a few field guns. I myself have 1,500 Light Infantry at Setange, and the single airplane piloted by Kavhevi here. Ever since Lishenko headed the Division into the enemy backlines, we've received no new orders, and you're the first officer of a rank higher than myself that I'm talking to in days now."

Aleksenko, not even noticing it, started pacing about the room as he was describing the situation he was in. "Of course, given the situation, I believe it will be logical for me to assume my previous orders to be void, and in the absence of my own higher command, it will make the most sense for me to link up with your troops and temporarily put myself under your command until my commanding officer returns, or a new one is appointed. General Ranulf, you have me and my troops."

[callmedelta]

Ranulf felt like he should have been more surprised, but it was hard to feel much of anything with how tired he was. How many of the assumptions the he and his general staff had once chalked up to Shysil's incompetence could have been explained by this new factor? How many of the plans would need to be reworked taking the Ashinarans into account? At the very least, he wasn't confident about supply bombings, now. He didn't want to risk any sort of friendly fire incident, much less ones with an ally. "That's...good to hear. It sounds like your General has done Franerre a great service." General Ranulf rubbed at his stubble, massaging the areas just under his eyes. 1,500 men, a plane, a boost to moral, and the knowledge of 5,000 Ashinaran guardian angels. Not bad for a simple meeting. "You don't have any sort of contact with the Ashinaran troops behind the lines, I'm assuming? I'd like to be able to coordinate efforts, but something tells me my luck won't stretch that far today."

[aimway921]

"Unfortunately not," Aleksenko replied. "We know that they requisitioned a number of horses and carts from several local villages to speed up their movement a bit, but as they headed into the enemy rear, that's the last we heard of them. I don't know if they were sending any runners, but if they were, none had made it yet. And sadly, we haven't been issued any radios. The technology is such a novelty in Ashinara still, that only a few elite units have it."

[Greywall]

The Shiysil assault into Frannerre was becoming a slog, Vokni had bought time with defeating the Frannerri counter offensive but now had to launch his own troops against entrenched enemy forces all while contending with the supply lines being tampered with.

29 miles and 30,000 standard infantry would launch a massive assault on Frannerri forces following a severe artillery shelling of their position. After two hours of non stop shelling, Shiysil forces charged ahead, crossing over forest and jungle that was now leveled by the fighting. Forcing infantry to crawl over and climb the fallen trees and navigate the pits and craters of artillery fire became hazardous but in a single day Vokni launched the largest assault of the campaign in an effort to break through and finally deliver to Azeri, Pareau. Before his head was delivered instead.

[callmedelta]

1,500 more soldiers under his command, with another 5,000 angels on his shoulder the entire time. Christ, how bad would this have all been if those Ashinarans hadn't been doing their work? There wasn't time to dwell on that thought -- there was still a war to fight and new troops to deploy. Deploy them how, though? The Ashinaran soldiers would almost be more useful as a propaganda tool, as much as it hurt Ranulf to think. If everyone else heard this news...it'd be hard to believe, sure, but the thought that Franerre wasn't in this alone, the fact that there were allies coming to help so long as Franerre could hold just one more day might help Franerre to hold that one more day, even if it was a lie in the end. The propaganda was less important than the plane, for the time being. He turned to Aleksenko. "Before deploying your men to the frontline, I'd like to organize a little propaganda shoot if you'll have it. It may turn into something more than that, admittedly, but our soldiers could use the boost to morale, knowing they aren't fighting the Galrans alone." Then he turned to the pilot...Kavhevi was his name? "As for you, Lieutenant, I'd like to get you scouting up in the air as soon as possible. We might have you take a day's break or two for the propaganda shoot when the rest of the Ashinarans get down here, but for the time being I'll have you in the air doing scouting missions."

~

As soon as the shelling of Franerri positions began, Franerri planes went in the air. Their goal was just the same as it had been -- destroy as much Shysil artillery as physically possible. Thankfully for the Franerri forces, these fallback trenches were fresh and their troops somewhat reorganized, compared to the battle-scarred ruins and near breaking of the previous line of defense. The trenches themselves weren't as strong as the first line, but they still had some defenses against the onslaught of artillery. At the front's headquarters, General Ranulf ordered the engineers to begin the creation of a third fallback line. Hopefully, the frontline would hold long enough for it to be more than a ditch in the ground. Hopefully, the frontline wouldn't even break at all, but General Ranulf had to be prepared.